Attacks continue amid criticism of UNSC resolution
- The watered-down resolution passed on Friday boosting aid to Gaza has been criticised by some countries as “nearly meaningless”.
- Israel continues its deadly bombardment of Gaza, with the latest attacks reported in the Nuseirat refugee camp and Khan Younis.This was a report in Israeli media, not confirmed yet by the Israeli military.But the Philadelphia corridor, or the Philadelphia route, known to the Palestinians as the Salah al-Din Axis, is this 14 Kilometer buffer zone between Egypt and Gaza. Until 2005 It was patrolled by the Israelis, and then they pulled out of Gaza. And now it’s patrolled by Egyptian border security.
It was patrolled, essentially, to try and combat smuggling. Now this report in the Israeli media says that the Israelis conducted a maneuver along this corridor. It was said to fire to eliminate militants who had opened fire on its forces.
Normally, there’s a long treaty governing access into the Philadelphia corridor. And normally Israel is supposed to coordinate on everything that happens there with Egypt. We don’t know whether there’s been any coordination or not with Egyptians.
Hamas – the border authority in Rafah – for its part is denying that this has happened.
Bodies decomposing in the streets of Gaza
In Beit Lahia, a city in the north of the Gaza Strip, the civil defence authority says it found “dozens of decomposing bodies”.
“Most of the bodies recovered in Beit Lahia were executed in the streets and mauled by dogs,” it said.
An Israeli “massacre resulted in the death of dozens” of people in the Jabalia camp and Jabalia town, ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qedra said in a statement. “They also executed dozens of citizens in the streets,” he added.
There was no immediate Israeli response to the allegations.
On Wednesday, the United Nations human rights office said it received “disturbing” reports that Israeli troops “summarily killed” at least 11 unarmed Palestinians in a possible war crime in Gaza.
31 rights and humanitarian groups send letter to UN’s Guterres
Al Haq, together with 31 Palestinian rights and humanitarian organisations, sent a letter to the UN secretary-general warning “UN aid agencies operating on the ground in Gaza are aiding Israel’s war objectives, in breach of international law”.
“Through its extensive coordination with Israel regarding the delivery and distribution of aid, and subsequent compliance with unlawful restrictions, UN agencies have failed to act with independence. In doing so, they have jeopardised humanity.”
As poverty and hunger rise, Gaza’s butchers forced to sell undergrown cattle
The butchers are struggling to meet the demand of a starving population during severe food shortages and import bans across the strip besieged and bombarded by Israel’s military.
The World Food Programme says half of Gaza’s population is starving and only 10 percent of the food required has entered Gaza since October 7.
Local butcher Mohammed Al Ghalban told Reuters news agency the price of meat has jumped from about 16 shekels ($4.4) to 28 shekels ($7.6) per kilo.
Most people in Gaza have been forced to flee their homes and UN officials have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe. The death toll stands at about 20,000 people amid renewed international calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Gaza’s health ministry says there have been more than 53,300 people wounded in the conflict. The WHO points to the growing risk of disease because of a lack of clean water, food and medicine.
Hamas calls on Israel to ‘reveal the fate’ of detained Palestinians
Hamas has called on the Red Cross and prisoners’ rights groups to pressure Israel to “reveal the fate” of hundreds of Palestinians detained by Israeli forces in Gaza.
An overwhelming majority of Palestinian prisoners were arrested under a quasi-judicial process known as administrative detention, under which Palestinians are initially jailed for six months. Their detentions can then be repeatedly extended for an indefinite period without charge or trial.
Most Palestinians, including children, are tried in military courts and handed lengthy sentences in what critics call sham military trials because in many cases Palestinians are deprived of defence lawyers and due process. In comparison, Israeli citizens are tried in civil courts, highlighting the two-tier justice system that discriminates against Palestinians.
Five Palestinians arrested in occupied West Bank
The Israeli army says it arrested five people across the occupied West Bank during overnight raids in the villages of Beit Ur al-Tahta and Beit Ur al-Fuka.
Since the start of the war, arrests across the occupied territories have spiked. Israeli forces have detained more than 4,600 people, according to a Palestinian monitoring group. Raids have largely been violent with more than 250 reported killed.
