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1/5 Petition to Biden & U.S. Congress
Every single day Israel’s aggression expands beyond Gaza. First it was the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and then any Palestinian. Next, up was southern Lebanon. Now, we’re seeing this “war” spill out further to Yemen, Syria, and to the heart of Lebanon in Beirut. Every single moment you choose to provide material support to Israel’s reign of terror, we’re closer and closer to truly catastrophic outcomes not just for the Middle East, but for the rest of the world. I fear WW3 has already been underway – now it’s just a matter of bad it becomes.
The assassination of Saleh al-Arouri via a fighter jet strike in Beirut marks a new chapter of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon. While I have little faith in the UN Security Council considering how my country continues to undermine it’s efforts to stop the genocide at every turn, I’m glad Lebanon filed a complaint. While Israeli officials deny responsibility, not only did the IDF take credit for it online via their official X account in Hebrew, even our own government attributes the attack to Israel.
What I found more interesting, however, is that Al-Arouri was assassinated via a guided bombardment meant to minimize collateral damage. In the same interview denying Israel’s responsibility, Mark Regev, an adviser to Netanyahu, states that “whoever did this did a surgical strike”. As always, whether explicitly stating their intent to decimate Gaza, or via implication by the indiscriminate, “dumb” bombs used, Israel is capable of minimizing casualties, and chooses not to.
As of 1/5, approximately 22,600 – 30,600 Palestinians have been murdered in Gaza by Israel since 10/7. Israel’s actions are intended to further their genocidal ethnic cleansing campaign by the destruction of infrastructure, targeting of civilians, and other acts of heinous violence both in occupied Palestine and neighboring countries. Israel’s representatives have said over and over they do not see anyone in Gaza as civilians – anyone or thing is a “legitimate target”. This genocidal rhetoric now includes all Palestinians and is expanding in real time to the Yemeni and Lebanese.
South Africa’s recent filing to the ICJ to initiate proceedings of Israel’s crimes of genocide more than documents how Israel is systematically destroying Palestinians, how their government officials admit to intentional targeting of all Palestinians, and more. They’ve been saying the quiet part out loud for a while now. This is the country you “unequivocally support”.
Stop the escalation of this horrific conflict before its too late. Call for a ceasefire right now.
SOURCES
New York Times “Killing of Senior Leader Carries Risks for Israel, Analysts Say“
The Guardian “Middle East crisis live: Lebanon files UN security council complaint over killing of senior Hamas figure in Beirut“
The Washington Post “Hezbollah warns of retaliation after killing of senior Hamas leader in Lebanon“
1/3/24 Tweet by IDF @idfonline claiming responsibility for attacks in Lebanon, translated to English from Hebrew via “translate post” feature on X
The New York Times “Top Hamas Official Is Killed in Lebanon as Fears Grow of a Wider War“
Reuters “Israeli drone kills deputy Hamas chief in Beirut“
PBS “Read the full application bringing genocide charges against Israel at UN top court“
South Africa’s application to International Court of Justice for Israel’s breaches of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide “Application instituting proceedings and Request for the indication of provisional measures“
U.N. News “Israel-Palestine crisis has ‘reached an unprecedented level of dehumanisation’: Independent rights expert“
The Guardian “‘The Gospel’: how Israel uses AI to select bombing targets in Gaza“
972 Magazine “‘A mass assassination factory’: Inside Israel’s calculated bombing of Gaza“
The Jerusalem Post “Saleh al-Arouri assassination: Six guided missiles used in Beirut – report“
Estimated deaths as of 1/4 – 1/5 from multiple sources*
Al Jazeera quotes 22,600 dead as of 1/5/24. Al Jazeera always includes the most up-to-date official death tolls on their Breaking/live updates page. Because the daily live pages are refreshed so frequently for each new day, I can’t link you to a specific date. You can always check the Breaking/live section on their site for the most recent official numbers.
EuroMed Monitor quotes an estimated 30,676 dead shown on an infographic posted on their Instagram (link to post) as of 1/4/24. Their website has past infographics, but does not currently have this newest one included as of writing this blog post. This is not unusual- I believe they first post on social media and then add to the infographic section of their site later. Prior infographics posted on Instagram and then shown on their site have the exact same figures & data.
*Why are multiple sources used for the death count?
Associated Press “Gaza health officials say they lost the ability to count dead as Israeli offensive intensifies“
The situation in Gaza has only gotten worse since the AP published this article on 11/21/23. The official numbers we are seeing from Gaza’s Ministry of Health are undercounted, and have been since at least 11/21.
EuroMed Monitor is a NGO established in 2011 that advocates for the human rights of all persons across Europe and the MENA region. They have a regional office in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. I believe their estimates are credible which is why I quote them, and will continue to, when referring to the estimated death toll.
My personal opinion is that the true number is even higher than estimated- people are dying from starvation, thirst, infections, and illnesses. Even if the genocide ended this moment, these types of deaths will unfortunately continue for some time. I believe their deaths should be counted. They may not have been shot/bombed/etc. by the Israeli military, but their deaths are directly attributable to the total siege, occupation, and intentional** destruction of civilian, water, waste management, and medical infrastructure by Israel.
**Why are you accusing Israel of intentionally destroying important infrastructure and targeting civilians?
It’s not an accusation. They’ve admitted to it.
The Guardian “‘The Gospel’: how Israel uses AI to select bombing targets in Gaza“
972 Magazine “‘A mass assassination factory’: Inside Israel’s calculated bombing of Gaza“
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