What happens in Gaza’s ‘Bermuda Triangle’

_{Trucks carrying aid await at the Israeli side of the Karem Abu Salem crossing to southern Gaza on October 20}

“4,200 trucks carrying humanitarian goods are entering Gaza weekly, since the start of the ceasefire. 70% of trucks that entered carried food … Over 16,600 trucks of food entered Gaza since the start of the ceasefire. Over 370,000 tons of food,” claims a November 26 update from the Israeli occupation authorities.

One would think the Palestinians in Gaza are the most well-fed people in the world.

To many of us, it is not clear how Israel counts the “trucks of food”, as there are indeed many commercial trucks allowed in that carry food of low nutritional value, like chocolate bars and biscuits, or food that is too expensive, like frozen chicken for $25 a kilo or a tray of eggs for $30.

The distance between the border and the displacement camps, where aid should be distributed, looks short on the map, but in reality, it is the longest distance politically and security-wise.

Yes, many trucks that go through never reach the families that need the supplies the most.

People hear about trucks, yet see no humanitarian packages. They hear about tonnes of flour, but they see no bread. They watch videos of trucks entering the Strip, but they never seen them come to their camps or neighbourhoods. It feels as if the aid enters Gaza only to vanish into thin air.

Where does the aid go?

Recently, talk about the missing aid has grown louder in the streets, especially as basic food items have suddenly appeared in local markets while still carrying labels that say: “Humanitarian Aid Not for Sale”. I have seen cans of chicken meat with this label being sold for $15 apiece.

Even when aid parcels reach the needy, they are often lacking in promised items. For example, my family received a food parcel that was supposed to contain rice, lentils, and six bottles of cooking oil, but when we opened it, there was no rice or lentils, only three bottles of cooking oil.

This is not simply a matter of corruption. After two years of genocidal war, governance in Gaza has collapsed, its institutions systematically targeted by the Israeli army. There is no unified authority, and there is no force able to provide public order and security.

According to the UN mechanism for aid monitoring, from May 19 to November 29, 8035 aid trucks made it to their destinations inside Gaza; 7,127 were “intercepted” either “peacefully” or “forcefully”.

The Israeli army sets restrictions on the roads that trucks can take, often forcing them to take routes that are full of danger. Some roads cannot be used without coordination with powerful local families or neighbourhood committees, others are controlled by armed groups. All this makes a trip of a few dozen kilometres a very fragile process that is easy to disrupt. This is how aid disappears into Gaza’s “Bermuda triangle”.

International organisations are also unable to enforce security. They cannot accompany trucks because of the danger, cannot supervise unloading in real time, and do not have enough staff to track every shipment. Their dependence on local committees and volunteers means they rely on a system full of gaps that different parties quickly take advantage of.


_{Displaced Palestinians receive a hot meal, distributed by a charity organisation in the al-Mawasi region of Khan Younis, Gaza}

Who benefits from the disappearance of aid?

Amid all this, one big question remains: Who truly benefits from the disappearance of aid?

There are the merchants looking for quick profit. There are the local armed groups seeking a source of cash. And there is, of course, the occupation and its allies who want to continue using hunger as a tool of political pressure. All of them are benefitting from the pain of ordinary Palestinians.

The problem here is that attention to what is happening in Gaza has diminished since the ceasefire. The global public feels reassured that the genocide is over, and it is no longer asking why aid is not reaching the Palestinian people.

Meanwhile, within policy and political circles, the disappearance of aid is being normalised, as if it were a natural outcome of conflict. But it is not; it is an engineered crisis meant as yet another kind of collective punishment for the Palestinian people.

As the world chooses yet again to turn a blind eye, it is not only trucks that are vanishing into Gaza’s “Bermuda triangle”, it is also the strength of Palestinians to keep going.

Loss of 70,000 lives resonates throughout all aspects of society in Gaza

The consequences of the killing of 70,000 Palestinians in Gaza are long term.

As depressing as it sounds, 70,000 people killed is still a conservative reading. The reality on the ground is even more shocking. Many people are still missing – trapped, buried under rubble.

In the opening week of the genocide, the Israeli army flattened entire neighbourhoods in northern Gaza without giving people sufficient time to flee.

The consequences of these 70,000 deaths ripple across all aspects of life in Gaza. We see it on a daily basis – economic productivity collapsing entirely, the social fabric destroyed. Schools not functioning; parents and families struggling.

A whole society has been curtailed.

Bodies of thousands of Palestinians remain trapped under the rubble

A small number of bodies of missing Palestinians have been recovered from under the rubble of homes.

That was possible because their families knew when they fled the horror of the bombardment, that they left behind some of their loved ones who wanted to stay and avoid being forcibly displaced.

But it’s only limited to these families. There’s still close to 10,000 people missing under the rubble. Without proper equipment and heavy machinery, people rely on whatever is available – manually operated tools or even the use of bare hands.

The Civil Defence lacks the machinery needed to remove large piles of rubble to help these families get closure and give their loved ones a proper burial.

The trucks, bulldozers and heavy equipment we see are limited to use in the search efforts to recover the bodies of Israeli captives, and are not allowed to operate in areas where thousands of Palestinians remain buried.

Overcrowding and dire conditions in Gaza’s makeshift tent camps

<sub>A tent camp housing displaced Palestinians stretches across Gaza City


Sewage overflows in a makeshift tent camp for displaced Palestinians in az-Zawayda, in the central Gaza Strip


Makeshift tents for displaced Palestinians stand among the ruins left by Israeli air strikes in the al-Karama neighbourhood of Gaza City</sub>

Gaza university resumes in-person classes

The Islamic University of Gaza has begun the first steps towards a gradual return to in-person learning, inside buildings damaged by Israeli air raids and partly reduced to rubble.

Within partially restored, cracked walls, hundreds of students returned to classrooms in a scene that reflects the determination of Gaza to reclaim life and education despite the scars of war.

Parts of the university’s buildings also shelter hundreds of displaced families, whose homes were destroyed during the genocide and who have no alternative refuge, prompting the school’s administration to appeal to relevant authorities to find urgent solutions and provide them with alternative housing.

According to the Gaza Government Media Office, the Israeli genocide destroyed 165 schools, universities and educational institutions, while 392 sustained partial damage, crippling Gaza’s education sector.

_{Displaced Palestinian Mervat al-Bassiouny, whose leg was amputated due to an Israeli attack, views the damage while using crutches as she shelters inside a building at the Islamic University of Gaza, from where she graduated and which was hit in previous Israeli raids, in Gaza City}

In Gaza, ‘a lot of mothers grieve while giving birth’

An obstetrician and gynaecologist who has delivered hundreds of babies in Gaza during the war says expectant mothers there endure conditions unlike any she has witnessed elsewhere.

Dr Asil Jallad, who has twice volunteered in Gaza and seen thousands of patients, said pregnant women faced huge barriers to accessing care.

“Women have to commute for hours to get to the most basic of care, to come see a doctor somewhere in a field hospital or in another city,” she told Al Jazeera from Amman.

“In the usual situation, this commute would take 10 to 15 minutes. During the war, it’s taking two to three hours… knowing that even when she reaches a clinic or a doctor, she won’t be able to get what she needs as a patient because of the lack of resources.”

She said giving birth was “supposed to be a beautiful experience”, but “in Gaza, it’s different.

“A lot of mothers grieve while giving birth,” she said. “They grieve for their lost children, they grieve for their displaced ones.”

Almost 4,000 glaucoma patients at risk of blindness due to lack of medicine

Nearly 4,000 glaucoma patients in Gaza are at risk of losing their sight due to a lack of treatment options and a limited number of surgical procedures in the territory, the Health Ministry says.

Damage to diagnostic and surgical equipment had made operations more challenging and increased wait times for procedures, it said. Medication stocks for eye patients were “very limited” and insufficient to meet emergency needs.

The ministry called on “all relevant authorities to intervene urgently” to bring diagnostic equipment and specialised eye medicine into the territory.

Israel should not be allowed to block second phase of ceasefire deal: Qatar

Israel should not be allowed to obstruct the implementation of the Gaza agreement and the transition to its second phase, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari has said.

Speaking to Qatari news outlet al-Araby al-Jadeed, he added that while efforts were under way to recover the two remaining captives’ bodies, “we don’t believe Israel should be allowed to obstruct the implementation of the agreement.”

He added that the absence of a peace process for the Palestinians means there will be no stability in the region.

Proposed security force in Gaza must be Palestinian-led: Qatar

Any security operation inside Gaza, including the proposed International Stabilisation Force, must be Palestinian-led, Qatar says.

The spokesperson for Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said in an interview with al-Araby al-Jadeed that “a regional discussion on this matter, led by the United States” is ongoing.

“Our position on this force has always been clear: The security operation in the Gaza Strip must be Palestinian-led, without international dictates,” he said.

Details regarding the force’s formation and operational structure in Gaza are still being discussed among all parties.

Israel outlines plan for ‘new Gaza’ under military control

Israeli news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth has published a detailed report on the next planned phase in Gaza, including the role of the proposed international stabilisation force that has yet to be formed.

According to the report, a “new Gaza” would be constructed in areas under Israeli military control, beginning in Rafah.

The plan outlines the creation of caravan housing equipped with water, electricity and sewage infrastructure. Palestinians would be invited to move into these zones, where the Israeli army intends to operate an extensive system of facial recognition and metal detectors along the yellow line.

Similar camps could then be built in Khan Younis and northern Gaza.

Come live in a dystopian concentration camp, it will be nice...


Ben-Gvir urges halt to soldier questioning after Palestinian shootings: Report

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called for an end to the summoning of Israeli soldiers for questioning over shootings of Palestinians, according to Israeli news outlet Haaretz.

Ben-Gvir reportedly visited the unit whose members shot dead two Palestinians in Jenin, and told the commander of the Border Police unit in the occupied West Bank that he would be promoted the day after his men carried out the killings.

Meanwhile, Israeli media are reporting growing unease within the country’s security establishment over the Trump administration’s proposed plan for Gaza, with assessments that it is unlikely to dismantle Hamas.

Channel 12, citing Arab media, reports difficulties in locating the bodies of two remaining captives in the Gaza Strip, adding that security officials believe it may take considerable time to reach them.

Netanyahu requests presidential pardon amid ongoing corruption cases

The Israeli president’s office says PM Netanyahu has submitted a request for a pardon to President Herzog. This comes days after Trump said Israel’s president should pardon Netanyahu in his corruption cases.

He is up against three separate cases of corruption filed in 2019: Case 1000, Case 2000, and Case 4000, which include allegations of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust.

Netanyahu’s request for pardon in corruption cases ‘extremely unusual’

In an extraordinary move, the lawyer of the Israeli prime minister has submitted an 111-page petition along with a letter signed by Benjamin Netanyahu asking for a pardon from the Israeli president.

This request for a pardon is unusual because the trial is not over.

The office of the Israeli president released the request for a pardon and said it will go to the pertinent legal authorities in the Justice Ministry – that he will get the opinion of all involved, and then make a ruling.

It is within the president’s powers to issue a pardon. It is usually given to those who have already been convicted. This, of course, is all happening as US President Donald Trump has formally requested a pardon for Netanyahu.

All of it is extremely unusual, and with elections just a year away, many are saying this is just one more manoeuvre by Netanyahu to secure another victory in elections.

Netanyahu has already been in power as PM for 18 years now (1996-1999, 2009-2021, 2022-present). Democracy lol.

Netanyahu, seeking pardon, releases statement

Netanyahu has now issued a video statement following his submission of a formal request for a pardon in his long-running corruption cases.

“The continuation of the trial is tearing us apart from within, arousing fierce divisions, intensifying rifts,” the prime minister said, referring to the split between his supporters and opponents.

“I am certain, like many others in the nation, that an immediate end to the trial will greatly help to lower the flames and promote the broad reconciliation that our country so desperately needs,” claimed Netanyahu, who is heading a fractious right-wing government coalition.

Netanyahu must apologise and withdraw from political life: Lapid

Opposition leader Yair Lapid has slammed a request by Netanyahu for a presidential pardon, saying he should first admit guilt and retire from politics.

In a post on X, Lapid directly addressed Israel’s President Herzog, who is considering Netanyahu’s request. “You cannot grant Netanyahu a pardon without an admission of guilt, an expression of remorse, and an immediate withdrawal from political life,” said Lapid.

Families of Israeli captives slam Netanyahu’s request for a pardon

Family members of Israeli captives have rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a pardon, Israeli news outlet Haaretz is reporting.

Einav Zangauker, mother of returned captive Matan Zangauker, said that Netanyahu’s request was an attempt “to escape responsibility and punishment, all in the name of remaining in power”, adding, “this is not leadership”.

Haaretz also reported that Yonatan Shimriz, brother of a captive killed by Israeli fire, said that “no one is above the law”, adding that “there will be no pardon for October 7… whoever was responsible will pay”.

Protesters rally in front if Israeli president’s house

About 200 people have gathered outside of Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s house in Tel Aviv this evening, demanding that he reject Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s request for a pardon in the three corruption cases against him.

Earlier today, Netanyahu wrote a letter to Herzog urging him to pardon him.

The request comes just weeks after US President Donald Trump sent a letter to Herzog, also calling on him to pardon Netanyahu. Under Israeli law, a person can only be pardoned for a crime after they have been found guilty.

The video below of the protests was posted by Israeli newspaper Haaretz:

כ־200 מפגינים מול ביתו של הנשיא הרצוג בתל אביב נגד הענקת חנינה לנתניהו, היום.

צילום: זיו שמע תקשורת pic.twitter.com/Zky3500OYh

— הארץ חדשות (@haaretznewsvid) November 30, 2025

Pakistan slams Israeli violations of Gaza ceasefire, warns deal backers may reassess position

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has questioned Israel’s commitment to the ceasefire in Gaza, warning that Muslim countries that backed the peace agreement may need to “reassess their stance” amid ongoing Israeli attacks on the territory.

Despite a ceasefire declared in October, Israeli forces have continued to bombard parts of Gaza as discussions over a longer-term arrangement continue.

In a post on X, Asif said the ceasefire deal had been criticised as one-sided and accused Israel of “continuing to violate the truce, killing Palestinians including children”.

He said a formal agreement signed in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt was intended to stabilise the region, but Israeli actions had raised doubts about its implementation.

Asif noted that states which supported the treaty, including Turkiye, Egypt and Qatar, may have to reconsider their position in light of ongoing Israeli attacks. He added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had already warned the deal should not be mistaken for a final resolution to the Palestinian issue.

Asif also cited Amnesty International as saying Israel’s “genocide is not over” and that Western governments must continue to pressure Israel to comply with international law.

Health Ministry says 356 killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since ceasefire

Three more Palestinians have been confirmed killed and two wounded in the past 24-hour reporting period, as a result of ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.

In its latest update, the ministry said the latest figures include two people newly killed and one body recovered. It warned that “a number of victims remain under the rubble and on the roads”, with ambulance and civil defence crews still unable to reach them.

Since the ceasefire came into effect on October 11, the ministry said it has recorded 356 killings and 908 injuries. There have also been 607 recoveries of bodies of people who were killed in earlier attacks.

The total death toll from Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, 2023 has now risen to 70,103, with 170,985 people wounded.The ministry urged families of the dead and missing to complete their information through its official registration platform.

Pakistan, Egypt reaffirm support for Palestinian state

Pakistan and Egypt have reaffirmed their shared position on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, as senior officials from both countries met in Islamabad to discuss regional developments and bilateral cooperation.

According to a statement from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar held talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, during which the two sides exchanged views on regional and international developments.

Pakistan “appreciated Egypt’s pivotal diplomatic and humanitarian role in Gaza, including its efforts toward ceasefire arrangements and facilitation of humanitarian assistance”, the statement said.

Both countries reiterated their “principled support for the establishment of an independent, sovereign, and contiguous State of Palestine based on pre-1967 borders”.

Pope’s Lebanon visit includes key meetings, massive mass in Beirut

Pope Leo XIV has arrived at the international airport, and we are expecting him to move from there with the Lebanese president.

They’ll meet officials and there are several events scheduled, including a big mass in the centre of Beirut.

The whole country is looking forward to this visit, and people have been waiting at the airport to welcome him. This is the fourth visit by a pope to Lebanon. In 1998, Pope John Paul II came a year after Israel’s war on Lebanon, and this visit will also take place around a year after the ceasefire with Israel was announced.

This puts a lot of pressure on the Lebanese government. These three days of the visit are seen as a kind of Israeli ceasefire period in the south, a possibility for things to calm down.

Social media video shows destruction of Nur Shams refugee camp

The camp, in the occupied West Bank’s Tulkarem governorate, has been the frequent target of violent Israeli raids and forced home demolitions. Video posted on X by a local account in the West Bank shows some street scenes of the destruction:

#فيديو | يوثق آثار الدمار الواسع بمخيم نور شمس في طولكرم؛ جرّاء عدوان الاحتلال. pic.twitter.com/8QCqZa7LoI

— شبكة فلسطين للحوار (@paldf) November 30, 2025

Israeli forces raid Jenin, Tubas

An Al Jazeera correspondent, along with the Wafa news agency, reports that Israeli forces have fought with local Palestinians in the town of Silat al-Harithiya, west of Jenin, in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli forces also raided a house during an incursion into the town of Aqqaba, north of Tubas.

Elsewhere in the city of Jenin, at a military checkpoint, Israeli troops assaulted and injured three Palestinians.

Wafa quotes Nidal Awda, the director of ambulance and emergency services in Tubas, who says that emergency crews transported the three to the hospital to receive treatment for injuries sustained as a result of being beaten by soldiers at the Tayasir checkpoint.

Israeli forces raid homes in Marda