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Mosque Massacre But No Military Targets

CrossFireArabia
December 20, 2024

A new investigation conducted by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has revealed a massacre committed by the Israeli military, killing over 15 Palestinians and injuring others, including women, children, and the elderly, in an air strike targeting a mosque in Gaza City during dawn prayers.

Euro-Med Monitor investigated the Israeli attack on Al-Hassan Mosque in Al-Tuffah neighbourhood, Gaza City, during dawn prayers on 16 November 2023, concluding that no evidence was found of any military targets, such as objects or armed individuals, inside the mosque or in its surrounding area at the time of the attack.

According to the investigation’s findings, at approximately 4:45 am on Wednesday, 16 November 2023, Israeli aircraft struck Al-Hassan Mosque in the Al-Sanafur area of Al-Tuffah neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, without any prior warning. The attack involved one or two heavy, high-explosive bombs and occurred just as worshippers began their dawn prayers.

When we entered the mosque after the Israeli bombing, we found no trace of anyone who was inside at the time. All of them were torn into pieces, there was no sign of anyone

Ezz Al-Din Maher Kraim, 18, esident of the area and the son of one of the massacre’s victims

The Israeli air strike destroyed the mosque, one of the largest in the area, within seconds, collapsing it onto the worshippers inside. Only remnants of its entrance and the two surrounding minarets remained. The attack resulted in the deaths of all worshippers present, with most of the bodies reduced to fragments.

The attack also resulted in casualties and injuries of varying degrees in a house adjacent to the mosque. Additionally, several nearby structures, including garages used for car repairs, carpentry, and washing, were destroyed. The air strike also caused damage to residential buildings and facilities surrounding the mosque in the area.

As part of its investigation into the military attack, Euro-Med Monitor employed its standard investigative methodology, beginning by collecting preliminary data related to the incident. Field teams were dispatched to the attack site to document the human and material damage and verify the absence of any military presence or armed activities in the area at the time of the attack.

The field team conducted personal interviews with survivors and eyewitnesses, including testimonies from six residents of the area and relatives of the victims who remained in the neighbourhood despite the forced displacement of most of its population following the mosque’s targeting. The team also documented the names of the deceased and injured.

In addition to on-site visits and gathering testimonies from survivors and witnesses, Euro-Med Monitor’s team analysed video footage and photographs capturing the aftermath of the attack and the crime scene. Satellite imagery was also reviewed, revealing the extent of the massive destruction to the site before and after the air strike.

Ezz Al-Din Maher Kraim, an 18-year-old resident of the area and the son of one of the massacre’s victims, recounted to Euro-Med Monitor’s team: “When we entered the mosque after the Israeli bombing, we found no trace of anyone who was inside at the time. All of them were torn into pieces, there was no sign of anyone.”

Euro-Med Monitor was able to identify 10 of the victims, including a young girl, a woman, and eight men, two of whom were elderly. Some victims remain unidentified as their bodies were torn apart or remain buried under the rubble.

The Israeli attack on the mosque lacked any justification based on military necessity. Moreover, the Israeli army has offered no explanation or justification for this crime. The attack constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law principles, including distinction, proportionality, and the obligation to take precautions—fundamental rules that Israel is required to uphold at all times without exception.

As such, this attack constitutes a cluster of fully-fledged war crimes committed by the Israeli army against civilians protected under international humanitarian law, as well as against a place of worship classified as a civilian object safeguarded by the same law.

This crime, which directly targeted civilians with death and injury, also amounts to a crime against humanity due to its occurrence within the context of a widespread and systematic military campaign carried out by Israel against Gaza’s civilian population for over a year. Furthermore, this massacre qualifies as an act of genocide, part of Israel’s ongoing campaign since 7 October 2023 to destroy the Palestinian population in Gaza.

Therefore, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reiterates its call to the international community to fulfil its legal international obligations by working to halt the ongoing genocide in Gaza using all available means. The prevention and punishment of this crime are international legal obligations incumbent upon all states without exception. This is an absolute obligation towards all, ensuring the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces from all Palestinian territory, including Gaza, and the dismantling of all Israeli military bases, barriers, and checkpoints.

Furthermore, Euro-Med Monitor urges the International Criminal Court to examine and investigate all crimes committed by Israel in Gaza, including the Hassan Mosque massacre, as well as the thousands of other massacres carried out by the Israeli army in the strip. It also calls for the expansion of investigations into individual criminal responsibility for these crimes to include all those accountable, and for the swift issuance of arrest warrants against all perpetrators.

EuroMed Human Rights Monitor

Features

Israeli Soldiers Shoot-to-Kill Civilians – Haaretz Probe

CrossFireArabia
December 18, 2024

Israeli soldiers and officers have exposed shocking practices by the Israeli army in Gaza, where Israeli soldiers have created a line of corpses in northern Gaza. According to a Haaretz investigation, soldiers shoot to kill anyone crossing invisible “red lines,” even unarmed civilians or children. These actions are part of what some soldiers call a “kill zone,” where every death is counted as eliminating a “terrorist.”

A “Line of Corpses” and Dog Packs

Commanders from Division 252 described an unmarked “line of corpses” in northern Gaza near Netzarim Road. Bodies are often left uncollected, attracting packs of stray dogs. “In Gaza, people know to avoid areas where they see packs of dogs,” one officer explained. The Israeli army officially denies the existence of such zones, yet commanders in the field enforce this deadly boundary.

A soldier recalled, “Anyone crossing this line is shot. The bodies stay where they fall. It’s become a grim reality.” Civilians, including children, have reportedly been killed in this manner.

Civilians Counted as “Terrorists”

Another soldier shared disturbing accounts of how unarmed civilians are often labeled as terrorists after being killed. “We kill civilians, but the reports always count them as terrorists,” the soldier admitted. This misrepresentation feeds a culture of competition among Israeli military units, where killing the most “terrorists” is rewarded. “If one division killed 150, another tries to hit 200,” he said.

One soldier recounted a chilling incident involving a 16-year-old boy who was identified as a ‘threat’. “We riddled him with bullets, took pictures, and later learned he wasn’t a terrorist—just a kid,” the soldier said. The unit commander, however, congratulated the soldiers, dismissing objections. “To them, anyone who crosses the line is a terrorist,” the soldier added.

In another case, four unarmed Palestinians were spotted near a tank. Soldiers opened fire, killing three. The fourth man, who surrendered, was stripped, humiliated, and briefly interrogated before being released. “He was just trying to visit relatives in northern Gaza,” a soldier explained.

Orders to Shoot Despite White Flags

Several testimonies mentioned incidents where Palestinians waved white flags, signaling surrender or non-combatant status. “We saw two figures waving a white flag near Nahal Gaza,” one soldier recalled. Despite protests from a commander who argued they might be Israeli prisoners, a superior ordered “fire to kill.” Ultimately, the individuals retreated, avoiding death.

“No Laws in Gaza”

Soldiers describe Gaza as a place where normal rules do not apply. “We’ve spent over a year in a lawless environment where human life means nothing,” said a senior commander. Soldiers admitted to acting like an “armed militia” without oversight or accountability. One officer commented on the power given to field commanders, who now authorize strikes that previously required top-level approval.

Many soldiers expressed internal conflicts over their actions. “This war isn’t just killing Palestinians—it’s destroying us too,” said one reservist. Soldiers who voiced objections were often silenced or ridiculed. “If I’m called back to Gaza, I don’t think I’ll go,” he admitted according to Quds News Network.

Features

Gaza: Nuts and Bolts of Israeli Annihilation

CrossFireArabia
December 17, 2024

The Israeli military’s destruction of entire Palestinian cities and neighbourhoods in the Gaza Strip is a clear manifestation of the genocide Israel has been committing in Gaza for the past 14 months, and a primary tool for its implementation.

This crime has not been confined to the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians or the gradual decimation of two million people’s basic survival elements. It has extended to the complete annihilation of Palestinian cities, obliterating their architectural and civilisational fabric. This systematic destruction aims to erase the Palestinian national and cultural identity, impose permanent forced displacement, prevent return, dismantle communities, and eradicate their collective memory. It is a deliberate attempt to eliminate their physical and human existence while destroying their past, present, and future.

Information documented by Euro-Med Monitor’s field team, alongside testimonies from families forcibly displaced from northern Gaza, reveals that the Israeli occupation army has pursued, since its third ground assault on the northern Gaza Strip starting 5 October 2024, a policy of comprehensive erasure and destruction.

Methods employed include demolition using robots and booby-trapped barrels, aerial bombardment with destructive ordnance, planting explosives for remote demolition, and bulldozing using Israeli military and civilian machinery.

🧵The @EuroMedHR : Israel is expanding its destruction of entire cities in Gaza- Urbicide-, committing ongoing genocide for 14 months. This systematic erasure targets Gaza’s architectural, cultural, & national identity, forcing permanent displacement of Palestinians. #HumanRights pic.twitter.com/335PDJXDZ2
— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) December 17, 2024

Euro-Med Monitor has meticulously reviewed videos and photographs published by Israeli soldiers and media platforms. Extensive aerial footage confirms the scale of destruction inflicted upon the northern Gaza Strip, with Jabalia camp left entirely in ruins, reduced to piles of rubble and impassable streets.

Entire areas, including Blocks 2, 3, 4, and 5, as well as Al-Alami, Al-Houja, Al-Falluja, Al-Tuwam, and the northern outskirts of Al-Saftawi, have been completely annihilated. Similar devastation has occurred in Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, leaving these once-thriving communities uninhabitable.

The systematic and comprehensive destruction of Palestinian towns and neighbourhoods—targeting homes, infrastructure, and civil and economic facilities—has persisted for over 73 days (since 5 October 2024). The pattern of devastation demonstrates that it is not militarily necessary but serves the deliberate purpose of erasing the Palestinian material and cultural presence. This constitutes a grave breach of international law.

Israel’s actions align with a broader policy of urbicide where the destruction targets not just Palestinian individuals and property, but the erasure of their cultural and civilisational existence. The goal is to obliterate any material or historical trace connecting Palestinians to their land, thereby weakening their ability to remain and survive in their ancestral areas.

Israeli government ministers, officials, Knesset members, and settler organisations openly promote these actions as part of efforts to impose a new demographic and geographic reality—replacing the indigenous Palestinian population with Israeli settlers. This constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and demands immediate intervention, accountability, and justice for the victims.

This policy of urbicide is not limited to northern Gaza. Initial reports from Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, alongside satellite imagery and testimonies, indicate that large areas have been nearly erased. Similar destruction has devastated Khan Yunis, Shuja’iyya, Zeitoun, and neighbourhoods along the Netzarim axis. The destruction extends to homes, streets, infrastructure, and essential civil, economic, and cultural facilities, rendering these areas uninhabitable and systematically preventing Palestinian return.

This urbicide is also tied to the ongoing crime of culturcide, initiated on 7 October 2023. Since then, Israel has deliberately targeted Palestinian archaeological and cultural landmarks in a clear effort to erase the Palestinian cultural heritage. Euro-Med Monitor has documented dozens of cases where the Israeli army targeted mosques, churches, historical buildings, museums, cultural centres, and universities, all integral to Gaza’s cultural identity.

While previous Israeli military operations destroyed key aspects of Gaza’s rich architectural heritage, the current assault represents its near-total obliteration.

Gaza’s heritage belongs not only to Palestinians but to all of humanity. These sites hold cultural and historical significance that transcends national borders, representing a shared global memory. The international community must act urgently to protect these sites, conduct impartial investigations into Israel’s violations, and pressure Israel to cease its systematic destruction.

All states must fulfil their international responsibilities to halt the genocide and other grave crimes being committed by Israel in Gaza. This includes imposing effective sanctions, ensuring compliance with international law and ICJ rulings, and halting all forms of political, financial, and military support to Israel. Immediate cessation of arms sales, transfers, and military aid to Israel is essential, alongside enforcing accountability for crimes against Palestinians. The International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister and Defence Minister must also be executed without delay.

Moreover, countries complicit in Israel’s crimes—most notably the United States and others providing military, financial, and political support—must also be held accountable. This includes states engaging in intelligence sharing, contractual agreements, and other forms of collaboration that enable Israel’s crimes.

Immediate action is imperative to end this unprecedented destruction, bring justice to the victims, and safeguard humanity’s shared heritage and dignity.

EuroMed Human Rights Monitor

Features

Israel is Killing Gaza’s Professional Sector

CrossFireArabia
December 17, 2024

In the current genocide on Gaza Israel has been deliberately targeting and killing all members of society including those from the professional sector, including lawyers, judges, doctors, teachers, artists and much more.

Euro-Med Monitor’s review of the Israeli military’s targeting records and victim lists reveals a systematic, widespread policy of killing and assassinating Palestinian elites and those with competencies in various sectors.

The number of Palestinian medical personnel who have been killed since 7 October 2023 is 1,057, and more than 135 scientists and academics have also been killed. Professor Abdel Salam Abu Zaida is the latest of these victims, having been killed along with six other Palestinians in an Israeli raid on Gaza City’s Al-Malash building Wednesday evening, 11 December, 2024.

The lists of targeted elites also include journalists, 196 of whom have been killed since 7 October 2023, as well as people with knowledge of computer engineering, programming, and information technology, plus other influential people in these crucial spheres of society.

🚨Breaking : Israel has killed Dr. Hassan Al-Baba, Ph.D. in international law.
He now joins his mother, sister, and her two young children ,, all killed by Israeli army’s just two weeks ago in #Gaza ! pic.twitter.com/v75BiUb1tl
— Nour Naim| نُور (@NourNaim88) October 27, 2024

Israel’s crimes, which include the targeted and intentional killing of Palestinian intellectual elites and talents as well as the widespread and intentional destruction of businesses and infrastructure, are likely to impede the advancement of Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip overall; threaten its scientific, educational, and economic system; and deprive its vital sectors of prestigious and specialised cadres that will be difficult to replace in the near future, the Monitor explained. The killings are also bound to instill fear among the remaining talents.

These crimes occur in the context of overt Israeli policies that seek to render the Gaza Strip uninhabitable by eradicating basic life structures and individuals with valuable competencies. Given the magnitude and breadth of Israel’s efforts, its crimes could immoblise Palestinian society in the Strip by preventing it from developing, building, or recovering from this genocide.

The United Nations and all nations must therefore carry out their international legal duties to prevent the continuation of Israel’s crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip; impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel; hold it responsible and punish it for all of its crimes; take all necessary steps to protect Palestinian civilians in the Strip; defend medical personnel and health facilities in the enclave from any further targeting; and act swiftly, without hindrance, and in a way that satisfies the needs of all residents of the Gaza Strip, especially those in the northern areas. The complete withdrawal of the Israeli occupation army from the entire Gaza Strip must be ensured.

Features

Devastation in Gaza is Staggering – WFP Official

CrossFireArabia
December 12, 2024

Describing the level of devastation across the Gaza Strip as “absolutely staggering”, the Head of Emergency Communications for the World Food Programme (WFP) has told UN News in an interview that civilians are desperate for lifesaving aid and there’s a growing risk of widespread famine.

Speaking from Gaza, Jonathan Dumont said many people have been displaced multiple times, and that families are living either in tents or in the rubble of collapsed buildings, with no access to electricity or running water.

The text has been edited for length and clarity.

UN News: How do you describe the situation on the ground in Gaza, after more than a year since the war erupted there?

Jonathan Dumont: The devastation is absolutely staggering. This year, I’ve been to Goma, Port au Prince, Khartoum, a lot of different places where people have issues getting food or have been displaced. But in Gaza, I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t been displaced at least two or three times, due to military activity.

Almost everyone has lost their home. In the south, a lot of people are living in tents, and with the winter coming, you have rain and wind blowing them over, flooding them. Most kids don’t have shoes.

A lot of people feel they have no choice but to go back to their homes, which are quite frequently, literally rubble. I met a few families who are living in basically the cement blocks that have collapsed over them, and there’s no electricity, running water or sewage. This is the second winter for many of them that they’re homeless.

People walk on destroyed buildings in Gaza.

UN News: What is the most striking story you’ve heard from people in Gaza?

Jonathan Dumont: When we were moving to Gaza City, we had to pass a checkpoint, and there were some bodies on a bridge in this sort of no man’s land area, and there were dogs eating the bodies. It was an horrific scene.

Some of our colleagues were tasked to pick up the bodies, and we couldn’t stop, but a bit later we came across two women and some children who were walking south, due to the intense military activity in the north. What struck me the most in that moment was that those children were going to come across the same scene of the dogs eating corpses, and I kept thinking about the impact that it might have on them.

UN News: You’ve been to the northern part of Gaza. Can you tell us more about what you saw there?

Jonathan Dumont: I’ve been to Gaza City, although I didn’t go to the areas in the far north. Gaza City is a huge city but many of the buildings have been destroyed. Before you had villas, beach cabanas and a fishing port, and now it is just a ghost town.

Much of Gaza has been destroyed in the ongoing conflict.

WFP is able to reach that area, so there’s some food there, but the food prices of what’s not coming from the international community, or from WFP, are through the roof. There was someone selling peppers for 195 dollars…five dollars for one pepper. People can’t afford that.

Bakeries are being treated as banks – with metal slots and a metal corridor to channel people through because people are desperate, and they don’t want people to get injured or crushed trying to get food.

In Khan Yunis, where we are distributing hot meals, people get really desperate – you can see it in their faces, in their eyes.

UN News: The IPC report warned of the acute hunger and maybe some of people are on the verge of famine. Do you think the food insecurity is getting worse in Gaza?

Jonathan Dumont: The problem is that there’s been a total breakdown of society here, there’s no police, no infrastructure or any of the structures of society. As a result, what we’ve had in the southern part of Gaza is that gangs are emerging. We’ve had our trucks coming in from the south looted, and our drivers beaten.

We are trying to find solutions to have a consistent flow of food in. Obviously, the easiest way to do that would be if there was a ceasefire, which we are always hopeful will happen. In the absence of that, we need to find a way of getting all the food that we have outside Gaza into the country so that people can access it. We need to make sure people have access to food.

UN News: Many of the bakeries are not functioning. How many of them are working at full capacity?

Jonathan Dumont: In the south there is none of the WFP’s bakeries which are big volume bakeries. In the north there are some, but in the south, there are just small bakeries, so people are improvising when they have some flour.

Bread is the staple here, bread is life.

UN News