By Ranna Khalil | Researcher
Dear friends,
In these extremely difficult days, we are experiencing yet again another ferocious and dangerous war – this time a regional war across the Middle East, following attacks launched by the United States and Israel against Iran. Under the cover of this expanding war, Gaza continues to endure a genocide.
Despite the announcement of a ceasefire months ago, daily life in Gaza remains defined by heavy Israeli bombardment that kills and injures civilians on a daily basis, and families remain almost totally dependent on external humanitarian assistance for survival. However, despite ICJ decisions and UN resolutions, Israel’s acute restrictions on the entry of life-saving aid have further deepened, and the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza continues to loom large. In this context, Israel recently announced new measures to deregister 37 international humanitarian organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territory unless they comply with sweeping and restrictive new rules. Several aid organizations petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court to challenge the legality of these new requirements, and the Court issued an interim injunction temporarily halting the process and allowing the NGOs to continue to work but the case remains pending. The uncertainty surrounding this process – which appears to have been taken in bad faith - continues to jeopardize the delivery of essential services to Palestinians at a time when they are most urgently needed.
The situation at Gaza’s crossings have become even more dire amid the regional escalation. Following the attacks on Iran, Israel announced the complete closure of all Gaza crossings, including the Rafah crossing – which only partially reopened last month, after being closed since May 2024. Rafah is a critical lifeline, particularly for Palestinians who need urgent medical treatment abroad and for those who were stranded outside Gaza, including for medical treatment, and who now seek to return home.
In response to these developments, Adalah, together with Gisha, has taken urgent legal action. We sent a detailed letter to Israeli authorities calling for the immediate halt to the harassment, obstruction, and arbitrary questioning of Palestinians seeking to re-enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing. We warned of what appears to be a deliberate pattern of conduct aimed at preventing or deterring Palestinians from returning to the Strip.
Since the Rafah Crossing’s reopening, Israel has required prior authorization for anyone seeking to enter or leave and has imposed severe restrictions on movement, with only a negligible number of Gazans permitted to re-enter. The Israeli army also announced that residents who were outside Gaza at the outbreak of the war would be barred from returning all together.
Our letter cited media reports indicating that on one specific day, Israel allowed only 12 individuals to return instead of the promised 50 persons per day, without any explanation. Testimonies referenced in these reports describe the treatment of returnees as abusive and degrading, including blindfolding, handcuffing, threats, and the confiscation of personal property.Additionally, some residents retold that they were transported within the Strip by Israeli-backed armed militias, where they faced prolonged delays, invasive questioning, and pressure to provide information under threat of their own arrest or the arrest of family members.
Adalah and Gisha stressed that preventing the return of residents, imposing preconditions, and subjecting them to harassment and threats may constitute the crime of forcible transfer of a population, which is prohibited under the Geneva Conventions and constitutes a war crime. Such acts may also amount to crimes against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic policy directed against a civilian population.
Adalah and Gisha further contended that Israel’s actions are intended not only to humiliate and harm residents returning to their homes—which is inherently prohibited conduct—but also to intimidate and sow fear among those seeking to return to Gaza. There is serious concern that this constitutes a clear attempt to deter the population and frustrate the return of Palestinians to Gaza.
The organizations demanded the immediate cessation of abusive, arbitrary, or punitive practices at Rafah, and that Israel act in full compliance with international law to allow Palestinians to return to their homes in Gaza.
At this moment of profound crisis—marked by regional war, ongoing mass atrocities in Gaza, severe restrictions on humanitarian operations, and the tightening closure of crossings—Adalah’s legal work remains both urgent and indispensable to uphold the fundamental rights of Palestinians. We are deeply grateful for your continued support, which enables us to respond to emerging human rights violations and to pursue strategic litigation even under the most challenging conditions.
In solidarity,
The Adalah team
By Ranna Khalil | Researcher
By Ranna Khalil | Researcher
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
