ICSPR More Than 73,000 Palestinians Killed Since the Beginning of the Genocide and 997 Killed Since the Ceasefire… Israel Continues Killing, Starvation, Forced Displacement, and the Destruction of the Means of Life in the Gaza Strip
Date: June 16, 2026
Press Release
ICSPR: More Than 73,000 Palestinians Killed Since the Beginning of the Genocide and 997 Killed Since the Ceasefire… Israel Continues Killing, Starvation, Forced Displacement, and the Destruction of the Means of Life in the Gaza Strip
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) strongly condemns the continued escalation of crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. These crimes leave no doubt that the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes continue to be systematically and deliberately perpetrated despite the declared ceasefire and amid the international community’s failure to provide protection for civilians or ensure respect for international law.
ICSPR affirms that field evidence and recent human rights and UN reports reveal that the Israeli occupation has entered an even more dangerous phase of aggression, combining the direct killing of civilians with starvation, siege, denial of medical treatment and humanitarian aid, expansion of forced displacement, and the destruction of the means of life and survival, with the apparent objective of imposing a new demographic and geographic reality in the Gaza Strip.
In this context, ICSPR has documented the increased use by Israeli forces of so-called “armed military cranes” equipped with machine guns, cameras, and surveillance systems, which have effectively become permanent platforms for sniping and firing at civilians. Israeli forces have established 23 such military sites in the eastern areas of the Gaza Strip, commonly referred to as the “yellow zones,” enabling them to monitor and target extensive residential areas, displacement camps, public roads, agricultural lands, and even coastal areas.
Field information indicates that these military cranes, together with drones, have become daily instruments of killing, intimidation, and the imposition of constant fear upon civilians, in flagrant violation of the principles of distinction, proportionality, and military necessity under international humanitarian law.
In one of the most horrific documented incidents, Israeli forces opened fire on June 14, 2026, on Bahaa Jaber Abu Al-Ajeen, his three-year-old son Rayan, and Khaled Abu Gharaba near Wadi Al-Salqa east of Deir Al-Balah. After being wounded and detained, the father and his child were later released. It was subsequently discovered that Rayan had died from a gunshot wound to the head that caused severe destruction of brain tissue, while his father sustained serious injuries to his leg. The fate of Khaled Abu Gharaba remains unknown amid serious concerns that he may have been subjected to enforced disappearance.
Mohammed Ramzi Abu Hasira (19 years old) also died from wounds sustained after being shot by Israeli forces near the Qattan Center in Gaza City. In a separate incident, Khalil Jamil Al-Masri (43 years old) was killed after being shot in the head while sitting at a café on Al-Thawra Street in Gaza City. Available information indicates that the gunfire originated from Israeli military positions and military cranes stationed east of the city.
In another attack, an Israeli drone struck a commercial shop adjacent to Al-Yemen Al-Saeed Hospital in Jabalia Refugee Camp, killing four civilians: Hani Abdel Hamid Abu Swailam, Shadi Hassan Abu Salem, Shadi Khamis Al-Zein, and Mohammed Moeen Swailam, while five others were injured.
Israeli forces also killed Zaki Mohammed Ahmed Al-Qara (30 years old) east of Khan Younis while he was attempting to assist an injured person. He was directly shot in the head and died instantly. Meanwhile, Amir Imad Al-Bashiti (13 years old) was killed after being shot by Israeli forces positioned east of Khan Younis while he was inside his displacement tent in the Batn Al-Sameen area south of the city.
During the past hours, Israeli forces continued their attacks against Palestinian civilians. Two civilians were killed in an airstrike targeting the vicinity of Al-Nouri Tower north of Nuseirat Refugee Camp in central Gaza. Israeli forces also carried out further demolitions and destruction of buildings and civilian property east of Khan Younis as part of a policy of widespread destruction targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure.
At the same time, Israeli forces continue the systematic destruction of homes, residential neighborhoods, and civilian infrastructure while expanding buffer zones in southern and eastern Gaza, particularly in eastern Khan Younis and northwestern Al-Mawasi in Rafah. As a result, vast areas have been transformed into closed military zones or open killing fields where civilians are directly targeted merely for attempting to return to their homes, access their lands, collect firewood, or move between different parts of the Strip.
ICSPR also condemns the continued use of siege tactics and the denial of medical treatment and humanitarian aid as weapons against the civilian population. According to data published by the Government Media Office in Gaza, Israeli authorities allowed only 6,845 Palestinians to travel through the Rafah Crossing out of 19,600 individuals who were supposed to be permitted to leave, representing only 35 percent compliance. Thousands of patients, wounded persons, and humanitarian cases have therefore been denied their right to treatment, movement, and life-saving care.
Despite the urgent need to evacuate thousands of wounded and sick individuals for treatment abroad, only 97 patients and companions were allowed to leave through Rafah Crossing during the past hours, reflecting the severe restrictions imposed on access to healthcare amid the near-total collapse of Gaza’s health system.
According to official data, Israeli forces committed 3,269 violations of the ceasefire agreement during only 245 days, resulting in the killing of 997 Palestinians, the injury of 3,152 others, the recovery of 784 bodies, and the detention of dozens of individuals. These figures confirm the continuation of a policy of killing and targeting civilians despite publicly announced agreements and international guarantees.
Furthermore, Israeli authorities have permitted only 52,740 aid trucks to enter Gaza out of the 147,000 trucks that were supposed to enter under agreed arrangements, representing only 36 percent of the required assistance. Restrictions on fuel, medicines, medical supplies, shelter materials, and food continue to exacerbate famine, malnutrition, disease outbreaks, and the humanitarian and health catastrophe throughout the Gaza Strip.
According to the latest figures released by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, five Palestinians were killed and eight others injured during the past 24 hours. This brings the cumulative death toll from the Israeli aggression since October 7, 2023, to 73,008 Palestinians killed and 173,260 injured, making it one of the deadliest humanitarian catastrophes in modern history.
These facts are consistent with the statements made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, before the Human Rights Council. He stated that Israeli forces have killed nearly one thousand Palestinians since the ceasefire announcement and have forced Palestinians into increasingly shrinking areas within Gaza while simultaneously imposing restrictions on life-saving humanitarian assistance. He also warned about statements made by Israeli officials regarding the removal of Palestinians from Gaza and the elimination of the possibility of a viable Palestinian state, emphasizing that such statements are unlawful and constitute a dangerous indication of the policies being pursued against the Palestinian people.
ICSPR stresses that the combination of mass killings, targeting of children, women, and civilians, destruction of homes and infrastructure, denial of medical treatment and humanitarian relief, imposition of siege and starvation, repeated forced displacement, and public statements calling for the removal of the Palestinian population from Gaza collectively constitute both the material and mental elements of the crime of genocide under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. They also amount to fully constituted war crimes and crimes against humanity requiring international criminal accountability.
ICSPR holds the Israeli government and its political and military leaders fully responsible for these crimes. It also considers states that continue to provide Israel with weapons or political and diplomatic protection legally and morally responsible for the continuation of these crimes and the worsening humanitarian catastrophe.
Accordingly, ICSPR calls for:
• The immediate and comprehensive cessation of all Israeli military operations against civilians in the Gaza Strip.
• The provision of urgent international protection for Palestinian civilians.
• The unrestricted opening of all crossings for patients, wounded persons, and humanitarian assistance.
• The guaranteed entry of food, medicine, fuel, and shelter materials according to actual humanitarian needs.
• An end to the use of starvation, siege, and denial of medical treatment as weapons against civilians.
• The imposition of international sanctions on Israeli officials involved in war crimes and genocide.
• The implementation of international arrest warrants and judicial orders issued against Israeli officials.
• Full support for accountability efforts before the International Criminal Court and other international justice mechanisms.
• The establishment of independent international commissions of inquiry to document systematic killings and attacks against civilians in the Gaza Strip.
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) emphasizes that the continued international silence and inability to stop these crimes constitute a grave moral, legal, and humanitarian failure that undermines the foundations of the international order based on respect for human rights and the rule of law. The Commission further stresses that protecting Palestinian civilians, ensuring justice for victims, and stopping the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip are no longer political matters that can be postponed, but rather urgent legal, moral, and humanitarian obligations that rest upon the international community as a whole.
International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR)
16 June 2026
