THE HAGUE, Netherlands
Amnesty International on
Thursday accused Israel of “committing genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza
since the start of the war last year, saying a new report was a “wake-up call”
for the international community.“There is absolutely no doubt that Israel has military objectives. But the existence of military objectives does not negate the possibility of a genocidal intent,” Agnes Callamard.
The London-based rights
organization said its findings were based on “dehumanizing and genocidal
statements by Israeli government and military officials,” satellite images
documenting devastation, fieldwork and ground reports from Gazans.
“Month after month, Israel has
treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and
dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” Amnesty chief
Agnes Callamard said in a statement.
“Our damning findings must
serve as a wake-up call to the international community: this is genocide. It
must stop now,” she added.
The Palestinian group Hamas
launched an unprecedented attack inside southern Israel on October 7, 2023,
triggering a deadly Israeli military offensive as Israeli officials vowed to
crush the militants.
Israel has repeatedly and
forcefully denied allegations of genocide, accusing Hamas of using the
Palestinian people as human shields.
“There is absolutely no doubt
that Israel has military objectives. But the existence of military objectives
does not negate the possibility of a genocidal intent,” Callamard told AFP at a
press conference in The Hague.
The 300-page report points to
incidents where there “was no Hamas presence or any other military objectives.”
It cites 15 air strikes in
Gaza between October 7, 2023 and April 20, which killed 334 civilians including
141 children, for which the group found “no evidence that any of these strikes
were directed at a military objective.”
In addition to tens of
thousands of deaths and physical and psychological trauma, the report also
points to the conditions on the ground, where it said Palestinians are
subjected to “malnutrition, hunger and diseases” and exposed to a “slow,
calculated death.”
“States that transfer arms to
Israel violate their obligations to prevent genocide under the convention and
are at risk of becoming complicit,” Callamard added during the press
conference.
Since the start of the war, at
least 44,532 people have been killed in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to
the Hamas-run health ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.
Amnesty International has also
announced that it will publish a report on the crimes committed by Hamas during
the October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,208 people on the
Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official
Israeli figures, which includes hostages killed in captivity.
Hamas also seized 251 hostages
during the attack, some of whom were already dead. Of those, 97 are still held
in Gaza, including 35 the Israeli army says are dead.
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