Israeli military forces continued to pound the Gaza Strip on Friday with heavy airstrikes, hitting areas in the south where Palestinians had been told to seek safety and forcing many to return north as hundreds of trucks crammed with humanitarian aid remained piled up on the border between Egypt and By gauze. .
“The airstrikes, along with extremely difficult living conditions in the south, appear to have forced some to return to the north, despite continued heavy bombardment,” said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the agency. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said this on Friday.
Shamdasani told reporters that the UN human rights office had interviewed some of the roughly one million people who had been evacuated to the south, including one unidentified Palestinian who said: “I might as well die in my own home.”
An untold number of Palestinians were killed and injured in an explosion at a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City late Thursday. The exact number of dead has not yet been determined as the bodies were still under the rubble.
At the Egyptian border, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters that “restrictions” were preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, which has been cut off from food, water, fuel and electricity by Israel since a surprise attack by Hamas on October 7.
“We are actively working with all stakeholders to clarify these restrictions so that we can move these trucks to where they are needed. We need these trucks to move as soon as possible,” Guterres said, adding: “We have two million people here who are suffering immensely.”
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, on Friday wrote on X“We hope the Rafah crossing will open today. Further delays will result in more suffering and more deaths.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told soldiers on the Gaza border on Thursday that he would soon see the Palestinian enclave “from the inside.” This was reported by the Reuters agency. He called on the forces to “organize, be ready” for the order to move, indicating an impending Israeli ground invasion. Israel also evacuated a large Israeli city in the north near the Lebanese border.
The death toll of Israelis and Palestinians has exceeded 5,000, making the conflict the deadliest of the five wars involving the narrow, densely populated strip of land bordering Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.
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Latest developments:
∎ The Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday that most of the 200 people taken hostage by Hamas were still alive, according to CNN. The IDF said about 10-20 of the hostages were over 60 years old; over 20 are under 18.
∎ UNRWA, the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees, issued a statement on X said on Friday that two workers had been killed in Gaza. A total of 16 UNRWA workers have been killed since the start of the war. “UNRWA continues to advocate for compliance with international humanitarian law – UN staff and civilians must be protected at all times,” the agency said.
∎ A spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, said on Friday that 14 Palestinians were reportedly killed in Thursday’s drone strike.
Biden will ask Congress for billions to help Israel and Ukraine
President Joe Biden on Friday will detail a request to Congress to pay for more weapons for Ukraine, buy new equipment for the U.S. military to replace what it sent to Kiev and replenish the Iron Dome air defense system that protects Israel.
Biden plans to request more than $98 billion in emergency funding for the wars in Israel and Ukraine, to bolster U.S. border security and provide aid for other international crises, according to a source familiar with the funding request, who asked not to be identified because the person is not authorized to speak to speak in public.
The source said Biden wants $60 billion for the war in Ukraine, with half of the money going toward replenishing U.S. military supplies. Biden is also asking for $14 billion for Israel and $14 billion for the U.S. border as part of a request that includes money for the Indo-Pacific and $10 billion for humanitarian aid.
However, the aid package cannot pass Congress until the House of Representatives appoints a speaker. The House has been without a speaker for more than two weeks after lawmakers ousted lawmakers. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from the position during a vote called by a group of conservative rebels. Republicans were unable to elect McCarthy’s successor, bringing the House to a standstill.
During a keynote speech from the White House on Thursday night, Biden argued that US leadership abroad and congressional assistance to both countries are essential.
“Hamas and Putin pose different threats, but they have this in common: They both want to completely wipe out their neighboring democracy,” Biden said.
– Francesca Chambers
Historic Greek Orthodox church bombed in Gaza City
An explosion at a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City late Thursday resulted in casualties and injuries, along with the displacement of Palestinians who had taken refuge there.
Mohammed Abu Selmia, director general of Shifa Hospital, told The Associated Press that dozens were injured at the Church of St. Porphyry, but he could not give an exact death toll because the bodies were still under the rubble. The Holy Orthodox Order of the Holy Great Martyr George confirmed the explosion, adding that more than 500 people were housed in the church and monastery.
“Bombs hit two church halls where refugees, including children and infants, were sleeping. Survivors are currently searching the rubble for more victims,” the order said in a statement on Thursday.
The explosion followed Tuesday’s blast that rocked Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, where many Palestinians sought refuge from sustained Israeli bombardment. According to a preliminary analysis by US intelligence services, the death toll was at the “lower end” of 100 to 300.
Westerners accused of ‘hypocrisy’ for remaining silent during Israeli war crimes
Human Rights Watch has accused Western states such as the US and Europe of a “double standard” for failing to condemn Israel’s war crimes in the Gaza conflict.
The agency said the US and European governments were quick to condemn wartime violations by Russian forces, including surprise attacks, unlawful killings and torture. Eighteen months later, Hamas was condemned for a surprise attack on Israel. But since October 7, these states have been mostly silent on Israel’s actions in Gaza, HRW said in a statement.
“Where is the indignation at the statements of Israeli political leaders who seek to erase the all-important distinction between civilians and fighters in Gaza, even as they order ever-increasing bombardment of this densely populated territory, turning city blocks and neighborhoods into rubble?” said HRW Deputy Program Director Tom Porteous. “Where are the clear and unequivocal calls for Israel to respect international norms in its attack on Gaza, let alone be held accountable?”
The agency said the Western state’s hypocrisy was “blatant and obvious” and risked undermining years of humanitarian efforts to standardize standards that protect civilians in times of conflict.
What is IDF?
The Israel Defense Forces, also known as the IDF, are national army of israel. It has three branches: Army, Navy and Air Force. It is military service, which means Israel mandates IDF service Jews, Druze and Circassian citizens over 18 with exceptions. It was founded incl 1948, two weeks after Israel became an independent state.
Before the war started The IDF had 169,500 active soldiers and was the 28th largest military in the world by active personnel, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ 2023 military balance. There were also 465,000 reserve personnel to supplement active military forces when needed. Read more here.
− Olivia Munson
What is Hamas?
Hamas — short for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya, or the Islamic Resistance Movement — was founded in 1987 by activists connected to the Muslim Brotherhood during the first Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. The State Department designated Hamas terrorist group in 1997and several other countries also consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
In 2006, Hamas won parliamentary elections, and in 2007 the group forcibly took control of Gaza from the Palestinian Authority, which was controlled by the rival Fatah movement, which still rules the West Bank today. There have been no elections since then. The group calls for the creation of an Islamic Palestinian state to replace the current state of Israel and believes in the use of violence to destroy Israel.
Hamas receives financial, material and logistical support from Iran. So far, however, the US and other nations have said there is no evidence Iran was directly involved in the Hamas attack.
Contributor: The Associated Press
