ICSPR On the Occasion of International Youth Day: The Ongoing War of Genocide and Israeli Aggression Deepens the Suffering of Palestinian Youth and Threatens Their Future

Date: 12 August 2025

Press Release
On the Occasion of International Youth Day
On the Occasion of International Youth Day: The Ongoing War of Genocide and Israeli Aggression Deepens the Suffering of Palestinian Youth and Threatens Their Future

Today, Tuesday, 12 August 2025, marks International Youth Day, which was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly under resolution (54/120) in 1999, with the aim of highlighting the vital role of youth in building societies and achieving peace and sustainable development.

While the world celebrates the achievements of its youth, Palestinian youth — particularly in the Gaza Strip — are experiencing one of the harshest periods in their modern history. Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation has continued its war of genocide and brutal aggression, committing large-scale crimes that have destroyed their dreams, deprived them of their right to a dignified life, and plunged them into famine — a tragic humanitarian reality that threatens both their present and their future.

Shocking Facts and Figures

The number of Palestinian youth (aged 18–29) stands at about 1.2 million young men and women, representing 22% of the total population of Palestine — 22% in the West Bank and 21% in the Gaza Strip.

Since the start of the aggression on Gaza until today, more than 61,430 Palestinians have been martyred, tens of thousands of them youth, with around 75% of the martyrs being under 30 years old.

A total of 222 Palestinians have died due to deliberate famine, and more than 41,172 people have been injured. Thousands remain missing, including thousands of wounded and disabled youth, most of whom are deprived of their right to medical treatment due to the destruction of the health sector.

The Israeli aggression has also deprived more than 88,000 university students of access to their classrooms, and prevented 76,000 students from sitting for the general secondary exams for two consecutive years during the genocide war.

Youth unemployment rates in Gaza have reached more than 85%, while over 95% live below the poverty line.

Hundreds of thousands of youth have been forcibly displaced internally, living in catastrophic conditions lacking the most basic necessities of life. This has exacerbated the humanitarian crises facing young families, had severe consequences on mental health, and left youth struggling to survive and protect themselves from the threats of famine, genocide, extreme poverty, and social collapse.

Ongoing bombardment, displacement, and a tightened blockade, along with the systematic destruction of educational, economic, health, and security infrastructure, have paralyzed the potential of youth — turning them from a force for production and building into victims and captives of coercive conditions. The aggression has stripped a large segment of them of economic and psychological security, pushed them toward an uncertain future, increased frustration and despair, and made their right to life and the enjoyment of other rights seem out of reach.

The targeting of public, civil, sports, and cultural facilities and training centers has deprived thousands of youth of safe spaces for learning and development, blocking their opportunities to play their natural role in nation-building and political participation.

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) sends its warmest greetings and deepest appreciation to the energy and spirit of Palestinian youth, especially in Gaza, on their International Day. It strongly condemns the ongoing genocide and brutal aggression against the Gaza Strip, as well as the rest of the crimes committed by the occupation against youth and prisoners in Israeli jails. The Commission affirms that empowering and protecting youth is a national, humanitarian, and moral duty, and a fundamental pillar for enhancing resilience and humanitarian response. Ignoring their suffering poses a direct threat to the future of Palestinian youth and the Palestinian cause. Accordingly, the Commission calls for:

1. Pressuring the occupying state to end all forms of aggression and lift the unlawful blockade on the Gaza Strip, ensuring the protection of the lives and fundamental rights of Palestinian youth.

2. Activating international accountability mechanisms to prosecute those responsible for violations and crimes committed against Palestinian youth, and bringing them before international courts.

3. Working to provide international protection for Palestinian youth in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution on the protection of civilians in armed conflict.

4. Ensuring full protection for Palestinian youth from direct and indirect targeting, and exerting pressure to ensure the occupation’s compliance with international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, and other human rights standards.

5. Supporting youth empowerment initiatives that enhance humanitarian response in Gaza, shape the future of Palestine, and involve them in decision-making processes, the reconstruction of the Palestinian political system, and post-war rebuilding.

End
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR)