100,000 Palestinians killed, wounded, missing by Israel in 100 days: Euro-Med

At least 100,000 Palestinians have been killed, wounded or reported missing in the past 100 days of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said on Sunday.

"About 100,000 Palestinians have been killed, reported missing, or wounded since 7 October 2023 due to Israel's ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip," the human rights group stated, "noting that the number includes those who now have long-term disabilities."

The statement pointed out that the number of Palestinians in Gaza killed by Israel as of Saturday reached 31,497.

"Of those killed in the Israeli air and artillery attacks on the Strip, 28,951 (92%) were civilians, including 12,345 children, 6,471 women, 295 health personnel, 41 civil defense personnel, and 113 journalists," the group lamented.

"Meanwhile, 61,079 individuals have been injured, hundreds of them critically," it noted.

The statement indicated that the figures it shared includes "people who went missing after being arrested and forcibly disappeared by the Israeli army, as well as those who have been trapped beneath the debris of buildings hit by Israeli air and artillery strikes for more than 14 consecutive days now and are therefore presumed dead."

"Hundreds of bodies that cannot be recovered due to the ongoing Israeli violence" remain on the roads, particularly in areas where Israel's army has conducted ground incursions, Euro-Med stressed.

The group further noted that "about 1.955 million Palestinians, approximately 85% of the total population of the Strip, have been displaced from their homes and residential areas amid a lack of safe shelters, as 69,700 housing units have been completely destroyed and 187,300 housing units have been partially damaged."

"The facilities that have been targeted by Israel during its ongoing attacks include 320 schools; 1,671 industrial facilities; 183 health facilities, including 23 hospitals, 59 clinics, and 92 ambulances; 239 mosques; three churches; and 170 press offices," it said.

The human rights group underlined that Israel "continues to escalate its military assaults against Palestinian civilians in an apparent attempt to expand its territory to include the entire Gaza Strip, uprooting the vast majority of the Strip's population in violation of international law."

"This likely amounts to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide," according to the Geneva-based team.

"Israel is deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure in order to cause as many casualties, material losses, and as much general destruction as possible as a form of retaliation and collective punishment.

"This is against international humanitarian law, the 1949 Geneva Convention, and amounts to war crimes according to the Rome Statute, which governs the International Criminal Court," the organization said.

Highlighting that Tel Aviv has "flagrantly broken the terms of international humanitarian law," Euro-Med said international law "forbids property damage as a 'preventive means' and property destruction as a means of deterrence, even for military purposes."

The group underscored the significance of the genocide case South Africa filed against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), describing it as a "historical precedent and a first step toward holding Israel accountable at the international judicial level and breaking its immunity."

"The lawsuit — no matter the outcome — puts genuine pressure on Israel, and that if the Court does decide to take immediate, temporary action as a first step, Israel and its allies will be forced to face even more expensive political, legal, and moral repercussions," Euro-Med stressed.

Renewing "its call for an international investigation into the widely documented violations that have occurred since Israel began its ongoing genocidal war on the Gaza Strip," the human rights organization said it also calls for "the international community to work to end the state of impunity that Israel enjoys."

"Those responsible for Israel's crimes must be held accountable," it stated, demanding that "all those who have issued and carried out the brutal orders against Palestinians in the Strip be brought to justice, and that every victim be fairly compensated."

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

Authorities claim the attacks by Hamas have killed around 1,200 Israelis.

The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicines.