More than ten months have passed since the ceasefire was declared in Gaza, yet the Israeli killing machine claimed the lives of 160 Palestinians in July alone, according to UN rapporteurs—a toll that raises renewed questions about the extent to which the agreement remains in effect on the ground.
Since the ceasefire was declared in October 2015, the number of martyrs has exceeded 1,200, while Israeli attacks have continued to target densely populated areas and displaced persons, including al-Mawasi. Indeed, according to UN experts, most of the recent deaths occurred far from the area designated by the so-called “yellow line.”
The attacks have not spared women, children, or the elderly, including those who sought refuge in tents and areas they believed to be safer. This prompted the rapporteurs, in a statement issued on Monday, to emphasize that there is no longer any safe place in the Gaza Strip.
But the killings are not the only thing that worries UN experts. They warned of ongoing changes on the ground, including the westward movement of the so-called “yellow line,” coinciding with the construction of a 23-kilometer-long barrier along its length and the continued demolition of homes.
The rapporteurs believe these measures are forcibly reshaping the geography of Gaza through displacement and forced migration, in a territory whose inhabitants already live under the weight of destruction, displacement, and a lack of basic necessities.
They also condemned attacks on hospitals, shelters for displaced persons, and humanitarian workers, stating that “genocide continues unabated.”
