EU’s Borrell ‘dismayed’ after UN reports show no improvement on Gaza aid access
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said that he is “dismayed” by reports from the United Nation’s World Food Programme and the World Health Organization that humanitarian access into the besieged coastal enclave is still hindered.
In a post on X, he added: “In the West Bank an economic collapse is looming and violence intensifying. Blatant disregard for ICJ rulings and UNSCR 2735 continues. No improvement on humanitarian access and delivery.”
He cited several points that point to a deteriorating situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and regionally, saying yesterday was one of the deadliest days since October with at least 100 Palestinians killed.
“The hostages are still held captive. The risk of a full-blown conflict involving Hezbollah is real. A spill over in Lebanon would seriously impact the region and beyond.”
He urged all parties to stop the “cycle of suffering and destruction”.
In the West Bank an economic collapse is looming & violence intensifying
Blatant disregard for @CIJ_ICJ rulings & UNSCR 2735 continues
No improvement on humanitarian access & delivery
I’m dismayed by reports of @WFP Cindy McCain & @WHO on humanitarian access still hindered 2/3
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) June 23, 2024
About 9,000 cancer patients in Gaza face death: Health Ministry
The ministry has said that this is due to a number of factors, namely the lack of cancer medications in the Gaza Strip, the fact that almost all of the hospitals in the besieged coastal enclave are out of service, and the difficulty to “perform surgeries to remove tumors due to the collapse of the health system”.
It also said that before October 7 last year, there was no radiotherapy or other equipment to diagnose tumors and monitor their development in patients.
The ministry added another factor was “the rapid occurrence of complications, the absence of painkillers, and the severe shortage of food, absence of potable water and water for personal hygiene”.
It pointed out that all crossings into the Gaza Strip are currently closed to Palestinian patients, making it impossible for them to seek medical treatment abroad.
“Cancer patients have no chance in Gaza if the borders are not opened at once. The only two hospitals for cancer patients are Rantisi [now out of service] and the Turkish Friendship Hospital [targeted by Israeli bombardment],” it said.
‘The Israeli investigative system is a whitewash’: HRW
While a video showing a wounded Palestinian man being used as a human shield by Israeli forces has garnered attention, it’s only one example of the abuses carried out in the occupied West Bank, a human rights analyst says.
“We’re experiencing an unprecedented escalation of violence,” said Sari Bashi, a Human Rights Watch representative based in the occupied West Bank.
Bashi told Al Jazeera that last year, Israeli troops killed nearly 500 Palestinians, including more than 100 children, during an increased number of violent incursions there. That’s double the figure from 2022.
Accountability is sorely lacking, said Bashi, citing the recent case of a senior Israeli general who hunted down and shot dead a 17-year-old Palestinian boy who threw a rock at his vehicle. He was cleared by a military court and later received an honorary university degree.
“A permissive environment on the ground gives impunity to Israeli soldiers,” Bashi said. “The Israeli investigative system is a whitewash because you have senior officials and politicians calling for no restrictions on the abuse of force against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.”
Israeli tank fired at family car from metres away: Investigation
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/23/israeli-tank-fired-at-hind-rajab-family-car-from-metres-away-investigation
An Israeli tank fired from a close distance at the family car of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, and a tank shell directly hit the ambulance that was dispatched to help.
In a documentary on civilian killings in the war on Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines provides a detailed reconstruction of the January 2024 incident, compiled in collaboration with the non-profit investigative groups Earshot and Forensic Architecture.
Palestinian girl Hind Rajab
The investigation reveals the Israeli tank was likely just 13 to 23 metres (42 to 75 feet) away when it opened fire on Rajab and her relatives in their car.
