Tag: war on gaza

  • Israel drops leaflets containing ayats from The Quran on Palestinians

    Israel drops leaflets containing ayats from The Quran on Palestinians

    Residents of Khan Yonis in the besieged Gaza Strip have received leaflets quoting a verse in the Quran which states “The flood overtook them as they were wrongdoers.”

    The witnesses say that the Israeli army has showered the leaflets through a plane in the area, the latest focus of Israeli military’s ground offensive.

    Journalist Aamer Tabsh in Khan Younis says he saw Israeli planes drop thousands of fliers.

    Tabsh says residents are convinced the reference to the epic flood of Noah in the Quran and the Bible “means that something much worse is coming.”
    Some are linking it to Hamas’ name for its October 7 onslaught against Israel, “Al Aqsa Deluge,” or flood.

    Al-Jazeera points to recent reports that the Israeli forces are considering flooding Hamas’s subterranean tunnel network with seawater to force out its fighters.

  • Mehdi Hasan’s show cancelled by MSNBC

    Mehdi Hasan’s show cancelled by MSNBC

    The prime-time show anchored by Mehdi Hasan, one of the strongest advocates of the Palestinian cause on American news networks, has been cancelled by MSNBC network.

    The decision was first reported by the news website Semafor on Thursday. The host of The Mehdi Hasan Show is a British-born journalist known for his hard-hitting interviews. He is a rare critic of Israeli policies on USA cable news and has a huge fanbase. The show was broadcast live on Sundays at 8 pm US Eastern time and covered national politics, current affairs, and global news.

    Mehdi Hasan will instead now become an on-camera analyst and guest host. His weekend show will be replaced by an additional hour of Ayman, the news program hosted by Ayman Mohyeldin.

    Hasan was recently very vocal about Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip. Earlier in November, he interviewed Mark Regev, senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel’s former ambassador to the UK, questioning him firmly on the high Palestinian civilian death toll, the Palestinian children that were killed by the Israeli military, and related matters.
    Hasan asked: “They’re people your government has killed. You’ve killed children. You accept that, right? Or do you deny that?”
    To which Regev replied: “No, I do not.”

    MSNBC President Rashida Jones said the reshuffle aims to “better position” the network as it heads into the 2024 US elections.

    Before what is reportedly the official cancellation of the Mehdi Hasan show, MSNBC faced criticism for temporarily taking Muslim anchors off air during the war in Gaza. The current decision has also attracted a lot of criticism.

    Noura Erakat slammed the network by saying “He should be amplified, not shut down.”

    Columnist and Journalist Owen Jones praised Mehdi’s interviewing skills and said, “Look what’s happening: the few mainstream voices who challenge Israel’s mass slaughter of Gaza are under attack.”

    US journalist David Sirota noted that Hasan has reported critically on both Republicans and Democrats.
    “Canceling him is another step in the deliberate homogenization of news content into pure red-vs-blue infotainment,” Sirota wrote on X.

    Host and author Charlie Skyes appreciated Mehdi and called him the most gifted interviewer in US Media.

    Kenneth Roth, former director of Human Right’s Watch proclaimed the decision as outrageous.

    Race theorist and author Tim Wise lambasted MSNBC that the network should be ashamed of its decision.

  • Avoid calling the Hamas’ people ‘terrorists’, Voice of America tells staff

    Avoid calling the Hamas’ people ‘terrorists’, Voice of America tells staff

    One of the editors of the US state run broadcasting agency Voice of America, has sent an email to staff and journalists, asking that they should avoid using the word ‘terrorists’ for Hamas while reporting on the ongoing siege of Gaza by Israel.

    Washington Post has reported that Republicans are criticising the news organization for deviating from the official government narrative, stating that the government-funded news organization should not shy away from using the word ‘terrorist’.

    The mail suggested, “In covering the Israel-Gaza war — or any other conflict — we need to remember VOA’s commitment to fairness, neutrality and balance. We cannot favor one side over another or do anything that feeds even the perception of bias. The October 7 attacks on Israel may be described as terrorist attacks or acts of terror, but avoid calling Hamas and its members terrorists, except in quotes.”

  • Why is #ElonToGaza trending on Twitter?

    Why is #ElonToGaza trending on Twitter?

    #ElonToGaza is one of the top trends on Twitter right now, appearing on the microblogging site after Elon Musk’s visit to Israel.

    The billionaire tycoon and owner of X (former Twitter), having made a number of controversial statements about the Gaza situation, went to Israel and met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Herzog. The tour took place after one of his tweets, dubbed anti-semitic by critics, went viral on social media. The contents of the tweet promoted the conspiracy theory that white people in the West are being “replaced” through immigration from the Global South with the help of progressive Jews – “the actual truth”.

    Details of the visit

    Accompanied by Prime Minister Netanyahu, the tech billionaire also visited a kibbutz that was raided by Hamas fighters on October 7, during an assault that left 1,200 people dead. He was also shown footage of the Hamas attack and met some of the families of people taken into captivity from Israel.

    Elon’s Twitter Space with Netanyahu

    “It was jarring to see the scene of the massacre,” said Musk later in an X Spaces conversation with Netanyahu, adding Israel has “no choice” but to eliminate Hamas.
    In the brief life-streamed conversation on X, Musk and Netanyahu agreed that Hamas needs to be eradicated. “You first have to get rid of the poisonous regime as you did in Germany, as you did in Japan. Yeah, in World War II,” said Netanyahu. Musk replied, “There’s no choice. There’s no choice.”

    Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Musk during a meeting that he had a huge role to play in the global fight against anti-Semitism.“We have to do whatever is necessary to stop the hate,” Musk replied, according to a statement released by Herzog’s office.

    Despite the fact that the Israeli Prime Minister condemned Musk for the tweet, he welcomed the visit by stating that Musk’s visit to Israel points to his solidarity with Israel.

    Purpose of the visit

    Musk reached an agreement with Israel “in principle” that internet access to Gaza may be provided through Starlink, but only using units operated by Israel and with the approval of the Israeli Ministry of Communications.

    In October, CEO Musk said that “Starlink will support connectivity to internationally recognised aid organisations in Gaza.”

    As Gaza plunged into darkness after its communications blackout in October, social media users pleaded with Musk to provide the besieged Gaza Strip with internet access through Starlink.

    Musk was prompted to provide internet connection in Ukraine through Starlink as it uses satellite and not cables to provide internet. People accused him of having “double standards” when it comes to Gaza where a brutal war is being inflicted by Israel. Even Israel has previously opposed Starlink connectivity for Gaza, contesting that Hamas would use it for “terrorist activities”.

    Now netizens are questioning Elon for not visiting Gaza despite the destruction and death that has befallen innocent civilians there.

    Hamas has also sent an invitation to Elon Musk.

  • ‘My daughter considered herself a queen in Gaza,’ says Israeli hostage released by Hamas

    ‘My daughter considered herself a queen in Gaza,’ says Israeli hostage released by Hamas

    An Israeli hostage named Danielle Aloni held captive by Hamas for 49 days, has penned an emotional note, expressing gratitude to her captors for their remarkable kindness towards her daughter Emilia, TRT World has reported.

    The note reveals that she was doted upon by everybody in captivity. Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, shared the letter on its official Telegram account.

    “Children should not be in captivity, but thanks to you and other kind people we met along the way, my daughter considered herself a queen in Gaza and in general, acknowledges feeling like the centre of the world,” Danielle stated in her letter.

    She expressed her gratitude by stating, “Thank you, thank you, thank you for the countless hours you spent as caregivers.”
    Danielle acknowledges the challenging circumstances and substantial losses experienced by her captors in Gaza. However, she finds it within herself to express a desire for their health and well-being.

    “I wish in this world we could truly be good friends,” she wrote and added her well wishes to Gazans, “I wish you all health and well-being… health and love to you and your families’ children.”

    Danielle and Emilia Aloni were among 24 Israeli hostages released by Hamas on November 24. They were visiting Danielle’s sister and her family at Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel before being taken hostage.

  • South Africa’s parliament votes in favour of closing Israeli embassy

    South Africa’s parliament votes in favour of closing Israeli embassy

    South African Parliament has voted in favour of the closure of Israel’s embassy in Pretoria and the suspension of diplomatic ties with the country amidst the siege of the Gaza Strip.

    The votes in favour were 248 and 91 against the motion. The action is actually symbolic because it will be up to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to implement it. The President has already maintained that Israel is committing war crimes and genocide in the Gaza Strip. In a recent statement on X, President Ramaphosa, “We urge the international community to agree on urgent and concrete actions to end the suffering in #Gaza and establish a path towards a just and peaceful resolution of his conflict.”

    Relations between Israel and South Africa have deteriorated over the years because of the former’s apartheid of Palestine. The country has not had an ambassador in Israel since 2018.

    In the BRICS summit on Tuesday, South Africa called for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities” in Gaza.

    South Africa is the most recent country to suspend ties with Israel over the Gaza war. Others include Turkey, Bahrain, Jordan, Colombia, Chile and Honduras.

  • World Children’s Day celebrated as ‘graveyard of children’, Gaza, remains under siege

    World Children’s Day celebrated as ‘graveyard of children’, Gaza, remains under siege

    World Children’s Day is annually celebrated on November 20. The theme for this year is ‘For every child, every right’. The blatant irony is that the day is being celebrated as the children of Gaza do not even have the fundamental right to life. They are being orphaned, injured, losing limbs, burned by white phosphorus, or worse, killed. With the war entering the seventh week, almost 5000 children are dead. 1800 children are missing under the rubble, presumably dead, while 9000 are severely injured with life-changing consequences.

    One out of every 200 children in Gaza has been killed by Israeli strikes since October 7. This is like one child is killed every 10 minutes in the besieged Gaza strip.

    A report published by Save the Children published when the toll was around 4630, said that the number of deaths “surpasses the annual number of children killed across all the world’s conflict zones since 2019.” The report clearly mentioned that “no child in Gaza is safe at the moment”.

    The children who have survived will bear trauma for the rest of their lives but their imminent problems are hunger, fear, lack of shelter, hygiene.

    The New York Times, called out multiple times by critics of the war, today published its headline, ‘Graveyard of Children’. In the course of the last six weeks, the world saw a girl pushing her way out of the rubble, another bawling her eyes out searching for her mother insisting she had recognized her among the dead from her hair, a boy who lost his parents in the first bombing and his legs to the second in the hospital, children’s corpses burned and decimated, and as many as 30 crying infants who are out of incubators, walking the thin line of life and death.
    Dr Abu-Sittah told The NY Times “More and more, it seems like a war against children.”

  • Norway’s Parliament asks govt to be prepared for recognizing ‘independent’ Palestine

    Norway’s Parliament asks govt to be prepared for recognizing ‘independent’ Palestine

    Eight out of the ten parties represented in Norway’s parliament voted for the recognition of an independent Palestinian state in future.
    The proposition was propounded by the ruling coalition-to counter the resolution by smaller parties-calling for an immediate recognition of a Palestinian state.

    The resolution stated that the parliament “asks the government to be ready to recognize Palestine as an independent state when recognition could have a positive impact on the peace process, without making a final peace accord a condition.”

    The resolution has gained the ire of Israel as the process of evacuation of 60 Norwegian nationals from Gaza has been stopped as per reports.

    In Europe, Iceland, Sweden, Poland, Czech Republic, and Romania recognize the statehood of Palestine.

    Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has also ensured his parliament that the process of recognizing Palestinian’s right to statehood will be sped up.

    Belgium has also begun the process of recognizing the right.

    Irish opposition leader Mary Lou McDonald has reiterated the call for a ceasefire, asserting that “Palestinian people have a right to their homeland.”

  • Pakistani-American woman who spoke at pro-Israeli rally slammed by fellow citizens

    Pakistani-American woman who spoke at pro-Israeli rally slammed by fellow citizens

    A video of a woman named Anila Ali speaking at a pro-Israel rally in Washington DC about her representing the Muslim American Pakistani community and showing her support for the Israelis has emerged online.

    In the speech, she states that she stands in unison with the Israeli Jewish community.

    “The war to destroy the Jews and Jewish homeland must end once and for all,” says Anila emphatically. She goes on to explain the similarities between Islam and Judaism as both are Abrahamic religions. Explaining that Islam prohibits the horrific acts Hamas committed on October 7, she ends her remarks, by saying, “Am Yisrael Chai.”

    Since the video showed up, Anila Ali has been severely criticised by Pakistanis for her support of Israel. She has since switched her account to a protected one on Twitter.

    Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan criticised her in the strongest possible words.

    Actor Hina Khwaja Bayat said, “How DARE she speak on our behalf? How DARE she call herself a Pakistani?”

    Journalist Raja Faisal reminded her that she is standing with Zionism, not Jews.

    It’s not the first time that she has received criticism for her overtures to Israel. Back in 2022, she, along with a delegation, visited Israel claiming to represent Pakistan even though Pakistan does not accept Israel as a state. The Pakistani-American activist who helped organize the visit is the California-based co-founder of the American Muslim and Multifaith Women’s Empowerment Council.

    The group comprised a few other Pakistani American Muslims including journalist Ahmed Quraishi, lawyer Rana Seyd, and Pakistani Jew Fishel BenKhald.

    Ahmed Quraishi is still active on Twitter, advocating Israel’s cause since October 7.

  • Canada’s Trudeau tells Israel to end ‘killing of women, of children, of babies’

    Canada’s Trudeau tells Israel to end ‘killing of women, of children, of babies’

    Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for Israel to “stop killing of women, of children, of babies” in the besieged Gaza Strip. However, he did not mention the word ceasefire.

    Trudeau has received flak for his silence on civilian deaths at the hands of Israeli forces. In a video that emerged from a public meeting at Vancouver, Trudeau can be seen surrounded by protestors chanting, “Ceasefire Now”.

    In other videos, it can be seen that people were calling him out for his lack of conscience as protestors were shouting about him “having blood on his hand”

    In a conference in the western province of British Columbia Prime Minister Trudeau said, “The world is witnessing this killing of women, of children, of babies. This has to stop.” He further made his tone harder and said, “I urge the government of Israel to exercise maximum restraint, The world is watching, on TV, on social media – we’re hearing the testimonies of doctors, family members, survivors, kids who have lost their parents.”

    The statement has gained him the ire of Israel’s Netanyahu who addressed Trudeau in a post on X, “It is not Israel that is deliberately targeting civilians but Hamas that beheaded, burned and massacred civilians in the worst horrors perpetrated on Jews since the Holocaust, the forces of civilization must back Israel in defeating Hamas barbarism.”

    While Trudeau has maintained that Israel has the right to defend itself, Trudeau’s statement is seen as a major shift in the country’s stance, even though a complacent one. “The price of justice cannot be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians,” Trudeau said on Tuesday. “All wars have rules. All innocent life has equal worth. Israeli and Palestinian.”

    Last week, Trudeau called for a significant humanitarian pause in the conflict to allow for the release of all hostages and the delivery of enough aid to address civilian needs in Gaza.

    After France’s Macron, he has become the second leader from the West to call out Israel as a major shift of stance.