PHILADELPHIA (June 4, 2025) – The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and leading humanitarian organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) released a new report detailing how Israel is entrenching its unlawful occupation, forcing Palestinians from their land, attacking the humanitarian system, and weaponizing hunger.
The report details the devastating consequences of Israel’s ongoing indiscriminate bombing campaigns and its continuous obstruction of aid access and distribution to Palestinians in Gaza. Restrictive Israeli-imposed conditions continue to prevent large-scale and principled humanitarian aid delivery, deepening an already catastrophic man-made humanitarian crisis.
Organizations also report accelerated annexation in the illegally occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, through violent military raids, settlement expansion, intensified demolitions, and mass forced displacements.
The report, covering from March 26 to May 28, 2025, is based on a survey of 46 international and Palestinian NGOs on their experiences delivering humanitarian aid and services across all the occupied Palestinian territory (Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem). Read the full report here.
In Gaza:
- 93% report having exhausted or nearly exhausted their aid stocks in Gaza
- 67% report being unable to reach communities and deliver services as 81% of the Gaza Strip access is restricted by the Israeli army.
- 33% report staff injuries or deaths due to Israeli military attacks in Gaza
In the West Bank:
- 93% report increased movement restrictions in the West Bank, impacting their ability to reach communities in need
- 48% report being unable to reach communities and deliver services in parts of the West Bank
- 38% report having had to suspend or reduce operations in the West Bank
Aid workers themselves are targeted by Israel and face extreme hardship even as they provide support for others. At least 452 humanitarian workers have been killed in Gaza since October 2023. Eight organizations reported staff being injured and five reported the killing of staff in Israeli attacks during the reporting period.
“The world is witnessing Israel relentlessly starve and bomb Palestinians with total impunity,” said Hanady Muhiar, Palestine/Israel Country Representative for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). “Israel is weaponizing hunger and destroying a principled humanitarian aid system that could be providing life-saving goods at scale to the Palestinian people in Gaza. We all have an obligation to prevent genocidal crimes. It is urgent that states, organizations, and individuals take immediate action to stop it.”
The report also lists four key recommendations: 1) ensure a permanent ceasefire is immediately implemented, 2) urgently unblock aid access, 3) ensure the end of the unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, and 4) boost funding for the relief response.
###
The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) promotes a world free of violence, inequality, and oppression. Guided by the Quaker belief in the divine light within each person, we nurture the seeds of change and the respect for human life to fundamentally transform our societies and institutions. We work with people and partners worldwide, of all faiths and backgrounds, to meet urgent community needs, challenge injustice, and build peace.