February 14, 2025
Violence in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: A humanitarian catastrophe
A new snapshot signed off by 26 aid agencies working in Gaza including Doctors of the World (Médecins du Monde) found that Israel’s authorities failed on all counts to improve humanitarian access over the last year, despite a ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) demanding immediate action to protect Palestinians in Gaza from acts of genocide and risk of irreparable harm to their rights. As a pause in hostilities finally allows a more adequate and proportionate entry of humanitarian aid, agencies call for a permanent ceasefire, and accountability to avoid cycles of neglect and impunity to be repeated.
The survey, conducted among NGOs including Doctors of the World, Oxfam, Islamic Relief, ActionAid reveals how Israel’s authorities systematically denied and restricted aid, supplies and services both into and within Gaza since the ICJ ruling on 26 January 2024. Despite this clear legal directive, over the past year, no meaningful actions to address Gaza’s dire humanitarian conditions were observed, allowing the crisis to spiral further in blatant violation of the provisional measures. On the contrary, the absence of implementation of the provisional measures unfolds against a backdrop of wide-scale Israeli attacks that killed civilians and destroyed critical civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and health facilities.
Provision of essentials like food, water, fuel, shelter and sanitation fell well below the minimum required to sustain life for Palestinians.
In a survey, 35 NGOs shared their experience of operating in Gaza from the ICJ order of 26 January 2024 until the ceasefire agreement of 19 January:
- 93% of aid agencies surveyed have had to forcibly relocate their operations at least once since the ICJ ruling, mainly due to Israeli displacement orders and military offensives.
- 82% of aid agencies surveyed report that the conditions for import of supplies from outside Gaza worsened during 2024.
- 72% of aid agencies surveyed report that their premises suffered from damage due to air or ground attacks by Israeli forces at least once since 26 January 2024, with many organisations reporting multiple attacks.
- 94% of aid workers from the reporting organizations have been displaced at least once – many of them multiple times.
“Even though aid finally starting to flow into the Gaza Strip, better aligned with the urgent needs on the ground, the next weeks will be critical but also challenging, given the level of destruction Israel has rained down upon Gaza and its near-total decimation of the health system. ”
The snapshot also highlights the failure of Third States to fully meet their obligations to prevent atrocity crimes including the risk of genocide. It underscores that some states continue to supply weapons to the Government of Israel, while refraining from denouncing violations of international law or taking meaningful action to prevent them.
The NGOs are calling for continued, unhindered humanitarian access and for the international community to urgently address Israeli’s authorities ongoing violations of international law.
Photograph:
Mohammed Zaanun
