NGO Action News – 24 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 23 April, Medical Aid for Palestinians and Al Mezan issued a press release rejecting the findings of the Israeli military’s investigation into the 23 March killing of 15 Palestinian humanitarian and rescue workers by Israeli forces in Rafah. The NGOs consider that this attack was not an isolated incident, but rather part of a systematic pattern of targeting health workers and facilities by Israeli forces, adding that these deliberate acts and apparent crimes under international law must be urgently, transparently and independently investigated.
• On 22 April, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights published an article on the destruction by Israel of bulldozers and heavy machinery used in rescue operations, road clearance, and rubble removal in the Gaza Strip. The NGO added that this was a systematic policy, aimed at obstructing and hindering rescue operations and road clearance, which further exacerbated the suffering of besieged Palestinian civilians and prevented the delivery of humanitarian aid to devastated areas.
• On 22 April, Al-Haq sent briefing letters to Third States who will be participating, from 28 April, in the public hearings on the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on “Obligations of Israel in relation to the Presence and Activities of the United Nations, Other International Organizations and Third States in and in relation to the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. The NGO informed that the letters drew the attention of Third States to recent developments in the OPT that should both inform their participation and feature in their oral arguments.
• On 22 April, Al Mezan issued the press release “Scholasticide Continues: Israel’s Ongoing Destruction of Gaza’s Education System Jeopardizes an Entire Generation’s Future”. The NGO stated that, according to an assessment published by the Global Education Cluster, 95.2% of schools in Gaza have sustained varying degrees of damage, and 88.5% of school buildings required complete reconstruction or major rehabilitation. A total of 241 public schools have suffered severe damage, while 111 have been completely destroyed.
• On 20 April, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights published the article “Field Report: “Violence Under Protection … Settler Attacks as a Tool of Forced Displacment in Hebron”. The NGO stated that Hebron was the city most affected by Israeli settlement activity, as there were many settlement outposts established deep in the city, and especially its Old Town. The article further reads that Palestinians in this area live under coercive conditions, including tightened restrictions on movement and ongoing military control over the city, amid an escalation of Israeli settler attacks.
• On 18 April, Al-Haq published the article “Field Focus: Strategic Land Theft and Forced Displacement in Al-Makhrour – UNESCO Site Under Threat”, to mark World Heritage Day. The NGO stated that Israel has targeted Palestinians in several heritage sites including those placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list such as Hebron Old Town, the Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls, Battir’s Land of Olives and Vines located south of Jerusalem and Saint Hilarion Monastery/Tell Umm Amer in Gaza.
• On 16 April, 7amleh announced the launch of the official agenda for the ninth edition of the Palestine Digital Activism Forum 2025, under the theme “Disconnected: The Impact of War on Internet Access and Palestinian Digital Rights”. The forum will take place online on
  20-21 May, bringing together participants from around the world to discuss the growing digital challenges Palestinians face, particularly amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
• On 16 April, Adalah published an article to mark Palestinian Prisoners’ Day, calling for immediate international action to end what the NGO considers to be Israel’s unlawful detention regime and halt the widespread, inhumane treatment of Palestinian prisoners. Adalah added that Israel’s prison system was characterized by systemic and widespread violations of Palestinian prisoners’ rights, which have intensified greatly over the last year and a half.
• On 15 April, ACRI published the article “Allow Residents of the Northern West Bank to Return to their Homes”. The NGO wrote that the Israeli army had launched a military operation in the Northern West Bank, displacing about 40,000 residents of several refugee camps, either due to evacuation orders given by the army or as a result of the extensive destruction, blocked access routes, and mortal danger faced by those remaining. The NGO argued that continuing to prevent residents from returning to their homes and property goes against international law and violates their rights.

Africa, Asia and Europe

• On 17 April, the Norwegian Refugee Council published a press release by CEOs of major aid groups in Gaza who warned that the aid system was collapsing. According to the statement, nearly all of the international and Palestinian aid organisations working in Gaza had to suspend or dramatically cut services since the ceasefire ended one month ago on 18 March, with widespread and indiscriminate bombing making it extremely dangerous to move around. The statement further reads that Gaza now holds the record of being the deadliest place on earth for humanitarian workers.
• On 17 April, Law for Palestine published the legal brief “Third State Economic Responsibility in light of the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”. The paper discusses the economic obligations arising for Third States as a result of Israel’s violations of peremptory norms of international law.
• On 17 April, Association France Palestine Solidarité published a statement (in French), to warn against what it considered to be a mass detention of Palestinian prisoners by Israeli authorities. The NGO added that 63 Palestinian prisoners, including 40 from Gaza, have died in Israeli prisons since 7 October 2023.
• On 16 April, Diakonia published the report “Legal analysis of the destruction of healthcare in North Gaza”. This publication examined attacks and military operations on and around the premises of hospitals in the North Gaza governorate from October 2024 until the entry into force of the ceasefire in January 2025. The analysis pointed to violations of the international humanitarian law rules regulating the conduct of hostilities and military operations as well as Israel’s obligations pursuant to the law of occupation and international human rights law.

North America

• On 29 April, The Jerusalem Fund will organise, in Washington D.C., the screening of the movie “Yalla Parkour” and a discussion with its director, Palestinian filmmaker Areeb Zuaiter. Participants will discuss the film and the process of filming in Gaza.
• On 23 April, Churches for Middle East Peace released the report “Humanitarian Access Snapshot”, covering the period from 19 January to 15 April 2025. The report highlighted that more than 1.1 million people in Gaza faced catastrophic food insecurity, with famine-like conditions spreading in the north, amid continued restrictions on humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank caused by the ongoing conflict and military operations.

United Nations

• On 21 April, OCHA informed that not a single truck carrying food, fuel, medicine or any other essentials had been allowed into Gaza since early March 2025, while commercial imports have been officially banned since last October. OCHA warned that the impact of the full blockade was devastating, adding that hundreds of thousands of people had been newly displaced, and attacks on civilians – including emergency teams and aid workers – had surged again.
• On 15 April, UNRWA published the article “Medication shortages leave wounded people without full care in Gaza”. For over a year and a half, the children of Gaza have been deprived of education and the basic necessities of a normal childhood, constantly exposed to the threat of death. The scarcity of medical care and essential medicines only compounds their suffering and intensifies their psychological trauma. The article further reads that healthcare provided by UNRWA was an indispensable lifeline for these displaced people, but the aid ban imposed by Israeli authorities made it increasingly difficult to treat patients adequately, all the more so in the face of unprecedented levels of need.