Maandelijks archief: augustus 2025

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the results of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis were no mystery: “It is a man-made disaster, a moral indictment – and a failure of humanity itself.

“Famine is not about food; it is the deliberate collapse of the systems needed for human survival.”

Famine conditions are projected to spread from Gaza Governorate to Deir Al Balah and Khan Younis Governorates in the coming weeks, the IPC estimates.

UN agencies have collectively and consistently highlighted the extreme urgency of delivering immediate and full-scale humanitarian aid given the escalating hunger-related deaths, rapidly worsening levels of acute malnutrition and plummeting levels of food consumption in Gaza – with hundreds of thousands going days without anything to eat.

Israel’s obligations

“As the occupying power, Israel has unequivocal obligations under international law – including the duty of ensuring food and medical supplies of the population,” said the UN chief, reacting to the famine declaration from the IPC, which is endorsed by dozens of governments, UN agencies and NGOs as the key evidence-based measure of food insecurity and malnutrition.

See our UN News explainer here.

Mr. Guterres said Israel’s denial of its duties could not be allowed to continue: “No more excuses. The time for action is not tomorrow – it is now.”

Silence the guns, release the hostages

UN agencies operating in Gaza joined the UN chief in calling for an immediate ceasefire to finally allow unimpeded, large-scale humanitarian response and the immediate release of all hostages taken by Hamas and other militants during the 7 October 2023 terror attacks.

Agencies also expressed grave concern over the threat of the intensified military offensive on Gaza City and any further escalation in the conflict, as it would have further devastating consequences for civilians where famine conditions already exist.

“Many people – especially sick and malnourished children, older people and people with disabilities – may be unable to evacuate,” they said in a joint statement

By the end of September, more than 640,000 people will face ‘catastrophic’ levels of food insecurity – classified as IPC Phase 5 – across the Gaza Strip.

An additional 1.14 million people in the enclave will be in phase 4 with a further 396,000 people facing phase 3 ‘crisis’ conditions.

Conditions in North Gaza are estimated to be as severe – or worse – than in Gaza City. However, limited data prevented an IPC classification, highlighting the urgent need for access.

Classifying famine means that the most extreme category is triggered when three critical thresholds – extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths – have been breached. The latest analysis now affirms on the basis of reasonable evidence that these criteria have been met, UN agencies said.

Briefing journalists on Friday at UN headquarters in Geneva, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said it was a famine that could have been prevented “if we had been allowed.”

Famine in a fertile land

“Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel. It is a famine within a few hundred metres of food, in a fertile land.

It is a famine that we repeatedly warned of – but that the international media has not been allowed in to cover, to bear witness,” he added.

“It is a famine in 2025. A 21st century famine watched over by drones and the most advanced military technology in history. It is a famine openly promoted by some Israeli leaders as a weapon of war.”

On a wider scale, Mr. Fletcher said it was “the world’s famine. It is a famine that asks ‘but what did you do?’ A famine that will and must haunt us all.”

Malnutrition among children in Gaza is accelerating “at a catastrophic pace”, said UN agencies, who note that in July alone, more than 12,000 children were identified as acutely malnourished – the highest monthly figure ever recorded and a six-fold increase since the start of the year.

Possible war crime

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said the famine was the “direct result” of Israeli Government policies.

“It is a war crime to use starvation as a method of warfare, and the resulting deaths may also amount to the war crime of willful killing,” he said.

“Israeli authorities must take immediate steps to end the famine in the Gaza Governorate and prevent further loss of life across the Gaza strip. They must ensure immediate entry of humanitarian assistance in sufficient amounts, and full access to UN and other humanitarian organizations.”

First Middle East famine

Since the last IPC Analysis in May, the number of children expected to be at severe risk of death from malnutrition by the end of June 2026 has tripled from 14,100 to 43,400.

The new assessment reports the most severe deterioration since the IPC began analysing acute food insecurity and acute malnutrition in Gaza Strip, and it marks the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East region.

Since July, food and aid supplies entering Gaza increased slightly but remained vastly insufficient, inconsistent and inaccessible compared to the need.

Meanwhile, approximately 98 percent of cropland in the territory is damaged or inaccessible – decimating the agriculture sector and local food production – and nine of ten people have been serially displaced from homes.

END

WFP.ORG

FAMINE CONFIRMED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN GAZA

22 AUGUST 2025

https://www.wfp.org/news/famine-confirmed-first-time-gaza

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), UNICEF, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have collectively and consistently highlighted the extreme urgency for an immediate and full-scale humanitarian response given the escalating hunger-related deaths, rapidly worsening levels of acute malnutrition and plummeting levels of food consumption, with hundreds of thousands of people going days without anything to eat.

The agencies reinforced that famine must be stopped at all costs. An immediate ceasefire and end to the conflict is critical to allow unimpeded, large-scale humanitarian response that can save lives. The agencies are also gravely concerned about the threat of an intensified military offensive in Gaza City and any escalation in the conflict, as it would have further devastating consequences for civilians where famine conditions already exist. Many people – especially sick and malnourished children, older people and people with disabilities – may be unable to evacuate.

By the end of September, more than 640,000 people will face Catastrophic levels of food insecurity – classified as IPC Phase 5 – across the Gaza Strip. An additional 1.14 million people in the territory will be in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and a further 396,000 people in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) conditions. Conditions in North Gaza are estimated to be as severe – or worse – than in Gaza City. However, limited data prevented an IPC classification, highlighting the urgent need for access to assess and assist. Rafah was not analyzed given indications that it is largely depopulated.

Classifying famine means that the most extreme category is triggered when three critical thresholds – extreme food deprivation, acute malnutrition and starvation-related deaths – have been breached. The latest analysis now affirms on the basis of reasonable evidence that these criteria have been met.

Almost two years of conflict, repeated displacement, and severe restrictions on humanitarian access, compounded by repeated interruptions and impediments to access to food, water, medical aid, support to agriculture, livestock and fisheries and the collapse of health, sanitation, and market systems, have pushed people into starvation.

Access to food in Gaza remains severely constrained. In July, the number of households reporting very severe hunger doubled across the territory compared to May and more than tripled in Gaza City. More than one in three people (39 percent) indicated they were going days at a time without eating, and adults regularly skip meals to feed their children.

Malnutrition among children in Gaza is accelerating at a catastrophic pace. In July alone, more than 12,000 children were identified as acutely malnourished – the highest monthly figure ever recorded and a six-fold increase since the start of the year. Nearly one in four of these children were suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), the deadliest form with both short and long-term impacts.

Since the last IPC Analysis in May, the number of children expected to be at severe risk of death from malnutrition by the end of June 2026 has tripled from 14,100 to 43,400. Similarly, for pregnant and breastfeeding women, the number of estimated cases has tripled from 17,000 in May to 55,000 women expected to be suffering from perilous levels of malnutrition by mid-2026. The impact is visible: one in five babies are born prematurely or underweight.

The new assessment reports the most severe deterioration since the IPC began analyzing acute food insecurity and acute malnutrition in the Gaza Strip, and it marks the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East region.

Since July, food and aid supplies entering Gaza increased slightly but remained vastly insufficient, inconsistent and inaccessible compared to the need.

Meanwhile, approximately 98 percent of cropland in the territory is damaged or inaccessible – decimating the agriculture sector and local food production – and nine of ten people have been serially displaced from homes. Cash is critically scarce, aid operations remain severely disrupted, with most UN trucks looted amid growing desperation. Food prices are extremely high and there is not enough fuel and water to cook and medicines and medical supplies.

Gaza’s health system has severely deteriorated, access to safe drinking water and sanitation services has been drastically reduced, while multi-drug resistant infections are surging and levels of morbidity – including diarrhea, fever, acute respiratory and skin infections – are alarmingly high among children.

To enable lifesaving humanitarian operations, the U.N. agencies emphasized the importance of an immediate and sustained ceasefire to stop the killing, allow for the safe release of hostages and permit unimpeded access for a mass influx of assistance to reach people across Gaza. They stressed the urgent need for greater amounts of food aid, along with dramatically improved delivery, distribution and accessibility, as well as shelter, fuel, cooking gas and food production inputs. They emphasized that it is critical to support the rehabilitation of the health system, maintain and revive essential health services, including primary health care, and ensure sustained delivery of health supplies into and across Gaza. The restoration of commercial flows at scale, market systems, essential services, and local food production is also vital if the worst outcomes of the famine are to be avoided.

“People in Gaza have exhausted every possible means of survival. Hunger and malnutrition are claiming lives every day, and the destruction of cropland, livestock, greenhouses, fishery and food production systems has made the situation even more dire,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. “Our priority must now be safe and sustained access for large-scale food assistance. Access to food is not a privilege – it is a basic human right.”

“Famine warnings have been clear for months,” said Cindy McCain, WFP Executive Director. “What’s urgently needed now is a surge of aid, safer conditions, and proven distribution systems to reach those most in need – wherever they are. Full humanitarian access and a ceasefire now are critical to save lives.”

“Famine is now a grim reality for children in Gaza Governorate, and a looming threat in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “As we have repeatedly warned, the signs were unmistakable: children with wasted bodies, too weak to cry or eat; babies dying from hunger and preventable disease; parents arriving at clinics with nothing left to feed their children. There is no time to lose. Without an immediate ceasefire and full humanitarian access, famine will spread, and more children will die. Children on the brink of starvation need the special therapeutic feeding that UNICEF provides.” 

“A ceasefire is an absolute and moral imperative now,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “The world has waited too long, watching tragic and unnecessary deaths mount from this man-made famine. Widespread malnutrition means that even common and usually mild diseases like diarrhea are becoming fatal, especially for children. The health system, run by hungry and exhausted health workers, cannot cope. Gaza must be urgently supplied with food and medicines to save lives and begin the process of reversing malnutrition. Hospitals must be protected so that they can continue treating patients. Aid blockages must end, and peace must be restored, so that healing can begin.”

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Notes for editors:

Access the IPC alert here.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is an innovative 21-partner initiative – made up of UN agencies and international NGOs – for improving food security and nutrition analysis and decision-making. By using the IPC classification and analytical approach, Governments, UN Agencies, NGOs, civil society and other relevant actors, work together to determine the severity and magnitude of acute and chronic food insecurity, and acute malnutrition situations in a country, according to internationally-recognized scientific standards. Find out more here.

Related links

Package of high-resolution photos is available here.

Broadcast quality footage is available here.

Palestine emergency page here.

END

GENOCIDE

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION CONCLUDES ISRAEL

IS COMMITTING GENOCIDE AGAINST PALESTINIANS IN GAZA

5 DECEMBER 2024

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/12/amnesty-international-concludes-israel-is-committing-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/

Amnesty International’s research has found sufficient basis to conclude that Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip, the organization said in a landmark new report published today.

The report, ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza, documents how, during its military offensive launched in the wake of the deadly Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on 7 October 2023, Israel has unleashed hell and destruction on Palestinians in Gaza brazenly, continuously and with total impunity.

“Amnesty International’s report demonstrates that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction. Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.

“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now.

“States that continue to transfer arms to Israel at this time must know they are violating their obligation to prevent genocide and are at risk of becoming complicit in genocide. All states with influence over Israel, particularly key arms suppliers like the USA and Germany, but also other EU member states, the UK and others, must act now to bring Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians in Gaza to an immediate end.”

Over the past two months the crisis has grown particularly acute in the North Gaza governorate, where a besieged population is facing starvation, displacement and annihilation amid relentless bombardment and suffocating restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid.

“Our research reveals that, for months, Israel has persisted in committing genocidal acts, fully aware of the irreparable harm it was inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza. It continued to do so in defiance of countless warnings about the catastrophic humanitarian situation and of legally binding decisions from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to take immediate measures to enable the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza,” said Agnès Callamard.

“Israel has repeatedly argued that its actions in Gaza are lawful and can be justified by its military goal to eradicate Hamas. But genocidal intent can co-exist alongside military goals and does not need to be Israel’s sole intent.”

Amnesty International examined Israel’s acts in Gaza closely and in their totality, taking into account their recurrence and simultaneous occurrence, and both their immediate impact and their cumulative and mutually reinforcing consequences. The organization considered the scale and severity of the casualties and destruction over time. It also analysed public statements by officials, finding that prohibited acts were often announced or called for in the first place by high-level officials in charge of the war efforts.

“Taking into account the pre-existing context of dispossession, apartheid and unlawful military occupation in which these acts have been committed, we could find only one reasonable conclusion: Israel’s intent is the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, whether in parallel with, or as a means to achieve, its military goal of destroying Hamas,” said Agnès Callamard.

“The atrocity crimes committed on 7 October 2023 by Hamas and other armed groups against Israelis and victims of other nationalities, including deliberate mass killings and hostage-taking, can never justify Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”

International jurisprudence recognizes that the perpetrator does not need to succeed in their attempts to destroy the protected group, either in whole or in part, for genocide to have been committed. The commission of prohibited acts with the intent to destroy the group, as such, is sufficient.

Amnesty International’s report examines in detail Israel’s violations in Gaza over nine months between 7 October 2023 and early July 2024. The organization interviewed 212 people, including Palestinian victims and witnesses, local authorities in Gaza, healthcare workers, conducted fieldwork and analysed an extensive range of visual and digital evidence, including satellite imagery. It also analysed statements by senior Israeli government and military officials, and official Israeli bodies. On multiple occasions, the organization shared its findings with the Israeli authorities but had received no substantive response at the time of publication.

Unprecedented scale and magnitude

Israel’s actions following Hamas’s deadly attacks on 7 October 2023 have brought Gaza’s population to the brink of collapse. Its brutal military offensive had killed more than 42,000 Palestinians, including over 13,300 children, and injured over 97,000 more, by 7 October 2024, many of them in direct or deliberately indiscriminate attacks, often wiping out entire multigenerational families. It has caused unprecedented destruction, which experts say occurred at a level and speed not seen in any other conflict in the 21st century, levelling entire cities and destroying critical infrastructure, agricultural land and cultural and religious sites. It thereby rendered large swathes of Gaza uninhabitable.

Mohammed, who fled with his family from Gaza City to Rafah in March 2024 and was displaced again in May 2024, described their struggle to survive in horrifying conditions:

“Here in Deir al-Balah, it’s like an apocalypse… You have to protect your children from insects, from the heat, and there is no clean water, no toilets, all while the bombing never stops. You feel like you are subhuman here.”

Israel imposed conditions of life in Gaza that created a deadly mixture of malnutrition, hunger and diseases, and exposed Palestinians to a slow, calculated death. Israel also subjected hundreds of Palestinians from Gaza to incommunicado detention, torture and other ill-treatment.

Viewed in isolation, some of the acts investigated by Amnesty International constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law or international human rights law. But in looking at the broader picture of Israel’s military campaign and the cumulative impact of its policies and acts, genocidal intent is the only reasonable conclusion.

Intent to destroy

To establish Israel’s specific intent to physically destroy Palestinians in Gaza, as such, Amnesty International analysed the overall pattern of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, reviewed dehumanizing and genocidal statements by Israeli government and military officials, particularly those at the highest levels, and considered the context of Israel’s system of apartheid, its inhumane blockade of Gaza and the unlawful 57-year-old military occupation of the Palestinian territory.

Before reaching its conclusion, Amnesty International examined Israel’s claims that its military lawfully targeted Hamas and other armed groups throughout Gaza, and that the resulting unprecedented destruction and denial of aid were the outcome of unlawful conduct by Hamas and other armed groups, such as locating fighters among the civilian population or the diversion of aid. The organization concluded these claims are not credible. The presence of Hamas fighters near or within a densely populated area does not absolve Israel from its obligations to take all feasible precautions to spare civilians and avoid indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks. Its research found Israel repeatedly failed to do so, committing multiple crimes under international law for which there can be no justification based on Hamas’s actions. Amnesty International also found no evidence that the diversion of aid could explain Israel’s extreme and deliberate restrictions on life-saving humanitarian aid.

In its analysis, the organization also considered alternative arguments such as ones that Israel was acting recklessly or that it simply wanted to destroy Hamas and did not care if it needed to destroy Palestinians in the process, demonstrating a callous disregard for their lives rather than genocidal intent.

However, regardless of whether Israel sees the destruction of Palestinians as instrumental to destroying Hamas or as an acceptable by-product of this goal, this view of Palestinians as disposable and not worthy of consideration is in itself evidence of genocidal intent.

Many of the unlawful acts documented by Amnesty International were preceded by officials urging their implementation. The organization reviewed 102 statements that were issued by Israeli government and military officials and others between 7 October 2023 and 30 June 2024 and dehumanized Palestinians, called for or justified genocidal acts or other crimes against them.

Of these, Amnesty International identified 22 statements made by senior officials in charge of managing the offensive that appeared to call for, or justify, genocidal acts, providing direct evidence of genocidal intent. This language was frequently replicated, including by Israeli soldiers on the ground, as evidenced by audiovisual content verified by Amnesty International showing soldiers making calls to “erase” Gaza or to make it uninhabitable, and celebrating the destruction of Palestinian homes, mosques, schools and universities.

Killing and causing serious bodily or mental harm

Amnesty International documented the genocidal acts of killing and causing serious mental and bodily harm to Palestinians in Gaza by reviewing the results of investigations it conducted into 15 air strikes between 7 October 2023 and 20 April 2024 that killed at least 334 civilians, including 141 children, and wounded hundreds of others. Amnesty International found no evidence that any of these strikes were directed at a military objective.

In one illustrative case, on 20 April 2024, an Israeli air strike destroyed the Abdelal family house in the Al-Jneinah neighbourhood in eastern Rafah, killing three generations of Palestinians, including 16 children, while they were sleeping.

While these represent just a fraction of Israel’s aerial attacks, they are indicative of a broader pattern of repeated direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects or deliberately indiscriminate attacks. The attacks were also conducted in ways designed to cause a very high number of fatalities and injuries among the civilian population.

Inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction

The report documents how Israel deliberately inflicted conditions of life on Palestinians in Gaza intended to lead, over time, to their destruction. These conditions were imposed through three simultaneous patterns that repeatedly compounded the effect of each other’s devastating impacts: damage to and destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure and other objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population; the repeated use of sweeping, arbitrary and confusing mass “evacuation” orders to forcibly displace almost all of Gaza’s population; and the denial and obstruction of the delivery of essential services, humanitarian assistance and other life-saving supplies into and within Gaza.

After 7 October 2023, Israel imposed a total siege on Gaza cutting off electricity, water and fuel. In the nine months reviewed for this report, Israel maintained a suffocating, unlawful blockade, tightly controlled access to energy sources, failed to facilitate meaningful humanitarian access within Gaza,  and obstructed the import and delivery of life-saving goods and humanitarian aid, particularly to areas north of Wadi Gaza. They thereby exacerbated an already existing humanitarian crisis. This, combined with the extensive damage to Gaza’s homes, hospitals, water and sanitation facilities and agricultural land, and mass forced displacement, caused catastrophic levels of hunger and led to the spread of diseases at alarming rates. The impact was especially harsh on young children and pregnant or breastfeeding women, with anticipated long-term consequences for their health.

Time and again, Israel had the chance to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, yet for over a year it has repeatedly refused to take steps blatantly within its power to do so, such as opening sufficient access points to Gaza or lifting tight restrictions on what could enter the Strip  or their obstruction of aid deliveries within Gaza while the situation has grown progressively worse.

Through its repeated “evacuation” orders Israel displaced nearly 1.9 million Palestinians – 90% of Gaza’s population – into ever-shrinking, unsafe pockets of land under inhumane conditions, some of them up to 10 times. These multiple waves of forced displacement left many jobless and deeply traumatized, especially since some 70% of Gaza’s residents are refugees or descendants of refugees whose towns and villages were ethnically cleansed by Israel during the 1948 Nakba.

Despite conditions quickly becoming unfit for human life, Israeli authorities refused to consider measures that would have protected displaced civilians and ensured their basic needs were met, showing that their actions were deliberate.

They refused to allow those displaced to return to their homes in northern Gaza or relocate temporarily to other parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory or Israel, continuing to deny many Palestinians their right to return under international law to areas they were displaced from in 1948. They did so knowing that there was nowhere safe for Palestinians in Gaza to flee to.

Accountability for genocide

“The international community’s seismic, shameful failure for over a year to press Israel to end its atrocities in Gaza, by first delaying calls for a ceasefire and then continuing arms transfers, is and will remain a stain on our collective conscience,” said Agnès Callamard.

“Governments must stop pretending they are powerless to end this genocide, which was enabled by decades of impunity for Israel’s violations of international law. States need to move beyond mere expressions of regret or dismay and take strong and sustained international action, however uncomfortable a finding of genocide may be for some of Israel’s allies.

“The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity issued last month offer real hope of long-overdue justice for victims. States must demonstrate their respect for the court’s decision and for universal international law principles by arresting and handing over those wanted by the ICC.

“We are calling on the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to urgently consider adding genocide to the list of crimes it is investigating and for all states to use every legal avenue to bring perpetrators to justice. No one should be allowed to commit genocide and remain unpunished.”

Amnesty International is also calling for all civilian hostages to be released unconditionally and for Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups responsible for the crimes committed on 7 October to be held to account.

The organization is also calling for the UN Security Council to impose targeted sanctions against Israeli and Hamas officials most implicated in crimes under international law.

Background

On 7 October 2023 Hamas and other armed groups indiscriminately fired rockets into southern Israel and carried out deliberate mass killings and hostage-taking there, killing 1,200 people, including over 800 civilians, and abducted 223 civilians and captured 27 soldiers. The crimes perpetrated by Hamas and other armed groups during this attack will be the focus of a forthcoming Amnesty International report.

Since October 2023, Amnesty International has conducted in-depth investigations into the multiple violations and crimes under international law committed by Israeli forces, including direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects and deliberately indiscriminate attacks killing hundreds of civilians, as well as other unlawful attacks on and collective punishment of the civilian population. The organization has called on the Office of the ICC Prosecutor to expedite its investigation into the situation in the State of Palestine and is campaigning for an immediate ceasefire.

END

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

ISRAEL/OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY:

”YOU FEEL YOU ARE SUBHUMAN”:

ISRAEL’S GENOCIDE AGAINST PALESTINIANS IN GAZA

5 DECEMBER 2024

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde15/8668/2024/en/

This report documents Israel’s actions during its offensive on the occupied Gaza Strip from 7 October 2023. It examines the killing of civilians, damage to and destruction of civilian infrastructure, forcible displacement, the obstruction or denial of life-saving goods and humanitarian aid, and the restriction of power supplies. It analyses Israel’s intent through this pattern of conduct and statements by Israeli decision-makers. It concludes that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
A stand-alone executive summary is available in English and other languages: ‘You Feel Like You Are Subhuman’: Israel’s Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza: Executive Summary (Index: MDE 15/8744/2024).

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT

YOU FEEL YOU ARE SUBHUMAN

ISRAEL’S GENOCIDE AGAINST PALESTINIANS IN GAZA

DECEMBER 2024

file:///C:/Users/Astrid/Downloads/MDE1586682024ENGLISH%20(2).pdf

SEE ALSO

https://www.astridessed.nl/amnesty-international-investigation-concludes-israel-is-committing-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/

Authorities in the occupied Gaza Strip must respect the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression and cease the ongoing repression of protesters, Amnesty International said today.

Over the past two months, the organization has documented a disturbing pattern of threats, intimidation and harassment, including interrogations and beatings by Hamas-run security forces against individuals exercising their right to peaceful protest amidst Israel’s ongoing genocide and its recent escalation in bombardment and expansion of mass displacement.

Since 25 March, residents of Beit Lahia, a town in the North Gaza governorate, have organized multiple marches demanding an end to Israel’s genocide and unlawful displacement. These protests have attracted hundreds, if not thousands of Palestinians. Protesters have been chanting slogans and holding signs criticizing the Hamas-led authorities in Gaza, with some people calling for an end to Hamas’ rule. Smaller protests have also taken place in Jabalia refugee camp, Shuja’iya and Khan Younis, where protesters also chanted slogans against specific Hamas leaders.

“The Hamas authorities must immediately cease all repressive measures against Palestinians who are bravely and openly expressing their opposition to Hamas practices in Gaza. Reports of beatings, threats, and interrogations are extremely alarming and constitute serious violations of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International.

“It is abhorrent and shameful that while Palestinians in Gaza are enduring atrocities at the hands of Israel, Hamas authorities are further exacerbating their suffering by ramping up threats and intimidation against people simply for saying ‘we want to live’.  Palestinians in Gaza are protesting the devastating impact of Israel’s ongoing genocide and the forced displacement, as well as the failure of the authorities in Gaza to protect them from such attacks. They have the right to criticize the authorities without fearing violent reprisals.”

Amnesty International interviewed 12 individuals – 10 men and two women – who either participated in or organized protests, as well as family members of three other protesters who said their relatives had been threatened if they decided to continue protesting. The interviewees described incidents where people who took part in protests were summoned for interrogation without following formal procedures, beaten with sticks and, in some cases, being threatened that they would be shot.

Many expressed ongoing fears of further repression, with some family members of protesters describing threats and violence directed at their loved ones.

Others expressed defiance. One resident of al-Atatra in Beit Lahia, whose family was decimated in an Israeli airstrike last year, told Amnesty International:

“We are entitled to live with dignity. We started marching because we want a solution to our suffering. No one incited us or told us to protest. People are protesting because they cannot live, they wanted change… Security forces came threatening and beating us, accusing us of being traitors, simply for raising our voices. We will continue to protest, no matter the risk.”

He described how after a protest on 16 April, members of Hamas security services summoned him for interrogation, along with several others from the neighbourhood of al-Atatra where he lives. He said he and others were taken to a building in Mashrou’ Beit Lahia which had been transformed into a makeshift detention centre, and were beaten by around 50 armed men in civilian clothes:

“I was beaten on my neck, on my back, with wooden sticks on my neck. They shouted at me…They accused me of being a traitor – a collaborator with the Mossad [Israeli intelligence agency].  I told them we took to the streets because we wanted to live, we wanted to eat and drink… I lost my family in one of the worst massacres in this war, five of my siblings and their children were killed. It was horrible, to be called a collaborator, to have your patriotism questioned, when your family is wiped out,” he said, adding that the government in Gaza has failed its citizens and while people know Israel is to blame, they also feel the Hamas authorities don’t “see” their suffering

He was released after nearly four hours of detention and interrogation and was ordered not to participate in any further protests.

Since its takeover of Gaza in 2007 and the establishment of a parallel security and law enforcement apparatus, Hamas has imposed severe restrictions on freedom of association, expression and peaceful assembly, using excessive force in response to several protest movements, most notably in 2019, and regularly detaining and torturing dissidents. Even during Israel’s ongoing genocide, Hamas security services continued to throttle freedom of expression, including by labelling critics as traitors.

Seven protesters interviewed by Amnesty International said they had been labeled as “traitors” by security forces in plain clothes, who approached them after the protests, or during interrogation.

One protester said: “Here in Beit Lahia, we are attached to our land… so when we were displaced, it was like someone took our whole life away. We called on our neighbors, friends, to protest after the evacuation orders, because we were afraid of another displacement. It was a protest against the occupation and also against Hamas. We wanted them to listen to us.”

He said that initially the protestors called for Israel to end its genocide, establish a ceasefire and open the crossings into Gaza. However, many began chanting against Hamas because “people are angry and fed up”.

He told Amnesty International that he had been summoned for interrogation multiple times but refused to go until individuals affiliated with Hamas security services came to his home on 17 April.

“They beat me with sticks, and punched my face, the beating was not very hard, I think it more of a threat. Prior to that, after a protest, one person affiliated with them came over and threatened to shoot me in my feet if I continue to protest,” he said.

During interrogation he was accused of being recruited by the head of the intelligence services of the Ramallah-based Palestinian authorities and of being paid by Israeli intelligence.

“It’s all nonsense,” he said. “They know it’s nonsense. Yes, I identify with Fatah [the other main Palestinian political party] but in Gaza now, it’s not about Hamas and Fatah. We want to survive; we want to live.”

Other residents from Beit Lahia said the authorities threatened them but stopped short of harming them physically.  An 18-year-old student told Amnesty International that men in plainclothes threatened to harm him and his family if he did not stop protesting.

A woman who helped to organize a women-led vigil in Beit Lahia told the organization that her husband and children were threatened with arrest for their participation in protests.   She said: “After the threats against men we wanted to raise our voices as women. It was a small protest, but we wanted to send a message, to our leaders, and also to the occupation [Israel] that we cannot tolerate this anymore. We want to protect our children; we want to live.”

In recent days, Israeli forces expanded their military operations across the occupied Gaza Strip, re-deploying tanks in Beit Lahia and forcing most residents out. One woman displaced from Beit Lahia to Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on 16 May, told Amnesty: “We protested against Hamas and against the war, and now we are displaced by Israel again.”

Referencing a comment made by a senior Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri, in which he said: “The house will be rebuilt and the martyr…we will reproduce tenfold,” she told Amnesty:

“They [Hamas leaders] don’t care for our suffering. Even if I rebuild my house that was destroyed, the memories and life I had there will never be rebuilt. My cousin lost her husband and three children in an Israeli strike. Can he look at her and say that her children will be reproduced?”

Criticism of Abu Zuhri’s remarks and other statements by Hamas leaders that appear to belittle the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza was voiced by displaced people who staged a spontaneous protest when Khan Younis received a mass “evacuation order” on 19 May 2025.

“The authorities in Gaza must allow peaceful protesters, dissidents, and journalists to exercise their rights without intimidation, harassment, or violence. Interrogation of protesters must cease immediately, and those responsible for violence or threats should be held accountable.  The authorities in Gaza must respect the rights of the people in Gaza and protect them, at a time when their survival is at stake,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International

Background

The recent crackdown on protests in the occupied Gaza Strip occurs against the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing genocide and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. On 2 March Israel had completely cut off the supply of humanitarian aid and other items indispensable to the survival of civilians. The 77-day total siege, which Israel slightly but insufficiently eased following international pressure, and the ongoing severe restrictions area clear and calculated effort to collectively punish over two million civilians and contribute to the creation of conditions of life leading to the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza.

END

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

RELEASE OF CIVILIAN HOSTAGES AND ARBITRARILY DETAINED PALESTINIANS MUST BE IMMEDIATE AND NOT

HINGE ON CEASEFIRE NEGOTIATIONS

28 FEBRUARY 2025

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/02/release-of-civilian-hostages-held-in-gaza-and-arbitrarily-detained-palestinians-must-be-immediate-and-not-hinge-on-ceasefire-negotiations/

The release of Israeli and foreign national civilians held hostage by Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, and Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel, must take place immediately and should not be contingent on the outcome of political negotiations over the next phase of the ceasefire, said Amnesty International, as the first phase of the hostage-prisoner swap deal draws to a close.

Overnight on 26/27 February, Hamas returned the bodies of four Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of 640 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, as part of the last exchange deal under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement. The release of Palestinian prisoners had been delayed by Israel in previous days. Negotiations over the second phase of the ceasefire are set to agree the release of remaining Israeli hostages and further Palestinian detainees and prisoners, as well as a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and a permanent end to hostilities.

“Israeli and foreign hostages and Palestinian detainees must not be treated as political pawns in a despicable power struggle over the next phase of the ceasefire deal. Only a durable ceasefire, including unhindered humanitarian assistance for Gaza, will end suffering for all. But the release of both civilian hostages and Palestinians arbitrarily detained – especially those held without charges or trial – should not be a matter of negotiation; it is a matter of international law. Hostage taking is a war crime. There can be no justification for abducting anyone to use as a hostage, nor for the prolonged, arbitrary detention of individuals to serve as bargaining chips,” said Erika Guevara Rosas, Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns at Amnesty International.

“Israel and Hamas must release all unlawfully held individuals – immediately – regardless of the outcome of political negotiations over phase two of the ceasefire.”

At least 59 hostages, the vast majority of them Israelis, remain in captivity in Gaza, of whom at least 24 are believed to be alive.

Over 4,000 Palestinians are held without charge or trial either under administrative detention or based on the Unlawful Combatants’ Law, which violates international law.

The release of Palestinian detainees and Israeli hostages in recent weeks has raised grave concerns over inhumane treatment in custody and dire conditions of detention for both hostages in Gaza and detainees in Israel.

At least 250 individuals, alive and dead, were taken hostage in southern Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023. An Israeli forensic examination of the bodies of at least six deceased hostages retrieved in August 2024 indicates they were shot dead at close range shortly before their retrieval suggesting they were killed by their captors.

Hamas has also withheld the bodies of two Israeli soldiers since 2014. One of those bodies was recovered by Israeli forces during a military operation in January 2025.

Israeli media reports indicate some released hostages described being held in tunnels while in chains, deprived of food and with very limited exposure to daylight. They also reported being subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.

Hamas has publicly paraded hostages and forced them to participate in humiliating public handover ceremonies in front of crowds. In one incident, the coffins of deceased Israeli hostages, including two children, were displayed publicly in front of a poster depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a vampire.

“Outrages to personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, are prohibited by international humanitarian law. Yet we have witnessed hostages being paraded in public as trophies of war or coerced to participate in propaganda videos. Hamas and other armed groups must immediately put an end to these degrading spectacles and ensure all hostages and human remains are treated with respect and dignity,” said Erika Guevara Rosas.

“All those who remain in captivity must be treated humanely and protected from torture and other ill-treatment and be given access to the International Committee of the Red Cross, and to medical care.”

Palestinian detainees released during the ceasefire deal have also emerged from detention looking gaunt and bearing signs of torture and other ill-treatment. Amnesty International has previously documented how detainees have been subjected to enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention and widespread torture in custody including through beatings, starvation and other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment. At least 60 Palestinian detainees have died while in Israeli custody since 7 October 2023.

“Continuing to arbitrarily hold thousands of Palestinians without any legal grounds is cruel, unjustified and blatantly unlawful. Israeli authorities must stop using arbitrary detention and refrain from holding the bodies of deceased Palestinians as bargaining chips. Until the detainees are released, Israel must allow international monitors access to detention facilities. All individuals in custody must be protected from torture and provided with adequate food, water and medical treatment, as well as access to their families and lawyers,” said Erika Guevara Rosas.

Israeli authorities also forced Palestinians to undergo degrading and humiliating treatment during their release, including forcing them to wear shirts with a Star of David logo and the slogan “we will not forget or forgive”.

In one case in September 2024, Israeli forces also sent containers including the remains of at least 88 unidentified Palestinians to Gaza, who were then buried in a mass grave. The bodies of at least 600 Palestinians continue to be held by Israeli forces as bargaining chips under a long-standing illegal Israeli practice that predates October 2023.

“The bodies of the deceased should never be treated as a battleground. All parties to the conflict have a clear obligation to respect and uphold the dignity of the living and the dead, including ensuring that bodies and remains are properly identified and handed over with dignity,” said Erika Guevara Rosas.

END

Palestinian parliamentary election results surprised world leaders, international observers and even Palestinians themselves when Hamas won a majority of the seats in January 2006. The Carter Center, in partnership with the National Democratic Institute, sent an 85-member team to observe the election, which was found to be peaceful, competitive and genuinely democratic.

Carter Center observers witnessed an orderly and peaceful election day, with residents showing a clear preference for Hamas candidates even in historically strong Fatah communities. The delegation of observers in the West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem were led by former President Jimmy Carter, former Albanian President Rexhep Meidani, former Swedish Primer Minister Carl Bildt and former Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio.

In the parliamentary election Hamas captured 74 of 132 seats, much better than many analysts’ predictions. While recognizing the concern of many Western nations about Hamas rule, Carter emphasized the need to support the new government.

“During this fluid period in the formation of the new government, it is important that Israel and the United States play positive roles,” Carter said. “Any tacit or formal collusion between the two powers to disrupt the process by punishing the Palestinian people could be counterproductive and have devastating consequences.”

Hamas, a militant group, has created a network of social welfare programs throughout the West Bank and Gaza, which has contributed to the group’s popular support. Hamas candidates also are seen as a change from the corruption-riddled ruling Fatah party, according to many Palestinians.

In the wake of the election, Israel and the United States have led a push to withhold much-needed humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, arguing that a parliament controlled by Hamas should not be supported. Carter said withholding such aid would be a mistake and would likely alienate the Palestinians, incite violence and even increase Hamas’ domestic influence.

The Carter Center has observed in two prior Palestinian elections: Yasser Arafat’s election in 1996 and the 2004 election of Mahmoud Abbas. The entrance of Hamas candidates in the elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council brought unprecedented uncertainty and drama to January’s contest.

In its election monitoring, The Carter Center again witnessed a situation that has occurred in all three elections it has observed: Palestinians living in East Jerusalem faced difficulties in voting.

“Because of the competing claims of sovereignty over East Jerusalem, the Israeli government has only allowed a tiny fraction of the Palestinians living in East Jerusalem to vote there,” said David Carroll, director of the center’s Democracy Program. “Balloting had to take place in post offices, set up as centers for ‘absentee ballots,’ to be returned to Palestinian election officials in Ramallah, the seat of the Palestinian Authority government.”

Despite the difficult circumstances of the ongoing conflict and Israeli occupation, Palestinian voters turned out in large numbers in a strong expression of their desire to choose representatives through open and competitive elections. The enthusiasm of Palestinians for the election process was evident throughout the voting districts and was reinforced by the professional and impartial performance of election officials.

A post-election team of Carter Center experts is expected to assess potential areas for future involvement in the region.