Senator Loren Legarda’s Statement on the Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

No nation with a conscience can plead ignorance of what is unfolding.

The ongoing devastation and terror happening in Gaza is a human tragedy of unspeakable proportions. The continued blockade, indiscriminate bombardment, and obstruction of basic humanitarian assistance have pushed over two million civilians to the brink of famine, displacement, and death. These are not consequences of war, but of impunity left unchallenged.

I condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the ongoing assault on Palestinian life and liberty, and the entrenched structures of injustice that enable it. The illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and the systemic violence that continues to claim thousands of Palestinian lives demand the world’s unflinching attention. These acts form part of a prolonged, decades-long pattern that has stripped Palestinians of their land, their homes, and their future.

The right of peoples to self-determination is a foundational principle of international law. I denounce the Netanyahu government’s unlawful military offensive across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the expansion of illegal settlements, settler violence, and forced displacement in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

I call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, the urgent and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid, and the full protection of civilians in accordance with international law. United Nations-led efforts, including the work of UNRWA, must be granted safe and unrestricted access to deliver life-saving assistance, free from the targeting of journalists and humanitarian workers, whose protection is essential to upholding human rights and dignity in conflict zones.

Accountability is not optional. Every violation of international law must be met with prompt and impartial investigation, with those responsible facing justice without exception.

I urge the Philippine government, as a state party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to uphold its duty to act and take a principled stand in condemning the atrocities unfolding in Gaza, support credible international mechanisms for justice, and take all reasonable measures to prevent genocide.

Gaza is the litmus test. If international law shatters here, the safety of all nations will be lost in its fragments.

We must remember: peace cannot be built on dehumanization. It will not be achieved by appealing to the humanity of those who have long denied it. What this moment demands is concrete, urgent action to dismantle the machinery of oppression.