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Gaza Aid Survey Details Israel's 'Disregard of International Law'
"Without accountability and a commitment to protecting humanitarian operations, we risk repeating the same cycles of impunity and neglect," said one campaigner.
Jan 28, 2025
A survey published Tuesday of 35 organizations working in Gaza found that Israel has failed to improve access to lifesaving humanitarian aid in the embattled Palestinian enclave—despite three separate orders from the International Court of Justice to do so over the past year.
The first of those ICJ directives, issued on January 26, 2024, ordered Israel to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza and provide basic services and humanitarian assistance to its approximately 2.3 million people. The overwhelming majority of Gazans have been forcibly displaced—often multiple times—sickened, or starved, their suffering exacerbated by Israel's "complete siege." According to Gaza officials, Israel's 15-month assault has left around 170,000 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing.
"As the survey shows, Israel completely failed to improve humanitarian conditions."
Groups participating in the survey—including Oxfam, Islamic Relief, Médecins du Monde, ActionAid, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and the Norwegian Refugee Council—found that Israel has "systematically denied and restricted aid, supplies, and services both into and within Gaza" since the ICJ's January 2024 order. This tracks with previous reporting from human rights groups warning that Israel has flouted all three ICJ directives, which were also issued in March and May.
Among the survey's findings:
- 89% of respondents said that Israeli actions regarding the provision of aid had worsened since the ICJ's ruling;
- 93% said the humanitarian situation for the people receiving their aid and services had deteriorated;
- 100% of surveyed agencies importing humanitarian supplies into Gaza said Israeli procedures for aid entry were either ineffective, had systematically impeded the humanitarian response, or were insufficient to meet the huge needs;
- 95% of agencies who imported aid supplies inside the Gaza Strip said they regularly encountered delays, some of them lasting two months or longer; and
- Agencies reported essential items like personal protective equipment (PPE), tarpaulins, winterization supplies, mobile kitchens, hygiene kits, food, and educational materials being denied due to the "dual use" procedure—because Israel deemed there was potential for them to be utilized for military use.
The survey results came a week into a fragile cease-fire between Hamas and Israel—which has already been accused of breaking the truce, including by killing civilians, a 5-year-old girl among them, and firing on medical workers.
"Given the volume of aid now entering Gaza, it is clear how much Israel has been obstructing the humanitarian response for the last 15 months," Oxfam policy lead Bushra Khalidi said in a statement. "As the survey shows, Israel completely failed to improve humanitarian conditions, in disregard of international law, while systematically preventing lifesaving aid from getting in."
"It is vital to assess past failures, even amid a cease-fire," Khalidi added. "Without accountability and a commitment to protecting humanitarian operations, we risk repeating the same cycles of impunity and neglect, leaving millions without hope of a better future."
The survey also coincides with hundreds of thousands of Gazans trying to return to their obliterated neighborhoods. Returning refugees report being blocked by both rubble and Israeli troops, who are sometimes using deadly force. More—but nowhere near enough—aid is finally reaching Gazans following the cease-fire.
"Now that aid is getting into Gaza, the next weeks will be critical but challenging, given the level of destruction Israel has rained down upon Gaza and its near-total decimation of the humanitarian infrastructure and operational capacity," Médecins du Monde president Dr. Jean-François Corty said on Tuesday.
The agencies that produced the survey are calling for continued and unimpeded access to humanitarian aid in Gaza, as well as for Israel to be held accountable for alleged war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The ICJ is currently weighing a South Africa-led genocide case against Israel. Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri.
"The international community must abide by its obligations under international law and ensure that the cease-fire becomes permanent, so Palestinians in Gaza have access to everything they need to survive without conditions and rebuild their lives equally as every human being deserves," AFSC Palestine/Israel country representative Hanady Muhiar stressed.
"Without meaningful accountability, the suffering will only deepen, and the path to justice and peace will remain blocked."
The communication and advocacy coordinator at ActionAid, Occupied Palestinian Territories, Riham Jafari, asserted that "it is essential that humanitarian access is not only immediate but sustained and unimpeded."
"The rights of Palestinians in Gaza must be protected from acts of genocide, and Israel must be held to account for its continued violations of international law," Jafari added. "Without meaningful accountability, the suffering will only deepen, and the path to justice and peace will remain blocked."
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As Gaza Death Toll Tops 40,000, Congress Urged to Block New Weapons to Israel
"U.S. arms transfers to Israel have fueled unimaginable suffering in Gaza, including staggering levels of civilian harm," said one embargo advocate.
Aug 15, 2024
As the Palestinian death toll from Israel's 314-day assault on Gaza passed 40,000—a figure Palestinian and United Ntions officials say is made up of mostly women and children and is likely a vast undercount—human rights groups this week decried the Biden administration's approval of $20 billion worth of new weapons for Israel and renewed pleas for Congress to block further arms transfers to the nation's far-right government.
On Tuesday—just days after Israeli forces used at least one U.S.-supplied bomb in an airstrike on a Gaza City school that killed scores of forcibly displaced Palestinian civilians sheltering there—the Biden administration notified Congress of the pending sale of a new weapons package that includes dozens of F-15 fighter jets, tens of thousands of 120mm mortar shells, over 32,700 tank shells, and 30 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles.
Since October, Congress and the Biden administration have approved more than $14 billion in unconditional military aid to Israel. President Joe Biden has signed off on more than 100 arms transfers to Israel during that period. This, atop the $3.8 billion in annual armed aid the U.S. already gives to the key Middle Eastern ally.
"Israel used U.S.-made weapons in May when it slaughtered Palestinian families sheltering in tent camps in Rafah," Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) said Wednesday. "Israel used U.S.-made weapons when it bombed the al-Mutanabbi school in Khan Younis in early July, killing over two dozen displaced Palestinians seeking refuge there. And it used U.S.-made weapons on Saturday to murder over 100 Palestinians while they prayed."
"Biden continues to send weapons to Israel, and both political parties—Republicans and Democrats—have cheered on the Israeli government's slaughter and genocide of Palestinians in Gaza," JVP continued. "This is a U.S.-perpetrated genocide as much as it is an Israeli one."
"But the Democratic voting base is calling for something different, and we have seen the progressive and increasingly mainstream wing of the party begin to echo this need," the group said. "We are playing a critical role in driving the Democratic Party to finally catch up to the demands of its own base."
"Right now, we have an opportunity to re-center Gaza in the national conversation and continue building pressure on the Biden administration, on [Vice President] Kamala Harris, and on Democratic members of Congress to support an immediate arms embargo," JVP added.
While Harris has expressed sympathy for Palestinians suffering what she called a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza, the vice president and Democratic presidential nominee, like Biden, has proclaimed her "unwavering" support for Israel. One aide said last week that Harris does not support an arms embargo.
"The decision to approve yet another massive sale of arms to Israel is appalling and a blatant violation of U.S. and international law and policy," Annie Shiel, the U.S. advocacy director at the Center for Civilians in Conflict, said on Thursday.
"U.S. arms transfers to Israel have fueled unimaginable suffering in Gaza, including staggering levels of civilian harm, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and an ever-growing humanitarian catastrophe," Shiel continued. "The U.S. is complicit in this devastation."
"Congress must block these sales, including through the introduction of joint resolutions of disapproval," she added, "and the Biden-Harris administration must finally end U.S. arms transfers and use its leverage to bring about an immediate cease-fire."
The international anti-poverty NGO ActionAid said Thursday: "We are outraged and heartbroken by the staggering loss of 40,000 lives in Gaza. It is a number that is incomprehensible—every life lost is an individual tragedy."
"But this is not an inevitable one, it is an ongoing atrocity, and it could have been prevented," the group continued. "Most governments across the world have refused to do the bare minimum to protect civilian life and it is to our collective shame. We are losing confidence each day in the concept of justice."
"We reiterate our calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and urge all governments to meet their obligations under international law and use all available means to take immediate and decisive action to ensure the safety and security of all civilians," ActionAid said.
"We call for the imposition of sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, on Israeli officials linked to alleged violations of international humanitarian law," the NGO added. "Every day that you choose to avoid this as a reality, this death toll will keep rising until there is nobody left in Gaza alive."
In addition to the South Africa-led genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan has applied for warrants to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and for three Hamas leaders, at least one of whom has been assassinated by Israeli forces.
The Biden administration and numerous members of Congress have condemned the courts' pursuit of justice for Israel and its leaders. In June, 42 Democrats joined nearly every Republican in the House of Representatives in passing a bill that would sanction ICC officials over Khan's application for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
In addition to rights groups, a coalition of journalists, news outlets, and press freedom organizations on Thursday implored the Biden administration to immediately halt arms transfers to Israel.
As the tight 2024 presidential race between Harris and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, heads toward the home stretch, a survey commissioned by the Institute for Middle Eastern Understanding Policy Project and conducted by YouGov revealed this week that Democratic and Independent voters in the key swing states of Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania would be more willing to vote for Harris if she backed an arms embargo on Israel.
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After 300 Days of Israeli Assault, Many Gazans Too Malnourished to Donate Blood
"It's truly admirable that despite these dreadful circumstances people are still wanting to help one another and support hospital staff by donating blood—even if, devastatingly, they are far too sick themselves to be able to do so."
Aug 02, 2024
As Palestinians and humanitarians around the world marked 300 days of horror in Gaza, an aid organization highlighted a pernicious consequence of Israel's nearly 10-month assault: A hospital in the northern part of the enclave was forced to turn away many who arrived to give blood to help those wounded by bombs and bullets because the potential donors themselves were too malnourished and sick.
Gazans turned out in significant numbers in recent weeks to give blood at Al-Awda Hospital, an already underresourced facility that faced an influx of wounded patients following the Israeli military's latest attacks on Gaza City.
ActionAid International, a global humanitarian group, said Friday that "despite facing appalling personal circumstances, many people selflessly responded to Al-Awda Hospital's call-out for blood donations, but with the whole of Gaza at high risk of famine, many were deemed too unwell to undergo the process."
Dr. Mohammed Salha, the acting director of Al-Awda, said a "large percentage" of potential blood donors were turned away because they were "suffering from malnutrition." An estimated 96% of Gaza's population is facing crisis-level hunger.
"Malnutrition is widespread, specifically in the northern Gaza Strip," said Salha. "For over five months, no vegetables, fruit, or meat have been brought into the northern Gaza Strip."
Al-Awda is one of the few hospitals in Gaza that is still partially functioning amid Israel's devastating military assault, which has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians since October and sparked an unprecedented humanitarian emergency.
No one has been spared: Entire families, journalists, aid workers, nurses and doctors, and U.N. staff have been killed by the U.S.-armed Israeli military, and those who have survived have been repeatedly displaced and forced to live amid rotting trash, sewage, and the ruins of homes and buildings with little to no access to clean water, reliable food sources, bathrooms, and other necessities.
The fetid conditions have become what the World Health Organization described as a "perfect breeding ground for disease." Earlier this week, Gaza's Health Ministry declared the enclave a "polio epidemic zone" and warned the consequences could spill over into neighboring countries.
Lice, scabies, and rashes are also rampant in the enclave given overcrowded conditions. Israel's forced evacuations of large swaths of Gaza have meant that more than two million people have sought refuge in just 14% of the territory.
"In addition to the spread of many skin diseases... there are thousands of [people who] have come to the hospital here and the hospitals operating in the northern Gaza Strip [who are] suffering from viral hepatitis," said Salha.
"The world must not normalize the horrors we are witnessing in Gaza."
Riham Jafari, advocacy and communications coordinator at ActionAid Palestine, said Friday that "it's no surprise at all that diseases and infections are running rampant in Gaza when people have been forced to live in such appalling and dehumanizing conditions, and have barely anything to eat."
"It's truly admirable that despite these dreadful circumstances people are still wanting to help one another and support hospital staff by donating blood—even if, devastatingly, they are far too sick themselves to be able to do so," Jafari added.
As conditions on the ground in Gaza worsen by the hour, the prospects of a cease-fire agreement appear increasingly remote amid Israel's fresh assassination campaign, which analysts argue is a clear attempt by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sabotage truce negotiations.
U.S. President Joe Biden, who has approved more than 100 arms sales to Israel since the October 7 Hamas-led attack, said Thursday after speaking with Netanyahu that "we have the basis for a cease-fire."
Netanyahu, the president added, "should move on it." But Biden gave no indication that he intends to pressure Israel by cutting off the weapons supply to its forces, who have used American arms to commit horrific war crimes.
Rohan Talbot, director of advocacy and campaigns with the U.K.-based group Medical Aid for Palestinians, said Thursday that "the world must not normalize the horrors we are witnessing in Gaza."
"Governments, including the U.K. government, must immediately cease arms transfers to Israel and redouble efforts to secure a permanent cease-fire," Talbot added. "Any delay will be measured not in days, but in Palestinian lives."
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