“The words ‘ethnic cleansing’ are increasingly used to describe what is happening in northern Gaza,” he said on X.
“I strongly condemn the latest Israeli strikes in Jabalia, in the Gaza Strip. The daily reality of forced displacement violates international law,” he added.
Since October 6, Israeli troops have been carrying out an air and ground offensive against the north of the Gaza Strip, particularly in Jabalia, where Hamas is, according to them, seeking to regroup its forces.
The Palestinian Civil Defense reported on Sunday “at least” 25 dead, “including 13 children”, in a strike which targeted a house in Jabalia, in the north of the Palestinian territory. The building was reduced to a pile of stones.
The Israeli army said it targeted a site in Jabalia “where terrorists were operating”, referring to Hamas considered a terrorist movement by Israel, the United States and the European Union. “Before the strike, numerous measures were taken to limit the risk of injuring civilians,” according to the army.
Another Israeli strike hit a house in Gaza City, also in the north, killing five people, according to Civil Defense.
“Hunger as a weapon of war”
Since the start of the war, Israel has besieged the Gaza Strip’s approximately 2.4 million residents, most of whom have been displaced and are at risk of starvation, according to the UN.
“The use of hunger as a weapon of war is also contrary to international humanitarian law,” further underlined the head of European diplomacy, who is due to leave office in December, warning of the “high probability of famine” in the northern Gaza.
The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people on the Israeli side, the majority civilians, according to a count based on official figures and including hostages who died or were killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
That day, 251 people were kidnapped. In total, 97 remain hostages in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the army.
