Israeli cabinet to vote on ceasefire, as US ‘confident’ deal will go ahead

GENEVA: The UN rights chief said Friday that he was “deeply alarmed” by reports of summary executions of civilians in Khartoum North, allegedly by Sudanese army fighters and allied militia.
“Deliberately taking the life of a civilian or anyone not or no longer directly taking part in hostilities is a war crime,” Volker Turk said in a statement.
The war between Sudan’s army (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April 2023 has killed tens of thousands of people and uprooted more than 12 million, according to the United Nations, and pushed millions to the brink of famine.
After months of apparent stalemate in Khartoum, the army last week broke an almost two-year RSF siege of its Khartoum General Command headquarters.
On the same day, the army reported reclaiming its Signal Corps base in Khartoum North, and expelling the RSF from the Jaili oil refinery north of Khartoum.
The UN rights office said it had verified the killings of at least 18 people, including one woman, in seven separate incidents “attributed to SAF-affiliated fighters and militia since the SAF regained control of the area on 25 January.”
“Many of the victims of these incidents, which took place in the vicinity the Al Jaili oil refinery, were originally from the Darfur or Kordofan regions of Sudan,” it said.
The rights office also highlighted “further disturbing allegations emanating from Khartoum North,” which it was still corroborating.
It noted a video circulated Thursday showing men in SAF uniform and members of the Al Baraa Bin Malik Brigade in Khartoum North “reading out a long list of names of alleged RSF collaborators, saying ‘Zaili’ — Arabic for ‘killed’ — after each name.”
“These reports of summary executions, following similar incidents earlier this month in Al Jazirah State, are deeply disturbing,” Turk said, adding that “such killings must not become normalized.”
He reiterated his call for “all parties to the conflict to take urgent action to protect civilians and to uphold obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.”
“Independent investigations must be held into these incidents in line with relevant international standards.”
The rights office voiced fear of further attacks “amid shocking threats of violence against civilians.”
It said it had reviewed a video showing a member of the Al Baraa Bin Malik Brigade “threatening to slaughter the residents of El Hadj Yusif in East Nile,” an area of Khartoum North.
The office also denounced continued RSF attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including the shelling of a camp for displaced people in El-Fasher in North Darfur that killed nine civilians on Wednesday.
And on January 24, a drone attack on a maternity hospital in El-Fasher, attributed to the RSF, left at least 67 dead and 19 injured, it said.
“Deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian objects are abhorrent,” Turk said.
“Such attacks constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law and may constitute war crimes.”
 

GENEVA: The UN Palestinian relief agency said its humanitarian work across the occupied territories and Gaza was still ongoing on Friday despite an Israeli ban that took effect a day before and what it described as hostility toward its staff.

An Israeli law adopted in October bans operations by UNRWA, or UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, on Israeli land — including annexed East Jerusalem — and contact with Israeli authorities from Jan. 30.
Britain, France, and Germany on Friday reiterated their concern over Israel implementing the new law, which humanitarian agencies say will have a considerable impact on devastated Gaza as staff and supplies transit to the Palestinian enclave via Israel.
“We continue to provide services,” Juliette Touma, director of communications of UNRWA, told a press briefing in Geneva.
“In Gaza, UNRWA continues to be the backbone of the international humanitarian response. We continue to have international personnel in Gaza and bring in trucks of basic supplies.”
She said any disruptions to its work in Gaza would put a ceasefire deal that halted the war between Israel and Hamas at risk.
“If UNRWA is not allowed to continue to bring and distribute supplies, then the fate of this very fragile ceasefire is going to be at risk and is going to be in jeopardy,” she said.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees in occupied East Jerusalem — whose annexation by Israel is not recognized internationally — also receive education, healthcare, and other services from UNRWA.
Touma said that its Palestinian staff in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are facing difficulties, citing examples of stone-throwing and hold-ups at checkpoints without attributing blame.
“They face an exceptionally hostile environment as a fierce disinformation campaign against UNRWA continues,” she said.
“It has been a really rough ride; it has not been easy. Our staff have not been protected.”
International staff have already left after their visas expired, she added.
Israel has long been critical of UNRWA and alleges its staff were involved in the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, which triggered the Gaza war.
The UN has said nine UNRWA staff may have been involved and were fired.
The ceasefire deal has allowed for a surge in humanitarian aid and enabled the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.
Before the agreement, experts warned of imminent famine in northern Gaza.
Supplies have since risen and the World Food Programme said that more than 32,000 tonnes of food had entered Gaza since the Jan. 19 deal took effect.
At the same briefing, the World Health Organization’s Dr. Rik Peeperkorn said about 12,000-14,000 patients were waiting to be evacuated from Gaza across the Rafah crossing.
Fifty are set to be moved on Saturday amid warnings that some children could die.
He added that these would be the first medical evacuations via Rafah since it was shut in May last year.
“They (evacuations) must urgently resume, and a medical corridor must open up,” he said.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Israel was committed to facilitating humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, saying assistance should go through other international agencies and NGOs.
“Humanitarian aid doesn’t equal UNRWA, and those who wish to support the humanitarian aid effort in the Gaza Strip should invest their resources in organizations that are alternative to UNRWA,” he said in a statement.
“We will abide by the law, and we will continue to facilitate humanitarian aid.”