Journalist Sami Hamdi returns to UK after US detention over Gaza war comments

British journalist and pro-Palestine commentator is on a flight home to the UK, his family has announced earlier today.

Hamdi was stopped at San Francisco International Airport in California on October 26 and detained by US immigration authorities mid-way through a speaking tour discussing Israel’s war on Gaza.

The family said in a statement that the US government agreed to allow Hamdi to leave voluntarily “with no order of deportation and no allegations”.

“While we welcome this development, we want to underscore that no family should ever have to go through what we have,” the family said. The British journalist, it added, was in the US on a valid visa and was detained in a room with up to 90 other people living in “terrible” conditions.

“All this because Sami, a journalist, political commentator, and human rights defender, spoke out against Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. Sami should never have spent a single night in a cell,” the family said.

US knew Israeli officials discussed use of human shields in Gaza: Report

The United States had evidence last year that Israeli officials discussed how their soldiers sent Palestinians into tunnels in Gaza that the Israelis believed were potentially lined with explosives, two US former officials have told the Reuters news agency.

The information was shared with the White House and analysed by the intelligence community in the final weeks of former President Joe Biden’s administration, the officials said.

International law prohibits the use of civilians as shields during military activity.

_{This photo provided by Breaking the Silence, a whistleblower group of former Israeli soldiers, shows two soldiers behind Palestinian detainees being sent into a Gaza City house to clear it, in 2024}

Protesters arrested for displaying pro-Palestine banner in Berlin

Several people have been arrested in connection to a pro-Palestinian banner hung at Berlin’s famous Brandenburg Gate. Three activists used a lifting platform to climb the monument in the centre of the German capital, police said.

“Never again genocide – freedom for Palestine,” read the banner.

Berlin police climbed the gate and arrested the three demonstrators, two women and one man. Three other demonstrators, who operated the lifting platform were also arrested, with a total of 75 police officers deployed.

_{A school class on Berlin visit watches pro-Palestinian protesters waving flags after the activists unveiled a banner reading, ‘Never again genocide – Freedom for Palestine’, on top of Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany}

To protect (genocide) and to serve (war criminals)

G7 foreign ministers support Trump’s plan to end Gaza war, urge unrestricted aid

Top diplomats from the Group of Seven (G7) nations have issued a joint statement strongly endorsing the US president’s plan to end the war in Gaza.

Meeting in Canada’s Niagara Region, the ministers “reiterated our strong support” for the plan and welcomed the ongoing ceasefire and the recent release of captives.

The G7 officials stressed the urgency of returning the remains of deceased captives and welcomed the increased flow of aid into the territory. However, they “expressed concern about restrictions that remain in place” on humanitarian assistance.

“We called on all parties to allow for humanitarian assistance without interference at scale, through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions and INGOs, as stipulated in President Trump’s plan,” the statement said.

All parties being Israel... They just can't say it.

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"Finding out Israel is also arming the RSF was both no surprise and utterly disgusting, not enough to be carrying out one genocide they need to militarily support another."

Trump is pushing a UN resolution that would revive the British mandate in Palestine

The Trump administration is pushing an Israeli-crafted resolution at the UN Security Council this week aimed at eliminating the possibility of a State of Palestine.

The resolution does three things: It establishes US political control over Gaza; separates Gaza from the rest of Palestine; and allows the US, and therefore Israel, to determine the timeline for Israel’s supposed withdrawal from Gaza, which would mean never.

This is imperialism masquerading as a peace process. In and of itself, it is no surprise. Israel runs US foreign policy in the Middle East.

What is a surprise is that the US and Israel might just get away with this travesty unless the world speaks up with urgency and indignation.

UK MoD ‘unclear’ on damage caused by Palestine Action: Report

Information obtained by the news outlet Declassified UK has revealed that the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) cannot substantiate any of the reported damage figures that it used to justify the designation of Palestine Action as a “terrorist” organisation.

The decision came in July, a month after some of the group’s members broke into the RAF Brize Norton airbase and damaged two planes, for which four members have been charged.

But now, four months after the event, Declassified UK reports the department is unable to clarify the financial impact of the incident. Instead, the organisation says the widely reported figure of 7 million British pounds ($9.2m) originated from a private company named AirTanker Ltd, which leases aircraft to the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Declassified UK says the police had shared this figure with the media, creating the impression that the damage costs came from official sources rather than a private company with close links to the arms trade.

It also stated that the redeployment of both aircraft within weeks of the incident might indicate that the damages were “overstated within certain British media circles”.

_{Police officers take away an elderly protester at a ‘Lift The Ban’ demonstration in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action in Parliament Square, central London, the UK}

Of course it was all a load of hogwash, these engines are designed to fly through heavy hail. Just power wash it off.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnL3Tvcz12w

And spraying paint on a parked plane is not terrorism. 

Zikim crossing remains closed as only limited commercial goods enter Gaza

It’s been 24 hours since the announcement was made by the Israeli army to reopen the Zikim crossing. However, the crossing remains closed. There have been no signs of its reopening or that any of the trucks are making their way into the Gaza Strip.

This leaves the entire part of northern Gaza without proper crossings to allow much-needed humanitarian aid or commercial trucks into the area, impacting the daily life of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returning to parts of the northern Gaza Strip.

The Zikim crossing is one of seven ground crossings into Gaza. Only two of them are operational, and only a trickle of aid and commercial trucks over the past month … have been allowed into Gaza.

This goes against the narrative that the humanitarian situation on the ground is improving. Quite the contrary, things are getting more difficult. What’s available in the market … are non-essential [goods].

Palestinians in Gaza collect plastic from a landfill to use for cooking fires


_{According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), almost all farmland in Gaza is either destroyed or inaccessible, with only a tiny fraction remaining undamaged.}


Workers in Gaza begin restoring historic Pasha Palace damaged in war

Palestinian workers in Gaza City have begun restoration efforts at the historic Pasha Palace Museum, a centuries-old fortress-turned-museum that has been severely damaged during Israel’s war on the enclave.

Workers used only their hands and buckets to remove sand, debris and broken stone from the site, stacking reusable stones in one pile and rubble in another, as an Israeli drone hovered overhead.

UNESCO has identified damage at more than 100 cultural heritage sites since October 2023, including the Pasha Palace, the Saint Hilarion Monastery and Gaza City’s Omari Mosque.


_{The Pasha Palace Museum in Gaza City has been largely destroyed, with reports indicating that thousands of artifacts have disappeared following the invasion of the Old City of Gaza during the recent conflict. The current fate of most of the museum's collection is unknown.}

Palestinian cultural heritage experts, such as Hamouda al-Dahdar, stated that before the war the palace contained more than 17,000 artifacts, all of which disappeared after the invasion.

The exact whereabouts or condition of the vast majority of the collection remain unclear. Some reports mention a video posted by the director of Israeli Antiquities of soldiers with ancient pottery in a separate warehouse, leading to accusations of pillaging, though an EBAF archaeologist stated there was no evidence of "state looting".

Al-Quds Brigades says it found another captive’s body

The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad says its fighters have located the body of another Israeli captive while conducting search operations in an area under Israeli army control south of Khan Younis.

Civil Defence in Rafah warns of looming humanitarian disaster

The Palestinian Civil Defence in Rafah in Gaza has warned of an imminent humanitarian disaster threatening tens of thousands of displaced people as winter storms are expected to hit the enclave in the coming days.

In a statement carried by the Gaza-based Safa news agency, the Civil Defence said displaced families are sheltering in worn-out tents and destroyed homes in the areas of al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, the outskirts of Rafah and along the coastal strip.

It said these families lack even the most basic protection from cold and rain, cautioning that severe humanitarian consequences are likely unless urgent measures are taken.

Over 900,000 displaced Palestinians at risk of flooding ahead of flash floods

More than 900,000 displaced Palestinians are at risk of flooding in southern Gaza as a severe weather system approaches, amid worsening humanitarian conditions and widespread destruction from Israel’s two-year war, municipal authorities have warned.

The approaching storm “is dangerous and threatens to flood thousands of tents along the coastline and damage large areas inside the city”, Saeb Lakkan, a spokesman for Khan Younis Municipality, said, citing collapsed sewage networks and rainwater retention ponds filled to levels that pose a threat to residents.

The Palestinian Meteorological Department has warned of possible flash floods on Friday and Saturday in valleys and low-lying areas.

“Israeli attacks destroyed roughly 210,000 metres of roads, 300,000 metres of water pipelines and 120,000 metres of sewage lines, leaving the city almost completely paralysed,” Lakkan added.

Gaza Civil Defence says entire families still trapped under rubble

A spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defence has described the ongoing failure to recover bodies trapped under destroyed homes as “a stain on the conscience of humanity”, saying families continue to beg rescue teams to retrieve their loved ones more than two years after Israeli bombardments.

Mahmoud Bassal shared a recent message from a resident pleading for help to recover more than 60 relatives who have remained under the rubble of a home since December 2023.

“I read the message and feel the words choking me,” he wrote. “Two years have passed and the bodies of innocent people are still buried beneath the debris, with no ability to reach them,” he said, adding that entire families have been left without graves, farewells and closure.

More than 10,000 Palestinians remain buried under the rubble in Gaza, according to the National Committee for Missing Persons, which has described the enclave as “the world’s largest mass grave”.

Israel has continued to prevent the entry of adequate equipment and machinery necessary for their recovery.

Two Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces near Hebron

Two Palestinian children have been shot and killed by Israeli forces in the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency is reporting.

Israeli soldiers opened fire on the children in the southern part of the town, before seizing their bodies and declaring the area a closed military zone.

Mohammed Awad, a local activist, said Israeli forces have been intensifying raids and pursuing farmers in the area, where the illegal Karmei Tzur settlement has encroached, adding that Palestinians have faced beatings, arrests and escalating settler assaults aimed at pressuring residents to leave the land.

Palestinians from Gaza temporarily held on unmarked plane that landed in South Africa

Officials in South Africa say 150 Palestinians who were left in limbo following a 24-hour ordeal after leaving Gaza to find safety have now been allowed into the country or transit to other destinations.

The group arrived in Johannesburg by plane and was left stranded on the tarmac for nine hours after officials refused to let them get off, as they did not have exit stamps from Israel on their passports.

South African social worker Nigel Branken, who was at OR Tambo international airport in Johannesburg, said the Palestinians were effectively trafficked out of Gaza, by what he said is “clearly an Israeli-linked operation”.

He said the Palestinians were made to leave everything when leaving Gaza before being put on an unmarked plane and flown to Namibia. He said they were then flown to South Africa.

https://www.news24.com/southafrica/news/over-150-palestinian-refugees-denied-entry-and-stranded-at-or-tambo-airport-20251113-1133

Peter Oborne exposes BBC and pro-Israel lobby

Jewish activists risk arrest as UK cracks down on pro-Palestine protests

The UK government is enacting an unprecedented crackdown on protest. Since October 2023, pro-Palestinian activists have faced police raids, increased surveillance and pre-emptive arrests. In July, the government went further, banning the direct-action group Palestine Action and making public support for it a terrorism offence. Additional protest restrictions were announced after a deadly attack on a synagogue in Manchester. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has signalled the government may go beyond the measures already outlined, including giving police powers to target specific chants at demonstrations.

Amid this crackdown, a group of Jewish activists are taking a stand. Many are over 50; one is a retired army colonel; several are descendants of Holocaust survivors. They are now risking arrest for holding signs in Parliament Square that read: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”. Middle East Eye spoke to these activists as they challenge the ban and resist what they see as a wider attack on the right to protest. Far from fitting the profile of terrorism suspects, their backgrounds are what compel them to put themselves on the frontline.

British pro-Palestinian political commentator Sami Hamdi landed back in London on Thursday (November 13) after being released from the United States, where he spent more than two weeks in immigration detention. Hamdi was detained on October 26 at San Francisco International Airport after U.S. officials revoked his visa during a speaking tour in which he criticized Israel's actions in Gaza.

"It's wonderful to be back after being exonerated by two federal judges, both of whom found that there were serious breaches of freedom of speech," Hamdi told reporters after landing at London's Heathrow Airport, where he was embraced by his family.

He said the only allegation against him was overstaying his visa after it was revoked without warning. He insisted he had complied with all visa conditions and alleged the move was linked to his advocacy for Gaza. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Hamdi's visa was canceled under security rules and that he was in the country illegally.

Rights groups and press freedom advocates condemned the detention, calling it an attack on free speech. Hamdi, managing director of The International Interest, a political risk consultancy, and a frequent analyst on British television, had spoken at a gala for the Council on American-Islamic Relations in California and was scheduled to appear at another event in Florida before his arrest. The Trump administration has pursued a sweeping immigration crackdown this year, including revoking visas for people accused of supporting terrorism and deporting foreign nationals who have voiced support for Palestinians.

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