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We are witnessing the final stage of genocide in Gaza

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Written by Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian Arwa Mahdawi | The Guardian
Published: 06 November 2024 06 November 2024

 

Rafah was a grim milestone. But the very last stage of this genocide, Bartov says, is happening right now in Jabalia in north Gaza, where over 1,000 people have been killed in the last three weeks. What’s happening in north Gaza should not be considered – as it often seems to be in the media – as just more bombing. Rather, Bartov notes, it is a genocidal campaign clearly based on The General’s Plan.

“This is a plan sketched out by retired General Giora Eiland, which has been discussed for months now in the Israeli media, to empty that region of civilians through military pressure and starvation … This is a first step toward annexing the Strip north of the Netzarim Corridor, which will lead to its settlement by Jews and will itself be only the first phase in the gradual takeover of increasing portions of the Strip, squeezing civilians into ever shrinking areas and eventually either forcing them out of the Strip or causing ever larger numbers of them die. In short, this is a genocidal plan.”

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/06/we-are-witnessing-the-final-stage-of-genocide-in-gaza

Israeli assault has caused ‘apocalyptic’ situation in northern Gaza, UN warns

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Written by Reuters at the United Nations Reuters at the United Nations
Published: 01 November 2024 01 November 2024

Key officials say entire population of northern Gaza ‘at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence’

The situation in the northern Gaza Strip is “apocalyptic” as Israel pursues a military offensive against Hamas militants in the area, top United Nations officials have warned.

“The entire Palestinian population in north Gaza is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine and violence,” they said in a statement on Friday signed by the heads of UN agencies, including the UN children’s agency Unicef and the World Food Programme, and other aid groups.

Israel began a wide military push in northern Gaza last month. The United States has said it was watching to ensure that its ally’s actions on the ground show it does not have a “policy of starvation” in the north.

But on Friday, the UN officials said humanitarian efforts could not keep up with the scale of the needs in northern Gaza, due to constraints on access for aid workers.

“Basic, life-saving goods are not available. Humanitarians are not safe to do their work and are blocked by Israeli forces and by insecurity from reaching people in need,” they said.

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/01/un-northern-gaza-israel

Israel’s mass killing campaign in Gaza is escalating

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Written by TAREQ S. HAJJAJ | Mondoweiss TAREQ S. HAJJAJ | Mondoweiss
Published: 01 November 2024 01 November 2024

The Israeli army has killed 639 Palestinians while injuring over 2,000 people between October 22 and October 31, the Gaza Ministry of Health reports. This number only includes those whose bodies were retrieved by civilians or rescue teams and sent to hospitals or centers affiliated with the Ministry of Health. The number of people who are unaccounted for and are still trapped under the rubble are estimated to be in the dozens but are not included in the official statistics of the Ministry.

While north Gaza, and the areas of Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun in particular, have been the most targeted by Israel’s ongoing military assault, the Israeli army has escalated its attacks against civilians across the entire Gaza Strip. Eyewitnesses who spoke to Mondoweiss describe a situation in which both military and “humanitarian” zones (designated as such by the Israeli army) are being targeted with regularity. The overall pattern of Israel’s assaults points to a campaign of mass killing and extermination.

https://mondoweiss.net/2024/11/israels-mass-killing-campaign-in-gaza-is-escalating/

Israeli parliament passes law to ban Unrwa from operating inside country

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Written by Associated Press in Jerusalem Associated Press in Jerusalem
Published: 28 October 2024 28 October 2024

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/28/israeli-lawmakers-pass-bill-that-could-halt-unwra-relief-work-in-gaza

Israeli lawmakers have passed legislation that could threaten the work of the main UN agency providing aid to people in Gaza by barring it from operating on Israeli soil.

The bill bans the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or Unrwa, from conducting “any activity” or providing any service inside Israel.

The legislation, which does not take effect immediately, risks collapsing the already fragile aid distribution process at a moment when the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is worsening and Israel is under increased US pressure to ramp up aid.

The vote was passed 92-10 and followed a fiery debate between supporters of the law and its opponents, mostly members of Arab parliamentary parties.

A second bill severing diplomatic ties with Unrwa was due to be voted on later on Monday.

Taken together, these bills would signal a new low in relations between Israel and Unrwa, which Israel accuses of maintaining close ties with Hamas militants. The changes would also be a serious blow to the agency and to Palestinians in Gaza who have become reliant upon it for aid throughout more than a year of devastating war.

The bills risk crippling the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. More than 1.9 million Palestinians are displaced from their homes and Gaza faces widespread shortages of food, water and medicine.

Israeli NGOs warn international community it will be complicit if Israel forcibly transfers the population of Northern Gaza

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Written by B'tselem B'tselem
Published: 25 October 2024 25 October 2024

Human rights NGOs based in Israel today called on the international community to take action now to prevent Israel from forcibly transferring hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have remained in the Northern Gaza Strip outside of the area, including by denying entry of essential humanitarian aid and fuel. The Israeli ceasefire coalition, the groups Gisha, B’Tselem, PHR-I and Yesh Din, said that there are alarming signs that the Israeli military is beginning to quietly implement the Generals’ Plan, also referred to as the Eiland Plan, which calls for complete forcible transfer of the civilians of the northern Gaza Strip through tightening the siege on the area and starving the population.

The NGOs reiterated the warning that states have an obligation to prevent the crimes of starvation and forcible transfer, and that if the continuation of the “wait and see” approach will enable Israel to liquidate northern Gaza, they will be complicit. All states and relevant international institutions should act now and use all tools at their disposal - legal, diplomatic and economic - to prevent this.

B’Tselem – The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories

Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement

Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights

Physicians for Human Rights Israel

 

https://www.btselem.org/press_releases/20241014_international_community_will_be_complicit_if_israel_forcibly_transfers_the_population_of_northern_gaza

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