With every new day of impunity more innocent lives are lost, warn UN experts

Geneva (UN PRESS RELEASE) – Israel’s actions in Gaza and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territory are leading to a massacre of Palestinians, a group of independent human rights experts* warned today.

“We are witnessing the destruction of Palestinian life,” the experts said. “If they are not killed by bombs or bullets, they slowly suffocate for lack of basic means of survival. The only difference is the means and speed of death.”

The experts noted that since Israel fully broke the fragile ceasefire on 18 March, the constant bombing and artillery fire has returned more aggressive than ever. Thousands of civilians have already been killed, new evacuation orders continue to be issued, and journalists, as well as health workers and facilities have come under renewed attack.

Since 2 March – when the second phase of the ceasefire was due to begin – Israel has blocked the entry of all goods and humanitarian aid into Gaza, including fuel, medical equipment and other essential supplies. Electricity has been cut off. UNRWA, the largest and most involved UN entity in Palestine, remains banned from operating in Israel.

The experts noted that the United Nations can no longer guarantee the safety of its teams on the ground. The UN announced the withdrawal of staff from Gaza last week after an Israeli tank attack on a UN compound in Deir el-Balah killed one staff member and seriously injured six others.

Israel’s genocide in Gaza has already resulted in an unprecedented number of aid workers being killed, including UN staff the vast majority of whom are Palestinian. In total, at least 408 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023, including at least 284 UNRWA staff and 34 Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) staff.

Most recently, on 23 March, eight members of the Palestinian Red Cross Society came under heavy fire while trying to evacuate wounded civilians in Rafah. They were found dead this week. Their four ambulances were discovered destroyed and buried under sand. PRCS declared that Israel deliberately targeted them while they were carrying out their humanitarian duties. A ninth paramedic remains missing and is believed to have been detained.

“This horrific incident comes almost a year after the discovery of hundreds of bodies buried in mass graves at two Gaza hospitals, Nasser and Al Shifa,” the experts said. “Extrajudicial killings and mass graves in the chaotic context of Israel’s operations in Gaza are further evidence of genocidal intent,” the experts said.

“International investigators have still not been allowed into Gaza to access these and other sites of possible atrocities to preserve vital evidence and seek truth and accountability.”

“Israel’s policies are more extreme than anything we have seen since 7 October, having intensified the genocidal assault against all Palestinians, including in the occupied West Bank,” the experts said.

They recalled that States have clear obligations to ensure that Israel complies with international law: including putting an end to Israel’s genocide and other gross violations against Palestinians.

“It must be clear to all States that their continued material and political support for Israel, in particular the continued transfer of arms and fuel, violates their obligation to prevent genocide and risks making them complicit in it.”

“The longer impunity prevails, the more international law and the Geneva Conventions become irrelevant,” the experts said. “Failure to do so will only lead to more lawlessness, instability, aggression and conflict and civilians will pay the ultimate price – with their lives.”