For the fourth day in a row, Gaza continues to suffer under intense and continuous Israeli occupation bombing of civilians, which resulted in the killing of 770 civilians, including 140 children and 105 women, and the injury of 3726 people, whose injuries are likely to worsen due to the lack of medical supplies and the lack of fuel.
The Israeli Occupation forces (IOF) and their leaders make explicit statements emphasising that the Palestinians have no right to life, and this of course reflects the idiocy they have been following for decades.
In 1992, Yitzhak Rabin said “I hope to wake up one day and find that the sea has swallowed Gaza”, while the current Minister of Defence stated that he does not consider the residents of Gaza human beings that are equal to him in rights and freedoms, however neither the international nor the Arab community has taken any step to stop this Israeli arrogance that is evident in its repeated deadly attacks.
Moreover, the international community did not implement any of the Security Council resolutions or any article of international law regarding the sanctions imposed on the Israeli occupation or apply any of the enforceable rights of the Palestinian people. It rather provided media and diplomatic cover for the crimes of the occupation under the pretext of Self-defence, and continued to send military and material supplies to the occupation till this day.
Furthermore, the aggression on Gaza comes in light of an unprecedented normalisation with the Israeli occupation. Some countries issued mild statements without seeking to save civilians, while other Arab and Islamic countries were quick to condemn the legitimate resistance of the Palestinian people, which is guaranteed under international and local laws. The reaction of these countries is an evidence of prioritising geopolitical interests over humanitarian issues.
The shameful reality of the world’s reaction to the crisis in Gaza will only worsen the situation and increase anger for the oppressed in Gaza and other areas where injustice prevailed. This would result in rage and violence against the international community as a whole. Therefore, it is necessary to stress on the need to achieve justice for the people of Gaza, ending the oppression of the occupation against them, and providing them with all the fuel, electricity, water, medicine and food they need.
Meanwhile, the occupation must end the collective punishment it imposes on all residents of Gaza.
While the Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) welcomes the position of the United Nations in rejecting this punishment and using civilians as hostages, it stresses that international condemnations only will not save children from the bombing, nor provide them with food or medicine. Therefore, it calls on the international community to use all means to stop the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians and to deter the occupation from using internationally banned weapons.
Today, the IOF used internationally banned red phosphorus in their bombing of the Karama area, which threatens residents with serious injuries and disabilities, and threatens the environment in Gaza with long-term pollution. This is evidence that the IOF are committing genocide against all residents of the Strip, and a war crime that requires immediate intervention to end the attacks on Gaza, and punish the leaders and soldiers of the occupation responsible for this crime.
AOHR UK denounces the slow response of the international community in sending humanitarian aid to Gaza, as this appears to be a submission to the threats of the occupation. AOHR UK stresses the need to mobilise international medical groups and accompany them with the necessary international protection, ambulance crews, and civil defence to save the lives of those injured due to the war on Gaza.
