Dozens of Palestinians, including aid seekers and civilians, were killed in a series of airstrikes, shelling, and shootings carried out by Israeli occupation forces across various parts of the Gaza Strip since dawn on Friday. This comes as part of a genocide that has entered its 21st month, amid the absence of effective international accountability and a complete disregard for binding international court orders demanding an end to these crimes.
According to medical sources and eyewitnesses, a new massacre occurred in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, where a drone strike targeted a group of civilians near Shaaban Al-Reis School, killing eight people and wounding an unspecified number of others.
Simultaneously, Israeli naval forces killed a Palestinian fisherman and injured another while they were working off the coast of Gaza—another attack on the already limited sources of livelihood for the besieged population.
Near the “Netzarim Axis” in central Gaza, occupation forces shelled a group of civilians waiting for food aid near a joint (Israeli-American) distribution center, killing one Palestinian and injuring 43 others. This scene, which has become a daily occurrence, highlights the systematic targeting of basic survival needs.
In the south, in Khan Younis, two Palestinians were killed and others injured after Israeli forces opened fire on civilians near an aid center.
Overnight shelling also killed seven others, including three in a strike on their tent in the Al-Mawasi area. Additional casualties were reported after artillery shelling on civilian gatherings and homes in the Sheikh Nasser neighborhood.
What Gaza has witnessed since October 7, 2023, is not merely a prolonged assault but a pattern of large-scale, systematic crimes that meet the criteria of genocide. Protected groups under international humanitarian law are being subjected to killing, starvation, forced displacement, and the systematic destruction of civilian infrastructure—including hospitals, shelters, and water and energy sources.
These acts, coupled with public statements by Israeli officials expressing intent to wipe out the Gaza Strip, clearly reflect an intent to destroy a national group, in whole or in part. Thus, the legal classification of genocide is not just political or rhetorical—it is a reality that conforms to the criteria set out in the 1948 Genocide Convention.
To date, the number of Palestinian casualties in Gaza has exceeded 189,000, the majority of whom are women and children. More than 11,000 remain missing, presumed buried under rubble. A severe famine has claimed the lives of thousands, including infants. Hundreds of thousands have been forcibly displaced from their homes with no safe haven, while Israeli forces restrict humanitarian aid and directly target relief corridors.
Although the International Court of Justice has issued binding orders to cease actions that constitute grave violations against civilians, the occupation continues its assault with impunity—openly backed by the United States. This reveals a disturbing double standard in the application of international justice and undermines confidence in the global human rights system’s commitment to protecting victims of mass atrocities, particularly in the Global South.
What is unfolding in Gaza is a dual failure: a moral collapse by the international community, and a legal failure by institutions established to protect civilians and prevent genocide. Unless there is an immediate, firm stance to stop these violations, history will remember that these massacres occurred before the eyes of the world—and no one acted.
