MADRID/LONDON: The Spanish government demanded on Saturday that Israel comply with an order by the top UN court to immediately stop its bombardment and ground assault on the Gazan city of Rafah.
It stressed that the ruling on Friday by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was legally binding.
“The precautionary measures set out by the ICJ, including that Israel should cease its military offensive in Rafah, are compulsory. Israel must comply with them,” Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares wrote on X.
“The same goes for a ceasefire, the release of the hostages and access for humanitarian aid (to Gaza),” he said.
“The suffering of the people of Gaza and the violence must end.”
The British government, meanwhile, has criticized the World Court order, saying the ruling would strengthen Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
“The reason there isn’t a pause in the fighting is because Hamas turned down a very generous hostage deal from Israel. The intervention of these courts — including the ICJ today — will strengthen the view of Hamas that they can hold on to hostages and stay in Gaza,” a UK foreign ministry spokesperson said late on Friday.
“And if that happens there won’t be either peace, or a two-state solution.”
In a case brought by South Africa alleging the Israeli assault on Gaza amounts to “genocide,” the ICJ ordered Israel on Friday to “immediately halt” the ground and air offensive in Rafah.
The operations began on May 7 despite international fears for the safety of the 1.4 million civilians trapped in the city.
The Hague-based ICJ, whose orders are legally binding but lack direct enforcement mechanisms, also ruled that Israel must keep open the key Rafah crossing with Egypt to allow “unhindered” humanitarian aid into Gaza.
And it urged the “unconditional” release of hostages taken by Hamas fighters during their October 7 attack in Israel.
Israel responded on Saturday by bombing Rafah and other parts of the densely populated Gaza Strip.
Spain is one of the European countries to have been most critical of Israel over the war in Gaza.
On Wednesday, Spain, Ireland and Norway said their governments would recognize a Palestinian state from next week.
Israel summoned their envoys to “reprimand” them for the decision and on Friday said it would ban Spain’s consulate in Jerusalem from helping Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Some 252 people were taken hostage, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the Israeli army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 35,857 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to data from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.
Spain demands Israel comply with UN court ruling on Rafah, Britain criticizes order
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Spain demands Israel comply with UN court ruling on Rafah, Britain criticizes order
- Spanish government: Ruling by the International Court of Justice is legally binding
- British government says ruling would strengthen Palestinian Islamist group Hamas
UN seeks $6 billion to ease ‘appalling’ suffering in Sudan
- Appeal represents 40 percent increase from 2024 amid tight budgets
- UN plan is most ambitious globally, aiming to reach 21 mln people
GENEVA: The United Nations said on Monday it is seeking $6 billion for Sudan this year from international donors to help ease suffering in what it called one of the most devastating crises of our times, characterised by mass displacement and growing famine.
The UN appeal represents a rise of more than 40 percent from last year’s for Sudan at a time when aid budgets around the world are under increasing strain, partly due to a pause in funding announced by US President Donald Trump last month that has affected life-saving programs across the globe.
But the UN says the funds are necessary because the impact of the 22-month war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — that has already displaced a fifth of its population and stoked severe hunger among around half its population — looks set to worsen.
“Sudan is a humanitarian emergency of shocking proportions,” said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher ahead of the launch. “Famine is taking hold. An epidemic of sexual violence rages. Children are being killed and injured. The suffering is appalling.”
Famine conditions have been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including displacement camps in Darfur, the UN statement said, adding that this was set to worsen with continued fighting and the collapse of basic services.
One of the famine-stricken camps was attacked by the RSF last week as the paramilitary group tries to tighten its grip on its Darfur stronghold.
While some aid agencies say they have received waivers from Washington to provide aid in Sudan, uncertainty remains on the extent of coverage for providing famine relief.
The UN plan aims to reach nearly 21 million people within the country, making it the most ambitious humanitarian response so far for 2025, and requires $4.2 billion — the rest being for those displaced by the conflict.
Lebanese president worried Israel may not fully withdraw by Tuesday deadline
- Joseph Aoun: ‘We are afraid that a complete withdrawal will not be achieved tomorrow’
- Aoun urges sponsors of ceasefire deal to help pressure Israel to withdraw troops by Tuesday deadline
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Monday voiced concern that Israeli troops may not fully withdraw by a truce deadline the following day, saying the issue of Hezbollah’s weapons was a matter for the Lebanese.
“We are afraid that a complete withdrawal will not be achieved tomorrow,” Aoun said according to a statement from the presidency, adding that “the important thing is to achieve the Israeli withdrawal, and Hezbollah’s weapons come as part of solutions the Lebanese agree on.”
Aoun also urged sponsors of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah to help pressure Israel to withdraw troops by a deadline the following day.
“We are continuing contacts on several levels to push Israel to respect the agreement and to withdraw on the scheduled date, and return the prisoners,” Aoun said, according to a presidency statement.
“The sponsors of the deal should bear their responsibility to assist us,” he added.
A fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group has been in effect since November 27 after more than a year of hostilities including two months of all-out war during which Israel launched ground operations.
Under the deal, Lebanon’s military was to deploy in the south alongside United Nations peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over a 60-day period that was later extended to February 18.
Hezbollah was to pull back north of the Litani River – about 30 kilometers from the border – and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
A committee involving the United States, France, Lebanon, Israel and UN peacekeepers is tasked with ensuring any ceasefire violations are identified and dealt with.
Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Sunday said it was the government’s responsibility to ensure the Israeli army fully withdraws by Tuesday’s deadline.
Last week, Lebanon’s parliamentary speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally, said Washington had told him that while Israel would withdraw on February 18, “it will remain in five locations.”
Lebanon has rejected the demand.
On Sunday, Israel said it carried out strikes in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah military sites, as official media reported three raids in the country’s east.
The official National News Agency also said Israeli gunfire killed a woman in the border town of Hula on Sunday as people tried to go home.
On Saturday, Israel said it targeted a senior militant from Hezbollah’s aerial unit, as Lebanese official media reported two dead in an Israeli strike in the south.
Karim Bitar, lecturer in Middle East studies at Sciences-Po university in Paris, said “it appears that there is a tacit if not an explicit US agreement to extend the withdrawal period.”
“The most likely scenario is that Israel would maintain control over four or five hills that basically oversee most of south Lebanon’s villages,” he said.
Ramzi Kaiss from Human Rights Watch said Monday that “Israel’s deliberate demolition of civilian homes and infrastructure” was making it “impossible for many residents to return.”
UN appeals for $6 billion for Sudan crisis aid in 2025
- The aim is to provide assistance to nearly 26 million people this year, UN bodies say
- Civil war has displaced 12 million people, of whom around 3.5 million have fled the country
GENEVA: The UN appealed Monday for $6 billion to provide desperately-needed aid to people in war-ravaged Sudan and millions of refugees fleeing “appalling” conditions.
The aim is to provide assistance to nearly 26 million people this year, the United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA and refugee agency UNHCR said in a joint appeal.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been locked in a brutal conflict between army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The UN agencies said the civil war has displaced 12 million people, of whom around 3.5 million have fled the country.
They stressed that at the same time, nearly two-thirds of Sudan’s population needs emergency aid, as swathes of the country face famine conditions.
“Sudan is a humanitarian emergency of shocking proportions,” UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.
“Famine is taking hold. An epidemic of sexual violence rages. Children are being killed and injured. The suffering is appalling.”
Famine conditions have already been reported in at least five locations in Sudan, including in displacement camps in Darfur and in the western Nuba Mountains, the UN statement said.
And “catastrophic hunger is expected to worsen by May when the lean season begins,” it warned.
The UN said it was appealing for $4.2 billion to reach nearly 21 million people inside Sudan with life-saving aid and protection.
Fletcher said the UN plan would provide “a lifeline to millions.”
The United Nations said it would also need $1.8 billion to support 4.8 million people – both Sudanese refugees and their host communities – in the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, South Sudan and Uganda.
“Today, one-third of Sudan’s entire population is displaced,” UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said in the statement, highlighting that “the consequences of this horrific and senseless conflict spread far beyond Sudan’s borders.”
The UN cautioned that without immediate funding, two-thirds of refugee children would be denied access to primary education, “threatening an entire generation.”
And “up to 4.8 million refugees and host community members will continue to face severe food insecurity, with at least 1.8 million going without food assistance,” it said, warning that “already strained health systems may collapse.”
Last year, humanitarian organizations received $1.8 billion for Sudan – 66 percent of the $2.7 billion requested – and managed to reach more than 15.6 million people across the country.
They also provided life-saving food assistance to over a million people in neighboring countries, as well as medical support to half a million and protection services to over 800,000, the statement said.
Israeli strike on south Lebanon targets Hamas official, Lebanese security sources say
- Deepest strike in the country since a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel took effect in late November
BEIRUT: An Israeli strike on a car in Lebanon’s southern port city of Sidon on Monday targeted an official in the Palestinian militant group Hamas, two Lebanese security sources said.
Lebanon’s state news agency said rescuers had extracted one body from the car but did not identify the victim.
An Israeli drone strike is the deepest strike in the country since a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel took effect in late November, Lebanon’s state news agency said.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack, which comes a day before the deadline for Israel’s full withdrawal from southern Lebanon under the ceasefire agreement that ended the 14-month war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Footage circulating online showed a car engulfed in flames. The strike occurred near a Lebanese army checkpoint and Sidon’s municipal sports stadium.
The original withdrawal deadline was in late January, but under pressure from Israel, Lebanon agreed to extend it to Feb. 18. It remains unclear whether Israeli troops will complete their withdrawal by Tuesday.
Since the ceasefire, Israel has continued airstrikes in southern and eastern Lebanon, saying it is targeting military sites containing missiles and combat equipment. Israel and Lebanon have exchanged accusations of violating the ceasefire agreement.
Cairo building collapse kills 10: state media
- Eyewitnesses told the state-owned outlet that “a gas cylinder explosion” caused the collapse
CAIRO: A building collapse in the Egyptian capital killed 10 people and injured eight more on Monday, with several others believed to be missing under the rubble, state media reported.
Ambulances were dispatched to the scene in the working class neighborhood of Kerdasa, where civil defense teams searched for people thought to be missing under the rubble, according to the Al-Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper.
Eyewitnesses told the state-owned outlet that “a gas cylinder explosion” caused the collapse, and a police investigation was under way.
Building regulations are unevenly enforced in the sprawling metropolis of Cairo, home to over 26 million people.
The city has seen a number of deadly building collapses in recent years, both due to the dilapidated state of some and, at times, failure to comply with building regulations.
