Israel/Palästina

The Security Council today heard growing calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, as speakers reiterated their concern about the ongoing war’s unspeakable toll on civilians and the dwindling prospect for a two-State solution for Israel and Palestine.

Israel's army has ordered all Palestinians to leave the urban area of Gaza City, where over half a million people used to live. At least 38,295 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, have already been killed in Israeli attacks, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry. 

Famine has spread across the Gaza Strip, a panel of United Nations experts in Geneva said in a statement on Tuesday. … The panel called upon "the international community to prioritize the delivery of humanitarian aid by land by any means necessary, end Israel's siege, and establish a cease-fire."

Israel is studying "some ideas" that Hamas sent to Qatari mediators on Wednesday, and Israel confirmed it is evaluating Hamas’ response to a peace deal that would include releasing hostages and a cease-fire.

[…] In its current stand-by mode, EUBAM Rafah continues to advise and provide technical assistance on integrated border management to the Palestinian General Administration for Borders and Crossings based in Jericho and support projects on trade facilitation and processing of biometric passports. … EUPOL COPPS’s … current mandate focuses on support to the Palestinian Civil Police and wider justice institutions, … .

While the situation in Gaza remains catastrophic, ongoing Israeli settlement expansion and escalating violence in the occupied West Bank is ratcheting up tension across the whole region, the UN’s Middle East envoy said on Tuesday.

High-level independent human rights investigators reiterated serious concerns on Wednesday about the legality of the Israeli army's conduct in Gaza and pushed back at claims that their inquiry has done too little to highlight the ongoing ordeal of hostages captured by Palestinian militants.

Thousands of Israelis staged a mass demonstration in Jerusalem Monday to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza. … The protests came hours after Netanyahu disbanded his war cabinet, a decision expected after Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot, two centrist ex-generals, stepped down last week over disagreements with the prime minister over the direction of the war.

Palestinian armed groups and Israeli authorities have both committed war crimes and crimes against humanity during the attack on 7 October and the subsequent military operations, according to a new report by a UN independent human rights body. This was among the conclusions listed in the report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, released on Wednesday.

The United States-drafted text calls for Hamas to accept a ceasefire proposal announced on 31 May by President Joe Biden that has already been accepted by Israel. Adopted by a large majority with 14 votes in favour and Russia abstaining - choosing not to exercise its veto power - the resolution also urges both parties to fully implement the terms of the proposal “without delay and without condition.”