Real pressure urged to stop Israeli attacks

Humanitarian organization Save the Children has called for the international community to pressure Israel to stop killings of civilians. This comes amid the latest massacres involving children and journalists in the Jabalia refugee camp in north Gaza and in south Lebanon.

Alexandra Saieh, head of humanitarian policy and advocacy at Save the Children International, underscored that the situation for children in Gaza was now "absolutely catastrophic" and no military goal could justify the mass killing of civilians being seen in Gaza daily, according to a report by Al Jazeera.

"We are seeing Israeli forces attack schools-turned-shelters in Gaza now on a regular basis. And by the international community refusing to take action, they've just normalized this," Saieh was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

In an analysis published in September, British charity Oxfam said more women and children have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli military since Oct 7, 2023, than the equivalent period of any other conflict in the last two decades.

"Conservative figures showed more than 6,000 women and 11,000 children were killed in Gaza by the Israeli military over the last 12 months," the report said.

The latest atrocities reported by WAFA Agency on Friday involved the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya. Israeli forces reportedly stormed the hospital, instructing patients to move to the main courtyard. The hospital director noted that some windows in patient rooms were shattered from shelling by Israeli forces.

Israeli forces also carried out an air-strike on a residential complex in the Jabalia refugee camp on Thursday evening, reportedly killing 150 civilians, including women and children.

Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the Israeli attacks targeting the Jabalia camp as "savage", in what it said was "a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, a continuation of the systematic brutal targeting of civilians, and a horrific war crime for which those responsible must be held accountable", the Jordan News Agency reported.

Sufian Qudah, the ministry's official spokesman, said Israel continued to commit "war crimes and ethnic cleansing", and it does "not care about the international will calling for an end to the war and the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe it is causing".

Journalists killed

In southeast Lebanon, it was widely reported that an Israeli air-strike hit a compound housing journalists, with Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV confirming its cameraman and broadcast technician were among the casualties early in the morning on Friday.

The Associated Press reported that Al-Manar TV of Lebanon's Hezbollah group said its camera operator Wissam Qassim was also killed in the airstrike on the Hasbaya region.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists' update on Thursday, its preliminary investigations showed at least 128 journalists and media workers were among the tens of thousands killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and Lebanon since the conflict began, making it the deadliest period for journalists since the committee began data gathering in 1992.

Meanwhile, more than 2,000 Israeli citizens, who include academic professionals, Holocaust and history experts, as well as former ambassadors and law experts in Israel and abroad, have penned an open letter to the international community in 11 languages to "intervene immediately and implement every possible sanction toward achieving an immediate cease-fire between Israel and its neighbors".

They accused the government of Israel of having "abandoned its citizens who are hostages" and "neglecting the residents of the south and north of Israel".

"The lack of true international pressure, the continuation of arms supplies to Israel, economic and security partnerships and scientific and cultural collaborations, bring most Israelis to believe that Israel's policies enjoy international support," the letter published in the British daily newspaper The Guardian read.

"The leaders of many countries make repeated statements about the horror they feel and verbally denounce Israel's operations, but these condemnations are not backed by practical actions. We are replete with empty words and declarations," it said.

They also appealed to "save us from ourselves" and urged to use "real pressure on Israel for an immediate cease-fire".

jan@chinadailyapac.com