Shrinking Civic and Humanitarian Space in Israel-Palestine: A Brief Overview of Recent Developments

With international attention largely focused on the regional escalation of violence, which has inflicted significant civilian harm, the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) risks falling under the radar.

Serious and systematic violations of international law persist both in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, while urgent humanitarian needs continue to go unmet.

Against this backdrop, it is crucial to ensure a scaling up of relief efforts and further documentation of wrongful conduct, including possible international crimes, and its dire humanitarian consequences. Such endeavours have been rendered extremely challenging since the onset of hostilities on 7 October 2023.

This is the result both of (i) additional measures introduced by the Israeli authorities to further restrict the already constrained operational space for journalists, human rights organisations, and humanitarian actors in the oPt and Israel; (ii) intensifying delegitimisation campaigns; and (iii) the overall security environment, which is characterised by a blatant failure to protect civilians, including journalists and humanitarian personnel.

This document presents a high-level factual overview of these developments and should be read alongside other IHL Centre publications on the rules of international law governing the activities of humanitarian actors and protecting Palestinians’ civil and political rights, which are available here.

Cover photo: Israeli authorities begin demolition of an UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) facility in east Jerusalem, Palestine, on January 20, 2026. TOshiyuki Fukushima/the Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images. All rights reserved.