Humanitarian NGOs condemn Israel’s violations of humanitarian law in Gaza

Several humanitarian and human rights organizations issued scathing statements on Tuesday about violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza by Israeli forces. On January 26, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take immediate and effective action to enable urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza. Not only is this not happening, the situation on the ground is deteriorating, the NGOs condemned in a joint press conference on Tuesday.

Israel continues to carry out air strikes on Gaza and the residents trapped there, and has not increased access to Gaza for humanitarian aid, said Tsafrir Cohen, executive director of Medico International.

Doctors of the World also criticized this. “We had difficulty getting aid in Gaza, and once we arrived in Gaza we couldn’t distribute the aid,” said Florence Rigal. Additionally, distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza is extremely risky for exhausted staff, who are constantly at risk of falling victim to Israeli airstrikes and snipers.

More than 1.5 million people trapped in Rafah are now unsafe and many have been forced to flee several times. At the same time, the Palestinian population was threatened by starvation and many diseases.

Calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire are more urgent than ever, humanitarian and human rights organizations have warned. “Israel’s military offensive has made it nearly impossible for our organization to provide humanitarian assistance in a meaningful and effective manner, not only endangering security but also threatening the principles on which our humanitarian efforts are based,” they worry.