Here’s how things stand on Monday, February 19, 2024:
Fighting and humanitarian crisis
- Gaza’s Ministry of Health said another patient died at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, taking the number of deaths to eight since the Israeli military cut electricity and oxygen supplies.
- Footage verified by Al Jazeera shows hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza City rushing towards aid trucks before fleeing after Israeli forces open fire at them.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off growing calls to halt the military offensive in Gaza, promising to “finish the job”.
- Israeli air raids have continued across Gaza, killing at least 18 people overnight into Monday, according to medics and witnesses.
- World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a WHO team was not allowed to enter the Nasser Hospital. In a post on X, he said about 200 patients remain, including 20 who need urgent referrals elsewhere.
- Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said at least 200 fighters surrendered at the hospital. The Gaza Health Ministry said 70 medical personnel were among those arrested, along with patients, leaving 150 patients without medical care.
- About 80 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced and a quarter face starvation. Wael Abu Omar, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Crossings Authority, said 123 aid trucks entered Gaza through Karem Abu Salem, also known as Kerem Shalom, border crossing on Sunday and four trucks of cooking gas entered through the Rafah crossing with Egypt.
Diplomacy
- On Monday, the state of Palestine will be the first of 52 countries to speak as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) begins six days of hearings on Monday.
- This case focuses on Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem since 1967.
- Separately, the United Nations Security Council is expected to vote on Tuesday on an Arab-backed resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, which the United States announced it will veto.
- Meanwhile, Norway agreed to act as an intermediary between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the transfer of frozen tax funds.
- Separately, US Congressman Robert Garcia voiced support for a “free and safe” two-state solution and a “lasting ceasefire” in a post on social media.
Violence in occupied West Bank
- The Israeli military raided the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency said.
- Israeli forces destroyed property and vehicles, distributed threatening leaflets and arrested at least three Palestinians in raids on homes, the Wafa news agency reported. Confrontations also broke out, with the Israeli military throwing smoke bombs.
