Rafah is rubble, essentially without food and medical services; child dies of starvation; Jabalia in ruins; Israeli forces kill Palestinian journalist in Gaza, teenager in West Bank; ceasefire deal is on the table, but Netanyahu wants total victory first; extremist ministers threaten to topple Israeli government; Netanyahu accepts invitation to speak before Congress; Chile joins ICJ genocide case against Israel; Finkelstein describes how Israel lobby dominates through wielding its wealth…
By IAK staff, from reports.
UNWRA no longer operating in Rafah:
End of May in Gaza: More than 1 million people – most displaced several times – forced to flee once again, in search of safety that they never find.
UNWRA head Philippe Lazzarini: All of our 36 UNRWA shelters in Rafah are empty now. This is where people seek shelter & should be protected at all times under the UN flag.
UNRWA had to stop health and other critical services in Rafah. We are however committed to stay and deliver for the communities.
We are now working from Khan Younis + the middle areas where 1.7 million people are living. In Khan Younis, we restarted operations despite damage to all our facilities.
The humanitarian space continues to further shrink:
UNRWA was allowed to pick up just under 450 trucks in the past 3 weeks in support of the humanitarian operation. This is nothing in the face of the needs: at least 600 trucks/day of commercial, fuel & humanitarian supplies.
Fuel is running short: our teams are standing by to pick it up when the Israeli Authorities give the green light.
Meanwhile, we received the most horrific photos from the Jabaliya Refugee Camp in northern Gaza. Thousands of displace people have no choice but to live amid the rubble & in destroyed facilities.
Destruction will bring more destruction, more grief, more anger & more loss to Palestinians & Israelis.
All eyes are on the proposal to reach an end to this war through a ceasefire, the release of all hsotages + substantial & safe flow of urgently needed supplies into Gaza.
RECOMMENDED READING (The Guardian): Children die of malnutrition as Rafah operation heightens threat of famine in Gaza.
‘Almost no health services available in Rafah’: WHO:
Al-Helal Al-Emirati hospital – the last functional hospital in Rafah – went out of service on 30 May. The two other main hospitals in Rafah, Al-Najjar and Kuwaiti hospitals, stopped functioning on May 7 and May 28, respectively.
There are almost no health services available in Rafah city.
Only one field hospital remains partially functional, but it is currently inaccessible due to hostilities in the vicinity and can only provide basic services to patients inside.
Two field hospitals are functional in Rafah’s coastal area (Al-Mawasi) but they are extremely overwhelmed given the scale of needs.
Without safe access, a sustained flow of supplies into and across Gaza, and reliable conditions for delivering those supplies to the facilities that need them, WHO’s ability to effectively support the health system is severely challenged.
We repeat our plea for a ceasefire.
Palestinian child dies of starvation in Gaza as crossing remains closed:
WAFA reports: A 13-year-old Palestinian child has died due to starvation in Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip amidst the closure of the Rafah border crossing.
Medical sources said that the death toll from malnutrition and dehydration had risen to 37 people in the Gaza Strip.
According to local sources, the health situation in the Gaza Strip went from bad to worse, with the expansion of military operations in the city of Rafah towards the west, and all its hospitals being out of service.
The occupation continued to close the Rafah crossing for 26 days, amid warnings of a worsening humanitarian situation due to the lack of flow of life-saving supplies to citizens in various parts, especially in the areas of the northern Gaza Strip.
The body of female Palestinian journalist Ola Dahdouh, killed early this morning in an Israeli airstrike targeting her home on Al-Jalaa Street in Gaza City. pic.twitter.com/BQkVIs1FKX
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) June 1, 2024
West Bank: 15-year-old Palestinian boy shot dead by Israeli forces in Jericho:
A 15-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead and another was injured by Israeli occupation forces this evening during an Israeli military raid into the Aqabat Jabr refugee camp, located south of Jericho in the occupied West Bank, according to local sources.
Israeli occupation forces reportedly stormed the camp and opened fire on two Palestinians, including Ahmed Ashraf Hmedat, 15 years old. Hmedat, who sustained critical injuries, and the other victim were taken away by Israeli troops.
Later, Hmedat was pronounced dead of his wounds.
No Gaza ceasefire until Israel war aims achieved, Netanyahu says:
BBC reports: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted there will be no permanent ceasefire in Gaza until Hamas’s military and governing capabilities are destroyed and all hostages are released.
His statement comes after US President Joe Biden announced Israel had proposed a three-stage plan to Hamas aimed at reaching a permanent ceasefire.
A senior Hamas politician has told the BBC it “will go for this deal” if Israel does.
The negotiations come as fighting continues in Rafah, with reports of Israeli air strikes on Saturday in the city on Egypt’s border with Gaza.
There is no guarantee that the public pressure by Mr Biden on both Israel and Hamas to accept the plan will result in a deal.
In statement on Saturday, Mr Netanyahu’s office said Israel’s “conditions for ending the war have not changed”.
It listed these as “the destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel”.
The statement added Israel would “continue to insist these conditions are met” before agreeing to a permanent ceasefire, emphasizing that no deal could be signed before meeting them.
Israel’s ministers Ben-Gvir and Smotrich threaten to topple government if Biden-backed ceasefire is accepted:
Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened to leave the coalition and topple the government if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enters a Gaza ceasefire deal that would entail ending the war without the elimination of the Hamas movement.
Such a deal would be “foolhardy, constituting a victory for terrorism and a threat to Israel’s national security,” the ultranationalist head of the Jewish Power party said on X.
Finance Minister and head of the ultranationalist Religious Zionism party Bezalel Smotrich joined Ben-Gvir in threatening to leave the fragile coalition if the Israeli proposal for the hostage deal presented by President Biden goes through.
(For information on Jewish religious extremism see this.)
Netanyahu accepts Congress‘ invitation to speak despite blowback:
Politico reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday accepted an invitation from congressional leaders to address a joint session, a decision that has sparked tension within the Democratic Party over Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.
In a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, Netanyahu wrote that he was looking forward to the opportunity to “present the truth” to Congress about the “just war” that Israel has been waging in Gaza since Oct. 7.
Tensions have been mounting in recent weeks after Speaker Mike Johnson announced his plan to invite Netanyahu to address Congress. The Democratic Party has splintered over U.S. support for Israel in its ongoing war in Gaza, particularly after recent strikes in a designated safe zone for Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah that reportedly killed at least 45 people.
Progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has been outspoken in his disapproval of U.S. military support for Israel’s war, denounced the invitation.
“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend,” Sanders wrote in a post to X.
Other lawmakers, including Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) have signaled that they would likely skip Netanyahu’s address.
Nearly 60 Democrats boycotted Netanyahu’s last address in 2015, orchestrated by Republicans behind then-President Barack Obama’s back in an attempt to lobby against his signing onto the Iran nuclear deal.
Finkelstein: “A lot of what’s happening is due to the power of money of Jewish supremacists”:
In an interview with Krystal Ball and Kyle Kyle Kulinski on the news/commentary program Krystal Kyle & Friends on June 1, prominent author Norman Finkelstein pointed out: “The Israel Lobby is very well organized and very wealthy – lots of money.”
“A you recall, it all began when members of the Jewish billionaire class went after Harvard and threatened to withhold by any reckoning significant sums of money. $50 million here, $100 million there. That’s not small change; even for billionaires it’s not small change.
“Then the Jewish alumni presented a petition to Harvard – it was about 1,200 signatories – threatening to withhold money. And so all of the institutions began to cave in to that financial pressure that was being exerted…”
“There is a very real fear by Biden that this Jewish supremacist billionaire class will switch sides…” (Editor’s note: See this.)
Chile backs South Africa case against Israel at ICJ:
Chile will join South Africa’s case against Israel in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Chilean President Gabriel Boric announced during his presidential address.
“I have the obligation to talk about the critical situation in Gaza. We will never stop feeling outraged over the indiscriminate and disproportionate actions against innocent civilians – especially Palestinian women and children – carried out by the Israeli army,” Boric said.
“These acts demand a firm and permanent response from the international community. Besides the humanitarian aid we’ve provided Palestine, recalling our ambassador to Israel for consultations, and along with Mexico submitting a referral of the situation in Palestine to the International Criminal Court, I have decided that Chile will back the case presented by South Africa to the International Court of Justice in the Hague, within the framework of the UN Genocide Convention,” he added.
Belgium condemns the Israeli parliament's attempts to classify UNWRA as a terrorist organisation and to remove the immunity of its staff.
UNWRA's activities are essential for the Palestinians in the face of the dramatic humanitarian situation in Gaza.
— Hadja Lahbib (@hadjalahbib) June 1, 2024
The war in Gaza must end.
We support the US proposal for a durable peace. Just as we are working with our partners in the region on peace and security for all.
The release of the hostages, a permanent ceasefire to work towards peace and progress on the two-state solution.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 1, 2024
Canada has been calling for an immediate ceasefire, an urgent increase in unhindered humanitarian assistance, and the release of all hostages. The proposal put forward by @POTUS is an opportunity to end the suffering and return to a path to peace. All parties must seize it.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 1, 2024
Scenes of the brutal suppression by American police of a pro-Palestine solidarity protest at the Brooklyn Museum as officers used excessive force to crack down on the peaceful protesters. pic.twitter.com/BxxgH3dba3
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) June 2, 2024
