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SvennoJ on 13 July 2024
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Targeting of senior Hamas officials does not ‘justify killing civilians’

Analyst Hassan Barari says the reported justification for the al-Mawasi attack – the unconfirmed targeting of Mohammed Deif – is part of a “deliberate” strategy by Israel.

“This is a continuation of a deliberate strategy on the part of the Israeli government to kill as many Palestinians as possible, to put more pressure on Hamas, and also to perpetuate the war,” Barari, a professor at the Department of International Affairs at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera.

The targeting of senior Hamas officials does not “justify the killing civilians and innocent people in this way”, he said.

The attack is also a clear sign that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not interested in a ceasefire deal, Barari noted. “He’s not interested in any quietness, he’s not interested in any deal, short of submission of Hamas,” he added.


Hamas says Israeli claim it targeted leaders in al-Mawasi strikes was ‘false’

False allegations merely a way to cover up scale of ‘horrific massacre’: Hamas

“The Al-Mawasi massacre in Khan Yunis is a continuation of the Nazi genocide against our people. The American administration is an immediate direct partner in this crime.

“We condemn in the strongest terms this horrible al-Mawasi massacre in Khan Yunis, which is a dangerous escalation in the series of crimes and massacres being committed in the Gaza Strip by neo-Nazis. These massacre are unprecedented in the history of wars.

“This heinous massacre committed by the Zionist occupation army against al-Mawasi area, west of Khan Yunis city, which has been classified by the occupation army as safe areas and to which the Palestinian citizens were asked by the Israelis to move. The occupation warplanes, artillery and drones have intensively and successively targeted the displaced people tents with various types of weapons, killing hundreds. The martyrs and wounded are innocent and defenceless civilians.

“Israel’s allegations about targeting leaders are false and it is not the first time Israel has claimed to target Palestinian leaders, where their lies were proven false later. These false allegations are merely a way to cover up the big scale of the horrific massacre.

“The al-Mawasi massacre in Khan Yunis has been committed against an area that is crowded with more than eighty thousand displaced people. This is an obvious and clear confirmation from the Zionist government that it will continuing its war of extermination against our Palestinian people, through repeatedly and systematically targeting the defenceless displaced civilians in tents, shelters and residential neighbourhoods. This is a commitment of their ongoing heinous crimes against the civilians, without putting into consideration and paying attention to any of the laws of war that enforce the protection of civilians.

“The continuous disregard of the international laws and treaties, and these widespread violations against the defenseless civilians, wouldn’t have ever continued without the support provided by the American administration to the Zionist extremist government and its terrorist army, via covering up their crimes, and providing them with all means of political and military support, and paralyzing the hand of international justice from carrying out its role towards these crimes, which makes the US administration a full partner with Israel.”


Israeli forces on alert in occupied West Bank after al-Mawasi massacre: Report

Israeli forces are expecting violent disturbances and possible attacks on traffic routes, according to the Israeli media. The reports suggest the Israeli military is on alert in several areas of the occupied West Bank.

The development comes after a large-scale Israeli attack on Palestinian civilians in Gaza’s al-Mawasi area, which is designated by the army as a “safe zone”. At least 71 people have been killed in this attack.


Most victims ‘are kids’: Gaza civil defence member recounts attacks

Mohammed al-Mughair, a member of the Gaza rescue organisation, has told Al Jazeera the Israeli army attacked crews who were on their way to aid victims of the al-Mawasi attacks, which have killed at least 71 people and injured hundreds of others.

“While moving to the scene of the incident, [we] were targeted; two vehicles were targeted directly and this has led to the death of two of our colleagues. Six others were wounded, three of them were critically wounded,” he said in translated comments.

Describing the grisly scene of the attacks, which took place in an army-designated “safe zone”, he said that the civil defence has so far recovered 360 dead and wounded people. “Most of them are kids,” he added.

When asked if the killings of his colleagues would give him pause or cause him to be fearful as he continues his work, al-Mughair replied: “I am not scared, we don’t have any hesitation. We have been targeted more than once. We will continue our work, we will tell the Palestinian people that we are doing our best, and we tell our families when we go out for work that we might never come back again.”


PRCS says it attended to 102 people wounded in al-Mawasi attack

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says its ambulance crews have attended to 102 injured patients and recovered 23 bodies following Israeli forces’ targeting of tents sheltering internally displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi.

Seventy of the injured people and 21 bodies were transferred to the Red Crescent’s al-Quds Field Hospital, and 22 of the injured were transferred to al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, it said on X.