Gaza: Israel ‘approaches UN’ to resume limited aid deliveries
The UN’s relief coordination agency, OCHA, said on Monday that it had been approached by Israeli authorities to resume limited aid deliveries in the devastated enclave where famine is looming.
In a short statement, OCHA said that it was in discussions with Israel on how this would take place, given the conditions on the ground.
It is now 11 weeks since the Israeli authorities closed off all food, fuel and medicines to Gaza.
Aid workers reported intensifying Israeli bombing and ground operations in Gaza since the weekend, with mass displacement of around 63,000 people since Saturday.
According to news reports the Israel Government has taken the decision to resume “basic” levels of aid delivery to ensure against starvation, on the recommendation of the Israel Defense Forces and in support of a renewed Gaza offensive.
Attacks on healthcare killed 900 people last year: WHO’s Tedros
Staying with Gaza, the head of the UN World Health Organization on Monday said that 10,000 people in the enclave need medical evacuation abroad urgently.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appealed directly to occupying power Israel “to allow these evacuations and to allow urgently needed food and medicine to enter Gaza”.
In his speech to the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Tedros also condemned attacks on healthcare in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and elsewhere, which he described as a “new normal” of conflict.
“Last year we verified more than 1,500 attacks on health care in 15 countries and territories, killing more than 900 people. In every country, the best medicine is peace, and a political solution. I hope peace will prevail that can transcend generations. War is not the solution. Peace is the solution.”
In Gaza, Tedros said that the risk of famine was increasing as aid continues to be withheld deliberately by Israel. At the same time, the enclave’s health system is “already on its knees”, he insisted.
“Two million people are starving, while 116,000 tonnes of food is blocked at the border just minutes away,” he said.
Australia justice system in spotlight over child offenders’ reform
To Australia, where top independent rights experts have expressed concern at proposed legal reforms that could increase penalties for children.
In most Australian states, criminal responsibility begins at 10, allowing youngsters to be incarcerated for a wide range of crimes, if convicted.
Already, disproportionately large numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children continue to be jailed in Australia, according to rights experts Jill Edwards and Albert Barume.
The Special Rapporteurs – who report to the Human Rights Council – have insisted that “many new or proposed” laws across the country are incompatible with child rights.
These include the so-called “Adult crime, Adult time” legal reform in the state of Queensland.
If adopted later this week, it could result in children serving longer jail time for dozens of criminal offences.
“The first goal should always be to be keeping children out of prison,” the rights experts said. They emphasized the excessive impact of the Queensland bill on indigenous children and the risk of creating “a future under-class of Australians”.
Daniel Johnson, UN News
Music composed and produced by Joachim Harris. All rights reserved.
Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).
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