Live Updates: Relief ops in Gaza unplannable, aid imports halted — UN

Thursday, May 16, 2024

1636 GMT — The UN aid chief has warned that famine was an immediate risk in Gaza with food stocks running out, describing fresh challenges since the start of Israel's Rafah invasion that made planning and distributing relief almost impossible.

Martin Griffiths said the global body was struggling to help them, with imports of aid all but halted through southern Gaza and fresh fighting adding to distribution challenges.

"Stocks of food which were in place already in southern Gaza are running out. I think we're talking about almost none left," Griffiths told Reuters in an interview in Geneva.

"And so the humanitarian operation is stuck, it's completely stuck. We can't do what we want to do," he said, calling the relief operation "unplannable".

1605 GMT — Land access to Gaza best way to stave off famine: UN

The United Nations has said it is finalising plans to distribute aid delivered via a temporary floating pier anchored by the US to a beach in Gaza but stressed that delivering aid by land is the "most viable, effective and efficient" method.

"To stave off the horrors of famine, we must use the fastest and most obvious route to reach the people of Gaza – and for that, we need access by land now," deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said.

1555 GMT — Erdogan urges countries to recognise Palestinian state

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged more countries to recognise the state of Palestine.

"The struggle for freedom, for which Palestinians have paid heavy prices, must be supported by all of humanity on the basis of law and diplomacy," Erdogan said in a news conference after receiving Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze in the Turkish capital Ankara.

15:49 GMT — South Africa has accused Israel at the top UN court of stepping up "genocide" in Gaza, urging the court to order a halt to Israel's assault on Rafah.

"South Africa had hoped, when we last appeared before this court, to halt this genocidal process to preserve Palestine and its people," Vusimuzi Madonsela told the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

"Instead, Israel's genocide has continued apace and has just reached a new and horrific stage," he added.

15:09 GMT — Gaza war 'open wound', Rafah assault 'unacceptable': UN chief

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has termed Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza as an "open wound that threatens to infect the entire region."

"Any assault on Rafah is unacceptable. It would inflict another surge of pain and misery when we need a surge in life-saving aid," Guterres said in a speech at the opening session of an annual Arab summit in Bahrain.

"It is time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza," he added. Guterres described the Gaza war as “the deadliest in my time as secretary-general, for civilians, aid workers, journalists, and our own UN colleagues.”

"Nothing can justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," he said. "The toll on civilians continues to escalate."

13:33 GMT — US military sees 500 tonnes of aid soon into Gaza via pier

The US military has said it expected around 500 tonnes of aid to enter Gaza in the coming days after an emergency pier was affixed to the shore in the war-ravaged territory.

"Just a few hours ago, the pier was successfully affixed to the beach in Gaza," said Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, deputy commander of US Central Command.

"I think we're going to get about 500 tons in the next couple of days. It's a pretty substantial amount, and it's spread out over multiple ships right now," Cooper told reporters.

13:01 GMT — ICJ opens two-day hearings on Israel's Rafah invasion

The United Nations' top court has opened two days of hearings into a request from South Africa to press Israel to halt its military offensive in southern Gaza's Rafah, where more than half of Gaza's population has sought shelter.

It is the fourth time South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice for emergency measures since the nation launched proceedings alleging that Israel's military action in its war with Hamas in Gaza amounts to genocide.

"The sitting is open," said ICJ President Nawaf Salam. According to the latest request, the previous preliminary orders by The Hague-based court were not sufficient to address "a brutal military attack on the sole remaining refuge for the people of Gaza."

10:13 GMT — Israel says 5 more soldiers killed in northern Gaza fighting

The Israeli army announced five more soldiers were killed in fighting in northern Gaza.

In a statement, the army said seven others were also injured, including three in serious condition. They all belonged to the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion.

The Times of Israel cited a military statement that claimed the incident was caused by "friendly fire" from a tank, and that it is subject to further investigation.

09:28 GMT — Germany bans pro-Palestinian association, raids homes of group members

German authorities banned a pro-Palestinian association for its alleged “anti-Israel worldview” and support for Hamas.

North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul said the Palestine Solidarity Duisburg association was banned, its assets were confiscated, and the group’s websites will be shut down.

“This ban comes at the right time and sends the right signal,” he said in a statement, claiming that the group was supporting the liberation of Palestine within the borders of 1947, and advocating for the destruction of the Israeli state.

08:49 GMT — The top UN court is holding hearings on the Israeli military's incursion into Rafah

The United Nations’ top court opens two days of hearings into a request from South Africa to press Israel to halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half of Gaza’s population has sought shelter.

It is the fourth time South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice for emergency measures since the nation launched proceedings alleging that Israel’s war in Gaza amounts to genocide.

According to the latest request, the previous preliminary orders by The Hague-based court were not sufficient to address “a brutal military attack on the sole remaining refuge for the people of Gaza".

08:15 GMT — Israeli army raids currency exchange shops in West Bank cities

Israeli forces raided several currency exchange shops across the occupied West Bank and arrested its owners and workers, sources told Anadolu Agency.

The forces stormed into several cities including Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Tubas, Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nablus, during which foreign currency exchange offices were raided.

The raids triggered clashes, and a number of owners and workers of the shops were held.

07:08 GMT — US army says Gaza pier project completed, aid to start flowing soon

The US army announced it finished constructing a temporary floating pier off the coast of Gaza meant to provide much needed aid to the blockaded enclave.

“Today at approximately 7:40 a.m. (Gaza time) United States Central Command personnel supporting the humanitarian mission to deliver additional humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in need anchored a temporary pier to the beach in Gaza,” the Central Command said on X.

As part of this effort, no US troops entered Gaza, it said, adding that trucks carrying humanitarian assistance are expected to begin moving ashore in the coming days.

06:30 GMT — Students in Paris mobilise to protest Gaza 'genocide', stop academic collaboration with Israel

Commemorating 76 years of Nakba, students from different universities in Paris gathered on Wednesday at the Sorbonne Square to denounce Israeli actions in Gaza, and the complicity of world powers.

Protesters also criticised the French government’s position on the conflict, and demanded an end to criminalisation of solidarity with the Palestinian people and an academic boycott of Israel.

Student committees organised the mobilisation after evacuation of the Sorbonne university encampment last week, and the arrest of 86 students by the police officers.

06:00 GMT — Israel's insistence on Rafah invasion forces negotiations into unknown fate: Hamas leader

The head of Hamas's political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, warned evening that Israel's insistence on continuing its military assault in the southern Gaza city of Rafah puts negotiations regarding the hostage release and the ceasefire in an “unknown fate.”

In a televised speech on the occasion of the 76th anniversary of the Palestinian "Nakba," Haniyeh stated that Hamas “positively engaged with the efforts of mediators in Egypt and Qatar to reach an agreement to stop the fighting in Gaza and hostage swap” with Israel.

He added that “the occupation responded to our acceptance of the cease-fire proposal (presented by Egypt and Qatar) by entering Rafah city and northern areas” in Gaza.

05:18 GMT — Türkiye’s foreign minister says US support enables Israel's actions in Gaza

Türkiye’s foreign minister highlighted the role of US support in enabling Israel's actions in Gaza, which border on genocide.

Hakan Fidan made the remarks while speaking to the Turkish news channel NTV while discussing foreign policy.

Pointing to the fundamental disparity in the stance between Türkiye and the US over the Gaza war, Fidan said the US unconditionally supports Israel regarding Gaza while Türkiye has unconditionally supported Palestine from the outset.

04:40 GMT — Israeli forces launch deadly raids across occupied West Bank

Israeli forces raided several cities and towns in the occupied West Bank and the homes of Palestinians, according to official sources.

The Israeli army carried out raids in Nablus, Tulkarem, Tubas, Qalqilya, Jericho, Bethlehem, Ramallah and Al-Bireh, the official Palestine TV reported.

Israeli troops shot and killed three men in the occupied West Bank.

04:10 GMT — Police disperse student protest at University of California, Irvine

Police dispersed a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of California, Irvine, after more than two weeks of student protest, witnesses said.

Officers from about 10 nearby law-enforcement agencies converged on the campus after university officials requested help because protesters had occupied the lecture hall, leading the school to declare it a "violent protest," police and university officials said.

About four hours later, police had ejected the protesters from both the lecture hall and the plaza that had been the site of the encampment, according to the university and Reuters witnesses.

03:25 GMT — Qassam Brigades announce killing of 12 Israeli soldiers in ‘complex operation’

The Palestinian resistance group Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, announced that they killed 12 Israeli soldiers in Gaza.

“In a complex operation in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, Qassam fighters targeted an Israeli D9 military bull dozer with a Yassin 105 shell and targeted a Zionist (Israeli) force holed up inside a house with two anti-personnel shells and engaged with it,” it said in a statement.

“As soon as a rescue force advanced to the location, an explosive device was detonated on a Merkava tank, and after attempting to retrieve the equipment of the targeted force thrown on the ground, the Israeli Air Force bombed the area ruthlessly, and our fighters confirmed the killing of at least 12 Israeli soldiers in the operation,” it added.

03:00 GMT — US military claims it destroyed four Houthi projectiles

The US military has said that it had destroyed four "uncrewed aerial systems" in an area of Yemen run by Houthi group.

US Central Command said on the social media site X that the systems presented an imminent threat to US and coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region.

02:23 GMT — University of California official says system has $32 billion in holdings targeted by pro-Gaza students

Investments in weapons manufacturers and a wide array of other companies by the University of California targeted by students protesting Israel's genocidal war in Gaza represent $32 billion - or nearly one-fifth - of the system's overall assets, the system's chief investment officer says.

UC Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher unveiled the estimate on Tuesday at the first public Board of Regents meeting since nationwide pro-Palestine student protests began in April. The calculation was in response to a letter he received last month from the UC Divest Coalition, which is scrutinizing the system's overall $175 billion in assets.

The group asked for the system to halt its investments in weapons manufacturers, the investment firms Blackstone and BlackRock, and two dozen companies across the entertainment, technology and beverage industries.

02:14 GMT — Pro-Palestine students stage walkout at New York University

A group of students at New York University (NYU) have staged a protest in solidarity with Palestine during the school’s main graduation ceremony at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Wearing keffiyehs and chanting "We will free Palestine,” they walked out of their commencement, demanding their school divest from Israel.

According to reports, several protesters had their hands painted red, while others carried Palestinian flags and banners that featured slogans in solidarity with Palestine.

02:00 GMT — South Africa to ask ICJ to order halt in Israel's Rafah invasion

South Africa will ask the top UN court to order a halt to the Rafah invasion as part of its case in The Hague accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza.

The hearings at the International Court of Justice [ICJ], also known as the World Court, come after South Africa last week asked for additional emergency measures to protect Rafah, a southern Gaza city where more than 1.5 million Palestinians have been sheltering.

It also asked the court to order Israel to allow unimpeded access to Gaza for UN officials, organisations providing humanitarian aid, and journalists and investigators. It added that Israel has so far ignored and violated earlier court orders.

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