Israel’s war in Gaza: UN committee sees ‘hallmarks of genocide’ | Conflict in the Middle East

A special UN committee ruled on Thursday that the war methods used by Israel in Gaza presented “the characteristics of genocide”, with Human Rights Watch (HRW) estimating that the repeated forced displacement of Gazans constituted a crime against humanity.

Israel rejected as totally false the accusations of HRWbut has not, for the moment, commented on the conclusions of the committee ofHIM.

The United States disapproved unequivocally the conclusions of the UN report. We believe that this type of wording and these types of accusations are most certainly unfoundedsaid State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel.

In a report covering the period from October 7, 2023, the date of the start of the war triggered by the deadly attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas against Israel, to July 2024, the UN special committee is alarmed by the massive civilian casualties and the use of famine as a weapon of war.

Through its siege of Gaza, its obstruction of humanitarian aid, its targeted attacks and killing of civilians and aid workers, despite repeated calls from theHIMbinding orders of the International Court of Justice and Security Council resolutions, Israel intentionally causes death, starvation and serious injuryestimates the committee in a press release.

The methods of warfare used by Israel correspond to the characteristics of a genocideaccording to this special committee of theHIMcreated in 1968 and responsible for investigating Israeli practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, conquered the previous year by Israel (West Bank and Gaza Strip).

This is not the first time that Israel has been the subject of such accusations since the war began more than a year ago.

The report, which is to be presented on Monday to the General Assembly of theHIM in New York, says the Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza will have long-term consequences.

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 comeindicates the committee.

A crime against humanitythis HRW

In another report released Thursday, Human Rights Watch asserts that the repeated evacuation orders of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip lead to forced displacements of the population constituting a crime against humanity.

In October, theHIM estimated the number of Gazans displaced by the war at 1.9 million, out of a total population estimated at 2.4 million at the start of the conflict.

Statements from senior officials with command responsibility show that forced displacement is intentional and part of Israeli state policy, and therefore constitutes a crime against humanity.

The authors of the report recall that the forced transfer of civilians is a war crime under international law.

The Israeli authorities, for their part, say they are calling on the inhabitants of entire sections of the Gaza Strip to evacuate due to military imperatives and thus say they are participating in the protection of civilians.

Again and again, the rhetoric of Human Rights Watch regarding Israel’s behavior in Gaza is completely false and detached from realitydeclared the spokesperson for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Oren Marmorstein, on the social network X.

The Israeli army rejected some glaring distortions of reality by HRWwhom she accused of anti-Israeli bias.

An Israeli offensive underway for more than a month has forced at least 100,000 people from the northernmost localities of this territory to move towards Gaza City, according to Louise Wateridge, spokesperson for the United Nations agency. for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

I won’t run away

Iman Hamad, a 41-year-old mother from Beit Hanoun (north), says she has been displaced more than 10 times.

Before I thought they wanted to displace us, now I realize they want to kill us and erase us.

It’s better to die instantly from a shell than to die 1000 times from the humiliation of being displaced, from hunger and poverty.testifies to theAFP Achraf Abou Habl, 50-year-old taxi driver. I stay in Jabalia (far north of Gaza). I won’t run awayhe adds.

According to HRWTHE Israel’s actions also appear to fit the definition of ethnic cleansing in areas where the army has ordered Palestinians to leave and where they will not be able to return.

HRW mentions in particular two areas generally referred to as the Neztarim and Philadelphia corridors, which according to her were shaved, spread and cleaned by the Israeli army to create buffer zones.

The UN committee called on the international community to act urgently to end the bloodshed, recalling that countries continue to contribute military support to Israel.

HRW encouraged the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to investigate on all these facts.