UN rights chief deplores ‘entrenched impunity’ in Gaza war

Ahmed Azam carries the body of his son Muhanad, who was born in the Israel-Hamas war and killed in an Israeli strike, at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. (Reuters)
Ahmed Azam carries the body of his son Muhanad, who was born in the Israel-Hamas war and killed in an Israeli strike, at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. (Reuters)
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Updated 24 February 2024
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UN rights chief deplores ‘entrenched impunity’ in Gaza war

UN rights chief deplores ‘entrenched impunity’ in Gaza war
  • UN agency for Palestinian refugees at ‘breaking point,’ deplores chief

GENEVA, NEW YORK: The UN human rights chief said on Friday that perpetrators of gross human rights violations in the conflict between Israel and Hamas must be held accountable.

“The entrenched impunity that OHCHR — the UN rights agency — has reported on for many years cannot persist,” High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a report on the situation in Gaza and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
He said that this impunity had contributed to violations that could amount to international crimes.
Turk urged all parties to the conflict to “put an end to impunity and conduct prompt, independent, impartial, thorough, effective and transparent investigations” into alleged crimes under international law. He also called on them to implement a ceasefire on human rights and humanitarian grounds, to ensure full respect for international law, and to ensure accountability for violations and abuses.

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‘The entrenched impunity that OHCHR — the UN rights agency — has reported on for many years cannot persist,’ High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a report on the situation in Gaza and in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Last month, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians and do more to help civilians, although it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire as requested by South Africa, which brought the case.
In separate proceedings, South Africa on Tuesday urged the court to issue a non-binding legal opinion that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, arguing it would help efforts to reach a settlement.
Separately, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned it has reached a critical juncture as it struggles to cope with the war in Gaza.
“It is with profound regret that I must now inform you that UNRWA has reached a breaking point,” chief Philippe Lazzarini said, as donors freeze funding, Israel exerts pressure to dismantle the agency and humanitarian needs soar.
“The Agency’s ability to fulfill the mandate given through General Assembly Resolution 302 is now seriously threatened,” he said in a letter to the assembly.
That is the resolution under which the agency was founded in 1949, following the creation of Israel. UNRWA employs some 30,000 people working in the occupied territories, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
Several countries — including the US, Britain, Germany and Japan — have suspended funding to UNRWA in response to Israeli allegations that some of its staff participated in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
In an interview published over the weekend Lazzarini said $438 million has been frozen — the equivalent of more than half of expected funding for 2024. He said Israel was waging a concerted effort to destroy UNRWA.
The UN fired the employees accused by Israel and has begun an internal probe of UNRWA.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has also tasked an independent panel with assessing whether UNRWA acts in a neutral fashion in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Lazzarini asserted that Israel has provided no evidence against the 12 former employees it accuses, but 16 countries have suspended funding anyway.
“I have cautioned donors and host countries that without new funding, UNRWA operations across the region will be severely compromised from March,” he said.
He added: “I fear we are on the edge of a monumental disaster with grave implications for regional peace, security and human rights.”
The war started after Hamas’s unprecedented Oct. 7 attack which resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians.
Hamas militants also took about 250 hostages — 130 of whom remain in Gaza, including 30 presumed dead, according to Israel.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 29,410 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest count by Gaza’s Health Ministry.

 


Israel PM announces body of hostage recovered from Gaza in ‘special operation’

Israel PM announces body of hostage recovered from Gaza in ‘special operation’
Updated 36 sec ago
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Israel PM announces body of hostage recovered from Gaza in ‘special operation’

Israel PM announces body of hostage recovered from Gaza in ‘special operation’
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced in a statement Wednesday that the body of a hostage had been recovered from the Gaza Strip.
“In a special operation, the body of hostage Itay Svirsky, who was kidnapped on October 7 (2023) from kibbutz Beeri and murdered in captivity by Hamas terrorists in January 2024, was brought back,” Netanyahu said in a statement released by his office.
The body of Svirsky, who was 38 when he was kidnapped during Hamas’s surprise attack, was recovered in an operation by the Shin Bet internal security agency, aided by the military, both organizations confirmed in a joint statement.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a campaign group for relatives of those abducted to Gaza, welcomed the return of Svirsky’s body while demanding the immediate release of the remaining hostages.
“The families continue to wait for their loved ones after 425 days of captivity. Many hostages remain alive but in grave danger, requiring immediate release for urgent medical care and rehabilitation. Others must be returned for dignified burial,” it said.
Separately on Wednesday, the Israeli military released a statement on its investigation into the deaths of six hostages, whose bodies were recovered in August.
The military said they were likely executed by their captors as Israel struck near their location in February.
“According to the most plausible scenario, the terrorists shot the hostages close to the time of the strike,” the military said.
During the October 7, 2023 attack, militants kidnapped 251 people, 96 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 declared dead by the Israeli military.
Svirsky’s is the 38th body of a hostage to be brought back from the Gaze Strip.

Israeli forces advance in Khan Younis area of south Gaza, 47 killed across enclave

Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip
Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip
Updated 54 min 19 sec ago
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Israeli forces advance in Khan Younis area of south Gaza, 47 killed across enclave

Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, amid a hunger crisis, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip
  • Later on Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike at a tent encampment in Al-Mawasi killed at least 17 people and wounded several others, medics said

CAIRO: Israeli tanks pushed into northern parts of the Khan Younis area in the south of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday and Palestinian medics said further Israeli airstrikes had killed at least 47 people across the enclave.
Residents said tanks advanced one day after the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders, saying there had been rocket launches by Palestinian militants from the area.
With shells crashing near residential areas, families left their homes and headed westward toward the nearby humanitarian-designated area of Al-Mawasi. Palestinian and United Nations officials say there are no safe areas left in Gaza and that most of its 2.3 million people have been displaced multiple times.
Later on Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike at a tent encampment in Al-Mawasi killed at least 17 people and wounded several others, medics said. The Civil Emergency Service said the attack set several tents housing displaced families ablaze.
Another Israeli airstrike hit three houses in Gaza City, killing at least 10 people and wounding many others, the territory’s emergency service said. Many victims were still trapped under the rubble with rescue operations underway.
Medics said 11 people were killed in three airstrikes on areas in central Gaza, including six children and a medic. Five of the dead had been queuing outside a bakery, they said.
A further nine Palestinians were killed by tank fire in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, medics said.
Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the information given by Palestinian medics.
Israeli forces also fired on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in north Gaza for the fifth straight day, hospital director Hussam Abu Safiya said. Three of his medical staff had been wounded, one critically, on Tuesday night, he said.
Drone strikes
“Drones are dropping bombs filled with shrapnel that injure and anyone that dares to move,” said Abu Safiya. “This situation is extremely urgent.”
Residents in three towns — Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun — said Israeli forces had blown up dozens of houses.
Palestinians say Israel’s army is trying to drive people out of the northern edge of Gaza with forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone. The Israeli army denies this and says it has returned to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping in an area where it had previously cleared them out.
The army says militants frequently use residential buildings, schools and hospitals for operational cover. Hamas denies this, accusing Israeli forces of indiscriminate attacks.
Israel launched its offensive in the densely populated enclave after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities across the border on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s military campaign has since killed more than 44,400 Palestinians, injured many others, and reduced much of the enclave to rubble.
Israel agreed to a ceasefire with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah last week that halted fighting in a conflict that has unfolded in Lebanon in parallel with the Gaza war.
But the war in Gaza has ground on with only a single ceasefire more than a year ago that lasted for one week.


Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047

Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047
Updated 04 December 2024
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Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047

Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047
  • Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad says 316 children, 790 women among dead
  • Says real numbers may be higher due to unrecorded deaths of Lebanese citizens

BEIRUT: The death toll in Lebanon in more than a year of war between Israel and Hezbollah has reached 4,047 people, most of them since a September escalation, authorities said Wednesday.
A week after a ceasefire took effect, Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad told reporters that “until now... we have recorded 4,047 dead and 16,638 wounded.”
Abiad said 316 children and 790 women were among the dead.
Most of the deaths occurred after September 15, he said, adding that “we believe the real number may be higher” due to unrecorded deaths.
A source close to Hezbollah had told AFP that hundreds of the group’s fighters had been killed, without providing a precise figure.
On the Israeli side, authorities reported at least 82 soldiers and 47 civilians dead.
Israel stepped up its campaign in south Lebanon in late September after nearly a year of cross-border exchanges begun by Hezbollah in support of its ally Hamas following the Palestinian group’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel.
A fragile ceasefire came into effect last week and is generally holding, though both sides have accused the other of repeated violations.
During the fighting, according to Abiad, there were “67 attacks on hospitals, including 40 hospitals that were directly targeted,” killing 16 people.
“Seven of these hospitals are still closed,” the minister said.
“There were 238 attacks on emergency response organizations, with 206 dead,” he said, adding that 256 emergency vehicles including fire trucks and ambulances were also “targeted.”
The Israeli military has insisted its actions were aimed at militants, and in October accused Hezbollah of using ambulances “for terrorist purposes.”
On Monday, Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed 11 people, according to the health ministry, after Hezbollah earlier in the day claimed its first attack on an Israeli position since the truce began.
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that “if we return to war, we will act with greater force and penetrate deeper” into Lebanon, adding that “there will be no immunity” for the Lebanese state, which was not a party to the Israel-Hezbollah war.


Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047

Lebanese people mourn over the coffin of a relative in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
Lebanese people mourn over the coffin of a relative in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
Updated 22 min 54 sec ago
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Lebanon says Israel-Hezbollah war death toll at 4,047

Lebanese people mourn over the coffin of a relative in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre on December 2, 2024. (AFP)
  • Health minister says victims killed in Israeli attacks include 316 children
  • Lebanese army redeploys at sites of previous positions in Shebaa

BEIRUT: The death toll in Lebanon in more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has reached 4,047, most of them since violence escalated in September, Lebanese Minister of Public Health Firass Abiad said on Wednesday.

A week after a ceasefire took effect he said that “until now ... we have recorded 4,047 dead and 16,638 wounded.”

He said 316 children and 790 women were among those killed.

Most of the deaths occurred after Sept. 15, he said, adding that “we believe the real number may be higher” because of unrecorded deaths.

During the fighting, according to Abiad, there were “67 attacks on hospitals, including 40 hospitals that were directly targeted,” killing 16 people.

“Seven of these hospitals are still closed,” the minister said.

“There were 238 attacks on emergency response organizations, with 206 dead,” he said, adding that 256 emergency vehicles, including fire trucks and ambulances were also targeted.

The Lebanese army at noon on Wednesday redeployed in the border town of Shebaa after withdrawing from the area following the Israeli army incursion on Oct. 1 during the war between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.

The Lebanese army established positions in its previous locations in Shebaa, extending to the public school south of the town.

The redeployment, however, did not include border posts, such as Birkat Al-Naqar and the Kfarchouba Heights, pending the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area.

The Israeli army is expected to evacuate the areas it infiltrated within a 60-day timeframe, as stipulated by the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

This step is the first phase of the agreement, focusing on security and border arrangements between Lebanon and Israel.

The five-party committee responsible for monitoring the ceasefire in Lebanon is expected to hold its first meeting within the next 24 hours, under the leadership of US General Jasper Jeffers.

The venue for the meeting, whether in Ras Al-Naqoura or the UNIFIL headquarters in the town of Naqoura, has not yet been announced.

In addition to the US representative, the committee includes representatives from France, Lebanon, Israel and UNIFIL.

The French military delegation representative is expected to arrive in Beirut within hours.

A military source said that the Lebanese army had appointed Brig. Gen. Edgar Lowndes, commander of the South Litani Sector, to represent Lebanon on the committee.

The US military delegation inspected the UNIFIL headquarters in Naqoura and held a meeting with the UNIFIL commander.

The invading Israeli forces, meanwhile, continued to demolish residential buildings and facilities in the towns they entered.

The Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar TV reported that “an armored force supported by Merkava tanks was observed advancing into neighborhoods within the town of Yaroun, coinciding with the movement of an Israeli force inside Maroun Al-Ras and intermittent machine-gun fire toward the city of Bint Jbeil.”

Residents of towns near the border area heard loud explosions, suspected to be caused by the rigging and detonation of explosives in dozens of buildings in Khiam as part of Israel’s scorched-earth policy.

On Wednesday, the Israeli army renewed for the sixth time its warning to residents of more than 50 border towns against trying to return to their homes “until further notice.”

Lebanon’s Minister of Public Works Ali Hamieh said on Wednesday that several international airlines that suspended their flights to Lebanon during the war had sought permission to resume flights to and from Beirut, and approvals were being granted on the same day.

The minister said he expected most flights by Arab and foreign companies to return to a regular schedule by the middle of this month in time for Christmas and New Year. 

Hamieh said that Lebanon’s seaports had continued to operate “diligently during and after the war, and we are still committed to the same principle of providing prompt service to all traders across the nation.”

The minister indicated that ministry teams were trying to reopen all roads blocked by debris resulting from the destruction of buildings.

He said teams were still active in Nabatieh and the southern regions, and work had begun in the southern suburbs of Beirut, as well as in the Baalbek-Hermel area and Western Bekaa.

He said that nearly all roads in Lebanon are now accessible.

The minister said that the Masnaa Border Crossing between Lebanon and Syria was now open, and work was underway on the crossings in the northern part of the country. A series of Israeli airstrikes struck the Masnaa Border Crossing, resulting in craters that hindered the passage of vehicles.

Consequently, the movement was limited to foot traffic under the surveillance of Israeli reconnaissance aircraft, which the Israelis justified by claiming the action was to prevent weapons being smuggled to Hezbollah.

Former Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, meanwhile, urged Hezbollah to explore its future role and how to engage with the president — who will be elected on Jan. 9 — and the new government.

Hezbollah, he said, should also find ways to address its weapons after evaluating the fall-out from the war in support of Gaza, and its impact on the south, Lebanon, its people and institutions, Gaza, Palestine, Syria, and Iran.

Suleiman said: “We call on the authorities, politicians, citizens, and civil society organizations to speak out — without flattery or shame — and tell Hezbollah and its supporters that Lebanon does not want war, nor does it want to offer support.

“Tell Hezbollah that you wish to preserve the youth of Lebanon by ending brain drain, martyrdom, disability, or death caused by their inability to access medical care or meet basic needs such as tuition fees, housing costs, or even just adequate nutrition.”

Suleiman called on the incoming president to “establish a national dialogue entity focused on creating a timetable for Hezbollah to disarm and dissolve its armed factions within a maximum of one year.

“This process should occur through a national strategy, agreement, solution, or a Cabinet decree.

“If an agreement cannot be reached, the president must return to Parliament with a constitutional message and decide on the next course of action to fulfill his duties.”


Israeli settlers raid West Bank towns

Israeli settlers raid West Bank towns
Updated 04 December 2024
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Israeli settlers raid West Bank towns

Israeli settlers raid West Bank towns
  • West Bank is home to some three million Palestinians as well as 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements that are considered illegal under international law
  • Violence in the occupied Palestinian territory has soared since the war in Gaza erupted on October 7 last year after Hamas’s attack on Israel

HUWARA, Palestinian Territories: Israeli settlers on Wednesday wounded a Palestinian and set buildings on fire while raiding two villages in the occupied West Bank after a nearby settlement outpost was evicted by Israeli forces, Palestinian and Israeli sources said.
“Israeli civilians entered the village of Beit Furik” east of the Palestinian city of Nablus, the Israeli army said, adding that they “set property on fire, and hurled stones.”
Local authorities told AFP the attacks took place early on Wednesday morning.
The army said that the settlers reacted after Israeli forces “acted against illegal construction by Israeli civilians adjacent to the town of Beit Furik” on Tuesday night, triggering clashes during which the settlers injured two policemen with stones.
Nahi Hanani, deputy head of the Beit Furik council, told AFP that dozens of settlers attacked the village “setting fire to a truck in front of one house and another vehicle,” early on Wednesday.
“They also set fire to a grocery shop in the village and another house was slightly damaged,” he said.
The army said the Israelis also “set property on fire and threw stones” in Huwara, a town to the south of Nablus.
Rana Abu Hania, spokeswoman for Huwara’s town hall, confirmed to AFP that one resident was injured when settlers attacked the town early on Wednesday.
“They burned two cars and the house of one citizen... The army also demolished a used car lot,” said Abu Hania.
Yusef Awadi, a resident of Huwara, told AFP that settlers burned his brother’s house Wednesday morning.
“They set fire to the Jeep and to the car outside... They entered the house, set it on fire, and then left,” the 66-year-old said, adding that his brother Tayseer was hospitalized.
“He was hit on the head and... was transferred to Rafidia Hospital,” Awadi told AFP, adding that had his brother’s family not been awake, “they would have all burned with the house.”
In a joint statement, the Israeli army and police said that eight suspects were arrested in the investigation into the Beit Furik and Huwara attacks, “for assaulting security forces, engaging in friction, and causing damage to property.”
The army said that there were also clashes between the Israeli army and “about 20 Israelis” in Rujeib, a town closer to Nablus, on Tuesday evening.
The West Bank is home to some three million Palestinians as well as 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.
Violence in the occupied Palestinian territory has soared since the war in Gaza erupted on October 7 last year after Hamas’s attack on Israel.
Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 788 Palestinians in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.
Palestinian attacks on Israelis have also killed at least 24 people in the West Bank in the same period, according to Israeli official figures.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.