Mass graves ‘an indication that war crimes have been committed’
William Schabas, a professor of international law at Middlesex University London, spoke to Al Jazeera about the legal implications of the mass graves found in the Nasser Medical Complex. He said mass graves have “always been an indication that war crimes have been committed, whether it was in the former Yugoslavia, Ukraine and now in Gaza”.
“There’s an obligation under international law to see that the dead are treated with respect and with dignity, that they’re buried according to rights, and that they can be identified by their next of kin. And none of that appears to be done. So Israel has a lot of explaining to do,” he said.
The fact that some of the bodies were apparently bound up or tied “points to summary execution” and calls for full-blown criminal investigation with a view to holding the perpetrators accountable, Schabas said.
The obvious institution to prosecute the perpetrators, he noted, is the International Criminal Court, which he said “jumped to attention” and immediately investigated the mass graves found outside Kyiv in 2022.
In the case of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, the US and plenty of Western countries expressed their outrage. In contrast, the lack of outrage expressed around the mass graves found in Gaza, Schabas says, points to “double standards” that have “always been a feature of the attitude towards Israel by its supporters, the various Western governments led by the United States”.
Majority don’t believe Israel is on verge of victory in Gaza: Poll
A poll conducted for Israel’s Channel 13 has 68 percent of respondents saying that they did not believe Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that Israel was “one step away from victory” in Gaza.
Only 16 percent of respondents believed Netanyahu.
Separately, the poll predicts that Benny Gantz’s “National Unity” political alliance would emerge victorious in any parliamentary elections, with 30 seats; and Netanyahu’s Likud behind, with 20 seats. Gantz and his allies would likely have enough to secure a majority and dethrone the prime minister, reflecting public anger against Netanyahu.
Rafah operation ‘inevitable and imminent’
Mohamad Elmasry, a professor in the Media Studies programme at Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera that he expects the Israeli military to launch its long-feared assault on Rafah soon, despite the humanitarian consequences for civilians.
“It seems like it’s imminent … Israel has been warning for many weeks now that it’s going to invade Rafah, and then a few weeks ago it said that it had identified a specific date for its invasion,” Elmasry said. “More recently, there have been reports to suggest that the United States may have signed off on the invasion of Rafah in exchange for Israel not escalating with Iran.”
With Israel still unable to achieve its war goals, including freeing the remaining captives held in Gaza and defeating Hamas militarily, Elmasry posited a few possible reasons for such an operation.
“From one perspective [Israel] can try to salvage something out of [its war on Gaza] militarily. Maybe that’s rescuing hostages, maybe that’s killing Hamas leaders and other possible things they could point to as evidence of victory,” he said. “Another way to look at it more cynically … Israel’s ultimate end game is to try to make life unlivable for Gazans so that Israel can implement its greater Israel plan. That means transferring the population outside of Gaza.”
Baby delivered from mother killed in Israeli strike is in ‘stable’ condition
We now have an update regarding the Palestinian baby girl, Sabreen Jouda, who was delivered prematurely after her mother was killed by an Israeli attack. She has been placed in an incubator at the Al-Helal Al-Emairati Maternity Hospital in Rafah.
A Palestinian baby girl, Sabreen Jouda, who was delivered prematurely after her mother was killed in an Israeli strike along with her husband and daughter, lies in an incubator in the al-Helal Hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza, Sunday, April 21, 2024
The baby, weighing 1.4kg (3lb), was delivered in an emergency caesarean section and is stable and improving gradually, according to Mohammed Salama, a doctor caring for her.
An Israeli attack in the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed the baby’s mother, father and sister.
