2023-24 Trócaire Annual ROI Annual Report
Download HereA man cycles through the wreckage of Deir Al Balah, after bombardment from the Israeli military. Photo: Palm media/ MAP
Gaza is a crime scene, and without proper documentation of the atrocities committed, the evidence of these war crimes – by all sides – will be lost. Journalists and investigators must now be allowed to travel freely and safely throughout Gaza to document and record human rights violations.
The ceasefire, that came into effect on Sunday morning, is an important step towards ending the current war on Gaza, but the international community must now fulfil its obligations under international law and work to end Israel’s occupation and control over Palestinian land and lives.
There will be no peace without justice, and this requires the international community to ensure that perpetrators of war crimes – on all sides – are held accountable in line with international law. Unless respect for international law and its institutions are protected then we will continue to bear witness to these cycles of violence and horrendous suffering.
This is critical to securing a just and lasting peace in Palestine and Israel. A durable peace is one that fulfils the legitimate right of Palestinians to self-determination, and protects the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians to live in security and safety.
Previous experience tells us that the days preceding a ceasefire often bring some of the deadliest Israeli attacks. Last Wednesday night, as the people of Gaza celebrated the possible end to their 15-month nightmare, aid worker, Ihab Fisal, (from Trócaire partner organisation Palestinian Centre for Human Rights) was killed along with his wife and two small children by an Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza city in the early hours of the morning. More than 120 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the announcement of a ceasefire deal, including at least 19 Palestinians on Sunday morning, as they celebrated the day they have been waiting for, for 15 months. Israel citing the reason for these attacks was a 3 hour delay in the ceasefire.
The people of Gaza have been here before when a temporary ceasefire in December 2023 broke down, and the shelling began again. Much like then, our local human rights and humanitarian partners in Gaza have warned that this ceasefire, if it takes hold, will be fragile and does not yet mean a permanent end to hostilities. That will require further negotiations between both sides.
We remain optimisticnow that the first phase of the ceasefire is underway we will see a halt in fighting. However, Israel has waged a destructive and widespread military assault on Gaza on a scale we have not witnessed in any other conflict in the 21st century, in response to appalling acts of terror by Hamas. Almost the entire population of Gaza are facing extreme hunger, and 345,000 people are estimated to be living in catastrophic famine conditions. During this conflict over 90% of the population in Gaza has been displaced multiple times. 87% of housing units have been destroyed. The UN OCHA estimates that there are more than 100,000 people wounded. At the same time, 625,000 students have no access to formal education, and more than 17,000 children are unaccompanied or separated from their families. Today, on top of the almost 47,000 dead, thousands more lie beneath the rubble.
Although Palestinians will begin to return to what is left of their homes and neighbourhoods for the first time in months, they will tonight still sleep in tents, newborns will run the risk of freezing to death, and people will continue to live with unfathomable loss, permanent disability, and trauma – there is no returning to ‘normal life’ for Gazans.
Our partners in the Gaza, who have continued to deliver services and lifesaving support to the people of Gaza in the most horrendous circumstances, tell us that their staff will need space to reunite with family they have not seen in 15 months, to search the rubble to bury and grieve their loved ones. They have been displaced multiple times, and many are sleeping in tents. They no longer have offices or homes to return to.
In the short term, the immediate surge of humanitarian aid and rehabilitation of civilian infrastructure and utilities (electricity, water, shelter, sanitation) is needed, which are critical for saving and protecting lives. For this to happen, Israel has to allow the necessary items to enter Gaza so our partners can respond appropriately. This includes so called ‘dual use’ items that are critical to reconstruction of civilian infrastructure. In addition, humanitarian access should be unfettered and allowed to reach all parts of Gaza, not areas that Israel designates.
Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip has been in flagrant breach of International Humanitarian Law; the near–complete destruction of civilian infrastructure and use of starvation as a method of warfare constitute war crimes, as the International Criminal Court has confirmed by issuing arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. The International Court of Justice has ruled that Palestinians in Gaza have a right to be protected from the risk of genocide. It has twice ordered Israel to cease attacks on civilians in Gaza and to allow unhindered humanitarian access. The ICC also issued arrest warrants against Hamas leaders, demonstrating that all parties to the conflict must be held to account for war crimes.
Gaza is the world’s greatest crime scene. Without accountability for war crimes there can be no justice and without justice there can be no peace.
The end of hostilities in Gaza is only the beginning. We need to seek justice, to seek accountability for war crimes and potential acts of genocide. Unless the injustices are properly addressed, the war does not end, it just continues in a different form.