The Israeli army’s targeting of thousands of displaced people in the area of Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip — which was previously designated as a safe zone — constitutes a perpetuation of its ongoing genocide there, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has said.

The rights group said this targeting serves as further evidence of Israel’s attempt to implement its forced displacement plan and give the people of Gaza the impression that there is nowhere safe for them to live.

Israel had increased the scope of its military assault on Khan Yunis as of January 21, Euro-Med Monitor reports.

Israeli forces in the vicinity conducted numerous intense air raids described as “fire belts” to accompany its ground incursion, which has extended all the way to the west of the Khan Yunis refugee camp.

Additionally, the Israeli military besieged shelters housing tens of thousands of displaced people in the western part of Khan Yunis as well as in the area of Al-Mawasi, the human rights group said.