Israel formally admits to restricting aid to Palestinian civilians
By formally notifying the United Nations that it will restrict humanitarian assistance to Gaza to pressure Hamas to locate and release the bodies of slain captives, Israel is openly admitting it’s weaponising aid – a claim it has long denied.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant are facing war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court, including for using starvation as a weapon of war.
But for the past two years, Israel has been promoting falsehoods to deny the accusation, including unfounded claims that Hamas is stealing the aid and the baseless argument that UN agencies are failing to deliver it.
Today’s notification to the UN appears to be an admission of using humanitarian aid for military and political aims.
“It’s very significant because it’s a letter that was sent to the United Nations, and it very clearly states in writing that they are going to limit the amount of aid,” reported Al Jazeera’s Gabriel Elizondo.
FW that letter to the ICC and ICJ...
Israeli army confirms return of four deceased hostages’ coffins across the border
Israel’s army has said that the coffins containing the remains of four deceased captives have now crossed the border into Israel.
In a post on X, it said: “Four coffins of deceased hostages, escorted by IDF and ISA forces, crossed the border into the State of Israel a short while ago and are on their way to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine, where identification procedures will be carried out.”
How many bodies has Hamas handed over so far?
With the four bodies of the slain Israeli captives that Hamas transferred to the Red Cross earlier, the group has handed over eight bodies since the ceasefire came into effect.
An estimated 20 more bodies of Israelis remain in Gaza.
Before the ceasefire was finalised, Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk told Al Jazeera it could take months to locate and remove all the corpses because of the mass destruction inflicted on Gaza by two years of incessant Israeli bombardment.
