Latest news with #Hamas-led

Trade union pledges to support any anti-Israel boycotts by workers

The Journal

2 hours ago

Business
The Journal

Trade union pledges to support any anti-Israel boycotts by workers

THE UNITE TRADE union has told its members it will support any efforts to boycott the handling of Israeli goods and services in their places of work. The union sent an update to its position on Israel and Palestine to its members in Ireland and the UK today, outlining how it will support worker-led boycott and divestment campaigns. The show of support from the union could see protests similar to Ireland's most famous boycott movement, when workers at Dunnes Stores refused to handle goods from Apartheid South Africa in the 1980s. Unite the Union has around two million members across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain. It represents workers in a wide range of industries. In its correspondence to members, the union's Executive Council said it would defend 'all Unite members victimised at work for expressing support for the Palestinian people'. It condemned Israel's 'genocidal actions' in Gaza and the West Bank. It said it would assist campaigns for divestment from Israeli companies in members' workplaces and more generally. Unite said it will engage with members and reps in relevant sectors before taking any action. 'We will not take any action that will put members' jobs at risk without their consent,' it said. Advertisement The union leadership has encouraged its branches and regions to affiliate themselves with their local Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) branch, to support demonstrations and to promote days of action. Unite has also committed to working with PSC to 'engage and inform members and reps in specific sectors and industries, particularly those working in companies that are identified as complicit with war crimes and the crime of genocide'. The union has also urged its members to engage in boycotts against government pension funds and local government investments in companies associated with Israel's war on Gaza and occupation of Palestine more broadly. This should be done, the statement said, 'to fulfil their moral and legal obligations according to international law'. The updated position included some pledges specific to the political situation in the UK, where Unite is at odds with the Labour government over its support for Israel throughout its war on Gaza, but also over its economic and labour policies at home. Unite voted to re-examine its relationship with the Labour Party last Friday and suspended Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner as a union member . The union said it would push for an end to the UK's 'complicity in the genocide' and for Labour to fulfil its election promise of recognising the State of Palestine. Israel's war on the Gaza Strip in Palestine has killed more than 58,000 people since the Hamas-led attack on the country in October 2023. It has been accused of genocide in a case brought by South Africa at the International Court of Justice. The UK supports Israel's war materially – with arms sales – and diplomatically on the world stage. 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

875 Palestinians Killed In 6 Weeks At Gaza Aid Points: UN Human Rights Office

NDTV

6 hours ago

Politics
NDTV

875 Palestinians Killed In 6 Weeks At Gaza Aid Points: UN Human Rights Office

Geneva: 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 US - and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and convoys run by other relief groups, including the United Nations. The majority of those killed were in the vicinity of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, while the remaining 201 were killed on the routes of other aid convoys. The GHF uses private US 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 has repeatedly denied incidents have occurred on its sites and accused the UN of misinformation, which it denies.

UN says 875 Palestinians have been killed near Gaza aid sites

Straits Times

9 hours ago

Politics
Straits Times

UN says 875 Palestinians have been killed near Gaza aid sites

FILE PHOTO: A general view shows destruction in North Gaza, as seen from Israel, May 27, 2025 REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo GENEVA - The U.N. 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 U.S.- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and convoys run by other relief groups, including the United Nations. The majority of those killed were in the vicinity of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites, 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 U.N.-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 U.N. of misinformation, which it denies. 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 U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, told reporters in Geneva. The United Nations has called the GHF aid model "inherently unsafe" and a violation of humanitarian impartiality standards. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business MAS records net profit of $19.7 billion, fuelled by investment gains Business Singapore financial sector growth doubles in 2024, assets managed cross $6 trillion in a first: MAS Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw acts against 4 law firms and 1 lawyer over seized properties Singapore Man charged with attempted murder of woman at Kallang Wave Mall Singapore Ex-cleaner jailed over safety lapses linked to guard's death near 1-Altitude rooftop bar Singapore SJI International resumes overseas trips amid ongoing probe into student's death in Maldives in 2024 Singapore Sengkang-Punggol LRT gets 15.8 per cent capacity boost with new trains Singapore 'Nobody deserves to be alone': Why Mummy and Acha have fostered over 20 children in the past 22 years The GHF said on Friday it had delivered more than 70 million meals to Gaza Palestinians in five weeks, and that other humanitarian groups had "nearly all of their aid looted" by Hamas or criminal gangs. The Israeli army previously told Reuters in a statement that it was reviewing recent mass casualties and that it had sought to minimise friction between Palestinians and the Israel Defence Forces by installing fences and signs and opening additional routes. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has previously cited instances of violent pillaging of aid, and the U.N. World Food Programme said last week that most trucks carrying food assistance into Gaza had been intercepted by "hungry civilian communities". REUTERS

875 Palestinians killed near aid sites, says UN human rights office

Straits Times

10 hours ago

Politics
Straits Times

875 Palestinians killed near aid sites, says UN human rights office

Israeli strikes kill 31 in Gaza as UN agencies warn of fuel crisis

Business Standard

15 hours ago

Health
Business Standard

Israeli strikes kill 31 in Gaza as UN agencies warn of fuel crisis

Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip overnight killed at least 31 people, according to local hospitals, as UN agencies warned that critical fuel shortages put hospitals and other critical infrastructure at risk. 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. Twelve people were killed by strikes in southern Gaza, including three who were waiting at an aid distribution point on Monday, according to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which received the bodies. Shifa Hospital in Gaza City also received 12 bodies, including three children and two women, after a series of strikes in the north, according to the hospital's director, Dr. Mohammed Abu Selmia. Al-Awda Hospital reported seven killed and 11 wounded in strikes in central Gaza. 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. Separately, three Israeli soldiers were killed in northern Gaza, according to the military. A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said on Monday that they died in an explosion in their tank, apparently after it was hit by an anti-tank missile, though the incident was still being examined. UN agencies, including those providing food and health care, reiterated a warning made at the weekend that without adequate fuel, they "will likely be forced to stop their operations entirely". In a joint statement, they said that hospitals are already going dark and ambulances can no longer move. Without fuel, transport, water production, sanitation and telecommunications will shut down and bakeries and community kitchens cannot operate, they said. The agencies confirmed that some 1,50,000 litres of fuel entered Gaza last week the first delivery in 130 days. But they said it is "a small fraction of what is needed each day to keep daily life and critical aid operations running". "The United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners cannot overstate the urgency of this moment: fuel must be allowed into Gaza in sufficient quantities and consistently to sustain life-saving operations," they said. The agencies signing the statement were the UN humanitarian office OCHA, food agency WFP, health organisation WHO, children's agency UNICEF, the agency helping Palestinian refugees UNRWA, population agency UNFPA, development agency UNDP, and UNOPS which oversees procurement and provides management services. Israel's military said a June 19 strike killed Muhammad Nasr Ali Quneita, a senior Hamas militant who it said had taken part in the October 7, 2023, attack and held hostage Emily Damari, a dual Israeli-British citizen, in his home at the start of the war. There was no comment from Hamas and no independent confirmation. Thousands of Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel that day, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. The militants are still holding 50 hostages, less than half of them believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other experts consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties. Israel's air and ground war 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. Israel's Knesset meanwhile voted to expel a prominent Arab lawmaker, but the measure failed to pass the threshold of 90 votes in the 120-member assembly. Seventy-three members voted in favour. The attempt to remove Ayman Odeh from parliament was related to a social media post in January in which he welcomed the release of both Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners in a Gaza ceasefire. The prisoners released in the agreement included scores of militants convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis, and rival lawmakers accused Odeh of supporting terror, allegations he denied. Many Palestinians view those imprisoned by Israel as freedom fighters jailed for resisting Israel's decades-long occupation of lands the Palestinians seek for a future state. Israel's Arab minority, which makes up some 20 per cent of the population, has citizenship, including the right to vote, but faces widespread discrimination. Its members have close family ties to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, and largely support their cause, leading many Jewish Israelis to view them with suspicion or contempt.