Iran warns of Gaza massacres, calls mass displacement a 'war crime'
The Foreign Ministry stressed in a statement released on Sunday that this decision serves no purpose other than to complete the plan of genocide and the erasure of Palestine as a nation and identity.
The Ministry further argued that this outcome stems from "the impunity granted to the Israeli regime's criminal leaders, enabled by full US and European military-political backing, alongside blocked efforts at the UN Security Council and international courts to prosecute the occupation's officials."
The Ministry further stated that the forced expulsion of Gaza's people, a crime intended to obliterate Palestine's cultural and national identity, aligns with the Israeli prime minister's "shameless and deeply dangerous" push for a "Greater Israel", a vision that includes seizing large portions of Muslim and Arab territories.
This further reveals the inherently expansionist and aggressive character of the Israeli occupation, demonstrating how it endangers stability and security both in the region and worldwide, the statement emphasized.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry cautioned that "Israel" is actively plotting to intensify its brutal attacks, carry out additional atrocities, and forcibly relocate Gaza's civilians to the southern areas of the territory.
It described the occupation's scheme as a dangerous escalation that demands immediate intervention from the international community, especially Muslim-majority nations, to prevent further warfare and stop the ongoing genocide targeting Palestinians.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry further warned that indifference and inaction in the face of the unrestrained brutality and oppression by the racist Israeli regime would only embolden the occupation forces, fueling their greed to pursue further criminal acts and expansionist ambitions without restraint.
Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reiterated his commitment to the so-called "Greater Israel" vision, telling i24 News that he views himself as being on a "historic and spiritual mission."
Netanyahu said he was "very" attached to the concept, which he described as encompassing areas slated for a future Palestinian state, as well as territory that is part of present-day Jordan and Egypt.
Following a 10-hour overnight meeting on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office announced that his security cabinet had approved a plan to seize control of Gaza City, further escalating "Israel's" war on Gaza, which has already claimed the lives of at least 61,000 Palestinians, the majority of them civilians.
"Israel's" Channel 12 reported that the plan, involving the deployment of ground troops into the territory, could displace tens of thousands of people, worsen the already strained aid delivery efforts, and push around 1 million Palestinians in Gaza City and surrounding areas toward evacuation zones in the southern part of the strip.
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Ya Libnan
an hour ago
- Ya Libnan
Israelis are fleeing. Have given up on Natanyahu's war on Gaza, Analysis
Israel calls up 60,000 reservists ahead of planned Gaza City offensive An Israeli military official said five divisions would be involved in the planned offensive in Gaza Israel has seen emigration double since the attacks of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza. While some are choosing to leave for security reasons, among those choosing exile are peace activists weary of war and feeling increasingly isolated amid their country's illiberal drift. Working towards peace in the Middle East is why left-wing activist Mordechai, 42, chose to remain in Israel . Then came October 7, 2023, and the war in Gaza. 'We've given up on Israel,' he says. 'We've given up on turning the government into something that can create peace in the Middle East.' In the aftermath of the October 7 attacks , 'I saw that there is very little left wing left in Israel,' he says. 'I just realized that … we're not doing the right thing. We're not on the right path. And my children are going to be on the same path as I am.' But he soon experienced a shift that put him on another. 'At some point, this responsibility [I felt] towards the region kind of turned into responsibility towards my kids,' he explains. 'I have two boys, and I don't want their head filled with the stuff that I have in my head … people dying and people [as] hostages and people suffering.' Mordechai now lives with his wife and two sons, ages 9 and 10, in Greece, one of the top destinations for emigrating Israelis, with tens of thousands of them making a home there. Record numbers of Israelis have been leaving since the October 7 attacks – even doubling, by some estimates – leading to fears of a ' brain drain '. While some are emigrating for security reasons , others are increasingly disillusioned with Israel's shift to the political right and the punishing war in Gaza. 'Taboo' of Israeli emigration In total, 82,700 Israelis left the country in 2024, according to government figures , a number that exceeded the roughly 55,280 arrivals that same year, leaving Israel with a rare negative net migration rate. Frédérique Schillo, an Israel specialist and co-author of 'Sous tes pierres, Jérusalem' ( Beneath the Stones of Jerusalem ), calls it a 'phenomenon of unprecedented magnitude'. 'For a long time, the departure of Israelis was not studied, the authorities were reluctant to talk about it: the idea of Israel, a supposed refuge for Jews from all over the world, letting its children leave was absolutely taboo,' the Jerusalem-based historian explains. During his first term in the 1970s, former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin roundly mocked Israelis leaving the country, 'referring to 'wimps' and the 'fall of the weak'', Schillo notes. In a nation built on migration, the idea of leaving is particularly contentious. In Hebrew, to settle in Israel is referred to as 'aliyah' or 'ascension'. Conversely, to leave is 'yerida', meaning 'descent'. 'There is this idea that to leave is to fall,' Schillo says. And this feeling remains deep-seated in Israeli society. To emigrate on political grounds is also a luxury, she points out. Only Israelis of a certain socioeconomic level – or those with origins that entitle them to a foreign passport – are able to expatriate. 'I no longer felt safe' in Israel While October 7 may have prompted record numbers to consider emigration, many began looking to leave several years earlier, Schillo says, citing 'the unease of Israeli intellectuals' with the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu . In early 2023, Netanyahu's government launched a controversial judicial reform aimed at weakening the powers of the Supreme Court, the centerpiece of Israeli checks and balances. Mass demonstrations erupted across the country, gathering tens of thousands people for weekly protests over several months. Among them were Mordechai and his wife. But the national mood shifted after the October 7 attacks. 'Netanyahu really ramped up this right-wing engine … ,' Mordechai says. 'I started feeling open hostility towards me in Israel as a liberal.' 'I no longer felt safe. I felt like the climate made it very easy to attack left-wing protesters like us, even if they were Israeli citizens,' he recalls. As immigrants to Greece, 'in Athens we are isolated,' he says. 'But at least people are not openly hostile.' Peace activist Noga, who documented human rights violations in the Palestinian Territories for the B'Tselem centre, left Israel in September 2024. 'I lost faith,' she says simply. 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'I felt I moved to just a normal country that when you see an airplane, it's just an airplane that takes people from here and there. Not a war machine that is going to kill children.' And no one seems to judge her in the Lombardy capital. But Noga still has a lingering sense of remorse, what she calls 'the burden of my Israeliness'. 'I always feel … the guilt of what Israel is doing, and I'm always afraid that people will think that I support it.' And there may be reason to feel uneasy. 'Israel is on the verge of becoming a pariah state on the international stage, and Israelis are being singled out,' Schillo observes. Italy saw a sharp increase in anti-Jewish violence following the October 2023 attacks and the start of the Gaza war. The 216 anti-Semitic incidents recorded just between October and December of that year were almost equal to the 241 seen in the entirety of 2022, according to an annual report from the anti-Semitism observatory. 'Anti-Semitic tsunami' A similar trend can be seen in many Western countries. 'An anti-Semitic tsunami is sweeping the planet,' says Schillo. 'Israelis, even if they have chosen to move away from Israel, are still perceived as Israelis, as Jews: they are caught in the crossfire.' Mordechai is cautious in his new home country, rarely mentioning his country of origin and often lowering his voice when speaking Hebrew to his wife or children. While he was never a particularly proud Israeli, he says he now feels like it is 'something that I need to apologise for'. When people ask, 'Saying I'm from Israel is already sometimes considered a political or even violent act,' he says. 'But you can't help it … it's where I was born.' He is even careful speaking to other Israelis who may not share his critical views of Israel. Left-wing and liberal Israelis are currently experiencing a 'double isolation', he says. 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Nahar Net
4 hours ago
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Erdogan tells Putin Turkey backs Ukraine peace talks involving 'all parties'
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Nahar Net
4 hours ago
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Israel approves settlement project that could divide the West Bank
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