Qassam spokesman Abu Obaida issues first statement in over four months
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Resignation of UN commission on Israel-Palestine not linked to fear of sanctions, say members
The resignation of the United Nations’ commission of inquiry on Palestine is unrelated to fears of sanctions by the US government or any other external pressures, panel members have told Middle East Eye. The three-member commission was established in May 2021 by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council (HRC) with a permanent mandate to investigate international humanitarian and human rights law violations in occupied Palestine and Israel. Its members are independent experts, unpaid by the UN, on an open-ended mandate. The commission’s reports are widely cited by international legal bodies, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Israel, which has regularly criticised the commission’s findings, called on Friday for the body to be scrapped entirely, accusing it of bias. It was the first time since the establishment of the HRC in 2006 that all members of a UN commission have jointly resigned. On 8 July, the chair of the commission, South African jurist Navi Pillay, submitted her resignation citing personal reasons, a day before the Trump administration sanctioned Francesca Albanese.
The commissioners’ accounts stand in stark contrast to reports this week that linked sanctions brought by the administration of US President Donald Trump against UN expert Francesca Albanese with their back-to-back resignations.
They also come as Israel, which has regularly criticised the commission’s findings, called on Friday for the body to be scrapped entirely, accusing it of bias.
But commissioners have told MEE that their decisions were made internally, before the sanctions were put on Albanese.
“The resignations are not linked in any way to anything outside whatsoever,” Chris Sidoti, an Australian international law expert and commission member who resigned, told MEE.
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The three-member commission was established in May 2021 by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council (HRC) with a permanent mandate to investigate international humanitarian and human rights law violations in occupied Palestine and Israel since April 2021.
Earlier this month, the three commissioners submitted their resignations, set to take effect in November, with the completion of the commission’s 2025 programme. It was the first time since the establishment of the HRC in 2006 that all members of a UN commission have jointly resigned.
On 8 July, the chair of the commission, South African jurist Navi Pillay, submitted her resignation citing personal reasons, a day before the Trump administration sanctioned Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on Palestine. The timing prompted some media outlets to link the two events.
“I regret to advise that owing to age, medical issues, and the weight of several other commitments, I feel compelled to retire as a member of the Commission,” the 83-year-old said in a letter seen by MEE.
‘The resignations are not linked in any way to anything outside whatsoever’ – Chris Sidoti, Australian jurist
A day later, Sidoti filed his resignation. “The retirement of the chair is an appropriate time to re-constitute the commission,” he wrote in a 9 July letter.
“I submit my resignation to facilitate that re-constitution and to enable you to strike the appropriate balance of expertise, region and gender among the commission’s members.”
Sidoti’s letter also said he was open to accepting a reappointment.
Speaking to MEE following his resignation, Sidoti reiterated the same rationale.
“For me, the reason is exactly what I said in my letter, that, when the chair retires and needs to be replaced, it is appropriate to look at the composition of the whole commission and, in resigning, I was enabling the president of the Human Rights Council to do that,” he told MEE.
On 10 July, the third member, Miloon Kothari, a renowned Indian human rights and social policy expert, filed his resignation. In it, he referred to an “understanding” reached during a meeting the previous week to resign simultaneously with other team members.
Kothari confirmed to MEE that the resignations were a collective decision, taken days before the sanctions on Albanese were announced.
“Our resignations, therefore, were not in any manner related to the sanctions,” he said.
‘Strictly internal matter’
The commission is mandated to report annually to the HRC and the UN General Assembly. Its members are independent experts, unpaid by the UN, on an open-ended mandate.
The commission’s reports are highly authoritative and are widely cited by international legal bodies, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Over the past four years, it has produced some of the most groundbreaking reports on international law breaches in Israel and occupied Palestine.
UN urged to take legal action at ICJ to uphold Francesca Albanese’s immunity Read More »
“The resignations are strictly an internal matter and have absolutely nothing to do with any external event or pressure,” Todd Pitman, media adviser for the HRC’s investigative bodies, told MEE.
Pitman said that Israel has obstructed the commission’s work by denying it entry into occupied Palestine and Israel, and that the commission has also faced hardships due to the financial crisis. Yet the experts have not been under any pressure to resign.
“The commissioners fully stand by the findings of their reports and the work of the commission,” he said.
Pitman explained that the HRC’s president will soon call on member states to put forward new commission candidates, with the aim of making appointments on or around 3 November, when the resignations of Pillay and Sidoti take effect.
Pillay served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014. She previously served as a judge in the International Court of Justice in The Hague and presided over the UN’s ad hoc tribunal for Rwanda.
Kothari served as the first UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing (2000-2008), while Sidoti is a human rights law expert and previously served as a member of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (2017-2019).
Gaza doctor Abu Safiya given ‘two spoonfuls of rice a day’ in Israeli jail
A lawyer representing Palestinian Dr Hussam Abu Safiya has raised concerns over his deteriorating health and routine torture in Israeli detention. In an interview with Arab48, lawyer Gheed Kassem said that the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital had faced severe physical assault that resulted in bruising to his head, neck, rib cage, and back. Medical neglect and abuse in Israeli-run prisons have been well-documented, with such practices reportedly intensifying since the events of 7 October 2023. In May, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission said that sick Palestinian detainees faced “deliberate and systematic medical neglect,” alongside hunger and torture negatively affecting their health conditions. The statement came after the death of 60-year-old prisoner Mohyee al-Din Fahmi Najem, who suffered from chronic illnesses and was denied proper medical treatment during his detention. The death toll of Palestinian prisoners who have died under Israeli detention since the beginning of the war on Gaza to 74.
In an interview with Arab48, published on Thursday, lawyer Gheed Kassem said that the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, located north of the Gaza Strip, had faced severe physical assault that resulted in bruising to his head, neck, rib cage, and back.
When Dr Abu Safiya requested medical assistance for complications stemming from the beatings, including an irregular heartbeat, his request was denied.
Medical neglect and abuse in Israeli-run prisons have been well-documented, with such practices reportedly intensifying since the events of 7 October 2023.
In early May, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission said that sick Palestinian detainees faced “deliberate and systematic medical neglect,” alongside hunger and torture negatively affecting their health conditions.
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The statement came after the death of 60-year-old prisoner Mohyee al-Din Fahmi Najem, who suffered from chronic illnesses and was denied proper medical treatment during his detention.
Abu Safiya, who remains in solitary confinement at the Ofer military prison – which houses 450 detainees from the Gaza Strip – weighs no more than 60 kilograms, according to his lawyer.
Additionally, Dr Abu Safiya is held in an underground cell that is completely isolated and receives no natural light.
“He knows nothing about the outside world, and he is still wearing winter clothes,” Kassem explained.
“Prisoners inside Ofer prison endure incredibly harsh and catastrophic conditions,” she added.
‘He knows nothing about the outside world, and he is still wearing winter clothes’ – Gheed Kassem, Dr Abu Safiyah’s lawyer
The lawyer described how Palestinians imprisoned there are allowed only two spoonfuls of rice a day, while both sugar and salt are completely banned “to prevent any rise in the happiness hormone, even a small one, from eating sugar”.
“This is in addition to the frequent cell raids, the torture, and the constant searches that prisoners are subjected to.”
The most recent case of torture and medical neglect in Israeli detention involves the death of 53-year-old Samir al-Rifai from Jenin.
According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Affairs Commission, Rifai died seven days after his arrest, raising the death toll of Palestinian prisoners who have died under Israeli detention since the beginning of the war on Gaza to 74.
The father of five had reportedly suffered from heart issues and needed intensive medical care. Sources suggest that his death resulted from ill-treatment and the severe conditions in prison, though no official reports have been released.
Lack of rights
Abu Safiya has been categorised as an “unlawful combatant” by Israeli authorities, despite him being a civilian doctor. This classification means there is no formal indictment against him.
Iron bars, electric shocks, dogs and cigarette burns: How Palestinians are tortured in Israeli detention Read More »
“The designation of an unlawful combatant renders a prisoner without rights,” Kassem said.
“Israeli law strips those with this designation of their natural human rights inside prisons.”
The Kassem added that prison authorities also create “successive obstacles for lawyers,” with each visit needing to be scheduled four months in advance. Even then, it could be cancelled.
Additionally, legal representatives are often left waiting for long stretches of time, and when their clients are finally brought in for the visit, they are often assaulted on the way as they are crawling on the ground in handcuffs.
“The interview is conducted under a microscope, under the eyes and ears of the jailers. If the jailers feel that the visit has boosted the prisoner’s morale, they assault him in revenge,” she said.
Detainees are also subjected to constant psychological torture, Kassem added, including being exposed to graphic images and depressing news as well as being told false information about the death of loved ones.
“The first question every prisoner asks me is about their families and whether they are still alive,” she said.
Exclusive: Gaza talks at risk after Israel refuses to withdraw from Rafah
Talks between Israel and Hamas are deadlocked over at least two of four key issues. Israel wants to keep forces in large parts of the Gaza Strip during the 60-day truce. Hamas is pushing for Israel to stick to the withdrawal lines agreed in the January truce, which Israel broke in March. Israeli negotiators are insisting that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) remain one of the main distributor of food, despite widespread international condemnation. Since late May, at least 800 people seeking aid have been killed and over 5,000 wounded at those distribution sites, according to health officials. Israeli forces and American military contractors stationed at GHF sites regularly open fire on Palestinians queuing for food, eyewitnesses say. Israel has told the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) it should be the primary aid distributor. Israel would then be free to build what it refers to as a “humanitarian city”, a proposal that has drawn international criticism, with some describing it as resembling a “concentration camp”
Sources close to Palestinian negotiators said talks remain deadlocked over at least two of four key issues.
The first is the extent of the proposed Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip during the 60-day truce. The second is the method of aid distribution.
The United States has reportedly proposed postponing discussions on these two points and instead focusing on the names of Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel in exchange for the remaining Israeli captives.
However, Palestinian negotiators believe this approach is a trap.
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“It’s designed to put the blame for the collapse of these talks on Hamas,” one source told Middle East Eye.
According to the sources, Israel wants to keep forces in large parts of the Gaza Strip during the 60-day truce.
This includes most of Rafah governorate and a “buffer zone” up to three kilometres deep along Gaza’s eastern and northern boundary with Israel.
The “buffer zone” would cover several Palestinian towns and residential areas, blocking hundreds of thousands of displaced people from returning home.
Hamas is pushing for Israel to stick to the withdrawal lines agreed in the January truce, which Israel broke in March.
That would keep Israeli forces in parts of the Philadelphi Corridor, along Gaza’s border with Egypt, and within 700 metres of the boundary with Israel in the east and north, pending a permanent ceasefire agreement.
‘Netanyahu wants surrender and ethnic cleansing, and he will get neither’ – Source close to Hamas negotiators
On the issue of aid, Israeli negotiators are insisting that the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) remain one of the main distributor of food, despite widespread international condemnation.
To obscure the legitimacy that the GHF would gain if Hamas accepted this arrangement, Israel has told the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) it should be the primary aid distributor, according to the sources.
Carl Skau, WFP deputy executive director, said on Friday that Israeli officials have indicated they want the UN to resume its role as the main supplier of aid in Gaza.
Hamas negotiators have rejected this, fearing the GHF would eventually replace the UN if it remained operational.
Eyewitnesses report that Israeli forces and American military contractors stationed at GHF sites regularly open fire on Palestinians queuing for food.
Two former employees of UG Solutions, the military contractor hired by the GHF, confirmed these accounts to the Associated Press.
Haaretz has also published testimony from Israeli soldiers who said they were ordered to fire on unarmed aid seekers.
Since late May, at least 800 people seeking aid have been killed and over 5,000 wounded at those distribution sites, according to health officials.
Overall, Israeli forces have killed at least 57,880 Palestinians since the war on Gaza began on 7 October 2023, and wounded 138,000 more.
Israel’s ‘concentration camp’
The Israeli withdrawal lines and the aid distribution mechanism are closely interlinked.
If Israeli forces remain in Rafah, Gaza would lose access to some of its most productive farmland, undermining its ability to feed itself even partially.
Israel would then be free to build what it refers to as a “humanitarian city”, a proposal that has drawn international criticism, with some describing it as resembling a “concentration camp”.
The plan was announced by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was holding talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington last week.
Katz told journalists that he had instructed the army to prepare a plan to move all Palestinians in Gaza into the tent city on the ruins of Rafah. If conditions allowed, he added, construction would begin during a 60-day ceasefire that Israel and Hamas are trying to negotiate.
‘Concentration camp’: Israel’s planned new city in Rafah, explained Read More »
Critics warn that the facility could be used to hold up to 600,000 Palestinians initially, and eventually the entire Gaza population, potentially facilitating mass displacement out of the Palestinian territory.
Hamas sees the existence of the GHF, with its daily killings of Palestinians queuing for food, as Israel’s lever to force Palestinians south into parts of Rafah under its control.
Therefore, the Palestinian group will not sign an agreement that sees the GHF continue to operate in Gaza, or allow Israel to build its camp in Rafah during the period of the ceasefire, the source briefed on the talks told MEE.
“This mechanism has no legitimacy. For Hamas to agree to this, it has to agree to the killings,” the source said.
He added that Hamas wasn’t seeking to distribute food or aid in Gaza, but it understood that the current mechanism was “intended to push the population out of Gaza”.
“Hamas and the Palestinians in Gaza have already paid a heavy price. Netanyahu wants surrender and ethnic cleansing, and he will get neither,” he added.
Netanyahu ‘sabotage’
On the fourth issue, Hamas has demanded that the 60-day ceasefire lead to a permanent end to the war, with negotiations towards that goal beginning on the first day of the truce.
However, Netanyahu quickly introduced a condition that could effectively derail the talks before they begin.
Last week, he stated that Israel’s “fundamental conditions” include Hamas laying down its weapons and relinquishing both its military and governing capabilities.
As a matter of principle, Hamas rejects giving up its right to armed resistance while the Israeli occupation continues.
However, it has previously proposed a long-term truce (hudna in Arabic) in exchange for an Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories.
‘Accepting demilitarisation of Hamas will let Israel fulfil its plans to ethnically cleanse Gaza’ – Source close to Hamas negotiators
In practice, the Palestinian group views continued armed resistance as the only way to impose costs on Israel and increase internal pressure within Israeli society to end the war – as illustrated by a recent Hamas video showing fighters killing an Israeli soldier who was fleeing from them.
Without significant pressure from the US, particularly from Trump, to stop the war, Hamas believes this approach is its only leverage.
The source speaking to MEE cited the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, which he says has already shown how Israel would treat any deal they sign with Hamas.
“In reality Israel got what it wanted in the deal – demilitarisation of Hezbollah south of the Litani River. Now Israel is putting a condition on Lebanon for total demilitarisation of Hezbollah,” the source said.
“Accepting demilitarisation of Hamas will let Israel fulfil its plans to ethnically cleanse Gaza of all Palestinians.”
He added that Hamas entered the Doha talks in good faith and was prepared to release 10 living Israeli captives.
But “Netanyahu is again doing everything he can to sabotage a deal”, he said.
War on Gaza: Qassam spokesman Abu Obaida says Israel rejected deal to release all captives
Qassam Brigades official Abu Obaida made first video appearance in four months. He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet “rejected what we proposed” He accused the Israeli leadership of preparing the public for the possibility that all the captives will die. His comments came as indirect talks resumed in Qatar without any progress. Sources close to Palestinian negotiators said talks have remained deadlocked over at least two of four key issues. US has reportedly proposed postponing discussions on these two points, instead focusing on the names of Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel in exchange for the remaining Israeli captives. Hamas and Israel reached a brief three-stage ceasefire in January, but the deal collapsed in March after Israel took back several of its captives and resumed bombing Gaza. Israel has relentlessly bombed the besieged Gaza Strip, displacing the entire 2.3 million population multiple times. More than 58,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.
In his first video appearance in more than four months, Abu Obaida said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet “rejected what we proposed”.
“War criminal Netanyahu and his ministers rejected our offer. It became clear they are not interested in the fate of their soldiers,” he said, accusing the Israeli leadership of preparing the public for the possibility that all the captives will die.
His comments came as indirect talks resumed in Qatar without any progress.
If Israel disavows this round of talks, Abu Obaida said, Hamas “will not guarantee a return to the formula of partial [swap] deals or the proposal of the 10 prisoners”.
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Earlier this week, sources told Middle East Eye that the families of Israeli captives held in Gaza had reached out to Hamas through a representative to ask about the fate of the ceasefire talks.
The sources told MEE that the representative reached out to Hamas after the captives’ families feared Netanyahu was trying to torpedo a possible deal.
A senior figure within Hamas told the representative to relay to the families that it was “serious” about reaching an agreement to end the war and release the captives, but that it was facing “intransigent Israeli positions”, sources told MEE.
Exclusive: Families of Israeli captives reach out to Hamas over fate of ceasefire talks Read More »
According to sources, the Hamas official told the representative that the Palestinian movement had complied with “everything stipulated” in the first phase of the previous ceasefire, which was supposed to transition to phase two talks on ending the war.
“Hamas is serious about reaching an agreement to end the war and establish arrangements that ensure calm and stability,” the sources quoted Hamas as saying.
“Israel has insisted on continuing the war, destroying the Gaza Strip, displacing its population, and imposing a state of hunger, suffering, and ongoing massacres that have not ceased for a single day.”
Hamas and Israel reached a brief three-stage ceasefire in January, but the deal collapsed in March after Israel took back several of its captives and resumed bombing Gaza, walking away from the deal before talks with Hamas on a permanent end to the war could start.
Since then, the Trump administration has given Israel full backing to wage war on Gaza.
For more than 21 months, Israel has relentlessly bombed the besieged Gaza Strip, displacing the entire 2.3 million population multiple times, and has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
‘Everyone who can act must do so’
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said talks on a Gaza ceasefire were going along well, repeating remarks he made a week earlier when Netanyahu visited Washington.
In contrast, MEE reported on Saturday that Hamas negotiators were sceptical that a ceasefire agreement could be reached in the current round of talks in Doha, Qatar.
Sources close to Palestinian negotiators said talks have remained deadlocked over at least two of four key issues.
The first is the extent of the proposed Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip during a 60-day truce. The second is the method of aid distribution.
The US has reportedly proposed postponing discussions on these two points, instead focusing on the names of Palestinian prisoners to be released by Israel in exchange for the remaining Israeli captives.
In Friday’s video, Abu Obaida said that Qassam fighters had killed or wounded hundreds of Israeli soldiers in recent months after it launched the operation, “Stones of David.”
According to Israeli media, at least 893 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, which sparked the war on Gaza.
In the video, Abu Obaida thanked “all the free people around the world” who had shown solidarity with Palestinians and attempted to break the siege on the enclave. He also heaped praise on Yemen’s Houthis, calling them “truthful brothers” who “exposed the cowardice of those who remain passive”.
Abu Obaida also strongly criticised Arab leaders for failing to mobilise their armies in defence of Palestinians, saying: “The enemy would not have committed genocide in full view of the nation’s leaders unless it was assured of impunity, guaranteed silence, and bought betrayal.”
He stressed that no one was exempt from the responsibility of the bloodshed.
“We do not absolve anyone. Everyone who can act, according to their ability and influence, must do so,” he said.
VIDEO: Abu Obaida issues first statement in over four months
Abu Obaida, spokesperson for Al-Qassam Brigades, appeared in a newly released video on Friday, marking his first public statement since March 6, 2025. In the video, he said four months had passed since the “Israeli” military resumed its aggression on Gaza, accusing “Israel” of betraying the terms of a previously agreed deal with the resistance. He added that the resistance has introduced new tactics and methods, drawing lessons from what he described as the longest war in the history of the Palestinian people. He also praised Yemen’s Ansar Allah (Houthis), calling them “truthful brothers” who “exposed the cowardice of those who remain passive”
In the video, he said four months had passed since the “Israeli” military resumed its aggression on Gaza, accusing “Israel” of betraying the terms of a previously agreed deal with the resistance.
He said that ‘Israel’ violated the truce and overturned commitments made during negotiations, leading to a renewed escalation in the aggression, in reference to “Israel’s” surprise attack on Gaza in March during a declared ceasefire between the two parties.
Abu Obaida said Al-Qassam fighters have killed or wounded hundreds of “Israeli” soldiers in recent months, while thousands more have reportedly suffered psychological trauma and shock. He added that the resistance has introduced new tactics and methods, drawing lessons from what he described as the longest war in the history of the Palestinian people.
Read more: VIDEO: Suicides in “Israeli” military: Haaretz report reveals rising trend in 2025
He revealed that fighters have attempted several operations in recent weeks aimed at capturing “Israeli” soldiers. Capturing soldiers has been a long-standing goal for the group, often used to negotiate prisoner exchanges.
Abu Obaida described Gaza’s armed resistance as “the greatest military school for a people resisting occupation in modern history,” affirming that they remain fully prepared to continue a prolonged war of attrition against the occupation, regardless of the form or strategy of future assaults.
He said the current strategy of Al-Qassam’s leadership is to inflict maximum losses on “Israeli” forces, carry out high-impact operations, and pursue the capture of soldiers.
In a regional message, he strongly criticized Arab leaders for their silence, saying: “The enemy would not have committed genocide in full view of the nation’s leaders unless it was assured of impunity, guaranteed silence, and bought betrayal.”
He stressed that no one was exempt from the responsibility of the bloodshed: “We do not absolve anyone. Everyone who can act, according to their ability and influence, must do so.”
He also praised Yemen’s Ansar Allah (Houthis), calling them “truthful brothers” who forced the enemy to face a new front and “exposed the cowardice of those who remain passive.”
Abu Obaida extended his thanks to “all the free people around the world” who have shown solidarity and attempted to break the siege on Gaza despite risks.
He reiterated support for the Palestinian negotiating delegation in indirect talks with “Israel,” stating that Hamas had offered a comprehensive deal to release all enemy captives at once.
“War criminal Netanyahu and his ministers rejected our offer. It became clear they are not interested in the fate of their soldiers,” he said, accusing the ‘Israeli’ leadership of preparing the public for the possibility that all prisoners might be dead.
He concluded by expressing hope that the ongoing negotiations would lead to a deal ensuring an end to what he called a “genocidal war,” the withdrawal of occupying forces, and urgent humanitarian relief for Gaza.