al jazeera“We do not seek to expand the war, but we will cut off every hand that attacks our country,” says an Iranian army spokesperson.
Ten bodies have been recovered so far from a mass grave at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital, says a Gaza health official at the site.
Israeli settlers are continuing their deadly rampage in the occupied West Bank as more Israeli troops have been called in.
At least 33,797 Palestinians have been killed and 76,465 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139 with dozens of people still held captive.
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said Israel and those providing military and political support for its war on Gaza are legally and morally responsible for rebuilding the Palestinian enclave.
In a post on social media outlining the projected $18.5bn damaged inflicted on the territory by Israel’s war so far, Albanese said she considered the systematic destruction of housing and civilian infrastructure a “war crime, crime against humanity, and part of the genocide” in Gaza.
Israel, who is mainly “responsible for this destruction, as well as the countries that have supplied military, material and political support for the last Gaza war, bear the ‘legal and moral responsibility’ to ensure reparations”, Albanese said.
The UN special rapporteur was among other UN experts who earlier released a statement deploring Israel’s reported use of artificial intelligence and “related military directives” in Gaza that had led “to an unprecedented toll on the civilian population, housing, vital services and infrastructure”.
Analysis from the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) has found that 33.13 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land was damaged as of February 2024.
This was a significant increase from October 2023, when just 5.36 percent of crop fields, arable and fallow lands was damaged, an increase of more than 11,000 square kilometres, according to UNOSAT.
“The decline in the health and density of the crops” was caused by “razing, heavy vehicle activity, bombing, shelling” and conflict more generally, UNOSAT said.
Gaza farmers have long cultivated diverse crops including wheat, olives and strawberries but with much of the most arable land in the Israeli buffer zone, farming has also come with many dangers.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he spoke with Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss the aftermath of Iran’s “unprecedented” drone and missile attack.
While reiterating “steadfast US support” for Israel, Austin also said he “reaffirmed the strategic goal of regional stability” with Gallant, which he said was in “our two countries’ shared interest”.
Austin also said in posts on social media that he had spoken with Bahraini, Qatari, Kuwaiti and Saudi Arabian leaders about the Iranian attack on Israel, US and coalition efforts to defend Israel, and was working “with regional partners to deescalate tensions in the region”.
The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, says the first bakery to reopen in the north of the Gaza Strip has only received enough fuel to operate for four days.
Long lines have been seen outside the bakery in Gaza City after it received the fuel delivery from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) on Sunday.
Kamel Ajour, a bakery owner in Gaza City, told the WFP that “making bakeries work again will bring back life to the Gaza Strip”.
No bakeries have been operating in the north of the Gaza Strip for months due to Israel’s blockade on electricity, fuel, flour and water and several direct attacks on bakery buildings.
Acute malnutrition is most severe in the north where the Ministry of Health in Gaza says 28 children have died of malnutrition and dehydration since February.
Two Palestinians were killed during confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli settlers southeast of Nablus, Israel’s military said.
According to the military, the double killing took place after a Palestinian was suspected of attacking an Israeli shepherd.
“During the incident, two Palestinians were killed, from a preliminary investigation it appears that it was not by [Israeli] forces,” the military said in a brief statement on social media, which did not mention arrests.
Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands reported earlier that two Palestinians were reported killed and a third injured around the village of Aqraba after they were approached by Israeli settlers. The Palestinians were understood to be shepherds.
Palestinian Ministry of Health officials reported on Monday that four Palestinians had been killed in Israeli settler attacks since Friday.
The two latest confirmed killings by settlers would now bring that death toll to six.
Mr.BadGuy
Publisher
Mr.BadGuy
Publisher
These soldiers are from a country whose president is a Jew Zelensky. Orthodox churches are also being destroyed in this country. Synagogues are not touched. Surprisingly, it turns out that Jews get along well with the Bandera Nazis.