Prisoners In Israeli Jails Announce General Mobilization

A relative of the fugitive prisoner Mahmoud Al-Ardah in the village of Arraba, south of Jenin (AFP).
A relative of the fugitive prisoner Mahmoud Al-Ardah in the village of Arraba, south of Jenin (AFP).
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Prisoners In Israeli Jails Announce General Mobilization

A relative of the fugitive prisoner Mahmoud Al-Ardah in the village of Arraba, south of Jenin (AFP).
A relative of the fugitive prisoner Mahmoud Al-Ardah in the village of Arraba, south of Jenin (AFP).

The movement of prisoners in Israeli jails and detention centers announced a general mobilization, and threatened to rebel against all prison administration laws, if the “repressive and punitive” measures taken against them continued since the escape of six prisoners from the heavily guarded Gilboa prison in northern Israel.

The Prisoners’ Affairs Authority (an official Palestinian body) said that quick consultations took place between the movement’s leaders in prisons and detention centers, adding that an agreement was reached to confront the attacks of the “special repression units” and the prison police by all means and methods.

The commission, which deals with prisoners’ affairs, accused the Israeli government and its agencies of working to “cover up their failure and defeat in front of the solid will of the Palestinian prisoners, through a fierce attack on the prisoners inside jails and detention centers, and on our people, through incursions and arrests that targeted the families of the six escaped prisoners…”

The prisoners set fire to the rooms of Section 6 in the Negev Prison in protest against the Israeli escalation and transfers, and also tried to set fire to other prisons.

The administration of the Israeli Prisons Authority had drawn up a plan to transfer and disperse the prisoners of the Islamic Jihad movement inside multiple other prisons; a step that might led a serious security escalation.

In retaliation for the Israeli campaign, a prisoner in Gilboa attacked an Israeli guard with hot water.

The Prisoner’s Club said that the prisoner Malik Hamed from Silwad poured hot water on a jailer in Gilboa prison, in response to “the operations of repression and abuse against the prisoners.” The guards abused Hamed, then isolated him, before transferring all prisoners of Section 3 to Shata prison.

Israel’s pursuit of the fugitive prisoners continued on Wednesday, while the security services tried to put increasing pressure by arresting their relatives.

The occupation forces arrested Yaqoub Nafeat, the father of the escaped prisoner Munadel Nafeat, and Raddad Al-Ardah, the brother of Mahmoud Al-Ardah from the town of Arraba. They also detained Bassem Al-Ardah, the brother of the pursued captive Mohammad Al-Ardah.

The Israeli army had stormed the towns of Yaabad and Arraba (south of Jenin) in search of camera recording devices. Then the soldiers raided the fugitives’ homes and arrested their families. Hundreds of soldiers, intelligence men, police dogs, drones and various helicopters are chasing the six prisoners in large areas.



Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
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Weaponization of Food in Gaza Constitutes War Crime, UN Rights Office Says

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches among the ruins of buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardments in west of Gaza City, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

The UN human rights office said on Tuesday that the "weaponization" of food for civilians in Gaza constitutes a war crime, in its strongest remarks yet on a new model of aid distribution run by an Israeli-backed organization.

Over 410 people have been killed by gunshots or shells fired by the Israeli military while trying to reach distribution sites of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation since it began work in late May, UN human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told reporters at a Geneva press briefing.

The death toll has been independently verified by his office, he added.

"Desperate, hungry people in Gaza continue to face the inhumane choice of either starving to death or risk being killed while trying to get food," he said, describing the system as "Israel's militarized humanitarian assistance mechanism".

"The weaponization of food for civilians, in addition to restricting or preventing their access to life-sustaining services, constitutes a war crime and, under certain circumstances, may constitute elements of other crimes under international law."

Asked whether Israel was guilty of that war crime, he said: "The legal qualification needs to be made by a court of law."

Israel rejects war crimes charges in Gaza and blames Hamas fighters for harm to civilians for operating among them, which the fighters deny.