Germany, UK urge Israel to resume aid, electricity to Gaza

A federal court hearing in Manhattan will consider Mahmoud Khalil's challenge to his detention as a Palestinian Columbia student on Wednesday.

The activist, a lawful US resident, who helped lead protests at Columbia University against Israel's war in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack was detained Saturday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested him in New York and flew him to an immigration jail in Louisiana.

The Department of Homeland Security said the action was taken "in support of President Trump's executive orders prohibiting antisemitism, and in coordination with the Department of State."

Writing on his Truth social US President Donald Trump warned it was, "the first arrest of many to come.” 

"We know there are more students at Columbia and other Universities across the Country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-semitic, anti-American activity," Trump added

"We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country, never to return again."

 US campuses including Columbia's were rocked by student protests against the war in Gaza last year and ignited accusations of antisemitism.

Israel's UN ambassador, Daniel Meron, has told reporters that his country's government is "working to find substitutes to the work of UNRWA inside Gaza."

He added that they are "encouraging UN agencies and NGOs to take over."

The statement comes after Israel officially banned UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, from operating on Israeli territory in January. The ban caused concerns that sufficient aid would not be able to reach Gaza's war-ravaged population.

Israel justified the ban by claiming that a "significant" portion of UNRWA employees are terrorists, after accusing 12 of its members for having ties to Hamas.

A UN investigation was "not able to independently authenticate information used by Israel to support the allegations."

Human rights organization Amnesty International said Syria's new authorities should allow independent international investigators to look into the violence that broke out on the country's Mediterranean coast.

Hundreds of civilians, most of them from the Alawite minority, were killed in clashes that erupted last Thursday between Syrian security forces and supporters of the deposed Assad government.

Following the violence, Syria's new leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, pledged to carry out an investigation and vowed that the people responsible for the killings would be held accountable.

Amnesty's regional director, Heba Morayef, said in a statement that, in addition, "the authorities should grant independent national and international investigators access to Syria, including to Syria's coastal areas, so that they can conduct their own fact-finding work."

Morayef added that securing justice for those responsible is key going forward.

"These horrific events once again underscore the urgent need for comprehensive steps by Syrian authorities to ensure truth, justice and reparation for all victims of grave violations in Syria."
 

Israel has sent a team of negotiators to Doha for the latest round of discussions on a fragile ceasefire in Gaza that was brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States.

The truce agreement that was signed in January halted the war between Israel and Hamas that was triggered by the Hamas terror attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

The deal outlined three six-week phases aimed at securing the release of all hostages in exchange for a number of Palestinians held by Israel, returning to a "sustainable calm" and the end of Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip.

The first phase of the deal ended earlier this month without an agreement in place on how to proceed to subsequent phases.

Hamas on Monday accused Israel of reneging on the deal and refusing to begin the ceasefire agreement's second phase.

Israeli negotiators, reportedly led by a senior official from Israel's domestic security agency Shin Bet, prefer an extension of the first stage of the deal.

In the lead-up to the talks in Doha, Israel cut off humanitarian and electricity supplies to the Palestinian enclave.

"We will use all the tools at our disposal to bring back the hostages," Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Sunday.

Out of the 251 hostages who were kidnapped during the October 7 attack, 58 are still held, including 34 who have died, according to the Israeli military.

The United Kingdom has also condemned Israel for cutting off power supplies to Gaza.

In a statement, Downing Street said it was "deeply concerned" and urged Israel "to lift these restrictions."

"We're clear that a halt on goods and supplies entering Gaza, including basic needs such as electricity, risks breaching Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law," the UK government said.

Israel's decision has raised concerns about access to drinking water in Gaza, as a desalination plant in the south of the enclave has been forced to rely on power generators.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said: "Humanitarian aid should never be contingent on a ceasefire or used as a political tool."

The Syrian government says an operation against supporters of ousted President Bashar Assad had ended.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor, at least 973 civilians have been killed by security forces and groups allied with the new government since Thursday.

The majority were members of the Alawite minority, to which the former president belongs.

The clashes are the worst spike of violence in Syria since Assad was overthrown in December after ruling with an iron first for decades.

In a speech published by state media, interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa insisted that Syria would not be dragged into civil war and vowed to crack down on the perpetrators of the violence.

"Syria ... will not allow any foreign powers or domestic parties to drag it into chaos or civil war," Sharaa said.

Germany has called on Israel to restore electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry in Berlin said Germany's government was observing events "with great concern" after Israel cut off power to the Palestinian enclave on Sunday.

Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen said electricity supplies to the territory were being suspended.

Last week, Israel also paused deliveries of humanitarian aid. The measures are designed to pressure Hamas into releasing dozens of hostages still being held in Gaza.

Germany urged the Israeli government to restore "all forms of humanitarian aid with immediate effect."

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman pointed out that electricity is needed to run the desalination plant in Khan Younis, a city in the southern Gaza Strip.

She added that withholding humanitarian aid is not a legitimate means of applying pressure during ceasefire talks.

She also said Hamas must release the remaining hostages under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.

Here you can follow the main developments currently taking place in the Middle East region.

We will bring you updates from negotiations on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza to the situation following deadly clashes in Syria.