Israel Escalates Genocidal War on Civilians – Euro-Med Monitor

As talks resume to reach a truce to end Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, ongoing since 7 October 2023, the Israeli military appears to be using its policy of forced displacement and starvation as a tool of political pressure and blackmail according to Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.

Israel is expanding its targeting of displacement centres and surrounding areas and continuing to carry out mass killing operations against civilians and displaced people, all while preventing the displaced from returning to their homes, starving them, denying them access to basic supplies that are necessary for survival, and blocking the entry of humanitarian aid. These acts demonstrate an insistence on committing genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli aircraft fired multiple missiles, Tuesday, 9 July at around 6:55 p.m.), at a group of people gathered at the gate of Al-Awda School in Abasan Al-Kabira, east of the city of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. Abasan Al-Kabira houses thousands of internally displaced people. About 32 people were killed and 50 injured in the attack on the school, the majority of whom were women and children. Some of the victims’ bodies were blown into pieces.

According to preliminary data gathered from the examination of bomb fragments used in the attack, American bombs— which have been used in numerous mass killing operations against Gaza Strip civilians— were used in the bombing.

The Israeli army’s ongoing atrocities in the Strip, including repeatedly targeting UN-flagged shelter centres and killing those inside, while the international community remains almost silent, are primarily committed with the intent to eradicate Palestinians, with civilians being used as a tool of political pressure and blackmail. There is no justification for these crimes.

Since there has been talk of resumed negotiationsfor a ceasefire agreement, Israel has ramped up its attacks on the Gaza Strip. This suggests that Israel is applying pressure by increasing its targeting, starvation, and murder of civilians, as well as using them as a political tool for blackmail without respect for international law.

Israel has pursued, and continues to pursue, a systematic policy of targeting civilians in the Gaza Strip, who are protected by international humanitarian law. This targeting includes killing; starvation; arrest; torture; forced disappearance; sexual assault and rape; denial of medical treatment and humanitarian aid; forced displacement; bombing shelter centres over the heads of displaced people; targeting areas designated as humanitarian zones; and denying displaced Palestinians any stability or shelter, even if that shelter is only temporary.

Based on the aforementioned, all nations are required to fulfil their international obligations by enacting strong sanctions against Israel and severing all other types of political, financial, and military support and cooperation. This includes immediately halting arms transfers to Israel, including export permits and military aid; otherwise, these nations will be held accountable for the crimes that have been committed in the Gaza Strip, including genocide.

Additionally, the International Criminal Court ought to keep looking into any and all crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip; broaden its investigation into criminal responsibility, in order to hold all perpetrators accountable; issue arrest warrants for those responsible; and acknowledge and address Israel’s crimes in the Strip, as they are international crimes that fall under the purview of the International Criminal Court and are clearly crimes of genocide.

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Will Netanyahu Get to Address Congress?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering avoiding a stopover in Europe on his way to the US over fears that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is readying to issue an arrest warrant against him over the Israeli army’s crimes in Gaza according to Anadolu.

Netanyahu is to travel to the US and deliver a speech before the US Congress on July 24. He is also expected to possibly meet US President Joe Biden.

But there is much speculation about his coming trip with many on the social media woundering how he will get to Washington amidst the logistics involved in flying non-stop.

On 20 May, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan requested arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. Khan also requested warrants for three of the Hamas group’s top leaders including its chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Everyone is waiting for the arrest warrants to become effective and many think they could be any time soon.

Israeli KAN public broadcaster said Netanyahu’s office reviewed the matter of stopping in Europe on his way to Washington as his plane is unable to make a transatlantic flight while carrying a full load of passengers.

His office reviewed the option of a stopover in the Czech Republic or Hungary; these two countries are seen as Israeli friends and called ICC arrest requests “unacceptable.”

KAN, however, noted Netanyahu in the end decided to go for a direct flight to Washington with a limited number of passengers on board.

While the US is not an ICC member, receiving Netanyahu despite an international arrest warrant could expose it to much criticism.

Israel also is not an ICC member, whereas Palestine was accepted as an affiliate in 2015.

Set up in 2002, the ICC is an independent international body not affiliated with the UN or any other international organization, and its decisions are binding.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 38,200 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,900 others injured, according to local health authorities the Turkish News agency reported.

Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the ICC, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6 according to the Turkish news agency.

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Maj-Gen Al-Duwairi: Tal Al Hawa Hard For Israel

The battle is raging in Tal Al-Hawa, southwest of Gaza City, and the fighting there is no less fierce than what is happening in the east of the city, referring to the Shujaiya neighborhood, said military and strategic expert Major-General Fayez Al-Duwairi.

https://www.assawsana.com/article/635430

In his military analysis, Al-Duwairi doubted what the Israeli media was saying  about the transfer of three soldiers wounded in the Gaza battles. He said the Israeli army admitted it was subjected to four difficult security incidents  in Tal al-Hawa.

The expert who is a military analyst on Al Jazeera believes these difficult events resulted in the killing of more Israeli soldiers, basing his view also on the Information provided by  Al-Qassam Brigades and Saraya Al-Quds, the military wings of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

He pointed out their statements are backed by videos confirming the credibility of the resistance, pointing out Israel is forced to announce its human losses when there are successful ambushes or effective combat operations, as it anticipates the Qassam videos of deaths and injuries of their soldiers.

Based on this, Al-Duwairi predicted the Israeli casualties ranged from 6 to 8 on average, some serious, in addition to deaths because of the hard nature of the incidents while ruling out the total of only three casualties, as claimed by the Israeli media.

He said he does not take the Israeli announcements seriously, recalling the statements they repeatedly made claiming the dismantling of the Al-Qassam Brigades in northern Gaza, and confirming that he evaluates the resistance on field performance.

Al-Duwairi also cited the last statements of spokesman Abu Ubaida in which he said the Al-Qassam Brigades restored its 24 brigades in the whole areas of the Gaza Strip, and also strengthened their defensive capabilities, stressing the brigades’ human capabilities are in top shape.

Thus, Al-Qassam rehabilitated its 24 brigades both materially and in human resources with combat efficiency at 80% of its situation before 7 October, the military expert maintained.

He warned Tel al-Hawa was subject to many incursions because it was on the edge of the northern Netzarim axis, but added the commander of its battalion has good  information about the Israeli occupation army, providing a forward-looking reading of their third phase of the war.

He concluded the resistance led by Al-Qassam, are able to discern the intentions of the Israelis army and their goals by monitoring its communications, ground movements, and the intensity of its bombing whilst determining the direction of future Israeli actions and preparing for it before they begin.

Al-Duwairi also pointed out the third phase of the Israeli war on Gaza is related to the occupation noticing several elements, such as the emergence of resistance leaders, administrative arrangements, or information about tunnels or detained prisoners.

On Monday evening, the Israeli media reported the occurance of four difficult security incidents against the Israeli army in Tel al-Hawa, with news of military helicopters landing for short periods on the Netzarim axis, to evacuate the Israeli wounded.

In turn, Al-Qassam Brigades reported they detonated an anti-personnel device against a force of 6 Israeli soldiers in Tal al-Hawa, leaving them dead and wounded. It also announced the targeting of an Israeli foot force in the chalet area, west of Tal al-Hawa, leaving its members dead and wounded.

In the same area, Al-Qassam destroyed a military jeep with a “Al-Yassin 105” shell on Al-Sinaa Street, while also targeting an Israeli troop carrier with a “Shawaz 3” device on Roundabout 17 in the same neighborhood, and a “D9” bulldozer with a “Shawaz 3” device on Al-Rashid Street.

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The Israeli Army Exhausts Its Goals in Gaza – Military Expert

Military and strategic expert Dr. Nidal Abu Zeid said the Israeli occupation army has reached a difficult stage in its military operations in Gaza, and has now exhausted its goals. He said this explains the latest bombing of one of the shelters for displaced persons in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip.

Abu Zeid added the occupation army is in rapid transformations with its war on  entering its 10th month. He told Jo 24 its no longer able to move in large areas as the resistance groups have succeeded in stripping them of the intelligence element and no longer able to receive information and targets of the fighting sectors they are dealing with.

The resistance also succeeded in exploiting the rubble of houses resulting from their massive destruction and turning them into an artificial obstacles to hinder the progress of the occupation military machine and the imposition of short and narrow firing ranges, concealment, and carrying out of ambushes and raids, as happened in Tal al-Sultan in Rafah and Shujaiya in the north.

Abu Zaid stated the enemy was planning to penetrate into Shujaiya and cross from it via the Baghdad Road to Omar Al-Mukhtar Road, so it could provide it with freedom of movement to the north, towards Al-Tuffah and west, towards Zaytoun, but after 10 days of fighting in Shujaiya, the resistance realized what the Israeli army was planning. Therefore, they started implementing several plans and models for combat and thus prevented the occupation forces from penetrating the Shujaiya neighborhood, whose area does not exceed two square kilometers.

Abu Zeid pointed out the reason for the difference in the form of fighting in Shujaiya from Rafah is related to the resistance’s ability to adapt to the geography of the area and succeeding in adapting the land to its advantage in confronting the Israeli occupation forces.

Abu Zeid pointed out that the occupation insists on controlling wide land corridors, such as the Netzarim Corridor and the Philadelphia Corridor, to achieve military and political goals for the possible transition to the third phase of the war, to launch its operations from these corridors supposed to provide it with good mobility.

 Politically also, the occupation is trying to strengthen its negotiating cards by negotiating over areas which it controls, he concluded.

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More Bad News For US-Israel Ties as Top Diplomat Quits Job

Israel Should be More Worried About Miller’s Resignation Than Washington – US Official

By Dr Marwan Asmar

The resignation of Andrew Miller from his job as US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Israeli-Palestinian Affairs comes as a blow for the Joe Biden administration because it narrows the debate further to one side.  

While he cites family reasons for quitting his post, many say his resignation is a protest of the White House support for Israel in its war on Gaza.

His resignation has been making headways on social media with the first to break the story, the Washington Post, Friday.

One on X writes “his departure underscores internal discontent over US support for Israel” in its war on Gaza.

Another writes his resignation “comes amid growing frustration  over the war’s deep civilian death toll and concerns among some in the administration that influence over policy matters…“dominated by a narrow clique of Biden’s closest advisors.”

He was seen as a critic of the policies of the Biden administration in its “bear hug” approach towards Israel and its way of conducting the war on Gaza.

The Palestine Chronicle writes his resignation “follows the departures of at least eight other Biden administration officials who left in protest of the war in Gaza and the president’s steadfast alignment with the Israeli government.”

Jerry Goode on X says the “US government is falling apart because of the division in the Gaza war/(genocide),” adding officials are resigning left, wright and center” with Miller being the latest top official and senior diplomat “to run away from this mess.”

His name is trending under different tags: #USA #Andrewmiller #Thewashingtonpost #IsraelGazaconflict

Miller was seen on the progressive side of the administration. One US official said Miller pushed for the US to use its leverage over the Israeli government, including the substantial military, economic, political and diplomatic support it provides to Tel Aviv, more effectively, reported Anadolu.

Miller is certainly on the more progressive side of administration officials when it comes to the region, including on Israel-Palestine, but he has also never been a ‘burn it all down and forgo pragmatism’ type,” the official said. “He has always advocated that the United States should support Palestinian rights and statehood, but his advocacy while in government has generally been quiet and measured.”

However, another US official quoted by the Times of Israel the resignation of Miller “should be a wake up call for” Israel. Talking on condition of anonymity, he said if the Netanyahu government is “creating an environment where people like him are resigning, they are clearly doing something very wrong.”  

Miller worked on both Israeli and Palestine sides. He firmly supported a strong US-Israeli relationship but he also believed a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

However, his resignation comes days after a video was made of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu berating the White House for apparently withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel to continue the war on Gaza.

Later on the week and in response to the video, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby  said the allegations that Netanyahu made “were deeply disappointing and certainly vexing to us, given the amount of support that we have and will continue to provide Prime Minister Netanyahu.”

He was backed by the US State Department spokesman, Matt Miller, who said he was not sure what Netanyahu was “talking about or what he was trying to accomplish.”

He pointed out: “…I don’t think it’s productive to engage in an intense public back and forth about this. So we will just let our actions continue to speak for themselves, as they have since Oct. 7.”

He added as stated by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, “our commitment to Israel’s security is sacrosanct. We have proved that, not just with words, but with deeds.”

The supply of US weapons has not stopped. It is continuing. However it is the withholding of the shipment of the 2000-pound dumb bombs Netanyahu is upset about. The US has become deeply concerned about their use in densely-populated areas in Rafah and in camps in central Gaza because of their strong kill factor which is deeply devastating.

All these issues have forced Andrew Miller to resign, disillusioned by US President Joe Biden’s refusal to take a harder line on Israel stopping the war in Gaza.

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