Renewed pressure on Netanyahu as families of hostages call on Israelis to ‘shut the country down'

Irish Independent

3 days ago

Health officials said 11 Palestinians seeking aid were shot dead, and 11 adults died of malnutrition-related causes in the past 24 hours as the new criticism of Israel came with pleas to allow far more food and other supplies to reach people in the besieged enclave.
US special envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to meet with Qatar's prime minister in Spain to discuss a new ­proposal to end the war.
Mediators Egypt and Qatar are preparing a new ceasefire framework that would include the release of all hostages — dead and alive — in one go in return for the war's end and the withdrawal of Israeli forces, two Arab officials said.
Families of hostages were rallying again to pressure the government of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid new fears over the 50 remaining hostages, with 20 of them thought to be alive and struggling.
'The living will be murdered and the fallen will be lost forever' if the offensive goes ahead, said Einav Zangauker, whose son Matan is held in Gaza. She called on Israelis including the powerful Histadrut labour union to 'help us save the hostages, the soldiers and the state of Israel' and appeared to call for a general strike: 'Shut the country down.'
A joint statement by nine countries including Germany, Britain, France and Canada said that they 'strongly reject' Israel's decision for the large-scale military operation, saying it will worsen the 'catastrophic humanitarian situation', endanger hostages and further risk mass displacement. They said any attempts at annexation or settlement in Gaza violate international law.
A separate statement by more than 20 countries, including ceasefire mediators Egypt and Qatar along with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, called Israel's decision a 'dangerous and unacceptable escalation'. Russia said Israel's plan will aggravate the 'already extremely dramatic situation' in Gaza.
The UN Security Council is planning an emergency meeting for today. ­Germany said it won't authorise any exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza until further notice.
Officials at Nasser and Awda hospitals said Israeli forces killed at least 11 people seeking aid in southern and central Gaza. Some had been waiting for aid trucks, while others had been approaching aid distribution points.
Israel's military denied opening fire and said it was unaware of the incidents. The military secures routes leading to distribution sites run by the Israeli-backed and US-supported Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Two witnesses said Israeli troops fired towards crowds approaching a GHF ­distribution site on foot in the Netzarim Corridor, a military zone that bisects Gaza. One witness, Ramadan Gaber, said snipers and tanks fired on aid-seekers, forcing them to retreat.
In Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, some aid-seekers cheered the latest airdrops of aid. Hundreds of people rushed to grab what they could, though many have called the process degrading. Aid organisations have called airdrops expensive, insufficient and potentially dangerous for people on the ground.
Israel's military said at least 106 packages of aid were airdropped yesterday as Italy and Greece joined the multi-country effort for the first time.
Footage from Italy's defence ministry showed not only packages being parachuted over Gaza but the dry and devastated landscape below.
Barefoot children collected rice, pasta and lentils that had spilled from packages on to the ground.
'This way is not for humans, it is for animals,' said one man at the scene, Mahmoud Hawila, who said he was stabbed while trying to secure an airdropped package.
Israel alleges, without giving evidence, that Hamas systematically diverts aid from the existing UN-led system, which denies it. That system has called for more of the trucks waiting outside Gaza to be allowed not just into the territory, but safely to destinations inside it for distribution.
With temperatures reaching above 32C in Gaza, families fanned themselves with pieces of cardboard or metal trays and slept on the ground outside their tents, while some women collected ­water well before dawn.
'My children cry day and night. My son scratches his body because of the heat,' said Nida Abu Hamad, whose displaced family shelters in Gaza City.
Israel is 'forcing Palestinians into a state of near-starvation to the point that they abandon their land voluntarily', Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan told a news conference in Egypt.
Meanwhile, British police made 200 arrests of people supporting banned group Palestine Action and four for ­assaulting officers as protesters gathered in central London.
Hundreds attended a demonstration in Parliament Square, organised by ­Defend Our Juries. The Metropolitan Police said it would arrest anyone expressing support for Palestine Action.
In a statement, Scotland Yard said 200 arrests were made for showing support for a proscribed organisation by 3.40pm 'with more to follow'. There were a further four arrests for assaults on officers.
The crowd, sat on the grass inside ­Parliament Square, could be seen writing 'I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action' on white placards at 1pm, with the vast majority remaining silent.
Several demonstrators carrying placards that read 'Palestine Action terrorises Britain while Hamas hides in hospitals, schools and mosques', briefly walked along the crowd before being led away by police officers.
Other clusters of protesters who were not holding placards gathered around the Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela statues in the square singing pro-Palestinian chants.
Officers held individual demonstrators on the edge of the grass before escorting them through swelling crowds to police vans parked on the edge of the square.
They later began arresting protesters sat in the middle of Parliament Square.
Onlookers applauded the protesters and shouted 'shame on you' at the police making arrests.