The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said that it received new testimonies about the Israeli army forces carrying out widespread robberies and thefts from citizens and their homes, among other crimes that continue for the second week in the vicinity of the Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza.

Euro-Med confirmed in a statement that it documented several crimes committed by Israeli army forces during a massive military attack carried out on the Shifa Medical Complex and its surroundings west of Gaza City since March 18, including murder, physical liquidation, extrajudicial execution, and arbitrary arrests.

He pointed out that in addition to that, he received new testimonies about the theft of money and property, including valuables from residents and their homes when they were forcibly displaced from them or when they were burned and destroyed.

The Euro-Med Monitor highlighted that the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip condones - and sometimes encourages - the theft of valuable possessions and money from residents and homes by its forces without holding them accountable for these violations, as this is often done without official documentation.

The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory stated that it documented the Israeli army’s continued plunder of gold jewelry and money, whether from the homes it raided, or from citizens while forcing them to migrate to the southern Gaza Valley, where they were forced to leave their bags and all their belongings, which were seized by the soldiers.

The Euro-Med Monitor noted that it had previously documented systematic thefts since the Israeli army began carrying out ground military operations inside the Gaza Strip, on October 27, as these operations have become carried out systematically during storming residential areas, raiding homes, and launching random arrest campaigns from within them against civilians.

He stressed that many of the homes that were looted and robbed were burned, bombed, and destroyed by soldiers, as part of an approach based on collective revenge and the dehumanization and decivilization of the Palestinian population.

Doctor Yahya Khalil Deeb Al-Kayyali (59 years old) told the Euro-Med crew: “During the Israeli army’s storming of the house where we were located in western Gaza, they searched the house comprehensively, and we had bags containing money for us and others, deposits exceeding 100 thousand dollars, and there was jewelry and gold.” It belongs to my son’s wife, who is a new bride, and gold belongs to other women with us from the Al-Ifranji family, and the value of all of that is more than 200 thousand dollars.

They took laptops and destroyed them with their feet, all of it they took. My wife tried to take the bags, but the soldiers prevented her. When I told the officer that there was a large sum of money, he laughed and said, “Distribute it to the soldiers.”

He added: “Army forces raided the house we were in at dawn amid heavy gunfire. I told them that we were civilians. I spoke to them in English. They (the males) asked us to take off our clothes completely, so we got naked except for our boxers. They took us to the bathroom and detained us there. They took my son Amer, 30. A year ago, they took him to a nearby room and subjected him to interrogation and torture. I could hear his screams. They asked him for information and he told them that he had come from Germany and knew nothing. Then they asked me for interrogation and threatened to kill me and practiced verbal violence. 

Then he asked me to go down and go to the Bseiso family’s house to call them and take them out. I went out naked, and he threatened me that if I moved, I would be shot. So I went to them and told them to raise their hands.

The soldier was standing on the balcony, so they came out and there was a blind man with them and another who was paralyzed, but the soldier insisted on taking off his clothes and asked me to bring them to the house. They took the women to a place in the house, then used them as a human shield in front of them during an exchange of fire with gunmen.”

The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory pointed to video clips published by Israeli soldiers on social media platforms documenting their deliberate sabotage of civilian homes in the Gaza Strip, burning them, or drawing racist or Jewish slogans on the walls, in addition to bragging about seizing money and valuable possessions.

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor called for a comprehensive and impartial international investigation into the grave violations against the population of the Gaza Strip and their property by the Israeli army forces, which constitute war crimes in themselves, and cause destruction and serious harm to civilians and their livelihoods without control, justification or military necessity, calling for taking action. Ensures accountability and legal accountability.