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United Nations announced on Tuesday that it has suspended food distribution in Rafadue to the lack of supply and the prevailing insecurity in that city in the south of Linkadding that no trucks have entered the floating dock erected by the United States in the past two days.
The world body did not specify how many people remain in Rafa after Israeli forces launched an intense offensive on the site on May 6, but there appear to be several thousand people. He World Food Program (PMA) also warned that the center Link is running out of food.
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Abeer Etefaspokesperson for PAM, an agency linked to the UNwarned that “humanitarian operations in Gaza are on the verge of collapse”. If food and supplies don’t start arriving.”in large quantities, famine conditions will prevail” he added.
The warning comes at a time when Israel tries to contain the damage caused by the request of the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court request arrest warrants against Israeli leaders and the Palestinian group Hamas, a management supported by three European countries, including France. The inspector Karim Khan quoted the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister Yoav Galante Of course “use of hunger as a tool of war,” an accusation they and other Israeli officials angrily reject. The prosecutor also accused three Hamas leaders of war crimes for the death of civilians in the attack that that armed group led. October 7thwhich triggered the current war.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has worsened in the two weeks since Israel launched its attack on Rafah on May 6, aiming to uproot Hamas fighters. The Israeli army captured the Rafah crossing with Egypt, which has remained closed ever since. As of May 10, only about three dozen trucks had entered Gaza from the nearby crossing Kerem Shalombecause the fighting makes access difficult for humanitarian workers, the UN says.
The main agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, UNRWAannounced the suspension of aid distribution in Rafah in a publication on X, without giving details, other than mentioning the lack of supplies.
Etefa said WFP suspended distribution in Rafah after they ran out of reserves. The agency continues to deliver hot meals in central Gaza and make “limited distributions” of reduced food packages in the center of the strip, but “Packages will run out in a few days” he added.
Etefa said 10 trucks entered the artificial dock on Friday and were taken to its warehouse in central Gaza. But, he added, a trip of 11 trucks that was scheduled to take place on Saturday was frustrated by crowds of Palestinians carrying supplies, and only five trucks arrived at the warehouse. There were no more supplies coming in through the docks on Sunday or Monday, he said.
The UN says that around 1.1 million people in Gaza – almost half the population – suffer from catastrophic levels of hunger and that the territory is on the brink of famine.
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In early May, around 1.3 million Palestinians had gathered in Rafah after fleeing the Israeli offensive on the rest of the territory. At least 810,000 of them have returned since Israel launched its attack on the city. Refugees spread across parts of southern Gaza, setting up vast camps or crowding into UN schools already damaged in previous Israeli offensives.
Regarding the actions of the International Criminal Court, no Israeli official faces the imminent possibility of arrest, but the announcement deepens Israel’s isolation at a time when even its closest allies are criticizing it for its conduct of the war in Gaza.
Belgium, Slovenia and France said on Monday they support prosecutor Khan’s decision. Such support exposes discrepancies in the West regarding the stance towards Israel.
Israel still counts on the support of its main ally, U.S, as well as other Western countries that took a stance against the decision. But if the orders are issued, they could complicate international travel for Netanyahu and Gallant, although they do not face an immediate risk of arrest since Israel is not part of the court.
The prosecutor also requested arrest warrants for three Hamas leaders: Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif It is Ismail Haniyeh. Hamas is already considered an international terrorist group by the West. The belief is that Sinwar and Deif are hiding in Gaza, but Haniyeh, the group’s supreme leader, is based in Qatar and travels frequently around the region. Qatar, like Israel, is not a member of the ICC.
The war began on October 7 after a deadly Hamas attack in which militants from Gaza crossed into Israel and killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 250 hostages. Khan accused Hamas leaders of crimes against humanity, such as extermination, murder and sexual violence.
Israel responded with an intense offensive that killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Most of the dead are women and children, according to Palestinian sources. The war triggered a humanitarian crisis that displaced a large part of the coastal enclave’s population and plunged part of it into famine.
The Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hadja Lahbibsaid Monday in a post on X that “Crimes committed in Gaza must be prosecuted at the highest level, regardless of who is responsible”.
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Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders called the prosecutor’s decision shameful and anti-Semitic. The President of the United States, Joe Bidenalso criticized the prosecutor and supported Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas. UK He said the initiative “Does’nt help” and that the ICC has no jurisdiction in this case, although Czech Republica country allied with Israel, called Khan’s decision “regrettable and completely unacceptable”.
A panel of three judges will decide whether to issue the arrest warrants and allow the case to move forward. Judges usually take about two months to decide.
Several experts warned that possible arrest warrants could complicate relations between Israel and other countries, including allies who criticized the ICC decision.
Since the start of the war, violence has also increased West Bank.
At least seven Palestinians were killed in an Israeli attack on the refugee camp on Tuesday. Jenin and the adjacent city of the same name, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The army said its forces attacked militants in the operation, while the armed group Palestinian Islamic Jihad He said his fighters clashed with Israeli forces.
However, according to Wissam Abu Bakerdirector of the Jenin Government Hospital, one of the dead was the surgical specialist at the Ossayed Kamal Jabareen center. He died on his way to work, he said. Abu Baker.
Jenin and the refugee camp, considered a center of militancy, were already the target of frequent Israeli attacks long before the war in Gaza.
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Since the start of the war, nearly 500 Palestinians have been killed in fighting in the West Bank, many of them militants, as well as others who threw stones or explosives at troops. People who were not participating in the clashes also died.
Israel says growing militancy continues in the territory and points to an increase in attacks by Palestinians on Israelis. Since the start of the war in Gaza, more than 3,000 Palestinians have been detained.
Israel captured the West Bank in Six Day War 1967, together with East Jerusalemwhich it later annexed, and the Gaza Strip, from which it withdrew troops and settlers in 2005. Palestinians claim these territories as part of a future independent state, hopes that have diminished since war broke out in Gaza.
Source: Elcomercio
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
