Gaza ‘safe zones’ led to displacement, Israeli attacks on civilians: Report

Research group finds Israel’s dishonest use of ‘humanitarian protective measures’ resulted in killing more Palestinians.

A report published by the research group Forensic Architecture has called into question Israel’s argument at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that it had introduced measures to safeguard civilian life in Gaza.

The supposed measures have been part of Israel’s defence against charges of genocide levelled against it by South Africa at the ICJ for its conduct during its war on Gaza.

Forensic Architecture, which is based at London’s Goldsmith’s University, also suggested in its report, published on Wednesday, that what Israel characterises as humanitarian evacuations of Gaza residents may amount to their forced displacement, itself a war crime.

The research group has previously won recognition for its multi-disciplinary open-source research on conflict and state violence. It has presented evidence to the United Nations Security Council, the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights, among others.

In its defence against charges of genocide at the ICJ on January 12, Israel cited the existence of its Civilian Harm Mitigation Unit as evidence of the efforts its military made to avoid civilian casualties.