Articles on Gaza Tragedy 2023

ECOCIDE: THE ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER CAUSED BY ISRAEL’S WAR ON GAZA “It will take tens of billions of dollars and several decades to repair the unprecedented destruction in Gaza.” NAOUAL SAHEL 25TH JULY 2024 According to UNEP, Israel’s war on Gaza has not only been a disaster in terms of lost human lives, but the nine-month-led crisis has also impacted Gaza’s civil infrastructure. Israel’s bombing of Gaza has generated 39 million tonnes of military debris and hazardous material, including human remains and bombs, which will persist in Gaza’s environment and affect its residents, based on a preliminary assessment released by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on 18 June 2024. “Not only are the people of Gaza dealing with untold suffering from the ongoing war, the significant and growing environmental damage in Gaza risks locking its people into a painful, long recovery. While many questions remain regarding the exact type and quantity of contaminants affecting the environment in Gaza, people are already living with the consequences of conflict-related damage to environmental management systems and pollution today. Water and sanitation have collapsed. Critical infrastructure continues to be decimated. Coastal areas, soil and ecosystems have been severely impacted. All of this is deeply harming people’s health, food security and Gaza’s resilience,” said Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director. Israel’s war on Gaza has been raging for over 200 days now. Since 7 October, over 38,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Israel’s bombing of Gaza also has disastrous consequences for ecosystems and violates the right of many people to live in a healthy environment. Astrid Puentes, the new UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, told the Guardian, “One of the serious consequences of the war in Gaza has been the massive violation of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment … which represents a serious risk to life and the enjoyment of all other rights”. The ongoing Israel’s onslaught on Gaza has caused severe damage to the environment, with consequences for air, water and land, as well as for Gaza’s population. Carbon emissions caused by the war are staggering. A new study from Queen Mary University of London has found out that Israel’s war on Gaza generated 536,410 tons of carbon dioxide during the first 120 days of the war, including 90% attributed to aerial bombardments and the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza, which “exceeded the annual emissions of 26 individual countries.” The air in Gaza is contaminated with chemicals from weapons, such as white phosphorus, due to the extensive use of explosives. Exposure to white phosphorus munitions causes decreased productivity of agricultural land and can harm plants. Arable land has also suffered significant losses since October 2023, and under Israel’s control, cultivable land has diminished as well. Indeed, when comparing the area of ​​agricultural land in recent years with recent satellite images, the UN documented the alarming and considerable decline of approximately 46.2% of cultivated land as of 15 February. Sheep and dairy farms were seriously affected, while 339 hectares of greenhouses were destroyed. Last January, the agricultural area amounted to 17,800 hectares, or about half of the total area of ​​Gaza, according to the UN satellite centre UNOSAT. The damage in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younes increased in just one month. These thousands of hectares of agricultural land outside densely populated cities, such as Gaza and Khan Yunis, are usually a key source of food and income for Palestinians. Around 2.5 million fruit trees were uprooted from 1967 to 2007 in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, according to the Palestinian NGO Applied Research Institute – Jerusalem, a third being olive trees. Olive trees, which are essential in Palestine due to their deep cultural significance and economic importance and which support the livelihood of many families through the production of olive oil, have been regularly and deliberately targeted by the Israeli military and settlers. They have thus become the symbol of the suffering of Palestinians dispossessed of their heritage and prevented from having access to their land and their crops. The destruction of olive trees is part of a more general context of degradation of land and property – particularly in the West Bank – and restrictions with significant consequences for the livelihoods, food security and environment of Palestinians. The destruction of farms and agricultural land, combined with 17 years of blockade that deprived the region of essential farm inputs, has caused severe food insecurity. Since May 2024, 57% of cultivated land in Gaza has suffered damage. Furthermore, Israel has destroyed 70% of Gaza’s fishing fleet, according to the United Nations. Livestock are starving and unable to provide food or a food source for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. WATER IS USED AS A WEAPON BY ISRAEL IN GAZA Water resources have been severely compromised, with almost 60,000 cubic meters of untreated sewage flowing into the Mediterranean Sea daily. Gaza’s drinking water network, already failing before the war with 90 to 95% of non-drinkable groundwater, is currently in an even more critical situation. As of April 2024, Gaza residents had access to 2 to 8 litres per person per day on average, compared to 85 litres per person per day before October 2023. Research reveals that 20 litres per person per day represent the minimum quantity of safe water necessary to ensure the minimum levels essential for health and hygiene. CLIMATE CHANGE IS A SILENT KILLER IN GAZA Temperatures in the Middle East and North Africa region are warming almost twice as fast as the global average. Gaza, which is already a climatically vulnerable region, is facing deteriorating conditions due to the war. Forecasts estimate that temperatures could rise by 4°C by the end of the century, amplifying erratic precipitation, heat waves and droughts. Public health infrastructures, already weakened by years of blockade, are collapsing under the pressure of the war. Sewerage, wastewater and solid waste management systems and facilities have collapsed. The spread of diseases such as skin infections, hepatitis A and diarrhoea is increasing, and a potential outbreak threatens thousands of lives. Attacks on hospitals and blockages of medical supplies have crippled Gaza’s health system, leaving millions of people in urgent need of humanitarian aid. Over the past eight months, attacks on hospitals, ambulances and health workers have become systematic. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), between 7 October and 27 May, 493 health workers were killed in the Gaza Strip. Local health authorities also reported that 126 ambulances were affected. According to OCHA, only 16 of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are still partially functional. In a report on the social and economic deterioration in Gaza released by UNCTAD on 31 January, “it will take tens of billions of dollars and several decades to repair the unprecedented destruction in Gaza.” A UNDP report indicates that “the level of destruction in Gaza is such that the reconstruction of public infrastructure would require external aid on a scale not seen since 1948”. The report further states that it will take approximately 80 years for Gaza to rehabilitate all the destroyed housing, using the same reconstruction schemes as during the last two escalations. ENVIRONMENTGAZAPALESTINE HYPOCRISY IN THE UMMAH: VACATIONING WHILE PALESTINE BLEEDS Is it right to indulge in summer holidays while the genocide continues to unfold in Gaza? NOOR UL AIN 24TH JULY 2024 As the summer sun shines brightly, many eagerly embrace the vacation season, reveling in leisurely getaways and joyful reunions. Yet, in stark contrast, a harsh reality unfolds in Palestine, where the heat of oppression and violence relentlessly affects the lives of our brothers and sisters. While we indulge in the luxuries of freedom and tranquility, they struggle to find respite from the unrelenting grip of occupation. This stark dichotomy raises a haunting question: can we truly celebrate our own liberation while turning a blind eye to the subjugation of our Ummah? Despite our verbal expressions of sympathy for Palestinian children, our actions betray our true priorities. We condemn the injustices they face, yet we plan summer getaways for our own kids, indulging them in leisure activities. What are we teaching them by prioritizing our enjoyment over the suffering of their Muslim brothers and sisters? The Quran reminds us: “And whoever is saved from the wrath of Allah, it will be as if He has been saved from a great calamity” (Surah Al- Ankabut, Verse 3). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said: “The believer is not he who is happy while his brother is suffering” (Sahih Bukhari). By neglecting the plight of Gaza’s children, we fail as parents to instill the values of empathy, compassion, and justice in our own kids. We’re raising a generation that prioritizes self-interest over humanity, ignoring the struggles of others to focus on their own fleeting pleasures. It’s time to reflect on our hypocrisy and teach our children the true meaning of Islam — to feel the pain of others and act with kindness and solidarity. The concept of jihad is often misunderstood as merely violence. In fact, it is a struggle for justice, striving to uphold the rights of the oppressed and fighting against tyranny. It is a call to action, to stand against the injustices that afflict the innocent, like the children of Palestine. But instead of answering this call, we indulge in leisure activities, prioritizing our comfort over the struggle for justice. This summer vacation was a missed opportunity to teach our kids about humanity, compassion, and the value of struggling for justice. Instead of indulging them in leisure activities, we should have educated them about the importance of standing up for the oppressed, like Palestinian children facing occupation and displacement. There’s a disconnect between our proclaimed Muslim values and our inaction in supporting oppressed Muslim communities like Palestine. We recite verses and hadiths emphasizing justice, compassion, and solidarity, yet fail to translate them into action. As parents, we must instill these values in our children through activities promoting empathy, kindness, and justice, such as volunteering, charity work, and advocating for the oppressed. If we don’t, we fail as Muslims, parents, and humans, raising children who will inherit a legacy of hypocrisy and indifference. As we return from our summer vacations, let us reflect on our priorities and consider the values we want to pass on to our children. Do we want to raise a generation that values luxury over justice, comfort over compassion, and indifference over humanity? Or do we want to raise a generation that understands the true meaning of jihad, that strives for justice, and stands in solidarity with the oppressed? Consider ways to support Palestine, even if symbolically — through donations, advocacy, or simply learning about their struggles. Teach our children that justice is not a mere word but a value worth fighting for. Together, we can make a difference, ensuring our children inherit a legacy of compassion, justice, and humanity. As we speak out against injustice, let us remember that solidarity is not a social media trend, but a call to action. Marginalized communities like Palestine need our genuine empathy and tangible support. They need us to listen to their stories, amplify their voices, and use our privilege to advocate for their rights. Let us move beyond tokenistic gestures and work towards meaningful actions that bring tangible change. Let us be the generation that not only speaks out against injustice but also takes action to dismantle it, ensuring justice and equality become a reality for all. The continuous conflict in Palestine has had a major effect on the mental well-being of Palestinian children. The trauma of residing in a war-ravaged region, enduring displacement, and witnessing violence can result in a variety of mental health concerns, such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and behavioral issues. Additionally, children who have endured these traumas may grapple with feelings of despair, fear, and anger. It is crucial for Palestinian children to obtain the necessary support and resources to assist them in managing the mental health consequences of the conflict. UNICEF has identified the Gaza Strip as the most perilous location globally for children. Women and children make up over 70 percent of the casualties resulting from Israel’s offensive since October 7. Since their birth, children have been subjected to a partial Israeli blockade, enduring conditions of poverty and violence. The predicament of minors in the Gaza Strip was already critical prior to October 7th due to a blockade imposed by Israel and additional structural obstacles. The majority of children residing in the Gaza Strip have endured distressing circumstances since October 7, 2023. These circumstances have included bereavement, extensive devastation, involuntary displacement, severe scarcities of food, water, and medication. Inadequate playgrounds and secure spaces, as well as school closures, are additional contributors to children developing mental health and psychosocial problems (ACAPS, 2024). The solitary psychiatric hospital in Gaza has also been targeted by Israel, and the activities of the other six community mental health clinics that serve thousands of patients throughout Gaza have been interrupted as a result of air attacks (ACAPS, 2024). In an effort to detect children who are suffering from mass depression, mutism, bedwetting, and suicidal thoughts, some medical professionals have attempted to maintain touch with youngsters via the use of WhatsApp (ACAPS, 2024). The present conflicts have had an influence on children’s mental health that cannot be compared to the condition that existed before the crisis. This is due to the fact that the level of intensity of the hostilities and the destruction of infrastructure has been unparalleled. To put this into perspective, prior to the 7th of October, the Gaza Strip was already experiencing a significant load of mental health concerns. Approximately 54 percent of Palestinian boys and 46.5% of Palestinian girls between the ages of 6 and 12 were found to have emotional and behavioral issues, according to a survey conducted in 2017 (ACAPS, 2024). In the year 2022, Save the Children revealed that eighty percent of the youngsters who participated in the research had signs of mental distress. Two-thirds of the children there were engaging in self-inflicted injury, and about half of them admitted to having considered ending their own lives (ACAPS, 2024). Before October 7th, the availability of mental health care in Gaza was restricted and often subject to social stigma. As a consequence, families and community members did not give priority to mental health and psychological support (MHPSS). Dr. Mamoun Mobayed, a consultant psychiatrist, and director of treatment and rehabilitation at Qatar’s Behavioral Healthcare Center, state that children suffer from the enduring consequences of wartime conditions during their sleep. Nightmares are frequently experienced, and some individuals may suffer from nocturnal enuresis as a consequence of these nightmares. A year ago, psychologist Farajallah, a Palestinian-American, found in her study on the impacts of war on Palestinian children that children who survive such wars often suffer serious psychological, emotional, and behavioral repercussions. Ninety-five percent of Gaza Strip children, according to her study, showed signs of trauma, sadness, and worry (Saber, 2024). According to Farajallah, the solution to the Palestine issue is not to be found in psychology but rather in a peaceful political resolution. The ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine is having a severe impact on children’s mental and physical well-being, according to UNICEF. UN officials report many children killed and countless more suffering from anxiety and displacement. “The violence is taking a huge toll on children’s mental health,” said Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF’s chief of communication in Palestine. “We’ve received accounts of children who are deeply worried and anxious” (Ali, 2023). The UNICEF official urged all parties to ensure that children receive the specific protection that international humanitarian and human rights law guarantees them and to provide them with unequivocal protection. Additionally, the agency of the United Nations demands an urgent cessation of hostilities. The conditions necessary to deliver humanitarian aid to children in Gaza are not only unfulfilled but also deteriorating. The prolonged embargo and continuous shelling in Gaza have severely strained the mental health of children, pushing it to its limits. The victims have endured indescribable psychological trauma resulting from acts of violence, severe bodily suffering such as amputations, and the profound loss of their families, homes, and educational institutions. More than one million children in Gaza require mental health assistance (Save the Children, 2023). UNICEF reports that Israel has caused the deaths of more than 13,000 children in Gaza since October 7. In addition, it should be noted that there are other children who are experiencing acute malnutrition and are so weak that they lack the energy to even produce tears (Al Jazeera, 2024). One of the mothers in Gaza said, “Our children have experienced various wars. They were already struggling with resilience, and now coping has become extremely challenging. The children are frightened, angry, and can’t stop crying. Many adults are reacting the same way. This is overwhelming for adults, let alone children.” According to Save the Children in Gaza, they said if the war is not stopped, the battle will cause additional long-lasting psychological damage to children, with diminishing chances for recovery. Amal, a mother of four children in Gaza between the ages of 7 and 14, expressed that “Some of my kids can no longer focus on simple tasks. They forget what I’ve just told them and can’t recall recent events. I wouldn’t even say their mental health has declined — it’s been destroyed. Total psychological devastation.” (“Complete Psychological Destruction”: Children in Gaza Have Suffered “Relentless Mental Harm” During Five Months of War – Save the Children – Occupied Palestinian Territory, 2024). Children in Gaza are bearing the brunt of the war’s consequences at a disproportionate rate. Brain development may be irrevocably altered as a result of childhood traumas, although the repercussions might not become evident until much later in life. During childhood, the brain undergoes critical developmental periods. Anacker explained that too much stress from grief, anxiety, or a lack of social and emotional interaction during these times can alter brain function. “There’s no effective way to completely reverse the effects of childhood trauma in adulthood, that’s why it’s essential to protect children from stress during these critical stages of development” (Welle, 2024). Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, has cautioned on numerous occasions that children are “disproportionately” affected by contemporary conflicts. Children residing in regions affected by brutal conflict endure profound psychological anguish. According to Taha et al. (2024), the Education Above All Foundation (EAA), a non-profit organization based in Qatar, is providing psychosocial assistance to a total of 35,000 children, 15,000 caregivers, and 1,000 frontline workers in the Gaza region. In addition, Save the Children is supplying leisure packs and creating secure educational environments for children who have been relocated or are in precarious situations. Organizations such as UNICEF are creating areas where children may participate in physical activities, group games, sketching, and communicate with experts who provide care. These endeavors are essential in tackling the mental health emergency among youngsters in Gaza. But the Gaza conflict has presented considerable obstacles in providing mental health services to children, mostly owing to a myriad of circumstances. The continuous and relentless attacks, together with the compulsory displacement, as well as the loss of loved ones and exposure to extreme violence, have made many children more susceptible to experiencing anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Insufficient understanding among healthcare practitioners, a scarcity of mental health experts, and constraints on abroad aid imposed by Israel sometimes result in untreated mental health illnesses. In addition, the distribution of resources to tackle pressing emergencies, such as the shortage of essential supplies, increases the intricacy of providing mental health interventions for children in Gaza. The declining healthcare infrastructure and lack of protected zones due to ongoing bombardment exacerbate the challenges of addressing the mental health crisis among young people in Gaza. In conclusion, the relentless conflict in Gaza has subjected Palestinian children to profound and enduring psychological trauma. These young lives are marred by experiences of violence, loss, and deprivation, which severely impact their mental health and overall development. It is imperative that international efforts intensify to provide comprehensive mental health support and protection to these vulnerable children. Without a peaceful resolution and substantial humanitarian aid, the psychological scars inflicted by the conflict will likely persist into adulthood, perpetuating a cycle of suffering and instability. Ensuring the mental well-being of Palestinian children is not only a moral obligation but also a crucial step towards building a future where peace and stability can prevail. REFERENCES “Complete psychological destruction”: Children in Gaza have suffered “relentless mental harm” during five months of war – Save the Children – occupied Palestinian territory. (2024, March 12). ReliefWeb. https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/complete-psychological-destruction-children-gaza-have-suffered-relentless-mental-harm-during-five-months-war-save-children#:~:text=Those%20surveyed%20for%20the%20new,behavioural%20changes%20such%20as%20an ACAPS. (2024). Thematic report. https://www.acaps.org/fileadmin/Data_Product/Main_media/20240201_ACAPS_thematic_report_Palestine_-_impact_of_conflict_on_children_in_the_Gaza_strip.pdf Al Jazeera. (2024, March 17). Over 13,000 children killed in Gaza, others severely malnourished: UNICEF. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/17/over-13000-children-killed-in-gaza-others-severely-malnourished-unicef Ali, R. (2023). Israel-Palestine violence has ‘huge impact’ on children’s mental health, warns UNICEF. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/israel-palestine-violence-has-huge-impact-on-children-s-mental-health-warns-unicef/3015738 Saber, I. F. (2024, February 8). How the Israel war, blockade affect mental health of Palestinian children. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/12/how-the-israel-war-blockade-affects-mental-health-of-palestinian-children Save the children. (2023). Life in Gaza: What’s life like for children growing up in conflict. Save the Children. https://www.savethechildren.org/us/charity-stories/life-for-children-growing-up-conflict-gaza#:~:text=Children%20in%20Gaza%20are%20trapped%2C%20with%20no%20safe%20place%20to%20go&text=Cases%20of%20upper%20respiratory%20infections,and%20respiratory%20and%20skin%20diseases. Welle, D. (2024, April 26). Children in war zones face permanent mental health consequences, trauma. Frontline. https://frontline.thehindu.com/news/war-child-development-mental-health-ukraine-russia-conflict-gaza-palestine-ptsd/article68105015.ece Support our Palestine Newsroom with a donation to Mondoweiss. News ‘Come out, you animals’: how the massacre at al-Shifa Hospital happened During the massacre at al-Shifa Hospital, the Israeli army shot patients in their beds and doctors who refused to abandon the sick, separated people into groups with differently-colored bracelets, and executed hundreds of civil government employees. By Tareq S. Hajjaj April 11, 2024 8 Aftermath of the invasion of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, April 1, 2024. (Photo: Khaled Daoud /APA Images) Aftermath of the invasion of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, April 1, 2024. (Photo: Khaled Daoud /APA Images) Human heads eaten by crows, unidentified and decomposing body parts, and hundreds of corpses piled up and buried in mass graves are all that remained of the victims of the massacre at al-Shifa Hospital. The grim scene was something out of a dystopian movie, the product of the two-week siege of Gaza’s largest hospital that ended in its total destruction. Following the completion of al-Shifa’s decimation, the Israeli army announced that it had been one of the most successful operations since the start of the war, claiming that it had arrested hundreds of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad members in the medical compound. But the question that no one seemed to ask is how such a massive number of so-called “operatives” from Hamas and PIJ had gathered at al-Shifa with the full knowledge that the place had already been combed by the army once before and that Gaza City had been occupied by the army ever since. Mondoweiss contacted many survivors of the events at al-Shifa. Most of them refused to speak and feared exposing their identities. A few accepted under the condition of anonymity, fearing that their testimonies would make them targets by the Israeli army and that they would be subsequently killed. In light of the testimonies gathered by Mondoweiss, a different picture emerges of what happened. Advertisement Challenge the mainstream media with a donation to Mondoweiss. People inspect the ruins of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, April 1, 2024. (Photo: Khaled Daoud /APA Images) People inspect the ruins of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, April 1, 2024. (Photo: Khaled Daoud /APA Images) The intelligence leak One young man who managed to escape the hospital mere moments before the army invasion began said that there had indeed been hundreds of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad-affiliated employees in the hospital, but none of them were military operatives. They were workers in the Gaza government’s civil branch, including Civil Defense crews, the police force, the internal security services, interior ministry employees, and employees of other branches of the local government. All of them had gathered to receive their governmental salaries at al-Shifa, given that it was one of the few remaining places that was supposed to be relatively safe from the fighting. “There was a room in the specialized surgeries building that served as an office for the government branches that operated aboveground,” said the young man, (hereafter named “Z”), referencing the Hamas government’s civilian branches. Z also confirmed that a number of PIJ members who worked non-military jobs were there as well to receive salaries. “There was another building that was an office for the [PIJ] movement, and the men employed by the movement would go there to collect their salaries.” “It had been a long time since any of these employees had seen one another,” Z explained. “That’s why they were all chatting in the medical compound and catching up with one another.” The way the Israeli army described the gathering was that it had obtained confirmed intelligence reports of a large number of “terror operatives” from both groups inside al-Shifa, and after the raid, it announced that it had arrested 900 “suspects” and confirmed that 500 of them were “terror operatives,” while announcing that it had killed 200 more “gunmen,” among them “top commanders in Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.” The siege begins Z told Mondoweiss that he heard the sound of army vehicles and tanks approaching the hospital minutes before the attack. He and his colleague had also arrived at al-Shifa to receive their salaries. “When we heard the vehicles, I told my colleague we had to leave immediately, thinking they might be headed toward the hospital itself,” Z said, explaining that anyone employed by the Hamas government is regarded as wanted by Israel. His colleague didn’t listen, believing that the army might be invading a nearby area instead. “He told me they were probably headed to the industrial zone.” At first, Z’s colleague refused to leave, but as the sound of the tanks drew nearer, both decided to leave immediately. While they were both civilians with no military background, they were both members of the Hamas movement. A few moments later, the invasion started. They witnessed the tanks surrounding the compound and the arrival of quadcopter drones hovering overhead. In an instant, all of al-Shifa was besieged from land and from air. Another survivor who had managed to escape the compound said that the majority of intelligence regarding who had gathered at the compound was relayed to Israel by informants, collaborators, and undercover Israeli spies. “On the night of the invasion, there were two street vendors who always sat at the entrance of al-Shifa,” the survivor told Mondoweiss. “One of them sold water, and the other sold canned foods. When the invasion happened, the two merchants revealed themselves to be soldiers. They took out handguns and entered the hospital with other soldiers, and they directed them where to go. They had been there for a long time and knew where everything was.” The medical compound housed several buildings, including maternity wards, specialized surgery buildings, and cardiac wings. When the soldiers entered the compound, everyone was ordered to evacuate the buildings. Drones carrying speakers broadcast the army’s orders, telling people that they must exit and gather in the courtyard. “The drones kept saying, ‘come out, you animals,’” Z told Mondoweiss. Body buried underneath the rubble at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, April 1, 2024. (Photo: Khaled Daoud /APA Images) Body buried underneath the rubble at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, April 1, 2024. (Photo: Khaled Daoud /APA Images) Executions of doctors and suspected government employees When everyone left the buildings, the army began to separate the crowds of people into groups, making each group wear differently-colored plastic bracelets. The soldiers told them that these bracelets were connected to a system that alerts snipers to their movements. They were divided into two colors: yellow, which was attached to hospital staff and whoever the army considered civilians, and red, which was given to people who could not move on their own, such as patients, the injured, amputees, or people with broken limbs. The army also gathered people who were suspected of belonging to Hamas or the PIJ. They were not given bracelets but were separated from the injured and hospital staff, who were sent to a different building. A third much larger group was ordered to leave the hospital entirely — thousands of displaced persons who had been sheltering in the compound, in addition to some members of the hospital staff. Some of the staff members, including doctors, refused to leave. When they refused the army’s orders, they were executed immediately and without argument. The army then brought out a huge number of men from the group of suspected Hamas and PIJ members and employees, gathering them in the center of the courtyard. It then proceeded to execute them, one after the other. When the slaughter was done, army bulldozers piled up their corpses in the dozens, dragging them through the sand and burying them. As this was ongoing, other soldiers stormed various buildings in the compound in search of people who had refused to evacuate when the initial order was given. They killed anyone they found, regarding them as suspects. There were some in the hospital who resisted and attempted to open fire, including police officers carrying handguns. That number of people was minor, and their resistance did not save them — they were killed along with those who did not put up any resistance. A video published on social media filmed by a journalist at the hospital shows a female doctor, who identified herself as Amira al-Safadi, describing what happened. “After the first day of the attack, which we were surprised by at 2 a.m., the army ordered us not to leave when it entered,” Dr. Safadi says. “Then, on the second day, it gave us the bracelets and emphasized that we had to wear them and that anyone who left the building without wearing one would be immediately killed.” “We were sent to four different buildings,” she continues, describing that she joined a number of other doctors and nurses with their patients. “Around 16 injured patients died because we were unable to treat them.” By the time the army withdrew from al-Shifa, the entire compound had been all but decimated, reduced to rubble and burnt buildings. A destroyed and bombed out hospital room in the al-Shifa Hospital in the foreground; a burned edifice of the al-Shifa Hospital complex in the background. Palestinians assess the damage and search the rubble in the area of the destroyed al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on April 1, 2024. (Khaled Daoud /apaimages) One of ‘largest massacres in Palestinian history’ The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said that the massacre at al-Shifa was one of the largest in Palestinian history, estimating that at least 1,500 people had been killed, injured, or reported missing, “with women and children making up half of the casualties.”* The organization also confirms that at least 22 patients were shot while in their hospital beds, while the number of displaced persons sheltering at the hospital who were forced to evacuate southward was estimated to include 25,000 people. Moreover, 1,200 housing units in the vicinity of al-Shifa were destroyed. Despite the army’s claims about the al-Shifa operation’s strategic and military importance and the number of alleged Hamas and PIJ members it had arrested and killed, it obfuscated the real intended purpose of the operation, which was to destroy the health system in northern Gaza and worsen the already disastrous humanitarian conditions. The entire compound is now unfit for use. Even the morgue, containing countless bodies of the slain, was burned down. Israel’s “operation” at al-Shifa was, indeed, a success, and that success was to put Gaza’s largest hospital out of service and hasten social collapse in the north. Notes * Editor’s note: an earlier version of this article incorrectly cited the Euro-Med report as estimating that at least 1,500 people had been killed, whereas the report estimated that 1,500 people had either been killed, injured, or reported missing. The text was corrected on April 12 to reflect this. Tareq S. Hajjaj Tareq S. Hajjaj is the Mondoweiss Gaza Correspondent, and a member of the Palestinian Writers Union. He studied English Literature at Al-Azhar University in Gaza. He started his career in journalism in 2015 working as a news writer and translator for the local newspaper, Donia al-Watan. He has reported for Elbadi, Middle East Eye, and Al Monitor. Follow him on Twitter at @Tareqshajjaj. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT – Providing accurate news from Palestine today is critical. Audiences around the world need to know the truth to be moved to action. Corporate media is complicit in the Gaza genocide. Our newsroom provides daily reports and incisive analyses that tell the full story of the situation on the ground. Our work can only be sustained thanks to the support of our readers. Donate today if you believe in independent journalism for liberation and human rights! Generous supporters will match your gift, doubling your impact! $100 $50 $25 $10 Other Amount Al-Shifa HospitalGazaGaza genocideGaza massacreGenocidemassacreTop Headlineswire Related Posts The Israeli army carries out the demolition of the Al-Israa University south of Gaza city on January 17, 2024. (Screenshot/twitter.com/BirzeitU) A feminist praxis for academic freedom in the context of genocide in Gaza April 11, 2024 World Central Kitchen staff provide food in Gaza, January 2024. (Photo: World Central Kitchen) I resigned from World Central Kitchen because it refused to tell the truth about the Israeli genocide in Gaza April 11, 2024 Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaking at an event in April 2023. (Photo: Iranian Presidency Office/APA Images) ‘Operation al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 188: Tensions rise over potential Iranian response to Israeli attack on consulate in Damascus April 11, 2024 Subscribe Login Please login to comment. 8 Comments Most Voted Kathleen April 11, 2024 11:40 am Thank you Tariq. You are an incredibly brave journalist. Stay safe! Tariq “Those who persisted in refusing orders were executed immediately and without argument. The army then brought out a huge number of men from the group of suspected Hamas and PIJ members and employees, gathering them in the center of the courtyard. It then proceeded to execute them, one after the other. When the slaughter was done, army bulldozers piled up their corpses in the dozens, dragging them through the sand and burying them.” All horrifying. When? WHEN will we witness Israeli soldiers, officials put on trial at the Hague for war crimes? Hatred, anger, violence, appears to fill the veins of Israeli soldiers etc. Blood lust out of control. Gruesome. No process…..war crimes! Important read https://www.972mag.com/lavender-ai-israeli-army-gaza/ 5 0 View Replies (2) John O April 11, 2024 9:57 am A very powerful piece by Tareq. It should be shared widely. Here is another powerful piece from today’s Guardian, by Rashid Khalidi, professor of modern Arab studies at Columbia University: One constant in the 100 years of this war is that Palestinians have not been allowed to choose who represents them. As in the past, their preferences may be unacceptable to the powers that be, whether Israel, the western states or their Arab clients. These powers are once again likely to attempt to impose their choice of who represents the Palestinians and who is not allowed to do so, with the Palestinians themselves having no voice in this decision. https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/the-long-read/2024/apr/11/all 3 0 View Replies (3) RobertB April 11, 2024 2:11 pm And one of apartheid Israel and its IDF killers defenders, jon s, posted the following, regarding Shifa hospital, on April 1, 2024: “According to the reports I’ve seen, no staff-members or patients were harmed, not a scratch. The hospital itself has been devastated. Destroyed by Hamas.“ 2 0 https://mondoweiss.net/2024/04/come-out-you-animals-how-the-massacre-at-al-shifa-hospital-happened/ EXPLAINER News | Israel War on Gaza Israel’s war on Gaza: List of key events, day 147 Save articles to read later and create your own reading list. Here’s how things stand on Friday, March 1, 2024: Fighting and humanitarian crisis On Thursday, Israeli troops fired on a crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy in Gaza City. At least 112 people were killed in the chaos. Initially, the Israeli army blamed crowding and trampling for the deaths, while an Israeli military official later said the troops “opened fire at the crowd” after some Palestinians began heading towards Israeli forces in a way that “endangered” them. Hamas decried the attack as an “unprecedented war crime”. The PA office described the incident as an “ugly massacre”. Israeli military claims that it has killed more than 13,000 Palestinian fighters in Gaza since the start of its ground invasion likely still leaves Palestinian armed groups with a sizeable force as Hamas alone had 40,000 fighters before the latest war began in October, war monitors said. Regional tensions and diplomacy Thursday’s shooting was quickly condemned by Arab countries, and United States President Joe Biden expressed concern it would add to the difficulty of negotiating a ceasefire in the nearly five-month conflict. Meanwhile, Austria’s foreign minister urged Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group against escalating the conflict along the volatile Israel-Lebanon border and expressed hope for a pause in the fighting in Gaza. Yemen also condemned Israel’s killing of more than 100 Palestinian civilians waiting for food aid near Gaza City, saying the ongoing “massacres” amount to “war crimes and the collective punishment of innocent people”. Elsewhere, veteran left-wing British politician George Galloway has won a by-election in England’s northwestern town of Rochdale after running on a pro-Palestine, anti-Israel platform. In Russia, representatives of a dozen Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, are meeting for “inter-Palestinian” talks to discuss the formation of a unified government. In the US, a statement from Biden has urged House Republicans to pass a foreign aid bill in order to “help ensure that Israel can defend itself against Hamas and other threats”. Violence in the occupied West Bank Israeli forces have stormed the Qalandiya refugee camp in the occupied West Bank and arrested two men allegedly connected to a deadly attack on Israeli settlers in the Eli settlement. Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers attacked the homes of Palestinians with stones on the outskirts of the town of Jalud, southeast of Nablus. Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/1/israels-war-on-gaza-list-of-key-events-day-147/?traffic_source=rss Israeli troops fired on a crowd of Palestinians racing to pull food off an aid convoy in Gaza, generating a wave of condemnation. Smoke rises above the Gaza Strip from Israeli bombardment as an Israeli right wing activist runs during scuffles with Israeli troop near the Erez crossing, during a rally calling for the building of Israeli settlements in Gaza, on February 29, 2024, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Photo by Oren ZIV / AFP) Urgent Appeal : Join the Effort to Save Gazan Family from Genocide Inbox abedtahrawi92@gmail.com abedtahrawi92@gmail.com via n.convertkit.com 1:07 AM (7 hours ago) to me Urgent Appeal: Join the Effort to Save Gazan Family from Genocide Help Dr. Abed and Baraa, a couple from Gaza-Palestine, with their 5-month-old baby girl Mila. They are desperate to escape from the war and death that surrounds them.Your support will make a significant difference in ensuring that this young family can find safety and security during this challenging time. For approximately 120 days, I have dedicated my time to working in Gaza hospitals and clinics, bearing witness to the heartbreaking loss of hundreds of children and women, as well as the suffering of thousands of innocent people who have been injured. This devastating reality demands our urgent attention and collective action to address the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza. Abdelqader Altahrawi is organizing this fundraiser. Support us to escape danger and start a safe life! Hi, My name is Baraa, a Palestinian doctor living in Gaza City. I’m reaching out for support to help my family get out of Gaza to live peacefully. For around 80 days I have been working in Gaza hospitals, and clinics and have witnessed the death of hundreds of children and women and thousands of injured innocent people. I have been working very hard with my husband Dr abed at the emergency department until we were displaced from our home leaving everything behind. Actually, Following several nights of heavy bombardment of Nusierat, we evacuated our home and took refuge in residential refugee camps with more than 200 people, in the south. We have not had electricity or fuel for three months, barely managing to secure diapers and milk for our 3-month-old MILA. We had been living in the now-demolished neighborhood of Gaza City. We were engaged in 2020, built our dream apartment in 2021, and married a few months later in 2021. Our lovely child Mila was born in September 2023, one week before the war in the Gaza Strip where she did not have the healthcare any child in any part of the world would have including milk, diapers, or even access to vaccination; she didn’t have her standard schedule of vaccination yet due to the siege on the city leaving her vulnerable to communicable diseases in this polluted environment. My family also lives in Al-Nusierat camp and they were displaced under fire with nothing with them. where they have been forced to leave the city and head to the south where they have no one or nowhere to stay after destroying our home by the IDF leaving nothing but ashes. Our memories, money, photobooks, and the corners we used to sit in were demolished. Now, we have no home no work, and no income. We are under fire and bombardments where there is no safe place in the Gaza Strip. We hardly found access to food, water, and diapers for our child so we were used sometimes to consuming non-drinking water that caused severe gastroenteritis and other health problems. Thank you for your willingness to learn about our circumstances. Palestinian voices are often silenced, making it difficult to raise awareness of our situation and seek support. A safe, supportive, and non-judgmental community is vital to us. At this moment; and on behalf of my family, I sincerely and deeply ask all kind people to help them get out of the most dangerous place in the world and start a new life. The circumstances, dangers, and hardships are unimaginable and time is extremely sensitive, which means it can cause serious health problems, and cost blood and lives. Statement by Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, We cannot abandon the people of Gaza Inbox WHO Media Unsubscribe 5:50 AM (8 hours ago) to me Tuesday, 30 January 2024 Statement by Principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, We cannot abandon the people of Gaza Statement by Principals of the IASC, We cannot abandon the people of Gaza, 30 January 2024.pdf Published Date: 30 January 2023 NEW YORK/GENEVA/ROME, 30 January 2024 – The allegations of involvement of several UNRWA staff in the heinous attacks on Israel on 7 October are horrifying. As the Secretary-General has said, any UN employee involved in acts of terror will be held accountable. However, we must not prevent an entire organization from delivering on its mandate to serve people in desperate need. The harrowing events that have been snowballing in Gaza since 7 October have left hundreds of thousands of people homeless and on the brink of famine. UNRWA, as the largest humanitarian organisation in Gaza, has been providing food, shelter and protection, even as its own staff members were being displaced and killed. Decisions by various Member States to pause funds from UNRWA will have catastrophic consequences for the people of Gaza. No other entity has the capacity to deliver the scale and breadth of assistance that 2.2 million people in Gaza urgently need. We appeal for these decisions to be reconsidered. UNRWA has announced a full, independent review of the organization, and the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services has been activated. Withdrawing funds from UNRWA is perilous and would result in the collapse of the humanitarian system in Gaza, with far-reaching humanitarian and human rights consequences in the occupied Palestinian territory and across the region. The world cannot abandon the people of Gaza. Signatories: Mr. Martin Griffiths, Emergency Relief Coordinator and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Ms. Jane Backhurst, Chair, ICVA (Christian Aid) Mr. Jamie Munn, Executive Director, International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) Ms. Amy E. Pope, Director General, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Mr. Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Ms. Paula Gaviria Betancur, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons (SR on HR of IDPs) Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Mr. Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Mr. Michal Mlynár, Executive Director a.i., United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) Ms. Catherine Russell, Executive Director, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Ms. Sima Bahous, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women Ms. Cindy McCain, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP) Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO) WHO Media inquiries: mediainquiries@who.int UNDERSTANDING THE CENTURY-LONG STRUGGLE OF PALESTINIANS We need to first understand that whatever is happening in the “Palestine-Israel conflict” is not “unprecedented”, a “surprise attack”, or “random”. There is history and it goes way back. ALIHA RIZVI 29TH JANUARY 2024 We may have heard of the many ‘breaking news’ every now and then through the course of our lives about the ‘Israel-Palestine Conflict’, as most channels call it. Unfortunately, watching this conflict unfold year after year without any resolution may have normalized us to the utter abomination the people of Palestine have suffered. However, recently with the ongoing attacks, it appears to be that the people have risen for Palestinians like never before. In this article, I would like to provide a crucial and in-depth explanation of how this conflict began and some possible resolutions that have been proposed. Looking into such issues is of utmost importance today with the ongoing conflicts, so we are also able to decipher what factors in history open doors to the atrocities we are witnessing today. The ultimate purpose of this is to be able to observe our duty as humans to stand against the oppressors of today, needless to say, with straight facts. OVERVIEW: HOW IT ALL STARTED? What many of us may not realize is that the issue of Palestine being usurped by Israelis did not start in 1948, as most say. The act of invasion of this land dates way back to the late 1700s. At the end of the French Revolution in 1799, in the effort to invade the Arab world, Napoleon proclaimed Palestine as a homeland for the Jews (Damen, 2013). This was also a way for the French to maintain their control and presence in Palestine. This idea was not adopted at the time but it was the beginning of many conflicts regarding who would live there, the Arabs or the Jews. Keep in mind that for generations before, it was the only home for Arabs originating from that land. Then, in the early 1900s, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, the Palestinian mandate was established. However, the British decided to overturn the mandate by implementing the idea the French had proposed before and create a Jewish space on Palestinian land (Damen, 2013). With the support of the French and British, a Zionist group was established. Zionism is the term for the establishment of a state for the Jews in the Palestinian land by force and aggression as a way of staying ‘patriotic’ to the land, not tolerating Palestinians and their presence. This group created lobbying campaigns that encouraged more Western powers to support the migration of Jews to the land of Palestine (Damen, 2013). In 1917, the Balfour Declaration, named after the Foreign Secretary of Britain, was issued under which the British government expressed its support for a ‘national home for the Jews’ in Palestine. At the time, the head of the Zionist movement in Britain was Baron Rothschild. This declaration was also validated by the Prime Minister of Britain, David Lloyd George, who became a firm supporter of the Zionist movement in 1915. Some words used in this letter were ‘the British would use their best endeavor to facilitate the achievement of this object..’ (Damen, 2013). This clearly points out the complete disregard of any human entity living there and their rights over their native land. It was as if the invasive and colonial powers of the time assumed they were entitled to get whatever land they wanted control over, allowing the establishment of extreme movements like Zionism. If the basis of establishing a home or land for a group of people originates from such corrupt ideas, it is unfair to assume the outcome will be positive, ever. It is not just the wrong idea of colonizing land that belonged to someone else but also how much unwavering support the Zionists got which made them unstoppable. I would like to shed some light on what this green light from the world leaders did for Zionism in the following days, weeks, and years for the Palestinians. As expected, the Palestinians did not approve of this unfair movement and resisted. The constant protests and the resistance that broke out by the Arabs of Palestine is called the ‘Intifada’. However, this did not stop the Zionists from flooding into Palestine, buying homes and lands, and displacing millions of Palestinians. Thus, what once was a land of freedom for Arabs, had become invaded. This whole process was backed up and facilitated by Britain (Damen, 2013). In 1922, Izza Al Din Qassam, a Syrian living in Haifa (a city in Palestine) rose against the British and Zionists. Qassam was very quickly killed by the British forces, but his uprising inspired many Arabs to revolt against the settlers, by 1936, continuing the intifada (Damen, 2013). After many revolts that left many innocents dead, British forces tried to slow down the mass migration of Jews to Palestine, in an effort to put an end to the unrest. This caused more anger from the Zionists and they drove the British forces out of Palestine. Due to the major influx of Jews immigrants and Zionist settlers, the Palestinians had become outnumbered and it was clear that there was a more fierce and aggressive group, not to mention, fully supported by the major powers of the time (Dame, 2013). Once the Zionists started settling into Palestine, they arranged meetings from March 1947 till March 1948, planning the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians within the land. During this time, the attack on Arabs and British by the Zionists increased and thus, Britain decided to hand over the responsibility of Palestine to the United Nations (UN) (Damen, 2013). The UN tried approaching the resolution by attempting to create two states, Palestine and Israel. It is important to note that in the years before, Zionists had lived in only 5.5% of Palestine. During this meeting, however, the UN decided to assign them an unfair 55% of the entire land. The Palestinians rejected this proposal and as a result, the Zionists continued to fight for more land and did not agree with assigning borders to each state, ultimately wanting control over the entire region. This caused a lot more displacement, killing, and kidnapping of many Palestinians. Their objective was pretty straightforward; either Palestinians should leave or they will be killed (Damen, 2013). In May of 1948, when the Zionists took over Haifa, a large city of Arabs in Palestine, the Palestinians became stateless. The response of the major powers like the US and the Soviet Union was to accept a new state called: Israel (Damen, 2013). As more and more conflicts broke out between the Zionists and Palestinians, a Swedish diplomat, Folke Bernadotte, was appointed by the UN to bring ease and halt to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. However, his efforts to give Palestinians their rights back resulted in his assassination by the Zionists. By the year, 1949, more than 700,000 Palestinians had been displaced and 13,000 killed by the Zionist regime (Damen, 2013). After the death of Bernadotte, an American deputy was appointed to try to negotiate peace and land space to both states but this resulted in Israel gaining 78% of the land while Palestine was left with the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, only 22% of the entire region they used to once own. (Damen, 2013) This displacement, ethnic cleansing, and dehumanizing of the Palestinians is known as the ‘Nakba’. Many generations of those Palestinians are still living today in refugee camps and fighting for their rights as they get bombarded heavily every day, in other words, the Nakba event is repeating itself (Damen, 2013). PALESTINIAN ETHNIC CLEANSING AND HOW SUCH ATROCITIES BEGIN The extreme severity of the pain inflicted by one human on another is something that many human civilizations have seen. Much to one’s dismay, it’s nothing to be normalized, and yet here we are witnessing an innumerable amount of children dying every day. Many genocides in the past that should never have taken place but still did due to a couple of factors, laid the foundation for the dictators in power today to repeat the violent actions of the previous tyrants, for their own interest. When one’s focus lies solely on the benefit and prosperity of their own country without being able to see the whole world as a place of collective peace where everyone is worthy of human rights; an absolute abomination occurs. This is the ideology that the Nazis had adopted. The idea of a ‘superior race’ due to which they saw the Jews as ‘animals’. We can connect such concepts to what we see today easily. In today’s world, someone like Netanyahu (PM of Israel) does not see Palestinians as people who deserve to live in their land peacefully. Many Israeli agents have described explicitly that their objective is to deprive the Arabs of basic necessities, like water, food, and medicine. People like such who are able to get into power and then impose any and all decisions they deem necessary for the interest of ‘their people’, build a wall around their heart that makes them immune to the loss of any human life other than their own people. In some cases, even the lives of their own people don’t matter because their ulterior motive is to have power and land. The main reason for such treatment towards humans goes back to when it all started in the late 1700s. The constant resistance of Zionists and their idea that Palestine belonged to them has been engraved in their hearts and minds to the extent that assaulting and killing hundreds of children for them is a sign of ‘patriotism’ or ‘self-defense’ for their country that they carry with pride. Years of this ideology has caused such ‘leaders’ to become completely immune to the pain and suffering of the Palestinians. This lack of empathy for the Palestinians has built up over many years and today, we are witnessing one of the largest genocides that has ever occurred. Another facet of the reason behind such conflicts is holding hatred or prejudice towards a group of people. This prejudice develops when you live in a society that brainwashes a false sense of superiority among individuals of their race. The imprinted ‘facts’ that you are higher in rank and thus, certain groups will always be your subjects comes naturally with this sort of thinking. As much as people point out in social media today that it is not a religious issue, which at its foundation is not. The main issue is the unjust usurpation of land. Period. However, there are reasons why usurpation happens and it is because of prejudice for certain ethnic groups. The fact that Britain and France felt entitled to proclaim Palestine as a Jewish land, clearly shows that they did not consider the Arabs of Palestine worthy enough to be consulted regarding their own ancestral land. Unfortunately, this goes to show how detrimental it can be to endorse extreme ideologies that create inevitable bigotry and lead to what we are seeing today in Gaza. Jews and Muslims are both people of the book and hold many similar beliefs. Both are respectable religious groups. Even today, many Jews support the idea of Palestine being returned to the Arabs and stand firmly on their belief. However, those who don’t agree with it and believe that Israel belongs to Jews only and Palestinians should move to either neighbouring countries or are to be blamed for the genocide have been manipulated into thinking such maximalist ideas. The fact that today so many children have died in Palestine and yet, there are people still defending Israel demonstrates the power of propaganda created solely for the purpose of deceiving people with fake narratives. Fake news, fake claims, and wanting fake sympathies. This is what dehumanization leads to. The major powers today like the US have played an absolute negative role in blinding people of the real facts, victimizing Israel, and blaming everything on the military group in Palestine when those educated on this issue know that this began long before any military group was even found. PROPAGANDA OF THE WESTERN MAINSTREAM MEDIA AND ITS CONSEQUENCES Dehumanization has happened in the past and continues to happen today. However, as it becomes more and more common in today’s world, it has created hatred and prejudice in the hearts of those who believe everything they see online. An example of this is the landlord from Chicago who did not seem to have much knowledge of the ongoing conflict and based on watching the biased news, decided it would be fair to assault and stab a six-year-old boy who he once was friends with. This was motivated because of terms like ‘terrorists’ used against Muslims today which creates prejudice and therefore, such horrific actions take place. The mainstream media channels are equally blameworthy of the growing hatred for Muslims in North America. The power of spreading the word that these channels have, and yet the way they utilize it shows that there is a false narrative they try to promote rather than speaking up for humanity and what’s morally right. They have played a very unfair and depraved role in justifying Israel’s role in the conflict. Therefore, the ignorant 71-year-old man from Chicago decided as he expressed his rage “You Muslims must die!” to claim the life of an innocent child only because of his religion and background. Such heinous crimes will continue against any group of people as long as the propaganda and the spread of false news continues. This is the power of mainstream media today, although sadly, it’s not put to good use. Imagine these channels using their voices as humanitarian aid for the victims of injustice around the world without any bias; the world around us would be quite different. THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA Despite the extremely biased coverage by Western channels, the horrific situation in Palestine has not remained hidden. The journalists in Palestine who cover everything they see, despite knowing they are not safe, do it for the sake of awareness and humanity. The circulation of the compoundly injured babies, the helplessness of those who’ve lost all their families, the city completely reduced to rubble, the scarceness of basic necessities like food and medicine, shows the nature of people who commit crimes and believe themselves to be entitled to doing whatever they please. This clearly is a way of making the group feel weaker and worthless, in an attempt to maintain control over the land. But there has and always will be hope. The journalists working day and night to cover every aspect of the siege in the city of Gaza have shown us what it means to be a true hero amidst many of those so-called leaders whose conscience is clearly dead. By far, the change we see in society today in terms of many people rising for Palestine is due to the power of social media. If it weren’t for Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and similar apps the world would be very much oblivious to the atrocities taking place today. The growing awareness we see today is credited to the honest, hardworking, selfless journalists putting their lives on the line to show the world what is being slid behind the curtains by the mainstream media. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS PROPOSED TODAY Knowing what has happened in the previous years regarding constant oppression and siege of the natives (Palestinians) forced out of their own land, a long-lasting solution relies on a fair decision or a truce that has both sides satisfied and happy, an idea most people propose. This idea of ‘both’ sides getting what they want is usually supported by those who don’t truly understand the history of Zionism. Any sensible human sees that a maximalist concept was the initiator of such constant wars and struggles that have resulted in the loss of many human lives. Therefore, because Zionists are culpable of initiating the constant injustice on Palestinians by usurpation of their land, in any way disregarding that they had rights over their homeland, shows that this was a complete violation of humanitarian laws. Today, restoring the entire region as a state of Palestine should be the focus of discussion. This does not necessarily mean that the Jews can not live alongside Palestinians, as we recall, there was a time in history when a minority of Jews were already living in Palestine peacefully. However, it is the extreme idea of Zionism that has been the source of non-stop killings and oppression that needs to be condemned. There have been many attempts in the past by the United Nations to split the land into an Israel and a Palestinian state. But again, the corruptive nature of Zionism has been the cause of the growing fury in Israel regarding gaining control over the entire land. This idea isn’t only absurd but also completely refutes the concept of a just system. It is also crucial to note that the countries that have constantly aided, encouraged, and supported Israel in its oppression are just as much to be blamed as Israel. These nations are most of the Western powers. The weapons, tanks, and arms provided to the Israeli forces have caused constant bloodshed and blinded people into thinking that such actions are only taking place because Israel is defending itself. The ongoing genocide being supported by Western powers needs to be condemned. No human ever deserves to be treated as though they are not worthy of peace and freedom. As an endnote, I would like to remind us all to continue to remember the people of Palestine in our prayers, and as God has promised, He is not unaware and those who spread tyranny will face the consequences. REFERENCES Damen, R. (2013). Al-Nakba: The History of Palestine since 1799-Palestine Remix. Al-Jazeera. Retrieved from https://remix.aljazeera.com/aje/PalestineRemix/al-nakba.html#/17 (October 20, 2023). Lethal combination of hunger and disease to lead to more deaths in Gaza 21 December 2023 Statement Geneva Reading time: 2 min (582 words) العربية 中文 Français Русский Español Hunger is ravaging Gaza, and this is expected to increase illness across the Strip, most acutely among children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, and older people. In new estimates released today, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) global partnership, which includes WHO, said Gaza is facing “catastrophic levels of food insecurity,” with the risk of famine “increasing each day.” An unprecedented 93% of the population in Gaza is facing crisis levels of hunger, with insufficient food and high levels of malnutrition. At least 1 in 4 households are facing “catastrophic conditions”: experiencing an extreme lack of food and starvation and having resorted to selling off their possessions and other extreme measures to afford a simple meal. Starvation, destitution and death are evident. On recent missions to north Gaza, WHO staff say that every single person they spoke to in Gaza is hungry. Wherever they went, including hospitals and emergency wards, people asked them for food. “We move around Gaza delivering medical supplies and people rush to our trucks hoping it’s food,” they said, calling it “an indicator of the desperation.” Infectious diseases are thriving Gaza is already experiencing soaring rates of infectious diseases. Over 100 000 cases of diarrhoea have been reported since mid-October. Half of these are among young children under the age of 5 years, case numbers that are 25 times what was reported before the conflict. Over 150 000 cases of upper respiratory infection, and numerous cases of meningitis, skin rashes, scabies, lice and chickenpox have been reported. Hepatitis is also suspected as many people present with the tell-tale signs of jaundice. While a healthy body can more easily fight off these diseases, a wasted and weakened body will struggle. Hunger weakens the body’s defences and opens the door to disease. Malnutrition increases the risk of children dying from illnesses like diarrhoea, pneumonia and measles, especially in a setting where they lack access to life-saving health services. Even if the child survives, wasting can have life-long impacts as it stunts growth and impairs cognitive development. Breastfeeding mothers are also at high risk of malnutrition. From 0-6 months of age, a mother’s milk is the best and safest food a baby can get. This protects the child from nutritional deficiencies and catching deadly diseases such as diarrhoea, especially when access to safe drinking water is extremely limited. Mental health issues, on the rise across the population in Gaza, including among women, could further impact breastfeeding rates. Lack of sanitation and hygiene, and a collapsing health system, add to the toxic mix Over 1.9 million people have been displaced from their homes, of whom over 1.4 million are staying in overcrowded shelters. These conditions are ripe for a continued rise in infectious diseases. In Gaza today, on average, there is only one shower for every 4500 people and one toilet for every 220. Clean water remains scarce and there are rising levels of outdoor defecation. These conditions make the spread of infectious diseases inevitable. Tragically, access to health services across Gaza has plummeted as the war continues to degrade the health system. With the health system on its knees, those facing the deadly combination of hunger and disease are left with few options. The people of Gaza, who have already suffered enough, now face death from starvation and diseases that could be easily treated with a functioning health system. This must stop. Food and other aid must flow in far greater amounts. WHO reiterates its call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Media Contacts WHO Media Team Email: mediainquiries@who.int Related IPC Special Brief on acute food insecurity in the Gaza Strip Conflict in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory News WHO delivers health supplies to Al-Shifa Hospital, appeals for continued access to address urgent needs in north Gaza 17 December 2023 WHO calls for protection of humanitarian space in Gaza following serious incidents in high-risk mission to transfer patients, deliver health supplies 12 December 2023Fact sheets Malnutrition 20 December 2023 Regions সংক্রমণ ছড়িয়ে পড়ার আশঙ্কা ফাঙ্গাল ইনফেকশনে ইসরায়েলি সেনার মৃত্যু গাজায় আহত ইসরায়েলি সেনাদের মধ্যে ফাঙ্গাল ইনফেকশনে আক্রান্ত হওয়ার সংখ্যা বাড়ছে। ছবি: সংগৃহীত আপডেটেড ২৮ ডিসেম্বর, ২০২৩ ০৭:১৬ দৈনিক বাংলা ডেস্ক প্রকাশিত ২৮ ডিসেম্বর, ২০২৩ ০৭:১৬ গাজায় স্থল অভিযানে গিয়ে মারাত্মকভাবে আহত একজন ইসরায়েলি সেনা ফাঙ্গাল ইনফেকশনে আক্রান্ত হয়ে মারা গেছেন। এ ছাড়া আহত আরও ১০ সেনা একই ধরনের সংক্রমণে ভুগছেন। এমন পরিস্থিতিতে গাজার সংক্রমিত রোগগুলো ইসরায়েলি বেসামরিক নাগরিকদের মধ্যেও ব্যাপকভাবে ছড়িয়ে পড়ার আশঙ্কা দেখা দিয়েছে। ফলে ইসরায়েলে আতঙ্ক দেখা দিয়েছে। ফাঙ্গাল ইনফেকশন বা ছত্রাক সংক্রমণের কারণে মঙ্গলবার ওই সেনার মৃত্যুর পর বিশেষজ্ঞদের বরাত দিয়ে ‘টাইমস অব ইসরায়েল’ এ আশঙ্কা প্রকাশ করেছে। পত্রিকাটি জানিয়েছে, দুই সপ্তাহ আগে আহত ওই সেনাকে ইসরায়েলের অ্যাশদোদ শহরের একটি সামরিক হাসপাতালে ভর্তি করা হয়। ২৪ ঘণ্টা নিবিড় পর্যবেক্ষণ এবং অতি উচ্চমাত্রার অ্যান্টিবায়োটিক দিয়েও ওই সেনার শরীরের ছত্রাক সংক্রমণ দূর করা যায়নি এবং শেষ পর্যন্ত তার মৃত্যু হয়েছে। সামরিক চিকিৎসকরা তার মৃত্যুর সঠিক কারণ এখনো নিরূপণ করতে পারেননি। তবে তারা এ বিষয়টি নিশ্চিত করেছেন যে, গাজা থেকে আহত অবস্থায় ফিরে যাওয়া সেনাদের মধ্যে এ ধরনের বিচ্ছিন্ন কিছু ফাঙ্গাল ইনফেকশনের ঘটনা ধরা পড়েছে। তবে বেসামরিক চিকিৎসা বিশেষজ্ঞরা ‘টাইমস অব ইসরায়েল’কে বলেছেন, মারাত্মক ওই সংক্রমণ যতটা বিচ্ছিন্ন বলে দাবি করা হচ্ছে ততটা বিচ্ছিন্ন নয়, বরং গাজা থেকে ফেরত আসা বহু আহত সেনার মধ্যে একই লক্ষণ দেখা যাচ্ছে। ইসরায়েলের হাসপাতালগুলো বলেছে, গাজা ফেরত আহত সেনাদের শরীরে মারাত্মক অ্যান্টিবায়োটিক্যাল-রেসিস্ট্যান্ট ইনফেকশন ধরা পড়ছে। অর্থাৎ কোনো অ্যান্টিবায়োটিক প্রয়োগ করেই তাদের শরীরের সংক্রমণ প্রতিহত করা যাচ্ছে না। ইসরায়েলি মহামারি বিশেষজ্ঞ অধ্যাপক নাদাভ ডেভিডোভিচ বলেছেন, যেসব কারণে এই সংক্রমণ ঘটছে তার মধ্যে প্রধান কারণ গাজার দূষিত মাটি। বেন-গুরিয়ন বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের এই অধ্যাপক অবশ্য বলেন, গাজাবাসীর মধ্যে ছড়িয়ে পড়া অসুস্থতার তুলনায় ইসরায়েলি সেনাদের মধ্যে আক্রান্তের হার এখনো কম। ইসরায়েলের ভয়াবহ আগ্রাসনে গাজা উপত্যকার বিশাল অংশ ধ্বংস হয়েছে এবং প্রায় ২০ লাখ মানুষ বাস্তুচ্যুত হয়েছে। ফলে ধ্বংসস্তূপের মধ্যে ও শরণার্থী শিবিরগুলোতে বসবাসরত ফিলিস্তিনিদের জন্য মানবিক বিপর্যয় তৈরি হয়েছে। গাজাবাসীর পর্যাপ্ত খাবার, সুপেয় পানি ও পয়ঃনিষ্কাশনের ব্যবস্থা নেই। ফলে তাদের মধ্যে ছড়িয়ে পড়া নানা ধরনের সংক্রমিত রোগ গাজায় যুদ্ধরত হাজার হাজার ইসরায়েলি সেনার স্বাস্থ্যকে বিপদাপন্ন করে তুলছে। টাইমস অব ইসরায়েল বলছে, শেষ পর্যন্ত ইসরায়েলি সেনাদের মাধ্যমে এসব রোগ ইসরায়েলের গণস্বাস্থ্য ব্যবস্থাকে ঝুঁকির মধ্যে ফেলবে বলে আশঙ্কা করা হচ্ছে। https://www.dainikbangla.com.bd/international/36926 WHO Director-General end of 2023 message: Keeping the hope for health alive WHO Media Unsubscribe Tue, Dec 26, 5:24 PM (13 hours ago) to me No images? Click here Tuesday, 26 December 2023 Year-end video and message WHO Director-General end of 2023 message: Keeping the hope for health alive By Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General Geneva, 26 December -- 2023 was a year of milestones and challenges in global public health. In May, I declared an end to COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern. This marked a turning point for the world following three years of crisis, pain and loss for people everywhere. I am glad to see that life has returned to normal. WHO also announced the M-POX outbreak no longer represented a global health emergency. And we approved new vaccines for malaria, dengue and meningitis, diseases that threaten millions around the world, mainly the most vulnerable. Azerbaijan, Tajikistan and Belize were declared malaria free, and a range of neglected tropical diseases were eliminated in multiple countries, including sleeping sickness in Ghana, trachoma in Benin, Mali and Iraq, and lymphatic filariasis in Bangladesh and Lao. The path to eradicating another vaccine-preventable disease – polio – has reached its last mile. Thirty more countries introduced the HPV vaccine as the world advances toward eliminating cervical cancer. The need to address the health impacts of the climate crisis were elevated to the highest political levels, with governments, scientists and advocates putting health, for the first time, prominently on the COP28 agenda, and issuing a global declaration on climate and health. Heads of State at the United Nations General Assembly committed to advance universal health coverage, end tuberculosis and protect the world from future pandemics. Each of these achievements, and many more, demonstrated the power of science, solutions and solidarity to protect and promote health. But 2023 has also been a year of immense and avoidable suffering and threats to health. The barbaric attacks by Hamas on Israel on the 7th of October left around 1300 people dead and over 200 taken hostage. Reports of gender-based violence and mistreatment of hostages are deplorable. This was followed by the unleashing of a devastating attack on Gaza, which has killed more than 20,000 people – mainly women and children – and injured over 53,000. At the same time, hospitals and health workers have been repeatedly attacked, while relief efforts are not coming close to meeting the needs of people. As of 22 December, only 9 of 36 health facilities in Gaza were partially functional, with only four offering the most basic of services in the north. For this reason, we call again for an immediate cease-fire. War and armed hostilities, sadly, have plagued too many other locations around the world, including Sudan, Ukraine, Ethiopia and Myanmar, to name but a few. I saw first-hand the suffering of war-weary people in North-West Syria who, like communities I also visited in neighbouring Türkiye, were devastated by the terrible earthquake in February. Without peace, there is no health, and without health there can be no peace. Insecurity, poverty and lack of access to clean water and hygiene fanned the spread of infectious diseases in many countries. The resurgence of cholera is especially concerning, with a record number of 40-plus outbreaks around the world. And in terms of emergency preparedness and response, gaps remain in the world’s readiness to prevent the next pandemic. But 2024 offers a unique opportunity to address these gaps. Governments are negotiating the first-ever global agreement to protect communities, countries and the world from the threat posed by pandemics. The Pandemic Accord is being designed to bridge the gaps in global collaboration, cooperation and equity. The Accord, and plans to strengthen the International Health Regulations, represent monumental actions by governments to create a safer and healthier world. And as WHO closes out our 75th year as the “world’s” health organization, I extend by my sincere gratitude to health workers, partners, and WHO colleagues, on our shared journey to achieve Health for All. Lastly, during this holiday season, I am sure that everyone will join me in hoping that the New Year will bring peace, health and prosperity for all people around the world. Related links Please see below a link to an end of year video by the WHO Director-General on the milestones and global challenges in public health in 2023 Canto link: https://who.canto.global/b/NDSSB Story: Global health achievements 2023 (who.int) Media contact: mediainquiries@who.int You are receiving this NO-REPLY email because you are included on a WHO mail list. If you have been forwarded this update you can click here to subscribe. Journalists may send feedback to WHO Media Team Home News releases Gaza grapples with catastrophic hunger as new report predicts famine if conflict continues 21 December 2023 Gaza grapples with catastrophic hunger as new report predicts famine if conflict continues ROME – More than one in four households in Gaza currently face extreme hunger, and there is a risk of famine unless access to adequate food, clean water, health and sanitation services is restored, according to a new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report released today. IPC is a multi-stakeholder platform that analyses data to determine the severity and magnitude of hunger crises, according to internationally-recognized scientific standards. Displaced people WFP/Arete/Abood al Sayd Displaced families are packed into a school in Gaza. Photo: WFP/Arete/Abood al Sayd This latest food security analysis for Gaza, which includes data from the World Food Programme (WFP), other UN agencies and non-governmental organizations, confirmed that the entire population of Gaza – roughly 2.2 million people – are in crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity. The IPC report further highlighted that 26 percent of Gazans (576,600 people) have exhausted their food supplies and coping capacities and face catastrophic hunger (IPC Phase 5) and starvation. “WFP has warned of this coming catastrophe for weeks. Tragically, without the safe, consistent access we have been calling for, the situation is desperate, and no one in Gaza is safe from starvation.” said WFP’s Executive Director Cindy McCain. According to the IPC, there is a risk of famine occurring within the next six months if the current situation of intense conflict and restricted humanitarian access persists. From earlier assessments, WFP food security experts had already established that Gazans have used up all their resources, livelihoods have collapsed, bakeries are destroyed, shops are empty, and families can’t find food. People told WFP staff that they often go entire days without eating and that many adults go hungry so that children can eat. “These are not just numbers – there are individual children, women and men behind these alarming statistics,” said WFP Chief Economist Arif Husain. “The complexity, magnitude and speed that this crisis has unfolded is unprecedented.” More emergency food and multi-sectoral assistance is essential to prevent wide-spread deaths. The recent seven-day pause highlighted that WFP and partners can provide assistance when the conditions allow, and the re-opening of the Kerem Shalom border crossing sets the stage for more food and other relief supplies to flow into Gaza, which needs to continue and accelerate with additional border crossings and operating conditions inside Gaza that allow for safe and orderly deliveries to all people in need. “We cannot stand by and watch people starve. Humanitarian access is needed now for supplies to flow into and throughout Gaza and for civilians to safely receive life-saving aid,” said McCain. “More than anything, what is needed now is peace. WFP reiterates the call for a humanitarian ceasefire - the world must come together now to save lives.” Note to Editors: Read the IPC Report here. Photos available via this link. Broadcast quality video available here. For interviews please contact WFP.Media@wfp.org # # # The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. Follow us on Twitter @wfp_media TOPICS rticle on Gaza Tragedy 2023 WHAT MUSLIMS CAN LEARN FROM THE STATE OF ISRAEL “For evil-doers there will be no helpers” (Quran, 2:270) TMV TEAM 13TH DECEMBER 2023 As we continue to watch a genocidal war unfold before our very eyes, let us also take this as an opportunity to learn from the state of Israel – not about terrorism (which it is using as a tactic), not about genocide (which it is conducting), or about war (which it is abusing), but instead about what we can learn as a community of Muslims. Yes, there really is evil in this world While this statement may sound obvious, it is also extremely important for us to understand as Muslims. As we watch Israel bomb to death thousands of children, babies, and civilians, it reminds us that despite the comfort of our daily lives that many of us are sheltered in, there is evil in this world. Nothing but evil conducts a war in which children are killed indiscriminately, and innocent civilians are denied food, water, and power. But we need to use this knowledge, that evil is really present in our world, to better arm ourselves with faith and goodness. It makes it even more imperative on the ordinary Muslim to stand up against evil and stand with the good. “For evil-doers there will be no helpers” (Quran, 2:270) Trauma and pain can turn to destruction and hate Many of the politicians in the Israeli government, who openly call for genocide and hate, come from grandparents who survived the Holocaust – the very people who survived a campaign of genocide and hate are looking down on grandchildren who are now doing the very same thing. We must tread carefully as a Muslim community as well – in a world rampant with Islamophobia, it can be very easy to turn our frustration, anger, and trauma into hatred and revenge. We must stay true to our faith, and take the state of Israel as an example of what evil can happen from a faithless approach to revenge and trauma. “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do” (Quran, 5:8) Solidarity with our brothers and sisters really does matter As Israel continues to openly conduct a genocidal war, we are also witnessing at the same time massive solidarity across the world with the Palestinian people. Solidarity has never been more important, and as Muslims, we must never forget that our strength comes from our ability to stay strong as a community. If we cannot stand with our brothers and sisters in Palestine, and if we cannot care about Muslims who are suffering under open oppression, then we cannot call ourselves Muslims as well. “And hold firmly together to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favour upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so you — by His grace — became brothers” (Quran, 3:103) Allah comes before any government or society Our world leaders and politicians have been disgraceful for the most part – openly embracing Israel with little regard to the thousands of innocent Palestinian civilians killed. It is clear that our governments, most of our media outlets, and those in powerful positions do not care about evil versus good, about standing up for the oppressed, or about ensuring justice. This is a stark reminder to us all – especially as Muslims – that we live in this temporary world as a test, and we must never forget that our true loyalty, and our only loyalty, should be to Allah and to Allah alone. No other government, politician, or society will ever replace Allah as the leader of our hearts and souls. “Say, ‘Never will we be struck except by what Allah has decreed for us; He is our protector.’ And upon Allah let the believers rely” (Quran, 9:51) And finally, despite everything, there really is good worth fighting for in this world Israel has taught us that there really is evil in this world. But with evil, there must also be goodness. As Muslims, we must never forget that it is worth it to fight for good, that is is our duty to enjoin in goodness, and that we must always strive to serve Allah with the hope that we will be on the right side of history. Let this be a reminder that our duty as Muslims is to be good, for to truly believe in Allah means to truly be good. “Is the reward for good [anything] but good? So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?” (Quran, 55:60-61)