SeveralPalestiniansandIsraelisoldiers have told the Associated Press (AP) that troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields inGaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for bombs and gunmen. They told the AP that the practice has become ubiquitous over 19 months of war.
The AP spoke with seven Palestinians who described being used as shields inGazaand theoccupied West Bankand with two members of Israel’s military who said they engaged in the practice, which is prohibited by international law.
In response to these allegations, Israel’s military says it strictly prohibits using civilians as shields – a practice it has long accused Hamas of using in Gaza. Israeli officials blame the militants for the civilian death toll in its offensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.In a statement to the AP, the military said it also bans otherwise coercing civilians to participate in operations, and “all such orders are routinely emphasised to the forces.”The military said it is investigating several cases alleging that Palestinians were involved in missions, but would not provide the AP with details. The news agency said that the Israeli military did not answer questions about the reach of the practice or any orders from commanding officers.
Rights groups say Israel has used Palestinians as shields in Gaza and the West Bank for decades. Thesupreme courtoutlawed the practice in 2005, but the groups continued to document violations, reports the AP.Experts say this war is the first time in decades the practice – and the debate around it – has been so widespread.
More on this story in a moment, but first, here are some other key updates:
The Israeli army reported that 83 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom Crossing on Friday, after security inspections. The aid included food, medical equipment and medicines.
The UN has called for more aid in Gaza to meet the territory’s “massive needs”.In its latest humanitarian update, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said it “stressed once again that the small amounts of supplies being allowed into the Gaza Strip are nowhere near enough to roll back the extreme deprivation that Gaza’s population is facing”.
UN secretary general António Guterres said on Friday that Palestinians were enduring “the cruellest phase” of the war in Gaza, where more than a dozen food trucks were looted after the partial easing of a lengthy Israeli blockade.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed at least six people on Saturday across the Palestinian territory, where Israel has ramped up its military offensive in recent days. “Our teams have recovered at least six dead,” civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
More than 40 leading Jewish organisations issued a joint set of urgent requests from the US governmentafter Wednesday’s deadly shooting outside Washington’s Capital Jewish Museum, Haaertz reported.
Syriaon Saturday hailed the Trump administration’s lifting ofUSsanctions, asWashingtonhopes to open a new chapter in its relations withDamascus, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
US presidentDonald Trumpsurprised many with his announcement of the new policy on aGulftour earlier this month, during which he shook hands with Syria’s interim presidentAhmed al-Sharaa.
Trump said he wanted to give the war-torn country’s new rulers “a chance at greatness” after their overthrow of longtime rulerBashar al-Assadin December.
“The Syrian Arab Republic welcomes the decision from the American government to lift the sanctions imposed on Syria and its people for long years,” a foreign ministry statement said, according to AFP.
It described the move as “a positive step in the right direction to reduce humanitarian and economic struggles in the country”.
Israeliarmed forces carried out an airstrike on the town ofToulin southernLebanon, killing one person and injuring another.
The strikes began on Thursday afternoon and the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for residents of Toul, just outside the city ofNabatieh, before carrying out an airstrike there.
UKministers are under pressure from inside and outsideLabourto recognisePalestinian statehoodat aUNconference next month, with party grandees arguing it would bolster prospects for peace and demonstrate moral leadership amid escalating tensions.Alf Dubs, the veteran Labour peer and Holocaust survivor, said the symbolic recognition of a Palestinian state would offer Palestinians “the self-respect they’d have if they had a proper state,” and provide them a stronger footing in any future peace negotiations.
“Even if it doesn’t lead to anything immediately, it would still give Palestinians a better standing,” Lord Dubs said. “Symbols matter.”The former cabinet ministerPeter Hainechoed the call, warning that “delaying recognition until negotiations are concluded simply allows Israel’s illegal occupation to become permanent”. Lord Hain argued that formal recognition should be “a catalyst, not a consequence” of peace talks.
At the first preparatory meeting inNew Yorkbefore a UN conference on a two state solution due to be held between 17 and 20 June,Saudi Arabiaurged countries to recognise Palestine as a state, saying that “recognition should be seen as a precondition for peace, and not its product”.
The conference is seen as a potential moment when states such asFranceand the UK that have yet to recognise Palestine take what would be a momentous diplomatic step.
Here is more on the report by the Associated Press (AP) ofIsraelisoldiers being accused of the widespread use of human shields inGaza:
Gaza’s civil defence agencysaidIsraelistrikes killed at least six people on Saturday across thePalestinianterritory, whereIsraelhas ramped up its military offensive in recent days.
“Our teams have recovered at least six dead,” civil defence agency spokespersonMahmud Bassaltold Agence France-Presse (AFP).
He said a couple were killed with their two young children in a pre-dawn strike on a house in theAmalquarter of the southern city ofKhan Younis. Another two people were killed in a strike on theNuseirat refugee campin the centre of the territory, he said.
The Israeli military said it was unable to comment on individual strikes without their “precise geographical coordinates”.
SeveralPalestiniansandIsraelisoldiers have told the Associated Press (AP) that troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields inGaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for bombs and gunmen. They told the AP that the practice has become ubiquitous over 19 months of war.
The AP spoke with seven Palestinians who described being used as shields inGazaand theoccupied West Bankand with two members of Israel’s military who said they engaged in the practice, which is prohibited by international law.
In response to these allegations, Israel’s military says it strictly prohibits using civilians as shields – a practice it has long accused Hamas of using in Gaza. Israeli officials blame the militants for the civilian death toll in its offensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.In a statement to the AP, the military said it also bans otherwise coercing civilians to participate in operations, and “all such orders are routinely emphasised to the forces.”The military said it is investigating several cases alleging that Palestinians were involved in missions, but would not provide the AP with details. The news agency said that the Israeli military did not answer questions about the reach of the practice or any orders from commanding officers.
Rights groups say Israel has used Palestinians as shields in Gaza and the West Bank for decades. Thesupreme courtoutlawed the practice in 2005, but the groups continued to document violations, reports the AP.Experts say this war is the first time in decades the practice – and the debate around it – has been so widespread.
More on this story in a moment, but first, here are some other key updates:
The Israeli army reported that 83 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom Crossing on Friday, after security inspections. The aid included food, medical equipment and medicines.
The UN has called for more aid in Gaza to meet the territory’s “massive needs”.In its latest humanitarian update, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said it “stressed once again that the small amounts of supplies being allowed into the Gaza Strip are nowhere near enough to roll back the extreme deprivation that Gaza’s population is facing”.
UN secretary general António Guterres said on Friday that Palestinians were enduring “the cruellest phase” of the war in Gaza, where more than a dozen food trucks were looted after the partial easing of a lengthy Israeli blockade.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli strikes killed at least six people on Saturday across the Palestinian territory, where Israel has ramped up its military offensive in recent days. “Our teams have recovered at least six dead,” civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
More than 40 leading Jewish organisations issued a joint set of urgent requests from the US governmentafter Wednesday’s deadly shooting outside Washington’s Capital Jewish Museum, Haaertz reported.