Washington, D.C., 27 December 2024 ——
In 2024 hundreds of thousands of people were killed in war and conflict. The cost of war runs into the trillions of dollars. Millions have been displaced at least once, and the vast majority have been displaced repeatedly. Gaza is one of those conflicts. In 16 months of fighting, the cost of war in Gaza is astounding.
The catalyst for the war in Gaza was a deadly assault by Hamas against Israel on 7 October 2023, during which 1,139 Israelis were horrifically murdered, and some 254 people were taken hostage. Israel retaliated and attacked Gaza. If Israel had used its specialized capabilities and only targeted Hamas, the loss of life would have been considerably lower, conditions for Palestinians would have likely been less destructive, and the outrage that has been exhibited around the world, on college campuses, and even in the streets of Israel – would not have been displayed. But Israel has used its forces as well as an unlimited supply of weapons from the US and other countries, to unleash its fury against the Palestinian people, violating international humanitarian law and by sheer definition, committed genocide.
Sixteen months of war in Gaza has witnessed catastrophic consequences. Families in Gaza struggle to secure food and other basic necessities. Constant displacement, plunging temperatures, and relentless conflict deepen the risks for non-combatants in Gaza. Israeli forces continue to obstruct the delivery of vital supplies. Medical evacuations have been blocked as well as the entrance of medical supplies.
At every turn, and despite intense diplomatic engagement by the US and others, Israel has failed to uphold legal obligations to produce adequate humanitarian relief for civilians in Gaza.
UN General Assembly: Tenth Emergency Session
On 11 December, during its tenth emergency session, the United Nations General Assembly passed resolutions demanding an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and that Israel allow the UN Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) to carry out unrestricted aid operations. The resolution (A/ES 10/L33) also demanded that all parties fully comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, especially as it relates to the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure. It means that combatants cannot bomb hospitals, schools, places where civilians congregate, apartment buildings, housing, dentist offices, churches, playgrounds, and markets. On the subject of indiscriminate bombing, the need for Israel’s accountability cannot be stressed enough.
Further, the General Assembly rejected any attempt to alter territorial or demographic boundaries in the Gaza Strip. It reaffirmed the commitment to the two-state solution, with the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as part of the Palestinian State and governed under the Palestinian Authority.
The tenth emergency session follows the repeated failure of the Security Council to act. The United States once again used its permanent seat on the council to veto any action taken against Israel in its open assault and blatant atrocity violations against Gaza.
The Gaza Scorecard
The UN emergency session resolutions follow a report titled “The Gaza Scorecard: Israel Fails to Comply with US Humanitarian Access Demands in Gaza,” issued by a consortium of international humanitarian organizations, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children, OXFAM, CARE, and other NGOs. The scorecard assesses Israel’s compliance with concrete metrics and US and international law. The determination: Israel is violating its legal obligations with impunity at an enormous human cost to Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Israeli military operations are starving civilians in Gaza, resulting in famine conditions impacting 800,000 Palestinians. In the north, Israel launched a major operation, cutting off humanitarian aid to the area. The Scorecard assesses that “the entire Palestinian population in North Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine, and violence.”
The ongoing Israeli blockade and intensive military action have led to widespread destruction of infrastructure, severe shortages of food, water, and medical supplies, and the forced displacement of nearly two million people. The obstruction of aid and commercial entry by Israel has directly resulted in increased mortality rates and unnecessary human suffering among the civilian population. The consistent failure to address urgent humanitarian needs raises serious questions regarding Israel’s observance of international humanitarian law and its obligation as an occupying power.
Secretaries Letter to Israel
The Gaza Scorecard followed a 30-day mandate issued by US Secretaries Blinken and Austin. On October 13th, the secretaries sent a letter to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s government: Yoav Gallant, then minister of defense, and Ron Dermer, minister of strategic affairs, issuing concerns over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The letter reminded the Israeli leaders of its March 2024 commitments to “facilitate and not arbitrarily deny, restrict, or otherwise impede, directly or indirectly, the transport of delivery of US humanitarian assistance and US government supported international efforts to provide humanitarian aid to and within Gaza.” The letter demanded that Israel make progress on specific measures to improve the humanitarian situation within 30 days, to avoid potential policy and legal implications. It is important to note that no consequences were issued.
Per US law and policy, specifically National Security Memorandum 620 and the Foreign Assistance Act, violating these laws requires the President to immediately stop security assistance to any foreign government that restricts US humanitarian aid. To put this in perspective, between October 2023 and October 2024, the US sent $17.9 billion in military aid to Israel, the most in any year.
Countries that receive US military aid and are in an active military conflict must allow the transfer of US-supported humanitarian aid without interruption; a policy that needs to be upheld. Israel’s actions failed to meet any of the specific criteria set in the October 13th letter. Not only did Israel fail to comply, but it took actions that worsened conditions in Gaza, particularly in Northern Gaza.
Northern Gaza
In October 2024, Israeli forces launched a new offensive in North Gaza. The IDF cut off all humanitarian aid, besieging the remaining 200,000 civilians (non-combatants). On 6 October, Israeli authorities designated all of North Gaza a military zone and ordered the entire population to evacuate. Aid workers have been blocked from accessing North Gaza. Humanitarian deliveries were halted. In late October as a result of the letter, a small number of deliveries were allowed into the area.
At least 130,000 people are displaced from North Gaza to Gaza City. As many as 95,000 civilians are besieged in North Gaza without food, clean water, or medical supplies. The World Food Programme (WFP) reported that the IDF obstructed deliveries of food and supplies. The Israeli military forces attacked the remaining hospitals in North Gaza, destroying vital equipment and supplies.
US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield observed that the US is closely monitoring the situation in North Gaza and is concerned about the risk of a policy of starvation as a weapon of war. But, for the last 16 months, Israel has done what it wanted, violating international law with impunity, all while the US “observed.”
On 25 October, the US State Department warned that insufficient humanitarian assistance was getting into North Gaza and that Israel had not fully implemented all of the changes called for in the letter. However, at no time has any US official uttered an “or else”. There have been no consequences given for Israel’s blatant disregard for US policy or international law.
The Cost of War is Tragic
Continued non-compliance intensifies human suffering. When the action is done with impunity it challenges not only US law but also international legal framework. The methods Israel has used in Gaza are now being implemented in Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. Ally or not, Israel needs to be held accountable. It should not get a pass, and it should not be allowed to commit genocide on the Palestinian people with impunity.
Israel blocked 90 percent of humanitarian movements between northern and southern Gaza in September. Never mind the fact that Israel continues to bomb even the areas designated as “safe zones.” Even when Israel gives an order to evacuate, there is no guarantee that they will not strike there as well.
In 16 months of fighting in Gaza, the cost of war is tragic… the loss of life is overwhelming. At least 333 humanitarian personnel, 141 journalists and media workers, and some 500 healthcare workers have been killed in Gaza. More than 45,000 Palestinians have been killed – 71% of those killed are women and children. Let me do the math for you… 31,950 women and children.
We are running out of words to describe the misery, the suffering, the death… and trying to explain why you should care. The best I can say… “Palestinians are human beings. Caring and acting on their behalf is the right thing to do.” And no relationship with an ally should be more important than the tremendous loss of life in Gaza.
Photo Credit: Al Quds Hospital, Gaza City, following Israeli shelling, by ISM Palestine. Licensed under CC BY SA 2.0
Lara Kajs is the founder and executive director of The Genocide Report, a nonprofit NGO in Washington DC. She is the author of Stories from Yemen: A Diary from the Field and the forthcoming, Assad’s Syria: Displacement, Torture, and Mass Execution. Ms. Kajs frequently speaks about atrocity crimes, forced displacement, and international human rights. Follow and connect with Lara Kajs on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.