One Year of US Complicity in Israel’s Genocide in Gaza | Palestine Policy Roundup 10.11.24
Welcome to a special edition of the Palestine Policy Roundup, a weekly publication of the IMEU Policy Project.
👀 ICYMI: MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SPEAK OUT
Rep. Pramila Jayapal on the investigation into the killing of US citizen Ayşenur Eygi: “I have received no information that gives me any assurance that the killing of a U.S. citizen by the IDF is being treated with the urgency it deserves…If the Israeli government is unwilling or unable to follow our own domestic laws as well as international humanitarian laws, we must demand accountability by stopping certain offensive U.S. military assistance. In this situation, to ensure the trust of our own U.S. citizens, we must initiate our own investigation into Eygi’s killing, use our leverage to demand changes to the IDF’s rules of engagement, and apply our domestic laws to this situation for full accountability.”
Rep. Chuy Garcia: “Since [October 7th], Israel’s bombing campaigns have killed more than 42,000 Palestinians and 2,000 Lebanese. The humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza grows by the day. A year in, Israel is not safer, many hostages are still being held by Hamas, and the Middle East is at an even more dangerous inflection point—on the precipice of a full-scale regional war. So as I once again condemn the horrific attacks one year ago and call for the hostages’ safe return, I also reaffirm my belief that the path toward safety for Israelis, Palestinians, and Lebanese alike includes stopping the flow of unconditional weapons from the U.S. to Israel, and securing a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.”
Rep.Cori Bush: “Over 42,000 Palestinians, including nearly 17,000 children, have been killed, which some studies show is likely an undercount. Gaza has been destroyed, millions of Palestinians have been displaced, and famine and disease are rampant. Of the hostages taken on October 7th, an estimated 97 people remain in captivity, alongside numerous others arbitrarily detained by the Israeli government over the course of many years…We must stop this violence, and prevent yet another endless war. We must stop sending the bombs and weapons fueling this violence. We must prioritize diplomacy and peace, and above all else, our collective humanity.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: “The Biden Administration has failed in its responsibility and own stated goals to prevent a wider regional conflict. The administration’s refusal to enforce U.S. Leahy laws and humanitarian standards has contributed to the devastation in Gaza, added to the profound human toll on and since October 7th, and allowed the conflict to escalate…The Biden Administration must uphold U.S. humanitarian law and withhold offensive military support when it is violated.”
ONE YEAR OF ISRAEL’S GENOCIDE IN GAZA
🚨 ISRAEL HAS KILLED COUNTLESS PALESTINIANS IN GAZA OVER THE LAST YEAR
Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza for an entire year. Israel has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, but that number does not capture the true scale of the carnage and destruction caused by Israel’s genocidal campaign. Medical professionals who served in Gaza estimated that the true death toll stands at 118,908 in a letter they sent to the Biden administration last week.
902 families have been totally wiped out by Israel’s genocide in Gaza–meaning every single individual member of those families have been killed over the last year. Thousands of families also have been nearly wiped out, with only one or two family members still alive. 17,000 children have been killed by Israel over the past year, and 26,000 children have lost at least one parent to Israel’s genocide. An estimated 10,000 Palestinian fatalities also have not been counted because they are trapped under rubble.
💣 US WEAPONS HAVE BEEN AT THE CENTER OF THIS GENOCIDAL CAMPAIGN
This death and destruction could not have been possible without US support and weapons. The US has appropriated nearly $18 billion for weapons to Israel over the last year, and the Biden administration has delivered more than 50,000 tons of weapons and military equipment, according to Israeli forces.
US weapons have been used in countless possible war crimes in violation of US law, which mandates weapons be cut off if they are used improperly. By June, the BIden administration had sent more than 14,000 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, and 2,600 air-dropped small-diameter bombs to Israel. The US also sent more than 3,000 JDAM units and nearly 14,000 120mm tank shells to Israel in December 2023. While the extent of known US weapons sent to Israel is staggering, the Biden administration has worked to keep many weapons sales secret.
The human impact of these weapons transfers are horrifying. An Israeli strike, using a US-provided GBU-39 bomb, on a displacement camp near Rafah in May, killed 45 Palestinians in an apparent war crime. That strike killed an 18-month-old Palestinian child Ahmad Al-Najjar, whose beheaded body was captured in a viral photo of the aftermath of the strike.
A US-supplied Hellfire missile was likely used in an Israeli air strike which killed Hani al-Jaafarawi, who was a senior health official in Gaza and was reportedly the 500th medical worker killed by Israel in Gaza.
US-supplied tank rounds were also likely used in the killing of Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old girl who was injured by an Israeli attack that killed her family and who later succumbed to her injuries. An investigation by Forensic Architecture found that the family car was hit by gunfire 335 times and was positioned as little as thirteen meters away from the Israeli tank when Hind’s cousin Layan Hamada was killed, making it “not plausible that the shooter could not have seen that the car was occupied by civilians, including children.”
While Hind survived this initial attack, she was badly injured and called the Palestine Red Crescent Society for help. A US-made tank shell was used to kill paramedics Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun, who attempted to respond to her calls for help. Hind was found dead two weeks later.
In June, 90 Palestinians were killed by an Israeli strike on the previously designated “safe zone” in Al-Mawasi. The tail fin of a US-provided Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) was identified in the aftermath of the strike. The Palestinians who were killed in this strike were displaced from their homes and were following Israeli orders to move into the severely overcrowded and unsanitary “safe zone,” only to be killed by an Israeli strike anyway.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, along with Sens. Jeff Merkley, Peter Welch, and Brian Schatz, have recently introduced joint resolutions of disapproval which would block the sales of some of the weapons outlined here and others, specifically JDAMs, 120mm tank rounds, 120mm high explosive mortar rounds, Medium Tactical Vehicles, and new F-15 fighter jets and parts for older jets.
IMEU Policy Project calls upon all Senators to cosponsor and vote for these JRDs.
🍎 INDIRECT DEATHS FROM ISRAEL’S GENOCIDAL CAMPAIGN WILL PLAGUE GAZA EVEN IF THE BOMBING STOPS
According to a study published by Brown University’s Costs of War Project, more than 62,000 Palestians are estimated to have been killed by starvation and 5,000 more are estimated to have been killed by lack of medical attention for both chronic and infectious diseases. The report cites Israel’s complete destruction of Gaza’s food and economic infrastructure as a driving force behind the starvation of Gaza, and also notes that Israel’s obstruction of aid and attacks on humanitarian workers have exacerbated the situation as Palestinians in Gaza struggle to find food and are unable to pay exorbitant prices for the little food that is available on the private market.
A report from Oxfam earlier this year found that Israel is using water as a weapon in Gaza. Published in July, the report found that Gaza’s water supply was reduced by 94% as a result of Israeli attacks on water infrastructure. This reduction left Palestinians in Gaza with less than 5 liters of water per day–less than the amount of water used in a single toilet flush. Water scarcity is undoubtedly contributing to disease outbreaks in Gaza, where polio re-emerged in children after its near eradication. Skin diseases are also running rampant in crowded camps as Palestinians are forced into cramped living conditions and unable to wash themselves with clean water.
According to a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification published earlier this year, 96% of Gaza’s population–2.15 million people–was facing high levels of acute food insecurity as of June. While Israel obstructed aid and created the conditions for famine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken lied to Congress when he certified that Israel was not deliberately obstructing US aid intended for Gaza. Determinations made by USAID and a State Department bureau that Israel was obstructing aid should have triggered an immediate halt of weapons shipments to Israel under Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act. The Biden administration is as culpable for deaths from starvation as they are for direct deaths from Israel’s attacks on Palestinians.
DC DEVELOPMENTS
🔍 REPORTS: BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IGNORED WARNINGS ABOUT WAR CRIMES, PUSHED MORE WEAPONS TO ISRAEL
Internal State Department documents reveal how the Biden administration and senior State Department officials continued to send US weapons to Israel despite knowing that they could potentially be used in war crimes, in violation of US law on weapons transfers. The reports, published by ProPublica and Reuters, are the latest revelations of the Biden administration’s disregard for US law when it comes to Israel; another report published by ProPublica only a few weeks ago revealed that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had received assessments that Israel deliberately obstructed aid to Gaza and lied to Congress when he later said that the State Department did not “currently assess” that Israel was obstructing the aid.
Both recent reports allege that senior State Department officials received repeated warnings from their subordinates of violations of international law committed by Israel. According to the Reuters report, senior Biden administration officials were warned by human rights groups and by their colleagues that there was “simply no way to have this scale of a displacement without creating a humanitarian catastrophe” as Israel displaced Palestinians from northern Gaza in the early days of its genocide.
The Reuters report also alleges that 16 weapons shipments which were objected to by the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Rights, and Labor were ultimately sent to Israeli security forces despite concerns about the conduct of these units. One of the units which allegedly raised concerns, Israel’s Yamam border patrol unit, was involved in the Nuseirat massacre which killed 274 Palestinians.
The report published by ProPublica reveals the role that US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew has played in expediting weapons shipments to Israel by ignoring human rights abuses committed by Israeli forces. Lew allegedly pushed for the US to approve a transfer of 3,000 GBU-39 bombs, citing a “decades-long proven track record” of avoiding killing civilians, contrary to public reports of Israel using 2,000 pound bombs in densely populated areas in violation of international law. The report also details the role that the arms industry has played in pushing the Biden administration to ignore US law and policy, and further details how senior State Department officials have ignored and overridden concerns about Israel’s human rights record even before its current genocide in Gaza.
IN THE NEWS
🏥 UN: ISRAEL COMMITTED WAR CRIMES, CRIME OF EXTERMINATION BY DESTROYING GAZA HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
The UN Human Rights Council’s Independent Commission of Inquiry found that Israel has committed “relentless and deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities,” according to a statement released by former High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay. The report detailed how Israel’s “concerted policy” to destroy the healthcare system in Gaza has amounted to war crimes and the crime against humanity of extermination. It also details the detention, abuse, and torture faced by medical personnel who are abducted by Israeli forces and taken to prisons inside Israel. The report alleges that the abuse of Palestinian detainees has taken place under direct orders from Israeli minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Earlier this year the Commission of Inquiry found that Israel and Palestinian armed groups have committed war crimes since October 7th. The report found that Israel has pursued a strategy of collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza, and found Israeli authorities are responsible for using starvation as a method of warfare and intentionally targeting civilians and civilian objects, among other war crimes.
🕊️ ISRAELI FORCES INJURE UN PEACEKEEPERS AS ASSAULT ON LEBANON CONTINUES
Two UN peacekeepers were injured by Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on Thursday as Israel continues to invade the country. Israeli forces allegedly struck an observation tower at the headquarters of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, which was established by UN Security Council Resolution 1701. Attacks on peacekeepers are considered violations of that resolution and of international humanitarian law. This attack follows multiple previous attacks on peacekeepers since Israel began its invasion of Lebanon.
As Israel continues its invasion of Lebanon, Human Rights Watch reported that Israeli airstrikes on the Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria are obstructing the flow of aid and the border crossing of fleeing civilians. According to the report, “The Israeli strikes cut off the main highway between Lebanon and Syria, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported that the border crossing, which has been the main route for civilians fleeing Lebanon into Syria, closed after the attack.” The obstruction of aid and of evacuating civilians are violations of the laws of war. Earlier this week, Benjamin Netanyahu warned Lebanon of “destruction like Gaza” if it did not remove Hezbollah from power.
PALESTINE/ISRAEL DEVELOPMENTS
🛑 ISRAELI FORCES TRAP THOUSANDS OF PALESTINIANS IN JABALIA AMID ONGOING INVASION
Israeli forces launched another invasion of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza this week, and issued displacement orders for more than 400,000 Palestinians yet again. However, Palestinians attempting to leave Jabalia report that Israeli forces are shooting at them. Hospitals in northern Gaza have also received so-called evacuation orders, which threatened medical personnel to either leave the premises or face “the same fate as al-Shifa hospital, with destruction, killing and arrest.” Israeli forces raided Al-Shifa hospital for the second time earlier this year, and mass graves were found on the premises of the hospital following the attack. Kamal Adwan hospital, which received an evacuation order, was reportedly surrounded and fired upon by Israeli forces.
The invasion of Jabalia is raising concerns of mass displacement after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly considered a plan to force Palestinians out of northern Gaza and declare the area a “closed military zone.” Such a plan would further exacerbate dire issues of overcrowding and sanitation in the Al-Mawasi designated safe zone.
🕌 US WEAPON USED IN ISRAELI STRIKE ON A MOSQUE BEING USED AS A SHELTER
A fragment of a US-supplied JDAM kit was found in the rubble of an Israeli strike on a mosque being used as a shelter. Israel struck the Ibn Rushd school and al-Aqsa Martyrs Mosque on Sunday, killing 26 Palestinians who were sheltering at the mosque. Israel also killed 28 Palestinians in a different strike on the Rufaida al-Aslamia school this week. That school was also being used as a shelter for Palestinians displaced by Israeli forces.
These strikes follow a horrifying pattern of Israeli forces attacking schools and other sites being used as shelters for displaced Palestinians. 85% of Gaza’s schools have been bombed over the last year, and fragments of US weapons have repeatedly been found at the schools in the aftermath of these strikes. Attacks on schools are considered grave violations against children, and are war crimes.
Image: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons