RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Doctors Without Borders (MSF) denounced on Monday the “extremely precarious” situation of Palestinians displaced by the ongoing Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank.
According to the United Nations, some 40,000 residents have been displaced since January 21, when the Israeli army launched an operation targeting Palestinian armed groups in the north of the territory.
The West Bank, occupied by Israel since 1967, is home to about three million Palestinians as well as nearly 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law.
The Israeli operation started two days after a truce agreement came into effect in the Gaza Strip between the Israeli military and the Palestinian territory’s Hamas rulers.
The situation of the displaced Palestinians is “extremely precarious,” said MSF, which is operating in the area.
Palestinians “are without proper shelter, essential services, and access to health care,” the NGO said.
“The mental health situation is alarming.”
In a statement, the Israeli military (IDF) said it had been operating “against all terrorist organizations, including Hamas, in a complex security reality.”
“The IDF follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals,” the statement said.
MSF said the scale of forced displacement and destruction of camps “has not been seen in decades” in the West Bank.
“People are unable to return to their homes as Israeli forces have blocked access to the camps, destroying homes and infrastructure,” said MSF Director of Operations Brice de la Vingne.
“Israel must stop this, and the humanitarian response needs to be scaled up.”
Dubbed “Iron Wall,” the Israeli operation is primarily targeting three refugee camps – Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams — and defense minister Israel Katz said in February it would last several months.
“I have instructed (the soldiers) to prepare for a prolonged stay in the evacuated camps for the coming year, and not to allow the return of their residents or the resurgence of terrorism,” he said in a statement.
West Bank Palestinians in ‘extremely precarious’ situation: MSF
https://arab.news/9g8ht
West Bank Palestinians in ‘extremely precarious’ situation: MSF
- According to the United Nations, some 40,000 residents have been displaced since January 21
- The West Bank is home to about three million Palestinians as well as nearly 500,000 Israelis living in illegal settlements
Israel’s hostage forum releases AI-generated video of last Gaza captive
- The Gaza ceasefire, which came into effect in October, remains fragile with both sides alleging violations, and mediators fearing that Israel and Hamas alike are stalling
JERUSALEM: An Israeli group representing the families of Gaza hostages released on Tuesday an AI-generated video of Ran Gvili, the last captive whose body is still being held in the Palestinian territory.
The one-minute clip, created whole cloth using artificial intelligence, purports to depict Gvili as he sits in a Gaza tunnel and appeals to US President Donald Trump to help bring his body back to Israel.
“Mr President, I’m asking you to see this through: Please bring me home. My family deserves this. I deserve the right to be buried with honor in the land I fought for,” says the AI-generated image of Gvili.
Gvili was 24 at the time of Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
He was an officer in Israel’s Yasam elite police unit and was on medical leave when he learnt of the attack.
He decided to leave his home and brought his gun to counter the Hamas militants.
He was shot in the fighting at the Alumim kibbutz before he was taken to Gaza.
Israeli authorities told Gvili’s parents in January 2024 that he had not survived his injuries.
The AI clip was released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the main group representing those taken captive to Gaza.
The Forum said it was published with the approval of Gvili’s family.
“Seeing and hearing Rani speak in his own voice is both moving and heartbreaking. I would give anything to hear, see and hold him again,” Gvili’s mother Talik said, quoted by the Forum.
“But all I can do now is plead that they don’t move to the next phase of the agreement before bringing Rani home — because we don’t leave heroes behind.”
The Gaza ceasefire, which came into effect in October, remains fragile with both sides alleging violations, and mediators fearing that Israel and Hamas alike are stalling.
In the first stage, Palestinian militants were expected to return all of the remaining 48 living and dead hostages held in Gaza.
Since the ceasefire came into effect on October 10, militants have released 47 hostages.
In the next stages of the truce, Israel is supposed to withdraw from its positions in Gaza, an interim authority is to govern the Palestinian territory instead of Hamas, and an international stabilization force is to be deployed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet Trump in Florida later this month to discuss the second phase of the deal.
