Israel has already dropped more than 25 thousand tons of bombs on Gaza: two atomic bombs since October (171st day of war)

There are “plausible reasons” to conclude that Israel is committing deliberate genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, assured this Monday the UN editor for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, responsible for the report “Anatomy of a Genocide” – which will be presented tomorrow to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Analyzing patterns of violence and Israel’s policies in Gaza, the UN team concluded that there are three genocidal acts taking place in the enclave: “murder of members of a group”, with more than 30,000 Palestinians killed in five months of conflict, “serious bodily or mental harm to members of a group”; and “deliberately inflicting upon a group conditions calculated to bring about its total or partial physical destruction.”

In the most dramatic cases, the person responsible pointed out, the deliberate shortage of medical supplies forced amputations without anesthesia. More than 70,000 Palestinians have been injured since the October invasion: the amount of explosives used against Gaza already exceeds 25,000 tons, the equivalent of two nuclear bombs.

Furthermore, 77% of the territory’s health facilities were destroyed, as well as 68% of telecommunications infrastructure and 60% of homes and educational institutions – including all universities in Gaza, notes the UN.

“More generally, Israel’s actions are driven by a genocidal logic essential to its colonialist project in Palestine”, recalling the existence of “practices that tend towards the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians” between 1947-1949 and in 1967. “ The ongoing ‘Nabka’ must stop once and for all”, said Francesca Albanese.

Is the immediate ceasefire proposal approved at the UN binding?

Despite the approval of a proposal for an “immediate ceasefire” in the UN Security Council through the abstention of the United States, Washington guaranteed today that the decision “is not binding”. The words were spoken today by Matthew Miller, White House diplomatic spokesman, a few hours after the United States ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, had also pointed in that direction.

“It is a non-binding resolution, so it has no impact on Israel or its ability to continue fighting Hamas,” said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

Despite the North American position, several United Nations diplomats confirmed that it is a binding resolution, as is the case of the ambassadors of Mozambique and Sierra Leone, both with legal training.

“Under the UN Charter, all UN Security Council resolutions are binding and obligatory and all Member States are obliged to implement these resolutions,” said Mozambique’s representative to the UN, Pedro Commissioner Afonso.

The decision was well received by the international community. António Guterres called for the Council’s decision to be implemented on the ground, the European Union highlighted the “urgency” of respecting the vote, and the Palestinian Authority received it with hope and called for an end to the invasion of Gaza.

The two sides in the war reacted differently. In a statement, the Hamas leadership criticized Israel’s position and insisted on the demands of recent weeks: a ceasefire that includes the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, the return of displaced populations, and a “real prisoner exchange”. The group that governs the enclave accuses Netanyahu of sabotaging the negotiations and “obstructing” reaching an understanding.

On the other hand, Israel’s Defense Minister assured that the war will continue as long as there are hostages in the territory. “We do not have the moral right to stop the war as long as there are hostages in Gaza,” said Yoav Gallant, in Washington, before meeting with the White House National Security Advisor and US Secretary of State.

Other news

> The US air force dropped more humanitarian aid under northern Gaza, totaling 46,000 meals and other essential goods, the US central command announced. Washington denied being responsible for a similar operation that killed five Palestinians earlier this month, after the parachutes supporting the packages failed to open.

> Furthermore, Israeli border authorities guarantee that this Monday they allowed more than 200 trucks with humanitarian aid to pass through the border with Egypt to Gaza, and another 25 on the Jordanian side. These operations are still not enough to stop hunger in the enclave, points out the international community

> The White House also guarantees that Israel is not planning to invade Rafah “in the next few days”. An offensive on the city in southern Gaza has been promised by the Tel Aviv government as the only way to eliminate Hamas, but Washington has warned of the humanitarian consequences and demanded to see a military plan that protects civilians. Today, the US also stressed that Israel has guaranteed that it will not use weapons in violation of international law.

> On the ground, news of attacks and deaths emerged throughout the day: Israeli troops arrested 300 Palestinians after an operation in the Hamas residential neighborhood, in Khan Younis, Gaza. Dozens of people were injured. At the same time, Hamas’ armed wing launched rockets at Israeli positions in al-Shifa hospital.