Several Palestinians in Gaza are sharing their final messages due to the apocalyptic situation in the besieged strip since Thursday, due to the Israeli military’s relentless assault across Gaza. Israel has targeted medical facilities and residential buildings, killing over 140 people in 24 hours, according to reports.
Human Rights Watch has issued a statement saying that the Israeli government’s plan to demolish what remains of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure and concentrate the Palestinian population into a tiny area would amount to an abhorrent escalation of its ongoing crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and acts of genocide.
Israeli authorities, who have blocked the entry of aid, food, fuel, and medical supplies into Gaza for 75 days, have reportedly decided on a plan that would include “flatten[ing]” buildings and displacing Gaza’s entire population into a single “humanitarian area” if no “deal” with Hamas is reached by mid-May 2025.
“The dire humanitarian situation stemming from the unlawful blockade and plans to escalate forced displacement and widespread destruction demand a more robust response from other governments and institutions, especially the United States, France, Germany, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.”
Human Rights Watch called on all parties to the Genocide Convention to do more to prevent further atrocities, including ending weapons sales, military assistance, and diplomatic support to Israel, imposing targeted sanctions on Israeli officials, and reviewing and considering suspending bilateral agreements.
The United Nations has warned that Gaza is facing its worst humanitarian crisis since the beginning of hostilities. The world’s foremost experts on food insecurity, the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC), said on May 12 that there is a “high risk” that famine will occur in Gaza in the coming weeks, with one in five people likely to face starvation.
The World Health Organization said on May 11 that Gaza is experiencing “one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” citing a Gaza Ministry of Health report that at least 57 children have died from malnutrition in Gaza since the blockade began. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz reiterated in mid-April that Israel’s “policy is clear: no humanitarian aid will enter Gaza.”
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said at the time: “As long as our hostages are dying in tunnels, there is absolutely no reason to allow even a gram of food or aid.”
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 53,010 Palestinians and wounded 119,919, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
In early May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet approved a plan dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots,” which it says could start as soon as US President Donald Trump’s visit to the region concludes on May 16. The plan involves forcibly displacing much of the Palestinian population of Gaza while seizing and occupying the territory.
“There will be no in-and-out,” Netanyahu announced on May 5. Israel is “finally going to conquer the Gaza Strip,” said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry and sits on the security cabinet. Smotrich, who has said that Gaza will be “completely destroyed” and its Palestinian population will “leave in great numbers to third countries,” also suggests these plans should not be adjusted, even if hostages are released.
