By Muhammet Ikbal Arslan
GENEVA (AA) - The severity of the language being used for what is going on in Gaza is escalating as Israeli bombardment and ground attacks continue to devastate the small strip of land, according to a former UN special rapporteur.
"We've been moving from the language of humanitarian crisis, to humanitarian catastrophe, to humanitarian nightmare, to now a genocide with respect to Israeli military operations in Gaza," Michael Lynk, who served in 2016-2022 as UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territories, told Anadolu.
With up to 1.5 million now holed up in the city of Rafah, straddling the enclave's southern border with Egypt, Lynk said they had no access to food, water, fuel, sanitation, power, or shelter amid the winter cold.
Despite these grave humanitarian conditions, the Israeli military continues to bombard the region. "They have no protection and they have no security," he said.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
Some 1.5 million Palestinians previously displaced by Israel's offensive on Gaza are holed up in Rafah, seeking refuge from hostilities.
Israel's reported plans for an offensive on the city have sounded international alarm bells, with many countries urging restraint or cancelation of the operation.
According to Lynk, Israeli officials have been making numerous statements since the beginning of the conflict that show their genocidal intent, a key part of the definition of genocide under international law, as they continue to pursue their offensive in Gaza.
"We have dozens and dozens of statements made by senior Israeli political and military leaders with respect to genocidal intent. So I think, at least the plausibility has been established, and there's quite possibly genocide itself or a genocide in the making, according to the definition of the Genocide Convention," he said.
He also underlined that Israel has faced little meaningful repercussions in terms of its relations with other countries over its actions in Gaza.
"If they're not going to rethink the diplomatic relationships with Israel, if they're not going to rethink their trade relationships with Israel, if they're not going to rethink their military weapons trades with Israel, then Israel realizes there's no cost to continuing."
He also pointed to the role of the US in supporting Israel in its onslaught that has left nearly 30,000 Palestinians dead, noting that Washington, besides replenishing Tel Aviv's shrinking ammunition stocks with 3.8 billion in military aid, is also providing it diplomatic cover at the UN.
"So, it's hard to see how this offensive and this coming catastrophe in Rafah is going to stop unless the US pulls to a stop and tells Israel that 'enough is enough.'
"I don't see that coming."
Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed over 29,000 people and injured over 69,000 with mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.