Main events from January 31st
- Hamas named the three Israeli captives who will be freed from Gaza later today in the fourth prisoners-for-captives exchange as Ofer Kalderon, Keith Siegel and Yarden Bibas.
- In exchange, Israel will release 183 Palestinian prisoners, including 18 serving life sentences for various charges.
- The Rafah border crossing with Egypt is scheduled to reopen today to allow the medical evacuation of 50 Palestinians in urgent need of medical care, the World Health Organization said.
- UNRWA has said if its humanitarian work in Gaza is forced to halt because of Israel’s ban coming into effect this week, it will put the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas at risk.
- Israel’s weeks-long assault on Jenin and Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank continued on Friday, with several attacks and clashes with Palestinian fighters reported.
- UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric has called for an end to Israel’s military operations around Jenin, saying he is “deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation” there.
- Hezbollah has condemned Israeli air strikes that targeted eastern Lebanon on Friday, saying they were an “explicit aggression” that breached the ceasefire.
UNRWA ban to have ‘catastrophic consequences’
The full implementation of the Israeli legislation banning UNRWA from operating in Gaza and the occupied West Bank would have “catastrophic consequences on the lives and the future of Palestinian refugees”, the agency says.
“In the absence of any durable solution, Palestine refugees would continue to depend on UNRWA for basic services, including health and education,” agency spokesperson Juliette Touma said in a press briefing.
“In Gaza, UNRWA continues to be the backbone of the international humanitarian response.”
Touma added the UN agency had not received any official communication from Israeli authorities on how the legislation would be implemented. The visas of foreign staff working for the agency expired, and they had “no alternative” but to leave.
Remaining UNRWA Palestinian staff are facing an exceptionally hostile environment as the disinformation campaign against the agency continues. More than 270 UNWRA team members were killed in Gaza during the war, Touma said.
Belize files application to join South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued a statement saying Belize submitted a formal bid to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, in a move that adds to international pressure on the Israeli government to end its atrocities in Gaza.
The Central American country joins a list of states accusing Israel of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention, which was established in the aftermath of the Holocaust and requires all countries to prevent the recurrence of such crimes.
South Africa brought its case against Israel in December 2023 and such cases can take years to conclude.
Gaza death toll rises
Hospitals in Gaza have received 27 bodies in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.
At least one of those bodies were from a new Israeli strike, two others were of Palestinians who succumbed to their injuries after previous strikes, and 24 bodies were recovered from the rubble, the statement said.
The latest update brought the total death toll since October 7, 2023, to 47,487, the ministry said. Israel’s war on Gaza has also injured 111,588 Palestinians, it added.
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