Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor: The occupation’s invasion of Rafah has already begun through the genocide of the Palestinians there

Geneva-(ST)- The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor warned that the Israeli occupation’s invasion of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip has already begun, indicating that the genocide has included killing, starvation, and deprivation of health services and humanitarian aid, despite the urgent need and the catastrophic situation facing the Palestinians in the city.

The Monitor explained in a statement on Wednesday that since the International Court of Justice imposed a number of temporary measures on the occupying entity under the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide, about 280 Palestinians, including about 155 children and women, were martyred by the bombing of the occupation forces in Rafah in particular, where the occupation destroyed approximately 220 housing units completely and partially.

Euro-Med monitor documented that the occupation forces continued to commit the crime of genocide at the same rate during the 15 days following the issuance of the International Court of Justice’s decision, by killing civilians, depriving them of their human rights, continuing to besiege them, starving them, leaving them without food, water, and medicine, and continuing the systematic, widespread destruction of areas, residential neighborhoods, and civilian infrastructure and facilities, which made most of the Strip a de facto uninhabitable place.

The Minitor reiterated that the entire population of Gaza Strip is now suffering from severe acute food insecurity, and more than half a million people are suffering from famine and extreme food deprivation, while deaths resulting from hunger, malnutrition, or related diseases are increasing.

In this context, the Monitor confirmed that the request of the Republic of South Africa from the International Court of Justice to consider whether the Israeli occupation’s threat to invade the city of Rafah requires the adoption of additional emergency measures to protect the rights of Palestinians shows that the occupation violates all the temporary measures that the court had previously ruled on the 26th of last month.

The Monitor considered that this request would prompt the Court of Justice to take new precautionary measures that would have a practical impact, including stopping the aggression and thus ruling obligating the occupation to return the displaced to their areas, or at the very least for the court to take all necessary legal measures to prevent “Israel” from carrying out its attack against Rafah, which, ifactually implemented, it will lead to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe

Hanan Shamout