Date: November 15, 2023
Time: 13:00 local time
Press Release
The International Commission “Hashd” reports that the Israeli occupation forces continue the genocidal war against the residents of theGaza Strip, tormenting civilians and using them as human shields in ground incursions
The International Organization for the Support of the Rights of the Palestinian People, “Gathering,” condemns and strongly denounces the ongoing Israeli occupation forces’ genocidal war and continuous aggression on the Gaza Strip. They deliberately target and kill civilians, especially children and women, as well as civilian structures, especially hospitals, rendering life-saving services out of service.
On the 40th day of the ongoing war, the occupation forces intensified their ground operations inside Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, using various types of weapons by air, land, and sea, causing extensive and widespread destruction in the areas invaded. This resulted in the cessation of most life-saving services, including the closure of all hospitals and the suspension of ambulance and civil defense services due to fuel depletion and the inability to move amidst the continued targeting of hospitals, ambulances, and civil defense vehicles. This has left the corpses of martyrs on the streets where Israeli tanks are present, while thousands of bodies remain under the rubble and debris of the targeted and destroyed homes above their inhabitants.
This happens concurrently with the siege and targeting of hospitals and homes of citizens near them in the western neighborhoods of Gaza City by Israeli occupation tanks. Houses where residents are located near hospitals are being targeted, despite the presence of medical staff, patients, and refugees inside them, directly attacked by Israeli tanks. This has led to the killing and injury of hundreds of citizens without allowing the evacuation of the martyrs’ and wounded’s bodies or the evacuation of residents. Tanks of the occupation have been documented walking on the bodies of the killed and martyrs. Civil defense teams, the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent have been unable to respond to the pleas of besieged citizens or those whose homes have been targeted and destroyed due to the refusal of the occupation forces. In addition to the continuation of killing operations for anyone who moves, leaving patients, wounded, and refugees in hospitals and citizens in the invaded areas vulnerable to death and destruction due to the blockade and retaliatory collective punishment.
This is happening while the destruction and invasion by the Israeli occupation forces of homes surrounding hospitals and the areas where tanks and occupation forces have penetrated continue. Some citizens are placed in front of tanks after being expelled from their homes, subjected to torment, and used as human shields. Dozens of citizens have been arrested after being beaten and tortured, and this has been repeated when citizens pass on Salah al-Din Street heading south, where the killing and arrest of several citizens near the Israeli military checkpoints continue.
The number of martyrs, wounded, detainees, and missing persons, as well as the destruction of homes and civilian structures, continues to rise daily due to the ongoing and escalating crimes of the Israeli occupation.
Since the beginning of the aggression on October 7, 2023, until today, November 15, 2023, the toll of the Israeli aggression has risen to more than 45,000 between martyrs, wounded, and missing, including 11,500 martyrs. Among them are 4,860 children, 3,278 women, 821 elderly individuals, 198 medical teams and paramedics, 51 journalists, and 101 employees of the International Relief Agency. Approximately 29,000 citizens have been injured, 70% of whom are children and women.
The number of missing persons has risen to approximately 3,520, including 1,900 children still under the rubble.
The aggression has exacerbated the conditions of all residents of the Gaza Strip, totaling 2.3 million, of whom approximately 1.7 million are forcibly displaced due to Israeli occupation crimes. About 800,000 of them live in shelters belonging to the International Relief Agency, with 200,000 located in shelters in northern Gaza suffering from continued shelling of the surrounding areas and some being directly shelled. Humanitarian and relief services, such as water, food, medicine, and life-saving services, are unavailable to them due to the withdrawal of the International Relief Agency from northern Gaza based on continuous forced evacuation orders for the residents. About 300,000 residents of Gaza City and the northern governorate are still in their homes, suffering from ruthless bombing and systematic destruction, forcing them into forced displacement.
All displaced persons in shelters and in the southern region suffer from overcrowding, lack of services, water shortages, lack of food and medicine, the spread of diseases and health and environmental epidemics, the cessation of bakeries and vital service facilities due to the unavailability of necessary fuel to operate water and sewage stations and life-saving services.
On the 40th day, Israeli forces committed mass massacres by bombing the homes of citizens and residential neighborhoods on the heads of their inhabitants without prior warning in various areas of the Gaza Strip, refuting the narrative of the Israeli occupation about the existence of safe areas in the southern part of the Strip. This has resulted in hundreds of martyrs and wounded from Palestinian families, with a large number of them remaining under the rubble due to the lack of rescue equipment and the absence of fuel to evacuate the wounded and martyrs to civil defense and ambulance vehicles. Most of the wounded are transported by carts pulled by animals, civilian cars, or on foot.
As the Israeli occupation forces continue to demand and force the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate forcibly, after dividing the Strip into two parts, despite the announcement of a safe passage during certain hours for the movement and escape of citizens, many media outlets and eyewitness accounts have documented the humanitarian suffering of the forced displacement journey on foot. There have been repeated testimonies from citizens about the discovery of dozens of bodies, including children and women, along the Salah al-Din road, some of which were in an advanced state of decomposition. Reports also highlight cases of killing, torture, and arrest of dozens of displaced individuals, as well as looting of citizens’ belongings and money by Israeli occupation soldiers stationed at checkpoints near the Juhor al-Dik area.
With the ongoing aggression, shortage of humanitarian aid, continued collective punishments, and disruptions to electricity, water, and communications, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza seems to be worsening. This is exacerbated by the collapse of the humanitarian system and the arrival of a low-pressure system, especially in overcrowded shelters for displaced people. These shelters include cloth tents unsuitable for winter, located in schoolyards, hospitals, universities, and even in the camp established by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Khan Yunis. Many displaced people in these conditions face harsh weather, cold, the risk of drowning, wetness, disease, epidemics, and death, especially among the elderly and children due to the freezing cold. There is also a lack of heating sources, insufficient meals, energy sources, and health services, posing a significant risk of slow death for a large number of citizens.
The International Commission to Support Palestinians Rights (Hashd) asserts that the Israeli occupation forces have committed a heinous crime and a serious violation of the principles of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. They have subjected the residents of the Gaza Strip, who are experiencing all aspects of genocide, including killing, intimidation, terrorization, forced displacement, and ethnic cleansing. The Israeli forces have used excessive lethal force disproportionately, deploying various types of internationally prohibited weapons and ammunition. In addition to missiles and warheads raining down on homes and neighborhoods in the Strip, resulting in more than 34,000 tons of explosives, the continuous imposition of collective punishment and the war of starvation on the people of the Gaza Strip, along with the destruction of essential facilities and life-saving humanitarian services.
The International Commission “Hashd” calls on the free countries of the world and freedom-loving people to build an international humanitarian alliance to ensure the cessation of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, as well as the genocidal crimes, war crimes, and collective punishment. The committee urges the provision of international protection for civilians, ensuring the opening of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of the wounded, allowing the entry of doctors, providing medical supplies, humanitarian aid, relief, and fuel to all areas and residents of the Gaza Strip to mitigate the catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
The International Commission “Hashd” urges the high contracting parties to the Geneva Conventions to enable international organizations to operate, especially the International Committee of the Red Cross, to actively secure the access of rescue teams to the victims of the aggression throughout the Gaza Strip. This includes transporting them to hospitals, providing medical supplies, life-saving equipment, and operating all health and service facilities to save the lives of children, patients, and displaced persons, in compliance with international humanitarian law.
The International Commission “Hashd” calls on the international community, the United Nations, and the high contracting parties to the Geneva Conventions to declare the non-compliance of the occupying state with all the rules of international humanitarian law. It urges them to pressure Israel to fulfill its responsibilities as a belligerent occupying power in accordance with the rules of international humanitarian law. The committee demands the lifting of collective sanctions, the blockade, and the cessation of targeting civilians and civilian structures.
The International Commission “Hashd” while saluting the free people of the world, countries, organizations, and unions, calls on them to escalate diplomatic and popular actions to ensure the cessation of aggression. This includes boycotting and imposing sanctions on the occupying state and its leaders, as well as international partners in its war and mercenaries as war criminals. This is done to prevent the law of the jungle, double standards, and to protect humanity and human rights, supporting the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
The International Commission to Support Palestinians Rights (Hashd)
