Anti-war activists rallied near Hong Kong’s Israeli consulate on Saturday, displaying a list of thousands of Palestinians killed by Tel Aviv’s bombardment of the Gaza strip. It coincided with demonstrations around the world, as protesters in London, Berlin, Paris, Ankara, Istanbul and Washington urged a ceasefire.
Five demonstrators from HK Anti-war Mobilization gathered in Admiralty, holding signs stating “Stand with Palestine,” whilst chanting “Israeli army destroyed Gaza.” Plainclothes police officers were on the scene, as the activists held a three-minute silence, InMediaHK reported.
In a Facebook statement, the group said: “[E]ven though Palestine and us do not speak the same language and have different cultures, when a powerful country such as Israel uses their media mouthpieces to try and erase the history of decades of colonisation of Palestine by Israel, we have to look squarely at the truth and hold fast to our opposition to wars of aggression.”
Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Saturday that over 9,500 have been killed in the territory, including 3,900 children and 2,509 women, since the conflict began.
Almost 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, according to AP, mostly during the October 7 attack by Hamas militants, who control Gaza. On that day, over 2,000 men entered Israeli territory through 29 breaches of Gaza’s border fence. The Israel Defense Forces say 242 people have been taken hostage by Hamas, and it is believed they are being held in Gaza.
Since then, 1.4 million out of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced by Israeli shelling. The authorities in Gaza say that 16 hospitals, 32 primary care centres, 27 ambulances, 105 medical institutions and 220 schools have been damaged, whilst 8,500 homes and 40,000 housing units, 55 mosques, three universities, and three churches have been destroyed.
An Israeli bombing of the Al-Maghazi refugee camp on Saturday killed 30 people including children, Hamas said.
Both sides have denied they target civilians.
‘Options limited’
According to The Collective, the activists on Saturday condemned the Hamas attacks, as well as the US backing of Israel. One protester said that Tel Aviv was committing ethnic cleansing, and was “very inhumane” in cutting off water, power and supplies to the strip.
Israel controls Gaza’s air, land and sea access, and has restricted food, water, power and internet to the 45 km² territory.
Another activist – surnamed Tam – said that options for action were limited in Hong Kong, but they hoped to help shape public opinion and express opposition to Israel.
In response to HKFP, Israeli Consul-General Amir Lati said on Monday that the country declared war on Hamas after the October 7 attacks to destroy its military capabilities, topple its rule and protect its territory: “The Hamas terrorist organisation operates from within civilian population and adjacent to civilian buildings and by doing so committing double war crimes indiscriminately targeting Israeli civilians while using the residents of the Gaza Strip as human shields,” he said, adding that 451 trucks of aid have been allowed into the strip.
However, aid groups say at least 100 trucks of aid are needed daily, with the UN saying US$1.2 billion of aid is needed for Palestine.
‘Total siege’ on Gaza
More children have died in Gaza over three weeks than in all conflicts around the world in any of the past four years, according to NGO Save the Children citing UN figures. Meanwhile, rights group Euro-Med Monitor says that the 25,000 tons of explosives dropped on Gaza – roughly 10 kg of explosive per resident – have amounted to the equivalent of two nuclear bombs. The sum is 1.5 times more force than what was dropped on Hiroshima in World War II.
Last month, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “total siege” of Gaza, saying: “There will be no electricity, no food, and no fuel, everything will be closed. We are fighting against human animals and will act accordingly.” It is despite the Geneva convention ban on collective penalties.
Heritage minister Amichai Eliyahu vowed, last week, that Israel would “blow up and flatten everything… After we are done, we allocate the lands of Gaza to the soldiers fighting and the settlers who lived in Gush Katif.” On Sunday, he suggested dropping a nuclear bomb on the strip.
Since June 1967, Israel has forced thousands of Palestinians off their land with illegal occupations and settlements, resulting in systematic human rights violations and over 4.9 million Palestinians facing daily restrictions on their movement, according to Amnesty International. It has been subject to more critical United Nations (UN) General Assembly resolutions than any other country.
On October 27, the UN voted 120 to 17 in favour of a “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” in Gaza, with 45 abstentions.
Israel voted “no” to the non-binding resolution and have rejected calls for a ceasefire, saying that the war will continue unless all hostages are released, adding that Israel has a right to defend itself.
Correction 7/11: An early version of this report paraphrased Amir Lati as referring to Tel Aviv. Israel, in fact, considers all of Jerusalem to be its capital.
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