Israel intensifies attacks on Lebanon as Gaza death toll rises
- Gaza’s Health Ministry says 61 Palestinians were killed and 231 wounded in the latest 24-hour reporting period.
- Israeli forces fired at a watchtower used by UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, injuring two people.
‘Silence is compliance and approval of what Israel is doing’
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati is saying that Beirut is ready to strengthen the Lebanese army’s position in the southern part of the country.
And he also made a plea to the international community. He said that Israel’s actions should be a wake-up call for everyone within the international community that silence is compliance and approval of what Israel is doing.
This is not the first time we’ve heard these from the caretaker prime minister, really reiterating that the only way forward is for the United Nations Security Council to pressure Israel to return to that Resolution 1701 that came into being in 2006 after the war between Israel and Hezbollah ended.
And that resolution is really the only diplomatic solution on the table at the moment. There is no other way forward.
Palestinian prisoners not getting any care: Israeli NGO
Guy Shalev, executive director of Physicians for Human Rights Israel, says his NGO, which documents human rights abuses, has been closely following Israeli attacks on Gaza’s health system.
“There are more than 20,000 Palestinians who await medical evacuation in Gaza who can’t be treated there and can’t get out,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that only several hundred have been allowed to leave since May.
In the occupied West Bank, the organisation is working closely with Palestinians to document “settler violence and ethnic cleansing of Palestinian communities” while trying to assist prisoners.
“Access is very restricted. For instance, the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] has not had any access to any Israeli prison in the past year, which is a dire violation of prisoners’ human rights and of international law,” he said.
Shalev said the NGO gets information through hundreds of people who are contacted through their lawyers.
“We’re getting a lot of medical requests that we can’t fully address because of the sheer amount and scale of violations,” he said.
“We’re now trying to address the needs of people who weigh just 40kg [88lb] and are in very bad health conditions after long months of not getting proper medical care and nutrition.”
