In a recorded video, Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) in Deir el-Balah, stated that what is required now is to declare Gaza Strip as “a famine-stricken zone.”
This came as Palestinian non-governmental organisations and professional unions held a news conference in Ramallah on the situation in Gaza.
Shawa disclosed that sewage water has overflowed between tents, leaving people without any water supply.
The situation, he said, is getting more dire by the minute and is made worse by the “ruthless, merciless bombardment by the Israeli warplanes.”
Muhammad Eida, a Palestinian NGO director also issued an “SOS message to declare the Gaza Strip a famine-stricken zone as the Israeli genocidal war enters the eighth month.”
He pointed out the lack of health services in the besieged enclave.
He noted that Palestinians in Gaza are suffering from starvation, lack of medical supplies, malnutrition among children, dehydration and diseases from the contamination and pollution caused by the overflow of sewage water.
“Many dead bodies are still trapped underneath the ruins,” he said, adding that others are “still strewn on the roads.”
Eida asserted that it is “Israel’s goal to starve the population to force them out of Gaza Strip.”
He cited Article 14 of the second additional protocol of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1977, saying that it is illegal to starve a civil population as an act of aggression.
He added that targeting or destroying property or other basic necessities of life is also prohibited.
U.S Deemed Accomplice In Rafah Tent Camp Attack
Speaking at the Ramallah news conference, Rights Advocate, Helmy al-Araj, singled out the US for reportedly sending Israel the weapons it used to bomb a tent camp in Rafah, killing dozens.
He averred, “We reiterate that the US is an accomplice in this crime, as they continue to support Israel and provide them with arms.”
According to a report by a news agency, munitions made in the US were deployed by Israel during the deadly attack on the tented camp in the Tal as-Sultan area of Rafah.
The news agency based its findings on footage taken at the scene of strike.
It said that the geolocated video showed the tail of a “US-made GBU-39 small diameter bomb” – a finding verified by four explosive weapons experts.
The news agency added that serial numbers seen on the remnants of the munitions matched a California-based manufacturer of GBU-39 parts.
It was reported that the news agency’s identification of the munition is consistent with a claim made on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, by Israeli military Spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari in a briefing about the tragedy.
Hagari told reporters that the strike, which he said targeted senior Hamas commanders, used two munitions with small warheads containing 17 kilos of explosives.
He added that these bombs were “the smallest munitions that our jets could use.”
The traditional GBU-39 warhead has an explosive payload of 17 kilos.
Omar Achour, a professor of security and military studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, opined that Israel’s military likely avoided naming the exact bomb used to attack Rafah’s tent encampment, now reported to be a US-made GBU-39, so as not to “embarrass” the administration of US President, Joe Biden.
Achour revealed that while they are “precision-guided”, GBU-39 bombs are “not always accurate,” hitting their target just 80 to 90 percent of the time.
He said that they have the potential to miss “by a significant margin”, causing extensive civilian casualties in densely populated areas like Rafah.
“It’s very telling that this is allowed to continue while knowing that there will be significant death among innocent people,” Achour noted.
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