Photo of the impact from the front... Lord have mercy.
An Israeli strike today has killed two Christians and injured several others sheltering inside Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City.
Israel just bombed the very Gazan church Pope Francis used to call daily during the genocide
They injured the very priest, Gabriele Romanelli, who used to update the Pope on the situation.
2 church goers were killed, 6 wounded.
Statement of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
"This morning, at approximately 10:20 a.m., the Compund of the Holy Family in Gaza, belonging to the Latin Patriarchate, was struck by the Israeli army. As of this hour, three individuals lost their lives as a result of the injuries sustained and nine others were wounded". https://lpj.org/en/news/lpj-statement-july-17th-2025
Sources close to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem told The Pillar that they believe the Israeli bombing of the Catholic Church in Gaza may have been retaliation for the meeting of Christian leaders in Taybeh, the Christian West Bank town that's been under settler attack.
Pope Francis called the Palestinian Christians in Gaza every night in his last year of life
More unbelievable?
The church Israel bombed this afternoon in Gaza was the same church Pope Francis used to call daily before he passed away.
Three people were killed—two of them Christian. Several others were injured, among them was the parish priest and friend of the late Pope.
A man running in a heatwave, and Donald Trump speaking during military parade. Composite: Getty Images
Donald Trump’s huge spending boost for the
Pentagon will produce an additional 26 megatons (Mt) of planet-heating
gases – on a par with the annual carbon equivalent (CO2e) emissions generated by 68 gas power plants or the entire country of Croatia, new research reveals.
The Pentagon’s 2026 budget – and climate footprint – is set to surge to $1tnthanks to the president’s One Big Beautiful Act, a 17% rise on last year.
The budget bonanza will push the Pentagon’s total greenhouse emissions to a staggering 178 Mt of CO2e, resulting in an estimated $47bn in economic damages globally, according to new analysis by the Climate and Community Institute (CCI), a US-based research thinktank, shared exclusively with the Guardian.
The
huge increase in military spending comes amid worsening climate
breakdown, and as Americans – many of them Trump voters – are being hit
by destructive extreme weather events such as wildfires, extreme heat
and the recent floods in Texas, as well as sea-level rise and other
slow-onset climate effects.
Trump’s 2026
budget legislation slashes federal funding for science, education,
Medicaid, food stamps, emergency management, the National Weather
Service and humanitarian aid – in order to pay for the military
expansion, tax cuts for the wealthy, and Trump’s violent immigration
crackdown. Trump has also withdrawn the US from the Paris climate
accords for the second time, and rolled back Biden-era investments in
renewable energies such as solar and wind that are key to weaning the US
off fossil fuels in order to curtail climate catastrophe.
The US is the largest historical contributor to the climate crisis, and currently the second worst emitter after China – a country with quadruple the population.
Emitting 178 Mt of CO2e would make the US military
and its industrial apparatus the 38th largest emitter in the world if
it were its own nation – and more than the entire annual carbon
footprint of Ethiopia, a country of 135 million people.
“Every
extra dollar grows the Pentagon’s carbon bootprint – and shrinks the
chances for a livable future. With this additional funding from the big
beautiful bill, the US’s trillion-dollar war machine will be responsible
for more emissions than 138 individual countries,” said Patrick Bigger,
lead author and CCI research director.
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Francesca Albanese speaks at an Emergency Conference of States, hosted
by Colombia and South Africa, to discuss measures against Israel, in
Bogota, Colombia [Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters]
UN rapporteur demands global action to stop Israel’s ‘genocide’ in Gaza
Francesca Albanese addresses delegates from 30 countries to discuss ways nations can try to stop Israel’s offensive.
The United Nations’s special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian
territory has said that it is time for nations around the world to take
concrete actions to stop Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza.
Francesca Albanese spoke to delegates from 30 countries meeting in
Colombia’s capital, Bogota, on Tuesday to discuss Israel’s brutal
assault and ways nations can try to stop the offensive in the besieged
enclave.
More than 58,000 people have been killed since Israel launched the
assault in October 2023, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Israeli forces have also imposed several total blockades on the
territory throughout the war, pushing Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to
the brink of starvation.
“Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the
State of Israel … and ensure its private sector does the same,” Albanese
said. “The Israeli economy is structured to sustain the occupation that
has now turned genocidal.”
The two-day conference organised by Colombia and South Africa is
being attended mostly by developing nations, although Spain, Ireland and
China have also sent delegates.
The conference is co-chaired by South Africa and Colombia, which last
year suspended coal exports to Israeli power plants. It includes the
participation of members of The Hague Group, a coalition of eight
countries that earlier this year pledged to cut military ties with
Israel and comply with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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A Palestinian boy mourns over the body of his friend who was killed as he queued for water in a refugee camp on Sunday. Photograph: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP
On
Sunday, an Israeli strike killed six Palestinian children – and four
adults – as they queued for water in a refugee camp. The deaths of
children may be the most terrible part of any war. It is not only the
suffering of the innocent and powerless, and the unimaginable pain of
surviving parents – as dreadful as those are – but the knowledge of
lives ended when they had barely begun, of futures that should have
stretched long into the distance severed in an instant.
As
shocking as Sunday’s deaths were, they are commonplace in Gaza: a
classroom-worth of children have been killed each day since the war
began. What marked them out was that so many deaths happened at once and
publicly; and that Israel’s military felt obliged to acknowledge its
responsibility – though without any great contrition. It claimed that a
“technical error with the munition” caused it to miss its intended
target and added that it “regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians”.
What
does this bloodless, bureaucratic language have to do with the bloody
deaths of six already traumatised children? These deaths were not a
mistake. They were a tragedy – like those of the 10 children killed days
before, as they queued outside a clinic.
The Israeli military said, again, that it regretted any harm to
civilians. And yet the bodies of children pile up. Children killed as
they sheltered in former schools; children killed as they fled Israeli forces; children killed as they slept at home.
Gaza’s ministry of health says that more than 17,000 of
the 58,000 Palestinians killed are children. Israel says that it seeks
to minimise harm to civilians. The death toll belies that and Israeli
intelligence sources told reporters last year
that at times they were permitted to kill up to 20 civilians to take
out even junior militants – with the preference being to attack targets
when they were at home, because it was easier.
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Francesca Albanese,
the UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, will
say the era of treating international law as optional must end. Photograph: Darko Bandić/AP
UN’s Albanese hails 30-nation meeting aimed at ending Israeli occupation of Palestine
The Hague Group aims to agree political, economic and legal actions in ‘existential hour’ for Israel and Palestine
The UN rapporteur hit with sanctions by the US
last week has vowed not to be silenced as she hailed a 30-nation
conference aimed at ending Israel’s occupation of Palestine as “the most
significant political development in the past 20 months”.
Francesca Albanese will say the two-day gathering in Bogotá, Colombia,
starting on Tuesday and including China, Spain and Qatar, comes at “an
existential hour” for Israel and the Palestinian people.
The
aim of the conference is to set out steps the participating countries
can take to implement a UN general assembly motion mandating member
states to take measures in support of Israel ending its unlawful
occupation of Palestine.
The motion set a
deadline of September 2025 to implement a July 2024 international court
of justice advisory opinion that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories was unlawful.
The
ICJ said in its advisory opinion that “Israel’s security concerns do
not override the principle of the prohibition of the acquisition of
territory by force” and called on it to end its occupation “as rapidly
as possible”. It said UN member states had an obligation “not to render
aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s
illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory”.... READ MORE https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/15/united-nations-francesca-albanese-colombia-conference-israel-palestine
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Palestinian Territory –
The Israeli plan, announced by Defence Minister Israel Katz, to transfer
the entire population of the Gaza Strip to a so-called “humanitarian
zone” over the ruins of part of Rafah marks a dangerous escalation in
the ongoing genocide. It reflects a deliberate effort to depopulate Gaza
and impose a new demographic reality that advances a colonial project
to erase the Palestinian presence.
The proposed plan aims, in its initial
phase, to gather hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians inside
the Gaza Strip as a prelude to confining them in a “humanitarian zone”
built on the ruins of a destroyed city lacking even the most basic
necessities of life. The zone will be placed under strict security
control, with severe restrictions on movement, including a ban on
exiting. This effectively constitutes the establishment of a closed mass
concentration camp, where the population will be forcibly held outside
any legitimate legal framework.
The danger of this plan is compounded by
Defence Minister Katz’s endorsement of what he termed the “voluntary
migration” of Palestinians, clearly indicating Israel’s adoption of a
policy of external displacement targeting the population of the Gaza
Strip. This confirms that the concentration of people in the south is
not a humanitarian measure but a transitional phase within a systematic
plan to depopulate Gaza. It is a direct continuation of the policies of
ethnic cleansing pursued by Israel since the Nakba of 1948, aimed at
erasing the Palestinian presence and uprooting them from their land
permanently.
The use of misleading terms
such as “humanitarian zone” in the context of ongoing crimes, including
bombing, starvation, and forced displacement, is a blatant attempt to
conceal a full-fledged crime and mislead the international community
The Israeli plan constitutes a clear
violation of international humanitarian law, particularly the absolute
prohibition on the forced transfer and mass detention of protected
populations under the Fourth Geneva Convention. It falls within the
scope of forced displacement, persecution, and apartheid, which are
patterns of policies and practices that individually amount to crimes
against humanity under international law.
The most dangerous aspect of this plan is
the concentration of nearly two million Palestinians in a devastated,
sealed-off area deprived of basic living conditions and subject to
severe movement restrictions. This constitutes an organised act of
genocide, involving the deliberate imposition of life-threatening
conditions aimed at the gradual destruction of the Palestinian
population in the Gaza Strip through starvation, humiliation, mass
detention, and forced subjugation.
Katz’s statements about exploiting the
temporary ceasefire, currently under negotiation, clearly indicate that
the ceasefire is not intended to halt the ongoing genocide but to give
the Israeli army time and the necessary ground conditions to establish
mass concentration camps. These camps are meant to receive hundreds of
thousands of civilians who will later be forced to flee under the
pressure of escalating killings, starvation, and forced displacement.
According to the Israeli minister, the
plan involves transferring 600,000 Palestinians after subjecting them to
so-called “security checks,” imposing severe restrictions on their
movement and preventing them from leaving the area. This constitutes a
flagrant violation of core principles of international law, including
the prohibition of forced transfer, the right to freedom of movement and
return, and protection from arbitrary detention and racial
discrimination. It also breaches the peremptory norm prohibiting
genocide, which may not be violated under any circumstances and imposes
immediate legal obligations on all states to prevent the crime, stop its
commission, and hold perpetrators accountable.
These official statements, which reflect a
deliberate and declared policy, confirm that Israel is pursuing a
systematic plan of forced displacement in the Gaza Strip through
demographic engineering aimed at erasing the Palestinian presence by
concentrating civilians in closed and besieged areas resembling mass
concentration camps and forcibly imposed ghettos.
The contradiction between Defence Minister
Israel Katz’s announcement of a plan to forcibly transfer and confine
Gaza residents and the Chief of the General Staff Eyal Zamir’s statement
two days earlier that transferring the population is not a military
objective exposes a deliberate effort to mislead public opinion and the
international community.
While the Israeli army seeks to deny such
intentions, Katz outlined a detailed plan that fully aligns with the
facts on the ground, including mass killings, forced evacuation orders,
the targeting of shelters, and the confinement of hundreds of thousands
of people in besieged areas.
Field evidence clearly shows that this is
the execution of a political plan, not the result of emergency military
operations. Katz’s statements, rather than the army’s denials, reflect
the true intent and official policy, serving as conclusive evidence of
mass forced displacement carried out under military cover.
The use of misleading terms such as
“humanitarian zone” in the context of ongoing crimes, including bombing,
starvation, and forced displacement, is a blatant attempt to conceal a
full-fledged crime and mislead the international community. The plan has
no genuine humanitarian dimension; it serves only as a cover for a
clear strategic objective to forcibly alter the demographic composition
of the Gaza Strip and gradually depopulate it.
The aid distribution centres run by the
Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, located within the so-called “humanitarian
zone,” have effectively become death traps, with 758 Palestinians
killed and over 5,000 injured since the centres opened in late May. This
offers a stark warning of what awaits hundreds of thousands of
civilians if forcibly transferred to that zone under a false
humanitarian pretext that conceals a systematic genocide.... READ MORE https://euromedmonitor.org/en/article/6778
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A view of the UNRWA building in East Jerusalem on October 30, 2024. [Saeed Qaq – Anadolu Agency]
Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen announced Tuesday that electricity
and water had been cut off to the offices of the UN agency for
Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), in a move intended to halt the agency’s
operations inside Israel, Anadolu reports.
Under the slogan “Turning off the lights at UNRWA!” Cohen wrote on X
that “the law to disconnect electricity and water from UNRWA offices,
which will lead to the cessation of the organization’s activities in
Israel, has been published.”
Cohen claimed that the UN agency has served as “an operational arm of
Hamas,” alleging that it acts as “a breeding ground for incitement and
murder and has no right to exist.”
Israel officially implemented a ban on UNRWA activities at the end of
January. The agency was forced to vacate its main office in occupied
East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, and Israeli authorities
later ordered the closure of six UNRWA-run schools in the city.
On Oct. 28, 2024, the Israeli Knesset passed two final laws barring
UNRWA from operating in Israel, revoking its privileges and immunities,
and prohibiting any formal contact with the agency.
Israel has alleged that the agency employees participated in the
Hamas attack in late 2023, an accusation the agency has firmly denied.
The UN has reiterated UNRWA’s commitment to neutrality and rejected
Israel’s ban, emphasizing the agency’s vital role in delivering
humanitarian aid.
As the Israeli war in Gaza intensified, Palestinians have become
increasingly dependent on UNRWA, the largest international humanitarian
organization serving the population.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a
brutal offensive on Gaza since October 2023, killing nearly 58,500
Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless
bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages and
disease.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest
warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity
in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
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I swear to you. Before God. Before this wretched century. Before whatever last flicker of humanity may still remain in me, what I saw today was not life.
It was the collapse of everything that ever claimed to be sacred.
Once, Fridays in Gaza were holy.
Not because of tradition, but because they were tender.
A father would come home with fish, or perhaps a piece of chicken, and for one hour, we would eat like people.
We were poor, but not degraded.
We would smile across the table, thank God for a small plate of meat, and feel alive. We felt worthy of breath.
Even the poorest among us knew this dignity.
They saved all week. They endured hunger not out of habit, but for hope.
For that one day.
That one meal.
That illusion of a normal life.
But now?
Today is Friday.
And I walked through the streets of Gaza, not to celebrate, not even to feed, but to hunt for rice.
Rotten rice.
Gray grains that stick to your fingers and taste like nothing.
Anything. Anything at all to fool the stomach into silence.
My brother searched one market. I searched another.
We returned with crumbs.
We paid with the last coins we had.
They ask for gold in exchange for ash.
And we pay it, because the children must eat, and because we no longer dare to say what is fair.
But I have not come to speak about rice.
I have come to confess what I saw.
A truck passed by.
It was empty.
Its floor was covered in a thin layer of flour dust.
Just dust.
Not bags. Not bread. Only the trace of something that might once have saved a child.
And then I saw them.
Not rebels. Not criminals.
Children.
They ran, ran like hunted things, toward that truck. They climbed it with hands that have never held toys.
They fell to their knees as if before an altar.
And they began to scrape.
One had a broken lid.
Another, a piece of cardboard.
But the rest, the rest used their hands.
Their tongues.
They licked it.
Do you hear me?
They licked flour dust from rusted steel. From dirt. From the back of a truck that had already driven away.
One boy was laughing.
Not because he was happy, but because the body goes mad when it is starving.
Another was crying, quietly, like someone who no longer believes anyone is listening.
And I stood there.
With all my shame.
With my hands in my pockets, like a man waiting for a bus.
Like I wasn't watching the end of the world.
I wanted to scream.
But what scream can reach Heaven, when Heaven itself is deaf?
What words can I offer?
What words can explain the sound of a child's tongue scraping against rust for a taste of flour?
There are no metaphors left.
There is no beauty in this.
Only sin.
Only crime.
And we are all guilty.
You. Me.
The ones who sent the truck.
The ones who sent the planes.
And God?
If You are watching, then cry with us.
And if You are silent, then we are alone in this hell.
This is the twenty-first century.
But history has not moved forward.
It has swallowed its own children and called it progress.
I don't want to write this.
I want to unsee it.
I want to forget the boy who licked the floor.
But I can't.
Because I saw him.
Because he is real.
Because he is more real than all the words l've written.
And because if I forget him, then I am no longer human.
July 15, 2025 "16 years ago today, I watched my wife Huda Al Masri, who I married in Ramallah during the first intifada and who helped to found and build with me the PCRF for 17 years, pass away from leukemia after months of fighting to live. While doctors tried every drug to kill her disease, she was working tirelessly to help injured kids during the Israeli attacks of 2008-2009 in Gaza. She was one of the smartest, most respectable, strong, and kind person I ever met, and was a proud Palestinian mother, wife, and leader. May God rest her soul."
