HRW Slams West's 'Double Standards' on Israeli War Crimes as Gaza Death Toll Nears 3,800
HRW’s deputy programme director Tom Porteous says the Western states rushed to condemn what they called war crimes by Russia after it attacked Ukraine 18 months ago, however, they remain silent when it comes to Israeli crimes in Gaza.
“Where are the clear and unequivocal calls for Israel to respect international norms in its attack on Gaza, let alone for accountability,” Porteous asks in a statement.
“Where is the clear condemnation of the cruel tightening of the 16-year closure of Gaza that amounts to collective punishment, a war crime,” he continues.
“The hypocrisy and double standards of Western states are flagrant and obvious."
Gaza death toll nears 3,800
The remarks come as according to a UN report, the regime's bombardment of Gaza killed 307 Palestinians in the 24 hours up to Thursday evening, bringing the death toll since Israel declared war on the Palestinian enclave to 3,785 – of whom at least 1,524 were children and 1,444 women.
The actual death toll in Gaza is likely to be far higher as hundreds more victims remain buried under the rubble of buildings leveled by the Israeli onslaught, which is nearing the end of its second week, Al Jazeera reported.
“On 15 October, about 100 unidentified bodies were buried in a mass grave in Rafah due to the lack of refrigerated space to store them until recognition procedures are conducted,” the UN said.
The UN released other startling facts and figures on the devastation being inflicted on Gaza: At least 30 percent of all housing in the Gaza Strip has been either destroyed (12,845 units) by Israeli bombing, rendered uninhabitable (9,055 units) or lightly damaged (121,000 unit), according to the Ministry of Housing in Gaza.
The number of people internally displaced by the bombing of Gaza has reached approximately 1 million, including more than 527,500 people sheltering at 147 UN-designated emergency shelters, which are experiencing increasingly dire conditions.
More than 12,500 people have suffered injuries from Israeli attacks.
Due to the shortage of water as a result of Israel’s total blockade of Gaza, people are consuming water from “unsafe sources, risking death and placing the population at risk of infectious disease outbreak”.
At least 203 Israeli and foreign nationals are being held captive in Gaza and Palestinian fighters continue to fire rockets towards occupied territories, where more than 1,400 Israelis and foreigners have been killed since the October 7 attack by Hamas.
Source: Agencies
