Israeli Strikes Escalate in Gaza, Yemen, and Qatar Amid Growing Global Condemnation

Israeli attacks across Gaza today have killed more than 50 people, as the assault to capture Gaza City and displace nearly one million Palestinians intensifies. The latest violence underscores the escalating scale of destruction in Gaza, where mass civilian displacement and bombardment continue unabated.

Expanding the War Beyond Gaza

Israeli airstrikes were also reported in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and other locations across the country. The strikes mark another expansion of Israel’s military operations into regional theaters, raising fears of a wider conflict across the Middle East.

Attack in Doha Sparks Outrage

The most controversial development came in Doha, Qatar, where Israel reportedly targeted senior Hamas leaders amid U.S.-backed ceasefire discussions. Qatar, a key mediator in ceasefire negotiations, condemned the strike as a “cowardly” attack, stressing that Washington had given no prior warning.

The attack threatens to derail fragile negotiations, deepening concerns over whether diplomatic efforts to end the war can survive this latest escalation.

Mounting Death Toll and Starvation Crisis

The humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens by the day. In the past 24 hours, at least five Palestinians, including a child, have died from starvation and severe malnutrition.

Overall, since October 2023, Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least:

• 64,656 people

• 163,503 wounded

• Thousands more remain trapped beneath rubble

Meanwhile, Israel continues to point to the October 7, 2023 attacks, in which 1,139 people were killed inside Israel and around 200 were taken captive, as justification for its ongoing assault.

Global Backlash

Israel’s widening operations—particularly the strike in Doha—have triggered widespread international condemnation. Critics argue that the bombing of a diplomatic capital during ceasefire talks underscores Israel’s disregard for international law and undermines peace efforts.

With the humanitarian toll in Gaza spiraling and the war spilling across borders, calls for accountability and an immediate halt to hostilities are growing louder across the global stage.

Israeli Human Rights Groups Declare: Israel is Committing Genocide in Gaza

In a landmark moment for the global human rights community, two leading Israeli organizations—B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI)—have published reports concluding that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.

The findings, unprecedented in scope and clarity, mark the first time Israeli human rights groups have used the term genocide to describe Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Amnesty International: “A Milestone”

Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, welcomed the reports as a defining moment in the pursuit of accountability:

“With the publication of these two reports, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel become the first two Israeli organizations to state it loud and clear, based on meticulous documentation and research: Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. This is another milestone in the human rights community’s efforts to hold Israeli authorities accountable for their crimes.”

Callamard emphasized that the reports demonstrate extraordinary courage, particularly amid ongoing Israeli government efforts to silence human rights defenders. She urged the international community to translate these findings into urgent action to halt the genocide, dismantle Israel’s system of apartheid, and end its unlawful occupation of Palestinian territory.

B’Tselem: Our Genocide

B’Tselem’s report, titled “Our Genocide,” examines Israel’s actions in Gaza since October 7, alongside decades of systemic dehumanization and impunity. It documents:

• Mass killings of civilians

• Infliction of severe bodily and mental harm

• Deliberate creation of life-threatening conditions designed to destroy the Palestinian population in Gaza

• Escalating patterns of destruction and forcible transfer in the occupied West Bank

The report warns that Israel is replicating in the West Bank, though on a smaller scale, many of the same patterns of annihilation it is enacting in Gaza.

Physicians for Human Rights Israel: Healthcare Under Siege

PHRI’s report provides a medical-legal analysis of Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system, showing how health infrastructure has been deliberately targeted as part of the broader genocidal campaign. The report documents:

• Direct and indiscriminate attacks on hospitals and clinics

• Blockages of medical aid into Gaza

• Restrictions on medical evacuations for critically ill and wounded patients

• Detention, torture, and killing of healthcare workers

PHRI concludes that these actions are not collateral damage but part of a calculated policy to destroy Palestinian lives by dismantling systems essential for survival.

A Call to Action

The reports were released as the UN Conference on Palestine convened in New York, amplifying the international urgency. Callamard stressed:

“Their unequivocal findings add to the inescapable call for participating states to recognize Israel’s action against Palestinians in Gaza for what it is: genocide. States know their obligations; there is no more time for performative debates.”

Amnesty urged governments to act decisively—ending impunity, enforcing international law, and providing space for Palestinians to begin the long process of recovery.

Conclusion

The reports by B’Tselem and PHRI represent a turning point. For the first time, Israeli organizations themselves have joined Palestinian voices, international jurists, and genocide scholars in declaring that what is happening in Gaza is not war but genocide.

With mounting evidence and growing consensus, the spotlight now turns to the international community: will states uphold their obligations under the Genocide Convention, or allow Gaza to become yet another entry in the tragic record of atrocities acknowledged only after the fact?

Spain Imposes Arms Embargo on Israel in Sweeping Measures Against Gaza Genocide

Spain has announced a sweeping package of sanctions against Israel, including a total arms embargo, in what Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described as an effort to “stop the genocide in Gaza” and “support the Palestinian population.”

Sánchez: “This is extermination, not self-defence”

In a speech posted on his official X account, Sánchez drew a sharp line between legitimate defence and indiscriminate violence:

“There is a difference between defending your country and bombing hospitals or starving innocent children. This is an unjustifiable attack on the civilian population. Sixty thousand dead, two million displaced, half of them children. This is not self-defence … it is the extermination of a defenceless people.”

The Measures in Detail

The package, to be formalised through a royal decree law and ratified by parliament, makes official what has been de facto since October 2023:

• Total arms embargo: ban on the purchase and sale of weapons, ammunition, and military equipment to Israel.

• Logistical restrictions: prohibition of ships carrying fuel for the Israeli army from docking at Spanish ports; denial of Spanish airspace to aircraft transporting defence material.

• Travel bans: restrictions on entry for individuals “directly involved in genocide, human rights violations and war crimes” in Gaza—a move that could include Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his cabinet.

• Economic sanctions: ban on imports from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

• Humanitarian support: €10 million in new funding for UNRWA and a total of €150 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza by 2026.

Legal and Diplomatic Context

The measures come against the backdrop of International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on charges of war crimes, including starvation of civilians. Many European governments have faced criticism for refusing to enforce these warrants. The United States went further by imposing sanctions on ICC prosecutor Karim Khan.

Spain’s move sets it apart as one of the most forceful European critics of Israel’s Gaza campaign. It follows Madrid’s formal recognition of a Palestinian state in May 2024, a step taken by only a handful of European nations.

Israel’s Response

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the Spanish measures as “anti-Semitic,” accusing Sánchez’s socialist government of leading a “hostile anti-Israel line, with uncontrolled and hateful rhetoric.” Israel also announced it would bar two Spanish ministers from entering the country.

Spain responded firmly, summoning its ambassador back from Tel Aviv for consultations and rejecting what it called “false and slanderous accusations of antisemitism.”

“The measures relating to the inhumane situation in Gaza and the West Bank reflect the majority opinion of Spanish society and are adopted within the framework of its sovereignty and in line with its defence of peace, human rights and international law,” Spain’s Foreign Ministry said.

A Shift in Europe?

Spain’s escalation adds to mounting global pressure as calls grow for accountability over Israel’s actions in Gaza. By linking its embargo directly to genocide prevention and international law, Madrid may set a precedent for other European nations to follow.