Gaza’s plight: A reminder of the fragile peace this holiday season

Gaza’s plight: A reminder of the fragile peace this holiday season
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Despite Cafod’s ongoing efforts, the demand for aid was escalating, including the need for the local currency Gazans need to buy essential items. (Catholic Church agency/@cnalive)
Gaza’s plight: A reminder of the fragile peace this holiday season
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Palestinians wave their identity cards as they gather to receive flour rations for their families outside a warehouse of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Rafah. (File/AFP)
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Updated 24 December 2023
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Gaza’s plight: A reminder of the fragile peace this holiday season

Gaza’s plight: A reminder of the fragile peace this holiday season
  • Christmas lights dim in shadow of escalating conflict, as Christian charities push to get more aid into war-torn region

LONDON: As Christmas dawns, a somber mood overshadows the Holy Land on one of the Catholic calendar’s most important dates. Since the start of Israel’s military campaign, 20,000 lives have been lost in the Gaza Strip. It is a grim statistic that casts a long shadow over what should be a time of joy and celebration.

For Cafod, the Catholic Church’s official aid agency in England and Wales, the growing death toll figures have made for grim reading. Elizabeth Funnell is the agency’s representative for its Middle East country programs, a role that brings her face to face with the harsh realities of the conflict.

“Christmas is one of the most important times of year, with many Catholics and Christians around the world making pilgrimages,” she told Arab News.

“These pilgrims make this trip looking for light, looking for hope as they enter the new year. But for many in the Holy Land, this year will be a Christmas marked by pain. Whether in Gaza or the West Bank, the region as a whole is suffering. What it needs is a ceasefire.”

Funnell was speaking just days after a mother and daughter were killed while walking in the grounds of Gaza’s only Catholic church.

The patriarchate of the Holy Family Church described the killings of Nahida Anton and her young daughter, Samar, as “cold-blooded” and laid the blame on an Israeli sniper.

The incident sent ripples of outrage and sorrow through communities worldwide, further emphasizing the dire situation in the region.

Even Pope Francis was vocal in his response to the events. In a public address, he lamented the deaths and criticized the targeting of “unarmed civilians” in Gaza.

“I continue receiving very serious and sad news about Gaza,” he said at the end of the Angelus prayer.

“Some are saying this is terrorism and war. Yes, it is war, it is terrorism … let us pray to the Lord for peace in these troubled times.”

Funnell said there was now a critical need for more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.

“Before Oct. 7, an average of 500 aid trucks would pass daily through the Rafah border into Gaza,” she said. “Yesterday, however, we saw a drastic reduction, with only 104 trucks managing to cross.”

Despite Cafod’s ongoing efforts, Funnell said the demand for aid was escalating, including the need for the local currency Gazans need to buy essential items.

“We work with local partners who’ve done a huge amount to procure supplies from local markets and we’ve got some aid in, eight trucks and another 13 waiting in the last 24 hours,” she said.

It was now vital that commercial crossings were reopened, she said.

“If we can get those opened, that will add to the supplies that NGOs and charities can supply via aid crossings. We are pushing the UK government to in turn push the Israelis to open these crossings.”

Funnell called for global solidarity with the Pope’s appeal for a peaceful resolution to the conflict and encouraged supporters to engage with their political representatives.

“We’ve been asking supporters to write to their MPs. It’s so important that we raise our voices, joining the pope, who has been very outspoken on the need for a political solution.”

She also highlighted the underlying causes of the conflict and their impact on the people of Gaza, notably the young who face bleak employment prospects.

“I think this is something we really want to stress,” she said. “Gaza is full of so many with high levels of education and yet they lack for opportunities despite having shown great ingenuity in creating work for themselves, whether through marking, online coding or translation work.

“But the conditions of the occupation, including electricity and internet outages (even before the war) have tested the resolve of even the Strip’s most resilient.”

Funnell said international and Israeli leaders needed to understand how the occupation restricted Palestinians.

“As Pope Francis said, what we need is a solution that brings peace and security for everyone.

“It’s a political problem that demands a political solution, which is the only path to true and lasting peace.”


Israeli strikes batter Lebanon, killing five medics

Israeli strikes batter Lebanon, killing five medics
Updated 34 min 16 sec ago
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Israeli strikes batter Lebanon, killing five medics

Israeli strikes batter Lebanon, killing five medics
  • Israel has pushed on with its intense military campaign against Hezbollah, tempering hopes that efforts by a US envoy could lead to an imminent ceasefire
  • Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at Israeli troops east of Khiyam at least four times on Friday

BEIRUT: Israeli strikes battered southern Lebanon and the outskirts of the capital Beirut on Friday, killing at least five medics, as ground troops clashed with Hezbollah fighters in the south.
Israel has pushed on with its intense military campaign against the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, tempering hopes that efforts by a US envoy could lead to an imminent ceasefire.
US mediator Amos Hochstein said earlier this week in Beirut that a truce was “within our grasp.” He traveled on to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz before returning to Washington, according to the news outlet Axios.
His trip aimed to end more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah along Lebanon’s southern border, which escalated dramatically when Israel ramped up its strikes in late September and sent ground troops into Lebanon on Oct. 1.
Israeli troops have fought Hezbollah in a strip of towns all along the border and this week pushed deeper to the edges of Khiyam, a town some six km (four miles) from the border. Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at Israeli troops east of Khiyam at least four times on Friday.
Lebanese security sources told Reuters that Israeli troops had also advanced in a string of villages to the west as well. They said Israel was most likely trying to isolate Khiyam ahead of a major attack on the town.
Israeli strikes on two other villages in southern Lebanon killed a total of five medics from a rescue force affiliated with Hezbollah, the Lebanese health ministry said.
The more than 3,500 people killed by Israeli strikes over the last year include more than 200 medics, the health ministry said.
Israel says its aim is to secure the return home of tens of thousands of people evacuated from Israel’s north due to rocket attacks by Hezbollah, which began firing across the border in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
Israel also mounted more strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, a once densely populated stronghold of Hezbollah.
It issued evacuation orders on the social media platform X for several buildings in the area on Friday. Reuters footage showed one of the strikes appearing to pierce the center of a multi-story building, sending the whole structure toppling in a massive cloud of smoke.


UN reports heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in south Lebanon

UN reports heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in south Lebanon
Updated 22 November 2024
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UN reports heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in south Lebanon

UN reports heavy clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah in south Lebanon
  • “We are aware of heavy shelling in the vicinity of our bases,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said
  • Asked if the peacekeepers and staff at the headquarters are safe, Tenenti said: “Yes for the moment”

BEIRUT: Israeli troops fought fierce battles with Hezbollah fighters on Friday in different areas in south Lebanon, including a coastal town that is home to the headquarters of UN peacekeepers.
A spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force known as UNIFIL told The Associated Press that they are monitoring “heavy clashes” in the coastal town of Naqoura and the village of Chamaa to the northeast.
UNIFIL’s headquarters are located in Naqoura in Lebanon’s southern edge close to the border with Israel.
“We are aware of heavy shelling in the vicinity of our bases,” UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti said. Asked if the peacekeepers and staff at the headquarters are safe, Tenenti said: “Yes for the moment.”
Several UNIFIL posts have been hit since Israel began its ground invasion of Lebanon on Oct. 1, leaving a number of peacekeepers wounded.
The fighting came a day after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister and a Hamas military leader, accusing them of war crimes and crimes against humanity over their 13-month war in Gaza and the October 2023 attack on Israel respectively.
The warrant marked the first time that a sitting leader of a major Western ally has been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a global court of justice.
Israel’s war has caused heavy destruction across Gaza, decimated parts of the territory and driven almost the entire population of 2.3 million people from their homes, leaving most dependent on aid to survive.
Israel launched its war in Gaza after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel has also launched airstrikes against Lebanon after the Hezbollah militant group began firing rockets, drones and missiles into Israel the day after Hamas’ attack last October. A full-blown war erupted in September after nearly a year of lower-level conflict.


Gaza ministry: hospitals to cut or stop services ‘within 48 hours’ over fuel shortages

Gaza ministry: hospitals to cut or stop services ‘within 48 hours’ over fuel shortages
Updated 22 November 2024
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Gaza ministry: hospitals to cut or stop services ‘within 48 hours’ over fuel shortages

Gaza ministry: hospitals to cut or stop services ‘within 48 hours’ over fuel shortages
  • All hospitals in Gaza would have to stop or reduce services “within 48 hours“

GAZA: The Hamas government’s health ministry warned Friday all hospitals in Gaza would have to stop or reduce services “within 48 hours” for lack of fuel, blaming Israel for blocking its entry.
“We raise an urgent warning as all hospitals in Gaza Strip will stop working or reduce their services within 48 hours due to the occupation’s (Israel’s) obstruction of fuel entry,” Marwan Al-Hams, director of Gaza’s field hospitals, said during a press conference.


Israel says to end ‘administrative detention’ for West Bank settlers

Israel says to end ‘administrative detention’ for West Bank settlers
Updated 22 November 2024
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Israel says to end ‘administrative detention’ for West Bank settlers

Israel says to end ‘administrative detention’ for West Bank settlers
  • Practice allows for detainees to be held for long periods without being charged or appear in court
  • The Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group said in August that 3,432 Palestinians were held in administrative detention

JERUSALEM: Israeli authorities will stop holding Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank under administrative detention, or incarceration without trial, the defense ministry announced Friday.
The practice allows for detainees to be held for long periods without being charged or appear in court, and is often used against Palestinians who Israel deems security threats.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said it was “inappropriate” for Israel to employ administrative detention against settlers who “face severe Palestinian terror threats and unjustified international sanctions.”
But, according to settlement watchdog Peace Now, it is one of only few effective tools that Israeli authorities to prevent settler attacks against Palestinians, which have surged in the West Bank over the past year.
Katz said in a statement issued by his office that prosecution or “other preventive measures” would be used to deal with criminal acts in the West Bank.
B’Tselem, an Israeli rights group, said authorities use administrative detention “extensively and routinely” to hold thousands of Palestinians for lengthy periods of time.
The Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group said in August that 3,432 Palestinians were held in administrative detention.
Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Friday that eight settlers were held under the same practice in November.
Yonatan Mizrahi, director of settlement watch for Peace Now, said that although administrative detention was mostly used in the West Bank to detain Palestinians, it was one of the few effective tools for temporarily removing the threat of settler violence through detention.
“The cancelation of administrative detention orders for settlers alone is a cynical... move that whitewashes and normalizes escalating Jewish terrorism under the cover of war,” the group said in a statement, referring to a spike in settler attacks throughout the Israel-Hamas conflict over the past 13 months.
Western governments, including Israel’s ally and military backer the United States, have recently imposed sanctions on Israeli settlers and settler organizations over ties to violence against Palestinians.
On Monday, US authorities announced sanctions against Amana, a movement that backs settlement development, and others who have “ties to violent actors in the West Bank.”
“Amana is a key part of the Israeli extremist settlement movement and maintains ties to various persons previously sanctioned by the US government and its partners for perpetrating violence in the West Bank,” the US Treasury said.
Excluding Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem, the West Bank — which Israel has occupied since 1967 — is home to three million Palestinians as well as about 490,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law.


UK would arrest Netanyahu over ICC warrant: Senior politician 

UK would arrest Netanyahu over ICC warrant: Senior politician 
Updated 22 November 2024
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UK would arrest Netanyahu over ICC warrant: Senior politician 

UK would arrest Netanyahu over ICC warrant: Senior politician 
  • Emily Thornberry: Britain has ‘obligation under Rome Convention’ to arrest Israeli PM if he enters country 
  • Court: ‘Reasonable grounds to believe’ Netanyahu responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity in Gaza

LONDON: The UK will arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he enters the country, a senior British politician has said.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on Thursday for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, alongside his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, pertaining to the Gaza war.

Emily Thornberry — Labour chair of the foreign affairs committee, and former shadow foreign secretary and shadow attorney general — told Sky News: “If Netanyahu comes to Britain, our obligation under the Rome Convention would be to arrest him under the warrant from the ICC.

“(It is) not really a question of should — we are required to, because we are members of the ICC.”

UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has refused to be drawn on whether Netanyahu would be arrested if he set foot on British soil, saying it “wouldn’t be appropriate for me to comment.”

She told Sky: “We’ve always respected the importance of international law, but in the majority of the cases that they pursue, they don’t become part of the British legal process.

“What I can say is that obviously, the UK government’s position remains that we believe the focus should be on getting a ceasefire in Gaza.”

Netanyahu’s arrest warrant is the first to be issued against the premier of a major Western ally by an international court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

His office denounced the warrant as “anti-Semitic,” adding that Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions.” Israel is not an ICC member and rejects the court’s jurisdiction.

US President Joe Biden called the warrants against Netanyahu and Gallant “outrageous,” adding: “Whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas.”

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he plans to invite Netanyahu to visit Budapest, adding that the arrest warrant will “not be observed” by his government.

The Italian and French governments, however, have indicated that Netanyahu will be arrested if he visits either country.

The ICC said on Thursday it has “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”

The court also issued a warrant for Hamas commander Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Israel says Al-Masri, believed to have been the mastermind behind the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, was killed in Gaza earlier this year.

The ICC said it issued the warrant for his arrest because of insufficient evidence to prove his death.