Humanitarian organization Save the Children has lamented that the international tolerance of Israeli “slaughter” has “normalized” attacks on civilians. This comes amid the latest massacres involving children and journalists in the Jabalia refugee camp in north Gaza and in south Lebanon.

Alexandra Saieh, head of humanitarian policy and advocacy at Save the Children International, underscored that the situation for children in Gaza was now “absolutely catastrophic” and that no military goal could justify the mass slaughter of civilians being seen in Gaza daily, according to a report by Al Jazeera.

“The international community has normalized attacks on schools in Gaza. We are seeing Israeli forces attack schools-turned-shelters in Gaza now on a regular basis. And by the international community refusing to take action, they’ve just normalized this,” Saieh was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.

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In an analysis published in September, British charity Oxfam said more women and children have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli military over the past year since Oct 7 than the equivalent period of any other conflict in the last two decades.

“Conservative figures showed that more than 6,000 women and 11,000 children were killed in Gaza by the Israeli military over the last 12 months. Data from 2004-2021 on direct conflict deaths from the Small Arms Survey, estimates that the highest number of women killed in a single year was over 2,600 in Iraq in 2016,” the report said.

Latest atrocities reported by Wafa News Agency on Oct 25 involved the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya. Israeli forces reportedly stormed the hospital, instructing patients to move to the main courtyard. The hospital director noted that some windows in patient rooms were shattered from shelling by Israeli forces.

The hospital was surrounded, with Israeli military vehicles firing upon the facility, endangering sick children inside, according to the Wafa report.

Israeli forces also carried out an airstrike on a residential complex in the Jabalia refugee camp the same evening, reportedly killing 150 civilians, including women and children.

Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates condemned the Israeli attacks targeting the Jabalia camp as “savage”, in what it said was “a flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, a continuation of the systematic brutal targeting of civilians, and a horrific war crime for which those responsible must be held accountable”, the Jordan News Agency reported.

Sufian Qudah, the ministry’s official spokesperson, said Israel continued to commit “war crimes and ethnic cleansing”, and it does “not care about the international will calling for an end to the war and the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe it is causing”.

In southeast Lebanon, it was widely reported that an Israeli airstrike hit a compound housing journalists, with Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV confirming its cameraman and broadcast technician were among the casualties early in the morning on Oct 25.

Al-Manar TV of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group also said its camera operator Wissam Qassim was also killed in the airstrike on the Hasbaya region.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists update on Oct 24, its preliminary investigations showed at least 128 journalists and media workers were among the tens of thousands killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel and Lebanon since the conflict began, making it the deadliest period for journalists since the committee began data gathering in 1992.

Meanwhile, more than 2,000 Israeli citizens, who include academic professionals, Holocaust and history experts, as well as former ambassadors and law experts in Israel and abroad, have penned an open letter to the international community in 11 languages to “intervene immediately and implement every possible sanction towards achieving an immediate cease-fire between Israel and its neighbors”.

They accused the government of Israel of having “abandoned its citizens who are hostages” and “neglecting the residents of the south and north of Israel”.

READ MORE: Israeli strike wounds two UN peacekeepers in Lebanon

“The lack of true international pressure, the continuation of arms supplies to Israel, economic and security partnerships and scientific and cultural collaborations, bring most Israelis to believe that Israel’s policies enjoy international support,” the letter published in British daily newspaper The Guardian read.

“The leaders of many countries make repeated statements about the horror they feel and verbally denounce Israel’s operations, but these condemnations are not backed by practical actions. We are replete with empty words and declarations,” it said.

They also appealed to “save us from ourselves” and urged to use “real pressure on Israel for an immediate cease-fire”.

Contact the writer at jan@chinadailyapac.com