SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
By May Angel
Jerusalem: Western countries, including Canada and Britain, have condemned a decision by Israeli soldiers to fire warning shots near their diplomats during an official visit to the occupied West Bank overnight.
The Israeli military said the large international delegation “deviated from the approved route and entered an area where they were not authorised to be” and that soldiers fired “warning shots to distance them away”.
Footage shows individuals running to vehicles with diplomatic number plates as shots are heard in the distance. No injuries or damage were reported during the incident at Jenin.
“The IDF regrets the inconvenience caused,” the Israeli Defence Forces said in a statement, adding it was reviewing the incident.
France, Italy and Canada, who had diplomats among the delegation, said they had summoned the Israeli ambassadors to explain what had happened.
The incident occurred amid mounting pressure on Israel this week, including from Britain and Australia, to allow more food and medical supplies into war-torn Gaza, which experts warn is on the brink of famine after an 11-week Israeli blockade.
Displaced Palestinians line up to receive donated meals from a community kitchen in Gaza City.Credit: AP
Britain suspended trade talks with Israel on Tuesday in protest, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament his government was “horrified by the escalation from Israel” in Gaza.
Trucks carrying food, infant formula and medical supplies began crossing into Gaza on Monday, but the United Nations said looting fears and new Israeli military restrictions were making it difficult to get the aid out of the border crossing zone and into the hands of Palestinians. A UN official said trucks had finally reached warehouses in central Gaza after night fell on Wednesday.
Netanyahu said overnight that Israel was days away from implementing a new aid system in Gaza and it planned to then create a “sterile zone” in the enclave that was free of Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza. The Palestinian population of Gaza would then be moved to that zone and receive supplies. The UN and other humanitarian groups have rejected the plan, saying it enables Israel to use aid as a weapon and forcibly displace the population.
After the warning shots were fired in the West Bank, Jenin mayor Mohammad Jarrar contested the IDF claim that the diplomatic delegation had deviated from the route agreed upon with Israeli counterparts earlier in the week.
UN vehicles escort aid trucks carrying food as they arrive at a World Food Program warehouse in Zawaida, central Gaza Strip on Wednesday.Credit: AP
Aid trucks carrying food arrive at a World Food Program warehouse in Zawaida, central Gaza.Credit: AP
“There was no provocation,” Jarrar said. “Only diplomats and journalists were there, and the visit plan was attached to the official invitation.”
British Minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer said he had spoken to the diplomats affected and an investigation was needed.
“Today’s events in Jenin are unacceptable,” Falconer said in a post on X. “Civilians must always be protected, and diplomats allowed to do their jobs. There must be a full investigation and those responsible should be held accountable.”
Four Canadian personnel were also part of the diplomatic delegation, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said, adding Canada expected Israel to conduct a full investigation.
“We call on Israel to investigate this incident and also hold those accountable who are responsible for any threats to diplomats’ lives,” she said.
The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry said “the delegation was undertaking an official mission to observe and assess the humanitarian situation and document the ongoing violations perpetrated by” Israel when the shots were fired.
The ministry called the Israeli military’s actions a violation of international law.
The Israeli military has killed dozens of Palestinians and destroyed many homes in the West Bank since January, when it launched an operation in Jenin to root out militants.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, Israeli strikes pounded the territory again overnight, killing at least 86 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Israeli troops have also surrounded two of northern Gaza’s last functioning hospitals, preventing anyone from leaving or entering the facilities, hospital staff and aid groups said this week.
Food security experts have warned the territory risks falling into famine unless the blockade ends. Malnutrition and hunger have been mounting. Aid groups ran out of food to distribute weeks ago, and most of the population of around 2.3 million relies on communal kitchens whose supplies are nearly depleted.
Smoke rises from an Israeli army airstrike south of Khan Younis, Gaza, on Wednesday.Credit: AP
At a charity kitchen in Gaza City, Somaia Abu Amsha scooped small portions of water lentil soup for her family, saying they have not had bread for over 10 days and she can’t afford rice or pasta.
“We don’t want anything other than that they end the war. We don’t want charity kitchens. Even dogs wouldn’t eat this, let alone children,” she said.
Aid groups say the small amount of aid that Israel has allowed is far short of what is needed. About 600 trucks entered daily under the latest ceasefire.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel, killing some 1200 people and abducting 251 others. The militants are still holding 58 captives, about a third believed to be alive, after most were returned in ceasefire agreements or other deals.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has destroyed large swaths of Gaza and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Netanyahu said overnight he would only end the war if Hamas released its remaining hostages and stepped down from power, and if US President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate the territory’s population outside Gaza was implemented.
The Palestinians, along with nearly all the international community, have rejected Trump’s plan to empty Gaza of its Palestinian population and place the territory under US control.
Reuters, AP, Bloomberg
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