The International Commission Hashd Calls for an Immediate Ceasefire and Civilian Protection, Holds Israeli Forces, the U.S. Government, and European Countries Responsible for the Humanitarian Catastrophe Unfolding

 Date: October 27, 2023

Time: 13:00 local time

Original Language: Arabic

Press Release

The International Commission “Hashd” Calls for an Immediate Ceasefire and Civilian Protection, Holds Israeli Forces, the U.S. Government, and European Countries Responsible for the Humanitarian Catastrophe Unfolding.

Israeli military forces continue their aggression and military operations in the Gaza Strip for the twenty-first consecutive day. As of 2:00 PM local time today, according to the latest statistics from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israeli military attacks have resulted in the killing and martyrdom of 298 civilians, who have fallen victim to 41 massacres involving the indiscriminate shelling of their homes without prior warning. The total casualty count of the aggression stands at 7,326 civilians, including 3,038 children, 1,726 women, 414 elderly individuals, 103 medics and medical personnel, 57 UNRWA staff members, and 32 journalists. Moreover, more than 18,967 civilians have been injured with various degrees of wounds, with 70% of them being women and children. There are still 1,700 people missing under the rubble, including 940 children, according to official reports.

Throughout the day, Israeli military occupation forces continued their brutal attacks, systematically and deliberately targeting civilians and their civilian properties, especially residential homes located in densely populated neighborhoods. These homes are being obliterated, causing the deaths of children and women. The number of family massacres since the start of the aggression now stands at 772, leading to the deaths of nearly 5,000 martyrs, injuries to thousands, and the displacement of more families, resulting in significant material damage to residential areas. This has forced thousands of civilians to be forcibly displaced, increasing the number of internally displaced persons to over 1.5 million, with 45% of them residing in 150 UNRWA schools, amid catastrophic health and environmental conditions, as water is scarce, food is lacking, and services are virtually non-existent in UNRWA schools in Gaza and its northern areas due to the withdrawal of UNRWA employees under Israeli threats. Additionally, the international community’s failure to ensure the opening of a humanitarian corridor that meets the needs of the civilian population in Gaza has compounded the humanitarian crisis, as they endure unprecedented suffering.

Israeli military attacks have raised suspicions of the use of toxic chemical gas, with residents in targeted areas and border regions reporting the smell of gases that have led to cases of suffocation and eye irritation due to the explosion of chemical gases.

In the past few hours, Israeli occupation forces have intensified their attacks on civilian homes, committing massacres and destruction against 31 families whose homes were bombed over their heads. This brings the total number of family massacres to nearly 800 families since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Israeli military attacks, whether through ground, air, or sea, have exhibited a vengeful and random nature, leading to the destruction of more civilian buildings, infrastructure, and agricultural lands, particularly in border areas, which have endured continuous tank shellings. Additionally, bakeries, commercial shops, food storage facilities, and water wells have been destroyed, resulting in severe damage to half of the Gaza Strip’s buildings, infrastructure, and livelihood.

The International Commission to Support Palestinians Rights (Hashd) unequivocally holds Israeli forces, the U.S. government, and the European countries involved in the aggression fully responsible for the lives of Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories. It warns of an environmental and health catastrophe and a collapse of humanitarian conditions in Gaza due to the continuation of the aggression, collective punishment, and border closures, leading to a severe shortage of water and food. This crisis is exacerbated by Israel’s obstinacy and its imposition of conditions for the entry of humanitarian aid and necessary fuel for all health and humanitarian services. The international community’s failure to ensure the opening of a humanitarian corridor that meets the needs of the civilian population in Gaza, which is facing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, is a disgrace.

Hashd stresses that Israeli disregard for the legal system, international law, and international humanitarian law continues, with unwavering support from the United States and its false narrative. The international community’s failure to halt international crimes gives the green light for the Israeli occupation to persist in committing acts of genocide and war crimes, including the use of artillery shells and air missiles containing banned chemical substances, in violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), as well as the use of modern weapons and technologies aimed at destroying the Gaza Strip and harming the environment. Hashd underscores Israel’s policy of scorched earth, a deeply rooted doctrine aimed at turning the lives of civilian populations into a state of catastrophe, rendering the region uninhabitable.

Hashd records and calls for the following:

1. Hashd calls upon the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to contribute and intervene by conducting an independent investigation into the growing suspicions regarding the use of toxic and poisonous chemicals by Israeli occupation forces.
2. Hashd urges the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to include the Israeli crimes committed in the Gaza Strip in the file of Israeli crimes under investigation, and to stop the bias and selective enforcement of international law.
3. Hashd calls on the United Nations and the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions to emphasize the importance of individual and collective international action to stop the aggression, prevent acts of genocide, collective punishment, and war crimes, and to immediately work to protect civilians and impose a no-fly zone for Israeli military aircraft.
4. Hashd renews its call to the United Nations General Assembly to convene an emergency session under the “Uniting for Peace” formula to provide international protection for Palestinian civilians, take measures to halt the aggression, establish an international humanitarian alliance to ensure the delivery of medical and relief assistance, and declare a program to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
5. Hashd calls for diplomatic and popular efforts to pressure governments worldwide to fulfill their ethical and legal duties to halt the aggression, targeting of civilians, women, children, and journalists, as well as the targeting of civilian facilities, and to support the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the end of the Israeli occupation.

End

The International Commission to Support Palestinians Rights (Hashd)