The UN General Assembly voted by a large majority on Friday to support the Palestinians’ application for membership in the organization. The resolution, which considers that the Palestinians should “be admitted to the Organization” and grants them some additional rights as observers, received 143 votes for, 9 against and 25 abstentions.
The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately welcomed this vote, seeing it as proof that “Palestine […] deserves” to become a “full member”. This “proclaims that Palestine fulfills all the requirements provided for by the Charter of the United Nations […] and therefore deserves and is capable of becoming a full member of the UN”, estimates the ministry in a press release. This resolution is symbolic because of the American veto in the Security Council.
Information to remember
⇒ Washington criticizes Israel for its conduct of the war
⇒ France calls on Israel to cease its operation in Rafah “without delay”
⇒ Israeli army extends evacuation of Rafah neighborhoods
Gaza: Israeli army extends evacuation of Rafah neighborhoods
The Israeli army extended, this Saturday, May 11, the evacuation of eastern Rafah, begun at the beginning of the week, by ordering the population of additional neighborhoods of this town in the south of the Gaza Strip to move “immediately “. “Other neighborhoods” than those evacuated in recent days “have been the scene of Hamas terrorist activities in recent days and weeks,” army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in Arabic on X.
The message is also relayed on the ground. “To all residents and displaced persons in the Rafah area, including the Rafah camps, Shaboura, the administrative districts, Jeneina and Khirbet al-Adas (….) you find yourself in a dangerous combat zone!”, warns army in leaflets, SMS and voice notes. The neighborhoods mentioned are located in the western continuity of those already evacuated since Monday.
The Israeli army will “soon act forcefully against terrorist organizations in your area”, it says, and residents are asked to “immediately move towards the humanitarian zone” of al-Mawasi, about ten kilometers further west, along the beach in the west of the city. In this message, Avichay Adrae specifies that evacuation orders were also issued for residents of the neighborhoods of Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya, in the north of the Gaza Strip.
Washington considers it likely that Israel violated the law in Gaza
The United States considers it likely that Israel violated international humanitarian law in Gaza without being able to conclusively conclude this, and will continue to deliver weapons to this country, according to a highly anticipated report from the State Department released Friday. This indicates that it is “reasonable to consider” that Israel used weapons in a manner incompatible with international humanitarian law and therefore American law, but that the United States was unable to achieve at this stage to definitive “conclusions”, due to lack of sufficient information. Otherwise, the United States would have been forced to stop supplying weapons to Israel for its war against Hamas.
This report was commissioned by President Joe Biden under pressure from elected Democrats denouncing the use of weapons provided by his administration, at the risk of seeing the United States become “accomplices”. Its publication comes shortly after the US president publicly threatened to suspend the delivery of certain categories of weapons to Israel, including artillery shells, if Israel launched a major offensive in the crowded southern city of Rafah. Gaza Strip, which he opposes.
France calls on Israel to cease its operation in Rafah “without delay”
France calls on Israel to cease “without delay” its military operation in Rafah, which threatens to create a “catastrophic situation” for the population of the Gaza Strip, its Foreign Ministry said in a statement sent to the press. and published on during the night from Friday to Saturday.
“We call on the Israeli authorities to cease this military operation without delay and to return to the path of negotiations, the only possible path to lead to the immediate release of the hostages and obtain a lasting ceasefire,” indicated the Quai d’Orsay about the situation in Rafah. “Such an operation threatens to cause a catastrophic situation for the civilian populations of Gaza, already displaced on multiple occasions,” continues the press release from French diplomacy.
Attack on Rafah would cause ‘colossal humanitarian catastrophe’, UN chief warns
An Israeli ground offensive on Rafah would lead to a “colossal humanitarian catastrophe”, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Friday, as military operations against Hamas in this overpopulated city paralyze the entry of aid in the Gaza Strip. Antonio Guterres added that famine was looming in the Palestinian territory.
Woman injured by rocket salvos in southern Israel
A woman was injured Friday in Beersheva, a large city in southern Israel targeted by two salvos of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip by Hamas, the Israeli army announced. The emergency services reported having “treated a 37-year-old woman, slightly injured by a shrapnel and evacuated her to the hospital,” the army said. The army told AFP that nine rockets were fired from the Rafah area in the south of the Gaza Strip, and five more later from the center of the besieged Palestinian territory, towards Beersheba, about forty kilometers as the crow flies from the demarcation line between Israel and Gaza.