More than 30 independent experts affiliated with the UN have called on the international community on Wednesday to take immediate steps to stop what they described as an ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
In a joint statement, the experts warned that continued military and political support for Israel "especially via arms transfers, and the provision of private military and security services risks complicity in genocide and other serious international crimes."
"The decision is stark: remain passive and witness the slaughter of innocents or take part in crafting a just resolution," the experts said.
The experts accused Israel of relentless destruction in Gaza, carried out through coordinated land, air and sea attacks, accompanied by mass displacement and unaccountable massacres.
"While States debate terminology - is it or is it not genocide? - Israel continues its relentless destruction of life in Gaza, through attacks by land, air and sea, displacing and massacring the surviving population with impunity," they said.
They also urged governments to act swiftly to avoid "the moral abyss we are descending into," and stressed the need to dismantle what they called an apartheid regime, advocating for a future in which Palestinians and Israelis live side by side in freedom and dignity.
"The world is watching," the statement said. "Will Member States live up to their obligations and intervene to stop the slaughter, hunger, and disease, and other war crimes and crimes against humanity that are perpetrated daily in complete impunity?”
The Israeli occupation army resumed its offensive on Gaza on March 18, 2025, restarting a war it first launched on October 7, 2023. The renewed assault followed Israel’s refusal to complete the truce agreement implemented on January 19, 2025, which was expected to lead to the release of all hostages held by Hamas and Israel's withdrawal from the territory.
Early last March, Israel blocked humanitarian aid into Gaza "until further notice," hours after the first phase of the truce ended. At the time, the office of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu’s stated that "there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas continues to refuse, there will be further consequences."
Israel launched a new assault on Gaza later that month.
