The Gaza Strip continues to witness ongoing chapters of genocide carried out by the Israeli occupation since 7 October 2023, with its forces deliberately employing killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement as collective weapons against the civilian population, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law and fundamental human rights principles.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced on Wednesday that the number of people killed by Israeli bombardment across different areas of the Strip since the early hours of dawn has risen to 24, including 15 in Gaza City.
In the city, a pregnant woman and her unborn child were killed in a series of attacks targeting homes and tents of displaced people. Meanwhile, the occupation forces continued to blow up residential buildings using booby-trapped robots in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, in addition to dropping incendiary bombs from quadcopter drones targeting markets and tents sheltering civilians, sparking widespread fires that destroyed their belongings.
The neighbourhoods of al-Zeitoun and al-Sabra, south of the city, were subjected to heavy artillery shelling, while the Nuseirat refugee camp in the centre of the Strip witnessed a drone attack targeting civilian gatherings near a fuel station, resulting in the killing of five people and the injury of others.
Alongside the bombardment, the occupation continues to use starvation as a weapon of slow extermination against civilians. The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported six new deaths in recent hours, including a child, due to famine and malnutrition, bringing the total number of victims of the food and medicine blockade to 367, including 131 children.
This comes after famine was officially declared in Gaza City, with expectations it will spread to central and southern areas of the Strip, amid the complete closure of crossings since March, and the prevention of humanitarian aid from entering except in limited quantities that do not meet the minimum needs, in addition to the looting of the few trucks that do enter in the absence of any protection.
What is taking place in Gaza constitutes a full-fledged crime of genocide, as it meets the elements of deliberate targeting of a population group on a national basis, and depriving it of the means of survival through direct killing, siege, starvation, and forced displacement. The widespread use of lethal force against civilians, including women and children, also represents a flagrant violation of the principles of distinction and proportionality imposed by international humanitarian law.
Furthermore, the destruction of homes and the prevention of access to essential humanitarian aid amounts to collective punishment prohibited under the Geneva Conventions, and reveals a clear intent to eradicate civilian life in the Strip.
Since the beginning of the genocide on 7 October, the crimes of the occupation have resulted in the killing of more than 63,633 Palestinians and the injury of 160,914 others, most of them women and children, in addition to the disappearance of more than 9,000 people, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands under harsh conditions.
These realities are not mere statistics, but reflect an ongoing crime targeting Palestinian existence itself in Gaza. The international community must move beyond statements of condemnation and take concrete, binding measures to stop the genocide, ensure accountability for those responsible, and guarantee the effective protection of civilians and their right to life and dignity.
