The Hague, September 28, 2024
Press release – International Criminal Court Prosecutor’s Office Receives Results of Joint Mission to Document Injured Victims of Israeli Aggression Receiving Medical Care in Egypt
The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has received a file containing the work and results of the first and second phases of the joint mission’s efforts to document the testimonies of victims of Israeli aggression in the occupied Gaza Strip. This documentation includes the testimonies of 126 injured individuals and their family members who are receiving medical care in hospitals in the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The file also documents the obstruction by the occupation authorities in preventing the flow of vital life-saving aid between November 2023 and May 2024, before the majority of aid ceased following the occupation forces taking control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing and the border area between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the occupied Gaza Strip, known as Salah al-Din Axis or Philadelphi Route.
The Arab Organization for Human Rights and Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights formed a team of field investigation experts and obtained permission from the Egyptian authorities to carry out documentation efforts regarding Israeli crimes. During the first and second phases (from February to June), the team visited 22 hospitals out of 111 hospitals where 5,500 injured and sick Palestinian individuals are receiving medical care across 12 Egyptian governorates out of the 26 that contain hospitals.
The team also visited the Rafah border crossing, the Humanitarian Aid Coordination Center in Al-Arish, and hospitals in North Sinai, where they documented the Israeli occupation’s methodology in limiting essential and necessary assistance, which supports allegations of committing genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 8, 2023, as well as a wide range of serious human rights violations, war crimes, and crimes against humanity throughout the occupied Palestinian territories.
The team previously provided a summary of its conclusions to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s investigative committee and also presented sumarry of the conclusion during the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council at the end of March 2024, as well as to the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Ms. Francesca Albanese, during her visit to Cairo in April 2024. The Joint Mission also exchanged information with a delegation from the Human Rights Watch team during its visit to Cairo in April 2024.
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Link to the first phase report in English .. Click here