ICSPR Condemns the Escalating Targeting of Civilians and Warns of the Catastrophic Collapse of the Health Situation and the Policy of Comprehensive Strangulation in the Gaza Strip

Date: 8 July 2026

Press Release

ICSPR Condemns the Escalating Targeting of Civilians and Warns of the Catastrophic Collapse of the Health Situation and the Policy of Comprehensive Strangulation in the Gaza Strip

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) strongly condemns the ongoing Israeli military escalation against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. As part of this escalation, Israeli occupation forces committed another crime yesterday by targeting a civilian vehicle in the Al-Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City, with a drone strike. The attack resulted in the killing of Hamza Abdullah Al-Deiri, Ahmed Jihad Daghmash, and Mohammad Fawaz Al-Wuhaidi, Director of the Egyptian Relief Committee in Gaza City, in addition to injuring several civilians. Dozens of other civilians were also killed and wounded in continuous airstrikes and shelling targeting various areas across the Gaza Strip over the past three days, including attacks on shelters and tents housing displaced persons, in a clear continuation of the deliberate policy of directly targeting civilians.

ICSPR considers the killing of Mohammad Fawaz Al-Wuhaidi, Director of the Egyptian Relief Committee in Gaza, a war crime and a grave violation of international humanitarian law, which obliges parties to armed conflict to protect humanitarian, medical, and relief personnel. This crime confirms that the occupying power continues to pursue a systematic policy aimed at undermining humanitarian operations and depriving the civilian population of life-saving assistance and essential services.

After more than one thousand days of aggression, Gaza has become the scene of an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. Residential neighborhoods, critical infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and universities have been devastated, while Israeli occupation forces have expanded their military control over approximately 70% of the Gaza Strip. More than 2.3 million Palestinians have been forcibly confined to an area of no more than approximately 100 square kilometers, creating one of the highest population densities in the world. Most are living in tents lacking the minimum requirements for human dignity amid widespread hunger, malnutrition, disease outbreaks, and the near-total collapse of the healthcare system.

ICSPR warns of the catastrophic deterioration of the health sector. More than 20,000 wounded individuals are awaiting medical evacuation outside the Gaza Strip, while over 1,500 patients have died while waiting for referrals due to the continued closure of border crossings and the obstruction of medical evacuations by the occupying authorities. In addition, approximately 350,000 patients suffering from chronic illnesses—including heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, and thyroid disorders—face severe shortages of essential medicines, while the occupation continues to prevent the entry of food, medicine, fuel, medical supplies, and maternal and child healthcare necessities.

The Commission expresses grave concern over alarming health indicators that threaten the future of Palestinian generations. Miscarriage rates among pregnant women have reached unprecedented levels, congenital birth defects linked to malnutrition and the collapse of healthcare services are increasing, and the overwhelming majority of pregnant and breastfeeding women suffer from anemia. Large numbers of children are affected by malnutrition and anemia, while the destruction of neonatal intensive care units and the severe shortage of medicines and nutritional supplements threaten the lives of premature infants and mothers alike.

ICSPR also warns of the widespread outbreak of infectious diseases, with approximately 9,300 cases of chickenpox recorded over the past two weeks, in addition to the increasing spread of scabies, skin diseases, and gastrointestinal illnesses. These outbreaks are driven by severe overcrowding in displacement camps, contaminated water, accumulated waste, the proliferation of rodents and mosquitoes, extreme summer temperatures, and the collapse of water and sanitation services, creating the conditions for a large-scale public health disaster while the healthcare system remains incapable of responding to growing humanitarian needs.

ICSPR emphasizes that the convergence of mass killings, starvation, siege, the destruction of the healthcare system, attacks on humanitarian workers, obstruction of humanitarian assistance, denial of medical treatment to the wounded and sick, and the deliberate creation of conditions conducive to the spread of disease collectively demonstrate that the occupying power continues to implement a comprehensive policy designed to subject the civilian population to living conditions intended to bring about their physical destruction. These acts constitute grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and fall within the acts constituting the crime of genocide under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

ICSPR further stresses that the continuation of these crimes, despite the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice and the ongoing proceedings before the International Criminal Court, reflects the persistence of a policy of impunity. It also confirms the continuing failure of the so-called Peace Council to fulfill its responsibility to halt violations of the ceasefire and ensure the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2803. Gaza does not need the management of a humanitarian catastrophe; it needs an immediate end to genocide, aggression, and the blockade, together with the enforcement of international law and the realization of justice and accountability. This requires the international community to abandon its policy of inaction and failure, which has risen to the level of complicity in light of the ongoing grave crimes and violations committed against the Palestinian people.

Accordingly, the International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) calls for the following:

1. An immediate, permanent, and unconditional end to the genocide and Israeli military aggression against the Gaza Strip, with effective protection for civilians.
2. The opening of all border crossings and the unrestricted, safe, and sustained entry of humanitarian aid, food, medicine, fuel, water, and shelter supplies.
3. Urgent international protection for civilians and for medical, humanitarian, relief, and media personnel, and an end to all attacks against them.
4. The immediate medical evacuation of the wounded and the sick, the entry of medicines, medical supplies, and vaccines, while prioritizing children, pregnant women, and patients with chronic illnesses.
5. Compelling the occupying power to comply with United Nations resolutions and the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice, while expediting the proceedings of the International Criminal Court to ensure accountability for those responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
6. The imposition of effective international sanctions, including a comprehensive arms embargo and the suspension of all forms of military and political support contributing to the continuation of these crimes.
7. The rejection of all plans involving forced displacement and ethnic cleansing, while guaranteeing Palestinians’ right to remain on their land, ensuring the return of displaced persons, and immediately initiating the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
8. Moving beyond statements of condemnation toward binding legal, diplomatic, and economic international measures capable of ending these crimes and putting an end to the prevailing policy of impunity.

International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR)