WHO chief: Kamal Adwan Hospital attacked four times today
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, head of the World Health Organisation says on X says that the intensive care unit, the reception and administration areas and the roof were hit by attacks.
“[Twenty] health staff and 13 patients remain inside but efforts are underway to evacuate them”, Tedros said, adding that an increase in Israeli in north Gaza, where the hospital is located, has led to an influx of injured patients at the “already overstretched facility”.
“Kamal Adwan is the largest partially functional hospital in northern Gaza, and the only one providing hemodialysis services. Evacuation of health workers and patients would make the hospital non-functional, further depleting health services in Northern Gaza,” Tedros said.
Israeli security forces tipping off groups that attack Gaza aid convoys: Report
Israeli soldiers and police are tipping off settlers and hardline activists to the location of aid trucks delivering humanitarian aid to the besieged coastal enclave, enabling the groups to block and vandalise the convoys, UK newspaper The Guardian reports, citing multiple sources.
The claim of collusion by members of the security forces is supported by messages from internal internet chat groups reviewed by the Guardian, as well as accounts from several witnesses and human rights activists.
Videos last week showed aid convoys blocked and vandalised by Israeli settlers at the Tarqumiyah checkpoint, west of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The incident, in which activists threw boxes of supplies to the ground, sparked outrage, with the White House condemning the attack as “completely and utterly unacceptable behaviour”.
UN condemns ‘senseless bloodshed’ in Jenin raid
The UN’s human rights office in Palestine says on X that is “horrified by deadly Israeli Forces operation in Jenin”. At least seven Palestinians were killed during the raid, which began Tuesday morning local time, including two children, a teacher and a doctor.
“This senseless bloodshed must stop, & those responsible must be held to account,” the office said.
UN warns US sea route for Gaza aid may fail unless conditions improve
The UN World Food Programme is warning that the new US pier project for delivering aid to Gaza may fail unless Israel starts providing the conditions the humanitarian groups need to operate.
Tuesday’s warning came after a chaotic launch to the $320m US project ended with much of the aid looted and one Palestinian man dead.
Steve Taravella, a spokesperson for the UN food agency, told The Associated Press that, “Unless we receive the necessary clearance and coordination to use additional routes, this operation may not be successful.”
“Without sufficient supplies entering Gaza, these issues will continue to surface. Community acceptance and trust that this is not a one-off event are essential for this operation’s success,” he said.
Pentagon says none of the aid unloaded from US pier off coast of Gaza has been delivered to broader Palestinian population
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/21/politics/us-gaza-pier-aid-not-delivered/index.html
None of the aid that has been unloaded from the temporary pier the US constructed off the coast of Gaza has been delivered to the broader Palestinian population, as the US works with the UN and Israel to identify safe delivery routes inside the enclave, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
Several desperate Gazans intercepted trucks delivering aid from the pier over the weekend, leading the UN to suspend the delivery operations until the logistical challenges are resolved.
The US is working with Israel and the United Nations to establish “alternative routes” for the safe delivery of the 569 tons of aid transported to Gaza since last week, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said on Tuesday.
Asked whether any of the aid has been delivered to the people of Gaza, Ryder said, “As of today, I do not believe so.” He added that aid had been held in an assembly area on shore, but as of Tuesday had begun getting moved to warehouses for distribution throughout Gaza as alternative routes have been established.
A US official told CNN that the Defense Department and UN are still working to determine how much aid can be held at he staging area inside Gaza at any given time. The amount of aid getting to the Gaza shoreline from its initial staging area in Cyprus has also fallen short of initial Pentagon estimates.
Since Friday, more than 569 metric tons of humanitarian assistance have been delivered through the temporary pier, called JLOTS, or Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore, to the shore of Gaza to be distributed by humanitarian partners, Ryder said. But Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command, said last week that the US hoped to initially transport 500 tons of aid per day via the pier, and scale up as time went on.
That's some small trucks if 500 tons are 90 trucks, 6 tons per truck.
Israel does U-turn, ‘cancels action’ against AP’s Gaza live feed
Israeli authorities are reversing course after confiscating camera equipment belonging to The Associated Press, following widespread condemnation from media groups and criticism even from its closest ally, the United States.
“I have now ordered to cancel the action and return the equipment to the AP,” Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said in a statement. He said the final decision would be made by the defence ministry, which he said wants to examine the issue.
The ministry earlier accused AP of breaking the law by providing a live broadcast to Al Jazeera, which it placed under a temporary ban earlier this month.
Officials hadn’t previously told The AP that the positioning of its live camera was an issue. Instead, they repeatedly noted its images appeared in real-time on Al Jazeera Media Network.
“While we are pleased with this development, we remain concerned about the Israeli government’s use of the foreign broadcaster law and the ability of independent journalists to operate freely in Israel,” said Lauren Easton, AP’s vice president of corporate communications.
Going against Western press was one step too far. Aljazeera is still banned.
Israeli far-right minister expects war cabinet position
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir says he “expects” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to appoint him to the war cabinet.
“I have no doubt that Netanyahu will bring me in. I think Netanyahu understands very well what I want from him. We have private conversations and in private conversations I allow myself to tell him many things,” Ben-Gvir is quoted by The Times of Israel as saying.
The comments come amid turmoil within the current war cabinet with both Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz criticising Netanyahu for failing to outline a post-war plan for Gaza.
Blinken: Gaza truce still possible but set back by ‘shameful’ ICC move
A Gaza ceasefire deal is still possible but an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest bid for Israeli leaders has set back diplomatic efforts, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says.
“I think we’ve come very, very close on a couple of occasions,” Blinken told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “We remain at it every single day. I think that there’s still a possibility.”
Blinken added, however, “it’s challenged by a number of events and I have to say, yes, the extremely wrongheaded decision by the ICC prosecutor yesterday – the shameful equivalence implied between Hamas and the leadership of Israel – I think that only complicates the prospects for getting such an agreement.”
This snake needs to turn himself in to the ICC as well. Netanyahu is the problem that keeps a truce out of reach. Blinken will grasp at anything to divert attention away from the real problem, the US and Netanyahu.
CNN blames Egypt for the deal Hamas agreed to, falling through.
Egypt changed terms of Gaza ceasefire deal presented to Hamas, surprising negotiators, sources say
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/21/politics/sources-say-they-were-duped-by-egypt-changing-ceasefire-terms-for-hamas/index.html
Egyptian intelligence quietly changed the terms of a ceasefire proposal that Israel had already signed off on earlier this month, ultimately scuttling a deal that could have released Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, and set a pathway to temporarily end the fighting in Gaza, according to three people familiar with the discussions.
The ceasefire agreement that Hamas ended up announcing on May 6 was not what the Qataris or the Americans believed had been submitted to Hamas for a potential final review, the sources said.
The changes made by Egyptian intelligence, the details of which have not been previously reported, led to a wave of anger and recrimination among officials from the US, Qatar and Israel, and left ceasefire talks at an impasse.
Reads like scapegoating to divert the blame from Netanyahu.
"A CIA spokesperson declined to comment." "The Egyptian government did not respond to a request for comment."
Rewriting recent history as well in the same freaking article. Hamas agreed to the deal that would lead to "sustained calm" in multiple phases.
"US officials have argued that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar doesn’t actually want a deal since he may think he’s winning and the greater the Palestinian suffering the more the world turns on Israel."
Unknown sources, CIA won't comment, Egypt won't comment. First Israel attacks Qatar for not pushing Hamas enough, now it's Egypt's turn for appeasing Hamas behind Israel's back...
The stalemate remains: Hamas wants a path to an end of the war, Netanyahu only wants a pause to exchange prisoners to then resume bombing Gaza.
Ireland to announce recognition of Palestinian state on Wednesday: Report
The Irish government is to announce the recognition of a Palestinian state on Wednesday, Reuters news agency reports, citing a “a source familiar with the matter”.
The Irish government on Tuesday evening said the prime minister and foreign minister would speak to the media on Wednesday morning, but did not say what the topic would be.
European Union members Ireland, Spain, Slovenia and Malta have indicated in recent weeks they plan to make the recognition, arguing a two-state solution is essential for lasting peace in the Middle East.
Blinken will call it unhelpful no doubt.
This is really all that the US cares about
US unsure if Israel willing to agree to Saudi demands for ‘normalisation’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he’s unsure whether Israel is ready to make compromises to reach a deal to normalise relations with Saudi Arabia, notably on a pathway to a Palestinian state.
Blinken acknowledged doubts about whether Netanyahu and his hard-right government would meet Saudi requests if the normalisation issue became more than “hypothetical”.
“I can’t tell you whether Israel – whether it’s the prime minister or the country as a whole – is prepared to do in this moment what would be necessary to actually realise normalisation,” Blinken told a Senate committee. “Because that requires an end to [the war on] Gaza and requires a credible pathway to a Palestinian state.”
His frank assessment came after Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, visited both countries and briefed Netanyahu on the “potential” for a historic accord.
Got to keep Saudi Arabia a close ally, and is also the largest importer of US weapons.
US just making a bigger fool of itself
Blinken says he’ll work with Congress on ICC response, with sanctions a possibility
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that sanctions against International Criminal Court (ICC) officials are a possible response to a request for arrest warrants to be issued for Israeli leaders over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told Blinken at a Senate appropriations subcommittee hearing that he wanted “actions, not just words” over Karim Khan’s request for warrants to be issued against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
Graham then asked Blinken if he would support a “bipartisan effort to sanction the ICC”.
“I welcome working with you on that,” Blinken responded.
Earlier, we reported that Blinken said the Biden administration would be happy to work with lawmakers to formulate “an appropriate response” to the ICC prosecutor’s request and called the move “profoundly wrong-headed”.
Trump adviser calls for sanctions on ‘corrupt’ ICC officials over Israeli arrest warrants
A senior adviser to Donald Trump has said the US should place sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) officials who are seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over war crimes in Gaza.
Robert O’Brien, who served as Trump’s fourth and final national security adviser, made the comments in an interview with the Reuters news agency after meeting with Netanyahu and other Israeli officials.
O’Brien, who said Trump would be briefed on the results of his trip to Israel, discussed what he called the ICC’s “irrational decision” to issue a warrant for Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as three Palestinian Hamas leaders.
“We can sanction the bank accounts, the travel. We can put visa restrictions on these corrupt prosecutors and judges. We can show some real mettle here,” O’Brien told the news agency.
O’Brien was accompanied on his visit to Israel by former US Ambassador to the UAE John Rakolta and former US Ambassador to Switzerland Ed McMullen.
Sanders expresses support for ICC warrants, says Israel committing war crimes
US Senator Bernie Sanders has said he supports arrests warrants being issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli leaders as they have committed “war crimes’ in Gaza.
Sanders, speaking on the floor of the US Senate on Tuesday, said he believes there is “substantial evidence” that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has “used starvation as a weapon of war” and “targeted civilians” in the Palestinian enclave.
“There must be consequences. What the ICC has done is important… for the global community in the sense that we cannot allow the human race to descend to barbarity,” he said.
Aid system for Gaza – ‘seems it was designed not to work’
The American Friends Service Committee says the failure of the US-built pier to get food to starving Gaza people so far shows it’s more imperative than ever to reopen the three established land crossings.
“The pier itself can only bring in 90 trucks a day. We need 500 minimum, more like 1,500, to meet the vast humanitarian need that exists in Gaza,” said Kerri Kennedy from the organisation, which has worked in Gaza for 75 years.
“We are on the brink of a famine that is unprecedented in Gaza. There are 600,000 children on the edge of death. To think that we are playing around with building a pier… it is not [a] serious aid [effort].”
She told Al Jazeera the aid pier is a distraction from the much more effective land crossings that Israel continues to block. “They’ve been there for decades. They have the infrastructure, the security mechanisms. This is a system that is not working – and it seems it was designed not to work.”
Gaza border crossings ‘essentially’ closed, UN says operations ‘near collapse’ in territory
The UN says all of the major checkpoints where aid is supposed to come into Gaza, essentially, are not working.
The Rafah crossing, the UN says, remains closed.
The Karem Abu Salem [known as Kerem Shalom in Israel] crossing, while technically open, the UN says in practice is not really usable.
And the Erez crossing [Beit Hanoon], in the north, closed on May 9 and hasn’t been opened since. Another crossing called Erez west, in the north, only allows such little aid in that it is negligible.
A UN humanitarian worker in Gaza says their operations there are near collapse.
Israel’s military repeatedly attacks besieged northern Gaza hospitals
Palestinian medics say Israeli missiles struck the emergency department of Jabalia’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, prompting panicked staff to rush patients on hospital beds and stretchers to the rubble-strewn street outside.
“The first missile when it hit, it hit the entrance of the emergency department. We tried to enter, and then a second missile hit, and the third hit the building nearby,” said Hussam Abu Safia, the head of the hospital.
“We cannot go back inside to them… The emergency department provides a service for children, the elderly and people inside the departments of the hospital.”
Residents and medics say Israeli tanks are besieging the al-Awda Hospital, also in Jabalia, for the third day.
In Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said northern Gaza’s sick and wounded were running out of options.
Israeli bomb kills 10, including unborn baby, in central Gaza
An Israeli bombing has killed 10 Palestinians, including a pregnant woman and her unborn child, in central Gaza, the Wafa news agency reports.
The bomb struck a gathering of displaced people in the Zawaida area of the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to Wafa.
Children, women among eight killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza City
The Wafa news agency reported that Israeli missiles struck two areas in Gaza City, killing at least eight Palestinians on Tuesday evening.
Citing a medic, the agency said the attack on the city’s Daraj neighbourhood killed four Palestinians, including an infant who was not yet one year old. The second attack on the city’s Tuffah neighbourhood killed four others, including two women and a minor.
Reports of the latest deaths follow the Health Ministry’s announcement that Israeli attacks on Gaza killed 85 people and wounded 200 others in the previous 24 hours.
Fierce clashes ongoing in Rafah
Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting heavy fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinian armed groups in the southern city of Rafah, near the Halal market.
AJA reporters also said that Israeli jets bombed a house in the Tal as-Sultan neighbourhood in western Rafah. It was not immediately clear if the attack caused any casualties.
Israeli attacks were also reported in the early hours in central Gaza, in the Zawaida neighbourhood, which killed at least 10 people.
Israeli attack in north Gaza kills six Palestinians
Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting that an Israeli attack on a house in the Bir an-Naaja area in north Gaza has killed at least six people and wounded many more.
The attack hit the home of the Abu Zaida family, AJA reporters said.
Eighth person confirmed dead in Israeli assault on Jenin
The death toll from Israel’s military raid on the Jenin refugee camp has risen again, with eight people now confirmed killed, the Wafa news agency reports, citing the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
At least 21 people have also been injured in the raid in the occupied West Bank which began on Tuesday, including two who are in critical condition, according to Wafa. The Israeli military has also detained and fired on ambulance crews trying to treat the injured in Jenin.
A teacher and a doctor, both of whom were on their way to work, as well as a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old, were among eight people killed on Tuesday – one of the deadliest in Jenin in months.
The Israeli military said it was carrying out a “counterterrorism” operation, but one medic said he witnessed Israeli forces “firing at any moving body in the street”.
Israeli military vehicles are seen in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on Tuesday
Israeli military raids and Palestinian resistance in Jenin
Israeli forces storm the Palestinian refugee camp with heavy equipment to destroy infrastructure
Armed Palestinian resistance fighters take positions during the Israeli raid in Jenin
Palestinian youths sit on their mopeds next to vehicles destroyed by Israelis forces in the raid
A Palestinian youth flashes the V for victory sign as he rides his bicycle next to burning tyres during the raid
US is basically fine now with the further invasion of Rafah
US official says Israel addressed Biden’s concerns on Rafah attack plans: Reports
A senior US official says Israel has addressed many of President Joe Biden’s concerns regarding the ongoing ground assault on Rafah, according to news agencies.
“It’s fair to say, I think the Israelis have updated their plans. They’ve incorporated many of the concerns that we have expressed,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was quoted as saying.
The AFP and AP news agencies’ reports did not say if the official provided details of the changes the Israelis had made to their plans for the Rafah offensive, which has forcibly displaced more than 800,000 people. Most of those fleeing the city have gone to central Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah, where overcrowding and lack of water and sanitation services has resulted in “horrendous” conditions, according to UN officials.
Biden previously said he would not support an Israeli assault on Rafah – which had been sheltering more than 1.4 million people – without a plan to safeguard civilians.
The US official said the updates to the Israeli attack plan for Rafah followed White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan’s trip to Israel.
US House leader to invite Netanyahu to address Congress despite ICC warrant request
Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the US House of Representatives, has said he is moving ahead with an invitation to the Israeli prime minister to address US lawmakers.
The comments came a day after the ICC chief prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on allegations of committing war crimes in Gaza.
Johnson said the invitation has not yet been sent because he was waiting for the Democratic leader of the Senate, Chuck Schumer, to sign a letter of invitation to a joint session.
If Schumer does not do so by Tuesday, “we’re going to proceed and invite Netanyahu just to the House”, Johnson said.
Addresses to joint meetings of Congress by foreign leaders are a rare honour generally reserved for the closest US allies, or major world figures. Netanyahu has already given three such addresses, most recently in 2015.
Is there no such crime as aiding and abetting a known war criminal...
The Elders group says all states should respect ICC’s authority
Mary Robinson, the chair of The Elders group of world leaders and former Irish president, has commended ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan on his application for arrest warrants to apprehend Israeli and Hamas leaders.
In a statement, Robinson said the ICC’s decision was “a landmark moment in the struggle for justice and accountability in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”.
“There is a case to answer on both sides, which should be heard in a court of law,” said Robinson, a former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. “All states should respect the Court’s authority and impartiality, and ensure its decisions are implemented,” she said.
“Any statements or actions that seek to denigrate, de-legitimise or punish ICC officials for acting in accordance with the Court’s mandate are completely unacceptable,” she added.
“Impunity for atrocity crimes during conflict must end.”
Netanyahu says what CNN wants to hear, but his actions don't align...
Netanyahu says opposed to Israeli settlements in Gaza
Netanyahu has signalled his opposition to re-establishing settlements, which are illegal under international law, in Gaza, saying “it was never in the cards”.
“Some of my constituents are not happy about it, but that’s my position,” he told CNN.
In the interview, Netanyahu also called for the “sustained demilitarisation of Gaza” and a “civilian administration that is run by Gazans who are neither Hamas nor committed to our destruction”.
He also called for the “reconstruction of Gaza” to be led by the “moderate Arab states and the international community”.
Arab states have asserted that they will only be involved in the reconstruction of Gaza if Israel provides a pathway to Palestinian statehood.
Netanyahu has made it his life work to prevent a Palestinian state from happening.
Norway to recognise Palestinian state: Reports
Norway’s government will announce today that it recognises an independent Palestinian state, public broadcaster NRK and daily Aftenposten have reported, citing unnamed sources.
The reports from Norway come as Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is set to announce today a date for formally recognising Palestinian statehood.
Ireland is also expected to announce today its plans for the recognition of Palestine.
How many countries recognise an independent Palestinian state?
We have been reporting that, according to media reports, Norway is likely to recognise Palestine as an independent state today. Ireland and Spain are also likely to announce plans for the recognition of a Palestinian state.
So far, 143 of the 193 UN member states have recognised Palestine.
Currently, just eight of the 27 EU members – Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden, and Cyprus – recognise Palestine as a state. Of those, only Sweden recognised Palestine as a sovereign state in 2014.
The EU does not recognise Palestine as a state despite multiple diplomatic efforts within the bloc.
All African states – excluding Cameroon and Eritrea – recognise Palestine as a state.
Norway will recognise Palestinian statehood on May 28
Gahr Store, speaking in Oslo, said Norway’s recognition of Palestine as a state will take place on May 28. “There cannot be peace in the Middle East if there is no recognition,” he said.
Israel recalls envoys to Norway, Ireland for ‘urgent consultations’
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz is recalling his country’s ambassadors to Norway and Ireland over the two governments’ expected moves to formally recognise a Palestinian state.
“Today, I am sending a sharp message to Ireland and Norway: Israel will not go over this in silence,” Katz said in a statement.
“I have just ordered the return of the Israeli ambassadors from Dublin and Oslo to Israel for further consultations in Jerusalem,” he added.
PM says Spain to recognise Palestine as a state
Pedro Sanchez, Spain’s prime minister, says the recognition will take place on May 28.
Speaking in the Spanish parliament, Pedro Sanchez has said that his Israeli counterpart, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is putting the two-state solution in “danger” with his policy of “pain and destruction” in Gaza.
“Next Tuesday, May 28, Spain’s cabinet will approve the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the Spanish prime minister said.
Last edited by SvennoJ - on 22 May 2024
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