Netanyahu has vowed to invade Rafah despite the international red line. Meanwhile, the U.S. has sanctioned two illegal settler outposts in the West Bank for the first time.
UNRWA’s chief says dismantling the agency is “short-sighted” and will “sow the seeds of hatred, resentment, and future conflict.” Israeli forces fire at Palestinians seeking aid and food in Gaza City and detain others in southern Gaza.
UNRWA says that the famine in northern Gaza can be avoided if more food convoys are allowed in, but Israel continues to hold up over 2000 aid trucks. Meanwhile, Netanyahu reaffirms plans to invade Rafah, where 1.5 million Gazans have sought shelter.
Euro-Med publishes new testimonies of Palestinian detainees subjected to dog attacks, forced nudity, and sexual harassment in Israeli jails, as Israeli soldiers continue posting images and videos of themselves committing atrocities in Gaza.
Secretary Blinken admits that the U.S. has been unable to investigate the “evidence” presented by Israel claiming 13 of UNRWA’s 13,000 Gaza employees participated in October 7. Biden took Israel’s word for it anyway.
The attack on UNRWA by Israel and its Western allies is an assault on the credibility of international legal and humanitarian bodies. Cutting UNRWA’s funding deepens the Biden administration’s complicity in the Gaza genocide.