Organization of Islamic Cooperation issues first bulletin on Israeli crimes against Palestinians

Israeli soldiers seen operating in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Jan. 29, 2024. (AFP/Israeli army)
Israeli soldiers seen operating in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on Jan. 29, 2024. (AFP/Israeli army)
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Updated 31 January 2024
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Organization of Islamic Cooperation issues first bulletin on Israeli crimes against Palestinians

Organization of Islamic Cooperation issues first bulletin on Israeli crimes against Palestinians
  • The inaugural weekly report says 1,348 Palestinians were killed between Jan. 23 and 29, almost all of them by aerial and artillery bombardment of the Gaza Strip
  • It also reports that Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is subject to daily incursions by extremist settlers, and Israeli forces imposed restrictions on Muslim worshipers

JEDDAH: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Tuesday issued its first weekly bulletin on the crimes and atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem.

It said 1,348 Palestinians were killed between Jan. 23 and 29. Almost all of them were killed in the besieged Gaza Strip by aerial and artillery bombardment of Gaza City, Rafah and Khan Younis, except for six who died in West Bank cities.

The report added that 2,413 people were wounded in the Gaza Strip and West Bank cities during the same period.

 

 

The OIC’s General Secretariat said it was publishing the bulletin in keeping with “article 10 of the final communique adopted by the Joint Arab Islamic Summit, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Nov. 11, 2023, which stipulates the establishment of a media-monitoring unit to document all Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people, alongside digital-media platforms to publish and expose their illegitimate and inhuman practices.”

The bulletin also reported that Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem was subject to daily incursions by extremist settlers, and Israeli forces imposed restrictions on Muslim worshipers at the mosque last Friday.

“The occupation forces continued the wave of arrests over the past week, reaching 204 arrests, primarily in the cities of Hebron, Ramallah, Jenin and Qalqilya in the West Bank,” the OIC said.

 

 

It also reported frequent attacks by extremist settlers on West Bank cities, with a total of 23 attacks recorded in Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem and Jericho.

“The total number of Israeli violations against the Palestinian people over the aforementioned period amounted to 4,217, ranging from killing, wounding and arresting Palestinian citizens, attacks on places of worship, demolition of property, incursions, closure of crossings, and construction of roadblocks and checkpoints on the roads leading to Palestinian villages, towns and cities,” the OIC said.

Other reported violations included attacks by settlers, confiscation of Palestinian land, and the establishment of Israeli settlement outposts.


Arab Parliament describes Israeli assault on Gaza hospital as ‘war crime’

Arab Parliament describes Israeli assault on Gaza hospital as ‘war crime’
Updated 21 sec ago
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Arab Parliament describes Israeli assault on Gaza hospital as ‘war crime’

Arab Parliament describes Israeli assault on Gaza hospital as ‘war crime’
  • Attack is latest in ‘ongoing series of atrocities’ against Palestinians, it says
  • Body calls for end to ‘international silence,’ as crisis worsens

LONDON: The Arab Parliament has denounced Israel’s burning of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip on Friday as “a new war crime,” following reports that patients, injured civilians and medical staff were forced to evacuate under perilous conditions.

According to witnesses, Israeli troops stormed the hospital, setting large sections ablaze, detained its director and ordered the evacuation of hundreds to the nearby Indonesian Hospital.

The displaced individuals were left in dire conditions, lacking food, water, electricity and medical supplies, witnesses said.

The assault rendered the facility “useless,” worsening Gaza’s already severe health crisis, the Palestinian territory’s health officials said on Saturday.

In a statement on Saturday, the Arab Parliament described the incident as “a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law” and called for those responsible to be brought before international courts.

“This crime is added to an ongoing series of atrocities by the occupation forces against Palestinian civilians,” it said.

The Arab Parliament accused Israel of systematically targeting Gaza’s already fragile health infrastructure and said the international community’s silence had emboldened these actions.

“The persistence on the total and complete destruction of the dilapidated health system in the Gaza Strip is a direct result of international silence on its crimes,” it said.

The statement urged the UN Security Council and broader international community to take action, calling for an immediate ceasefire, accountability for alleged war crimes and measures to prevent further humanitarian catastrophes in Gaza.


Babies freezing to death due to cold weather and lack of shelter in Gaza, says UNRWA chief

Babies freezing to death due to cold weather and lack of shelter in Gaza, says UNRWA chief
Updated 30 min 1 sec ago
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Babies freezing to death due to cold weather and lack of shelter in Gaza, says UNRWA chief

Babies freezing to death due to cold weather and lack of shelter in Gaza, says UNRWA chief
  • Philippe Lazzarini issued stark warning about dire humanitarian situation in Gaza

LONDON: Freezing temperatures and a lack of basic supplies in Gaza are threatening lives amid Israel’s ongoing assault on the enclave, a United Nations official warned on Saturday.

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, issued a stark warning about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where he said babies and infants were succumbing to the cold due to the region’s harsh winter weather and inadequate shelter.

“Meanwhile, blankets, mattresses, and other winter supplies have been stuck in the region for months waiting for approval to get into Gaza,” Lazzarini wrote on X.

He also emphasized the urgent need for the immediate provision of essential winter supplies and reiterated calls for a ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to reach those in need.

The World Food Program has also highlighted the worsening hunger crisis in Gaza. The agency reported that it has only managed to deliver about a third of the food required to support the population.

“Hunger is everywhere in Gaza,” the WFP stated in a post on X. The agency echoed calls for the restoration of law and order, safe and sustained humanitarian access, and an immediate ceasefire to alleviate the suffering.

UN agencies continue to urge swift international action to address the urgent needs of Gaza’s vulnerable population.


Egypt completes trial run of new Suez Canal channel extension

Egypt completes trial run of new Suez Canal channel extension
Updated 55 min 8 sec ago
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Egypt completes trial run of new Suez Canal channel extension

Egypt completes trial run of new Suez Canal channel extension
  • Suez Canal Authority says two ships passed through a new stretch of the canal’s two-way section
  • Revenue from the waterway has plunged since Yemen’s Houthi militants began attacking vessels in the Red Sea

CAIRO: Egypt said on Saturday it had successfully tested a new 10km channel near the southern end of the Suez Canal, even as its revenue from the waterway has plunged since Yemen’s Houthi militants began attacking vessels in the Red Sea.
The Suez Canal Authority said in a statement that during a trial run two ships passed through a new stretch of the canal’s two-way section without incident.
Following the 2021 grounding of the container ship Ever Given that blocked the vital waterway for six days, Egypt accelerated plans to extend the second channel in the southern reaches of the canal and widen the existing channel.
Its revenue from the waterway, the gateway to the shortest route between Europe and Asia, has nevertheless tumbled since Yemen’s Houthi militants began attacking ships in the Red Sea in November 2023 in what they say is solidarity with Palestinian militants in Gaza.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said on Thursday that due to “regional challenges,” the country had lost approximately $7 billion in Suez Canal revenue in 2024, marking more than a 60 percent drop from 2023.
According to the Suez Canal Authority, the latest expansion extends the total length of the canal’s two-way section to 82 km from a previous 72 km. The canal is 193 km long in total.
“This expansion will boost the canal’s capacity by an additional 6 to 8 ships daily and enhance its ability to handle potential emergencies,” the Suez Canal Authority said in its statement.
Earlier this year, Egypt said that it was considering an additional expansion project separate to the 10 km channel extension.


Houthi rebels say new air raids hit northern Yemen

Houthi rebels say new air raids hit northern Yemen
Updated 28 December 2024
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Houthi rebels say new air raids hit northern Yemen

Houthi rebels say new air raids hit northern Yemen
  • Houthis say raids hit the Buhais area of Hajjah province’s Medi district

SANAA: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said new air raids hit the country’s north on Saturday, shortly after they claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Israel.
A Houthi military statement said the raids were carried out in the Buhais area of Hajjah province’s Medi district, blaming “US-British aggression.”
There was no immediate comment from London or Washington.
The Houthis made the same claim about a raid they said hit a park in the capital Sanaa on Friday.
Hostilities have also flared between the rebels and Israel in recent days after a series of Houthi missile attacks prompted deadly Israeli air strikes in rebel-held areas on Thursday.
Six people were killed, including four at Sanaa airport, where World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was waiting for a flight.
On Saturday, the Houthis claimed they had “successfully” targeted the Nevatim base south of Jerusalem with a ballistic missile.
The Israelis had earlier said a missile launched from Yemen was shot down.
The Houthis, part of the “axis of resistance” of Iran-allied groups, have been firing at Israel and ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in solidarity with Palestinians since the war in the Gaza Strip broke out last year.


Lebanon returns 70 officers and soldiers to Syria, security official says

Members of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government stand guard at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border w
Members of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government stand guard at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border w
Updated 28 December 2024
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Lebanon returns 70 officers and soldiers to Syria, security official says

Members of the security forces of the newly formed Syrian government stand guard at a security checkpoint on the Syrian border w
  • Many senior Syrian officials and people close to Bashar Assad have fled the country to Lebanon

Lebanon expelled around 70 Syrian officers and soldiers on Saturday, returning them to Syria after they crossed into the country illegally via informal routes, a Lebanese security official and a war monitor said.
Many senior Syrian officials and people close to the former ruling family of Bashar Assad fled the country to neighboring Lebanon after Assad’s regime was toppled on Dec 8.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a London-based organization with sources in Syria, and the Lebanese security official said Syrian military personnel of various ranks had been sent back via Lebanon’s northern Arida crossing.
SOHR and the security official said the returnees were detained by Syria’s new ruling authorities after crossing the border.
The new administration has been undertaking a major security crackdown in recent days on what they say are “remnants” of the Assad regime. Several of the cities and towns concerned, including in Homs and Tartous provinces, are near the porous border with Lebanon.
The Lebanese security official said the Syrian officers and soldiers were found in a truck in the northern coastal city of Jbeil after an inspection by local officials.
Lebanese and Syrian government officials did not immediately respond to written requests for comment on the incident.
Reuters reported that they included Rifaat Assad, an uncle of Assad charged in Switzerland with war crimes over the bloody suppression of a revolt in 1982.
Earlier this month, Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said top Assad adviser Bouthaina Shaaban had flown out of Beirut after entering Lebanon legally. In an interview with Al Arabiya, Mawlawi said other Syrian officials had entered Lebanon illegally and were being pursued.