Gaza bloodshed: Israeli-Palestinian NGO declares Israel a war criminal
An Israeli-Palestinian NGO has declared the government and state of Israel as a “war criminal” as its atrocities in Gaza strip continue unabated.
Speaking to a private source, Yonatan Gher, a director of the NGO Combatants for Peace, said his organisation has been protesting against atrocities being committed by Israel since the past week.
“We will file a case against the government of Israel [for the Sheikh Jarrah expulsions],” he said. “We have informed members of the Israeli cabinet that they can be held accountable in a global investigation for their role in the Gaza massacre.”
Gher called on Israel to cease hostilities in Gaza at once.
Over 200 Palestinians massacred in Gaza
Over 200 Palestinians have been massacred since tensions rose in East Jerusalem two weeks ago.
The Israeli military claimed on Monday that Hamas and other Palestinian groups had fired about 3,350 rockets from Gaza – 200 of them on Monday alone – and that Israeli air and artillery strikes had killed at least 130 militants.
Gaza health officials put the Palestinian death toll at 212, including 61 children and 36 women, since hostilities began last week. Ten people have been killed in Israel, including two children.
Amid seemingly fruitless diplomatic efforts to stop the violence, top US military officer, Army General Mark Milley, warned that the violence could spread.
“My assessment is that you risk broader destabilization and you risk a whole series of negative consequences if the fighting continues,” Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters before landing in Brussels on Monday for talks with NATO allies. “It’s in no one’s interest to continue fighting.”
Israeli airstrikes on the Palestinian enclave continued overnight. Soon after dawn, missiles struck two buildings in Gaza City, sending plumes of thick smoke into the air.
Palestinians in the Strip fired rockets early on Tuesday that set off sirens in southern Israeli cities, sending thousands running for bomb shelters.
There were no immediate reports of injuries on either side.
The overnight rocket fire from Gaza appeared to be less than in previous nights. There was a six-hour lull in rocket fire overnight before they again began being launched at dawn, according to rocket siren information from the Israeli military.
