Human rights lawyers urge international action as reported plans for expanded military control and population transfers by the Israeli state raise concerns about forcible displacement, annexation and violations of international humanitarian law.
The International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) has expressed grave concern about these plans, which reportedly include proposals suggesting the expansion of military control over significant parts of the Gaza Strip, and warns that such measures further deepen the humanitarian catastrophe facing Palestinians.
The IBAHRI condemns any measures aimed at further territorial control, occupation or annexation of the Gaza Strip, which may constitute serious international crimes and risk the re-escalation of conflict, undermining efforts to secure a durable peace.
The concern follows reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has directed the Israeli military to expand control in the Gaza Strip, while Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has publicly stated that the government's objective is for large numbers of Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip through 'voluntary migration'. Human rights organisations and United Nations experts have warned that policies resulting in the displacement of a protected population may constitute forcible transfer, ethnic cleansing and a grave breach of international humanitarian law and a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court .
Escalating concerns over ceasefire violations
The IBAHRI notes that the reported plans have emerged amid increasing concerns about Israel's lack of compliance with the ceasefire agreement reached between Israel and Hamas on 10 October 2025. Since that time, Israeli forces have reportedly advanced their operations into areas of the Gaza Strip previously under Hamas control and designated restricted zones as being under Israeli military control, referring to them as the 'yellow line'. Here, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) decide who can enter and open fire on anyone perceived as a threat.
The IBAHRI is concerned that continued military operations, repeated attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure and restrictions on humanitarian assistance have undermined the protections envisaged under the ceasefire agreement and exacerbated an already catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
International legal obligations remain binding
The deliberate or indiscriminate targeting of civilians is prohibited under international humanitarian law - all parties to armed conflict are required to distinguish at all times between civilians and combatants, and between civilian objects and military objectives. The IBAHRI is particularly concerned by continuing reports of attacks affecting shelters, schools, hospitals, universities, places of worship, cultural heritage sites, water infrastructure and residential buildings. Such conduct may violate the principle of distinction under Article 48 of the Additional Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions as well as Article 6 of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which protects the right to life.
In addition, the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols and the Convention on the Rights of the Child require that specific respect, protection and care be granted to children during armed conflict. Attacks directed against journalists may also violate Article 19 of the ICCPR, which safeguards freedom of expression and the public's right to seek, receive and share information regardless of frontiers.
The Institute further emphasises that the Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the forcible transfer or permanent displacement of a population and places obligations on an occupying power to ensure access to food, medical supplies, healthcare and public services (per Articles 55 and 56). Violations of these provisions are considered grave breaches of the Convention, amounting to war crimes under international criminal law.
Human cost continues to mount
The IBAHRI is alarmed by reports that Israel has violated the ceasefire and the principle of distinction at least 3,201 times through repeated attacks, with at least 1,000 civilians killed since the ceasefire came into effect, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
Of further concern is the human toll of the conflict. Since 7 October 2023, UN and humanitarian sources estimate that at least 73,000 Palestinians are reported to have been killed, including large numbers of women and children . In September 2025, the International Rescue Committee recorded that Gaza 'holds the appalling record of the highest number of child amputees per capita worldwide, estimated at up to 4,000 since the war began.'
In a report released on 16 June 2026, the UN Secretary-General stated: 'I am deeply alarmed at the staggering rise in attacks carried out by Israeli settlers resulting in grave violations against Palestinian children […] If the high number of violations against children were to be repeated in 2026, without meaningful improvement, Israeli settler groups should be listed.' In June 2024, the UN added the Israeli armed and security forces to its blacklist in its Children and Armed Conflict report for grave violations against children in armed conflict.
On 19 June, at a press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, James Elder, the Global Spokesperson for UNICEF, the primary UN agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide, stated: 'a [Palestinian] child has been killed, on average, every single day for more than eight months.'
Most recently, on 23 June, a new report was published by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel , which stated that Israel continues to commit genocide and other atrocity crimes by deliberately targeting children.
Furthermore, there has been an unprecedented number of reportedly targeted medical professionals , humanitarian workers and at least 263 journalists among the casualties. The Institute reiterates that journalists are protected civilians under international law, covered specifically by Article 79 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions .
Developments in the West Bank heighten concerns
Beyond the Gaza Strip, the IBAHRI is also concerned by the continued expansion of Israeli settlements, land seizures, demolitions and settler violence across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. These actions contribute to the fragmentation of Palestinian territory; the forcible displacement of Palestinian communities; further entrenchment of prolonged occupation; and the denial of the Palestinian people's right to self-determination.
The IBAHRI notes that measures reportedly taken on 16 June by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to transfer planning and construction authority in Hebron from Palestinian institutions to the Israeli military authorities, effectively revokes long-standing Palestinian authority established under the 1997 Hebron Protocol. These developments have been accompanied by further settler expansion with senior Israeli officials advocating for the expansion of Israeli sovereignty in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT).
According to the most recent report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights situation in the OPT, the systematic unlawful use of force by Israeli security forces, including the use of lethal force, widespread arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of Palestinians in detention, as well as the extensive demolition of Palestinian homes, have contributed to the systematic discrimination, oppression, control and domination of the Palestinian people in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. These issues raise serious concerns that could amount to a violation under Article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination , which prohibits practices amounting to racial segregation and apartheid.
The report further notes that 'the violations, together with pervasive and growing settler violence committed with impunity, are fundamental to the coercive environment that induces forced displacement and forcible transfer, which is a war crime, altering the character, status and demographic composition of the occupied West Bank, raising serious concerns of ethnic cleansing'.
Calls for accountability and international action
Mark Stephens CBE, IBAHRI Co-Chair, commented: 'In Gaza, where military control is already pervasive, any move to expand it would not be a new departure but a dangerous entrenchment of an already grave situation for civilians. UN findings have highlighted that Israel's conduct raises serious concerns under international criminal, humanitarian and human rights law, and that conditions imposed on Palestinians are increasingly incompatible with their continued existence in Gaza. After years of devastating loss of life, repeated displacement and widespread destruction, any policy that results in the permanent displacement of Palestinians, alters the demographic character of Gaza, or entrenches territorial control acquired through force would raise the gravest concerns under international law. States cannot remain passive in the face of actions that risk normalising unlawful occupation, forcible transfer and impunity.'
Hina Jilani, IBAHRI Co-Chair, said: 'The failure to act in Gaza has risked entrenching a cycle of violence and rampant impunity. The prospect of further Israeli territorial control in Gaza cannot be viewed in isolation. It exists alongside accelerating settlement growth, land confiscation and increased settler violence across the occupied Palestinian territory. The cumulative effect of military operations, displacement, settlement expansion and restrictions on Palestinian self-determination is creating a dangerous trajectory that threatens both human rights and prospects for a just and lasting peace. International law must be applied consistently, and accountability mechanisms must be allowed to function without political interference. We must act with urgency and consistency to ensure respect for international law and prevent the further deterioration of an already catastrophic humanitarian situation'.
Baroness Helena Kennedy LT KC, IBAHRI Director, remarked: 'What is at stake here extends far beyond Gaza. The prohibition on acquiring territory by force, the protection of civilian populations under occupation and the universal application of international law are foundational principles of the post-war international order. The legitimacy of the law itself is undermined when states seem to be able to ignore these standards without suffering significant repercussions. The international community must recognise that selective adherence to legal obligations erodes the credibility of the rules-based system and risks encouraging similar violations elsewhere. Respect for international law must be maintained consistently, especially when it is most difficult to do so. It cannot be based on political expediency.'
The IBAHRI welcomes the recent coordinated measures taken by Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom to implement sanctions against networks financing and enabling settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank and against business activities in illegal Israeli settlements.
The IBAHRI calls for the international community to apply sustained political, diplomatic and economic pressure to end the ongoing violations. The IBAHRI reiterates its call for the immediate recognition of the State of Palestine, the suspension of all arms exports and military cooperation with Israel and the activation of all available bilateral and multilateral mechanisms to compel an end to the devastation.
