A United Nations inquiry has accused Israel of
committing “genocide” in Gaza, citing incitement by Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and other senior officials. The finding, issued Tuesday by the UN
Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI), said atrocities in the
Palestinian territory “are occurring and continuing to occur.” Israel rejected
the report as “distorted and false,” demanding the COI’s abolition.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military announced the
opening of a temporary transportation corridor via Salah al-Din Street for 48
hours, urging civilians to flee south toward designated “humanitarian zones.”
AFP correspondents reported fresh bombardments as more than 350,000 people fled
Gaza City. Still, many residents remain trapped, unable to afford relocation or
unwilling to leave.
“I won’t leave Gaza. There’s shelling here and there,”
said Umm Ahmed Yunes, 44, who is sheltering in her damaged home. She lamented
soaring costs of escape, saying, “Death is cheaper and more merciful.”
Displaced mother of four, Fatima Lubbad, described
sleeping on the streets in Deir el-Balah with 10 relatives: “I cried all night
as I looked at my children sleeping on the ground.”
The Israeli army said it has struck over 150 targets
in Gaza City since launching its ground offensive Tuesday, estimating that
2,000–3,000 Hamas fighters remain entrenched. About 40 percent of Gaza City’s
population has fled.
The war, triggered by Hamas’s October 2023 attack that
killed 1,219 people in southern Israel, has since claimed at least 64,964 lives
in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the territory’s health
ministry that the UN deems credible.
Hamas called the latest assault “systematic ethnic
cleansing,” while Gaza’s civil defence said at least 12 people were killed in
overnight strikes. Media restrictions prevent independent verification of
casualty figures.
International pressure is mounting. Qatar condemned
Israel’s actions as “an extension of its genocidal war,” while China said it
“firmly opposes Israel’s escalation.” Pope Leo XVI expressed solidarity with
Palestinians “forcibly displaced once again from their lands.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited
Doha this week, urging Qatar to continue mediating in Gaza talks, even as
Israel carried out strikes there on September 9 that killed five Hamas members
and a Qatari officer.
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