{"id":1256523,"date":"2023-10-09T19:59:03","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T19:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/?p=447034"},"modified":"2023-10-09T19:59:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-09T19:59:03","slug":"israel-responds-to-hamas-crimes-by-ordering-mass-war-crimes-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/10\/09\/israel-responds-to-hamas-crimes-by-ordering-mass-war-crimes-in-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Responds to Hamas Crimes by Ordering Mass War Crimes in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
This article includes graphic images and depictions of death.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Israel\u2019s Defense Minister<\/span> Yoav Gallant used genocidal language and ordered mass war crimes in the occupied Gaza Strip on Monday in response to Hamas\u2019s weekend assault and massacre of Israeli civilians, setting the stage for a large-scale escalation of the violence that has already led to the killing of at least 800 Israelis and more than 500 Palestinians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gallant said that he had ordered \u201ca complete siege of the Gaza Strip,\u201d which is home to 2.2 million Palestinians, nearly half of them children. \u201cThere will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What Gallant ordered \u2014 the collective punishment of a civilian population \u2014 amounts to a war crime under international law, as well as potentially a crime against humanity and the crime of genocide, some international law experts have pointed out<\/a>. Hamas\u2019s massacre of civilians and taking of at least 150 hostages, whom it has reportedly threatened to execute<\/a> in response to the targeting of civilians in Gaza, are also war crimes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hamas and Israel\u2019s crimes against civilians, which are likely to escalate in the coming days, come after years of impunity for Israel\u2019s crimes against Palestinians. The historical lack of accountability has bred a culture of disregard for international law that directly resulted in the weekend\u2019s violence, human rights advocates say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDeliberate killings of civilians, hostage-taking, and collective punishment are heinous crimes that have no justification,\u201d Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. \u201cThe unlawful attacks and systematic repression that have mired the region for decades will continue, so long as human rights and accountability are disregarded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n In the wake of Hamas\u2019s attack on Israel on Saturday, the Israeli military launched a bombing campaign on Gaza. Israeli raids flattened residential buildings and targeted a densely populated refugee camp over the weekend. Humanitarian workers in the strip have also reported that hospitals are completely overwhelmed by the number of casualties and ambulances are coming under fire. A ground invasion of the occupied territory is also widely expected in the coming days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Experts have noted that Israel\u2019s practice of \u201cwarning\u201d civilians \u2014 like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s call on Gaza\u2019s residents to \u201cleave now because we will operate forcefully everywhere\u201d \u2014 is not sufficient<\/a>. There is nowhere for people to seek safety in the strip, one of the most densely populated areas in the world, since Israel imposed an air, land, and sea blockade on the territory in 2007, effectively trapping them in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n War crimes fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, which, in 2021, opened an investigation on war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied Palestinian territories. The investigation prompted fierce opposition<\/a> by Israel and the United States \u2014 neither of which are members of the court \u2014 and it has largely stalled<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Human rights advocates quickly pointed to Gallant\u2019s words as an \u201cadmission of intent<\/a>\u201d to commit crimes, calling on ICC prosecutor Karim Khan to take notice. But international officials\u2019 responses to his comments were largely muted. The Biden administration has repeatedly stated its support for Israel since Saturday\u2019s attack, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken pledging the U.S.\u2019s \u201cunwavering focus on halting the attacks by Hamas<\/a>\u201d but offering no immediate comment on Israel\u2019s declared retaliation against Palestinian civilians. The ICC\u2019s prosecutor\u2019s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Intercept. <\/p>\n\n\n