Gaza: Experts Condemn Israeli Decision To Re-Open ‘Gates Of Hell’ And Unilaterally Change Conditions Of Truce Deal

Geneva, 6 March 2025

Israel has resumed weaponising starvation in Gaza by its decision to break from the ceasefire agreement and block humanitarian aid, a group of independent human rights experts* warned today. This flagrantly breaches international law and any prospects of peace, they said. The experts issued the following joint statement:

“We are alarmed by Israel’s decision to suspend once again all goods and supplies, including life-saving humanitarian aid entering the Gaza strip. The announcement followed a decision by the Israeli War Cabinet to break from the Gaza ceasefire agreement and calls by ministers to re-open the ‘gates of hell’ in the besieged enclave.

Apart from the cruelty of these statements on the second day of the holy month of Ramadan, these moves are patently unlawful under international law. As the occupying Power, Israel is always obliged to ensure sufficient food, medical supplies and other relief services. By deliberately cutting vital supplies, including those relating to sexual and reproductive health, and assistive devices for persons with disabilities, Israel is once again weaponising aid. These are serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws, and war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute.

The so-called three phase ceasefire deal should have led to a permanent cessation of hostilities and the release of all Palestinians and Israelis unlawfully detained as a most basic requisite for sustainable peace. Instead, they resulted in further violence and even further destruction of Palestinian life. This is both unlawful and utterly inhumane.

During the ceasefire, conditions remained very harsh. Very few tents and no mobile units were allowed into Gaza, and Palestinians, including children and older persons, continued to die due to the cold and dire conditions. Reinstating a total-siege policy against a population that has barely survived 16 months of constant bombardment, repeated forced displacement and 80 percent of farmland and civilian infrastructure destroyed, will aggravate the dire situation.

Creating unliveable conditions for the Palestinians under Israeli occupation appears to be Israel’s determination across the entire occupied Palestinian territory, from the decimated Gaza strip to the West Bank. The annexation of territory by force is advancing at full speed in the West Bank, where refugee camps and cities are being bombed, depopulated and looted, and other areas are attacked by armed settlers with complicity of Israeli forces.

The reality is that while the ceasefire restored a glimpse of hope for Palestinians and Israelis, it ‘never ended’ fire against the Palestinians. Since the ceasefire took effect on 19 January 2025, Israeli forces have killed at least 100 Palestinians in Gaza, bringing the total killed to at least 48,400. In the current landscape, Israel appears determined to further destroy Palestinian life including through starvation.

In weighing the allegation of genocide brought against Israel, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to facilitate aid deliveries in Gaza. In 2024, when issuing arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, the International Criminal Court found ‘reason to believe that Israel had used starvation as a method of warfare.’

We are particularly dismayed by the swift endorsement by some States and regional organisations of Israel’s justification to cut off aid to Gaza as a reaction to Hamas’ alleged violations of the ceasefire, while Israel’s numerous infringements of the ceasefire went largely unreported.

By resuming its siege and bombardment of Gaza, Israel has unilaterally changed the conditions of the ceasefire agreement and next steps. We urge the Gaza ceasefire mediators; Egypt, Qatar and the United States to intervene to preserve the agreement in line with international obligations.

The ceasefire took effect in the broader context of an illegal occupation that must be brought to an end. Israel has a legal obligation to withdraw its occupation and overall presence from Palestinian territory as declared by the International Court of Justice last year. This underlies the obligations of any party under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

We urge nations across the world to recall their own obligations under international law and to act to end this brutal and endless assault on the Palestinian people and their rights, lest the whole world be swept up in this storm of lawlessness and injustice.”

The experts: Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967; Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Michael Fakhri; Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Astrid Puentes Riaño, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment; Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association; Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing; Attiya Waris, Independent Expert on foreign debt, other international financial obligations and human rights; Heba Hagrass, Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities; Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; George Katrougalos, Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order; Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons; Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders ; Bina D’Costa (Chair), Barbara G. Reynolds, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent; Laura Nyirinkindi (Chair), Claudia Flores (Vice-Chair), Dorothy Estrada Tanck, Ivana Krstić, and Haina Lu, Working group on discrimination against women and girls; Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation; Geneviève Savigny (Chair-Rapporteur), Carlos Duarte, Uche Ewelukwa, Shalmali Guttal, Davit Hakobyan, Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas; Surya Deva, Special Rapporteur on the right to development.; Tomoya Obokata, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences; Claudia Mahler, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons; and Elisa Morgera, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change: and Siobhán Mullally, Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children

The Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

© Scoop Media