JaDed
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No kidding, the writing is on the wall, they won’t stop.
-
Contact the PP Team
Israeli strikes across Gaza kill multiple Palestinians and shatter ceasefire with Hamas [Update @post#234]
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KEEP SLEEPING UN/WORLD....KEEP SLEEPING.
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Israeli forces close UN-run schools in East Jerusalem
Armed Israeli security forces have forced the closure of three schools run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.
Hundreds of Palestinian students were sent home from the schools in Shuafat refugee camp just after classes began on Thursday morning.
Unrwa's Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, said Israeli authorities were denying children their basic right to learn and accused them of a "blatant disregard of international law".
An Israeli ban on Unrwa took effect earlier this year and Israel accuses the agency of being infiltrated by Hamas. Unrwa denies this claim and insists on its impartiality.
Videos showed girls in uniform hugging each other outside one school in Shuafat following the arrival of Israeli forces outside.
A closure order fixed to the wall of the school read: "It will be prohibited to operate educational institutions, or employ teachers, teaching staff or any other staff, and it will be forbidden to accommodate students or allow the entry of students into this institution."
Unrwa said that more than 550 pupils aged six to 15 were present and that one of its staff members was detained, in what its director in the occupied West Bank called "a traumatising experience for young children who are at immediate risk of losing their access to education".
The agency said that Israeli police were also deployed at three other schools in East Jerusalem, forcing them to send their students home too.
"Storming schools and forcing them shut is a blatant disregard of international law," Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X. "These schools are inviolable premises of the United Nations."
He added: "By enforcing closure orders issued last month, the Israeli authorities are denying Palestinian children their basic right to learn.
"Unrwa schools must continue to be open to safeguard an entire generation of children."
The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank not under Israeli control, said the move was a "violation of children's right to education".
The British consulate in Jerusalem said the UK, EU, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and Japan strongly opposed the closure orders issued against the Unrwa schools and stood "in solidarity with students, parents, and teachers".
"Unrwa has operated in East Jerusalem under its UN General Assembly mandate since 1950. Israel is obliged under international humanitarian law to facilitate the proper working of all institutions devoted to the education of children," they added.
Last year, Israel's parliament passed laws forbidding contact between Israeli officials and Unrwa, as well as banning activity by the agency in Israeli territory.
Israel captured East Jerusalem, along with the rest of the West Bank, in the 1967 Middle East war.
It effectively annexed East Jerusalem in 1980 in a move not recognised by most of the international community, and sees the whole city as its capital.
Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their hoped-for future state.
Approximately 230,000 Israeli settlers currently live in East Jerusalem alongside 390,000 Palestinians.
Most of the international community considers the settlements built there and elsewhere in the West Bank to be illegal under international law - a position supported by an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last year - although Israel disputes this.
BBC
----------------------
Israeli forces close UN-run schools in East Jerusalem
Armed Israeli security forces have forced the closure of three schools run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) in Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem.
Hundreds of Palestinian students were sent home from the schools in Shuafat refugee camp just after classes began on Thursday morning.
Unrwa's Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, said Israeli authorities were denying children their basic right to learn and accused them of a "blatant disregard of international law".
An Israeli ban on Unrwa took effect earlier this year and Israel accuses the agency of being infiltrated by Hamas. Unrwa denies this claim and insists on its impartiality.
Videos showed girls in uniform hugging each other outside one school in Shuafat following the arrival of Israeli forces outside.
A closure order fixed to the wall of the school read: "It will be prohibited to operate educational institutions, or employ teachers, teaching staff or any other staff, and it will be forbidden to accommodate students or allow the entry of students into this institution."
Unrwa said that more than 550 pupils aged six to 15 were present and that one of its staff members was detained, in what its director in the occupied West Bank called "a traumatising experience for young children who are at immediate risk of losing their access to education".
The agency said that Israeli police were also deployed at three other schools in East Jerusalem, forcing them to send their students home too.
"Storming schools and forcing them shut is a blatant disregard of international law," Philippe Lazzarini wrote on X. "These schools are inviolable premises of the United Nations."
He added: "By enforcing closure orders issued last month, the Israeli authorities are denying Palestinian children their basic right to learn.
"Unrwa schools must continue to be open to safeguard an entire generation of children."
The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank not under Israeli control, said the move was a "violation of children's right to education".
The British consulate in Jerusalem said the UK, EU, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and Japan strongly opposed the closure orders issued against the Unrwa schools and stood "in solidarity with students, parents, and teachers".
"Unrwa has operated in East Jerusalem under its UN General Assembly mandate since 1950. Israel is obliged under international humanitarian law to facilitate the proper working of all institutions devoted to the education of children," they added.
Last year, Israel's parliament passed laws forbidding contact between Israeli officials and Unrwa, as well as banning activity by the agency in Israeli territory.
Israel captured East Jerusalem, along with the rest of the West Bank, in the 1967 Middle East war.
It effectively annexed East Jerusalem in 1980 in a move not recognised by most of the international community, and sees the whole city as its capital.
Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their hoped-for future state.
Approximately 230,000 Israeli settlers currently live in East Jerusalem alongside 390,000 Palestinians.
Most of the international community considers the settlements built there and elsewhere in the West Bank to be illegal under international law - a position supported by an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last year - although Israel disputes this.
BBC
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US confirms plan for private firms to deliver Gaza aid despite UN alarm
US has confirmed that a new system for providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza through private companies is being prepared, as Israel's blockade continues for a third month.
US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said "distribution centres" protected by security contractors would provide food and other supplies to over a million people initially, as part of an effort to prevent Hamas stealing aid.
He denied Israel would take part in aid delivery or distribution, but said its forces would secure the centres' perimeters.
It comes as details emerged about the controversial plan, which UN agencies have reiterated they will not co-operate with because it appears to "weaponize" aid.
"We will not participate," the spokesman for the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jens Laerke, told the BBC in Geneva, "only in efforts that are in line with our principles".
He added: "There is no reason to put in place a system that is at odds with the DNA of any principled humanitarian organisation."
Since early March, Israel has cut off all supplies from reaching Gaza - including food, shelters, medicines and fuel - leading to a humanitarian crisis for its 2.1 million residents.
A third of the community kitchens in Gaza - one of the territory's last remaining lifelines - have been forced to shut down over the past two weeks due to shortages of food and fuel, according to OCHA.
Among them were the last two field kitchens of World Central Kitchen, a US-based charity which had been providing 133,000 meals daily before it ran out of ingredients on Tuesday.
Prices of basic foodstuffs have also skyrocketed at local markets, with a 25kg (55lb) bag of flour now selling for $415 (£313) in Gaza City - a 30-fold increase compared to the end of February, OCHA says.
Source: BBC
Farhan The Man
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Surely you meant to say OIC/islamics.
Where is ummah these days?
Fighting the kashmiri battle perhaps. Not palistini.
sweep_shot
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One Israeli football fan tried to bully a Brazilian fan. Brazilian fan was pro-Palestine.
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So will trump fulfill his promise now?
===
Edan Alexander freed after US directly negotiated with Hamas
Hamas to free last surviving American-Israeli captive held in Gaza, Edan Alexander
Hamas has released Israeli-American captive Edan Alexander, 21, “paving the way” for a return to ceasefire talks for the war-battered Gaza Strip, the Palestinian group says.
Gaza’s entire population is at critical risk of famine and half a million Palestinians in the besieged territory face starvation, according to the world’s leading hunger monitor.
Israeli forces continue bombarding Gaza, killing at least 17 people at a school-turned-shelter as the total blockade of the Strip enters its 71st day.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 52,862 Palestinians and wounded 119,648, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Source: Al Jazeera
===
Edan Alexander freed after US directly negotiated with Hamas
Hamas to free last surviving American-Israeli captive held in Gaza, Edan Alexander
Hamas has released Israeli-American captive Edan Alexander, 21, “paving the way” for a return to ceasefire talks for the war-battered Gaza Strip, the Palestinian group says.
Gaza’s entire population is at critical risk of famine and half a million Palestinians in the besieged territory face starvation, according to the world’s leading hunger monitor.
Israeli forces continue bombarding Gaza, killing at least 17 people at a school-turned-shelter as the total blockade of the Strip enters its 71st day.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 52,862 Palestinians and wounded 119,648, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The Government Media Office updated the death toll to more than 61,700, saying thousands of people missing under the rubble are presumed dead.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7, 2023, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Source: Al Jazeera
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Denying food to Gaza is 'weapon of war', says UN refugee agency head.
How do you measure misery? For journalists the usual way is to see it, to feel it, to smell it.
Beleaguered Palestinian colleagues in Gaza are doing that, still doing invaluable reporting at great risk to themselves. More than 200 have been killed doing their jobs.
Israel does not allow international journalists into Gaza.
Denied the chance of eyewitness reporting – one of the best tools of the job – we can study, from a distance, the assessments of aid organisations operating in Gaza.
Pascal Hundt, deputy director of operations at the International Committee of the Red Cross said last week that civilians in Gaza faced "an overwhelming daily struggle to survive the dangers of hostilities, cope with relentless displacement, and endure the consequences of being deprived of urgent humanitarian assistance."
He added: "This situation must not—and cannot—be allowed to escalate further."
But it might, if Israel continues the plunge deeper into war that resumed on 18 March when it broke a two-month ceasefire with a massive series of air strikes.
Israel had already sealed the gates of Gaza. Since the beginning of March, it has blocked all shipments of humanitarian aid, including food and medical supplies.
The return to war ended any chance of moving on to the ceasefire's proposed second phase, which Israel and Hamas had agreed would end with the release of all the remaining hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
That was unacceptable to the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the ultra-nationalist religious extremists who keep him in power.
They want Gaza's Palestinians to be replaced by Jewish settlers. They threatened to topple Netanyahu's government if he did not go back to war, and the end of Netanyahu's political career would bring the day of reckoning for his part in Israel's failure to prevent the deadly Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023. It might also force a conclusion in his long trial on corruption charges.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is now promising a new "intense" offensive into Gaza in the days after President Donald Trump finishes his swing through the wealthy Arab oil monarchies in the Gulf later this week.
The offensive includes a plan to displace massive numbers of Palestinian civilians on top of waves of artillery, air strikes and death. "To displace" is a cold verb. It means families having only handfuls of minutes to flee for their lives, from an area that might be hit immediately to one that might be hit later. Hundreds of thousands have done so repeatedly since the war began.
Before that happens, the UN humanitarian office estimates that 70% of Gaza is already effectively off limits to Palestinians. Israel's plan is to leave them in an even smaller area. The UN and leading aid groups reject Israeli claims that Hamas steals and controls food that comes into Gaza. They have refused to cooperate with a scheme dreamt up by Israel and the US that would use private security firms, protected by Israeli troops, to distribute basic rations.
Far from Gaza, in London, I talked to Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of Unrwa, the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees. He told me that he was running out of words "to describe the misery and the tragedy affecting the people in Gaza. They have been now more than two months without any aid".
"Starvation is spreading, people are exhausted, people are hungry... we can expect that in the coming weeks if no aid is coming in, that people will not die because of the bombardment, but they will die because of the lack of food. This is the weaponisation of humanitarian aid."
If words are not enough, look at the most authoritative data-driven assessment of famine and food emergencies in the regular reports issued by Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC. It is a joint venture by UN agencies, aid groups and governments that measures whether a famine is happening.
The latest IPC update says Gaza is close to famine. But it says that the entire population, more than two million people, almost half of whom are children, is experiencing acute food insecurity. In plain English, that means they are being starved by Israel's blockade.
The IPC says that 470,000 Gazans, 22% of the population, are in a classification it calls "Phase 5 – catastrophe." The IPC defines it as a condition in which "at least one in five households experience an extreme lack of food and face starvation resulting in destitution, extremely critical levels of acute malnutrition and death."
In practical terms, the phase five classification, the most acute used by the IPC, estimates that "71,000 children and more than 17,000 mothers will need urgent treatment for acute malnutrition."
Thousands of tons of the food, medical aid and humanitarian supplies that they need are sitting only a few miles away, on the other side of the border in Egypt.
"People have been constant pinballs within Gaza," Mr Lazzarini said.
In London I asked Mr Lazzarini whether he agreed with those who have accused Israel of denying food and humanitarian aid to civilians as a weapon of war.
"I have absolutely no doubt," he said, "that this is what we have witnessed during this last 19 months, especially during this last two months. That's a war crime. The quantification will come from the ICJ [International Court of Justice] not from me, but what I can say, what we see, what we observe, food and humanitarian assistance is indeed being used to meet the political or military objective in the context of Gaza."
I asked Mr Lazzarini whether the blockade, on top of a year and half of war and destruction, might amount to genocide. That is the accusation against Israel levelled by South Africa and other states at the ICJ in The Hague.
"Listen, by any account, the destruction is massive. The number of people who have been killed is huge and certainly underestimated. We have seen the systematic destruction also of a school, of a health centre. People have been constant pinballs within Gaza, moving all the time. So there is absolutely no doubt that we are talking about massive atrocities. Genocide? It could end up to genocide. There are many elements which could go in this direction."
Israel's defence minister Israel Katz has made no secret of Israel's tactics. Last month Katz said that the blockade was a "main pressure lever" to secure victory over Hamas and to get the all the hostages out. The National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir agreed. He wrote that: "The cessation of humanitarian aid is one of the main levers of pressure on Hamas. The return of aid to Gaza before Hamas gets on its knees and releases all of our hostages would be a historic mistake."
Netanyahu's plans for another offensive, and the remarks made by Katz, Ben-Gvir and others, horrified Israeli families with hostages still inside Gaza. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum which represents many of them, said minister Katz was pushing an "illusion... Israel is choosing to seize territory before the hostages."
Dissident Israeli military reservists also protested, saying that they were being forced to fight again not for Israeli security but for the political survival of the Israeli government. In the air force reserve, 1,200 pilots signed an open letter saying that prolonging the war served mainly "political and personal interests and not security ones". Netanyahu blamed a small group of "bad apples" for the open letter.
For many months Netanyahu and his government have also accused Mr Lazzarini of lying. One official report posted online in January of this year was headed "Dismantling Unrwa Chief Lazzarini's Falsehoods". It claimed that he had "consistently made false statements which have profoundly misinformed the public debate on this issue." Unrwa, Israel says, has been infiltrated and exploited by Hamas to an unprecedented degree. It says some Unrwa employees took part in the attacks of 7 October.
Mr Lazzarini denies the personal accusations directed at him by Israel and the broader ones aimed at Unrwa. He says Unrwa investigated 19 staff named by Israel and concluded nine of them may have a case to answer. All 19 were suspended. Mr Lazzarini said that since then Unrwa had received "hundreds of allegations from the State of Israel. Each time, as a rule-based organisation, we keep asking for substantiated information." He said they had never received it.
All wars are political, and none more than the ones between Israel and the Palestinians. The war engages and enrages the outside world as well the belligerents.
Israel argues that self-defence justifies its actions since 7 October 2023 when Hamas, Islamic Jihad and others attacked Israel, killed around 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, and took 251 others hostage. Any other government, it says, would have done the same.
Palestinians and an increasingly concerned and outraged chorus of states, including some of Israel's key European allies, say that does not justify the continuation of the most devastating assault on Palestinians since the war of 1948, when Israel gained its independence, which Palestinians call "the catastrophe".
Even President Trump shows signs of distancing himself from Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that the people of Gaza must be fed.
The allegation that the total denial of food to Gazan civilians is more evidence of an Israeli genocide against Palestinians has outraged Benjamin Netanyahu, his government and many Israeli citizens. It produced rare political unity in Israel. The leader of the opposition Yair Lapid, normally a stern critic of Netanyahu, condemned "a moral collapse and a moral disaster" at the ICJ.
Genocide is defined as the destruction, in whole or in part, of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. The International Criminal Court, a separate body, has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister on war crimes charges, which they reject. The three Hamas leaders who were also the subject of ICC warrants have all been killed by Israel.
It is not too soon to think about the longer-term impact of this devastating war, even though its end is not in sight. Mr Lazzarini told me that "in the coming years we will realise how wrong we have been… on the wrong side of the history. We have under our watch let a massive atrocity unfold."
It started, he said, with the Hamas attacks on Israel on the 7 October: "The largest killing of Israeli and Jewish in the region since World War II" had been followed by a "massive" military response by Israel.
It was, he said, "disproportionate, basically almost leading to the annihilation of an entire population in their homeland... I think there is a collective responsibility from the international community, the level, the passivity, the indifference being shown until now, the lack of political, diplomatic, economic action. I mean, it's absolutely monstrous, especially in our countries where we have said 'never again'."
Ahead may be an attempt to realise Donald Trump's dangerous fantasy of Gaza as the Dubai of the Mediterranean, rebuilt and owned by America and without Palestinians. It has given shape to cherished dreams of Israeli extremists who threaten of the removal of Palestinians from the land between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean.
Whatever lies ahead, it will not be peace.
BBC
How do you measure misery? For journalists the usual way is to see it, to feel it, to smell it.
Beleaguered Palestinian colleagues in Gaza are doing that, still doing invaluable reporting at great risk to themselves. More than 200 have been killed doing their jobs.
Israel does not allow international journalists into Gaza.
Denied the chance of eyewitness reporting – one of the best tools of the job – we can study, from a distance, the assessments of aid organisations operating in Gaza.
Pascal Hundt, deputy director of operations at the International Committee of the Red Cross said last week that civilians in Gaza faced "an overwhelming daily struggle to survive the dangers of hostilities, cope with relentless displacement, and endure the consequences of being deprived of urgent humanitarian assistance."
He added: "This situation must not—and cannot—be allowed to escalate further."
But it might, if Israel continues the plunge deeper into war that resumed on 18 March when it broke a two-month ceasefire with a massive series of air strikes.
Israel had already sealed the gates of Gaza. Since the beginning of March, it has blocked all shipments of humanitarian aid, including food and medical supplies.
The return to war ended any chance of moving on to the ceasefire's proposed second phase, which Israel and Hamas had agreed would end with the release of all the remaining hostages in exchange for a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
That was unacceptable to the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the ultra-nationalist religious extremists who keep him in power.
They want Gaza's Palestinians to be replaced by Jewish settlers. They threatened to topple Netanyahu's government if he did not go back to war, and the end of Netanyahu's political career would bring the day of reckoning for his part in Israel's failure to prevent the deadly Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023. It might also force a conclusion in his long trial on corruption charges.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is now promising a new "intense" offensive into Gaza in the days after President Donald Trump finishes his swing through the wealthy Arab oil monarchies in the Gulf later this week.
The offensive includes a plan to displace massive numbers of Palestinian civilians on top of waves of artillery, air strikes and death. "To displace" is a cold verb. It means families having only handfuls of minutes to flee for their lives, from an area that might be hit immediately to one that might be hit later. Hundreds of thousands have done so repeatedly since the war began.
Before that happens, the UN humanitarian office estimates that 70% of Gaza is already effectively off limits to Palestinians. Israel's plan is to leave them in an even smaller area. The UN and leading aid groups reject Israeli claims that Hamas steals and controls food that comes into Gaza. They have refused to cooperate with a scheme dreamt up by Israel and the US that would use private security firms, protected by Israeli troops, to distribute basic rations.
Far from Gaza, in London, I talked to Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of Unrwa, the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees. He told me that he was running out of words "to describe the misery and the tragedy affecting the people in Gaza. They have been now more than two months without any aid".
"Starvation is spreading, people are exhausted, people are hungry... we can expect that in the coming weeks if no aid is coming in, that people will not die because of the bombardment, but they will die because of the lack of food. This is the weaponisation of humanitarian aid."
If words are not enough, look at the most authoritative data-driven assessment of famine and food emergencies in the regular reports issued by Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC. It is a joint venture by UN agencies, aid groups and governments that measures whether a famine is happening.
The latest IPC update says Gaza is close to famine. But it says that the entire population, more than two million people, almost half of whom are children, is experiencing acute food insecurity. In plain English, that means they are being starved by Israel's blockade.
The IPC says that 470,000 Gazans, 22% of the population, are in a classification it calls "Phase 5 – catastrophe." The IPC defines it as a condition in which "at least one in five households experience an extreme lack of food and face starvation resulting in destitution, extremely critical levels of acute malnutrition and death."
In practical terms, the phase five classification, the most acute used by the IPC, estimates that "71,000 children and more than 17,000 mothers will need urgent treatment for acute malnutrition."
Thousands of tons of the food, medical aid and humanitarian supplies that they need are sitting only a few miles away, on the other side of the border in Egypt.
"People have been constant pinballs within Gaza," Mr Lazzarini said.
In London I asked Mr Lazzarini whether he agreed with those who have accused Israel of denying food and humanitarian aid to civilians as a weapon of war.
"I have absolutely no doubt," he said, "that this is what we have witnessed during this last 19 months, especially during this last two months. That's a war crime. The quantification will come from the ICJ [International Court of Justice] not from me, but what I can say, what we see, what we observe, food and humanitarian assistance is indeed being used to meet the political or military objective in the context of Gaza."
I asked Mr Lazzarini whether the blockade, on top of a year and half of war and destruction, might amount to genocide. That is the accusation against Israel levelled by South Africa and other states at the ICJ in The Hague.
"Listen, by any account, the destruction is massive. The number of people who have been killed is huge and certainly underestimated. We have seen the systematic destruction also of a school, of a health centre. People have been constant pinballs within Gaza, moving all the time. So there is absolutely no doubt that we are talking about massive atrocities. Genocide? It could end up to genocide. There are many elements which could go in this direction."
Israel's defence minister Israel Katz has made no secret of Israel's tactics. Last month Katz said that the blockade was a "main pressure lever" to secure victory over Hamas and to get the all the hostages out. The National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir agreed. He wrote that: "The cessation of humanitarian aid is one of the main levers of pressure on Hamas. The return of aid to Gaza before Hamas gets on its knees and releases all of our hostages would be a historic mistake."
Netanyahu's plans for another offensive, and the remarks made by Katz, Ben-Gvir and others, horrified Israeli families with hostages still inside Gaza. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum which represents many of them, said minister Katz was pushing an "illusion... Israel is choosing to seize territory before the hostages."
Dissident Israeli military reservists also protested, saying that they were being forced to fight again not for Israeli security but for the political survival of the Israeli government. In the air force reserve, 1,200 pilots signed an open letter saying that prolonging the war served mainly "political and personal interests and not security ones". Netanyahu blamed a small group of "bad apples" for the open letter.
For many months Netanyahu and his government have also accused Mr Lazzarini of lying. One official report posted online in January of this year was headed "Dismantling Unrwa Chief Lazzarini's Falsehoods". It claimed that he had "consistently made false statements which have profoundly misinformed the public debate on this issue." Unrwa, Israel says, has been infiltrated and exploited by Hamas to an unprecedented degree. It says some Unrwa employees took part in the attacks of 7 October.
Mr Lazzarini denies the personal accusations directed at him by Israel and the broader ones aimed at Unrwa. He says Unrwa investigated 19 staff named by Israel and concluded nine of them may have a case to answer. All 19 were suspended. Mr Lazzarini said that since then Unrwa had received "hundreds of allegations from the State of Israel. Each time, as a rule-based organisation, we keep asking for substantiated information." He said they had never received it.
All wars are political, and none more than the ones between Israel and the Palestinians. The war engages and enrages the outside world as well the belligerents.
Israel argues that self-defence justifies its actions since 7 October 2023 when Hamas, Islamic Jihad and others attacked Israel, killed around 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, and took 251 others hostage. Any other government, it says, would have done the same.
Palestinians and an increasingly concerned and outraged chorus of states, including some of Israel's key European allies, say that does not justify the continuation of the most devastating assault on Palestinians since the war of 1948, when Israel gained its independence, which Palestinians call "the catastrophe".
Even President Trump shows signs of distancing himself from Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that the people of Gaza must be fed.
The allegation that the total denial of food to Gazan civilians is more evidence of an Israeli genocide against Palestinians has outraged Benjamin Netanyahu, his government and many Israeli citizens. It produced rare political unity in Israel. The leader of the opposition Yair Lapid, normally a stern critic of Netanyahu, condemned "a moral collapse and a moral disaster" at the ICJ.
Genocide is defined as the destruction, in whole or in part, of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. The International Criminal Court, a separate body, has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defence minister on war crimes charges, which they reject. The three Hamas leaders who were also the subject of ICC warrants have all been killed by Israel.
It is not too soon to think about the longer-term impact of this devastating war, even though its end is not in sight. Mr Lazzarini told me that "in the coming years we will realise how wrong we have been… on the wrong side of the history. We have under our watch let a massive atrocity unfold."
It started, he said, with the Hamas attacks on Israel on the 7 October: "The largest killing of Israeli and Jewish in the region since World War II" had been followed by a "massive" military response by Israel.
It was, he said, "disproportionate, basically almost leading to the annihilation of an entire population in their homeland... I think there is a collective responsibility from the international community, the level, the passivity, the indifference being shown until now, the lack of political, diplomatic, economic action. I mean, it's absolutely monstrous, especially in our countries where we have said 'never again'."
Ahead may be an attempt to realise Donald Trump's dangerous fantasy of Gaza as the Dubai of the Mediterranean, rebuilt and owned by America and without Palestinians. It has given shape to cherished dreams of Israeli extremists who threaten of the removal of Palestinians from the land between the river Jordan and the Mediterranean.
Whatever lies ahead, it will not be peace.
BBC
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Netanyahu warns Israel to go into Gaza to ‘subdue Hamas’ in coming days
Israel’s prime minister has said that “we in the coming days will be entering with all our strength to complete the process… to subdue Hamas,” Israeli newspaper Haaretz has reported.
“It could be that Hamas will say ‘Pause, we want to release another 10 hostages,’” Netanyahu said while meeting Israeli wounded soldiers, adding that in that case they would stop and enter afterwards.
“But there will not be a situation where we stop the war,” he added.
Netanyahu also reiterated previous claims that his government had established an agency to oversee a transfer plan for Gaza’s population. “But there is one problem, we need countries to receive them. This is what we are working on right now,” he added.
“If you give them an exit, I am telling you that more than 50 percent will leave, in my opinion many more.”
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Trump says people of Gaza 'deserve better future
Continuing, Trump moves his focus to the Israel-Gaza war, and mentions the release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander yesterday.He says "all civilised people must condemn the October 7 atrocities against Israel", claiming it would never had happened had he been president at the time.
"The people of Gaza deserve a much better future," he says - a line which gets applause in the room.
But he adds that cannot occur "as long as their leaders choose to kidnap, torture and target innocent men, women and children for political ends".
Source: BBC
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Israeli strike on Gaza hospital kills wounded journalist
An Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday killed a well-known Palestinian journalist whom it accused of working with Hamas and was recovering in hospital from an earlier strike, the territory's health ministry said.
Israel has accused Hassan Aslih, who has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media platforms, of taking part in the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas that triggered the war in Gaza.
It has said Aslih documented and uploaded footage of "looting, arson and murder" during the Hamas-led incursion into Israel.
Ahmed Siyyam, a Gaza civil emergency service member, told Reuters the attack hit the third floor of a Nasser Hospital building in the southern city of Khan Younis, where dozens of patients and injured were being treated.
Two patients, including Aslih, were killed and several others were wounded, the health ministry said.
Later on Tuesday, the Gaza health ministry also said nine missiles slammed into and around the courtyard of the Gaza European Hospital in the south of the enclave, killing at least 16 people and wounding 70 others.
An Israeli airstrike on the Gaza Strip on Tuesday killed a well-known Palestinian journalist whom it accused of working with Hamas and was recovering in hospital from an earlier strike, the territory's health ministry said.
Israel has accused Hassan Aslih, who has hundreds of thousands of followers on social media platforms, of taking part in the October 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas that triggered the war in Gaza.
It has said Aslih documented and uploaded footage of "looting, arson and murder" during the Hamas-led incursion into Israel.
Ahmed Siyyam, a Gaza civil emergency service member, told Reuters the attack hit the third floor of a Nasser Hospital building in the southern city of Khan Younis, where dozens of patients and injured were being treated.
Two patients, including Aslih, were killed and several others were wounded, the health ministry said.
Later on Tuesday, the Gaza health ministry also said nine missiles slammed into and around the courtyard of the Gaza European Hospital in the south of the enclave, killing at least 16 people and wounding 70 others.
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Israeli strikes in northern Gaza kill at least 48, hospital says
At least 48 Palestinians have been killed in a series of Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza overnight, a local hospital says.
The Indonesian hospital reported that 22 children and 15 women were among the dead after a number of homes in Jabalia town and refugee camp were hit. A video shared online appeared to show at least a dozen bodies on the floor there.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. It had warned residents of Jabalia and neighbouring areas to evacuate on Tuesday night after a Palestinian armed group launched rockets into Israel.
It came as the UN's humanitarian affairs chief urged members of the UN Security Council to take action to "prevent genocide" in Gaza.
Speaking at a meeting in New York on Tuesday, Tom Fletcher accused Israel of "deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians".
He called on Israel to lift its 10-week blockade on Gaza and criticised the Israeli-US plan to take over the distribution of humanitarian aid in the territory.
The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, told the council that foreign aid was being used to help Hamas's war effort.
Meanwhile, US Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler said they would travel to Qatar for fresh negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has threatened to expand its military offensive in Gaza this week unless Hamas agrees to release the 58 hostages it is still holding.
On Tuesday, a massive Israeli air strike on the European hospital's compound in southern Gaza killed at least 28 people, according to local officials.
Israeli media reports said the target was Mohammed Sinwar, who is believed to have become the leader of Hamas in Gaza after his brother Yahya was killed by Israeli forces last October.
The Israeli military described it as "a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating in a command-and-control centre" underneath the hospital.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 52,908 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
BBC
At least 48 Palestinians have been killed in a series of Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza overnight, a local hospital says.
The Indonesian hospital reported that 22 children and 15 women were among the dead after a number of homes in Jabalia town and refugee camp were hit. A video shared online appeared to show at least a dozen bodies on the floor there.
The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports. It had warned residents of Jabalia and neighbouring areas to evacuate on Tuesday night after a Palestinian armed group launched rockets into Israel.
It came as the UN's humanitarian affairs chief urged members of the UN Security Council to take action to "prevent genocide" in Gaza.
Speaking at a meeting in New York on Tuesday, Tom Fletcher accused Israel of "deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians".
He called on Israel to lift its 10-week blockade on Gaza and criticised the Israeli-US plan to take over the distribution of humanitarian aid in the territory.
The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, told the council that foreign aid was being used to help Hamas's war effort.
Meanwhile, US Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler said they would travel to Qatar for fresh negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal.
Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has threatened to expand its military offensive in Gaza this week unless Hamas agrees to release the 58 hostages it is still holding.
On Tuesday, a massive Israeli air strike on the European hospital's compound in southern Gaza killed at least 28 people, according to local officials.
Israeli media reports said the target was Mohammed Sinwar, who is believed to have become the leader of Hamas in Gaza after his brother Yahya was killed by Israeli forces last October.
The Israeli military described it as "a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating in a command-and-control centre" underneath the hospital.
The Israeli military launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 52,908 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
BBC
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Israeli onslaught kills scores in Gaza as Trump visits Gulf
Israeli military strikes killed at least 85 people in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Palestinian medics said, as the United States and Arab mediators pushed for a ceasefire deal and U.S. President Donald Trump visited the Middle East.
Most of the victims, including women and children, were killed in Khan Younis in southern Gaza in airstrikes that hit homes and tents, they said.
The dead included journalist Hassan Samour, who worked for the Hamas-run Aqsa radio station and was killed along with 11 family members when their home was hit, the medics said.
Israeli military strikes killed at least 85 people in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Palestinian medics said, as the United States and Arab mediators pushed for a ceasefire deal and U.S. President Donald Trump visited the Middle East.
Most of the victims, including women and children, were killed in Khan Younis in southern Gaza in airstrikes that hit homes and tents, they said.
The dead included journalist Hassan Samour, who worked for the Hamas-run Aqsa radio station and was killed along with 11 family members when their home was hit, the medics said.
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Medical sources tell Al Jazeera that at least 127 Palestinians have been killed in a wave of Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip since dawn on Thursday.
These attacks fall on the 77th anniversary of Nakba Day, in which Palestinians commemorate being forced from their lands during the foundation of Israel.
Al Jazeera
These attacks fall on the 77th anniversary of Nakba Day, in which Palestinians commemorate being forced from their lands during the foundation of Israel.
Al Jazeera
Farhan The Man
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To the victors lay the spolls. Of war.
Not a relevant issue.
For arabs. Anymore.
Not a relevant issue.
For arabs. Anymore.
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US 'troubled' by humanitarian situation in Gaza, Rubio tells BBC
The top US diplomat Marco Rubio has said the US is "troubled" by the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
His comments came as at least 114 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes on Thursday, health officials said.
Asked by the BBC if the Trump administration remained fully behind the nature of Israel's military action given the scale of the recent Israeli attacks and its bombing of hospitals, he once again called on Hamas to surrender and release hostages and said there could be no peace so long as the group exists.
"That said, we're not immune or in any way insensitive to the suffering of the people of Gaza, and I know that there's opportunities here to provide aid for them," he said.
Gaza has been under a complete Israeli blockade of all food and other humanitarian supplies for 10 weeks. Israeli forces have been intensifying their bombardment of what they say are Hamas fighters and infrastructure ahead of a planned expansion of their ground offensive in Gaza.
Rubio's comments - made after a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Turkey - appeared to be a reference to a controversial Israeli-American proposal to use private providers to set up aid collection points in Gaza. That plan has been rejected by the UN as unethical and unworkable.
They come as Donald Trump is visiting the region and indirect negotiations on a new ceasefire and hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel continue.
Hamas meanwhile accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "undermin[ing] mediation efforts by deliberate military escalation".
An Israeli government spokesman said Israel wanted negotiations on hostage releases to succeed, but that they would take place while Hamas was under "military pressure".
The US is Israel's main arms supplier and the language used by Rubio is unusual. Previously he has responded to questions about Palestinian civilian casualties only by calling on Hamas to surrender. It also comes amid recent reports of a rift between Trump and Netanyahu.
In southern Gaza on Thursday the streets of Khan Younis were filled with funeral processions and grieving families on Thursday morning, following what residents said were the deadliest set of air strikes in the city since Israel resumed its offensive almost two months ago.
Some 56 people, including women and children, were killed when homes and tents sheltering displaced families were bombed overnight in the city, the local Nasser hospital said.
The Israeli military said it struck Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters in southern Gaza.
One man told BBC Arabic's Middle East Daily programme that Nasser hospital's mortuary was "filled beyond capacity", and that several bodies had to be placed in the corridor before they could be buried.
Doctors were forced to treat wounded people, including those with burns, amputations and internal bleeding, on stretchers, benches and on the floor due to a lack of beds, he said.
"Among those killed today were 36 children... Entire families have been wiped from the civil registry," he added. "Tragically, this level of destruction has become part of daily life."
One video shared by a local activist showed medics laying dozens of bodies on the ground at a local cemetery. An imam stood nearby leading prayers for hundreds of mourners gathered behind him in orderly rows.
Safaa al-Bayouk, a 42-year-old mother of six, said her sons Muath, who was six weeks old, and Moataz, who was one year and four months, were killed in one of the strikes.
"I gave them dinner and they went to sleep. It was a normal day... [then] the world turned upside down," she told Reuters news agency.
Reem al-Zanaty, 13, said her uncle's family, including her 12-year-old cousin Menna, were killed when their two homes were bombed.
"We didn't feel or hear anything until we woke up with rubble on us," she said. "The Civil Defence did not come. I will tell you honestly we pulled ourselves [out]. My father helped us."
Medics said local journalist Hassan Samour, who worked for Hamas-run al-Aqsa Radio, was killed along with 11 members of his family when their home in the eastern Bani Suheila neighbourhood was struck.
In northern Gaza, the Civil Defence agency said its first responders had recovered the bodies of four people following Israeli strikes in the northern town of Beit Lahia and two others in the central town of Deir al-Balah.
Later, spokesman Mahmoud Basal reported that an Israeli strike on a home in Jabalia town had killed all five members of the Shihab family.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that 15 people were killed, including 11 children, when the al-Tawbah health clinic and prayer hall in the al-Fakhouri area of Jabalia refugee camp was bombed.
A graphic video posted online purportedly from the scene showed two bodies covered in debris on a street next to a badly damaged building.
"An indescribable crime, in all meanings of the word. They were safe in a medical clinic, civilians, children, women, men, something a person can't fathom, for them to release a military missile on a medical clinic, on people and passers-by," resident Yehya Abu Jalhoum told Reuters.
Amir Selha, a 43-year-old resident of northern Gaza, told AFP news agency: "Tank shells are striking around the clock, and the area is packed with people and tents."
He also said Israeli military drones had dropped leaflets over his neighbourhood warning residents to move south.
The military said it had struck 130 "terror targets" throughout Gaza over the past two days, including cells of fighters, rocket launchers and infrastructure sites.
On Wednesday, Israeli strikes killed at least 80 people across the territory, including 59 in Jabalia town and refugee camp, according to hospitals and the Civil Defence.
The military said it struck Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters in the north on Tuesday night. It had warned residents of Jabalia and neighbouring areas to evacuate on Tuesday after rockets were launched into Israel.
Israeli evacuation orders issued on Wednesday afternoon also caused panic among residents of a crowded area of Gaza City, in the north.
The Israeli military said a hospital, a university and several schools sheltering displaced people in the Rimal neighbourhood had become "terrorist strongholds" and that it would soon attack them with "intense force".
Separately, a US-backed organisation said it would start work in Gaza within two weeks as part of a new and heavily criticised US-Israeli aid distribution plan.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had asked Israel to let the UN and others resume deliveries until it was set up, and also to allow it to set up aid distribution sites in the north as well as the south.
Israel's UN envoy, Danny Danon, said he was "not familiar with those requests", but he confirmed that the "major operation" would start very soon.
UN spokesperson Farhan Haq meanwhile reiterated that it would not participate in the plan, saying it "does not accord with out basic principles, including those of impartiality, neutrality [and] independence".
Israel has not allowed any aid or other supplies into Gaza for 10 weeks, and an assessment by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has warned that half a million people face starvation.
Israel imposed the blockade on 2 March and resumed its offensive against Hamas two weeks later, ending a two-month ceasefire. It said it wanted to put pressure on Hamas to release its remaining 58 hostages, up to 23 of whom are believed to be alive.
The UN has said Israel is obliged under international law to ensure food and medical supplies for Gaza's population. Israel has said it is complying with international law and there is no shortage of food.
Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 53,010 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 2,876 since the Israeli offensive resumed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
BBC
The top US diplomat Marco Rubio has said the US is "troubled" by the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
His comments came as at least 114 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes on Thursday, health officials said.
Asked by the BBC if the Trump administration remained fully behind the nature of Israel's military action given the scale of the recent Israeli attacks and its bombing of hospitals, he once again called on Hamas to surrender and release hostages and said there could be no peace so long as the group exists.
"That said, we're not immune or in any way insensitive to the suffering of the people of Gaza, and I know that there's opportunities here to provide aid for them," he said.
Gaza has been under a complete Israeli blockade of all food and other humanitarian supplies for 10 weeks. Israeli forces have been intensifying their bombardment of what they say are Hamas fighters and infrastructure ahead of a planned expansion of their ground offensive in Gaza.
Rubio's comments - made after a meeting of Nato foreign ministers in Turkey - appeared to be a reference to a controversial Israeli-American proposal to use private providers to set up aid collection points in Gaza. That plan has been rejected by the UN as unethical and unworkable.
They come as Donald Trump is visiting the region and indirect negotiations on a new ceasefire and hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel continue.
Hamas meanwhile accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "undermin[ing] mediation efforts by deliberate military escalation".
An Israeli government spokesman said Israel wanted negotiations on hostage releases to succeed, but that they would take place while Hamas was under "military pressure".
The US is Israel's main arms supplier and the language used by Rubio is unusual. Previously he has responded to questions about Palestinian civilian casualties only by calling on Hamas to surrender. It also comes amid recent reports of a rift between Trump and Netanyahu.
In southern Gaza on Thursday the streets of Khan Younis were filled with funeral processions and grieving families on Thursday morning, following what residents said were the deadliest set of air strikes in the city since Israel resumed its offensive almost two months ago.
Some 56 people, including women and children, were killed when homes and tents sheltering displaced families were bombed overnight in the city, the local Nasser hospital said.
The Israeli military said it struck Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters in southern Gaza.
One man told BBC Arabic's Middle East Daily programme that Nasser hospital's mortuary was "filled beyond capacity", and that several bodies had to be placed in the corridor before they could be buried.
Doctors were forced to treat wounded people, including those with burns, amputations and internal bleeding, on stretchers, benches and on the floor due to a lack of beds, he said.
"Among those killed today were 36 children... Entire families have been wiped from the civil registry," he added. "Tragically, this level of destruction has become part of daily life."
One video shared by a local activist showed medics laying dozens of bodies on the ground at a local cemetery. An imam stood nearby leading prayers for hundreds of mourners gathered behind him in orderly rows.
Safaa al-Bayouk, a 42-year-old mother of six, said her sons Muath, who was six weeks old, and Moataz, who was one year and four months, were killed in one of the strikes.
"I gave them dinner and they went to sleep. It was a normal day... [then] the world turned upside down," she told Reuters news agency.
Reem al-Zanaty, 13, said her uncle's family, including her 12-year-old cousin Menna, were killed when their two homes were bombed.
"We didn't feel or hear anything until we woke up with rubble on us," she said. "The Civil Defence did not come. I will tell you honestly we pulled ourselves [out]. My father helped us."
Medics said local journalist Hassan Samour, who worked for Hamas-run al-Aqsa Radio, was killed along with 11 members of his family when their home in the eastern Bani Suheila neighbourhood was struck.
In northern Gaza, the Civil Defence agency said its first responders had recovered the bodies of four people following Israeli strikes in the northern town of Beit Lahia and two others in the central town of Deir al-Balah.
Later, spokesman Mahmoud Basal reported that an Israeli strike on a home in Jabalia town had killed all five members of the Shihab family.
Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that 15 people were killed, including 11 children, when the al-Tawbah health clinic and prayer hall in the al-Fakhouri area of Jabalia refugee camp was bombed.
A graphic video posted online purportedly from the scene showed two bodies covered in debris on a street next to a badly damaged building.
"An indescribable crime, in all meanings of the word. They were safe in a medical clinic, civilians, children, women, men, something a person can't fathom, for them to release a military missile on a medical clinic, on people and passers-by," resident Yehya Abu Jalhoum told Reuters.
Amir Selha, a 43-year-old resident of northern Gaza, told AFP news agency: "Tank shells are striking around the clock, and the area is packed with people and tents."
He also said Israeli military drones had dropped leaflets over his neighbourhood warning residents to move south.
The military said it had struck 130 "terror targets" throughout Gaza over the past two days, including cells of fighters, rocket launchers and infrastructure sites.
On Wednesday, Israeli strikes killed at least 80 people across the territory, including 59 in Jabalia town and refugee camp, according to hospitals and the Civil Defence.
The military said it struck Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters in the north on Tuesday night. It had warned residents of Jabalia and neighbouring areas to evacuate on Tuesday after rockets were launched into Israel.
Israeli evacuation orders issued on Wednesday afternoon also caused panic among residents of a crowded area of Gaza City, in the north.
The Israeli military said a hospital, a university and several schools sheltering displaced people in the Rimal neighbourhood had become "terrorist strongholds" and that it would soon attack them with "intense force".
Separately, a US-backed organisation said it would start work in Gaza within two weeks as part of a new and heavily criticised US-Israeli aid distribution plan.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had asked Israel to let the UN and others resume deliveries until it was set up, and also to allow it to set up aid distribution sites in the north as well as the south.
Israel's UN envoy, Danny Danon, said he was "not familiar with those requests", but he confirmed that the "major operation" would start very soon.
UN spokesperson Farhan Haq meanwhile reiterated that it would not participate in the plan, saying it "does not accord with out basic principles, including those of impartiality, neutrality [and] independence".
Israel has not allowed any aid or other supplies into Gaza for 10 weeks, and an assessment by the UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has warned that half a million people face starvation.
Israel imposed the blockade on 2 March and resumed its offensive against Hamas two weeks later, ending a two-month ceasefire. It said it wanted to put pressure on Hamas to release its remaining 58 hostages, up to 23 of whom are believed to be alive.
The UN has said Israel is obliged under international law to ensure food and medical supplies for Gaza's population. Israel has said it is complying with international law and there is no shortage of food.
Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.
At least 53,010 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 2,876 since the Israeli offensive resumed, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
BBC
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Nearly 100 people killed in Israeli attack on north Gaza, rescuers say
Nearly 100 people, including children, have been killed in a large-scale Israeli ground, air and sea attack launched early Friday in north Gaza, the Hamas-run civil defence and residents have said.
The civil defence said at least nine homes and tents housing civilians had been bombed overnight and it had received dozens of calls from people trapped.
Witnesses also reported smoke bombs, artillery shelling and tanks in Beit Lahia.
Israel's military said it was "operating to locate and dismantle terrorist infrastructure sites" in north Gaza and had "eliminated several terrorists" over the past day.
This marks the largest ground assault on north Gaza since Israel resumed its offensive in March.
Nearly 100 people, including children, have been killed in a large-scale Israeli ground, air and sea attack launched early Friday in north Gaza, the Hamas-run civil defence and residents have said.
The civil defence said at least nine homes and tents housing civilians had been bombed overnight and it had received dozens of calls from people trapped.
Witnesses also reported smoke bombs, artillery shelling and tanks in Beit Lahia.
Israel's military said it was "operating to locate and dismantle terrorist infrastructure sites" in north Gaza and had "eliminated several terrorists" over the past day.
This marks the largest ground assault on north Gaza since Israel resumed its offensive in March.
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@Rajdeep are you awake now, I told you about this mad, lunatic, idiot barbarian...but you didn't believe 
Suleiman
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These inbred yahud need to be stopped. May Allah SWT unite us against them.
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The mad dog syndrome activates again
===
Israel also struck two ports in Yemen that it said were used by the Houthi militant group to transfer weapons. Local health officials said at least one person was killed and nine injured.
The strikes across the Gaza Strip followed days of attacks that killed more than 130 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, and came as U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up a visit to the region that included stops in three Gulf states but not Israel.
There had been widespread hope that Trump’s trip could increase the chances of a ceasefire deal or the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has prevented for more than two months. The Trump administration is also trying to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, which backs several anti-Israel militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi on the final day of his trip, Trump said he was looking to resolve a range of global crises, including Gaza. “We’re looking at Gaza,” he said. “And we’ve got to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. A lot of people are — there’s a lot of bad things going on.”
The Gaza Health Ministry said 31 children and 27 women were killed and hundreds more wounded in Friday’s airstrikes.
In southern Gaza, Israel struck the outskirts of Deir al-Balah and the city of Khan Younis. It said it hit anti-tank missile posts and military structures.
Source: AP News
===
Israel expands attacks in Gaza and Yemen as Trump wraps up trip to region
Israel launched dozens of airstrikes across Gaza on Friday that local health officials said killed 108 people, mostly women and children, and which Israeli officials described as a prelude to a stepped-up campaign to pressure Hamas to release hostages.Israel also struck two ports in Yemen that it said were used by the Houthi militant group to transfer weapons. Local health officials said at least one person was killed and nine injured.
The strikes across the Gaza Strip followed days of attacks that killed more than 130 people, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, and came as U.S. President Donald Trump wrapped up a visit to the region that included stops in three Gulf states but not Israel.
There had been widespread hope that Trump’s trip could increase the chances of a ceasefire deal or the resumption of humanitarian aid to Gaza, which Israel has prevented for more than two months. The Trump administration is also trying to negotiate a nuclear deal with Iran, which backs several anti-Israel militant groups, including Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen.
Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi on the final day of his trip, Trump said he was looking to resolve a range of global crises, including Gaza. “We’re looking at Gaza,” he said. “And we’ve got to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. A lot of people are — there’s a lot of bad things going on.”
The Gaza Health Ministry said 31 children and 27 women were killed and hundreds more wounded in Friday’s airstrikes.
In southern Gaza, Israel struck the outskirts of Deir al-Balah and the city of Khan Younis. It said it hit anti-tank missile posts and military structures.
Source: AP News
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Israel launches major offensive to 'seize and control' areas of Gaza
Israel's military has announced the launch of a major offensive aimed at defeating Hamas and securing the freedom of remaining hostages in Gaza.
The Israeli Defense Forces said on its Hebrew X account that it had mobilised troops for "Operation Gideon's Chariots" to seize "strategic areas" of the strip.
Hamas-run civil defence and health ministry officials say Israeli attacks have killed around 250 people since Thursday.
Israel imposed an aid blockade on the strip in March after the breakdown of a two-month ceasefire. Donald Trump, the US president, said on Friday that "a lot of people were starving" in Gaza.
The Israeli military did not use the operational name in similar posts on its English-language X account.
It said it would not stop operating "until Hamas is no longer a threat and all our hostages are home", and had "struck over 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip" in 24 hours.
Israel has intensified its bombardment and built up armoured forces along the border despite growing international pressure to resume ceasefire talks and end its blockade. The launch of the operation appears to suggest all efforts have failed.
The Times of Israel said that "Gideon's Chariots" - a reference to a biblical warrior - would see the IDF take and control territory, move civilians to the south of the strip, attack Hamas and prevent it from taking control of aid supplies.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, earlier this month said that Israel was preparing an "intense entry into Gaza" to capture and hold territory.
His government said that it would not commence until Trump had completed a tour of the Middle East. The US president left the region on Friday.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has warned that Israel's recent escalation could be considered a breach of international law.
"This latest barrage of bombs, forcing people to move amid the threat of intensified attacks, the methodical destruction of entire neighbourhoods, and the denial of humanitarian assistance underline that there appears to be a push for a permanent demographic shift in Gaza that is in defiance of international law and is tantamount to ethnic cleansing," he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was "troubled" by the situation.
Victoria Rose, a British reconstructive surgeon working at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that her team were "exhausted" and had all lost a "considerable amount of weight".
"The children are really thin," she said. "We've got a lot of youngsters whose teeth have fallen out."
"A lot of them have quite significant burn injuries and with this level of malnutrition they're so much more prone to infection and they've got so much less capacity to heal."
A UN-backed assessment published on Monday found Gaza's population to be at "critical risk" of famine.
The Israeli government has repeatedly rejected claims there is a food shortage in Gaza.
Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Hamas still holds 57.
BBC
Israel's military has announced the launch of a major offensive aimed at defeating Hamas and securing the freedom of remaining hostages in Gaza.
The Israeli Defense Forces said on its Hebrew X account that it had mobilised troops for "Operation Gideon's Chariots" to seize "strategic areas" of the strip.
Hamas-run civil defence and health ministry officials say Israeli attacks have killed around 250 people since Thursday.
Israel imposed an aid blockade on the strip in March after the breakdown of a two-month ceasefire. Donald Trump, the US president, said on Friday that "a lot of people were starving" in Gaza.
The Israeli military did not use the operational name in similar posts on its English-language X account.
It said it would not stop operating "until Hamas is no longer a threat and all our hostages are home", and had "struck over 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip" in 24 hours.
Israel has intensified its bombardment and built up armoured forces along the border despite growing international pressure to resume ceasefire talks and end its blockade. The launch of the operation appears to suggest all efforts have failed.
The Times of Israel said that "Gideon's Chariots" - a reference to a biblical warrior - would see the IDF take and control territory, move civilians to the south of the strip, attack Hamas and prevent it from taking control of aid supplies.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, earlier this month said that Israel was preparing an "intense entry into Gaza" to capture and hold territory.
His government said that it would not commence until Trump had completed a tour of the Middle East. The US president left the region on Friday.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has warned that Israel's recent escalation could be considered a breach of international law.
"This latest barrage of bombs, forcing people to move amid the threat of intensified attacks, the methodical destruction of entire neighbourhoods, and the denial of humanitarian assistance underline that there appears to be a push for a permanent demographic shift in Gaza that is in defiance of international law and is tantamount to ethnic cleansing," he said.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was "troubled" by the situation.
Victoria Rose, a British reconstructive surgeon working at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that her team were "exhausted" and had all lost a "considerable amount of weight".
"The children are really thin," she said. "We've got a lot of youngsters whose teeth have fallen out."
"A lot of them have quite significant burn injuries and with this level of malnutrition they're so much more prone to infection and they've got so much less capacity to heal."
A UN-backed assessment published on Monday found Gaza's population to be at "critical risk" of famine.
The Israeli government has repeatedly rejected claims there is a food shortage in Gaza.
Israel launched a military campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's cross-border attack on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Hamas still holds 57.
BBC
ataullah
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aboveandbeyond
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aboveandbeyond
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@Rajdeep are you awake now, I told you about this mad, lunatic, idiot barbarian...but you didn't believe
View attachment 154714
He does Bro. It probably goes against his narrative if he calls out Netanyahu.
Farhan The Man
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muslim ordainment for future inhumane treatment of jewish people.
Is being delivered by the jews. Presently in similar fashion.
You are caught between a rock and hard place.
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."
Bhaijaan
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This is so cringe yar
@Rajdeep are you awake now, I told you about this mad, lunatic, idiot barbarian...but you didn't believe
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You have any videos of him saying it? Not sure why should I trust a text image written by a Paletine person.
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Hamas proposes releasing some hostages in fresh talks after new Israel offensive
Hamas has proposed releasing more hostages under a new Gaza ceasefire deal in a fresh round of negotiations with Israel, which comes after Israel's military launched a major new offensive.
Hamas has agreed to release nine hostages in exchange for a 60-day truce and Israel releasing Palestinian prisoners, an official told the BBC.
Israel is yet to respond to the proposal, but said prior to the talks in Qatar on Saturday that it would not withdraw troops from Gaza or commit to an end to the war.
Israel's military announced the launch of a new operation on Saturday amid the deadliest wave of strikes in the territory in months, where hundreds have died.
At least 300 people have been killed in air strikes across Gaza since Thursday, say rescuers, including more than 200 people in Gaza's north in the past 48 hours, said the Hamas-run civil defence force.
Thousands have died since Israel resumed strikes into Gaza on 18 March, following the collapse of a fragile ceasefire which lasted two months. The humanitarian crisis in the territory has also worsened, say aid agencies, as Israel has blocked supplies of food and other aid from entering the territory for 10 weeks.
Strikes this week have hit hospitals and refugee camps in the north and south of the territory. Hamas and Israel began a new round of talks through Qatari and US mediators in Doha on Saturday afternoon local time.
A senior Palestinian official familiar with negotiations said the new proposed deal reinstates the previous humanitarian protocol, including the entry of 400 aid trucks daily and the evacuation of medical patients from Gaza.
Israel, in turn, has demanded proof of life and detailed information about all remaining hostages.
The new deal will also not include an explicit end to the war, nor any commitment by Israel to withdraw from Gaza, the BBC understands.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this month promised a major military escalation in the war to occupy and control swathes of Gaza, force the Palestinian population to the south of the territory and "destroy" Hamas.
Jeremy Bowen: Netanyahu's plan risks dividing Israel, killing Palestinians and horrifying world
'My children go to sleep hungry,' Gazans tell the BBC
On Saturday morning,the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) then declared the start of a new offensive called "Operation Gideon's Chariots".
A journalist in the territory, Ghada Al Qurd, told the BBC Newshour programme there had been lots of "airstrikes, shellings, drones, shooting and even exploding, in the north and east.
"It's terrifying and horrible," she said of Israel's new operation.
She said her family had only been having one meal a day, because it is limited and expensive.
"They are using food as a weapon," she said.
The IDF on Saturday said it wouldn't stop operating "until Hamas is no longer a threat and all our hostages are home" and that it had "struck over 150 terror targets throughout the Gaza Strip" in 24 hours.
Thousands of Israeli troops, including soldiers and reservists, could enter Gaza as the operation ramps up in the coming days. Israeli tanks have also been seen at the border, Reuters news agency reported.
The intensified offensive has been condemned by the UN and some European leaders.
Commissioner-General of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) Philippe Lazzarini expressed shock at Israel's military operation, saying: "How many more Palestinian lives will be wiped off from their homeland by bombardments, hunger or lack of medical care?"
"Atrocities are becoming a new norm, under our watch, making the unbearable bearable with indifference," he said.
Following the new strikes, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani all called for a permanent ceasefire, while Germany's Foreign Ministry said the new offensive risked "worsening the catastrophic humanitarian situation for Gaza's population and the remaining hostages".
Israel's ramped-up military offensive has also come as aid agencies have warned about the risk of famine among Gaza's 2.1 million population.
Israel has blocked food and other supplies from being delivered into the Strip following the breakdown of the ceasefire in March.
Source: BBC
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Arab League calls for funds to rebuild Gaza at summit in Baghdad
Arab leaders have urged the international community to fund their plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip after United States President Donald Trump reiterated a proposal to take over the Palestinian territory.
An Arab League summit held on Saturday in Baghdad said in its final statement that it urged “countries and international and regional financial institutions to provide prompt financial support” to back its Gaza reconstruction plan.
Saturday’s talks in the Iraqi capital came only a day after Trump completed his Middle East tour, triggering hopes of a ceasefire and the renewal of aid delivery to Gaza.
‘Carnage unfolding in Gaza’
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez – who have sharply criticised Israel’s genocide in Gaza – were guests at the summit.
“We need a permanent ceasefire now, the unconditional release of the hostages now, and the free flow of humanitarian aid ending the blockade now,” Guterres said.
Spain’s Sanchez said the humanitarian crisis in Gaza must end “immediately and without delay”.
“Palestine and Spain are working on a new draft to be presented to the United Nations, where we are demanding Israel to end the unjust humanitarian siege laid to Gaza and to allow for the unconditional delivery of relief aid into Gaza”, he said.
He also said there must be “more pressure on Israel to end the carnage unfolding in Gaza by all the conceivable means, namely the tools available under the international law.”
“And here, I would like to announce that Spain will present a proposal to the General Assembly for the International Criminal Court to examine Israel’s compliance with the delivery of relief aid into Gaza,” the Spanish prime minister added.
In March, Israel ended a ceasefire reached with Hamas in January, renewing deadly attacks across Gaza and forcing a blockade of food and other essential items. In recent days, Israel has intensified its offensive, as tens of thousands of Palestinians are forced to starve.
At a preparatory meeting of the Arab League summit, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said they will try to endorse decisions that were made at their meeting in Cairo in March to support Gaza’s reconstruction as an alternative to Trump’s widely condemned proposal to take over the enclave.
During his visit to Qatar, Trump on Thursday reiterated that he wanted the US to “take” Gaza and turn it into a “freedom zone”. Earlier this year, he caused an uproar by declaring that the US would turn Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East”, prompting Arab leaders to come up with a plan to rebuild the territory, at a summit in Cairo.
The Arab plan for Gaza proposes rebuilding the Palestinian enclave without displacing its 2.4 million residents.
Besides Gaza, Arab officials also discussed Syria, which only six months ago entered a new chapter in its history after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
Earlier this week, Trump in Riyadh met Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose group spearheaded the offensive that toppled al-Assad last December. Prior to their meeting, he also announced that US sanctions on Syria will be lifted in a huge boost to the government in Damascus.
Al-Sharaa, who was imprisoned for years in Iraq on charges of belonging to al-Qaeda following the 2003 US-led invasion, however, missed Baghdad’s summit after several powerful Iraqi politicians voiced opposition to his visit. The Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani represented Damascus instead.
Saturday’s summit also came amid Iran’s ongoing nuclear talks with the US. Trump has pursued diplomacy with Iran as he seeks to stave off a threatened military strike by Israel on Iran, a desire shared by many of the region’s leaders.
On Thursday, Trump said a deal was “getting close”, but by Friday, he was warning that “something bad is going to happen” if the Iranians do not move fast.
Iraq has only recently regained a semblance of normalcy after decades of devastating conflict and turmoil, and its leaders view the summit as an opportunity to project an image of stability.
Reporting from Baghdad, Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed said the summit was “very crucial” for Iraq.
“This is the first time the summit has been held in Iraq since 2012 and Iraq takes it as a credit to regain its rule as a player to bridge the gap between member states of the Arab League,” he said.
www.aljazeera.com
Arab leaders have urged the international community to fund their plan to rebuild the Gaza Strip after United States President Donald Trump reiterated a proposal to take over the Palestinian territory.
An Arab League summit held on Saturday in Baghdad said in its final statement that it urged “countries and international and regional financial institutions to provide prompt financial support” to back its Gaza reconstruction plan.
Saturday’s talks in the Iraqi capital came only a day after Trump completed his Middle East tour, triggering hopes of a ceasefire and the renewal of aid delivery to Gaza.
‘Carnage unfolding in Gaza’
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez – who have sharply criticised Israel’s genocide in Gaza – were guests at the summit.
“We need a permanent ceasefire now, the unconditional release of the hostages now, and the free flow of humanitarian aid ending the blockade now,” Guterres said.
Spain’s Sanchez said the humanitarian crisis in Gaza must end “immediately and without delay”.
“Palestine and Spain are working on a new draft to be presented to the United Nations, where we are demanding Israel to end the unjust humanitarian siege laid to Gaza and to allow for the unconditional delivery of relief aid into Gaza”, he said.
He also said there must be “more pressure on Israel to end the carnage unfolding in Gaza by all the conceivable means, namely the tools available under the international law.”
“And here, I would like to announce that Spain will present a proposal to the General Assembly for the International Criminal Court to examine Israel’s compliance with the delivery of relief aid into Gaza,” the Spanish prime minister added.
In March, Israel ended a ceasefire reached with Hamas in January, renewing deadly attacks across Gaza and forcing a blockade of food and other essential items. In recent days, Israel has intensified its offensive, as tens of thousands of Palestinians are forced to starve.
At a preparatory meeting of the Arab League summit, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said they will try to endorse decisions that were made at their meeting in Cairo in March to support Gaza’s reconstruction as an alternative to Trump’s widely condemned proposal to take over the enclave.
During his visit to Qatar, Trump on Thursday reiterated that he wanted the US to “take” Gaza and turn it into a “freedom zone”. Earlier this year, he caused an uproar by declaring that the US would turn Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East”, prompting Arab leaders to come up with a plan to rebuild the territory, at a summit in Cairo.
The Arab plan for Gaza proposes rebuilding the Palestinian enclave without displacing its 2.4 million residents.
Besides Gaza, Arab officials also discussed Syria, which only six months ago entered a new chapter in its history after the fall of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
Earlier this week, Trump in Riyadh met Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose group spearheaded the offensive that toppled al-Assad last December. Prior to their meeting, he also announced that US sanctions on Syria will be lifted in a huge boost to the government in Damascus.
Al-Sharaa, who was imprisoned for years in Iraq on charges of belonging to al-Qaeda following the 2003 US-led invasion, however, missed Baghdad’s summit after several powerful Iraqi politicians voiced opposition to his visit. The Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani represented Damascus instead.
Saturday’s summit also came amid Iran’s ongoing nuclear talks with the US. Trump has pursued diplomacy with Iran as he seeks to stave off a threatened military strike by Israel on Iran, a desire shared by many of the region’s leaders.
On Thursday, Trump said a deal was “getting close”, but by Friday, he was warning that “something bad is going to happen” if the Iranians do not move fast.
Iraq has only recently regained a semblance of normalcy after decades of devastating conflict and turmoil, and its leaders view the summit as an opportunity to project an image of stability.
Reporting from Baghdad, Al Jazeera’s Mahmoud Abdelwahed said the summit was “very crucial” for Iraq.
“This is the first time the summit has been held in Iraq since 2012 and Iraq takes it as a credit to regain its rule as a player to bridge the gap between member states of the Arab League,” he said.
Arab League calls for funds to rebuild Gaza at summit in Baghdad
The war on Palestinian territory dominated the summit, especially after Israel approves plans to expand its offensive.
Kianig89
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Reports on social media, Chinese aircraft sent aid to Gaza is it true ???
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emranabbas
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Suleiman
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So sad but tide is turning regarding support for Yahud Zio’s globally amongst common people. Images like this on social media is beginning to change the narrative on who are the real oppressors and who are truly fighting for freedom.
May Allah heal our brothers and sisters and give them the best of this world the hereafter and allow to them to see victory in this world and hereafter.
Suleiman
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Any man who is in a position of being armed and takes it out on civilians instead of in the battle field is disturbed.
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Israel lets aid into Gaza after 11-week blockade but UN calls it 'drop in ocean'
Israel says it has allowed five UN lorries carrying humanitarian aid, including baby food, into the Gaza Strip after 11 weeks of blockade.
The UN's humanitarian chief welcomed the move but stressed it was only "a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed" by the 2.1 million Palestinians in the war-torn territory, where global experts are warning of a looming famine.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his decision to temporarily let in a "minimal" amount of food followed pressure from allies in the US Senate.
"We must not reach a situation of famine, both from a practical and a diplomatic standpoint," he stressed in a video in response to criticism of the move in Israel.
www.bbc.com
Israel says it has allowed five UN lorries carrying humanitarian aid, including baby food, into the Gaza Strip after 11 weeks of blockade.
The UN's humanitarian chief welcomed the move but stressed it was only "a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed" by the 2.1 million Palestinians in the war-torn territory, where global experts are warning of a looming famine.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his decision to temporarily let in a "minimal" amount of food followed pressure from allies in the US Senate.
"We must not reach a situation of famine, both from a practical and a diplomatic standpoint," he stressed in a video in response to criticism of the move in Israel.
Gaza: Israel allows aid in after 11-week blockade but UN calls it 'drop in ocean'
The UN's humanitarian chief welcomes the move but says it is only "a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed".
www.bbc.com
Hitman
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RIP!
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RIP to those he killed???? or for a guy who killed 13 innocent people???
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UK, France and Canada threaten action against Israel over Gaza
The UK, France and Canada have warned Israel they will take "concrete actions" if it continues an "egregious" expansion of military operations in Gaza.
Sir Keir Starmer joined the French and Canadian leaders to call on the Israeli government to "stop its military operations" and "immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza".
No food, fuel or medicine had been allowed into Gaza since 2 March, a situation the UN previously described as taking a "disastrous toll" on the Palestinian population.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying the three leaders had offered a "huge prize" for Hamas in the Gaza war.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said his country would allow a "basic amount of food" to enter the territory after an 11-week long blockade but it planned to take "control of all of Gaza".
The three Western leaders criticised this as "wholly inadequate" as the "denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law".
They added the level of suffering in Gaza was "intolerable".
They also condemned "the abhorrent language used recently by members of the Israeli Government, threatening that, in their despair at the destruction of Gaza, civilians will start to relocate".
"Permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law," they added.
UN humanitarian relief chief Tom Fletcher, a former British diplomat, said the number of aid trucks which had been cleared to enter was a "drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed".
"We have always supported Israel's right to defend Israelis against terrorism. But this escalation is wholly disproportionate," the leaders' statement added, referring to Israel's renewed offensive.
Sir Keir, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney also called for Hamas to immediately release the remaining hostages taken in the "heinous attack" on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.
The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack which saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage.
Some 58 hostages remain in Gaza, up to 23 of whom are believed to be alive.
Gaza's health ministry, which is run by Hamas, says more than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's military campaign.
The statement from the UK, France and Canada reiterated support for a ceasefire as well as the implementation of a "two-state solution", which proposes an independent Palestinian state which would exist alongside Israel.
Netanyahu hit back at the suggestion: "By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities."
He also called on "all European leaders" to follow US President Donald "Trump's vision" for ending the conflict.
BBC
The UK, France and Canada have warned Israel they will take "concrete actions" if it continues an "egregious" expansion of military operations in Gaza.
Sir Keir Starmer joined the French and Canadian leaders to call on the Israeli government to "stop its military operations" and "immediately allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza".
No food, fuel or medicine had been allowed into Gaza since 2 March, a situation the UN previously described as taking a "disastrous toll" on the Palestinian population.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by saying the three leaders had offered a "huge prize" for Hamas in the Gaza war.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said his country would allow a "basic amount of food" to enter the territory after an 11-week long blockade but it planned to take "control of all of Gaza".
The three Western leaders criticised this as "wholly inadequate" as the "denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law".
They added the level of suffering in Gaza was "intolerable".
They also condemned "the abhorrent language used recently by members of the Israeli Government, threatening that, in their despair at the destruction of Gaza, civilians will start to relocate".
"Permanent forced displacement is a breach of international humanitarian law," they added.
UN humanitarian relief chief Tom Fletcher, a former British diplomat, said the number of aid trucks which had been cleared to enter was a "drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed".
"We have always supported Israel's right to defend Israelis against terrorism. But this escalation is wholly disproportionate," the leaders' statement added, referring to Israel's renewed offensive.
Sir Keir, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney also called for Hamas to immediately release the remaining hostages taken in the "heinous attack" on southern Israel on 7 October 2023.
The Gaza war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack which saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage.
Some 58 hostages remain in Gaza, up to 23 of whom are believed to be alive.
Gaza's health ministry, which is run by Hamas, says more than 53,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israel's military campaign.
The statement from the UK, France and Canada reiterated support for a ceasefire as well as the implementation of a "two-state solution", which proposes an independent Palestinian state which would exist alongside Israel.
Netanyahu hit back at the suggestion: "By asking Israel to end a defensive war for our survival before Hamas terrorists on our border are destroyed and by demanding a Palestinian state, the leaders in London, Ottawa and Paris are offering a huge prize for the genocidal attack on Israel on October 7 while inviting more such atrocities."
He also called on "all European leaders" to follow US President Donald "Trump's vision" for ending the conflict.
BBC
This war is still continuing.
Some of the images and videos coming are very sick. Hope this war ends soon.
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14,000 babies at risk of death in Gaza within 48 hours, warns UN chief
The United Nations’ humanitarian chief has issued a stark warning that up to 14,000 babies could die in Gaza within 48 hours unless life-saving aid is urgently allowed into the territory.
Speaking to the BBC on Monday morning, Tom Fletcher, the UN's top humanitarian official, described the situation as “catastrophic”, calling the delivery of five aid trucks earlier this week “a drop in the ocean” compared to the desperate needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents.
His comments come as the World Health Organization’s Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned that more than 2 million people in the enclave are facing starvation. “Tonnes of food are blocked at the border while people are starving inside Gaza,” he said.
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Airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza as criticism of Israel grows
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 55 Palestinians in Gaza on Tuesday, local medics said, as Israel continued its bombardment of the strip despite mounting international pressure to stop military operations and allow unimpeded deliveries of aid.
Britain's government announced it was suspending trade talks with Israel and summoning the ambassador over "egregious policies" in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, while France signalled possible European action affecting trade ties.
The war, now in its 20th month, has left Gaza in ruins and its population facing worsening hunger. It has strained Israel's relations with much of the international community and those with its closest ally, the United States, now appear to be wavering.
On Tuesday Israel conducted strikes across the densely populated coastal territory and medics said the sites hit included two homes where women and children were among the 18 dead, and a school housing displaced families.
Israel's military, which on Monday warned those in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis to evacuate to the coast as it prepared for an "unprecedented attack", had no comment.
Israeli airstrikes killed at least 55 Palestinians in Gaza on Tuesday, local medics said, as Israel continued its bombardment of the strip despite mounting international pressure to stop military operations and allow unimpeded deliveries of aid.
Britain's government announced it was suspending trade talks with Israel and summoning the ambassador over "egregious policies" in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, while France signalled possible European action affecting trade ties.
The war, now in its 20th month, has left Gaza in ruins and its population facing worsening hunger. It has strained Israel's relations with much of the international community and those with its closest ally, the United States, now appear to be wavering.
On Tuesday Israel conducted strikes across the densely populated coastal territory and medics said the sites hit included two homes where women and children were among the 18 dead, and a school housing displaced families.
Israel's military, which on Monday warned those in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis to evacuate to the coast as it prepared for an "unprecedented attack", had no comment.
Josh
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This horror show must end now. Why doesn't Israel make shelters on the israel side and host Palestinian Civilians in those shelters and then flatten Gaza and Hamas tunnels, if it really has to do it. Too many people dead already.
Also Hamas should release all the hostage and give up weapons of it has to. This is too much. They can't get a victory in this war, that's apparent, so no point to continue fighting. Release hostages and talk with Israel and save your people.
Also Hamas should release all the hostage and give up weapons of it has to. This is too much. They can't get a victory in this war, that's apparent, so no point to continue fighting. Release hostages and talk with Israel and save your people.
ataullah
First Class Captain
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Do u really think Israel has any consideration for Palestinian civilians after killing so many babies? One of their own opposition leaders called them baby killers. As far as hostages are concerned Israel has no consideration for them also. Families of hostages have called out Netanyahu regarding his lack of consideration for their loved ones. We condemn 7th October which was horrific but we must remember how Israel has treated Palestinians which bought about October 7th. This doesn't justify it in any way.
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IAJ
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There are reports that upto 14 000 children may starve to death if the blockade of food is not lifted the next couple of days
The main culprits here are the muslim leaders around Palestine. They are busy giving Trump gifts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but can't do a thing to help out poor Palestinians. Just look how West are crazy about helping out Ukrainians.
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US negotiating Israel-Gaza ceasefire with Hamas through American in Doha, source says
The US has been talking with Hamas through an American intermediary in Doha this week in hopes of brokering an Israel-Gaza ceasefire agreement, according to a source familiar with the matter, as US officials say President Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with Israel’s handling of the conflict.
The talks have been led on the US side by Bishara Bahbah, the American-Palestinian who led the group “Arab Americans for Trump” during the 2024 presidential campaign and who has been working on behalf of the administration, the source said.
Bahbah remotely exchanged messages with Hamas earlier this year in what became a critical backchannel to secure Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, the source said.
Israel also began indirect talks with Hamas in the Qatari capital on Saturday, and working level dialogue continues. But bolstering the line between the Trump administration and Hamas could give US officials a clearer sense of Hamas’s position, particularly as Trump’s frustrations have mounted. In the past, the US has gone through Qatar and Egypt to correspond with Hamas.
“It tells me that they think they have a real negotiation happening. They want their own Hamas channel, not through Qatar or Egypt. That is an indicator that they think they can cut through the issues more effectively and also that they think they can influence Hamas,” said Dennis Ross, a former US envoy to the Middle East who is now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
But some other regional experts are skeptical that this channel could lead to a breakthrough, given that Bahbah has limited experience and the Hamas decision makers are based in Gaza. But they argue it underscores that Trump is willing to work around Israel.
The US has been talking with Hamas through an American intermediary in Doha this week in hopes of brokering an Israel-Gaza ceasefire agreement, according to a source familiar with the matter, as US officials say President Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with Israel’s handling of the conflict.
The talks have been led on the US side by Bishara Bahbah, the American-Palestinian who led the group “Arab Americans for Trump” during the 2024 presidential campaign and who has been working on behalf of the administration, the source said.
Bahbah remotely exchanged messages with Hamas earlier this year in what became a critical backchannel to secure Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, the source said.
Israel also began indirect talks with Hamas in the Qatari capital on Saturday, and working level dialogue continues. But bolstering the line between the Trump administration and Hamas could give US officials a clearer sense of Hamas’s position, particularly as Trump’s frustrations have mounted. In the past, the US has gone through Qatar and Egypt to correspond with Hamas.
“It tells me that they think they have a real negotiation happening. They want their own Hamas channel, not through Qatar or Egypt. That is an indicator that they think they can cut through the issues more effectively and also that they think they can influence Hamas,” said Dennis Ross, a former US envoy to the Middle East who is now at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
But some other regional experts are skeptical that this channel could lead to a breakthrough, given that Bahbah has limited experience and the Hamas decision makers are based in Gaza. But they argue it underscores that Trump is willing to work around Israel.
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Lunatic rabidness continues
====
Netanyahu pledges to continue fighting in face of growing int’l pressure
Canada, the UK and France had released a joint statement [this week] saying that they would be willing to take actions against Israel, including sanctions, if the blockade of humanitarian assistance was not lifted.
However, the Israeli prime minister has said that that’s not going to happen.
Whenever Israel is faced with any sort of international pressure, they usually don’t respond. They say that they’re doing things for Israel, for the defence of Israel, that they’re fighting a just war.
And the Israeli prime minister reiterated that tonight, saying that whatever pressure comes Israel’s way, they are going to continue fighting and this war is not going to end until Israel gets everything it wants out of it.
Portugal also summons Israeli envoy after Jenin shooting
Portugal has become the latest European country to summon Israel’s ambassador after the Israeli army fired warning shots at diplomats in the occupied West Bank.
The foreign ministry in Lisbon said the request was made “following this incident, which calls international law into question”.
A Portuguese diplomat was a member of the delegation that was fired upon in Jenin.
Source: Al Jazeera
====
Netanyahu pledges to continue fighting in face of growing int’l pressure
Canada, the UK and France had released a joint statement [this week] saying that they would be willing to take actions against Israel, including sanctions, if the blockade of humanitarian assistance was not lifted.
However, the Israeli prime minister has said that that’s not going to happen.
Whenever Israel is faced with any sort of international pressure, they usually don’t respond. They say that they’re doing things for Israel, for the defence of Israel, that they’re fighting a just war.
And the Israeli prime minister reiterated that tonight, saying that whatever pressure comes Israel’s way, they are going to continue fighting and this war is not going to end until Israel gets everything it wants out of it.
Portugal also summons Israeli envoy after Jenin shooting
Portugal has become the latest European country to summon Israel’s ambassador after the Israeli army fired warning shots at diplomats in the occupied West Bank.
The foreign ministry in Lisbon said the request was made “following this incident, which calls international law into question”.
A Portuguese diplomat was a member of the delegation that was fired upon in Jenin.
Source: Al Jazeera
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Israel allowed 100 aid trucks carrying flour, baby food and medical equipment into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, the Israeli military said, as UN officials reported that distribution issues had meant that no aid had so far reached people in need.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would be open to a temporary ceasefire to enable the return of hostages. But otherwise he said it would press ahead with a military campaign to gain total control of Gaza.
After an 11-week blockade on supplies entering Gaza, the Israeli military said a total of 98 aid trucks entered on Monday and Tuesday. But even those minimal supplies have not made it to Gaza's soup kitchens, bakeries, markets and hospitals, according to aid officials and local bakeries that were standing by to receive supplies of flour.
"None of this aid - that is a very limited number of trucks - has reached the Gaza population," said Antoine Renard, country director of the World Food Programme.
The blockade has left Gazans in an increasingly desperate struggle for survival, despite growing international and domestic pressure on Israel's government, which one opposition figure said risked turning the country into a "pariah state".
reuters
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would be open to a temporary ceasefire to enable the return of hostages. But otherwise he said it would press ahead with a military campaign to gain total control of Gaza.
After an 11-week blockade on supplies entering Gaza, the Israeli military said a total of 98 aid trucks entered on Monday and Tuesday. But even those minimal supplies have not made it to Gaza's soup kitchens, bakeries, markets and hospitals, according to aid officials and local bakeries that were standing by to receive supplies of flour.
"None of this aid - that is a very limited number of trucks - has reached the Gaza population," said Antoine Renard, country director of the World Food Programme.
The blockade has left Gazans in an increasingly desperate struggle for survival, despite growing international and domestic pressure on Israel's government, which one opposition figure said risked turning the country into a "pariah state".
reuters
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Gazans fear shutdown of water plants as Israel widens offensive
Chronic shortages of water in Gaza are worsening as Israel's expanding military offensive causes new waves of displacement - and desalination and hygiene plants are running out of fuel.
The UN's humanitarian office has said its partners are warning that, without immediate fuel deliveries, a full shutdown of water and sanitation facilities is possible by the end of the week.
Days after Israel imposed its blockade on aid in early March - which is only now being eased - it also cut off power lines to the main desalination plants - a vital source of water for Gazans.
It said these steps were to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages it is holding.
Although Israel has said it will now permit the entry of basic supplies into Gaza, so far this has not included fuel. However, some drinking water was loaded on the dozens of UN lorries that have entered the strip - with supplies not yet distributed.
Parents have told the BBC that during 19 months of war, their children have grown used to drinking salty water - with doctors saying they have seen a rise in serious kidney complaints as a result.
"Often the water turns out to be half sweet [fresh], half salty," said Raed al-Zaharneh, a father-of-four in Khan Younis who, like most Gazans, now relies on water delivered on lorries.
"We know it is undrinkable water, and we still drink it," he went on. "We've had stomach pain and diarrhoea, but we put up with it. What do we do? We need to drink. There's no alternative."
Earlier this month, there was still a loud whirring sound at a desalination plant in southern Gaza as Jonathan Crickx of Unicef visited.
He said that production at the site had been reduced by 80% after electricity was recently cut off. However, it was still producing thousands of litres per day.
"The problem is that to produce water we now need fuel," Mr Crickx said. "And afterwards we need to truck the water to the different communities."
"This is a difficult process as we have less and less fuel, not only to produce the water but to run the trucks."
While some lorries as well as donkey carts have continued to distribute water in recent days, the ramping up of Israel's military offensive and new waves of displacement - affecting some 140,000 people in the north and south of the strip - have made this even more challenging.
The UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) says that water and sanitation services have already been severely disrupted by ongoing fuel shortages.
In northern Gaza, no fuel is currently available and only half the needed supply was received last week, Ocha says. This has meant the operating hours for water wells have been further reduced with complete shutdowns expected.
In southern Gaza, Ocha says that UN water utilities have not received any fuel, although 140,000 litres of fuel per week are needed to keep them going. This has led to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities reducing their operating hours by more than one fifth.
UN workers have said they try daily to retrieve fuel from reserves in areas where they are required to co-ordinate with the Israeli authorities, such as Rafah - which has been a main focus of military operations. However, these continue to be denied.
No new fuel has been allowed into Gaza since Israel imposed its full blockade on 2 March.
A kidney specialist at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Dr Ghazi al-Yazji, told the BBC he was seeing more patients with new infections and conditions caused by contaminated water and drinking water with high salinity.
"We don't have precise figures, but the cases are noticeably higher among children," he said.
Even before the war, shortages of water and the poor quality of supplies in Gaza contributed to relatively high numbers of patients with serious kidney complaints.
Dr al-Yazji says his department has 220 patients requiring kidney dialysis and that they have been disproportionately affected by the worsening water problems. Several, he said, had recently died.
BBC
Chronic shortages of water in Gaza are worsening as Israel's expanding military offensive causes new waves of displacement - and desalination and hygiene plants are running out of fuel.
The UN's humanitarian office has said its partners are warning that, without immediate fuel deliveries, a full shutdown of water and sanitation facilities is possible by the end of the week.
Days after Israel imposed its blockade on aid in early March - which is only now being eased - it also cut off power lines to the main desalination plants - a vital source of water for Gazans.
It said these steps were to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages it is holding.
Although Israel has said it will now permit the entry of basic supplies into Gaza, so far this has not included fuel. However, some drinking water was loaded on the dozens of UN lorries that have entered the strip - with supplies not yet distributed.
Parents have told the BBC that during 19 months of war, their children have grown used to drinking salty water - with doctors saying they have seen a rise in serious kidney complaints as a result.
"Often the water turns out to be half sweet [fresh], half salty," said Raed al-Zaharneh, a father-of-four in Khan Younis who, like most Gazans, now relies on water delivered on lorries.
"We know it is undrinkable water, and we still drink it," he went on. "We've had stomach pain and diarrhoea, but we put up with it. What do we do? We need to drink. There's no alternative."
Earlier this month, there was still a loud whirring sound at a desalination plant in southern Gaza as Jonathan Crickx of Unicef visited.
He said that production at the site had been reduced by 80% after electricity was recently cut off. However, it was still producing thousands of litres per day.
"The problem is that to produce water we now need fuel," Mr Crickx said. "And afterwards we need to truck the water to the different communities."
"This is a difficult process as we have less and less fuel, not only to produce the water but to run the trucks."
While some lorries as well as donkey carts have continued to distribute water in recent days, the ramping up of Israel's military offensive and new waves of displacement - affecting some 140,000 people in the north and south of the strip - have made this even more challenging.
The UN's Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) says that water and sanitation services have already been severely disrupted by ongoing fuel shortages.
In northern Gaza, no fuel is currently available and only half the needed supply was received last week, Ocha says. This has meant the operating hours for water wells have been further reduced with complete shutdowns expected.
In southern Gaza, Ocha says that UN water utilities have not received any fuel, although 140,000 litres of fuel per week are needed to keep them going. This has led to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities reducing their operating hours by more than one fifth.
UN workers have said they try daily to retrieve fuel from reserves in areas where they are required to co-ordinate with the Israeli authorities, such as Rafah - which has been a main focus of military operations. However, these continue to be denied.
No new fuel has been allowed into Gaza since Israel imposed its full blockade on 2 March.
A kidney specialist at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, Dr Ghazi al-Yazji, told the BBC he was seeing more patients with new infections and conditions caused by contaminated water and drinking water with high salinity.
"We don't have precise figures, but the cases are noticeably higher among children," he said.
Even before the war, shortages of water and the poor quality of supplies in Gaza contributed to relatively high numbers of patients with serious kidney complaints.
Dr al-Yazji says his department has 220 patients requiring kidney dialysis and that they have been disproportionately affected by the worsening water problems. Several, he said, had recently died.
BBC
Farhan The Man
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arabs are not answerable for palistini or kashmiri causes.
Those are unrelated to them.
Likewise for you. Sitting comfortably in a western country, yet conspiring against the very civilization that allows a dignified life for your family.
Cpt. Rishwat
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If you can only live a dignified life in the west, does that mean you have no dignity?
IAJ
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Your argument is quite confusing, and I'm not sure where to begin in responding to you.
Please refer to your own post #566 (?), where you call for the 'Ummah'. Why did you do that? How is my post any different from your question? Clearly, there is a connection between Arab countries and Palestine, isn't there?
Yes, Alhamdulillah, I am comfortably settled in a Western country. I work here just like my Norwegian colleagues, pay taxes, and am a Norwegian citizen. I have the same rights as any ethnic Norwegian, including freedom of speech. I discuss these matters with my colleagues daily, and we respect each other's views.
I mentioned that Western countries are assisting Ukraine. How is pointing out a known fact equivalent to conspiring against the West? If Saudi Arabia is not related to Palestine, then how is Norway related to Ukraine? I'm confident you will find more similarities between Saudi Arabia and Palestine than between Norway and Ukraine.
Your post was lacking in many aspects, and I apologize for saying that.
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'Free Palestine' - Suspected Washington shooter arrested after Israeli embassy staff shooting
On May 21, 2025, two Israeli embassy staff members, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., by Elias Rodriguez, who reportedly shouted "Free, free Palestine" during his arrest. This incident occurred against the backdrop of Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza, which has resulted in over 70,000 Palestinian deaths, including a significant number of women and children, and widespread displacement.
While the attack has been condemned as an antisemitic hate crime, it also underscores the deepening global outrage over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel's actions have been labeled by some human rights organizations as constituting genocide. The tragedy in Washington reflects the escalating tensions and the urgent need for addressing the root causes of the conflict to prevent further loss of innocent lives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Washington shooting as an antisemitic act, stating, "My heart grieves for the families of the young beloveds, whose lives were cut short in a moment by an abhorrent antisemitic murderer."
On May 21, 2025, two Israeli embassy staff members, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., by Elias Rodriguez, who reportedly shouted "Free, free Palestine" during his arrest. This incident occurred against the backdrop of Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza, which has resulted in over 70,000 Palestinian deaths, including a significant number of women and children, and widespread displacement.
While the attack has been condemned as an antisemitic hate crime, it also underscores the deepening global outrage over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel's actions have been labeled by some human rights organizations as constituting genocide. The tragedy in Washington reflects the escalating tensions and the urgent need for addressing the root causes of the conflict to prevent further loss of innocent lives.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Washington shooting as an antisemitic act, stating, "My heart grieves for the families of the young beloveds, whose lives were cut short in a moment by an abhorrent antisemitic murderer."
IndoorCricket
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This is not the way. Terrorism needs to be curbed. Palestine cause will be diluted becasue of such actions.
Last edited by a moderator:
IndoorCricket
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Its been almost a day sicne this incident took place and I dont see a thread on this incident on PP. Wonder why
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US Jewish museum shooting suspect was mistaken for witness
The suspect accused of shooting and killing two Israeli embassy staff members at a Wednesday night event in Washington DC was mistaken for a witness by security, eyewitnesses told the BBC.
Jojo Kalin, who organised the American Jewish Committee event at the Capital Jewish Museum, said she saw the attacker inside the building, looking "very distraught" after the shooting.
"The security let this person in thinking they were a bystander or witness," she said, adding that she did not see a weapon on him. After she gave him water, she said the suspect pulled out a keffiyeh and yelled "free Palestine".
Police have named the suspect as 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez of Chicago, who is now in custody.
Mr Rodriguez is accused of fatally shooting Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, who both worked at Israel's embassy in Washington DC.
The two were a couple, according to Israel's ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter. The ambassador said the young man had bought a ring this week and planned to propose next week in Jerusalem.
The shooting unfolded at around 21:05 local time (02:05 BST), when a gunman opened fire at the couple as they were leaving Wednesday night's event.
The chief of police in Washington DC, Pamela Smith, said Mr Rodriguez was allegedly seen pacing back and forth outside the museum before he approached a group of four and shot two of them with a handgun.
Moments later, eye witnesses said they spotted a man entering the museum "looking very distressed."
"We thought he just needed help and just needed safe shelter," Katie Kalisher, an eyewitness, told the BBC.
Another witness, Yoni Kalin, said "people were calming him down, bringing him water, taking care of him".
It later became apparent that the man they were helping was the alleged shooter, Mr Kalin said. After police arrived, Mr Kalin said the suspect confessed to the shooting and "pulled out a red keffiyeh".
"He said 'I did this for Gaza. Free Palestine,'" Mr Kalin told the BBC.
Ms Kalin, the organiser, said the event was about building coalitions in the Middle East. She told the BBC it is "deeply ironic that what we were discussing was bridge building, and then we were all hit over the head with such hatred".
Dan Bongino, the deputy director of the FBI, said police are interviewing the suspect and that "early indicators are that this is is an act of targeted violence".
BBC
Hitman
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RIP!
Hitman
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It's laughable.Its been almost a day sicne this incident took place and I dont see a thread on this incident on PP. Wonder why
Suleiman
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It’s been almost 2 years since the genocide in Palestine began and a thread was posted on it, and is updated everyday, I don’t see a post from you in that thread condemning it. Wonder whyIts been almost a day sicne this incident took place and I dont see a thread on this incident on PP. Wonder why
We have no problem condemning this if the people shot had no affiliation with what’s going on and are just innocent bystanders. This is not the way to do it if that’s the case, it’s just civilian violence. I agree.
But let’s not get carried away here- various people on here avoid various threads and not throw their support behind various causes and incidents if it doesn’t fit their agenda, otherwise will wait till you can condemn what’s going on against Palestinians as well.
Suleiman
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Agreed. How pathetic they make us look with all their riches and wealth. Instead those clowns are hosting concerts near the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
What an absolute shame. Same goes for Pakistan and all others too.
May Allah fortify the Ummah with the courage and heart to do what is right and stand up for each other in these times. Regardless of man made nationalities. Ameen.
IndoorCricket
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Palestine and Israel got nothing to do with me tbh. That’s the reason I don’t post in Baloch issues too. But USA is where I visit to work and my families stay. So it concerns me.It’s been almost 2 years since the genocide in Palestine began and a thread was posted on it, and is updated everyday, I don’t see a post from you in that thread condemning it. Wonder why
We have no problem condemning this if the people shot had no affiliation with what’s going on and are just innocent bystanders. This is not the way to do it if that’s the case, it’s just civilian violence. I agree.
But let’s not get carried away here- various people on here avoid various threads and not throw their support behind various causes and incidents if it doesn’t fit their agenda, otherwise will wait till you can condemn what’s going on against Palestinians as well.
Suleiman
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Ok. No need to question why your thread (which is now merged with this one) didn’t get any traction regarding two Israeli ambassadors getting killed- as you were initially asking before the merge
Your reasons are easily applicable to the people you question. Muslims are more concerned with their own being killed first and foremost. Just like for you where you live, who you consider close family dictates which issues you take to heart, these deaths documented on here daily are far more important to us as Muslims. We are one, that is our belief, however others perceive that belief doesn’t matter. And having said that I still acknowledged in your original thread that if those Israel embassy ambassadors were innocent civilians with no part in this, that their deaths were indeed wrong.
But I always find it interesting that whenever it comes to condemnation, the standards are sky high from many non Muslims towards Muslims in regards of condolences, condemnation, yet scores of Muslims can be killed on a daily basis and it’s pin drop silence a lot of the times from the non Muslims.
IMMY69
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As you visit the USA for work and your families stay there then gun violence in the US in general should concern you...
Afterall there far more deaths and violence caused through gun shootings by unhinged Americans.... so shall we head over to that particular thread and see when was the last time you posted in it?
Farhan The Man
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You can't have it both ways.
In your own words: you are "more" concerned for muslims being killed, because non-muslim lives are unimportant to you. Then non-muslims are "more" concerned for their own survival. Then yours.
The scourge of religion. In this case islam. Is division of humanity. Us vs them.
IndoorCricket
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I absolutely hate gun laws in US. I was shocked firearms freely available in marts. It always concerns me.
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Israel inceased attacks on Gaza hospitals by some 400 percent this week: UN
The United Nations says Israel stepped up its attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system by about 400 percent over the last week, with nearly all hospitals in Gaza now damaged or destroyed.
“Over the past week alone, four major hospitals have had to suspend medical services because of hostilities, attacks or displacement orders in their areas. That’s Kemal Adan, Indonesia Hammad and European Gaza hospitals,” Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said.
“[The World Health Organization] tells us that 4 percent of nearly 700 attacks on health care in Gaza since October 2023 were recorded over the past week alone. That’s 28 attacks, or four times the average number of attacks per day.
“At least 94 percent of the hospitals in Gaza are now damaged or destroyed, and half of them are no longer operational.”
Source: Al Jazeera
The United Nations says Israel stepped up its attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system by about 400 percent over the last week, with nearly all hospitals in Gaza now damaged or destroyed.
“Over the past week alone, four major hospitals have had to suspend medical services because of hostilities, attacks or displacement orders in their areas. That’s Kemal Adan, Indonesia Hammad and European Gaza hospitals,” Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said.
“[The World Health Organization] tells us that 4 percent of nearly 700 attacks on health care in Gaza since October 2023 were recorded over the past week alone. That’s 28 attacks, or four times the average number of attacks per day.
“At least 94 percent of the hospitals in Gaza are now damaged or destroyed, and half of them are no longer operational.”
Source: Al Jazeera
Why the selective outrage ?? china mistreats and abuses Muslims which is well documented. The Afg Taliban has terrible human rights isssues with muslim women there being horrribly treated. The Syria wars had close to a million dead . Million ! Boko Haram has horrible human rights abuses of Muslims.. So wheres the outrage on these ? or is that these are Muslim groups and so Muslim on Muslim abuse and killing is OK ?? All the world terror related issues are by coincidence tied to one religion. Why is that ?
Suleiman
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Who is being selective? Is this thread not about Palestinians? Do you want me to take over the thread and talk about other issues in here? How do you know me or other Muslims are not talking about other issues in other spaces, have you never truly never seen a protest regarding the Uyghurs?
We have Muslims on Muslims issues, and we handle that amongst ourselves, got nothing to do with you, we don’t need to show you “look deltexas, we are handling our issues amongst ourselves”- don’t need your approval.
This Palestine-Israel is the most reoccurring event in the last few years and has been going on decades and so you see the most amount of reactions to it, in this thread.
Just because you don’t see the reactions to the other issues in your limited newsfeed, doesn’t mean Muslims are ok with it.
Suleiman
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as for your last point go through history and see which religion downright has the most blood on its hands, look at your Indian PM’s past and how he was banned from entering the western countries whose news you consume to think that “all terror is tied to one religion”- but the biggest hallmark of your ignorance is you can think that and conveniently ignore the genocide at the hands of Zionist Judaism taking place, which this thread you’re replying in is about btw, and conveniently ignore that as well. Let me know which religion the three mass murdering giants Hitler, Mao and Stalin of the last 100 years who have have blood of millions on their hands - you non Muslims want to always come out and demand we as Muslims condemn this and condemn that, let’s see you put your money where your mouth is first. your agenda is crystal clear.
sweep_shot
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These sanghis are full of themselves. They think we owe them explanations or we need their approvals.
Utter stupidity.
Suleiman
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They had zero credibility to begin with but how majority of them were cheering the deaths of Pakistani women and children and men not related to anything that was happening to them, it is them who need to prove themselves first.These sanghis are full of themselves. They think we owe them explanations or we need their approvals.
Utter stupidity.
And they have the audacity to question our support for Palestinian genocide going on rn.
Any human Muslim or not would try and be vocal about support for Palestinians and stay relevant to the title in the OP, yet true to form, they come on here trying to score points against Islam, Muslims and Pakistan.
sweep_shot
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They had zero credibility to begin with but how majority of them were cheering the deaths of Pakistani women and children and men not related to anything that was happening to them, it is them who need to prove themselves first.
And they have the audacity to question our support for Palestinian genocide going on rn.
Any human Muslim or not would try and be vocal about support for Palestinians and stay relevant to the title in the OP, yet true to form, they come on here trying to score points against Islam, Muslims and Pakistan.
I remember one Indian poster here once wrote Israel were grabbing Palestinian lands legally. I was shocked to see such ignorance.
I feel like it is pointless to engage with them. The ignorance, thickness, and stupidity is too much for me to bear.
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Israeli attacks have killed at least 76 people across Gaza since early on Friday, medical sources tell Al Jazeera, and casualties continue to mount amid ongoing strikes.
Witnesses to Israel’s bombing of a family home in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp that left some 50 people dead or missing told Al Jazeera that “the Israeli military is killing civilians for fun”.
Al Jazeera
Witnesses to Israel’s bombing of a family home in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp that left some 50 people dead or missing told Al Jazeera that “the Israeli military is killing civilians for fun”.
Al Jazeera
Hitman
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RIP! Poor souls.
sweep_shot
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Simply cowardly.
May the oppressors never find peace. May the oppressors (and their supporters) suffer divine punishments both in this world and the next world.
Has Hamas surrendered yet? Did they drop weapons and waved white flag? Do they even care about Gazans? Any responsible government would have surrendered by now. It looks like Hamas wants more and more Gazans to die to garner more sympathy for them.
