Search form

You are here

  • Home
  • Gaza battles rage as Israel vows to shut out UN agency after war


Gaza battles rage as Israel vows to shut out UN agency after war

Workers of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) agency talk together in the playground of an UNRWA-run school that has been converted into a shelter for displaced Palestinians in Khan Yunis (AFP)
Short Url

https://arab.news/bzcw5

Updated 27 January 2024
Agencies
Follow

Gaza battles rage as Israel vows to shut out UN agency after war

  • UNRWA helps about two thirds of Gaza’s 2.3 million population
  • US, Australia, UK, Canada, Finland, Italy pause funding to agency
Updated 27 January 2024
Agencies

GAZA: Intense fighting raged Saturday in the Gaza city of Khan Yunis, the main theater of conflict where the Israeli army is targeting the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas.
The unabated hostilities came a day after the UN’s International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled Israel must prevent possible acts of genocide in the conflict but stopped short of calling for a ceasefire.
Tensions rose between Israel and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees after Israel alleged several UNRWA staff were involved in the Hamas attack of October 7, leading some key donor countries to suspend funding.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz said Saturday that Israel wants to ensure the UN agency, with tens of thousands of staff in the territory, “will not be a part of the day after” the bloodiest ever Gaza war.

The US, Australia and Canada had already paused funding to the aid agency after the allegations. The agency has opened an investigation into several employees severed ties with them.

Britain, Italy and Finland on Saturday became the latest countries to pause funding for the agency.
Alarm has grown over the plight of civilians in Khan Yunis, the southern hometown of Hamas’s Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, the suspected mastermind of the October 7 attack.
AFPTV images showed thousands of civilians, among them women and children, fleeing the city on foot as an Israeli tank loomed behind them.
“They besieged us, so we fled,” said Tahani Al-Najjar, who left Khan Yunis with her daughter. “We call on the UN to intervene, to stop the war. Enough of fear and terror!“
Gaza civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the displaced endured incessant cold rain and warned of the “spread of contagious diseases.”
The Israeli army said its “troops continued to kill numerous armed terrorists from close range” and raided a weapons storage facility in Khan Yunis.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said at least 135 people were killed in Khan Yunis overnight.
The Hamas government said “massive tank bombardment” targeted a refugee camp in the city and its Nasser hospital.
Issuing a highly anticipated ruling on Friday, the UN’s top court said Israel must prevent genocidal acts in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid into the narrow strip of land which has been under relentless bombardment and siege for almost four months.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the case as “outrageous” while Gaza’s Hamas rulers hailed the ruling, saying it “contributes to isolating Israel and exposing its crimes in Gaza.”
The decision was based on an urgent application brought by South Africa, long a supporter of the Palestinian cause, but a broader judgment on whether genocide has been committed could take years.
“This is the first time the world has told Israel that it is out of line,” said Maha Yasin, a 42-year-old displaced Gaza woman.
“What Israel did to us in Gaza for four months has never happened in history.”
Israel’s military campaign began soon after Hamas’s October 7 attack that resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized about 250 hostages and Israel says around 132 of them remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 28 dead captives.
Israel has vowed to crush Hamas, and Gaza’s health ministry says the Israeli military offensive has killed at least 26,257 people, about 70 percent of them women and children.
The army says at least 220 soldiers have been killed since Israel launched its Gaza ground operations.
With Gaza’s humanitarian crisis growing, the UN says most of the estimated 1.7 million Palestinians displaced by the war are crowded into Rafah on the southern border with Egypt.
At Khan Yunis’s Nasser Hospital, the largest in the besieged city, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said surgical capacity was “virtually non-existent.”
The charity said the hospital’s services had “collapsed” and the few staff who remained “must contend with very low supplies that are insufficient to handle mass casualty events.”
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 350 patients and 5,000 displaced people remained at the hospital as fighting continued nearby.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said Israeli tanks targeted the Al-Amal hospital, another of the city’s few remaining medical facilities, and that it was “under siege with heavy gunfire.”
“There is no longer a health care system in Gaza,” MSF said.
There were 300 to 500 patients trapped at the Nasser hospital with “war-related injuries such as open wounds, lacerations from explosions, fractures and burns.”
The Israeli military accuses Hamas of operating from tunnels under Gaza hospitals and of using the medical facilities as command centers.
Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, accused the WHO this week of collusion with Hamas by ignoring Israeli evidence of Hamas’s “military use” of Gaza hospitals.
Tedros rejected the accusation, saying it could “endanger our staff who are risking their lives to serve the vulnerable.”
Relations between Israel and UNRWA soured further after the UN body said tanks had shelled one of its shelters in Khan Yunis on Wednesday, killing 13 people.
UNRWA said on Friday it had sacked several employees accused by Israel of involvement in the October 7 attack.
The allegations have prompted the United States, Canada, Australia and Italy to suspend funding to the agency.
Israel said it would seek to stop UNRWA from operating in Gaza after the war. Hamas urged the international community to ignore Israel’s “threats,” while the Palestinian Authority said the agency needed “maximum support” from donors.
Diplomatic efforts have sought scaled-up aid deliveries for Gaza and a truce, after a week-long cessation of hostilities in November saw Hamas release dozens of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
CIA chief William Burns is to meet with his Israeli and Egyptian counterparts, as well as Qatar’s prime minister, in the coming days in Paris to seek a ceasefire, a security source told AFP.
The UN Security Council will meet to discuss the ICJ’s ruling on Wednesday.

* With AFP and Reuters

Topics: UNRWA Palestine War on Gaza Canada Australia Britain Italy US

Related

World
Security Council to meet after UN top court’s Gaza ruling
Middle-East
Hamas releases video of three Israeli women hostages held in Gaza

Russia’s nuclear threats ‘irresponsible’: EU’s Borrell

Updated 3 sec ago
Follow

Russia’s nuclear threats ‘irresponsible’: EU’s Borrell

Updated 3 sec ago
“It is not the first time that Putin plays the nuclear gamble,” the outgoing foreign policy chief told reporters
“Russia has subscribed to the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won, and so must never be fought,” he said

BRUSSELS: EU top diplomat Josep Borrell accused Russia on Tuesday of issuing “completely irresponsible” nuclear threats, after President Vladimir Putin broadened the scope for Moscow’s use of atomic weapons.
“It is not the first time that Putin plays the nuclear gamble,” the outgoing foreign policy chief told reporters following defense minister talks in Brussels on the 1,000th day of the conflict.
“Russia has subscribed to the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won, and so must never be fought,” he said, warning that “any call for nuclear warfare is an irresponsibility.”
The EU talks — dominated by the need to ramp up support for Ukraine’s fight — came as Kyiv confirmed it had fired US-supplied long-range missiles into Russian territory, in what Russia said marked “a new phase” in the war.
Borrell had pressed member states ahead of time to align with Washington in allowing Ukraine to strike inside Russia using donated missiles — something France appears to be considering.
Addressing reporters afterwards, Borrell gave no indication of a shift on the sensitive issue.
But he said EU states had agreed “by an overwhelming majority” that “the fate of Ukraine will determine the destiny of the European Union.”
“If Putin could be successful in Ukraine, we will pay a very high bill, much more expensive than any kind of military support that we could provide today,” he said.
Borrell said a “big majority” of EU member states had shown “their determination to continue supporting Ukraine” — with Donald Trump’s imminent White House return throwing US support for Kyiv into question.
“Certainly we are in a different scenario with a different president in the White House, which seems to have ideas about how to end the war,” he said.
Ministers were joined by NATO chief Mark Rutte who warned that Putin must not be allowed to “get his way” in Ukraine and reiterated his call for Europe to “ramp up the defense industry.”
More than two and a half years after Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, now 23 of the 32 NATO members reach the target of spending two percent of gross domestic product on defense — up from just three a decade ago.
But the growing consensus is that Europe will have to do more to make sure it can stand on its own.
Borrell said it was made clear by Rutte that given “the challenges we are facing, this landmark, this mythic figure of two-percent will not be enough, and we need to take more action.”
“Europeans have to do more and quicker in order to increase their defense capacity, not just to support Ukraine, but for our own security,” said the EU top diplomat, who hands over next month to his designated successor Kaja Kallas.

Ukraine hits Russia with US ATACMS missiles for first time on war’s 1,000th day

Updated 19 November 2024
Reuters
Follow

Ukraine hits Russia with US ATACMS missiles for first time on war’s 1,000th day

  • Ukraine said it had struck a Russian arms depot around 110 km inside Russia in an attack that caused secondary explosions
  • The Ukrainian military did not publicly specify what weapons it had used
Updated 19 November 2024
Reuters
Ukraine said it had struck a Russian arms depot around 110 km inside Russia in an attack that caused secondary explosions
The Ukrainian military did not publicly specify what weapons it had used

KYIV: Ukraine used US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory on Tuesday, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing Biden administration on the war’s 1,000th day.
Russia said its forces shot down five of six of the missiles, which were fired at a military facility in the Bryansk region. Debris of one hit the facility, starting a fire that was swiftly put out and caused no casualties or damage, it said.
Ukraine said it had struck a Russian arms depot around 110 km (70 miles) inside Russia in an attack that caused secondary explosions. The Ukrainian military did not publicly specify what weapons it had used, but a Ukrainian official source and a US official later confirmed it had used ATACMS.
President Joe Biden gave approval just this week for Ukraine to use the ATACMS, the longest-range missiles Washington has supplied, for such attacks inside Russia. Moscow has described their potential use as an escalation that would make Washington a direct combatant in the war and prompt its retaliation.
The attack took place as Ukraine marked 1,000 days of war, with weary troops at the front, Kyiv besieged by airstrikes, a fifth of Ukrainian territory in Moscow’s hands and doubts about the future of Western support as Donald Trump heads back to the White House.
Military experts say using the US missiles to attack positions at such a depth in Russia can help Ukraine defend a pocket of Russian territory it has captured as a bargaining chip, but is not likely to have a decisive impact on the course of the 33-month-old war.
Moscow has said such weapons cannot be used without direct operational support from the United States, and therefore their use would make Washington a direct participant in the war.
On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin signed a new nuclear doctrine apparently intended as a warning to Washington. It lowers the threshold under which Russia might use atomic weapons to include responding to attacks that threaten its territorial integrity.
Washington said the update to the nuclear doctrine was
no surprise
and cited “more of the same irresponsible rhetoric from Russia.”

JITTERS IN MARKETS
Reports of the Ukrainian attack caused jitters in markets, with share indexes sliding in Europe and safe haven assets rallying.
Trump has criticized the scale of US aid to Kyiv and said he will end the war quickly, without saying how. Both sides appear to anticipate his return in two months will be accompanied by a push for peace talks, which are not known to have taken place since the war’s early months.
The warring sides have both been escalating in recent weeks in an attempt to secure a stronger position at any negotiations. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv must do everything for the war to end diplomatically next year.
“At this stage of the war, it is being decided who will prevail. Whether us over the enemy, or the enemy over us Ukrainians... and Europeans. And everyone in the world who wants to live freely and not be subject to a dictator,” he said in an address to parliament on Tuesday marking 1,000 days of war.
A candle-lit commemoration was planned for later on Tuesday.
Thousands of Ukrainian citizens have died, over six million live as refugees abroad and the population has fallen by a quarter since Putin ordered the invasion by land, sea and air that began Europe’s biggest conflict since World War Two.
Military losses have been huge, although casualty figures remain closely guarded secrets. Public Western estimates based on intelligence reports say hundreds of thousands have been wounded or killed on each side.
“In the frozen trenches of the Donetsk region and in the burning steppes of the Kherson region, under shells, hail, and anti-aircraft guns, we are fighting for the right to live,” Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrkyi wrote on Telegram.
Tragedy has touched families in every corner of Ukraine, where military funerals are commonplace in cities and far-flung villages, and people are exhausted by sleepless nights of air raid sirens and anguish.
In the first year after the invasion, Ukrainian troops pushed Russian forces back from the outskirts of Kyiv and recaptured swathes of territory with surprise military successes against a larger and better-armed foe.
But since then, the enemies have settled into relentless trench warfare that has ground eastern Ukrainian cities to dust. Russian forces still occupy a fifth of Ukraine and for the past year they have steadily gained ground.
Kyiv now hopes to gain leverage from a sliver of territory in Russia’s Kursk region it captured after launching its first major cross-border assault in August. It says Russia has deployed 50,000 troops there to try to take it back.
In a move decried in the West as an escalation, Russia has now deployed 11,000 North Korean troops, some of whom Kyiv says have clashed with Ukrainian forces in Kursk. Zelensky said Pyongyang could send 100,000 soldiers.
Russia for its part continues to advance village by village in eastern Ukraine, claiming to have captured another settlement on Tuesday.
With winter setting in, Moscow on Sunday renewed its aerial assault on Ukraine’s struggling power system, firing 120 missiles and 90 drones in the biggest barrage since August.
Publicly there has been no narrowing of the gulf in the enemies’ negotiating positions. Kyiv has long demanded full Russian withdrawal from all occupied territory, and security guarantees from the West comparable to membership in NATO’s mutual defense treaty to prevent future Russian attacks.
The Kremlin says Ukraine must drop all ambitions to join NATO and withdraw all troops from provinces Russia claims to have annexed since its invasion.

Related

World
In first, Ukraine uses US-supplied long-range ATACMS: Zelensky
World
Lavrov warns US not to mock Russia’s ‘red lines’

Donald Trump expected to consider recognizing Somaliland independence, former UK defense minister says

Updated 19 November 2024
Arab News
Follow

Donald Trump expected to consider recognizing Somaliland independence, former UK defense minister says

  • Gavin Williamson has reportedly been lobbying Trump’s team for recognition of former British protectorate
Updated 19 November 2024
Arab News

LONDON: Donald Trump is expected to consider recognizing Somaliland as an independent country once he assumes office, according to the former UK defense secretary, it was reported on Tuesday.

Gavin Williamson, who served as Britain’s defense minister from 2017 to 2019, has reportedly been lobbying Trump’s team for the recognition of the former British protectorate.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but its status remains unrecognized by every country except Ethiopia, and it remains contentious, with Somalia claiming the territory.

Williamson, a vocal advocate for Somaliland’s recognition, has expressed optimism about progress once Trump assumes office in January, and noted that Trump’s opposition to Biden’s policies in Somalia might play a role in influencing the decision, The Independent reported.

“They should agree to it, though when he assumes office it will probably all take a little longer than we hope, but had really good meetings with his policy leads so fingers crossed,” Williamson said.

“One of Trump’s last orders as president was to withdraw troops from Somalia but then Biden countermanded that order. There is nothing that Trump hates more than someone overruling him so I used that to push the argument,” he said.

Sources in Washington told The Independent that the US State Department had “warmed up” to supporting Somaliland’s claim in the days following Trump’s victory.

Somaliland opposition leader, Abdirahman Cirro, defeated incumbent president, Muse Bihi Abdi, in an election last week, setting up a handover of power as the region continues its push for global recognition.

“I am sure this will be up for review after the inauguration. Similarly, a smooth election in Somaliland will, in addition to its other achievements, undoubtedly strengthen its case in an overall policy review,” said Peter Pham, a senior adviser in Trump’s first administration and a former US special envoy to the Sahel region.

The Trump administration previously considered recognition during his first term, and a move to do so now would increase pressure on the UK and other nations to follow suit, according to reports.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office source said: “It would be wrong to speculate on any policy decisions that the incoming administration of President-elect Trump may make.”

The source added: “The UK, alongside others in the international community, does not recognize Somaliland’s unilateral declaration of independence. It is for authorities in Mogadishu and Hargeisa to resolve Somaliland’s status through dialogue and broad consultation.”

Topics: US UK Somaliland Donald Trump

Related

Middle-East
Somalia rules out mediation unless Ethiopia retracts Somaliland deal
World
Britain urges restraint over Ethiopia-Somaliland deal

Biggest Saudi business forum opens in Poland amid growing ties with Central Europe

Hundreds of business leaders from Saudi Arabia and Poland attend the Saudi-Polish Business Forum in Warsaw on Nov. 19, 2024. AN
Updated 19 November 2024
Follow

Biggest Saudi business forum opens in Poland amid growing ties with Central Europe

  • 80 Saudi and 300 Polish companies take part in the Saudi-Polish Business Forum in Warsaw
  • After Warsaw, the Saudi delegation will hold the Saudi-Slovak Business Forum in Bratislava
Updated 19 November 2024
Natalia Laskowska

WARSAW: Hundreds of business leaders from Saudi Arabia and Poland gathered in Warsaw on Tuesday for the largest-ever Saudi-Polish Business Forum, highlighting the growing economic ties between the Kingdom and Central and Eastern Europe.

The forum was organized by the Federation of Saudi Chambers and the Polish Chamber of Commerce under the patronage of the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and Technology.

A Saudi delegation of more than 80 business leaders led by Hassan Al-Huwaizi, chairman of the federation, arrived in Warsaw on Monday to attend the forum and meet the top Polish leadership, including Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski, and ministers of several key resorts.

They represented various branches of the Saudi economy, bringing bilateral trade exchanges beyond the sector of energy, which has traditionally dominated the ties.

“What makes this forum different is that it has many businesspeople from all economic sectors,” Saudi Ambassador Saad Al-Saleh told Arab News.

“This is actually a new thing. We believe that there are many opportunities in Poland and in Saudi Arabia, and visits like this and the forum are going to help discover these opportunities.”

The ambassador said the forum was also a part of efforts to increase relations not only with Poland — the largest economy in Central and Eastern Europe — but also the whole region.

“Everyone, when they knew about the forum, wanted to participate … from the Saudi side and from the Polish side. That shows the importance of this forum, and it will also transfer what is happening here to the rest of European countries,” he said, adding that after the Warsaw event, the Saudi delegation will travel to neighboring Slovakia for the Saudi-Slovak Business Forum in Bratislava.

The Saudi-Polish Business Council was established in August this year to boost investment between the two countries under the Kingdom’s broader strategy to deepen economic ties with Europe.

Andrzej Szumowski, the council’s chairman and vice president of the Polish Chamber of Commerce, told Arab News that it was “impossible to overestimate” the importance of the Warsaw event.

“It is an extremely crucial step in building economic relations, and it marks the beginning of full-scale relations between our two countries — social, cultural, intellectual, scientific — but everything starts with business,” he said.

“The exchange between our countries, the trade balance, is far from satisfactory. There’s about $7 billion in exports from Saudi Arabia to Poland, and $900 million in Polish exports to Saudi Arabia. I am deeply convinced that today’s meeting, which has exceeded my expectations in terms of interest from Polish companies, shows how much appeal the Saudi market has, and how much Polish companies are looking forward to the potential for exchange.”

More than 300 Polish companies are participating in the business forum, with many more expressing interest, Szumowski said, but the organizers had to limit the number due to space constraints.

The key sectors of the Saudi economy that Polish businesses are currently focusing on include construction, new technologies, agriculture, tourism, education, and manufacturing.

Polish-Saudi business relations were established in the 1990s, but bilateral ties have grown significantly in recent years, with Saudi Arabia emerging as Poland’s key strategic energy partner, supplying half of its crude oil needs.

“We are trying to develop these relations also in other sectors and for the trade to be more balanced,” said Krzysztof Plominski, vice chair of the business council and former ambassador to the Kingdom.

“Both countries are in the process of getting to know each other and building institutional solutions. A very important step was the launch of direct flights to Riyadh by Polish Airlines.”

Poland’s national flag carrier opened the Riyadh route in June, operating nonstop flights three times a week, which also contributed to growing interest in Saudi Arabia from the Polish side and vice versa.

“The current delegation organized by the Federation of Saudi Chambers comes in response to this new demand and in line with the expectations of the highest authorities of both countries,” Plominski said.

“It provides an opportunity for the business community to discuss the current situation and future plans.”

Topics: Poland Saudi-Polish Business Forum Saudi Arabia Federation of Saudi Chambers Polish Chamber of Commerce

Related

Business & Economy
More than 70 Saudi firms travel to Poland, Slovakia to boost trade ties
Business & Economy
Saudi Arabia, Poland set up business council to strengthen economic ties

Brazilian police arrest 5 officers over alleged coup plot and plans to kill President Lula, others

Updated 19 November 2024
AP
Follow

Brazilian police arrest 5 officers over alleged coup plot and plans to kill President Lula, others

  • The coup plotters also planned to kill Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes
  • Brazilian media said the five arrested included four military and one police officer
Updated 19 November 2024
AP

SAO PAULO: Brazilian police arrested five officers accused over a coup plot that included plans to overthrow the government following the 2022 elections and kill President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, authorities said.
According to the investigation, the coup plotters also planned to kill Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Brazilian media said the five arrested included four military and one police officer.
The police said that five arrest warrants have been carried out, as well as three search and seizure warrants along with other measures, including seizing the suspects' passports and preventing them from contacting others.
Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who authorized the arrests, said a police investigation revealed the coup plot involved military personnel trained in the Army’s Special Forces and a retired high-ranking official.
“The objective was to prevent the inauguration of the legitimately elected government and undermine the free exercise of democracy and the authority of Brazil’s judiciary,” de Moraes said in the order.
“These actions, peaking between November and December 2022, were part of a broader plan to carry out a coup d’état,” he added.
The developments Tuesday followed statements by two top Brazilian military leaders who declared to police earlier this year that former President Jair Bolsonaro presented them a plan for him to remain in power after the 2022 election, which he lost.
However, both refused and warned him they would arrest him if he tried it, according to judicial documents released in March.
The statements by the two added to term add to Bolsonaro's legal woes as prosecutors seek to find links between the far-right leader and the Jan. 8, 2023 riots that trashed government buildings in the capital Brasilia one week after Lula’s inauguration.

Topics: Brazil Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Coup police

Related

World
Argentina orders 61 Brazilians arrested over 2023 Brasilia coup attempt
World
Explosions kill 1 man outside Brazil’s Supreme Court and force justices to evacuate

Latest updates

IDEAS 2024: Haider tank in spotlight on first day of Pakistani mega defense expo
Pakistani police arrest man accused of insulting Qur’an, save him from being lynched by mob
Israeli settler group slams US sanctions over West Bank
French minister on Gulf tour says Lebanon’s army needs support
Ukraine hits Russia with US ATACMS missiles for first time on war’s 1,000th day

Search form

Print Edition
Read pdf version Subscribe now
© 2024 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.