Crisis Group urges world to reverse Israel’s UNRWA ban

A new statement by Crisis Group says governments must do “everything in their power to reverse” Israel’s looming de facto ban on UNRWA, the main UN agency helping Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

UNRWA not only provides basic services that are typically provided by governments, such as education, health and sanitation, it is also “widely seen as representing an international commitment to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and protecting the Palestinian right of return”, the think tank said in the statement.

The right of return refers to Palestinians who fled or were forced out of their homes during the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli wars having the right to return to their homes.

Israel’s proposals to replace UNRWA with other UN agencies or “independent charities and commercial suppliers relying on private security contractors” are not feasible, Crisis Group added.

Politically, the laws will “heighten fears among Palestinians” of Israel’s plans to annex the West Bank and “[permanently expel] Palestinians from parts or the whole of the Gaza Strip”, the statement added./

More than 100 of 183 UNRWA schools sheltering displaced families

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says more than 100 of its 183 schools in Gaza “now shelter displaced families, leaving countless children without access to education”.

“An entire generation’s future is at stake – education is their right, not a privilege,” UNRWA said on X.

Over 100 of the 183 @‌UNRWA schools in #Gaza now shelter displaced families, leaving countless children without access to education.
An entire generation’s future is at stake—education is their right, not a privilege.

We must act.
📷 Deir El Balah, Gaza (2024/2022)… pic.twitter.com/fSvH73E8tb

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 19, 2024

More than 200 children killed in Lebanon in 2 months: UN

UNICEF says children in Lebanon are facing a “silent normalisation of horror”, with more than 200 killed and 1,100 injured in the last two months.

“In Lebanon, much the same as has become the case in Gaza, the intolerable is quietly transforming into the acceptable. And the appalling is slipping into the realm of the expected,” said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder at a press briefing in Geneva.

“And once more, the cries of children go unheard, the world’s silence grows deafening, and again we allow the unimaginable to become the landscape of childhood. A horrific and unacceptable new normal.”

Israeli attacks have killed nearly 17,500 children in Gaza: Government Media Office

The Government Media Office in Gaza has published its latest key statistics about Israel’s war, now in its 410th day, including figures about the underage victims of Israeli attacks:

G20 calls for ceasefires in Gaza, Lebanon

The leaders of the G20 nations made the appeal in a joint communique issued following a summit in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro.

They expressed “deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip” as well as the escalation in Lebanon, and emphasised the urgent need to expand the flow of aid into the Palestinian enclave.

They also highlighted “the human suffering and negative impacts of the war” and called for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“We are united in support for a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza in line with UN Security Council Resolution n. 2735 and in Lebanon that enables citizens to return safely to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line,” they said.

The Blue Line demarcates the de facto border between Israel, Lebanon and the occupied Golan Heights.

Pro-Palestine protests at G20 summit in Brazil

Protesters have taken to the streets near the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, calling on world leaders to put pressure on Israel to end its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.


Middle East at a ‘grim crossroads’, says UN peace envoy

The UN Security Council held a meeting to discuss developments in the Middle East on Monday. Among the speakers who briefed the council was Tor Wennesland, the UN’s Middle East peace envoy.

Here’s some of what he said.

Australian authors give every MP five books on Israel, Palestine and Lebanon

A group of more than 90 Australian authors have given five books on the history of Palestine, Lebanon and Israel to all 227 members of Australia’s parliament, according to Guardian Australia.

The authors raised funds to gift the “authoritative, highly readable books” for the legislators to read over the Australian summer in a bid to insert more nuance into public discussion of Israel’s war on Gaza and the wider region.

The books are:

_{Pro-Palestinian protesters hang banners on the roof of Australia’s Parliament House building in Canberra, Australia on July 4}

Canadian protesters block staff from entering factory selling weapons bound for Israel

About 100 protesters have blocked morning shift staff from entering the Collins Aerospace factory in Canada, demanding the company stop selling weapons components for fighter jets and attack helicopters bound for Israel, according to a statement released by activists.

“While my family members in Gaza have been killed and continue to be terrorised by Israel’s nonstop bombing attacks, I am sickened to know that parts of these same bomber planes are being made right here at Collins Aerospace’s factory in Oakville, where I live,” said Dalia F, a Palestinian resident of Oakville in Ontario.

The protesters, who began their demonstration before dawn, are also demanding that the Canadian government implement a full arms embargo on Israel.

“The weapons being manufactured here at Collins Aerospace are directly used in the mass killing of Palestinians, violating the very values of humanity and dignity our tradition upholds,” said Rabbi David Mivasair with Independent Jewish Voices Canada. “By profiting from this violence, Canada betrays its moral and legal obligations.”

The protest was organised by the organisations Oakville for Palestine, Labour For Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement Toronto,and World BEYOND War.

Israel warns Iraq over attacks from Iran-backed militias

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar is calling on the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the Iraqi government to take immediate action to halt and prevent attacks by Iran-backed militias in Iraq.

Saar issued the call in a letter he sent to the president of the UNSC on Monday.

He said the militias, known as the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, have launched hundreds of drones of the Shahed, Ziad and Arpad types as well as dozens of cruise missiles since October last year.

Most of them were intercepted, he said, but some have made impact, including explosive-laden drones that hit an Israeli military base in northern Israel on October 3, killing at least two soldiers and wounding 24 others.

“The government of Iraq is responsible under international law to prevent the use of its territory as a base for attacks against other nations,” Saar wrote. “Against this backdrop, I wish to recall once again that Israel has the inherent right to self-defense… and to take all necessary measures to protest itself and its citizens,” he warned.

Member of the Knesset cut off while calling Netanyahu a ‘serial killer’

Ayman Odeh, a Palestinian citizen of Israel and head of the Hadash-Ta’al list in Israel’s parliament, has accused Netanyahu, who was in the chamber at the time, of being a “serial killer of peace”.

“There are 17,385 babies in Gaza which your system has killed, of those 825 are under the age of a year,” Odeh said.

“There are 35,055 babies orphaned in Gaza. The blood of all of them will haunt you,” he added.

A video Odeh shared on X showed other members of the Knesset reacting strongly to his remarks, before three men forced him away from the microphone.

The full speech that Speaker of the Knesset did not allow me to complete pic.twitter.com/xjOZiFcJKI

— איימן עודה أيمن عودة Ayman Odeh (@AyOdeh) November 18, 2024

Cut off is an understatement, he was dragged away from the microphone.

Israeli paramedic suspended after mocking woman’s death in rocket attack

Israel’s national ambulance service has suspended one of its paramedics who rejoiced over the death of an Arab woman killed by a rocket attack on Shfaram in northern Israel, according to Arab parliament member Ahmad Tibi.

Writing on Instagram about the rocket attack victim, the paramedic said: “There’s no reason to feel sorry. She’s a terrorist by every definition. She doesn’t support us in any way.”

Israel’s ambulance service plans to fire the paramedic, The Times of Israel cited Tibi as saying.

As we reported on Monday, the Hezbollah rocket attack on Shfaram also wounded several other people.

More than 1,000 ultra-Orthodox Israelis hit with arrest warrants for ignoring draft orders

In July, Israel’s military began sending out draft notices to ultra-Orthodox men, ending a longstanding practice of exempting them from military service.

Out of 3,000 ultra-Orthodox Israelis summoned for the draft, 1,126 of them did not turn up to their designated induction centres, according to Shay Taib, a senior Israel military official with the personnel directorate’s planning and personnel management division. As a result, those Israelis have been issued arrest warrants and risk being designated as draft evaders, he said.

“They will receive a call for immediate recruitment, and anyone who does not come [to the induction centre] will be declared an evader,” Taib said in comments carried by The Times of Israel.

Aid worker recounts ‘horrific stories’ from north Gaza

Philippa Greer, the head of legal affairs at UNRWA, who crossed into northern Gaza on Monday, shared what she saw and heard in a post on X.

“Horrific stories from northern Gaza of the sick and injured, the herding of men on their knees. Considered lucky if they were wearing underwear when forced to strip and put on white PPE. Their fate cut off from the world,” she wrote on X.

“Little boys walking down through the checkpoint South with their hands up, marching forward… People forced away from bombardment and siege, arriving to more bombardment and siege,” she said.

Greer also shared footage from the north, shot from the window of a moving vehicle, showing a barren wasteland with nearly all buildings reduced to rubble.

Crossing North of Wadi Gaza yesterday. More “postcards” of destruction. Carts left behind loaded with belongings against the wreckage. The items that carry memories are long under the rubble. Horrific stories from northern Gaza of the sick and injured, the herding of men on their… pic.twitter.com/QQMQj3ej8k

— Philippa Greer (@philippa_bear) November 18, 2024

Wounded Palestinian child pleads for medical treatment abroad

Mazyouna Damo, a 12-year-old Palestinian girl whose face was ripped apart by an Israeli rocket, is appealing to the world to help her leave Gaza for medical treatment.

The girl was wounded on June 8 during Israel’s raid to free four Israeli captives in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

At least 247 Palestinians were killed in that attack.

Mazyouna now has no teeth or bone left on one side of her mouth and cheek and is unable to eat. Her mother says she survives on fruit juice. Hospitals in Gaza are unable to provide the specialist treatment Mazyouna needs to reconstruct her face, and rebuild her life.

“My face is always in pain. I want to get good medical treatment so I can eat the way I used to,” the girl told Al Jazeera. “I urge the world to give me a chance to travel abroad and to be treated properly. I don’t need anything else.”

So far, Mazyouna’s family has applied to Israeli authorities five times for permission for her to travel abroad, but she hasn’t been allowed.

Two Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on north Gaza

The Palestinian Information Center is reporting that Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in attacks on northern Gaza.

Mahmoud Salim al-Madhoun was killed in an Israeli quadcopter attack in Beit Lahiya, while Ibrahim Muhammad al-Shafii was killed in a bombing of northern Gaza, the outlet reported.

It also said the body of another young man – Baraa Ayman Abu Asi – was found in Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis and that he had been missing since last January.

The reports came as Israeli forces continue to pound Gaza, including bombing residential buildings in the southern city of Rafah.

Palestinian killed by Israeli army shelling in central Gaza

Al Jazeera Arabic’s correspondent has reported one person was killed by Israeli army shelling in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Video shows devastation from Gaza City attack

As we reported yesterday, Israeli forces carried out an attack in western Gaza City that killed at least seven people.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has shared footage that captures the aftermath of that attack. The video shows the group’s rescuers recovering the bodies of three people killed and treating two others who were wounded. The victims include several children.

🚑A video captures Palestine Red Crescent crews recovering the bodies of three individuals and rescuing two injured after the occupation targeted the home of the “Abu Rayala” family yesterday in western #Gaza City.
📷Filmed by volunteer Ali Abu Harbeed. pic.twitter.com/j5bizR24EA

— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) November 19, 2024

Infant killed by artillery attack near Nuseirat

Israeli artillery shelling has continued to hit homes near central Gaza’s Nuseirat camp, report our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic. One of the latest attacks killed an infant in the north of the camp, they said. Separate attacks in the area and southern Gaza caused several more casualties.

Eight injured as attacks keep hammering northern Gaza

Rescue efforts in the north have been hindered due to the lack of heavy machinery. At the same time, constant shelling is a huge threat to volunteers, who are still trying to rescue victims from shattered buildings.

In the last couple of hours, there have been heavy air strikes in Jabalia and Beit Lahiya, according to witnesses. There has also been an attack in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood. Eight Palestinians were injured and were transported to al-Ahli Hospital, the city’s main functional hospital.

Two killed in attack on Gaza City home

Earlier, we reported that many people were injured by an Israeli military attack in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood. Our colleagues on the ground now report that the attack, which hit a home in the neighbourhood, killed at least two people,

Footage shared by Al Jazeera Arabic shows a crowd of people around the collapsed building, with men searching under the wreckage to try to find missing victims.

Palestinian armed groups clash with Israeli forces in Jenin

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that Palestinian armed groups are clashing with Israeli forces in Jenin and the neighbouring Jenin refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank.

The Jenin Battalion of al-Quds Brigades said its fighters targeted an Israeli military bulldozer with an explosive device.

Israeli forces storm village in Bethlehem

They stormed the village of al-Marah Rabah and raided many homes, sources tell Al Jazeera.

Earlier, Palestinian Telegram channels shared videos showing Israeli forces bulldozing streets in the city of Jenin as well as the Jenin refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank. The videos have been verified by Sanad, Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency.

Israeli Army Radio reported two people were killed after forces fired at a house in Jenin.

Palestinian armed groups clash with Israeli forces in Jenin

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting that Palestinian armed groups are clashing with Israeli forces in Jenin and the neighbouring Jenin refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank.

The Jenin Battalion of al-Quds Brigades said its fighters targeted an Israeli military bulldozer with an explosive device.

Israeli forces storm village in Bethlehem

They stormed the village of al-Marah Rabah and raided many homes, sources tell Al Jazeera.

Earlier, Palestinian Telegram channels shared videos showing Israeli forces bulldozing streets in the city of Jenin as well as the Jenin refugee camp, in the occupied West Bank. The videos have been verified by Sanad, Al Jazeera’s fact-checking agency.

Israeli Army Radio reported two people were killed after forces fired at a house in Jenin.

Tricked by reporter’s question on Russia, US official’s confession on complicity | Janta Ka Reporter

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Monday said that Russia was the aggressor country by inviting soldiers from North Korea to fight alongside its troops against Ukraine. Little did he realise that he ended up making up a spectacular confession of complicity in the Middle East where the US has sent thousands of soldiers to fight alongside the IOF.

As of October 2024, U.S. defense officials said there were some 40,000 service members in the Middle East, many on ships at sea in the region. In total, the United States has military facilities across at least nineteen sites—eight of them considered to be permanent by many regional analysts —in countries including Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates.

In October, the Biden adkinistration deployed hundreds of US troops to help Israel along with THAAD battery system to counter Iranian attacks.

The Amsterdam riots keep on creating controversy, will anyone be held to account for the blatant lies, double standards and racism on display...

Amsterdam riots: what really happened | Media Watch

What really happened in Amsterdam’s soccer riots between supporters of Ajax Amsterdam and Maccabi Tel Aviv? We look at how the truth got lost in the rush to judgement.

Amsterdam mayor says they were ‘bypassed’ by Israel and takes back ‘pogrom’ comments

In a TV interview on Sunday, Amsterdam mayor Femke Helsema says she was still “gathering the facts” about violence that occurred in the Dutch city surrounding a football match on 7 October when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “bypassed” her by holding a press conference on the subject.

Halsema also took back comments she made at a press conference on 8 November, when she referred to the incident as “evoking memories of pogroms,” saying that the word has become an instrument of propaganda. The mayor claimed she never made a direct comparison but said she could understand the feelings and wanted to express sadness. She added that she is “not an instrument in a national and international political battle”.

Top comment:
"Imagine throwing your own people under the bus after they had been attacked."

She's just trying to save her own skin by pretending she didn't know how politically charged the word pogrom is. Where is her demand for an apology from Israel for the damage Maccabi soccer hooligans did to the city and its people.