Gaza Herald – Amnesty International says Israel is still committing genocide in Gaza despite the declared ceasefire, warning that nothing indicates a change in Israel’s intent as it continues bombing civilian areas and blocking critical aid from entering the Strip.
The rights group said Israel has violated the ceasefire more than 500 times in seven weeks, killing nearly 70,000 Palestinians and carrying out fresh strikes on Thursday in central and southern Gaza, including areas beyond the yellow line where its forces are supposed to withdraw.
Amnesty’s Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said Israel is “continuing its ruthless policies,” restricting humanitarian access and deliberately imposing conditions meant to physically destroy Palestinians. “The world must not be fooled. Israel’s genocide is not over,” she said.
Israeli forces also carried out sweeping raids across the occupied West Bank, assaulting civilians in Tubas and arresting dozens in Qalqilya, Tulkarem, Hebron, and Nablus, expanding the violence far beyond Gaza.
Meanwhile, Gaza authorities said Israel transferred the bodies of 15 Palestinian prisoners as part of the truce deal, while Hamas and Islamic Jihad returned the remains of another Israeli captive, reaffirming their commitment to completing the exchange.
But major obstacles threaten the ceasefire’s second phase, with dozens of Hamas members trapped in tunnels on the Israeli-controlled side of Rafah and Israel accused of killing at least 20 of them in the past week, a clear breach of the agreement.
Amnesty urged the world to keep pressure on Israel, warning that the ceasefire must not become a “smokescreen” for ongoing genocide, and calling for unfettered humanitarian access, an end to the blockade, and full accountability for Israeli crimes.
