Date: 22 Jan 2024
Time: 13:00 Local Time
Press Release
HashdCalls on Nations and Free People of the World to Escalate Efforts and Popular Solidarity Actions to Save the Residents of Gaza Before It’s Too Late
The International Commission to Support Palestinians Rights (Hashd)marks the 108th day of the ongoing Israeli aggression. Israeli occupation forces have intensified their air and ground attacks on the city of Khan Yunis, committing 15 massacres against families by bombarding their homes without prior warning, resulting in 178 martyrs and 293 injured. This has raised the total number of martyrs and wounded since the beginning of the aggression to over 25,000 martyrs and 63,000 injured, with more than 8,000 still missing under the rubble.
Yesterday, tanks besieged 5 centers for displaced persons at Al-Aqsa University, the University College, the Agency Industry, the Covenant School, and the Khalidiya School, shelling them with artillery and firing on anyone moving inside through quadcopter aircraft. This led to the martyrdom and injury of dozens of displaced persons. Tanks of the Israeli occupation continue to besiege the Hope Hospitals belonging to the Red Crescent Association and Nasser Hospital, amid fears of infiltration and destruction. The shelling of residential neighborhoods and squares in the western part of the city and around hospitals continues, accompanied by the prevention of ambulance movement to retrieve martyrs, and evacuate the wounded in the ground incursion areas in Khan Yunis, repeating the same heinous crimes committed since the beginning of the Israeli aggression.
The International Commission “Hashd”: reports that Israeli occupation forces persist in their shelling and targeting of civilians in the Gaza and northern provinces, as well as the invasion of shelter centers in Gaza City and its north, compelling residents to undergo repeated forced displacement. Evacuation orders continue, coinciding with the intensification of military attacks in Nusairat, Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, and the city of Khan Yunis in the south, aiming to empty them of residents and displaced persons, pushing them to a new wave of displacement to Rafah governorate, which now accommodates more than one and a half million forcibly displaced persons crowded into shelter centers and simple tents in the streets. They live in catastrophic and tragic conditions due to the lack of food, water, humanitarian aid, health services, and the spread of diseases and epidemics. This confirms Israel’s persistence in creating a new catastrophe and displacing its residents abroad.
The International Commission “Hashd”: emphasizes the continuation of the Israeli aggression and the comprehensive blockade on the Gaza Strip, along with collective punishment, as international efforts continue to fail in finding humanitarian corridors to ensure the flow of humanitarian, relief, and medical aid. The situation puts the lives of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza at stake, leading the residents of Gaza to live in catastrophic and tragic conditions due to the shortage and limited availability of humanitarian aid, as well as the spread of famine and health epidemics that claim the lives of dozens of citizens daily, especially in northern Gaza, where Israeli occupation forces have prevented the arrival of humanitarian aid for the third consecutive month.
The International Commission “Hashd”: expresses its deep concern over the ongoing failure of the international community to compel the Israeli occupation to cease its aggression on the Gaza Strip. The inability to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid and establish safe zones and recovery areas, as stipulated in the Fourth Geneva Convention, serves as an encouraging factor for the Israeli forces to continue their crimes against humanity, including forced displacement, committed against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The International Commission “Hashd”: denounces the grave violations of human dignity and the sanctity of graves perpetrated by Israeli occupation forces, such as grave excavation, desecration, and theft of the bodies of martyrs. These actions constitute repeated war crimes, disrespect for the dignity of the deceased, a blatant violation of humanitarian principles, and a war crime under international humanitarian law, especially the Hague Conventions, Geneva Conventions, Rome Statute, which prohibit the violation of graves and the mistreatment of the dead.
The International Commission “Hashd”: urges the International Court of Justice to expedite the issuance of interim decisions to halt the genocide. It calls on the international community and the people of the world to intensify solidarity actions and pressure their governments to take urgent action to stop the aggression and genocide in Gaza and the Israeli occupation’s crimes in the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories. The body appeals to all nations and international organizations to expedite aid to Gaza and ensure the flow of humanitarian assistance to all areas of the Strip.
In the face of the catastrophe that has befallen civilians, with 80% of buildings and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip destroyed and 90% of the population displaced, living without shelter amid real famine, power outages, water shortages, collapsing health and humanitarian services, and the spread of diseases, the International Body “Harvest” emphasizes the need for swift action to prevent further deterioration of the humanitarian situation. It warns that without immediate assistance in the form of food, medicine, and shelter, tens of thousands may lose their lives.
End
The International Commission to Support Palestinians Rights (Hashd)
