Page 90 - Israel-palestine

Embattled UN agency warns operation in Gaza collapsing over funding cuts

The head of the main UN aid agency in the war-battered Gaza Strip warned late Saturday that its work is collapsing after nine countries decided to suspend funding over allegations that several agency employees participated in the deadly Hamas attack on Israel four months ago. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said he was shocked such decisions were taken as famine looms in the Israel-Hamas war. Palestinians in Gaza did not need this additional collective punishment, he wrote on X. This stains all of us. His warning came a day after he announced he had fired and was investigating several agency employees over allegations that they participated in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war. The United States, which said 12 agency employees were under investigation, immediately suspended funding, followed by several other countries, including Britain, Germany and Italy. The agency, with its 13,000 employees in Gaza, most of them Palestinians, is

Hamas war: Countries halt funding to UNRWA over complicity in Oct 7 attacks

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz called on the UN to dismiss UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini and vowed to prevent the agency from having a role in post-war Gaza

Netanyahu defiant after UN court ruling, says aiming for 'complete victory'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday pushed back after an International Court of Justice ruling to limit death and destruction in the military's Gaza offensive, declaring that we decide and act according to what is required for our security and vowing to press on until complete victory. Witnesses said three Palestinians were killed earlier Saturday in an airstrike that Israel's military said was targeting a Hamas commander in southern Gaza. Israel's military is under increasing scrutiny now that the top United Nations court has asked Israel for a compliance report in a month. The court's binding ruling on Friday stopped short of ordering a cease-fire, but its orders were in part a rebuke of Israel's conduct in its nearly 4-month war against Gaza's Hamas rulers. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, the main organization aiding Gaza's population amid the humanitarian disaster, saw more countries suspend its funding following allegations that a number of Gaza staf

US aims to use Israel-Hamas deal to open more lasting regional peace talks

The senior State Department official, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations, said Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken recently to McGurk and Burns about the talks

United Nations fires Gaza staff over claims they joined Hamas attack

A vast majority of UNRWA's 30,000 staff is Palestinian, with 13,000 of those in Gaza. The US State Department said in a statement Friday that 12 UNRWA staff had been accused of links to the attacks

Israel-Hamas war: Starbucks, Coke, McDonald's hit by Middle East boycotts

In Cairo, on a recent weekday, dozens of usually bustling Starbucks and McDonald's stores stood completely empty

Israel must take steps to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, says ICJ

South Africa brought the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) earlier this month, asking it to grant emergency measures to halt the fighting, which has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians

Israel's El Al airline suspends South Africa route over World Court case

'Israelis don't want to fly to South Africa,' said an El Al spokesperson. "They are cancelling flights and planes are pretty empty... We understand it's the situation because it was different before

UN court set to issue ruling in South Africa's genocide case against Israel

Israel is set to hear on Friday whether the United Nations' top court will order it to end its military offensive in Gaza in a provisional ruling while the panel hears a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide. The International Court of Justice's president, Joan E. Donoghue, will read out the highly anticipated decision taken by a panel of 17 judges. The ruling comes at an early stage in South Africa's case alleging that Israel's military action in its war with Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide. Israel vehemently rejects the accusation and has asked the court to throw out the case. South Africa has asked the judges as a matter of extreme urgency to impose so-called provisional measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza while the case proceeds slowly through the court, a process likely to take years. Top of the South African list is a request for the court to order Israel to immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza. Israeli government spokesper

Gaza blames Israeli troops for deadly shooting as crowd waited for aid

Gaza's Health Ministry and witnesses said Israeli troops opened fire as a crowd of Palestinians gathered for humanitarian aid in Gaza City on Thursday, killing at least 20 and wounding dozens. The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. The Associated Press could not independently confirm the details of what happened. Witnesses and health officials said the shooting took place at a roundabout on Gaza City's southern edge, where a large crowd had gathered for distribution of food. Footage posted online and confirmed to have been taken on the main road near the roundabout showed hundreds of people fleeing, some carrying boxes of aid, as fire rang out in the background. Men loaded wounded Palestinians onto horse and donkey carts that took off charging down the avenue. At Shifa Hospital, where casualties were treated, Mohammad al-Reafi lay on the floor, his bloodied leg bandaged, as medics worked on other wounded around them. He said Israeli troops fired into the crowd.

Israel instructs Northern farmers to be prepared for expansion of war

People are also instructed to check the functioning of generators, to increase food stocks and to perform any additional action they think is right in order

Israeli tanks pound hospitals in Khan Younis forcing displaced to flee

Gaza health officials said at least 50 Palestinians had been killed in the past 24 hours in Khan Younis, where Israel has shifted full-blown military operations after starting to pull forces out

ICJ verdict looms: What if interim ruling goes against Israel on January 26

In a pivotal development, the International Court of Justice is set to deliver its highly awaited verdict on January 26 in response to South Africa's plea for an interim ruling against Israel

UN Court to rule on South Africa's genocide case against Israel in Gaza

South Africa submitted a plea with the International Court of Justice for provisional measures, including a halt to Israel's Gaza offensive that has claimed at least 23,000 Palestinian lives

Israel slams UN for false allegations it is hampering Gaza aid efforts

The Israeli agency COGAT (Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories"For weeks, we've been saying we're inspecting more aid than you can handle," COGAT said on Twitter/X in direct response to UNWRA's charges. "We adjusted long ago. Did you? The answer is no.""Stop spreading accusations and start doing your job," added COGAT. "Hundreds of aid trucks are waiting for you at the border, including now. Collect and distribute them."The post included pictures of the trucks ready to enter Gaza.The comments came after UNWRA alleged on Twitter/X, "Intense fighting, access denials & restrictions + communications blackouts are hampering UNRWA's ability to safely & effectively deliver aid. As risk of famine grows, UN calls for a critical increase in humanitarian access.

Mideast conflict impacting maritime safety in Indian Ocean: India to UNSC

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas is impacting the safety of maritime commercial traffic in the Indian Ocean, including some attacks in the vicinity of India, a top Indian diplomat told members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday. The ongoing conflict is also impacting the safety of maritime commercial traffic in the Indian Ocean, including some attacks in the vicinity of India, R Ravindra, the Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations said in his remarks during a UNSC Open Debate on the Middle East. This is a matter of great concern to the international community and has a direct bearing on India's own energy and economic interests. This fraught situation is not to the benefit of any party, and this must be clearly recognised, Ravindra said. Ravindra said the message that India has conveyed since the start of this conflict is clear and consistent it is important to prevent escalation, to ensure continued delivery of humanitaria

EU pushes for Palestinian statehood, rejecting Netanyahu 's insistence

'The declarations of Benjamin Netanyahu are worrying. There will be a need for a Palestinian state with security guarantees for all,' French Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Sejourne told reporters

Kin of hostages in Gaza storm Israel's parliament asking for release deal

The developments showed the increasing pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has dug in on both fronts

Won't recognise Israel without path to Palestinian state: Saudi official

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister says the kingdom will not normalise relations with Israel or contribute to Gaza's reconstruction without a credible pathway to a Palestinian state. Prince Faisal bin Farhan's remarks in an interview with CNN broadcast late Sunday were some of the most direct yet from Saudi officials. It puts them at odds with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has rejected Palestinian statehood and described plans for open-ended military control over Gaza. The dispute over Gaza's future coming as the war still rages with no end in sight pits the United States and its Arab allies against Israel and poses a major obstacle to any plans for postwar governance or reconstruction in Gaza. Before the October 7 Hamas attack that triggered the war, the US had been trying to broker a landmark agreement in which Saudi Arabia would normalise relations with Israel in exchange for US security guarantees, aid in establishing a civilian nuclear programme in the kingdom,

Israel's plan to destroy Hamas not working, peace talks needed: EU officia

EU officials concede that Israeli officials and diplomats currently evince no interest in the so-called two-state solution but insist it is the only option for long-term peace