Ongoing Genocide, Ceasefire Violations, and the Escalation of the Humanitarian Catastrophe in the Gaza Strip
Date: 20 December 2025
Press Release
Ongoing Genocide, Ceasefire Violations, and the Escalation of the Humanitarian Catastrophe in the Gaza Strip
ICSPR: Strongly condemns the horrific massacre committed by the Israeli occupation forces through targeting the “Martyrs of Gaza” shelter school near Al-Durra Hospital, east of Al-Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City. Israeli artillery shelled the second floor of the school building during a wedding ceremony for displaced persons, resulting in the killing of at least seven civilians, torn apart, most of them children, and injuring dozens. This compound crime combines the targeting of civilians, shelter centers, and social occasions, constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law, and clearly amounts to a war crime.
ICSPR: Affirms that occupation forces continued to fire intensively around the school following the shelling and prevented ambulance and civil defense crews from reaching the site for hours, obstructing the recovery of the dead and the evacuation of the wounded. Only partial access was later allowed through limited coordination with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). This systematic conduct aims to maximize human losses and constitutes an additional crime by obstructing humanitarian work and denying victims the right to rescue and medical treatment.
ICSPR: Confirms the continued violations of the ceasefire since 11 October 2025, as occupation forces persisted in aerial and artillery bombardment, gunfire from vehicles, boats, and helicopters, and the systematic demolition of residential buildings in Gaza, Khan Younis, Rafah, Deir al-Balah, and Shuja’iyya, including within areas under occupation control, in blatant violation of any commitments to halt hostilities.
ICSPR: Notes that the overall toll of genocide crimes and Israeli aggression since 7 October 2023 has reached approximately 70,668 killed and 171,152 injured, including 394 killed and 1,075 wounded since the ceasefire took effect, confirming that the ceasefire has not translated into effective protection for civilians but has been used as a cover for continued slow killing and systematic destruction.
ICSPR: Warns of the accelerating collapse of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip, amid the World Health Organization’s announcement of the deaths of 1,092 patients while awaiting medical evacuation between July 2024 and November 2025—a figure likely lower than the actual number—while thousands of patients, including children and those with cancer and kidney failure, remain stranded without access to treatment due to deliberate Israeli restrictions.
ICSPR: Affirms that humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip have reached unprecedented catastrophic levels, with widespread malnutrition, rising rates of respiratory infections, shortages exceeding 55% of essential medicines, and insufficient medical supplies for more than a month, according to statements by the Ministry of Health and Médecins Sans Frontières, placing thousands of children and patients on the brink of death.
ICSPR: Holds the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the deaths of infants due to severe cold, most recently the death of two children within hours, as a result of leaving hundreds of thousands of families exposed after the destruction of their homes, the flooding of tents, and the prevention of the entry of caravans, shelter materials, and safe heating means, in grave violation of the right to life and adequate housing and all human rights standards.
ICSPR: Points out that the repercussions of recent weather depressions—flooded displacement tents, collapsed homes, and cracked residential towers—were not merely a natural disaster, but a direct result of the siege and the prevention of the entry of shelter and repair materials and heavy equipment, leaving civilians exposed to annihilation and slow death.
ICSPR: Condemns the continued exposure of civilians, especially children, to the dangers of unexploded ordnance and war remnants, which have caused the killing and injury of a number of children, most recently yesterday with the killing of two children, amid the absence of any serious international action to remove them and the prevention of specialized teams from operating, constituting a clear breach of the occupation’s obligations under the Geneva Conventions.
ICSPR: Considers that what is taking place in the Gaza Strip is no longer a series of isolated violations, but a systematic policy combining killing, starvation, cold, disease, and the obstruction of relief, collectively amounting to an ongoing crime of genocide committed in full view of the international community.
ICSPR: Calls on the international community, the United Nations, and third states to take immediate and binding measures, including ensuring a comprehensive and permanent cessation of aggression, opening crossings without restrictions, guaranteeing the entry of aid, fuel, medicines, caravans, and medical equipment, protecting civilians, shelter centers, and humanitarian personnel, and securing urgent medical evacuation for patients.
ICSPR: Emphasizes the necessity of activating international accountability mechanisms and prosecuting occupation leaders before the International Criminal Court and other international justice mechanisms for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of genocide committed against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
ICSPR: Warns that continued international silence and failure to enforce international law constitute indirect complicity, grant the occupation a green light to continue its crimes, and undermine the entire international justice system.
