THE United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has warned that half the population is starving in Gaza.
UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, said residents stopping aid trucks and immediately consuming the food indicates desperation and hunger.
He condemned ‘smear campaigns’ against Palestinians and those assisting them, saying that UNRWA is one of the intended targets of the Israeli war on Gaza.
Hamas accused the Israeli occupation army of using internationally prohibited ammunition and bombs in its genocidal war on Gaza and the persistent bombardment of homes, shelters, tents and hospitals.
‘All this is happening in full view of the world, with support from the US, Britain and some European countries,’ senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told a news conference in Beirut.
‘About 19,000 citizens of our people have been martyred and about 52,000 others have been injured, while there are approximately 8,000 missing persons – 70 per cent of them children and women,’ Hamdan said.
‘There is no safe place or safe passages in the Gaza Strip. These are lies the occupation keeps repeating and every official of the US administration keeps parroting. The entirety of Gaza, from its northernmost to southernmost areas, is targeted. The war trio and losers, Netanyahu, Gantz and Gallant, achieved nothing of their aggressive goals and their ongoing Nazi war against Gaza. Their dreams and illusions will be shattered on the land of proud Gaza.’
- Two Christian women – an elderly mother and her daughter – were shot dead by an Israeli sniper inside a Catholic church in Gaza. ‘Around noon today, a sniper of the Israeli occupation army murdered two Christian women inside Holy Family Parish in Gaza,’ where Christian families have been sheltering, the patriarchate said on Saturday.
‘Nahida and her daughter Samar were shot and killed as they walked to the Sister’s Convent. One was killed as she tried to carry the other to safety,’ it said.
The patriarchate said no warning was given before the shooting started and added that ‘they were shot in cold blood inside the premises of the Parish, where there are no fighters’. Seven more people were also wounded by Israeli gunfire as they tried to protect others, the statement said.
- The families of Israeli prisoners held by the resistance in Gaza called on the Israeli government to ‘stop the fighting and start negotiations’ with the Palestinian movement Hamas to secure their release.
Noam Perry, daughter of captive Hayim Perry, said: ‘We only receive bodies. We want you to stop the fighting and start negotiations.’ She made these remarks during a gathering in Tel Aviv on Saturday, after Israel said that three Israeli prisoners held during a military operation in the Gaza Strip had been killed ‘by mistake’.
Ruby Chen, father of 19-year-old captive Itay Chen, said: ‘It seems like a game of Russian roulette: Who will be the next one to find out about the death of a family member? We want to know what proposal is on the government’s table.’
The Israeli army revealed additional details on Saturday about the three prisoners who were killed, noting that the three detainees had raised white flags and shouted ‘save us’. However, the soldiers fired at them.
DOCTORS MARCHING FOR PALESTINE
A large demonstration including many doctors assembled outside St Thomas’ Hospital on Westminster Bridge on Saturday and marched to Downing Street for a rally calling for a an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the occupation of Palestine.
More than 200 medical staff have been slaughtered in the Israeli genocidal onslaught on Gaza.
Palestinian Ambassador to the UK Husam Zomlot said that Gaza’s hospitals, doctors, ambulances and rescue teams have been hit by Israel over the last two months in ‘deliberate’ attacks ‘because they know that our doctors are a lifeline for our society and they want to make Gaza unlivable, lifeless, because it is you who will give life and it is you who will protect life’.
‘This is a war on our children, on our families, on our hospitals, on our schools, on our universities, on our infrastructure on everything that will give life to our people. It is a war on children.’
Ben Jamal, director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), said: ‘We know this this did not begin on October 7th. Israel has unleashed upon Gaza a textbook case of genocide. We need to keep marching and protesting to keep pressure on our political leaders to call for a ceasefire.’
There were large marches and rallies for Palestine all over Britain on Saturday, including in Abergavenny, Barnstaple, Bedford, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Canterbury, Cardiff, Carlisle, Chichester, Coventry, Derby, Durham, Exeter, Farnham, Gillingham, Guildford, Hastings, Hitchin, Ipswich, Newport Isle of Wight, Kettering, Leeds, Lincoln, Liverpool, Margate, Montgomeryshire, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Penzance, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Slough, Southampton, Southend, Tunbridge Wells, Watford, Wellingborough, Weymouth, Worthing.
In London there were rallies in Camden, Hackney, Harrow, Lewisham, Redbridge, Richmond, Southall, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and Wembley.
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