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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaGermany defends genocide case at top UN courtPublished18 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, Getty ImagesBy Mattea Bubalo & Matt MurphyBBC NewsGermany has said Israel’s security is at the “core” of its foreign policy, as it defends a genocide case brought against it at the UN’s highest court. Nicaragua had accused it of breaching the UN genocide convention by sending military hardware to Israel and ceasing funding of the UN’s aid agency.Berlin rejected the claims at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Tuesday.In 2023 some 30% of Israel’s military equipment purchases came from Germany.The purchases totalled €300m ($326m; £257m).The allegations build on a separate case taken by South Africa in January, where judges in the Hague ordered Israel to take “every possible measure” to avoid genocidal acts.Israel rejects accusations that it is engaging in genocidal acts in its campaign in Gaza, and has insisted it has the right to defend itself.More than 33,000 have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry there says, the majority of them civilians. Gaza is on the brink of famine, with Oxfam reporting that 300,000 people trapped in the north have lived since January on an average of 245 calories a day.Nicaragua says Germany’s arms sales to Israel, which totalled $326.5m last year – a tenfold increase on 2022 – make it complicit in Israel’s alleged war crimes. The Central American country had brought the case to the Hague to ask judges to issue emergency measures to stop Berlin from providing Israel with weapons and other assistance.Firmly rejecting the accusations, Germany’s representative argued on Tuesday that Nicaragua’s case – which she said was rushed and based on the “flimsiest of evidence” – was aimed more toward Israel.”Nicaragua insists [on] initiating proceedings against Germany before this court, [and] has taken a one-sided view of the conflict. It fails to properly appreciate both the facts and the law in this situation”, lawyer Tania von Uslar-Gleichen said on Tuesday.”Our history is the reason why Israel’s security has been at the core of Germany’s foreign policy,” she told the court.”Where Germany has provided support to Israel, including in a form of export of arms and other military equipment, the quality and purposes of these supplies have been grossly distorted by Nicaragua.” In her opening statement, she argued that Germany was doing its “utmost to live up to its responsibility” to both Palestinians and Israelis.Germany had a duty to remind Israel of the rules of international humanitarian law, even as it exercised its “right to self defence”, she added.On the issue of ceasing its funding of the UN’s aid agency, she argued that Germany was among the largest international donors to Gaza in 2024.Another lawyer representing Germany, Christian Tams, said that Germany had resumed funding operations of the UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), a fact “ignored by Nicaragua”.Germany was one of 15 Western nations which suspended funding for UNRWA over allegations that some of the agency’s staff were involved in the 7 October attacks on Israel.According to papers filed with the ICJ, Nicaragua wanted the UN’s top court to resume funding of the aid agency, one of the few international bodies still operating in Gaza.On Monday, the opening day of the trial, Nicaragua’s lawyers had said Berlin was “pathetic” for supplying Israel with arms while at the same time giving humanitarian aid to Palestinians.Alain Pellet, a lawyer for Nicaragua, said it was “urgent that Germany suspend continued sales.”Germany was and is fully conscious of the risk that the arms it has furnished and continues to furnish to Israel” could be used to commit genocide, he told judges.Nicaragua’s case has raised broader questions about the accountability of countries supplying weapons to Israel since the Gaza conflict began.Michael Becker, a law professor at Trinity College Dublin, told the BBC on Monday that there was uncertainty about states’ obligations to prevent genocide or ensure respect for humanitarian law. The case against Germany, he said, could potentially help clarify the issue.”Under international law, states can also be held responsible for aiding or assisting in another state’s violations of international law,” he observed. “But international law on aid or assistance in the commission of an unlawful act is full of uncertainty. For example, it may not be clear whether Nicaragua needs to demonstrate both that Germany knew its assistance to Israel risked contributing to violations of international law but that that Germany intended that result.Critics of Nicaragua’s case have highlighted the country’s chequered human rights record. The government of President Daniel Ortega has jailed opponents and banned protests. In March, the UK’s mission to the UN accused the government of a “relentless” crackdown on human rights.Related TopicsMiddle EastIsrael-Gaza warIsraelGermanyNicaraguaInternational Court of JusticeMore on this storyGermany faces genocide case over Israel weapon salesPublished14 hours agoWhat is the genocide case against Israel?Published30 JanuaryUN’s top court says Israel must prevent genocidePublished26 JanuaryWhere does Israel get its weapons?Published4 days agoTop StoriesMan arrested after woman stabbed pushing pramPublished1 hour agoLive. Alan Bates warned Post Office of Horizon IT issues in 2000, inquiry hearsLive. Travel disruption after widespread flooding in UKFeaturesTogether in wonder: North America awed by total solar eclipseThe eclipse at Niagara Falls: ‘Wow! Spectacular’ VideoThe eclipse at Niagara Falls: ‘Wow! 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[ad_1] The country has been accused of “facilitating” genocide by providing arms to Israel.

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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaGermany faces genocide case over Israel weapon salesPublished26 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, Getty ImagesBy Matt MurphyBBC NewsNicaragua has asked the UN’s highest court to halt German weapons sales to Israel at the start of a landmark case. Germany is accused of breaching the UN genocide convention by sending military hardware to Israel and ceasing funding of the UN’s aid agency.Berlin rejects the claims and will present a defence to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Tuesday.In 2023 some 30% of Israel’s military equipment purchases came from Germany, totalling €300m ($326m; $257m). The allegations build on a separate case taken by South Africa in January, where judges in the Hague ordered Israel to take “every possible measure” to avoid genocidal acts. The court also ordered Hamas to release all hostages taken from Israel during its 7 October attacks immediately. Israel rejects accusations that it is engaging in genocidal acts in its campaign in Gaza, and has insisted it has the right to defend itself. More than 33,000 have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry there says, the majority of them civilians. Gaza is on the brink of famine, with Oxfam reporting that 300,000 people trapped in the north have lived since January on an average of 245 calories a day.Nicaragua says Germany’s arms sales to Israel, which totalled $326.5m last year – a tenfold increase on 2022 – make it complicit in Israel’s alleged war crimes. Components for air defence systems and communications equipment accounted for most of the sales, according to the DPA news agency. Germany was also one of 15 Western nations which suspended funding for the UN’s Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA) over allegations that some of the agency’s staff were involved in the 7 October attacks on Israel.According to papers filed with the ICJ, Nicaragua wants the UN’s top court to order Berlin to halt weapons sales and resume funding of the aid agency, one of the few international bodies still operating in Gaza. It says in the absence of such measures, “Germany is facilitating the commission of genocide and is failing in its obligation to do everything possible to prevent the commission of genocide”. Speaking as the trial opened, Alain Pellet, a lawyer for Nicaragua, said it was “urgent that Germany suspend continued sales. “Germany was and is fully conscious of the risk that the arms it has furnished and continues to furnish to Israel,” he told judges. Berlin has rejected the allegations, but has remained tight-lipped about its legal strategy ahead of the hearings. “We note Nicaragua’s lawsuit and we deny the allegations as unjustified”, government spokesman Wolfgang Buechner said.Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been a vocal supporter of Israel’s right to self-defence, but he has faced increasing domestic hostility to the continuation of arms sales to the country. On Sunday, a group of civil servants wrote to the German leader calling on the government to “cease arm deliveries to the Israeli government with immediate effect”.”Israel is committing crimes in Gaza that are in clear contradiction to international law and thus to the Constitution, which we are bound to as federal civil servants and public employees,” the statement said, citing January’s ICJ ruling. In January’s case, the ICJ ruled that “at least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa to have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the Convention”. But critics of the case have been quick to highlight that Nicaragua itself has a spotted human rights record, with its government accused of cracking down on opposition. In March, the UK’s mission to the UN accused President Daniel Ortega’s government of a “relentless” crackdown on human rights and civil liberties. Related TopicsIsrael-Gaza warIsraelGermanyMore on this storyWhat is the genocide case against Israel?Published30 JanuaryUN’s top court says Israel must prevent genocidePublished26 JanuaryWhere does Israel get its weapons?Published3 days agoTop StoriesLive. ‘There’s hardly anything left’ Palestinians return to Khan Younis as Israel withdrawsGermany faces genocide case over Israel weapon salesPublished26 minutes agoAbolish ‘elitist’ Foreign Office, former diplomats sayPublished2 hours agoFeaturesWhen and where in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?Amy Winehouse film: ‘Paparazzi are the villains’ not BlakeBBC visits ruins of kibbutz Nir Oz, abandoned after Hamas attack. VideoBBC visits ruins of kibbutz Nir Oz, abandoned after Hamas attackThe Papers: ‘Kyiv aid block’ warning and ‘run of a kind’Path of darkness – scroll every mile of total eclipseMyanmar’s army massacred Rohingyas. 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[ad_1] More than 33,000 have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry there says, the majority of them civilians. Gaza is on the brink of famine,…

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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityAsiaChinaIndiaMyanmar’s army massacred Rohingyas. Now it wants their helpPublished34 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Myanmar army killed thousands of Rohingyas and drove hundreds of thousands of them into neighbouring BangladeshBy Jonathan Head & BBC Burmese In BangkokNearly seven years after the Myanmar military killed thousands of Muslim Rohingyas, in what the UN called “textbook ethnic cleansing”, it wants their help.From interviews with Rohingyas living in Rakhine State the BBC has learned of at least 100 of them being conscripted in recent weeks to fight for the embattled junta. All their names have been changed to protect them.”I was frightened, but I had to go,” says Mohammed, a 31-year-old Rohingya man with three young children. He lives near the capital of Rakhine, Sittwe, in the Baw Du Pha camp. At least 150,000 internally displaced Rohingyas have been forced to live in IDP camps for the past decade. In the middle of February the camp leader came to him late at night, Mohammed said, and told him he would have to do military training. “These are army orders,” he remembers him saying. “If you refuse they have threatened to harm your family.”The BBC has spoken to several Rohingyas who have confirmed that army officers have been going around the camps and ordering the younger men to report for military training.The terrible irony for men like Mohammed is that Rohingyas in Myanmar are still denied citizenship, and subjected to a range of discriminatory restrictions – like a ban on travel outside their communities.In 2012 tens of thousands of Rohingyas were driven out of mixed communities in Rakhine State, and forced to live in squalid camps. Five years later, in August 2017, 700,000 fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, after the army launched a brutal clearance operation against them, killing and raping thousands and burning their villages. Some 600,000 of them still remain there. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Many Rohingyas have been forced to live in camps for the displaced for the last decadeMyanmar is now facing a genocide trial at the International Court of Justice in the Hague over its treatment of the Rohingyas. That the same army is now forcibly recruiting them is a telling sign of its desperation, after losing huge swathes of territory in Rakhine recently to an ethnic insurgent group called the Arakan Army. Dozens of Rohingyas in Rakhine have been killed by military artillery and aerial bombardments.The military has also suffered significant losses to opposition forces in other parts of the country. Large numbers of soldiers have been killed, wounded, surrendered or defected to the opposition, and finding replacements is difficult. Few want to risk their lives propping up an unpopular regime.What you need to know about the Rohingya crisisAnd the Rohingyas fear that is the reason they are being targeted again – to be cannon fodder in a war the junta seems to be losing.Mohammed said he was driven to the base of the 270th Light Infantry Battalion in Sittwe. Rohingyas have been prohibited from living in the town since they were driven out during the 2012 communal violence.”We were taught how to load bullets and shoot,” he said. “They also showed us how to disassemble and reassemble a gun.”In a video seen by the BBC another group of Rohingya conscripts can be seen being taught how to use BA 63 rifles, an older standard weapon used by the Myanmar armed forces.This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, Watch: Rohingya conscripts seen at Myanmar military campMohammed was trained for two weeks, then sent home. But after just two days he was called back, and put on a boat with 250 other soldiers and transported five hours up-river to Rathedaung, where a fierce battle with the Arakan Army was under way for control of three hilltop military bases.”I had no idea why I was fighting. When they told me to shoot at a Rakhine village, I would shoot.” He fought there for 11 days. They were desperately short of food, after a shell fell on their supply hut. He saw several Rohingya conscripts killed by artillery and he was injured by shrapnel in both legs, and taken back to Sittwe for treatment.On 20 March the Arakan Army released photos from the battle, after it had taken control of the three bases, showing several corpses, at least three of them identified as Rohingyas.Myanmar’s army is losing – and facing fire from a militant monkA turning point in Myanmar as army suffers big losses”While I was in the middle of the battle I was terrified the whole time. I kept thinking about my family,” Mohammed said. “I never thought I would have to go to war like that. I just wanted to go home. When I got home from the hospital I hugged my mother and cried. It felt like being born again from my mother’s womb.”Another conscript was Hussain, from Ohn Taw Gyi camp, which is also near Sittwe. His brother Mahmoud says he was taken away in February and completed his military training, but he went into hiding before they could send him to the front line.The military denies using Rohingyas to fight its battles with the Arakan Army. General Zaw Min Tun, the junta spokesman, told the BBC that there was no plan to send them to the front line. “We want to ensure their safety, so we have asked them to help with their own defence,” he said.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The devastating civil war between the army and ethnic insurgent groups has raged for three yearsBut in interviews with the BBC, seven Rohingyas in five different IDP camps near Sittwe all said the same thing: that they know of at least 100 Rohingyas who have been recruited this year and sent off to fight. They said teams of soldiers and local government officials came to the camps in February to announce that the younger men would be conscripted, at first telling people they would get food, wages and citizenship if they joined up. These were powerful lures. Food in the IDP camps has become scarce and expensive as the escalating conflict with the Arakan Army has cut off the international aid supplies. And the denial of citizenship is at the heart of the Rohingyas’ long struggle for acceptance in Myanmar, and one reason they suffer systematic discrimination, described by human rights groups as similar to apartheid.However, when the soldiers returned to take the conscripted men away, they retracted the offer of citizenship. When asked by the camp residents why they, as non-citizens, should be subjected to conscription, they were told that they had a duty to defend the place where they lived. They would be militiamen, not soldiers, they were told. When they asked about the offer of citizenship, the answer was “you misunderstood”.Now, according to one camp committee member, the army is demanding new lists of potential recruits. After seeing and hearing from the first group to come back from the front line, he said, no-one else was willing to risk being conscripted. This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, Rohingya refugees’ perilous journey in search of safetySo the camp leaders are now trying to persuade the poorest men, and those with no jobs, to go, by offering to support their families while they are away, with donations raised from other camp residents.”This conscription campaign is unlawful and more akin to forced labour,” said Matthew Smith, from the human rights group Fortify Rights.”There’s a brutal and perverse utility to what’s happening. The military is conscripting the victims of the Rohingya genocide in an attempt to fend off a nationwide democratic revolution. This regime has no regard for human life. It’s now layering these abuses on top of its long history of atrocities and impunity.” Finding Anwar – born while his mother fled for her lifeBy using Rohingyas in its battles against the advancing Arakan Army, the Myanmar military threatens to reignite communal conflict with the ethnic Rakhine Buddhist population, much of which supports the insurgents. It was friction between the two communities which in 2012 caused the expulsion of tens of thousands of Rohingyas from towns like Sittwe. In 2017, ethnic Rakhine men joined in the army’s attacks on the Rohingyas. Tension between the two communities has eased since then. The Arakan Army is fighting for an autonomous state, part of a wider campaign with other ethnic armies and opposition groups to overthrow the military junta and create a new, federal system in Myanmar. Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Rohingyas in Rakhine State now find themselves caught in the middle – between the junta and the insurgentsNow on the brink of victory in Rakhine State, the Arakan Army has talked about giving citizenship to all who have lived there recently, implying that it might accept the return of the Rohingya population from Bangladesh. The mood has now changed. A spokesman for the Arakan Army, Khaing Thukha, told the BBC that they viewed Rohingyas being conscripted to fight for the junta as “the worst betrayal of those who had recently been victims of genocide, and of those fighting for liberation from dictatorship”. Pro-military media have also been giving publicity to what appear to have been Rohingya protests in Buthidaung against the Arakan Army, although local people told the BBC they suspected these were organised by the army in an attempt to divide the two groups.The Rohingyas are now forced to fight for an army that does not recognise their right to live in Myanmar, thereby alienating the ethnic insurgents who may soon control most of Rakhine. Once targeted by both, they are now caught between the two sides. Mohammed has been given a certificate by the army, stating that he has fought in battle on their side. He has no idea what value it has, nor whether it exempts him from further military service. It could well get him into trouble with the Arakan Army if it continues its advance towards Sittwe and his camp. He is still recovering from his injuries, and says he is unable to sleep at night after his experience.”I’m afraid they will call me again. This time I came back because I was lucky, but next time I am not sure what will happen.”Related TopicsMyanmarAsiaRohingyaTop StoriesIsrael reduces troop numbers in southern GazaPublished5 hours agoJeremy Bowen: Obstacles to peace seem larger than everPublished19 hours agoManhunt after mum pushing baby in pram stabbed to deathPublished9 hours agoFeaturesThe Papers: ‘Kyiv aid block’ warning and ‘run of a kind’Where in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?Path of darkness – scroll every mile of total eclipseMyanmar’s army massacred Rohingyas. Now it wants their help7 lessons from my first series of University ChallengeThe comics legend lurking in a British basementIndigenous deaths in custody haunt AustraliaSix months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?West faces ‘authoritarian’ alliance, says Nato headElsewhere on the BBCGet a job, pay the bills. 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[ad_1] The BBC learns of at least 100 Rohingyas conscripted in recent weeks to fight for the embattled junta.

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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaIsrael-Gaza briefing: Obstacles to peace seem larger than ever after six months of warPublished19 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warBy Jeremy BowenBBC Middle East editorSix months after the Hamas attacks on Israel, war, disease, starvation and death ravage Palestinians in Gaza. Israel is deeply divided, as its prime minister struggles to keep his promise of total victory. The United States, Israel’s most essential ally, has turned against the way it is fighting the war.With Iran vowing vengeance for Israel’s assassination of a leading Iranian general in Syria, and months of cross-border conflict with Iran’s ally Hezbollah in Lebanon, the risks of an all-out Middle East war are increasing.The statistics record the horrors of the past six months. More than 33,000 Gazans, a majority of whom were civilians, have been killed, according to the health ministry. According to Save the Children, 13,800 Palestinian children in Gaza have been killed and over 12,009 wounded. Unicef reports at least 1,000 children have had one or both legs amputated.More than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed by Hamas on 7 October, and 253 people were taken into Gaza as hostages. Israel says that of 130 hostages still there, at least 34 are dead. A UN team reported in March that it had “clear and convincing information” that hostages had been subjected to sexual violence “including rape, sexualised torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment”. It said there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that the violence against hostages was continuing.This video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, “Abandoned, burnt out” – BBC visits ruins of Kibbutz Nir OzKibbutz Nir Oz is right on Israel’s border with Gaza. It feels like a time capsule still stuck in the horrors of 7 October 2023. Just after first light on that morning, Hamas broke through the wire. By the time the Israeli army arrived in the early afternoon, a quarter of the 400 or so Israelis who lived there had either been killed by Hamas or taken hostage.Ron Bahat showed me around. He is a man in his 50s who grew up at Nir Oz. Ron survived with his family through good luck and arms strong enough to hold shut the door of the safe room when Hamas entered his house.We walked along the neat lines of small houses, with gardens that are now overgrown. Many had bullet holes or were burnt out and had not been disturbed since the bodies of the dead were recovered. Ron pointed out the homes of friends and neighbours who were killed or taken as captives to Gaza. In one badly damaged house, a pile of neatly ironed children’s clothes had somehow survived the fire. The family who lived there did not.Image caption, Children’s jackets and a schoolbag still hang on the wall of one burned-out homeOne grim irony is that Nir Oz is part of a left-wing movement whose members traditionally support the idea of peace with the Palestinians. Six months after Hamas crossed into Nir Oz, Ron is not ready to make any concessions to Gaza.”Look, I wish that there will be a leader to bring some prosperity there, because in the end we must have peace. But anyone who supports Hamas is an enemy. The moment they leave their weapons, the war will stop. The moment that Israel leaves its weapons, we will not exist. That’s the difference.”In Nir Oz, broken glass still crunches underfoot and gutted houses smell of burnt wood and plastic. No-one is there to clean it up. A few of the surviving residents have come back on short visits, but most are staying away, living in hotels in central Israel.Yamit Avital was back for a few hours, showing around a friend. On that morning in October, she had been staying in Tel Aviv. Her husband was at home and escaped with the children. His brother, living not far away, was killed. Yamit’s hands shook slightly when she was talking about coming back to live in Nir Oz again.”I don’t know, it’s too early… Maybe only when the hostages come back we can start to think about it. We can’t think about it now. I have too many friends there, in Gaza.”Jeremy Bowen: The Israel-Gaza war is at a crossroadsCareer-ending pressure on Israeli PM Netanyahu growsIsrael-Gaza war: Death and Israel’s search for ‘total victory’No-one has been able to show me around the ruins of Khan Younis or Gaza City, or the tents of around 1.4 million displaced civilians in Rafah, in the way Ron Bahat showed me Nir Oz. That’s because international journalists can’t report from Gaza, as Israel and Egypt, in control of the borders, have not allowed them in. The only exception has been invitation-only, highly supervised trips organised by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). I have been on one, to northern Gaza in early November. Only a month or so into the war, Israeli firepower had already reduced the area to a wasteland.Evidence is accumulating that both Hamas and Israel may have committed war crimes. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague is investigating Israel for “plausible” allegations of genocide against the Palestinians in a case brought by South Africa. The ICJ cannot try a case against Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organisation by the US and UK, and many others, as it is not a state.Israel rejects the charge that it is guilty of genocide. For many of its citizens and supporters it is grotesque and offensive to allege that the state created after Nazi Germany murdered six million Jews in the Holocaust is itself committing genocide. One of Israel’s lawyers, Tal Becker, told the justices in court in The Hague that “the appalling suffering of civilians, both Israeli and Palestinian, is first and foremost the result of Hamas’ strategy”.Palestinians see the charges through a different lens, shaped by years of military occupation by Israel. Many Palestinians believe Israel has already created an apartheid state that denies them the most basic rights. In Jerusalem at Easter, a prominent Palestinian Christian political activist, Dimitri Diliani, told me that “killing children is killing children. It doesn’t matter who is the child that’s being killed. It doesn’t matter who is doing the killing”.”I recognise the Holocaust, but that does not mean a green light for Israel to commit genocide against my people or any other people.”The ICJ’s deliberations will take years and Israel’s accusers will have to prove intent to win their case. War and the deaths of civilians do not add up to genocide on their own. South Africa’s legal team argues that statements like the one made by Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant on 9 October show genocidal intent. “I have ordered a complete siege on the Gaza Strip. There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” he said after visiting the IDF Southern Command in Beersheba. “We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.”Israel was forced by international pressure, especially from Washington, to loosen aspects of the blockade that the minister envisaged. The amounts reaching Gaza were still grossly inadequate. Six months later, Gaza is facing imminent famine, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) a body backed by governments, the UN and aid groups to provide rigorous and apolitical information and analysis in a food emergency. Oxfam reports that 300,000 people trapped in the north have lived since January on an average of 245 calories a day – the equivalent of a tin of beans.Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe has also been recorded in detail by Palestinian journalists, civilians posting on social media and the international organisations running the aid operation, whose staff are allowed to enter the territory. Seven from the World Central Kitchen (WCK), which had been providing millions of meals, were killed by the Israeli army on 1 April.Their deaths outraged President Biden and other Western leaders who are staunch allies of Israel. Their condemnation of the killings left Israel even more isolated. Israel expects no sympathy from much of the world. But it has come to expect support, understanding and diplomatic from powerful Western allies. Instead, they have rejected Israel’s claim it does not impede the movement of relief supplies. President Biden extracted unusually rapid concessions from Israel, which promised greater humanitarian access to Gaza in a statement rushed out in the middle of the night here in Jerusalem. Perhaps he threatened to attach conditions to the use of American weapons in Gaza.The killing of the WCK team seems to have been a tipping point for President Biden, whose backing for Israel has been a constant throughout his long career in politics. Supporting Israel is still his firm principle, but the US is no longer prepared to turn that into a safety net for Benjamin Netanyahu and his extremist coalition partners. /* sc-component-id: sc-bdVaJa / .sc-bdVaJa {} .rPqeC{overflow:hidden;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;background-color:#F2EFEC;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-flex-wrap:wrap;-ms-flex-wrap:wrap;flex-wrap:wrap;box-sizing:border-box;} / sc-component-id: sc-bwzfXH / .sc-bwzfXH {} .jFqkEe{width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 50%;position:absolute;background-size:cover;background-position-x:50%;background-position-y:50%;background-image:url(‘https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/assets/0b913d05-7234-4f24-80e2-d5f35b19975c’);} / sc-component-id: sc-htpNat / .sc-htpNat {} .kUePcj{max-width:743px;width:45%;position:relative;min-height:200px;-webkit-flex:1 1 auto;-ms-flex:1 1 auto;flex:1 1 auto;} / sc-component-id: sc-bxivhb / .sc-bxivhb {} .huvKBR{max-width:100%;position:absolute;bottom:0;right:0;color:#ffffff;background:#000000;opacity:0.7;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;padding:5px;word-wrap:break-word;} @media (max-width:599px){.huvKBR{font-size:12px;line-height:16px;}} @media (min-width:600px) and (max-width:1007px){.huvKBR{font-size:13px;line-height:16px;}} @media (min-width:1008px){.huvKBR{font-size:12px;line-height:16px;}} / sc-component-id: sc-gzVnrw / .sc-gzVnrw {} .blLFIH{width:45% !important;position:relative;margin:0;word-wrap:break-word;color:#404040;font-weight:300;-webkit-flex:1 0 auto;-ms-flex:1 0 auto;flex:1 0 auto;padding:16px;} / sc-component-id: sc-htoDjs / .sc-htoDjs {} .kGbKV{display:block;} / sc-component-id: sc-dnqmqq / .sc-dnqmqq {} .dHUwnI{font-weight:100;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;padding:11px 0 25px 0;} .dHUwnI p{margin:0;} @media (max-width:599px){.dHUwnI{font-size:18px;line-height:22px;}} @media (min-width:600px) and (max-width:1007px){.dHUwnI{font-size:21px;line-height:24px;}} @media (min-width:1008px){.dHUwnI{font-size:20px;line-height:24px;}} / sc-component-id: sc-iwsKbI / .sc-iwsKbI {} .jiPRqw{display:block;} / sc-component-id: sc-gZMcBi / .sc-gZMcBi {} .honXkL{padding-top:10px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;} / sc-component-id: sc-gqjmRU / .sc-gqjmRU {} .klLnaG{color:#404040;font-style:normal;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;} .klLnaG > strong{font-weight:bold;} @media (max-width:599px){.klLnaG{font-size:16px;line-height:20px;}} @media (min-width:600px) and (max-width:1007px){.klLnaG{font-size:18px;line-height:22px;}} @media (min-width:1008px){.klLnaG{font-size:16px;line-height:20px;}} @font-face { font-family: ‘ReithSans’; 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font-weight: bold; } @font-face { font-family: ‘Noto Sans Gurmukhi’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/NotoSansGurmukhi-Regular.ttf) format(“truetype”); } @font-face { font-family: ‘Noto Sans Gurmukhi’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/NotoSansGurmukhi-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”); font-weight: bold; } @font-face { font-family: ‘Padauk’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/PadaukRegular.ttf) format(“truetype”); } @font-face { font-family: ‘Padauk’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/PadaukBold.ttf) format(“truetype”); font-weight: bold; } @font-face { font-family: ‘Shonar_bangala’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/ShonarRegular.ttf) format(“truetype”); } @font-face { font-family: ‘Shonar_bangala’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/ShonarBold.ttf) format(“truetype”); font-weight: bold; } @font-face { font-family: ‘NotoSansEthiopic’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/NotoSansEthiopic-Regular.ttf) format(“truetype”); } @font-face { font-family: ‘NotoSansEthiopic’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/NotoSansEthiopic-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”); font-weight: bold; } @font-face { font-family: ‘Mallanna’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/mallanna.ttf) format(“truetype”); } Oren Rosenfeld/BBCNetanyahu has an interest to lengthen the war as much as he can, because as long as the war is still going on, he can say that now is not the time for elections. Nava RosalioPolitical activist in JerusalemPalestinians ask, with some anger and frustration, why it took the deaths of seven aid workers, including six Westerners, to make a difference, after so many thousands of Gazans had been killed. Aid agencies operating in Gaza say the attack on the aid workers was not an isolated incident, but the result of an engrained disregard for the lives of Palestinian civilians.President Biden’s outrage might have been a long time coming but it could create a turning point in the war. Over the next month or so, one way of assessing change is simply to count whether Israel is killing fewer Palestinian civilians, or whether increased food and medical aid can save Gaza from famine. Another test will be whether Mr Netanyahu defies American opposition and goes ahead with a ground assault on Rafah, where Israel says the remaining organised units of Hamas must be destroyed. The US says that must not happen until Israel can find a way to protect the lives of almost 1.5 million Palestinians who have taken refuge there.Benjamin Netanyahu has delivered the “mighty vengeance” he promised Israelis on 7 October. His other promises, of total victory, the destruction of Hamas, and the return of the hostages have not been achieved. Inside Israel, he faces severe political pressure. His approval ratings in opinion polls have plummeted.In the past week in Jerusalem thousands of protestors waving Israeli flags blocked streets around the parliament demanding the resignation of the prime minister and new elections.”Netanyahu has an interest to lengthen the war as much as he can, because as long as the war is still going on, he can say that now is not the time for new elections,” said Nava Rosalio, one of the leaders of the anti-Netanyahu movement. Her group is called Busha in Hebrew, which translates as Shame.”He says now is not the time to look for who is responsible, which is he. So he prefers to keep the hostages in Gaza, and he prefers to lengthen the war.”When Hamas attacked, Israel was deeply divided over his government’s right-wing policies and culture wars between secular and religious Israelis. In the shock that followed reservists who had suspended their military service as part of the protests rushed back into uniform. Demonstrations were paused in the interests of national unity.Six months on, it is no longer considered unpatriotic to protest against the failure to end the war and free the hostages. Israel’s divisions are wide open once more.Image caption, Protesters in Jerusalem call for Prime Minister Netanyahu to resignMr Netanyahu faces searing accusations that his priority is his own political survival. To stay in power, he must preserve his coalition, which is built around the support of ultranationalist Jewish parties. They do not only oppose the mass release of Palestinian security prisoners to buy the freedom of Israeli hostages, without which a ceasefire will not happen. Mr Netanyahu’s two main ultranationalist allies, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, go further. They both want Palestinians to leave Gaza so Jews can settle there instead. The prime minister, renowned for his skills in the dark arts of politics, is performing a balancing act to keep them happy while denying that Mr Smotrich and Mr Ben-Gvir’s views reflect government policy. Before October, Israel’s divisions must have made it look vulnerable to Hamas. Six months on, the same schisms within Israel about the present and the future are making it harder to win the war.Capturing or killing Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza and mastermind of the 7 October attacks, would give Israel a chance to declare victory. But he is still alive, sending his responses to proposals in successive rounds of ceasefire talks from wherever he is hiding. He is thought to be somewhere in the Hamas tunnel network, protected by bodyguards and a human shield of Israeli hostages.Sinwar must be disappointed that Palestinians on the West Bank, including East Jerusalem have not risen up in support of Gaza. Some must be taking the long view, waiting to see how events unfold in Gaza and the wider Middle East. Others are struggling to feed their families now that thousands of Palestinians are no longer allowed to work in Israel. Some are scared. Israel has launched many deadly raids against armed groups in the West Bank, killing innocent bystanders in the process and arresting thousands who are being held without trial. Some Palestinian farmers have been driven off their land after violent and sometimes deadly intimidation by extremist Jewish settlers. / sc-component-id: sc-bdVaJa / .sc-bdVaJa {} .rPqeC{overflow:hidden;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;background-color:#F2EFEC;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;-webkit-flex-wrap:wrap;-ms-flex-wrap:wrap;flex-wrap:wrap;box-sizing:border-box;} / sc-component-id: sc-bwzfXH / .sc-bwzfXH {} .jbCcfe{width:100%;height:100%;object-fit:cover;object-position:50% 50%;position:absolute;background-size:cover;background-position-x:50%;background-position-y:50%;background-image:url(‘https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/assets/3f9dd1e8-c3c9-46c4-8230-541c3e232fb7’);} / sc-component-id: sc-htpNat / .sc-htpNat {} .kUePcj{max-width:743px;width:45%;position:relative;min-height:200px;-webkit-flex:1 1 auto;-ms-flex:1 1 auto;flex:1 1 auto;} / sc-component-id: sc-bxivhb / .sc-bxivhb {} .huvKBR{max-width:100%;position:absolute;bottom:0;right:0;color:#ffffff;background:#000000;opacity:0.7;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;padding:5px;word-wrap:break-word;} @media (max-width:599px){.huvKBR{font-size:12px;line-height:16px;}} @media (min-width:600px) and (max-width:1007px){.huvKBR{font-size:13px;line-height:16px;}} @media (min-width:1008px){.huvKBR{font-size:12px;line-height:16px;}} / sc-component-id: sc-gzVnrw / .sc-gzVnrw {} .blLFIH{width:45% !important;position:relative;margin:0;word-wrap:break-word;color:#404040;font-weight:300;-webkit-flex:1 0 auto;-ms-flex:1 0 auto;flex:1 0 auto;padding:16px;} / sc-component-id: sc-htoDjs / .sc-htoDjs {} .kGbKV{display:block;} / sc-component-id: sc-dnqmqq / .sc-dnqmqq {} .dHUwnI{font-weight:100;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;padding:11px 0 25px 0;} .dHUwnI p{margin:0;} @media (max-width:599px){.dHUwnI{font-size:18px;line-height:22px;}} @media (min-width:600px) and (max-width:1007px){.dHUwnI{font-size:21px;line-height:24px;}} @media (min-width:1008px){.dHUwnI{font-size:20px;line-height:24px;}} / sc-component-id: sc-iwsKbI / .sc-iwsKbI {} .jiPRqw{display:block;} / sc-component-id: sc-gZMcBi / .sc-gZMcBi {} .honXkL{padding-top:10px;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;} / sc-component-id: sc-gqjmRU */ .sc-gqjmRU {} .klLnaG{color:#404040;font-style:normal;font-family:Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;} .klLnaG > strong{font-weight:bold;} @media (max-width:599px){.klLnaG{font-size:16px;line-height:20px;}} @media (min-width:600px) and (max-width:1007px){.klLnaG{font-size:18px;line-height:22px;}} @media (min-width:1008px){.klLnaG{font-size:16px;line-height:20px;}} @font-face { font-family: ‘ReithSans’; 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font-weight: bold; } @font-face { font-family: ‘Noto Sans Gurmukhi’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/NotoSansGurmukhi-Regular.ttf) format(“truetype”); } @font-face { font-family: ‘Noto Sans Gurmukhi’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/NotoSansGurmukhi-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”); font-weight: bold; } @font-face { font-family: ‘Padauk’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/PadaukRegular.ttf) format(“truetype”); } @font-face { font-family: ‘Padauk’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/PadaukBold.ttf) format(“truetype”); font-weight: bold; } @font-face { font-family: ‘Shonar_bangala’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/ShonarRegular.ttf) format(“truetype”); } @font-face { font-family: ‘Shonar_bangala’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/ShonarBold.ttf) format(“truetype”); font-weight: bold; } @font-face { font-family: ‘NotoSansEthiopic’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/NotoSansEthiopic-Regular.ttf) format(“truetype”); } @font-face { font-family: ‘NotoSansEthiopic’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/NotoSansEthiopic-Bold.ttf) format(“truetype”); font-weight: bold; } @font-face { font-family: ‘Mallanna’; font-display: swap; src: url(https://c.files.bbci.co.uk/graphics/static/media/mallanna.ttf) format(“truetype”); } Muath Khatib/BBCThe Palestinians have been in the struggle for 75 years. What happened on Oct 7th is just one thing that happened in many long years of oppression. Joharah BakerRamallah resident and activistOpinion polls show strong support among Palestinians for the attacks on 7 October, though many deny the evidence that Hamas committed atrocities. At a noisy demonstration against the Israelis in Ramallah in the West Bank, I asked Joharah Baker, a Palestinian activist, whether the Hamas attacks had moved the Palestinians any closer to independence from Israeli rule. She said that was not the point.”What happened on 7 October is just one thing that happened in many long years of oppression… Our struggle will continue until we are free. That is what any people under occupation, under oppression, under colonial settlers will do.”According to the leading Palestinian pollster, Khalil Shikaki, even those who dislike Hamas approve of the way its attacks have put the Palestinian desire for independence back on the political map of the Middle East. The war has accelerated a new way for that to happen. His latest polls indicate that younger Palestinians do not think the two-state solution of an independent Palestine alongside Israel will ever emerge.Instead, he says, a plurality of under-30s want a single state between the Mediterranean Sea and the river Jordan, in which they believe they could fight and win democratic rights. They compare their fight with the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and believe they have a Palestinian Nelson Mandela waiting in an Israeli jail. He is Marwan Barghouti, imprisoned since 2002 and serving five life sentences for murder. If he ran for president, the indications are that he would win easily. Even though he is a leader of the rival Palestinian faction, Fatah, Hamas put Marwan Barghouti’s name on the list of prisoners they want released in exchange for hostages.Image caption, Protesters in Ramallah in the West Bank chant support for the Palestinians of GazaIt is impossible to see Jewish Israelis ever giving up the Jewish nature of their state. The fact that Palestinians see that as a possibility is another sign of the distance between them.Six months into the war, there is no immediate sign that it is ending. Benjamin Netanyahu has avoided any specifics about how Gaza would be governed when this war ends, except for insisting that Israel must be in control – in other words, an occupation.He has rejected America’s proposal to replace Israeli troops with a force from the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the West Bank. The Americans want a PA, revitalised, eventually to govern Gaza. That would most likely require new leadership. Current Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is elderly and hugely unpopular. Palestinians say he has failed to fight corruption, failed to show sympathy for Gaza, and failed to order the Palestinian police to protect them from aggressive Jewish settlers while he continues security cooperation with Israel.Benjamin Netanyahu has also rejected Joe Biden’s idea of a grand bargain that would transform the Middle East. In return for allowing Palestinian independence, Israel would be recognised by Saudi Arabia, and the Saudis would get a NATO-style defence agreement with the US. Instead, the prime minister tells Israelis that he is the only man who can save them from the mortal hazard of a Palestinian state imposed by America. That is music for the ultranationalists in his government, who are much keener to keep the West Bank and all of Jerusalem than make a deal with Saudi Arabia.Image source, ReutersImage caption, Palestinians gather to receive free food in Gaza last monthAway from the conference rooms where leaders discuss the future, the war has created another enormous obstacle to peace. Palestinians and Israelis have not been as suspicious of each other since the turbulent decades of assassination, hijackings and war in the 1950s and 60s.The pollster Khalil Shikaki identifies an accelerated mutual process of dehumanisation since 7 October.”The Palestinians are not seen as partners for peace. They are not seen as people who deserve equality because of what they have done on 7 October. So, they [Israelis] question their humanity. We see similar developments, unfortunately, also among Palestinians, who see what is happening in Gaza.”And they say those who are targeting women and children, deliberately killing entire families, demolishing entire neighbourhoods cannot be humans as well. So, they see them as monsters.”This dehumanisation is absolutely disastrous for the future.”Additional reporting by Oren Rosenfeld, Fred Scott and Kathy LongIs now the time Palestinian politics can start afresh?Was this the week Israel and Hezbollah drew closer to war?Netanyahu is a survivor, but his problems are stacking upBiden treads carefully through Middle East minefieldRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warIsraelPalestinian territoriesGazaMore on this storyThousands of Israelis rally to demand hostage dealPublished41 minutes agoSix months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?Published1 day agoJeremy Bowen: The Israel-Gaza war is at a crossroadsPublished3 days agoTop StoriesJeremy Bowen: Obstacles to peace seem larger than everPublished19 minutes agoPM marks six months of Israel-Gaza war as UK sends Navy ship for aidPublished2 hours agoGovernment delays decision on incinerator opposed by Steve BarclayPublished3 hours agoFeaturesThe Papers: ‘Gaza famine’ warning and Corrie ‘budgeting row’The eclipse’s 4-minute window into the Sun’s secretsWhere in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?7 lessons from my first series of University ChallengeThe singer-songwriters who are pop’s new breakout starsIndigenous deaths in custody haunt AustraliaSix months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?Path of darkness – scroll every mile of total eclipse’A game of Jenga’: Inside the perilous Baltimore bridge clean-upElsewhere on the BBCGet a job, pay the bills. 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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaGreta Thunberg: Activist arrested at Hague climate protestPublished55 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, EPABy Ian Aikman & Anna Holliganin London and The HagueSwedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has been arrested by Dutch police at a protest in The Hague.The 21-year-old joined hundreds of protesters in a march against fossil fuel subsidies on Saturday.The protest devolved into a standoff as dozens of police officers, some on horseback, attempted to stop protesters from blocking a main road.Local police put Ms Thunberg on a bus full of demonstrators and she was driven away from the scene. Protesters had planned to block The Hague’s A12 highway for what Extinction Rebellion (XR) organisers say was the 37th time. The road has been subject to regular blockades since 2022.The demonstration was called to denounce the Dutch government’s tax concessions for companies connected to the fossil fuel industry, including the energy firm, Shell, and the airline, KLM. Activists hoped to pile pressure on the government ahead of a planned debate about fossil fuel subsidies in June. Image source, ReutersImage caption, Extinction Rebellion organisers say this is the 37th time they have protested on the A12 highwayFlanked by fellow activists, Ms Thunberg marched towards the designated protest spot behind a banner with the words, STOP FOSSIL SUBSIDIES.The world’s most recognizable climate activist tried to blend in with the crowd, but her star-power meant this demonstration attracted more attention than previous XR blockades of the A12 highway.A brass band played and the protesters sang traditional Dutch songs given a modern climate-conscious twist.Some newspapers had claimed local residents were annoyed the climate protest was taking place on the hottest day of the year so far, potentially making it harder for people to reach the beach in The Hague.A group of activists then marched from the city centre to a field next to the highway, where a wall of local police officers was waiting for them.A few demonstrators broke through police lines but were quickly picked up and handcuffed.”It’s important to demonstrate today because we are living in a state of planetary emergency,” Ms Thunberg told AFP news agency.”We must do everything to avoid that crisis and to save human lives.”Asked whether she was concerned about police action, she said: “Why should I be?”Ms Thunberg was among a small group of climate activists who broke away and managed to reach the road. More than a hundred of them were placed in police-commandeered minibuses. The Swedish activist described her arrest as ‘peaceful’. She sat at the back and chatted before being driven away.At previous protests in The Hague, police have driven detainees away from a protest’s epicentre and released them without further consequences. Those, including Ms Thunberg, who managed to separate from the colourful crowd and sit down cross-legged on the A12 highway, were first asked by police if they wanted to cooperate by boarding the buses. Those who refused were hoisted up by arms and rucksacks and deposited in the vehicles. Image source, ReutersImage caption, Greta Thunberg was loaded into a bus and driven away from the protest, along with fellow detaineesLater on Saturday, reports emerged that Ms Thunberg had returned to the protest and been arrested for a second time. Police told the BBC some people who were arrested and released were then arrested again. They did not confirm if Ms Thunberg was among them. As of about 14:00 local time (12:00 GMT), traffic was still flowing on the A12, according to the Netherlands’ Algemeen Dagblad newspaper.The Hague’s local police told the BBC: “While we can’t comment on individual cases, we can confirm that all of the people who were picked up by police and put on to minibuses were officially arrested, because they were blocking the highway and that is against the law.”Ms Thunberg has been a leading climate campaigner since she was 15 years old. In February, she and four co-defendants were found not guilty of breaking the law when they refused to follow police instructions during a climate demonstration in London. Related TopicsThe HagueNetherlandsGreta ThunbergMore on this storyThunberg cleared after unlawful protest arrestPublished2 FebruaryGreta Thunberg: We must remember who real enemy isPublished1 FebruaryWho is Greta Thunberg and what has she achieved?Published5 FebruaryGreta Thunberg statue returns to universityPublished12 JanuaryTop StoriesIsrael says body of hostage recovered in night raidPublished3 minutes agoShameful to call for UK to end Israel arms sales, Johnson saysPublished5 hours agoDozens of UK flights cancelled as Storm Kathleen sweeps inPublished1 hour agoFeaturesThe world’s eclipse chasers arrive in North AmericaWhere in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?Inside IDF’s detailed briefing on aid convoy attackWhere does Israel get its weapons?New Yorkers mostly unshaken by rare earthquakeTracking the world’s biggest iceberg as it drifts towards oblivionPrince Andrew’s infamous BBC interview… as dramatised by NetflixKacey Musgraves: ‘The tortured musician cliché is a farce’My return home – 30 years after Rwanda’s genocideElsewhere on the BBCIt’s make or break timeAnother set of eager entrepreneurs hope to impress the fearsome panelAttributioniPlayerBruce Lee as you’ve never seen him beforeTen defining pictures throw a unique lens onto an extraordinary lifeAttributioniPlayerAmbition, money and deceptionThe scandalous true story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, starring Amanda SeyfriedAttributioniPlayerFrom Starman to film star…How did the silver screen inspire David Bowie?AttributioniPlayerMost Read1Planes collide at Heathrow Airport2Actor Cole Brings Plenty found dead in Kansas3Dozens of UK flights cancelled as storm sweeps in4West faces ‘authoritarian’ alliance, says Nato head5Warnings of more flooding in Sydney as dam spills6Israel military sales ban call shameful – Johnson7Where in the UK can you see Monday’s solar eclipse?8Israel says body of hostage recovered in night raid9Ibiza locals living in cars as party island sees rents soar10Torso found in woodland was a man, police say

[ad_1] The activist was placed on a bus with fellow detainees and driven away from a protest at The Hague.

BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaTop UN court orders Israel to allow food and medical aid into GazaPublished1 hour agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Children with empty pots wait as aid workers distribute food in Gaza City earlier this monthBy Christy CooneyBBC NewsThe UN’s top court has unanimously ordered Israel to enable the unhindered flow of aid into Gaza in order to avert a famine. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Israel must act “without delay” to allow the “provision… of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”. This follows warnings that famine could hit Gaza within weeks. Israel has called allegations it is blocking aid “wholly unfounded”. It has also denied allegations of genocide lodged at the ICJ by South Africa and has blamed the UN for problems with the distribution of aid.The latest ruling by the court in The Hague comes after South Africa asked it to bolster an order issued to Israel in January to take all measures to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza.Although orders issued by the ICJ are legally binding, the court lacks the power to enforce them.Last week, a report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification Global Initiative, which is run by the World Food Programme and others, warned that a “catastrophic” situation was developing. It said that all of the 2.2 million people in Gaza were “facing high levels of acute food insecurity” and that famine was projected to hit the north of the territory before the end of May.Gaza starvation could amount to war crime, UN human rights chief tells BBCWhat is famine and why are Gaza and Sudan at risk?In its ruling, the ICJ said Gaza was “no longer facing only a risk of famine” but “famine is setting in” and that, according to UN observers, 31 people, including 27 children, had already died of malnutrition and dehydration.It also noted comments by Volker Türk, the UN’s high commissioner for human rights, who said last week that the “situation of hunger, starvation and famine” was “a result of Israel’s extensive restrictions on the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and commercial goods, displacement of most of the population, as well as the destruction of crucial civilian infrastructure”.The court said Israel must “take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full co-operation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale… of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance”.The aid most needed included food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, and clothing as well as hygiene products and medical supplies, it said.The ruling also said Israel must ensure “its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza” under the Genocide Convention.Recent months have seen long queues of aid trucks repeatedly forming as they wait to enter Gaza from Egypt, and accusations levelled at Israel that it is subjecting the deliveries to complex and arbitrary checks.In a filing last week, Israel asked the ICJ not to issue the latest order, saying South Africa’s allegations were “wholly unfounded in fact and law” and “morally repugnant”.It has also dismissed the broader case being brought against it under the Genocide Convention as “baseless”.Israel has further said that Hamas takes much of the aid that enters Gaza and accused the UN of failing to distribute what is left to the civilian population. The current conflict began after the 7 October attack, which saw Hamas-led gunmen storm across the border into Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking more than 250 others hostage. Of those taken, about 130 remain unaccounted for, at least 34 of whom are presumed dead.Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 32,552 people. Earlier this month, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that, of those killed, more than 25,000 were women and children. 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[ad_1] It also noted comments by Volker Türk, the UN’s high commissioner for human rights, who said last week that the “situation of hunger, starvation and famine” was “a result…