Tag: Hamas

  • 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.

  • Hamas releases two American hostages

    Hamas releases two American hostages

    Hamas has released two American captives who were captured in the October 7 attacks on Israel.

    Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie Raanan are also the first ones to be released since the attacks.

    Al Jazeera reports that Hamas’s armed wing al-Qassam Brigades spokesperson Abu Ubaida said that they freed the hostages “for humanitarian reasons” following mediating attempts made by Qatar.

    US President Joe Biden thanked Qatar and Israel for their collective efforts in ensuring their release.

    A spokesperson for Qatar’s foreign ministry stated that the release was the result of “many days of continuous communication with all parties” and that they hope to “release of all civilian hostages from every nationality”.

    The Israeli military believes that many of the detained are still alive.

    Following October 7 and the killings of 1,400 Israelis at the hands of Hamas, Israel has killed more than 4,000 Palestinians in Gaza Strip as a response; and has also foisted a “complete siege” which it says it will not lift till Israeli hostages are freed.

    Red Cross released a statement stating, “The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) helped facilitate this release by transporting the hostages from Gaza to Israel, underscoring the real-life impact of our role as a neutral actor between the warring parties,

    “The ICRC continues to call for the immediate release of all hostages. We are ready to visit the remaining hostages and to facilitate any future release following an agreement reached by the parties.”

  • 400 congressional staffers demand ceasefire in letter to Congress

    400 congressional staffers demand ceasefire in letter to Congress

    On Thursday, Muslim and Jewish congressional staff members in the US signed a letter demanding that Congress call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. They termed the situation “especially urgent” in view of “antisemitism, anti-Muslim, and anti-Palestinian sentiment on the rise nationwide.”

    The letter has been reportedly signed by 411 staffers, opposing the Biden administration’s approach to the Israeli assault on Palestine.

    Following the events of October 7, an Illinois man killed a 6-year-old Palestinian-American child in Chicago. Jewish and Muslims have expressed fear of increasing hate crimes.

    As the letter condemned the Hamas attack on Israel, it then highlighted the “catastrophic suffering” of the Palestinians “at the hands of the Israeli government”.

    It underlined the 6,000 bombs dropped on the Gaza strip, death of more than 4,000 Palesinians, shortage of food, medicine, water, electricity etc because of Israeli blockade.

    “We have appreciated seeing nearly every Member of Congress express quick and unequivocal solidarity with the Israeli people, but we are profoundly disturbed that such shows of humanity have barely been extended to the Palestinian people. Only a fraction have called for a cease fire or at least cessation of hostilities. We believe that Palestinian civilians deserve to be remembered,mourned, and defended with the same rigor that Jewish Israelis deserve from the U.S. Congress.”the letter read.

    “As Muslims and Jews, we are tired of reliving generational fears of genocide and ethnic cleansing. We are tired of leaders pushing us to blame each other, exploiting our pain and our histories to rationalize political agendas and justify violence.”

    Previously, a US Department of State senior official had resigned after America’s assurance to provide increased military aid to Israel, saying the US-back Gaza war would consequently result in trouble for Israelis as well as Palestinians.

    Josh Paul, a director in the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, published a note on social media on Wednesday that the administration of President Joe Biden was repeating the same mistakes Washington has been making for decades.

    “The response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people,” he wrote.

    “I fear we are repeating the same mistakes we have made these past decades, and I decline to be a part of it for longer,” he said, adding that the Biden administration’s “blind support for one side” was leading to policy decisions that were “shortsighted, destructive, unjust and contradictory to the very values we publicly espouse”.

    Read more: US government official resigns over ‘provision of lethal arms to Israel’

  • Seven hospitals, 21 health centres out of service: What do we know about day 14

    Seven hospitals, 21 health centres out of service: What do we know about day 14

    Church Attack

    The Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church, a shelter for several Palestinian families in Gaza, was struck by Israeli bombing on Thursday night.

    Muslims and Christians, together, were seeking refuge under its roof however, Israel military targeted the Church killing and injuring dozens.

    According to Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office, 18 Christian Palestinians were among the killed.

    Israel air strike destroys al-Omari Mosque

    In another Israeli air raid, the historic al-Omari Mosque in the northern Gaza Strip has been razed.

    Humanitarian aid stuck at the closed Rafah crossing

    Humanitarian aid consisting of food, medicine, water purifiers, hygiene products and blankets have been stacking up in Egypt’s Sinai region at El Arish airport.

    It had been decided that Rafah border, the gateway to Gaza, would open but as of Friday morning, it remains closed.

    Some report that it could open on Saturday.

    On Thursday, the UN chief Antonio Guterres said in Cairo that “rapid, unimpeded humanitarian access” is urgently required and that the Rafah crossing and El Arish airport “are not only critical, they are our only hope” and “lifelines” for the people of Gaza.

    100+ targets attacked Gaza overnight

    The Israeli army claims to have attacked more than 100 targets last night across Gaza Strip.

    The attacks have reportedly destroyed tunnel shafts, munitions warehouses and dozens of operational headquarters.

    Read more: Israel attacks church sheltering displaced Christians and Muslims

    7 hospitals, 21 health centres out of service

    Health ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra spoke at a press briefing outside al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, saying that seven main hospitals and 21 health centres are now out of service.

    Forty-six members of medical teams have been killed and 23 ambulances are completely destroyed.

    “What’s going on in the Gaza Strip is a big massacre against our Palestinian people, against the Muslims and Christians … Israel is undoubtedly going to commit more massacres and the international world is witnessing [this],” he said.

    He also reported that 4,137 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7 which includes 1,661 children whereas 13,260 people are wounded.

    Palestinians harassed in West Bank

    Since October 7, raids and arrests of Palestinians have increased in the West Bank — to be specific, more than 900 have been arrested in just two weeks whereas at least 10 people have been taken from Nur Shams refugee camp last night.

    20 arrested in the Nur Shams refugee camp

    The Israeli army has arrested 20 people and killed a dozen “terrorists” during its operation in the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

    According to Al Jazeera, at least 13 people have been killed among whom seven were children.

    Since the Hamas attack in Israel, around 900 people have been arrested from the occupied West Bank, and at least 10 people were taken from this refugee camp alone last night.

    Credits: Al Jazeera

  • Scotland willing to take in Palestinian refugees

    Scotland willing to take in Palestinian refugees

    Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf posted a video message on X (formerly Twitter), saying that the U.K. is willing to take Gaza refugees in, following Israel’s bombardment of Palestine.

    “So, many of them don’t want to leave and neither they should have to leave but for the million that have been displaced just in this current conflict, for those that want to leave, there should be a worldwide refugee scheme,

    “Because of the numbers, the world should be involved.”

    Yousaf also urged other countries to open their borders to refugees from Gaza.

    “Let’s say that Scotland will be a place of sanctuary for them as we have shown that kindness and compassion for others. Let us show it once again and this time for the people of Gaza,” Yousaf said, adding that Scotland is willing to lead the way for the rest of the U.K.

    “And Scotland is willing to be the first country in the U.K. to take those refugees,” he said.

    In another video, the First Minister stated that Scotland’s hospitals will care for the Gazans injured in the escalation and requested the U.K. government to “begin work on the creation of a refugee resettlement scheme for those in Gaza who want to, and of course are able to, leave.”