On the 42nd anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre, the Hamas Movement in Lebanon said that the Palestinian people would continue to stand firm against the Israeli occupation and resist it until it’s removed from their land.
‘The Sabra and Shatila massacre, which was committed by the Israeli occupation and its allied militias on September 16, 1982, will remain firmly rooted in the conscience of the Palestinian people and the world, as a painful and brutal massacre that reflected the Israeli occupation’s terrorism and barbarism,’ Hamas said in a statement on Monday.
‘This massacre will remain immortal in our national history because it has showed our people’s determination to stand in the face of injustice and terrorism until the day of liberation and return.
‘It will remain a stain on the record of humanity, which has not taken any step to prosecute and punish the perpetrators of this carnage.
‘The anniversary of the Sabra and Shatila massacre comes this year as the Israeli occupation is waging a brutal attack on our people in the Gaza Strip… killing people and destroying infrastructure and all aspects of life.
‘The real response to the Sabra and Shatila massacre and the Israeli occupation’s daily massacres is through the resistance project and the building of a genuine national unity supporting this project,’ the Movement underscored.
Since the 1948 Nakba (catastrophe), the oppressed Palestinian people have faced dozens of massacres, including the three-day brutal one that was committed in Lebanon’s Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Israeli-backed Christian militiamen in 1982.
Although this massacre was preceded by dozens of mass killings and followed by others, the Sabra and Shatila massacre has marked a turning point in the Palestinian people’s history because of its viciousness and harrowing details.
From September 16 to 18, 1982, a Lebanese militia group, at the behest of the Israeli occupation army, massacred between 800 and 3,500 Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila camps on Beirut’s outskirts.
They also murdered at least 100 Lebanese civilians and some Syrians.
Meanwhile, if you are among those who visited the Tal al-Sultan refugee camp in the northwest of Rafah city, located in the southern Gaza Strip, it is hard to believe what its conditions have become today after nearly a year of the brutal Israeli aggression against Gaza in general, and after about 130 days of a wide-scale ground invasion of the Palestinian city of Rafah in particular.
The camp now resembles a ghost town due to the destruction by Israeli occupation forces of all its landmarks and their targeting of every corner in it.
Tal al-Sultan camp is one of the most densely populated camps, despite being established only 24 years ago.
It contains hospitals, schools, and institutions affiliated with UNRWA, and is situated near the Egyptian border, making it a target for the Israeli occupation forces, who claim the Rafah crossing and all adjacent lines to Egypt to be a direct cause of their defeat on October 7th.
At the onset of the Israeli aggression against Gaza following October 7th, 2023, the direct targeting was focused on Gaza City and the north, as well as some central cities.
The occupation intensified its bombardment on areas adjacent to the Gaza envelope where the Al-Aqsa Storm operation occurred, leading to the displacement of residents from the north and central areas to southern Gaza in the cities of Khan Younis and Rafah.
The occupation’s aircraft continued to drop warning leaflets urging residents to leave their homes and head toward what they called ‘safe areas’, which included the camps of Rafah city, such as Tal al-Sultan.
Tal al-Sultan camp, once considered the most upscale neighbourhood in Rafah, experienced significant overcrowding due to the influx of thousands of displaced residents from targeted areas.
Its streets filled with tents, and its markets crowded with vendors.
However, it was not completely safe, as the occupation army committed several massacres in the initial months of the war, though it was still safer than areas in the north.
As the aggression entered its seventh month, the occupation army executed a plan to storm Rafah city, which at that time was home to over 1.2 million citizens, most of whom were displaced.
The army began its gradual entry into the city on May 6th, initiating a new bloody chapter in the suffering of Gaza’s residents.
Numerous massacres occurred in Rafah city and its camps, including Tal al-Sultan, since the ground invasion began.
Among the most horrific was the massacre that took place on May 27, known as the ‘Tent Massacre’, which resulted in dozens being burned alive and hundreds injured due to an Israeli airstrike on the Kuwaiti Peace Camp located in the Tal al-Sultan neighbourhood, turning tents and shelters to ashes.
The Israeli targeting of Tal al-Sultan continued unabated, affecting all facilities including water, electricity, hospitals, and schools.
The destruction of infrastructure exceeded 90%, prompting both displaced individuals and original residents to flee to central Gaza, northern areas, and some parts of southern Khan Younis.
The situation worsened with Israel’s complete control over the Philadelphi Route and the destruction of the Rafah border crossing, which had served as an outlet for the entire population of Gaza, especially for those in Rafah and the Tal al-Sultan camp.
The concept of safe zones has vanished, as even schools and hospitals, which were shelters for those without tents, have become continuous targets of Israeli attacks.
According to Rule 35 of international humanitarian law, which pertains to hospitals, safety zones, and neutral areas, it is prohibited to attack areas established to shelter the wounded, sick, and civilians from the effects of hostilities.
The first and fourth Geneva Conventions allow for the establishment of safe and recovery zones.
The fourth Geneva Convention also allows for the creation of neutral zones, both types aimed at sheltering the injured, sick, and civilians from the impacts of conflict.
International humanitarian law governs the conduct of hostilities, and regardless of the legality of the decision to use force, all parties must adhere to international humanitarian law, as stated in a report by Human Rights Watch.
Tristino Mariniello, a lawyer at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, stated that the attack on the safe area shows that Israel continues to ignore the International Court of Justice.
He added: ‘These horrific images coming from Rafah demonstrate that the Israeli authorities are completely disregarding the binding interim measures issued by the International Court of Justice.’
Chris Guinness, a former spokesperson for UNRWA, mentioned that the three judges in the pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court are ‘horrified like the rest of the world’ regarding the Israeli attack on Rafah. ‘There is no exception to the Genocide Convention. There are no excuses,’ he said, calling it a crime.
International lawyer Daniel Matchhofer stated that the International Criminal Court should issue more arrest warrants following the Tal al-Sultan attack. He wrote on X: ‘There is an urgent need for additional requests to the ICC chamber from Prosecutor Karim Khan for arrest warrants against the Israeli chain of command regarding these well-documented international crimes.’
Francesca Albanese, an international lawyer and United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, described the Israeli bombardment as a ‘blatant challenge to international law and order.’
She wrote on X: ‘The genocide in Gaza will not end easily without external pressure, Israel must face sanctions, justice, and the suspension of agreements, trade, partnerships, and investments, as well as participation in international forums.’
Despite these international condemnations and judicial rulings, the occupying army continues its aggression against civilians and residential areas, causing massive destruction in the Tal al-Sultan camp to the point where life there has become impossible, as almost all residential blocks have been blown up.
- The Khan Younis Municipality issued a warning on Monday to the displaced individuals in certain areas of the city regarding the dangers of their tents remaining in low-lying areas as winter approaches, along with the expected rainy weather entering the Gaza Strip this week.
In a press statement, the municipality clarified that the rainwater collection pool located north of the Al-Amal neighbourhood, the temporary sewage treatment basins in Al-Muharrarat, and the temporary rainwater collection pool at the end of Omar Mukhtar Street, known as number (5), along with all low areas, are extremely dangerous places.
The municipality urged displaced individuals in those areas to leave immediately and seek a safer location, noting that staying in rainwater collection pools poses a risk to their lives and safety.
Khan Younis Municipality emphasised that it is making every effort to mitigate the risks associated with weather systems, despite limited resources and capabilities, in cooperation with various institutions, neighbourhood committees, and different entities.
On Saturday, the Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip issued an urgent humanitarian appeal to save two million displaced individuals in Gaza before it’s too late, coinciding with the arrival of weather systems and the onset of winter, along with its harsh climatic conditions.
It was noted that 74% of the displaced people’s tents have become unfit for use, according to government field assessment teams, which reported that 100,000 tents out of a total of 135,000 need urgent replacement due to their deterioration.
As winter approaches, the need for humanitarian assistance to protect the displaced from the cold and rain becomes urgent, amid international calls for swift aid delivery, while civil defence teams warn of imminent rains during September.
