The court's final sessions will be held in the Cemil Birsel Hall at Istanbul University, where participants will hear direct eyewitness testimony and expert legal analysis of the war crimes and gross human rights violations committed by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip.
The second day's sessions will focus on three main issues: systematic starvation and the use of humanitarian aid as a weapon, environmental genocide resulting from the destruction of natural resources, and the systematic demolition of homes and displacement of Palestinians.
Former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Hilal Elvar, will deliver a speech titled "Declaring Famine and the Weaponization of Humanitarian Aid," addressing the blockade and starvation policies imposed on the population of Gaza since the outbreak of the aggression.
Field witnesses also provide testimony about Israeli starvation crimes, while Professor Mazen Qumsiyeh of Bethlehem University, Palestine, discusses the environmental dimensions of the devastation in the Gaza Strip, asserting that what is happening in Gaza represents "comprehensive environmental genocide" due to the ongoing bombardment and the use of internationally banned weapons.
Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, will address the topic of "Recognizing the Destruction of Life as a Means of Accountability for the Destruction of Gaza," while Palestinian journalist Abu Bakr Abed will present "The Testimony of a Palestinian Journalist from Gaza" in a session dedicated to crimes against civilians, journalists, and the education system.
Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the British Labour Party and independent member of Parliament, will participate via video conference in a session examining Britain's complicity with Israel in the aggression on Gaza.
During the sessions, documents, testimonies, and analyses were presented, documenting the dimensions of the humanitarian tragedy facing the Gaza Strip. The court is expected to announce its final decision next Sunday.
The session program also includes a screening of the documentary "Evidence," produced by Anadolu Agency, which documents, with photos and evidence, the war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza.
It's worth noting that the Gaza Tribunal is an independent international initiative established in London in November 2024 by academics, intellectuals, human rights defenders, and representatives of civil society organizations. It was established in light of what they described as "the international community's complete failure to implement international law in the Gaza Strip."
The court concluded its sessions with a symbolic ruling to try Israel in absentia for war crimes and genocide in the Gaza Strip.
The genocide launched by Israel on October 8, 2023, with US support, left 68,229 dead and 170,369 wounded, most of them children and women, and destroyed 90% of the civilian infrastructure.
