Latest news with #GazaConflict
News24
a day ago
- Politics
- News24
UN expert Francesca Albanese rejects ‘unprecedented' US sanctions on her Israel criticism
The US sanctioned the UN's Francesca Albanese. She labelled the sanctions a violation of her immunity. She criticised US companies who trade with Israel. The UN's unflinching expert on Palestinian affairs Francesca Albanese said on Tuesday that Washington's sanctions following her criticism of the White House's stance on Gaza are a 'violation' of her immunity. The United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories made the comments while visiting Bogota, nearly a week after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions, calling her work 'biased and malicious'. 'It's a very serious measure. It's unprecedented. And I take it very seriously,' Albanese told an audience in the Colombian capital. Albanese was in Bogota to attend an international summit initiated by leftist President Gustavo Petro to find solutions to the Gaza conflict. The Italian legal scholar and human rights expert has faced harsh criticism for her long-standing accusations that Israel is committing 'genocide' in Gaza. 'It's clear violation of the UN Convention on Privileges and Immunities that protect UN officials, including independent experts, from words and actions taken in the exercise of their functions,' Albanese said. Rubio on 9 July announced that Washington was sanctioning Albanese 'for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt (ICC) action against US and Israeli officials, companies, and executives'. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images The sanctions are 'a warning to anyone who dares to defend international law and human rights, justice and freedom', Albanese said. On Thursday, the UN urged the US to reverse the sanctions against Albanese, along with sanctions against judges of the International Criminal Court, with UN chief Antonio Guterres's spokesperson calling the move 'a dangerous precedent'. On Friday, the European Union also spoke out against the sanctions facing Albanese, adding that it 'strongly supports the United Nations human rights system'. Albanese, who assumed her mandate in 2022, released a damning report this month denouncing companies - many of them American - that she said 'profited from the Israeli economy of illegal occupation, apartheid, and now genocide' in the occupied Palestinian territories. READ | UN expert slams companies which 'profited from the violence, the killing' trading with Israel The report provoked a furious Israeli response, while some of the companies also raised objections. Washington in June slapped sanctions on four ICC judges, in part over the court's arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, barring them from the US. UN special rapporteurs like Albanese are independent experts who are appointed by the UN human rights council but do not speak on behalf of the United Nations. The war in Gaza was triggered on 7 October 2023 after Hamas militants killed 1 219 people in Israel and took hostages, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. More than 58 479 Palestinians have been killed in ongoing retaliation operations, according to data from the Health Ministry of the Hamas government, considered reliable by the UN. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and violence has surged in the territory since October 2023.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Tank explosion kills three IDF soldiers in northern Gaza, one wounded
Staff-Sergeant Shoham Menahem, Sergeant Shlomo Yakir Shrem, and Sergeant Yuliy Faktor all served in the Armored Corps 401st Brigade. Twenty-one-year-old St.-Sgt. Shoham Menahem, 20-year-old Sgt. Shlomo Yakir Shrem, and 19-year-old Sgt. Yuliy Faktor were killed while fighting in northern Gaza, the IDF announced on Monday. Menahem was from moshav Yardena, Shrem was from Efrat, and Faktor was from Rishon Lezion. All three soldiers served in the 401st Brigade of the Armored Corps. Further, an officer from the same brigade was severely wounded in the incident. The three soldiers were killed while inside their tank during a brigade mission in Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip aimed at defeating a local Hamas battalion and destroying terror infrastructure, according to Army Radio. The explosion occurred at around noon. The initial assessment by the IDF was that an anti-tank missile caused the explosion, Army Radio said. But, as of Monday evening, the IDF believes there is a high likelihood that it was an operational accident and that one of the tank's shells exploded inside. It is unclear what caused the shell to explode. The IDF continues to investigate the circumstances of the explosion. According to the IDF's tally, the death of Staff-Sergeant Shoham, Sergeant Shlomo, and Sergeant Yuliy Faktor raises the total number of soldiers killed on or since October 7 of last year to 893. Some 446 of them were killed since the start of the military's ground operations in the Gaza Strip on October 27. This is a developing story.
Arab News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 93 Palestinians, including several families, health officials say
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israeli strikes overnight and into Tuesday killed more than 90 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, including dozens of women and children, health officials said. One strike in the northern Shati refugee camp killed a 68-year-old Hamas member of the Palestinian legislature, as well as a man and a woman and their six children who were sheltering in the same building, according to officials from Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken. One of the deadliest strikes hit a house in Gaza City's Tel Al-Hawa district on Monday evening and killed 19 members of the family living inside, according to Shifa Hospital. The dead included eight women and six children. A strike on a tent housing displaced people in the same district killed a man and a woman and their two children. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strikes. Gaza's Health Ministry said in a daily report Tuesday afternoon that the bodies of 93 people killed by Israeli strikes had been brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, along with 278 wounded. It did not specify the total number of women and children among the dead. The Hamas politician killed in a strike early Tuesday, Mohammed Faraj Al-Ghoul, was a member of the bloc of representatives from the group that won seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council in the last election held among Palestinians, in 2006. Hamas won a majority in the vote, but relations with the main Fatah faction that had long led the Palestinian Authority unraveled and ended with Hamas taking over the Gaza Strip in 2007. The legislative council has not formally convened since. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. But daily, it hits homes and shelters where people are living without warning or explanation of the target. The latest attacks came after US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two days of talks last week that ended with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release. Israel has killed more than 58,400 Palestinians and wounded more than 139,000 others in its retaliation campaign since Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Just over half the dead are women and children, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, is led by medical professionals. Its count, based on daily reports from hospitals, is considered by the United Nations and other experts to be the most reliable. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after its attack 20 month ago, in which militants stormed into southern Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They abducted 251 others, and the militants are still holding 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive. Israel's air and ground campaign has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and driven some 90 percent of the population from their homes. Aid groups say they have struggled to bring in food and other assistance because of Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order, and experts have warned of famine.
CBC
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Israeli strike in Gaza kills 19 members of a family, health officials say
Israeli strikes overnight and into Tuesday killed more than 90 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, including dozens of women and children, health officials said, as U.S. President Donald Trump's timeline to land a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel keeps drifting. One strike in the northern al-Shati refugee camp killed a 68-year-old Hamas member of the Palestinian legislature, as well as a man and a woman and their six children who were sheltering in the same building, according to officials from Al-Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken. One of the deadliest strikes hit a house in Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa district on Monday evening and killed 19 members of the family living inside, according to Al-Shifa Hospital. The dead included eight women and six children. A strike on a tent housing displaced people in the same district killed a man and a woman and their two children. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strikes. Gaza's Health Ministry said in a daily report Tuesday afternoon that the bodies of 93 people killed by Israeli strikes had been taken to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, along with 278 wounded. It did not specify the total number of women and children among the dead. The Hamas politician killed in a strike early Tuesday, Mohammed Faraj al-Ghoul, was a member of the bloc of representatives from the group that won seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council in the last election held among Palestinians, in 2006. Hamas won a majority in the vote, but relations with the main Fatah faction that had long led the Palestinian Authority unravelled and ended with Hamas taking over the Gaza Strip in 2007. The legislative council has not formally convened since. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. The latest attacks came after Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two days of talks last week that ended with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release. At least 875 killed near aid points, convoys, UN says The UN rights office said on Tuesday it had recorded at least 875 killings within the past six weeks at aid points in Gaza run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) sites, a U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, and convoys run by other relief groups. The majority of those killed were in the vicinity of GHF aid hubs, while the remaining 201 were killed on the routes of other aid convoys. The GHF uses private U.S. security and logistics companies to get supplies into Gaza, largely bypassing a UN-led system that Israel alleges has let Hamas-led militants loot aid shipments intended for civilians. Hamas denies the allegation. The GHF, which began distributing food packages in Gaza in late May after Israel lifted an 11-week aid blockade, previously told Reuters that such incidents have not occurred on its sites and accused the UN of misinformation, which it denies. WATCH | UN voices concern about how many Palestinians have died near aid sites: Missile kills children at Gaza water station, Israel blames a malfunction 2 days ago Israel says a missile malfunction caused it to strike a water station in Gaza over the weekend, killing six children. But the United Nations is voicing concern about how many Palestinians have died near aid distribution sites. The GHF did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest UN figures. "The data we have is based on our own information gathering through various reliable sources, including medical human rights and humanitarian organizations," Thameen Al-Kheetan, a spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told reporters in Geneva. The United Nations has called the GHF aid model "inherently unsafe" and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards. The Israeli army previously told Reuters in a statement that it was reviewing recent mass casualties and that it had sought to minimize friction between Palestinians and the Israel Defence Forces by installing fences and signs and opening additional routes. Israel has killed more than 58,400 Palestinians and wounded more than 139,000 others in its retaliation campaign since Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Slightly more than half the dead are women and children, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after its attack 20 months ago, in which militants stormed into southern Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies. They abducted 251 others, and the militants are still holding 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive. Israel's air and ground campaign has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and driven some 90 per cent of the population from their homes. Aid groups say they have struggled to bring in food and other assistance because of Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order, and experts have warned of famine. Attacks against Palestinians in West Bank intensify: UN There has been an increase in killings of and attacks against Palestinians by settlers and security forces in the occupied West Bank in recent weeks, the United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday. "Israeli settlers and security forces have intensified their killings, attacks and harassment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in the past weeks," Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva. About 30,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in the north of the occupied West Bank since the Israeli military launched its "Iron Wall" operation — contributing to the ongoing consolidation of annexation of the West Bank, in violation of international law, the OHCHR said. In June, the UN recorded the highest monthly count of Palestinians injured in more than two decades in the West Bank. Since January, there have been 757 settler attacks on Palestinians or their properties, which is a 13 per cent increase on the same period last year, OHCHR said. At least 964 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023, by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Fifty-three Israelis have been killed in the West Bank and in Israel in reported attacks by Palestinians or in armed clashes, the office added.
Al Mayadeen
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Mayadeen
3 Israeli soldiers killed by Resistance gunfire in south, north Gaza
The Israeli occupation army confirmed the killing of a combat engineering soldier of the Northern Brigade in the battles in northern Gaza. Sgt. Yair Eliyahou, 19, from the settlement of Ezer, a Combat Engineering soldier in the Northern Brigade, was killed overnight, the IOF announced, claiming a combat-related operational accident in the northern Gaza Strip. The circumstances of the incident are under investigation, the military said. In addition, Israeli media reported that two soldiers from the Golani Brigade were killed after their tank was struck by an anti-tank rocket in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. In related developments, Israeli media reported four 'security incidents' had occurred in the Gaza Strip since this morning, including one in Khan Younis and two in Beit Hanoun, while the fourth is reportedly still under investigation. An Israeli media platform also reported a "difficult incident" that took five hours to resolve, though no further details were disclosed amid a continuing media blackout on battlefield developments. Meanwhile, the al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced the shelling of groupings of Israeli occupation forces in the al-Satar area north of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, with mortar shells. Concurrently, Israeli media reported a "very tough incident" in Khan Younis, noting heavy fire from Israeli helicopters, coinciding with intense artillery shelling in the area. The al-Qassam Brigades had previously announced the shelling of the settlements of Nir Yitzhak and Miftahim with a salvo of Q20 rockets north of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. Moreover, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, announced that its Resistance fighters had shelled a gathering of occupation soldiers and vehicles near Street 5 in northern Khan Younis with heavy mortar fire. The group also said its fighters have captured an Israeli EVO MAX drone while it was conducting intelligence missions over Khan Younis. This comes as the Palestinian Resistance in the Gaza Strip continues to confront Israeli incursions, engaging in clashes and ambushing Israeli soldiers and vehicles, causing casualties. Just yesterday, Palestinian Resistance factions in Gaza announced multiple successful operations targeting Israeli vehicles in the Strip, confirming casualties among the Israeli occupation forces. The al-Quds Brigades reported that it targeted an Israeli occupation army command and control headquarters near the Khadra Mosque, north of Khan Younis, with a 107-type rocket, achieving a direct hit. In a joint operation with the Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades (the military wing of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine), the al-Quds Brigades also shelled Israeli occupation forces stationed on al-Badaw Street in the western al-Satar area, north of Khan Younis, with a barrage of mortar shells. Meanwhile, the al-Qassam Brigades announced targeting an Israeli troop carrier with a Yassin 105 shell on al-Mujamma al-Islami Street in the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip. The Palestinian Resistance faction also stated that during the attack, they saw the military vehicle catch fire and a helicopter land to evacuate casualties, noting that the incident occurred around noon on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades destroyed an Israeli military vehicle using a highly explosive Asif 3 device in the town of al-Qarara, north of Khan Younis. As part of the ongoing Al-Aqsa Flood Operation, Palestinian Resistance fighters persist in attacking Israeli forces operating inside the Gaza Strip, causing Israeli military casualties with both killed and wounded soldiers.
