Hamas calls for urgent action to stop Israeli genocide in Gaza

By Amer Solyman

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Palestinian resistance group Hamas called Sunday for urgent action from Arab and Islamic countries to stop Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip.

The call came shortly after at least 36 civilians, including 15 children, were killed in an Israeli strike on an inhabited home in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

Israel’s ongoing “massacres, war of extermination, starvation, and widespread violations of all values, laws, and norms require an urgent stance from Arab and Islamic leaders…to assume their responsibilities to stop these crimes,” Hamas said in a statement.

It accused the Israeli army of carrying out ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza “amid a tight siege, ongoing starvation, and destruction of all the necessities of life, including hospitals.”

Hamas also appealed to all UN agencies to urgently intervene “to stop the horrific massacre being committed against thousands of families in northern Gaza and hold Israeli war criminals accountable for their crimes against humanity.”

The Israeli army has continued a deadly onslaught in northern Gaza since Oct. 5 to allegedly prevent Hamas from regrouping amid a suffocating siege on the area.

Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.

Since then, no humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and fuel, was allowed by the Israeli army into the area, leaving most of the population there on the verge of imminent starvation.

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023. The onslaught has killed over 43,600 victims and rendered the enclave almost uninhabitable.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the blockaded enclave.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi