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07 August 2025<\/p>\n
To avert further deaths and inhuman suffering by starvation, Israel must immediately restore unimpeded access to Gaza by impartial humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), UN experts* said today.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll States must act decisively to prevent Israel\u2019s destruction of the conditions of life in Gaza and stop its endless war on humanity,\u201d the experts said. \u201cStates must do everything in their power to restore the UN humanitarian system in Gaza.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over 500,000 people \u2013 a quarter of Gaza\u2019s population \u2013 are\u00a0facing<\/a><\/em>\u00a0famine. The rest are suffering from emergency levels of hunger. All 320,000 children under five are at risk of acute malnutrition, with serious lifelong physical and mental health consequences.<\/p>\n \u201cStarvation has been used as a savage weapon of war and constitutes crime under international law. Israel\u2019s failed experiment with militarised, privatised aid delivery by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has inflicted severe food shortages and killed almost 1,400 people seeking food. This is a predictable result of disrupting effective, impartial humanitarian relief by trusted, experienced international actors,\u201d the experts said.<\/p>\n In a previous\u00a0communication<\/a><\/em>, they condemned two Israeli laws that prohibit Israeli cooperation with UNRWA, which has long played a vital role in coordinating UN humanitarian relief in Palestine. The new laws have illegally impeded the work and free movement of 17,000 UNRWA staff, disrupted UNRWA\u2019s finances and its movement of goods and vehicles, and interfered with UNRWA premises, including its headquarters in East Jerusalem. It has also undermined security coordination with Israel, endangering humanitarians.<\/p>\n The General Assembly and the Security Council have both declared that UNRWA is the indispensable backbone of UN humanitarian relief for 2.3 million Gazans, including food, shelter and health care, particularly for women and children and nearly 2 million displaced persons. UNRWA also provides education, social assistance, poverty relief and water and sanitation.<\/p>\n Israel has clear international legal obligations to cooperate with UNRWA under the United Nations Charter, General Assembly resolutions, the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, and international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael\u2019s restrictions on UNRWA are based on unfounded allegations that it was involved in terrorism, which resulted in 16 States hastily suspending funding,\u201d the experts said. \u201cFollowing two independent reviews, and Israel\u2019s failure to prove its accusations, all donors but the United States resumed funding.\u201d<\/p>\n The UN Secretary-General has warned that UNRWA is now at an \u201cunprecedented breaking point\u201d due to the U.S. freeze on funds.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Colonna Review<\/a><\/em>\u00a0confirmed UNRWA\u2019s sophisticated procedures for guaranteeing its neutrality and UNRWA accepted all recommendations for further improvement. The independent review noted that Israel had never raised concerns about UNRWA staff when UNRWA shared its staff lists annually and stressed that preventing armed interference in UNRWA\u2019s activities is a shared responsibility.<\/p>\n \u201cIsrael has an international legal\u00a0duty to protect UNRWA<\/a><\/em>\u00a0from armed interference, by sharing information with UNRWA about threats to its staff, premises or activities and coordinating appropriate responses,\u201d the experts said. These obligations stem from Israel\u2019s duties to maintain public order in occupied territory, facilitate and protect humanitarian relief activities, and uphold UNRWA\u2019s privileges and immunities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe regret that Israel has recently expanded its smear campaign alleging terrorism to include OCHA,\u201d the experts said, condemning arbitrary new regulations restricting visas for international humanitarian staff, that have already impeded access by senior OCHA personnel.<\/p>\n Recent reports stated that Israeli military officials found no evidence of systematic aid diversion by Hamas from the UN and concluded that UN relief was effective.<\/p>\n Israel has also obstructed international human rights mechanisms and their staff from accessing Gaza, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and independent experts. It has severely\u00a0impeded reporting<\/a><\/em>\u00a0by barring international media and targeting local journalists with impunity.<\/p>\n The experts urged States to secure an immediate ceasefire, ensure the hostages are released, and punish all perpetrators of international crimes.<\/p>\n \u201cStates must ensure the end of illegal occupation as required by the International Court of Justice and fully realise the self-determination of the Palestinians in an independent, secure State of Palestine,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n To learn more about Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and the Question of Palestine, click here to visit the dedicated webpage.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n *The Experts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n