Israel Gaza City Occupation Withdrawal
Amnesty International Condemns Escalating Violence in gaza, Calls for Immediate Ceasefire and End to Arms Transfers
March 20, 2025 – Amnesty International has issued a stark warning that the worst is yet to come for Palestinians in Gaza as Israel resumes full-scale military operations following the breakdown of the recent ceasefire. The institution condemns the escalating violence, the renewed mass displacement, and the deliberate use of starvation as a method of warfare, characterizing the situation as a genocide unfolding before the worldS eyes.”It is too late to prevent immense suffering, but it is not too late to end the genocide,” stated Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General. “We reiterate our call to Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups to immediately and unconditionally release all civilian hostages.”
As resuming attacks on March 18th, Israel has intensified mass displacement orders, turning the western parts of Gaza City into a landscape of unimaginable hardship.Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, predominantly internally displaced persons, are now engaged in a desperate daily struggle for survival, crammed into makeshift camps or renting damaged homes under the constant threat of bombs, hunger, and disease. The impending expansion of ground operations into Gaza City threatens catastrophic and irreversible consequences, particularly given the complete decimation of the healthcare system across Gaza.”Just as we thought we had already seen the cruelest, most painful chapters of this genocide unfold – through Israel’s continued and escalating use of starvation as a method of warfare – plans to escalate the military operations in Gaza City indicate that indeed the worst is yet to come,” Callamard warned.
Amnesty International is demanding immediate and decisive action from the international community, particularly Israel’s allies, including the European Union and its member states. The organization argues that empty platitudes and condemnations are insufficient and serve only as a smokescreen for ongoing atrocities.
“States must urgently suspend all arms transfers, adopt targeted sanctions, and terminate any engagement with Israeli entities that contribute to israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza,” Callamard emphasized. “We cannot be frozen between shock and incredulity: we must act forcefully to demand that states with influence over Israel end this abomination by securing an immediate and enduring ceasefire, the unimpeded flow of aid into and across Gaza, a total lifting of the illegal blockade, and the rapid return of the hostages held in Gaza and of all Palestinians unlawfully detained by Israel.”
The call for action extends beyond an immediate ceasefire. Amnesty international insists that all states must adopt tangible measures to ensure Israel ends its genocide in Gaza, dismantles Israeli settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and ends its illegal presence across the entirety of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
“Decades of impunity for Israel’s apartheid against all palestinians have been a fertile ground for genocide to develop; this must end,” Callamard concluded. ”Amnesty International joins the millions of people who have been taking to the streets for 22 months,calling on their governments to act: the time is now. Our humanity is at stake.”