On the Occasion of International Mother Earth Day – April 22 Escalating Ceasefire Violations and the Entrenchment of a “Slow Genocide” Policy Against People and the Environment in Palestine

Date: April 22, 2026

Press Release
On the Occasion of International Mother Earth Day – April 22
Escalating Ceasefire Violations and the Entrenchment of a “Slow Genocide” Policy Against People and the Environment in Palestine

The International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights (ICSPR) marks International Mother Earth Day, established by the United Nations to emphasize the importance of protecting the planet and preserving its natural resources for future generations, at a time when Palestinian land is facing one of the most dangerous phases of systematic targeting and destruction amid ongoing military aggression and Israeli settler-colonial policies.

This year’s commemoration comes in the context of the ongoing genocide war waged by the Israeli occupation against the Gaza Strip since October 2023. Its catastrophic impacts have not been limited to the Palestinian people but have also systematically extended to the environment and natural infrastructure, revealing a compound crime targeting both people and land.

Intensive bombardment and widespread destruction of infrastructure, homes, and civilian facilities have devastated vast areas of agricultural land, contaminated soil and groundwater, and undermined the foundations of natural life, signaling a long-term environmental catastrophe. Estimates indicate that more than 80% of infrastructure in the Gaza Strip has been destroyed or severely damaged, while large areas of agricultural land have become unusable.

The blockade and military operations have also destroyed water and sewage networks and energy facilities, exacerbating pollution levels, contributing to the spread of diseases, and depriving residents of their right to clean water and a safe environment, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law and environmental protection rules during armed conflicts.

Alongside this environmental destruction, Israeli forces continue their grave violations of the ceasefire agreement as part of a systematic policy amounting to a “slow genocide” through killing, starvation, and widespread destruction.

Since October 10, 2025, at least 2,470 violations have been documented, including:

• 931 shooting incidents
• 1,109 shelling and targeting operations
• 273 building demolitions

These violations have resulted in the killing of 781 civilians, 99% of whom are non-combatants, including hundreds of children and women, in addition to thousands of injuries.

In recent days, the Gaza Strip has witnessed a dangerous escalation, with Israeli forces committing a series of crimes, most notably:

• The massacre near Al-Zaqzouq junction in Khan Younis, which killed:
  Darwish Saeb Al-Attal, Saadi Abu Hilal, Majed Abu Mousa, and Mohammad Mustafa Al-Mu’men Abu Hilal.
• The killing of citizen Hiba Jamal Abu Shaqfa following the targeting of displaced persons’ tents in Beit Lahia.
• The killing of child Abdullah Dawwas in Jabalia camp.
• The killing of young man Khamees Al-Qassas east of Khan Younis.
• The killing of law graduate Ayman Khaled Abu Hasna (37 years old), one day after his graduation, in a direct strike near Al-Bureij camp.
• The killing of young man Khalil Nasr by military vehicle gunfire in northern Gaza.

Dozens of injuries have also been documented due to random gunfire from quadcopter drones and the targeting of homes and displacement tents, in blatant violation of the principles of distinction and proportionality.

This escalation coincides with the continued policy of starvation, as only 37% of aid trucks and 14% of fuel have been allowed to enter. Only 200 tons of flour are available out of a daily need of 450 tons, leading to a near-total shutdown of bakeries and a worsening risk of famine.

In the West Bank, settlement expansion and land confiscation policies continue, with 1,819 attacks recorded within a single month, alongside escalating settler violence, including killing civilians, attacking schools, stealing property, uprooting trees, and forcibly displacing communities, as part of a systematic effort to alter the demographic and geographic reality.

These facts collectively confirm that what is taking place in the occupied Palestinian territory is a comprehensive targeting of people, the environment, and Palestinian existence, constituting grave violations of international humanitarian law and international environmental law, and amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In this context, ICSPR affirms that protecting Palestinian land and preserving its natural resources is not merely an environmental issue, but an integral part of protecting human rights and ensuring the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

Accordingly, ICSPR calls for:

• The immediate cessation of the genocide war and obligating the occupation to uphold a comprehensive ceasefire.
• Providing urgent international protection for civilians and their natural resources in the occupied Palestinian territory.
• Accelerating the issuance and enforcement of arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court against those responsible for these crimes.
• Immediately lifting the blockade, ensuring the flow of aid and fuel, and allowing the entry of equipment necessary to address the environmental catastrophe.
• Securing humanitarian corridors to evacuate more than 18,000 patients and wounded individuals, and allowing the entry of heavy machinery to retrieve the bodies of the deceased.
• Taking binding international measures to halt settlement expansion and land confiscation in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
• Supporting efforts to rehabilitate the Palestinian environment and address the impacts of widespread destruction.

The continuation of these crimes, amid alarming international silence, not only represents a failure to protect civilians but also entrenches a dangerous reality in which both land and people are violated, turning “Mother Earth” in Palestine into an open arena for systematic destruction.

International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights (ICSPR)
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