GAZA, (PIC)
Through a deceptive propaganda strategy, the Israeli occupation forces seek to stir controversy after every major massacre they commit against Palestinian civilians, in an attempt to evade their responsibilities and divert international condemnation that is escalating.
After the recent flour massacre at Kuwait Roundabout on the outskirts of Gaza City on Thursday/Friday night, which resulted in the death of more than 80 martyrs and 200 wounded, some critically, the occupation forces released a video clip with unclear evidence in an attempt to evade responsibility for the horrific massacre.
The Euro-Med Monitor for Human Rights refuted the Israeli occupation army’s attempt to evade responsibility for the recent flour massacre against Palestinian civilians who had gathered to obtain humanitarian supplies.
The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory said in a statement, “It has followed the publication of a video by the occupation army showing an armed person and attempting to claim that the victims of the recent massacre were killed by gunfire from Palestinian gunmen.”
The Euro-Med Monitor clarified that the mentioned video, despite its lack of credibility, does not prove the validity of the Israeli occupation army’s claim, but on the contrary, it confirms that the victims of this massacre among the martyrs and the wounded were not injured due to the gunfire shown in this recorded clip.
Four evidences
It indicated that it reached this conclusion based on four pieces of evidence that were revealed during the initial investigations conducted into the crime and the video clip published by Israel.
These pieces of evidence are as follows:
Firstly, in the video published by the Israeli army, it appears that the location of the gunfire from the armed person was in a different place from the location of the massacre. The armed person was firing in the vicinity of the Dawla roundabout southeast of Gaza City, which is about 2 kilometers away from the Kuwait roundabout southeast of Gaza City, where the massacre took place.
Secondly, the examination of a number of martyrs and wounded in the recent flour massacre shows that they were directly targeted by 5.56x45mm NATO bullets, which are fired from weapons used by the Israeli army. Similar bullets were previously found in the bodies of martyrs and injured individuals and at the site of the first flour massacre on February 29th, which resulted in hundreds of martyrs and injuries at that time.
Thirdly, it is evident in the video published by the Israeli army that the gunfire was coming from only one person and it was in the air, apparently in an attempt to prevent civilians from approaching the vicinity of the Israeli military vehicles’ area. This indicates that despite the close gunfire, no one nearby was hit, and there were no bodies or injured individuals around him. This is evident during the 21st second of the video when the armed person fired in the air near a man standing directly in front of him, and that man was not visibly harmed and continued walking without any confusion or panic amidst the crowds.
Fourthly, the video clips published by the media and eyewitnesses after the massacre show the extensive destruction and damage caused by the fires that were directed at the gathered civilians waiting for assistance. This does not correspond to the damage caused by the firearm used by the person shown in the video.
Witness testimonies
The Euro-Med Monitor highlighted that these pieces of evidence are in addition to the testimonies and accounts documented from the injured individuals and eyewitnesses who were present in the vicinity of Kuwait Roundabout at the time of the new massacre. They confirm that they were subjected to gunfire from machine guns mounted on helicopters and drones, as well as artillery shells from tanks, in a deliberate collective targeting with the aim of killing the largest number of them.
Ziad Saeed Madoukh, one of the wounded in the massacre, said, “The Israeli army began heavily firing live ammunition as soon as the aid trucks approached the Kuwait roundabout towards the civilian crowds. The firing continued towards them even after receiving some aid with the intention of deliberate killing.”
On his part, Ibrahim Al-Najjar, who was shot in one of his hands, said that he tried to get a bag of flour for his children from the Kuwait roundabout, but he and others were subjected to live gunfire and artillery shells despite gathering in a previously designated area.
The Mediterranean Observatory emphasized that the Israeli army cannot escape and evade the horrific crime it committed in the flour massacre, which occurred on Thursday night, as well as other massacres that have been recurring almost daily against Palestinian civilians for weeks as they attempt to obtain humanitarian aid, by saying that its forces did not fire any shots towards the aid convoy at the Kuwait roundabout, while at the same time announcing that it continues its investigations into what happened.
The Euro-Med Monitor mentioned that preliminary investigations, testimonies of the injured and witnesses, and field data overall confirm the deliberate intention of the Israeli army to continue committing massacres against Palestinian civilians in the city of Gaza and its north while they attempt to obtain any humanitarian supplies amid desperate famine conditions caused by the siege.
A state of absurdity
The Euro-Med Monitor stressed that the date of the video clip and the identity of the person observed in it remain unknown, and this does not absolve the Israeli army of its crime. In no case should the publications of the Israeli army be accepted as true and credible in order to exonerate itself from the crimes it commits, without the possibility of examining what is issued by an independent external investigative body that has full access to the information available to the Israeli army. “Otherwise, we would be facing a state of futility where the army is the perpetrator, investigator, and judge at the same time.”
It stated that all this evidence indicates Israel’s intention to use starvation, prevent aid, and kill the hungry as part of the forced displacement against Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip. These actions are an essential part of the genocide it has been committing against all the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip since October 7th of last year.
False videos
The Euro-Med Monitor noted the repeated cases of the Israeli army disseminating false videos to justify its targeting of Palestinian civilians. Among these cases, it published on March 3rd a video clip of targeting two individuals in Gaza, claiming that one of them was carrying a rocket-propelled grenade.
The Monitor emphasized that the measures implemented by Israel and the collective punishments imposed on the Gaza Strip directly and clearly aim to starve all the population and expose them to actual danger. Israel uses starvation not only as a method of war but also as an implementation of the genocide it commits against the population of the Strip for the past five months.
The Euro-Med Monitor confirmed that the deliberate and unlawful killings, extrajudicial executions outside the scope of the law and justice carried out by the Israeli army against Palestinian civilians as such, without their direct participation in hostilities, constitute grave violations of the rules of international humanitarian law and war crimes and crimes against humanity as stand-alone crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The Euro-Med Monitor reiterated the necessity to protect the relief operations urgently needed in the Gaza Strip, and that Israel, as the occupying power, must fully comply with its obligations under international humanitarian law to provide the civilian population with the necessary food and medical supplies and ensure that the population receives vital lifesaving humanitarian assistance commensurate with their needs.
In this regard, it called for immediate international pressure on Israel to stop its crimes in the Gaza Strip, including genocide and starvation, and hold it accountable for its crimes and grave violations against the Gaza Strip and its population.
