UN expert asks states to cut trade ties with Israel over its ‘genocidal campaign’ in Gaza
A UN expert on Thursday called on states to impose an arms embargo and cut off trade and financial ties with Israel, which she alleged is waging a “genocidal campaign” in Gaza.
In a speech to the UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese said: “The situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is apocalyptic.
“Israel is responsible for one of the cruellest genocides in modern history,” she added, in a speech that was met with a burst of applause from the Geneva council, Reuters reports.
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Albanese’s speech.
Israel has rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza, citing its right to self-defence following the 7 October 2023, Hamas attack. Its delegate was not present in the room in line with a new policy to disengage with the council, which Israel says has an antisemitic bias.
Albanese was presenting her latest report, which named over 60 companies she said were involved in supporting Israeli settlements and military actions in Gaza.
“What I expose is not a list, it is a system, and that is to be addressed,” she told the council.
She called for states to impose a full arms embargo, suspend all trade agreements and ensure companies face legal consequences for their involvement in violations of international law.
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva earlier this week said Albanese’s latest report was “legally groundless, defamatory and a flagrant abuse of her office”.
Key events
We have more on France’s stance on Iran sanctions.
AFP reports that France said it would decide whether to reimpose sanctions against Iran depending on whether Tehran released two French detainees charged with spying for Israel.
Foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said:
Freeing Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris is an absolute priority for us. We have always told our interlocutors from the Iranian regime that any decisions on sanctions will be conditional on resolving this issue.
France says a decision on Iran sanctions will depend on the release of French detainees, AFP reports.
Airstrikes and shootings in Gaza kill 94 Palestinians, including 45 waiting for aid, authorities say
In an update, the Associated Press reports that airstrikes and shootings have killed 94 Palestinians in Gaza overnight, including 45 who were attempting to get humanitarian aid, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry on Thursday.
Among the dead, 45 were attempting to get humanitarian aid.
Israel’s military did not immediately comment on the strikes.
As reported earlier, dozens of people were killed in airstrikes that pounded tents and a school sheltering displaced people in the Strip Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
UN expert asks states to cut trade ties with Israel over its ‘genocidal campaign’ in Gaza
A UN expert on Thursday called on states to impose an arms embargo and cut off trade and financial ties with Israel, which she alleged is waging a “genocidal campaign” in Gaza.
In a speech to the UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese said: “The situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is apocalyptic.
“Israel is responsible for one of the cruellest genocides in modern history,” she added, in a speech that was met with a burst of applause from the Geneva council, Reuters reports.
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Albanese’s speech.
Israel has rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza, citing its right to self-defence following the 7 October 2023, Hamas attack. Its delegate was not present in the room in line with a new policy to disengage with the council, which Israel says has an antisemitic bias.
Albanese was presenting her latest report, which named over 60 companies she said were involved in supporting Israeli settlements and military actions in Gaza.
“What I expose is not a list, it is a system, and that is to be addressed,” she told the council.
She called for states to impose a full arms embargo, suspend all trade agreements and ensure companies face legal consequences for their involvement in violations of international law.
Israel’s diplomatic mission in Geneva earlier this week said Albanese’s latest report was “legally groundless, defamatory and a flagrant abuse of her office”.
The Associated Press is reporting on how the summer heat in Gaza has set off a “domino effect”, intensifying hardship for its two million inhabitants.
Aid groups have long warned that reduced water availability, crippled sanitation networks, and shrinking living spaces threaten to cause illnesses. This scorching summer coincides with a lack of clean water for the majority of Gaza’s population, most of whom are displaced in tented communities.
Many Palestinians in the besieged territory must walk long distances to fetch water, and ration each drop, limiting their ability to wash and keep cool. Fuel is needed to pump water from wells and operate desalination plants, but Israel has stopped it from getting into the territory.
The only way Rida Abu Hadayed can offer her children relief is by fanning them with a tray or bits of paper – whatever she can find. If she has water, she pours it over them, but that is an increasingly scarce resource.
“There is no electricity. There is nothing,” she said. “They cannot sleep. They keep crying all day until the sun sets.”
“We are only at the beginning of summer,” Hadayed’s husband, Yousef, said. “And our situation is dire.”
“Our lives in the tent are miserable,” he added. “We spend our days pouring water over their heads and their skin. Water itself is scarce. It is very difficult to get that water.”
Mohammed al-Awini said: “We are awake all night, dying from mosquito bites. We are the most tired people in the world.”
Opening Summary
Israeli airstrikes and shootings have killed 82 Palestinians in Gaza overnight, including 38 while attempting to get humanitarian aid, hospitals and the Health Ministry said on Thursday.
Israel’s military did not have an immediate comment on the strikes, AP reports.
Five people were killed while outside sites associated with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the controversial US- and Israeli-backed aid organisation, while 33 others were killed waiting for aid trucks in other locations across the Gaza Strip.
Dozens of people were killed in airstrikes on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, including 15 people killed in strikes that hit tents in the sprawling Muwasi zone, where many displaced Palestinians are sheltering, and a strike on a school in Gaza City sheltering displaced people.
Agence France-Presse, citing Gaza’s civil defence agency, reported that the Israeli strike on Thursday hit a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in the Al-Rimal neighbourhood in western Gaza City, killing at least 12, mostly women and children. The Israeli military told AFP it “will try to look into” the report.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza has passed 57,000, including 223 missing people who have been declared dead. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its death count but says that more than half of the dead are women and children.
The Israeli military blames Hamas for the civilian casualties because it operates from populated areas. The military said it targeted Hamas militants and rocket launchers in northern Gaza that launched rockets towards Israel on Wednesday.
The deaths come as Israel and Hamas inch closer to a possible ceasefire that would end the 21-month war.
Trump said on Tuesday that Israel had agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and urged Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen.
Hamas said on Wednesday that it was studying what Trump called a “final” ceasefire proposal for Gaza, but that Israel must pull out of the territory.
Meanwhile, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday “there will be no Hamas” in postwar Gaza.