The USA is to resume shipments of 500pound bombs to Israel. The Biden administration had paused the shipments for two months. The USA is the largest supplier of arms and military equipment to Israel at 68%, followed by Germany at 30%. The UK is also a supplier of component parts to many of the weapons used.

“I am a rabbi calling on my elected officials to stop arming the Israeli military as it wages a genocidal campaign in Gaza. The Jewish tradition teaches us the most holy commandment is pikuach nefesh – saving a life – and I am calling on my representatives to do all that they can to save lives now,” commented Lonnie Kleinman, Jewish Voice for Peace, Philadelphia.

Over 100 new licences allowing UK companies to sell arms to Israel were issued by the UK government between October 2023 and May 2024. By continuing to sell arms the UK is complicit in the killing of civilians in Gaza – Oxfam.

On 10th June the UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire by all parties, negotiations over a possible deal to release further Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

It is estimated that 58 hostages remain alive in Gaza held by Hamas. Meanwhile Israeli forces continue with the killing of innocent civilians, deliberate delays hindering the delivery of aid and the relentless bombardment so that there is no safe place to flee to.

Amnesty International reported on 12th July that, “In recent weeks, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in Israel demanding that the authorities agree a ceasefire and negotiate the release of hostages. Families of hostages marched from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem again today calling for this to happen. “

In Orkney, islanders will take part in two events today, Saturday 13th July: In Sanday at Stove Bay, people will come together to fly kites for Gaza as part of their support for an immediate ceasefire; and in Kirkwall a peace vigil will take place on the Kirk Green, Broad Street, between 1 and 2pm. All are welcome to join with the islanders calling for an immediate ceasefire, a return of all hostages, and the unhindered delivery of aid.

As of 8 July, only 13 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals remained partially functional, four in the Gaza governorate, three in North Gaza, three in Khan Younis, and three in Deir al Balah. The evacuation orders issued by Israeli forces in eastern Khan Younis on 1 July and in two different areas of Gaza city on 7 and 8 July rendered three hospitals out of service – the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis, Al Ahli Baptist and Patients Friends Association hospitals in Gaza city. In all three cases, the facilities were hastily evacuated by patients and medical staff in fear that intensified military activities would render them inaccessible or non-functional. – OCHA

Very few supplies are entering the area, and only five WHO (World Health Organisation) trucks were allowed in last week. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO, called for restrictions on supplies entering Gaza to be lifted immediately, saying “the people of Gaza who have nothing to do with this conflict must not be the ones who pay the price for it.”

The World Food Programme (WFP) has assisted about a quarter of a million people so far this month and provided rations to over a million people in June. UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, said:

“However, limited food stocks in central and southern Gaza forced WFP to reduce rations last month, with some areas only receiving wheat flour.”

The collective punishment of a civilian population by blocking essential supplies is illegal under International Humanitarian Law.

A new round of negotiations towards a ceasefire in Gaza resumed in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday, 10th July, but ended no further forward.

The Orkney News shared news from a report in The Lancet which estimated the death toll in Gaza, including those indirectly killed through inadequate medical provision, disease, famine, and those still unaccounted for buried in the rubble of destroyed buildings: Possibly 186 000+ deaths in #Gaza since Oct 7th 23, and #Gaza: ‘A Graveyard of Children’

Unexploded ordnance and the environmental impact of the weapons used will have long lasting repercussions for the ecosystem of Gaza, including the flow of human waste and chemicals into the Mediterranean Sea. Many environmental groups including Greenpeace are calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The Jewish Voice for Peace state that,

“The first two months of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza produced nearly 300,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. That’s more than what twenty “climate-vulnerable” countries can produce in an entire year. 

“The Israeli military had completely destroyed or damaged nearly half of Gaza’s trees by March 2024. It has razed huge swathes of farmland and destroyed orchards and greenhouses. The tens of thousands of bombs dropped on Gaza have contaminated groundwater and soil, air pollution has skyrocketed, and as a result of intentional fuel cuts, sewage is flowing into the sea. Gaza’s ecosystems and biodiversity have been devastated.

“The estimated “carbon cost” of Gaza’s reconstruction is staggering: Rebuilding the tiny enclave will likely produce 30 million metric tons of CO2 and other “warming” gasses — around what the entire country of New Zealand emits annually.”

Fiona Grahame