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Forums - Politics - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ on 22 January 2025

Teenager among those killed in Israel’s raid on Jenin, rights group says

Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP) says that 16-year-old Motaz Imad Mousa Abu Tabeekh was shot and killed by Israeli forces during a raid on Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday.

The Ramallah-based rights organisation said in a statement it had seen documentation showing that Abu Tabeekh was shot about midday, soon after Israeli soldiers arrived in Jenin, even though there were no confrontations in the area at the time. He was taken to Ibn Sina Specialized Hospital, where he had surgery to try to treat injuries to his liver, but he was pronounced dead about 2pm, the statement added.

“Palestinian children are still not safe as Israeli forces continue to target Palestinian childhood with impunity,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, DCIP ‘s accountability programme director.

“As a fragile ceasefire takes hold in Gaza, the Israeli military now turns its attention to Jenin, whose residents have been targeted with lethal force again and again,” he added.

According to DCIP, Abu Tabeekh is one of seven Palestinian children killed amid Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank so far this year, including four children killed by Israeli drone strikes and three children shot and killed with live ammunition.



Palestinians flee Jenin on foot as Israeli bulldozers tear up streets


Palestinian families carry their belongings after being forced to flee their homes in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank, on Wednesday


Israeli military bulldozers tore up roads in Jenin on Wednesday


Israeli forces keep up raids across West Bank

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic have more on the continuing Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank.

They say raids were reported in:

  • Shu’fat camp in Jerusalem
  • The town of Sa’ir, north of Hebron
  • The town of Barham, north of Ramallah
  • The town of Rammun, east of Ramallah
  • The town of Birzeit, north of Ramallah
  • The town of Beita, south of Nablus
  • The town of Azzun, east of the city of Qalqilya
  • The city of Qalqilya


Palestinian security forces detain Al Jazeera reporter in West Bank

Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting that Palestinian security forces have detained Mohammed al-Atrash after preventing him from covering the ongoing Israeli operation in the city of Jenin.

As a reminder, the Palestinian Authority, which partially governs the West Bank has banned Al Jazeera from operating in the occupied West Bank and cut access to several of the network’s websites.

The PA said the ban was imposed over “inciting” material, “misinformation, sedition and interference in Palestinian internal affairs”.

The Qatari network denies the allegations, branding the move as “in line with the [Israeli] occupation’s actions against its staff”. The PA’s ban comes months after Israeli forces raided and shut down the network’s offices in the occupied West Bank.

UN rights experts have expressed deep alarm over the move, calling it a disproportionate and unnecessary act that severely restricts freedom of expression in the occupied Palestinian territory.



Translation: Al Jazeera – The PA forces arrested our colleague Mohammed Al-Atrash from his home after preventing him from covering the occupation’s aggression in Jenin



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SvennoJ on 23 January 2025

UN says it could take 10 years to clear unexploded bombs from Gaza

In its latest update, the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, says that one of the challenges for Gaza’s recovery will be clearing land mines and other unexploded ordnance left behind by 15 months of war.

OCHA cited a recent report from the Global Protection Cluster, a group of UN and other humanitarian organisations, which estimated the explosives buried in the rubble in Gaza would take “$500 million over 10 years to clear” from some 42 million tonnes of rubble which also contains asbestos, other hazardous contaminants and human remains.



For some perspective, 85,000 tonnes is over 3% of all bombs the allied forces dropped on Europe during WW2, equivalent to about 6 Hiroshima nuclear bombs and 7 times as much as the German Luftwaffe dropped on London during the Blitz. (German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom for eight months)
And Gaza today is less than 1/5th of the size of London in 1939, with 1/4th of the inhabitants of London in 1939.


Israeli forces destroyed SOS Children’s Village in Rafah

SOS Children’s Village said its staff visited its facility, which serves children without parental care, in the southern city of Rafah, only to discover it had been completely destroyed.

“The former residential homes have been reduced to rubble,” said Reem Alreqeb, the acting director of SOS Children’s Villages in Rafah, who was among those on the site visit.

“No one anticipated such a scale of destruction,” she said. “The children’s representative kept asking, ‘Where is my home? Where are my children’s memories?’… They had hoped to find even a small part of their memories and their children’s memories, but unfortunately, everything was completely erased.”

SOS Children’s Village said it evacuated its facility in Rafah in May of last year when Israeli forces launched an offensive in the southern city. It said that although the village was recognised as a humanitarian centre, it was threatened with bombs that landed as close as 200 metres.

“Had we not left, we probably would have all been killed. This is yet another tragic reminder that innocent children bear the highest cost of this brutal war,” said Alreqeb.

The charity currently takes care of some 33 children who were found unaccompanied and separated from their parents.

“We will need to rebuild the village from scratch. Unfortunately, it is likely that the children and staff who remain in Gaza will have to live in temporary shelters for a long time,” Alreqeb added.


Bodies of 162 Palestinians recovered from Gaza rubble since ceasefire: Civil Defence

Gaza’s Civil Defence says 162 bodies have been recovered in the enclave since the implementation of the ceasefire. Civil defence crews and residents continue their search for the bodies of Palestinians still buried under the rubble, hampered by the lack of heavy equipment and machinery.

Israeli forces had been preventing ambulance and rescue crews from reaching some areas to relieve the injured and recover the dead, especially in the eastern and southern regions, near the Philadelphi Corridor – the area along the Egyptian border.


Gaza residents cope with rain, lack of shelter amid ‘partial relief’ with arrival of aid

We understand that more than 3,200 aid trucks have entered Gaza during the first four days of the ceasefire. The arrival of aid has brought partial relief to the population.

Humanitarian organisations have started to distribute the aid from centres throughout Gaza. Civilians are lined up at the gates of these aid centres waiting desperately to access these supplies.

Their suffering is exacerbated by rainfall and a search for alternative shelter, especially for families who have returned to the remnants of their destroyed houses.


A displaced Palestinian youth holds a baby as children sit inside a tent in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza on January 22


Gaza death toll rises

At least two people have been killed and 120 bodies recovered from previous attacks in Gaza in the past 24 hours, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. It also said Gaza’s hospitals received 306 injured people in that period.

The announcement raised Gaza’s total death toll to 47,283. Israel’s war on Gaza injured a total of 111,472 Palestinians, the ministry added.



SvennoJ on 23 January 2025

Aid deliveries ‘barely scratch the surface’ of Gaza’s needs

While the consistent arrival of aid trucks is a crucial lifeline, it barely scratches the surface. The wide-scale destruction in Gaza has left families scattered, homeless and without access to basic necessities.

We have heard from the UNICEF spokesperson that the scale of needs in Gaza is huge and goes beyond the capacity of the UN organisation. This reveals a grim reality about the situation in Gaza, following the destruction of entire residential areas and essential civil infrastructure.

The Government Media Office has said more than 1,000 humanitarian aid trucks are needed to enter Gaza on a daily basis to help the population recover.

Aid trucks enter through the Kerem Shalom crossing from Egypt into Gaza

Israeli tanks shoot near southern Gaza’s Karem Abu Salem crossing

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting heavy fire from Israeli tanks around the Karem Abu Salem crossing, east of Gaza’s southern city of Rafah.

The crossing, known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis, has been one of the key passages for aid entering the besieged Gaza Strip.  Since the ceasefire between Palestinian group Hamas and Israel began on January 19, several incidents of violations have been reported in the coastal enclave. On Tuesday, Israeli gunfire also wounded a fisherman off the coast of Gaza City, while an Israeli drone injured another civilian inside the city.


No hospital in Gaza is fully operational: Health Ministry

Gaza Health Ministry official Maher Shamiyeh has provided an update on the dire situation for medical facilities in the war-battered enclave:

  • There is no fully functioning hospital in Gaza.
  • Kamal Adwan Hospital – considered an icon of the health sector in northern Gaza – has been completely destroyed.
  • We demand immediate help to have the entire healthcare sector rehabilitated and restored, including the maintenance of medical facilities and reconstruction of those destroyed.
  • Eighty-six health centres of 139 operating in Gaza have been evacuated.
  • We demand that Israel immediately release Dr Hussam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, together with all medical staff, doctors and nurses detained unjustly and unlawfully.


US, Egyptian firms to prevent arms smuggling into Gaza: Report

Israel’s Walla news site reports US and Egyptian security firms will be employed to prevent arms smuggling into the northern Gaza Strip until the end of the first phase of the ceasefire deal.

Two US companies – Safe Search Solutions and UG Solutions – will employ armed security guards for inspections at the Netzarim Corridor, just south of Gaza City. The firms will manage a key vehicle checkpoint along Salah al-Din Street in Gaza and facilitate the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza, the news report said.

The third company is an Egyptian security firm whose owners are associated with Egyptian intelligence, it added.


Israel’s control of Rafah crossing on Gaza side a major issue with Egypt

Israel says it’s going to control the Gaza side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt during the first stage of the ceasefire as it’s set to reopen on Saturday.

New satellite images show a significant Israeli military presence in and around the crossing. Sand barriers, military vehicles, bulldozers and construction equipment can be seen. Analyst Luciano Zaccara said Israel’s “military control of this crossing” posed one of the “biggest problems” several months ago between Egypt and Israel.

“Egypt doesn’t want Israel to be there. It doesn’t want its military presence there,” Zaccara, Gulf politics professor at Qatar University, told Al Jazeera.

“Supposedly, in the first phase of this ceasefire, Israel would leave this control, but it looks like Israel may be negotiating that.”

In May last year, Israel took over the Gaza side of the crossing and destroyed it, cutting off Palestinians from the outside world and blocking desperately needed humanitarian aid.


Israeli tank fire kills two Palestinians west of Rafah

At least two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli tank fire in the Tal as-Sultan neighbourhood, west of Rafah, in southern Gaza, the enclave’s civil defence told Al Jazeera.



SvennoJ on 23 January 2025

Israel’s government not working in good faith to free captives: Ex-Israeli army chief

Moshe Ya’alon, the former Israeli military chief, has claimed Israel’s current government is acting against the country’s interest in trying to prolong the war in Gaza.

“The government wants the war to continue until the end of its term, which goes against Israeli interests,” said Ya’alon in comments carried by Israel’s Army Radio. “It is not acting sincerely to free the hostages; we could have released them in November 2023.”

Israel will not compromise on dismantling Hamas: Minister

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says Israel won’t compromise on its objectives of dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, and that there are no guarantees for the success of the three-phase ceasefire in Gaza.

Saar said Hamas leaders have declared their intent to carry out more attacks on Israel similar to the deadly raids on October 7, 2023, and could, therefore, not be allowed to retain any military capabilities.

“They are committed to the idea of eliminating the Jewish state,” Saar said. “Israel will not accept Hamas’s rule in Gaza. As long as Hamas remains in power, there will be no peace, security or stability in the Middle East.

“We hope the framework for the hostage release will continue until its end, but of course I cannot guarantee that. We will not abandon our objectives.”

 
Israel wants to see Gaza ‘become like Dubai’

Economy Minister Nir Barkat made the comments on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying Gaza could only be rebuilt if Hamas opts for enduring peace with Israel.

“The key question is if … they want to build a Dubai or rebuild Gaza the way it was,” Barkat said. “Dubai recognised the state of Israel, they are focusing on mutual economies… We would like to see Dubai in our region, not Gaza.”

While Israel has not said whether it will help finance the reconstruction of the Palestinian enclave it relentlessly bombed for more than a year, Barkat said Israel would “certainly be willing to enable the Emirates, the Saudis, and others to rebuild something that doesn’t threaten Israel”.




International Criminal Court expresses worry over US sanctions

The governing body of the International Criminal Court (ICC) says it’s deeply concerned following efforts in the United States to sanction the UN institution over its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The arrest warrants were issued over Israel’s conduct during the war on Gaza.

Earlier this month, legislators in the lower chamber of the US Congress passed the “Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act” by 243 to 140 in a signal of strong support for Israel.

The legislation proposes sanctions for any foreigner who helps the ICC in its attempts to investigate, detain, or prosecute a US citizen or citizen of an allied country that does not recognise the authority of the court.



SvennoJ on 23 January 2025

Israel applying ‘lessons’ from Gaza in West Bank operation: Katz

Israeli forces are applying methods learned during the war on Gaza to their ongoing “Iron Wall” military operation in the occupied West Bank, Israel’s defence minister has said, where soldiers have killed at least 10 people in Jenin and ordered residents to flee the area’s refugee camp.

Israel Katz said on Wednesday that the Jenin operation, which is entering its third day, marks a shift in Israel’s military plan in the occupied West Bank and was “the first lesson from the method of repeated raids in Gaza”.

Israeli forces arrest three Palestinians in West Bank’s Ramallah governorate: Report

Two Palestinian students have been arrested in an Israeli raid on the towns of Rammun and Silwad in the occupied West Bank’s Ramallah governorate, according to the Wafa news agency.

Both are studying at Birzeit University, Wafa added.

Moreover, the Palestinian news agency said another man was arrested after his home was raided in the village of Kobar, northwest of the city of Ramallah, the report said.


Israeli army confirms killing two Palestinians in West Bank’s Burqin town

Israeli forces have killed Qutaiba al-Shalabi and Mohammed Nazal, residents of the Qabatiya town in the occupied West Bank’s Jenin governorate, according to the army’s statement.

It claimed the two were affiliated with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group and were wanted for carrying out the shooting attack in the village of Funduq in the Qalqilya governorate earlier this month, which killed three Israelis and injured six.

The two were killed in an exchange of fire while they were barricaded in a structure in the town of Burqin, the army said.

“During the operation, an [Israeli army] soldier was moderately injured and was evacuated to the hospital to receive medical treatment. His family has been notified,” the statement added.


Israeli forces arrest 9 Palestinians in West Bank’s Hebron, Tulkarem: Report

They rounded up six Palestinians in the occupied West Bank’s Hebron governorate, and three more in the governorate of Tulkarem, according to the Wafa news agency. One of those arrested in Tulkarem is a woman, said Wafa.

Israeli forces also tightened movement restrictions in and around the city of Hebron, closing checkpoints leading to nearby towns, which forced many people to spend the night waiting at the checkpoints, according to Wafa.


Red Crescent helping trapped families leave some parts of West Bank’s Jenin

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says its medics are rushing to help sick and wounded people in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces are continuing the third day of a violent raid.

PRCS staff are also working to help evacuate trapped families and elderly residents of the city, following Israel’s mass displacement orders for some neighbourhoods.

As we reported earlier, Israeli forces killed 12 people and injured dozens since they raided the area on Tuesday, while blocking ambulances from reaching the wounded.



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SvennoJ on 23 January 2025

Situation across West Bank, not only Jenin, ‘really catastrophic’

New Israeli raids and movement restrictions in the occupied West Bank are making life agonising in the territory, according to Palestinian activist Hamza Zubiedat.

“The situation in the West Bank nowadays is really catastrophic … It’s not only in Jenin,” where a three-day raid is continuing, Zubiedat told Al Jazeera from Bethlehem.

Due to checkpoint closures and delays, moving from one West Bank city to another can be a daylong affair, making it nearly impossible for people to get to work or transport goods, he said.

To get from Bethlehem to Ramallah, for example, “usually takes 45 [minutes] to one-hour maximum”, he explained, “but nowadays it takes one full day … sometimes you have to sleep in the car waiting [for] the checkpoint to open”.

The checkpoints are staffed by “three or four soldiers, young soldiers who are doing this on purpose, so this is a political order by the Israeli government”, he added.

“By isolating and cutting the Palestinian villages and cities from each other, that means no more doctors, no more nurses, no more teachers, no more even transporting the goods and fruits and vegetables from a place to another, so that means more poverty, more suffering for the Palestinian people,” said Zubiedat.


Commuters wait in their vehicles at the Israeli Atara checkpoint on Route 465 near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on January 22

Trump policies give Israeli settlers ‘green light’ for West Bank violence

Palestinian activist Hamza Zubiedat believes Israel’s government is gearing up to try to annex more of the occupied West Bank. “Since the election of the Netanyahu government, Israel has started to clearly say that the West Bank is their goal, they want to annex,” Zubiedat told Al Jazeera.

The election of US President Donald Trump, who in his first term proposed a plan that would allow Israel to annex the vast majority of its illegal West Bank settlements, gives Israel even more momentum, said Zubiedat.

“Now, we are in [Trump’s] second term … and on his first day, he signed an order to end the sanctions on a group of fanatical settlers who were sentenced [for] violating and making terrorist actions against the Palestinian people,” he said. “This is a green light for the settlers to do more.”


Israeli forces destroy house where two fighters were killed in Jenin


People inspect the rubble of a house where two Palestinian fighters were killed during an Israeli raid in Burqin town in Jenin governorate in the occupied West Bank, on January 23

Israeli army forcing Palestinians in Jenin camp to leave homes: Residents

Dozens of residents have confirmed to Al Jazeera that Israeli troops are forcing Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp to leave their homes, coinciding with their siege of the area.

One of the residents, Nishanah Istiti, said the soldiers are searching women and the elderly and obstructing their movement, adding that the affected people did not know where to go.

The troops have determined one path for the residents to leave the camp, Istiti said.

Yesterday, Jenin Mayor Muhammad Jarar said the Israeli army forced a number of Palestinians to leave their homes in the Jenin camp to the Wadi Burqin area on the western outskirts of the city, according to the Wafa news agency. He said in a phone interview with Wafa that the mass displacement order made via loudspeakers affected the residents of areas including the neighbourhoods in Mahyoub Street and Jabal Abu Dhahir.

Israel’s Jenin operation began on Tuesday and is the third major incursion by the Israeli army in less than two years in the occupied West Bank city. Jenin has been a longtime stronghold of resistance to Israel’s decades-old military occupation of Palestinian territory.


Israeli forces set fire to homes in besieged Jenin

Israeli troops raiding Jenin in the occupied West Bank have set homes in the area ablaze, the Wafa news agency reports. The arson attacks include several houses in the Jenin refugee camp and one near al-Asir Mosque.

The attacks come on the third day of Israel’s raid into Jenin and surrounding areas, which has killed 12 people and injured dozens.



SvennoJ on 23 January 2025

NRC expresses concern for Israeli tactics in occupied West Bank

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has expressed “alarm” at the escalating violence in the occupied West Bank, since the ceasefire in Gaza came into effect last week.

“We are seeing disturbing patterns of unlawful use of force in the West Bank that is unnecessary, indiscriminate and disproportionate. This echoes the tactics Israeli forces have employed in Gaza,” said Angelita Caredda, NRC’s Middle East and North Africa regional director, in a statement.

“Under international law, Israel must bring its occupation of Palestinian territory to an end as rapidly as possible. Until then, it must fully comply with its obligations as an occupying power, including the protection of civilians.”

At least 12 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in the Israeli military assault that began on Tuesday in Jenin in the northern West Bank.


Hospitals in West Bank’s Jenin struggle to keep lights on: Governor

Israeli forces have shut off electricity in West Bank’s Jenin refugee camp and some surrounding areas, according to Jenin Governor Kamal Abu al-Rub.

Speaking to the Wafa news agency, al-Rub said the outage extends to Jenin Hospital and the Ibn Sina Specialized Hospital, jeopardising their emergency operations.

Currently, the hospitals are trying to use fuel reserves and bring in more fuel to keep power on in their emergency, dialysis, and nursery departments, said al-Rub.


‘Collective punishment’ of Jenin raid extends across West Bank

There is a heavy presence of Israeli forces in Jenin. That’s because there are multiple units from the Israeli army and Shin Bet security agency in and around the camp.

Thousands of Palestinians have been forcibly displaced as the Israeli army ordered evacuations of multiple areas. Israeli soldiers are checking people’s IDs. They’re detaining people briefly, including women and children, and then releasing some of them.

There are Palestinians who say the number of injured being reported is not correct because they simply cannot reach all the wounded because of Israeli roadblocks.

The collective punishment of this raid is not just felt in Jenin but all across the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have set up additional checkpoints as part of the incursion. You’re looking at nearly 900 checkpoints across the territory to date and some of those have been added in recent days.

The Israeli military claims it wants to target Palestinian fighters in the Jenin camp, but Palestinians say the average civilian is the one who is feeling the impact.



SvennoJ on 23 January 2025

‘Connection’ between Smotrich demands and West Bank assault

Questions continue to be raised about whether Israel will withdraw its soldiers from southern Lebanon by Sunday, as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah.

Meron Rapoport, an editor at the Israeli news site Local Call, says Netanyahu has no interest in removing troops from Lebanon, and it’s unclear if the ceasefire in Gaza will last despite the Israeli public and military desiring that.

“There’s great political pressure by the right-wing – especially Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – demanding that Israel go to war when this first stage ends in about 40 days,” Rapoport told Al Jazeera.

He also noted the return of “greater violence” in the occupied West Bank.

“It has surely to do with the political situation and Smotrich’s demands. It was approved by the government to expand the operation in the West Bank, otherwise, Smotrich threatened to leave and then the government falls,” said Rapoport.

“So it does seem there’s a direct connection between the two.”


Netanyahu says Israel has a right to keep fighting in Gaza

The prime minister says Israel has a right to continue military attacks in Gaza if it deems negotiations regarding the second phase of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas to be “fruitless”.

Israel has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians and wounded over 111,000 others since its war on the enclave began in October 2023.


Israel seeking to push back Lebanon withdrawal pledge

The Israeli ambassador to the United States said Israel is in discussions with the administration of US President Donald Trump to convince them to extend the deadline for at least another month. So Israel officials are talking about staying in Lebanon, which would be in violation of the ceasefire agreement to pull out by January 26.

Lebanese officials have expressed concern in recent days, saying Israeli troops need to withdraw. Hezbollah is hinting that it’s going to resume military action. It says if Israeli soldiers remain, they will be an occupying force and there will be “resistance”.

Whether or not those threats are serious – considering that Hezbollah has been severely weakened during Israel’s war – is open to question. This uncertainty raises a lot of questions because Lebanon is trying to enter a new phase with new leadership.



SvennoJ on 24 January 2025

Main events from Januari 23rd

  • Gaza authorities have said 70 percent of roads and water infrastructure have been destroyed in the enclave, as UNRWA warned most displaced people do not have a home.
  • Israel’s military has said it opened fire several times over the past day in Gaza despite the ceasefire, claiming this was in response to the actions of Palestinian fighters.
  • The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 653 aid trucks entered Gaza on the fifth day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
  • Israel’s full-scale military operation has continued in Jenin, including issuing forced evacuation orders to local residents. At least 10 people were killed in the camp on Tuesday.
  • Israel’s military chief of staff and the head of the Shin Bet agency have said they are preparing new operations in Jenin that will “move the camp to a different situation”.
  • Hezbollah has called reports that Israel plans to stay in Lebanon beyond an agreed deadline of Sunday, that was stipulated in the ceasefire agreement, a “blatant” violation of the deal.
  • Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has thanked incoming US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for Trump’s executive orders re-imposing sanctions on officials at the International Criminal Court and removing sanctions on violent Israeli settlers.

Gaza police resume activities in all areas

The spokesman for the Gaza Strip police, Muhammad al-Zarqa, has said that all police stations in Gaza have resumed their work and that police forces have been redeployed in all areas.

Al-Zarqa said officers would continue to ensure the safety of citizens across the Strip.


UN says 653 aid trucks entered Gaza on Thursday

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said 653 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on the fifth day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

OCHA cited information received from Israeli authorities and the United States, Egypt and Qatar, the guarantors of the ceasefire agreement.




SvennoJ on 24 January 2025

Indications Palestinian man who died in Israeli prison was tortured

An autopsy on a Palestinian man held by Israel and who died in prison in December indicates he suffered torture, according to officials.

The Associated Press news agency, citing reports by the Palestinian Authority’s Commission of Prisoners’ Affairs, said Mohammad al-Aref, 45, suffered intracranial bleeding, a wound that can result from a serious head injury.

The autopsy found that al-Aref suffered lacerations that indicate “physical assault and excessive use of restraints”. The victim also had blood clots on the left side of his head, limbs, chest and abdomen, according to the commission.

Al-Aref, from the Nur Shams refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, spent 20 years in Israeli prison on charges related to national security and was released in 2021.

He was arrested again in November 2024. Less than a week later, on December 4, he was transferred to a hospital in northern Israel and pronounced dead.

Hamas released a statement after al-Aref’s death, denouncing his killing and claiming him as a member.


Red Crescent rejects Israeli offer to take over UNRWA work in occupied territory

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has denied claims repeated in Israeli media that it will take over some operations from the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees (UNWRA), which Israel has plans to ban.

In a statement shared by local media on the Telegram platform, the PRCS reaffirmed its “steadfast refusal” to serve as an alternative to the UNRWA agency “despite several parties contacting the association to carry out some of the agency’s tasks or to receive funds that were intended for it”.

The PRCS said it was most recently approached by the Israeli Ministry of Health about taking over responsibility for the Bab al-Zawiya clinic, a facility operated by UNWRA in occupied East Jerusalem, in return for additional financial support.

The PRCS said it had “categorically rejected” the Israeli ministry’s suggestion.


A Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance is blocked by an Israeli military vehicle during an Israeli raid in Tubas, in the occupied West Bank, in March 2024


Documentary film about life in occupied West Bank gets Oscar nomination

“No Other Land”, a 2024 documentary film that exposes the brutal reality of daily life for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, has been nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film at the Oscars despite having no distribution deal in the United States.

Set in the town of Masafer Yatta, the film focuses on the relationship between a Palestinian trying to document the loss of his homeland and a Jewish Israeli journalist he works with to document Israeli settler violence.

The film marks the directorial debut of Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, four activists and members of a Palestinian-Israeli collective.

Adra’s home was raided by the Israeli military twice during production where they seized computers and cameras.

The film has already won several awards, including the Documentary Film Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2024, where Adra and Abraham caused controversy when they used their winners’ speech to condemn the ongoing occupation of Palestine.