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🗞️ Driving the news: Human Rights Watch reports a deadly assault on October 7, 2023, involving Palestinian armed groups that resulted in the deaths of several hundred Israeli civilians
• As of October 8, Palestinian armed group attacks killed over 677 Israelis, while Israeli airstrikes on Gaza resulted in at least 413 Palestinian deaths

🔭 The context: Since 2007, the actions by the Israeli Government in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, designed to maintain control over Palestinians, are considered crimes against humanity, including apartheid and persecution, according to Human Rights Watch
• In recent days, Hamas and other Palestinian groups crossed into Israel from Gaza, attacked Israeli communities, entered homes, and took many Israeli civilians as hostages

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The deliberate targeting of civilians, indiscriminate attacks, and hostage-taking by Palestinian armed groups constitute war crimes under international humanitarian law
• Israel's punitive measures, including cutting off electricity to Gaza, amount to unlawful collective punishment, also considered a war crime

⏭️ What's next: The ongoing hostilities underscore the urgent need for justice and a swift International Criminal Court investigation into serious crimes committed by all parties in Palestine, as emphasized by Human Rights Watch

💬 One quote: The unlawful attacks and systematic repression that have mired the region for decades will continue, so long as human rights and accountability are disregarded" (Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch)

📈 One stat: During the first nine months of 2023, Israeli authorities killed more Palestinians in the West Bank than in any year since the United Nations began systematic recording of fatalities in 2005

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