Latest news with #GazaHumanitarianFoundation
The Guardian
an hour ago
- General
- The Guardian
Israel's ‘violations' in Gaza make world more dangerous, Norway warns
Israel is setting a dangerous precedent for international human rights law violations in Gaza that is making the whole world more dangerous, Norway's international development minister has warned. Norway has played a historical role in the region, including by facilitating the Oslo peace accords between Israel and the Palestinians that led to a celebrated breakthrough deal in 1993. Last year it recognised the Palestinian state, one of a minority of European countries to do so. 'For the last one and a half years we have seen very low respect for international law in the war in Gaza and in recent months it is worse than ever before,' Åsmund Aukrust said. 'So for the Norwegian government it is very important to protest against this, to condemn this very clear violation.' In addition to contributing to the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, he said Israel's actions posed a global threat to other and future conflicts. 'We are very concerned that there will be a new international standard where food is used as a weapon, where the UN is denied entrance to the war and conflict zone, and other NGOs are denied entrance,' he said. 'And Israel is building up something they call Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is to militarise humanitarian aid.' GHF, the controversial Israeli and US-backed logistical group, started distributing food in Gaza this week. Amid chaotic scenes, Israeli forces said they fired 'warning shots' at a distribution centre. Gaza health officials said at least one civilian had been killed and 48 injured. A UN-backed assessment earlier this month found that the entire population of the Gaza Strip, approximately 2.1 million people, were at critical risk of famine, with half a million people categorised as in catastrophe. Aukrust said: 'We are afraid and very concerned that this might be a new standard in international law and this will make the world a lot more dangerous to all of us.' However, he said it was not up to politicians to decide whether the term genocide applied to Gaza, saying that was a decision for the international court of justice. 'Genocide is the worst crime a country can do and the worst crime that politicians can do and this should not be polarised,' he said. However, he said Oslo would be keeping an 'open line' to all parties – including Hamas – for dialogue and promised that Norway would be 'there for the long run' to rebuild Gaza. 'We have no limitation of who we are talking to. I would say the opposite. We would be happy to, and we want to, talk with those who are responsible, whether it is Israel, Hamas or others,' he said. 'Dialogue is the most important word when it comes to peacemaking and we want to have an open line with all countries, all groups that might have an influence here.' The Norwegian oil fund, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund that operates under rules set by parliament, has so far blacklisted 11 companies for assisting Israel's occupation. Next week, the Norwegian parliament is expected to reject calls to stop the fund from investing in companies that sell products and services in the occupied Palestinian territories. Aukrust said decisions about the wealth fund were made by the bank, not politicians. 'The bank decides where they want to invest. What the politicians do is to decide the rules,' he said. The rules, he added, were 'very clear' that the fund should not invest in anything that contributed to a violation of international law. Norway's decision to recognise the state of Palestine in May 2024 was 'to send out a message of hope,' said Aukrust. He urged people across Europe to 'continue to protest' and to keep their faith in politics. 'As long as the war is going on, from the Norwegian government side we will all the time look into what more can we do. What new initiative can we take. How can we send an even clearer message to those who are responsible for this.'
Al Jazeera
2 hours ago
- General
- Al Jazeera
The sudden surge of genocide critique in the West
More than 600 days into its genocidal war in Gaza, some of Israel's closest allies have begun to condemn its actions. Alongside the changing global narrative, growing opposition in Israel to the Netanyahu government's war methods has seeped into the media coverage – fracturing a consensus that dates back to October 7, 2023. Contributors: Yara Hawari – Co-Director, Al-Shabaka Natasha Lennard – Contributing writer, The Intercept Orly Noy – Editor, Local Call Muhammad Shehada – Visiting fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations Over the past couple of weeks, dispatches coming out of Gaza's hospitals have grown more and more desperate. Meenakshi Ravi reports on the healthcare workers getting the story out and filling the vacuum in the news coverage. Formed a matter of months ago, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is a United States-Israeli coalition of private military contractors that includes former CIA and military personnel. We speak with Jeremy Scahill, co-founder of Drop Site News, who has investigated the GHF, together with Palestinian journalists on the ground. Featuring: Jeremy Scahill – Co-Founder, Drop Site News
Scoop
5 hours 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'.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
New Gaza aid group met with chaos, gunfire in its first week
In the southern tip of Gaza, along a dusty road that is mostly desolate — but for an Israeli military presence — thousands of Palestinians gathered on Friday for the latest aid distribution from the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The lines were long, the road was dangerous and the possibility of leaving empty handed was high. But people were, and remain, desperate. And after weeks of aid not getting into Gaza, they'll go to any lengths to secure some food. "I'm coming to face death so I can feed my children," Imran Wafi told CBC News, from the side of a road leading to a distribution point. "We know it's dangerous but the big catastrophe is there's no food for us to eat." GHF claims it has delivered over two million meals in Gaza in its first week of operations in the enclave. The U.S.-backed startup was established in February in Switzerland, and has already drawn widespread condemnation from other aid agencies operating in the territory. In a statement to CBC News, GHF said its distributions occurred "without incident" and that it plans to expand its presence in the enclave "including in the northern region" in the weeks to come. It currently runs two sites, one in Rafah and one in central Gaza in the Natsarim corridor. WATCH | GHF delivers aid in Gaza: But eyewitness reports from the ground say many of those distributions have been chaotic, and that at least one person was killed at a GHF hub — a claim which the organization denies. Video footage from throughout the week shows droves of people breaking through fences and running in every direction amid gunshots. Gaza resident Ahmed Al-Qadi says his friend, Mohamed Abdelhadi, was killed getting aid from GHF at Natsarim on Wednesday. "He went to get aid and on his way home... he turned his back and he got hit," he said. "This aid is with blood, it's dipped in blood." GHF denies anyone was killed during its operations this week. "No civilians or individuals involved with the distribution of aid were injured, no lives were lost," it said in a statement to CBC News. And yet, aid distributions by the group, which started on Monday, have not been without hiccups, many ending with warning shots or chaotic breaks by Palestinians through fences set up to control the lineups. GHF has also faced criticism from organizations including the United Nations, which opposes its operations in Gaza. The previous leading aid group in Gaza, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA), was banned from the territory last year by Israel over its staffers' alleged involvement in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas which sparked the current war in Gaza. Despite that, UNRWA continued operating and the ban was met with concern from international leaders. The UN said Friday that GHF is an "attempt to circumvent the UN and its agencies on the ground" which have been present in Gaza for a long time "in accordance with international law." The statement went on to say that GHF "fails the test of humanitarian principles." CBC News caught up with people walking back from the distribution point in central Gaza. One man showed the contents of a box containing flour, sugar, pasta and oil. But not everyone was as lucky. Gaza resident Muhammad Abu Gharqud said Thursday was the second time he came to a distribution point and left empty handed. Leaning on a crutch because of his amputated leg, the 45-year-old looked exhausted. "I can't find food for my kids," he said. "I can't find anything." Desperation mounted for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as looting became more frequent this week. Some aid trucks were allowed in but were met with mobs of civilians looking for any food they can get their hands on and particularly flour. Muhammad Shamlakh was at the scene when a truck was looted in Gaza City on Thursday. He said people were "eating each other alive." "The people are dying of hunger," he said. "There's no flour, everything was stolen." WATCH | Palestinians loot aid truck:
CBC
5 hours ago
- General
- CBC
Droves of Palestinians overwhelm new Gaza aid centre in Rafah as warning shots ring out
Shots fired in southern Gaza after crowds charge food distribution site 3 days ago Duration 2:01 Social Sharing Chaos erupted on the second day of aid operations by a new U.S.-backed group in Gaza as desperate Palestinians overwhelmed a centre distributing food on Tuesday, breaking through fences. Nearby Israeli troops fired warning shots, sending people fleeing in panic. The Israeli military said its troops fired the warning shots in the area outside the centre and that "control over the situation was established." At least three injured Palestinians were seen by The Associated Press being brought from the scene, one of them bleeding from his leg. "All the people who went did so to eat and feed their children," Jihad Khader told CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife from the scene. "People went to risk their lives to feed their children." The turmoil came on the second day of operations by a U.S.-backed group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which Israel has slated to take over food distribution in Gaza — despite opposition from the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations. WATCH | Aid trucks in central Gaza are looted: Aid trucks are looted in central Gaza Strip 3 days ago Duration 0:50 Muhammad Afana, 36, said he and hundreds of other Palestinians were made to stand in four rows, before being searched and marched in groups of 10 to a table to retrieve their box of aid. He spread the contents of the box on the ground for El Saife to see: a few bags of flour, some sugar, tea, pasta, beans, canned tuna and a box of cookies. "I would go to danger to feed my kids," he said. "They will be happy when they see the cookies." 'It was chaos,' man says Palestinians have become desperate for food after nearly three months of an Israeli aid blockade, which has pushed Gaza to the brink of famine, according to the World Health Organization. On Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of men, women and children walked for several kilometres, through Israeli military lines, to reach the GHF distribution hub set up on the outskirts of Rafah, in southern Gaza. Hundreds could be seen carrying boxes of aid out of the scene on their backs, or on bikes or strollers, recounting the chaos they witnessed in order to get some food. In the afternoon, the AP journalist, positioned some distance from the hub, heard tank and gunfire and saw a military helicopter firing flares. Smoke could be seen rising from where one round impacted. Afterwards, crowds were seen returning from the site, almost all of them without aid packages. Ahmed Abu Taha, who was among those seeking aid, said crowds of people stormed into the distribution centre, breaking fences. He heard gunfire and saw Israeli military aircraft overhead. "It was chaos," he said. "People were panicked." Another Palestinian, Saleh Abu Najjar, said he heard a tank firing from a distance, east of the centre. "The situation was very dangerous and people were frightened," he said. 8,000 food boxes handed out so far: GHF In a statement, the GHF said because of the large number of Palestinians seeking aid, staff at the hub followed the group's safety protocols and "fell back" to allow them to dissipate, then later resumed operations. "What happened today is conclusive evidence of the occupation's failure to manage the humanitarian crisis it deliberately created through a policy of starvation, siege and bombing," the Hamas-run government media office said in a statement. Armed private contractors are used by the GHF to guard the hubs and the transportation of supplies. The hub is also close to Israeli military positions in the Morag Corridor, a band of territory across the breadth of Gaza that divides Rafah from the rest of the territory. The GHF has set up four hubs around Gaza to distribute food, two of which began operating on Monday — both of them in the Rafah area. United Nations officials and aid workers have warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and crowds of people seeking aid at the hubs. By late afternoon on Tuesday, the GHF said it had distributed about 8,000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals. Father of 7 'afraid' to go to distribution site Although the aid was available on Monday, Palestinians appeared to have heeded warnings, including from Hamas, about biometric screening procedures employed at the foundation's aid distribution sites. "As much as I want to go because I am hungry and my children are hungry, I am afraid," said Abu Ahmed, 55, a father of seven. "I am so scared because they said the company belongs to Israel and is a mercenary, and also because the resistance [Hamas] said not to go," he said in a message on the chat app WhatsApp. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday commented on the turmoil at the Rafah centre, saying, "There was some loss of control momentarily ... happily we brought it under control." COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of co-ordinating aid, said on Tuesday that 400 trucks of supplies, mainly food, was waiting on the Gaza side of the main crossing from Israel but that the UN had not collected them. It said Israel has extended the times for collection and expanded the routes that the UN can use inside Gaza. Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office OCHA, told reporters in Geneva that agencies struggle to pick up the supplies "because of the insecure routes that are being assigned to us by the Israeli authorities to use." He said the amount of aid allowed the past week was "vastly insufficient." Aid trucks looted On Tuesday night in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, aid trucks were halted and looted by civilians trying to get their hands on whatever food they could find. The scene was chaotic as people pushed and shoved, some even getting onto the flatbed of the truck to get to its contents. CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife said he saw boxes of aid being carried away on the backs of some who managed to secure them amid the fighting. He also observed one person opening a box to see the contents inside: a few cans of beans, lentils, oil and rice. WATCH | Palestinians receive aid from GHF amid gunshots and chaos: Controversial U.S. company distributes aid in Gaza amid sounds of gunshots 3 days ago Duration 1:17 Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distributed boxes of aid to Palestinians in Rafah today as gunfire could be heard while people tried to reach the distribution point.
