Israel-Gaza latest: IDF orders evacuation of Rafah as US says Israel may have breached international law

Israel orders new evacuations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah as it prepares to expand operations

Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Saturday as it prepared to expand its operation, saying it was also moving into an area in northern Gaza where Hamas has regrouped.

Army spokesman, Avichay Adraee, told Palestinians in Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya cities and the surrounding areas to leave their homes and head to shelters in the west of Gaza City, warning that people were in "a dangerous combat zone" and that Israel was going to strike with "great force."

Heavy fighting is underway in northern Gaza, where Hamas appeared to have once again regrouped in an area where Israel has already launched punishing assaults.

Battles erupted this week in the Zeitoun area on the outskirts of Gaza City, in the northern part of the territory. Northern Gaza was the first target of the ground offensive. Israel said late last year that it had mostly dismantled Hamas in the area.

Matt Mathers11 May 2024 08:15

'Virtually no humanitarian aid' entered Gaza last 5 days, UN says

UN aid agencies warned that supplies are running short, and operations could halt within days in Gaza.

“For five days, no fuel and virtually no humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip, and we are scraping the bottom of the barrel,” Hamish Young, Unicef Senior Emergency Coordinator in Gaza, said.

Israel said it cannot win the war without rooting out Hamas fighters it believes are in Rafah.

Israeli forces have sealed off eastern Rafah from the south and have shut down the only crossing between the enclave and Egypt.

Vishwam Sankaran11 May 2024 08:00

Police arrest dozens, break up pro-Palestinian protests at US universities

Police have arrested dozens in the US as they dismantled pro-Palestinian protest encampments at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology yesterday.

Campus police at the University of Pennsylvania removed protesters from an encampment that had been in place for over two weeks.

Overall, 33 people, including faculty and seven students, were arrested and charged with trespassing.

Police arrived at MIT early in the morning, and gave protesters about 15 minutes to leave, and arrested the 10 who remained, the university’s president said.

In 75 instances of campus protests recorded by the Associated Press since 18 April, about 2,900 people have been arrested at 57 colleges and universities.

Vishwam Sankaran11 May 2024 07:30

US says Israel's use of American weapons in Gaza likely violated international law

The Biden administration said yesterday that Israel’s use of US-provided arms in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law, but added that the evidence for determining it was incomplete.

US said it had “reasonable” evidence that Israel breached international law protecting civilians in how it conducted its war against Hamas.

But the Biden administration said it wasn’t able to link specific US weapons to individual attacks by Israeli forces in Gaza.

The first-of-its-kind assessment comes following over seven months of Israel invading Gaza with airstrikes, ground fighting and aid restrictions that have claimed nearly 35,000 Palestinian lives, mostly women and children.

Vishwam Sankaran11 May 2024 07:00

Australia says Palestine's full UN membership will build peace momentum

Australia’s support for Palestine’s bid to become a full UN member would build momentum towards peace in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the country’s foreign minister Penny Wong said today.

Australia, along with an overwhelming majority of the UN General Assembly, backed the resolution to effectively recognise a Palestinian state and recommended that the Security Council “reconsider the matter favourably”.

“At the UN General Assembly, 143 countries including Australia voted for a resolution to grant the Palestinian mission a modest extension of participation rights,” Ms Wong posted on X today.

“We all know one vote on its own won’t end this conflict - it has spanned our entire lifetimes - but we all have to do what we can to build momentum towards peace,” Ms Wong said.

Nine countries including the US and Israel voted against the bid, while 25 abstained.

“We continue to condemn Hamas’ terrorist attack of 7 October, and the call for the immediate release of all hostages. We reiterate our consistent calls for a humanitarian ceasefire so that aid can increase and civilians can be protected,” Ms Wong said.

Vishwam Sankaran11 May 2024 06:27

South Africa requests world court emergency move to restrain Israel

South Africa urged the United Nations’ top court Friday to issue more emergency measures to restrain Israel, saying its military incursion in Rafah threatens the “very survival of Palestinians in Gaza.”

Jane Dalton11 May 2024 02:00

Watch: Israel’s ambassador ‘shreds’ UN charter to protest at Palestinian statehood recognition

Jane Dalton11 May 2024 01:01

ICYMI: First shipment of aid heads to US-built floating pier in Gaza

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Jane Dalton10 May 2024 23:59

Israel did not breach terms of US weapons use, official report to say

A review by the Biden administration of Israel’s use of US-provided weapons in its war in Gaza does not conclude that Israel has violated the terms for their use, according to three sources.

The report, due to be released soon, is expected to be sharply critical of Israel, but falls short of saying Israel violated terms of US-Israel weapons agreements, according to one US official.

The administration’s findings on its close ally’s conduct of the war was the first-of-its-kind assessment compelled by President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats in Congress.

Jane Dalton10 May 2024 23:01

Rishi Sunak slams protests over Israel’s Eurovision appearance

Jane Dalton10 May 2024 21:59