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SvennoJ on 01 January 2025
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Monitor says Israeli military war crimes suspect holidaying in Thailand

Last New Year’s Eve, Israeli soldier Omri Nir posted a photograph on social media posing inside a Palestinian home in Gaza – his assault rifle in one hand as he sat in an armchair.

This New Year’s Eve, the soldier is celebrating in Thailand, according to the Hind Rajab Foundation which is pursuing international legal cases against Israeli soldiers documented to have committed war crimes in Gaza.

A case has been filed against Nir at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for “grave violations of international law” for his actions in Gaza and a formal request has been sent to Thai authorities to arrest him, the foundation said.

Nir is accused of demolishing civilian homes and occupying and damaging a school, and evidence has been provided to the ICC, it said.

“The evidence includes videos, testimonies, and records linking Nir directly to these acts, making a strong case for his accountability under the Rome Statute,” the foundation said in a statement.

Founded in honour of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli tanks in the enclave last year, the group has in recent weeks filed cases with the ICC against Israeli soldiers found travelling in Argentina, Chile, France, Sri Lanka, and an earlier case in Thailand.


Trump again warns: ‘Better let’ Israeli captives in Gaza ‘come back soon’

US President-elect Donald Trump has again cautioned that the remaining Israeli captives held in Gaza must be freed soon.

Speaking briefly to reporters as he attended a New Year’s Eve party at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, Trump said, “We’re going to see what happens”, when asked about the possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza.

Regarding the Israeli captives, he said: “I’ll put it this way: They better let the hostages come back soon.”

Last month, Trump warned in a post on social media that “there will be hell to pay” if the captives held in Gaza were not released by the time he takes office on January 20.

“Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!” he wrote.


A billboard in Tel Aviv, Israel in November 2024, welcoming the US presidential victory of Donald Trump


Israeli physicians call on military to reveal whereabouts of Dr Abu Safia

The Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) organisation has submitted an “urgent request” to the Israeli military to reveal the location of Dr Hussam Abu Safia, the Kamal Adwan Hospital director who was arrested following the storming and destruction of the medical facility by Israeli forces.

PHRI said it filed the request on behalf of Abu Safia’s family after the doctor was “abducted” for refusing to leave Kamal Adwan in north Gaza “until every last patient was evacuated”.

The military’s arrest of Abu Safia “is part of a broader Israeli assault on Gaza’s healthcare system and the professionals sustaining it,” the rights group said, adding that Israeli forces have killed more than 1,000 healthcare workers in Gaza and detained more than 230, with 130 still in custody.

“Thousands of Palestinian detainees have been tortured and abused in Israeli custody over the past 15 months, leading to dozens of deaths from violence and medical neglect, including 3 physicians,” PHIR said, adding that international law provides special protections to healthcare staff.

Abu Safia must not be allowed to “join this toll”, the rights group said.