Human rights organizations to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense: Allow Immediate Entry of Fuel to Gaza

On June 30, 2025, five human rights organizations in Israel – Gisha, HaMoked, Adalah, Physicians for Human Rights–Israel, and the Association for Civil Rights in Israel – sent a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) Ghassan Alian, demanding the immediate entry of fuel to the Gaza Strip in quantities sufficient to meet the needs of the civilian population. They also called for access to and safe distribution of existing fuel reserves inside the Strip.

In the letter, the organizations warned: “Since the start of the war, Israel has been preventing the entry of essential aid needed for the survival of the protected population (…) or has allowed it only in limited quantities, causing an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe, forcing millions of civilians to endure unimaginable human suffering.”

The organizations also cited warnings from the UN and other aid agencies stating that Israel had systematically obstructed access by aid organizations to fuel reserves in Gaza for many months. “The acute shortage of fuel affects all aspects of life for Gaza residents, including those necessary for basic survival,” the letter stated.

Submitted by attorney Osnat Cohen-Lifshitz from Gisha, the letter stressed: “In the absence of fuel, essential civilian infrastructure cannot operate: water pumping, purification and supply; sewage systems; hospitals and life-saving medical equipment; communication systems; distribution of humanitarian aid including food and water; vehicles used for rescue and evacuation, ambulances, and more.”

The organizations referenced multiple urgent appeals made by aid agencies for entry of fuel published in recent weeks. For example, according to the World Health Organization, dozens of health facilities providing life-saving services – including 17 hospitals and seven field hospitals – are at risk of immediate closure. According to the United Nations Population Fund, the shortage will lead to the closure of 80 percent of critical maternity and emergency care units, and the death of newborns who depend on equipment requiring continuous electricity. The Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Cluster warned that many water wells and desalination facilities are already working at reduced capacity, further limiting access to drinking water in the Strip. Hundreds of other facilities, including sewage treatment facilities, are on the brink of shutdown, increasing the risk of outbreak of disease. Telecommunications providers also warned of collapse, which would hinder humanitarian coordination and access to life-saving information and services.

The organizations stated that blocking fuel violates Israel’s obligations under Israeli and international humanitarian law, and also breaches provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice in the Hague, in the case brought by South Africa against Israel for alleged violations of its obligations under the Genocide Convention. They further emphasized that denying fuel access constitutes collective punishment and may amount to a war crime and a crime against humanity.