London: Israel's military has killed dozens of Palestinian civilians and injured hundreds more in its relentless pursuit of Hamas commanders in Gaza, despite designating many of its operational areas in Gaza as “safe zones”.
Palestinian health officials said on Monday that 16 civilians were killed in eastern Khan Yunis under Israeli shelling, even as Israel issued a new order to evacuate some neighborhoods to keep them away from fighting zones.
This latest bloodshed follows Israel's July 13 airstrikes on al-Mawasi camp, another designated safe zone in southern Gaza, which killed at least 90 Palestinians and wounded 300 others, according to Gaza's health ministry.
Israel said the Hamas targets were Mohammed Def, the head of Hamas's military wing al-Qassam Brigades, and Rafa Salama, the commander of the group's Khan Younis Brigade, whom Israel considers the mastermind of the October 7 attack. 2023, Hamas-led invasion.
Denying reports of his death, a Hamas official told the AFP news agency that Def was conducting “good and direct monitoring” after the strike, but he provided no evidence for the claim.
Meanwhile, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said, “Indications are growing that we succeeded in removing Mohammed Deif.”
Speaking to Al-Arabiya TV channel on Friday, he said: “Rafa Salama has definitely been removed; Mohamed Def and Salama were sitting next to each other during the strike. Hamas is covering up what happened to Def. “
Israel's chief of general staff, Herji Halevi, also accused Hamas of “hiding the results” of the strike on the West Khan Younis compound, where both Def and Salama were allegedly hiding.
Whether or not the strike on al-Mawasi was successful, the attack on an area full of civilians drew worldwide condemnation, with observers accusing the Israeli military of violating international humanitarian law.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell Fonteles wrote on social media platform X: “War is limited by international law; The end cannot justify all the means. We condemn the violation. “
He added: “Once again we call for independent investigations and access to accountability, and for an end to the appalling conditions of innocent civilians in Gaza.”
On the day of the attack, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Zachi Hanegbi “to express our grave concern about the recent civilian deaths in Gaza.”
The deadly al-Mawasi strike is not the first since the conflict began on October 7 in which Israeli forces have been accused of neglecting the safety of civilians and violating international humanitarian law in their pursuit of Hamas commanders.
At least 38,900 Palestinians, including more than 13,000 children, have been killed in fighting since the Hamas-led attack on October 7, according to the UN human rights office. The proportion of combat deaths is a matter of dispute.
The Israeli military's bombing campaign, which Israeli officials say targets Hamas and not civilian targets, has also destroyed medical, sanitation and educational infrastructure in the Palestinian enclave.
Last month, during an operation to rescue four hostages, Israeli forces killed and wounded hundreds of Palestinians in the densely populated Nuserat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The Israeli military said there were “fewer than 100” Palestinian casualties but was not sure how many of them were “terrorists”.
But nearly a quarter of the 142 killed in the operation were women and children, Al-Awda Hospital in Nussarat told BBC Arabic's “Gaza Today” program, adding that 250 others were injured.
Expressing “deep shock” at the impact on civilians in Nusirat, UN spokesman Jeremy Lawrence said the Israeli military's actions “gravely call into question whether the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution were upheld. . . .”
In March, Israeli forces raided Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest medical facility, where it claimed Hamas militants and other Palestinian militants were hiding.
About 3,000 people were sheltering in al-Shifa at the time of Israel's attack, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry. At least 1,500 Palestinians, including 13 children and 21 patients, were killed in the two-week offensive, according to Euro-Med Monitor, a Geneva-based NGO.
Israeli officials said “more than 200 terrorists” had been killed in and around Al-Shifa, and hundreds had been arrested, including hundreds of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad activists.
Lack of reporting access to Gaza has made it impossible to independently verify the reported numbers.
Between July 8 and 12, Israel attacked six schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, killing dozens of civilians sheltering in the area, before demolishing the UN agency's headquarters in Gaza City on July 15.
Israel has accused local staff at UNRWA of participating in the October 7 attack in southern Israel, prompting the UN agency to launch an internal investigation and several major donors, including the US, to suspend funding for its operations in Gaza and the rest of the region.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini called Israel's attack on his agency's Gaza headquarters “another case of flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law.”
In a post on X, he said: “UN facilities must be protected at all times. They must not be used for military or combat purposes. Every war has rules. Gaza is no exception.”
In a separate post, Lazzarini emphasized that “schools should not be used by any side of the conflict for war or military purposes.”
Notable civilian casualties
• October 7, 2023: A Hamas-led attack in southern Israel kills 1,200 Israelis and other civilians, taking hundreds hostage.
• October 31, 2023: 110+ Palestinians killed in Israeli strike targeting 'senior Hamas commander' in Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
• February 29, 2024: 112 Palestinians are killed, 760 more injured as they wait for aid outside Gaza City amid Israeli gunfire and terror.
• April 1: 7 World Central kitchen workers were killed in an Israeli strike on an aid convoy to Gaza in violation of military procedures.
• May 27: 45+ Palestinians killed in Israeli strike targeting 'two senior Hamas commanders' in Rafah.
• June 9: 274 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli army raid that freed four hostages held in the Nussarat refugee camp.
• July 13: 90+ Palestinians killed, 300 injured in an Israeli airstrike targeting Hamas military chief Mohammed Def in al-Mawasi.
Source: Gaza Ministry of Health, Israeli Government.
Warning that “all the rules of war have been broken in Gaza,” he said: “There continues to be a blatant and persistent disregard for international humanitarian law.”
Israel has consistently denied targeting civilian infrastructure, accusing Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups of using tunnels under Gaza hospitals to launch attacks and hide weapons, using the population as human shields.
Commenting on Israel's conduct, a New York-based international lawyer, who asked to remain anonymous, told Arab News that in the Gaza war, “international law remains relevant as a framework for accountability and justice by providing mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable for war crimes, genocide.” and other atrocities.”
The International Criminal Court, which prosecutes individuals accused of war crimes, has attempted to hold “both sides of the conflict” accountable for alleged war crimes.
Israeli officials believe the ICC could issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Galant within the next two weeks, Israeli media reported on July 17.
The ICC's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, applied in May to issue arrest warrants against two Israelis and three Palestinians on suspicion of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Hamas commander Defeat was among the Palestinians included in the ICC's arrest warrant, along with Ismail Haniyah, the head of Hamas' political bureau, and Yahya Sinwar, the head of the Islamist movement in Gaza.
The arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant accuse them of using starvation as an instrument of war, destruction, and deliberately attacking civilian populations, among other war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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Khan said there are “reasonable grounds” to believe the five men bear “criminal responsibility” for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the war in Gaza.
The decision has angered the Hamas leadership, Israel and even the US. US President Joe Biden called the move “disgraceful”, saying, “There is nothing in common between Israel and Hamas – none at all.
Hamas said the ICC prosecutor was “equating the victim with the death penalty” and demanded the withdrawal of charges against its leaders.
The New York-based international lawyer said that while international law and ongoing developments “have created the basis for addressing atrocities and promoting a more just and peaceful world,” its implementation can be “inconsistent and subject to political influence.”
On July 19, the United Nations International Court of Justice in The Hague declared Israel's occupation and annexation of Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem, “illegal” in a landmark ruling.
The ICJ also ordered Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories “as soon as possible”, saying that Israel's discriminatory laws and policies against Palestinians violated the prohibition of racial segregation and apartheid.
Israel has carried out dozens of attacks in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since Oct. 7, killing at least 500 Palestinians, including 143 children, according to UN figures.
The ICJ's latest decision, however, is a non-binding advisory opinion sought by the UN General Assembly in 2022 before the Israeli attack on Gaza and is not directly related.
Reacting to this order, Netanyahu's office issued a statement: “Jews are not occupiers in their own land – in our eternal capital Jerusalem, nor in our ancestral heritage of Judea and Samaria (the occupied West Bank).
“No judgment of lies at The Hague will distort this historical truth, and likewise, the legality of Israeli settlements in all parts of our homeland cannot be disputed.”
In December last year, South Africa filed a case at the ICJ accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The ICJ issued a provisional order in January, which was revised in May, ordering Israel to “immediately cease its military offensive” and ordering Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release the hostages.
Regardless, Israel continues to bombard Rafah and other parts of the Gaza Strip where more than one million displaced Palestinians are sheltered, while Hamas is still believed to be holding 116 hostages.
None of the legal wrangling has brought the dispute closer to resolution.
Diplomats and regional observers continue to call on both sides to accept an immediate ceasefire, exchange hostages and prisoners, and actively pursue a solution to the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
