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Forums - Politics Discussion - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ 15 hours ago

Palestinian media vehicle attacked by Israel clearly marked as ‘press’

Palestinian news organisations are sharing an image of the vehicle in which five journalists were killed earlier today in Gaza, showing that it was clearly marked with the word “press”. The five journalists were reported to be sleeping in their vehicle when it was attacked by Israeli forces.

A screenshot taken from a video of the white-coloured van, which was engulfed in flames after the Israeli strike, shows the word “press” in large red lettering across the back of the vehicle, which was reported to belong to the al-Quds Today channel.

The five slain journalists have been identified as Fadi Hassouna, Ibrahim al-Sheikh Ali, Mohammed al-Ladah, Faisal Abu al-Qumsan and Ayman al-Jadi.

Earlier this month, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) denounced Israel’s killing of four Palestinian journalists in Gaza over the span of a week, saying the international community has failed to hold Israel accountable for its ongoing killing of media workers and innocent civilians.

“At least 95 journalists and media workers have been killed worldwide in 2024,” CPJ’s CEO Jodie Ginsberg said at the time. “Israel is responsible for two-thirds of those deaths and yet continues to act with total impunity when it comes to the killing of journalists and its attacks on the media,” Ginsberg said.



Killing of five journalists caps another deadly year for Palestinian reporters in Gaza

The latest killing of five journalists in an Israeli attack in Gaza caps a deadly year for news organisations and Palestinian reporters covering Israel’s war on the enclave.

  • An International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) survey in mid-December recorded 104 journalists killed across the world in 2024 with Palestinian reporters killed in Gaza making up more than half of all those killed, with 55 dead.
  • In addition, six reporters were killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon and one reporter was killed in Israel’s bombing campaign of Syria.
  • Reporters in Gaza have also been detained, imprisoned and interrogated by Israeli forces and had their equipment confiscated or smashed.
  • Since October 2023, 75 Palestinian journalists have been imprisoned by Israel, with only 30 freed since. Another 49 have been injured in attacks and at least two are missing.
  • Reporters Without Borders (RSF), using different parameters of analysis, found 54 journalists had been killed worldwide this year up until December 1, 2024, but still found that Palestinian reporters represented the majority of those killed. The Israeli military was responsible for killing a third of all journalists this year, the group said.
  • A week after the IFJ survey released its results earlier this month, another four reporters were killed in Gaza, including Iman al-Shanti, a 36-year-old Palestinian journalist who worked as a reporter for Al Jazeera’s AJ+ platform.
  • Now, with an additional five deaths days away from the end of 2024, these counts are already out of date and will need to be revised.


Palestinian Civil Defence emergency workers put out a fire in a broadcast van following an Israeli strike that killed five journalists of Al-Quds Today television channel, in the vicinity of the al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat in central Gaza, on December 26


Israel admits to deadly air strike on Palestinian journalists in Gaza

The Israeli military has confirmed it carried out an attack on a clearly marked media vehicle in Gaza that killed five journalists working for Palestinian satellite TV channel Al-Quds Today, claiming its air forces had targeted a “terrorist cell”.

The military – which has systematically killed dozens of Palestinian journalists during its war on Gaza – said the targeted people belonged to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad armed group.

It provided no evidence to support its claim.

The journalists were sleeping in the van in front of the al-Awda Hospital in the Nusierat refugee camp when it was targeted in an air strike in the early hours of this morning. As we reported earlier, one of the victims, Ayman al-Jadi, was expecting the birth of a child before he was killed.



Around the Network
SvennoJ 15 hours ago

Father of child that froze to death tells of harsh conditions living in tents during winter

Mahmoud al-Faseeh, the father of the three-week-old baby girl who froze to death in the al-Mawasi area of southern Gaza, spoke to reporters briefly about the death of his daughter, Sila.

“We’re living in bad conditions inside our tent,” al-Faseeh said. “We sleep on the sand, and we don’t have enough blankets. We feel the cold inside our tent. Only God knows our conditions. Our situation is very difficult,” he said. “It was very cold overnight, and as adults, we couldn’t even take it. We couldn’t stay warm,” he told The Associated Press news agency.

On Wednesday morning, al-Faseeh found his daughter unresponsive. “She was like wood,” he said.


Palestinian children beside the makeshift tents where they live in Gaza’s Deir el-Balah in November 2024


Northern Gaza suffers ‘hell’ of Israeli military siege for almost 3 months: UNRWA

Juliette Touma, director of communications for the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees, has described northern Gaza as going through “the hell” of hells during Israel’s almost three-month-long siege.

In an interview with Irish state media, Touma told of Israel’s “heavy, heavy bombardment” of Gaza’s north. Touma also described the “loss of life among civilians and attacks on civilian infrastructure including hospitals and shelters” for civilians.

“The evacuation orders of hospitals and medical facilities – and attacks on them – have become commonplace in Gaza during the past 14 months since the war began,” Touma said.

“We shouldn’t become numb, though, to the fact that this happens all the time. Because, at the end of the day, this is a violation of international law. This is crossing a very thick red line and way too many times the rules of war have been broken in Gaza,” she said.

“Those responsible must be held accountable,” she added.


Gaza’s hunger crisis

Aid agencies say Israeli authorities are continuing to severely restrict the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, more than a month after global food security experts called for immediate action to avert famine in the war-torn enclave.

Here’s what we know about Gaza’s hunger crisis:

  • The Famine Review Committee, in an alert on November 8, said some 91 percent of Gaza’s 1.95 million people face “high levels of acute food insecurity”. These include an estimated 345,000 people facing famine.
  • The UN’s food agency says some 68 percent of Gaza’s cropland, 52 percent of its agricultural wells and 44 percent of its greenhouse areas have been damaged.
  • Some 70 percent of Gaza’s fishing fleet has been destroyed
  • Some 95 percent of Gaza’s cattle have died.


SvennoJ 15 hours ago

Gaza’s civil defence says Israel is intensifying nighttime attacks

The emergency service issued a statement on Telegram saying Israeli forces have stepped up attacks on residential homes throughout the Gaza Strip in recent days, “especially at nighttime”.

The assaults are occurring quite close together, hampering the civil defence’s ability to respond in a timely manner, it said. This has “caused an increase in the number of victims and martyrs”, it said.

The statement came a day after Israeli forces bombed the headquarters of the civil defence in Gaza City, in an attack that killed a medic and his son. The group – which is responsible for emergency services and rescue operations across the Strip – is also facing shortages of fuel and equipment due to Israel’s ongoing blockade.


More on Israeli attack on Kamal Adwan Hospital

The Health Ministry in Gaza has issued a statement on the Israeli attack on the besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital in the north of the enclave.

“The Israeli occupation forces detonated a robot in front of Kamal Adwan Hospital, which caused shrapnel to reach the surgical departments and patients’ accommodation, causing serious injuries to Dr. Hassan Dabous while he was on duty,” the ministry said in a post on Telegram.

The latest assault follows another attack on Monday night in which, witnesses reported, the Israeli military used a remote-controlled vehicle to deliver a box with the word “danger” written on it before detonating it.


Slim chance of survival for those trapped under rubble in Gaza City

Israeli forces have targeted a residential building in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, east of Gaza City. The five-storey building was housing many displaced families when it was bombed. Five people have been reported killed so far. But there are still dozens of people trapped and missing.

It takes time to remove bodies from under the rubble. There are only manually operated tools and, in some cases, they are not available, which makes it very difficult and increases the likelihood of people losing their lives under the rubble.

It’s been more than 10 hours now, and the chances are very slim that those trapped under the rubble will come out alive.

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic have confirmed that the number of people killed in the Israeli bombing of the Dalloul family home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood has risen to eight.

Local sources earlier said more than 40 people were buried under the rubble there.

Israeli drone kills woman in front of Kamal Adwan Hospital

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic and the Palestinian Information Center report that Israeli drone fire has killed a woman in front of the gate of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.



Translation: The body of a martyr was recovered from in front of the gate of Kamal Adwan Hospital, north of Gaza, after an Israeli drone dropped a bomb on the hospital entrance.


Israeli soldier killed fighting in central Gaza

The Israeli military says a reservist soldier was killed in fighting in the central Gaza Strip. The 35-year-old Amit Levi was a captain in an infantry battalion, it added. This brings the officially confirmed number of Israeli soldiers killed during the ground invasion of Gaza to 392, according to the army.


Five bodies retrieved in Gaza City’s Sabra area: Civil defence

Gaza’s civil defence says its rescue crews have retrieved five bodies and a number of wounded people from the house of the Dahshan family. Israeli forces targeted the home in the vicinity of Al-Nour Stadium in the Sabra area, south of Gaza City, the rescue service said on Telegram.



SvennoJ 15 hours ago

Significant surge in number of injured patients: Al-Ahli Arab Hospital director

Director Fadel al-Naim says al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City is experiencing a surge in the number of injured people due to an escalation of Israeli attacks in the city and in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, according to Wafa.

In a statement to Voice of Palestine Radio, he said most cases arriving at the hospital are serious injuries, increasing the challenges of treatment due to a significant shortage in medical supplies, Wafa reported.

Al-Naim added that despite appeals for blood donations, problems of anaemia and malnutrition persist among residents. He stressed the need to open the crossings so the hospital can urgently transfer critical cases outside of Gaza for treatment.


Rescuers evacuate a wounded child at the site of an Israeli attack in a residential area of the Tuffah neighbourhood

Israel kills two paramedics near Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza

Two ambulance crew members have been killed in an Israeli bombing in the vicinity of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report.

As we’ve been reporting, the Kamal Adwan Hospital has been rendered nonoperational following weeks of near-daily Israeli attacks. Israeli forces have killed the director of the hospital’s ICU, Dr Ahmed al-Kahlout, and wounded dozens of medical staff in attacks on and near the facility.

Meanwhile, in eastern Gaza City, in the Daraj neighbourhood, two Palestinians were injured in an Israeli air strike on a house on Jaffa Street, our colleagues confirmed.


Palestinian fisherman killed by Israel in central Gaza

The al-Awda Hospital reports a Palestinian fisherman has been killed after being shot by Israeli forces. He was working in the Tabat al-Nuwairi area, west of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the Gaza Strip, when he was killed, according to the Palestinian Information Center.


Six Palestinians killed in Israeli attack on eastern Gaza City

At least six people were killed in an Israeli air strike on a house in eastern Gaza City. Footage shared online, and verified by Al Jazeera, showed family members rushing to the site and digging to rescue survivors.

“The explosion was very loud. We managed to recover three people who were wounded in addition to four bodies,” resident Abdullah al-Majdalawi told Al Jazeera.

“There are more martyrs and wounded. A lot of victims are children. There is nothing dangerous here, just children and civilians. We can’t tolerate this any more. This is against humanity. I have heard children crying under the rubble.”

Fourth infant dies due to cold weather in Gaza

A fourth infant in Gaza has died due to extreme cold in the past 72 hours, the Wafa news agency reported. Medical sources said the baby died after the drop in temperature amid the dire humanitarian conditions across the enclave.

In more than a year of nonstop Israeli attacks and lack of aid deliveries, many families in Gaza have been left without adequate shelter and resources to cope with changing weather. Local health officials told Wafa that the lack of food among mothers was contributing to a rise in health issues among children, further straining medical facilities and emergency services.



SvennoJ 15 hours ago

Israeli military to expand raids across the occupied West Bank

Israeli forces continue to intensify their raids across the occupied West Bank. On Wednesday, at least 25 Palestinians were arrested.

That comes after a raid that has lasted more than a day in the West Bank city of Tulkarem and the Nur Shams refugee camp, where Israeli forces killed at least eight Palestinians and tore up roads and other critical infrastructure with bulldozers as part of the raid.

Health officials say that they have been unable to evacuate those who’ve been injured and wounded because the Israelis are now blocking off roads in several different areas of Tulkarem.

This is a theme that we have seen throughout these raids.

We are also seeing it around Ramallah, where locals said that Israeli authorities and the military blocked off roads for up to eight hours while they were conducting the raids.

The Palestinian Prisoner Society says that at least 12,000 Palestinians have been arrested since Israel’s war on Gaza began. The Israeli military says that these raids across the occupied West Bank are only going to continue and, in fact, increase in both size and scale.


A Palestinian woman sits on a chair next to a damaged road, following an Israeli military raid, in Tulkarem, in the occupied West Bank, December 26


Israeli forces escort settlers to Joseph’s Tomb

Israeli forces raided the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank to escort a group of Israeli settlers to the flashpoint Joseph’s Tomb, according to the Wafa news agency. More than 30 military vehicles were seen in the area, Wafa reported.

Palestinian news service Wafa reported that 30 vehicles belonging to Israel arrived through the Awarta and Beit Furik checkpoints to support settler groups at the flash point site.

Joseph’s Tomb, revered by both Muslims and Jews, has been a frequent site of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli settler groups. The Israelis believe it is the burial place of the Jewish patriarch, while Palestinians say it is the shrine of a sheikh.

Wafa also reported an attack by Israeli settlers on the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah.



Israel’s Ben-Gvir storms Al-Aqsa Mosque compound again

The far-right Israeli national security minister says he “went up to our holy place this morning to pray for the safety of our soldiers, for the speedy return of all those kidnapped, and for complete victory with God’s help”.

Itamar Ben-Gvir posted the lines on X with an image of himself being protected by armed soldiers as he entered the holy Muslim site again in defiance of its longstanding status quo that prohibits Talmudic rituals being performed there.

He has stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound multiple times before, especially when talks about a Gaza agreement – to which he is vehemently opposed – heat up. He has previously said he wants to build a synagogue there.


Israeli military beefs up security around Al-Aqsa Mosque compound

Heavily armed Israeli soldiers have been patrolling the area in occupied Jerusalem’s Old City and around the holy site since this morning as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir led settlers inside in another provocative move.

Local sources cited by the Wafa news agency said the military deployed a special unit in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa to secure the storming and prevent Muslim worshippers from entering.

Settlers also performed Talmudic rituals at the Western Wall, or the Al-Buraq Wall, and near the Bab al-Qattanin or Cotton Merchants Gate into Al-Aqsa. Netanyahu’s office clarified in a statement that despite all the moves, “the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed”.



Journalist documents moment Israeli four-wheel drive tries to run her over in occupied West Bank

The Israeli military has now reportedly ended its two-day major raid on the city of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, after having killed at least nine Palestinians in ground assaults and drone strikes.

Journalist Raghad Salameh posted a video last night, verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency, documenting an attempt by an Israeli military four-wheel drive to run her and the camera over during live coverage of the raid in the Nur Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem.

The journalist commented, saying: “A military vehicle deliberately tries to run me over and hits the camera, knocking it to the ground during a live broadcast in Nur Shams camp.”

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


Israeli forces arrest 15 Palestinians across occupied West Bank: Prisoners’ group

The Israeli military has arrested at least 15 Palestinians across the occupied West Bank since last night, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society. It said the arrests took place in Jericho, Qalqilya, Ramallah, Tubas, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem.

The raids were reportedly accompanied by military incursions, threats against detainees and their families, and widespread destruction of property, including damage to residential buildings.



Around the Network
SvennoJ 14 hours ago

Legal complaints filed in Argentina, Chile to arrest Israeli ‘war criminal’

The Hind Rajab Foundation, which has been pursuing international legal cases against Israeli soldiers documented to have committed war crimes in Gaza, announces a new case in the two South American countries.

The organisation, which was founded in honour of six-year-old Hind Rajab killed by Israeli tanks in the enclave earlier this year, said soldier Saar Hirshoren had been documented destroying civilian infrastructure.

“A parallel case has been submitted to the International Criminal Court targeting the entire 749 Combat Engineering Battalion, naming 24 members for systematic war crimes. The Foundation urges swift action to prevent Hirshoren’s escape and ensure accountability.”


Families of Gaza captives threaten Supreme Court action against Netanyahu

Families of Israeli captives held in Gaza have said in a message directed at Netanyahu that there are indications he is working to undermine negotiations with Hamas for an exchange agreement.

“Refusing to end the war means sacrificing the abductees and reducing the chance of their return alive. This is a violation of three legal provisions in two basic laws – the constitutional rights to life, human dignity, and burial with dignity,” they wrote, according to Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

“We will petition the High Court of Justice if you continue to abandon our loved ones to the hands of Hamas.”



SvennoJ 14 hours ago

Israel arrests one in southern Lebanon as UN urges protection of ceasefire

The Israeli army has “kidnapped” one person during an incursion into the town of Tebnine in southern Lebanon, according to the country’s National News Agency.

It said the man was heading to his workplace at the Indonesian battalion centre affiliated with the UN peacekeeping force, UNIFIL, in the town of Adshit al-Qusayr in the Marjayoun District.

The Israeli military has not immediately commented. UNFIL has not specifically commented on the incident. It said in a statement that “any actions that risk the fragile cessation of hostilities must cease”.



Israeli military ‘continues to violate ceasefire’: Lebanese army

The Lebanese army has said in a statement that the Israeli military continues to attack Lebanon’s sovereignty and citizens, and destroy southern villages and towns. It confirmed that Israeli forces penetrated several points in the areas of Qantara, Adshit al-Qusayr, and Wadi al-Hujair in the south.

“The Lebanese army has reinforced its deployment in these areas, while the army command is following up on the situation in coordination with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon – UNIFIL and the five-member committee supervising the ceasefire agreement.”

The statement did not mention the individual reported arrested earlier today by Israeli forces in the raided areas.

UNIFIL earlier said the “continued destruction carried out by the Israeli army in residential areas, agricultural lands, and road networks in southern Lebanon” constitutes a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

Multiple videos circulating online, which have been verified by Al Jazeera, show Israeli tanks and troops advancing in Wadi al-Hujair, with gunfire being heard in some of the footage.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DECV0l1AsHF
(not available in Canada)



SvennoJ 14 hours ago

Smoke rises over Yemeni capital after air strikes

Videos are circulating online showing smoke rising over Yemen’s Houthi-run capital as local sources report explosions in the city and say the airport in Sanaa has been targeted.

This comes as Israeli authorities have been increasingly discussing a looming fourth major air strike on Yemen in response to sustained Houthi drone and missile launches on Israeli territory.

The US and UK have also been repeatedly bombing areas across Yemen to hit the Houthis, who have been launching projectiles against US warships as well as commercial vessels.

The Houthi-run Al Masirah TV network says an “Israeli aggression” has targeted Sanaa and the port city of Hodeidah. It quoted its local correspondents as saying the Haiz central power station in Sanaa was targeted with two air raids while the airport in the capital was also hit with multiple air strikes.

Images circulating from inside the airport in Sanaa show large plumes of smoke rising. The Israeli military has not commented yet.


Israeli army confirms strikes on Yemen

The Israeli army has confirmed it carried out strikes across Yemen that we have been reporting on.

A post on X said targets included Sana’a International Airport in the capital as well as the Hezyaz and Ras Kanatib power stations, which the Israeli military called “military infrastructure” used by the Houthis.

Israel has frequently struck civilian infrastructure in Lebanon and Gaza under the pretext that it is being used by fighters – while offering no evidence.


Houthis ‘will not stop support for Gaza’ despite the pressure

Houthi leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi has made another defiant speech against Israel and the West.

Here are some lines from his latest televised speech:

  • The US is a partner in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
  • The remaining hospitals are targeted and many Palestinians have been kidnapped.
  • The Israeli army failed to achieve deterrence and the goal of its aggressive operations.
  • We are on the verge of completing a full year since the Americans declared their aggression against our country, and they are dragging their tails in disappointment and failure.
  • Israel has founded six new settlements in the past six months. The settlers are also complicit in the crimes.
  • The momentum of Yemen’s operations against the Israeli enemy has taken it out of trying to exploit the developments that took place in Syria.


Houthi official says three killed in Israeli attack on Sanaa

Yemen’s Al Masirah TV, associated with the Houthi group, says at least three people have been killed and 11 wounded in Israeli attacks on Yemen, including the international airport in the capital Sanaa.



SvennoJ 14 hours ago

BBC’s extraordinary confession on pro-Israeli fake news, Dutch photographer warns| Janta Ka Reporter


In an extraordinary development, the BBC has issued a statement admitting that it indeed broadcast fake news in support of supporters of Israeli football club, Maccabi Tel Aviv in November this year. Seemingly unconvinced by this clarification, Dutch photojournalist Annet De Graaf issued a fresh warning to the BBC.

Rifat Jawaid returns with his sharp commentary highlighting the BBC's hypocrisy even while declaring its admission of guilt.



Ryuu96 13 hours ago

Iran is trying to stir shit up in Syria with fake news.