Main events on September 13th
- Qatar will host a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders on Sunday and Monday to plot a course of action after Israel’s “cowardly” attack on Doha, and show solidarity with the mediator Gulf state.
- The United States is “not happy” about Israel’s air strikes on Hamas in Qatar, but the attacks will not change Washington’s allied status with Israel, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
- At least 62 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since dawn, of whom 49 died in the war-battered Gaza City.
- More than 6,000 Palestinians in Gaza became homeless on Saturday because of incessant Israeli bombardment, the Civil Defence agency said.
- The main Israeli group campaigning for the release of captives held in Gaza said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is the “obstacle” to ending the war and freeing the abductees.
- UNRWA warned that Israel’s invasion of Gaza City is driving massive new waves of displacement, leaving thousands more families with no safe place.
Women-only vessel joins Gaza flotilla
A boat crewed entirely by women has joined the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, with participants saying their voyage is meant as a tribute to the strength of Palestinian women living under Israel’s blockade.
Fifteen activists from Europe, Latin America and Asia boarded the vessel in the Tunisian port of Bizerte, preparing to link up with dozens of other ships making the journey.
“Palestinian women symbolise courage and determination in the face of devastation,” said Malika, a nurse from France. “We chose to dedicate one boat solely to women as a gesture of solidarity and respect.”
She said the group, which had never met before this initiative, quickly bonded over a common purpose. “We come from different countries – France, Chile, Portugal, Spain and others – but Gaza has united us.”
Organisers say the flotilla’s mission is to break the Israeli blockade and establish a humanitarian corridor into the besieged enclave.
“Governments have failed to protect civilians, so we are stepping forward,” Malika said.
