- 4 min read
- Published: 22nd April 2025
Aid workers describe Israel’s total siege of Gaza as “stuff of nightmares” with supplies nearly exhausted – Oxfam
Israel’s restrictions on movement are rendering aid operations almost impossible.
As Gaza enters the eighth week of an Israel-imposed siege blocking aid, vital supplies and commercial goods, Oxfam staff are describing conditions as the “stuff of nightmares”. Israel’s mass forced displacement orders are spreading terror and man-made, preventable starvation.
Since the ceasefire ended, Israel has issued repeated orders for people to leave their homes with nowhere to go as airstrikes continue. About 70% of Gaza is now under forced displacement orders or has been declared a “no-go” zone. This affects more than 500,000 Palestinians, who are cornered into areas with no shelter, water, or safety. A permanent ceasefire is critical.
Since 2 March, Israel has allowed no aid or commercial goods to enter Gaza in an unprecedented move under international humanitarian law. Many humanitarian agencies have been forced to pause their operations. Oxfam and its partners have not received a single aid truck, food parcel, hygiene kit or any other essential equipment since the siege began. Oxfam’s supplies are nearly exhausted, with only a few water tanks remaining in Gaza City.
Jim Clarken, Oxfam Ireland CEO, described the terror imposed on Palestinians:
“What we are seeing in Gaza is the complete collapse of humanity. The situation created by Israeli forces has deteriorated to such an extent that even the most basic aid operations are now impossible. People are trapped, terrified, and starving – while the international community looks on. The scale of suffering is staggering, and it is both unconscionable and illegal according to international humanitarian law that aid is being deliberately blocked.”
“Ireland must speak out clearly and act decisively. We also push for justice and accountability now rather than in the future, when it will arrive too late to assist displaced Palestinians currently in crisis. Israel must end its immoral siege of Gaza. The European Union must urgently suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement, and our own government should ensure that Irish airspace is not used to transfer weapons of war. We need our government to urgently reconsider its stalled Occupied Territories Bill to immediately halt trade of goods and services with illegal settlements. We are not helpless bystanders. Standing idly by is complicity.”
ENDS
For further information, please contact:
Clare Cronin, Head of Communications – Oxfam Ireland
clare.cronin@oxfam.org
+353 (0) 87 195 2551
Kate Brayden, Media Officer – Oxfam Ireland
kate.brayden@oxfam.org
087 749 7447
Israel has issued many orders and directives, to people to move into areas it has declared ‘known shelters’, but these have lacked the necessary facilities outlined under international humanitarian law (IHL), which include the provision of proper accommodation, hygiene, health, safety, nutrition and commitments to ensure that families are kept together. IHL provisions on the protection of civilians also guarantee the safety of those who may not be able, or wish, to relocate. Evacuation | How does law protect in war? - Online casebook
Customary IHL Rule 129 and Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 explicitly prohibits an occupying power from deporting or forcibly transferring members of the occupied civilian population, regardless of motive. This provision is a cornerstone of the laws of occupation; it is designed to prevent demographic changes being made by the occupying power to the occupied territory, regardless of any ‘justification’ it may provide for such changes. It underscores the principle that the rights and dignity of the civilian population must be protected, reflecting an occupying power’s obligations to ensure the welfare and security of those under its administration. There are exceptions for evacuation of civilians for their own safety, but only on a temporary basis and where adequate shelter, food, water and access to medical care are provided. This is not the case in Gaza. On 14 April, the UN confirmed in the Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Secretary General, that currently, about 70 per cent of the Gaza Strip is under displacement orders or in “no go” zones, where the Israeli authorities require humanitarian teams to coordinate their movements.
On 15 April, the UN reported that between 18 March and 14 April, the Israeli military issued at least 20 displacement orders, placing about 142.7 square kilometres, or 39 per cent of the Gaza Strip, under active displacement orders. In addition to areas placed under displacement orders, the Israeli authorities have requested the UN to coordinate and notify movements to the “no-go” zone along Gaza’s perimeter and along Wadi Gaza where Israeli forces have re-deployed since 20 March, which makes up about 50 per cent of the Gaza Strip. In total, about 69 per cent of the Gaza Strip is under active displacement orders, within the “no-go” zone or both.
At the Daily Press Briefing by the Office of the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary General on 16 April, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that humanitarian partners estimate that since 18 March, about half a million people have been newly displaced or uprooted once more. This is in addition to the hundreds of thousands of people repeatedly displaced prior to the ceasefire.
