ANDUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken told two senior Israeli officials on Monday that the number of civilian casualties from their operation in Gaza was “unacceptably high,” his spokesman said.
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Blinken received Israel’s Minister of Strategic Relations, Ron Dermer, and national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi in Washington and expressed his “grave concern about the recent civilian casualties in Gaza.”
The number of civilian casualties “is still unacceptably high. We continue to see far too many civilians killed in this conflict,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
Hamas blames US for ‘genocide’
More than 38,600 people have been killed and 89,000 injured in the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian enclave’s health ministry, as the Islamist group Hamas steps up its rhetoric against the United States over its arms shipments to Israel.
The group on Monday held the United States “legally and morally” responsible for the “genocide” that Israel has committed with American weapons in the Palestinian enclave, in a statement in which it accused the US government of having caused “a great human tragedy and massive damage to our people.”
The United States has provided Israel with missiles and bombs with 200 pounds (90 kilos) of explosives without any control or accountability
In the last 24 hours alone, the Israeli attacks left 80 dead and 216 wounded in the Strip, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
According to the Islamist group, the US has provided Israel with “missiles and bombs with 200 pounds (90 kilos) of explosives without any control or accountability,” including three types of bunker-busting weapons, such as “American GBU 28 type bombs, GPS-guided bombs intended to destroy infrastructure, internationally banned white phosphorus bombs, unguided bombs and JDAM smart bombs,” it said.
Some media have published in the last few hours that This last type of ammunition was the one used in the attack this Saturday against the humanitarian zone of Mawasi, in the south of the Strip, targeting Hamas’s number two in the enclave, Mohamed Deif, and killing some 90 people.
Deif’s fate is uncertain, but his right-hand man, Khan Yunis Brigade commander Rafaa Salameh, was killed in the bombing.
Take a clear position
In its statement, Hamas called on the international community and international organizations and courts to “take a moral and declared position against the “The US administration and the grave violations it is committing in terms of arming the occupation with the aim of killing and destroying the Palestinian people.”
The remarks come as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is hearing a case brought by South Africa against Israel for alleged violation of the Genocide Convention during its military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Spain, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya and Palestine itself have already requested authorization to intervene in this procedure against Israel, although there are several countries that have also publicly indicated their interest in this case, but have not yet formalized their request.
Besides, The International Criminal Court (ICC) is considering arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestinian territory during the war.
The Palestinian government acceded to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC, in 2015, making it a member of the international court. However, Israel does not recognise the jurisdiction of the Court, nor has it ratified the Statute, nor has its ally the United States.
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