SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
international committee of the red cross
'Nightmarish Situation' as Israel Resumes Assault on Gaza
"Anything other than sustained peace and at-scale emergency aid will mean catastrophe for the children of Gaza," said a UNICEF spokesperson.
Dec 01, 2023
Israel resumed its assault on the Gaza Strip Friday morning just minutes after the pause with Hamas officially expired, ending a fragile seven-day truce that created conditions for the release of hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian captives and allowed additional—but still inadequate—humanitarian aid to enter the besieged territory.
Gaza's health ministry said that Israel's post-pause airstrikes killed more than 30 people and wounded dozens more, hitting a multi-story residential building and other civilian infrastructure in the southern part of the strip, where many Gazans sought refuge as Israeli forces targeted the north in earlier stages of its attack.
The Associated Pressreported that Israeli forces "dropped leaflets over parts of southern Gaza urging people to leave their homes, suggesting it was preparing to widen its offensive."
"The Israeli military also released a map carving up the Gaza Strip into hundreds of numbered parcels, and asked residents to learn the number associated with their location in case of an eventual evacuation," AP added. "It said the map would eventually be interactive, but it was not immediately clear how Palestinians would be updated on their designated parcel numbers and calls for evacuation."
Robert Mardini, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, toldAgence France-Presse that the resumption of bombing drags Gazans "back to the nightmarish situation they were in before the truce took place," with millions of people in desperate need of food, medicine, clean water, and sanitary living conditions.
"People are at a breaking point, hospitals are at a breaking point, the whole Gaza Strip is in a very precarious state," said Mardini. "There is nowhere safe to go for civilians. We have seen in the hospitals where our teams have been working, that over the past days, hundreds of severely injured people have arrived. The influx of severely wounded outpaced the real capacity of hospitals to absorb and treat the wounded, so there is a massive challenge."
James Elder, spokesperson for the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), warned Friday that "the humanitarian situation in Gaza is so perilous that anything other than sustained peace and at-scale emergency aid will mean catastrophe for the children of Gaza."
"To accept the sacrifice of the children in Gaza is humanity giving up," said Elder. "This is our last chance, before we delve into seeking to explain yet another utterly avoidable tragedy."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is clinging to his job amid plummeting approval ratings, had pledged to continue assailing Gaza following the end of the truce, which marked the first pause in fighting since the war began in the wake of a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in early October.
The Financial Timesreported Friday that Israel's government is preparing for a war that "will stretch for a year or more, with the most intensive phase of the ground offensive continuing into early 2024."
"The multi-phase strategy envisages Israeli forces, who are garrisoned inside north Gaza, making an imminent push deep into the south of the besieged Palestinian enclave," FT reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the planning. "The goals include killing the three top Hamas leaders—Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Marwan Issa—while securing 'a decisive' military victory against the group's 24 battalions and underground tunnel network and destroying its 'governing capability in Gaza.'"
An investigation published Thursday by +972 Magazine and Local Call found that Israeli forces have used "expanded authorization for bombing non-military targets" and "the loosening of constraints regarding expected civilian casualties," as well as "an artificial intelligence system to generate more potential targets than ever," to wage its devastating war on Gaza, killing more than 14,500 people in less than two months and displacing 70% of the territory's population.
In one case that anonymous Israeli sources described to the two outlets, Israel's military command "knowingly approved the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in an attempt to assassinate a single top Hamas military commander."
"Another reason for the large number of targets, and the extensive harm to civilian life in Gaza, is the widespread use of a system called 'Habsora' ('The Gospel'), which is largely built on artificial intelligence and can 'generate' targets almost automatically at a rate that far exceeds what was previously possible," +972 and Local Call found. "This AI system, as described by a former intelligence officer, essentially facilitates a 'mass assassination factory.'"
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly urged Israel to do more to protect civilians in Gaza during a meeting with the nation's leaders on Thursday, but the Israeli government has repeatedly brushed aside public and private concerns expressed by the Biden administration, which continues to provide unconditional support for the assault.
"Blinken suggested that his call for protecting Palestinian civilians had reached receptive ears, at least in general terms," The New York Times reported. "He did not cite any specific commitments by Israel, however."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'We Must Halt This': US Progressives, Humanitarians Decry Israel's Evacuation Order
"The mass expulsion of over 1 million people in a day is ethnic cleansing," said U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar. "We must use all diplomatic tools to stop this."
Oct 13, 2023
Progressive members of the U.S. Congress joined humanitarian groups and the United Nations on Friday in condemning Israel's 24-hour evacuation order for the entire population of the northern Gaza Strip, a directive that will be impossible for many in the region to meet—particularly the thousands wounded by Israeli airstrikes.
"Any person can see that ordering 1+ million people to move in under 24 hours is not possible. It is unacceptable," U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) wrote on social media. "Humanity is at stake. Nearly half are children. We must halt this."
More than 400,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel began its latest bombing campaign in Gaza following a deadly Hamas attack on October 7.
In the wake of Israel's order—which came hours before the nation launched ground raids in Gaza—many panicked residents fled their homes in the northern part of the enclave, with some fearing another permanent displacement on the scale of the 1948 Nakba.
"As I am packing my things I am wondering, is this really another Nakba?" 56-year-old Arwa El-Rayes, an internal medicine doctor, toldThe New York Times shortly before fleeing her home in Gaza City. "I am taking my house key and thinking, will I ever return to my home, will I ever see my home again?"
Reutersreported that "several thousand residents could be seen on roads heading out of the northern part of the Gaza Strip, but it was impossible to tell their numbers. Many others said they would not go."
A 33-year-old woman in Gaza City toldThe Washington Post that she's staying along with dozens of family members, including her elderly parents.
"There are no cars to take us anywhere," she said. "There is no gas in cars. Cab companies don't have cars anymore. The streets are so, so, so, so crowded, it's like it's the Day of Judgement."
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) argued that "the mass expulsion of over 1 million people in a day is ethnic cleansing."
"We have to stop ignoring the thousands of Palestinian lives lost and millions at stake!" Omar added. "We must use all diplomatic tools to stop this."
Echoing aid groups, the Minnesota lawmaker emphasized that many in northern Gaza—including people with disabilities and those wounded by Israeli bombs—"can't simply pick up and leave" in compliance with Israel's evacuation directive, which the U.N.
said is untenable and should be rescinded.
"With communications and electricity shut down by Israel, the order cannot be communicated," Omar wrote. "Roads are bombed and many cars are out of fuel, making fleeing impossible for many. Plus there has been no announcement of a pause in hostilities to allow for safe civilian evacuation, so people are afraid to leave and risk bombardment. Even if it were successful, there is no infrastructure in southern Gaza to receive an additional 1.1 million people."
The Palestine Red Crescent Society underscored those warnings in a statement Friday, saying it doesn't have "the means to evacuate the sick and the wounded in our hospitals, or the elderly and the disabled."
"There are no safe areas in the whole of the Gaza Strip," the group said. "The world must intervene to stop this catastrophe."
Israeli forces have already been accused of targeting Gazans attempting to flee to the south with airstrikes.
Despite urgent appeals from lawmakers and aid organizations, officials in the U.S.—Israel's top ally and leading supplier of weaponry—have provided no public indication that they will pressure Israel to reverse course.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told people in Gaza City on Friday to "evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families" as it amasses tanks and troops for an apparently imminent full-scale ground invasion. Hamas has reportedly told Gazans to defy the IDF's instructions.
Asked about Israel's evacuation order during a CNN appearance on Friday, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said he doesn't want to get involved in "armchair quarterbacking" the situation, adding, "We understand what they're trying to do."
"Now it's a tall order," Kirby admitted. "It's a million people, and it's a very urban, dense environment. It's already a combat zone. So I don't think anybody's underestimating the challenge here of effecting that evacuation."
The White House's soft-pedaling of Israel's directive contrasts sharply with the assessments of human rights organizations, which argued the order amounts to a war crime that will worsen an already calamitous situation.
"The instructions issued by the Israeli authorities for the population of Gaza City to immediately leave their homes, coupled with the complete siege explicitly denying them food, water, and electricity, are not compatible with international humanitarian law," the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Friday. "When military powers order people to leave their homes, all possible measures must be taken to ensure the population has access to basic necessities like food and water and that members of the same family are not separated."
"Gaza is a closed area of limited size and resources," the ICRC added. "People have nowhere safe to go and many, including the disabled, elderly, and sick, will not be able to leave their homes. International humanitarian law protects all civilians, including those who remain. Today, it is impossible for Gazans to know which areas will next face attack."
"There are no extra beds in any hospitals anywhere for people to move to. Most of the wounded are unstable, they'll die en route.
Gaza's health ministry toldThe Independent that it would be "impossible" to move the wounded in its care to southern Gaza, given that the entire territory's healthcare system is overwhelmed and teetering on the brink of total collapse due to the rapid influx of airstrike victims and Israel's blockade, which has cut off the enclave's supply of electricity, fuel, and critical supplies.
More than 6,600 people in Gaza have been injured by Israel's relentless aerial campaign, which dropped roughly
6,000 bombs on the occupied enclave over just a six-day period, leveling entire neighborhoods and damaging medical facilities, schools, and other civilian infrastructure.
"There are no extra beds in any hospitals anywhere for people to move to," Gaza's health ministry said. "Most of the wounded are unstable, they'll die en route. All hospitals in Gaza, even after they've been expanded, are full."
Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization, noted that "there are severely ill people whose injuries mean their only chances of survival is being on life support, such as mechanical ventilators."
"So moving those people is a death sentence," said Jasarevic. "Asking health workers to do so is beyond cruel."
Meinie Nicolai, general director of Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement Friday that the Israeli military's evacuation order is "outrageous." The group said Israel has given Al Awda Hospital—where Doctors Without Borders staff are treating patients—just two hours to evacuate.
"This represents an attack on medical care and on humanity. We are talking about more than a million human beings," said Nicolai. "'Unprecedented' doesn't even cover the medical humanitarian impact of this. Gaza is being flattened, thousands of people are dying. This must stop now. We condemn Israel's demand in the strongest possible terms."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Cease-Fire Calls Grow as Gaza Healthcare System Verges on Total Collapse
The International Committee of the Red Cross warned that as Israel's relentless airstrikes and blockade continue, Gaza hospitals "risk turning into morgues."
Oct 12, 2023
The Palestinian Ministry of Health warned Thursday that Gaza's medical system "has begun to collapse" as the combined impacts of Israel's total blockade and devastating bombing campaign leave the impoverished enclave's hospitals without sufficient resources to care for the growing flood of airstrike victims.
In a statement, the ministry said that intensive care unit (ICU) beds "have already been filled" even after they were expanded to cope with the rapid influx of patients, including many children. More than 6,200 people in Gaza have been injured by Israeli airstrikes since Saturday and more than 1,400 have been killed.
"The wounded who need an ICU bed now have no place to be admitted," the Palestinian Health Ministry said, noting that hospitals have been forced to place injured patients in corridors due to a lack of space.
Further straining Gaza's health system is Israel's total siege of the territory, which has cut off the supply of electricity, fuel, food, and other key supplies. On Wednesday, Gaza's lone power plant shut down after running out of fuel.
Adnan Abu Hasna, media adviser for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), told the Financial Times that hospitals are using generators, "but this is very dangerous because they can't operate them 24 hours a day."
"They also have limited supplies of fuel that will run out soon," he added. "Whole districts have been bombed and their residents displaced... we're talking about 500,000 people. There are some 250,000 in UNRWA schools and the rest sheltering in other locations. The situation is catastrophic."
Fabrizio Carboni, regional director for the Near and Middle East for the International Committee of the Red Cross, issued a stark warning about the consequences of widespread power loss in the besieged enclave, which is home to 2.3 million people.
"As Gaza loses power, hospitals lose power, putting newborns in incubators and elderly patients on oxygen at risk," Carboni said in a statement. "Kidney dialysis stops, and X-rays can't be taken. Without electricity, hospitals risk turning into morgues."
"Our teams are witnessing a level of destruction that may already exceed previous escalations."
The appalling and increasingly dire situation on the ground in Gaza has heightened calls for, at minimum, a temporary cease-fire to allow humanitarian aid to enter the occupied strip.
"We call for the international community to press for a temporary humanitarian cease-fire for 24 hours in Gaza to avert an impending major disaster," the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor wrote in a social media post on Thursday. "Gaza is running out of drinking water, electricity, and food supplies. Health sector is collapsing. Every minute counts."
The social justice group Right Livelihood also called for a cease-fire and denounced Israel's "indiscriminate airstrikes on residential buildings, schools, and hospitals across the Gaza Strip."
"We strongly condemn the crimes committed since October 7 and call on all parties to abide by international humanitarian law and international human rights law," the group added. "The deliberate targeting of civilians is illegal, inhumane, and immoral."
Israel has thus far provided no indication that it plans to ease its assault on Gaza any time soon. Over the past several days, Israel has amassed troops along its southern border structure in preparation for a large-scale ground invasion of Gaza, which observers warn will only exacerbate civilian suffering.
Israel has also pledged to not lift its devastating blockade of Gaza until Hamas frees all hostages.
With the siege in place and bombs continuing to fall for the sixth consecutive day, humanitarian workers say they're having an extremely difficult time operating in Gaza.
Doctors Without Borders, which is running a makeshift clinic in downtown Gaza City, said Thursday that members of its staff have been "unable to obtain safe passage to support Palestinian medical colleagues working day and night to treat the injured." The group said it has received reports from Gaza medical officials that they are running out of key supplies, including painkillers and anesthetics.
"People playing no role in the hostilities do not have a safe haven to go to," the group added. "Our teams are witnessing a level of destruction that may already exceed previous escalations."
Aid workers in Gaza have also accused Israeli forces of intentionally targeting medical personnel and facilities. At least 13 healthcare facilities in Gaza have been damaged by Israeli bombing, according to the World Health Organization.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that Israeli airstrikes killed four of its paramedics "in less than half an hour" on Wednesday "despite prior coordination."
"PRCS demands accountability for this war crime, urging immediate investigation and justice for the victims," the group said in a statement. "Targeting medical personnel is a grave breach to international humanitarian law and to humanity."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular