GAZA STRIP: Israel carried out fresh strikes in southern Gaza on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of Palestinians to flee after the army once again ordered the evacuation of certain densely populated areas.
Witnesses reported multiple strikes in and around the city of Khan Yunis, where eight people were killed and more than 30 were wounded, according to a medical source and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The bombardment came after a rare rocket barrage claimed by the militant group Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas.
The rockets were aimed at Israeli communities near the Gaza border and were fired in retaliation for Israeli “crimes... against our Palestinian people,” said the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.
The Israeli military said about “20 projectiles were identified crossing from the area of Khan Yunis,” most of which were intercepted. It reported no casualties and said artillery was “striking the sources of the fire.”
This was followed on Monday by an order to evacuate Al-Qarara, Bani Suhaila and other towns in Rafah and Khan Yunis, nearly two months after an initial order to evacuate Rafah ahead of a ground offensive.
Prior to Israel’s ground incursion in Rafah, well over one million people had been displaced to Gaza’s southernmost city.
“Fear and extreme anxiety have gripped people after the evacuation order,” said Bani Suhaila resident Ahmad Najjar. “There is a large displacement of residents.”
Other parts of the Gaza Strip were reeling from continued fighting nearly nine months into the devastating conflict.
Witnesses and the civil defense agency reported Israeli air strikes in the southern Rafah area and in the central Nuseirat refugee camp.
And in Gaza City’s Shujaiya district, where battles raged for a fifth day on Monday, witnesses reported heavy Israeli tank fire.
An AFP correspondent reported Israeli helicopters firing on houses in Shujaiya, while Hamas’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said it was continuing to fight in Shujaiya and Rafah.
The Israeli military said troops “eliminated numerous terrorists” in raids in Shujaiya, where air strikes also killed “approximately 20” militants.
The military also announced the death of a soldier in southern Gaza, bringing its total toll during the ground offensive to 317.
Netanyahu, who recently declared that the “intense phase” of the war was winding down, said on Sunday troops were “operating in Rafah, Shujaiya, everywhere in the Gaza Strip.”
“This is a difficult fight that is being waged above ground... and below ground” in tunnels.
The war started with Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 42 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,900 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
Months of on-and-off talks toward a truce and hostage release deal have made little progress, with Hamas saying Saturday there was “nothing new” in a revised plan presented by US mediators.
Israeli authorities released Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital, along with dozens of other detainees returned Monday to Gaza for treatment, sparking anger from Netanyahu.
Successive Israeli raids have reduced large parts of Al-Shifa, the territory’s largest medical complex, to rubble.
Israel has accused Hamas of using Al-Shifa and other hospitals in Gaza as a cover for military operations, claims the militants have rejected.
Speaking after his release, Abu Salmiya said he had suffered “severe torture” during his detention since November.
“Detainees were subjected to physical and psychological humiliation” and “several inmates died in interrogation centers and were deprived of food and medicine,” he said.
Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency said it had decided on the release alongside the Israeli military “to free up places in detention centers.”
The agency said it “opposed the release of terrorists” who had taken part in attacks on Israeli civilians “so it was decided to free several Gaza detainees who represent a lesser danger.”
But Netanyahu said he had ordered the agency to conduct an investigation into the release and provide him with the results by Tuesday.
“The release of the director of Shifa Hospital is a serious mistake and a moral failure. The place of this man, under whose responsibility our abductees were murdered and held, is in prison,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
According to Abu Salmiya, no charges were ever brought against him.
The United Nations and relief agencies have voiced alarm over the dire humanitarian crisis and the threat of starvation the war and Israeli siege have brought for Gaza’s 2.4 million people.
The UN humanitarian agency OCHA reported that during the month of June, Israeli authorities facilitated less than half of 115 planned humanitarian assistance missions to northern Gaza.
In a displacement camp in Gaza’s Deir Al-Balah, pharmacist Sami Hamid said skin infections were on the rise, particularly among children, “because of the hot weather and lack of clean water.”
“The number of skin infections has increased, especially scabies and chickenpox,” as have hepatitis cases probably linked to untreated sewage flowing right beside tents, said Hamid.
Israel strikes southern Gaza after ordering evacuations
https://arab.news/mcdpp
Israel strikes southern Gaza after ordering evacuations
- Witnesses reported multiple strikes in and around Khan Yunis
- Order came to evacuate Al-Qarara, Bani Suhaila and other towns in Rafah and Khan Yunis
Psychological wounds hard to heal for Gaza war victims
If that only scratches the surface of the needs of Gaza, it reflects the difficulty of providing aid for the sealed and bombarded territory
EL-ARISH, Egypt: On a floating hospital near Gaza, doctors aren’t just treating physical wounds — they’re providing emotional support too for children and adults haunted by months of terrifying war.
Child amputees and elderly people in wheelchairs are among the patients on the converted ship off Arish, northern Egypt, funded and operated by the United Arab Emirates.
About 2,400 people have been treated at the temporary facility, whose rows of tents below deck hold about 100 patients at a time, says deputy medical director Abdullah Al-Zahmi.
If that only scratches the surface of the needs of Gaza, it reflects the difficulty of providing aid for the sealed and bombarded territory.
More than 38,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war broke out nearly nine months ago, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, also mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Nine-year-old Yazan is one of those traumatized by the war, after being brought to the hospital about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Gaza without his parents and having a leg amputated because of his wounds.
Zahmi jokes with the boy, asks how his parents are doing in Gaza and assures him he will soon have a prosthetic leg fitted.
“The traditional relationship between the patient and the doctor” has dissolved, the doctor tells AFP.
“Every day we see each other, we speak comfortably, and we care about their needs, problems, and psychological pain.”
Yazan’s parents were not allowed to accompany him through the Rafah crossing into Egypt, Zahmi says, without giving further details. The route was closed by Israeli forces in early May.
The boy’s condition “was initially a concern for us, as dealing with him was difficult because he was emotional and in need of his mother and father.”
“But as days passed, we began to include Yazan as one of our family... and now he has become an icon for us because of his clinging to life, his constant smile, and everyone’s love for him,” Zahmi says.
The child is undergoing psychological and social rehabilitation and communicates daily with his family, Zahmi adds.
Smiling as he sits inside one of the tents, Yazan shows the doctor a picture of him with his father before the outbreak of war last October.
After his artificial leg is fitted, Yazan says he wants to “walk and play football,” adding that his “favorite player is (Cristiano) Ronaldo.”
“I would like to return to Gaza and live with my father and mother,” he says.
Zahmi says more than 840 operations have been carried out at the hospital, which has a surgical department, an intensive care and anaesthesia unit, X-ray facilities, a pharmacy and laboratory.
Its 60 staff span specialities including orthopaedics, internal care, neurosurgery and dentistry.
The hospital also provides communal spaces and communications with relatives in Gaza or elsewhere, Zahmi says.
“We provide them with high-speed Internet, outdoor areas for playing and resting, and a place for prayer,” he says.
In the main loading area of the 200-meter ship, ambulances are preparing to transfer patients to a plane to the UAE, where they will receive further treatment.
According to Zahmi, they are among those chosen as part of a UAE initiative to receive 1,000 wounded children and 1,000 cancer-sufferers from the Gaza Strip.
Other patients discharged from the hospital are taken to housing designated for them by Egyptian authorities.
For any patients who need further treatment but who are not being flown to the UAE, the Emirates Red Crescent will cover their costs at an Egyptian hospital.
Fadia Al-Madhun, 44, is on the floating hospital with her husband, who was injured in a bombing that targeted their Gaza home.
“We left the house. It was bombed. We did not take clothes or anything else,” says Madhun, wearing a floral hijab.
“They gave us everything (including) psychological support for our children,” she adds.
Zahmi says the hospital staff have seen “many families who lost their children and people who lost their fathers and mothers, and therefore we understand the tragedies.”
“We listen a lot and try to accept, but in the end, no matter how much we console them, the wound runs deep and remains in the memory,” he adds.
ICC prosecutor opted for warrants over visit to Gaza
- ICC mission planned for Gaza, Ramallah, Jerusalem was called off
- Sudden cancelation angered Washington, London
- In call, UK’s Cameron threatened to pull UK out of ICC and cut funds
THE HAGUE/WASHINGTON: On May 20, the same day International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan made a surprise request for warrants to arrest the leaders of Israel and Hamas involved in the Gaza conflict, he suddenly canceled a sensitive mission to collect evidence in the region, eight people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Planning for the visit had been under way for months with US officials, four of the sources said.
Khan’s decision to request the warrants upended the plans backed by Washington and London for the prosecutor and his team to visit Gaza and Israel. The court was set to gather on-site evidence of war crimes and offer Israeli leaders a first opportunity to present their position and any action they were taking to respond to the allegations of war crimes, five sources with direct knowledge of the exchanges told Reuters.
Khan’s request for a warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the court’s first attempt to detain a sitting, Western-backed head of state — also flew in the face of efforts the US and Britain were leading to prevent the court from prosecuting Israeli leaders, the sources said.
The two states have said the court has no jurisdiction over Israel and that seeking warrants would not help resolve the conflict.
Khan’s office told Reuters the decision to seek warrants was, in line with its approach in all cases, based on an assessment by the prosecutor that there was enough evidence to proceed, and the view that seeking arrest warrants immediately could prevent ongoing crimes.
Reuters is the first to report in detail about the planned trip and the repercussions of its cancelation.
Khan had for three years been working to improve relations with the US, which is not a member of the court. He had asked Washington to help put pressure on its ally Israel – also not a court member – to allow his team access, four sources said.
His move has harmed operational cooperation with the US and angered Britain, a founding member of the court, the sources said.
A senior US State Department official said Washington continued to work with the court on its investigations in Ukraine and Sudan, but three sources with direct knowledge of the US administration’s dealings with the court told Reuters cooperation has been damaged by Khan’s sudden action.
They said problems have played out in preparations for new indictments of suspects in Sudan’s Darfur and the apprehension of fugitives. Two of the sources said one operation to detain a suspect, which they declined to describe in detail, did not go ahead as planned due to the loss of key US support. All the sources expressed concerns Khan’s action would jeopardize cooperation in other ongoing investigations.
However, Khan’s sudden move has drawn support from other countries, exposing political differences between national powers over the conflict and the court. France, Belgium, Spain and Switzerland have made statements endorsing Khan’s decision; Canada and Germany have stated more simply that they respect the court’s independence.
The world’s war crimes court for prosecuting individuals, the ICC does not have a police force to detain suspects, so it relies on 124 countries that ratified the 1998 Rome treaty that founded it. Non-members China, Russia, the US and Israel sometimes work with the court on an ad hoc basis.
A few hours’ notice
Khan personally decided to cancel the visit to the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Ramallah, which was due to begin on May 27, two of the sources said.
Court and Israeli officials were due to meet on May 20 in Jerusalem to work out final details of the mission. Khan instead requested warrants that day for Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three Hamas leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh.
A UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that initial discussions had taken place regarding a visit to Gaza by Khan, covering security and transportation.
Flight tickets and meetings between senior-level court and Israeli officials were canceled with just hours of notice, blindsiding some of Khan’s own staff, seven sources with direct and indirect knowledge of the decision said.
The US State Dept. official said that abandoning the May visit broke from the prosecution’s common practice of seeking engagement with states under investigation. Three US sources said, without providing details, that Khan’s motive to change course was not clearly explained and the about-face had hurt the court’s credibility in Washington.
Khan’s office did not directly address those points but said he had spent the three previous years trying to improve dialogue with Israel and had not received any information that demonstrated “genuine action” at a domestic level from Israel to address the crimes alleged.
Khan “continues to welcome the opportunity to visit Gaza” and “remains open to engaging with all relevant actors,” his office said in an email.
Senior Hamas official Basem Naim told Reuters Hamas had no prior knowledge of Khan’s intentions to send a team of investigators into Gaza.
Netanyahu’s office and the Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to comment.
The war in Gaza erupted after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostage. Nearly 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ground and air campaign, Gaza’s health ministry says.
Washington blindsided
The ICC admitted “the State of Palestine” in 2015, and Khan says his office has jurisdiction over alleged atrocity crimes committed since Oct. 7 by Palestinians in Israel and by anyone in the Gaza Strip. Neither the US or Britain recognize the Palestinian state, so they dispute the court’s jurisdiction over the territory.
Even though Washington and London argue that the court has no jurisdiction in this situation, they were talking to Israel to help prosecutor Khan arrange the visit, four sources close to their administrations told Reuters.
The sources said they had been aware that Khan might seek warrants for Netanyahu and other high-level Israeli officials: Since at least March, Khan or members of his team had been informing the governments of the US, UK, Russia, France and China about the possibility of bringing charges against Israeli and Hamas leaders.
A diplomatic source in a Western country said, without giving details, there was a diplomatic effort under the radar to try to convince the ICC not to take this path.
“We worked hard to build a relationship of no surprises,” said one US source, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the case.
Blinken on May 21 called Khan’s decision “profoundly wrong-headed,” saying it was out of line with the process he expected and would complicate prospects for a deal on freeing hostages or a ceasefire. He told a Senate appropriations committee he would work with Republicans to impose sanctions against ICC officials.
On the same day, Cameron told parliament Kahn’s move was mistaken.
In private, he responded furiously to the change of plan, calling it “crazy” because Khan’s team had not yet visited Israel and Gaza, and threatening in a phone call with Khan to pull Britain out of the court and cut financial support to it, three sources with direct knowledge of the discussion said. A foreign office official declined to comment on the phone call or on Britain’s relationship to the court.
In June, the ICC allowed the UK to file a written submission outlining its legal arguments that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over the case. The issue of the court’s jurisdiction divides both members and non-members of the court.
The US has a fraught relationship with the court. In 2020, under the former US President Donald Trump, Washington imposed sanctions against it, which were dropped under President Joe Biden.
Khan’s office said he “has made significant efforts to engage with the United States in recent years in order to strengthen cooperation, and has been grateful for the concrete and important assistance provided by US authorities.”
Fuel shortages ‘catastrophic’ for devastated health services in Gaza: WHO
- Desperate fuel shortages have been a constant problem in the besieged Palestinian territory
- Gaza is completely sealed off and everything that enters it is controlled by the Israelis
Geneva: The World Health Organization chief has warned that a dire lack of fuel in the Gaza Strip could have a “catastrophic” impact on already devastated health services in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Desperate fuel shortages have been a constant problem in the besieged Palestinian territory, facing intense Israeli bombardment since Hamas’s deadly October 7 attack inside Israel sparked the ongoing war.
“Further disruption to health services is imminent in Gaza due to a severe lack of fuel,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said late Thursday on X, formerly Twitter.
The UN health agency cautioned that only 90,000 liters of fuel entered Gaza on Wednesday — even as the health sector alone needs 80,000 liters daily.
This is forcing WHO and its partners working in Gaza “to make impossible choices,” Tedros said.
Gaza is completely sealed off and everything that enters it is controlled by the Israelis.
Fuel, which has been particularly difficult to get in amid Israeli fears it could benefit Hamas fighters, is vital to keep hospital generators running, as well as humanitarian and emergency vehicles.
WHO said that its partners were currently directing limited fuel supplies to “key hospitals,” including the Nasser Medical Complex and Al Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis and the Kuwaiti hospital in Rafah.
Fuel was also going to 21 ambulances run by the Palestinian Red Crescent “to prevent services from grinding to a halt,” Tedros said.
He pointed out that the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Yunis had been out of service since Tuesday, and warned that “losing more hospitals in the Strip would be catastrophic.”
Hamas’s October 7 attack that sparked Gaza’s deadliest war resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
Hamas militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 42 the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 38,011 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Medics say seven Palestinians killed in Israeli raid on West Bank’s Jenin
- The Israeli operation in Jenin was the latest in a series of clashes in the West Bank
JENIN: Seven Palestinians were killed in an Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry and the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
Israel’s military said in a statement its forces had encircled a building where militants had barricaded themselves in, and that an Israeli aircraft had struck targets in the area.
The Israeli operation in Jenin was the latest in a series of clashes in the West Bank between Israeli forces and Palestinians. The violence had been escalating for more than two years but picked up in intensity since Hamas fighters based in the coastal enclave of Gaza led an attack on Israel last October.
Hezbollah, Hamas discuss latest developments in Gaza ceasefire talks, Hezbollah says
- Nasrallah received Hamas deputy chief Hayya for the meeting, which reviewed “the latest security and political developments” in the Gaza Strip
- Hamas had made a pretty significant adjustment in its position over a potential hostage release deal with Israel
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and top Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya discussed the latest developments in the Gaza Strip and negotiations aimed at reaching a ceasefire there during a meeting, Hezbollah said on Friday.
Nasrallah received Hamas deputy chief Hayya for the meeting, which reviewed “the latest security and political developments” in the Gaza Strip, the Iran-backed Hezbollah said in a statement.
“They also discussed the latest developments in the ongoing negotiations these days, their atmosphere, and the proposals presented to reach an end to the treacherous aggression against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” the statement said.
A senior US administration official said on Thursday that Hamas had made a pretty significant adjustment in its position over a potential hostage release deal with Israel, expressing hope that it would lead to a pact that would be a step to a permanent ceasefire.
Hezbollah and Israel have been trading fire since October across the Lebanese-Israeli border in a conflict that has run in parallel to the Gaza war, raising fears of a bigger conflict between the heavily armed adversaries.
