The International Commission Hashd Condemns the Ongoing Bombing of Shelters and Homes Inhabited by Displaced Civilians Across Gaza
Date: September 26, 2024
Press Release
The International Commission (Hashd) Condemns the Ongoing Bombing of Shelters and Homes Inhabited by Displaced Civilians Across Gaza
The International Commission to Support Palestinian People’s Rights (Hashd) strongly condemns the continued bombardment by Israeli occupation forces on shelters housing displaced civilians and homes inhabited by Palestinian families across the Gaza Strip. For the 356th consecutive day, these forces have committed massacres against families and forcibly displaced civilians. The most recent attack occurred today, September 26, 2024, when Israeli warplanes bombed Al-Faluja School in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, which was sheltering thousands of displaced civilians. The attack resulted in the destruction of large parts of the school, the killing of 16 civilians, and dozens of injuries of varying degrees. This raises the number of targeted shelters to 245 schools and tent camps. The ongoing Israeli genocide and aggression against Gaza since October 7, 2023, have claimed the lives of 41,495 people who have been brought to hospitals, with around 15,000 still missing, in addition to 96,000 injuries, many of them severe or critical, most of which involve children and women.
The International Commission (Hashd) calls on the International Red Cross and the United Nations to pressure Israeli occupation forces to stop the recurring inhumane and illegal treatment of the bodies of Palestinian martyrs. Israeli forces have been stealing bodies from graves and returning some to Gaza in containers, in an inhumane manner that demonstrates the desecration of the bodies and a lack of respect for the human dignity of the dead, as guaranteed by international humanitarian law. The Israeli occupation forces recently sent a container with 88 mutilated bodies, without any identifying information, leading the Ministry of Health to halt the process of receiving and burying them, as part of the pressure on the Israeli occupation to provide information and stop the violations against the bodies of martyrs and the deceased.
The International Commission (Hashd) also strongly condemns the continued destruction of Gaza’s agricultural sector by Israeli forces, which has resulted in the destruction of approximately 80% of the agricultural lands and facilities. In the latest crime on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, Israeli forces bulldozed over 500 dunams of land that had been replanted with vegetables in the Beit Lahia area. This shows the Israeli occupation’s insistence on deepening famine among the population of northern Gaza and destroying the environment and other resources necessary to meet the needs of the population, as part of its starvation and extermination policies within the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
On World Tourism Day, the International Commission (Hashd) calls on the international community to act and hold Israel accountable for the genocide and destruction of the tourism sector and Palestinian historical sites. During its aggression on Gaza, Israeli forces have destroyed nearly 5,000 tourist establishments, including 3,450 restaurants, 921 cultural facilities, 182 artisanal craft production facilities, 173 hotel establishments, and 206 archaeological sites in Gaza. In addition, 15,265 workers in the tourism sector have lost their jobs.
The International Commission (Hashd): calls on the international community, the High Contracting Parties to the Geneva Conventions, the United Nations, and the people and freedom advocates around the world to take serious action to stop the ongoing Israeli genocide and aggression that has persisted for nearly a year. Immediate steps must be taken to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid, stop the crimes of the occupation, provide international protection for Palestinians, impose boycotts and sanctions on the Israeli occupation state, and prosecute its leaders and soldiers in international courts. This will support Palestinians in obtaining their legitimate rights, ending the colonial apartheid occupation, achieving self-determination, and ensuring the right of return and compensation.
End
