Israeli army soldiers walk past tanks at a position near Israel's southern border 
Israeli forces have killed 116 civilians and wounded 490 others in Gaza since the ceasefire went into effect in January.

By Sharon Zhang / Truthout

United Nations, March 10 (RHC)-- Israel has committed nearly 1,000 violations of the Gaza ceasefire agreement since it was first implemented just six weeks ago, Palestinian officials say, including killing over 100 civilians.

In a letter sent to the head of the UN Security Council, Palestine’s representative to the UN said Israel committed at least 962 ceasefire violations in the first phase of the agreement — coming to an average of 23 violations a day. Included in these violations is Israel’s killing of at least 116 Palestinian civilians, including numerous children, and its wounding of at least 490 others.

Israel also refused to withdraw forces from areas in Gaza as stipulated by the ceasefire agreement, the letter says.

Further, for the past six days, Israel has been blocking the entry of all humanitarian aid and supplies into Gaza — seemingly in an attempt to sabotage the ceasefire agreement, which is supposed to be in its second phase. The blockade is threatening to once again plunge Palestinians into some of the darkest days of the genocide, without access to food, water, medicine, and other basic needs.

“Israel continues its systematic violations of the law and derision of the international calls for compliance,” wrote Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s permanent observer to the United Nations.  “This is surely a byproduct of the impunity accorded to Israel for far too long.  Fearing no consequences, Israel makes such brazen decisions even in the midst of ICJ hearings under the Genocide Convention, blatantly flouting the Court’s binding provisional measures orders.”

“The world cannot remain silent in the face of Israel continuing massive forced displacement of the indigenous Palestinian population across the Occupied Palestinian Territory in this ongoing Nakba against our people,” Mansour went on.

On Thursday, a group of UN experts, including Special Rapporteur for Palestine Francesca Albanese, condemned Israel’s aid blockade in a statement, warning that Israel is once again using starvation as a weapon of war, violating international law.  They highlighted Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s vow this week to open the “gates of hell” on Gaza if Hamas forces don’t give into Israel’s new demands for the ceasefire and captive agreement.

In reality, the experts said, the genocidal assault “never ended,” despite the ceasefire — and now, Israel has “unilaterally changed” the terms of the ceasefire.

“Creating unliveable conditions for the Palestinians under Israeli occupation appears to be Israel’s determination across the entire occupied Palestinian territory, from the decimated Gaza strip to the West Bank,” the 29 UN experts said.

“We urge nations across the world to recall their own obligations under international law and to act to end this brutal and endless assault on the Palestinian people and their rights, lest the whole world be swept up in this storm of lawlessness and injustice,” they went on.

However, U.S. officials — Israel’s largest foreign sponsor — are seemingly fully backing Israel’s actions in Palestine and appear to be urging Israel to return to the most intense version of its extermination campaign in Gaza.

This week, President Donald Trump also threatened “hell” on Palestinians, threatening collective punishment on all Palestinians in Gaza if Hamas does not release Israeli captives — despite Hamas having said that it wishes to continue with the ceasefire and captive release agreement as it was originally agreed to in January.

Trump also threatened to crack down on dissent in the U.S. on advocates for Palestinian rights, even as a new poll released this week finds that Americans are increasingly sympathizing with Palestinians suffering under Israeli massacres and apartheid.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) reiterated the anti-Zionist movement’s call for an end to weapons shipments to Israel, castigating politicians for refusing to respond to changes in public opinion on Palestine.

“Party leaders are wildly out of touch with our voters,” Tlaib said.  “More and more Americans can see the Israeli government’s crimes of genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people and are calling for action from their representatives.  We cannot ignore them.  We need an arms embargo.”