US says it will veto UN ceasefire resolution: Report
The US will veto a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the opening of crossings for aid, Axios reported on Wednesday, citing two Israeli officials.
The vote is scheduled for the coming hours.
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Gulf Today
an hour ago
- Gulf Today
Without meat, families in Gaza struggle to celebrate Islam's Eid Al Adha holiday
With the Gaza Strip devastated by war and siege, Palestinians struggled on Thursday to celebrate one of the most important Islamic holidays. To mark Eid Al Adha -- Arabic for the Festival of Sacrifice -- Muslims traditionally slaughter a sheep or cow and give away part of the meat to the poor as an act of charity. Then they have a big family meal with sweets. Children get gifts of new clothes. But no fresh meat has entered Gaza for three months. Israel has blocked shipments of food and other aid to pressure Palestinian group Hamas to release hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that started the war. And nearly all the territory's homegrown sheep, cattle and goats are dead after 20 months of Israeli bombardment and ground offensives. Some of the little livestock left was on sale at a makeshift pen set up in the vast tent camp of Muwasi in the southern part of Gaza's Mediterranean coast. Palestinians walk trough a market ahead of Eid Al Adha in Gaza on Thursday. AP But no one could afford to buy. A few people came to look at the sheep and goats, along with a cow and a camel. Some kids laughed watching the animals and called out the prayers connected to the holiday. "I can't even buy bread. No meat, no vegetables,' said Abdel Rahman Madi. "The prices are astronomical.' The Eid commemorates the test of faith of the Prophet Ibrahim -- Abraham in the Bible -- and his willingness to sacrifice his son as an act of submission to Almighty God (Allah). The day is usually one of joy for children -- and a day when businesses boom a bit as people buy up food and gifts. A boy crouches as Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday. Reuters But prices for everything have soared amid the blockade, which was only slightly eased two weeks ago. Meat and most fresh fruits and vegetables disappeared from the markets weeks ago. At a street market in the nearby city of Khan Younis, some stalls had stuffed sheep toys and other holiday knickknacks and old clothes. But most people left without buying any gifts after seeing the prices. "Before, there was an Eid atmosphere, the children were happy… Now with the blockade, there's no flour, no clothes, no joy,' said Hala Abu Nqeira, a woman looking through the market. "We just go to find flour for our children. We go out every day looking for flour at a reasonable price, but we find it at unbelievable prices.' Palestinian men and boys perform Eid Al Adha prayers in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Friday. Reuters Israel's campaign against the Palestinian group Hamas has almost entirely destroyed Gaza's ability to feed itself. The UN says 96% of the livestock and 99% of the poultry are dead. More than 95% of Gaza's prewar cropland is unusable, either too damaged or inaccessible inside Israeli military zones, according to a land survey published this week by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. Israel barred all food and other supplies from entering Gaza for more than two months. It eased the blockade two weeks ago to allow a trickle of aid trucks in for the UN to distribute. The trucks have brought in some food items, mainly flour. But the UN says it has struggled to delivery much of the incoming aid because of looting or Israeli military restrictions. Palestinians react as they visit the graves of their relatives at a cemetery on the first day of Eid Al Adha in Khan Younis on Friday. Reuters Almost the entire population of more than 2 million people have been driven from their homes, and most have had to move multiple times to escape Israeli offensives. Rasha Abu Souleyma said she recently slipped back to her home in Rafah -- from which her family had fled to take refuge in Khan Younis -- to find some possessions she'd left behind. She came back with some clothes, pink plastic sunglasses and bracelets that she gave to her two daughters as Eid gifts. "I can't buy them clothes or anything,' the 38-year-old said. "I used to bring meat in Eid so they would be happy, but now we can't bring meat, and I can't even feed the girls with bread.' Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. AP Near her, a group of children played on makeshift swings made of knotted and looped ropes. Karima Nejelli, a displaced woman from Rafah, pointed out that people in Gaza had now marked both Eid Al Adha and the other main Islamic holiday, Eid Al Fitr, two times each under the war. "During these four Eids, we as Palestinians did not see any kind of joy, no sacrifice, no cookies, no buying Eid clothes or anything.' Agence France-Presse
Gulf Today
an hour ago
- Gulf Today
US slaps sanctions on four ICC judges over Israel, US cases
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court including over an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as it ramped up pressure to neuter the court of last resort. The four judges in The Hague, all women, will be barred entry to the United States and any property or other interests in the world's largest economy will be blocked -- measures more often taken against policymakers from US adversaries than against judicial officials. "The United States will take whatever actions we deem necessary to protect our sovereignty, that of Israel, and any other US ally from illegitimate actions by the ICC," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. "I call on the countries that still support the ICC, many of whose freedom was purchased at the price of great American sacrifices, to fight this disgraceful attack on our nation and Israel," Rubio said. The court swiftly hit back, saying in a statement: "These measures are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all corners of the globe." Marco Rubio Israel's Netanyahu welcomed the move, thanking US President Donald Trump's administration in a social media post. "Thank you President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio for imposing sanctions against the politicised judges of the ICC. You have justly stood up for the right of Israel," he wrote on Friday. War crimes Human Rights Watch urged other nations to speak out and reaffirm the independence of the ICC, set up in 2002 to prosecute individuals responsible for the world's gravest crimes when countries are unwilling or unable to do so themselves. The sanctions "aim to deter the ICC from seeking accountability amid grave crimes committed in Israel and Palestine and as Israeli atrocities mount in Gaza, including with US complicity," said the rights group's international justice director, Liz Evenson. Two of the targeted judges, Beti Hohler of Slovenia and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin, took part in proceedings that led to an arrest warrant issued last November for Netanyahu. The court found "reasonable grounds" of criminal responsibility by Netanyahu and former Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant for actions that include the war crime of starvation as a method of war in the massive offensive in Gaza following Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Israel, alleging bias, has angrily rejected charges of war crimes as well as a separate allegation of genocide led by South Africa before the International Court of Justice. The two other judges, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru and Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, were part of the court proceedings that led to the authorization of an investigation into allegations that US forces committed war crimes during the war in Afghanistan. Return to hard line Neither the United States nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court. But almost all Western allies of the United States as well as Japan and South Korea, the vast majority of Latin America and much of Africa are parties to the statute and in theory are required to arrest suspects when they land on their soil. Trump in his first term already imposed sanctions on the then ICC chief prosecutor over the Afghanistan investigation. After Trump's defeat in 2020, then president Joe Biden took a more conciliatory approach to the court with case-by-case cooperation. Rubio's predecessor Antony Blinken rescinded the sanctions and, while critical of its stance on Israel, worked with the court in its investigation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. ICC judges in 2023 issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the alleged mass abduction of Ukrainian children during the war. Both Putin and Netanyahu have voiced defiance over the ICC pressure but have also looked to minimize time in countries that are party to the court. The ICC arrest warrants have been especially sensitive in Britain, a close US ally whose Prime Minister Keir Starmer is a former human rights lawyer. Downing Street has said that Britain will fulfil its "legal obligations" without explicitly saying if Netanyahu would be arrested if he visits. Hungary, led by Trump ally Viktor Orban, has parted ways with the rest of the European Union by moving to exit the international court. Orban thumbed his nose at the court by welcoming Netanyahu to visit in April. Agence France-Presse
Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Thousands attend Eid prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque amid tight Israeli restrictions
Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered at Al-Aqsa Mosque early Friday to mark Eid al-Adha, despite heavy Israeli security presence at the compound's gates and across occupied East Jerusalem. 🔴 عشرات الآلاف من المصلين يؤدون صلاة العيد في المسجد الأقصى المبارك — ساحات - عاجل 🇵🇸 (@Sa7atPlBreaking) June 6, 2025
