In his Christmas Day address, Pope Francis calls for end to ‘appalling harvest’ of civilians in Gaza; children dying in wars, including in Gaza, are the “little Jesuses of today.” Addressing thousands of people from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, he pleaded for an end to Israel’s “appalling harvest of innocent civilian victims” in Gaza as he called for a solution to “the desperate humanitarian situation” in the besieged enclave.
RECOMMENDED READING: Bethlehem’s bombed-out nativity sculpture sends a powerful message
Speaking at Christmas Eve mass, Pope Francis began with a lament – “Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world.” He spoke just hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to fight deeper into the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
Israel’s attack on Maghazi camp, which killed over 100, was a ‘complete and real extermination.’ It was one of the deadliest attacks in two and a half months of war. One survivor said, “this place witnessed what humans could not bear and we continue to search under the rubble with our hands.”
Israeli attacks on Jabaliya in northern Gaza targeted, not homes as usual, but small local businesses. One local reporter said, “The private sector is being destroyed across the Gaza Strip.”
In the Bureij refugee camp, at least 61 Palestinians have reportedly been killed by Israeli bombing so far, says Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
CAIR Calls for Probe of New Video Showing Hundreds of Stripped Palestinians ‘Humiliated’ in Captured Gaza Stadium:The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has called for an international probe of online images showing hundreds of Palestinians civilians including the disabled, women, the elderly, and even a baby, most stripped to their underwear and paraded in a captured Gaza stadium.
Under international humanitarian law, all prisoners of war must be treated humanely. Humiliating and publishing humiliating images of prisoners could be a violation of the Geneva Conventions, which states prisoners of war “shall at all times be humanely treated and protected, particularly against acts of violence, from insults and from public curiosity.”
A number of Palestinians detained by Israel have reported being tortured and abused. The video, reportedly taken by an Israeli photojournalist, does not offer details of the location or date of the alleged war crime.
In the West Bank: An ongoing raid on the town of Burqa, northwest of Nablus, has lasted about 20 hours. Late Sunday, the Israeli army stormed the village, closed all its entrances, raided some 200 homes, and carried out widespread arrests, according to Ghassan Daghlas, the acting governor of Nablus. He said, “I am currently inspecting the homes that were raided. What I see in the house that I am now in is disaster and massive destruction.”
At least eight Palestinians across the occupied West Bank have sustained injuries as a result of attacks by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to Ahmed Jibril, the director of ambulance and emergency services at the Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS).
Israeli forces reportedly conducted massive raids on two refugee camps in the West Bank town of Tulkarem overnight.
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – DECEMBER 24:
Palestinian death toll since October 7: at least 20,506* (~20,203 in Gaza* (over 8,663 children), and at least 303 in the West Bank). This does not include an estimated 8,000 more still buried under rubble. Euro-Med Monitor reports 27,137 Palestinian deaths
No comments:
Post a Comment