By Elham Asaad Buaras
London, (The Muslim News): Israeli forces have come under renewed international condemnation following the killing of two Palestinian brothers during a West Bank raid, continued obstruction of humanitarian aid into Gaza, and the violent seizure of an aid flotilla carrying prominent activists, including Greta Thunberg.
NABLUS RAID LEAVES TWO BROTHERS DEAD
On Tuesday, Israeli troops shot and killed Nidal Ameira, 40, and Khaled Ameira, 35, during a military raid in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The Israeli military claimed the men had attempted to seize a soldier’s weapon during a search operation, sparking a firefight in which one soldier was moderately wounded, and three others sustained lighter injuries. However, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that four Palestinians were shot and wounded, two critically, and accused Israeli forces of blocking ambulances from evacuating the injured.
The Palestinian Red Crescent confirmed treating dozens at the scene, including three with gunshot wounds.
UN SAYS AID TO GAZA SYSTEMATICALLY BLOCKED
The same day, the UN revealed that Israeli authorities rejected 11 of its 18 humanitarian coordination requests in Gaza, hampering delivery of water, fuel, and rescue missions.
“Israeli authorities continue to deny many humanitarian movements within the Strip to provide whatever limited services are available to the population,” UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters. He cited increased Israeli military activity in northern Gaza, where mass casualties have been reported and displaced civilians have been killed trying to access food at militarised distribution points.
More than two million people are being denied basic necessities, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Israel’s unilateral aid initiative via the so-called “Gaza Relief Foundation” — backed by the US — is seen by Palestinians as an effort to forcibly transfer civilians southward.
FLOTILLA INTERCEPTED, THUNBERG CONDEMNS ‘KIDNAPPING’
Greta Thunberg, 22, accused Israel of violating international law after she and 11 other activists aboard the Freedom Flotilla’s Madleen vessel were seized in international waters on Monday.
“They did an illegal act by kidnapping us on international waters and against our will bringing us to Israel, keeping us in the bottom of the boat, not letting us getting out, and so on,” she said after being deported to Paris.
The boat, which carried humanitarian supplies and aimed to challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza, was intercepted 200km off the coast. Thunberg, an Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience, denounced Israel’s “genocide” and “systematic starvation” in Gaza.
Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, said Israel had shown “chilling contempt” for international law by intercepting the unarmed humanitarian vessel. “Israel has once again flouted its legal obligations towards civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip and demonstrated its chilling contempt for legally binding orders of the International Court of Justice,” said Callamard.
“The operation of intercepting and blocking the Madleen in the middle of the night and in international waters violates international law and put the safety of those on the boat at risk. The crew were unarmed activists and human rights defenders on a humanitarian mission; they must be released immediately and unconditionally.”
She added: “This mission is also an indictment of the international community’s failure to put an end to Israel’s inhumane blockade. Activists would not have had to risk their lives if Israel’s allies had turned their words into forceful action to allow aid into Gaza.”
PRESSURE MOUNTS ON UK GOVERNMENT OVER COMPLICITY
Meanwhile, the BBC reported that over 300 Foreign Office staff who raised concerns about UK arms sales to Israel and the government’s failure to uphold international law were told they could resign if they disagreed with policy.
An internal letter to Foreign Secretary David Lammy on May 16 criticised continued arms exports and cited Israel’s killing of humanitarian workers and expansion of illegal settlements.
In response, senior officials suggested resignation as an “honourable course,” prompting outrage among some staff.
One anonymous official told the BBC the response reflected a “shrinking space for internal dissent.”
CIVILIAN DEATH TOLL SURGES IN GAZA
The Palestinian Health Ministry said Tuesday that 54,981 people have been killed and 126,920 injured in Gaza since Israel’s military offensive began in October 2023. In the previous 24 hours alone, 54 bodies were recovered and 305 people injured.
“Many victims are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” the ministry added.
Medical sources told Al Jazeera that more than 70 Palestinians were killed across Gaza on Tuesday, including 20 near the Netzarim Corridor where Israeli troops opened fire on starving civilians waiting for food. Among the dead was a 12-year-old child.
The Gaza Government Media Office described the victims as “hungry aid seekers.” The UN has repeatedly warned that famine threatens the entire population of Gaza.
[Photo: Palestinians mourn their loved ones who were killed by Israeli attacks, in Khan Yunis, Gaza on June 11, 2025. Bodies are taken from the morgue of Nasser Hospital for burial after funeral prayer. Photojournalist: Abed Rahim Khatib/AA]
