Israel ‘will eventually have to reckon’ with abuses against Palestinians
Ben Saul, the United Nations special rapporteur on the protection of human rights while countering terrorism, says the decision by rights groups to file a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the killing of Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza is a logical step towards pursuing accountability.
“During this conflict, deliberate killing of journalists or causing disproportionate casualties when launching military attacks are both war crimes under international law and should properly be investigated,” Saul told Al Jazeera.
He said the ICC was already investigating extensive war crimes and crimes against humanity by Israel “and it makes sense to bring this new evidence to the court’s investigation as well”.
“It’s important that actors like NGOs and the UN are documenting and investigating these abuses so that if the day comes when a prosecution is possible, the evidence is preserved and used to secure a conviction,” Saul added.
He said the justice might come “in a foreign criminal court that exercises their war crimes jurisdiction; it could be at the ICC or it could even be in Israel one day or Palestine because of course Prime Minister Netanyahu won’t last forever”.
“There may well be political change in Israel at some point and eventually Israelis themselves are going to have to reckon with the legacy of their past,” he said.
Foreign medics demand action over ‘systematic targeting’ of Gaza health workers
More than 100 international doctors and nurses who have volunteered in Gaza since October 2023 have signed an open letter warning of what they call the “systematic targeting” of Palestinian healthcare workers, urging urgent global action to protect them and rebuild the enclave’s shattered healthcare system.
The letter, organised by a group of medical professionals including UK emergency physician James Smith, says over 1,500 Palestinian health workers have been killed as of May, with many others abducted, detained, or tortured. It describes hospitals and clinics under relentless attack, staff performing surgeries without anesthesia, and treating infections without antibiotics amid severe shortages caused by Israel’s blockade.
Signatories are calling for an immediate halt to attacks on medical facilities and ambulances, the release of detained healthcare workers, an end to the blockade, full humanitarian access, and a permanent ceasefire.
”This is not a tragedy of circumstance – it is a deliberate assault on those who save lives,” the letter reads.
“The world must act not only to stop the killing, but to stand in solidarity with those who continue to care for others even as they are being targeted themselves.”
Deaths from starvation rise to 235, including 106 children, Gaza media office says
Gaza’s Government Media Office says the number of people who have died from starvation in the enclave has risen to 235, including 106 children, as the humanitarian crisis reaches what it called “catastrophic levels”.
In a statement, it said hospitals and health centres are facing an unprecedented emergency under the Israeli blockade, which has severely restricted the entry of food and medicine for the enclave’s 2.4 million residents, more than half of them children.
According to the Health Ministry’s figures, the dead include 19 women, 75 elderly people, and 35 men over 18. It warned that 40,000 infants under one year old are suffering from malnutrition, 250,000 children under five face life-threatening food shortages, and 1.2 million children under 18 are living in severe food insecurity.
The statement accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war in violation of international humanitarian law and urged the UN, rights groups, and humanitarian agencies to act immediately to lift the blockade, open crossings, and ensure unrestricted aid flows to Gaza.
Israeli attacks kill 100 people across Gaza since dawn
At least 100 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip since dawn, including at least 37 aid seekers, medical sources have told Al Jazeera. Among today’s death toll, 61 were killed in Gaza City.
