UAI joins the #VoteJustice4Palestine initiative launched by the Ceasefire Now coalition during Eurovision week, calling for justice, freedom, and solidarity with the Palestinian people.

As millions tune into Eurovision, Palestinian artists and cultural leaders are transforming the language of the contest itself into an act of solidarity: an alternative vote — not for a winning song, but for justice, freedom, dignity, and the right of Palestinian culture to exist and endure.

At a moment when many institutions refuse to take meaningful action, initiatives like #VoteJustice4Palestine show the power of culture, creativity, and collective participation to break silence and build international solidarity.

At the heart of the campaign is a newly re-recorded version of “The Drone Song” by Ahmed Abu Amsha and Gaza Birds Singing (music by Zaid Hilal), alongside a week of public engagement, social media actions, and cultural discussion running through the Eurovision final on 16 May. It is a powerful reminder that music and art can become tools against erasure.

Today, 12 May, a different kind of vote is proposed.
A vote grounded in conscience rather than competition.

Ahead of tonight’s Eurovision semi-final, a live cultural conversation brings together Palestinian cultural leaders to speak about Israel’s systematic destruction of Palestinian cultural heritage across the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

This conversation is about celebrating Palestinian cultural heritage and identity, despite the suffering, the destruction, the ongoing genocide and siege.

📅 Webinar: Today, 12 May
🎤 Eurovision Final: 16 May

Register here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__7H3kDz5Q-qRYeZd92EGTg

Webinar invite/social post:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DYKnHxAiG3T/?igsh=YjNlcTYxODRzcmo2

Please share widely. Culture and identity are fundamental human rights.

The post A Different Kind of Vote appeared first on United Against Inhumanity.

In response to Israeli authorities’ violations of international humanitarian law in Palestine and Lebanon, over 60 human rights and humanitarian organizations and trade unions call on the EU and member states to adopt long-overdue measures, including suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement, banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements and suspending all transfers and transit of arms to Israel.

Dear President von der Leyen,

Dear High Representative / Vice-President Kallas,

Dear Foreign Ministers of the EU member states,

We, the undersigned humanitarian and human rights organisations and trade unions, write to you as Israeli authorities escalate their brutal repression and illegal annexation policies in Palestine, and violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) in Palestine and Lebanon to urge you to adopt the long-overdue measures proposed by President von der Leyen in September 2025, in particular the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, along with any additional steps necessary to comply with international law, including banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements and suspending all transfers and transit of arms to Israel.

Already in June 2025, the EU had found Israel in breach of Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which identifies respect of human rights and democratic principles as “essential elements” of the treaty. Ongoing actions by Israeli authorities in Israel, throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and in Lebanon further compound that breach, and are causing immense suffering to millions throughout the region.

Last month, the Israeli Knesset passed a discriminatory death penalty law that significantly expands the scope and application of the death penalty, in effect targeting Palestinians only. The law is not only an egregious violation of the rights to life and fair trial of Palestinians, but also adds to the growing body of discriminatory legislation and policies implemented by Israeli authorities against Palestinians, which the International Court of Justice has found to violate Article 3 CERD, which prohibits racial segregation and apartheid, in its Advisory Opinion of July 2024. Numerous UN bodies and experts, Palestinian, Israeli and international human rights organizations, and renowned legal scholars, have also documented how these policies and legislation amount to the system and crime against humanity of apartheid.

In the occupied West Bank, Israel is accelerating its illegal annexation policies and practices and is intensifying repression and serious abuses against Palestinians. Since the start of the war with Iran and Lebanon, the situation has severely worsened. Since 28 February, Israeli authorities have imposed strict movement restrictions across the OPT. In addition to previously existing check-points, dozens of new road gates have been installed by Israeli authorities in the West Bank since October 2023, most of which are now closed, severely impacting Palestinians’ access to their lands, workplaces, schools, health and emergency services. Moreover, Israeli forces and state-backed settlers have increased attacks against Palestinians, with over 200 attacks in March alone, including reports of sexual abuse. According to UN OCHA this year Israeli forces and settlers have killed 34 Palestinians, including seven children and injured 771, including 97 children. Attacks are increasingly directed towards larger Palestinian villages in area B, spreading through the West Bank. Since October 2023, state-backed settler violence has led to the displacement of 38 entire Palestinian communities. Less than three months into 2026, 1700 Palestinians have been displaced, already surpassing the total for the whole of 2025. For violent settlers, impunity remains the norm: according to Israeli NGOs, only 3% of cases lead to a full or partial conviction. In contrast, for Palestinians the conviction rate in military courts is 99%. 

The increasingly lethal state-backed settler violence goes hand in hand with the acceleration of illegal settlement expansion and annexation policies through a set of measures recently adopted by Israel to displace and dispossess Palestinians in the West Bank. In August 2025, the Israeli Higher Planning Council approved the E1 plan, meant to cut through the occupied Palestinian land, with Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for atrocity crimes, saying out loud that the E1’s goal is to ensure “that there will be no Palestinian state”. In illegally annexed East Jerusalem, Israeli authorities forcibly evicted 15 Palestinian families, including 29 children, from their homes in Batn al-Hawa in Silwan last month. At least 200 other families in the neighbourhood face the risk of forced eviction to enable the unlawful takeover of their homes by settler organizations.   

Meanwhile, more than 9560 Palestinians are held in Israeli detention, half of whom are held without charges or trial, either under administrative detention or under the Unlawful Combatants’ Law. Israel currently detains 351 Palestinian children, with more than half held in administrative detention without charge or trial. UN experts, Palestinian and Israeli NGOs have documented systematic torture and inhuman and degrading treatment against Palestinian prisoners, and Israeli authorities continue to deny the ICRC access to all places of detention.

In the occupied Gaza Strip, the Israel-made humanitarian catastrophe persists. Israel remains in breach of three binding orders of the International Court of Justice in the case brought by South Africa for alleged violation of the UN Genocide Convention, including to ensure unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance, and to preserve evidence. The UN Commission of Inquiry, alongside numerous human rights organisations and legal scholars, has found that Israeli authorities have committed and are continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Since the start of a so-called ceasefire in October 2025, at least 736 Palestinians have been killed. Airstrikes, shelling and gunfire continues on both sides of the so-called “Yellow Line”, a temporary military demarcation that now risks evolving into an enduring territorial division. In the meantime, newly introduced registration requirements, which violate established humanitarian principles and data protection laws, allowed the Israeli authorities to further restrict the operational space for dozens of international humanitarian organizations.

Israeli policies throughout the OPT run counter the obligations laid out in the July 2024 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which found Israel’s occupation to be unlawful and marred by serious abuses, including Israel’s breach of Article 3 of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits racial segregation and apartheid. The Court clarified Israel should end its occupation, dismantle its settlements, allow Palestinians to return to their homes and provide them with reparations for the harm suffered. 

Several experts have warned about the possible “Gazafication” of the conflict in Lebanon, where Israeli forces have displaced over 1.2 million people, around one fifth of the country’s population, in their offensive against Hezbollah, following overly broad evacuation orders which do not constitute effective guarantees of protection. The Israeli military has targeted healthcare facilities and workers, journalists, and civilian infrastructure, including bridges, which will severely impact the ability to deliver food for the people who cannot or choose not  to leave their homes, and who should continue to be protected under IHL. Israeli authorities indicated the area would become a “buffer zone” in which all Lebanese homes in border villages will be destroyed and Israel will maintain control over the south of Lebanon up to the Litani river, as stated by Minister Katz. 

These developments come on the heels of decades of toothless EU statements of concern and calls for a “two-state solution” that have been largely ignored by Israeli authorities, to no consequences. We welcome commitments by five member states (Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Belgium, and The Netherlands) to ban imports of goods from illegal Israeli settlements, as required by international law and the ICJ’s advisory opinion of July 2024, and commend Spain for having already banned the imports of goods and advertisements of both goods and services from illegal Israeli settlements as of September 2025. We urge the EU to do the same, in compliance with Articles 3(5) and 21(1) TEU, and in line with its longstanding, unanimous condemnation of Israeli settlement policies as illegal and an “obstacle to a two-state solution” that the EU claims to pursue.

To date, no qualified majority has been reached in the Council to suspend the trade provisions of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, despite repeated calls from member states, Members of the European Parliament, civil society and the European public. This failure to act risks rendering the Association Agreement’s human rights clause meaningless in practice, further tarnishes the EU’s credibility and emboldens the sense of impunity fueling Israel’s growing abuses. We call on member states to support the suspension of the agreement, and urge the Council to reflect on the reputational, legal and most of all human consequences of continued inaction in the face of mounting evidence of crimes under international law committed by Israel both in Palestine and Lebanon. 

The European Union and its member states should immediately suspend all transfers and transit of arms, munitions, equipment, technology, parts and dual-use goods to Israel This obligation is not discretionary but arises under both EU and international law. Article 6 and 7 of the Arms Trade Treaty and the EU Common Position on Arms Exports requires states not to transfer arms to a recipient where a clear risk exists they might be used in serious violation of IHL, as is the case for Israel. In addition, Common Article 1 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions requires that States respect and ensure respect for IHL. While several member states have already suspended arms exports, we urge all remaining states to do so without delay. In addition, the EU should take coordinated action at the institutional level to prevent the transit of arms, components, and dual-use goods through its territory to Israel, including by closing existing regulatory and enforcement gaps. 

The patterns documented in this letter are the predictable consequence of decades of impunity: a failure by the international community to hold Israeli authorities accountable, and a willingness to allow political considerations to override legal obligations. What remains absent is the political will to act. The measures we urge in this letter, suspending arms transfers, banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements, and suspending the Association Agreement, are not mere political choices. They are legal obligations. The people of Palestine and Lebanon deserve action and accountability, not concerns and condolences. The time to act is long overdue.

Signatories: 

International: 

1. ACT Alliance EU
2. ActionAid International  
3. Amnesty International
4. Avaaz
5. CIDSE- International family of Catholic Social Justice Organisations
6. Caritas Europa
7. Ekō          
8. EuroMed Rights
9. Global Witness
10. Human Rights Watch
11. International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims
12. Oxfam
13. Pax Christi International
14. SOLIDAR
15. United Against Inhumanity 
16. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) 

Member state-based: 

17. 11.11.11, Belgium
18. Action des Chrétiens pour l’Abolition de la Torture, Luxembourg
19. ActionAid Denmark      
20. Adala for All, France
21. Ambasada Rog, Slovenia
22. Avocats Sans Frontières, Belgium
23. Belgian Academics and Artists for Palestine (BA4P/BACBI), Belgium
24. Broederlijk Delen, Belgium
25. Centro Pace ecologia e diritti umani, Italia
26. CGIL, Italy
27. Christian Aid Ireland
28. CISS, Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud, Italy
29. CNCD-11.11.11, Belgium
30. Comhlamh Justice for Palestine, Ireland
31. COPE – Cooperazione Paesi Emergenti, Italia
32. COSPE, Italy 
33. Danes je nov dan, Inštitut za druga vprašanja, Slovenia
34. Dignity- Danish Institute against Torture, Denmark 
35. Een Ander Joods Geluid, The Netherlands
36. Entraide et Fraternité, Belgium
37. European Coordination of Committees and Associations for Palestine, Belgium
38.  European Trade Union Network for Justice in Palestine, Belgium
39. FGTB-ABVV, Belgium
40. Gaza Group GCDG, Belgium
41. Glosa, Slovenia
42. International Committee Against House Demolitions – Germany 
43. Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Ireland
44. Jews For Palestine Ireland       
45. Junts Associació Catalana de Jueus i Palestins, Spain
46. Kairos Ireland
47. Law4Palestine, UK and Sweden
48. Nederlands Palestina Komitee, The Netherlands
49. Olof Palme International Center, Sweden
50. PAX, the Netherlands
51. Peace Institute, Slovenia
52. Platform of French NGOs for Palestine, France
53. Portuguese Platform of Development NGOs, Portugal
54. Pro Peace, Germany
55. Reka Si, Slovenia 
56. Sadaka-The Ireland Palestine Alliance, Ireland
57. Slovene Philanthropy, Slovenia
58. Solsoc, Belgium
59. The Rights Forum, The Netherlands
60. Trócaire, Ireland
61. Viva Salud, Belgium
62. Women for Peace, Finland      
63. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom WILPF Finland   
64.  Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom WILPF Italy
65.  Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom WILPF Spain

The post EU/Israel: 60+ organizations demand suspension of EU-Israel Association Agreement appeared first on United Against Inhumanity.

Today, raise your voice and join the action

10 April marks six months since the Gaza ceasefire agreement was announced.

But Palestinians are still being killed, displaced and denied the conditions needed to survive.

What is being called a “ceasefire” is not delivering safety, dignity or recovery. Airstrikes continue. Humanitarian access remains obstructed. Humanitarian action is routinely undermined.  Families are still living in tents, struggling to find food, clean water and medical care. In the West Bank, settlement expansion, settler violence and forced displacement are intensifying.

That is why today we are joining a coordinated public action to say clearly:

This is not a ceasefire.
A real ceasefire means protection, access, accountability and survival.

Why this matters today

Today, various humanitarian actors released a humanitarian scorecard assessing the six-month mark of the Gaza “ceasefire” as endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803 (2025).

The scorecard evaluates progress against the agreement’s own stated objectives — including civilian protection, humanitarian access, reconstruction, economic development and freedom of movement — and concludes that, on almost every metric, the ceasefire is failing the people of Gaza.

This confirms what Palestinians and humanitarian organisations have been warning for months: what exists in Gaza is not a ceasefire worthy of the name, but a reality of continued violence, deprivation and obstruction.

Since the ceasefire agreement was announced:

• More than 600 Palestinians have been killed 
• Well over 1,500 have been injured 
• Hundreds of bodies have been retrieved from under the rubble 
• People continue to struggle to access safe drinking water 
• Sewage is flowing in the streets 
• Less than 42% of health service points are operational, most only partially 
• More than 18,500 patients, including 3,800 children, need specialized care unavailable in Gaza because the health system has been devastated 

Meanwhile, global attention is shifting elsewhere. This means that the ground reality confronting Palestinians is less and less visible and risks being pushed out of public view once again.

Today’s action is about refusing that erasure.

What the scorecard calls for

• measures to enforce a definitive ceasefire across the whole of Gaza 
• an independent UN-mandated mechanism to monitor, verify and report violations 
• an independent and transparent system for processing and verifying humanitarian goods at Gaza’s crossings 
• the full and consistent opening of all crossing points into Gaza 
• a predictable flow of aid, including at least 600 humanitarian aid trucks per day 
• the restoration of the medical corridor between Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem 
• the immediate restoration of freedom of movement for Palestinians into and out of Gaza, including for urgent medical evacuations 
• the lifting of new Israeli restrictions on INGO registration and the guarantee that international organisations can operate freely across Gaza and the West Bank 
• concrete action by states that endorsed the New York Declaration in support of Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction 
• recovery plans that do not deepen confinement, forced displacement or social disintegration, but instead guarantee freedom of movement and access to property 

What we are calling for

• an end to bombings and attacks on civilians 
• full protection of civilian life 
• unimpeded humanitarian access 
• real consequences for violations by all parties 
• Palestinian-led recovery, dignity and justice 

Join the action today

Today, 10 April, you can take part in the collective social media mobilisation and help amplify the reality on the ground:

• post on your own channels 
• use or adapt the campaign materials already prepared 
• create your own content in your own voice 
• share the key facts and messages with your networks 
• amplify the newly released Gaza Scorecard 2026 

Suggested messages to post today

What is being called a ceasefire in Gaza exists in name only. People are still being bombed. Aid is still being blocked. Families are still being displaced. Hospitals are barely functioning. Children are still living in fear. This is not a ceasefire. Today, 10 April, join us in demanding a real one.

This is what a “ceasefire” looks like in Gaza: airstrikes before dawn, one meal a day, families waking up in tents, lack of clean water, aid trucks turned away, children living in fear. #ThisIsNotACeasefire

Six months ago, a ceasefire agreement was announced. But the violence has not stopped. Palestinian civilians are still being killed and injured. Gaza remains devastated by destruction and displacement. A ceasefire in name only cannot rebuild homes or protect families. #ThisIsNotACeasefire

Scorecard and briefing

Today’s mobilisation is strengthened by the release of the Gaza Scorecard 2026 and the media briefing held this morning with speakers including representatives from Oxfam, Save the Children, Refugees International and humanitarian medical experts.

Thanks to all the speakers who contributed to that briefing, and especially to Refugees International, Save the Children and Crisis Action for helping facilitate it.

Hashtags and tags

#CeasefireNOW
#ThisIsNotACeasefire
#LetAidIn

Instagram: @nowceasefire

Today, be part of it

Raise your voice.
Share the facts.
Join the action.

A ceasefire that does not protect life is not a ceasefire at all.

The post This Is Not a Ceasefire! Gazans continue to die as they struggle to survive appeared first on United Against Inhumanity.

The clock is ticking on a large part of the humanitarian response sustaining civilians in the
occupied Palestinian territory.

Thirty-seven international aid organisations have been ordered by Israeli authorities to cease
operations in the occupied Palestinian territory by the end of February under revised Israeli
registration rules. With efforts to force closures imminent, a group of leading humanitarian
organisations have taken the unprecedented step of jointly petitioning the Israeli High Court to
suspend the measures before irreparable harm is done to civilians who rely on their assistance.
On 30 December 2025, the affected organisations were formally notified that their Israeli
registrations would expire the following day and that they would have 60 days to wind down
activities in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The notification letter stated
that the decision could only be overturned if organisations completed the full registration
process, with which they cannot legally or ethically comply.

Efforts to force closures could begin as early as 28 February 2026. The effect would be
immediate, extending well beyond individual organisations to the wider humanitarian system. In
Gaza, families remain dependent on external assistance amid continuing restrictions on aid
entry and renewed strikes in densely populated areas. In the West Bank, including East
Jerusalem, military incursions, demolitions, displacement, settlement expansion and settler
violence are driving rising humanitarian needs.

Palestinian Authority registration provides the lawful basis for international NGOs to operate in
Palestinian territory. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupying power must facilitate
relief for civilians under its control. Conditioning humanitarian presence on sweeping
administrative demands, including the transfer of comprehensive national staff lists, alongside
vague and politicised grounds for denial, risks disrupting life-saving services and eroding the
obligation to ensure civilian welfare under occupation.

The demand to transfer personal data raises acute security and legal risks. It exposes national
staff to potential retaliation and undermines established data protection and confidentiality
safeguards. For European organisations in particular, compliance would create serious legal
and contractual liabilities. More broadly, such requirements set a precedent that could chill
principled humanitarian engagement in highly politicised contexts.
International NGOs have proposed practical alternatives, including independent sanctions
screening and donor-audited vetting systems, that preserve both compliance and staff
protection without disclosing personal data. No substantive response has been provided.
Enforcement has meanwhile begun in practice, including blocked supplies and denial of visas
and access for foreign staff.
Alongside UN agencies and Palestinian partners, international NGOs support or implement the
delivery of more than half of all food assistance in Gaza, 60 per cent of field hospitals’
operations, nearly three quarters of shelter and non-food item activities, all inpatient treatment
for children suffering severe acute malnutrition and 30 per cent of emergency education
services, in addition to funding over half of explosive hazard clearance.
The petition seeks an urgent Interim Injunction to suspend expiry of registrations and prevent
further enforcement pending judicial review. The petitioning organisations contend that these
administrative measures constitute an effort to curtail established humanitarian operations in a
manner incompatible with the obligations of an occupying power under international
humanitarian law.
Governments must act urgently to prevent implementation of these measures and to ensure that
humanitarian relief remains principled, independent, and unhindered. If these measures take
effect, aid will be impeded not because needs have eased, but because it has been rendered
optional, conditional, or politicised. At a moment when civilians depend on assistance to survive,
that outcome would carry immediate and irreversible human consequences.
Petitioners and supporting organizations

All We Can

• ActionAid Australia
• Alianza Por La Solidaridad
• Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA)
• Bystanders No More
• CADUS e.V.
• Choose Love
• Christian Aid
• Churches for Middle East Peace
• DanChurchAid
• Danish Refugee Council
• Diakonia, Sweden
• Humanity & Inclusion – Handicap International
• medico international
• Middle East Children’s Alliance
• Movimiento por la Paz, Desarme y Libertad – MPDL
• Muslim Aid
• Nonviolent Peaceforce
• Norwegian Church Aid
• Norwegian Refugee Council
• Oxfam
• Pax Christi International
• Première Urgence Internationale (PUI)
• Pro Peace
• Refugees International
• Start Network
• Tearfund
• Terre des hommes Italy
• Terre des hommes Lausanne (Tdh)
• United Against Inhumanity
• Weltfriedensdienst e.V. (WFD; World Peace Service)
  

Notes to Editor:

Executive Summary – Joint Petition against the Inter-Ministerial Team:

Introduction
This Petition is filed by 17 leading international humanitarian aid organizations (INGOs) and the
Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA) which form the critical infrastructure
for providing medical services, food, and water to the civilian population in the West Bank and
Gaza. The Petitioners challenge the Respondents’ December 2025 decision, which orders the
“termination of their activities” due to their refusal to provide personal contact details (Nominal
Lists) of thousands of local employees. The Petition presents an unprecedented “legal
deadlock” in which the demands of the Israeli administration directly contradict international
privacy laws and the fundamental principles of humanitarian neutrality.

Urgent Request for an Interim Injunction
The Petitioners seek an interim Injunction to preserve the status quo and prevent the expiration
of their registration, the deportation of foreign staff and cessation of all activities until a final
ruling is reached. It is argued that the “Balance of Convenience” clearly favors the Petitioners:
while the Respondents will suffer no harm by maintaining the current situation, the cessation of
the organizations’ activities will lead to a humanitarian collapse and irreparable harm to the right
to life and health of hundreds of thousands of individuals in need.

Legal Arguments

A. Breach of the Inter-Ministerial Team’s Basic Obligations as an Administrative Authority

The Respondents’ conduct is tainted by administrative laches (undue delay) and a lack of good
faith. The Respondents delayed their response to registration requests for many months while
creating a false representation that the applications were under review. These draconian
requirements were imposed without granting a Right to be Heard and without meaningful
dialogue, violating the heightened duty of fairness applicable to the authority.

B. The Requirement for Employees’ Personal Details (Nominal Lists)
· B.1 GDPR Regulation and the “Adequacy” Issue: The Petitioners, who are bound by European
law, demonstrate that transferring employee data from the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt)
to Israeli security authorities constitutes a criminal and administrative offense. Since the
European Union’s “Adequacy” decision regarding Israel does not apply to the territories, the
organizations are exposed to heavy fines and tort claims. The Petition relies on the Schrems II
precedent of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which prohibits data transfer to
jurisdictions lacking independent judicial oversight over security agencies.
· B.2 The Demand for Employee Details and Violation of International Law: The requirement to
provide personal phone numbers and contact details of the entire staff violates the principle of
“Data Minimization” and endangers the personal safety of the employees. Turning humanitarian
organizations into an information-gathering arm for a party to the conflict stands in total
contradiction to the principle of neutrality.

C. The Decision for a Sweeping Cessation of Activity is Void Due to Illegality
· C.1 Decision Lacking Authority (Ultra Vires): The Team’s government mandate is limited to
technical registration and visas. Assuming the authority to order the termination of an
international organization’s activities is an extreme deviation from authority without an explicit
legal source.
· C.2 Deviation from Israel’s Sovereignty (Oslo Accords): Pursuant to the Civil Annex of the Oslo
Accords, the authority to register and manage NGOs operating in Palestinian Authority
territories was transferred to the Palestinians. Israel lacks the authority to order the closure of
these entities.

D. Regulation Article 8.4 – Voidness due to Lack of Authority and Breach of International Law
The Petitioners challenge the article in the regulation that allows for the suspension of
registration based on vague “security considerations” without a duty of specification or
reasoning.
· D.1 Applicability of Article 63 of the Fourth Geneva Convention: This article imposes an
obligation on the Occupying Power to allow relief societies to continue their work. The Petition
relies on expert legal opinions establishing that this provision fully applies to International NGOs
(INGOs) performing essential humanitarian functions.

E. Extreme Unreasonableness and Lack of Proportionality

The decision fails the “Proportionality Stricto Sensu” test: the limited administrative-security
benefit of collecting phone numbers is dwarfed by the catastrophic human damage caused by
withholding aid from the population. The Respondents refused to consider “less restrictive
means,” such as cross-referencing names against public global terror lists.

F. Violation of Israel’s Obligations to Facilitate Humanitarian Aid

As an Occupying Power, Israel bears positive obligations (Articles 55, 56, and 59 of the
Convention) to ensure the supply of food and medical services. Arbitrary and bureaucratic
interference with organizations fulfilling these duties constitutes a blatant violation of
international law and the directives of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

The post Humanitarian organisations petition Israeli High Court as closure deadline approaches appeared first on United Against Inhumanity.

International humanitarian organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territory warn that Israel’s recent registration measures threaten to halt INGO operations at a time when civilians face acute and widespread humanitarian need, despite the ceasefire in Gaza. On 30 December, 37 INGOs received official notification that their registrations would expire on 31 December 2025. This triggers a 60-day period after which INGOs would be required to cease operations in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

INGOs are integral to the humanitarian response, working in partnership with the United Nations and Palestinian civil society organizations to deliver lifesaving assistance at scale. The United Nations, the Humanitarian Country Team, and donor governments have repeatedly affirmed that INGOs are indispensable to humanitarian and development operations and have urged Israel to reverse course.

Despite the ceasefire, humanitarian needs remain extreme. In Gaza, one in four families survives on just one meal a day. Winter storms have displaced tens of thousands, leaving 1.3 million people in urgent need of shelter. INGOs deliver more than half of all food assistance in Gaza, run or support 60 per cent of field hospitals, implement nearly three-quarters of shelter and non-food item activities, and provide all treatment for children with severe acute malnutrition. Their removal would close health facilities, halt food distributions, collapse shelter pipelines, and cut off life-saving care. In the West Bank, ongoing military raids and settler violence continue to drive displacement. Further restrictions on INGOs would sharply reduce the reach and continuity of lifesaving assistance at a critical moment.

Recent efforts to assess the impact of deregistering INGOs through selective metrics do not capture how humanitarian assistance is delivered in practice. Humanitarian access must be measured by whether civilians receive the right assistance, in the right place, at the right time.

INGOs operate under strict donor-mandated compliance frameworks, including audits, counterterror financing controls, and due diligence requirements that meet international standards. More than 500 humanitarian workers have been killed since 7 October 2023. INGOs cannot transfer sensitive personal data to a party to the conflict since this would breach humanitarian principles, duty of care and data protection obligations. False narratives delegitimize humanitarian organizations, endanger staff, and undermine the delivery of assistance.

This is not a technical or administrative matter, but a deliberate policy choice with foreseeable consequences. If registrations are allowed to lapse, the Israeli government will obstruct humanitarian assistance at scale. Humanitarian access is not optional, conditional, or political. It is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law. This move would also set a dangerous precedent by extending Israeli authority over humanitarian operations in the occupied Palestinian territory, contrary to the internationally recognized legal framework governing the territory and the role of the Palestinian Authority.

We call on the Government of Israel to immediately halt deregistration proceedings and lift measures obstructing humanitarian assistance. We urge donor governments to use all available leverage to secure the suspension and reversal of these actions. Independent, principled humanitarian operations must be protected to ensure civilians can receive the assistance they urgently need.

Note to editors:

• The role of INGOs is irreplaceable across all humanitarian sectors:
  • Health: INGOs run or support approximately 60 percent of Gaza’s field hospitals. Deregistration would result in the immediate closure of roughly one in three health facilities.
  • Food security: INGOs delivered more than half of all food assistance in 2024, including the majority of cooked-meal distribution points.
  • Shelter: INGOs have implemented nearly three-quarters of all shelter and non-food item activities. Approximately 600,000 shelter items are currently in INGO supply pipelines.
  • Water and sanitation: INGOs deliver 42 percent of all WASH services, including outbreak prevention and response for acute watery diarrhea.
  • Nutrition: INGOs support all five stabilization centers treating children with severe acute malnutrition, representing 100 percent of Gaza’s treatment capacity.
  • Mine action: INGOs provide more than half of all funding for explosive hazard clearance. Removal of INGOs would result in capacity reductions of up to 100 percent.
  • Education: INGOs run or support around 30 percent of emergency education activities, which already reach only a limited proportion of the school-age population.
• Principled humanitarian organizations cannot transfer sensitive personal data of national staff or their families. This is consistent with humanitarian principles, duty-of-care obligations, and global data-protection standards applied across all contexts.
• Restrictions on INGOs also directly affect Palestinian and Israeli partner organizations, undermining local response capacity, disrupting funding flows, and weakening community-based service delivery across sectors.
• INGOs are legally authorized to operate and remain committed to delivering humanitarian assistance through UN coordination systems and local partnerships, while continuing to seek the removal of measures that obstruct aid delivery.

Signatories:

1. Acs
2. Action Against Hunger (ACF)
3. Action for Humanity
4. ActionAid
5. American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
6. Amnesty International
7. AOI – Cooperazione e Solidarietà internazionale – Italia
8. CADUS e.V.
9. Campaign for the Children of Palestine (CCP Japan)
10. CARE Canada
11. CARE International UK
12. Children are Not Numbers
13. Churches for Middle East Peace
14. CISS – Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud
15. Council for Arab-British Understanding (Caabu)
16. DanChurchAid
17. Danish Refugee Council
18. Diakonia
19. EducAid
20. Emergency NGO
21. Fondation Terre des hommes Lausanne
22. Glia
23. HEKS/EPER – Swiss Church Aid
24. Human Rights Solidarity
25. Humanity & Inclusion – Handicap International
26. INTERPAL
27. Islamic Relief
28. Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC)
29. Médecins du Monde – Suisse
30. Médecins du Monde – France
31. Médecins Sans Frontières
32. Medical Aid for Palestinians
33. medico international
34. Medicos Del Mundo (MDM – Spain)
35. Mennonite Central Committee
36. Middle East Children’s Alliance
37. NORWAC ( Norwegian aid committee)
38. Norwegian Church Aid
39. Norwegian People’s Aid
40. Norwegian Refugee Council
41. Oxfam
42. Pax Christi USA
43. Peace Winds Japan
44. Premiere Urgence Internationale
45. Quakers in Britain
46. Solidarités International
47. Terre des hommes Italy
48. Un Ponte Per
49. United Against Inhumanity
50. Vento di Terra ETS
51. War Child Alliance Foundation
52. War on Want
53. WeWorld-GVC

The post 53 International NGOs warn Israel’s recent registration measures will impede critical humanitarian action appeared first on United Against Inhumanity.

More than a million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar are living in Bangladesh, where they are confined to camps and deprived of formal access to employment and education. In this context, it is critical to listen to refugee leaders such as human rights defender Dil Mohammed, who, according to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), has been arbitrarily and unlawfully imprisoned by the Bangladeshi authorities.

Mohammed has been held in prolonged solitary confinement, subjected to coercive interrogations, and denied access to both his family and legal counsel.

In a decision published on November 21, WGAD has ordered the government of Bangladesh to release him immediately and provide him with compensation.

The Working Group has also called on Bangladesh to conduct an independent investigation into the violation of Mohammed’s rights and to report within six months on the steps taken to comply with the decision.

UAI urges the international community, particularly donor states, to Bangladesh to publicly endorse the Working Group’s findings and recommendations. Dil Mohammed’s treatment reflects a wider pattern of criminalisation and coercion against Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, whose camps have become increasingly insecure as a result of the activities of competing armed groups, the security services, criminals, and traffickers.

The WGAD decision reveals the extent to which Rohingya human rights defenders are exposed to targeted repression. Their detention has a chilling effect on the entire refugee population, curbing their right to freedom of expression and association.

At the same time, inadequate steps are being taken to preserve the civilian character of the camps, leaving Rohingya youth at risk of conscription by militia groups. The Rohingya of Myanmar are one of the world’s most vulnerable populations. Dil Mohammed’s case is a stark reminder that those who have fled to Bangladesh are still unable to find a safe refuge.

United Against Inhumanity (UAI) works to highlight inhumanity in the treatment of civilians in wars and those seeking refuge, particularly in situations receiving inadequate attention.

In September 2025, UAI published a groundbreaking report calling for urgent changes in the way Rohingya civilians are treated, both in Myanmar and in the refugee camps in Bangladesh.

Read our Report on Alternative Approaches to the Rohingya Refugee Situation.

The post Bangladesh must release Rohingya Refugee Leader Dil Mohammed – UAI Statement appeared first on United Against Inhumanity.

United Against Inhumanity stands in solidarity with Sara Mardini, Seán Binder, Nassos Karakitsos and all other humanitarians whose long-delayed felony trial opens this week on Lesvos, on 4 December 2025. After more than seven years of investigations, pre-trial detention and legal limbo, they are finally appearing before a court to answer charges that should never have been brought, as their work consisted of helping people in distress at Europe’s borders.

This trial is not an isolated case but part of a wider pattern in Europe and beyond, where those who act to save lives or uphold basic rights at the border are increasingly monitored, smeared or prosecuted. As proceedings begin in Lesvos, United Against Inhumanity expresses its support for Sara, Seán, Nassos, their co-defendants and all human rights defenders facing persecution for their humanitarian work — a trend replicated across many countries in recent years.

United Against Inhumanity calls for all unfounded charges to be dropped and for European states to end the use of criminal law to intimidate or obstruct humanitarian action. Protecting people from harm and preventing avoidable deaths must be recognised and safeguarded as a legal and moral obligation, not punished.

This case also highlights the urgent need for a humane reception — the kind of system set out in UAI’s Borders Campaign Manifesto. The Manifesto stresses that European states can manage borders without inflicting suffering, violence or trauma on those seeking safety. People arriving at Europe’s borders must be allowed to lodge an asylum claim, receive legal advice in a language they understand, and never be punished for crossing irregularly. Reception systems should provide registration, basic services, adequate accommodation and protection for vulnerable groups, while ensuring access to asylum procedures and rescue for those in distress. These principles stand in stark contrast to the environment in which humanitarians are now being prosecuted.

Press Release

Felony trial set for 4 December 2025

After more than seven years since their initial arrest, the felony trial against humanitarians on Lesvos, Greece, is finally set to begin on 4 December 2025. The defendants face immediate imprisonment of up to 20 years if found guilty of the charges, which include facilitation of illegal entry. The trial will take place at the Lesvos courthouse and is expected to last around 20 working days.

Free Humanitarians, the campaign established on behalf of some of the defendants, welcomes the announcement of the trial date. After years pushing for justice, the extreme delay is itself an injustice with deadly consequences. Prosecutions like this have made humanitarian activity more difficult and have made European borders more deadly. At a time when the rule of law is eroding and human rights are being violated, this trial must apply the law, all of which protects humanitarian activity.

International human rights concerns

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has previously warned that trials like this are deeply concerning because they criminalise life-saving work and set a dangerous precedent. The UN Human Rights Office reiterated its call for all charges against the defendants to be dismissed, noting that saving lives and providing humanitarian assistance should never be criminalised or prosecuted. Such actions are a humanitarian and human rights imperative.

The UN also has long-standing concerns that anti-smuggling legislation in several European countries is being used to criminalise both migrants and those who assist them. Addressing migrant smuggling ultimately depends on creating and expanding safe pathways for regular migration.

Felony charges

The felony charges are:

• Formation and membership of a criminal organisation (Article 187 of the Criminal Code)
• Facilitation of illegal entry (Articles 29 and 30 of Law 4251/2014 on Foreigners)
• Money laundering (Articles 1, 2, 3 and 45 of Law 3691/2008)

Chronology

• 9 February 2018: Sara Mardini and Seán Binder are arrested by Mytilene police and released after 48 hours pending investigation.
• 9 August 2018: They are arrested again and placed in pre-trial detention. There are 24 defendants in total.
• 5 December 2018: Sara, Seán, Nassos Karakitsos and two others detained are released on bail.
• 2019: The investigator closes the case file and sends it to the Judicial Council to decide whether a trial should proceed.
• August 2021: A trial date of 18 November 2021 is set for the alleged misdemeanours of the 24 defendants. The hearing does not proceed due to a jurisdictional issue.
• 11 January 2023: At the adjourned trial, all misdemeanour charges are dismissed by the Lesvos court at the prosecutor’s request. A different prosecutor appeals the dismissal to the Supreme Court.
• 16 May 2023: The appeal is heard by the Supreme Court.
• Early September 2023: The Supreme Court confirms the dismissal of all misdemeanour charges against Sara and Seán (Forgery, Infringement of state secrets, Espionage, Possession of a radio without a licence).
• January 2024: The other defendants are tried again for the same misdemeanours and are acquitted of all charges.

For more info and support this fight for justice, visit https://www.freehumanitarians.org/

The post “Free Humanitarians: Call for Justice as Lesvos Trial Opens” appeared first on United Against Inhumanity.

In light of the situation in and around El Fasher, North Darfur, which after 18 months of siege fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with credible reports that crimes under international law are being committed, including in the form of targeted ethnic violence, and with risks of further atrocities in North Darfur and throughout Sudan, the UN Human Rights Council should urgently convene a special session.

The Council should task the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) for the Sudan to prepare a flash report to document atrocities being committed in and around El Fasher. The report should include recommendations to all parties to the conflict and assess the role of external actors with a view to ensuring that those individuals and entities responsible for violations are identified and held accountable. The FFM should be asked to share all relevant information with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to inform the Court’s investigations.

After the Council concluded its 60th regular session (8 September-8 October 2025), during which it extended the FFM’s mandate[1] for a year, the situation in Sudan continued to deteriorate, in particular in North Darfur and in the Kordofan region. The clear message in support of investigations and accountability the Council sent by adopting resolution 60/3[2] requires follow-up to specifically address these new developments.

On 27 October 2025, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights indicated[3] that his Office was “receiving multiple, alarming reports that the [RSF] are carrying out atrocities, including summary executions, after seizing control of large parts of […] El Fasher, North Darfur and of Bara city in North Kordofan state […].” He added that “[t]he risk of further large-scale, ethnically motivated violations and atrocities in El Fasher is mounting by the day,” especially as reports point to “ethnic motivations for killings” of civilians and persons hors de combat. “Given past realities in North Darfur, the likelihood of sexual violence against women and girls in particular is extremely high,” he also warned.

Civil society organisations have also raised the alarm. In a statement, the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P) stressed that “[t]his is not only a humanitarian emergency; it is an atrocity crisis deepening by the day. The fall of El Fasher marks a critical point of no return. Without immediate and decisive action, the city could soon become the site of another mass atrocity etched into Darfur’s tragic history.”[4] Human Rights Watch analysed and verified dozens of videos showing RSF fighters celebrating over large numbers of dead bodies, both in uniform and civilian clothes, executing apparent civilians, and taunting, abusing, and killing severely injured people.[5]

~ ~ ~ 

The international community has a responsibility to act urgently to prevent the commission of large-scale atrocities, to intensify the pressure on external actors fueling Sudan’s conflict, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and to fight impunity and advance accountability for violations, some of which amount to crimes under international law.

The FFM has presented its report to the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee and action is considered at the Security Council. The Human Rights Council also has a responsibility to uphold its prevention mandate and to address the crisis in El Fasher in a way that centres the voices of Sudanese victims, survivors and civil society.

The FFM has the mandate, expertise and experience to independently investigate and report on violations committed by all parties throughout Sudan, including the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), the RSF, and their allied forces. It should be asked to prepare an urgent flash report on the situation in and around El Fasher and to present to the Human Rights Council at the earliest opportunity, and it should be given resources to support this additional task. It also has a mandate to cooperate and share best practice with other international, regional and domestic accountability initiatives. This includes the ability to share evidence with the ICC, whose jurisdiction (currently covering Darfur) should be expanded to cover Sudan’s entire territory.

Consequently, we urge all Members and Observers of the Human Rights Council to support the urgent convening of a special session on the situation in and around El Fasher, North Darfur, with a view to adopting a resolution that, among other elements:

• Requests the FFM to prepare a flash report on the situation in and around El Fasher, North Darfur, and risks of atrocities throughout Sudan, which includes recommendations to all parties to the conflict and an assessment of the role of external actors with a view to ensuring that those individuals and entities responsible for violations are held accountable, to be presented during an inter-sessional briefing or in any other format, in a manner that reflects the urgency of the situation, by 31 December 2025;
• Also requests the FFM to share relevant information or evidence it collects with the International Criminal Court, to support the Court’s investigations into atrocities, and recalls the important role of the ICC in holding perpetrators of international crimes to account;
• Recommends that the General Assembly submit the reports of the FFM to the Security Council for its consideration and appropriate action; and
• Requests the Secretary-General to provide all the resources necessary to enable the Office of the High Commissioner to provide the administrative, technical and logistical support as is required to implement the provisions of Sudan-focused resolutions adopted in the context of the Human Rights Council’s regular and special sessions. These resources should be adequate to enable the FFM, which is currently severely under-resourced,[6] to collect and preserve evidence in support of accountability processes.

A special session should start with presentations by a victim, survivor and/or witness, and at least one Sudanese civil society speaker, as well as international and regional human rights experts, including the FFM, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. To center the voices of those directly affected by the crisis, the Secretariat of the Council should endeavor to facilitate the participation of strong Sudanese voices, including at least one person from within the country or who has fled El Fasher/ North Darfur.

We thank you for your attention to these pressing issues and stand ready to provide your delegation with further information as required.

Sincerely,

1.   African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS)

2.   AfricanDefenders (Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network)

3.   Aljazeera Observatory for Human Rights

4.   Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

5.   Burkinabè Human Rights Defenders Coalition (CBDDH)

6.   Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

7.   Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

8.   Climate Counsel 

9.   Coalition for Genocide Response

10. Committee for Justice (CFJ)

11. Connection e. V.

12. CSW (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)

13. Darfur Advocacy Group

14. DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)

15. Democratic Civil Society Platform – Sudan

16. Enaya for Feminist Peace

17. Fikra for Studies and Development (FikraSD)

18. Geneva for Human Rights – Global Training & Policy Studies (gva4HR)

19. Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)

20. Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD)

21. Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)

22. Humanists International

23. Human Rights Watch

24. The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)

25. International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)

26. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

27. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)

28. Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) – Sudan

29. Mouvement contre le Racisme et pour l’Amitié entre les Peuples (MRAP)

30. Movimento Internazionale della Riconciliazione (MIR Italy)

31. Network of the Independent Commission for Human rights in North Africa (CIDH AFRICA)

32. PAX

33. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)

34. Rights for Peace

35. The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA)

36. Sudanese Human Rights Monitor (SHRM)

37. Sudanese Organization for Justice and Human Rights

38. Sudanese Women’s Rights Action

39. Sudan Human Rights Defenders Coalition (SudanDefenders)

40. Sudan Rights Watch Network

41. Sudan and South Sudan Forum e. V.

42. United Against Inhumanity (UAI)

43. Women Deliver44. Youth Citizens Observers Network (YCON Sudan)

(List of signatories to be updated on a rolling basis until 5 November, C.O.B.)

The post Sudan: Joint Appeal for a UN HRC special session on the situation in and around El Fasher, North Darfur appeared first on United Against Inhumanity.

Together with more than 100 organisations we are calling for an end to Israel’s weaponisation of aid. Despite claims by Israeli authorities that there is no limit on humanitarian aid entering Gaza, most major international NGOs have been unable to deliver a single truck of lifesaving supplies since 2 March.

Instead of clearing the growing backlog of goods, Israeli authorities have rejected requests from dozens of NGOs to bring in lifesaving goods, citing that these organisations are “not authorised to deliver aid.” In July alone, over 60 requests were denied under this justification.

This obstruction has left millions of dollars’ worth of food, medicine, water, and shelter items stranded in warehouses across Jordan and Egypt, while Palestinians are being starved.

“Anera has over $7 million worth of lifesaving supplies ready to enter Gaza – including 744 tons of rice, enough for six million meals, blocked in Ashdod just kilometers away,” said Sean Carroll, President and CEO of Anera.

Many of the NGOs now told they are not “authorised” to deliver aid have worked in Gaza for decades, are trusted by communities and experienced in delivering aid safely. Their exclusion has left hospitals without basic supplies, children, people with disabilities, and older people dying from hunger and preventable illnesses, and aid workers themselves going to work hungry.

The obstruction is tied to new INGO registration rules introduced in March. Under these new rules, registration can be denied on the basis of vague and politicised criteria, such as alleged “delegitimisation” of the state of Israel. INGOs warned the process was designed to control independent organisations, silence advocacy, and censor humanitarian reporting. This new bureaucratic obstruction is inconsistent with established international law as it entrenches Israel’s control and annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory.

Unless INGOs submit to the full registration requirements, including the mandatory submission of details of private donors, complete Palestinian staff lists and other sensitive information about personnel for so-called “security” vetting to Israeli authorities, many could be forced to halt operations in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and remove all international staff within 60 days. Some organisations have even been issued a seven-day ultimatum to provide Palestinian staff lists.

NGOs have made clear that sharing such data is unlawful (including under relevant data protection laws), unsafe, and incompatible with humanitarian principles. In the deadliest context for aid workers worldwide, where 98 per cent of those humanitarians killed were Palestinian, NGOs have no guarantees that handing over such information would not put staff at further risk, or be used to advance the government of Israel’s stated military and political aims.

Today, INGOs’ fears have proven true: the registration system is now being used to further block aid and deny food and medicine in the midst of the worst-case scenario of famine.

“Since the full siege was imposed on 2 March, CARE has not been able to deliver any of our $1.5 million worth of pre-positioned supplies into Gaza,” said Jolien Veldwijk, Country Director of CARE. “This includes critical shipments of food parcels, medical supplies, hygiene kits, dignity kits, and maternal and infant care items. Our mandate is to save lives, but due to the registration restrictions civilians are being left without the food, medicine, and protection they urgently need.”

“Oxfam has over $2.5 million worth of goods that have been rejected from entering Gaza by Israel, especially WASH and hygiene items as well as food,” said Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam Policy Lead. “This registration process signals to INGOs that their ability to operate may come at the cost of their independence and ability to speak out.”

These restrictions are part of a broader strategy that includes the so-called “GHF” scheme – a militarised distribution mechanism promoted as a humanitarian solution. In reality, it is a deadly tool of control, with at least 859 Palestinians killed around “GHF” sites since it began operating.

“The militarised food distribution scheme has weaponised starvation and curated suffering. Distributions at GHF sites have resulted in extreme levels of violence and killings, primarily of young Palestinian men, but also of women and children, who have gone to the sites in the hope of receiving food,” according to Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, MSF emergency coordinator in Gaza.

Both the “GHF” scheme and the INGO registration process aim to block impartial aid, exclude Palestinian actors, and replace trusted humanitarian organisations with mechanisms that serve political and military objectives. They come as the government of Israel escalates its military offensive and deepens its occupation in Gaza

“At this point, everyone knows what the correct, humane answer is, and it’s not a floating pier, airdrops or the “GHF.” The answer, to save lives, save humanity and save yourselves from complicity in engineered mass starvation, is to open all the borders, at all hours, to the thousands of trucks, millions of meals and medical supplies, ready and waiting nearby,” said Sean Carroll of Anera.

We call on all states and donors to:

• Press Israel to end the weaponisation of aid, including through bureaucratic obstruction, such as the INGO registration procedures.
• Insist that INGOs are not forced to share sensitive personal information, in violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or compromise staff safety or independence as a condition for delivering aid.
• Demand the immediate and unconditional opening of all land crossings and conditions for the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid.

Notes to editors

• The occupied Palestinian territory is the deadliest setting for aid workers worldwide, with Palestinian staff accounting for 98% of aid worker fatalities: 509 out of 517 killings that took place between 2023-2025, according to the Aid Worker Security Database.
• On 6 May, 55 organisations warned that Israel’s new INGO registration measures are a grave threat to humanitarian operations and international law.
• On 1 July, 200+ organisations called for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme, including the so-called “GHF” in Gaza, revert to the existing UN-led coordination mechanisms, and lift the Israeli government’s blockade on aid and commercial supplies.
• On 23 July, 100+ organisations warned that, as mass starvation spreads across Gaza, our colleagues and those we serve are wasting away.
• On 29 July, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) wrote that the worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip.
• Israel has consistently denied restricting the amount of aid allowed into Gaza, including throughout the period of July 2025, when most of the denials discussed in this statement were issued.
• On 31 July, OHCHR wrote that since 27 May, at least 1,373 Palestinians have been killed while seeking food; 859 in the vicinity of the “GHF” sites and 514 along the routes of food convoys. Most of these killings were committed by the Israeli forces.
• On 4 August, a Palestinian nurse in Gaza was killed when an airdrop struck him.
• On 5 August, it was reported that Israeli authorities are planning for the full occupation of the Gaza Strip.
• On 6 August, UN agencies and NGOs warned that without immediate action most international NGO partners could be de-registered by Israel in coming weeks.
• On 6 August, the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) concluded that Israel’s information requests under the INGO registration process risk violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The DPA advised that INGOs should not comply with these requests, and that the only solution is for Israel to amend its requirements and for the relevant ministries to issue a formal protest.
• On 7 August, MSF released a report stating food distributions in Gaza run by the so-called “GHF” are sites of “orchestrated killing and dehumanisation” that must be shut down.”
• On 10 August, Save the Children reported the deaths of 100 children due to starvation in Gaza since October 2023.
• On 12 August, a group of UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights published a letter to the Israeli government, stating deep concern that the INGO registration measures “weaken the ability of INGOs to operate independently and impartially and to carry out their humanitarian and human rights work without interference or fear of reprisal” and that “that the obligation to report on INGO personnel, in the context of occupation, armed conflict and serious violations of international law, could raise serious protection and reprisal concerns.”

Signatories:

1. A New Policy
2. ACT Alliance
3. ActionAid Denmark
4. ActionAid International
5. Action Against Hunger (ACF)
6. Action For Humanity
7. All We Can
8. Alliance Sud
9. American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
10. Americares
11. Anera
12. Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz
13. Bystanders No More
14. Campaign Against Arms Trade
15. Canadian Foodgrains Bank
16. CARE
17. Caritas Internationalis
18. Caritas Jerusalem
19. Caritas Middle East and North Africa
20. Caritas Switzerland
21. Center for Jewish Nonviolence
22. Charity & Security Network
23. ChildFund Alliance
24. Children Not Numbers
25. Christian Aid
26. Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
27. CISS – Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud
28. Committee to Protect Journalists
29. Comundo
30. Cooperation Canada
31. COORDINADORA VALENCIANA ONGD
32. DanChurchAid
33. Danish Refugee Council (DRC)
34. Department of Service to the Palestinian Refugees
35. Diakonia
36. Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe
37. EDUCO
38. Embrace the Middle East
39. Emergency – Life Support for Civilian War Victims Ong Ets
40. Entreculturas
41. Finn Church Aid (FCA)
42. Forum Ziviler Friedensdienst e.V. (Pro Peace)
43. Frieda – the Feminist Peace Organization
44. Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
45. Fund for Global Human Rights
46. Glia
47. HEKS/EPER (Swiss Church Aid)
48. HelpAge International
49. Humanitarian Coalition
50. Humanity Auxilium
51. Humanity & Inclusion – Handicap International
52. Humanity First UK
53. INARA
54. Insecurity Insight
55. International Development and Relief Foundation (IDRF)
56. INTERSOS
57. Islamic Relief
58. Jahalin Solidarity
59. Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC)
60. Jüdische Stimme für Demokratie und Gerechtigkeit in Israel/Palästina JVJP Switzerland
61. KinderUSA
62. Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation
63. La Coordinadora de Organizaciones para el Desarrollo (The Spanish Development NGO
Platform)
64. Médecins du Monde International Network
65. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
66. MedGlobal
67. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)
68. medico international
69. medico international schweiz
70. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
71. Middle East Children’s Alliance
72. MPower Change Action Fund
73. Muslim Aid
74. Nonviolent Peaceforce
75. NORWAC – Norwegian Aid Committee
76. Norwegian Church Aid
77. Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)
78. Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
79. Oxfam
80. Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF)
81. PANZMA – Palestinian Australian New Zealand Medical Association
82. PARCIC
83. Pax Christi International
84. PAX for Peace
85. Peace Watch Switzerland
86. People in Need (PIN)
87. Plan International
88. Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH)
89. Portuguese Platform of Development NGOs
90. Premiere Urgence Internationale (PUI)
91. Project HOPE
92. Relief International
93. Right to Play
94. Sabeel-Kairos UK
95. Saferworld
96. Save the Children International
97. Secours Islamique France (SIF)
98. Solidar Suisse
99. Solidarités International
100. SWISSAID
101. Terre des Hommes Italy
102. Terre des Hommes Lausanne
103. The Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET)
104. The United Church of Canada
105. United Against Inhumanity (UAI)
106. Vento di Terra
107. War Child Alliance
108. Weltfriedensdienst e.V.

The post  Israel threatens to ban major aid organisations as starvation deepens appeared first on United Against Inhumanity.

More than 100 organizations are sounding the alarm to allow in life-saving aid.

As the Israeli government’s siege starves the people of Gaza, aid workers are now joining the same food lines, risking being shot just to feed their families. With supplies now totally depleted, humanitarian organisations are witnessing their own colleagues and partners waste away before their eyes. Exactly two months since the Israeli government-controlled scheme, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began operating, more than 100 organisations are sounding the alarm, urging governments to act: open all land crossings; restore the full flow of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items, and fuel through a principled, UN-led mechanism; end the siege, and agree to a ceasefire now.

“Each morning, the same question echoes across Gaza: will I eat today?” said one agency
representative.

Massacres at food distribution sites in Gaza are occurring near-daily. As of July 13, the UN onfirmed 875 Palestinians were killed while seeking food, 201 on aid routes and the rest at distribution points. Thousands more have been injured. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have
forcibly displaced nearly two million exhausted Palestinians with the most recent mass displacement order issued on July 20, confining Palestinians to less than 12 per cent of Gaza. WFP warns that current conditions make operations untenable. The starvation of civilians as a method of warfare is a war crime.

Just outside Gaza, in warehouses – and even within Gaza itself – tons of food, clean water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel sit untouched with humanitarian organisations blocked from accessing or delivering them. The Government of Israel’s restrictions, delays, and fragmentation under its total siege have created chaos, starvation, and death. An aid worker providing psychosocial support spoke of the devastating impact on children:

“Children tell their parents they want to go to heaven, because at least heaven has food.”

Doctors report record rates of acute malnutrition, especially among children and olderpeople. Illnesses like acute watery diarrhoea are spreading, markets are empty, waste is piling up, and adults are collapsing on the streets from hunger and dehydration. Distributions in Gaza average just 28 trucks a day, far from enough for over two million people, many of whom have gone weeks without assistance.

The UN-led humanitarian system has not failed, it has been prevented from functioning. Humanitarian agencies have the capacity and supplies to respond at scale. But, with access denied, we are blocked from reaching those in need, including our own exhausted and starved teams. On July 10, the EU and Israel announced steps to scale up aid. But these promises of ‘progress’ ring hollow when there is no real change on the ground. Every day without a sustained flow means more people dying of preventable illnesses. Children starve while waiting for promises that never arrive.

Palestinians are trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires, only to wake up to worsening conditions. It is not just physical torment, but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage. The humanitarian system cannot run on false promises. Humanitarians cannot operate on shifting timelines or wait for political commitments that fail to deliver access.

Governments must stop waiting for permission to act. We cannot continue to hope that current arrangements will work. It is time to take decisive action: demand an immediate and permanent ceasefire; lift all bureaucratic and administrative restrictions; open all land crossings; ensure access to everyone in all of Gaza; reject military-controlled distribution models; restore a principled, UN-led humanitarian response and continue to fund principled and impartial humanitarian organisations. States must pursue concrete measures to end the siege, such as halting the transfer of weapons and ammunition. Piecemeal arrangements and symbolic gestures, like airdrops or flawed aid deals, serve as a smokescreen for inaction. They cannot replace states’ legal and moral obligations to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure meaningful access at scale. States can and must save lives before there are none left to save.

Signatories:

1. American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
2. A.M. Qattan Foundation
3. A New Policy
4. ACT Alliance
5. Action Against Hunger (ACF)
6. Action for Humanity
7. ActionAid International
8. American Baptist Churches Palestine Justice Network
9. Amnesty International
10. Asamblea de Cooperación por la Paz
11. Associazione Cooperazione e Solidarietà (ACS)
12. Bystanders No More
13. Campain
14. CARE
15. Caritas Germany
16. Caritas Internationalis
17. Caritas Jerusalem
18. Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD)
19. Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM)
20. CESVI Fondazione
21. Children Not Numbers
22. Christian Aid
23. Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
24. CIDSE- International Family of Catholic Social Justice Organisations
25. Cooperazione Internazionale Sud Sud (CISS)
26. Council for Arab‐British Understanding (CAABU)
27. DanChurchAid (DCA)
28. Danish Refugee Council (DRC)
29. Development and Peace – Caritas Canada
30. Doctors against Genocide
31. Episcopal Peace Fellowship
32. EuroMed Rights
33. Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
34. Forum Ziviler Friedensdienst e.V.
35. Gender Action for Peace and Security
36. Glia
37. Global Legal Action Network (GLAN)
38. Global Witness
39. Health Workers 4 Palestine
40. HelpAge International
41. Human Concern International
42. Humanity & Inclusion (HI)
43. Humanity First UK
44. Indiana Center for Middle East Peace
45. Insecurity Insight
46. International Media Support
47. International NGO Safety Organisation
48. Islamic Relief
49. Jahalin Solidarity
50. Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC)
51. Justice for All
52. Kenya Association of Muslim Medical Professionals (KAMMP)
53. Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation
54. MedGlobal
55. Medico International
56. Medico International Switzerland (medico international schweiz)
57. Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP)
58. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC)
59. Medicine for the People – Belgium (MPLP/GVHV)
60. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
61. Médecins du Monde France
62. Médecins du Monde Spain
63. Médecins du Monde Switzerland
64. Mercy Corps
65. Middle East Children’s Alliance (MECA)
66. Movement for Peace (MPDL)
67. Muslim Aid
68. National Justice and Peace Network in England and Wales
69. Nonviolence International
70. Norwegian Aid Committee (NORWAC)
71. Norwegian Church Aid (NCA)
72. Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)
73. Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
74. Oxfam International
75. Pax Christi England and Wales
76. Pax Christi International
77. Pax Christi Merseyside
78. Pax Christi USA
79. Pal Law Commission
80. Palestinian American Medical Association
81. Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF)
82. Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS)
83. Peace Direct
84. Peace Winds
85. Pediatricians for Palestine
86. People in Need
87. Plan International
88. Première Urgence Internationale (PUI)
89. Progettomondo
90. Project HOPE
91. Quaker Palestine Israel Network
92. Rebuilding Alliance
93. Refugees International
94. Saferworld
95. Sabeel‐Kairos UK
96. Save the Children (SCI)
97. Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund
98. Solidarités International
99. Støtteforeningen Det Danske Hus i Palæstina
100. Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER)
101. Terre des Hommes Italia
102. Terre des Hommes Lausanne
103. Terre des Hommes Nederland
104. The Borgen Project
105. The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM)
106. The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)
107. The International Development and Relief Foundation
108. The Institute for the Understanding of Anti‐Palestinian Racism
109. Un Ponte Per (UPP)
110. United Against Inhumanity (UAI)
111. War Child Alliance
112. War Child UK
113. War on Want
114. Weltfriedensdienst e.V.
115. Welthungerhilfe (WHH)

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