Entire families, including women and children, “are being killed at horrific rates” in Gaza, Euro-Med Monitor warned yesterday, adding that 94 per cent of Palestinians killed between 20-26 April were civilians.
“These horrific crimes are no longer the exception to the rule; rather, the recurring pattern of such atrocities demonstrates a systematic Israeli policy defying all international laws and norms,” Euro-Med added.
“In just one week—between 20 and 26 April—Israel killed 345 Palestinians and injured 770 others, according to field data indicating that at least 94% of the victims were civilians. Children (51%), women (16%), and the elderly (8%) together accounted for 75% of those killed. Among the remaining victims (adult males), field verification confirmed that at least 63 of 81 worked in civilian jobs or independent professions unrelated to any militant or organisational activity, further reinforcing the predominantly civilian nature of the casualties,” it added.
“There is no evidence indicating that the adult male victims, for whom detailed data was unavailable at the time of this publication, were involved in hostilities or associated with militant activities. Israel has provided no credible proof to the contrary.”
It explained that as a result of such findings, those targeted should be afforded full protection under international humanitarian law, with the burden on Israel to prove otherwise.
Over the past few weeks, Euro-Med Monitor’s field team has documented “repeated instances of entire families being wiped out, as well as the deliberate targeting of specific families in a pattern suggesting a clear intent to annihilate them.”
Civilian lives, including those of children and women, are not collateral damage to be overlooked; these are real people with personal stories, deliberately and systematically killed without the Israeli acknowledgement of any legal or even moral obligations, it added. “Protecting civilian lives and holding those responsible accountable is a legal and moral duty the international community must not evade.”