Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns the ongoing genocide and crimes by the Israeli forces since the ceasefire agreement came into effect. The Israeli occupation continues its attacks against the Strip through shelling and shooting, and imposing severe restrictions on crossings and the movement of goods and aid. They also impose arbitrary and punitive measures on Palestinian travelers from and to Gaza Strip, which shows clear patterns of torture and ill-treatment in the management of Rafah Border Crossing that is no longer a civilian transit facility only but also a systematic tool of oppression and mass humiliation.

The Israeli occupation partially reopened the Rafah Border Crossing on March 19, 2024 after complete closure that lasted 18 days since the American-Israeli attacks on Iran. The crossing operated for two days only and then suspended by the European mission on March 22, 2026, until further notice, in protest against the arrest of the citizen Mohammad Yousef Abdalhameed Othman (40 years old) from Jabalya Camp in the north of Gaza Strip during his return to Gaza Strip as a patient companion. Also, the continued closure of Rafah Border Crossing increases the suffering of thousands of sick and wounded people waiting to travel abroad to receive treatment because of the collapse of health system in Gaza Strip, the destruction of health facilities, and the failure to bring in the necessary medicines and medical devices to perform surgical operations.

In a testimony of Mr. (A.O) who is (Mohammad Othman)’s brother, he said: “I was suffering from kidney problems. I went abroad by medical referral for treatment, and my brother, Mohammad, accompanied me. After my treatment ended, we registered our names in the Palestinian embassy to return to Gaza Strip. We went to the Crossing on Saturday March 21, 2026, and we arrived the Egyptian and European sides of the crossing. Then, we arrived the Israeli side at 2:00 p.m., and my brother went down and they stopped him in front of a device and a camera, with a room behind it. One of soldiers opened the door and brought my brother inside. After that, there were no news about him, and we waited hoping for his return until 10:30 p.m. The EU delegate spoke to me that there is an agreement that accordingly prohibits arresting any traveler, and we have no information about him until now”.

The Israeli forces keep closing the Gaza Strip’s commercial crossings, and hinders the entry of aid and medical shipments to Gaza Strip, causing a deterioration in the humanitarian conditions of the civilians. 46% of essential medicines and 66% of medical consumables are currently unavailable, and they need continuous and urgent resupply, according to World Health Organization (WHO). Also, all crossings into Gaza remain closed except for the crossing of Karam Abu Salem. The occupation forces only allow a limited number of trucks to enter Gaza Strip, leading to severe shortage of goods, high prices, and lack of medicines and spare parts necessary to maintain essential operations, such as lubricants for generators and batteries, according to UNRWA Situation Report No.213 on the Humanitarian Crisis in the occupied Palestinian territory. The closure of crossings led to fuel shortage necessary to operate bakeries, hospitals, and desalination plants, suspension of waste collection services, difficulty of daily access to drinking water, and rising prices of essential commodities.

Sameer Shehadeh, the vice president of Food and Agriculture Industries Union, “has warned of the danger of continuing the ban of entering industrial oils and spare parts necessary to operate the production lines, stressing that this threatens the stop of a number of bakeries and food factories from working, which are still working despite the scarcity of capabilities and the current difficult conditions. These facilities are continuing working with limited operational capacities in order to maintain the continuous supply of essential commodities for citizens. However, the runout of industrial oils and spare parts will soon lead to malfunction of machineries and cessation of production lines, reflecting directly the food secure and the availability of basic commodities in markets”.

The occupation forces continue violating the agreement of ceasefire and targeting civilians in Gaza Strip since it came into effect on October 9, 2025. According to information received from Palestinian Ministry of Health,  the occupation forces have killed 689 citizens, and injured 1860 since that date.

In an incident of assault on a child did not exceed two years old, the Israeli occupation forces stationed on the Yellow Line border in the east of Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip arrested the citizen Osama Mohammad Husni Abu Nassar (25 years old) at around 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, who has psychological problems, and his son, Jawad (a year and 9 months). They both reside in Al-Maghazi camp, and they were taken to an unknown destination.

According to the testimony of the child’s parents, the occupation forces released the child at around 20:00 p.m. on the same day and handed him over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at (Kissufim) border in the east of Deir al Balah who took him to his family. Traces and wounds spots appeared on his lower limbs, and blood stains found on his pants. The child underwent treatment and examination in Shuhada’ Al-Aqsa Hospital. The medical sources indicated that the child was assaulted, while the father’s fate, Osama, is still unknown.  

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights strongly condemns the Israeli measures and policies, the abuse of Palestinian civilians and depriving them of their right of movement and travel. The arrest of citizens while they are returning from Rafah Border Crossing is a new tool for arbitrary measures that they practice against the Palestinians despite the agreement binding on them during the reopening of crossings. Also, the center condemns the ongoing Israeli crimes in the continued genocidal war, the civilians’ targeting, the prevention of aid entry, and harming Palestinian civilians.

Therefore, the center calls on the international community, especially the United Nations, States Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Court (ICC), to intervene effectively and put pressure on the occupation forces to stop all forms of military attacks against civilians and their properties, to immediately open all crossings without restrictions, to allow the entry of humanitarian aid, fuel, medical equipment and relief materials, and facilitate their access to all areas, to ensure opening Rafah Crossing completely and permanently, to secure the Palestinians’ freedom of movement and travelling, especially sick and wounded people, and to let the citizens to return to Gaza Strip