NGO Action News – 30 October 2025

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 27 October, the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights issued a press release alerting that women in Gaza suffered from diseases and injuries without access to treatment or medicine, and faced a complete inability to meet their most basic health needs. The press release reads that, as the world marks the month dedicated to raising awareness of breast cancer and promoting early detection, women in Gaza are deprived of this vital opportunity after Israel had destroyed the entire health system. It further states that there are more than 12,500 cancer patients in the Gaza Strip, with women accounting for approximately 52% of the total number of cases.
• On 26 October, Al Shabaka published the article “AI for War: Big Tech Empowering Israel’s Crimes and Occupation”. The article reads that AI systems, cloud infrastructures, and surveillance tools supplied by technology companies have become integral to Israel’s oppression of Palestinians, adding that the increasing militarization of digital technologies and infrastructures, most visibly in Israel’s deployment of AI-driven systems and data analytics in Gaza, have reshaped debates on accountability and exposed critical gaps in existing governance frameworks.
• On 24 October, Al Mezan issued a press release welcoming the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion of 22 October 2025. The article reads that the ICJ has concluded, among other issues, that Israel has a legal obligation to facilitate humanitarian aid in the occupied Palestinian territory, comprising Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. The NGO urged the international community to ensure full implementation of the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion, particularly continuing and expanding financial support for UNRWA and other UN humanitarian agencies.
• On 23 October, Gisha published the article “The War on Food Production: The Agricultural Sector”. According to the NGO, this report examines the decimation of the agricultural sector in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023, which once had constituted a central pillar of the local economy and a source of food security, and highlights the implications for the population.

Africa, Asia and Europe

• On 28 October, Law for Palestine published a summary of the report “Gaza Genocide: A Collective Crime” by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese. The NGO stated that the report had found that what it considered to be the “ongoing genocide” in Gaza constituted a collective crime, enabled and sustained by the complicity of influential Third States that have long supported and protected Israel’s systemic violations of international law. Al-Haq published an article on this report as well.
• On 27 October, the Palestinian Return Centre submitted a position paper to the missions of UN Member States addressing the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 22 October 2025 on the genocide against the Palestinian People and the resulting legal obligations of Israel as an occupying power in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. The paper analyzes the implications of Israel’s continued effective control over the Gaza Strip and the consequent expansion of its legal responsibilities under international humanitarian law. Human Rights Watch published an article on the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion as well.
• On 27 October, 7amleh released the report “Digital Rights Under Threat: The Impact of LinkedIn’s Biased Moderation Amid Genocide.” According to the NGO, the report documents, through fifteen user testimonies and interviews with LinkedIn and Microsoft employees, the violations resulting from biased content moderation practices and their impact on Palestinian human rights defenders.
• On 23 October, the Norwegian Refugee Council published a public letter signed by 41 organizations operating on the ground in Gaza, who called on Israel to uphold its commitments under the ceasefire agreement and international law and let humanitarian aid flow freely. The letter reads that Israeli authorities have continued to arbitrarily reject shipments of life-saving assistance into Gaza since the ceasefire began, while a restrictive new INGO registration process further delays urgent humanitarian work. According to the signatories, the restrictions are depriving Palestinians of lifesaving aid and undermining coordination of the response system in Gaza which relies on collaboration between local organizations, national institutions, UN agencies and international NGOs. The NGO also issued a press release on 23 October on the intensification of violence and restrictions in the occupied West Bank.

North America

• On 24 October, the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) published the webinar “Media, BDS, and Lessons from 25 Years of Solidarity Work”. Ahmed Moor, FMEP Fellow, spoke with Mondoweiss editor Adam Horowitz about the role that Mondoweiss, an independent news organization, has played in the struggle for Palestinian rights over the past 25 years. According to the NGO, panelists also discussed the case for the cultural boycott of Israel and what constitutes justice after genocide.

United Nations

• On 30 October, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) organized the virtual briefing “Safeguarding Human Rights, Ensuring Accountability and Ending the Unlawful Occupation of Palestine”. The briefing featured presentations from the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory Occupied since 1967, Francesca Albanese; Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, Reem Alsalem; Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Ben Saul; as well as Commissioner of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, Chris Sidoti. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the next collective steps and leverage the expertise of the invited speakers to inform action in the General Assembly.
• On 24 October, the Bureau of the CEIRPP issued a statement welcoming the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 22 October 2025, which reaffirmed Israel’s binding obligations, as the Occupying Power, under international law. The Bureau called on the General Assembly, which requested the Advisory Opinion, to urgently consider the specific measures needed to end the unlawful occupation as rapidly as possible. The Bureau also called on all Member States to support the United Nations in discharging its permanent responsibility for the question of Palestine, including through sustained, flexible and predictable funding for UNRWA and other humanitarian actors.
• On 23 October, UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Ramiz Alakbarov briefed to the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, welcoming the ceasefire in Gaza and stressing that a return to conflict must be avoided at all costs, calling on all parties to abide by their commitments under the U.S. brokered ceasefire. He also stated that the Secretary-General had welcomed the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on 22 October, which had found, inter alia, that Israel was required to fulfil its obligations under international law with respect to facilitating relief to the population of Gaza, and to cooperate in good faith with the United Nations and its entities.