New York (Union)
The United Nations Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wensland, affirmed the organization’s support for mediation efforts between the parties to the conflict in the war on the Gaza Strip to secure the release of all hostages, a ceasefire, and the provision of relief to the civilian population. In a briefing he gave the day before yesterday, during a meeting held by the UN Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue, Wensland called on all parties to redouble their efforts and return to the negotiating table immediately. Wensland expressed deep concern about the current trend, including the launch of a large-scale military operation in the city of Rafah, which undermines efforts to safely enter and distribute humanitarian aid to civilians. He said that the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, and a number of international partners and concerned neighboring countries expressed their opposition to launching the military operation in light of the clear indications of its devastating consequences for civilians. He called on the international community to provide support to the new Palestinian government to address the financial challenges it faces, enhance its ability to govern, and prepare it to reassume its responsibilities in Gaza.
Meanwhile, violent fighting continued yesterday in the Gaza Strip, the day after the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requested the issuance of arrest warrants, which Israel and the Palestinian factions denounced after 7 months of war.
Yesterday, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court requested the issuance of arrest warrants against the Israeli Prime Minister, his Minister of Defense, and three members of the Palestinian factions, on charges of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity.
At the same time, violent confrontations are taking place in the occupied West Bank, where seven Palestinians were killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, while the Israeli army said it was carrying out a new operation in Jenin. Yesterday, the Israeli army announced ongoing battles in several areas of the besieged Gaza Strip, and said that it had carried out air strikes on seventy targets within 24 hours, including targets in the center of the Strip and in the Jabalia area, and that it was continuing its operations in the Rafah area.
In the center of the Gaza Strip, air strikes targeted the Bureij camp, according to eyewitnesses.
In the south, Israeli warships bombed Khan Yunis, while doctors at the European Hospital reported the arrival of several wounded as a result of an air strike that hit a house.
The Director of Operations at the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs, Edem and Surno, told the UN Security Council: “The Rafah camps are largely emptied of their residents. Most of the displaced again fled to Deir al-Balah and Khan Yunis, to camps where they lack water, shelters, and sanitary supplies.” The United Nations says that more than 100,000 people fled battles and bombing in the northern Gaza Strip, and another 812,000 from the city of Rafah, whose population rose to 1.4 million people before Israeli forces entered its east on May 7.
American support
For his part, US President Joe Biden strongly defended Israel yesterday, stressing that Israeli forces are not committing genocide in their military campaign in Gaza, in rejection of criticism from pro-Palestinian protesters.
Biden said at the White House: “What is happening in Gaza is not genocide. We reject that,” adding that American support for the safety and security of Israelis is “steadfast.”
He also called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, stressing his rejection of the announcement by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against the Israeli Prime Minister and Defense Minister regarding alleged war crimes.
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