The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights confirmed in a report issued today that conditions in the Gaza Strip, more than four months after the declared ceasefire, amount to a continued act of genocide, executed through less visible yet more systematic means. The report states that killings have not ceased since the agreement came into effect in October 2025, with ongoing shelling, live fire incidents, and forced evacuation orders. These actions persist alongside suffocating living conditions imposed on the population, including the collapse of the healthcare system, obstruction of effective medical evacuation mechanisms, a sustained hunger crisis, severe shelter shortages, and restrictions on humanitarian operations.
Titled “Genocide Continues Through Quieter Tools”, the report concludes that the nature of the crime has shifted from large-scale military destruction to the systematic management of conditions designed to exhaust the population and keep them on the brink of collapse. This shift confirms that a genuine “post-war phase” has not begun, and that the genocide continues in different forms, albeit with the same outcome. The Centre warns against normalising or adapting to these crimes as an accepted reality, stressing that international inaction in holding the occupying state accountable to international humanitarian and human rights law entrenches impunity. Such inaction risks transforming grave violations into politically acceptable conduct, thereby undermining the global protection framework and eroding trust in accountability mechanisms.
Continued Use of Lethal Force
The report’s first section addresses the field situation, documenting the continued use of lethal force after the ceasefire took effect. Approximately 600 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 160 children, and over 1,500 others injured as a result of shelling, live fire, and direct targeting across various areas of the Gaza Strip. It also records the ongoing issuance of forced evacuation orders in certain locations, demolition of residential buildings, and targeting of civilian land. These actions demonstrate that military operations have not genuinely ceased, and that the security environment remains extremely dangerous, with no real guarantees for civilian safety or their safe return to their homes.
Collapse of the Healthcare System
Regarding healthcare conditions, the report highlights that the medical system continues to operate under extreme strain. A significant number of hospitals and primary healthcare centres remain out of service, while there is a severe shortage of essential medicines, medical supplies, laboratory materials, and blood reserves. Since July 2024, 1,268 patients have died while waiting for medical evacuation, including hundreds of cases classified as life-saving emergencies. Meanwhile, thousands of patients remain on urgent travel waiting lists for treatment outside Gaza, including approximately 4,000 cancer patients.
Although the Rafah crossing was announced open in early February 2026, the report indicates that travel rates remain severely limited and disproportionate to the scale of need. Actual movement has not exceeded one-third of the expected capacity, rendering the current evacuation mechanism insufficient to prevent further deaths or irreversible health deterioration.
Shelter Crisis and Economic Collapse
The report also addresses the right to shelter, noting the absence of any serious indicators of reconstruction efforts. Large numbers of families continue to live in deteriorating tents or damaged buildings that lack even the most basic safety standards. Restrictions on the entry of construction materials prevent both home repairs and the development of safe alternative housing.
This housing crisis is compounded by inadequate management of food and fuel supplies, keeping food insecurity at critical levels. At the same time, there has been a sharp increase in the prices of essential goods, a collapse in purchasing power, and a near-total absence of income sources. These factors have deepened extreme poverty, leaving hundreds of thousands of families unable to meet their daily needs.
Restrictions on Civil Space and Humanitarian Work
The report further outlines restrictions imposed on civil space and humanitarian operations, noting the continued targeting and undermining of both international and local organisations working in health, relief, and social sectors. This includes administrative and security constraints that have hindered their operational capacity, as well as repeated targeting of humanitarian workers.
According to the Centre, these policies have weakened social protection networks and directly affected the population’s access to essential services, particularly in healthcare, food provision, and education.
Forced Displacement Strategies
The report also examines ongoing efforts by the occupying state to advance displacement plans for Gaza’s population by creating conditions that compel residents to seek exit under extreme pressure. It references limited evacuation operations for families and patients, as well as the forced departure of hundreds of students who have enrolled in universities abroad through special programmes.
This development comes amid the near-total destruction of higher education infrastructure within Gaza, raising concerns about the long-term depletion of the Strip’s youth and skilled population. The report frames this as part of a broader strategy of demographic erosion aligned with ongoing displacement objectives.
Urgent Recommendations
The Centre concludes with a series of urgent recommendations, calling on the international community to take concrete steps to halt policies that threaten civilian lives. It demands the immediate and unconditional entry of humanitarian aid, fuel, and construction materials, as well as the facilitation of urgent medical evacuations for all patients and wounded individuals without restriction.
It also calls for the protection of humanitarian organisations from targeting or obstruction, and for the strengthening of international accountability mechanisms to ensure that those responsible for these crimes are not granted impunity. The report emphasises that continued silence or reliance on verbal condemnations only entrenches the reality of ongoing genocide and prolongs the suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip.
