CAIRO: The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor warned Sunday that blocking humanitarian aid from entering Gaza could constitute a crime.
“Impeding relief supplies as provided by the Geneva Conventions may constitute a crime within the court jurisdiction,” Karim Khan told reporters in Cairo.
He was speaking after a visit to Egypt’s Rafah crossing, where he said trucks full of desperately needed goods remained stuck and unable to cross into Gaza.
“I saw trucks full of goods, full of humanitarian assistance stuck where nobody needs them, stuck in Egypt, stuck at Rafah,” he said.
“These supplies must get to the civilians of Gaza without delay.”
Rafah is the only entry point through which international aid is currently able to trickle into the Hamas-run Palestinian territory, which is facing a near-total siege and relentless Israeli bombardment.
Israel imposed the siege and unleashed its massive bombing campaign after Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and seizing 230 hostages, according to Israeli officials.
Israel’s strikes have since then killed more than 8,000 people, half of them children, the Hamas-controlled health ministry in the territory said.
Since limited aid deliveries resumed through the Rafah crossing on October 21, a total of 117 trucks have entered.
Prior to the siege, some 500 trucks carrying aid and other goods entered Gaza every day.
Khan said he wanted “to underline clearly to Israel that there must be discernible efforts without further delay to make sure civilians (in Gaza) receive basic food, medicines.”
On Sunday the United Nations warned it feared a breakdown of public order after looting at food aid centers in Gaza run by its agency for Palestinian refugees, the UNRWA.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said the situation was “growing more desperate by the hour” as casualty numbers increase and essential supplies of food, water, medicine and shelter dwindle.
Khan said his office had an ongoing investigation into “any crimes committed on the territory of Palestine and any crimes committed, whether it’s by Israel and Palestine or whether it’s acts committed on the territory of Palestine or from Palestine into Israel.”
“This includes current events in Gaza and also current events in the West Bank,” Khan said.
He said he was “very concerned also by the spike of the number of reported incidents of attack by settlers against Palestinian civilians” in the territory Israel has occupied since 1967.
Khan also stressed that hostage-taking was a breach of the Geneva Conventions.
“I call for the immediate release of all hostages taken from Israel and for their safe return to their families,” he said.
The British lawyer said “Israel has clear obligations in relation to its war with Hamas, not just moral obligations but legal obligations” to comply with the laws of conflict.
“These principles equally apply to Hamas in relation to firing indiscriminate rockets into Israel,” he said.
Set up in 2002, the ICC is the only global independent tribunal to probe the world’s worst crimes including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The Palestinians signed up to the court’s founding Rome Statute in 2015.
Israel, which is not a signatory to the ICC, has refused to cooperate with the probe or recognize its jurisdiction.
Preventing aid getting to Gaza could be ‘a crime’: ICC prosecutor
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Preventing aid getting to Gaza could be ‘a crime’: ICC prosecutor
- Karim Khan: ‘These supplies must get to the civilians of Gaza without delay’
- Egypt’s Rafah crossing only entry point through which international aid trickles in
UAE launches 4th phase of Gaza water supply project
- The UAE-supported project focuses on maintaining and restoring central wells across Gaza’s municipalities, ensuring the continuity of essential water services
DUBAI: The UAE has launched the fourth phase of its humanitarian water supply initiative in the Gaza Strip this week.
The project is part of the ongoing “Operation Chivalrous Knight 3,” aimed at alleviating the suffering of Palestinian civilians amid a worsening humanitarian crisis.
The UAE-supported project focuses on maintaining and restoring central wells across Gaza’s municipalities, ensuring the continuity of essential water services.
This latest phase includes the repair of 28 non-operational wells across several governorates, a move expected to benefit nearly 700,000 residents.
Sharif Al-Nayrab, media director for Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, praised the long-standing support of Emirati humanitarian organizations for Gaza’s critical sectors.
“This initiative reflects the UAE’s firm commitment to supporting the Palestinian people, especially during times of acute need,” he said.
This is the fourth water-related project implemented under the UAE initiative.
Earlier phases included daily distribution of water via tankers, the drilling of emergency wells along southern coastal areas and the construction of submersible wells to increase supply.
Operation Chivalrous Knight 3 has provided critical relief and development efforts across Gaza, delivering food, health and utility support.
Israeli army says body of soldier missing for 43 years found in ‘heart of Syria’
JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said Sunday that the body of a soldier missing for 43 years had been found in the “heart of Syria” and repatriated in a special operation with the Mossad intelligence agency.
“In a special operation led by the IDF (military) and Mossad, the body of Sgt. First Class Tzvika Feldman was found in the heart of Syria and brought back to Israel,” the army said in a statement.
Feldman went missing along with two other soldiers in the 1982 battle of Sultan Yacoub that pitted Israeli and Syrian forces against each other in the Bekaa region of eastern Lebanon, near the border with Syria.
In a separate statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the efforts to locate Feldman’s body, noting that the search for him and his comrades — Zachariah Baumel and Yehuda Katz — had been ongoing for decades.
“Approximately six years ago, we returned for a Jewish burial, Sgt. First Class Zechariah Baumel; today we have returned Tzvika, of blessed memory. We will not cease our efforts to return Sgt. First Class Yehuda Katz, who is also an MIA from the same battle,” Netanyahu’s statement said, adding that the prime minister had personally notified Feldman’s parents.
The army statement said that Feldman’s body had been identified by the Genomic Identification Center for Fallen Soldiers of the Military Rabbinate but gave little details of how his remains were located deep inside Syria.
“The return of Sgt. Feldman was made possible through a complex and covert operation, enabled by precise intelligence and the use of operational capabilities that demonstrated ingenuity and courage,” the statement said.
“This concludes an extensive intelligence and operational effort that spanned more than four decades, involving close cooperation between the POW/MIA Coordinators in the Prime Minister’s Office, intelligence and operational units within the Mossad and IDF Intelligence Directorate, along with the Shin Bet and the IDF Human Resources Directorate,” the army said.
Iran, US to hold 4th round of talks as enrichment concerns grow
- Iran FM says hopes fourth round of talks with US reaches ‘decisive point’
- Araghchi said Tehran's right to enrich uranium was ‘non-negotiable’
MUSCAT: Iran and the United States are set to attend a fourth round of talks over Tehran’s nuclear program on Sunday, as US officials have voiced increasing opposition to Iranian enrichment.
The negotiations, mediated by Oman and held in its capital Muscat, follow earlier rounds that began nearly a month ago, marking the highest-level contact between the two foes since Washington withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal in 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Both sides have reported progress after previous talks, but there have been some delays and disagreements over Iran’s right to enrich uranium, which Tehran says is “non-negotiable” but a US envoy has called a “red line.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said ahead of Sunday’s meeting that “the negotiations are progressing and, naturally, the further we go, the more consultations and considerations we need” and the more time is required “to review the issues raised.”
The fourth round was initially set to take place on May 3 but has been rescheduled. Mediator Oman cited “logistical reasons” for the delay, which was announced after the United States had imposed new sanctions on Iran.
Western countries, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, a claim Tehran has consistently denied, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Iran currently enriches uranium to 60-percent purity — far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal with the United States and other world powers, but below the 90 percent needed for weapons-grade material.
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who has led Washington’s delegation to the Omani-mediated talks, said in a Friday interview that Iran’s “enrichment facilities have to be dismantled.”
“That’s our red line. No enrichment,” he told US right-wing outlet Breitbart News, after initially suggesting flexibility on Tehran maintaining low-level enrichment of uranium for civilian purposes.
Witkoff said that if the talks “are not productive... they won’t continue and we’ll have to take a different route.”
Trump has said he wanted “total verification” that Iran’s contested nuclear work is shut down, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted that Tehran give up all uranium enrichment.
Araghchi, Tehran’s chief negotiator in previous rounds, has repeatedly defended Iran’s right to enrich uranium.
NUCLEAR DEAL
Iran adhered to the 2015 agreement for a year after Washington’s withdrawal before beginning to roll back its compliance.
Since returning to office in January, Trump has revived his “maximum pressure” approach against Tehran, while backing nuclear diplomacy but warning of potential military action if it fails.
The talks are taking place amid renewed scrutiny of key aspects of Tehran’s nuclear program, particularly its stockpile of enriched uranium and the pace of its enrichment activities.
European governments are weighing whether to trigger the “snapback” mechanism under the 2015 deal, which would reinstate UN sanctions in response to Iranian non-compliance — an option that expires in October.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes the Iran-US talks, has called for Tehran’s nuclear facilities to be dismantled and for its ballistic missile program to be stopped as part of any credible deal.
Tehran has insisted that the talks be solely focused on the nuclear issue and the lifting of sanctions, ruling out negotiations on military capabilities.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said that Iran’s delegation “consists of the experts and specialists needed at this stage of the talks, serving the highest interests of our country.”
Sunday’s meeting comes days ahead of a regional tour by Trump, which will take him to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
UAE exempts Sudanese nationals from residency, visa fines
- The authority clarified that this decision takes effect on May 19, 2025
DUBAI: The UAE announced on Saturday that Sudanese nationals would be exempt from paying outstanding residency or visa fines.
A statement released by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security said: “The decision aligns with the UAE’s long-standing commitment to supporting brotherly nations and offering humanitarian aid during crises.”
The move underlines the country’s role in promoting humanity and peace, it added.
The decision will come into effect on May 19 and remain valid until the end of 2025.
Sudanese nationals with outstanding fines can regularize their status and submit renewal applications via the ICP’s official digital platforms. Any fines incurred will be waived.
Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 10 people, mostly women and children
- Two of the strikes hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents
- Israel has sealed Gaza off from all imports, including food, medicine and emergency shelter, for over 10 weeks
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday killed 10 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children, according to local health officials.
Two of the strikes hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents. Other strikes killed a child and a man riding a bicycle, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies from all the strikes.
Israel has sealed Gaza off from all imports, including food, medicine and emergency shelter, for over 10 weeks in what it says is a pressure tactic aimed at forcing Hamas to release hostages. Israel resumed its offensive in March, shattering a ceasefire that had facilitated the release of more than 30 hostages.
Aid groups say food supplies are running low and hunger is widespread.
The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths in the 19-month-old war because the militants are embedded in densely populated areas. There was no immediate Israeli comment on the latest strikes.
US President Donald Trump, whose administration has voiced full support for Israel’s actions, is set to visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates this week in a regional tour that will not include Israel.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostage. Fifty-nine hostages are still inside Gaza, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s offensive has killed over 52,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many of the dead were combatants or civilians. The offensive has destroyed vast areas of the territory and displaced some 90 percent of its population of around 2 million.
