Gaza: 300 days of horror

As we pass the 300 day mark, Amnesty International continues to  document damning evidence of war crimes by Israeli forces in their intense bombardment of Gaza, including direct or indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Other violations of international law include obstructing humanitarian assistance, cutting off electricity and other essential services, and collectively punishing Gaza’s civilian population. Israel’s military campaign has destroyed a substantial portion of Gaza’s homes, schools, hospitals, water infrastructure, shelters, and refugee camps. Some 40,000 Palestinians have been killed and almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip displaced, often repeatedly.

There is a clear risk that weapons and military equipment directly or indirectly exported to Israel will be used to commit serious crimes against civilians in Gaza. Any state continuing to transfer military equipment violates international rules on arms trade and risks becoming complicit in violations of international humanitarian law – including war crimes – and a plausible genocide. Over 250 humanitarian and human rights organizations have called on states to stop arms transfers to Israel and Palestinian armed groups.

In recent years, Canada’s arms sales to Israel have significantly increased with exports in 2023 reaching a record high of over $30.6 million and 193 new export permits granted. Between October 7 and December 6, 2023 alone, $28.5 million of new military exports to Israel were approved – more than the value all export permits issued in 2022.  These figures do not include Canadian parts exported to the USA, which in turn are integrated into US military equipment such as F-35 aircraft supplied to the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). Although Canada stopped issuing new permits for military exports to Israel in early 2024, transfers continue on existing permits as well as via the United States. These open permits could result in over $94 million of military exports by the end of 2025.

Featured case: Dr. Khaled Al Serr

Health workers are under attack in the occupied Gaza Strip. On March 24, 2024, Israeli forces detained Palestinian surgeon Khaled Al Serr from Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza. He has since been held in conditions amounting to enforced disappearance.

According to his colleagues, Dr. Khaled Al Serr, 32, was detained from Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip as the Israeli military, having fully encircled the hospital, raided its premises. As far as Amnesty is aware Dr. Khaled Al Serr was acting in accordance with his duties as a medical professional and he should have been respected and protected as such. A released detainee, who was held along with Dr. Khaled Al Serr, reported to the media that he witnessed the torture of Dr. Khaled Al Serr which included plucking his beard with pliers. Testimonies collected by Amnesty International and other independent human rights organizations from Palestinian health workers detained and recently released indicate that Israeli authorities – both the military and the Israeli prison service – are routinely subjecting detained health workers to torture and other ill-treatment.

A dedicated and talented young surgeon, Dr. Khaled Al Serr was one of the health workers who decided to remain at Nasser hospital to tend to the patients even while it was being encircled by the Israeli military. According to the World Health Organization, at least 214 health workers have been detained by Israeli forces while on duty since November 2023. According to the Palestinian Health ministry, at least 106 health workers are either detained or missing, many in conditions that amount to enforce disappearance.

Thousands of Palestinians have been detained since October 7, 2023 including 1,402 under the Unlawful Combatants law.

Amnesty international is calling on Israeli authorities to immediately release Dr. Khaled Al Serr. They must also disclose the whereabouts and legal status of all Palestinian health workers from Gaza who have been forcibly disappeared. Until Dr. Al Serr is released, authorities must inform his family of his fate, whereabouts, and grounds for detention. They must ensure he has access to a lawyer, medical care, and family visits.

Write to:

Brig. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi
Military Advocate General
Israel Defence Forces
Email: pazar@idf.il

More information and addresses for letters can be found here.

Looking for more information and actions on Gaza?

Amnesty International continues to call for an immediate sustained ceasefire by all parties and a complete lifting of Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza to truly alleviate mass suffering. We also call for armed groups to release civilian hostages held in Gaza and for Israeli authorities to release arbitrarily detained Palestinians.

On July 19, 2024, the International Court of Justice issued its long-awaited opinion on the legality of Israel’s occupation and annexation of the Palestinian territories, finding that it is unlawful, and  discriminatory laws and policies against Palestinians violate the prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid. 

For additional actions and an overview of the current crisis and Amnesty’s work on Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, visit the toolkit on our website.

Reckless arms sales deepen Sudan crisis

Sudan is engulfed in a massive human rights and humanitarian crisis fueled by reckless arms transfers.

Since April 2023, fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and their allies has killed over 16,650 people and created the largest internal displacement in the world right now with over 7.3 million displaced. A further 2.1 million people have fled over the border into the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan where they live in dire conditions. Millions are at immediate risk of famine.

Amnesty’s latest research has confirmed that large amounts of recently manufactured or transferred weapons from China, Russia, Serbia, Türkiye, UAE and Yemen among others have made it into the hands of combatants accused of serious violations including war crimes. Firearms normally marketed to civilians are being diverted to armed forces. The weapons trade fueling this conflict is so flagrant that some countries are supplying weapons to both sides.

The existing arms embargo that currently applies only to Darfur is completely inadequate, and poorly monitored and enforced. It must be updated and extended to cover the whole of Sudan.

Show your Solidarity

What’s happening in Sudan rarely makes headlines. Share Amnesty’s research and petition on social media using the hashtag #KeepEyesOnSudan. Connect with local humanitarian organizations and Sudanese diaspora groups to raise awareness about the crisis.

Questions? Want to get more involved?

For more information, please contact Hilary Homes, Crisis and Tactical Campaigner, at the national office: hhomes@amnesty.ca.

Header image by Amnesty International