On this solemn occasion, the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) marks the 77th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba – the catastrophe that befell the Palestinian people in 1948 when over 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly uprooted from their homes, more than 500 villages were depopulated or destroyed, and an entire nation was fragmented under the weight of forced exile, dispossession, and ongoing Israeli occupation.

Today, as we remember the tragic events of 1948, we are witnessing the continuation of the Nakba in its most brutal form. The relentless war waged by Israel against the Palestinian people, particularly in the Gaza Strip, has already claimed the lives of nearly53,000 Palestinians since October 2023, including thousands of children and entire families.

This is not merely a humanitarian crisis—it is a genocide unfolding before the eyes of the world; Entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble, hospitals and schools bombed, and civilians systematically deprived of food, water, and medical care in what amounts to collective punishment and annihilation. Millions have been displaced, starved, and forced to live under unbearable conditions, with no end in sight.

Gaza is not only being bombed—it is being starved. A man-made famine is sweeping through the besieged Strip, deliberately imposed by Israeli authorities as a weapon of war. According to UN agencies and humanitarian organizations, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity, with children dying from hunger and malnutrition in what should be unconscionable in the 21st century. The systematic blocking of humanitarian aid, the destruction of food supplies, and the targeting of relief workers have turned Gaza into a death camp under open skies. Starvation is being used as a tool of genocide, in direct violation of international humanitarian law. This slow, excruciating form of extermination must be recognized and condemned by all actors of conscience, and immediate, unimpeded humanitarian access must be secured without delay.

The current atrocities are not isolated incidents, but part of a longstanding colonial system rooted in ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and denial of the Palestinian people’s most fundamental rights, including their inalienable right of return.

The right of return is not symbolic, nor negotiable—it is enshrined in UN General Assembly Resolution 194, reaffirmed repeatedly by international legal instruments, and upheld by basic principles of justice and international law. The right of return is a collective and individual right, passed down through generations of Palestinian refugees, and no amount of time or political evasion can nullify it.

For over seven decades, the right of return has remained a central and unfulfilled demand of the Palestinian people. It is a demand rooted not only in law but in lived experience: in the keys kept by refugees, the stories passed on to grandchildren, and the collective memory of a people determined to reclaim their homeland. The continued denial of this right is a cornerstone of Israel’s settler-colonial project and a core driver of ongoing violence and instability in the region.

The war on Gaza and the broader campaign against the Palestinian people are part of a systematic policy of ethnic cleansing that has defined Israeli actions since 1948. What began with the mass expulsion of Palestinians during the Nakba has continued in various forms across historic Palestine—through home demolitions, land confiscations, revocation of residency rights, forced evictions in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and now, large-scale displacement in Gaza. Israel's intent is clear: to erase the Palestinian presence, fragment the Palestinian people, and entrench permanent Jewish supremacy over the land. This is not merely occupation—it is a deliberate attempt to depopulate and replace. The scale and consistency of these practices amount to a crime against humanity, and the international community must recognize and respond to the Israeli state’s ongoing project of racial domination and territorial cleansing.

PRC reaffirms its unwavering commitment to defending the rights of Palestinian refugees and displaced persons, including their right to return to their homes and lands. We call on the international community, civil society, and all people of conscience to recognize the Nakba not as a historical episode, but as a lived and escalating reality that demands urgent justice, accountability, and restitution.

We also stand in firm solidarity with the people of Gaza, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and Palestinian communities in exile. Their courage, resilience, and resistance in the face of unspeakable violence continue to inspire the global movement for Palestinian liberation and justice. Despite the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the spirit of sumud—steadfastness—remains unbroken.

In light of the gravity of ongoing war crimes and crimes against humanity, PRC calls on UN bodies, the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to intensify and advance legal proceedings aimed at holding the State of Israel accountable. The ICJ’s provisional measures, and the growing number of states supporting South Africa’s genocide case, are vital steps toward justice. We urge the international community to impose sanctions, arms embargoes, and diplomatic pressure to ensure that perpetrators of atrocity crimes do not act with impunity. Justice delayed is justice denied—Palestinians cannot afford further inaction.

The Nakba did not end in 1948 – it persists in the sieges, settlements, walls, and wars that define Israel’s policies toward the Palestinian people. But so too does the steadfastness of a people who will not surrender their history, their rights, or their homeland. The time for justice is now.