ICSPR In a press conference held today in Gaza City, the Commission called for an immediate halt to the U.S.-Israeli aid distribution mechanism and the ongoing killings of starving civilians. It urged international intervention to stop the genocide and to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid.

Date: June 26, 2025

Press Release

ICSPR In a press conference held today in Gaza City, the Commission called for an immediate halt to the U.S.-Israeli aid distribution mechanism and the ongoing killings of starving civilians. It urged international intervention to stop the genocide and to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid.

The International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights (ICSPR) held a press conference today, Thursday, at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, addressing the crimes of genocide being committed against Gaza’s population—particularly the killings of starving civilians gathered near U.S.-Israeli aid distribution centers.

The press statement was delivered by Attorney Ali Al-Attar, a member of the Board of Directors, alongside Attorney Mohammad Saleem, Mr. Muhannad Jadallah, and Mr. Ramzi Abu Aoun, members of the ICSPR team.

Al-Attar stressed that humanity stands at a critical crossroads, witnessing ongoing and grave crimes committed by Israeli occupation forces against Palestinian civilians in Gaza. These crimes have continued uninterrupted since October 7, 2023—a period of more than 630 days—amounting to one of the most brutal modern-day genocides.

He emphasized the unprecedented and catastrophic conditions experienced by Gaza’s population as Israel’s war machine systematically destroys civilian homes, shelters, tents for the displaced, infrastructure, hospitals, and schools. Israel enforces a suffocating blockade that has led to widespread famine, severe shortages of water, medicine, and other basic necessities.

Al-Attar said that ICSPR’s goal through this conference is to shed light on the ongoing genocide—particularly the repeated, deliberate targeting of starving civilians gathered near U.S.-Israeli coordinated distribution points, which have become death traps and scenes of humiliation.

According to ICSPR documentation and collected testimonies, Israeli forces have intentionally targeted starving civilians, either while they wait for aid or during distribution. Due to the imposed restrictions on humanitarian organizations and the deliberate famine, more than 560 civilians have been killed and over 4,000 injured since these centers opened a month ago. Victims were shot directly or abandoned in chaos, with no protection or proper organization, creating conditions that serve the purpose of death and humiliation.

Additionally, 39 civilians waiting for aid have gone missing, in scenes that shock the world’s conscience—revealing a systematic policy of starvation, civilian control, and the use of aid as a tool for blackmail, demographic manipulation, and war. These actions constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Genocide Convention, as well as the measures issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Al-Attar pointed to the genocide toll since the aggression began:

• 70,000+ martyrs, including:
  • 18,000+ children
  • 13,000+ women
  • 1,580 medical personnel
  • 227 journalists
  • 754 police and aid-security staff
• 14,000+ missing, mostly under rubble
• 130,000+ injured

He highlighted that evacuation orders persist, affecting 82% of Gaza’s population, rendering them displaced or located in areas declared “Israeli military zones.” From mid-May to mid-June alone, over 665,000 people were displaced again inside Gaza.

The displaced are living in dire humanitarian conditions with severe shortages of food and water, and no safe or adequate shelter. Hundreds of thousands reside in substandard tents under extreme heat exceeding 40°C, worsening daily suffering due to heat, humidity, and lack of ventilation.

Al-Attar warned of the deepening humanitarian catastrophe and healthcare system collapse. Only 17 out of 36 hospitals remain partially operational amid fuel, medical supply, and medicine shortages. Around 22,000 patients risk death due to lack of treatment outside Gaza, including 12,000 cancer patients deprived of medicine and care.

He stressed that Israel continues to impose collective punishment, shutting crossings and obstructing humanitarian aid, deliberately targeting food kitchens and farmland. Gaza is facing severe famine, and prices have multiplied since March. Families rely on dwindling NGO stocks, but aid has been nearly cut off since March 2, leading to extreme child malnutrition:

• 70,000 children suffer from acute, advanced malnutrition, at risk of imminent death.
• 95%+ of the population lacks access to clean water, leading to a surge in waterborne diseases.

He also highlighted Israel’s ongoing targeting of communication towers and cutting off internet, causing total isolation for hundreds of thousands of families. This has severely affected aid coordination, remote healthcare, education, and relief operations. Communications may stop completely at any time due to lack of fuel.

Al-Attar marked June 26, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, by highlighting the increasing use of physical, psychological, and sexual torture against detainees—especially in Israeli prisons and detention camps inside Gaza. He emphasized the enforced disappearances of prisoners from Gaza, whose families and lawyers are denied all contact or information about their condition or whereabouts.

Since October 7, 2023, Israel has systematically ignored all international standards and the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions, expanding arbitrary detentions to over 14,000 detainees. ICSPR has documented 72 deaths in Israeli custody, including 54 from Gaza, due to torture and medical neglect under inhumane conditions.

Al-Attar held the American “Gaza Humanitarian” organization and the American private security company legally and ethically responsible as direct partners in the massacre of starving civilians, asserting these military aid zones are part of Israel’s strategy to militarize aid and deepen the humanitarian disaster.

He called for an immediate end to this inhumane mechanism, strengthening the central role of UN agencies—especially UNRWA—and both local and international humanitarian organizations.

He condemned ongoing international silence and institutional failure, which can now only be interpreted as complicity in the massacres.

Al-Attar urged the international community, the United Nations, and third-party states to act urgently to stop the genocide and guarantee the sufficient flow of humanitarian aid through UN-led mechanisms, and to end the U.S.-Israeli criminal aid mechanism.

ICSPR called for:

• An urgent international investigation by the UN’s permanent Fact-Finding Mission and the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court into the targeting of starving civilians at aid centers.
• Prosecution of all involved as accomplices in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
• The formation of an international humanitarian alliance to ensure civilian protection, safe humanitarian corridors under UN supervision, medical evacuations, and unimpeded aid delivery with fair and dignified distribution through UN agencies.

ICSPR also appealed to nations, organizations, and free peoples worldwide to take immediate action and pressure their governments to fulfill their moral and legal duties to:

• Stop the genocide
• Ban arms supplies to Israel
• Impose boycotts and sanctions on the occupying state.