South Africa has gone back to the United Nations’ top court seeking additional orders for Israel to let humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, citing “widespread starvation” in the devastated Palestinian territory. Here’s the latest:
Quick Read
- South Africa’s Legal Action: South Africa has returned to the International Court of Justice, seeking further orders to compel Israel to permit humanitarian aid into Gaza, citing severe starvation.
- Dire Conditions in Gaza: After nearly five months of conflict, Gaza is largely devastated, with international calls for a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas intensifying.
- Allegations Against Israel: South Africa accuses Israel of breaching provisional measures set by the International Court of Justice, which demanded Israel prevent acts leading to death, destruction, or genocide in Gaza.
- Humanitarian Crisis: The blockade and ongoing conflict have severely hindered aid delivery, with many in northern Gaza resorting to extreme measures for survival.
- Casualty Figures: The death toll in Gaza has surpassed 30,700, with a significant portion being women and children, amid over 72,000 reported injuries.
- Efforts for Aid Delivery: Israel is planning to facilitate aid delivery to northern Gaza directly from its territory and through a proposed sea route from Cyprus, with international involvement and funding.
- Settlement Expansion Condemnation: The Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and Jordan have condemned Israel’s approval of new housing units in West Bank settlements, emphasizing the move’s contradiction to international law and peace efforts.
The Associated Press has the story:
South Africa says UN court should order Israel to let more aid into Gaza
Newslooks- THE HAGUE, Netherlands —
South Africa has gone back to the United Nations’ top court seeking additional orders for Israel to let humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, citing “widespread starvation” in the devastated Palestinian territory.
After nearly five months of war, much of Gaza is in ruins. International pressure is growing for Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would halt the fighting and release the remaining Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
South Africa accuses Israel of violating provisional measures imposed by the International Court of Justice on Jan. 27, when judges ordered Israel to do all it could to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza.
Israel’s near-total blockade of Gaza and the ongoing fighting have made it nearly impossible to deliver supplies in most of Gaza, aid groups say. Many of the estimated 300,000 people still living in northern Gaza have been reduced to eating animal fodder to survive.
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas-led militants stormed across the border on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Over 100 hostages were released in November in exchange for 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
The number of Palestinians killed has climbed above 30,700, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures, but says women and children make up around two-thirds of the total casualties. It says over 72,000 people have been wounded.
Citing “widespread starvation” in Gaza, South Africa is urging the United Nations’ top court to order Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the war-torn region, as part of an ongoing case alleging that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza breaches the Genocide Convention.
South Africa, which filed the genocide case late last year at the International Court of Justice, said Wednesday it was compelled to seek more preliminary orders “in light of the new facts and changes in the situation in Gaza — particularly the situation of widespread starvation — brought about by the continuing egregious breaches” of the convention by Israel.
It is also accusing Israel of “manifest violations of the provisional measures” ordered by the court on Jan. 27, when judges ordered Israel to do all it could to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza, but stopped short of ordering an end to the military offensive that has laid waste to the Palestinian enclave.
In a written request to the court Wednesday, South Africa urged the court to issue more orders, including that Israel “take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address famine and starvation and the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in Gaza.”
PLANS FOR MORE AID TO WAR-TORN NORTHERN GAZA ARE IN THE WORKS, ISRAELI OFFICIALS SAY
JERUSALEM — Efforts to get desperately needed humanitarian aid to war-wracked northern Gaza appear to be gaining momentum.
Two Israeli officials say the government will begin allowing aid to move directly from Israeli territory into northern Gaza and will also cooperate with the creation of a sea route from Cyprus. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the upcoming shipments with the media.
While aid groups say all of Gaza is mired in crisis, the situation in the largely isolated north stands out. Many there have been reduced to eating animal fodder and acute malnutrition is rampant among young children.
Israel would allow 20 to 30 aid trucks to enter northern Gaza from Israel on Friday, the start of more regular deliveries via that route, one of the officials said. It will also begin doing security checks Sunday on aid in Cyprus before it’s delivered via sea to Gaza, the official said.
The ship will be part of a pilot project to test the feasibility of the sea route. The aid is UAE-funded and made possible with U.S. involvement.
To reach the largely cut-off areas in the north, aid trucks have to drive through the conflict zone from the Rafah crossing with Egypt or the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel, both on the southern edge of Gaza.
The European Union increased pressure Wednesday for the creation of a sea route from Cyprus to Gaza and British Foreign Minister David Cameron has said Israel’s allies are losing patience.
PALESTINIAN FACTIONS AND JORDAN DECRY ISRAEL’S PLAN FOR EXPANSION OF WEST BANK SETTLEMENTS
JERUSALEM — The Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Jordan have all strongly condemned Israel’s approval of 3,500 new housing units in settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the news a “slap in the face” to nations who “called for an end to settlement activities.”
The plans drew U.S. condemnation when first announced, but did not yield an immediate American response Wednesday.
“The international community, especially the American administration, is facing a real test to stop this Israeli aggression, and to turn words into actions, by implementing the resolutions of international legitimacy and international law, which considers all settlements illegal,” said Nabil Abu Rudeinah.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule over parts of the West Bank and cooperates with Israel on security.
When asked about the new settlement plans, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, “Our position on settlements remains constant and unchanged, that they are illegal under international law, whether (they) exist or those that are being built … and we do not think they are conducive, to say the least, to a two-state solution.”
The spokesperson for Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the new settlement expansion was “aimed at changing the existing historical and legal situation in the occupied Palestinian territories.”
Hamas said the move was “nothing but a message of defiance and recklessness from the Zionist government headed by war criminals.”
The plans, which were announced by Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, received approval Wednesday from the Higher Planning Council, the Israeli body which authorizes West Bank construction.
The decision advances plans for housing units in two settlements, Maale Adumim and Kedar, to a public comment phase. The other plan in the settlement of Efrat now advances to final approval stage.
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— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
