Gaza Dispute
Live Reporting
Unemployment nears 80 percent in Gaza, UN agency says
Unemployment in Gaza has reached nearly 80 percent, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said, bringing the average unemployment rate across Gaza and the occupied West Bank to more than 50 percent.
An ILO report, released on Friday, added that:
Unemployment in Gaza reached 79.1 percent, while the occupied West Bank has seen joblessness hit nearly 32 percent.
The figures give a combined unemployment rate of 50.8 percent.
Real GDP contracted by nearly 33 percent in Palestine with an estimated contraction of 83.5 percent in Gaza and by 22.7 percent in the occupied West Bank.
Daily private sector production losses amount to $19m across the occupied Palestinian territory during the first four months of the war.
Among West Bank workers who are still employed, 51 percent faced reduced hours of work and 62.8 percent experienced a reduction in wages.
Israeli military says operations continue across Gaza
The Israeli military says troops are continuing their operations in eastern Bureij and eastern Deir el-Balah.
In a situational update, the military said “dozens of terrorists” had been “eliminated” in those areas, and added that the air force had “eliminated the Commander of a Rocket and fire terrorist cell”.
The military said its operations are continuing across the Gaza Strip.
Over the past day in central Gaza, Israeli paratroopers have joined troops to “operate against Hamas terror targets”.
In the southern Rafah region, the military is continuing what is describes as “intelligence-based” operations and is locating “tunnel shafts and numerous weapons”.
How does the US antiwar movement today differ from that of 1967-68?
The Gaza war puts US President Joe Biden in a lose-lose position. Sanders warned Biden last month that he may lose young voters. Pollsters reported he may have already lost the Palestinian-American vote in the key battleground state of Michigan. He may also be in danger of losing critical older Jewish voters in Pennsylvania, another battleground state in November’s presidential election.
Unlike 56 years ago, the 2024 election will not be decided by the fractures caused by a foreign war alone. The fractures in today’s America are arguably deeper and more dangerous. But what is remarkable in 21st century America is the ease with which political operatives and their social and mass media supporters set the narrative, distort facts and create false equivalencies to the detriment of all.
Footage shows Israeli forces killing 2 Palestinians in West Bank
Footage, verified by Al Jazeera, shows Israeli forces pursuing two Palestinians on a motorcycle in Jenin who were among three people killed during the military’s raid.
The shocking footage shows the two victims being followed by Israeli forces travelling in an armoured jeep and then suddenly falling from their motorcycle as if being shot from behind.
After the victims crash to the ground, the Israeli military vehicle pulls up alongside the driver and passenger and pauses briefly before continuing on without checking on the wellbeing or providing first aid to the stricken pair.
Later video footage shows ambulance crews from the Palestine Red Crescent Society retrieve the bodies of the two victims and then come under fire from the Israeli military while doing so.
Hamas’s confidence in surviving war has ‘solidified’: Monitors
Hamas “remains confident” that it can survive the current war being waged by Israel on the Gaza Strip, US-based defence think tanks report, adding that the Palestinian group’s confidence in surviving has “solidified” since Israel scaled back military units deployed to Gaza in December.
Noting that the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar said in February that “his military forces are in good condition”, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project (CTP) said Israeli raids on Gaza are being complicated by Hamas’s tactic of fighting and then withdrawing to areas absent of Israeli forces to “rest and reconstitute”.
The latest ISW/CTP joint report also addresses a Reuters report in which US and Israeli officials say that Hamas has shifted to “insurgent” tactics, which the US officials said the Palestinian armed group can sustain “for months”.
Hamas continues to have access to weapons either smuggled into Gaza or captured from Israeli forces, the officials told Reuters.
‘Disgrace’: UK MP slams possible use of British weapons in Gaza
A Labour Party candidate in the UK’s upcoming general election has condemned the potential use of British-made weapons in war crimes in Gaza after an Israeli air strike on a UN-run school killed dozens of people.
“It is a disgrace that British-made weapons could be being used to commit crimes like this,” Zarah Sultana, who is running to retain her seat of Coventry South on July 4, said in a post on X.
Labour leader Keir Starmer, who is widely tipped to be the next prime minister, has come under growing pressure to halt arms sales to Israel.
Last month, senior Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth said he did not want to see British weapons being used in Israel’s assault on the city of Rafah.
Labour has not committed to halting arms sales to Israel if it wins the election but has pledged to review the exports and make a decision based on the most up-to-date legal advice.
Police use tear gas to disperse pro-Palestine protesters in Montreal
Montreal police deployed tear gas to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, on Thursday.
Police initially formed a barricade on the street, but as the protest grew and spread to the campus square, more officers in riot gear were deployed. An hour into the protest, police entered the administration building, where demonstrators had barricaded themselves.
They closed the windows and removed the protesters’ materials.
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) McGill released a detailed statement on Telegram, criticising the university for rejecting their demands to divest from companies linked to Israel.
“Students have barricaded themselves inside to reclaim the university, which continues to fund and support the genocide of the Palestinian people,” the statement read. “As Zionist forces advance into Rafah, committing atrocities, McGill administrators shamelessly maintain their financial and academic connections.”
Biden expresses confidence: Netanyahu attentive to his concerns
United States President Joe Biden has said that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is listening to his concerns about his handling of the war in Gaza.
“I think he’s listening to me,” Biden he said in an interview with ABC News aired on Thursday.
“They were going to go into Russia — into Rafah — full bore, invade all of Rafah, go into the city, take it out, move, move with full force. They haven’t done that. And what they’ve done is they’ve agreed to a significant agreement.”
Biden’s comments come amid signs of growing divisions between the leaders as the US leader tries to balance supporting Israel and pressuring Netanyahu to end the war.
Israeli military faces UN warning over violations of international law after attack on school
The UN’s human right office has said that the Israeli military’s failure to ensure “distinction, proportionality and precaution” in its attacks that have killed Palestinian civilians would amount to violations of international humanitarian law.
Responding after an Israeli air strike killed at least 35 people at a UN-run school in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, the UN rights office said that Israel’s claim that Palestinian fighters were using the school does not justify such an attack.
The presence of fighters “would not allow or justify violations” of the international humanitarian law principles of distinguishing between civilians and combatants when carrying out attacks, and proportionately and precaution to ensure civilians are not targeted, the UN said in a statement.
“We note with concern that this attack follows a strike last week on an IDPs camp that left at least 45 Palestinians dead,” the UN rights office said.
Malaysia’s Anwar welcomes Biden’s push for Gaza ceasefire
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has expressed support for US President Joe Biden’s proposal for a complete ceasefire to end the war in Gaza.
Anwar said during a speech at the 37th Asia-Pacific Roundtable on Thursday that his administration welcomed “positive developments” in Washington’s stance towards the conflict.
“Within the constraints of the US political system in an election year, President Biden has recently expressed growing impatience with his Israeli counterpart,” Anwar was quoted saying by state news agency Bernama.
“He has also begun to push for an acceptance of a proposal for a ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages. ”
Anwar also reiterated his support for the Palestinian cause.
“Malaysia is no major power but make no mistake, we will use our freedom to support the Palestinians’ fight for their rights,” he said.
Israeli prime minister to address US Congress in July: Report
Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint session of the US Congress on July 24, The Associated Press (AP) news agency reports.
US Congressional leaders last week formally invited Netanyahu to come speak, in what is seen as the most recent show of wartime support for the Israeli leader despite mounting political divisions in the US over Israel’s war on Gaza.
US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, along with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, signed the letter extending the invitation to Netanyahu.
They said the offer was intended to “highlight America’s solidarity with Israel”.
The date of the speech had been in flux. It has now been set for July 24, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to the AP.
The mayor of Nuseirat, Iyad al-Maghari – described as “one of the most active mayors in the Gaza Strip” – was among five people killed in an Israeli raid on central Gaza.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said Hamas is still studying a US-backed proposal for a truce in Gaza that could potentially lead to a full ceasefire.
Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid said the Israeli government has “lost all ability” to prevent Israel’s “political deterioration”, adding that “only a sane government will be able to rebuild our international status and strengthen us abroad”.
UN chief Antonio Guterres joined in the condemnation of Israel’s attack on a UN-run school that killed dozens in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the Israeli attack on the UN-run school in the Nuseirat refugee camp “must be independently investigated, in line with the last ICJ [International Court of Justice] order”.
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Spain joins S. Africa's Gaza case at UN top court
MADRID (AFP) – Spain said Thursday it would join South Africa's case at the UN's top court in which Pretoria has accused Israel of "genocide" in the Gaza Strip.
This statement came a week after Spain, along with Ireland and Norway, recognised the state of Palestine, sparking fury from Israel.
