UNITED NATIONS: The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations on Tuesday (Oct 10) described Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip and vow to impose a complete siege on the Hamas-controlled Palestinian enclave as “nothing less than genocidal”.
Hamas militants carried out their deadliest attack in Israel’s history on Saturday, when gunmen rampaged through Israeli towns, killing more than 1,000 people and taking scores of hostages to Gaza.
Israel has retaliated with air strikes on Gaza that have razed entire districts as it prepares for a possible ground offensive.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant drew international condemnation by announcing on Monday a “total blockade” to stop food and fuel reaching Gaza, home to 2.3 million people. Gallant said Israel was battling “beastly people”.
“Such blatant dehumanisation and attempts to bomb a people into submission, to use starvation as a method of warfare, and to eradicate their national existence are nothing less than genocidal,” Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour wrote in a letter to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, seen by Reuters.
“These acts constitute war crimes,” he wrote.
Source: CNA
