Israel’s laws may endanger the work of the UN in Gaza
Israeli Army and Militia in Kamal Adwan Hospital: Israel’s First Operation in Gaza, a United Nations Point of View
Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital on Friday. Weapons were found inside the hospital, but not inside it, according to an Israeli military official speaking Monday on condition of anonymity in keeping with regulations. The military said Monday the raid had ended.
The Israeli military said it arrested 100 Hamas operatives in the raid. The official explained that medical staff were taken into custody due to the fact that some medics were in fact militant medics.
The Israeli military has called on Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza, where it has been waging a large offensive for more than three weeks. The official said the operation in the northern Gaza city of Jabaliya would last “several more weeks.”
The U.N. said earlier this month at least 400,000 people are in northern Gaza, an area that was an early target of Israel’s retaliatory war. Humanitarian aid to the north has plummeted over the past month as the amount of hungry people there has gone up.
Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza after the Hamas-led attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, vowing to eliminate the Palestinian militant group for killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 hostage, according to Israeli officials.
International mediators tried to jump-start cease-fire efforts between Israel and Hamas after collapsing in late summer. Israel said it would continue discussions on a halt in fighting after the head of the Mossad agency, David Barnea, returned from a meeting in Qatar with the head of the CIA, David Burns, and the Qatari prime minister.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has suggested a two-day cease-fire in exchange for the release of four hostages. Israel appeared responsive to the idea.
One Israeli official said Israel was discussing the proposal both internally and with Egyptian officials. A second official said Netanyahu was enthusiastic in the meeting with his party.
Israel raised more concern about the Humanitarian situation in Gaza when it passed legislation that could affect UNRWA. One of the laws bars it from operating in Israel, which controls access to Gaza and the occupied West Bank where the agency operates. Israel claims that UNRWA employees took part in last year’s attack.
The laws, which do not immediately take effect, signal a new low for a long-troubled relationship between Israel and the U.N. Israel’s international allies said they were deeply worried about their potential impact on Palestinians as the Gaza war’s humanitarian toll worsens.
The rising death toll comes as Israel refocuses its offensive on Gaza’s hard-hit north, including on a hospital from where the military says militants were operating.
Israel passes laws that threaten the work of a U.N. aid agency in Gaza, and the United Nations Security Council condemns the crisis
U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, speaking to reporters in Washington before the votes, said the administration was “deeply concerned” by the legislation. He said that no one can replace them in the middle of the crisis.
The changes could be a serious blow to Palestinians in Gaza. More than 1.9 million Palestinians have been displaced from their homes, and Gaza faces a severe shortage of food, water and medicine.
The UN boss called on Israel to do its duty under the Charter and international law, as well as the UN privileges and immunities. National legislation cannot alter the obligations.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said UNRWA would be prevented from doing U.N. General Assembly-mandated work if the laws are implemented. “There is no alternative to UNRWA,” he said in a statement issued Monday night.
The laws would effectively sever ties with the U.N. agency and strip it of legal immunity, which would restrict its ability to support Palestinians in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. The legislation doesn’t give alternative organizations the power to oversee its work.
An English language account for the Prime Minister of Israel said that he was ready to work with international partners to ensure that humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza continued. The post did not say how, and it was not clear how the flow of aid would be affected once these bills take effect.
Source: Israel passes laws that may threaten the work of a U.N. aid agency in Gaza
A UNRWA civilian investigation in the wake of a Palestinian airstrike in the northern Hamas Brigade: Palestinians in Beit Lahia, Gaza
The first vote passed 92-10 after an intense debate among the supporters and opponents of the law. The second law, which initially included a move to label UNRWA a terror organization but was later amended, was approved 87-9.
The agency had an investigation and fired 9 employees, but denied it helped armed groups and said that it purges suspected militant from its ranks quickly. Some of Israel’s allegations prompted major international donors to cut funding to the agency, although some of it has been restored.
One of the worst attacks in recent weeks took place overnight, when an Israeli airstrike on a building in northern Gaza killed at least 60 Palestinians and wounded more.
The five-story Building in the area of Beit Lahia was hit by a strike. According to officials, at least 25 of the dead were children.
The attack comes as Israeli forces have hindered medical and rescue services in the area, and as Israeli parliament voted to ban the main United Nations agency that provides aid to Palestinians, UNRWA.
The U.N. special coordinating for the Middle East peace process said that the recent mass casualty incidents in the Gaza Strip are “yet another” in the series. “We are witnessing not only a horrific humanitarian nightmare, but a rapidly accelerated unraveling of the prospects for a sustainable resolution to this conflict.”
Freelance photojournalist Islam Ahmed says he was one of those who ran to the rescue after the Monday night Israeli airstrike in Beit Lahiya. He told NPR he saw parts of the dead, including a woman and children.
He says he and other neighbors tried to dig through rubble with their hands, without tools, and that the Israeli army had blocked civil defense teams, who would usually carry out search and rescue missions, from operating there.
Matthew Miller said that the incident was a horrifying one. “We have reached out to the government of Israel to ask what happened here.”
Earlier this month, Israel widened its military campaign in northern Gaza, saying it was targeting shattered Hamas brigades that were regrouping there.
