News Archives - Page 126 of 377

Israel’s Aid Blockage…Collective Punishment

CrossFireArabia
March 4, 2025

Israel’s decision to block aid to over two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as Ramadan begins is a reckless act of collective punishment, explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law and as Oxfam stated.

Humanitarian aid is not a bargaining chip for applying pressure on parties, but a fundamental right of civilians experiencing urgent need in challenging and life-threatening circumstances.

When our teams assessed the conditions in Gaza in the wake of the January 19th announcement of a temporary ceasefire, they encountered apocalyptic scenes of complete destruction and famine-like conditions.

People in Gaza need everything: lifesaving water, food, sanitation and other necessities, as well as equipment critical for the restoration of water and electricity. The goods that were able to enter during the weeks of ceasefire have brought some relief, but remain a drop in the ocean.

The international community must apply immediate pressure on Israel to ensure vital aid urgently gets into Gaza. The International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to ensure aid deliveries at scale throughout Gaza.

Reliefweb

News

Israel Fails in Jenin Despite Massive Onslaught

CrossFireArabia
March 4, 2025

The Israeli army on Tuesday killed a Palestinian young man in Jenin amid the ongoing offensive in the northern occupied West Bank that has been taking place since Jan. 21.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a statement that the Israeli army handed over to its medical teams “a martyr in his twenties in the Eastern neighborhood of Jenin.”

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that a large number of Israeli forces, escorted by bulldozers, broke into the eastern neighborhood of Jenin at dawn on Tuesday.

Armed clashes between the Israeli forces and Palestinian fighters, along with sounds of explosions, were reported in the area, the witnesses also said.

They added that the Israeli bulldozers embarked on destroying infrastructure in the neighborhood, including razing of roads.

The Israeli army has been conducting operations in the northern West Bank since Jan. 21, killing at least 65 people and displacing thousands.

Palestinian authorities have warned that the continued military offensive is part of a broader plan by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to annex the West Bank and declare sovereignty over it, which could officially mark the end of the two-state solution.

The raids were the latest in the military escalation in the West Bank, where at least 928 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the onslaught against the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The International Court of Justice declared in July last year that Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories is “unlawful,” demanding the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

News

Libya Denies Its Willing to Resettle Palestinians

CrossFireArabia
March 4, 2025

Libya’s Government of National Unity on Monday denied a report by Western media claiming Tripoli is willing to accept Palestinian refugees, reiterating its stance for the right of the Palestinian people to live on their land with dignity.

A statement by the media office of the prime minister said it “categorically denies” the report on the website of American Thinker, an online news portal, on “Libya’s readiness to receive numbers of Palestinian refugees,” reports Anadolu.

“These allegations are completely fabricated and never been issued by any official Libyan body,” the statement added.

It said that the report’s writer, Jerome Corsi, is not a “professional journalist and has a record of publishing misleading information that has no credible sources.”

The statement reiterated Libya’s firm stance in supporting the Palestinian cause and the right of the Palestinian people to live with dignity on their land.”

On March 2, the American Thinker published the report, Libya Offers to Welcome Palestinian Refugees, claiming that the Tripoli-based Libyan government “has told the US government that Libya will take 100,000 to 200,000 refugees from Gaza.”

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called for “taking over” Gaza and resettling its population to redevelop the enclave into what he called “the Riviera of the Middle East.” The idea has been vehemently rejected by the Arab world and many other nations, who say it amounts to ethnic cleansing.

News

Israel Threatens to Resume War…

CrossFireArabia
March 4, 2025

Israel has threatened to resume its genocide war in Gaza, setting a deadline of 10 days for Hamas to release the remaining captives, a move that violates the ceasefire agreement.

Israel’s Channel 12, citing an Israeli official, said on Monday that the occupation government has set a deadline 10 days from now for Hamas to release the remaining captives in Gaza before a return to war.

“We are currently at a dead end regarding the deal negotiations,” the official told Channel 12.

At the parliament on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened, “I tell Hamas: If you do not release our hostages, there will be consequences that you cannot imagine.”

Defence Minister Israel Katz later said if Hamas did not free the captives, “the gates of Gaza will be locked, and the gates of hell will open”.

“We will return to fighting, and they will face the (army) with forces and methods they have never encountered—until a decisive victory,” he said in a statement.

Israel Violates Ceasefire

Israel has imposed a block on all aid entering Gaza following the end of the first phase of the ceasefire deal. Netanyahu’s office issued a statement on Sunday morning confirming the decision.

The move, which coincides with the holy month of Ramadan, came after Hamas refused to accept the extension of the first phase of the ceasefire deal.

Israel said that it had accepted a last-minute proposal put on the table by the US president’s special envoy for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, for a temporary ceasefire over Ramadan and Passover.

According to Israel, the proposal also outlined the release of all captives still in Gaza in two stages, with the second stage contingent on negotiating a permanent ceasefire.

“With the end of phase one of the hostage deal, and in light of Hamas’ refusal to accept the [US envoy Steve] Witkoff outline for continuing the talks – to which Israel agreed, Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided that starting this morning all entry of goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will cease,” the statement said.

“Israel will not allow a ceasefire without the release of our hostages. If Hamas continues its refusal, there will be further consequences.”

Hamas refused to extend it, noting it will only release captives in phases, per the ceasefire agreement, which Israel is now refusing to continue.

It said it would only accept moving to the second stage, which was supposed to guarantee the definitive end of the assault, an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, and the release of remaining captives.

Hamas also slammed Israel’s decision to block the entry of aid and adopt the US proposal. In a statement, the movement said this “is a blatant attempt to renege on the agreement and evade negotiations for its second phase.”

“Netanyahu’s decision to block the entry of all humanitarian aid into Gaza is a cheap blackmail and a war crime in an appalling violation of the ceasefire deal. Mediators and the international community must act to place pressure on the occupation and put an end to its punitive and immoral measures against more than two million people in the Gaza Strip.”

Hamas stated that Israel has continued to violate the ceasefire since it took effect, which has resulted in the killing of over 100 people in Gaza and the disruption of the humanitarian protocol. This includes blocking the entry of sheltering and relief aid, further aggravating the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, Israel has committed around 962 violations of the ceasefire agreement according to the Quds News Network.

News

Javad Zarif and Iran’s Political Feud

CrossFireArabia
March 3, 2025

After a long-running legal row over his appointment, Iran’s deputy president for strategic affairs, Javad Zarif, announced his resignation on Monday.

In a detailed post on X, the former top diplomat said he had worked with dedication in President Masoud Pezeshkian’s government over the past nine months but endured “the most vile insults, slanders, and threats directed at myself and my family” over the past six months.

He described this period as “the most bitter” of his 40-year political career, referencing the controversy surrounding his appointment as the country’s vice president according to Anadolu.

Many of his critics argued that his appointment violated the Constitution, as his children — born in the US — are natural-born citizens of the US.

“Over the past four decades, I have endured countless insults and accusations for my small role in advancing national interests, from ending the imposed war to bringing the nuclear case to completion, and I have remained silent in the face of a flood of lies and distortions to protect the country’s interests,” he wrote in his resignation letter.

Zarif, who served as foreign minister for eight years under President Hassan Rouhani and played a key role in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, said he was invited by the judiciary chief, who pointed to the country’s current state and advised him to return to academia “to prevent further pressure on the government.”

“I hope that with my departure, obstacles to the people’s will and the government’s success will be removed,” Zarif said.

The former top diplomat had been under intense pressure from conservative political circles, which urged parliament to remove him from his government post.

Notably, Zarif, who had campaigned for Pezeshkian during the elections, also led the committee responsible for selecting candidates for various ministries and government departments.

There had been speculation about his resignation in the past too but he always dismissed them.

There has been no word so far from the president’s office on whether he will accept the resignation. But sources say the resignation will be accepted to prevent further pressure on the government.

On Sunday, Economy Minister Abdolnasser Hemmati was impeached by the parliament over mounting economic woes and depreciating national currency rial.