Middle East: Austrian Soldiers Injured By Rockets In Lebanon; Israel Bans UNRWA, Halting Aid For Gaza| Latest

Israel's parliament passed two laws that could prevent the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from sending and distributing humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees.

As per the newly passed law, the humanitarian agency working under the umbrella of the United Nations has been designated as a terror organization. Moreover, a ban has been imposed on operating in Israel severing all ties between the agency and the Israeli government.

For years, UNRWA remained the major distributor of aid in Gaza providing supports in education, health and other basic services to millions of Palestinian refugees across the region. UNRWA operated several schools, health clinics, infrastructure projects and aid programs in refugee camps that have grown into urban neighborhoods in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

Reacting to the development, UNRWA head, Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini, termed the move “unprecedented” on X while adding that the bills “will only deepen the suffering Palestinians, especially in Gaza where people have been going through more than a year of sheer hell.”

Why did Israel pass the bill?

According to Israel, the agency has been infiltrated by Hamas while supporters of the war-ravaged Palestine claim Israel's real aim is to sideline the issue of Palestinian refugees.

Furthermore, Israel has also accused the agency of turning a blind eye to staff members it says belong to Hamas who allegedly divert the aid and use UNRWA facilities for military purposes.

Israel says around a dozen of its 13,000 employees in Gaza participated in the October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel. The agency denies it knowingly aids armed groups and says it acts quickly to purge any suspected militants among its staff.

About the two bills

While one of the two bills banned all UNRWA activities and services on Israeli soil, the second one designates UNRWA a terrorist organisation.

Together, the bills likely bar the agency from operating in Israel and the Palestinian territories, because Israel controls access to both Gaza and the West Bank. It could force the agency to relocate its headquarters from Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Considering the extent of destruction caused by Israeli attacks, Gaza's population of some 2.3 million is almost entirely dependent on aid to survive. Around 90 per cent of the population has been displaced.

ICJ genocide case: South Africa submits legal claim

In a fresh development in South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the South African legal team on Monday delivered a nearly 5,000-page document to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). As per reports, the confidential document puts forth the “main case” that Israel has a “special intent to commit genocide,” according to a statement from South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The filing takes place as the Israeli military has called on Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza, where it has been waging a large offensive for more than three weeks. The U.N. said earlier this month at least 400,000 people are still in northern Gaza and hunger is rampant as the amount of humanitarian aid reaching the north has plummeted over the past month.

The Hague-based court has so far issued three rounds of emergency measures, ordering Israel to halt a military offensive in Rafah and open more land crossings for aid into Gaza.

Israel has fiercely denied the allegations. The government called the case “blood libel” when South Africa launched the complaint in Dec. 2023.

Palestine, Spain, Chile and seven other countries have petitioned the court to join the case. Israel now has until July 2025 to reply.

Austria Says 8 of Its UNIFIL Troops Injured In Lebanon

Austria's Defence Ministry stated that eight of their soldiers from the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were injured in a rocket strike on Camp Naqoura near the Israeli border. The incident occurs amid heightened tensions in southern Lebanon, where UNIFIL monitors hostilities between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters.

The ministry in their statement said, "We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms and demand that it be investigated immediately."

They were not clear about the origin of the attack and mentioned that none of the soldiers needed urgent medical care.

UNIFIL reported earlier this month that it had faced multiple "deliberate" attacks from Israeli forces, which have interfered with the efforts to assist civilians in the conflict zone due to ongoing Israeli shelling.

In response, Israel claimed that U.N. forces act as a human shield for Hezbollah and has requested UNIFIL to evacuate peacekeepers from southern Lebanon for their safety.

However, UNIFIL has declined this request, maintaining its presence in the region despite the escalating tensions.