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Gaza, 9 December 2024 — On this International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of Genocide, observed on the eve of Human Rights Day, Gaza marks 430 days of ongoing genocide perpetrated by Israel against more than two million Palestinians, underscoring the international community’s persistent failure to uphold the principles and commitments these days represent.
On 9 and 10 December 1948, the General Assembly of the newly established United Nations (UN) adopted the texts of two landmark legal instruments aimed at safeguarding the most fundamental rights: the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
On these same days, Zionist militias, together with the newly created Israeli army, were actively carrying out the Nakba, forcibly expelling hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their ancestral homes and lands, pushing many of them into what would later become known as “the Gaza Strip”. Then, as well as nowadays, the international community stood by, knowingly failing to protect the rights of the Palestinian people.
Generations have passed, yet the Nakba continues as a collective experience for the Palestinian people as a whole, with its most recent and devastating manifestation being the ongoing genocide in Gaza. For the past 14 months, with no end in sight, more than two million Palestinians in Gaza have endured relentless acts of lethal violence, individual and collective harm to their physical and mental well-being, and the systematic and deliberate destruction of vital infrastructure essential for their survival—clear and unmistakable hallmarks of genocide.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, over 150,000 Palestinians—more than 6.5% of Gaza's total population—have been killed, injured, or are missing under the rubble due to Israel’s use of deadly force. Notably, this official death toll does not account for those who have died from otherwise preventable causes resulting from Israel’s targeting and destruction of Gaza's healthcare system and other life-sustaining infrastructure, contaminated water, lack of access to medications, extreme food insecurity, and other conditions exacerbated by Israel’s total siege. Experts have estimated that the actual death toll in Gaza is likely significantly higher.
While numbers can never fully convey the lived realities of Palestinians in Gaza, the latest figures from UN OCHA reveal an apocalyptic reality: 1.9 million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced due to Israel’s expulsion orders, which now cover over 80% of Gaza’s total area; 87% of housing units have been either destroyed or severely damaged; and 91% of the population is experiencing high levels of food insecurity. The destruction of Gaza's economic infrastructure, coupled with halted banking operations and financial aid, has plunged the population into extreme poverty. The World Bank has reported that poverty in Gaza has reached 100%, forcing the population to rely entirely on humanitarian aid for survival.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces have also abducted thousands of Palestinian civilians from Gaza and taken them into Israeli prisons and military camps, subjecting them to severe forms of physical and psychological torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment —including sexual violence, starvation, and medical negligence. These atrocious conditions and practices have led to the deaths of at least 48 Palestinian prisoners and detainees, though we believe the actual number to be likely higher.
All of these atrocity crimes have been committed under the watchful yet idle eyes of the international community—led first and foremost by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union and its Member States—who have reduced the universality of human rights and the obligation to prevent genocide and other international crimes to empty rhetoric.
In some cases, these countries have directly fueled and enabled Israel’s genocide to persist, either by vetoing relevant resolutions at the UN Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza or by continuing the supply of weapons used by Israel to commit genocide and other international crimes, in defiance of their international legal obligations. We reiterate our call to the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and others to immediately cease the supply of weapons to Israel and impose a two-way arms embargo—or otherwise bear legal responsibility at both the state and individual levels for their role in enabling international crimes.
These same states have unapologetically and openly displayed double standards in the application and interpretation of international law—so egregiously that they have fundamentally undermined the very legal framework established in the aftermath of World War II, with victims worldwide paying the ultimate price.
Such double standards are particularly evident in the absence of any meaningful form of accountability for Israel's actions. The response of certain members of the international community to the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant represents yet another disgraceful episode, one that jeopardizes the very principles of international criminal justice. Similarly, the failure to ensure Israel's compliance with the three provisional measures orders issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the ongoing proceedings regarding the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel) effectively rendered the concept of genocide prevention void.
The failure of the international community to prevent, stop, and punish Israel’s genocide in Gaza glaringly underscores its abysmal record in fulfilling its stated commitment to prevent genocide, protect human rights, and uphold the rule of law. Al Mezan unequivocally condemns this failure, which is marked by blatant double standards and political hypocrisy.
On this critical day, Al Mezan demands immediate international action to halt Israel’s genocide, end the siege and blockade of Gaza, ensure the delivery of unhindered humanitarian aid, and uphold Palestinians' fundamental rights, including their right to self-determination. Lastly, Al Mezan calls for the full implementation of the July 2024 ICJ Advisory Opinion on the illegality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and the execution of ICC arrest warrants against Israeli officials.