Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed seven workers from World Central Kitchen, leading to the suspension of operations by three aid providers including WCK and Anera. The Israeli government is being criticized internationally for the killings and for restricting humanitarian aid. Famine is looming in Gaza with half the population on the brink of starvation. The UAE is also reportedly suspending operations in Gaza. The UN's Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) expresses concern over the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.
At least 19 Palestinians were killed in Gaza by an Israeli attack targeting civilians waiting for aid near Kuwait Roundabout. The Israeli army denied firing on the crowd, but the Hamas-run government in Gaza reported 19 dead and 23 injured. Gaza's healthcare system is struggling, with reports of serious injuries and catastrophic hunger among half of the population. The UN has warned of a looming famine, while aid distribution has become increasingly perilous. Similar incidents of Palestinian casualties during aid distribution have occurred in recent months, leading to international criticism and calls for intervention.
Several humanitarian aid organizations, including World Central Kitchen, have suspended operations in Gaza after Israeli airstrikes killed seven of their workers. The United Nations reported over 180 humanitarian aid workers have died since the conflict began in October. The organizations are calling for accountability and assurance from the Israeli government to respect international law and ensure the safety of aid workers in the region.
World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit founded by Jose Andres, halts food deliveries in Gaza after seven of its workers are killed in an Israeli strike. The organization had unloaded over 100 tons of humanitarian food aid via sea route it helped establish. The convoy, marked with the organization's logo, was attacked despite operating in a deconflicted zone and coordinating with Israel's military. The incident, labeled by WCK's CEO as a 'targeted attack,' highlights the challenges faced by humanitarian organizations in conflict zones.
Israel's offensive in Hamas-run Gaza has resulted in over 32,000 Palestinian deaths, with healthcare providers in Gaza expressing fear as combat operations continue. Israeli airstrikes have targeted homes in Rafah, causing civilian casualties and raising concerns of a ground assault. The Israeli Defense Force has made gains in northern Gaza, with only 12 hospitals in Gaza partially functional. Despite shortages, a field hospital in Rafah has treated nearly 30,000 patients since January.
The Gaza Strip is experiencing a humanitarian crisis as a result of the Israel–Hamas war. The crisis includes both a famine and a healthcare collapse. At the start of the war, Israel implemented a complete blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in significant shortages of fuel, food, medication, water, and essential medical supplies. This siege resulted in a 90% drop in electricity availability, impacting hospital power supplies, sewage plants, and shutting down the desalination plants that provide drinking water. Widespread disease outbreaks have spread across Gaza.Heavy bombardment by Israeli airstrikes caused catastrophic damage to Gaza’s infrastructure, further deepening the crisis. By mid-November, Israel had dropped the equivalent of two nuclear bombs on Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry reported over 4,000 children killed in the war's first month. UN Secretary General António Guterres stated Gaza had "become a graveyard for children."Organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, the Red Cross, and a joint statement by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the UN Development Programme, United Nations Population Fund, and World Food Programme have warned of a dire humanitarian collapse. On November 8, UN Human Rights chief Volker Turk described the Rafah Crossing as "gates to a living nightmare."
Airstrikes by Israel in Gaza killed seven members of a humanitarian convoy from World Central Kitchen, leading to criticism from Biden and demands for improved security procedures from aid organizations. Israel claims the strikes were unintentional and has pledged to investigate. Aid operations were suspended by some organizations in response, with calls for Israel to avoid harming aid workers. Over 200 humanitarian aid workers and 100 journalists have been killed since the conflict began on 7 October, making it one of the deadliest conflicts for these groups.
On 1 April 2024, during the Israel–Hamas war, an Israeli airstrike killed seven people, including four World Central Kitchen employees who were leaving a food warehouse in Deir al-Balah, Gaza.Five of the dead were taken to Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and were seen wearing protective gear showing the charity's logo. Four of the seven were respectively citizens of the United Kingdom, Australia, Poland, the United States, and Canada.The airstrike occurred hours after the charity brought shipload of food to the northern Gaza Strip, which has been pushed closed to famine by Israel's invasion and blockade during the Israel-Hamas war. The charity in a statement said that it had coordinated the convoy's movements with the Israeli military. The incident led the World Central Kitchen to pause its operations in the Gaza Strip, and its chief executive Erin Gore said in a statement: "This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organizations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable." Gore called the airstrike a "targeted attack" by the Israeli military. The attack also received international condemnations.
The United Nations has warned that Gaza is on the verge of famine while Israel has been accused of preventing humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians in the besieged territory. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA) has stated that it may have to halt operations if donor nations who suspended funding do not resume their contributions. This follows the recent order from the International Court of Justice for Israel to allow basic services and humanitarian assistance into Gaza. Efforts are being made to pressure Israel to comply with this order.
Israel has presented a proposal to dismantle Unrwa, the UN relief agency in Palestinian territories, and transfer its staff to a new agency for large-scale food deliveries in Gaza. The proposal, aimed at addressing looming famine concerns, involves transferring 300 to 400 Unrwa staff initially with vague details on the new agency's management and security. Unrwa, a major humanitarian actor supporting Palestinians since 1950, has been excluded from discussions on its future. The Israeli plan is seen as potentially undermining Unrwa's role in the region and raising concerns about humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza.
President Joe Biden expressed outrage and heartbreak over the deaths of seven aid workers from the non-profit World Central Kitchen in Gaza, killed in an Israeli airstrike. Biden blamed Israel for failing to protect the workers and demanded a swift and transparent investigation. The incident has heightened tensions between the US and Israel, with the US urging Israel to deconflict military operations to prevent civilian casualties. World Central Kitchen and other organizations have suspended operations in Gaza due to safety concerns. Biden vowed to continue sending aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
Seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, including three British nationals and individuals from Poland, Australia, the US, Canada, and a Palestinian driver. The workers were part of a convoy hit as they left a warehouse in Deir al Balah. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu acknowledged the airstrike, expressing regret for the unintended incident. Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron called the deaths unacceptable, prompting Israel to launch a review into the circumstances of the strike.
The US states that it has not found any incidents of Israel violating international humanitarian law in the past six months, following the killing of seven aid workers in Gaza. An Al Jazeera investigation revealed that World Central Kitchen vehicles were deliberately targeted. Egypt's state media reported that the bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in Israeli strikes have been transported out of Gaza.
An armed conflict between Israel and Hamas-led Palestinian militant groups has been taking place chiefly in and around the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip. After clearing Hamas militants from its territory, the Israeli military embarked on an extensive aerial bombardment of the Gaza Strip followed by a large-scale ground invasion beginning on 27 October. Clashes have also occurred in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and with Hezbollah along the Israel–Lebanon border. The hostilities constitute the fifth war of the Gaza–Israel conflict since 2008 and are part of the broader Israeli–Palestinian conflict. They are considered to be the most significant military escalation in the region since the Yom Kippur War 50 years earlier.The Hamas offensive involved 3,000 militants breaching the Gaza–Israel barrier and attacking Israeli communities and military bases. During this attack, 1,139 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, while 253 Israelis and foreigners were taken captive to the Gaza Strip. The attack was proclaimed as a response to the continued Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, the prospect of Arab–Israeli normalization, and the plight of Palestinian refugees and prisoners. In response, Israel declared a state of war, tightened its existing blockade of Gaza and launched one of the most severe bombing campaigns in history, before commencing the ground invasion on 27 October. Israeli forces laid siege to Gaza City on 2 November and moved south to attack Khan Yunis a month later on 3 December; both sieges remain ongoing. Israel's next objective is the capture of Rafah. An estimated 6,000-12,000 militants have been killed during the conflict, and Israel has lost over 200 soldiers during its invasion. A United Nations resolution calling for a humanitarian pause passed on 15 November; the seven-day truce took effect at the end of that month.A humanitarian crisis has developed in the Gaza Strip, with healthcare in a state of collapse, shortages of food, clean water, medicine and fuel due to the blockade, electricity and communications blackouts, and potential famine conditions. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza during the conflict, including over 12,300 children and 8,400 women. Nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million population have been internally displaced. The widespread civilian deaths have led to accusations of war crimes against both Israel and Hamas. In February 2024 576,000 people were "facing catastrophic levels of deprivation and starvation", stated The United Nations. More than 100 Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops that opened fire when huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy.The war has had significant international repercussions. Popular protests that primarily call for a ceasefire have occurred across the world. Israel's actions have been denounced by the Islamic world and much of the Global South; South Africa launched an International Court of Justice case alleging that Israel committed genocide. Israel has however received significant support from its traditional Western allies, especially the United States, which vetoed multiple UN Security Council resolutions calling for an immediate ceasefire. In response, Iran-backed militias have attacked American military bases in the Middle East, while the Yemeni Houthi movement attacked commercial ships they alleged were linked to Israel, incurring a military response from a number of countries.
The Israeli army conducted airstrikes on 35 targets in Gaza, claiming to have killed dozens of enemy fighters in ground battles and airstrikes. In the past 24 hours, 72 Palestinians were killed, bringing the total Palestinian fatalities in the latest Gaza conflict to 32,142, with 74,412 injured. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres visited the Rafah border crossing and demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, expressing concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation and warning of an imminent famine in Gaza.
Social media users have been spreading false claims that Israel blamed Hamas for the deaths of seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen in Gaza, when in fact, Israeli officials have not made such statements. The Israeli military confirmed that the deaths were a result of an IDF strike, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledging an unintended strike in Gaza. Posts on social media featured footage of the vehicle hit by the airstrike, but there is no evidence to support the claim of a Hamas roadside bomb.
President Biden expressed outrage and heartbreak over the deaths of seven humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen in Gaza, including one American, after an Israeli airstrike mistakenly killed them. Israel has pledged to investigate the incident swiftly with accountability and transparency. Biden highlighted the challenges of distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza due to the significant number of aid workers killed in the conflict.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi emphasized the crucial role of the international community's support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), particularly in war-torn Gaza. Safadi's remarks came during a meeting with French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne in Amman, where they discussed efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, protect civilians, and provide sustainable humanitarian aid. France also expressed its continuous support for UNRWA, while emphasizing the need for transparency amid serious accusations against the agency. Several countries, including the United States, have paused funding for UNRWA following allegations of employee involvement in an attack by Gaza-ruling Hamas in October 2021.
US President Joe Biden expresses outrage and heartbreak over the IDF drone attack in Gaza that killed seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen charity, including citizens from Australia, Britain, Poland, and a dual US-Canadian citizen. Biden criticizes Israel for not doing enough to protect aid workers and civilians in Gaza, with over 200 aid workers killed since the conflict began. Leaders worldwide, including UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, demand accountability and urgent investigations into the attack.
The ship Open Arms, loaded with 200 tonnes of food for Gaza, remains in Cyprus awaiting departure, set to tow a barge with aid sourced by US charity WCK. A US military ship is also heading to Gaza to build a floating dock for aid deliveries. The conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to growing humanitarian crises and warnings of famine in Gaza, affecting millions of Palestinians. Ramadan begins amidst fear and starvation for many, with celebrations subdued by ongoing Israeli airstrikes and lack of food.
Nine countries, including the UK and US, have paused funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) after allegations that some of its staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, called the decision "shocking" and warned that the lack of funding threatens the agency's humanitarian work in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA has opened an investigation into the employees involved and has terminated their contracts. The countries that have suspended funding are Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, and the US.
In Pictures The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has said one of its warehouses in war-ravaged Gaza was hit, amid mounting efforts to bring food to the besieged Palestinian territory. Israels war on Gaza, raging since October 7, has caused mass civilian deaths, reduced vast areas to a rubble-strewn wasteland and sparked warnings of looming famine in the Palestinian territory of 2.3 million people. We can confirm that an UNRWA warehouse/distribution centre in Rafah (southern Gaza) has been hit, the UN agency said on Wednesday. We do not yet have more information on what exactly happened nor the number of UNRWA staff impacted, agency spokeswoman Juliette Touma told news agency AFP.
Jacob Flickinger, a 33-year-old American-Canadian aid worker, was one of seven charity workers killed by an IDF airstrike in Gaza while distributing aid. He was planning to leave the region for Egypt due to safety concerns. Jacob, described as a loving husband and new father, had been volunteering with the World Central Kitchen. His death has sparked international outrage and raised questions about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's response to recent attacks in the region.
On the evening of 27 October 2023, Israel launched a large-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip, with the stated goals of eliminating and destroying Hamas, a military and political movement which led an attack against Israel earlier in October, and to free hostages taken by Hamas. Following the attack, Israel declared a state of war, tightened its blockade, ordered the evacuation of the northern Gaza Strip, and launched "Operation Swords of Iron".More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the start of the Israeli operation, including over 12,500 children and 7,000 women, with another 7,000 people missing and presumed dead under the rubble of destroyed buildings. By mid-December Israel had dropped 29,000 munitions on Gaza, destroying or damaging 70 percent of homes in the Strip. Experts say that the scale and pace of destruction in Gaza is among the most severe in recent history. During the invasion, Israel destroyed at least a third of Gaza's homes and hundreds of cultural landmarks, and desecrated dozens of cemeteries in the strip.A severe humanitarian crisis has developed, with healthcare in a state of collapse, shortages of food, clean water, medicine and fuel due to the blockade, electricity and communications blackouts, and the UN warning of potential famine. It was widely reported that there is "no safe place in Gaza" as Israel struck areas it had previously told Palestinians to evacuate to. The widespread civilian deaths have led to accusations of war crimes against both Israel and Hamas. Nearly all of Gaza's 2.3 million population have been internally displaced and around 250,000–500,000 Israelis were internally displaced, while thousands of Palestinians have been detained by Israel, and Israel has stated it lost 225 additional soldiers in its invasion as of 4 February 2024.As a result of the invasion, South Africa instituted proceedings against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), charging that Israel was guilty of committing a genocide, and requesting that the ICJ render provisional measures of protection.
The United Nations has established an independent Review Group to examine internal policies at the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) following allegations that some of its workers participated in the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. The group, led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, will review the agency's neutrality in foreign conflicts and assess the adequacy of its mechanisms and procedures. Several countries, including the US, have suspended payments to UNRWA over the allegations.
A series of countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Britain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Finland, Estonia, Japan, Austria, and Romania, have cut funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) after Israel alleged that a dozen of the agency's employees were involved in the October 7 attacks on southern Israel. UNRWA has fired nine employees as it investigates the allegations. The allegations came out immediately after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to restore vital provisions and scale up aid to Gaza to prevent genocide.
Sweden is resuming aid to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) with an initial disbursement of $20m after extra spending and personnel checks. Israel had accused UNRWA employees of involvement in a Hamas-led attack in October. Other countries like Canada have also resumed funding to UNRWA after freezing aid. The UNRWA faces a funding crisis as Israel restricts humanitarian aid entry into Gaza, leading to famine and deaths among Palestinians. Concerns mount over the humanitarian crisis, with calls for international aid delivery to Gaza.
More than 60% of housing units have been destroyed in Gaza Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza has killed tens of thousands, caused a humanitarian catastrophe and raised the chances of a wider conflict across the Middle East. Here are some facts about the territory: The Gaza Strip is situated at the southeast corner of the Mediterranean, 45 km (25 miles) long and at most 10 km (6 miles) wide. It is wedged between Israel to the north and east, and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula to the south. Formerly part of British-mandate Palestine, the Gaza Strip emerged as a territory during the 1948 war of Israel's creation, when invading Egyptian forces established control over the sliver of territory. Israel occupied the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war, along with the West Bank.
Human Rights Watch condemns an Israeli air attack on a residential building in central Gaza on October 31, 2023, stating that it was an apparent war crime. The attack killed 106 people, including 54 children, and HRW's investigation found no evidence of a military target nearby, making the attack unlawfully indiscriminate. The group called for governments to suspend weapons transfers to Israel and support the International Criminal Court's investigation in Palestine.
The Israeli military launched an operation against Gaza's largest hospital facility, Al-Shifa, claiming senior Hamas terrorists were using it for terrorist activities. The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported about 30,000 people seeking refuge at Al-Shifa. IDF ordered residents to evacuate to a humanitarian zone, but warnings came after the hospital was already under siege. Eyewitnesses describe chaotic scenes with military vehicles firing on the hospital. Targeting hospitals in wartime is prohibited under international law, but exceptions apply if enemy combatants are using the facility for attacks.
Speaking to Nine, Frankcoms relatives say the lives of aid workers should always be protected. Follow the days news live Albanese says Israels government must be held accountable for the deaths of those aid workers: Humanitarian workers are protected under international law, and the Netanyahu government must publish a full and transparent investigation and they must be held accountable. He continues: I had a discussion with the [Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday morning where he accepted the responsibility on behalf of the Israeli government for this tragedy, but we need to know exactly how this occurred. Netanyahu has said it was a case of misidentification. Albanese says that while Israel claims it is protecting the lives of innocent people, but: [T]his [incident] stands in stark contrast, as well as of course, the many incidents affecting not just people whove come from overseas to provide aid but of course Palestinians themselves.
U.S. President Joe Biden plans to address the need for better protections for humanitarian workers and an increase in food shipments into Gaza during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed in an Israeli attack.Celebrity chef Jose Andres expressed emotional distress over the targeted attack on his food aid workers. The U.S. and Israel have been discussing Israel's threat of a broad offensive in Rafah, aiming to root out Hamas militants without harming civilians. Negotiations for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza, involving the release of hostages by Hamas, are also ongoing.
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has called on Western states, including the UK, US, Canada, and much of Europe, to resume funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip. This comes after allegations were made that several UNRWA staff members helped Hamas carry out a terror attack on October 7. Israel accused 12 UNRWA employees of assisting Hamas in its attack, and there are new claims that the agency's staff were involved in actual murder. Several Western countries have already pulled funding from UNRWA, which provided nearly 60% of the agency's budget in 2022.
Aid worker among seven people from World Central Kitchen charity killed in an Israeli drone attack Anthony Albanese says he used a phone call with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to express Australias anger and outrage over the killing of the aid worker Lalzawmi Zomi Frankcom in Gaza. The Australian prime minister said the Israeli drone attack on a seven-member team from the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity on Monday would only add to international concerns over the extraordinary loss of life in Gaza. Albanese said he had demanded full accountability over the incident and conveyed to prime minister Netanyahu in very clear terms that Australians were outraged by this death, by this tragedy, of this fine Australian. I expressed Australias anger and concern at the death of Zomi Frankcom, Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday. Zomi was an Australian aid worker working for the World Central Kitchen providing support for people who are suffering from tremendous deprivation in Gaza .
Israeli Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi acknowledged a misidentification issue led to an airstrike in Gaza, killing seven aid workers from different countries, including Palestinian, British, Australian, Polish, and US-Canadian dual citizens. The World Central Kitchen employees were targeted despite travelling in marked vehicles and coordinating with the Israel Defense Forces. International leaders condemned the incident, prompting an independent investigation. Amid escalating tensions, U.S. airstrikes targeted Iranian-linked militants in Iraq and Syria in retaliation for an attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA, pronounced UN-rə) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians who fled or were expelled during the Nakba, the 1948 Palestine War, and subsequent conflicts, as well as their descendants, including legally adopted children. As of 2019, more than 5.6 million Palestinians are registered with UNRWA as refugees.UNRWA was established in 1949 by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to provide relief to all refugees resulting from the 1948 conflict. It also provided relief to Jewish and Arab Palestine refugees inside the State of Israel following the 1948 conflict until the Israeli government took over responsibility for them in 1952. As a subsidiary body of the UNGA, UNRWA's mandate is subject to periodic renewal every three years; it has consistently been extended since its founding, most recently until 30 June 2026.UNRWA employs over 30,000 people, most of them Palestinian refugees, and a small number of international staff. Originally intended to provide employment and direct relief, its mandate has broadened to include providing education, health care, and social services to its target population. UNRWA operates in five areas: Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem; aid for Palestinian refugees outside these five areas is provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), established in 1950 as the main agency to aid all other refugees worldwide. UNRWA is the only UN agency dedicated to helping refugees from a specific region or conflict. Unlike UNRWA, UNHCR has a specific mandate to assist refugees in eliminating their refugee status by local integration in the current country, resettlement in a third country or repatriation when possible.In recent decades, UNRWA has been involved in controversial incidents connected to its role in the Gaza Strip, relationship with Hamas, and textbook content. The most recent controversy over the alleged involvement of 12 of its employees in the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel prompted lay-offs, an investigation, and the temporary suspension of funding by United States, Germany, European Union, Sweden, Japan, France, Switzerland, Canada, United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Italy, Austria, Finland, New Zealand, Iceland, Romania and Estonia.
The UN says a new land route has been used to deliver food to northern Gaza for the first time in three weeks. The Israeli military said six lorries from the World Food Programme crossed via a gate in the Gaza border fence. Tuesday night's delivery was "part of a pilot to prevent Hamas from taking over the aid", it added. It comes amid global pressure on Israel to allow more access to the Palestinian territory for aid amid a looming famine as it continues its war on Hamas. A boat carrying 200 tonnes of food aid for distribution by a charity also set sail from Cyprus on Tuesday, inaugurating a new maritime corridor into the Palestinian territory.
The Gaza–Israel conflict is a localized part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict beginning in 1948, when 200,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their homes, settling in the Gaza Strip as refugees. Since then, Israel has fought 15 wars against the Gaza Strip. The number of Gazans killed in the most recent 2023 war — 27,000 — is higher than the death toll of all other wars of the Arab-Israeli conflict.Israel fought four wars against the Egyptian-administered Gaza Strip: 1948 Palestine War, border attacks of 1949–1956, first occupation of Gaza during the Suez Crisis and the capture of Gaza in 1967. During the first occupation, 1% of Gaza Strip's population was either killed, tortured or imprisoned by Israel. Following two periods of low-level insurgencies, a major conflict between Israelis and Palestinians erupted in the First Intifada (523 Gazans killed). The 1993 Oslo Accords brought a period of calm. But, in 2000 the Second Intifada erupted. Towards the end of the Second Intifada, Israel disengaged from Gaza in 2005, Hamas won the 2006 election and seized control of Gaza in 2007.In 2007, Israel imposed a land, air and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip, turning it into an "open-air prison". The blockade was widely condemned as a form of collective punishment, while Israel defended it as necessary to stop Palestinian rocket attacks. Hamas considered it a declaration of war. A 2008–2009 Israeli invasion of Gaza resulted in more than 1,000 deaths and widespread destruction of homes, schools and hospitals. A 2012 Israeli operation also killed more than 100 people.In 2014, Israel invaded Gaza in a major war that resulted in the deaths of 73 Israelis (mostly soldiers) and 2,251 Palestinians (mostly civilians). The invasion resulted in "unprecedented" destruction, damaging 25% of homes in Gaza city and 70% of homes in Beit Hanoun. After 2014, notable events in the conflict included the "Great March of Return" (2018-2019) and clashes in November 2018, May 2019 and November 2019. The 2021 crisis saw 256 Palestinians and 15 Israelis killed.On October 7, 2023, Palestinian militants attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people (mostly civilians). Israel responded with bombing Gaza Strip and launching an invasion that has killed more than 29,000 Gazans as of February 2024.
Former MI6 head Alex Younger expressed concerns over the collateral risks of Israel's actions in Gaza and criticized the UK government for continuing arms sales to Israel, despite calls to suspend them. Senior lawyers and judges warned of breaches of international law, and Conservative MPs advocated for stopping arming Israel after international aid workers, including British citizens, were killed in an Israeli airstrike. Former national security adviser Mark Lyall Grant highlighted the changing facts, including a potential risk of genocide in Gaza. The UN Security Council's ceasefire resolution was not adhered to by Israel, leading to a humanitarian crisis in the region.
The Israeli military withdrew from its devastating raid on Gaza's largest hospital, Shifa, claiming victory in its battle against Hamas militants. However, accounts from observers and the World Health Organization reported civilian casualties and dire conditions inside the hospital, with 21 patients dying and others lacking medical care and supplies. The raid triggered days of fighting in the surrounding area.
Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets at Kiryat Shmona in response to Israeli strikes on Lebanons al-Habbariyeh, killing seven. About 30 rockets were launched from Lebanon towards northern Israel, killing a 25-year-old factory worker in Kiryat Shmona. The Israeli army's attacks hit a paramedic centre linked to a Lebanese Sunni Muslim group, leading to condemnation by Lebanons Ministry of Health for violating international laws and norms.
Australia will reinstate $6 million in funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and provide an extra $2.6 million to UNICEF for urgent services in Gaza. This decision follows allegations by Israel regarding UNRWA staff in Gaza, which Australia refutes. The funding freeze was lifted by Australia, Canada, Sweden, and the European Union after investigations. The move aims to support humanitarian efforts and aid delivery in Gaza amidst a dire situation, with thousands killed and displaced following the October 7 Hamas-led attacks.
Israel faced international criticism after an airstrike killed 7 aid workers in Gaza, prompting the Israeli military to acknowledge the mistake and pause operations by the World Central Kitchen in Gaza. Former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau criticized President Biden for not changing his Israel policy despite private anger over the strike, highlighting divisions within the Democratic Party over US support for Israel amidst ongoing military operations against Hamas.
During the first months of the war in Gaza, deaths were counted through a network of computers connecting morgues across the territory. It was a system that, in the years beforehand, had won the trust of human rights groups, the UN and the World Health Organisation. But amid repeated Israeli attacks on hospitals and chronic fuel shortages, this system has now effectively collapsed. Of the eight major hospitals responsible for collating morgue data, just three are still providing information to the health ministry. As a result, the morgue monitoring system is now only capturing a small fraction of deaths across the territory.
The Gaza War, also known as Operation Cast Lead (Hebrew: מִבְצָע עוֹפֶרֶת יְצוּקָה), also known as the Gaza Massacre (Arabic: مجزرة غزة), and referred to as the Battle of al-Furqan (معركة الفرقان) by Hamas, was a three-week armed conflict between Gaza Strip Palestinian paramilitary groups and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) that began on 27 December 2008 and ended on 18 January 2009 with a unilateral ceasefire. The conflict resulted in 1,166–1,417 Palestinian and 13 Israeli deaths. Over 46,000 homes were destroyed in Gaza, making more than 100,000 people homeless.A six month long ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended on 4 November, when the IDF made a raid into Deir al-Balah, central Gaza to destroy a tunnel, killing several Hamas militants. Israel said the raid was a preemptive strike and Hamas intended to abduct further Israeli soldiers, while Hamas characterized it as a ceasefire violation, and responded with rocket fire into Israel. Attempts to renew a truce between Israel and Hamas were unsuccessful. On December 27, Israel began Operation Cast Lead with the stated aim of stopping rocket fire. In the initial air assault, Israel attacked police stations, military targets including weapons caches and suspected rocket firing teams, as well as political and administrative institutions, striking in the densely populated cities of Gaza, Khan Yunis and Rafah. After hostilities broke out, Palestinian groups fired rockets in retaliation for the aerial bombardments and attacks. The international community considers indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian structures that do not discriminate between civilians and military targets as illegal under international law.An Israeli ground invasion began on 3 January. On 5 January, the IDF began operating in the densely populated urban centers of Gaza. During the last week of the offensive (from 12 January), Israel mostly hit targets it had damaged before and struck Palestinian rocket-launching units. Hamas intensified its rocket and mortar attacks against mostly civilian targets in southern Israel, reaching the major cities of Beersheba and Ashdod for the first time during the conflict. Israeli politicians ultimately decided against striking deeper within Gaza amid concerns of higher casualties on both sides and rising international criticism. The conflict ended on 18 January, when the IDF first declared a unilateral ceasefire, followed by Hamas' announcing a one-week ceasefire twelve hours later. The IDF completed its withdrawal on 21 January.In September 2009, a UN special mission, headed by the South African Justice Richard Goldstone, produced a report accusing both Palestinian militants and the Israeli army of war crimes and possible crimes against humanity, and recommended bringing those responsible to justice. In 2011, Goldstone wrote that he does not believe that Israel intentionally targeted civilians in Gaza as a matter of explicit policy. The other authors of the report, Hina Jilani, Christine Chinkin, and Desmond Travers, stated that no new evidence had been gathered that disputed the report's findings. The United Nations Human Rights Council ordered Israel to conduct various repairs of the damages. On 21 September 2012, the United Nations Human Rights Council concluded that 75% of civilian homes destroyed in the attack were not rebuilt.
Progressive lawmakers and humanitarian aid groups are urging the Biden administration to restore funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) after a dozen of its employees were accused of participating in an attack by Hamas on Israeli soil. The pause in funding has raised concerns about the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, as millions of people rely on the assistance provided by UNRWA. Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Rashida Tlaib have called for the restoration of funding, while other lawmakers and humanitarian organizations have signed a letter urging countries to reverse the funding suspensions.
Opposition parties in the UK are demanding the Conservative government to release legal advice on whether Israel violated international humanitarian law in Gaza. Over 600 British jurists, including retired judges, urge the government to suspend arms sales to Israel. The UK is facing pressure from its allies to halt weapon exports due to casualties in the Gaza conflict. The calls to end arms sales intensified after Israeli airstrikes killed aid workers, including Britons, with Israel claiming it was a misidentification.
The 2014 Gaza War, also known as Operation Protective Edge (Hebrew: מִבְצָע צוּק אֵיתָן, romanized: Miv'tza Tzuk Eitan, lit. 'Operation Strong Cliff'), and Battle of the Withered Grain (Arabic: معركة العصف المائكول, romanized: Mʿa-rakkat Al-ʿasf Al-Ma’kool) was a military operation launched by Israel on 8 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been governed by Hamas since 2007. Following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in the West Bank by Hamas-affiliated Palestinian militants, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) initiated Operation Brother's Keeper, in which some 350 Palestinians, including nearly all of the active Hamas militants in the West Bank, were arrested. Hamas subsequently fired a greater number of rockets into Israel from the Gaza Strip, triggering a seven-week-long conflict between the two sides. It was one of the deadliest outbreaks of open conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in decades. The combination of Palestinian rocket attacks and Israeli airstrikes resulted in over two thousand deaths, the vast majority of which were Gazan Palestinians. This includes a total of six Israeli civilians who were killed as a result of the conflict.The Israeli military operation aimed to stop rocket fire into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Conversely, Hamas' attacks aimed to bring international pressure onto Israel with the strategic goal of forcing the latter to lift the Israeli–Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip; among its other goals were to end Israel's military offensive, obtain a third party to monitor and guarantee compliance with a ceasefire, release Palestinian political prisoners and overcome its isolation. According to the BBC, Israel launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in retaliation to the rocket attacks by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and other Palestinian militant groups.On 7 July, after seven Hamas militants died in a tunnel explosion in Khan Yunis that was caused either by an Israeli airstrike (per Hamas, Nathan Thrall, BBC, and a senior IDF official) or an accidental explosion of their own munitions (per the IDF), Hamas assumed responsibility for rockets fired into Israel, and subsequently launched 40 more rockets towards Israel. The Israeli aerial operation officially began the following day, and on 17 July, it was expanded to include a full-scale ground invasion of the Gaza Strip with the stated aim of destroying Gaza's tunnel system; the Israeli ground invasion ended on 5 August. On 26 August, an open-ended ceasefire was announced. By this time, the IDF reported that Hamas, PIJ, and other Palestinian militant groups had fired 4,564 rockets and mortars into Israel, with over 735 projectiles having been intercepted mid-flight and shot down by Israel's Iron Dome. Most Gazan mortar and rocket fire was inaccurate, and consequently hit open land; more than 280 projectiles had landed within the Gaza Strip, and 224 had struck residential areas. Palestinian rocketry also killed 13 Palestinian civilians in Gaza, 11 of them children. The IDF attacked 5,263 targets in the Gaza Strip; at least 34 known tunnels were destroyed and two-thirds of Hamas's 10,000-rocket arsenal was either used up or destroyed.Between 2,125 and 2,310 Gazans were killed during the conflict while between 10,626 and 10,895 were wounded (including 3,374 children, of whom over 1,000 were left permanently disabled). Gazan civilian casualty estimates range between 70 percent by the Gaza Health Ministry, 65 percent by the United Nations' (UN) Protection Cluster by OCHA (based in part on Gaza Health Ministry reports), and 36 percent by Israeli officials. The UN estimated that more than 7,000 homes for 10,000 families were razed, together with an additional 89,000 homes damaged, of which roughly 10,000 were severely affected by the bombing. Rebuilding costs were calculated to run from US$4–6 billion over the course of 20 years. 67 Israeli soldiers, 5 Israeli civilians (including one child) and one Thai civilian were killed while 469 Israeli soldiers and 261 Israeli civilians were injured. On the Israeli side, the economic impact of the operation is estimated to have had an impact of NIS 8.5 billion (approximately US$2.5 billion) and a GDP loss of 0.4 percent.
The Gaza Strip ( ; Arabic: قِطَاعُ غَزَّةَ Qiṭāʿ Ġazzah [qɪˈtˤɑːʕ ˈɣaz.za]), or simply Gaza, is a polity and the smaller of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the West Bank). On the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north.The territory came into being when it was controlled by Egypt during the 1948 Arab–Israeli war, and became a refuge for Palestinians who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestine war. Later, during the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel captured and occupied the Gaza Strip, initiating its decades-long military occupation of the Palestinian territories. The mid-1990s Oslo Accords established the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a limited governing authority, initially led by the secular party Fatah until that party's electoral defeat in 2006 to the Sunni Islamic Hamas. Hamas would then take over the governance of Gaza in a battle the next year, subsequently warring with Israel.In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew its military forces from Gaza, dismantled its settlements, and implemented a temporary blockade of Gaza. The blockade became indefinite after the 2007 Hamas takeover, supported by Egypt through restrictions on its land border with Gaza. Despite the Israeli disengagement, the United Nations (UN), the International Committee of the Red Cross, and many human-rights organizations continue to consider Gaza to be held under Israeli military occupation, due to what they consider Israel's effective military control over the territory; Israel disputes that it occupies the territory. The land, sea, and air blockade prevents people and goods from freely entering or leaving the territory, leading to Gaza often being called an "open-air prison." The UN, as well as at least 19 human-rights organizations, have urged Israel to lift the blockade. Israel has justified its blockade on the strip with wanting to stop flow of arms, but Palestinians and rights groups say it amounts to collective punishment and exacerbates dire living conditions.The Gaza Strip is 41 kilometres (25 miles) long, from 6 to 12 km (3.7 to 7.5 mi) wide, and has a total area of 365 km2 (141 sq mi). With around 2 million Palestinians on approximately 365 km2 (141 sq mi) of land, Gaza has one of the world's highest population densities. More than 70% of Gaza's population are refugees or descendents of refugees, half of whom are under the age of 18. Sunni Muslims make up most of Gaza's population, with a Palestinian Christian minority. Gaza has an annual population growth rate of 1.99% (2023 est.), the 39th-highest in the world. Gaza's unemployment rate is among the highest in the world, with an overall unemployment rate of 46% and a youth unemployment rate of 70%. The population has one of the highest literacy rates in the world. Gaza has throughout the years been seen as a source of Palestinian nationalism and resistance.
Israeli airstrikes near the Syrian city of Aleppo have resulted in casualties among civilians and military personnel, with conflicting reports on the exact numbers. The strikes coincided with drone attacks by Syrian insurgent groups on civilian targets in Aleppo and its suburbs. The Israeli strikes targeted missile depots belonging to Hezbollah in southern Aleppo, leading to dozens of soldiers being killed or wounded. Israel frequently conducts airstrikes on Iran-linked targets in Syria without public acknowledgment.
US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, stated that the Biden administration needs to see fundamental changes in a United Nations aid organization operating in Gaza before resuming funding. The funding for the organization, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), was suspended by top donors, including the US and Germany, pending an investigation into allegations that some UNRWA staffers took part in abductions and killings during the recent conflict in Gaza. Thomas-Greenfield emphasized the need for accountability for those accused of criminal acts and called for structural changes within UNRWA.
Opposition parties in the UK demand that the Conservative government release the legal advice it received regarding whether Israel violated international humanitarian law in the Gaza conflict. They suggest banning weapons sales to Israel if laws were broken, following increased scrutiny after Israeli airstrikes killed aid workers. London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Labour Party's David Lammy emphasize the importance of transparency and adherence to international law in arms sales to prevent involvement in potential breaches of humanitarian laws.
Gaza ( GAH-zə; Arabic: غَزَّة, romanized: Ġazzah, IPA: [ˈɣazza] ), also called Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip. Before the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, it was the most populous city in the State of Palestine, with 590,481 in 2017.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BCE, Gaza has been dominated by different peoples and empires throughout its history. The Philistines made it a part of their pentapolis after the ancient Egyptians had ruled it for nearly 350 years. Under the Roman Empire, Gaza experienced relative peace and its Mediterranean port flourished. In 635 CE, it became the first city in the Palestine region to be conquered by the Rashidun army and quickly developed into a centre of Islamic law. However, by the time the Crusader states were established in 1099, Gaza was in ruins. In later centuries, Gaza experienced several hardships—from Mongol raids to severe flooding and locust swarms, reducing it to a village by the 16th century, when it was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire. During the first half of Ottoman rule, the Ridwan dynasty controlled Gaza and the city went through an age of great commerce and peace. The municipality of Gaza was established in 1893.Gaza fell to British forces during World War I, becoming a part of Mandatory Palestine. As a result of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Egypt administered the newly formed Gaza Strip territory and several improvements were undertaken in the city. Gaza was occupied by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967, and in 1993, the city was transferred to the newly created Palestinian National Authority. In the months following the 2006 election, an armed conflict broke out between the Palestinian political factions of Fatah and Hamas, resulting in the latter taking power in Gaza. The Gaza Strip was then subject to an Israeli-led, Egyptian-supported blockade. Israel eased the blockade allowing consumer goods in June 2010, and Egypt reopened the Rafah Border Crossing in 2011 to pedestrians.The primary economic activities of Gaza are small-scale industries and agriculture. However, the blockade and recurring conflicts have put the economy under severe pressure. The majority of Gaza's Palestinian inhabitants are Muslim, although there is also a Christian minority. Gaza has a very young population, with roughly 75% under the age of 25. The city is currently administered by a 14-member municipal council.As of March 2024, as part of the Israel–Hamas war, the Israeli army has bombed large portions of the city and surrounding areas of the Northern Gaza Strip, destroying many buildings and infrastructure. Almost all residents have fled or been evacuated to Southern Gaza, or killed as a result. Therefore, previous recorded or estimated population numbers have become outdated.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has initiated an investigation into 12 employees who are suspected of being involved in the Hamas terror attacks on October 7. UNRWA has also severed ties with the suspected staff members. The US State Department confirmed that 12 employees were implicated in the attacks. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated that any employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable. The US has temporarily paused additional funding for UNRWA as it investigates the allegations.
Thousands of Israelis are demanding early elections as they accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of prolonging the conflict with Hamas to cling to power and obstructing a deal to retrieve Israeli captives from Gaza. Security forces have been forcefully dispersing protests outside Netanyahu's residence. Public dissatisfaction with Netanyahu's handling of the war on Gaza is evident, with 57% rating his performance as poor. The sentiment among the public and experts is that Netanyahu prioritizes his political survival over leading effectively. While many want Netanyahu replaced, there is a consensus on not ending the Gaza conflict yet.
Poland's Foreign Ministry has called in the Israeli ambassador following the death of a Polish man, who was among the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in an Israeli airstrike. Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna said the "new situation in Polish-Israeli relations and the moral, political and financial responsibility" for the incident would be discussed with the ambassador. Comments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the ambassador, Yacov Livne, on the incident have caused disquiet in Poland..
Palestinian refugees are citizens of Mandatory Palestine, and their descendants, who fled or were expelled from their country over the course of the 1947–1949 Palestine war (1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight) and the Six-Day War (1967 Palestinian exodus). Most Palestinian refugees live in or near 68 Palestinian refugee camps across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In 2019 more than 5.6 million Palestinian refugees were registered with the United Nations.In 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) defined Palestinian refugees to refer to the original "Palestine refugees" as well as their patrilineal descendants. However, UNRWA's assistance is limited to Palestine refugees residing in UNRWA's areas of operation in the Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.As of 2019, more than 5.6 million Palestinians were registered with UNRWA as refugees, of which more than 1.5 million live in UNRWA-run camps. The term "Palestine refugee" does not include internally displaced Palestinians, who became Israeli citizens, or displaced Palestinian Jews. According to some estimates, as many as 1,050,000–1,380,000 people, who descend from displaced people of Mandatory Palestine are not registered under UNRWA or UNHCR mandates.During the 1948 Palestine War, around 85% of the population or 700,000 Palestinian Arabs, living in the area that became Israel fled or were expelled from their homes, to the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and to the countries of Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. They, and their descendants who are also entitled to registration, are assisted by UNWRA in 59 registered camps, ten of which were established in the aftermath of the Six-Day War in 1967 to cope with the new wave of displaced Palestinians. They are also the world's oldest unsettled refugee population, having been under the ongoing governance of Arab states following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the refugee populations of the West Bank under Israeli governance since the Six-Day War and Palestinian administration since 1994, and the Gaza Strip administered by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) since 2007. Today, the largest number of refugees, over 2,000,000, live in Jordan, where by 2009 over 90% of UNWRA-registered Palestinian refugees had acquired full citizenship rights. This figure consists almost exclusively of West Bank–descended Palestinians; however, as of December 2021, Palestinians with roots in the Gaza Strip are also still kept in legal limbo. In 2021, Jordanian politician Jawad Anani estimated that roughly 50% of Jordan's population had West Bank–Palestinian roots. Another approximately 2,000,000 refugees live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, under Israeli occupation and blockade. Approximately 500,000 refugees live in each of Syria and Lebanon respectively, albeit under very different circumstances. While Palestinian refugees in Syria maintained their stateless status, the Syrian government afforded them the same economic and social rights enjoyed by Syrian citizens; they are also drafted into the Armed Forces despite not being citizens. Citizenship or legal residency in some host countries is denied, most notably for the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, where the absorption of Palestinians would upset a delicate confessional balance. For the refugees themselves, these situations mean they have reduced rights: no right to vote, limited property rights and access to social services, among other things. On 11 December 1948, the General Assembly of the United Nations (UNGA) adopted Resolution 194 which affirmed the Palestinians right to return to their homes.
President Joe Biden's upcoming call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will showcase the contradiction in US policy towards the conflict in Gaza. While expressing frustration over civilian casualties and demanding changes, the US remains staunch in supporting Israel, planning an $18 billion F-15 warplane sale. Fears of regional escalation due to Israeli actions, including a strike in Syria attributed to Israel by the US, add pressure to the call. Biden faces domestic pressure to end the conflict before the election, while Netanyahu may seek to prolong it to avoid potential losses in elections.
Israeli forces detained Palestinian journalists and health workers, blindfolded them and stripped them down to their underwear in Al-Shifa Hospital , in northern Gaza, according to eyewitness accounts shared with CNN . Palestinian reporters and hospital staff described scenes of humiliating interrogations where colleagues had been undressed and left outside in the cold, after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) laid siege to the largest hospital in the enclave in the early hours of Monday. One man who was detained told CNN Israeli forces released him without his ID or mobile phone. The Israeli military raided Al-Shifa after it claimed senior Hamas terrorists were using the facility to conduct and promote terrorist activity. It claims to have detained a senior Hamas operative during the operation.
The House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion spending bill including a measure to prevent funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), due to allegations of ties to Hamas. Israel praised this move and urged other nations to follow suit, stating that UNRWA has connections to Hamas terror activities. The US, Israel, and some major allies previously cut funding to UNRWA after allegations emerged that employees had assisted Hamas. The Senate also approved the spending bill after a brief government shutdown.
American Near East Refugee Aid (Anera) is an American 501(c)(3) non-governmental organization that provides humanitarian and development aid to the Middle East, specifically the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon and Jordan. Founded in 1968 in the aftermath of the Six-Day War, Anera initially sought to help the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians by providing emergency relief. While still providing crisis response, Anera now also addresses the long-term economic and social needs of Palestinians, Lebanese and Jordanians through its health care, education, and job creation programs.The largest American NGO operating in the West Bank and Gaza, Anera works closely with local institutions, such as schools, universities, health facilities, cooperatives, municipalities, grassroots communities, and charitable associations. Anera is funded by individual donors and grants from public and private institutions.
The Biden administration sent millions in government assistance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for FY24 amid allegations of terrorist ties against federal employees prior to the administration's pause of new funding. The administration announced a pause on new funding would be enacted last week over allegations that some of its members were 'involved' in the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel. Critics argue that UNRWA is directly tied to Hamas terrorists.
An Israeli airstrike in northeastern Lebanon near the city of Baalbek, a stronghold of Hezbollah, wounded at least three people. Hezbollah had used two drones to attack an Israeli Iron Dome system in Kfar Blum prior to this airstrike. The Israeli military targeted a Hezbollah workshop, leading to rockets being fired from Lebanon towards Israel. This incident is part of the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, with multiple attacks occurring in the region recently.
The Israeli parliament passed a bill allowing top ministers to ban Al Jazeera broadcasts, enabling the closure of their offices in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to take immediate action to shut down Al Jazeera after the law's approval. Accusations of Al Jazeera employees being linked to Hamas have escalated tensions. The bill aims to stop foreign media perceived as threatening national security. Netanyahu aims to pass legislation to shut foreign news networks, branding Al Jazeera as a 'terror channel' that will no longer broadcast in Israel.
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is an ongoing military and political conflict in the Levant. Beginning in the mid-20th century, it is one of the world's longest-continuing conflicts. Key areas of the conflict include the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the status of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, borders, security, water rights, Palestinian freedom of movement, and the Palestinian right of return.The conflict has its origins in the arrival of Jewish immigrants and settlers to Palestine in the late 19th and 20th centuries and the advent of the Zionist movement. The local Arab population opposed Zionism, primarily out of fear of territorial displacement and dispossession. The Zionist movement garnered the support of an imperial power in the 1917 Balfour Declaration issued by Britain, which promised to support the creation of a "Jewish homeland in Palestine". Following World War I, Mandatory Palestine was established, and tensions grew into open sectarian conflict between Jews and Arabs. In 1936, an Arab revolt erupted demanding independence, which the British suppressed.The 1947 United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine triggered the 1948 Palestine war, which saw the expulsion and flight of most Palestinian Arabs, the establishment of Israel on most of the Mandate's territory, and the control of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank by Egypt and Jordan, respectively. In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (which became known as the Palestinian territories), which is now considered to be the longest military occupation in modern history, and has drawn international condemnation for violating the human rights of the Palestinians.The conflict has claimed many civilian casualties, mostly Palestinian, since its inception. Various attempts have been made to resolve the conflict as part of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process, alongside efforts to resolve the broader Arab–Israeli conflict. Progress towards a negotiated solution between the Israeli government and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was made with the Oslo Accords of 1993–1995. The majority of recent peace efforts have been centred around the two-state solution, which involves the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. Public support for a two-state solution, which formerly enjoyed support from both Israeli Jews and Palestinians, has dwindled in recent years. Official negotiations are mediated by the Quartet on the Middle East, which consists of the United Nations, the United States, Russia, and the European Union. The Arab League, which has proposed the Arab Peace Initiative, is another important actor, along with Egypt and Jordan. Since 2006, the Palestinian side has been split between Fatah dominating the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas that gained control of the Gaza Strip. Attempts to remedy this have been repeated and continuing. Since 2019, the Israeli side has also been experiencing political crisis. The latest round of peace negotiations began in July 2013 but were suspended in 2014. Since 2006, Hamas and Israel have fought five wars, the most recent of which began in 2023 and is ongoing as of March 2024.
In 1948, more than 700000 Palestinian Arabs – about half of prewar Mandatory Palestine's Arab population – fled from their homes or were expelled by Zionist militias and, later, the Israeli army during the 1948 Palestine war, following the Partition Plan for Palestine. The expulsion and flight was a central component of the fracturing, dispossession, and displacement of Palestinian society, known as the Nakba. Dozens of massacres were conducted by Israeli military forces and between 400 and 600 Palestinian villages were destroyed. Village wells were poisoned in a biological warfare programme and properties were looted to prevent Palestinian refugees from returning. Other sites were subject to Hebraization of Palestinian place names. These activities were not necessarily limited to the year 1948.The precise number of Palestinian refugees, many of whom settled in Palestinian refugee camps in neighboring states, is a matter of dispute. Around 80 percent of the Arab inhabitants of what became Israel (half of the Arab total population of Mandatory Palestine) left or were expelled from their homes. About 250000–300000 Palestinians fled or were expelled during the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, before the Israeli Declaration of Independence in May 1948, a fact which was named as a casus belli for the entry of the Arab League into the country, sparking the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.The causes of the 1948 Palestinian exodus are also a subject of fundamental disagreement among historians. Factors involved in the exodus include Jewish military advances, destruction of Arab villages, psychological warfare, fears of another massacre by Zionist militias after the Deir Yassin massacre,: 239–240 which caused many to leave out of panic, direct expulsion orders by Israeli authorities, the demoralizing impact of wealthier classes fleeing, the typhoid epidemic in some areas caused by Israeli well-poisoning, collapse in Palestinian leadership and Arab evacuation orders, and a disinclination to live under Jewish control.Later, a series of land and property laws passed by the first Israeli government prevented Arabs who had left from returning to their homes or claiming their property. They and many of their descendants remain refugees. The expulsion of the Palestinians has since been described by some historians as ethnic cleansing, while others dispute this charge. Nevertheless, the existence of the so-called Law of Return allowing for immigration and naturalization of any Jewish person and their family to Israel, while a Palestinian right of return has been denied, has been cited as an evidence for the charge that Israel practices apartheid.The status of the refugees, and in particular whether Israel will allow them the right to return to their homes, or compensate them, are key issues in the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The events of 1948 are commemorated by Palestinians both in the Palestinian territories and elsewhere on 15 May, a date known as Nakba Day.
Muslim activists voiced disappointment with President Joe Biden's response to the Israeli war in Gaza during a private meeting where attendees shared harrowing accounts and concerns about the conflict. Dr. Thaer Ahmad, an emergency physician, and Salima Suswell, founder of the Black Muslim Leadership Council, were among those who expressed their grievances. President Biden stated he will not call for a permanent cease-fire until all hostages are released, sparking tensions with Muslim and Arab American communities. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since October 7.
Camps are set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to accommodate Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA, who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War or in the aftermath of the Six-Day War in 1967, and their patrilineal descendants. There are 68 Palestinian refugee camps, 58 official and 10 unofficial, ten of which were established after the Six-Day War while the others were established in 1948 to 1950s.Whilst only a third of registered Palestinian refugees live within the boundaries of the refugee camps, Palestinian refugees "show extraordinary social and economic integration outside the camps and informal gatherings". Many Palestinian refugees live in adjacent or nearby "gatherings", defined as "the geographic area, outside the official camps, which is home to a minimum 15 Palestinian households."The total number of registered Palestine refugees has grown from 750,000 in 1950 to around 5 million in 2013.
Francesca P. Albanese (born 1977) is an Italian international lawyer and academic. On 1 May 2022, she was appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories for a three-year term. She is the first woman to hold the position. Albanese recommended in her first report that UN member states develop "a plan to end the Israeli settler-colonial occupation and apartheid regime".Albanese's appointment as the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories generated controversy due to comments made in 2014 in which she described the United States as "subjugated by the Jewish lobby" and Europe by a "sense of guilt about the Holocaust". The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Susan Heller Pinto of the Anti-Defamation League, and Michele Taylor, the American ambassador to the Human Rights Council, suggested these comments were antisemitic in nature. Albanese has said that she is not antisemitic and that her criticism of Israel is related to their occupation of Palestinian territories.
Anelle Sheline, a Middle East analyst at the US Department of State, resigned due to opposition to President Joe Biden's Israel policy amid escalating conflict in Gaza. Sheline's resignation followed other officials like Josh Paul and Tariq Habash, citing inability to advocate for human rights effectively. Habash highlighted the declining US influence globally. Sheline, with a PhD background, joined the State Department to work on human rights issues and annual reports under the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
The Arab–Israeli conflict is the phenomenon involving political tension, military conflicts, and other disputes between various Arab countries and Israel, which escalated during the 20th century. The roots of the Arab–Israeli conflict have been attributed to the support by Arab League member countries for the Palestinians, a fellow League member, in the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict; this in turn has been attributed to the simultaneous rise of Zionism and Arab nationalism towards the end of the 19th century, though the two national movements had not clashed until the 1920s.Part of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict arose from the conflicting claims by these movements to the land that formed the British Mandatory Palestine, which was regarded by the Jewish people as their ancestral homeland, while at the same time it was regarded by the Pan-Arab movement as historically and currently belonging to the Arab Palestinians, and in the Pan-Islamic context, as Muslim lands. The sectarian conflict within the British Mandate territory between Palestinian Jews and Arabs escalated into a full-scale Palestinian civil war in 1947. Taking the side of the Palestinian Arabs, especially following the Israeli Declaration of Independence, the neighbouring Arab countries invaded the by-then former Mandate territory in May 1948, commencing the First Arab–Israeli War. Large-scale hostilities mostly ended with ceasefire agreements after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Peace agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt in 1979, resulting in Israeli withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula and the abolition of the military governance system in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, in favor of Israeli Civil Administration and consequent unilateral annexation of the Golan Heights and East Jerusalem.The nature of the conflict has shifted over the years from the large-scale, regional Arab–Israeli conflict to a more local Israeli–Palestinian conflict, which peaked during the 1982 Lebanon War when Israel intervened in the Lebanese Civil War to oust the Palestinian Liberation Organization from Lebanon. With the decline of the 1987–1993 First Intifada, the interim Oslo Accords led to the creation of the Palestinian National Authority in 1994, within the context of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. The same year, Israel and Jordan reached a peace accord. In 2002, the Arab League offered recognition of Israel by Arab countries as part of the resolution of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in the Arab Peace Initiative. The initiative, which has been reconfirmed since, calls for normalizing relations between the Arab League and Israel, in exchange for a full withdrawal by Israel from the occupied territories (including East Jerusalem) and a "just settlement" of the Palestinian refugee problem based on UN Resolution 194. In the 1990s and early 2000s, a ceasefire had been largely maintained between Israel and Syria, while limited warfare continued in Lebanon against Iranian proxy militias. Despite the peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan, the interim peace accords with the Palestinian Authority and the generally existing ceasefire, until the mid-2010s the Arab League and Israel had remained at odds with each other over many issues. Among Arab belligerents in the conflict, Iraq and Syria are the only states who have reached no formal peace accord or treaty with Israel, with both supporting Iran.The Syrian civil war reshuffled the situation near Israel's northern border, putting the Syrian Arab Republic, Hezbollah and the Syrian opposition at odds with each other and complicating their relations with Israel, upon the emerging warfare with Iran. The conflict between Israel and Hamas-ruled Gaza, is also attributed to the Iran–Israel proxy conflict. By 2017, Israel and several Arab Sunni states led by Saudi Arabia formed a semi-official coalition to confront Iran. This move and the Israeli normalization with Gulf states was marked by some as the fading of the Arab–Israeli conflict.
World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a not-for-profit non-governmental organization devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. Founded in 2010 by chef José Andrés, the organization prepared food in Haiti following its devastating earthquake. Its method of operations is to be a first responder and then to collaborate and galvanize solutions with local chefs to solve the problem of hunger, immediately following a disaster.
The Israeli military is using an AI-assisted system named Lavender to identify potential bombing targets in Gaza, drawing up kill lists of as many as 37,000 targets with a reported 10% error rate, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths according to Israeli media outlets. Experts express concerns over the use of untested AI systems for life-and-death decisions, with one professor calling it an 'AI-assisted genocide' and advocating for a moratorium on AI use in warfare. Gazas Ministry of Health reports at least 33,037 Palestinians killed and 75,668 wounded in Israeli attacks since October 7.
The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had been issued earlier that day, and a military coalition of Arab states entered the territory of Mandatory Palestine in the morning of 15 May.The day after the 29 November 1947 adoption of the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine – which planned to divide the territory into an Arab state, a Jewish state, and the Special International Regime encompassing the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem – a civil war began. There had been tension and conflict between Arabs, Jews, and the British since the 1917 Balfour Declaration and the 1920 creation of the British Mandate of Palestine. British policies dissatisfied both Arabs and Jews. Arab opposition developed into the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, while the Jewish opposition developed into the 1944–1947 Jewish insurgency in Palestine.On 15 May 1948, the civil war transformed into a conflict between Israel and the Arab states following the Israeli Declaration of Independence the previous day. Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, and expeditionary forces from Iraq entered Palestine. The invading forces took control of the Arab areas and immediately attacked Israeli forces and several Jewish settlements. The 10 months of fighting took place mostly on the territory of the British Mandate and in the Sinai Peninsula and southern Lebanon, interrupted by several truce periods.As a result of the war, the State of Israel controlled the area that the UN had proposed for the Jewish state, as well as almost 60% of the area proposed for the Arab state, including the Jaffa, Lydda and Ramle area, Upper Galilee, some parts of the Negev and a wide strip along the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem road. Israel also took control of West Jerusalem, which was meant to be part of an international zone for Jerusalem and its environs. Transjordan took control of East Jerusalem and what became known as the West Bank, annexing it the following year. The territory which became the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt.Over 700,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes in the area that became Israel, marking the beginning of the Palestinian refugee problem, in what they refer to as the Nakba (Arabic for "the catastrophe"). A similar number of Jews moved to Israel during the three years following the war, including 260,000 from the surrounding Arab states.
The Survivor Speakers Bureau, initiated by the Claims Conference, includes over 250 Holocaust survivors sharing their experiences with students globally to combat the increasing antisemitism. This program aims to educate about history and promote a better future amidst heightened antisemitic sentiments following the Gaza conflict triggered by a Hamas attack. The initiative facilitates virtual and in-person interactions between survivors and students in the US and Germany, with plans to expand to more countries. The project emphasizes firsthand testimonies to foster understanding and awareness among the youth.
The Near East Foundation (NEF) had its genesis in a number of earlier organizations. As the scope of relief expanded from aid to Greek, Armenian and Assyrian victims of the Ottoman Empire to post WWI relief in the region, the names and mission changed. The inception was as the American Committee on Armenian Atrocities, followed by American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief (ACASR), then American Committee for Relief in the Near East (ACRNE), before becoming Near East Relief in August 1919. In 1930 as the relief work diminished and development work expanded, the organization reorganized as the Near East Foundation.Today the NEF is a Syracuse, New York–based American international social and economic development organization.The NEF is the United States' oldest nonsectarian international development organization and the second American humanitarian organization to be chartered by an act of Congress. Near East Relief organized the world's first large-scale, modern humanitarian project in response to the unfolding Armenian and Assyrian genocides. Known as the Near East Foundation since 1930, NEF pioneered many of the strategies employed by the world's leading development organizations. In the past 100 years NEF has worked with partner communities in more than 40 countries.
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