“Stop the war on children” protests were led across Aotearoa last weekend after Israeli military forces attacked Al-Tabin school in Gaza, where more than 100 Palestinian refugees were killed.
The killings came just ahead of the 75th anniversary of the 1949 Geneva Convention and as Israel’s many alleged violations draw global outcry. In Aotearoa thousands protested the indiscriminate killings of Palestinian children.
Al-Tabin school had been converted to a shelter for displaced Palestinians and more than 100 people, mostly women and children were killed, according to Gaza civil defence officials.
Israel said, without offering proof, that it killed 19 Hamas and Palestine Islamic Jihad fighters in the attack.
The protests in the weekend condemned the indiscriminate killings of Palestinian children by Israeli forces.
In June, the UN reported nearly 16,000 killings of Palestinian children by Israel- in retaliation for the October 7, 2023 attack by the Hamas government’s military wing, which killed 1143 civilians, with hundreds taken hostage.
A study by The Lancet speculates an estimation of up to 186,000 or more deaths in Gaza, which would represent almost 8 per cent of the population.
This estimate is based on bodies still buried under rubble, the destruction of infrastructure impacting data collection, and secondary impacts of the conflict such as deliberate starvation, water shortages, and diseases due to the destruction of healthcare infrastructure.
The Geneva Conventions - rules for war
The Geneva Conventions are international humanitarian agreements and are the international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in warfare. They include four treaties and three additional protocols.
The Geneva Conventions originate from 1864 but were heavily updated after World War II and the use of the singular term ‘Geneva convention’ refers to the 1949 agreements.
These conventions were adopted 75 years ago and they centre on protecting non-participating people in war such as civilians, medical personnel and prisoners of war.
Israel has been criticised for indiscriminate killing of civilians and targeting of residential areas.
In May, Israel told Palestinian civilians they would be safe in west Rafah and then bombed tent camps and killed 45 displaced Palestinians who were taking shelter in Rafah.
The fourth Geneva Convention states children have a right to the protection of their education but Israel has bombed dozens of schools in Gaza with damage to at least 90 educational institutions, including several UN-run schools which served as shelters for displaced Palestinians.
Israel has argued throughout that Hamas was hiding its fighters, leaders and weapons deliberately at schools and hospitals.
South Africa took Israel to the International Justice Court contending it was violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention via military assaults.
The court ruled it was plausible Israel’s acts could amount to genocide.
Recently the court ruled the occupation of Palestinian lands by Israel were a breach of the fourth Geneva Convention.
It also said other countries, that are signatories to Geneva Conventions, [New Zealand is one], are obliged not to support or aid such occupations.
The International Criminal Court also issued a warrant of arrest for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity including deliberate starvation and intentional attacks against a civilian population.
The Israeli news outlet Channel 12 released video footage of Israeli reserve soldiers allegedly gang raping a Palestinian man held in the Sde Teiman military base/concentration camp.
Al jazeera says it has verified the video that shows a prisoner being selected, escorted to a wall and raped by soldiers who used shields to conceal their identity.
The soldiers were detained but protests broke out in Israel, Al Jazeera claiming argued the Israeli soldiers had a right to rape Palestinian prisoners.
New Zealand government called to support IJC ruling
Protestors have called for military sanctions, political sanctions and economic sanctions on Israel to enforce a ceasefire.
Last week Labour said the government had to move against the procurement of new goods produced from the “illegally occupied” Palestinian territories on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem.
“This government says it supports the international rules-based order. Decisions of the International Court of Justice are an important part of that. The court’s ruling is not a suggestion. It is the application of international law,” Labour’s foreign affairs spokesperson David Parker said.
“If the government does not want to be accused of being inconsistent, it needs to take action immediately in line with the court’s ruling.”