TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israel has become the most condemned country worldwide due to its unilateral, brutal, and internationally illegal actions. Countries that previously supported Israel or ignored the suffering in Gaza are now beginning to distance themselves.
Here are five of Israel’s actions that have drawn global condemnation and caused its allies to rethink their stance toward Palestine:
1. Occupation of Gaza City
The Israeli Security Cabinet approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to occupy Gaza City. This move is the first step in a larger operation aimed at allowing the Israeli Defense Forces to control the entire Gaza Strip. The plan includes eviction orders for about one million Palestinians in and around Gaza City to clear the way for military action, according to Axios.
Netanyahu stated that Israel does not intend to occupy Gaza permanently but wants to establish security boundaries and eventually hand over governance to Arab forces that would manage Gaza without threatening Israel. Civilians are to be evacuated to central camps before October 7th.
This plan faces opposition both internationally and within Israel. IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir warned it could jeopardize hostages and place full military responsibility on Gaza’s two million residents.
2. Expansion of Military Operations
Israel’s large-scale military attacks have caused over 61,000 deaths, including 18,000 children, widespread destruction, displacement, and a humanitarian crisis approaching famine levels.
Five UN Security Council members condemned Israel’s plan to expand military operations in Gaza, warning of potential violations of international humanitarian law. Slovenia’s UN ambassador Samuel Zbogar, speaking for the UK, France, Denmark, and Greece, urged Israel to revoke the decision immediately to protect civilians and hostages, as reported by Anadolu.
3. Using Starvation as a Weapon
Restrictions on humanitarian aid and blockades have led to starvation and increased risks for civilians seeking assistance. Israeli forces have reportedly shot at people approaching aid distribution points.
In the past 24 hours, five Palestinians, including children, died from starvation and malnutrition in Gaza, raising the total starvation deaths to 222 since October 2023, according to the Ministry of Health and Palestine Chronicle.
The blockade severely limits access to food, medicine, and aid, disproportionately affecting vulnerable groups like children. Attempts to deliver aid are hampered not only by the blockade but also by violence against Palestinians trying to reach aid centers.
4. Targeting and Killing Journalists
An Israeli airstrike near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City killed five Al Jazeera journalists and two others, including a freelance journalist, while they were working in a media tent, according to Middle East Monitor.
Victims included correspondent Anas al-Sharif and cameraman Ibrahim Zaher. Israel routinely claims that journalists killed in such strikes are Hamas members but has never provided evidence. This tactic is seen as an effort to silence Gaza’s voice.
Since the war began, at least 238 journalists have been killed, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.
5. Forced Displacement of Gaza Residents
The Israeli Security Cabinet’s plan involves disarming Hamas, taking full control of Gaza City, forcibly relocating residents, and forming an alternative government. The international community widely views these actions as violations of international law and forms of collective punishment and ethnic cleansing.
The UN Security Council members (UK, France, Denmark, Greece, Slovenia), along with foreign ministers from Australia, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and international organizations like the UN, have condemned these moves.
They warn that without a ceasefire, hostage release, and humanitarian aid, the crisis will worsen.
Despite international pressure, Israel rejects all criticism and maintains that its actions are solely aimed at Hamas with the goal of ending the conflict quickly, a goal that has not yet been achieved.
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