States and the international community cannot stand by helplessly as the carnage in Gaza continues and international and humanitarian law is violated.
The number of recorded casualties among aid seekers in the Gaza Strip is yet another demonstration of the endless spiral of violence and appalling suffering inflicted on a population struggling to survive in a context of total destruction, starvation and dehumanisation.
As warned by UN officials, another horrific chapter in this spiral looms with the Israeli government’s plans for a complete military takeover of Gaza: its implementation – running contrary to international law and the ruling of the International Court of Justice according to which Israel is obliged to bring an end to occupation as rapidly as possible – would inexorably result in massive forced displacement, destruction, further killing and atrocity crimes[1].
MEDEL expresses its deepest concern over these developments and the global threats to the fundamental rules of the international order: while we are witnessing massive human rights violations, the system of international justice – that reacted to the serious crimes related to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the attack of 7 October 2023 and the escalation in Gaza – is now the target of actions aimed at destroying what has been built over the years to ensure the protection of victims.
All this places States and authorities, at national and international level, before the responsibility to fulfil their moral and legal obligations to prevent crimes against humanity, to end violations of international and humanitarian law, to safeguard the effectiveness of the international justice system in ensuring that those responsible are held accountable for their actions.
MEDEL, recalling:
the obligations stemming from international law, including the UN Charter, the Geneva Conventions and the Genocide Convention;
the advisory opinion of 19 July 2024 of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and – in particular -its findings regarding the obligations of all States and international organisations not to aid or assist in maintaining the unlawful occupation;
the International Court of Justice’s order of 24 May 2024 stating that ”in conformity with its obligations under the Genocide Convention, Israel must immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part”;
stressing that the respect for human rights and democratic principles is a fundamental aspect of the external relations of the European Union, in line with its founding values, and it constitutes “an essential element” of the EU-Israel Association Agreement (art. 2) which accordingly imposes binding obligations on the Parties to observe these values;
joins its voice to that of the legal community and civil society in urging States, international and European institutions to demonstrate the adherence to their obligations by:
- refraining from actions that can contribute in any way to violations of international law and human rights;
- taking unequivocal and effective measures in order to immediately end the escalation in Gaza and its devastating humanitarian consequences, prevent atrocity crimes and support the work of accountability mechanisms.
21 August 2025
[1] https://press.un.org/en/2025/sc16140.doc.htm; https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/08/turk-israels-plan-complete-military-takeover-gaza-must-be-immediately-halted
MEDEL Statement on Gaza (.pdf, 210Kb)