Oxfam reaction to Israel's decision to take control of Gaza City

Reacting to today's announcement of the Israeli cabinet's decision to take direct military control of Gaza City, Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam's Policy Lead in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said:

"This decision marks a dangerous escalation in the ongoing illegal occupation of Palestinian territory — a brazen act of erasure carried out in full view of the world and in open defiance of the UN General Assembly’s call to end the occupation. It signals a clear intent to entrench Israel's control over Gaza rather than to end the genocide.

"Two million Palestinians have endured starvation, bombardment, and the systematic stripping of their rights. Forcibly displacing them now would deepen an already devastating pattern of destruction and suffering.

“For humanitarian agencies like ours, this decision cements an already impossible operating environment. Reports of plans to confine civilians in tightly controlled camps are profoundly alarming, evoking some of the darkest chapters of recent history. Should this lead to the evacuation of Gaza City, it would have catastrophic consequences for our ability to deliver aid, and for our staff, the vast majority of whom live and work there.

"Up to one million people are estimated to still be in Gaza City. Any attempt to forcibly remove them would constitute one of the largest and most dangerous evacuation to date, and would be utterly catastrophic.

“Every powerful nation must act, using every diplomatic, legal, and economic tool at its disposal, to stop this atrocity. History will not be kind to those who chose silence in the face of Gaza’s obliteration.”