Targeted, trapped, and starved: Civilians and humanitarians alike under indiscriminate attack in Gaza
Posted on 30 Apr 2025
The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) is gravely concerned by the escalating hostilities in Gaza following the collapse of the ceasefire on 18 March. Since then, Israeli bombardments have intensified, with daily airstrikes triggering repeated, chaotic displacements.
De facto forced displacement orders are often issued with little notice and without viable routes to safety, forcing civilians to flee in panic. Many are attacked not only in the areas they leave behind, but also along evacuation routes or in the places they seek shelter, placing families in constant, life-threatening danger.
The situation has been further compounded by a blockade on humanitarian aid and commercial goods imposed on March 2, drastically limiting access to food, fuel and medical supplies.
Escalating hostilities and humanitarian workers targeted
Nowhere in Gaza can be considered safe. Even previously designated “safe zones” have been repeatedly targeted, and the Israeli military has ceased identifying humanitarian areas, leaving civilians and aid workers without any refuge.
Israeli forces have systematically struck displacement camps, health facilities, humanitarian warehouses, and aid convoys—killing and maiming civilians and humanitarian personnel alike.
Humanitarian actors were forced to suspend critical operationsto safeguard staff amid intensifying risks. Multiple documented instances show that, hospitals—such as the recent strikeon the Kuwaiti Field Hospital in Muwasi—and clearly marked humanitarian vehicles, including ambulances and UN cars, have been hit by airstrikes.
Humanitarian personnel from NGOs, UN agencies, and the Palestine Red Crescent Society continue to face grave threats, with 408 aid workers now confirmed killed. These repeated, unlawful attacks not only breach international humanitarian law— are paralyzing the delivery of critical aid in Gaza.
Indiscriminate strikes force families into endless displacement
There have been repeated instances of Israeli military operations carried out without prior warning—or with such inadequate notice—that families are forced to flee for their lives in panic, often in the dead of night. The indiscriminate nature of these strikes has left civilians with no safe haven.
Shelters, schools, residential blocks, and even sites previously designated for displaced families have come under bombardment.
In the past two weeks alone, two sites supported by DRC with site management were directly hit by airstrikes—resulting in the deaths of 17 civilians at one site and 30 at the other (a total of three children were killed and 38 orphaned across both sites), with almost 100 more injured.
One of the sites was completely reduced to rubble, displacing already displaced families yet again and forcing them to seek refuge in another overcrowded shelter.
The repeated targeting of humanitarian staff and facilities is not collateral damage, but rather a direct attack on the lifelines that civilians in Gaza desperately depend on. When ambulances, hospitals, and aid workers become targets, the entire humanitarian response collapses. Without safe humanitarian access, there is no hope of protecting lives or alleviating suffering.
/ Lilu Thapa, Executive Director - DRC MENA
DRC strongly condemns these repeated attacks on collective centers and shelters meant to protect vulnerable civilians.
As forced displacement orders continue with no safe alternatives, families are being pushed into a devastating cycle of flight—returning to shelters that have already been bombed or sleeping out in the open, entirely unprotected.
The WFP's final food supplies were distributed to community kitchens, which are expected to run out soon.
With clear evidence of dwindling food supplies, at least 52 deaths were attributed to hunger and malnutrition, and over one million children are facing daily hunger.
In Gaza, civilians are trapped under bombardment and starved. If they are not killed by airstrikes, they are being condemned to die slowly from hunger by the blockade. The systematic obstruction of aid and the use of starvation are deliberate acts that strip civilians of the most basic right of survival.
/ Alejandro Cuyar, Head of Operations - DRC oPt
DRC calls on the international community to:
Demand the blockade is lifted and allow unhindered humanitarian access: The ongoing blockade, now entering its 60th day, is starving a population already on the brink. The immediate, unhindered flow of food, fuel, and medical supplies must be ensured to avert a catastrophic humanitarian collapse.
Demand an immediate end to attacks on humanitarian personnel and humanitarian infrastructure: All parties must respect international humanitarian law to ensure humanitarian operations can continue safely and civilians can access lifesaving assistance.
Demand an immediate and sustained ceasefire: The relentless bombardment and forced displacement of civilians must end. A sustained ceasefire is urgently needed to protect lives, facilitate humanitarian access, and prevent further devastation across Gaza.
Urge parties to end violations of international law and protect civilians: The indiscriminate airstrikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure, homes, hospitals, and shelters must stop. The right to safety for civilians and adherence to international law must be upheld without exception.
Hold those responsible for violations of international law to account: Parties must be held accountable for all blatant violations of international law, including the indiscriminate or deliberate targeting of civilians, forced displacement of Palestinians, and obstruction of humanitarian aid.