This article in Al-Sharq Al-Awsat documents the massive destruction caused by the recent Israeli military operation in the #Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza Strip. It describes how entire residential blocks, medical centers, #UN aid facilities, and water wells were demolished, leaving the camp in ruins.
Testimonies from returning residents like Umm Fadi (أم فادي) and Munir al-Masri (منير المصري) recount how their homes and neighborhoods were completely leveled. They accuse Israel of taking revenge on Jabalia, which has been a center of resistance.
[…] "My son and grandson were martyred during the first incursion into the camp, and now in this new incursion they destroyed our home, and destroyed all the homes of our neighbors. Even the schools were burned and large parts of them were demolished. What happened is they destroyed everything. They completely erased the camp."
[…] "The operation is clear. Its objective and results are clear. They destroyed our homes, water wells, medical clinics and schools - not #Hamas and its capabilities. The occupation even burned down and destroyed #UNRWA headquarters, leaving nothing of it remaining."
Israel claims the operation targeted Hamas' efforts to regroup in the camp. However, residents say Israel destroyed civilian infrastructure like markets and bakeries rather than just Hamas capabilities. But its actions show intent to erase signs of life in Jabalia. One merchant says shops and stalls were deliberately burned down, and another woman says Israel executed her brothers.
With ongoing rescue efforts by civil defense crews to recover bodies from the rubble, the Israeli operation comes across as involving widespread and indiscriminate destruction in the camp, far beyond its stated military targets.
I think it's cute that the only standard of international justice #Palestine recognizes is the #icj and #Hamas basically told the court to fuck off after it declared Hamas international criminals with #Netanyahu.
"Our Prime Minister got it wrong yesterday,” he said at a press conference.
"The Prime Minister should stand shoulder to shoulder with Joe Biden and the leaders of other countries around the world who have made the right call here."
from #TheGuardian
‘What’s happening is not genocide’: #Biden criticizes #ICC for seeking arrest warrants for #Israel officials – as it happened
[Live blog for May 20 - now closed, but still available]
It's not going to happen, but it's a step towards the right direction.
Judging by the way #ICC charged #Hamas, every ranking military serving in Gaza to be charged with #WarCrimes, just like they did with those in #Bosnia and #Rwandan.
But sadly, just #Netanyahu and #Gantz were those they could dare charging.
#ICC / Prosecutor asks for arrest warrants for three leading Hamas leaders, as well ass Netanyahu and Galant
[...] The office of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Monday said it was seeking arrest warrants against three leading Hamas militants for their alleged roles in the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Watch: ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan explains the charges against top Hamas and Israeli leadership in detail in this excerpt from his interview with @amanpour this morning at The Hague
[cont'd] The Israeli press is failing in its duty in covering the war in Gaza
The media, especially the news channels, are creating a black hole in Israelis' worldview. So there is a disconnect between how Israelis perceive the conflict and how it is viewed internationally, with Israelis struggling to understand the "sudden hatred" against them worldwide. Potential Israeli explanations range from the world forgetting the events of October 7th to ... yes, #antisemitism.
Over at "The Seventh Eye" (investigative online magazine dedicated to journalism and the media) Chen Egri writes that the real reason is that Israelis are largely unaware of the massive humanitarian disaster and civilian casualties in Gaza due to lack of media coverage on the issue. All major Israeli outlets except #Haaretz are ignoring basic facts about Palestinian deaths, injuries, displacement, etc.
This lack of knowledge creates an "unexplained gap" between international condemnation of #Israel's actions and how Israelis view the situation through the limited lens provided to them of defeating Hamas and Palestinian militancy.
[...] If in online and print journalism it is still possible to find some articles and reports on the civilian reality in Gaza, in television news channels, the main source of news information for Israelis, the situation is appalling. Channel 12 News, the news monopoly watched by most Israelis, refuses to report on the situation in Gaza.
[...] On the fundamentalist Channel 14 website, a counter of "the terrorists we have eliminated" is still prominently displayed. At the time of publishing this column, it stands at 34,971. Most of them, even according to #IDF estimates, were civilians who did not participate in the fighting. Like Hamas, Channel 14 also does not distinguish between infants and fighters. The counter on the N12 website does not wallow in bloodlust like Channel 14, but only shows the number of Hamas militants killed. Civilians are simply not mentioned.
[...] A search on the #N12 website yields a single-digit number of articles on what is happening in the Strip since the outbreak of the war, and even those mostly focus on the resentment of #Gaza residents towards #Hamas and the disaster it has brought upon them, with headlines like "Channel 12 News camera in Gaza: What do the Strip's youth think about Hamas?" What do the Strip's youth think about Israel? Channel 12 News does not address Israel's part in the situation of the Gaza Strip and its residents, or even simply the situation itself.
#UK / Defying PM, British Lawmakers From 11 Parties Want Solid Backing for ICC
A cross-party group of 105 MPs and peers (members of the House of Lords) in the UK sent a letter to the Foreign Secretary, urging the government to support the International Criminal Court (ICC). This comes after the British Prime Minister Rishi #Sunak criticized the #ICC's decision to seek arrest warrants for Israeli and #Hamas leaders as "deeply unhelpful."
In their letter, the MPs and peers from 11 different parties called on the government to clearly oppose any attempts to intimidate or undermine the independent and impartial ICC. They want the UK government to firmly back the ICC, despite the Prime Minister's criticism of its recent actions regarding Israeli and Hamas figures.