Israel has dismissed allegations it’s committing genocide in Gaza, saying the claims from Amnesty Worldwide are “no surprise”.
Amnesty accused Israel of attempting to intentionally destroy Palestinians by launching lethal assaults, demolishing infrastructure and stopping meals, drugs and help deliveries.
It mentioned such actions met the authorized threshold for genocide and was not justified as a response to final 12 months’s Hamas terror assault – which killed round 1,200 Israelis and noticed about 250 taken hostage.
Amnesty’s secretary normal Agnes Callamard mentioned the report “must serve as a wake-up call to the international community”.
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11:31
Is Israel responsible of genocide?
In line with Gaza’s Hamas-run well being ministry, 44,500 Palestinians – at the least half of them girls and youngsters – have been killed within the conflict to this point.
The preventing has devastated Gaza and pushed 1000’s to the brink of hunger.
Extra on Amnesty Worldwide
Israel maintains that it takes the utmost care to keep away from civilian casualties and Israel’s spokesperson mentioned the genocide declare was a “classic example of antisemitism” and “Holocaust inversion”.
Mr Mencer mentioned Amnesty “fails to address Hamas’s genocidal rhetoric – their leaders call for the eradication of Jews, the wiping of my country off the face of the Earth”.
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About 100 hostages are nonetheless inside Gaza – however at the least a 3rd are believed to be lifeless. Pic: Reuters
“This is nothing but accusing us – the victims of this terror – of permitting the genocide which has been committed on our people by Hamas’s design,” he added.
South Africa – supported by different international locations – has additionally accused Israel of genocide and in October submitted a 5,000-page doc to the UN’s prime court docket.
And final month, a United Nations committee mentioned Israel’s strategies in Gaza have been “consistent with the characteristics of genocide”.
Israel’s spokesman claimed South Africa was being “paid by Iran” – and insisted Israel was the truth is “the only people to get ordinary Gazans out of harm’s way”.
The US State Division additionally mentioned on Thursday that it nonetheless believes claims of genocide towards Israel are unfounded.
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Gazans ‘consuming grass and animal feed’
‘Conquering, annexing, ethnic cleaning’
Mr Mencer rejected feedback by his nation’s former defence minister, Moshe Ya’alon, that the military was “conquering, annexing, ethnic cleansing” in northern Gaza.
Israel has for a number of months been focusing on what it says is a resurgent Hamas operation within the north and has informed civilians to go south.
Many have refused to go away, nonetheless, fearing for his or her future in supposed humanitarian “safe” zones, which have been hit by strikes up to now.
Mr Mencer reiterated that civilians are being informed to go for their very own safety – so they don’t seem to be used as human shields – as Israel continues its goal of wiping out Hamas’s army functionality and liberating hostages.
The Gaza conflict has lasted 14 months to this point and efforts to safe a ceasefire have to this point proved unsuccessful.
The prime minister of Qatar – a key middleman – informed Sky’s Yalda Hakim this week that Donald Trump’s crew desires a deal carried out earlier than he retakes the White Home on 20 January.
“We are trying to coordinate with them our efforts, and all of us, we agree, and we are hoping to get over this situation before the president comes to the office,” mentioned PM Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al Thani.
