Category Archives: Gaza

Israel committing genocide in Gaza, world’s top scholars on the crime say

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International Association of Genocide Scholars resolution backed by 86% of members who voted

An overwhelming majority of members of the world’s leading genocide scholars’ association have backed a resolution stating that Israel’s actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of the crime.

Eighty-six per cent of those who voted in the 500-member International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) supported the motion. The resolution states that “Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide in article II of the United Nations convention for the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide (1948).”

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Israeli airstrikes and gunfire have killed 30 around Gaza City, local officials say

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Toll includes 13 people trying to get food near distribution point, as Israeli cabinet to discuss next stages of offensive

Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 30 people in and around Gaza City, local health authorities said, as a 20-boat humanitarian aid flotilla carrying activists including Greta Thunberg set sail from Barcelona for the stricken territory.

Authorities said the toll from Israeli tank and gunfire included 13 people who died trying to get food near a distribution site in the Gaza Strip, two in a house in Gaza City and 15, including five children, in a strike on a residential building on Saturday.

With Reuters and Agence France-Presse

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Seven Israeli soldiers wounded in explosion in Gaza City, IDF says

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Armoured vehicle hit in Zeitoun neighbourhood as Arab media reports intense clashes in the area

Seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in an explosion targeting an armoured vehicle in Gaza City on Friday night, the Israel Defense Forces have said.

The soldiers were wounded while operating in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, which has been the site of intense Israeli military activity in recent weeks.

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UN human rights staff urge leadership to declare Israel’s war in Gaza a genocide

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Internal letter also calls on UN member states to suspend arms sales, saying ‘criticising Israel is not enough’

Hundreds of employees of the United Nations’ leading human rights agency have backed an internal letter telling its leadership to declare Israel’s offensive in Gaza a genocide and to call on UN member states to suspend arms sales to Israel.

The 1,100-word letter, signed by about a quarter of the 2,000 staff of the Geneva- and New York-based Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), says the Israeli offensive in Gaza meets the legal threshold of genocide and that this means “arms sales, transfers and related logistical or financial support to Israeli authorities” constitutes a clear breach of international law by all those involved.

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IDF declares famine-hit Gaza City a combat zone, ending ‘tactical pauses’ that allowed limited food delivery – Middle East crisis live

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Around one million Palestinian people expected to be displaced in shattered city where famine has been declared

A spokesperson for the Israeli military said earlier this week that the evacuation of Gaza City is “inevitable”. Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel will launch its Gaza City assault while simultaneously pursuing a ceasefire, though talks have stalled.

The Israeli prime minister has claimed the assault is the best way to weaken Hamas and return hostages, but many hostage families disagree and fear it will endanger hostages lives.

In accordance with the situational assessment & directives of the political echelon, starting today at 10:00, the local tactical pause in military activity will not apply to the area of Gaza City, which constitutes a dangerous combat zone.

The IDF continues supporting humanitarian efforts while conducting operations to protect Israel.

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US soldiers could be liable for war crimes in Gaza. Will they be prosecuted?

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Human Rights Watch says US military personnel could face criminal prosecution for assisting Israel’s war in Gaza

Human rights groups and activists who protest against continued US support for Israel have focused primarily on the flow of US weapons, warning that continuing to send weapons to a state which has been documented using them in probable war crimes makes the US complicit.

However, this week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) highlighted another facet of US military support for Israel: military cooperation and intelligence sharing.

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Friday briefing: Why are Palestinians shut out of post-war plans while former PM discusses their future?

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In today’s newsletter: Former PM returns to Middle East ​politics​ as civil society groups argue that any real solution must begin with Palestinian agency

Good morning. Tony Blair is back and he has plans for the Middle East.

No, you have not woken up and jumped back two decades in time. The former Labour leader, who was put under pressure to resign after the disastrous decision to go to war with Iraq – which led to the death of a million Iraqis and created a vacuum later filled by the brutal Islamic State – is back in the headlines this week.

Ukraine | The UK and European Union have summoned their Russian envoys after missile strikes on Kyiv killed at least 18 people and damaged British Council and EU offices.

UK news | The Treasury is reportedly considering a tax on landlords in the autumn budget that would target income from rents. The proposals are centred on the expansion of national insurance to include rental income.

Iran | The UK, France and Germany have formally notified the UN that they have triggered the restoration of sweeping UN sanctions against Iran, giving Tehran 30 days to make concessions on access to its nuclear sites.

US news | The White House named non-scientist Jim O’Neill, a deputy of Robert F Kennedy Jr, to serve as acting head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), amid a standoff over the firing of director Susan Monarez whose lawyers said she could only be removed by Donald Trump himself.

Environment | The collapse of a critical Atlantic current can no longer be considered a low-likelihood event, a study has concluded, making deep cuts to fossil fuel emissions even more urgent to avoid the catastrophic impact.

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Tony Blair attends White House meeting with Trump on postwar Gaza

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Former prime minister in Washington DC on Wednesday for talks that reportedly also included Jared Kushner

The former British prime minister Tony Blair has attended a White House meeting with Donald Trump to discuss plans for postwar Gaza, the Guardian understands.

After stepping down as prime minister in 2007, Blair took on the role of Middle East envoy until 2015 and spent time in Jerusalem trying to formulate a plan for a two-state solution.

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Pope demands ‘collective punishment’ end in Gaza as 10 more die of hunger

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Latest deaths announced by Gaza health ministry bring starvation toll to 313, including 119 children

Ten Palestinians including two children have died from starvation in the last 24 hours, health authorities in Gaza said on Wednesday, as Pope Leo XIV demanded that Israel stop its “collective punishment” of the population in the besieged territory.

At least 313 people have died from hunger, including 119 children, since the war in Gaza began and Israel intensified its siege on the Palestinian territory. Last week a UN-backed monitoring body confirmed that Gaza was in the throes of famine and warned that without more aid, increasing numbers of people would lose access to food.

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A third of outpatients treated for wounds at MSF’s Gaza hospitals in 2024 were children, figures show

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Explosive weapons designed to be used in battle are being used in urban areas, says Médecins Sans Frontières

Children under 15 years old made up almost a third of outpatients treated for wounds in field hospitals run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Gaza last year, statistics published in The Lancet reveal.

The figures were released by MSF in correspondence with the respected medical journal and come from six health facilities in Gaza supported by the international medical NGO. The facilities are predominantly in the south and centre of the devastated territory.

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Israeli protesters stage ‘day of disruption’ calling for end to war in Gaza

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Netanyahu continues to prepare Gaza City offensive as mediators await response to ceasefire proposal

Tens of thousands of people took part in demonstrations across Israel on Tuesday, blocking highways on a “day of disruption” that aimed to push Benjamin Netanyahu into agreeing a deal to end the war and calling off plans to attack Gaza City.

Relatives of hostages led the biggest march and rally in Tel Aviv, while in Jerusalem hundreds of people gathered outside the prime minister’s office as the security cabinet met to discuss the war. There were dozens of other protests around the country, including on the main highway to the northern city of Haifa and inside Ben Gurion airport.

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Norway wealth fund sells Caterpillar stake over Israel allegations

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World’s largest wealth fund says it has excluded bulldozer maker and five Israeli banking groups on ethics grounds

The world’s largest wealth fund has excluded Caterpillar, the construction equipment manufacturer, over Israel’s use of its bulldozers to destroy Palestinian property in Gaza and the West Bank.

Norway’s $2tn (£1.5tn) fund said on Monday it had excluded Caterpillar and five Israeli banking groups on ethics grounds.

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Israel’s attack on hospital in Gaza may constitute a war crime on many fronts

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Double-tap strike suggests killing of civilians, rescue workers and journalists deliberate and not a mistake

Israel’s twin strike on the Nasser hospital in Gaza, which killed five journalists including staff working for the Associated Press, Reuters, NBC and Al Jazeera, is a potential violation of international law writ large.

The attack targeted a civilian building, specifically a hospital, in a reckless double-tap strike that killed civilians, with rescue workers and journalists among them. All categories that should be protected under international law.

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‘No place is safe’: families flee Gaza City as Israel vows to press on with offensive

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Others refuse to leave as aircraft and tanks bomb outskirts of city where about half of Gaza’s 2m people now live

Israeli aircraft and tanks have pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City, destroying buildings and homes, as Israeli leaders vowed to press on with an expanded large-scale offensive on the city.

Witnesses reported the sound of continuous explosions overnight from Saturday night into Sunday morning in the areas of Zeitoun and Shejaia. Meanwhile, tanks shelled houses and roads in the nearby Sabra neighbourhood and several buildings were blown up in the northern area of Jabaliya.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene joins Bernie Sanders in urging US to end Gaza famine

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Breaking from most of her peers in Congress, far-right Georgia Republican has also described crisis as a genocide

Amid mostly silence in Congress, some US lawmakers on opposite sides of the political spectrum spoke out Saturday over a UN-backed report warning of famine in parts of Gaza.

“Let’s be clear: President Trump has the power to end the starvation of the Palestinian people,” Vermont’s politically independent senator Bernie Sanders posted on X. “Instead he is doing nothing while watching this famine unfold. Enough is enough. No more American taxpayer dollars to Nethanyahu’s [sic] war machine.”

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UN special rapporteur will contribute to ‘Gaza tribunal’, Jeremy Corbyn says

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Former Labour leader says Francesca Albanese to take part in event seeking answers over UK’s ‘role in war crimes’

A UN special rapporteur will contribute to a two-day “tribunal” being held by Jeremy Corbyn into Britain’s “role in war crimes perpetrated in Gaza”, the former Labour leader has said.

Corbyn, who is campaigning for a new political entity with the working title Your Party, said the event would take place in early September. His private member’s bill for an official inquiry into UK involvement in the Israel-Gaza war was blocked by the government at its second reading in July.

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Dutch foreign minister quits over failure to secure sanctions against Israel

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Caspar Veldkamp resigns after cabinet reaches deadlock on adopting harsher measures over situation in Gaza

The Dutch foreign minister, Caspar Veldkamp, has resigned after a cabinet meeting failed to secure sanctions against Israel, weakening the Netherlands’ already fragile caretaker government.

Veldkamp’s colleagues from the centrist New Social Contract (NSC) party also walked out after the cabinet debate late on Friday reached an impasse over adopting harsher measures against Israel.

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Famine in Gaza City means ‘deaths will increase exponentially’, UN-backed organisation warns – Israel-Gaza war latest updates

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The IPC has raised its classification to Phase 5, the highest and worst level of its acute food insecurity scale

Mothers in Gaza have resorted to using legume water and herbs as alternative to infant milk amid Famine, charity warns

Dr. Ra’ed Al-Baba, who works at Al Awda Hospital run by ActionAid’s partner Al-Awda, said usage of alternatives to infant milk had “catastrophic” consequences.

There are mothers who resort to using legume water, herbs, and other alternatives to infant milk because of the severe shortage. These methods carry catastrophic risks, causing gastroenteritis, food poisoning, delayed growth, severe anaemia, and even the inability to move. We have seen cases of extreme dehydration from polluted water mixed with these substitutes. This is not survival, this is slow death.”

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UN-backed experts declare famine in and around Gaza City

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IPC says famine is ‘entirely man-made’ and immediate response is needed or avoidable deaths will soar

An “entirely man-made” famine is taking place in Gaza’s largest city and its surrounding area, UN-backed experts have declared, in an escalation of the devastated territory’s humanitarian crisis.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), a globally recognised organisation that classifies the severity of food insecurity and malnutrition, found that three key thresholds for famine had been met.

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Indonesia working on details of plan to treat 2,000 people from Gaza amid concerns about right to return

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Security ministry and the ministries of health and foreign affairs have met to discuss how the controversial proposal to treat Palestinians would work

The Indonesian government is working on plans to treat 2,000 people from war-ravaged Gaza, holding a series of inter-ministerial discussions to discuss logistics, legality and foreign policy implications relating to the highly sensitive proposal, according to a senior government official.

Indonesia announced earlier this month that it would provide temporary medical assistance to 2,000 Palestinians from Gaza, with the uninhabited island of Galang identified as one possible site. Located just south of Singapore, the island was once home to a former camp for Vietnamese refugees and most recently the site of a pandemic hospital.

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