PNGO Calls on the International Community to Intervene Immediately as Floodwaters Devastate Displacement Camps Across the Gaza Strip

The Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) calls on the international community to intervene immediately to save the lives of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, following the flooding of thousands of displacement tents as a result of the recent storm that hit the Strip at the onset of the winter season. Approximately one million people are living in displacement camps, exposed to extremely harsh conditions in worn-out, dilapidated tents that offer little or no protection against severe weather.

PNGO affirms that the occupying power bears primary responsibility for this ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, owing to its failure to implement the humanitarian protocol associated with the Trump plan, pursuant to which UN Security Council Resolution 2803 was adopted, and its continued flagrant disregard for its obligations under international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, which requires the protection of civilians during armed conflict.

More than a year has passed since the announcement of the Trump plan, yet the occupying power continues to exercise control over the crossings and obstruct the entry of humanitarian assistance and essential supplies needed to meet even the most basic requirements for survival. These include adequate shelter materials, tents, prefabricated mobile housing units, lubricants, fuel, and essential medical supplies and consumables. Furthermore, the occupying power continues to control approximately 70% of the Gaza Strip, confining the remaining population to an increasingly restricted area under conditions of extreme overcrowding and deprivation.

It is high time to return to the UN Security Council and other United Nations bodies to secure binding resolutions compelling the occupying power to immediately allow the unrestricted entry of humanitarian goods, essential materials, and adequate shelter supplies. There must also be an immediate launch of an early recovery process that lays the foundations for comprehensive reconstruction.

The need for international protection for the Palestinian people has become more urgent than ever, particularly in light of the increasingly harsh and life-threatening conditions facing civilians across the Gaza Strip.

Accordingly, PNGO demands the following:

Immediate international intervention to save lives, deliver urgently needed humanitarian assistance, and ensure its safe, sustained, and unimpeded access throughout the Gaza Strip.
The adoption and enforcement of binding UN Security Council resolutions requiring the occupying power to allow the immediate entry of essential supplies, including shelter materials, tents, fuel, and medical supplies.
The provision of effective international protection for the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The immediate initiation of an early recovery process, paving the way for comprehensive reconstruction and the restoration of essential services and infrastructure.
Accountability and justice, including the pursuit of legal accountability for the occupying power before relevant international judicial mechanisms for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, alongside measures to end its international impunity and isolation.

The triumph of freedom, justice, and human dignity demands immediate action by the international community. The international conscience must not remain silent while the people of the Gaza Strip face the combined threats of flooding, disease, starvation, and the continued destruction of the conditions necessary for human survival. Urgent intervention is essential to deliver life-saving assistance and put an end to the ongoing genocide, which continues to take multiple forms against the Palestinian people in the Strip.

The objectives of the occupying power are increasingly evident: to make life in the Gaza Strip unbearable and impossible, thereby forcing Palestinians to leave their homeland, in pursuit of a policy of ethnic cleansing and forced displacement. In the face of these existential threats, unity across all components of Palestinian society has become more essential than ever to strengthen resilience, uphold steadfastness, and thwart the occupying power's plans.

Standing with the people of the Gaza Strip at this critical moment is a stand for justice, human dignity, and humanity itself.