US pressuring humanitarian groups to get behind Israeli aid plan for Gaza

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-pressuring-humanitarian-groups-to-get-behind-israeli-aid-plan-for-gaza/

_{Palestinians sift through debris following an Israeli strike in the Bureij refugee camp in the center of the Gaza Strip, May 7, 2025. (Eyad BABA / AFP)}

The Trump administration is pressuring international humanitarian organizations to cooperate with Israel’s new plan to resume the distribution of aid in the Gaza Strip after an over two-month IDF blockade, three sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel this week.

Organizations briefed on the initiative have expressed heavy skepticism, arguing that it fails to adequately address the humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged enclave and requires them to be complicit in the “weaponization” of aid by Israel.

Amid this pushback, the Trump administration has indicated to these organizations — including the World Food Program — that their US funding could be slashed if they do not cooperate, a staffer at an international aid group, a senior Western diplomat and an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.

As part of its effort to bring WFP on board, the Western diplomat said that US officials held a meeting earlier this week with the organization’s executive director Cindy McCain along with representatives from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which was established in January in order to advance a new solution for the distribution of aid that prevents it from being diverted by Hamas and other terror groups. Also participating were representatives from Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions, two American companies who have been contracted to secure the humanitarian hubs being established in southern Gaza for the distribution of aid.

Asked for comment on the matter, a State Department spokesperson did not deny that pressure is being applied to international organizations.

Still a lot to work out (while 3,000 trucks remain waiting at the border with 2 million people on the brink of starvation)

GHF is still trying to secure funding from various governments for the initiative, and while there had been hope that the United Arab Emirates would be among the top backers, two sources familiar with the matter said Abu Dhabi has yet to make such a commitment due to its concerns over the plan’s viability.

Israel is not waiting, though, and the IDF has already begun building the first of several humanitarian hubs in southern Gaza from which it plans to distribute aid to civilians in the coming weeks, with the Israeli official acknowledging that some Gazans “are on the brink of starvation.” Those hubs are being paid for by Israel, but Jerusalem is aiming for other parts of the project to be funded by foreign governments and international organizations.

The Israeli initiative will create a new humanitarian zone between the Philadelphi Corridor along Gaza’s southern border with Egypt and the newly established Morag corridor roughly five kilometers north. The area largely constitutes the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Those entering the corridor will pass through army checkpoints in what the IDF hopes will prevent Hamas fighters from reaching the area.

The Israeli official said that the humanitarian zone — while making up roughly ten percent of the Strip — is large enough to house Gaza’s entire population of roughly 2 million people, though Jerusalem is also hoping some of them will be able to leave the Strip.

Thus far, however, no countries have come forward offering to take in Gazan refugees, with Israel refusing to publicly commit to allowing those who leave to return. Some senior members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition say the government’s plan to to permanently reoccupy the territory and establish settlements there.

Lies, that would put 142 thousand people per square mile. The most densely populated city in the world is Manilla at 119 thousand people per square mile and that's full of sky scrapers. Rafah has been completely flattened and 2 million people are supposed to live in tents on 14 square miles of rubble.



In the meantime, ministers approved on Sunday the establishment of the new humanitarian mechanism to be managed by GHF. None of the three individuals listed on GHF’s registration form in Switzerland have backgrounds in humanitarian relief, but the foundation is working to recruit experts in the field to serve on its advisory board, the Western diplomat said.

The mechanism envisions private American security contractors securing the aid hubs, which will be located within the humanitarian zone but far away from the tent encampments where civilians are expected to shelter. Five to six thousand vetted representatives will be allowed to travel by foot to the aid hubs once every two weeks in order to pick up a roughly 40-pound box of food for their families, said officials briefed on the plan.

The international aid group staffer said the plan does not take into account the current reality in the Strip, where hungry Gazans desperate for food are likely to flood the aid hubs once they are opened.

This sounds as well thought out as the aid pier disaster.... The average person consumes between 3-5 pounds of food a day. a 40 pound box of food can barely feed one person for 2 weeks, let alone bring a whole family back from months of starvation and malnutrition. (And Gaza families are big)

The staffer also took issue with the mechanism’s plan to only facilitate the entry of 60 trucks into Gaza each day from one crossing, saying the amount does not come close to what will be needed to feed the already-malnourished Gazan population.

The Israeli official insisted that the 60-truck figure will be sufficient to prevent starvation of Gazans.

60 trucks daily were not sufficient before the total blockade, 500-600 trucks daily was the amount before the war when Gaza still had farmland and water sanitation.

This plan is complete BS, just a way to disguise ethnic cleansing while further starving the population, carried out by the US for Israel. Drive everyone into Southern Rafah with the intent to expel people from Gaza or die.

The math ain't mathing, this is nothing but using 'aid' to carry out genocide.

Jordan profited up to $400,000 per Gaza aid airdrop, sources say

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/jordan-profited-gaza-aid-airdrop-sources

Jordanian authorities have profited significantly from overseeing the delivery of international aid into Gaza during Israel’s ongoing war on the besieged Palestinian enclave, Middle East Eye has learned.

Sources say the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO), an official body overseeing humanitarian aid into Gaza, has coordinated with Israeli authorities to act as the sole conduit for aid passing through Jordan.

MEE spoke with sources from international aid organisations and people with direct knowledge of the JHCO’s operations.

One source said much of the aid attributed to the JHCO in fact originates from foreign governments and NGOs, both Jordanian and international, while direct contributions from the Jordanian state are negligible.

Jordanian authorities have demanded $2,200 for every aid truck entering Gaza, according to two NGO sources and two others familiar with the scheme.

The fee, aid organisations were told by the JHCO, is paid directly to the Jordanian Armed Forces.

In addition, Jordan has charged between $200,000 and $400,000 per airdrop over Gaza, the sources said. Around $200,000 was charged for each random drop, and $400,000 for targeted missions, despite each aircraft carrying the equivalent of less than half a truckload of aid.

Sources said Jordan has expanded its logistical infrastructure in response to rising revenues from the aid operations. According to MEE's sources, the kingdom recently acquired 200 new aid trucks through a foreign grant and is building larger UN-supported storage depots in anticipation of increased deliveries under new international arrangements.

Middle East Eye asked the Jordanian foreign ministry, armed forces and the JHCO for comment, but received no response by the time of publication.

War is a racket.

First responders in Gaza say running out of supplies

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250508-first-responders-in-gaza-run-out-of-supplies

Israel denies a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the Gaza Strip, where it plans to expand military operations to force Hamas to free hostages held there since the Iran-backed group's unprecedented October 2023 attack.

"Seventy-five percent of our vehicles have stopped operating due to a lack of diesel fuel," the civil defence agency's spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. He added that its teams, who play a critical role as first responders in the Gaza Strip, were also facing a "severe shortage of electricity generators and oxygen devices".

For weeks, UN agencies and other humanitarian organisations have warned of dwindling supplies of everything from fuel and medicine to food and clean water in the coastal territory that is home to 2.4 million Palestinians

"It is unacceptable that humanitarian aid is not allowed into the Gaza Strip," Pierre Krahenbuhl, director general of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), told reporters in Geneva Thursday.

The situation in Gaza is on a "razor's edge" and "the next few days are absolutely decisive", he added.

The UN's agency for children, UNICEF, warned that Gaza's children face "a growing risk of starvation, illness and death" after UN-supported kitchens shut down due to lack of food supplies.

Over 20 independent experts mandated by the UN's Human Rights Council demanded action on Wednesday to avert the "annihilation" of Palestinians in Gaza.


Senior civil defence official Mohammad Mughayyir told AFP that Israeli bombardment across Gaza on Thursday killed 21 people, including nine in a strike that targeted the Abu Rayyan family home in the northern city of Beit Lahia.

On Thursday, Palestinians waited in line to donate blood at a field hospital in Gaza's southern city of Khan Yunis, an AFP journalist reported. "In these difficult circumstances, we have come to support the injured and sick, amid severe food shortages and a lack of proteins, by donating blood", Moamen al-Eid, a Palestinian waiting in the line, told AFP.

Hind Joba, the hospital's laboratory head, said that "there is no food or drink, the crossings are closed, and there is no access to nutritious or protein-rich food".

"Still, people responded to the call, fulfilling their humanitarian duty by donating blood" despite the toll on their own bodies, she added. "But this blood is vital, and they know that every drop helps save the life of an injured person."

Netherlands urges review of EU-Israel trade deal over ‘catastrophic’ Gaza aid block

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/07/netherlands-urges-review-of-eu-israel-trade-deal-over-catastrophic-gaza-aid-block

The Dutch government, seen as one of Israel’s most loyal allies in the European Union, is calling for an urgent review of the EU Israel association agreement, the basis for the EU-Israeli free trade agreement, the Dutch foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp told the Guardian.

Veldkamp described the Israeli ban on the supply of aid into Gaza as “catastrophic, truly dismal” and in clear breach of international humanitarian law.

He has written to the head of the European Union foreign service Kaja Kallas requesting an urgent review, saying he believes Israel is now in breach of the association agreement.

The EU is Israel’s largest trade partner. The Dutch government has in the past led moves to block discussion of the association agreement’s suspension, a lever most persistently advocated by Ireland and Spain.

Explaining his position Veldkamp said: “You cannot starve the people of the Gaza Strip. It is against international law. It’s morally wrong. It’s dangerous. I don’t think it’s in Israel’s own interest.”

Chances for a ceasefire appeared “very, very slim,” he said, making the situation “unbearable”.

Europe cannot remain on the sidelines in Gaza

https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-cannot-remain-on-the-sidelines-in-gaza/



The bloc’s failure to step up carries serious geopolitical costs.

EU leaders have issued countless calls to respect international law and pursue a two-state solution — but when it comes to action, the bloc has been largely absent. A “paper tiger” loud in rhetoric but toothless in practice, it wasn’t even invited to ceasefire or hostage negotiations.

The bloc’s marginalization on Gaza is partly self-inflicted, as it settled for being a payer of aid rather than a diplomatic player. It poured billions into assistance for Palestine and offered routine support for a two-state solution, while shying away from putting political pressure on Israel.

Meanwhile, Brussels gave Israel unfettered access to its market without seeking to leverage to push for the end of Israel’s occupation of Palestine and sustainable peace. Simply put, aid and trade became Europe’s default instead of hard diplomacy — a far cry from the geopolitical role trumpeted in the Lisbon Treaty.

Of course, as a union of 27 nations, the EU faces structural hurdles. Member countries’ interests often diverge — some (such as Germany) are staunchly pro-Israel while others (such as Ireland) lean pro-Palestinian — making a unified stance difficult. EU foreign policy still requires unanimity, so any single holdout can veto collective action. And even though the bloc’s rules allow majority votes or coalitions of the willing, these tools have never been used.

The continued insistence on full consensus has led to paralysis, fueling the criticism that Europe acts too little, too late.

Meanwhile, by turning a blind eye to blatant rights violations in Gaza, the EU is also undermining its credibility as a champion of international law. The moral authority it gained by standing up to Russia is being diminished by its timidity on Israel, with many in the global south already perceiving a glaring double standard — a reality that goes some way in explaining why hardly any non-Western country joined Europe’s Russia sanctions.

This credibility gap also makes it harder for the EU to build the partnerships it needs to pursue “strategic autonomy” in an increasingly multipolar world. Moreover, public opinion is shifting within Europe as well: Long one of Israel’s staunchest allies, Germany now has a majority of citizens opposing the Gaza war.

[continued in article]

Finally, the bloc has to form coalitions of the willing. Europe can no longer allow one or two dissenters to hold its foreign policy hostage. If unanimity is impossible, willing members must band together and act anyway. Just as member countries are coordinating to bypass Hungary’s veto on Russia, the same can be done for the Middle East.

The horrific civilian toll in Gaza is actively testing whether the EU’s proclaimed principles mean anything. The bloc has the influence and resources to make a difference, and it still has considerable tools at its disposal to do so — what it lacks is the courage to act.

1 in 8 Israeli soldiers in Gaza unable to return to duty due to psychological disorders, study finds

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250509-1-in-8-israeli-soldiers-in-gaza-unable-to-return-to-duty-due-to-psychological-disorders-study-finds/

Tel Aviv University has revealed that one in every eight Israeli soldiers who took part in military operations in Gaza is suffering from psychological disorders that make them unfit to return to service, according to a study published by Haaretz newspaper.

The study indicated that around 12 per cent of reservist soldiers who served in Gaza reported severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which significantly affects their ability to continue carrying out military duties.

Researchers involved in the study stressed that the high rate of PTSD among soldiers poses a serious challenge to the Israeli military establishment, especially amid the ongoing conflict and heightened tensions in the region.

Israel is facing a shortage of soldiers willing to take part in its war on Gaza.

Aid groups voice alarm as US pushes Israeli plan for Gaza assistance

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/09/gaza-israeli-aid-plan

Groups say plan to resume limited humanitarian assistance under strict Israeli rules ‘risks enabling war crimes’

Aid groups have voiced alarm at US moves to pressure them into accepting an Israeli proposal to resume limited humanitarian assistance to the war-ravaged territory under strictly controlled conditions. The Trump administration has attempted to strong-arm international agencies – including the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) – into accepting Israel’s stringent rules for resuming deliveries, according to sources familiar with the discussions and news reports.

“There is a concern that this aid plan risks enabling war crimes related to forced displacement, starvation and internment,” the person said. “This is a scheme to make it seem like this is about aid, but what it’s really about is entrenching military occupation of Gaza.”

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said this week that the Gaza population would be moved “for its own protection” under an intensive new Israeli military offensive. Israeli officials have indicated a plan to concentrate the entire population in the south of the strip.

Opposition has been firm even as some organizations, including World Central Kitchen and the WFP, have admitted that an inability to replenish supplies has left them unable to continue feeding the population. Even if aid is resumed, some groups say, the conditions Israel is stipulating will prevent it reaching many of those in need.

“If you centralize, privatize and militarize aid delivery through this proposed hub model, it means that people will be excluded from getting humanitarian assistance,” said Joseph Belliveau, executive director of MedGlobal, which has been providing medical assistance – including to severely malnourished children – at 16 sites in Gaza.

“People simply won’t be able to come to these distribution sites, either because of fear, logistical constraints, or distance. Even more importantly, many will be reluctant to come to centralized sites that are overseen by armed personnel, and given the way that that Israel has fought this war with incredible numbers of civilian casualties.

“The best thing that the US and Israeli authorities can do is to lift the restrictions and allow us to … work safely [and] protect medical sites [and] humanitarian workers.”

The real issue is both Netanyahu and Trump want the people out of Gaza. This 'aid plan' is simply the next smoke screen like the air drops and the aid pier, distraction while more people are dying from bombs, starvation and disease.

US admits its new aid plan would initially only feed 60% of Gaza, as UN rejects proposal

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/09/middleeast/us-gaza-aid-plan-un-rejection-intl


That's BS generous, the plans are:

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-pressuring-humanitarian-groups-to-get-behind-israeli-aid-plan-for-gaza/

The mechanism envisions private American security contractors securing the aid hubs, which will be located within the humanitarian zone but far away from the tent encampments where civilians are expected to shelter. Five to six thousand vetted representatives will be allowed to travel by foot to the aid hubs once every two weeks in order to pick up a roughly 40-pound box of food for their families, said officials briefed on the plan.

The Israeli official insisted that the 60-truck figure will be sufficient to prevent starvation of Gazans.

At max, 6,000 x 40 pounds of food a day distributed, 240,000 pounds of food daily for 2 million people. Humans need at least 3 pounds of food a day, so that would feed 80,000 people.

But they probably meant 5 to 6 thousand per aid hub, 4 planned, so that's food for 320,000 people. 16,000 pounds of food per truck. Trucks can carry more but people need 4 liters of water daily as well, for drinking and food preparation. That's more weight per person than food, 320,000 people need 2.8 million pounds of water daily, next to 960,000 pounds of food. 63 thousand pounds per truck.

Trucks can carry between 40 to 80 thousand pounds, so this fits with the 60 trucks daily.

Not enough to prevent starvation for the remaining 85% of the population....


Back to CNN white washing, 60% sounds better than 15%...

US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee outlined an American-Israeli plan to funnel humanitarian aid into parts of Gaza that he acknowledged will initially feed only about 60% of the population.

Huckabee said the aid mechanism, which will be administered by a newly formed private foundation stood up by the US, will aim to distribute food in a way that “Hamas is not able to get their hands on it.”

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of stealing and profiting off aid shipments to Gaza, but humanitarian aid organizations say the overwhelming majority of food aid reaches civilians in need.

[Without any evidence and the UN claiming the contrary]

The foundation will initially establish four distribution sites which will aim to provide “pre-packaged rations, hygiene kits, and medical supplies” to a total of 1.2 million Palestinians, or about 60% of Gaza’s population, according to a foundation document obtained by CNN.

So at 6,000 x 40 pound kits x 4 hubs = 960,000 pounds of food / 1.2 million = 12.8 ounces per person or 363 grams per person. (a Big Mac is 220 grams)
"A typical military ration can contain around 400-500 calories per 100g" 
So that comes to 1,600 calories (of military ration food) per day. A healthy adult needs between 1,600 and 3,000 calories per day to survive.

Thus even putting packaging weight aside, that's the bare minimum for 1.2 million (healthy) people to survive on.

This is not an aid plan, it's a torture plan... Keep the population on the brink of starvation without any chance of recovery from malnutrition.
Plus "MREs are generally considered healthy and nutritionally adequate for short-term use in the field. However, they are not intended for long-term consumption due to concerns over sodium levels and the lack of fresh ingredients."

Pressed by CNN what the remaining 40% of Gaza’s population is expected to do, Huckabee said the mechanism will be “scaled up” over time.

“You have to start somewhere and the somewhere feeds an enormous level of the people of Gaza,” Huckabee said, before repeatedly blaming Hamas for rising hunger in Gaza. Aid groups have repeatedly attributed hunger in Gaza to Israel’s total blockade of humanitarian relief.

There are 3,000 aid trucks waiting. The UN says 500-600 daily are needed to sustain the population, not 60. 800+ daily are needed to bring the population back from the brink of starvation, treat 70,000 children for malnutrition, restock hospital supplies and medication, building materials and equipment to restore sanitation and water production.

Why the fuck is the mainstream media entertaining this bullshit plan. Just another in the line of air drops and aid pier.

The planning has been going on for months but kicked into high gear in the last few weeks, said a source familiar with the matter, cautioning that there is still “a significant amount of planning and resourcing to be done.” 

It will likely take at least two more weeks before the new mechanism can start bringing aid into Gaza, a source familiar with the plans said. And it will take several more weeks before the program can be scaled up to serve a larger share of Gaza’s population.

But the very launch of the mechanism is still in question amid opposition from the major humanitarian aid players.

Time has already run out.


“The genuine intention is to develop a secure way to deliver aid that does not enable Hamas or (Palestinian Islamic Jihad) to get their hands on the aid before it reaches the point of need. In the hands of individual Palestinian families in Gaza,” the source added, saying both the US and Israel have no confidence in the United Nations-based system that has been used in the past."

It is still a war crime to starve (suspected) enemy combatants. Why is the mainstream media pretending a medieval siege on Hamas is in any way fine? And Israel designates Hamas as any government worker, or rather basically any male of age. Starve all men...

UN rejects plan

The United Nations and other primary aid groups in Gaza have rejected the US-Israeli plan, which they say would facilitate the forced displacement of Palestinians and fail to meet the needs of the population.

“This mechanism appears practically unfeasible, incompatible with humanitarian principles and will create serious insecurity risks, all while failing to meet Israel’s obligations under international law,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs wrote this week in a document obtained by CNN.

The UN also criticized the plan for a critically low number of distribution sites instead of the roughly 400 that operated in Gaza before Israel’s total blockade. With only a handful of sites under the plan the Trump administration is pushing, displaced Palestinians could be forced to walk long distances carrying heavy packages of rations for large families.



Why the fuck is the US intent on starving 2 million people. 

Israel claims it’s promoting Palestinian emigration from Gaza. So why are so few leaving?

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-claims-its-promoting-palestinian-emigration-from-gaza-so-why-are-so-few-leaving/

At a February press conference alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump outlined a proposal to relocate Gaza’s roughly 2 million residents to third-party countries.

In response, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced the creation of a new governmental body — a “Voluntary Emigration Directorate” — tasked with facilitating the exit of hundreds of thousands of Gazans. A retired IDF colonel, Yaakov Blitshtein, was appointed to head the directorate in late March.

“Emigration from Gaza will begin within weeks,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in a February 15 interview with Channel 12.

Interior Minister Moshe Arbel stated on April 7 at a conference organized by Yedioth Ahronoth: “More than 16 flights have departed from Ramon Airport carrying Gazans who requested to leave the Strip — and this is only going to increase.”

In recent months, Israeli media have widely reported on flights evacuating Gazans from the Strip, presenting this as part of Trump’s plan. However, Israel has not officially disclosed how many Gazans have left at any time during the war.

When The Times of Israel contacted the Population and Immigration Authority — a body facilitating Gazan departures — officials referred the inquiry to the Defense Ministry, which declined to respond.

The Times of Israel likewise found no meaningful change in Israel’s exit policy for Gaza residents in recent months.


Despite reports of increased movement through the Kerem Shalom crossing, according to a source familiar with the issue who talked to The Times of Israel, and public announcements by foreign countries and humanitarian organizations, only about 600 people have left the Gaza Strip in the past two months, since the collapse of the most recent ceasefire.

This is a relatively small number compared to the exodus earlier in the conflict.

For comparison, according to Egyptian media reports, around 103,000 people exited Gaza through the Rafah crossing between November 2023 and May 2024. Additionally, during the second ceasefire between February 1 and March 17 of this year, 4,259 Gazans — including patients, wounded individuals, and their family members — were evacuated from the Strip for medical treatment abroad.

Leaving Gaza requires international intervention

Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), the body under the Defense Ministry responsible for coordinating the movement of Gaza residents, has maintained that the only criteria for exiting Gaza — both before and throughout the war — are severe illness or injury, or foreign citizenship. In all cases, residents cannot apply directly to COGAT; an international organization must submit the request on their behalf.

It is notable that many countries accepting patients from Gaza during the war, including the UAE and various European states, have clarified that these are temporary stays for medical treatment and that the individuals are expected to return afterward.

The WHO publishes an online chart that is updated every few weeks to show the number of individuals evacuated from Gaza. According to the data, from the collapse of the ceasefire on March 18 until May 6, a total of 310 people — patients and companions — were evacuated.



Israeli statements contradict reality

The Israeli organization Gisha reported that it had recently received inquiries from 150 Gaza residents who had been accepted to study abroad but were still unable to leave the Strip. COGAT has stated that acceptance to academic programs overseas does not meet the criteria for exit.

Shai Greenberg, spokesperson for Gisha, told The Times of Israel: “Since the beginning of the war, thousands of people have been trapped in the Gaza Strip — including foreign nationals, patients in need of life-saving medical treatment unavailable in Gaza, students accepted into graduate programs abroad, and individuals eligible for family reunification in various countries.

“This is part of a systematic violation of fundamental rights — including freedom of movement and the right to family life for both those trapped and their relatives in Gaza and abroad — as well as the rights to health, bodily integrity, education, and livelihood,” Greenberg stated.

Ahmad, who left Gaza in February after 15 months of effort, told The Times of Israel he knows many foreign nationals who remain stuck in the Strip.

“I know a lot of people with foreign citizenship or permanent residency abroad who are still trapped in Gaza — some of them are close friends. Only one of them managed to leave, about 20 days ago,” he said.

Tanya Haj-Hassan adresses the EU parliament about Gaza. "I implore you, please act !"

Paediatric intensive care doctor Tanya Haj Hassan, who spent months in Gaza in 2024 and 2025, addresses the European parliament in April 28 for the conference "Shall we call it Genocide?".

“GAS CHAMBERS” In Gaza: Prominent Israeli Demands “HOLOCAUST”

Children among 21 killed in Israel’s attacks on Gaza amid aid blockade


_{A man is carried away after being injured in an Israeli army drone strike on a sidewalk in downtown Gaza City}

At least 21 people, including several children, have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since dawn amid a months-long Israeli blockade that has deepened the humanitarian crisis in the war-torn coastal enclave.

Four Palestinians were killed and others were wounded Saturday evening after an Israeli airstrike targeted a tent sheltering displaced families in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.

Earlier, Palestinian news agency Wafa said Israeli warplanes bombed a tent in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City on Saturday morning, killing five members of the Tlaib family.

“Three children, their mother and her husband were sleeping inside a tent and were bombed by an [Israeli] occupation aircraft,” family member Omar Abu al-Kass told the AFP news agency.

The strikes came “without warning and without having done anything wrong”, added Abu al-Kass, who said he was the children’s maternal grandfather.

In parallel, a drone attack on Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood left six people dead and one more in the Sheikh Radwan area of the city where Israel bombed an apartment belonging to the Zaqout family.

Further south, Wafa said Israeli gunboats opened “heavy fire” on the shores of Rafah, killing a man identified as Mohammed Saeed al-Bardawil. Two more civilians were injured in an attack on the al-Mawasi humanitarian zone, west of Rafah.

In the past 24 hours, at least 23 Palestinians have been killed and 124 others injured in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry.

Netanyahu’s war choices fuel discord in Israel over captives’ fate in Gaza

To prioritise the release of the captives in Gaza, or to continue fighting what critics are calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “forever war” – that is the question increasingly dividing Israel.

Israel’s government, laser-focused on the idea of a total victory against Hamas in Gaza, appears to be opting for the latter.


Israeli protesters in Tel Aviv demand an end to war on Gaza

Thousands of Israelis rallied in central Tel Aviv, calling on the government to end the war on Gaza and secure the immediate release of Israeli captives held in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that in Tel Aviv, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, an Israeli campaign group, held its weekly rally Saturday in “Hostages Square”, while another demonstration by families of captives is taking place outside the Israeli military headquarters.

A separate antigovernment protest also occurred at Habima Square in Tel Aviv.

The Times of Israel reported that Shai Mozes, whose parents were held captive and released in separate exchange deals, told the crowd at the protest in Habima Square that Israel’s “real enemy is not Hamas, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is destroying Israel as a Jewish and democratic state”.

Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut, reporting from Amman, Jordan, said that “family members of Israeli captives still held in Gaza say that Netanyahu is still prolonging the war for personal and political gain, and that he’s the one who’s not willing to compromise when it comes to any sort of cease fire deal”.

Hamas releases video of two Israeli hostages alive in Gaza

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250510-hamas-releases-video-of-two-israeli-hostages-alive-in-gaza

The pair were identified by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum campaign group as Elkana Bohbot and Yosef Haim Ohana, who were kidnapped during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that triggered the war.

The undated three-minute video footage released by Hamas's Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades shows one of the hostages, 36-year-old Bohbot, visibly weak and lying on the floor wrapped in a blanket.

The second hostage, Ohana, 24, speaks in Hebrew urging the Israeli government to end the war in Gaza and secure the release of all remaining captives -- a similar message to statements made by other hostages, likely under duress, in previous videos released by Hamas.

In a statement, Bohbot's family said that "Elkana and Yosef are crying out to be saved. While all the people of Israel hear their calls, a handful of decision-makers refuse to listen," echoing criticism of the Israeli government for failing to bring back the hostages.

"How much more can we bear? How much more can they endure? The fact that they are still there is a disgrace," the family said.

Hostage Yosef-Chaim Ohana claims Elkana Bohbot self-harmed in Hamas propaganda video

https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-853432

Hamas published a propaganda video on its Telegram channel Saturday evening, giving a sign of life to two hostages. The two hostages in the video are Elkana Bohbot, 35, and Yosef-Chaim Ohana, 24.

Hamas previously published a video of the two in late March. The two were kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023. In the last video published of them, they looked pale and were sitting on the floor.

During the propaganda video, Bohbot appears too sick to function, with Ohana claiming that Bohbot has been self-harming. Ohana states that he, along with a Hamas terrorist, intervened a few days ago in order to stop Bohbot from harming himself again.

"We have lost our world and our hope," Bohbot appears to say.

Ohana also appears to reference Sara Netanyahu's statement that fewer than 24 hostages remain alive, stating "It seems she knows what you don't."

Ohana also states that Bohbot appears unwilling to eat or drink, adding, "We have little food in this terrible reality. I have also stopped eating, as the fate of my colleague (Bohbot) is also my fate," Ohana added.

"Our fate is in your hands," Ohana says in a message to Israeli authorities, before adding that "your hands are stained with blood, you who are making decisions. It's time to stop this war. Time is running out," he appears to conclude.