Situation at a glance: Veto powers criticize Israel – fighting continues

While international criticism of the ban on work for the Palestinian relief organization UNRWA passed by Israel’s parliament continues, the war in the Gaza Strip continues to rage. Israel’s air force said it again attacked members of the Islamist Hamas and Islamic Jihad during “terrorist activities” in a humanitarian protection zone in the south of the sealed-off coastal area. Before the “precise attack” in the Khan Yunis area, numerous measures were taken to reduce the danger to civilians, it was said that night. The army did not provide any information about possible victims. Their information could not be independently verified.

Previously, the veto powers of the United Nations expressed rare unity in criticizing the ban on UNRWA working in Israel that had been decided by Israel’s parliament. The US is “deeply disturbed by this legislation,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller in Washington. China’s UN Ambassador Fu Cong condemned them “in the strongest possible terms” in the UN Security Council. Closing the aid agency would be a “collective punishment for millions of Palestinian refugees,” he said. Russia’s ambassador Wassili Nebenzya warned that the aid agency would be shut down for good: “We support the UN Secretary General’s statement that UNRWA is irreplaceable and that there is no alternative to it today.” UN Secretary-General António Guterres had previously stated that there was no alternative to the work of the Palestinian relief organization.

Israel: Are bound by international law

Israel wants to ensure humanitarian aid for Gaza through other organizations in the future. “Israel is committed to international law and to providing humanitarian aid to Gaza,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Mamorstein to the German Press Agency. To this end, we will continue to work with UN agencies and international organizations. He cited the World Food Program, the UN Children’s Fund Unicef ​​and the World Health Organization as examples. Israel will “comply with its international obligations,” the ministry spokesman said.

The Israeli parliament’s decision on Monday evening means that UNRWA can hardly continue its operations in the Palestinian territories because Israel controls the border crossings. Israel accuses the Palestinian aid organization of involving some of its employees in terrorist activities. Israel has given the United Nations details of around a hundred people who are employed by UNRWA and are also said to be members of the terrorist organization Hamas, said Mamorstein.

Dying in Gaza and Lebanon continues

Meanwhile, fighting continues in the north of the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli army, four soldiers were killed. According to media reports, the soldiers, aged 20 and 22, died when an explosive device exploded in a building in the refugee district of Jabaliya. According to military information, an officer was also seriously injured. According to eyewitnesses, the situation in the area is catastrophic. Tens of thousands of civilians have already fled. Palestinian sources repeatedly report many civilian deaths in attacks. Israel’s military repeatedly accuses Hamas of using civilians in the Gaza Strip as human shields.

According to Qatar, talks to end the war will continue in “Doha, Cairo and European capitals.” Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari said a lot had been achieved. There are “parallel lines” in efforts to curb violence in Lebanon and Gaza, the Qatari news site Al Sharq quoted him as saying. Hamas representative Abu Suhri emphasized that his group was open to talks. “We have responded to the mediators’ request to discuss new proposals for a ceasefire,” the Arabic TV channel Al-Jazeera quoted him as saying.

Qatar, the USA and Egypt are mediating between Israel and Hamas, as the two warring parties do not negotiate directly with each other. However, mediation talks have been stalled for months. According to the media, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently expressed pessimism about a possible agreement with Hamas.

Israel: Hezbollah’s rocket arsenal significantly minimized

Meanwhile, Israel continues to take action against its enemies in Lebanon. According to local authorities, 82 people were killed in renewed Israeli attacks on Monday. The Lebanese Ministry of Health said that 180 people were also injured in the attacks in various areas of the country. Most of the victims occurred in attacks in the east and south. Meanwhile, the Lebanese Hezbollah militia continues to shell Israel. Israel’s army said it fired around 75 projectiles during the day. The warning sirens wailed again at night in northern Israel.

However, according to the Israeli Defense Minister, Hezbollah has lost much of its effectiveness since the start of the war. According to his office, Joav Galant said he estimated that the pro-Iranian militia only had around 20 percent of its previous arsenal of rockets and other projectiles during a visit to an army base in northern Israel. It remained unclear on what basis he arrived at this assessment. So far there has been no information from Hezbollah.

According to Lebanese figures, a total of 2,792 people have been killed and 12,772 injured since fighting broke out between the Israeli military and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah in Lebanon more than a year ago. More than 500 women and 160 minors were among those killed. Meanwhile, eight Austrian soldiers from the UN observer mission Unifil in Lebanon also suffered minor injuries from rocket fire at the Nakura base. Unifil confirmed that a rocket from the north hit the peacekeeping mission headquarters in Nakura. It was said to have been fired “probably by Hezbollah or a group affiliated with it.”

Unifil once again reminded pro-Iranian Hezbollah and all other actors that any deliberate attack on UN personnel and property constitutes an attack on international humanitarian law. The Unifil Camp Nakura is located about 110 kilometers south of the capital Beirut on the border with Israel. The peacekeeping force has been stationed in Lebanon since 1978 and consists of around 10,000 soldiers. Austria is involved with 160 soldiers.