Geospatial dataset and analysis of usability for emergency communications of the official maps of Gaza “Humanitarian Area” and evacuation blocks

This repository describes and provides downloadable vector files for three different maps produced by Israeli government institutions indicating the location and extent of the “Humanitarian Area” (HA) in Gaza that forms the centerpiece of Israel’s program for citizen protection and humanitarian aid in recent months. Examination shows that the official maps used to guide the Gazans from the areas the IDF calls to evacuate and toward the Humanitarian Area it declares to be their safe destination are inadequate emergency communication measures, ill suited to use of the intended audience, especially in a chaotic low-resource context. Hopefully the materials and comments here might prompt improvements in the spatial communication offered by official parties or, at least, support efforts by individuals and humanitarian organization to supplement these as needed.

The first map, in use since May 6, 2024 in various social media released by the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), is a low resolution static image showing the HA superimposed on a basemap showing only targeting/evacuation “blocks” from which civilians were instructed to flee to the HA. The second is a contemporaneously released online web map on an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) website pointed to via a QR code sometimes embedded in this static map. The web interface allows panning and some degree of zooming of a map showing the HA and the targeting zone polygons superimposed on a standard OSM vector basemap. The third is a sketch appearing as an appendix in the State’s response to the Israeli High Court of Justice’s June 6, 2024 order nisi requiring that it submit a range of further information necessary for the court to establish the full evidentiary basis for its deliberations after three rounds of hearings on a March 18, 2024 petition against COGAT and the government of Israel by a coalition of six Israeli NGOs. This petition demands that the state improve its humanitarian aid and citizen protection practices in the Gaza Strip in accordance with its obligations under international law, both as a party to the hostilities and as an occupying power.

The sketched map in the State response is not really usable as a map, so the analysis offered here is primarily of the usability of the static and interactive maps within the larger context of the targeting and evacuation procedures in use since December 1, 2023. The extent of the HA differs somewhat between these maps, and the format of each has different uses and limits. The static map can easily be saved for offline use and indicates roughly which block numbers are in and outside of the HA and evacuation areas. However, while convenient for army purposes of aggregate characterization of local populations, these blocks are cadastral units with which Gazans are not familiar, while the low resolution and the rotated orientation make the map almost useless for navigation purposes. The interactive web map has the HA precisely defined against a street with the block polygons precisely denoted superimposed on a standard street maps showing main roads and orienting features. However this requires an active internet connection, the HA polygon is not downloadable, and does not allow sufficient zoom levels and standard satellite or other basemap that would allow real navigation, especially in emergency situations. Thus, the official maps used over the last half year to guide the Gazan population from the areas the IDF calls to evacuate are inadequate for emergency communication, as are the newer maps showing the humanitarian area designated as their destination.