Gaza, 10 December 2025 – Today marks Human Rights Day, when the international community commemorates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and reaffirms the universality of the rights and freedoms it protects. 

This year, however, the day arrives as Palestinians in Gaza continue to endure a genocide, and Palestinians across  the occupied territory are systematically denied the most basic rights enshrined in the UDHR – foremost the right to life, the right to self-determination, and the right to an adequate standard of living, including sufficient food, clothing, housing, medical care, and education, as well as the right to participate in cultural life. Palestinian detainees also continue to face severe torture and ill-treatment, including rape.

Israeli forces have continued their air, land, and sea attacks on Gaza, deliberately targeting Palestinians and their property on a massive scale despite the so-called ceasefire agreement announced in October 2025. Israeli forces continue to directly target Palestinians, bomb their homes and displacement tents, and advance into densely populated areas. Israeli forces currently maintain direct control over more than 53% of Gaza, blatantly disregarding international legal norms and the ceasefire arrangement. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, since the ceasefire took effect in October 2025, Israeli attacks have killed 357 Palestinians and injured 903 others.

Israel also continues to deny Palestinians their right to freedom of movement. Medical patients and wounded Palestinians are particularly affected by this policy, as more than 15,000 patients and injured persons remain in urgent need of travel to receive life-saving treatment abroad. This takes place against the backdrop of a devastated health sector marked by widespread destruction of medical facilities, a 55% shortage of essential medicines, and a 71% shortage of medical supplies in Ministry of Health warehouses.

Residents of Gaza continue to face extremely harsh humanitarian conditions due to severe restrictions on the entry of goods. On average, Israel is allowing only 171 trucks of essential supplies into Gaza each day, far below the 600 trucks Israel agreed to in October 2025, which are required to meet the most basic needs. The entry of critical necessities, including food, medicine, cooking gas, fuel, and shelter materials, remains heavily restricted. The suffering of displaced and forcibly uprooted families persists, as they are deprived of even the most basic items for survival, such as tents, plastic tarpaulins, and essential shelter materials like wood and nails. As a result, approximately 288,000 Palestinian families face grave risks due to the absence of adequate shelter, particularly during recent winter storms that have flooded thousands of displacement tents.

The deterioration in economic, social, and cultural conditions, driven by Israel’s destruction of industrial facilities, agricultural lands, and other vital sources of livelihood as part of the genocide, has further devastated the living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s starvation policy continues to threaten thousands of families and has already claimed the lives of 457 children, women, and older persons. The widespread destruction of infrastructure and educational facilities, including schools, kindergartens, institutes, and universities, has completely crippled the education system at all levels, causing severe intellectual and academic harm to students, researchers, and scholars. Students have now been denied access to proper education for the third consecutive year.

Al Mezan affirms that the ongoing genocide violates Palestinians’ most fundamental rights. Israeli forces continue to disregard the ceasefire agreement, defy international humanitarian law, and international human rights law, particularly the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. Israel also refuses to comply with the numerous decisions and measures issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court, the UN Security Council, and the UN General Assembly.

Accordingly, Al Mezan calls on the international community to urgently intervene and compel Israel to halt its genocide, withdraw from Gaza, and finally implement the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice. In parallel, Al Mezan urges the international community to end the policy of impunity by holding accountable all those who ordered or carried out crimes against Palestinian civilians, guarantee Palestinians’ political rights, and implement relevant UN resolutions, foremost among them the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

Al Mezan further urges solidarity campaigns to intensify their efforts advocating for the Palestinian people, and increase pressure on their governments to fulfill their obligations toward ending the genocide and bringing Israel’s occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory to an end.