Eyewitness Report: Israel’s Atrocities in West Gaza

• CrossFireArabia
• July 14, 2024

During its four-day incursion into the western parts of Gaza City, the Israeli army committed horrific atrocities against Palestinian civilians, including willful killings, extensive destruction and burning of civilian buildings and homes, and forced evacuation as part of the ongoing crime of genocide for the tenth consecutive month.

After invading the area at dawn on Monday, 8 July, Israeli army forces began to withdraw early on Friday, 12 July, from the Universities Area and the Sinaa’ Area, west of Gaza City. During this time, they launched numerous fire belts and engaged in indiscriminate shelling, stormed homes, and harassed residents. Reports indicated that over 60 people had been killed, with many bodies found in the streets and alleys, some of which were charred.

Euro-Med Monitor field crews are investigating reports that the Israeli army forces committed extrajudicial killings and unlawful executions of numerous residents, the majority of whom were women. These victims included two sisters, Maysoon Yaqoub Al-Ghalayini and Arwa Yaqoub Al-Ghalayini, as well as their sister Rafida Al-Ghalayini, who was left bleeding to death for two days without the Israeli forces allowing medical teams to reach her.

According to preliminary reports, the Israeli army killed entire families after raiding their homes in the Al-Sina’a area west of Gaza City. Those killed included Mustafa Ahmed Zaidiyeh, the two brothers Imad Khaled Zaidiyeh and Mahmoud Khaled Zaidiyeh, Abu Youssef Nasser Zaidiyeh, Fahmi Lulu, Jamalat Al-Shawa and her two sons, Ahmed Maher Al-Badri and Suha Maher Al-Badri, as well as six members of the Al-Khatib family.

Euro-Med Monitor teams documented the Israeli army torturing and severely beating Khaled Darwish Muhammad Zaidiyeh, 58, while he and several of his relatives were besieged in his home close to the industrial area, which was the army’s point of incursion on Monday, 8 July.

Khaled Zaidiyeh stated the following in his testimony to the Euro-Med Monitor crews: “(The soldiers) peed, put coffee on their urine, and made us drink it.” The children and women were forced out while crying. We were tortured and tied up, and the scars from the chains are still visible on us.  My nephew Mustafa, who was killed, asked to have his handcuffs taken off or loosened. But the soldiers refused and beat him all over his body. Anybody attempting to speak would face severe beating.”

He went on, “One of the soldiers put his leg over my head and started repeatedly stomping on it with full force. He then went to torture one more of the twenty-one people there before returning. My nephew’s face has swollen, despite suffering a heart problem, while the second who has special needs and was permitted to accompany the women. While I was lying on my stomach, one of the soldiers got up on top of me and began hitting me with his combat boots. I tried to calm down and be patient, but he kept jumping on top of me with his heavy weight and pressing his legs, aiming to break my bones.”

The soldiers then got a call and began to withdraw, while one of them threatened to return to me. All we could hear was our own voice as the soldiers broke the window glass of one of the houses. I thought they would make us step on the shattered glass, but they started shooting. Then they withdrew and left the area, threatening to kill us with quadcopters and snipers.”

A woman who wished to remain anonymous told the Euro-Med Monitor team: “The army opened fire on the house. We opened the door while raising the white flag. They forced the men to take off their clothes and assaulted them in front of us. My son was tired, so they beat him severely. Without bringing anything with us, we were forced to flee to the southern part of the Gaza Strip.”

According to documentation provided by Euro-Med Monitor teams, the Friends of the Patient Hospital was destroyed by the Israeli army for the second time, following its restoration approximately one month ago to serve the Gaza residents’ medical needs. The Israeli army also bombed the Al-Salam clinic, the only health centre in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood, south of Gaza City.

Along with demolishing and setting a number of homes on fire, the Israeli army also destroyed UNRWA schools near the industrial area, extensively damaging the classrooms, particularly the ground floors.

Based on observations and follow-up conducted by the Euro-Med Monitor team, it appears that the lack of equipment is making it difficult for rescue workers to recover victims from under the debris of the homes and buildings that were targeted by the Israeli army.

Additionally, testimonies were provided to Euro-Med Monitor regarding widespread thefts and robberies by Israeli army forces during home raids and forced evacuation of the locals, including large amounts of money and valuables.

The Israeli army has been looting gold jewellery and cash from homes it raids and from residents it forced to relocate to the south of the Gaza Valley, where they were forced to leave their bags and all of their belongings seized by the soldiers. These operations have been routinely carried out by the Israeli army when storming residential areas, raiding homes, and initiating random arrest campaigns against civilians.

Families Khudair and Jadallah members told the Euro-Med Monitor team that the Israeli army forces amassed and pilfered their personal belongings in bags, beating and detaining the men before driving the women and children out of the area and forcing them to evacuate to the central Gaza Strip.

Since the early hours of Monday, 8 July, the Israeli army has been waging a war of intimidation and forced displacement against the people of the Gaza City and its northern region. This has resulted in yet another massive wave of forced evacuation following military assaults and intense raids that the army has carried out as part of the genocide it has been committing since 7 October.

Under heavy rocket and shell fire in the industrial area, the Israeli army launched a ground incursion, directly targeting the nearly completely destroyed UNRWA headquarters and the headquarters of several other destroyed universities in western Gaza.

Subsequently, the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of large areas of Gaza City and forced the staff of the “Ahly Baptist” hospital to leave the area entirely. As a result, the only major hospital operating in Gaza for months was turned out of service.

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.

In order to ensure accountability, a comprehensive and impartial international investigation is required into the serious crimes and violations committed by the Israeli army forces against the Gaza Strip’s population and their property. These crimes and violations amount to fully-fledged, self-contained war crimes and crimes against humanity that cause serious harm and destruction to civilians and their livelihoods without justification or military necessity,

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.

This article is a reprint of a report by Euromed Monitors