Deadly fighting continued in Gaza on Monday after Israel warned that it will push on with its offensive during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan if Hamas does not free all hostages and launch the offensive in the far-southern Rafah area where 1.4 million Palestinians are seeking refuge from the war.
“If by Ramadan the hostages are not home, the fighting will continue everywhere to include the Rafah area. Hamas has a choice. They can surrender, release the hostages, and the civilians of Gaza can celebrate the feast of Ramadan,” war cabinet member Benny Gantz said.
Explosion of Child Deaths in Gaza
UN experts warned after travelling to Gaza that an alarming lack of food, surging malnutrition and the rampant spread of disease could spark an explosion in child deaths in Gaza.
“The Gaza Strip is poised to witness an explosion in preventable child deaths which would compound the already unbearable level of child deaths in Gaza,” said Ted Chaiban, deputy head of humanitarian action at the UN children’s agency UNICEF.
At least 90 percent of children under five in Gaza are affected by one or more infectious diseases, according to a joint assessment by the UN agencies for children, food and health.
Top Adviser for Hostage Family Groups Resigns
Ronen Tzur, the media adviser, who led the Hostages and Missing Families Forum stepped down and claimed that he stepped down because politicians told families that they would otherwise not support the group.
He did not specify why politicians wanted him out or why they removed him now despite him becoming the campaign’s top spokesperson some four months earlier. A report by the Times of Israel said Tzur was active in anti-government protests and briefly served as a member of the Knesset from the Labor party.
Israel at ICJ
Palestinian foreign minister Riyad Al-Maliki told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Palestinians are suffering “colonialism and apartheid” under the Israelis and urged the court to order an immediate and unconditional end to Israel’s occupation.
“The Palestinians have endured colonialism and apartheid… There are those who are enraged by these words. They should be enraged by the reality we are suffering,” Al-Maliki told the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The ICJ is holding hearings all week on the legal implications of Israel’s occupation since 1967, with an unprecedented 52 countries, including the United States and Russia, expected to give evidence.
(with inputs from AFP)
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