Israel accused of committing ‘war crimes’ in Gaza, orders exit of one million Palestinians

Israel’s deliberate targeting of civilians, indiscriminate rocket attacks, and cutting off water, power and fuel supply to Palestine, home to more than 2 million people, is a possible war crime, New York-based Human Rights Watch reported.

The United Nations also reported that Israel has ordered the use of White phosphorus against Palestinians, a toxic substance that causes excruciating burns and can set homes ablaze. The use of white phosphorus in populated areas is unlawful, according to Human Rights Watch.

Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant announced, “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.”

This order commands starvation of civilians as a method of warfare which is in violation of international humanitarian law and is a war crime, according to the International Criminal Court Statute, Article 8(2)(b)(xxv)). It may also satisfy the legal threshold for the crime against humanity of inhumane acts (7(1)(K)) and, depending on what happens from here, other crimes against humanity, such as those relating to killing (murder and extermination) (7(1)(a-b)).”

Also, Israel’s military on Friday called for the evacuation of Palestinians from the northern Gaza strip to southern Gaza, in a move the UN said would affect 1.1 million people and could result in a “calamitous situation”.

“The IDF calls for the evacuation of all civilians from Gaza City . . . from their homes, southwards, for their own safety and protection, and to move to the area south of . . . the River Gaza, as shown on the map,” Associated Press quoted Israel Defense spokesperson Jonathan Conricus as saying.

Earlier, the UN said that Israeli military liaison officers had briefed it on the plans, and said that the same order applied to its own staff in Gaza and to tens of thousands of displaced people sheltering in UN facilities, including schools, health centres and clinics.

The UN has called on Israel to rescind the order.

“The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement, warning that it could “transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation.”

Speaking on this order, Tom Dannenbaum, a foreign affairs analyst in the US said: “The population of Gaza is a civilian population. Clearly, there are Hamas fighters in Gaza and, equally clearly, those individuals are combatants or direct participants in hostilities. They lack civilian protection. However, the presence of those persons does not change the civilian character of the population as a whole, given that the latter is overwhelmingly comprised of civilians, including about 1 million children (e.g. Protocol I, Article 50(3); ICTY Prosecutor v. Karadžić Trial Judgment 2016, paras. 474, 4610 n.5510 ).”

“Moreover, civilians do not lose their protected civilian status by declining to leave their homes or their homeland, because such a declination does not amount to participating directly in hostilities (Protocol I article 51(3)). As such, any operation targeted at the population of Gaza as a whole is an operation targeted at a civilian population, regardless of whether warnings are provided,” he said.

Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise assault Saturday killing more than 1,300 people in Israel, including 247 soldiers. In response, Israel commenced non-stop aerial bombardment of Gaza. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed more than 1,530 people in Gaza, according to authorities on both sides.

Thousands have been wounded on both sides.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health said on Thursday that the enclave’s health system had begun to collapse and that the death toll from Israel’s attacks was rising with over 1,500 Palestinians killed and 6,049 injured since the beginning of the military escalation. It released photos of what appeared to be gravely injured children being treated in crowded hospital conditions, including on the floor.

UN Chief Antonio Guterres wrote on Twitter that “Crucial life-saving supplies – including fuel, food and water — must be allowed into Gaza. We need rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access now.”

A visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, along with shipments of US weapons, offered a powerful green light to Israel to drive ahead with its retaliation in Gaza, even as international aid groups warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Associated Press reports that Israel has halted deliveries of basic necessities and electricity to Gaza’s 2.3 million people and prevented entry of supplies from Egypt.

“Not a single electricity switch will be flipped on, not a single faucet will be turned on and not a single fuel truck will enter until the Israeli hostages are returned home,” Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz was quoted as saying.

In a message posted on X (formerly Twitter), US Parliament member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said: “This is collective punishment and a violation of international law. We cannot starve nearly a million children to death over the horrific actions of Hamas, whose disregard for Israeli, Palestinian, and human life overall could not be more clear. We must draw a line.”

Use of White Phosphorus

Israel has been reported to use white phosphorus in military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, putting civilians at risk of serious and long-term injuries.

White phosphorus causes excruciating burns and can set homes afire. Its use in populated areas is unlawful, according to Human Rights Watch.

“Human Rights Watch verified videos taken in Lebanon and Gaza on October 10 and 11, 2023, respectively, showing multiple airbursts of artillery-fired white phosphorus over the Gaza City port and two rural locations along the Israel-Lebanon border, and interviewed two people who described an attack in Gaza,” the group said.

The US and its allies have not condemned Israel for using White Phosphorus or starving the Gaza population and denying them basic rights but it repeatedly pledged its support for Israel following the Hamas attack.

“You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourselves, but as long as America exists, you will never have to,” Mr Blinken said after meeting with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a short video posted on X, Ms Ocasio-Cortez condemned the Biden’s administration approach saying “The United States’ responsibility is to human rights. That means supporting the safety of the Israeli people and preventing the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”(Premium Times)