U.S. sees rallies condemning Zionist massacres against Palestinians

NEW YORK August 10. 2024 (Saba) - Human rights institutions and popular organizations on Saturday announced the organization of marches in several American cities, in rejection of the ongoing Zionist massacres in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Palestinian News Agency, the institutions issued numerous calls for marches and protest activities against the continuation of massacres, and the failure of the US administration to exert sufficient pressure on the Zionist entity to stop its brutal aggression on Gaza.

Activists published pictures and video clips on social media of the massacres committed by the usurping entity in the Gaza Strip during the past 24 hours only, which led to the martyrdom and injury of large numbers of Palestinian citizens, including children and women.

Israel arrests over 10,000 Palestinians in West Bank since October, prisoner groups say

Over 10,000 Palestinians have been arrested in the occupied West Bank since October, Palestinian prisoners groups have said in a statement.

The New Arab Staff
10 August, 2024

Over 10,000 Palestinians have been arrested in the occupied West Bank since October, prisoner groups say [Getty]


Israeli forces have arrested over 10,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza in October, Palestinian prisoner groups said.

A joint statement published on Saturday by the Prisoners Affairs Authority and the Palestinian Prisoners Club added that Israeli forces have arrested at least 40 Palestinians in the past two days, including women, children, and former prisoners who were freed from Israeli jails.

The prisoner groups added that the arrests took place all over the West Bank, and often came following violent attacks on families, as well as vandalism and destruction of Palestinians’ homes and property.

"The total number of arrests since the start of the ongoing war of extermination in Gaza has reached over 10,000 citizens in the West Bank, including Jerusalem," the statement read.

The head of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club, Abdullah Al-Zaghri, told Al-Jazeera Arabic that violations against Palestinians in the West Bank continue daily in the West Bank, as well as in Gaza.


"Thousands have been arrested in Gaza, and no one has been able to register them and document their names because the occupation continues to practice a policy of forced disappearance and not disclose any information relating to prisoners in the Strip" he said.

Since October, Israeli forces have also killed 620 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and wounded over 5,400 others, official Palestinian figures state.

Rights groups including Amnesty International have raised alarm over Israel’s increased attacks and arrests on the occupied territory since October.

Earlier this year, Human Rights Watch also said Israeli security forces have “unlawfully used lethal force in fatal shootings of Palestinians in the West Bank.”

"These killings are taking place at a level without recent precedent in an environment in which Israeli forces have no need to fear that their government will hold them accountable," Richard Weir, the senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch said in a statement.

Leaked Israeli prison footage 'shows sexual abuse' of Palestinian detainee

The footage comes as several Israeli soldiers are being investigated for sexually abusing a Palestinian held at the Sde Teiman detention camp.


The New Arab Staff
07 August, 2024


The number of Palestinian held in Israeli jails has doubled since October

 [GETTY/file photo]


A video leaked from an Israeli detention camp purportedly showing the abuse of a Palestinian prisoner has added to mounting allegations of sexual abuse and torture of Palestinian detainees.

The video, aired by Israel's Channel 12 broadcaster on Wednesday, documents Israeli soldiers allegedly sexually assaulting a Palestinian man at Israel’s Sde Teiman, a secret imprisonment camp in the Negev desert set up after 7 October where hundreds of people from Gaza have been held.

It is not clear how the news channel obtained the footage, which appears to be from an internal surveillance camera, or when the incident might have taken place.

The video shows at least 25 detainees lying face-down on the ground in rows as a group of masked soldiers with a dog pick one man out and take him away.

He is then taken to a corner of the yard as soldiers use shields to hide their actions from the camera as he is reportedly sexually abused. The detainee was hospitalised due to injuries caused by an object being inserted into his body, a medical report stated.


The footage comes following several investigations by rights groups, media, and an investigation by Israel's military court into alleged abuses committed by Israeli authorities against Palestinians in detention facilities.

Last week, Israeli authorities detained nine soldiers accused of attacking and raping a Palestinian detainee at the Sde Teiman facility. The doctor who treated the Palestinian at hospital told Haaretz newspaper that the injuries were so horrific he did not initially believe that an Israeli "could do something like that" and felt compelled to speak out.

Their arrests caused large protests by far-right groups and politicians who argued that the soldiers should not be arrested, describing them as heroes.

Five members of the Israeli military's Force 100 Unit are currently facing trial.

Haaretz reported on Tuesday that two of the arrested reservists were found to have lied during a polygraph test as part of the investigation when they were asked if they had sexually abused detainees.

Last week, Israeli media outlets reported that the abused Palestinian detainee had been returned to the Sde Teiman facility.

The investigation comes amid the publication of a major report by Jerusalem rights group B'Tselem which details Israeli prison authorities' extensive abuse of Palestinian men, women, and children, including torture, sexual abuse, sleep and food deprivation, violence and humiliation.

The B'Tselem report released on Tuesday also followed a damning report from the UN Office for Human Rights published last week which condemned Israel’s “incommunicado” detention of Palestinians.

“The testimonies gathered by my Office and other entities indicate a range of appalling acts, such as waterboarding and the release of dogs on detainees, amongst other acts, in flagrant violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,” UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said.

Related
Palestinian detainees recount mistreatment while in Israel prison
Video

At least 53 Palestinians are believed to have died in Israeli jails since October, either through torture-induced injuries or from being deprived of medical treatment.

Many of those detained are kept indefinitely without trial or charge, or access to lawyers or family. The UN says this could qualify as enforced disappearance, an international crime.

Israel also blocked visits to the prison from the International Red Cross Committee.

Testimonies disclosing the abuse and torture allegations have been sourced from freed detainees, Israeli whistleblowers or rights groups such as Israel Physicians for Human Rights, who is campaigning for Sde Teiman facility to be shut down, describing it as a violation of Israeli law.

2 more Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli army in Gaza: Media group

Deaths bring number of journalists killed by Israel in Gaza since Oct. 7 to 168

Awad al-Rujoub |10.08.2024 - TRT/AA



RAMALLAH, Palestine

Two more journalists were killed by Israel in the southern Gaza Strip, a media group said Friday.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate mourned Tamim Muammar and Abdullah al-Susi and said they were killed in separate raids in Khan Younis.

It said Muammar worked for Palestine Voice Radio while al-Susi was employed with the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa Channel.

The Syndicate said the killings are "systematic crimes" by the Israeli army, and it urged the International Criminal Court's prosecutor to open an investigation into Israeli crimes against Palestinian journalists.

Muammar was killed, along with 13 of his family members, in an Israeli airstrike on his family’s home. Al-Susi was killed with several family members, according to the Palestinian news agency, Wafa.

The killings bring the death toll for journalists killed by Israel in Gaza since Oct. 7 to 168, according to Palestinian figures.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack in October by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

Nearly 39,700 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,700 injured, according to local health authorities.

More than 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar

Gaza Journalist Tamim Muammar killed in Israeli air strike

Palestine Voice radio journalist Tamim Muammar was killed along with several family members in an Israeli air strike which targeted their home.

The New Arab Staff
10 August, 2024


Over 100 Palestinian journalists have been killed since the start of the war on Gaza [Getty]


Prominent Gaza journalist Tamim Muammar was killed along with several family members in an Israeli air strike which targeted their house in Khan Younis, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Muammar worked for Palestine Voice Radio and was mourned by other journalists and official Palestinian media outlets.

Social media was also awash with photos of Muammar and his family, with people remembering his work and contributions.

"He trained me on how to write the news at the Palestine Voice radio - the respected and intelligent journalist Tamim Muammar, was martyred after his home and his family members were directly targeted in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis. I can’t comprehend how I am writing the news of the death of the person who taught me how to write news. Damn this vile world," one social media user wrote.

According to local Palestinian media, another journalist, identified as Abdallah Al-Soussi, was also killed in a separate airstrike at the same time. Al-Soussi worked for Al-Aqsa TV and lived in the Al-Tahlia neighbourhood of Khan Younis.

Official Palestinian media issued a press statement stating that Palestinian journalists have continually been targeted along with their family members, and that media personnel will continue to convey the suffering of people in Gaza despite the attacks and challenges up against them.

The statement called on international media and humanitarian organisations to take immediate action and hold Israeli officials and soldiers responsible, urging them to do more than issue press statements.

The Palestinian Press Syndicate also issued a statement, calling the air strikes and targeting of journalists a "systematic crime" by the Israeli army and demanded the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court urgently begin investigation procedures into the killing of media personnel in Gaza.

At least 168 journalists have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war, according to official Palestinian figures.

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed over 39,699 Palestinians since October and wounded over 91,722 others.

Canada 'fully supports' Gaza cease-fire efforts by Egypt, Qatar, US

'We need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,' says Justin Trudeau

 10/08/2024 Saturday

File photo

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed mediation efforts Friday by Egypt, Qatar and the US to secure a “permanent cease-fire in Gaza.”

"The agreement led by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar can achieve this. Canada fully supports their efforts to release the hostages, end the humanitarian crisis, and return to a path of peace," Trudeau wrote on X.

On Thursday, Egypt, Qatar and US mediators urged Israel and the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, to resume talks in Doha or Cairo next week.

Cease-fire efforts come after nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 91,700 injured in Israel's response to an attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, according to local health authorities.

More than 10 months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

Harris tells pro-Palestine protesters ‘now is time for ceasefire’ in Gaza

People chanted ‘free, free Palestine’ during Democratic presidential candidate’s speech at Arizona rally.

Harris speaks to an estimated 15,000 supporters at a campaign rally in Glendale, Arizona [Julia Nikhinson/AP]

Published On 10 Aug 2024

United States Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has told pro-Palestine protesters who interrupted her campaign rally in Arizona that now is the time for a ceasefire deal in Israel’s war on Gaza.

The demonstrators shouted, “Free, free Palestine” as Harris spoke to an estimated 15,000 people in the city of Glendale in Arizona, one of the states she’s vying to win to defeat her Republican opponent Donald Trump.

Pausing her speech on Friday to directly ddress the protesters, Harris said: “I have been clear: now is the time to get a ceasefire deal and get the hostage deal done.”

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle said that while Vice President Harris and President Joe Biden had expressed support for a ceasefire, their administration is sending more military aid to Israel as it continues its bombardment of Gaza.

“In her role as vice president, she supports the Biden administration. But her team is also keen on making sure that she’s the one who can push through a ceasefire. It’s like two parallel worlds,” Lavelle said.



Harris also told the protesters, “The president and I are working around the clock every day to get that ceasefire deal done and bring the hostages home. I respect your voices, but we are here to now talk about the race in 2024.”

The latest incident highlights the balancing act she has to make to address a segment of her party’s constituency opposed to Israel’s war in Gaza while avoiding alienating the general electorate sympathetic to Israel.

Harris’s response was blunt. “You know what, if you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.”

While a video clip of that Michigan event went viral, some critics said that Harris failed to address the question about the ceasefire and appeared dismissive of the young protesters present.

“Harris is also aware of the public mood, especially in swing states like Michigan,” said Al Jazeera’s Lavelle.

“While Gaza is not getting as much airtime domestically as it is internationally, Harris knows that in states like Michigan, which have huge Arab-American populations, there is a real frustration with the lack of progress. And she’ll be very keen to address that,” he added.

In July, when Harris met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington, DC, the vice president had said that her commitment to Israel’s existence and security was “unwavering”, but that she “will not be silent” in the face of the “tragedies” in Gaza.

Qatar, Egypt and the US have called on Israel and Hamas to resume talks on August 15 to reach a ceasefire.

At the same time, the US continues to send billions of dollars in military aid and weapons to Israel as the war in Gaza continues into its 10th month.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health said on Saturday that at least 39,790 people have been killed and 91,702 wounded in Israel’s war on the enclave. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 and more than 200 were taken captive.

Harris has been on a weeklong tour after naming her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, with a focus on building momentum for her campaign in seven states that could tip the November 5 election.

Source: Al Jazeera

Palestine urges international action to stop genocide, address threats to global peace by Israel

Israeli actions 'against Palestinian people, especially in Gaza, violate all prohibitions outlined in Genocide Convention, committing war crimes, crimes against humanity in occupied Palestinian territories,' says Palestine's Permanent Observer to UN

Awad al-Rajoub |10.08.2024 - TRT/AA



Ramallah

Palestine renewed its call Friday for international action to halt the genocide in the Gaza Strip and address the threat "posed by Israel to international peace and security."

It was made in letters sent by Palestine's envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, General Assembly President Dennis Francis and the President of the Security Council for August, Sierra Leone.

Mansour reiterated calls to the international community, particularly the Security Council and General Assembly, to take immediate action to hold Israel accountable for its crimes and achieve justice for the Palestinian people.

He wants to end the threat posed by Israel to international peace and security to save endangered lives and complete the prospects for a just resolution to the grave injustice.

Mansour said Israel's actions are "against the Palestinian people, especially in Gaza, violate all prohibitions outlined in the Genocide Convention, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza and other occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, on an unprecedented scale that shocks human conscience."

"For 10 months, the world has watched this horrific genocide and witnessed the most heinous atrocities, yet has failed to act to protect Palestinian civilians, neglecting the most serious commitments under the Charter and customary international law binding on all nations," he said.

Mansour noted that Israel targets Palestinian civilians with "all forms of lethal weapons, violating every rule of international law designed to protect civilians in armed conflict."

He said Israel’s targeting civilians is "systematic and deliberate” and pointed out that the destruction of schools, including the demolition of 190 UN Refugee Agency facilities, has left more than 600,000 children without access to education, and the destruction of Gaza's 19 universities has deprived over 88,000 young people of higher education, "jeopardizing the future of an entire generation."

Mansour informed officials that the death toll in 10 months of the Israeli onslaught is extremely high, mostly women and children and Tel Aviv has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians.

"This horrific list of victims does not include 10,000 people estimated to be missing, most of whom are believed to be buried under rubble or in mass graves," he said.

He emphasized that the international community’s failure to hold Israel accountable for its blatant violations of resolutions and grave violations of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law, has only increased Israel’s impunity, leading to catastrophic consequences.



*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul

Israeli attack on Gazan worshippers stems from world’s failure to halt Gaza genocide: Palestine

At least 100 worshippers killed when Israeli army targeted school where displaced Palestinians performed prayers, according to Gaza Media Office

Awad Rjoub |11.08.2024 - 



RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestine said Saturday that it considered the failure of the international community and its institutions to be the reason for a deadly Israeli attack on the Al-Tabin School in Gaza City.

At least 100 worshippers were killed and several injured when Israeli aircraft targeted Palestinians performing fajr (dawn) prayers at the Al-Tabin School in the Al-Daraj neighborhood.

“The massacre at the Al-Tabin School is a result of the failure of the international community and its institutions, including the (UN) Security Council, to fulfill their responsibilities in stopping the genocide against the Palestinian people,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It said that “the illegal Israeli occupation is inhumane and must be held accountable and punished for its crimes, along with any states or entities complicit in these atrocities.”

The foreign ministry demanded an immediate convening of the UN Security Council “to implement its resolutions and compel Israel, the illegal occupying power, to comply with international law and UN resolutions.”

With the bombing of the Al-Tabin school, the number of schools targeted by Israel in Gaza City in the last week has increased to six, according to an Anadolu tally.

Despite appeals Thursday from mediators, including Egypt, the US and Qatar, to stop hostilities, reach a cease-fire and a hostage exchange agreement, Israel persists with its deadly onslaught against Gaza.

The Israeli onslaught has killed nearly 39,800 victims since October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.​​​​​​​

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala​​​​​​​

US ‘deeply concerned’ in growing condemnation of Israel’s deadly school hit

AAP
Aug 11, 2024

The West has united in its condemnation of an Israeli air strike on a Gaza school. 

Photo: AAP

The White House says it is “deeply concerned” about an Israeli air strike on a Gaza City school compound that local civil defence officials say killed 100 people, adding to condemnation of the attack from several Arab states, Turkey, Britain and the European Union’s foreign policy chief.

The school compound in Gaza City housed displaced Palestinian families. The Gaza Civil Emergency Service, which has a credible record stating casualty numbers, said about 100 people were killed in Saturday’s strike. Israel said around 20 militants had been operating at the compound.

Video from the site showed body parts scattered among rubble and more bodies being carried away and covered in blankets.

“We are deeply concerned about reports of civilian casualties in Gaza following a strike by the Israel Defense Forces on a compound that included a school,” the White House said in a statement, adding Washington was in touch with Israel to seek more information.

Washington has faced mounting domestic and international criticism, including from human rights groups, for its military support for Israel. Saturday’s air strike came a day after a State Department spokesperson said the US will provide Israel $US3.5 billion ($5.3 billion) to spend on US weapons and military equipment after Congress appropriated the funds in April.

“We know Hamas has been using schools as locations to gather and operate out of, but we have also said repeatedly and consistently that Israel must take measures to minimise civilian harm,” the White House added.

Palestinians flee new Israeli assault in Khan Younis


Israeli strikes hit Gaza schools, hospital

The White House statement also said “far too many civilians continue to be killed and wounded” in the Gaza war and reiterated its calls for a ceasefire.

The US comments followed condemnation of the attack from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was horrified by the images from the school, while British foreign minister David Lammy said he was “appalled” by the strike.

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought shelter in Gaza’s schools, most of which have been closed since the war began 10 months ago.

The strike marked the latest deadly attack in Israel’s assault on Gaza which the health ministry in the Hamas-governed enclave says has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians while also displacing nearly the entire population of 2.3 million, causing a hunger crisis and leading to genocide allegations at the World Court that Israel denies.


The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

President Joe Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire proposal in an address on May 31. Washington and regional mediators have since tried arranging the Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal but have run into repeated obstacles.

There has separately been an increased risk of a broader Middle East war after recent killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut drew threats of retaliation against Israel.

—AAP

Israel’s school massacres are part of a deliberate policy

The US is providing huge new weapons shipments to Israel and Saudi Arabia

The aftermath of Saturday’s school missile strike

By Charlie Kimber
Saturday 10 August 2024

SOCIALIST WORKER Issue

An Israel missile strike killed at least 93 people sheltering in a school in Gaza on Saturday. It was the fourth and most deadly Israeli attack on a school in two weeks.

Civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal said three Israeli rockets hit Gaza City’s al-Tabin school which was housing displaced Palestinians.

He described the scene as a “horrific massacre” saying crews were trying to control a fire in order to rescue the wounded and retrieve bodies.

Hani Mahmoud of Al Jazeera news said, “There is a huge influx of people pouring into the al-Ahli hospital after the attack on the school. Many of those arriving are in critical condition.

“But the hospital lacks enough staff and medicine, so it cannot provide adequate medical care. It’s on the brink of collapse. Many are arriving either soaked in blood or already pronounced dead.”

The particular bombs used sent shrapnel flying that cut through flesh.

Footage of the attack that reporters saw showed people being picked up from the ground in pieces.

Francesca Albanese, a United Nations official on the Occupied Palestine territories, commented, “In the largest and most shameful concentration camp of the 21st century, Israel is genociding the Palestinians one neighbourhood at a time, one hospital at a time, one school at a time, one refugee camp a the time, one ‘safe zone’ at a time.

“It’s doing it with US and European weapons and amid the indifference of all ‘civilised nations’.”

Hassan Barari, professor of international affairs at Qatar University, said that these attacks are part of Israel leader Binyamin Netanyahu’s calculation about the ceasefire talks that are supposed to start next week.

“Just yesterday, Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said that going to Doha or Cairo is a kind of capitulation and that Israel should not go and conduct negotiations over a ceasefire.

“So Netayhahu is trying to appease those people in his own government”.

Barari added that Netanyahu does not want a ceasefire, and takes every chance he can to undermine talks.

“It is part of a game. Every time we have hopes of a ceasefire, the Israelis will commit some kind of atrocity and that will undermine the talks,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Labour government dithers over whether to stop any arms sales to Israel. With every day that passes, its failure to halt the weapons means Keir Starmer, David Lammy and the rest are complicit in mass murder.

The Stop the War Coalition said, “There is seemingly no limit to Israel’s barbarity. The genocide enablers in Whitehall and Washington once again have blood on their hands.”

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign added, “This is the third worst massacre since Israel began its genocide against Palestinians. The UK government must immediately stop arming Israel and end all complicity in its violence and apartheid.” Next national march for Palestine, Saturday 7 September, 12 noon, London. End the Genocide – Stop Arming Israel – No Middle East War – No to Islamophobia. Details here

A pattern of school attacks

On 4 August an Israeli missile strike killed dozens of displaced people sheltering in two schools in Gaza.

Palestinian media said at least 30 people died in the strikes. Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence, said most of the dead were women and children.

He added that more people were believed to be buried under the rubble.

The attack on the al-Nasr and Hassan Salama schools came on the day of an attack on a camp for displaced people in a hospital in central Gaza, which killed at least five people.

On 3 August an air strike on Hamama School in Gaza City killed at least 17 people.

Days earlier, an Israeli strike on Dalal al-Mughrabi School killed 15.

Why Israel kills children

It is central to imperialism that the lives of colonisers are worth far, far more than the lives of those they oppress and eliminate.

That murderous arrogance is allied with racism—the white invader is more human, more advanced than the black and brown people he rules.

That disgusting calculus is not some ancient prejudice. It is as modern as the Israel attacks on Gaza schools.

Israel claims its school attacks are targeting a small number of Hamas fighters. That is often a lie. But even if it were true, Israel knows that a large number of civilians will die.

Saturday’s strike was on a prayer hall, at a time of prayer when everyone was gathered there.

But in its depraved desperation to crush resistance, the Israeli reckoning is that removing a few fighters is worth the elimination of dozens or even hundreds of civilians.

To reduce its humiliation, Israel readily accepts murdering children.

There is a direct ideological and physical line from the mass “elimination of the natives” in Australia, Canada and the Americas to imperialist-backed murder in Israel today.

There is a blood-connection between the actions of British imperialism in Kenya and India and Ireland and the way British-backed Israel kills in Gaza.

This is how imperialism and colonialism have always behaved, and this won’t stop until revolution destroys the system that spawned such vile actions.

More arms from US for Israeli and Saudi killers

Trampling on talk that it is pressuring Israel into a ceasefire, the United States government revealed on Friday it will send an additional $3.5 billion (£2.8 billion) to Israel to spend on US-made weapons and military equipment.

The cash comes from a £11.4 billion supplemental funding bill for Israel passed by the Congress in April.

Part of the new financial aid will go to an Israeli military unit, which is accused of carrying out human rights abuses against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

The US state department said it had decided against sanctioning the unit—which would have been the first-ever blocking of aid to the Israeli military—saying it was satisfied with Israeli efforts to address “violations by this unit” which have been “effectively remediated”.

While the US has not publicly named the unit, it is believed to be Israel’s Netzah Yehuda battalion.

The battalion and some of its members have been linked to the abuse of Palestinian civilians, including the death of a 78-year-old Palestinian-American man after his detention by the unit in 2022.

The Joe Biden administration has decided to lift a ban on US sales of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia, reversing a three-year-old policy allegedly to pressure the kingdom to wind down the Yemen war.

A senior state department official confirmed the US was lifting its suspension on certain transfers of air-to-ground munitions to Saudi Arabia.

This is in preparation for the wider war that could be triggered after the expected—and fully justified— Iranian and Hezbollah response to a series of Israeli assassinations.Earlier this week, the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem published a report describing the Israeli detention facilities for Palestinians as “a network of torture camps.” The organisation said physical, psychological, and sexual abuse of Palestinian prisoners is routine. Read the report here

‘Bloody massacre’: Reactions to Israeli attack on Gaza school

An Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City has been condemned by Hamas as a ‘dangerous escalation’.

Palestinian authorities say more than 100 people were killed and dozens wounded at the al-Tabin school, including women and children [Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP]

Published On 10 Aug 2024

An Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians in Gaza City has killed more than 100 people including women and children, according to Palestinian officials, who expect the death toll to rise.

The Israeli army on Saturday claimed its air forces struck a “command and control centre” that “served as a hideout for Hamas terrorists and commanders” at the al-Tabin school. It did not provide evidence and said it had taken steps to reduce the risk of harming civilians, while dismissing the death toll from Palestinian officials as inaccurate.

Here are some reactions to the attack:

Hamas

“The massacre at al-Tabin school in the Daraj neighbourhood in central Gaza City is a horrific crime that constitutes a dangerous escalation,” said the movement that governs the Gaza Strip.

Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Palestinian group’s political bureau, said there were no armed men at the school.

Hamas said in its statement that Israel’s claims of the school being used as the group’s command centre are “excuses to target civilians, schools, hospitals, and refugee tents, all of which are false pretexts and exposed lies to justify its crimes”.

“We call on our Arab and Islamic countries and the international community to fulfill their responsibilities and take urgent action to stop these massacres and halt the escalating Zionist aggression against our people and defenseless citizens,” the statement ends.

Ismail al-Thawabta, the director general of Gaza’s Government Media Office, called on the international community and United Nations Security Council “to pressure Israel to end this cascading bloodbath among our people, namely innocent women and children”.

Fatah

Fatah, the rival Palestinian faction that last month signed a “national unity” agreement with Hamas, said the attack was a “heinous bloody massacre” that represents the “peak of terrorism and criminality”.

“Committing these massacres confirms beyond a shadow of a doubt its efforts to exterminate our people through the policy of cumulative killing and mass massacres that make living consciences tremble,” it said in a statement.

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, said the Israeli government’s goal was to thwart ceasefire negotiations and continue the war.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Israel had again shown that it wasn’t committed to international law, as he condemned the attack as genocide and a war crime.

He urged immediate action from the UN Security Council and said Israel’s actions in Gaza were a threat to international peace and security.

Qatar

Qatar’s foreign ministry has condemned the attack saying it constitutes a “horrific massacre and a brutal crime against defenceless civilians.”

It called again for a UN independent fact-finding mission to investigate attacks on centres sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza and demanded that the international community oblige Israel to uphold international law and ensure their protection.

Egypt

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Israel’s “deliberate killing” of unarmed Palestinians shows that it lacks the political will to end the war in Gaza.

It accused Israel of repeatedly committing “large-scale crimes” against “unarmed civilians” whenever there is an international push for a ceasefire, in a statement cited by the state-run Middle East News Agency.

It said such attacks reflect “an unprecedented disregard” for international law.

Egypt, the United States and Qatar have called for a new round of ceasefire negotiations for Thursday, as fears grow of a broader conflict, involving Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

Jordan

Israel’s attack goes against “all humanitarian values” and is “an indication of the Israeli government’s attempt to block [peace] efforts and postpone them”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

It added that “the absence of a decisive international stance to restrain Israeli aggression and compel it to respect international law and stop its aggression against Gaza” was resulting in unprecedented killings, deaths and human catastrophe”.
Saudi Arabia

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it denounced the attack in the “strongest terms” and stressed that “mass massacres” in the enclave “need to stop”.

Gaza is “experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe due to the ongoing violations of international law”, the ministry said.

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

The strike was “an extension of the brutal massacres and genocide committed by the Israeli occupation for more than ten months in the Gaza Strip”, the OIC said.

It called on the international community, especially the UN Security Council, to oblige Israel to respect its obligations as occupying power under international law and provide protection to the Palestinian people.
UN rapporteur

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations’s special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, condemned the world’s “indifference” to mass bloodshed in Gaza following the attack.

“Israel is genociding the Palestinians one neighborhood at the time, one hospital at the time, one school at the time, one refugee camp at the time, one ‘safe zone’ at the time. With US and European weapons,” Albanese posted on X.

“May the Palestinians forgive us for our collective inability to protect them, honouring the most basic meaning of international law.”

Save the Children

Tamer Kirolos, a regional director for the United Kingdom-based charity, called it the “deadliest attack on a school since last October”.

“It is devastating to see the toll this has taken, including so many children and people at the school for dawn prayers,” Kirolos said, adding that “children make up around 40 percent of the population and of people killed and injured since October” in the enclave.

“Civilians, children, must be protected. An immediate definitive ceasefire is the only foreseeable way that will happen.”

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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Hamas condemns Israeli airstrike on Al-Tabe'een, calls international community to stop genocide

2024-08-10 

Shafaq News/ On Saturday, Hamas condemned an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Tabe'een school in Gaza City, which killed over 100 people and injured dozens more. The group accused Israel of committing "genocide and ethnic cleansing" against Palestinians.

In a statement, the Palestinian military group said that such actions were made possible by US support, urging Arab and Islamic nations, as well as the international community, to take immediate action to stop what it called a "horrific crime and dangerous escalation."

"This (attack) is clearly part of the genocide and ethnic cleansing against our Palestinian people," Hamas said.

The airstrike targeted the school, located in the Al-Daraj neighborhood of eastern Gaza City, where displaced civilians had taken shelter. According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, rescue teams are still working to recover bodies and survivors from the rubble.

The Israeli military acknowledged the strike, claiming it was aimed at Hamas militants using the school as a command and control center. Hamas has consistently denied operating among civilians.

This attack is part of a broader escalation in Gaza, where Israel has struck six schools in the past week, leading to the deaths of hundreds, primarily women and children. Since the conflict escalated on October 7, the death toll in Gaza has reached 39,699, with the majority being children and women. An additional 91,722 people have been injured, though the numbers are expected to rise as many victims remain trapped under debris, with rescue efforts ongoing.

Palestinian factions condemn Israel’s ‘horrific massacre’ of Palestinian worshippers

Over 100 killed when Israeli army targeted school where displaced Palestinians performed fajr (dawn) prayer

Mustafa Haboush |10.08.2024 - 


GAZA CITY, Palestine

Palestinian factions strongly condemned on Saturday the "horrific massacre" perpetrated by the Israeli army against displaced Palestinians seeking refuge at the Al-Taba'een school in the Al-Daraj neighborhood, central Gaza.

The attack, which targeted civilian worshipers performing fajr (dawn) prayers, killed over 100 Palestinians and injured several others.

The Islamic Jihad movement labeled the attack as a "full-fledged war crime," and said: "choosing the timing of the dawn prayer to carry out this horrific and terrible massacre confirms that the enemy had the intention to cause the largest possible number of martyrs among civilians, including children and the elderly."

The Palestinian group Hamas also issued a statement condemning the “massacre,” calling it "a severe crime against humanity.”

The movement highlighted that this incident is part of a “broader pattern of violence, including previous attacks on hospitals and residential buildings.”

Fatah spokesperson Munther Al-Hayek said the attack is "a heinous crime against displaced civilians" and called on the international community to intervene immediately.

“The blood of children cries out to the global conscience to stop the genocide being committed by Israel in Gaza,” Hayek stated.

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) also condemned the “massacre,” arguing that “such crimes could only be committed by Israel due to the political and military backing” it receives from the US and the "deafening silence" of the international community.

Witnesses reported that three missiles targeted the prayer area turning it into a scene of carnage, with charred bodies and scattered remains.

With the bombing of Al-Taba'een school, the total number of schools targeted by the Israeli army in Gaza City over the past week has increased to six, according to an Anadolu tally.

Despite appeals on Thursday from mediators, including Egypt, the US, and Qatar, to stop hostilities, reach a cease-fire, and a hostage exchange agreement, Israel persists with its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip has killed nearly 39,700 people since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.


• Writing by Ikram Kouachi

Israel air strike on Gaza school kills more than 100, Hamas-run media office says


10 August 2024 - 

By Reuters


Palestinians inspect the site of Israeli strikes on a school sheltering displaced people, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Gaza City, August 3, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Image: Mahmoud Issa

More than 100 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in an Israeli strike on a Gaza school sheltering displaced people, the Hamas-run Gaza government said on Saturday, an air strike the Israeli military said had targeted a Hamas command centre.

The strikes hit when people sheltering at the school were performing dawn prayers, leading to many casualties, the Hamas media office said in a statement. Medics had not yet been able t reach all the bodies, it said.


There was no immediate information from Gaza health authorities.

The Israeli military said in a statement that its air force targeted a command and control centre where Hamas commanders and operatives were hiding.

The military said it had taken steps to reduce the risk of harming civilians, “including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and intelligence information”. It did not immediately comment on the casualty reports from Gaza.

Israel launched its assault on Gaza, aiming to wipe out Hamas after the Islamist group's fighters stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capturing more than 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

Health officials say most of the fatalities have been civilian. Israel, which has lost 329 in Gaza, says at least a third of the Palestinian fatalities are fighters.

The US, Egypt and Qatar are trying to revive Gaza ceasefire talks, scheduling a new round of negotiations for Thursday, as fears are growing of a broader conflict, involving Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah. Tehran also backs Hamas.

Israel has targeted 13 shelter centers housing displaced Palestinians in Gaza in August: Civil Defense

Over 100 killed  on early Saturday when Israeli army targeted school where displaced Palestinians were performing fajr (dawn) prayer

Anadolu Staff |10.08.2024 - 


ANKARA

Israel has conducted airstrikes on 13 shelter centers in Gaza, where displaced Palestinians have been seeking refuge, since the beginning of August, the Civil Defense spokesman in the besieged Palestinian enclave said on Saturday.

The latest attack came on early Saturday as Israeli military bombed the Al-Taba'een school in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, killing at least 100 Palestinians.

In a news conference, Mahmoud Basal, the Civil Defense spokesman in Gaza, said the Israeli attack on the Al-Taba’een school hit two floors – A floor housing women and another floor that served as a prayer room for displaced civilians.

The latest strike has resulted in numerous casualties, with many people still unaccounted for, he added.

“We demand the world to intervene immediately to stop the massacres against defenseless civilians in shelters,” Basal said.

Earlier, the Government Media Office in the Gaza Strip said: “The Israeli army directly targeted displaced civilians while performing fajr (dawn) prayers, (which) led to a rapid rise in the number of casualties.”

Despite appeals on Thursday from mediators, including Egypt, the US, and Qatar, to stop hostilities, reach a cease-fire, and a hostage exchange agreement, Israel persists with its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip has killed nearly 39,700 people since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi

Israel uses forced displacement as a persistent and systematic weapon in Gaza

9 out of every 10 people in Gaza, where approximately 2.3 million Palestinians live, have been forcibly displaced, according to UN

Mustafa Deveci |10.08.2024



ANKARA

The majority of the population of 2.3 million people in the Gaza Strip has been systematically forced to migrate from their homes by the Israeli army with its evacuation orders since last October 7, and has been driven into a small piece of land.

According to UN data, 9 out of every 10 people in Gaza, where approximately 2.3 million Palestinians live, have been forcibly displaced. Gazans, who are forced to choose between death and forced migration, have been displaced many times.

The people are being forced to migrate due to Israel's attacks that have turned Gaza into ruins.

Due to Israel's ongoing attacks, nearly 39,799 people, including 16,314 children and 10,980 women, have lost their lives in Gaza.



Many Gazans forced to migrate once a month

Forced migration has become the never-ending ordeal of Palestinians in Gaza.

The UN indicates that many Gazans have been forced to migrate once a month since last October. The Israeli army also carries out attacks on areas it claims to be “safe” under various pretenses.

As of Oct. 7, 2023, the Israeli army first concentrated its attacks on the northern region, where more than half of the population of Gaza lives.

In addition to intense airstrikes, the Israeli army, which rained bombs on the region from sea and land, asked the 1.4 million Palestinians in northern Gaza to leave their homes, claiming that the south was “safe.”

Palestinians, who did not want to leave the region despite the attacks, took shelter in hospitals and schools.

However, on Oct. 27, the Israeli army launched a ground offensive in northern Gaza, targeting hospitals and schools in the region, forcing thousands of Palestinians to flee.



Israel also launched ground offensive in Khan Younis

The vast majority of Palestinians forced to flee from the north took refuge in Khan Younis, the second-largest city in Gaza.

On Dec. 1, the Israeli army launched a ground offensive in Khan Younis, where Palestinians fleeing from the north had also taken refuge.

The Israeli army, which declared Khan Younis a conflict zone as in the north, asked the Palestinians there to leave the region.

After this, the Palestinians hit the road again with the few belongings they could take with them.



Israel attacked Rafah, which Biden called a ‘red line’

Palestinians who were displaced due to the attacks intensifying in the north and in Khan Younis migrated to Rafah, where there is little construction on the Egyptian border.

Because there were not enough buildings in Rafah, tens of thousands of Palestinians struggled to survive in makeshift tents.

The population of Rafah, which had a population of about 280,000 before the Israeli attacks, has increased more than 4 times to 1.4 million as displaced Palestinians took refuge in the region.

US President Joe Biden repeatedly said that he opposes Israel launching a ground offensive in Rafah, where displaced Palestinians have taken refuge.

However, Israel launched a ground offensive in Rafah on May 6, which Biden claimed was a “red line.” Despite Rafah being razed to the ground, the US administration turned a blind eye to the attacks, arguing that Israel had not “crossed Biden’s red line” in Rafah.

Some 1.4 million Palestinians who were displaced as a result of these attacks were also forced to flee Rafah in despair.

Israel trying to confine 2.3M Palestinians to tiny piece of land

The Israeli army, which has declared a large part of Gaza a “conflict zone,” is forcing Palestinians to migrate to the al-Mawasi region, which it claims is “safe.”

Israel, which continues to push millions of people into a small piece of land without giving them a chance to breathe, has repeated its threats to gather the population in 12 square kilometers (4.6 square miles).

Al-Mawasi, located on the Mediterranean coast between Deir al-Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah, is a region with no infrastructure and very little construction.

Palestinians who have fled Israel’s attacks are desperately trying to hold on to life in makeshift tents there.

The Palestinian Red Crescent says there is not a single tent left in al-Mawasi due to the migration to the region after the ground attack on Rafah.

According to the UN, only 14% of the Gaza Strip is currently outside the areas Israel wants evacuated.

This means that the majority of the people of Gaza, where approximately 2.3 million Palestinians live, are squeezed into a small area.

Due to the harsh conditions, especially the rising temperature and water shortage, many Palestinians have started living in the rubble of their homes instead of going to al-Mawasi.

Palestinians trapped between Mediterranean, al-Mawasi

In recent weeks, the Israeli army has been demanding the evacuation of some parts of al-Mawasi.

Gazans, who have taken refuge in al-Mawasi, are trapped in a narrow area on the Mediterranean coast.

Israel does not allow Palestinians who are trapped between al-Mawasi and the Mediterranean to return to the areas they came from.

Palestinians who have nowhere else to go are fighting for their lives in al-Mawasi, where they have taken refuge.

There are concerns that the Israeli army will launch a ground attack on al-Mawasi in the future.



*Writing by Gozde Bayar