ICSPR Strongly Condemns the Al-Mawasi Tent Massacre that Killed 11 Martyrs, Including the Director-General of the Police Force and One of His Deputies in Gaza

Date: January 2, 2025

Press Release

ICSPR: Strongly Condemns the Al-Mawasi Tent Massacre that Killed 11 Martyrs, Including the Director-General of the Police Force and One of His Deputies in Gaza

The International Commission to Support Palestinian Rights (ICSPR) strongly condemns the horrific massacre committed by the Israeli occupation army against civilians in the tents of displaced persons in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis at dawn on Thursday, January 2, 2025. The massacre resulted in the death of 11 martyrs and the injury of dozens of citizens. According to follow-up reports, an Apache helicopter fired two missiles at a tent gathering densely populated by forcibly displaced persons in Al-Mawasi, in a new war crime aimed at assassinating the Director-General of the Police Force, Major General Mahmoud Salah, and his deputy, Major General Hossam Shahwan, while they were performing their legal duties. This led to their martyrdom along with 9 others and the injury of dozens of citizens, in addition to a large fire that broke out in the tent gathering, causing extensive damage to the tents and the area.

The Israeli occupation forces continue their aggression against the Gaza Strip for the 454th day, committing ongoing crimes of ethnic cleansing and genocide across various areas of the Strip. This aggression resulted in the death of 56 martyrs and the injury of more than 160 others in the past 24 hours alone. The Israeli occupation continues its crime of depopulating the northern part of the Strip by carrying out field executions, massacres, and destroying remaining infrastructure, turning the north into a completely devastated area. The destruction and killing persist in Gaza City, the central governorate, and the south of the Strip.

These crimes are taking place amid a worsening humanitarian catastrophe as collective punishments imposed on Gaza continue, including the use of starvation as a weapon, targeting those ensuring the delivery of aid, and preventing and obstructing the entry of humanitarian assistance, tents, blankets, medical supplies, and fuel needed to operate water wells, sewage stations, ambulances, civil defense equipment, hospital generators, and municipal machinery. This exacerbates the catastrophic suffering of civilians, causes the deaths of dozens, and threatens the lives of thousands with death from hunger and disease.

ICSPR reiterates its condemnation of the targeting of civilians and police personnel, who are afforded general and special protection under the rules of international humanitarian law, as the police are a civilian body responsible for maintaining security, upholding the rule of law, and assisting citizens. This confirms the Israeli occupation’s insistence on spreading chaos and insecurity amidst the ongoing genocide, which has claimed the lives of nearly 60,000 martyrs and missing persons, including 736 police officers and personnel. Additionally, police headquarters, vehicles, and courthouses have been destroyed, highlighting the Israeli occupation’s goal of deepening genocide by driving Gaza into a state of chaos and lawlessness.

ICSPR calls on the international community, the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions, the United Nations, and its specialized agencies to work diligently to stop the genocide and Israeli aggression, ensure the flow of humanitarian aid, and provide international protection for civilians, including police personnel.

ICSPR urges the International Criminal Court to include the crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against police personnel and those securing humanitarian aid in its investigations and to hold perpetrators of genocide and extrajudicial killings accountable.

ICSPR demands that the international community abandon its state of inaction and blatant failure, and take measures to impose sanctions on the occupying Israeli state to compel it to respect United Nations resolutions, international humanitarian law, and the measures of the International Court of Justice.

End.