By Krishna Jha 

 

 

 

AMIDST massive bombing of Rafah, its major part is in ruins now. There is also sealing of entry and exit for life-saving aid. Brutality is in its full bloom. Israel, a built up habitat for those survivors of extremities during holocaust, now has spread out its own genocidal intent it had faced once several decades back. The poisonous flame of hatred has been kept alive by those who believed in clash of civilisations. At the end of the Second World War, to create the state of Israel, there was mass displacement of over 7,50,000 Palestinians. It was on May 15 that the mass displacement started taking place at the peril of huge masses. The date was a reminder of the tragedy that they had to go through and was called by the Palestinians, Nakba, Arabic for “catastrophe”. On May 15 this year, a100-page report, on ‘Genocide in Gaza: Analysis of International Law and its Application to Israel’s Military Actions since October 7, 2023’, was submitted to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, and the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. The report has been prepared by International legal experts over Israel’s genocide in Gaza after conducting the most comprehensive legal analysis to date of Israel’s military operation.

 

It is clear from its findings that Israel has committed and continues to commit genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Tens and thousands of displaced and also exhausted Palestinians have started their journey to the unknown seeking justice and succour. The report has been submitted at a moment when Israel invades Rafah, ‘last refuge’ for Gaza, forcing more than a million Palestinians to flee from Israel’s attacks on the southern city. The report has become a caution and to create awareness among other states that they have an obligation against any kind of injustice, and work together to prevent and punish Israel’s egregious violations of the prohibition on genocide. They also serve to strengthen the current legal cases against Israel in the International Court of Justice and against the Biden Administration in US federal court. The report finds that Israel has killed at least 34,568 Palestinians, 14,500 of whom are children, and injured 77,765 other Palestinians in Gaza, comprising more than five per cent of Gaza’s population in total. The operation has destroyed up to 70 percent of homes in Gaza, as well as the majority of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, universities, UN facilities, and cultural and religious heritage sites.

 

A staggering 1.7 million civilians—over 75 percent of Gaza’s population—have been forcibly displaced by Israel’s military offensive, and civilians in Gaza face catastrophic levels of hunger and deprivation due to Israel’s restriction on, and failure to ensure adequate access to, basic essentials of life, including food, water, medicine, and fuel. “This assault has been one of extremes: the deadliest conflict for journalists and aid workers ever recorded, the world’s fastest starvation rate ever, and more children killed in four months than all conflicts in the past four years combined. Simply put, the devastation in Gaza is unparalleled,” said Thomas Becker, Legal and Policy Director of UNHR. These actions have taken place as representatives from all levels of the Israeli Government have openly and repeatedly made statements evincing genocidal intent. “What is unique about the situation in Gaza is that Israel’s rights abuses and its leadership’s candid genocidal discourse has been on full display for the world,” said Susan Akram, Director of the International Human Rights Clinic at Boston University School of Law.

 

In the last few days, people on foot and vehicles have crowded the roads of Rafah. The southern city on the borders of Egypt is now in shambles, though formally Israel is yet to unleash the attack. Though a small city, Rafah now houses 1.5 million highly vulnerable Palestinians, majority of them being refugees who had been forced by Israelis to flee from north and central Gaza. The UN humanitarian chief has warned of horrific destruction which would have the apocalyptic consequences since the relief material is stopped by Israeli ruling circles. The military offensive of Israel has included in its offensive the blocking of food itself. Fuel is running out and the rescue material fails to reach those who need them. Famine has covered the entire area. The battles near the Rafah and Kerem Shallom Crossing in south of Gaza is a pointer that the vital passages are properly blocked. It has been clearly an effort to block all land routes too.

 

By land, to the south and for Rafah, to those who are uprooted from this city, any movement is almost impossible. In fact the Rafah operation has become a great negative fallout. These are the people that have been seeking to gain roots, as they have been chased away from Rafah that has turned into rubbles, and facing homelessness not once or twice but more than five to six times. The closure of the land-crossings for relief material has forced a significantly large number of Gazans on the verge of starvation. Although some relief supplies have been sought to be sent through sea, it cannot replace the land route as it cannot reach with adequate quantity. There are also some agencies trying to send relief like food materials, water and aid into Gaza, and also tents but all these initiatives are crushed by Israeli authorities. On top of all these, there is the continuing bombarding of Rafah over the weekends. (IPA)