Does Israel's war in the Gaza Strip constitute genocide against the Palestinians? Yes, according to the UN. These methods of warfare “correspond to the characteristics of genocide,” a UN Special Committee charged with investigating Israeli practices said Thursday. The committee highlights “massive civilian casualties and conditions imposed on Palestinians there that intentionally endanger their lives” in a report due to be presented Monday to the UN General Assembly in New York.
Created in 1968 by the UN General Assembly, this committee is responsible for investigating Israeli practices affecting human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In a new report, she looked at the period from the deadly October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel until last July.
Civilians and humanitarians killed
“Through its siege of Gaza, its obstruction of humanitarian aid, its targeted attacks and killing of civilians and aid workers, despite repeated calls from the UN, binding orders from the International Court of Justice and resolutions of the Security Council, Israel intentionally causes death, starvation and serious injury,” the committee said in a statement.
Israel “uses starvation as a method of war and inflicts collective punishment on the Palestinian population,” the committee adds. The report shows how Israel's extensive bombing campaign in Gaza has decimated essential services and triggered an environmental catastrophe with lasting health effects.
Destruction of vital supply systems
Through February, Israeli forces had used more than 25,000 tons of explosives in the Gaza Strip, “the equivalent of two nuclear bombs,” or roughly twice the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, the report said. “By destroying vital water, sanitation and food systems, and contaminating the environment, Israel has created a deadly mix of crises that will inflict grave harm on generations to come,” the committee denounces.
He also declares himself “deeply alarmed by the unprecedented destruction of civilian infrastructure and by the high number of deaths in Gaza”, where more than 43,700 people have been killed since the start of the war, according to the health ministry of the ruled territory. by Hamas. The staggering death toll raises serious concerns about Israel's use of artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced targeting systems, the committee said.
No measures to prevent civilian deaths
“The Israeli military's use of AI-assisted targeting systems, with minimal human supervision, combined with heavy bombs, highlights Israel's disregard for its obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants and to take adequate protective measures to prevent civilian deaths,” the report said.
The committee is particularly concerned about reports of new guidance lowering target selection criteria, which appears to have allowed the military to use AI systems to “rapidly generate tens of thousands of targets, as well to track targets home, particularly at night when families are sheltering together.
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