Destruction in Khan Younis – April 2025 | © Mara Bernasconi / HI
Destruction in Khan Younis – April 2025 | © Mara Bernasconi / HI
As the two-year mark of the war in Gaza approaches, mounting evidence suggests that Israel is committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The West Bank is also subject to increasing violence, making life unbearable for its inhabitants.
Following the Hamas-led attack on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,124 people, left more than 4,800 people injured, and saw over 250 people taken hostage, Israel launched a wide-ranging military operation in Gaza. The violence and impact on civilians are beyond words.
On September 16, 2025, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Territory published its report, noting that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians as defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention of Genocide.
Earlier in January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) deemed it plausible that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza, ordering immediate measures to prevent such acts and facilitate humanitarian assistance, which were never respected, as the situation only worsened since then.
For the last two years, numerous international legal experts and human rights organizations have also concluded that Israel’s actions constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
The bombing campaign led by the Israeli armed forces in Gaza for two years caused a staggering civilian death toll and level of destruction of civilian infrastructure.
More than 65,000 people have been killed, over 167,000 injured, many sustaining life-long injuries and disabilities. The vast majority of Gaza’s population has been displaced multiple times due to forced displacement orders and hostilities. UN and satellite data suggest that 66–70% of buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, including over 90% of homes and 95% of schools. Health services have collapsed, with an estimated 84% of facilities damaged or destroyed.
Since September 5, 2025, Israeli airstrikes have systematically demolished high-rise buildings across Gaza City. Ten days later, the Israeli army launched a ground invasion of the city, resulting in massacres and the forced displacement of thousands of inhabitants.
“I have never faced such a dire situation. Countless Palestinians have lost limbs in Israeli bombings. Children are so traumatized by the daily airstrikes that they can no longer sleep. Some can no longer speak. Some have told us that they wish to die so that they can join their parents in paradise,” said Anne-Claire Yaeesh, HI’s Country Director for the Territory of Palestine. “All families have been displaced. They are now forced to move to the south and the coast of Gaza, into a pocket of land that is already crowded, where they must survive in inhuman conditions.
Since March 2, 2025, Gaza has been subject to a deliberate Israeli blockade preventing the entry of food, water, medicine, fuel, and commercial goods.
This has led to an engineered famine (man-made famine) and a campaign of mass death and deliberate devastation that violates the core tenets of international humanitarian law.
In August 2025, the UN Security Council declared the famine in Gaza a 'man-made crisis' and condemned the use of starvation as a weapon of war. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed that famine is underway in the Gaza Governorate and is expected to spread.
The collapse of services, widespread hunger, and mass displacement have stripped civilians of their basic human dignity.
“We continue to conduct our operations under tremendous pressure and difficulties. We are physically and mentally exhausted, we are exposed to the same violence and trauma as the people we serve, but we remain committed to our mission. The rehabilitation center can function and provide support to an average of 3 or 4 people a day, all of whom have been injured and maimed by airstrikes and bombings,” stated Sharaf Al Faqawi, HI’s Gaza Area Manager. “We continue to conduct home rehabilitation sessions in displaced camps and to raise awareness among the population about the dangers of explosive remnants, as the entire territory of Gaza is littered with unexploded ordnance. Children are traumatized, and we try to organize recreational activities for them to create, even for a short time, a semblance of normality. We do what we can and when we can.”
Two actions raise questions about the intent of Israeli authorities to sideline NGOs:
The United States and Israel established the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which commenced operations at the end of May 2025, replacing the United Nations coordination system that was in place and working correctly. This is a mockery of humanitarian aid and resulted in a disaster: Since May 27, more than 2,500 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food.
Besides, the new registration requirements imposed by the Israeli authorities on international NGOs are based on vague, politicized, and open-ended criteria and arbitrary conditions.
Escalating annexation efforts, intensifying violence by Israeli forces and settlers, the proliferation of checkpoints, severe restrictions on movement and access, settlement expansion, destruction of critical infrastructure, and the forced displacement of entire communities have made life increasingly unbearable for Palestinians in the West Bank.
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli authorities have destroyed, confiscated, sealed, or forced the demolition of 3,542 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, displacing over 7,074 people. Over the past two years, 994 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
“We are working in increasingly restrictive conditions in the West Bank, where more and more territories are confiscated from Palestinian communities and annexed by Israeli authorities. Violence, blockades, and the denial of access to humanitarian aid are becoming more commonplace every day,” said Hala Saleh, HI’s West Bank Area Manager. “A high percentage of people are injured, often by live ammunition, with a major risk of long-term disability if not treated properly. Rehabilitation has become not only lifesaving but also one of the few services to preserve the dignity and resilience of the Palestinian people.”
Spokespersons are available for interview upon media request.
