After the United Nations (UN) called for allowing humanitarian aid into the besieged territory, Israel’s Energy Minister Israel Katz vowed Thursday that his nation would not permit basic supplies or humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas released the hostages it took during its unexpected weekend attack on Israel.
human services to Gaza? Until the Israeli abductees are brought back home, no electricity will be switched on, no water tap will be opened, and no fuel truck will enter, he declared in a statement.
Around 150 Israelis, foreigners, and dual nationals were held prisoner by Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip as part of the attack on Saturday, according to AFP.
However, on Thursday, dozens of UN independent experts criticised Hamas’ “horrific crimes” and asserted that Israel’s assault of the Gaza Strip “amounts to collective punishment” just hours after the UN secretary-general appealed for Gaza to have access to humanitarian aid.
“Violence against innocent civilians, whether committed by Israeli or Hamas forces, is never justified. This is a war crime and is categorically against international law, according to the experts, who are employed by the UN but do not speak on its behalf.
Over 1,300 Palestinians have been killed as a result of Israel’s ruthless airstrikes against Hamas fighters in the blockaded Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas attack.
As the conflict enters its sixth day and Israel imposes a complete blockade of the beleaguered region, including a prohibition on food and fuel, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged for allowing humanitarian aid into the war-torn Gaza on Thursday.
Days after Israel imposed a complete siege of the region, the UN chief took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to emphasise that the flow of humanitarian commodities, including food and water, “must be allowed” into Gaza.
Crucial life-saving resources, including as food, water, and fuel, must be permitted into Gaza. Now more than ever, we require quick and unhindered humanitarian access, the UN head wrote on X.
Crucial life-saving supplies – including fuel, food and water — must be allowed into Gaza.
We need rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access now.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 11, 2023
In retribution for a weekend Hamas attack that broke the border fence, killing 1,200 people, wounded over 2,700 others, and kidnapping captives in Israel, Israeli jets have attacked residents of Gaza.
According to Palestinian media, the death toll in Gaza has increased to 1,345 and there have been almost 5,600 injuries.
While US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel to emphasise strong solidarity, Israel pledged to fully destroy Hamas and urged caution to safeguard Palestinian people.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
At the start of the expanded meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked @SecBlinken for his statement: ‘We are here; we are not going anywhere’.https://t.co/pHudXoVijS pic.twitter.com/q6esbNR9ax
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) October 12, 2023
Biden retracts his false statement-based comments
US President Joe Biden’s remarks regarding seeing pictures of purported atrocities committed by Palestinian resistance fighters in Israeli settlements near Gaza have been repudiated by the White House.
In sweeping remarks on his administration’s support for Israel during its fight with Hamas and efforts to free US detainees on Wednesday, Biden said, “I never really thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children.”
A White House spokeswoman explained that these accusations were supported by information from Israeli media. Israeli government representatives and media outlets made unfounded claims about rape, beheadings, and other atrocities.
Clarification from the White House regarding Biden’s remarks https://t.co/8fXafd5Bpn https://t.co/zsEf93bH0g pic.twitter.com/N7ci2jHXf2
— Evan Hill (@evanhill) October 12, 2023
In light of the current conflict with Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and centrist opposition figure and former defence minister Benny Gantz have decided to establish an emergency unity government, according to Al Jazeera.
In a joint statement released on Wednesday, Gantz’s National Unity party said that Netanyahu, Gantz, and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant would make up the war cabinet.
According to the statement, the unity administration will only support laws and policies that are relevant to the continuing conflict with Hamas in Gaza. What would happen to Netanyahu’s current coalition allies, a group of far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties, was not immediately obvious.
Former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eizenkot and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer will act as observers, according to the Israeli news source Haaretz.
For the past few months, Israel’s internal political upheaval has been a result of the Netanyahu government’s attempts to force through proposed reforms to the nation’s judiciary.
These initiatives have been denounced by opponents as a “judicial coup” attempt to grab power over the judicial branch.
Netanyahu and his allies have charged a substantial protest movement that has been occupying the streets for the past few months with endangering national cohesion in response to what they defend as a series of justified changes.
The statement comes as Israel intensifies its offensive against Gaza in response to Hamas’s historic invasion of southern Israel, which left at least 1,200 Israelis dead, many of them civilians, and seriously tarnished the nation’s sense of security.
Over 338,000 forced to flee Gaza Strip
As intense Israeli bombardments continue to hit the Palestinian enclave, the United Nations said that more than 338,000 residents in the Gaza Strip have been forced to abandon their homes.
In a statement released on Thursday, the UN humanitarian organisation OCHA stated that “mass displacement throughout the Gaza Strip continues.”
The number of displaced individuals in Gaza has increased by 75,000 by late Wednesday compared to the figure provided 24 hours earlier, reaching 338,934, it added.
OCHA said that almost 220,000 individuals, or two-thirds of the displaced population, have sought safety in UNRWA-managed schools.
More than 100,000 were being protected by relatives, neighbours, a church, and other facilities in Gaza City, while another almost 15,000 went to schools administered by the Palestinian Authority.
Prior to the attack on Saturday, OCHA estimated that some 3,000 people had already been displaced within the enclave.
According to data from the Gaza Ministry of Public Works and dwelling, the bombing campaign has destroyed or rendered unusable at least 2,540 dwelling units in Gaza, according to OCHA.
It added that moderate to minor damage was also sustained by 22,850 residential units.
The considerable devastation of civilian infrastructure damaged by the bombardment alarmed the UN agency as well.
Among other things, it claimed that air attacks had targeted sewage facilities that served more than a million people, leaving solid waste to amass in the streets and pose a health risk.
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