As it continues to leave a mounting trail of death and destruction in Gaza, Israel has come under severe attack from the international community, including the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies, Western allies, the International Criminal Court (ICC) and scores of human rights experts.
During a conference in Paris, focusing on the new crisis unfolding in Lebanon, President Emmanuel Macron of France, a longtime Western ally and one of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council, had “sharp words for Israel reflecting the view, even among Israel’s allies, that it has used excessive force against its enemies, resulting in disproportionate casualties and destruction,” according to the New York Times October 25.
“I am not sure you can defend a civilization by sowing barbarism yourself,” Macron declared.
Meanwhile, the rising death toll in Gaza has topped over 43,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in retaliation for the 1,200 killed by Hamas inside Israel on October 7
And last week, over 150 civil society and non-governmental organizations (CSOs/NGOs) made a joint appeal to world governments to do “everything in their power to end this growing catastrophe and cycle of impunity. It is not only a moral imperative but a legal obligation.”
The CSOs urged all 193 UN Member States to “prevent further atrocities and ensure that those responsible for any violations of international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, are held accountable.”
Failure to act now risks further eroding international norms and emboldening perpetrators. The cycle of violence against civilians needs to stop, the CSOs declare.
The signatories include CIVICUS, Oxfam, United Nations Association — UK, Norwegian Refugee Council, International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN), Saferworld, and the Jewish Network for Palestine, among others.
Mandeep S. Tiwana, Interim Co-Secretary General, CIVICUS, told IPS “it’s deeply unfortunate that the United States government for all its talk of human rights continues to engage in moral dualism by providing diplomatic cover to the Israeli government.”
This is happening, he pointed out, despite overwhelming evidence of the commission of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by Israeli forces. “It’s fair to conclude that there’s an element of inherent racism in how the Biden administration has approached the situation in Palestine.”
In the face of a relentless assault by an occupying force, the plight of the Palestinian people matters less to America’s top diplomats than the plight of the Ukrainian people to whom the same administration has extended all sorts of moral and material support, he added
“Until Israel’s politicians and military brass are brought before an international tribunal to face justice the cycle of violence in the Middle-East will continue to repeat itself,” warned Tiwana.
Even the US, one of Israel’s closest allies, couldn’t restraint itself.
Addressing a UN Security Council meeting on October 16, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US Ambassador to the UN, said she “watched in horror as images from central Gaza poured across my screen.”
“There were no words, simply no words, to describe what we saw. Israel has a responsibility to do everything possible to avoid civilian casualties, even if Hamas was operating near the hospital in an attempt to use civilians as human shields. We have made this clear to Israel,” she said.
“Just as we have made clear to the Israeli government at the highest levels, that it must do more to address the intolerable and catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” the US ambassador said.
Dr. James Jennings, President of Conscience International, told IPS that “Gaza’s horror defies description”.
For Israel to bomb the enclave day and night for a full year is certainly criminal, he argued, but to impose an embargo on vital medicine and food needed by millions for survival is the absolute depth of inhumanity.
Lately it has been almost impossible to get volunteer teams of doctors and life-saving medical supplies into the enclave. Shipments of food aid are now embargoed with no explanation or reason. Besides being inhumane, it makes no military sense, unless the objective is to punish the entire population, which is a war crime, he said.
International outrage is needed to force the gates of Gaza open again, declared Dr. Jennings.
The NGO letter says: Israel’s war in Gaza, following the deadly attacks by Palestinian armed groups on 7 October 2023, is the latest and most horrific onslaught of violence in the decades-long Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.
After a year of unfathomable killing and destruction, patterns of civilian harm by Israeli forces are spreading and escalating from Gaza to Lebanon, while rocket attacks by armed groups in Lebanon continue. We are now on the precipice of even greater devastation across the region.
Failure to act now is a choice – a choice that will fail to stop and prevent future atrocities. The UN Commission of Inquiry concluded last week that Israel has committed war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination with relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities in Gaza, and called on member states to “cease aiding or assisting in the commission of violations.”
Over the last 12 months, the UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Gaza, including one calling for a ceasefire, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide Convention.
The ICJ also issued an Advisory Opinion that found that Israel’s occupation1 and annexation of Palestinian territory is illegal, and the UN General Assembly passed a resolution demanding that Israel end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) within 12 months. Despite this, none of these measures have been implemented or adhered to.
“The international community’s egregious disregard for international law and the government of Israel’s unchecked impunity in Gaza, the West Bank and now Lebanon, has set dangerous new precedents for the conduct of war,” says the letter.
For civilians in the occupied Palestinian territory and Lebanon, this has resulted in:
- Israeli military actions killing over 43,000 Palestinians across the oPt and more than 2,000 people in Lebanon.
- Israeli forces issuing displacement orders covering over 84% of Gaza’s territory and now 25% of Lebanon’s territory. These orders, combined with Israel’s bombardment, have forcibly displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population and over 800,000 people in Lebanon.
- An estimated 400,000 Palestinians are under siege and relentless bombardment in northern Gaza without access to food, water, fuel, or medical care. (UNRWA)
- The killing of over 300 Palestinian and international aid workers, and over 1000 health care workers in Gaza and 95 in Lebanon. UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon are also coming under attack by Israeli forces (UNIFIL). Israeli military attacks on hospitals, clinics, and ambulances have decimated the health care system in Gaza, and are destroying it in Lebanon – leaving millions without access to care.
- Countless children and adults are dying of malnutrition and facing the risk of starvation, directly induced by the Israeli government’s siege on Gaza, which includes systematic obstruction of humanitarian aid and essential services. (IPC)
- The killing of nearly 1,200 people in Israel during the Palestinian armed group led attacks on October 7, 2023 (OCHA).
- Rockets fired by Palestinian and Lebanese armed groups have killed and injured dozens of people (Amnesty International) and displaced over 140,000 Israelis.
- 101 hostages remain held by Palestinian armed groups, and thousands of Palestinians are unlawfully detained by Israeli forces in detention centers, including children, many whose whereabouts are unknown and have effectively
Many among us, says the letter, have repeatedly called for a permanent and unconditional ceasefire, hostage release, a halt to arms transfers, and de-escalation of tensions in the region, and yet the violence only appears to be intensifying.
Again, we call on all Heads of State and Governments, the UN Security Council, and actors on the ground to prioritise the preservation of human life above all else by:
- Securing an immediate ceasefire by all parties to the conflict and an end to the indiscriminate attacks that kill civilians and
destroy civilian infrastructure;
- Halting the transfer of weapons, parts, and ammunition to parties to the conflict that may be used to commit violations of international humanitarian law (IHL);
- Enabling unhindered humanitarian access for the delivery of lifesaving assistance, including food, medical supplies and fuel, and the safe movements of civilians and aid workers.
- Ensuring the protection of civilians from further forced displacement, and the right to return for those forcibly displaced. Civilians who choose to stay or are unable to leave remain protected under international law.
- Securing the release of all hostages and
- Immediately activating independent international investigations into all apparent violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes committed by all parties.
Governments must do everything in their power to end this growing catastrophe and cycle of impunity. It is not only a moral imperative but a legal obligation.
All Member States must prevent further atrocities and ensure that those responsible for any violations of international law, including war crimes and crimes against humanity, are held accountable. Failure to act now risks further eroding international norms and emboldening perpetrators. The cycle of violence against civilians needs to stop.
For more on what international humanitarian law says about occupation, please see commentary by ICRC.
Thalif Deen, Senior Editor, UN Bureau, Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency, is a former Director, Foreign Military Markets at Defense Marketing Services; Senior Defense Analyst at Forecast International; military editor Middle East/Africa at Jane’s Information Group, USA; and one-time UN correspondent for Jane’s Defense Weekly, London.
