UN says Israel's plan to relocate Palestinians to southern Gaza will increase suffering
This comes days after Israel said it intended to launch a new offensive to seize control of northern Gaza City, the enclave's largest urban centre, in a plan that raised international alarm over the fate of the demolished strip, home to about 2.2 million people.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last Sunday said that before launching the offensive, the civilian population will be evacuated to what he described as "safe zones" from Gaza City, which he called Hamas' last stronghold.
The shelter equipment will be transferred via the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza by the United Nations and other international relief organizations after being inspected by defence ministry personnel, the military said.
A spokesperson for the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs expressed concern over Israel's plans to relocate people to southern Gaza saying it would only increase suffering.
But the UN body welcomed Israel's recognition that shelter is a desperate need and that tents and other shelter equipment will be allowed again into Gaza. "The UN and its partners will seize the opportunity this opens," the spokesperson said.
The UN warned on Thursday that thousands of families already enduring appalling humanitarian conditions could be pushed over the edge if the Gaza City plan moves ahead.
Palestinian and United Nations officials have said no place in the enclave is safe, including areas in southern Gaza where Israel has been ordering residents to move to.
The military declined to comment when asked whether the shelter equipment was intended for Gaza City's population estimated at around one million people presently, and whether the site to which they will be relocated in southern Gaza would be the area of Rafah, which borders Egypt.
WATCH | Israel's plan to capture Gaza City condemned by world leaders:
Israel's plan to capture Gaza City condemned by world leaders
8 days ago
The Israeli government's plan to take control of Gaza City has triggered condemnation from leaders around the world, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, who said the action will put the 'hostages at greater risk.'
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that the plans for the new offensive were still being formulated.
The Palestinian militant faction Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, said that the military's announcement "as part of its brutal attack to occupy Gaza City, is a blatant and brazen mockery of international conventions."
However, Israeli forces have already increased operations on the outskirts of Gaza City over the past week. Residents in the neighbourhoods of Zeitoun and Shejaia have reported heavy Israeli aerial and tank fire.
WATCH | Death of Al Jazeera journalists in Israeli airstrike widely condemned:
Death of Al Jazeera journalists in Israeli airstrike widely condemned
5 days ago
International condemnation followed a deadly Israeli airstrike in Gaza that killed six journalists, including a prominent Al Jazeera reporter, whom Israel's military claims was a Hamas operative.
Residents there have also reported explosions throughout the day, resulting from Israeli tank shelling against homes in the eastern parts of the neighbourhood.
The Israeli military on Friday said that it had begun a new operation in Zeitoun to locate explosives, destroy tunnels and kill militants in the area.
Ceasefire negotiations stalled
The war began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli authorities, and 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are still alive.
Israel's subsequent military assault against Hamas has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, Gaza's health ministry says. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced most of Gaza's population and left much of the enclave in ruins.
Protests calling for a hostage release and an end to the war were expected throughout Israel on Sunday, with many businesses, municipalities and universities saying they will support employees striking for the day.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Letters: Liberty versus wildfire risk and other burning issues
Article content Prime Minister Mark Carney is so far out of his league when it comes to Israel, it's an embarrassment to all Canadians with a conscience. Firstly, Carney knows absolutely nothing about what it's like to live in a country that has had to defend its existence from the moment it became the State of Israel in 1948. Carney has never had to actually live in a nation where thousands of rockets and missiles have been indiscriminately fired into the country to kill as many as possible. Article content I don't recall Carney having any military experience in the Middle East on his resume. And yet he has the chutzpah to declare, on behalf of all Canadians, that Israel's plan for Gaza won't work. It may or may not work, but Carney has zero skin in the game and zero credibility to attempt to tell a fellow democracy how to manage the war that was started and will be ever perpetuated by Hamas. Article content Carney should be managing/focusing on the faltering Canadian economy rather than singling out and threatening Israel. Article content Article content Catherine Lévesque reports that Premiers Danielle Smith of Alberta and Doug Ford of Ontario agree that more pipelines are required to transport Alberta crude across the country. Article content So, with the quick passage of Prime Minister Mark Carney's Bill C-5 it would seem that all that is needed now is for a private-sector consortium to put forward a proposal that Ottawa deems is worthy of using Bill C-5 to bypass other existing Liberal legislation. Article content Perhaps it would have been more straightforward to follow the Conservative plan: i.e. Scrap the offending legislation — Bill C-69 (the no more pipelines act) and the bill prohibiting tanker traffic off the West Coast. In other words, to eliminate federal interference entirely. Article content Article content Article content The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and Canada as a nation reached a new low in the suppression of free expression and antisemitism by cancelling the showing of a documentary about the October 7 attacks by Hamas terrorists. Although it has since walked back that decision, and now says it will be showing the documentary, in its initial cancelling TIFF was either cowering in fear of anti-Israel activists or demonstrating support for Hamas.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Protestors go on strike in Israel demanding ceasefire and hostage releases
JERUSALEM (AP) — Protestors in Israel demanding their government make a deal to secure the release of hostages held by militants in Gaza escalated their campaign on Sunday, staging a strike that snarled traffic and shuttered businesses. The action organized by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum marked a fresh push, weeks after militant groups released videos of hostages and Israel signaled plans for a new Gaza offensive. Protesters fear further fighting could endanger the 50 hostages believed to remain in Gaza, only about 20 of whom are thought to be alive. They chanted, 'We don't win a war over the bodies of hostages' and demanded a deal. Netanyahu's allies oppose any deal that leaves Hamas in power 'Today, we stop everything to save and bring back the hostages and soldiers. Today, we stop everything to remember the supreme value of the sanctity of life,' said Anat Angrest, mother of hostage Matan Angrest. 'Today, we stop everything to join hands — right, left, center and everything in between.' Although Israel's largest labor union, Histadrut, ultimately did not join Sunday's action, strikes of this magnitude are relatively rare in Israel. Many businesses and municipalities decided independently to strike. Still, an end to the conflict does not appear near. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the immediate release of the hostages but is balancing competing pressures, haunted by the potential for mutiny within his coalition. Far-right members of his cabinet insist they won't support any deal that allows Hamas to retain power. The last time Israel agreed to a ceasefire that released hostages, they threatened to topple Netanyahu's government. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Sunday called the stoppage 'a bad and harmful campaign that plays into Hamas' hands, buries the hostages in the tunnels and attempts to get Israel to surrender to its enemies and jeopardize its security and future.' Israeli airstrike hits power plant in Yemen Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen's capital Sunday, escalating strikes on Iran-backed Houthis, who since the war began have fired missiles at Israel and targeted ships in the Red Sea. Both the IDF and a Houthi-run television station in Yemen announced the strikes. Al-Masirah Television said they targeted a power plant in the southern district of Sanhan, sparking a fire and knocking it out of service, the Yemeni station said. Israel's military said Sunday's strikes targeted energy infrastructure it claimed was being used by the Houthis, and were launched in response to missiles and drones aimed at Israel. While some projectiles have breached its missile defenses — notably during its war with Iran in June — Israel has intercepted the vast majority of missiles launched from Yemen. More tents sent to Gaza ahead of new displacement order While demonstrators in Israel demanded a ceasefire, Israel began preparing for an invasion of Gaza City and other populated parts of the besieged strip, aimed at destroying Hamas. The military body that coordinates its humanitarian aid to Gaza said Sunday that the supply of tents to the territory would resume. COGAT said it would allow the United Nations to resume importing tents and shelter equipment into Gaza ahead of plans to forcibly evacuate peopel from combat zones 'for their protection.' Tents and the majority of assistance has been blocked from entering Gaza since Israel imposed a total blockade in March after a ceasefire collapsed. Deliveries have since partially resumed, though aid organizations say the flow is far below what is needed. Some have accused Israel of 'weaponizing aid' through blockades and rules they say turn humanitarian assistance into a tool of its political and military goals. Israel's air and ground war has already killed tens of thousands of people in Gaza and displaced most of the population. The United Nations is warning that levels of starvation and malnutrition in Gaza are at their highest since the war began. The Hamas-led attack in 2023 killed around 1,200 people in Israel. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed 61,897 people in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry, which does not specify how many were fighters or civilians but says around half were women and children. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own. ___ Melzer reported from Nahariya, Israel. AP writer Samy Magdy contributed from Cairo. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at
Winnipeg Free Press
8 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
The Trump administration wants to end the UN peacekeeping in Lebanon. Europe is pushing back
WASHINGTON (AP) — The future of U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon has split the United States and its European allies, raising implications for security in the Middle East and becoming the latest snag to vex relations between the U.S. and key partners like France, Britain and Italy. At issue is the peacekeeping operation known as UNIFIL, whose mandate expires at the end of August and will need to be renewed by the U.N. Security Council to continue. It was created to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon after Israel's 1978 invasion, and its mission was expanded following the monthlong 2006 war between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah. The multinational force has played a significant role in monitoring the security situation in southern Lebanon for decades, including during the Israel-Hezbollah war last year, but has drawn criticism from both sides and numerous U.S. lawmakers, some of whom now hold prominent roles in President Donald Trump's administration or wield new influence with the White House. Trump administration political appointees came into office this year with the aim of shutting down UNIFIL as soon as possible. They regard the operation as an ineffectual waste of money that is merely delaying the goal of eliminating Hezbollah's influence and restoring full security control to the Lebanese Armed Forces that the government says it is not yet capable of doing. After securing major cuts in U.S. funding to the peacekeeping force, Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed off early last week on a plan that would wind down and end UNIFIL in the next six months, according to Trump administration officials and congressional aides familiar with the discussions. It's another step as the Trump administration drastically pares back its foreign affairs priorities and budget, including expressing skepticism of international alliances and cutting funding to U.N. agencies and missions. The transatlantic divide also has been apparent on issues ranging from Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza and the Russia-Ukraine conflict to trade, technology and free speech issues. Europeans push back against a quick end to UN peacekeeping in Lebanon Israel has for years sought an end to UNIFIL's mandate, and renewal votes have often come after weeks of political wrangling. Now, the stakes are particularly high after last year's war and more vigorous opposition in Washington. European nations, notably France and Italy, have objected to winding down UNIFIL. With the support of Tom Barrack, U.S. ambassador to Turkey and envoy to Lebanon, they successfully lobbied Rubio and others to support a one-year extension of the peacekeeping mandate followed by a time-certain wind-down period of six months, according to the administration officials and congressional aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private diplomatic negotiations. Israel also reluctantly agreed to an extension, they said. The European argument was that prematurely ending UNIFIL before the Lebanese army is able to fully secure the border area would create a vacuum that Hezbollah could easily exploit. The French noted that when a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali was terminated before government troops were ready to deal with security threats, Islamic extremists moved in. With the U.S. easing off, the issue ahead of the U.N. vote expected at the end of August now appears to be resistance by France and others to setting a firm deadline for the operation to end after the one-year extension, according to the officials and congressional aides. French officials did not respond to requests for comment. The final French draft resolution, obtained by The Associated Press, does not include a date for UNIFIL's withdrawal, which U.S. officials say is required for their support. Instead, it would extend the peacekeeping mission for one year and indicates the U.N. Security Council's 'intention to work on a withdrawal.' But even if the mandate is renewed, the peacekeeping mission might be scaled down for financial reasons, with the U.N. system likely facing drastic budget cuts, said a U.N. official, who was not authorized to comment to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity. One of the U.S. officials said an option being considered was reducing UNIFIL's numbers while boosting its technological means to monitor the situation on the ground. The peacekeeping force has faced criticism There are about 10,000 peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, while the Lebanese army has around 6,000 soldiers, a number that is supposed to increase to 10,000. Hezbollah supporters in Lebanon have frequently accused the U.N. mission of collusion with Israel and sometimes attacked peacekeepers on patrol. Israel, meanwhile, has accused the peacekeepers of turning a blind eye to Hezbollah's military activities in southern Lebanon and lobbied for its mandate to end. Sarit Zehavi, a former Israeli military intelligence analyst and founder of the Israeli think tank Alma Research and Education Center, said UNIFIL has played a 'damaging role with regard to the mission of disarming Hezbollah in south Lebanon.' She pointed to the discovery of Hezbollah tunnels and weapons caches close to UNIFIL facilities during and after last year's Israel-Hezbollah war, when much of the militant group's senior leadership was killed and much of its arsenal destroyed. Hezbollah is now under increasing pressure to give up the rest of its weapons. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said UNIFIL continues to discover unauthorized weapons, including rocket launchers, mortar rounds and bomb fuses, this week, which it reported to the Lebanese army. Under the U.S.- and France-brokered ceasefire, Israel and Hezbollah were to withdraw from southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese army taking control in conjunction with UNIFIL. Israel has continued to occupy five strategic points on the Lebanese side and carry out near-daily airstrikes that it says aim to stop Hezbollah from regrouping. Lebanon supports keeping UN peacekeepers Lebanese officials have called for UNIFIL to remain, saying the country's cash-strapped and overstretched army is not yet able to patrol the full area on its own until it. Retired Lebanese Army Gen. Khalil Helou said that if UNIFIL's mandate were to abruptly end, soldiers would need to be pulled away from the porous border with Syria, where smuggling is rife, or from other areas inside of Lebanon — 'and this could have consequences for the stability' of the country. UNIFIL 'is maybe not fulfilling 100% what the Western powers or Israel desire. But for Lebanon, their presence is important,' he said. The United Nations also calls the peacekeepers critical to regional stability, Dujarric said. UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said deciding on the renewal of the mandate is the prerogative of the U.N. Security Council. 'We are here to assist the parties in implementation of the mission's mandate and we're waiting for the final decision,' he said. ___ Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
