NGO Action News – 10 April 2025

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This newsletter informs about recent and upcoming activities of Civil Society Organizations working on the question of Palestine. The Committee and the Division for Palestinian Rights of the UN Secretariat provide the information “as is” without warranty of any kind, and do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, or reliability of the information contained in the websites linked in the newsletter.

Middle East

• On 9 April, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights published an article condemning the Israeli military’s ongoing targeting of civilians gathering near field kitchens and food distribution centers in the Gaza Strip, after a series of deadly incidents. The NGO added that hundreds of thousands of people increasingly depended on such services, especially as reportedly a severe famine spread across the Strip due to Israel’s systematic policy of siege and starvation.
• On 7 April, Al-Haq and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights informed that the NGOs had delivered a joint oral statement during the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council’s General Debate, warning about the existential threat facing the Palestinian people. The NGOs raised concerns of a coordinated strategy aimed at the permanent removal of Palestinians from their land and the systematic denial of their right to self-determination and return. The statement called on all States to urgently take immediate and effective action to halt what they described as Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people and to address the root causes of these crimes, warning that continued inaction amounted to an endorsement of Israel’s crimes violating international law.
• On 6 April, Al Mezan issued a press release on World Health Day, condemning Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza’s health sector and the blockade of humanitarian aid, and calling for immediate international protection. The release reads further that the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system was accelerating amid unrelenting Israeli military attacks and an ever-deepening humanitarian crisis. The NGO called on all international actors to exert intense pressure on Israel to cease its restrictions on humanitarian operations and allow the entry of medicine, medical supplies, and international medical missions.
• On 6 April, the NGOs Kerem Navot and Peace Now published a joint report describing how a small group of Israeli settlers, with support from the Israeli government, have taken control of 14 per cent of the West Bank by establishing over 100 shepherding outposts, effectively driving out the Palestinians from these areas. The report argued that the Israeli government enabled these settlers through large-scale land allocations and funding.
• On 6 April, Al-Haq launched a database with what it considers to be hundreds of Israeli genocidal statements since 7 October 2023. The NGO described a widespread pattern of incitement to violence and expressions of genocidal intent against the Palestinian people by Israeli leaders and prominent public figures. According to the NGO, the database documents over 1,000 instances of incitement and genocidal intent, ranging from social media posts and televised interviews to official statements.
• On 5 April, Addameer informed that at least 350 Palestinian children were being held by Israel in various prisons and military camps, including more than 100 of them who were incarcerated without trial or charge under Israel’s military court system.
• On 3 April, B’Tselem issued a press release warning that Israel was carrying out ethnic cleansing in Gaza. The NGO stated that, since 18 March, Israel had killed over
  1,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, more than 300 of them children, in indiscriminate bombings, while also starving the population and blocking any entry of supplies and aid. Furthermore, according to the NGO, since the beginning of the war Israel has killed more than 1,000 members of medical, defense and aid teams in Gaza.

Africa, Asia and Europe

• On 10 April, Law for Palestine is organising the online panel discussion “Legal Obligations of States and Private Entities under the Law of the Sea in the Transfer of Arms and Energy Supplies to Israel”. Panelists are discussing the obligations of states with regards to shipments transferring arms and energy to Israel emanating from the international law framework, the ICJ Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, and the ICJ Provisional Measures Orders.
• On 7 April, the Palestinian Return Centre marked World Health Day by issuing a briefing to Members of the United Kingdom Parliament, drawing attention to the catastrophic collapse of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip. The document, titled “No Healthy Beginnings in Gaza”, outlines the severe impact of the ongoing Israeli bombardment and blockade on maternal and newborn health, amid widespread targeting of healthcare facilities and medical personnel.

North America

• On 8 April, J Street published a press release saying it was devastated by the ever-worsening situation in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The NGO also stated that it was distressed by recent footage of a clearly marked ambulance convoy being fired upon by Israeli Forces as they sought to help missing colleagues, contradicting initial reports by Israel.
• On 3 April, the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) published the webinar “Why are there so many child amputees in Gaza?” Peter Beinart and Ahmed Moor, FMEP fellows, spoke about child amputees in Gaza, now estimated to number 3-4,000, the highest number of child amputees per inhabitant in the world. They discussed how Israel’s denial of medical supplies leads to amputation and what it was like to be a doctor in Gaza. They also analyzed the effect these devastating injuries will have on Palestinian society.

United Nations

• On 8 April, Secretary-General António Guterres gave remarks to the press on the situation in Gaza, warning that more than an entire month had passed without a drop of aid entering into the Strip. He further informed that food, medicine and shelter supplies were piling up at the crossing points, and vital equipment was stuck, recalling that the Fourth Geneva Convention provided that “the Occupying Power ha[d] the duty of ensuring food and medical supplies of the population”. He also added that International Humanitarian Law included the obligation to respect humanitarian relief personnel who must be given protection.
• On 7 April, Heads of OCHA, UNICEF, UNOPS, UNRWA, WFP, WHO and IOM published a joint statement alerting that 2.1 million people in Gaza were trapped, bombed and starved, while, at crossing points, food, medicine, fuel and shelter supplies piled up, and vital equipment was not being delivered. In addition, at least 408 humanitarian workers, including over 280 from UNRWA, have been killed since October 2023. The heads of UN Agencies appealed to world leaders to act to ensure the basic principles of international humanitarian law are upheld.