Palestinians fight for their lives and their stolen lands

[Anthea]

Civil Defense official recounts
to Al Mayadeen grim Gaza accounts

International and local officials are calling for action regarding the ongoing Israeli siege of Palestinians in northern Gaza

Civil Defense official speaks to Al Mayadeen horrific Gaza conditions

Emergency services are unable to reach areas of distress and the locations of martyrs and injured individuals, the spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, Mahmoud Basal, said.

Speaking to Al Mayadeen, Basal revealed that Israeli artillery units are shelling displaced civilians in the area

"The occupation is intent on a policy of killing and is carrying out acts of extermination, targeting residential gatherings to force the population to flee in northern Gaza," he told Al Mayadeen.

As for Israeli acts of ethnic cleansing, more than 600 martyrs were transferred for burial to the Kamal Adwan and Al-Awda hospitals from the besieged area, while hundreds of others remain missing.

"We receive many appeals from those trapped under the rubble in Jabalia," Basal explained, stressing that "real action is required from international organizations" to resolve the issue.

"Our teams are suffering from siege, starvation, extermination, and the destruction of all necessities," the official added.

Basal affirmed that what is happening in northern Gaza is genocide and ethnic cleansing, aimed at eradicating all means of life. He noted that 85 emergency workers were killed and 290 were injured as a result of direct Israeli attacks.

He also warned that fuel shortages could force emergency workers to halt their work in the area.

"Our teams are also suffering from hunger, as most of us have not tasted food for days; how can we continue to work?"

"Can you imagine the consequences if our services for the citizens in northern Gaza [were halted]?"

More than a quarter million aid trucks have been turned back from the Gaza Strip

In a similar vein, the Government's Media Office in Gaza announced that Israeli occupation forces prevented the entry of more than a quarter million aid trucks since the onset of the genocide against the Palestinian people.

The Media Office indicated that this constitutes a crime against humanity and entrenches the policy of starvation in the Gaza Strip, particularly in northern Gaza and specifically around the Jabalia camp.

The Media Office expressed its astonishment and shock at the silence of the international community, European countries, and the world regarding the brutal crimes committed by the Israeli occupation against more than 2,400,000 people in Gaza. It noted that the continuation of this catastrophe amid global silence portends a deep humanitarian crisis that could claim thousands of Palestinian lives.

It condemned the Israeli occupation's crime of starving civilians, especially children, as well as the prohibition of aid and goods for 169 days in the southern governorates of the Gaza Strip and for more than 180 days in Gaza City and northern governorates of the Gaza Strip, as part of the ongoing war of extermination and ethnic cleansing against civilians.

It called on all governments to condemn these compounded and ongoing crimes against the defenseless Palestinian people, holding the Israeli occupation, the US administration, the UK, Germany, France, and the countries participating in the genocide fully responsible for the ongoing crime of starvation against civilians, children, and women.

Furthermore, it urged the international community to exert real and serious pressure on the criminal occupation to stop the starvation, killing, and extermination of civilians in northern Gaza.

Meanwhile, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), has made an urgent appeal to halt the Israeli aggression on northern Gaza.

Lazzarini noted that UNRWA staff members are struggling to find basic necessities like food, water, and medicine in the region. He urged for an "immediate truce, even if just for a few hours" to ensure the safe passage of forcibly displaced families.

The humanitarian official pointed to "three weeks of non-stop bombardments from Israeli Forces" and an increasing death toll, in a plea that he posted on X.

"The smell of death is everywhere as bodies are left lying on the roads or under the rubble," he wrote, adding "missions to clear the bodies or provide humanitarian assistance are denied."

On Monday, Lazzarini said that Israeli authorities are blocking off humanitarian missions to northern Gaza, denying them entry to critical supplies including medicine and food for besieged people.

Ethnic cleansing, the Generals' Plan

"Denying & weaponizing humanitarian assistance to achieve military purposes is a sign of how low the moral compass is," Lazzarini posted on X.

What the head of UNRWA described are the effects of the Israeli regime's "Generals' Plan", which it has been employing in Jablia for three weeks now.

This plan focuses on transforming the area into a closed military zone, where civilians are forced to go elsewhere or starve to death if they choose to stay. Israeli occupation forces implement this plan by massacring Palestinians, either by direct fire or bombardment, while cutting off all supplies and aid to the area.

This systemic aggression can only be described as the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in northern Gaza and a clear act of genocide.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... m-gaza-acc

[Anthea]

PIJ's al-Quds Brigades message to Hezbollah

A commander says al-Quds Brigades take pride in being "an integral part of the Axis of Resistance that is loyal to Palestine and its sacred sites."

.The Resistance fighters of the al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, addressed their brothers in the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah, in a letter of solidarity and allegiance, conveyed through Al Mayadeen.

The video published by the Brigades' Military Media first shows freedom fighters walking through tunnels plastered with pictures of Hezbollah's martyred Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

A commander of the Brigades begins his message with a salute to the people of the Gaza Strip, assuring them, from the heart of Palestine, that the Resistance remains steadfast and will not cease its operations in light of the escalating Israeli aggression on the Strip, Lebanon, and Yemen, and as devotion to the leaders that were martyred in the fight for liberation and on the noble path of support of Palestine.

"We tell our brethren in Hezbollah that together, we are drawing a heroic scene of unity of the battlefields," the commander affirmed, adding that the impact of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon's missiles and rockets leaves the Israeli enemy "screaming and bleeding"

The commander also assured that the al-Quds Brigades continue to eliminate the occupation forces commanders and soldiers in southern occupied Palestine, reiterating that the land belongs solely to the Palestinian people, warning the enemy to expect nothing less than relentless combat.

The Resistance will not compormise on its people's rights, he further stressed, and will not be broken.

Despite the siege, bombings, and security conditions, the Brigades have not stopped preparing [to confront the enemy] both underground and above ground, the commander affirmed, underlining that the decision to fight until the last breath has been made and will not change.

Exhibiting and emphasizing the unity of the Resistance movements in the region, the commander stated that the Brigades take pride in being "an integral part of the Axis of Resistance that is loyal to Palestine and its sacred sites."

"We complement each other's roles and move with confidence and determination toward our shared goal of a free al-Quds and Palestine," he concluded.

This comes as the Axis of Resistance, from the Palestinian factions to the Yemeni Armed Forces and the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon and Iraq continue to strike the Israeli occupation as its aggression continues against sovereign lands and civilians across the region.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... -through-a

Occupation Forces:
A situation in which an army moves into and takes control of a place by force

And in the case of the Israelis, then claims the land and removes/kills the legal owners of said place and moves it's own thieving people to settle on the land

The US and shamefully the UK are among others actively support the murderous thieving Israelis, I just cannot understand WHY !?!

[Anthea]

Israeli airstrike targets
Al Mayadeen's Beirut Office

The Israeli occupation forces launched an airstrike that targeted an office for Al Mayadeen in the Jnah locality in the Lebanese capital of Beirut

On Wednesday evening, the Israeli occupation forces launched an airstrike targeting an office of Al Mayadeen in Beirut. The channel had evacuated the premises at the onset of the aggression against Lebanon.

In response, Al Mayadeen held the Israeli occupation accountable for the assault on the well-known media outlet. The channel emphasized its commitment to reporting the truth amid ongoing conflicts

Footage reveals that just moments ago, "Israel" launched an airstrike on #Beirut’s Southern Suburb, striking the second floor of a residential building between Ouzai and Jnah.

Following the attack, Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mardawi condemned the assault on Al Mayadeen's office, highlighting the channel's pioneering work in uncovering the facts.

In an interview with Al Mayadeen, al-Mardawi stated that the channel dismantles the narratives of those aligned with the occupation, asserting its role as a fighting media outlet combating an adversary intent on obscuring realities and disseminating misleading accounts

According to Lebanon's Health Ministry, one person was killed and five others were injured, including a child, in the Israeli attack.

Israeli attacks on Al Mayadeen

The Israeli occupation government approved on August 11 a proposal by Minister of Communications Shlomo Karhi to renew the ban on the Al Mayadeen media network. The decision includes the confiscation of its equipment and the blocking of its websites.

Israeli media reported that the Minister of Communications pursued a new government decision after obtaining a "professional opinion" from security agencies and receiving approval from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In November 2023, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved the suspension of the Al Mayadeen media network in occupied Palestine. The ban followed a joint statement by the Minister of Occupation Security, Yoav Galant, and the Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karai, who cited the network as a threat to “Israel’s security” as the reason for the ban.

The Israeli decisions against Al Mayadeen Network come as it continues to cover Operation Al-Aqsa Flood epic since October 7th, until today, in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and occupied al-Quds.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... -in-beirut

[Anthea]

Gaza refugee center massacre

Dozens have been martyred and wounded in fresh attacks carried out by the Israeli occupation forces on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza

The Israeli occupation's indiscriminate and violent bombardment of Gaza continues, with 17 Palestinians, including 9 children, killed Thursday after airstrikes targeted the Martyrs of Nuseirat School in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, an Al Mayadeen correspondent reported.

The school was sheltering displaced civilians fleeing the Israeli onslaught on the besieged Strip. The attack also left 52 others injured, many critically.

In another incident, Israeli artillery bombarded the eastern part of al-Bureij refugee camp, also located in central Gaza. In northern Gaza, the Israeli occupation forces intensified their attacks on civilians, including airstrikes on the al-Zeitoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, and refugee tents at Abu Hussein School in Jabalia refugee camp.

These intensive attacks come amid a 19-day-long siege on northern Gaza, further devastating the population deprived of basic necessities, such as food and medicine.

Israeli drone fires missile on Civil Defense team

The Palestinian Civil Defense reported that its teams were targeted on Wednesday in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, as part of what they described as an Israeli campaign to forcibly displace residents and block humanitarian aid.

"Yesterday evening, we were surprised by Israeli drone activity in the area, warning our teams and medical staff to immediately abandon their vehicles and proceed to the Indonesian Hospital, where Israeli forces are stationed, and access is only allowed after inspection," the Directorate of Civil Defense said in a statement.

As the crews attempted to evacuate, an Israeli drone fired a missile directly at them, wounding three personnel. The only fire truck available to serve the northern region was also hit by artillery shells, completely destroying it and rendering firefighting efforts impossible in the area. The Directorate of Civil Defense announced that its operations in northern Gaza had been halted entirely.

Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, several civilians were injured when an Israeli airstrike targeted a motorcycle in the al-Tanour area, east of Rafah. In another strike, three Palestinians were killed and others were wounded when Israeli forces bombed a house in the Ma'an area, east of Khan Younis.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health's daily report, Israeli forces committed four massacres against families in Gaza within the last 24 hours, resulting in 55 martyrs and 132 injuries arriving at hospitals.

The Israeli occupation forces have been relentlessly bombarding Gaza for over a year, an ongoing aggression has killed 42,847 Palestinians and wounded 100,544 others, mostly women and children, with thousands still missing under the rubble.

IOF besiege Jabalia for the 20th consecutive day

Al Mayadeen's correspondent in northern Gaza reported that occupation forces opened fire from helicopters on the Jabalia camp, resulting in injuries among several civilians in the area. Meanwhile, Israeli artillery and drones targeted the streets of the Beit Lahia project.

According to our correspondent, displaced individuals were also injured in Jabalia al-Nazla due to an Israeli bombardment that targeted them.

The occupation forces continued their raids on homes in the northern Gaza Strip, targeting them with machine guns, artillery, and drone strikes. They also attacked shelters while blocking the entry of humanitarian aid, forcing families to flee the area.

Following the famine in the northern Gaza Strip, our correspondent reported a similar situation in the central and southern regions, highlighting the ongoing Israeli blockade and the depletion of all goods, including flour.

IOF prevent Civil Sefense from working

Meanwhile, Gaza's Civil Defense announced a complete suspension of its services in northern Gaza, highlighting that Israeli occupation forces detained five of its members in the Sheikh Zayed area and abducted them to an unknown location. Additionally, the occupation has detained at least 200 Palestinians from Jabalia camp.

The Civil Defense stated that its operations had completely halted in the northern governorate due to the disastrous situation, leaving citizens in the North without any humanitarian services.

In this context, the Civil Defense announced that its crews were directly targeted on Wednesday in the Beit Lahia Project area. This attack is seen as part of an Israeli strategy to empty northern areas from citizens and to obstruct all efforts to secure humanitarian or medical assistance.

Israeli drones were hovering over the area where Civil Defense and medical services teams were stationed in the Beit Lahia Project, demanding that they vacate their vehicles immediately and proceed to the Indonesian Hospital. The occupation army is stationed there and only allows passage after thorough inspection and search.

The statement noted that as the crews attempted to evacuate the area, an Israeli aircraft fired a missile directly at them, injuring three members with various wounds. Additionally, the only fire truck providing services in the northern areas was targeted with artillery shells.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... gee-center

[Anthea]

Three journalists killed in Lebanon

Three journalists have been killed in an Israeli airstrike on a building known to be housing reporters in south-eastern Lebanon

The attack was carried out on a guesthouse in a compound in Hasbaya being used by more than a dozen journalists from at least seven media organisations - with a courtyard containing cars clearly marked with "press".

The three men worked for broadcasters Al-Manar TV and Al Mayadeen TV, which issued statements paying tribute to their killed employees.

Lebanon's information minister said the attack was deliberate and described it as a "war crime".

The Israeli military has not yet commented, but has previously denied targeting journalists.

Those killed were camera operator Ghassan Najjar and engineer Mohamed Reda from news channel Al Mayadeen, as well as camera operator Wissam Qassem from Al-Manar

The Lebanese ministry of health said three others were injured in the blast.

Five reporters had been killed in prior Israeli strikes in Lebanon, including Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah.

Footage broadcast by Al-Jadeed TV - whose journalists were also sharing the house - showed a bombed-out building with a collapsed roof and floors covered in rubble.

A vehicle used for TV broadcasts was overturned on its side, its satellite dish mangled with cabling nearby.

"All official parties were told that this house was being used as a stay-house for journalists. We coordinated with them all," an Al-Jadeed journalist, caked in concrete dust, said in a live broadcast while panting and coughing.

Lebanese journalists covering the conflict in the south of the country had to relocate from nearby Marj'youn to Hasbaya, as the former became too dangerous.

Youmna Fawwaz, a reporter for broadcaster MTV Lebanon, told the BBC that journalists in the compound were awoken at around 03:00 local time (01:00 BST) by the strike.

She said ceilings had fallen in on them, and they were surrounded by rubble and dust, with the sound of fighter jets overhead.

Each news organisation had their own building in the compound, she said, and the building housing the Al Mayadeen reporters was "obliterated" while al-Manar employees were inside.

Ms Fawwaz said it was a media compound known as such to both Israel and Hezbollah.

"The airstrike was carried out on purpose. Everyone knew we were there. All the cars were labelled as press and TV. There wasn't even a warning given to us."

She added: "They are trying to terrorise us just like they do in Gaza. Israelis are trying to prevent us from covering the story."

Lebanon's information minister accused Israel of intentionally targeting journalists, in contravention of international law.

"The Israeli enemy waited for the journalists' nighttime break to betray them in their sleep," Ziad Makary wrote in a post on X.

"This is an assassination, after monitoring and tracking, with prior planning and design, as there were 18 journalists there representing seven media institutions."

Hasbaya, about five miles (eight kilometres) from the Israeli border, is inhabited by Muslims, Christians, as well as people from the Druze ethnic and religious minority.

It has seen attacks on its peripheries in recent weeks, but this was the first strike on the settlement itself.

The attack comes as part of an expanding conflict in Lebanon, where Israel has been intensifying air strikes for weeks - as well as launching a ground invasion on border towns and villages in the south.

Lebanese authorities have recorded over 1,700 air strikes across the country in the past three weeks.

Hostilities broke out between Israel and Hezbollah on 8 October last year, the day after Hamas's attack on Israel that killed around 1,200 people. The Iran-backed armed group has since been firing rockets and drones into Israel in what it described as "solidarity" with Palestinians in Gaza.

Nearly 2,600 people in Lebanon have been killed in the current conflict, according to the country's health ministry - many of the deaths occurring since Israel began escalating its attacks on 23 September.

Around 60,000 people in northern Israel have been displaced by Hezbollah rocket fire, and the Israeli government has declared returning them to their homes to be a key objective.

In southern Lebanon, satellite imagery examined by the BBC shows Israel's intensified bombing campaign has caused more damage to buildings in two weeks than occurred during a year of cross-border fighting.

Data shows that more than 3,600 buildings in Lebanon appear to have been damaged or destroyed between 2 and 14 October - about 54% of the total damage.

The attack comes days after the Israeli military accused six Al Jazeera journalists working in northern Gaza of being affiliated with Hamas or other armed Palestinian groups.

The Qatari broadcaster said it denies and "vehemently condemns" the allegations.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 123 Palestinian journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched a war in the territory last year.

Gaza's Hamas-run health authority has reported more than 42,000 people killed since.

Two Israeli journalists have also been killed in the conflict.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpvz2rzm4k0o

[Anthea]

It Is With Great Sadness That I Share This

Farewell to beloved colleague:

Ghassan Najjar laid to rest in Beirut

Mourners have shared heartfelt stories and memories of Najjar's dedication to his career, highlighting his unwavering commitment to conveying the truth

Farewell to a beloved colleague: Ghassan Najar laid to rest in Beirut
Martyr journalist Ghassan Najjar laid to rest in the Southern Suburb of Beirut (Al Mayadeen)

In a somber gathering filled with grief and remembrance, the Al Mayadeen family, alongside the loved ones of the martyred journalist and cameraman Ghassan Najjar, gathered to pay their final respects in the Southern Suburb of Beirut.

Mourners shared heartfelt stories and memories of Najjar's dedication to his career, highlighting his unwavering commitment to conveying the truth.

As the procession made its way through the familiar streets, the atmosphere was thick with emotion, a reminder of the sacrifices made by those who risk their lives to shed light on the brutality of ongoing Israeli aggression on Lebanon.

In a solemn ceremony in #Beirut’s Southern Suburb, colleagues, friends, and family gathered to bid farewell to Ghassan Najjar, the #AlMayadeen cameraman killed by "Israel" in the line of duty.

Najjar dedicated himself to revealing the reality on the ground, courageously… pic.twitter.com/nAwB3LYFr7
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 26, 2024

The ceremony served not only as a farewell but also as a commemoration of Najjar's legacy, ensuring that his contributions to the Al Mayadeen Network and the pursuit of justice would never be forgotten.

With unyielding spirit, Ghassan Najjar's message before his martyrdom

In a moving tribute, Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon, Fatima Ftouni, shared a soul-piercing message from her colleague, Ghassan Najjar, just hours before he was martyred in Hasbayya, southern Lebanon on Friday.

Najjar's words, as per our correspondent, were resolute and courageous, as he said, "We will stay, and we will continue, even if the warplanes bomb us."

His unwavering commitment to his duty, despite the dangers, reflects the deep determination of those on the frontlines.

On his part, Al Mayadeen's correspondent Ali Mortada delivered a powerful message in the aftermath of the Israeli occupation's attack on journalists. His words were defiant, as he said, "The enemy's aggression sends a clear message: we must either remain silent or face death.

Yet, we stand firm and declare our fearlessness. If they seek to strip us of our right to speak, we will only amplify our voices. We will not forsake this duty, no matter the cost to our lives.

In a powerful message from the field, #AlMayadeen's correspondent Ali Mortada fiercely condemned "Israel’s" attack on journalists in Hasbayya in South Lebanon, interpreting it as a clear ultimatum: "Remain silent or die."

Our correspondent highlighted how Israeli occupation… pic.twitter.com/pqy15PwqGq
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 25, 2024

These heartfelt declarations from Najjar and Mortada encapsulated the bravery and resolve of journalists committed to the truth, even in the face of brutal Israeli aggression.

'Israel' attacks press in Lebanon, Al Mayadeen mourns two colleagues

Early this morning, Israeli occupation forces carried out an aerial attack on the place of residence of press crews in Hasbayya, southern Lebanon, resulting in several casualties among journalists, cameramen, and technicians.

Shortly after, the Lebanese Civil Defense announced that three journalists were killed in the Israeli airstrike on the town of Hasbayya.

Following the deliberate attack on the freedom of the press, Al Mayadeen announced the martyrdom of two of its crew members covering the Israeli war on Lebanon across the southern front: cameraman Ghassan Najjar and broadcast engineer Mohammad Reda.

On its part, Al Manar TV mourned its cameraman Wissam Qassem who was also martyred in the Israeli aggression

Commenting on the aggression, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Al Mayadeen Media Network, Ghassan Ben Jeddou, held the Israeli occupation "fully responsible for this war crime in which it targeted the journalists' crews, including Al Mayadeen's."

"The Israeli occupation's targeting of the journalists' residence was deliberate, and there are others wounded from other Arab channels as well," he said.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... -to-rest-i

[Anthea]

IOF bombings wipe out
entire neighborhoods in Jabalia

As the mass murder in north Gaza continues, Israeli occupation forces have evacuated all shelters in northern Gaza, forcibly displacing individuals and preventing Palestinians from moving freely

Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza reported that the situation is dire in northern Gaza amid the ongoing genocide, war of extermination, and ethnic cleansing targeting civilians, mainly children and women, for the 23rd consecutive day.

Our correspondent reported a chilling reality in northern Gaza, stating that anyone injured today is effectively deemed a martyr due to the absence of any assistance or rescue efforts. The relentless Israeli violence has created a landscape where medical aid is nonexistent, leaving the wounded without hope for survival.

He also noted that Israeli occupation forces have evacuated all shelters in northern Gaza, forcibly displacing individuals and preventing Palestinians from moving freely, while cutting off access to water, medicine, and food supplies.

The Israeli genocide is ongoing

Israeli occupation forces targeted several Palestinians in the courtyard of Al-Qassam Mosque in the Beit Lahia area, resulting in the killing of one individual and injuries to others.

In Shuja'iyyah neighborhood in Gaza City, an Israeli drone struck a gathering of civilians on Al-Nazzaz Street, leading to the killing of three people and injuries to additional bystanders. The vicinity around the Martyrs Clinic in al-Zeitoun was also bombed.

Our correspondent reported that Israeli artillery has intensified its shelling of the al-Zeitoun neighborhood south of Gaza City, with bombardments continuing across various areas in northern Gaza, extending to Gaza City itself.

In another incident, a child was injured by fire from an Israeli drone east of the al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Moreover, Israeli artillery heavily shelled areas in the northwest of Rafah city in southern Gaza, destroying several homes in the process. This destruction coincided with fierce airstrikes in the eastern part of Rafah.

It is worth noting that the total number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 7 has risen to 42,924, along with 100,833 injuries, according to a report from Gaza's health ministry released on Saturday.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... in-jabalia

[Anthea]

Exclusive: Son says Barghouti pressured

and assaulted by Israeli guards

Arab Barghouti tells Al Mayadeen that his father reaffirms to the Palestinian people and the world that "he stands firm against the occupation."

The son of prominent Palestinian leader and detainee Marwan Barghouti expressed deep concern after emerging reports about his father being subjected to brutal assault at the hands of Israeli prison guards and said he fears leaving Palestinian detainees at the mercy of the brutal conditions in occupation prisons.

"What we have heard about my father’s condition is very distressing for us as a family, especially after he was assaulted by prison guards," Arab Barghouti told Al Mayadeen.

He pointed out that since October 7 last year, Barghouti has been subjected to pressure, beaten, and forcefully dragged and has been transferred between four or five Israeli prisons.

"Despite everything he is enduring, my father met his lawyer with his head held high and his usual smile," Barghouti said, adding that his father reaffirms to the Palestinian people and the world that "he stands firm against the occupation."

According to the Palestinian leader's son, Barghouti's message has been clear throughout the past 22 years, "His sole concern is uniting the Palestinian people."

"We are optimistic and fully trust the negotiators that our detainees, including my father, will be freed from prison," the leader's son said.

Elsewhere, Barghouti told Al Mayadeen that Palestinian detainees are "freedom seekers who have rejected oppression and occupation."

"If we abandon them, then we are of no good."

Barghouti, nicknamed the "Palestinian Mandela", played a key role in both the first and second Intifadas (uprisings) and was sentenced by an Israeli court in 2004. His release has been a primary objective for various Palestinian Resistance groups opposing the Israeli occupation.

12 other detainees subjected to brutal assaults

In the same context, the head of the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission, Qadura Fares, told Al Mayadeen that Barghouti, along with 12 other detainees from various factions, was subjected to brutal assaults by Israeli prison forces at Megiddo Prison.

Previously, a lawyer from the commission confirmed that during a recent visit, Barghouti reported being attacked with repressive tools and endured severe physical abuse, resulting in injuries across his body, fractured ribs, bleeding from his right ear, a wound on his arm, and persistent back pain.

The attack, which took place in September, was part of a series of recurring incidents involving the Israeli prison’s special units.

Fares condemned these repeated assaults, stating, "There is no justification for these attacks, which are systematically directed at detainees."

The Fatah Central Committee also strongly condemned the repeated brutal assaults against its member leader Marwan Barghouti.

It was noted that Barghouti has been gradually recovering in the weeks following the incident, during which he experienced difficulty moving, chest and back pain, and infections in his wounds and ear due to the blood clot caused by the bleeding, as he was denied any treatment or medication.

Barghouti had previously suffered two brutal assaults in the past year and has been held in solitary confinement since the beginning of the war on Gaza. The first assault occurred in December in the isolation cells of Ofer Prison followed by a second assault at Megiddo Prison on March 6.

The Popular Campaign for the Release of Barghouti and the detainees called on international institutions and organizations to fulfill their duty to protect the prominent leader and other detainees, in accordance with international law.

It added that the paralysis affecting international and human rights organizations when it comes to the rights of the Palestinian people and the crimes of genocide being committed is what encourages the occupation to continue its aggression and crimes.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... --son-says

[Anthea]

Israel bans UN Palestinian refugee agency

Israel's parliament has voted to pass legislation banning the UN's Palestinian refugee agency (Unrwa) from operating within Israel and Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, within three months

Contact between Unrwa employees and Israeli officials will also be banned, severely limiting the agency's ability to operate in Gaza and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Co-operation with the Israeli military - which controls all crossings into Gaza - is essential for Unrwa to transfer aid into the war-torn territory. It is the main UN organisation working on the ground there.

Unrwa staff will no longer have legal immunity within Israel, and the agency's headquarters in East Jerusalem will be closed

A number of countries, including the US, the UK and Germany, have expressed serious concern about the move. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called it "totally wrong", while Unrwa's chief Philippe Lazzarini said it "will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians".

The US State Department said Unrwa played a "critical" role in distributing humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. Almost all of the enclave's population of more than two million people are dependent on aid and services from the agency.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "Unrwa workers involved in terrorist activities against Israel must be held accountable", but added that "sustained humanitarian aid must remain available in Gaza".

"We stand ready to work with our international partners to ensure Israel continues to facilitate humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not threaten Israel's security," he said on X.

Israel has objected to Unrwa for decades, although this opposition has intensified in recent years.

Israel says Unrwa staff have colluded with Hamas in Gaza, and claimed 19 Unrwa workers took part in the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023.

The UN investigated Israel’s claim and fired nine of those accused, but it said Israel had not provided evidence for broader allegations. Unrwa insists that dealings with Hamas are purely to enable the agency to do its job.

Israel's parliament, the Knesset, approved the two bills by an overwhelming majority on Monday evening.

Presenting the legislation, Yuli Edelstein, the chairman of the Knesset's foreign affairs and security committee, accused Unrwa of being used as a "cover for terrorist actions".

"There is a deep connection between the terrorist organisation (Hamas) and Unrwa, and Israel cannot put up with it," he said in parliament.

Unrwa - the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees - has for decades provided a range of services and support including healthcare and education to millions of Palestinians in Gaza.

Since the war broke out last year, the agency's presence on the ground has made it a crucial part of efforts to get humanitarian supplies to civilians, almost all of whom are dependent on aid for survival.

Unrwa Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini condemned the ban as "unprecedented", and said it "opposes the UN Charter and violates the State of Israel’s obligations under international law".

He said people in Gaza had already endured "sheer hell", adding: "It ⁠will deprive over 650,000 girls and boys there from education, putting at risk an entire generation of children."

About two-and-half million Palestinians are registered with Unrwa in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip.

In northern Gaza, where Israeli troops are conducting military operations against Hamas fighters, hundreds of thousands of people are living in increasingly desperate conditions.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said on Friday that "the Israeli military is subjecting an entire population to bombing, siege and risk of starvation"

Many Palestinians believe the Israeli military is implementing a "surrender or starve" plan in Gaza's north, which would see the forced displacement of all of the estimated 400,000 civilians there to the south, followed by a siege of any remaining Hamas fighters.

The Israeli military has denied having such a plan and says it is making sure that civilians get out of harm’s way.

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to its 7 October attack on Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 42,710 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gp2ejzpxeo

[Anthea]

Al Mayadeen Exclusive: Palestinian officials

deny existence of new Gaza proposals

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud Al-Mardawi tells Al Mayadeen that Netanyahu still aims to fragment the ceasefire negotiations

Senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mardawi speaks to Al Mayadeen, on Tuesday, October 29, 2024

Reports by Western and Israeli media, as well as proposals for partial Gaza deals "shall not pass", underlined senior Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mardawi on Tuesday.

Al-Mardawi told Al Mayadeen on Tuesday that the conditions for reaching a deal regarding a ceasefire and prisoner exchange for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "have not yet matured."

While noting that "Netanyahu aims to fragment the negotiation framework," the Palestinian official expressed his belief that the Israeli government will be forced to change its political stance as a result of pressure from the battlefield.

In the same context, the head of Arab Relations in the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement, Rasmi Abu Issa, told Al Mayadeen that the group has not been officially informed of any new proposal regarding negotiations for a prisoner exchange and a ceasefire.

All the talk about new proposals for negotiations is merely speculation, Abu Issa said, emphasizing that "nothing has been solidified regarding the negotiations."

"What deal are they referring to? Today, we heard Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich say he will not accept any deal," the PIJ official said.

On Monday, CNN cited a source briefed on the talks as saying that the latest ceasefire discussions are not expected to make "significant progress" until after the coming US elections.

The source pointed out that the most recent round of discussions, which began on Sunday in the Qatari capital of Doha, was not aimed at negotiating a captive release or ceasefire agreement but rather at sparking the process.

The office of Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed Monday that Mossad chief David Barnea has returned from a 24-hour visit to Qatar, where he discussed potential Gaza captive deal proposals.

According to Netanyahu's office, Barnea, alongside CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, reviewed in Doha "a unified proposal" that merges previous approaches while taking into account "the main issues and recent developments in the region."

The "recent developments" likely refer to the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza earlier this month, The Times of Israel suggested.

“In the coming days, the discussions between the mediators and with Hamas will continue to examine the feasibility of talks and continuing to try to promote a deal,” the statement read.

Current proposals include a recent Egyptian plan announced by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for a two-day ceasefire in Gaza and the release of four Israeli captives held by the Palestinian Resistance, in addition to a multi-stage Qatari-American initiative aimed at the eventual release of all captives and an end to the ongoing war on the Strip.

Before their resumption, negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza and a prisoner exchange deal reached a dead end due to Netanyahu's insistence on maintaining Israeli presence along the key Philadelphi Corridor along Gaza's southern border, which also includes the Rafah Crossing with Egypt.

Meanwhile, Hamas has repeatedly reiterated its key demands for any potential agreement; a permanent ceasefire, the complete withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, the unrestricted return of displaced residents to their homes, comprehensive relief and reconstruction efforts, and a serious prisoner exchange deal

The Palestinian Resistance group has also demanded that "Israel" adhere to the terms agreed upon on July 2, which are based on a plan laid out by US President Joe Biden and a UN Security Council resolution.

Al-Mardawi also addressed the election of Sheikh Naim Qassem as Hezbollah's new Secretary-General, describing Sheikh Qassem's election as "an act of defiance against Israeli occupation."

He also viewed that the election of Sheikh Qassem includes “significance and messages to the occupation.”

Sheikh Qassem's election is meant to confront the occupation’s policies, the Palestinian official pointed out, extending Hamas' congratulations for Hezbollah's new Secretary General.

He expressed his confidence that Sheikh Qassem would prevent southern Lebanon from becoming another Sinai or Jordan Valley.

Similarly, Abu Issa said the PIJ is confident that Sheikh Qassem will be a worthy successor to his predecessor, martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... -proposals

[Anthea]

Hezbollah strikes arms production factory

power outage reported

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon attacked several Israeli sites, including a factory that produces drone parts, in northern occupied Palestine

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah is actively countering attempts by the Israeli occupation forces to infiltrate southern Lebanon, simultaneously targeting Israeli troop groupings and sites in northern occupied Palestine.

In its first statement on Wednesday, Hezbollah announced that its fighters targeted at dawn a grouping of Israeli soldiers in the al-Omra area, south of the town of al-Khiam, with a barrage of rockets. Shortly afterward, the fighters launched a second round of rockets at another grouping of occupation forces in the same area.

At the same time, they targeted Israeli soldiers in the al-Yaqouqa area, near al-Khiam, also with a barrage of rockets. Later, the fighters returned to the al-Yaqouqa site and struck a grouping of Israeli soldiers for a second time with rockets.

In its statements, Hezbollah affirmed that these operations are in support of the resilient Palestinian people in Gaza and solidarity with their steadfast resistance, as well as in defense of Lebanon and its people.

Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that three rocket barrages were fired from Lebanon toward the occupied Palestinian territories.

Another barrage targeted Israeli settlements in the al-Jalil Panhandle area, triggering alarms in several northern areas, including Haifa, Netanya, Khodeira, and areas north of Tel Aviv, accompanied by sounds of explosions.

Sirens were also heard in Kiryat Ata, Karmeil, Manasseh, Kiryat Shmona, and surrounding areas.

Israeli media reported a drone explosion at a UAV parts manufacturing factory in the industrial zone of the Nahariya settlement in northern occupied Palestine. Public broadcaster Kan noted that a drone struck the factory without triggering alarms. Additionally, Israeli media reported power outages at military sites along the border due to shelling from Lebanon.

Operations overview

- At 02:30 am, the Islamic Resistance fighters targeted a grouping of Israeli soldiers in the al-Omra area, south of Khiam, with a barrage of rockets.

- At 03:30 am, the fighters targeted a grouping of Israeli soldiers in the al-Omra area, south of Khiam, with a barrage of rockets.

- At 03:30 am, the fighters targeted a grouping of Israeli soldiers in the al-Yaqouqa area, near Khiam, with a barrage of rockets.

- At 04:30 am, the fighters targeted a grouping of Israeli soldiers in the al-Yaqouqa area near al-Khiam, with a barrage of rockets.

- At 07:45 am, the fighters launched an aerial attack with a squadron of kamikaze drones on the Tirat Carmel base in southern Haifa, hitting their targets accurately.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/hezbollah-strikes-arms-production-factory--power-outage-repo

[Anthea]

Germany reaffirms its commitment

to aid and abet genocide

The German government’s renewed pledges to keep on aiding and abetting Israel’s war of extermination in Gaza are yet another stain on the moral track record of a nation whose superlative blood-stained history is currently being rivaled by Israel

Chancellor Olaf Scholz backed Baerbock’s banality-of-evil-like support for Israel’s right to mass-murder Palestinian civilians when he renewed his pledge to keep Germany’s arms-industry-to-genocide pipeline open for business

There seems to be an appalling pattern to the German government’s pro-Israel foreign policy: The more intense the Netanyahu regime’s genocidal war against Gaza becomes and the louder global condemnation grows.

The deeper Berlin burrows itself on the wrong side of history by doubling down on its diplomatic cover for Israel’s endless string of atrocity crimes and quelling any opposition to Germany’s vicious Staatsräson of wilfully being an apartheid entity’s servile lackey.

We have witnessed this diabolic correlation from the start of Israel’s ongoing campaign of extermination, with Germany hindering every attempt at accountability by coming to the Zionist regime’s rescue at international forums and brutalising with ever-increasing viciousness the anti-war protest movement that has been taking to the streets and social media for the past year.

And we continue to see the full extent of German recalcitrance and sycophancy as Israel expands its Western-backed imperial war beyond the borders of historic Palestine into Lebanon and expedites its Naziesque "Final Solution" in northern Gaza, described by Palestine’s deputy permanent observer to the UN as "a genocide within a genocide."

As the horrific images of displaced people burning to death in their makeshift tents after Israel bombed the Al-Aqsa hospital compound in central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah shocked people across the world, Germany remained not only utterly unfazed by the horrors of yet another indescribable massacre perpetrated by the blood-thirsty Zionist war machine, but actively defended what Spanish MP and leader of the left-wing party Podemos, Ione Belarra, likened to Nazi gas chambers.

Following the apocalyptic attack, Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock justified Israel’s killing of civilians in a Goebbelsian tirade against legally enshrined Palestinian armed resistance in which she reiterated her bogus claim that "civilian places" lose "their protected status" because "terrorists abuse that."

Baerbock, a pathological liar who also claims to have personally seen a non-existent "Hamas rape" video and is the architect of Germany’s much heralded "feminist foreign policy", one that has been complicit in the systematic slaughter of a record number of more than 6000 Palestinian women over the last year, according to conservative figures cited by Oxfam, faces domestic and international condemnation for her impassioned defence of genocide.

German political party Mera25 and Berlin-based anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East have launched an online petition demanding her immediate resignation, while Mick Wallace, a former Member of the European Parliament from Ireland, has called her a "War Criminal who has no respect for International Law" on X (formerly Twitter).

Chancellor Olaf Scholz backed Baerbock’s banality-of-evil-like support for Israel’s right to mass-murder Palestinian civilians when he renewed his pledge to keep Germany’s arms-industry-to-genocide pipeline open for business. "There are [weapons] deliveries, and there will always be further deliveries. Israel can count on that," he reassured his Zionist masters in Tel Aviv in a government statement ahead of the first ever EU-GCC summit in Brussels that took place on October 16.

Responding to a parliamentary inquiry by left-wing lawmaker Sevim Dağdelen, a week later the German Foreign Ministry revealed that it had approved over $100 million in military exports to Israel since August.

One should bear in mind that these reaffirmations to aid and abet genocide are coming out of the mouths of a Social Democrat (Scholz) and a Green Party member (Baerbock): parties that historically stood for internationalism and pacifism, not Euro-Western global primacy and obsessive-compulsive militarism (Germany is Europe’s largest supplier of arms to Ukraine in its war with Russia and the second largest weapons supplier to Israel after the US).

The Greens’ grotesque transformation from peace activism to warmongering has been particularly glaring. A new Forsa poll has found that only 50% of the party’s voters are against continued arms shipments to Israel, even after the latter has slaughtered over 43,000 Palestinians since 7 October 2023, with no end in sight to its mass murderous frenzy.

The same poll found that a whopping 75% of voters of the far-right AfD party are against exporting weapons to Israel, thus rendering the traditional left-wing = good/right-wing = bad binary moot once again

In fact, just how far Germany’s centre-left government has turned to the proverbial Dark Side becomes even more explicit when contrasted to the reaction of Europe’s far-right political figures to "Israel’s" year-long genocidal war in Gaza and its full-fledged expansion into Lebanon.

Where a sycophantic Scholz was busy scuttling to Israel’s aid and rolling out the red carpet for outgoing US president "Genocide Joe" Biden in Berlin, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew to Beirut to show solidarity with the Lebanese people and condemn the Zionist regime’s violent attacks on UNIFIL peacekeepers. This important, symbolic gesture was preceded by Italy’s more tangible decision to impose a full arms export embargo on Israel.

And where Baerbock opted for spewing anti-Palestinian venom and demonstrated to the world what German foreign policy thinks of international humanitarian law, AfD chief Tino Chrupalla provided yet another example of today’s upside down, political reality in Germany where peace advocacy of yore supports colonial wars and those viewed as right-wing extremists demand an immediate end to them.

"With your arms shipments to Israel, you are accepting the dehumanisation of all civilian dead on both sides," he lambasted Scholz in the Bundestag, accusing him of repeatedly "adding fuel to the fire" and even highlighting the thousands of Palestinian children killed by Israel in just over a year.

As if the government’s reaffirmations to support Israel’s genocide in Palestine weren’t enough, Germany added insult to injury by granting its flag to the MV Kathrin, a German-owned cargo vessel carrying military explosives to Israel from Vietnam, after Portugal withdrew its flag following intense pressure from Portuguese and global civil society.

"Germany, whose history is steeped in genocide from Africa to Europe, is again defying the International Court of Justice’s finding regarding Israel’s plausible genocide by directly supporting the Gaza genocide," reads a statement by the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement which is campaigning to stop the boat and its genocidal cargo from reaching the occupied Palestinian shores of the Zionist entity.

The German government’s renewed pledges to keep on aiding and abetting "Israel’s" war of extermination in Gaza are yet another stain on the moral track record of a nation whose superlative blood-stained history is currently being rivaled by Israel, a modern-day, out-of-control "Frankenstein’s monster" birthed and nurtured by Euro-Western imperialism and Germany’s truly genocidal "guilt."

For Shame - Germany - For Shame

https://english.almayadeen.net/articles ... t-genocide

[Anthea]

US whitewashing Israeli crimes

justifying genocide

The leader of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement, reveals that this week, the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out operations using 13 ballistic and cruise missiles and drones

Israel is attempting to carry out the plans of its "criminal generals and bloodthirsty officers" to empty northern Gaza of its population, pointed out the leader of the Yemeni Ansar Allah movement, Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, on Thursday.

In his weekly speech, Sayyed al-Houthi said Israel seeks to forcibly displace the Palestinian people from the northern Gaza Strip by committing the most heinous crimes, adding that the occupation aims to end all medical services in northern Gaza by targeting hospitals and medical staff.

He also indicated that the Israeli crimes against Palestinian detainees and captives are "among the most atrocious, perhaps unparalleled in all prisons."

US whitewashing Israeli crimes

The Ansar Allah leader accused the United States of covering up the crimes of the Israeli occupation, noting that Washington is whitewashing the Israeli crimes by justifying the genocide as an act of "self-defense".

Sayyed al-Houthi emphasized that the Israeli targeting of media and journalists is aimed at "concealing the truth from the world."

According to the Yemeni leader, the "equation of impunity" allows Israel to strike wherever it desires within any Muslim country without fear of retaliation.

He warned that such an equation is unjust and wrongful, one that poses a threat to the Islamic Ummah and should never be accepted by any Muslim, Arab, or free nation worldwide.

Calls for Iran not to retaliate are outrages

Addressing ceasefire negotiations, Sayyed al-Houthi stated that Israel demands the right to operate freely and seeks to deny any country in the region independence, freedom, or sovereignty.

The Ansar Allah leader condemned recent calls by the US and European countries for Iran not to respond to the latest Israeli aggression on the country, labeling these demands as "outrageous".

He also pointed out that the military arsenal Israel relies upon to execute its crimes is largely US-supplied, with US funds supporting 75% of the occupation's logistical needs throughout the year.

US military bases and naval forces in the region, he added, serve to support Israel and exert regional pressure on its behalf.

On the ramming operation that targeted dozens of Israeli officers and soldiers from Unit 8200, Sayyed al-Houthi affirmed that this operation instilled terror in the Israelis and heightened their anxiety and fear.

He further asserted that "Israel" has failed to achieve its objectives, particularly in recovering its captives in the Gaza Strip without a prisoner exchange deal.

Lebanese Resistance showing tremendous resilience

The Ansar Allah leader addressed the Israeli aggression on Lebanon, stressing that over the course of a month-long ground assault on southern Lebanon, the Resistance displayed tremendous resilience, despite Israeli expectations of an easy invasion.

He added that the Israeli ground incursion into southern Lebanon demonstrated that "Israel" "was defeated in every sense," incurring nearly a thousand casualties and injuries.

Despite immense firepower, the Israeli occupation military failed to achieve any significant ground penetration in southern Lebanon, Sayyed al-Houthi highlighted.

He pointed out that Israel attempted to adapt its tactics since the July 2006 aggression on Lebanon by deploying smaller forces and fewer vehicles but failed.

Sayyed al-Houthi asserted that Israel fears the fulfillment of the promise made by martyr Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah that the world would witness the destruction of its vehicles live, which is happening.

The Ansar Allah leader reiterated that Israel is defeated and thwarted as a result of divine support for Hezbollah’s fighters in their resilience and steadfastness, adding that the occupation has failed with all its systems to prevent the drone strikes launched by the Lebanese Resistance group.

He also congratulated Sheikh Naim Qassem on his election as Hezbollah's news Secretary-General.
Yemeni operations ongoing, 202 vessels targeted

Regarding the Yemeni support front for Gaza, Sayyed al-Houthi highlighted that among the unique naval operations carried out by the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) this week was the targeting of four ships east of Socotra in the easternmost part of the Arabian Sea

He emphasized the continuation of Yemen’s maritime operations "to hunt vessels linked to the Israeli, American, and British enemies."

The Ansar Allah leader revealed that the YAF is working to strengthen the targeting routes for ships linked to the enemy and to track the new paths to which their ships flee in the ocean.

He explained that Israel and its associates are attempting to escape with their ships toward the Indian Ocean due to its vast expanse.

According to the Yemeni leader, the total number of targeted ships linked to the Israeli, American, and British enemies has reached 202. He further confirmed that this week, the YAF carried out operations using 13 ballistic and cruise missiles and drones.

Touching on the ongoing US aggression on Yemen, Sayyed al-Houthi noted that US forces conduct weekly airstrikes and continue to exert political and economic pressure on the country.

However, the leader made it clear that "no one will be able to stop our operations until the aggression halts, the siege on Gaza is lifted, and the aggression on Lebanon ends."

The fronts in Gaza and Lebanon are united as two fronts for a single cause, he pointed out, reiterating that Israel must end its aggression.

The Ansar Allah leader pointed to the mobilization within the movement, revealing that 519,029 Yemenis have completed military training and "we hope to reach a million," highlighting that the various mobilization activities, including exercises, military parades, and other events, have reached a total of 2,913.

He also criticized some Arab countries, stating, "In confronting the criminal actions and the Zionist project targeting our Ummah, it is deeply shameful and a serious shortcoming for any Arab country to remain silent."

"Any support for the Zionists, even if only on a media level, is a show of allegiance to them," he underlined.

Allegiance to Israel makes one complicit in crimes

Sayyed al-Houthi asserted that "allegiance to the Zionists makes one complicit in their horrific, unparalleled crimes," affirming that shirking responsibility in confronting Zionism is "a moral, religious, and ethical failure incompatible with Islam."

The Ansar Allah leader emphasized that the Ummah stands at a crossroads, facing two stark choices: "Either to submit in humiliation and endure the immense consequences of that decision or to take a stand in alignment with what is just and righteous."

He expressed his view that the Security Council is "a council of security for the oppressors, not for the weak and oppressed."

Finally, Sayyed al-Houthi called on the Yemeni people to participate in the nationwide million-man demonstrations on Friday in solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-whitewashing-israeli-crimes--justifying-genocide--sayyed

[Anthea]

What happened to the young girl captured in

photograph of Gaza detainees

It was hard to see her in the crowd of men. She is the tiny figure towards the back

The soldiers have ordered the men to strip to their underwear. Even some of the elderly ones. They gaze up at whoever is taking the photograph. It is almost certainly an Israeli soldier.

The image appears to have first been published on the Telegram account of a journalist with strong sources in the Israel Defence Forces.

The men look abject, fearful and exhausted. The little girl, who was noticed in the picture by a BBC producer, is looking away. Maybe something out of sight of the camera has caught her attention. Or maybe she just doesn’t want to look at the soldiers and their guns.

The military have told the people to stop here. Bomb-blasted buildings stretch off into the distance behind them. They are checking the men, for weapons, documents, any sign they might be linked to Hamas.

So often the suffering of this war is found in the detail of individual lives. The child’s presence, her expression as she looks away, is a detail that poses so many questions.

Foremost, who was she? What happened to her?

A week of hundreds killed, many wounded, and thousands uprooted from their homes. Children died under the rubble of air strikes or because there wasn’t the medicine or medical staff to treat them.

Working with BBC Arabic Gaza Today programme we began searching for the child. Israel does not allow the BBC or other international media access to Gaza to report independently, so the BBC depends on a trusted network of freelance journalists. Our colleagues approached their contacts with aid agencies in the north, showing the photograph in places where the displaced had fled.

Within 48 hours message read: “We have found her!”

Julia Abu Warda, aged three, was alive. When our journalist reached the family in Gaza City - where many from Jabalia have fled - Julia was with her father, grandfather and mother.

She was watching a cartoon of animated chickens singing, difficult to hear because of the ominous whine of an Israeli drone overhead.

Julia was surprised to suddenly be the focus of a stranger’s attention.

"Who are you?" her father asked, playfully.

"Jooliaa" she replied, stretching the word for emphasis.

Julia was physically unscathed. Dressed in a jumper and jeans, her hair in buns held by bright blue floral bands. But her expression was wary.

Then Mohammed began to tell the story behind the photograph.

Five times the family was displaced in the last 21 days. Each time they were running from air strikes and gunfire.

On the day the photo was taken they heard an Israeli drone broadcasting a warning to evacuate.

This was in the Al-Khalufa district where the IDF was advancing against Hamas.

“There was random shellfire. We went toward the centre of Jabalia refugee camp, on the road to the checkpoint.”

The family carried their clothes, some cans of tinned food, and a few personal possessions.

At first everybody was together. Julia’s dad, her mother Amal, her 15-month-old brother Hamza, a grandfather, two uncles and a cousin.

In the chaos, Mohammed and Julia were separated from the others

“I got separated from her mother due to the crowd and all the belongings we were carrying. She was able to leave, and I stayed in place,” Mohammed said.

Father and daughter eventually moved on with the flow of people heading out. The streets reeked of death. “We saw destruction and bodies scattered on the ground,” Mohammed said. There was no way to stop Julia seeing at least some of it.

After more than a year of war, children have become familiar with the sight of those who have died violent deaths.

The group reached an Israeli checkpoint

“There were soldiers on the tanks and soldiers on the ground. They approached the people and started firing above their heads. People were pushing against each other during the shooting.”

The men were ordered to strip to their underwear. This is routine procedure as the IDF searches for concealed weapons or suicide bombers. Mohammed says they were held at the checkpoint for six to seven hours. In the photograph Julia appears calm. But her father recalled her distress afterwards.

“She started screaming and told me she wanted her mother.”

The family was reunited. The displaced are packed into small areas. Bonds of family are tight. Word travels fast in Gaza City when kin arrive from Jabalia. Julia was comforted by the people who loved her. There were sweets and potato chips, a treat that had been stored away.

Then Mohammed disclosed to our colleague the deep trauma Julia had suffered, before that day of their flight from Jabalia to Gaza City. She had a favourite cousin. His name was Yahya and he was seven years old. They used to play together in the street. About two weeks ago Yahya was in the street when the Israelis launched a drone strike. The child was killed.

“Life used to be normal. She would run and play,” he said. “But now, whenever there’s shelling, she points and says, ‘plane!’ While we are trapped she looks up and points towards the drone flying over us.”

Unicef: 14,000 children have been reportedly killed

“Day after day children are paying the price for a war they did not start,” said Unicef spokesman, Jonathan Crickx.

“Most of the children I have met have lost a loved one in often terrible circumstances.”

The UN estimates that nearly all children in the Gaza Strip - nearly one million - need mental health support.

It is hard to call a child like Julia lucky. When you think of what she has seen and lost and where she is trapped. Who knows what will return in dreams and memories in the days ahead. By now she knows that life can end with terrible suddenness.

Her good fortune is in the family that will do whatever is humanly possible - in the face of air strikes, gun battles, hunger and disease - to protect her.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2l5e4pe1go

[Anthea]

Thousands in London pro-Palestine rally

Tens of thousands of people have joined an anti-Israel march to the US embassy in London

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through London's streets toward the US embassy, urging Washington to stop sending weapons to the Israeli occupation as it continues its genocide in Gaza.

Pro-Palestine protesters held Palestinian and Lebanese flags and banners that read "Free Palestine" and "End Israeli Apartheid."

A man has reportedly been arrested during the rally for holding a sign that read "Resistance is not terrorism."

Jeremy Corbyn addressed the rally, which was organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

As the Israeli aggression across the Gaza Strips continues, five Palestinians were killed and more were injured in the Israeli bombardment of several homes in al-Nuseirat, central Gaza.

Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza noted heavy fire from Israeli quadcopters targeting the al-Daawa school and airstrikes in the northwestern area of the camp.

An Israeli drone also deliberately targeted emergency medical crews while they were recovering the bodies of martyrs and treating the injured in the northern area of the al-Nuseirat camp.

In northern Gaza, the Israeli occupation continues to tighten the noose on Palestinians for the 29th consecutive day, starving, sieging, and massacring them, particularly in Beit Lahia and the Jabalia refugee camp.

Once again, the IOF bombarded the Beit Lahia project after a large-scale massacre killed 117 Palestinians, the majority of whom were women and children.

The very few survivors of the Abu Nasr family confirmed that the Israeli occupation's attack on the Beirut Lahia project building a few days ago was carried out without any prior warning.

Student stripped of visa for Gaza speech wins appeal vs UK

Palestinian student Dana Abu Qamar has won a human rights appeal, revoking the UK Home Office's decision to strip her of her visa for speaking about Gaza and its resistance.

The Guardian reported that the Home Office claimed that Dana's presence was "not conducive to public good" but subsequently failed to prove it after her visa was revoked in December 2023.

Dana first caught the attention of authorities during a protest organized at the University of Manchester, where she also leads the Friends of Palestine Society. While speaking to Sky News, Dana explored Gaza's historical resistance against the Israeli "oppressive regime", as well as the 16-year-long blockade the occupation has imposed, calling the Strip's Resistance "a once in a lifetime experience."

"And everyone is, we are both in fear, but also in fear of what, how Israel will retaliate and how we’ve seen it retaliate overnight, and the missiles that it’s launched and the attacks, but also we are full of pride. We are really, really full of joy of what happened," she also said.

The decision to revoke her visa followed intervention by former immigration minister Robert Jenrick.

Case rulings

The tribunal handling the case found that the Home Office's decision was a "disproportionate interference with her protected right to free speech" under the European Convention on Human Rights and affirmed that her statements could not be linked to support of Hamas, after Abu Qamar explained that she had been misinterpreted, asserting she was supporting Gaza's Resistance against the occupation.

Additionally, the tribunal found that she was not an extremist and that her description of the Israeli occupation as an "apartheid state" was consistent with several human rights organizations. Using statements such as "actively resisting" and "broke free" during her speech was also related to the lawful acts of Resistance in Gaza.

According to Abu Qamar, the ruling set an important precedent that validates the right "to voice support for human rights for the plight of Palestinians and the right to resist occupation."

She also expressed her shock at Jenrick's intervention, suggesting it highlights a broader issue with a politicized approach to immigration and security decisions.

Regarding the government's crackdown, she described it as "so brutal", saying it felt like she was losing everything in a single second for defending her people's right to resist.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... -in-london