Amnesty International Warns ‘Genocide Not Over’ as Israeli Strikes and West Bank Raids Intensify

Rights group asserts ‘no evidence’ that Israel’s genocidal intent has changed, pointing to ongoing attacks and a crippling aid blockade.

In a stark warning to the international community, Amnesty International has declared that Israeli authorities are continuing to commit genocide in Gaza, exploiting a fragile ceasefire to wage new attacks and systematically strangle critical humanitarian aid.

The statement, issued on Thursday, comes as Israeli forces launched a series of airstrikes in southern and central Gaza, including in areas beyond the designated “yellow line” where they are obligated to remain withdrawn under the terms of the seven-week-old truce.

“The world must not be fooled. Israel’s genocide is not over,” said Amnesty’s Secretary-General Agnes Callamard. “So far, there is no indication that Israel is taking serious measures to reverse the deadly impact of its crimes and no evidence that its genocidal intent has changed. In fact, Israeli authorities are continuing their ruthless policies, restricting access to vital humanitarian aid and essential services, and deliberately imposing conditions calculated to physically destroy Palestinians in Gaza.”

Ceasefire in Name Only: Mounting Violations and Casualties

The ceasefire, which came into effect on October 10 after more than two years of war, has failed to halt the violence. According to Gaza’s civil defence and monitoring groups, Israel has violated the agreement more than 500 times. These attacks have killed at least 347 Palestinians and injured 889 people since the truce was supposed to take hold. The total Palestinian death toll since the conflict began now stands at nearly 70,000.

On Thursday morning, Al Jazeera correspondents reported Israeli strikes targeting residential buildings in central Gaza’s Bureij camp and eastern Khan Younis. These attacks are seen as particularly brazen as they occur in zones officially designated for Israeli withdrawal.

Parallel Crackdown in the West Bank

The violence is not confined to Gaza. Concurrent with the Gaza strikes, Israel’s military conducted a widespread wave of raids and arrests across the occupied West Bank, including in Qalqilya, Tubas, Hebron, Tulkarem, and Nablus.

In Tubas, the situation turned particularly violent. A local Palestinian Red Crescent official, quoted by the Wafa news agency, reported that Israeli forces conducted field interrogations and assaulted at least 25 Palestinians, all of whom subsequently required medical treatment. This surge in West Bank operations underscores a broader pattern of intensified repression in the occupied territories alongside the war in Gaza.

Fragile Prisoner Exchange and Stumbling Blocks

The first stage of the truce agreement, focused on a prisoner and captive body exchange, has seen some progress. On Wednesday, Israel transferred the bodies of 15 Palestinian prisoners to Gaza authorities. This followed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad handing over the body of an Israeli captive the previous day.

To date, Palestinian armed groups have released all living captives stipulated in the deal and returned the remains of 26 out of 28 captives. In return, Israel has freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and returned the bodies of 345. Palestinian sources note that many of the returned bodies showed signs of torture, mutilation, and execution.

However, significant hurdles threaten to derail the ceasefire. A major point of contention involves dozens of Hamas fighters who are reportedly trapped in tunnels on the Israeli-occupied side of the yellow line in southern Gaza. Israel claims to have killed 20 of these fighters in the past week.

On Wednesday, Hamas issued a statement urging ceasefire mediators to pressure Israel to allow the besieged fighters safe passage, accusing Israel of a “clear breach” of the agreement. “We hold (Israel) fully responsible for the lives of our fighters and call upon our mediators to take immediate action to pressure (Israel) to allow our sons to return home,” the statement read.

Uncertain Future: The Battle Over ‘Phase Two’

As the immediate prisoner exchange nears completion, fraught discussions are underway regarding the transition to the ceasefire’s second phase. This next stage, as outlined in the agreement, is diplomatically explosive. It includes:

• The deployment of an armed international stabilisation force tasked with demilitarising Gaza.

• The creation of an international body to temporarily govern the Gaza Strip and oversee its reconstruction.

Turkish, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators met in Cairo this week to discuss this phase, but major questions hang over nearly every aspect of the plan. Analysts deeply doubt Israel’s commitment to seeing it through, especially provisions that would cede security control to an international force.

“Until this moment, Israel has not given up on its plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza,” said Muhammad Shehada, a visiting fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations. “The choice Israel is presenting is either a Gaza that stays permanently as an uninhabitable refugee camp in ruins… or Hamas retaliates and Israel uses it as an excuse to resume the genocide.”

Amnesty’s Callamard echoed this skepticism, urging sustained global pressure. She warned against allowing the ceasefire to become a “smokescreen for Israel’s ongoing genocide.”

“The international community cannot afford to be complacent,” Callamard asserted. “States must keep up pressure on Israel to allow unfettered access to humanitarian aid, lift its unlawful blockade, and end its ongoing genocide. The lives of millions of Palestinians depend on it.”

 

 

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