Oxfam warns of massive casualties in Gaza during UK Parliament recess

By Aysu Bicer

LONDON (AA) - Nearly 7,000 people in Gaza are projected to be killed or injured if Israel’s military offensive continues unabated during the UK Parliament's summer recess, according to new analysis by Oxfam on Tuesday.

The humanitarian organization estimates that over 1,800 people, including more than 600 children, will be killed, and over 5,000 will be injured within the 33-day recess period.

Oxfam's calculations, based on UN cumulative impact reports from May 8 to July 22, indicate that 1,831 individuals in Gaza will be killed and 5,016 injured due to ongoing Israeli military actions.

The analysis coincides with criticisms of the UK Government’s continued arms sales to Israel, which are feared to contribute to violations of international law in Gaza. These arms sales include components for F-35 fighter jets, which are regularly employed in airstrikes.

Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) data for the same period reports that Israeli airstrikes account for over 45 percent of recent fatalities in Gaza.

Israel's bombing campaign has been described as one of the deadliest and most destructive in modern history, involving the use of powerful Mark 84 2,000-pound bombs, which have a lethal fragmentation radius of up to 1,100 feet (335.28 meters).

Halima Begum, chief executive of Oxfam GB, condemned the ongoing arms sales: "Israeli fighter jets, like the F-35, are relentlessly dropping lethal bombs that indiscriminately kill and maim civilians across Gaza every single day. The humanitarian impact has been horrific. By selling F-35 components to Israel, the UK Government is effectively facilitating many of the Israeli airstrikes and the decimation of Gaza."

Begum emphasized the legal and moral obligations of the UK: "The government is fully aware of the risk that arms exported from the UK are likely being used to commit war crimes in Gaza."

"It is critical that the UK Government immediately suspend both existing and new licences for all arms sales, whether direct to Israel or via third parties. Without such concrete action, glaring loopholes for continued arms transfers will remain. Minor restrictions will make little meaningful difference in this appalling crisis," she added.

More than 39,360 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

Humanitarian organization estimates that over 1,800 people, including more than 600 children, will be killed, and over 5,000 will be injured within the 33-day recess period