More than 33,000 dead in 175 days of shelling by the Israeli army, more than 75,000 wounded. Doctors’ testimonies describe the daily atrocities. “You can’t say you didn’t know…” writes Marie-Paule Fristot of collectifbds57.
More and more voices are being raised to denounce the atrocities committed by the Israeli army on the Gaza Strip since mid-October 2023. Tsahal has been shelling this enclave of 2.2 million inhabitants day and night, on the pretext of fighting Hamas. In reality, it is the civilian population – men, women, children and the elderly – who are the first victims of these war crimes. Tsahal fires on hospitals, schools, refugee camps, humanitarian convoys, doctors and even children!
“Hell on earth”
Last February, we relayed the poignant testimony of Dr Raphaël Pitti, a war doctor from Metz, who had just returned from Gaza. Since then, other doctors have testified to the horrors they are witnessing in Gaza. “Speaking at the United Nations on Tuesday, four French, American and British doctors described the dire conditions in Gaza. “I have witnessed the most appalling atrocities and seen things I would never have expected to see in a health facility,” said Dr. Nick Maynard. “There is massive indiscriminate bombing killing thousands of civilians and very clearly targeting health facilities and nursing staff.”
“It’s hell on earth,” confirms Jeremy Scahill, a Canadian doctor on a medical mission in Gaza. “What we had seen livestreamed on Instagram, on social networks or whatever, I saw myself and it was worse than anything I could have imagined.”
Beaten and tortured by the Israelis
American and British doctors travel to Washington to warn of JTF “atrocities” in Gaza.
According to the United Nations, none of Gaza’s 36 hospitals is fully operational. A dozen are only partially operational, and the rest have been destroyed. On Monday, the Israeli army again raided al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.
Last week, the BBC reported that medical staff said they had been beaten and tortured
by Israeli troops during a raid on the Nasser hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip, where half the population is now displaced.
“Israel has lost the war against Hamas”.
In the face of these repeated war crimes, international public opinion is stirring and condemning Israel’s attitude. Traditional Western support for the Hebrew state weakens daily. Benjamin Netanyahu and his entourage have no regard for international law, UN resolutions or the despicable war crimes perpetrated by Tsahal. He wants to eradicate not just Hamas, but the entire Palestinian population. This odious behavior is not only dangerous for the State of Israel, but also for the entire Jewish community worldwide.
“What is happening in the Gaza Strip and against Hezbollah in Lebanon will sooner or later turn against us,” explains a former Israeli army commander, Yitzhak Brick. He adds: “Israel has lost the war against Hamas in Gaza, and we are also losing our allies around the world at a dizzying pace.
In fact, Israel is being prosecuted before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the crime of genocide. As Marie-Paule Fristot, spokesperson for the bds57 collective, rightly reminds us, “You can’t say you didn’t know!”