Israel continues to commit the most heinous genocide in history, turning Gaza into the hungriest and deadliest place on earth

Date: May 31, 2025

Press Statement

Israel continues to commit the most heinous genocide in history, turning Gaza into the hungriest and deadliest place on earth

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) strongly condemns the systematic crimes committed by Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians. The Israeli military continues to carry out horrific massacres by bombing homes and collapsing them on their residents, targeting shelters and tents of displaced persons, and attacking civilians as they attempt to access humanitarian aid.

Statistics released by the Ministry of Health confirm a continued rise in the number of casualties. In the past 24 hours alone, hospitals in Gaza received 72 martyrs and 278 wounded. These figures exclude the northern Gaza Strip, where all hospitals are out of service after occupation forces forcibly evacuated Al-Awda Hospital staff. This brings the total number of victims of the ongoing genocide since October 7, 2023, to nearly 70,000 martyrs—70% of whom are women and children—with 54,321 martyrs and 123,770 injuries documented in hospitals, including 4,058 martyrs and 11,729 injuries between March 18, 2025, and today. Thousands remain under the rubble and in the streets, inaccessible due to ongoing bombardment and obstacles imposed by the occupation forces.

Additionally, around one million displaced persons have been forcibly relocated once again. More than half are now living in the streets without tents or shelters due to overcrowding in the three limited areas the occupation is forcing them into—west Gaza City, Al-Nuseirat and Deir Al-Balah, and Al-Mawasi in Khan Younis—constituting only 20% of the Gaza Strip’s total area. This is part of the “Reduced Gaza” plan, which Israel is gradually imposing through massacres and starvation to forcibly push Palestinians into Rafah in the south, then expel them outside the occupied Palestinian territories, in line with declared Israeli plans.

ICSPR strongly condemns the systematic destruction of the health system and the worsening famine. The occupation continues to target civilian and health infrastructure, as seen in the siege and assault on Al-Awda Hospital in Tal Al-Zaatar since May 18, 2025, bombing its upper floors, burning clinic tents, and destroying fuel tanks. The hospital staff—96 individuals—along with 30 patients and wounded, were forcibly evacuated. With its closure, there are now no health services remaining in North Gaza, which has come entirely under forced displacement orders and is witnessing massacres against remaining civilians, threatening the lives of tens of thousands of patients and wounded.

ICSPR also denounces the ongoing obstruction by Israeli forces of sufficient humanitarian aid, using starvation as a weapon. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 100% of Gaza’s population faces the risk of famine, making it the hungriest place on earth. Israel continues to allow in only limited quantities of aid after a complete shutdown lasting over 80 days. This includes aid distributed through an American company in high-risk zones established by the Israeli military in Rafah and northern Central Gaza, which began operations five days ago. These zones have become “arenas of killing and humiliation,” with attacks on aid-seekers resulting in at least 11 deaths and dozens of injuries since last Tuesday. The most egregious of these was the targeting of displaced persons in Al-Mawasi, Rafah, by Israeli aircraft as they headed toward a distribution point. Other incidents involved shootings that left dozens dead or wounded as they walked long distances to aid centers, where they were then forced to walk through fenced corridors to receive food parcels—an inhumane, humiliating system that fails to resolve the crisis and instead entrenches starvation as a weapon, turning aid into a tool of blackmail and forced displacement while sidelining international organizations, especially UNRWA.

ICSPR also condemns the deliberate spread of chaos and internal assaults by Israeli-backed organized gangs, undermining the rule of law in Gaza. The chaos threatens humanitarian work, including the recent killing of 11 police officers while stopping looters near Al-Saraya intersection. These crimes reveal that these gangs are operating under Israeli air cover, aiming to destabilize Gaza and terrorize civilians in coordination with the occupying forces.

ICSPR condemns the lawless looting and violent theft of aid. In the past three days, there have been incidents including a break-in at the American field hospital in Al-Zawaida where essential medical equipment, drugs, and child nutrition supplies were stolen, and a raid on the World Food Programme warehouse in Deir Al-Balah on Wednesday.

ICSPR affirms that looting, theft, or aggression against food and dignity under the pretext of hunger is unjustifiable. The organization also denounces the blocking of roads, looting of aid trucks, and assaults on drivers—including physical attacks and equipment damage—which have disrupted over 212 trucks and injured 80 drivers in the past three days, threatening the entire humanitarian response.

ICSPR reiterates its strongest condemnation of the blatant international failure to halt the genocide and systematic starvation imposed by Israeli occupation forces, representing a grave violation of humanitarian principles and international humanitarian law, while reinforcing a law-of-the-jungle approach. ICSPR reminds the international community of its responsibilities to stop the famine caused by Israel’s total blockade and the militarization of aid with U.S. support. The collapse of Gaza’s health sector now threatens tens of thousands of patients and wounded. ICSPR warns of the dangers posed by chaos, looting, and the assault on food warehouses and public property.

Accordingly, ICSPR demands the following:

1. ICSPR urges the international community, including the United Nations and the Security Council, to take immediate action to compel Israel, the occupying power, to halt its genocide and all forms of aggression, lift the blockade on Gaza, and ensure the free flow of humanitarian aid and medical supplies.

2. ICSPR calls on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to expedite investigations into war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed by Israel in Gaza, and to issue further arrest warrants against all Israeli officials responsible for crimes against civilians.

3. ICSPR calls on the United Nations and the international community to declare Gaza a famine zone and to exert immediate pressure on Israel to open all border crossings unconditionally, allowing unrestricted entry of humanitarian, relief, medical, and fuel aid under full UN supervision, including UNRWA.

4. ICSPR calls on third states and the UN to ensure international protection for Palestinian civilians and guarantee the safety of humanitarian organizations and medical personnel.

5. ICSPR calls on all local authorities in Gaza, including security forces, community leaders, and civil society figures, to uphold their responsibilities in restoring internal order, holding accountable those involved in looting and lawlessness, and safeguarding humanitarian efforts from collapse.

6. ICSPR calls on the international community and signatories to the Genocide Convention to form a humanitarian alliance that forces Israel to comply with international humanitarian law, the Genocide Convention, and the binding decisions of the International Court of Justice to halt the genocide, ensure the entry of aid, commence reconstruction, provide international protection, end the occupation, dismantle the apartheid-colonial system, and uphold the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

End.