Latest news with #ThameenAlKheetan
Qatar Tribune
an hour ago
- Politics
- Qatar Tribune
Israeli forces kill over 410 during weeks of Gaza food aid chaos, says UN
dpa Geneva At least 410 people have been killed by Israeli forces since late May during the chaotic distribution of food by a new foundation in the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the UN Human Rights Office said on Tuesday. 'Since the 'Gaza Humanitarian Foundation' started operating on 27 May, the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities,' said Thameen Al Kheetan in a news release issued in Geneva. 'Reportedly, over 410 Palestinians have been killed as a result,' he added. Al Kheetan stated that direct attacks by Israeli forces caused these deaths, and that the UN had verified nearly all of the cases. He noted that while there are also reports of armed groups operating near food distribution centres, the casualties referenced involved actions by Israeli troops. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is backed by Israel and the US, has been working in the Gaza Strip with the aim of forming an alternative to the UN and international aid organizations after an Israeli blockade on humanitarian assistance lasted almost three months. According to Al Kheetan, a further 93 people were killed by Israeli forces when they attempted to approach the few authorized United Nations convoys. A total of around 3,000 Palestinians were injured. Israel is violating international law by blocking UN convoys for the starving population, the spokesman said. Denying civilians vital aid is a war crime, he added. 'Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution,' Al Kheetan said, adding that 'it endangers civilians, and contributes to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.' Following the announcement of a ceasefire with Iran, relatives of Israeli hostages demanded on Tuesday an immediate halt to the war in Gaza. 'We call on the government to engage in urgent negotiations that will bring home all the hostages and end the war,' the Hostage and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.
Observer
an hour ago
- Politics
- Observer
Strike on Tehran's prison represents breach of international law, says UN
TEHRAN: An air strike on Iran's Evin Prison containing political Prisoners on Monday represents a grave violation of international humanitarian law, the UN human rights office said. "Evin Prison is not a military objective, and targeting it constitutes a grave breach of international humanitarian law," UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday, without naming Israel. He said that his office has received reports of fires inside the facility and an unspecified number of injuries. Iran's prison authority has transferred prisoners out of Evin prison after it was hit by Israeli strikes, the judiciary said on Tuesday. The prison authority "transferred the inmates who were serving their sentences in this prison (Evin) to other facilities within Tehran province... to safeguard the rights of the prisoners and to provide space for emergency response teams," the judiciary's Mizan Online website said. Emergency personnel work amid debris at an impacted residential site, in Be'er Sheva. — Reuters Iranian media reported that the process of transferring the prisoners had been completed, but did not specify how many inmates were moved. Media also reported that authorities on Tuesday defused two unexploded missiles that landed near the prison during an Israeli strike the day before. "Two unexploded missiles that had been fired yesterday and landed in the vicinity of Evin prison were defused and safely transferred to a secure location," Tasnim news agency reported, citing a police spokesman. Earlier, judiciary spokesman Asghar Jahangir said multiple people were killed and wounded in the strike on the prison on Monday, state TV reported. "Due to this destruction, a number of our fellow citizens, including administrative and judicial staff, visiting civilians, family members of inmates and the inmates themselves, were injured, and we have had martyrs in this incident," he said. The strike destroyed part of the administrative building at Evin, a large, heavily fortified complex in the north of Tehran, which rights groups say holds political prisoners and foreign nationals. — Agencies
Asharq Al-Awsat
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Strike on Iran Prison Represents Breach of International Law, UN Rights Office Says
An airstrike on Iran's Evin prison containing political prisoners on Monday represents a grave violation of international humanitarian law, the UN human rights office said. "Evin prison is not a military objective, and targeting it constitutes a grave breach of international humanitarian law," UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday, without naming Israel. He said that his office has received reports of fires inside the facility and an unspecified number of injuries.
Arab News
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
UN condemns ‘weaponization of food' in Gaza
GENEVA: The United Nations on Tuesday condemned Israel's apparent 'weaponization of food' in Gaza, a war crime, and urged Israel's military to 'stop shooting at people trying to get food.' 'Israel's militarised humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution,' the UN human rights office said in written notes provided before a briefing. 'Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food.' The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began food distribution operations in Gaza on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into the occupied Palestinian territory for more than two months, sparking warnings of mass famine. The UN said in May that '100 percent of the population' of the besieged territory were ' at risk of famine.' The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF — an officially private effort with opaque funding — over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan warned in the briefing notes of 'scenes of chaos around the food distribution points' of the GHF. Since the organization began operating, 'the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities,' he said. He pointed to reports that 'over 410 Palestinians have been killed as a result, (while) at least 93 others have also been reportedly killed by the Israeli army while attempting to approach the very few aid convoys of the UN and other humanitarian organizations.' 'At least 3,000 Palestinians have been injured in these incidents,' he said. 'Each of these killings must be promptly and impartially investigated, and those responsible must be held to account.' Kheetan cautioned that the system 'endangers civilians and contributes to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.' 'The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime, and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law,' he warned. The UN rights office demanded immediate action to rectify the situation. 'The Israeli military must stop shooting at people trying to get food,' Kheetan said, also demanding that Israel 'allow the entry of food and other humanitarian assistance needed to sustain the lives of Palestinians in Gaza.' 'It must immediately lift its unlawful restrictions on the work of UN and other humanitarian actors,' he said. And he called on other countries to 'take concrete steps to ensure that Israel — the occupying power in Gaza — complies with its duty to ensure that sufficient food and lifesaving necessities are provided to the population.'
Al Arabiya
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
UN condemns ‘weaponization of food' in Gaza
The United Nations on Tuesday condemned Israel's apparent 'weaponization of food' in Gaza, a war crime, and urged Israel's military to 'stop shooting at people trying to get food.' 'Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism is in contradiction with international standards on aid distribution,' the UN human rights office said in written notes provided before a briefing. 'Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food.' The US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) began food distribution operations in Gaza on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into the occupied Palestinian territory for more than two months, sparking warnings of mass famine. The UN said in May that '100 percent of the population' of the besieged territory were ' at risk of famine.' The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the GHF -- an officially private effort with opaque funding -- over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives. UN rights office spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan warned in the briefing notes of 'scenes of chaos around the food distribution points' of the GHF. Since the organization began operating, 'the Israeli military has shelled and shot Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points, leading to many fatalities', he said. He pointed to reports that 'over 410 Palestinians have been killed as a result, (while) at least 93 others have also been reportedly killed by the Israeli army while attempting to approach the very few aid convoys of the UN and other humanitarian organizations.' 'At least 3,000 Palestinians have been injured in these incidents,' he said. 'Each of these killings must be promptly and impartially investigated, and those responsible must be held to account.' Kheetan cautioned that the system 'endangers civilians and contributes to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.' 'The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime, and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law,' he warned. The UN rights office demanded immediate action to rectify the situation. 'The Israeli military must stop shooting at people trying to get food,' Kheetan said, also demanding that Israel 'allow the entry of food and other humanitarian assistance needed to sustain the lives of Palestinians in Gaza.' 'It must immediately lift its unlawful restrictions on the work of UN and other humanitarian actors,' he said. And he called on other countries to 'take concrete steps to ensure that Israel -- the occupying power in Gaza -- complies with its duty to ensure that sufficient food and lifesaving necessities are provided to the population.'
