The United Nations' top expert on human rights in Palestine condemned the Israeli military as it resorted to a familiar excuse for the killing of nearly 100 Palestinians on Saturday in an area that had been designated as a "humanitarian zone"—just the latest massacre of dozens of people whom the Israel Defense Forces dismissed as collateral damage in attacks they claimed were targeting Hamas.
"The justification is always the same: 'targeting Palestinian militants,'" said Francesca Albanese, U.N special rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories. "When is the world going to stop this death machine?"
Albanese was referring this time to the bombardment of al-Mawasi, a coastal area west of Khan Younis where hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents have been sheltering after fleeing cities including Rafah.
Al Jazeera reporter Tareq Abu Azzoum described the attack as "a new massacre committed by the Israeli military," with "five bombs and five missiles" hitting the area where Palestinians have been sheltering in makeshift tents for months.
Gaza's Ministry of Health reported that at least 90 people had been killed in the attack, which the IDF claimed was based on "precise intelligence" and targeted Hamas commanders Mohammed Deif and Rafa Salama.
"We have seen time and time again attacks on areas where there are displaced Palestinians in the tens of thousands," reportedAl Jazeera's Hamdah Salhut. "This is a tactic that is commonly used by Israeli forces, saying civilians are being used as 'human shields' for Hamas figures, using that as justification for killing dozens of civilians."
The Washington Post reported that it was "unclear" whether Deif, who has survived multiple assassination attempts by Israel, was killed in the attack.
Paramedics and children were reportedly among nearly 300 people who were wounded, and an official at Nasser Hospital told Al Jazeera that the facility had no more capacity to treat wounded patients.
The British charity Medical Aid for Palestine reported that it was "forced to temporarily evacuate one of our medical points near the area, which is intended to provide primary healthcare services, due to the insecurity."
"MAP’s Mohammed Al Khatib in Khan Younis reports: 'Al-Mawasi is heavily crowded and has a big market where people move around to try and secure their basic needs,'" said the group. "We have been warning for months that there is no safe place for anyone in Gaza amid Israel's military bombardment."
"A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, and ambulance and civil defense crews are unable to reach them," the Health Ministry told the Associated Press.
The AP assessed footage that showed a "huge crater" in the area where thousands of people had been ordered to evacuate to when the IDF began its full-scale assault on Rafah in May. Burnt-out cars, household belongings, and charred tents—like those seen in previous attacks on so-called "humanitarian zones" in al-Mawasi and Rafah—were left after the bombings.
Academic and writer Ori Goldberg said it was "impossible to exaggerate the level of criminality, immorality, and crass, murderous stupidity that come together in the massacre Israel carried out in al-Mawasi this morning."
"Israel used wildly disproportionate force [to] assassinate two people," said Goldberg. "Israel pushed the displaced Palestinians to Mawasi, defining it a 'safe zone.' Then, assuming it had a chance to assassinate Muhammad Deif, one of the most senior Hamas leaders supposedly hiding there, Israel bombed the 'safe zone.' Dozens were killed. The death of a single person does not legitimize the slaughter of dozens."
Goldberg noted that the massacre came shortly after U.S. President Joe Biden announced Hamas and Israel were inching closer to a truce, with both sides agreeing to a "framework" for a cease-fire.
"There is a hostage deal on the table. Deif's death will not bring about the collapse of Hamas; it will only make Hamas less willing to compromise," said Goldberg. "Israel forces 'evacuation,' Israel bombs, Israel knows, Israel attacks and kills, Israel sets conditions, Israel balks. Israel has run out of options. It knows only death."
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said that as with previous attacks on designated safe zones, the IDF's massacre was made possible partially by the political and material support of the United States and other Western countries.
"Israel's far-right government carries out this mass slaughter of Palestinians secure in the knowledge that it will be supported and excused by the Biden administration and that American bombs and taxpayer funds will continue to flow," said Nihad Awad, national director of CAIR. "President Biden's continuing support for and silence about the genocide gives a green light for more Israeli abuses and war crimes. President Biden must stop enabling these daily massacres and end our nation's complicity in genocide."
