Gaza blockade

Representatives from Oxfam and leading humanitarian organisations will brief the press on the impact of Israel’s total siege on Gaza, which has lasted now more than 70 days, and Israel’s plan to control and limit aid distribution moving forward.  

Of the meagre 34 trucks of food and water given permission to enter the North Gaza Governorate over the last 2.5 months, deliberate delays and systematic obstructions by the Israeli military meant that just twelve managed to distribute aid to starving Palestinian civilians. For three of these, once the food and water had been delivered to the school where people were sheltering, it was then cleared and shelled within hours.  

New displacement orders issued by Israeli authorities have forced another mass movement of families and humanitarian workers from areas in Deir al-Balah - one of the only remaining areas in the occupied Gaza Strip with essential infrastructure and warehouses storing aid supplies.

In response to the latest Israeli attack on the Al-Mawasi so-called “safe zone”, as described by Israel, Oxfam’s Regional Director for the Middle East, Sally Abi Khalil, said: “Once again, we are witnessing the absolute disregard Israel has for Palestinian lives and for international law. 

Aid agencies operating in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) have issued an urgent warning that the number of Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians has escalated dramatically since October 7, surpassing 1,000 incidents. This alarming increase has heightened the need for immediate and concrete action from the international community to protect Palestinian communities.

Israel’s latest evacuation order, calling for a quarter of a million people to leave Eastern Khan Younis, violates the Geneva Convention and is in breach of multiple provisions of International Humanitarian Law, because it has failed to provide safe passage, or a safe final destination where basic humanitarian needs can be met, Oxfam said today. 

Reaction to the latest Global Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report published today, which warns that a high risk of famine persists across the Gaza Strip.

In response to the UN Security Council’s ceasefire resolution, Oxfam’s Regional Director for the Middle East, Sally Abi Khalil, said: “It is critical that all military forces withdraw. This plan must not lead to permanent occupation or de facto annexation, which would kill any hope for a just and lasting peace." 

In response to Israel’s operation in Nuseirat over the weekend, Oxfam’s Regional Director for the Middle East Sally Abi Khalil said:

“We welcome the news that four hostages are back with their families after an eight month-long ordeal in captivity, under constant Israeli bombardment. Taking hostages is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and independent international investigation of all incidents is essential.

In reaction to today’s order from the International Court of Justice to South Africa’s case, which demands Israel halt its offensive in Rafah, Sally Abi-Khalil, Oxfam’s Regional Director for the Middle East said: "Oxfam welcomes the ICJ’s order as a critical intervention to stop Israel’s military onslaught on Rafah, which has displaced more than 800,000 people, and an affirmation of the right to life of the Palestinian people."