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Forums - Politics Discussion - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ on 24 May 2024

Israeli jets target homes in northern Gaza, killing 7

Israeli jets have struck several homes in northern Gaza, killing at least seven people, reports the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

One house was hit in al-Fakhoura neighbourhood near the Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least five people and wounding several others. Another was struck in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, north of Gaza City, killing two members of the family sheltering there, the report added.

Dozens more were wounded when Israeli jets hit two apartments nearby – one just north of Gaza City and the other in Gaza City’s Daraj neighbourhood.

The report added that Israeli artillery shelling also targeted other neighbourhoods within Gaza City, including Zeitoun, Tal al-Hawa, ar-Remal al-Janoubi, Sabra and Sheikh Ijlin.

Israelis targeted with IEDs, RPGs, mortars in battles across Gaza: Monitors

Palestinian fighters “remain active and combat effective” in Beit Hanoon city in northern Gaza where Israeli forces have launched operations in recent days and have come under attack from small arms, anti-personnel mines, grenades and “explosively formed penetrators”, war monitors said.

A “complex, multi-stage attack” carried out by Hamas fighters in Beit Hanoon led US-based defence think tanks – the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) – to their conclusion regarding the effectiveness of Palestinian resistance in the area.

Despite being two weeks into their latest offensive in Gaza’s Jabalia, Israeli forces there continued to come under attack from mortars and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) in Jabalia’s refugee camp and east of the city, a joint ISW-CTP report states.

In southern Rafah, where Israeli forces are operating in the Brazil and Shaboura neighbourhoods, Palestinian fighters launched attacks with mortars and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), according to the report.

Rockets were also fired from Gaza into Israel on Thursday, targeting an Israeli military site near the border with the Gaza Strip, the report states.

Israeli forces nearing Rafah’s Shaboura camp

Israeli military vehicles are now heading from eastern Rafah towards the centre, reaching the outskirts of the Shaboura refugee camp, where rocket and artillery fire can be heard, according to Wafa news agency.

Right outside Rafah, Israeli quadcopters are said to be hovering over the European Gaza Hospital, the largest operating hospital in southern Gaza.

Earlier, we reported more Israeli military vehicles had also made their way towards Rafah’s densely populated Yibna district in the west.


Israeli military says it found bodies of three captives

The Israeli military says the bodies of three captives it claimed were taken to Gaza in the October 7 attack were recovered during an overnight mission in Jabalia. The military named the captives as Orion Hernandez, 30, Hanan Yablonka, 42, and Michel Nisenbaum, 59.

It added that the captives were all taken from Israel’s Mefalsim Intersection to Gaza.


Qassam Brigades say it struck Israeli tanks

The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, has said its fighters targeted three Merkava 4 tanks that belonged to Israel in two separate encounters in Jabalia in northern Gaza.

According to a statement on Telegram, two tanks were attacked by al-Yassin 105 rockets on al-Ajarma Street in the Jabalia refugee camp.

The group said its fighter also detonated another tank with a Shawaz device in al-Qasaaseeb neighbourhood of the camp.



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SvennoJ on 24 May 2024

US Senator Bernie Sanders says world cannot allow Israel’s ‘barbarism’ to continue in Gaza.

“This is what they have done,” Sanders wrote in a post on social media, citing earlier orders given by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for his troops to impose “a complete siege on the Gaza Strip”, which would deny food, fuel and electricity to the Palestinian territory.

“We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly,” Gallant said at the time, according to Sanders.

“The world community cannot allow this barbarism,” Sanders added.

Videos show Harvard commencement ‘walkout’ in solidarity with Gaza protesters

Videos shared online capture the moment when hundreds of Harvard University students walked out of their commencement ceremony to show solidarity with students who were prevented from graduating because of their role in a Gaza solidarity encampment.

We reported earlier how student commencement speaker Shruthi Kumar went off script from her speech to lambast Harvard authorities for making “freedom of speech” and “expressions of solidarity” a “punishable” offence at the university.

Biden administration could support peacekeeping force in post-war Gaza: Report

The Biden administration is considering appointing a top US civilian adviser to support a Palestinian- or Arab-led peacekeeping force in post-war Gaza, reports Politico, quoting four anonymous US officials.

The civilian official would be based in the region and work closely with the force’s commanding officer, who would be either Palestinian or Arab. Two anonymous officials who spoke to Politico said the adviser could be based in Sinai, Egypt, while another said it could be in Jordan.

The United States is anticipating that it will play a prominent role in supporting post-war governance in Gaza, though what that will look like is yet to be determined, Politico reports.

The Biden administration is attempting to convince Arab states, including Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, to join the peacekeeping force. “It’ll be easier to get them to come along if we’re there playing a part, and we’re prepared to play that role,” one anonymous official said.

The main difficulty will be getting the Palestinians to (ever) trust the US again. Plus if Trump wins in November this will go nowhere.


GOP lawmakers grill university presidents over campus protests

A Republican-controlled congressional committee held the latest in a series of hearings on campus protests that were staged in solidarity with Gaza at universities across the US.

The hearings focused on accusations rather than fact-finding. Republicans accused universities of being hotbeds of anti-Semitism, frequently cutting off college presidents as they tried to explain their actions regarding campus protests.

Democrats argued the hearing was politically motivated, aimed at scoring points with right-wing voters. The war in Gaza, with more than 35,000 people killed by Israeli forces, was scarcely mentioned.



SvennoJ on 24 May 2024

Israel to stop Spanish consulate from providing services to Palestinians

Israel’s minister of foreign affairs, Israel Katz, said he has decided to “sever the connection” between Spain’s representation in Israel and Palestinians following Spain’s recognition of Palestinian statehood this week.

Katz said the move, which will also see the Spanish consulate in Jerusalem prohibited from providing services to Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, also came in response to comments made by Spain’s deputy PM Yolanda Diaz who had said she wanted to “liberate Palestine from the river to the sea”.

Twenty-seven countries condemn closure of Al Jazeera in Israel

Governments of 27 members of the Media Freedom Coalition have published a statement criticising the shutdown of Al Jazeera’s operations in Israel.

The members of the coalition, which is a partnership that advocates for media freedom, said: “A free and diverse media landscape is crucial for democracies to function, especially in times of conflict, as people rely on independent information from multiple, reliable sources to stay informed and make their decisions.

“It is essential that all journalists be given unhindered access to cover events and developments as they unfold, so that they have the possibility to report and inform transparently and factually.”

It was signed by Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kosovo, Lithuania, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Pro-Palestine protests outside US consulate in Jerusalem









EU’s Borrell says recognising Palestine ‘not a gift to Hamas’

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said recognising a Palestinian state was not a gift to Hamas.

On Wednesday, Ireland, Norway and Spain said they would recognise a Palestinian state on May 28, to help secure a halt to Israel’s Gaza offensive and revive peace talks that have stalled.

“Recognising the Palestinian state is not a gift to Hamas, quite the contrary,” he said. “The Palestinian Authority is not Hamas, on the contrary they are deeply confronted.”

He added the EU already talked to, met with and financed the Palestinian Authority. “Every time someone makes the decision to support a Palestinian state
 the reaction of Israel is to transform it in an antisemitic attack,” he added.


EU’s Borrell warns Israel ‘not to threaten’ ICC judges

EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borell has urged Israel “not to threaten” judges of the ICC, whose chief prosecutor has sought an arrest warrant for Netanyahu.

“I ask everyone, starting with the Israeli government, but also certain European governments, not to intimidate the judges, not to threaten them,” Borrell told Spanish public television channel TVE.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu, responding to a question about whether he would fear travelling internationally after a potential ICC warrant, said he would not and that the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, “should be concerned about his status”.

Khan says he was also warned by a senior Western official that the ICC should be “for Africa and for thugs like Putin”, not for the West and its allies.



SvennoJ on 24 May 2024

ICJ ordering new provisional measures today at South Africa's (4th) request.

South Africa’s case at the ICJ requests a halt to the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, while accusing Israel of “genocide”.

South Africa argues that the recent Israeli operation in Rafah changed the situation on the ground following the court’s January order that urged Israel to do everything in its power to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza – but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.

Israel defended the military necessity of its Gaza offensive at the ICJ and asked judges to throw out the request by South Africa to order it to halt operations in Rafah and withdraw from the Palestinian territory.

Israel’s Deputy Attorney General for International Law, Gilad Noam, argued before the court that his country is fighting a war against Hamas and denied that genocide is being committed.




ICJ: Humanitarian situation in Rafah is ‘disastrous’

Nawaf Salam, the president of the International Court of Justice, says the humanitarian situation in Rafah has “deteriorated further” since the last court order in March. The humanitarian situation in Rafah is now classified as “disastrous”, he adds.

ICJ says Israel’s evacuation efforts are not sufficient

Judge Salam says the court is not convinced that Israel’s evacuation efforts in Gaza are sufficient.

“The court is not convinced that the evacuation efforts and the related measures that Israel affirms to have undertaken to enhance the security of civilians in the Gaza Strip and in particular those recently displaced from Rafah governorate sufficient to alleviate the immense risk, which the Palestinian population is exposed to as a result of the military offensive in Rafah,” he said.

Court orders Israel to halt Rafah offensive

In his reading of the ruling, Judge Salam says the court orders Israel to halt its Rafah offensive.

“Israel must immediately halt its military offensive or any other action in the Rafah governorate which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” Salam says.

Israel must ensure access of investigators to Gaza: ICJ

“Israel must take effective measures to ensure the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip of any commission of inquiry, fact-finding mission or investigative body mandated by the competent organs of the UN to investigate allegations of genocide,” Judge Salam says.

Salam added that the provisional measures taken by Israel after the ICJ’s previous verdict on Gaza do not fully address the consequences of the changed situation.

Conditions have been met for new emergency measures: ICJ

The ICJ has said that the current situation entails further risks to irreparable damage to the rights of the people in Gaza. It added that conditions have been met for new emergency measures in Israel’s genocide case.

ICJ asks Israel to report to the court in a month

The ICJ has ordered Israel to report back to the court within one month over its progress in applying measures ordered by the institution. It has also ordered Israel to open Rafah border crossing for humanitarian assistance.

ICJ said it saw no evidence of adequate humanitarian access for Palestinians

Thirteen of the 15 ICJ judges agreed that the situation in Rafah is a red line. Words like ‘exceptionally dire’ were used to describe the situation.

The main judge said 800,000 are displaced, and that he doesn’t believe Israel’s word that they are provided safety and humanitarian access. He said there was no evidence of that.

That’s why the court has now made a very strong order that Israel should immediately stop its offensive and military operation in Rafah and withdraw its troops from there. He also made a ruling on border crossings, that they must be reopened as soon as possible to get humanitarian aid in.

Interestingly, he said that observers from the United Nations have to get access as soon as possible to make sure that no evidence of any possible war crimes will be disappearing.



SvennoJ on 24 May 2024

Palestinian Authority welcomes ICJ ruling: Report

The Palestinian Authority welcomed the decision on Friday from the International Court of Justice, saying it represents an international consensus to end the war on the Gaza Strip, Palestinian presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told Reuters news agency.


South Africa welcomes ‘stronger’ ICJ order on Israel

South Africa has welcomed the International Court of Justice order to Israel to halt its offensive in the Gaza city of Rafah, and urged UN member states to back it. “I believe it’s a much stronger, in terms of wording, set of provisional measures, very clear call for a cessation,” Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told public broadcaster SABC.

PM Netanyahu to convene emergency meeting with key ministers

Diplomatic sources told Israel’s Channel 13 that Prime Minister Netanyahu will convene an emergency meeting. Foreign Minister Israel Katz, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz and the government’s judicial adviser will be in the meeting.

This is how seriously they are taking this ruling.

The first reaction to the ruling came from Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who is one of the far-right members of the coalition. He said that those who demand that the state of Israel stop the war, demand that it decree itself to cease to exist. “We will not agree to that,” he said. He added: “We continue to fight for ourselves and for the entire free world. History will judge who today stood by the Nazis of Hamas and ISIS.”

We are hearing from political sources speaking to local media that Israel will not respond to the decision of the court, both politically or militarily. It is already holding under the table talks with the US for it to veto the resolution at the UN Security Council.

So Smotrich defines Israel's existence on the continued extermination of Palestinians, no war no Israel.

ICJ and ICC moves deal ‘one-two legal punch’ to Israel

The ICJ has stepped up to confront the reality of the escalation in the Gaza Strip, according to war crimes prosecutor Reed Brody.

“These are very specific orders; stop the offensive on Rafah, open the border crossing, allow in the fact-finding missions. There’s not a lot of wiggle room here,” he told Al Jazeera. “I’m really impressed, first of all by South Africa’s tenacity and perseverance and coming back to the court. And the court has responded almost unanimously, including all of the Western judges, who have really been as radical as reality.”

Brody said South Africa has been asking since the start of the war on Gaza for an order for Israel to stop its military offensive, with the court saying it cannot make a move because Hamas and the Palestinian side is not present on the stand.

“But that’s what they have finally chosen to do here and it’s a testament to this court and what it does. Together with the decision by the ICC prosecutor [to recommend arrest warrants against top Israeli officials], it is a real one-two legal punch.”

Yet it still all depends on the USA whether it will have any effect. The UNSC is meeting as well today. With the US veto and continued 'ironclad support' of Israel, Netanyahu will most likely continue on. It will be up to Europe to sanction Israel.


Hamas welcomes ICJ ruling, but wants halt order for all of Gaza

The Palestinian group says in a statement that it welcomes the ICJ rulings as the Israeli army continues to commit “massacres” in the Gaza Strip. But Hamas said it expected the court to issue an order for Israel to stop its military operations throughout the besieged enclave, not just in Rafah.

“What is happening in Jabalia and other governorates of the Strip is no less criminal and dangerous than what is happening in Rafah.”

“We call on the international community and the United Nations to pressure the occupation to immediately comply with this decision and to seriously and genuinely proceed in translating all UN resolutions that force the zionist occupation army to stop the genocide it has been committing against our people for more than seven months.”

They have a point. Move a million people back into Rafah and continue killing off those that remain in the North? Still not ordering a ceasefire. The UNSC did, but was ignored. This will likely also be ignored by Israel and the USA.



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SvennoJ on 24 May 2024

Human suffering in Gaza must stop: Belgium’s Lahbib

Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib has welcomed the ICJ ruling that called for Israel to stop its military offensive in Rafah, urging immediate implementation of the decision.

She said on X: “The violence and human suffering in Gaza must stop. We call for a ceasefire, the release of the hostages and negotiations for two states.”

Israel’s Lapid calls ICJ ruling ‘a moral disaster’

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has condemned the ICJ for not making a connection between the cessation of fighting in Rafah and the return of the abductees and Israel’s right to defend itself in its ruling on Israel’s war in Gaza.

He called the judgement “a moral collapse and a moral disaster”.

He said: “It is Israel that was brutally attacked from Gaza and had to defend itself against a horrible terrorist organisation that murdered children, raped women and still fires rockets at innocent civilians.”

Rafah fighting will go on until captives return home: Israeli minister

Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar has said the only way to save the Israeli hostages in Gaza is by putting pressure on Hamas.

Responding to the ICJ ruling on Israel’s war in Gaza, he said on X: “Judges of the High Court in The Hague are invited to come to Gaza and convince Hamas to return our abductees home.”

“Until this happens, it is clear that there is no possibility of stopping the fighting in Rafah,” he also said. “The cessation of hostilities will be a spit in the face of the abductees who go through hell and hell every day when the only way to save them is only by putting pressure on Hamas,” he added.


No, negotiations have already proven to be the way to get the hostages out. While continuing the destruction of Gaza has proven to kill more hostages while starving them to death along with the rest of the population.

Israel is only using the hostages as an excuse to keep fighting.



SvennoJ on 24 May 2024

ICJ ruling ‘underlines gravity of the situation in Gaza’: HRW

The Human Rights Watch says the ICJ rulings show how bad things are in Gaza.

“The International Court of Justice’s order underlines the gravity of the situation facing Palestinians in Gaza,” said Balkees Jarrah from the US-based international rights group.

“This decision opens up the possibility for relief, but only of governments use their leverage to press Israel to urgently enforce the court’s measures.”


Water distribution strained in al-Mawasi: UNRWA

Although the al-Mawasi area in Gaza is serving as a declared evacuation zone for those forced to flee Rafah, aid workers are struggling to provide the most basic supplies, such as water, to the growing number of its inhabitants, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Water distribution is complicated, UNRWA says, because there are not enough tankers to meet people’s needs and the only water source is in a remote area, far from people’s shelters.

In addition, with waste piling up and no safe landfill in the area, it is becoming more difficult to dispose of about 40 tonnes of rubbish accumulating daily, the agency said.

UN Security Council adopts resolution on protection of humanitarian workers

The UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling for the protection of humanitarian workers and UN personnel in conflicts.

From the 15 members of the council, 14 voted in favour with Russia abstaining.

The Swiss-sponsored resolution doesn’t single out any conflict, but comes as humanitarian workers are being killed in military attacks in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and other places.

According to the UN, more than 190 of its staff have been killed by the Israeli army in Gaza since October 7, the highest number in the organisation’s nearly 80-year history.



What's next, UNSC adopts resolution on "water is wet". Useless resolution.


South Africa’s president welcomes ICJ ruling on halting Rafah attack

However, President Cyril Ramaphosa says he remains concerned the United Nations Security Council has not succeeded in reducing human suffering in Gaza.

South Africa’s lawyers asked the International Court of Justice in The Hague last week to impose emergency measures, saying Israel’s attacks on Rafah must be stopped to ensure the survival of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian people trapped there.

Israel is pressing on with its attacks in Rafah despite “explicit warnings” they could carry “genocidal” consequences, South African lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi said.

Israel has rejected South Africa’s claim it is violating the 1949 Genocide Convention.


‘Biden administration stands alone in full support for Gaza genocide’: CAIR

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) “applauds” the rulings by the ICJ demanding an end to Israel’s attacks on Rafah.

“While the Biden administration stands alone in continuing to offer full support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the international community is increasingly pushing back against the slaughter, forced starvation and ethnic cleansing Israel’s far-right government is inflicting on the Palestinian people,” CAIR said in a statement.

“Israel is clearly attempting to make Gaza uninhabitable. It must be stopped from completing this monstrous goal. President Biden must honor this important ruling by immediately ending all military assistance to Israel’s genocide.”

The US-based civil rights group had earlier welcomed South Africa’s case at the ICJ seeking an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza along with South Africa’s requests concerning Rafah.



SvennoJ on 24 May 2024

Benny Gantz: ‘Israel committed to continue fighting – including in Rafah’

The war cabinet minister brushed aside the World Court order that Israel immediately halt its assault on Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are in the line of fire.

“The State of Israel set out on a just and necessary campaign following the brutal massacre of its citizens, abhorrent sexual violence perpetrated against its women, kidnapping of its children and rockets fired at its cities,” Gantz said.

“The State of Israel is committed to continue fighting to return its hostages and promise the security of its citizens – wherever and whenever necessary – including in Rafah.

“We will continue operating in accordance with international law wherever we might operate while safeguarding to the best extent possible the civilian population – not because of the ICJ but because of who we are and the values we stand for.”

This liar is the best alternative to Netanyahu atm :/



Israel insists Rafah operation does not risk ‘destruction of Palestinians’

“Israel has not and will not carry out military operations in the Rafah area that create living conditions that could cause the destruction of the Palestinian civilian population, in whole or in part,” National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi said in a statement.

Earlier, judges at the top United Nations court ordered Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah and withdraw from the enclave, citing “immense risk” to the Palestinian population.

Nearly 800,000 Palestinians have been displaced from Rafah since Israel launched its offensive against the southern Gaza city earlier this month. Hundreds of thousands more remain trapped inside the city as Israeli forces push deeper towards them.


A Palestinian woman stands next to a damaged building after an Israeli air raid in Rafah

Nobody believes you anymore, enough with the lies.

More lies

Israel claims sending ‘extensive aid’ to Gaza despite international criticism

The Israeli military says it continues to deliver “extensive humanitarian aid” to the Gaza Strip.

It added Hamas fired projectiles at the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing on Thursday during a rotation of humanitarian teams.

The statement comes as the UN and international organisations say Israel is still severely hampering the delivery of aid to the war-battered enclave, and shortly after the World Court ordered Israel to allow more humanitarian relief from the Rafah crossing in the south.



This looks so staged... How is Hamas even firing at them outside the border wall with all the Israeli military build up right there. Look at a map, doesn't make any sense.

EU discusses possible role monitoring Gaza border crossing

The European Union is studying whether it could play a role monitoring the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt after Israel’s war with Hamas ends.

The 27-nation bloc set up a mission in 2005 to help monitor the crossing, but that was suspended two years later after Hamas was voted in and took control of Gaza.

“We received demarches from different parties including Israel whether we could study the possibility to reopen it,” an unidentified EU official told AFP news agency.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell would likely get a green light from European ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday to draw up options for a potential redeployment of an EU mission, the official said.

“Obviously, this would not be in the current circumstances, not in war circumstances. We are talking about the future.”

A diplomat cautioned the EU, which has struggled to come to a unified position on the Gaza war, is still at the “very beginning of the possible process”.

Egypt’s el-Sisi agrees to let UN aid through key Gaza crossing: US

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi agreed in a call with his US counterpart Joe Biden to allow UN aid through the crucial Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing to conflict-torn Gaza, the White House said.

“President Biden welcomed the commitment from President el-Sisi to permit the flow of UN-provided humanitarian assistance” through the crossing, it said in a readout of the call. “This will help save lives.”

Egypt has been reluctant to allow humanitarian cargo to pass after Israeli forces stormed the Rafah land crossing in southern Gaza and took it over.



Kerem shalom is in Israel, not sure what Egypt has to do with that? I guess they mean the rotting food stuck at Rafah can travel to Israel.



SvennoJ on 24 May 2024

Egypt responds to deal to send Gaza aid through Karem Abu Salem crossing

The Egyptian presidency says the agreement resulted from “the difficult humanitarian situation of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the lack of means of life in the Strip, and the lack of fuel needed for hospitals and bakeries”.

Since May 5, just before Israeli forces took control of the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side, no trucks have crossed through Rafah and very few through Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom), according to UN data.

Cairo agreed on the Karem Abu Salem route until legal mechanisms are established to reopen the Rafah border crossing from the Palestinian side. Egypt on Monday warned against Israel’s continued military operations in Rafah, which are preventing crucial aid deliveries to the devastated Strip.

I hope they have a better route than Google. 544km 7h 19 min, you can only cross into Israel at Taba according to Google maps. Then all through Israel trucks can be blocked again...

World Court orders for Israel on Rafah are binding, says EU official

Janez Lenarcic, the European commissioner for crisis management, says he expects the “full and immediate implementation” of the rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering a halt to military operations in Rafah and to open the land crossing there.

“ICJ’s orders are binding on the parties and they must comply with them,” said Lenarcic, who is in charge of European humanitarian aid.

They didn't comply with the last provisional measures nor the UNSC resolution which is also binding.

Israeli military claims assassination of Hamas national security official

The Israeli military says it was behind the assassination of Diaa al-Din al-Sharafa, identified as the deputy commander of Hamas’s national security department.

He was responsible for “managing the mechanism that secures the borders of the Gaza Strip”. “During the war, this mechanism prevented the population from evacuating from combat zones,” it said in a statement, without elaborating.

Gaza’s interior ministry reported on Thursday that al-Sharafa was killed by an Israeli air raid while on a tour of the Saraya area of central Gaza City in the northern part of the enclave.

Hilarious. The borders are the separation wall. How would the 'mechanism that secures the borders" prevent people from evacuating from Combat zones. He means they couldn't flee into Egypt as was their initial hope. Yet Egypt kept that side closed and people had no desire to go sit in the Sinai desert.

Lies, lies and more lies.



SvennoJ on 24 May 2024

Some more lies

Benny Gantz, Antony Blinken hold talks after ICJ ruling on Rafah

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz spoke with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after a ruling by the World Court to immediately cease military operations in Rafah.

According to a statement by Gantz’s office, the men discussed “efforts to ensure the return of the hostages” and prospects of normalization with Saudi Arabia. He said Israel rejects the Saudi condition of “establishing a pathway to a future Palestinian state” in return for bilateral relations.

Blinken reportedly raised the issue of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza, with Gantz responding aid supplies reach all areas of the enclave.

Gantz stressed Israel will continue the war on Gaza, including its offensive in Rafah, and “make an effort to avoid harming the civilian population”.

Worms, insects infest Gaza-bound food rotting in Egyptian sun

The trucks carrying desperately needed aid for Gaza have been stuck on the Egyptian side of the border for weeks after the Rafah border crossing was closed in early May following Israel’s seizure of its Palestinian side.




International Court of Justice ‘can go to hell’: US Senator Lindsey Graham

The right-wing conservative’s remarks came after the World Court ordered Israel to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza to let in desperately needed aid and cease its attacks on the overcrowded city.

“As far as I’m concerned, the ICJ can go to hell. It is long past time to stand up to these so-called international justice organizations associated with the UN. Their anti-Israel bias is overwhelming,” Graham, a Republican, said on X.

“The ICJ’s ruling that Israel should stop operations that are necessary to destroy four battalions of Hamas killers and terrorists – who use Palestinians as human shields – is ridiculous. This will and should be ignored by Israel.”

Israel has so far killed more than 35,800 Palestinians in Gaza and leveled most of the territory, creating a massive a humanitarian crisis.

 

‘The healthcare system in Gaza is on its knees’: UN

Israeli military attacks across the Gaza Strip have significantly damaged or rendered inoperable all hospitals and healthcare facilities. Humanitarian workers have set up nine field hospitals, but it is not enough to attend to the wounded Palestinians coming in every day, according to the UN.

“Thousands need to be evacuated for treatment they can’t access within the Strip,” it said.



Israel must comply with World Court ruling immediately: Amnesty

The UK-based human rights organisation says the ICJ order makes it “crystal clear” that Israel must halt the attack on Rafah.

“The Israeli authorities must completely halt military operations in Rafah, as any ongoing military action could constitute an underlying act of genocide,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, in a statement.

“Unequivocally, the ground incursion and the associated mass forced displacement it has caused, pose further irreparable risk to the rights of the Palestinian people protected under the Genocide Convention and further threaten their physical destruction in whole or in part.”


Palestinians outside a house hit by Israeli bombardment in the Tal as-Sultan neighbourhood in Rafah

ICJ rules Israel must stop Rafah operation, what’s next?

International Court of Justice orders are legally binding. However, the court’s ruling will now be discussed at the UN Security Council where states can decide to take united action to enforce the court’s rulings.

However, the US has a veto, which it has historically used to shield Israel from the consequences of violating international law.

But the new World Court order compounds the pressure on Western states that arm Israel. “How can you justify selling weapons for Israel to use in Rafah? I don’t think you can. I think it is legally impossible,” said Alonso Gurmendi, an international law scholar at King’s College, London.