BEIRUT (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Osama Hamdan, a leader in the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas, said that for the 401st day, the chapters of genocide, ethnic cleansing, horrific massacres, and starvation perpetrated by the Israeli occupation against over two million Palestinian citizens in the Gaza Strip continue unabated.
In media statements on Sunday, Hamdan noted that the Israeli occupation army is committing the most heinous acts of killing, abuse, arrest, torture, and displacement against the citizens of Gaza, denying them all the essentials of human life and carrying out the crime of enforced disappearance against thousands of detainees in an aggressive war unprecedented in modern history.
Hamdan pointed out that for the 38th consecutive day, the occupation army is intensifying its siege and bombardment of northern Gaza, committing horrific massacres against families in their homes, tents, and shelters, as revenge for their steadfastness in their land and their refusal to accept aggressive displacement plans.
He explained that in the past 24 hours, the occupation army has committed three massacres, the latest being a horrific attack on two homes in Gaza City and Jabalia in the northern sector, resulting in over 51 martyrs, half of whom were children, and more than 164 injured.
The Hamas leader emphasized that the occupation army continues to use starvation as a weapon against the citizens of Gaza, preventing them from accessing food, water, medicine, and treatment, noting that for more than 50 days, the occupation army has blocked any aid from reaching those besieged in the north.
Hamdan continued, “Famine has devastated our people and families, and our children have died from severe hunger. Due to the absence of the most basic human life requirements, even the injured and sick in the streets and under the rubble of destroyed buildings are denied access to medical teams and civil defense, after the occupation has destroyed all hospitals and health centers. This humanitarian suffering will only worsen with the onset of winter.”
He affirmed that the Movement continues its efforts to stop the brutal aggression on Gaza, saying, “We have made diligent efforts at various levels, with brotherly and friendly countries, and it has been established to the world that the one who obstructs reaching a ceasefire agreement every time is Israel, with American cover.”
The Hamas leader pointed out that these horrific massacres of killing, displacement, starvation, arrest, and abuse are carried out with full support and partnership from the US administration and some Western countries, politically, diplomatically, and militarily, amid significant failure and inaction from the international community and our official Arab and Islamic system, which has failed to pressure Israel and its supporters to stop the aggression.
Hamdan added, “The crimes of killing our people, through bombardment, hunger, thirst, disease, and displacement, for over a year, will remain a stain of shame on all supporters, silence, and inaction, unless they all move to put a definitive end to these brutal crimes, genocide, and war of starvation against our people, and work urgently to criminalize Israel and hold it accountable as a hostile, criminal entity against humanity.”
He demanded an immediate halt to the Israeli aggression on Gaza, the opening of crossings, and the immediate and permanent delivery of full aid to all governorates of the sector.
Hamdan called on the leaders of Arab and Islamic countries meeting in Riyadh on Monday, at the joint Arab-Islamic follow-up summit, to make serious and courageous decisions to pressure Israel and its supporters to stop the ongoing aggression on Gaza and Lebanon, to break the siege on Gaza, and “to fully withdraw from our occupied lands.”
He also urged the need to put in place plans and measures to assist the people in Gaza, providing shelter essentials, especially as winter approaches.
Hamdan called for the formation of an Arab, Islamic, and international coalition to empower the Palestinian people in all their rights, foremost among them freedom, independence, self-determination, and the establishment of their fully sovereign state with Jerusalem as its capital.
