DAWN Statement on Israel's Renewed Assault on Gaza and U.S. Complicity

(Washington, D.C., March 18, 2025) — In response to Israeli airstrikes on Gaza that reportedly killed and injured over 1,000 Palestinians since last night and statements by Israeli officials that Israel is resuming its war in Gaza, DAWN issued the following statement:

"These brutal airstrikes are a calculated move by the Israeli leadership to resume their genocide in Gaza and forcibly displace Palestinians from there, this time with the full support of President Trump," said Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN's executive director. "By providing military and political support to Israel to facilitate its crimes in Gaza, including over $10.4 billion in U.S. weapons in the past few weeks, the Trump administration is aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity."

"President Trump has Palestinian blood on his hands," said Raed Jarrar, DAWN's advocacy director. "Netanyahu and Trump might think that killing and injuring 1,000 Palestinians overnight is a negotiation tactic, but let's be clear: there is no justification for Israel's genocide under U.S. or international law." 

"Netanyahu has been clear since the first phase of the ceasefire that he is not planning on ending this war, saying again and again in Hebrew that he will settle for nothing less than 'total victory,'" said Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, director of research for Israel-Palestine at DAWN. "With the United States no longer even pretending to be interested in a rules-based order, other international actors must create meaningful costs for Israel's brazen criminality."