The international community failed to stop Israel’s genocide, but must not fail to hold it accountable

Gaza Devastation

Geneva – With the announcement of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas effective as of tomorrow, Sunday, 19 January 2025, the international community must act quickly and decisively to guarantee accountability and justice for the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip.

In accordance with their duties under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and customary international law, all nations must take on their respective and collective responsibilities in establishing transparent and legally binding procedures to hold accountable those responsible for the crimes and grave violations committed in the Gaza Strip, and to guarantee that they do not evade punishment. Additionally, they must guarantee the victims’ and their families’ right to compensation and redress.

The desperately needed ceasefire has come too late, after more than 15 months of Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, and the international community, with all its resources, failed to act to prevent these crimes or protect the people.

The international community is now more obligated than ever to work without delay or excuses to ensure that justice, accountability, and the urgent reconstruction of the Strip are achieved. This will allow the 2.3 million Palestinians to live without fear of hunger or bombing and restore the bare necessities of a decent life.

With the devastating effects of the genocide—with over 158 thousand Palestinians killed and wounded, thousands of families forced to live in tents unfit for human habitation, over 75% of the Strip’s buildings destroyed, and the entire infrastructure, health, education, and justice systems collapsed—this ceasefire agreement cannot be the end of the road; rather, it must be the start of a rigorous international path to ensure that these crimes are not repeated.

The time has come for the international community to take decisive and effective action to ensure accountability for these serious crimes in accordance with international law, and to restore trust in the international justice system, which is currently experiencing a serious crisis of credibility. Crucially, the international community’s failure to stop the genocide must not be followed by a failure to secure the urgent humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people so they can recover from what they have experienced.

The three primary pillars of the international community’s multifaceted obligations to the Gaza Strip are as follows:

First: Stopping the killing of those who remain alive in the Gaza Strip

An immediate response must address the urgent and appropriate needs of the people living in the Strip. This must entail supplying sufficient temporary housing; guaranteeing the entry and access of humanitarian aid; eliminating any restrictions or blockade that prevents the civilian population from receiving relief, hospital services, water, and education; meeting the needs of women, children, and the most vulnerable groups; and offering social and psychological support to address the devastating psychological effects of the conflict, particularly on children and attack survivors.

In addition, it requires facilitating travel for patients and injured individuals without arbitrary restrictions; creating a thorough reconstruction plan that is commensurate with the unparalleled extent of the damage; emphasising the reconstruction of housing and infrastructure; launching economic recovery initiatives by generating employment opportunities and aiding impacted families; guaranteeing the restoration of lost livelihoods; and upholding the dignity of the populace.

Second: Locating mass graves and victims and determining the fate of the forcibly disappeared

To assist in recovering bodies from beneath the debris and infiltration sites, identifying them, and enabling families to bury their loved ones in a manner that respects their religious beliefs, sufficient equipment, technical teams, and specialists will be required. Every step of the procedure should also be meticulously documented to guarantee that the necessary evidence will be available for upcoming court cases or investigations, to achieve justice and accountability.

Furthermore, locations that may contain mass graves should be thoroughly examined, and the appropriate safeguards against tampering should be put in place. International specialists should oversee the exhumation of bodies and identify victims. Any such offences must be documented as evidence to help in the prosecution of the perpetrators.

The fate of the forcibly disappeared and the missing must be investigated, assuring that family members can get in touch and be reunited as soon as possible.

Third: Initiating global probes to guarantee justice and accountability

International litigation and investigations against Israel must be undertaken before the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; the International Criminal Court; and the International Court of Justice. Exacting legal and logistical steps must guarantee entry into the Gaza Strip, the prompt collection of evidence, and the preservation of that evidence from harm or destruction.

The rights and safety of witnesses and victims while they testify must be ensured. Collaboration with local authorities, humanitarian organisations, and international organisations will be required to secure safe passage for teams assigned to investigations. In addition to ensuring that all Palestinian victims and their families receive compensation and redress for the harm caused by Israel’s crimes against them, in compliance with international law, a register of individual and collective damages for all natural and legal persons should also be established.

Any attempt to thwart accountability for crimes committed in Gaza is a blatant breach of the rules of international law that apply to all, without exception, and poses a serious threat to regional and global stability.

Such efforts support the culture of impunity that enabled Israel to launch nine rounds of aggression against the Gaza Strip in recent years, aggravating the ongoing violations of Palestinian civilian rights and maintaining the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory that has persisted for more than 70 years. By blocking accountability, the international system loses its effectiveness and authority and allows perpetrators to continue committing crimes without fear of consequences.

All international parties must act swiftly and decisively to guarantee justice for the victims, to prevent these grave violations from happening again, and to guarantee that people in the Gaza Strip may live in safety and peace, with an end to bloodshed and devastation.

The following actions must be taken:

The sale, export, and purchase of weapons to and from Israel must be completely prohibited. Additionally, all licences and agreements pertaining to arms, imports, and exports, including dual-use materials and technology that Israel could use against the Palestinian people to violate their rights, must be stopped, as must any assistance in the military and intelligence sectors.

The safe, prompt, and continuous return of all forcibly displaced people in the Gaza Strip to their homes, including those in Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, must be guaranteed, as well as the freedom of movement and access for all of its citizens.

Genocide and other international crimes committed in the Gaza Strip must be taken into account by the International Criminal Court, which should expedite its processes and broaden the scope of its investigations. Additionally, it must dispatch investigative teams to the Strip, establish a permanent office there to gather and preserve evidence, and hear directly from witnesses and victims. The Court must issue arrest warrants against all of the people who committed these crimes, to bring them to justice and guarantee accountability.

The Geneva Conventions’ States Parties are being urged to convene immediately in order to establish a clear investigative plan for Israel’s egregious violations in the Gaza Strip, to reaffirm all states’ commitments to uphold and ensure Israel’s adherence to international humanitarian law, and to carry out their international duties to bring criminals to justice in their national courts, beginning with their own citizens who encouraged or took part in crimes against Palestinians. They should simultaneously apply the universal jurisdiction principle to bring Israeli criminals who are not citizens before their national courts.

A permanent office for the Commission in Gaza is also necessary to ensure that there is a continuous mechanism to monitor human rights violations, in accordance with the Commission’s mandate to monitor and protect the rights of civilians in conflict zones. The High Commissioner for Human Rights should make an urgent trip to the Gaza Strip and directly assess the situation on the ground, allowing the High Commissioner to gather accurate information on serious human rights violations in the region.

To guarantee the recording of witness and victim testimonies and the preservation of evidence, international investigative teams must be allowed to enter the Gaza Strip immediately and without interference.

Delegations from European and international parliaments must be permitted to visit the Gaza Strip in order to assess the situation there and assist with efforts to bring about justice.


Finally, the international community must immediately address the underlying causes of the Palestinian people’s 76-year oppression and suffering. A serious and determined effort must be made to end Israeli settler colonialism and illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, including the Gaza Strip. The illegal blockade must be lifted. The harm caused to Palestinians as a result of Israel’s crimes must be addressed, and decisive action must be taken to support the Palestinian people’s liberation and their right to self-determination.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor is a Geneva-based independent organization with regional offices across the MENA region and Europe

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