António Guterres’ comments come as head of UN Palestinian refugee agency Unrwa says it has funds to continue Gaza emergency operations until SeptemberSee all our Israel-Gaza war coverageArgentina designated Hamas a terrorist organisation on Friday and ordered a freeze on the financial assets of the group, a largely symbolic move as president Javier Milei seeks to align Argentina strongly with the US and Israel, reports the Associated Press (AP).
Announcing the decision, Milei’s office cited Hamas’s cross-border attack on Israel last 7 October that killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. The statement also mentioned Hamas’s close ties to Iran, which Argentina blames for two deadly militant attacks on Jewish sites in the country.
The AP reports that the move comes just days before the 30th anniversary of one of those attacks: the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires. It killed 85 people and injured hundreds more in the worst such attack in Argentina’s modern history.
The other attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires, in 1992, killed more than 20 people. Argentina’s judiciary has accused members of Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group of carrying out the two attacks.
Friday’s announcement professed Milei’s “unwavering commitment to recognising terrorists for what they are,” adding that “it’s the first time that there is a political will to do so.”
The US, EU and several other countries long put a terrorist designation on Hamas, which ruled the Gaza Strip before its current war with Israel.
According to the AP, previous left-leaning Peronist governments in Argentina, home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America, have maintained friendly ties with Israel but also voiced support for Palestinian statehood.
Since coming into office in December, Milei has set himself apart from even Israel’s closest allies in his vocal support for prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Continue reading…
Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/jul/13/israel-gaza-war-hamas-netanyahu-ceasefire-unrwa
Author : Amy Sedghi
Publish date : 2024-07-13 10:37:31
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