Urgent appeal on the second anniversary of the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Urgent Appeal
On the Second Anniversary of the Ongoing Genocide in Gaza

Istanbul, October 7, 2025

On this day, we mark the second anniversary of the start of the genocidal campaign launched by the Israeli occupation forces against the people of Gaza on October 7, 2023, the catastrophic effects of which continue to worsen to this day, amidst a disturbing international silence and unprecedented political and humanitarian failure in the history of contemporary international justice.

Over the course of two full years, the world witnessed one of the bloodiest and most destructive military campaigns against civilians, with Israel killing daily 92 Palestinians including 27 children and 14 women, and the number of dead and wounded has exceeded 150 thousand Palestinian citizens, targeting residential neighborhoods, hospitals, schools, refugee camps, places of worship, and entire families were annihilated under the rubble, while deliberately starving the population through siege, preventing the entry of food, medicine, and fuel, in a blatant violation of international humanitarian law and fundamental human rights principles.

Two years after this major crime, the lack of accountability or deterrence reflects the international system's failure to fulfill its duty to protect peoples from genocide, and represents a dangerous setback in the credibility of the international justice system, which was established to ensure that the collective tragedies that shook the conscience of humanity do not recur.

Despite two years passing since this tragedy, no effective action has been taken to stop the crime or hold those responsible accountable, constituting a serious breach of the (Responsibility to Protect) principle adopted by the United Nations in 2005, which obliges the international community to intervene to prevent or stop genocide when a state proves incapable or complicit in its commission.

The UN Security Council has contented itself with formal statements and non-binding discussions, while the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council have failed to impose an executive mechanism for their decisions, in the face of repeated American veto preventing any real accountability for the Israeli occupation, contributing to the entrenchment of a culture of impunity and encouraging perpetrators to continue their crimes.

We affirm that what is happening in Gaza constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions of 1949, particularly the principle of protecting civilians during armed conflicts, rising to the level of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide according to Articles (6), (7), and (8) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The occupying states and the countries that support them politically and militarily bear direct legal responsibility for the continuation of these crimes, including the crime of public incitement to genocide issued by Israeli officials in full view of the international community, without any effective action to stop it.

All states parties to the 1948 Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide bear a clear legal responsibility not only to punish the perpetrators, but also to prevent the continuation of the crime and to take practical measures to stop it.

Based on our legal and humanitarian responsibility, we demand:

• That the states parties to the 1948 Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide fulfill their legal obligations and take practical steps to stop the ongoing crime in Gaza.

• That the international community and the United Nations act urgently to impose an international protection mechanism for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and ensure the unrestricted entry of humanitarian aid.

• That the Human Rights Council renew the mandate of the International Commission of Inquiry on Palestine and enable it to have full access to the Palestinian territories to collect evidence regarding the ongoing crimes in Gaza.

• That the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court accelerate the pace of investigations into crimes committed in Palestine and issue arrest warrants for all Israeli officials involved in the crimes of genocide and blockade.

• That the international community legally recognize Israel’s responsibility for the crime of genocide.

• That international organizations launch a global accountability campaign under the slogan “No impunity in Gaza.”

The second anniversary of this genocide is not merely an occasion to recall pain and suffering; it is a renewed call to human conscience and international justice to end this catastrophe and put a stop to the perpetrators’ impunity.