Three Years into the Gaza Genocide: Inaction is Complicity

October 8, 2026

The undersigned human rights organisations condemn Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the persistent failure of the international community to hold perpetrators accountable.

For three years, mass killing, starvation and the systematic destruction of Palestinian life have unfolded in plain sight, with no meaningful consequences for those responsible. While international accountability mechanisms and a number of states have taken steps to uphold international law and pursue accountability, these efforts have been undermined by the inaction, obstruction and complicity of others, notably those states that have continued to supply arms, provide political cover or shield Israel from consequences. The result is a near-total lack of accountability. Israel’s genocide in Gaza is the most extreme expression of a system built over decades which rests on an unlawful occupation, apartheid, the denial of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, illegal settlement expansion and a regime of systemic discrimination.

The so-called ceasefire of 10 October 2025 halted large-scale bombardment. Yet, the killing has never stopped. Gaza’s Government Media Office has recorded at least 4,379 Israeli violations of the agreement, killing at least 1,386 Palestinians. Moreover, Israel has pushed its so-called “yellow line” deeper into the Strip, consolidating military control over ever more Palestinian land. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 74,237 Palestinians have been killed and 175,206 injured. More than 20,000 of those killed were children, and at least 38,000 were women.

The Board of Peace, established in January 2026 under UN Security Council Resolution 2803 to oversee Gaza’s transition, has done nothing to alter this reality. It unveiled a $2.4 billion reconstruction plan on the same day Israeli attacks killed seven Palestinians, all while Israel continues to block the Palestinian technocratic committee from entering Gaza. Reconstruction cannot substitute for accountability, and no framework that sidelines Palestinians can substitute for self-determination.

Already in January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered in the South Africa v. Israel case provisional measures under the Genocide Convention, which Israel has failed to implement. The ICJ 2024 Advisory Opinion has found Israel in breach of the prohibition of racial segregation and apartheid and has declared the occupation unlawful and binding all States not to aid or assist it. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the crime against humanity of murder. The UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) has concluded that Israel has committed genocide. Any pathway for reconstruction of Gaza that ignores these findings will entrench the very conditions that made genocide possible.

The European Union’s own review of Israel’s compliance with Article 2 of the EU – Israel Association Agreement found that Israel had breached its human rights obligations. More than a year later, the Agreement remains in force, and the proposal to suspend its trade concessions has been derailed in the Council. Member States continue to authorise transfers of military and dual-use items. The EU continues to trade with illegal settlements, even as Israel awarded construction contracts in July and September 2026 for the E1 settlement, a project designed to sever the West Bank and foreclose a Palestinian state.

ICC arrest warrants remain unexecuted. In April 2026, UN experts called on the EU to immediately suspend the Association Agreement, describing this as the minimum required under international law. Under Article I of the Genocide Convention, the duty to prevent genocide arises the moment a State learns of a serious risk that genocide will be committed. For EU Member States, that moment came in January 2024, when the ICJ found such a risk in Gaza. Continued political, economic, and military cooperation with Israel engages the international responsibility of the EU and its Member States.

The ICJ, the ICC, UN investigators, and the EU’s own review have all reached the same conclusion. EU and its Member States inaction is no longer an option. The undersigned organisations call on the EU and its Member States to:

Demand an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, end the siege, and guarantee unrestricted humanitarian access to food, water, fuel, medical supplies and other essential aid.
Suspend the Association Agreement with Israel, starting immediately with its trade provisions.
Ban all trade and investment with illegal Israeli settlements, in line with the 2024 ICJ Advisory Opinion.
Impose a two-way arms embargo with Israel, in line with the ICJ interim orders.
Adopt restrictive measures against all individuals and their organisations committing war crimes, crimes against humanity and human rights violations.
Ensure accountability and end impunity by fully cooperating with international judicial bodies, including the ICC and ICJ, enforce relevant rulings and arrest warrants, and impose effective measures against those responsible for violations of international law; Adopt the EU blocking statute to protect the ICC from third-country sanctions.
Condition any support for the Board of Peace and Gaza’s reconstruction on lifting the blockade and closure, full respect for Palestinian self determination, unimpeded humanitarian access including through UNRWA, and accountability for international crimes.
Call for immediate withdrawal of Israeli military from Gaza, and end Israeli presence in line with the ICJ Advisory Opinion and UNGA Resolution.

Signatories:

80:20 Educating and Acting for a Better World

Al-Haq, Law in the Service of Mankind

Al Mezan

Association France Palestine Solidarité (AFPS)

Centre for Peace Studies (CPS)

Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado (CEAR)

Cairo Institute For Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

Egyptian Human Rights Forum (EHRF)

EuroMed Rights

European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)

Greek Committee for International Democratic Solidarity (EEDDA)