Israel called Amnesty International’s position on Gaza “anti-Semitic”.

The largest international human rights organization Amnesty International on Thursday called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The appeal is addressed to both sides of the conflict, however, the document states that Israel’s military actions lead to the suffering of civilians in the sector. Amnesty International also demands that Israel resume the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and lift the blockade of its territory. Human rights activists call for an investigation into war crimes allegedly committed by both sides.

The statement provoked a sharp reaction from Israel. Israeli Foreign Ministry representative Lior Hayat called Amnesty International an “anti-Semitic organization” and accused it of bias. “They do not have enough moral authority to present themselves as an international organization for the protection of human rights,” he said. Hayat recalled that Amnesty International did not react immediately after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, when more than 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, including children, died.

Israel and the forces of Hamas in the Gaza Strip continue military operations against each other. On Friday night, units of the Israel Defense Forces conducted a raid in the sector, striking Hamas targets. It is claimed that the commander of the Zapadnyi Khan-Younis battalion, Madhat Mubasher, was killed, and the Israeli marines destroyed the command posts of the Hamas naval forces. Hamas, for its part, declared that it repelled an Israeli attack from the sea.

Hamas continues to fire rockets at southern and central Israel. In Tel Aviv, a rocket hit a four-story apartment building, injuring three people. Air sirens sounded in many cities in the south of the country, including Ashdod and Ashkelon.

More than 200 Israelis and citizens of other countries, including at least 30 children between the ages of 9 months and 16 years, remain hostages in Hamas. A representative of the Hamas delegation that arrived in Moscow on October 26, Abu Hamid, said that negotiations on their release were impossible until the ceasefire. He also reported that the whereabouts of many of the hostages is unknown, as “dozens of militants from various Palestinian groups” participated in the October 7 attack. Nevertheless, he believes that at least 50 hostages could die as a result of Israeli shelling of the Gaza Strip.