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.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was
RSS