Social Europe

  • YouTube
  • Podcast
  • eBooks
  • Newsletter
  • Membership

Israel’s evacuation order violates international law

Jane McAdam and Ben Saul 18th October 2023

International law places copious constraints on how Israel can order the evacuation of northern Gaza, to protect civilians.

evacuation,Israel,Gaza
Israel’s behaviour in Gaza has sparked widespread protests around the world, such as this one in London (Jesus Salas Dual / shutterstock.com)

In conflicts around the world, evacuations have long been used to rescue people from serious harm. During the second world war, for instance, thousands of children across Europe were sent to rural areas or abroad under evacuation schemes initiated by governments and child welfare agencies.

The contrast in Gaza today is stark. We are witnessing an urgent, chaotic evacuation ordered by a belligerent party to the conflict, which is fast becoming a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel told 1.1 million people in northern Gaza to move to the south ahead of an impending ground invasion.

Put yourself, your family, your friends or colleagues into this horror for a moment. How would you evacuate if you or your child was sick? How would you get your elderly parents out if they couldn’t walk? How would you move rapidly to southern Gaza if you had no fuel or transport?

Any of this would be hard at the best of times, let alone in the middle of a war zone, on short notice and with nowhere safe to go. As one 20-year-old woman, who had tried to flee south, said,

I was terrified, I thought I was about to die […] They told us to escape and then they bomb people on the road. My father drove back to Gaza City. He said if we are dying anyway, let’s be at home in Gaza.



Don't miss out on cutting-edge thinking.


Join tens of thousands of informed readers and stay ahead with our insightful content. It's free.



Insufficient and unrealistic

Evacuations in armed conflict are strictly governed by international humanitarian law, which seeks to balance military and humanitarian needs. Israel’s warning to civilians in Gaza of impending attacks must be ‘effective’, meaning it must not only reach people but allow them sufficient time to evacuate safely. The extremely tight time-frame Israel gave Gaza residents to leave is insufficient and unrealistic for an evacuation of this scale, especially amid its fast-tempo bombardment across the strip and under conditions of total siege.

Israel must also ensure evacuated civilians have the means to survive. International law requires it to allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. This includes food, water, medical supplies, clothing, bedding, shelter, heating fuel and other supplies and services essential for survival. The starvation of civilians is a war crime.

Yet, Israel unlawfully imposed a ‘complete siege’ of Gaza in response to the Hamas attacks on Israeli border communities last week, ordering no electricity, food, water or gas into the territory. Cramming more than a million extra people into southern Gaza—doubling its population—will also place impossible strains on its infrastructure, which has already been much degraded by 16 years of blockade.

There is debate over whether Gaza is still legally ‘occupied’ by Israel since the withdrawal of its ground forces in 2005. The traditional view is that occupation requires Israeli ‘boots on the ground’ to administer Gaza from within. A more contemporary view is that Israel still retains a sufficiently high level of control over life in Gaza, despite its withdrawal of troops. If it is occupied, additional legal rules apply to the present situation.

As an occupying power under international humanitarian law, Israel may order an evacuation for imperative military reasons, or for the safety of civilians, but civilians must still be protected. Specifically, Israel must ensure displaced civilians have adequate shelter, hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and that family members are not separated.

The specific needs of children, expectant and nursing mothers, people with disabilities and the elderly must be addressed. All of this is on top of the requirement to allow rapid and unimpeded humanitarian relief, which applies regardless of whether Gaza is considered occupied.

The United States secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said the US and Israel had agreed to work on a plan to get humanitarian aid into Gaza and consider ideas for ‘safe zones’ that would theoretically be shielded from strikes. But nothing has been implemented yet, with the situation continuing to deteriorate.

‘Extremely dangerous’

The United Nations relief agency for Palestinians has said it has run out of capacity to help, declaring an ‘unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe’:

Gaza is being strangled and it seems that the world right now has lost its humanity.

The International Committee of the Red Cross, the custodian of the law of war, rarely publicly rebukes governments. However, it has also called the evacuation order illegal. The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, has condemned it as well, saying it is ‘extremely dangerous’ and potentially impossible.

The World Health Organization criticised Israel’s further orders to evacuate 22 hospitals in northern Gaza, saying that this would ‘further worsen the current humanitarian and public health catastrophe’:

Forcing more than 2,000 patients to relocate to southern Gaza, where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number of patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence.

Protected as refugees

Gazans are also unable to reach safety in other countries. The border crossing into Egypt remains closed.

Many Palestinians do not want to leave their homeland if there’s a chance they won’t be allowed to return, a risk etched in their collective memory since the exodus of the 1948 war. But those who do wish to leave are entitled to do so under international law, and other countries must not refuse them entry given the real risk to their lives.

Gazans are normally protected as refugees by the UN relief agency for Palestinians, under a bespoke legal regime. The relief agency’s current inability to provide protection and assistance however means Palestinian refugees who do reach another country should be automatically protected as refugees under the 1951 Refugee Convention, without the need for further status determination.

Anyone who refuses to evacuate Gaza—or simply cannot evacuate—remains protected as a civilian. People do not lose that right simply because they stay put. Israel must take constant care to spare civilians and civilian objects from harm, avoid and minimise incidental civilian casualties and allow the unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence

Jane McAdam
Jane McAdam

Jane McAdam is scientia professor of law and director of the Andrew and Renata Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at UNSW Sydney. She is joint editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Refugee Law.

Ben Saul
Ben Saul

Ben Saul is Challis chair of International Law at the Sydney Centre for International Law at the University of Sydney and an associate fellow of the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London and the International Centre for Counter-terrorism in the Hague.

Harvard University Press Advertisement

Social Europe Ad - Promoting European social policies

We need your help.

Support Social Europe for less than €5 per month and help keep our content freely accessible to everyone. Your support empowers independent publishing and drives the conversations that matter. Thank you very much!

Social Europe Membership

Click here to become a member

Most Recent Articles

u42198344ce 92c9 4f54 9a14 edee35fb9221 3 Europe’s Quest for Technological Sovereignty: A Feasible Path Amidst Global RivalriesChristian Reiner and Roman Stöllinger
u4219834670ab 1 Reclaiming Sutan Sjahrir: The Quiet Moral Core of Democratic Socialism in Southeast AsiaDeny Giovanno
u421983467 4b96 a2b4 d663613bf43e 0 A Fair Future?  How Equality Will Define Europe’s Next ChapterKate Pickett
u42198346742 445d 82f2 d4ae7bb125be 2 A Progressive Industrial Policy for the Global South: A Latin American PerspectiveJosé Miguel Ahumada and Fernando Sossdorf

Most Popular Articles

u4219834676 bcba 6b2b3e733ce2 1 The End of an Era: What’s Next After Globalisation?Apostolos Thomadakis
u4219834675 4ff1 998a 404323c89144 1 Why Progressive Governments Keep Failing — And How to Finally Win Back VotersMariana Mazzucato
09d21a9 The Future of Social Democracy: How the German SPD can Win AgainHenning Meyer
u421983462 041df6feef0a 3 Universities Under Siege: A Global Reckoning for Higher EducationManuel Muñiz

ETUI advertisement

HESA Magazine Cover

With a comprehensive set of relevant indicators, presented in 85 graphs and tables, the 2025 Benchmarking Working Europe report examines how EU policies can reconcile economic, social and environmental goals to ensure long-term competitiveness. Considered a key reference, this publication is an invaluable resource for supporting European social dialogue.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Eurofound advertisement

Ageing workforce
The evolution of working conditions in Europe

This episode of Eurofound Talks examines the evolving landscape of European working conditions, situated at the nexus of profound technological transformation.

Mary McCaughey speaks with Barbara Gerstenberger, Eurofound's Head of Unit for Working Life, who leverages insights from the 35-year history of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS).

Listen to the episode for free. Also make sure to subscribe to Eurofound Talks so you don’t miss an episode!

LISTEN NOW

Foundation for European Progressive Studies Advertisement

Spring Issues

The Summer issue of The Progressive Post is out!


It is time to take action and to forge a path towards a Socialist renewal.


European Socialists struggle to balance their responsibilities with the need to take bold positions and actions in the face of many major crises, while far-right political parties are increasingly gaining ground. Against this background, we offer European progressive forces food for thought on projecting themselves into the future.


Among this issue’s highlights, we discuss the transformative power of European Social Democracy, examine the far right’s efforts to redesign education systems to serve its own political agenda and highlight the growing threat of anti-gender movements to LGBTIQ+ rights – among other pressing topics.

READ THE MAGAZINE

Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Report

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2025

The trend towards significant nominal minimum wage increases is continuing this year. In view of falling inflation rates, this translates into a sizeable increase in purchasing power for minimum wage earners in most European countries. The background to this is the implementation of the European Minimum Wage Directive, which has led to a reorientation of minimum wage policy in many countries and is thus boosting the dynamics of minimum wages. Most EU countries are now following the reference values for adequate minimum wages enshrined in the directive, which are 60% of the median wage or 50 % of the average wage. However, for Germany, a structural increase is still necessary to make progress towards an adequate minimum wage.

DOWNLOAD HERE

S&D Group in the European Parliament advertisement

Cohesion Policy

S&D Position Paper on Cohesion Policy post-2027: a resilient future for European territorial equity

Cohesion Policy aims to promote harmonious development and reduce economic, social and territorial disparities between the regions of the Union, and the backwardness of the least favoured regions with a particular focus on rural areas, areas affected by industrial transition and regions suffering from severe and permanent natural or demographic handicaps, such as outermost regions, regions with very low population density, islands, cross-border and mountain regions.

READ THE FULL POSITION PAPER HERE

Social Europe

Our Mission

Team

Article Submission

Advertisements

Membership

Social Europe Archives

Search Archives

Politics Archive

Economy Archive

Society Archive

Ecology Archive

Miscellaneous

RSS Feed

Legal Disclosure

Privacy Policy

Copyright

Social Europe ISSN 2628-7641

BlueskyXWhatsApp