TRANSCRIPT
The United Nations says 2024 has become the deadliest year on record for aid workers with the majority killed working for the U-N Agency for Palestinian Refugees.
Meanwhile, Israeli strikes killed over 60 people in Lebanon and at least 38 in Gaza as the remaining hospitals warn fuel is nearly out.
"2024 has now become the deadliest year on record for aid workers, with 281 humanitarian workers killed this year. That surpasses the previous record of 280 aid workers who lost their lives just last year. The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, said humanitarian workers are being killed at an unprecedented rate, with their courage and humanity being met with bullets and with bombs. He urges States and parties to conflict to protect humanitarian workers, to uphold international law, to prosecute those responsible and call time on this era of impunity."
That was Stephane Dujarric the spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary General.
He says most of the aid workers killed have been working in Gaza.
"The war in Gaza is driving up the numbers of aid worker deaths, with more than 320 humanitarian personnel killed in the Gaza Strip since 7 October 2023. Many were killed in the line of duty while providing humanitarian assistance, and as you know, most of the fatalities have been UNRWA workers."
The updated figures were released one day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas official Ibrahim al-Masri.
The court arrest warrant states that the chamber finds there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant bear criminal responsibility for crimes against humanity and war crimes, specifically against the civilian population of Gaza.
The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs spokesperson Jens Laerke says action must be taken to hold someone accountable for the deaths.
“You’re right, these are numbers that defy comprehension and killing of aid workers may amount to, as you say, war crimes. We will let the competent judicial system decide that. But the process needs to happen. It needs to be clear that when this happens, there's a consequence. There's actions that are taken and that's what we are not seeing to the extent that we want.”
In Israel, both critics and supporters of Benjamin Netanyahu are voicing their opinion on the arrest warrant.
Supporter Anat Levy says the court's decision is anti-semitic and cannot be taken seriously.
"Because Hague is an anti-Semitic court in anti-Semitic world and they just hate Netanyahu because he's the greatest leader in the world now, and Trump."
But Annette Shimoni says if what the court says is true, she just hopes he is imprisoned in Israel and not somewhere else.
“So I don't know on what basis they decided to issue the warrants. Maybe they're right, maybe they're wrong. But I think they should go around issuing warrants for anybody who's committed crimes, in their opinion. And basically said, I don't care if they arrest Bibi Netanyahu. As far as I'm concerned, he can sit in jail for the rest of his life. Would be better if he did it in Israel and not somewhere else in Europe. That's it.”
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, Israeli troops have killed at least 62 people, including five medical workers, and injured 111 people in a single day.
The ongoing Israeli bombardment and invasion of Lebanon has now killed over 3500 people since October 2023.
Abeer Darwich lives in southern Lebanon and says she has lost all of her belongings and memories.
"I'm living in this building that Israel attacked today. This is not a targeting, this is an aggression, because it (referring to Israel) attacked peaceful people in their homes, people's residences and the commercial shops underneath. (Israel) suddenly decided (this) because it's an usurper, a brutal enemy. The whole world needs to know, those who are defending Israel, that it is an usurper, a brutal enemy that's killing civilians in their homes."
In Gaza, health authorities say the remaining functioning hospitals have just two days of fuel remaining.
The authorities say Israeli strikes over the past day have killed at least 38 people, with dozens injured or missing under the rubble.
A medic at the Kamal Adwan Hospital is in critical condition after an Israeli drone dropped a grenade on the hospital entrance.
With no aid reaching most of the civilian population in Gaza, even bread is becoming harder and harder to find.
Anas Al-Dalu is a charity worker in Khan Yunis, he says many people are simply not eating.
"We are here every day cooking ten pots, sometimes rice, beans or bulgur, depending on what is available in the market, because there are no crossings and no one supports us from the outside. There are thousands of displaced people here, and many problems occur because not all people get (food) most people do not get (food) at all."
In the West Bank, Israeli authorities say they will stop holding Jewish settlers under administrative detention, a form of internment widely used against Palestinian people.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz says it is inappropriate to detain settlers who he claims face severe Palestinian terror threats and international sanctions.
The Palestinian Authority has criticised the decision and says it encourages extremist settlers to commit terrorism against Palestinians by offering them impunity.
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem says the authorities used internment "extensively and routinely" to hold thousands of Palestinians for lengthy periods.
