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Turning blind eye to Israel's war crimes in Gaza, US also has long criminal record in Syria

November 23, 2023 at 5:40 pm

US forces provide military training to members of the YPG/SDF, which Turkiye consider as an extension of PKK in Syria, in the Qamisli district in the Al-Hasakah province, Syria on August 16, 2023 [Hedil Amir – Anadolu Agency]

The US, which remains silent on Israel’s war crimes in Gaza, also has a long criminal record in Syria where it has caused the deaths of thousands of civilians through the attacks of the coalition forces it led during the civil war, Anadolu Agency reports.

Since 7 October, in Gaza, more than 14,532 people have lost their lives in Israeli attacks, with over 6,000 of them being children and 4,000 women.

The US and Western countries have remained not  only silent in the face of Israel targeting hospitals, places of worship, and schools in Gaza, killing thousands of civilians but have also openly approved of the attacks in their statements.

The Western leaders visited Israel during the war period, continuing arms sales and shipments.

The US administration reiterated its unconditional support for Israel in all its actions, emphasising that there is no limit to this assistance, both militarily and politically.

The US administration paved the way for the continuation of the massacre by vetoing ceasefire resolutions related to Gaza in the UN Security Council.

READ: Europe’s divisions over Israel support deepen as Gaza deaths mount

Only after the number of Gazans killed by Israel exceeded 11,000 did the US administration begin to send veiled messages to Israel, calling the country to act in accordance with international law, to soften the international and domestic reactions.

The recent events in Gaza are reminiscent of the thousands of civilians who lost their lives in the attacks by the coalition forces led by the US against the Daesh terror group in the Syrian civil war.

A total of 3,051 civilians lost their lives in the coalition’s attacks in Syria’s Raqqa, Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Al-Hasakah, Idlib, Homs and Dera provinces from 2014 to 2023.

In the bombings between 2014 and 2020, “civilian life centres,” including places of worship, schools and marketplaces, were targeted at least 181 times, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) report.

The report classified the attacks in which at least five civilians lost their lives as “massacre”, revealing that coalition forces committed massacres at least 172 times.

Among the casualties of the attacks by coalition forces, 926 were children, while 658 were women.

As a result of the attacks by the coalition forces, led by the US, more than 560,000 civilians had to evacuate their homes in Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor and Al-Hasakah provinces.

Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following a surprise attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on 7 October.

The Israeli death toll is around 1,200, according to official figures.

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