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A dramatic rise in Israeli military violence has caused the largest forced displacement in the West Bank since the illegal Israeli occupation began. As the ‘Gazafication’ of the West Bank unfolds, vital humanitarian work and projects are being delayed or destroyed, Oxfam warned today.  

Starvation is being used as a weapon of war against Gaza civilians, Oxfam said today as it renewed its call for food, water, fuel and other essentials to be allowed to enter.  

In response to the announcement of the release of hostages and prisoners, and of the four-day humanitarian pause to escalated hostilities in Gaza, agreed today between Hamas and the Government of Israel, Oxfam’s Humanitarian Director, Marta Valdez Garcia, said: “We welcome that fact that a number of the Israeli and foreign national hostages will be released. This deal allows much-needed time for families on both sides to be reunited, celebrate the safe return of their loved ones, and mourn those they have lost. It would be optimistic to see this as the beginning of a road toward a permanent ceasefire – but that looks distant.  

A new Oxfam analysis found that since breaking the ceasefire on March 18, Israel has issued over 30 forced displacement orders.  Combined with deliberate deprivation, this reveals a strategy of dismantling and erasing Gaza itself.

Wheat flour reserves in the Occupied Palestinian Territory could be exhausted within three weeks and the cost of this food staple has surged by nearly 25% because of the Ukraine crisis, warns Oxfam.

 The UN Security Council (UNSC) is failing people living in conflict, with Russia and the United States particularly responsible for abusing their veto power which is blocking progress toward peace in Ukraine, Syria, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel. Ahead of the UN Summit for the Future, Oxfam calls for reform of the UN Security Council to stop the “Permanent Five” from being their own “judge and jury”.

The United Nations and all other humanitarian actors have spent 15 years delivering humanitarian support to 2.1m Palestinians blockaded inside Gaza, and yet, there is still no sustained collective political action or will to resolve it. 

More than 120,000 people have now fled their homes but have nowhere safe to go. With exit through Israel closed under the long-term blockade, and the border with Egypt shut, most people are prevented from escaping the violence.

In reaction to today’s statement by the International Court of Justice order to South Africa’s court case, which requests Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the commission of all acts about the articles of the Genocide Convention, Sally Abi-Kahli, Oxfam Regional Director for the Middle East said: “Oxfam welcomes the ICJ’s order and provisional measures as a crucial step towards recognizing the ongoing atrocities in Gaza and stopping the bloodshed and unimaginable horrors that 2.3 million Palestinians have already endured. 

As the blockade imposed by Israel approaches its 9th anniversary, it continues to devastate the lives and livelihoods of 1.8 million Palestinians living in Gaza. This collective punishment keeps people poor, denies them their rights and fails to make Israel safer, Oxfam said today.