ICSPR Israel Turns Humanitarian Aid into a Tool of Genocide and Blocks Its Delivery to Civilians for Over 185 Days

Gaza – September 4, 2025

Press Release

ICSPR: Israel Turns Humanitarian Aid into a Tool of Genocide and Blocks Its Delivery to Civilians for Over 185 Days

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) warned, in an official briefing memorandum addressed to the International Criminal Court, the United Nations, the League of Arab States, and several UN Special Rapporteurs, that Israel’s policies regarding humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip constitute an integral part of its ongoing genocide since October 7, 2023. ICSPR stressed that obstructing and undermining aid delivery has exacerbated the humanitarian catastrophe and led to an alarming rise in the numbers of martyrs, wounded, and starving civilians.

According to ICSPR, the toll of victims since the beginning of the aggression has reached 63,746 martyrs and 161,245 wounded, including 11,615 martyrs and 49,204 wounded since March 18, 2025 alone. Meanwhile, more than one million residents of northern Gaza face forced eviction orders, threatening to displace them southward into dire living conditions and catastrophic overcrowding in the absence of adequate shelters.

A Strangling Siege Blocking Aid for 185 Consecutive Days

The memorandum explained that Israel has imposed a suffocating blockade for more than 185 consecutive days, in blatant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, preventing the flow of humanitarian aid through border crossings. This has deprived civilians of food, medicine, and essential supplies.

ICSPR outlined the limited and largely symbolic mechanisms through which Israel has allowed aid entry since August, under international pressure:

• Convoys and trucks: Gaza requires 500–700 trucks daily, while the amount permitted covers only 4% of actual needs.

• International organizations: Their role has sharply declined by 88% since Israel violated the ceasefire on March 18, 2025.

• U.S.–Israeli distribution points: Three locations (Alam and Mirage in Rafah, and Zikim in northern Gaza) have turned into death traps, causing 2,339 martyrs and 17,070 wounded.

• Cash assistance: Severely undermined due to restrictions, exorbitant fees (54%), and cuts in U.S. funding under the Trump administration.

• Airdrops: Despite international participation, the total airdropped aid since August equaled only 18 trucks. Moreover, 23 Palestinians were killed and 124 injured after aid boxes fell on them.

Shocking August Statistics

Between July 27 and August 30, 2025, only 3,188 trucks entered Gaza out of an actual need of 21,000, covering just 15% of the requirement. Israel continues to ban the entry of 430 essential items, including meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables, nutritional supplements for women and children, medicines, and fuel.

The memorandum also revealed that 367 people, including 131 children, have died of starvation and malnutrition, while 55,000 pregnant and nursing women and 43,000 children under five are at acute risk. It is feared that the number of people facing actual famine will rise to 641,000 during September.

Israel Weaponizes Aid to Kill

ICSPR emphasized that Israel has not only starved Palestinians but also weaponized humanitarian aid as a tool of killing and extermination, by:

• Targeting aid workers, resulting in over 722 martyrs.

• Obstructing convoys and imposing military cordons in densely populated areas.

• Preventing countries from conducting further airdrops, citing refusal to allow aerial images of Gaza.

• Cutting international funding to relief organizations and targeting their offices and staff.

• Excluding UNRWA, the most experienced and capable humanitarian actor in Gaza.

• Fueling chaos by supporting armed gangs that seize parts of the aid.

• Delaying aid trucks until food spoils, with expired goods entering the Strip.

According to ICSPR, these obstructions have resulted in:

• Rising numbers of victims and starvation-related deaths.

• The spread of poverty and unemployment after economic destruction.

• Deepening mistrust in the international community, viewed as complicit in the “aid charade.”

• Widespread psychological trauma and depression, especially among women and children.

• Facilitating Israel’s plan to forcibly depopulate northern Gaza.

In conclusion, ICSPR called for:

1. An immediate end to the genocide and opening of all humanitarian crossings without restrictions or conditions.

2. Unified humanitarian coordination, with reliable data systems to ensure fair distribution and proper international funding.

3. Closure of U.S.–Israeli distribution points and restoring UNRWA’s central role.

4. Prosecution of Israeli officials before the International Criminal Court for genocide and starvation crimes.

5. Launching a global movement of pressure, including protests at embassies, to demand urgent action for starving civilians.

ICSPR stressed that what is unfolding in Gaza “represents a moral and legal failure of the international community,” underscoring that Israel’s obstruction of humanitarian aid is “an inseparable part of its systematic genocide against the Palestinian people.”