Al-Haq reiterates its call on international and regional organisations, institutions, and Third States to urgently intervene to stop Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people, as Israel kills at least 404 Palestinians and injures 562 in Gaza in less than twelve hours through intense, widespread, aerial bombardment. Driven by unhindered incitement to genocide and a settler-colonial, apartheid regime that seeks to dominate and ultimately destroy Palestinians, the wave of strikes by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) come with a statement by the Israeli Prime Minister’s office promising that “Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength”.
After the announcement of the ceasefire, Al-Haq stressed that mere declarations are not enough to end the genocide nor to preclude further genocidal acts across the OPT, and highlighted that third States must address the root causes of Israel’s genocidal campaign. In particular, we urged the international community to impose a two-way arms embargo and economic sanctions on Israel, to ensure that impartial international investigative bodies or forensic experts are able to conduct investigations and collect evidence on the ground in Gaza, and to comply with the enforcement of the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.
The failure of the international community to take such actions, combined with the fragility of the ceasefire and the unwavering support from Israel’s allies, in particular the United States (US), allowed Israel to shatter any hopes of a lasting end to the genocide and peace for Palestinians. The complete lack of concrete action has emboldened Israel, as which is evidenced in its targeting of the entire Gaza Strip, from the north to the south, including Gaza City, central areas like Deir el-Balah, as well as Khan Younis and Rafah –– killing and injuring over 1,000 Palestinians overnight.
Israel is targeting the Palestinian group in Gaza with destruction –– Gaza has become “a graveyard for children and a living hell for everyone else”. As outlined in the latest report of the United Nations (UN) Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel (CoI), titled “More than a human can bear”: Israel’s systematic use of sexual, reproductive and other forms of gender-based violence since 7 October 2023, Israeli military operations in Gaza have had a disproportionate impact on Palestinian women and girls, who continue to be targeted and “bear the brunt and pay the price for decisions made by those in power”. Nearly a third of all those killed are children. This can not be tolerated. Business can not continue as usual.
The genocide never ended. Despite the signing of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas on 15 January 2025, Israel created conditions of life so unlivable as to continue killing Palestinians in Gaza even after the bombs stop dropping. Israel consistently violated the terms of the ceasefire agreement by continuing to bomb Gaza, denying the entry of urgently-needed humanitarian aid to a starving population under continued siege and blockade, and refusing to commence the second phase of the ceasefire agreement. Palestinians continue to endure conditions of life calculated to bring about their destruction, dying from starvation, freezing temperatures, and the spread of preventable disease.
Since 2 March, Israeli authorities have cut off the entry of all life-saving supplies –– food, medicines, fuel, cooking gas and prevented the delivery of mobile homes as shelter –– for 2.1 million people. Israel has prevented all aid and humanitarian supplies from entering the Gaza Strip, and has attacked and bombed vehicles transporting aid, killing eight civilian aid workers and journalists. Repeated requests to collect aid sitting at Karem Abu Salem crossing have been systematically rejected, with food and medicine left to rot and expire. Even medical evacuations have come to a halt. On 9 March, Israel’s Minister of Energy, Eli Cohen signed an order to cut off the electricity supply to Gaza, leaving southern Gaza's desalination plant no longer able to function and consequently limiting access to clean water for 600,000 people.
It is worth noting that a day before this latest wave of genocidal attacks, Israel consulted the US, and the White House spokesperson said: "As President Trump has made it clear –– Hamas, the Houthis, Iran, all those who seek to terrorize not just Israel, but also the United States of America, will see a price to pay. All hell will break loose." This greenlight by the US of Israel’s deadly assault on Gaza clearly breaches US obligations under international law, and renders it a direct participant in Israel’s genocide against Palestinians –– along with the complicity of all other States that continue to provide tacit, diplomatic support to Israel and contribute to its settler-colonial regime through the transfer of weapons, sharing of information, and maintenance of trade ties.
Under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Third States have: an erga omnes obligation to prevent genocide; an obligation which must include ensuring that Israel abides by the Provisional Measures Orders issued by the International Court of Justice on 26 January, 28 March, and 24 May 2024. As Israel escalates and expands its genocidal campaign it is imperative that all states immediately act to enforce the terms of the ICJ Orders and to take all necessary action to ensure the Convention Against Genocide can be relied upon as a tool for protecting the Palestnian population. The nature and scope of all states’ obligations to refrain from aiding, assisting and maintaining the occupation have been recalled, strengthened and detailed by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which determined in its Advisory Opinion on 19 July 2024 that Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territory is illegal and must be brought to an end as rapidly as possible. Accordingly, Third States must enact sanctions against Israel and use all means at their disposal.
We emphasise that Israel has been enabled, and encouraged with military support, to conduct this genocidal campaign against the Palestinian people for more than 17 months. This campaign concerns the entirety of the OPT, including the West Bank where Israel has been committing the most intense atrocities since 1967, with the clear objective to ensure a permanent presence and ultimately annex the territory while seeking to erase the Palestinian people. This objective can be readily inferred from Israel’s Defense Minister’s statement that he “instructed the IDF to prepare for a long stay in the [refugee] camps that were cleared, for the coming year, and not allow residents to return”. To reach this objective, the Israeli authorities are making the life of Palestinians impossible by resorting to methods used to carry out the genocide in Gaza –– including destroying entire neighbourhoods and vital civilian infrastructure, forcing the mass displacement of 40,000 Palestinians from refugee camps in the northern West Bank, as well as imposing sieges and conditions fueling hunger in Palestinian communities. This policy amounts to deliberately imposing conditions of life calculated to destroy the Palestinian people, an underlying act of genocide. While this campaign has primarily targeted the north West Bank, we warn that Israel is now extending it to other areas, including notably Nablus.
In light of the above, it is imperative that Third States comply with their binding obligations under international law. While we welcome declarations from states across the world, condemning Israel’s latest wave of attacks on Gaza, such statements are meaningless if not followed by decisive, tangible action.