ATLANTA, USA, Jan 31 2025 (IPS)* – Either the new US President, Mr. Trump, is ignorant of international law or thinks he’s so brilliant that he doesn’t care about it.
Either way, he seems to have stumbled into proposing an extension of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s clearly documented crime of genocide by suggesting that somebody “clear out” the people in Gaza, in effect advocating the ethnic cleansing of the territory.
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Families begin their journey back home from the south of Gaza to Gaza City and the northern areas. 30 January 2025. Credit: UNICEF/Eyad El Baba
(UN News)* — As more than 423,000 displaced Palestinians return to their homes in northern Gaza following the opening of key roads, UN agencies are scaling up humanitarian aid and addressing the growing risks posed by unexploded ordnance such as landmines (UXO).
(UN News)* —The implementation of new Israeli laws banning the UN Palestine refugee agency, UNRWA – set to take effect on Thursday – will heighten instability and deepen despair in the occupied Palestinian territory, the Security Council has heard.
Briefing ambassadors in New York on Tuesday [], UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini warned that the laws passed in October last year in the Knesset jeopardize the lives of millions of Palestinians and risks undermining the fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
(Jerusalem, January 28, 2025) – The Israeli government’s blockade of Gaza and attacks on healthcare facilities have created serious and sometimes life-threatening danger for women and girls during and after pregnancy and delivery since hostilities began in October 2023, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on 28 January 2025.
(UN News)* — The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday [] expressed grave concerns over escalating violence in the Jenin area of the occupied West Bank, condemning the use of “unlawful lethal force” by Israeli security forces.
OHCHR spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan added that the Israeli military operation in and around the Jenin refugee camp had involved “disproportionate” use of force, including airstrikes and shootings that reportedly targeted unarmed residents.
(UN News)* — In a rare moment of cautious optimism, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher addressed the Security Council on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza on Thursday [], emphasizing the plight of children who have borne the brunt of the conflict.
()* — Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) on Friday []welcomed the Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal, pledging to scale up aid delivery across the stricken enclave once it comes into effect.
UN Photo/Mark Garten | Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, briefs journalists on UNRWA and latest developments in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Lazzarini emphasised that the agreement is only the first step in addressing the region’s overwhelming humanitarian challenges.
(UN News)* — Israeli authorities continue to deny UN-led efforts to reach North Gaza with lifesaving aid, including the most recent attempt on Friday [10], according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
On Thursday [9], only 10 out of 21 planned humanitarian movements were facilitated by the Israeli authorities.
Seven were denied outright, three were impeded and one was cancelled due to security and logistical challenges, said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, at Friday’s media briefing in New York.
OCHA is also deeply concerned about the impact that dwindling fuel supplies are having on essential services in Gaza.
(UN News)* —The horrors in Gaza show no signs of abating, the UN said on Thursday [], noting that the Ministry of Health reports that over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed there since October 2023, most of them women and children.
Tragically in the last month alone, eight newborns have died of hypothermia and 74 children have already died amid the brutal conditions of winter in 2025.
“We enter this New Year carrying the same horrors as the last – there’s been no progress and no solace. Children are now freezing to death,” Louise Tidewater from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, told UN News.
Meanwhile, hostilities continue with relentless operations by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) causing mass casualties and widespread destruction.
SAN FRANCISCO, USA, Jan 7 2025 (IPS)* – When news broke over the weekend that President Biden just approved an $8 billion deal for shipping weapons to Israel, a nameless official vowed that “we will continue to provide the capabilities necessary for Israel’s defense.”
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Displaced Palestinians walk through the Nour Shams camp in the West Bank. Credit: UNRWA/Mohammed Alsharif
Following the reports last month from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch concluding that Israeli actions in Gaza are genocide, Biden’s decision was a new low for his presidency.
It’s logical to focus on Biden as an individual. His choices to keep sending huge quantities of weaponry to Israel have been pivotal and calamitous.
But the presidential genocide and the active acquiescence of the vast majority of Congress are matched by the dominant media and overall politics of the United States.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 