Humanitarians cautiously welcome ceasefire announcement, demand end to two years of forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza

The announcement of a ceasefire offers a long-overdue moment of relief and hope. However, it must mark the beginning - not the end - of the international community fulfilling its responsibilities.

This ceasefire announcement comes at a time of profound crisis - when life in Gaza stands on a precipice. A human-made famine has taken hold due to Israel’s continued and illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip, with tens of thousands of children at risk of death by acute malnutrition in the coming months. Women, men, children and older people have been severely deprived of the essentials required for survival and dignity, including food, water, fuel, shelter and medical care.

Sustained and indiscriminate bombardment has killed over 66,000 people and maimed over 150,000 – disabling at least 21,000 children – destroying entire neighbourhoods and wiping out generations of families. Thousands more remain missing beneath the rubble. Over 92% of homes, 518 schools, as well as hospitals, water, education and livelihood systems have been destroyed, damaged or contaminated with unexploded ordnance.

Today, 13 October 2025, marks two years since Israel’s first mass displacement order for 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza - an order amounting to forcible transfer, a crime against humanity and a “form of collective punishment prohibited under International Humanitarian Law”. In defiance of international legal obligations, Israel has forcibly and repeatedly displaced at least 1.9 million people in Gaza, creating a humanitarian catastrophe in which children, pregnant women, older people, people with disabilities, the sick and injured struggle to flee, access aid, or survive in unsafe conditions.

Forcible transfer is happening throughout the occupied Palestinian territory. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, thousands have been forcibly displaced since October 2023, most alarmingly is the mass forcible displacement of around Palestinians from northern West Bank refugee camps of Jenin and Tulkarem and Nur Shams, denied return till today.

Last month, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory concluded that the Israeli authorities are committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Leaders of major aid groups called on world leaders to intervene following the UN genocide conclusion.

These findings trigger clear legal obligations on all States to act to prevent further destruction, ensure accountability, and uphold the protections guaranteed under international law.

The ceasefire must establish the conditions for safe, principled humanitarian action and protection of civilians. To date, humanitarian access has been systematically denied or severely obstructed, with hundreds of aid and health care workers targeted and killed. Despite the existence of a principled UN-coordinated mechanism that has reached communities despite countless obstructions by Israeli authorities, aid has been restricted through a militarised and unsafe distribution model implicated in the deaths of over 3,000 of civilians. Aid convoys are obstructed, bridges and roads have been demolished.

Diplomatic efforts have too often failed to uphold international law or protect civilians. The ceasefire must be the foundation for sustained action to restore protection and humanitarian access, enable the safe and voluntary return of displaced people, and ensure accountability.

We, as the humanitarian NGO community, therefore call for:

• A permanent and meaningful ceasefire with guarantees.

• All parties must protect civilians and humanitarian and healthcare workers.

• The safe, voluntary and dignified return of Palestinians to their homes throughout the occupied Palestinian territory accompanied with the scaled and sufficient humanitarian response to meet all needs.

• The protection and restoration of essential civilian infrastructure and services, including health, water, and sanitation systems.

• Full and unhindered principled humanitarian access for independent organisations to deliver comprehensive and swift life-saving assistance, including food, medicine, fuel, protection and essential services at scale. All land crossing-points must be reopened immediately and unconditionally, enabling the unrestricted passage of people and goods.

• The immediate release of arbitrarily detained Palestinians, including those held without charge or trial as administrative detainees.

• An end to the militarisation of assistance and the removal of barriers, including the denial of registration for INGOs on vague or spurious grounds and the requirements to provide staff lists.

• All States to fulfil their obligations including the duty to prevent further atrocity crimes, in line with international law, including the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, the Genocide Convention, international humanitarian law.

• The immediate halt of the transfer of weapons, parts, and ammunition to Israel to prevent their use in violations of international law, in line with the Arms Trade Treaty provisions and as prescribed by the UN General Assembly resolution on the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory.

• A collective and transparent vision and coordinated approach to support rebuilding Gaza, a vision which must be driven by Palestinian agency and self-determination.

The occupied Palestinian territory cannot be an exception to the law that binds us all.

Signed by:

1. Abs Development organisation for woman and child

2. ACT Alliance

3. Act for Peace

4. ActionAid International

5. Action For Humanity

6. Africa Humanitarian Action

7. All We Can

8. American Friends Service Committee, AFSC

9. Asylum Access

10. CAFOD

11. Caritas International Belgium

12. Caritas Middle East and North Africa - Caritas MONA

13. Children of Earth Association- YEÇED

14. Christian Aid

15. Church World Service

16. Disable Development & Educational Foundation (DDEF)

17. DT Peduli

18. Golden Future Indonesia

19. Hayata Destek / Support to Life

20. HelpAge International

21. Horan Foundation

22. Human Initiative

23. ICVA Network Secretariat

24. IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation

25. Insecurity Insight

26. International Blue Crescent Relief and Development Foundation

27. INTERSOS

28. Islamic Relief

29. Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA)

30. KinderUSA

31. Laznas Dewan Da'wah

32. MedGlobal

33. Medicines du Monde Spain

34. Mennonite Central Committee

35. National Foundation for Development and Humanitarian Response

36. Nonviolent Peaceforce

37. Philippine Humanitarian Care (PHILCARE) Inc.

38. Qudwah Indonesia

39. Refugee Council of Australia

40. Refugee Solidarity Network

41. Refugee-Led Organization Network (RELON) Uganda

42. Rumah Zakat

43. Samaj Kalyan O Unnayan Shangstha (SKUS)

44. SEAHUM Southeast Asia Humanitarian Committee

45. Syrian Networks League (SNL)

46. Terre des hommes Foundation

47. United Against Inhumanity (UAI)

48. Women’s Refugee Commission

49. Yayasan Dompet Dhuafa Republika

50. Yemen HDPNexus Initiative

51. Yemen National NGOs Forum