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Gaza: aid agencies reject Israel's 'humanitarian' plan

Amid growing warnings of starvation, the Israeli military allowed humanitarian aid into Gaza for the first time in more than 11 weeks. The first trucks were permitted to pass through the Kerem Shalom crossing after the UK, France and Canada threatened to sanction Israel if it did not allow in assistance. UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher welcomed the move, but said it was a "drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed." In an open letter issued the same day the first trucks were allowed in, nearly a dozen international aid and human rights groups warned that a US-backed organization set up to take over aid distribution in Gaza is "a dangerous, politicized sham." They charged that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has been launched without Palestinian involvement, while the population in Gaza remains under siege.

UN experts urge humanitarian 'intervention' in Gaza

United Nations human rights experts urged that the international community must act immediately to end the intensifying violence in Gaza. The experts stated that since the end of the two-month ceasefire in March, Israel has unleashed yet harsher attacks on the population in Gaza: "Escalating atrocities in Gaza present an urgent moral crossroads and States must act now to end the violence or bear witness to the annihilation of the Palestinian population in Gaza—an outcome with irreversible consequences for our shared humanity and multilateral order... The world is watching. Will Member States live up to their obligations and intervene to stop the slaughter, hunger, and disease, and other war crimes and crimes against humanity that are perpetrated daily in complete impunity?"

Israeli cabinet approves 'conquest' of Gaza

The Israeli government unveiled a new military plan for the Gaza Strip, an operation forebodingly dubbed "Gideon's Chariots" after an Old Testament conqueror. Approved unanimously by the security cabinet, the plan calls for the "conquering of Gaza" and retaining the territory indefinitely, an official said. The plan also includes concentrating the Palestinian civilian population in a "sterile area" in the south of the Strip. The official said Israel will give Hamas until the end of US President Donald Trump's upcoming trip to the Middle East to agree to a hostage deal. Otherwise, "Operation Gideon's Chariots will begin with great force and will not end until all its objectives are achieved." The military is already calling up tens of thousands of reservists in preparation for the new operation.

ICJ hears challenge to Israel's UNRWA ban

The International Court of Justice held hearings on Israel's ban on cooperation with UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees. It could take some time for a (non-binding) ruling on Israel's move to cut ties with UNRWA, and it has already been two months since Israel reinstated its full siege on Gaza, blocking the entry of aid and commercial goods while bombing the territory. On the ground in the Strip, the situation is becoming more dire by the day. UNICEF says vaccines are quickly running out, disease is spreading, and malnutrition is on the rise. Amnesty International says the renewed siege constitutes a "genocidal act, a blatant form of unlawful collective punishment, and the war crime of using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare."

Israel escalates Syria strikes —in name of protecting Druze

Syrian Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri accused the interim government of carrying out a "genocidal attack" on his community following two days of sectarian violence that left 100 dead. Clashes broke out in the Damascus suburbs of Jaramana and Sahnaya, and armed residents began to mobilize in the Druze-majority southern city of Suwayda before a truce was reached. But by then Israel had escalated its military intervention in Syria, launching air-strikes on targets around Damascus. In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the IDF had "struck an extremist group" that was killing members of the Druze community. This is presumably a reference to the now ostensibly disbanded Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the leading faction in the forces that took power in Syria and formed the transition government late last year. It is unclear who launched the attacks that sparked the fighting, which were condemned by the interim government.

OHCHR protests Israel’s Gaza evacuation orders

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressedconcern over the legality of Israeli evacuation orders under international humanitarian law, citing fears over the permanent displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. According to the OHCHR, while Israel "can lawfully order the temporary evacuations of civilians in certain areas under strict conditions," the nature and scope of such orders raises concerns over whether the Israeli leadership has intentions of forcibly transferring civilians out of Gaza, breaching the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Rome Statute. Since resuming hostilities last month, Israel has issued 21 "evacuation orders." The most recent such order covers almost all of Rafah, the Strip's southernmost governorate, and has been followed by a large-scale ground operation in the area. Tens of thousands of Palestinians were already reportedly trapped in Rafah, with no way out and no access to humanitarian aid.

Israel anti-Semitism confab embraces fascism —yes, really

The Zionist-fascist convergence under Bibi's regime is getting too blatant even for the habitually pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League, whose leader stayed away from a supposed "International Conference on Combating Antisemitism" held in Jerusalem under auspices of the Israeli government, headlining Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu—and also featuring several figures from the European and American xenophobic (and even anti-Semitic!) far right.

Lebanon ceasefire —real or fiction?

The ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese political and militant group Hezbollah is on shaky ground following an Israeli air-strike on Beirut's southern suburbs. It was the first strike on Lebanon's capital since a pause in hostilities came into effect in November last year. Israel—which has bombed southern Lebanon almost daily despite the ceasefire—said it was retaliating for a rocket attack into northern Israel. Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem warned that if Israel continues to carry out strikes in Lebanon, and the Lebanese government does not act to stop it, then his organization will take matters into its own hands.