In a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, Israeli occupation forces continue to commit atrocities against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, despite the ceasefire agreement now in its fifth consecutive day.
Medical sources in Gaza reported that six civilians were killed this morning, five in the east of Al-Shuja’iyya neighbourhood and another in Al-Fukhari, east of Khan Younis, after drones targeted them while inspecting their destroyed homes.
Several others were wounded following a bombing on Halawa refugee camp in Jabalia, northern Gaza.
According to human rights figures, since the start of Israeli occupation military aggression on 7 October 2023, more than 67,869 people have been killed and 170,105 injured, the majority of whom are women and children. Thousands remain trapped under rubble or in inaccessible areas due to the ongoing blockade and the collapse of infrastructure.
These acts constitute grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, particularly Articles 27 and 32, which guarantee the protection of civilians during conflict. The systematic targeting of non-combatants, residential areas, and medical facilities is widely viewed as war crimes, and may even amount to genocide under Article II of the 1948 Genocide Convention, which defines genocide as acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, or religious group.
The persistent pattern of collective killing, the bombing of entire families, and the destruction of shelters and humanitarian hubs all point to a deliberate attempt to obliterate the foundations of Palestinian life.
This dire situation demands urgent action by the international community, particularly from judicial bodies like the International Criminal Court, to launch formal investigations into the crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity being committed in Gaza.
