GENEVA, March 7, 2025 (WAFA) – UN human rights experts have condemned Israel's resumption of weaponizing starvation in Gaza to break from the ceasefire agreement and block humanitarian aid. This flagrantly breaches international law and any prospects of peace, they said.
"We are alarmed by Israel’s decision to suspend once again all goods and supplies, including life-saving humanitarian aid entering the Gaza strip. The announcement followed a decision by the Israeli War Cabinet to break from the Gaza ceasefire agreement and calls by ministers to re-open the ‘gates of hell’ in the besieged enclave," warned the UN experts.
They added, "Apart from the cruelty of these statements on the second day of the holy month of Ramadan, these moves are patently unlawful under international law. As the occupying Power, Israel is always obliged to ensure sufficient food, medical supplies and other relief services."
"By deliberately cutting vital supplies, including those relating to sexual and reproductive health, and assistive devices for persons with disabilities, Israel is once again weaponising aid. These are serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws, and war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute," they further warned.
Th experts continued, "During the ceasefire, conditions remained very harsh. Very few tents and no mobile units were allowed into Gaza, and Palestinians, including children and older persons, continued to die due to the cold and dire conditions. Reinstating a total-siege policy against a population that has barely survived 16 months of constant bombardment, repeated forced displacement and 80 percent of farmland and civilian infrastructure destroyed, will aggravate the dire situation."
The statement warned that while the ceasefire restored a glimpse of hope for Palestinians and Israelis, it ‘never ended’ fire against the Palestinians. "Since the ceasefire took effect on 19 January 2025, Israeli forces have killed at least 100 Palestinians in Gaza, bringing the total killed to at least 48,400. In the current landscape, Israel appears determined to further destroy Palestinian life including through starvation."
The experts urged the Gaza ceasefire mediators; Egypt, Qatar and the United States to intervene to preserve the agreement in line with international obligations. They also urged nations across the world to recall their own obligations under international law and "to act to end this brutal and endless assault on the Palestinian people and their rights, lest the whole world be swept up in this storm of lawlessness and injustice.”
The experts: Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967; Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Michael Fakhri; Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Astrid Puentes Riaño, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment; Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association; Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing; Attiya Waris, Independent Expert on foreign debt, other international financial obligations and human rights; Heba Hagrass, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities; Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; George Katrougalos, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order; Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders ; Bina D’Costa (Chair), Barbara G. Reynolds, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent; Laura Nyirinkindi (Chair), Claudia Flores (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Ivana Krstić, and Haina Lu, Working group on discrimination against women and girls; Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation; Geneviève Savigny (Chair-Rapporteur), Carlos Duarte, Uche Ewelukwa, Shalmali Guttal, Davit Hakobyan, Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas; Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development.; Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences; Claudia Mahler, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons; and Elisa Morgera, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change: and Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children.
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