OHCHR documented westward expansion in Gaza

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, warned on Friday that Israeli forces continue to push Palestinians into ever-smaller areas of the Gaza Strip while destroying civilian infrastructure and attacking displacement sites. The 30 October 2026 UN News account places that warning amid concerns of ethnic cleansing.

Over the two weeks before the warning, OHCHR documented the westward expansion of Israeli military deployment areas in Al Shujaiyeh in Gaza City and in eastern Al Bureij, eastern Deir Al-Balah, and eastern Al Maghazi. OHCHR said Israel has stated that it aims to increase the area of military deployment to 70 percent of Gaza's territory. The account says the contraction of space has driven new displacement beside the yellow line demarcation boundary.

In Al Shujaiyeh, OHCHR reported at least two Israeli attacks on displacement camps, and it said forces reportedly used explosive robots to detonate the few buildings left standing. OHCHR said it received reports that on 25 October 2026 an Israeli drone dropped munitions on tents sheltering displaced families at Al Shujaiyeh junction near the yellow line, and that the resulting fire burned for five hours. The Palestinian Ministry of Public Works and Housing said that fire displaced 200 families comprising 800 people, mostly women, children, and older persons.

Ajith Sunghay, head of UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told UN News that displacement in Gaza is both acute and chronic. He said people displaced before the announcement of a ceasefire have little to no prospect of return, because most of those areas lie beyond the yellow line, and that they continue to be displaced again and again.

OHCHR said that as an occupying power Israel must cease the forcible transfer of Palestinians within the Gaza Strip, and that such a transfer is a war crime that may also amount to a crime against humanity. The office said Israel must also facilitate a safe and dignified return to the homes and areas people fled. It said military operations have instead displaced nearly the entire population multiple times, and that Israeli forces appear to treat the yellow line as a kill zone. OHCHR said restrictions on the entry of shelter-related assistance have worsened that displacement. The 30 October 2026 UN News account does not quote a response from Israeli authorities. Sunghay said this is the fourth year of displacement for most Palestinians in Gaza and the fourth winter in tents too flimsy to withstand the rain, while those people remain under fire.