UN says strikes on Yemen ‘pose growing risk’ to civilians

Stephane Dujarric, the United Nations chief’s spokesman, says the world body is “deeply alarmed” by reports of an air strike hitting a migrant detention centre in Yemen.

As we’ve been reporting, the Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reported that at least 68 people were killed in a United States attack on the facility in the Saada governorate.

“We’re saddened by the tragic loss of life, where many of these migrants are believed to have been killed and injured,” Dujarric told reporters. He added that strikes on Yemen “pose a growing risk to the civilian population” in the country.

“We continue to call [on] parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians,” Dujarric said.

Yemen’s Houthis promise to keep up attacks, say they target US aircraft carrier

The group says it has targeted the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier “and its associated warships” in response to US attacks in Sanaa and in the Saada governorate.

“The missile force launched a number of cruise and ballistic missiles and drones over the past hours. The resulting engagement and confrontation forced the carrier to retreat from its previous position and head to the far north of the Red Sea,” the Houthis said.

They added they would continue to target US vessels “in the Red and Arabian seas until the aggression against Yemen is halted”.

F-18 falls overboard from US aircraft carrier in Red Sea

The US Navy says an F18 Super Hornet and a tow tractor on the USS Harry S Truman were “lost overboard”.

“Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is under way,” the Navy said in a statement, without explaining what caused the F18 to go overboard.

As we reported earlier, Yemen’s Houthis said they targeted the USS Truman earlier today in response to US strikes that killed dozens of people in the country.

The US has been bombing what it says are Houthi targets in response to the group’s firing on vessels in the Red Sea. The Houthis say they are conducting attacks in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and will stop once Israel’s bombardment of the enclave ends.

Only $70 million overboard, tarifs will cover it.

‘God did Israel a favour that Biden was president,’ ex-ambassador says

Michael Herzog, former Israeli ambassador to the US, says former US President Joe Biden never asked Israel to stop its war on Gaza while he was in the White House.

“God did the State of Israel a favour that Biden was the president during this period because it could have been much worse,” Herzog said in an interview with an Israeli TV programme, according to a Times of Israel report.

“We fought [in Gaza] for over a year, and the administration never came to us and said, ‘Ceasefire now.’ It never did. And that’s not to be taken for granted.”

Biden, who served as president from early 2021 to January of this year, faced widespread criticism, including from key members of his Democratic Party, for his staunch backing of Israel during the war on Gaza.

A self-described Zionist, Biden authorised billions of dollars in additional US military assistance to Israel while at the same time insisting that his administration was pushing for a ceasefire.

And thanks to Biden we now have Trump making everything even worse. Biden needs to be dragged in front of the ICC together with Blinken. All his ceasefire talk was just for distraction and keeping up appearances.

Israeli foreign minister slams UNRWA, UN, Guterres and more

Gideon Saar has posted a short video on social media attacking all those who he says “weaponise international law and its institutions in order to deprive the most attacked country in the world — Israel — of its most basic right to defend itself”.

The Israeli foreign minister’s comments come as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) heard arguments from the United Nations and others about Israel’s obligations as an occupying power.

Palestinians, UN experts and human rights groups say Israel is violating international humanitarian and human rights law in its abuses against Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

They have noted that Israel has carried out an indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza, killing tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians, while its blockade of the territory has pushed people to the brink of famine.

But Israel continues to reject international criticism.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog also hit out at foreign diplomats earlier today, telling dozens of UN ambassadors in Jerusalem that the country expects a “major change in the behaviour of the international institutions, an end to hypocrisy, and much more fairness”.

I accuse.
I accuse UNRWA.
I accuse the UN.
I accuse the Secretary-General.
I accuse all those that weaponize international law and its institutions in order to deprive the most attacked country in the world — Israel — of its most basic right to defend itself. pic.twitter.com/AfdHe7ymj3

— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) April 28, 2025

Israel’s ultimate aim is ‘elimination’ of Palestinians, Malaysia rep tells ICJ

A representative of Malaysia has told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel’s intention is the ultimate “displacement and elimination” of Palestinians.

“What are the obligations of an occupying power and of a member of the United Nations that continues without regard for international law or human decency to obstruct, undermine and dismantle the very systems built to preserve human life and dignity in the occupied Palestinian territory?” Malaysian envoy Azalina Othman Said asked the court during public hearings on Israel’s obligations in the occupied Palestinian territory.

“In last few weeks, we have witnessed not only a renewed war against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, but also statements by senior Israeli officials that leave no doubt [that] Israel’s intention is to bring about the ultimate denial of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination to their eventual displacement and elimination,” she said.

Othman Said pointed out how Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz recently issued threats against Gaza’s civilian population, stressing that “this demonstrates Israel’s intention in no uncertain terms”.

“Threatening the civilian population of Gaza with destruction unless they remove Hamas and return the hostages, [this is] an objective that even Israel with all its military might has not even come close to achieving over a year-and-a-half of merciless killing and maiming,” she said.

Israel intentionally making Gaza ‘uninhabitable’, Egypt tells ICJ

Egypt has told the International Court of Justice that Israel remains bound by its obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law as long as its occupation of Palestinian territory continues.

As the ICJ heard arguments from the UN and others about Israel’s obligations as an occupying power, Egypt’s assistant foreign minister, Hatem Kamaleldin Abdelkader, accused Israel of imposing a “brutal siege” on civilians, calling it “the most recent chapter in Israel’s systematic weaponisation of humanitarian assistance”.

“There is no doubt that these practices are part of a widespread, systematic and comprehensive state policy to depopulate the OPT [Occupied Palestinian Territory] and effect its de-facto annexation,” he said.

Abdelkader added that Israel has forcibly transferred Palestinians to areas no more secure than those they had fled and is “intentionally creating conditions intended to make Gaza uninhabitable”.

Jasmine Moussa, a legal adviser to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, said Israel’s military campaign was aimed at achieving “a far more insidious end” – the removal of Palestinians from their land and their extermination “under the fog of war”.

Irish lawyer presents powerful evidence on Israel’s disdain for international law| Janta Ka Reporter

Irish lawyer Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh on Monday made a powerful submission at the International Court of Justice to highlight Israeli excesses in Gaza and the occupied West Bank as she highlighted how the government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu was hell bent on making every single international institution irrelevant with the help of the US.

This was after the World Court began five-day proceedings following a request by the UN General Assembly to rule on Israel's breaches of international law and attacks on UN facilities.

Israel's Solution to the GAZA QUESTION (w/ Norman Finkelstein)



Dr. Norman Finkelstein breaks down Israel's solution to the "Gaza question" — namely, making it totally unlivable to push the indigenous population out.

Main events on April 28th

• At least 44 Palestinians have been killed since dawn in a series of Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip, including a drone strike that killed five children in Gaza City.
• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) heard the first day of arguments in a case against Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.
• The head of the Lebanese group Hezbollah has condemned Israel’s recent attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs, urging Lebanon to pressure the US to take action and rein in its ally.
• A spokesperson for UN chief Guterres says strikes on Yemen “pose [a] growing risk” to civilians as the US Trump administration continues to bomb the country; Yemen’s Houthis vow to keep up their attacks in the Red Sea in defiance of US strikes.

‘Unthinkable’: Red Cross comments on Yemen migrant detention centre attack

An International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) representative in Yemen has said that “it is unthinkable that while people are detained and have nowhere to escape, they can also be caught in the line of fire”.

“This attack underscores how civilians in Yemen are increasingly exposed to death, grievous injury, and deepening psychological trauma,” Christine Cipolla said in a statement.

As we’ve been reporting throughout the day, the Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reported that at least 68 people were killed when a migrant detention centre was hit in US strikes on Yemen’s Saada governorate.

In its statement, the ICRC did not provide a death toll but said the attack “resulted in a high number of casualties, many of whom were migrants”.

“The ICRC reiterates its call to all parties to respect and protect civilians, including people deprived of their liberty, in accordance with international humanitarian law. Parties must take every feasible precaution to avoid civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure,” it added.

Amnesty accuses Israel of ‘livestreamed genocide’ against Gaza Palestinians

Amnesty International has accused Israel of committing a “livestreamed genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza by forcibly displacing most of the population and deliberately creating a humanitarian catastrophe.

Israeli forces in Gaza have violated the United Nations Genocide Convention with acts that include “causing serious bodily or mental harm to civilians” and “deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction”, the human rights organisation said in its annual report.

Israel has repeatedly “denied, obstructed and failed to allow and facilitate” humanitarian access to Gaza, and invaded the southern city of Rafah, despite warnings by the international community and the International Court of Justice about the “devastating effect it would have on the civilian population”, it added.

For the full report, read here.


_{A Palestinian boy stands amid the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli attack on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on April 27}

Creators of global rules-based order ‘vandalising’ international law: Amnesty chief

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Callamard said this year will be remembered not just for the devastating human toll in Gaza but also for the way powerful states enabled the destruction of international norms.

She said: “Those countries who exactly 80 years ago have come together to champion creation of a new system, a new era, are now vandalising everything that they constructed over the last 80 years, with the United States leading that process.

“That vandalisation, that destruction is on the bodies of the Palestinians and the battleground is Gaza – but also international justice.”

Amnesty’s latest report accuses Israel and its allies of acting as though international law does not apply to them amid growing calls for accountability over its conduct in the war.

“The situation has never been more serious for Gaza, Palestinians, Israelis and the world. We are on the edge of an abyss,” Callamard said.

Canned food running out in Gaza amid ‘famine-like conditions’

The Israeli military has blocked the entry of all humanitarian aid and goods supplies to the public and private sectors in Gaza.

Families are having to adopt drastic tactics for survival, but this ability to endure will not last long. The closure of borders has led to the depletion of food supplies in Gaza, as the WFP [UN’s World Food Programme] stated.

Here, there are famine-like conditions that have brought serious consequences for vulnerable groups, including children. About 20 percent of the 55,000 pregnant women are malnourished, with half of them experiencing high-risk pregnancies, a terrifying rate to observe in such a fragile health environment.

The WFP Gaza office has also reported 60,000 children have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition and are receiving treatment in hospitals.

Even the local market is running out of canned food and essential supplies, which raises the alarm of growing famine in Gaza.

Paediatricians say basic sources of nutrition unavailable in Gaza

Medical workers in Gaza say children are suffering from widespread malnutrition. The UN said it has seen an 80 percent increase in the number of children suffering acute malnutrition in the month of March. Israel began its blockade of humanitarian aid on March 2.

Ziyad Majaida, a paediatrician in Khan Younis, told The Associated Press that children need 1g to 2g of protein for each kilogramme they weigh each day from foods such as meat, eggs, dairy and fish.

“Of course, these things are unfortunately unavailable due to the closure of the crossings for more than two months,” he said.

Gaza death toll rises

At least 50 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza, and one body has been recovered in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

At least 113 people were also injured in that period, the ministry added. The death toll in Gaza rose to 52,365 killed, with 117,905 wounded, since October 7, 2023, it added.

Israel has killed at least 2,273 Palestinians and wounded 5,864 since it broke the ceasefire on March 18, according to the ministry.

Israel demolishes home of 13 Palestinians in West Bank’s Masafer Yatta: Report

Israeli troops backed by bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers demolished a two-storey home in the village of al-Zweidin in Masafer Yatta, a small, rugged region in the southern occupied West Bank, according to activist Osama Makhamreh quoted by the Wafa news agency.

The report said 13 people lived in the house.

Masafer Yatta has been repeatedly subject to Israeli settler violence and home demolitions as the Israeli military wants to turn the area into a training zone. The plight of its residents was the subject of a film that won best documentary at the Oscars.

Doctor, journalist among 22 arrested by Israeli forces in West Bank: Media Office

Israeli forces have rounded up six Palestinians in the occupied West Bank’s Jenin city, including doctor Shaima Abu Ghali and journalist Ali al-Samoudi, according to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office (ASRA). Al-Samoudi was injured in the same attack when the Israeli army killed Al Jazeera’s correspondent Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin in May 2022.

Elsewhere in the Palestinian territory, four people were arrested yesterday in the town of Beit Fajjar in Bethlehem governorate, four others in the Hebron governorate, two in the city of Nablus, four in the governorate of Salfit, one in the city of el-Bireh and one in the city of Qalqilya.

Number of Palestinian journalists in Israeli jails rises to 49: Monitor

With the latest arrest, the total number of reporters currently in Israeli jails has reached 49, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said, adding that Israeli forces have arrested at least 177 reporters since the start of the war in Gaza.

Israeli “authorities continue to escalate their targeting of Palestinian journalists through systematic arrests, in addition to daily targeting of journalists while they are performing their work”, it said in a statement. “Journalists are subjected to all the systematic crimes faced by prisoners, including starvation, medical crimes, torture, and numerous forms of abuse.”

As of today, there are 19 journalists under administrative detention, a practice used only by Israel, which allows its authorities to detain someone without charge or trial, it added.

Ben-Gvir concludes US trip amid protests, controversy over Gaza comments

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have interrupted far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s final stop on his US trip.

In a post on X, Ben-Gvir said he had concluded his “diplomatic visit to the United States at the Capitol building, holding important meetings with senior Congress members who expressed their full support for Israel”.

Footage shared on social media showed protesters disrupting the visit with chants of “Free Palestine” and “war criminal”.

The trip – Ben-Gvir’s first to the US since joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in late 2022 – has drawn sharp criticism.

Upon his arrival at a Florida airport last week, he was confronted by critics expressing support for the families of Israeli captives. Then on Wednesday, Ben-Gvir sparked outrage among human rights groups after claiming that US Republican lawmakers support his call to bomb food and aid warehouses in the Gaza Strip.

Israel will stop fighting only once Palestinians are out of Gaza: Smotrich

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says Israel will stop fighting only when Syria is “dismantled”, Hezbollah is “severely beaten”, Iran is stripped of its nuclear programme, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza are “on their way out” of the enclave, and the Israeli captives are returned.

“We will continue to debate among ourselves – about policy plans, about recruitment issues, about identity issues and also about economic issues. There can be no dispute about the destruction of the enemy,” The Times of Israel reported, quoting Smotrich.

He said Netanyahu does “not have the mandate to miss the window of opportunity”.

Well, at least he's honest about the order, hostages last. They're merely an excuse for Trump's pretend ceasefire efforts.