The Israeli military reported the deaths of at least 39 Palestinians due to overnight strikes across Gaza, as per medics, with 20 people killed in one attack that ignited tents housing displaced families in a congested camp.
In Mawasi, located near the beach west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, residents carried a body wrapped in carpets from the burned debris of makeshift shelters, where tens of thousands have sought refuge for months.
Israel designates this area as a humanitarian zone and has consistently urged people to relocate there for their protection.
Gaza medics confirmed that among the dead from the Israeli strike were women and children.
The attack ignited several large tents, exacerbated by the explosion of cooking gas canisters and the flames from furniture belonging to displaced individuals.
The Israeli army asserts that Hamas militants often utilize residential buildings, schools, and hospitals as operational cover.
The area was littered with charred clothing, mattresses, and other personal items scattered among the remnants of burnt shelters.
“We see no one from around the world standing with us or assisting us during this time. They need to halt this senseless war against us. Let them bring an end to the conflict,” stated Abu Kamal Al-Assar, a witness at the scene.
Additional Israeli strikes reportedly targeted Gaza City, where medics reported the destruction of a house sheltering an extended family and damage to two nearby homes, resulting in at least three fatalities.
The Israeli army maintains that militants frequently exploit residential spaces, educational institutions, and medical facilities for operational cover.
Hamas rejects this claim, accusing Israeli forces of indiscriminate assaults and neglecting the plight of civilians caught in harm’s way.
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In Rafah, near the Egyptian border, an Israeli strike resulted in the death of three Palestinians, according to medics.
Three additional fatalities were reported in a separate air strike in Shejaia, eastern Gaza City.
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Amnesty holds that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
This wave of attacks coincided with Amnesty International’s release of a report asserting that Israel’s actions in Gaza qualify as genocide.
The London-based human rights organization reached this conclusion after months of scrutinizing incidents and statements from Israeli officials.
Amnesty declared that the legal threshold for genocide had been met, marking its first such determination amidst ongoing armed conflict.
The 1948 Genocide Convention, established following the mass murder of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust, describes genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
Amnesty’s 300-page report highlights “direct deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure where there was no Hamas presence or military objectives,” along with the obstruction of aid deliveries and the displacement of 90% of Gaza’s 2.4 million inhabitants.
Israel vehemently refuted the accusation, denouncing Amnesty as a “deplorable and fanatical organization.”
Amnesty’s Israeli branch distanced itself from the findings of its parent organization, stating it did not participate in the research and does not believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
However, within a lengthy statement, it acknowledged that the killing and devastation in Gaza have reached “horrifying levels” and called for an investigation into potential crimes against humanity.
The United States expressed disagreement with Amnesty’s report conclusions.
“We have previously stated and continue to assert that allegations of genocide are baseless,” said State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel to reporters.
Mr. Patel indicated that the U.S., as Israel’s primary supplier of weaponry and diplomatic support, remains troubled by the ongoing conflict in Gaza and distanced itself from Israel’s condemnation of Amnesty International as “deplorable and fanatical.”
“Civil society organizations such as Amnesty International and human rights entities play a crucial role in delivering information and analysis regarding Gaza,” Mr. Patel added.
The U.S. disagreement with the report’s findings “does not alter our enduring concern regarding the conflict’s impact on civilians and civilian casualties, and we consistently emphasize that it is both a moral and strategic priority for Israel to adhere to international humanitarian law,” Mr. Patel articulated.
During a funeral in Khan Younis, where mourners lamented over the white-shrouded bodies of individuals killed the previous day, resident Abu Anas Mustafa described the Amnesty report as “a victory for Palestinian diplomacy,” although he remarked that it “came too late.”
“Today marks the 430th day of the conflict, and Israel has been committing massacres and genocide since the initial ten days of the war,” he asserted.
Amnesty’s report was released shortly after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief, alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict, to which both individuals have denied any wrongdoing.
In a presentation to journalists in The Hague, Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard emphasized that the conclusion was not derived “lightly, politically, or preferentially.”
She stated during a post-presentation briefing: “A genocide is being perpetrated. There is no doubt, not one doubt in our minds after six months of thorough, concentrated research.”
Agnes Callamard asserted that Israel is ‘demonstrating its intent to physically destroy’ the Palestinians in Gaza.
Amnesty concluded that Israel and its military committed at least three of the five acts prohibited by the 1948 Genocide Convention, which include killings, inflicting serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately imposing living conditions intended to bring about the physical destruction of a protected group.
These actions were executed with the requisite intent as outlined by the convention, according to Amnesty, which reviewed over 100 statements from Israeli officials.
Israel commenced its offensive against Gaza following an attack by Hamas-led fighters on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, resulting in 1,200 fatalities and the capture of over 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Since that time, much of Gaza has been devastated, displacing nearly the entire populace from their homes.
Officials in the Hamas-controlled territory claim that over 44,500 Gazans have died, with thousands more feared trapped under the rubble.
