* Israel says Gaza got 120 trucks of aid on day one of pause
* Egypt’s Sisi urges Trump to end Gaza war
* Trump says Gaza ceasefire is ‘possible’
Rights groups B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel said on Monday that they had concluded the war in Gaza amounts to “genocide” against Palestinians, a first for Israeli NGOs.
Both organisations are frequent critics of Israeli government policies, but the language in their reports issued on Monday was their most stark yet.
“Nothing prepares you for the realisation that you are part of a society committing genocide. This is a deeply painful moment for us,” B’Tselem executive director Yuli Novak told a news conference unveiling the two reports.
“As Israelis and Palestinians who live here and witness the reality every day, we have a duty to speak the truth as clearly as possible,” she said.
“Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians.”
Since October 7, 2023, Israeli assault has left much of the Gaza Strip, home to more than two million Palestinians, in ruins, and according to the Gaza’s health ministry has killed at least 59,821 people, most of them civilians.
All Gazans have been driven from their homes at least once since the start of the war, and UN agencies warn that residents face a growing threat of famine and malnutrition.
The International Court of Justice, in an interim ruling in early 2024 in a case lodged by South Africa, found it “plausible” that the Israeli offensive had violated the UN Genocide Convention.
The Israeli government, backed by the United States, fiercely denies the charge and says it is fighting to defeat Hamas and to bring back Israeli hostages still held in Gaza.
The reports from B’Tselem — one of Israel’s best-known rights groups — and Physicians for Human Rights Israel argue that the war’s objectives go further.
B’Tselem’s report cites statements from senior politicians to illustrate that Israel “is taking coordinated action to intentionally destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip”.
Physicians for Human Rights Israel’s report documents what the group says is “the deliberate and systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system”.
On the ground, truckloads of food reached hungry Gazans yesterday after Israel promised to open secure aid routes, but humanitarian agencies warned vast amounts more were needed to stave off starvation.
With Gaza’s population of more than two million facing famine and malnutrition, Israel bowed to international pressure at the weekend and announced a daily “tactical pause” in fighting in some areas.
Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah el-Sisi yesterday publicly called on Donald Trump to use his influence to halt Israel’s war on Gaza and ensure the entry of humanitarian aid into the besieged enclave.
In a televised speech, the Egyptian president said, “He is capable of stopping the war.”
Trump, currently on a visit to Scotland, has addressed the war in Gaza, saying the time has come to “end it” and a ceasefire is “possible”.
“I told Israel, I told Bibi [Netanyahu] that you’re going to now maybe have to do it a different way,” Trump said. “It’s a tragic situation, frankly.”
Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump also said people in Gaza need food and safety right now, a situation he said he would discuss with Starmer.
Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza on March 2 after talks to extend a six-week ceasefire broke down. Nothing was allowed into the territory until late May, when a trickle of aid resumed.
Now, the Israeli defence ministry’s civil affairs agency says the UN and aid agencies had been able to pick up 120 truckloads of aid on Sunday and distribute it inside Gaza, with more on the way.
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates have begun air-dropping aid packages by parachute over Gaza, while Egypt has sent trucks through its Rafah border crossing to an Israeli post just inside Gaza.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, cautiously welcomed Israel’s “humanitarian pauses” but warned Gaza needed at least 500 to 600 trucks of basic food, medicine and hygiene supplies daily.
UNRWA insisted it was ready to step up distribution, with 10,000 staff inside Gaza, waiting for deliveries.
Nasser Hospital has reported that five Palestinians seeking aid were killed and others were injured in an Israeli attack near the Morag Corridor, north of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
According to Al Jazeera, at least 55 Palestinians have been killed and more than 80 others injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn yesterday, including 17 people while waiting for aid.
