In this regard, the UN’s highest court prepared to hear a new request from South Africa to impose more restrictions on Israel’s military actions in the territory.
in a phone call “Immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” The secretary-general, who is still hosting the Gaza Strip, told Arab League leaders at the summit in Bahrain: Nothing justifies ‘collective punishment’. of Palestine.
“Any attacks against Rafa are unacceptable. “It will cause further suffering and misery at a time when life-saving support needs to be ramped up,” he added.
Together with Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Mr. Guterres also reiterated his strong support for the UN agency. It “remains The backbone of our operations in Gaza And it is a lifeline for Palestinian refugees across the region. We need full support and funding,” he insisted after the UN World Food Program (WFP) issued a new warning. coming famine In Gaza.
beyond the barrier
“Our food and fuel stocks will be depleted within a few days.” WFP warned X’s social media posts. “Since May 6, we have been unable to access the Kerem Shalom intersection or receive assistance. “The situation is becoming unsustainable,” he said.
The UN agency highlighted the very real threat that further escalation of hostilities in Gaza could pose. Support activities “completely halted” It will result in a humanitarian disaster.
WFP has been providing special nutritious food to children under five and pregnant and breastfeeding women across Gaza, but the UN agency said distribution had stopped in Rafah on May 11 and was halted in “Khan Younis and Deir el-Bala”. “It is continuing in limited capacity only in (Deir El Balah),” he said. “.
In northern Gaza, the rate of acute malnutrition among children under two “doubled from 15% in January to 30% in March,” WFP warned.
Humanitarians warn that acute malnutrition is the deadliest form of malnutrition, with affected children three to 12 times more likely to die than well-nourished children.
The dire assessment came as the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported late Wednesday that 600,000 people, a quarter of the Gaza Strip’s population, were forcibly removed from Rafah last week as Israeli military activity and evacuation orders continued.
Another 100,000 people were driven out of the north to comply with Israeli military evacuation orders, and gunfights reportedly intensified.
mass evacuation order
According to the UN Aid and Coordination Office OCHA, “285 square kilometers, or about 78% of the Gaza Strip,” are currently under evacuation orders from the Israeli military.
In its latest update, OCHA reported that “continued bombardment from the air, land, and sea across most of the Gaza Strip is resulting in increasing civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of homes and other civilian infrastructure.”
The United Nations Secretariat confirmed reports of ground intrusions, Heavy fighting is taking place in Jabalia, northern Gaza Strip, Deir al-Bala, central Gaza Strip, and eastern Rafah, southern Gaza Strip..
“As of May 15, the Rafah intersection remains closed. The Kerem Shalom crossing is operational, but general security and logistics conditions are hampering the delivery of large-scale humanitarian aid,” OCHA said.
Reflecting these concerns, WFP argued that “multiple entry points” for assistance were needed “to reverse six months of near-starvation, prevent famine, and prevent a steady flow of daily and weekly food supplies.”The threat of famine in Gaza has never seemed greater.”
South Africa v. Israel
South Africa has submitted a new request to the United Nations’ top court, which is scheduled to hear Thursday, to halt military operations in and around the territory’s southernmost city.
“Urgent temporary measures are necessary to ensure the survival of Palestinians in Gaza,” the South African application said in its latest argument, submitted on May 10.
The International Court of Justice delivers its ruling in the case of South Africa v. Israel in The Hague.
“The situation created by the Israeli attack on Rafah, and the extreme risk it poses to humanitarian supplies and basic services in Gaza, to the survival of the Palestinian health system, and to the very survival of the Palestinian community in Gaza, are as follows: “This is not only an escalation of the current situation, but is also giving rise to new facts that are causing irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
Rafa, the last refuge
Rafah is the “last refuge” for Gazans. South Africa’s petition continued. “The last viable center” for basic services, including shelter and health care.. The Israeli military’s occupation of the Rafah crossing, temporary closure of the nearby Kerem Shalom crossing and ongoing access problems have claimed to have blocked a key entry point for life-saving humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip in South Africa.
“The remaining population and medical facilities are at extreme risk, with recent evidence that evacuation zones are being treated as extermination zones, mass destruction and mass burials at other hospitals in Gaza, and Israel’s use of artificial intelligence (‘AI’) to identify them. there is. ICJ court documents provide a ‘list of murders’.
Following South Africa’s claim that Israel had violated its obligations as a signatory to the Genocide Convention, the International Court of Justice in late January issued a special order (“temporary measures”) on Israel to prevent harm to the people of Gaza. There was no explicit call for an immediate halt to full-scale Israeli military operations on the Strip.
Israel has strongly denied the claims and is expected to respond to South Africa’s latest request on Friday.
