Main events on March 13th
- In a new report, UN experts accused Israel of carrying out “genocidal acts” by systematically destroying women’s healthcare facilities and using sexual violence as a war strategy during its war on Gaza.
- Hamas said the report confirmed the reality on the ground that Israel has committed “genocide” in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the findings “absurd”.
- Israel’s repeated violations of the fragile ceasefire in Gaza continued, including a drone attack in northern Beit Hanoon, which killed a child and wounded his mother. Another child was killed in a drone attack in nearby Gaza City.
- Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem has dismissed alternatives to the current Gaza truce framework – including a US-proposed 60-day extension – saying the group remains committed to “what has already been agreed upon”.
- UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the World Health Organization (WHO) has verified 54 “attacks on health centres in the West Bank, including four deaths and nine injuries” since January.
- Israeli fighter jets carried out a bombardment around the village of Jennata in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border, in the latest violation of its ceasefire with Hezbollah.
Calls for action after UN accuses Israel of genocidal acts
The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor says the commission’s report “ought to be a wake-up call for all pertinent states and organisations to take immediate action to fulfil their responsibilities under the Genocide Convention, rather than just sitting on paper”.
It said the continued inaction on Israel’s crimes “has directly or indirectly contributed to the ongoing crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip, and is thus legally and morally indefensible”.
Many people of conscience have now lost faith in the international system and the principles of justice and equality, because of the “persistent disdain for the reports and recommendations of legitimate independent entities, as well as [states’] preference for political interests and considerations over moral and legal obligations”, it added.
Earlier, Amnesty International also called on the world to take “urgent action” to protect Palestinians in light of the “damning findings” by the UN commission.
As truce falters, mothers in Gaza again mark children’s names on their bodies
Palestinian aid workers say families in Gaza are unable to pick up the pieces of their lives and plan for a return to normalcy because of the uncertainty over the fate of the ceasefire.
“Our lives can’t be further from normal. Forget about opening a faucet and getting water, or flipping a switch to get light,” said Shorouq, a project manager at the Palestinian organisation Maan Development Center. “With the news that the ceasefire is faltering, mothers around me are again writing down names on their children’s forearms.”
The practice is aimed at making sure the children are identified if they are killed in an Israeli attack and buried in a marked grave instead of an unmarked one.
Amal, who works for the Women Affairs Center, says hope is “limited” in Gaza.
“Before the ceasefire, we hoped to die together with our children when the time comes, and prayed our bodies remain intact instead of ripping to pieces,” Amal said. “Since the ceasefire, one war largely stopped but many more battles broke out ahead of women.”
“There are no homes, no water, no electricity. Who even talks about these things in 2025?” she asked.
Hala, a UN protection worker, said the worst part is the uncertainty.
“It is impossible to return to any kind of normalcy if you can’t at least count on the slaughter being over,” she said.
Sweden to provide $29.5m for Gaza
The Swedish government has approved a new support package of 300 million Swedish krona ($29.5m) to address “the acute needs of the civilian population” in Gaza.
The funds will go to UN agencies to support efforts for food distribution, emergency housing, as well as medical care and sexual and reproductive health, the government said in a statement.
“The implementation of the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza has resulted in an extremely urgent increase in the supply of humanitarian supplies. It is now of the utmost importance that the partners adhere to the ceasefire in Gaza, that unhindered humanitarian access is ensured and that all hostages are released immediately and unconditionally,” said Benjamin Dousa, the Swedish minister for international development cooperation and foreign trade.
The UN’s humanitarian agency (OCHA) says at least $4.07bn is needed to meet the most critical humanitarian needs of people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, but that countries have so far only disbursed $173.6m.
