UN human rights chief Volker Turk said on Thursday he was "very disturbed" after comments by senior Israeli officials calling for Palestinians to leave Gaza.
Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Monday called for promoting "a solution to encourage the emigration of Gaza's residents" and the re-establishment of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip.
His comments came the day after far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also called for the return of settlers to Gaza, adding that Israel should "encourage" the territory's approximately 2.4 million Palestinians to leave.
"Very disturbed by high-level Israeli officials' statements on plans to transfer civilians from Gaza to third countries," Turk wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Breaches international law
He added that "international law prohibits forcible transfer of protected persons within or deportation from occupied territory."
The Israel-Hamas conflict broke out after the Palestinian militant group attacked Israel on October 7. Israel's retaliation has led to the deaths of more than 22,400 Palestinians.
Hamas's cross-border offensive on southern Israel reportedly caused approximately 1,200 deaths.
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