At 11:30pm on Sunday, 7 August 2022, Israel ended its latest military offensive against Gaza. During the 3-days offensive, Israeli forces targeted civilians and civilian objects, carried out extrajudicial killings, and attacked residential buildings, farmlands, and various vital infrastructures—including water and electricity distribution networks.

In parallel, from 2 to 7 August 2022, Israeli authorities also tightened the settler-colonial closure and blockade imposed on Gaza by completely shutting down Erez and Karem Abu Salem and banning the entry of food, medicine, and fuel, thereby creating a catastrophic situation for the people in Gaza, especially those who were forcibly displaced from their homes because of Israeli attacks.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 47 Palestinians were killed during the offensive, including 16 children and four women, and 360 others were injured, including 151 children and 58 women. Eighteen residential units were destroyed, while dozens of others were partially damaged.

Al Mezan’s fieldwork team works to document and investigate every single act of hostilities that occurred in the Gaza Strip and has so far verified the killing of 27 Palestinians and the complete destruction of 12 homes by Israeli forces. Al Mezan continues to conduct its own independent field investigations and collect information on all incidents of killing and damaging or destruction of houses, property, and other civilian objects in Gaza.

Al Mezan reiterates its strongest condemnation of Israel’s gross and systematic violations of international law, particularly in cases of extrajudicial killings and attacks against civilians and civilian objects. Such violations amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, including apartheid, for which those responsible must be held accountable.

The impunity Israel continues to enjoy, and the absence of accountability encourage Israeli officials to continue perpetrating war crimes and crimes against humanity at the expense of Palestinians. As evidenced by its latest aggression on Gaza, Israel does not hesitate to engage in prohibited acts of killing, including direct targeting of civilians.

Accordingly, Al Mezan calls on the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mr. Karim A. A. Khan, to investigate international crimes committed by Israeli authorities in the Gaza Strip and hold all perpetrators of war crimes accountable.

Al Mezan further calls on the international community to condemn Israel’s military offensive against Gaza, to support a serious investigation into Israeli crimes, and to work without delay to lift Israel's 15-year closure and blockade on the Gaza Strip. We also call on the United Nations, its agencies, and the international relief organizations to accelerate the provision of relief services to the Palestinian population of Gaza in order to ease the impact of the Israeli offensive and the prolonged closure and blockade.