The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has now weighed in on the hospital situation in northern Gaza.

In a statement, it warned that hospitals in the Palestinian enclave have “reached a point of no return”, risking the lives of thousands of people.

The ICRC said its staff attempting to deliver medical supplies had witnessed “horrendous” scenes, and described the destruction as “unbearable”.

It also highlighted attacks on children’s hospitals, including Al-Rantisi, which we’ve been reporting on today, saying they had “not been spared from violence.”

The humanitarian organisation, which is the guardian of the Geneva Conventions, repeated its demand that hospitals and healthcare workers, under international law, must be protected.

  • gregorum@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    edit-2
    8 months ago

    Once again: since the outbreak of the war, the population has decreased by over 10,000, 40% of which are innocent women and children, and it also meets several of the conditions of the UN’s definition of genocide.

    Just because you don’t like the answer doesn’t mean I didn’t give you one.

    • Rapidcreek
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      8 months ago

      But that isn’t genocide.

      Genocide is the “the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group”. People die in war. Sad fact. But, that doesn’t mean it meets the criteria of genocide.

      • gregorum@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        edit-2
        8 months ago

        Only if you ignore the rest of the conditions in the definition:

        In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:

        a. Killing members of the group;

        b. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;

        c. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;

        d. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;

        e. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.

        • Rapidcreek
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          8 months ago

          Sorry, but everybody is a member of a group. Since that is your definition is used that for the rest of your criteria, this doesn’t make much sense.

          • gregorum@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            edit-2
            8 months ago

            It’s not my definition, the the UN’s definition— and it makes sense when you don’t ignore the facts, such as the deaths of innocent women and children, which, btw, also make it a war crime.

            • Rapidcreek
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              8 months ago

              The UN can’t even say that the Hamas massacre was wrong. China and Russia voted no, but, go ahead and use them if it suits your purpose. It would never make it through criminal court and you dilute a very important word.