Israel expels residents of three West Bank refugee camps
"So far, 40,000 Palestinians have evacuated from the refugee camps of Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nur Shams, which are now empty of residents," Israel Katz said in a statement."I have instructed [troops] to prepare for a prolonged presence in the cleared camps for the coming year and to prevent the return of residents and the resurgence of terrorism."He also said that Israel had instructed the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) to stop operating in the area.Nabil Abu Rudeineh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, described the decision to deploy tanks as a "dangerous Israeli escalation that will not lead to stability or calm".The IDF said in a statement that its forces are "continuing the operation to thwart terrorism" and are expanding their "offensive activity" - which so far has involved drones, tanks, special forces, border police, and operatives from the intelligence agency Shin Bet. The UN said on Thursday that since Israeli operations began on 21 January, 51 Palestinians, including seven children, have been killed in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas governorates, as well as three Israeli soldiers.The offensive has caused severe damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, disrupting access to water to "tens of thousands of people", it said.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Tulkarm refugee camp on Friday and ordered the army to intensify "operational activity", his office said."We are entering terrorist strongholds, flattening entire streets that terrorists use, and their homes. We are eliminating terrorists, commanders," Netanyahu said. His visit followed the explosion of three buses in Tel Aviv, which Israeli officials described as a "suspected terror attack" that was caused by bombs of the kind previously found in the West Bank.Israel occupied the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War and has since built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
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The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Indonesia working on details of plan to treat 2,000 people from Gaza amid concerns about right to return
The Indonesian government is working on plans to treat 2,000 people from war-ravaged Gaza, holding a series of inter-ministerial discussions to discuss logistics, legality and foreign policy implications relating to the highly sensitive proposal, according to a senior government official. Indonesia announced earlier this month that it would provide temporary medical assistance to 2,000 Palestinians from Gaza, with the uninhabited island of Galang identified as one possible site. Located just south of Singapore, the island was once home to a former camp for Vietnamese refugees and most recently the site of a pandemic hospital. In Muslim-majority Indonesia, a nation that has no diplomatic relations with Israel, and has long been a staunch supporter of Palestinian statehood, government officials have been reluctant to provide any details, saying it is just one option being considered. But reflecting a level of seriousness about the proposal, various ministries, including the coordinating security ministry and the ministries of health and foreign affairs have met to discuss how it would be implemented, said Dave Lakono, deputy chair of the parliament's commission I, which oversees defence and foreign affairs. 'These discussions have focused on logistical feasibility, medical readiness, and legal frameworks,' Laksono told the Guardian, 'Commission I has also been briefed on the strategic implications, particularly regarding Indonesia's foreign policy posture and regional stability.' Plans at this stage remain 'exploratory', he said, with Galang island identified as one site due its historical use for humanitarian purposes and existing infrastructure. Other sites, including facilities in West Java and Central Java that have proximity to major hospitals and logistical hubs are also being considered, he said. The Indonesian government appears to be considering several possibilities, with the use of large military hospitals in Jakarta, and also a site in Jordan, a country with which Indonesia's president Prabowo Subinatio has particularly strong relations, also raised during ministerial discussions, according to one senior official with direct knowledge of the talks. Officials acknowledge the plan will be politically delicate, with some national Islamic leaders accusing the government of being 'deceived' by Israel, and questioning what guarantees would be in place to ensure their return. 'One of the issues is how to make sure the right to return of the Palestinians can be respected because we know that many are worried that this kind of policy can be interpreted in other ways,' said Abdul Kadir Jailani, the director general for Asian, Pacific and African affairs at Indonesia's ministry of foreign affairs, stressing that no final decision had been made on Galang. 'So we have to make sure it will be consistent with the principle of international humanitarian law, and in particular how to respect the right to return of the Palestinians.' 'One of the most important things is that we are not going to do that without approval and support from relevant stakeholders, in particular Palestinian authorities and countries in the region,' he added, 'The implementation of this plan has a high level of complexity, particularly in terms of its political and technical aspects.' Indonesia was able to conduct its second humanitarian airdrop on Gaza in two days this week, a move Jailani said was facilitated with support and coordination from neighbouring Jordan. Axios reported this July that Israel's spy agency The Mossad had visited Washington to seek US support in convincing countries to take hundreds of thousand of Palestinians from Gaza, with Indonesia among several countries reportedly receptive to the idea. Any permanent relocation would be hugely controversial in Indonesia, but so far, criticism of the Gaza plan has been relatively muted in the south-east Asian country. 'At the moment there are so many issues in the headlines so the Gaza issue to be honest is not that widely reported in the media,' said political analyst Kennedy Muslim. 'It's not a major issue in Indonesia at the moment.' Parliament member Laksono stressed that any measures to accept Palestinians from Gaza would be temporary, with coordination with agencies such as Unrwa and ICRC to establish clear documentation, medical records, and repatriation protocols. 'Our objective is to provide care, not resettlement, and to support their eventual return once conditions in Gaza allow,' he said. 'This is a delicate undertaking, and we are fully aware of the geopolitical sensitivities involved.'
Sky News
5 hours ago
- Sky News
Israel to continue with Gaza City offensive despite talks to free Hamas hostages
Israel will resume negotiations with Hamas for the release of all hostages captured during the October 7 attack, Benjamin Netanyahu has said - but its military will continue its Gaza City offensive despite international outcry. The remarks from Israel's prime minister are the first since Hamas agreed to a temporary ceasefire proposal. Talks will also be with a view to ending the war, but Mr Netanyahu said it must be on "terms acceptable to Israel". In the meantime, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have begun calling medics and international organisations in northern Gaza to encourage them to evacuate to the south ahead of the expanded operation in Gaza City. Many of Israel's closest allies have urged the government to reconsider. Some Israelis fear it could doom the remaining 20 or so living hostages taken by Hamas-led militants in the 7 October 2023 attack which ignited the war. Israel plans to call up 60,000 reservists and extend the service of 20,000 more. Speaking to soldiers near Israel's border with Gaza, Mr Netanyahu said he was still set on approving plans for defeating Hamas and capturing Gaza City. "At the same time I have issued instructions to begin immediate negotiations for the release of all our hostages and an end to the war on terms acceptable to Israel," he said. "These two things - defeating Hamas and releasing all our hostages - go hand in hand," he added. The latest ceasefire proposal drawn up by Egypt and Qatar is almost identical to an earlier one that Israel accepted before the talks stalled last month. The proposal would include the release of some hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, a pullback of Israeli forces and negotiations over a lasting ceasefire. 'Don't tell us where to build' Israeli strikes killed at least 36 Palestinians across Gaza on Thursday, according to local hospitals, including at a tent camp in Deir al-Balah. Meanwhile, Israel's ambassador to the UK, Tzipi Hotovely, was summoned to the Foreign Office in response to a controversial West Bank settlement plan which has been given final approval. The project, known as the E1 settlement, would effectively cut off the occupied West Bank from East Jerusalem and divide the territory in two. The UK and 21 international partners have released a statement to condemn the decision "in the strongest terms" calling it "a flagrant breach of international law" and "critically undermining a two-state solution". Ms Hotovely gave Sky News her response to the meeting: "I said we wouldn't tell the British where to build in London. Don't tell us where to build in Jerusalem, our capital. We see E1 as part of Greater Jerusalem." 11:50 UK warns of 'horrifying starvation' The UK has also responded to comments from the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA that famine in Gaza is "deliberate" and being used as an "instrument of war". Minister for the Middle East, Hamish Falconer, has called for a "comprehensive [peace] plan to end this misery and get to a long-term settlement". "Israel must immediately and permanently lift all barriers preventing aid reaching the people of Gaza to prevent the horrifying starvation in the Strip continuing," he added. Demand for Gaza media access The Media Freedom Coalition, which includes the UK and 50 other countries, has called on Israel to allow foreign media access into Gaza. In a joint statement, the coalition, which is a partnership of countries working to defend media freedom, urged Israel to "allow immediate independent foreign media access" and "afford protection for journalists operating in Gaza". They said this was in light of the "unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza".
Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Telegraph
Famine officially declared in Gaza for first time by UN-backed group
Famine will be declared in Gaza City for the first time by the international body responsible for monitoring world hunger, The Telegraph can reveal. The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) – a globally recognised system for classifying the severity of food insecurity and malnutrition – has been used to declare just four famines since it was established in 2004, most recently in Sudan last year. Although the IPC has previously warned famine is imminent in parts of Gaza, it has until now stopped short of making a formal declaration, citing a lack of hard data. However, on Friday morning, it will formally declare a famine in Gaza City, the last remaining major built-up area of Gaza and home to some 500,000 people. The declaration will outrage the Israeli government, which has consistently denied that famine is taking place in Gaza and is currently moving on Gaza City. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, said on Thursday he would give final approval for the takeover of the city, one of Hamas's last strongholds. In order to declare a famine, three strict criteria must be met: at least 20 per cent of households face an extreme lack of food, at least 30 per cent of children suffer acute malnutrition, and two people for every 10,000 die each day due to 'outright starvation'. The IPC will state that a famine is taking place in the 'Gaza Governorate', which comprises Gaza City, three surrounding towns, and several refugee camps, according to a briefing shared with its partner organisations and seen by The Telegraph. 'After 22 months of relentless conflict, over half a million people in the Gaza Strip are facing catastrophic conditions, characterised by starvation, destitution and death,' says the IPC briefing. It adds that the famine is projected to expand to the governorates of Deir Al-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September on current projections. Another 1.07 million people – over half of Gaza's population – are already facing 'emergency' levels of food insecurity, the second-highest level on the scale, the briefing adds. The Telegraph has contacted the Israeli government for comment. Mr Netanyahu has faced international backlash over the situation in Gaza, with Israel earlier this month announcing measures to let more aid into Gaza. He insisted 'hundreds of trucks' had been allowed in and said that if Israel was implementing a 'starvation policy', then 'no one in Gaza would have survived after two years of war'. He pointed to disturbing images of Evyatar David, a 24-year-old Israeli hostage who looked severely malnourished in a video released by Hamas. He said: 'The only ones who are being deliberately starved in Gaza are our hostages.' The Israeli prime minister vowed on Thursday to take over all of Gaza City militarily. The wide-scale operation in the city could start within days, with preliminary operations already under way in the area. Earlier this week it was announced that call-up orders were being issued to 60,000 reservists of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) ahead of the full-scale assault on the city. Israeli troops are now said to have established a foothold on the outskirts of the city after days of intensive bombing, and Palestinians are fleeing the area in large numbers. The IPC – whose 21 partner organisations include Save the Children, Oxfam and Unicef – is forecasting that food security in Gaza will continue to deteriorate between the middle of August and end of September. 'During this period, almost a third of the population – nearly 641,000 people – are expected to face catastrophic conditions, while the number of people in emergency will likely increase to 1.14 million,' it says. This marks 'the first time a famine has been officially confirmed in the Middle East region', the briefing says, although the region has suffered hunger crises historically. It is only the fifth time a famine has been formally declared by the IPC, with the previous four all in sub-Saharan Africa. Israel has been under intense pressure to allow more food into Gaza, facing international criticism over its aid blockade, which has ebbed and flowed since the Hamas attacks on Oct 7 in which nearly 1,195 were murdered and 251 were taken hostage. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said on Thursday that 271 people had so far died from starvation in Gaza, 112 of them children. More than half of that figure has been in the last three weeks alone. In total, the Palestinian death toll from 22 months of war stands at 62,192, according to figures from Gaza's health ministry. Mr Netanyahu last month defended Israel's handling of the humanitarian disaster in the enclave, claiming 'there is no starvation in Gaza'. 'We enable humanitarian aid throughout the duration of the war to enter Gaza – otherwise, there would be no Gazans,' Mr Netanyahu said. The famine declaration comes as David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, signed a statement accusing the Israeli government of a violation of international law over its plans to press ahead with an illegal settlement that would divide the occupied West Bank Britain and Israel have been at loggerheads ever since Sir Keir Starmer announced the UK would recognise a Palestinian state in September. Israel's military on Thursday said it had warned medical officials and international organisations to prepare for the planned evacuation of Gaza City's residents ahead of its ground offensive to occupy it. The officials were told that 'adjustments' were being made to hospitals in southern Gaza to receive patients, a statement said.
