"It has been a full year since the greatest catastrophe that the Palestinian people experienced after the Nakba of 1948, which is the Israeli war in which crimes of genocide and ethnic cleansing are being committed in the Gaza Strip," Abbas said in a speech to members of the BRICS group.

"This is part of a plan to empty the territory of its people, especially now in northern Gaza where the occupation forces are resorting to starving the population there."

Abbas called for the implementation of the UN General Assembly resolution adopted on 18 September, which demands that Israel end "its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" within 12 months.

The landmark resolution had invoked a July ruling by the International Court of Justice stating that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and the expansion of settlements is "unlawful."

The widely supported resolution -- passed with 124 votes in favour, 14 against (including Israel) and 43 abstentions -- also called for an embargo on arms that Israel might use in those areas.

During the BRICS meeting, Abbas renewed calls for imposing sanctions on Israel if it does not commit to implementing the General Assembly resolution.

"In this context, we rely heavily on the BRICS countries, which have become an influential and decisive weight in establishing the foundations of international peace and security," President Abbas said.

Israel escalates in north Gaza
 

The Israeli army has been trying to expel an estimated 400,000 people still living in the northern third of the territory, intensifying bombardment on civilian infrastructure, putting hospitals out of service, and preventing the entry of food, water, and medicine supplies.

On Thursday, 42 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza since the early hours of Wednesday, most of whom were in the northern part of the strip, medical sources told Al Jazeera.

“Since the start of the military operation in northern Gaza more than 770 people have been killed,” said Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for the territory’s civil defence agency, according to AFP news agency. He added that the toll could rise as there were people buried under the rubble.

“Genocide is unfolding in northern Gaza in its clearest form, in full view of the world,” the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry warned in a statement on Sunday.

Israel has also abducted dozens of Palestinians, including civilians, during its all-out assault in the north, particularly in Jabalia.
 

 

 

 

 

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Despite Israel's mass detentions and relentless bombardment that has killed hundreds in Jabalia and Beit Lahia, many residents have refused to leave their homes, WAFA news agency reported.

Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 42,700 people and wounded more than 100,000, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry.

The UN rights office confirms most of the dead are women and children.

Israel's year-long genocidal war on Gaza has also damaged and destroyed more than two-thirds of Gaza's buildings displacing the majority of the territory's 2.4 million population at least once.