On the 138th day of the Israeli assault on Gaza on Wednesday, February 21, the death toll and the number of injured continued to rise even as security forces also escalated operations in the West Bank. The continuing assault took place in the background of the US vetoing yet another resolution for a ceasefire. The decision by the US to veto the resolution sponsored by Algeria was criticized by a number of countries, including China, France, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Russia, and Cuba, as well as by Hamas and rights group Amnesty International.
Meanwhile, the hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case of genocide brought by South Africa against Israel continued for the third day, with countries such as Cuba, Colombia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates presenting arguments and calling on the ICJ and the international community to take swift and affection action to prevent the atrocities being committed against Palestinians by Israel and to hold it accountable.
At the hearings, Cuba’s representative, Rodriguez Camejo, called Israeli actions in Gaza a “low intensity genocide which is “perpetrated with systematic and effective cruelty,” and urged the ICJ to not wait for the “complete extermination of an entire nation before ruling on the matter.” Similarly, Colombia’s representative, Jimenez Herrera, called on the ICJ to consider “the real and imminent risk of irreparable prejudice to the rights of Palestinians as a consequence of Israel’s occupation – as has been fully documented by international agencies, United Nations organs, and even recently recognized by the court itself,” besides noting that “ultimately what is at stake here is ensuring the safety and, indeed, the very existence of the Palestinian people.”
On Wednesday afternoon, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported that 118 people were killed in the preceding 24 hours. Dozens of Palestinians were killed in airstrikes and ground attacks in Nuseirat refugee camp, Rafah, al-Mawasi, Gaza city, Khan Younis, and Zeitoun, among other areas. Wafa News reported on Wednesday that eight patients died at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis due to a disruption in the oxygen supply due to the attacks that cut off electricity supply. An Israeli attack in al-Mawasi targeted a shelter for internally displaced Palestinians with international medical charity, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), noting that some of its staff was also present inside.
The Israeli bombardment has also led to the World Food Programme (WFP) to suspend its aid deliveries in northern Gaza over the risk of its staff coming under Israeli bombardment. WFP’s chief Cindy McCain warned in a social media post that “a famine doesn’t have to happen. But if things don’t change, it will,” with the organization adding that “significantly higher volumes of food” are needed to alleviate the dire humanitarian and in particular, the food insecurity crisis across Gaza. The death toll in Gaza rose to at least 29,313, with at least 69,333 injured.
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces arrested at least 40 Palestinians in the 24 hours preceding Wednesday afternoon. In the town of Jenin, three Palestinians were killed, with several others injured. Raids also took place in and around Ramallah, Nablus, Tubas, Hebron, and Salfit, with Israeli soldiers accompanied by bulldozers, armored vehicles, and even an attack helicopter, inflicting damage to Palestinian homes, vehicles, roads, public infrastructure, and even demolishing a monument built in memory of the civilians killed in Gaza.
