In the heart of Chicago, Illinois, hundreds of activists and human rights advocates rallied on Saturday evening demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza that would put an end to the ongoing Israeli genocide.
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Protesters urged members of the Senate and House of Representatives to press for the cessation of financial and military aid to the Israeli occupation, which is used in the murder and subjugation of Palestinians.
Israeli occupation forces persist in their ground onslaught on Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, and the closure of the Karm Abu Salem and Rafah border crossings in the province, disregarding the recent rulings of the International Court of Justice.
The ICJ, the highest judicial body of the United Nations, ordered Israel on Friday to immediately halt its military operations in Rafah. The court also emphasized the necessity of keeping the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, Gaza's only gateway to the outside world, open to enable the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Under the provisional measures, the court demanded that Israel, in line with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, take concrete actions to ensure access for any United Nations investigation or fact-finding committee to investigate reports of genocide without any hindrance.
In a clear defiance of the court's orders, Israeli forces intensified their aggression on Rafah, with warplanes and artillery targeting multiple areas in the city during the last few hours, resulting in the killing of dozens and injuries, including among children, as well as significant destruction to the homes and properties of civilians.
On May 5, 2024, Israeli occupation forces completely closed the Karm Abu Salem crossing southeast of Rafah, preventing the entry of humanitarian and medical aid. Additionally, on the seventh of the same month, the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing was occupied by Israeli forces.
The occupation forces have also prevented life-saving aid and supplies from entering the besieged Gaza Strip for twenty days, exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe and putting civilians face to face with death.
According to medical sources, no patient or wounded person has been able to leave the Gaza Strip since the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing was occupied by the Israeli army, estimated at around 20,000 patients and wounded individuals.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported that due to the ongoing military offensive in Rafah, it has become difficult to access the UNRWA distribution center and the World Food Programme warehouse.
UNRWA explained that displaced people in Gaza have been forced to leave their places six times, and there is no safe place in the Strip with the continued Israeli airstrikes and shortage of vital supplies.
Around 800,000 people in Rafah have been forced to flee since the ground Israeli assault on the city began.
Since the beginning of the ground onslaught launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip on October 27 last year, citizens have been ordered by the Israeli occupation army to move from the northern and central parts of the Strip to the south, claiming the area was a "safe zone."
