Author: Steven Sahiounie

A United Nations official has been killed along with more than 70 members of his extended family in an Israeli airstrike near Gaza City, as the world body condemned a series of mass massacres and successive crimes committed by the Israeli crimes in the besieged territory.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has hoped for an end to the brutal Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in the New Year.

The UN special rapporteur on the right to housing pointed to “institutionalized impunity” as the root cause behind Gaza events, citing “war crimes,” “genocide,” and “crimes against humanity.” In a statement posted on X, Balakrishnan Rajagopal highlights the urgent need for action by the International Criminal Court (ICC) or a special tribunal for Gaza in response to the ongoing violations. Despite mounting evidence, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan’s reluctance to thoroughly investigate Israel is criticized by Palestinian officials, victims, and legal scholars. South Africa has recently completed the paperwork for the war crimes complaint which was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa…

In phone call, Hakan Fidan, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan discuss Gaza and draft resolution adopted by UN Security Council, say Turkish diplomatic sources Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his counterpart from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) spoke over the phone and discussed the situation in Gaza, according to Turkish diplomatic sources on Saturday.
 Fidan and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed the draft resolution adopted by the UN Security Council regarding the current situation in Gaza and humanitarian aid. Underlining the importance of making maximum efforts to carry out humanitarian aid activities in the most effective…

President Mahmoud Abbas expressed today his hope that this Christmas would mark a cessation of the Israeli war against the Palestinian people in Gaza, as well as across the occupied Palestinian territories, wishing prosperity and stability for the Palestinian people and all nations. In his speech marking Christmas according to the Gregorian calendar, the President said that “the sun of freedom and [our] independent state with Jerusalem as its capital is inevitably rising, almost within reach.” “The river of blood, the immense sacrifices, the hardships, and the heroic resilience of our people on their land are the path towards freedom…

Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, says the UN Security Council resolution for humanitarian relief will only result in a “drop in the ocean of suffering” in Gaza. “There should not be hinderance to the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Israel should not have stopped the delivery of humanitarian assistance and create the conditions for making delivery impossible,” she told Al Jazeera. “There is only one country to unlock what’s happening at the moment – the carnage, the mass-scale violations of international law. That country is the United States. People in the White House and the State Department, they hold the…

The PRCS says the trucks were received from their Egyptian counterpart and included food, water, humanitarian aid and medical supplies. Twenty-three commercial trucks also entered the besieged Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, the Palestine Red Crescent said. Source: AlJazeera

The Israeli prime minister earlier said he thanked Biden for US actions this week at the UN Security Council. The US delayed a vote on a resolution for several days over opposition to language calling for a halt or pause to the fighting to allow a scale-up of aid. Speaking to reporters, Biden described the call with Netanyahu as “long” and “private”. “I did not ask for a ceasefire,” he said, reiterating his administration’s entrenched position. Source: AlJazeera

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it welcomed the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2720, Saudi Press Agency reported. The resolution called for urgent steps to allow the immediate, extensive, safe, and unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid and to create the necessary conditions for a sustainable ceasefire in Gaza. The Ministry expressed hope that the resolution would be a step in the right direction towards achieving a comprehensive halt to military operations and protecting civilians in Gaza amid Israel’s war with Hamas in the enclave, which broke out on Oct. 7. The Ministry reiterated Saudi Arabia’s demand for the…

A total of 40 trucks carrying humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza were sent through the Rafah checkpoint, al-Qahera al-Ihbaria reported.