Amnesty affirms Israeli genocide in Gaza
Human rights group Amnesty International said Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip amid its ongoing war in the region, adding that it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure, and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid.
In a report released Wednesday, the organization listed facts about the war, which began Oct. 7, 2023, after Hamas struck the Israeli-occupied territories in a surprise attack and took more than 250 people as captives. In response, Israel vowed to eliminate the Palestinian resistance group and bring the captives back, AP reported.
However, the war has ravaged the Gaza Strip for a year and more than 44,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to local health officials. Extreme famine and disease have been rampant in the region as Palestinians grapple with the war and cease-fire talks have largely been stalled.
“In isolation, these are serious violations of international humanitarian law or international human rights law,” Amnesty wrote. “But looking at the broader picture of Israel’s military campaign and the cumulative impact of its policies and acts, the conclusion we came to is genocidal intent.”
The group also argued that Israel’s continued actions after Hamas’s initial attack cannot be justified as a response or defense.
“Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It must stop now,” Amnesty Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said in the report.
Even after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other members of his hardline cabinet were issued warrants for arrest by the International Criminal Court last month over the course of the war, the regime has rejected Amnesty’s report that it is committing genocide or violating international law.
Still, in the report, the human rights group analyzed the pattern of Israel’s conduct over a nine-month stretch and reviewed official statements from the cabinet and military officials.
“Through its research findings and legal analysis, Amnesty Internation has found sufficient basis to conclude that Israel committed, during the nine-month period under review, prohibited acts,” the report reads.
“The organization has also found sufficient basis to conclude that these acts were committed with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza, as such, who form a substantial part of the Palestinian population,” the group wrote.
The organization called on Israel to “immediately stop” its killings, bodily and mental harm and what it called a deliberate confliction of poor conditions of life.
Amnesty asked Israel to comply in good faith with the International Court of Justice’s proceedings, and to participate and uphold an immediate, sustained cease-fire.
The Health Ministry in Gaza said Thursday that at least 44,612 people have been killed in nearly 14 months of war.
The toll includes 39 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 105,834 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has attacked the Kamal Adwan Hospital and several nearby residential buildings in northern Gaza, killing at least 39, Palestinian medics said, including at least 20 in an attack that set ablaze tents sheltering displaced families in a crowded camp in the south of the territory.
Also, the United Nations health agency has no indication that a warning was issued before Israel’s bombing early on Thursday of north Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, the World Health Organization’s regional representative said on Friday.