Okeil: International Community Inaction Encourages Israeli Occupation to Commit More Crimes Without Accountability

Maat for Peace, Development, and Human Rights strongly condemns the indiscriminate military attacks launched by Israeli occupation forces on the Gaza Strip on March 18, 2025, which resulted in the deaths of over 420 civilians, including 130 children, and injured more than 700 others. These actions constitute a blatant violation of ceasefire agreements and the provisions of International Humanitarian Law. These brutal attacks underscore the continuation of the genocide policy pursued by the occupation forces since October 7, 2023, with no regard for their legal obligations to protect civilian populations.

Under International Humanitarian Law, parties to the conflict are obligated to take all possible measures to protect civilians and minimize their casualties, including providing effective warnings prior to military attacks. However, evidence obtained by Maat indicates that the warnings issued by the occupation forces to residents in areas such as Beit Hanoun in the north and Khuza'a and Abasan in the south were insufficient and provided with little notice, aimed at forcing residents into forced displacement. Furthermore, the occupation forces failed to distinguish between military targets and civilian objects, making these unlawful attacks under international law amount to war crimes.

In this context, human rights expert and head of Maat, Ayman Okeil, stated that the continued military support from some countries, particularly the United States, to the occupation forces sends a dangerous message that Israel can evade accountability despite committing serious crimes against civilians. Okeil noted that the cancellation of the High Contracting Parties conference on the Geneva Conventions, which was scheduled for March 2025 based on a UN General Assembly decision, reflects the complicity of some states in obstructing international accountability mechanisms, prioritizing political interests over justice and humanity.

Okeil also emphasized the humanitarian catastrophe facing the medical sector in Gaza, where hospitals operate under horrific conditions amid severe shortages of medicines and equipment due to the Israeli blockade and the prevention of medical and humanitarian aid. He affirmed that targeting and destroying health facilities constitutes a war crime that necessitates urgent intervention from international bodies and organizations to ensure that aid reaches those in need.

In light of these systematic violations, Maat calls on the international community to take immediate steps to hold the Israeli occupation accountable, including suspending arms exports to Israel, supporting the International Criminal Court in prosecuting those responsible for war crimes, and imposing targeted sanctions on military and political leaders involved in these violations. Maat reiterates its firm rejection of any attempts to impose forced displacement on the Palestinian people and emphasizes the necessity of halting all forms of pressure and intimidation targeting their legitimate rights in their land and homeland.