THE use of the word “genocide” to describe Israel’s siege of Gaza undermines the seriousness of the word, the Foreign Secretary has claimed.
Speaking in the Commons, David Lammy said that he believed the use of the word “genocide” to describe the Israeli government’s 13-month military assault on Gaza was inappropriate.
The top Labour MP was replying to a question by the Conservatives’ Nick Timothy, who asked whether the description of Israel’s actions in Gaza as “annihilation, extermination and genocide” was inappropriate.
Timothy said: “Today, as on other occasions recently we’ve heard comments from the benches opposite that suggest somehow Israel is conducting a war of annihilation, extermination and of genocide.
“There is obviously much suffering in Gaza, and we all accept that, but this terminology is completely inappropriate, not accurate, and is repeated by the protesters and the lawbreakers who are intimidating British Jews as we saw again this weekend.
“Will the Foreign Secretary take the opportunity to say that there is not a genocide occurring in the Middle East?”
“But I do agree with the honourable gentleman, those terms were largely used when millions of people lost their lives in crises like Rwanda, the Second World War in the Holocaust, and the way that they are used now undermines the seriousness of that term.”
Lammy’s comments came on the same day as Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, reiterated her belief that the ongoing situation amounts to genocide.
Albanese took to social media to highlight work done by Forensic Architecture, who had published an 827-document entitled “A Cartography of Genocide” outlining and mapping Israel’s actions in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
Albanese wrote: “Forensic Architecture has been meticulously collecting data on/mapping military conduct in Gaza since October 7, 2023.
“All is collected and made available on the ‘A Cartography of Genocide’ platform and accompanying report.
“The main findings of this monumental work is that ‘Israel’s military campaign in Gaza is organised, systematic, and intended to destroy conditions of life and life-sustaining infrastructure’.
“We call it genocide because it is genocide.”
Forensic Architecture [@ForensicArchi] has been meticulously collecting data on/mapping military conduct in Gaza since 7 October 2023. All is collected and made available on the ‘A Cartography of Genocide’ platform and accompanying report. The main findings of this… https://t.co/hOo8aeLeE3
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) October 27, 2024
Elsewhere on Monday, the official count of the number of Palestinians killed in the war in Gaza passed 43,000, more than half of whom were women and children, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.
The tally includes 96 dead who arrived at hospitals in Gaza over the past two days.
The grim milestone comes after Israeli troops launched an ongoing operation in northern Gaza that included a raid on a hospital over the weekend.
The military said it detained 100 suspected Hamas militants in a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya on Friday.
A total of 44 male staff were detained, according to the World Health Organisation.
Palestinian medical officials said the hospital, which was treating some 200 patients, was heavily damaged in the raid.
Israel has raided several hospitals in Gaza over the course of the war, saying Hamas and other militants use them for military purposes.
Palestinian medical officials deny those allegations and accuse the military of recklessly endangering civilians.
The Israeli military has called on Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza, where it has been waging a large offensive for more than three weeks.
The UN said earlier this month at least 400,000 people are still in northern Gaza and hunger is rampant as the amount of humanitarian aid reaching the north has plummeted over the past month.
The Israeli siege on Gaza was launched after Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed into the country, killing some 1200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others, on October 7 last year.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s health ministry says the total toll over the past year there is over 2600 killed and 12,200 injured.
The fighting in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes, including more than 400,000 children, according to the United Nations children’s agency.
Israeli strikes have killed much of Hezbollah’s top leadership since fighting ramped up in September.
