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Friday, April 26, 2024 Last Update: 5:57 PM GMT
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‘Beyond Warfare’ – UN Rights Chief Decries Israeli Strikes on Rafah

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk. (Photo: EU2018BG Bulgarian Presidency, via Wikimedia Commons)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“The latest images of a premature child taken from the womb of her dying mother, of the adjacent two houses where 15 children and five women were killed – this is beyond warfare.”

The UN human rights chief Volker Türk has decried the latest series of Israeli strikes on Gaza that has killed mostly women and children, warning that a ground invasion would further breach international human rights law.

Volker Turk’s remarks on Tuesday came after at least nine children among 16 Palestinians were killed on Sunday in an Israeli bombing targeting several homes east of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

“The latest images of a premature child taken from the womb of her dying mother, of the adjacent two houses where 15 children and five women were killed – this is beyond warfare,” the High Commissioner said in a statement.

Rafah Massacre – Rising Casualties and Miraculous Fetal Rescue

Turk said a full-scale ground invasion of the town would risk more deaths, injuries and displacement on a large scale – “even further atrocity crimes, for which those responsible would be held accountable.”

He said already in March, the Security Council had demanded an immediate ceasefire.

“The world’s leaders stand united on the imperative of protecting the civilian population trapped in Rafah,” Türk stated.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,183 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,143 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

200 Days of Genocide – Gaza’s Shocking Stats on Massacres, Dead, Missing, Injured

Laws of War

“Every 10 minutes a child is killed or wounded. They are protected under the laws of war, and yet they are ones who are disproportionately paying the ultimate price in this war,” said Türk.

The UN chief said he was horrified by the destruction of An Nasser Medical Complex and Al Shifa Medical Complex and the reported discovery of mass graves in and around these locations.

Türk called for independent, effective and transparent investigations into the deaths.

‘Child Killed Every 10 Minutes in Gaza’ – UNRWA Urges Immediate Ceasefire

“Given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators,” he added. “Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law. And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees, and others who are hors de combat is a war crime.”

West Bank Killings

Türk also said grave human rights violations were continuing unabated in the occupied West Bank.

Despite international condemnation of massive settler attacks from April 12 – 14,  facilitated by the Israeli forces, “settler violence has continued with the support, protection, and participation” of the Israeli military.

During a 50-hour long operation into Nur Shams refugee camp and Tulkarem city starting on April 18, the Israeli military deployed ground troops, bulldozers and drones, and sealed the camp.

“Fourteen Palestinians were killed, three of them children,” the statement said.

‘Backing of Israeli Authorities’ – HRW Says Settler Attacks Displaced Hundreds in West Bank

The UN Human Rights Office “received reports that several Palestinians were unlawfully killed and that the Israeli military used unarmed Palestinians to shield their forces from attack and killed others in apparent extrajudicial executions.”

“Dozens were reportedly detained and ill-treated,” according to the Office. The Israeli military, it said, “inflicted unprecedented and apparently wanton destruction on the camp and its infrastructure.”

The Office also highlighted the killing of a 50-year-old Palestinian ambulance driver in Nablus over the weekend.

“The ambulance was evacuating two Palestinians injured by live ammunition during an attack by settlers, who were accompanied” by Israeli military forces, in As Sawiya, Nablus.

Famine and Displacement

Israel’s genocidal war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

‘Backing of Israeli Authorities’ – HRW Says Settler Attacks Displaced Hundreds in West Bank

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

5:49 pm | Posted in Blog | News | Read More »

‘Organized State Terrorism’ – OIC Says Gaza Mass Grave Discovery Requires Investigation

Mass graves were found in Gaza following Israel’s withdrawal. (Photo: video grab)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

At least 310 bodies have been recovered so far from the mass grave at the medical complex after the Israeli army withdrew from the city on April 7, according to Gaza’s civil defense agency.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned the “continued tragic massacre” of Palestinians by Israel following the discovery of a mass grave within the Nasser Medical Complex in the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.

In a statement on Monday, the OIC said the discovery is an indication that “hundreds of displaced, injured and the sick as well as medical convoys were subjected to forms of torture and abuse before they were executed and given mass burial.”

At least 310 bodies have been recovered so far from the mass grave at the medical complex after the Israeli army withdrew from the city on April 7, according to Al-Jazeera. The army’s withdrawal followed a four-month ground offensive.

A War Crime

The OIC said it considered the discovery of the mass grave a “war crime, a crime against humanity, and organized state terrorism that requires investigation, accountability and sanction under international criminal law.” It stressed that the International Criminal Court “must assume its responsibility in this regard.”

The statement added that the OIC “held the Israeli occupation accountable for the repercussions of crimes and continued terrorist practices against the Palestinian people, which negate all human values and constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”

Shocking Discovery: Over 150 Bodies Found in Khan Yunis Mass Grave (VIDEO)

“The OIC renewed its call on the international community, in particular the (UN) Security Council, on the need to stop the war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip and to provide international protection for the Palestinian people,” the statement added.

Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Civil Defense, told Al-Jazeera that a significant number of the bodies found were of women and children.

On Monday, the Civil Defense recovered another 73 bodies, adding that their crews were continuing search operations.

‘Daily Genocide’

Hamas spokesperson Abd al-Latif al-Qanou said in a statement on Monday that the recovery of the bodies was “additional evidence of the bloodiness of the occupation, its Nazism, and the extent of the genocide it is practicing” against the Palestinian people.

“Mass graves and daily genocide against our people require international and political pressure to activate UN and international resolutions and implement the precautionary measures” taken by the World Court “to protect our people and save them from the genocidal war.”

This is What Happened at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza – Palestine Chronicle Explains

Israeli forces withdrew from the Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest medical complex, in Gaza City, on April 1, after a two-week long invasion. The hospital complex was left in ruins and completely out of service.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

Over 34,000 Killed

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,183 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,143 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

GAZA LIVE BLOG: 200 Days of Genocide | Police Arrest US Students | Rockets from Lebanon | Death Toll Rises – Day 200

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire.’

(The Palestine Chronicle)

3:08 pm | Posted in Blog | News | Read More »

200 Days of Genocide – Gaza’s Shocking Stats on Massacres, Dead, Missing, Injured

Israel continues to commit massacres against civilians in Gaza. (Image: Palestine Chronicle)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

In addition to 75,000 tons of explosives dropped on the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military committed 3,025 massacres, leaving 41,183 Palestinians dead or missing and injuring 77,143.

On Day 200 of Israel’s ongoing genocidal attack on the Gaza Strip, the Government Media Office in the enclave has released shocking statistics on the situation including the number of massacres committed by the occupation forces, the dead, missing and injured, since October 7.

In addition to 75,000 tons of explosives dropped on the enclave, the Israeli forces committed 3,025 massacres, leaving 41,183 Palestinians dead or missing and injured 77,143.

Israel’s crippling blockade on the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave has resulted in severe famine in particularly the north, leading to the deaths of 30 children.

The key statistics are listed as follows:

– 200 days of genocidal war

– 3,025 massacres committed by Israeli forces

– 41,183 killed and missing persons

– 34,183 killed, reached hospitals

– 14,778 children killed

– 30 children killed due to famine

– 9,752 females killed

– 485 medical staff killed

– 67 civil defense workers killed

– 140 journalists killed

– 7,000 missing persons

– 77,143 injured

– 72% of the victims are women and children

– 17,000 children living without one or both parents

ICC Confirms Probe into Israel’s Killing of Journalists – Reporters Without Borders

– 11,000 injured needing to travel for surgery

– 10,000 cancer patients facing death and in need of treatment

– 1,090,000 people suffering from infectious diseases due to displacement

– 8,000 cases of viral hepatitis infections due to displacement

– 60,000 pregnant women at risk due to lack of healthcare

– 350,000 chronic patients at risk due to non-entry of medicines

– 5,000 detainees from Gaza Strip during the genocidal war

– 310 healthcare staff detained

– 20 journalists detained with known names

– 2 million displaced in Gaza Strip

– 181 government headquarters destroyed

– 103 schools and universities completely destroyed

‘We Will Teach Our Children in Tents’ – Israel’s War on Gaza Schools, Mosques Continues

– 309 schools and universities partially destroyed

– 239 mosques completely destroyed

– 317 mosques partially destroyed

– 3 churches targeted and destroyed

– 86,000 housing units completely destroyed

– 294,000 housing units partially destroyed and uninhabitable

– 75,000 tons of explosives dropped on Gaza

– 32 hospitals put out of service

– 53 health centers put out of service

– 160 health institutions targeted

– 126 ambulances targeted by the Israeli forces

– 206 archaeological and heritage sites destroyed

– $30 billion in preliminary direct losses due to the genocidal war on Gaza Strip

Scores of Palestinians Killed as Israel Continues to Bomb Hospitals, Schools

ICJ Trial

The statistics indicate that 5,000 Palestinians have been detained in the past six months. This brings close to 10,000 the number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, according to the Government Media Office.

Israel is currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for its genocidal assault on Gaza.

South Africa Argues ‘Genocidal Intent’ by Israel in Gaza

On December 29, 2023, South Africa approached the ICJ seeking an order to prevent Israel from committing genocide against the Palestinian people.

In January, the Court ruled that South Africa’s case met the standard of plausibility and ordered Israel inter alia, to take action to prevent and punish genocide, and incitement to genocide, and to enable the immediate and effective provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance to besieged Gaza.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

1:43 pm | Posted in Blog | News | Read More »

Escalating Operations: Ansarallah Vow to Intensify Attacks on Israeli Ships

Yemeni armed forces continue to target ships headed to Israel. (Image: Palestine Chronicle)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The group urged its forces to escalate its military operations against Israeli and Israel-associated ships in the Red and Arabian Seas and the Indian Ocean.

The Yemeni armed forces, affiliated with the Ansarallah group, urged its fighters on Monday to intensify military operations against Israeli and Israel-linked ships as Tel Aviv continues its onslaught on the Gaza Strip for nearly seven months.

According to Al-Jazeera, the group urged its forces to escalate its military operations against Israeli and associated ships in the Red and Arabian Seas and the Indian Ocean.

The Ansarallah have been targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea, particularly those bound for Israel, since last fall. 

The Ansarallah see the attacks as a way to pressure Israel to halt its attacks on the Gaza Strip and lift the total siege it imposed. 

Ansarallah Disrupts ‘Global Trade Flow’ – Red Sea Mercantile Traffic Decreased by 42 Percent

The attacks disrupted international trade on the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia, prompting the US and UK to launch retaliatory airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen.

Yemen’s Ansarallah leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi vowed last month to prevent Israeli-linked ships from crossing the Indian Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope.

In response to the Ansarallah attack, the United States and Britain, in alliance with a few other countries, have launched military operations against Ansarallah starting on January 11. 

The US-led alliance, Prosperity Guardian, says that the airstrikes are aimed at weakening the group’s ability to threaten maritime navigation in the Red Sea.

The US-led attacks, however, are exasperating an already tense situation. Several international shipping companies have been forced to halt operations in the Red Sea or divert their operations to avoid Ansarallah strikes.

Cape of Good Hope Off Limits – Yemen’s Ansarallah Vows to Expand Operation

Meanwhile, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on March 14 that Ansarallah possesses a strong arsenal, noting that weeks of strikes have not undermined their military capabilities.

Singh added that Washington would continue to carry out strikes against the group, stressing its confidence that their capabilities would continue to be weakened.

Ansarallah is still able to access weapons, capabilities and support from Iran, she alleged, stressing that work will continue to ensure the protection of commercial ships in the Red Sea.

(PC, Anadolu)

11:53 am | Posted in Blog | News | Read More »

On Gaza’s Shores – Israeli Raids Intensify on 200th Day of Genocide

Israeli forces continue to carry out massacres in Gaza. (Photo: via QQN)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Since early Tuesday morning, Israeli warships have been targeting the shores of Gaza, amidst a series of intense raids primarily focused in the central and northern regions of the Strip.

Ongoing clashes are reported in Gaza City, while the Palestinian Resistance has retaliated by bombing two settlements within the Gaza Strip, marking the 200th day of Israeli genocidal war.

According to Al-Jazeera’s correspondent, Israeli artillery shelling has struck Jabaliya and Beit Hanoun in Gaza City, as well as the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood to the south.

Additionally, an Israeli raid targeted the vicinity of Wadi Gaza in the northern part of the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.

Significant fires broke out in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood due to continuous Israeli artillery bombardment.

Israeli gunboats further targeted the beaches of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Local media sources reported that Israeli boats bombed beaches in the areas of Al-Zawaida, Deir Al-Balah, and Al-Nuseirat in central Gaza. There were also reports of heavy Israeli gunfire east of Rafah and north of the Nuseirat camp.

During the previous night, the Israeli army intensified its raids in northern and central Gaza, with attempts to penetrate Beit Hanoun from various directions.

These efforts were met with gunfire, while Israeli artillery targeted shelter centers on Zamo Street in the town.

Local media also reported Israeli artillery strikes on Al-Shaima Street in Beit Lahia, as well as military activity in Al-Mughraqa and Al-Zahraa in central Gaza.

In response to Israeli actions, the Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad movement, reported bombing settlements in Sderot and Niram within the Gaza Envelope.

The Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas, announced the destruction of an Israeli soldier gathering southwest of Gaza City using mortar shells.

Gaza Genocide Continues

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.  

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,183 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,143 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

GAZA LIVE BLOG: 200 Days of Genocide | Police Arrest US Students | Rockets from Lebanon | Death Toll Rises – Day 200

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children. 

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

(PC, AJA)

10:14 am | Posted in Blog | News | Read More »

GAZA LIVE BLOG: Abu Obeida: 200 Days of Genocide | Student Rebellion over Gaza in US | Hezbollah Hits Deep inside Israel – Day 200

The majority of Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza are women and children. (Photo: Mahmoud Ajjour, The Palestine Chronicle)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Israeli airstrikes continued to target central and northern Gaza, killing and wounding scores of Palestinians as the genocidal war entered its 200th day.

Hezbollah targeted several Israeli sites Metulla and the Kiryat Shmona while sirens sounded in Sderot, in the northern Gaza envelope. 

Iran slammed the European Union sanctions reiterating that Tehran acted in self-defense and that sanctions should be imposed on Israel. 

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,183 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,143 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

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LATEST UPDATES

Wednesday, April 24, 06:45 am (GMT+2)

SOCIAL MEDIA: Dozens of students demonstrated at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis in support of Gaza and to demand a ceasefire in the Strip, expressing their rejection of the US police’s crackdown on student demonstrations in support of Palestine.

Silenced Screams: Untold Stories of the Brutal Israeli Invasion of Nur Shams (PHOTOS)

Wednesday, April 24, 05:45 am (GMT+2)

BREAKING: The US Senate has overwhelmingly passed an aid bill for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, paving the way for President Joe Biden’s signature into law. The legislation gives Israel more than $26 billion, including about $17 billion in military aid.

Wednesday, April 24, 04:00 am (GMT+2)

AL-JAZEERA: Israel artillery shelling continues on Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun and eastern Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip.

‘We Defeated Israel in 60 Minutes’ – Abu Obeida’s Speech on 200th Day of War

Wednesday, April 24, 03:00 am (GMT+2)

AL-JAZEERA: An Israeli airstrike targeted agricultural land in the town of Zawaida in the central Gaza Strip.

Wednesday, April 24, 02:20 am (GMT+2)

SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTRY: Saudi Arabia expresses the Kingdom’s condemnation of the Israeli occupation forces’ continued “undeterred commission of heinous war crimes in the Gaza Strip,” the latest of which was the discovery of mass graves at the Nasser Medical Complex in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis.

Wednesday, April 24, 02:00 am (GMT+2)

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: Four were killed in an Israeli shelling that targeted a gathering near Abu Arban School in Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Wednesday, April 24, 01:00 am (GMT+2)

CHANNEL 12: Messages have reached Israel indicating an increasing possibility that the International Criminal Court would issue arrest warrants for senior officials, noting that there were concerns about the issuance of arrest warrants for officials, including Benjamin Netanyahu, that were raised in a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Will the ICC Issue Arrest Warrants for Israeli Officials and Why?

WHITE HOUSE: Harris and Herzog discussed increasing the flow of aid to Gaza.

Wednesday, April 24, 12:00 am (GMT+2)

EURO-MEDITERRANEAN MONITOR: Israel carried out the largest forced displacement operation in modern history.

Tuesday, April 23, 10:30 pm (GMT+2)

EURO-MEDITERRANEAN MONITOR: Israel carried out the largest forced displacement operation in modern history.

Tuesday, April 23, 10:30 pm (GMT+2)

HEZBOLLAH: The Lebanese Hezbollah announced that it had targeted the Israeli colony of Margaliot with dozens of Katyusha rockets and confirmed that it had targeted a building where Israeli occupation soldiers were stationed in the Al-Manara colony, achieving a direct hit.

‘Nothing Left of Zionist Regime’ – Raisi Warns Israel against Future Attacks

Tuesday, April 23, 9:30 pm (GMT+2)

KAN: The Israeli army is preparing to enter Rafah very soon.

US STATE DEPARTMENT: Reports about mass graves in Gaza are disturbing.

AL-JAZEERA: Israeli warplanes bombed the center of Gaza City, adding that another raid targeted the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City.

ISRAELI FM: Guterres has turned the United Nations into an anti-Semitic organization.

KIRBY: Washington wants to “see actual progress” within UNRWA before deciding to resume its funding.

YAIR LAPID: What is happening in American universities is anti-Semitism and support for terrorism and Hamas.

ISRAELI ARMY: An Israeli officer was killed during battles in Gaza.

Tuesday, April 23, 7:30 pm (GMT+2)

AL-QUDS BRIGADES: We bombed the headquarters of the 162nd Division in the occupation army in the vicinity of the Turkish Hospital in the Netzarim Taqadim axis, south of Gaza.

YEDIOTH AHRONOTH: Senior officers in the Israeli army intend to resign due to the failure on October 7.

PHILIPPE LAZZARINI: The attack on UNRWA aims to deprive the Palestinians of refugee status.

EU BORRELL: Gaza was subjected to greater destruction than the cities of Germany during World War II.

LEBANESE MEDICAL SOURCE: two people were killed and 4 others were injured in a preliminary toll of the Israeli raid on the town of Hanin in southern Lebanon.

ISRAELI ARMY: There are orders for new evacuations in the northern Gaza Strip.

AFP: 133 protesters against the Gaza war were arrested on the Columbia University campus, according to the US police.

US Student Protest Movement Against Gaza Genocide Grows – Explainer 

Tuesday, April 23, 6:30 pm (GMT+2)

WSJ (quoting former Israeli commanders): The biggest challenge is not controlling northern Gaza, but rather maintaining control.

UNRWA: More than a million people lost their homes in Gaza and 75% of the population were displaced.

ISRAELI ARMY SPOKESMAN: Israel ordered new evacuations in the Beit Lahia area in the northern Gaza Strip, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone”.

Tuesday, April 23, 5:30 pm (GMT+2)

ABU OBEIDA:

We call on the masses of our nation to escalate their movement in support of the resistance.

The criminal enemy is trying to restore its image 200 days after the Battle of Al-Aqsa Flood.

Tuesday, April 23, 4:30 pm (GMT+2)

AL-JAZEERA: Al Jazeera will shortly broadcast a video speech it obtained from Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obaida.

REUTERS: Reuters quoting Dutch intelligence as saying that the war in Gaza has increased the threat of further attacks in Europe.

EBRAHIM RAISI: Any Israeli attack on Iranian territory means that “circumstances will change completely and nothing will remain of the Zionist entity.”

GAZA CIVIL DEFENSE: The bodies of four Palestinians were recovered following an Israeli bombing yesterday that targeted a house north of the Nuseirat camp, which was subjected to violent raids.

Tuesday, April 23, 3:30 pm (GMT+2)

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: The occupation launched an air strike on the Juhr al-Dik area, south of Gaza City, amid continued bombing in the center and north of the Strip.

AL-JAZEERA: Israeli fighters launched two raids on the town of Hula and another on the town of Aita al-Shaab in southern Lebanon, after the attack launched by Hezbollah on northern Israel in response to the occupation’s assassination of one of its members this morning.

Tuesday, April 23, 2:30 pm (GMT+2)

AL-JAZEERA: A rocket shell landed near the Alomim settlement in the Gaza Strip without sirens sounding.

CHANNEL 12: The Israeli army bombarded sites in southern Lebanon with artillery after drones infiltrated the Western Galilee.

Tuesday, April 23, 1:40 pm (GMT+2)

QATARI FM: The expected Israeli attack on Rafah must be stopped.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: A number of people were injured in an Israeli bombing that targeted citizens waiting for aid at the Beit Lahia beach in the northern Gaza Strip.

ERDOGAN: Israel must not be allowed to reoccupy Gaza, and steps must be taken in this regard. Netanyahu is like Hitler and Israel’s allies will not escape justice.

UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS:

We are horrified by reports of mass graves in Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.

Most of the victims of the Israeli bombing of Gaza in the past few days are women and children.

We warn against a large-scale incursion into the city of Rafah because it may lead to more heinous crimes.

Tuesday, April 23, 12:30 pm (GMT+2)

AL-JAZEERA:

Israeli artillery shelling targets south of Gaza City.

Israeli air strikes targeting Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip.

An air strike targeting Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip.

SPANISH EXPORTERS AND INVESTORS CLUB: Spanish exports to Israel declined by 35.6% last February compared to the previous year.

Tuesday, April 23, 11:30 am (GMT+2)

AL-JAZEERA: The number of bodies of martyrs in the mass grave in Khan Yunis has risen to 310.

AL-QUDS BRIGADES: Our fighters bombarded Sderot, Niram, and the Gaza Strip settlements in response to the crimes of the Zionist enemy.

PRCS: A large number of elderly people and children died from hunger.

IRANIAN CHIEF OF STAFF: The conditions of the region changed after we bombed sensitive Israeli military sites.

AL-JAZEERA: An airstrike targeting the Al-Mughraqa area in the central Gaza Strip. Israeli bombing targets homes north of the Bureij and Nuseirat camps in the central Gaza Strip.

Tuesday, April 23, 10:30 am (GMT+2)

GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY: 34,183 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,143 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

AL-JAZEERA: A series of Israeli raids targeted Street 10 in the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City.

ISRAELI MEDIA: Four missiles were intercepted in the sky of the city of Sderot in the northern Gaza envelope.

Tuesday, April 23, 09:00 am (GMT+2)

IRANIAN FM:

The European sanctions are unfortunate because Iran acted in self-defense.

The European Union must act responsibly and impose sanctions on Israel.

AL-JAZEERA: Heavy Israeli raids targeted several areas in the central Gaza Strip.

Tuesday, April 23, 08:00 am (GMT+2)

US MEDIA: The police arrested a number of students and acvists at New York University during a sit-in solidarity with Gaza.

MEDICAL SOURCE (to Al-Jazeera): One person was killed by an Israeli drone bombing a car in southern Lebanon.

AL-JAZEERA: Israeli bombing targeted the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, Jabaliya, and Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.

Tuesday, April 23, 07:00 am (GMT+2)

AL-JAZEERA: An Israeli air strike targeted the area surrounding Wadi Gaza, north of the Nuseirat camp, in the center of the besieged Gaza Strip.

Tuesday, April 23, 06:00 am (GMT+2)

WASHINGTON POST: Google fired 20 employees after they protested a deal with Israel, bringing their number since last week to 50.

AL-JAZEERA: Israeli gunboats were targeting the beaches in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA: Israeli occupation artillery is targeting areas south of Gaza City.

Tuesday, April 23, 04:00 am (GMT+2)

BERNIE SANDERS: The United States cannot continue to fund this horrific war.

AL-JAZEERA: an Israeli artillery shelling targeted the eastern areas of the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

AL-JAZEERA: Sirens sounded in the town of Metulla and the Kiryat Shmona region in northern Israel due to suspected rocket shells falling.

Tuesday, April 23, 03:00 am (GMT+2)

AL-JAZEERA: The Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers discussed with a European delegation ways to reduce the escalation in the region and developments in the situation in the Gaza Strip.

Tuesday, April 23, 02:00 am (GMT+2)

AL-JAZEERA: Israeli raids targeted the town of Yaroun, and another on the Jabour Hills in southern Lebanon.

Tuesday, April 23, 01:00 am (GMT+2)

EU BORRELL: The dire situation in Gaza cannot be forgotten and we immediately need to release all hostages, cease fire and mitigate the humanitarian catastrophe.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

8:00 am | Posted in Blog | News | Read More »

‘Passover Sacrifice’ – Jewish Settlers Try to Smuggle Goats into Al Aqsa Compound 

Extremist Jewish settlers storm the Al-Aqsa mosque compound. (Photo. via WAFA)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

This year, the Returning to the Temple Mount group offered financial rewards of up to 50,000 shekels (over $13,000) for those who are able to succeed in carrying out a slaughter in the Al-Aqsa compound.

Scores of Jewish settlers broke into the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem on Monday under heavy protection from the Israeli police, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

At the same time, heavily-armed soldiers increased security and tightened restrictions at the gates leading to the Old City ahead of extremist calls for animals to be sacrificed in the mosque for the Jewish Passover.

Around 172 settlers raided the mosque from the Mughariba Gate and performed Talmudic rituals there, according to WAFA.

Settler Injuries in Ramming Operation amid Heightened Tensions in Occupied Jerusalem

The so-called Temple Movement groups have called on their followers to carry out massive incursions into the Al-Aqsa Mosque at midnight before the Jewish Passover, on the twenty-third of this month, to offer the “sacrifice,” the report said.

Calls intensified this year as the groups succeeded in the past few years in carrying out many of the religious rituals in the compound such as the blowing of the trumpet, issuing plant offerings, and performing prayers, according to Al Jazeera.

Supporters of these groups believe that the sacrifice is considered the culmination of these rituals in establishing the “Temple Mount” on the site of the mosque.

Financial Reward

This year, the “Returning to the Temple Mount” group offered financial rewards of up to 50,000 shekels (over $13,000) for those who are able to succeed in carrying out a slaughter in the Al-Aqsa compound.

“We call on all the people of Israel to take a goat or sheep up to one year old and bring the offering to the Temple Mount in the hope that we will be able to slaughter it properly this year,” was the call from one of the groups.

Another publication reportedly said: “Do not miss the Passover sacrifice. The people of Israel will go up to offer the sacrifice on the Temple Mount. It is forbidden to abandon the Passover sacrifice.”

Israeli police have detained 13 settlers for attempting to smuggle goats into the Al-Asqa compound, according to The Times of Israel.

“The suspects, all of whom were between the ages of 13 and 21, were caught with goats in their possession, including one that was being hidden inside a baby carriage and another inside a shopping bag,” the paper said, citing a police statement.

“We urge the public not to provide a platform for extremist elements advocating or attempting to violate the law and order,” the statement reportedly said.

Yearly Request

The Returning to the Temple Mount group “makes a request each year to carry out the ritual, but is repeatedly denied by authorities as most Israeli security officials believe that it would be seen as a major change to the religious site’s status quo and spark fierce backlash from across the region,” the report added.

It said similar incidents occured last year prior to the Passover resulting in clashes with Muslm worshippers at the holy site.

Israeli politician Yitzhak Pindrus, in an interview on Knesset TV last week called on Jews to perform the sacrifice, and “eat it on the same night in the old city.”

“But at the end of the day, we are hoping that soon the Third Temple will be built there, and we’ll be able to eat there from the Passover sacrifices.”

(PC, WAFA, AJA)

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‘Fully Disproportionate’ – Ireland’s FM Slams Israel’s Destruction of Gaza

Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin. (Photo: via Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs)

Michael Martin said Ireland and Spain would be calling for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

Ireland’s Foreign Minister Michael Martin has accused Israel of breaching humanitarian law saying its response in Gaza was “fully disproportionate.”

“We believe that the response has been fully disproportionate and has also been, in our view, a breach of humanitarian law in terms of the destruction of Gaza and also in terms of the killing of civilians, innocent men, women and children,” Michael Martin said in a doorstep speech ahead of an EU Foreign Ministers Council meeting, the Anadolu news agency reported.

Israel’s Assault on Gaza is Collective Punishment – UN Human Rights Chief

“We believe that cannot be justified,” Martin added. “The population of Gaza has been collectively punished because of the activities of Hamas, that’s not acceptable.”

He reportedly said Israel has “not been listening” to the EU and the US and urged that it was “time that Israel pull back and stop this, and then we get the cease-fire, get the hostages released and get some good humanitarian aid in as fast as we possibly can.”

Trade with Israel

Martin said Ireland and Spain would be calling for a review of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which forms the legal basis governing the bloc’s trade relations with Israel, during the meeting.

He also said the ministers would discuss the current situation about a peace plan, as well as the recognition of a Palestinian state, and humanitarian aid issues.

‘Dishonest, Immoral, Unjustified’: US Vetoes Palestine UNSC Resolution

The Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares also called for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, saying that people in the besieged enclave cannot go another day without access to basic needs.

“We are going to continue calling now more than ever for a permanent ceasefire given the risk that Israeli military operations will extend to Rafah, which would further increase this humanitarian catastrophe that has already claimed 34,000 lives,” Albares said.

“We are going to request that all land points be opened once and for all for humanitarian aid to access,” the foreign minister stressed.

“The civilian population of Gaza cannot wait another day to have access to things as basic as food, medicine, and drinking water,” he warned.

UN Membership Vote

Regarding last week’s vote on Palestine’s UN membership, he underlined Spain’s position of being in favor of Palestine’s entry into the union.

“I believe that on Thursday, there was enormous support for Palestine’s entry into the United Nations,” he said, according to the Anadolu report.

“It has been a very broad support and, of course, what Spain is going to do… is that sovereign recognition (of Palestine) as a member state, as 139 countries on the planet have already done, including 9 from the European Union.”

The US on Thursday vetoed a resolution that, if passed, would have opened the door to full Palestinian membership of the United Nations.

Human Rights Violations – Belgium Leads the Way to Re-Evaluate EU-Israel Trade Agreement

The Palestinian presidency condemned the US move and said in a statement that the US veto is “dishonest, immoral and unjustified” and exposes the contradictions of US policy, which claims on the one hand that it supports the two-state solution, while preventing the international institution from implementing this solution.

Over 34, 100 Killed

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,151 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,084 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

GAZA LIVE BLOG: Israel Readies for Rafah Invasion | Head of Military Intelligence Resigns | Iraqi Hezbollah to Resume Attacks – Day 199

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

(Anadolu, PC)

6:43 pm | Posted in Blog | News | Read More »

US Student Protest Movement Against Gaza Genocide Grows – Explainer 

Gaza Solidarity Encampment at Columbia University. (Photo: via @maryamalwan TW Page)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The protest began with a handful of students who pitched their tents on the lawn of Columbia University in the early hours of Wednesday, April 17.

Columbia University declared on Monday that classes would be conducted online, following continued unrest on its New York campus, stemming from the recent arrest of pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

As tensions escalated on various university campuses across the United States, law enforcement authorities also arrested pro-Palestinian protesters at Yale University on Monday.

When did it begin?

The protest began with a handful of students who pitched their tents on the lawn of Columbia University in the early hours of Wednesday, April 17.

The Columbia encampment reportedly coincided with university President Minouche Shafik’s appearance at a Congress hearing on anti-semitism.

Anger however has been growing at the campus for months.

Just days after the October 7 military operation carried out by the Palestinian Resistance, students were reportedly doxed after they signed a statement expressing concern about Israel’s war on Gaza, describing the enclave as an “open-air prison.”

“The weight of responsibility for the war and casualties undeniably lies with the Israeli extremist government and other Western governments, including the US government, which fund and staunchly support Israeli aggression, apartheid and settler-colonization,” the statement read.

The statement urged Columbia University “to stand firmly for accountability and end its ties with apartheid Israel, including discontinuing the Columbia Global Center in Tel Aviv and the Dual Degree Program with Tel Aviv University. The Columbia community must reassess its relationship with Israel in light of our core values of justice, peace, and human rights.”

In November, the university suspended the charters of student groups Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace after students reportedly held protests calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Why are the protests taking place?

Students are demanding that Columbia University divest from its financial holdings in firms that profit from the Israeli occupation in Palestine.

What are the students’ demands?

According to a statement from the Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine, students are demanding the following:

  • Divest all finances, including the endowment, from corporations that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide, and occupation in Palestine.
  • Complete transparency for all of Columbia’s financial investments.
  • Amnesty for all students and faculty disciplined or fired in the movement for Palestinian liberation.

What has happened so far?

The student protest encampment grew overnight, with hundreds of students showing up and setting up tents.

On Thursday, President Shafik advised that the New York Police Department (NYPD) has been authorized to sweep the encampment and engage in mass arrests.

More than 100 protesters were detained, after officers swarmed the campus and cleared an encampment set up by students.

Students then moved to another lawn and started another encampment.

Shafik had reportedly told the NYPD in a letter that she had “determined that the encampment and related disruptions pose a clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the University.”

The student movement said following the arrests “We will not stand for Columbia’s direct complicity in genocide and the targeting and arrest of its own students.”

The protest continues to grow with “hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and community members joining in the camp,” according to the Columbia Encampment Telegram channel.

Tents have been set up, providing food and support for each other, as well as holding teach-ins and having speakers address the students.

“We are chanting, singing, teaching, watching, praying, reading, debating, and breaking bread,” the students say.

The White House Weighs in:

In a statement from President Joe Biden on Sunday to mark the Jewish Passover, Biden said “Silence is complicity.”

“Even in recent days, we’ve seen harassment and calls for violence against Jews. This blatant Antisemitism is reprehensible and dangerous – and it has absolutely no place on college campuses, or anywhere in our country,” he added.

Biden said his administration “will continue to speak out and aggressively implement the first-ever National Strategy to Counter antisemitism, putting the full force of the federal government behind protecting the Jewish community.”

His remarks reportedly came after reports emerged over the weekend of harassment of Jewish students on the Columbia University campus, according to Al Jazeera.

Andrew Bates, White House deputy press secretary, also reportedly said in a statement:

“While every American has the right to peaceful protest, calls for violence and physical intimidation targeting Jewish students and the Jewish community are blatantly Antisemitic, unconscionable, and dangerous – they have absolutely no place on any college campus, or anywhere in the United States of America.”

“And echoing the rhetoric of terrorist organizations, especially in the wake of the worst massacre committed against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, is despicable. We condemn these statements in the strongest terms,” he added

Student Movement’s Response

In a statement on Sunday, the student movement reiterated: “We are student activists at Columbia calling for divestment from genocide.”

“We are frustrated by media distractions focusing on inflammatory individuals who do not represent us. At universities across the nation, our movement is united in valuing every human life,” the statement added.

“Our members have been misidentified by a politically-motivated mob. We have been doxxed in the press, arrested by the NYPD, and locked out of our homes by the university. We have knowingly put ourselves in danger because we can no longer be complicit in Columbia funnelling our tuition dollars and grant funding into companies that profit from death.

“We demand our voices be heard against the mass slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza.

“We firmly reject any form of hate or bigotry and stand vigilant against non-students attempting to disrupt the solitary being forges among students–Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, Black and pro-Paletinian classmates and colleagues who represent the full diversity of our country.

“We have been peaceful. We follow in the footsteps of the civil rights and anti-war movements in our quest for liberation.”

Latest from Columbia University Authorities

In a statement on Monday, the University President Minouche Shafik said “we need a reset.”

“Students across an array of communities have conveyed fears for their safety and we have announced additional actions we are taking to address security concerns,” Shafik stated.

She acknowledged that “there is a terrible conflict raging in the Middle East with devastating human consequences. I understand that many are experiencing deep moral distress and want Columbia to help alleviate this by taking action.”

“But we cannot have one group dictate terms and attempt to disrupt important milestones like graduation to advance their point of view.”

“To deescalate the rancor and give us all a chance to consider next steps, I am announcing that all classes will be held virtually on Monday. Faculty and staff who can work remotely should do so; essential personnel should report to work according to university policy. Our preference is that students who do not live on campus will not come to campus,” Shafik added.

Shafik continued: “During the coming days, a working group of Deans, university administrators and faculty members will try to bring this crisis to a resolution.”

Some of the additional “actions” that the University is implementing include: “Increasing patrol strength … a total of 111 additional safety personnel” and “Enhanced perimeter security staffed by additional private security personnel.”

Reaction from other campuses

Yale University students have also begun a similar protest at the campus.

On Monday morning, several Yale students were arrested and later released, after being charged with a Class A misdemeanour, according to the Instagram page: @yalies4palestine

The New School University in NYC have begun occupying their campus.

‘No tuition for genocide’ is one of their slogans, along with “The more they try to silence us, the louder we will be.”

University of Michigan students on Monday also began Day 1 of their Gaza Solidarity Encampment.

The Tahrir Coalition is made up of 90+ student organisations “untied for the Tahrir (liberation) of Palestine at the University of Michigan,” according to the movement’s X page.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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‘Carried that Black Day with Me’ – Israeli Military Intelligence Chief Resigns

Major General Aharon Haliva, The head of Israeli military intelligence, resigned. (Photo: US Embassy in Jerusalem, via Wikimedia Commons)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Israeli media and analysts anticipate further resignations once the main military operations in Gaza conclude.

The head of Israeli military intelligence resigned on Monday, after taking full responsibility for the lapses that led to the military operation carried out by the Palestinian Resistance on October 7.

Major General Aharon Haliva, a 38-year veteran of the military, acknowledged his division’s failure to anticipate and prevent the attack, Reuters news agency reported.

“The intelligence division under my command did not live up to the task we were entrusted with. I have carried that black day with me ever since,” he reportedly stated in a resignation letter released by the military.

Haliva will continue in his role until a successor is appointed. Israeli media and analysts anticipate further resignations once the main military operations in Gaza conclude.

The October 7 operation severely damaged the reputation of the Israeli military and intelligence services.

On that day, during the early morning hours, following an intense rocket barrage, thousands of fighters from the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas and other groups breached security barriers around Gaza, catching Israeli forces off guard and causing havoc in southern Israel.

While the head of the armed forces, Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevy, and the head of the domestic intelligence agency Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, accepted responsibility, they have retained their positions during the ongoing war on Gaza.

Netanyahu Must Resign

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however,  has not yet accepted responsibility for the attack, despite a majority of Israelis attributing blame to him for not taking sufficient measures to prevent or defend against it.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Monday for Netanyahu’s resignation following Haliva’s move.

“The resignation of the military intelligence chief is justified and honorable. It would have been appropriate for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do the same,”’ Lapid wrote on X.

A recent poll showed that two-thirds of Israelis doubt Netanyahu’s assertion that the country is close to achieving victory in the ongoing Gaza war, according to Israeli Channel 13.

Additionally, the poll found that 63 percent of respondents support holding early elections.

Gaza Genocide

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.  

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 34,151 Palestinians have been killed, and 77,084 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

GAZA LIVE BLOG: Israel Readies for Rafah Invasion | Head of Military Intelligence Resigns | Iraqi Hezbollah to Resume Attacks – Day 199

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children. 

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

5:38 pm | Posted in Blog | News | Read More »
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