The United Nations human rights office has warned that Palestinians in Gaza are being pushed into an ever-shrinking area of the territory, describing the displacement crisis as both acute and chronic.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said on Friday that Israeli forces continue to expand their military deployment areas westwards, destroying civilian infrastructure and attacking displacement sites, amid concerns of ethnic cleansing. It said Israel has stated that it aims to increase the area of military deployment to 70 per cent of Gaza’s territory.
The relentless contraction of space has caused new displacement in areas next to the “yellow line” demarcation boundary, the office said. Over the past two weeks it documented the westward expansion of Israeli deployment areas in Al Shujaiyeh in Gaza City and in three locations in Middle Gaza: eastern Al Bureij, eastern Deir Al-Balah and eastern Al Maghazi.
In Al Shujaiyeh, at least two Israeli attacks were reported on displacement camps, while forces reportedly used explosive robots to detonate the few buildings still standing in the area. OHCHR said it had received reports that on 25 October, an Israeli drone dropped munitions on tents sheltering displaced families at Al Shujaiyeh junction near the yellow line, and the resulting fire burned for five hours. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Public Works and Housing, 200 families — some 800 people, mostly women, children and older people — were displaced as a result. That account is based on reports received by OHCHR and has not been independently verified.
“The nightmare of displacement in Gaza is both acute and chronic,” said Ajith Sunghay, head of UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. “Those displaced before the announcement of a ceasefire have little to no prospect of return to the areas they fled, most of which are inaccessible because they fall beyond the so-called yellow line. And they continue to be displaced again and again.”
OHCHR said that as an occupying power, Israel must cease the forcible transfer of Palestinians within the Gaza Strip, noting that this is a war crime that may also amount to a crime against humanity. It said Israel must also facilitate Palestinians’ safe and dignified return to their homes and the areas they fled.
Instead, the office said, Israeli military operations have displaced nearly the entire population multiple times, in addition to damaging and destroying buildings, structures and civilian infrastructure. It also said Israeli forces appear to treat the yellow line as a kill zone, preventing Palestinians from returning to what remains of their homes on the other side.
The crisis is worsened, OHCHR said, by restrictions Israel has imposed on the entry of shelter-related humanitarian assistance, leaving hundreds of thousands of people in tents too flimsy to withstand the rain.
“There must be an end to this suffering. This is the fourth year of displacement for most Palestinians in Gaza, the fourth winter in tents too flimsy to withstand the rain, and they are still under fire through it all,” Sunghay said. “Let this be the last.”
Sources: UN News, “UN rights office warns of deepening displacement ‘nightmare’ in Gaza”, 30 October 2026, https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/10/1168707
