Agnès Callamard, Secretary-General of Amnesty International, has urged the international community, particularly the European Union, to take decisive steps to stop Israel’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
She condemned Israel’s actions, both through military assaults and starvation policies that have rendered the besieged territory “completely devoid of food.”
In a statement on Monday, Callamard called on international actors to exert pressure on Israel to allow the entry of food, water, and medicine into Gaza.
She also stressed the need to hold those responsible for genocide and war crimes accountable.
Speaking about Gaza’s deteriorating humanitarian conditions, Callamard referenced her field observations of the ongoing genocide, which has persisted for 19 months and intensified following Israel’s total blockade on the Palestinian enclave since March 2.
Callamard warned that Gaza is at a critical tipping point, citing the complete depletion of food and essential resources, especially after Israel resumed its genocidal assault in March.
“We know that people are suffering from severe shortages of food, water, and medicine,” she stated. “The World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, and all UN and humanitarian organizations are sounding the alarm—there is no food left in Gaza.”
Emphasizing the gravity of the crisis, she repeated the phrase “there is no food in Gaza” and described the overall situation across the territory as “utterly terrifying.”
Callamard concluded with a stark assessment: “What is happening in Gaza is genocide, unfolding before the eyes and ears of the world.”
It is worth mentioning that, on Saturday evening, the Israeli army announced the mobilization of tens of thousands of soldiers, however, the operation’s launch may be postponed until after former U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the region, scheduled for ten days from now.
The Israeli government also confirmed that humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza will be handled by foreign companies, likely American firms.
However, this decision remains preliminary and has not yet been officially implemented. In its initial phase, the military plan involves seizing additional territories across the Gaza Strip.
The United Nations has rejected Israel’s proposal to deliver aid to Gaza under the control of its forces.
In a statement, the UN humanitarian team in Gaza warned that Israel’s plan would violate fundamental humanitarian principles, as it seeks to tighten control over essential supplies as a pressure tactic within a broader military strategy.
The proposed delivery mechanism would require UN approval to distribute aid through Israeli checkpoints, under conditions dictated by the Israeli military.
The UN humanitarian team cautioned that the strategy would force civilians to enter military-controlled areas to collect aid, endangering both them and relief workers. The plan is also likely to contribute to further forced displacement.
The United Nations stated, “We can only support plans that uphold humanitarian principles, including humanity, neutrality, independence, and integrity.”
On Monday, Day 49 since the resumption of genocide, the Israeli army continued the bombarding and shelling across various areas of the devastated, starved and besieged Gaza Strip, killing and wounding dozens of Palestinians.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has confirmed that its hospitals across the coastal enclave received the corpses of 40 slain Palestinians, in addition to 125 wounded, including many children and women, in the past 24 hours.
Since the resumption of the genocide in Gaza on March 18, 2025, Israel has killed at least 2,436 Palestinians and injured more than 6,450.
Since the beginning of this year, the Israeli army has killed at least 3,085 Palestinians, including 527 children, 318 women, 19 journalists, and 111 elderly.
Israel has now killed at least 52,535 Palestinians, including more than 18,000 children and 12,400 women, in addition to about 11,160 Palestinians who remain under the rubble in various parts of the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the number of wounded Palestinians has exceeded 118,491, largely children, women, and elderly.
