Amnesty International called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all prisoners, while Human Rights Watch said the past year was marked by unlawful attacks on civilians causing suffering on an appalling scale and a general level of terror.
This came on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Al-Aqsa flood launched by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) – and other resistance factions – on the Gaza Strip on October 7 of last year, in which about 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 others were captured.
Today also marks one year since the start of the devastating and ongoing Israeli attack, which resulted in the death of more than 41,500 people and the forcible displacement of 1.9 million people in the besieged Palestinian Strip.
Amnesty Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said that today marks “a day of mourning for Israelis whose loved ones were killed and kidnapped” and one year since the start of the blatant Israeli forces’ attack on Gaza, which “resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands, the forcible displacement of 90% of the population, and caused an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.” Which exposed the Palestinians in Gaza to the risk of genocide, according to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice.”
Amnesty International called for an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all civilian prisoners held by Hamas and other armed groups and “of all Palestinians illegally detained by Israel.”
The human rights official stressed that as the war rages with no end in sight, the need for a ceasefire, respect for international law, and the rights of all victims to know the truth, establish justice and obtain compensation, has become more urgent than ever before.
For its part, Watch said that the past year was characterized by “unlawful” attacks on civilians, causing suffering on a horrific scale and a general level of terror.
The watch said that the prisoners in Gaza were “killed by bullets from their captors and subjected to inhumane treatment.” Palestinians in Israeli detention centers have also been subjected to “torture, ill-treatment, incommunicado detention, and sexual violence.”
She noted that victims of human rights violations in Israel and Palestine face “a wall of impunity for decades,” while “Israel’s policies of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians are worsening, including land seizures and deadly violence in the West Bank.”
