The onslaught on Gaza is non-stopping and gaining pace. In the last few days, the attacks from the air, ground and sea have claimed hundreds of lives.
The majority of dead and wounded are women and children. As of November 4, the number of those killed was 9,485 of which 3,900 were children and so were 7,000 of more than 24,000 injured.
It is not hard to imagine that this is just the tip of the iceberg and that many more are buried under the mountains of rubbles of destroyed homes.
Recently the world has witnessed a mass slaughter of people in Jabaliya refugee camp whose ruins continue to be pounded causing more death and injury. On Nov 4, a UN school in Jabaliya camp was bombed, where hundreds were taking shelter hoping to find some safety.
The lack of staff, equipment, medicines and basics like fuel (which Israel is banning from entering the strip), electricity and water, which Israel has disabled and damaged, has led to closure of 16 of 35 Gaza hospitals. In this time of extraordinary demand for medical services, those hospitals which are still operating are on the brink of collapse.
The Nov 4 bombing of the outside areas of Al Quds and Al Naser Children’s’ hospitals will certainly speed up the process of eliminating medical services. On Nov 3 we had a major carnage and bombing of people and ambulances at the gates of the largest Gaza’s hospital Al Shifa, as well as bombings near Al-Quds Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza City and North Gaza governorates.
The Israeli occupation is also starving and denying water to the population of Gaza, an action murderous no less than dropping bombs. The lack of fuel also means lack of communication as people cannot charge their phones.
The Israeli government is carrying out a genocide, as many experts and organisations have called (see Raz Segal intervention, JVP appeal), sometimes under the pretext of destroying Hamas, when it is clear that the aim is to destroy the community and “clear” Gaza from its inhabitants (as the calls to nuke Gaza, and the leaked plan to expel all Palestinians from Gaza have proven).
There is no lack of outcries and reminders that attacking schools and hospitals is a war crime but those who have power to stop them and make them account for their deeds, have so far failed to do so.