Israeli Occupation Forces carry out genocide in Gaza

In a major turn of events, Hamas fighters in the early morning of October 7 launched a surprise offensive called “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood” against Israel from Gaza.  The operation involves land, sea and air attacks across Israel, breaking through a nearly 17-year long blockade.

Israeli forces are now using this as an excuse to inflict collective punishment on all Palestinians. On the seventh day of its war in the besieged Gaza Strip, Israeli occupation forces ordered over 1.1 million Palestinians in the northern parts of the territory to evacuate their homes and move to the south in the next few hours on Friday, October 13.

The order has raised the fear of a looming ethnic cleansing of Gaza and expulsion of over a million Palestinians from their homes. Several groups, including the UN, have asked Israel to desist from such a move as it may have devastating humanitarian consequences.

The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is now almost at 2,000, with over 7,000 injured.

Scores of Palestinian journalists have also been killed by Israeli Occupation Forces.

As Vijay Prashad writes in a recent report, “Why does Hamas attack Israel? Because a political grammar has been imposed on the relationship between the Palestinians and the Israelis by the nature of the Israeli occupation. Indeed, any time there is a modest development for talks—often brokered by Qatar—between Hamas and the Israeli government, those talks are silenced by the sound of Israeli fighter jets.”

The US has deployed an immense amount of military assets to the Eastern Mediterranean after confidence in Israel’s continued capacity to serve its imperialist role has shattered. As of October 10, a carrier strike group is stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean to, according to US Central Command General Michael Kurilla, send “a strong signal of deterrence should any actor hostile to Israel consider trying to take advantage of this situation.”

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A carrier strike group is one of the most extreme formations of imperialist power projection, and this CSG has at its core the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford with a complement of over 70 attack and support aircraft, one guided missile cruiser, four guided missile destroyers, and a combined crew of nearly 7,500 sailors, airmen, and marines.

Israel’s brutal response to the Hamas-led surprise offensive operation, has been met with sharp condemnation from people across the world. Mass protests have been held in dozens of cities globally in support of the Palestinian cause and to condemn the disproportionate escalation by Israel.

Today, Palestinian resistance fighters have called for an international day of solidarity, and more mass mobilizations are anticipated.

Published at  peoplesdispatch.org

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