Israel’s war on Gaza live: Khan Younis hospitals out of food
- The Gaza Health Ministry says Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals have run out of food as Israeli siege of the Khan Younis medical centres continues.
- UN relief chief Griffiths tells Security Council aid to Gaza continues to be blocked.
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UNRWA defunding decision consistent with Israeli government policy: Official
- According to Mohammad Elayyan, head of the Palestinian committee to defend the right of refugees to return to their homes, says the decision to cut funds to the UN agency is consistent with Israeli attempts “to liquidate UNRWA, in an effort to erase the issue of refugees”.
“Instead of defunding UNRWA, these countries should have taken immediate steps to stop the war on Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Some Western countries have shown their true colours: their bias against Palestinians, and support for Israel’s occupation, by adopting similar positions, and repeating their same allegations and narrative.”
White House seeking ‘extended pause’ in fighting: Kirby
Here are some comments made by US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby from a press briefing at the White House:
- “We are looking at an extended pause [in fighting] as the goal … longer than what we saw in November, which was about a week.”
- “The goal of an extended level pause is so you can get the maximum amount of [Israeli] hostages out … [this] is all a part of the discussions right now.”
- The talks we are having on the pause and hostages are constructive, and we believe they are moving in the right direction.
- The recent attack in Jordan was sparked by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which includes multiple groups.
- We will do what is necessary to hold those responsible for the recent attack in Jordan accountable.
- We will respond at a time of our choosing to the latest attack in Jordan, and monitor the situation on the ground.
- We do not seek war with Iran or a broader war in the region.
- We do not trust what the Kataib Hezbollah group in Iraq says, and it is not the only one launching attacks on our forces.
- We can respond to the latest attack on our forces and continue working to release the Israeli hostages at the same time.
‘What happens in Gaza is a scar on our shared conscience’: EU’s Borrell
The EU’s foreign policy chief has echoed the sentiments of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, saying that UNRWA responded swiftly after Israel alleged that some of its employees had taken part in the October 7 attacks.
“Its life-saving work is the backbone of humanitarian response in Gaza. UN members must guarantee it,” he said.
Earlier, Guterres defended the work of the UN’s Palestine refugee agency, after a number of Western countries said they would pull their funding to it.
US says it struck Houthi missile site
The US military’s Central Command has said that it struck a Houthi missile site, which it says posed an “imminent threat” to US aircraft.
“USCENTCOM forces struck and destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile prepared to launch,” CENTCOM said in a statement on Wednesday. “US forces identified the missile in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined that it presented an imminent threat to US aircraft.”
Israeli media: Netanyahu tells UN ambassadors UNRWA must end
News site Ynet reports that the Israeli prime minister held a meeting with the UN envoys of Malta, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Ukraine, Slovenia and Sierra Leone at his office in Jerusalem.
“We must replace UNRWA with other UN agencies and other aid agencies if we want to solve the Gaza problem as we plan to do,” he told the ambassadors. “Hamas infiltrated the UNRWA ranks, and the organization works in its service.”
Last week, Israel alleged that several employees of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees participated in the October 7 attacks on Israel. The organisation promptly severed ties with the individuals named and initiated a formal review of the allegations, but this did not stop several Western countries from cutting their funding to it.
UNRWA, according to top UN officials, is currently the body best equipped to handle the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
One killed, ambulance destroyed in Israeli raids on southern Lebanon
Local platforms have shared scenes of the impact of destruction created by Israeli forces after targeting the village of Blida in southern Lebanon with a drone attack.
The Lebanese al-Risala Association announced the destruction of its ambulance in the Israeli raid on the village.
Displacement of West Bank Bedouins on the rise since October 7: Rights group
Israeli forces and settlers have been pushing those in Area C of the occupied West Bank – which is under full administrative and security control – out of their homes at a faster pace since October 7, says Hassan Mleihat, a Bedouin community rights activist.
“In 2023, the Bedouin communities in Area C were subjected to 1,124 attacks, and settler gangs, with the support of the occupation army, forced 28 Bedouin communities in which 3,600 citizens lived, to be displaced,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Twenty-four of the 28 were pushed out after October 7, and this is a very dangerous event that marks the beginning of the forced displacement of all the remaining communities,” he said.
“The Palestinian communities in Area C are waging an existential war with the settlers, who carry out daily attacks, vandalism and destruction, theft of livestock, imposing heavy fines on sheepherders, confiscating property, and torch their tents and shacks,” Mleihat added.
