680,000 DEAD... Based on all the data collected, the death toll in Gaza is at least 680,000 and 380,000 are infants under five years of age...

middleeastmonitor.com

 "...  The Tel Aviv offices of Haaretz, described by The Jewish Chronicle as  a ‘left wing’ news outlet critical of the Israeli government, have been attacked, and two of its journalists assaulted by Israeli police. Under a 2024 Israeli law, the Qatar-based news agency Al Jazeera (which still reports from Gaza and the West Bank), has been banned from Israel because of its critical attacks on the government and judiciary. In Gaza itself, as of 8 June 2025, according to the International Federation of Journalists, 170 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed since October 2023, with many others injured or missing.

The net result of all this is a series of consequences: First, apart from some brave reportage from Al Jazeera and a small number of independent journalists, and insights gained ftom Gazans themselves via social media, there is restricted opportunity for a wholesale international assessment of how the IDF conducts its military operations in Gaza. Second, threats and intimidation of anti-Israel reporting have resulted in growing self-censorship among Israeli and other journalists. Put simply, they fear Israeli retaliation. Third, increasing restrictions on the press in Israel mean that the public is denied vital information on the conflict, which contributes, in part, to the skewed public view of the conflict, often ignoring the bloodletting and destruction of Gaza, and celebrating the heroism of the IDF forces. According to one poll conducted by Penn State University researchers in May of this year, the vast majority of 1,005 respondents surveyed across Israel supported the forced removal (ethnic cleansing) of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip. Over 65 per cent believed in a modern-day incarnation of Amalek, with most supporting the biblical command to ‘erase Amalek’"

Skewering History: The Odious Politics of Counting Gaza’s Dead

https://arena.org.au/politics-of-counting-gazas-dead/ 

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Washington imposes sanctions on 3 Palestinian human rights groups this week, last week the United States announced it would not grant visas to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other Palestinian Authority officials to attend the United Nations General Assembly next month , where France and several other countries plan to recognise the State of Palestine.

 

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https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250905-washington-imposes-sanctions-on-3-palestinian-human-rights-groups/

 Washington on Thursday imposed sanctions on three Palestinian human rights organisations, according to the US Treasury Department’s website.

The United States listed the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) and Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights (Al Mezan), both based in Gaza, along with Al-Haq–Law in the Service of Mankind, which is based in Ramallah.

The Treasury Department said the sanctions were linked to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

According to the official wording published on the department’s website, “The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is issuing International Criminal Court-related General License 10, “Authorizing the Wind Down of Transactions Involving Certain Persons Blocked on September 4, 2025.”

Naming the three Palestinian organisations, the department’s website said, “Additionally, OFAC has updated its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.”

On 29 August, the United States announced it would not grant visas to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other Palestinian Authority officials to attend the United Nations General Assembly next month, where France and several other countries plan to recognise the State of Palestine.

READ: US support to Israel limits EU leverage to halt war in Gaza: EU foreign policy chief

.... The Israeli army launched a brutal military offensive on Gaza since late 2023, killing more than 63,700 Palestinians. The military campaign has devastated the enclave, which is facing famine.

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...   https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250903-us-support-to-israel-limits-eu-leverage-to-halt-war-in-gaza-eu-foreign-policy-chief/

“Let’s make sport apartheid and genocide free. One ball, one kick at the time,” Francesca Albanese - UN rapporteur calls on European football body to expel Israel to make sport ‘genocide free’

Middle East Monitor

@MiddleEastMnt

The UN special rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territories called on the European football governing body (UEFA) on Sunday to expel Israel from competitions over its war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu reports. 

 “Let’s make sport apartheid and genocide free. One ball, one kick at the time,” Francesca Albanese said on her X account. 

Albanese’s call came following UEFA’s farewell to a former Palestinian player, Suleiman al-Obeid, whom it called the “Palestinian Pelé.” 

Obaid was killed on Wednesday, when the Israeli army opened fire on civilians waiting for aid delivery near a distribution point in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Football Association. 

“Time to expel its killers from competitions, @UEFA,” the UN rapporteur said. 

 Obaid, 41, born in Gaza and a father of five, is seen as one of the brightest stars in Palestinian football history. He played 24 official matches for the national team and scored two goals. 

More than 800 athletes have been killed in Gaza since the start of Israel’s offensive on Oct. 7, 2023, as the sports community continues to suffer under bombardment, famine, and the collapse of infrastructure, according to Palestinian officials. 

Israel has been facing mounting outrage over its deadly war on Gaza, where more than 61,400 people have been killed since October 2023. The military campaign has devastated the enclave and brought it to the verge of famine.

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.

 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250810-un-rapporteur-calls-on-european-football-body-to-expel-israel-to-make-sport-genocide-free/

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Urgent appeal: The catastrophic situation in Gaza, a people starving to death amid global silence... OPEN THE GATES!

Palestinians, including children, who are struggling to access food due to Israel’s blockade and ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip, wait in line to receive hot meals distributed by the charity organization in Gaza City, Gaza on July 16, 2025. [Ahmed Jihad Ibrahim Al-arini – Anadolu Agency]

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250719-urgent-appeal-the-catastrophic-situation-in-gaza-a-people-starving-to-death-amid-global-silence/

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• 

  by Fatima Skaik

While the world speaks of human rights, food security, and global peace, an entire population is left to face death by starvation, thirst, and disease without any real intervention to save them. Gaza—that small strip of land under siege for years—is now enduring the worst humanitarian catastrophe of the modern era. Hunger is no longer just a word heard in news reports; it has become a daily reality crushing thousands of families. Children, pregnant women, the sick, the elderly… all are at risk of slow death due to the suffocating blockade, severe food shortages, and astronomically inflated prices. This is not an exaggeration but a testimony from the heart of the disaster.

Real hunger: When a bite of food becomes a dream

“We are literally dying of hunger”—this phrase is not mere drama but the bitter truth lived by every resident of Gaza today. Markets are empty, prices have multiplied tenfold, and even if someone has money, there is simply nothing left to buy.

• The food crisis: A kilo of flour that once cost 5 shekels now sells for 200 shekels (approximately $65)—if it can even be found! Rice, sugar, oil, milk, medicine… all are either unavailable or sold at outrageous prices. Families are forced to reduce their meals to one per day, often relying on bread mixed with grass or scraps of food from any source.
• Children and women: The first victims: UN reports warn that 90% of Gaza’s children suffer from acute malnutrition. Pregnant and nursing women cannot find enough to feed themselves—how can they nourish their babies? Hospitals report repeated miscarriages due to starvation, and children dying from dehydration or extreme weakness.

Collapse of security: When hunger turns into crime

With food security shattered, societal security collapses. Hunger drives people to despair, and despair breeds dangerous behavior.

• Surge in theft: Theft is no longer a condemned crime but a “means of survival.” Children steal bread from one another, families loot shops after closing hours, and even humanitarian aid is stolen before reaching those in need.
• Women’s safety at risk: “As a girl, I’m afraid to walk the streets alone without a man beside me”—this testimony reflects the extent of the deterioration. Fear of physical assault or robbery has become a daily obsession, especially with gangs exploiting the chaos.

READ: Without punitive measures, the EU rewards Israeli colonialism, genocide and violence

The siege and the world’s conscience; where is humanity?

The disaster in Gaza is not natural—it is man-made. The 17-year blockade, restrictions on food and medicine, the deliberate destruction of infrastructure… all are systematic policies to break the will of a people.

• Arab and world powers: A suspicious silence: While Gaza starves, the world watches. International organizations settle for issuing “concerned” reports, and Arab nations drown in their own conflicts. Even humanitarian aid is blocked or delayed under political pretexts.
• Media misrepresentation: Some media outlets portray the crisis as a “natural economic hardship,” ignoring that its root cause is the deliberate siege and blockade.

A cry for help; do not let Gaza die

This is not the time for words alone—but for action. Every passing minute brings Gaza closer to the abyss.

• Urgent demands:
  1. Permanently open crossings and allow unrestricted entry of food and medicine.
  2. Global and grassroots pressure on governments to break the siege.
  3. Immediate humanitarian safety nets to distribute food to the most vulnerable families.
  4. Hold accountable all those responsible for this suffering as war criminals.
• A message to humanity’s conscience: If the world knows how to donate to stray cats and dogs, how can it stay silent as innocent children die? How can anyone sleep while a person in Gaza perishes for lack of a loaf of bread?

Conclusion

Gaza reminds the world every day that humanity is on trial. This is not a political issue—it is a matter of conscience. History will record whether our generation witnessed genocide in silence or stood against it. Choose to be on the right side.

Israel rushes to ‘depopulate’ northern Gaza before possible ceasefire: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) estimates that 85% of Gaza’s area is now considered either an Israeli military zone or under evacuation orders, or both.

A view of destruction in Gaza after Israeli attack as Israeli army’s military mobility and offensive continue near the border line of the Gaza Strip on June 29, 2025 in Israel. [Tsafrir Abayov – Anadolu Agency]

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https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250706-israel-rushes-to-depopulate-northern-gaza-before-possible-ceasefire-report/

Israel is racing against time to “depopulate” northern Gaza ahead of a possible ceasefire agreement, a Palestinian source said on Sunday, Anadolu reports.

Israel is “trying to take advantage of the few remaining days before any anticipated truce to expand the scope of destruction and annihilate cities,” a source close to Palestinian factions told Anadolu.

“Israel seeks to destroy what remains of life-sustaining infrastructure in northern Gaza, eliminating any chance for Palestinians to return in the future.”

In May, the Israeli army launched Operation Gideon’s Chariots, which included the full evacuation of Palestinians from combat zones in northern Gaza.

The plan targets confining the Palestinians to three narrow coastal areas: western Gaza City, west of the central governorate, and west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza.

According to an Anadolu reporter, these three areas are largely isolated from one another, and Palestinians face Israeli bombing or gunfire when moving between them.

According to Palestinian estimates, the areas where displaced Palestinians are now crammed do not exceed 15% of the total area of the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said that Operation Gideon’s Chariots is likely to continue for several months and includes “the complete evacuation of Gaza’s residents from all combat zones to areas in southern Gaza.”

Forced evacuation

The Israeli army escalated its attacks across Gaza over the past week, in a move aimed at preventing the return of Palestinians to their areas in northern Gaza.

On June 30, the Israeli army bombed four schools housing displaced families in northern Gaza, in what Palestinians call deliberate attempts to displace them from the north of the enclave.

According to Palestinian sources, the repeated attacks on shelters have shrunk the habitable space, forcing Palestinians to pitch tents along the coastal strip, in a step aligned with Israeli plans to push the population to open areas lacking the bare minimum of living conditions.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) estimates that 85% of Gaza’s area is now considered either an Israeli military zone or under evacuation orders, or both.

Massive destruction

Palestinian residents report 20–30 powerful explosions daily caused by the demolition of their homes, particularly in northern and eastern Gaza.

The Palestinian source shared a video by a contractor working with the Israeli army that showed massive destruction in Tel al-Zaatar and Sheikh Zayed City in northern Gaza.

“Israel is intensifying its military campaign in Gaza to achieve multiple goals: securing field gains by tightening control over planned buffer zones, strengthening its negotiating position through military pressure, and pursuing long-term strategic objectives such as displacing the population and shaping post-war arrangements,” the source said.

On Wednesday, Israel’s Maariv newspaper, citing security sources, said that the army “is serious about expanding its operations in Gaza and is deploying full forces to achieve a decisive victory within days or weeks.”

Israeli Channel 12 also reported on Thursday that the army was preparing “to complete its control over Gaza, using five maneuvering divisions,” calling it “a massive operation not seen in over a year.”

It reported that the army seeks to encircle Gaza City, the central refugee camps, and the al-Mawasi area, where most displaced Palestinians have relocated.

The escalation comes as Israel is set to resume indirect talks with Hamas to reach a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

Despite international calls for a ceasefire, Israel has pursued a genocidal war on Gaza, killing more than 57,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, since October 2023.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for 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.

Thirty Jewish organisations have issued a powerful joint statement defending Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territories, denouncing what they describe as coordinated attempts to undermine her mandate through false accusations of anti-Semitism.

UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese gestures while delivering opening remarks at a Public hearing in Portuguese Parliament regarding Palestinian Territories situation, followed by speeches by MPs from the PS, Bloco de Esquerda, PCP, Livre and PAN, on October 03, 2024, in Lisbon, Portugal. [Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images]

Jewish groups rally behind UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine amid anti-Semitism accusations

November 8, 2024

Thirty Jewish organisations have issued a powerful joint statement defending Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian Territories, denouncing what they describe as coordinated attempts to undermine her mandate through false accusations of anti-Semitism.

The unprecedented show of support comes as Albanese faces what the organisations describe as “relentless attack from politically motivated organisations” in what appears to be a systematic campaign to discredit her work documenting human rights conditions in the Israeli Occupied Palestinian Territories.

The groups specifically singled out organisations such as UN Watch, which they say “have been waging toxic smear campaigns to silence her and to harm her human rights mandate”. According to the statement, these organisations’ primary objective is “shielding the Israeli government from international criticism and legal accountability”.

Of particular concern to the Jewish organisations is the weaponisation of anti-Semitism allegations against the UN Rapporteur, especially by Western governments. “We reject such allegations, which are unfounded and recklessly incite against Ms. Albanese, at the risk of endangering her personal safety,” the statement declared, highlighting the potential dangerous consequences of such accusations.

The groups expressed alarm at what they view as a broader and deeply troubling pattern of instrumentalising anti-Semitism for political purposes, particularly through the highly controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism. They strongly condemned “the escalating instrumentalisation of anti-Semitism in this regard, specifically through the highly controversial IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, which is also being weaponized against Ms. Albanese and the United Nations more broadly”.

The organisations, identifying themselves as “Jews committed to justice, equality and universal human rights”, reserved particularly strong criticism for Western governments’ positions, especially those of the US and Germany. The statement “strongly condemned the shameful diplomatic and military support that many Western governments, in particular the United States and Germany, have offered to Israel’s ongoing campaign of mass killings of Palestinian civilians and its barbaric destruction of all foundations of Palestinian life in Gaza”.

In a pointed critique of the current situation, the groups argued that the conflation of Israel’s actions with Jewish identity poses a genuine threat to Jewish communities worldwide.... READ MORE   https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241108-jewish-groups-rally-behind-un-special-rapporteur-on-palestine-amid-anti-semitism-accusations/

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UNRWA commissioner: ‘Objective of Israel’s war to get rid of UNRWA’

 Middle East Monitor MEMO October 12, 2024 at 10:04 am

A visit to UNRWA Health Center in East Jerusalem old city, part of a diplomatic mission to Israel and the Palestinian territories, in Rammalah, Palestina, Thursday 16 May 2024. [DIRK WAEM/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images]

Commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, announced on Friday that eliminating the agency has almost been an objective of the Israeli war.

According to Reuters, he added that UNRWA will receive clarification regarding its US funding in early 2025.

The agency, its employees and its headquarters have been subjected to repeated Israeli attacks in the West Bank and Gaza. The latest Israeli measure against the agency was the bill passed by the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee in the Knesset on Sunday banning UNRWA’s activities in Israel.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported that the committee referred the bill to the Knesset for a vote in the second and third readings. It stipulates the confiscation of all UNRWA funds, properties and real estate in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and the transfer of the funds to the compensation fund for those affected by the attacks.

The bill also prohibits the recognition of the diplomatic character, or the special status of UN workers, for anyone who holds a UNRWA worker card.

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241012-unrwa-commissioner-objective-of-israels-war-to-get-rid-of-unrwa/

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Cut the supply line of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, says rights group with the aim of “genocide prevention by third states, companies and civil society actors”

Pro-Palestinian protesters gather to show solidarity with Palestinians during a hearing near the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on May 24, 2024 in The Hague, Netherlands [Nikos Oikonomou – Anadolu Agency]

Middle East Monitor

 May 28, 2024 at 2:59 pm

With the aim of “genocide prevention by third states, companies and civil society actors” in Gaza, the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) has released a detailed report exposing corporate and state actors that are supplying jet fuel to the Israeli military and examines the legal ramifications of their actions.

Since its establishment in 1973, SOMO has been conducting investigations into the impacts and enablers of unjustified corporate power. Titled ‘Fuelling the flames in Gaza’, the publication by authors Lydia De Leeuw and Misa Norigami is timed to inform efforts to prevent corporate involvement in war crimes and other international crimes being perpetrated by Israel in Gaza, while also supporting the prevention of genocide in the besieged enclave. The report aims to raise awareness about corporate complicity in war crimes and other crimes under international law being committed in Gaza.

It reveals that the US is a primary supplier of military jet fuel (JP-8) to Israel, with US company Valero being a key provider under contracts with the American government. Valero’s JP-8 is transported from Corpus Christi port in Texas to Ashkelon, Israel, by vessels owned by Overseas Shipholding Group, which is directly contracted by the Israeli government.

According to SOMO’s findings, Israel heavily relies on imported jet fuel to sustain its military aerial operations over Gaza. The country has been receiving regular shipments from the US for years, with at least six shipments of JP-8 since October 2023. Data from the US Energy Information Administration confirms continuous exports of kerosene-type jet fuel to Israel, averaging approximately 1.5 million barrels per year, with spikes in 2014 and 2016.

The report highlights that between October and December 2023 alone, the Israeli Air Force carried out 10,000 air strikes across the densely populated Gaza Strip. These air strikes included the dropping of approximately five hundred 2,000-pound bombs, which can kill or injure people over 1,000 feet away from the point of impact. As a result, more than 20,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed in that period.

SOMO argues that companies supplying jet fuel to Israel may be considered to be providing material support to the Israeli military. The extensive public reporting on the impact of air strikes on Gaza and credible evidence of air strikes constituting war crimes puts these companies at risk of legal liability for their involvement.

Under international law, companies can be held liable for complicity in war crimes if they provide material support that substantially contributes to the commission of the crimes and if they have knowledge of the crimes. SOMO contends that the widely available public information means that all companies involved in supplying military jet fuel to Israel have knowledge of the foreseeable harmful effects of their actions... Read More   https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240528-cut-the-supply-line-of-israels-genocide-in-gaza-says-rights-group/

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Israel raids, forces medical staff to leave Gaza Al-Awda Hospital... "More than 35,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and nearly 80,000 others injured since October."

A view from the surroundings of damaged Al-Awda Hospital after Israeli attacks, in Beit Lahia, Gaza on May 18, 2024. [Mousa Salem – Anadolu Agency ]

The Israeli occupation military stormed Al-Awda Hospital in Gaza and forced the medical staff to evacuate after a four-day siege.

According to Wafa news agency, Israeli occupation soldiers detained a medical worker and forced the remaining staff to evacuate towards the Western Gaza City area.

However, several doctors have refused to leave without an ambulance to safely evacuate the 14 injured patients, who remain trapped in the hospital.

The attack follows concerns expressed earlier this week by the World Health Organisation director-general regarding the safety of patients and staff at Al-Awda Hospital.

“Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza has been under siege since 19 May, with no one allowed to leave or enter; 148 hospital staff, 22 patients and their companions are still trapped inside,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

He noted that medical staff inside the hospital reported an attack on Monday, “with snipers aiming at the building and an artillery rocket hitting the fifth floor, where the administration department is located.”

“We are deeply concerned about the safety of the remaining patients and hospital staff,” he added. “We appeal for their protection, for humanitarian access and an immediate ceasefire.”

More than 35,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and nearly 80,000 others injured since October.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which, in January, issued an interim ruling that ordered it to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Read: Panicked Gaza Hospital staff evacuates patients after missile strike, video shows

READ MORE    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240523-israel-raids-forces-medical-staff-to-leave-gaza-al-awda-hospital/

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Palestinians are living a new Nakba: survivor of 1948 says

 May 15, 2024 at 8:30 am

Palestinian woman Fatima Aqel, 75, on the outskirts of Jerusalem holds keys to one of the houses appearing in the background that her family was forced to abandon upon the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. .. [photo from] on May, 7 2008 [AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images]

byQays Abu Samra

Seventy-six years ago, Palestinian Mustafa Abu Awwad and his family were expelled from their home at the hands of Zionist gangs during the 1948 Nakba.

Palestinians use the word Nakba in reference to the events of 1948, when armed Zionist militias forced nearly one million Palestinians to leave their homes and villages under the pressure of bombing and mass massacres in the historical lands of Palestine, pushing them further into the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and neighbouring countries, ethnically cleansing historic Palestine to make way for the creation of the state of Israel.

Now 88, Mustafa lives in the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm city in the northern occupied West Bank.

He says Palestinians are experiencing a new Nakba that is worse than that of 1948.

Horrors of the Nakba

Mustafa describes his family’s life in Sabbarin village, near Haifa, in what is now northern Israel, as very beautiful days.

The family was expelled from the village on 12 May, 1948, Mustafa explains, in what he says was a “terrible day.”

“We took with us a small amount of luggage because we thought we would return back in a few days or weeks, but this turned out to be our entire life,” he explains.

“After one month, we decided to return back to the village but found it besieged by armed gangs which killed 18 of the youth from the village, so we escaped again from the killing,” he adds.

He notes that following their expulsion, his family resided in a camp established by a charitable group, known as the Lutheran World Federation, near Jenin where they stayed there until 1951.

READ: Number of Palestinians has increased 10-fold since 1948 Nakba

After that date, they moved to the Nur Shams refugee camp, where he still lives.

“We never expected to be refugees,” Mustafa laments.

“My family used to have a vast home, land, lots for olives and wheat, and four camels that we used to transport the wheat and agricultural crops,” he recalls.

He added that there were four water streams in Sabbarin.

“The village used to gather in all festivals and ceremonies, we used to solve our problems without courts, it was a simple life.”

A new Nakba

“The life in the camp is misery, Israel turned our life into a nightmare through the daily incursions into the camp.”

“What’s happening today is worse than what was committed in the 1948 Nakba,” he said.... READ MORE  https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240515-palestinians-are-living-a-new-nakba-survivor-of-1948-says/

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Israel attacked aid workers despite knowing their locations: Human Rights Watch documents eight Israeli strikes on humanitarian groups that had provided their coordinates in advance

Men walk through rubble past damaged buildings with humanitarian aid packages collected from a drop over the northern Gaza Strip on 23 April 2024 (AFP)

 By MEE staff

Published date: 14 May 2024 12:14 BST | Last update: 14 mins 14 secs ago 

Israeli forces have carried out at least eight attacks on aid convoys and premises in Gaza since October, despite aid groups providing their locations to Israeli authorities in advance, according to a new report. 

Human Rights Watch said in a report on Tuesday that the eight Israeli attacks killed at least 15 people, including two children, and wounded at least 16 others. 

They included attacks on World Central Kitchen, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), the International Rescue Committee and the American Near East Refugee Aid Organisation. 

In an Israeli air strike on MAP and the International Rescue Committee on 18 January, UN investigators who visited the attack concluded it was likely carried out with a US-made munition with parts supplied by the UK. The strike wounded three people. 

On 1 April, an Israeli attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy killed six international aid workers and their Palestinian driver, which Israel apologised for and described as a "mistake".

As with all of the eight attacks documented by Human Rights Watch, World Central Kitchen had provided Israeli authorities with GPS coordinates of its personnel in advance, but was still attacked. 

"Israel's killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers was shocking and should never have happened under international law," said Belkis Wille of Human Rights Watch. "Israel's allies need to recognise that these attacks that have killed aid workers have happened over and over again, and they need to stop."

'Cannot rely on deconfliction'

According to the UN, 254 of its aid workers have been killed since the war on Gaza began on 7 October. At least 169 Unrwa facilities have been impacted by Israel's war in 368 separate incidents. 

Workers from 11 humanitarian groups and agencies told Human Rights Watch that Israeli attacks have forced them to either suspend activities, reduce their staff or restrict their work in other ways. 

"I can't risk sending more staff into Gaza because I cannot rely on deconfliction as a way of keeping them safe," a senior employee at one organisation attacked by Israeli forces said. 

'Bullshit process and result': US report on Israel's Gaza conduct met with disappointment

Read More »

International law prohibits indiscriminate attacks targeting civilian objects, like aid convoys, that are expected to cause harm to civilians in a way disproportionate to any military advantage. 

In the genocide case against Israel, the International Court of Justice in January issued a provisional ruling ordering the country to enable the entry of urgent humanitarian aid into Gaza.

But since the ruling, Israel has been found to be defying the order by directly bombing aid convoys and impeding aid deliveries through delays and denials of entry.

"On one hand, Israel is blocking access to critical lifesaving humanitarian provisions and on the other, attacking convoys that are delivering some of the small amount that they are allowing in," Wille said. "Israeli forces should immediately end their attacks on aid organizations, and there should be accountability for these crimes."

Israeli civilians have also blocked entry of aid into the enclave, bringing aid trucks to a standstill by holding sit-ins, laying down large rocks and even attacking vehicles directly.

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https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-attacked-aid-workers-despite-knowing-location

[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]