The humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip has reached unprecedented catastrophic levels and continues to deteriorate, as Israel persists in its genocidal policies, foremost among them the systematic use of starvation as a method of warfare. The Israeli occupation authorities block the entry of food, medicine, and fuel, impose strict restrictions on the delivery of aid, and then turn the limited aid distribution points into sites of death by Israeli snipers, bombardment, and mass killings. In parallel, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) launch deadly military attacks on displaced people’s tents, as well as the remains of their houses, markets, and gatherings, killing and injuring dozens of civilians every day.

This bloody escalation constitutes an advanced phase of the genocidal war systematically and openly committed against the people of Gaza, amid the international community’s blatant failure to stop it. It comes amid an Israeli propaganda and misleading campaign aimed at diverting attention from the organized and systematic extermination of Gaza’s population, destruction of its infrastructure and obliteration of all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip.

One of the latest atrocities documented by our staff occurred last night, when the IOF conducted a ground assault accompanied by intense air bombardment in the form of fire belts on al-Nusirat refugee camp in central Gaza. As a result, 30 people, including 12 children and 14 women, were killed, while dozens of others were injured or remain missing.

According to our staff’s field documentation, at around 22:30 on Monday, 28 July 2025, Israeli military vehicles carried out a ground invasion from the Netzarim corridor and al-Moghraqa area towards Gaza Valley area. The military vehciles then advanced into the north and northwest of al-Jadeed al-Camp, northwest of al-Nusirat camp, in the central Gaza Strip. The ground invasion was carried out under heavy fire cover from Israeli drones, which opened fire indiscriminately at anything that moved. Also, military tanks stationed in eastern central Gaza Strip directly and violently fired shells at Jadeed al-Camp. From 23:20 to 23:50, Israeli warplanes launched several airstrikes targeting inhabited residential houses. During the attack, urgent distress calls were made from people trapped inside their houses, particularly in the vicinity of “Thu al-Norayin ” Mosque, west of al-Jadeed Camp. However, ambulance and civil defense crews were unable to reach the area due to the heavy gunfire and the extremely dangerous field situation in the camp.

On the morning of Tuesday, 29 July 2025, following the IOF’s withdrawal from the camp’s outskirts, people and rescue teams managed to access the area. It turned out that several houses had been bombed by Israeli warplanes while their residents were still inside. The targeted houses belonged to Abu ‘Atayiah, Siyam, and Abu Nabhan families. Thirty dead bodies were recovered, including 12 children and 14 women, most of whom were torn into pieces. Among the victims was a fetus born dead after his mother was killed. A number of victims remain trapped under the rubble, and their fate is still unknown. It is worth noting that the majority of the victims were entire families, consisting of both parents or one of them and their children. PCHR keeps the names of the victims who were identified.

This crime comes at a time the humanitarian catastrophe continues to deepen under Israel’s starvation policy with daily deaths from hunger and malnutrition relentlessly mounting. The Palestinian Ministry of Health (MOH) announced yesterday that 14 new deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours due to famine and malnutrition, bringing the total number of deaths to 147, including 88 children.¹

Despite the IOF’s propaganda claims of delivering aid to the Gaza Strip, our staff’s observations on the ground clearly refute these claims. Only a few dozen aid trucks have been allowed in, with no security measures to guarantee fair distribution, and their access remains confined to areas under IOF control. Consequently, thousands of people are forced to risk their lives to reach these areas in northwest Gaza City and between Khan Yunis and Rafah, where they face Israeli gunfire. Over the past two days, dozens have been killed or wounded while survivors endure extreme overcrowding and struggle just to obtain a handful of flour, with their dignity crushed and humanity disregarded. This reality stands in stark violation of principles of safe access to aid, turning aid delivery into a calculated mechanism of killing and engineered starvation rather than relief and protection.

Israel’s deliberate disregard for the fundamental solution, which is reopening Gaza’s crossings and allowing the entry of food, medicine, and fuel in sufficient and constant quantities, constitutes a crime against humanity. The humanitarian needs of the population must never be exploited or reduced to performative gestures such as airdropping aid or sending in limited truckloads without security guarantees, only to unload them into dangerous areas where civilians are stripped of their dignity and forced into deeper suffering.

PCHR holds the international community, including all relevant agencies, fully and directly responsible, and calls for an immediate and effective intervention to stop the ongoing genocidal policy of starvation. It urges the international community to compel Israel to open crossings, allow the unrestricted and immediate entry of all supplies, ensure the establishment of safe humanitarian corridors, and hold all the perpetrators accountable for these crimes that are threatening the extermination of an entire generation.

PCHR calls on the United Nations and its bodies, especially the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, to take urgent action by conducting a comprehensive field assessment of the situation in the Gaza Strip, and not to wait for Gaza to be officially declared a Phase 5 famine area.

PCHR emphasizes that ending starvation can only be achieved by allowing unrestricted access of aid and goods to the Gaza Strip and enabling UN international agencies to perform their roles. This requires opening crossings, lifting the siege, ensuring safe movement, and stopping the Israeli bombing.

1.  Palestinian Ministry of Health, official Telegram account, 28 July 2025. Link ↩︎