Hamas, Palestinian factions deem US responsible for Gaza massacre

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
29 Feb 2024 16:06
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Palestinian Resistance factions and the Palestinian Presidency denounce the latest Israeli massacre that killed more than 100 people.

Medics use a donkey-pulled cart to transfer multiple people killed and injured in an Israeli massacre against masses waiting for aid, in Gaza City, the Gaza Strip, Palestine, on February 29, 2024. (Social media)

Palestinian Resistance factions, the Palestinian Follow-up Committee for National and Islamic Forces, and the Palestinian Presidency put out statements condemning a "heinous" Israeli-committed massacre of Palestinian civilians waiting for aid to the west of Gaza City.

The deliberate act of genocide targeted more than a thousand Palestinian civilians waiting since Wednesday night at an aid distribution location, hoping to receive basic necessities, such as food and water. However, during the early hours of Thursday morning, nearby occupation forces opened fire on the crowd, whether through tank shells or snipers, killing at least 104 people and injuring more than 750, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Scenes from Kamal Idwan Hospital following the humanitarian aid massacre at Al Rasheed Street.

Kamal Idwan Hospital was announced out of service yesterday due to the lack of fuel and medical supplies. pic.twitter.com/LBsMsyH9a7
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) February 29, 2024

Follow-Up Committee: Biden administration protects genocide in Gaza

The Follow-up Committee for National and Islamic Forces includes representatives from almost every Palestinian political party and Resistance faction, including Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

The Committee stressed that the massacre "confirms the terror of the occupation and underscores its determination to commit acts of genocide, challenging the decisions of the International Court (of Justice) and international organizations, which are powerless to take any serious and real action to stop these genocidal crimes and end the war that has destroyed and devastated Gaza."

"[The massacre] places the [entirety of humanity's collective] conscience under significant responsibilities to protect human rights and humanitarian justice in the face of Zionist aggression and arrogance," the Committee underlined.

Highlighting the United States administration's role in protecting the Israeli occupation from repercussions, the Committee called "on the peoples of the world and the governments of free nations to urgently act to stop the aggression and end the killing and genocide inflicted on the Palestinian people by the Nazi terrorist government led by Netanyahu and the extremist right."

It also demanded the United Nations Security Council and the ICJ take immediate measures to force the Israeli government into ending its aggression on Gaza

"We also call on the entire world, especially Arab and Islamic countries, to cut and stop all forms of supplies from reaching the Zionist occupation through maritime, land, and air routes in response to its heinous aggression and massacres, preventing citizens from obtaining food and medicine and depriving them of the right to life," the Committee added.

Hamas: Arab countries should break their silence

In a separate release by the Islamic Resistance Movement - Hamas, the party stressed five key points in a statement.

First, Hamas called on the Arab League and the UNSC to convene urgently and end Israeli acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip.

Second, the movement urged Arab states, in particular, to "break [their] silence towards the Zionist genocide against [Palestinians] and to immediately implement the decision [agreed to] during the Arab-Islamic summit on November 11, which emphasized the need to break the Zionist siege and immediately provide food and medical aid to the Gaza Strip."

Third, the Resistance faction called on all people of Arab and Islamic nations, as well as the "free people of the world," to "organize widespread popular protests condemning the [massacre]," effectively pressuring their governments to take a stance against the war on Gaza.

Fourth, the statement held the international community and the UN legally responsible for stopping the "mass killing" of Palestinians.

Fifth, Hamas held "the Zionist occupation and its fascist government, its Nazi army, President Biden, and the entire US administration responsible for this massacre and the escalating war of genocide and ethnic cleansing against [Palestinians]."

"We mourn the souls of the martyrs of our people, and we emphasize that their sacrifices and blood will not be in vain. We will remain faithful to our cause, our land, and our sanctities," the statement concluded.

PFLP: Arab states betrayed the Palestinian people

Reiterating the aforementioned points in the Follow-Up Committee's statement, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) stated, "The international community and all those who collaborated [with the occupation] and compromised [on the rights of Palestinian people] must make a clear decision to compel the occupation to stop the aggression, shelling, and starvation war against our people, break the siege, open all crossings, and ensure the entry of aid, especially for our people in the governorates of Gaza and the north.

"Citizens must be protected, and the areas designated for humanitarian aid should not become aerial package drop points [where Palestinians are killed by occupation forces]," it added.

"The international community is complicit in these heinous massacres, and Arab countries have betrayed the Palestinian people," the Front stressed in its closing statement.

Several other Palestinian factions, including al-Mujahideen Movement, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), and representatives of factions in Moscow, which includes representatives from Fatah, condemned the attack and held the US administration responsible for such events.

Palestinian Presidency will not tolerate displacement

"The fall of this large number of innocent civilian victims, risking their lives for a [food], is [is representative] of the genocidal war committed by the occupation government against our people," the Palestinian Presidency headed by Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement.

"The Israeli occupation authorities bear full responsibility, and they should be held accountable before international courts," the statement read.

The presidency emphasized "the importance of immediate intervention from the international community to stop this aggression," calling on the US administration in particular to do so, as it "provides [Israel with] support and protection."

"Continuing these massacres clearly indicates that [Israel's] true goal is the slaughter and displacement of the Palestinian people from their land, something we will not tolerate at all," the presidency concluded.