Latest news with #FrancescaAlbanese
Al Etihad
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Etihad
UN experts call for safe passage of Gaza-bound Freedom Flotilla aid ship
3 June 2025 08:24 GENEVA (WAM) United Nations human rights experts have called for the safe passage of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition vessel, which departed from Italy on Sunday, June 1, carrying essential medical supplies, food, and children's items destined for a statement issued on Monday in Geneva, the experts—including UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, and Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese—emphasised the urgent need for humanitarian aid in expressed grave concern for the safety of those onboard the Freedom Flotilla vessel in light of repeated Israeli attacks on human rights defenders and both UN and civilian humanitarian missions. They recalled a similar vessel launched by the alliance in early May that was targeted by a drone strike off the coast of statement stressed that as the flotilla approaches Palestinian territorial waters off the coast of Gaza, Israel must abide by international law and comply with the International Court of Justice's orders to ensure unimpeded delivery of humanitarian experts highlighted that the ICJ had issued provisional measures in March 2024, recognising the widespread presence of famine and starvation in further condemned the use of humanitarian aid as a weapon of war, stating that the Israeli- and US-backed Gaza Relief Foundation was employing aid to displace, humiliate and detain civilians. The experts also cited alarming figures, noting that acute malnutrition among children had risen by more than 80 percent as of March 2025.
Scoop
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scoop
'Stop The Clock On Madness': UN Expert Appeals To States After Gaza Aid Distribution Shootings
GENEVA (30 May 2025) – The international community must stop the clock on continued and deliberate misuse of humanitarian language and mechanisms by Israel aimed at obscuring and facilitating the commission of atrocity crimes in Gaza, a UN expert said today. 'We continue to witness a brutal humanitarian camouflage, where the red lines have led to massive atrocities. Israel pretends to promote humanitarian solutions in order to continue its control of Gaza and sustain its systematic denial of life-saving humanitarian aid to the starving population in the besieged strip,' said Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. 'It is a deliberate strategy – aimed at masking atrocities, displacing the displaced, bombing the bombarded, burning Palestinians alive and maiming survivors,' Albanese warned. 'All camouflaged behind the language of aid, to divert international attention from legal accountability, in Israel's attempt to dismantle the very principles upon which humanitarian law was built.' Albanese echoed concerns by the UN and other humanitarian actors about the Israeli aid system and the establishment of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation – a body backed by Israel and the United States to distribute aid under a system of full military control. The proposal has been criticised for failing to respect international law and the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality. On 27 May, thousands of Palestinian flocked towards the foundation's distribution sites to receive food packages after several days without food. 'Within hours, horrifying images and videos emerged from Gaza demonstrating how this mechanism functions and how the Israeli army fired on unarmed Palestinian civilians. It seems that there is no limit to Israel's actions,' the expert said. At least 3 people were killed and 46 injured and seven went missing according to authorities in Gaza. 'As the occupying power, Israel must agree to allow and facilitate the aid and access cannot be assessed based on political or military considerations,' the expert said. Aid that has entered the besieged enclave after Israel's 11-week blockade is a drop in the ocean, she said. 'To starve a population for months and then shoot at them when they clamour for food is unmitigated cruelty', Albanese said. 'The time for sanctions is now, as Israeli politicians continue to call for the extermination of babies while over 80 percent of the Israeli society, according to Israeli media, ask for the forcible removal of Palestinians from Gaza. The time to save life is shrinking,' Albanese said. 'I am reiterating my call for a full arms embargo and suspension of all forms of trade with Israel by all States. In a world of growing consensus that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, using ceaseless bombardment and starvation, while only a minority of the population opposes it, is an affront to the UN principles and values, States can no longer sit by and watch.' 'The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024, and its Orders issued on 26 January and 24 May 2024 in the case South Africa v. Israel provided States with the imperative to act,' the Special Rapporteur said. "Every day that has passed since without tangible action from States is steeped in the blood of innocent Palestinians." 'The gravity of Israel's conduct is matched only by the complicity of States that continue to provide political and material cover, and by corporations that profit from Israel's crimes,' she said. 'Accountability can no longer be deferred. The UN and States need urgently to establish an independent protection mechanism that Israel shall not stop - it has no sovereignty over the occupied territory, and it is about time States implement it. The people of the world are watching, and history will remember'.
Roya News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Roya News
Outrage grows over 'Israeli' troops in Morocco's military drills
'Israeli' forces are participating in this year's African Lion 25, the largest US-led joint military exercise on the African continent, currently underway in Morocco and neighboring countries. The drill, which began on April 14 and runs through May 23, involves over 10,000 troops from more than 50 countries including 'Israel". While African Lion includes exercises in Ghana, Senegal, and Tunisia, 'Israeli' troops are only taking part in operations held inside Morocco — a move that has sparked political backlash due to the ongoing 'Israeli' offensive in Gaza. Local protests and statements from civil society groups in Morocco have condemned the presence of 'Israeli' forces, particularly reports that soldiers from the Golani Brigade's special operations unit — accused of killing 15 Palestinian medical workers in Gaza in March — are among those deployed. The Moroccan Front for Supporting Palestine and Against Normalization, a coalition of left-wing parties, unions, and civil society groups, called the participation of 'Israeli' troops a 'provocation' and demanded their immediate removal from the drills. UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese also raised concerns over unconfirmed reports and imagery suggesting the presence of Golani soldiers in Morocco, warning it could constitute a breach of international law if those accused of war crimes were not investigated. The 'Israeli' military has not disclosed which units are participating, but photos circulating on social media show troops wearing Golani Brigade insignias during joint training near the city of Agadir. The image appeared to be taken during a special operations phase of the exercise, although the date has not been verified. African Lion 25, led by US Africa Command and hosted primarily by Morocco, is designed to bolster interoperability and readiness across allied forces. Activities in Morocco include field training exercises, live-fire drills, and humanitarian cooperation. According to US officials, the exercise also demonstrates the US's ability to project power and respond rapidly alongside its partners on the continent. Despite official silence on 'Israel's' participation, a traffic accident involving two 'Israeli' paratroopers during the exercise last week briefly brought their presence into local news. Both soldiers were treated in hospital for moderate injuries. 'Israel' has taken part in African Lion exercises since 2022 following the resumption of military ties with Morocco under the US-brokered normalization agreement in late 2020. This year marks 'Israel's' third consecutive participation.
Al Jazeera
24-05-2025
- Health
- Al Jazeera
Outrage, horror after Israeli attack kills nine children of Gaza doctor
An Israeli strike has killed nearly the entire family of a Khan Younis doctor while she was at work, Gaza health officials said. The attack hit the home of Alaa al-Najjar, a paediatrician at the southern city's Nasser Hospital, on Friday, setting it ablaze and killing nine of her 10 children, according to the head of the hospital's paediatrics department, Ahmad al-Farra. Al-Najjar's husband is severely wounded, and the couple's only surviving child, 11-year-old Adam, is in critical condition, Gaza's Government Media Office said in a statement. The dead children, two of whom remain under the rubble, range in age from seven months to 12 years old, the media office added. The attack 'encapsulates the ongoing genocide faced by the Palestinian people in Gaza,' said the office. 'It is a full-fledged war crime under all international laws and conventions.' The UN's special rapporteur for the Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, slammed the attack as part of a 'sadistic pattern' of a 'new phase of genocide' facing Palestinians in the besieged enclave. Two doctors go to work to assist of their kids are killed by an Israeli missile targeting their home. Only surviving child, in critical conditions. Targeting families in the still-standing buildings: distinguishable sadistic pattern of the new phase of the genocide. — Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) May 24, 2025Hamas said it followed a routine of Israel 'deliberately targeting … medical personnel, civilians and their families in an attempt to break their will'. The Israeli military said it had struck suspected fighters operating from a structure next to its forces in an area where civilians had been evacuated. 'The claim regarding harm to uninvolved civilians is under review,' the military added. On Monday, Israel issued forced evacuation orders for Khan Younis, Gaza's second-largest city, warning of an 'unprecedented attack'. There has been heavy, deadly bombardment in the area daily. The al-Najjar children were among dozens killed in Israel's attacks on Friday and Saturday. According to Gaza's Health Ministry, the bodies of 79 people killed in Israeli attacks were brought to hospitals between Friday and midday Saturday. That count does not include facilities in the north of the enclave that are inaccessible, it said. The ministry puts the overall death toll in Gaza since October 2023 at 53,901, with 122,593 injured.
Asharq Al-Awsat
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Asharq Al-Awsat
UN Expert Calls for End of Gaza Blockade in Cannes
UN expert Francesca Albanese at the Cannes Festival on Friday called for Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza completely instead of allowing aid to trickly into the war-torn territory. "They must lift the blockade," the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories said. The Israeli defense ministry said 107 humanitarian aid trucks entered Gaza on Thursday, whereas the United Nations used to bring in 500 to 600 lorry-loads per day on average during a six-week ceasefire that broke down in March, said AFP. But Albanese said even that amount would not be enough, after UN agencies warned a two-month siege had left its population of more than two million people on the brink of famine. "Even if we return now to the 500 trucks per day... it wouldn't be sufficient because there are no stocks and the people in Gaza have nothing," she told AFP on the sidelines of the festival. "Israel needs to get out of Gaza," she added. The Gaza war has cast a shadow over the festival on the French Riviera, especially after the killing last month of the main character of a film that premiered in one of its parallel sections. An Israeli strike on April 16 killed Fatima "Fatem" Hassouna, a 25-year-old photojournalist, just weeks before exiled Iranian filmmaker Sepideh Farsi screened "Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk". Israel has claimed it was targeting Palestinian militant group Hamas. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says Hassouna is one of more than 200 journalists killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 2023. 'Truth tellers' Albanese said the Cannes film festival felt like a "bubble of indifference" but she said she decided to join a press conference organised by Farsi to honor Palestinian journalists. With Israel banning international media from entering Gaza, "they are the truth tellers, they are the ones who have been telling the genocide from within", Albanese said. Amnesty International last month said Israel was carrying out a "live-streamed genocide" against Palestinians in Gaza, claims Israel dismissed as "blatant lies". Hassouna's death has galvanized members of the cinema industry, with France's Catherine Deneuve on Friday joining over 900 actors and filmmakers in signing an open letter denouncing "genocide" in Gaza, organizers told AFP. The petition began circulating during the buildup to the festival and had garnered around 380 names including "Schindler's List" star Ralph Fiennes when the event kicked off on May 13. An update issued by organizers Friday included more than 900 names, including Deneuve and British director Danny Boyle. "As artists and cultural players, we cannot remain silent while genocide is taking place in Gaza," the open letter says. Other signatories include Juliette Binoche, who is chairing the jury for the festival's Palme d'Or top prize, US indie director Jim Jarmusch, "Lupin" star Omar Sy, Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who is in Cannes to promote a documentary about his life, has also signed the letter, organizers said Friday. He posed for photographers on Tuesday with a T-shirt bearing the names of killed Gaza children. On Friday, Gaza's health ministry said at least 3,673 people had been killed in the territory since Israel resumed strikes on March 18, taking the war's overall toll to 53,822, mostly civilians. Hamas's October 2023 attack that triggered the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
