Oct. 8 (UPI) — Israel‘s military has killed 313 Palestinians in retaliation for Hamas‘ Saturday offensive against the country as Palestine blasted the West for “double standards” to the ongoing violence.
Palestine’s Health Ministry said in a statement that 1,990 were also injured by Israeli forces retaliating for Saturday’s attack.
Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, had launched a surprise missile strike against Israel leaving possibly thousands wounded as the country celebrated the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.
Earlier this year, Israel Defense Forces filed missile strikes on Gaza — including one that killed 13 people including four children. Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem at least twice including during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan and Israelis have encroached on Palestine’s lands in the West Bank with new settlements.
Palestine is recognized by most nations around the world as a sovereign nation and has observer status with the U.N. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this year also reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to a two-state solution to the conflict.
Palestine’s Red Crescent Society shared pictures of bloodied and injured Palestinian children being treated by medical workers on social media.
In a statement on Twitter, Palestine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Western reactions “ignore the number of Palestinian casualties and destruction.”
“Within the framework of the hasty reactions of the international community to give Israel a free hand in abusing the Palestinian people and to go so far as to use all of its lethal weapons against the Palestinian people, specifically in the Gaza Strip, we witnessed the beginnings of retaliatory military operations that targeted residential communities,” Palestine’s Foreign Ministry said.
Palestine’s Foreign Ministry said that children and women were also killed and injured and that a large numbers of fatalities were “defenseless civilians.”
“Here the ministry wonders: Where are the international community’s responses to this?” Palestine’s Foreign Ministry said.
“The Ministry affirms that killing civilians under international cover is considered a war crime, and the international authorization for Netanyahu to commit massacres under the right of self-defense makes the international community a partner in these crimes.”
Palestine urged the international community “to pay close attention to the collective punitive measures” imposed by Israel including Israel’s “decision to cut off electricity, water, and basic goods with the aim of starvation, all of which is considered a war crime that is tolerated by the international community.”
Palestine said that Israel’s actions required “widespread condemnation by the international community” so as “not to fall into a trap of double standards and political double standards.”
Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces said the death toll of Israelis had risen to 350 since Saturday’s attack, according to CNN.
According to The New York Times, some Israelis are flying home to fight against Palestinians as former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper compared the Hamas attack to 9/11 and Western media, including CNN, branded the attack “terrorism.”
