As Israel continues offensive operations in Gaza City, international scholars claim the nation’s actions amount to genocide.
Israel’s military is continuing operations in Gaza City, with the stated intention of destroying the militant Hamas organization and rescuing hostages that continue to be held after two years of war.
According to the Reuters news agency, residents said Israeli forces sent armoured vehicles into the city’s suburbs before blowing them up remotely. Israel has warned the city’s residents to leave immediately as it expands its offensive. They claim to be engaging Hamas forces throughout the city and have attacked various military targets in the area.
The Gaza health ministry has said almost 100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in the past 24 hours. Additionally, the ministry claims nine people, including three children, have died of malnutrition and starvation, raising the number of deaths from such causes to at least 348, including 127 children.
Israel has disputed those figures, saying deaths were caused by other medical issues.
Meanwhile, a group of international scholars has issued a resolution claiming that “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide” as well as crimes against humanity and genocide.
The resolution by the Association of Genocide Scholars was supported by 86% of voting members. The crime of genocide, defined as acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”, was codified in the aftermath of the Holocaust of World War II. Other organizations, including Israeli rights groups B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, have also accused Israel of committing genocide, a charge Israel vehemently denies.
Israel launched its military offensive in the Gaza Strip in response to an attack on Israel by Hamas militants in October 2023 in which approximately 1200 people, mostly civilians, were killed, and 251 hostages taken.
During two years of Israeli military operations, Gaza’s health ministry claims more than 63,000 people have died. Israel has challenged those numbers, without providing figures of their own.
