BEIRUT, (PIC)
Osama Hamdan, a leader in the Hamas Movement, said in a press conference in the Lebanese capital, Beirut on Friday evening, “140 days and the Nazi occupation continues its genocide and ethnic cleansing war, practicing all forms of starvation, thirst, massacres, and horrifying slaughters against more than two million Palestinian citizens in the Gaza Strip. This is happening in the midst of suspicious international reluctance, without preventing the continuation of this genocide or stopping the Zionist crimes that have destroyed all aspects of human life in the region.”
Hamdan added, “All those who participate in and support this aggressive war, which has no parallel in contemporary history in its brutality, savagery, and destruction of human life, including the US administration and President Biden personally, bear full responsibility along with the (Israeli) occupation government for the massacres and the genocide they commit daily against our people.”
He affirmed that this barbaric war will remain a stain of shame that tarnishes the face of all those who involved in it and they will not be exempt from accountability and punishment, no matter how long it takes.
The war of starvation continues
Hamdan said, “The declared war of starvation against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is ongoing, especially in the northern governorate, where its people cannot find enough to feed their children. Their situation has reached the point where they are resorting to grinding and baking animal fodder, if available.”
The world must always remember that this war started with a clear decision issued by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gantz, when on October 9th of last year they declared in explicit statements their intention to prevent the entry of water, food, and fuel to the residents of the Gaza Strip.
Hamdan said, “We are sounding the alarm bell. Our people are facing death by starvation as a result of the occupation’s deliberate policy of starvation as a means of killing, which has brought the situation to a point that threatens the lives of tens of thousands of our people.”
He pointed out that “while our people are waiting for the international community, the United Nations, and its institutions to urgently take steps to provide them with the necessary aid and relief, lift the siege, and stop the massacre committed against them, they were surprised by the decision of the World Food Program to suspend the delivery of food assistance to the governorates of Gaza and the north, just three days after attempting to deliver very limited quantities, thus deepening the humanitarian crisis faced by civilians.”
He called on the World Food Program and all international institutions, including UNRWA, not to succumb to the will and measures imposed by Israel, and to announce an immediate return to work in the northern Gaza Strip. He urged them to take effective and serious steps to provide relief to our people and confront the threat of famine, in line with their legal and humanitarian responsibilities.
An explosion is coming
Hamdan added, “Let our enemy know that an explosion is imminent in response to any restrictions on Muslims entering Al-Aqsa Mosque during the month of Ramadan.”
Hamdan said called on the Palestinian masses to reject such a “criminal decision” and head to the holy Islamic site en masse and remain steadfast in Al-Aqsa Mosque to protect it and to thwart all fascist plans targeting the sanctity of the holy sanctuary and the holy city. “Let this criminal Zionist enemy know that any tampering with Al-Aqsa Mosque, its freedom of worship, or access to it will not pass without accountability, regardless of the costs and sacrifices,” he added.
He renewed calls on the Islamic nation to defend the Al-Aqsa Mosque, warning that hesitation in defending the Islamic site is hesitation in defending the dignity of Muslims, their countries, and their sanctities.
Hamdan pointed out that the “terrorist Netanyahu government”, which sees prolonging the war as a primary goal to evade the obligations of the post-aggression phase, still adopts an obstinate position towards the just demands put forward by Hamas and Palestinian resistance factions. These demands include stopping the aggression, the return and housing of the displaced, and lifting the siege to rebuild what was destroyed by the Israeli aggression.
Positive approach to dealing with initiatives
Hamdan pointed that Hamas has dealt positively with the proposals and initiatives of mediators and has prioritized putting an end to the aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, alleviating their humanitarian suffering, ensuring the freedom of movement for them and their return to their homes and areas in the northern part of the Strip and all other areas. Urgent relief, shelter, and reconstruction efforts have also been emphasized, he added.
He underlined that the Israeli positions and its responses to the mediators’ efforts have been negative, placing many obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement.
He pointed out that Netanyahu insists on continuing the aggression, refusing to withdraw from the Strip, preventing the return of displaced individuals to the north, and rejecting any genuine exchange deal.
Hamdan said, “Netanyahu’s insistence on pursuing a genocidal war against civilians in the Gaza Strip, even at the expense of the lives of more prisoners held by the resistance under the Zionist brutal bombardment, cannot be halted by mere ideas and initiatives. It requires decisive positions and practical measures to end the aggression and respond to the rights of our people, ultimately leading to the end of the occupation.”
He added, “It has become clear that the victory that Netanyahu and his supporters wish for is nothing more than an illusion. Netanyahu lies to everyone and deceives the families of the prisoners by claiming that he can liberate them by force.”
Demands for an investigation into crimes against Palestinian women
Meanwhile, a report issued by human rights experts confirmed that Palestinian women and girls have been systematically subjected to attacks by the occupying army since the start of the Israeli aggression on October 7th in Gaza and the West Bank.
The report pointed to a long series of such attacks and violations, including arbitrary execution of their family members and children, killing despite raising white flags, arbitrary detention and inhumane treatment of women, and sexual assault such as stripping and search by male army officers, Hamdan said.
He added that the report revealed cases of rape and threats of rape, as well as the humiliating filming of female detainees by Israeli army soldiers and their dissemination on the internet, the kidnapping of children and women by the occupying army (including the kidnapping of an infant girl) and the separation of children from their parents with their whereabouts still unknown.
Hamdan called for an independent, impartial, speedy, and comprehensive international investigation into these serious crimes in accordance with international criminal law, as well as the prosecution of Israel and its leadership under the Rome Statute.
Hamdan charged that the use of the United States’ veto power to obstruct the UN Security Council’s ceasefire resolution confirms the full partnership of the United States and the Biden administration in the genocidal war waged by Israel against the defenseless civilians in Gaza, and their absolute support for all the crimes, massacres, and blatant violations of international laws by hindering any attempt to stop the aggression, “which reflects a clear American green light for the Zionist enemy to continue its crimes.”
Hamdan emphasized that the ongoing war of starvation, continuous massacres, and systematic destruction of all aspects of life in Gaza would not have continued without the support of this “criminal administration, which is stained with the blood of our innocent children, women, and elderly, and bears full responsibility for their innocent blood.”
Appreciation of supportive countries’ stances
Hamdan, meanwhile, appreciated the stands in support of humanitarian values by Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who affirmed that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide, and “that what the Zionist occupying army is doing in Gaza today is the same as what Hitler’s Nazis did to the Jews during World War II.”
He condemned the “vicious Zionist campaign” against President da Silva, and saluted the honorable stances of the presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia, Cuba, and Colombia, who expressed their support for the Brazilian President’s position and confirmed that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide in the Nazi manner.
He also appreciated the stances of the countries participating in the public hearings held by the International Court of Justice regarding the legal consequences of the occupation’s policies in the Palestinian territories, which confirmed the wide-ranging violations of international law practiced by the “terrorist occupying entity against the Palestinian people and their occupied land.”
Hamdan said, “We highly appreciate the position expressed by the People’s Republic of China and its affirmation of the legality of the occupied peoples’ pursuit of self-determination through various means, including armed resistance, and the necessity of not confusing terrorism with the armed struggle practiced by the Palestinian people against Zionist occupation.”
The Hamas leader concluded his press conference by calling on the Arab and Islamic countries and free people of the world to condemn the Israeli genocide in Gaza and to pressure for stopping it, and to support the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom.
