ICSPR Warns: The Occupation Commits War Crimes Against Humanitarian Workers in the Gaza Strip

Date: June 19, 2025

Press Release

ICSPR Warns: The Occupation Commits War Crimes Against Humanitarian Workers in the Gaza Strip

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) issued an urgent briefing memorandum addressed to a number of international and regional bodies, including the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the European Union, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the African Union, the UN Special Envoy, and the International Criminal Court, warning of the systematic crimes committed by Israeli occupation forces against humanitarian workers in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the aggression on October 7, 2023.

The Commission affirmed that the targeting of humanitarian personnel constitutes a flagrant violation of the provisions of international humanitarian law and undermines the ability of humanitarian organizations to provide the necessary assistance to Palestinians, thereby deepening the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged Strip.

Documented Violations: Thousands of Victims Among Humanitarian Workers

The Commission documented the killing of no less than 2,000 humanitarian workers, including medical teams, civil defense staff, UNRWA employees, and World Food Programme personnel. It confirmed that this escalation has led many institutions to suspend their activities in order to preserve the safety of their staff.

The attacks included:

• The killing of 1,580 medical personnel, and the arrest and torture of 362 others, including the Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital.

• The execution of 3 doctors inside Israeli prisons, most notably Dr. Adnan Al-Borsh, Head of the Orthopedic Department at Al-Shifa Hospital.

• The destruction of more than 160 medical facilities and the targeting of 144 ambulances, putting them out of service.

• The killing of 115 civil defense personnel, the arrest of 26 others, and the targeting of 54 emergency vehicles.

• The field execution of 12 paramedics from the civil defense and Palestinian Red Crescent in Rafah, despite wearing official uniforms and bearing international protection symbols.

• The killing of 295 UNRWA employees, damage to two-thirds of the agency’s facilities, and the occurrence of 650 attacks resulting in the deaths of 745 people inside UN shelters.

• The arrest of 20 UN staff members amid documented testimonies of systematic torture.

• The killing of 7 staff members of the World Central Kitchen organization, which had been providing 170,000 meals per day before halting operations due to supply shortages.

• The killing of 125 civilians and injury of 736 others since the establishment of aid distribution centers supported by the occupation and the United States, which turned into massacre sites for civilians seeking food.

A Flagrant Violation of International Law

The Commission indicated that these events represent severe violations of a number of international conventions and treaties, most notably:

• The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols.

• The 1994 Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel.

• The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which criminalizes targeting those working in medical and humanitarian missions.

• The rules of customary international law that prohibit targeting civilians and humanitarian facilities.

The Commission affirmed that the occupation ignored prior coordination with the Red Cross regarding the locations of humanitarian teams and deliberately delayed or prevented the arrival of humanitarian aid, which constitutes a deliberate obstruction of relief efforts.

Urgent Demands to the International Community

In conclusion of the memorandum, ICSPR called on the international community to:

• Take immediate action to stop the crimes committed against humanitarian workers and ensure respect for international law.

• Provide urgent international protection for humanitarian teams operating in Gaza through effective monitoring mechanisms on the ground.

• Open a transparent international investigation into the targeting crimes and refer those responsible to the International Criminal Court.

• Establish a fact-finding committee under the United Nations to document the violations against workers in the humanitarian sector.

• Halt the export of weapons to Israel as long as they are being used to commit war crimes against civilians and humanitarian personnel.