Gaza, 18 March 2025 –At dawn today, Israeli forces renewed their military onslaught on Gaza, intensifying their policy of mass killings, destroying homes with residents inside, and bombing tents and shelters housing displaced people.

According to field reports, at approximately 01:40 am on Tuesday 18 March 2025, Israeli warplanes launched a series of intensive airstrikes across different areas of Gaza. These attacks were accompanied by heavy artillery shelling targeting the eastern parts of the Gaza Strip and the western areas of Rafah. At the time of publication, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the attacks have killed more than 404 Palestinians and injured 562 others, with many victims still trapped under the rubble. The majority of the casualties are women, children, and the elderly.

This serious escalation comes amid Israel’s ongoing closure of Gaza’s crossings and 15 months of systematic destruction that have crippled all aspects of life for over two million Palestinians in Gaza. The collapse of the healthcare system has left Gaza unable to cope with the growing number of casualties from the renewed attacks. With Gaza’s crossings closed for more than two weeks and a complete ban on entry of medical supplies, food, and fuel, a catastrophic humanitarian crisis is unfolding. The severe fuel shortages are preventing ambulances, civil defense teams, and civilians from transporting the wounded and deceased to hospitals, further worsening the crisis.

Along with these attacks, Israeli forces have issued new displacement orders, forcing residents of Gaza’s eastern, northern, and southern border areas to move toward the already overcrowded coastal areas, into extremely limited spaces. At the same time, Israel has shut down the Rafah Crossing, preventing critically ill patients from accessing life-saving medical treatment abroad and putting the lives of thousands at risk.

This renewed wave of attacks – including the systematic targeting of homes, tents, and shelters housing displaced people – along with forced displacement orders and the intensified blockade, is clearly a precursor for even more egregious crimes of the magnitude of atrocities committed before the ceasefire agreement.

Al Mezan unequivocally condemns Israel's continued genocide in Gaza and the declared resumption of full-scale military attacks. We also condemn the complicity of Israel’s allies in this genocide, particularly the United States, which continues to provide Israel with weapons, political endorsement, and direct coordination in these attacks, as confirmed by the White House spokesperson.

In light of these grave developments, Al Mezan urgently calls on the international community – especially the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General, and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – to take immediate and concrete action to halt Israel's genocide in Gaza, lift the closure and blockade, allow the unrestricted and unconditional flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza, prevent further civilian deaths, and ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians and their property.

Al Mezan stresses the urgent need to hold Israel accountable for its crimes, implement a two-way arms embargo, impose sanctions, and review and suspend bilateral agreements and diplomatic ties with Israel. Allowing Israel’s atrocities to continue unchecked will have devastating human consequences, and the ultimate cost of inaction far outweighs that of the measures needed to uphold justice and accountability.