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On May 7, 2025, United Nations experts published a statement calling for comprehensive responses to the dire situation in Gaza. According to the statement, signed by UN 38 experts, including Special Rapporteurs, Independent Experts, and members of Working Groups, “Escalating atrocities in Gaza present an urgent moral crossroads and States must act now to end the violence or bear witness to the annihilation of the Palestinian population in Gaza – an outcome with irreversible consequences for our shared humanity and multilateral order.” The situation in Gaza refers to the effects of Israel’s actions following Hamas’ deadly attacks on October 7, 2023, which have brought Gaza’s population to the brink of collapse. While the horrific crimes committed by Hamas required responses, the UN experts warn that “Israel continues its relentless destruction of life in Gaza, through attacks by land, air and sea, displacing and massacring the surviving population with impunity. No one is spared – not the children, persons with disabilities, nursing mothers, journalists, health professionals, aid workers, or hostages. Since breaking the ceasefire, Israel has killed hundreds of Palestinians, many daily – peaking on March 18, 2025, with 600 casualties in 24 hours, 400 of whom were children.”
The group of experts cited over 52,535 deaths, of which 70% continue to be women and children, and 118,491 people injured as of May 4, 2025. They continued that “Under constant bombardment, amid homes reduced to rubble, streets turned into zones of terror and a devastated environment, 2.1 million survivors are facing the direst humanitarian crisis. Food and water have been cut off for months, inducing starvation, dehydration, and disease, which will result in more deaths becoming the daily reality for many, especially the most vulnerable.”
The UN experts referred to the situation in Gaza as genocide. In recent months, the legal term has been used by Amnesty International to describe the situation of Palestinians in Gaza, including in their December 2024 report “You Feel Like You Are Subhuman.” Despite significant coverage, the issue has not received the attention it requires. The issue of genocide is also considered by the International Court of Justice (the ICJ), after in December 2023, South Africa filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel. The Application alleged that, “acts and omissions by Israel… are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent… to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group” and that “the conduct of Israel — through its State organs, State agents, and other persons and entities acting on its instructions or under its direction, control or influence — in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, is in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention.” The ICJ issued provisional measures on a number of occasions, calling upon Israel to refrain from the acts South Africa alleged in its submission.
The statement from UN experts comes only a few days after the Humanitarian Country Team of the Occupied Palestinian Territory published updates on principled aid delivery in Gaza. As noted, “For nine weeks now, Israeli authorities have blocked all supplies from entering Gaza, no matter how vital to people’s survival. Bakeries have shut. Community kitchens have closed. Warehouses stand empty. Children have gone hungry.(…) Our teams remain in Gaza, ready to again scale up the delivery of critical supplies and services: food, water, health, nutrition, protection and more. We have significant stocks ready to enter as soon as the blockade is lifted. We urge world leaders to use their influence to make that happen. The time is now.”
As the crisis continues, Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia, and the UK requested a UN briefing on the humanitarian situation and protection of aid workers in Gaza. The meeting is to take place on May 13, 2025. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher is likely to brief. In early 2025, the US indicated that it would introduce a new system for providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza through private companies. The exact plan for how this is to work is yet to be released.
The warnings about the malnutrition and starvation of people in Gaza need to be taken seriously and addressed as soon as possible to prevent further suffering and deaths. The UN briefing on May 13, 2025, provides an opportunity to update on the situation and discuss the options. However, considering the urgency of the situation, States and international actors must move away from mere words.
