DaysofPal- Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2025, released today, paints a harrowing picture of the situation in Gaza during 2024, calling it a year of unparalleled destruction and suffering for Palestinian civilians
The report details how “the Israeli military killed, wounded, starved, and forcibly displaced Palestinian civilians in Gaza in 2024 and destroyed their homes, schools, hospitals, and infrastructure at a scale unprecedented in recent history.
The 546-page report, now in its 35th edition, covers human rights practices in over 100 countries. Executive Director Tirana Hassan observed in her introductory essay that governments worldwide cracked down on dissent, wrongfully arresting and imprisoning political opponents, activists, and journalists.
Armed groups and government forces unlawfully killed civilians, displaced populations, and obstructed humanitarian aid. Authoritarian leaders gained ground in many of the 70-plus national elections held in 2024, leveraging discriminatory rhetoric and policies.
Lama Fakih, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, stated, “Israel’s decades-long systematic repression of Palestinians worsened dramatically and plunged civilians in Gaza into a horrifying abyss, but possibilities for international justice are emerging. Fakih also warned that countries continuing to sell weapons to Israel despite evidence of atrocity crimes risk “direct complicity.
The report notes significant developments in international justice, including arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The International Court of Justice also issued an advisory opinion declaring Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territory unlawful.
In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the UN reported that Palestinians killed six Israeli settlers and 16 soldiers, while Israelis killed 719 Palestinians from October 7, 2023, to October 7, 2024, surpassing any previous year’s fatalities based on available UN data since 2005.
Evidence emerged throughout 2024 of ill-treatment and torture of Palestinian detainees deported from Gaza to detention facilities in Israel. Armed groups in the Gaza Strip held an estimated 100 hostages, including the remains of over 30 individuals believed to have died during the hostilities. In August, captors intentionally killed six Israeli hostages, apparently to thwart their rescue by approaching Israeli forces.
Human Rights Watch determined that Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, and at least four other Palestinian armed groups committed numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity against civilians during the October 7, 2023, assault on southern Israel.
In October 2024, the Israeli parliament passed legislation aiming to prevent the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from operating in areas under Israeli sovereignty and prohibiting communication with UNRWA staff. This move jeopardizes access to humanitarian aid and essential services for Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory. The ban is set to take effect in early 2025.
Human Rights Watch calls for countries providing weapons to Israel, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, to suspend these transfers due to “the Israeli military’s repeated, unlawful attacks on civilians. The organization urges increased pressure on the Israeli government to comply with international law and ensure aid distribution and access to basic services for Palestinians in Gaza.
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