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Israel continues to block the entry of food aid to Gaza. It said that shortly after 7 October. Today, it continues to do so except for the bare minimum whilst deliberately starving the people of the enclave.
CrossFireArabia
On 17 September 1948, UN mediator Count Bernadotte was murdered in Jerusalem by a Zionist militant organization Lehi. Bernadotte, a leading Swedish diplomat was appointed by the UN Security Council as a mediator to the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Count Bernadotte’s presence in Palestine followed the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine and the subsequent unilateral Israeli Declaration of Independence.
CrossFireArabia
Lebanese Ambassador Hadi Hachem sharply criticized Israel, Tuesday, for its ongoing military actions against his country in the wake of multiple explosions of pager devices that killed at least nine people and wounded many others, accusing it of violating international law and escalating regional tensions.
Speaking at an emergency session of the UN General Assembly on the legal consequences of Israel’s activities in occupied Palestinian territories, Hachem stressed that Lebanon’s sovereignty has been under attack since Oct. 8, 2023.
“The attacks against southern Lebanon have continued by Israel defying international law and resolutions, including international humanitarian law and the most fundamental humanitarian laws. This Israeli escalation on our territory is being accompanied by a hardening of rhetoric,” he said.
Citing the explosions of wireless communication devices across Lebanon on Tuesday, Hachem described it as an “aggression which rises to a war crime” and warned that it would exacerbate the conflict.
Earlier, at least nine people, including a child, were killed in a mass explosion of the pager devices in areas across Lebanon, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firas Al-Abiad.
He added that around 2,750 other people were also injured, including 200 in critical condition.
Pagers, often used by civilians and health care workers for communication, are small, battery-powered wireless devices that receive text messages, audio and visual signals.
Hachem warned that “with ongoing threats against Lebanon and its people” the Middle East “will become the eye of the cyclone.”
Iran condemns attack on Lebanon
Iran’s permanent representative to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, said at the UN General Assembly session that Israel’s “aggression and act of terrorism” targeting civilians in Lebanon has resulted in thousands of injuries, including to Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon.
“We extend our sincere condolences to the families of the victims and the government of Lebanon and strongly condemn this act of sabotage and terrorism by the rogue regime of Israel,” Iravani said.
“The Israeli regime must be held accountable for such aggression and heinous crime,” he added.
Iran’s Permanent Mission to the UN issued a statement to Anadolu regarding the injury of Iran’s Ambassador Lebanon, Mojtaba Emani, following the explosion of communication devices in Lebanon according to Anadolu, the Turkish news agency
The statement said Emani is receiving treatment and is in stable condition.
The mass explosion of pagers came amid an exchange of cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israel against the backdrop of a brutal Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 41,200 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year.
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Between 17,000 and 18,000 children in Gaza are currently orphaned and without protection said UN Humanitarian Coordinator Muhannad Hadi in a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in Brussels, Thursday.
Hadi highlighted the dire conditions faced by these children, noting that many are forced to gather firewood instead of attending school or playing due to a lack of electricity and cooking gas.
He described the sight of children selling worthless items, such as broken door handles or cups, on the streets as a stark indication of the extreme poverty in Gaza. The shortage of cash has further exacerbated the economic and humanitarian crisis according to Wafa, the Palestinian news agency.
During his visit to Gaza in August, Hadi likened the extensive destruction he witnessed to a “horror film,” emphasizing that basic necessities like clean water, coffee, and breakfast have become distant dreams after 11 months of war.
Hadi also discussed the significant challenges faced by humanitarian workers in delivering aid, citing issues with visas, border crossings, and other obstacles.
He noted the grave risks they encounter, including incidents of gunfire targeting UN and humanitarian vehicles. For instance, a World Food Programme vehicle was hit by 10 bullets in August.
Hadi reported that 214 staff members from UNRWA and seven from the Global Central Kitchen have lost their lives in the course of their work during the ongoing Israeli aggression.
He warned that the crisis in Gaza and the West Bank has far-reaching implications for the entire region.
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A UN independent expert warned, Monday, Israel’s intensification of its military assault against the northern West Bank marks a dangerous escalation of grave violence and human rights violations committed by Israel against the Palestinian people since October 7, 2023.
“Israel’s genocidal violence risks leaking out of Gaza and into the occupied Palestinian territory as a whole,” warned Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.
“The writing is on the wall, and we cannot continue to ignore it. There is mounting evidence that no Palestinian is safe under Israel’s unfettered control. While this was also true before Hamas’ attack on 7 October, the risk has since intensified,” Albanese said.
Continuous genocidal incitements by top Israeli leaders and officials remain unpunished, and are often acted upon by soldiers, armed settlers and others, revealing the intent to destroy the Palestinian people under occupation. Increasingly loud calls by Israeli leaders for turning the towns in the West Bank and refugee camps into a “mini-Gaza”, are translating into military operations that are causing heavy death tolls and widespread destruction to the West Bank’s urban areas.
Systematic aerial and ground attacks on Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem and Tubas governorates, particularly targeting refugee camps, have intensified in the past few months. Recently, on 28 August, Israeli occupation forces launched a full-scale military operation against these areas that have already killed 22 Palestinians and injured dozens.
Bulldozers have destroyed critical infrastructure, including roads, water and energy grids. New checkpoints have been established, following Israel’s Foreign Minister Katz’s declaration that “We must deal with the threat just as we deal with the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including the temporary evacuation of Palestinian residents and whatever steps are required. This is a war for everything, and we must win it.”
An evacuation order has been issued to Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem and a city hospital in besieged Jenin, currently treating 150 patients. The Israeli occupation forces have blocked entry to the three main hospitals and imposed a curfew, while Israeli ground forces have invaded and besieged Shu’fat refugee camp in East Jerusalem.
The expert notes that since 7 October 2023, 652 Palestinians have been killed outside of Gaza, including 151children, thousands injured, over 3,300 have been displaced and over 12,000 arbitrarily detained, de facto hostages of the unlawful occupying Power.
The increasing violence in the West Bank coincides with unprecedented levels of displacement, depopulation and land confiscation carried out by the State of Israel in collaboration with settler militias in the area since the Oslo era. This continues even after the International Court of Justice concluded that this occupation is unlawful, and Israel must dismantle it together with the colonies and its associated regime.
“Apartheid Israel is targeting Gaza and the West Bank simultaneously, as part of an overall process of elimination, replacement and territorial expansion” she said.
“The long-standing impunity granted to Israel is enabling the de-Palestinisation of the occupied territory, leaving Palestinians at the mercy of the forces pursuing their elimination as a national group,” warned the expert.
“The international community, made of both states and non-state actors, including companies and financial institutions, must do everything it can to immediately end the risk of genocide against the Palestinian people under Israel’s occupation, ensure accountability and ultimately end Israel’s colonisation of Palestinian territory.”
Francesca Albanese is the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
UN Human Rights, Country Page: Occupied Palestinian Territoryand Israel.
For more information and media requests, please contact hrc-sr-opt@un.org
For media enquiries regarding other UN independent experts, please contact: Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org) and John Newland (john.newland@un.org)
Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter: @UN_SPExperts
