Israel on Monday launched strikes across the Gaza Strip, killing at least 31 people, while leading academics accused it of genocide, allegations the Israeli government vehemently rejected.
“Another merciless night in Gaza City,” said Saeed Abu Elaish, a Jabaliya-born medic sheltering in the northwestern side of the city.
Hospitals in Gaza said at least 31 people were killed by Israeli fire on Monday, more than half of them women and children. At least 13 people were killed in Gaza City.
Photo: AFP
Israel says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militant group — now largely reduced to a guerrilla organization — operates in densely populated areas.
A total of 63,557 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which says another 160,660 people have been wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up about half the dead.
Meanwhile, the largest professional organization of academics studying genocide on Monday said that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
A resolution from the International Association of Genocide Scholars — which has about 500 members worldwide, including a number of Holocaust experts — said that “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide,” as well as crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The resolution was supported by 86 percent of those who voted. The organization did not release the specifics of the voting.
“People who are experts in the study of genocide can see this situation for what it is,” said association president Melanie O’Brien, a professor of international law at the University of Western Australia.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it “an embarrassment to the legal profession and to any academic standard.”
It said the determination was “entirely based on Hamas’ campaign of lies.”
Two prominent Israeli rights groups — B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel — in July said that their nation is committing genocide in Gaza. The organizations do not reflect mainstream thinking in Israel, but it marked the first time that local Jewish-led organizations have made such accusations.
International human rights groups have also leveled the allegation.
In Spain, an activist flotilla bound for Gaza left Barcelona hours after a last-minute delay caused by stormy weather.
The Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of about 20 boats with participants from 44 nations, had earlier set sail and then turned back, with organizers citing safety concerns.
The expedition includes climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, who took part in a previous flotilla that was intercepted in June.
The flotilla is the largest attempt yet to symbolically break Israel’s blockade of Gaza. All previous ones have been intercepted at sea by Israeli forces. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms and that there are multiple other channels for sending aid to Gaza.
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