The death toll of Palestinian civilians killed in attacks by the Israeli army and the intensified air campaign in Gaza continues to climb as the International Criminal Court (ICC) voiced concern over possible war crimes committed by Tel-Aviv.
Israel resumed violent airstrikes on Palestinian security centers and police headquarters in the Gaza Strip throughout the week, as some experts said the bombings resembled those conducted in 2014. Dozens of bombs were dropped within a few minutes in the south, north and central parts of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday and Wednesday. Israeli airstrikes have leveled multistory buildings across the Gaza Strip, where 2 million Palestinians have lived under a crippling Israeli blockade since Hamas took power in 2007.
The Gaza Health Ministry said Wednesday that 48 civilians, including 14 children and three women, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza. It added that nearly 300 Palestinians in the territory have been wounded in the strikes.
Israeli security forces also attacked Palestinians at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound early Wednesday.
In Jerusalem, after performing the dawn prayer, Palestinians gathered at Haram al-Sharif, the compound that houses the mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Israeli forces fired rubber bullets to disperse them, an official from the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf (religious endowments) told Anadolu Agency (AA) on condition of anonymity. Palestinians threw stones at the Israeli forces in retaliation. Israeli police also targeted Palestinian youth at the Bab al-Magharib, one of the gates to the mosque, causing multiple injuries to protesters.
'Concerns over war crimes'
Amid ongoing Israeli aggression, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said Wednesday that war crimes may have been committed against Palestinians across the occupied territories and the blockaded Gaza Strip.
"I note with great concern the escalation of violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as in and around Gaza, and the possible commission of crimes under the Rome Statute," Fatou Bensouda said on Twitter, referring to the statute that founded the ICC.
Bensouda announced on March 3 that she had opened a full investigation into the situation in the Israeli-occupied territories, infuriating Israel, who is not a member of The Hague-based court, unlike the Palestinian Authority (PA).
That probe will mainly focus on the 2014 Gaza war but will also look into the deaths of Palestinian demonstrators from 2018 onward.
After a five-year preliminary probe, she had said there was "reasonable basis" to believe crimes were committed by both sides – by the Israeli Defense Forces and Israeli authorities, and by Hamas and Palestinian forces.
Bensouda said Wednesday that the ICC investigations "will cover all sides and all the facts and evidence relevant to an assessment of whether there is individual criminal responsibility under the statute."
"My office will continue to monitor developments on the ground and will factor any matter that falls within its jurisdiction."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said late Tuesday that they "will continue the attack on Gaza with full force," while Defense Minister Benny Gantz vowed to intensify the air campaign, saying "this is just the beginning." The premier also added that the Israeli military operation "has dealt a tough blow" to the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip, underlining that the fighting will continue for some time. In a nationally televised speech late on Tuesday, he claimed that Hamas and Islamic Jihad "have paid, and will pay a heavy price." He said Israel will press ahead with an intensified operation but said "it will take time" to complete the mission.
Later on Wednesday, Gantz vowed more attacks on Gaza to bring "total, long-term quiet" before considering a cease-fire. "The army will continue to attack to bring a total, long-term quiet. Only when we reach that goal will we be able to speak about a truce," Gantz said in Ashkelon. "We don't need moral lessons from other countries. All military options are on the table to deal with the problem in Gaza."
Meanwhile, a pipeline belonging to an Israeli state-owned energy company was hit in a rocket attack after the Iron Dome failed to intercept the projectile late Tuesday, Reuters reported citing an Israeli government official and an energy sector official.
Video broadcast by Channel 12 showed flames rising from what appeared to be a large fuel vat near the Israeli Mediterranean city of Ashkelon, south of Tel Aviv. Operations at a power plant in Ashkelon were not interrupted, Channel 13 TV said.
Two Israeli women were also killed by rockets fired from Gaza in response to recent Israeli aggression in the heavily targeted coastal city of Ashkelon, just north of Gaza, said the emergency service Magen David Adom. The local Barzilai medical center said 70 injured in the attacks were receiving treatment at the facility.
Hamas' Qassem Brigades had vowed to turn the town "to hell" and rained down an intense volley, claiming to have fired 137 rockets toward Ashkelon and nearby Ashdod within just five minutes. Loud booms rocked the town again Tuesday, where a rocket had ripped a gaping hole into the side of an apartment block, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporter said.
Over 90% of recent rockets from Gaza were reported intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, Israeli army spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said earlier Tuesday.
Tensions in Jerusalem have soared in recent weeks as Palestinians have protested against Israel's restrictions on access to parts of the Old City during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and after authorities ordered several Palestinian families to leave their homes to make way for Israeli settlers.
Since last Friday, Israeli police have been constantly attacking Palestinian worshippers in the mosque, leaving several hundred injured. Most of the injuries were caused by rubber-coated bullets fired by police, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported.
The attack on Islam's third holiest site and around East Jerusalem coincides with Israel's decision to evict Palestinians from their homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers, drawing condemnation from several countries for both the violence at Al-Aqsa and the evictions.
Condemnations of Israel continue
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned Israel and reiterated support for Palestinians as fatal unrest escalates. The OIC "condemns in the strongest terms the repeated attacks by the Israeli occupation authorities against the Palestinian people," the pan-Islamic body based in the Saudi city of Jeddah said in a statement on Tuesday after an emergency session.
It also condemned "the Israeli occupation forces' continuation of their colonial programs – building settlements, attempting to confiscate Palestinian properties, forceful eviction of Palestinians from their land."
Malaysia on Wednesday also strongly condemned Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, which have claimed dozens of Palestinian lives. In a statement, Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin called the attack by Israel a "total and blatant disregard of all international laws." He reiterated the country's concern over the ongoing raids on Palestinian worshippers in Al-Aqsa Mosque as well as forced evictions of Palestinians from their homes.
"In these final days of the holy month of Ramadan, this despicable, targeted aggression against our brothers and sisters are indeed disrespectful not only to Muslims around the world but to humanity at large," he said. "The continuous excessive use of force by Israel against Palestinian people, especially during the holy month of Ramadan, is unjustifiable and unacceptable, which Israel must be held accountable for," he added. He called on the international community to raise their voice against the "disproportionate and atrocious aggression against Palestine."
Protests have also been held against Israeli aggression in many cities worldwide.
In London, thousands of people gathered on Tuesday to protest Israeli attacks on Gaza and ongoing police brutality at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Protesters gathered in front of government offices at 10 Downing Street in the evening under heavy police presence. Some banners carried at the rally read "Free Palestine," "Israel is a terrorist state" and "Occupation No More." Protesters carried Palestinian and Turkish flags while condemning the bombings in Gaza and incidents around Al-Aqsa Mosque and asking the British government to end its support for Israel.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was among those who joined the protest. A group with Israeli flags was removed from the scene under police protection following a brief provocation attempt. The protesting group later marched toward Israel's London Embassy in Kensington, where police took precautions with a number of officers, including armed units. The British government has kept silent on civilian casualties in the region.
Amnesty International also condemned Tuesday Israel's brutal and violent suppression of Palestinian worshippers and protestors in recent days. The rights group gathered evidence that points to repeated use of excessive and indiscriminate force by Israeli authorities and demanded the immediate halt of forced evictions and displacement of Palestinian families in the occupied East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. "Israeli security forces have used repeated, unwarranted and excessive force against Palestinian protesters in occupied East Jerusalem following four days of violence in which 840 Palestinians were injured," Amnesty said in a statement.
"Evidence gathered by Amnesty International reveals a chilling pattern of Israeli forces using abusive and wanton force against largely peaceful Palestinian protesters in recent days. Some of those injured in the violence in East Jerusalem include bystanders or worshippers making Ramadan prayers," it said.
The spokesperson of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the secretary-general is "gravely concerned" by the surge in violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip. "He is deeply saddened to learn of the increasingly large numbers of casualties, including children, from Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, and of Israeli fatalities from rockets launched from Gaza." Guterres has called on Israeli security forces to "exercise maximum restraint" in their use of force and condemned Hamas rocket launches toward Israeli populations as "unacceptable."
"This spiraling escalation must cease immediately," the U.N. chief's spokesperson said.