George Monbiot exposes Starmer’s hollow victory
Israeli snipers accused of killing fleeing Palestinian civilians in Gaza City
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/israeli-snipers-accused-killing-fleeing-palestinian-civilians-gaza-city. Many articles from the Morning Star today.
ISRAELI snipers were accused of killing fleeing Palestinian civilians in Gaza City today.
This comes as the United States announced the resumption of 500-pound bomb shipments to Israel.
Palestinians who fled Gaza City after the latest Israeli evacuation order say snipers shot dead civilians near Yarmouk stadium.
Exact numbers of the dead are as yet unclear but the shooting comes after Palestinians were ordered by the Israelis to evacuate to the south as it steps up its offensive across the enclave.
…
Multiple people said they saw a man walking in the street shot in the head by a sniper in a tower. Several people later managed to retrieve the body.
Israeli authorities have repeatedly ordered hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to leave areas they had previously declared were safe to return to — in both northern and southern Gaza.
This is not the first time Israeli forces have been accused of sniper fire against civilians.
…
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/israeli-snipers-accused-killing-fleeing-palestinian-civilians-gaza-city. Many articles from the Morning Star today.
Critics of US Complicity in Gaza Genocide Slam State Department Report
Original article by JESSICA CORBETT republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
(Photo: Ashraf Amra/Anadolu via Getty Images)
While the report stresses that “Israel has an inherent right to defend itself,” a related press release doesn’t mention Gaza. One expert said, “I guess they left out the genocide they’re arming and funding.”
The Biden administration broadly and the State Department in particular have faced intense criticism throughout the U.S.-backed Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, and Wednesday was no exception, as an annual genocide report was sent to Congress.
The State Department report is required under the Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act of 2018, named for a Holocaust survivor who wrote about his experiences at the Auschwitz and Buchenwald Nazi concentration camps.
A department press release explains that the report “details U.S. interagency efforts to address genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity around the world. It also chronicles whole-of-government work over the past year to promote atrocity prevention programs, protect civilians at risk, and hold perpetrators accountable in places where some of the most heinous crimes have been committed.”
“Our government cannot continue cherry-picking what war crimes and genocide they choose to acknowledge.”
The Intercept‘s Prem Thakker shared the department’s full three-paragraph statement about the report on social media and pointed out that the two nations mentioned are Sudan, where there is a civil war, and Ukraine, which is battling a Russian invasion.
Notably missing—though mentioned in the report—is Israel’s nine-month assault on Gaza, which has been enabled by U.S. diplomatic and weapons support, and is the subject of a South Africa-led genocide case before the International Court of Justice.
Responding to Thakker’s posts, Assal Rad, an expert in Middle East history, said, “I guess they left out the genocide they’re arming and funding.”
Justice Democrats declared: “This is shameful. Our government cannot continue cherry-picking what war crimes and genocide they choose to acknowledge—especially not when we’re the ones funding it.”
The 23-page report includes three paragraphs on Israel and Gaza:
Hamas is a brutal terrorist organization that has vowed to annihilate Israel and repeat the October 7, 2023 massacre, during which it murdered almost 1,200 Israelis, took more than 240 people hostage, and committed horrific acts of sexual violence. In response, Israel has engaged in military actions in Gaza with the stated intent of defending itself against future Hamas attacks. By the end of the reporting period, tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed and over a million displaced as a result of Israel’s military actions.
Israel has an inherent right to defend itself consistent with international law, in response to the October 7 attack, and the United States has made clear that Israel has a moral obligation and a strategic imperative to protect civilians, investigate allegations of any wrongdoing, and ensure accountability for any abuses or violations of international human rights law and violations of [international humanitarian law, or IHL]. As President [Joe] Biden stated in his 2024 State of the Union address: “Israel has an added burden because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population. But Israel also has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza. This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined.” Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken has urged Israel to do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties and has consistently reiterated at the highest levels that Israel’s military operations in Gaza must comply with IHL.
The Department of State provides a variety of assistance for those impacted in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza through U.N. Women, U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, U.N. Development Program, U.N. Population Fund, U.N. Children’s Fund, Office for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, other U.N. agencies, and international organizations that operate in Israel and Gaza. Additionally, the Department of State hosted U.N. Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict Pramila Patten in March to discuss her report and recommendations following her fact-finding visit to Israel and the West Bank regarding allegations of [gender-based violence].
As of Wednesday, Israel’s war has killed at least 38,243 people in Gaza and injured another 88,243, according to health officials in the Hamas-governed Palestinian enclave. Thousands more remain missing and presumed dead. Israeli forces have devastated civilian infrastructure, leaving a trail of bombed-out homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
In a letter published in the medical journal The Lancet last week, three public health experts wrote that “applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186,000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.”
Israel has also limited the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Although the United Nations has not formally declared a famine, 10 top U.N. experts said Tuesday that “we declare that Israel’s intentional and targeted starvation campaign against the Palestinian people is a form of genocidal violence and has resulted in famine across all of Gaza.”
Since October, multiple U.S. government employees, including State Department officials, have resigned over the administration’s complicity in genocide, including weapons support—which the department previously addressed in a May report to Congress.
The May report—the release of which was blasted as a “Friday news dump”—says that it “is reasonable to assess” that U.S. weapons “have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its IHL obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm,” but concludes that Israel can continue receiving arms support.
The earlier report also expresses “deep concerns” about Israel’s actions regarding relief efforts but states that “we do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance within the meaning of Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act.”
Later that month, Stacy Gilbert, one of the State Department officials who resigned, said that “there is consensus among the humanitarian community” that Israel has obstructed relief efforts, adding: “That’s why I object to that report saying that Israel is not blocking humanitarian assistance. That is patently false.”
Original article by JESSICA CORBETT republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
- ‘Friday News Dump’: Biden State Dept Report Accepts Israeli Assurances ›
- State Department Spokesman Urged To Resign Over ‘Despicable’ Attack On UN Expert ›
- US Official Who Resigned Over Gaza Says Report Absolving Israel ‘Patently False’ ›
- Leaked State Department Memo: Israeli Assurances ‘Neither Credible Nor Reliable’ ›
- Another State Department Official Resigns Over Biden Gaza Policy ›
Despite Gaza War Crimes Accusations, Biden Sends Israel More 500-Pound Bombs
Original article by BRETT WILKINS republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
Since October, the U.S. has sent Israel more than 20,000 heavy bombs, which have been used in some of the deadliest massacres in Gaza.
The Biden administration has ended a two-month pause on the shipment of 500-pound bombs to Israel despite the frequent use of U.S.-supplied weapons by Israeli forces to commit alleged war crimes and genocide in Gaza.
Citing an unnamed Biden administration official, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the bombs “are in the process of being shipped” to Israel and should arrive in the coming weeks.
In May, the Biden administration suspended transfers of 500- and 2,000-pound bombs manufactured by aerospace giant Boeing over fears the devastating munitions would be used in airstrikes on Rafah, the southern Gaza city where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge.
By that time, Israel had already dropped hundreds of 2,000-pound bombs—which the U.S. military avoids using in civilian areas because they can destroy entire city blocks—on Gaza, including in an October 31 attack on the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp that killed more than 120 civilians.
“This is what U.S. funding and weapons do.”
Last month, the United Nations Human Rights Office said Israel’s use of 2,000-pound bombs and other U.S.-supplied weapons likely violated international law by deliberately targeting civilians in disproportionate attacks. Israeli military commanders have also been criticized for using artificial intelligence-based target selection to approve bombings they know will cause high civilian casualties.
The Biden official told the Journal that the pause on 2,000-pound bomb shipments will remain in effect.
“Our main concern had been and remains the potential use of 2,000-pound bombs in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza,” they said. “Because our concern was not about the 500-pound bombs, those are moving forward as part of the usual process.”
But Israeli forces have killed many civilians with smaller bombs too. The New York Times reported Wednesday that multiple weapons experts including a a former U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal technician identified a fragment from a Boeing-made GBU-39 250-pound bomb used in Tuesday’s attack on a refugee tent encampment outside the al-Awda school in southern Gaza that killed and wounded scores of civilians, including many women and children.
Palestinian and international agencies say Israel’s 278-day Gaza assault and siege have left at least 137,500 Palestinians dead, maimed, or missing. Israel’s conduct in the war is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case. International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan is also seeking to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders for crimes including extermination.
Despite overwhelming evidence of Israeli war crimes, the Biden administration remains Israel’s most steadfast supporter, providing billions of dollars in military aid, approving more than 100 arms shipments, and offering diplomatic cover in the form of United Nations Security Council vetoes and what critics call genocide denial.
Reuters reported last month that since October the U.S. has sent Israel 14,000 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, 2,600 air-dropped small-diameter bombs, and other munitions.
Citing the al-Awda massacre, Jewish Voice for Peace Action said Wednesday that “this is what U.S. funding and weapons do.”
“Arms embargo NOW,” the group added.
Original article by BRETT WILKINS republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).
- Rights Groups Urge Biden To Make Delayed Report On Israel’s Use Of US Arms Public ›
- Biden Request Would Create ‘Free-Flowing’ Arms Pipeline To Israel ›
- ‘Beyond Parody’: Biden Pushing For $18 Billion Warplane Sale To Israel ›
- ‘Obscene’: Biden Quietly OKs More 2,000-Pound Bombs, Warplanes For Israel ›
- ‘Unconscionable’: Biden Has Approved 100+ Arms Sales To Israel In Just Five Months ›
- Biden Moves Forward With ‘Immoral’ $1 Billion Arms Shipment To Israel ›
Israel orders evacuation of Gaza City again as it presses on with new deadly offensive
THE Israeli military ordered the evacuation of the repeatedly displaced Palestinians from Gaza City and told them to head south again today as it pressed ahead with a fresh offensive just hours after killing dozens of people.
Thousands of leaflets were dropped onto the city urging people to leave through two “safe” roads “quickly and without inspection from Gaza City to shelters” in Deir el-Balah and az-Zawiya.
Gaza City, it said, will “remain a dangerous combat zone.”
Israeli authorities claimed in January that they had “dismantled Hamas’s military structure” in the northern city.
Israel ordered residents of northern Gaza to flee south months ago as it operated in the area, and much of the population fled earlier in the war.
…