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Palestinians stuck in ‘apocalyptic’ situation as no aid gets to northern Gaza
The northern part of the Gaza Strip is under a heavy siege imposed by the Israeli military.
Palestinians are still trapped in the Jabalia refugee camp. The army has been extensively operating there, using its resources on the ground while fighter jets have been hammering residential areas. This is the sixth consecutive day of attacks since the start of the military incursion there.
A lot of the streets of the Jabalia camp are filled with rubble of destroyed buildings. We have been talking with people in northern Gaza, who are saying the situation there is utterly apocalyptic and they are unable to leave.
We also understand that fighting between Hamas operatives and the Israeli army is ongoing.
The siege imposed in the northern part of the Gaza Strip will bring very deteriorating consequences in the lives of patients in the hospitals there. According to UNRWA, only two out of eight water wells are operational in the area. People there are starving and thirsty. No aid is getting into northern Gaza because the army has been tightening its blockade.
No justification for ICC arrest warrants delay: Lawyer
It’s been more than four months since the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced he was applying for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as top Hamas leaders.
However, The Hague-based court’s pre-trial chamber is yet to approve the warrants.
“This is in stark contrast to what other chambers have done in other contexts, for instance in Ukraine, by issuing arrest warrants in a very few weeks,” Triestino Mariniello, a law professor at Liverpool John Moores University and a member of the legal Team representing Gaza victims before the ICC since 2020, told Al Jazeera.
“The ICC has so far failed to provide any sort of justice to Palestinian victims and surprisingly is delaying any decision on the issuance of potential arrest warrants enabling states, political bodies to interfere with the work of the court,” he said.
“Just by placing this delay into the wider context we know that the International Criminal Court, as also revealed by investigative journalists, has been under incredible pressure and also threats by different states and also by individuals,” Mariniello added.
He noted that the delay might be “due to this pressure” but stressed that “from a legal perspective at least, there is no justification” for it.
Likely pressured to hold off any arrest warrants until after the US elections... It's not going to look good to have Netanyahu and Gallant visiting DC as wanted war criminals, backed by Biden/Harris.
Israel ‘destroying any chance for ceasefire’ by besieging northern Gaza
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has condemned “ongoing and repeated crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and forced displacement” by Israel in Gaza, especially its northern areas.
“It denounces Israel’s targeting of civilians and deliberate actions aimed at mass displacement, collective punishment, and siege of the entire population in northern Gaza. The aim is to isolate this area from the rest of Gaza and impose full Israeli control over it,” the ministry said in a statement posted on X.
The statement added that Israel is claiming war is the only solution to achieving security, and will continue to block any efforts to end the conflict.
“The ministry warns that the Israeli occupation’s expansion of its aggressive war against Gaza aims to deepen Israel’s crimes and confusion in the region, mixing agendas for the benefit of colonialism and far from the Palestinian cause.”
Displaced Palestinians make their way as they flee areas in northern Gaza Strip in Jabalia, October 6, 2024
