Rights and Accountability 14 February 2025
A Palestinian youth walks past rubble during severe weather conditions in the al-Rimal neighborhood in central Gaza City, 12 February.
APA imagesThe following is from the news roundup during the 13 February livestream. Watch the entire episode here.
Since the 19 January ceasefire in Gaza, Israel has violated the ceasefire in a myriad of ways, including by withholding the amounts of aid, fuel and medical deliveries agreed upon under the ceasefire terms, restricting people’s freedom of movement and by continuing to attack and kill Palestinians.
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has reported, “Despite the declaration of a ceasefire … Israel continues to commit genocide in the Gaza Strip by denying Palestinians the basic necessities for survival and imposing conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.”
The rights group added that more than 100 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire came into effect, including some who died from previous injuries during Israel’s genocidal attacks, and at least 900 have been injured.
On 10 February, Abu Obeida, the spokesperson for al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas political party, announced that the planned release of Israeli captives would be postponed indefinitely unless Israel fulfilled its obligations and stopped its ceasefire violations.
Hamas officials then submitted a report to mediators on 11 February, listing 269 “field violations” by the Israeli military since the ceasefire, as well as the ongoing denials of aid and fuel deliveries.
Also included on the list were several “political violations.” They included statements by Israeli lawmakers urging the expulsion of Gaza’s population, and the ways Israeli prison authorities were subjecting Palestinian captives to assault and violence upon their release during the exchanges.
Israeli lawmakers then accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire, with US President Donald Trump insinuating that Israel should cancel the ceasefire if the Israeli captives aren’t released.
But even the Israeli military admitted in Hebrew media that Hamas had not violated the terms.
Trucks filled with fuel, medical supplies, tents, caravans, heavy machinery and food have been set to enter the Gaza Strip. But it is unclear when these necessary supplies will arrive as agreed upon.Israel withdraws from Netzarim corridor
Israeli forces officially withdrew from the Nezarim corridor, which bisected Gaza for more than a year.
By 9 February, the French news agency AFP and The Times of Israel jointly reported that a Gaza government official said that “Israeli forces have dismantled their positions and military posts and completely withdrawn their tanks from the Netzarim corridor on Salah al-din Road, allowing vehicles to pass freely in both directions.”
The joint report added, “An AFP journalist on the scene said there were no Israeli troops present on the corridor.”
The Al Jazeera Arabic channel filmed footage of the wreckage left behind by the Israeli military after it withdrew from the Netzarim corridor.
In a statement, the Hamas political party said that “the withdrawal of the Zionist occupation army from the Netzarim axis is a victory for the will of our people.”Medical equipment “deliberately destroyed”
Turning to the healthcare situation in Gaza, Caroline Seguin, the emergency coordinator for Doctors Without Borders, stated from northern Gaza on 11 February that “the level of destruction is total, it’s a flat land. I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Our Palestinian colleagues are no longer able to recognize their own neighborhoods, some were in shock, others literally collapsed.”
“Kamal Adwan Hospital has been razed, while al-Shifa, al-Awda and Indonesian hospitals are seriously damaged and only partially functioning,” Seguin added.“We were utterly shocked to observe that in Indonesian Hospital every medical machine seemed to have been deliberately destroyed; they were smashed to pieces, one by one, to make sure no medical care could be provided anymore. You have to ask, what is the motivation of such action? These machines are made to save people’s lives, mothers, fathers, children. It’s devastating to see the state of these hospitals.”
There is an update on the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, who was abducted by the Israeli military on 27 December along with his colleagues, medical staff, patients and their companions.
As we reported last week, Abu Safiya was still prohibited by the Israeli prison authorities any access to a lawyer as he remains in administrative detention at Ofer military prison.
On Tuesday, 11 February, after 47 days of arbitrary detention, Abu Safiya met with a lawyer from the human rights group Al Mezan for the first time since his abduction from Gaza.
During the visit, “Dr. Abu Safiya detailed the various forms of torture and abuse to which he has been subjected both during his unlawful arrest and throughout his arbitrary detention by Israeli forces and authorities,” Al Mezan stated.
“When he was captured from Gaza and transferred to the Sde Teiman military detention camp, he was subjected to various forms of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment – methods that are emblematic of Israeli mass arrest operations in Gaza.”
Abu Safiya reported “being forcibly stripped, having his hands tightly shackled, and being made to sit on sharp gravel for approximately five hours by Israeli forces. He was also subjected to severe physical abuse, including beatings with batons and electric shock sticks, as well as repeated blows to the chest.”
Al Mezan said that Abu Safiya was held in solitary confinement for 25 days at Ofer prison and “endured nearly continuous interrogation for 10 days.” He reported severe health problems and a precipitous decline in his weight, and has been denied access to healthcare.
Al Mezan urged the so-called international community, particularly Israel’s enabling allies, “to take immediate action to demand the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Abu Safiya, as well as of all Palestinians who have been unlawfully arrested and arbitrarily detained by Israeli authorities, including hundreds of healthcare workers.”
In a statement, Hussam Abu Safiya’s family said there is “a possibility of his release in the coming stages, as there are no charges against him from the Israeli public prosecution. He urges the world to help secure his release and the release of all detained healthcare personnel from all hospitals. They must be protected, their rights ensured, and they should receive care and be released as soon as possible.”
However, on 14 February, Al Mezan stated that the Israeli army has issued an order to “detain Abu Safiya under the Unlawful Combatants Law.”This law, Al Mezan says, “enables prolonged detention without charges, stripping detainees of any meaningful judicial review or due process rights.”
40,000 forcibly displaced in occupied West Bank
Turning to the occupied West Bank, The Electronic Intifada’s Tamara Nassar reports that Israel’s ongoing deadly assaults have nearly emptied several refugee camps, specifically in the northern areas.
Some 40,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced since Israel’s military operation, dubbed “Iron Wall,” launched in the northern Jenin refugee camp on 21 January.
Since then, Israel expanded its assault to Tulkarm refugee camp and Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm, also in the north. Al-Faraa refugee camp in the foothills of the Jordan Valley, south of Tubas, was also targeted.
Nassar writes that the Israeli army has carried out invasions and airstrikes, destroyed critical infrastructure such as electricity, sewage and water lines, raided homes, arrested youth and deployed snipers in residential areas.
Nearly 50 Palestinians have been killed in those areas and over 100 have been injured.
And in occupied Jerusalem, two owners of the Educational Bookshop were arrested and detained on 9 February after Israeli police raided both of their stores in the city and threw books on the floor, accusing the owners of selling items that incite terrorism, including a children’s coloring book titled From the River to the Sea.
The owners, Mahmoud and Ahmed Muna, were released on Tuesday, and according to their lawyer, the Israeli court charged them with disturbing public order and ordered that they be placed under house arrest for five days.
The court also ordered them not to be allowed to return to their bookstores for 20 days.
Highlighting resilience
Finally, as we always do, we wanted to share images of people expressing determination and resilience in the aftermath of Israel’s 15-month campaign of destruction.
A group of kids sitting around a campfire in Jabaliya, in northern Gaza, spoke with journalist Anas al-Sharif about US-Israeli aspirations to expel them to other countries and take over Gaza.
Every time Anas asks the kids if they’re thinking about leaving the north of Gaza, they all shout in unison “no!”
“Let Trump bark all he wants,” one of the kids says. “We’re not leaving.”
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