The Israeli army has killed more than 70 Palestinians and wounded 200 others, mostly children and women, in less than 12 hours in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of civilians have received new evacuation orders in the area.
These latest crimes come as part of Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, ongoing since 7 October 2023.
The atrocities committed by the Israeli army against civilians in the Strip over the past nine months are well-documented and carried out consistently. These crimes include killing, mass murder, starvation, blocking the entry of humanitarian aid, forced evacuation, destruction of civilian objects, and the denial of any kind of stability, as has been the case in Khan Yunis since this morning (22 July 2024). Such actions indicate that the occupation army is essentially destroying the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip in every way that it can.
Every time there is talk of returning to the negotiating table to reach a truce and an exchange agreement, the Israeli army purposefully increases the number of massacres and mass killings of Palestinian civilians. This raises concerns that Israel is engaging in political blackmail by using the killing and displacement of civilians as a tool of pressure, as it has done repeatedly in recent weeks.
After carrying out a premeditated mass murder this morning, the Israeli army launched dozens of raids, fire belts, and artillery shelling on homes, streets, and gatherings of displaced people. Thousands of these people fled into the streets in a panic, looking for a safe place that did not exist.
Residents and displaced people sheltering in the following towns were given evacuation orders from the Israeli army: Bani Suhaila and its surroundings; Abasan al-Kabira and al-Jadidah and its surroundings; al-Qarara and its surroundings; al-Fukhari and its surroundings; Khuza’a and its surroundings; al-Qurain; al-Manara; al-Salam; Jurat al-Lot; Qizan al-Najjar; Sheikh Nasser; al-Mahatta; al-Satar; and al-Katiba. This coincided with the Israeli army’s declaration that the so-called “humanitarian zone” in Al-Mawasi would be reduced. This was all part of Israel’s media disinformation campaign and psychological warfare tactics, since military assaults on forcibly displaced people and their tents have occurred continually in this area for several weeks now, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries.
Out of the 10 residences for which preliminary information was available since the 7:30 a.m. start of the Israeli military operation on Khan Yunis, the Euro-Med Monitor field team recorded the Israeli army bombing six homes on the heads of their occupants. Seventy citizens were killed and over 200 others were injured, many of whom were women and children, as a result of the Israeli bombing. Two of the deceased victims were infants, while several families were taken off the civil registry, including the Jabour and Harb families.
In addition to aerial bombardment and shooting from quadcopter aircraft, the Israeli army employs direct and indiscriminate artillery shelling against civilians. This has resulted in a high death toll, with many victims remaining trapped under the rubble and in the streets, where rescue workers have not been able to retrieve their bodies. Israel also deliberately targeted two civil defence paramedics, who were injured while ambulance crews in Bani Suhaila were attempting to evacuate other injured people.
Israeli forces entered the town of Bani Suhaila amid very violent bombardment, even though the Israeli army had said in its orders that the displacement was going to be temporary. This constitutes a kind of deception of the residents—large numbers of whom were not able to evacuate as a result of the bombing, or had not attempted to before it began because they estimated that the attack was a series of air strikes as opposed to a ground incursion. (On the first of this month, the Israeli army issued similar displacement orders but only carried out intense air strikes without a ground incursion).
Two Palestinian Red Crescent clinics were forced to close due to the aerial bombardment, and several health centres experienced disruptions as a result of the forced displacement orders.
Given these facts, all nations must fulfil their international obligations by enacting strong sanctions against Israel and severing all political, financial, and military support and cooperation with it. This should include 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.
Furthermore, accountability must be established at the local, regional, and global levels. Working diligently and cooperatively to pave the way for universal jurisdiction will enable national courts to hold accountable the perpetrators of the egregious crimes being committed against Palestinian civilians.
Additionally, the International Criminal Court must continue to investigate any and all crimes committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip; broaden its investigation into the criminal responsibility of all parties, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant, in order to hold all perpetrators accountable; issue arrest warrants for those responsible; and acknowledge and address Israel’s crimes in the Strip as international crimes that fall under the purview of the International Criminal Court, and are clearly crimes of genocide.
This article is reprinted from the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor website.
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