Amnesty accuses Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza

Amnesty International has accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza war, which Israel strongly denies.

The Britain-based human rights group said its findings were based on “inhumane and genocidal statements” by Israeli officials, digital images and witness testimony and should serve as “a wake-up call” to the international community.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry told 295 page report It was described as “based entirely on lies and falsehoods”, while the Israeli military said the claims were “completely baseless and fail to take into account operational realities”.

Meanwhile, local doctors say that at least 50 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza.

The largest number of people were killed in the al-Mawasi tent camp for displaced people, where Israel says it was targeting Hamas activists.

Amnesty says its months of research have provided “substantial grounds to conclude that Israel has committed – and is continuing to commit – genocide against Palestinians”.

The 1948 Genocide Convention, enacted after the mass murder of Jews in the Nazi genocide, defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnes Callamard said Israeli actions “constitute killings, inflicting serious physical or mental harm, and deliberately providing living conditions to Palestinians in Gaza predisposing to their physical destruction”.

He added, “Month after month, Israel has treated the Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intention to physically destroy them.”

The global campaign group’s report comes as the UN’s top court, the Hague-based International Court of Justice, is investigating South Africa’s allegations that Israel is carrying out genocide in Gaza.

Israel has described the case as “completely baseless” and based on “biased and false claims”.

Responding to Amnesty’s allegations, Israel’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein described the human rights group as a “reprehensible and fanatical organization”.

“On October 7, 2023, a genocide was carried out against Israeli civilians by the Hamas terrorist organization,” he said. He said Israel was acting in self-defense and “fully in accordance with international law.”

The Israeli military said it is “actively working to destroy Hamas’ military infrastructure” in Gaza and that it “takes all possible measures to minimize harm to civilians during the operation”.

About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in southern Israel during Hamas-led attacks 15 months ago, which triggered the Gaza war.

At least 44,532 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Over the past few days, Israel has continued to launch attacks across the entire length of the Palestinian territory.

At least 23 people were killed and several others injured in an airstrike on a camp for displaced people in al-Mawasi, Khan Yunis. Social media videos showed residents battling the fire overnight.

At nearby Nasser Hospital, a local BBC cameraman filmed the arrival of the injured, including bloodied children and a disabled man. The bodies of two small children were also included among the dead who were brought wrapped in blankets.

Israel’s military said its strike targeted senior Hamas activists in what it considers a humanitarian zone. “Following the attack, secondary explosions were identified, indicating the presence of weapons in the area,” it said in a statement.

It said it had taken steps “to minimize the risk of harm to civilians” and accused Hamas of using civilians “as human shields for terrorist activity.”

On Thursday, BBC footage showed people picking up piles of ash and debris from damaged huts.

Mohammed Abu Shahli said, “We were attacked without any warning and this was a massive massacre.” “The people here are refugees from different places – from Rafah and the north. “They came to a place where they thought it was safe.”

Abdul Rahman Jama, whose head was bandaged, said seven members of his family, including his father and three brothers, were killed.

He told the BBC: “As the Israelis say, there is no protected safe zone. These are all lies. May God protect us.”