Tag: GAZA

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Gaza Launches Polio Vaccination Drive Amid Humanitarian Pause

To facilitate the campaign, 1.26 million doses of the nOPV2 vaccine have been delivered to Gaza, with an additional 400,000 doses expected to arrive shortly

A large-scale vaccination campaign to fight a polio outbreak in the Gaza Strip is set to begin on September 1, announced the World Health Organisation (WHO) representative for the occupied Palestinian territories on Friday.

Richard Peeperkorn told a press briefing from Gaza that the two-round polio vaccination campaign will see the administration of two drops of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) to more than 640,000 children under the age of 10 across the enclave. The campaign is to kick off this coming weekend.

To facilitate the campaign, 1.26 million doses of the nOPV2 vaccine have been delivered to Gaza, with an additional 400,000 doses expected to arrive shortly, Xinhua news agency reported.

Dr. Peeperkorn emphasized that achieving at least 90 percent vaccination coverage during each round of the campaign is crucial to halting the polio outbreak in Gaza and preventing its spread beyond the region. The campaign will be carried out in stages, spanning three days for each of the three areas of Gaza.

Over 2,180 workers are involved in the campaign, with 392 fixed vaccination points and nearly 300 mobile teams, Peeperkorn said.

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MBS vows continued efforts for Gaza de-escalation

The crown prince, in meeting with Palestinian president, stressed that the Kingdom will continue its efforts to communicate with all international and regional parties to stop the escalation in the war-torn territory….reports Asian Lite news

Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman discussed the situation in Gaza with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a meeting in Riyadh.

The Crown Prince stressed that the Kingdom will continue its efforts to communicate with all international and regional parties to stop the escalation in the war-torn territory.

He also reiterated Saudi Arabia’s unwavering support for the Palestinian people to achieve their legitimate rights to a decent life, fulfil their hopes and aspirations, and achieve just and lasting peace.

Saudi and Palestinian senior officials attended the meeting. They include Saudi Minister of Defence Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz; Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah; President of the General Intelligence Khalid bin Ali Al-Humaidan; and the Saudi Ambassador to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, who also serves as non-resident Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the State of Palestine Naif bin Bandar Al-Sudairy.

Egypt, Iraq leaders meet

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has received Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani, who is on an official visit to Egypt with a high-level Iraqi delegation.

The Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency said the two sides exchanged views on ways to help the region overcome the serious crises it is facing, which threaten its stability and capabilities.

The two leaders stressed the need for the international community to exert intensive pressure to complete the calm and ceasefire agreement in Gaza, stressing the need to end the humanitarian plight in the Strip and stop the ongoing Israeli escalation in the West Bank. This is in addition to the need to launch a serious political track that guarantees the Palestinian people their legitimate and just right to an independent state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, being the sustainable way to establish peace, security and development in the region.

The two leaders agreed that the current circumstances require intensified joint Arab action, bilaterally and collectively, noting in this regard the tripartite cooperation among Egypt, Iraq and Jordan, and affirming continuing to work to make their projects succeed and achieve their objectives to serve as a model for Arab cooperation and regional integration.

Peace talks in Doha to continue

The ongoing indirect peace talks will continue on Wednesday in Doha, confirmed the office of the Israel Prime Minister but gave no details on the members of the delegation. 

According to reports in the media, Israel will be represented by lower-level officials drawn from Mossad and Shin Bet.

The Doha meeting succeeded the Cairo peace talks wherein Israel struck to its stand on the continuation of its troops in the Philadelphi Corridor and Natzrem Corridor.

It may be recalled that in the previous round of talks at Doha and Cairo, the Israeli delegation was represented by David Barnea, head of Mossad and Ronen Bar, the Director of Shin Bet.

The indirect peace talks in Cairo on Sunday ended with neither Israel nor Hamas agreeing to several compromises presented by mediators who are attempting to bridge the gaps between the two sides.

According to Arab media reports, the Israeli delegation will continue talks with the US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators with the aim of bridging the remaining gaps in the Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby in a statement on Tuesday said that discussions would be held at the “working-group level” over the coming days to iron out specific issues.

Kirby in the statement also said that talks have not broken down at Cairo and that they were constructive.

However, there are gaps between Hamas’ demands and those laid out by Israel.

Israeli media has reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has held several meetings on the Cairo talks with Mossad chief David Barnea and Shin Bet head Ronen Bar, who both led the Israeli delegation.

It may be recalled that Hamas militants swarmed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, brutally killing 1,200 people, kidnapped 251 as hostages and took them to Gaza.

There have been strong protests by the Hostages and Missing Persons Forum in Israel to bring back the hostages that have brought Israel to the negotiating table. Presently 110 hostages are remaining in the custody of Hamas, and Israel has officially announced that of this 39 are dead.

After the back-to-back killings of Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shakr on July 30 in Beirut and the Hamas political head, Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, peace talks had derailed, but the US has taken the initiative to bring back the warring sides to the negotiating table for indirect peace talks. Qatar and Egypt are standing with the US to bring peace and have actively been part of the peace talks.

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Israel agrees to resume Gaza truce talks next week

A prospective cessation of hostilities also involving the release of hostages held in Gaza and scaled-up aid deliveries has centered around a phased deal beginning with an initial truce…reports Asian Lite News

Israel has agreed to resume Gaza ceasefire talks on August 15 at the demand of US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Thursday, as regional tensions skyrocket over the war.

Gaza’s Hamas-controlled civil defense agency said Israeli bombardment killed more than 18 people in strikes on two schools on Thursday, as Iran accused Israel of wanting to spread war in the Middle East.

After a week-long pause in November, US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators have endeavoured to secure a second truce in the 10-month-old war sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the three countries’ leaders invited the warring parties to resume talks on August 15 in Doha or Cairo “to close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay.”

A framework agreement was “now on the table, with only the details of implementation” left to conclude, and the mediators were “prepared to present a final bridging proposal” to resolve remaining issues, they said.

Netanyahu’s office said later Thursday Israel would send a negotiating team on August 15 “to the agreed place to conclude the details of implementing a deal.”

A prospective cessation of hostilities also involving the release of hostages held in Gaza and scaled-up aid deliveries has centered around a phased deal beginning with an initial truce.

Recent discussions have focused on a framework outlined by US President Joe Biden in late May which he said had been proposed by Israel.

“It’s not like the agreement’s going to be ready to sign on Thursday. There’s still a significant amount of work to do,” a senior Biden administration official said of the talks that come after calls between Biden and the Egyptian and Qatari leaders this week.

Israel had been “very receptive” to the idea of the talks, the official told reporters on condition of anonymity, rejecting suggestions that Netanyahu was stalling on a deal.

The announcement of the talks came after Hamas named Yahya Sinwar — the alleged mastermind of the October 7 attack — as its new leader, sparking fears the torturous negotiations have become even more difficult.

On the ground in Gaza, the Hamas-controlled civil defense agency said Israeli strikes hit Al-Zahra and Abdel Fattah Hamoud schools in Gaza City, killing more than 18 people.

Senior agency official Mohammad Al-Mughayyir said 60 people were wounded and more than 40 still missing.

“This is a clear targeting of schools and safe civilian facilities in the Gaza Strip,” he said. The Israeli military said the schools housed Hamas command centers.

At least 13 people were killed elsewhere in Gaza, rescuers and medics reported, as the Israeli military issued its latest evacuation order, for parts of the main southern city of Khan Yunis.

Diplomats pressed efforts to defuse tensions in the region, sky-high after the killing of two top militant leaders in attacks blamed on Israel that the militants and their Iranian backers have vowed to avenge.

Iran’s acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri, told AFP that Israel had committed “a strategic mistake” by killing Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week — hours after the assassination in Beirut of Hezbollah’s military chief.

Although Israel has not admitted to killing Haniyeh, Iran and its allies have vowed to retaliate.

Israel seeks “to expand tension, war and conflict to other countries,” but has neither “the capacity nor the strength” to fight Iran, Bagheri said.

Netanyahu, speaking at a military base on Wednesday, said Israel was “prepared both defensively and offensively” and “determined” to defend itself.

The unprecedented Hamas attack that triggered the war in Gaza resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Palestinian militants seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,699 people, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.

Netanyahu, who has resisted making an apology for security failures over Israel’s worst-ever attack, said in an interview published Thursday that he was “sorry, deeply, that something like this happened.”

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Mossad Hired Iranian Agents To Eliminate Hamas Chief: Reports

As per reports in Hebrew media, the members of the elite Ansar al-Mahdi unit of the Iranian army, Islamic Red Guards Corp (IRGC), were hired by Mossad to execute Haniyeh, reports Asian Lite News

After the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, there are reports that the Israel intelligence agency, Mossad, used the services of its Iranian agents.

As per reports in Hebrew media, the members of the elite Ansar al-Mahdi unit of the Iranian army, Islamic Red Guards Corp (IRGC), were hired by Mossad to execute Haniyeh.

According to reports, the original plan of Mossad was to kill Haniyeh during his visit for the funeral of the then-Iranian President Ebrahim Rasi in May this year. However, it was called off due to certain difficulties.

Meanwhile, sources in Israel’s Defense Minister’s office told IANS that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were prepared for any counter-attack from Iran and its proxies against the killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

The sources said that IDF has strengthened the Israel borders in both south and north of the country to prevent any probable attempts from Hamas, Hezbollah or Houthis.

Arab media outlets quoted that the murder of Haniyeh, allegedly by hired agents of the country’s elite members, has shocked the Iranian regime. According to information available, Iran’s intelligence agency has already commenced a crack down on those who were used by Mossad to execute the high profile Hamas leader.

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Xi Works to Ensure ‘Forever Wars’ in Ukraine, Gaza

Xi Jinping has followed the GHQ Rawalpindi guidebook on how the arsonist can pretend to be the firefighter where Ukraine and Gaza are concerned, writes Prof. Madhav Das Nalapat

General Pervez Musharraf succeeded in convincing George W. Bush that Pakistan was not part of the problem in Afghanistan but essential for the solution. This was when it had been clear throughout the 1990s that GHQ Rawalpindi had not jettisoned its 1980s policy of boosting the Taliban but was continuing to support the extremist militia.

President Bill Clinton formed an administration riddled with fellow travellers of the Sino-Wahhabi lobby that was successful in pursuing a pro-Pakistan policy that opposed India on Kashmir and on issues such as technology transfer to, or development of nuclear power by, India. His final gift to GHQ Rawalpindi was to give the soon-to-be-ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif a face-saving exit from Kargil.

Had the people in Pakistan understood the dimensions of the defeat by India of the Pakistan military in the Kargil war, Musharraf could not have sold the untruth that his army was “stabbed in the back” by Nawaz Sharif in Kargil war despite being on a winning trajectory. In fact, the situation was catastrophic for the Pakistan army.

However, the untruth of the army being done in by Nawaz Sharif gave Musharraf cover to oust the civilian administration of Nawaz Sharif and install open military dictatorship on 12 October 1999. Sharif had done his job by being the scapegoat for Kargil and was disposable, as was Imran Khan later when it became clear by February 2023 that the former cricketer could not persuade the US and its allies to once again lavish kinetic and non-kinetic assistance on a massive scale to Pakistan.

By choosing Pakistan rather than India as its ally in the Afghan war in 2001, President Bush made inevitable the day when, twenty years later, the US surrendered Afghanistan to the Taliban. GHQ Rawalpindi ensured in plain sight during the next twenty years that the Taliban not merely survived the US assault on it but grew strong enough since its rout in 2001 to emerge as the most powerful force in the country by 2015.

Xi Jinping has followed the GHQ Rawalpindi guidebook on how the arsonist can pretend to be the firefighter where first Ukraine and later Gaza are concerned. Just before the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army began in February 2022, he had a meeting in Beijing with President Vladimir Putin and it is impossible to believe that he was not informed of the impending war by his Russian friend.

Since the invasion began, CCP General Secretary Xi has ensured that the Russian war machine has been given the help it needed to ensure that the proxy war between NATO and Russia on the territory of Ukraine went on despite unprecedented support from that alliance for Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s war objectives. As matters stand, the Ukraine war will drag on, exactly what Xi Jinping seeks to ensure that US attention and activity get diverted from East Asia back to Europe.

Even if Trump were to cease US help to Ukraine, some NATO members may remain committed to carrying on the ultimately hopeless war that they have been waging against Russia in Ukraine since 2022. Xi would like the Russia-Ukraine war to continue so that the attention of the members of NATO would continue to be diverted.

Even after the conflict ends, resources from within NATO members will need to commit to the rebuilding of Ukraine rather than to strengthening force postures in the Indo-Pacific and ensuring Taiwan is finally given the attention and resources needed to deal with a PRC invasion. Unless Taiwan does get the requisite quantity of weapons and is assured of direct involvement of Japan and the US on its side during such an existential conflict, the island country would need to endure much dev astation in the course of a PLA invasion.

According to sources aware of planning exercises within the PLA Taiwan War Room, which has been set up in a small inland city close to the east coast of China, those involved in scenario building for an invasion and occupation of Taiwan believe that disillusionment with existing conflicts such as Gaza and Ukraine are leading to a war fatigue among the public within US and other NATO countries which would be strong enough by 2026 to ensure that public protests against direct involvement in a Taiwan war are substantial.

The Taiwan War Room of the PLA believes that should the US stay outside the conflict and avoid a direct kinetic role, anti-war groups in Japan would be strong enough to prevent that formidable military power from intervening.

It needs to be added that the agitprop machinery of the CCP is skilled in ensuring such street protests and antipathy to conflict, after years of success in boosting the levels of participation and violence of such protests in the US and its allies through the efforts of CCP offshore networks. A prolonged war is what the Taiwan War Room seeks to ensure in Ukraine and Gaza, behind the pacifist CCP camouflage of public statements and diplomacy.

Despite visible and rising support by China for Russia since the start of the Ukraine war, leaders from the NATO and EU member states continue travelling to Beijing to try and persuade Xi to use his influence over Putin to make the latter stop the war by accepting some of Ukraine’s peace terms. The latest peacemaker from the EU is Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary.

In 2023, Hamas launched a terror attack on Israel that made inevitable a strong response from the IDF to destroy the military wing of Hamas or face an existential threat to Israel. Its military capacities are what has kept Gaza under the control of the terror group since it eliminated Fatah in the strip during 2007.

From the manner in which the planning of the attack took place, including targeting a music festival in which thousands of youth participated to knowing that the security around the event and in the next door village was lax, it was clear Hamas had outside help.

From the start, the CCP has made no secret of its support for Hamas, and by bringing together all the Palestinian factions both extremist and peace-oriented in Beijing just weeks ago, the CCP has ensured that Hamas and others opposed to the existence of Israel among the Palestinian factions were, as a consequence of the unity conference, assisted in spreading to the West Bank as well and not just Gaza.

This raises the prospect of fresh waves of terror attacks on Israel from such groups, including from within the West Bank. As a consequence, the battle between Israel and some of the Palestinian factions intent on violence against the Jewish state is likely to outlast even an end to the war in Gaza. With the Palestinian Unity conference at Beijing, in which Mahmoud Abbas was absent, the conflict between the IDF and sections of the Palestinian factions seems headed towards becoming another “Forever War”.

Republican Vice-Presidential nominee J.D. Vance is correct when he states Taiwan is more essential to US security than Ukraine. He would be the Vice-President of a President who in his previous stint in the White House made his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sign an Instrument of Surrender at Doha in November 2020

 Such a boon to the Taliban was operationalised by President Biden soon after he assumed the US Presidency. China now occupies some of the key military facilities set up by the US in Afghanistan since 2001, including the Bagram military base.

Only an end of the Ukraine and Gaza wars by the close of the year would ensure that US resources in particular get diverted to Taiwan and other hotspots in the Indo-Pacific before preparations are complete for a kinetic attack by the PLA. As yet, unless the PRC gets subjected to much more substantive pressure from the US and its key allies through economic and other measures than is presently the case, Xi remains on track in his thus far successful efforts at ensuring that the Ukraine and Gaza wars continue.

The effort is for such a state of affairs to go on until the Taiwan War Room serving the CCP determines that direct or even Ukraine-level US involvement to a kinetic assault on a country indispensable for the security of the Indo-Pacific is no longer politically feasible for the US President because of growing public pressure within to not get into a conflict with the other superpower.

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Israeli Raids Kill 30 at Gaza School

The strike occurred as Israel continues its months-long military campaign in Gaza that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians…reports Asian Lite News

 Israel’s military has struck a school near Deir al-Balah, a city in central Gaza, killing at least 30 Palestinians and injuring more than 100.

Gaza’s health ministry said footage showed the victims were civilians and most of them were children. The BBC verified a video that shows children among the injured.

Gaza’s civil defence service said the school was sheltering displaced people. Hamas condemned the attack in a statement on Telegram, saying “displaced, sick and wounded people, most of whom were women and children” were killed.

Verified video from the scene shows a chaotic situation, with people running around a compound covered in rubble. Men carry two bloodied children in their arms while a woman hugs another, and a group carries an injured man on a stretcher. A body lies on the ground covered in a blanket.

The IDF said that before the strike it took steps to reduce the risk to civilians “including the use of appropriate munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence”.

The strike occurred as Israel continues its months-long military campaign in Gaza that has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The war started when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.

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Unity Effort

The Beijing Declaration on ending the 17-year internal division between the two Palestinian rivals, Fatah and Hamas, would promote security and peace in the Middle East, Palestinian political experts have said.

At the invitation of the Chinese side, high-level representatives of 14 Palestinian factions held a reconciliation dialogue in Beijing from July 21 to 23 and inked the Beijing Declaration on Ending Division and Strengthening Palestinian National Unity, bringing precious hope to peace and stability in the Middle East.

The signing of the declaration comes amid a large-scale conflict in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, which has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians so far and caused great damage to residential buildings and infrastructure.

During recent interviews with Xinhua, Palestinian political observers considered the Beijing Declaration a key step toward ending the Palestinian internal division, highlighting China’s role in promoting security and peace in the Middle East region.

“The declaration at this time is very important, especially after almost 10 months of comprehensive war waged by Israel against the Palestinian people and their cause, particularly by exploiting the factor of Palestinian division, which has helped it violate Palestinian rights not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank,” Hussam al-Dajani, a Gaza-based political analyst, told Xinhua.

China, as a major world power, bases its diplomatic policy on the principles of equality and peace, he said.

China has succeeded in reconciliation efforts between Saudi Arabia and Iran after a long period of hostility between the two sides, and has played a prominent role in achieving economic stability in developing countries through the Belt and Road Initiative, al-Dajani added.

Al-Dajani stressed that China can play an effective role in monitoring and supporting the Hamas and Fatah movements for the benefit of the Palestinian people, as well as strengthening the Palestinian position at the United Nations.

Ayman Yousuf, a Ramallah-based Palestinian expert, said that China is helping the Palestinians selflessly, as it believes that peace and security are the only paths to achieving global prosperity.

Yousuf expressed the hope that the Beijing Declaration will turn into a clear mechanism on the ground, noting he is cautiously optimistic because there have been previous failures and internal obstacles from Fatah or Hamas, “but in my opinion, the project can succeed if China throws its weight behind it and follows it up with work.”

He explained that China has become a peacemaking country in the Middle East, especially after it mediated between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and it is now seeking to bring Fatah and Hamas closer for the benefit of the Palestinian people, amid increasing talk about Gaza’s future after the conflict.

In Beijing, Iran and Saudi Arabia declared the resumption of diplomatic relations in April 2023 after years of estrangement. China’s success in facilitating reconciliation between the two sides has been an incentive for a new dawn of detente in relations between Middle Eastern countries, experts have said.

Speaking of the follow-up after the signing of the Beijing Declaration, Hani al-Masri, another Ramallah-based political expert, said that “changing the reality is difficult, but not impossible … and the establishment of a Palestinian state as a solution has enjoyed growing international support.”

He added that China is playing a big role in finding a real solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and promoting peace in the region, and China believes that Palestinians should join forces to gain their rights as soon as possible.

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Gazans Flee Amid Evacuation Orders: UN

OCHA added that humanitarian colleagues monitoring population movements reported about 150,000 people left areas in Khan Younis….reports Asian Lite News

After recent evacuation orders, Gazans abandoned shelter in parts of the north and the south, moving so quickly that some left without belongings, UN humanitarians said.

It was not the first time many of them were displaced.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday that more civilians fled parts of Khan Younis following Monday’s evacuation order issued by Israeli authorities and the subsequent intensification of hostilities in that area, Xinhua news agency reported.

OCHA added that humanitarian colleagues monitoring population movements reported about 150,000 people left areas in Khan Younis.

The office is concerned about the short interval between dropping leaflets ordering people to leave and the escalation of military operations, posing significant risks. The warning was about an hour before hostilities. Many civilians were seen on the move without any belongings.

“The immediate escalation of hostilities in the area also resulted in many people being trapped in the evacuation area,” OCHA said.

“These included people with reduced mobility and family members supporting them.”

The humanitarians said that each evacuation order profoundly disrupts people’s lives, with many forced to move into areas with little or no infrastructure and very limited access to shelter, health, sanitation or other life-saving humanitarian assistance.

OCHA said the area designated for evacuation on Monday included two primary health centres, two medical points, a dozen food distribution points and eight cooked meal provision points. These have all ceased operations, with only one community kitchen still operational for those left behind.

The office also said that different parts of Salah ad Din Road have seen security incidents, including gunfire. Parts of the road, a key route for humanitarian goods, were included in Monday’s evacuation directives. This forced humanitarian supplies to be rerouted to the Coastal Road, which is not a viable alternative due to congestion.

The World Health Organisation reported that Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis is coping with an influx of patients following hostilities. Some medical supplies delivered last week for 10,000 patients were diverted to treat mass casualty victims.

OCHA also said displacement continues from the northern Gaza Strip southwards and from the Al-Bureij area of Deir al Balah amid continuing hostilities.

Humanitarians said they continue doing everything possible to provide healthcare, child protection services, cash assistance and essential items.

The UN office added that two marked UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) vehicles were hit with live ammunition while waiting at a designated holding point near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint.

Unicef said the cars were en route to reunite five children, including a baby, with their father. It’s the second such shooting incident involving UNICEF cars in the past 12 weeks.

The UN Relief Agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) suffered a similar incident on Sunday.

OCHA said there were no injuries in either incident.

“We strongly reiterate that humanitarian workers are protected under International Humanitarian Law and must never be targeted,” OCHA added.

Unicef also reported it managed to transfer some water pipes to the north to provide water to the Jabalya area. It’s a reminder that people in Gaza are surviving with only a quarter of the water supply they had before the conflict started on October 7.

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Week of Bombings in Gaza

The Gaza-ruling faction on Sunday held the Israeli and the US administrations “fully responsible” for continued killings in the refugee camp…reports Asian Lite News

The Israeli army has bombed the central Gazan refugee camp of Nuseirat 63 times in seven days, killing 91 Palestinians and injuring 251 others, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office said.

The Gaza-ruling faction on Sunday held the Israeli and the US administrations “fully responsible” for continued killings in the refugee camp, which currently houses nearly 250,000 people, including the recently displaced ones, Xinhua news agency reported.

The operations sparked deep concern on Tuesday when a major strike involving the use of rockets killed at least 23 people and injured 73 others at a UNRWA-established school, but the Israeli military later said the attack targeted active “terrorists” there and was “based on precise intelligence”.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces accused Hamas of “exploiting civilian structures and population as human shields for its terror attacks against the State of Israel”.

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the besieged Palestinian enclave to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 64 people and wounded 105 others, bringing the total death toll to 38,983 and injuries to 89,727 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out last October, the Gaza-based health authorities said on Sunday.

ALSO READ: Hamas softens stance in truce talks

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ICJ: Israeli Occupation Of Palestinian Territories Illegal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the court’s decision, calling it a “decision of lies.”

The UN’s top court has declared that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories violates international law. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) stated that Israel must cease settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem and end its “illegal” occupation of these areas and the Gaza Strip promptly.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the court’s decision, calling it a “decision of lies.” Although the ICJ’s advisory opinion is not legally binding, it holds considerable political significance. This is the first time the ICJ has issued a stance on the legality of the 57-year occupation.

The ICJ, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, has been reviewing this issue since early last year, following a request from the UN General Assembly. The court was asked to evaluate Israel’s policies and practices towards the Palestinians and the legal status of the occupation.

The Hague Court

ICJ President Nawaf Salam announced the court’s findings, stating that “Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal.” He emphasized that Israel is obligated to end its unlawful presence in the occupied territories as swiftly as possible. He also noted that Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip did not terminate its occupation, as Israel continues to exercise effective control over the area.

The court also recommended that Israel evacuate all settlers from the West Bank and East Jerusalem and compensate Palestinians for damages resulting from the occupation.

Meanwhile, Israel asked the international court to clarify whether its published opinion is an “advisory opinion” and not “legally binding”, and called it fundamentally wrong.

Oren Marmorstein, Spokesperson of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement, said that Israel rejects the advisory opinion of the ICJ that was published regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“Unfortunately, the Court’s opinion is fundamentally wrong. It mixes politics and law. It injects the politics of the corridors of the UN in New York into the courtrooms of the ICJ in The Hague,” he stated.

“…It should be clarified that the opinion published today is an advisory opinion and it is not legally binding,” he stated.

Marmorstein said that the opinion ignores the atrocities that took place on October 7 and the security imperative of Israel to defend its territory.

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Guterres: UNRWA Backbone Of Humanitarian Ops In Gaza

A minute of silence in memory of the staff of UNRWA and all others who lost their lives in the ongoing conflict

Without UNRWA support and funding, Palestine Refugees will lose a vital lifeline and their hope for a better future, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

Without the necessary support and financing from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Palestine Refugees will lose a critical lifeline and the last ray of hope for a better future, warned Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres in his remarks at UNRWA Pledging Conference today.

”Women and men of UNRWA have bravely continued their work in whatever way they can. They are the backbone of humanitarian operations in Gaza. Let me be clear: there is no alternative to UNRWA,” he emphasised.

”This year is different. Yes, we face a profound funding gap. But Palestinians are seeing widening gaps across the board. Gaps in respect for international humanitarian law. Gaps in recognition of universal human rights and dignity for all. And, for Palestinians in Gaza, not just a gap – but death, destruction and a total breakdown in law and order.”

Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA

Yet Palestinians – including, of course, Palestine Refugees – are enduring the deadliest period since the agency’s creation. As we are all painfully aware, the horror has not spared UNRWA colleagues. 195 UNRWA staff members have been killed, the highest staff death toll in UN history,” he noted.

”My appeal to everyone is this: Protect UNRWA, protect UNRWA staff, and protect UNRWA’s mandate — including through funding.”

”I urge you to act – and act now. Act to instil hope in a place where it is in short supply. Act to uphold the mandate of this General Assembly to sustain UNRWA. Act in solidarity with Palestine Refugees and all the Palestinian people,” he concluded.

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