THE governments of Ireland, Austria, among others, have condemned Israel’s over 60-day blockade of Gaza, as Amnesty International terms the blockage of food and medicine a “war crime”.
Also, humanitarian coordinator Amjad Shawa in Gaza warned that more children likely to die from malnutrition as “the whole Strip is starving” due to Israel’s siege.
And medical sources say at least 35 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza Friday alone, with one strike on Bureij killing nine members of the same family.
Meanwhile, a ship carrying aid to Gaza in a bid to break Israel’s blockade has been hit by drones in international waters off Malta, according to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the group that organised the mission.
The FFC said in a statement on Friday that the vessel, now located 14 nautical miles (25km) from Malta, was the target of two drone strikes while on its way to Gaza. The ship had been seeking to deliver aid to the besieged enclave, where aid groups warn people are struggling to survive following a two-month total blockade by Israel.
“Armed drones attacked the front of an unarmed civilian vessel twice, causing a fire and a substantial breach in the hull,” the group said.
The statement did not directly accuse Israel of carrying out the attack.
However, it did demand that “Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters”.
Israel has not commented on the drone strikes.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 52,418 Palestinians and wounded 118,091, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. The Gaza Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.
