The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has warned that the occupation’s measures in the West Bank and Gaza aim to enforce a “permanent demographic change,” raising fears of ethnic cleansing against Palestinians. Speaking before the Human Rights Council in Geneva, he highlighted that ongoing military operations in northern West Bank have displaced 32,000 Palestinians, with excessive and disproportionate force repeatedly used against civilians.

Türk emphasised that the intensification of Israeli attacks, systematic destruction of residential areas, refusal to allow humanitarian aid, and forced transfers of civilians are creating conditions that threaten mass violations against the population in both Gaza and the West Bank. Since the beginning of February, over 600 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,600 injured in Gaza, with nearly the entire population displaced, demonstrating the depth of the humanitarian crisis that the October 2025 ceasefire has failed to alleviate.

Meanwhile, more than 30 international organisations have halted services in Gaza after deadlines imposed by the occupation expired, worsening the collapse of the health sector and endangering thousands of civilians. Palestinian sources note that preventing the entry of food, medicine, fuel, and obstructing the rehabilitation of infrastructure and medical services represents a deliberate policy to undermine humanitarian work, leaving Gaza on the brink of yet another humanitarian disaster.