Samar Elkhadour, a Palestinian woman who had been trying to get her daughter Jana out of Gaza, for the past several years. She finally got the call from Global Affairs Department of Canada allowing her daughter with special needs to immigrate to Canada, two weeks after her death. The news was featured in CBC Montreal News.
Jana was born with severe cerebral palsy and was living with Samar’s in-laws in Gaza. Samar was living in Canada and was trying to get her daughter to join her as she dealt with Jana’s immigration process. Jana died on January 8 – four days after her 13th birthday – in Gaza, due to malnutrition and lack of medicine and two weeks later, Samar got the green light from the Canadian government to bring her but it was too late.
Samar talked to host Debra Arbec in a show and spoke her heart out. She shared how she had hoped to give her daughter the comfort she deserved had she been allowed to move in with her family. She along with her husband and other children left Gaza back in 2017 as a refugee but the immigration bureaucracy in Canada did not help them at all. Back then, her daughter was relatively safe because the escalation was not spiking. However, after October 7, she decided to move her to a church because she thought she’d be safe there under international law. “What happened after that, the Church was surrounded by tanks and snipers and there were restrictions on the entry of food,” Samar related with teary eyes, “Jana could only have soft food and since it is a war, this is a privilege”. Her health deteriorated and because she was not given proper medication she passed away.
When the interviewer asked about the time she got to know about the green light to bring her daughter to Canada, Samar replied, “I laughed, because it’s ridiculous. It was a child’s life at stake.”
The two then went on to discuss the immigration process in Canada and Samar highlighted the double standards of the process especially with Palestinians. She stressed the immediate need of a ceasefire.
In a huge setback to Israel, 24 of its soldiers were killed in the biggest single-day losses since the start of its ground war in Gaza.
The soldiers were killed on Monday, with the army saying 21 of them were reserve soldiers who got killed when rocket-propelled grenade fire hit a tank and two buildings they were trying to blow up.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an investigation was launched into the “disaster” and that Israel “must learn the necessary lessons”. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said the “Deaths of 24 of our fighters, our best sons…is a heavy blow”.
Israeli soldiers were planting explosives to blow up 10 civilian homes in the Maghazi Refugee Camp in Gaza “to purify the area”.
An RPG missile fired at them triggered all the explosives they planted & killed 21 IDF soldiers. pic.twitter.com/DnZYzxg8D4
On the ground, fighting raged in Khan Yunis, the biggest city in southern Gaza, which the army said it had “encircled”.
Witnesses said powerful explosions rocked Khan Yunis, as well as Deir al-Balah in north Gaza and Rafah in the south.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health said Nasser Hospital and El Amal City Hospital in Khan Younis, among the few partially functioning hospitals in the territory, were under “extreme danger” from Israeli bombardment.
“The buildings of the Nasser Medical Complex are exposed to shrapnel, endangering the lives of patients, staff and displaced people,” the ministry said on its Telegram channel on Tuesday.
“The Israeli occupation places Nasser Medical Complex and El Amal Hospital in Khan Younis in extreme danger,” it said, calling for “urgent intervention” to safeguard both facilities.
Moreover, Al-Jazeera just released a video compilation of Israeli soldiers filming themselves enjoying and being insensitive to the Palestinian properties.
Israeli soldiers have been filming themselves mocking Palestinians and posting it on social media as they continue their war on Gaza ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/xdZeAb4z6x
Motaz Azaiza, the photojournalist called “The Eye of Gaza”, has evacuated the besieged strip after showing the world the reality of living in Palestine. He has landed in Qatar and has kickstarted the mission of taking the cause of advocating for the plight of Palestineans forward by participating in talk shows for Al-Jazeera. His absence on ground is missed.
There are plenty of journalists on ground who are risking their lives to show the world the war crimes being committed by Israeli forces and the genocide of poor Gazans.
Bisan is the leading journalist after Motaz. She is working with leading news portals and has shown daily life in Gaza since October 7. In her own words, she has been displaced more than thrice in the course of the last 100 days but is determined to keep documenting the genocide that is taking place in Gaza.
Hind Khoudary, a reporter who has worked closely with Motaz and is still in Gaza, is taking refuge in Motaz’s home reporting the havoc inflicted upon Gaza by Israel.
It has been more than 100 days since Israel began the genocide in Gaza. Not just for people in the West but also for Muslims at large, this period has been a time of self-realization and a strengthening of their beliefs. Yakeen Institute for Islamic Research, surveyed 1800+ English-speaking Muslims to gauge the change of attitude in their religiosity and the results are astounding.
Demographics of the Yakeen sample include 74 per cent female; 61 per cent live in North America, 13 per cent live in Europe, 18 per cent live in Asia, and 6 per cent live in Africa; 41 per cent are under 35 years of age; 50 per cent were South Asian, 17 per cent Arab, and 10 per cent black/African.
70 per cent of people in Yakeen’s sample believe that the liberation of Palestine is a religious issue. Consequently, 93 per cent believe that Palestine is ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ important to them personally, and 97 per cent believe its liberation is a high priority for the Muslim world, with 70 per cent saying it is the highest priority for the Muslim world. The people are also in agreement that Muslim nations should not normalize relations with Israel, with 96 per cent stating they are opposed to normalization and feel that it would cause additional harm to the people of Palestine.
78 per cent of those surveyed reported that their relationship with Allah has improved since the assault on Gaza began. Yakeen Institute said that this is likely because people were reminded of death but the most important factor is the unshakeable faith of the people of Gaza, elevating the ummah’s religiosity and consciousness.
A Christian woman who said that her whole family is Zionist, after seeing a Gazan man kissing the eyes of her martyred grandson:
There are many videos from the besieged strip but one, of a little boy thanking Allah Almighty even in the most dire circumstances where 8 of his family members have been martyred, is particularly hard-hitting.
Witnessing this has caused 91 per cent of respondents to state that the people of Gaza have given them ‘quite a bit’ or ‘a lot’ of religious inspiration, with 97 per cent reporting being ‘quite’ or ‘extremely’ proud of the people of Gaza.
Faith in the Midst of Adversity | A displaced Gazan, drenched in the pouring rain, performing ablution so that he can pray. pic.twitter.com/yqIZLClIPD
Many have started opening the Qur’an to understand the divine message that instills messages of resilience in the people of Gaza. Famous TikToker Meghan B Rice is one such example. 85 per cent of Muslims reported feeling ‘quite a bit’ or ‘a lot’ of comfort in the Qur’an, and 80 per cent found similar levels of comfort in the biography (seerah) of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. The Qur’an has come to life in new ways for Muslims.
Megan Rice took her Shahada
Alhamdulillah sister. Welcome to our family
Megan Rice has embraced Islam after studying the Qur’an (she got curious by the faith of the Palestinians) pic.twitter.com/WyneMDjj6p
The details of the afterlife found in the Qur’an and Sunnah have also brought tremendous comfort and clarity to Muslims worldwide. For example, 96 per cent reported that knowing that our brothers and sisters who were martyred are alive in paradise brought ‘quite a bit’ or ‘a lot’ of comfort.
Almost 30 Australian women accepted Islam seeing the steadfastness of Gazans.
TikTok is the budding platform promoting such voices as the famous pro-Palestine Instagram account palestineonaplate posted, “The faith of the Palestinians in Gaza has woken up the world. Not just in support against the genocide that is happening but also towards Islam. Atheists, Christians, non-believers, reverts, everyone has been inspired by the faith the Gazans have in Allah and more and more people are converting to Islam because of this.”
Renowned climate justice activist Greta Thunberg recently took to Instagram and posted a recaptcha privacy which needs the user to testify that they stand with Palestine to be recognised as human.
True to her no-holds-barred attitude, she captioned the image, “Verify that you’re a human”.
Greta is an advocate for human rights along with the climate justice campaign. Since Israel started genocide in the Gaza Strip, Thunberg has voiced her support for Palestine multiple times.
A member of the Israeli war cabinet, Gadi Eisenkot, has told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a meeting to “stop lying” to himself.
The Times of Israel has reported that while addressing the cabinet, Eisenkot stated, “We have to stop lying to ourselves, to show courage, and to lead to a large deal which will bring home the hostages. Your time is running out, and each day that passes endangers their lives.”
The minister’s son and nephew were both killed fighting in Gaza, leading him to believe that Israel’s leaders are lying to themselves.
Gadi Eisenkot with his deceased son.
However, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant dismissed the criticism, reiterating their belief that only added military pressure will lead to such a deal.
Surrounded by family and friends, clapping and cheering, Gaza woman Afnan Jibril beams a brilliant smile on her wedding day, determined to celebrate even as war rages.
“We are a people that love life, despite death, murders and destruction,” said her father, Mohamed Jibril.
Relatives were gathered on Friday for the wartime wedding in a tiny room at an abandoned school building in the besieged Gaza Strip’s southern city of Rafah, near the frontier with Egypt.
The city has suffered daily Israeli bombardment, and the families of both bride and groom are among hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have fled the fighting further north.
“The usual preparations for marriage are not possible, and traditional ceremonies are not feasible,” said the bride’s father. “However, clothes are available, although they are scarce and expensive.”
Afnan, 17, donning a crown of flowers and pristine white dress with stark red embroidery, and her partner Mustafa Shamlakh, 26, want to make the most of their rare chance to celebrate.
They dance and laugh as guests spray white mousse around the room.
But eventually they have to face reality.
Israel’s relentless military campaign, triggered by attacks by Palestinian militants, has killed at least 23,843 people, mostly women and children, in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
The war began when Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack on October 7, which resulted in about 1,140 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
The newlyweds make up part of another grim tally — those displaced by the violence, which UN estimates put at 1.9 million Palestinians out of a total population in Gaza of 2.4 million.
“The house where the groom was supposed to live was destroyed,” Ayman Shamlakh, the groom’s uncle, told AFP.
As the war went on, both families felt there was nothing to be gained from waiting and they agreed to the marriage.
After the school celebration, the couple head for a ceremony set to take place in a tent.
As they dive into a waiting black SUV, surrounded by a massive crowd of well-wishers, it almost looks like any other wedding day.
“We are all living through the same tragedy,” said Ayman Shamlakh. “However, we must continue to live, and life should go on.”
American and British forces have launched fresh raids on Yemen’s capital, Houthi rebel forces confirmed on Saturday, a day after the allies carried out dozens of strikes on the country.
The latest raids targeted Al-Dailami airbase in Sanaa, which has been under Houthi control since 2014, a statement released on their official media stated. “The American-British enemy is targeting the capital, Sanaa, with a number of raids,” Al-Masirah TV posted on X, formerly Twitter, citing its correspondent in Sanaa.”The American-British aggression targeted the Al-Dailami base in the capital, Sanaa,” it added.
Raids on Yemen follow weeks of Houthi attacks on Israel’s ships in the commercial Red Sea in protest against the war on Gaza.
The strike on a Houthi radar site comes a day after scores of attacks across the country heightened fears that Israel’s aggression on Gaza could engulf the whole Arab region.
The Houthis warned that US and British interests were “legitimate targets” after the initial strikes. Britain, the United States and eight allies said strikes carried out on Friday had aimed to “de-escalate tensions”, but the Houthis vowed to continue their attacks. Hussein al-Ezzi, the rebels’ deputy foreign minister, said the United States and Britain would “have to prepare to pay a heavy price”.
The rebels have controlled much of Yemen since a civil war erupted in 2014 and are part of the “axis of resistance” against Israel and its allies.
Violence involving these groups in Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria has surged since the war in Gaza began in early October.
BREAKING: Massive United States fleet of warships seen off the coast of Yemen.
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UN chief Antonio Guterres called on all sides “not to escalate” in the interest of regional peace and stability, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Friday, days after adopting a resolution demanding the Houthis immediately stop their attacks.
At the meeting, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield warned that no ship was safe from the threat posed by Houthis to shipping in the Red Sea.
Russian ambassador Vassili Nebenzia denounced the “blatant armed aggression” against the entire population of the country.
Red Sea attacks and the politics of the Middle East
The Houthis have intensified attacks on what they deem Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea- through which 12 percent of global maritime trade normally passes- since October 7.
The United States and Britain launched strikes on Friday that targeted nearly 30 locations using more than 150 ammunitions, US General Douglas Sims said, updating earlier figures, and President Joe Biden said he did not believe there were civilian casualties.
Biden called the strikes a successful “defensive action” after the “unprecedented” Red Sea attacks and said he would act again if the Houthis continued their “outrageous behaviour”.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the Houthis’ breach of international law warranted the “strong signal”, with his government publishing its legal position justifying the strikes as lawful and “proportionate”.
Nasser Kanani, spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, said the Western strikes would fuel “insecurity and instability in the region” while “diverting” attention from Gaza.
The Houthis fired “at least one” anti-ship ballistic missile in retaliation on Friday that caused no damage, according to Sims.
The United States said it did not seek conflict with Iran, with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby telling MSNBC there was “no reason” for an escalation.
Middle Eastern leaders voiced concern at the violence, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan describing the strikes on Yemen as disproportionate and saying: “It is as if they aspire to turn the Red Sea into a bloodbath.”
Saudi Arabia said it “is following with great concern the military operations” and called for “self-restraint and avoiding escalation”. The kingdom is trying to extricate itself from a nine-year war with the Huthis, though fighting has largely been on hold since a truce in early 2022.
Palestinian freedom fighting group Hamas said it would hold Britain and the United States “responsible for the repercussions on regional security”.
‘Death to America’
Hundreds of thousands of people, some carrying Kalashnikov assault rifles, gathered in Yemen’s capital Sanaa on Friday to protest, many waving Yemeni and Palestinian flags and holding portraits of Huthi leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi, an AFP journalist reported.
5 million people protested in Yemen today. Does The United States and Israel know what they got themselves into? This is terrifying, pic.twitter.com/MBRw9f8X5r
In Tehran, hundreds rallied against the United States, Britain, and Israel, burning the three countries’ flags outside the UK embassy while voicing support for Gazans and Yemenis, an AFP correspondent reported.
In Gaza, Palestinians lauded Houthi support and condemned Britain and the United States. “No one is standing with us but Yemen,” said Fouad al-Ghalaini, one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians left homeless by Israel’s bombardment of Gaza City
A video of an Israeli soldier blowing up a Gaza neighbourhood as a gift for his wife is being slammed on social media.
The soldier, who says his wife has been his strength, pays tribute to her. “My life, I wish you good luck, you are the best in the world and because of your strength, I am here.” He goes on to explain that as a gift he is dedicating the explosion to her. “This explosion is for you, as big as your heart,” he says.
This is not the first time Israeli soldiers are seen committing what experts call war crimes as tributes to their families. In another video, soldiers are seen celebrating the bombing.
IDF troops from unit 9219 of the Combat Engineering Corps Battalions were filmed in another video blowing up multiple residential buildings while smoking hooka to depict that they do not care about the consequences of their actions.
American President Joe Biden’s speech at a church in South Carolina was interrupted by chants of “Ceasefire Now” by supporters of the Palestinian cause. The president was there as part of the presidential campaign to woo black voters. This is the same church where a white supremacist shot nine black people in 2015.
‘Ceasefire now!’⁰
US President Joe Biden’s speech at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, was interrupted by pro-Palestine protesters demanding a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Palestine’s Gaza pic.twitter.com/XE8oPGHBUN
As he was talking about the horrific incident, one protestor got up and said, “If you really care about the lives lost here, then you should honour lives lost and call for a ceasefire in Palestine.” She was then joined by others saying, “Ceasefire Now”. One of them was seen shouting “Blood on your hands” to Biden.
The President was seen calming the charged crowd by raising a hand and saying, “That’s alright”. As security personnel removed the protesters from the church, he said: “I understand their passion, and I’ve been quietly working, quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza.”
According to the Gaza health ministry, more than 23,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7.
Biden faced the same situation previously at a human rights’ dinner in Washington DC where pretended to not listen.
“Let Gaza live. Ceasefire now”.
US President Joe Biden is interrupted by a pro-Palestinian protester while giving a speech at a human rights dinner in Washington, DC ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/ZYfTOUgqKy
