US rights group condemns arrest of UK critic of Israel’s war on Gaza

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has denounced the detention of a British political commentator critical of Israel’s war on Gaza who was detained at San Francisco International Airport.

Sami Hamdi was reportedly detained by immigration officers on Sunday morning while on a speaking tour in the US focused on the disastrous two-year assault on Gaza.

“Abducting a prominent British Muslim journalist and political commentator on a speaking tour in the United States because he dared to criticize the Israeli government’s genocide is a blatant affront to free speech,” CAIR said in a statement.

“Our nation must stop abducting critics of the Israeli government.”

Humanity can easily discern right and wrong. Racism, Islamophobia, anti-semitism, genocide, and war crimes need no explanation or definitions for humanity to recognise them and stand firmly against them.

I believe in humanity and the natural good that exists in human beings.

— Sami Hamdi سامي الهاشمي الحامدي (@SALHACHIMI) May 8, 2025

Does Trump’s Gaza plan stop Israel’s agenda for Palestinians?

While a parade of US officials visited Israel to signify commitment to the ceasefire, Israel continued to restrict food and medicine to millions of Palestinians, and its forces continue to occupy more than half of the Gaza Strip.

US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan is in danger of going the way of the Oslo Accords, never to be implemented beyond the first phase, argues US journalist Chris Hedges. Watch below:

Main events on October 26th

• US officials discussed a possible United Nations resolution or international agreement to authorise a multinational “peace force” in Gaza with mediators in Qatar.
• A Palestinian was killed by Israeli troops at the Meitar checkpoint, south of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, as violence continues there.
• “We have the strong and sufficient will on our part to prevent war from restarting, and we are not giving the occupation any pretext for a return to war,” the head of Hamas in Gaza, Khalil al-Hayya, told Al Jazeera.
• The Gaza Tribunal issued its final findings, saying that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and that “Israeli perpetrators and their Western enablers” should not be allowed to escape justice for their crimes.
• A US official with the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that political commentator Sami Hamdi was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and will be deported to the United Kingdom.

Trump says Hamas not Netanyahu will break peace deal as Qatari emir surprises

US President Donald Trump on Sunday was surprised by the Qatari emir as Air Force One stopped in Doha for refueling on his way to Malaysia. Later, speaking to reporters, Trump said that he discussed the Gaza peace deal with the Qatari emir adding that he expected Hamas to break the peace deal. His comments came despite Benjamin Netanyahu breaking the ceasefire in the past.


It's in the script and the peace plan has been set up to blame Hamas, first for not being able to find the bodies fast enough which Israel bomb to bits, it might even be impossible to find them all. Wild dogs have been eating corpses and all :/ Then for not disarming the right way.

Meanwhile the IDF continues to break the ceasefire daily, while still restricting aid as well. 

Drone Footage Shows Gaza City COMPLETELY Leveled

93% of residential structures in the Gaza Strip have been destroyed.

Why Hannah Einbinder Said ‘FREE PALESTINE’ — And What Came Next

You may know Hollywood star Hannah Einbinder from her award-winning performance in the hit HBO series ‘Hacks’, or you may know her from her fiery Emmy acceptance speech in which she said on live national television, “Go Birds, f*ck ICE, and free Palestine.”

In her first major interview since her Emmy speech, Hannah joins host Simone Zimmerman (co-founder of IfNotNow) as the first guest of Zeteo’s exclusive new podcast, ‘Beyond Israelism with Simone Zimmerman’. Hannah opens up about how October 7 prompted a journey of reckoning with her Zionism, and how she has since decided to use her platform as the genocide in Gaza has worsened.

‘Beyond Israelism with Simone Zimmerman’ is a provocative new podcast series from Tikkun Olam Productions, the team behind the viral and award-winning 2023 film ‘Israelism’. In this series, Simone will host bold and inspiring conversations that face, head on, the growing global reckoning with Zionism, the debates over Jewish identity, and the urgent struggle for Palestinian freedom.

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~tads12

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~tads12

Efforts to retrieve bodies of captives in Gaza continue

The efforts of retrieving the bodies of Israeli captives continue. Hamas informed the ICRC of where Amiram Cooper’s body is, and the retrieval has now started in Khan Younis.

We have seen heavy machinery in Khan Younis for this effort.

Palestinians here hope this process will be fast because they are waiting for reconstruction, they are waiting for the Rafah crossing to open, and they are also hoping this ceasefire makes it to the end.


_{Heavy machinery operates at a site where a search is under way for the bodies of captives killed in Gaza}

Egyptian specialists search for remains of captives in Gaza

The Israelis have been putting a lot of pressure on mediators, specifically the United States, saying they’re not ready for any talks on phase two or what’s next of this deal until the remaining 13 bodies of captives are brought back from Gaza.

Hamas has said they don’t know where those bodies are, and they need assistance on the ground in the form of specialised teams and heavy machinery.

Israel was at first reluctant to allow this to happen. In fact, there was a Turkish team of about 80 people who were on the other side of the border just last week, whom Israel denied entry to.

But now they have allowed in an Egyptian team. Hamas too are now searching in areas that are technically under Israeli control, outside that yellow line perimeter where Israeli forces withdrew from.

That’s also because of pressure from mediators who have said to Israel, “If you want to retrieve these bodies, people are going to have to look in these areas.”

The Israelis are saying they not only want this done in the quickest way possible, but they’re also willing to do what they can to assist.

_{Palestinians watch as specialists from Egypt search for the bodies of captives in Khan Younis, southern Gaza}

Question of deceased Israeli captives’ remains becoming ‘huge sticking point’

The issue of the remaining bodies of Israeli captives has become a huge sticking point for the Israelis, who have said on the record that they don’t want to talk about phase two or next steps within Trump’s peace plan until all 13 bodies are brought back to Israel.

Now the family members of those captives say the entire deal should be put on hold until they can get their loved ones back. They say that it has gone on for far too long and they don’t understand what the holdup is.

However, Israeli officials, American officials and those who mediated this deal knew that this was going to be a daunting task. They knew it was going to be incredibly difficult to try to find the remains and exhume the bodies of those captives.


_{Relatives mourn over the coffin of slain Israeli captive Yossi Sharabi during his funeral procession in Rishon LeZion}

And it shows how little Israelis know about the actual situation in Gaza.

Gaza Civil Defence staff prepare to transfer dozens of returned Palestinian bodies for burial

In the courtyard of Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, Gaza Civil Defence teams are preparing to transfer dozens of bodies of Palestinians returned by Israel for burial.

“These are 50 bodies – unidentified, unfortunately,” Civil Defence worker Mohammad Abu al-Qumsan told Al Jazeera, standing before the shrouded bodies laid on the ground.

“Now we’re preparing ourselves to transfer [them] to Deir el-Balah in a mass grave.”

The bodies were among those returned from Israel under the ceasefire agreement. Families have been searching for their loved ones among the deceased, but many of the bodies are unrecognisable – displaying signs of torture and mutilation.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQTqmnaDBBF

_{Medical workers carry the bodies of unidentified Palestinians returned from Israel ahead of their burial}

Families of missing Palestinians desperate for help to recover bodies from Gaza’s rubble

At least 9,000 Palestinians are recorded as missing, trapped under the rubble, according to the Ministry of Health.

Their families are struggling. They’ve been calling throughout the war for heavy machinery to help retrieve the bodies of their loved ones. People have been digging with shovels, minimal tools, even their bare hands to try to recover their bodies.

Now that heavy machinery has entered Gaza to aid the recovery of the bodies of captives, it has raised a lot of questions for these Palestinian families.

They are asking: Are we going to be able to use this machinery? Are they going to help us retrieve the bodies of our loved ones once they recover the bodies of the captives?

But their hopes are not high. They are expecting that this machinery will be used to retrieve the captives, then be removed from Gaza.


Palestinian Civil Defence slams ‘double standards’ over recovering bodies in Gaza

The spokesperson of the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza has lambasted the “double standards” being shown by some organisations that he says are bringing heavy equipment into the Strip to search for the bodies of Israeli captives while ignoring those of tens of thousands of Palestinians that still need to be retrieved.

“It breaks our hearts that some agencies and organisations have brought in the necessary heavy powerful equipment and bulldozers only to search for the bodies of Israeli hostages while no equipment is available for 10,000 bodies of Palestinian citizens to be recovered from under the rubble,” Mahmud Basal said.

“This represents a double standard that in no way reflects humanity. True humanity requires the same care to be given to Palestinian bodies as is given to Israeli bodies.”

Basal said the retrieval of a single body can take 12 hours of work, given the scale of the devastation in Gaza.

“I think we need 10,000 days to recover the bodies of 10,000 martyrs. This means that we need a very large amount of heavy equipment. … The trucks, bulldozers and excavators that have entered the Strip are nowhere near sufficient to carry out our task,” he said.

He added that the retrieval of bodies was complicated by the issue of where to put the sheer mass of rubble.

“If the rubble is removed, where will we take it and where will we put it? Is the issue just about recovering the bodies, or is it also about recovering the bodies, removing the rubble and finding places to put it?” he asked.

“The issue requires the integration and cooperation of all parties, so that we can immediately start working on this and recover the bodies of the martyrs.”

_{The bodies of dozens of unidentified Palestinians returned by Israel as part of the ceasefire are buried in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza. Many of the bodies are unrecognisable and display signs of torture and mutilation, medical staff say.}

UNICEF aims to return all 650,000 school-age children in Gaza to school

Edouard Beigbeder, the director for the Middle East and North Africa region at UNICEF, says the global children’s agency is scaling up its humanitarian operations in Gaza following the ceasefire.

“We are racing against the clock to save children’s lives from preventable threats, like malnutrition, disease and the winter cold,” he said in a statement.

UNICEF is also working with partner groups in Gaza to return all 650,000 school-age children in the territory to school, he said.

“After two lost years, families know that a return to proper education will provide a foundation for learning, healing, hope, and long-term social cohesion in their communities,” Beigbeder said.

“UNICEF is assembling semi-permanent classrooms and repairing damaged schools as we prepare to rebuild inclusive schools that combine multiple services under one roof – from safe drinking water to integrated mental health and psychosocial support and child protection services to promote emotional recovery and safety, for every child,” he added.

Nearly half a million Palestinians return to northern Gaza: UN

About 473,000 people have made their way back to northern Gaza since the October 10 ceasefire, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says.

Those returning are confronting widespread destruction of their property and critical shortages of drinking water, food and basic amenities, according to the UN. Numerous Palestinians are now sheltering in destroyed homes surrounded by unexploded bombs.

Vast swaths of the coastal territory have been reduced to a wasteland by Israel’s war on the enclave, which has killed more than 68,500 Palestinians. Rights groups and a UN commission of inquiry have accused Israel of committing genocide in the war. Israel has denied the allegations.

Displaced Palestinians returning home face threat from unexploded ordnance, says doctor

An emergency doctor at Gaza City’s al-Shifa Hospital says her team is treating a growing number of Palestinians who have been injured by unexploded ordnance when they return to their homes following their displacement by the war.

“As people come back to the north after the heavy bombardment … they’re moving into their old homes, they’re setting up tents in the rubble, and there are so many unexploded missiles,” said the doctor, who gave her name as Harriet.

She said children were among those being injured by the ordnance left scattered across the territory, adding her team had recently treated siblings aged five and seven who had sustained blast and shrapnel injuries from a bomb.

About 66,000 tonnes of unexploded ordnance remain lying around Gaza, and at least 53 people have been killed by the bombs so far.


_{A drone view shows widespread destruction caused by Israel’s war on Gaza in a residential neighbourhood of Gaza City}

Unexploded ordnance in Gaza

Israeli military hits Gaza with more attacks despite ceasefire

Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting that the Israeli military has launched three air attacks on buildings in the east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli drones have struck the vicinity of camps for displaced people near the Shujayea junction, Gaza City, Al Jazeera Arabic reports.

Israel has continued to periodically attack Gaza since the ceasefire with Hamas was signed on October 11, often claiming that it is striking Palestinian groups planning attacks.

However, Hamas has said the Israeli attacks are “clear” violations of the ceasefire agreement that are killing civilians and has accused Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu of attempting to sabotage the US-led peace plan.

Israeli drone attack kills Palestinian in southern Gaza

An Israeli drone attack in Abasan al-Kabira, near Khan Younis, has killed at least one person, report our colleagues on the ground and the Wafa news agency.

Others have been injured, some critically, from the attack, which took place while Palestinians were inspecting their homes in the area, said Wafa.

Rubio defends Israel’s Saturday attack in Gaza, says not violation of ceasefire

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said Washington is OK with an Israeli attack on Gaza on Saturday that Israel claims targeted an Islamic Jihad member plotting an attack.

“We don’t view that as a violation of the ceasefire,” said Rubio, speaking on board Trump’s plane during a trip to Asia. “They have the right if there’s an imminent threat to Israel, and all the mediators agree with that,” he claimed.

Islamic Jihad, the second largest armed group in Gaza, denied planning an attack.

Even after the Gaza ceasefire came into effect on October 10, Israel has carried out repeated attacks, killing about 100 Palestinians in the enclave, according to the Gaza Government Media Office.

The ceasefire calls for an end to hostilities by both Israel and Hamas.

Israel only has to claim they're assassinating an 'imminent' threat. Works for Lebanon 'ceasefire'... That's what happens when the guarantors of the ceasefire are those complicit in the genocide.

There is no 'ceasefire', merely a rebranding of the genocide, continuing at a lower pace.

Death toll from Israel’s drone attack near Khan Younis rises to two

Another person has now died from an Israeli drone strike we reported earlier in the southern Gaza town of Abasan al-Kabira, bringing the total number of people killed to two, according to a Nasser Hospital report cited by our colleagues on the ground.

Israel’s military has not commented on the attack.

Israeli attacks kill eight and wound 13 in Gaza over last 48 hours: Health Ministry

At least eight Palestinians have been killed and 13 wounded in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip over the last 48 hours, which come despite the ceasefire, Gaza’s Ministry of Health has announced.

The ministry said Israel’s war on Gaza has now killed at least 68,527 people and wounded 170,395 since October 2023.