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UN probe says women, children comprise the majority of Gaza war dead

UN probe says women, children comprise the majority of Gaza war dead
The UN said 4,700 of the verified fatalities were children and 2,461 were women.
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Updated 09 November 2024

UN probe says women, children comprise the majority of Gaza war dead

UN probe says women, children comprise the majority of Gaza war dead
  • The report detailed a raft of violations of international law since Oct. 7

GENEVA: The UN on Friday condemned the staggering number of civilians killed in Israel’s war in Gaza, with women and children comprising nearly 70 percent of the thousands of fatalities it had managed to verify.
In a fresh report, slammed by Israel, the United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) detailed a raft of violations of international law since Hamas’s deadly Oct. 7 attack in Israel sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.
Many could amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly even “genocide,” it warned, demanding international efforts to prevent “atrocity crimes” and ensure accountability.
“Civilians in Gaza have borne the brunt of the attacks, including through the initial ‘complete siege’ of Gaza by Israeli forces,” the UN said.
“Conduct by Israeli forces has caused unprecedented levels of killings, death, injury, starvation, illness and disease.”
It pointed to “the Israeli government’s continuing unlawful failures to allow, facilitate and ensure the entry of humanitarian aid, the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and repeated mass displacement.”
Israel’s mission to the UN in Geneva “categorically” rejected the report, decrying “the inherent obsession of OHCHR with the demonization of Israel.”
“Gaza is now a rubble-strewn landscape,” Ajith Sunghay, head of the UN rights office’s activities in the Palestinian territories, said via video-link from Amman.
“Within this dystopia of destruction and devastation, those alive are left injured, displaced and starving.”
Friday’s report also found that Hamas and other armed groups had committed widespread violations that could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, including seizing hostages, killings, torture and sexual violence.
Those violations, it said, were especially committed in connection with the October 7, 2023 attack, which resulted in 1,206 deaths, mostly of civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.
The report also tackled the contentious issue of the proportion of civilians among the nearly 43,500 people killed in Gaza so far, according to the health ministry in the Palestinian territory.
UN agencies have been relying on death tolls provided by the authorities in Hamas-run Gaza due to lack of access. This has sparked harsh criticism from Israel but the UN has repeatedly said the figures are reliable.
The rights office said it had now managed to verify around 10,000 of the more than 34,500 people reportedly killed during the first six months of the war.
“We have so far found close to 70 percent to be children and women,” Sunghay said, highlighting the stringent verification methodology that requires at least three separate sources.
He said the findings indicated “a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.”
He said 4,700 of the verified fatalities were children and 2,461 were women.
The rights office found that about 80 percent of all the verified deaths in Gaza had occurred in Israeli attacks on residential buildings or similar housing.
Children between the ages of five and nine made up the largest group of victims, with the youngest victim a one-day-old boy and the oldest a 97-year-old woman, it said.
Israel says its operations in Gaza target militants and are in line with international law.
But Friday’s report stressed that the verified deaths largely Gaza’s demographic makeup rather than that of combatants.
This, it said, clearly “raises concerns regarding compliance with the principle of distinction and reflect an apparent failure to take all feasible precautions to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental loss of civilian life.”
UN rights chief Volker Turk called on all countries to work to halt the violations and to ensure accountability, including through universal jurisdiction.
“It is essential that there is due reckoning with respect to the allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies,” he said.
“The violence must stop immediately, the hostages and those arbitrarily detained must be released, and we must focus on flooding Gaza with humanitarian aid.”


Turkiye mulls unifying telecom fiber infrastructure in one entity, official says

Turk Telekom and Turkcell are controlled by the country’s wealth fund. (REUTERS)
Turk Telekom and Turkcell are controlled by the country’s wealth fund. (REUTERS)
Updated 9 sec ago

Turkiye mulls unifying telecom fiber infrastructure in one entity, official says

Turk Telekom and Turkcell are controlled by the country’s wealth fund. (REUTERS)
  • Turk Telekom owns and maintains 78 percent of Turkiye’s 577,000-kilometer (359,000-mile) national fiber network through a concession agreement that is set to expire in 2026

ANKARA: Turkiye is considering adopting a unified fiber optic telecoms entity to expand its network, signalling it could create a separate manager for the expensive infrastructure investments, a senior official told Reuters.
The study is at an early stage and all options remain on the table, said the Turkish official, who has direct knowledge of government telecoms policy but requested anonymity.
Such a consolidation of telecoms infrastructure could help accelerate Turkiye’s broadband Internet usage and speed, benefit smaller service providers and pose a challenge for the network’s largest stakeholder, Turk Telekom.
“We are considering the unification of the fiber infrastructure and conducting a study on it,” the senior Turkish official said when asked about some sector demands for infrastructure and sales to be separated, and for the establishment of a common infrastructure holding company.
“It is in early stages and not yet finalized. By establishing a common infrastructure, we aim to further strengthen our country’s fiber-optics network,” the official told Reuters.
For years Ankara has demanded that telecom operators invest more to accelerate fiber network expansion. The companies have grown the network by a bit more than 3 percent per year over the past decade, and have partly blamed complicated permissions and high costs for the slow progress.

NETWORK OWNERSHIP
Turk Telekom owns and maintains 78 percent of Turkiye’s 577,000-kilometer (359,000-mile) national fiber network through a concession agreement that is set to expire in 2026.
A handful of other players, including Turkcell , Turksat and Vodafone own the rest.
Turk Telekom and Turkcell are controlled by the country’s wealth fund.
Smaller service providers have long advocated that investments should be made by a jointly-owned entity, rather than largely by Turk Telekom, which also sells telecom services. An effort in the mid-2010s to set up such an entity failed.
In July, UK-based Vodafone’s Turkiye unit again suggested in a report that the business of selling telecoms services should be separated from infrastructure investment and management, which could be handled by a separate “common” entity.
In September, Turk Telekom’s chief executive rejected the suggestion, saying it was aimed at carving away its infrastructure assets, which are set to return to the government once the concession period ends.
Turkiye trails its peers on fixed-line broadband Internet usage, with 23 subscribers per 100 inhabitants as of last year, below the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 36.
It also lags on broadband speed with less than one high-speed subscriber with greater than 100 Mbps speed per 100 people, compared to a 24 OECD average.
 

 


Israel says it has met most US demands on Gaza aid as deadline looms

Israel says it has met most US demands on Gaza aid as deadline looms
Updated 32 min 16 sec ago

Israel says it has met most US demands on Gaza aid as deadline looms

Israel says it has met most US demands on Gaza aid as deadline looms
  • The United States told its ally Israel in a letter on Oct. 13 that it must take steps to improve the aid situation within 30 days, with Tuesday as the final deadline

JERUSALEM: Israel said on Monday it had met most demands by the United States to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza but was still discussing some items as a deadline looms to improve the situation or face potential restrictions on US military aid.
There are a number of things that remain under discussion and they touch on safety issues, an Israeli official told reporters. He said most issues had been addressed.
Among the US demands that Israel appears to have refused is allowing the entry of 50-100 commercial trucks a day.
The official said commercial activity had been halted because Hamas was controlling the merchants. Restrictions on the entry of closed containers would also not be lifted due to security risks, the official said.
Others, including the opening of a fifth crossing into Gaza, have been implemented.
The United States told its ally Israel in a letter on Oct. 13 that it must take steps to improve the aid situation within 30 days, with Tuesday as the final deadline.
Last week, the State Department said Israel had taken some measures to increase aid access to Gaza but had so far failed to significantly turn around the humanitarian situation.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday he had met the US ambassador and was confident that “we can reach an understanding with our American friends and that the issue will be solved.”
Last week, a committee of global food security experts warned of a strong likelihood that famine is imminent in certain areas of northern Gaza, a claim which Israel rejected outright.
The Israeli official said Israel had added entrances into Gaza, expanded the humanitarian zone, increased security for aid vehicles and managed joint task forces with the international community and many others as part of the process to improve the humanitarian situation.
Israel began a wide military offensive in northern Gaza early last month. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US envoy to the UN, said on Oct. 16 that Washington was watching to ensure Israel’s actions on the ground show it does not have a “policy of starvation” in the north.


Head of Tunisia olive oil giant held on corruption suspicion: media

Head of Tunisia olive oil giant held on corruption suspicion: media
Updated 12 November 2024

Head of Tunisia olive oil giant held on corruption suspicion: media

Head of Tunisia olive oil giant held on corruption suspicion: media
  • Mosaique FM reported that a total of 15 people, including a former agriculture minister, are being prosecuted in the case

TUNIS: The head of Tunisia’s leading olive oil exporter, CHO group, has been detained on suspicion of corruption, local media reported on Monday.
Tunisian website Business News, citing a source familiar with the case, said the detention of Abdelaziz Makhloufi, CHO’s president, had been extended until Tuesday.
The company is known abroad for its Terra Delyssa brand olive oil.
Makhloufi is also known in Tunisia for being the president of football team CS Sfaxien.
He was initially questioned on November 2 as part of an investigation into suspected corruption in the management of the Henchir Chaal state-owned lands which include 360,000 olive plants, local media said.
Mosaique FM reported that a total of 15 people, including a former agriculture minister, are being prosecuted in the case.
President Kais Saied, whose critics accuse of ushering in a new authoritarian regime, has made fighting corruption a priority.
Along with dates, olive oil is one of Tunisia’s main agricultural exports.
Official figures foresee production of about 340,000 tons in the 2024-25 season, putting Tunisia alongside Turkiye and just ahead of Greece and Italy, but far behind Spain’s 1.3 million tons.
Tunisian authorities expect a 50-percent increase in olive oil exports this year, at about 300,000 tons.
 

 


Jordan condemns Israeli minister’s comments on West Bank sovereignty

Jordan condemns Israeli minister’s comments on West Bank sovereignty
Updated 11 November 2024

Jordan condemns Israeli minister’s comments on West Bank sovereignty

Jordan condemns Israeli minister’s comments on West Bank sovereignty
  • Smotrich adamant about rejecting establishment of Palestinian state in West Bank and Gaza Strip

LONDON: Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on Monday condemned statements by Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich instructing government staff to work on applying Israel’s sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.

Smotrich wrote on X on Monday that “2025: the year of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” two biblical names Israeli government officials use to refer to Palestinian territories in the West Bank.

Earlier, he told a meeting of the Religious Zionism political faction, which is part of the coalition government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that he had instructed Israeli authorities “to begin professional and comprehensive staff work” to apply sovereignty over the West Bank, Ynet reported.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Smotrich’s statements were a “flagrant violation of international law and the Palestinian right to an independent, sovereign state along the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

Palestinians have long sought the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as the territories for their future state, a demand recognized by Arab states and the majority of UN members.

Sufian Qudah, a spokesperson for the ministry, confirmed Amman’s “firm rejection of these provocative statements, emphasizing that Israel has no sovereignty over occupied Palestinian territories,” the Jordan News Agency reported.

He called on the international community to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank and to ensure the protection of the Palestinian people.

Smotrich, who also has a supervisory role within Israel’s Defense Ministry, has been adamant about rejecting the establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, supported the expansion of illegal settlements and called for annexing the Jordan Valley, an agriculturally rich region that borders Jordan.

On Monday, he said that Donald Trump’s election victory “brings with it an important opportunity for Israel,” a possible reference to the president-elect recognizing Israel’s push for sovereignty over the occupied West Bank.

Meanwhile, Palestinian presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said that Smotrich’s comments signal that Israel intends to fulfil its plans to control the West Bank in 2025, in disregard of international law.

“These statements are an Israeli confirmation to the entire world that the occupation’s new plan will focus on the West Bank in order to implement the racist annexation and expansion and to consolidate the occupation,” Abu Rudeineh said.

“We also hold the American administration responsible for its continued support for the [Israeli] occupation to continue its crimes,” he added.

The spokesman said that 2025 will be the year in which an independent Palestinian state will be established with East Jerusalem as its capital.


Hezbollah says ties with Lebanese army remain ‘strong and solid’

Hezbollah says ties with Lebanese army remain ‘strong and solid’
Updated 11 November 2024

Hezbollah says ties with Lebanese army remain ‘strong and solid’

Hezbollah says ties with Lebanese army remain ‘strong and solid’
  • Media officer says group has not received Israeli proposal for ceasefire
  • Israel ‘will never win the war’ by killing women, children, spokesperson says

BEIRUT: Hezbollah has not received any proposals on a truce for Lebanon, a spokesperson for the group said on Monday.

Mohammed Afif, a media relations officer, was speaking at a press conference amid the rubble in southern Beirut after 45 days of aerial bombardment.

“So far, nothing official or specific proposals have reached Lebanon or us regarding a settlement that we hear much talk about,” he said.

“We hear about a related, significant political movement between Tehran, Washington and Moscow, but I do not expect anything specific soon.”

Afif said Hezbollah’s relationship with the Lebanese army was “strong and solid and will remain so. We appreciate the army’s role in protecting the national territory and security.”

His comments came after Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem last week questioned the role of the military in confronting Israeli commandos’ violation of territorial waters and the kidnapping of a sea captain from Batroun.

It also comes after Israel leaked a draft settlement that includes a provision for the Lebanese army to dismantle Hezbollah’s remaining infrastructure south of the Litani River as part of the implementation of UN Resolution 1701.

The draft, which was leaked to the Israeli media, said Hezbollah “will withdraw its forces north of the Litani River and will not renew its military presence in the area between the Litani and the border with Israel.”

It continued: “The Israeli army will withdraw from the current first line of Hezbollah positions in Lebanon and return to the international border. The Lebanese army will dismantle Hezbollah’s remaining infrastructure in the area between the border and the Litani River within 60 days of signing the agreement, which will include international guarantees from the US and Russia to prevent Hezbollah from rearming in Lebanon.”

The draft said that Syria would be responsible for stopping any transfer of weapons from its territory to Lebanon.

“If Hezbollah violates the agreement by rearming or conducting military operations against Israel or Israelis, the Israeli army will have the right to respond while seeking international support for such actions,” it said.

During the press conference, Afif reiterated Hezbollah’s position that “the reality of the battlefield will have the final say in politics and decisions.”

He said the Israelis “will never win the war with aerial superiority, destruction or the killing of civilians, including women and children.”

“If you cannot advance on the ground and take actual control, you will never achieve your political goals and northern residents will never return to the north,” he said.

Responding to claims by Israeli officials that Hezbollah’s missile stockpile had dwindled to 20 percent of its original size, Afif said: “Last week, Hezbollah’s missiles reached the suburbs of Tel Aviv and Haifa. Centers and camps were shelled for the first time in the Golan and Haifa and the Fateh 110 missile was used, and we have more.

“The fighters on the front line have enough weapons, ammunition and supplies for a long war that we are preparing for at all levels.”

A security source told Arab News that aside from Hezbollah’s narrative regarding the course of the conflict, the Israeli army had “adopted a scorched earth strategy in the south to avoid the mistakes made during the 2006 war.”

“The army has altered its combat system, opting to advance with infantry forces instead of tanks, which have become targets for Hezbollah,” the person said.

“The tanks are now utilized as fire support in the second echelon. The Israeli forces are destroying everything in their line of sight before advancing, effectively neutralizing the traps set by Hezbollah operatives.”

The source said the Israeli army “relies on drones to reveal the front sector of infantry units and to identify targets for artillery or airstrikes, which has contributed to the success of its advance in many areas. This is happening in the absence of anti-drone missiles, as their use by Hezbollah would expose the launch sites, presenting the party with an unexpected new challenge.”

Using these tactics, Israel was able to penetrate most of the border villages despite resistance from the fighters, the source said.

“It also destroyed the tunnels adjacent to the border. Israel may be inclined to delay its operations and negotiations to cut off the supply routes to Hezbollah and shift the situation in its favor.”

A significant decrease in hostilities was reported on Monday as Lebanon issued a fresh complaint to the UN Security Council in response to Israel’s “repeated aggressions on UNIFIL forces and its further violation of the Blue Line by removing two barrels that signify the withdrawal line.”

The Foreign Ministry submitted the complaint through Lebanon’s permanent mission to the UN in New York.

Also on Monday, the Israeli army reiterated its warning to Lebanese people living in 21 towns along the border area to evacuate. It also blew up several houses on the outskirts of the border town of Aita Al-Shaab.

Israeli airstrikes resulted in the deaths of three individuals in the town of Sarifa. The attacks also affected an area close to Batoulieh near the Rashidiya Palestinian refugee camp in Tyre, as well as towns in Marjeyoun and Nabatieh districts.

Baalbek-Hermel Gov. Bashir Khadr said that a survey of the Baalbek archaeological site had been finalized and that there were no people or objects there that could justify Israel’s attack on the site.

He was speaking after the castle surrounding the site and an ancient building nearby were hit by several airstrikes over the past week.

The strikes resumed on Monday in Shmustar and Taraya, coinciding with the funerals of victims from the deadly and destructive attacks that took place in the region on Sunday.

The death toll reached 18, with the majority of victims women and the elderly.

Since the start of the Israeli onslaught in the Baalbek-Hermel region and extending into central Bekaa, 796 people have been killed and more than 1,350 injured. In that time there have been 1,157 airstrikes.

Hezbollah said it targeted two military gatherings on the outskirts of the Lebanese border town of Maroun Al-Ras, as well as Al-Abad in Israel, the occupied city of Safed and the settlements of Ma’a lot-Tarshiha and Avivim.

The Israeli side said 13 people were injured as a result of a missile barrage targeting Upper Galilee and Western Galilee.