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BERICHTEN NA 30-04-2025 STAAN HIER

15. Ospaca Nieuwsdienst

31 mei 2025

Internationaal recht en Israël’s Terreurregime in Gaza

Ingevolge  Dr. M. Reza Behnam c.s.

Terwijl de wereld toekijkt, vindt een van de grootste misdaden in de geschiedenis plaats. Passiviteit, medeplichtigheid en stilzwijgen tegenover genocide hebben het Palestijnse volk onvoorstelbaar leed berokkend. Geen enkele definitieve afrekening of compensatie voor het Palestijnse volk in Gaza zal ooit opwegen tegen de omvang en de ernst van de gruwelijke misdaden van Israël.

Niettemin is het onvermijdelijk dat er een definitieve afrekening zal komen voor degenen die een klimaat hebben gecreëerd waarin een lid van het Israëlische parlement zich gesterkt voelde om te pochen: “Iedereen is eraan gewend geraakt dat je in één nacht 100 Gazanen kunt doden... En niemand in de wereld geeft er iets om.” Het is dan ook hoog tijd om ondubbelzinnig vast te stellen dat Israël het Palestijnse volk sinds zijn onafhankelijkheidsverklaring in 1948 terroriseert en dat de VS en zijn westerse bondgenoten, door hun overweldigende steun aan Israël, actief hebben deelgenomen aan die terreur. Tot nu toe, nu al 76 jaar lang, zijn zij daarmee doorgegaan. Tot op de dag van heden.

Wat betreft de niet-aflatende stroom van Israëlisch geweld tegen het Palestijnse volk, die al vele, vele decennia aanhoudt, richt Israël ook voortdurend zijn extra pijlen op Palestijnse gewapende tegenmaatregelen. Dit gebeurt dan onder het motto dat gewelddadige gewapende tegenaanvallen van  bijvoorbeeld, - zoals ook hier het geval is - Palestijnse verzetsstrijders, zouden moeten behoren  tot een nieuwe juridische categorie van terroristische misdadigheid, die wordt omschreven als “binnenlands terrorisme”.  En waar komt deze nieuw tot stand gebrachte strafrechtscategorie nu dan wel vandaan? Die is in de eerste plaats door VS in het leven geroepen. Het gaat hier dan echter wél  alleen om terreurdaden in de VS.  Niet voor niets wordt hier immers gesproken van een rechtscategorie die hier louter betrekking heeft op “binnenlands terrorisme”. En dat wil dan zeggen dat deze wetgeving alleen betrekking heeft op binnenlandse rechtsaangelegenheden in de VS.

Maar het is Israël dat hier niettemin een dergelijke wetgeving heeft geüsurpeerd. Dit echter niet om binnenlands terrorism in Israël een kopje kleiner te kunnen maken, heeft Israël een dergelijke wetgeving  juist ook gekaapt van de VS om die tegen de Palestijnen te kunnen inzetten. En dit dan vooral tegen de Palestijnen in de geroofde Palestijnse gebieden. Op deze manier probeert Israël de gewapende tegenacties van Palestijnse verzetsstrijders tegen de eindeloze stroom van oorlogsmisdaden en misdaden tegen de menselijkheid van Israel niet alleen in diskrediet te kunnen brengen. Maar zelfs als de grootst denkbare terreur te kunnen  te kunnen afstraffen.

Maar natuurlijk kan nieuwe nationale wetgeving door een staat niet zomaar worden ingevoerd als deze in strijd is met internationale wetgeving. Die is immers al goedgekeurd en vastgelegd door de betrokken staten!

Met betrekking tot deze Amerikaanse nationale wetgeving inzake dit “binnenlandse terrorisme” definieert de Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington de inhoud hiervan aldus, namelijk “Gewelddadige, criminele daden gepleegd door individuen en/of groepen [regimes] om ideologische doelen te bereiken die voortvloeien uit binnenlandse invloeden van politieke, religieuze, sociale, raciale of ecologische aard.”

Deze wetgeving kan echter alleen maar van toepassing zijn op het nationale recht van de VS. Of is het alleen al deze reden dat deze nieuwe wetgeving dus totaal ongeldig  is als het om Israël gaat. Voor zover het daar niet  een “binnenlands terrorisme” betreft.

Maar dit is niet de enige juridische grond waarom de Palestijnen en Palestina bij gewapend verzet  voor vrijheid en onafhankelijkheid door Israël en de VS niet als terroristisch kunnen worden geoordeeld.  

Want bovenal geldt hier natuurlijk het volgende! Het beeld dat Israël herhaaldelijk en ten onrechte aan alle volkeren op aarde voorhoudt, is dat gewapend verzet van Palestijnse strijders tegen Israël ipso facto alleen als “terrorisme” kan worden aangemerkt. Dit is echter niets minder dan een flagrante leugen. Deze leugen kan alleen worden verkondigd door mensen die vijandig staan tegenover het Palestijnse volk en zijn vrijheidsstrijders.

Maar laten we eerst terugkeren naar de wreedheden waaraan de Palestijnen door Israël al een mensenleven lang worden blootgesteld. Zo hebben de mainstream media in de hele westerse wereld kritiekloos aanvaard dat de regering gewapend Palestijns verzet tegen de Israëlische bezetting bestempelt als “terrorisme” en nationale bevrijdingsgroeperingen zoals de Islamitische Verzetsbeweging (Hamas) als terroristische organisaties.

Door het Palestijnse verzet gelijk te stellen aan terrorisme, hebben de Westerse mainstream media en politici de weg vrijgemaakt voor de autoriteiten om de beschuldiging van “steun aan terrorisme” te gebruiken om afwijkende meningen te onderdrukken en pro-Palestijnse demonstranten te arresteren.

Academici en activisten, zoals de Columbia-student Mahmoud Khalil, die meer dan twee maanden zonder proces in een detentiecentrum in Louisiana werd vastgehouden, zijn gearresteerd op grond van het feit dat zij een bedreiging vormen voor het buitenlands beleid en de veiligheid van de VS. In werkelijkheid was Khalils “misdaad” dat hij opkwam voor de waarheid en voor Palestina.

Met wat basisonderzoek hadden de Westerse mainstream media en politici al snel kunnen achterhalen dat juist ook gewapend verzet tegen bezetting van de Palestijnse gebieden volkomen in overeenstemming is met het internationaal recht.  En daarin ook rotsvast is vastgelegd in het internationaal recht. Het zijn het Vierde Verdrag van Genève van 1949 en het Eerste Aanvullend Protocol die expliciet het legitieme recht van de bezette bevolking bevestigen om zich tegen de bezetting te verzetten als onderdeel van het recht op zelfbeschikking. Verzet omvat gewapende strijd in situaties van koloniale overheersing, buitenlandse bezetting en tegen racistische regimes. De Aanvullende Protocollen van 1977 bij het Verdrag geven ook wettelijke legitimiteit aan het “gebruik van wapens door nationale bevrijdingsbewegingen”.

Bovendien zouden deze Westerse media en politici hebben ontdekt dat de Algemene Vergadering van de VN talrijke resoluties heeft aangenomen waarin de legitimiteit van gewapend verzet als middel voor onderdrukte volkeren om zelfbeschikking en onafhankelijkheid te bereiken, wordt erkend.

Israël is een koloniaal, buitenlands en racistisch regime dat het Palestijnse volk al acht decennia lang op brute wijze onderdrukt, en verzet daartegen is, gewoonweg, gerechtvaardigd volgens het internationaal recht.

De Palestijnse opstand had ook anders kunnen worden begrepen als de media vergelijkbare gevallen hadden gepresenteerd, zoals de opstand in het getto van Warschau in 1943 – een historische daad van Joods verzet tegen de nazi-bezetters tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Vandaag de dag zou het moeilijk zijn om iemand te vinden die de rechtvaardigheid of legitimiteit van die opstand in twijfel trekt, zoals dat ook het geval is met de opstand van 7 oktober.

Tijdens de nazi-bezetting van Polen in 1939 begonnen de Duitse autoriteiten bijvoorbeeld met de concentratie van naar schatting drie miljoen Joden in Polen in een aantal overbevolkte getto's in steden verspreid over het hele land. In het afgesloten getto van Warschau werden ongeveer 350.000 mensen ondergebracht in een dichtbevolkt gebied van drie kilometer binnen de stad.

Joden die niet waren omgekomen door ziekte, honger of deportatie naar vernietigingskampen, vochten terug tegen de laatste poging van nazi-Duitsland om hen naar de vernietigingskampen te transporteren. Hoewel ze beseften dat overwinning en overleving onwaarschijnlijk waren, weigerden ze zich over te geven. Na 29 dagen vechten werden 13.000 Joden uit Warschau en 17 Duitse soldaten gedood. Nadat de nazi-bezetters het hele getto hadden verwoest, was hun laatste daad het opblazen van de historische synagoge van Warschau, gebouwd in 1878.

De Joodse strijders wisten heel goed wat het resultaat van hun verzet zou zijn. Ze kozen er echter voor om zelf te bepalen hoe ze zouden sterven: in Treblinka of in verzet.

Na jaren van vernedering kozen ook Palestijnse verzetsstrijders ervoor om te ontsnappen uit het onmenselijke getto waar ze 58 jaar lang gegijzeld waren gehouden. Hoewel ook zij wisten dat ze tegenover een machtig, wreed leger stonden, kozen ze voor een “opstand in het getto van Gaza” in plaats van een eindeloze onderdrukkende opsluiting.

Nu Israël elke dag dichter bij het bereiken van zijn lang gekoesterde doel komt, namelijk zoveel Palestijnen doden als de zogenaamde 'beschaafde wereld' toestaat, is het van cruciaal belang te benadrukken dat volgens het internationaal recht volkeren onder koloniale of buitenlandse bezetting het legitieme recht hebben om met gewapend verzet te strijden voor hun vrijheid en soevereiniteit.

Als de opstand van oktober meteen al zou zijn geplaatst in het kader van het internationaal recht, zou de perceptie wellicht anders zijn geweest en zou het geweld van de afgelopen 19 maanden misschien niet hebben plaatsgevonden. Het belangrijkste is dat 68.000 Palestijnen niet zouden zijn afgeslacht en dat het oude Gaza nu geen ecologisch verwoeste woestenij zou zijn.

Het is essentieel te erkennen dat Palestina een van de weinige landen ter wereld is dat nog steeds onder directe militaire bezetting en koloniaal bewind staat. Onder auspiciën van de nieuw opgerichte Verenigde Naties droeg Groot-Brittannië in 1948 officieel zijn koloniale mandaat in Palestina over aan het regime in Tel Aviv. Sindsdien heeft Israël nooit afstand gedaan van zijn plan om heel het historische Palestina te veroveren en te controleren en de inheemse bevolking met geweld te verdrijven en uit te roeien.

Daarnaast moet aandacht worden besteed aan het advies van het Internationaal Gerechtshof  (ICJ) van 19 juli 2024, waarin wordt gesteld dat Israël de Palestijnse gebieden (de Westelijke Jordaanoever, Oost-Jeruzalem en Gaza) illegaal bezet en geen soevereiniteit over deze gebieden heeft. Het Hof heeft Israël ook veroordeeld tot beëindiging van de bezetting, tot het staken van de bouw van nieuwe nederzettingen, tot ontruiming van bestaande nederzettingen en tot volledige schadevergoeding aan de Palestijnse slachtoffers, en heeft het recht van de Palestijnen op zelfbeschikking opnieuw bevestigd.

Israël heeft echter zijn geweld alleen maar opgevoerd sinds het arrest van het Internationaal Gerechtshof en nadat de Algemene Vergadering van de VN met overweldigende meerderheid een resolutie heeft aangenomen tot uitvoering van het advies van het Hof.

In resolutie ES-10/24 eiste de Algemene Vergadering dat Israël binnen twaalf maanden na de aanneming van de resolutie (18 september 2024) zijn illegale aanwezigheid in de bezette Palestijnse gebieden onverwijld beëindigt en zijn verplichtingen uit hoofde van het internationaal recht nakomt.

Het internationaal recht staat onmiskenbaar aan de kant van Palestina. Niettemin hebben wettelijke bepalingen Israël er niet van weerhouden Palestijnse verzetsleiders te vermoorden en bommen van duizend pond op niet-strijders te gooien om één man te doden.

Verzet is het recht van de onderdrukten. Mahmoud Kahlil heeft dat recht en de Palestijnen die waren, zijn en zullen zijn, op welsprekende wijze verwoord in een brief aan zijn pasgeboren zoon:

 “De strijd voor de bevrijding van Palestina is geen last, maar een plicht en een eer die we met trots dragen. Dus op elk keerpunt in mijn leven zul je zien dat ik voor Palestina kies. De tirannen willen dat we ons onderwerpen . Maar we zijn vrij en we zullen vrij blijven.”

Tot slot hier nog nogmaals het volgende. Regels van internationaal  recht en internationaal humanitair recht, eenmaal aanvaard vanuit de brede wereldgemeenschap, kunnen niet zomaar even aan de wilgen worden gehangen door nationale wetgevingsinstanties. Indien dat nationale staten, die zich nu eenmaal aan deze regels hebben gecommitteerd,  op een bepaald moment politiek beter uitkomt. Vele regels van internationaal en internationaal  humanitair recht, alsmede zelfs hele  overkoepelende juridische bouwwerken, hebben bovendien nog een uitgesproken status van “ius cogens” – dat wil zeggen een statuur van “dwingend recht”, waaraan staten mede gebonden zijn. ook als zij zich daarvoor nimmer hebben uitgesproken.

Of hebben zelfs de nog verder strekkende  status van “erga omnes”, wat staat voor “jegens allen”  – hetgeen betekent dat, ongeacht wat de nationale staten ieder voor zich wensen of niet wensen, op een bepaald juridisch betrokken gebied van grote internationale importantie, niettemin op alle staten in wereld die lid zijn van de Verenigde Naties, zonder meer de verplichting rust om zich, willens of juist helemaal niet , in alle gevallen  in te spannen om een  gesteld  doel van grote internationaalrechtelijke importantie te realiseren.

Een dergelijke “erga omnes”- verklaring is, tot op heden, een zeer zeldzame gebeurtenis. Niettemin is, juist ook met betrekking tot de Palestijnse kwestie, in de zaak van de Israëlisch Muur op Palestijns grondgebied, zulk een toekenning van  een “ erga-omnes”-verklaring   door het Internationaal Gerechtshof (ICJ)  uitgesproken. En wel  de verordening dat alle staten van de Verenigde Naties een inspanningsverplichting op zich moeten nemen, ten einde het Palestijnse volk zo spoedig mogelijk de volledige status te geven van onafhankelijkheid.

Het is niettemin vooral ook de Staat der Nederlanden die, tot op heden – ondanks de juist ook nota bene  hier in Nederland, als gastland,  uitgesproken erga omnes-verklaring van het Internationaal Gerechtshof (ICJ) -  deze uitspraak volledig aan zijn laars lapt. En op die manier ook de Palestijnse onafhankelijkheid zo veel mogelijk blokkeert.

Het gedrag van de Nederlandse Staat is hiermee, waar het zelfs gaat om een zaak van de allerhoogste internationaal rechtelijke importantie zoals verwoord in de uitspraak van het Internationaal  Gerechtshof  (ICJ) met betrekking tot de Muur, van een politieke schofterigheid die zich met geen pen laat beschrijven. Mooie sier maken met Vredespaleis in Den Haag, dat is de Staat der Nederlanden wel toevertrouwd!  Maar de verrotting van het internationaal  recht, en vooral ook van het internationaal humanitair recht – een en ander in opdracht van de VS en Israël – vormt intussen mede hier te lande een totale afbreuk van de internationale rechtsorde, waar de politieke maffia in Den Haag zich geen lor van aantrekt. Zo wijst de recente geschiedenis uit.

15. OSPACA NIEUWSDIENST

(Engelse versie)

31 mei 2025 

International law and Israel's terror regime in Gaza

By Dr. M. Reza Behnam c.s.

While the world watches, one of the greatest crimes in history is taking place. Passivity, complicity and silence in the face of genocide have caused unimaginable suffering to the Palestinian people. No final reckoning or compensation for the Palestinian people in Gaza will ever be able to outweigh  the magnitude and gravity of Israel's horrific crimes.

Nevertheless, it is inevitable that there will be a final reckoning for those who have created a climate in which a member of the Israeli parliament felt emboldened to boast: “Everyone has become accustomed to the fact that you can kill 100 Gazans in one night... And no one in the world cares”. It is therefore high time to unequivocally establish that Israel has been terrorising the Palestinian people since its declaration of independence in 1948 and that the US and its Western allies, through their overwhelming support for Israel, have actively participated in that terror. They have continued to do so until now, for 76 years. To this very day.

As for the unrelenting stream of Israeli violence against the Palestinian people, which has been going on for many, many decades now, Israel also constantly directs its extra arrows at Palestinian armed countermeasures. This is done under the pretext that violent armed counterattacks by, for example, Palestinian resistance fighters, as is the case here, should be qualified as belonged  to a new legal category of terrorist crime, described as ‘domestic terrorism’.  And where does this newly created category of criminal law come from? It was first created by the US. However, it only applies to acts of terrorism in the US. It is not without reason that we are talking here about a legal category that relates solely to ‘domestic terrorism’. This means that this legislation only applies to domestic legal matters in the US.

But it is Israel  that has nevertheless usurped such legislation. However, this is not to curb domestic terrorism in Israel. Israel has hijacked such legislation from the US precisely to use it against the Palestinians. And this is especially against the Palestinians in the stolen Palestinian territories. In this way, Israel is trying not only to discredit the armed counteractions of Palestinian resistance fighters against the endless stream of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Israel. But even to punish the greatest conceivable terror.

But of course, new national legislation cannot simply be introduced by a state if it conflicts with international  law. After all, this has already endorsed and  enshrined  down by the states concerned!

With regard to this American national legislation on ‘domestic terrorism’, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington defines its content as follows: ‘Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups [regimes] to achieve ideological  goals arising from domestic influences of a political, religious, social, racial or environmental nature.’

However, this American legislation is not the only ground on which the Palestinians and Palestine cannot be judged  as terrorists by Israel  and the US. For above all, the following applies here, of course! The image that Israel, repeatedly and unjustly, presents to all people on earth is that armed resistance by Palestinian fighters against Israel  can ipso facto only be classified as ‘terrorism’. However, this  is nothing less than a blatant lie.

For itabove all, the following  growth of international law that, repeatedly and unjustly, presents to all peoples on earth that armed resistance by Palestinian fighters against Israel can ipso facto only be classified as ‘terrorism’. 

But let us first return to the atrocities to which the Palestinians have been subjected by Israel for a lifetime. For example, the mainstream media throughout the Western world have uncritically accepted that the government labels armed Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation as ‘terrorism’ and national liberation groups such as the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) as terrorist organisations.

By equating Palestinian resistance with terrorism, the Western mainstream media and politicians have paved the way for the authorities to use the accusation of ‘supporting terrorism’ to suppress dissenting opinions and arrest pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

Academics and activists -such as Columbia student Mahmoud Khalil, who was held for more than two months without trial in a detention centre in Louisiana, -have been arrested on the grounds that they pose a threat to US foreign policy and security. In reality, Khalil's ‘crime’ was that he stood up for the truth and for Palestine.

With some basic research, the Western mainstream media and politicians could have quickly discovered that armed resistance to the occupation of the Palestinian territories is entirely consistent with international law. It is also firmly established in international law. The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the First Additional Protocol explicitly confirm the legitimate right of the occupied population to resist occupation as part of the right to self-determination. Resistance includes armed struggle in situations of colonial domination, foreign occupation and against racist regimes. The 1977 Additional Protocols to the Convention also give legal legitimacy to the ‘use of arms by national liberation movements’.

Furthermore, these Western media and politicians would have discovered that the UN General Assembly has adopted numerous resolutions recognising the legitimacy of armed resistance as a means for oppressed peoples to achieve self-determination and independence.

Israel is a colonial, foreign and racist regime that has brutally oppressed the Palestinian people for eight decades, and resistance to it is, quite simply, justified under international law.

The Palestinian uprising could also have been understood differently if the media had presented similar cases, such as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 – a historic act of Jewish resistance against the Nazi occupiers during the Second World War. Today, it would be difficult to find anyone who questions the justice or legitimacy of that uprising, as is the case with the uprising of 7 October.

During the Nazi occupation of Poland in 1939, for example, the German authorities began concentrating an estimated three million Jews in Poland in a number of overcrowded ghettos in cities across the country. In the sealed-off Warsaw ghetto, approximately 350,000 people were housed in a densely populated area of three kilometres within the city.

Jews who had not died from disease, starvation or deportation to extermination camps fought back against Nazi Germany's final attempt to transport them to the extermination camps. Although they realised that victory and survival were unlikely, they refused to surrender. After 29 days of fighting, 13,000 Jews from Warsaw and 17 German soldiers were killed. After the Nazi occupiers had destroyed the entire ghetto, their final act was to blow up the historic Warsaw Synagogue, built in 1878.

The Jewish fighters knew very well what the outcome of their resistance would be. However, they chose to determine how they would die: in Treblinka or in resistance.

After years of humiliation, Palestinian resistance fighters also chose to escape from the inhumane ghetto where they had been held hostage for 58 years. Although they too knew they were facing a powerful, cruel army, they chose a ‘uprising in the Gaza ghetto’ rather than endless oppressive confinement.

Now that Israel is coming closer every day to achieving its long-cherished goal of killing as many Palestinians as the so-called ‘civilised world’ allows, it is crucial to emphasise that, under international law, peoples under colonial or foreign occupation have the legitimate right to fight for their freedom and sovereignty through armed resistance.

If the October uprising had been immediately placed within the framework of international law, perceptions might have been different and the violence of the past 19 months might not have occurred. Most importantly, 68,000 Palestinians would not have been slaughtered and ancient Gaza would not now be an ecologically devastated wasteland.

It is essential to recognise that Palestine is one of the few countries in the world that is still under direct military occupation and colonial rule. Under the auspices of the newly established United Nations, Great Britain officially transferred its colonial mandate in Palestine to the regime in Tel Aviv in 1948. Since then, Israel has never renounced its plan to conquer and control all of historic Palestine and to expel and exterminate the indigenous population by force.

In addition, attention must be paid to the opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of 19 July 2024, which states that Israel is illegally occupying the Palestinian territories (the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza) and has no sovereignty over these territories. The Court also ordered Israel to end the occupation, to cease the construction of new settlements, to evacuate existing settlements and to provide full compensation to Palestinian victims, and reaffirmed the right of the Palestinians to self-determination.

However, Israel has only escalated its violence since the International Court of Justice's ruling and after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution by an overwhelming majority to implement the Court's advisory opinion.

In resolution ES-10/24, the General Assembly demanded that Israel, within twelve months of the adoption of the resolution (18 September 2024), end its illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territories without delay and comply with its obligations under international law.

International law is unmistakably on the side of Palestine. Nevertheless, legal provisions have not prevented Israel from assassinating Palestinian resistance leaders and dropping thousand-pound bombs on non-combatants to kill one man.

Resistance is the right of the oppressed. Mahmoud Kahlil had that right, and the Palestinians who were, are and will be, eloquently expressed in a letter to his newborn son:

‘The struggle for the liberation of Palestine is not a burden, but a duty and an honour that we bear with pride. So at every turning point in my life, you will see that I choose Palestine. The tyrants want us to submit. But we are free and we will remain free.’

Finally, let me reiterate the following. Rules of international law and international humanitarian law, once accepted by the broad international community, cannot simply be discarded by national legislative bodies. Not even if it suits the political interests of national states that have committed themselves to these rules. Many rules of international and international humanitarian law, as well as entire legal structures, also have a distinct status of ‘ius cogens’ – that is, a status of ‘mandatory law’ to which states are bound, even if they have never expressly agreed to it.

Or even have the even more far-reaching status of ‘erga omnes’, which stands for ‘towards all’ – which means that, regardless of what individual states may or may not wish, in a particular area of law of major international importance, all states in the world that are members of the United Nations are unconditionally obliged, whether they wish to or not, to in all cases endeavour to achieve a specific objective of major importance under international law.

Such an ‘erga omnes’ declaration is, to date, a very rare occurrence. Nevertheless, precisely in relation to the Palestinian question, in the case of the Israeli Wall on Palestinian territory, such an ‘erga omnes’ declaration was issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Namely, the ruling that all states of the United Nations must undertake to make every effort to grant the Palestinian people full independence as soon as possible.

Nevertheless, it is primarily the State of the Netherlands which, to date – despite the erga omnes declaration of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which was pronounced here in the Netherlands, as the host country – completely disregards this ruling. In doing so, it also blocks Palestinian independence as much as possible.

The behaviour of the Dutch State in this matter, which is of the utmost importance in terms of international law, as expressed in the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the Wall, is politically reprehensible beyond words. The State of the Netherlands is well versed in making a good impression with the Peace Palace in The Hague! But the decay of international law, and especially of international humanitarian law – all on behalf of the US and Israel – is now also causing a total breakdown of the international legal order in this country, which the political mafia in The Hague couldn't care less about. Recent history shows this.

31 mei 2025

Today's headlines

The ‘chaos’ of aid distribution in Gaza is not a system failure. The system is designed to fail.

Israel is using the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to condense Palestinians into increasingly narrow enclaves, forcing displacement through need. We are witnessing the rise of a new humanitarianism where aid sites double as kill zones.

In Sarajevo, a ‘Gaza Tribunal’ seeks accountability amidst international failure to stop Gaza genocide

The Sarajevo Declaration of the Gaza Tribunal was released Thursday morning, following three days of public hearings at the International University of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. “We believe that the world is approaching a dangerous precipice, the front edge of which is in Palestine,” a People’s Tribunal on the Gaza genocide declared [...]

1423.

30 mei 2025

AJP Action Denounces President Trump’s Capitulation to Netanyahu and Continued Complicity in Gaza Genocide

Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action) condemns President Donald Trump for repeating the catastrophic failures of his predecessor, President Joe Biden, by once again allowing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to dictate U.S. foreign policy—at the cost of Palestinian lives and America’s moral standing.

Despite public posturing and rhetoric of “restraint,” the Trump administration has failed to restrain the genocidal Israeli regime. Instead, the President has continued the same destructive patterns that prolonged the genocide in Gaza under Biden: capitulating to Netanyahu, weakening ceasefire proposals, and allowing the Israeli Prime Minister to undermine the authority of the U.S. President openly.

Only recently, during President Trump’s visit to the Gulf states, the administration celebrated the release of American-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander as a diplomatic achievement and a step toward a broader ceasefire. But within hours, Israel shattered that progress by bombing al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, killing dozens, including children, and humiliating President Trump on the world stage.

This act of defiance came on the heels of revelations that then–National Security Adviser Michael Waltz had coordinated directly with Netanyahu behind the President’s back—advocating for a military strike on Iran, in direct contradiction to Trump’s diplomatic approach. This betrayal was not an isolated incident—it reflects a deeper reality: Netanyahu continues to manipulate and defy American presidents with impunity.

Now, Trump finds himself caught in the same trap that discredited Biden: proposing ceasefires that Israel ignores, supplying weapons that are used to bomb civilians, and calling for restraint as Israel escalates its assault. Trump once promised he wouldn’t be like Biden. Yet, a week after his “peace tour,” Gaza remains under siege, starving, and in ruins.

Instead of holding Netanyahu accountable, President Trump—like Biden before him—continues to chase a mirage of diplomacy while Palestinians are massacred and U.S. credibility is destroyed.

“President Trump is being played by Netanyahu just as Biden was. The Israeli government has made it clear it will sabotage any American-led peace effort that gets in the way of its genocidal war,” said Dr. Osama Abu Irshaid, Executive Director of AJP Action.

“The bombing of a hospital during Trump’s ceasefire push was not just an atrocity—it was a deliberate insult. It’s time for the President to stop adjusting proposals to satisfy Netanyahu and start doing what’s right for America’s interests and withhold weapons from Israel and stand up to Netanyahu.”

The President’s complicity is now compounded by a disastrous and illegal aid plan that has armed U.S. contractors overseeing food distribution in Gaza. Already, reports have surfaced of security personnel opening fire on starving Palestinians. This is not aid, but instead, it is collective punishment wrapped in a PR campaign. The United Nations must be granted full authority to manage all humanitarian relief, independently and without Israeli interference. Anything less enables Israel to weaponize hunger and displacement.

The American people do not support genocide. We do not support bombing hospitals, starving children, or funding a foreign government that actively commits war crimes and works against U.S. diplomacy. President Trump must decide whether he serves American interests—or Netanyahu’s.

In solidarity,

Dr. Osama Abu Irshaid
Executive Director, AJP Action

1422.

30 mei 2025

I write this letter to express my regret that I will not be able to join you all in Chicago, as memorized here below; I have decided to join through Zoom, rather than in-person.

This is due to the escalating situation in both occupied Palestine and the United States where we are witnessing increased surveillance, extended detention, and interrogation of US citizens and noncitizens alike. For this reason, as a journalist and writer in the West Bank, it would be difficult to travel to the US at this time. While this is disappointing, I am pleased that I will be able to join you all virtually during the event.

In lieu of my physical absence, you will all be joined by the incredible writer, thinker, poet, and dear friend Mohammad El-Kurd.

The reality of Palestinians is very violent and very grim and we need all hands on deck. I hope that you all share breath together, and while I won't be there physically, I will also share breath with you all.

Perhaps sometime in the near future I can join in spaces of gathering where we speak about how we overcame-- but that can only happen if we give to the best of our ability at this moment.

With love, gratitude, and humility

Mariam Barghouti

Online ticket sales close at 12:00am EST tonight!

If you haven't already, purchase your tickets below.

1421.

30 mei 2025

Gisteren was het zeshonderd dagen sinds het begin van de oorlog in Gaza. Zeshonderd dagen van onafgebroken geweld, tienduizenden doden en grenzeloos lijden. En nog altijd bereiken ons dagelijks beelden van verschrikkingen in Gaza die voor altijd in ons collectieve geheugen gebrand zullen staan.

Tegelijkertijd zien we ook een groeiende beweging van solidariteit met de Palestijnen en verzet tegen Israëls genocidale regime en de internationale medeplichtigheid. De Rode Lijn-demonstratie in Den Haag bracht honderdduizend mensen op de been, en heeft wereldwijd navolging gekregen — van Almere tot Australië gaan mensen de komende dagen in het rood de straat op om hun stem te laten horen.

De Rode Lijn demonstratie in Den Haag. [c] Erik van der Lei

Zelfs binnen de Nederlandse politiek, en in andere landen die Israël al decennia steunen, lijkt er eindelijk iets te verschuiven. De kritiek op Israëls daden wordt luider, de roep om verantwoording groeit.

Maar het is nog lang niet genoeg. De uitkomsten van het, door Nederland geïnitieerde, EU-onderzoek naar mogelijke Israëlische mensenrechtenschendingen zullen nog lang op zich laten wachten. Die tijd hebben de Palestijnen in Gaza niet. Daarom is het nu belangrijker dan ooit om je stem te laten horen. Blijf samen met ons actievoeren tegen de genocide in Gaza, vóór het internationaal recht en de mensenrechten. 

Wij strijden tegen oorlogsmisdaden, annexatie, bezetting en onderdrukking. Helpt u mee?

Nee, ik steun The Rights Forum natuurlijk niet! Zolang TRF weigert werk te maken van het eisen van sancties!

Uithongering | ‘Hulpplan’ VS en Israël: meer concentratiekamp dan hulpverlening

Het uitdelen van voedselpakketten in Gaza wordt sinds deze week georganiseerd door de zogeheten Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), onder een Amerikaans-Israëlisch plan dat de hulpverlening moet overnemen van de VN en andere internationale hulporganisaties. Het aantal distributiepunten is teruggebracht van de eerdere vierhonderd van de VN naar vier van het GHF. Gewapende Amerikaanse huurlingen hebben de leiding over het uitdelen van hulp.

Palestijnen in Gaza staan achter hekken te wachten totdat ze eten uitgedeeld krijgen van de Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. © Screengrab via X / Hamdah SalhutHet plan is ontwikkeld door Israëliërs en werd al eind 2023 binnen de Israëlische regering en het leger besproken om Hamas te verzwakken en de VN buitenspel te zetten, meldde The New York Times vorige week. Het dwingt Palestijnen weg te trekken uit het noorden en midden van de Gazastrook, naar de distributiepunten in het zuiden. Hulp wordt zo een instrument om een uitgehongerde bevolking etnisch te zuiveren uit delen van Gaza.

Op dinsdag, de eerste dag van het plan, werd meteen duidelijk dat de GFH bovendien überhaupt niet in staat is om noodhulp te verlenen. Bij een voedseluitdeelpunt openden Israëlische militairen het vuur op honderden hongerige Palestijnen die bijeen waren gekomen in de hoop op een voedselpakket. De dystopische beelden gingen de wereld over.

Kinderen levend verbrand na Israëlisch bombardement op school

In oktober zag de wereld de 20-jarige Sha’aban Ahmad Al-Dalo levend verbranden terwijl hij op een brancard aan een infuus lag. Israël had een bom gegooid op een tentenkamp voor ontheemde Palestijnen op de binnenplaats van het Al-Aqsa-ziekenhuis in Deir al-Balah.

Vorige maand bombardeerde Israël de tent van een groep journalisten in Khan Younis. Omstanders filmden hoe journalist Ahmed Mansour zittend op een stoel door de vuurzee werd opgeslokt.

Deze week gingen opnieuw zulke gruwelijke beelden de wereld over. Israël bombardeerde een school in Gaza-stad waar honderden ontheemden Palestijnen werden opgevangen. De school werd drie keer geraakt terwijl de mensen binnen lagen te slapen, en vatte vlam. Hulpverleners hebben 36, veelal verbrande, lichamen geborgen. De meeste doden waren vrouwen en kinderen. 

Beeld van de zevenjarige Ward Khalil in de brandende school. Ze wist te ontkomen aan de vlammenzee; haar moeder en meerdere broers en zussen niet. © Screenshot / X

Misplaatste trots
Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Caspar Veldkamp presenteerde deze week het EU-onderzoek dat er gaat komen naar Israëls daden als indrukwekkende en betekenisvolle stap om ‘de oorlog te stoppen’. Het zou de ‘alarmbellen doen rinkelen’ in Israël. Op de vraag hoe lang zo’n onderzoek gaat duren en waar het concreet toe gaat leiden moest Veldkamp het antwoord schulden blijven.

Verschillende media, zoals de NOS, volgden evenwel het fiere ‘overwinnings-frame’ van het ministerie. De werkelijkheid is dat het instellen van een onderzoek als puur politiek signaal in dit stadium van een genocide veel te laat komt, en het bloedvergieten zeker niet gaat stoppen. Israël blijft schoolgebouwen bombarderen en daarbij kinderen verbranden. zonder dat het leidt tot ook maar een veroordeling van Israëls bondgenoten in Europa, laat staan concrete actie.

Lees het hele artikel >

Tentoonstelling | Picturing Scholasticide

Picturing Scholasticide is een tentoonstelling, opgezet door medewerkers en studenten van de Universiteit Leiden, die de gevolgen belicht van Israëls grootschalige aanvallen op Palestijnse instellingen voor hoger onderwijs.

De tentoonstelling is tot stand gekomen in samenwerking met Palestijnse fotografen en webdesigners, en heeft als doel te herdenken, bewustwording te vergroten en bij te dragen aan de wederopbouw van onderwijsinstellingen in Gaza en de rest van Palestina.

Met indringende foto’s, persoonlijke getuigenissen en zorgvuldig geselecteerde bronnen laat het project niet alleen de materiële verwoesting zien van gebouwen en belangrijke infrastructuur, maar ook de persoonlijke impact op personeel en studenten.

Op vrijdag 6 juni vindt de opening van de tentoonstelling plaats, in het Lipsius-gebouw van de Universiteit Leiden. Klik hier voor meer informatie.

De Islamitische Universiteit in Gaza. © Shadi al Tabatiby

Verder uit onze agenda
zaterdag 31 mei t/m zaterdag 7 juni
Demonstraties en wakes
• Wake op zaterdag 31 mei in Nijmegen, Koningsplein - Marienburg (14.00 uur)
• Aandacht voor het menselijk leed in Palestina op zaterdag 31 mei in Lelystad, uitgang station Lelystad (12.00 uur)
• Demonstratie ‘NOS, wees eerlijk!’ op zaterdag 31 mei in Hilversum, Mediapark (12.00 uur)
• Wake op zondag 1 juni in Haarlem, Grote Markt (14.00 uur)
• Maandelijkse herdenking van zorgmedewerkers op dinsdag 3 juni in Amsterdam en Nijmegen
• Sit-in rijksambtenaren op donderdag 5 juni in Den Haag, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Rijnstraat 8 (12.00 uur)
• Wekelijks protest tegen de genocide op de Palestijnen op donderdag 5 juni in Zaandam, bij de ingang van het station (17.30 uur)
• Wake op vrijdag 6 juni in Amsterdam, Spui (12.45 uur)
• Wake op zaterdag 7 juni in Groningen, Waagplein (13.00 uur)
• Wake op zaterdag 7 juni in Maastricht, Markt, bij het standbeeld van J.P. Minckelers (16.00 uur)

1420.

30 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Palestinians describe being treated like animals as chaos breaks out again at U.S.-run aid site in Gaza

Tareq S. Hajjaj

For the third time this week, chaos broke out at the aid distribution point run by the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Eyewitnesses said American mercenaries did not intervene once they witnessed armed looting in at the site.

Europe is trying to put pressure on Israel to stop the Gaza slaughter. Will Trump let them?

Netanyahu is facing increasing pressure from European states, including the threat of sanctions. The unanswered question is whether Trump will actually let Europe take action, or will he once again shield Israel from any accountability.

Read more

Poll shows Israeli belief that Palestinians should be eradicated is no longer a fringe opinion

Jonathan Ofir

A recent poll shows that the majority of Jewish Israelis agree that there is a current incarnation of the “Amalek”, the biblical enemy nation where the divine command was to eradicate them, and that it applies to Palestinians in the modern day.

Read more

1419.

29 mei 2025

Today marks 600 days of genocide in Gaza. Israel continues its brutal siege, denying Palestinians access to food, medicine, and clean water—while U.S. military-backed operations masquerade as "aid."

Recent images show hundreds of U.S. veterans landing in Israel—not as peacekeepers, not with the UN or Red Cross, but under a covert operation by a shadowy new NGO, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. U.S. private military contractors, including firms like Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions, none of whom have any history in humanitarian relief. Their operatives are being paid $1,100 a day and $10,000 bonuses while hundreds of Palestinian children starve.

demand the U.S. to allow unrestricted humanitarian aid from trusted providers into Gaza. Time is running out.

Meanwhile, back in St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer has appointed Colonel Benjamin Jonsson, one of the architects behind the failed Gaza pier project, to oversee city operations. This is more than just a failure of leadership. It’s disaster militarism in action.

But the people are fighting back. In St. Louis, residents are organizing through Not Another Nickel — a growing campaign to divest the city from militarism and genocide profiteering. Adalah Justice Project is proud to stand alongside them. Because we know what real aid looks like: neighbors feeding neighbors, not soldiers with guns. It looks like mutual care, not militarized control.

From Gaza to St. Louis, the fight is the same: divest from war, invest in life.

The people know what we need. And we will rise—together, from the rubble.
 

In solidarity,
 

Sandra Tamari

Executive Director

Adalah Justice Project

1418.

29 mei 2025

Save the Date for AMP’s 18th Annual Convention in Chicago

American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) invites you all to spend your upcoming Thanksgiving weekend advocating, mobilizing, and learning more about Palestine at our 18th Annual Convention for Palestine in the U.S. from November 27th to 29th, 2025, at the Tinley Park Convention Center near Chicago, IL.

There is something for everyone to do at Palestine Convention 2025. Our main program is the highlight of our convention. Experts, academics, activists, and influencers dedicated to the Palestinian freedom struggle will deliver inspiring talks and participate in highly engaging sessions addressing some of the most pressing challenges we face.

In addition to:

• Palestine Retreat: The 2nd installment of our one-day pre-convention educational event on Thursday, November 27th.
• Campus Activism Track (CAT): A special intensive workshop for college students to learn more about Palestine, activism, leadership, and beyond.
• Youth Program: A transformative experience empowering youth from ages 13 to 18 through knowledge and activism.
• School Program: An educational and fun experience for ages 5 to 12, including babysitting services for the little ones.
• and much more...

Our highly anticipated Bazaar is also a major draw for our attendees. You’ll never have to leave the convention hall; everything you need will be provided by diverse vendors and local businesses offering Palestinian memorabilia, modest clothing, educational material, and much more!

Palestine Convention is designed to cater to all audiences. So bring the whole household, from babies to grandparents, and everyone in between. Join us in this noble effort and stay tuned for more news and updates soon!

In solidarity,
American Muslims for Palestine
Palestine Convention 2025

1417.

29 mei 2025

Humanitarian Situation Update #293
West Bank

29 May 2025

Residents of Maghayyir ad Deir following their displacement due to attacks and intimidation by Israeli settlers and the establishment of a settlement outpost near their homes. Photo taken on 28 May 2025. Photo by OCHA.

Key Highlights

• Israeli settler violence is on the rise: so far in 2025, settlers have injured over 220 Palestinians – 44 per month – the highest rate in at least 20 years.
• The entire Palestinian Bedouin community of Maghayer ad Deir – about 120 people – was forcibly displaced following the establishment of a fourth settlement outpost near their homes.
• Israeli-imposed movement restrictions across Salfit governorate disrupt the access of nearly 90,000 people to health care, education and livelihoods.
• Punitive demolitions by Israeli authorities have displaced about 80 people since the beginning of 2025.
• So far in May, Israeli forces demolished 50 residential units in Nur Shams refugee camp, while residents of 20 buildings slated for demolition in Tulkarm camp were given three hours to retrieve their belongings.
• Over 33,000 Palestinians remain displaced and unable to return to Jenin, Nur Shams and Tulkarm camps, UNRWA estimates.

Humanitarian Developments

• Between 20 and 26 May, no fatalities were documented by OCHA (for fatalities after this period, see below). During the same period, Israeli forces injured at least 15 Palestinians, including two children, across the West Bank. In one key incident, on 21 May, Israeli forces shot and injured a 13-year-old Palestinian boy during a 12-hour raid in Qabatiya town, in Jenin governorate. During the incident, Israeli forces detained 20 men at a Palestinian home and used it as an interrogation centre and bulldozed a one-kilometre street in the town. As a result, water and electricity were cut off across the entire eastern part of the town and could only be restored after repairs were carried out following the operation. Moreover, on 25 May, Israeli forces shot, injured and detained one Palestinian after encircling a house during a raid in the Old City of Nablus. Palestinians threw stones at Israeli forces who shot live ammunition and tear gas canisters; a 16-year-old boy was shot, and 10 others were treated after inhaling tear gas.
• Between 20 and 26 May, OCHA documented the demolition of 31 Palestinian-owned structures – 28 in Area C and three in East Jerusalem – for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible to obtain. As a result, 12 people were displaced and 80 others were otherwise affected. The  only Area C demolition that led to displacement occurred on 26 May in Khallet al Louza village, in Bethlehem governorate, where Israeli authorities demolished six structures, displacing a family of nine people, including six children. On 20 May, in Dhahrat an Nada village, in Bethlehem governorate, Israeli authorities uprooted 30 trees and demolished nine structures, including a children’s playground, in a park and an outdoor wedding venue. The facility was constructed in 2021 and was the family’s main source of income. On 22 May, Israeli authorities demolished five structures, including animal shelters, in Marj Na’ja village, in Jericho governorate, affecting four households comprising 26 people, among them 17 children. Overall, in addition to two homes, three uninhabited residential structures and a retaining wall, 81 per cent of demolished structures (25 out 31) were agricultural, livelihood or water and sanitation structures. Since the beginning of 2025, 65 per cent (469 out of 727) of structures demolished for lacking Israeli-issued building permits were agricultural, livelihood or water and sanitation structures.
• Among the three structures demolished in East Jerusalem, one was a bedroom extension to a home in Silwan that a family was forced to demolish after receiving a demolition order. The two other structures (animal shelters, including a barn) were demolished on 20 May by the Jerusalem Municipality, accompanied by Israeli forces, in Shu’fat camp, which is within the Israeli-defined municipal boundary of Jerusalem, but on the “West Bank” side of the Barrier. While withdrawing from the area, Israeli forces reportedly fired rubber bullets, injuring a Palestinian man. Between 1 January and 28 May 2025, 50 out of 81 structures (62 per cent) demolished for lacking building permits in East Jerusalem were demolished by their owners, following the receipt of demolition orders from the Israeli authorities.
• In the early morning of 22 May, Israeli forces detonated on punitive grounds a two-storey residence in Area B of Baqat al Hatab village, in Qalqiliya governorate. The house belonged to the family of a Palestinian man accused of killing an Israeli security guard near Kedumim settlement with a hammer on 18 August 2024; the whereabouts of the suspected perpetrator remain unknown. Due to the intensity of the detonation, a nearby house sustained extensive damage, and was rendered uninhabitable, two animal shelters were destroyed, and at least ten houses sustained damage, including to their doors and windows. In total, two households comprising nine people, including three women and two children, were displaced. So far in 2025, 17 structures have been punitively demolished across the West Bank, including 16 in Areas A and B and one in Area C, resulting in the displacement of 20 households comprising 79 people, including 27 children. This is an average of 16 people displaced by punitive demolitions per month, the highest monthly average since OCHA began documenting demolitions in 2009.

Developments in the northern West Bank

• On 27 and 28 May, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians in operations in the northern West Bank. On 27 May, Israeli forces shot and killed one Palestinian and injured eight others during a raid in Nablus city, where Palestinians threw stones and burnt tires and Israeli forces shot live ammunition. According to local sources, the man was shot outside of his shop and was not involved in the confrontations. This incident took place within the context of concurrent raids by Israeli forces into money exchange shops and gold businesses in various parts of the West Bank, including Nablus, Jenin, Tubas and Qalqiliya. In Qalqiliya city, soldiers also entered the municipal building, where they maintained presence during the raid. On 28 May, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man during a raid in the village of Jit, in Qalqiliya governorate; according to his family, Israeli forces entered their house and shot the man while he was sleeping and prevented his family from transporting him to hospital, leaving the young man to bleed to death.
• Demolitions in refugee camps in Tulkarm governorate continue. In Tulkarm camp, on 25 May, Israeli forces informed the Palestinian District Coordination and Liaison Office that residents of 20 buildings – about 50 families –  can retrieve their belongings ahead of planned demolitions, in a time window of three hours. These buildings are among 58 homes that were slated for demolition on 1 May. Israeli forces designated a specific route for residents to access the camp. When residents attempted to reach the camp on 25 May, Israeli forces fired live ammunition and tear gas cannisters at them, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) crews, and journalists. PRCS medical personnel were also reportedly searched during the evacuation. As of the time of reporting, no demolitions have been reported.  In Nur Shams camp, where 48 buildings have been slated for demolition, the Tulkarm Governor’s Office estimates that about 50 residential units have been demolished since 1 May.
• According to UNRWA, over 1,000 families are estimated to have returned to their homes in areas surrounding Jenin camp, where Israeli forces had expanded their operations. These families have been returning to these areas gradually over a period of two months. Some 670 families from Jenin camp’s eastern neighbourhood were reportedly displaced again, and UNRWA is following up with concerned families to track their movements and current locations and assess their needs. In late March 2025, UNRWA launched an SMS-based self-registration survey to formalize and streamline tracking of population movements, allowing registered refugee families to report household details, displacement locations, vulnerabilities and basic needs, which was cross-checked through a verification process that also tracked returnees, particularly to areas around refugee camps. As of the third week of May 2025, UNRWA estimates that over 7,000 families, comprising over 33,000 Palestinians continue to be displaced from Jenin (over 10,700), Nur Shams (over 10,500) and Tulkarm (over 12,200) refugee camps. At the same time, incidents resulting in displacement from the area continue to be reported. For example, according to local sources, on 25 May, two families, comprising four elderly people, were forced to leave their homes in Al Ghubaz neighbourhood near Jenin refugee camp and are currently staying in rented accommodation. 
• On 22 May, Israeli forces concluded a nine-day operation in Bruqin and Kafr ad Dik towns, in Salfit governorate. As of the time of reporting, humanitarian access remains constrained due to ongoing movement restrictions by Israeli forces and the continued presence of Israeli settlers in and around the towns. The operation had a broader impact on movements across Salfit governorate, with a population of about 89,900 people (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics 2025 population projections), particularly on Salfit city, the main service hub for surrounding communities. The road gate at the northern entrance to Salfit city near Ariel settlement and the road gate at the eastern entrance, which also serves as the primary access point for Yasuf and Iskaka villages, were both closed by Israeli forces on 14 May – following the killing of a pregnant Israeli woman in a shooting attack by a Palestinian near Bruqin town. While the road gate at the northern entrance has remained closed for the 15th consecutive day, on 21 May, Israeli forces partially re-opened the road gate at the eastern entrance for three hours daily: from 7:00 to 9:00 and from 16:00 to 17:00. Palestinians in the area have thus been forced to rely on alternative routes, mainly on the Al Lubban ash Sharqiya-Salfit road, which is a narrow, winding, and poorly maintained route, to access essential services. These restrictions have led to long detours, increased transportation costs, and major disruptions to daily life, including health care, education and livelihoods.  
• As a result of these restrictions, access to Salfit’s only hospital, which is in Salfit city and serves the entire governorate, continues to be significantly impeded for residents of Bruqin, Kafr ad Dik, and other nearby towns and villages. Emergency medical services have faced delays, and the cold-chain systems necessary for vaccine storage have been disrupted. The inability of medical teams to reach clinics has hindered the delivery of routine and urgent care. Many residents have had to rely on smaller clinics, with limited services, or undertake long, costly detours to reach Salfit city.
• In parallel, there are ongoing disruptions to essential service delivery within Bruqin and Kafr ad Dik towns. During the Israeli forces’ operation between 14 and 22 May, waste collection was suspended, and on 22 May, Israeli forces confiscated a municipal sanitation truck, halting cleanup operations and resulting in accumulated garbage across the towns. Israeli forces raided six schools – five in Kafr ad Dik and one in Bruqin – and caused damage to classroom furniture, computer labs, solar panels and doors. About 3,000 students were shifted to online learning during this period before partial, in-person classes resumed on 26 May. Schools located in the northern area of Bruqin, near the newly erected settler tents and caravans (see below), remain closed due to persistent security concerns.
• Moreover, the operation severely affected livelihoods, as dozens of farmers and livestock owners were denied access to their land, resulting in crop losses and disrupted animal care. Restricted access to farms disrupted feed and irrigation, while the inability to control ventilation in poultry farms led to further losses. The damage extended to nurseries and small workshops, impacting the income sources of hundreds of residents. According to both municipalities, 4,800 people are estimated to have been affected by these disruptions. An initial assessment by the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) on 26 May indicated that extensive agricultural and livestock losses have been incurred due to multiple attacks by Israeli settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, between 15 and 24 May. In Kafr ad Dik, Israeli settlers reportedly uprooted about 200 ancient olive trees and damaged half a dunum (0.12 acres) planted with mallow and cucumber crops, according to the MoA assessment. Furthermore, according to the MoA’s assessment, during the operation, farmers were unable to feed, tend, or regulate the ventilation of their livestock, resulting in the loss of 33 sheep and 1,000 poultry in Kafr ad Dik, and 39 sheep and goats, two calves, and 1,600 poultry in Bruqin.

Intensification of Attacks by Israeli Settlers

• Between 20 and 26 May 2025, OCHA documented at least 25 settler attacks that resulted in casualties, property damage, or both. Thirty-five Palestinians were injured – 32 by settlers and three by members of Israeli forces who took part in those incidents. Settler violence during this time led to the large-scale displacement of the entire Palestinian Bedouin community of Maghayer ad Deir, in Ramallah governorate (see below). Twenty-five of the 32 injuries were reported in Maghayer ad Deir (12 injuries), and in Bruqin town of Salfit governorate (13 injuries). Both locations experienced severe settler attacks that resulted in significant property damage. Additional injuries were reported in Beitillu village, in Ramallah governorate, where six Palestinians were injured – three by live ammunition fired by a settlement guard and three due to physical assaults during a raid by Israeli settlers.
• Five settler-related incidents during the reporting period entailed extensive damage to homes, agricultural land, and critical infrastructure. These incidents were reported in Maghayer ad Deir in Ramallah governorate, Bruqin and Kafr ad Dik in Salfit governorate, and in and around the communities of Masafer Yatta in Hebron governorate. They occurred in the context of the establishment or expansion of Israeli settlement outposts in proximity to Palestinian communities; settlers took over land or structures, erected caravans, and carried out repeated raids involving threats, physical assaults, and the destruction or theft of property. 
  • On 20 May, armed settlers from the newly established outpost near Khirbet al Fakheit community in Masafer Yatta, in Hebron governorate, raided a schoolyard, stole six surveillance cameras on the rooftop, vandalized the drinking fountain area, and damaged irrigation pipes. The settlers then broke into a nearby Palestinian home, and physically assaulted a man and his wife, injuring them, stole the man's mobile phone and poured an unknown substance into the fuel tank of his vehicle.
  • On 22 May, all 21 registered-refugee households comprising 116 people, including 52 children and 33 women, in the Palestinian Bedouin community of Maghayer ad Deir, in eastern Ramallah governorate, began dismantling their homes to relocate to safer areas. This development followed the establishment of a new Israeli settlement outpost within less than 100 metres of the community on 18 May, when settlers took over an unused structure that belonged to the community on its outskirts and, on subsequent days, repeatedly raided the community, threatening and intimidating residents and Israeli activists who were seeking to provide protective presence. This was the fourth outpost established around the community. In one instance, captured on video, Israeli settlers lit fires around the community, threw stones at homes, and stole personal belongings. On 24 May, while families were in the final stages of dismantling their homes, settlers physically assaulted and injured 12 Palestinians, including a child aged 13 years, and two Israeli activists with stones and batons. Armed settlers reportedly chased residents using drones, and Israeli forces intervened by expelling Palestinians from the area, which has now been rendered empty of its residents and effectively blocked off.
  • Between 22 and 25 May, Israeli settlers carried out several attacks in and around Bruqin and Kafr ad Dik villages in Salfit governorate, resulting in injuries and damage to property. On 22 May, nearly 150 masked settlers launched a large-scale attack on the northern part of Bruqin following the withdrawal of Israeli forces after a nine-day operation (see above). Settlers threw stones and Molotov cocktails, setting fire to homes, vehicles and agricultural land. Ten vehicles were vandalized, including two that were completely burned, and fires damaged the facades and yards of three homes. Seven Palestinians were injured while trying to extinguish the flames, and 10 households of about 50 people were directly affected by property damage. The following day, on 23 May, settlers accompanied by Israeli forces bulldozed approximately 6,000 square metres of privately-owned land in the nearby Kafr ad Dik town to open a new road connecting Bruchin and Alei Zahav settlements. On 25 May, about 30 settlers attacked homes in the Al Khalayel area of Bruqin town, throwing stones and Molotov cocktails, which resulting in the injury of four Palestinians. Around half-an-hour later, Israeli forces arrived and fired tear gas cannisters, causing many to suffer from tear gas inhalation without receiving medical treatment. Since then, settlers have reportedly excavated 200 dunums of land around Bruqin, continued harassing residents, bulldozed additional areas, and installed two caravans near Palestinian homes, raising concerns that they intend to establish a settlement outpost in the area. 
  • Settler-related violence between 20 and 26 May also resulted in widespread damage to Palestinian property across multiple governorates, including: the burning and vandalism of a mosque in Aqraba town in Nablus governorate, the destruction of ten residential and agricultural structures in Kisan and Al Maniya, both in Bethlehem governorate, and the vandalism of water pipelines in Ras ‘Ein al ‘Auja in Jericho governorate and Al Mu’arrajat East in Ramallah governorate. In the southern Hebron hills, settlers raided animal shelters in Ar Rakeez and Khirbet al Fakhiet, stealing at least 31 sheep and assaulting residents. In Dhaher al ‘Abed in Jenin governorate, according to affected farmers and the local council, Israeli settlers destroyed over 26,000 tobacco saplings, along with olive and fruit trees, across more than 24 dunums of land. Additional damage to cultivated land and farming infrastructure was reported in several villages across Ramallah, Nablus, and Salfit governorates.

• On 26 May 2025, thousands of Israeli settlers and other Israelis, including ministers and other senior government officials, marched through East Jerusalem as part of the annual “Flag March,” commemorating the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, referred to by them as “reunification.” Israeli forces were heavily deployed throughout the city, erecting metal barriers and restricting Palestinian access to the Old City of Jerusalem and surrounding neighbourhoods. The march was marked by multiple incidents of intimidation and access restrictions targeting Palestinian residents, and participants reportedly chanted racist slogans against Palestinians. In the Old City, Israeli participants physically assaulted or pepper-sprayed Palestinians, injuring at least two, one of them an elderly man. Some of them threw stones at a Palestinian home, attempted to set it on fire while residents were inside, and pepper-sprayed family members. Participants also obstructed road access using garbage containers, vandalized shop locks, and harassed Palestinians, including women and the elderly, forcing several shops to close for the day. In one instance, Israeli forces reportedly obstructed the access of medical teams in the area. Similar events took place in Sheikh Jarrah, As Suwwana, and Silwan neighbourhoods of East Jerusalem.
• These incidents reflect a broader escalation in settler-related violence across the West Bank. Since the beginning of 2025, OCHA has documented 591 settler incidents resulting in casualties or property damage – an average of four per day, mirroring 2024, the highest year on record. The severity of these attacks has intensified, with a total of 223 Palestinians injured by Israeli settlers since January, marking a monthly average of 44 – the highest recorded since OCHA began tracking casualties in the West Bank in 2005. 
• For key figures and additional breakdowns of casualties, displacement and settler violence between January 2005 and March 2025, please refer to the OCHA West Bank April 2025 Snapshot. 

1416.

29 mei 2025

Humanitarian Situation Update #292
Gaza Strip

28 May 2025

Humanitarian teams near Al Awda Hospital in North Gaza governorate. Photo by WHO

Key Highlights

• 600 days on, people in Gaza, half of whom are children, face a crisis of survival. The Humanitarian Country Team in the Occupied Palestinian Territory warns that the new militarized distribution system does not meet the needs or dignity of people in Gaza, puts them at risk, and runs contrary to humanitarian principles.
• Over 632,000 people have been displaced again since 18 March, as more than 30 displacement orders have pushed people into an ever-shrinking space, with immense physical and psychological toll.
• The health system in Gaza is overwhelmed by a further decline in the number of functional and accessible health service points and a critically insufficient bed capacity.
• At least 28 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since 1 May, an average of one aid worker killed per day. Since 7 October, at least 452 aid workers, including 315 UN staff, have been killed.
• Nearly 700,000 women and girls are facing a silent menstrual hygiene emergency, with severe consequences to their health, protection, dignity, and human rights.

Humanitarian Developments

• Since 18 March 2025, Israeli forces have escalated bombardment from the air, land and sea across the Gaza Strip and expanded ground operations, as part of the launch of a new military operation, dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots.” This has resulted in hundreds of casualties, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and large-scale displacement of people. With no safe place to go, many have been seeking refuge in makeshift shelters and overcrowded displacement sites. People are confined to ever-shrinking spaces, with 81 per cent of the Gaza Strip now within Israeli-militarized zones or placed under displacement orders since 18 March. Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups has been reported.
• On 28 May 2025, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, stated: “A new militarized distribution system has just been launched. As we have stated, it does not align with humanitarian principles, it puts people at risk, and it will not meet people’s needs, or dignity, across Gaza.” Calling on Israel to treat civilians humanely and respect their inherent dignity, facilitate aid delivery, and refrain from forcible transfer, the HCT underscored: “We need predictable and at-scale aid to flow through multiple crossings all the way to communities, as we have done in the past. We need unimpeded access. And we need all humanitarian partners, including UNRWA, to be enabled to provide supplies and, critically, services. Supplies on their own do not amount to an effective humanitarian response. It is essential to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of services across Gaza.”
• On 28 May, OCHA OPT Head of Office, Jonathan Whittall, said that the newly developed distribution scheme amounts to “surveillance-based rationing that legitimizes a policy of deprivation by design… at a time when people in Gaza, half of whom are children, are facing a crisis of survival.” He stressed: “Humanitarian agencies have the capacity to help feed Gaza and provide other life-saving and life-sustaining services and supplies,” adding that “[w]e are ready to work. We are ready to deliver directly to families as we always have.”
• According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between 22 and 28 May, as of noon, 429 Palestinians were killed and 1,358 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 28 May 2025, the MoH in Gaza reported that at least 54,084 Palestinians, including 16,854 children (31.3 per cent), were killed and 123,308 Palestinians were injured. The fatalities include 931 children under the age of one, of whom 356 children were born and killed since October 2023. According to MoH, since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March 2025, 3,924 people have been killed and 11,267 injured (included in the total). MoH noted that since 23 May, the toll does not include casualties from North Gaza governorate, which became inaccessible.
• On 27 May, UN Children’s Fund's (UNICEF) Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, issued a statement in response to two devastating incidents that resulted in the reported death of at least 27 children - an airstrike on a residential building in Khan Younis on 23 May, followed by an strike on a school in Gaza city on 26 May. “These children – lives that should never be reduced to numbers – are now part of a long, harrowing list of unimaginable horrors,” Beigbeder said. On 23 May, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for children and armed conflict, Virginia Gamba, stated: “A most fundamental right of a child is the right to life, and life, today, in Gaza in particular, is under severe and imminent threat.” She noted that the Secretary General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict will be presented to the Security Council in June and stressed that “[G]rave violations against children will -once again- show a steady and shocking increase vis-à-vis prior years, particularly in children killed and maimed and in those denied basic lifesaving humanitarian assistance.”
• Between 20 and 26 May, incidents resulting in a large number of fatalities include the following:
  • On 20 May, at about 04:00, at least nine Palestinians, including five children and one woman, were reportedly killed when a house was hit in Jabalya refugee camp, in North Gaza.
  • On 20 May, at about 01:10, 13 Palestinians, including children and women, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in eastern Deir al Balah.
  • On 20 May, at about 01:39, 15 Palestinians from the same family, including 11 females (two women and nine others of unconfirmed age), were reportedly killed and others injured when the gas station the family was living in after being displaced was hit in eastern An Nuseirat, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 20 May, at around midnight, at least 11 people were reportedly killed and several others injured, and some were reported missing, when a house was hit in Jabalya al Balad, in North Gaza. Fatalities included a father, his two sons, his daughter, and his granddaughter.
  • On May 20, three Palestinians, including two men (brothers) and one woman were reportedly killed and 15 others injured when tents for internally displaced people (IDP) were hit in Al Mawasi area of western Rafah.
  • On 21 May, at about 11:00, eight Palestinians, including a girl, were reportedly killed and about 60 others were injured when a group of people was hit east of Gaza city.
  • On 21 May, at about 04:15, at least 13 Palestinians – three married couples and their seven offspring, including five children – were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit and destroyed in Abasan al Kabira, in Khan Younis.
  • On 22 May, at about 02:26, 10 Palestinians, members of the same family, including three children and three women, were reportedly killed when a warehouse sheltering IDPs was hit in Al Birkeh area of southwestern Deir al Balah.
  • On 22 May, at about 05:00, at least 16 people of the same family, including 10 children and two women, were reportedly killed when two houses were hit in Jabalya al Balad, in North Gaza.
  • On 21 May, at about 11:30, 10 Palestinians were reportedly killed and several others injured when a wood-fired oven, functioning as a community bakery, was hit in central Gaza city.
  • On 26 May, at about 02:15, at least 17 Palestinians including four women, and at least five children, were reportedly killed when a house was hit in eastern Jabalya, in North Gaza.
  • On 26 May, at about 00:30, about 36 Palestinians, including at least six children and other women, were reportedly killed, with many bodies reportedly severely burned after three classrooms of a school sheltering hundreds of IDPs were hit in Ad Daraj neighbourhood, in eastern Gaza city, causing a massive fire.

• Between 22 and 28 May, no Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 28 May 2025, according to Israeli forces and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,616 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath. This includes 416 soldiers killed, in addition to 2,683 soldiers injured, in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation in October 2023. Of these, nine soldiers were killed and 99 injured since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March 2025. As of 21 May, it is estimated that 58 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including hostages who have been declared dead and whose bodies are being withheld.
• On 22 May, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) announced that it had received information from the Israeli authorities indicating that a Palestinian from Gaza had died in Israeli custody on 13 December 2023. According to PPS, the 33-year-old detainee was detained along with his family members from their home in the Gaza Strip on 7 December 2023.
• As of May 2025, according to data provided by the Israel Prison Service (IPS) to Hamoked, an Israeli human rights NGO, there are 10,068 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip in Israeli custody, including 1,455 sentenced prisoners, 3,190 remand detainees, 3,577 administrative detainees held without trial, and 1,846 people held as “unlawful combatants.” These figures do not include Palestinians from Gaza who have been detained by the Israeli military since 7 October 2023.
• Aid workers and frontline responders in Gaza continue to face extreme risks. Between 1 and 28 May 2025, at least 28 aid workers were killed, or an average of one per day. On 22 May, CARE International reported the killing of two staff members of their local NGO partner, Juzoor for Health and Social Development, on 14 and 15 May along with their families in Jabalya camp, in North Gaza. Following the incident, CARE Palestine Country Director stated: “Humanitarian workers in Gaza are facing the same fate as the starved and bombed communities they continue to serve despite all odds. No one is safe and the threat of death is palpable everywhere.” On 22 May, a staff member of the Culture and Free Thoughts Association was also reported killed. On 25 May, ICRC reported that two of their staff were killed on 24 May in a strike on their home in Khan Younis. Since 7 October 2023, at least 452 aid workers, including 315 UN staff, 47 PRCS and another 90 staff of humanitarian organizations have been killed. Separately, on 26 May, Gaza municipality reported that one of their staff was killed and another two were injured when they were hit while on duty in Gaza city.

Shrinking Humanitarian Space

• On 23 May, the UN Secretary-General said: “Families are being starved and denied the very basics. All with the world watching in real time.” He reiterated Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law, urging it to treat civilians with dignity, refrain from forced displacement, and to allow full humanitarian access, stressing that “all the aid authorized until now amounts to a teaspoon of aid when a flood of assistance is required.” He highlighted the massive scale of the crisis and the staggering obstacles, citing strict quotas, unnecessary delays in procedures, and ongoing prohibitions on essential items such as fuel, shelter, cooking gas, and water purification supplies.
• On 19 May, after almost 80 days of a full aid blockade on the entry of aid and any other supplies into Gaza, including food, medicine and fuel, the Israeli authorities allowed the UN to temporarily resume the delivery of limited aid into Gaza. Between 19 and 27 May, the UN submitted 900 truckloads for Israeli approval, of which about 800 were cleared and just over 500 could be offloaded on the Israeli side of Kerem Shalom crossing. Humanitarian organizations have been able to collect only about 200 truckloads on the Palestinian side of the crossing due to insecurity and restricted access.
• According to the Logistics Cluster, since 19 May, the only aid supplies that Israeli authorities are approving for entry into Gaza are exclusively from locations inside Israel to Kerem Shalom crossing, limiting the humanitarian community’s ability to mobilize aid located in the West Bank, Jordan and Egypt. For the limited number of trucks currently authorized for entry, Israeli authorities are permitting only medical items and certain food and nutrition supplies and have cleared only a very limited number of humanitarian organizations to move cargo into Gaza. Moreover, Israeli authorities have prohibited the storage of humanitarian cargo inside Gaza, except for limited exemptions granted to select food and nutrition actors to store limited quantities. Most of the aid must thus be dispatched directly for distribution, resulting in significant operational challenges. Additional restrictions by Israeli authorities include preventing the direct distribution of wheat flour to families.
• Over the past week, several incidents have taken place whereby aid was looted or taken by crowds whilst being transported from Kerem Shalom crossing, including most recently on 27 May, when food supplies transported through the fence road were taken by crowds directly from the trucks in Deir al Balah governorate. On 28 May, the World Food Programme (WFP) issued a statement regarding a tragic incident that took place in its warehouse in Deir al Balah, where hungry crowds of people broke in, searching for food supplies that had been pre-positioned for distribution. While WFP is still confirming details, initial reports indicate that two people died and several were injured. WFP stated: “Humanitarian needs have spiraled out of control... WFP has consistently warned of alarming and deteriorating conditions on the ground, and the risks imposed by limiting humanitarian aid to hungry people in desperate need of assistance.” The agency stressed: “Gaza needs an immediate scale-up of food assistance. This is the only way to reassure people that they will not starve. WFP urgently calls for safe, unimpeded humanitarian access to enable orderly distributions across Gaza immediately.”
• “The situation has never been as bad as it is today,” said Jonathan Whittall, OCHA OPT Head of Office. He emphasized that the trickle of aid that has been allowed to enter this last week is far from enough, while the UN and its partners have faced unacceptable restrictions on humanitarian aid delivery. “We have only been allowed to deliver flour to bakeries and not directly to communities. That means that instead of people being able to use flour distributed at their homes, they have to queue each day to receive a handout of survival rations.” He added that “people in Gaza are understandably angry. They are being starved and then drip-fed in the most undignified way possible.” Briefing journalists on the obstacles on aid delivery faced by humanitarian partners, Whittall said that they face challenges in collecting goods from Kerem Shalom crossing due to insecurity, long delays in receiving the needed approvals, being given inappropriate routes to transport goods, and facing crowd desperation and looting because of restrictions placed by Israeli authorities.” He stressed that there “is no logistical solution to the political decision to obstruct aid.”
• In vast areas across the Gaza Strip, humanitarian teams are required to coordinate their movements with the Israeli authorities. Between 21 and 27 May, out of 71 attempts to coordinate planned aid movements across the Gaza Strip, nearly 44 per cent (31) were denied outright by the Israeli authorities, 15 per cent (11) were initially accepted but faced impediments, including blocks or delays on the ground potentially resulting in missions being aborted or partially accomplished, 35 per cent (25) were fully facilitated, and six per cent (four) were withdrawn by the organizers for logistical, operational, or security reasons. These include 25 attempts to coordinate aid movements in or to northern Gaza, of which 40 per cent (10) were facilitated, 40 per cent (10) were denied and 20 per cent (five) faced impediments. In southern Gaza, out of 46 attempts, 33 per cent (15) were facilitated, 46 per cent (21) were denied, 13 per cent (six) faced impediments and nine per cent (four) withdrawn.
• Between 21 and 26 May, the Israeli military issued three displacement orders for parts of North Gaza, Gaza, Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah governorates. Combined, the orders cover 168 square kilometres, including one order that covers 43 per cent of the Gaza Strip. As of 28 May, 81 per cent of the Gaza Strip’s territory is within Israeli-militarized-zones or have been placed under displacement orders. Since 18 March, the Israeli military issued 31 displacement orders, placing about 229.4 square kilometres under displacement orders. As of 27 May, about 632,700 (30 per cent of the population) are estimated to have been displaced again since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March, according to the Site Management Cluster (SMC); this includes over 195,100 people displaced between 15 and 27 May, with many fleeing without any belongings.
• As hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza continue to be displaced and pushed into ever-shrinking spaces amid hostilities, the mental trauma of recurrent displacement is immense. On 27 May, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) highlighted the psychological toll that unpredictable displacement orders, which are issued within very short deadlines, have on people, including aid workers, forcing them to be in a “constant state of alert.” MSF stated: “People receive leaflets, social media posts or a phone call about an imminent attack, leaving them limited time to collect their belongings and seek shelter. The very act of forcing people to repeatedly flee, often in the middle of the night, without having anywhere to go and at risk of their lives, is not only having a physical impact, but causes an immense psychological toll.” Describing the gravity of the situation, an MSF logistic manager, added: “There are no tents left and no space for people to set up, I don’t know what to answer when colleagues ask me where they can go with their children in the middle of the night. We are running out of options to stay alive.”

Food Security

• A geospatial assessment carried out by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Satellite Centre (UNOSAT) found that less than five per cent of the Gaza Strip’s cropland area (688 out of 15,053 hectares) remains available for cultivation. According to the assessment, as of 12 April 2025, about 81 per cent of total cropland area has been damaged (12,537 hectares), including 2,648 hectares that remain accessible, and 78 per cent (11,716 hectares) of cropland is not accessible to farmers due to displacement orders and Israeli-militarized zones. Rafah and North Gaza governorates, where nearly all cropland is not accessible, are the most impacted. In addition, the assessment found that 71 per cent of greenhouses have been damaged, including all the greenhouses in Gaza governorate. In Rafah, about 86 per cent of greenhouses have been assessed as damaged, up from about 57 per cent in December 2024. Furthermore, about 83 per cent of agricultural water wells have been damaged, compared to nearly 68 per cent in December 2024. Accounting for around 10 per cent of Gaza’s economy before the escalation, with more than 560,000 people relying partly or fully on crop production, herding, or fishing for their livelihoods, the agricultural sector has been devastated, bringing local food production to a halt. “This level of destruction is not just a loss of infrastructure – it is a collapse of Gaza’s agrifood system and of lifelines,” said Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General.
• Between 22 and 24 May, following the entry of a limited amount of wheat flour into Gaza, five out of the 25 UN-supported bakeries briefly resumed operations in the central part of Gaza. On 23 May, WFP reported that 15 truckloads of critical food supplies had been looted on the way to bakeries, noting that “hunger, desperation, and anxiety over whether more food aid is coming, is contributing to rising insecurity.” Escalating insecurity, including looting and crowd violence, subsequently forced the suspension of bakery activities, while Israeli authorities have continued to prevent Food Security Sector (FSS) partners from directly delivering food to families as of 27 May. WFP underscored that it has appealed for support from Israeli authorities to enable the entry of large volumes of aid along safer routes, warning that it “cannot safely operate under a distribution system that limits the number of bakeries and sites where Gaza’s population can access food.”
• As of 27 May, about 303,000 daily meals continued to be prepared and delivered through about 72 kitchens across the Strip. However, this production level is expected to drop further as supplies continue to dwindle due to severe restrictions on the entry of aid and other essentials, including fresh food. According to the FSS, the limited food aid allowed into the Strip since 19 May is comprised exclusively of wheat flour, as of 26 May. The diversity of food in Gaza has sharply declined since March, pushing diets to dangerously imbalanced and nutritionally inadequate levels. The population is now facing extreme levels of poor dietary diversity, with most people unable to access even the most basic food groups. According to the latest integrated food security phase classification (IPC) report, the whole population – are facing crisis or worse levels of food insecurity, with about half-a-million facing starvation.
• Over the past week, multiple strikes on bakeries and community kitchens were reported, further undermining the already fragile food production and delivery systems in Gaza. On 21 May, an airstrike was reportedly carried out on a wood-fired oven located near Al Zawi Market in central Gaza city, killing 10 Palestinians. The oven was functioning as a community bakery serving residents of the area. On 21 May, another bakery in Bastn as Sameen area in central Khan Younis was reportedly hit, killing two Palestinians. On 26 May, Israeli forces reportedly destroyed Ash’sha’air Mill in the Morag area in southern Khan Younis. On 27 May, a community kitchen was reportedly hit in Gaza city, resulting in three fatalities and other injuries.

Access to Health Care

• Between 1 and 22 May 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) documented 29 attacks on health care in the Gaza Strip, further disrupting access to health care and overburdening hospitals that remain partially operational. According to WHO, at least 94 per cent of hospitals in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed. Furthermore, over the past two weeks, the functionality of health service points has severely deteriorated. Since 14 May, four partially functional hospitals had to suspend operations, reducing the number of partially functional hospitals from 22 to 18, while the number of fully and partially functional primary health-care centres (PHCs) declined from 75 to 61. Increased hostilities and displacement orders threaten to push even more health facilities out of service, warns WHO. Between 11 and 24 May, 53 health service points (six hospitals, 20 PHCs and 27 medical points) fell in areas placed under displacement orders. In addition, three hospitals, one field hospital, six PHCs and 19 medical points were situated within 1,000 meters of the areas slated for displacement during this period.
• Between 15 and 23 May, Al-Awda Hospital, in North Gaza, was repeatedly hit. After both the Indonesian and Kamal Adwan hospitals went out of service, Al Awda became the only hospital in the governorate that remains partially functional, albeit under extreme conditions. Since 19 May, ongoing hostilities and precarious road access have prevented patients from reaching the hospital. On 21 May, the hospital’s third floor was reportedly hit, injuring a staff member. Hostilities in the area also damaged the hospital’s water tank and pipeline. On 22 May, the hospital’s third and fourth floors were reportedly hit, injuring two health workers. Patient tents, including one provided by WHO, caught fire, which also burned all medical supplies in the warehouse and destroyed vehicles in the basement. Al Awda faces an imminent risk of closure due to ongoing insecurity and restricted access, according to WHO.
• WHO reported that it carried out two high-risk missions to the non-functional Indonesian Hospital, in North Gaza, on 24 and 27 May to relocate vital medical equipment and transfer patients and health workers. Describing the missions, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, said: “Amid intense hostilities in close proximity and difficult access conditions, the [WHO] team successfully transferred the hospital’s oxygen plant to WHO’s warehouse during the first mission. The dialysis equipment could not be relocated due to safety concerns stemming from military presence close to the hospital.” Dr. Balkhy added that on 27 May, “the WHO team returned to the hospital and transferred 13 people including 1 patient and 4 health workers to Al-Shifa Hospital. 20 dialysis machines, a desalination plant, and other critical medical equipment were also relocated. 39 people – including 5 patients and 8 health workers - remain at the hospital.” “The loss of Indonesian Hospital is a devastating blow to Gaza’s already crippled health system,” Dr. Balkhy stated.
• Hospitals’ bed capacity remains critically limited in Gaza. On 15 May, the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis was rendered out of service, causing a loss of 329 beds, including 28 Intensive Care Unit (ICUs) beds, 12 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICUs), and 25 emergency beds. As of 22 May, according to WHO, the total hospital bed capacity across the Gaza Strip stands at 1,929 beds, including 1,388 inpatient beds, 67 ICU beds, and 69 incubators. This is “grossly insufficient to meet the current needs,” WHO said, adding that at least 40 beds are at risk of being lost as they are in hospitals that have newly been placed under displacement orders, while an additional 850 could be lost if conditions deteriorate at facilities near these zones. Bed capacity at field hospitals decreased by 32 per cent between November 2024 and March 2025, but a few have expanded their services to cope with the overwhelming number of patients; for example, MSF has expanded the capacity of their field hospital in Deir al Balah by 20 beds, increasing bed capacity to 150 per cent. Prior to October 2023, there were about 3,500 hospital beds in the Gaza Strip.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

• Displacement orders and access constraints have severely disrupted WASH operations across Gaza, with 72 per cent of WASH assets and facilities now falling within the Israeli-demilitarized zone or in areas that have been placed under displacement orders since 18 March. These include 33 out of 46 desalination plants (72 per cent), 43 out of 52 water reservoirs (83 per cent), 51 out of 72 dumpsites (71 per cent), 233 out of 336 water wells (69 per cent), and 50 out of 70 wastewater pumping stations (71 per cent).
• The solid waste accumulation crisis in Gaza city has reached an alarming level, with over a quarter of a million tons of waste piling up and severely impacting health and environmental conditions, warned the Gaza Municipality. This growing volume of uncollected waste has created ideal conditions for the spread of disease, attracting insects and rodents and posing a serious threat to public health. The municipality has been collecting some waste and transferring it to temporary dumping sites within the city, but these mitigation measures remain limited due to a severe shortage of fuel and waste collection vehicles. According to the WASH cluster, the lack of access to suitable landfills and appropriate sites for temporary dumping in Gaza city remains unresolved. As a result, North Gaza governorate, eastern Gaza city, and other areas, including overcrowded displacement sites, are no longer assisted with solid waste collection and disposal activities, further deteriorating public health conditions. Moreover, solid waste collection has ceased entirely in all areas under displacement orders.
• Marking menstrual hygiene day on 28 May, the Gaza sexual and reproductive health working group, GBV sub-cluster, Health Cluster and WASH Cluster issued a joint advocacy brief on the menstrual hygiene crisis in Gaza. Nearly 700,000 women and girls of menstruating age in Gaza are facing a silent menstrual hygiene emergency: “Menstrual management is not a secondary need in humanitarian crises. It is a matter of health, protection, dignity, and human rights. When women and girls are unable to manage their periods safely and privately, the consequences extend far beyond discomfort.” Key points in the brief include:
  • In overcrowded shelters, women and girls lack privacy, safe toilets, and access to water, forcing them to adopt coping strategies that compromise both their safety and dignity. Water insecurity affects 90 per cent of households in Gaza, forcing families to make impossible choices between drinking, cooking, or washing. Poor menstrual hygiene in emergencies increases the risk of reproductive and urinary tract infections, sexually transmitted infections, and long-term gynecological complications, while also increasing exposure to GBV, harassment, and exploitation and limits women and girl’s mobility and access to essential services, compounding their isolation and vulnerability.
  • The psychological toll of the crisis is immense: “Girls describe menstruation as a source of shame, panic, and isolation. For many, it marks a time of deep anxiety and distress, particularly in displacement settings where privacy is non-existent.”
  • Following the closure of crossings on 2 March, hygiene and protection supplies such as sanitary pads, dignity kits, and soap have remained blocked from entering Gaza. Out of an estimated 10.4 million sanitary pads needed each month, over 75 per cent remains unmet: “This is not just a supply gap – it’s a full-scale crisis of health, dignity, and protection.” The prices of the few remaining menstrual and hygiene products have soared—reaching up to five times their pre-war cost, placing them out of reach for most.
  • In the face of these conditions, women and girls have turned to coping strategies that compromise their dignity and well-being: “Many use old clothes, torn fabric, or sponges in place of sanitary pads. Without clean water, they cannot wash or reuse materials safely, increasing the risk of infection. Some report skipping meals or reducing fluid intake to avoid using unsafe toilets. In overcrowded shelters with no privacy, managing menstruation becomes a risk in itself.”
  • Despite severe access constraints and ongoing supply chain disruptions, the clusters report that important efforts have been made to integrate menstrual hygiene into broader WASH, protection, and health interventions, but the scale and consistency of these efforts remain limited.

1415.

28 mei 2025

new BDS campaigns like Stop Home Destroyer Hyundai, the campaign that ended Pitzer College’s Israel study abroad program, and successful weapons divestment campaigns in Houston and Dallas. 

Onward to liberation,

1414.

28 mei 2025

Readers’ Recommendations 

• UN, aid groups slam US-Israel-backed initiative after deadly rush in Gaza (Al Jazeera) 

1413.

28 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Israel says it will soon occupy 75% of Gaza, and it’s using control over aid to do it

Qassam Muaddi

Israel plans on concentrating Palestinians into isolated camps within Gaza after it takes over 75% of the territory, luring Palestinians into those zones by using aid as bait.

‘It looked like a large prison’: Chaos ensues at U.S.-Israeli-backed aid distribution site in Gaza

After hours of waiting under the scorching sun, starving Palestinians stormed the militarized aid distribution point run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Live fire was reportedly opened on the crowd, as people struggled to get their hands on aid.

1412.

CARE

28 mei 2025

Hartverscheurend: deze dagen zijn we getuige van onvoorstelbare en onmenselijke taferelen bij de uitreiking van voedsel aan uitgehongerde families in Gaza. Onze hulpverleners werken iedere dag om de meest kwetsbare slachtoffers te helpen. Met gevaar voor eigen leven.

“Niemand is veilig; de dreiging van de dood is overal voelbaar,” zegt Jolien Veldwijk, landendirecteur van CARE in Gaza en de Westelijke Jordaanoever.

Ondanks aanhoudende bombardementen en de steeds groeiende  hongersnood blijven onze collega's heldhaftig families bijstaan. Alleen met uw steun kunnen onze hulpverleners levensreddend werk blijven verrichten.

Geef voor water, medische zorg en voedsel in Gaza.

Uw langdurige steun reikt nóg verder

Het is voor onze wereldwijde noodhulp van onschatbare waarde dat we kunnen rekenen op een betrouwbare en duurzame bron van financiering. Met uw steun verlenen we zo snel mogelijk noodhulp voor mensen in de gevaarlijkste situaties ter wereld, zoals op dit moment in Gaza.

Bij dit geweld hebben wij maar één prioriteit: levens redden. De politiek laat mensen in Gaza in de steek. Maar daar kan wat tegen worden gedaan. Doet u mee?

Dank voor alle steun en hulp!

Met vriendelijke groet,

R. van Haeringen,

Directeur CARE Nederland

1411.

28 mei 2025

Movement and access update in the West Bank

May 2025

Palestinian vehicles waiting in a long queue due to intensive search procedures by Israeli forces at Tayasir checkpoint, in Tubas governorate, between the northern Jordan Valley and other parts of the northern West Bank, January 2025. Photo by a local commuter.KEY FIGURES (AS OF 28 FEB 2025) A rapid survey conducted by OCHA in January and February 2025 found that there are currently 849 movement obstacles that permanently or intermittently restrict the movement of 3.3 million Palestinians across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the H2 area of Hebron city. Coupled with the 712-kilometre-long Barrier, which remains the single largest obstacle in the West Bank, movement obstacles control and restrict the freedom of movement of Palestinians, impede access to livelihoods, healthcare, education and other essential services, entrench territorial and social fragmentation, and contribute to worsening humanitarian conditions.

1410.

27 mei 2025

Gaza Humanitarian Response Update

11-24 May 2025

A Palestinian child being screened for malnutrition in Khan Younis, as new supplies arrived following almost 80 days of full blockade on any cargo entering the Gaza Strip. Photo by UNICEF, 25 May 2025

Food Security Sector (FSS)

Response

• On 25 and 26 May, around 299,000 daily meals were prepared and delivered by 16 partners through about 70 kitchens.
• Between 22 and 24 May, following the entry of a limited amount of wheat flour into Gaza, five out of the 25 UN-supported bakeries briefly resumed operations in the central part of Gaza. This enabled the distribution of over 113,000 two-kilogramme bread bundles by FSS partners via more than 120 locations in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates, including community kitchens, shelters and informal displacement sites.
• Humanitarian partners have pre-positioned over 171,000 metric tons (MT) of food in the region, ready for immediate delivery once restrictions on the entry of aid and other supplies are fully lifted by the Israeli authorities. This stockpile is enough to sustain the entire population of about 2.1 million people for three to four months.
• Amid acute food shortages, which have heightened security and looting risks, FSS partners have been scaling up community engagement efforts through in-person meetings and dissemination of community messages to support ongoing response efforts.
• During the reporting period, partners have been working with communities to identify beneficiaries and provide in-kind inputs, such as nylon sheets still available on the market, to support farmers and families in home gardening initiatives and local vegetable production. These efforts aim to improve dietary diversity, primarily in accessible locations in Deir al Balah and Al Mawasi area of Khan Younis.

Challenges

• Escalating insecurity - including looting and crowd violence – have disrupted operations, forcing the suspension of bakery activities that briefly resumed on 22 May. Since 19 May, when limited aid was allowed, Israeli authorities prevented FSS partners from directly delivering food to families, leaving bakeries and community kitchens as the only option to provide food assistance. Partners are assessing how to resume food support and emphasize the need for safe conditions. FSS partners remain committed to delivering aid directly to families through proven and principled humanitarian systems.
• Access constraints across the Gaza Strip continue to hamper efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to communities. The diversity of food in Gaza has sharply declined since March, pushing diets to dangerously imbalanced and nutritionally inadequate levels. The population is now facing extreme levels of poor dietary diversity, with most people unable to access even the most basic food groups.
• Most of the community kitchens that remain operational have been forced to adjust meal content and/or reduce the number of meals prepared daily to stretch dwindling resources. The single daily meal provided through community kitchens is insufficient to meet the daily caloric and dietary diversity needs of children and adults. Moreover, growing overcrowding is being observed across all remaining operational kitchens, leading to increased safety concerns, social tensions and further marginalization of vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, orphans, the elderly and single-headed households, who are less likely to physically access kitchens and collect meals.
• Food production and food systems in Gaza have been severely weakened by the lack of safe access of farmers, breeders, and fishers to their lands, livestock and the sea. Since 18 March 2025, access to cropland available for cultivation has significantly declined. As food supplies continue to dwindle and as fresh produce remains scarce and unaffordable, some wholesalers, fishers and farmers are forced to take grave risks to reach areas near or within the Israeli-militarized zones or the sea. In April and May, several incidents were reported in which fishing boats were hit or came under Israeli fire near the shore, resulting in casualties among fishers. Since October 2023, the Israeli authorities have banned sailing off Gaza's shore, but some fishers have continued to work within less than one nautical mile from the short using non-motorized boats since over 70 per cent of fishing assets have been destroyed or damaged.

Nutrition

Response

• After about 80 days of total blockade on the entry of aid and other essentials, UNICEF’s preventive nutrition supplies finally entered Gaza on 21 May. The cargo included 19 trucks carrying 20,790 boxes of Specialized Lipid-Based Nutritional Supplements (LNS-SQ) and 95,352 packs of ready-to-use complementary food (RUCF). The LNS-SQ is a high-calorie, protein-rich, and micronutrient-dense supplement designed to prevent malnutrition, wasting, and stunting in children aged 6-59 months. The current supply of LNS-SQ is sufficient to meet the needs of around 300,000 children for one month. RUCF, a fortified baby food that includes all five essential food groups, is designed for children between 6 and 24 months. The current supply is sufficient to support 24,223 infant and young children for one month, which is 25 per cent of the total monthly need. UNICEF is distributing the supplies through 14 partners, with 40 per cent of the supplies allocated to the northern governorates and 60 per cent to the south.
• During the reporting period, the World Food Programme (WFP) brought in 97 MT of Medium Quantity Lipid Based Nutrient supplement (LNS-MQ), used to prevent malnutrition. The quantity is sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of 61,000 children and pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW), for one month, and must be combined with food, as it is only a supplement. This represents 15 to 20 per cent of the estimated monthly requirement.
• Nutrition partners continue to screen, identify and treat children and PBW with acute malnutrition. In the first two weeks of May, about 47,800 children under five were screened, of whom 2,264 were diagnosed with acute malnutrition, including 286 cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM). This brings the total number of children diagnosed and treated for malnutrition since the beginning of 2025 to over 13,635, including 1,684 cases of SAM. During the same period, partners have conducted 114,871 screenings of PBW, of whom 2,573 have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition and enrolled in the therapeutic supplementary feeding programme. As of 24 May, there are four stabilization centres operational across Gaza, including one in Deir al Balah, two in Khan Younis and one in Gaza city.

Challenges

• Shrinking humanitarian space and access constraints continue to impede malnutrition detection and treatment efforts, even as the nutrition situation continues to deteriorate. As of 24 May, partners reported delivering treatment at 85 outpatient therapeutic programme (OTP) sites across Gaza, including 27 OTP sites in Gaza governorate, 26 OTP sites in Deir al Balah, and 23 OTP sites in Khan Younis, while only six are operational in North Gaza and three in Rafah.
• Although limited supplies are entering, ongoing restrictions on the entry of aid and other essentials continue to severely limit the availability of essential supplies required to implement nutrition programmes. Malnutrition prevention stocks are nearly depleted, while some supplies in warehouses remain in hard-to-reach or inaccessible areas or are stalled at crossings. Furthermore, due to severe food shortages, incidents of looting of nutritious supplements have become increasingly common, hindering the ability to reach children and PBW in acute need.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Response

• Between 9 and 22 May, the Palestinian Water Authority and Coastal Municipalities Water Utility reported an average daily water production from public utilities of about 91,000 cubic metres. This reflects a continued decline in water amounts, a trend observed since the collapse of the ceasefire. The reduction in water production can mainly be attributed to the need for fuel rationalization across groundwater wells, as well as repeated damage, repairs, or maintenance of the Mekorot supply line to Gaza city. Of the total amount of water production, 28,000 cubic metres was of drinking water quality, sourced from seawater, brackish water desalination plants and Mekorot lines. The remaining 63,000 cubic metres came from groundwater wells and was classified as domestic water with high levels of salinity levels. However, the WASH Cluster estimates that 50 to 60 per cent of the water produced is lost due to leaks caused by the damaged distribution network.
• On average 23,733 cubic metres of drinking water and 13,700 cubic metres of domestic water have been distributed daily by 27 WASH partners to 1,603 water collection points. These figures are consistent with volumes of water distributed through water trucking activities since early May.
• Solid Waste collection continues in accessible locations of Gaza city, Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, despite significant challenges in transferring waste to temporary dump sites.
• WASH Cluster continues to advocate for the immediate entry of sufficient quantities of fuel, repair materials, and water treatment supplies to enable life-saving WASH activities and for access to be granted to conduct necessary repairs.

Challenges

• Critical fuel shortages are impeding water production, halting other critical WASH activities, and forcing WASH partners to ration available fuel supplies.
• Lack of access and materials has prevented the repair of the electric feeder line to the UNICEF-supported South Gaza Desalination Plant, which has the capacity to produce 18 million litres of drinking water per day, and the repair of the Bani Saeed Mekorot line, which can produce about 12 million litres of drinking water per day. This can potentially serve about 400,000 people.
• Chemical supplies essential for water treatment and de-clogging, such as chlorine and anti-coagulants, are critically low. The previously agreed monthly consignment of these materials was abruptly halted at the end of the ceasefire. As of 24 May, all requests for their entry have been denied by Israeli authorities, leading to severe public health implications. Acute watery diarrhea now accounts for 25 per cent of non-trauma medical consultations, and this is expected to further increase, heightening the risk of morbidity and mortality among vulnerable populations.
• Lack of access to suitable landfills and appropriate sites for temporary dumping in Gaza city remains unresolved. As a result, North Gaza governorate, eastern Gaza city, and other areas, including overcrowded displacement sites, are no longer assisted with solid waste collection and disposal activities, further deteriorating public health conditions. Moreover, solid waste collection has ceased entirely in all areas under displacement orders.

Health

Response

• About 500,000 medical treatments, consultations and interventions were conducted by 69 Health Cluster partners providing primary and secondary health services across the Gaza Strip.
• Two health facilities reported the provision of additional emergency and in-patient services, making available 80 beds, including 20 beds at Al Ahli Arab Hospital and 60 beds at Al Quds Hospital, both in Gaza city. One Cluster partner began supporting a primary health care centre in Gaza governorate.
• Two trucks carrying medical supplies entered Gaza, while two others were denied entry. One of the denied trucks contained wheelchairs and crutches.
• As of 27 May, there were 22 Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) in the Gaza Strip: six in Gaza governorate, seven in Deir al Balah, eight in Khan Younis and one in Rafah. These include two national (353 local staff) and 20 international EMTs (59 international staff).
• During the reporting period, WHO supported the evacuation of 138 patients, along with 171 companions, to receive urgent medical treatment abroad.

Challenges

• Attacks on health care continue to take place, with 29 attacks reported so far in May 2025, further disrupting the already fragile health care system and overburdening hospitals that remain operational, however partially. These included the following key attacks:
  • Al Awda Hospital in Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza, was repeatedly hit between 15 on 23 May, resulting in the injury of staff and extensive damage to the hospitals’ warehouse containing medical supplies. Since 19 May, ongoing hostilities and precarious road access have prevented patients from reaching the hospital, which has remained partially operational under extreme conditions. As of 24 May, 19 patients and 131 staff (including 14 doctors and 40 nurses) were inside the hospital.
  • The Indonesian Hospital has been rendered out of service by strikes on 19 and 20 May, resulting in the loss of 162 hospital beds.
  • The European Gaza Hospital was forced to close on 13 May following intense Israeli airstrikes, which resulted in casualties among patients and other civilians, the destruction of oxygen lines and sewage systems, loss of 329 beds, and the cut-off of vital services, such as neurosurgery, cardiac care and cancer treatment.
• The reporting period witnessed a marked deterioration in the functionality of health service points, with 53 health service points (six hospitals, 20 PHCs and 27 medical points) falling in areas placed under displacement orders. In addition, three hospitals, one field hospital, six PHCs and 19 medical points were situated within 1,000 meters of the areas slated for displacement during this period. Overall, between 11 and 24 May, the number of functional hospitals decreased from 23 to 19 while PHCs declined from 74 to 63. Similarly, the number of functioning medical points dropped from 161 to 137, and field hospitals dropped from eight to seven.
• Almost 80 days of full blockade on aid and other essentials have had a detrimental impact on the availability of essential medicines, critical blood units, medical consumables and vaccines for routine immunization, hampering the delivery of lifesaving health services. The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that 43 per cent of essential medicines (271 out of 622 items) and 64 per cent of medical disposables (644 out of 1,006 items) were out of stock as of the end of April 2025. These supply shortages are especially acute for open-heart surgery and catheterization supplies (100 per cent), orthopedic surgery (87 per cent), ophthalmic surgery (84 per cent), hemotherapy and blood disease treatments (62 per cent), maternal and child health (53 per cent), primary healthcare (48 per cent), and vaccination programmes (42 per cent).

Protection

Response

• Child Protection – During the reporting period, CP partners distributed child identification bracelets in shelters, displacement corridors and displacement sites across the Gaza Strip. These durable, non-removable bracelets, which include the child’s full name, date of birth, caregiver contact information and displacement site registration details, are a simple, low-cost tool that has proven lifesaving. CP partners successfully reunified over 250 children with their families using bracelet information. Building on that success, 74,000 bracelets and 40,000 awareness raising flyers were printed and distributed, along with community sensitization sessions for families affected by displacement orders. Meanwhile, case management, referral and protection monitoring activities continued. During the reporting period, 359 children were referred for cash-for-protection support to meet their urgent needs, while 60 children and caregivers in residential care were referred for food assistance, which is itself in short supply. A refresher training was conducted for 48 frontline staff to strengthen frontline response, with a focus on tracking and identifying unaccompanied and separated children (UASC).
• Mine Action – During the reporting period, Mine Action (MA) Area of Responsibility (AoR) delivered two online explosive ordnance risk education (EORE) sessions to 53 humanitarian workers, and through UNRWA, conducted 1,110 EORE sessions for host community members and internally displaced people (IDPs), reaching a total of 19,004 people. During the same period, two incidents involving explosive ordnance (EO) were recorded, resulting in one fatality and six injuries. Mine Action teams also conducted two Explosive Hazard Assessments (EHAs), one at a medical facility and another at a shelter site, as well as supported four inter-agency missions, providing technical expertise and contributing to safety during humanitarian missions in Gaza.
• UNRWA's protection teams carried out the following protection monitoring activities in UNRWA shelters and displacement sites:
  • Carried out 62 protection observations, 51 key informant interviews and 40 focus group discussions in Khan Younis (including Al Mawasi), Deir al Balah, Gaza city and North Gaza.
  • Facilitated referrals to specialized services and distributed in-kind assistance, which is now mostly depleted.
  • Distributed dignity and hygiene kits, bedding kits, diapers and clothing to 379 people.
  • Conducted 150 awareness-raising sessions on child protection, EORE, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) and prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA), reaching more than 3,438 women, girls, men and boys.
  • Coordinated the provision of available assistance to 39 former detainees who were released to Gaza from Israeli detention centres.
• Gender-Based Violence (GBV) - During the reporting period, dedicated teams from 30 GBV service providers have continued to deliver essential services in Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Gaza city governorates. Efforts focused on providing individual and group psychosocial support (PSS) and individual GBV case management. Services were delivered in person at Women and Girls Safe Spaces (WGSS), in shelters, and remotely via helplines. To ensure continued, effective support for survivors amid rapidly shifting operating environment, the GBV AoR updated the GBV referral pathways to reflect significant changes in service availability and population movements. Additionally, online training sessions continued, reaching 21 GBV case workers.
• Housing, Land and Property Technical Working Group (HLP TWG) finalized and published the following products to support partners during the reporting period: a flyer on keeping documents safe; debris management and HLP Guidance Note; a one-page information document on mainstreaming HLP rights into debris management; and a guidance note for humanitarian aid workers on negotiating the stay of internally displaced persons on private land in Gaza. Additionally, the HLP TWG launched an online course for aid actors on debris management in Gaza.

Challenges

• Ongoing bombardment, displacement orders, and restrictions on the entry of aid and other supplies into Gaza continue to constrain the ability of partners to deliver critical protection, psychosocial, and other basic services across Gaza. Some partners have been forced to relocate or altogether suspend activities. During the reporting period, one Women and Girls Safe Space had to temporarily suspend operations, and 28 CP partners were forced to either suspend some or all activities or completely shut down operations.
• Referral pathways for protection services are critically undermined by the absence or lack of shelter, healthcare, WASH and food assistance, movement restrictions, and fuel shortages that make it difficult for people to access the few available services.
• In addition to movement restrictions, humanitarian staff are increasingly suffering from burnout, with most – along with their families – at heightened risk of hunger and displacement, among other dire conditions.
• Needs are growing while the capacity to respond to them has been constrained; protection monitors report deteriorating physical and mental health among people and lack of access to medication and specialized medical care. Especially impacted are people with chronic illnesses, older persons, persons with disability, women and girls who face heightened GBV risks, and children who are at an increased risk of neglect and child labor.

Education

Response

• Education Cluster partners continue to implement innovative solutions to address the growing need for education supplies in Gaza despite immense challenges. On 17 May, one partner distributed stationery kits to 305 learners in An Nuseirat, in Deir al Balah, from the last remaining stocks. Another partner distributed 29 sets of tables and stools repurposed from wooden pallets, demonstrating resourcefulness amid severe supply constraints, with preparations underway to deliver 75 additional sets.
• On 22 May, the Education Cluster organized a webinar to enhance partners’ understanding of key disability concepts, support them in strengthening inclusive and equitable access to education, and strengthen the identification of appropriate tools for collecting disability-related data in education programmes.
• During the reporting period, the Education Cluster began disseminating revised guidelines for the establishment of temporary learning spaces (TLS) to harmonize partners’ approaches and provide updated guidance on minimum standards for improving the quality, safety, and inclusiveness of learning in these emergency settings. Given significant operational constraints, the guidelines are intended to enhance planning, coordination and service delivery while partners are encouraged to adapt and apply the guidance to the extent possible.
• Partners continue to engage in advocacy to protect learning spaces and mobilize resources to scale up the education response.

Challenges

• At least 103 TLSs, mostly located in eastern Khan Younis and northern Gaza, were in areas placed under displacement orders between 11 and 24 May, forcing partners to temporarily suspend operations. This has disrupted learning for over 45,000 learners, supported by 967 teachers, as well as children’s access to critical services, including MHPSS, social and emotional learning (SEL), and structured recreational activities designed to help mitigate the effects of repeated trauma endured by children.
• Displacement orders and attacks against schools continue to be reported across Gaza, further hindering partners' ability to reopen or scale up education interventions. At the same time, a severe shortage of essential education supplies is significantly limiting partners’ capacity to respond to growing needs, expand existing TLSs, and increase enrolment. There is an urgent need for critical supplies, such as tents, prefabricated materials and basic stationery, without which establishing new TLSs is nearly impossible.
• Current challenges compound the prolonged interruption of education and lack of access to learning materials for over 19 months, further undermining the quality of learning in already dire conditions. Limited funding and restrictive donor conditionalities continue to constrain the education response in Gaza. Teachers, who remain the most reliable and readily available resource within the education system, are currently operating on a voluntary basis. For many, teaching is not only a vital service but also their primary source of livelihood. Yet, most partners are reporting a lack of necessary funds to provide even minimal compensation or incentives to sustain the engagement of teachers and acknowledge their dedication and resourcefulness in engaging learners, often without any learning materials and in extremely challenging conditions. Cited reasons include donor reluctance to fund teacher incentives. The current teaching workforce is comprised of 80 per cent women and 20 per cent men.

Shelter

Response

• During the reporting period, Shelter Cluster partners were only able to assist a limited number of the most vulnerable families referred by other clusters and partners. Between 11 and 24 May, approximately 40 families received emergency shelter kits (ESK) and bedding items, and about 370 families received vouchers for clothing.

Challenges

• Insecurity, restrictions on the entry of aid and other supplies, airstrikes on IDP tents and displacement orders are significantly affecting the capacities and response efforts of Shelter Cluster partners. Many staff members have themselves been displaced, critical shelter and non-food stocks have been fully depleted, and access to newly displaced people is increasingly constrained. As a result, several organizations were forced to partially or fully suspend their activities and have been unable to respond to the needs of vulnerable families, including those who have recently been forcibly displaced. Many of the newly displaced families have been unable to carry their belongings while fleeing.
• The inability to bring in shelter items through crossings, the lack of a fully functioning market, and prohibitively expensive shelter items that remain available in limited quantities on the market are further constraining response efforts.
• Most of the shelter items distributed in Gaza, such as tents, have a short lifespan of only three to six months, creating a repetitive cycle of demand for shelter assistance. This is further compounded by repeated waves of forced displacement, often resulting in the loss or abandonment of essential shelter items. As a result, and despite previous aid distributions, unmet shelter needs remain widespread across the Gaza Strip. An estimated 1.1 million people require emergency shelter items, while around 800,000 people are estimated to require household items, according to the most recent assessment by the Shelter Cluster conducted in May.

Logistics

Response

• Following the Israeli authorities' decision on 18 May to allow a resumption of limited humanitarian aid into Gaza, the Logistics Cluster is coordinating with partners to identify trucks ready for dispatch from Ashdod and other locations inside Israel. The Cluster is also preparing the daily truck manifest draft for submission to Israeli authorities for their final authorization.
• Between 15 and 21 May, the Logistics Cluster launched the Port Said survey to assess the bonded storage needs of partners operating through the Egypt corridor.

Challenges

• The only aid supplies that Israeli authorities are approving for entry into Gaza are exclusively from locations inside Israel to Kerem Shalom crossing, limiting the humanitarian community’s ability to mobilise aid located in the West Bank, Jordan and Egypt, where stockpiles are available. Protests at Ashdod Port disrupted loading and dispatch operations, with humanitarian trucks being obstructed and, in some instances, their tyres slashed, resulting in further delays.
• For the limited number of trucks currently authorised for entry, Israeli authorities are permitting only medical items and certain food and nutrition supplies. Furthermore, only a very limited number of humanitarian organisations have been cleared to move cargo into Gaza.
• The total aid blockade for nearly 80 days on the entry of aid and other essentials has contributed to ever rising insecurity levels inside Gaza, including looting incidents that have affected logistic transport operations. Ongoing restrictions by Israeli authorities on coordinated aid movements, such as the limited number of permitted routes and time windows, further compound the security risks facing logistics convoys and contribute to operational delays. Cargo collection from the Kerem Shalom/Karm Abu Salam crossing platform was delayed by two days due to the lack of approvals from Israeli authorities.
• Israeli authorities have prohibited the storage of humanitarian cargo inside Gaza, except for limited exemptions granted to select food and nutrition actors to store limited quantities. Most of the aid must thus be dispatched directly for distribution, resulting in significant operational challenges.
• Following the expansion of the Israeli-militarised zone on 5 May, two out of three Logistics Cluster warehouses in northern Gaza became inaccessible. Additionally, since the issuance of the 18 May displacement order in Deir al Balah governorate, the Cluster’s common warehouse was evacuated and is no longer accessible, leaving only one common storage facility with limited capacity accessible in the governorate. At present, two out of five Cluster’s warehouses are accessible across Gaza.

1409.

27 mei 2025

West Bank Monthly Snapshot
Casualties, Property Damage and Displacement

April 2025

Disclaimer:

• This report reflects information available as of the time of publication. The most updated data and more breakdowns are available at ochaopt.org/data.
• In Israel, 14 Israelis were killed by Palestinians from the West Bank in attacks that also resulted in the killing of 6 Palestinians between January 2024 and March 2025. These are counted separately, as this report covers incidents that took place in the West Bank.
• Casualties in the West Bank have been documented by OCHA since 2005, settler violence since 2006, and demolitions and displacement since 2009.
• Palestinians or Israelis whose immediate cause of death or the perpetrator’s identity remain disputed, unclear, or unknown, are counted separately, so are casualties as a result of “friendly fire” and Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank who have died in Israeli custody. Figures also do not include UXOs, mishandling of weapons, hit-and-run incidents, internal Palestinian clashes, and incidents where the perpetrator's nationality is disputed.

1409A.

AVAAZ

27 mei 2025

1408.

27 mei 2025

Over the last few weeks, Israeli settlers have taken a series of revenge actions against Palestinians. In particular, these violations have been acts of retaliations against our executive director Issa Amro for participating in the viral BBC documentary Louis Theroux: The Settlers. This includes break ins, assault, vandalism, death threats, harassment, theft, and most recently the burning of the Black liberation flag alongside Palestinian flags. Here is an update about these incidents and hope that you will support the work we do to strengthen the resilience of the local community in the face of these acts of hatred and help us spread awareness internationally.

Settlers Burn Black Lives Matter Flag

Recently, activists from the Black Lives Matter movement visited our team in Hebron and gifted our executive director Issa Amro the pan-African flag, also known as the Black Liberation flag. Issa placed the flag in an olive tree next to a sign with Free Palestine, and hung another at the entrance to his home and our field office. Then, Israeli settlers entered the yard and stole the flag from the house.

The Jewish holiday Lag BaOmer is traditionally celebrated with a bonfire, possible to signify spiritual light. However, settlers chose to celebrate this day by burning Palestinian flags in an act of hatred. Other flags included various Palestinian political party flags, the former Syrian flag. Among the flags burned was our flag given to us by Black Lives Matter.

Break-Ins, Threats & Harassment

When Issa Amro participated in the viral BBC documentary Louis Theroux: The settlers, his interview exposed the realities on the ground in Hebron in ways that the Israeli settlers and soldiers did not appreciate. In response, Israeli soldiers raided his home followed by a group of Israeli settlers who broke into his yard, attacked Issa and our volunteers and vandalized the place. A soldier half-heartedly tried to hold the settlers back to some extent but made no arrests. Instead, soldiers told Issa that if he were to file a complaint against the settlers, then he would be arrested instead.

The attack was reported in The Guardian, as well as on Al Jazeera and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and was highlighted by Louis Theroux himself. Right Livelihood issued a press release after the incident.

A couple days later, settlers broke into Issa's yard at night and stole the pan-African flag from Black Lives Matter. A few days after that, a group of young Israeli settlers showed up in the middle of the night, around 4am, and lit a bonfire on private Palestinian land just outside Issa's home. They chanted that they were happy that Issa's brother and fellow volunteer had died and that they hoped that Issa, too, will die or be killed soon. Soldiers stood by, watched and did nothing.

Another day or two later, an Israeli settler dumped his trash into Issa's yard. A few days later, an Israeli lawyer, who had represented the notorious settler Anat Cohen in a case in an Israeli civil court, showed up outside of Issa's house wearing army fatigues. The man was there to intimidate Issa, likely looking for retaliation after losing the legal case, where Anat Cohen was found guilty of assaulting Issa.

And now, Israeli settlers chose to burn the stolen property of flags in an act of hatred and intimidation against Palestinians and all who stand with them.

Existence is Resistance

Friends of Hebron is dedicated to support the local Palestinian community in Hebron as violations against them intensify and their daily lives are . A great deal of our work is geared toward helping Palestinian families remain in their homes in the face of intense pressure to leave.

1407.

27 mei 2025

Amid ‘catastrophic’ food insecurity, child illness in Gaza turns deadly

Illnesses that were manageable before the war are turning deadly amid "catastrophic levels" of food insecurity in Gaza, and 19 months of genocide have now led to the spread of new diseases, reaching record numbers.

1406.

27 mei 2025

West Bank Monthly Snapshot
Casualties, Property Damage and Displacement

April 2025

*Disclaimer:

• This report reflects information available as of the time of publication. The most updated data and more breakdowns are available at ochaopt.org/data.
• In Israel, 14 Israelis were killed by Palestinians from the West Bank in attacks that also resulted in the killing of 6 Palestinians between January 2024 and March 2025. These are counted separately, as this report covers incidents that took place in the West Bank.
• Casualties in the West Bank have been documented by OCHA since 2005, settler violence since 2006, and demolitions and displacement since 2009.
• Palestinians or Israelis whose immediate cause of death or the perpetrator’s identity remain disputed, unclear, or unknown, are counted separately, so are casualties as a result of “friendly fire” and Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank who have died in Israeli custody. Figures also do not include UXOs, mishandling of weapons, hit-and-run incidents, internal Palestinian clashes, and incidents where the perpetrator's nationality is disputed.

1405.

26 mei 2025

Eindelijk lijkt er een kantelpunt bereikt en schuift er ook in ons land het nodige. Een demonstratie die de regering oproept tot maatregelen trekt 100.00 mensen, artiesten boycotten festivals over hun investeringen in Israels krijgsmacht, academici zetten druk op besturen voort.

Samen zetten we de Kamercommissie voor Buitenlandse Zaken onder druk om maatregelen in te stellen. Dus teken de mail! Want totnogtoe zijn het vooral woorden en zijn er nog weinig daden te zien.

Een strijdbare groet van het docP team; blijf BDS-en!

 Nooit Meer Is Nu – De wereld moet handelen!

De live gestreamde genocidale horror van massamoorden en gedwongen hongersnood die apartheid Israël aan miljoenen Palestijnen in de illegaal bezette Gazastrook toebrengt, heeft een breekpunt bereikt. Duizenden baby’s  kijken de dood in de ogen omdat de Israëlische bezetting alle goederen de toegang tot Gaza ontzegt, inclusief babyvoeding en essentiële medische benodigdheden. NOOIT MEER IS NU!

Help het tij verder te keren!

De afgelopen week begon al met verrassingen. De Rode Lijn demonstratie trok onverwacht veel mensen: Den Haag zag rood. Vervolgens besluit ook AVROTROS dat het tijd is om met de European Broadcasting Union te praten over Israël. Investeringen van festivalbaas KKR zorgen voor afzeggingen door artiesten. Met een mailactie houden we de druk op de regering.

DJ’s tegen festivalbaas KKR

In de festivalwereld is veel ophef ontstaan nadat duidelijk werd dat de nieuwe eigenaar van festivalorganisator Superstruct de VS durfinvesteerder KKR was. Dat bedrijf investeert  in de Israëlische data- en surveillanceindustrie, en ook in fossiele pijpleidingen in Canada. Veel artiesten en festivals nemen nu een standpunt in tegen hun nieuwe eigenaar.  Solidariteitsverklaringen zijn niet voldoende.

Wetenschappers: verbreek banden met genocide en geen politie op de campus

Nederlandse wetenschappers herhalen hun dringende boodschap aan bestuurders van het hoger onderwijs: Verbreek de banden met genocide en haal de politie niet naar de campus! Wij herpubliceren de open brief met link om te tekenen.   Studenten. alumni, docenten teken hier! Aan de bestuurders van alle Nederlandse hoger onderwijs instellingen, Wij, medewerkers, onderzoekers en alumni […] Het bericht Wetenschappers: verbreek banden met genocide en geen politie op de campus verscheen ...

1404.

26 mei 2025

Readers’ Recommendations 

• Israeli attack on school used as shelter in Gaza kills dozens, say local health officials (The Guardian) 

1403.

25 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Europe is finally taking action for Palestine, but it is too little and too late

The European Union has the power to stop Israel's rampant slaughter in Gaza. But even recent moves to pressure Israel reflect the EU's unwillingness to stop the genocide.

1402.

24 mei 2025

As the exodus from northern Gaza continues, Palestinians fear a ‘final displacement’

Tareq S. Hajjaj 

Residents of north Gaza say a repeat of the early stages of the genocide is taking place, when hundreds of thousands were displaced to the south and barred from returning. Gazans fear that the latest wave is paving the way for the final displacement.

Extermination as negotiation: Understanding Israel’s strategy in Gaza

Whether it's total conquest or managed containment, Israel doesn't have a single grand strategy for Gaza, but it uses the possibility of both to prolong the war.

1402A.

Nieuws van Volkeren Voor Vrede

25 mei 2025

Zondag 25 Mei is het zover, dan zal van 12:00 tot 15:30 Volkeren Voor Vrede DAM zich manifesteren. Naast eem woordvoerder van VVV zullen George Janszen, Kees van der Pij, Ab Gietelink en Sandew Hira acte de presence geven.

https://volkerenvoorvrede.nl/2025/05/05/aankondiging-demo-volkeren-voor-vrede-25-05-2025/

Verder heeft Sjoerd de Groot Jakob de Jonge geinterviewd over de vredespolitiek in Nederland.

https://volkerenvoorvrede.nl/2025/05/22/jakob-de-jonge-over-vredespolitiek-in-nederland/

P.S.

Neem van het weekend een paraplu mee, want er wordt regen verwacht.

Hoogachtend: Team Volkeren Voor Vrede

1401.

24 mei 2025

Gaza’s suffering deepens as Israeli leaders discuss deliberate ethnic cleansing.

Embassy staff shooting is skewed to further demonize pro-Palestine movement

This week, the shooting deaths of two Israeli embassy staff members in Washington, D.C., sparked immediate attempts by the Israeli government, Zionist organizations, and the U.S. government to frame this act as antisemitic violence. However, journalist Ken Klippenstein revealed that the alleged shooter, Elias Rodriguez, explicitly linked his actions in a manifesto to Israel’s ongoing genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, without ever mentioning Jews or Judaism. This calculated misrepresentation aims to distract attention from Israel’s abhorrent violence in Gaza and criminalize civil society movements advocating for Palestinian liberation by associating them unjustly with antisemitism and political violence. It is possible to condemn acts of political violence and resist these dangerous efforts to silence dissent and conflate legitimate opposition to Israel’s criminal actions with bigotry.

In an extraordinary development, the governments of France, the United Kingdom, and Canada jointly demanded that Israel cease its devastating violence in Gaza. Traditionally deferential to U.S. leadership regarding Israeli actions, this joint statement signals potential geopolitical shifts amid the chaos unleashed by Donald Trump’s tumultuous second term. France may be trying to steer the European Union toward a new stance on Israel and Palestine, while the U.K., under Keir Starmer, possibly losing faith in American stability, seeks closer ties with Europe. Canada, facing aggressive rhetorical and economic pressure from the Trump administration, similarly hopes to strengthen its alliances with the U.K. and the EU. Israel’s ongoing atrocities in Gaza may be emerging as a significant wedge issue, driving the growing U.S. isolation on the global stage.

Meanwhile, the situation in Gaza is catastrophic. Tens of thousands of Palestinians, including countless children, face starvation as Israel’s military forces relentlessly target civilians forced to flee southward again. Gaza’s infrastructure and neighborhoods continue to be reduced to rubble, with Israeli officials openly advocating for the ethnic cleansing of the territory. It is critical that we trust our eyes and ears, refusing to be gaslit into disbelieving the courageous reports emerging from Palestinian journalists and civilians. What we witness is nothing short of wholesale slaughter and ethnic cleansing. Stay involved, keep organizing, and continue advocating for an end to this madness.

David Reed, Publisher

Must Read: Israel’s aid plan for Gaza is a key part of its strategy to expel Palestinians

Qassam Muaddi: Israel’s plan to handle the distribution of aid in Gaza via a U.S. private contractor is a key part of its plan to ethnically cleanse its population.

Palestinians wait in long queues to receive pots of food distributed by charitable organizations, Gaza City, May 21, 2025. (Photo: Omar Ashtawy/AP)

Catch-up

= Pro-Israel groups and lawmakers are calling the killing of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, D.C. an antisemitic attack and have attempted to blame it on the campus Gaza protests of the past 18 months.

= Donald Trump’s tour of the Gulf hinted at possible changes in U.S. foreign policy, but Israel’s escalation of the genocide in Gaza makes clear its destructive fundamentals are essentially intact.

= The Israeli army is besieging yet another hospital in north Gaza, following the same playbook it has used throughout the genocide in Gaza. According to witnesses, those trapped in the Indonesian Hospital are scared to move out of fear of being shot.

= Not In Our Name TU: The Gaza genocide is nearing its final, most brutal phase, and Israeli universities are providing intellectual, logistical, and technological support. The academic boycott of Israeli institutions is the minimum that justice demands.

= Student protestors across the country are adapting their strategies to Trump’s crackdown on the pro-Palestine movement, but it’s safe to say the activism is not slowing down.

= Mariam Khateeb: The war in Gaza is not only the story of rubble and airstrikes. It is the story of the girl getting her period under bombardment, the mother bleeding in silence and miscarrying on cold floors, or giving birth under drones.

= The Trump administration’s assault on Palestine activism may seem unprecedented, but the parallels to the post-9/11 “War on Terror” are chillingly familiar. However, this attempt to quash dissent will fail, because you cannot deport a movement.

= International aid organizations are calling an Israeli-U.S. plan to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza a “politicized sham” and a “blueprint for ethnic cleansing.” Meanwhile, the UN warns 14,000 babies could die within days if Gaza does not receive aid.

= Anna Feder is suing Emerson College for firing her over her Palestine activism. She says she will never stop advocating for a free Palestine.

1400.

24 mei 2025

Peru has opened a criminal investigation into an Israeli war criminal following a complaint by the Hind Rajab Foundation, represented by lawyer Julio César Arbizu González. The accused, a combat engineering soldier, is implicated in the systematic destruction of civilian areas in Gaza. This marks a critical step in enforcing universal jurisdiction and holding perpetrators accountable

Read the full press release below.

Lima / 23 May 2025

​

In a landmark development for international justice, the Republic of Peru has formally opened a criminal investigation against an Israeli national accused of participating in the genocide in Gaza, following a legal complaint submitted by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF). The complaint was filed by Julio César Arbizu González, a prominent Peruvian human rights lawyer and legal counsel to the Foundation.

​The individual under investigation served as a combat engineering soldier in the Israeli military and is alleged to have played a direct role in the methodical and systematic destruction of civilian neighbourhoods in the Gaza Strip during the 2023–2024 military offensive.

​​The complaint, supported by audiovisual documentation and open-source intelligence, accuses the soldier of engaging in actions that constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide.

This step by Peruvian authorities is of immense significance in the global pursuit of justice. It is not only an affirmation of Peru’s adherence to the principles of international humanitarian and criminal law, but also a decisive recognition that universal jurisdiction must be exercised—not merely acknowledged—when those responsible for international crimes are found within a state’s territory.

Crucially, this case highlights the central role played by the Combat Engineering Corps of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in the implementation of Israel’s genocidal campaign against the Palestinian population of Gaza. Far from being a support unit, the Engineering Corps has acted as a core operational arm of destruction, systematically reducing civilian areas to rubble, erasing entire communities, and rendering large swathes of Gaza uninhabitable. This unit, through its actions, has become one of the primary mechanisms of the genocidal machine.

In response, the Hind Rajab Foundation has undertaken a comprehensive legal offensive targeting this formation. To date, the Foundation has prepared hundreds of individual case files against members of the Combat Engineering Corps. These cases are being progressively submitted before competent national jurisdictions in countries across multiple continents, with more filings to follow in the weeks and months ahead.

The opening of this investigation in Peru demonstrates that the HRF’s legal actions against travelling Israeli soldiers are not symbolic gestures—they yield tangible legal consequences. It is a powerful precedent, affirming that no perpetrator of atrocity crimes should feel shielded by distance or diplomatic complacency.

The Hind Rajab Foundation calls upon all states—particularly those that are parties to the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute—to follow Peru’s example by initiating proceedings against individuals implicated in the Gaza genocide who may enter their jurisdictions.

​“Justice is not optional. Justice is imperative,” said Dyab Abou Jahjah, Chairman of the Hind Rajab Foundation. “This investigation marks a decisive step in the dismantling of Israeli impunity" he added.

The Hind Rajab Foundation will continue to pursue all responsible individuals—wherever they are, and for as long as it takes—because only justice can lay the foundation for lasting peace and human dignity in Palestine and beyond.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Help us stay independent:

Support our work by becoming a monthly sponsor or make a one-time donation.

Help us grow our audience:

Follow us on social media, share our updates and ask your network to do the same!

1399.

23 mei 2025

As Meta, PayPal, and Google prepare to host their annual shareholders meetings over the next two weeks (May 28,¹ June 5,² and June 6³), we’re mobilizing with other organizations in the tech justice and Palestine movements to demand accountability for the tech industry’s complicity in genocide and apartheid.  

Big Tech’s role in fueling Israel’s genocidal war and campaign of starvation against the people of Gaza goes far beyond individual company contracts––the whole industry is deeply complicit.

And just as these companies continue to supply tech tools to Israel, they’re also signing new contracts with U.S. weapons manufacturers,⁴ cozying up to Trump’s fascist administration,⁵ and turning a profit from the mass deportations and surveillance that terrorize communities.⁶      

With companies’ annual shareholder meetings approaching, this is an important moment to raise our voices about this horrifying complicity––until Big Tech pays a price for the suffering they’re enabling globally.

Despite the enormous power these companies hold, we are seeing the evidence of our impact constantly––just last week, powerful worker organizing forced Microsoft to respond to demands regarding the company’s contracts with Israel.⁷ Collective action is the only way to move the needle, and we need you with us.  

Leila & the team at Fight

P.S. Once you sign the petition, be sure to register for our campaign kick-off Action Hour on May 28 (the same day as Meta’s AGM) – we’ll hear from tech organizers and workers about their Palestine-focused campaigns, and take action together to make our demands heard. Register here.

Footnotes:

1. Meta: https://www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/META2025

2. PayPal: https://www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/PYPL2025

3. Alphabet Inc: https://abc.xyz/assets/7b/19/1cfce14d4a09a8aa9ad8580219b1/pro012701-1-alphabet-courtesy-edgar.pdf

4. No Tech for Apartheid: https://medium.com/@notechforapartheid/statement-on-google-clouds-collaboration-with-lockheed-martin-19cd460d22d3

5. Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-inauguration-ceo-guests-bezos-zuckerberg-musk-2025-1

6. No Tech for ICE: https://notechforice.com/

7. No Azure for Apartheid: https://medium.com/@noazureforapartheid/microsoft-admits-complicity-in-genocide-in-a-failed-attempt-to-deny-their-involvement-no-azure-ac7b39730c7a

Fight for the Future, PO Box 55071 #95005, Boston, MA 02205

1398.

23 mei 2025

You and I know full well that Israel will use anything to distract from (and manufacture consent for) the genocide it's committing.

It’s vital we stay focused on the catastrophic emergency on the ground: the 2 million Palestinian people enduring forced starvation and mass extermination, including over 53,000 murdered (likely much more) in the past 600 days. Israel is now trying to complete this genocide, ramping up a full-scale invasion and slaughtering everyone in its path.

Don’t get distracted. Center the lives and experiences of Palestinian people enduring genocide, remain grounded in our fight for justice, and keep taking action. Read the latest updates below.

TAKE ACTION NOW: LET AID IN

STORM CHEVRON'S SOCIAL MEDIA 

• Hit the streets and protest. Make lots of noise, and bang pots and pans to sound the alarm on forced starvation.
• Watch our “77 Years of Ongoing Nakba” Mass Movement Call for more ways to take action.

FIND A PROTEST NEAR YOU 

1397.

23 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Israel’s aid plan for Gaza is a key part of its strategy to expel Palestinians

Qassam Muaddi

Israel's plan to handle the distribution of aid in Gaza via a U.S. private contractor is a key part of its plan to ethnically cleanse its population.

Politicians smear the Palestine movement after two Israeli Embassy staffers killed in D.C.

Michael Arria

Pro-Israel groups and lawmakers are calling the killing of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, DC an antisemitic attack and have attempted to blame it on the campus Gaza protests of the past 18 months.

1396.

23 mei 2025

Zondag 18 mei kleurde Den Haag rood. En niet alleen Den Haag. Onderweg naar de Rode Lijn-demonstratie kleurden NS-stations zó rood dat veel reizigers volgepakte treinen aan zich voorbij moesten laten gaan voordat zij koers konden zetten naar de Hofstad.

Eenmaal daar sloten zij aan bij een stoet van ruim 100 duizend Nederlanders die, gesteund door bijna honderd maatschappelijke organisaties, samen een Rode Lijn trokken. Tégen de Israëlische genocide in Gaza en tégen de medeplichtigheid van de Nederlandse regering daaraan. En vóór het internationaal recht, rechtvaardigheid en humanitaire waarden.

De start van de Rode Lijn op het Malieveld in Den Haag. © Noes Petiet

De actie gaf een stem aan de duidelijke meerderheid van de bevolking die het kabinetsbeleid over Gaza afwijst, en die zich machteloos voelt ten opzichte van de horror in Gaza en de medeplichtigheid van Nederland. Samen gaven we rechtvaardigheid een gezicht en hoop aan elkaar en aan Gaza.

Wij bedanken iedereen die de demonstratie mede mogelijk heeft gemaakt, alle deelnemers in Den Haag en iedereen die vanuit huis of in de buurt zijn stem heeft laten horen. 

Impressie van de Rode Lijn. [c] Noes PetietDe regering heeft nu het volledige maatschappelijke middenveld tegenover zich met de eis dat alle beschikbare middelen worden ingezet om Palestijnse levens te redden. In de praktijk ligt dat besluit vooral in handen van de VVD en NSC, de regeringspartijen die samen met de BBB de anti-Palestijnenpolitiek van Wilders’ PVV faciliteren.

Het goede nieuws: in de achterban van VVD en NSC wil een meerderheid een eind aan die politiek, bleek uit een recente opiniepeiling van EenVandaag (zie hieronder). De twee partijen,die dit blijven negeren, zullen angst hebben voor electorale gevolgen.

Impressie van de Rode Lijn. [c] Foto Wonders / Oxfam

Wij strijden tegen oorlogsmisdaden, annexatie, bezetting en onderdrukking. Helpt u mee?

Nee, ik steun The Rights Forum niet! Omdat TRF systematisch blijft weigeren om sancties tegen Israël te eisen.

EenVandaag | Peiling: samenleving wil dat regering optreedt tegen Israël

Een nieuwe peiling van EenVandaag wijst uit dat een ruime meerderheid (62 procent) van de Nederlanders wil dat het kabinet-Schoof krachtiger optreedt tegen Israël. De peiling is het derde onderzoek in drie weken (Ipsos I&O en Motivaction gingen EenVandaag voor) dat deze conclusie trekt.

Meer dan de twee andere recente onderzoeken geeft dat van EenVandaag inzicht in de politieke voorkeuren van de ondervraagden. Daaruit blijkt een aantal opvallende zaken. 

De belangrijkste uitkomsten van de opiniepeiling. © EenVandaag

Bijna twintig gemeenten spreken zich uit over Gaza en falend kabinetsbeleid

Israëli's in Europa demonstreren tegen eigen regering en Europese medeplichtigheid

Verder uit onze agenda
zaterdag 24 mei t/m zaterdag 31 mei

Demonstraties en wakes
• Wake op zaterdag 24 mei in Groningen, Waagplein (13.00 uur)
• Stil protest van gate48 - de organisatie van kritische Israëli's in Nederland op zondag 25 mei in Amsterdam, 't Spui (17.00 uur)
• Demonstratie van Israëli’s in Europa: ‘No business as usual with Israel’ op dinsdag 27 mei in Amsterdam, Amstel 1, Stopera (18.00 uur)
• Sit-in rijksambtenaren op donderdag 29 mei in Den Haag, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Rijnstraat 8 (12.00 uur)
• Wekelijks protest tegen de genocide op de Palestijnen op donderdag 29 mei in Zaandam, bij de ingang van het station (17.30 uur)
• Wake op zaterdag 31 mei in Nijmegen, Koningsplein - Marienburg (14.00 uur)

1395.

22 mei 2025

De live gestreamde genocidale horror van massamoorden en gedwongen hongersnood die apartheid Israël aan miljoenen Palestijnen in de illegaal bezette Gazastrook toebrengt, heeft een breekpunt bereikt. Duizenden baby’s kijken de dood in de ogen omdat de Israëlische bezetting alle goederen de toegang tot Gaza ontzegt, inclusief babyvoeding en essentiële medische benodigdheden. NOOIT MEER IS NU!

Voor het eerst ooit worden zelfs de meest medeplichtige regeringen ter wereld gedwongen – door de macht van het volk en morele verontwaardiging – om Israël publiekelijk ter verantwoording te roepen en maatregelen te treffen, waarmee dit taboe wordt doorbroken. Dit is wederom een ​​duidelijk teken dat onze collectieve BDS-druk werkt.

Maar we moeten regeringen overal ter wereld nu laten zien dat het niet werkt om alleen maar te poseren en lege retoriek te gebruiken om de woedende bevolking te sussen.

Staten hebben een wettelijke en ethische plicht om een​​einde te maken aan hun schandelijke medeplichtigheid aan de genocide van Israël, en we moeten allemaal de druk opvoeren zoals nooit tevoren om hen deze verplichtingen te laten naleven! Als niet nu, wanneer dan wel?

Dit is ons moment. Nooit Meer is geen slogan, maar een belofte. Nooit Meer is NU. Sta op met moed en vastberadenheid ​​voor de Palestijnse bevrijding en de verdediging van onze gedeelde menselijkheid.

Hoewel recente uitspraken wellicht een symbolische politieke verschuiving weerspiegelen, komen ze veel te laat en schieten ze ernstig tekort in het nakomen van de verplichtingen van staten onder internationaal recht.

Het Palestijnse maatschappelijk middenveld, de mensenrechtenexperts van de VN en het internationaal recht wijzen allemaal op dezelfde noodzaak: verantwoording afleggen, de plicht om de genocide te stoppen en vervolgens de daders te straffen. Leg nu je eisen neer bij de regering! 

Zelfs in het koloniale Westen keert het tij. De druk vanuit de basis bereikt historische hoogten en dwingt zeer medeplichtige regeringen en instellingen om ongekende vormen van verantwoording voor te stellen, ook al zijn die nog steeds zwak en ronduit ontoereikend. Na 77 jaar Israëlisch regime van kolonialisme en apartheid zien we eindelijk scheuren in de muur van zijn “totale straffeloosheid”, zoals zelfs de secretaris-generaal van de VN het ooit verwoordde. Mail nu naar de vaste Kamercommissie van Buitenlandse zaken!

Dit is niet het moment voor aarzeling of loze retoriek. Dit is het moment voor wettige sancties.

Volgens mensenrechtenexperts van de VN, na de uitspraak van het Internationaal Gerechtshof over de illegale bezetting en apartheid van Israël vorig jaar, moeten staten om aan hun wettelijke verplichtingen te voldoen minimaal “economische relaties, handelsovereenkomsten en academische betrekkingen met Israël annuleren of opschorten die kunnen bijdragen aan de illegale aanwezigheid en het apartheidsregime van Israël in de bezette Palestijnse gebieden” en “een volledig wapenembargo tegen Israël opleggen”.

Wij moeten ZE DWINGEN dit te doen!

Met een maandelijkse donatie help je ons de continuïteit van ons werk te garanderen

Deel deze nieuwsbrief!

De geweldloze BDS-beweging voor vrijheid, rechtvaardigheid en gelijkheid wordt gesteund door de absolute meerderheid in de Palestijnse samenleving. BDS verwerpt alle vormen van racisme en discriminatie.

1394.

22 mei 2025

Israel’s “final solution” for Palestinians.

5 minute read 

Tweet at the media: Call it a genocide.

Tweet now 

What we're reading: The far-right’s plan to destroy the Palestine movement.

Read in the New York Times 

What we're listening to: ‘It has absolutely nothing to do with Jewish safety.’

Listen on Democracy Now!

1393.

BREAKING THE SILENCE

22 mei 2025

I knew this work would be difficult, but nothing prepared me for what I’d hear. A year in, I’ve learned most Israelis have no idea what their loved ones were sent to do in Gaza– not about burning innocent Palestinian’s homes, or about using civilians as human shields, torturing detainees at Sde Teiman, or systematically razing entire neighborhoods in order to expand the new “buffer zone” in Gaza.

This Sunday, I was arrested and jailed for joining an urgent nonviolent march to the border calling for an end to Israel’s war on Gaza. The authorities have criminalized dissent, but we won't stop speaking out. Israel’s horrific assault on Gaza must end– and this moment demands that none of us stay silent. Powerful interests are working overtime to keep the public in the dark about the truth of IDF conduct, but your contribution today will chip away at their lies and denial.

Thank you for ensuring that the soldiers breaking their silence today won't be the last.

In solidarity,
Nadav Koenig
Testifier and interviewer,
Breaking the Silence

1392.

DE GOEDE ZAAK

22 mei 2025

Nederland staat op. Jij ook?

Zondag trokken we met meer dan 100.000 mensen een rode lijn in Den Haag, om een duidelijk signaal af te geven rond het Gaza-standpunt van dit kabinet. Dat is historisch. In 20 jaar zijn er niet zoveel mensen de straat op geweest. De beelden waren indrukwekkend: duizenden mensen, schouder aan schouder, die opstaan voor rechtvaardigheid.

Gezamenlijk zetten we de strijd voort! Blijf mee actie voeren. De volgende fase in de strijd is de eis aan de Nederlandse regering dat die zich NU EINDELIJK gaat inzetten voor SANCTIES, SANCTIES en nog eens SANCTIES jegens Israël!

De GoedeZaak

1391.

22 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Students Demand Action: TU Berlin must cut ties with genocide-enabling institutions

Not In Our Name TU

The Gaza genocide is nearing its final, most brutal phase, and Israeli universities are providing intellectual, logistical, and technological support. The academic boycott of Israeli institutions is the minimum that justice demands.

What happens when Israel attacks a hospital

Tareq S. Hajjaj

The Israeli army is besieging yet another hospital in north Gaza, following the same playbook it has used throughout the genocide in Gaza. According to witnesses, those trapped in the Indonesian Hospital are scared to move out of fear of being shot.

1390.

22 mei 2025

Readers’ Recommendations

• Israeli troops fire ‘warning shots’ at 25 diplomats visiting occupied West Bank (The Guardian) 
• The Israeli government must no longer act with impunity (Le Monde, English) 
• Two Israeli embassy staff members killed outside Jewish museum in Washington, DC (CNN)

1389.

AVAAZ

22 mei 2025

1388.

22 mei 2025

Humanitarian Situation Update #291
West Bank

A displaced Palestinian man from Umm Tuba village, East Jerusalem, overlooks the nearby Israeli settlement of Har Homa after Israeli forces demolished his house. Photo by OCHA

Key Highlights

• Between 13 and 19 May, Israeli forces killed eight Palestinians, including two children, in the West Bank, including five killed in an exchange of fire in Tubas governorate.
• A pregnant Israeli woman from Bruchin settlement was shot and killed in a shooting attack near Bruqin town, in Salfit governorate.
• For eight days since 14 May, Israeli forces have imposed a near-total closure on over 11,000 Palestinians in Burqin and Kafr ad Dik towns, in Salfit governorate, as settlers have escalated their attacks against Palestinians in the area.
• The number of Palestinian homes demolished by their owners in East Jerusalem for lacking Israeli-issued building permits has been on the rise. So far in 2025, 62 per cent of demolished structures in East Jerusalem were demolished by their owners.

Humanitarian Developments

• Between 13 and 19 May, Israeli forces killed eight Palestinians and injured 45 others, and one Israeli woman was killed and her husband injured in a shooting attack. The following are details of the incidents that resulted in fatalities:
  • On 14 May, an Israeli woman from Bruchin settlement was shot and killed and her husband was injured in an alleged attack perpetrated by a Palestinian as they were travelling near Bruqin town, in Salfit governorate. The woman was nine-months pregnant, and doctors performed a C-section to save the baby, who remains in critical condition.
  • On 15 May, Israeli forces killed five Palestinians in an exchange of fire, after they surrounded a house in Tammun town, in Tubas governorate, and launched shoulder-fired explosive projectiles at it. Israeli forces withheld the bodies of four fatalities, while the fifth body was later retrieved by residents. The house sustained damage and was rendered uninhabitable, resulting in the displacement of two families comprising six people.
  • On 16 May, Israeli forces shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian boy who stabbed and injured a member of Israeli forces near Bab as Silsileh (Chain Gate) – one of the entrances to Al Aqsa Mosque compound in the Old City of Jerusalem. Eyewitnesses stated that the boy was left injured on the ground and did not receive medical attention for approximately 30 minutes. Israeli forces subsequently raided the house of the boy’s family in Beit Hanina, assaulted his family, and detained his parents and two of his siblings.
  • On 17 May, Israeli forces shot, killed, and withheld the body of a 16-year-old Palestinian boy and injured two others near the entrance of Burqa village, in Nablus governorate. According to the Israeli military, the boys were throwing stones at Israeli vehicles.
  • On 17 May, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man during the ongoing Israeli forces’ operation in Bruqin town, in Salfit governorate (more information below). According to the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), the man was reportedly arrested and detained for more than an hour before being killed while in custody. Israeli forces that he was killed while running toward them with a bag.
• Since the beginning of 2025, eight Israelis have been killed across the West Bank, all in the northern West Bank. Among them were four members of Israeli forces and four Israeli settlers. Four settlers and two members of Israeli forces were killed in shooting attacks or alleged attacks believed to be perpetrated by Palestinians, and two members of Israeli forces were killed by Palestinians while conducting operations. Since 2005, OCHA documented the killing of 197 Israelis, including 71 members of Israeli forces and 24 children, by Palestinians or people believed to be Palestinian in the West Bank, of whom 29 per cent (57) were killed since January 2023. The highest annual numbers of Israeli fatalities in the West Bank were in 2023, when 28 Israelis were killed, and each of 2024 and 2015 when 22 Israelis were killed.
• On 16 May, OHCHR called on Israel to cease its extrajudicial killing and unlawful use of force against Palestinians in the West Bank and to ensure that all those involved in unlawful killings are brought to justice. They stated: “Over the last two weeks, Israeli security forces have killed two Palestinian men in planned summary executions, while seven Palestinians were killed in conditions that raise concerns of the use of unnecessary or disproportionate lethal force. An Israeli woman was shot and killed on a highway in the occupied West Bank by as yet unidentified assailants. Israel must ensure that all those responsible for unlawful killings are brought to justice in fair trials.”
• Between 13 to 19 May, OCHA documented the demolition of 25 Palestinian-owned structures for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible to obtain. Four of the structures were demolished in East Jerusalem and 21 were in Area C, resulting in the displacement of eight households comprising 42 Palestinians, including 22 children, and otherwise affecting about 140 others. Of the total, 22 people, including 16 children, were displaced in East Jerusalem, of whom nine were in Um Tuba, eight in Jabal al Mukabbir, and five in Wadi al Joz. According to the displaced family in Um Tuba (a family of nine, including seven children), they received the first stop work order in 2003, have been fined over 200,000 NIS (US$56,380), and have been appealing in Israeli courts against the execution of the demolition order for more than 20 years. In Area C, the largest displacement incident took place in Salfit governorate; on 19 May, three households comprising 16 people, including six children (three of whom are newborns), were displaced when Israeli forces demolished a residential building in Area C of Bruqin town (see below).
• Two of the four structures demolished in East Jerusalem between 13 and 19 May were demolished by their owners following the receipt of demolition orders. In Jabal al Mukabbir, on 14 May, a family of eight was displaced after being forced to demolish their home, which had a demolition order issued against it in 2020. In Wadi al Joz, on 18 May, a family of five was forced to demolish the upper floor of a duplex where they lived, which had a demolition order issued against it in March 2025. Both families engaged in legal battles and paid fines in monthly instalments to the Jerusalem Municipality but resorted to demolition to avoid further financial penalties. As Israeli-issued building permits are nearly impossible to obtain and legal battles against demolition orders are protracted, many families in East Jerusalem have been increasingly forced to demolish their own homes to mitigate costs and avoid additional punitive measures. The number of Palestinian homes that are demolished by their owners in East Jerusalem has been on the rise over the past five years; between 2020 and 2024, OCHA documented the demolition of 521 structures by their owners in East Jerusalem, compared with 280 structures demolished by their owners between 2009 and 2019. The highest annual number of structures demolished by their owners was recorded in 2024, when 141 out of 215 structures (66 per cent) demolished in East Jerusalem for lacking Israeli-issued building permits were demolished by their owners. So far in 2025, 47 out of 76 structures (62 per cent) demolished in East Jerusalem for lacking Israeli-issued building permits were demolished by their owners.
• Between 13 to 19 May 2025, OCHA documented at least 28 attacks perpetrated by Israeli settlers that led to casualties and/or property damage. The attacks resulted in the injury of nine Palestinians, including two children, of whom five were injured by Israeli soldiers and four by Israeli settlers. A foreign national and two Israeli activists were also injured by settlers. Additionally, the attacks involved the vandalism of at least 100 Palestinian-owned olive trees, 26 vehicles and other property, and the killing of 17 Palestinian-owned sheep. On 17 May, a settler physically assaulted and injured a two-year old Palestinian girl while she was walking with her mother in the Tal Rumeida neighbourhood of H2 area, in Hebron city, causing her to lose consciousness and fall to the ground. She was provided with first aid by Israeli forces and was transported to hospital. In a separate incident on 13 May, Israeli settlers, who were accompanied by Israeli forces, attacked Palestinian herders in at Tuwani, in Hebron governorate; they physically assaulted and injured three Palestinian herders using sticks and batons, killed 17 sheep and vandalized one vehicle.
• Following the shooting and killing of the pregnant Israeli woman on 14 May, Israeli settlers from Bruchin settlement, where she lived, and other surrounding settlements launched multiple attacks against Palestinians in different parts of Salfit governorate, including Haris, Deir Istiya and Bruqin towns and Salfit city. In the industrial area west of Salfit, settlers vandalized 17 Palestinian-owned vehicles, destroying 15 and damaging two. In Deir Istiya, Israeli settlers attempted to break into a home and set it on fire with a Molotov cocktail, which set fire to the house yard and curtains. In Haris, Israeli settlers raided the town and threw stones at a home and damaged one vehicle. In Bruqin, Israel settlers bulldozed over 200 dunums (49 acres) of land surrounding the town and erected a tent at the town’s entrance. According to Bruqin Municipality, the settlers have been constantly present at the entrances of the buildings closest to the newly erected tent and have been harassing and intimidating residents. In one incident, hundreds of settlers gathered and threw stones at Palestinian houses, breaking the windows and doors of at least three houses and setting a Palestinian-owned bulldozer on fire. Fearing for their safety, two families in the area have relocated, but they still have access to their homes.
• For key figures and additional breakdowns of casualties, displacement and settler violence between January 2005 and March 2025, please refer to the OCHA West Bank March 2025 Snapshot.

Developments in the northern West Bank

• For eight days since 14 May, following the killing of an Israeli woman near Bruqin town, Israeli forces have imposed near-total closure on the towns of Bruqin and Kafr ad Dik, in Salfit governorate, with an estimated population of over 11,000 people. Israeli forces have additionally imposed sweeping access restrictions across the governorate; roads into Salfit city and surrounding villages (Bruqin, Haris, Kafr Haris, Kafr ad Dik, Yasuf and Iskaka) were closed, flying checkpoints set up, and a large‐scale operation was launched. Under curfew, residents have only been allowed to leave their homes for two hours a day. On 20 May, OHCHR raised their concern regarding these developments: “Israel must take immediate steps to end the apparent collective punishment of Palestinians in the West Bank. Following the killing of a pregnant Israeli woman by armed Palestinians on 14 May near Bruchin settlement, Salfit, Israeli security forces closed all entrances to the Palestinian villages of Kafr ad Dik and Bruqin, placed all residents under curfew denying them access to supplies, schools and critical health services, carried out mass arrests accompanied by physical assault, and confiscated and damaged land and property including schools.”
• In Bruqin town, home to over 4,800 Palestinians (2025 projections by the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)), Israeli forces and settler bulldozers have excavated some 200 dunums (49 acres), mainly in the northwestern side of the village, within a ten-metre distance from Palestinian homes. In addition, settlers have erected a tent at the village entrance and attacked residents (see above). Furthermore, Israeli forces issued an order to confiscate 13 dunums (three acres) near the village for military purposes. Israeli forces have conducted widespread house-to-house searches and interrogations, and according to the municipality, took over at least one residential building to be used as an interrogation centre for five days and took over four other residences, which at the time of reporting are being used as military posts. In all five residences, the families were forced to leave and stay elsewhere in the village. Once Israeli forces left the building that was used as an interrogation centre, the family was allowed to return. On 15 May, in a separate incident, five families comprising 25 people fled their homes due to Israeli forces’ operations and were prevented from returning home for 48 hours. On 17 May, Israeli forces shot and killed one man in the town (see above).
• Also in Bruqin, on 19 May, Israeli forces, demolished a three-story residential building in Area C. The targeted structure comprised six apartments, three of which were inhabited, while the remaining three were in the final stages of construction. As a result, three households, comprising 16 people, were displaced. The displaced include five women, one of whom had given birth earlier this week, and six children, of whom three were newborns. The families were only given a 24-hour notice before the demolition took place and lost all their personal belongings. Israeli forces announced that this building was demolished due to its “illegality and security threat,” as it is near Road 446 and that over the next few weeks they would demolish more buildings along this road. According to the affected families, they had received a stop-work order in 2019 and had initiated legal proceedings through a humanitarian legal aid centre, but the demolition was carried out before the process was concluded.
• In Kafr ad Dik, a town home to over 6,600 Palestinians (PCBS 2025 projections), Israeli forces have been conducting a large-scale, search-and-arrest operation since 14 May. According to the municipality and local sources, Israeli forces have systematically entered 90 per cent of residential homes in the town and vandalized the residents’ private property, including vehicles. The only entrance to the town has been completely sealed off for seven days, barring all entry and exit. Multiple residents, primarily men, have been arrested during the ongoing operation.
• The Palestinian District Coordination and Liaison Office (PAL-DCO) has been serving as the main channel for coordinating access from and to Bruqin and Kafr ad Dik towns, particularly for urgent medical cases, including dialysis patients, and for the supply of food. According to the PAL-DCO, approval for coordination by Israeli authorities can take up to two hours. On 18 May, PAL-DCO successfully arranged a four-hour window for residents of both towns to access essential goods from local markets and pharmacies. However, Israeli forces have not allowed the delivery of bread to both towns, according to the PAL-DCO.
• Israeli forces continue to prevent the access of residents in Tulkarm refugee camps and in and around Jenin refugee camp. On 17 May, Israeli forces shot and injured two Palestinians, including a man in his sixties, as they attempted to return to their homes in Jenin refugee camp. On 18 May, two Palestinians attempted to retrieve their belongings from their homes in Tulkarm refugee camp, where Israeli forces have issued an order to demolish 58 structures. While attempting to enter, Israeli forces shot and injured both men. On 20 May, Israeli forces displaced three refugee families, comprising about 15 people, from their homes in the "Tal'at al Ghubaz" area, near Jenin refugee camp. These families had previously been ordered to leave during the initial stages of the operation on 21 January but had later returned to their homes from their own volition. Some 40,000 Palestinians remain displaced in the northern West Bank.

• Movement restrictions, particularly in Jenin, Tulkarm, Tubas and Qalqiliya governorates, continue to hinder the operations of ambulances and health care workers, limiting access to essential and lifesaving services. In the first four months of 2025, 108 attacks on health care were recorded by the World Health Organization (WHO) across the West Bank, the majority of which were related to health access. Of these, 67 attacks (62 per cent) took place in Jenin and Tulkarm governorates, where Israeli forces have been conducting ongoing operations since 21 January 2025. Between 7 October 2023 and 7 May 2025, WHO documented 791 attacks on health care across the West Bank, affecting 62 health facilities, 22 mobile clinics, and 526 ambulances. The WHO defines an attack on health as “any act of verbal or physical violence or obstruction or threat of violence that interferes with the availability, access and delivery of curative and/or preventive health services during emergencies”.
• The ongoing operation in the northern West Bank refugee camps has caused a major disruption to sexual, reproductive, maternal, and newborn health services, denying over 161,400 women of reproductive age and over 71,000 adolescent girls of access to sexual and reproductive health services in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas, according to a brief by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH). According to the brief, these disruptions are caused by the closure of UNRWA clinics, the interruption of services at health facilities, and damage to infrastructure that caused electricity and water cuts in health facilities and compromised the vaccine cold chains. While 61 per cent of health facilities in Jenin and Tulkarm remain functional, access to health care has been restricted due to the damage to roads, insecurity, and access restrictions imposed by Israeli forces. These disruptions may lead to over 1,600 live births occurring in the next month in unsafe environments, raising the risk of infections and postpartum complications, according to the brief. The continuous displacement in these areas may also increase the risk of stress, anxiety, malnutrition, and poor living conditions and the likelihood of low birthweight and obstetric complications. Maternal morbidity, including anaemia, infections, haemorrhage, hypertensive disorders and mental disorders, is also expected to rise, according to the brief.
• On 21 May, Israeli forces fired live ammunition during a Palestinian Authority-led diplomatic delegation’s visit to Jenin city. Diplomats from 32 countries visited the Governor of Jenin before proceeding to two locations: a metal road gate and an earthmound at two entrances to Jenin refugee camp. After spending nearly 15 minutes at the gate and when preparing to leave, Israeli forces began firing live ammunition. No casualties were reported. The Israeli military stated that its forces fired warning shots after the delegation deviated from the approved route.
• Over 90 per cent of the 132 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces across the West Bank between 1 January and 19 May 2025 were in the six northern West Bank governorates of Jenin, Tubas, Tulkarm, Nablus, Qalqilya and Salfit. Eight Israelis, including four members of Israeli forces, were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank during the same period, all of them in the northern West Bank.

1387.

22 mei 2025

Humanitarian Situation Update #290
Gaza Strip

The Indonesian Hospital in North Gaza. Photo by WHO

Key Highlights

• The UN Human Rights Office warns that there is an escalating pattern of strikes on tents, residential buildings and crowded hospitals and a methodical destruction of entire neighbourhoods.
• Humanitarian organizations warn of acute levels of hunger, a sharp decline in dietary diversity, and a higher proportion of children diagnosed with acute malnutrition, while less than 300,000 daily meals are now prepared in community kitchens.
• About 29 per cent of Gaza’s population have been displaced again in the past month, including over 161,000 people displaced in one week, with no safe place to go.
• About 81 per cent of the Gaza Strip’s territory now falls within Israeli-militarized zones or has been placed under displacement orders.
• At night on 21 May, about 90 truckloads of goods were collected by humanitarian organizations from Kerem Shalom crossing for distribution inside Gaza.

Humanitarian Developments

• For 11 weeks, since 2 March 2025, Israeli authorities imposed a full blockade on Gaza, entailing a ban on the entry of any supplies, including food, medicine and fuel. On 18 May, the Israeli authorities allowed the UN to temporarily resume delivery of limited aid into Gaza. As of 21:00 on 21 May, Israel's Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) reported that 198 trucks had entered Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, carrying critical items such as nutrition supplies, medicines, and wheat flour. At night on 21 May, about 90 truckloads of goods were collected by humanitarian organizations for distribution. Significant challenges in loading and dispatching goods remain due to insecurity, the risk of looting, delays in coordination approvals and inappropriate routes being provided by Israeli forces that are not viable for the movement of cargo.
• The UN Relief Chief, Tom Fletcher, welcomed this development, but called the aid allowed in so far “a drop in the ocean of what is urgently needed… [and] no substitute for unimpeded access to civilians in such dire need.” He emphasized that the UN has a clear, principled and practical plan to save lives and distribute aid at scale, which he presented on 16 May. The plan reaffirms the international humanitarian community’s modality for aid distribution, firmly rooted in the non-negotiable humanitarian principles, and renewed calls for the resumption of rapid, safe, and unimpeded aid delivery to civilians in Gaza. “As we demonstrated during the ceasefire this year – and every time we’ve been granted access – the United Nations and our humanitarian partners have the expertise, resolve and moral clarity to deliver aid at the scale necessary to save lives across Gaza,” he said.
• On 19 May, in a joint donor statement on humanitarian aid to Gaza, foreign ministers of 24 countries and the EU representatives called on the Government of Israel "to allow a full resumption of aid to Gaza immediately and enable the UN and humanitarian organizations to work independently and impartially to save lives, reduce suffering and maintain dignity.” They also reiterated their message "that Hamas must immediately release all remaining hostages and allow humanitarian assistance to be distributed with interference.”
• Since 18 March 2025, Israeli forces have escalated bombardment from the air, land and sea across the Gaza Strip and expanded ground operations, as part of the launch of a new military operation, dubbed “Gideon’s Chariots.” This has resulted in hundreds of casualties, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and large-scale displacement of people. With no safe place to go, many have been seeking refuge in makeshift shelters and overcrowded displacement sites. People are confined to ever-shrinking spaces, with 81 per cent of the Gaza Strip now within Israeli-militarized zones or placed under displacement orders since 18 March. Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups has been reported.
• On 19 May, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said that in the past 48 hours, strikes have intensified, especially in North Gaza, Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, killing at least 96 Palestinians during the night and early morning of 17-18 May alone. This included at least 36 Palestinians killed in Israeli military strikes on IDP tents in Al Mawasi area during the late night of 17 May. In four of these incidents parents and their children were killed together. According to the Office, “the pattern of strikes on Internally Displaced People’s (IDP) tents and residential buildings, as well as on crowded hospitals, indicates that little, if any, care is being taken to protect the lives of civilians in Gaza, while reports of the use of weapons with wide area effects suggest deliberate, indiscriminate attacks.” Since 1 May 2025, IDP tents were reportedly hit on at least 55 occasions, resulting in the killing of over 160 people, including over 30 children, and the injury of over 100 people, with an average of two incidents per day.
• On 16 May, UN Children's Fund’s (UNICEF) Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, stated that children in Gaza “are suffering first and foremost, having to starve day after day only to be victims of indiscriminate attacks,” warning that their “scars will endure a lifetime.” Describing the “unimaginable” ways in which children are suffering, he said that “from North to South, children are being killed and maimed in hospitals, in schools-turned-shelters, in makeshift tents, or in their parents’ arms, “they have suffered repeated displacement (...) in search of safety and shelter”, and are “being deprived of essential goods, services and lifesaving care.”
• According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between 15 and 21 May, as of noon, 716 Palestinians were killed and 2,104 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 21 May 2025, the MoH in Gaza reported that at least 53,655 Palestinians were killed and 121,950 Palestinians were injured. This includes 3,509 people killed and 9,909 injured since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March 2025, according to MoH.
• Since 15 May, seven journalists were reportedly killed across Gaza, bringing to 219 the total number of journalists and media workers killed since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS). On 15 May, two journalists were reportedly killed in separate incidents in Khan Younis; one was killed along with 12 members of his family when a residential building was hit, and the other was killed along with his brother when a group of people was hit. On 18 May, five journalists, including a female journalist, were reportedly killed in separate incidents. A journalist was killed along his wife and children when a building was hit in northern Gaza city. Two other journalists (a couple) were killed, along with their toddler and another female, when a residential building belonging to their family was hit in Deir al Balah. A fourth journalist was reportedly killed along with his wife and two sons when an IDP tent in Al Mawasi area was hit. Lastly, a journalist and his son were found killed in Al Qarara area, in northern Khan Younis, after they had gone missing for two days. PJS additionally reported that at least 430 journalists have been injured, 685 family members of journalists have been killed, and over 1,000 journalists across Gaza continue to suffer from repeated displacement amid severe conditions.
• Attacks on schools sheltering IDPs have intensified over the past week with four schools hit in two days. On 19 May, at least seven Palestinians, including a woman and a girl, were reportedly killed and at least 18 others, including children, were injured when a school was hit in eastern An Nuseirat, in Deir al Balah. On the same day, several injuries were reported when another school was hit in central Khan Younis. On 20 May, 13 Palestinians were reportedly killed including some who were burnt to death, and 10 others were injured when a school was hit in Ad Daraj, in eastern Gaza city. Additionally, at least four Palestinians were reportedly killed, and 30 others were injured when a school was hit in Beit Lahiya in North Gaza.

• Between 15 and 18 May, other incidents resulting in a large number of fatalities included the following:
  • On 15 May, at about 02:30, at least 12 Palestinians, including five females, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit near Hamad city, in northwestern Khan Younis.
  • On 15 May, at about 03:15, 10 Palestinians, including a married couple and their children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in eastern Khan Younis.
  • On 15 May, at about 06:00, at least 13 Palestinians, including at least seven females and a journalist, were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Bani Suheila, in eastern Khan Younis.
  • On 15 May, at about midnight, at least 13 Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit west of Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza.
  • On 16 May, at about 09:30, eight people, including two women and a boy were reportedly killed when IDP tents were hit in Izbat Abed Rabo, east of Beit Lahiya.
  • On 16 May, at about 07:45, at least 10 Palestinians were reportedly killed, and several others were injured, when several locations were hit by heavy artillery shelling in Beit Lahya, in North Gaza.
  • On 16 May, at about 04:00, at least seven male Palestinians were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Al Qarara area, in Khan Younis.
  • On 16 May, at about 07:15, at least five Palestinians, including three children, were reportedly killed and 75 others were injured when houses were hit in North Gaza.
  • On 16 May, at about 07:45, at least 10 Palestinians were reportedly killed, and several others were injured, when several locations were hit by heavy artillery shelling in Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza.
  • On 16 May, eight Palestinians were reportedly killed and others injured when a group of people was hit in Bani Suheila, in eastern Khan Younis.
  • On 17 May, at about 15:00, nine Palestinians, including three children, two women and two men, were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Deir al Balah.
  • On 18 May, at about 01:45, nine Palestinians were reportedly killed when a multi-story residential building was hit north of Az Zawaida, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 18 May, at about 01:00, at least 10 Palestinians from the same family were reportedly killed when a building was hit in Jabalya Al Balad, in North Gaza.
  • On 18 May, an attack on an IDP tent near a hospital in Al Mawasi killed four Palestinians, a man and his three boys, according to OHCHR.
• Between 15 and 21 May, two Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 21 May 2025, according to Israeli forces and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,616 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath. This includes 416 soldiers killed, in addition to 2,668 soldiers injured, in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation in October 2023. These include nine soldiers killed and 84 injured since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March 2025. As of 21 May, it is estimated that 58 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including hostages who have been declared dead and whose bodies are being withheld.
• On 15 May, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) announced that it had received information from the Israeli authorities indicating that three Palestinians from Gaza had died in Israeli custody: the first is a 56-year-old man who was detained on 7 October 2023 and died in Israeli custody on 12 October 2023; the second is a 24-year-old man who was detained during displacement from Khan Yunis in March 2024 and died in Israeli custody on 11 August 2024; and the third is a 46-year-old man who was detained from Gaza on 7 February 2024 and died in Israeli custody on 2 May 2025. According to PPS, this has increased the number of detainees from Gaza who died in Israeli custody to 44. As of May 2025, according to data provided by the Israel Prison Service (IPS) to Hamoked, an Israeli human rights NGO, there are 10,068 Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip in Israeli custody, including 1,455 sentenced prisoners, 3,190 remand detainees, 3,577 administrative detainees held without trial, and 1,846 people held as “unlawful combatants.” These figures do not include Palestinians from Gaza who have been detained by the Israeli military since 7 October 2023.
• The latest UNOSAT satellite imagery-based analysis, conducted in early April 2025, showed that a total of 174,526 structures were damaged in the Gaza Strip, including 68 per cent destroyed or severely damaged. This has generated a total of 53,466,870 tonnes of debris. According to UNOSAT's damage assessment disposal, it will take 22 years to clear all debris using 105 trucks, with the total cost of clearance estimated at $US 1,022,451,068. In the scenario where 50 per cent of the debris is recycled, the cost is higher (US$ 1,241,048,309) but it would generate revenue estimated at $ 401,001,525.

Shrinking Humanitarian Space

• In vast areas across the Gaza Strip, humanitarian teams are required to coordinate their movements with the Israeli authorities. Between 14 and 20 May, out of 58 attempts to coordinate planned aid movements across the Gaza Strip, nearly 60 per cent (36) were denied outright by the Israeli authorities, 10 were initially accepted but faced impediments, including blocks or delays on the ground potentially resulting in missions being aborted or partially accomplished, seven were fully facilitated, and five were withdrawn by the organizers for logistical, operational, or security reasons. These include 11 attempts for coordinated aid movements in or to northern Gaza, of which five were facilitated and six were denied. In southern Gaza, out of the 47 attempts for coordinated aid movements, two were facilitated, 30 were denied, 10 faced impediments and five withdrawn.
• As of 20 May, 81 per cent of the Gaza Strip’s territory is within Israeli-militarized zones or have been placed under displacement orders. Since 18 March, the Israeli military issued 29 displacement orders, placing about 197.7 square kilometres under displacement orders. Hospitals in areas placed under displacement orders reportedly did not need to evacuate but were not permitted to admit new patients. As of 21 May, about 599,100 people (29 per cent of the population) are estimated to have been displaced again since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March, according to the Site Management Cluster (SMC); this includes about 161,000 people displaced between 15 and 21 May, with many fleeing without any belongings. The following seven displacement orders were issued between 14 and 20 May:
  • On 14 May, the Israeli military issued two displacement orders for areas in North Gaza, covering 4.6 square kilometres in six neighbourhoods. The affected area includes 30 IDP sites, six Temporary Learning Spaces (TLS) serving approximately 700 students supported by 18 teachers, and eight Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities and assets. In addition, two hospitals and one primary healthcare centre (PHC) are located within the displacement zone while one hospital and three PHCs are situated within 1,000 meters of the affected area. All humanitarian staff were also informed to evacuate humanitarian sites and take their supplies.
  • On 15 May, the Israeli military issued a displacement order for Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates, covering approximately 22.5 square kilometres in 10 neighbourhoods. The affected area includes six displacement sites, one of which was affected by a previous displacement order and five sites have an estimated population of over 1,200 people. The area also includes 19 WASH facilities and two medical points. One PHC and five medical points are located within 1,000 metres of the affected area. Humanitarian staff were informed to evacuate all sites, including notified ones, and take all supplies.
  • On 16 May, Israeli forces reportedly dropped leaflets over Beit Lahiya, ordering people to evacuate shelters, tents and buildings. On 17 May, leaflets were dropped over Al Birkeh area of Deir al Balah, ordering people to leave.
  • On 18 May, the Israeli military issued a displacement order for Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates, covering approximately 6.7 square kilometres in six neighbourhoods. The affected area includes five WASH facilities and 17 displacement sites, three of which were affected by previous displacement orders and 14 sites have an estimated population of over 4,000 people.
  • On 19 May, the Israeli military issued a displacement order for parts of Khan Younis governorate, covering approximately 82 square kilometres (22 per cent of the Gaza Strip) in 42 neighbourhoods. The affected area includes 46 displacement sites, 32 WASH assets, nine medical points, eight PHCs, and 59 TLSs that served 30,000 school-aged children. Three hospitals, one field hospital, five PHCs and 17 medical points are situated within 1,000 metres of the affected area. The displacement sites include 22 site that were affected by previous displacement orders and 24 sites that have an estimated population of over 2,700 people.
  • On 20 May, the Israeli military issued a displacement order for parts of North Gaza governorate, covering approximately 35 square kilometres in 26 neighbourhoods. The affected area includes 113 displacement sites, 64 of which were affected by a previous displacement order and 49 sites have an estimated population of over 18,500 people. The affected area includes three hospitals, three PHCs, four medical points, four water wells and one wastewater pumping station.
• Amid escalating strikes, repeated displacement, and shrinking humanitarian space, the Protection Cluster reports that there is an unprecedented disruption to protection activities across the Gaza Strip. As of 20 May, at least 47,000 people have been affected by the suspension of lifesaving protection services, such as case management and counselling, across multiple governorates, primarily in Gaza city, Khan Younis, Deir al Balah, and North Gaza. Over 52 staff from the Protection Cluster’s partner organizations have been displaced, resulting in an increased reliance on remote service delivery and other operational adjustments. This is having a severe impact on people in need, particularly, women, children, persons with disabilities and the elderly, who are now left with little to no access to critical support services. For instance, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned that the only safe house for women in Gaza is now inaccessible. As of 20 May, the women and girls’ safe spaces that remain operational are only functioning at partial capacity, prioritizing emergency cases and shifting to remote services due to fuel shortages and movement restrictions. Yet, UNFPA underscores that the need for these services is growing, including due to a rise gender-based violence (GBV): "The threats to women and girls in Gaza extend far beyond the immediate horrors of bombs, bullets and starvation. As repeated displacement forces families into overcrowded living conditions, without privacy or sanitation, the risks of gender-based violence, sexual exploitation and abuse are escalating alarmingly, further stripping them of their dignity and jeopardizing their survival.”

Food Security and Nutrition

• As of 20 May, about 304,000 daily meals were prepared and delivered by 16 Food Security Sector (FSS) partners through about 70 kitchens across the Gaza Strip. The daily meal production slightly increased compared to early May as some kitchens resumed their operation after mobilizing additional local resources to meet the dire needs. However, FSS emphasizes that one cooked meal per day is far from sufficient to meet a person’s daily minimum caloric intake and dietary diversity needs. Recent testimonies shared by the World Food Programme (WFP) highlight the acute levels of hunger in Gaza: “Parents put their children to bed early so they don’t have to try to find dinner. With the continued closure of the borders, we often hear from Palestinians here that it feels like a slow death sentence. Famine doesn’t happen overnight. You slowly lose access to food. Then you lose weight. Then you lose your strength. And what haunts us most as humanitarian workers is hearing people say they’d rather die from an airstrike than go through the suffering of a lack of food and lie to their children about their next meal.” The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis concluded that the entire population is acutely food insecure, malnutrition is surging, and nearly half a million people are projected to face catastrophic levels of hunger (IPC 5) between May and September 2025.
• Already in April, one month following the re-escalation of hostilities and seven weeks after the total closure of crossings, the findings of a household vulnerability assessment (HOVA) covering 824 households revealed a severe and rapid deterioration in living conditions across Gaza, such as food scarcity, unreliable access to water, and lack of income for the vast majority of households. The report also highlighted a deterioration in life-preserving resources across all governorates, such as diverse food sources and safe drinking water, which disproportionately affected people with chronic health needs.
• According to WFP's recent market monitoring data and food security analysis for Palestine, consumption of key food groups and dietary diversity in Gaza has continued to sharply deteriorate since March, following the 11-week closure of all crossings. There are significant shortages of key commodities in markets, with some items such as eggs and frozen meat completely depleted. Food items that remain available are sold at skyrocketing prices, such as the price of wheat flour that soared to 1,500 NIS ($420) per kilogramme, rising by over 3,000 per cent compared with 47.5 NIS ($13) prior to October 2023 and exceeding 4,000 per cent compared with the ceasefire period. This has resulted in dangerously imbalanced and nutritionally inadequate diets, with most people unable to access even the most basic food groups. Dairy consumption had nearly vanished, dropping from an already low average of one day per week in April to close to zero—compared with four days before the escalation of hostilities in October 2023. Vegetable intake also declined, falling from one day per week in April to just half a day, a dramatic drop from the pre-crisis average of six days. Describing the extreme shortages of food items, WFP staff in the field reported: “In the market, you could only find spoiled, infested flour with the worst smell imaginable. But when that’s all there is, you use it.” The price of cooking gas, now rarely found on the market, has likewise increased by at least 5,000 per cent compared with pre-crisis levels, and is now sold for NIS350 ($98) per litre. Families have thus been forced to burn waste for fuel.
• The nutritional situation of children in Gaza has continued to sharply deteriorate. Compared with February, a significantly higher proportion of children under five screened for malnutrition were diagnosed with moderate or severe acute malnutrition between 1 April and so far in May. According to the Nutrition Cluster, 2,917 out of 49,527 children screened for malnutrition in the first two weeks of May were diagnosed with acute malnutrition. In comparison, 2,626 out of about 60,000 children screened in February were diagnosed with acute malnutrition. Overall, since January, nutrition cluster partners diagnosed and treated over 10,000 children for acute malnutrition. These include over 1,000 children diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition (SAM), of whom 98 developed medical complications and received treatment in stabilization centers. Currently there are four stabilization centres for the treatment of SAM cases with medical complications in Gaza, including two in Deir al Balah, one in Khan Younis and one in Gaza city. The only stabilization center at Kamal Adwan in North Gaza suspended operations on 20 May, due to a displacement order, forcing six children admitted in the stabilization center to be moved to the only remaining treatment center in Gaza city. The IPC analysis has estimated that over 70,000 children, aged six to 59 months, will suffer from acute malnutrition between April 2025 and March 2026, including approximately 14,000 children expected to face SAM, requiring immediate, life-saving treatment and nutritional support.
• At the same time, most nutrition partners have been forced to suspend operations in northern Gaza, Khan Younis, and Rafah due to critical shortages of preventive and treatment supplies and deteriorating security and access constraints. In the absence of supplementary food, the nutrition cluster has updated response protocols to reach more vulnerable children with therapeutic food before they show signs of malnutrition. While blanket and targeted supplementary feeding (BSFP) continue, reaching 37,236 children and 6,441 pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) in the first two weeks of May; this represents 15 per cent and less than 25 per cent of the Nutrition Cluster's target to provide 290,000 children under five and 150,000 PBW with feeding and micronutrient supplements.

Access to Health Care

• In one of the largest medical evacuation missions to date, on 14 May, the World Health Organization (WHO) supported the medical evacuation of 132 patients, along with 152 companions, from Gaza via Kerem Shalom crossing for treatment abroad. According to WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu, patients and companions along with WHO staff were gathered at the European Gaza Hospital for a pre-coordinated medical evacuation when the hospital was attacked on 13 May, with none in the evacuation group harmed. According to WHO’s Public Health Situation Analysis, between 1 February and 17 March 2025, 1,702 patients were evacuated to receive medical treatment abroad; this is compared with 276 patients evacuated since 18 March. On 20 May, six patients and 19 companions were evacuated to receive medical treatment abroad. Since October 2023, over 7,230 patients have been evacuated from Gaza, the majority prior to the closure of Rafah crossing in May 2024. More than 10,500 patients, including over 4,000 children, remain in urgent need of medical evacuation, according to WHO.
• In a statement issued on 14 May, Director of Al Awda Hospital, Dr Mohammed Salha, described the daily horror his medical teams face as they work tirelessly under unimaginable conditions to save lives. “To say that Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza has been working in the most difficult and dangerous conditions, doesn’t really convey the horror of the situation on the ground… [In one night,] our teams treated 52 people. One of them was a baby girl, just a few months old. Both her legs had been shredded by bombings. We also received nine bodies without life. Seven of them were children… Even after 19 months of this hell, I can tell you, no one gets used to the sight of innocent babies killed or mutilated for life. Our hearts break into a thousand pieces every time,” he said. “People are dying – not because we don’t know how to save them, but because we simply don’t have the basic minimum to save them….[and we] are all exhausted,” he added. According to Dr Salha, over the past 19 months, several of Al Awda’s medical staff have been arrested without explanation, six have been killed inside the hospital while working to save lives, and many have been killed at home with their families. Overall, the hospital has been hit more than 18 times, leaving half of the hospital’s bed capacity out of service.
• Between 13 and 20 May, multiple hospitals across Gaza sustained damage due to intense attacks and other health facilities were forced to suspend services, overwhelming the already fragile health system and depriving patients of essential medical services, including lifesaving treatment. As of 21 May, 70 Health Cluster partners are continuing to work to provide as much access to essential health care as possible with minimal resources.
  • On 13 May, the European Gaza Hospital, in Khan Younis, was rendered non-functional following intense Israeli airstrikes that resulted in casualties among patients and other civilians and the destruction of critical infrastructure, including oxygen lines and sewage systems. According to WHO, the hospital’s closure has cut off vital services, including neurosurgery, cardiac care, and cancer treatment—all unavailable elsewhere in Gaza. The closure also ended the hospital’s role as a key hub for medical evacuations, further straining the already overwhelmed health system, WHO added.
  • On 15, 18 and 19 May, Al Awda Hospital, in North Gaza, sustained damage due to airstrikes, including a direct Israeli strike near its main gate and multiple airstrikes on areas in its immediate vicinity. On 19 May, the hospital’s Director, Mohammad Salha, warned that continued airstrikes and heavy gunfire were endangering the hospital’s ability to continue providing essential health services, which are already limited due to a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies. On 20 May, WHO reported that the hospital is overwhelmed with injuries and running critically low on supplies.
  • On 16 May, the Palestine Red Crescent Society's Al-Qarara Medical Clinic, in Khan Yunis, sustained major damage to its first floor due to Israeli airstrikes. Medical operations have been suspended until the clinic can be rehabilitated.
  • Between 16 and 18 May, the Indonesian Hospital, in North Gaza, came under repeated Israeli attacks and sustained structural damage, rendering it out of service. On 17 May, the Gaza MoH reported that the hospital’s operating rooms and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were full, amid a severe shortage of blood units—especially negative types—hindering the treatment of the wounded. On 18 May, Israeli forces reportedly blocked all access to the hospital, destroyed the northern gates, and bulldozed the courtyard. New patients were unable to enter the hospital and two patients were reportedly injured while trying to exit, according to MoH. That night, communication was lost amid heavy fire and a power outage. On 19 May, the hospital’s backup generators were struck, causing a massive fire and total blackout. On 20 May, WHO reported that intense hostilities left the hospital barely functional, with roads bulldozed and only 15 people remaining inside in urgent need of food and water.
  • On 17 May, an IDP tent adjacent to Al Kuwaiti Field Hospital in Al Mawasi area, in Khan Younis, was reportedly hit, killing six Palestinians. The hospital announced the suspension of surgical operations until further notice due to severe damage to the hospital’s generator and other departments. On 19 May, following partial repairs, the hospital announced the resumption of operations in the surgical department for emergency cases only.
  • On 19 May, the medical supplies and solutions warehouse in Nasser Medical Complex, in Khan Younis, was hit and destroyed, with no casualties reported. According to WHO, around 30 per cent of the warehouse was destroyed. The warehouse was built by WHO and included critical supplies such as IV fluids and dialysis solutions. Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP) also reported that the attack rendered what little remains unusable, including vital materials provided by MAP. Describing the catastrophic conditions at the hospital, MAP said that “patients are forced to sleep in hallways, with beds scattered across every available space. Six operating theatres are running non-stop, yet the constant influx of casualties far exceeds capacity…[The] ICU, designed for 12 patients, now houses more than 24. An emergency extension was created after recent bombings damaged the surgical department, but it fails to meet basic standards.”
  • Between 17 and 19 May, Al Aqsa Hospital, in Deir al Balah, the Jordanian Field Hospital, in Khan Younis, and Kamal Adwan Hospital, in North Gaza, sustained indirect damage when nearby Israeli strikes impacted their premises or surroundings.
  • On 19 May, the upper floors of Sheikh Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics were hit, causing severe damage to the building and a partial disruption of services.
• “Pregnant and breastfeeding women are engaged in a daily battle for survival,” warns UNFPA. Only seven hospitals and four field hospitals continue to provide obstetric and newborn care in Gaza while facing acute shortages of essential supplies, with more than half of essential maternal and newborn medicines out of stock as of 20 May. At present, one in three pregnancies are considered high-risk, and one in five newborns are born preterm or underweight, requiring specialist care that is increasingly unavailable, while access to essential services is critically constrained. Amid these dire conditions, nearly 11,000 pregnant women are already reported to be at risk of famine and nearly 17,000 PBW will need urgent treatment for acute malnutrition over the coming months.At the same time, the collapsing WASH infrastructure is resulting in further suffering and complications: “With barely any access to clean water or hygiene facilities, infectious diseases and sexually transmitted infections are also reportedly on the rise, including among pregnant women, which makes them even more vulnerable to complications,” UNFPA said.

Water and Sanitation

• Displacement orders and access constraints have severely disrupted WASH operations across Gaza, with 65 per cent of WASH assets and facilities now falling within the Israeli-demilitarized zone or in areas that have been placed under displacement orders since 18 March. These include 33 out of 46 desalination plants (72 per cent), 43 out of 52 water reservoirs (83 per cent), 204 out of 336 water wells (61 per cent), and 45 out of 70 wastewater pumping stations (64 per cent). One of the affected desalination plants serves approximately 150,000 people in northern Gaza. Between 13 and 20 May, 50 WASH Cluster partners were forced to significantly reduce water trucking activities across 176 water points. Similarly affected have been solid waste management activities, with collection services suspended or significantly reduced in many parts of Khan Younis, leading to growing waste accumulation and heightened public health risks.
• In addition, the ongoing fuel crisis is critically disrupting WASH operations across Gaza, with both northern and southern Gaza facing imminent system shutdowns. In the north, no fuel has been delivered for several days, leaving the sector without reserves as only 50 per cent of the required weekly supply was received last week. Groundwater wells are gradually shutting down, and solid waste management services have stopped in several areas and are at risk of full shutdown in others. This is despite a growing influx of displaced people into Gaza city. In the south, water utilities have not received the 140,000 litres of fuel needed per week to maintain operations, forcing them to reduce operating hours by over 20 per cent. If additional amounts of fuel are not received, a full shutdown of WASH services is imminent. The situation is especially dire in Al Mawasi, which is not connected to the water network and depends entirely on fuel-powered water trucking. Moreover, infrastructure damage, combined with fuel shortages, has led stormwater basins to overflow with untreated sewage, which is now the case in Sheikh Radwan Lagoon in Gaza city, significantly increasing the risk of flooding and environmental contamination. Public health is rapidly deteriorating, marked by a sharp rise in acute watery diarrhea (AWD) cases, highlighting the urgent need for at least 70,000 litres of fuel to sustain critical WASH services and prevent further outbreaks of disease. Daily attempts by humanitarian partners to retrieve fuel from reserves located in areas where they are required to coordinate their movements with Israeli authorities have been largely denied.
• On 21 May, Gaza Municipality warned of a looming water crisis due to the continued reduction in fuel supplies, which are now insufficient to operate municipal water wells, even minimally, or to support private well owners in areas lacking access to water. The situation is further worsened by ongoing displacement from both within Gaza city and from North Gaza toward the central and western parts of the city. The municipality added that the Mekorot pipeline has been shut down since 19 May due to maintenance work. Since October 2023, the Gaza municipality has incurred extensive damage to water infrastructure, including 115 kilometres of water pipelines, 63 wells, four major reservoirs, and the northwestern desalination plant that previously produced about 10,000 cubic metres of water daily.
• On 20 May, Deir al Balah Municipality announced that coastal Water Well No. 6, located in Al-Baraka area in Deir al Balah, has been hit, further limiting or altogether cutting off access to water to many densely populated areas of the city, amid rising temperatures and growing displacement. The well’s generator and other critical components were destroyed, rendering the well entirely non-operational. This well was the last remaining major water source supplying Al-Baraka reservoir, which served large areas of Deir al Balah. This follows the bulldozing of coastal Water Well No. 5, the complete suspension of Mekorot water supply since 23 January 2025, and the halt in operations at the central seawater desalination plant due to a power cut on 9 March 2025. Moreover, other wells, including Al-Ma’ani, Al-Qastal, Al-Muntazah, Al-Mazra’ah, and Al-Sinaa’iya, remain inoperable due to the lack of access. Al-Sinaa’iya well was one of the largest and most critical sources feeding the Al-Aqsa reservoir, which in turn supplied water to the rest of the city. The municipality confirmed that the water sector in Deir al B

1386.

21 mei 2025

Watch (and share) the recorded presentation by the Hind Rajab Foundation at the United Nations, last Friday, May 16th, for the 77th commemoration of the Nakba.

On May 15th and 16th, the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People convened at the United Nations headquarters in New York for the 77th commemoration of the Nakba and to hear presentations regarding “International Action Towards Ending the Nakba and Realising the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.”

The Hind Rajab Foundation, represented by Jake Romm, was invited to present at the opening session on May 16: Best Practices to Bring Accountability and End the War: Recent Civil Society Legal Actions and Arms Embargo.

Mr. Romm spoke with member states and civil society stakeholders about the work of the foundation and the urgent need for states to uphold their international obligations and begin prosecutions for Israeli war criminals and genocidaires within their borders.

“Accountability is not optional—it is the cornerstone of justice. Every state has a duty to prosecute war criminals within its borders. Ending the genocide begins with ending impunity.”

– Dyab Abou Jahjah, HRF Chairman

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Strengthen the mission:

Support our work by becoming a monthly sponsor or make a one-time donation.

Help us grow:

Follow us on social media, share our updates and ask your network to do the same!

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21 mei 2025

I’ve tested these shirts for years, and these are some of the most effective, along with what you’re likely to hear people say to you if you wear them:

“I love it! Me too!”

1384.

BREAKING THE SILENCE

21 mei 2025

Over the past few weeks, we’ve watched with horror as Israel has swiftly escalated its assault on Gaza, killing over a hundred Palestinians each day. Using mass starvation and relentless bombardment, millions have been plunged even further into an abyss of human suffering. We simply cannot afford to stay silent.

Right now, Israeli soldiers exposed the IDF’s use of innocent civilians in Gaza as human shields, the abuse and torture of Palestinian detainees at the Sde Teiman detention camp, and how Israel turned a vast area of the Gaza Strip into a zone of total destruction.

In solidarity,

Sarah Kravinsky

Director of Resource Development, Breaking the Silence

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21 mei 2025

The livestreamed genocidal horror of rolling massacres and induced starvation inflicted by apartheid Israel on millions of Palestinians in the illegally occupied Gaza Strip has reached a breaking point. When thousands of our babies are looking death in the eye because the Israeli occupation is denying all goods from entering Gaza, including baby formula and essential medical supplies, NEVER AGAIN IS NOW!

For the first time in decades, even the world’s most complicit governments are being forced - due to people power and moral outrage - to publicly consider accountability measures against Israel, shattering this taboo. This is another clear sign that our collective popular BDS pressure is working.

But we need to show governments across the globe now that posturing and throwing empty rhetoric around to appease enraged publics will not cut it.

We must act now with courage and determination!

Across the Global South, especially in Arab, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, BRICS, African Union, and Latin American states, we call on people to mobilize and peacefully disrupt business-as-usual like never before, demanding their governments immediately fulfill their legal and moral obligations by ending complicity with genocidal Israel.

Even in the colonial West, the tide is shifting. Grassroots pressure is reaching historic heights, pushing deeply complicit governments and institutions to propose unprecedented measures of accountability, even if still weak and terribly inadequate.

­

Click here for a materials to pressure your government now!

Let us rise together for Palestinian liberation and for defending our shared humanity. Let’s defeat the “might makes right” axis because solidarity is our future. Now is the time for lawful sanctions.

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21 mei 2025

Readers’ Recommendations

• Israel still blocking aid for Gaza despite promise to lift siege, says UN (The Guardian) 

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CARE

21 mei 2025

Ondanks de minimale humanitaire hulp die eindelijk wordt toegelaten tot Gaza, is de situatie schrijnender dan ooit. Moeders en kinderen die het meest kwetsbaar zijn in oorlogssituaties lijden iedere dag door geweld en honger.

“Het is een pleister tegen het bloeden. In onze kliniek zagen we een meisje van vijf maanden oud. Ze weegt nog geen twee kilo. Ze zou zes kilo moeten wegen. Zij is helaas niet de enige, duizenden kinderen zijn ondervoed” zegt Deniz Dönmez, woordvoerder van CARE Nederland.

We staan klaar. Vrachtwagens vol met voedsel, schoon water en medicijnen. Alles wat mensen in Gaza zo hard nodig hebben. Via onze medische klinieken werken we dag en nacht om moeders en kinderen te redden.

Geef voor moeders en kinderen in Gaza.

Help nu maandelijks mee. Elke bijdrage, groot of klein, maakt het verschil.

Bij al dit geweld hebben wij maar één prioriteit: levens redden. Vandaag vragen wij u om uw hulp. De politiek laat mensen in Gaza in de steek, u kunt daar nu wel iets aan doen. Doet u mee?

Met vriendelijke groet,

Reintje van Haeringen,

Directeur CARE Nederland

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21 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Students across the U.S. are going on hunger strike as Israeli-engineered famine takes hold in Gaza

Student protestors across the country are adapting their strategies to Trump’s crackdown on the pro-Palestine movement, but it’s safe to say the activism is not slowing down.

‘Blueprint for Ethnic Cleansing’: NGOs condemn Gaza aid plan

International aid organizations are calling an Israeli-U.S. plan to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza a "politicized sham" and a "blueprint for ethnic cleansing." Meanwhile, the UN warns 14,000 babies could die within days if Gaza does not receive aid. 

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21 mei 2025

Zondag waren er in Den Haag honderdduizend mensen op de been voor Palestina. Alles is plotseling aan het schuiven, de druk werkt.

Vandaag is er protest tegen een wapenschip uit Israël. Lees hiervoor de oproep en als je kunt, kom naar stadhuis Rotterdam!

Een strijdbare groet van het docP team; blijf BDS-en!

Ja, ik doneer

DEMONSTRATIE STOP ISRAELISCHE F-35 ONDERDELEN IN ROTTERDAM

Een Maersk schip met Israëlische F-35 onderdelen, de Izmir, komt vandaag 21 mei de haven van Rotterdam binnen.

Afgelopen zondag trokken 100.000 mensen een rode lijn in Den Haag. Het is tijd dat er een echte rode lijn wordt getrokken. Wij eisen dat de gemeente en de havenmeester het schip tegenhouden.

Woensdag 21 mei - 18 uur,
Stadhuis Rotterdam.
Coolsingel 40

Verdere details: @geeftegengas op Instagram

BEL OF MAIL DE VERANTWOORDELIJKEN
EN EIS EEN EIND AAN DEZE SITUATIE

Burgemeester Carola Schouten
c.schouten@rotterdam.nl
010-2673893

De havenemeester
HCC@portofrotterdam.com
010-2521000

BEL OF MAIL DE LOKALE POLITICI

1378.

21 mei 2025

This week we focus on Gaza, after the UK suspended trade talks with Israel and summoned the Israeli ambassador to the country due to its military conduct in the war on the Palestinian territory.

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20 mei 2025

The United Nations has issued a terrifying warning:  If Israel continues to block aid to Gaza, 14,000 Palestinian babies will die within 48 hours.

This is not a natural disaster. Israel is starving the people of Gaza deliberately, knowing full well who hunger takes first: the young, the elderly, the disabled, and the most vulnerable. This is the use of famine as a weapon of war.

More than 700 Palestinians have been killed in just six days with weapons bought and paid for by the United States. This is a massacre in full view, perpetrated by an Israeli government that has openly declared its goal: to ethnically cleanse Gaza of its people.

Twenty long, horrific months of genocide. And it is only escalating

We know the pressure is building. Students at Stanford, Yale, and campuses across the country are on hunger strike and continuing to confront their institutions’ complicity. A global network of Indigenous workers has launched a solidarity fast. The EU and UK are beginning to murmur about halting trade – but words are not enough when children are being starved to death every minute.

We need urgent action. The lives of millions depend on it.

It’s hard not to feel hopeless. But here are two steps you can take right now in just 5 minutes:

Send a message to your Members of Congress demanding they call for the immediate opening of all Gaza border crossings to allow in unrestricted humanitarian aid using this email tool.

We know Israel cannot sustain this genocide without U.S. backing. That means our pressure on Congress, the White House, and the systems that sustain this violence must be relentless.

Tell them: No more weapons. No more delays. No more excuses.

In grief, rage, and determination

Sandra Tamari

Executive Director
Adalah Justice Project

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20 mei 2025

Readers’ Recommendations 

• Netanyahu hits back after UK, France and Canada threaten action against Israel (The Guardian)

1375.

20 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Pomp and Genocide: Trump’s Gulf tour

Donald Trump's tour of the Gulf hinted at possible changes in U.S. foreign policy, but Israel's escalation of the genocide in Gaza makes clear its destructive fundamentals are essentially intact.

The war where women’s bodies lost their rights

The war in Gaza is not only the story of rubble and airstrikes. It is the story of the girl getting her period under bombardment, the mother bleeding in silence and miscarrying on cold floors or giving birth under drones.

1374.

19 mei 2025

On May 28, Carrefour will hold its General Assembly in Paris, and it’s our moment to turn up the pressure. From May 21- 28, human rights and solidarity activists across the world are mobilizing for the #BoycottCarrefour Global Week of Action. 

Join them and demand the multinational retailer to end its complicity with Israel’s genocidal regime of settler colonialism, apartheid and military occupation against Palestinians!

­ 

Why target Carrefour?

Carrefour supports occupation: their franchise partners operate in illegal Israeli settlements, profiting from the theft of Palestinian land and resources.

Carrefour enables genocide: during Israel's ongoing massacres in Gaza, Carrefour Israel sent "care packages" to Israeli soldiers, publicly showing solidarity with those carrying out war crimes.

Share Take action now! Join the #BoycottCarrefour week of action.

Across the world, grassroots groups are organizing actions in front of Carrefour stores: disrupting business as usual, informing shoppers about the company’s complicity, and urging them to boycott.

Find or organize an action near you. Download informative material from our website. Deliver a protest letter in person, send an email, or call your local Carrefour store to demand they end their complicity.

We’ve already proven that BDS pressure works: following a powerful grassroots campaign, Carrefour's partner in the Arab world, Majid Al Futtaim, cut ties with the brand in Jordan and Oman.

Carrefour's 2024 net profits also dropped by 50% compared to 2023!

Let’s build on that momentum — and make it global.

1373.

19 mei 2025

Readers’ Recommendations

• Israeli strikes batter Gaza hospitals as brutal siege , bombing intensify (Al Jazeera)

1372.

19 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Trump is repackaging the ‘War on Terror’ to stop Palestine activists, but you can’t deport a movement

The Trump administration's assault on Palestine activism may seem unprecedented, but the parallels to the post-9/11 "War on Terror" are chillingly familiar. However, this attempt to quash dissent will fail, because you cannot deport a movement.

I was fired from Emerson College for speaking out about Palestine, but I refuse to be silent

Anna Feder

Anna Feder is suing Emerson College for firing her over her Palestine activism. She says she will never stop advocating for a free Palestine.

1371.

18 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Israel just launched its offensive to permanently ‘conquer’ Gaza as Trump’s Arab Gulf tour wraps up

Qassam Muaddi

Israel announced the initial phase of “Gideon’s chariots,” the expanded ground invasion to permanently “conquer” Gaza, amid reports that Trump reneged on his deal with Hamas to lift the blockade, and will reportedly expel 1 million Gazans to Libya.

A Gazan’s honest answer to the question, “How Are You?”

Reem A. Hamadaqa

Every time someone asks, “How are you?” I feel a sharp twist inside. That simple question drags me back into a place I desperately try to avoid. The truth is, I am not fine. And neither is anyone else in Gaza.

Read more

BBC’s ‘The Settlers’ refuses to scratch beneath the surface of Zionist settler colonialism

Louis Theroux's BBC documentary on the Israeli settler movement in the West Bank fails to recognize how it is a natural extension of over a century of Zionist settler colonization.

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18 mei 2025

In recent weeks, as Netanyahu has moved to expand and deepen the assault on Gaza, the army has summoned tens of thousands of reservists. We’ve reacted by ramping up our public outreach activities. More and more soldiers are joining our ranks, refusing to take part in this abomination. Just last week we reached our 300th refuser. Multiple soldiers from our community have appeared on live Israeli television, courageously sharing their personal stories and declaring their refusal to take part in this war.  We now have regular columns in major news outlets, reaching a huge audience with a message of moral clarity and resistance.


 Support Gaza War Refusers

The army has also increased its attacks on us. Let’s be clear: They want to send us to jail. They want to silence us. But we will not be silenced. We will stand by every soldier who bravely speaks out against Netanyahu’s regime of death.

The tides are turning. The world is watching. The ICC has issued long ago an arrest warrant for Netanyahu — and the public, in Israel and abroad, understands: this catastrophe must end.


Together, we will stop Netanyahu’s war of destruction against the Palestinian people.

In solidarity,

Max Kresch
Soldiers for the Hostages

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17 mei 2025

Urgente oproep tot Protest – Een Rode Lijn voor het CIDI!

50 jaar lobby voor de onderdrukking, apartheid en genocide op de Palestijnen moet nu stoppen!

Morgen, zondag 18 mei organiseert het CIDI een symposium ter gelegenheid van hun 50-jarig bestaan. 50 Jaar lang heeft het CIDI in Nederland gelobbyd om de steun van onze politici en media te krijgen voor de wrede koloniale politiek van Israël. Mede daardoor is NL volop medeplichtig geraakt aan de genocide in Gaza.

Op dit CIDI symposium treden allerlei sprekers op die de criminele politiek van Israël verdedigen, zoals Douglas Murray, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Amos Yadlin, Einat Wilf, Matthew Levitt en Loay Alshareef.

Terwijl Israël al 20 maanden lang dagelijks Palestijnse burgers uitmoordt met bombardementen en uithongering, viert het CIDI feest. Wij trekken hier een rode lijn!

 Locatie: Amsterdam: Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen (KIT), Mauritskade 64, Amsterdam

 Tijd: 9.00u

 Wij roepen iedereen op om vreedzaam maar krachtig aanwezig te zijn bij het KIT in Amsterdam en te laten zien dat het CIDI alle rode lijnen heeft overschreden. Trek rode kleren aan en neem vlaggen en spandoeken mee.

Wie wil kan daarna samen naar Den Haag reizen voor de nationale Rode Lijn Actie die om 13u begint op het Malieveld.

Deze actie wordt gesteund door o.a. Docenten voor Palestina, Erev Rav, PGNL, Internationale Socialisten, XR Justice Now!, New Neighbours Utrecht, The Hague Peace Projects, Christelijk Collectief en Utrecht4Palestine en natuurlijk ook BDS Nederland.

Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen, zeg het CIDI af

Op zondag 18 mei viert het CIDI in onze hoofdstad zijn 50-jarig jubileum. Toen ik hiervan hoorde en het programma zag, kwamen het woord ‘smakeloos’  als eerste bij me op.

Des te meer toen ik hoorde welke sprekers waren uitgenodigd!

Het Centrum Informatie en Documentatie Israël (CIDI) is de invloedrijkste lobbyorganisatie voor Israël in Nederland. Hun missie is onder andere het versterken van de banden tussen Nederland, de EU en Israël. Het CIDI beïnvloedt de politiek, het onderwijs en de publieke opinie. Ze proberen de illegale bezetting en annexatie van Palestijns gebied voortdurend goed te praten. Het CIDI blijft het geweld dat Israël pleegt vergoelijken, ook nu steeds meer mensen in Nederland openlijk toegeven dat Israël oorlogsmisdaden begaat in Gaza.

Lees deze bijdrage verder op “Joop”.  

1368.

17 mei 2025

Israel’s genocide in Gaza accelerates while Trump cozies up to authoritarians

This week, Gaza’s suffering continues. Hundreds more have been killed by relentless Israeli bombardment, and millions now face starvation as food supplies are systematically targeted and destroyed while international aid is limited or blocked altogether. Israel’s government openly speaks of “conquering” Gaza, a chilling euphemism for the forced mass displacement of Palestinians. Survivors of recent bombings, like those at the European Hospital described by Tareq Hajjaj, recount scenes of absolute devastation, calling it “hell raining down.” These acts leave little doubt that Israel intends ethnic cleansing on a massive scale.

And yet, Donald Trump appears unwilling or unable to effectively bend the Israeli government to his will. On one hand, Trump’s administration engaged directly with Hamas to secure the release of dual American-Israeli citizen Edan Alexander, bypassing Israeli officials and surfacing potential tensions with Netanyahu’s government. Similarly, Trump’s direct negotiations with Iran, conducted without Israeli involvement, also show that he’s willing to move on his own without feeling constrained by the relationship with Israel, as have most of his predecessors. Naturally, politicians in Israel and the Israel lobby here in the U.S. are entering panic mode.

On the other hand, Trump’s broader foreign policy continues to contradict any indication of a meaningful shift away from support for authoritarian regimes and militarism. His administration just lifted longstanding U.S. sanctions on Syria and simultaneously approved a massive $142 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. These actions demonstrate Trump’s dangerously erratic and inconsistent diplomacy, driven more by his desperate longing for validation than any considered foreign policy agenda.

This week also marked Nakba Day, commemorating 77 years since the violent displacement of Palestinians began—a process of ethnic cleansing that never truly stopped. As Ahmad Ibsais poignantly reminded readers, all Israeli governments since 1948 have participated in this ongoing crime. The closure of UNRWA schools in Jerusalem, leaving over 800 Palestinian children without education, represents yet another calculated assault on Palestinian life and identity.

Lastly, we mourn the killing of our friend and colleague, Palestinian journalist Hassan Eslayeh. Hassan, whose courage and dedication illuminated countless Mondoweiss stories, was murdered by Israel in his hospital bed, exactly as he predicted. He understood deeply that Israel’s violence against journalists aims to silence the truth about the genocide unfolding before the world’s eyes. Hassan’s powerful legacy will live on through his words and the courageous journalism that continues to expose these crimes. You can read our statement here on X (Twitter).

David Reed, Publisher

Must Read: ‘The ground split and swallowed them’: Survivors of European Hospital bombing in Gaza recount deadly Israeli attack

= Tareq Hajjaj: Survivors describe “hell raining down” on them following Israeli airstrikes on the European Hospital in Gaza. “There is nothing left of the horrors of the Day of Judgment that we have not witnessed in Gaza,” an eyewitness tells Mondoweiss.

Craters created by bunker-buster bombs in the European Hospital grounds in Khan Younis, May 13, 2025. (Photo: Moaz Abu Taha/APA Images)

Catch-up

= Qassam Muaddi: The Israeli government’s closure of six UNRWA schools in Jerusalem has left over 800 Palestinian students without school, and has thrown an entire community into limbo. Residents say it’s all part of a larger attack on Palestinian refugees.

= The New York Times’ Tom Friedman has warned readers that the current Israeli government “is not an ally,” but on the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, we must recognize that all Israeli governments have participated in the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

= They surrounded us with walls so that we thought the Nakba was forever. Instead, we forgot that the walls existed, so we could see the Palestine we’ve always dreamed of.

= President Trump announced that he’s lifting the longstanding U.S. sanctions on Syria and agreeing to sell Saudi Arabia $142 billion in weapons.

= On May 1-4, over 2,000 activists met in Baltimore for Jewish Voice for Peace’s four-day National Members Meeting. The gathering highlighted the massive growth in the Palestine movement and the work ahead to build a united front toward liberation.

= Tareq Hajjaj: The Israeli army killed my colleague Hassan Eslayeh in his hospital bed. He predicted his death before it happened, because he knew journalists in Gaza are the only people in the world bearing witness to the greatest crime of our times.

= Twenty-five students across four California State University campuses have launched hunger strikes in solidarity with Palestine. They join a nationwide wave of protests demanding an immediate end to U.S. support for the genocide in Gaza. / Also, students at Stanford University announced they are joining the hunger strike.

= Qassam Muaddi: The release of Israeli-American captive Edan Alexander, following direct negotiations between the U.S. and Hamas, comes after the Trump administration had already caught Israel off guard by agreeing to halt hostilities with Yemen’s Ansar Allah.

= Shatha Hanaysha: I was with Shireen Abu Akleh when she was murdered on May 11, 2022. The Palestinian resistance in Jenin killed her murderer, but I find myself asking, was justice served, or did he escape accountability?

= Google’s acquisition of Israeli software company Wiz for $32 billion shows just how much Silicon Valley is invested in Israeli tech. The problem is, almost all of Israeli tech is first developed by a genocidal army.

1367.

17 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Trump sidelines Israel, ignores Palestine on deal-making trip across the Middle East

Donald Trump’s tour of the Middle East this week made headlines for scandals and massive military sales, but equally notable is what was missing: Palestine.

Arsenal FC face legal action for firing staff over pro-Palestine posts

Arsenal Football Club is facing legal action after firing long-serving equipment manager Mark Bonnick after he expressed solidarity with Palestine on social media.

1366.

16 mei 2025

With hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza on the brink of starvation, and relentless, state-backed brutality sinking to new lows every day in the West Bank, we simply cannot afford to stay silent. 
 Israel’s government understands the power of truth, which is why they’re using every tool in their arsenal to silence dissent. Yet last year, we collected accounts from a record number of soldiers. Their testimonies cut through the fog of official narratives, and reveal the truth of how the IDF actually operates.

In solidarity,
Breaking the Silence Team

1365.

16 mei 2025

FLOOD CHEVRON'S INSTAGRAM COMMENTS NOW

1365A.

16 mei 2025

De oproep om als samenleving op te staan tegen het Nederlandse regeringsbeleid dat medeplichtig is aan genocide, heeft geleid tot massale instemming en solidariteit. Meer dan 20 duizend Nederlanders hebben zich al aangemeld om zondag 18 mei een menselijke Rode Lijn door Den Haag te trekken. Naar verwachting sluiten zich daar nog veel meer spontaan bij aan.

In onze laatste campagne-update vind je alle benodigde informatie om van de actie een groot succes te maken.

Hoe trek ik thuis een Rode Lijn?
Hoezeer de oproep resoneert blijkt uit de vele reacties, vragen en suggesties die we ontvingen. Er bestaat grote behoefte aan gezamenlijke actie. Opvallend is het aantal reacties van mensen die niet in staat zijn om naar Den Haag te komen, maar wel een zichtbare rode lijn willen trekken – juist om het maatschappij-brede protest zichtbaar te maken. De suggesties die we ontvingen hebben we op een rijtje gezet.

Wat je ook doet en waar je ook bent, maak een foto en stuur die aan premier Schoof (@minpres op Instagram of X). Als duidelijk statement van de samenleving dat medeplichtigheid aan Israëls genocide niet wordt geaccepteerd.

Tot zondag!

Wij strijden tegen oorlogsmisdaden, annexatie, bezetting en onderdrukking. Helpt u mee?

Nee, ik steun The Rights Forum niet ! Zolang TRF zich niet inspant om sancties jegens Israel te bewerkstelligen!

Nakbaherdenking | De verdrijving van de Palestijnen uit hun land duurt al 77 jaar

Met de term Nakba (‘Catastrofe’) duiden de Palestijnen de volledige ontwrichting van hun samenleving aan die gepaard ging met de stichting van de staat Israël op 14 mei 1948. Tussen eind 1947 en begin 1949 werden minstens 750 duizend Palestijnen door Joods-Europese strijdgroepen van huis en haard verdreven.

Voortdurende Nakba
De Nakba wordt elk jaar op 15 mei herdacht. De nadruk ligt daarbij op het voortdurende karakter van de Palestijnse catastrofe. Israëls doel is annexatie van al het Palestijnse land, maar dan zonder Palestijnen. Dat was zo in 1947, en geldt nog steeds in 2025. Alles wijst erop dat het eindspel zich nu, na bijna tachtig jaar, open en bloot afspeelt: Israël staat op het punt de Nakba te voltooien.

Dat perspectief is bij het Nederlandse publiek echter grotendeels onbekend. Op scholen, in media en de politiek wordt de mythische oorsprong van Israël nog steeds overeind gehouden. Op de achtergrond figureren de Palestijnen. Wat hen is overkomen en hoe dat in het hier en nu hun levens bepaalt, is amper bekend.

Nakbaherdenking in Libanon

Op de 77ste herdenking van de Nakba komen Palestijnse vluchtelingen in Libanon uit de steegjes van hun kampen, met hun bundels en sleutels in de hand, en roepen naar de wereld: ‘Wij willen terugkeren.’ In kampen als Burj al-Barajneh, Nahr al-Bared en Ain al-Hilweh is de Nakba tastbaar aanwezig – niet alleen in leuzen, maar in de pijn die sinds 1948 nooit is verzacht.

The Rights Forum publiceert dossier over ‘Israël en de misdaad van genocide’

Deze week op onze website

Podcast | De militaire doctrines van Israël en Hamas

Utrecht Marathon | Nineve loopt voor The Rights Forum

Zondag 18 mei wordt de Utrecht Marathon gehouden. Het is een gelegenheid om sporters te steunen die zich inzetten voor de Palestijnen. Daaronder is een bijzonder initiatief van Nineve Koushaba. Zij loopt voor The Rights Forum.

Verder uit onze agenda
zaterdag 17 mei t/m zaterdag 24 mei

Demonstraties en wakes
• Wake voor Palestina op zaterdag 17 mei in Den Bosch, Burgemeester Loeffplein (12.00 uur)
• Protestmars voor Palestijnse bevrijding op zaterdag 17 mei in Amsterdam, de Dam (15.00 uur)
• Solidariteitsbijeenkomst met de Palestijnen op zaterdag 17 mei in Utrecht, Stadsklooster, Kanaalstraat 198 (14.00 uur)
• Protest tegen Israëls deelname aan het Songfestival op zaterdag 17 mei in Rotterdam, Hiphophuis, 46 Boomgaardsstraat (18.00 uur)
• DEMONSTRATIE – We trekken een rode lijn in Den Haag! op zondag 18 mei in Den Haag, vanaf Malieveld (13.00 uur)
• Stil protest van gate48 - de organisatie van kritische Israëli's in Nederland op zondag 18 mei in Amsterdam, 't Spui (17.00 uur)
• Sit-in rijksambtenaren op donderdag 22 mei in Den Haag, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Rijnstraat 8 (12.00 uur)
• Wekelijks protest tegen de genocide op de Palestijnen op donderdag 22 mei in Zaandam, bij de ingang van het station (17.30 uur)
• Wake op zaterdag 24 mei in Groningen, Waagplein (13.00 uur)

Culturele evenementen
Filmvertoning No Other Land op zondag 18 mei in Culemborg, Theater De Fransche School (14.30 uur)

1364.

16 mei 2025

Today's headlines

‘The ground split and swallowed them’: Survivors of European Hospital bombing in Gaza recount deadly Israeli attack

Tareq S. Hajjaj

Survivors describe “hell raining down” on them following Israeli airstrikes on the European Hospital in Gaza. “There is nothing left of the horrors of the Day of Judgment that we have not witnessed in Gaza,” an eyewitness tells Mondoweiss.

Israel shut down six UNRWA schools in Jerusalem ahead of the Nakba’s 77th anniversary

Qassam Muaddi

The Israeli government’s closure of six UNRWA schools in Jerusalem has left over 800 Palestinian students without school, and has thrown an entire community into limbo. Residents say it's all part of a larger attack on Palestinian refugees.

Note to Thomas Friedman: It is not only ‘this’ Israeli government that has carried out ethnic cleansing

Ahmad Ibsais

The New York Times' Tom Friedman has warned readers that the current Israeli government "is not an ally," but on the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, we must recognize that all Israeli governments have participated in the ethnic cleansing of Palestine.

The walls that surround us were built to make the Nakba eternal

Amena al-Ashkar

They surrounded us with walls so that we thought the Nakba was forever. Instead, we forgot that the walls existed, so we could see the Palestine we’ve always dreamed of.

1363.

15 mei 2025

There are moments in a people's history when time itself seems to come to a halt.

For Palestinians, the Nakba is not just a memory, it is a lineage. It is our grandparents’ anguish, our parents’ struggle, and now, our own. It is a catastrophe that has not ended but rather, grown more monstrous, more daring in its brutality.

Over the past twenty months, the world has been forced to witness it in Gaza, where bombs fall with the consistency of rain during monsoon season, and in the West Bank, where settler and state violence carve deeper scars into our people’s minds, bodies, and land.

Our world has stopped in these months of relentless terror, and we cannot help but think of our grandparents, and theirs before them, whose world was stopped in 1948.

And yet, we are a miracle. Our very existence, our very breath, is rebellion. Despite the wreckage of colonialism and imperialism, we rise, determined to live freely, to embody truth, no matter how long it takes.

These past months of this ongoing Nakba, we have witnessed hell. Children robbed of their innocence, limbs amputated, their small hands grasping for food that is no longer there. Fathers cradling the lifeless bodies of their children, mothers suffocating in grief, children clutching their parents in the finality of death. The elderly, who once fled barefoot from their homes as small children, now relive that agony with each new wave of displacement.

And we, here in the diaspora, watch with fists clenched, hearts heavy with that terrible, righteous anger that this world dares to condemn. We are told our grief is too loud, our rage too disruptive, our insistence on justice too radical. And yet, we know it is not nearly enough.

Our youth, the brave souls who dare speak against genocide on campuses across this nation, are being silenced, punished, and disappeared for saying what should be shouted from every rooftop: that the genocide must end.

We are witnessing the catastrophe expand. Gaza is bombarded with weapons created not just to kill but to perfect killing, to refine surveillance, to master control. Those same companies—Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and the likes—are now deploying that expertise to the Southern border and in your neighborhoods. This is a hi-tech Nakba. An export of terror designed for the Palestinian people, perfected on our bodies, and now turned back upon the very communities that fund it with their tax dollars.

But here is what we know: catastrophe cannot erase community. And if we have learned anything from our elders, it is that our survival depends on one another. Not in isolation. Not in silence. But in fierce, unbreakable community. If we are to stop the genocide in Gaza, if we are to resist the machinery of militarism and authoritarianism, it will be in coming together. It will be through organizing, through refusing to look away, and through connecting the struggle for Palestine with the struggle for liberation everywhere.

1362.

15 mei 2025

NEWS & UPDATES ON OUR MISSION

MAY, 2025

On May 15th and 16th, The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will be convening at the United Nations headquarters in New York for the 77th commemoration of the Nakba and to hear presentations regarding “International Action Towards Ending the Nakba and Realising the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.”

The Hind Rajab Foundation, represented by Jake Romm, has been invited to present at the opening session on May 16: Best Practices to Bring Accountability and End the War: Recent Civil Society Legal Actions and Arms Embargo.

Mr. Romm will speak with member states and civil society stakeholders about the work of the foundation and the urgent need for states to uphold their international obligations and begin prosecutions for Israeli war criminals and genocidaires within their borders.

→ WATCH LIVE: MAY 16th, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. EST

(View the full programme here)

IN THE MEDIA

A few days ago, Dyab Abou Jahjah, co-founder and Chairman of the Hind Rajab Foundation, spoke on BreakThrough News to discuss how the foundation identified the Israeli officer responsible for the January 2024 killing of 5-year-old Hind Rajab, five of her family members, and two rescue workers in Gaza City.

Abou Jahjah discusses the foundation’s extensive investigation, the war crimes complaint filed with the International Criminal Court seeking the arrest of Lt. Col. Beni Aharon, and the HRF’s global campaign to hold individual IDF soldiers and their accomplices accountable for genocide.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

The Hind Rajab Foundation is dedicated to the quest for justice in response to the crimes against humanity, war crimes and human rights violations perpetrated by the Israeli state against Palestinians.

Established during the ongoing Gaza genocide, our foundation honors the memory of Hind Rajab and all those who have perished or suffered under the Israeli genocidal campaign.

Help us stay independent:

Support our work by becoming a monthly sponsor or make a one-time donation.

Help us grow our audience:

Follow us on social media, share our updates and ask your network to do the same!

1361.

15 mei 2025

Today, we mark the 77th anniversary of the Nakba — the planned mass ethnic cleansing of Indigenous Palestinians and destruction of hundreds of Palestinian towns and villages to establish Israel as a settler-colony based on Zionism, Jewish supremacy, and apartheid.

But that colonial project has never stopped. The Nakba isn’t history. It’s now. 
 

Today, Palestinians are facing what Israeli leaders openly call the “Gaza Nakba” — an unprecedented genocide of extermination and forced displacement against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Only mass, intersectional people power can end this.

So, on the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, watch our video and share 7 urgent demands from Palestinians for meaningful solidarity.

­ 

From campuses to city councils, from the streets to the largest trade unions, a global wave of solidarity is rising. Millions of justice activists, artists, workers, students, farmers, and human rights defenders are standing up for Palestinian liberation worldwide. The Palestinian-led BDS movement is reshaping how the world relates to Israel: not as a normal state, but as a regime of genocide and apartheid that must be dismantled to achieve freedom, justice and equality.

1360.

Stop de genocide!

Palestijnen in Gaza worden uitgehongerd door de Israëlische regering. Terwijl kinderen sterven van de honger, kijkt onze regering weg bij deze genocide. Zondag trekken wij daarom samen de rode lijn. Omdat dit kabinet weigert om dat te doen. Zie ik je om 13.00 uur op het Malieveld?

Vandaag is de herdenking van de Nakba, de periode rond 1948 waarbij honderdduizenden Palestijnen huis en haard moesten verlaten en verdreven werden van hun land. Bijna 80 jaar later is Netanyahu en de Israëlische regering bezig met een etnische zuivering van Gaza.

Er is grote steun voor een nieuw tegengeluid vóór vrede. De genocide in Gaza, de militarisering van Nederland en Europa en de oorlogen overal in de wereld – steeds meer mensen komen in actie voor vrede. Want in oorlogen zijn het altijd de gewone mannen, vrouwen en kinderen die sterven en zelden de leiders die de oorlogen beginnen. De SP is een partij die écht voor vrede staat. Dit gaan we zondag samen met zoveel mogelijk andere mensen doen.

Wij zijn  erbij aankomende zondag. Loop jij ook mee?

Met strijdbare groet,

Jimmy Dijk
Fractievoorzitter

1359.

15 mei 2025

Humanitarian Situation Update #289
West Bank

A Palestinian walking by a closed iron gate installed by Israeli forces to block a road leading to Al Fawwar camp, in the southern West Bank. Photo by OCHA

Key Highlights

• Some 200 families are estimated to have gradually returned to the outskirts of Jenin refugee camp, which remains depopulated, while demolitions and displacement continue in Tulkarm city and Nur Shams refugee camp. Some 40,000 Palestinians remain displaced in the northern West Bank.
• More than 550 students were evacuated from their classrooms as Israeli forces raided and shut down three UNRWA schools in East Jerusalem.
• Across the West Bank, Israeli settlers have damaged water infrastructure on 62 occasions since January, with herding communities facing the most severe impacts.
• A decision by the authorities to resume land registration risks further land expropriation in violation of Palestinian property rights, warns the UN Human Rights Office.

Humanitarian Developments

• Between 6 and 12 May, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians across the West Bank, including two who were killed during an exchange of fire and one who attacked soldiers. During the same period, Israeli forces injured 104 Palestinians: 59 were treated for tear gas inhalation, 25 were physically assaulted, 19 were shot with live ammunition, and one was hit by a sound grenade. Sixteen of those injured were children. The following are details of the fatality incidents:
  • On 7 May, Israeli forces shot, killed and withheld the body of a Palestinian man who tried to carry out a ramming and stabbing attack near the southern entrance of Hebron city, reportedly injuring one Israeli soldier. Subsequently, Israeli forces closed the southern entrance to the city, keeping it shut through the time of reporting. Israeli forces then raided the house of the assailant in Dura town, also in Hebron governorate, causing property damage, and arrested four of his family members. Israeli forces also assaulted and injured 15 family members and neighbours, including one child, who were offering condolences to the family.
  • On 8 May, undercover Israeli forces shot, killed and withheld the body of a Palestinian man and injured 43 others during a raid in the Old City of Nablus. The forces also shot live ammunition and tear gas canisters at Palestinians who threw stones at them; eight Palestinians were injured by live ammunition, and 35 needed medical treatment for tear gas inhalation.
  • On 9 May, Israeli forces killed two Palestinian men in an exchange of fire with people in a house they surrounded in eastern Nablus city. The forces fired a shoulder-fired explosive projectile and launched an explosive drone at the house.
• Between 6 to 12 May, OCHA documented the demolition of 17 Palestinian-owned structures for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible to obtain. These included seven structures in East Jerusalem and ten in Area C. The demolitions resulted in the displacement of seven households comprising 38 Palestinians, including 18 children, and affected the livelihoods of 40 other people. Eighteen people, including eight children, were displaced in three demolition incidents in East Jerusalem, where three homes were demolished in Beit Hanina, Silwan and Ras al ‘Amud. Twenty others, including ten children, were displaced in Area C, where three homes were demolished in: Al Funduq village, in Qalqiliya governorate; Suba village, in Hebron governorate; and Nablus city. Demolitions due to the lack of Israeli-issued permits in Area C have been soaring since the beginning of 2025. Between 1 January and 12 May, OCHA documented the demolition of 592 structures by Israeli authorities in Area C – more than double the number of structures demolished (272) during the corresponding period in 2024.
• On 11 May, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved the implementation of a new land settlement process, which will effectively resume land registration in Area C of the occupied West Bank. The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) expressed their alarm at this development and stated: “The process of land registration or settlement of land title, under which Israel purportedly seeks to definitively establish land ownership registration in favour of Israeli settlers, represents an exercise of sovereignty prohibited in occupied territory.” Moreover, according to OHCHR, this process raises concern that the process would be used “to acquire Palestinian land and consolidate the unlawful annexation of the West Bank.” Under the Oslo Accords, over 60 per cent of the West Bank was designated as Area C, under Israeli control, where land registration remained suspended. Less than 1 per cent of Area C is covered by a planning scheme for Palestinian communities approved by the Israeli authorities.
• Between 6 to 12 May 2025, OCHA documented 14 settler attacks against Palestinians that resulted in property damage but did not document attacks that resulted in casualties. They included the burning of a structure used for livelihood, damage to water and electricity networks, and vandalism of over 240 olive, fig and apricots trees. Six of the incidents took place in Ramallah governorate, including an incident on 9 May, when Israeli settlers raided Wadi Qatoniya area on the outskirts of Al Mughayyir village, where Palestinian herding families live. The settlers broke into the residential tent of one family, damaging kitchen equipment and furniture. In another incident on 7 May, a group of Israeli settlers set fire to an uninhabited structure, including several hay bales, belonging to a Palestinian herder in a farm on the outskirts of Khirbet Abu Falah village.
• On 6 May, in a setter-related incident that did not result in damage to property, Israeli settlers blocked for approximately two hours the access of at least four children, who were walking back home from school, through a closed road gate in Shuqba village, in Ramallah governorate. The gate was installed in early February 2025 by Israeli forces on a road that leads to five houses on the eastern outskirts of the village, affecting about 60 people, including 40 children. The families have since been denied vehicular access through the gate and are forced to walk or take a lengthy detour to reach the village and essential services by car, turning a one-kilometre trip into a five-kilometre journey. This is the latest in a series of nearly daily incidents where Israeli settlers, believed to be from an outpost established in September 2024, have been preventing the movement of families in one area of the village to and from their homes and harassing residents. Similarly affected are Palestinian farmers, who, according to residents, have been prevented by Israeli settlers from accessing their agricultural land in areas near the outpost. Since the outpost was established, OCHA has documented nine attacks perpetrated by Israeli settlers against Palestinians that resulted in casualties or property damage, and seven other incidents involving trespass, harassment, or access restrictions. This is compared with two such incidents documented between 2020 and 2024.
• Since the beginning of 2025, at least 13 per cent of settler-related incidents that led to property damage and were documented by OCHA across the West Bank (62 out of 464 incidents) have targeted water-related structures used for domestic and agricultural purposes. Most of these incidents (46) occurred in Palestinian villages and towns, while 16 were in herding and Bedouin communities. The nature and scope of the damage in both settings reflect a broader pattern of settler vandalism targeting essential service infrastructure.
  • In villages and towns, Israeli settlers have vandalized water infrastructure, including main pipelines, irrigation networks, shared tanks, and agricultural wells – disrupting water access for multiple households. Examples include an incident in Kisan village, in Bethlehem governorate, where settlers damaged 450 metres of a water network installed by an international NGO, cutting off water to 20 families (about 50 people). In Kafr Qaddum village, in Qalqiliya governorate, settlers seized a water pump, and 75 metres of piping used to irrigate plots cultivated by several households. In Rujib village, in Nablus governorate, settlers rendered an agricultural well unusable, disrupting irrigation for over 300 olive trees. In Deir Nidham village, in Ramallah governorate, the main water pipeline serving the village was damaged by Israeli settlers, leaving about 1,000 people without access to water for two days. Similarly, in An Nazla ash Sharqiya village, in Tulkarm governorate, settlers destroyed 1,700 metres of irrigation piping, affecting more than five dunums (1.2 acres) of farmland used by 12 households.
  • In Bedouin and herding communities, examples of vandalism by Israeli settlers damaging water and sanitation structures include an incident on 9 May in Hammamat al Maleh herding community in the northern Jordan valley, where settlers cut a water network pipe used to transfer water from a nearby spring. In Ras 'Ein al 'Auja herding community, in Jericho governorate, at least three incidents involved settlers damaging water pipes serving the community, disrupting access to water for up to eight households. Residents report that such attacks on the water network occur on a near-daily basis, severely undermining their already limited access to water for both domestic and livestock needs. While the number of attacks in villages and towns is higher, the impact on herding and Bedouin communities tends to be more severe due to their heightened vulnerability and limited coping mechanisms. These communities typically rely on minimal and unregulated water infrastructure, such as water tanks, trailers and natural springs, and often lack access to pipe networks or public services. Under the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene WASH Cluster’s 2024 water vulnerability mapping, most herding communities, specifically those in the northern Jordan Valley, fall under the highest vulnerability index, relying primarily on water trucking at high costs – paying 20-25 ILS (US$5-7) per cubic metre – with insufficient storage capacity to meet household and livestock needs. These conditions are compounded by recurrent settler attacks targeting their limited water infrastructure.

• On 8 May, Israeli forces raided three UNRWA schools in Shu’fat refugee camp, in East Jerusalem, and demanded their closure. UNRWA evacuated more than 550 girls and boys from their classrooms, and Israeli forces temporarily detained one UNRWA staff member. This follows closure orders that were presented to six UNRWA-run schools in East Jerusalem on 8 April, affecting 800 students. Following the forced closures on 8 May, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated: “UNRWA was forced to evacuate all children across the six schools it runs in East Jerusalem. These schools are inviolable premises of the United Nations. By enforcing closure orders issued last month, the Israeli authorities are denying Palestinian children their basic right to learn.” The Director of UNRWA Affairs in the West Bank additionally stressed: “Israel’s actions today are a grave violation of its obligations as a UN member state under international law.” These developments follow the passage of two laws by Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on 28 October 2024, which aim to prohibit UNRWA’s operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) and bar any contact between UNRWA and Israeli officials. According to the Education Cluster, the “fear that similar closures could expand to other UNRWA schools in the West Bank and beyond raises serious concerns about the erosion of access to education for an entire generation of children. Such disruptions would not only affect learning, but also undermine children’s wellbeing, development, and long-term prospects.” There are over 47,000 Palestinian refugee children enrolled in 96 UNRWA schools across the West Bank, which “serve as critical spaces for protection and stability amid protracted crises,” the Education Cluster emphasized.
• For key figures and additional breakdowns of casualties, displacement and settler violence between January 2005 and March 2025, please refer to the OCHA West Bank March 2025 Snapshot.

Developments in the northern West Bank

• Demolitions and displacement continue in Tulkarm city and Nur Shams camp. On 11 May, three residential structures in Nur Shams refugee camp were reportedly demolished using explosive devices. On the same day, according to the Palestinian General Authority of Civil Affairs, 10 households residing in three residential structures in the eastern neighbourhood of Tulkarm city were verbally ordered to leave by Israeli forces. The families were given a window of time ranging from 30 minutes to two days to evacuate their homes. Between 12 and 13 May, residents of Tulkarm city reported ongoing sounds of explosions coming from within Nur Shams camp. The explosions on 13 May were mostly heard in Al Jame’ neighbourhood, located in the centre of the camp. According to the Jenin Governor’s Office, several homes were demolished before their residents were allowed to retrieve their belongings. On 1 May, Israeli forces had issued two military orders to demolish 106 Palestinian-owned structures in Tulkarm (58) and Nur Shams (48) refugee camps. A legal petition to stop the demolition of homes by an NGO was rejected by the Israeli military, citing that these demolitions were done out of military necessity. Humanitarian actors have been unable to systematically assess the demolitions due to the lack of access.
• On 13 May, two Palestinian men were killed during operations by Palestinian forces in El Fara’a refugee camp, in Tubas governorate, and in Jenin city. In the first incident, in El Fara’a, Palestinian forces shot and killed a Palestinian man. In the second incident, in Jenin, a 67-year-old man was shot and killed, and a woman was shot and injured, with the identity of the perpetrators remaining undetermined. The presence of Palestinian forces and other armed Palestinians was reported in the area at the time of the incident.
• On 9 May, Israeli forces informed the Palestinian District Coordination Liaison office in Jenin that residents of areas adjacent to the Jenin refugee camp would be allowed to return to their homes, which they had been forced to leave nearly a week earlier. The notification included a map highlighting a designated "green zone" that residents would be allowed to return to, primarily covering the Az Zahra neighbourhood, located north of the camp. The return was authorized to begin on 10 May. Local sources estimate that nearly 20 families, comprising about 100 people, were directly affected by this order and that residents of other neighbourhoods have been returning from their own volition. Local sources also estimate that about 200 families have gradually returned over the past month.
• Over 90 per cent of the 124 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces across the West Bank between 1 January and 12 May 2025 were in the six northern West Bank governorates of Jenin, Tubas, Tulkarm, Nablus, Qalqilya and Salfit. Seven Israelis, including five members of Israeli forces, were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank during the same period, all of them in the northern West Bank.

1358.

15 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Trump lifts Syria sanctions, agrees to sell Saudi Arabia $142 billion in arms

President Trump announced that he's lifting the longstanding U.S. sanctions on Syria and agreeing to sell Saudi Arabia $142 billion in weapons.

Massive JVP member meeting vows to fight Zionism, fascism, and the weaponization of antisemitism

On May 1-4, over 2,000 activists met in Baltimore for Jewish Voice for Peace's four-day National Members Meeting. The gathering highlighted the massive growth in the Palestine movement and the work ahead to build a united front toward liberation.

1357.

CARE

15 mei 2025

Een meisje in een vluchtelingenkamp in Gaza.

Het is onvoorstelbaar dat kinderen in Gaza, van wie velen uitgemergeld zijn, een langzame en pijnlijke dood door honger tegemoet gaan.

“Moeders brengen baby’s van nog geen twee kilo naar onze kliniek. Kinderen, zieken en ouderen lijden het meest,” zegt Jolien Veldwijk, landendirecteur van CARE in Gaza en de Westelijke Jordaanoever.

De huidige blokkade op alle hulpgoederen kost levens. Wij bieden nog medische zorg van uit onze mobiele klinieken en hebben vrachtwagens vol voorraden klaarstaan voor moeders en baby’s die dringend voedsel nodig hebben.

Bij alle geweld hebben wij maar één prioriteit: levens redden. Vandaag vragen wij u om hulp. De politiek laat mensen in Gaza in de steek, u kunt daar nu wel iets aan doen. Doet u mee?

Met vriendelijke groet,

Reintje van Haeringen,

Directeur CARE Nederland

1356.

15 mei 2025

In today's Daily Brief:

• Israel’s Plan to “Destroy” Gaza

Help promote human rights – forward this email to others & encourage them to sign up here.

1355.

14 mei 2025

Humanitarian Situation Update #288
Gaza Strip

Destruction at Nasser Hospital following an Israeli attack, 13 May 2025. Photo by OCHA/Olga Cherevko

Key Highlights

• The blockade, new displacement orders, and ongoing bombardments, including on tents, hospitals and schools, continue to drive a growing number of casualties, displacement and extreme levels of deprivation across Gaza.
• In a briefing to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation and the protection of aid workers in Gaza, the UN Relief Chief, Tom Fletcher, called for decisive action to prevent genocide in Gaza.
• Strikes on the two main hospitals in Khan Younis have further crippled an already decimated health care system, triggering renewed calls for the protection of civilians, including medical personnel, and medical facilities in line with international humanitarian law.
• Three quarters of the population in Gaza are projected to face emergency or catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity under a reasonable worst-case scenario of a protracted and large-scale military operation and continuation of the full blockade. Under this scenario, key indicators of food insecurity, acute malnutrition and mortality would surpass the IPC famine thresholds.

Humanitarian Developments

• Since 2 March 2025, and for the past 74 days, Israeli authorities have imposed a full blockade on Gaza, bringing to a near-standstill humanitarian efforts to protect and assist civilians through the provision of commodities. In parallel, since 18 March 2025, Israeli forces have escalated bombardment from the air, land and sea across the Gaza Strip and expanded ground operations. This has resulted in hundreds of casualties, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and large-scale displacement. With no safe place to go, over 436,000 people are estimated to have been displaced again since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March and as of 13 May, according to the Site Management Cluster (SMC). People have been confined to ever-shrinking spaces, with 71 per cent of the Gaza Strip now within Israeli-militarized zones or were placed under displacement orders since 18 March. Strikes on residential buildings, tents for internally displaced people (IDPs) and hospitals have been reported, alongside detonation of buildings. Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups has been reported.
• In his briefing to the UN Security Council on the humanitarian situation and the protection of aid workers in Gaza on 13 May 2025, Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, stated that the UN has “briefed this Council in great detail on the extensive civilian harm that [humanitarians] witness daily: death, injury, destruction, hunger, disease, torture, other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, repeated displacement, on a large scale. [Humanitarians] have described the deliberate obstruction of aid operations and the systematic dismantling of Palestinian life, and that which sustains it, in Gaza.” He called on Security Council members to demand that this situation ends, stop arming it, and insist on accountability. He called on the Israeli authorities to stop killing and injuring civilians, lift the blockade, and let humanitarians save lives. He called on Hamas and other armed Palestinian groups to release all hostages immediately and unconditionally and to stop putting civilians at risk during military operations.
• According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between 7 and 14 May, as of noon, 275 Palestinians were killed and 949 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 14 May 2025, the MoH in Gaza reported that at least 52,928 Palestinians were killed and 119,846 Palestinians were injured. This includes 2,799 people killed and 7,805 injured since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March 2025, according to MoH.
• Attacks on aid workers and medical personnel in Gaza continue to be reported. On 4 May, a volunteer pharmacist with the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund was killed along with her entire family in Gaza city. On 7 May, another health professional (midwife) working for Al Awda Health and Community Association was killed, along with her family, when their house was struck in North Gaza. Since 7 October 2023, at least 430 aid workers, including 305 UN staff, have been killed. This includes 151 female and 276 male aid workers, as of the end of April 2025. Moreover, MoH has reported that more than 1,400 healthcare workers have been killed. Calling on the international community to take immediate action to protect Gaza’s healthcare workers, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said that “Gaza’s health system is being systematically dismantled, making it impossible to sustain Palestinian life in Gaza.” A surgeon told MAP: “Nowhere is safe. (…) My message is the same one we’ve been repeating for more than a year and a half: medical teams who continue to care for patients and remain at their posts under these devastating conditions must be protected.”
• Hospitals continue to come under attack. On 13 May, Israeli forces hit both Nasser and the European Gaza hospitals, the two main hospitals in Khan Younis. The director of field hospitals at the MoH, Dr. Marwan Al-Hams, reported that this is the second attack on Nasser Hospital within two months. It rendered 40 inpatient beds and 10 intensive care unit beds out of service. The hospital’s director informed WHO that two people were killed and 12 others, including patients and medical staff, were injured. A journalist was targeted and killed in the attack while he was receiving treatment in his hospital bed following an injury he sustained when a tent for journalists was previously hit. On the same day, Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Suzanna Tkalec, visited the hospital, where she spoke with staff and a team of international doctors; she stressed that these attacks are unacceptable and must stop and that healthcare facilities and those serving them must always be protected. On the same day, Israeli forces targeted the European Gaza Hospital with a series of airstrikes, hitting the internal yards and the hospital’s surroundings. Nineteen people, including five females, were reportedly killed and more than 40 were injured, including four journalists. The spokesman of the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) reported that the rescue teams have retrieved 28 fatalities. He added that two members of their team were injured when they were subsequently targeted while trying to rescue injured people from a residential house near the hospital. The team had to withdraw from the house without being able to help injured people who were trapped inside. Following the attack, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) operating at the hospital had to suspend the outpatient consultations and reduce the number of MSF staff in the facility.
• Between 7 October 2023 and 7 May 2025, WHO documented 686 health attacks in the Gaza Strip, affecting 122 health facilities and 180 ambulances. These include several incidents that have been reported since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March, which led to the destruction of the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, damage to the surgical ward at Nasser hospital, damage to the intensive care unit (ICU) department and the solar panels at Al-Durrah Hospital that rendered it out of service, and destruction of the emergency building and other facilities at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital. Furthermore, according to WHO, at least 38 health service points are located within designated evacuation zones, with 110 more within a one-kilometer radius, threatening access to health care across the Strip. In Rafah, there are no functioning primary or secondary health care services; only limited health care services are provided by the ICRC and UAE field hospitals and two medical points, with access constrained by security risks.
• On five occasions between 7 and 12 May, three schools sheltering IDPs were reportedly hit in Gaza city and North Gaza governorate. One school turned shelter in Gaza city was hit three times on 7 and 8 May, resulting in the reported killing of 21 people and the injury of many others. On 10 May, another school was hit in Gaza city, resulting in the reported killing of two people. On 12 May, a school sheltering IDPs was hit in North Gaza, resulting in the reported killing of 16 people, including six children. According to the latest assessment by the Education Cluster, 62 per cent of school buildings that have been used by IDPs as shelters were directly hit (see below).

• Between 7 and 14 May, other incidents resulting in fatalities were reported across the Gaza Strip, including the following:
  • On 7 May, at about 17:00, five Palestinians, including a child, were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza.
  • On 7 May, at about 23:00, five Palestinians, including a child, were reportedly killed and five others injured, while others were reportedly missing, when a residential building was hit southwest of Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza. During the rescue operations, a paramedic was reportedly injured after part of the building collapsed.
  • On 8 May, at about 18:23, four Palestinians, including a girl and a boy, were reportedly killed and at least 20 others injured when a shop inside a family house was hit near Salah Al Deen Road in An Nuseirat refugee camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 9 May, at about 01:41, three Palestinians, including a boy and a woman, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in eastern An Nuseirat refugee camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 11 May, at about 00:55, four Palestinians (a married couple and their two children) were reportedly killed when an IDP tent was hit in eastern Khan Younis.
  • On 12 May, at midnight, three Palestinians (a married couple and their child) were reportedly killed when an IDP tent was hit in Jabalya, in North Gaza.
  • On 14 May, at about 01:30, 19 people, including nine women and nine children, were reportedly killed when a house was hit in Jabalya refugee camp, in North Gaza.
  • On 14 May, at about 01:30, 15 people, including nine children and three women, were reportedly killed when two apartments were hit in Jabalya refugee camp, in North Gaza.
  • On 14 May, at about 02:15, nine Palestinians, including a married couple, their two sons and two daughters and three of their grandchildren, were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in Al Fukhkhari area, in eastern Khan Younis.
• Between 8 and 14 May, two Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 14 May 2025, according to Israeli forces and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,614 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath. This includes 414 soldiers killed, in addition to 2,663 soldiers injured, in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation in October 2023. These include seven soldiers killed and 77 injured since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March 2025.
• On 12 May, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) facilitated the transfer of a hostage from Gaza to Israeli authorities. This was the first release operation since the ceasefire ended on 1 March. During the ceasefire, between 19 January and 1 March 2025, 25 Israeli and five Thai hostages, the bodies of eight Israeli hostages, two of whom were children, and 1,777 Palestinian detainees were released. As of 14 May, it is estimated that 58 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including hostages who have been declared dead and whose bodies are being withheld.
• According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) snapshot on the Gaza Strip, which was published on 12 May, the entire population of 2.1 million people is projected to face high levels of acute food insecurity between 11 May and the end of September 2025, with half a million people (one in five) facing starvation, noting that the results mark a significant deterioration compared with the previous IPC analysis of October 2024. “With the announced expansion of military operations throughout the Gaza Strip, the persistent inability of humanitarian agencies to access populations in dire need, an anticipated escalation in hostilities, and the continued mass displacement of people, the risk of Famine in the Gaza Strip is not just possible- It is increasingly likely,” the IPC warned. Key findings and projections of the IPC analysis are summarized below:
  • The analysis explains that renewed military operations following the ceasefire, widespread displacement, collapsed food systems and the ongoing blockade have further disrupted access to humanitarian assistance, markets, health, water and sanitation services, and caused additional damage to remaining essential infrastructure. The analysis highlights that, based on recent data, many households are resorting to extreme coping strategies: “A third reported collecting garbage to sell for food, while a quarter indicated that no valuable garbage remains.”
  • The analysis projects that between 11 May and the end of September 2025, the entire population of Gaza is facing crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity (IPC 3 and above), including over a million people (54 per cent) expected to be in the emergency phase (IPC Phase 4) and 470,000 people (22 per cent) facing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity (IPC Phase 5).
  • The analysis projects that 71,000 children aged 6 to 59 months and nearly 17,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are expected to require urgent treatment for acute malnutrition between April 2025 and March 2026. It highlights that Gaza, North Gaza and Rafah governorates are anticipated to be in Phase 4 (critical) for acute malnutrition while Deir al Balah and Khan Younis governorates will reach Phase 3 (serious). According to the analysis, contributing factors for acute malnutrition include inadequate dietary intake, severely limited access to health and nutrition services, and critical gaps in water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH).
  • The analysis provides insights into potential famine under the reasonable worst-case-scenario where food insecurity, acute malnutrition and mortality would surpass the IPC Phase 5 (famine) thresholds: “In a scenario of a protracted and large-scale military operation and continuation of the humanitarian and commercial blockade, there would be a critical lack of access to supplies and services that are essential to survival. This scenario would likely result in further mass displacement within and across governorates. The vast majority of people in the Gaza Strip would not have access to food, water, shelter, and medicine. This would exacerbate civil unrest and competition over remaining scarce resources, further eroding whatever limited community coping and support mechanisms remain. The remaining health services would fully collapse due to lack of personnel and supplies, including for the treatment of acute malnutrition and provision of vaccines needed to prevent disease outbreaks. Lack of treatment options for communicable and non-communicable diseases would lead to the rapid deterioration of the health and nutrition status of the population. Lack of clean water, collapse of the solid waste system and overcrowding, would worsen health conditions and increase morbidity among children and adults.”
  • To prevent further deaths, starvation and acute malnutrition, and a descent into famine, the IPC Global Initiative calls for: an immediate and sustained cessation of hostilities; unhindered and sustained humanitarian access; the protection of civilians, aid workers and civilian infrastructure; the provision of life-saving aid through multi-sectoral integrated interventions - including food, nutrition, health WASH, and livelihood assistance; and the at-scale restoration of commercial supply, essential services, market systems and local food production systems.

• Commenting on the IPC snapshot, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell stressed: “The risk of famine does not arrive suddenly. It unfolds in places where access to food is blocked, where health systems are decimated, and where children are left without the bare minimum to survive. Hunger and acute malnutrition are a daily reality for children across the Gaza Strip,” adding that they have “repeatedly warned of this trajectory and call again on all parties to prevent a catastrophe.” Similarly, the UN World Food Programme’s (WFP) Executive Director, Cindy McCain, highlighted that “[f]amilies in Gaza are starving while the food they need is sitting at the border. We can’t get it to them because of the renewed conflict and the total ban on humanitarian aid imposed in early March,” urging the international community to act to bring aid into Gaza because if “we wait until after a famine is confirmed, it will already be too late for many people.” The World Health Organization (WHO) additionally underlined that the long-term impact of malnutrition “can last a lifetime in the form of stunted growth, impaired cognitive development, and poor health,” warning that “[w]ithout enough nutritious food, clean water, and access to health care, an entire generation will be permanently affected.”
• With alarming deterioration in food insecurity and looming famine, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) urged immediate access to save livelihoods and food production. “The international community must act now. The immediate restoration of access to humanitarian and commercial supplies at scale is critical. Every delay deepens hunger and accelerates starvation, bringing us closer to famine,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. Since October 2023, the commercial production of livestock has largely been destroyed, with only limited household-level production for self-consumption remaining that is vital for households' food security, as it provides the last accessible source of milk, eggs and meat. FAO has estimated that the number of sheep is down to 36 per cent, goats to 39 per cent, cattle to 3.8 per cent, layers and broilers to 1.4 per cent, and working animals to 79.5 per cent. However, following the ban on all humanitarian and commercial supplies on 2 March, an additional 20 to 30 per cent of livestock are predicted to have perished. FAO underscores that without feed and veterinary kits, this will not only result in further loss of critical food sources, but untreated animals also pose serious public health risks by becoming vectors for disease. FAO notes that a new FAO-UNOSAT assessment is currently under way and early indications suggest a further reduction in usable agricultural land, leaving little space to preserve or restore livelihoods. As highlighted by the IPC, food assistance alone will not prevent famine, underscoring the importance of a multi-sectoral and integrated humanitarian response, including nutrition, health, WASH assistance and restoring, at scale, local food production, markets and commercial supply.
• According to a new assessment by the Education Cluster, which relies on satellite imagery collected on 4 April 2025, nearly 88.8 per cent of school buildings in the Gaza Strip (501 out of 564) have been directly hit or damaged and are estimated to require either full reconstruction or major rehabilitation work to be functional again. The assessment found that 406 (72 per cent) school buildings were directly hit and 95 (16.8 per cent) were damaged since 7 October 2023. Fifty per cent (279) of the directly hit and damaged schools are government schools, 29 per cent (162) are UNRWA schools, and 11 per cent (60) are private schools. Moreover, 62 per cent of school buildings that have been used by IDPs as shelters were directly hit. Schools that were directly hit or damaged served over 547,000 students and had more than 20,500 teachers before October 2023, which represented about 88.4 per cent of the total student population and teaching staff in the Gaza Strip.

Shrinking Humanitarian Space

• As of 14 May, about 249,000 daily meals were prepared and delivered by 16 Food Security Sector (FSS) partners through about 65 kitchens across the Gaza Strip. This is a reduction of about 160,000 meals compared with the production level on 11 May, due to closure of 19 additional kitchens. Overall, since 25 April, when 1,080,000 meals were produced and delivered daily by 180 kitchens, there has been a 75-per-cent reduction in meal production across the Gaza Strip, with around 115 kitchens having been forced to shut down due to the lack of supplies. This number is rising by the day.
• The nutritional situation of children in Gaza continues to rapidly deteriorate, with no entry of specialized nutrition supplies and limited or no possibility for humanitarians to deliver nutrition and other services. In April, Nutrition Cluster partners screened close to 60,000 children and identified 2,500 cases of acute malnutrition, including 169 with severe acute malnutrition. Compared to February 2025, the proportion of children identified with acute malnutrition out of those screened almost doubled, indicating the dire situation. Similarly, 27 children with severe acute malnutrition with medical complications were admitted in April to three stabilization centers, compared to 14 cases admitted in March. The three stabilization centers are in Gaza city, Khan Younis and Deir al Balah governorates, leaving thousands of children in North Gaza and Rafah without access to these critical services. Shrinking humanitarian space and access constraints further impede malnutrition detection efforts, with outpatient therapeutic programme (OTP) sites reduced by 25 per cent compared to February, leaving only 87 OTP sites operational across Gaza. Furthermore, in April, the number of detection screenings decreased by about 26 per cent for children and 20 per cent for pregnant and breastfeeding women (PBW) compared with March, when 92,404 children and 30,358 PBW were screened. Meanwhile, Nutrition cluster partners are reporting that they are out of stock of specialized nutrition supplements for the prevention of malnutrition. These multiple malnutrition prevention interventions (supplementation, micronutrients, complementary feeding) are critical within the context of intensified hunger and malnutrition. According to the Nutrition Cluster, more than 92 per cent of children aged 6 and 23 months and pregnant and breastfeeding women are not meeting their nutrient requirements due to the lack of minimum dietary diversity.
• In vast areas across the Gaza Strip, humanitarian teams are still required to coordinate their movements with the Israeli authorities. Between 7 and 13 May, out of 53 attempts to coordinate planned aid movements across the Gaza Strip, 31 were denied outright by the Israeli authorities, one was initially accepted but faced impediments, including blocks or delays on the ground potentially resulting in missions being aborted or partially accomplished, 20 were fully facilitated, and one was withdrawn by the organizers for logistical, operational, or security reasons. These include 20 attempts for coordinated aid movements in or to northern Gaza, of which 12 were facilitated, seven were denied, and one withdrawn. In southern Gaza, out of the 33 attempts for coordinated aid movements, eight were facilitated, 24 were denied and one faced impediments.
• On 13 May, one displacement order was issued by the Israeli military for parts of North Gaza governorate covering approximately 5.2 square kilometres in eight neighbourhoods, following Palestinian rocket fire. According to the SMC, there are 38 displacement sites in the area affected by the order, of which 25 sites are in areas that were previously placed under displacement orders. In addition, humanitarian facilities are located in the affected area, including four water wells, two wastewater pumping stations, one desalination plant, one stormwater basin, six temporary learning spaces (TLS) serving about 700 children, and two hospitals, among others. Overall, between 18 March and 13 May, the Israeli military issued at least 23 displacement orders, placing about 146 square kilometres, or 41 per cent of the Gaza Strip, under displacement orders. Another displacement order was issued on 14 May.
• Only one patient was medically evacuated outside Gaza since 22 April, bringing to 123 the total number of patients who were medically evacuated abroad since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March. In comparison, between 1 February and 17 March 2025, during the ceasefire, 1,702 patients were evacuated to receive medical treatment abroad, according to WHO. Since October 2023, over 7,230 patients have been evacuated from Gaza, but more than 10,500 patients, including over 4,000 children, remain in urgent need of medical evacuation.
• The MoH in Gaza has issued urgent warnings about a catastrophic collapse in the healthcare system, particularly affecting eye care services. According to Dr. Abdelsalam Sabah, Director of Gaza’s Ophthalmology Hospital, approximately 1,500 people have lost their eyesight due to war-related injuries, and another 4,000 are at imminent risk of blindness due to severe shortages of essential medicines and surgical equipment. Dr. Sabah further warned that the health sector is facing a critical shortage of consumables and medical devices necessary for eye surgeries, leading to an almost total breakdown of surgical services, especially for retinal diseases, diabetic retinopathy, and internal bleeding. The Ophthalmology Hospital is struggling with a severe lack of surgical consumables and equipment, with only three worn-out surgical scissors that are repeatedly reused, drastically increasing risks to patients and preventing effective treatment. Many eye injuries caused by explosions require specialized materials, such as hyaluronic acid and fine sutures, which are nearly depleted. Dr. Sabah added that if the current situation persists, the hospital will soon be unable to provide any type of surgical services.
• The broader health system is similarly strained due to critical shortages of essential medications and medical supplies. According to MoH, 43 per cent of essential drugs are currently out of stock, a six-per-cent increase compared to the previous month, while 64 per cent of medical consumables have been depleted. Emergency, surgical, and intensive care departments are operating with severely depleted supplies, amid rising numbers of critically injured patients. Patients with chronic and severe conditions, such as kidney failure, cancer, blood disorders and heart disease, are the most affected by shortages, MoH reported, warning of the risk of a complete halt to healthcare services due to the denied entry of urgent pharmaceutical supplies.
• Hospitals are also struggling to cope with critical shortages of medical equipment, MoH reported. These include mobile X-ray machines, anesthesia devices, and surgical instruments needed for specialized surgeries in orthopedics, vascular care, ophthalmology and general surgery. Hospital wards are overwhelmed by a shortage of medical beds, assistive devices, and space to accommodate the growing number of patients. Stocks of vital medical gases like carbon dioxide, ethylene, and oxides are fully depleted, and essential surgical fabrics, bed linens, and burial shrouds are unavailable. Moreover, infection control measures have been severely compromised due to shortages of hygiene supplies, such as concentrated chlorine and cleaning enzymes. Medical teams working tirelessly around the clock also face shortages of food and nutritional support, further undermining their capacity to provide care.

Funding

• As of 14 May 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately US$637.6 million out of the $4.07 billion (15.7 per cent) requested to meet the most critical humanitarian needs of three million out of 3.3 million people identified as requiring assistance in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 2025, under the 2025 Flash Appeal for the OPT. Nearly 88 per cent of the requested funds are for humanitarian response in Gaza, with just over 12 per cent for the West Bank. Moreover, during April 2025, the oPt Humanitarian Fund managed 128 ongoing projects, totalling $74.3 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (88 per cent) and the West Bank (12 per cent). Of these projects, 64 are being implemented by INGOs, 49 by national NGOs and 15 by UN agencies. Notably, 47 out of the 79 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. For more information, please see OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service webpage and the oPt HF webpage.

1354.

Trek zondag de rode lijn voor Gaza

14 mei 2025

In de afgelopen 24 uur vielen tientallen doden bij Israëlische luchtaanvallen op twee ziekenhuizen in Khan Younis in Gaza terwijl er patiënten, hulpverleners en ontheemden schuilden. [1] Dit nieuws volgt na eerdere berichtgeving over een half miljoen mensen in Gaza die met catastrofale honger worden bedreigt. [2] Israël schendt openlijk het oorlogsrecht en kabinet-Schoof weigert een rode lijn te trekken. Maar wij blijven niet stil!

Aanstaande zondag, 18 mei, verenigen wij ons in Den Haag en trekken wij samen wél die rode lijn. We eisen direct dat onze regering zich inzet voor een staakt-het-vuren en het internationale recht. We kunnen niet langer wegkijken.

DOE MEE OP 18 MEI

De beelden uit Gaza worden steeds gruwelijker. Een verpleegster beschreef hoe een vierjarig meisje werd binnengebracht met ernstige haaruitval door ondervoeding: "Ze zag eruit als een oudere vrouw, alsof ze chemotherapie had ondergaan." Ondertussen ligt meer dan 116.000 ton voedselhulp te wachten aan de grens vanwege de illegale Israëlische blokkade. [3]

Toch blijft ons kabinet weigeren om Israël ter verantwoording te roepen en willen ze eerst een onderzoek uitvoeren. De vele eerdere onderzoeken tonen al aan: Israël pleegt genocide in Gaza. [4] Samen met tientallen organisaties zoals Oxfam Novib, Amnesty International en duizenden bezorgde burgers willen we een duidelijk signaal geven dat niet langer genegeerd kan worden. We trekken letterlijk een rode lijn door Den Haag voor rechtvaardigheid en solidariteit.

 Wanneer? Zondag 18 mei 13:00

 Waar? Malieveld, Den Haag

 Loop mee met DeGoedeZaak! We verzamelen om 12:45 bij Paviljoen Malieveld aan de Koekamp-zijde

 Draag rode kleding om samen een visuele impact te maken

IK KOM OOK OP 18 MEI

We lopen gezamenlijk een route langs het Vredespaleis, dwars door de binnenstad van Den Haag en weer terug naar het Malieveld. Een sterk signaal dat door heel Den Haag – en daarmee door heel Nederland – zal klinken.

We hebben jou nodig om deze stem nog luider te maken. Deze demonstratie komt op een kritiek moment en jouw deelname is een krachtig signaal dat Nederland niet langer mag wegkijken van genocide. Samen maken we het verschil in de strijd voor een rechtvaardige vrede.

Met strijdbare groet,

Kim van DeGoedeZaak

PS Volgende week gaan we opnieuw De Straat Op! Op 24 mei demonstreren we met de hele progressieve beweging voor een solidaire samenleving en tegen dit extreemrechtse kabinet. De demonstratie wordt georganiseerd door de coalitie De*Beweging en DeGoedeZaak loopt mee, jij ook? Zet deze datum ook alvast in je agenda!

[1] Israël valt opnieuw ziekenhuis aan in Gaza, zeker 23 doden - BNR 

[2] Het laatste voedsel in Gaza is nu uitgedeeld - De Volkskrant

[3] Zelfs tussen het afval is geen eten meer te vinden in Gaza - Trouw

[4] Israël pleegt genocide in Gaza - Amnesty International

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14 mei 2025

1352.

14 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Goodbye, Hassan. You knew they were going to kill you.

Tareq S. Hajjaj

The Israeli army killed my colleague Hassan Eslayeh in his hospital bed. He predicted his death before it happened, because he knew journalists in Gaza are the only people in the world bearing witness to the greatest crime of our times!

Students and faculty at Stanford University announce hunger strike for Gaza

Stanford Hunger Strikers for Justice in Palestine

Students and faculty at Stanford University announce they are joining the nationwide campus hunger strike movement to protest attacks on academic freedom and complicity in the Gaza genocide.

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14 mei 2025

Readers’ Recommendations

• Israeli airstrikes in Gaza kill 48 people, including 22 children, hospitals say (AP)

1350.

13 mei 2025

Dit is een actieve nieuwsbrief met twee belangrijke evenementen voor deze week en een oproep tot actie as. donderdag op Nakbadag.

in Amsterdam vindt een grote bijeenkomst plaats in de Dominicuskerk met daarna een herdenking op de Dam. En zaterdag tijdens het Eurovisie Songfestival houden BDS Nederland en Rotterdams Palestina Coalitie een alternatief Protest Songfest in het Hip Hop Huis in Rotterdam.

We hopen jullie te zien in Amsterdam of Rotterdam!

Een strijdbare groet van het docP team; blijf BDS-en!

 77 jaar ontheemding, verzet en solidariteit

Nakbaherdenking in Amsterdam

77 jaar ontheemding, verzet en solidariteit

Wereldwijd wordt de Nakba (Arabisch voor “catastrofe”) herdacht op 15 mei, de dag na de Israëlische Onafhankelijkheidsdag. Deze dag markeert voor veel Palestijnen het verlies van hun thuisland in 1948, toen zo’n 700.000 Palestijnen werden verdreven of vluchtten tijdens de oprichting van de staat Israël en er meer dan 500 Palestijnse dorpen werden vernietigd.

De Verenigde Naties erkenden in 2023 voor het eerst officieel de Nakba met een herdenking in het VN-hoofdkwartier, ook in 2024 werd daar de Nakba herdacht.

Ook in Amsterdam herdenken we de Nakba, met een bijeenkomst die ruimte biedt voor erkenning, rouw en solidariteit, midden in de stad waar verhalen van ontheemding en verzet elkaar raken.

Een gezamenlijk initiatief

De herdenking wordt georganiseerd door de Dominicuskerk, Stichting Argan, Kairos-Sabeel en het SeSi Community Center. Zij slaan de handen ineen om in Amsterdam ruimte te maken voor erkenning, rouw en solidariteit.

Herdenken én handelen

De bijeenkomst biedt niet alleen ruimte voor herinnering en verdriet, maar ook voor bezinning en handelingsperspectief. Veel Nederlanders met een migratieachtergrond voelen zich in de steek gelaten door een samenleving die niet met hen mee rouwt en waarin weinig kennis bestaat over de historische context van de bezetting van Palestina.
“We staan stil bij het leed van toen en nu,” zegt theoloog en medeorganisator Janneke Stegeman. “Met deze bijeenkomst willen we mensen en organisaties handelingsperspectief geven. In Nederland moeten we in conclaaf over onze houding. We vragen aan culturele en academische instellingen om bij te dragen aan een nieuw fundament waarop we als land rechtvaardiger kunnen kijken naar de bezetting van Palestina en de onderdrukking van Palestijnen.”

Programma & sprekers

De herdenking start om 16:30 uur in de Dominicuskerk (Spuistraat 14) en bevat bijdragen van onder anderen:
• Jan Pronk – oud-minister en pleitbezorger voor mondiale rechtvaardigheid
• Omar Barghouti – medeoprichter van de BDS-beweging (bijdrage via livestream)
• Amal Helles – journalist uit Gaza, bekend van haar verslaggeving voor The Times
• Sinan Çankaya – cultureel antropoloog en auteur van Galmende geschiedenissen
• Janneke Stegeman – theoloog en publiek denker
• Muzikale en artistieke bijdragen van Qusai Naim, Lev Avitan en Alaa Minawi

De bijeenkomst in de wordt gemodereerd door journalist en auteur Naeeda Aurangzeb.

Naar de Dam

Om 19:15 loopt het publiek gezamenlijk naar de Dam, waar we aansluiten bij een solidariteitsbijeenkomst ter gelegenheid van de Nakba-herdenking. Deze bijeenkomst op de Dam wordt georganiseerd door andere solidariteitsgroepen en biedt ruimte voor publieke toespraken en Palestijnse stemmen. Samen met hen zetten we de herdenking voort met bijdragen van:

• Joyce Man (Amnesty International)
• Esther van der Most (Stichting Plant een Olijfboom)
• Nicole Hollenberg (BDS Nederland)
• Sami, Rasha Hilwi en Alaa Minawi (Palestijnse stemmen)

Iedereen naar buiten op 15 mei!

Al bijna 20 jaar leidt de BDS-beweging de roep om strategische en impactvolle solidariteit met de Palestijnse strijd voor rechtvaardigheid, vrijheid en gelijkheid.  Sinds het begin van Israëls live uitgezonden genocide op ons volk in Gaza, is de druk van BDS om een einde te maken aan de internationale medeplichtigheid aan het regime van koloniale apartheid en illegale bezetting exponentieel toegenomen.

Rotterdam Palestina Coalitie en BDS Nederland organiseren counter songfestival

De Rotterdam Palestine Coalitie (RPC) en BDS Nederland organiseren samen een Protest Songfest op zaterdag 17 mei in Hiphophuis in Rotterdam. Het Protest Songfest dient als counterfestival tegen het Eurovisie Songfestival en de hypocrisie en dubbele standaard die met dat festival gepaard gaan.

OPTREDENS VAN O.M. Stryder, Rocher

Koendjbiharie, Ikbenmusa, Disco Arabesquo

RPC en BDS roepen Nederlanders, artiesten en AVROTROS op het Eurovisie te boycotten en zich daarmee aan te sluiten bij de wereldwijde oproep tot uitsluiting van de Israëlische omroeporganisatie KAN van Eurovisie omdat ze medeplichtig is aan de voortdurende genocide in de Gazastrook en omdat ze de codes en regels van Eurovisie en de EBU schendt.

KOOP ALVAST EEN KAARTJE!

In plaats van naar het Eurovisie te kijken, kunnen mensen naar Protest Songfest komen waar ze kunnen genieten van een avond vol optredens, muziek en spoken word van artiesten die zich wel durven uit te spreken tegen onrecht en onderdrukking. Samen, in solidariteit met hen die onderdrukt worden.

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13 mei 2025

Quick Takes:

Readers’ Recommendations

1348.

13 mei 2025

FIFA, the world football governing body, meets in Asunción, Paraguay for its annual Congress this week, on May 15, Nakba Day. FIFA is complicit in Israel’s ongoing Nakba against Palestinians.
 

Palestinians in Gaza are literally being starved to death due to Israel’s ban of all humanitarian aid and fuel.
 

Hundreds of Palestinian footballers have been killed by Israel’s Gaza genocide and Palestinian stadiums and sports facilities have been razed to the ground.
 

Israel continues to escalate and expand its brutal military occupation of the Palestinian territory, deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice, and the Israel Football Association maintains teams in illegal settlements.

A year ago, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) presented a motion to FIFA calling to ban Israel over its Gaza Genocide, its illegal settlement teams and its attacks on Palestinian sports.
 

Meanwhile, corrupt FIFA and its shady and autocratic president Gianni Infantino continue to shield genocidal Israel from accountability.

­

Tell FIFA: #BanIsrael NOW!

The corrupt FIFA leadership is more and more isolated in its shameful shielding of Israel.
 

The 47-member Asian Football Confederation supports the PFA motion and recently called on FIFA to end its foot dragging and sanction Israel.
 

LO, Norway's 1 million member strong Confederation of Trade Unions, voted by 77% for a full boycott of Israel, including a sports boycott, over Israel’s Gaza genocide.
 

Join us as we raise a virtual red card against Israel’s crimes. We won’t let FIFA escape its legal and ethical responsibilities. 
 

#BanIsrael! #RedCardIsrael! #NoRestForFIFA

In solidarity,

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)

1347.

13 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Hamas releases Israeli-American captive Edan Alexander after direct talks with U.S.

Qassam Muaddi

The release of Israeli-American captive Edan Alexander, following direct negotiations between the U.S. and Hamas, comes after the Trump administration had already caught Israel off guard by agreeing to halt hostilities with Yemen’s Ansar Allah.

I was with Shireen Abu Akleh when she was murdered. Was justice served when her murderer was killed?

I was with Shireen Abu Akleh when she was murdered on May 11, 2022. The Palestinian resistance in Jenin killed her murderer, but I find myself asking, was justice served, or did he escape accountability?

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13 mei 2025

It takes courage and perseverance not to despair in the face of continued genocide, man-made famine and siege, but we keep our compass strong towards a liberated future and because we have no choice but to fight for our people.

Mobilization and pressure work. All the measures taken below have happened thanks to months, sometimes years, of advocates, activists or regular community people in our movement and in solidarity deciding not to stay silent or idle and act to fight complicity wherever they are.

In the past three months here are wins we added to the map:

• Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund, divested from Paz Oil, the main Israeli energy company, for its involvement in “illegal Israeli settlement in occupied Palestinian territories”. This comes a few months after the Fund divested from Bezeq, the israeli internet provider.
• The University of San Francisco endowment fund announced selling off its direct investments in Palantir, L3Harris, GE Aerospace and RTX Corporation, four companies providing weapons technologies and military intelligence tools to the Israeli regime.                
• MIT University cut ties with israeli arms company Elbit Systems after student-led campaign     
• The Spanish Government unilaterally canceled a contract with an Israeli weapon company for the purchase of ammunition for Spanish police, following internal government coalition and grassroots pressures            
• Danish pension fund AkademikerPension have agreed to divest from companies operating in “Occupied Palestinian Territories”                 
• The Maldives banned Israelis from obtaining visas and visiting, reaffirming its “resolute solidarity” with the Palestinian cause.    
• The University of São Paulo (USP) canceled its 2025 International Cultural Fair, initially scheduled for April 23, following public pressure from senior professor and UN diplomat Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, due to the planned participation of the Israeli Consulate.
• Europe Netball cancelled its upcoming competition that was set to take place in Cardiff in early May, after a coalition called to ban Israel from the tournament.

The tide is shifting and we must double down. Keep fighting!

The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy

Keep fighting,

Inès

The Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy
AL-Masayef
Ramallah, WB 00000
Palestine (State of)

1345.

12 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Film Review: ‘The Encampments’ is an inspiring call for liberation in response to the horror of genocide

The documentary film "The Encampments" shares the inspiring story of how students brought Columbia University to a standstill, and the issue of Palestine to millions around the world.

Why higher education must boycott Tel-Aviv University

Youth Front for Palestine

Since its establishment, Tel-Aviv University has functioned as an arm of Israel’s settler colonial project. As calls for university divestment continue to grow, we must also demand that schools cut ties with institutions contributing to war crimes.

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11 mei 2025

Op 18 mei komen we in actie en trekken samen die rode lijn voor Gaza! Sluit jij je aan?

Samen met Amnesty International, Plant een Olijfboom, PAX, Palestijnse Gemeenschap in Nederland en veel meer* gaan we op 18 mei een menselijke ketting door Den Haag vormen. Samen trekken we die rode lijn en eisen dat de Nederlandse regering ons niet medeplichtig maakt aan Israëls oorlogsmisdaden.

Doe mee op 18 mei
Op 18 mei eisen wij een regering die staat voor mensenrechten en   

luister naar de luide oproep van de meerderheid.

Een regering die actie onderneemt wanneer internationaal recht wordt geschonden.

Activistische groet,
Noël, Letty en de rest van het Oxfam Novib team

*Wij trekken een rode lijn met Ambtenaren en de grondwet, Amnesty International, Amsterdam for Gaza, Artsen voor Gaza, Artsen zonder Grenzen, BDS NL, Care, De Goede Zaak, De Nieuwe Vredesbeweging, Dolle Mina’s, Een Ander Joods Geluid, Erev Rav, Extinction Rebellion, Free Press Unlimited, Gate48, Greenpeace, Het Actiefonds, Hivos, Humanistisch Verbond, Meldpunt Islamofobie, News Neighbours Utrecht, Pakhuis de Zwijger, Palestijnse Gemeenschap In Nederland, PAX, Peace SOS, Plan Internationaal, Plant een Olijfboom, Platform Stop Racisme, Platform Vrouwen & Duurzame Vrede, Rotterdam Palestina Coalitie, S.P.E.A.K., Samenwerkingsverband Islamitische Organisaties Regio Haaglanden (SIORH), Save the Children, Schone Kleren Campagne, SOMO, Stichting Kifaia, Stichting Vluchteling, Terre des Hommes, The Rights Forum, War Child, Wo=men. 

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11 mei 2025

Israel plots ethnic cleansing under Trump’s cover

This week, dozens of students were arrested at Columbia University after peacefully occupying a campus library to protest the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

These arrests reflect Trump’s escalating campaign against anyone challenging U.S. complicity with Israel’s crimes. But the crackdown hasn’t completely stifled dissent. Students nationwide are responding with greater organization, resilience, and courage. As Michael Arria reported, resistance is not weakening—it’s gaining momentum, forcing a confrontation with institutions that have long been complacent or complicit.

Trump’s administration, despite recent legal setbacks, including a federal appeals court ordering the transfer of Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk, remains determined to criminalize activism. But these young people are fighting back—and starting to win important battles.

Despite his blustery show of power, Trump, like many U.S. presidents before him, seems either unwilling or incapable of confronting Israel’s atrocities. His positions on Gaza are often contradictory, driven more by incompetence than by a clear foreign policy strategy. Trump’s chaotic approach offers the Netanyahu government cover to pursue its genocidal agenda unchecked. Israel’s war cabinet recently approved plans to expand the assault on Gaza and permanently reoccupy the territory, as Qassam Muaddi outlined in a sobering analysis. Trump’s inconsistent and ineffective posture leaves Israel emboldened, knowing the U.S. won’t hold it accountable.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has shown a cold disregard even for Israeli lives, openly prioritizing ethnic cleansing over any attempt at negotiation. Rather than seeking the safe return of Israelis still held captive by resistance groups, Netanyahu’s administration has pushed forward relentlessly, creating chaos and intentionally sabotaging any effort to end the violence. Tareq Hajjaj exposed how Israel is deliberately fostering violence and disorder in Gaza by backing armed looters and killing civilians who resist. This is not random violence—it’s strategic. With Gaza’s civil structures deliberately dismantled, Israel hopes to break Palestinian resistance completely.

The international community’s ongoing silence and complicity have allowed Israel to openly discuss its ultimate goal: exterminating Gaza as we know it. In this week’s must-read analysis, Qassam Muaddi says Israel’s plan to ethnically cleanse Gaza is now official state policy, openly discussed and executed without consequence.

Meanwhile, global inaction has inspired similar aggressive moves elsewhere, notably India’s recent escalation against Pakistan, modeled directly on Israel’s actions against Gaza, as Maah-Noor Ali reports.

But as horrific as the current situation is, resistance continues to build, from fired Microsoft employees challenging corporate complicity, as Michael Arria recently detailed, to new political realities emerging in Canada with Prime Minister Mark Carney promising to chart a new foreign policy course, though Yves Engler cautions against optimism. The struggle is daunting, but it is not hopeless, and our collective action remains essential.

Stay safe,

David Reed, Publisher

Must Read: Exterminating Gaza was always Israel’s plan, but now it’s official

Qassam Muaddi: Israel carried out its plan to erase Gaza over the course of 18 months. Now that the plan has clearly fallen into place, the Netanyahu government is openly discussing ethnic cleansing. And still, Israel enjoys complete international impunity.

Aerial view of the destruction in Rafah on January 19, 2025, during the start of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. (Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images)

Catch-up

= Roughly 80 protesters were arrested Wednesday after occupying a library on Columbia University’s campus. The Trump administration is stepping up actions against student protesters as Gaza encampments are starting to spread once again across the U.S.

= India’s May 6 attack on Pakistan shows how the world’s inaction on the Gaza genocide has inspired Narendra Modi to escalate in Kashmir. From New Delhi to Tel Aviv, the ideological affinity between Zionism and Hindutva has never been clearer.

=  Growing reports show that Israel has been fomenting armed gangs to loot food supplies in Gaza and sow chaos — and it’s killing those who attempt to stop it. But this strategy isn’t new: Israel has waged a war on Gaza’s civil government from the start.

= In a blow to the White House, a federal appeals court ruled that Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk must be transferred from Louisiana to Vermont. It was just one of several legal setbacks for the Trump administration in recent days.

= Qassam Muaddi: The Israeli war cabinet unanimously approved on Sunday the expansion of Israel’s war on Gaza, which reportedly includes plans to reoccupy the strip indefinitely.

= Mondoweiss talks to former Microsoft employees who were fired for protesting the company’s role in the Gaza genocide.

= Canada’s new prime minister, Mark Carney, has promised to forge a new foreign policy path forward. This must include stopping the atrocities Canada has abetted in Palestine.

= The Canadian election results angered the right people. But for Palestine, Mark Carney’s win represents harm reduction at best.

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11 mei 2025

Today's headlines

What Google’s largest-ever acquisition of an Israeli software company tells us about Big Tech’s complicity in genocide

Refaat Ibrahim

Google’s acquisition of Israeli software company, Wiz, for $32 billion shows just how much Silicon Valley is invested in Israeli tech. The problem is, almost all of Israeli tech is first developed by a genocidal army.

California State University, Long Beach students go on hunger strike for Gaza

Twenty-five students across four California State University campuses have launched hunger strikes in solidarity with Palestine. They join a nationwide wave of protests demanding an immediate end to U.S. support for the genocide in Gaza.

1341.

10 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Israeli soldiers are using slain Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh’s face for target practice

A new documentary on the murder of Shireen Abu Akleh reveals that Israeli soldiers use her photo for target practice. This exposes the Israeli mentality that journalists are "fair game", and that the killing of journalists in Gaza is no accident.

Why Trump cut a deal with Yemen behind Israel’s back and what it means for the region

Benjamin Netanyahu is likely missing the days of Genocide Joe Biden, when he had more direct influence over U.S. policy. Still, Trump's surprise deal with Yemen doesn't mean he is abandoning Israel, in fact, he might be setting it loose.

Exterminating Gaza was always Israel’s plan, but now it’s official

Qassam Muaddi

Israel carried out its plan to erase Gaza over the course of 18 months. Now that the plan has clearly fallen into place, the Netanyahu government is openly discussing ethnic cleansing. And still, Israel enjoys complete international impunity.

1340.

9 mei 2025

We Won’t Back Down

By now, you’ve likely seen the news that a federal judge in Nevada dismissed all claims in a politically motivated lawsuit against American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). The court made one thing crystal clear: our advocacy for Palestinian rights is fully protected by the First Amendment.

It was a decisive rejection of attempts to use the courts to stifle legitimate, constitutionally protected advocacy for Palestine. The message from the court was unmistakable: AMP was targeted because we are successful and effective, because we are changing the conversation, and because we refuse to be silent in the face of injustice and genocide in Gaza.

These attacks are part of a larger smear campaign being waged against AMP. This isn’t about legal merit. It’s about silencing one of the most effective voices advocating for Palestinian rights in the United States. When our opponents can’t beat us on facts, they try to bury us in baseless lawsuits and defamation.

Across the country, there is a coordinated campaign to criminalize and suppress any voice that challenges Israel’s ongoing human rights abuses. AMP has been on the front lines of that fight, educating the public, mobilizing communities, and confronting U.S. complicity in Israel’s crimes.

When AMP wins in the courtroom, the entire movement for Palestinian justice moves forward. Our legal victories do not belong to us alone; they are a win for everyone committed to this struggle. But this court victory does not mean the attacks will stop. In fact, it shows exactly why we must keep going. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue this critical work. Will you stand with us? 

=  Defend against legal intimidation tactics aimed at silencing Palestinian advocacy= Educate the public and policymakers through grassroots campaigns and media= Mobilize thousands to demand justice, from Congress to city halls

This win in court was a victory for the entire Palestine movement. This court win was just one battle Together, we will continue to speak truth to power. We will not be silenced. We will not back down. We will not abandon Gaza and the Palestinian people. We need you with us for the fight ahead.

In solidarity,

Osama Abu Irshaid
Executive Director, AMP

1339.

9 mei 2025

Join AMP on Thursday, May 15th @ 8:00 PM EST for a webinar titled “Nakba 77: Reaffirming Palestinian Return & Liberation”

This is a special action where the Palestinian Nakba is front and center. The Nakba in Arabic means catastrophe, and rests in the collective memory of the Palestinian people. The Nakba represents the ongoing forcible displacement, ethnic cleansing, land theft, and systematic oppression of the Palestinian people.

While the Nakba resulted in the shattering of the Palestinian collective, it also consolidated a shared national consciousness that is expressed in the unceasing steadfastness, resilience, and resistance of the Palestinian people.

The past 19 months represent the most extreme period of the Nakba, where Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza persists unabated, aided and abetted with US weapons and tax dollars, not to mention IOF and by extension settler violence in the West Bank, not to mention the already existent apartheid regime impacting all Palestinians.

We look forward to having you join us for this important discussion commemorating 77 years of the Palestinian Nakba, LIVE on YouTube, Facebook, and X.

Sincerely,

Tarek Khalil
Education Coordinator (AMP)

1338.

9 mei 2025

Woensdag werd bekend dat de Nederlandse regering na 19 maanden Israëlisch geweld in Gaza een ‘streep in het zand’ heeft getrokken. Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Caspar Veldkamp (NSC) wil een Europees onderzoek naar de vraag of Israël de mensenrechten wel respecteert. Zo niet, dan wordt het EU-Israël Associatieverdrag opgezegd, waarmee belangrijke handelsvoordelen voor Israël komen te vervallen.

Veldkamps losse flodder
Veldkamps ‘streep in het zand’ is geen antwoord op de crisis in Gaza, maar een losse flodder en vertragingstactiek, schrijven wij vandaag in een artikel.

In Gaza worden ruim twee miljoen Palestijnen al sinds 2 maart door Israël afgesloten van voedsel, water, medicijnen, brandstof en humanitaire hulp. Zij kunnen niet wachten op een traag EU-onderzoek – áls dat er al komt –, maar hebben nu direct hulp nodig.

Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Caspar Veldkamp tijdens zijn ontmoeting in september 2024 met de Israëlische president Yitzhak Herzog op de eerste dag van een tweedaags bezoek aan Israël en de Palestijnse gebieden.

Bovendien zijn de uitkomsten van zo’n onderzoek al lang bekend. Zo oordeelde het Internationaal Gerechtshof op 19 juli dat de aanwezigheid van Israël in de Palestijnse gebieden illegaal is en gepaard gaat met schendingen van de mensenrechten, waaronder raciale segregatie en apartheid. De regering heeft dat botweg genegeerd, net als de talloze rapporten die uitwijzen dat Israël zich in Gaza schuldig maakt aan genocidale daden zoals de inzet van uithongering als oorlogswapen.
 
Wat wél helpt is dat Nederland zijn medeplichtigheid aan Israëls genocide beëindigt door het instellen van een handelsverbod en beëindiging van zijn wapenhandel en militaire- en academische samenwerking met Israël. Daarop blijven wij in woord en daad aandringen. Maar het eindelijk eens een keer opleggen van sancties jegens Israël, zoals die ook door ons land zijn opgelegd jegens Rusland, dát willen en dur-ven wij van TRF nog steeds niet aan.
 
Lees ons artikel over Veldkamps losse flodder >

Kom met ons in actie | Op 18 mei trekken we in Den Haag een Rode Lijn

Maar liefst 42 maatschappelijke organisaties en vele duizenden Nederlanders hebben zich al aangemeld om op zondagmiddag vanaf 13.00 uur samen een menselijke keten te vormen onder het motto ‘als de regering geen rode lijn trekt, doen wij het’.

Praktische informatie
 Wat: Gezamenlijk een menselijke ketting vormen in Den Haag
 Wanneer: Zondagmiddag 18 mei, 13:00
 Waar: Den Haag, exacte locatie volgt

Bericht uit Gaza – ‘Zo overleven we’

Tussen het puin van de Gazastrook moeten ruim twee miljoen Palestijnen zien te overleven. Onze correspondent in Gaza beschrijft de situatie in Khan Yunis, waar Palestijnen tussen de ruïnes sterven van honger en dorst, artsen vrijwel niet meer kunnen werken en het onderwijs tot stilstand is gekomen.

Internationale hulporganisaties spreken van een humanitaire catastrofe. Toch blijft grootschalige hulp uit – vanwege logistieke belemmeringen, politieke blokkades en vooral het gebrek aan politieke wil.

‘Wij zijn geen nummers. Wij zijn mensen’, roept de arts Reem Saqallah vertwijfeld uit. ‘We willen niet sterven onder het puin of vergeten worden in de schaduw van diplomatie. Wij willen leven, liefhebben, opgroeien.’

Wij strijden tegen annexatie, onderdrukking en bezetting. Help mee!

Nee, ik steun The Rights Forum niet! Zolang die blijft bibberen voor het eisen van sancties jegens Israël.

‘Nooit meer’ / Inclusieve 4 mei-herdenking in Den Haag werd druk bezocht

Dat aan een inclusieve 4 mei-herdenking grote behoefte bestaat, werd bevestigd door de vele duizenden bezoekers en online kijkers die eraan deelnamen. De herdenking voegde voor de deelnemers veel toe door de bijzondere sfeer en het inclusieve karakter dat aan velen troost bood.

Veel Nederlanders kunnen de traditionele herdenking niet langer rijmen met de Nederlandse medeplichtigheid aan de Israëlische genocide in Gaza. Ook biedt de herdenking plaats aan de steeds grotere groepen Nederlanders met eigen ervaringen en herinneringen aan genocide.

Kijk de herdenking terug op YouTube >

Hoe de hetze rond de inclusieve 4 mei-herdenking zorgde voor een haatcampagne

Onze solidariteit met de inclusieve 4 mei-herdenking leidde tot een stortvloed van haatberichten en zelfs bedreigingen. In een artikel op onze website beschreven we een aantal voorbeelden.
 
Die variëren van woeste beschuldigingen van het ‘kapen’ van de traditionele herdenking tot de uitgesproken hoop op een aanslag tijdens de inclusieve herdenking. Opmerkelijk is de bagatellisering van de Holocaust in combinatie met de herdenking: begrippen als nazi’s, SS’ers en NSB’ers waren niet van de lucht.
 
Ophitsing door de media
De polarisatie werd aangejaagd door media als SBS6, de Telegraaf, die een podium boden waarop Frits Barend ons mocht uitmaken voor antisemieten die het maar om één ding zou gaan: ‘Joden pakken’.
 
Dat bij The Rights Forum Joden werken en nog veel meer zijn aangesloten, werd niet opgemerkt. Bovendien werden wij ten onrechte aangesproken op de organisatie van de herdenking. Noch de beide media, noch Frits Barend namen de moeite de feiten te checken. De kans om The Rights Forum te belasteren was kennelijk te verleidelijk. En dat gebeurde volop.

Lees het artikel >

Ruim 500 Nederlanders herdachten Hind met een persoonlijk bericht

Op 3 mei openden we een speciale pagina waarop Nederlanders een boodschap konden achterlaten voor het Palestijnse meisje Hind Rajab. Zij zou die dag zeven jaar zijn geworden, maar dat was haar niet gegund. Op 29 januari 2024 werd ze in Gaza-stad vermoord. De auto waarin zij en zes familieleden reden werd doorzeefd met 335 kogels, afgevuurd door een Israëlische tank.
 
Hind groeide uit tot symbool van de Israëlische genocide op de bevolking van Gaza. Intussen heeft Israël 52.653 Palestijnen ‘direct’ gedood, onder wie circa 16 duizend kinderen, hoewel die cijfers vermoedelijk een zware onderschatting van het werkelijke aantal doden vormen (waaronder de zogenoemde ‘indirecte’ doden ten gevolge van niet beschikbare behandelingen, uithongering en ziektes).
 
Dat Hinds gruwelijke lot velen aan het hart gaat, blijkt uit de ruim vijfhonderd persoonlijke berichten die op onze site werden geschreven. The Rights Forum zal alle berichten bundelen en aanbieden aan minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Caspar Veldkamp en alle leden van de Tweede Kamer.
 
Bekijk alle vijfhonderd berichten >

Opinie | Festival voor collaborateurs

Op 13 mei vindt het Eurovisiesongfestival plaats in Bazel, Zwitserland. Journalist Jos van Noord vraagt zich af hoe het kan bestaan dat Israël deelneemt aan dit liedjesfestijn.

Hoe, in hemelsnaam, kun je een liedje gaan staan zingen, nota bene als representant van een land, met op hetzelfde podium de zanger van een land dat ondertussen weerloze burgers bombardeert? Een moorddadige bezetter die kinderen opzettelijk uithongert! Hoe diep kun je zinken?

Zijn nabestaanden van genocide soms vrijgesteld van mensenrechtenplichten? Rechtvaardigt de ene genocide dan de andere?

Terwijl de belangrijkste boodschap van het nationaal Holocaust museum nu juist is dat wij – ja, wij! – niet weer wegkijken bij onrecht. Nooit meer.
 

Uit onze agenda
zaterdag 10 mei t/m zaterdag 17 mei
Demonstraties en wakes
• Wake van Vrouwen in het Zwart op zaterdag 10 mei in Groningen, Waagplein (13.00 uur)
• Zorgmanifestatie voor Gaza op zaterdag 10 mei in Rotterdam, Schouwburgplein (14.00 uur)
• Demonstratie tegen Four Winds K9 op zaterdag 10 mei in Geffen, bij het hondentrainingscentrum van K9
• Nakba-herdenking op zondag 11 mei in Rotterdam, Schouwburgplein (14.00 uur)
• Demonstratie ‘Laat je horen tegen genocide’ op zondag 11 mei in Helmond (14.00 uur)
• Nationale demonstratie ‘Stop Nakba, Stop Genocide’ op zondag 11 mei bij het Noordstation in Brussel (14.00 uur)
• Wekelijkse stiltedemonstratie op zondag 11 mei in Amsterdam, Spuiplein bij het Lieverdje (17.00 uur)
• Wekelijkse sit-in van Rijksambtenaren op donderdag 15 mei in Den Haag, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Rijnstraat 8 (12.00 uur)
• Nakba Herdenking & protest op donderdag 15 mei in Amsterdam, Dominicuskerk, Spuistraat 14 (16.30 uur)
• Wekelijks protest tegen de genocide op de Palestijnen op donderdag 15 mei in Zaandam, ingang NS-station, Provincialeweg 25 (17.30 uur)
• Nakba Manifestatie op donderdag 15 mei in Utrecht, Domplein (18.00 uur)
• Nakbadag-demonstratie op donderdag 15 mei in Maastricht, Stationsplein (18.15 uur)
• Wake voor Palestina op zaterdag 17 mei in Den Bosch, Burgemeester Loeffplein (12.00 uur)
• Solidariteitsbijeenkomst ‘Sta op voor Palestina’ op zaterdag 17 mei in Utrecht met protesttocht en sprekers, Stadsklooster, Kanaalstraat 198 (14.00 uur); workshop tatreez vanaf 11.30 uur
• Protestmars ‘Remembering the Nakba’ op zaterdag 17 mei op de Dam in Amsterdam (15.00 uur)

Culturele evenementen
• Cartoon Exhibition by Mo Qasim op zaterdag 10 mei in Rotterdam, Laurenskerk, Grotekerkplein 27 (12.00 uur)
• Sophie Straat’s Protestfest 3 op zaterdag 10 mei in Paradiso, Amsterdam (18.00 uur)
• Heart of Gaza: Children’s Art from the Genocide op zondag 11 mei in Moira, Wolvenstraat 10, Utrecht (15.30 uur)
• Don’t Stop Talking About Palestine op woensdag 14 mei in poppodium PAARD, Den Haag (19.00 uur)
• Filmavond Al-Damun – The War of Memory op woensdag 14 mei in Nijmegen, De Klinker, Broekhuysenstraat 46 (20.00 uur)
• Alternatief Songfestival op zaterdag 17 mei in Rotterdam, Hiphophuis, Boomgaardsstraat 46 (18.00 uur)

Bijeenkomsten op universiteiten
• Seminar Policing Dissent on Campus op maandag 12 mei, Radboud Universiteit, Nijmegen (12.15 uur)
• Lezing Palestine Emergency Reading Group op donderdag 15 mei, Universiteit Tilburg (13.00 uur)
• Night University Protest op donderdag 15 mei, Universiteit Tilburg, AH tegenover de campus, Professor de Moorplein (18.15 uur)
• Lezing met directeur van Physicians for Human Rights op donderdag 15 mei, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Roeterseilandcampus, building A, room A2.09 (18.30 uur)

1337.

9 mei 2025

Today's headlines

A day in the life hunting for food and water during the Gaza famine

For many in Gaza, the psychological toll of seeing their children go hungry is far worse than the physical exhaustion they feel from malnutrition and scavenging for food.

Court orders Trump administration to transfer Rumeysa Ozturk to Vermont

In a blow to the White House, a federal appeals court ruled that Tufts student Rümeysa Öztürk must be transferred from Louisiana to Vermont. It was just one of several legal setbacks for the Trump administration in recent days.

NYPD arrests dozens of pro-Palestine protesters after Columbia library occupation

Roughly 80 protesters were arrested Wednesday after occupying a library on Columbia University’s campus. The Trump administration is stepping up actions against student protesters as Gaza encampments are starting to spread once again across the U.S.

1336.

9 mei 2025

Er is veel gaande op het gebed van BDS. Met op 15 mei meerdere herdenkingen van 77 jaar Nakba en op 17 mei het Protest Songfest in Rotterdam als alternatief voor het Eurovisie Songfestival, dat AVROTROS nog steeds niet wil boycotten. Ondanks dat tientallen ex-deelnemers uitsluiting van Israël eisen.

Het  is duidelijk geworden dat containerscheepvaartgigant Maersk flinke verantwoordelijkheid draagt voor het bewapenen van Israël. Dat leidt tot succesvolle actie. Wij lichten toe.

We delen ook een geweldig elders verschenen stuk over hoe de progressieve media met hun verhullend taalgebruik in feite collaboratie plegen met de Israëlische bezetting van Palestina

Tot slot nog een oproep uit Frankrijk tot steun aan Urgence Palestine dat bedreigd wordt door de Franse regering.

Een strijdbare groet van het docP team; blijf BDS-en!

Nakba 77: 7 feiten en 7 eisen

Op de 77ste verjaardag van de Nakba (1947-1949), de etnische zuivering en verdrijving van het grootste deel van de inheemse bevolking van Palestina en de vernietiging van honderden van onze steden en dorpen om Israël te stichten als een vestigingskolonie gebaseerd op joodse suprematie en apartheid, deelt de BDS-beweging deze 7 feiten en 7 eisen.

Read more

Tientallen ex-Eurovisiedeelnemers eisen uitsluiting van Israël – RPC en BDS NL organiseren counter-songfestival

Meer dan 70 voormalige Eurovisie-deelnemers uit heel Europa, waaronder winnaars als Salvador Sobral (2017), roepen de European Broadcasting Union (EBU) met klem op om de Israëlische publieke omroep KAN te verbannen van het populaire songfestival. Zij beschuldigen KAN ervan “medeplichtig te zijn aan Israëls genocide op de Palestijnen in Gaza”. De Rotterdam Palestine Coalitie (RPC) en BDS organiseren een counterfestival.

Read more

Rotterdam Palestina Coalitie en BDS Nederland organiseren counter songfestival

De Rotterdam Palestine Coalitie (RPC) en BDS Nederland organiseren samen een Protest Songfest op zaterdag 17 mei in Hiphophuis in Rotterdam. Het Protest Songfest dient als counter festival tegen het Eurovisie Songfestival en de hypocrisie en dubbele standaard die met dat festival gepaard gaan. RPC en BDS roepen Nederlanders, artiesten en AVROTROS op het festival te boycotten.

Masker af voor Maersk

Het Deense containtervaartbedrijf Maersk is een van de meest winstgevende bedrijven ter wereld. Het is betrokken bij alle aspecten van de toeleveringsketen van de dood – het brengen van militaire vracht naar wapenbedrijven voor assemblage en het verschepen van vracht naar Israël vanuit de VS. Havenarbeiders en demonstranten proberen de verlading van schepen tegen te houden.

Een "complex probleem": hoe de progressieve media met de bezetting collaboreren

"Ik kijk uit naar de dag dat er een onderzoek komt naar de rol van de Westerse Corporate Media in deze Genocide." - Francesca Albanese, VN-Speciaal Rapporteur voor de mensenrechten in de Palestijnse gebieden

Op Joop publiceerde Salar Garcia op 27 april een bijdrage hiertoe, met een ijzersterk artikel over hoe de grote media met hun taalgebruik de genocide toedekken. Wij vinden deze longread zo belangrijk dat we hem hier delen.

Steun Urgence Palestine tegen de Franse regering

Steun Urgence Palestine tegen de Franse regering

Terwijl de genocide in Gaza toeneemt, terwijl de belegering een heel volk uithongert en vernietigt, wil de Franse regering een van de belangrijkste Palestijnse organisaties aldaar ontbinden. Dit vormt een repressiepolitiek die in de lijn ligt van de leuzen van extreem-rechts in Frankrijk en de Israëlische regering.

Onze eisen zijn eenvoudig:

- Stop de genocide in Palestina
- Nee tegen de ontbinding van Urgence Palestine
- Ja tegen vrijheid van meningsuiting en internationale solidariteit.

1335.

8 mei 2025

The Palestinian BDS movement calls on supporters worldwide to participate in Anti-Chevron Day on Wednesday, May 21. Anti-Chevron Day has been organized by Amazon Watch since 2014. It is a global day of action protesting Chevron’s historical and ongoing climate destruction and violations of human rights globally, especially in the Amazon basin in Latin America. In solidarity with the BDS movement’s call to boycott Chevron for its complicity in Israel’s genocide and apartheid, Amazon Watch and allies integrated the Palestinian Boycott Chevron campaign into the Anti-Chevron Day tradition.

Anti-Chevron Day falls one week before Chevron’s annual shareholder meeting (AGM). At the upcoming 2025 AGM, shareholders will vote on a proposal calling on Chevron to audit its human rights abuses worldwide, requiring input from civil society and human rights organizations. This is a crucial time for our campaign to mobilize. We know that Chevron is feeling the heat! Chevron entered the Israeli market in 2020, and it can exit just as easily.

Be a part of Anti-Chevron Day on May 21 by peacefully disrupting business as usual.

Action ideas include:
 

• BOYCOTT & PICKET: organizing a gas station boycott picket
• DIVEST: starting a campaign calling on your city council, university, union, or other institution to divest from Chevron and/or exclude it from contracts;

1334.

8 mei 2025

Today's headlines

From Gaza to Kashmir: India’s attack on Pakistan is straight out of the Israeli playbook

India's May 6 attack on Pakistan shows how the world's inaction on the Gaza genocide has inspired Narendra Modi to escalate in Kashmir. From New Delhi to Tel Aviv, the ideological affinity between Zionism and Hindutva has never been clearer.

Report: Israel to use U.S. military contractors to deliver aid as it prepares to reoccupy Gaza

Israel’s Cabinet has approved plans to reoccupy Gaza and use U.S. private military contractors to distribute aid to Palestinians. Human rights and aid groups say the plan “makes a mockery of international humanitarian law.”

1333.

8 mei 2025

Humanitarian Situation Update #287
West Bank

Humanitarian teams visiting displaced people in the Masafer Yatta area of Hebron following a demolition that destroyed most of the community of Khallet Athaba’. Photo by OCHA

Key Highlights

• Israeli forces demolished at least six residential buildings in Nur Shams refugee camp; these are among 106 structures in Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps slated for demolition by Israeli military orders issued on 1 May. 
• Most communities in the northern Jordan Valley are suffering from acute water shortages, which have been exacerbated by settler attacks and Israeli demolition and building-permit policies.
• On 5 May, Israeli authorities demolished more than 85 per cent of homes and other structures in Khallet Athaba’ community of Masafer Yatta in Hebron; about 50 people have been displaced, half of whom were children, and the community has been left without access to water or electricity.
• Seventy per cent of structures demolished by Israeli authorities in Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities in Area C of the West Bank so far in 2025 were agricultural, livelihood, and water and sanitation structures.

Humanitarian Developments

• Between 29 April and 5 May, Israeli forces killed two Palestinians and injured at least 57 others, including six children, across the West Bank. During the same period, one Palestinian from the West Bank died in Israeli custody in unclear circumstances. 
  • On 1 May, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in confrontations with Palestinian stone throwers in Beita town, in Nablus governorate. The incident took place amid ongoing Israeli operations in the town, which began the previous day on 30 March after one Israeli soldier was injured by a roadside explosive. 
  • On 2 May, undercover Israeli forces dressed in civilian clothing shot, killed and withheld the body of a Palestinian man during a raid into Balata refugee camp, in Nablus governorate, which reportedly involved exchanges of fire between Israeli forces and armed Palestinians.
  • On 4 May, the Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority, the Commission for Prisoners and Ex-Detainees Affairs, and the Palestinian Prisoners' Club announced that a Palestinian from Jenin, who had been under administrative detention since 8 August 2023, died at the Soroka Hospital in Israel. 
• Between 29 April and 5 May, OCHA documented the demolition of 73 Palestinian-owned structures, including 24 provided as humanitarian assistance, for lacking Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible to obtain. All but one of the structures were in Area C and were demolished by Israeli authorities and one family was forced to demolish its home in East Jerusalem. These demolitions resulted in the displacement of 20 households comprising 104 Palestinians, including 58 children, and affected the livelihoods of at least 90 people. The majority of people displaced were in three communities in Area C: Khallet Athaba’ (see below) and Umm ad Daraj herding communities, in Hebron governorate, and Qibya village, in Ramallah governorate. Since 1 January and as of 7 May, 581 structures were demolished due to the lack of permit in Area C, displacing more than 600 people, including over 220 children. During the same period, 65 structures were demolished on the same grounds in East Jerusalem, displacing more than180 people, including over 90 children.
• On 5 May, Israeli authorities carried out a mass demolition in the herding community of Khallet Athaba’ of Masafer Yatta, in Hebron governorate, demolishing 39 structures, including 19 provided as humanitarian assistance; these included 14 inhabited residential structures (of which, six were caves), an uninhabited residential cave, five animal shelters, seven latrines, six water cisterns, two structures used for storage, a kitchen, the community centre, the water network, the communal electricity solar system with the electricity room, and the electricity and internet networks. In total, 10 households comprising 49 people, including 26 children, were displaced and the community was left without access to water, electricity or the internet. The demolition left 85 per cent of the community’s structures destroyed and 60 per cent of its residents (84) displaced, some of whom have already been displaced twice in 2025 in two other rounds of demolitions in the community that took place on 10 and 26 February. 
• Two of the demolition incidents between 29 April and 5 May took place in two herding communities in the northern Jordan Valley (Ad Deir and ‘Ein al Hilwa), during which Israeli authorities demolished 14 structures, including two residential structures, five agricultural structures, four water and sanitation structures, and three other structures. So far in 2025, nearly one in five structures demolished in the Jordan Valley were water and sanitation structures, many of them in the northern Jordan Valley. Most communities in the northern Jordan Valley are not connected to the water network due to the restrictive planning regime enforced by Israeli authorities in Area C. The communities continue to suffer from acute water shortages compounded by very low water from rainfall and exacerbated by settler attacks and Israeli authorities’ Area C demolition policies, according to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster. Under the WASH Cluster’s 2024 water vulnerability mapping for communities across the West Bank, most northern Jordan Valley herding communities fall under the worst index category for water vulnerability, as they rely mainly on water trucking, pay between 20-25 ILS (US$5-7) per cubic metre of water, and have insufficient water storage capacity. Overall, herding and Bedouin communities across the West Bank, who rely on livestock grazing as their main source of income, suffer from limited access to water and are disproportionately affected by the demolition of water and sanitation and agricultural structures. Between 1 January and 5 May 2025, OCHA documented the demolition of 187 structures in Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities in Area C of the West Bank for lacking building permits, more than half in the Jordan Valley and 70 per cent of which (130) were agricultural, livelihood, and water and sanitation structures.
• So far in 2025, OCHA has documented a spike in demolitions and displacement in Area C due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits compared with the corresponding period in 2024. Between 1 January and 5 May 2025, 580 structures, including 88 provided as humanitarian assistance, were demolished by Israeli authorities in Area C,; resulting in the displacement of 597 people, more than half of whom were children. This is roughly a five-fold increase in displacement and over double the number of demolished structures compared with the corresponding period in 2024, when 242 structures, including seven donor-funded structures, were demolished and 98 people were displaced, including 51 children. 
• Between 29 April and 5 May 2025, OCHA documented 13 settler-related incidents that resulted in the injury of four Palestinians, the displacement of two families comprising six people, the burning of two residential tents, the vandalism of three vehicles, five livelihood-related assets and three water tanks, and damage to or uprooting of approximately 50 olive and fig trees. The four injured Palestinians were injured in a single incident on 30 April, when settlers believed to be from an outpost near Shilo settlement, raided Duma village, in Nablus governorate. According to community eyewitnesses, approximately 20 settlers – three of them armed – entered the village’s agricultural lands and attempted to erect tents to establish a new outpost. Israeli forces arrived at the lands and dispersed the settlers. After nearly an hour, about 50 settlers returned in a larger group, set fire to agricultural land, and vandalized 16 olive trees about 100 metres away from residential homes and livestock shelters. When Palestinian residents attempted to put out the fire, a confrontation involving mutual stone throwing erupted between them and Israeli settlers. A settler stabbed a Palestinian man multiple times in the back, and another Palestinian sustained a serious head injury from a stone. No injuries among settlers were reported. The village’s firefighting unit eventually extinguished the fire after the settlers withdrew. 
• In a separate incident, on 4 May, on the western outskirts of Kharbatha Bani Harith village, in Ramallah governorate, two Palestinian herding families comprising six people, including two children, were displaced following an attack by Israeli settlers – some of whom were armed. According to local sources, settlers raided the area, threatened a herder family, and forced them to flee with their livestock, fearing the settlers would steal their sheep. The settlers then burned two tents belonging to the family, who relocated to a safer area within the town. A second family, fearing further violence, also moved their belongings and relocated. During the incident, settlers vandalized an agricultural farm, including by cutting part of the fence, vandalizing solar lighting, and stealing agricultural tools. This followed a series of frequent incidents of settler violence and intimidation, including vandalism of property and restricting access to grazing areas. Settlers are believed to be from a nearby outpost that was established in early April 2025 near the community. On the same day, in Yanun, in Nablus governorate, a guard from Itamar settlement detained two Palestinian herders grazing sheep near their home. Israeli forces arrived shortly after, handcuffed the herders, and one soldier hit one of them in the eye, claiming the location was within Area C and grazing was not allowed in the area. During the incident, a settler grazed his sheep on the family’s four dunums of cultivated land, which the landowner has been unable to access due to its proximity to a herding outpost set up by Israeli settlers.

• Out of the 13 documented settler-related incidents, at least twelve incidents involved damage to Palestinian-owned property. On 5 May, in Al Mas’udiya village, in Nablus governorate, settlers reportedly from Homesh settlement set fire to a wheat field, burning approximately 10 dunums of crops. On 29 April, Israeli settlers from a settlement outpost near Ramin village, in Tulkarm governorate, threatened a Palestinian farmer, forced him off his land, and vandalized at least 30 fig trees, a 30-metre fence, and three water tanks. On the same day, in Al Mughayyir village, in Ramallah governorate, settlers damaged about five dunums of land cultivated with vegetables. The attack was carried out by settlers believed to be from an outpost established in Area B between Al Mughayyir and Turmus’ayya towns, which has been linked to repeated attacks on agricultural plots in the area. On 30 April, in Iraq Burin village, in Nablus governorate, settlers believed to be from Bracha settlement continued bulldozing lands on the eastern side of the village, damaging approximately six dunums of land planted with olive trees. Settlers uprooted trees and transported them toward their settlement. 
• Amid escalating Israeli settler violence and a reported surge in the expansion of Israeli settlements and establishment of settlement outposts, over the past three weeks, OCHA documented five cases entailing the abduction and detention of Palestinians by Israeli settlers in Nablus, Ramallah, and Hebron governorates. On 20 April, a group of Israeli settlers, reportedly from Itamar settlement, entered Beit Furik village, in Nablus governorate, and chased children while wielding knives and stones. The settlers then abducted a 13-year-old girl and her three-year-old brother, who were found by their parents 15 minutes later tied to a tree inside the village. The girl reported that settlers threatened them verbally, and with knives . According to the parents, the children were not physically injured but showed signs of fear and psychological distress. On 26 April, Israeli settlers physically injured and abducted at gunpoint two Palestinian men during a raid on Kobar village, in Ramallah governorate. Israeli forces were called by the Palestinian DCL and released one of the injured men from the outpost and detained the other for 24 hours. Since 7 October 2023, OCHA has documented about three dozen cases where Israeli settlers, including some in military uniform, abducted or detained at least 50 Palestinians, including three children. These include 23 cases that also resulted in casualties and/or property damage.
• For key figures and additional breakdowns of casualties, displacement and settler violence between January 2005 and March 2025, please refer to the OCHA West Bank March 2025 Snapshot.

Developments in the northern West Bank

• On 1 May, Israeli forces issued two military orders to demolish 106 Palestinian-owned structures in Tulkarm (58) and Nur Shams (48) refugee camps. Residents were given 24 hours to evacuate or submit a legal challenge against the orders. On 2 May, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, stated: “These demolition orders, if enacted, would further entrench the displacement of thousands of Palestine Refugees in the northern West Bank... They serve punitive and coercive objectives, targeting entire communities. This practice constitutes collective punishment, categorically prohibited under the Fourth Geneva Convention.” The previous mass demolition in Tulkarm during the first week of March 2025 saw dozens of structures destroyed across both camps, after the demolitions were announced on 18 February. Humanitarian actors have been unable to systematically assess the demolitions due to the lack of access.
• On 2 May, Israeli forces detained for about six hours several families attempting to return to their homes and at least three journalists as they gathered at the entrance of Tulkarm camp. Israeli forces then raided the camp, using stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse crowds, and forced people to leave their homes, during which one journalist was injured. On 4 May, Israeli forces raided Nur Shams camp and forced at least five families to leave their homes. On the same day, a legal petition to stop the demolition of homes by an NGO was rejected by Israeli courts, citing that these demolitions were done out of military necessity. On 5 May, Israeli forces began demolishing six homes that housed 17 families in Nur Shams camp. On 6 May, Israeli forces designated times (between 08:00 and 10:00, and between 10:30 and 13:00) during which over 50 families living in 18 structures were able to retrieve their belongings ahead of further demolitions.
• In Jenin city, displacement around refugee camps continues, amid continued reports of water shortages. On 3 May, at least seven families were forced to evacuate their homes in an area near the Jenin Governmental Hospital. Six of the families had previously been displaced from Jenin refugee camp. The Jenin Municipality reported that, in coordination with humanitarian partners, they have managed to restore the water connection between As Saa’deh water well and the homes of about 15,000 residents in western Jenin city. However, according to the municipality, the eastern part of Jenin city has had its water connection cut, affecting about 20,000 people who are now relying on water trucking, temporary connections, and other short-term solutions. According to the municipality, the cause of the cut is under examination.
• The UN and its partners continue to respond to the deepening needs of displaced families in affected areas in the northern West Bank, including by providing food, water and sanitation assistance, health services, psycho-social support, and multi-purpose cash assistance. In April 2025, WASH Cluster partners continued to provide assistance in Jenin and Tulkarm. These efforts included the distribution of 22 cubic metres of bottled water, 900 hygiene kits, and the collection and transfer of 178 tons of solid waste. Overall, since the onset of operations in the northern West Bank, WASH Cluster partners have: supported the repair of 22,675 metres of water networks and the rehabilitation of 4,087 metres of sewer networks; distributed 1,060 solid waste bins; installed 20 latrines; and delivered 9,317 cubic meters of water and 4,394 hygiene kits to displaced families.
• Over 90 per cent of the 122 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces across the West Bank between 1 January and 5 May 2025 were in the six northern West Bank governorates of Jenin, Tubas, Tulkarm, Nablus, Qalqilya and Salfit. Seven Israelis, including five members of Israeli forces, were killed by Palestinians in the West Bank so far in 2025, all of them in the northern West Bank.
• Between 29 April and 5 May, all Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank took place in Nablus governorate. Nearly 90 per cent of the injuries (51 out of 57) across the West Bank were also reported there - 85 per cent of which (49 out of 57) took place in Nablus city and its refugee camps, Balata and Askar. Since Israeli forces launched their ongoing operation in the northern West Bank on 21 January, they have injured 1,058 Palestinians across the West Bank. Nablus governorate accounted for over a third (35 per cent) of these injuries (376), making it the most affected governorate, followed by Ramallah (224). Nablus city and its refugee camps alone have experienced more injuries (133) than the Hebron governorate (127) which is the governorate with the third highest number of injuries by Israeli forces.
• Israeli forces continue to impose access restrictions and conduct raids in and around the northern West Bank cities as part of their ongoing operations. During this period, Palestinian journalists have regularly been denied access to the affected refugee camps and have been detained and injured by Israeli forces. On 2 and 4 May, Israeli forces detained three journalists and injured one other in Tulkarm. Last month on 19 and 20 April, Israeli forces raided homes and vandalized property in Tulkarm city and in one incident, physically assaulted a photojournalist and confiscated his press card and phone. Israeli forces also fired tear gas cannisters toward two Palestinian journalists covering the operation at the entrance of Jenin camp. These attacks prompted the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) to release a statement on World Press Freedom Day (2 May), noting that OHCHR “has monitored multiple cases of journalists detained, a significant number of whom appear to have been detained arbitrarily. Many are held under administrative detention...Both Palestinian and Israeli security forces have banned or limited journalists’ entry to the Jenin and other refugee camps in northern West Bank. They injured, detained, threatened and in some cases subjected journalists to ill-treatment.”

1331.

8 mei 2025

1330.

8 mei 2025

Humanitarian Situation Update #286
Gaza Strip

A Palestinian boy in a site for displaced people in Gaza city. Photo by OCHA/Olga Cherevko 

Key Highlights

• Over nine weeks into the full aid blockade imposed on people in Gaza, some 15 UN entities and 200 non-governmental organizations have rejected proposals by Israeli officials to dismantle the existing aid distribution system run by the United Nations and its humanitarian partners.
• UNICEF warns that children in Gaza are facing a growing risk of starvation, illness and death, as a third of UN-supported community kitchens have shut down in the past 10 days due the depletion of food supplies and limited access to fuel.
• Over 75 per cent of households in Gaza report a decline in water access over the past month, amid deteriorating sanitation conditions.
• Gaza’s medical rehabilitation system is at a breaking point – overwhelmed by traumatic injuries, damaged infrastructure, and severe shortages of specialists, supplies, and equipment – leaving persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups without essential care.

Humanitarian Developments

• Since 18 March 2025, Israeli forces have escalated bombardment from the air, land and sea across the Gaza Strip and expanded ground operations. This has resulted in hundreds of casualties, destruction of civilian infrastructure, and large-scale displacement. Fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups has been reported. Strikes on residential buildings and tents of internally displaced people (IDPs) also continue to be reported, alongside detonation of buildings, especially in Rafah and eastern Gaza city. Humanitarian operations have been stifled by a combination of expanded military activity, the Israeli government’s full blockade on the entry of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies (since 2 March), attacks on humanitarian facilities, and severe movement restrictions within Gaza. As of 6 May, over 428,000 people are estimated to have been displaced again since the escalation of hostilities on 18 March, according to the Site Management Cluster (SMC), with no safe place to go.
• For over two months, Israeli authorities have made a deliberate decision to block all supplies to Gaza, bringing to a near-standstill humanitarian efforts to protect and assist civilians through the provision of commodities. In response to the ongoing blockade, the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator (USG-ERC), Tom Fletcher, issued a stark warning: “Blocking aid starves civilians. It leaves them without basic medical support. It strips them of dignity and hope. It inflicts a cruel collective punishment. Blocking aid kills.” In an earlier statement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), underscored the severity of the situation: "As humanitarians, we can see that aid is being weaponized through its denial. There is no justification for this, and it has to stop.”
• On 7 May, the Palestinian  Prime Minister, Dr. Mohammad Mustafa, declared Gaza a “famine zone” during a press conference addressing the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. He called on the United Nations system to "immediately activate its mechanisms" in response.
• While hundreds of truckloads with life-saving supplies are waiting to enter Gaza, children, who make up about half of Gaza’s population, are facing the worst humanitarian crisis since October 2023, characterized by the growing risk of starvation, illness and death due to ongoing bombardments, forced displacement and the aid blockade, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Access to food and drinking water is diminishing, malnutrition and diseases are spreading, and vaccines are running low, highlighted UNICEF’s Executive Director, Catherine Russell, adding that about 75 per cent of households reported deteriorating access to water over the past month, with families often “forced to choose between showering, cleaning and cooking,” and acute watery diarrhea now accounts for a quarter of disease cases recorded in Gaza. Similarly stressing the gravity of humanitarian conditions in Gaza, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Ghebreyesus, stated that “we don’t need to see photos of emaciated children to know people are hungry, and that children are weak and malnourished, with life-long consequences.”
• On 5 May, Israel’s security cabinet reportedly approved a plan to expand military operations in the Gaza Strip and a modality for the distribution of limited supplies in Gaza, pending a separate decision of activation. According to Israeli officials cited in the media, the plan would entail the movement of most of the population to the southern part of the Strip, where the Israeli military would retain presence. According to the Israeli army spokesperson, the Rafah model will be replicated in other parts of the Strip. 
• On 7 May, the UN Human Rights Chief, Volker Türk, warned that "Israel’s reported plans to forcibly transfer Gaza’s population to a small area in the south of the strip and threats by Israeli officials to deport Palestinians outside of Gaza further aggravate concerns that Israel’s actions are aimed at inflicting on Palestinians conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence in Gaza as a group."
• In a statement issued on 5 May, the Humanitarian Country Team (HCT) of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) – which brings together some 15 UN entities and over 200 NGOs – denounced plans by Israeli officials to dismantle the existing aid distribution system run by the United Nations and its humanitarian partners and channel supplies through Israeli hubs under conditions set by the Israeli military, once the Israeli government agrees to re-open crossings: “The design of the plan presented to us will mean large parts of Gaza, including the less mobile and most vulnerable people, will continue to go without supplies. It contravenes fundamental humanitarian principles and appears designed to reinforce control over life-sustaining items as a pressure tactic – as part of a military strategy. It is dangerous, driving civilians into militarized zones to collect rations, threatening lives, including those of humanitarian workers, while further entrenching forced displacement.” On 8 April, the UN Secretary-General, and  on 1 May the USG-ERC, had emphasized that the modality proposed by Israeli authorities fails to meet the minimum standards for principled humanitarian action and that the UN will not participate in any arrangement that does not fully respect humanitarian principles.  
• According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, between 30 April and 7 May, as of noon, 230 Palestinians were killed and 883 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 7 May 2025, the MoH in Gaza reported that at least 52,653 Palestinians were killed and 118,897 Palestinians were injured. This includes 2,545 people killed and 6,856 injured since the escalation of hostilities on 18 March 2025, according to MoH. On 5 May, MoH reported that 16,278 children have been killed in Gaza since October 2023. 

• Between 2 and 7 May, incidents resulting in a large number of fatalities were reported across the Gaza Strip, including the following: 
  • On 2 May, at about 1:37, nine Palestinians, including a girl and five women (one of them pregnant), were reportedly killed and 12 others, including children, were injured when a residential building was hit in northern Al Bureij refugee camp, in Deir al Balah.
  • On 2 May, at about 11:05, seven Palestinians, including at least one woman, were reportedly killed when mourners at a funeral were hit in Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza.
  • On 2 May, at about 15:20, 10 Palestinians, including at least one woman and her daughter, were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Jabalya al Balad, in North Gaza.
  • On 2 May, at about 22:00, nine Palestinians were reportedly killed when a residential building was hit in Ash Shuja’iyyeh, in eastern Gaza city.
  • On 3 May, at about 2:40, 11 Palestinians, including at least four women and four children (three infants and a boy), were reportedly killed and others injured when a residential building was hit in central Khan Younis. 
  • On 4 May, 10 Palestinians, including seven women and one child, were reportedly killed and others injured when an IDP tent was hit in western Khan Younis.
  • On 4 May, at about 19:00, 15 Palestinians were reportedly killed and tens of others injured when a residential building was hit in At Tuffah, in northeastern Gaza city. Shooting was reported at people attempting to rescue those trapped under the rubble of the struck building.
  • On 5 May, at about 0:40, 15 Palestinians were reportedly killed and 10 others injured when three floors of a residential building were hit in western Beit Lahiya in North Gaza.
  • On 5 May, at about 18:00, 11 Palestinians, including a woman and male police officers, were reportedly killed and 21 injured when two locations were hit in An Nuseirat refugee camp, in Deir al Balah. 
  • On 6 May, over 30 Palestinians, including children and women, were reportedly killed when an UNRWA school-turned-shelter, hosting 2,000 displaced people, was hit twice in Al Bureij refugee camp, in northeastern Deir al Balah, according to UNRWA. 
  • On 7 May, 15 Palestinians were reportedly killed and 10 others injured when a school hosting IDPs was hit in At Tuffah neighbourhood in eastern Gaza city, according to Palestinian Civil Defence.
  • On 7 May, 33 Palestinians were reportedly killed and over 86 others injured in a strike next to a restaurant in Gaza city, according to MoH.
• Between 1 and 7 May, two Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 7 May 2025, according to Israeli forces and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,612 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath. This includes 412 soldiers killed, in addition to 2,643 soldiers injured, in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation in October 2023. These include five soldiers killed and 59 injured since the re-escalation of hostilities on 18 March 2025. As of 7 May, it is estimated that 59 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including hostages who have been declared dead and whose bodies are being withheld. 
• Fishers and farmers in Gaza continue to face significant risks in accessing the sea and farmland due to restricted access and ongoing insecurity; farming areas have further diminished since 18 March, with 70 per cent of Gaza now designated as an Israeli-militarized zone or placed under displacement orders. Yet, the growing scarcity of food supplies in Gaza is driving some to take the risk. On 3 May, one fisher was reportedly hit and killed off the coast of Gaza city and another five fishers, including a boy, were injured separately on 3 and 6 May in Beit Lahiya in North Gaza, when fishers were hit off the coast. According to Amnesty International, one fisherman described the deadly gamble he is forced to take because his “family’s survival depends on the money [they] can get out of selling the fish in the market.” Moreover, in two incidents on 1 May, five farmers were reportedly killed in Rafah and in Beit Lahiya, in North Gaza, while agricultural lands were reportedly set on fire in Beit Hanun, in the northeastern area of North Gaza, between 28 and 30 April. 
• On 2 May, marking World Press Freedom Day, the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) in the OPT stated that “Palestinian journalists continue to be killed or injured at an alarming rate with impunity, along with widespread attacks on their work and freedom.” The office further stated that the Israeli military has continued to refuse the entry of foreign journalists into Gaza, except for limited army-controlled visits. Marking the same occasion, the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS) reported that, since 7 October 2023, 210 male and female journalists and media workers have been killed, of whom 90 were killed in their homes, where many journalists had resorted to working after media offices were destroyed. Some have remained trapped under the rubble of their homes to this day, PJS noted, adding that 29 journalists were killed while in tents or inside IDP shelters, and many others have suffered critical injuries, some leading to amputations. On 7 May, two additional journalists were reportedly killed in two separate incidents in Gaza city and Deir al Balah, raising the number of journalists killed to 212, according to PJS. 
• On the occasion of the International Workers' Day on 1 May, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PRCS) reported on rising unemployment in Gaza. While noting that this metric rose from 45 per cent in the third quarter of 2023 to 68 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024, PRCS stressed that most labour force concepts and measurements have become inapplicable under the circumstances prevailing in Gaza, where economic activity is indefinitely suspended, and people’s priority has shifted to securing shelter, food, and safety.
• In April 2025, the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster conducted the third monthly Light-Touch monitoring survey using the WISE methodology to assess water insecurity across the Gaza Strip. The findings reveal that 90 per cent of surveyed households experienced water insecurity in early April, with a high proportion of assessed households, ranging from 88 per cent to 100 per cent, reporting moderate to high water insecurity across all governorates. Overall, 75 per cent of households reported worsening levels of drinking water security. The main reasons included: decreasing volumes of accessible water (cited by 73 per cent respondents); fewer water points (68 per cent); and the growing number of families at displacement sites (42 per cent). In addition, the majority of households reported challenges to adequate sanitation, due to a decreasing number of functional latrines (57 per cent), lack of cleanliness (57 per cent), and the growing number of families at displacement sites (49 per cent). Households across governorates also reported reduced access to soap, as it is largely depleted and expensive when available. Amid these dire conditions, people are struggling to secure some of their basic WASH needs; according to the survey, 63 per cent of households reported that they have bought drinking water from private or unofficial suppliers to meet some of their needs in the two weeks preceding the survey.  

• Recently, the Joint Service Council (JSC) for Solid Waste Management in southern Gaza has been managing a medical waste collection and storage service. The waste is collected from 32 health-care facilities and stored at a controlled location near the Al Amal dump site. To date, the JSC has collected over 140,000 kilograms of medical waste for a fee of 13 NIS ($3.6) per kilogram. Medical waste includes infectious material, which if not managed separately can render all waste infectious. The JSC in the governorates of Gaza and North Gaza are looking for a location for medical waste storage.
• On 3 May, the Municipality of Deir al Balah issued a warning about the unprecedented and severe water shortages in the governorate, particularly with the summer approaching and temperatures rising. Reliance on groundwater wells is frequently disrupted by a severe lack of maintenance and repair materials and limited access to diesel fuel needed to operate the wells, the municipality reported. The electricity supply line to the Southern Gaza Desalination Plant has been cut off for more than a month, and the Bani Saeed Mekorot water pipeline was damaged in January 2025, with coordination requests to repair it continuously denied by Israeli authorities. 
• On 4 May, the Municipality of Jabalya an Nazla, in North Gaza, stated that there is widespread sewage overflow due to the lack of essential equipment and machinery, which were destroyed in airstrikes in April 2025. Over 90 per cent of the municipality’s heavy machinery, including the only “jetter” truck used for sewage suction, are now out of service. The situation is further exacerbated by the growing infestation of rodents and insects in overcrowded displacement shelters. The municipality warned of a major public health disaster if the crisis continues, heightening the risk of disease outbreaks amid limited medical services. 
• On 6 May, the Municipality of Khan Younis announced that fuel shortages have resulted in a 30-per-cent reduction in all essential water and sanitation services, including water supply, sewage treatment, solid waste collection and disposal, and emergency operations. This has further worsened solid waste accumulation in the streets, led to the proliferation of unregulated garbage dumps, resulted in cases of sewage overflow, and hindered the ability of the municipality to operate water wells and desalination plants. The municipality warned that deteriorating public health conditions are gravely affecting about 700,000 people in the governorate. 

Shrinking Humanitarian Space

• On 6 May, 55 international and local organisations operating in Israel and the OPT issued a statement, urgently calling on the international community to oppose Israeli registration measures that threaten to shut down humanitarian operations and undermine international law. According to the statement, under the new rules, registered international, non-governmental organizations (INGOs) face the risk of de-registration or rejections of new registration "based on arbitrary, politicised allegations, such as ‘delegitimising Israel’ or expressing support for accountability for Israeli violations of international law,” among others. The 55 organizations warned that “[t]hese new rules are part of a broader, long-term crackdown on humanitarian and civic space, marked by heightened surveillance and attacks, and a series of actions that restrict humanitarian access, compromise staff safety, and undermine core principles of humanitarian action.”
• In vast areas across the Gaza Strip, humanitarian teams are still required to coordinate their movements with the Israeli authorities. Between 30 April and 6 May, out of 63 requests to coordinate planned aid movements across the Gaza Strip, 43 were denied outright by the Israeli authorities, four were initially accepted but faced impediments, including blocks or delays on the ground potentially resulting in missions being aborted or partially accomplished, 14 were fully facilitated, and two were withdrawn by the organizers for logistical, operational, or security reasons. These include 24 requests for coordinated aid movements in or to northern Gaza, of which 10 were facilitated, 10 were denied, two faced impediments and two were withdrawn. In southern Gaza, out of the 39 requests for coordinated aid movements, four were facilitated, 33 were denied and two faced impediments. The majority of the denied missions had the objective of retrieving humanitarian cargo left in warehouses in Rafah and at Kerem Shalom crossing, repairing roads to improve accessibility to Kerem Shalom crossing, or retrieving commodities that are stored in areas in Rafah that are either in the Israeli-militarized zone or under displacement orders. Since 2 March, only seven requests to retrieve fuel from Rafah and Gaza city were facilitated while 35 were denied, two were withdrawn and one faced impediments. In Rafah, not a single attempt to retrieve fuel has been facilitated since 18 April.
• Over the past 10 days, between 27 April and 6 May, one in every three community kitchens had to close, leading to a 25-per-cent reduction in daily meal production; the number of meals prepared each day has dropped from 1.08 million, produced through 180 kitchens, to 823,000 meals, prepared and delivered through about 117 kitchens supported by the UN and its partners. Since late April, 100 kitchens have been forced to shut down due to the lack of supplies, and this number is rising by the day. It is expected that the number of meals will further drop to around 440,000 meals on 8 May. This reduction has a critical impact on food security, as the hot meals provided by these kitchens constitute one of the last remaining lifelines. According to the Food Security Sector (FSS), growing overcrowding is being observed across all remaining operational kitchens, leading to increased safety concerns and social tensions. The FSS warns that markets are also running out of commodities, with the very few shops still functioning charging very high prices that fluctuate constantly. For example, during the first week of May, one 25-kilogram bag of wheat flour was sold at upwards of 1,500 ILS (US$415) in Gaza city, representing a 30-fold increase compared with the end of February. Most families no longer have access to affordable bread following the closure of all 25 subsidized bakeries, while the skyrocketing price of flour, when available, and lack of cooking energy, prevent many families from baking.
• Since the collapse of the ceasefire on 18 March, the Education Cluster recorded at least 14 attacks on education infrastructure, causing additional damage, instilling widespread fear and causing delays to the reopening of temporary learning spaces (TLS). Currently, there are 200 TLS functioning across Gaza, benefiting about 117,000 students, with most concentrated in Deir al Balah and western Khan Younis. This includes 40 newly reopened TLS in Khan Younis and 20 in Deir al Balah, which had been paused due to insecurity, in addition to three new TLS in North Gaza and 16 in Gaza city. However, the further expansion of TLS in Gaza city, including nine additional spaces planned by UNRWA, remains hindered by the shortage of educational supplies, posing a serious barrier to the resumption of learning to serve thousands of children.

In Focus: Access to Health Services

• Ambulance services across the Gaza Strip are shrinking due to damage and lack of access to fuel. Prior to the collapse of the ceasefire on 18 March, 149 ambulances were operational, of which only 48 are now functional, severely limiting emergency medical transport and outreach capacity. Humanitarian partners report that many injured civilians now rely on makeshift means of transportation, with donkey carts being the most commonly used mode. This situation is especially dire for vulnerable groups, including the elderly, persons with disabilities and pregnant women, who increasingly depend on fractured social networks for access to health services. Additionally, six hospitals and two field hospitals are in areas that were placed under displacement orders by Israeli authorities, further hampering the access of new patients to life-saving care. This critically increases the risk of mortality and long-term complications, particularly for trauma patients who require urgent care. Across Gaza, about 350,000 people are suffering from chronic diseases, including 71,000 patients living with diabetes of whom over about 1,000 patients have Type 1 Diabetes and require insulin therapy and regular medical attention. 
• Capacity at health facilities is shrinking. When patients manage to reach medical facilities, the services available are minimal and insufficient to meet the vast scale of needs. Since 18 March, the number of public trauma hospitals has decreased from seven to five. In parallel, the access of international medical staff to support emergency medical teams (EMT) has been more restricted, resulting in a 45-per-cent reduction in the number of international EMT staff, from 97 to 53. Meanwhile, the proportion of trauma and emergency care missions denied by Israeli authorities has increased from 25 to 40 per cent between 18 March and 5 May, according to the Health Cluster.
• The Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) and the Disability Working Group have raised urgent concerns regarding the heightened vulnerability of older persons, many of whom are living with disabilities. There are about 321,000 elderly people (aged 60 and above) in Palestine, with about five per cent of Gaza’s population falling into this age group, according to PCBS. Older persons face multiple challenges, including physical impairments, chronic illnesses, and limited mobility, which require sustained access to medical care, psychosocial support, and basic hygiene items. According to 2024 data from PCBS, about 78 per cent of the elderly population suffer from chronic illnesses. Their situation has been further exacerbated by the depletion of essential supplies in local markets, most notably adult diapers that are critical to maintaining the health, hygiene, and dignity of those relying on them. The extensive destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, including health facilities, roads and shelters, has severely restricted access to essential services and lifesaving support for this population group.
• In new guidelines on the minimum rehabilitation service package for Gaza, WHO, MoH, and the Health Cluster in the OPT stressed that rehabilitation is an essential health service in emergencies and conflict settings, such as Gaza, as they are vital for addressing a surge in impairment and disability due to injuries, as well as restoring functionality, enhancing the quality of life, and promoting psychosocial well-being. A new assessment report by WHO, MoH and the OPT Health Cluster on Level 4 specialized rehabilitation services at Hamad, Al-Wafaa, and Al-Amal hospitals finds that Gaza’s rehabilitation system is unable to address the current scale of needs. This is due to a surge in traumatic injuries by ongoing hostilities, destruction of health infrastructure, limited bed capacity at health facilities that continue to provide rehabilitation services, mass displacement and the lack of appropriate home environments, and shortages in specialized health personnel, as summarized below: 
  • As of April 2025, the MoH and the Health Cluster estimated that at least a quarter of people injured in Gaza require sustained rehabilitation support, while only a fraction of services remain operational. More than 2,000 people are currently living with spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries, conditions that require long-term, specialized rehabilitation services, while there are an estimated 15,000 cases of extremity injuries, the dominant form of injury, according to the abovementioned assessment report, which could drive up the number of persons with disabilities in the Gaza Strip to over 80,000. More than 4,000 of these people have undergone amputations since 7 October 2023, including over 920 children.
  • One in every three rehabilitation beds in Gaza is now occupied by patients with pressure sores, also known as bedsores, as hospitals are often forced to retain patients beyond optimal rehabilitation timelines due to the lack of viable community-based care options. Many patients are at risk of experiencing rapid deterioration in their health when they are discharged into tents or damaged buildings with generally poor shelter and sanitation conditions. This has reduced the capacity of hospitals to serve others and resulted in an increased de-prioritization of non-traumatic rehabilitation cases, such as stroke or cerebrovascular accident survivors, children with cerebral palsy, and unaccompanied minors who need urgent mental health care, widening gaps in equity and access to care.
  • Outreach services have been recurrently disrupted due to security concerns and the lack of fuel to carry out outpatient wound-care services. As of March 2025, according to the Health Resources and Services Availability Monitoring System (HeRAMS), 61 per cent of home visit services, a vital lifeline for persons with disabilities and the elderly, were unavailable – a figure that has likely increased due to ongoing hostilities, according to the Health Cluster.
  • Rehabilitation equipment is scarce or damaged and stocks of assistive products and prosthetic materials are quickly running low, including pediatric wheelchairs, hearing and mobility aids, and raw materials for limb prosthetics. Based on data provided by MoH, the Health Cluster reported that while over 3,330 wheelchairs are waiting at the border, about 4,250 patients are currently on waiting lists for wheelchairs. In addition, about 1,900 people are on waiting lists for walkers and 7,400 people are awaiting crutches. 
  • An additional challenge is the lack of specialist capacity; according to Health Cluster partners, there are now only nine prosthetics and orthodontics care technicians across Gaza whereas 6,000 prosthetics are needed to address the scale of needs, especially among children who need continuous care. As children grow, they need new and updated components every six months, according to UNICEF, who is currently co-launching a ground-breaking project to 3D-print prosthetic limbs for war-injured children in Gaza.

1329.

7 mei 2025

Romania has referred the Hind Rajab Foundation’s war crimes complaint against Israeli soldier Orel Benyaish to its military prosecutor. The HRF welcomes this development as a serious step toward accountability and urges swift investigation and precautionary measures.

Read the full press release below.

Bucharest | 7 May 2025

​

The Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice in Romania has formally acknowledged the war crimes complaint filed by the Hind Rajab Foundation against Israeli soldier Orel Benyaish, a member of the 432nd Battalion of the Givati Brigade. The complaint, submitted on behalf of the Foundation by attorney Elena Lazăr, has been referred to the Military Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Bucharest Military Court of Appeal for further examination.​

The legal action concerns Benyaish’s alleged involvement in the intentional destruction of civilian property during Israel’s military operations in Gaza, including the demolition of the homes in the Nuseirat camp on 12 November 2024. The complaint is based on documented open-source material, including videos and photographs posted by the accused on social media, which appear to show direct participation in and endorsement of the destruction of civilian infrastructure.

The submission is grounded in both Romanian domestic law—specifically Articles 438 and 441 of the Romanian Penal Code, which criminalize genocide and war crimes against property—and relevant international legal instruments, including the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Geneva Conventions, to which Romania is a party.

In a written communication, Romanian authorities confirmed that the materials submitted by the Hind Rajab Foundation were officially registered and forwarded to the competent military prosecution authority for further processing.

Legal Context and Next Steps

The complaint also includes references to broader patterns of destruction in Gaza, particularly the use of the Netzarim Corridor as part of a strategy that has resulted in widespread displacement and destruction of civilian areas. Reports by Forensic Architecture and various international observers are cited in support of these claims.

In light of the open-source evidence and Romania’s international obligations, the Foundation has called on Romanian authorities to consider preventive measures, including placing the suspect on a travel watchlist, initiating the confiscation of digital evidence, and opening a formal investigation.

The Hind Rajab Foundation welcomes the decision by Romanian authorities to treat this matter with the seriousness it warrants and to act in accordance with international legal standards.

“The referral to military prosecution is a serious development,” said HRF's Chairman Dyab Abou Jahjah. “It shows that Romania is taking its international legal obligations seriously and is willing to consider accountability for war crimes, even when committed outside its borders.”

1329A.

7 mei 2025

Right now, as Israel's military continues devastating Palestinian communities, Chevron's gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea play a key role in powering this destruction.¹ Chevron's complicity in supplying energy to Israel helps make genocidal violence against Palestinians possible.

On Wednesday, May 21, people all across the world will mobilize for Anti-Chevron Day—a powerful moment to disrupt business as usual and demand Chevron stop fueling genocide. This global day of action builds on Amazon Watch's decade-long tradition of protesting Chevron's environmental destruction, which Amazon Watch expanded last year to include its complicity in Israel's violence against Palestinians.

The timing is critical: Anti-Chevron Day falls just one week before Chevron's annual shareholder meeting, where investors will vote on a proposal requiring the company to audit its human rights abuses worldwide. Chevron only entered the Israeli market in 2020, and with enough pressure, they can exit just as easily.

Transform your outrage into action. Here are some ways you can mobilize on May 21:

1. BOYCOTT & PICKET: Organize a gas station boycott picket.
2. DIVEST: Start a campaign calling on your city council, university, union, or other institution to divest from Chevron and/or exclude it from contracts.
3. MOBILIZE: Do a banner drop or protest at a Chevron location.  

TAKE ACTION: JOIN ANTI-CHEVRON DAY

1328.

As we approach the 77th anniversary of the Nakba, the planned ethnic cleansing and expulsion of most of the Indigenous people of Palestine, your meaningful solidarity action is needed now more than ever. 

Israel just announced its livestreamed genocide against Palestinians is about to get even deadlier, as it prepares for mass ethnic cleansing and total destruction of Gaza.

“In our thousands, in our millions, we are all Palestinians,” is a popular slogan of solidarity around the world. Given the ferocity of Israel’s daily massacres and its criminal impunity, the Palestinian BDS National Committee, the largest Palestinian coalition leading the global BDS movement, calls for escalating peaceful pressure like never before.
 

Rise up and escalate BDS now!
 

The BDS movement calls for mass global mobilizations and civil disobedience on 15 May.

­

Share our call for a Global Day of Action on social media now!

Israel is only able to continue its genocide, including daily massacres, burning our children, men and women alive, or starving and thirsting them to death, due to the ongoing international complicity.
 

Let’s show complicit governments, institutions and corporations what real people power can do!
 

TAKE ACTION:
 

1: Mobilize: Take to the streets, peacefully disrupt the status quo, occupy the offices of complicit governments, institutions and corporations (especially military, tech, finance and media).

2: Walkout: If you can, tell your employer, university, school, etc. why and stage mass walkouts at a specified time. If you cannot, then “call in sick” (sick of the horrible complicity that enables the genocide!) or leave early to join mobilizations.
 

3: Pressure: Organize collectively to boycott BDS priority targets, organize popular pressure on: (a) elected officials to demand targeted sanctions on Israel, and (b) complicit institutions to pressure them to end their involvement in Israel's crimes.

1327.

7 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Israel is creating a power vacuum in Gaza by backing armed looters — and killing anyone who tries to stop them

Growing reports show that Israel has been fomenting armed gangs to loot food supplies in Gaza and sow chaos — and it's killing those who attempt to stop it. But this strategy isn't new: Israel has waged a war on Gaza's civil government from the start.

I was in the BBC documentary ‘The Settlers.’ This is the part of my story they didn’t tell.

Mohammad Hureini

I met Louis Theroux to share my story as a Palestinian under the constant threat of displacement. While the film is an important look into the Israeli settlers trying to erase us, there is one crucial part of our story that was left out.

1326.

7 mei 2025

Readers’ Recommendations

= Gaza will be entirely destroyed, Israeli minister says (The Guardian)

= Israel attacks main airport in Yemen's capital Sanaa (BBC) 

1325.

6 mei 2025

A Landmark Victory for Free Speech and our work to Free Palestine

In a decisive victory for civil rights and constitutional freedoms, a federal judge in Nevada has dismissed all claims in a lawsuit filed against American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). The court found the case to be without merit, reaffirming that AMP’s advocacy is fully protected under the First Amendment.

This landmark ruling sends a strong message: attempts to silence lawful political expression and intimidate grassroots organizations through the courts will not succeed.

The lawsuit, driven by recycled and baseless allegations, is part of a broader strategy to suppress voices that challenge Israel’s human rights abuses. The court’s decision reinforces that advocacy for Palestinian rights is not only moral, it is legal and constitutionally protected.

“American Muslims for Palestine welcomes the ruling and expresses its deepest gratitude and appreciation to the Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA) and its lawyers for standing by us in the vexatious lawsuits filed against us in a clear violation of our constitutional rights, especially our right to freedom of expression,” said Dr. Osama Abu Irshaid, AMP’s Executive Director. “This ruling confirms that the series of vexatious lawsuits against us have no legal basis and that their primary goal is to deter and silence anyone who dares to take a moral stand against Israel's genocide in the Gaza Strip.”

AMP remains steadfast in its mission to educate, advocate, and organize for Palestinian rights. Today’s ruling is not just a legal win, it is a clear affirmation of the right of all people in the U.S. to speak truth to power.

“Supporters of Israel's genocide know that they cannot win the battle of facts and ideas, a fact confirmed by opinion polls. Therefore, they attempt to discredit the voices that expose their crimes and weaponize courts against them to violate their constitutional rights,” said Abu Irshaid.

The Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA), a national nonprofit legal organization dedicated to defending the civil rights of Muslims in the United States, played a pivotal role in securing this legal victory. MLFA provided legal representation through its Constitutional Law Center for Muslims in America (CLCMA), assembling a skilled team of attorneys who successfully argued for the dismissal of the baseless lawsuit. Their unwavering support, legal expertise, and commitment to upholding First Amendment protections were instrumental in defending AMP’s right to advocate for Palestinian human rights without fear of legal intimidation or censorship.

“AMP has every right to lawful advocacy protected by the First Amendment,” said Christina Jump, MLFA’s Civil Litigation Department Head. “As the Court recognized, the plaintiff may not like what AMP has to say, but that doesn’t violate any laws. Today is a win for free speech and a huge win for our clients, and we congratulate them on seeing this through.”

AMP reaffirms its commitment to continue to defend the rights of the Palestinian people, confront Israel's crimes, and expose American complicity in them. We also affirm that we will not surrender to any attempts at intimidation and distortion against us. Nothing will deter us from pursuing our mission or abandoning our moral duty, constitutional rights, and civil liberties.
 

In solidarity,
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)

1324.

KIM VAN DE GOEDE ZAAK

6 mei 2025

Voor ons persoonlijk waren de twee minuten stilte in de vele dodenherdenkingen in dit jaar zonder de huidige genocide te noemen vele malen ongemakkelijker dan de voorafgaande jaren. Voor wie de beelden heeft gezien wordt het steeds moeilijker vol te houden dat er niets aan de hand is in onze maatschappij. De onderdrukking en repressie zagen we afgelopen weekend weer. Mensen werden gewelddadig opgepakt, sommige met een hand over hun mond. In Leeuwarden werd een gebiedsverbod opgelegd voor het uitdelen van flyers met informatie over Hind Rajab. Undercover Agenten arresteerden activisten. Beveiliging probeerde mensen met Palestijnse vlaggen weg te sturen bij bevrijdingsfestivals.

Toch was er ook hoop. In Arnhem zorgde burgemeester Marcouch voor een inclusieve herdenking door de slachtoffers in Gaza wel te noemen in zijn toespraak. [4] Zangeres Sophie Straat stopte haar optreden in Zwolle totdat mensen met Palestijnse vlaggen met rust werden gelaten. In Amsterdam keerden burgers hun rug naar de premier en Kamervoorzitter Bosma. Van Leeuwarden tot Wageningen lieten mensen weten dat ‘nooit meer’ voor iedereen is – overal kwamen mensen in verzet tegen dit kabinet, overal hielden mensen vol, ondanks de tegenwerking.

Dit is het moment om deze hoopvolle burgerlijke actie en verzet kracht bij te zetten. Op 24 mei komen we daarom massaal samen met de hele Nederlandse progressieve beweging in verzet. [5] We gaan de straat op om te laten zien dat we ons niet laten intimideren in onze strijd voor een Nederland voor iedereen. We demonstreren voor ons fundamentele recht om te kunnen demonstreren én tegen de hele extreemrechtse agenda die onze burgerrechten bedreigt. Samen zorgen wij ervoor dat de roep om rechtvaardigheid niet gesmoord kan worden!

Ik ga 24 mei de straat op!

Met strijdbare groet,

Kim van DeGoedeZaak

1323.

6 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Israel plans to reoccupy Gaza indefinitely. Here’s what that actually means.

Qassam Muaddi

The Israeli war cabinet unanimously approved on Sunday the expansion of Israel’s war on Gaza, which reportedly include plans to reoccupy the strip indefinitely.

Meet the fired Microsoft employees challenging the company’s complicity in the Gaza genocide

Mondoweiss talks to former Microsoft employees who were fired for protesting the company’s role in the Gaza genocide.

1322.

5 mei 2025

Deliberate starvation is a genocidal tactic, and that’s exactly what the apartheid state is doing

Since March 2nd, after entirely violating the ceasefire, the apartheid state of Israel has imposed a total blockade on the already besieged Gaza Strip, completely sealing it off from the outside world. No food. No fuel. No medical aid. No water. The flow of humanitarian assistance has been entirely strangled. This is not a military tactic; it’s the use of starvation as a weapon. It is a deliberate, calculated act of collective punishment and genocide – something universally recognized as a human rights violation.

TAKE ACTION: Urge Trump and Congress to immediately intervene and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza

More than 2.2 million Palestinians (half of them children) are being held hostage under this siege. Since early March, not a single aid truck has been allowed to enter through the southern crossings at Rafah or Kerem Shalom. This total blockade has pushed Gaza to the brink of famine.

The consequences are already catastrophic:

• More than 9,000 children have been admitted for acute malnutrition since the beginning of 2025, with countless more unable to access care due to the collapse of Gaza’s healthcare system.
• Starving Palestinians are forced to eat grass and animal feed to survive while hundreds of aid trucks sit waiting at shuttered border crossings.
• Meanwhile, Israeli forces continue to bomb aid convoys, attack aid workers, and restrict access even where humanitarian corridors are promised.

This is not simply a humanitarian crisis. Calling it that implies a natural disaster or unintended tragedy. It’s neither. It is a man-made catastrophe–a deliberate, state-engineered campaign to destroy an entire population. Israel’s systematic obstruction of food, water, and medical supplies, alongside its continued targeting of hospitals, bakeries, and aid infrastructure, is a war crime.

And the United States is not a bystander; it’s a co-conspirator. By continuing to ship weapons, provide military aid, and shield Israel diplomatically, the U.S. government is directly enabling Israel’s extermination campaign.

Neutrality is a privilege Gaza cannot afford. Our elected officials are directly responsible for enabling this ongoing genocide. We should be flooding their offices with calls, emails, and pressure until they can no longer look away. Take action now and urge everyone you know to do the same.

In solidarity,
Americans for Justice in Palestine Action

1321.

1321.

5 mei 2025

Readers’ Recommendations

• Israel must let international journalists into Gaza (Haaretz)

1320.

5 mei 2025

Today's headlines

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney must chart a new course on Palestine

Canada's new prime minister, Mark Carney, has promised to forge a new foreign policy path forward. This must include stopping the atrocities Canada has abetted in Palestine.

Liberal win in Canada’s election upsets Israel supporters

The Canadian election results angered the right people. But for Palestine, Mark Carney's win represents harm reduction at best.

1319.

4 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Palestinians in Lebanon fear another ‘War on the Camps’ as Israeli airstrikes continue

Mayssoun Sukarieh

As Israeli airstrikes throughout Lebanon continue, the Lebanese state is threatening to disarm Palestinian factions in the refugee camps. Residents fear this is a prelude to an all-out assault on the camps — and the Palestinian cause.

1318.

4 mei 2025

On what would have been Hind Rajab’s 7th birthday, the Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a war crimes complaint with the International Criminal Court, naming Lt. Colonel Beni Aharon, the commander of the Israeli 401st Armored Brigade, responsible for her killing. After a year of investigation, the Foundation has also identified the battalion and officers involved in the deadly assault on Hind, her family, and the medics who tried to rescue her. While today’s filing names only the brigade commander, further cases will follow in front of the ICC and national courts.

Read the full press release below.

Brussels, 3 May 2025 — Today, little Hind Rajab should have been blowing out candles on her 7th birthday. On this day of remembrance and heartbreak, the Hind Rajab Foundation has filed a war crimes complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. After a year of tireless investigation, we have identified the military unit responsible, as well as the commander who led the operation that killed Hind, her family, and the two medics who tried to save her.

The Commander, the Brigade, the Battalion

We now publicly name the commander responsable for killing Hind:

Lieutenant Colonel Beni Aharon Commander of the 401st Armored Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at the time of the killing

It was under Lt. Col. Aharon’s command that an Israeli tank unit attacked the civilian vehicle of Hind's family, and later destroyed the Palestine Red Crescent ambulance dispatched to rescue her.

We also confirm that the battalion operating under his authority in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood on 29 January 2024 has been fully identified, along with its field commanders and operational officers. These men are no longer unknown. They are no longer protected by silence.

We Will Not Stop at Naming One Man

While we begin by calling on the ICC Office of the Prosecutor to issue an arrest warrant for Lt. Col. Beni Aharon, we are preparing additional legal complaints against the battalion’s officers. These will be filed in qualified national jurisdictions under universal jurisdiction principles.

We will go after every officer involved—those who gave the orders, those who fired, those who covered it up, and those who let it happen.

“Today, Hind should have been blowing out candles. Instead, we are naming her killer,” said Dyab Abou Jahjah. “This is only the beginning. We are coming for every name, every link in the chain, with the law and with truth.”

A Crime That the World Must Remember

On 29 January 2024, Hind Rajab’s car was hit by Israeli tank fire. Six members of her family died instantly. Hind, wounded and terrified, remained alive for hours, whispering into a phone with PRCS dispatchers: “I’m so scared… please come.”

The ambulance sent to save her never made it. It too was shelled and burned. The two medics inside were killed instantly. When rescue workers returned ten days later, they found Hind’s small body lying next to her cousin Layan. Their voices had gone quiet.

A Year of Research

This complaint is not an act of revenge—it is a solemn legal act rooted in evidence, law, and the humanity Hind was denied. We built it on a year of work by our team, who expanded on the groundbreaking investigations of Forensic Architecture, Sky News, and others. We have gathered what courts need to act, and now we ask them to do so—with urgency and courage.

Hind Rajab’s Voice Will Echo in Justice

This Foundation carries the name of Hind and will make sure that her martyrdom is not the end of the story. We are relentless in the pursuit of justice, and we are not alone. More organizations are starting to follow the path we have opened. More names will follow. More jurisdictions will open. The wall of impunity that shields war criminals is beginning to crack.

And it will crack because a six-year-old girl asked for help. Because she waited and we could not save her. Because we will not let her name be buried.

Justice for Hind. Justice for Palestine

​ 

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1317.

3 mei 2025

Today's headlines

Biden staffers admit what we all knew: White House lied about ceasefire efforts

Once and for all, we can lay to rest any notion that the Biden administration ever did anything to stop the Gaza genocide.

Who is Hussein al-Sheikh, and what does his appointment as the PLO’s new Vice President mean?

Qassam Muaddi

Prominent political figure Hussein al-Sheikh was recently tapped by President Mahmoud Abbas as vice president of the PLO, and by extension, Abbas' successor. The appointment tells us a lot about what the future of Palestinian politics may look like.

Organizers say Israel is behind drone attack on Gaza aid flotilla

A ship carrying aid to Gaza was hit by a drone in international waters off the coast of Malta. Many are accusing Israel of being behind the attack.

1316.

2 mei 2025

Ook binnen de traditionele pro-Israëlpartijen VVD, PVV en CDA staat slechts een (kleine) minderheid nog achter het regeringsbeleid, bleek uit de op 21 april gepresenteerde uitkomsten van een Ipsos-peiling.

Protest noodzaak
De uitkomsten van beide peilingen dwingen de regering tot een radicaal ander beleid. Maar het lijkt er niet op dat het kabinet-Schoof zich iets zal aantrekken van de publieke opinie. Om die reden blijven wij oproepen tot verzet tegen het regeringsbeleid.

Actie | Premier Schoof: als u geen rode lijn trekt, dan doen wij het

Op 18 mei komen we in Den Haag in actie en trekken we een rode lijn. We eisen een einde aan Nederlandse medeplichtigheid aan Israëls oorlogsmisdaden. Doe mee!

Ik doe mee!

Praktische informatie
 Wat: Gezamenlijk een menselijke ketting vormen in Den Haag
 Wanneer: Zondagmiddag 18 mei
 Waar: Den Haag, exacte locatie volgt
 Kleding: Trek rode kleding aan om de rode lijn zichtbaar en krachtig te maken

Gaza gaat verhongeren en Nederland staat het toe!

Na acht weken Israëlische blokkade is de voedselhulp voor de Palestijnen in Gaza uitgeput, waarschuwt de VN. We moeten toezien hoe de bevolking door onze Israëlische bondgenoot wordt doodgehongerd.

Zo voltrekt zich een vermijdbare ramp van ongekende wreedheid. Vermijdbaar omdat Israëls bondgenoten – vooral de VS en EU, waaronder Nederland – het land kunnen dwingen om de klaarstaande hulp direct en onbelemmerd toe te laten, maar dat weigeren.

Wij strijden tegen annexatie, onderdrukking en bezetting. Help mee!

Nee, ik steun The Rights Forum niet. Want TRF  blijft weigeren om sancties tegen Israel te eisen!

Volg herdenking ‘4 mei inclusief’ via livestream

Hoorzittingen Internationaal Gerechtshof over Israëls humanitaire verplichtingen

Deze week vonden er hoorzittingen plaats bij het Internationaal Gerechtshof (ICJ) in Den Haag over de vraag wat de verantwoordelijkheden zijn van Israël tegenover hulporganisaties en de Palestijnse bevolking in de bezette gebieden.

Algemene Vergadering
De hoorzittingen volgen op een resolutie van de Algemene Vergadering van de Verenigde Naties van 29 december 2024. Die resolutie vroeg het Hof om een advies te geven over de juridische verplichtingen van Israël als bezettende macht. Concreet gaat het om de vraag in hoeverre Israël verplicht is om de aanwezigheid en het werk van de VN en andere hulporganisaties in de Palestijnse gebieden mogelijk te maken — met name het leveren van voedsel, water, medische zorg en andere basisdiensten aan de burgerbevolking. Maar Israël is daarvoor voor de volle 100% verplicht naar internationaal recht!

UNRWA
Een belangrijk onderdeel van deze zaak is de situatie van UNRWA, de VN-organisatie die hulp biedt aan Palestijnse vluchtelingen. Israël nam vorig jaar een wet aan die het voor UNRWA illegaal maakt om in het land te werken. Sinds het uitbreken van de oorlog in Gaza zijn talloze medewerkers van hulporganisaties, waaronder UNRWA, omgekomen bij Israëlische aanvallen.

Adviesopinie
Het Hof bekijkt nu hoe internationaal recht zich verhoudt tot deze situatie. Het gaat daarbij niet om een strafzaak of directe veroordeling van Israël, maar om een gezaghebbend juridisch advies over de plichten die een land heeft in bezette gebieden – vooral als het gaat om bescherming van burgers, humanitaire toegang en het recht op zelfbeschikking van een volk.

Middle East Eye heeft de hoorzittingen nauwlettend gevolgd. Op de website van het nieuwsmedium zijn uitgebreide verslagen te vinden.

Hind Rajab geldt als symbool van de Israëlische genocide in Gaza.

Zij is één van de 16 duizend Palestijnse kinderen die de afgelopen 19 maanden door Israël in de Gazastrook zijn vermoord. Onder de doden zijn bijna 900 baby’s.

Op haar geboortedag gedenken we haar en spreken we de Nederlandse regering aan op zijn medeplichtigheid aan de Israëlische genocide.

Uit onze agenda
zaterdag 3 mei t/m zaterdag 10 mei

Demonstraties en wakes
• Stille tocht voor de vermoorde kinderen in Gaza op zaterdag 3 mei in Nijmegen, Grote Markt (15.00 uur)
• Wake op zaterdag 3 mei in Maastricht, Markt, achter het stadhuis (16.00 uur)
• Herdenken zonder grenzen op zondag 4 mei in Rotterdam, Stichting Formaat, Westzeedijk 513 (19.00 uur)
• Wake op zondag 4 mei in Haarlem, Grote Markt (14.00 uur)
• Demonstratie Bevrijdingsdag? Palestina is niet vrij! op maandag 5 mei in Arnhem, Markt (15.00 uur)
• Maandelijkse herdenking van zorgmedewerkers op woensdag 6 mei in Amsterdam en Nijmegen
• Wekelijks protest tegen de genocide op de Palestijnen op donderdag 8 mei in Zaandam, bij de ingang van het station (17.30 uur)
• Sit-in rijksambtenaren op donderdag 8 mei in Den Haag, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Rijnstraat 8 (12.00 uur)
• Zorgmanifestatie voor Gaza op zaterdag 10 mei in Rotterdam, Schouwburgplein (14.00 uur)

1315.

2 mei 2025

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