UN warns of genocide as bombardment intensifies, civilians killed, and journalists deliberately targeted
GAZA: Israel has launched a large-scale ground assault on Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban centre, in what marks a major escalation of its nearly two-year war. Overnight and pre-dawn air strikes on Tuesday killed at least 78 Palestinians, according to officials at Al-Shifa Hospital, which received the bodies.
Residents described a night of “heavy, relentless” bombardment as Israeli forces pushed deeper into northern Gaza. Medical workers warned that hospitals are overwhelmed, with the lives of premature babies and thousands of displaced civilians now at risk.
Doctors at Al-Shifa appealed for international protection for patients and staff. At the same time, aid organisation Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said it would continue operations despite what it called “catastrophic” shortages of medicines and electricity.
Hospitals Under Siege
Israel’s intensified bombardment in recent months has flattened residential blocks, killed thousands, and displaced tens of thousands. Gaza’s Health Ministry said Tuesday conditions are “beyond breaking point,” with doctors struggling to keep premature babies alive and families searching through rubble for missing relatives.
The UN’s Independent Commission of Inquiry last week issued its most damning assessment yet, concluding that Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide. This finding carries unprecedented weight within international law.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk condemned the ground offensive as “utterly unacceptable,” warning that civilians sheltering in the northwestern parts of Gaza were being targeted repeatedly despite having already been displaced multiple times.
Mounting Isolation
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, facing domestic and international backlash, acknowledged this week that Israel is entering a period of “isolation” that could last for years. Speaking at a finance ministry event, he said the country must prepare for reduced reliance on foreign trade and arms, describing an “autarkic path” for the economy.
“We’ll need to develop our weapons industry – we’re going to be Athens and super Sparta combined,” Netanyahu declared, while boasting of stock market stability. His comments come as France, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and the UK have imposed partial or full arms embargoes on Israel. The US remains its main weapons supplier.
At home, families of Israeli hostages and former military officials accused Netanyahu of endangering captives’ lives and further isolating the country. Opposition leader Yair Lapid called his economic plan “crazy,” while ex-army chief Gadi Eisenkot accused him of “abandoning the hostages and isolating Israel in the world.”
Global Condemnation
Across the Arab and Islamic world, leaders meeting in Doha denounced Israel’s assault as “genocide” and condemned its recent strike inside Qatar as a “cowardly attack.” Several Western allies, including France, Canada, and Australia, have planned to formally recognise the Palestinian state, a move sharply criticised by both Netanyahu and visiting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israel’s war has killed at least 65,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 165,000 since October 2023. Thousands remain trapped under rubble. By comparison, 1,139 people were killed in Israel during Hamas’s October 7 attack, which also saw about 200 hostages taken.
Türk said evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity is “piling up,” warning that women, malnourished children, and people with disabilities cannot survive “yet another intensification of violence.”
Journalists Targeted
In Geneva, UN Special Rapporteur Irene Khan accused Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian journalists to “cover up genocide.” She described Gaza as “the deadliest conflict ever for media workers,” with at least 252 journalists killed since October 2023.
“More journalists have been killed in Gaza than in both World Wars, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan combined,” Khan said, noting that just 14 journalists have died in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
Khan condemned Israeli “smear campaigns” portraying slain journalists as “terrorist supporters,” arguing the intent was not only to kill but to “kill the (news) story.” She also denounced Israel’s ongoing ban on international media access to Gaza, calling it a “terrible precedent” for press freedom.
