Amnesty accuses Israel of “genocide”

The human rights organization Amnesty International published a report this Thursday, December 5, accusing Israel of “commit genocide” against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, calling on the international community not to be ” accomplice “.

“Month after month, Israel has treated the Palestinians of Gaza as a group of subhumans, unworthy of respect for human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intention to physically destroy them”said the organization’s general secretary, Agnès Callamard.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry rejected as “made from scratch” this report. “The deplorable and fanatical organization Amnesty International has once again produced a fabricated, completely false report based on lies”said a spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry in a statement.

“The genocidal massacre of October 7, 2023 was carried out by the terrorist organization Hamas against Israeli citizens. Since then, Israeli citizens have been subjected to daily attacks on seven different fronts. Israel defends itself against these attacks by acting in full compliance with international law.the text continues. The Palestinian Authority, for its part, welcomed the Amnesty report, which it said was based on “evidence”.

“Israel has committed and continues to commit genocide” in Gaza

This 300-page report highlights “enough evidence to conclude that Israel has committed and continues to commit genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip” since the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on October 7, 2023 in southern Israel, which sparked the current war, says Amnesty International.

The organization explains that it relied on “genocidal and dehumanizing statements by the Israeli government”images – notably from satellites – which document the devastation of the Palestinian territory, and field research with Gazans between October 7, 2023 and July 2024.

It claims to be based on criteria defined by the United Nations Genocide Convention. “Our damning findings must serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. This must stop now”added Agnès Callamard.

Amnesty points out “deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure (…), the use of highly explosive weapons in densely populated areas”obstacles to delivering humanitarian aid in the territory and the forced displacement of 90% of its population.

Gaza still under siege

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people on the Israeli side, the majority civilians, according to an AFP count based on official figures and including hostages killed or died in captivity. Since the start of the war launched in retaliation by Israel, 44,532 people have died in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to data from the Hamas Ministry of Health for Gaza, deemed reliable by the UN.

Also read

Israel decreed from October 2023 a “full seat” of the territory, which has nearly 2.4 million inhabitants, with the following slogan: “No electricity, no water, no gas”and now imposes severe restrictions on the delivery of aid. The Palestinians are subjected to “malnutrition, starvation and disease”who “expose to a slow, calculated death”says Amnesty.