Gaza, 2 April 2025 — Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza did not stop even during Eid al-Fitr, one of the most sacred times for Muslims marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, as more than two million Palestinians are faced with continued mass forced displacement, critical food and water shortages, and relentless bombardment.
For an entire month, no humanitarian aid—no food, no water, no medical supplies, and no fuel—has been allowed into Gaza following the decision taken by the Prime Minister of Israel on 2 March 2025 to enforce a total siege. As a result, essential goods have vanished from the market, prices have soared, and most bakeries have been forced to close due to the lack of flour and fuel needed to operate generators. The complete denial of aid for an entire month is unprecedented since the start of the genocide: even in October 2023 limited aid was permitted to enter Gaza after 12 days of total closure. The intentional deprivation of livelihoods to more than 2 million Palestinians is a genocidal act aimed at inflicting conditions of life intended to bring about their physical destruction, in whole or in part, consistent with Article II(c) of the Genocide Convention.
“Israel’s continued closure of crossings and the obstruction of humanitarian aid are worsening the situation in Gaza to an unprecedented degree—even compared to the past seventeen months. Without fuel, essential services such as desalination plants and water wells have ceased functioning, pushing people toward life-threatening levels of thirst and hunger. The scale of deprivation is unlike anything we have seen since the start of the genocide in October 2023,” said Samir Zaqout, Al Mezan’s Deputy Director currently displaced in central Gaza. “I strongly condemn the international community’s continued failure to take any meaningful action in the face of an ongoing genocide. At the very least, immediate and sustained pressure must be exerted on Israel to allow the unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Health has warned that the continued closure of Gaza’s crossings and the resulting blockage of medical supplies pose a serious threat to the lives of medical patients and the injured, especially those suffering from blood disorders. Blood banks and essential medical supplies are nearly exhausted and can no longer meet the urgent needs of the growing number of injured people. The Ministry has stressed the urgent requirement for 8,000 blood units each month to treat the wounded and support patients. However, widespread malnutrition has made it increasingly difficult to find eligible donors, placing thousands of lives at immediate risk.
During Eid, the Israeli military intensified its large-scale bombardment campaign, launching relentless airstrikes on residential homes and camps densely populated with internally displaced persons (IDPs). On 30 March 2025, the first day of Eid al-Fitr, Israeli attacks killed 53 Palestinians and injured at least 189 others. According to the update from the Palestinian Ministry of Health dated 31 March 2025, Israeli forces have killed 1,001 Palestinians and injured 2,359 since the resumption of their genocidal military offensive on 18 March 2025. Entire families have been wiped out, including the Al-Gherbawi, Awad, Al-Mashharawi, Abu Akar, and Al-Seifi families in Gaza City; the Abu Al-Rous family in the Central Governorate; and the Abu Khater and Qudeih families in Khan Younis.
On 31 March 2025, the second day of Eid al-Fitr, the Israeli military issued a mass forced displacement order targeting the entire Rafah Governorate. In the past week, similar orders were issued across multiple areas of the Gaza Strip—including Jabaliya, Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia in the North Gaza Governorate; the eastern parts of the Khan Younis Governorate; and the southern and central neighborhoods of Gaza city.
The same day the Israeli military issued a new displacement order to Rafah, the bodies of 15 Palestinian medical workers and first responders of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS), the Palestinian Civil Defense and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) were discovered in a mass grave in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah city. According to the United Nations, the 15 humanitarians were killed by Israeli forces one by one while performing their humanitarian duties.
Lastly, on 30 March 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly affirmed Israel’s plan to forcibly transfer Palestinians from Gaza and seize the territory—an act that constitutes yet another, potentially final, stage in the ongoing genocide, and a grave violation of international law, including the UN Charter’s prohibition on the acquisition of territory by force. This declaration underscores the urgent need for concrete international action: statements of condemnation alone are no longer sufficient to halt Israel’s continued crimes.
The situation in Gaza is now at its most catastrophic since the beginning of Israel’s genocide in October 2023. Al Mezan is appalled by the continued failure of the international community to respond effectively. We are particularly outraged by the recent visit of European Union and European officials to the region and their meetings with Israeli representatives, conducted as though it were business as usual amid unfolding atrocities against the Palestinian people. We also condemn the complicity of Israel’s allies, most notably the United States, which continues to provide weapons and political and diplomatic cover.
Al Mezan reiterates the call made by over 200 Palestinian and South African civil society organizations to South Africa to urgently return to the International Court of Justice and request additional Provisional Measures in light of the worsening situation on the ground. We further emphasize the urgent need to hold Israel accountable for its crimes. This includes imposing a two-way arms embargo, enacting targeted sanctions, and reviewing or suspending all bilateral agreements and diplomatic ties. The continued failure to act enables mass atrocities. The cost of inaction is immeasurable—for the Palestinian people, for the international legal order, and for humanity as a whole.