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The Journal
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Legality vs Reality: Could Western leaders face consequences for complicity in genocide?
LAST WEEK THE Irish government was accused of being 'complicit in Israel's genocide' in a High Court case taken by The Ditch, Uplift and surgeon Ahmed El Mokhallalati. The case argues that Ireland is violating international law by not inspecting flights reportedly carrying arms to Israel that have passed through Irish airspace during its war on the Gaza Strip in Palestine. The case was the latest example of a state being accused of complicity in the gravest of crimes because of its alleged facilitation of Israel's campaign, which has killed more than 60,000 people since October 2023. The European Union's former chief diplomat Josep Borrell issued a stark warning to the European Commission and member state leaders recently about the consequences of supporting Israel. 'Those who do not act to stop this genocide and these violations of international law, even though they have the power to do so, are complicit in them,' Borrell wrote in an article in The Guardian newspaper . European foreign ministers failed to agree to any sanctions against Israel last month , even though it had been found to have breached the human rights clauses of an association agreement with the bloc. There has been some movement from individual member states allied to Israel this week, though. In response to Israel's plan to take over Gaza City, Germany, one of Israel's largest weapons suppliers, suspended the sale of arms that could be used in Gaza until further notice. And last month the UK House of Commons was the scene of a striking exchange between Conservative MP Kit Malthouse and Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Malthouse asked if Lammy could not see the potential 'that he may end up at The Hague because of his inaction,' in relation to halting the supply of arms to Israel. Lammy dismissed the question as 'unbecoming'. Against the backdrop of global outrage at Israel's conduct in Gaza, its allies in Europe and North America have remained largely steadfast in their support for almost two years, both materially and diplomatically. Complicity is a crime punishable under Article III (e) of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide , most often referred to as the Genocide Convention. So what risks do supportive states and government officials face if Israel is found guilty of genocide in the case taken against it by South Africa at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and what form could the consequences take, if any? The words Lammy to The Hague projected onto the UK House of Parliament by Palestinian Youth Movement on 3 August, 2025. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo According to international law experts who spoke to The Journal, powerful Western countries and their leaders could, at least in theory, find themselves facing charges in The Hague. 'If Israel is found to have violated the Genocide Convention by a competent court, it is possible that third states might themselves face liability or be deemed responsible under international law for related violations,' said Michael Becker, assistant professor of international humanitarian law at Trinity College Dublin. But for John Reynolds, associate professor of law at Maynooth University, the inherent flaws and historical power imbalances in the international legal system mean states and their leaders are unlikely to face real consequences. Advertisement 'Hopefully it's not going to deteriorate further. But if it does, I suppose we're into new territory, and if circumstances evolve in a certain way, for sure it's legally possible,' Reynolds said. But whether it is politically possible is another matter. A mounting case The conclusion that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza has been reached by some of the world's most eminent scholars who study the crime of crimes. An essay published in the New York Times on 15 July by Israeli genocide and Holocaust scholar Omer Bartov was a recent, high-profile example. 'I'm a genocide scholar. I know it when I see it,' the headline read . Since then, Israeli human rights NGO B'Tselem has come to the same conclusion. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch had already reached the same verdict within months of Israel's retaliation for the Hamas-led attack against it, in which almost 1,200 people were killed and roughly 250 were taken hostage. Uplift's Brian Cuthbert and Saoirse McHugh and The Ditch's Roman Shortall, Paulie Doyle and Eoghan McNeill outside the Four Courts in Dublin. Uplift Uplift On top of the South African case at the ICJ, in which Ireland has formally intervened, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued warrants for the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant. It also issued warrants for Hamas leaders for their alleged crimes during the attack against Israel, all three of whom are now dead. In a less publicised ICJ case, Nicaragua has accused Germany of complicity in genocide through its material support for Israel. Israeli leaders and their supporters have rejected all of these accusations and described them as antisemitic, and even 'Holocaust inversion'. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo What does the law say? As Becker outlined, if the ICJ determines that Israel has committed violations of the Genocide Convention, a possible outcome of South Africa's case, 'it would then be possible to find that another state that has provided arms to Israel (if such arms were used to commit or facilitate genocidal acts) has violated international law'. 'As a legal matter, there is some debate about whether complicity requires weapons to have been provided with both the knowledge that they will be used to commit genocide and the intent that they be used for that purpose,' Becker said. 'The better view, however, is that full knowledge that the weapons will be used to perpetrate genocide is sufficient.' A different legal argument, he said, could focus on the obligation of states to prevent genocide, which is the duty of all signatories to the Convention. 'The question will be at what point did the state know, or at what point should the state have known, that weapons or bombs would likely be used in ways that violate international humanitarian law,' Becker said. He also noted that this is not to say that suspending arms supplies prior to a finding of genocide, or other violations of international law, would absolve a state of complicity. Related Reads Germany to halt some arms exports to Israel as international condemnation of Gaza plan mounts 'No more futile war': Hostage families fear the worst as Israel expands Gaza occupation ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who is currently on leave pending the result of a sexual misconduct investigation. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The ICJ deals with disputes between states, while the ICC is responsible for prosecuting individuals. So, when Malthouse referred to the 'personal' risk to Foreign Secretary Lammy, he was referring to the potential for prosecution in the ICC. Reynolds said that it is 'theoretically' possible that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and David Lammy could be prosecuted in the ICC. 'It's also possible for Joe Biden or Donald Trump or others in other countries as well. But it's practically very unlikely, because the way these ICC prosecutions go is by trying to target the most senior people involved at the most direct level of the commissions of the crimes. 'So in the case of Gaza, that would be the most senior people in the Israeli government and Israeli military.' Legality vs reality International law may sit atop the global legal order in theory but political realities have historically imposed informal limits on its efficacy. See the long list of African generals and warlords indicted by the ICC, and the absence of – for example – US and UK leaders who presided over a war of aggression in Iraq. The ICC will have to calculate the risks and rewards associated with taking on some of the most powerful world leaders, Reynolds explained. He said it would have to weigh the likelihood of success against the length and cost of such proceedings, as well as the potential impact of any rulings that might be handed down. Children crowd to receive a hot meal at a food distribution point in Gaza City in July 2025. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Because there is no police force available to courts like the ICJ and ICC, they rely on states to implement their decisions, and their rulings are more likely to be cited in cases brought against governments and state officials in domestic courts, which do have enforcement powers. Still, Reynolds did note that few international legal scholars, lawyers and other experts would have predicted that an Israeli prime minister would be the subject of an ICC arrest warrant. At the same time though, the court has already faced consequences for its decision. The US – which does not recognise the ICC – has sanctioned its lead prosecutor and a number of judges on the court, while some states in Europe ( Hungary and Germany ) have simply ignored the court's authority despite being signatories to it. The issue of state complicity, Becker said, 'is distinct from questions relating to the potential criminal prosecution of state officials in those states that have provided support to Israel'. 'In principle, the ICC could seek to do so if certain additional conditions were met. In reality, however, it is extremely unlikely that the ICC would choose to allocate its resources to such a prosecution. 'In democratic states, the better remedy may be the ballot box.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Trump says he will meet with Putin ‘very shortly' to discuss the war in Ukraine
US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump said he will meet 'very shortly' with Russian president Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Ukraine, and said that he will announce the location soon. 'We're going to be announcing later, and we're going to have a meeting with Russia,' Trump told reporters at the White House. Those comments came as Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield expressed little hope for a diplomatic solution to the war and Trump's deadline arrived on Friday for the Kremlin to make peace. Exasperated that Putin did not heed his calls to stop bombing Ukrainian cities, Trump almost two weeks ago moved up his ultimatum to impose additional sanctions on Russia and introduce secondary tariffs targeting countries that buy Russian oil if the Kremlin did not move toward a settlement. Trump's efforts to pressure Putin into stopping the fighting have so far delivered no progress. Russia's bigger army is slowly advancing deeper into Ukraine at great cost in troops and armour while it relentlessly bombards Ukrainian cities. Russia and Ukraine are far apart on their terms for peace. Ukrainian forces are locked in intense battles along the 620-mile front line that snakes from north-east to south-east Ukraine. The Pokrovsk area of the eastern Donetsk region is taking the brunt of punishment as Russia seeks to break out into the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region. A building damaged after a Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Ukraine has significant manpower shortages. Intense fighting is also taking place in Ukraine's northern Sumy border region, where Ukrainian forces are engaging Russian soldiers to prevent reinforcements being sent from there to Donetsk. Advertisement In the Pokrovsk area of Donetsk, a commander said he believes Moscow is not interested in peace. 'It is impossible to negotiate with them. The only option is to defeat them,' Buda, a commander of a drone unit in the Spartan Brigade, told The Associated Press. He used only his call sign, in keeping with the rules of the Ukrainian military. 'I would like them to agree and for all this to stop, but Russia will not agree to that. It does not want to negotiate. So the only option is to defeat them,' he said. A Ukrainian National Guard serviceman training not far from the frontline on Pokrovsk direction, Ukraine. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo In the southern Zaporizhzhia region, a howitzer commander using the call sign Warsaw, said troops are determined to thwart Russia's invasion. 'We are on our land, we have no way out,' he said. 'So we stand our ground, we have no choice.' The Kremlin said that Putin had a phone call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during which the Russian leader informed Xi about the results of his meeting earlier this week with Trump envoy Steve Witkoff. Kremlin officials said Xi 'expressed support for the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on a long-term basis.' Putin is due to visit China next month. China, along with North Korea and Iran, have provided military support for Russia's war effort, the US says. Indian prime minister Narendra Modi said on X that he also had a call with Putin to speak about the latest Ukraine developments. Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to place an additional 25% tariff on India for its purchases of Russian oil, which the American president says is helping to finance Russia's war. Putin's calls followed his phone conversations with the leaders of South Africa, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Belarus, the Kremlin said.
The Journal
27-07-2025
- Health
- The Journal
Sitdown Sunday: Unexplained deaths and child exorcisms - inside the cult of the Jesus Army
IT'S A DAY of rest, and you may be in the mood for a quiet corner and a comfy chair. We've hand-picked some of the week's best reads for you to savour. 1. The Jesus Army Bugbrooke Chapel in Northampton. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Philippa was only six when her parents joined the Christian cult in Northampton. She later helped to expose what went on there, including unexplained deaths, sexual abuse and exorcisms performed on children. ( The Guardian , approx 35 mins reading time) Of all the strangeness in their new life, Philippa found the fellowship's approach to family hardest. Under Stanton's rules, communal living meant renouncing your 'natural family' in favour of the fellowship's 'spiritual family'. Women were called 'sisters', men were 'brothers' and leaders were 'elders'. Philippa's parents, instead of just being responsible for their family unit, were given other duties: helping to cook and clean for the other Shalom residents, or finding new recruits. When Philippa turned 12, she was moved from the room she shared with her younger brother into a dormitory with women of all ages. Explaining this approach, Stanton would point to a passage from Matthew 10, in which Jesus said: 'I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother … A man's enemies will be members of his own household.' In the absence of the 'natural family', any adult could be responsible for disciplining children. Many did so through 'rodding' – hitting children as young as two with sticks. 'He who spares the rod hates his son,' Stanton would say, quoting from Proverbs. 2. Second life A fascinating article about how some people showing signs of schizophrenia can actually have treatable autoimmune conditions. Rachel Aviv reports compassionately on what happened after a woman with a 20-year psychiatric history was suddenly 'cured'. ( The New Yorker , approx 35 mins reading time) After reading Christine's description of her mother's case, Steven Kushner, a co-director of the S.N.F. Center, arranged a meeting with her and Mary and Angie. Mary was living at a rehabilitation center in the Bronx while she regained her muscle strength. She was reluctant to meet another psychiatrist, she told me, but she felt she needed to 'rise up to the level of my daughters' studiousness.' In October, 2024, Kushner and three colleagues came to the rehabilitation center and spoke with Mary for three hours. 'Her psychosis was gone,' Kushner said. 'There was no other conclusion. There was no way that she could have the quality of the conversation that we had and willfully suppress psychotic symptoms.' In the conversation, Mary recounted intimate details about her daughters' pasts—what they would eat for breakfast, their arguments at recess—but she made no reference to the delusional beliefs that had dominated their lives. When Angie told the doctors that her mother had sometimes prevented her from going outside, even to do homework with classmates, Mary offered a practical explanation: there was crime in the Bronx, and she worried about Angie's safety. To explain why she put a sock over the showerhead in her bathroom, she said that she'd hoped to filter sediment from the water. She seemed to have filled in gaps in her memory in a way that was consistent with her current identity, as a sane person. Advertisement 3. Empty promises? A 'Farmers for Trump' banner on a livestock trailer in Illinois days before the 2024 US presidential election. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The Trump administration froze millions of dollars in grants already promised to farmers across 40 US states to hire migrant workers to do jobs that Americans wouldn't. Now those who voted for the US President say they're struggling. ( Washington Post , approx 30 mins reading time) The stakes were still on JJ's mind that afternoon when a neighbor stopped by his shop and, as it often did, the conversation turned to Trump's overhaul of the federal government. 'There'll be some growing pains,' said Eric Smith, who had grown up in Yuma County, joined the Navy and returned to Kirk to raise his two daughters and work the family land. 'There'll be some caught in the fray that, you know, maybe shouldn't have been caught.' JJ handed cans of Michelob Ultra to Eric and Riggin, who was patching a tire. JJ had voted for Trump in part because of the president's promises to cut spending, but he'd never imagined the cuts would target a core Trump constituency. It made no sense to JJ, who said he didn't know what DEI stood for, much less what it had come to represent. He didn't hire Otto to promote an agenda, and he didn't think the government owed him a handout. The Agriculture Department had sought out JJ and the other farmers promoting an opportunity intended to lift the whole country. 'I'd like to think a year from now, what's being done now, we see the benefits from it,' JJ said of what Trump was doing and how he fit into it. 'I would hope.' 4. Reddit The website that feels like the old internet we knew and loved- where human beings interacted with each other positively, exchanging ideas and learning new things – has suddenly become a lot more popular. But can it survive AI? ( Intelligencer , approx 22 mins reading time) For years, Reddit, which is made up of thousands of sub-Reddits moderated by volunteers, offered a centralized and streamlined alternative to the web's thousands of small and scattered forums, message boards, and independent communities. At the same time, in contrast with the much larger social-media platforms that rose around it, it looked niche. 'The word social media didn't exist' when the site was launched, Huffman says. Since then, in his telling, the company has steered away from influencer culture and growth-at-all-costs social-media scaling — 'we don't want people to be famous because of Reddit,' he says — and toward realizing 'the vision of the old web.' Another way to tell the story is that the platform largely just stayed put. In any case, as the mega-platforms merge into TikTok-clone sameness, Reddit's steady focus on giving online randos a place to pseudonymously post with one another is paying off. In Huffman's view, Reddit's growth is simply its reward for stubbornly — maybe accidentally — 'fulfilling the promise of the internet.' 5. Don't look up Artwork of an asteroid heading towards Earth. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo The alert system for defending Earth against incoming asteroids was activated for the first time in January. We know now that the asteroid in question isn't going to hit us – but what happens when we know that one will? Tomas Weber went to Nasa to find out. ( Financial Times , approx 24 mins reading time) Some planetary-defence officials and astronomers, instilled with strains of space-age idealism, hope the news of an Earth-threatening inbound asteroid or comet might spur humanity to unite to protect ourselves. But when it comes to asteroids roughly the size of 2024 YR4, too small to threaten humanity as a whole but powerful enough to incinerate a city, the truth may be somewhat bleaker. The nature of the response is more likely to depend on where, exactly, the asteroid is set to fall — whether it's headed, say, for the Panama Canal, as in the case of 2024 YR's projected impact corridor, or for a medium-sized town in, say, Venezuela. The US, as the only nation with the demonstrated capacity to nudge near-Earth objects off a collision course, is the de facto world leader in planetary defence. It has a planetary defence action plan and employs a full-time planetary defence officer. But it is not clear whether the country would be a reliable protector of the Earth. Related Reads Sitdown Sunday: 'The water had lifted the house off its pillars. It was afloat. And then it wasn't.' Sitdown Sunday: She turned her life story into a bestselling memoir - but was it all a lie? Sitdown Sunday: Virginia Giuffre's family share what happened in her final days 6. Living with PCOS The WHO estimates that between 6% and 13% of women have polycystic-ovary syndrome – or PCOS. Here, some of those with the hormonal disorder – as well as a panel of doctors – discuss their symptoms, their struggles and why it takes so long to get a diagnosis. ( The Cut , approx 13 mins reading time) The syndrome is a leading cause of infertility and is associated with the development of metabolic issues like type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease as well as a heightened risk of endometrial cancer. Recent studies have even linked PCOS to cognitive decline later in life, and diagnostic rates are on the rise among younger women. While most experts think this is because there's simply more awareness around the syndrome, researchers also believe genetics and exposure to environmental pollutants — including microplastics, chemicals in pharmaceutical and personal-care products, and endocrine disruptors like pesticides — may contribute to the development of the condition. And yet, despite its pervasiveness, PCOS is still widely misunderstood, underresearched, and woefully underdiagnosed; the WHO estimates that up to 70 percent of affected women worldwide may not know they have it. …AND A CLASSIC FROM THE ARCHIVES… The MI6 building in London. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo A 2022 longread by Helen Warrell about the secret lives of three of MI6's top women spies. Though anonymised here, we now know that Ada is Blaise Metreweli, who was recently appointed the first female head of the intelligence service. ( Financial Times , approx 36 mins reading time) Four years ago, SIS launched its first television ad to recruit more women and ethnic minorities. It starts with footage of a shark weaving menacingly through the water, before panning out to reveal a much more benign scene: a woman and her young son looking at the predator from the other side of the aquarium glass. The final line is designed to dissolve the 'otherness' of spies: 'Secretly, we're just like you.' This is not strictly true. Spies aren't much like the rest of us, and working at MI6 is a distinctly strange experience. You cannot tell anyone beyond close family who your employer is, and even they are not allowed to know anything about your day-to-day activities. You are supposed to turn off your phone long before you approach headquarters, the emerald ziggurat on Vauxhall Bridge in central London. Once there, you lock it away. You have limited access to the internet. The only contact with the outside world is made via landline. Because it is not secure, working from home is extremely difficult. So while the organisation encourages flexibility, this is limited by the reality that your working hours must be spent largely in the office. The domestic admin of daily life is unusually cumbersome. Complicated transactions like buying a house are, in the words of one intelligence officer, 'a nightmare'. Note: The Journal generally selects stories that are not paywalled, but some might not be accessible if you have exceeded your free article limit on the site in question. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The 42
17-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Schmidt's charm, the new 'psycho,' and a tough young 10
DESPITE THE CHALLENGE facing him and his Wallabies team, Joe Schmidt was in chipper form. With a big pack of journalists squeezed into a meeting room at the Australians' team hotel in downtown Brisbane, the wily New Zealander presented an image of calm. Injuries have shorn Schmidt of his two biggest boppers – Rob Valetini and Will Skelton – when it was already clear the Wallabies would face a big physical test this weekend, while Taniela Tupou's form and fitness have dropped off to the extent that he has been left out of the matchday 23. Throw in injuries for Langi Gleeson, who replaced Valetini two weekends ago against Fiji, and out-half Noah Lolesio, and Schmidt could have been forgiven for despairing. Maybe he has done that behind closed doors, but Schmidt was again relaxed in front of the media today. He is unrecognisable from the figure he was at the end of his Ireland reign, so weighed down and worn down by stress and pressure, much of it self-imposed. This appears to be a lighter version of the man who changed Irish rugby for the better. He remains a demanding coach who holds his players and staff to the highest standards but word in Australian rugby is that he is more chilled out than they expected. He cracked a few jokes today, including when he was talking about 22-year-old Tom Lynagh, who gets his first start for the Wallabies on Saturday. Advertisement 'I've got massive pins myself, so I can say those skinny pins can hit the ball a decent distance,' said Schmidt with a self-deprecating smile. There was another laugh when the Wallabies boss was speaking about how he can feel a groundswell of Australian support for his team. 'Even here in Brisbane, in town, a guy came up to me the other day and said, 'We are 100% behind you…' It was Brad Thorn! 'But it's great to have his support. I did wonder if he had his boots.' Schmidt with Laurie Fisher at training. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Schmidt brushed off questions about whether the Lions have been disrespectful by publicly talking about their aim of winning the series 3-0, saying tongue-in-cheek that his media officer, Marty McCambridge, hadn't sent him those press clippings. But Schmidt knows his team are underdogs even on home soil and with all the emotion that comes when the Lions only visit once every 12 years. It doesn't help the Wallabies' case that the heavyweight Skelton and the explosive Valetini, possibly their best player last year, haven't made it back from calf injuries in time for the first Test. 'Right on the edge, to be honest,' said Schmidt of how close they were to featuring. 'If it was the last game of the series, I think they would have been in the mix. But the risk you take if you put those guys out there and they're not quite ready and you try to push them through, you might end up worse off. 'I wouldn't say we're taking a long-term view with them, but we just felt it was the most judicious decision at the time.' Schmidt expects them back for the second Test in Melbourne next weekend. With Gleeson also missing due to a dead leg, Schmidt said he was excited to hand a Test debut to Western Force flanker Nick Champion de Crespigny, who previously spent a few years in the Top 14 with Castres. Schmidt said he likes Champion de Crespigny's lineout skills and classed him as a 'roving scavenger' of a back row, while Wallabies flanker Fraser McReight was more to the point.
The Journal
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Hamas says ready to start Gaza ceasefire talks 'immediately'
ISRAEL WAS CONSIDERING its response after Hamas said it was ready to start talks 'immediately' on a US-sponsored proposal for a Gaza ceasefire. The security cabinet was expected to meet after the end of the Jewish sabbath at sundown to discuss Israel's next steps, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to head to Washington for talks on Monday with US President Donald Trump. Trump has been making a renewed push to end nearly 21 months of war in Gaza, where the civil defence agency said 35 people were killed in Israeli military operations on today. 'No decision has been made yet on that issue,' an Israeli government official told news agency AFP when asked about Hamas's positive response to the latest ceasefire proposal. Hamas made its announcement late yesterday after holding consultations with other Palestinian factions. 'The movement is ready to engage immediately and seriously in a cycle of negotiations on the mechanism to put in place' the US-backed truce proposal, the militant group said in a statement. US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on 7 April, 2025. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Two Palestinian sources close to the discussions told AFP that the proposal included a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and several bodies in exchange for Palestinians detained by Israel. However, they said, the group was also demanding certain conditions for Israel's withdrawal, guarantees against a resumption of fighting during negotiations and the return of the UN-led aid distribution system. Hamas ally Islamic Jihad said it supported ceasefire talks, but demanded guarantees that Israel 'will not resume its aggression' once hostages held in Gaza are freed. Trump, when asked about Hamas's response aboard Air Force One, said: 'That's good. They haven't briefed me on it. We have to get it over with. We have to do something about Gaza.' Two previous ceasefires mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States secured temporary halts in fighting and the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. Of the 251 hostages taken by Palestinian militants during the October 2023 attack, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead. Advertisement 'Will not be shut down' Efforts to broker a new truce have repeatedly failed, with the primary point of contention being Israel's rejection of Hamas's demand for guarantees that any new ceasefire will be lasting. Nearly 21 months of war have created dire humanitarian conditions for the more than two million people in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has recently expanded its military operations. A US- and Israel-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, took the lead in food distribution in the territory in late May, when Israel partially lifted a more than two-month blockade on aid deliveries. The group said two of its US staff were wounded in an 'attack' on one of its aid centres in southern Gaza on Saturday. 'This morning, two American aid workers were injured in a targeted terrorist attack during food distribution activities at SDS-3 in Khan Yunis,' the organisation said, adding that reports indicated it was carried out by 'two assailants who threw two grenades at the Americans'. UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. Its operations have been marred by near-daily reports of Israeli fire on people waiting to collect rations. UN human rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said Friday that more than 500 people have been killed waiting to access food from GHF distribution points. GHF's chairman Johnnie Moore, a Christian evangelical leader allied to Trump, on Wednesday rejected calls for the lead role in Gaza aid distributions to revert to UN agencies. 'We will not be shut down. We have one job to do. It's very simple, every day to provide free food to the people of Gaza,' he told reporters. Civil defence says 35 killed Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said Israeli military operations killed 35 people across Gaza today. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency. Contacted by AFP, the Israeli military said it could not comment on specific strikes without precise coordinates. The Hamas attack of October 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 57,338 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
