Israel destroying Gaza faster than WWII carpet bombing of Germany: report

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Written by northsouth

Category: MENA

Published: 07 December 2023

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LONDON - A report in the Financial Times, based on analysis of publicly available satellite data and interviews with munitions experts, has pulled together the terrifying impact of Israel’s campaign on Gaza towns and cities.

The depth of destruction caused by Israel’s bombardment of Gaza in less than seven weeks has been compared to the years-long Allied forces campaign on German cities during World War Two.

A report in the Financial Times (FT) newspaper, based on analysis of publicly available satellite data and interviews with munitions experts, has pulled together the terrifying impact of Israel’s campaign on Gaza towns and cities.

The Israeli army’s deployment of highly sophisticated, technical, and powerful ammunition on Gaza has caused some of the worst destruction seen in modern history.

The flattening of swathes of northern Gaza is like the carpet bombing seen in the German cities of Cologne, Hamburg and Dresden, after two years of air attacks by the Allied powers of Britain, France and latterly America, in World War Two, the report said.

North Gaza took the brunt of Israel’s aerial bombardment during the first few weeks of the war, even before it was decimated by the ground invasion.

Satellite imagery and reports have shown how whole neighbourhoods and suburbs of Gaza City, which was home to 677,000 people, has been turned to rubble.

Some of the desecration includes the Islamic University of Gaza, hospitals, religious buildings, and a sewage treatment plant.

Over 60 percent of north Gaza’s buildings were razed seven weeks into the war, according to analysis of satellite radar data by Corey Scher of CUNY Graduate Center and Jamno Van Den Hoek of Oregan State University.

In comparison, from 1943 to 1945 the Allied forces bombing of German cities devastated an estimated 50 percent of their urban areas. A US military review from 1954 estimated that 7,100 tons of munitions were dropped on the city of Dresden.

The report noted that the force and range of munitions employed by Israel during this conflict has been unlike previous military campaigns in Gaza.

Israel has been using a series of the US-manufactured Mk 80 aerial bombs which can range in size between two to four meters in length and weigh up to 900 kilograms/2000lbs. When dropped, a Mk 82 bomb, will devastate anyone or anything within a 31-metre radius.

Bombs weighing 2000lb have been regularly dropped on Gaza, like the “earth-shaking” GBU-31 bombs which are “four times bigger” than the 500lb bombs that were typically used by allied forces in the battle for the city of Mosul in Iraq in 2017-18.

Huge swathes of Mosul were pulverised following the fighting and much is still in ruins today as authorities have struggled to fund rebuilding operations.

In addition, these bombs have GPS antennae for precision-guided attacks and are known as ‘smart’ munitions for their enhanced impact.

Munitions expert John Ridge, quoted in the FT piece, estimates that Israel used at least 1,000 air-to-surface munitions in the first two weeks of the assault.

During the heaviest bombing of Mosul by the US and coalition air forces, around 600 munitions were detonated a week.

Across the whole of the Gaza Strip, over 200,000 buildings are estimated to be fully or partially destroyed.

Israel has said it is only attacking Hamas operations in the Strip in retaliation to Israel’s surprise incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, and has maintained that it is not targeting civilians and insisted it is warning civilians to move to ‘safe zones’.

Nevertheless, the extremely large Palestinian death toll has pushed Western governments to apply pressure on Israel to avoid further civilian casualties. Over 16,000 people have been killed, and thousands more injured by Israeli forces in Gaza in the past two months.

Ongoing investigations by humanitarian organizations and rights groups are also pointing to possible Israeli war crimes. Amnesty International said this week that there was evidence that Israel used US-made JDAM bombs on strikes on Gazan homes which caused mass casualties.

UN chief calls on Israel to ‘spare civilians from more suffering’ in Gaza

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Written by northsouth

Category: MENA

Published: 05 December 2023

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THE UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary-General António Guterres has reiterated his call for a sustained humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional and immediate release of all hostages, his Spokesperson said on Monday.

Mr. Guterres is extremely alarmed by the resumption of hostilities between Israel and Hamas this past Friday, including rocket fire towards Israel from Gaza and Israel’s renewed ground operations and intensified airstrikes, increasingly in the south of the enclave.

“The UN continues to appeal to Israeli Forces to avoid further action that would exacerbate the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and to spare civilians from more suffering,” UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement.

Protect civilians, sustain aid flows

The Secretary-General also underlined the need to protect civilians – including health workers, journalists and UN personnel - and civilian infrastructure at all times.

He also emphasized the need for unimpeded and sustained humanitarian aid flow to Gaza, noting that people ordered to evacuate have nowhere safe to go and very little to survive on.   

The statement said the UN chief also remains gravely concerned about the escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank, including intensified Israeli security operations, high numbers of fatalities and arrests, spiking settler violence and attacks on Israelis by Palestinians.

Humanitarian efforts impeded

Humanitarians warn that the current situation in Gaza does not allow them to address the immense needs there.

More than two million people live in the enclave and over 80 per cent, nearly 1.9 million, are now displaced, according to the latest update from the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, which is sheltering 1.2 million residents in its facilities.

UN humanitarian affairs office OCHA said limited aid distributions took place in Rafah governorate in southern Gaza on Sunday and largely stopped in the adjacent Khan Younis governorate due to the intensity of hostilities.

Additionally, central Gaza was largely disconnected from the south, following Israeli forces’ prevention of movement, including of humanitarian supplies. 

Disease and famine threat

“Meanwhile, grave concerns persist about waterborne diseases due to water consumption from unsafe sources, particularly in the north, where the water desalination plant and the pipeline from Israel was shut down,” OCHA reported.

Furthermore, there has been almost no improvement in the access of residents in north Gaza to water for drinking and domestic purposes for weeks.

The World Food Programme (WFP) continues to warn about the ongoing risk of famine among the entire population in Gaza, especially for those with chronic diseases, older persons, children and people living with disabilities. 

ICC Prosecutor’s visit

In related developments, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, has concluded his first visit to Israel and the State of Palestine, where he met with victims on both sides of the conflict.

This marked the first-ever such visit by a Prosecutor from the court, which was established in 2002 under a treaty known as the Rome Statute to investigate and try individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.

Mr. Khan issued a statement on Sunday which said he had a simple message during the mission - “my Office is here to ensure that the protection of the law is felt by all.”

‘Scenes of calculated cruelty’

The visit to Israel was conducted at the request of family members and friends of Israeli citizens who were either killed or taken hostage by Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups during their bloody incursion into southern Israel on 7 October, he said.

Mr. Khan travelled to Kibbutz Beeri and Kibbutz Kfar Azza, as well as the site of the Nova Music Festival in Re’im, where he “witnessed scenes of calculated cruelty”.

Working towards accountability

He said the attacks against innocent Israeli civilians represent some of the most serious international crimes, that shock the conscience of humanity, and which the ICC was established to address.

“In my meeting with the families of the victims of these attacks, my message was clear: we stand ready to work in partnership with them as part of our ongoing work to hold those responsible to account,” he added.

The ICC Prosector also called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, saying they “cannot be treated as human shields or bargaining chips.”

Suffering in Gaza and West Bank

Mr. Khan met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and other senior leaders in the West Bank city of Ramallah where “discussions were highly productive as we look to further deepen our cooperation under the Rome Statute.”

He also spoke to the families of Palestinian victims, who shared personal accounts of their suffering in Gaza and the West Bank.

“In relation to Gaza, and notwithstanding any ongoing violations of international humanitarian law by Hamas and other armed groups in the Gaza Strip, the manner in which Israel responds to these attacks is subject to clear legal parameters that govern armed conflict,” he said.

“Conflict in densely populated areas where fighters are alleged to be unlawfully embedded in the civilian population is inherently complex, but international humanitarian law must still apply and the Israeli military knows the law that must be applied.” 

The ICC Prosecutor said credible allegations of crimes during the conflict should be the subject of timely, independent examination and investigation. He also stressed the need to comply with the “clear legal principles” of distinction, precaution and proportionality.

Critical need for aid

Addressing the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, he emphasized that civilians must have access to basic food, water, and desperately needed medical supplies – without delay and at scale.

“And when such aid arrives, it must not be diverted or misused by Hamas. I cannot be more clear about this. All actors must comply with international humanitarian law,” he said, adding that “If you do not do so, do not complain when my Office is required to act.”

Mr. Khan also voiced concern over the increase in violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank, which his Office is continuing to investigate.

Hope for humanity

The statement concluded with the hope that this would not be his last visit to both Israel and Palestine.

“Even in this deeply troubling current context, I leave with some hope that the core of our collective humanity can survive this moment,” he said, referring to the words and kindness from the victims he met in both locations.

“At this time of significant turbulence, the law is needed more than ever.  I wish to emphasize that we are working intensively to ensure the law is protected and upheld, for all. 

Gaza: Aid access to north entirely blocked as war escalates in the south

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Written by northsouth

Category: MENA

Published: 05 December 2023

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GENEVA - Reports of hundreds of fatalities from bombing in southern Gaza over the weekend heightened deep concerns for civilians sheltering there, while UN humanitarians on Monday said that aid teams had only “extremely limited” movement and access to the north was “now entirely blocked”.

The latest update from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, confirmed rising casualties and devastation amid “heavy Israeli bombardment from air, land and sea”.

“From the afternoon of (Saturday) 2 December to the afternoon of (Sunday) 3 December, at least 316 people were killed and at least another 664 injured in Gaza,” OCHA’s situation update reported, adding that an Israeli soldier had been reportedly killed in the enclave at the weekend and another had succumbed to wounds sustained previously.

The return to bloodshed followed the breakdown of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel last Friday, 1 December, that had allowed for the release of dozens of the approximately 240 hostages taken from southern Israel during the group’s terror attack that claimed some 1,200 lives, according to Israeli authorities, and of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

Health authorities in Gaza claim that more than 15,000 people have been killed since 7 October.

Nowhere is safe

Echoing humanitarians’ concerns for civilians caught up in the violence, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNWRA, said that in Rafah city in the south people were being forced to flee against a backdrop of airstrikes.

“People are pleading for advice on where to find safety,” said Director of UNRWA Affairs Thomas White. “We have nothing to tell them.”

Some 1.8 million Gazans now live in the south of Gaza after an order from the Israeli Defense Forces to residents to leave the north of the Strip in mid-October.

In a new development, OCHA reported that the Israeli military had “designated an area covering about 20 per cent of Khan Younis city for immediate evacuation” on Sunday, and that this area had been “marked in an online map (and) published on social media”.

Prior to the onset of hostilities, this area was home to nearly 117,000 people, the UN aid coordination office said, noting that it housed 21 shelters with about 50,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs), the vast majority previously displaced from the north.

Critical aid still rolling in

Meanwhile, OCHA reported that some lifesaving humanitarian supplies were continuing to roll into Gaza late on Sunday evening from Egypt, although their exact number and contents were unclear. Ten humanitarian staff also entered via the Rafah border crossing, which also saw the evacuation of 566 foreign nationals and dual citizens, 13 injured people and 11 companions.

Security Council meets

In a sign of widespread international alarm over the continuing violence in Gaza, the UN Security Council was due to hold closed consultations on the issue on Monday.

The meeting, which was expected to feature Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo, was requested by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which expressed the “deeply concerning resumption of hostilities and the continuing dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip”.

Killing of children

Meanwhile, in a social media post revealing a panorama of smashed masonry, rescue workers and distressed youngsters in southern Gaza on Saturday, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder railed against “the endless killing of children” after a night of “utterly relentless bombardments”.

Speaking from inside a shelter, the UN official turned his mobile phone camera to Khaled and Hannah, two infants sleeping side by side. “Please meet them and see them, pray that they’ll be alive in a few days’ time,“ he said. “I feel like I’m running out of ways to describe the endless killing of children here.”