{"id":214266,"date":"2022-06-06T12:00:41","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T11:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=214266"},"modified":"2022-06-01T04:36:34","modified_gmt":"2022-06-01T03:36:34","slug":"impact-of-israeli-strike-in-gaza-akin-to-chemical-weapons-ngo-report-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2022\/06\/impact-of-israeli-strike-in-gaza-akin-to-chemical-weapons-ngo-report-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Impact of Israeli Strike in Gaza Akin to Chemical Weapons, NGO Report Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shells fired at agrochemical warehouse created toxic plume that has left residents with health problems.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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On 15 May 2021 Abu Halime, a resident, filmed a thick column of black smoke rising from the Khudair warehouse.
Photograph: Al-Haq and Forensic Architecture<\/p><\/div>\n

30 May 2022 – <\/em>An Israeli airstrike on an agrochemical warehouse during last year\u2019s war in Gaza amounted to the \u201cindirect deploying of chemical weapons\u201d, according to a report<\/a> analysing the attack and its impact.<\/p>\n

Incendiary artillery shells fired by the Israel<\/a> Defence Forces (IDF) hit the large Khudair Pharmaceutical and Agricultural Tools warehouse in the north of the Gaza Strip on 15 May last year, setting fire to hundreds of tonnes of pesticides, fertilisers, plastics and nylons. The strike created a toxic plume, which engulfed an area of 5.7 sq km and has left local residents struggling with health issues, including two reports of miscarriages, and indications of environmental damage.<\/p>\n

The extensive investigation, which involved analysing mobile phone and drone footage and CCTV, dozens of interviews with residents, and analysis from munitions and fluid dynamics experts, used 3D modelling of the warehouse to determine the circumstances of the attack.<\/p>\n

It is the first publication by Palestinian human rights NGO Al-Haq\u2019s newly established forensic architecture investigation unit, a first-of-its-kind collaboration in the Middle East with Forensic Architecture, a research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London, which carries out spatial and media analysis for NGOs and in international human rights cases.<\/p>\n

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Within the first hour, the toxic plume from Khudair warehouse had affected an area of approximately 5.7 sq km, with 3,000 homes in its shadow.
Photograph: Al-Haq and Forensic Architecture<\/p><\/div>\n

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Legal experts concluded from Al-Haq\u2019s findings that while conventional weapons were used in the bombing, \u201cthe shelling of the warehouse, with knowledge of the presence of toxic chemicals stored therein, is tantamount to chemical weapons through indirect means. Such acts are clearly prohibited \u2026 and prosecutable under the Rome Statute of the international criminal court\u201d.<\/p>\n

Chris Cobb-Smith, a munitions expert, is quoted as saying: \u201cThere is no military justification for [advanced smoke projectiles] to be used here. It is inherently inaccurate and unsuitable for use in an urban environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two hundred and fifty six people in Gaza and 14 in Israel died in the 11-day war last May between Israel and Hamas<\/a>, the Palestinian militant group that controls the besieged strip. Al-Haq said the strike on the Khudair warehouse was the first in a series of attacks deliberately targeting Gaza\u2019s economic and industrial infrastructure, with half a dozen other factories and warehouses systematically bombed.<\/p>\n

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On 17 May, two days after the Khudair warehouse was destroyed, the Fomco sponge factory was attacked in a similar manner, causing a large-scale fire. On the same day, over half a dozen other factories and warehouses were also bombed, revealing a pattern of targeted strikes.
Photograph: Al-Haq and Forensic Architecture<\/p><\/div>\n

The international criminal court (ICC) opened an investigation in 2019 into war crimes allegedly committed by Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in Palestinian territory. Israel disputes the ICC\u2019s jurisdiction.<\/p>\n

The IDF said in a statement that in response to the onslaught of attacks by Hamas, Israel had \u201ccarried out a series of strikes on legitimate military targets in the Gaza<\/a> Strip\u201d last year during what in Israel is known as Operation Guardian of the Walls.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe IDF takes all possible precautions to avoid harming civilians during operational activity,\u201d a spokesperson said, adding that \u201cthe event in question\u201d was being investigated by an internal IDF inquiry \u201cto examine whether there were any deviations from the binding rules and make necessary adjustments based on lessons learned\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Residents living near the now polluted area described in detail the intense toxic smells their families endured after the shelling, and the dire impacts on their health. Photograph: Al-Haq and Forensic Architecture<\/p><\/div>\n

Israa Khudair, 20, who lives with her husband and two children 40 metres away from the site of the agrochemical warehouse, suffered a miscarriage in the fifth month of her pregnancy, eight weeks after the attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor months the smell was unbearable, like a car engine mixed with burnt oil, sewage and cooking gas, so of course we knew it could be harmful,\u201d said her husband, Ihab, 26.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have had skin rashes since and so have most people here. We washed the house five times, and the furniture, but the smell stayed. It was like an oil on the walls \u2026 eventually in the winter the rain washed a lot of it away from the rubble of the warehouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are worried for our health now. One of my cousins, who is only 19, and my aunt also, got cancer recently and we think it is related to what happened here.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Photos of munition collected from the site by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights show the remains of cylindrical canisters about 15cm in width.
Photograph: Al-Haq and Forensic Architecture<\/p><\/div>\n

Last year\u2019s fighting<\/a> was the third round of full-scale conflict between the Israeli state and Hamas since the group seized control of Gaza in 2007, after which Israel and Egypt imposed a punishing blockade. Since then, the strip\u2019s water, sewage and electricity infrastructure have all but collapsed, leaving Gaza\u2019s 2 million residents struggling to deal with increasing levels of air, soil and water pollution.<\/p>\n

Al-Haq, which operates in Gaza and the West Bank, has also come under attack from the Israeli authorities: last year, the NGO was one of six leading civil society and human rights organisations working in the occupied Palestinian territories<\/a> designated as a terrorist organisation. The decision has been widely condemned by the UN, western governments and prominent international organisations such as Amnesty International.<\/p>\n

Rula Shadeed, the head of Al-Haq\u2019s monitoring and documentation department, said in a statement: \u201cWithout our professional documentation based on legal standards [Palestinians] cannot call for accountability and justice. Introducing new methodologies to enhance and complement the standard documentation and presentation of our work is very crucial.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very proud that despite the illegal attacks and difficult times Palestinian civil society is facing, we still manage to continue and advance in our work, due to our strong belief in the importance of exposing the violations against our people and to hold perpetrators accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

____________________________________________<\/p>\n

Bethan McKernan<\/em><\/a> in Jerusalem and Hazem Balousha<\/a> in Gaza City<\/em><\/p>\n

Go to Original – theguardian.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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