DaysofPal – The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has revealed alarming new data showing that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are now confined to less than 15% of the territory, around 55 square kilometers, leaving each individual with under 24 square meters of space. This is less than the space allocated per inmate at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay.
In a statement shared with SAFA, the organization said roughly 2.3 million Gazans are being crammed into a shrinking area under continuous Israeli bombardment, siege, and the near-total collapse of essential services, including food, water, shelter, and healthcare. Most are also blocked from returning to their original homes, which have either been destroyed or declared off-limits by Israeli forces.
Euro-Med described this situation as “part of a deliberate Israeli policy constituting an act of genocide aimed at uprooting the population and erasing their physical and demographic presence.” The statement stressed that Israel’s campaign in Gaza is no longer confined to destruction or mass killing—it amounts to an effort to erase the Strip and its people altogether.
The Monitor highlighted that more than 85% of Gaza’s territory has been declared closed military zones, either through direct military occupation or forced evacuation orders. As a result, the entire population is effectively detained in what the organization called “a massive internment camp,” with population densities in some areas—such as Al-Mawasi—reaching over 47,000 people per square kilometer, the highest anywhere in the world.
The human toll of this confinement is compounded by the catastrophic damage to infrastructure. Over 92% of homes have been destroyed or severely damaged, along with more than 80% of schools and 90% of hospitals. All universities in the Strip have been completely demolished. Israeli forces are reportedly removing rubble and transporting it into Israel, further obstructing any possibility of rebuilding or return.
The statement classified mass displacement and destruction as both war crimes and crimes against humanity, particularly given the absence of military necessity and the failure to provide protection or humane alternatives.
Euro-Med urged the international community to recognize that what is happening in Gaza is not an evacuation—it is “a systematic erasure of an entire people.”
The organization called for immediate and meaningful global action to halt the genocide. This includes imposing sanctions on the Israeli government, facilitating unrestricted humanitarian access, and launching criminal investigations and prosecutions targeting those responsible for war crimes.
The Monitor further called on countries with universal jurisdiction to issue arrest warrants for Israeli political and military leaders implicated in the atrocities and to initiate legal proceedings in line with international obligations.
Finally, the statement urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to expedite its investigations into Israeli crimes in Gaza, explicitly including genocide and forced displacement within its mandate, and to expand its list of arrest warrants to hold all perpetrators accountable.
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