Latest news with #GenevaConventions
Scoop
a day ago
- Politics
- Scoop
May: A Grim Month In The Record Of Targeting Journalists In Gaza
The Palestinian Journalists Protection Center (PJPC) has documented the killing of seven Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip during the month of May alone—at a time when the world marks "World Press Freedom Day." This makes May one of the deadliest periods for media workers since the beginning of the war. According to the center's monitoring, the latest journalist killed was Moataz Rajab, a correspondent for Al-Quds Al-Youm channel, who was martyred on May 28 following an "israeli" airstrike that targeted a civilian vehicle on Al-Nafaq Street in Gaza City. This brought the number of journalists killed in May to seven. The center reported that the total number of journalists killed since October 7, 2023, has risen to 221, marking the deadliest wave of journalist killings in modern history. On May 25, the center documented the killing of journalist Hassan Majdi Abu Warda, director of Barq Gaza news agency, in an "israeli" airstrike that hit his home in northern Gaza. The center affirmed that targeting journalists' homes and displacement areas "reflects a systematic pattern of grave violations of international humanitarian law." On May 18, journalist Abdel Rahman Al-Abadleh was killed. He was preceded by journalist Ahmad Al-Helou, a correspondent for Quds Network, and journalist Hassan Sammour, who was killed along with his family in an airstrike on their home east of Khan Younis on May 15. Journalist Hassan Aslih was martyred on May 13 while receiving treatment at Nasser Medical Complex. On May 7, journalists Nour El-Din Abdo and Yahya Sobeih were killed in separate Israeli airstrikes. The center stated that "turning the month of May into a graveyard for journalists in Gaza is further evidence of israel's violation of press freedom and disregard for international law," calling for independent international investigations and accountability for those responsible. The center reiterated that targeting journalists and civilians in conflict zones constitutes a war crime under the Geneva Conventions and UN Security Council Resolution 2222 on the protection of journalists, warranting legal prosecution and international accountability.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
What caused ‘human-made hunger crisis' in Gaza: UNRWA's senior official explains
An estimated 50 people were shot at and injured in Rafah this week after thousands of Palestinians desperate for food swarmed an aid distribution site operated by Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an NGO backed by the US and Israel. Gaza had been under a total blockade for almost three months until this week. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has said it cannot work with GHF. Jake Wood, head of GHF, quit on May 25, saying its work was not in accordance with 'humanitarian principles'. Is famine imminent in Gaza? Since the assessment of the [UN-backed] Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) came out [on May 12], the situation has worsened every day. There is a human-made hunger crisis in Gaza. Our colleagues there tell us that if a mother manages to get a piece of bread, she breaks it in half to give some to the children, and saves the rest for tomorrow. Even before the [January 19 to March 18] ceasefire [between Hamas and Israel], there were famine-like conditions in pockets of Gaza as the amount of aid that was allowed to enter was pitiful compared to the needs. The ceasefire allowed international organisations and NGOs to scale up aid to the minimum required level, which helped stave off hunger in the initial days. But as soon as the blockade began [on March 2] and the ceasefire collapsed, these organisations began to ration the aid. No aid was allowed for nearly 11 weeks, which led to food insecurity. This is against international humanitarian law. One cannot starve populations as part of a military goal (Article 54 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions). Israel cannot use food as leverage to get hostages released. On May 26, Israel said 665 aid trucks had entered Gaza. The head of the UN's World Food Programme said this was a 'drop in the bucket'. What is the minimum aid that Gaza needs? The minimum number of trucks required in Gaza for survival needs is 500 to 600 per day. There is a lot of uncertainty around the actual numbers of trucks that have reached the Strip in recent days. Before the ceasefire, the Israeli rules for inspection were that trucks had to arrive half-empty in Gaza. I am not saying that is what is happening right now, but this is a possibility. Why have the UN and other aid agencies refused to work with GHF? Under the new distribution system, pockets have been created where people can come to collect aid. This is incompatible with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence. Aid has to go to people who need it, wherever they may be. Otherwise it would exclude people who have disabilities, who are injured, or are unable to move easily. Limiting aid distribution to restricted collection points also risks augmenting the forced displacement of the population. People in Gaza have already been displaced once a month on average since the start of the war. They are being squashed into supposed safe zones, which are not safe at all. What is the situation like for aid workers in Gaza now? Gaza is currently the most dangerous place in the world for aid workers. Our staff, who are overwhelmingly Palestinian, have been dying regularly since the beginning of this war. (More than 400 aid workers, including more than 300 UNRWA staffers, have been killed so far.) There is no precedent for such a high number of UN staff being killed in any conflict since the organisation was formed in 1945. We have repeatedly seen the failure of proportionality. International humanitarian law says decisions must be based on the proportional potential impact on non-combatants. One cannot bomb a camp full of displaced people to kill five combatants, or target aid workers, hospitals, schools. Aid workers are also facing the hunger crisis in Gaza. They too are losing their relatives. Our colleagues have pulled the bodies of their children from under the rubble; some have been unable to even retrieve the bodies. How has Israel's ban on UNRWA's operations impacted its work? The two laws passed in October 2024 came into effect at the end of January. The first prohibited UNRWA from operating in Israel's sovereign territory. This impacted UNRWA's operations in East Jerusalem, which is an occupied territory in the eyes of international law. Visas of international UNRWA staff were curtailed; they had to vacate the organisation's facility in East Jerusalem. Israeli authorities forcibly closed UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem, denying around 800 students their right to education. There is a fear that UNRWA clinics, on which some 70,000 Palestinians depend, will be shut down. The second law, which barred contact between UNRWA and Israeli officials, has severely impacted operations in the West Bank and Gaza. UNRWA had a formal line of communication with the Israeli military, which helped in certain situations such as when children needed to be evacuated from school in case of a nearby military operation. This does not happen now. What is UNRWA's role currently in Gaza? UNRWA is not banned from operating in Gaza as the law prohibits operations only in Israel's sovereign territories. UNRWA is the largest humanitarian agency working in the Strip; it has 12,000 members there; the rest of the UN system has 300. It also has a large logistical network including several warehouses for aid. It has set up mobile healthcare points, its staff go from tent to tent to treat patients. More than 20,000 children are part of UNRWA's 'Back to Learning' initiative, which has play activities, psychosocial social support, basic literacy, numeracy, etc. UNRWA's sanitation labourers collect trash and clean refugee camps. UNRWA does not run these camps, only provides facilities and services in them. UNRWA 'as a whole' has been accused of being 'a haven for Hamas' radical ideology'. How does it ensure that its operations and staff remain neutral? There are solid mechanisms to deal with people who breach or allegedly breach UN impartiality rules. Whenever allegations have emerged, staff have been sanctioned depending on the nature of breaches of neutrality. If there are allegations against a dozen staff members or even 50, they are not representative of the entire organisation, which has 30,000 people. Last year, the Israelis made allegations against 19 staff members. UNRWA immediately moved to suspend them, and handed over investigations to the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services. The Office struggled to get any evidence from the Israeli authorities. In nine cases, it was felt that there was a sufficient balance of probability that the staff may have been involved in some unspecified breaches of neutrality. Their termination was upheld. What role can countries like India play in the crisis in Gaza? Any country that believes in the importance of multilateralism needs to advocate for international law, and decisions of the International Court of Justice and UN General Assembly, to be upheld in Gaza. Multilateralism is not perfect, but it is the best system that currently exists. If it is destroyed, the world will become much more dangerous. Jonathan Fowler is Senior Communications Manager, UNRWA. He spoke on Zoom with Alind Chauhan. The transcript has been edited for length and clarity.
Saba Yemen
2 days ago
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Gaza Government Media Office: Health & Humanitarian Situation in Gaza reaches total collapse
Gaza – SABA: The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip has declared that the health and humanitarian situation in the territory has reached a stage of total collapse due to the ongoing policies of genocide carried out by the Israeli occupation. Ismail Al-Thawabta, Director General of the Media Office, told the Palestinian Safa news agency on Friday that Gaza is facing a catastrophic food crisis and famine as Israel systematically prevents the entry of food, resulting in actual cases of starvation. He explained that the absence of hygiene and the leakage of sewage have led to the spread of epidemics and skin and digestive diseases in overcrowded shelter centers. Al-Thawabta added that the near-total destruction of water and electricity infrastructure has rendered basic services unavailable to the majority of the population. He stressed that this situation constitutes not only a humanitarian catastrophe but an ongoing crime against humanity that amounts to genocide under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. He noted that Israel has deliberately committed massacres against Palestinian civilians and families in Gaza, with over 15,000 massacres reported since the start of the genocide campaign. Among these, 14,000 families have been subjected to massacres, with 2,483 families completely erased from the civil registry, totaling 7,120 martyrs. Additionally, 5,620 families were mostly wiped out, leaving only one survivor in each, with a death toll of 10,151 martyrs. 'This pattern of targeting clearly reflects a genocidal intent and contradicts the rules of international humanitarian law, particularly the four Geneva Conventions, which prohibit attacks against civilians and protected families,' Al-Thawabta stated. Regarding hospital attacks, he emphasized that the systematic targeting of hospitals, shelters, and the killing of children is not random, but part of a deliberate strategy to inflict maximum pain and destruction for multiple objectives. These objectives, according to Al-Thawabta, include depopulating the land through mass killings of children and families to force displacement, dismantling societal resilience structures including the healthcare system, shelters, schools, mosques, and churches, and paralyzing humanitarian and medical efforts to increase death tolls and deepen the catastrophe. These acts aim to use suffering as a political bargaining tool, which is in blatant violation of international law. He pointed out that under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, targeting protected medical and humanitarian facilities constitutes a clear war crime. Al-Thawabta confirmed that since March 18, the pace of Israeli crimes has seen a bloody escalation aimed at enforcing a 'surrender or genocide' equation before summer, using starvation and brutal bombardment as pressure tools. This includes the destruction of what remains of community infrastructure in Rafah – the last refuge for hundreds of thousands of displaced people – where a major massacre occurred. The escalation also aims to create a state of total shock to obstruct any political or field solutions, enforce new realities on the ground, and attempt a final forced displacement from Gaza – all in direct violation of international law and amounting to a crime of mass deportation. Al-Thawabta highlighted the catastrophic outcomes of this escalation, including over 5,500 civilian deaths in just two months and the destruction of thousands of tents and shelter centers in southern Gaza, including the so-called 'safe zone.' This also included attacks on rescue teams and field hospitals, rendering the remaining humanitarian response systems inoperative. He concluded by asserting that what is happening in Gaza is not just a military assault, but a described and systematic act of genocide being perpetrated by the occupying forces amid a disgraceful international silence and absence of accountability. Al-Thawabta called on relevant international bodies, particularly the International Criminal Court and the United Nations, to act immediately to halt this genocide and hold its perpetrators accountable. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
France 24
2 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
What we know about the US ceasefire proposal for Gaza
A US plan for Gaza seen by Reuters on Friday proposes a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 28 Israeli hostages alive and dead in the first week, in exchange for the release of 1,236 Palestinian prisoners and the remains of 180 dead Palestinians. The document, which says the plan is guaranteed by US President Donald Trump and mediators Egypt and Qatar, includes sending humanitarian aid to Gaza as soon as Hamas signs off on the ceasefire agreement. The aid will be delivered by the United Nations, the Red Crescent and other agreed channels. According to text cited by the Times of Israel, the proposal states that whatever agreement is reached on aid to the civilian population will be respected throughout the course of the agreement. On Thursday, the White House said Israel had agreed to the US ceasefire proposal. Israeli media said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel had accepted the deal presented by President Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff. The Palestinian militant group Hamas told Reuters it was reviewing the plan and would respond on Friday or Saturday. Prisoner swap Ten living Israeli hostages and 18 dead Israeli hostages will be released over the course of the first week of the ceasefire, the proposal said. The US plan provides for Hamas to release the last 30 of the 58 remaining Israeli hostages once a permanent ceasefire is in place. Israel will also cease all military operations in Gaza as soon as the truce takes effect, it shows. The Israeli army will also redeploy its troops in stages. Deep differences between Hamas and Israel have stymied previous attempts to restore a ceasefire that broke down in March after Israel renewed its military assault on Gaza. Netanyahu has refused to end the war until all the hostages are released and Hamas is either destroyed or disarmed and sent into exile. He has said Israel will control Gaza indefinitely and facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population. Palestinians and most of the international community have rejected plans to resettle Gaza's population. Using force, or the threat of force, to displace a people living under military occupation is a war crime banned under the 1949 Geneva Conventions. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages – its only bargaining chip – in return for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. It has offered to give up power to a committee of politically independent Palestinians that could oversee reconstruction. Israel launched its campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack in its south on October 7, 2023, that killed some 1,200 people and saw 251 Israelis taken hostage into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. The subsequent Israeli military campaign has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, and left the enclave in ruins. Towards a permanent ceasefire Israel has come under increasing international pressure, with many European countries usually reluctant to criticise it openly demanding an end to the war and a major relief effort. Witkoff told reporters on Wednesday that Washington was close to "sending out a new term sheet" about a ceasefire by the two sides in the conflict. "I have some very good feelings about getting to a long-term resolution, temporary ceasefire and a long-term resolution, a peaceful resolution, of that conflict," Witkoff said at the time. The 60-day ceasefire, according to the plan, may be extended if negotiations for a permanent ceasefire are not concluded within the set period. The plan details that the mediators will guarantee that the ceasefire will continue for the 60-day period and for any agreed upon extension, as well as guaranteeing that serious discussions will be held on the necessary agreements for a permanent ceasefire. Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said on Thursday the terms of the proposal echoed Israel's position and did not contain commitments to end the war, withdraw Israeli troops or admit aid as Hamas has demanded. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a private group backed by the United States and endorsed by Israel, expanded its aid distribution to a third site in Gaza on Thursday. What is the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the organisation whose head resigned? 04:51 Heavily criticised by the United Nations and other aid groups as inadequate and flawed, the group began its operation this week in Gaza, where the UN has said 2 million people are at risk of famine after Israel's 11-week blockade on aid entering the enclave. The launch was marred by tumultuous scenes on Tuesday as thousands of Palestinians rushed to distribution points and forced private security contractors to retreat. The chaotic start to the operation has raised international pressure on Israel to get more food in and halt the fighting in Gaza. GHF has so far supplied about 1.8 million meals and plans to open more sites in coming weeks.
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Health
- Sky News AU
Israel ramps up attacks in Gaza strip
The Israeli forces are ramping up their deadly attacks on Gaza as emergency services are overwhelmed, helping civilians caught in recent airstrikes. The Israeli military bombed a marketplace in Gaza City, murdering civilians who were queuing to buy flour. This is the reality of Gaza under Israel's illegal occupation. The Gaza paramedics are on the front line of Israel's genocide in Palestine every single day. The relentless, indiscriminate bombardment by the IDF also puts their lives in danger as they rush to the scene of airstrikes to help retrieve the dead and wounded bodies of innocent civilians, including women and children. These paramedics are based at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, which has come under attack from Israel many times, and is one of the few functioning hospitals left in Gaza due to IDF bombing. The Geneva Conventions state that targeting a hospital is a war crime. Warning: Distressing footage.
