Palestinian Territory – The Israeli military's bombing of an UNRWA health centre in the northern Gaza Strip's Jabalia refugee camp is a fully-fledged act of mass killing. The attack is one of many that constitute a deliberate pattern of massacres committed by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians as part of an ongoing genocide, lasting nearly 18 months now.
Israeli forces targeted the UNRWA-run health centre, which was sheltering hundreds of displaced civilians, at approximately 10:55 a.m. on Wednesday 2 April. The assault resulted in the deaths of 22 people, 16 of whom were women, children, or elderly, with dozens more individuals injured. Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor stresses that the strike reflects a deliberate Israeli policy of targeting civilian gatherings and causing mass fatalities, as part of an organised effort to erase the Palestinian presence in the Gaza Strip.
The attack was two-pronged, with Israeli forces striking both the northern and southern sides of the centre's first floor. The bombardment also triggered fires that caused numerous civilian casualties.
Israel's use of highly destructive weaponry to attack a densely populated shelter-one that was primarily filled with children-demonstrates a clear and deliberate intent to carry out a massacre
The Euro-Med Monitor field team visited the scene immediately after the strike and conducted a preliminary on-site assessment. The team found no evidence of any Palestinian military presence or activity in or around the facility, a claim corroborated by multiple eyewitnesses who categorically denied the presence of any armed individuals or military equipment in the vicinity prior to the attack.
Israel's use of highly destructive weaponry to attack a densely populated shelter—one that was primarily filled with children—demonstrates a clear and deliberate intent to carry out a massacre. Euro-Med Monitor condemns this blatant disregard for Palestinian life and the complete denial of any form of safety or protection, even within United Nations facilities that are supposed to be guaranteed special protection under international law.
Whenever international outrage is triggered by its attacks, Israel routinely repeats the same narrative, i.e. claims it was targeting "militants", in an attempt to justify its actions. However, Israel has consistently failed to present any verifiable evidence of these claims or allow independent parties to investigate their legitimacy.
The attack on the Jabalia refugee camp's UNRWA centre is yet another grave breach of international humanitarian law, and the international community must hold Israeli authorities accountable for Israel's repeated and deliberate attacks on legally protected civilian infrastructure.
Making unsubstantiated claims without evidence and blocking investigations into these claims does not absolve Israel of its responsibilities under international humanitarian law, nor does it exempt other states from their legal obligation to investigate such violations and ensure accountability for those responsible.
The international community's automatic acceptance of Israeli claims that lack credible substantiation is both legally and morally indefensible. Euro-Med Monitor warns that this type of passive complicity effectively grants Israel a blank cheque to continue targeting civilians under a false veneer of legality, thereby exposing the biased foundations of the international legal system.
In a testimony to the Euro-Med Monitor team, Souad Mohammed Zahir, a displaced Palestinian woman who sought refuge with her family at the Jabalia UNRWA clinic after their home was destroyed, said: "We were sheltering in the clinic after receiving renewed evacuation orders. It was overcrowded with hundreds of displaced people, mostly women and children. I was preparing food when I heard two massive explosions. The entire clinic shook—stones, shrapnel, and dust flew everywhere. I couldn't see anything because of the smoke, but I could hear people screaming from every corner. Minutes later, people began pulling bodies from under the rubble—mostly children."
Thirty-year-old Ghada Obeid, another displaced woman who was present at the clinic during the attack, described the horrific aftermath: "I saw the scattered remains of children, women with crushed skulls, and others who had lost their limbs. Members of the Falouja, Imad, Abo Sa'da, and Aliyan families were all killed in an instant. There were no fighters in the clinic—only families seeking safety from the death that stalks us everywhere."
A third survivor, who requested anonymity due to safety concerns, stated: "The clinic was full of women and children. During my displacement, I had formed ties with several families staying there, including the Abo Sa'da and Aliyan families. After the strike, I recognised nine victims from the Abo Sa'da family and five from the Aliyan family—most of them children—as well as many others on the same floor who were killed in a simultaneous strike." He emphasised: "There were no armed individuals, contrary to Israeli claims. Everyone there was a displaced civilian seeking refuge—and yet even UN-run shelters have not spared us from the bombing."
Amid unacceptable international silence and inaction, and with blatant disregard for international law and humanitarian principles, Israel appears to be implementing a scorched-earth policy against the population of the Gaza Strip.
The international community must adopt immediate and concrete measures to halt the ongoing Israeli atrocities and ensure the protection of Palestinian civilians, as a further failure to act will only enable Israel to continue committing its crimes with impunity.
Even if one accepts the unproven claim that "armed individuals" were present in the area on 2 April, such a circumstance does not exempt Israel from its binding legal obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law. These obligations include adhering to the core principles of humanity, distinction, military necessity, proportionality, and precaution. To minimise civilian casualties and harm, these principles must be upheld and ensured by Israel during the planning and execution of all its military operations—without exception—including in the selection of methods and means of warfare.
Israel has a legal duty to refrain from launching any military operation in which the anticipated harm to civilians outweighs the expected military advantage. Failure to do so constitutes a grave breach of international law and is considered a complete war crime, as demonstrated by this particular case, which is clearly part of a broader systematic policy pursued by Israel in the Gaza Strip. This policy amounts to an element of Israel's ongoing crime of genocide against the Palestinian population in the Strip.
The patterns of Israeli military conduct suggest a deliberate strategy aimed at eliminating Palestinian civilians across the Gaza Strip; spreading fear among them; depriving them of shelter or even momentary stability; and forcibly displacing them repeatedly while subjecting them to life-threatening living conditions. This is carried out through sustained bombardments, the targeting of designated "humanitarian zones", and a focus on attacking shelter centres, including those located within UNRWA facilities.
All states, both individually and collectively, must fulfil their legal responsibilities by taking immediate action to halt the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip in all its forms; adopt all necessary measures to protect Palestinian civilians; ensure Israel's compliance with international law and the rulings of the International Court of Justice; and guarantee that Israeli officials are held accountable for their crimes. The arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court against the Israeli Prime Minister and Minister of Defence must be implemented, and these individuals must be transferred to international justice.
Furthermore, the international community must impose economic, diplomatic, and military sanctions on Israel for its systematic and egregious violations of international law. These measures should include a ban on the import and export of weapons to and from Israel; the cessation of all forms of political, financial, and military support; and the freezing of assets belonging to individuals responsible for crimes against Palestinians. It is also important to impose travel bans and suspend bilateral trade agreements and privileges that allow Israel to benefit economically while continuing to commit international crimes.
Finally, all relevant states and entities must hold accountable those states complicit in or facilitating Israel's crimes, particularly the United States, as well as other governments providing any form of assistance or cooperation—military, intelligence, political, legal, financial, or media-related—that contributes to the continuation of such violations.
