Others
'The Zone of Interest' wins Oscar award for best international film
The harrowing Holocaust drama “ The Zone of Interest,” which explores questions of complicity while depicting the mundane lives of a Nazi family in their home adjacent to the Auschwitz death camp, won the Academy Award for best international film.
“Our film shows where dehumanization leads, at its worst,” writer-director Jonathan Glazer said. “Right now we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October the 7th in Israel, or the ongoing attack on Gaza, all the victims, this humanization, how do we resist?"
Glazer's reference to Israel’s war in Gaza came after pro-Palestinian protesters snarled traffic around the Dolby Theater as the Oscars kicked off.
‘Oppenheimer’ set to win big at the Oscars
In her review, The Associated Press’ Jocelyn Noveck wrote that Glazer “has found a way to convey the evil of Nazism without ever depicting the horror itself. But though it escapes our eyes, the horror assaults our senses in other, deeper ways.”
Glazer said he hopes the film will draw attention to current conflicts in the world. “All our choices are made to reflect and confront us in the present. Not to say, ‘Look what they did then,’ rather 'look what we do now," he said.
Sandra Hüller, one of the film's stars, wept as Glazer's hands shook while reading his acceptance speech.
Hüller plays Hedwig, the wife of Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), the bloodthirsty commandant of Auschwitz. The film was the United Kingdom's submission to the Oscars.
In the film, the couple and their children go about their daily routines — living in a home just on the other side of a stone wall from the gas chambers. Höss spends his work days overseeing the “processing” of trainloads of people, most sent directly to their deaths. Then he comes home, where he and Hedwig share meals, celebrate birthdays, read their kids bedtime stories and make vacation plans.
Glazer adapted the screenplay loosely from the 2014 Martin Amis novel of the same name, but chose to depict the real-life commandant. Aiming for a chilling meticulousness, the director pieced together the Höss family history and built the set for their home some 200 yards (183 meters) from where the real one once stood.
How and where to watch Oscar-nominated films online
“The Zone of Interest” is also up for best picture, which made it the favorite to win in the international category. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards, including best sound, which it won; best director, which Christopher Nolan received for “Oppenheimer;” and adapted screenplay, which went to Cord Jefferson for “American Fiction." Hüller was nominated for best actress for “Anatomy of a Fall,” but the award went to Emma Stone for “Poor Things.”
Last year the winner of best international film was “ All Quiet on the Western Front,” a German-language film set in World War I.
Also nominated for best international feature were “Society of the Snow” (Spain), “The Teachers’ Lounge” (Germany), “Io Capitano” (Italy) and “Perfect Days” (Japan).
UN Women's deputy chief urges action to invest in women for societal progress
The deputy chief of United Nations (UN) Women on Friday called for investing in women and girls to drive societal advancement while reiterating the agency's dedication to fostering gender equality and enhancing women's participation in decision-making roles.
"Our first message is: Let's invest in women and girls, let's create opportunities for them to be socially empowered, to be economically empowered, to be in positions of decision-making," Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, deputy executive director of UN Women, the world body's entity dedicated to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women globally, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview in the UN Women's office in New York.
"The importance of investing in women is that when women at the household level are educated and have income, they are able to also send their children to school," Gumbonzvanda said.
Without investment in women, the world is short-changing itself in economic terms, she added.
"By investing in little girls to elderly women, we witness dividends across families, societies, and nations," Gumbonzvanda said, underscoring the broad spectrum of benefits stemming from supporting women and girls.
19 dead and 7 missing as landslide and flash floods hit Indonesia's Sumatra island
"On International Women's Day and beyond, we implore our member states to intensify their efforts" in "creating economic opportunities for women and fostering violence-free environments in our families and communities," she said.
Meanwhile, investing in women encompasses not just economic aspects but also "empowering their voice and perspective to shape policies," Gumbonzvanda said, as "having women at the decision-making table enables them to address societal inequalities and elevate issues that are often overlooked."
"Political participation and women in decision-making have been priorities since the 1995 Beijing conference," she said.
Gumbonzvanda, from Zimbabwe, assumed her duties as UN Assistant Secretary-General and UN Women Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, UN System Coordination, and Programme Results on Feb. 6.
Noting that currently elections are taking place in over 60 countries, Gumbonzvanda said: "With 1.3 billion women voting, this becomes a critical moment for them to influence governments to prioritize gender equality."
She urged both men and women in these countries to "support female candidates to achieve the 50-50 parity agreed upon by member states."
Gumbonzvanda also emphasized the critical contributions of women and girls to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by saying, "We cannot fulfill the SDGs without addressing the challenges faced by women and girls, including exclusion and violence, and without expanding their opportunities in society."
Bill that could make TikTok unavailable in the US advances quickly in the House
She also highlighted the need for "broader fiscal space and the implementation of gender-responsive budgeting" as critical elements in this effort.
Talking about the upcoming 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), she noted, "The meeting is timely in its focus on poverty, institutional strengthening, and financing for gender equality, alongside social protection concerns, given the current global context."
Addressing the alarming prediction that over 300 million people could still be living in poverty by 2030, she stressed the need for governmental commitment to prioritize resources for poverty alleviation programs and called for "reform of the global financial architecture to address inequalities and enhance support for gender equality programs, including education and healthcare for women."
Gumbonzvanda expressed pride in UN Women's current initiatives with China, particularly the projects in Wuhan, which focus on "bringing our technical expertise to support efforts in the country" and "creating policies and employment capacities" targeting women.
She also revisited the pivotal moment of the 1995 Beijing conference, highlighting its significance in setting the agenda for women's political participation and decision-making globally.
Biden: Netanyahu 'hurting Israel' by not preventing more civilian deaths in Gaza
President Joe Biden said Saturday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "hurting Israel more than helping Israel" in how he is approaching its war against Hamas in Gaza.
The U.S. leader expressed support for Israel's right to pursue Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack, but said of Netanyahu that "he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken." Biden has for months warned that Israel risks losing international support over mounting civilian casualties in Gaza, and the latest remarks in an interview with MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart pointed to the increasingly strained relationship between the two leaders.
Biden said of the death toll in Gaza, "it's contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it's a big mistake."
Biden said a potential Israeli invasion of the Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1.3 million Palestinians are sheltering, is "a red line" for him, but said he would not cut off weapons like the Iron Dome missile interceptors which protect the Israeli civilian populace from rocket attacks in the region.
"It is a red line," he said, when asked about Rafah, "but I'm never going to leave Israel. The defense of Israel is still critical, so there's no red line I'm going to cut off all weapons so they don't have the Iron Dome to protect them."
Biden said he was willing to make his case directly to the Israeli Knesset, its parliament, including by making another trip to the country. He traveled to Israel weeks after the Oct. 7. attack. He declined to elaborate on how or whether such a trip might materialize.
The U.S. leader had hoped to secure a temporary ceasefire before Ramadan begins next week, though that appears increasingly unlikely as Hamas has balked at a deal pushed by the U.S. and its allies that would have seen fighting pause for about six weeks, the release of additional hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Israel remains committed to continuing its invasion and annihilating Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on Oct. 7. The militant group freed dozens of hostages during a November truce, but it refuses to release more without guarantees of a complete end of hostilities.
Meanwhile, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza according to the Hamas-run health ministry, with the majority being women and children, and hundreds of thousands going hungry.
Biden noted CIA Director Bill Burns is in the region currently trying to resurrect the deal.
Biden's comments came after he was captured on a hot mic following Thursday night's State of the Union address telling Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. that he and the Israeli leader will need to have a "come to Jesus meeting."
In the exchange, Bennet congratulated Biden on his speech and urged the president to keep pressing Netanyahu on growing humanitarian concerns in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg were also part of the brief conversation.
Biden then responds using Netanyahu's nickname, saying, "I told him, Bibi, and don't repeat this, but you and I are going to have a 'come to Jesus' meeting."
An aide to the president standing nearby then speaks quietly into the president's ear, appearing to alert Biden that microphones remained on as he worked the room.
"I'm on a hot mic here," Biden says after being alerted. "Good. That's good."
NATO's biggest drills since the Cold War send a signal to Russia and aim for a real-life feel
Large NATO drills in the frigid fjords of northern Norway may be just war games meant to hone the fighting skills of the newly expanded 32-nation military alliance. But for troops taking part, they are very real.
And that's the whole point.
With drills underway now, NATO is baring its fangs in its biggest exercises since the Cold War, sending an unmistakable message to Russia that alliance members are ready to defend each other if needed.
Having watched Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, now in its third year, the NATO training aims to cover all eventualities. That can include trying to catch troops off guard.
This week, crew members aboard the French frigate Normandie, one of France's most modern warships, were roused from sleep and scrambled to hunt down and destroy a submarine that snuck into cold Norwegian waters.
The submarine belongs to Germany, also a NATO member. But for the purpose of the war games dubbed Nordic Response 2024, it was acting as an enemy vessel.
The Normandie crew spotted its periscope poking through the waves and sprang into action. The submarine had already "attacked" a nearby Italian ship, the aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, scoring an imaginary torpedo hit.
The crew were determined not to let Normandie — a top-of-the-line vessel, in service only since 2020 — suffer the indignity of also being struck.
An urgent 7 a.m. call got Normandie's commander, Capt. Thomas Vuong, up from his bunk. He ordered the frigate's submarine-hunting helicopter to be readied for flight, waking its pilot.
"We spotted its attack periscope," Vuong told The Associated Press on board Normandie in an exclusive interview.
"Then it dived again," he said. "We were asked to hunt for it. We succeeded."
Once airborne, the Normandie's NH90 helicopter hovered over the waves and lowered its submarine-detecting sonar into the sea. The frigate also used its sonar, and together, they zeroed in on the sub's position and "attacked" it in turn.
"Intelligence confirmed to us that there were no friendly submarines in the sector, so we were certain that it was an enemy submarine," the helicopter pilot, Lt. Olivier, recounted. The French navy withheld his last name for security reasons.
"So the frigate was able to fire a torpedo and destroy the submarine," he added — but not for real, of course.
The frigate and its helicopter pinpointed the submarine with sufficient accuracy to be sure that it wouldn't have survived had actual torpedoes been fired.
The Normandie crew of 146 mariners got no advance warning of the German sub "attack," to test their readiness in the inhospitable environment above the Arctic Circle, Vuong said.
As of this week, NATO nations now also include Sweden. It formally joined on Thursday as the 32nd member, ending decades of post-World War II neutrality. Finland had already joined NATO in April 2023 in a historic move after decades of its military nonalignment.
In both countries, Russia's aggression in Ukraine triggered a dramatic shift in public opinion, leading to their May 2022 applications to join the trans-Atlantic alliance.
The Nordic drill in the northern regions of Finland, Norway and Sweden involves more than 20,000 soldiers from 13 nations and kicked off on Monday. It is part of wider exercises called Steadfast Defender 24. They are NATO's biggest in decades, with up to 90,000 troops involved over several months. They're aimed at showing the alliance can defend all of its territory up to its borders with Russia.
German submariners are more familiar than Normandie with Norway's deep and narrow fjords and the cold Arctic waters that can complicate submarine detection, Vuong said.
The drill was "extremely beneficial, because we reach a very high degree of realism and so we better prepare our teams," he said. "The fjords are a special environment, with a temperature profile different to what we know in the Atlantic."
"To be able to train our teams here, against this threat, is extremely valuable and extremely stimulating," he added. "This is their playing field. So they know the hiding places."
Sea route for Gaza aid gains momentum as cease-fire talks stall
The United States and Europe are seeking to open a sea route that would bring humanitarian aid into Gaza, as alarm grows over the spread of hunger among the besieged territory's 2.3 million people.
However, aid officials say deliveries by ships or recent airdrops are far more costly and inefficient than sending trucks by land. And on Friday, five people in Gaza were killed and several others injured when airdrops malfunctioned and hit people and landed on homes, Palestinian officials said.
After more than five months of Israel's blistering military campaign, much of Gaza is in ruins. The U.N. says a quarter of the population faces starvation. Many of the estimated 300,000 people still living in northern Gaza have been reduced to eating animal fodder to survive.
Efforts to reach a cease-fire before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan appear stalled. Israeli strikes killed 78 people and wounded 104 across the territory in the past 24 hours, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Friday.
It’s not just Israeli bombs that have killed children in Gaza. Now some are dying of hunger too
That brings the number of Palestinians killed to more than 30,800, according to the Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its figures but says women and children make up around two-thirds of all casualties.
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 during a temporary cease-fire in November in exchange for 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
After months of warnings of famine in Gaza, some children begin to succumb in rising deaths
Proposed UN resolution calls for ceasefire in conflict-torn Sudan during upcoming Muslim holy month
Britain has circulated a draft U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities in conflict-wracked Sudan ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins soon.
The draft, obtained late Wednesday by The Associated Press, expresses “grave concern over the spreading violence and the catastrophic and deteriorating humanitarian situation, including crisis levels of acute food insecurity, particularly in Darfur.”
With Ramadan expected to begin around Sunday, depending on the sighting of the new moon, the council is expected to vote quickly on the resolution, likely on Friday.
Rape and sexual violence in Sudan's ongoing conflict may amount to war crimes, a new UN report says
Sudan plunged into chaos last April, when long-simmering tensions between its military led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo broke out into street battles in the capital, Khartoum.
Fighting spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas, but in Sudan’s western Darfur region it took on a different form, with brutal attacks by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces on ethnic African civilians. Thousands of people have been killed.
Two decades ago, Darfur became synonymous with genocide and war crimes, particularly by the notorious Janjaweed Arab militias against populations that identify as Central or East African.
The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, said in late January there are grounds to believe both sides in the current conflict are committing possible war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide in Darfur.
UN says up to 300,000 Sudanese fled their homes after a notorious group seized their safe haven
Meanwhile, France’s U.N. ambassador, Nicolas de Riviere, said, “It would be a disgrace if we have a Ramadan truce in Sudan and no Ramadan truce in Gaza.”
“We need both,” he said.
The United States vetoed a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza on Feb. 20 that was supported by almost the entire 15-member Security Council.
The U.S. is negotiating on its own proposed Gaza resolution, with the latest draft calling for a "ceasefire of roughly six weeks in Gaza together with the release of all hostages” as soon as Israel and Hamas agree. The draft makes no mention of Ramadan.
The latest draft on a Sudan ceasefire was circulated on the same day the head of the U.N. food agency warned that the Sudan conflict “risks triggering the world’s largest hunger crisis” as global attention is focused on the Israel-Hamas war.
Cindy McCain, head of the World Food Program, said the conflict in Sudan has shattered the lives of millions and called for the warring parties to stop fighting and allow humanitarian agencies to provide life-saving assistance.
According to that U.N. agency, 18 million people across Sudan are facing acute hunger, with the most desperate trapped behind the front lines. They include 5 million who face starvation, it said.
The proposed U.N. resolution calls on all parties to remove obstructions and allow “full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access” including across Sudan’s borders and across conflict lines.
The draft also urges strengthened coordination of several regional and international efforts “to facilitate an end to the conflict and to restore a lasting inclusive civilian-led democratic transition.”
U.N. experts said in a report obtained by AP on March 1 that fighters for the Rapid Support Forces and their allied militias carried out widespread ethnic killings and rapes while taking control of much of Darfur that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The report to the Security Council painted a horrifying picture of the brutality of the Arab-dominated RSF against Africans in Darfur. It also detailed how the force succeeded in gaining control of four out of Darfur’s five states, including through complex financial networks that involve dozens of companies.
North Korea's Kim calls for stronger war fighting capabilities against the US and South Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for greater war fighting capabilities against the United States and South Korea, state media reported Thursday, after his defense ministry vowed to respond to the ongoing South Korean-U.S. military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.
During a visit to a western operational training base on Wednesday, Kim said the military must “steadily intensify the actual war drills aimed at rapidly improving its combat capabilities for perfect war preparedness,” the official Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim said the heightened readiness is required to “contain the constant threat of the enemies with overwhelming force,” KCNA said.
North Korea threatens to take military moves in response to US-South Korean drills
It said Kim guided maneuvers of military units at the site but didn’t elaborate. State media photos showed Kim wearing a black leather jacket and standing in position to shoot a rifle and standing near soldiers who were lying on the ground and aiming their rifles.
Kim has previously made similar calls for a stronger military numerous times. But his latest demand came two days after North Korea's Defense Ministry threatened to conduct unspecified ”responsible military activities” because South Korean-U.S. military drills were allegedly getting more undisguised in their attempt for invading the North.
The South Korean and U.S. militaries began their annual computer-simulated command post training and a variety of field exercises on Monday for an 11-day run. This year’s drills were to involve 48 field exercises, twice the number conducted last year. The two countries have said their drills are defensive in nature.
North Korea has reacted to previous South Korean-U.S. military exercises with missile and other weapons tests.
North Korean leader Kim calls for war readiness while inspecting construction of warships
Jeon Ha Gyu, a spokesperson for the South Korean Defense Ministry, told reporters later Thursday that South Korea will “overwhelmingly” deal with any provocations by North Korea. He said it’s nonsensical for North Korea to call the South Korea-U.S. military drills an invasion rehearsal while elevating its nuclear and missile threats.
Animosities on the Korean Peninsula remain high in the wake of North Korea's barrage of missile tests since 2022. Many of the tests involved nuclear-capable missiles designed to attack South Korea and the mainland U.S. This year, North Korea performed six rounds of missile tests. The U.S. and South Korean forces have responded by expanding their training exercises.
Experts say North Korea likely believes a bigger weapons arsenal would increase its leverage in future diplomacy with the United States. They say North Korea would want to win extensive sanctions relief while maintaining its nuclear weapons.
North Korea is expected to further raise tensions with more provocative weapons tests and fiery rhetoric this year as the U.S. and South Korea head into major elections, observers say.
As conditions worsen for Palestinians in Gaza, international pressure grows for a deal
Nearly five months of fighting has left much of Gaza in ruins and created a worsening humanitarian catastrophe, with many, especially in the devastated northern region, scrambling for food to survive while pressure grows internationally for Israel and Hamas to reach a deal.
The United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent weeks trying to broker an agreement in which Hamas would release up to 40 hostages in return for a six-week cease-fire, the release of some Palestinian prisoners and an major influx of aid to the isolated territory. But the talks have so far failed to achieve a breakthrough.
US military aircraft airdrop thousands of meals into Gaza in emergency humanitarian aid operation
“We must get more aid into Gaza,” U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday. “There’s no excuse. None.”
Aid groups have said it has become nearly impossible to deliver supplies within most of Gaza because of the difficulty of coordinating with the Israeli military, the ongoing hostilities and the breakdown of public order.
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 overall Palestinian death toll is more than 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.
Currently:
— The latest Gaza cease-fire talks fail to achieve a breakthrough with Ramadan just days away, Egypt says.
— Biden's allies are increasing pressure on the White House to act to ease Gaza suffering.
— A Mideast Starbucks franchisee is firing 2,000 workers after being targeted in an Israel-Hamas war boycott.
— A U.S. destroyer shoots down a missile and drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here's the latest:
PALESTINIAN DEATH TOLL TOPS 30,700 IN THE LATEST COUNT FROM GAZA'S HEALTH MINISTRYRAFAH, Gaza Strip — Gaza’s Health Ministry says the Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has climbed to 30,717. It said Wednesday that 86 bodies were brought to local hospitals in the last 24 hours, in addition to 113 wounded people.
UN experts condemn ‘flour massacre’, urge Israel to end campaign of starvation in Gaza
The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and maintains detailed casualty records. Its figures from previous wars have largely matched those of the United Nations, independent experts and even Israeli counts.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tallies, but says women and children make up around two-thirds of those killed. It says the real toll is higher as there are bodies buried in the rubble from Israeli airstrikes and in areas that paramedics cannot access. It says over 72,000 people have been wounded in the war.
Israel says it has killed over 10,000 Hamas fighters, without providing evidence.
The war began after Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel on Oct. 7, in which Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 hostage. Israel’s offensive has driven some 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million from their homes and pushed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the brink of starvation.
ISRAELI ALLIES' PATIENCE IS RUNNING THIN, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY SAYSLONDON — British Foreign Secretary David Cameron says he will warn a member of Israel’s War Cabinet that allies’ patience is running thin over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Cameron is due to meet Wednesday with Benny Gantz, who is stopping in London on the way back from a trip to Washington. Cameron told members of Parliament’s House of Lords on Tuesday that people in Gaza “are dying of hunger” and Israel must let in more humanitarian aid.
“We’ve had a whole set of things we’ve asked the Israelis to do, but I have to report to the House that the amount of aid they got in in February was about half what they got in January,” he said. “So patience needs to run very thin and a whole series of warnings need to be given, starting I hope with a meeting I have with minister Gantz when he visits the U.K.”
Hundreds of inmates flee after armed gangs storm Haiti's main prison, leaving bodies behind
Gantz, a rival to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is visiting Washington and London without the Israeli prime minister’s approval.
UN experts condemn ‘flour massacre’, urge Israel to end campaign of starvation in Gaza
UN experts on Tuesday condemned the violence unleashed by Israeli forces, which killed at least 112 people gathered to collect flour in Gaza last week, as a “massacre” amid conditions of inevitable starvation and destruction of the local food production system in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
“Israel has been intentionally starving the Palestinian people in Gaza since 8 October. Now it is targeting civilians seeking humanitarian aid and humanitarian convoys,” the UN experts said. “Israel must end its campaign of starvation and targeting of civilians.”
Israeli troops fired on crowds of Palestinians gathered to collect flour in the south-west of Gaza City on 29 February, killing at least 112 people and injuring some 760.
“The attack came after Israel has denied humanitarian aid into Gaza City and northern Gaza for more than a month,” the experts said.
They noted that the 29 February massacre followed a pattern of Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians seeking aid, with over 14 recorded incidents of shooting, shelling and targeting groups gathered to receive urgently needed supplies from trucks or airdrops between mid-January and the end of February 2024.
“Israel has also opened fire on humanitarian aid convoys on several occasions, despite the fact that the convoys shared their coordinates with Israel,” the experts said.
On 26 January, the International Court of Justice recognised the plausibility of Israel committing genocide and ordered it to allow the delivery of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In January, before the Court’s decision, an average of 147 trucks entered Gaza every day. Since the ruling was issued, only 57 trucks have entered Gaza between 9 and 21 February 2024.
“Israel is not respecting its international legal obligations, is not complying with the provisional measures of the International Court of Justice, and is committing atrocity crimes,” the experts said.
“Israel systematically denies and restricts the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza by intercepting deliveries at checkpoints, bombing humanitarian convoys and shooting at civilians seeking humanitarian assistance,” they said.
Fifteen children have already died of malnutrition at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza City, and there are fears that the figures could be higher in other hospitals. As the risk of famine continues to rise, all children under five – 335,000 – are at high risk of severe malnutrition, with serious negative impact on their development and their right to health. At least 90 per cent of children under five are affected by one or more infectious diseases, and 70 per cent have diarrhoea. In January, one in six infants (children under two) in northern Gaza were found to be acutely malnourished, leading to a condition known as wasting.
“We have said before: we are alarmed to see an entire civilian population suffering such unprecedented starvation, so quickly and completely,” the experts said. “We have been saying for months that widespread famine is imminent in Gaza,” they said.
They expressed horror that children were starting to die from malnutrition, dehydration and hunger. “When children start dying like this, you know that famine is probably already happening or just around the corner,” the experts said.
Reports on the recent negotiations between Hamas and Israel on a proposed 40-day ceasefire have revealed that, as part of the terms of the negotiations, Israel has committed to allow the entry of trucks and the delivery of tents, caravans, essential fuel, construction materials and equipment to rehabilitate critical infrastructure such as hospitals and bakeries.
“Humanitarian aid must not be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations,” the experts said. The provision of humanitarian aid is the minimum basic humanitarian obligation that Israel must provide unconditionally, they said.
“After months of Israel’s starvation campaign, Gaza may already be facing famine,” the experts said. “Recent airdrops will achieve little. The only way to prevent or end this famine is an immediate and permanent ceasefire.”
“We reiterate our earlier call by UN special procedures for an arms embargo and sanctions on Israel, as part of all States’s duty to ensure respect for human rights and stop violations of international humanitarian law by Israel,” the experts said.
The experts are Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on the right to food; Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967; Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Pedro Arrojo Agudo, Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation; Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences; Dominique Day and Bina D’Costa, Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.
Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms.
Special Procedures mandate-holders are independent human rights experts appointed by the Human Rights Council to address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. They are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organisation. They serve in their individual capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.
Israeli Cabinet member meets US officials as cease-fire talks get underway in Egypt
A top member of Israel's wartime Cabinet is meeting with U.S. officials in Washington while talks are underway in Egypt to broker a cease-fire in Gaza before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins next week.
Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, traveled for talks with several senior U.S. administration officials this week.
An official from Netanyahu’s far-right Likud party said Gantz did not have approval from the prime minister for his meetings in Washington and that Netanyahu gave the Cabinet official a “tough talk” — underscoring the widening crack within Israel’s wartime leadership nearly six months into the Israel-Hamas war.
Israel did not send a delegation to cease-fire talks in Cairo because it is waiting for answers from Hamas on two questions, according to an Israeli official. Israeli media reported that the government is waiting to learn which of the hostages seized by Hamas in an Oct. 7 attack are alive and how many Palestinian prisoners Hamas seeks in exchange for each.
The U.N. says a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people face starvation. The number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip has soared above 30,000 since the war began nearly five months ago when Hamas-led militants stormed across southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage.
Currently:
— Harris is to meet with Israeli Cabinet official who is in Washington despite Netanyahu’s rebuke.
— A 4-year-old Gaza boy lost his arm – and his family. Half a world away, he’s getting a second chance.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here's the latest:
HAMAS CALLS ON PALESTINIANS TO RISE UP DURING RAMADANBEIRUT — Hamas is calling on Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank to rise up against Israel during the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Hamas spokesman Osama Hamdan, speaking to reporters in Beirut on Monday, said Palestinians should “make every moment of Ramadan a confrontation.”
US military aircraft airdrop thousands of meals into Gaza in emergency humanitarian aid operation
The U.S., Qatar and Egypt have been trying for weeks to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza and to convince the militant group to release some of the scores of hostages it is still holding from the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.
The mediators hope to broker a truce before Ramadan, which is expected to begin around March 10.
The month of dawn-to-dusk fasting is a time of heightened prayer, reflection and charity for Muslims around the world, but Israeli-Palestinian tensions often spike over access to a major holy site in Jerusalem.
Hamas has repeatedly called for a broader uprising in the occupied West Bank, where violence has surged since the start of the war, and among Israel’s own Palestinian minority.
Hamdan did not provide any specifics about the ongoing cease-fire negotiations. Addressing his remarks to Israel and its top ally, the United States, he said: “What they have not gained in the battlefield, they will not gain through political machinations.”
The war began when Hamas-led militants broke through Israel’s defenses on Oct. 7 and stormed into several communities near Gaza, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 hostages. Hamas freed over 100 hostages during a weeklong November cease-fire in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinian prisoners.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says the war has killed over 30,000 Palestinians. Around 80% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been driven from their homes.
Israeli strike on Palestinians waiting for aid kills 70
A FOREIGN WORKER IS KILLED IN MISSILE FIRE FROM LEBANONKIRYAT SHMONA, Israel — Israeli rescuers say a foreign worker was killed and several others wounded by an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon.
The Magen David Adom rescue service said Monday it was treating seven people, including two in serious condition.
Associated Press reporters saw the Israeli army transporting several Thai workers, some limping and bleeding, to ambulances near the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona.
Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group have traded fire nearly every day since the start of the war in Gaza. Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, says it is trying to pin down Israeli forces in the north to aid the Palestinian group.
Hezbollah did not immediately claim responsibility for Monday’s strike.
The Lebanese group said in statements Monday that it had stopped two attempts by Israeli forces to cross into Lebanese territory overnight and that it had launched an artillery attack on an Israeli barracks.
Also on Monday, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Beirut to meet with Lebanese officials in an attempt to tamp down tensions.
The near daily clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have killed more than 200 Hezbollah fighters and at least 37 civilians in Lebanon. Around 20 people have been killed on the Israeli side, including civilians and soldiers.
Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border have been forced to flee their homes because of the ongoing fighting. Israel has vowed to continue attacking Hezbollah, even if there is a cease-fire in Gaza, in order to push its fighters away from the border.
Farm workers from Thailand and other Asian countries have flocked to Israel in recent years, drawn by higher wages. Several foreign workers were among those killed and abducted in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack out of Gaza, which triggered the war.