Human Crisis – News Agency nabakhabar

Asylum-seekers pushed to new extremes in Mexico after Trump’s border crackdown begins

News Agency nabakhabar — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 16:17:32 +0000

Trump on Monday declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and announced plans to send U.S. troops and restrict refugees and asylum, saying he wants to halt illegal entry and border crime. The measures follow a drop in illegal crossings in recent months.

When Dayana Castro heard that the U.S. asylum appointment she waited over a year for was canceled in an instant, she had no doubt: She was heading north any way she could.

Border Patrol Agent Gutierrez walks past four men detained after crossing the border illegally in a gap in two walls separating Mexico from the United States before turning themselves in, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

The 25-year-old migrant, her husband and their 4- and 7-year-old children had nothing left at home in Venezuela. They already had trekked the perilous Darien Gap jungle dividing Colombia and Panama and criminal groups that prey on migrants like them.

Castro was one of tens of thousands of migrants across Mexico with appointments to apply for U.S. asylum at the border scheduled out through February until President Donald Trump took office and issued a series of executive orders to beef up border security and slash migration. One ended the use of the CBP One app that had allowed nearly 1 million people, many seeking asylum, to legally enter the U.S. since January 2023.

“We’re going to keep going. We can’t go home after all we’ve been through, after all the countries we’ve fought our way through, only to give up now,” she said from a small shelter in central Mexico beside a freight train line they were riding north.

Migrants walk into Mexico after being deported from the U.S. at El Chaparral pedestrian border bridge in Tijuana, Mexico, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

Now, migrants like her are adjusting to a new and uncertain reality. Many remain determined to reach the U.S. through more dangerous means, riding freight trains, hiring smugglers and dodging authorities. Some lined up in Mexico’s refugee offices to seek asylum in that country, while others contemplated finding a way back home.

Supporters of the CBP One app that people like Castro used to try to enter legally say it brought order to a chaotic border. Critics say it was magnet for more people to come.

Migrants walk through Tapachula, Chiapas state, Mexico, in an attempt to reach the U.S. border, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, the inauguration day of U.S. President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Edgar H. Clemente)

Adam Isacson, defense oversight analyst for the human rights organization Washington Office on Latin America, said Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration will surely deter migrants in the short term but will also have cascading humanitarian consequences.

People with valid asylum claims may die in their own countries, he said, while migrants fleeing countries like Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti who cannot easily return home may end up floating around the Americas “completely unprotected.” Isacson and other analysts expect Trump’s policies will lead to increased demand for smugglers and push migrants — many of whom are children and families — to more dangerous terrain to avoid capture.

By Tuesday, Castro was wrapping her mind around the fact that continuing on after her Feb. 18 appointment with U.S. authorities was canceled would likely mean putting her life, and the lives of her family, at risk as cartels are increasingly extorting and kidnapping vulnerable migrants.

“There’s the train, the cartels, migration police, and they all make you pay them,” she said as she fed her children bread beside a small shelter where they slept. “But if we don’t put ourselves at risk, we’ll never arrive.”

Along Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala another group of migrants in Tapachula took a different approach.

Cuban migrant Rosalí Martínez waited in line outside the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid in the sweltering southern city. Traveling with her child, she had hoped to reunite with her husband in the U.S.

Migrants line up to board boats to continue their journey north hoping to reach the United States after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia in Bajo Chiquito, Panama, Nov. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File)

Now, she was biding her time, joining an increasing number of migrants who have sought asylum in Mexico in recent years, either temporarily due to shifting American restrictions or more permanently.

Like many Cubans in recent years, Martínez was fleeing a spiraling economic crisis.

“I’m going to stay here and see what happens,” she said. But “I’m not going back to Cuba. I’ll become a Mexican citizen, but there’s no way I’m going back to Cuba.”

Others like 42-year-old Jomaris Figuera and her husband want to throw in the towel after years trying to build a life outside Venezuela, where economic and political crises have prompted nearly 8 million people to flee in recent years.

Workers begin the installation of a temporary shelter for possible deportees from the United States, in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

They spent more than four years picking coffee in neighboring Colombia, but struggling to make ends meet, they decided to traverse the Darien Gap. They waited nearly a year and a half for a legal pathway to the U.S. in a wooden shelter in a crime-riddled migrant camp in the center of Mexico City.

But due to Venezuela’s crises, they have no passports. And without money, they fear their only pathway back will be traveling south through Mexico and Central America, and walking days through the same rugged mountains of the Darien Gap.

Anything would be better than staying in Mexico, said Figuera.

Colombian migrant Margelis Tinoco, 48, cries after her CBP One appointment was canceled at the Paso del Norte international bridge in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on the border with the U.S., Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, the inauguration day of President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez)

“It’s like abandoning everything after everything that’s happened to us,” she said. “But after trying to get an appointment, and this happens, we’ve given up.”

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Suing Antony Blinken: The US State Department, Israel and the Leahy Law

News Agency nabakhabar — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 17:30:04 +0000

On 17 December, a number of Palestinians filed a federal lawsuit pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) against the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, alleging human rights violations by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank. Their contention: that the US State Department has failed to implement the strictures of the Leahy Law.

The law, comprising one segment covering the State Department and another for the Department of Defence, prohibits the use of US assistance to the units of foreign security forces suspected of committing gross violations of human rights (GVHRs). The proviso for restoring that assistance can only take place if the offending entity in question takes adequate steps to address the violations.

Examples of such violations include torture, extrajudicial killing, prolonged detention without charge and trial, enforced disappearance, rape and, as broadly noted in the Leahy Law’s own definition “other flagrant denials of the right to life, liberty, or the security of the person.”

The action, supported by Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), seeks declaratory and injunctive relief based on Blinken’s “de facto refusal to implement the statute prohibiting US assistance to Israeli security force units about which there is credible information that they have committed gross violations of human rights.”

Blinken’s record when applying the Leahy Law to Israeli units is disturbingly scrappy. In May, for instance, he explained to Congress that the punishments meted out to soldiers and officers in four cases prior to 7 October 2023, were adequate. One example deserves attention, involving an officer in the Shahar Search and Rescue Battalion of the Israeli occupation forces.

The soldier in question shot and killed Ahmed Manasra, an unarmed Palestinian, in March 2019. A plea deal reached between the military prosecutor and the soldier, subsequently approved by a panel of military judges, proved exceedingly generous to the soldier as it was degrading to Manasra: a three-month term of community service, and a three-month suspended sentence. Blinken accordingly found, as outlined in his memorandum of justification, that the Israeli government “is taking effective steps to bring to justice the responsible member of the Shahar Battalion.” It was a decision perplexing to Tim Rieser, a longtime aide to the chief author of the relevant statute, Sen. Patrick Leahy. Blinken’s justification was inconsistent “with how the law is written and how it was intended to be applied.”

Former State Department officials linked to the original Leahy Law have been less than impressed by the lethargic actions of their former employer. Former Department member Stephen Rickard, who was also a former senior staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, confirms the favourable prejudice within the department towards Israeli units, adopting what he calls a “‘see no evil, hear no evil’ policy”.

“If the State Department will not comply with the law, then it is time for the courts to vindicate the rule of law and order it to do so,” Rickard said.

Former State Department staffer Josh Paul was also candid, saying: “I sat as part of the Israel Leahy Vetting Forum [ILVF] and saw repeatedly cases of gross violations of human rights being brought forward and senior officials being unwilling to act upon them because of fear of political consequences.”

The forum has been more active of late, signalling, according to ProPublica, a marked departure “after years of deferential treatment of Israel”. That said, the lawsuit contends that the ILVF’s vetting operations are, for the most part, “unique, complex, lengthy, high-level”, not to mention “arbitrary and capricious, and is not rationally related to advancing the purpose of the Leahy Law.” This complexity is pure bureaucratic pantomime, intended to mask what is, at heart, a simple policy goal: exempting the conduct of Israeli forces from the level of scrutiny reserved for their international counterparts.

As the lawsuit contends, the State Department “annually vets hundreds of thousands of non-Israeli foreign security force units for compliance with the Leahy Law and ultimately suspends and deems thousands of them ineligible for US assistance.” Since the law’s enactment in 1997, the department had failed to suspend or deem ineligible “a single Israeli unit despite overwhelming information of widespread GVHRs committed by Israel.”

In 2019, Congress amended the Leahy Law to require the secretary of state to provide foreign governments a list of ineligible units under the law and receive assurances that those governments would comply with the Leahy prohibition and block US assistance to such units before transferring assistance in cases of “untraceable assistance”. Despite this amendment, the IVLF failed to identify a single ineligible Israeli Unit responsible for gross human rights violations.

The failure to apply the law, the plaintiffs continue to argue, was “particularly shocking in the face of the unprecedented escalation of Israeli GVHRs since the Gaza War erupted on October 7, 2023.” The provisional orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) directing Israel to cease depriving Palestinians of essential items for their survival, and heeding the UN Genocide Convention, along with arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, underlined that point.

This legal action is taking place in the footsteps of previous efforts launched in US courts. In November 2023, a lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California by the Centre for Constitutional Rights, acting for a number of Palestinian human rights organisations, along with Palestinians in Gaza and the United States. It sought an order from the court “requiring that the President of the United States, the Secretary of State, and the Secretary of Defense adhere to their duty to prevent, and not further, the unfolding genocide of Palestinian people in Gaza.”

The relevant duty arose by virtue of the UN Genocide Convention being “judicially enforceable as a peremptory norm of customary international law.” The complaint further argued that the genocidal conditions in Gaza had been “made possible because of unconditional support given [to Israel] by” President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Blinken and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.

The applicants failed to convince the judge that they had jurisdictional grounds to sue the officials in question, despite the judge declaring that there had been plausible grounds that Israel was contributing to genocidal conditions. This was subsequently affirmed on appeal by a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit, primarily on the political question doctrine. The principle holds that courts are not to review instances where allegations of international law violations have taken place if there are substantial questions of foreign policy involved. An expansive reading of this is arguably unwarranted, given that US obligations at international law would presumably fall within the bounds of curial assessment. The litigants remain undeterred and plan to challenge this further.

The litigation being steered by DAWN is likely to face similar arguments about jurisdiction: that assistance to foreign security units is a matter for the executive and therefore beyond a court’s assessment. But, trite as it is, courts are there to guard the appropriate application of statutes. The Leahy Law, as evidence of Congressional instruction to the State Department, is unequivocal in its purpose and scope regarding gross human rights violations. The time, it would seem, has come for those instructions to be applied to Israel without deferential favour.

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Israel committed crimes against humanity in Gaza: UN-backed report

News Agency nabakhabar — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 15:40:27 +0000

Israel committed crimes against humanity during the war in Gaza, including the crime of “extermination,” an independent UN investigation concludes.

Israeli authorities are responsible for “war crimes and crimes against humanity committed” during the military attacks in Gaza since October 7, 2023, a UN-backed commission said in a new report.

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry found that Israeli authorities are responsible for “the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare, murder or wilful killing, intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, forcible transfer, sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment, arbitrary detention and outrages upon personal dignity.”

The commission found that “the crimes against humanity of extermination, gender persecution targeting Palestinian men and boys, murder, forcible transfer, and torture and inhuman and cruel treatment” were also committed.

The extensive civilian casualties and widespread destruction of civilian objects and infrastructure in Gaza were “the inevitable result of a strategy undertaken with intent to cause maximum damage, disregarding the principles of distinction, proportionality and adequate precautions.”

The intentional use of heavy weapons with large destructive capacity in densely populated areas constitutes “an intentional and direct attack on the civilian population,” it added.

Regarding the statements made by Israeli officials, the report said their remarks “amounted to incitement and may constitute other serious international crimes,” adding that direct and public incitement to genocide is a crime under international law whenever perpetrated.

The commission also evaluated the evacuation orders issued by Israel, calling them “insufficient, unclear and conflicting, and did not provide adequate time for safe evacuations.”

“Furthermore, the evacuation routes and the areas designated as safe were consistently attacked by Israeli forces,” it said and added: “All of this, the Commission determined, amounted to forcible transfer.”

Israel also imposed a “total siege,” which “amounts to collective punishment” against the civilian population, according to the commission.

“Israeli authorities have weaponised the siege and used the provision of life-sustaining necessities, including by severing water, food, electricity, fuel and humanitarian assistance, for strategic and political gains.”

It stressed that the siege has “disproportionately impacted” pregnant women and persons with disabilities, with “serious harm inflicted on children leading to preventable child deaths from starvation including newborns.”

Regarding the acts in the occupied West Bank, the commission found that Israel committed “acts of sexual violence, torture and inhuman or cruel treatment and outrages upon personal dignity, all of which are war crimes.”

Moreover, the commission determined that the Israeli government, as well as the Israeli military, “permitted, fostered and instigated” a pattern of settler aggression directed against Palestinian communities within the occupied West Bank.

UN inquiry to Israel, Hamas

In its recommendations, the commission urged Israel to take immediate action, including implementing a ceasefire, ending the blockade of Gaza, ensuring delivery of humanitarian supplies, and ceasing attacks on civilians and infrastructure.

The commission called on Tel Aviv to “comply fully” with its legal obligations set forth in the International Court of Justice orders on provisional measures issued on January 26, March 28 and May 24 and, in particular, allow the commission access to Gaza to conduct investigations.

It also recommended that all state parties to the Rome Statute cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court.

“Israel must immediately stop its military operations and attacks in Gaza, including the assault on Rafah, which has cost the lives of hundreds of civilians and again displaced hundreds of thousands of people to unsafe locations without basic services and humanitarian assistance,” Navi Pillay, chair of the commission, said in a press release.

In relation to October 7, 2023 attack in Israel, the commission found that the military wing of Hamas and six other Palestinian armed groups, are responsible for “the war crimes of intentionally directing attacks against civilians, murder or wilful killing, torture, inhuman or cruel treatment, destroying or seizing the property of an adversary, outrages upon personal dignity, and taking hostages, including children.”

It urged the government of the State of Palestine and the de-facto authorities in Gaza to “immediately cease all rocket attacks on Israel, unconditionally release all hostages, and thoroughly and impartially investigate violations and prosecute those responsible for crimes, including those committed on and since 7 October by members of Palestinian non-State armed groups in Israel.”

The commission’s report will be presented to the Human Rights Council’s 56th session on June 19 in Geneva.

It is based on interviews with victims and witnesses conducted remotely and during a mission to Türkiye and Egypt, with thousands of open-source items verified through advanced forensic analysis, hundreds of submissions, satellite imagery, and forensic medical reports, according to the commission.

“Israel obstructed the commission’s investigations and prevented its access to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” it noted.

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Dozens killed near Sudan’s capital as UN warns of soaring displacement

News Agency nabakhabar — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 22:00:16 +0000

Pro-democracy activists in Sudan say about 40 people have been killed in “violent artillery fire” by paramilitary forces in the twin city of the Sudanese capital Khartoum, as fighting and displacement intensify across the war-ravaged country.

The Karari Resistance Committee, one of hundreds of grassroots organisations that coordinate aid across Sudan, said on Friday that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group was behind the deadly attack on Omdurman a day earlier.

“So far, the death toll is estimated at 40 civilians and there are more than 50 injured, some seriously,” the Karari Resistance Committee said in a statement posted on social media.

“There is still no precise count of the number of victims,” it said, adding that bodies were received by Al Nao university hospital and other private health facilities or were buried by relatives.

The report has come just days after an RSF attack on a village in Sudan’s central Gezira state killed at least 100 people, according to local activists.

War erupted in Sudan in mid-April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary RSF, creating the world’s largest displacement crisis and leaving at least 15,500 people dead, according to United Nations estimates.

The deadly assault on the village of Wad al-Noura on Wednesday drew widespread condemnation this week, including from UNICEF’s Executive Director Catherine Russell, who said at least 35 children were reported killed and more than 20 others injured.

“This is yet another grim reminder of how the children of Sudan are paying the price for the brutal violence,” Russell said in a statement on Thursday.

“Over the past year, thousands of children have been killed and injured. Children have been recruited, abducted and subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence. Over five million children have been forced from their homes.”

Fighting continues daily, including in the capital of Khartoum, with both sides accused of war crimes including the deliberate targeting of civilians, indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and blocking humanitarian aid.

Another flashpoint is the city of el-Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur region, where RSF paramilitary forces recently launched a deadly assault.

More than 800,000 civilians are trapped in el-Fasher as violence rages, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), and healthcare and other services have collapsed.

“Crucial roads out of el-Fasher are blocked, preventing civilians from reaching safer areas, while at the same time limiting the amount of food and other humanitarian aid coming into the city,” Othman Belbeisi, IOM’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said on Thursday.

The IOM also warned that internal displacement across Sudan could soon top 10 million.

The agency said 9.9 million people were internally displaced across the country’s 18 states; more than half of those displaced are women and more than a quarter are children under age five.

“Imagine a city the size of London being displaced. That’s what it’s like, but it’s happening with the constant threat of crossfire, with famine, disease and brutal ethnic and gender-based violence,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope.

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Migrants are rattled and unsure as deportations begin under new rule halting asylum

News Agency nabakhabar — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 20:10:53 +0000

Abigail Castillo was about to cross the U.S. border illegally when she heard President Joe Biden was halting asylum. She continued anyway, walking hours through the mountains east of San Diego with her toddler son, hoping it wasn’t too late.

“I heard that they were going to do it or were about to do it,” Castillo, 35, said Wednesday as she and her son were escorted to a Border Patrol van with about two dozen others from Brazil, Ecuador and her village in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, which she said she left because it was gripped by violence.

Abigail Castillo, center in pink top, of Oaxaca, Mexico, walks with her son as she boards a Border Patrol van to apply for asylum, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, near Dulzura, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

They had missed the deadline, and were now subject to the new deportation rule.

Her sense of uncertainty prevailed among many migrants after Biden invoked presidential powers to stop asylum processing when arrests for illegal crossings top 2,500 in a day. The measure took effect at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Wednesday because that threshold was met.

Two senior Homeland Security Department officials confirmed the first deportations under the new rule took place Wednesday, though they did not say how many were deported. The officials briefed reporters on condition their names not be used in keeping with regulations.

Sergio Franco, who clutched his baby girl after a nearly two-month journey from Ecuador with his family, walking through the perilous Darien jungle on the border between Colombia and Panama, said he was confident that he would prevail in his plea to find a safe haven in the United States.

Sergio Franco, of Ecuador, holds his daughter as he waits to apply for asylum, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, near Dulzura, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

“If we have evidence, there shouldn’t be a problem,” he said as he got into the van with Castillo and the others.

As the group was driven away, several migrants from India walked up to the same dusty area near a gun shop in the town of Dulzura, one of several that have popped up over the last year in the remote rural outskirts of San Diego for migrants to surrender to Border Patrol agents. There was no water or restrooms and little shade.

Several Guatemalan women arrived later. Among them was Arelis Alonzo Lopez, who said she was nearly five months pregnant and had walked for two nights. A Border Patrol agent asked how she felt.

“I can’t take any more,” she answered.

Migrants seeking asylum rest as they wait to be processed after crossing the border Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

A woman seeking asylum reaches for a bottle of water after crossing the border with a child Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)

A migrant woman from Mexico talks with a Border Patrol agent before being transported in a van to be processed for asylum, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, near Dulzura, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A migrant seeking asylum stands as a Border Patrol agent takes his picture before being transported and processed, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, near Dulzura, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Asylum remains suspended until average daily arrests fall below 1,500 for a week straight. The last month that crossings were that low for that long was in July 2020, during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Migrants who express fear for their safety if they are deported will be screened by U.S. asylum officers but under a higher standard than what’s currently in place. If they pass, they can remain to pursue other forms of humanitarian protection, including those laid out in the U.N. Convention Against Torture.

There are serious questions about whether the new measure can stop large-scale migrant entries. Mexico has agreed to take back migrants who are not Mexican, but only limited numbers and nationalities. And the Biden administration doesn’t have the money and diplomatic support it needs to deport migrants long distances, including to Ecuador and India.

In Matamoros, Mexico, across the border from Brownsville, Texas, Esmeralda Castro of El Salvador worried the asylum halt will drive more people to compete for the 1,450 slots awarded daily to enter legally through U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s heavily oversubscribed online app, known as CBP One. Castro, 40, said she has tried for nine months for an appointment using the app.

“Imagine what’s going to happen with what they’ve done. The system is going to collapse again,” said Castro, speaking at a migrant camp near the banks of the Rio Grande where she has been living with about 10 others. The app has become so overwhelmed at times that users got error messages and experienced other technical failures.

Volunteer Karen Parker, right, helps escort Arelis Alonzo Lopez, a pregnant woman from Guatemala who is seeking asylum, as she walks with a Border Patrol agent towards a van to be processed, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Juan Daniel Medina of the Dominican Republic said he was determined to stick with CBP One, even after eight months of fruitless attempts to get an appointment.

“It’s the correct way because that way you do everything legally. They won’t have to jump the river and risk facing criminal charges,” the 30-year-old Medina said.

Two hours before the sun set Tuesday in San Diego, four busloads of migrants were dropped off by Border Patrol agents at a transit center, many of them to seek asylum in one of 68 immigration courts across the country. Asylum-seekers can generally work while their claims slowly wind through overwhelmed immigration courts.

Migrants seeking asylum walk towards a Border Patrol van to be transported and processed, Wednesday, June 5, 2024, near Dulzura, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Jesus Gomez of Medellin, Colombia, said Border Patrol agents told him he was one of the last people to be released to seek asylum and that he should tell friends and family back home that they will be deported if they attempt to enter illegally. He said he didn’t know if it was true.

“It’s a very difficult thing to navigate,” Gomez, 49, said as he waited for his wife to be released by the Border Patrol before they fly to Boston, where their daughter lives.

A migrant seeking asylum from Guatemala waves as he heads towards a Border Patrol vehicle to be processed, Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

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Israel’s starvation policy in Gaza puts 3,500 children at risk of death

News Agency nabakhabar — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 16:18:08 +0000

Severe shortages of milk, food, nutritional supplements, and vaccinations for children are due to the Israeli humanitarian aid blockade after seizing the Rafah crossing.

More than 3,500 Palestinian children are at risk of starving to death due to Israel’s starvation policy in Gaza, the media office in the besieged enclave warned on Monday.

The Gaza media office said in a statement, “More than 3,500 children under the age of five are at risk of death in Gaza due to Israeli policies of starving children.”

It pointed out “a severe shortage of milk and food, a lack of nutritional supplements, and the denial of vaccinations.”

Humanitarian aid has been blocked for the fourth week in a row, “amid deafening international silence,” it added.

Earlier on Saturday, a Palestinian child starved to death in central Gaza due to Israel’s ongoing blockade of the Rafah crossing, which has prevented humanitarian aid from entering for almost a month.

“A 13-year-old Palestinian child has died due to starvation in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza amidst the closure of the Rafah border crossing,” the Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported.

So far, malnutrition and dehydration have claimed the lives of 37 people in Gaza due to strict restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the besieged enclave, it added.

Lack of essential supplies

Israel has kept the Rafah crossing closed for 28 days in a row, raising fears of a deteriorating humanitarian situation due to a lack of essential supplies reaching Palestinians, particularly in northern Gaza.

Israel seized control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt on May 7, after a military action that ignored international appeals, closing it to outgoing wounded people seeking treatment and blocking already scarce humanitarian aid.

The media office emphasised that these children are suffering from “acute malnutrition, affecting their bodies, exposing them to infectious diseases, hindering their growth, and threatening their survival.”

“These children lack access to essential services, and their conditions are worsening due to the deprivation of vaccinations and essential medications,” the statement added.

The office appealed to the international community to fulfil their responsibilities and save the children in Gaza.

It noted that “335,000 children live under extremely difficult conditions due to genocide, displacement, and other effects of Israeli aggression.”

Since 2006, Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza, causing approximately 2 million of its 2.3 million residents to live in catastrophic conditions with severe shortages of food, water, and medicine.

More than 36,400 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 82,600 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its attacks in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

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Live blog: WFP warns of ‘apocalyptic’ scenes in southern Gaza

News Agency nabakhabar — Fri, 31 May 2024 19:06:03 +0000

Israel’s bombing in Gaza has killed 36,284 Palestinian, majority of them women, children, and infants, with more than 82,057 wounded during the 238-day war while10,000+ people are feared buried beneath the rubble of their homes.

Friday, May 31, 2024

1706 GMT — Daily life has become “apocalyptic” in parts of southern Gaza since Israel invaded Rafah, though the situation in the north is improving, the UN’s food agency has said.

“The exodus that we’ve seen in the past 20 days or so out of Rafah has been an awesome and horrific experience for many, many people,” Matthew Hollingworth, the World Food Programme (WFP) director for the Palestinian territories.

They have fled the fighting to areas where there was not enough water, healthcare or fuel, where food was limited, telecommunications had stopped and there was not enough space to dig pit latrines, Hollingworth told an online briefing.

The public health situation was “beyond crisis levels”, he said, adding: “The sounds and smells of everyday life are horrific and apocalyptic.” People “sleep to the sounds of war… and they wake to the same sounds”, he said.

More updates 👇

1641 GMT — Spain slams Israel restrictions on Jerusalem consulate

Spain has rejected Israel’s “restrictions” on the activities of its Jerusalem consulate in response to Madrid’s recognition of a Palestinian state, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares has said.

“This morning we sent a ‘note verbale’ to the Israeli government rejecting any restriction on the normal activity of Spain’s consulate general in Jerusalem, as its status is guaranteed by international law and by the Vienna Convention” on diplomatic relations, Albares told Onda Cero radio.

“This status cannot be changed unilaterally by Israel,” he said, indicating that Madrid had asked Israel “to reverse this decision”.

1633 GMT — Israel ‘implemented scorched-earth policy’ in Jabalia: Gaza authorities

The Gaza local authorities have said the Israeli army “implemented a scorched-earth policy” during its incursion into the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza as it left an immense scale of destruction in the camp’s homes and infrastructure.

In a statement, Salama Marouf, chairman of the media office of the Gaza government, said that the scenes from Jabalia expose the atrocities committed there against the homes and public facilities, including markets and cemeteries.

He said that the medical teams recovered dozens of corpses of people killed during the incursion, while they continue to search for dozens of others missing under the rubble of destroyed homes and shelters.

1527 GMT — Israeli army destroyed its premises in Jabalia: UNRWA

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has said that it “received horrific reports” from its premises in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza, during the Israeli military offensive in the camp.

In a statement, UNRWA said displaced people, including children, who were sheltering in its schools in Jabalia, were killed and injured by the Israeli army. It added that “tents of people sheltering at our (UNRWA) school reportedly set on fire by IDF (Israeli army).”

UNRWA noted that it received reports that its offices in Jabalia were “destroyed by air strikes and bulldozed” by the Israeli forces. So far, “more than 170 UNRWA premises have been damaged or destroyed across Gaza” since the outbreak of the war on Oct. 7, 2023.

1445 GMT — Israel confirms its forces are in central Rafah in expanding offensive

The Israeli military has confirmed that its forces are operating in central parts of Rafah in its expanding offensive in the southern Gaza city.

The statement did not specify where in central Rafah the operations were taking place, but previous statements and witness reports have pointed to raids in the Shaboura refugee camp and other sites near the city centre.

More than one million Palestinians have fled the city since the assault began, scattering around southern and central Gaza.

1419 GMT — Gaza death toll from relentless Israeli attacks surges to 36,284

Gaza’s death toll from relentless Israeli attacks since last October has reached 36,284, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave has said.

At least 82,057 people have also been injured in the onslaught, the ministry added in a statement.

“Israeli forces killed 60 people, and injured 280 others in five ‘massacres’ against families in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.

1413 GMT — Jordan to host international humanitarian conference on Gaza

Jordan will host on June 11 an emergency international conference to work on the humanitarian response to Israel’s war on Gaza, in coordination with Egypt and the United Nations, the Jordanian royal court has posted on X.

1306 GMT — Humanitarian situation remains dire in Gaza: US

The humanitarian situation remains dire in Gaza, especially in terms of distributing aid to civilians, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said.

“Rafah remains closed and that’s a real problem,” Blinken said during a news conference in Prague. The United States is working intensely to address the acute needs of Gaza civilians, he claimed.

1259 GMT — Israel won’t be present at France’s Eurosatory arms fair: organisers

Israel will not have a stand present at this year’s annual Eurosatory arms and defence industry exhibition in France, a spokesperson for the organisers has said, confirming earlier media reports.

“Following a decision by government authorities, there will not be an Israeli stand at the Eurosatory 2024 salon,” said the spokesperson via email.

“No further information will be given on this,” added the spokesperson.

1232 GMT — Hezbollah-affiliated rescuers say Israel strike on ambulance kills medic

Rescuers affiliated with Hezbollah have said a medic was killed and another wounded in an Israeli strike on one of their ambulances in south Lebanon.

“An Israeli drone strike targeted an ambulance… One rescuer was martyred and another wounded” in the border town of Naqura, the operations room of the Hezbollah-affiliated Islamic Health Committee said

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency also said “an enemy drone targeted a Health Committee ambulance in the town of Naqura”, reporting casualties.

1156 GMT — Overcrowded shelters in Gaza fuel spread of diseases, warns UN agency

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has warned that the overcrowding and poor sanitation in Gaza’s refugee camps are advancing the spread of infectious diseases.

In a statement released on X, the UNRWA emphasised the urgent need for improved healthcare services. “Our teams continue to provide essential medical care to vulnerable individuals, including children and the elderly,” the agency said.

However, the situation remains critical due to the scarcity of vaccines and medicines, it said. The overcrowding and lack of proper sanitation in Gaza’s shelters have contributed significantly to the health crisis. “Overcrowded shelters and inadequate hygiene practices are fueling the transmission of infectious diseases,” the UNRWA warned.

It called for “safe and unrestricted access” to address the pressing health needs of the refugee population.

1050 GMT — Aid ‘not getting to people’ in Gaza, ‘children starving’: UN

The UN humanitarian office and World Health Organization (WHO) have warned that aid is “not getting to people” in Gaza, and as a result “children are starving.”

“They are certainly not getting the amount that they desperately need to prevent a famine,” Jens Laerke, the spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, said at a UN briefing in Geneva.

To the question on the seizure of the Philadelphi Corridor by Israel, Laerke said: “More military action is not normally helpful for humanitarian action.”

He added that it is “difficult to predict” how it would affect the humanitarian operations as a whole, considering the “very dynamic” situation on the ground with armed forces moving around to different areas.

“We want military action to cease altogether. We want to have a humanitarian pause,” he urged and added: “That is the only way we can actually do our jobs properly.”

1045 GMT — Israel won’t end Gaza war even if Hamas releases all hostages: National security adviser

The Israeli government will not end its war on Gaza even if Hamas released all the October 7 captives, National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said.

Hanegbi’s comments came during a meeting with the families of the Israeli hostages. He said that a “stage one” deal for the return of hostages, classified under humanitarian grounds, could be reached soon, according to broadcaster Channel 12 and the daily Times of Israel.

However, Hanegbi reportedly told the families: “This government will not take a decision to stop the war for the return of all the hostages.”

He also reportedly acknowledged the lack of an alternative plan if the hostages were not returned within the expected timeframe.

0957 GMT — Israel will not agree to halt in Gaza fighting without hostage return, official says

Israel will not agree to any halt in fighting in Gaza that is not part of a deal that includes a return of hostages, a senior Israeli security official said.

The comment came after a statement from Hamas declaring that it would be ready to reach an agreement including an exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, as long as Israel stopped the fighting in Gaza.

“There will be no truce, or any halt in fighting whatsoever, in Gaza which is not part-and-parcel of a hostage-release deal,” the official said in comments sent to Reuters. “Any ceasefire would arise solely within the framework of a deal.”

0930 GMT — Houthi-run TV claims 16 killed in American-British raids on western Yemen

At least 16 Yemenis were killed and several others injured as a result of the US and British strikes on Hodeidah city in western Yemen, the Houthi-run Al Masirah TV claimed on Friday.

Al Masirah report added that 35 others were wounded as a result of the American and British raids on the Hodeidah governorate on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, the group’s leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi stated: “This brutal aggression against Yemen is a punishment for its support of Gaza.”

0806 GMT — Spain says rejects Israeli ‘restrictions’ on its Jerusalem consulate

Spain rejects “restrictions” that Israel plans to impose on the activities of its consulate in Jerusalem in response to Madrid’s recognition of a Palestinian state, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said.

“This morning we sent a ‘note verbale’ to the Israeli government in which we reject any restriction on the normal activity of the Spanish consulate general in Jerusalem, as its status is guaranteed by international law,” he said during an interview with radio Onda Cero.

“This status cannot therefore be changed unilaterally by Israel,” he said, adding Madrid had asked Israel “to reverse this decision.”

Israel’s foreign ministry said Monday it had told the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem to stop offering consular services to Palestinians from June 1 over Madrid’s recognition of a Palestinian state.

0717 GMT — Israeli forces pummel Gaza, push into central Rafah

Israeli forces have struck several parts of Gaza, with witnesses reporting air raids around the southern city of Rafah, the latest focus of the nearly eight-month aggression.

Israel launched its military invasion into Rafah in early May despite international objections over the safety of civilians sheltering in the city on Gaza’s border with Egypt.

Witnesses said Israeli strikes hit the Rafah area as well as central Gaza’s Nuseirat, and an AFP correspondent reported intense bombardment in the north.

Strikes on two separate locations killed 11 people overnight, medical sources at a hospital in Deir al Balah and the Nuseirat refugee camp reported.

0705 GMT — 2 more Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza fighting: army

Two Israeli soldiers were killed and one officer seriously injured in battles in Gaza, the military said.

A military statement said Adar Gavriel, 24, was killed in battles in northern Gaza, while Yehonatan Elias, 20, was killed and an officer from the Givat patrol was seriously injured in battles in southern Gaza.

With the latest fatalities, the death toll of Israeli soldiers killed since the outbreak of the Gaza war since October 7, 2023 climbed to 644, according to official military figures.

0650 GMT — Sweden urges Israel to comply with ICJ orders, halt Rafah offensive

Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister Tobias Billstrom called on Israel to “immediately halt military offensive” on Rafah, southern Gaza, and to comply with International Court of Justice (ICJ) orders.

“The ICJ has urged Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah in light of its humanitarian consequences. The ruling is binding and Sweden and the EU urge Israel to comply with it,” Billstrom told Anadolu.

The minister’s comments came as Israel continues with bombarding the southern Gaza’s city which shelters hundreds of thousands of civilians, despite international condemnation.

0642 GMT — Bodies of Palestinians recovered from northern Gaza after Israeli army withdrawal

Several bodies of Palestinians have been recovered from areas in northern Gaza after the Israeli army withdrew from the region.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that several bodies of Palestinians were recovered from the streets of the Jabalia camp and the Beit Lahia project area in northern Gaza after the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The Israeli forces withdrew from northern Gaza revealing massive destruction of homes and infrastructure and the burning of dozens of residential buildings in the Jabalia camp, eyewitnesses added.

The Israeli army completely withdrew from the Jabalia camp area and its surroundings after an offensive that lasted 20 days, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

0400 GMT — Swedish police forcibly remove students from pro-Palestinian tent encampment

Swedish police forcibly removed students from a tent encampment at Lund University that was established on May 16 in solidarity with Palestinians and in protest against Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza.

Dozens of students refused to leave when police attempted to clear the camp and were forcibly carried and dragged away.

Some protesters will only be allowed to go in and collect their belongings under police escort, after which the tents will be confiscated, police press spokesperson Thomas Johansson was quoted as saying by public broadcaster SVT Nyheter.

0340 GMT — French opposition lawmakers call for boycott of TV channel over Netanyahu interview

Opposition lawmakers in France have called for a boycott of the French television channel LCI after it aired an interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.

The interview was featured on Le 20h de Darius Rochebin, a programme on LCI, which is part of the TF1 Group.

Opposition politicians and social media users expressed outrage, labeling Netanyahu a “butcher,” “genocidal” and a “war criminal.”

0125 GMT — Qassam Brigades say they targeted Israeli tanks, troops in Gaza

The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas, said that they targeted seven Israeli tanks as well as Israeli forces during battles in Gaza.

They provided the news in a series of statements detailing skirmishes across the enclave.

The armed wing said they targeted three Merkava tanks in the Yibna refugee camp in the city of Rafah using Yassin 105 shells.

2238 GMT — US-British joint strikes leave two people dead in Yemen

The US and British militaries have announced that they have launched strikes against Houthi fighters in Yemen. Houthi media confirmed on Thursday that at least two persons were killed in the strikes.

The British defence ministry said the joint operation targeted three locations in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reported at least two deaths and 10 injuries from strikes against a radio building in Hodeidah’s Al-Hawk district.

2142 GMT — Hundreds protest Netanyahu interview broadcast in France

Hundreds of demonstrators rallied late Thursday outside a top French television station to protest the broadcast of an interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the brutal Israeli war on Gaza.

Wearing black and white keffiyeh scarves and waving Palestinian flags, protesters gathered peacefully outside the offices of private broadcaster TF1 in the western Paris suburbs.

Kept away from the building by a heavy police presence, the protesters chanted: “Gaza, Paris is with you,” “Immediate ceasefire!” and “Israel, murderer.”

In the interview broadcast on TF1’s news channel LCI, Netanyahu defended his country’s devastating offensive in Gaza.

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OCHA says 17 million Syrians need humanitarian assistance

News Agency nabakhabar — Tue, 28 May 2024 20:00:12 +0000

Almost three-quarters of the population of Syria still require humanitarian assistance, a startling 25 percent increase since 2021, said Ramesh Rajasingham, Director of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), on Monday.

“Today, almost 17 million Syrians – almost three-quarters of the population – still require humanitarian assistance, a startling 25 per cent increase since 2021,” Rajasingham said during his statement at the 8^th Brussels Conference on “Supporting the future of Syria and the region” that took place in Brussels.

He added that there are almost 13 million people in Syria facing acute food insecurity and hunger.

“More than half a million children urgently need treatment for acute malnutrition,” the U.N. official noted. “And more than 1.8 million people need support to access safe water.”

He indicated that only eight percent out of the $4 billion has been received to provide humanitarian support in Syria this year.

He warned that there is a real risk that it will contribute to a further escalation in the crisis.

“The humanitarian community responding in Syria, estimates that an additional 2.6 million people will be at risk of becoming acutely food insecure,” Ramesh Rajasingham said.

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Live blog: Dignity of humanity ‘destroyed’ in Gaza — Turkish minister

News Agency nabakhabar — Tue, 28 May 2024 18:00:14 +0000

Israel has killed at least 36,096 Palestinians — including babies, children, and women — and wounded 81,136 in its 235-day war on Gaza, while some 10,000+ people are feared buried under the debris of bombed homes.

Tuesday, May 28, 2024

1405 GMT –– The Turkish health minister has said the dignity of humanity “is being destroyed” in Gaza amid ongoing attacks not only on civilians but also on health facilities.

“In Gaza, the dignity of humanity is being destroyed in front of all of our eyes, stomp by stomp,” Fahrettin Koca said in a World Health Assembly (WHA) session in Geneva.

“It has been seen that countries that claim to be developed are very backward in human values. They preferred to keep silent while children and babies were slaughtered with the most primitive methods,” he said, adding: “The so-called advanced democracies turned a deaf ear to the voices of societies.”

“We are all prisoners of this black and dark history,” he said.

More updates 👇

1358 GMT –– Palestine calls new Israeli strikes on Rafah a massacre

The Palestinian president’s spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, has described new Israeli strikes on Rafah as a massacre and called for the implementation of a World Court decision ordering Israel to halt its offensive on the city.

Israel has kept up its offensive despite a ruling by the top UN court on Friday ordering it to stop, saying the court’s ruling grants it some scope for military action in Rafah.

1353 GMT –– Finland expresses sorrow about Israeli strikes in Rafah

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen has expressed sorrow about recent Israeli air strikes in Rafah that killed dozens of civilians.

“Devastated by news from Rafah on Israeli strikes killing dozens of civilians, including small children,” she wrote on X.

“Finland has consistently urged Israel to refrain from attacking Rafah, especially considering the high numbers of displaced people there. The orders of the ICJ and international humanitarian law must be respected by all parties.”

1344 GMT –– Israel holds 26 Palestinian women without trial or charge: NGO

Israel is holding 26 Palestinian women without trial or charge, a local nongovernmental organisation has said.

Three journalists, a lawyer and several students are among the detainees, the Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement.

“Some 26 women are held administratively without trial or charge from among 80 women in Israe li custody at Damon prison” near Haifa in northern Israel, it added.

1300 GMT –– Hamas urges UNSC to take ‘immediate measures’ to halt Israeli assault

Hamas has called on the UN Security Council to take “immediate” measures to halt Israel’s ongoing offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza.

In a statement, the Palestinian group urged the council “to fulfil its legal and moral responsibilities towards Israel’s disregard for the decision of the International Court of Justice.”

1243 GMT –– WHO chief deplores Israel’s Sunday attack on Rafah camp for displaced people

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief has deplored Israel’s Sunday attack on a camp for displaced people in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, causing the deaths of dozens.

“WHO deplores the air strike on Sunday night in Rafah that reportedly killed 45 displaced people sheltering in tents,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.

“As violence in Rafah continues escalating, almost a million displaced people are once again in search of safety that doesn’t exist in Gaza,” he said.

1231 GMT –– Dozens killed in Israeli strikes on tent area west of Rafah: officials

At least 21 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in new Israeli strikes on an area of tents housing displaced people West of Rafah, health authorities in the enclave have said.

The new Israeli strikes targeted tents of displaced families in the designated humanitarian area in Mawasi in western Rafah, according to medics and residents.

1212 GMT –– South Africa condemns Israel’s ‘deplorable’ Rafah strike

South Africa has condemned as “deplorable” an Israeli strike on Gaza’s southern city of Rafah that killed dozens in a displaced persons camp.

“The South African Government joins the international community in condemning the deplorable and brutal attacks on innocent civilians after Israeli forces bombed a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians,” the foreign ministry said.

It noted that the strike came two days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to end its military offensive in Rafah.

1200 GMT –– Medical evacuations under ‘abrupt halt’ in Gaza: WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that medical evacuations in Gaza are under “abrupt halt” while 10,000 people need to be referred out.

“There’s been an abrupt halt to all medical evacuations,” WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said at a UN press briefing.

“We have around 10,000 people who need to be evacuated. And since the increase in the violence in the area and Rafah, and the limitation on the services, we now have an extra 1,000 critically ill and injured patients who’ve been unable to leave Gaza to receive the much-needed medical treatment elsewhere,” Harris stressed. She noted that no evacuation has been done since May 7.

1154 GMT –– Just one hospital now operational in Gaza’s Rafah: ministry

Only one hospital remains operational in Rafah in southern Gaza, while all other hospitals have ceased operations amid an Israeli offensive in the city, the Health Ministry has said.

In a statement, the ministry said that Israeli attacks had forced four hospitals in Rafah – Abu Yusef al-Najjar Hospital, Abu al-Walid Central Clinic, Rafah Field Hospital 2, and Kuwait Specialist Hospital – out of service.

“The Tel al-Sultan Maternity Hospital is still struggling to provide services to patients,” it added.

1114 GMT –– Israeli killing of Egyptian soldier shows how real Gaza war spillover threat is: Fidan

Israel’s killing of an Egyptian soldier in the Rafah border crossing has shown how real the risk of a spillover of the Gaza conflict is, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said in a live presser.

Speaking in a news conference alongside his Cambodian counterpart Sok Chenda Sophea, who is in the Turkish capital Ankara on an official visit, Fidan also criticised the US and other Western nations for their support to Israel.

“It would not be possible for this genocide to continue without the support of some countries, especially the US, for Israel,” he said.

1127 GMT –– Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognise State of Palestine

Spain, Norway and Ireland have formally recognised the State of Palestine, defying Israel which had condemned the move.

The three European countries believe their initiative has a strong symbolic impact that is likely to encourage others to recognise a Palestinian state.

As Oslo’s formal recognition went into effect, Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide hailed the move as “a special day for Norway-Palestine relations.”

“Norway has been one of the most fervent defenders of a Palestinian state for more than 30 years,” he added.

Shortly afterwards, Spain followed suit, with government spokeswoman Pilar Alegria confirming the cabinet had formally recognised Palestinian statehood, qualifying it as “a historic day.”

Later, the Irish government, too, announced its official recognition of a Palestinian state.

1044 GMT –– Health ministry in Gaza says war death toll at 36,096

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said that at least 36,096 people have been killed in the territory during more than seven months of Israel’s war on the besieged enclave.

The toll includes at least 46 deaths over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said, adding that 81,136 people have been wounded in Gaza since the Tel Aviv launched a brutal war after Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7.

1030 GMT –– Israeli strikes in Rafah have had horrific, unacceptable consequences: Australia

In a broadside at Tel Aviv over its latest bombardment in Gaza, Australia has called on Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah.

“Israel’s strikes have had horrific and unacceptable consequences,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a statement, referring to the latest Israeli attacks in Rafah which killed 45 on Sunday.

These events “underscore that we must see a humanitarian ceasefire now so that civilians can be protected,” she added.

0950 GMT –– UK foreign secretary calls for urgent action following ‘deeply distressing’ Israeli airstrikes on Rafah

In the wake of the devastating Israeli airstrikes on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza during the past weekend, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron expressed deep concern and called for immediate and decisive action.

“Deeply distressing scenes following the airstrikes in Rafah this weekend,” Cameron said on X.

Cameron emphasised the necessity of a thorough investigation by the Israeli forces, urging it to be “swift, comprehensive & transparent.”

0941 GMT –– Reporters Without Borders files 3rd complaint with ICC about Israeli war crimes against journalists

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) filed its third complaint with the International Criminal Court about Israeli war crimes against journalists, according to a statement.

The complaint was filed on May 24, the Paris-based RSF said in a statement.

This complaint is “asking the prosecutor to investigate crimes against at least nine Palestinian reporters between 15 December and 20 May, as well as, more broadly, the more than 100 journalists that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have killed since 7 October (2023) in Gaza,” the non-profit said.

The RSF added that it filed two previous complaints on October 31 and December 22, 2023, and the third one detailing “eight new cases of Palestinian journalists killed between 20 December and 20 May, as well as the case of a journalist who was injured.”

0908 GMT –– Israel advances in Philadelphi Corridor, moves closer to blocking Gaza from Egypt

The Israeli army began expanding its incursion into Rafah, southern Gaza, seizing more of the border area with Egypt, known as the Philadelphi Corridor.

The move means that the Israeli army is moving closer to isolating the besieged enclave from contact with Egypt and eventually the entire world.

The current Israeli incursion into Rafah makes it only 3 kilometres (1.8 miles) away from the Rafah coast and puts over two-thirds of the Philadelphi Corridor area under Israel’s control.

The Philadelphi Corridor –– 14-kilometer (8.69-mile) in length –– is a demilitarised buffer zone running along the Gaza-Egypt border, as stipulated by the treaty following the signing of the 1978 Camp David Accords between then-Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.

0901 GMT –– Israel again bombs Rafah as UNSC to discuss camp attack

Israel has again bombarded Gaza’s far-southern Rafah area despite a global storm of outrage over Sunday’s strike that set ablaze a crowded tent city, killing at least 45 people.

The strike, which Gaza medics said also left hundreds of civilians with shrapnel and burn wounds, drew condemnation from world leaders and was set to be discussed at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council from 1915 GMT.

The sight of the charred carnage, blackened corpses and children being rushed to hospitals led UN chief Antonio Guterres to declare that “there is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop.”

0842 GMT –– Israeli tanks reach Rafah city centre, witnesses say

Several Israeli tanks reached the centre of Rafah, witnesses told Reuters news agency, three weeks into a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city that has has drawn intense scrutiny from neighbouring Egypt and from the United States.

The tanks were spotted near al-Awda mosque, a central Rafah landmark, the witnesses said.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on their account, saying it would issue a statement about the Rafah offensive later.

0809 GMT –– Israeli forces press Rafah offensive despite global outcry

Israel pounded Rafah with air strikes and tank fire, pressing its offensive in Gaza’s southern city.

At least 16 Palestinians were killed in strikes overnight, officials in the enclave said. Israeli tanks pushed towards western neighbourhoods in one of the worst nights of bombardment reported by residents.

Reacting to Sunday night’s strike and fire in a camp where thousands of families displaced from assaults elsewhere in Gaza had sought shelter, global leaders urged the implementation of a World Court order to halt Israel’s assault.

0746 GMT –– China expresses ‘grave concern’ over Israel’s military assaults in Rafah

China expressed “grave concern” over Israel’s military attacks in Rafah, where an Israeli strike killed dozens in a displaced persons camp.

China “expresses its grave concern over the ongoing Israeli military operations in Rafah”, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

Beijing urged “all parties to protect civilians and civilian facilities”. It also said it “strongly urges Israel to listen to the appeals of the international community and to stop its attacks on Rafah”.

0739 GMT –– UNRWA says around 1 million people have fled Rafah in past 3 weeks

Around one million people have fled the Gazan city of Rafah in the past three weeks, the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said.

The small city on the southern edge of Gaza had been sheltering more than a million Palestinians who fled Israeli assaults on other parts of the enclave.

UNRWA said Palestinians’ flight from Rafah “happened with nowhere safe to go and amidst bombardments, lack of food and water, piles of waste and unsuitable living conditions.”

0652 GMT — Recognising Palestinian statehood ‘essential for reaching peace’: Sanchez

Recognising Palestinian statehood is an “essential” step for achieving peace in the Middle East, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said, with his government poised to formally take the step alongside Ireland and Norway.

“Recognition of the state of Palestine… is an essential requirement if we are all to achieve peace,” he said.

0319 GMT –– German foreign minister booed over govt’s approach to Gaza conflict

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was booed and jeered by pro-Palestinian protesters at a weekend event in the capital Berlin over the government’s support for Israel.

Footage shared on social media showed several people interfering with a presentation by Baerbock at the Democracy Festival held on Sunday to mark the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the country’s constitution.

Some attendees shouted angrily and waved banners, disrupting her speech. They accused the German government of bias and demanded that it immediately halt arms shipments to Israel.

Reports in the German media also said that a woman among the protesters who claimed to be Jewish shouted: “There is no freedom of thought in Germany after Israel’s attacks on Gaza!”

The protesters were later escorted out of the venue by security personnel.

0255 GMT –– Greece’s main opposition party pushes for recognition of Palestinian state

Greece’s main opposition SYRIZA party said it is pressing the government to recognise the State of Palestine.

“We must take a history lesson from the friendship between the Greek people and the Palestinian people, starting with (former Greek Prime Minister) Andreas Papandreou and (former Palestinian President) Yasser Arafat, and today bring it back to the forefront of our foreign policy.

“Because if not now, (then) when? What is the best time to finally recognise the Palestinian state, to follow the example of Spain, Ireland and Norway?” said the party’s leader, Stefanos Kasselakis, speaking to the radio station Sto Kokkino.

0205 GMT –– Israel’s attack on Rafah was ‘intentional’: US Congresswoman

Israel’s bombing over the weekend of a camp for displaced people in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza was “intentional,” the only Palestinian American member of the US Congress said.

“This was intentional. You don’t accidentally kill massive amounts of children and their families over and over again and get to say, ‘It was a mistake’,” Rashida Tlaib said on X.

“Genocidal maniac Netanyahu told us he wants to ethically cleanse Palestinians. When are you going to believe him @POTUS?” she added, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

0148 GMT –– Several Palestinians injured from assaults by Israeli army, settlers in West Bank

Several Palestinians were injured due to assaults by Israeli forces and illegal Jeswish settlers in the occupied West Bank.

Two Palestinians –– a father and his son –– were injured near the town of Yatta in Hebron governate as illegal Israeli settlers stopped and assaulted them with sharp objects, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

Both suffered moderate injuries and were transferred to a hospital in Hebron.

0127 GMT –– An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon kills 2 people near a hospital, officials say

An Israeli strike targeting a motorcycle in southern Lebanon hit next to a hospital entrance, killing the motorcycle driver and a hospital security guard and wounding several civilians nearby, local health officials said.

It was not immediately clear who the driver was or why he was targeted in the strike in the town of Bint Jbeil.

The Israeli army did not give a statement on the strike but said it had targeted other areas of southern Lebanon in response to what they call “terrorist launches.”

0117 GMT –– Hezbollah targets Israeli army position in northern Israel

The Lebanese Hezbollah group said it carried out an aerial attack against an Israeli army position in northern Israel.

In a statement, the group said it targeted newly established bunkers of Artillery Battalion 411 east of Nahariya with explosive-laden drones and achieved precise hits, inflicting casualties.

The Times of Israel news website meanwhile reported that the Israeli army intercepted one drone while a second one hit an area in western Galilee, both of which were launched by Hezbollah.

0052 GMT –– Japan urges Israel to comply with world court’s order to halt Rafah offensive

Japan urged Israel to obey an order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to halt its military offensives in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.

The provisional measures “are legally binding on the parties to disputes and to be observed in good faith,” Japanese Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko told her Israeli counterpart Israel Katz in a phone call.

Kamikawa also linked the release of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza to a ceasefire in the besieged Palestinian enclave, according to a statement by Japan’s Foreign Ministry.

0023 GMT –– EU discussing sanctioning Israel if it refuses to comply with world court’s ruling: minister

The European Union is discussing sanctioning Israel if it refuses to comply with a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering it to immediately halt its military campaign in the city of Rafah, local media reported, citing Ireland’s foreign minister.

During a meeting of the European Political Community, EU foreign ministers for the first time discussed the prospect of sanctions against Israel if it continued to disregard the court’s order, said Michael Martin, according to public broadcaster RTE.

“Certainly, if compliance isn’t forthcoming, then we have to consider all options,” he said, adding that Ireland would support such an approach.

2126 GMT — UNSC to hold emergency meeting after Israel’s massacre in Rafah

The UN Security Council has convened an emergency meeting after what Israel said was a “precision strike” on a displaced persons camp in the southern Gaza city of Rafah that killed at least 45 people, wounded 250, some of them burned alive and others slashed into pieces.

The closed-door meeting was requested by Algeria, which is currently a non-permanent member of the council, diplomats said.

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World Bank says more than quarter of Syrians live in extreme poverty

News Agency nabakhabar — Sun, 26 May 2024 19:50:19 +0000

The World Bank reported on Saturday that more than a quarter of the Syrian population is living in extreme poverty after 13 years into a devastating conflict that has severely impacted the economy and left millions in poverty.

In two new reports on Syria, the World Bank highlighted that approximately 27 percent of Syrians, around 5.7 million individuals, “live in extreme poverty.”

The prolonged conflict in Syria has devastated the economy, infrastructure, and industries. Meanwhile, Western sanctions added more challenges.

One of the reports pointed out “Extreme poverty, while virtually non-existent before the conflict, affected more than one in four Syrians in 2022,” which may have been worsened by the Feb. 6 earthquake that claimed the lives of around 6,000 in Syria.

According to the report, areas in Northeast Syria show the highest poverty incidence and that more than 50 percent of the extreme poor live in three governorate, Aleppo, Hama, Deir ez-Zor.

According to the United Nations, approximately 90 percent of Syrians are currently living in poverty. It had previously estimated that 2 million individuals were trapped in extreme poverty after more than a decade of warfare.

The World Bank also highlighted that the continued funding shortfalls and restricted access to humanitarian aid put further strain on impoverished Syrians who are already suffer from high prices, reduced services, and increasing unemployment.

The report said Syria’s estimated GDP stood at around $6.2 billion in 2023, whereas Syria’s “real GDP is projected to contract by 1.5 percent in 2024, extending the 1.2 percent decline in 2023.”

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