Israeli attacks on Gaza schools could be crimes against humanity: UN probe

Israeli attacks on Gaza schools could be crimes against humanity: UN probe

The UN Human Rights Council-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) report found that Israeli forces have used airstrikes, shelling, burning, and controlled demolitions to damage or destroy more than 90 per cent of schools and university buildings across Gaza. This destruction in the wake of the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel […]

Gaza: UN agencies calls for aid ‘surge’ as Israeli distribution plan begins

Gaza: UN agencies calls for aid ‘surge’ as Israeli distribution plan begins

After nearly three months of complete blockade by Israel, a “vastly insufficient” amount of aid was finally allowed into the war-ravaged enclave in the last week, insisted Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA. “We have not stopped operating,” he said, referring to staff still inside Gaza, who are tasked with liaising […]

Gazans’ suffering goes on amid intensifying Israeli strikes

Gazans’ suffering goes on amid intensifying Israeli strikes

In occupied East Jerusalem, meanwhile, Israeli protesters illegally entered a compound of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA. The development comes after the Israeli military coordination unit COGAT said on Saturday that 388 trucks had entered Gaza since last Monday – the first aid to arrive in well over two months of blockade that […]

Guterres strongly condemns killing of Israeli diplomats in US capital

Guterres strongly condemns killing of Israeli diplomats in US capital

The diplomats were gunned down on Wednesday night as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in central Washington DC, where the American Jewish Committee was hosting a reception.  They were identified as Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, who were about to be engaged, according to officials and family members. A […]

Gaza: Aid trucks still waiting for Israeli green light inside enclave

Gaza: Aid trucks still waiting for Israeli green light inside enclave

Existing supplies of basic necessities have been running dangerously low and on Wednesday the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said that its nutrition stocks to prevent increasing malnutrition “are almost gone”. “Humanitarian assistance is being weaponised to serve and support political and military objectives,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. Speaking at […]

Gaza: UN agencies reject Israeli plan to use aid as ‘bait’

Gaza: UN agencies reject Israeli plan to use aid as ‘bait’

UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder insisted that the Israeli proposal to create a handful of aid hubs exclusively in the south of the Strip would create an “impossible choice between displacement and death”. The plan “contravenes basic humanitarian principles” and appears designed to “reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic”, he […]

Guterres alarmed by Israeli plans to expand Gaza ground offensive

Guterres alarmed by Israeli plans to expand Gaza ground offensive

 “This will inevitably lead to countless more civilians killed and the further destruction of Gaza,” said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq, responding to a journalist’s question during the regular media briefing in New York. “What’s imperative now is an end to the violence, not more civilian deaths and destruction. Gaza is, and must remain, an […]