‘Can’t afford to have people silenced during genocide’

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2024/10/14/in-shadow-of-israels-war-on-gaza-palestinian-diaspora-fights-to-be-heard

The Palestinian diaspora – who have spent the past 12 months watching a daily stream of death and destruction in Gaza – have faced online threats and racism, to attempts to silence their efforts to speak out against Israel’s assault.

In Canada, this wave of hate has fuelled a push by Palestinian Canadians to name and recognise anti-Palestinian racism as a distinct form of discrimination – and take concrete action to address it.

South Africa calls for pressure on Israel to stop attacks in Gaza, Lebanon

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on world leaders to put pressure on Israel to stop its attacks in Gaza and Lebanon.

‘‘We call for the immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of hostages and also ensure humanitarian assistance does get through to the people,’’ Ramaphosa said in an address to supporters in Johannesburg.

He added that in the next few days, his government will submit its full case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in support of the people of Palestine against the genocide that is being committed.

“Comrades, we are also concerned about the bombings that have been taking place by Israel in nearby countries such as Lebanon,’’ Ramaphosa said.

Israeli attack kills journalist in Gaza: Media office

A statement on Telegram says the number of journalists killed by the Israeli army in the enclave has risen to 177 with the death of photojournalist Ayman Muhammad Ruwaished.

“The Government Media Office condemns in the strongest terms the targeting, killing and assassination of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli occupation,” it said.

Israel’s army has repeatedly been accused of targeting media workers during its yearlong war on Gaza.

Last week, Israeli forces killed Palestinian journalist Hassan Hamad in an air strike on his home in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, days after he said he was warned by an Israeli officer to stop filming in Gaza.

‘Israeli military appears to be cutting off North Gaza completely’: UN

The United Nations Human Rights Office says it’s appalled by 10 days of heavy Israeli air strikes on northern Gaza, where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped without food or supplies.

“In the shadow of the escalation of hostilities across the Middle East, the Israeli military appears to be cutting off North Gaza completely from the rest of the Gaza Strip and conducting hostilities with absolute disregard for the lives and security of Palestinian civilians,” the UN office said.

It received reports that Israeli troops erected sand mounds at a key juncture, effectively “sealing off North Gaza” and firing on those attempting to flee.

Israeli forces target school shelter in northern Gaza

Several Palestinians have been killed and wounded in an Israeli bombing of another school sheltering displaced people in the north of the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Its correspondent said Israeli warplanes targeted the Hafsa School in the Jabalia refugee camp.

Situation in northern Gaza getting more critical by the hour

Medical sources at Kamal Adwan Hospital say they are running short of medical supplies and essential medical needs, including fuel that is highly required to guarantee that operations can be conducted.

They are also dealing with high rates of casualties among civilians, the people who are getting killed in the north of the Gaza Strip, in their evacuation centres, houses and while walking on the streets of Jabalia by the Israeli drones and quadcopters.

The sources say that lots of patients and injured people are succumbing to their wounds due to the lack of essential medication because the Israeli military is still imposing significant restrictions on the flow of essential medical supplies to the north of the Gaza Strip.

The vast majority of neighbourhoods in Gaza’s northern part have been under relentless attacks and now stand in ruins.

People are appealing to the international community, saying that they are getting killed while they are hungry, thirsty and unable to even flee due to the closure of all ways leading to Gaza City, which means that they are trapped there in horrific humanitarian conditions.

Two Palestinians killed in Israeli raid on Jenin


_{An Israeli military bulldozer and a military vehicle are seen in Jenin on October 14}

The Palestinian Wafa news agency is reporting that Israeli forces’ eight-hour raid on Jenin today “resulted in the killing of a child and a young man, the injury of four people and the destruction of public and private properties”.

Rayan Ibrahim al-Sayed, 17, and 23-year-old Mahmoud Mamoun Abu al-Rub were killed by Israeli gunfire.

The report added that Israeli forces have now withdrawn from al-Aloub and al-Hawashin neighborhoods inside the Jenin refugee camp as well as the centre of the West Bank city.

Israeli bulldozers also destroyed part of a house in al-Aloub neighborhood as well as “infrastructure at the Hisan Roundabout at the entrance of the camp”.

Since last October, more than 750 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers. More than 6,250 have also been wounded.


_{A Palestinian man inspects damage inside a building in the aftermath of an Israeli raid in Jenin camp in the occupied West Bank, October 14}

Israeli forces storm village near Nablus

Israeli forces have stormed the village of Burqa, northwest of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank. Citing local sources, the Wafa news agency reported that several military vehicles broke into the village and fired live ammunition, stun grenades and tear gas.

No injuries or arrests have been reported yet.

Asmongold is truly a piece of shit, shame people like him have such a huge platform.

Never heard of him, you made me look him up.



Popular streamer Asmongold has ignited controversy after making inflammatory comments about Palestine during a livestream.

On October 14, 2024, while discussing the ongoing conflicts in Palestine and Lebanon, the streamer stated he had “no sympathy” for the people of Palestine, describing them as “terrible people” from “an inferior culture.” He went on to say that Palestinians “would be the ones doing the genociding if they had the power to do so,” while referencing Sharia law in his remarks.

The comments come amidst reports of human rights violations in Palestine and food shortages in Northern Gaza, according to the United Nations. While Asmongold acknowledged that some people were caught in the crossfire, he reiterated his stance, stating, “At the end of the day, this is an immoral, evil culture. I truly believe that.”

Clips of the stream quickly circulated online, leading to widespread backlash. Critics have called for Twitch to ban his account, labeling his statements as hate speech. Many have also questioned the relationships between Asmongold’s streaming organization, OTK, and its sponsors and developers. Asmongold, streaming on his alternate channel zackrawrr, has since debated fellow streamer Hasan Piker on the topic of Palestine. As of now, neither his main account nor his alternate account has faced consequences from Twitch.

Sadly there are lots of these on YouTube. Dehumanization of Palestinians has been ongoing for 76 years.


In Canada we have a special abbreviation for this particular kind of racism (APR), recently mentioned by Aljazeera

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2024/10/14/in-shadow-of-israels-war-on-gaza-palestinian-diaspora-fights-to-be-heard

In Canada, this wave of hate has fuelled a push by Palestinian Canadians to name and recognise anti-Palestinian racism as a distinct form of discrimination – and take concrete action to address it.

“I know a lot of Palestinians, now they are hiding their identity. They don’t speak up. They don’t say that they are from Palestine because they are scared that they are going to be targeted,” said Alsaafin.


https://www.cjpme.org/fs_245

Systemic Anti-Palestinian Racism

CJPME Factsheet 245, published June 2024: This factsheet explores various facets of anti-Palestinian racism (APR), detailing how it manifests at institutional, structural, and systemic levels within Canadian society. It underscores the absence of formal definitions of APR in federal policy, highlighting instances where Canadian institutions perpetuate discriminatory practices against Palestinians, impacting their rights, immigration policies, and public perception.

Anti-Palestinian racism is a form of anti-Arab racism that silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames or dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives. Anti-Palestinian racism takes various forms including:

• Denying the Nakba and justifying violence against Palestinians;
• Failing to acknowledge Palestinians as an Indigenous people with a collective identity, belonging and rights in relation to occupied and historic Palestine;
• Erasing the human rights and equal dignity and worth of Palestinians;
• Excluding or pressuring others to exclude Palestinian perspectives, Palestinians and their allies;
• Defaming Palestinians and their allies with slander such as being inherently antisemitic, a terrorist threat/sympathizer or opposed to democratic values.^[1]

It's a tragedy, armed struggle is the only option left for Palestinians
https://www.dsausa.org/democratic-left/why-palestinians-engage-in-armed-struggle/

Multiple Israeli attacks in East Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley

Israeli forces have launched several attacks across the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon tonight, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic. Israeli attacks were reported in the towns of Shaath, Al-Ain and Ali al-Nahri as well as in the areas surrounding the city of Baalbek.

Hezbollah fires rockets on Israeli targets in Lebanon, northern Israel

Hezbollah says it targeted Israeli forces carrying out operations in the Khallet Wardeh and Marj areas of southern Lebanon. The group also says it targeted Israeli soldiers in the al-Sadana and Birkat al-Naqqar areas along the Lebanon-Syria border in the Israeli-occupied Shebaa Farms.

Israeli attacks damage buildings across Lebanon, including hospital

An overnight Israeli attack that destroyed a building in Baalbek in Lebanon also damaged the nearby Al-Murtada Hospital, putting it out of service, Lebanon’s NNA news agency reports.

Israeli warplanes also caused severe damage to property and crops in the Qasimiya area and targeted the Litani River area between Blat and Barghaz, NNA added.

Israel launches 200 air strikes across Lebanon in 24 hours

The Israeli military says it launched a total of 200 strikes across Lebanon in the last 24 hours as it expanded its targets against Hezbollah.

So far the main focus of Israel’s military operations in Lebanon has been in the Bekaa Valley in the east, the suburbs of Beirut, and in the south, where incidents involving Israeli troops and UN peacekeepers have created tension.

In response, Hezbollah launched counterstrikes, hitting targets in al-Marj inside Lebanon, where Israeli forces are carrying out a military operation. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

According to the Israeli Army Radio, Hezbollah also intensified its use of ballistic missiles, targeting the city of Haifa with two surface-to-surface missiles, forcing thousands of residents in northern Israel to take shelter.

Earlier, Israel struck a Christian-majority northern Lebanese town of Aitou, killing at least 21 people, according to Lebanese health officials.

Israel-Hezbollah fighting surges after deadly base attack

Artillery from Israel keeps coming in as well as air strikes. Rocket launches from southern Lebanon into Israel are also under way.

Last night was some of the most intense cross-border strikes that we’ve seen in the past five days. Israel said it attacked some 200 targets over the last 24 hours and killed “dozens of Hezbollah elements”.

Hezbollah says it clashed with an Israeli infantry force while trying to infiltrate the town of Rab el-Thalathine with fighting ongoing. It’s very much feeling like a real escalation in this southern part of Lebanon.

Family of four killed in Israeli strike on southern Lebanese town

An Israeli air strike on the southern Lebanese town of Jarjouh, in the Iqlim al-Tuffah area, has killed four people from one family.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported Mohammad Hassan Mashourb, his wife Ghida Farhat, and their two children – Rayan and Ali Mashourb – died in the attack on their home in al-Sharaik neighbourhood.

Mashourb worked at Ogero, a telecommunications company, and had been helping to repair the region’s telephone network disrupted in recent weeks because of ongoing Israeli attacks.

UNICEF says 400,000 children displaced in Lebanon in 3 weeks

The UN children’s agency warns of a “lost generation” in the country grappling with multiple crises and now Israeli attacks. Fighting in Lebanon has driven 1.2 million people from their homes, most fleeing to Beirut and elsewhere in the north over the past three weeks.

Ted Chaiban, UNICEF’s deputy executive director for humanitarian actions, visited schools that have been turned into shelters to host displaced families.

“What struck me is that this war is three weeks old and so many children have been affected,” he said. “As we sit here today, 1.2 million children are deprived of education. Their public schools have either been rendered inaccessible, have been damaged by the war, or are being used as shelters.”

Many victims of Israeli strike on north Lebanon were women and children: UN

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says it has received reports that most of the victims of an Israeli air strike on a building in northern Lebanon were women and children.

Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence told a Geneva news briefing that “12 women and two children” were among those killed in the attack in the Christian-majority town of Aitou. At least 21 people were killed in the air strike, Lebanese health officials said.

“We understand it was a four-storey residential building that was struck. With these factors in mind, we have real concerns with respect to IHL [international humanitarian law], so the laws of war and the principles of distinction proportion and proportionality,” he said while calling for an investigation into the incident.

_{Paramedics unearth a body from the rubble at the site of an Israeli air strike on October 14, 2024, that killed 22 people in northern Lebanon}

Bakery owner in Beirut provides free pastries for Lebanon’s displaced

In Beirut’s Hazmieh area, the owner of Abu Safi Bakery is giving out baked goods free of charge to those displaced in the south because of Israeli air strikes. The owner, Uncle Ghattas, placed a sign on the front of his bakery reading: “My displaced Lebanese brother, take what you need for free. The bakery is yours.”

In a video on Instagram verified by Al Jazeera, Ghattas is heard urging displaced people to come to his shop every day. “I am responsible for providing pastries to the displaced and they are welcome. Send as many people as you want,” he says, ending the clip with a victory sign.

Families in Lebanon ‘living in perilous circumstances’: UNICEF, WFP

The executive directors of UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) have issued a statement detailing the “devastation” they have witnessed during a three-day visit to Lebanon.

“The war that the world wanted to avoid in Lebanon is now happening and has already triggered a catastrophe,” said the statement by Ted Chaiban (UNICEF) and Carl Skau (WFP).

The heads of the two UN agencies said they visited settlements and shelters and spoke with government officials and civil society leaders.

“Each person had a story – a story of forced displacement and multiple struggles,” they said. “Families are living in perilous circumstances. And as the conflict worsens, the psychological toll on the population, particularly among children and youth, is increasing. Almost every child in Lebanon has been impacted in some way.”

Chaiban and Skau said about 1.2 million people have been affected so far and nearly 190,000 displaced individuals are being sheltered in more than 1,000 facilities. “Many have been victims of bombardments, losing loved ones, their homes, access to education, and are facing an uncertain future in possibly deeper poverty.”

More than 25% of Lebanon under Israeli evacuation orders: UN

The Middle East director of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Rema Jamous Imseis, says new Israeli evacuation orders for 20 villages in southern Lebanon mean more than one-quarter of the country is now affected.

“People are heeding these calls to evacuate, and they’re fleeing with almost nothing,” he said at a news briefing in Geneva.

More than 1.2 million people have evacuated their homes after Israel issued evacuation orders, warning them to leave or face bombardment.

Attacks by Israel, which also began ground incursions into southern Lebanon, have killed at least 2,309 people over the past year, the Lebanese government said. The majority have been killed since Israel expanded its military campaign in late September.

Israel attempting to impose ‘new security reality’ in Middle East

Israel hasn’t had a plan throughout its war on Gaza and now Lebanon but is trying to “impose a new security reality on the entire region”, according to an analyst.

The Israeli army is “trying to neutralise any opposition and resistance coming from the north, from the front with Hezbollah, in an attempt to be able to basically continue to commit its genocide in Gaza unchallenged”, Abdullah Al-Arian, a professor at Georgetown University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera

“What really needs to be discussed is the extent to which there is an attempt to occupy parts of southern Lebanon and try to reshape the entire Lebanese political system in a way that is much more favourable to both the US and Israel,” he said.

Israel is not interested in implementing any UN resolutions at the Israel-Lebanon border, he added.

Israel’s “continued destruction” of Gaza and Lebanon – at a scale much larger than ever before – is collective punishment for the resistance groups that have emerged over the decades in response to Israeli military actions, said Al-Arian.

Israel is a ‘gambler’ that doesn’t learn from experience

Gideon Levy, a columnist with Israel’s Haaretz newspaper, says that although defeating Hezbollah in Lebanon is an “unachievable goal”, Israel believes this is an opportunity to beat its enemies and “delete all dangers”.

“This is obviously an unachievable goal, but Israel is aiming there, first in Gaza to smash Hamas and then to crush Hezbollah in Lebanon and if possible also to at least hit the potential power of Iran, or at least to minimise it,” he told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv.

Israel has tried and failed to accomplish this in the past, such as in its 1982 invasion with the hopes to install a friendly government in Lebanon.

“A gambler goes again and again to the casino, and he never learns,” Levy said of Israel’s unwavering belief that it will succeed in its goals this time. “He loses and loses and loses, and he tries again because he believes that the next time will be his chance, his great chance.”

Levy added: “Israel in many ways is behaving very similarly, not learning anything from its own experience.”

Arab states will continue ‘tying security to that of Israel’

Abdullah Al-Arian, an associate professor of history at Georgetown University in Qatar, says Arab states will do little to prevent Israel and the US from remaking the region.

“Arab states have, for the most part, been … tying their security to that of Israel,” Al-Arian told Al Jazeera. “As a result, they have very little to say or do as far as the question of what’s happening in Palestine. And this, of course, is contrary to what their populations are expressing.”

The crushing of past Arab uprisings indicates that these states “are not in any way accountable to the sentiments of their populations, which very much stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, while their regimes are certainly seeking these alliances with Israel with the United States”, he said.

“As a result, there’s been such a muted response. If anything … we’ve seen quite the opposite – that they’ve worked quite aggressively to support Israel’s ambitions and campaigns,” said Al-Arian, pointing to the shooting down of missiles aimed at Israel, or rerouting goods that have been blockaded in the Red Sea.