12/12/2025

FRIDAY | DEC 12, 2025

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Amnesty accuses Hamas of crimes against humanity

Rain floods thousands of tents in Gaza

GAZA: Heavy rains flooded thousands of tents sheltering displaced civilians in Gaza on Wednesday, Anadolu Ajansi reported. Heavy rainfall began before dawn, submerging thousands of tents in several areas across the enclave. According to an Anadolu reporter, the water level exceeded 40cm inside some tents. Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal warned of an “imminent humanitarian disaster” due to bad weather conditions. According to forecasts, rains are expected to continue in Gaza until today. Basal said aid entering Gaza still falls far short of the needs of the territory’s 2.4 million residents, who are facing a humanitarian crisis, and called for international action. “We have received more than 1,000 appeals since this morning from displaced families whose tents were flooded by rainwater due to the storm. “The weather depression has raised the water level in displacement shelters to more than one metre. “The coming hours will be difficult for displaced civilians in the shelters, with heavier rainfall expected than what occurred on Wednesday.” He warned that more than 250,000 families in displacement camps across the enclave are vulnerable to cold weather and rainwater in their worn-out tents. He appealed for urgent solutions and alternatives to the tents that have been torn by the rains, and for the provision of mobile homes that can offer displaced families a minimum level of protection. On Tuesday, the Gaza Government Media Office warned that a polar low-pressure system would affect the enclave starting on Wednesday until today, threatening hundreds of thousands of displaced families. Gaza Municipality spokesperson Hosni Mahna said the territory is suffering widespread infrastructure collapse, especially after the destruction of seven out of eight main sewage pumping stations in Israeli attacks, raising the malfunction rate in the pumping system to 90%. He added that the capacity to drain rainwater through pumping stations and networks has fallen by 80%, and municipal teams are operating with only 15% of the old equipment amid constant fuel shortages. KYIV: Ukraine has sent Washington an updated plan for ending Russia’s invasion, Ukrainian officials told AFP on Wednesday, as US President Donald Trump pressed into European leaders in the latest sign of a growing transatlantic rift. A first US plan that involved Ukraine surrendering land that Russia has not captured was seen by Kyiv and its European allies as caving in to too many of Russia’s hardline demands, and has since been revised. A Ukrainian official briefed on the latest version said it “takes into account Ukraine’s vision. It is a further proposal for adequate solutions to problematic issues”.

JERUSALEM: Amn e s t y International yesterday accused Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups for the first time of crimes against humanity, including o Acts listed include murder, extermination, imprisonment, torture, rape and ‘other forms of sexual violence’

Talks between US officials and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin last week also failed to reach a breakthrough. The threats of a full Trump pullout have come at a delicate time for Zelensky, whose army is on the back foot in the eastern Donbas region while a corruption scandal engulfs several of his close associates. Zelensky, who Trump has accused of not reading the plan, said on Tuesday the plan had been broken down into three documents, namely a framework 20-point agreement, one paper on security guarantees and another on Ukraine’s post-war recovery. precise data on the full extent of explosive contamination in Gaza, although strong indicators point to its widespread presence across most areas. He said the UN Mine Action Service has been operating in Gaza since October 2023. Van Der Walt said more than 650 hazardous items have been identified in the areas the teams were able to access, with the vast majority being unexploded ordnance and improvised explosive devices. He highlighted that Gaza’s small retaliatory campaign in Gaza, an accusation that Israel has denied. It said Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups in Gaza “continued to commit violations and crimes under international law in their holding and mistreatment of hostages and the withholding of bodies seized”. Amnesty, which had previously accused Hamas and other groups of committing war crimes on Oct 7, concluded in its newest report that they were also responsible for crimes against humanity, particularly in the seizure and holding in captivity of hostages. “The holding of hostages was done as part of an explicitly stated plan explained by the leadership of Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.” Amnesty has also previously accused Hamas and other groups of committing war crimes, which are serious violations of international law against civilians and combatants during armed conflict. Crimes against humanity can occur in peacetime and include torture, rape and discrimination, be it racial, ethnic, cultural, religious or gender-based. It involves “a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population”. Hamas’s Oct 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people and 251 people were taken hostage that day, including 44 who were dead. Of the 207 hostages taken alive, 41 died or were killed in captivity. At the

On Wednesday, Zelensky said he held an online meeting with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink to discuss Ukraine’s recovery. “This could be considered the first meeting of the group that will work on a document concerning reconstruction and economic recovery of Ukraine. “We have also updated our reflections on the 20 points of the framework document for ending the war. It is overall security that will determine economic security and underpin a safe business environment.“ – AFP geographic area and high population density make the situation more complex compared with other conflict zones, such as Syria and Lebanon. Van Der Walt stressed that avoiding explosive remnants is nearly impossible under prevailing conditions, and even small remnants could cause major disasters. He added that the objects are highly sensitive and could detonate at any moment, potentially causing deaths or serious injuries, as well as releasing toxic substances. – Bernama-Wafa The court also issued a still-active arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the war in Gaza. – AFP time of writing, all hostages have been returned as part of a ceasefire in Gaza except for the body of one Israeli officer. Among the acts listed as crimes against humanity by Amnesty are murder, extermination, imprisonment, torture, enforced disappearance, rape and “other forms of sexual violence”. For the latter crimes, it said it was not able to interview survivors except for one case, and so could not conclude the scope or scale of sexual violence. The report concluded that Hamas, as well as its armed wing the Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, are “chiefly responsible” for the crimes. Hamas ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad, as well as the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades and “unaffiliated Palestinian civilians”, are said to be responsible to a lower extent. In May 2024, the International Criminal Court applied for arrest warrants for then Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, then Hamas armed wing head Mohammed Deif and then Hamas head and Oct 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar. It withdrew the applications after the trio were killed later that year by Israel.

extermination, during and after an Oct 7, 2023 attack on Israel. “Palestinian armed groups committed violations of international humanitarian law, war crimes and crimes against humanity during their attacks in southern Israel that started on Oct 7, 2023,” the human rights watchdog said in a 173-page report. Amnesty said the mass killing of civilians on Oct 7 amounted “to the crime against humanity of extermination”. It has also accused Israel of committing genocide in its

Amnesty has also accused Israel of committing genocide in its retaliatory campaign in Gaza, an accusation that Israel has denied. – AFPPIC

Unexploded ordnance pose serious risk to civilians NEW YORK: Mine Action Programme in the Occupied Palestinian Territory Chief Julius Van Der Walt warned on Wednesday that war remnants and unexploded ordnance are obstructing the return of normal life in Gaza, with children being the most at risk, Palestine News and Info Agency reported. He added that more than two years of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip have left widespread contamination with explosive materials, negatively affecting the delivery of humanitarian aid, slowing the recovery of the sector and making reconstruction work extremely dangerous.

Van Der Walt explained that United Nations (UN) teams face explosive hazards almost daily across different areas of the Gaza Strip, and families moving within Gaza are at risk from such materials. He also said there is no

He said unexploded ordnance in Gaza pose a serious threat to civilians, especially as hundreds of thousands return to their homes and neighbourhoods following a ceasefire.

“Mass quantities of rubble in Gaza’s streets prevent rainwater from flowing to the drains.” – Bernama-Anadolu Ukraine sends US new plan to end war

Minister French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. On Monday, Ukraine’s European allies put on a show of support for Zelensky as they expressed scepticism about parts of the latest US proposal to end the war. Trump added that the Europeans wanted to hold fresh talks this weekend but warned that they risked “wasting time”. “They would like us to go to a meeting over the weekend in Europe, and we will make a determination depending on what they come back with. We do not want to be wasting time”. Keir Starmer,

“We are not disclosing the details pending the reaction of the American side.“ Trump, who has been pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to a US plan, expressed impatience with Kyiv and its European allies in France, Britain and Germany. His comments come amid a growing divide with Europe after he described it as “decaying” and “weak” on immigration and Ukraine, days after a new US national security strategy said the continent risks “civilisational erasure”. “We discussed Ukraine in pretty strong words,“ said Trump when asked about his call with British Prime