ICSPR The Israeli Occupation Deepens Famine in Gaza and Commits Horrific Massacres Against Civilians, Turning Gaza into a Mass Grave
Date: July 21, 2025
Press Release
ICSPR The Israeli Occupation Deepens Famine in Gaza and Commits Horrific Massacres Against Civilians, Turning Gaza into a Mass Grave
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) expresses its deep concern and strong condemnation over the escalating crimes of genocide and Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip for the 22nd consecutive month. This has resulted in an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and famine due to mass killing, destruction, forced displacement, siege, starvation, thirst, and the systematic targeting of all life essentials—constituting a blatant and deliberate violation of basic human values, international humanitarian law, international human rights standards, and the decisions of the International Court of Justice and the United Nations.
According to field data and ICSPR’s documentation, Israeli occupation forces killed 61 people since dawn on Monday due to dozens of airstrikes across various parts of the Gaza Strip and continued ground offensives. These attacks resulted in several massacres against civilians, exacerbating a catastrophic level of famine due to ongoing closure of border crossings and prevention of humanitarian aid entry. The Ministry of Health announced that on Sunday alone, 134 people were killed (including 4 whose bodies were recovered), and 650 were injured in the past 24 hours. This raises the toll of the Israeli genocide and aggression to 59,029 martyrs and 142,135 injuries reported in hospitals since October 7, 2023. Since the resumption of genocide following Israel’s violation of the truce on March 18, 2025, there have been 8,196 martyrs and 30,094 injuries.
ICSPR notes that in less than 48 hours, Israeli forces committed successive massacres against starving civilians seeking food and water near U.S.-Israeli aid distribution points and limited humanitarian truck entry zones. These attacks resulted in the killing of 112 aid seekers, including 7 civilians this Monday morning near the Mirage axis aid distribution point. Another 5 civilians, including a woman, were killed near the water desalination plant in Al-Rimal neighborhood, Gaza City. These victims add to the 99 people killed on Sunday in the Al-Sudaniya area in northwest Gaza, where Israeli forces opened fire directly at unarmed civilians who had been waiting since early morning for humanitarian aid trucks to enter via the Zikim crossing. Witnesses — some of whom were present or were detained and later released — confirmed that Israeli forces buried the bodies of victims with bulldozers in a mass grave at the scene, in a horrifying crime and gross violation of international humanitarian law, which upholds the dignity of the dead.
As of May 27, 2025, the death toll at the so-called U.S.-Israeli humanitarian aid centers — which have become death traps for starving civilians who posed no threat to Israeli soldiers — has reached 1,021 martyrs, more than 6,511 injuries, 70 missing persons, and dozens of detainees.
ICSPR also reports a dangerous development in the form of a violent Israeli incursion into the Hikr Al-Jami’ and Al-Baraka areas in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, aimed at dividing the Gaza Strip and establishing a new military corridor that blocks civilian and humanitarian movement. The ground assault on southern Deir Al-Balah was accompanied by heavy bombing that destroyed dozens of homes, hours after new forced evacuation orders were issued. This forced nearly 100,000 people — mostly already displaced — to flee once again in search of shelter in areas lacking basic survival necessities. This adds to the nearly 2 million internally displaced people now crammed into less than 10% of Gaza’s area, described by the United Nations as “a hell unfit for human life.” Famine continues to deepen due to five months of closed crossings, blocked aid, soaring prices, and widespread poverty.
ICSPR strongly condemns the abduction of Dr. Marwan Al-Homs, Director of Field Hospitals and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, by an Israeli special forces unit in a 4×4 vehicle. The unit ambushed civilians at a seaside café in Khan Younis across from the Red Cross hospital on Monday afternoon. The operation resulted in the killing of journalist Tamer Al-Zaanin, injury of journalist Ibrahim Abu Ashaiba, and injury of the ambulance driver transporting Dr. Al-Homs before his abduction. This crime is part of Israel’s systematic targeting of hospitals and medical staff, which has already killed 1,580 medical personnel and detained 360 others — including Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya (Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital) and Dr. Ahmed Mehanna (Director of Al-Awda Hospital) — in clear violation of international humanitarian law. In addition, the Ministry of Health announced today the complete shutdown of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital due to fuel depletion, and it is expected that Al-Shifa Medical Complex, the Baptist Hospital, and other facilities will cease operations within hours, putting thousands of lives — especially premature babies, dialysis patients, and intensive care patients — at risk.
ICSPR warns against international inaction in declaring Gaza a zone of deliberate famine and urges immediate steps to prevent further catastrophe. All international reports confirm that Gaza has officially entered a state of full famine per UN classifications. The Israeli occupation continues to block humanitarian aid for the fifth consecutive month in flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions, particularly Article 55 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which obliges the occupying power to ensure the provision of food and medicine to civilians. This deepens the humanitarian catastrophe and acute famine, which took the lives of 19 people from hunger yesterday alone — including 8 children.
A recent World Food Programme report confirmed that one-third of Gaza’s population does not receive even one meal a day, while the World Health Organization warned that about 90,000 children and women are at imminent risk of death from acute malnutrition. UNICEF reported that 112 children are admitted daily to hospitals in Gaza due to severe malnutrition and wasting. The Ministry of Health announced the deaths of 620 people due to starvation, including 73 children. Hundreds of fainting cases are being treated in hospitals due to hunger. UNRWA confirmed that true hunger is devastating hundreds of thousands across Gaza amid a collapsed health system and lack of clean drinking water — factors further compounding the humanitarian crisis and threatening higher death tolls.
ICSPR expresses grave concern over reports regarding the secret “Rakevet” wing in Ayalon Prison, where hundreds of Gaza detainees are held in closed cells and subjected to systematic torture — constituting a continued crime of enforced disappearance and denial of all rights guaranteed under international human rights law, particularly the Convention Against Torture and the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions.
ICSPR also strongly condemns the sabotage of the “Handala” aid ship destined for Gaza. Unknown assailants destroyed its engine propeller and placed a corrosive chemical in its water tank before departure from the port of Gallipoli, Italy, causing severe injuries among crew members. This act of piracy aims to disrupt the mission and deter participants from continuing their journey to Gaza. It echoes previous Israeli attacks on blockade-breaking vessels and underscores the urgent need to protect activists on board. ICSPR calls for turning such humanitarian initiatives into a fleet of ships from various countries to break the blockade and ensure the continuous flow of humanitarian aid.
The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) holds the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the ongoing crimes against civilians, which would not have continued without ongoing U.S. support, European complicity, Arab inaction, and international failure to fulfill legal and moral obligations. This silence amounts to acceptance of the U.S.-Israeli law of the jungle, marking a collapse of international protection mechanisms, justice, and human rights systems. ICSPR welcomes the joint statement issued today by 25 countries calling for an immediate end to the war in Gaza, the flow of aid through the United Nations, and the termination of the deadly U.S.-Israeli aid distribution mechanism that has deprived Gazans of their dignity and killed hundreds.
ICSPR renews its urgent appeal to the international community, third-party states, the United Nations, and the global conscience to stop the genocide, declare Gaza a famine-stricken area, and take all necessary measures to lift the blockade, open crossings and humanitarian corridors, ensure aid delivery through the UN, halt the deadly U.S.-Israeli distribution system, and provide international protection to civilians. This must be done through the UN General Assembly under the “Uniting for Peace” resolution, alongside international sanctions, suspension of Israel’s UN membership, and prosecution of its leaders and partners by the International Criminal Court using universal jurisdiction. ICSPR also urges the International Court of Justice to issue its final ruling declaring Israel responsible for genocide. Lastly, ICSPR calls on people of conscience worldwide to intensify political, legal, and grassroots efforts to pressure their governments and international bodies to fulfill their moral, legal, and humanitarian duties to end the genocide and starvation in Gaza.
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