Israel not letting in enough supplies into Gaza to avert widespread starvation, says UN
"In the past few weeks, Israeli authorities have only allowed aid to enter in quantities that remain far below what would be required to avert widespread starvation," UN human rights office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told a Geneva press briefing.
He added that the risk of starvation in Gaza was a "direct result of the Israeli government's policy of blocking humanitarian aid.
Israel's military agency that coordinates aid, COGAT, said Israel invests "considerable efforts" in aid distribution to Gaza.
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Irish Independent
36 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
Israel has begun its planned assault on Gaza City amid clashes with Hamas
Israel's military called up tens of thousands of reservists on Wednesday in preparation for the assault on Gaza City, as the Israeli government supposedly considered a new proposal for a ceasefire after nearly two years of war. The call-up signals Israel is pressing ahead with its plan to seize Gaza's biggest urban centre despite international criticism of an operation likely to force the displacement of many more Palestinians. But a military official briefing reporters said reserve soldiers would not report for duty until September, an interval that gives mediators some time to bridge gaps between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel over truce terms. The official said that as part of planning for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, there would be five divisions operating in the enclave, but most reservists were not expected to serve in combat in Gaza City. "We will be moving into a new phase of combat, a gradual, precise and targeted operation in and around Gaza City, which currently serves as Hamas' main military and governing stronghold," the official said. Israel's security cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, approved a plan this month to expand the campaign in Gaza with the aim of taking Gaza City, where Israeli forces waged fierce urban warfare with Hamas in the early stages of the war. Israel currently holds about 75pc of the Gaza Strip. Many of Israel's closest allies have urged the government to reconsider but Netanyahu is under pressure from some far-right members of his coalition to reject a temporary ceasefire, continue the war and pursue the annexation of the territory. One far-right member, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, announced final approval on Wednesday of a widely condemned Israeli plan for a settlement project in the occupied West Bank that he said would erase any prospect of a Palestinian state. The war in Gaza began on October 7, 2023, when gunmen led by Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities near the border, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 251 hostages including children into Gaza. Over 62,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's air and ground war in Gaza since then, according to Gaza health officials, who do not say how many were militants but have said most of those killed have been women and children. Hamas has accepted a proposal put forward by Arab mediators for a 60-day ceasefire that would involve releasing some of the remaining hostages and freeing Palestinian prisoners in Israel. The Israeli government, which has said all the 50 remaining hostages must be released at once, is studying the proposal. Israeli authorities believe that 20 hostages are still alive. Many Gazans and foreign leaders fear a storming of Gaza City would cause significant casualties. Israel says it will help civilians leave battle zones before any assault begins. ISRAELI TROOPS, HAMAS FIGHTERS CLASH Israeli troops clashed on Wednesday with more than 15 Hamas militants who emerged from tunnel shafts and attacked with gunfire and anti-tank missiles near Khan Younis, south of Gaza City, severely wounding one soldier and lightly wounding two others, an Israeli military official said. In a statement, Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades confirmed carrying out a raid on Israeli troops southeast of Khan Younis and engaging Israeli troops at point-blank range. It said one fighter blew himself up among the soldiers, causing casualties, during an attack that lasted several hours. Israel's military campaign has caused widespread devastation across the Gaza Strip, which before the war was home to about 2.3 million Palestinians. Many buildings including homes, schools and mosques have been destroyed, while the military has accused Hamas of operating from within civilian infrastructure. Most Gazans have been displaced multiple times and forced into densely packed areas along the Mediterranean coast, including in Gaza City in the enclave's north. Israeli officials have said evacuation orders would be issued to Gaza City residents before any force moves in. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees Gaza's only Catholic Church, located in Gaza City, said it had received reports that neighbourhoods near the small parish had started to receive evacuation notices. Hamas, an Islamist movement that has ruled Gaza for almost two decades, has been severely weakened by the war. The Israeli military says Hamas has been reduced to a guerrilla force. The Israeli military official who briefed reporters on Wednesday said Hamas had been trying to regroup and re-form in Gaza City in a more organised manner, but gave no evidence to support the assertion. Hamas has said it would release all remaining hostages in exchange for an end to war. Israel says it will not end the war before Hamas disarms. Opinion polls show strong Israeli public support for ending the war if it ensures the release of the hostages, and a rally in Tel Aviv urging the government to pursue such a deal drew a huge crowd on Saturday. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll of Americans showed a 58pc majority believe that every country in the United Nations should recognise Palestine as a nation.
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Hundreds attend solidarity gig in Dublin for Kneecap rapper
Hundreds of people have attended a music session in Dublin city in solidarity with Kneecap rapper Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh after he appeared in a London court on Wednesday. Kneecap flags and logos hung from the windows in Connolly Books, which dubs itself Ireland's oldest radical bookshop, in solidarity with Ó hAnnaidh, Kneecap, and the people of Palestine. Pro-Palestine supporters criticised the decision by British authorities to bring a charge against the performer instead of focusing on the Israeli government's actions against the Palestinian people. Ó hAnnaidh, 27, who performs under the stage name Mo Chara, is accused of displaying a flag in support of Hezbollah at a gig in November last year. Hundreds of Kneecap supporters greeted Ó hAnnaidh as he arrived at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Wednesday morning, alongside fellow Kneecap rappers Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh. During the hearing, his defence team argued the case should be thrown out, citing a technical error in the way the charge against him was brought. The case has been adjourned until 26 September, when the judge will rule on whether he has the jurisdiction to try the case. At the protest session at Connolly Books on Wednesday afternoon, several artists played Irish traditional music in solidarity with Kneecap. Dubliner Aoife Powell, 19, said she came out to protest because she is "angry" at the decision to charge an artist rather than focus on what is happening to the people of Gaza. "I'm here because it just worries me that the fact that governments are focused on artists expressing themselves rather than the actual problem, which is obviously the genocide in Gaza," she told the PA news agency. "It's a little bit disheartening to see there's so much pressure being put on these artists to stop saying what they truly think and to stop standing on the right side of history. "I feel like it's a distraction from what's actually happening. "When a government tries to silence people, they should learn that they can never silence people. I feel like the public would get more angry at that." Sean O'Grady is from Coleraine in Northern Ireland but has lived in Dublin for almost 70 years. "I'm delighted with them (Kneecap), that they've done what they're doing, and they're getting plenty of publicity. "The British government are crazy, I mean, what are they at? "They're supplying a lot of the bombs, and a lot of the arms and ammunition to Israel to do what they're doing. So, they should be ashamed of themselves instead of bringing in these people (to court) for stupid reasons. "It's getting good publicity over there for the cause of the Palestinians." Dubliner Dermot Nolan said he attended his first Palestine protest in 1967, and while he remembers horrific events such as the Vietnam War, the scale of death and injuries in Gaza is the worst he has ever lived through. "I'm here because it's important to for two reasons - first of all, to show our intolerance of the genocide and slaughter that's being carried out by the US, Nato and Israel. "The second reason is the question of civil rights. We're protesting about the indictment of a member of the Irish group Kneecap. "It is a sign of creeping authoritarianism which is happening in all the western countries and most clearly in Britain."
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
UN Security Council urged to renew Unifil's mandate in south Lebanon
Lebanon 's president Joseph Aoun has urged the 15-member United Nations Security Council to renew the mandate of the organisation's peacekeeping force, Unifil , which is deployed along that country's border with Israel . The council is set to vote by Monday, August 25th, as Unifil's mandate expires at the end of the month. Unifil is composed of 10,500 troops from 47 countries, including Ireland which has contributed 348 peacekeepers to today's force. Opposition to renewal has been expressed by Israel and the US. Washington could, however, agree to a final one-year renewal and use its veto as a permanent council member to enforce disbandment of the force in a year's time. READ MORE Anticipating the US stand, the French draft resolution proposes an extension until August 31st, 2026, while maintaining the council's 'intention to work on a withdrawal of Unifil with the aim of making the government of Lebanon the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon'. The text also calls for the government to take control of 'all Lebanese territory' and reach an agreement on a 'comprehensive political arrangement'. Last November's truce ended fighting between Israel and Hizbullah, which mounted strikes on Israel after it launched its war on Gaza following the October 7th, 2023, attack on southern Israel by Hamas. Since then, more than 4,000 Lebanese people, the majority Hizbullah fighters, and 46 Israeli civilians and 87 security forces personnel have been killed. Despite the call for total evacuation under the truce, Israel continues to occupy five 'strategic' sites in south Lebanon and to conduct near-daily air strikes across the country. Hizbullah has been compelled to withdraw from the border zone and is resisting pressure to disarm after the government decreed that the state's army must be the sole bearer of arms. Unifil was created in 1978 when Israel attacked Lebanon and occupied territory in the south to halt cross-border raids by Palestinian fighters. The initial force was made up of 4,000 troops and was increased as circumstances demanded. [ Ireland seeks to safeguard UN mission in Lebanon where 340 Irish troops serve Opens in new window ] Unifil survived unrest during Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war as well as constant challenges along the border with Israel. In 1982, the Israeli army bypassed Unifil positions when waging war on Lebanon and attacking Beirut. After partial withdrawal, it continued to occupy a wide belt of territory along the border. Unifil survived the 18-year campaign mounted by Hizbullah which in 2000 drove Israeli forces from Lebanon. The peacekeeping force has weathered subsequent violence while providing protection and humanitarian aid to civilians in the south. Since Unifil's foundation, Ireland has provided 30,000 troops and suffered 48 fatalities, the largest number of any contributor. The most recent fatality was Pte Sean Rooney, who was shot while travelling in a convoy which mistakenly drove through a southern Lebanese village that was not in Unifil' s area of operations.
