Friday, December 08, 2023

Former Irish president Robinson: Gaza deaths could be blamed on US

2023/12/06
Former Irish president Mary Robinson at the 2017 Munich Security Conference in the Bayerische Hof in Munich. Former Irish president Mary Robinson has called on the United States to make arms deliveries to Israel conditional on restraint in the Gaza war, otherwise Washington risks being linked to civilian casualties in the fighting, she warned. 
picture alliance / Tobias Hase/dpa

Former Irish president Mary Robinson has called on the United States to make arms deliveries to Israel conditional on restraint in the Gaza war, otherwise Washington risks being linked to civilian casualties in the fighting, she warned.

The scale of killings of innocent civilians in Gaza is unacceptable and purely verbal calls for restraint are not enough, Robinson told the US news channel CNN on Wednesday.

Robinson chairs the Elders, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) of senior statesmen and women, peace activists and human rights advocates, which was founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007.

"So we, as Elders are asking that countries that provide military aid, notably the United States, to Israel, now have to urgently review military assistance and put in place conditions for any future provision," she said.

"Those who have power to restrain must now restrain, and that in particular is the United States," said Robinson.

© Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH


Israel: 10,000 tons of US army equipment received since start of war
2023/12/06
Israeli military members take part in a drill north of Qatsrin in the Golan Heights. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa

According to Israeli figures, more than 10,000 tons of military equipment have been delivered to Israel by the US since the beginning of the Gaza war.

The 200th cargo plane carrying such equipment has landed, the Defence Ministry announced on Wednesday. Among others, armoured vehicles, ammunition, personal protection equipment and medical equipment have been delivered as part of a joint initiative led by the US Department of Defence in conjunction with Israel.

Washington is Israel's most important ally. The US government has repeatedly reaffirmed Israel's right to self-defence since the beginning of the Gaza war on October 7.

However, due to the high number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel's attacks, the US government is also taking an increasingly cautionary tone. It is calling on Israel to provide more effective protection for civilians in the war against the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement.

In the past, the US has supported Israel with military aid worth billions.

The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history, carried out by Hamas terrorists and other terrorist groups on October 7 in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip. More than 1,200 people were killed.

In response, Israel launched massive airstrikes and, since the end of October, a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, more than 16,200 people have now been killed in Gaza. This cannot be independently verified at present, but the UN and observers point out that the authority's figures have proved to be generally credible in the past.

Israeli military members take part in a drill north of Qatsrin in the Golan Heights. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa

Israeli military members take part in a drill north of Qatsrin in the Golan Heights. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa

© Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

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