Current Final

Tag: Israel

  • Death toll crosses 8,000: What we know about day 23

    Death toll crosses 8,000: What we know about day 23

    Operation expansion

    Israeli spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, has announced that the Israeli military is expanding its operations.

    “We are moving to the next phase of our war against Hamas in Gaza – from the air, land, and sea,” he stated in a video shared on social media.

    Communication restored

    Earlier today, the Palestine Telecommunications Company announced that landline, mobile and internet services were gradually being restored while their technical teams have been “diligently addressing the damage to the internal network infrastructure under challenging conditions”.

    Hospital vicinity bombed

    Israeli air raids have targeted areas near Gaza’s largest hospital that currently has “tens of thousands of people seeking shelter”, AP reports.

    Without giving any proof, Israel claims that Hamas has a command post under the hospital.

    Additionally, Health Ministry officials have told Al Jazeera that at least 30 hospitals and health centres have shut down in Gaza since October 7 and that they have a dearth of medical and fuel supplies.

    Now more hospitals are expected to shut down in the coming days if supplies do not come in.

    Al-Quds Hospital will be bombed: Israel

    The Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) has received “serious threats” from the Israeli forces to “immediately evacuate the al-Quds Hospital as it is going to be bombed”.

  • Complete communication blackout in Gaza: What we know about day 22

    Complete communication blackout in Gaza: What we know about day 22

    Israel vs Hezbollah

    Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that three missiles were fired on HezbollahAs a result of Israel-Hezbollah exchange of fire, nearly 29,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, the UN reports.

    International Organization for Migration states that so far, 28,965 people have been displaced, mainly in the south, an increase by 37 per cent since October 23.

    Israel hits 150 underground targets in Gaza

    The Israeli army claims to have attacked 150 underground targets in the north of the Gaza Strip, including tunnels used by “terrorists”, resultantly killing a number of Hamas members in overnight air raids.

    Gaza communications blackout

    The Gaza strip is now experiencing a blackout of communications as Israel destroyed feeder lines and towers, cutting off phone networks and the internet, the Palestine Telecommunications Company says.

  • New York police arrest hundreds at Jewish protest urging Gaza ceasefire

    New York police arrest hundreds at Jewish protest urging Gaza ceasefire

    Hundreds of people were arrested Friday when police broke up a large demonstration of mostly Jewish New Yorkers who had taken over the main hall of Grand Central station in protest of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, police and organizers said.

    The New York Police Department said at least 200 people had been arrested, while protest organizers put the number at more than 300.

    Photos from the scene showed long lines of young people standing in handcuffs and wearing black sweatshirts with the words “Not In Our Name” and “Cease Fire Now” printed in white.

    The massive sit-in was called by the group Jewish Voice for Peace-New York City, which said thousands of its members had attended the protest, blocking the main concourse of the city’s central rail station.

    Pictures showed the terminal packed with protesters who held up banners reading “Palestinians should be free” and “Mourn the dead, fight like hell for the living.”

    Organizers called the peaceful sit-in “the largest civil disobedience New York City has seen in 20 years.”

    Rabbis launched the event by lighting Shabbat candles and reciting the Jewish prayer for the dead, known as the kaddish.

    “While Shabbat is typically a day of rest, we cannot afford to rest while genocide is unfolding in our names,” said Rabbi May Ye, in a statement released by organizers.

    “The lives of Palestinians and Israelis are intertwined, and safety can only come from justice, equality, and freedom for all,” the rabbi said.

    Israel launched its bombardment of Gaza after Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on 7 October, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 220 others, according to Israeli officials.

    The Hamas-run health ministry said Friday that Israeli strikes on Gaza had now killed 7,326 people, more than 3,000 of them children.

  • Palestinian Health Ministry provides credible casualty figures: UN

    Palestinian Health Ministry provides credible casualty figures: UN

    While US President Joe Biden has questioned the reliability of the death toll coming from Gaza, the United Nations has verified that the figures provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health have a history of being credible.

    “In the past, the five, six cycles of conflict in the Gaza Strip, these figures were considered as credible and no one ever really challenged these figures,” the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) chief, Philippe Lazzarini, said while speaking to the media on Friday.

    On Thursday, the Health Ministry released a 212-page document with names and identity numbers of those killed in Israeli air raid since October 7, having collected the data from morgues and hospitals.

    The list consists of 6,747 people killed in the Israeli attacks, including 2,665 children whereas 529 bodies are yet to be identified.

    Anadolu Agency has said that 8,400 people have been killed including at least 7,028 Palestinians and 1,400 Israelis.

  • ‘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.

  • Ushna Shah’s opinion on McDonald’s workers has divided social media

    Ushna Shah’s opinion on McDonald’s workers has divided social media

    Ushna Shah’s recent take on boycotting McDonald’s and other international franchises has divided social media. The actress is currently among the vocal celebrities calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Yesterday she expressed her outrage at a video showing IDF soldiers in Israel enjoying McDonald’s. The Israeli franchise was subjected to international backlash when they announced they were providing free meals to soldiers. Ushna shared the video and urged her followers to boycott the brand, writing:

    “I swear to God if I see anyone touch #McDonalds or have it anywhere near me I’m going to rage. Keep it the hell off my sets & if you choose to eat it or endorse it stay the hell away from me, & be prepared for an earful. And for Muslims, consider it as Haram as pork.”

    A commentor under her X post questioned if Ushna was thinking about the countless workers in local McDonald’s franchises, who would be jobless if the restaurant was boycotted. To which the ‘Habs’ actor responded:

    “Shut up. Those people can find employment at a local fast food chain . McDonalds is a Franchise and as a Franchise it has chosen to send 4000 daily meals to an army that is annihilating Gaza. Closing this franchise in Pakistan will open doors for local businesses to flourish which is far better for our economy. This argument is ridiculous. McDonalds needs to be banned. Simple.”

    While some users agreed with Ushna’ take to boycott McDonald’s, other’s felt her tweet reeked of elitism.

    There were users on X who agreed to stop purchasing McDonald’s to ensure their support for Palestine remains strong.

    “Mcdonalds is next to where i play football in Singapore. I sometimes had it on my way back. Today, i chose to walk 2 km to a local joint instead. If i can, you can.”

    But others felt her tweet especially regarding workers finding job elsewhere read like elitism, and many users pointed out there needs to be conversation on how the middle class survives boycotts like these.

    “an elite woman telling people who live the consequences of poor economy to go find another job is insane,” a user wrote.

    This user pointed out that we should help employees find new jobs so they’re not affected by the McDonald’s boycott.

    “An average #McDonalds employee earns 25 to 30K, and in a country where people beg for jobs, you’re asking them to leave their jobs? Who will provide them with new jobs? First get them jobs at local chains with same salary and a ration of a month then lash out at them. #Pakistan“

    “Someone please tell her that your boycott wont have any impact on global chain of McDonalds since they operate via franchise in Pakistan and the only loss would be Pakistan’s economy and people employed there. Get them job first then come up with such activism.”

    “and until those ppl dont get re-employed at a local chain, they’d be on Ushna’s payroll ? Its easier said then done. people do not estimate the impact. Its 5,000 to 8,000 families getting affected if a chain closes. Its not really about not having a big mac, that’s the easy part”

  • 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

  • ‘Worse than Nazis’: Israeli TikTokers slammed for mocking Palestinian deaths

    ‘Worse than Nazis’: Israeli TikTokers slammed for mocking Palestinian deaths

    As videos and pictures show the awful impact of Israeli airstrikes over Gaza, where the death toll is set to cross 7000, an awful trend of Israeli TikTok users mocking these war crimes has emerged online.

    An Israeli TikTok user danarazmakeup is going viral on social media after her recent video showed her mocking the Palestinians for lack of access to clean water, electricity and air conditioning. In the video, she is running around using the applicants in her home while looking at the audience in a mocking manner.

    Twitter user Hadi Nasrullah shared this clip with the caption: “Disgusting. More and more Israeli influencers and content creators are participating in trends mocking Palestinians in Gaza for not having water or electricity. And you want us to feel sorry for them.”

    Several X (formerly Twitter) users criticised the Israeli TikToker by calling her “worse than Nazi’s”.

    Other videos included parents along with their children, mocking Palestinians by applauding their lack of electricity, and even comparing them to dogs.

    An Arab TikTok user Yeganeh shared a series of clips posted by Israeli users who were mocking Palestinians trauma. .

    In the comments section, several users urged everyone to public the names of these TikTok accounts so they could be reported.

  • 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