LUISTER NAAR DE JOODSE STEMMEN OVER

DE ISRAELISCHE MEGA-MISDRIJVEN TEGEN

HET INTERNATIONAAL HUMANITAIR RECHT

JEGENS DE PALESTIJNEN !

THE JEWISH VOICE FOR PEACE - JVP

  LEES "THE WIRE" !

BERICHTEN NA 31-12-2024 STAAN HIER

16 januari 2025

A ceasefire in Gaza is due to take affect on Sunday after nearly 500 days of genocidal warfare. Yet this is only the first step toward achieving peace and equality, and we must seize this opportunity to restore Gaza and carry out social justice projects all over Palestine. The ceasefire marks the beginning of a new year where we can expect many changes in Palestine and beyond.

Help keep our volunteers active in 2025! We are planning many activities this year for creating positive change. As a small organization, we depend on people like you to keep us going. Here is an overview of what your donation will help make happen this year!

Family Aid campaign

Families in Hebron are struggling under the economic devastation of the war in Gaza. We help the families support themselves during this time by providing household essentials to Palestinian mothers tailored to the individual needs of the families. Since last winter, we have provided food and essentials to around 800 struggling families in Hebron. Our volunteers carry the aid through checkpoints and bring it directly to the families' doorsteps.

Legal Support and Aid

Our volunteers in Palestine live under Israeli military law, which means that that they are considered guilty until proven innocent. The Israeli military court system has been internationally condemned as an apparatus of occupation. Peaceful protest is illegal and any community engagement comes with the risk of wrongful arrest and imprisonment. Meanwhile, violent attacks on our volunteers by Israeli settlers and soldiers are rarely prosecuted. Palestinians can be held indefinitely without charge. We are here to support innocent Palestinians through an unjust system and provide legal aid to uphold their innocence while seeking justice for the crimes committed against them. Most famously, we helped support Issa Amro through his internally condemned trial in military court. We also won a defamation lawsuit against an alt-Right Israeli news outlet and have secured other legal victories.

Help us provide legal aid to our volunteers to provide justice and secure their continued freedom!

Family Protection & Countersurveillance

We are fundraising to equip families with fences, fortified windows and doors, fire alarms and security cameras to protect them from Israeli settler and soldier violence. We expect a new wave of attacks and we need to act now to protect the lives and wellbeing of the vulnerable families living next to settlements in Hebron.

With the new U.S. administration coming into power, we fear that Israeli settlers will attack families in their homes to drive them out. There is a high risk of violent break-ins, assault, vandalism, and armed settlers shooting toward Palestinian houses. We will protect families by securing their homes with fortified doors and windows, fences, CCTV cameras, and alarm systems. All the money raised for Giving Tuesday (throughout December) will go toward this security equipment. Our team on the ground will access the homes in the restricted area and install the security measures.

Open Shuhada Street

Help support our annual call for the opening of Shuhada Street in Hebron, an end to the closures and restrictions in the city, and an end to the system of apartheid. We commemorate the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre in February, 1994, in which an American-born Israeli settler opened fire on Muslim worshippers inside the historic Cave of the Patriarchs mosque in the city. This led to the closure of Shuhada Street for Palestinians while Israeli settler roam freely. We organize peaceful activities on the ground to highlight the restrictions and system of segregation in the city. We also send volunteers on speaking tours in Europe and the U.S. to talk about their work and the situation in the city, build a stronger network, and raise awareness about Palestine with Hebron as the case study.

We help strengthen the resilience of Palestinian families and help them remain in their homes. We call this an act of Sumud or steadfastness in the face of occupation and land-taking.

Olive Harvest 2025

Help Palestinian familie carry out the ancient practice of the Olive Harvest. Every year, we protect families and help them harvest their olives in the occupied neighborhoods in Hebron. Families are vulnerable to settler attacks during the harvest, and soldiers often prevent families from managing their olive trees and harvesting the olives. This year, we hope to organize a strong international delegation to come to Hebron and take part of the harvest.

International advocacy

To achieve freedom, justice and equality we need to raise awareness of Palestine and the situation in Hebron to the international community. Our advocacy work aims to engage all layers of a society to achieve real change on the issue of Palestine. From university campuses and community centers to European parliaments and Congress, as well as media outreach, we create spaces for Palestinian voices. We seek to amplify voices from the most vulnerable people living under apartheid and occupation as well as the volunteers committed to nonviolent resistance, and bring these voices into international forums and tell the story of Hebron to the world. Help us raise our voices for peace and justice!

With peace,

Friends of Hebron

Working for Peace and Justice

Friends of Hebron
https://www.hebronfriends.org/

945.

16 januari 2025

Today's headlines

The Gaza ceasefire will not cure the wounds of genocide

Now that a ceasefire has been agreed to in Gaza, the bombs will stop falling, and the world will breathe a sigh of relief. Yet, for those of us who survived, the war hasn’t ended—it has merely transformed.

Did Donald Trump force the ceasefire deal the Biden administration refused to?

A ceasefire deal to finally stop the genocide in Gaza and bring about an exchange of captives appears to be at hand, but many questions remain. Among them is the role the incoming Trump administration played and what this says for his policy in the region.

944.

16 januari 2025

As news of a ceasefire spread today, Abubaker Abed, a young journalist and genocide survivor, wrote “The sun will rise again over Gaza.”

His words capture the bittersweet relief we all feel—a flicker of light in the endless darkness Gaza’s people have endured.

For over a year, Palestinians in Gaza have lived through relentless bombardment, grief etched into every corner of their lives.

The announcement of the long-awaited ceasefire offers a moment to breathe, to celebrate, to grieve, to process, and to prepare for what’s ahead.

We hear the sighs of mothers—joy and sorrow interwoven. We see families returning to the rubble, searching for remnants of what they lost, including the bodies of their loved ones.

But we know this moment is fragile. What Gaza needs is a permanent ceasefire, not a fleeting reprieve.

And we know that a permanent ceasefire won’t happen until the U.S. stops fueling Israel’s genocidal war machine.

Palestinians deserve to live with dignity and safety, free from walls, bombs, and checkpoints. They deserve the right to determine their own future.

Anything less means prolonging the apartheid and occupation that have brutalized them for decades.

The last 15 months of Israel’s attacks have been catastrophic. Hundreds of thousands of lives lost. Entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble. Hospitals, schools, places of worship—nothing has been spared. The impact of this destruction doesn’t end when the bombs stop falling.

This devastation was only possible with the full backing of the U.S. government. Our taxpayer dollars funded this massacre. Our leaders delayed a ceasefire while Israel mercilessly slaughtered tens of thousands of children, wiped entire families off the map, and starved millions of people. We meet this moment with the horrific knowledge that none of this had to happen.

Today, families in Gaza dare to breathe again. They will begin to pick up the pieces of their lives, mourn the unimaginable losses they’ve suffered, sift through the ruins of their homes, and start rebuilding. But the road ahead will be long and hard.

Now is a critical moment for us to support the Palestinian people in their recovery and rebuilding.

The genocide will not truly end until Israel’s occupying rule is dismantled and Palestinians are free. We all have a duty to continue organizing at all levels to put an end to all military, political, and financial support for Israel - whether in the White House, Congress, or the institutions in our local communities.

It’s our responsibility to ensure that genocide never happens again. We must rise to meet this moment.

Let’s make sure that the hope rising over Gaza never fades.

Together in grief and hope,

The Adalah Justice Project Team

16 januari 2024

World on the Brink of Doom (or Maybe Not)

 

In their foreign policies in 2024, some governments that claim to champion human rights – and occasionally even follow through on their commitments – very obviously failed to do so last year, when it came to abuses committed by allies.

The most obvious example was the double standard shown by many western countries. Germany, the US, and others continue to provide weapons to Israel despite widespread violations of international law in Gaza, while condemning Russia for similar violations in Ukraine.

In the face of rising authoritarianism, repression, and armed conflict, the need to respect and defend universal human rights takes on more urgency than ever. Civil society should remain steadfast in holding governments to account.

942.

15 januari 2025

AMP Calls on UN Oversight to Guarantee Commitments and End Impunity

Today marks a long-awaited and bittersweet moment of solemn relief after 15 months of unimaginable suffering. The announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza is an opportunity to acknowledge the end of the genocide that has devastated the Palestinian people. It’s a day to honor and grieve the over 100,000 Palestinians murdered and the countless injured and to confront the complete destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, ranging from entire villages to individual homes, schools, universities, and hospitals. For survivors, this is a moment where they can finally mourn their losses; meanwhile, their scars — physical and emotional — will remain an enduring testament to this atrocity, reverberating through generations to come.

While we celebrate this moment of reprieve, we must remind ourselves that the work is far from done. This ceasefire does not mark the end of the catastrophe perpetuated by Israel, made only possible with President Biden’s unconditional support. Returning to a pre-2023 occupation status quo is not only unacceptable but a betrayal of the very idea of justice. True peace demands a complete departure from Israel’s system of oppression, which has defined Palestinian lives for decades. Justice means ensuring that every Palestinian displaced by Israel’s apartheid regime can return home to rebuild their lives with dignity, security, and the freedom that has been denied to them for far too long. Justice also demands accountability — every Israeli and American official complicit in these war crimes must face credible international mechanisms. Peace is inseparable from justice, and justice cannot exist without the dismantling of systems that uphold apartheid and occupation.

 

The United States and Israel bear both a moral and legal obligation to rebuild the homes, infrastructure, and lives destroyed by U.S.-made bombs. Gaza’s reconstruction must not be delayed, nor should it be contingent upon political conditions. The international community must establish credible mechanisms to ensure that Israel is held accountable, not only by paying for the reconstruction but also by compensating Palestinians for their immense loss and suffering. Above all, the future of Gaza, and all of occupied Palestine, must be determined by its people, for its people. It cannot be shaped by American and Israeli coercion or any attempt to perpetuate the occupation, injustice, and oppression that Palestinians have endured for decades.

Israel’s track record makes it clear that it cannot be trusted to honor its agreements. Likewise, the United States has demonstrated, over decades, that it is not an impartial or honest broker. To ensure that commitments are upheld and violations are met with proper accountability, there must be an independent international mechanism under the supervision of the United Nations. Only through such credible oversight can we guarantee that Israel is held to its obligations and that justice and fairness are guaranteed.

American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) extends its gratitude to everyone who tirelessly advocated for this ceasefire. From those who filled the streets in protest, wrote letters, made phone calls, and amplified Palestinian voices — this moment is a testament to your unwavering commitment and solidarity. But above all, this ceasefire would not have been possible without the unparalleled courage, survival, and efforts of Palestinians in Gaza. They are the heart of this moment. It is their steadfast determination to endure Israel’s oppression that has made this reprieve possible. To the people of Gaza, your strength inspires the world and reminds us all of the true meaning of courage and perseverance.

We do not have the right to rest. As the genocide ends and Palestinians begin the arduous journey of rebuilding their homes and lives, we must recognize that this is not enough. The work must continue to end Israel’s occupation and apartheid, systems of oppression that have persisted for far too long, fueled by unwavering American complicity. Let this day be a rallying cry — a call to action to pursue the hard but necessary work of achieving lasting justice and true liberation. This ceasefire must not be a temporary pause but the foundation for a future where Palestinians can live free from occupation, apartheid, and oppression.

The path ahead is steep, but together, we will walk it. For those whose lives were taken, for those who endure, and for generations yet to come, we commit to continuing this fight until justice prevails. This is only the beginning of the hard work required to dismantle oppression and build a future rooted in equity and freedom. Let us honor the dead not only with remembrance but with relentless action.

In solidarity,
American Muslims for Palestine (AMP)

941.

15 januari 2025

First ceasefire, then Palestinian liberation.

 

941A.

15 januari 2025

Did you see the news? An official ceasefire deal has been reached, and the first of the three-phase plan is due to go into effect on Sunday, Jan. 19.

We want to be very clear: this is good news. We’ve advocated for a permanent ceasefire as the bare minimum demand from the very beginning. This news is an urgently needed relief for Palestinian people in Gaza fighting to survive each day of this horrific genocide, as we see live scenes of their joyful celebrations.

At the same time, you may have noticed that midway through last year, we shifted our focus from a permanent ceasefire to our long-held North Star goal to end military funding to Israel from the U.S. war machine.

This was very intentional. We know the genocide doesn’t end when the bombs stop dropping. The genocide ends when UNRWA can operate freely. When every destroyed hospital is rebuilt. When unfettered aid, food, water, and gasoline can enter Gaza.

Even then, true Palestinian liberation—essential for the collective liberation of all oppressed peoples globally—only comes when Israel’s apartheid regime, supported by tens of billions in military funding from the U.S., comes to an end.

I wish those changes were possible in the next few months and that I could share a roadmap with you for it, but that would be a lie.

So today, we keep fighting against another $8 billion in weapons to Israel.

And tomorrow—through power building, organizing, and investing in our infrastructure, we will continue the long-term work to force a U.S. arms embargo on Israel and end U.S. complicity in Israel’s apartheid regime once and for all.

STOP $8 BILLION IN WEAPONS TO ISRAEL

941B.

15 januari 2025

AJP Action Welcomes Ceasefire Announcement, Urges Our Fellow Americans To Continue Advocating For Palestine

[WASHINGTON D.C., January 15, 2025] – Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action) welcomes today’s long-overdue announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza. After 465 days of unrelenting genocide, Palestinians have secured a vital moment of reprieve with the announcement of a three-phase ceasefire, the first phase offering 42 days of relative peace. This outcome is a testament to the unyielding resilience of the Palestinian people, who have endured the Biden-backed Israeli campaign of genocide that began on October 7, 2023. Gaza, the most dangerous place on earth for children, with over 90% of its population forcibly displaced, more than an estimated 186,000 killed, nearly 110,000 injured, and more than 11,000 still missing, stands as a haunting testament to the atrocities committed. Even under these dire circumstances, Palestinians have shown extraordinary fortitude. The most profound lesson from all that has transpired is this: oppression and crimes committed by an occupier cannot extinguish the will of the oppressed to live with freedom and dignity.

A ceasefire, however, will not undo the devastation wrought by Israel, made possible by the unyielding financial and political backing of President Biden and the United States. A return to the pre-2023 status quo of occupation and apartheid is NOT an option. Temporary pauses of genocide are not enough; this moment demands the dismantling of the entrenched systems of oppression that have dictated Palestinian lives for generations. Justice calls for the unconditional right of return for every displaced Palestinian, granting them the opportunity to rebuild their lives with dignity, security, and freedom. It also necessitates accountability—Israeli and American officials complicit in these atrocities must face credible international mechanisms. Without dismantling apartheid and ending the occupation, peace remains an illusion.

This moment underscores the critical role we, as Americans, have played in pressuring the administration and Congress for this moment. By amplifying the voices of Palestinians and demanding an end to the genocidal war funded and supported by our government, we made it clear: “We, Americans, do NOT consent to our tax dollars funding genocide.” This ceasefire agreement is also a reflection of the American public not approving of this genocide. A recent national poll from YouGov and IMEU Policy found that 29% of voters who supported President Biden in 2020 and did not support Kamala Harris in 2024 identified “ending Israel’s violence in Gaza” as the top issue affecting their vote, ranking higher than the economy, health care, immigration, and even abortion policy. These results, also indicated by a poll we conducted with YouGov prior to the elections in May 2024, reflect a growing awareness and demand among Americans for a foreign policy rooted in justice, accountability, and human rights.
The fight for justice in Gaza and for Palestinians everywhere is far from over. The Israeli occupation persists, and the United States’ complicity in sustaining it continues. We must stay engaged—write to your members of Congress, attend protests, amplify the truth on social media, and get involved in politics to continue your advocacy. Despair is not an option. To backslide or remain silent in the face of injustice is to be complicit in it. This moment calls for renewed determination, not complacency.

Let us honor this moment by deepening our commitment to the fight for a free Palestine. Ending the occupation is the only path to a just and lasting resolution. We urge incoming President Donald Trump to build on this ceasefire and ensure that Palestinian rights are prioritized. Most importantly, Gaza’s future—and that of all occupied Palestine—must be determined by Palestinians themselves. The path forward is clear: liberation, accountability, and justice for all Palestinians.

In solidarity,

Dr. Osama Abu IrshaidExecutive Director, AJP Action

941C.

15 januari 2025

940.

14 januari 2025

Humanitarian Situation Update #255
Gaza Strip

Children playing near a flooded area at a site for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Gaza city. Photo: OHCHR

Key Highlights

 

• The fuel crisis continues to threaten the operation of critical health services, from ventilators in Intensive Care Units to hemodialysis machines.
• Critical water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and activities are at risk of grinding to a halt if no additional fuel is urgently received, warns the WASH Cluster.
• Explosive weapons in 2024 left an average of 15 children a day in Gaza with potentially life-long disabilities, according to Save the Children.
• Less than 450 patients have been medically evacuated outside Gaza since May 2024, out of just over 5,000 evacuated in total since October 2023 and more than 12,000 still in need of urgent, life-saving evacuation, according to the Health Cluster.
• Women and girls in overcrowded and poorly lit shelters face heightened vulnerability to violence, including sexual exploitation and abuse, warns UNFPA.

Humanitarian Developments

 

• Israeli bombardment from the air, land and sea and detonation of residential buildings continues to be reported across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups towards Israel has also been reported.
• Between the afternoons of 8 and 14 January 2025, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 210 Palestinians were killed and 738 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 14 January 2024, at least 46,645 Palestinians were killed and 110,012 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza. According to the Ministry, the cumulative figure includes 499 fatalities that were retroactively added as of 11 January 2025 after their identification details were consolidated and approved by a ministerial committee.
• Attacks on schools-turned-shelters continue to be reported. On 7, 9 and 11 January, strikes impacting schools or school yards with tents sheltering IDPs in Jabalya, in the North Gaza governorate, reportedly killed 15 people, including three women and three children, and injured over 30 others, including 19 children. On 13 January, a school was also reportedly hit in the Ad Daraj neighbourhood in central Gaza city, resulting in five people killed and others injured.
• Other deadly incidents reported between 7 and 13 January 2025 include:
  • On 7 January, at about 19:15, five Palestinians, a mother and her four children, were reportedly killed and several others injured when a tent sheltering IDPs was hit in Al Mawasi area in western Khan Younis.
  • On 7 January, at about 19:00, eight Palestinians including children were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Jabalya Al Balad in southern North Gaza.
  • On 7 January, at about 20:15, seven Palestinians, including a couple and their three children, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in southern Khan Younis.
  • On 8 January, at about 12:00, staff of a telecommunication company were reportedly hit while working to fix connection lines in Ash Shuja’iyeh neighbourhood in eastern Gaza city, resulting in several casualties.
  • On 10 January, in the afternoon hours, a Palestinian journalist was shot and killed in An Nuseirat refugee camp, in Deir al Balah, bringing the total number of journalists and media workers killed since October 2023 to 195, according to the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS). On 14 January, PJS condemned the killing of two additional journalists in Gaza city on 13 and 14 January 2025.
  • On 10 January, at about 12:10, at least one Palestinian child was reportedly killed and several others injured in an explosion, reportedly caused by an explosive remnant of war, in Al Mawasi area in western Khan Younis.
  • On 11 January, at about 16:10, three Palestinians, including a girl, were reportedly killed and four others injured when a tent sheltering IDPs was hit in Al Heker area, south of Deir al Balah.
  • On 12 January, a Palestinian ambulance officer reportedly succumbed to his injuries after being hit by an airstrike while on duty in Jabalya. According to MoH, 1,060 health sector staff have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
• Between the afternoons of 8 and 14 January 2025, 12 Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 14 January 2025, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,605 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath. This includes 405 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation in October 2023. In addition, 2,561 Israeli soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. On 10 January, the Israeli authorities, as cited in the media, confirmed the death of an Israeli hostage whose body was recently recovered along with another hostage from a tunnel in Rafah. As of 14 January, it is estimated that 98 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including hostages who have been declared dead and whose bodies are withheld in Gaza.

• “For the children of Gaza, the new year has brought more death and suffering from attacks, deprivation, and increasing exposure to the cold,” stated the UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, stressing that in the first seven days of 2025 alone, at least 74 children were reportedly killed in several mass casualty events across Gaza, “including nighttime attacks in Gaza City, Khan Younis, and Al Mawasi.” At the same time, the continued lack of basic shelter amid winter temperatures, with nearly one million children living in makeshift tents, coupled with lack of access to nutrition and healthcare and the dire sanitary situation, all pose extreme risks for children, with newborns and children with medical conditions being particularly vulnerable, added the UN official. On 14 January, Save the Children reported that the use of explosive weapons in Gaza throughout 2024 left “an average of 475 children each month – or 15 children a day - with potentially lifelong disabilities,” including loss of limbs, sight and hearing. This calculation is based on previous estimates by the Protection Cluster and the Health Cluster’s Trauma Working Group suggesting that in the first 11 months of 2024, at least 5,230 children sustained conflict-related injuries requiring significant rehabilitation support that is inaccessible in Gaza due to the decimation of the health system and restrictions on entry of critical supplies, “leaving them with a high likelihood of disability,” explains the NGO. According to specialized surgeons cited by Save the Children, rising child malnutrition is aggravating the situation, hampering the healing of wounds, and thousands of children who lack prosthetics for their injured limbs face the risk of also developing deformities on their back or issues on the opposite limb, including early osteoarthritis in the hip or knee joint.
• On 11 January, the Palestinian Civil Defense (PCD) stated that several firefighting and rescue vehicles in Gaza, Deir al Balah, and Khan Younis governorates have stopped working due to the lack of maintenance parts and equipment needed to repair and operate them. PCD indicated that their stockpile of these supplies, along with equipment and repair parts that were available on the local market and had allowed PCD to maintain a minimum level of maintenance for their vehicles, have been destroyed. This has come at a time when, according to PCD, more than half of Civil Defense vehicles across Gaza remain out of service due to the lack of fuel to operate them.
• The Health Cluster reports that all still partially functional hospitals have exhausted their reserve fuel stocks and are relying on piecemeal quantities of fuel delivered daily by partners in an attempt to safeguard the most critical services. The fuel crisis, which has been exacerbated by the looting of fuel trucks, continues to threaten the operation of health facilities, directly affecting about 2,000 patients in Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah, 10 per cent of whom are in Intensive Care Units (ICUs), and around 220 patients in the northern Gaza governorates, 70 of them in ICUs. The fuel crisis is also threatening the continued operation of 75 haemodialysis machines across the Strip that represent a lifeline for approximately 700 patients suffering from kidney diseases, the majority of them being in central and southern Gaza. At present, due to the critical shortage of both haemodialysis machines and supplies, these patients are only receiving sub-optimal treatment, undertaking an average of 10 dialysis sessions of three-to-four hours each per month, compared to the 12 sessions of four hours each required according to international standards. Prior to the current hostilities, 198 dialysis machines were available across the Strip.
• On 8 January, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned that all three key hospitals in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis - the Nasser Medical Complex, the Al-Aqsa and European Gaza hospitals - were “on the verge of closure due to a lack of fuel,” placing at imminent risk the lives of hundreds of patients, including newborns in incubators who depend on mechanical ventilators to stay alive, and disrupting the treatment of patients with burns and trauma. Furthermore, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) reports that the Nasser Medical Complex, which as of 10 January had 13 patients, including three children, relying on mechanical ventilation and 17 newborns depending on incubators for survival, has been forced to prioritize power for operating theatres, paediatric and neonatal ICUs, while other hospital facilities have minimal lighting and are relying on a smaller generator and solar systems during daylight hours. In the Gaza governorate, the last fuel delivery took place on 4 January, with efforts ongoing to plan a resupply mission early next week to maintain critical health services. In North Gaza, where there is only one barely functional health facility, the situation is similarly critical; as of 13 January, Al Awda Hospital has been striving to provide care to 36 patients amid severe shortages of medicines, medical supplies, fuel and food, warns the World Health Organization (WHO, with the hospital’s Director reporting that the facility has been without fuel for 95 days. Despite all the efforts of the Health Cluster, continuous insecurity in the area surrounding the hospital, damaged infrastructure that has rendered the road impassable, and access impediments continue to prevent access to the facility.

• The lack of fuel is threatening to cause an abrupt halt to critical WASH services across the Gaza Strip. The WASH Cluster warns that - unless fuel is urgently received - all WASH services both north and south of Wadi Gaza will imminently cease functioning, with the sole exception of the Southern Gaza Desalination Plant, which in November was reconnected to an electric feeder line from Israel and no longer relies on fuel to operate. WASH partners also would be unable to truck and distribute water, and all sewage and solid waste management operations would grind to a halt. The present crisis is only the apex of a long-standing fuel shortage that has severely compromised all WASH operations throughout 2024; according to the WASH Cluster, the daily quantity of fuel received by WASH partners has plummeted to an average of 8,746 litres in November and less than 12,000 litres in December, compared to the 70,000 litres required per day at a minimum for critical WASH activities, such as production, treatment and distribution of water, pumping, desludging and transfer of sewage, and solid waste management. Moreover, since 6 October 2024, access to water production points in North Gaza and eastern Gaza governorate has also been consistently denied by the Israeli authorities, further curtailing the Cluster’s ability to provide people with water. Combined, the lack of fuel and access restrictions have forced WASH actors to make impossible choices, having to decide daily between providing water, pumping sewage, repairing water or sewage leaks, or transferring solid waste. Displaced people, particularly in northern Gaza, have been forced to either survive on extremely limited quantities of water for drinking, cooking and personal hygiene, or to take long dangerous trips for collection, or even resort to using unsafe water sources. Aggravating these conditions is the lack of fuel for sewage and solid waste management, which continues to cause sewage spills and a mounting accumulation of solid waste in or near displacement sites, exacerbating the spread of vermin, infectious diseases and other public health risks.
• Amid immense challenges, efforts have continued to rehabilitate key healthcare facilities in Gaza governorate, with the Al-Rantisi Paediatric Hospital and the Ophthalmic Hospital resuming partial functionality on 1 and 7 January, respectively. Overall, 18 out of 36 hospitals are at present partially functional in Gaza, 10 of them in the Gaza governorate, four in Khan Younis, three in Deir al Balah and only one in the North Gaza governorate. On 12 January, WHO also conducted a mission to the Al-Shifa Hospital to inter alia deliver 9,700 litres of fuel, provide blood and plasma units for onward distribution to other health facilities in Gaza city, facilitate the rotation of an Emergency Medical Team hitherto deployed at the Al Ahli Hospital to southern Gaza, and deliver training on a new disease surveillance system.
• On 8 January, six children and their five companions were evacuated to the United States to receive specialized medical treatment, while four other patients and their five companions were transferred to Jordan. As of 8 January 2025, according to the Health Cluster, 446 patients, including 266 children, have been exceptionally evacuated outside Gaza since the closure of Rafah Crossing on 7 May 2024, out of just over 5,000 evacuated in total since October 2023, while more than 12,000 patients are estimated to require urgent medical evacuation abroad.
• The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reports that over 40,000 pregnant women are experiencing emergency levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 4) and more than 8,000 are enduring catastrophic food insecurity conditions (IPC Phase 5). Amid severe access impediments to maternal and neonatal care, rising malnutrition continues to drive up rates of preterm births and neonatal complications, UNFPA warns. At present, emergency obstetric and newborn care is only available at seven out of 18 partially functional hospitals across Gaza, four out of 11 field hospitals, and a community health centre. Three of these field hospitals, two in Khan Younis and one in Deir al Balah, as well as the community health centre in Deir al Balah host six containerized health units procured by UNFPA. These units continue to address gaps in maternal healthcare in displacement cites, supporting over 2,000 deliveries per month. Despite access and resource challenges, partners are doing their utmost to expand sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services across Gaza, delivering essential medical supplies, clean delivery kits, and postpartum kits, and continue to train midwives on urgent delivery and neonatal resuscitation. Particularly in northern Gaza, where access remains severely limited, UNFPA relies on mobile SRH teams, including midwives, to provide care through home and shelter visits.
• On 12 January, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order for An Nuseirat refugee camp in Deir al Balah, covering approximately 0.86 square kilometres. Several evacuation orders had already been issued for the designated area. An estimated 4,100 people living in the area were affected, including those sheltering at two UNRWA shelters, so were three medical points, two water trucking points and two Temporary Learning Spaces (TLSs). Aid organizations report that limited displacement movements were subsequently observed towards other areas in Deir al Balah.
• Between 4 November and 16 December, the Site Management Working Group (SMWG) assessed 565 displacement sites in southern Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, hosting a total of 171,505 households, or nearly 842,000 people, the majority of whom had been displaced from Gaza and North Gaza governorates since October 2023. Eighty per cent of the sites were makeshift shelters while the remaining 19 per cent were collective centres. The assessment, which relied on data collected through interviews with Key Informants (KIs), highlighted that 82 per cent of the sites had some type of site committee and 70 per cent had women involved either in the management of the site, the distribution of aid or in specific women’s committees. According to KIs, access to sufficient food and adequate drinking water was absent or extremely limited at 87 and 51 per cent of the sites, respectively. Nearly all sites (95 per cent) had no source of lighting, and 36 per cent had people staying in the open without shelter. Over 60 per cent of KIs reported that none of the households have had access to adequate hygiene items. Overall, the five most critical needs highlighted by residents across all sites were food, shelter, household items, personal hygiene supplies and latrines, with the most urgent NFIs being clothing, bedding items and washing supplies.

• Gender-based violence (GBV) is surging, according to UNFPA, with women and girls in overcrowded and poorly lit shelters facing increasing denial of access to resources within households and heightened vulnerability to emotional and physical violence, including sexual exploitation and abuse. The lack of privacy and safe spaces, hygiene facilities and menstrual supplies only exacerbates risks and further undermines safety and dignity, with hygiene-related infections being on the rise. In December, over 37,000 people received specialized GBV services across Gaza, including Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), case management, safety and legal aid. UNFPA also distributed 1,248 dignity kits and a two-month supply of menstrual pads to 27,600 women and girls, as well as 5,202 hygiene kits to frontline professionals, including health and social workers, and youth volunteers.
• Between 1 and 13 January, out of 204 planned aid movements requiring coordination with Israeli authorities across the Gaza Strip, 41 per cent (83) were facilitated, 34 per cent (70) were denied, 15 per cent (31) were interfered with or initially agreed to but then faced impediments, and ten per cent (20) were cancelled by the organizers due to logistical and security challenges. Movements facing impediments were accomplished either partially or not at all. Of the coordinated movements, 32 needed to cross from southern Gaza through the Israeli military-controlled checkpoints on Al Rashid or Salah ad Din roads to areas north of Wadi Gaza (including both North Gaza and Gaza governorates); of these, only 28 per cent (nine) were facilitated, 38 per cent (12) were denied, 22 per cent (seven) faced impediments, and 12 per cent (four) were cancelled. These include ten attempts to reach the besieged area in North Gaza, of which eight were denied and two were withdrawn. Coordinated aid missions to areas in the Rafah governorate, where there has been an ongoing Israeli military operation since early May, have faced similar challenges. Fifteen out of 22 planned movements submitted to the Israeli authorities to access Rafah governorate between 1 and 13 January were denied, four were facilitated, and two were initially agreed to, but faced impediments. This excludes 16 coordinated movements to Kerem Shalom crossing, of which 56 per cent (nine) were facilitated, 12 per cent (two) were impeded, and 31 per cent (five) were cancelled.
• A study published by the medical journal The Lancet estimates that between 7 October 2023 and 30 June 2024, a total of 64,260 people died due to traumatic injury in Gaza, representing 2.9 per cent of Gaza’s pre-conflict population, or one in 35 inhabitants. This mortality rate is 41 per cent higher than the one estimated by MoH during the same timeframe, which stood at 37,877 deaths. The study also infers that, while the official MoH estimate as of 6 October 2024 stood at 41,909 deaths, “assuming that the level of under-reporting of 41 per cent continued from July to October 2024, it is plausible that the true figure now exceeds 70,000.” Further details on the methodology and additional findings can be found in the report.

Funding

• As of 14 January 2025, Member States have disbursed approximately US$123.2 million out of the $4.07 billion (three 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 90 per cent of the requested funds are for the humanitarian response in Gaza, with just over 10 per cent for the West Bank. Moreover, during December 2024, the oPt Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed 111 ongoing projects, totalling $82.2 million, to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (86 per cent) and the West Bank (14 per cent). These include 64 projects implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 34 by national NGOs and 13 by UN agencies. Of the 77 projects implemented by INGOs or the UN, 46 are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. For more information, please see OCHA’s Financial Tracking Service webpage and the oPt Humanitarian Fund webpage.

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13 januari 2025

938.

 This is taken from the Hind Rajab Foundation Site

13 januari 2025

The Hind Rajab Foundation focuses on offensive legal action against perpetrators, accomplices and inciters of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Palestine. We also  invest in awareness campaigns to challenge Israeli impunity and an honor to memory of the victims. The Hind Rajab Founadation is devoted to breaking the cycle of Israeli impunity and honoring the memory of Hind Rajab and all those who have perished in the Gaza genocide. We are driven by a profound commitment to justice, seeking to hold perpetrators accountable and ensuring that the stories of the victims are never lost to history. Through our efforts, we aim to build a world where such tragedies are not only remembered but prevented, fostering a future rooted in accountability, dignity, and justice for all.    

Hind's Story

Hind Rajab, was a five-year-old Palestinian girl, in Gaza. As her family sought to escape the relentless bombardment in Tel al-Hawa, their car was mercilessly targeted by an Israeli tank in an attack that can only be described as a war crime. Hind survived the initial barrage, only to be left alone in the blood-soaked car, surrounded by the bodies of her loved ones. Her desperate cries for help, as she begged for rescue on the phone with emergency services, moved hearts around the world. The ambulance that was sent to save her, after hours of negotiation, was obliterated by the Israeli army, ensuring that Hind's life was cruelly and deliberately extinguished.

​This horrific act is not an isolated incident but part of a systematic and intentional campaign of extermination targeting Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Hind's death stands as a damning indictment of the genocidal killers who perpetrate these atrocities with impunity. The Hind Rajab Foundation is committed to honoring her memory by holding these perpetrators accountable and shining a light on the truth of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. We refuse to let Hind's story be forgotten or dismissed; Her story is that of all the victims of this genocide.

About Us

 

The Hind Rajab Foundation is a branch of the March 30 Movement mainly 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.

Our core mission is to actively pursue legal action against those responsible for these atrocities, including perpetrators, accomplices, and inciters of violence against Palestinians. Through offensive litigation, we aim to hold these actors accountable in both international and national courts, challenging the culture of impunity that has allowed such crimes to persist.

Beyond our legal efforts, we are committed to raising global awareness about the ongoing injustices faced by Palestinians. Our campaigns aim to confront and dismantle the narratives that obscure the reality of these crimes, ensuring that the voices of the victims are heard and remembered.

The Hind Rajab Foundation is resolute in its pursuit of a future where accountability prevails, and justice is not merely an aspiration but a tangible reality. We stand firm in our commitment to ending Israeli impunity, achieving justice, and ensuring that the legacy of those lost is honored.

Ghassan Alian Head of COGAT is responsible for the weaponizing of famine in Gaza.

Major General Ghassan Alian, Head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), is currently in Rome, Italy. The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has filed cases with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and Italian authorities, urging his immediate arrest for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Alian, who publicly referred to Palestinians in Gaza as "human animals," has no immunity from prosecution. Time is of the essence to ensure accountability for his actions.

Hind Rajab Foundation Files Legal Complaint Against Israeli Sniper Boaz Ben David in Sweden

9/1/2025

​Stockholm- Sweden - The Hind Rajab Foundation has taken another significant step in its quest for justice by filing a legal complaint against Boaz Ben David, an Israeli sniper from the 932 Battalion of the Nahal Brigade. The complaint, filed with Swedish authorities, accuses Ben David of committing war crimes, crimes against humanity, and possible acts of genocide during the recent military operations in Gaza. This move follows growing international calls to hold perpetrators of grave crimes accountable, ensuring justice for victims of the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Alert: Hind Rajab Foundation Files Complaint Against Lieutenant Amit Nechmya, Now Suspected of Fleeing Justice

6/1/2025

Buenos Aires- Argentina
On January 2, 2025, the Hind Rajab Foundation filed a legal case against Lieutenant Amit Nechmya, a platoon commander in the Latak Platoon of the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion (435). Led by our lawyer Rodolfo Yanzón in Argentina, the case charges Nechmya with war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

Breaking: Brazilian Court Orders Police to Act on Israeli War Crimes Suspect Following HRF Complaint

3/1/2025

Brasilia/Brasil
In a historic legal development, Brazilian authorities have taken decisive action on a criminal complaint filed a week ago by the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) against an Israeli soldier currently in Brazil on tourism. The Federal Court of the Federal District, following the Federal Prosecutor’s agreement, has issued an urgent order for the police to investigate and take action against the suspect, marking a pivotal step toward accountability for crimes committed in Gaza.

From a Year of Impunity to a Year of Justice

31/12/2024

On December 31, 2023, Omri Nir, a soldier in the Israeli Defense Forces' Combat Engineering Battalion 601, posted a photo on Instagram where he is seen posing inside a house in Gaza—a house that once belonged to a Palestinian family killed or displaced during Israel's genocide. The photo, a chilling display of impunity, was meant to be a personal trophy of sorts, showcasing his role in the Gaza genocide.
Fast forward to this year, as Omri Nir travels to Thailand to celebrate New Year’s Eve once again, the world looks very different for him. The Hind Rajab Foundation, committed to bringing perpetrators of war crimes to justice, has detected his presence in Thailand and acted decisively.

Hind Rajab Foundation Files Cases and Demands Immediate Arrest of Israeli War Criminal Saar Hirshoren in Argentina and Chile, Targets Entire 749 Combat Engineering Battalion at the ICC

26/12/2024

Buenos Aires/Argentina
Santiago/Chile
The Hague/ The Netherlands

The Hind Rajab Foundation has initiated legal actions in Argentina and Chile against Saar Hirshoren, a member of Israel's 749 Combat Engineering Battalion who is currently present there. Mr. Hirshoren is accountable for war crimes committed in Gaza, the HRF is demanding his immediate arrest. Simultaneously, a comprehensive complaint has been filed with the International Criminal Court (ICC) targeting the entire battalion and its leadership for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Hind Rajab Foundation: Legal Pursuit of Israeli War Criminal in Thailand

20/12/2024

The Hind Rajab Foundation has formally filed a detailed complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israeli war criminal Lidor Kandalker, demanding his immediate arrest and prosecution. Kandalker, currently in Thailand, is a member of the Rovait Gaesh (Volcano Company), a combat engineering unit notorious for the systematic and deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza.
Key evidence submitted to the ICC includes a video in which Kandalker is seen counting down before detonating explosives that destroy a civilian home in Gaza. The footage captures him celebrating with his comrades afterward, boasting about the destruction. This shocking display underscores his direct involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In addition to filing the ICC complaint, the Hind Rajab Foundation has notified Thai authorities, including the police, the Ministry of Justice, and the Thai Embassy in The Hague. The foundation has urged them to apprehend Kandalker, prevent his escape, and fulfill their international obligations to ensure accountability for his crimes.

Israeli Soldier Responsible for the Death of a Palestinian Civilian Located in Colombo, Sri Lanka: Hind Rajab Foundation Files Urgent Complaint. Demands Arrest and Prosecution

17/12/2024

​Colombo- Sri Lanka,
The Hind Rajab Foundation has located Gal Ferenbook, an Israeli soldier responsible for the death of a Palestinian civilian and the degrading treatment of their body, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Foundation has formally demanded that Sri Lankan authorities arrest him immediately and cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC). A formal complaint has also been submitted to the ICC, and the case has been communicated to Interpol to issue an international Red Notice for his apprehension.

Hind Rajab Foundation Files Urgent Legal Complaint in France Against Israeli Soldier for Acts of Torture and War Crimes

6/12/2024

December 6, 2024 – The Hind Rajab Foundation is filing an urgent legal complaint in France against Roi Hakimi, an Israeli soldier implicated in acts of torture and enforced disappearances during the recent Israeli assault on Gaza. Mr. Hakimi is currently on a tourism visit in France.

Hind Rajab Foundation Urges Belgium to Deny Accreditation to Moshe Tetro Amid ICC Complaint

3/12/2024

The Hind Rajab Foundation, in collaboration with the March 30 Movement, has taken a firm stance against the appointment of Colonel Moshe Tetro as Israel’s military attaché to Belgium. Citing his direct involvement in war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide during his tenure as the head of the Coordination and Liaison Administration for the Gaza Strip (CLA), the foundation is calling on the Belgian government to deny his accreditation. The Hind Rajab Foundation has also filed a detailed complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC), demanding immediate action against Tetro.

​The Hind Rajab Foundation
Boulevard Louis Mettewie 46
1080 Brussels, Belgium
Registered Non-Profit under Belgian law
Registration number: 1013306540

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OSPACA NIEUWSDIENST 13

DEEL  I                                                                                                                

 

DE BEER IS LOS !!                                                                   

- Palestine Chronicle October 11, 2024:   ‘Unprecedented’ – Rights Group Files Case against 1,000 Israeli Soldiers for War Crimes in Gaza

The “meticulously collected evidence demonstrates the extent of their participation in violations of international law”

A Belgium-based rights group, the HindRajab Foundation, has filed “an unprecedented and historical complaint” with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against 1,000 Israeli soldiers for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in the Gaza Strip. “These individuals, all of whom have been identified by name, are accused of participating in systematic attacks against civilians during the ongoing genocide”, the organization, affiliated with the March 30 Movement, said in a statement this week.

The HindRalabfoundation just filed a complaint against 1,000 Israeli soldiers, supported by over 8,000 pieces of evidence, this case is a game changer in the efforts for ending Israeli impunity and achieving JusticeforGaza. hindrajabfoundation.org/perpetrators/. “This complaint, supported by over 8000 pieces of verifiable evidence – including video's, audio recordings, forensic reports, and social media documentation – demonstrates the soldiers’ direct involvement in these atrocities”, the organization explained. “All the named soldiers were located in Gaza during the genocidal assault, and the evidence reveals of international law”, it added. The foundation is named after the six-year-old Hind Rajab who was killed, along with six of her family members and two paramedics, by Israeli forces in Gaza. The meticulously collected evidence demonstrates the extent of this participations in violations of international law. Among the targeted soldiers, who have all been “identified individually” are high-ranking officers and commanders responsible for planning and executing military operations in Gaza. In addition, numerous individuals with dual citizenship, including 12 from France, 12 from the United States, 4 from Canada, 3 from the United Kingdom, and 2 from the Netherlands, as well as several soldiers “who have openly boasted about their war crimes on social media, sharing photos and videos of their participation in the destruction and occupation of Palestinian homes and properties.” “By meticulously identifying the perpetrators and detailing their crimes, we are establishing a historical record that will ensure the individuals responsible are remembered ans held accountable”, the organization stated.

Call for Arrest, Prosecution

“The submission of this complaint represents a significant  moment in the fight for justice. We honor the memory of Hind Rajab and the countless victims who have perished in the ongoing genocide”, the group emphasized. “Their stories will not be forgotten, and their voices will be heard through our persistent legal action. The organization called on every country linked to the dual nationals named in the complaint “to immediately arrest and prosecute these individuals for their involvement in war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity”. 

“We call on the international community to not only support this complaint but to actively pursue the prosecution and arrest of the accused, upholding the principles of international law and justice”, the rights group said.

 

- Palestine Cronicle January 6, 2025:  ‘War Crimes in Gaza – Around 50 Cases Filed against Israeli Soldiers Worldwide

 The “Israeli newspaper Haaretz said cases have been filed in South Africa, Sri Lanka, Belgium, France, and Brazil against Israeli soldiers”

Pro-Palestinian organizations have filed 50 complaints in courts around the world against Israeli soldiers for committing war crimes in the Gaza Strip, according to Israel´s public broadcaster KAN. “About 50 complaints have been filed against reserve soldiers, 10 of which have been investigated without any arrests recorded so far, KAN, cited by the Anadolu News Agency, reported. KAN did not name these countries. However, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz said cases have been filed in South Africa, Sri Lanka, Belgium, France and Brazil against Israeli soldiers. “No official instructions have been issued to ban travel to specific countries, but special cases are being dealt with cautiously”, KAN reportedly added.

‘High Risk Trips’

According to the channel, Israeli security authorities have recommended re-evaluating “high-risk” trips. “Assessing legal risks has become an essential part of the decision-making process, with directives issued to reduce  on social networks”, it added. Haaretz reported that active-duty soldiers “must have their travel destinations approved by senior commanders. However, the report added, “the Military Advocate General´s Corps has expressed concern over the lack of oversight for reservists.” Citing the army´s information security department, KAN said Israeli soldiers publish nearly one million posts every day on social media platforms that document their involvement in war crimes in Gaza, according to Anadolu.

Soldier Flees Brazil

On Sunday, an Israeli soldier under investigation for alleged war crimes committed in Gaza, reportedly fled Brazil to avoid arrest. The incident follows a federal court ruling Brazil to avoid arrest. The incident follows a federal court ruling in Brazil ordering the investigation of the soldier, based on charges brought by the Belgian-based human rights organization, the Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF).

Israeli Soldier Flees Brazil amid War Crimes investigation

This Israeli soldier facing war crimes charges related to the Gaza genocide has fled Brazil to avoid arrest, highlighting the growing possibility of international legal action against Israeli personal involved. The soldier who was on vacation in Brazil, is accused of participating in massive demolitions of civilian homes in Gaza “during a systematic campaign of destruction”. “These acts are part of a broader effort to impose unbearable living conditions on Palestinian civilians, constituting genocide and crimes against humanity under international law”, the HRF said in a statement on Friday. The evidence presented includes video footage, geolocation data, and photographs showing the suspect ‘personally planting explosives and participating in the destruction of entire neighborhoods”. These materials prove beyond doubt the suspect´s direct involvement in these heinous acts’, said the organization.

Government Involvement

The HRF said on Sunday that the Israeli army radio confirmed that the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs “has facilitated Yuval Vagdani´s escape from Brazil.” Citing a post from the army radio, the HRF said the intervention was “obstructing justice and undermining accountability for war crimes.” “Brazil and the global community must take a firm stand against this blatant evasion. Justice cannot be selective or optional. War criminals must be held accountable”, stressed the organization.

According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, “a joint task force of the Military Advocate General´s Corps, the Foreign Ministry, the National Security Council and the Shin Bet is now analyzing risks tot soldiers in various countries and monitoring potential investigations, like the one launched in Brazil.”

‘Unprecedented Complaint’

Last October, the HRF filed “an unprecedented and historical complaint” with the International Criminal Court (ICC) against 1,000 Israeli soldiers for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in the Gaza Strip. “This complaint, supported by over 8,000 pieces of verifiable evidence – including videos, audio recordings, forensic reports and social media documentation – demonstrates the soldiers’ direct involvement in the these atrocities”, the organization explained. “All of the named soldiers were located in Gaza during the genocidal assault, and the evidence reveals their participation in violations of international law”, it added.

13 januari 2025

Today's headlines

‘Rain doesn’t last forever, habibi’: A long winter night in a tent in Gaza

In Gaza, survival is a daily act of defiance. Finding moments of laughter and warmth in a tent battered by rain is nothing short of a miracle.

Despite repression, the campus movement for Palestine remains strong

Attacks on Dr. Tiffany Willoughby-Herard at the University of California Irvine reflect the repression facing the Palestine campus movement across the country. But like other liberation movements before, activists remain strong and need our support.

936.

12 januari 2024

Today's headlines

From Gaza to California: the flames that connect us all

The fires burning in Palestine and Los Angeles today are symptoms of the same disease: a system that values conquest over conservation, profit over people, and expansion over existence.

In Gaza, a child’s simple, impossible wish

All young Omar wanted for his birthday was for his father to come home with some meat for a simple celebratory meal. Almost a year later, his father is still missing after being abducted by Israel, and his birthday wish is yet to come true.

935.

12 januari 2024

Biden fuels Israel’s genocide with $8B in aid as Trump prepares his return

Over the past week, the Biden Administration announced it would send an additional $8 billion in military equipment to Israel. Our reporting covers the devastating impact these weapons shipments have on Gaza, where civilians are enduring relentless Israeli airstrikes, widespread hunger from severe shortages of food, and a public health system that has essentially collapsed, among other indignities caused by the genocidal Israeli war. With both the outgoing and incoming U.S. presidential administrations committed to supporting the Israeli government’s use of military force in Gaza and across the region, there is little expectation that the international community will be able or willing to intervene and enforce de-escalation. There are some bright spots, however, as Ireland officially joined South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice, charging Israel with committing genocide.

In the U.S., we are hurtling toward Donald Trump’s second term in office. In his latest public statements, Trump doubled down on his hostility toward Palestinian rights, threatening to undermine advocacy efforts and to punish Palestinians unless hostages in Gaza are released prior to his inauguration on January 20. Michael Arria warned in November that Trump’s renewed push to stigmatize dissent, coupled with his track record of targeting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, signals an even harsher climate for activists and nonprofits ahead.

Your ongoing support fortifies our ability to expose injustice, elevate marginalized voices, and advocate for the fundamental rights and dignity of Palestinians. Together, we will remain steadfast in our commitment to deliver the critical news and analysis you rely on, without fear or favor.

David Reed, Publisher

Must Read: Tensions rise in the West Bank as PA ‘siege’ on Jenin continues

Israeli leaders are calling for ‘Gaza-like’ operations in the West Bank, and to cut all ties with the PA.

Catch-up

= Residents of Jabalia refugee camp recount their harrowing experience during the latest Israeli assault on northern Gaza.

= The Biden Administration has done more damage to the international norms of humanitarian law and food security than any other U.S. government in recent history.

= It has been one week since the Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, was detained by Israeli forces. Reports indicate he is being held inside a notorious torture facility, but Israeli officials won’t confirm where he is.

= There are still a lot of questions to answer about a recent car attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people, but that hasn’t stopped the media and lawmakers from declaring the return of “radical Islam” — and demanding draconian policies in response.

= The Biden administration is attempting to foster a fake dispute over famine numbers in Gaza to obscure the reality of genocide.

= A recent Haaretz editorial claimed, “Israel Is Losing Its Humanity in Gaza,” but this ignores the brutal history of the Zionist colonization of Palestine, of which the Gaza genocide is just the latest chapter.

= With less than two weeks left in his administration, the Biden White House has notified Congress of a new $8 billion arms deal with Israel. The sale comes as multiple human rights organizations report Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

= Chef Fadi Kattan’s new Toronto restaurant, Louf, offers creative haute cuisine from Palestine and has ambitions that go far beyond serving food.

= Israeli lawmakers are urging the military to intensify the genocide in Gaza by destroying any possible sources of energy, food, and water in the territory.

= For over one year, Germany has been actively participating in the killing and dehumanization of Palestinians by providing political, financial, military, and legal support to Israel. Germany’s complicity in Israel’s atrocities must stop.

= In less than a month, Joe Biden’s presidency will be over, and his legacy will be cemented as one of genocide. With Trump on the way in, it’s becoming more clear what his second term will look like for Palestine. And it’s not going to be good.

= The shame of Israel’s genocide in Gaza will haunt the international moral conscience and the Israeli psyche for the coming century. Though Israelis, accustomed to the perpetual shaming of Germany, are unprepared for the shame they must now confront.

934.

11 januari 2025

What a new Lebanon might mean for Palestinians and the region

Joseph Aoun's election this week as Lebanon's new president reflects a new push toward a unified Lebanon. As the ceasefire time frame between Israel and Hezbollah ends there are signs Lebanon will be more capable of resisting Israeli aggression.

934A.

10 januari 2025

We’re entering an important phase in our struggle for holding Israeli war criminals accountable. Israeli soldiers are increasingly concerned that they could face arrest for war crimes committed in Gaza.

Palestinian organizations like the Hind Rajab Foundation have collected evidence of war crimes and filed complaints against them in several countries, seeking legal action under international law.

While the Israeli government has downplayed these concerns, the threat of prosecution is real for those who participated in the genocide in Gaza.

On January 7, reports emerged that an Israeli reservist was forced to leave Brazil after a federal judge in Salvador opened an investigation into allegations of war crimes.

The case in Brazil has highlighted the potential vulnerability of individual soldiers. Military officials have warned that even personal social media activity could lead to legal challenges, potentially subjecting soldiers to arrest abroad.

So far, complaints have been filed in countries like South Africa, Sri Lanka, Belgium, France, and Brazil, with Israel warning soldiers traveling abroad that they could face detention.

 

Meanwhile, the U.S. government isn’t just bankrolling genocide — it’s actively targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Yesterday, the House voted to sanction ICC officials for issuing an arrest warrant against Netanyahu.

The vote reflects mounting fears among genocide supporters in Congress about the incoming wave of arrest warrants and prosecution initiatives to hold Israeli war criminals accountable – and the risk of them reaching the U.S. next.

This is just one of many upcoming votes on whether the U.S. holds Israel accountable, or whether it continues to enable Israel’s genocide and war crimes. It’s critical we show our representatives that we are watching.

Across the country, U.S. citizens who serve in the Israeli military are returning home to “brag” about their despicable acts of violence in Gaza.

Last week, the Jewish Federation of St. Louis and the Jewish Community Center of St. Louis planned to host a talk with Myles Rosenblum, an Israeli "lone soldier" serving in the Israeli Defense Forces’ Paratroopers 101. Myles, a St. Louis native, was set to be hailed as a hero upon his return.

However, the community of St. Louis made it clear that they would not tolerate the glorification of individuals involved in war crimes.

Hundreds of calls flooded the event organizers, demanding that the city refuse to provide a platform for those who support genocide. The event was swiftly canceled.

This is a powerful example of how we stand resolute in holding genocide supporters accountable.

There is no refuge for those who commit or endorse such atrocities—we will never allow them to evade justice.

Find out if there are similar upcoming events in your community that glorify Israel’s war crimes, and organize your neighbors to take action. Let us know if you do.

 

Alia El-Assar
Director of Media Organizing
Adalah Justice Project

Adalah Justice Project is a Palestinian-led advocacy organization based in the U.S. that builds cross-movement coalitions to achieve collective liberation. Our work is rooted in the conviction that drawing the linkages between US policy abroad and repressive state practices at home is crucial to shifting the balance of po

933.

10 januari 2025

We call on you to take immediate action to pressure the repressive Moroccan authorities to immediately release Moroccan human rights defender and agricultural engineer Ismail Lghazaoui, who is unjustly imprisoned for exercising his constitutional right to freedom of expression. His tireless advocacy for Palestinian rights has made him a target of repression by the authoritarian Moroccan regime, which is complicit in Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people through its shameful normalization and military alliance with apartheid Israel.
 

Ismail’s crime? Calling for protests against the docking of ships carrying American military equipment for Israel’s genocidal forces—ships that were denied entry by the Spanish state but welcomed by Moroccan ports.
 

On December 10, International Human Rights Day, Ismail was sentenced to a year in prison, following an unfair trial aimed at silencing voices of dissent against the Moroccan regime’s complicity in Israeli apartheid and genocide. His next appeal session is scheduled for January 15, 2025, it is crucial to intensify our pressure now.

   

We must not remain silent while human rights defenders like Ismail are criminalized for standing up against complicity in genocide. His detention is part of a broader crackdown by the Moroccan regime on activists who reject normalization with Israel and stand in solidarity with Palestine.

 

The absolute majority of the people of Morocco have steadely supported the Palestinian liberation struggle

Take Action Now:
 

1. Join the postcard initiative of our Moroccan BDS partners: Download the postcard calling for Ismail’s release. Send it by post, as an email, or via social media to Moroccan embassies worldwide, demanding his immediate freedom and an end to the repression of Palestine supporters.
2. Find your own ways to protest: send petitions, make calls or organize protests in front of Moroccan embassies to
   demand Ismail’s immediate release and an end to Morocco’s complicity in Israel’s atrocity crimes.
3. Let’s make more noise about Ismail — and all prisoners of conscience arrested for defending Palestinian human rights and protesting against complicity in genocide!

932.

10 januari 2025

We know we’ve been sending a lot of fundraising emails over the last few weeks, so thank you for bearing with us. It’s all been for a good reason.

Because of your support, we now have the funds to:

• Hire and retain experienced Palestinian organizers with deep roots in a range of justice movements
• Research and identify winnable local campaigns at the city and state level
• Develop and provide political education on the Palestinian freedom movement and Palestinian history
• Investigate and pursue ways to challenge illegitimate “lawfare” attacks on our movement
• Provide intersectional Palestinian leadership where it’s needed most

Thank you for being a vital part of our mission to end the genocide in Gaza!

Sandra Tamari

931.

10 januari 2025

‘We all became ghosts’: survivors recount Israel’s deadly siege of Jabalia refugee camp

Residents of Jabalia refugee camp recount their harrowing experience during the latest Israeli assault on northern Gaza.

The Biden administration’s shameful weaponization of food aid

The Biden Administration has done more damage to the international norms of humanitarian law and food security than any other U.S. government in recent history.

930.

10 januari 2025

Trump op ramkoers met Nederland over sancties tegen Strafhof

Voor de VS gelden die als ongewenst: ze ontnemen de VS en zijn bondgenoten de vrijheid om naar eigen inzicht militair op te treden.

Volgens Israel Hayom zal het Strafhof door de VS worden aangemerkt als ‘bedreiging voor Amerikaanse belangen’. Daarmee wordt de weg vrijgemaakt voor een behandeling vergelijkbaar met die van terroristische organisaties.

Nederlandse verantwoordelijkheid
Als gastland van het Strafhof heeft Nederland de bindende verplichting om het Hof tegen de Amerikaanse bedreiging te beschermen. Die verplichting is vastgelegd in het zogenoemde Zetelverdrag, waarin staat dat Nederland 'doeltreffende en adequate maatregelen' moet treffen die nodig zijn om het Strafhof, zijn medewerkers en zijn functioneren te beschermen.

De regering heeft nog elf dagen om maatregelen te treffen om de Amerikaanse sancties te neutraliseren. Het is de taak van de Tweede Kamer te controleren of dit tijdig en afdoende gebeurt.

Lees hier het hele artikel

The Rights Forum Podcast | Aflevering 4

NooitMeerIsNu | Ambtenaren delen oproep aan kabinet uit op 4 grote stations

Maandag 13 januari zijn ambtenaren en oud-diplomaten in de ochtendspits te vinden op de vier grote stations waar ze ansichtkaarten uitdelen aan het publiek met een oproep aan premier Schoof om de Nederlandse beleidslijn op Gaza te herzien.

Zij doen dit in gezelschap en met de steun van onder andere mensenrechtenadvocaat Liesbeth Zegveld en Een Ander Joods Geluid-voorzitter Jaap Hamburger (beide op Amsterdam CS), voorzitter van het bestuur van The Rights Forum Berber van der Woude, directeur van Oxfam-NOVIB Michiel Servaes en Save the Children-directeur Pim Kraan (alle drie op Den Haag CS).

De actie vindt plaats op Amsterdam CS, Urecht CS, Rotterdam CS en Den Haag CS van 08.00 uur tot 09.30 uur.

De tragedie van Samih al-Asali

Op de avond van 1 oktober 2024 ging de 38-jarige Palestijn Samih al-Asali op weg naar de moskee in de Palestijnse stad Al-Ariha (Jericho), zich niet bewust van wat hem boven het hoofd hing. Een paar minuten later was hij dood, getroffen door een brokstuk van een uit Iran afgeschoten raket. Zijn verhaal is het tragische voorbeeld van hoe de Israëlische campagne Palestijnen op tal van manieren treft.

Lex Bolhmeijer in gesprek met Berber van der Woude

Campagne | Dokter Hussam Abu Safiya moet vrij!

Demonstraties
• Sit-in rijksambtenaren op donderdag 16.01 in Den Haag, Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken, Rijnstraat 8 (12.00 uur)
• Demonstratie voor Palestina op donderdag 16.01 in Zaandam, Stationsplein (17.30 uur)
• Sit-in Utrecht for Palestine op donderdag 16.01, Station Utrecht Centraal, centrumzijde (18.00 uur)

929.

9 januari 2025

Action Alert: Urgent Evacuation of Americans Trapped in Gaza

Israel’s genocide in Gaza has been ongoing for nearly 500 days, and U.S. citizens and their immediate relatives remain trapped within the Gaza Strip. Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action) is calling on the Biden Administration and Congress to act urgently to ensure the safety of these individuals before the end of this administration, just as they would for Americans trapped in any other conflict zone across the world.

complicicaused. 

928.

9 januari 2025

Humanitarian Situation Update #254
West Bank

A two-storey residential building demolished by its Palestinian owners due to the lack of an Israeli-issued building permit, in Silwan, East Jerusalem. Six households, comprising 39 people were displaced. 5 January 2025. Photo: OCHA.

Key Highlights

 

• Three Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces and three Israeli settlers were killed by armed Palestinians in the West Bank. 
• About 2,000 families have been displaced from Jenin refugee camp since the operation by Palestinian forces began in early December 2024, UNRWA estimates, while the remaining residents are struggling to meet basic needs amid access restrictions. 
• In the first week of 2025, Israeli settlers injured 18 Palestinians across the West Bank, including nine in Silwad village in Ramallah governorate.
• More than 50 Palestinians were displaced by home demolitions across the West Bank, the majority in Silwan in East Jerusalem.  

Latest Developments (after 6 January 2025)

 

• According to initial information, five Palestinians, including at least three children aged eight, 10 and 17 years, were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Tammun, in Tubas, on 7 and 8 January, which also resulted in significant damage. Another Palestinian was shot and killed by Israeli forces who surrounded his house in Talluza, in Nablus, on 7 January.   

Humanitarian Developments (31 December 2024 – 6 January 2025)

 

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed three Palestinians, including one child, and injured 38 others, including six children, across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Armed Palestinians shot and killed three Israeli settlers and injured eight others near Qalqiliya. Three Palestinians, including one child and a member of Palestinian forces, were killed in Jenin refugee camp within the context of the ongoing operation by Palestinian forces. For more information on casualties and further breakdowns of data, please see the monthly West Bank Snapshot. 
• Incidents resulting in fatalities during the reporting period include:  
  • On 3 January, Israeli forces shot and killed an 18-year-old Palestinian male and injured seven others during a raid in Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, that involved armed clashes with Palestinians who reportedly used explosive devices. 
  • On 3 January, three Palestinians were killed in Jenin refugee camp: a man and his 14-year-old son, where it remains disputed whether they were killed by Palestinian forces or armed Palestinians; and a member of Palestinian forces who was killed in unclear circumstances. Moreover, the man’s 10-year-old daughter sustained a serious neck injury from live ammunition (see below for more information on the situation in Jenin refugee camp). 
  • On 5 January, Israeli forces shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian boy during a raid in Askar refugee camp in Nablus that involved clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian stone throwers. 
  • On 5 January, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in Meithalun village, south of Jenin, after he stepped out of his house that was surrounded by Israeli forces.  According to community sources, he was left on the ground, bleeding, without medical attention for around two hours. His body has since been withheld by Israeli forces. Between 7 October 2023 and 6 January 2025, OCHA documented 152 Palestinians from the West Bank whose bodies were withheld by Israeli forces, of whom five were subsequently handed over and 147 remain withheld. 
  • On 6 January, armed Palestinians shot and killed three Israeli settlers and injured eight others in an attack targeting a bus and two cars on Route 55, near Al Funduq village in Qalqiliya. Israeli forces subsequently carried out search operations and closed roads and village entrances in the surrounding area. 

• In a recent legal analysis, Diakonia stresses that the use of force against Palestinians in the West Bank has intensified since 7 October 2023, arguing that: “While Israel appears to be applying the more permissive rules on the conduct of hostilities to its use of force in the West Bank …Israel as the occupying power in effective control of territory in the West Bank is bound by the more restrictive rules regulating use of force in law enforcement, emanating from international human rights law (IHRL).” Among other issues, Diakonia highlights the semi-daily raids into Palestinian communities, the use of heavy weaponry such as airstrikes, bulldozers and armoured vehicles, particularly in refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarm and Tubas, and the resultant widespread destruction of infrastructure, significant civilian casualties and displacement. Emphasizing that Israel’s use of force in the West Bank should comply with the law enforcement framework, the analysis notes that: “[t]here are insufficient grounds to hold that armed individuals and groups in the West Bank against whom Israel is using force are part of the same organisational hierarchy as the organised armed groups in the Gaza Strip….[and] the level of organisation of armed actors in the West Bank and the intensity  of confrontations between them and Israeli forces do not seem to meet the threshold required to establish a separate non-international armed conflict (NIAC).”
• Since the onset of the operation by Palestinian forces in Jenin refugee camp on 5 December 2024, access to the camp has been heavily restricted. Palestinian forces have engaged in clashes with armed Palestinians and detained 247 Palestinians, according to official sources cited in the media. In total, 14 Palestinians have been killed, including three children, a female journalist and three other bystanders, six members of Palestinian forces and one armed Palestinian. UNRWA estimates that about 650 families, or 3,400 people, currently remain in the camp and face dire conditions, with over 2,000 families displaced to Jenin city and surrounding villages. Key humanitarian concerns include:  
  • Residents have been struggling to meet basic needs, supermarkets are running out of supplies, and access to water and electricity has been minimal. The inability to work or access workplaces has also rendered residents without the financial means to support their families or buy food.
  • The four UNRWA schools in the camp have been closed since 9 December 2024, resulting in the loss of more than 20 learning days for 1,600 students. Repeated and long-term incursions by Israeli forces over the past two years have already affected the mental health of camp residents, particularly children.
  • A power outage led to the spoilage of approximately 1,600 vials of insulin in UNRWA’s health clinic, which has been non-operational since the operation began. UNRWA offered camp residents health services five days a week at the nearby Qabatiya health center, but they have largely been unable to visit it, likely due to access difficulties. As a result, about two-thirds of non-communicable disease patients have missed their appointments.
  • The UNRWA health center inside the camp was temporarily occupied by armed Palestinians until 31 December 2024. 
  • Property and infrastructural damage have been widespread, with reports of the burning of about 29 houses, damage to water tanks and generators, and substantial damage of the laboratory room in the UNRWA health centre when it was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade on the night of 31 December 2024.
  • The rehabilitation of water networks, which were significantly damaged by previous Israeli military operations, has been on hold, affecting access to water for over 60 per cent of the camp's population while several generators have reportedly been hit, causing intermittent electricity and communication outages in multiple neighbourhoods inside the camp.
  • UNRWA has been forced to suspend solid waste management operations, leading to the accumulation of solid waste and unhygienic conditions.

• During the reporting period, OCHA documented 14 incidents perpetrated by Israeli settlers that led to the injury of 18 Palestinians, mainly farmers, and the vandalism of houses and tents, and at least ten vehicles. Key incidents include: 
  • On 3 January, dozens of Israeli settlers, some armed and escorted by Israeli forces, attacked Palestinian farmers on the western outskirts of Silwad village, in the Ramallah governorate. According to local sources, Israeli settlers threw stones at the farmers, who responded by throwing stones, after which additional settlers arrived, fired live ammunition, physically assaulted Palestinians with clubs, sticks and stones, set fire to eight vehicles, and closed off the road between the village and the agricultural land. Nine Palestinian farmers were injured, all due to physical assault. The perpetrators are believed to be from a settlement outpost established in early December 2024 near Silwad; over the past month, OCHA documented eight incidents of attacks and intimidation by Israeli settlers believed to be from this outpost against Palestinians in the village. While the outpost was dismantled by Israeli forces on 2 January, it was rebuilt by Israeli settlers on the same day. 
  • On 3 January 2025, Israeli settlers physically assaulted with sticks and stones Palestinian farmers near Masafer Bani Na'im community, in the Hebron governorate. Six Palestinians were injured. Claiming that farmers had attempted to steal a settler's weapon, the settlers then called Israeli forces, who detained five of the injured Palestinians for four hours. The injured farmers subsequently received medical treatment at a hospital.
  • On 3 January, Palestinian herders from Burqa village, in Ramallah governorate, found that six of their tents, including three residential structures, had been destroyed, resulting in the displacement of four people. According to the herders, they believe that Israeli settlers from one of the outposts established near their community in mid-December 2024 had perpetrated the attack. 
  • On 6 January, Israeli settlers, believed to be from a newly established outpost near Bardala village in the northern Jordan Valley, raided the village and one of the settlers broke into a primary school, claiming that the students threw stones at them. When teachers and residents gathered to protest the attack, Israeli forces intervened, shot tear gas canisters and live ammunition into the air, and arrested one Palestinian. 

• During the reporting period, OCHA documented the demolition of 15 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank. These include 14 demolished due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain, and one on punitive grounds. As a result, 52 people were displaced, including 23 children, and at least 47 people were otherwise affected. The majority of displacement took place in one incident in Silwan, in East Jerusalem, on 5 January, when a Palestinian family was forced to self-demolish its two-storey residential building comprising six apartments for lacking building permits. As a result, an extended family of six households comprising 39 people, including 18 children and two people with disabilities, were displaced. The punitive demolition incident, the first such incident since November 2024, took place on 2 January when Israeli forces demolished a two-storey house in Bal'a town, in Tulkarm governorate, belonging to the family of a Palestinian prisoner accused of involvement in a fatal attack near Beit Lid village in Tulkarm, which resulted in the killing of an Israeli reserve soldier in November 2023. The demolition, which involved about 30 military jeeps and two bulldozers, displaced a family of eight people, including two girls. 
• According to a recent report by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the organization's mobile clinic in the H2 area of Hebron city was forced to cancel 7 out of 26 planned visits to the area between September and November 2024 due to movement restrictions and overall insecurity in the area. The mobile clinic, which provides primary healthcare and mental health support to residents twice per week, treats about 60 to 70 patients per day and has become a critical lifeline for Palestinian residents of H2, where access to healthcare has been seriously compromised due to movement restrictions, settler violence, and military incursions. According to MSF, these disruptions to health care have profound effects on the Palestinian residents, hampering access to vital healthcare services in an area heavily affected by movement restrictions and violence and where MSF teams are seeing a dramatic decline in children’s mental health and rising symptoms of trauma, including hyperactivity, bed-wetting, nightmares and academic struggle.

927.

9 januari 2025

AJP Action Blasts Biden Administration for Enabling Israel’s Genocide in Gaza

[WASHINGTON D.C., JANUARY 09, 2025] – Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJP Action) condemns President Joe Biden and members of his administration for continuing their unwavering support for Israel as it continues to commit genocide against Palestinians. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and even former Israeli military officials have recognized what the president and Israel have done as much. 

Despite this, White House spokesperson John Kirby on Wednesday had the audacity to claim that no genocide is occurring in Gaza. “The IDF isn’t waking up every day and putting their boots on the floor, saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to go kill some innocent people because they happen to be Palestinian,” Kirby stated, as videos have appeared online of Israeli soldiers doing exactly that. This flippant dismissal not only ignores mountains of evidence but underscores the administration's complicity in whitewashing war crimes.

But perhaps Kirby’s words are an admission in and of themselves: acknowledging genocide in Gaza would mean admitting the U.S. role in enabling it. The Biden administration has funneled more than $17.9 billion to Israel, including $8 billion just this month—financing the bombs, missiles, and bulldozers that have turned Gaza into a graveyard. By defending these actions, the administration isn’t just an accomplice; it’s a perpetrator. 

Admitting genocide in Gaza would mean admitting that the billions of dollars in military aid the U.S. provides to Israel have been used to annihilate an entire population. It would also expose them to criminal liability under international law. This is not just a failure of leadership; it is an active complicity. The administration’s refusal to condemn genocide in Gaza while rushing to arm Israel is a stain on Biden’s presidency that will never wash away.

“15 months of genocide have unfolded, and the Biden administration’s hands are covered in blood,” said Dr. Osama Abu Irshaid, Executive Director of AJP Action. “Their excuses don’t just ring hollow—they expose their complicity. History will not be kind to those who enabled this slaughter.”

In solidarity,
Americans for Justice in Palestine Action

926.

8 januari 2025

Right now, as Israel bombs hospitals, homes, universities, and UN schools in Gaza, Chevron's gas fields in the Mediterranean Sea keep their genocide machine running. Without Chevron's power supply, this devastation couldn't continue.

But on the weekend of January 31 - February 2, we're partnering with the BDS Movement to take coordinated action to stop them.

The numbers tell a clear story: In 2022 alone, Chevron funneled over $462 million in tax revenue to Israeli government coffers. That money fuels the bombing of Gaza and the violent displacement of Palestinians¹. The time for action is now.

RESOURCES FOR THE WEEKEND OF ACTION

Later this month (January 31-February 2), communities Worldwide are mobilizing to:

• Hit Chevron where it hurts: their profits and public image.  Picket a Chevron location, or join or organize a march between gas stations. Join our training on Sunday, January 26th  to learn how! The fight against colonialism and corporate destruction of our planet are intrinsically linked—Chevron has been sued for violence against Indigenous communities in over 30 countries, including 13 accusations of genocide².

 

925.

8 januari 2024

Humanitarian Situation Update #253
Gaza Strip

One of the makeshifts sites established in Gaza city in December 2024 to accommodate displaced families from North Gaza. Photo: OCHA

Key Highlights

 

• Child Protection partners are facing severe challenges in bringing needed winter clothing kits into Gaza; only 19,000 kits have been distributed out of 220,000 procured. 
• At least 369 aid workers, including 263 UNRWA staff, have been killed since October 2023, according to data received by the UN and its partners.
• Zero fuel reserves to operate electricity generators at hospitals across Gaza are placing the lives of patients and newborns at grave risk. 
• The UN attempted to reach the besieged area in North Gaza 165 times between 6 October and 31 December 2024, of which 149 attempts were denied by the Israeli authorities and 16 faced impediments.

Humanitarian Developments

 

• Israeli bombardment from the air, land and sea and detonation of residential buildings continues to be reported across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, and destruction of civilian infrastructure. Rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups towards Israel has also been reported. 
• Access to North Gaza governorate, which has been under intensified siege since 6 October 2024, continues to be largely denied by the Israeli authorities. From 6 October to 31 December 2024, the UN attempted to reach the area 165 times, of which 149 attempts were denied and 16 were allowed to proceed but faced impediments. Coordinated aid missions to areas in the Rafah governorate, where there has been an ongoing Israeli military operation since early May, have faced similar challenges. Overall, in 2024, the UN and its partners carried out 5,321 coordinated humanitarian movements across the Gaza Strip, including 3,707 in the south and 1,614 in the north. Of these, 48 per cent (North: 621, South: 1,936) were facilitated, 24 per cent (North: 398, South: 864) were denied, 19 per cent (North: 434, South: 567) were interfered with or initially agreed to but then faced impediments, and nine per cent (North: 161, South: 340) were cancelled by the organizers due to logistical and security challenges. Movements facing impediments were accomplished either partially or not at all.
• Between the afternoons of 30 December 2024 and 8 January 2025, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 395 Palestinians were killed and 936 were injured. Between 7 October 2023 and 8 January 2024, at least 45,936 Palestinians were killed and 109,274 were injured, according to MoH in Gaza. 
• Key deadly incidents reported between 1 and 4 January 2025 include: 
  • On 1 January, at about 02:00, 11 Palestinians, including children and women, were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Jabalya Al Balad in North Gaza.
  • On 2 January, at about 01:15, at least 11 Palestinians, including four children and three women, were reportedly killed and others injured when tents sheltering internally displaced people (IDP) were hit in Al Mawasi area in western Khan Younis. The attack reportedly caused a fire in the tents.
  • On 2 and 3 January, three journalists and media workers were reportedly killed in separate incidents in Gaza city and Deir al Balah. On 2 January, one journalist was reportedly killed in a drone airstrike in western Gaza city. On 3 January, three Palestinians, including a press photographer and her mother, were reportedly killed and eight others injured when two houses, including the photographer’s house, were hit in northern An Nuseirat refugee camp in Deir al Balah. On the same day, four Palestinians, including a journalist, were reportedly killed and others injured when the journalist’s family house was hit in Az Zawayda in Deir al Balah. 
  • On 4 January, at about 02:00, 11 Palestinians including seven children were reportedly killed and others injured when a house was hit in Ash Shuja’iyeh neighbourhood in eastern Gaza city. 
  • On 4 January, around 17:30, 11 Palestinians were reportedly killed and others remained missing when a house was hit in Ash Sheikh Redwan neighbourhood in northern Gaza city.
  • On 4 January, at about 02:40, five Palestinian men, reportedly belonging to a security company that protects aid convoys, were reportedly killed when an aid-security car was hit on Salah Ad-Deen Street in Khan Younis. 
  • On 4 January, at about 16:00, at least five Palestinians were reportedly killed, several others were injured, and some remain missing when an entire residential block, comprising several multi-story buildings, was hit and levelled in eastern Al Saraya yard in central Gaza city. 

• Between the afternoons of 31 December 2024 and 8 January 2025, three Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, according to the Israeli military. Between 7 October 2023 and 8 January 2025, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, more than 1,593 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed, the majority on 7 October 2023 and its immediate aftermath. This includes 393 soldiers killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation in October 2023. In addition, 2,535 Israeli soldiers were reported injured since the beginning of the ground operation. On 8 January, the Israeli military said that the body of one hostage was recovered from a tunnel in Rafah. As of 8 January, it is estimated that 99 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including hostages who have been declared dead and whose bodies are withheld in Gaza. 
• Between 1 and 3 January, the Israeli military issued three evacuation orders for parts of Gaza city and North Gaza and Deir al Balah governorates. Several evacuation orders had already been issued for the designated areas. Two of the orders, on 1 and 3 January, affected the same areas of Al Bureij refugee camp in Deir al Balah, covering approximately 1.23 square kilometres in two neighbourhoods. An estimated 23,1000 people were affected by the order, including 10,300 people sheltering at three IDP sites. In addition, three medical points, three water trucking points and one distribution centre were affected. The third order, on 1 January, affected parts of Jabalya in North Gaza and Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood in Gaza city, covering approximately 3.04 square kilometres in two neighbourhoods. While thousands of families are estimated to have been affected by the orders, there were no reports on observed displacement movements. 
• Attacks on humanitarian workers, convoys and facilities continue to take place, further hindering humanitarian operations and jeopardizing the safety of aid workers. On 5 January, a World Food Programme (WFP) convoy, consisting of three clearly marked vehicles carrying eight staff members, was shot at by Israeli forces near Wadi Gaza checkpoint. No injuries were reported, but at least 16 bullets struck the vehicles. According to WFP, the convoy had received all the necessary clearances from the Israeli authorities. “Security conditions in Gaza must urgently improve for lifesaving humanitarian assistance to continue,” WFP emphasized in a statement. Also on 5 January, a WFP flour distribution warehouse operated by MA’AN Development Center in Deir al Balah was hit, killing one humanitarian worker and seriously injuring two others. Care Palestine, Ma’an’s partner, stated that this “is yet another stark reminder of the daily threats to the safety and security of all humanitarian workers in Gaza, including our staff.” In a 7 January statement, Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) also highlighted the killing of eight of its staff as well as a series of incidents affecting MSF or MSF-supported medical facilities, shelters and movements that have been hit or attacked, but  is “yet to receive accountability or admission of responsibility for the killing, maiming, or dehumanization of [its] staff and patients.” According to data received by the UN and its partners, at least 369 aid workers, including 263 UNRWA staff, have been killed since October 2023.
• On 4 January, the WHO Director-General and the UNICEF Deputy Executive Director called on the Israeli authorities to immediately release the Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya. The Health Cluster has equally stressed concern for the recent detention of Dr. Abdullah Albadawi, who works for PANZMA, one of the partner organizations for the Emergency Medical Team (EMT) programme. According to MoH, as of 11 December 2024, at least 330 health care workers from Gaza have been detained by the Israeli authorities and 1,057 have been killed, including three physicians who have reportedly died in Israeli custody.
• A report published on 31 December by the UN Human Rights Office stresses that “Israel’s pattern of deadly attacks on and near hospitals in Gaza, and associated combat, pushed the healthcare system to the brink of total collapse, with catastrophic effect on Palestinians’ access to health and medical care.” Between 7 October 2023 and 30 June 2024, OHCHR verified 136 strikes on at least 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, which resulted in damage, destruction and casualties among health workers and other civilians. With shrinking access to healthcare and basic supplies, “many injured patients reportedly died while waiting to be hospitalized or treated,” while some “were often discharged prematurely due to a lack of space,” highlights OHCHR. Attacks on hospitals have also deterred women and girls from seeking assistance, with information received by OHCHR pointing to newborns having died, “because their mothers were unable to attend postnatal check-ups or reach medical facilities to give birth.” The report explains that, while “in most instances, Israel alleges that the hospitals were being improperly used for military purposes by Palestinian armed groups, insufficient information has so far been made available to substantiate these allegations, which have remained vague and broad.” The report adds that, “even in the exceptional circumstances when medical personnel, ambulances, and hospitals lose their special protection because they fulfil the strict criteria to be considered military objectives, any attack on them must still comply with the fundamental [international humanitarian law] principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack.” 

• Ongoing hostilities and besiegement of North Gaza have severely disrupted healthcare services for the population remaining in the area. After the Indonesian and Kamal Adwan Hospital were rendered out of service on 24 and 27 December, respectively, Relief International (RI) reports that, on 3 January, also the Al Awda Hospital, the last partially functioning hospital in North Gaza, was ordered by Israeli forces to immediately evacuate patients and staff. While Al Awda continues to operate, access to the facility, where 34 patients and 63 staff remain, is very limited amid ongoing hostilities in the area. The hospital’s fuel tank and last remaining generator were also recently destroyed after it was directly targeted, according to RI, and it is struggling to operate due to severe shortages of medications, medical supplies and fuel. 
• Across Gaza, the lack of fuel to operate electricity generators continues to severely affect the already decimated health system, placing the lives of patients at risk. On 7 January, the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis warned that the electricity generators would cease functioning in the space of 24 hours due to the depletion of fuel reserves, with the lives of premature babies and patients in the intensive care unit and other hospital departments being under imminent threat, appealing to the international community and WHO for urgent support. Similarly, on 8 January, the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis announced that all the generators at the facility have stopped, and only a small generator is currently operating with an amount sufficient for three hours.  In a press conference on 8 January, MoH stated that there is no fuel stock in hospitals due to the restrictions imposed on fuel entry and looting, warning that, if not additional fuel is received, this will cause a real catastrophe affecting the functioning of oxygen generators, medicine refrigerators and incubators. MoH also announced that a patient died due to the lack of fuel needed to operate kidney dialysis machines. As of the time of reporting on 8 January, MoH stated that a small amount of fuel to operate hospital generators was received, which would allow for the continuation of services until tomorrow, 9 January.   
• On 31 December, 55 patients, alongside 72 companions, were medically evacuated from Gaza to the United Arab Emirates through the Kerem Shalom Crossing. This brings the number of critical patients evacuated outside of Gaza to receive life-saving treatment since October 2023 to 5,383, of whom only 436 were evacuated since the closure of the Rafah crossing in May 2024, a pace that remains, “excruciatingly slow,” stressed WHO. At this rate, it would take 5-10 years to evacuate the over 12,000 critically ill and injured patients, including thousands of children, who require urgent, life-saving treatment outside Gaza, but currently remain trapped in the Strip, explained WHO, urging the Israeli authorities to increase and expedite the approval rate, not to deny requests for child patients, and, “allow all possible corridors and border crossings to be used for safe medical evacuations.” WHO also appealed to all countries to help, “by receiving patients and offering specialized health care to prevent more suffering and deaths.”
• Food insecurity continues to deteriorate across the Gaza Strip while assistance equivalent to food rations sufficient for the whole population for more than three months (about 120,000 metric tonnes) continues to remain stranded outside the Strip. Moreover, there are restrictions on the official entry of commercial cargo, armed lootings of humanitarian supplies that partners collect from crossings, predominantly unaffordable basic commodities on local markets, and North Gaza has remained largely cut off from food assistance for three consecutive months. In central and southern Gaza, key Food Security Sector (FSS) partners had exhausted all supplies in their warehouses as of 5 January, and requests to transport food assistance entering through Erez West Crossing to areas south of Wadi Gaza have generally been denied by the Israeli authorities except in exceptional circumstances. According to FSS, if no additional supplies are received, food parcel distributions will remain severely limited, the re-opening of subsidized bakeries will be rendered impossible, and more than 50 kitchens providing over 200,000 meals a day to people in central and southern Gaza would be at risk of shutting down in the coming days. The resumption of operations of WFP-supported bakeries in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis requires at least 1,000 metric tonnes of flour to be available and regularly replenished in the warehouses whereas current stocks remain limited and are depleted almost daily. Attempts to facilitate the resumption of local food production also face challenges; while around 200 metric tonnes of animal feed were distributed to 3,800 livestock owners in December, attempts to bring in agricultural supplies to resume even small-scale agricultural activities continue to be denied by the Israeli authorities.

• On 6 January, MoH announced the death of a 35-day old baby due to the cold and lack of warm shelter in Gaza, adding that this had brought the total number of deaths due to hypothermia to eight across the Strip. MSF reports that, between October and December 2024, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis had admitted 325 infants, with MSF teams embedded in the unit treating “newborns and premature babies with potentially life-threatening respiratory infections, dehydration, and other complications.” According to Dr. Mohammed Abu Tayyem, a pediatrician at Nasser, the pediatric ward is seeing an increased number of children with acute bronchiolitis, pneumonia, upper respiratory tract infections and even bronchial asthma exacerbations. The doctor attributes these rising cases to the harsh winter weather, dire conditions in tents and limited heating supplies, all of which render premature and low-birth-weight babies more vulnerable to hypothermia. Commenting on the death of at least seven newborns due to hypothermia in December, the WHO Director-General warned that “more children are in danger,” and that, while “every child deserves a healthy and safe start in life… the children of Gaza are paying the price of war with their own lives.” Likewise, on 8 January, UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, reiterated that “inadequate shelter, lack of access to nutrition and healthcare, the dire sanitary situation, and now the winter weather put the lives of all children in Gaza at risk,” with newborns and children with medical conditions being especially vulnerable. 
• In a statement on 3 January, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) expressed deep alarm at the “devastating impact of winter rains and freezing temperatures on displaced Palestinians in Gaza,” adding that tragic deaths due to hypothermia underscore the critical need for shelter and other assistance to immediate reach people in the Strip. Since mid-November, IOM has delivered nearly 180,000 emergency shelter items to partners inside Gaza, but due to severe access restrictions, it remains unable to distribute over 1.5 million additional winter supplies, including sealing-off kits, tents and bedding kits, which are currently at warehouses and entry points. The Shelter Cluster explains that the limited cargo capacity at the crossings, the lengthy coordination requirements imposed by the Israeli authorities to bring shelter items into the Strip and the frequent rejection of such items, alongside the high risk of armed looting continue to severely hamper the scaling up of shelter assistance in Gaza to address the needs of at least 945,000 people who urgently need thermal clothing, blankets, and tarps to seal-off shelters from the rain and cold. Meanwhile, heavy rains and flooding continue to severely affect displacement sites and makeshift shelters, with the Palestinian Civil Defence reporting the flooding of 1,542 tents on 30 and 31 December in Gaza, Khan Younis, Deir al Balah and Rafah governorates.
• Child Protection (CP) partners continue to prioritize the procurement and distribution of winter clothing kits for the most vulnerable children but face severe challenges in bringing needed supplies into Gaza that have hampered their ability to scale up the distribution of winter items. These include delays in approvals by the Israeli authorities, complex procedures and customs clearance processes in Jordan, Egypt and Israel, and armed looting of aid supplies.  For instance, for over a month, about 13,000 children’s clothing kits have been awaiting entry into Gaza from the West Bank and more than 11,000 children's clothing kits have already been lost due to looting. CP actors estimate that -- if this trend continues -- around 25 per cent of the overall number of procured clothing kits will be lost to looting. As a result, only 19,000 children’s clothing kits out of a total of 220,000 procured kits have so far entered Gaza and were distributed to the most vulnerable groups, including inter alia newborn babies in hospitals, children in residential care, many of whom have lost their parents, children with disabilities, and child survivors of gender-based violence.  
• The Education Cluster highlights similar challenges in bringing winterization supplies into Gaza. Only 72 High-Performance Tents could so far be imported into the Strip as part of the UN Winterization plan, which have been used to establish 56 new, winter-proof Temporary Learning Spaces (TLSs) in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, and 16 in the Gaza governorate. An additional 146 tents made available by one Cluster partner have been stranded outside Gaza for several months due to continued restrictions by the Israeli authorities on the entry of education supplies. In October, 140 prefabricated structures that had been procured by the Education Cluster to establish TLSs within Palestinian Authority schools were redirected for use in the health sector by the Israeli authorities and, as of the time of writing, these items have not yet been granted approval to enter Gaza. Presently, only 105,700 children, or 16 per cent of the total school-age population, have access to some form of learning in Gaza, with limited resources to establish winter-proof TLSs and shortages in winter clothes significantly contributing to low enrollment rates. The continued lack of access to education for the majority of children in Gaza not only jeopardizes their future, but also exposes them to immediate protection risks, including child labour, early marriage and physical injuries in the streets, warns the Cluster.   

924.

8 januari 2024

923.

7 januari 2024

Today's headlines

The US is manufacturing doubt about Gaza’s famine

The Biden administration is attempting to foster a fake dispute over famine numbers in Gaza to obscure the reality of genocide.

Read more on Mondoweiss site

Biden administration plans one last $8 billion arms sale to Israel

Michael

With less than two weeks left in his administration, the Biden White House has notified Congress of a new $8 billion arms deal with Israel. The sale comes as multiple human rights organizations report Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

922.

5 januari 2024

Thank you for being a loyal Mondoweiss reader!

THE CLASSIC

Free Palestine T-Shirt

921.

YESH DIN

5 januari 2025

Stop Ben-Gvir and Smotrich – Join the Struggle
Against Settler Violence

For two decades, Yesh Din has been documenting offenses committed in the West Bank by Israeli citizens - settlers and others - against Palestinians and their property, while providing legal assistance to Palestinian victims of these offenses.

Palestinians affected by settler violence approach Yesh Din through our field researchers, seeking help in response to attacks, which are often recurring. Alongside the field researchers are Yesh Din's dedicated volunteers, who travel across the West Bank every day, in all weather conditions, to meet with those seeking assistance and document their cases. They then help those who wish to file complaints with the Israeli police, accompany them to police stations and courts as needed, and keep victims updated on the status of investigations and cases.

Yesh Din's volunteers and field researchers are extraordinary individuals and true professionals, equipped with the patience, sensitivity, and compassion to navigate complex encounters with Palestinian victims of violence, many of whom suffer not only from physical harm but also from trauma and anxiety. In the face of escalating settler violence.

920.

5 januari 2025

Today's headlines

Israeli lawmakers demand military destroy all food and energy resources in Gaza

Israeli lawmakers are urging the military to intensify the genocide in Gaza by destroying any possible sources of energy, food, and water in the territory.

Open Letter: Germany must stop supporting the annihilation of Palestinians

Open Letter

For over one year, Germany has been actively participating in the killing and dehumanization of Palestinians by providing political, financial, military, and legal support to Israel. Germany’s complicity in Israel’s atrocities must stop.

Read more on Mondoweiss Site

919.

4 januari 2024

Today's headlines

Where is Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, and what is Israel doing to him?

It has been one week since the Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, Director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, was detained by Israeli forces. Reports indicate he is being held inside a notorious torture facility, but Israeli officials won't confirm where he is.

918.

3 januari 2025

 OUR GOVERNMENT'S GUILT

DEMAND DR. ABU SAFIYA'S RELEASE

YOUR IMPACT

 Onward to liberation,

917.

3 januari 2025

Nearly 500 Days of Genocide: Will President Biden Leave with a legacy of facilitating genocide?

 

As the world welcomes 2025, Palestinians are facing yet another harrowing chapter in their struggle for survival. The New Year has already been marked by relentless violence, underscoring the reality of Israel's continued genocide and systematic oppression, now stretching into nearly 500 days of unbridled devastation. Israel’s genocidal campaign, enabled by unwavering U.S. support, shows no sign of abating.

While Israelis celebrated New Year's Eve in Tel Aviv, Palestinians in Gaza were fleeing relentless Israeli bombardments. Families mourned the loss of loved ones, sought shelter from the destruction, and salvaged what little they could from flooded tents. As of January, Gaza's population has fallen by at least 6% since October 2023, a statistic that highlights the scale of Israel’s extermination campaign. Entire neighborhoods have been leveled, families displaced, and an already devastated healthcare system pushed to the brink.

One of the most horrifying events of the New Year was the Israeli military's raid on a Gaza hospital, targeting the very spaces meant to provide sanctuary and healing amid destruction. This brazen attack on medical infrastructure is not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of targeting healthcare workers, first responders, journalists, and all those responsible for sustaining vulnerable lives in Gaza. Those on the front lines of truth and survival are systematically silenced, wounded, or killed—an unmistakable tactic to erase both Palestinian lives and their narratives.

In the West Bank, the situation is also dire. The New Year has brought reports of escalated settler violence, continued land theft, and military raids targeting Palestinian communities. In East Jerusalem, home demolitions and forced displacements show no signs of abating as Israel deepens its apartheid regime. These actions reflect a calculated and systematic effort to erase Palestinians from their homeland.

The silence—or worse, complicity and partnership—of the international community, particularly the U.S., has more than emboldened Israel's atrocities. Billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars continue to fund the genocide, broader occupation, military campaigns, and violations of international law. The Biden administration's refusal to act over the last year, paired with Congress's failure to hold Israel accountable, sends a clear statement: Palestinian lives are expendable, and international law has been thoroughly discredited and overlooked.

As we enter 2025, AJP Action reaffirms its demand on the U.S. government to immediately suspend all military aid to Israel in accordance with international law and to facilitate an end to the ongoing genocide in Gaza. From the very beginning, the United States has held the power to stop Israel’s atrocities—but only if it were to choose justice over complicity. With just days remaining in the current administration, President Biden can decide how history will remember him: A president who attempted to redeem himself through a final demand for accountability–or one who served as an executioner of the Palestinian people until his last day in office.

 

In solidarity,
Americans for Justice in Palestine Action

916.

3 januari 2025

Na een voor ons positief advies van de advocaat-generaal aan de Hoge Raad verwachten we in ieder geval op korte termijn goed nieuws van de Hoge Raad over onze F-35 rechtszaak.  

School in Gaza

Campagne | Dokter Hussam Abu Safiya moet vrij!

Op sociale media voeren dokters wereldwijd inmiddels ook actie voor de vrijlating van dokter Abu Safiya

Aanstaande zondag 5 januari om 17.00 uur vindt op het Spui in Amsterdam een demonstratie plaats.

Adviescommissie Tilburg University: beëindig samenwerking met Israëlische universiteiten

De Tilburgse commissie, onder leiding van mensenrechtenspecialist Prof. Dr. Nicola Jägers, legt in haar rapport de nadruk op de bijzondere verantwoordelijkheid van universiteiten als getuigen en omstanders van mensenrechtenschendingen. Academische vrijheid en respect voor mensenrechten mogen niet beperkt blijven tot retoriek, maar vereisen een actieve, principiële houding.

Lees het hele artikel op onze site ! 

Opinie | Wat doen we met Gaza?

Jan Keulen houdt op Bukraa.com een blog bij, waar hij onlangs schreef over het vluchtelingenkamp Mawasi in het zuiden van de Gazastrook. Daar bivakkeren momenteel honderdduizenden Palestijnse vluchtelingen in de kou in tenten, onder wie zijn vriend Mohammed Abu Afash. Jan heeft wekelijks contact met hem over de omstandigheden in het kamp, die erbarmelijk zijn en met de winterkou alleen maar erger worden. Om zijn familie uit Gaza te helpen heeft Jan een Go Fund Me opgezet.

In zijn Oudejaarsconference zong cabaretier en columnist Pieter Derks een ontroerend lied over Hind Rajab, het zesjarige Palestijnse meisje dat in januari 2024 met haar familie door het Israëlische leger werd vermoord. Het is belangrijk dat we haar naam niet vergeten, en prijzen Pieter Derks voor zijn bijdrage.

915.

3 januari 2025

Today's headlines

Israel cannot lose a ‘humanity’ it never had

A recent Haaretz editorial claimed, "Israel Is Losing Its Humanity in Gaza," but this ignores the brutal history of the Zionist colonization of Palestine, of which the Gaza genocide is just the latest chapter.

Even if the war ends, Gaza will no longer be home

For many of us, the idea of leaving Gaza feels like a quiet betrayal. But how do you stay when the weight of loss grows heavier each day?

914.

2 januari 2025

Humanitarian Situation Update #252
West Bank

A Palestinian boy carrying water through a heavily damaged street of Tulkarm refugee camp, following an Israeli operation that involved drone strikes and road bulldozing. Photo by OCHA

Key Highlights

 

• Between 24 and 30 December, eleven Palestinians, including two women and two children, were killed by Israeli forces. Ten of these fatalities occurred within 48 hours between 24 and 25 December in the northern West Bank, with eight killed in airstrikes by Israeli forces.
• Since the beginning of the operation by Palestinian forces in Jenin refugee camp on 5 December, nine Palestinians were killed, including two children, one woman and three members of Palestinian forces. For the past 26 days, access to basic services, including education, water and health, has been severely disrupted.
• At least 21 Palestinian households, comprising 94 people remain displaced following a two-day operation by Israeli forces in Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps, which resulted in damage to about 1,050 housing units.
• The year 2024 has recorded the highest numbers in nearly two decades since OCHA began documents such incidents, with approximately 4,250 Palestinians displaced 1,760 structures destroyed, and about 1,400 incidents involving Israeli settlers across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
• Since 7 October 2023, Israeli forces have intensified movement restrictions in the Israeli-controlled area of Hebron city (H2), including the recent installation of a barbed wire barrier in one of the neighbourhoods. This has further disrupted access to livelihoods, essential services, and education for thousands of Palestinians.

Humanitarian Developments (24-30 December)

 

• During the reporting period, Israeli forces killed eleven Palestinians, including two children and two women, and injured 49 others, including 19 children and four women, across the West Bank. In Israel, a Palestinian from the West Bank stabbed and killed an Israeli woman. Five Palestinians, including a female journalist and three members of the Palestinian forces, were killed in Jenin refugee camp within the context of the ongoing operation by Palestinian forces. For more information on casualties and further breakdowns of data, please see the monthly West Bank Snapshot. All the incidents resulting in fatalities and other key incidents are as follows:

Israeli Palestinian conflict related incidents:

• In the early hours of 24 December, Israeli forces launched an operation in Tulkarm Refugee Camp, which later extended to Nur Shams refugee camp, both located in Tulkarm Governorate. The operation, lasting over 40 hours between 24 and 25 December, involved two drone strikes, exchanges of fire, detonations of explosive devices, and extensive destruction of civilian infrastructure by military bulldozers in and around both camps (see below the initial assessment of reported damages). Eight Palestinians were killed, including two women and one child (boy). Seven fatalities were reported in Tulkarm refugee camp, all but one were killed in drone-strikes, while the remaining killing was reported in another strike in Nur Shams refugee camp.
• On 25 December, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man during a raid in Qaffin town, north of Tulkarm city. Israeli forces besieged a house for approximately three hours, during which armed clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces were reported. Israeli forces fired multiple anti-tank rifle grenades at the house, killing a Palestinian man inside. His body was later withheld by Israeli forces.
• On 25 December, Israeli forces conducted a raid in Tammun village, southeast of Tubas city. The operation, which lasted over an hour, involved exchanges of fire and a drone strike. The strike hit and killed a 17-year-old boy and injured at least one other person. The drone strike also partially damaged some nearby buildings.
• On 26 December, Israeli forces shot and killed an 18-year-old Palestinian during a raid in the town of Ya'bad in Jenin. Palestinians reportedly threw stones and explosive devices, and Israeli forces fired live ammunition. Human rights organizations stated that the injured youth, who was shot in the chest, did not receive first said from Israeli forces and was left unattended for approximately 10 minutes before withdrawing.
• On 27 December, a Palestinian man from Tulkarm in the West Bank stabbed and killed an elderly Israeli woman before being injured by an Israeli security guard in Herzliya city in Israel.

Intra-Palestinian clashes involving Palestinian forces:

• Since 5 December, Palestinian forces have been carrying out an operation in Jenin refugee camp, exchanging fire with armed Palestinians, and closing off the camp’s entrances. Nine Palestinians have been killed, including two children. Among the fatalities, three were caused by Palestinian forces and one by either armed Palestinians or Palestinian forces. Three members of Palestinian forces were killed, including two while dismantling an IED and one by armed Palestinians. UNRWA has suspended its services in the camp for 19 days including at four schools serving about 1,700 students. On 20 December, UNRWA called for respect for the inviolability of its facilities, protected under international law, after becoming aware that armed Palestinians were occupying its health centre in the camp. UNRWA later confirmed that the health center was vacated by armed Palestinians on 31 December after 12 days. About 12,000 residents in the camp have had limited access to water and electricity. The rehabilitation of water networks, which were significantly damaged by previous Israeli military operations, remains on hold, affecting over 60 per cent of the camp's population. On 30 December, parts of the electricity network were repaired. However, several generators have reportedly been damaged, causing intermittent electricity and communication outages in multiple neighbourhoods inside the camp. All the incidents resulting in fatalities are as follows:

• • On 24 December, a Palestinian man was shot and killed reportedly by Palestinian forces while attempting to leave the camp along with his wife, according to human rights groups.
  • On 25 December, a member of Palestinian forces succumbed to injuries sustained on 22 December while attempting to dismantle an IED in Jenin refugee camp.
  • On 26 December, a member of the Palestinian forces was killed during armed clashes with Palestinians near Al Damj neighbourhood on the outskirts of Jenin refugee camp. According to a statement by Palestinian forces, the fatality occurred after Molotov cocktails were thrown at a house where members of the Palestinian forces were stationed.
  • On 28 December, two Palestinians—a female journalist and a member of the Palestinian forces —were killed. The Palestinian forces member died in clashes with armed Palestinians. The journalist was reportedly shot outside her home while holding her nephew. It remains unclear whether she was shot by Palestinian forces or armed Palestinians.

Humanitarian needs and responses to Israeli operation in Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps

• On 31 December, OCHA, UNRWA, and humanitarian partners initiated an inter-cluster needs assessments in both refugee camps in Tulkarm governorates to assess the humanitarian impact of the operation by Israeli forces between 24 and 25 December. Key findings include:
  • In Tulkarm refugee Camp, 12 refugee families, comprising 61 people, were temporarily displaced as their homes sustained substantial damage from explosions and bulldozing during the operation. Additionally, ten families previously displaced during operations in recent months, experienced further damage to their homes. At least 828 housing units were partially or moderately damaged, requiring immediate rehabilitation. Electricity was cut off across most neighbourhoods for approximately 43 hours and is currently being restored intermittently, affecting the Dinnabeh and Al-Salam neighbourhoods of Tulkarm city. The water supply was disrupted, forcing residents to rely on mobile water tankers, with an estimated 33 mobile tankers distributed across the camp’s neighbourhoods. These disruptions have significantly exacerbated the humanitarian situation for over 11,000 camp residents. Additionally, an estimated 100 livelihood shops sustained varying degrees of damage, further undermining the economic stability of affected families and compounding the challenges faced by the population.
  • In Nur Shams refugee camp, nine families, comprising 33 people, were displaced as their homes sustained substantial damage from explosions and bulldozing during the operation. Additionally, seven families previously displaced during operations in the past three months, experienced further damage to their homes. The operation caused widespread destruction, including the bulldozing of the camp's main street and several surrounding roads. Initial assessments by UNRWA and local authorities report 222 housing units were partially or moderately damaged, requiring immediate rehabilitation. The bulldozing and flooding of roads with sewage water have severely disrupted movement within and around the camp, restricted access to medical and educational services, and further deteriorated living conditions for the camp’s population (7,000 resident). The bulldozing has also impacted the main road connecting Tulkarm and Nablus, hindering safe access for commuters and exacerbating the challenges faced by residents. The destruction of roads, coupled with disruptions to infrastructure, has significantly undermined the dignity and safe access to basic services for the population of Tulkarm and Nur Shams Refugee Camps.
• The WASH cluster, in collaboration with UNRWA, and the Palestinian Water Authority, has been coordinating urgent interventions in both camps, including water trucking, hygiene kit distribution, installing Polyethylene tanks and sewage vacuuming. They have identified the need for water storage tanks (1m³ each) to 200 households, alongside 750 hygiene kits for families whose shelters sustained major or partial damage. OCHA mobilized operating clusters for immediate responses, including the Cash Working Group partners who will provide necessary assistance, including Emergency Multi-Purpose Cash Assistance (EMPCA). These efforts will continue for the next 2-3 weeks.

Settler-related Violence

• During the reporting period, OCHA documented 19 incidents perpetrated by Israeli settlers that led to casualties and/or damage of Palestinian-owned property. The incidents led to the injury of nine Palestinians, including two children, and the vandalism of two animal shelters, three vehicles and over 170 olive saplings and grape vines.
• Since the beginning of 2024, OCHA has recoded about 1,420 incidents of Israeli settler violence. These incidents include settlers reportedly killing five Palestinians, including a child, and injuring 360 other Palestinians, including 35 children, and vandalising more than 26,100 Palestinian-owned trees. This year has seen the highest numbers of incidents related to settler violence that reportedly led to casualties, damage to property or both, since OCHA started recording such incidents in 2006. Additionally, incidents of intimidation and attacks on Palestinian Bedouin communities, have led to the displacement of over 300 families comprising 1,762 people, including 856 children, further highlight the severe humanitarian impact of settler violence.

Key incidents during the reporting period include:

• On 29 December, Israeli settlers believed to be from the newly established outpost, west of Silwad village in Ramallah governorate, physically assaulted Palestinian farmers with bats while working their land, injuring four. One of the injured sustained severe injuries and all were transported to hospital. The settlers also vandalized two vehicles.
• Since the establishment of this settlement outpost on 5 December 2024, agricultural land west of Silwad have been subjected to repeated attacks and destruction. Israeli settlers have broken into farming units, damaged property, and seized Palestinian belongings. Furthermore, Israeli settlers under the protection of Israeli forces, have blocked access roads, preventing farmers from reaching their own lands and forcing them to leave.
• On 26 December, Israeli forces escorting Israeli settlers to conduct religious ceremonies near Halhul village (Hebron), shot tear gas canisters and live ammunition towards Palestinians who gathered and threw stones at them, injuring three Palestinians, including two children.
• On 24 December, Israeli settlers believed to be from Sde Efrayim settlement outpost raided a Palestinian land in Area B in the outskirts of Kaft Ni’ma village (Ramallah). The settlers damaged the construction material and seized other items from a Palestinian-owned house under construction. The northern outskirts of the village have been repeatedly targeted by settlers from this outpost with frequent attacks on Palestinians and their properties.
• On 28 December, armed Israeli settlers believed to be from Magnazi Farm outpost raided Palestinian land in the northeast of Ni’lin village (Ramallah). The settlers set fire to an agricultural structure made of wood and plastic sheets, vandalized fences and destroyed around 70 olive saplings. Additionally, the settlers also broke into the shelter of Bedouin families living in the area, intimidated them, and as reported by the families, threatened them to leave within two weeks.
• On 29 December, Israeli settlers believed to be from Karmei Tzur settlement raided agricultural land near the settlement belonging to Halhul (Hebron) near the settlement and uprooted 100 grape vines. Since 7 October 2023, prior coordination has been required from Palestinians to access the area. The damage was discovered by the landowner when he came to his land after he was granted access.
• During night hours on 25 December, a group of armed Israeli settlers believed to be from a newly established outpost near the Halaweh community in the Israeli-declared firing zone 918, raided the community claiming that they lost sheep. Shortly after the settlers were evacuated by Israeli forces, they raided the community again and vandalizied a vehicle and physically assaulted a Palestinian and stole his identification card and mobile phone. After that, the settlers vandalised an animal shelter and attacked sheep, killing three lambs.

Demolitions

• During the reporting period, OCHA documented the demolition of 16 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank, including two in East Jerusalem and 14 in Area C, due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits, which are nearly impossible for Palestinians to obtain. As a result, 13 people were displaced, including eight children, and around 50 people were otherwise affected.
  • During the reporting period, two families were forced to demolish their two residential structures in East Jerusalem in the areas of Sur Bahir and Jabal al Mukabbir on 26 and 30 December. These demolitions displaced 12 people, including seven children. Since the beginning of the year, 65 per cent of the structures demolished in East Jerusalem (140 out of 215 structures) were demolished by their owners following the issuance of demolition orders, compared with 42 per cent in the previous five years. The proportion of structures destroyed by their owners represents around 5052 per cent, compared with all of 2022 and 2023, respectively.
• Overall, in 2024, Israeli forces demolished or forced the demolition of 1,762 Palestinian-owned structures, displacing 4,253 Palestinians, including 1,712 children, and affecting around 165,000 others.
• The year2024 has recorded the highest numbers of displaced people, and destroyed structures, in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem since OCHA began documenting demolitions and displacement in 2009. This surge is primarily attributed to the extensive destruction of Palestinian homes and infrastructure caused by Israeli forces. These operations, often involving air and land bombardments as well as armed clashes with Palestinians, have predominantly occurred in Jenin and Tulkarm cities and their refugee camps.

H2 movement restriction update

• On 15 December, Israeli forces installed a barbed wire barrier in the As Salaymeh neighbourhood in the designated restricted area of H2 of Hebron city, entirely blocking the only pedestrian path for residents from four neighbourhoods to access essential services, including one of four educational facilities and the only healthcare clinic. This directly affects approximately 2,500 residents in the designated restricted and prohibited area of H2 area of Hebron city. On 17 December, residents of the As Salaymeh and Jaber neighbourhoods held a sit-in demanding the removal of the barrier. The protest was met with a response by Israeli border police, who deployed stun grenades and tear gas and arrested three Palestinians. The detainees were reportedly subjected to severe physical assault before being released them three hours later.
  • Impact on Education: The barbed wire installation has further impeded access to the Ziyad Jaber School, which serves 285 boys from first to seventh grades. Students from affected neighbourhoods are now forced to take significantly longer detours along settler-dominated roads and through checkpoints. Since the imposition of movement restrictions in H2 area on 7 October 2023, school attendance has dropped by 25 per cent. Some families have opted to transfer their children to other schools, resulting in 50 students transferring within the restricted zone, 12 enrolling in schools in the unrestricted area of H2, and eight relocating with their families outside of H2 entirely.
  • Impact on Healthcare: healthcare access has also been severely disrupted following the installation of the barbed wire. Approximately 2,500 residents in the restricted area now face significant barriers in reaching the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinic, the only medical facility in this part of H2 area. Although MSF resumed operations in May 2024 following a six-month closure, the October restrictions have made it increasingly difficult for residents to access medical care, leaving many without consistent healthcare and further compounding their vulnerability.
• Palestinians residing in the H2 area of Hebron city face a coercive environment characterized by settler violence, frequent raids and incursions by Israeli forces and severe access restrictions. Following the escalation of hostilities in Gaza since 7 October 2023, Israeli authorities imposed a full closure on the H2 area, accompanied by a curfew on Palestinian residents until 22 October 2023. Since then, a new system regulating movement has been enforced through designated checkpoints, further restricting access to basic services and exacerbating already difficult living conditions. Residents now face extensive movement barriers, including 80 physical obstacles, such as 24 permanently staffed checkpoints.

Funding

 

• As of 2 January 2024, Member States have disbursed about US$2.34 billion out of the $3.42 billion (70 per cent) requested to meet the most critical needs of 2.3 million* people in Gaza and 800,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between January and December 2024. For funding analysis, please see the Flash Appeal Financial Tracking dashboard. (*2.3 million reflects the projected population of the Gaza Strip upon issuance of the Flash Appeal in April 2024. As of July 2024, the UN estimates that about 2.1 million people remain in the Gaza Strip, and this updated number is now used for programmatic purposes.)
• On 11 December 2024, the UN and humanitarian partners launched a Flash Appeal for nearly $4.07 billion to address the 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. Nearly 90 per cent of those funds are for the humanitarian response in Gaza, with just over 10 per cent for the West Bank. The $4.07 billion ask is significantly less than what is needed for a full-scale humanitarian response, which would require $6.6 billion. This shortfall reflects the expectation that aid organizations will continue to face unacceptable constraints on their operations in 2025. These operational challenges are expected to drastically limit the amount of assistance that humanitarians are able to provide, exacerbating the already dire conditions and suffering of the Palestinians. The appeal underscores the urgent need for Israel to take immediate and effective measures to ensure the essential needs of civilians are met. This includes lifting all impediments to aid and fully facilitating humanitarian operations, including the distribution of essential goods to Palestinians in need. Such actions are critical to enabling the implementation of the full scale of the urgently required humanitarian response.
• During November, the oPt Humanitarian Fund (oPt HF) managed 124 ongoing projects, totalling $91.7 million. These projects aimed to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip (89 per cent) and the West Bank (11 per cent) and are strategically focused on education, food security, health, protection, emergency shelter and non-food items, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), coordination and support services, multi-purpose cash assistance and nutrition. Of these projects, 70 are being implemented by international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), 40 by national NGOs and 14 by UN agencies. Notably, 50 out of the 84 projects conducted by INGOs or the UN are being implemented in collaboration with national NGOs. Monthly updates, annual reports, and a list of all funded projects per year, are available on the oPt Humanitarian Fund webpage, under the financing section.

913.

2 januari 2025

Today's headlines

A year of shame, and many more to come

The shame of Israel's genocide in Gaza will haunt the international moral conscience and the Israeli psyche for the coming century. Though Israelis, accustomed to the perpetual shaming of Germany, are unprepared for the shame they must now confront.

912.

Yesh Din

2 januari 2025

911.

1 januari 2024

Today's headlines

Two voices on Israeli apartheid and genocide at the Oxford Union

In November, the Oxford Union held a debate on the topic of Israeli apartheid and genocide. It sparked a backlash from Zionists and even an investigation by British police. A speaker and audience member who attended tell us what really happened.

Read more on the Mondoweiss-site

’60 Minutes’ program on Lebanon pager attack was nothing more than Israeli propaganda

60 Minutes's story on Israel’s pager attack that killed dozens and injured thousands of Lebanese featured no Lebanese voices and was told completely from the Israeli perspective. In the process, it justified war crimes in Lebanon and Gaza.

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1 januari 2025

Mai Hanukkah - “What is Hanukkah?” asked the rabbis of the Talmud. In answer to their own rhetorical question, they chose not to tell the story of the Maccabean victory over the Seleucid empire in 160 BCE. Rather, they offered the famous story of the rededication of the Temple and the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days. For the rabbis, the oil of the menorah symbolized hope and faith in the face of overwhelming odds, not the spoils of war.

They also understood the dangers of glorifying violence, having seen the devastating effects of the Bar Kochba revolt against the Roman empire in 132 CE. They were particularly mindful that the independent Jewish commonwealth founded in the wake of the Maccabean victory - led by the priestly Hasmonean Dynasty - was corrupt and oppressive. In the end, their reign would last a little more than one hundred years before falling to the Roman Empire.

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