Date: December 12, 2023
Time: 13:00 Local Time
Press Release
The International Commission (Hashd) Calls on the International Community to Compel the Israeli Occupation to Cease the Aggression and Ongoing Genocide for the 67th Consecutive Day
For the 67th consecutive day, the Israeli occupation continues its campaign of genocide and aggression against the Gaza Strip, unabated by international condemnation, the demands of world freedom advocates, international organizations, and United Nations General Assembly resolutions. This is enabled by the military, political, and financial support provided by the United States, which covers the Israeli occupation’s continued heinous crimes. The dual standards, selective law enforcement, and international failure to halt aggression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, collective punishment, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Gaza persist, as documented by the Ministry of Health, reporting 18,500 martyrs, including 7,850 children, 6,300 women, 320 medical staff, paramedics, and civil defense personnel, 87 journalists, and 133 UN employees. Approximately 50,000 Palestinians have been injured, with over 10,000 people, mostly children and women, missing under the rubble of their homes.
The Israeli aggression is accompanied by the continued closure of all crossings, cutting off water and electricity supplies, communications, and preventing the entry of journalists, doctors, and civil defense teams. Limited aid is allowed to enter through the Rafah crossing at an average of 65 trucks per day, covering only 5% of the current deficit in essential supplies needed to sustain human life.
According to documentation by the International Coalition, Israeli forces have continued their air, land, and sea attacks, conducting hundreds of airstrikes that destroyed dozens of homes and targeted civilian and service structures. The Israeli forces deliberately targeted shelters in northern Gaza, invaded UNRWA schools, arrested men after torturing them, and forced women and children to evacuate, preparing for their destruction. These actions aim to forcibly displace citizens, continuing the Israeli occupation’s policy of ethnic cleansing.
The Israeli offensive is ongoing in southern Gaza, expanding ground operations, particularly in Khan Yunis, where indiscriminate shelling has caused numerous casualties, injuries, and extensive destruction. Over 65,000 tons of explosives have been dropped, destroying about 65% of residential units, civilian, health, agricultural, and economic facilities, as well as mosques, churches, universities, and infrastructure. This has resulted in severe economic losses, with most businesses and trade facilities paralyzed, leading to unemployment for nearly half a million people and forcing 90% of Gaza’s population into poverty.
The International Coalition has documented the Israeli forces’ attacks on schools designated to shelter thousands of displaced people, using artillery shells and sniper fire. Thousands of men have been detained, tortured, and subjected to interrogation, with the fate of hundreds still unknown. Civilians are used as human shields in homes occupied by Israeli forces or placed in front of tanks and military vehicles. Women and children remain detained in areas lacking basic living conditions and suffering from cold weather.
These violations occur alongside policies of starvation and thirst, hindering the entry of humanitarian aid and destroying the life-saving health and humanitarian services. The absence of international and humanitarian institutions, especially UNRWA and the Red Cross, due to Israeli practices, hinders their ability to provide relief and evacuate victims of genocide crimes.
For 67 days, the tragedy and suffering of 2.3 million people persist in hunger, thirst, diseases, and health epidemics amidst the collapse of health and humanitarian services. Thousands remain without proper living conditions, with the number of displaced people exceeding 2 million. The overcrowding in shelters, the scarcity of water, food, medicine, the lack of privacy and hygiene, along with the chaos resulting from overcrowding, exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.
Meanwhile, Israeli crimes against Palestinians continue in the West Bank and Jerusalem, with the occupation forces and settlers expanding their crimes, resulting in the deaths of 273 civilians and injuries to over 3,000 since the start of the aggression on Gaza. Arbitrary arrests of approximately 3,750 Palestinians continue, along with the torture and abuse of prisoners in Israeli jails. Additionally, settlement expansion, home demolitions, land confiscation, and hindering the movement of citizens at checkpoints persist, accompanied by attacks on Palestinians in the 1948 territories and assaults on Christian and Islamic holy sites.
In light of these ongoing atrocities, The International Commission (Hashd) urgently calls on the international community to intervene immediately, compel the Israeli occupation to cease its aggression and genocide, and hold it accountable for its heinous crimes against the Palestinian people.
The International Commission to Support Palestinians Rights (Hashd) warns of the dangers of a new catastrophe, unfolding daily and revealing its chapters through the continuous massacres forcing Palestinians to evacuate near the Egyptian borders. This is part of an effort to empty Gaza of its population, turning it into an uninhabitable region. The coalition condemns, denounces, and expresses the strongest condemnation for the crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, forced displacement, collective punishment, and ongoing war crimes against Palestinian civilians. It holds the Israeli occupation authorities, the United States, and supporting Western countries accountable for the consequences of their continuous aggression and genocidal war against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The coalition emphasizes the seriousness of the humanitarian and catastrophic conditions faced by civilians in Gaza, including the displaced, due to water scarcity, lack of relief, food shortages, medication scarcity, and the collapse of the health and humanitarian system. It underscores that the collective sanctions and the Israeli blockade constitute a clear violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, which prohibit the occupying state from confiscating and punishing civilians, especially children, women, journalists, and medical personnel. The coalition affirms that the Israeli occupation has violated all principles and standards of international humanitarian law, the laws of war, and all provisions of human rights conventions.
The International Commission (Hashd) records and calls for the following:
- Immediate International Action: The international community and its various organizations are urged to press Israel to cease its ongoing genocidal war on Gaza.
- Compliance with Geneva Conventions: High contracting parties to the Geneva Conventions must adhere to their ethical and legal duties and urgently act to stop genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. They should provide international protection for civilians, open humanitarian corridors for evacuating the wounded, facilitate the flow of humanitarian and relief aid, medical supplies, and life-saving equipment. Furthermore, they should impose boycotts and sanctions on the Israeli occupation and use the principle of universal jurisdiction to hold perpetrators accountable for serious crimes.
- Prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC): The International Coalition calls on the ICC prosecutor to stop double standards, procrastination, and selectivity in enforcing international law. It urges the acceleration of investigations into international crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territories, ensuring accountability and justice for the victims of the Israeli occupation.
- United Nations and Specialized Agencies: The United Nations and its specialized agencies, especially UNRWA and the International Red Cross, are called upon to condemn the crimes of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity against Palestinian civilians and civilian structures in Gaza. They are urged to activate their efforts to protect children, women, journalists, and medical personnel and provide necessary relief to displaced individuals in all Gaza regions.
- Global Solidarity Movements: The International Coalition urges global solidarity movements to continue and escalate their popular and solidarity actions to pressure for the cessation of the Israeli military aggression on Gaza, protect civilians, and take effective measures to prevent a new catastrophe for the Palestinians.
End
The International Commission to Support Palestinians Rights (Hashd)
