LONDON: The Israeli military has killed dozens of Palestinian civilians and injured hundreds of others, including children, in its relentless pursuit of Hamas commanders in Gaza, despite designating many of its operational areas as “safe zones”.
Palestinian medics said Monday that 16 civilians were killed in the eastern part of Khan Younis under Israeli shelling, even after Israel issued new orders to evacuate some neighborhoods to keep civilians out of the fighting areas.
This latest bloodshed follows an Israeli airstrike on July 13 on the Al-Mawasi camp, another designated safe zone in southern Gaza, which killed at least 90 Palestinians and wounded 300 others, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
Israel said the strike targeted Mohammed Deif, head of Hamas' military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, as well as Rafa Salama, commander of the group's Khan Younis Brigade, who Israel believes was the mastermind of the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack.
He denied reports of his death, and a Hamas official told AFP after the strike that Deif was “well and directly supervising” the operations, but provided no evidence for the claim.
Meanwhile, Daniel Hagari, a spokesman for the Israeli army, said there were “increasing signs that we have succeeded in eliminating Mohammed Deif”.
He told Al-Arabiya TV channel on Friday: “Rafa Salama was certainly expelled; Mohammed Deif and Salama sat next to each other during the strike. Hamas is hiding what happened to Deif.”
Herzi Halevi, Israel's chief of staff, also accused Hamas of “concealing the results” of the strike west of Khan Younis, where both Deif and Salama were said to be hiding.
Regardless of whether the attack on Al-Mawasi was successful or not, the attack on an area full of civilians drew worldwide condemnation, with observers accusing the Israeli military of violating international humanitarian law.
Josep Borrell Fontelles, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, wrote on social media platform X: “Wars have limits enshrined in international law; the end cannot justify all the means. We condemn violations.”
He added: “We call again for access to independent investigation and accountability and an end to the horrific situation of innocent civilians in Gaza.”
On the day of the attack, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israel's Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi “to express our grave concern at the recent civilian casualties in Gaza”.
The deadly Al-Mawasi attack was not the first incident since the conflict began on October 7 that the Israeli military has been accused of neglecting the safety of civilians and violating international humanitarian law in its pursuit of Hamas commanders.
At least 38,900 Palestinians, including more than 13,000 children, have been killed in the fighting since the Hamas-led offensive on October 7, according to the UN human rights office. The proportion of the dead who were combatants is a matter of dispute.
The Israeli military's bombing campaign, which Israeli officials say is aimed at Hamas and not civilian targets, has also destroyed medical, sanitation and educational infrastructure throughout the Palestinian enclave.
Last month, in an operation that rescued four hostages, the Israeli military killed and wounded hundreds of Palestinians in the densely populated Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The Israeli military said there were “less than 100” Palestinian casualties, but was unsure how many were “terrorists”.
But nearly a quarter of the 142 killed in the operation were women and children, Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat told BBC Arabic's “Gaza Today” program, adding that 250 others were wounded.
UN spokesman Jeremy Laurence expressed “deep shock” at the impact on civilians in Nuseirat, saying the actions of Israeli forces “raise serious questions about whether the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution were respected”.
In March, the Israeli military raided Gaza's largest medical facility, Al-Shifa Hospital, where it said Hamas fighters and other Palestinian militants were hiding.
About 3,000 people were sheltering in Al-Shifa at the time of the Israeli airstrike, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said. At least 1,500 Palestinians, including 13 children and 21 patients, were killed in the two-week raid, according to Euro-Med Monitor, a Geneva-based NGO.
Israeli officials said “over 200 terrorists” were killed in and around Al-Shifa, as well as hundreds of detainees, including several Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives.
It was not possible to independently verify the reported numbers due to a lack of reporting access to Gaza.
Between 8 and 12 July, Israel attacked six schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, killing dozens of civilians sheltering in the area, before reportedly destroying the UN agency's headquarters in Gaza City on 15 July.
Israel accused local UNRWA staff of involvement in the October 7 attack on southern Israel, prompting the UN agency to launch an internal investigation and several major donors, including the US, to suspend funding for its operation in Gaza and across the region.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini called the Israeli attack on his agency's headquarters in Gaza “another episode of flagrant violations of international humanitarian law”.
In a post on X, he said: “UN facilities must always be protected. They must never be used for military or combat purposes. Every war has rules. Gaza is no exception.”
In a separate post, Lazzarini stressed that “schools must never be used for combat or military purposes by any party to the conflict.”
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE FIELD OF CIVIL INJURY
• October 7, 2023: 1,200 Israelis and other citizens killed in southern Israel, hundreds taken hostage in a Hamas-led attack.
• October 31, 2023: More than 110 Palestinians killed in an Israeli strike targeting a “senior Hamas commander” in the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
• February 29, 2024: 112 Palestinians waiting for aid killed, 760 others injured outside Gaza City amid Israeli gunfire and panic.
• April 1: 7 World Central Kitchen workers were killed in Israeli strikes, in violation of military procedures, on an aid convoy in Gaza.
• May 27: 45+ Palestinians killed in Israeli strike targeting “two senior Hamas commanders” in Rafah.
• June 9: 274 Palestinians killed in an Israeli military airstrike that freed 4 hostages held in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
• July 13: 90+ Palestinians killed, 300 injured in an Israeli airstrike on Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif in Al-Mawasi.
Source: Gaza Ministry of Health, Government of Israel.
Warning that “all the rules of war have been broken in Gaza,” he said: “The brazen and relentless disregard for international humanitarian law continues unabated.
Israel has consistently denied allegations that it is targeting civilian infrastructure and accuses Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups of using tunnels under Gaza hospitals to carry out attacks and hide weapons, using the population as human shields.
Commenting on Israel's behavior, a New York-based international lawyer who requested anonymity told Arab News that in the Gaza war, “international law remains relevant as a framework for accountability and justice by providing mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable for war crimes. genocide and other atrocities.”
The International Criminal Court, which prosecutes individuals accused of war crimes, has attempted to hold “both sides of the conflict” accountable for alleged war crimes.
Israeli officials believe the ICC is likely to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant within the next two weeks, Israeli media reported on July 17.
Karim Khan, the ICC's chief prosecutor, filed an arrest warrant request in May for two Israelis and three Palestinians suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Hamas commander Deif was among the Palestinians named in the ICC arrest warrant, along with Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas's political office, and Yahya Sinwar, head of the Islamist movement in Gaza.
The arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant accused them of using starvation as an instrument of war, extermination and the deliberate targeting of civilians, along with other war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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Khan said he had “reasonable grounds” to believe the five men were “criminally responsible” for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza war.
The decision sparked anger among the Hamas leadership, in Israel and even in the US. US President Joe Biden called the move “outrageous” and said “there is no equivalence between Israel and Hamas – none”.
Hamas said the ICC prosecutor “likened the victim to an executioner” and demanded the charges against its leaders be dropped.
The New York-based international lawyer said that while international law and ongoing developments “create a foundation for addressing atrocities and promoting a more just and peaceful world”, its enforcement “can be inconsistent and subject to political influence”.
On July 19, the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague declared Israel's occupation and annexation of Palestinian territories, including the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, “illegal” in a landmark ruling.
Declaring that Israel's discriminatory laws and policies against Palestinians violate the prohibition of racial segregation and apartheid, the ICJ also ordered Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories “as soon as possible”.
Israel has also launched dozens of airstrikes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7, killing at least 500 Palestinians, including 143 children, according to UN figures.
However, the ICJ's recent decision is a non-binding advisory opinion requested by the UN General Assembly in 2022, which preceded and was not directly related to the Israeli attack on Gaza.
In response to the decision, Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying: “The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land – neither in our eternal capital, Jerusalem, nor in our ancestral heritage in Judea and Samaria (the occupied West Bank).
“No decision of lies in The Hague will distort this historical truth, and similarly the legality of Israeli settlements in all parts of our homeland cannot be questioned.”
In December last year, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice for committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The ICJ issued an interim judgment in January, modified in May, ordering Israel to “immediately halt the military offensive” and urging Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release the hostages.
Regardless, Israel continues to bomb Rafah and other parts of the Gaza Strip, where more than a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, while Hamas is believed to still be holding 116 hostages.
No amount of legal wrangling has brought the conflict any closer to resolution.
Diplomats and observers of the region continue to call on both sides to accept an immediate ceasefire, exchange hostages and prisoners, and actively seek a solution to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
