Israel’s Ground Invasion of Gaza City

0:00Today on State of the World, Israel's ground invasion of Gaza City.

0:08You're listening to State of the World from NPR. We bring you the day's most vital international stories up close where they're happening. It's Tuesday, September 16th. I'm Greg Dixon. In a few minutes, we'll hear from the head of a UN commission that has found Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. First, Israel's military says it has begun a new large-scale offensive in Gaza City, the last major urban area in the territory not yet occupied by Israel. We get an update from NPR's Aya Batraoui, who spoke to Ari Shapiro. And a warning, you'll hear the sounds of gunfire in this report. Aya, what can you tell us about Israel's push into Gaza City today?

0:51Well, the military began operating on the edges of Gaza City about two months ago, and it is now pushing for the center, which is right up along the Mediterranean Sea. Now in the past week or so, the Israeli military has leveled at least 15 high-rise towers in the city center saying Hamas uses these buildings for their operations. Hamas says this is a lie and that Israel is trying to push people out of Gaza entirely. Now as of last week, Gaza City was estimated by the UN to be sheltering around a million people. That's half of the Gaza Strip's total population. But Israel's military says that several hundred thousand people have fled to the south, many of them on foot or using donkey carts, in just the past few days.

1:27Now, NPR can't independently verify that figure, but there are still hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza City, and many of them in areas that are being heavily bombarded. NPR reporter Anas Baba is among those in Gaza City, and he captured what it sounds like there. Have a listen.

1:48So that was first the sound of helicopter gunfire, and then you also heard the sound of artillery there. Now, what has the Israeli military said about the operation and how long it could take? So the Israeli military spent a large portion, Ari, of about 15 months of this war raiding Gaza City, shutting down hospitals there, and cutting it off physically from the middle and south of Gaza. And the people who stayed put faced starvation during that siege. And as Israel was preparing for this operation on Gaza City again, UN-backed experts on hunger declared a famine in Gaza City. So there's a famine there now, according to them.

2:21Now, Israel intends to keep control of Gaza City and maintain its occupation this time. They say they plan to dismantle tunnel networks there, but it has not answered questions on how long they think it could take to conquer and occupy the city. Israel's prime minister says this is a decisive moment in the war. Now, former top Israeli military generals say there could be thousands of Hamas fighters in the city, and that sets the stage for a high death toll among all who stay. Israeli military spokesman Effie Deferin laid out the operation's goals to reporters today. Hamas continues to hold dozens of our hostages in inhuman conditions.

2:57Their safe return is at the forefront of our mission. But here's the thing, Ari, the families of those 20 hostages believed to still be alive in Gaza who were taken in the Hamas-led attack on Israel nearly two years ago want a ceasefire, not more war. They are concerned this offensive will endanger their lives. And some of them protested last night in front of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's home. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in the Mideast. He was in Jerusalem where he expressed continued U.S. support for Israel's war and then flew to Qatar today, which has been a mediator in the war.

3:28What can you tell us about where ceasefire efforts stand after Israel's attack a week ago on Hamas targets in Qatar? Well, that attack, as you said, targeted senior Hamas political leaders in Doha, Qatar, killing six people, but none of them senior. Now, Doha and Cairo are where Hamas and Israel have been holding indirect talks throughout the past nearly two years of war, talks that freed most of the hostages who returned to Israel alive, more than 140 of them. But Qatar's ruler told Arab and Muslim heads of state that had convened in Doha in a show of support last night that it is impossible to negotiate with Israel after it bombed his country.

4:05Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said Israel doesn't want a ceasefire, that it attacked negotiators and the mediator, thwarting the talks in order to continue its, quote, extermination of Gaza. Rubio flew to Qatar today to try to encourage Qatar to continue its role as a mediator. But when Rubio stood with Netanyahu yesterday in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said that attack on Qatar sent a message to Hamas that they will be pursued. So there are no talks, only this deadly offensive now going forward. That's NPR's Eva Traoui in Dubai. Thank you. Thanks, Ari. There have been lots and lots of accusations that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

4:42But genocide does have a specific definition, adopted by the UN Genocide Convention of 1948. Now, for the first time, a United Nations commission investigating the war in Gaza concluded that Israel has committed genocide under that definition. It should be said that Israeli government officials have repeatedly rejected such accusations. Navi Pillay is the chair of the UN commission that authored the report. She spoke to Elsa Chang. So first, can you just define for us what is genocide according to the UN Genocide Convention? Firstly, it's accepted by all that genocide is a monstrous crime, an extremely serious crime, which is the killing and destruction of a people in whole or in part.

5:31That's why we say it has a specific overarching intent. So it's a serious crime and it places a particular obligation on all states that they must prevent genocide and punish genocidaires wherever genocide occurs. Give us an overview of what your commission investigated in order to arrive at the conclusion that Israel has committed genocide under this definition that you just laid out. You know, this is an 80-page report, so I'll just give you a small idea. For instance, the destruction of cultural, religious and educational structures and facilities have nothing to do with Hamas. But all that's been destroyed.

6:13The siege, starvation and blocking of humanitarian aid is not keeping Hamas hungry, but the whole population. This is now the conflict where the largest number of journalists have been killed. It moved me so much that children had to endure amputations without anesthetic. that they targeted the only fertility clinic in Gaza. It's only one. So now all the embryos are destroyed. And we drew a conclusion from that about destroying the Palestinians' life and their future. And what specific statements by Israeli officials gave you enough confirmation that Israel intended to commit genocide of Palestinian civilians?

6:57There are very many, but let me give you a few. Yes. As early as 7th October 2023, Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed to inflict, let me quote him, mighty vengeance on all of the places which Hamas is deployed, hiding and operating in that wicked city. We will turn them into rubble. So although Netanyahu's statement carefully directed the call for vengeance at Hamas locations, his use of the phrase wicked city in the same statement implied that he saw the whole city of Gaza as responsible and a target for vengeance. He told Palestinians in Gaza to leave now because we will operate forcefully everywhere, making no distinction between combatants and civilians, and knowing that Palestinians in Gaza had nowhere to go.

7:51Then you have Defense Minister Yoav Galland on the 9th October 2023, he announced a complete siege on Gaza, claiming that Israel was fighting human animals and Israel must act accordingly. Well, Israeli government officials continue to reject your report and other accusations of genocide. So, you know, and I want to be specific here. Israel's ambassador to the UN called this report a, quote, libelous rant that relies on Hamas falsehoods in an attempt to delegitimize and demonize the state of Israel. How do you respond to that? That was their reaction to every one of our reports, calling us biased and anti-Semitic and so on.

8:35I wish they would look at the facts we set out and point out what is not true or open up and let us into the country so we could investigate even more fully and talk to Israeli victims. I want to talk a little bit about the U.S.'s role here. The U.S. is, of course, the major weapons supplier to Israel. The U.S. State Department has repeatedly rejected accusations that Israel is committing genocide. But do you and your commission believe that the U.S. is complicit in genocide? You know, I've already made a statement out there saying even if you say nothing and do nothing and think you are being neutral, you are not.

9:13You're being complicit. But under the Genocide Convention, they would fall into the category, those who are helping with arms, military weapons and other support. States that continue to help supply arms to Israel are complicit in genocide. Yes. Navi Pile chairs the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Thank you very much for joining us today. Thank you.

9:49That's the State of the World from NPR. For more coverage of all sides of this conflict, go to npr.org slash Middle East. And thanks for listening.