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CrossFireArabia
October 15, 2024

The Israeli army said Tuesday that at least 23 more soldiers were injured in clashes in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon in the last 24 hours.

Military figures released by the army showed that some 740 soldiers have been killed and 4,881 others injured since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7, 2023.

Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last year, killing nearly 42,400 people, mostly women and children, and injuring over 99,000 others according to Anadolu.

The conflict has spread to Lebanon, with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, which have killed more than 1,500 people and injured over 4,500 others since Sept. 23.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching on Oct. 1 a ground invasion into southern Lebanon.

Uncategorized

Netanyahu’s War Crimes Will Haunt Him

CrossFireArabia
October 15, 2024

Media personality Ahmed Mansour says in plain speaking:

“Netanyahu believes that the false pride in the war crimes he is committing in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon will bring security to Israel.

This is a deceptive illusion and a pipe dream. Israel is an occupying state, and its army, despite its crimes, it is experiencing an unprecedented psychological defeat and military collapse.

If it weren’t for the mercenaries and allied soldiers, Netanyahu would have raised the flag of surrender year ago #فلسطين #غزه_تباد_وتحرق #غزة_تُباد

Features

Aim to Kill! Lebanese Paramedics Face Israeli Big Guns

CrossFireArabia
October 15, 2024

Israel’s clear and continued pattern of targeting relief and ambulance teams in Lebanon is a serious violation of international law, especially international humanitarian law. Since the start of its most recent attack on Lebanon, the Israeli army has launched numerous military attacks directly against ambulance and relief crews, particularly those affiliated with the Islamic Health Authority, killing at least 120 medical and relief workers.

With no proof, an Israeli army spokesperson recently justified the targeting of paramedics and their vehicles in various parts of Lebanon by claiming that they were transporting “saboteurs and weapons”. In this regard, the Israeli army targeted on Sunday morning, 13 October 2024, a Red Cross relief convoy in the southern town of Sarbin, wounding four volunteers. This attack came after the Israeli army targeted a house in Sarbin in an initial airstrike, and then targeted the same site in a second airstrike after the Red Cross convoy arrived to search for the injured.

This targeting took place even though the Red Cross had previously arranged to visit the site alongside UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon. The Red Cross reported that the airstrike damaged its vehicles in addition to injuring four members of its team.

The Israeli army also targeted two aid trucks today (Monday 14 October), which were passing through the Ras Baalbek area. The trucks were flying Red Cross flags after receiving UN approval to deliver aid, according to official Lebanese sources. The bombing smashed the windows of the two trucks and injured the driver of one of them. The Israeli targeting in Lebanon follows the same pattern as in the Gaza Strip, raising the possibility that aid trucks may be targeted directly and repeatedly in the future under false pretenses and pretexts.

The Red Cross must be respected as a neutral and impartial organisation that conducts humanitarian work in field operations that assist and protect people who do not participate in, or have ceased to participate in, hostilities. Its mission is to alleviate human suffering and promote respect for the rights of those affected by armed conflicts and other situations of violence. It is required to protect these individuals, and to take all reasonable precautions to limit the impact of hostilities on them. The warring parties have a legal, moral, and humanitarian duty to protect medical and relief workers and not impede the delivery of aid.

Article 35 of the First Geneva Convention, and Article 21 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, both mandate the protection of medical transports. Article 21 of Additional Protocol I broadened the scope of this obligation to include civilian medical transports in addition to military medical transports under all conditions. This is supported by Rule 29 of customary international humanitarian law, which mandates that medical transports that are only used for medical transport must always be respected and safeguarded.

According to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, attacking medical facilities and transportation vehicles that use the distinctive emblems listed in the Geneva Conventions, in accordance with international law—including emblems belonging to the Red Cross—as well as attacking personnel, facilities, materials, units, or vehicles used in a humanitarian assistance mission constitutes war crimes under the Rome Statute. These crimes are also considered crimes against humanity because they are committed against civilians, particularly killing and willfully causing serious bodily harm or physical health. These crimes are part of Israel’s massive attack on the civilian population in Lebanon.

The international community must therefore fulfill its obligations to uphold and implement both international humanitarian and human rights law. It must put an end to Israel’s serious crimes against unarmed civilians in both the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, including its deliberate targeting of ambulances and relief teams that transport and evacuate the wounded, and ensure the freedom of passage of all medical and humanitarian missions. Targeting civilians and impeding the delivery of aid and relief to them indicates the intention to purposefully kill people not involved in fighting and military operations.

EuroMed Human Rights Monitor

News

NGO: Gaza Resembles ‘Depths of Hell’

CrossFireArabia
October 15, 2024

Up to 400,000 Palestinians were on Monday trapped across northern Gaza, with at least 300 people reportedly killed in nine days of bombardment, and a hospital sheltering thousands ablaze in the south with no end in sight to the incessant attacks on civilians.

At Al-Aqsa Hospital in the so-called “humanitarian zone” in the south, patients and families sheltering in tents were on Monday engulfed by a massive fire triggered by an Israeli airstrike” with reports of deaths and multiple causalities. Civilians in the north were directed to the “humanitarian zone” under orders issued by Israeli forces on 7, 9 and 12 October. Al-Aqsa Hospital is just metres away from where children are receiving a second round of polio vaccines.

Middle East Regional Director for Save the Children Jeremy Stoner said:

“What we’re seeing now in Gaza looks like the depths of hell with reports day after day of attacks on children and families. Nowhere is safe.

In the north, an already starving population has been cut off from food for two weeks while trying to dodge bombs and bullets in a kill zone they cannot leave.

In the south – the area to which families in the north were directed for their safety – bombs dropped by Israeli jets have set off a fire that is searing through Al-Aqsa Hospital and tents in the hospital grounds, with reports of rescuers finding burned and charred bodies. ‘Evacuation orders’ are at risk of becoming ‘execution orders’ as children are denied the means to survive.

What military goals could justify such mass-scale slaughter of civilians? The notion of collateral damage must never be used to excuse the predictable killing of children. A year ago, there was international outcry when an Israeli rocket damaged Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, injuring four staff members. How devastatingly far we have descended.

Today, Save the Children has begun a second round of polio vaccines for children in our Deir Al-Balah clinic, as children face bombs and fire just 500m away. Never has it been clearer that this is a war on children, their protection only upheld if they’re deemed a risk to those beyond their borders. Without a ceasefire, these vaccinations simply postpone rather than prevent children’s pain. Without immediate international action, children and families across the Gaza Strip face a death sentence – today, tomorrow, in a week, in a month, by bombs, bullets, fire, disease or starvation. Anywhere, any time.

Gaza is what can happen without the rules of war. Except there are rules – for parties to the conflict, and for the international community – which are not being respected. The only impactful action taken by some member states is to send the weapons being used to kill children and burn patients and families in hospitals and tents. Humanity has lost its way if those with the ability – and legal obligation – to stop this slaughter choose not to.”

Reliefweb

News

Israeli Refuses The Army, Condemns Use of Hunger as Weapon

CrossFireArabia
October 15, 2024

Israeli conscientious objector Orion Mueller has condemned the use of hunger as a weapon in Gaza, stating that his refusal to join the military is his way of opposing the ongoing situation.

In a video interview with Anadolu, Mueller detailed the challenges he faced after refusing to enlist in the Israeli army, especially during the recent Gaza conflict.

“From the very beginning of the (military) drafting process, which starts near 11 of school, I knew that I had no intentions of joining the army,” he said.

Mueller explained that Israel’s compulsory military service leaves little room for opting out, as all citizens are expected to serve.

“If you just finished high school, everyone is expected to either go right now or eventually join the military. And not doing so creates quite a bit of dissonance between your experience and the people around you. And it definitely sheds a different light on you in the eyes of the people around you.”

He noted that following the Gaza attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, more young Israelis have refused to serve.

“Israeli culture puts the military service on an almost holy pedestal. And any form of evading that service, especially during wartime, is shunned. It almost puts you at a certain level of being an outcast.”

“I really hope many more people will be willing to go through that in order to refuse the war. I think that’s one of the most powerful weapons we have within Israel to push the government into stopping the war.”

Mueller, who spent 30 days in military prison for his stance, shared his experience.

“Military prison has all forms of military discipline you would expect in basic training. And so if you are willing to shape yourself in the shape of a soldier who listens and doesn’t answer his commanders, then it can be fine. But if you have any interest or if you are forced to maybe push against the barriers of military chain of command, then you suffer.”

He added, “The main problem with being in prison is really just not so much boredom, as much as it is just complete lack of any action in your life. It’s just waking up to the same routine, the same exact identical routine of being counted, eating, and then idling.”

Israel’s military actions and ethical concerns

Mueller also criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza, particularly its disregard for civilian lives.

He argued that the military’s objectives were not achieved and that the situation has spiraled beyond a military operation.

“Israel got so bogged down in Gaza in the first place. In the looming shadow of the war, I think, other problems with joining the military become even more extreme. Both the military occupation of the West Bank and the ethnic cleansing and efforts to get rid of the population, of the native Palestinian population, make the choice between joining the army very problematic.”

“All of those problems answer the question of, is it ethical to join the Israeli military? And my answer is no.”

Mueller also accused Israel of using hunger as a weapon in Gaza, calling it a “major issue.” He believes that refusing military service is the best way to avoid complicity in such human rights violations.

He further criticized the political motivations behind the war, asserting that it is being waged for internal political gain and a balance of power.

Noting that Israel is governed by right-wing forces, he said: “I don’t see … the end too near to us. But I believe that with some luck in managing to stop the campaign in Lebanon, we can maybe work towards a cease-fire deal with Gaza, if the government had any intentions to do so, which it very clearly showed it does not.”

A message of apology and admiration

Mueller also expressed deep regret and admiration for the people of Gaza.

“First of all, I would like to say sorry on behalf of my people and my country. From the bottom of my heart, I do really feel sorry. I don’t think I’m in a position to really say anything about hope, because I have four walls and a ceiling above me.”

“I don’t really think I can imagine not losing hope if I were in the shoes of the Gazan people. And I really do commend the struggle in opposing the horrific military campaign taking place on their land and I do hope that one day we could coexist.”

“I think that anyone listening to this or reading this interview whenever it goes on air should consider with themselves which side of history they want to be on. The side of death and suffering or the side of hope and peace. And hopefully be sure that the answer they chose is the right one within themselves.”