by Israel’s aerial bombing campaign in Gaza is the most indiscriminate in terms of civilian casualties in recent years, according to a study published by an Israeli newspaper.
The analysis in Haaretz came as Israeli forces fought to consolidate their control of northern Gaza on Saturday, bombing the Shejaiya area of Gaza City, while at the same time carrying out airstrikes on Rafah, a town on the southern border with Egypt, where Israel’s army told people i. Gaza to take shelter.
The total death toll in the past 24 hours was not clear but the main hospital in central Gaza, at Deir al-Balah, reported receiving 71 bodies, and 62 bodies were taken to Nasser hospital in the southern capital of Khan Younis, according to the health ministry run by Hamas.
Haaretz published an analysis by Yagil Levy, professor of sociology at Israel’s Open University, which found that the ratio of civilian deaths to the total number of people killed in air travel increased in three previous campaigns in Gaza, in the period 2012-22. at about 40%. That ratio dropped to 33% in a bombing campaign earlier this year, known as Operation Shield and Arrow.
In the first three weeks of the current operation, Iron Sword, the civilian proportion of total deaths rose to 61%, in what Levy described as “unprecedented carnage” for Israeli forces in Gaza. The ratio is much higher than the average civilian toll in all conflicts around the world during the 20th century, in which civilians were responsible for about half of the dead, according to Levy.
“The broad conclusion is that the widespread killing of civilians not only does not enhance Israel’s security, but also has the foundations to undermine it,” Levy said. “The Gazans who will rise from the ruins of their homes and lose their families will seek revenge that no security arrangements will be able to withstand.”
The study confirms an investigation 10 days ago by the Israeli-Palestinian publication +972 Magazine and the Hebrew Outlet-Local Call, which found that Israel was deliberately targeting residential blocks to cause mass civilian casualties in the hope that people turn to their rulers Hamas. The figures will make unsettling reading for the Biden administration, which is facing global criticism and isolation for vetoing a UN security council vote for a ceasefire on Friday.
Since the start of the war, triggered by the deadly October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the US has been trying to persuade Israeli forces to be more discriminating in selecting targets, and has repeatedly demanded that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have “taken. ” on US advice, despite the consistently high civilian death toll.
US national security spokesman John Kirby repeated that claim while briefing reporters on Air Force One on Friday, but added: “Certainly we all recognize that more can be done to try to reduce civilian casualties, and we will continue to work with it. our Israeli counterparts for that.”
Kirby was speaking as the Biden administration faced allegations of complicity in war crimes for vetoing a security council resolution.
Human Rights Watch said the United States was risking “complication in war crimes” by continuing to provide arms and diplomatic support to Israel. Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said: “With this veto, the US government is shamefully turning a blind eye to massive civilian suffering, a massive death toll, and an unprecedented humanitarian disaster in Gaza.”
Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud met US secretary of state Antony Blinken in Washington on Friday night to press for “urgent steps” to establish a ceasefire so humanitarian aid could be delivered.
In the face of global criticism, US officials emphasized the role of the US in humanitarian delivery to Gaza by pushing the Rafah crossing point. Kirby said a US military transport plane landed in Egypt on Friday carrying nearly 26,000kg (57,000 pounds) of food, water and medicine bound for Gaza.
“We are certainly mindful of the suffering of the people of Gaza, and we are doing everything we can not only to put things in there but to lead an international effort to put things in there,” he said.
Kirby said fewer than 100 trucks crossed through the Rafah gate on Friday, about half the daily volume that entered Gaza during a week-long humanitarian ceasefire at the end of last month.
“Obviously that’s not at the level we want it to be,” he said, noting that Israel was preparing to open an additional inspection facility at Kerem Shalom on the border between Israel and Gaza, which it is expected to reduce the most significant barrier, audit capacity.
The United Nations and other aid agencies say, however, that even when trucks enter the Gaza Strip at Rafah, the offensive terrain in southern Gaza and the general lack of security are preventing the distribution of supplies, at a time when there is a high and increasing threat of it. hunger and disease.
The IDF said it failed in a hostage rescue attempt on Friday. The chief spokesman, R Adm Daniel Hagari, said: “The forces raided the Hamas site and eliminated terrorists who participated in the kidnapping and hostage-taking.”
He said two Israeli soldiers were seriously injured in the mission, and no hostages were rescued. He did not confirm Hamas claims that one hostage, 25-year-old Sahar Baruch, was killed in the rescue attempt, but his home kibbutz at Be’eri announced that Baruch had died.
