The UN Human Rights Office warned that Israel's forced displacement of more than 33,000 Palestinians from the Jenin, Nur Shams, and Tulkarm refugee camps during Operation Iron Wall could amount to the crime against humanity of forcible transfer and raises concerns of ethnic cleansing [4][15]. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the operation's conduct "suggests its aim was to expel as many Palestinians as possible and to make way for more illegal Israeli settlements, in further violation of international law" [4][24][23][26][28]. Israel's mission in Geneva rejected the report as misinformation and activism, saying it neglected to mention the threat of terrorist attacks against Israel [4].
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that no real solution for Gaza exists without emigration, claiming 80 percent of Gazans want to leave and that Israel is prepared to facilitate departure by any means once the United States gives approval [18][20][27]. A Dawn editorial asserted that Katz's statements show Israel is ready to ethnically cleanse Gaza and is awaiting a green light from Washington [11]. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir laid out a plan to remove 250,000 Palestinians from Gaza in the first year and the rest of the roughly two million residents over the following six years [3]. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel controls 60 percent of the Gaza Strip and will not withdraw [18][27]. Katz also instructed troops to prepare for a prolonged presence in the cleared West Bank camps and to prevent the return of residents [4].
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee categorically denied that Israel has a plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza against their will, saying voluntary departure should be available to those who wish to leave [3]. Huckabee visited Palestinian-American residents in the occupied West Bank and branded settler intimidation as terrorism, warning that those guilty of crimes and terror should expect severe consequences [9][16][25]. Palestinian-American residents of Turmus Ayya described settler attacks on their homes and land, with resident Yasser Alqam saying the United States has the ability to pressure Israel to at least arrest settlers known to authorities [3]. Netanyahu condemned settler rioters as "a handful of rioters who are violating the law," and an anonymous senior Israeli official cited in Walla News claimed settler violence has declined and enforcement increased [17][22]. Israeli opposition politician Gilad Kariv called Netanyahu's condemnation meaningless, saying rioters are direct emissaries of coalition leaders and receive de facto immunity from the IDF and police [17]. Former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo said what he saw in West Bank villages made him "ashamed to be a Jew" and warned the violence was planting the seeds of another October 7 attack [17].
UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the situation in Gaza is "horrific" and that Britain must act more decisively, promising a comprehensive package of sanctions in coming weeks [2][29]. Miliband said the UK would not acquiesce in the destruction of the two-state solution and would act to prevent British firms financing, building, or advertising settlements [19]. The UK, Australia, and Canada denounced Israel's decision not to prosecute the World Central Kitchen deaths as shameful [5]. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar warned that "if Britain acts against Israel, Israel will act against Britain," accusing the Labour government of acting systematically against Israel [29].
The IDF framed its operations across southern Lebanon as defensive responses to Hezbollah attacks, saying it launched raids after Hezbollah fired two drones at IDF soldiers in the Security Zone [1]. The military announced it had taken operational control of the Ali al-Taher ridge after months of bombardment, with Netanyahu presenting the capture as a strategic success [13]. Katz vowed that Israel would not withdraw from the Lebanese security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed throughout Lebanon [10]. Lebanon's health ministry reported 8,925 people killed and 30,595 wounded by Israeli strikes since October 8, 2023, with 94 percent of casualties being Lebanese citizens, and documented 180 attacks on ambulance personnel and 135 health workers killed [8]. Carnegie researcher Mohanad Hage Ali said Israel faces no consequences and can "demolish entire villages and wipe out whole societies in a way they could never do before," describing what is happening as ethnic cleansing [10].
Egypt and China jointly rejected Israeli displacement plans for Gaza, with Presidents Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Xi Jinping reaffirming support for a two-state solution with East Jerusalem as its capital [20]. Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem called on Arab and Islamic countries to take united action to confront Israeli displacement plans [21]. Iran warned the United States that it would respond forcefully if Israeli attacks on the Ali al-Taher ridge continued [10].
Analysts treated the seizure of the ridge as a tactical and strategic gain that improves Israeli control over southern Lebanon, while questioning whether Israel is exaggerating what it means by "operational control" [10]. Hezbollah has not confirmed Israel's claim, and the Hezbollah-affiliated daily al-Akhbar suggested other underground bases in the heights remain in Hezbollah's hands [13]. Researcher David Rigoulet-Roze argued that Huckabee's warning will be taken seriously by Netanyahu because Israel cannot afford to lose US support, and that the message itself matters more than possible sanctions [9]. A Guardian investigation found that the seven aid workers were killed under an IDF practice of "incrimination" establishing guilt by association, with Reserve Colonel Nochi Mendel saying the aid workers "were not innocent because they were connected to Hamas" and that he would do the same again [5]. World Central Kitchen called the decision not to prosecute deeply offensive, saying its team was unarmed and posed no threat [5].
Israeli operations continued across all three fronts, with the IDF carrying out raids near Sour in southern Lebanon, strikes across Gaza neighborhoods, and raids in the West Bank including Qalandiya refugee camp and towns near Tulkarm [12][7][14]. Nine Gazans were wounded when debris from an Israeli interceptor missile fired at a false target fell on the Al Tufah neighborhood of Gaza City [6]. Israeli authorities ordered the seizure of 7,498 dunams near Jenin for a road and a new military tower [14]. Katz said the emigration plan for Gaza is frozen, not cancelled, pending American approval [18].