Tel Aviv , Dec 27 (IANS): An official of the United Nations has stated that Israel is using its army to deport Palestinians out of the Gaza strip.

Paula Gaviria Betancur, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, in a statement issued on Tuesday claimed that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) was attempting to deport Palestinians from Gaza “en masse.”

The statement read: “As evacuation orders and military operations continue to expand and civilians are subjected to relentless attacks on a daily basis, the only logical conclusion is that Israel’s military operation in Gaza aims to deport the majority of the civilian population en masse.”

It may be noted that Israel has been denying reports that its military was pushing out Gazans into Egypt for the duration of the war, and has vowed it is not seeking any permanent population displacement.

Israel is engaged in a bitter war with Hamas terror group in Gaza strip after Hamas had swarmed into southern Israel and slaughtered 1,200 people, injuring more than 3,000 and kidnapping 240 people including foreign nationals on October 7. Immediately Israel retaliated with air strikes in Gaza and subsequently, on October 27, IDF invaded into the Gaza strip.

The Health Ministry of Gaza has claimed that more than 20,000 Palestinians including women and children were killed in Israeli military attack since October 7. IDF has also stated that it has lost 161 of its troops in the war with Hamas since it commenced ground operations in the strip.