The International Commission “Hashd” condemns the massacre committed by Israeli occupation forces in the bombing of Al-Zaytoun C School
Date: September 21, 2024
Press Release
The International Commission “Hashd” condemns the massacre committed by Israeli occupation forces in the bombing of , which shelters thousands of displaced persons, and calls for international protection for displaced civilians.
The International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights “Hashd” strongly condemns the brutal and horrific massacre committed by Israeli warplanes against forcibly displaced civilians by bombing Al-Zaytoun C School in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza Governorate. This heinous massacre has resulted in the death of 21 martyrs so far, including 13 children, 6 women, and a 3-month-old fetus. The bombing has also caused 30 injuries, including 9 children who have had limbs amputated, and others suffering from severe burns, with 2 individuals still missing. This is in addition to the terror inflicted on the other displaced residents. In the past 72 hours, the Israeli occupation has committed 12 massacres against families in Gaza Strip, resulting in 119 martyrs and 209 injuries brought to hospitals. Among these, 5 were killed in a new war crime targeting the health sector when Israeli warplanes struck a medication warehouse belonging to the Ministry of Health in Musbah area, north of Rafah. This raises the number of martyrs taken to hospitals to 41,391 and injuries to 95,760 since the Israeli aggression, which has been ongoing for 351 consecutive days. The systematic targeting of shelters and displaced persons’ tents has become a deliberate policy within the broader crime of genocide.
The International Commission “Hashd”:affirms that targeting schools, tents, and shelters for displaced persons, and destroying them over their heads, lacks any legitimate justification and constitutes a blatant violation of the principles of international humanitarian law. These principles require distinguishing between civilians and combatants, ensuring proportionality, and taking necessary precautions to minimize incidental harm, regardless of any supposed military advantage to be gained. The Israeli occupation’s justifications not only lack credibility but also represent a flagrant breach of international humanitarian law, particularly the Hague Conventions, the Geneva Conventions, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The International Commission “Hashd”: stresses that this crime coincides with the dire health conditions in Gaza, especially in Gaza and Northern Governorates, where 400,000 citizens live under the most brutal circumstances of starvation and destruction of health and humanitarian services. This significantly increases the number of martyrs due to the lack of medical services.
The International Commission “Hashd”: asserts that these attacks are part of an ongoing genocide in Gaza, aimed at depopulating the Palestinian territory by killing and forcibly displacing as many Palestinians as possible. The deliberate destruction of the remaining shelters, including schools, tents, and other centers for the displaced, seeks to create a coercive environment that forces civilians to flee their homes in the northern part of Gaza and relocate to the south.
The International Commission “Hashd”: calls on the international community, the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions, the United Nations, and all nations and freedom-loving people of the world to escalate their official and popular actions to stop the ongoing genocide and the continuous Israeli aggression. It demands ensuring the flow of humanitarian aid and meeting all humanitarian needs, especially with the onset of winter, to prevent a humanitarian disaster. The Commission also calls for international protection for Palestinians, the imposition of boycotts and sanctions on the Israeli occupation state, and holding its leaders, soldiers, and perpetrators of mass killings accountable before international courts.
