Date: 11 February 2024

On 26 January 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) determined the plausibility that Israel is carrying out genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and ordered Israel to:

1. prevent the commision of genocidal acts
2. prevent and punish public incitement to genocide
3. ensure aid and services reach Palestinians

In the two weeks since the ICJ’s ruling, Israel has expectedly continued its genocidal war on Gaza in clear violation of the legally binding order and in total impunity.

For a recap of the violations in the first week after the ICJ ruling, click here. Below are the key documented violations over the past week.

Ongoing Genocidal Acts – Killings and Causing Serious Bodily or Mental Harm

• Since the ICJ’s ruling two weeks ago, the Israeli army killed around 1,979 Palestinians (among them at least 700 children and 400 women ) and wounded 3,124 others,^[1] bringing the total number of killings since 7 October 2023 to at least 28,064 and the injuries to 67,611.
• The body of 6-year-old Hind Rajab, who went missing for 12 days after an Israeli tank killed her family members in their car, was found on 10 February. Israeli forces also deliberately killed two PRCS members, in their ambulance “on their approved mission to rescue 6-year-old Hind”.
• Over the past two weeks, Palestinians in Gaza released from Israeli detention shared harrowing accounts of torture, beatings, starvation, humiliation and abuse, as Israeli soldiers continue to film their crimes.

Ongoing Genocidal Acts – Forcible Displacement and Inflicting Conditions of Life to Bring about Physical Destruction:

• Over the past week, Israel has continued its targeting of the health sector in Gaza, including hospitals and medical teams. As of 7 February, there are no fully functional hospitals in Gaza, with 13 of the 36 hospitals only partially functional.
• Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza city had again reverted to only minimal functionality, following days of intense Israeli attacks in its vicinity.
• Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis continues to be besieged and under Israeli attack for 21 days. The PRCS reported the displacement of around 8,000 internally displaced persons from the hospital on 5 February because of the continued bombardment around the hospital. In a ten-hour raid on the hospital on 9 February, Israeli forces damaged the hospital’s property, humiliated and beat and interrogated the staff, before arresting eight PRCS team members from the hospital, as well as four patients and five patients’ companions.
• On 9 February, Israeli snipers killed at least 21 Palestinians near the vicinity of the besieged Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, with medical staff among those targeted. In another incident, a 14-year-old girl, who was attempting to fetch water near the Nasser Hospital, was shot by Israeli snipers in front of the Hospital’s gate.
• Dr Mohammad Abu Silmiyeh the Director of Al Shifaa Hospital was subjected to torture and cruel treatment in his arrest by Israeli forces. He was beaten, kept naked for prolonged periods of time, subjected to degrading and dehumanizing treatment and both of his hands were broken.^[2]
• On 8 February, PRCS paramedic, Mohammad Al-Omari, was killed, and several other paramedics were injured, after Israeli forces directly fired on their ambulance, while they were transferring patients in a coordinated humanitarian mission from the north to the south.
• No access to clean drinking water in the northern governorates.
• 2 million people in Gaza are at imminent risk of famine. Of those 378,000 people are enduring an extreme lack of food, starvation and exhaustion of coping capacities and 939,000 people are at emergency levels.
• Earlier this month, Israeli Defence Minister Gallant said: “We are achieving our missions in Khan Younis, and we will also reach Rafah and eliminate terror elements that threaten us,” Over the past week, Israel has already extended its military offensive towards Rafah, which houses over 1.3 million Palestinians, including 600,000 children, making it the biggest refugee camp on earth. The preparation for the ground invasion of Rafah “could result in an unparalleled number of Palestinian killings, and forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to seek refuge into Egypt.”

Disrupting Humanitarian Aid

• Less aid has gone daily into Gaza as compared to the average daily trucks entering Gaza before 26 January. Before 7 October, the average number of trucks that entered Gaza each day was around 500. For the week between 19-25 January, 156 trucks entered daily on average. Between 28 January and 9 February, around 103 trucks entered daily on average.
• No aid has been delivered to the north of Wadi Gaza since 27 January, Except nine trucks on February 6.
• Israel is continuing its plans to shut down UNRWA, despite warning from human rights organizations of the catastrophic effects of this step on Palestinian lives.
• Israel’s targeting of civilian police is hampering aid delivery.
• During the two weeks, Israelis have continued to protest against entry of humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza at Karem Abu Salem crossing

Public Incitement to Genocide

• The Israeli attorney general did not press any charges against any Israeli for issuing genocidal statements.
• Yehuda Vald, an Israeli military officer, bragged about torching Palestinian homes in Gaza.
• An Israeli soldier on Facebook posted a video saying “The Nakba is going to be a sweet memory compared to what is waiting for them… we are the sons of Joshua who conquered this land from seven different peoples…. They are not only human animals. They are also idiots.”

Israeli soldiers continue to film themselves as they commit crimes in Gaza:

• Israeli soldier Adir Ken – Dror posted a video on Facebook under the title “Flattening the curve- Gaza”. Where he is seen filming the destruction of entire neighborhoods in Gaza.
• A video shows the mass destruction of houses in Gaza published on an Israeli telegram channel.

 

[1] According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health between 26 January and 10  February 2024.

[2] Testimony by Dr Bilal Azzam on behalf of Dr Mohammad Abu Silmiyeh, The First International conference to rebuild the Health sector in Gaza, 7 February 2024, Amman Jordan.