DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel launched strikes across the Gaza Strip on Monday, killing at least 31 people as it presses ahead with a major offensive in the territory’s largest city, according to health officials. Leading genocide scholars, meanwhile, joined other rights groups in accusing Israel of genocide, allegations it vehemently rejects. Airstrikes and artillery shelling have echoed through Gaza City since Israel declared it a combat zone last week. On the city’s outskirts and in the Jabaliya refugee camp, residents have observed explosive-laden robots demolishing buildings. “Another merciless night in Gaza City,” said Saeed Abu Elaish, a Jabaliya-born medic sheltering in the northwestern side of the city. Hospitals in Gaza said at least 31 people were killed by Israeli fire on Monday, more than half of them women and children. At least 13 people were killed in Gaza City, where Israel has carried out several previous large-scale raids since Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel to ignite the war on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel says it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian casualties because the militant group -- now largely reduced to a guerrilla organization -- operates in densely populated areas. Double threat of war and starvation Gaza City residents, many displaced by war multiple times, now face the twin threats of combat and hunger. The world’s leading authority on food crises said last month that it was in the throes of famine -- a crisis driven by ongoing fighting and Israel’s blockade, magnified by repeated mass displacement and the collapse of food production. A total of 63,557 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says another 160,660 people have been wounded. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up around half the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but staffed by medical professionals. U.N. agencies and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimate of war casualties. Israel disputes them, but hasn’t provided its own toll. Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and took 251 people hostage. Forty-eight hostages are still inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Scholars accuse Israel of genocide The largest professional organization of scholars studying genocide said Monday that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Israel, which was established in the wake of the Holocaust, in which six million European Jews and others were killed, vehemently rejects the allegation. It says it takes every measure to avoid harming civilians and is fighting a war of self-defense after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which Israel says was itself a genocidal act. The International Association of Genocide Scholars -- which has around 500 members worldwide, including a number of Holocaust experts -- joined other major human rights organizations, including two Israeli groups, in applying the term to Israel’s wartime conduct. “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide,” as well as crimes against humanity and war crimes, according to the group’s resolution, which was supported by 86% of those who voted. The organization didn’t release the specifics of the voting. “People who are experts in the study of genocide can see this situation for what it is,” Melanie O’Brien, the organization’s president and a professor of international law at the University of Western Australia, told The Associated Press. The Israeli Foreign Ministry called it “an embarrassment to the legal profession and to any academic standard.” It said the determination was “entirely based on Hamas’ campaign of lies.” Mourners vent anger at hostage funeral Thousands of Israelis gathered for the funeral of Idan Shtivi, one of two hostages whose remains were recovered in a military operation last week. A private funeral was held for Ilan Weiss, the other captive. Some mourners expressed anger at the government for not reaching a deal with Hamas to end the fighting and return the remaining captives. “It is very, very infuriating that no one, no one from this government stands up and says enough,” said Ami Dagan, a mourner from Rishon Letzion. “It’s a horror, it’s profound sadness and grief beyond words to describe the anger, the insult to the hostages, the insult to the fallen, the insult to the soldiers sent once again to Gaza,” said Ruti Taro, another mourner. “No one knows why, except for the power-hungry ruler.” Many Israelis accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the war for political purposes, and mass protests calling for a ceasefire and hostage release have swelled in recent weeks. Storm forces back activist flotilla An activist flotilla headed to Gaza that had departed Barcelona was forced back to port after a storm hit parts of Spain overnight. The Global Sumud Flotilla, consisting of around 20 boats with participants from 44 countries, chose to return and delay its departure to “prioritize safety,” a statement said Monday. The expedition includes the prominent climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, who took part in a previous flotilla that was intercepted in July. Organizers said that with winds exceeding 56 kph (35 mph), some of the smaller boats taking part in the mission would have been at risk. The flotilla is the largest attempt yet to symbolically break Israel’s blockade of Gaza. All previous ones have been intercepted at sea by Israeli forces. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent Hamas from importing arms and that there are multiple other channels for sending aid to Gaza. Israel has taken steps to further restrict the delivery of food to northern Gaza as it presses ahead with its latest offensive in Gaza City. ------ Sam Metz reported from Jerusalem, and Samy Magdy from Cairo. Molly Quell in The Hague, Netherlands, and Renata Brito in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this report. Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy and Sam Metz, The Associated Press
