‘Full occupation’ of Gaza means ‘bloodiest stage of the genocide’
Legal experts say that Gaza has been under full Israeli occupation since 1967, but as Israel threatens to “occupy” the territory in the context of its ongoing war, advocates are warning that greater horrors may be inflicted on Palestinians.
“When Israel speaks of a ‘full occupation’ of Gaza as next step, what they mean is the military operating, on the ground, in the last remaining pockets where the vast majority of the Palestinian population is concentrated,” a Palestinian American analyst said in a social media post.
“They mean the bloodiest stage of the genocide yet.”
Media, press freedom groups warn ‘journalists in Gaza being starved to death’
Sixteen media organisations and press freedom groups, including Al Jazeera Media Network and the Committee to Protect Journalists, are calling for an end to Israel’s “forced starvation and targeting of journalists in Gaza”.
“Journalists in Gaza are being starved to death. Not metaphorically. Not slowly. But deliberately, and in real time, while the world watches,” the groups said in a joint statement.
More than 230 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since the war began in October 2023 in what experts say is a targeted campaign aimed at stifling media coverage of Israeli abuses in the enclave.
“Those who remain, and their families, are subjected to constant targeting, intimidation, and denied of their basic needs and now forced to choose between death by air strike or starvation,” the groups said in their statement.
“Their situation is dire and worsening day by day. Without immediate intervention by the international community, their lives are under serious threat, and they may not be able to continue reporting; their voices may fall silent,” they added.
“The journalistic community and the world bear an immense responsibility; it is our duty to raise our voices and mobilise all available means to support our colleagues in this noble profession.”
‘We are alive and dead at the same time’
The nonprofit group Defense for Children International-Palestine has shared testimonies from four children in Gaza grappling with daily life under Israel’s bombardment and blockade.
Jana, 14, said she only eats one meal a day as her family struggles to find food under the Israeli forced starvation policy.
“All night, my siblings and I were crying, and my mom and dad cried for us because of the hunger and misery we’re living in. We’re sick of this life – we don’t want to live this life any more. We don’t know how to live. We are alive and dead at the same time,” she said.
Sumaya, 16, also described the medical problems she faces as she and her family were displaced from their home and forced to share a classroom with three other families. She contracted jaundice as a result of the difficult living situation.
“The right to health doesn’t exist. Even when hospitals ask for help from abroad, the occupation refuses to allow medicine in,” Sumaya said. “I believe their goal is to kill the sick, children, and nurses.”
A Palestinian boy sits in a damaged home in Gaza City on August 6
Egypt FM says Gaza crisis a ‘stain’ on international community
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty says the international community should be ashamed by the “devastating actions being carried out by Israel”.
“What is unfolding is a human tragedy, and the suffering witnessed is a stain on the conscience of the international community,” Abdelatty said.
Egypt has formal diplomatic relations with Israel and borders Gaza. Cairo has stressed that it has thousands of aid trucks on its side of the border ready to go into the Palestinian territory if Israeli authorities allow them.
Earlier this week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi accused Israel of carrying out a “systematic genocide” in Gaza.
You are part of it, blocking aid just the same as Israel, keeping the border closed.
