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UNRWA slams Israeli ban on international journalists reporting on Gaza, calls to allow it to work

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UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini on April 30, 2024 [FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images]

Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), on Saturday condemned Israel’s ongoing ban on international journalists entering Gaza, calling it an unprecedented act in modern conflict, Anadolu reports.

“This is unprecedented in any other conflict in modern history,” Lazzarini said in a statement.

“It is a ban on the truth. It is a ban on reporting the facts. It is the perfect recipe to fuel misinformation, deepening polarization and dehumanization.”

He stressed the importance of allowing independent reporting and supporting local journalists: “International journalists must independently report from Gaza and support their Palestinian colleagues who continue to do a heroic job at a heavy price.”

“Nearly 200 of them were reported killed since the war began,” said Lazzarini, stressing that “the ban on international media must be lifted.”

Separately, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Saturday reiterated its call for cooperation from the Israeli government over allegations made against the agency, stating that no credible evidence has been provided despite repeated requests.

“UNRWA has repeatedly requested cooperation and evidence from Israel regarding the serious allegations made against the Agency,” the agency said in an official statement.

READ: At least 65 Palestinians killed, 100 more injured as Israel continues attacks on Gaza on 2nd day of Eid

“After 20 months, UNRWA has not received any response, nor has the Government of Israel shared any sufficient evidence.”

The agency emphasized its continued commitment to its humanitarian mandate, stating: “UNRWA remains committed to its mandate and is ready to deliver humanitarian assistance at scale in Gaza, together with other UN agencies.”

Israel, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a genocidal offensive in Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 54,700 Palestinians, most of them women and children. Aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among the enclave’s more than 2 million inhabitants.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war crimes against civilians in the enclave.

READ: Israeli lawmaker shows off keys to locked UNRWA Headquarters in Jerusalem in Knesset session

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
Continue ReadingUNRWA slams Israeli ban on international journalists reporting on Gaza, calls to allow it to work

Thousands expected at anti-austerity demonstration

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/thousands-expected-anti-austerity-demonstration

 People take part in the People’s Assembly Britain is Broken national demonstration in central London, November 5, 2022

AHUGE demonstration is being held in central London tomorrow to “send a message” to the government over spending cuts and welfare reform.

The People’s Assembly said it expected thousands of trade unionists, campaigners and activists to attend the protest.

The campaign group accused the government of making spending cuts that target the poorest in society.

A spokesperson said: “The adherence to ‘fiscal rules’ traps us in a public service funding crisis, increasing poverty, worsening mental health and freezing public-sector pay.

“Scrapping winter fuel payments, keeping the Tory two-child benefit cap, abandoning Waspi women, cutting £5 billion of welfare by limiting PIP [personal independence payments] and universal credit eligibility and slashing UK foreign aid from 0.5 per cent to 0.3 per cent of GDP, while increasing defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, are presented as ‘tough choices.’

“Real tough choices would be for a Labour government to tax the rich and their hidden wealth to fund public services, fair pay, investment in communities and the NHS.”

…

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/thousands-expected-anti-austerity-demonstration

Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership all feel a small part of Scunthorpe.
Keir Starmer says that the Labour Party under his leadership all feel a small part of Scunthorpe.
Keir Starmer confirms that he's proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Keir Starmer confirms that he’s proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Continue ReadingThousands expected at anti-austerity demonstration

Most new build homes must have solar panels – Miliband

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Ed Miliband

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0j728gvp94o

Builders will be required to fit solar panels to the “vast majority” of new build homes in England under changes to be published this year, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has said.

The regulations will require developers to add panels unless the buildings fall under certain exemptions such as being covered by shade.

Speaking to the BBC, Miliband said the move was “just common sense” adding that solar panels would save the typical household £500 a year on their energy bills.

The Home Builders Federation said it backed fitting more panels but cautioned against introducing “burdensome” paperwork which it said could harm government efforts to build 1.5 million new homes by 2029.

The rules will be included in the Future Homes Standard, which will detail a wider plan for improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.

The government says it will be published in autumn but there will be a transitional period for developers to adjust to the regulation changes.

…

Article continues at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0j728gvp94o

Labour warned to keep spending review in line with net zero or face legal action

Continue ReadingMost new build homes must have solar panels – Miliband

‘Death and hunger’: CNN investigation points to Israeli gunfire in Gaza aid site shooting

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Relatives and loved ones of Palestinians, who lost their lives after Israeli forces opened fire on a crowd gathered at an aid distribution point in the Al-Alam area of Rafah, mourn for their deceased ones at Nasser Medical Complex during their funeral procedures in Khan Yunis, Gaza on June 3, 2025. [Abdallah F.s. Alattar – Anadolu Agency]

A CNN investigation found that Israeli troops opened fire on crowds of Palestinians near an aid distribution site in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, leaving dozens of casualties, Anadolu reports.

Citing more than a dozen witnesses, CNN said Israeli troops shot at crowds in volleys of gunfire that occurred sporadically.

Dozens were shot dead in Gaza after Israeli forces opened fire on multiple occasions on Palestinians seeking aid brought in by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a group backed by the US and Israel that has been operating in the enclave since May 27.

According to the report, video evidence geolocated by CNN, along with expert analysis of recovered bullets and audio of sustained gunfire, indicates that the rounds were likely fired from Israeli military machine guns mounted on tanks stationed near the aid site.

“No one move, stay in your place!” a man is heard shouting in video clips posted to TikTok during the chaos.

According to the videos, Palestinians were running or ducking for shelter as tracer fire lit up the night sky.

“I saw people shot in the head next to me. I crouched, waited, prayed I’d live long enough to bring food back to my family,” Mohammed Saqer, a survivor, told CNN. “We survived a night that was worse than we could imagine. The reality for people was one of death and hunger searching for food.”

READ: More than 640,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced in Gaza since March: UN

The Israeli military declined to answer questions about CNN’s findings, per the report.

Robert Maher, a professor at Montana State University in the US, who specializes in forensic audio analysis, examined the footage for CNN and said the bursts of gunfire were at a rate of 15 and 16 shots per second (or 900 and 960 per minute), fired from a distance of about a quarter of a mile (450 meters).

“Since the cracks are irregular, it seems more like the gunfire was being sprayed over the area,” Maher was quoted.

According to the report, the doctors working at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis shared photos with CNN of the bullets retrieved from patients who were injured and killed in the attack, which weapons experts said appear to match the type of ammunition used in the Israeli military’s machine guns.

At least 102 Palestinian civilians were killed and 490 injured while seeking humanitarian aid from Israeli-designated centers in Gaza in eight days, according to Gaza’s government.

Since March 2, Israel has kept all border crossings shut, cutting off the entry of food, medicine, fuel and other essential supplies for Gaza’s 2.4 million residents.

The Israeli army, rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 54,600 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

WATCH: Israel’s Dystopian Aid Trap | Palestine This Week With Mouin Rabbani

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Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.

Continue Reading‘Death and hunger’: CNN investigation points to Israeli gunfire in Gaza aid site shooting

More than 640,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced in Gaza since March: UN

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Residents are seen fleeing the area with their belongings on horse carts, on foot, or in vehicles, heading toward areas they believe to be safer as Palestinians begin to evacuate following warnings from the Israeli army for an immediate mandatory evacuation of Khan Yunis in preparation for a potential Israeli attacks in Khan Yunis, Gaza on June 03, 2025. [Abdallah F.s. Alattar – Anadolu Agency]

The UN on Thursday said Israeli military displacement orders have forced more than 640,000 Palestinians to flee in the Gaza Strip since March, warning that nearly one-third of the population is under repeated evacuation orders,  Anadolu reports.

Citing the Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, “Yesterday, Israeli authorities issued another displacement order.”

“This time covering 54 neighborhoods across three governors — North Gaza, Gaza and Deir el Bala. This is the second order issued for the same area representing one-third of the Gaza Strip,” he said.

Saying that “since the renewed escalation of hostilities in March, the Israeli military issued 35 displacement orders,” Dujarric indicated that the Israeli orders forced “more than 640,000 people to flee again.

“That’s almost every third Palestinian in Gaza,” he added.

Dujarric raised the alarm about the worsening humanitarian situation, citing Israeli restrictions on aid access.

READ: 3 Palestinian journalists killed in Israeli strike on Gaza hospital courtyard

“Yesterday, Israeli authorities continued to deny humanitarian movements that required coordination,” he said, adding that “out of the 16 attempted attempts to coordinate such movements, five were rejected, including trucking water, retrieval of nutrition supplies and relocating fuel stocks.”

Six additional missions were not completed “either because of impediments or because organizers had to cancel them,” while only five were successfully carried out.

He added that the limited missions allowed aid workers “to screen children for malnutrition, provide medical services and carry out assessments,” but noted that “none of them involve the delivery of supplies, which are so desperately needed.”

Warning that “supplies continue to dwindle,” Dujarric reported that half of Gaza’s community kitchens are now closed because of displacement or shortages, and emphasized that what is currently entering Gaza “is merely a trickle.”

The Israeli army resumed its assaults on the enclave on March 18 and has since killed 4,402 victims and injured nearly 13,490, shattering a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold in January.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

READ: Lives of 50,000 pregnant, nursing women at risk in Gaza

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel's Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don't do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.
UK Labour Party government ministers Keir Starmer, Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves explain that they are partners complicit in Israel’s Gaza genocide. The UK has provided Israel with arms, military and air force support. They explain that they don’t do gas chambers but do do forced marches, starvation, destroy hospitals, mass-murders of journalists and healthcare workers.

Continue ReadingMore than 640,000 Palestinians forcibly displaced in Gaza since March: UN