Israeli forces systematically steal, loot Palestinians' belongings in Gaza: Rights group

An international human rights group says in addition to killing thousands of civilians in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces have been also conducting systematic looting of Palestinians' homes across the besieged territory, stealing their property.

The Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor announced the information in a report, citing testimonies that it had obtained from aggrieved Palestinians.

"According to testimonies gathered by Euro-Med Monitor, the Israeli army’s crimes extend beyond arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and field executions. They also involve the intentional destruction of property, the theft of personal belongings, and the looting and burning of homes—all part of a systematic strategy that is evidently based on collective punishment of the Palestinian people," the rights group said.

It added that Israeli soldiers participate in and witness the deliberate theft of the assets and money of Palestinian civilians, including laptop computers, gold, and large quantities of cash.

"Preliminary estimates suggest that the Israeli army may have looted valuable possessions worth tens of millions of dollars, in addition to stealing personal belongings from Palestinian civilians," Euro-Med's report said.

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Thabet Salim, one of the Palestinians cited by the rights body, said Israeli troops had raided his house in the south of Gaza City, abducting him and his two sons. Israeli forces, Salim added, then stole all of the gold and cash that was at hand at his residence.

"The amount of money the soldiers took from my house is worth more than 10,000 US dollars, plus nearly the same amount of gold from my wife, and the wife of my eldest son," Salim said.

Umm Muhammad Gharbiyya, a Palestinian woman, also told Euro-Med Monitor that Israeli forces had forcibly taken away her gold and jewelry after violently breaking into her family’s house earlier this month.

The testimonies have been verified by many videos circulating across the social media, which show Israeli forces taking away Palestinians' belonging, looting their properties, and trying to sell their stolen possessions.

Euro-Med Monitor concluded its report by calling for "a comprehensive and impartial international investigation .... into the grave Israeli violations against the residents of the Gaza Strip and their property, and for the international community to take urgent measures to ensure that Israel is held legally accountable."

Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 following an operation by the territory’s resistance movements, dubbed Operation al-Aqsa Storm. The historic operation came in response to the regime’s decades-long violence against Palestinians.

Since the start of its military aggression, the Israeli regime has killed at least 21,672 Palestinians, mostly women and children, while injuring over 56,000 others.

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