25,000 tonnes of explosives dropped on Gaza, ‘largely’ using AI: UN expert
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territory, has said that 25,000 tonnes of explosives have been dropped on Gaza, “largely identified as targets by artificial intelligence [AI]”.
Albanese added that 250 people were killed per day during the first weeks of Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip when she says 2,000-pound “bunker buster bombs” were “launched on densely populated areas”.
Albanese made the comments after Israel’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Tzipi Hotovely, told the UK broadcaster Sky News to “just imagine how things would have looked” if a huge missile fell “in the middle of a city like Jerusalem”.“Just think about it hitting neighbourhoods and people and children,” Hotovely said.
Hotovely made the comments in an interview about the missiles and drones Iran launched on Israel on Saturday night, which she acknowledged caused “barely no damage”.
Israel hits neighborhoods, people and children every single day
And that's a lower estimate as well
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240104-israel-dropped-65000-tonnes-of-bombs-on-gaza-in-89-days/
Israel has dropped more than 45,000 bombs on Gaza weighing more than 65,000 tonnes, the Gaza Media Office has said.
“Occupation aircraft dropped over 45,000 missiles and giant bombs, some of them weighing 2,000 pounds of explosives, during the comprehensive genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, deliberately targeting entire residential areas,” it said.
“The weight of the explosives dropped by the army on the Gaza Strip exceeded 65,000 tonnes, which is more than the weight and power of three nuclear bombs like those dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.”
The office said about “two-thirds of the bombs and missiles … are unguided and imprecise, commonly known as dumb bombs.”
It pointed out that the use of such bombs indicates “the deliberate targeting of indiscriminate and unjustified killing by the occupation, a clear and explicit violation of international law and various international conventions.”
48 countries ‘unequivocally condemn’ Iran’s ‘large-scale attack’ on Israel
The United States, Israel and 46 other countries have issued a joint statement “unequivocally” condemning Iran’s “large-scale attack” on Israel on Saturday night. The statement said, “Several hundred ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and attack drones … could have caused significant damage and loss of life.”
The countries also said Iran “violated the airspace of several” other countries, putting “at risk the lives of innocent people” and “appeared to traverse airspace near holy sites in Jerusalem”.
More than half of the countries that signed the joint statement were from Europe, with other signatories including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Ecuador, Japan, New Zealand, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea and South Korea.
The 48 countries that signed the joint statement also welcomed efforts to avert a “further immediate escalation of violence in the region” and said there had been “successful coordinated to defend against Iran’s attack”, although it did not mention the countries involved specifically.
The statement also said “Iran’s escalatory attack” was “the latest in a pattern of dangerous and destabilising actions by Iran and its militant partners that pose a grave threat to international peace and security”.
It noted Iran seized a Portuguese-flagged ship in the Red Sea on Saturday and called for the ship’s crew to be released immediately.
The ship was the first to be directly seized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and reportedly had ties to Israel via billionaire Eyal Ofer.
Only the West can seize ships and assets, silly Iran.
The hypocrisy of the West. The lives of Israelis that could have been in danger far outweigh the 34,000 people actually blown up in Gaza while slowly being starved to death.
UN Security Council yet to issue statement on attacks on Iran’s consulate or Israel
The new joint letter from 48 countries condemning Iran’s attacks on Israel comes after the UN Security Council (UNSC) failed to issue a joint statement following an emergency meeting called for by Israel.
The Security Council has also yet to adopt a statement condemning the earlier attack by Israel on Iran’s embassy compound in Syria, after the United States, Britain and France blocked a Russian-drafted statement on April 2.
It is worth noting that the new letter of condemnation from the US, Israel and 46 other countries “demand[s] that all Council resolutions be fully implemented”, but does not specify which resolutions it is referring to.
Israel has historically ignored UN resolutions and has consistently criticised the United Nations and its agencies in recent months, while senior Israeli officials have called for the resignation of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
On March 25, the UNSC passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the release of all captives.
The White House says it will soon announce a new round of sanctions against Iran
Professor Mohamad Elmasry, of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said it has been “fascinating” to watch as the US and allied countries refuse to condemn, or even acknowledge, Israel’s attack on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus.
“They are turning a blind eye to Israeli aggression and they are throwing all of the blame on Iran, which was just retaliating,” Elmasry said. “This is what US foreign policy does, and I think we can expect more of that unfortunately,” he told Al Jazeera.
Europe’s Iran sanctions will target drone, missile producers: EC chief
European Union leaders have agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran’s drone and missile producers, European Council chief Charles Michel has said at an EU summit in Brussels.
“The idea is to target the companies that are needed for the drones, for the missiles,” the council president told reporters, adding the sanctions were “a clear signal that we wanted to send”.
How about target the companies that make mass killing AI programs and other tools of oppression and illegal surveillance. Target companies that make Israeli drones that kill women and children on a daily basis. Target companies sending more bombs and missiles that kill innocent civilians on a daily basis. Target companies investing in Settler movement and other Zionist development projects.
You're sending a very clear signal that genocide is OK, while retaliating against genocide is not OK. Disgusting.
