South Africa’s foreign minister seeks extra security after threats
South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor says she has been receiving threatening messages since her country filed a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. “I spoke to Police Minister Bheki Cele because of the various messages I am getting, and I felt that it was better we had extra security,” she said, adding that she was more concerned about her family because in some of the social media messages her children are mentioned.
Pandor accused the Israeli intelligence agency of using threats to intimidate those who take a stance against oppression. “The people of the world and Palestine didn’t draw back when the apartheid state [in South Africa] was at its worst. They stood with us in the liberation movement, so we can’t stand back now,” she said. “We must be with Palestinians, and one of the things we must not allow is a failure of courage,” she added.
Gaza Health Ministry: 340 medical personnel killed
Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesperson for Gaza’s Health Ministry, says that since October 7, Israeli forces have killed 340 health personnel and arrested 99. At least 123 ambulances have been destroyed in the same period, he added.
Number of Palestinian detainees increases to about 7,000 in the West Bank
The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society say the Israeli army has arrested 15 people during raids in the occupied West Bank, bringing the total number arrests there since October 7 to 6,940. A joint statement from the two institutions said the latest arrest operations were concentrated in Ramallah, Jerusalem, Tulkarem, Nablus and Jericho.
PRCS: Israeli forces storm al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis
Israeli occupation forces have raided the Palestinian Red Crescent Society’s headquarters in al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis, the association says. The hospital has been under Israeli siege for the past 19 days.
UNICEF: Gaza witnessing worst level of child malnutrition worldwide
James Elder, spokesperson for UNICEF, tells Al Jazeera the Gaza Strip has the worst levels of malnutrition of any place in the world. “Gaza is now experiencing the worst level of malnutrition for children,” Elder said, speaking from Geneva. “There is no safe area in Gaza, and civilians must be provided with water and shelter. The [Israeli] restrictions imposed make it difficult for us to carry out our work in the Gaza Strip.”
Gaza media office: Famine worsening in north
The Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip holds the US and Israel responsible for the “escalating famine” in northern Gaza, saying it’s worsening day by day. “We immediately demand the entry of a thousand trucks daily into northern Gaza until it recovers from the famine and its effects,” the office said in a statement.
About 300,000 people face famine in northern Gaza. The extent of the population’s hunger eclipsed even the near-famines in Afghanistan and Yemen of recent years. According to UN figures, the entire population in Gaza is in food crisis with at least 576,600 at catastrophic or starvation levels.
Situation in Gaza worse two weeks after genocide ruling
Two weeks since the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling, the situation for civilians in Gaza has become even worse, according to humanitarian organisation Islamic Relief. The group warned Israel’s attack on Rafah “will have catastrophic consequences for civilians”.
Since the ICJ ruling, “thousands more people have been killed and injured, and famine is becoming more likely every day as the Israeli siege continues to cut families off from food, healthcare and water”, said Islamic Relief. “Israel is starving us. We either get killed by bullets or starvation. My children and I haven’t eaten fruit or vegetables for months, and people get killed when they try to meet aid trucks arriving from the UN.” Islamic Relief called on world leaders and governments to demand an “immediate ceasefire and implementation of the ICJ ruling”.
If attacks don’t kill Gaza’s people, starvation and disease will: Aid group
International aid organisations warn any major operation in Rafah would compound what is already a humanitarian catastrophe. “If they aren’t killed in the fighting, Palestinian children, women and men will be at risk of dying by starvation or disease,” said Bob Kitchen of the International Rescue Committee. “There will no longer be a single ‘safe’ area for Palestinians to go to.”
Israel’s four-month air, sea and ground offensive – among the most destructive in recent history – has driven most people from their homes and pushed one-quarter of the population towards starvation. Netanyahu says the offensive will continue and expand until “total victory” over Hamas.
Israel ramps up deadly attacks on Gaza’s Rafah despite warnings
Israel is ramping up its attacks on Rafah as it prepares to mount a ground offensive despite warnings of “catastrophic” consequences for displaced Palestinians. The military launched air strikes and tanks fired artillery on the southern city housing 1.4 million people, which has been described by Israel as a “safe zone“.
The United States, the main military and financial backer of Israel and its war on Gaza, has cautioned against a large-scale offensive into Rafah, warning of “disaster” because of the large number of civilians sheltering in the city.
‘Hunger and disease will skyrocket’ if Rafah is attacked: UNICEF
The UN children’s agency warned against an Israeli military escalation in Rafah noting there are more than 600,000 children in the area. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell says an attack on Rafah would mark “another devastating turn in a war” that has killed nearly 28,000 people.
She said it could leave thousands more dead through violence or lack of essential services, and further disrupt humanitarian assistance. “We need Gaza’s last remaining hospitals, shelters, markets and water systems to stay functional,” Russell said. “Without them, hunger and disease will skyrocket, taking more child lives.” More than half of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million people have fled to Rafah, heeding Israeli evacuation orders ahead of the military’s expanding ground offensive.
More accurately, time has run out, did a long time ago
