Palestinian journalist Ali al-Samoudi was recently released from Israeli prison, where he was held for a year without charge and without a trial. He lost around half his body weight behind bars. “It was a real hell,” he tells @JDiamond1, in this heart-wrenching report.
I take note of the decision of the @IntlCrimCourt to issue arrest warrants for Israel PM Netanyahu, former Minister Gallant, and Hamas leader Deif.
These decisions are binding on all States party to the Rome Statute, which includes all EU Member States.
This is the very definition of indiscriminate warfare.
The Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in Gaza, utterly destroyed.
A clear violation of humanitarian law.
Famine Review Committee Alert!❗️
There is a strong likelihood that famine is imminent in areas within the northern Gaza Strip.
Learn more ➡️
https://t.co/A1ND7eZWI4
“He told me to take them. In the next attack, use them as a human shield.”
An IDF soldier and five former Palestinian detainees tell CNN that the Israeli military has used civilians as human shields in Gaza, as @JDiamond1 reports.
The Democratic National Convention held its first-ever panel on Palestinian rights Monday, including harrowing testimony from Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, who volunteered at a hospital in Gaza earlier this year. "We have witnessed civilian massacre after civilian massacre," she said.
UN agencies are poised to launch a campaign to vaccinate more than 640,000 children in Gaza against polio.
“I am appealing to all parties to provide concrete assurances right away guaranteeing humanitarian pauses for the campaign,” UN chief @antonioguterres said on Friday.
Today in north #Gaza, home after home flattened.
I was next to a young boy as a strike whistled above us. He froze, eyes wide open. It hit nearby & he just stood there, paralysed by fear.
What’s left for children here? Constant displacement, among constant unimaginable horror.
#Gaza Once again new evacuation orders: many of the thousands of families affected only recently arrived in the area, after other displacement orders in Khan Younis
Through shattered windows, nothing but shattered homes & shattered lives. People trapped in this endless nightmare
Horrified by images from a sheltering school in Gaza hit by an Israeli strike, w/ reportedly dozens of Palestinian victims.
At least 10 schools were targeted in the last weeks. There’s no justification for these massacres
We are dismayed by the terrible overall death toll. 1/2
Legal spoiler: Isael has no authority to suspend diplomatic status from anyone in the territory that it unlawfully occupies.
Besides: Israel has the audacity to revoke diplomatic status for a Western state who threats to abide by int'l law, while no western state has ever dared revoking the diplomatic status for Israel over decades of continuous, heinous violations of intl law.
Information coming out of #Rafah about further attacks on families seeking shelter is horrifying.
There are reports of mass causalities including children and women among those killed.
Gaza is hell on earth. Images from last night are yet another testament to that.
Today a @UN vehicle was struck in Gaza, killing one of our colleagues & injuring another.
More than 190 UN staff have been killed in Gaza.
Humanitarian workers must be protected.
I condemn all attacks on UN personnel and reiterate my urgent appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire & the release of all hostages.
This evening, Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the UNRWA Headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem.
This took place while UNRWA and other UN Agencies’ staff were on the compound.
While there were no casualties among our staff, the fire caused extensive damage to the outdoor areas. The UNRWA headquarters has on its grounds a petrol and diesel station for the Agency’s fleet of cars.
Our director with the help of other staff had to put out the fire themselves as it took the Israeli fire extinguishers and police a while before they turned up.
A crowd accompanied by armed men were witnessed outside the compound chanting “Burn down the United Nations” (see video below 👇 from Israeli media).
This is an outrageous development. Once again, the lives of UN staff were at a serious risk.
In light of this second appalling incident in less than a week, I have taken the decision to close down our coumpound until proper security is restored.
Over the past two months, Israeli extremists have been staging protests outside the UNRWA compound in Jerusalem, called by an elected member of the Jerusalem municipality.
This week, the protest became violent when demonstrators threw stones at UN staff and at the buildings of the compound.
Over the past months, UN staff have regularly been subjected to harassment and intimidation. Our compound has been seriously vandalized and damaged.
On several occasions, Israeli extremists threatened our staff with guns.
It is the responsibility of the State of Israel as an occupying power to ensure that United Nations personnel and facilities are protected at all times.
UN staff, premises and operations should be protected at all times in line with international law.
I call on all those who have influence to put an end to these attacks and hold all those responsible accountable.
The perpetrators of these attacks must be investigated and those responsible must be held accountable.
Anything less will set a new dangerous standard.