Gaza Graffiti Artists Bedeck Houses Destroyed by Israel in War 

A Palestinian girl sits on the remains of a destroyed house, next to a graffiti of a missile drawn by Hussein Abu Sadeq, on houses destroyed by Israel in recent Israeli-Gaza fighting, in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip June 8, 2023. (Reuters)
A Palestinian girl sits on the remains of a destroyed house, next to a graffiti of a missile drawn by Hussein Abu Sadeq, on houses destroyed by Israel in recent Israeli-Gaza fighting, in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip June 8, 2023. (Reuters)
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Gaza Graffiti Artists Bedeck Houses Destroyed by Israel in War 

A Palestinian girl sits on the remains of a destroyed house, next to a graffiti of a missile drawn by Hussein Abu Sadeq, on houses destroyed by Israel in recent Israeli-Gaza fighting, in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip June 8, 2023. (Reuters)
A Palestinian girl sits on the remains of a destroyed house, next to a graffiti of a missile drawn by Hussein Abu Sadeq, on houses destroyed by Israel in recent Israeli-Gaza fighting, in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza Strip June 8, 2023. (Reuters)

Graffiti artists in Gaza have painted murals on the remains of houses destroyed in an Israeli missile strike during cross-border fighting in May.

On one wall the artists depicted a woman holding her son. On another a boy is painted with tears in his eyes. A third shows a girl, seen through a mirror, combing her hair.

Piles of rubble still encircle the houses in the town of Deir al-Balah. Parts of exploded Israeli missiles were placed on tables for display.

"Out of suffering, pain, and siege, we derive hope, art, and victory," said artist Hussein Abu Sadeq. "We drew on the rubble so we can get the message through using a brush and colour."

Gaza, home to 2.3 million people and ruled by the Hamas movement, is blockaded by Israel.

In May, Israel launched a campaign against commanders of the Islamic Jihad group who it said had planned attacks in Israel. In response, the Iranian-backed group fired more than 1,000 rockets, sending Israelis fleeing into bomb shelters.

Israel killed six senior Islamic Jihad commanders and said it destroyed a number of military installations. Fifteen Palestinian civilians, including women and children, were also killed, according to Palestinian health officials.

In Israel, two people - an Israeli woman and a Palestinian laborer - were killed by Palestinian rocket fire in Israel.

"We collected those remains (of missiles) after the bombardment," said Mohammad Thuraya, an organizer of an exhibition of the art work on Sunday. "One missile destroyed a neighbourhood and destroyed the lives of ten families who used to live here."



Israel Warfare Methods 'Consistent With Genocide', Says UN Committee

Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", according to the United Nations Special Committee - AFP
Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", according to the United Nations Special Committee - AFP
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Israel Warfare Methods 'Consistent With Genocide', Says UN Committee

Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", according to the United Nations Special Committee - AFP
Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", according to the United Nations Special Committee - AFP

Israel's warfare in Gaza is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, a special UN committee said Thursday, accusing the country of "using starvation as a method of war".

The United Nations Special Committee pointed to "mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians", in a fresh report covering the period from Hamas's deadly October 7 attack in Israel last year through to July, AFP reported.

"Through its siege over Gaza, obstruction of humanitarian aid, alongside targeted attacks and killing of civilians and aid workers, despite repeated UN appeals, binding orders from the International Court of Justice and resolutions of the Security Council, Israel is intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury," it said in a statement.

Israel's warfare practices in Gaza "are consistent with the characteristics of genocide", said the committee, which has for decades been investigating Israeli practices affecting rights in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israel, it charged, was "using starvation as a method of war and inflicting collective punishment on the Palestinian population".

A UN-backed assessment at the weekend warned that famine was imminent in northern Gaza.

Thursday's report documented how Israel's extensive bombing campaign in Gaza had decimated essential services and unleashed an environmental catastrophe with lasting health impacts.

By February this year, Israeli forces had used more than 25,000 tonnes of explosives across the Gaza Strip, "equivalent to two nuclear bombs", the report pointed out.

"By destroying vital water, sanitation and food systems, and contaminating the environment, Israel has created a lethal mix of crises that will inflict severe harm on generations to come," the committee said.

The committee said it was "deeply alarmed by the unprecedented destruction of civilian infrastructure and the high death toll in Gaza", where more than 43,700 people have been killed since the war began, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

The staggering number of deaths raised serious concerns, it said, about Israel's use of artificial intelligence-enhanced targeting systems in its military operations.

"The Israeli military’s use of AI-assisted targeting, with minimal human oversight, combined with heavy bombs, underscores Israel’s disregard of its obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants and take adequate safeguards to prevent civilian deaths," it said.

It warned that reported new directives lowering the criteria for selecting targets and increasing the previously accepted ratio of civilian to combatant casualties appeared to have allowed the military to use AI systems to "rapidly generate tens of thousands of targets, as well as to track targets to their homes, particularly at night when families shelter together".

The committee stressed the obligations of other countries to urgently act to halt the bloodshed, saying that "other States are unwilling to hold Israel accountable and continue to provide it with military and other support".