Travel
Israel’s forced displacement in Gaza is a crime against humanity
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent in any way the editorial position of Euronews.
The rest of the world needs to step in and stand up for the law and the human beings these laws are meant to protect. This shouldn’t be allowed to get worse. It needs to stop now, HRW’s Nadia Hardman writes.
Removing civilians from harm’s way in advance of an attack is the right thing for warring parties to do if it’s the only way to protect them. But the laws of war stipulate that this can only be done in narrow circumstances as a temporary measure, and civilians should be given a safer location where their humanitarian needs are met.
Israel claims its evacuation orders in Gaza have done just that.
Not so.
Israeli military actions have utterly failed to keep fleeing and displaced Palestinians in Gaza safe and, in fact, have put them in danger.
We analysed 184 Israeli military evacuation orders and dozens of satellite images and found that inaccurate and inconsistent evacuation orders often served only to sow confusion and spread fear, if they even came in time to allow people to flee at all. The Israeli military repeatedly designated evacuation routes and safe zones — and then attacked them.
A 42-year-old woman with an 11-year-old son said, “Yes, the leaflets and recorded calls were what I understood to be evacuation orders, and yes, we wanted to follow them, but could not because the Israelis started bombing the area heavily even before the announcement. People were killed in huge numbers and in brutal ways.”
Things were no safer on her evacuation route. “There were airstrikes while we were walking but we followed people and survived.”
On 10 November 2023, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “We have established a safe zone.” The reality was the opposite.
‘We are living an animal life’
A 34-year-old man who was displaced with his children from Gaza City told me that he first fled south to a supposedly safe area in Khan Younis. “The Israelis said Khan Younis was a safe place,” he said. “But they started bombing this area … I took a decision to leave and go to Rafah.”
The man and his family sought refuge in the so-called “humanitarian zone” in al-Mawasi, staying in a small tent near the beach. He said an Israeli airstrike hit a building near a humanitarian agency approximately 300 meters from his tent.
“The emotional state of the kids, what they witnessed in the last area — they are in shock, they are terrified,” he said. “They jump at small sounds now. It was so hard for me to get my family from the last place to here. Most of the areas were closed by the Israelis as they were considered battle areas.”
Under international law, safe areas are required to be — of course — safe, but displaced people must also have access to food and water, health care, sanitation, and shelter.
But this man told me that he and his family had been sleeping on the ground in a tent with 10 others, using a shared outdoor toilet serving about 70-80 people and that humanitarian aid, so far, had consisted of two bags of flour. “We are living an animal life,” he said.
The laws of war also require evacuation to be temporary. Israel is duty-bound to facilitate the displaced person’s return to their home as soon as possible after the end of the hostilities in the area.
But the Israelis have reduced many of the displaced civilians’ home areas to rubble, intentionally or recklessly destroying or severely damaging swaths of housing and civilian infrastructure — including controlled demolitions after hostilities have largely ceased.
Step in and stand up for the law
The intentional forced displacement of a civilian population in an occupied territory is a war crime. Nowhere is this organised, deliberate displacement clearer than in areas of Gaza that have been razed, extended, and cleared for buffer zones along the border with Israel and in a security corridor that bifurcates Gaza.
The intention of the Israeli authorities appears to be to permanently empty and cleanse these areas of Palestinians and keep them under the occupation and control of Israel.
Multiple statements by senior Israeli officials show that the forced displacement in Gaza is intentional and is Israeli state policy. Because it is also widespread and systematic, this forced displacement qualifies not only as a war crime but as a crime against humanity, which the International Criminal Court‘s prosecutor should investigate.
We can expect these crimes against Palestinians to continue unless and until Israel’s allies demand for it to end.
US President-elect Donald Trump is likely to empower Israel to double down, given that he said on the campaign trail that it should “finish the job”.
That leaves the rest of the world to step in and stand up for the law and the human beings these laws are meant to protect. This shouldn’t be allowed to get worse. It needs to stop now.
Nadia Hardman is a researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of “Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged: Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians in Gaza”.
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By Euronews Travel
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Norway is set to become the latest European destination to introduce a tourist tax to combat concerns about rising visitor numbers.
Lawmakers approved the new levy on Thursday, which allows municipalities to introduce a 3 per cent tax on overnight stays in “areas particularly affected by tourism”.
The law allows local authorities to apply the tax at their own discretion, and it will be added to accommodation charges. Authorities will also be allowed to adjust the percentage based on the season.
The funds raised by the tax will be used exclusively to improve tourism infrastructure projects that benefit both visitors and local people. Municipalities will have to demonstrate that their facilities are inadequate and have their plans approved by the government to spend the funds.
Cecilie Myrseth, Norway’s minister of trade and industry, said on social media that her government had reached a “historic agreement” to introduce a tourism tax that was “in line with what they have in the rest of Europe”.
The country is the latest in a string of European nations introducing or increasing visitor levies to tackle the growing problem of overtourism. A tax may also be applied to cruise ships that make stops in the country, particularly in areas that are most affected by overtourism.
Norway is experiencing a tourism boom
As tourists increasingly choose cooler, northern European destinations to get away from the heat, Norway has experienced a boom in visitor numbers.
Last year, a record-breaking 38.6 million people booked accommodation in the country. That includes more than 12 million overnight stays by foreign tourists – a 4.2 per cent increase from 2023.
Some previously quiet destinations have been overwhelmed, like the Lofoten islands, where eye-catching images of hiking trails posted on social media have led to an influx of visitors. With a population of 24,500 people distributed across several small towns and villages, keeping up with the cost of all these new visitors has been hard.
A recent survey by industry organisation Norwegian Tourism Partners found that 77 per cent of people in Tromsø, in northern Norway above the Arctic Circle, thought there were too many tourists there. Visitors have been drawn by the Northern Lights, wildlife excursions, Sami cultural experiences and what the city itself has to offer.
The increase in tourism has caused tension with local residents across Norway as infrastructure has struggled to keep up with the boom. Facilities like public toilets and car parks have been overwhelmed in popular destinations.
Some residents have even reported cases of people using their back gardens as toilets, and bemoaned the increased traffic clogging up Norway’s roads.
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As millions of holidaymakers prepare to head to the Canary Islands this summer, authorities have issued a wildfire pre-alert across the archipelago.
The warning, announced by the General Directorate of Emergencies on Sunday, applies to tourist hotspots El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
It comes as the islands enter a high-risk fire period following the wet season, as hot, dry winds known as the ‘calima’ begin blowing in from the Sahara Desert.
Fires are common, but they haven’t slowed tourism
The risk of wildfire is nothing new for the Canary Islands.
The volcanic terrain, Mediterranean climate and fire-adapted vegetation – plants that have evolved to thrive in fire-prone environments – make them susceptible to summer blazes, and scientists say wildfires are part of the archipelago’s ecological rhythm.
Some of the worst occurred in 2023, when forest fires ravaged Tenerife, destroying more than 15,000 hectares of land and forcing 12,000 people to evacuate. The blaze was later found to have been started by arsonists.
This year, officials are urging tourists and locals alike to take extreme caution, warning against launching fireworks near forests and discarding cigarettes on dry ground.
But even as the fire warnings roll in, the Canaries’ appeal shows no signs of slowing down.
In 2024, the islands welcomed nearly 18 million tourists, including a record-breaking 15.5 million international arrivals. Among them, British travellers led the way, recording 6.3 million visits – up 500,000 from 2023.
Concerns about overtourism mount amid record arrivals
While the Canary Islands continue to attract record numbers of tourists, residents are increasingly voicing concerns about overtourism.
In April 2024, tens of thousands of islanders participated in protests, holding signs that read “the Canary Islands have a limit” while rallying against rising housing costs, environmental damage and the strain on public services.
Over Easter this year, about 80,000 hospitality workers in Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierrowalked out in a dispute with unions over pay.
The surge in short-term rentals has been especially contentious. Locals have reported getting priced out of their neighbourhoods as properties are converted into holiday lets, the cost of living soars and wages stagnate.
Despite these concerns, tourism remains a significant part of the Canary Islands’ economy, accounting for approximately 35 per cent of its GDP.
Tenerife still reigns supreme
After welcoming seven million tourists in 2024, Tenerife remains the most visited island.
Its year-round sunshine and wide beaches keep it a firm favourite among families, especially during the UK’s summer school break and throughout the winter months.
As the peak summer season picks up, local tourism boards have made no indication that the fire pre-alerts will disrupt travel plans.
But authorities remain focused on prevention this year.
More than 2,000 firefighters are on standby. Meanwhile, the government has distributed detailed safety advice, urging people to prepare a go-bag, stay informed and follow emergency evacuation or shelter-in-place instructions if fires erupt.
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Travel
Violent turbulence hits Ryanair flight in Germany, forcing an emergency landing and injuring 9
By Euronews Travel with AP
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Severe storms in southern Germany forced a Ryanair flight to make an emergency landing late Wednesday after violent turbulence injured nine people on board, German police said in a statement Thursday.
The flight, travelling from Berlin to Milan with 179 passengers and six crew members, encountered turbulence so intense around 8:30 pm that the pilot was forced to make an unscheduled landing at Memmingen Airport in Bavaria.
Eight passengers and one crew member were hurt.
Three people were taken to the hospital in Memmingen for treatment; the other injured people were released after receiving outpatient treatment. As a precaution, all passengers were checked for injuries by the emergency services.
Authorities did not permit the plane to continue flying, and the airline arranged bus transport for passengers. Milan is about 380 kilometres south of Memmingen.
More bad weather expected in Germany
Elsewhere in the region, storms damaged several homes in Ulm, Baden-Württmberg, according to the German news agency dpa.
In the Donaustetten district, strong winds tore roofs off multiple row houses, rendering them uninhabitable, though no injuries were reported. Fire officials suspect a small tornado or waterspout caused the damage. The German Weather Service (DWD) is investigating, according to dpa.
Storm-related emergency calls also came from other areas in southern Germany, where damage was mostly limited to fallen trees and flooded basements.
The DWD warned of further storms on Thursday, 5 June, with hail, strong winds, and localised heavy rain expected.
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