IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered the evacuation of the entire population of Gaza City to the south on Monday.
According to a report published today (Wednesday) in Haaretz, the decision was made against the opinion of the Israel Military Advocate General, who had warned that the move was not based on appropriate humanitarian conditions and therefore could not be considered legal.
Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi had urged delaying the evacuation orders until the necessary conditions were in place to accommodate the population. However, Zamir convened a meeting with Southern Command head Major General Yaniv Asor and Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, Major General Ghasan Alyan, without the presence of the Military Advocate General. During the meeting, the three decided to order the evacuation of all Gaza City residents without informing Tomer-Yerushalmi.
The Military Advocate General, who is responsible for interpreting international law for the IDF, again contacted the Chief of Staff on Thursday and clarified that the IDF was not prepared for the evacuation, which was supposed to begin on Sunday.
She emphasized that international bodies, including the United Nations, the Red Cross, and humanitarian organizations, had warned that the living conditions in southern Gaza would not allow the accommodation of hundreds of thousands of additional people, and therefore, the plan violated the laws of war.
According to her, even the Intelligence Directorate’s research division presented an assessment consistent with the concerns of the international organizations, in contrast to other positions within the IDF. She noted that while she was instructed to prepare a detailed document on the required humanitarian conditions, such a document had not been presented to her, meaning that it would not be possible to address international community concerns about the legality of the operation.