GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), The Gaza Center for Human Rights expressed deep concern Wednesday over Israel’s continued policy of preventing Palestinians from returning to the Gaza Strip, including women, children, elderly people, and patients.
The organization said the practice reflects an escalating effort to restrict Palestinians’ right to return to their homes, deepen family separation, and impose conditions that reinforce forced displacement.
In a statement, the center said it has received a growing number of testimonies in recent weeks from Gaza residents who were prevented from returning to the territory after Israeli authorities denied them security clearance.
According to the organization, Palestinians seeking to return to Gaza must register either with the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo or through a private coordination company. Their names are then submitted to Israeli authorities for security screening and approval, a process that can take several days or even weeks.
The center said its documentation indicates that rejections are often unexpected, affect women, children, and elderly people, and are issued without explanation or any meaningful legal mechanism to challenge the decision. It added that the process effectively turns the right to return home into a privilege subject solely to the discretion of Israeli authorities.
The organization said it documented cases of women who have remained stranded outside Gaza for months or even years after being prevented from reuniting with their husbands and children. It also documented cases involving patients who completed medical treatment abroad but remain unable to return home, leaving them in severe humanitarian and psychological conditions.
Among the testimonies collected by the center was that of M.M., 34, who said:
“I left Gaza for medical treatment several months after the war began, leaving behind my husband and most of my children. Recently, I decided to return and reunited with them. I traveled to Egypt from the country where I had been receiving treatment and registered to return to Gaza. I thought I was only hours away from seeing my children again, but suddenly I was told that I was not permitted to return. I don’t know why. I’m in shock, and my heart is broken because my children have been waiting for me for nearly two years.”
Another woman, Aisha, 42, said:
“I’ve been separated from my husband and children for months. Despite the danger in Gaza and the ongoing death and hunger, I decided to return and reunite with my family, which has already lost several relatives. Instead, I was told my name had been denied. Why does returning to my destroyed home require approval from the occupation? It feels like our lives are suspended by a decision whose reasons we don’t know and whose end we cannot predict.”
An elderly man identified as Abdul Aziz, 68, said:
“I left Gaza for medical treatment believing I would return after completing my care. I registered to go back, but I was shocked when Israel rejected my request. What hurts me most is the loneliness of being away from home and my constant worry about my children and grandchildren. I just want to return so we can be together in our homeland, no matter the circumstances.”
The center said that requiring Palestinians to undergo mandatory security screening, register in advance, and wait for approval from Israeli authorities effectively transforms their fundamental right to return to their place of residence into a privilege dependent on the occupying power.
It said the policy itself violates freedom of movement and the right to enter one’s own country, saying that these rights cannot lawfully be conditioned on security approvals or arbitrary administrative decisions.
The organization further stated that even Palestinians who receive permission to return are often subjected to lengthy and degrading security procedures, including prolonged searches, repeated interrogations, confiscation of personal belongings, and documented cases of arrests despite prior approval to travel. It also pointed out that some returnees, including women, have been subjected to physical abuse, threats, and coercion during the crossing process.
According to the Gaza Center for Human Rights, the cumulative effect of these practices points to a systematic Israeli policy that goes beyond stated security concerns. The organization said the measures are intended to create conditions that discourage Palestinians from returning, weaken family and social ties, and impose arbitrary restrictions on the right of return, in line with broader policies aimed at reshaping Gaza’s demographic reality through forced displacement.
The center further emphasized that these practices constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. It cited Article 12(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter their own country. It also referenced Articles 17 and 23 of the covenant, which protect family life and recognize the family as the natural and fundamental unit of society.
The organization further cited the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which prohibits measures that harm protected persons, separate families, or result in their forcible transfer or displacement. It also noted that the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court recognizes deportation or forcible transfer of civilians, when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population, as a potential crime against humanity, while unlawful deportation or forcible transfer of protected persons in occupied territory constitutes a grave breach of international humanitarian law.
The center warned that using control over border crossings and freedom of movement to prevent Palestinians from returning to Gaza and prolong family separation cannot be viewed in isolation from broader Israeli policies aimed at reducing the Palestinian presence in the Gaza Strip and creating living conditions that pressure Palestinians to remain outside their homeland or prevent their return.
The Gaza Center for Human Rights called on the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, UN special rapporteurs, and the broader international community to take urgent action to ensure the unconditional return of all Palestinians stranded outside Gaza, end arbitrary restrictions, establish humane crossing procedures that respect human dignity, and hold those responsible for violations against travelers accountable.
The organization concluded by stating that the right to return to one’s homeland, freedom of movement, and family unity are fundamental rights that cannot be suspended at the discretion of an occupying power. It said any policy aimed at preventing Palestinians from returning to Gaza or forcing them to remain outside their homes forms part of a broader system of forced displacement and demographic change in the occupied Palestinian territories, calling for urgent international action to end these violations and ensure accountability.
