Russia warned Israel against flooding the Gaza Strip tunnels with seawater, and said that this step would be a war crime, the US-based magazine Newsweek reported.
The warning came after Tel Aviv announced that it would establish a large system of pumps to flood the tunnels used by the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas, in an attempt to expel its fighters.
According to Newsweek, “Russia said that reports of proposals to flood the tunnels were shocking and warned that ‘if done, this will be a war crime’.”
As the Israeli military continues to paint a positive picture of its military exploits in the Gaza Strip, numbers speak of a different reality.https://t.co/Ag4orcGmJ2 pic.twitter.com/r3XI1LZs8h
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 9, 2023
The magazine quoted Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, as saying that “Such flooding could be considered analogous to ‘do not spare them’ order, but it is not only about that and not only about civilians who may be in those tunnels.”
“Of course, there most likely will be civilians, for where else would they go from the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza,” Polyansky added, according to Newsweek.
Polyansky also expressed his extreme disappointment at the UN Security Council’s failure to adopt a binding resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
On Friday, the United States vetoed a draft UNSC resolution introduced by the United Arab Emirates, which followed the activation of Article 99 of the UN Charter by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. 13 other members voted in favor of the resolution while the UK abstained.
While the Israeli military continues to maintain that its losses in Gaza are minimal, military helicopters belonging to Rescue Unit 669 were conveying a different story. https://t.co/cwNoY3OWcU pic.twitter.com/cvkmbGJBXG
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 9, 2023
Israel has tried several times to destroy Gaza tunnels in recent years by blowing them up or using bulldozers. However, Hamas has always managed to rebuild them.
According to Al-Jazeera, previous reports indicate that Israel is also considering using sponge bombs to seal the entrance of the tunnels.
The number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli war on Gaza since October 7 has reached 17,700, including over 7,870 children and more than 6,121 women, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. 48,780 were wounded.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
The truth is always more powerful than anything else. Israelis should e reminded in no uncertain terms that as Hamas has not disclosed the location of the remaining individuals held in “Administrative Dentention”, it is more than likely they are being detained in the tunnels, and as Israel proclaims in such loud voices that they stand together, flooding the tunnels is likely to be a death sentence to the remaining individuals Hamas is holding in “Administrative Detention”.