*"Israel is crossing every possible red line, still with full impunity," said Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories.* by Jake Johnson, Common Dreams, April 2, 2024 https://www.commondreams.org/news/world-central-kitchen-un-expert
The United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories demanded criminal consequences for Israeli officials on Tuesday after the country's forces attacked a World Central Kitchen convoy in the Gaza Strip, killing seven workers and sparking global outrage. "Israel is crossing every possible red line, still with full impunity," Francesca Albanese wrote in a social media post, noting that the Israeli military's attack on the WCK convoy came on the same day that it bombed Iran's consulate in Syria <https://www.commondreams.org/news/iran-israel-war> <https://www.commondreams.org/news/iran-israel-war>. . . . Early accounts described the Israeli attack on the WCK convoy on Monday as a singular strike, but reporting and on-the-ground testimony have since made clear that Israeli forces launched three successive strikes on the vehicles. WCK described the attack as "targeted," given that the convoy coordinated its movements with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the vehicles were clearly marked with the humanitarian aid group's logo. Photographs released in the wake of the attack show that an Israeli missile tore through the WCK logo on the roof of one of the targeted vehicles. . . . Jamie McGoldrick, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, said in a statement that he was "extremely saddened and appalled by the Israeli army's multiple airstrikes" on the WCK convoy and emphasized that the attack was "not an isolated incident." "As of 20 March, at least 196 humanitarians had been killed in the occupied Palestinian territory since October 2023. This is nearly three times the death toll recorded in any single conflict in a year," said McGoldrick. "All parties to the conflict, including the government of Israel, must respect international humanitarian law, which prohibits the targeting of humanitarian personnel. The role of aid workers is to alleviate the suffering of people in crisis. Their safety, along with that of the civilians they serve, must be guaranteed." Israel's deadly attack forced WCK and other aid groups to pause their operations in Gaza at the worst possible moment, with famine spreading and taking lives across the territory. Israel's blockade has restricted the entry of food, medical supplies, and other necessities. . . . Hours before Monday's attack, CNNreported that the Biden administration is "close to approving the sale of as many as 50 American-made F-15 fighter jets to Israel, in a deal expected to be worth more than $18 billion." "Netanyahu is killing journalists, doctors, and humanitarian workers indiscriminately (or maybe discriminately) and doing everything in his power to provoke a war with Iran, but Biden is just sending more fighter jets," Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, wrote in response to the CNN story. . . . Israel Kills 6 Int’l Aid Workers & Gazan Driver in Attack on Chef Andrés’s World Central Kitchen Convoy DemocracyNow!, April 2, 2024 https://www.democracynow.org/2024/4/2/akram_al_satarri *Israel is facing global condemnation after killing several international aid workers in Gaza. The workers with charity group World Central Kitchen were killed by an Israeli airstrike after unloading more than 100 tons of food aid carried by ship from Cyprus into Gaza. The charity staff, including three British nationals, an Australian, a Polish national and an American-Canadian dual citizen, and their Palestinian driver were struck while traveling in a clearly marked convoy branded with the charity’s logo. World Central Kitchen said the attack occurred after the workers left a warehouse in Deir al-Balah, even though the charity had coordinated in advance about the convoy with the Israeli military. “Every single humanitarian aid worker … is already recognized by the Israeli army,” says journalist Akram al-Satarri, reporting live from Rafah. “It’s the full responsibility of the Israeli government now to clarify and … demystify the circumstances that led to that catastrophic incident.” Al-Satarri also reports on Israel’s move to ban the outlet Al Jazeera and on his experience living in Gaza right now, where food and medical supplies are scarce under Israel’s strict blockade. “The famine is not looming. The famine is already taking place.”* . . . AKRAM AL-SATARRI: ... Now some people organized and formed some special committees for the sake of just receiving the food that is allowed, the minimum food that is allowed, from the road between Rafah, Khan Younis and Gaza, Salah al-Din Road, and those people ended up being targeted. Seventy of them were killed. And more than 500 Palestinians were killed in different incidents targeting the people around al-Kuwait Roundabout and al-Nabulsi Roundabout when they’re waiting for the food, when they’re waiting for to eat — 20 different incidents of targeting that took the life of 500 Palestinians and 70 of those who are working to organize everything. The way that is now done — the way that this targeting is done indicates that Israel is willing to deprive those people from any hope and any life whatsoever. AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you about the Israeli prime minister saying he will ban the award-winning TV network Al Jazeera, this after the Israeli lawmakers, the Knesset, passed a bill allowing for the temporary banning of foreign broadcasters deemed to be a national security threat. Of course, Al Jazeera is the most widely viewed network in the Arab world, one of the few outlets to have reporters inside Gaza, the way the Arab world sees what’s happening in Gaza, and, through Al Jazeera English, the way the rest of the world sees, as well. Your thoughts on what this means? I should also add a number of Al Jazeera reporters have been killed. . . . -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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