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UN Rights Office Warns of Deepening Displacement in Gaza as Israel Seeks to Widen Its Deployment Zone

31 October 2026 · Algeria Now

ALGIERS — The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) warned on Friday that Israeli forces are driving Palestinians into shrinking areas of Gaza, destroying civilian infrastructure and attacking displacement sites, and said the pattern raises concerns of ethnic cleansing.

According to the statement, Israel has declared that it aims to extend its military deployment area to 70 percent of the territory. Over the previous two weeks, OHCHR documented a westward expansion of those areas in Al Shujaiyeh and Gaza City, and at three locations in central Gaza: eastern Al Bureij, eastern Deir Al-Balah and eastern Al Maghazi. It also reported the use of explosive robots to blow up the few buildings still standing in Al Shujaiyeh.

Attacks on displacement sites

On 25 October, an Israeli drone dropped munitions on tents sheltering displaced families at Al Shujaiyeh junction, near the so-called yellow line, setting off a fire that burned for five hours. The Palestinian Ministry of Public Works and Housing said 200 families, about 800 people, were displaced, most of them women, children and older people.

OHCHR said Israeli forces appear to treat the yellow line, the boundary of the area under Israeli control, as a kill zone, preventing residents from returning to what remains of their homes. Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN human rights office in the occupied Palestinian territory, described the displacement as "acute and chronic". He noted that most Palestinians in Gaza are in their fourth year of displacement and face a fourth winter in tents, and said restrictions on shelter-related aid are making matters worse.

Legal position

The office said Israel must stop forcibly transferring Palestinians and enable safe, dignified returns, adding that forcible transfer is a war crime and may also amount to a crime against humanity. The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the forcible transfer of civilians from occupied territory. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice found that Israel's continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful.

Context

A ceasefire took effect on 11 October 2025. Since then, Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,574 people and wounded 5,687, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health. The ministry puts the toll since October 2023 at 74,570 dead and 175,808 wounded. Israeli authorities' response to the latest statement was not included in the reports reviewed.

Algeria has repeatedly voiced its support for the Palestinian people. On 7 October, at the National Day of Diplomacy, Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf reaffirmed Algeria's full backing for the Palestinians' inalienable rights, including an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and urged the international community to mobilize against violence in Gaza and the West Bank.

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