Current Final

Tag: Hamas

  • ‘Soon many more will die’: What do we know about day 21

    ‘Soon many more will die’: What do we know about day 21

    At least 480 killed in Israeli attacks in past 24 hours

    More than 481 people have been killed in the last 24 hours alone as Israel continues air raids, reports Gaza’s health authority.

    In total 7,028 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the latest conflict, 66 per cent of them women and children, according to the authority.

    More information on Israel’s ground raid in Gaza

    The Israeli army’s spokesperson has said that during the past day, infantry, armoured and engineering forces, with air support, conducted a concentrated raid in the centre of the Gaza Strip as part of preparations for the “next stages of the war.”

    “The raid began yesterday in broad daylight, and all the forces I mentioned participated in it as combat forces, and it ended successfully in the hours of this morning,” the spokesperson said, adding that there were no casualties among Israeli forces, who exited Gaza after the conclusion of the operation.

    10 doctors, 10 trucks enter Gaza

    10 foreign doctors and 10 trucks carrying water, food and medicine have been sent to Gaza through the Rafah border.

    This means that 84 trucks have been sent to Gaza since the allowance of aid after October 7 – which authorities consider as a mere “drop in the ocean”.

    Hospital workers still require medical supplies and fuel on urgent basis to operate generators while thousands of injured await medical aid.

    ‘Soon many more will die’ from Gaza siege: UN

    The United Nations has warned that “many more will die” because of Israel’s “total blockade” of the Gaza Strip as medical services are “crumbling”.

    “People in Gaza are dying – they are not only dying from bombs and strikes, soon many more will die from the consequences of [the] siege imposed on the Gaza Strip,” said Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

    “Basic services are crumbling, medicine is running out, food and water are running out, the streets of Gaza have started overflowing with sewage.”

    1,000 unidentified bodies under Gaza debris

    According to estimates received by the World Health Organization, at least 1,000 unidentified people, who have not been added to the death toll, are still buried under the rubble of the destroyed building in Gaza.

    “We also get these estimates that there are still 1,000 plus people under the rubble which have not been identified yet,” said the UN health agency’s representative for the occupied Palestinian territory, Richard Peeperkorn.

    As of yet, more than 7,000 have been killed in Israeli air raids since October 7.

  • Biden has ‘no confidence’ in Gaza death toll: What do we know about day 20

    Biden has ‘no confidence’ in Gaza death toll

    In his latest statement, US President Joe Biden has said that he has “no confidence in the number that Palestinians are using” to report on the death toll in the Gaza Strip, which, according to the Palestinian health ministry, is over 6,500.

    “I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war,” Biden said.

    Previously, US intelligence officials also doubted the reported killings of 471 people in Gaza’s Al-Ahli Arab Hospital bombing on October 17. While the official number was provided by the Gazan authorities, the US believed the number fell between 100 and 300.

    According to the latest update by Al jazeera, the health ministry in the besieged enclave has claimed that killings in Gaza have crossed 7,000 as a result of Israeli air strikes including 2,913 children, 1,709 women and 397 elderly, the health ministry in the besieged enclave reported.

    West Bank

    Israel continues to raid Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, arresting more than 1,450 since October 7 and killing more than 100.

    Netanyahu talks about ground attacks on Gaza

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that Israel is getting ready for a ground operation in Gaza, however, he has not said when it is to start.

    “We are in a war for our sovereignty, for our existence, and we have set ourselves two fundamental objectives: to eradicate Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities and to do everything possible to bring the hostages … back home,” Netanyahu said on Wednesday.

    Another failed UN Security Council resolution on Gaza

    A US-led resolution calling for “humanitarian pauses” ended up in vain as Russia and China vetoed whereas the United Arab Emirates voted against it.

    Albania, France, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States voted in favour while Brazil and Mozambique abstained.

    China’s UN Ambassador Zhang Jun told the council after the vote that, “The draft does not reflect the world’s strongest calls for a ceasefire, an end to the fighting, and it does not help resolve the issue,

    “At this moment, ceasefire is not just a diplomatic term. It means the life and death of many civilians.”

    Previously, a Russia-led resolution urging for “humanitarian ceasefire” also failed to get enough votes in favour as only Russia, China, UAE, and Gabon voted in favour while UK and the US opposed it.

    Countries that abstained included Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Switzerland

    12 aid trucks sent but no fuel

    The Palestine Red Crescent Society reported to have received 12 trucks with food, medicine and medical supplies.

    Only 74 trucks have been allowed to enter the Gaza Strip since October 7 while fuel is yet to be supplied.

    Credit: Al Jazeera

  • Instagram influencers to follow for updates on Gaza

    Instagram influencers to follow for updates on Gaza

    Here is a list of people you can follow on Instagram to stay updated on what is happening in Gaza:

    Here is how can make sure you are able to keep up with all the posts of other similar accounts that are being censored:

  • Israel picks fight with United Nations: What do we know about day 19

    Israel picks fight with United Nations: What do we know about day 19

    Israel versus the United Nations

    Israel has refused to issue visas to United Nations officials after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres obliquely condemned Israeli orders to evacuate Gazans from the north to the south. Above all, he also said Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 did not happen “in a vacuum” as the Palestinians have been “subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation”.

    According to Al Jazeera’s reporter Gabriel Elizondo, Israel was “furious” and its officials called on the UN chief to resign.

    Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who was at the debate, “was so upset”, said Elizondo, “that he cancelled a meeting with the secretary-general that was supposed to happen Tuesday afternoon”.

    Additionally, the UN had been raising concerns over the lack of fuel in Gaza and the potential pause in its operations. In response to one of the UN’s posts on Tuesday, the Israeli military suggested the UN should approach Hamas for fuel supplies.

    The Israeli military claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that Hamas has more than 500,000 litres of fuel in tanks inside Gaza.

    “Ask Hamas if you can have some,” the military wrote.

    103 killed in occupied West Bank

    Increasing Israeli raids since October 7 in the occupied West Bank have resulted in 103 deaths.

    Syrian army attacked by Israel

    The Israeli military claims to have targeted Syrian army infrastructure and mortar launches, asserting that it was a response to Syrian aims at Israel.

    “Lebanon was never an aggressor”: Ambassador

    During the UN Security Council meeting, Lebanon’s ambassador, Hadi Hachem, stated that his country “is exerting every effort to disassociate” from this “bloody conflict”.

    He added that Lebanon was never an aggressor.

    “It has always been a victim of aggression by Israel since the [1960s].”

    Referring to Gazans, he said “There is no law or doctrine that justifies the systematic killing of a population that lives in an open-air prison for more than a half a century.”

    Hachem also shed light on the killings of 13 journalists in Gaza (including the killing of Lebanese journalist Issam Abdallah in southern Lebanon) because of Israeli attacks, “proof” of Israel’s “policy to suppress freedoms”.

    Earlier in the debate, the US accused Iran and its proxies of destabilising the region, claims the Iranian ambassador categorically rejected.

    600,000 Palestinians displaced

    The UN is reportedly sheltering nearly 600,000 Palestinians who have been internally displaced in 150 facilities whereas at least 40 UNRWA installations have been affected following Israeli attacks.

    “Our shelters are four times over their capacities. Many people are sleeping on the streets as current facilities are overwhelmed,” the agency said in a post shared on X.

  • More than 2,000 children have been killed in Israeli air strikes since Oct 7: What do we know about day 18

    More than 2,000 children have been killed in Israeli air strikes since Oct 7: What do we know about day 18

    704 Palestinians killed in last 24 hours

    The health ministry in the besieged enclave reports that Israeli attacks in the last 24 hours have killed 704 in Gaza.

    More than 19,000 displaced in Lebanon after border clashes

    The Israel-Palestine escalation has spread beyond borders. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported the displacement of 19,646 people while the United Nations has also estimated that more than 19,000 have been internally displaced in Lebanon after October 7 amid cross-border attacks.

    Friction between Hezbollah and the Israeli military is also feared to escalate.

    Killing of children

    Among the 5,087 people killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, more than 2,000 of them are children, the health ministry in the besieged enclave states.

    Between Sunday and Monday alone, 182 children were killed among the total of 436 Palestinians.

    Six more UN staff killed in Israeli bombing

    The UN Relief and Works Agency has lost six more staff members in Israeli bombing of Gaza, taking the death toll to 35.

    Occupied West Bank

    96 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces since October 7 and settlers while at least 1,800 have been wounded.

    Israel claims to have detained 500 Palestinians, allegedly linked to Hamas.

    Similarly, almost 1,500 people are trapped under the rubble in Gaza and rescue teams are unable to rescue all as Israel continues to target medical teams while authorities lack necessary equipment.

    Gaza not receiving enough relief supplies

    According to the UN, only 54 trucks with relief supplies have been allowed into Gaza since Saturday.

    Tamara al-Rifai, communications chief of the United Nations Palestine refugee relief agency UNRWA, deemed it as a drop in the ocean.

    He also highlights that fuel for generators has not been sent in the shipments whereas rice and lentils delivered cannot be cooked without the water and gas which are needed for cooking.

    Obama on Israel

    Former President Obama issued a new statement on Israel-Palestine escalation.

    In his statement, Obama condemns the October 7 attacks launched by Hamas, calling it an “unspeakable brutality” and supports Israel’s right to defend itself but under “international law.”

    “But even as we support Israel, we should also be clear that how Israel prosecutes this fight against Hamas matters. In particular, it matters — as President Biden has repeatedly emphasized — that Israel’s military strategy abides by international law, including those laws that seek to avoid, to every extent possible, the death or suffering of civilian populations,” Obama wrote.

    Obama also warns that blocking supplies into Gaza can put support for Israel at risk.

    “The Israeli government’s decision to cut off food, water and electricity to a captive civilian population threatens not only to worsen a growing humanitarian crisis; it could further harden Palestinian attitudes for generations, erode global support for Israel, play into the hands of Israel’s enemies, and undermine long term efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region,” he wrote.

    Obama further stresses on dismissing antisemitic, anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian narratives. And while he believes that Israel has “every right to exist,” he also notes that Palestinians have “also lived in disputed territories for generations.”

    “But if we care about keeping open the possibility of peace, security and dignity for future generations of Israeli and Palestinian children — as well as for our own children — then it falls upon all of us to at least make the effort to model, in our own words and actions, the kind of world we want them to inherit,” he concluded.

    Macron arrives in Israel on ‘solidarity’ visit

    The French president Emmaneul Macron also paid a visit to Tel Aviv to “express” France’s “solidarity” with Israel.

    Referring to October 7 attacks by Hamas, the President stated that “what happened will never be forgotten.”

    On the other hand, Israeli President Isaac Herzog asserts that his country is committed to “destroying” its adversaries, adding that, “We demand the immediate release of all our citizens,”

    Shedding light on Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah, he stated that “We are following very closely the situation,”, adding that Lebanon was “playing with fire”.

    “If Hezbollah drags us into a war it should be clear that Lebanon will pay the price”.

    Credits: Al Jazeera

  • COAS Gen Asim Munir meets Ambassador of Palestine

    COAS Gen Asim Munir meets Ambassador of Palestine

    Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir met the Ambassador of Palestine to Pakistan, Ahmad Jawad Rabei, at General Headquarters today.

    COAS offered his condolences on the loss of Palestinian lives in the ongoing war Israel has declared on Gaza.

    According to the official statement, “COAS expressed grave concern over unabated violence and willful, indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians by the Israeli Defence Forces in the war. Incessant attacks on civilian population, schools, universities, aid workers, hospitals and the forced exodus of Palestinians from Gaza are manifest crimes against humanity.”

    He also reasserted the need to call for immediate cessation of hostilities, open a humanitarian corridor to Gaza, protect civilians and adhere to the International Humanitarian Law.

    COAS also highlighted Pakistan’s “principled support for an independent, viable and contiguous state of Palestine established on the basis of pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital”.

    “Pakistan believes that the fresh spate of violence in Gaza is the result of unabated repression, continued human rights violations and state-sponsored sacrilege of Al Aqsa mosque. Conflating this war with terrorism would be naïve; taking a narrow and self-serving view of the issue as an isolated attack, obscures brutal oppression spanning decades that has led to this outcome” he said.

    “At this critical juncture, it is imperative that the international community mobilizes to put an early end to unfolding human tragedy due to disproportionate and unlawful use of force by Israeli Defence Forces and desist from encouraging them to continue perpetrating atrocities in manifest violation of all norms of civility and humane conduct”.

  • Friday prayers banned for second week in a row in occupied Kashmir

    Friday prayers banned for second week in a row in occupied Kashmir

    Jamia Masjid in Srinagar was closed down last Friday, October 20, during Friday prayers to bar prayers for Palestine.

    Kashmir Life reported that a press release from masjid authorities stated that for the second consecutive Friday, “police officials once again closed the gates of Jama Masjid Srinagar and informed the Auqaf not to open the gates for Friday prayers”.

    Jammu Kashmir People’s Freedom League Chairman Muhammad Farooq Rehmani condemned authorities for barring Muslims from praying and banning them to pray for Palestine.

    He highlighted the restraining of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and others throughout Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu Kashmir (IIOJK) who had been praying for peace and safety in Gaza.

    He further called out on Modi and his approach towards Palestine as it contradicts the central stance of India’s first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru and other advocates of the freedom movement.

    India had taken a pro-Palestine stance in 1948 in the UNSC and voted against the Palestinian segregation to provide a separate state for the Jews in Palestine.

    He also reflected on undermining peace and freedom in Kashmir and Palestine, both, under India and Israel through forces.

  • Palestinian death toll crosses 5,000: What do we know about day 17

    Palestinian death toll crosses 5,000: What do we know about day 17

    The number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli onslaught has reached at least 5,087, the Health Ministry has confirmed, whereas 15,273 have been wounded.

    In the past 24 hours alone, at least 436 people, including 182 children, were killed.

    Israeli airstrikes hit areas around Gaza’s Al-Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals. WAFA reports that a number of missiles hit the area surrounding Al-Shifa Medical Complex where currently the largest number of wounded are being treated as well as the largest number of medical staff working in the Gaza strip.

    The vicinity of Al-Quds Hospital, on the other hand, has been attacked for the second time.

    Al Jazeera reports that as per Palestinian officials, Israel has been directly threatening hospitals with evacuation, bombings, or bombing nearby areas, and creating uncertainty in the healthcare system.

    China’s call for ceasefire

    China’s Middle East special representative has asserted to do “whatever is conducive” to encourage a dialogue to lead to ceasefire and peace in the Middle East.

    China’s state media reported that Zhai Jun deemed the situation in Gaza as “very serious” and raised concerns over a potential escalation of conflict into the neighbouring countries, calling it “worrisome”.

    China attended the Cairo peace committee and has been in communication with foreign ministers including from Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Norway, as well as representatives from the UN and EU.

    Zhai also mentioned that China has been helping with emergency humanitarian assistance to Palestinians through the UN and via bilateral channels to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis.

    Two Hezbollah cells in Lebanon attacksTwo alleged Hezbollah cells in Lebanon were targeted by Israeli forces on Monday.

    123 Palestinians detained in occupied West Bank

    Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank have detained 123 Palestininas in the ongoing Israeli raids.40 people are said to be workers from the Gaza Strip.Israel, on the other hand, claims that 37 of the arrested are “Hamas members”.

  • 80 per cent of Gaza burns victims are children: What do we know about day 15

    80 per cent of Gaza burns victims are children: What do we know about day 15

    13 Palestinians killed in occupied West Bank

    At least 13 Palestinians have reportedly been killed in Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank.

    The Israeli raid led to clashes in the Nur Shams refugee camp.

    Among the killed Palestinians are seven children whereas one Israeli officer also died.

    Israel-Lebanon border

    Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah alongside Palestinian armed groups are still at odds as cross-border attacks continue.

    Al Jazeera reports that the attacks are limited to areas only a few kilometres on each side of the border, adding that Hezbollah is trying to stop Israeli potential operation into Gaza.

    ‘Fuel will not enter Gaza’: Israeli army spokesperson

    Daniel Hagari says the 20 trucks carrying aid into Gaza from Egypt will go to the southern part of the besieged enclave.

    But he stated that “fuel will not enter Gaza”.

    At a news conference after the opening of the Rafah crossing earlier, Hagari told reporters that only food, water and medical aid will be allowed to enter the enclave.

    Israeli air raids kill 46 in Gaza

    Air raids through the night have reportedly killed at least 46 people.

    Preparations for ‘next phase of war’

    Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has disclosed that the war will be carried through three phases and that preparations are underway “for the next phase of the war” which is said to be a ground operation.

    The first phase is under way which, as he explained, aims to destroy the military infrastructure of Hamas military. The second phase will be “lower intensity” operations to “destroy pockets of resistance”.

    “The third phase will require the removal of Israel’s responsibility for life in the Gaza strip, and the establishment of a new security reality for the citizens of Israel,” as highlighted in his statement.

    800 EU officials condemn chief’s support of Israeli attacks on Gaza

    In the light of the recent incessant Israeli attacks on Gaza, more than 800 EU officials have written to European Union’s chief, Ursula von der Leyen, condemning her “uncontrolled” support of Israel.

    Al Jazeera has reported seing the letter whereas the signatories of the letter say they “hardly recognise the values of the EU” and that there has been a “seeming indifference demonstrated over the past few days by our institution towards the ongoing massacre of civilians in the Gaza Strip, in disregard for human rights and international humanitarian law”.

    The signatories are also upset by the Commission’s “double standards” as on one hand, the Russian blockade of Ukraine is deemed as an act of terror, while Israel’s blockade of Gaza is “completely ignored”.

    “If Israel does not stop immediately, the whole Gaza Strip and its inhabitants will be erased from the planet,” the letter read.

    “We urge you [von der Leyen] to call, together with the leaders of the whole Union, for a ceasefire and for the protection of civilian life. This is at the core of the EU existence,” they said, warning “the EU risks losing all credibility”.

    The letter brings to light the conflict within the EU on the Israel-Gaza war.

    The letter also read that the European Commission’s “recent unfortunate actions or positions seem to give a free hand to the acceleration and the legitimacy of a war crime in the Gaza Strip”.

    “We would have been proud if the European Union … had called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and indiscriminate violence against civilians,” the letter read.

    UN update on casualties in Gaza, West Bank
    Death toll in the Palestinian enclave has risen up to 4,137 which includes 70 percent of children and women.

    Additionally, more than 1,000 people are said to be missing and are presumably under the buildings attacked by Israel.

    1.4 million people are internally displaced in Gaza while at least 30 percent of residency has been destroyed or damaged in Gaza.

    80 per cent of Gaza burns victims are children

    Ghassan Abu Sitta has said that medical workers no longer have dressings for burns victims.

    “We have more than 70 wounded with burns covering more than 40 per cent of their body surface. 80 per cent are children,” Abu Sitta said on X (formerly Twitter).

    10,000 Palestinians imprisoned in two weeks

    There were already about 5,200 Palestinians in Israeli prisons before the attacks of October 7. Following the incident, 4,000 Gazan labourers in Israel have reportedly been arrested while other 1,070 have been taken in in army raids in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

    Cairo Peace Summit to address war on Gaza

    More than a dozen countries participated in a conference in Cairo, Egypt to discuss ways to “de-escalate” the Israel-Palestine escalation while there is also a fear of the conflict rippling throughout the Middle East.

    The Cairo Summit for Peace was attended by Jordan, France, Germany, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, the United States, Qatar, South Africa and other countries alongside the United Nations and European Union.

    Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi urged all the leaders to collectively carve out a way to end the “humanitarian catastrophe” in the Gaza Strip and establish peace between the two sides.

    He also asserted the need to deliver aid to Gaza and call for a ceasefire as well as attainment of the two-state solution.

    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also attended the summit and appealed for the opening of the humanitarian corridors.

    “We will remain on our land.”, he added, saying that Palestinians will not leave.

  • Only 20 trucks of aid allowed into Gaza

    Only 20 trucks of aid allowed into Gaza

    The Rafah border between Egypt and Gaza has finally been opened for aid trucks into Gaza on Saturday.

    Al Jazeera reports that Hamas’s media office confirmed that “The relief aid convoy that is supposed to enter today includes 20 trucks that carry medicine, medical supplies, and a limited amount of food supplies [canned goods],”

    The World Health Organization took to X to highlight that its trucks consists of trauma supplies for 1,200 people, portable trauma bags for on-the-spot stabilisation for 235 people, medication for chronic diseases for 1,500 people, essential health supplies for 300,000 people for three months.

    It is, however, important to note that the besieged Gaza Strip has a population of 2.3 million people.

    Humanitarian workers have been saying that 20 trucks are not enough for the catastrophe caused by Israeli attacks on the Gaza strip. So far, more than 4,000 people have been killed while more than 12,000 are injured.

    The UN reported that there is a severe dearth of food and drinking water while sanitation facilities, water wells, reservoirs, and pumping stations have been destroyed due to air raids.

    Hamas’s media office has also stated that this aid “will not change the catastrophic medical conditions in Gaza”.

    Previously, US President Joe Biden visited Israel and announced the agreement to allow 20 trucks in Gaza through Egypt.