30,000 Palestinians Killed in 5 Months of Israel’s 'War of Annihilation'

International pressure continues to mount on Israel to back down from its genocidal war on Gaza. On Monday February 26, US President Joe Biden told reporters in New York City that a deal between Israel and Hamas for a temporary ceasefire was “close” and added, “My hope is by next Monday we’ll have a ceasefire”. The same day, Biden had told talk show host Seth Meyers, that currently, Israel risks losing “support from around the world”.

While still not deviating from the government’s total support of Israel, Biden’s comments strongly pushing for a temporary ceasefire and even possibly misrepresenting the current state of negotiations between the parties, denote a marked shift. Many have considered the shift a response to the intense domestic and international pressure he is facing over his unshakeable support of Israel. Biden and his cabinet, as well as legislators from the Democratic and Republican parties, have been met with almost daily protests and disruptions by pro-Palestine activists who have demanded that they withdraw support from Israel and demand an immediate ceasefire.

Biden’s comments also came just 24 hours after active duty US soldier Aaron Bushnell self-immolated in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC in protest of US support of Israel’s genocide.

Israel’s brutal onslaught continues

Meanwhile, Israel has continued to carry out bombings and ground attacks across the enclave. According to latest data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, since October 7, Israel has killed 29,878 Palestinians and injured 70,215. The Ministry of Health also reported that children have already begun dying of hunger and that this number is set to skyrocket if humanitarian aid is not delivered immediately. UN humanitarian affairs chief Ramesh Rajasingham said on February 27 that 576,000 people in Gaza, 25% of the population, are facing imminent famine.

Israel has also refused to withdraw its threat of a March 10 invasion of Rafah, the former safe zone where over one million Palestinians have taken refuge over the last several months. The threat had sparked widespread condemnation by international organizations and a majority of countries. Even in the European Union, a key ally of Israel, 26 of the 27 member countries signed a statement warning Israel against the planned invasion of Rafah in the South of Gaza and calling for a ceasefire.

Palestinians in the West Bank have also had no respite from attacks by Israeli Occupation Forces. The IOF have continued to escalate their military raids, killing, injuring, and arresting dozens. Israeli forces killed three young men during a raid in the city of Tubas on Tuesday February 27, bringing the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since October 7 to 409, including 108 children. More than 7,255 Palestinians have also been arrested in the occupied West Bank during this time period.

“The escalation of the global struggle and protest is the duty of humanity”

In a statement released on Tuesday February 27, the left Palestinian resistance group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) sharply condemned Israel’s onslaught on Gaza as a “war of annihilation against our people”.

The group emphasizes that it is an “American war” with the purpose to “liquidate the rights of our people, destroy the elements of their existence, and force them to abandon their cause and rights under the fire of annihilation”. The US government and its allies Europe, Australia and Canada, have “armed and supplied the Zionist killing system, provided it with political cover, and stood against any attempt to stop the aggression,” the group declared.

In light of the brutality faced by the Palestinian people by western-backed Israel, they called for people across the globe to “escalate protests in all their forms, and to strengthen forms of direct pressure on governments, politicians and parties, to stop the war of extermination, lift the deadly siege, end the occupation, and defend our people’s right to freedom, independence, return and self-determination.”

The statement also specifically highlighted the call for mass mobilizations on March 2 in cities across the world and called on progressive forces to forge the broadest unity possible for mass participation.

The group also saluted the actions taken by trade unions and progressive groups to stop supplies “destined to equip the Zionist killing machine against our people”. Such actions include the statement released on February 13, by the Water Transport Workers Federation of India, which represents 3,500 workers in 11 major ports across the country, declaring its refusal to load or unload any “weaponized cargoes” intended for use in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. In Belgium in November 2023, a “common union front” declared that they would refuse to load and unload weapons in transit to Israel which were contributing to the “murder of innocent people”. The Belgian unions also called on their government to impose a full arms embargo on Israel.

As long as Israel continues to carry out its genocide in Gaza, “the escalation of the global struggle and protest is the duty of humanity” the group declared.