‘Declare May 15 Day of Mourning’ – Former Turkish Prime Minister Davutoğlu Urges World Leaders

May 15, 2024

Former Turkish Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu. (Photo: Nurah Tape, Palestine Chronicle)

By Nurah Tape – The Palestine Chronicle

“The basic steps of this action plan is 15th of May is a special day of commemoration of all victims of Palestinians from 1948 until today. And Nakba is continuing today as well.”

Former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has made a formal plea to world leaders to declare May 15 a day of global mourning to mark the Nakba or Great Catastrophe when the creation of Israel in 1948 led to the mass ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

“The flags must be lowered and there should be one day of mourning everywhere in the world. Secondly, we are calling them to organize a UN General Assembly meeting, summit level, not ambassador level, summit level,” Davutoğlu told The Palestine Chronicle on the sidelines of the first Global Anti-Apartheid Conference on Palestine held in Johannesburg from May 10 – 12.

He explained that last November, a group of 139 intellectuals, former statesmen and Nobel Prize winners met “to defend Palestinians against genocide in Gaza.”

Amongst the participants were Richard Falk, former UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian Territories; Professor Noura Erakat, human rights attorney;  and ​​Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate (1976), and Member of Russell Tribunal, Northern Ireland.

The meeting resulted in the Declaration of Global Conscience established in December, and a call was made to world leaders.

“I declared this in (the) Turkish Parliament” last month, Davutoğlu said. “The basic steps of this action plan is 15th of May is a special day of commemoration of all victims of Palestinians from 1948 until today. And Nakba is continuing today as well.”

He added: “So we are making a call to world leaders that this day should be accepted as a day of global mourning in all the countries who supported Gazan people against genocide.”

UN General Assembly Summit

Davutoğlu, who is also the former Turkish Foreign Minister, said: “All the leaders supporting Palestine, they should go to UN General Assembly summit 15th of May.”

Letters, he explained, were sent “to almost all the leaders, President Ramaphosa, President Lula, leaders of all pro-Palestinian as well as UN Security Council members. Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Algeria, Russia, China, many of them.”

In this UN General Assembly meeting, at summit level, “a resolution should be taken to mandate UNICEF to take care of children in Gaza, to mandate World Health Organization to take care of health services in Gaza, mandating UNHCR refugees, UN High Commission for Refugees to take care of refugees in and out Gaza, and UNHCR Human Rights Council to take (a) stand regarding human rights violations in Gaza.”

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By Nurah Tape – The Palestine Chronicle   The delegates vowed, “to ensure Israel and those complicit in its genocide are held accountable (and) to support the struggle for the liberation of the Palestinian people.” … Continue readingRoadmap to Solidarity – Johannesburg Declaration Vows to Dismantle Israel’s Settler-Colonialism Palestine Chronicle

The World FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization, he added, could prepare a report on famine and food shortage in Gaza.

“Such a meeting, global level, would change the situation on the ground,” he stressed. “In the same UN General Assembly meeting, a delegation should be formed to be sent to Gaza to prepare a report and a working team could be established on the ground.”

Davutoğlu stated:  “So this is basically our initiative and I hope there will be some leadership to bring this to (the) UN platform. We wrote these letters to secretaries, generals of OIC, Arab League, UN as well,  and 15th of May should not be a day of commemoration in an ordinary way this year. There should be a special action plan for Nakba Day.”

‘Issue of Humanity’

Asked whether the Turkish government is participating in this initiative, Davutoğlu said he had sent a letter to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, adding “I made a call to him as well.”

He said he also spoke to Hakan Fidan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The former chief advisor to Erdogan, said that in the first week following Israel’s launch of its military assault on the Gaza Strip, he had called for the government to “stop all trade” with Tel Aviv, “to ban Turkish airspace for Israeli flights, and to have an active position stand to apply to the ICJ.”

“Unfortunately, Turkiye didn’t do it and fortunately, South Africa did,” he said.

“For me, this is not a Turkish issue, this is not an Arab issue, this is not even just a Muslim issue, this is an issue of humanity. Those who are supporting Gaza and Palestine, they are supporting human values.”

‘The Nakba is Now Ours’ – What is the Palestinian Nakba Day? Why It Matters

By Palestine Chronicle Staff   On Wednesday, May 15, Palestinians around the world are marking the 76th anniversary of the Nakba of 1948.  What is the Nakba? Nakba Day is commemorated every year on May … Continue reading‘The Nakba is Now Ours’ – What is the Palestinian Nakba Day? Why It Matters Palestine Chronicle

Johannesburg Declaration

Davutoğlu was one of the keynote speakers at the conference attended by delegates from more than a dozen countries which aimed “to set the basis for the mobilisation of a Global Anti-Apartheid Movement to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people, and to work to dismantle Israeli apartheid.”

The Johannesburg Declaration on Israel’s Settler-Colonialism, Apartheid and Genocide, was issued at the conclusion of the conference on Sunday.

It declared that “The war prosecuted for decades by Israel and its genocidal enablers is not only against the Palestinian people, it is against humanity as a whole.”

The Declaration called “for the immediate release of all Palestinian political prisoners, detainees and hostages, and demand an end to arbitrary arrest, administrative detention, abductions, and torture of prisoners.”

This is Palestine’s Anti-apartheid Moment – Linda Sarsour (VIDEO)

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‘Isolate Apartheid Israel’

It condemned governments “that have enabled or been complicit with the Zionist project, which – from Balfour to Biden – remain complicit even as Israel perpetrates a genocide and violates international law with impunity.”

“We are committed to isolate apartheid Israel by intensifying consumer, academic, sports, arts, and cultural boycotts and escalating the campaign for economic and financial sanctions,” it stated.

The movement will “prioritize blocking its shipping routes, campaigning for an arms embargo against Israel, targeting those supporting, funding, supplying weapons to and joining the Israeli Occupation Forces, and expelling Israel from international sporting, cultural and academic bodies.”

Palestinians are Making Their Own Future through Resistance – Dr. Mustafa Barghouti (VIDEO)

By Nurah Tape – The Palestine Chronicle   “We will not be able to have true freedom and true peace without the complete dismantlement of the settler colonial system in Palestine.” Palestinian Legislative Council member … Continue readingPalestinians are Making Their Own Future through Resistance – Dr. Mustafa Barghouti (VIDEO) Palestine Chronicle

Over 35,000 Killed

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 35,233 Palestinians have been killed, and 79,141 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

– Nurah Tape is a South Africa-based journalist. She is an editor with The Palestine Chronicle.

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‘End Israeli Apartheid’ – Naledi Pandor Urges Progressive Forces to Push for Palestinians’ Rights 

May 10, 2024

South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor. (Photo: Nurah Tape, Palestine Chronicle)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“Progressive forces need to push for the inalienable right of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, which has been systematically denied since the British mandate.”

South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, has said “it has never been so urgent for progressive forces around the world to come together in a collective effort to exert maximum pressure to end the genocidal campaign underway in Gaza and to end the apartheid system of Israel in the occupied territories.”

Minister Pandor delivered the keynote address at Friday’s opening of the Global Anti-Apartheid Conference for Palestine in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“Progressive forces need to push for the inalienable right of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, which has been systematically denied since the British mandate,” she said.

“They must also push for the right of refugees in the diaspora to return to their homeland,” stressed Pandor.

‘Watershed Moment’

She described the conference as “a watershed moment” as it is “the beginning of the global anti-apartheid movement on Palestine with all of us from around the globe coming together and joining forces in the struggle for justice for the Palestinian people.”

The three-day conference aims to set the basis for the mobilisation of a Global Anti-Apartheid Movement “to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against the Palestinian people, and to work to dismantle Israeli apartheid,” according to the conference organizers.

Pandor said the “ongoing genocidal atrocities” being committed by Israel “have put renewed focus on the urgent need for wider international community demand for decolonization.”

Call to ICC

She also called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to expedite its investigation into the situation in occupied Palestine, saying the Court “must prioritize the case against Israel.”

“There can never be peace if the Palestinian people are not free …We should be ashamed that 35,000 people have been killed in Gaza,” the minister said.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,904 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,514 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Pandor said she was sure that when Israel planned its response to the October resistance operation, “it did not realize that its impunity and cruelty towards Palestinians will finally be naked to the world.”

She stressed that South Africa’s “association with the people of Palestine did not begin on the 8th of October 2023.”

The minister emphasized: “We continue to do so following in the footsteps of Nelson Mandela and will not rest until the freedom of the peoples of Palestine is realized.”

Symbolic Gesture of Kuffiyeh

In a symbolic gesture, Reverend Munther Isaac of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bethlehem placed a kuffiyeh around the shoulders of Minister Pandor.

“There is symbolism in what I’m going to do, to take the keffiyeh from the shoulder of a Palestinian and place it on the shoulder of a South African leader, and acknowledge that today you carry our cross as Palestinians with us upon their shoulders,” explained the reverend.

Various other speakers addressed the conference on the first day including Mustafa Barghouti of the Palestinian Legislative Council; Reverend Frank Chikane, moderator of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs for the World Council of Churches; Declan Kearney, chairperson of Sinn Fein; and Ronnie Kasrils, former South African Minister of Intelligence.

The conference is being attended by delegations from across the globe, representing civil societies, religious institutions and Palestinian solidarity movements. Various workshops aimed at developing strategies for action are lined up for Day 2.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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GAZA LIVE BLOG: Rafah: 600,000 Children without Shelter | Hamas: Israel Will Leave Gaza | Israel Evacuates Military Site | UNRWA: Open Crossing – Day 215

May 8, 2024

Palestinian families are forced to evacuate the eastern and southern areas of Rafah. (Photo: via QNN)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff 

At least 35 Palestinians were killed and 129 wounded as Israeli forces carried out new massacres in the eastern and southern areas of Rafah. 

The United States reportedly suspended sending arms shipments to Israel, due to its failure to address our concerns regarding its plans to invade Rafah.

Al-Qassam Brigades and Al-Quds Brigades announced in a statement that they are engaged in fierce clashes with invading Israeli forces east of Rafah. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,844 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,404 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Click here for the previous blogs.

LATEST UPDATES

Wednesday, May 8, 01:30 am (GMT +2)

Hamas (Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the political bureau of Hamas):

Israel is not serious about reaching an agreement and is using negotiations as a cover to invade Rafah.

Netanyahu is trying to invent pretexts to evade negotiations and blames Hamas and the mediators.

Hamas’s approval of the mediators’ proposal confused Netanyahu and put him in trouble.

Hamas stands by its position regarding the proposal.

BIDEN:

If Israel enters Rafah, I will not provide it with the weapons historically used to deal with this problem.

We will not provide weapons and artillery shells to Israel.

Israel will not get our support if it enters the populated areas of Rafah.

The bombs that America gave to Israel have now been used to kill civilians.

AL-JAZEERA: Heavy Israeli shelling targeted the Al-Sabra neighborhood south of Gaza City.

‘I Held on to My Husband’ – Cancer Patients in Gaza Die from War and Siege

By Abdallah Aljamal – Gaza “I held on to my husband, and told him he was everything for me, that I didn’t want to lose him.” Cancer patients from Gaza, including children, have been systematically … Continue reading‘I Held on to My Husband’ – Cancer Patients in Gaza Die from War and Siege Palestine Chronicle

Wednesday, May 8, 12:50 am (GMT +2)

HAARETZ: Clashes took place between families of captives in Gaza and Israeli police officers at a Tel Aviv demonstration demanding an exchange deal.

UNICEF: 600,000 Palestinian children are seeking shelter in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, some of whom have been displaced several times, exhausted, traumatized, sick and hungry.

With Full Knowledge – Israel Found to Use US Weapons to Kill Health Workers in Lebanon

By Robert Inlakesh On March 27, Israel carried out a missile strike in the Southern Lebanese town of Hebbariyeh, hitting an ambulance center. An analysis of shrapnel from the scene of an Israeli attack that … Continue readingWith Full Knowledge – Israel Found to Use US Weapons to Kill Health Workers in Lebanon Palestine Chronicle

Tuesday, May 7, 11:00 pm (GMT +2)

FORMER ISRAELI CHIEF OF STAFF: Former Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said that stopping the war on the Gaza Strip is the only way to return Israeli prisoners held by the Resistance.

ISRAELI ARMY: An Israeli soldier was injured as a result of a shell fired by the resistance in the Kerem Shalom area in the southern Gaza Strip.

FREE UNIVERSITY OF BRUSSELS: The Free University of Brussels decided to stop a technological research project with Israeli partners, and to review all other projects with Israeli participation.

HEZBOLLAH: We targeted “with artillery shells a force of Israeli enemy soldiers in the vicinity of the Ramia site, and we achieved a direct hit.”

Tuesday, May 7, 10:00 pm (GMT +2)

KAN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office is working on a draft law proposal with the ultra-Orthodox parties, bypassing Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Defense Council Minister Benny Gantz.

ISRAELI MEDIA: Netanyahu backed down from showing flexibility in exchange negotiations.

UNRWA: The crossings must be opened, and humanitarian aid must flow.

HAMAS: The probability of the occupation remaining in the Gaza Strip is zero.

CHANNEL 14: Israeli occupation army evacuated a temporary military site on the Gaza envelope, fearing that resistance elements would infiltrate it.

‘Manipulative Trap’ – Smotrich Slams Decision to Send Negotiation Team to Cairo

By Palestine Chronicle Staff   “You must not give in to international pressure and you must not stop until victory and the submission of the enemy,” Smotrich said. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said … Continue reading‘Manipulative Trap’ – Smotrich Slams Decision to Send Negotiation Team to Cairo Palestine Chronicle

Tuesday, May 7, 9:00 pm (GMT +2)

ISRAELI ARMY: Gaza is one of the most difficult battlefields in the world.

CHANNEL 13 (quoting Israeli official): Netanyahu does not enable us to advance negotiations on the swap deal.

BRITISH PM: We will not change our position on arms export licenses to Israel.

‘Sort of a Precaution’ – US Lawmakers Prepare Sanctions against ICC over Israel

By Palestine Chronicle Staff   US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) has confirmed that the bill is being drafted. US House Republicans are developing a bill to impose sanctions on officials from … Continue reading‘Sort of a Precaution’ – US Lawmakers Prepare Sanctions against ICC over Israel Palestine Chronicle

Tuesday, May 7, 8:00 pm (GMT +2)

CNN: Tel Aviv asked Washington to put pressure on Hamas and not on Israel.

HAMAS: We demand that the occupation’s crimes be documented and submitted to the criminal court.

Rafah Under Attack – Scores of Civilians Killed, Resistance Fights Back

By Palestine Chronicle Staff   Scores of Palestinians were killed and others were injured, in the intense Israeli occupation bombardment on various areas of the Gaza Strip. According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, … Continue readingRafah Under Attack – Scores of Civilians Killed, Resistance Fights Back Palestine Chronicle

Tuesday, May 7, 6:30 pm (GMT +2)

WALLA (quoting Israeli sources): The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hid medical markings on an ambulance that had been accompanying Netanyahu’s convoy since he suffered a heart attack last month, in order to make it look like a regular civilian car.

UNRWA: Protest by Israeli extremists in front of our headquarters in Jerusalem is “intimidation and sabotage”.

NETANYAHU’S SPOKESMAN: The seizure of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip by the Israeli army does not violate the peace treaty between Tel Aviv and Cairo.

UNRWA: The agency’s buildings in Gaza were subjected to 368 Israeli attacks.

ISRAELI ARMY RADIO: Iron Dome was unable to intercept rockets launched by the Resistance from Gaza towards Shlomi.

AUSTIN: We are absolutely committed to Israel’s right to defend itself.

FORMER MOSSAD CHIEF: There is no meaning to fighting in Rafah after all these days since the start of the war.

CHANNEL 13: Eight rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip towards Shlomi in the Eshkol Regional Council in the Gaza Strip.

HEZBOLLAH: We carried out an attack with assault marches on the headquarters of the newly created Western Brigade in Ya’ra, and a direct hit was achieved.

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN: Carrying out an Israeli ground military operation in Rafah destabilizes the entire region. There are no prospects yet for resolving the situation in the Gaza Strip, and the conflict in the region is escalating daily.

‘Sleeping without Fear’ – Gazans React to Hamas’ Acceptance of Ceasefire Proposal

By Abdallah Aljamal – Gaza The Palestine Chronicle spoke with residents of Gaza to know their view about the proposal and Hamas’ decision. The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas announced on Monday its acceptance of a … Continue reading‘Sleeping without Fear’ – Gazans React to Hamas’ Acceptance of Ceasefire Proposal Palestine Chronicle

Tuesday, May 7, 5:00 pm (GMT +2)

ISRAELI ARMY RADIO: Summer will be hot on the Lebanese border.

WASHINGTON DC POLICE CHIEF: 33 people were arrested during the dispersal of the George Washington group sit-in.

‘Unusual’ – US Postpones Arms Shipment to Israel but Pledges ‘Ironclad Commitment’

By Palestine Chronicle Staff   If intentional, this pause on the JDAMs would mark a significant policy shift since the onset of the current war. The US administration of Joe Biden administration has postponed the … Continue reading‘Unusual’ – US Postpones Arms Shipment to Israel but Pledges ‘Ironclad Commitment’ Palestine Chronicle

US OFFICIAL (to Al-Jazeera): Washington’s position on Rafah has not changed, and a broad operation must not be launched.

UNRWA: We did not receive aid or fuel through the Rafah crossing.

NBC (citing Israeli official). There is deep frustration in the Israeli government with the American decision to halt the arms shipment.

Tuesday, May 7, 4:15 pm (GMT +2)

GAZA STRIP CROSSINGS AUTHORITY: The Gaza Strip Crossings Authority denied Israel’s claims that it had reopened the Kerem Shalom crossing, south of the Strip, for the entry of aid.

AL-JAZEERA: About 200 European Union employees demonstrated in the Belgian capital, Brussels, against the Union’s policies towards the Gaza Strip.

‘A Form of Occupation’ – Palestinian Groups Reject Any Foreign Control of Rafah Crossing

By Palestine Chronicle Staff   Palestinian groups have strongly rejected any foreign party controlling the Rafah border of the Gaza Strip, following reports that an American security company will be in charge of the crossing. … Continue reading‘A Form of Occupation’ – Palestinian Groups Reject Any Foreign Control of Rafah Crossing Palestine Chronicle

AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades announced the bombing of Israeli occupation forces’ concentrations at the “Kerem Shalom Military Site” with a 114 mm short-range “Rajoum” missile system.

Tuesday, May 7, 2:45 pm (GMT +2)

GAZA GOVERNMENT MEDIA OFFICE: A third mass grave was found inside the Shifa Medical Complex and 49 bodies were recovered.

AL-JAZEERA: Six workers were injured by occupation fire at the Kerem Shalom crossing.

AL-QUDS BRIGADES: We bombed with heavy-caliber mortar shells Israeli occupation soldiers and vehicles penetrating the vicinity of the airport, east of the city of Rafah.

ISRAELI ARMY: 3,361 Israeli soldiers have been injured since the start of the war on Gaza.

GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY: 34,844 Palestinians have been killed, and 78,404 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

US MEDIA: Metropolitan Police began evacuating a pro-Palestinian camp at George Washington University at dawn today.

Tuesday, May 7, 1:30 pm (GMT +2)

AL-JAZEERA: Rockets were launched from southern Lebanon towards the Israeli monk site in the Upper Galilee.

ISRAELI MEDIA: The Israeli army is investigating the downing of its drone in Kfar Saba, between Jaffa and Tulkarm.

HEZBOLLAH: We targeted two buildings used by Israeli army soldiers in the Hanita settlement.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: The death toll from the Israeli bombing on the Al-Qara family’s home in the Khuza’a area, east of Khan Yunis, has risen to three.

Tuesday, May 7, 12:30 pm (GMT +2)

HEZBOLLAH: We targeted a building used by Israeli soldiers in the Metulla settlement, and two other buildings in the Shlomi settlement in the Upper Galilee.

YEDIOTH AHRONOTH: The Israeli army downplayed the US administration’s suspension of an arms shipment following an Israeli military operation in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip this week, saying that the two allied parties resolve any disputes “behind closed doors.”

Tuesday, May 7, 11:30 am (GMT +2)

PALESTINIAN FACTIONS: We will not accept the imposition of any guardianship over the Rafah crossing or any other party, and we consider this an occupation.

CHANNEL 13: An anti-tank missile hit a house in the town of Metulla.

PALESTINIAN MEDICAL SOURCES: The bodies of 35 Palestinians and 129 wounded arrived at Kuwait Hospital in Rafah within 24 hours.

IRANIAN FM: Conditions are ripe for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

Tuesday, May 7, 10:00 am (GMT +2)

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: The attack on Rafah will have catastrophic effects on more than a million people.

KEREM SHALOM: Kerem Shalom crossing reopened for the entry of humanitarian aid after it was closed.

QATARI FM: Qatar strongly condemns the bombing of Rafah and calls for preventing its invasion.

AL-QUDS BRIGADES: We are engaged in fierce clashes east of Rafah.

MAARIV: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich submitted a petition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop delaying legislation on the use of Palestinian Authority funds held by Israel .

ISRAELI MEDIA: Instructions were issued to farmers in the Gaza Strip not to go out to work in the areas adjacent to the border fence.

Tuesday, May 7, 09:00 am (GMT +2)

BEN-GVIR: The demolition of dozens of homes in the Negev is an important step towards restoring governance.

AL-JAZEERA: Occupation forces begin demolishing dozens of Palestinian homes in the Naqab (Negev).

AL-QASSAM BRIGADES: Our fighters are engaged in fierce clashes with the Israeli enemy forces penetrating east of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

UNRWA: UNRWA called for the reopening of Gaza crossings without any delay, noting that vital supplies and fuel are entered through them.

ISRAELI MEDIA: Dozens of prisoners’ families are closing the main Ayalon axis in Tel Aviv, demanding a deal to return their children.

Tuesday, May 7, 08:00 am (GMT +2)

AL-JAZEERA: An Israeli air strike targeted the vicinity of the destroyed Gaza Airport, east of the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: A woman was killed and a number of injured in an Israeli artillery shelling that targeted the town of Khuza’a, east of Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip.

AFP (citing US official): We suspended sending an arms shipment to Israel of 1,800 1,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs. Suspending the shipment of weapons to Israel due to its failure to address our concerns regarding its plans to invade Rafah.

Tuesday, May 7, 05:00 am (GMT +2)

NBC (citing US officials): American, Qatari and Egyptian negotiators are trying in Cairo to resolve various disagreements regarding the ceasefire deal.

AXIOS (citing American source): Republican representatives are preparing legislation targeting international criminal officials.

Tuesday, May 7, 03:00 am (GMT +2)

WASHINGTON POST (quoting US official): The move by the administration of US President Joe Biden to postpone two arms shipments to Israel confirms Washington’s fears about the Rafah attack.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: An Israeli raid and artillery shelling in the center and north of the Gaza Strip.

Tuesday, May 7, 02:00 am (GMT +2)

REUTERS (citing informed source): CIA Director William Burns will travel to Israel on Wednesday to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials.

BRITISH DEPUTY FOREIGN SECRETARY: Israel’s attack on Rafah would violate international law and would not lead to the elimination of Hamas.

Tuesday, May 7, 01:00 am (GMT +2)

MARTIN GRIFFITHS: Martin Griffiths said that Israeli evacuation orders in Rafah and the ground operation will lead to more death and displacement.

REUTERS (quoting informed sources): The administration of US President Joe Biden will not submit its report to Congress on whether Israel is violating international law in Gaza on time.

BLINKEN: Blinken condemns “extremist attacks” on aid heading from Jordan to Gaza.

Tuesday, May 7, 12:00 am (GMT +2)

YEDIOTH AHRONOTH: CIA Director William Burns will arrive in Israel tomorrow, Wednesday, to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad Chief David Barnea to discuss a possible deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the exchange of prisoners.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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‘Israel’ makes move on Rafah, forced displacement commences

6 May 2024

Israeli occupation forces drop leaflets demanding forced displacement of Palestinians from Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, on May 6. (Social media)

By Al Mayadeen English

Israeli occupation forces begin to forcefully displace Palestinians formerly displaced to Rafah amid the increased likelihood of the start of the imminent invasion.

The Israeli occupation forces officially began, on Monday, the forceful displacement of the already-displaced Palestinian people currently seeking shelter in Rafah, which had been designated by the Israelis as an alleged “safe zone” early in the war.

With flyers dropping from the skies, SMS, and social media broadcasts, the Israeli occupation’s action on Rafah is set to be yet another episode of this live-streamed genocide.

According to Israeli spokesperson Avichay Adraee, the IOF has allegedly expanded the alleged “humanitarian zone” in the Mawasi area and is forcing Palestinians out of eastern Rafah, which was allegedly the initial “safe zone”.

The action being taken by the Israeli occupation would forcefully displace at least 100,000 of the 1.4 million Palestinians currently displaced in Rafah. It would also threaten to hold all remaining Palestinians in Gaza hostage, as the Rafah border crossing will likely be targeted through bombardments.

After 7 months of the televised genocide, the number of Palestinian martyrs, wounded, and missing has exceeded 100,000 Palestinians.

Three IOF soldiers killed, 12 wounded in Karem Abu Salem shelling

The Israeli military admitted to the deaths of three of its soldiers and the wounding of 12 others as a result of the Palestinian Resistance’s shelling of an Israeli military outpost located near the Karem Abu Salem crossing.

Related News

Two of the killed soldiers fought with the Shaked battalion under the Givati Brigade, while the third fought with the 931 battalion under the Nahal Brigade. 

Twelve soldiers were also wounded in the shelling, including two of the 931 battalion, and one of the Shaked battalion, who was reportedly in critical condition. 

According to the Al-Qassam Brigades, Resistance fighters targeted the location using a 114 mm short-range Rajum missile system.

The targeted gathering was responsible for the aggression against cities in Rafah and included Israeli military and Shin Bet officers, according to a source in the Resistance.

The sources said the Resistance’s preparation for the operation, its setup, and intelligence capabilities, affirmed its capabilities to accurately and directly engage its targets. 

It was simultaneously emphasized that the operation relayed several political messages, most notably the Resistance’s readiness to defend the people of Palestine against reckless Israeli aggression, as well as a military message affirming the Resistance’s capabilities and steadiness, despite the “successes” the Israeli occupation claims it is achieving. 

Israeli air defenses have since stepped up their bombing of Rafah as a response to the Karem Abu Salem operation. 

Rafah invasion will happen with or without exchange deal: Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier on April 30, that an invasion of the densely-populated Rafah city will take place regardless of whether an exchange deal with the Palestinian Resistance was reached or not.

“The idea that we will stop the war before all its goals have been achieved is irrelevant. We will enter Rafah and destroy Hamas battalions there, with or without an agreement [on hostages], to achieve absolute victory,” he told families of the captives held in the Strip.

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Urgent Alert: Israel Marks 200 Days of Genocide with Plans to Destroy Rafah

24 04 2024

Tuesday, April 23, 2024, marked the 200th consecutive day of Israel’s large-scale military offensive on the Gaza Strip. Nearly 90 percent of the population is displaced, with many living in dire conditions in tents, and the few remaining schools used as shelters. Despite the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures orders to prevent genocide, Israel persists in threatening a large-scale ground invasion of Rafah, home to over 1.2 million residents and displaced persons—a threat that has loomed over the Palestinian people there for several weeks.

Our organizations — the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Al Mezan, and Al-Haq — are closely monitoring and deeply concerned about the escalation of Israeli airstrikes on Rafah. The tactics of intensified bombing of homes using heavy artillery and carpet bombing are alarming and have resulted in significant civilian casualties over the last six months.  

Furthermore, concerns are growing as reports from Israeli media indicate that the Israeli army is purchasing thousands of tents to accommodate displaced individuals from Rafah. The Israeli plan to expand the so-called safe zone in the Al-Mawasi area, despite its limited capacity and current overcrowding with displaced persons, is also troubling. This expansion is purportedly capable of housing up to a million people, but the reality of its size (extending about a kilometer deep from the borders of Khan Younis to the borders of Rafah) raises doubts about its feasibility and effectiveness in addressing the humanitarian crisis.

Our organizations have repeatedly warned and expressed serious concerns about the potential consequences of a large-scale ground invasion on Rafah, similar to what has occurred in most governorates of the Gaza Strip. Such an invasion could lead to horrific massacres and raise scenarios of a second Nakba. The densely populated city, with hundreds of thousands of displaced individuals residing in tents and heavily relying on aid from the Rafah and Kerem Abu Salem Crossings, exacerbates the vulnerability of its population. The closure of these vital crossings during a potential Israeli attack would leave no suitable alternatives for the evacuation of Rafah residents and those already displaced within the city. This concern is compounded by the continued attacks and destruction that have altered the landscape of the Gaza Strip.

According to the latest update from the Palestinian Ministry of Health on April 23, 2024, Israeli military attacks over the span of 200 days have led to the killing of 34,183 Palestinians, including 14,778 children and around 10,000 women, and the injury of 77,143 others. One child is killed or injured every 10 minutes in Gaza. An estimated seven to eight thousand Palestinians are still missing, buried under the rubble, or in the streets. There have been ongoing efforts over the past few days to retrieve some of them, amid reports of finding individuals bound and buried in mass graves in Nasser and Al-Shifa Hospitals, indicating the possibility of them being killed by the Israeli army after their arrest. All of this requires the opening of a serious and independent international investigation. It is worth noting that citizens have been forced to create temporary graves in hospitals, markets, streets, and near destroyed homes due to the impossibility of transporting the people killed to official cemeteries.

After 200 days of horrific genocidal acts in Gaza, the real objectives of the attack are the continuation of the 76-year-long ongoing Nakba and the erasure and genocidal destruction of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Israel is laying the groundwork to fulfill its settler colonial plan of colonizing Gaza, played out in real time on the world’s television sets and screens. We warn that the risks of displacement are still present unless the international community intervenes effectively to prevent them.

Our organisations reiterate that silence from the international community is no longer acceptable, and  mere statements of condemnation are not enough in the face of genocide and systematic and deliberate crimes to destroy the foundations of Palestinian life.

Our organizations warn of the threat of an Israeli ground invasion on Rafah. Such an attack would represent the peak of the Israeli attack on Gaza, with the intent of inflicting the highest number of casualties and civilian victims, potentially leading to mass forcible displacement towards the Egyptian borders, located mere meters away. This scenario threatens  the acceleration of the Nakba on the Palestinian people and is an approaching reality.

We urgently call on the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary-General, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to swiftly intervene  to avert the continuing Nakba and to halt the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Our organisations warn Third States that they may be complicit in genocide through their unlimited military and financial support of Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip. We remind the Third States of their erga omnes obligations to protect the Palestinian people from genocide.

We further urge the international community to secure the right of return of Palestinians to their areas of residence and ensure the provision of essential services, including access to clean water, reopening closed roads, and other necessary support.

We emphasize that the key to resolving the crisis in the region forever lies in ending the illegal occupation, dismantling the Israeli settler-colonial apartheid regime, revoking all discriminatory and inhumane laws, policies, and practices against the Palestinian people as a whole, and enabling the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination and the return of refugees without any conditions or restrictions. 

How an ‘Antisemitism Hoax’ Drowned Out the Discovery of Mass Graves in Gaza

APRIL 26, 2024

Source

Jonathan Cook

In confecting a media row about the policing of London marches against genocide, the Israel lobby knew it would score a victory, whatever happened

A gruesome discovery was made in Gaza last weekend. Some 300 Palestinian bodies – of men, women and children – were unearthed from an unmarked mass grave in the courtyard of the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

Even given Israel’s record of committing relentless atrocities in Gaza over the past six months – killing tens of thousands of Palestinians, most of them women and children – this one stood out.

Some bodies were reported to have been found with their hands and feet bound, and stripped of clothing, strongly suggesting they had been executed during a three-month invasion of the city by Israeli soldiers. Others were said to be decapitated, or their skin and organs removed.

Some 10,000 people had been sheltering at Gaza’s second-largest hospital when it was attacked back in February. At the time there were reports of patients and staff being picked off by sniper fire. The medical facility was left in ruins.

Another 400 people are still reported missing in Khan Younis. More mass graves are already being uncovered.

Referring to some of the bodies, Yamen Abu Suleiman, a civil defence leader in Khan Younis, told CNN: “We do not know if they were buried alive or executed. Most of the bodies are decomposed.”

The revelations from Khan Younis fit a pattern that has been gradually emerging as Israeli troops have pulled back.

Last week, the latest of several mass graves were found at Gaza’s largest hospital, al-Shifa. Israel left the area earlier this month after destroying the hospital. Together, the graves are reported to have contained hundreds of bodies.

Further unmarked graves have been discovered in Beit Lahiya.

The United Nations human rights chief, Volker Turk, said he was “horrified” by the reports.

Groundswell of anger

Back in the 1990s, the identification of mass graves of thousands of Muslim men from the Bosnian town of Srebrenica led to the setting up of a special war crimes tribunal of the International Criminal Court. It ruled in 2001 that a genocide had occurred in Srebrenica committed by Bosnian Serbs – a judgment later confirmed by the International Court of Justice, sometimes referred to as the World Court.

In the circumstances, one might have expected the discovery of mass graves of hundreds of Palestinians to be front-page news – especially since the same World Court ruled three months ago that a “plausible” case had been made that Israel was committing genocidal acts in Gaza.

And yet, like so many other Israeli atrocities, this one barely caused a ripple in the news cycle.

Months ago, the establishment British media largely lost interest in reporting on the continuing slaughter in Gaza. The contrast with the media’s early coverage of Ukraine has been stark. The discovery of a mass grave containing some 100 bodies in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha – blamed on Russian troops – caused international outrage.

Bucha quickly became a byword for Russian savagery, and the discovery sustained months of calls for Russian leaders to be tried for genocide.

The general indifference of British media outlets to the mass graves found in Gaza is hugely convenient for Britain’s two main political parties.

The UK has avoided pushing for a ceasefire to end Israel’s bloodletting in Gaza. It refuses to stop selling Israel weapons and components that have helped in the killing of Palestinians – and potentially aid workers too.

On Israel’s say-so, Britain has cut funding to Unrwa, the UN aid agency best placed to stop a famine Israel is wilfully inducing in the enclave by blocking aid. And a British abstention helped foil a vote in the United Nations Security Council this month to recognise Palestine as a state, something 140 other nations have already done.

The Labour party has offered only muted opposition.

Bipartisan support in the UK for Israel’s plausible genocide has provoked a groundswell of public anger, including regular protests in London that attract hundreds of thousands of marchers.

Pro-Israel hoax

Once again, however, the British media has seemed far less interested in reporting Israeli atrocities than in imputing malign motivations to large sections of the British public incensed by what is happening in Gaza.

It was quite extraordinary that the discovery of mass graves in the enclave was almost completely drowned out by an all-too-obvious hoax pulled by an Israel lobbyist.

Gideon Falter, chief executive of the Campaign Against Antisemitism, has been trying to shut down the peaceful London marches calling for an end to the butchering of men, women and children in Gaza since Israel began its military assault more than six months ago.

In Falter’s words, the hundreds of thousands of people who turn out regularly to call for a ceasefire – including a large bloc of Jews – are “lawless mobs” posing a direct threat to Jews like himself.

He has found powerful allies in the government. Home Secretary James Cleverly has said the march organisers have “real evil intent”, while his predecessor Suella Braverman labelled the protests calling for a ceasefire as “hate marches”.

Both have put pressure on the police to ban the protests for being supposedly antisemitic

There is precisely no evidence for any of these claims. In fact, according to police figures, Glastonbury music festivalgoers were nearly four times more likely to be arrested than those attending the London marches.

Which has left the continuing mass marches a major embarrassment to both the UK government and the opposition Labour party by highlighting their continuing complicity in what has become – with revelations like the discovery of mass graves – ever more clearly a genocide.

‘Crossing the street’

That is the proper context for understanding Falter’s latest intervention.

As the Metropolitan police are only too aware, Falter’s group, along with other pro-Israel activists, have every incentive to engineer a provocation to add to the already considerable pressure on the police to ban the London marches and further curtail a fundamental civil liberty: the right to protest.

A video on social media shows Falter being confronted by police in a previous incident in which he tried to drive a large van with pro-Israel messages down the march route.

But his breakthrough came this month when, accompanied by an Israeli-trained security detail and a film crew, he tried repeatedly to break through a police line along the route and walk against the flow of the march. Responsible for maintaining public order at large protests, Met officers stopped him.

There are well-known rules imposed by the police surrounding large protests on highly charged ideological issues like this one.

The marchers are not allowed to stray from the route determined by the police, and opponents – whether Israel apologists like Falter or Islamophobic white nationalists – are not allowed to approach and antagonise the marchers. The job of the police is to keep the sides apart.

Blocked by officers, Falter had his script ready. He simply insisted on his right to “cross the street” as a Jew going about his business.

Given the way the public discourse about Israel and antisemitism has been malevolently manipulated by the British establishment over the past eight years – after the long-time Palestinian solidarity activist Jeremy Corbyn was elected Labour leader – Falter could not lose in this encounter.

If the police arrested him, he would have filmed evidence that he was being victimised as a Jew by an antisemitic police force.

If they refused to let him “cross the street”, he would have filmed proof that the march was indeed filled with Jew haters posing a threat to his safety.

And if the police failed in their duties and let him and his retinue walk against the flow of the packed protest, he – like anyone attempting to do this – would at the very least be jostled. Based on the established credulity of the establishment media in covering antisemitism, Falter was presumably confident that this could be spun as a hate crime against him.

Ugly politics

The police clearly seemed to understand Falter’s game plan. They appeared extremely reluctant to arrest him, even though a former chief superintendent, Dal Babu, observed that, in trying to push past them, Falter could have been charged with “assault on a police officer and breach of the peace”.

Instead, the officers patiently argued for at least a quarter of an hour with Falter, pointing out that he could bypass the march using a different route.

But in this lengthy, testy encounter, the Campaign Against Antisemitism boss finally got what he wanted. One officer made a slip-up, suggesting that the problem was that the skullcap-wearing Falter was “openly Jewish”.

As noted, lots of Jews attend the march and do so under banners declaring that they are Jews. Despite being “openly Jewish”, all say they are warmly welcomed by other demonstrators.

The officer’s mistake was understandable. Israel apologists and the British establishment spent years manipulating the public discourse to conflate Israel, the political nationalist ideology of Zionism and Jewishness in a blatant ploy to vilify supporters of Corbyn, the anti-racist former Labour leader, as antisemites.

The problem wasn’t that Falter is “openly Jewish”, it was that he is a vocal, openly Zionist supporter of Israel, one who makes excuses for its genocide and vilifies those who are opposed to the bloodletting. It is not his ethnicity or religion that are a provocation, it is his ugly politics.

But with the officer’s comment in the can, Falter released a heavily edited version of his confrontation with the police to an establishment media only too willing – at least, initially – to swallow two completely implausible ideas Falter was peddling.

First, that the police officer’s comment was proof that the Met is institutionally racist against Jews and that is why it has allowed the anti-genocide marches to go ahead. Falter called for the head of the Met, Sir Mark Rowley, to be sacked.

And second, and more importantly, that the officer’s comment was proof that the marches are indeed “hate marches” consisting of – as he declared to a BBC interviewer – “racists, extremists and terrorist sympathisers”.

Accusations of ‘fakery’

It may all have been fake news but it fitted an agenda the media has been promoting for years: that anything more than the lightest-touch criticism of Israel is evidence of antisemitism.

The political and media class have been increasingly struggling to credibly sustain that idea in the face of Israel committing a genocide – but Falter’s video served briefly as a shot in the arm.

From one police officer’s brief, verbal slip-up, he was able to fire up a national debate that took as its premise the idea that police were colluding with “antisemitic hate marches”.

On the back foot, the Met hurriedly agreed to meet Falter and “Jewish community leaders”, seemingly to get their advice on what needed to be done about the marches.

Sunday’s BBC evening news reported that pressure was growing on the Met “to get the balance right between allowing legitimate protest and cracking down on hate speech and intimidation”.

Good Morning Britain’s hosts fawned over Falter on Monday morning, accepting uncritically that the march posed a threat to him as a Jew and expressing concern that the police were not getting that balance right.

But quite unlike the years-long accusations of fake antisemitism whipped up by Falter and others to oust Corbyn, one that was enthusiastically amplified by the state-corporate media, the Met had powerful allies inside the establishment that pushed back.

Before Falter’s hoax could properly take hold, Sky released a much longer video of his confrontation with the police. It showed that they had blocked his way after identifying him as a provocateur. Police can be heard accusing him of being “disingenuous” and telling him to stop “running into protesters”.

Former police officers, including Babu, were invited on TV to offer a counter-narrative that cast Falter in a far less sympathetic light.

By Tuesday, the Met chief Rowley was feeling confident enough to go on the attack, praising the officer at the centre of the row and accusing pro-Israel activists of using “fakery” to undermine the Met.

Favourite tactic

But even wounded, Falter emerged decisively as the victor.

No one is talking – as they should be – about why groups like the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which regularly and so visibly meddle deeply in British politics in the interests of a foreign power, Israel, are treated as charities.

Instead, Falter has given the political and media class more ammunition to argue that the marches need to be banned, and has put police decision-making under yet more scrutiny.

Whatever bullishness Rowley exhibited in public, his battles behind the scenes against a government keen to silence the marches will have been made far more complicated.

But, more importantly, Falter has played an invaluable role in bolstering Israel’s favourite tactic. He has deflected attention in the UK away from its war crimes – including the mass graves in Khan Younis – to squabbles entirely divorced from reality about whether Jews are safe from the anti-war movement.

Precisely the same dynamic is playing out in the United States, where the establishment – from President Joe Biden down – is painting peaceful protests on college campuses against the genocide as hotbeds of hatred and antisemitism.

There, things are even more out of hand, with the police called in to make arrests of students and faculty.

In both cases, the real debate – about why Britain and the US are still actively supporting the bombing and starvation of Gaza’s population after six months of genocide – has once more been muffled by the Israel lobby’s fake news.

Establishment media have once again seized on any pretext available to them to focus on a twig rather than the forest.

Truth obscured

The pattern is hard to miss: the British establishment, including the government and the BBC, are working hand in hand to help Israel and its genocide apologists win the public relations battle.

Only briefly, when the honour of the police – the establishment’s fist – got a bloodied nose, was there a degree of pushback.

Take, for example, the day in January when the World Court ruled there was a “plausible” case made by South Africa’s lawyers that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. That same day Israel successfully sabotaged the devastating news with a scoop of its own.

It alleged that some 12 Unrwa staff members it had seized in Gaza – out of a total of 13,000 in the enclave on the agency’s payroll – had confessed to taking part in Hamas’ attack on 7 October, in which some 1,150 Israelis were killed.

Israel demanded western states immediately cut all funding to Unrwa. It has been Israel’s long-term goal to eliminate the refugee agency and permanently erase the rights of Palestinians to return to homes their families were expelled from in 1948 in what is now Israel.

Most western capitals, including the UK, dutifully complied, even though the decision was certain to plunge Gaza even deeper into a famine Israel has been engineering as part of its genocidal policies.

But the announcement’s timing was important too. Western media focused their coverage on a story about Unrwa that should have been marginal, even were it true.

The World Court’s finding that Israel was plausibly committing genocide was far more significant. Nonetheless, reporting on the ruling – especially the fact that the court suspected Israel was carrying out genocidal acts – was entirely overshadowed by the claims against Unrwa.

This week, months on, an independent review commissioned by the UN and led by the former French foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, found that Israel has still failed to produce any evidence to support its allegations against Unrwa.

But just as with Falter’s hoax, the goal of such accusations by Israel is never to expose the truth. The aim is to distract from the truth.

The same can be said of Israel’s still unsubstantiated claims of unprecedented savagery committed by Hamas on 7 October, from beheading babies to carrying out systematic mass rape.

None of these allegations, which have been widely regurgitated by the establishment western media, have ever been backed up with evidence. Whenever testimonies have been scrutinised, they have unravelled.

But all these claims have served a purpose. They keep western publics focused on evil humanitarian aid workers and evil anti-war protesters rather than the kind of evil that dares in broad daylight to kill 15,000 children, destroy hospitals, and hide bodies in mass graves.

202nd Day of Genocidal War on Gaza: Massacres and Martyrs by Israeli Occupation

April 25, 2024

TOPSHOT – A general view shows destroyed building and the rubble of the al-Faruq mosque on February 22, 2024, following an overnight Israeli air strike in Rafah refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip, amid continuing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)

Live News – Middle East – News – Palestine – Story of the day – Top

The Israeli occupation’s ruthless aggression against the Gaza Strip continues, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence as inhabited homes and vital infrastructure are targeted relentlessly.

Reports from Palestinian media highlight the latest atrocities committed by Israeli forces, including the bombing of a house belonging to the Al-Amour family in Al-Fokhari, Khan Yunis. The airstrikes and artillery shelling have caused multiple casualties, with deaths reported in towns throughout the Gaza Strip.

One particularly tragic incident occurred in Rafah, where Israeli forces bombed a house belonging to the Al-Jamal family, resulting in the deaths of 5 citizens, including women and children. This horrifying attack underscores the indiscriminate nature of the occupation’s violence.

The death toll in the Gaza Strip continues to rise, with thousands of victims still trapped under rubble or stranded on roads due to the ongoing conflict. Despite the overwhelming humanitarian crisis, the occupation forces obstruct efforts by ambulance and civil defense crews to provide aid.

Source: Israeli and Palestinian media (translated and edited by Al-Manar English Website)

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‘Israel’ selling lies, far from defeating Resistance: Abu Obeida

23 Apr 2024

Source: Al Mayadeen

Hamas military spokesperson Abu Obeida during his speech on the 200th day of the Israeli genocide in Gaza on April 23, 2024 (Screen grab)

By Al Mayadeen English

Palestinian al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obeida hails the steadfastness of the Palestinian Resistance as it faces the Israeli occupation forces for the 200th day.

The Israeli occupation has proven impotent as it proved unsuccessful in making any advances in Gaza 200 days into its ruthless onslaught as it only commits massacres and destroys civilian infrastructure, al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Obeida said on Tuesday.

Today marks the 200th day of Israeli aggression on Gaza in the wake of Operation al-Aqsa Flood, an aggression that has thus far claimed the lives of more than 34,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands of others. However, no one is touting an Israeli victory, as their declared goal of destroying the Resistance is not only far from being achieved, but also continuously proving to be unattainable.

The spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing underlined that the Israeli occupation continues to peddle the great lie that is its capacity to destroy all the Palestinian Resistance factions. “200 days later, and the Resistance is still unwavering. It will continue to deal blows to the occupation so long as its aggression continues and so long as it continues to exist on Palestinian land.”

Resistance to adapt, escalate

The Resistance’s operations, the spokesperson said, “Will take new forms and adapt with new, adequate tactics.”

As the war entered its seventh month, Abu Obeida stressed that the Israeli occupation “is still stuck in the mud in Gaza with no hope on the horizon, and it will reap nothing but shame and defeat.”

The Resistance fighters are expelling and will continue to expel “this enemy despite being covered in ashes, rising from beneath the rubble as the whole world bears witness to the might of the Resistance fighters, not just through action on the battlefield but their withdrawal from various directions.”

The Israeli occupation is still trying to restore its image that was tarnished on October 7, the spokesperson underlined. “They aim to link their victory to invading Rafah, and it tries to sell the lie that it defeated all Resistance factions except for the Rafah Battalion.”

Ron Arad scenario to repeat itself

Commenting on the ongoing negotiations and prisoner swap talks, Abu Obeida said the Israeli occupation was attempting to rid itself of the pledges it made during the talks as it aims to gain more time. However, he added, “The Palestinian Resistance will not surrender the pivotal rights of the Palestinian people, chief among which is the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces, the lifting of the blockade, and the return of the displaced.”

Abu Obeida, addressing Israeli settlers, underlined that the ball was in the court of the Israeli regime, “but the window of time is very narrow, and they have very limited opportunities.”

He recalled the story of Israeli pilot Ron Arad, who disappeared during a mission in the airspace of Lebanon in 1986, with no information being known about him since. “The Israeli captives in Gaza might be fortunate to meet the same fate as Ron Arad,” he said, warning the Israeli occupation against delaying the talks any further.

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“The occupation’s policy of exerting military pressure will not push the Resistance but to adhere to its position and safeguard the rights of the people,” he said. 

Iranian response set up new rules of engagement

Abu Obeida hailed Iran’s Operation True Promise carried out by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps in Iran in response to the occupation’s aggression against the Iranian consulate in Damascus and emphasized that this response “set new rules of engagement and disarrayed the occupation,” as the regime’s backers scrambled to defend it from thousands of miles away.

The al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson went on to praise every military and popular effort made toward Operation al-Aqsa Flood, especially the fronts of Lebanon, Yemen, and Iraq.

Abu Obeida said the leading edge front of the Resistance was the West Bank front. He also hailed the people of Jordan and called on them to escalate and called on the people of the Arab and Islamic Worlds to also escalate in support of the Palestinian people and cause.

“The hysteric reaction to the Resistance’s military actions on the various fronts indicates the importance of the armed struggle in the face of the occupying powers,” he concluded by saying.

200 days of genocide

The Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed Tuesday that the number of Palestinians killed as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression since October 7 has risen to 34,183 and those injured to 77,143.

In its daily report, the Ministry said that the Israeli occupation forces have committed three massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, resulting in 32 martyrs and 59 injuries who were transferred to hospitals in the past 24 hours.

On its part, the Government Media Office in Gaza confirmed that the Israeli occupation forces have committed a total of 3,025 massacres against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and dropped 75,000 tonnes of explosives on the enclave.

In an update on the figures resulting from 200 days of “Israel’s” genocidal war on Gaza, the Office emphasized that out of the 34,183 martyrs who reached hospitals, 14,778 are children and 9,752 are women. It added that 30 children lost their lives due to famine, confirming that 72% of the victims of the Israeli war were children and women.

According to the report, the Israeli occupation forces killed 485 medical staff, 67 civil defense crews, and 140 journalists.

It said that 7,000 are still missing and 17,000 children are now orphaned, living without one or both parents.

Multi-front solidarity

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon – Hezbollah confirmed Tuesday that it engaged the headquarters of two Israeli military units in southern occupied Palestine in response to the assassination of one of its fighters in a southern Lebanese town earlier.

In a statement, Hezbollah said its Resistance fighters launched a combined aerial attack using diversionary and suicide drones and engaged the headquarters of the Golani Brigade and the Egoz Unit 621 at Shraga barracks north of the occupied city of Akka, hitting its targets precisely.

Reuters highlighted that this was Hezbollah’s “deepest attack” into occupied Palestinian territory since the start of the Gaza war on October 7.

Israeli media had earlier reported sirens sounding in the Upper al-Jalil area over a drone infiltration and mentioned that interception missiles were launched toward a suspicious aerial target in the skies of Nahariya.

The media also pointed out that sirens sounded in numerous northern settlements reaching the city of Akka. It was also noted that sirens sounded in Kiryat for the first time since last December.

The Israeli Army Radio confirmed that 200,000 Israelis took shelter in the north after three drones were launched from Lebanon over Nahariya.

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War on Gaza

200 days of Israeli aggression, 34,183 killed, 77,143 injured in Gaza

 April 22, 2024

Source: Agencies + Al Mayadeen

A Palestinian youth mourns his relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at the morgue of the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, early Saturday, April 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Ismael Abu Dayyah)

By Al Mayadeen English

The Government Media Office in Gaza confirms the Israeli occupation forces committed a total of 3,025 massacres against Palestinians in the Strip.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed Tuesday that the number of Palestinians killed as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression since October 7 has risen to 34,183 and those injured to 77,143.

In its daily report, the Ministry said that the Israeli occupation forces have committed three massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, resulting in 32 martyrs and 59 injuries who were transferred to hospitals in the past 24 hours.

It noted that many victims of the Israeli aggression remain trapped under rubble and on roads inaccessible to ambulance and civil defense crews.

A total of 3,025 massacres

On its part, the Government Media Office in Gaza confirmed that the Israeli occupation forces have committed a total of 3,025 massacres against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and dropped 75,000 tonnes of explosives on the enclave.

In an update on the figures resulting from 200 days of “Israel’s” genocidal war on Gaza, the Office emphasized that out of the 34,183 martyrs who reached hospitals, 14,778 are children and 9,752 are women. It added that 30 children lost their lives due to famine, confirming that 72% of the victims of the Israeli war were children and women.

According to the report, the Israeli occupation forces killed 485 medical staff, 67 civil defense crews, and 140 journalists.

It said that 7,000 are still missing and 17,000 children are now orphaned, living without one or both parents.

1,090,000 people suffered from infectious diseases

The Office mentioned that 11,000 wounded people are in need of travel for surgical procedures, while 10,000 cancer patients are facing death in need of treatment.

Touching on the collapsing health sector in the Strip, the report said that 32 hospitals and 53 health centers are now out of service due to the Israeli war on Gaza. It added that the occupation forces targeted 160 healthcare facilities and 126 ambulances.

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It said that 1,090,000 people suffered from infectious diseases, and 8,000 cases of viral hepatitis infections due to displacement were reported.

In addition, the lives of 60,000 pregnant women and 350,000 patients with chronic diseases are at risk due to the lack of healthcare and medication.

According to the Office, Israeli occupation forces detained 5,000 people, including 310 healthcare professionals and 20 journalists, during its genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Two million people displaced

Two million people are now displaced due to the Israeli war on Gaza, with the occupation forces completely destroying 86,000 residential units and partially destroying 294,000, the report confirmed.

It added that the Israeli occupation forces destroyed 181 governmental buildings, completely destroyed 103 educational institutions, and partially destroyed 309.

The Israeli occupation forces also did not spare places of worship from its strikes, destroying 239 mosques and partially destroying 317, in addition to targeting and destroying three churches.

Elsewhere, the report said that the Israeli occupation destroyed 206 archaeological and heritage sites in the Gaza Strip.

In total, the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza has caused 30 billion dollars in direct initial losses.

Israeli forces attempting to empty schools sheltering displaced Palestinians

In a related context, Al Mayadeen‘s correspondent in Gaza reported that the Israeli occupation forces have been carrying out airstrikes on the Strip coinciding with excavation operations since last night.

Our correspondent mentioned that Israeli naval vessels opened fire toward the coast of Deir al-Balah city in central Gaza, adding that Israeli warplanes launched an airstrike east of Salah al-Din Street in al-Bureij camp.

This comes in parallel with confrontations between Palestinian Resistance fighters and the raiding Israeli occupation forces, especially in the eastern areas of Beit Hanoun and east of Jabalia camp.

According to our correspondent, Israeli occupation forces are attempting to empty schools sheltering displaced Palestinians, including the Tal al-Rabi’ and Tal al-Zaatar schools.

He mentioned that Israeli warplanes carried out a series of airstrikes on Highway 10 south of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, adding that Israeli shelling of a house in the Nuseirat camp, in central Gaza, killed one Palestinian and injured several.

Elsewhere, our correspondent in Gaza said another Palestinian was killed by Israeli drone fire targeting a group of civilians at a playground in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip.

Read more: 283 bodies recovered from Israeli-made mass grave in Nasser Hospital

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Israeli Oppression in Gaza Continues: 34,049 Dead and 76,901 Injured in 197 Days of Aggression

April 20, 2024

Live News – Middle East – News – Palestine – Story of the day – Top

As the humanitarian crisis worsens in the Gaza Strip, the 196th day of Israeli occupation has brought more bloodshed and suffering to the region. With over 34,000 dead and nearly 77,000 injured since October 7, the Israeli occupation forces are showing no signs of slowing down.

In the past 24 hours alone, Israeli occupation forces have committed four massacres in Gaza, leaving 37 dead and 68 injured. Air strikes and artillery shelling have devastated the area, with civilians being the primary targets of these brutal attacks.

The situation has become dire, with more than 90% of the population displaced and struggling to survive amidst the siege. The Ministry of Health has reported that there are still victims trapped in rubble, unable to receive medical assistance due to ongoing attacks.

Israeli warplanes continue to bomb residential areas, leaving families devastated and cities in ruins. The people of Gaza are living in fear as the violence escalates, with no end in sight.

To make matters worse, the Gaza Strip is facing a severe water crisis. With all water wells in the city shut down due to fuel shortages, residents are now facing extreme thirst.

Source: Al-Manar English Website and Palestinian media

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Day 196: Death Toll Nears 34,000 as ‘Israel’ Goes Ahead with Brutal War

April 19, 2024

Live News – Middle East – News – Palestine – Top

Death toll of the Israeli aggression on Gaza neared 34,000 on Friday as the Zionist enemy went ahead with brutal war against the besieged enclave on day 196.

Israeli occupation carried out several strikes on Gaza’s Shati refugee camp, the Sheikh Radwan area north of Gaza City, and Nuseirat in the central area of the Palestinian territory.

Health Ministry in Gaza announced that at least 33,970 people have been martyred and 76,770 others have been wounded in the Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 7.

Nearly one-third of people martyred in the Gaza war – at least 10,000 people – have been women, according to the agency, UN Women.

Out of these women, 6,000 are mothers, whose deaths have left 19,000 orphans, according to UN Women.

Potential Attack on Rafah

Meanwhile, media reports said there were more signs on the horizon of a potential Israeli military incursion into Rafah.

According to the reports, the occupation military has deployed more troops in all areas that are adjacent to Rafah district.

“Since the early hours of this morning, they have been pounding the majority of the agricultural land in the eastern areas of Rafah,” Al-Jazeera reported on Friday, quoting sources.

US Veto

Earlier on Thursday, the United States blocked a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have recognized a Palestinian state.

Twelve members of the Security Council had voted in favor of the resolution, while two countries – the UK and Switzerland – abstained. The US vetoed it.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the US veto was “blatant aggression … which pushes the region ever further to the edge of the abyss”.

Hamas said it condemned the US’s “biased” position “in the strongest terms”.

Egypt expressed “deep regret” over the move, saying the US was violating its “legal and historical responsibility” by denying Palestinian statehood.

Russia said the US had demonstrated that it only considers the “the interest of Israel”.

Source: Agencies

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Gaza Massacres Proceed on Day 193 of Israeli War

 April 16, 2024

A screengrab by Al-Jazeera shows destruction in Gaza city due to the Israeli aggression.

Middle East – News – Palestine – Story of the day – Top

Brutal massacres went ahead in Gaza on the day 193 of the Israeli war on the besieged enclave, with international organizations warning against humanitarian crises.

Continuing Israeli attacks on central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp killed several Palestinians, local media reported.

In northern Gaza Strip, casualties were reported as Israeli warplanes pounded Jabalia, targeting a mosque there.

Israeli army vehicles reportedly surrounded a school where hundreds of people were sheltering amid gunfire and explosions in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.

Separately, four people, including a child, were martyred and several wounded in an Israeli attack on a house west of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, the Wafa news agency reported.

Earlier on Monday, two mass graves were discovered by Gaza’s Ministry of Health and the Civil Defense Forces in the north of the Gaza Strip on Monday. The first mass grave was discovered at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, and the second was found in Beit Lahiya.

Death Toll and “Health Disaster”

Health Ministry in Gaza announced that 46 people were martyred and 110 injured by Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours.

It put the death toll of citizens martyred since the start of Israeli aggression on October 7 at 33,843. The ministry added that the number of injured Palestinians reached 76,575.

Meanwhile, the ministry warned that generators powering Gaza’s few functional hospitals around the clock for months could now lose power “at any moment.”

Doctors perform surgery at the European Hospital in Khan Younis (Anadolu news agency).

Such a loss would bring about a “major health disaster”, it said, issuing an urgent appeal for new generators and the restoration of power lines in the besieged territory.

For its part, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) reported in its latest situation update that the amount of aid entering Gaza is far below the operational capacity of the open border crossings of the besieged enclave.

It added that an average of 181 aid trucks reaching Gaza daily fails to meet the Israeli occupation’s stated goal of facilitating the entry of 500 trucks per day.

One Gaza Child Killed or Injured Every 10 Minutes

On the other hand, a UNICEF official said that Gaza children have become the faces of the continuing war as their stories paint a “harrowing picture” of the human consequences of the conflict.

“Children are wearing a tremendous share of the scars of this war,” UNICEF communications specialist Tess Ingram – who left Gaza on Monday after spending two weeks there – told a UN press briefing in Geneva.

Tess Ingram, UNICEF communications specialist.

More than 12,000 children were injured in Gaza since October 7, 2023, she said, and this is “almost certainly an underestimate”.

“With at least 70 children injured every day, we need the number of medical evacuations to increase so children can access the care they urgently need. And with one child killed or injured every 10 minutes, above anything else we need a ceasefire.”

Source: Palestinian media and (edited by Al-Manar English Website

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Despite ‘Profound Destruction’, Gaza Keeps Up Resistance on Day 192 of Israeli War

 April 15, 2024

A Palestinian mother and daughter sit amid rubble during Eid al-Fitr in Gaza City (April 11, 2024).

Live News – Middle East – News – Palestine – Top

Gaza still amazes the world with its incredible resistance despite all forms of oppression it has been facing since the start of the brutal Israeli aggression on October 7. On the day 192 of the war, both people and resistance stand firm in face of the Israeli massacres and deliberate starvation.

Israeli attacks on Monday took place in several areas across the besieged enclave with the concentration was on Gaza Strip’s center.

Palestinian media reported attacks on two mosques, a UN-run school and the Malaysian school in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Also in central Gaza, several residential homes and a market were subjected to Israeli strikes.

Elsewhere in northern Gaza, the Firas market was targeted.

Strikes were also reported in the southern city of Rafah, according to Palestinian media.

Health Ministry in Gaza reported that 68 people were martyred and 94 others were injured in 7 massacres in the past 24 hours. It put the death toll of the Israeli aggression on Gaza Strip at 33,545.

The ministry added that the number of injured people reached 76,094.

Destruction “Disproportionate to Anything One Can Imagine”

Meanwhile on Monday, Civil Defense in Gaza said on its Telegram channel that it recovered 13 more decomposing bodies in Khan Younis’ Al-Balad and Al-Amal neighborhoods.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs described the destruction in the southern city of Khan Younis as profound.

In a post on X the UN office said a team has visited Khan Younis and witnessed destroyed homes, schools and hospitals as well as unexploded ordinance.

For his part, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that the organization and its partners went to Khan Younis on Sunday to assess the health facilities there.

Gaza Resistance Surprises Military Analysts

Also on Monday, Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad resistance group released a video showing fighters targeting Israeli concentrations east Jabalia.

On the other hand, a security and military studies professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies said that Hamas’s armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, has surprised many military analysts over the past seven months.

Talking to Al-Jazeera, Omar Ashour said Al-Qassam Brigades was completely outnumbered and outgunned in all domains – sea, air and land – as well as electronic and cyberwarfare.

He added that the resistance group has created its own environment to be able to fight by constructing multilevel underground tunnels that doubled or tripled the size of Gaza

“Many Hamas fighters remain, and Israel has killed only one of its three top commanders. If Israel wants to achieve its aim of destroying Hamas, the fight will take a lot longer than the Israeli military expected, and it may not even be possible,” Ashour said, as quoted by Al-Jazeera.

Source: Palestinian media and Al-Jazeera (edited by Al-Manar English Website)

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Day 189: Israeli Enemy Renews Strikes on Gaza

April 12, 2024

Live News – Middle East – News – Palestine – Story of the day – Top

The Israeli enemy continued on Friday its aggression on Gaza ongoing for the 189th consecutive days, committing 8 more massacres against the innocent civilians facing death in the strip.

The occupation army announced carrying out a military operation against Nusseirat camp in Central Gaza, blowing up a large number of the citizens’ houses, according to our correspondent.

Media reports indicated that Jabalia police chief, Colonel Rudwan Rudwan, embraced martyrdom in am Israeli air raid on his house, knowing that he was the head of the aid committee in the area.

Meanwhile, the Israeli war jets and artillery continued striking the various cities and towns of Gaza, committing more massacres.

Gaza health ministry announced that the Israeli enemy committed 8 massacres during the 24 past hours, leaving 89 martyrs and 120 injuries.

The ministry added that the Israeli aggression has so far left 33,634 martyrs and 76,214 injuries.

The Palestinian resistance continued confronting the Zionist aggression, inflicting more losses upon the enemy troops.

The following video shows how Al-Quds Brigades fighters attacking the enemy troops in Khan Younis with the mortar shells.

For his part, Head of Hamas Politburo Esmail Haniyeh stressed, while receiving mourners congratulating and condoling him on the martyrdom of his sons and grandsons, commitment to the resistance demands in the ceasefire talks despite all the enemy crimes.

The Rehabilitation Division of the Zionist Ministry of Security estimated that by the end of the year there would be about 20,000 new injuries in the occupation army.

The Zionist ministry indicated that 20% of the soldiers who participated in the war on Gaza are suffering from either psychological or physical disorders.

Source: Al-Manar English Website

Austin’s ‘no genocide’ in Gaza remarks met with bloody-handed protests

April 11, 2024

Source: News websites

Handprints are seen on the wall of Union Station building as demonstrators protest during a pro-Palestinian rally asking for a ceasefire in Gaza, in Washington, Friday, Nov. 17, 2023. (AP)

By Al Mayadeen English

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have stormed Capitol Hill and interrupted Lloyd Austin’s speech, calling for the end of the genocide in Gaza.

In a show of solidarity with Gaza, pro-Palestine protesters interrupted US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, cutting his speech off in a Senate committee hearing as he attempted to dismiss “Israel’s” blatant violation of international law and genocide in Gaza. 

Demonstrators took turns calling out “Israel’s” military conduct in Gaza, the United States’ backing of the genocide, and its determination to supply the occupation with military aid and weapons. 

Video footage showed demonstrators with red-stained hands, relaying a message that the US has blood on its hands, with questions such as: “How many children have to die for you to be satisfied?” and slogans like: “Stop bombing Gaza, stop funding Israel” and “Stop the genocide in Gaza” raised before being forced out of the chamber.

Protesters also slammed the US policy of massively funding the Israeli “war machine” while public services such as healthcare and education remained neglected. 

Austin had a hearing session at a Senate Armed Services Committee to relay the latest developments in “Israel’s” war against the Palestinian people in Gaza. 

Mid-protests, Arkansas Rep. Senator Tom Cotton asked Austin to address the demonstrators’ remarks and if “Israel” was committing genocide in Gaza. In response, Austin said there were no indications of a genocide

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“So that’s a no? Israel is not committing genocide in Gaza?” Cotton emphasized, to which Austin replied, “We do not have evidence of that, to my knowledge.”

Meanwhile, police arrested at least 50 peaceful protesters, including clergy members and several Christian factions, who blocked a cafeteria for senators, their aides, and visitors on Capitol Hill. They chanted: “The Senate and their staffers cannot eat until Gaza eats” before authorities shut it down.

Turning a blind eye to blinding evidence…

Last week, Senator Elizabeth Warren said “Israel” could be found guilty of genocide by international officials during an event at a mosque.

While taking questions from her audience at the Islamic Center of Boston in Wayland, Warren was asked about the legal proceedings against “Israel” at the International Court of Justice and was specifically asked to share her own opinion, Politico reported.

The Massachusetts Democrat responded, saying, “If you want to do it as an application of law, I believe that they’ll find that it is genocide, and they have ample evidence to do so.”

It is worth noting that the toll of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip has risen to 33,482 martyrs and 76,049 wounded since the start of the Israeli aggression on Gaza in the wake of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

The Palestinian Ministry reported that 122 people were killed and 56 others were wounded as a result of the occupation’s aggression on Wednesday.

This comes as “Israel” and the US alike continue to claim to be protecting civilian lives in Gaza, as per the legal proceedings of the International Court of Justice amid South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against the occupation.

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War on Gaza

Day 188: IOF Wages Operation in Gaza’s Nuseirat, Goes Ahead with Brutal Aggression

April 11, 2024

Palestinians inspect the rubble of the Yassin Mosque at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City (photo by AP).

Israeli occupation army proceeds its brutal aggression on Gaza Strip, with military operation being waged in the enclave’s central area of Nuseirat.

Palestinian media reported massive raids in the refugee camp of Nuseirat overnight. The strikes were followed by a military push on the ground into the northern part of the Nuseirat camp.

Al-Jazeera reported that when the military announced its withdrawal from southern Khan Younis, it kept an entire brigade in the area that separates northern Gaza from the south, adding that Nuseirat is very close to deploy troops to the area.

Israeli occupation army announced it launched a “targeted operation” against Hamas in the central Gaza Strip overnight, on the outskirts of Nuseirat, an area where ground troops have not yet operated during the ongoing war.

“Before troops of the 162nd Division’s 401st Armored Brigade, Nahal Infantry Brigade, and other units maneuvered into the area, the Israeli Air Force and 215th Artillery Regiment carried out strikes against dozens of Hamas targets, including tunnel infrastructure,” the occupation army declared.

More Strikes, Death Toll

In conjunction with air strikes on Nuseirat camp, Israeli gunboats shelled homes in the Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City, killing multiple civilians, according to local sources cited by the Wafa news agency.

Elsewhere in the southern district of Rafah, Israeli strikes killed at least eight people, the Wafa news agency reports, citing medical sources.

Five of the martyrs were killed when Israeli warplanes struck a group of people near a cemetery in eastern Rafah, while three were killed by strikes that hit Rafah’s Janina neighborhood, also to the east, the news report said.

Health Ministry in Gaza announced that the death toll of the Israeli aggression now stands at 33,545, while the number of injured people reaches 76,094 since October 7.

It added that, Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip killed 63 people and wounded 45 others over the past 24 hours.

UNICEF Convoy Hit

Meanwhile, a UNICEF aid convoy was hit by Israeli gunfire in the latest attack on humanitarian relief workers in Gaza.

Tess Ingram, a UNICEF spokesperson, was in a convoy hit by Israeli gunfire as it tried to deliver aid to northern Gaza.

She said the vehicles were at a “holding point” – a designated area where cars have to wait until a checkpoint is ready to receive them.

“We were waiting there when gunfire broke out in the vicinity. The gunfire came from the direction of the checkpoint towards civilians who then ran away from the checkpoint and the gunfire hit us,” Ingram said.

Source: Palestinian and Israeli media

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Martyrs and injuries reported in Gaza in beginning of Day 183

April 6, 2024

Source: Agencies

Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment are treated in a hospital in Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sunday, March 24, 2024. (AP)

By Al Mayadeen English

The Israeli occupation forces persist in their aggression against the Gaza Strip for the 183rd consecutive day, resulting in numerous civilian casualties, including fatalities and injuries, due to missile strikes, artillery shelling, and airstrikes conducted by the occupying forces.

A number of Palestinians were killed and others injured in an Israeli missile and artillery bombardment at dawn on Saturday targeting homes of civilians in various areas of the Gaza Strip.

Israeli occupation forces (IOF) targeted residential homes in the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, as well as the al-Sabra neighborhood in its center, and the Tal al-Hawa and Sheikh Ajlin neighborhoods, southwest of the city. This resulted in the deaths of three civilians and approximately ten others being injured. The wounded were subsequently transported to the Baptist Hospital in the city for treatment.

The occupation artillery also bombed civilian homes in the areas of al-Mughraqa, al-Zahraa, and the northern outskirts of the Nuseirat Camp in the center of the Gaza Strip, which led to injuries among citizens, as a result of which they were transferred to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the city of Deir al-Balah, in the center of the Gaza Strip.

The IOF bombed civilian property in the town of Beit Hanoun, located north of the Gaza Strip.

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33,091 martyrs, 75,750 injured

Occupation forces also launched multiple shells toward the southwestern neighborhoods of Khan Younis, located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, simultaneously with Israeli warplanes conducting raids on the central and western areas of the city.

On the 182nd consecutive day of aggression on the Strip, the Health Ministry in Gaza reported that the Israeli occupation committed a total of 5 massacres against Palestinian families in 24 hours only, killing 54 and injuring 82.

This increased the total number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip since the Israeli aggression on Gaza started on October 7 to 33,091, in addition to 75,750 injuries.

Compounding the devastation, some victims are still trapped under rubble and on roads, presumed dead, with the Israeli occupation hindering the arrival of ambulance and civil defense teams.

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War on Gaza

More Deaths in Gaza: Lies and Deception by Joe Biden to Cover-up Israel’s War Crimes Must End

APRIL 5, 2024

Global Research,

By Philip Giraldi

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You know that the administration of President Joe Biden has reached a new low when it takes the initiative to lie for Israel even when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is accepting some blame for the targeted killing of six foreign national aid workers and a Palestinian translator belonging to Chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen humanitarian “feed the hungry” charitable organization.

Bear in mind that the Israeli army has killed without any regrets expressed at least 196 aid and relief workers in its onslaught on all living creatures located in Gaza, as well as nearly every journalist that crosses its path and doctors and medical staff in hospitals attempting to save lives and treat the injured and dying. On this rare occasion, however, Netanyahu realized that the calculated way in which the predominantly foreign victims had been killed with three separate drone strikes directed against three well-marked and easily identifiable World Central Kitchen vehicles following a route pre-approved and declared to be safe by the Israeli army itself would heighten the already legitimate extreme loathing of the Jewish state and all its works worldwide. Make no mistake these seven workers were deliberately targeted, hunted down and murdered. And it was no accident or a case of poor communications as this was all carried out by an Israeli military unit under the direct control of senior officers in a bid to hasten the starvation of the Palestinian population by driving away relief organizations.

A view of damaged vehicle carrying Western employees

A view of damaged vehicle carrying World Central Kitchen workers in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on April 2. Photo: Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images

Not surprisingly, this disdain for Israeli behavior is even surging in the United States, where polls measuring dislike for Israel’s actions continue to rise and, as Netanyahu knows, total unblinking support from a Biden or a Trump is essential for furtherance of his Palestinian-genocide agenda, a program that also requires a steady stream of dollars and weapons to carry out. Joe Biden, who reportedly is angry with Netanyahu, only last Sunday, the day before the incident, approved a $15 billion package of new weapons for Israel, include 25 F-35 fighter jets, and additionally the highly controversial 2,000-pound bombs which have been known to kill indiscriminately in Gaza when deployed by the Israeli air force. As has been true over the past six months, the White House acted unilaterally and did not clear the transfer through congressional review, as required by law, claiming that it was an emergency as good friend and close[est] ally Israel urgently needs the weapons.

President Biden apparently did realize that the deaths in Gaza, which made him feel “outraged and heartbroken,” following so soon on the recently concluded siege and devastation of the last remaining major hospital in the enclave Al-Shifa, might be a political problem for him. Preliminary reports from the hospital, which was completely destroyed, suggest that over 1,500 Palestinians may have been killed, injured, or are reported missing as a result of the massacre. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller nevertheless asserted that the slaughter at the medical center was legitimate as

Biden’s Bungles Over Gaza

“There were Hamas fighters hiding in Al-Shifa Hospital. Do not believe that this attack was on the hospital. The attack was on the Hamas fighters that are hiding inside a hospital.”

Other administration figures have claimed that the deaths in both the hospital and among the aid workers were not “deliberate,” which is, of course a lie as it was orders through the Israeli chain of command that initiated the killing in both instances. White House spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre also added her profound but utterly predictable insights into who was to blame,

“So look, Hamas should not be operating out of hospitals, we have said that over and over again, and putting civilians at risk.”

And to be sure, while destroying the hospital was an exciting change of pace for the world’s “most moral army” as its snipers summarily executed doctors and patients, as it picked off children looking for food when they crossed into unposted “kill zones,”and as its engineers used bulldozers to bury alive prisoners who were shackled and could not move, it did represent a problem vis-à-vis the international perception of Israel. So Netanyahu, understanding that a little fence mending was in order for PR reasons, quickly admitted that there had been something of a “mistake” made leading to the killing of the seven aid workers which was “tragic” while the army itself is engaged in a desperate cover-up, describing the incident, as a “grave mistake…that followed a misidentification, at night, during the war, in a very complex condition. It shouldn’t have happened.” Per Netanyahu’s official statement on the incident “This happens in war. We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence.”

National Security Adviser Netanyah, who has taken on the role of chief liar for the Biden regime, was “outraged” by the deaths while adding that “this incident is emblematic of a larger problem,” though he failed to describe just what that problem might be apart from the fact that Israel likes to kill people, including or perhaps particularly foreign charity workers as the clear intention is to let the Palestinians starve to death. Kirby also repeated the lie that the murders by Israel were “not deliberate” and insisted there would be no cutting back on aid to Israel in spite of the mishap, observing that the US would continue to support the Israel military as it has since Hamas “started the war” through its attacks last October.

“They’re still under a viable threat of Hamas. We’re still going to make sure they can defend themselves and the 7th of October doesn’t happen again.” Admiral John stopped just short of “let’s kill them all so they will never do anything naughty again”, but fortunately there are some Republicans standing around willing to take up John’s call to arms more literally.

I have noted previously that it is the Republicans who are seeking to become Israel’s new best friends largely in hopes of diverting their way the many millions of dollars that Jewish donors will likely be spending on the upcoming national elections. Leading Jewish groups headed by no less than the formidable and untouchable American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC) are already well advanced on raising hundreds of millions of dollars as a war chest to defeat any and all congressional candidates who are soft or critical on the issue of Israel. In the 2020 congressional election AIPAC boasted how it had endorsed and supported through its Super PAC 198 House and Senate candidates, including 131 incumbents, all of whom won reelection.

Republican Congressman Tim Walberg of Michigan takes the prize for echoing the calls being made by some Israeli politicians to use nuclear weapons on the Palestinians, though he is now claiming that that was not his intent. He said “I don’t think any of our aid that goes to Israel to support our greatest ally, arguably maybe in the world, to defeat Hamas and Iran and Russia, and probably North Korea’s in there, and China, too, with them helping Hamas — we shouldn’t be spending a dime on humanitarian aid. It should be like Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Get it over quick. The same should be in Ukraine. Defeat Putin quick.” First of all, anyone who calls Israel “our greatest ally” is an idiot since it is actually our greatest liability, unless Walberg is referring to the apparent mutually supportive relationship to carry out the genocide of entire nations that we dislike. One has to wonder who the Democrats put up to run against someone like Walberg who apparently does not have two brain cells to rub together.

Another Republican Congressman Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee has put it more bluntly by calling on Israel to “…kill them all… Everybody in Hamas,” while others including Donald Trump have urged the Israeli government to “finish the job.” And then there is GOP Senator Rick Scott of Florida who said on Sunday that it is imperative that Israel goes into Rafah to “destroy” the Palestinian militant group Hamas. “Number one, [Israel] needs American support; they have to go into Rafah to destroy Hamas,” Scott said during a completely predictable interview on “Fox News Sunday.” Scott, who is being spoken of as a possible GOP vice presidential candidate, has just returned from a trip to Israel, where he met with Israeli Netanyahu and assured him of unlimited US support in his war to get rid of the 1.5 million or so pesky Palestinians starving and awaiting their fate in Gaza.

But my prize for Congress’s ugliest critter in the metaphorical sense has to go to Brian Mast of Florida who recently appeared in the Congressional Office Buildings wearing his Israeli army uniform. He represents a heavily Jewish district in Florida – whose governor Ron DeSantis has boasted to be the most pro-Israel state in the US. He explained his gesture on Twitter, writing that

“As the only member to serve with both the United States Army and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), I will always stand with Israel.”

Interestingly, one might interpret “always stand with Israel” as including when it is contrary to US interests. Mast reportedly served in the US Army in Afghanistan and then did a tour as a volunteer with the IDF. He is believed to be a Christian Zionist and some have wondered how he got a security clearance, but hey when something like 70% of the top-level folks in the Biden Cabinet are Jewish and many are suspected of having dual loyalty or perhaps singular loyalty to Israel, who’s asking?

*

Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.

This article was originally published on The Unz Review.

Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org

He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Brian Mast (Source: TUR)

The original source of this article is Global Research

Copyright © Philip Giraldi, Global Research, 2024

In 181 days only, 33,037 killed, 75,668 injured in Gaza

4 Apr 2024 

Source: Agencies

A view of the massive destruction in Gaza due to the relentless Israeli bombings, February 22, 2024. (AFP)

By Al Mayadeen English

The Israeli occupation commits a total of 6 massacres in 24 hours only.

The Health Ministry in Gaza reported that the Israeli occupation committed a total of 6 massacres, killing 62 and injuring 91, in 24 hours only.

This brings the total number of Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip since the Israeli aggression on Gaza started on October 7 to 33,037, in addition to 75,668 injuries.

Not found

A Palestinian man, Ashraf Abu Daraz, in Gaza says goodbye to his children and pregnant wife, killed in US-UK-EU-armed Israeli airstrikes in Rafah.

The UNSC voted for a ceasefire, the US and Israel know the rules of the US-led ‘rules-based order’ don’t apply to them. pic.twitter.com/ofluuPe3jZ— Afshin Rattansi (@afshinrattansi) April 4, 2024

Compounding the devastation, some victims are still trapped under rubble and on roads, with the Israeli occupation hindering the arrival of ambulance and civil defense teams.

Related News

More war crimes unmasked 

Human Rights Watch declared that the Israeli airstrike on a six-story apartment building in central Gaza on October 31, 2023, amounts to a potential war crime. The attack resulted in the killing of at least 106 civilians, including 54 children, marking one of the deadliest incidents for civilians since October 7.

According to Human Rights Watch, there was no evidence of a military target near the building during the airstrike, rendering it indiscriminate and in violation of the laws of war.

Israeli authorities have not provided any justification for the attack. This incident underscores the significance of the International Criminal Court’s investigation into alleged war crimes committed by “Israel”, particularly given the Israeli military’s history of inadequately addressing such allegations.

Gerry Simpson, associate crisis and conflict director at Human Rights Watch, condemned the airstrike, emphasizing that it resulted in significant civilian casualties, including children playing football, individuals at the ground-floor grocery store, and forcibly displaced families seeking refuge. 

“This strike inflicted massive civilian casualties without an apparent military target – one of scores of attacks causing overwhelming carnage, and highlighting the urgency of the ICC probe,” he stressed.

Read next: Italian doctor details horrific Israeli crimes in Gaza’s al-Shifa

Day 180: 32,975 killed, 75,577 injured in Gaza

April, 3, 2024

By Al Mayadeen English

On the 180th day since October 7, hundreds of Palestinians’ bodies remain on the streets and under the rubble, as the IOF prevent ambulances and civil defense crews from reaching them.

Palestinians inspect the ruins of a residential building destroyed by an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, March 29, 2024. (AP)

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the number of Palestinians killed since the beginning of the Israeli genocide against Gaza on October 7 has risen to 32,975 and those injured to 75,577.

The Israeli occupation forces committed six massacres against families in Gaza in the past 24 hours, killing 59 and injuring 83, the ministry further revealed. 

Many victims remain on the streets and under the rubble as the IOF prevent ambulances and civil defense crews from reaching them, it stressed. 

IOF strike in Gaza kills several foreign aid workers

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The Health Ministry in Gaza confirmed on April 1 that four foreign aid workers and their Palestinian driver were killed when an Israeli strike hit their car.

The Ministry stated that five martyrs had arrived at a hospital in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah after “an Israeli strike targeted a vehicle belonging to the American organization World Central Kitchen.”

“They hold British, Australian, and Polish nationalities, with the fourth nationality not known,” it said in another statement, which added that the fifth person killed was a Palestinian driver and translator.

The World Central Kitchen said in a post on X that it was “aware of reports” that members of its staff had been killed in an Israeli attack while working to support humanitarian food delivery efforts in Gaza.

“This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER,” it stressed.

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