Israel faces UN warning over 70% Gaza deployment aim

UN rights officials warned Oct. 30 that Israeli forces are pushing Palestinians into a shrinking part of Gaza as Israel pursues a 70% military deployment area, according to an OHCHR statement cited by Al Jazeera.

The warning sharpens scrutiny of movement inside Gaza during a ceasefire that began Oct. 11, 2025; Gaza's Health Ministry says 1,574 people have been killed since then, compared with 74,570 since October 2023.

OHCHR said Israeli forces have moved farther west beyond their deployment line, known as the Yellow Line, and are blocking Palestinians from returning to damaged homes east of it. The office said, "Israeli forces appear to treat the yellow line as a kill zone."

The UN office said it documented Israeli military expansion over the past two weeks that caused new displacement in Shujayea and Gaza City, as well as eastern Bureij, eastern Deir el-Balah and eastern al-Maghazi in central Gaza.

Ajith Sunghay, head of OHCHR in occupied Palestine, said the "nightmare of displacement" in Gaza was both "acute and chronic". "Those displaced before the announcement of a ceasefire have little to no prospect of return to the areas they fled, most of which are inaccessible because they fall beyond the so-called Yellow Line. And they continue to be displaced again and again."

OHCHR said the Israeli military is destroying remaining civilian infrastructure and attacking displacement sites while continuing its stated aim of expanding its deployment area to 70% of Gaza's territory. Human rights groups and aid agencies have repeatedly called on Israel to stop forced displacement and attacks on shelters, Al Jazeera reported.

In Shujayea, OHCHR said at least two Israeli attacks were reported on displacement camps, with explosive robots detonating buildings that remained standing. The office also said it received reports that an Israeli drone dropped munitions on a tent for displaced Palestinians at Shujayea junction on Sunday.

The Palestinian Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza said the fire from that incident displaced 200 families, comprising 800 people. The figure was reported by the ministry; Al Jazeera did not provide an independent verification in the supplied report.

The report did not include an Israeli military comment on the OHCHR account. The UN office framed the westward movement of the Yellow Line as part of a broader pattern of repeated displacement, while Israel's stated deployment objective was reported as a military aim.

The warning comes as Israel faces political uncertainty after legislative elections. Atlas360 reported Oct. 30 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc won 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, eight short of a majority, while Arab-led parties won 19 seats.

Gaza's Health Ministry said 5,687 people have been wounded since the ceasefire agreement came into effect on Oct. 11, 2025. Since the war began in October 2023, the ministry said 175,808 people have been wounded.