Israel says it’s struck more than 150 targets in Gaza City since it ramped up its ground assault on Tuesday.
By Nathan Morley
Gaza’s civil defence authority said 12 Palestinians were killed as Israeli strikes intensified. Thousands more are fleeing Gaza City, which Israel considers a symbol of Hamas authority.
For the past ten days, Israeli forces have been systematically destroying urban infrastructure in Gaza’s largest population centre as part of an operation to take control of the city.
A new phase of the ground assault began on Tuesday.
Residential towers and buildings housing schools, mosques and public and private institutions are being reduced to rubble in Gaza, a millennia-old city with a population of 1 million and among the most densely populated places on Earth.
Israeli military officials estimate 350,000 people have fled the city. Hamas puts the figure at 190,000, while the United Nations cited 220,000 as of Monday.
Appeal for international intervention
Amid the ongoing violence, aid organisations in Gaza have called for urgent international intervention following a U.N. commission’s conclusion that Israel is committing genocide.
In a detailed report, U.N. investigators concluded that the conflict in Gaza constitutes genocide, as defined by the 1948 convention adopted in the aftermath of World War Two and the Holocaust. The convention describes genocide as “a crime committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”
Israeli officials, whose relationship with U.N. bodies has been increasingly strained, have repeatedly rejected the accusation.
Condemnation of Israeli attack in Doha
Separately, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk condemned Israel’s September 9 strike targeting Hamas political leaders meeting in Doha, Qatar.
Speaking Tuesday during an emergency debate at the Human Rights Council, Türk called the attack “a shocking breach of international law, an assault on regional peace and stability, and a blow against the integrity of mediation and negotiating processes.”
He urged governments to join in condemnation, saying the strike violated the right to life and undermined Qatar’s role as a peace broker. “It is an attack on global efforts to resolve conflicts peacefully,” he said.
