Content Advisory

The Gaza Strip, housing approximately 2.3 million Palestinians, has been under Israeli siege by air, land, and sea since 2007. Described as “the world’s largest open-air prison” due to the stringent embargo conditions imposed, the Gaza Strip has been a recurrent target of large-scale Israeli military attacks, most notably during the Cast Lead (2008), Pillar of Cloud (2012), and Protective Edge (2014) operations. Throughout these assaults, there were documented violations of international law and human rights. However, the attacks initiated by the far-right government under Prime Minister Netanyahu on October 2023, have dramatically worsened the living conditions of the region’s inhabitants, marking one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Gaza Strip and Palestine as a whole.

The events in Gaza, encompassing numerous war crimes such as the use of prohibited weapons, massacres of civilians, bombing of hospitals, places of worship, schools, ambulances, UN headquarters, and infrastructure facilities, as well as the systematic continuation of these crimes, have escalated to genocidal proportions.

In the attacks, where tens of thousands of individuals have lost their lives, hundreds of families have been entirely wiped from the population register as all their members were killed, and over 40 thousand children have been orphaned. Parents resorted to writing their children’s names on their arms, a desperate measure to facilitate identification in case their bodies became casualties of Israeli bombings. A staggering 2 million out of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been displaced as a result of these relentless attacks. Even those Gazans who sought refuge in areas declared safe by the Israeli army were not spared, as they became targets in the very places they sought shelter.

As a result of the Israeli army’s restrictions on the entry of aid trucks, Gazans have been thrust into hunger and famine in full view of the international community. The impact is poignantly illustrated by a Palestinian father in northern Gaza, brought to tears of joy upon receiving a sack of flour during an aid distribution - an emotional moment etched into memories. Due to the obstruction of aid, even the animal feed sold in the markets of northern Gaza for making flour has run out. Yet, the Israeli military persistently denied entry of aid to the region for an extended period. Even after granting permission, they occasionally bombed those who came to receive aid.

The Israeli military, in addition to targeting women and children, has also aimed at health workers, journalists, and civilian rescue workers, all of whom are supposed to be protected under international law. Paramedics and ambulances dispatched to attacked locations for the transportation of the wounded to hospitals have faced numerous attacks. Several hospitals in Gaza were besieged by Israeli forces using tanks and armored vehicles for extended periods before being raided. Raids on hospitals resulted in the deaths of many health workers, at times by Israeli soldiers disguised as doctors and nurses. A significant number of health workers have been subjected to detention and torture, and the fate of some remains unknown.

Numerous journalists attempting to cover the events in the region lost their lives in Israeli military attacks. AA cameramen Montaser al-Sawwaf, Hasan Hamad and Saed Abu Nabhan, Al Jazeera cameraman Samir Abu Dhaka, and Palestinian TV reporter Mohammed Abu Hatab are just a few among the more than 200 journalists killed in Israeli army attacks so far.

Comprising the testimonies of those directly affected by these crimes, THE WITNESS stands as a collection of accounts inscribed on the pages of history, serving as a testament against the Netanyahu administration, hich has demonstrated a complete disregard for human rights and the principles of war in its indiscriminate attacks targeting civilians. More importantly, it stands as a stark critique of the skewed international system, which is incapable of preventing such tragedies in the 21st century.