war crimes

Former EU foreign policy chief slams bloc’s failure to act on Israel’s human rights violations

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The former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, takes part in a debate at Casa Arabe on June 19, 2025, in Madrid, Spain. [Photo By Ricardo Rubio/Europa Press via Getty Images]

The European Council missed its chance this week to do something to stop Israel’s “war crimes” and genocide in Gaza, according to a former EU foreign policy chief.

“@EUCouncil failed yesterday to take a decision on Israel’s violation of the Association Agreement’s Human Rights clause. But this is in itself a decision: not to punish Israel’s continued war crimes and allow the genocide in Gaza to continue unabated,” Borrell wrote on X Wednesday.

The EU-Israel Association Agreement, which governs political and economic ties between the two parties, includes a binding clause requiring respect for human rights and democratic principles. Failure to comply with this clause can lead to sanctions or suspension of the agreement.

EU foreign ministers met on Monday and Tuesday to discuss growing concerns over Israel’s attacks in Gaza, amid mounting civilian casualties and international calls for accountability. However, member states were unable to reach a consensus, resulting in no formal decision to suspend the agreement or impose sanctions.

READ: EU official weaponising anti-Semitism to block sanctions on Israel over Gaza genocide

Borrell, who concluded his term as the EU’s top diplomat last year, has been a vocal critic of Israel’s attacks and has previously called for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which gives Tel Aviv preferential trade terms.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since late October 2023, killing over 58,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.

The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and the spread of diseases.

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: 350 Palestinians reported missing under rubble in Gaza over two weeks

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Continue ReadingFormer EU foreign policy chief slams bloc’s failure to act on Israel’s human rights violations

Thousands of Israelis protest in Tel Aviv to demand prisoner swap deal

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An aerial view shows thousands of people gathering in Hostages Square demand an end to the war in Gaza and the return of Israeli hostages, on July 12, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. [Yair Palti – Anadolu Agency]

Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in central Tel Aviv on Saturday to demand a prisoner exchange agreement with Palestinians, Anadolu reports.

“No victory without return of hostages,” and “There are 50 kidnapped families in Gaza,” read banners waved by protesters, Israeli Channel 13 reported.

The protest came amid reports of a deadlock in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas delegations in Qatar.

“The negotiations have not collapsed, and the Israeli delegation continues talks in Doha despite Hamas intransigence,” the channel said, citing an unnamed political official.

A forum representing families of Israeli captives in Gaza called on the government to end the ongoing war on the Palestinian enclave.

“Missing the current momentum would be a serious failure; every day the war continues is an achievement for Hamas and a serious risk for our hostages and soldiers,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

READ: Israel plans to build nearly 2,400 more settlement units in occupied West Bank

“All the polls and data show that an absolute majority of the nation of Israel wants an end to the war in Gaza and the return of hostages, and agrees that it is in Israel’s interest, including a decisive majority among coalition voters,” added the statement.

The families addressed a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying, “History will remember what you chose: the hostages and fighters, or cheap political maneuvers.”

Hamas said Wednesday it has agreed to release 10 live Israeli captives as a sign of “flexibility” to reach a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner swap agreement, while Israel remains rigid on key points, including withdrawal from Gaza.

In contrast, Israel insists on a buffer zone 2 to 3 kilometers wide in the Rafah area, and 1 to 2 kilometers in other border areas.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since late October 2023, killing nearly 58,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and a spread of disease.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for 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: Gaza war strategy to ‘crush’ Israeli soldiers as ultra-Orthodox Jews exempted: Reservist

Continue ReadingThousands of Israelis protest in Tel Aviv to demand prisoner swap deal

Israeli army issues evacuation warning for 2 Gaza areas housing hospital, UN facility

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Palestinian families begin fleeing again from shelters near the Al-Mawasi area as the Israeli army expands its ground offensive and tanks reach southwestern Khan Yunis, Gaza, marking their first displacement in nearly a year and a half, on July 10, 2025. [Hani Alshaer - Anadolu Agency]

Palestinian families begin fleeing again from shelters near the Al-Mawasi area as the Israeli army expands its ground offensive and tanks reach southwestern Khan Yunis, Gaza, marking their first displacement in nearly a year and a half, on July 10, 2025. [Hani Alshaer – Anadolu Agency]

The Israeli army warned Palestinians Friday to evacuate two areas west of Gaza City, inhabited by thousands of civilians, including displaced people, ahead of an attack, Anadolu reports.

In a statement, the Israeli army said: “To the residents of the Gaza City area in Blocks 783 and 784, evacuate the area immediately, as we will attack it with great force.”

The Israeli army attached a map showing the targeted areas, indicating the presence of vital civilian and service facilities.

The two areas, known as Blocks 783 and 784, include a hospital, offices of a Palestinian human rights organization, two universities, and a UN site, as well as densely populated Palestinian neighborhoods.

READ: UN reports 798 deaths near Gaza aid hubs in six weeks

According to an Anadolu reporter, the areas are located in the southern Rimal neighborhood and include thousands of families along with displaced people residing in schools and camps, as well as tents set up in streets and open lands, after fleeing from the eastern areas of Gaza City and northern Gaza due to the Israeli bombardment and previous evacuation orders.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 57,800 Palestinians so far, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and the spread of diseases.

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: 27 former EU envoys call for suspension of agreement with Israel ahead of ministerial meeting

Continue ReadingIsraeli army issues evacuation warning for 2 Gaza areas housing hospital, UN facility

UNRWA warns Israel’s Gaza displacement plan would create ‘massive concentration camps’

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Palestinian families begin fleeing again from shelters near the Al-Mawasi area as the Israeli army expands its ground offensive and tanks reach southwestern Khan Yunis, Gaza, marking their first displacement in nearly a year and a half, on July 10, 2025. [Hani Alshaer - Anadolu Agency]

Palestinian families begin fleeing again from shelters near the Al-Mawasi area as the Israeli army expands its ground offensive and tanks reach southwestern Khan Yunis, Gaza, marking their first displacement in nearly a year and a half, on July 10, 2025. [Hani Alshaer – Anadolu Agency]

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) condemned on Friday Israel’s plan to forcibly displace Palestinians in Gaza towards the southern city of Rafah, warning that the move would create “massive concentration camps” and worsen the humanitarian crisis, Anadolu reports.

Juliette Touma, UNRWA’s director of communications, told Al Jazeera English that the agency “categorically refuses any forced displacement of any population.”

“If it happens, it will push further tens of thousands of people who have already been displaced many, many times during this current war but also over the generations, further south and from there into the unknown,” Touma said.

“What needs to happen right now is to focus on reaching a ceasefire and allowing UNRWA to bring in much-needed supplies,” she said.

Touma said UNRWA has “over 6,000 trucks in Egypt and Jordan full of medicines that are soon expiring, food that is also going off, we have hygiene supplies.”

READ: UN says first fuel delivery to Gaza in 130 days ‘isn’t sufficient’ for humanitarian operations

“All we are saying is lift the siege, get a ceasefire, allow UNRWA and other UN organizations to do our work,” she added.

Earlier, the UN raised alarm over continued mass displacement in the Gaza Strip and warned that more than 700,000 people have been uprooted since the end of the ceasefire in March.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said he instructed the army to prepare a plan to relocate all Palestinians to what he called a “humanitarian city” on the ruins of Rafah in southern Gaza.

Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 57,800 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and a spread of disease.

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: ‘They think they are untouchable’: Mahmoud Khalil seeks $20 million in damages

Continue ReadingUNRWA warns Israel’s Gaza displacement plan would create ‘massive concentration camps’

Gaza’s population drops by 10% amid Israel’s genocidal war

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A general of heavily damaged buildings and a large number of makeshift tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City, Gaza, on July 9, 2025. [Ahmed Jihad Ibrahim Al-arini – Anadolu Agency]

Gaza’s population has dropped by 10% as Israel continued its destructive war on the Palestinian enclave, official figures showed on Thursday, Anadolu reports.

“Palestine, specifically the Gaza Strip, is suffering an unprecedented humanitarian and demographic catastrophe due to the ongoing Israeli aggression since October 2023,” the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

The bureau said that more than 57,000 Palestinians, including 18,000 children and 12,000 women, were killed in Israeli attacks, which constitutes 2.4% of Gaza’s total population.

Figures released by the bureau also showed that nearly 100,000 Palestinians have left the enclave since the start of the Israeli war.

Before the outbreak of the Israeli war, Gaza’s population stood at 2,226,544 in 2023, as official figures showed.

READ: US firm accused of modelling ethnic cleansing in Gaza probed by UK parliamentary committee

“Population estimates indicate that the population has declined to approximately 2,129,724, representing a 6% decrease compared to the projection of mid-2024 estimates,” it said.

“Furthermore, the population dropped to 2,114,301, a decrease of 10% from what was estimated for mid-2025.”

The bureau warned of “a fundamental shift” and distortion in the age and population pyramid “due to the deliberate targeting of younger age groups by the Israeli army, particularly children and youth.”

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: UN expert says claims of systematic sexual violence on 7 October remain unverified as Israel releases new report

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Continue ReadingGaza’s population drops by 10% amid Israel’s genocidal war