Israel insists the offensive in Rafah is being conducted as a necessary part of the right of the nation to defend itself. Many Western countries, traditionally supportive of Israel, oppose a military operation in Rafah that would have catastrophic consequences on the civilian population.
Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Emily Rose report for Reuters that the slow progress of Israel's offensive, more than seven months after it was prompted by Hamas' deadly cross-border raid, highlighted the difficulty of achieving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's aim of eradicating the militant group.
South Africa asked the top U.N. court to order a halt to Israel's Rafah offensive, saying it was "part of the endgame in which Gaza is utterly destroyed". Israel has denied South African allegations of genocide in Gaza and said it had complied with an earlier court order to step up aid.
The United States State Department said the humanitarian situation in Gaza continued to deteriorate and urged Israel to allow sustained access for aid via the southern and northern parts of the enclave.
Israel's military says its operation in Rafah is meant to kill Hamas fighters and dismantle infrastructure used by the group, which governs the blockaded Palestinian territory. Israel accuses Hamas of diverting aid, something it denies.
Israel said its strikes were targeted at militants.
"We're operating ... where we know Hamas terrorists are hiding, and where we think we can find either tunnel shafts or terror infrastructure or ammunition of many types," military spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said. (Al-Mughrabi & Rose, n.d.)
The Times of Israel reports that thirteen Western countries, including many traditionally supportive of Israel, appeal to it not to launch a large-scale offensive on Rafah.
“We reiterate our opposition to a full-scale military operation in Rafah that would have catastrophic consequences on the civilian population,” reads the appeal, sent by the countries’ foreign ministers to their Israeli counterpart Israel Katz and made public.
The signatories are Australia, Britain, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and EU member states Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden. (Times of Israel, n.d.)
The ministers welcome recent measures adopted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet to improve the flow of international aid into Gaza, but call for “further steps.”
“We urge the Government of Israel to let the humanitarian aid enter into the Gaza Strip through all relevant crossing points, including the one in Rafah,” they say. (Times of Israel, n.d.)
Emma Graham-Harrison, reporting for the Guardian, comments that South African lawyers urge the international court of justice (ICJ) to issue urgent measures over the assault on Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city.
South Africa has asked the international court of justice (ICJ) to urgently order Israel to end its assault on Rafah, halt its military campaign across Gaza, and allow international investigators and journalists into the territory.
They argued that seven months into the war, which has killed more than 35,000 people and reduced much of Gaza to rubble, the scale of suffering was now so intense that a total ceasefire was needed to get food, medicine and other aid to its desperate population.
Prof Vaughan Lowe KC told the court that a destructive campaign in Rafah, the last corner of Gaza that has not faced a ground invasion by Israeli forces, would destroy “the foundation of Palestinian life” in the territory.
“If the court does not act now the possibility of rebuilding a viable Palestinian society in Gaza will be destroyed, at least for the lifetime of those who survive the current horrors of Gaza.”
South Africa also demanded access for reporters and war crimes investigators to Gaza, to collect and preserve evidence of potential war crimes.
“The details are not always easy to verify because Israel continues to bar independent investigators and journalists from entering Gaza, and over 100 journalists who were in Gaza have been killed since Israeli attacks began,” Lowe said. “Israel cannot block investigations by independent investigators and then say the court cannot proceed because there is insufficient evidence against it.” (Graham-Harrison, n.d.)
Israel’s foreign ministry said in response that South Africa was “presenting biased and false claims” which “rely on unreliable Hamas sources” and called on the court to reject the appeal.
“Israel acts in accordance with international law and its humanitarian obligations, while implementing measures to minimise harm to civilians and civilian facilities,” the ministry said late on Thursday. (Graham-Harrison, n.d.)
Nick Logan of CBC News reports that women, children still account for more than half of identified victims after the UN agency revises figures.
The breakdown of the casualties, however, only includes 24,686 identified fatalities as of April 30.
From that figure, OCHA has recorded 10,006 were Palestinian men, accounting for 40 per cent of the identified fatalities, while 4,959 (20 per cent) were women and 7,797 were children (32 per cent). It also listed 1,924 elderly people among the fatalities, but did not differentiate them by gender. (Logan, n.d.)
Burak Elmali in an article posted to the Anadolu Agency (AA) web site notes that Israel’s use of advanced software tools underscores a harrowing reality: AI, when misapplied, can facilitate atrocities of catastrophic proportions The TRT World Research Centre reports that the conduct of warfare is among the many domains influenced by AI, and the latter’s impact on this field is no longer theoretical. Gaza is a case in point. This evolution prompts profound questions about human agency and responsibility within AI debates. What if the person wielding the technological prowess harbours a militaristic ideology so extreme that it sanctions genocidal actions?
Over a period exceeding six months, Israel has conducted airstrikes with indiscriminate genocidal intent, as revealed through the candid admissions of numerous military intelligence insiders. Their confession-like statements about Israel’s use of advanced software tools, such as Lavender and Where’s Daddy, underscores a harrowing reality: AI, when misapplied, can facilitate atrocities of catastrophic proportions, and turn out to be as inhumane as possible.
The Israeli Defence Ministry’s communication often follows the path of censorship, obfuscation, and deflection tactics. This time was no different. The spokesperson dismissed the accusations with a mere denial. Yet, the stark reality reflected in the civilian death toll leaves little room to ignore the assertions made about the AI-driven genocidal undertaking attributed to Lavender. The algorithm used indicated the acceptance of 15-20 civilian casualties for one low-ranking Hamas member and up to 100 for one senior Hamas member.
Such robotisation of inhumanity is very disturbing. Alas, the figures are aligned with the reported death tolls in Gaza. Furthermore, the use of unguided bombs, which cause enormous devastation in heavily populated areas in scenarios involving unconfirmed junior Hamas members, suggests that Israel is conducting more war crimes, this time pretexting the use of AI.
This scenario lays bare a critical issue addressed in a recent controversial piece published by +972 Magazine.
In essence, the situation boils down to a straightforward logic: Lavender’s method of compiling death lists based on physical traits and affiliations was seemingly acted upon without critical examination. When we factor in the IDF’s apparent indifference to the margin of error in these operations, as evidenced by a list encompassing 37,000 Palestinians, the implications of a potentially deliberate killing strategy become deeply shocking, inhuman, and intentionally genocidal. (Elmalı & Kilavuz, 2024)
The apparent “gray area” between military operations that observe international humanitarian law concerning distinction between civilian and military targets and proportional response with weaponry that limits killing of non-combatants and destruction of civilian infrastructure and killing and destruction that has the genocidal intent of eliminating Palestinian people is an area where war crimes are being committed and need detailed investigation by independent military experts and reported to the International Court of Justice.
References
Al-Mughrabi, N., & Rose, E. (n.d.). Israel moves into north Gaza Hamas stronghold, pounds Rafah without advancing. Reuters. Retrieved May 17, 2024, from https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-moves-north-gaza-hamas-stronghold-pounds-rafah-without-advancing-2024-05-16/
Elmalı, B., & Kilavuz, İ. F. (2024, May 1). Israel Has Tainted AI with Genocide – TRT World Research Centre. TRT World Research Centre. Retrieved May 17, 2024, from https://researchcentre.trtworld.com/perspectives/israel-has-tainted-ai-with-genocide/
Graham-Harrison, E. (n.d.). South Africa calls on ICJ to order Israel to end Rafah offensive. the Guardian. Retrieved May 17, 2024, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/16/south-africa-icj-international-court-of-justice-israel-rafah-gaza
Logan, N. (n.d.). Why the UN changed its death tolls of Palestinian women and children killed in Gaza. CBC News. Retrieved May 17, 2024, from https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gaza-women-children-death-toll-1.7203167
Times of Israel. (n.d.). 13 countries – including UK, Germany, Canada – urge Israel not to launch ‘full-scale’ Rafah op. Times of Israel. Retrieved May 17, 2024, from https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/13-countries-including-uk-germany-canada-urge-israel-not-to-launch-full-scale-rafah-op/
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