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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/israel-kills-least-90-palestinians-gaza-safe-zone">electronicintifada.net</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Israel kills at least 90 Palestinians in Gaza "safe zone”</h1>
<p class="gmail-node__submitted">
<span class="gmail-field gmail-field-author"><a href="https://electronicintifada.net/people/maureen-clare-murphy">Maureen Clare Murphy</a></span>
<span class="gmail-field gmail-field-blog"><a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blog/rights-and-accountability">Rights and Accountability</a></span>
<span class="gmail-field gmail-field-publication-date"><span class="gmail-date-display-single">14 July 2024</span></span> </p>
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<p>Bodies of Palestinians who were killed in Israel’s attack on
al-Mawasi are brought to a hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, 13
July.</p><small>
<span>APA images</span></small>
<p>Israel massacred dozens of Palestinians in airstrikes in al-Mawasi,
the supposed “safe zone” along the coast in southern Gaza, and in Beach
refugee camp near Gaza City on Saturday.</p>
<p>At least 90 Palestinians were killed and 300 injured in the attack on
al-Mawasi, according to the health ministry in Gaza, and at least 20
Palestinians were <a href="https://aje.io/cc08zy?update=3044445">killed</a> after Israel bombed worshippers <a href="https://aje.io/cc08zy?update=3044238">gathered for noon prayers</a> outside the ruins of a mosque in Beach refugee camp.
</p>
On Friday, the Israeli military killed four workers at an aid warehouse in Gaza, <a href="https://x.com/IDF/status/1811873230967165078">claiming</a>
that it had targeted Husam Mansour. Israel alleged that Mansour was a
militant who worked at an aid organization to raise money for Hamas – an
unsubstantiated claim similar to those made by Israel against other
humanitarians in Gaza working for international charities who were <a href="https://www.msf.org/msf-response-israeli-allegations-linked-staff-killing">killed</a> and <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/israel-sentences-gaza-aid-worker-12-years-after-sham-trial">jailed</a> with impunity.
<p>The Al-Khair Foundation, a UK-based charity, <a href="https://alkhair.org/announcement-in-memoriam-husam-mansour/">stated</a>
that Mansour was a “cornerstone” of its team in Gaza and that his death
“is not just a loss to our organization but a devastating blow to the
humanitarian efforts in the region.”</p>
<p>The deaths of the aid workers came one day after Samantha Power, the
head of the State Department agency USAID, said that Israel promised to
improve safety for humanitarian workers in Gaza, where famine has taken
hold as a result of Israel’s blockade.
</p>
At least 38,345 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since 7 October,
though the actual tally is likely substantially higher. Thousands remain
missing in the rubble or their deaths as a result of secondary
mortality such as hunger, thirst and disease resulting from Israel’s
military campaign are not reflected in the fatality count.
<p>Saturday’s deadly attacks came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu appeared to be sabotaging what may be a final push to reach a
deal with Hamas that would see an exchange of captives and lead the way
for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.</p>
<p>Hamas condemned the “horrific massacre” in densely populated
al-Mawasi, the open area where Israel ordered Palestinians to move after
<a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/gaza-hospital-directors-release-exposes-israeli-torture">declaring one-third of Gaza a combat zone</a> last week.</p>
<p>Israel reportedly <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/07/13/israel-airstike-mohammed-deif-khan-younis">dropped five 2,000-pound bombs</a> in al-Mawasi, resulting in one of the deadliest attacks – if not the deadliest – since nearly 300 people were <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/palestinians-massacred-rescue-operation-lauded-us">killed in a raid</a> in <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/tags/nuseirat-refugee-camp">Nuseirat refugee camp</a> on 8 June.</p>
<p>Four Israeli captives were freed by the military in the Nuseirat
raid, during which Israeli forces posed as civilians and gunned down
Palestinians in the camp’s crowded market and streets. The office of the
UN human rights chief <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/us-blames-hamas-while-israel-prolongs-gaza-war">said</a> it was “profoundly shocked” by that operation in which the basic principles of the laws of war were blatantly disregarded.</p>
<h2>“False victory”</h2>
<p>Israel attempted to justify the massacre in al-Mawasi on Saturday by <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-strike-targets-hamas-military-chief-muhammad-deif-hamas-claims-at-least-70-killed/">claiming</a>
that it targeted Muhammad Deif, the elusive head of the Qassam
Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, and the commander of Qassam’s Khan
Younis Brigade.</p>
<p>One of Israel’s most wanted figures, Deif survived several previous
attempts on his life, including a 2014 attack that killed the military
leader’s wife and their two young children.
</p>
Netanyahu <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/israeli-pm-netanyahu-says-not-certain-that-hamas-leader-killed-strike-2024-07-13/">acknowledged</a>
during a press conference on Saturday evening that it was unclear
whether Deif and the Qassam Brigades commander were killed, which Hamas
denied.
<p>Khalil al-Hayya, deputy chair of Hamas, said in response that
Netanyahu had hoped to “announce a false victory” and said that the
blood of Deif is no more precious than that of the youngest Palestinian
child.
</p>
Al-Hayya suggested that Israel was killing more people in Gaza to
undermine negotiations with Hamas and that Netanyahu was grasping for an
illusion of victory before his address to US Congress later this month.
<p>Earlier in the day, following the al-Mawasi attack, Hamas said that
this was “not the first time the occupation has claimed to target
Palestinian leaders, and later it is proven to be a lie.”</p>
<p>“These false claims are merely a cover-up for the scale of the
horrific massacre,” the resistance group added in a statement published
on Telegram.</p>
<h2>“Justification always the same”</h2>
<p>Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, <a href="https://x.com/FranceskAlbs/status/1812159253865545927">observed</a> that “the justification is always the same: ‘targeting Palestinian militants.’”</p>
<p>Hamdah Salhut, an Al Jazeera correspondent, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/13/at-least-50-killed-in-israeli-strike-on-al-mawasi-safe-zone-in-south-gaza">said</a>
that the Israeli military repeatedly employs such claims, “saying
civilians are being used as ‘human shields’ for Hamas figures, using
that as justification for killing dozens of civilians.”</p>
<p>Assal Rad, an academic who closely observes the Western media’s
framing of the genocide in Gaza, said that the Israeli justification is
used by media outlets to treat the massacre of civilians in a “safe
zone” as “an afterthought in their headlines,” if they are even
mentioned at all:
</p>
Amjad al-Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network, <a href="https://aje.io/cc08zy?update=3044193">told Al Jazeera</a>
that the al-Mawasi massacre was “the message from Israel to the world
that again and again and again they are targeting Palestinian civilians
wherever they are.”
<h2>“Massive attack on the north”</h2>
<p>Following the massacre in al-Mawasi, the UN human rights office <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/un-human-rights-office-opt-ramallah-13-july-2024-un-human-rights-office-condemns-idfs-strikes-gaza-humanitarian-zones">condemned</a> Israel’s continued use of “weapons with area effects in populated areas of Gaza.”</p>
<p>A statement from the office noted that the deadly strikes on Saturday
came “right after another massive attack on the north, which lasted for
a week, resulting in further destruction and casualties.”</p>
<p>Israel laid waste to Shujaiya, on the eastern outskirts of Gaza City, in a two-week raid during which it <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-says-it-killed-shejaiya-battalion-deputy-chief-found-hamas-command-room-at-unrwa-site/">claimed</a>
to have killed a Hamas battalion deputy chief and commander in the area
and uncovered a command center in a facility belonging to UNRWA, the UN
agency for Palestine refugees.</p>
<p>Following the military’s withdrawal, residents returned to find that
troops had destroyed the majority of buildings in the area, including
residences, schools and medical clinics.
</p>
A spokesperson for the civil defense in Gaza <a href="https://aje.io/dv2b8f?update=3040920">said</a>
that the bodies of more than 60 people had been recovered in Shujaiya,
and that many more were missing under the rubble of destroyed homes.
<p>Dozens of people were also killed in Tal al-Hawa in southern Gaza City, the civil defense spokesperson said on Thursday.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, Israel once again ordered residents of Gaza City to
evacuate. Many Palestinians vowed to stay in Gaza City, no matter the
cost.
</p>
Itay Epshtain, an international law expert, <a href="https://x.com/EpshtainItay/status/1810968126537789823">said</a>
that “this is not a permissible evacuation but an act of forcible
transfer” that “shows the open-ended nature of hostilities in Gaza.”
Epshtain noted that “Israel appears interested as ever in a protracted
conflict.”
<p>The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor <a href="https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6407/">said</a>
that its field workers “are investigating reports that the Israeli army
forces committed extrajudicial killings and unlawful executions of
numerous residents, the majority of whom were women” during its
incursion into areas of western Gaza City between Monday and Friday.</p>
<h2>Quadcopters fired on rescue workers</h2>
<p>The UN office <a href="https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/un-human-rights-office-opt-ramallah-13-july-2024-un-human-rights-office-condemns-idfs-strikes-gaza-humanitarian-zones">said</a>
that the strikes on al-Mawasi on Saturday allegedly hit tents housing
displaced people, a food kitchen and a desalination plant where people
had gathered to collect water, “leading to tens of fatalities.”</p>
<p>Israeli military “quadcopters reportedly targeted emergency rescue
workers, killing at least one civil defense worker and injuring several
others,” the human rights office added.</p>
<p>The UN office once again pointed to “a pattern of willful violation
of the disregard of [international humanitarian law] principles of
distinction, proportionality and precaution” and “a rampant disregard
for the safety of civilians.”</p>
<p>Even if Palestinians belonging to armed groups were present among
civilians, “this would not remove [the Israeli military’s] obligations”
to comply with the fundamental principles of the laws of war, the UN
office said.</p>
<p>Video of the immediate aftermath of the Israeli attack in al-Mawasi
shows injured and dead people who appear to be civilians, including
someone wearing a civil defense vest, lying in the streets as a black
plume of smoke rises from an area adjacent to a tent encampment:
</p>
Another video shows people attempting to dig victims out of a massive
crater with their bare hands. A man’s left arm and shoulder is seen
protruding from the sandy soil as a child says, “that’s my father, has
he been martyred?”
A witness says in the same video that “all of Gaza is wanted” by the
occupation.
<p>The man adds that there was a fire belt – a series of heavy bombs
dropped in the same place – without warning on the tent encampment. When
rescuers arrived, F-16 jets “bombed the paramedics and civil defense
team,” he says.
</p>
The head of the World Health Organization <a href="https://x.com/DrTedros/status/1812171427656712564">said</a>
that Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, which received 134 people
severely injured in the al-Mawasi attack, “is extremely overwhelmed by
the influx of patients.”
<h2>Netanyahu stalls negotiations</h2>
<p>After the deadly attack in al-Mawasi, Ghassan Abu Sitta, a British
Palestinian surgeon who was working in Gaza during the first weeks of
the genocide, <a href="https://x.com/GhassanAbuSitt1/status/1812072873139335583">said</a> that “Israel committed this massacre to foil the ceasefire negotiations.”
</p>
Egypt officials <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/gaza-talks-halted-until-israel-shows-its-serious-about-negotiations-say-egyptian-2024-07-13/">told Reuters</a>
on Saturday that the indirect talks between Hamas and Israel “have been
halted after three days of intense negotiations failed to produce a
viable outcome … blaming Israel for lacking a genuine intent to reach an
agreement.”
<p>Earlier in the week, an unnamed “former senior Egyptian official with knowledge of the negotiations” <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/07/12/gaza-cease-fire-israel-hamas/">told <em>The Washington Post</em></a> that “Netanyahu does not want peace. That is all.”</p>
<p>The official added that Netanyahu “will find excuses … to prolong
this war” until the US elections, in which Republican candidate and
former president Donald Trump, who was <a href="https://apnews.com/live/election-biden-trump-campaign-updates-07-13-2024">lightly injured</a> after gunshots rang out during a campaign event on Saturday, may be voted into a second term.</p>
<p>Whatever Netanyahu’s motivation, Israeli defense officials have <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-07-10/ty-article-timeline/.premium/how-netanyahu-has-systematically-foiled-talks-to-release-hostages-from-hamas-captivity/00000190-9b91-d591-a7ff-fff341120000?lts=1720739621868">told the <em>Haaretz</em> newspaper </a>
that the prime minister has “repeatedly torpedoed” progress towards a
deal with Hamas to free the remaining captives held in Gaza since 7
October.</p>
<p>The officials said that “in his attempt to derail negotiations,
Netanyahu relied on classified intelligence and manipulated the
sensitive information.”</p>
<p>In recent days, an unnamed senior official <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/senior-official-says-netanyahu-holding-up-hostage-truce-deal-with-new-demands/">told Hebrew-language media</a>
that Netanyahu’s new demand to build “a mechanism to prevent the
movement of armed operatives” within Gaza threatened to derail a deal.</p>
<p>“This is the moment of truth for the hostages,” the official told
Channel 12 news. “We can reach an agreement within two weeks and bring
the hostages home.”</p>
<p>But Netanyahu’s new demand “will stall the talks for weeks and then there may not be anyone to bring home,” the official said.</p>
<h2>US resumes weapons shipments</h2>
<p>While US President Joe Biden <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/biden-says-israel-gaza-war-should-end-now-2024-07-11/">said</a>
on Thursday that he was “determined to get this deal done and bring an
end to this war, which should end now,” his national security adviser
Jake Sullivan <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2024/07/11/on-the-record-press-gaggle-by-apnsa-jake-sullivan/">told reporters</a> that “there’s still miles to go before we close, if we are able to close” on an agreement.</p>
<p>With the US putting no real pressure on Israel, and continuing to
supply weapons, more massacres of Palestinians in Gaza are all but
guaranteed.</p>
<p>The US said in recent days that it will <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckkg6x62z6wo">resume the shipments</a>
of 500-pound bombs to Israel after pausing a transfer of those weapons
and 2,000-pound munitions in May to deter a major Israeli offensive in
Rafah, southern Gaza, which went ahead anyway.
</p>
The Washington-based human rights watchdog DAWN <a href="https://dawnmena.org/biden-administration-dont-reverse-suspension-on-500-pound-bombs-to-israel/">said</a>
that the “partial lifting of the one solitary pause on munitions to the
[Israeli military] in the face of overwhelming evidence of war crimes
is a criminal offense under international law.”
<p>The group’s advocacy director called on the International Criminal
Court to investigate US officials for their complicity in “genocidal
atrocities in Gaza.”</p>
<p>Karim Khan, International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, <a href="https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/icc-warrants-both-historic-and-cynical">announced in May</a>
that he was pursuing arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Israeli defense
minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders Muhammad Deif, Yahya
Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh.</p><br>
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