Attacks….
CrossFireArabia- November 19, 2024
The Civil Defense in Gaza reported the destruction of its vital firefighting, rescue, and medical equipment, which was valued at $1.3 million, amid the ongoing Israeli genocide.
Gangs Loot UN Aid to Gaza With Israeli Help
- CrossFireArabia
- November 19, 2024
An internal United Nations memo obtained by The Washington Post reveals that criminal gangs are looting humanitarian aid in Gaza under the protection of the Israeli military.
According to the memo, organized crime groups have been systematically seizing aid supplies in areas directly controlled and patrolled by the Israel military, significantly worsening the humanitarian crisis in the besieged enclave.
The report also quotes a senior official from a major international relief organization as stating that “We have not witnessed any interference from Hamas in our programs, whether in the north or the south”, denying Israeli accusations against the resistance movement.
Memo Exposes Israeli Complicity
The internal document concludes that these gangs “may be benefiting from a passive if not active benevolence” or even “protection” from the Israeli army.
Specifically, the memo highlights that one gang leader established a “military-like compound” in a restricted area near Karem Abu Salem crossing, which is closely monitored by Israeli forces.
Despite the presence of Israeli troops nearby, aid organizations report that Israeli soldiers have repeatedly decided not to intervene during attacks on aid convoys.
Increasing Violence Against Aid Convoys
Officials from various aid groups, humanitarian workers, and transport companies describe how gangs have turned looting into an organized criminal enterprise, often resorting to extreme violence.
Armed men have attacked aid truck drivers, leading to kidnappings and, in some cases, fatalities. In a major incident reported last week, nearly 98 out of 109 trucks carrying UN food aid were ransacked near the border crossing. The attackers not only stole food but also injured several transporters and severely damaged vehicles.
According to Muhannad Hadi, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, the security situation in Gaza has completely deteriorated. “Gaza is basically lawless,” he said. “There is no security anywhere.” He emphasized that, as the occupying power, Israel bears the responsibility to protect and secure the aid convoys entering the region.
Aid Organizations Plead for Protection
The memo further outlines how aid organizations have repeatedly requested Israeli authorities to implement better security measures, including safer routes and permission for Gaza’s civilian police to protect convoys. However, these requests have largely been denied.
The Israeli military has denied any involvement, claiming that its forces are focused on facilitating aid transfers and have carried out “targeted countermeasures” against the looters without causing collateral damage.
Mounting Humanitarian Crisis
The looting has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza. As winter approaches, aid organizations struggle to deliver critical food, hygiene items, and shelter supplies to over 2 million displaced Palestinians.
With aid supplies dwindling to their lowest levels since the early stages of the genocide, millions are now at risk of severe hunger.
The Biden administration had decided to maintain its military aid to Israel, despite mounting evidence of Israel’s systematic starvation campaign against Gaza, claiming that Israel has not breached American laws on blocking aid supplies. Earlier on the same day, Israel’s Defence Ministry confirmed that it has no immediate plans to send aid to the besieged northern Gaza Strip.
The Ministry of Interior in Gaza has announced on Monday that it stated a large-scale security operation targeting outlaws, who have been looting humanitarian aid under the protection of Israeli forces. According to sources within the ministry, the crackdown led to the neutralization of Abu Shabab, who was mentioned in the UN memo as the main gang leader, as well as over 20 members of his gang according to the Quds News Network.
2025 – A Dangerous Year
- CrossFireArabia
- November 18, 2024
Hardcore Israeli Minister Smotrich declares 2025 the ‘year of sovereignty’ with full annexation plans for the West Bank underway. Meanwhile, the U.S. stands by Israel’s side, ignoring both the land grab and the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Cartoon by Carlos Latuff
UN Experts Tell Israel: Stop Starving Gaza
- CrossFireArabia
- November 18, 2024
“The humanitarian and human rights situation for Palestinian civilians across Gaza is catastrophic,” underscored Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, highlighting the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification’s recent alert that “there is a strong likelihood that famine is imminent” in the Strip’s northern areas, she told a 15-member body convened an emergency meeting in response to experts’ warnings that immediate action is required within “days, not weeks” to avert the scourge.
She appealed to the Council to take all steps within its powers to influence the parties to end violations, facilitate impartial humanitarian access and protect civilians. Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure “contributes directly to the famine risk being discussed today”, she noted, stressing that “the use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law”.
Kheris added: “The manner in which the Israeli military is conducting operations in northern Gaza suggests not only that Israel’s actions are seeking to empty northern Gaza of Palestinians, by displacing survivors to the south, but points to further grave risks of atrocities of the most serious nature.”
“Men, women, boys and girls are effectively starving as the conflict rages,” underscored Rein Paulsen, Director, Office for Emergencies and Resilience, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), via videoconference. Prior to 7 October 2023, Gaza was largely self-sufficient in vegetables, eggs, fresh milk, poultry and fish, and local agriculture also produced much of the red meat and fruits consumed inside Gaza, he said. Today, nearly 70 per cent of Gaza’s cropland has been damaged or destroyed, and almost 95 per cent of cattle, and more than half of sheep and goat herds, are now dead.
Also briefing the Council was Joyce Msuya, Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Acting Emergency Relief Coordinator, who declared: “As I brief you, Israeli authorities are blocking humanitarian assistance from entering North Gaza, where fighting continues, and around 75,000 people remain with dwindling water and food supplies.” Citing violent armed lootings of UN convoys, the closure of food assistance kitchens and the diminishing daily food distribution, she warned that, if implemented, the Israeli Knesset legislation to ban activities of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), starting in January, will be “another devastating blow to efforts to provide life-saving aid and avert the threat of famine”.
That international aid cannot travel to reach civilians “is completely unacceptable”, stressed Ray Collins of Highbury, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom, Council President for November, who spoke in his national capacity. Israel must heed and act on the “shocking and urgent” warning that a worst-case scenario is now playing out in areas of northern Gaza, he said, urging that country to flood Gaza with aid, protect civilians, meet all legal obligations as the occupying Power and avoid undermining UNRWA’s role.
“This is a clear use of starvation as a method of war, which constitutes a war crime,” stressed Algeria’s representative. Denial of civilians’ right to food in Gaza constitutes part of systematic collective punishment of the Palestinian population, stressed China’s speaker, urging Israel to remove obstacles to humanitarian access throughout Gaza and any restriction placed on UNRWA.
Mass Murder in Gaza
- CrossFireArabia
- November 17, 2024
The Gaza Government Media Office reports 96 Palestinians killed and 60 others injured in recent airstrikes by Israeli occupation forces on the town of Beit Lahiya and the Nuseirat and Bureij refugee camps over the past few hours.
