– Too many innocent Palestinians have been killed. Frankly – the level of civilian suffering, the images and the footage coming out of Gaza is appalling, said a grave Kamala Harris, vice president of Israel’s closest ally the United States, at a press conference the other day.
– We believe that Israel must do more to protect innocent civilians.
According to Hamas-controlled health authorities in Gaza, around 16,000 people have died since the start of the war on November 7.
Diplomatic crisis
Around the same time tweeted UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths that “apocalyptic conditions” now prevail in southern Gaza, that it is impossible for aid organizations to work because of the Israeli offensive.
– That’s enough now. It has to stop. . . An apocalyptic situation prevails, Griffiths told the paper The Guardian
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez went a step further. In an interview, he expressed doubts that Israel is complying with international law in the warfare in Gaza, an area controlled by the terrorist Islamist militia Hamas. Similar criticism has been brought forward from the Prime Minister of Belgium, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway and Amnesty International – among others.
Sánchez’s statement resulted in a diplomatic crisis, with ambassadors recalled.
– Israel is acting and will continue to act in accordance with international law, and will continue the war until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is wiped out from Gaza, Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen answered according to Politico.
Likely war crimes
The images of the suffering in Gaza, where around half the population is under the age of 18, leave few unmoved. Israel, for its part, emphasizes that it is at war with Hamas, not with the Palestinian people.
The Israeli military claims it is only targeting military targets, but accuses the Islamist movement of entrenching itself in tunnels under dense urban environments, in hospitals and schools, and using civilians as human shields.
The action likely constitutes a war crime, as does the sexual violence Hamas is accused of in connection with the attack on October 7.
But not protecting civilians sufficiently, as Israel is accused of, is also a violation of the laws of war. Pål Wrange, professor of international law at Stockholm University, believes that there is much in the growing blame against Israel.
– There are many indications that they (Israel) violated humanitarian law and committed some war crimes, he says.