Israel’s decision to once again prevent all humanitarian aid from entering Gaza will push Gaza back towards famine during the holy month of Ramadan, with fatal consequences for young children. Denying people aid and using starvation as a weapon of war is a clear violation of international law.
Humanitarian aid must never be used as a political tool or to impose collective punishment on an entire civilian population. International governments must urgently demand that aid is allowed in and must reinvigorate political pressure to agree a permanent ceasefire.
In the past 24 hours Israeli shelling has killed and injured several Palestinians and civilians are increasingly fearful. The ceasefire must hold – a return to the relentless horror and atrocities that we saw for more than 15 months would be catastrophic.
At the start of Ramadan, most Palestinian families in Gaza are struggling to find enough to eat and remain stuck in dire conditions, in overcrowded tents with little clean water, sanitation or other basic services.
The first phase of the ceasefire saw a significant increase in aid allowed to enter Gaza, with Islamic Relief and other aid agencies able to scale up lifesaving aid – but it remains a drop in the ocean compared to the catastrophic needs, with almost all of Gaza destroyed by Israeli attacks and families ravaged by starvation and disease. During the ceasefire, more Palestinian babies have died from hypothermia and malnutrition, while Israel has continued to restrict essential materials such as medical supplies, education items, heavy machinery for rubble removal and reconstruction, and shelters for homeless families. Only about 10% of the promised 200,000 tents were allowed into Gaza.
The decision is yet another violation of the January 2024 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered Israel to take immediate measures to prevent genocide in Gaza, including allowing sufficient humanitarian aid to enter. Since then, only a tiny amount of aid has been allowed in and the humanitarian crisis has massively deteriorated. International governments must use all diplomatic, political and economic measures at their disposal to pressure Israel to fully implement the ICJ ruling.