Israel ‘reenacting same crimes' committed during 1948 Nakba: Rights monitor

GENEVA

Israel has been “reenacting the same crimes” committed during the 1948 Nakba, a human rights monitor said.

"Israeli army forces are reenacting the same crimes committed by Zionist gangs during the 1948 Nakba, which resulted in the collective displacement of Palestinians," the Geneva-based Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said in a statement.

"These crimes include premeditated murder, setting fire to Palestinian homes and properties, torture, and insulting and humiliating detained civilians," it added.

Citing testimonies collected from newly released civilians, Euro-Med said: "An urgent international investigation must be opened into horrific crimes committed by the Israeli army during its land incursions into the Gaza Strip, including field executions, torture, and rape threats."

The organization described the current situation in Gaza as an "ongoing genocide" and underlined that Israeli forces "terrorised and beat residents, plus arrested hundreds of them, including women, children, and sick people."

According to the testimonies, Euro-Med said that "Israeli forces took the detainees from their homes, stripped them naked, and attacked them with machine guns, electric cables, and cold water."

Those random arrests also targeted, according to the statement, a young disabled man who suffers from hemiplegia as well.

The organization also gathered statements and testimonies about Israeli special forces raiding refugee centers in Gaza and its northern areas, which housed thousands of displaced Palestinians.


"These raids have involved the execution of young men who were shot with live ammunition at point-blank range," it said.

It called on the UN to "assume its responsibilities and provide a safe passage for the displaced to use to evacuate."

It also reminded Israel of its responsibilities under international humanitarian law which requires the country to take all reasonable steps to prevent harm to civilians and to guarantee their safe shelter.

Israel resumed its military offensive on the Gaza Strip on Dec. 1 after the end of a weeklong humanitarian pause with the Palestinian group Hamas.

Nearly 18,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 49,229 others injured in relentless air and ground attacks on the enclave since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stood at 1,200, according to official figures.