Gaza
If food does not get in NOW 100,000+ will die of starvation on top of the 30,000+ who have already died. Action must be taken NOW.
A new U.N.-backed report has found that famine is imminent in northern Gaza with nearly a third of Gaza’s population experiencing the highest levels of catastrophic hunger. This comes as Israel launches another major raid at Al-Shifa Hospital, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have taken shelter since the start of the conflict. In the south, daily bombing continues while the Israeli government threatens a full-scale ground invasion on the border city of Rafah. “The world should impose sanctions on Israel,” says the Palestinian National Initiative’s Mustafa Barghouti, who joins us from the occupied West Bank. Barghouti responds to Israel’s latest military actions and claims, gives an update on the status of ceasefire negotiations, addresses conditions in Israeli prisons and more. “It’s a massacre. It’s a huge genocide,” he says. “The ultimate goal of Israel is ethnic cleansing.
It’s been three weeks since Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire at the gate of the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC as an act of protest against the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
CrimethInc. : Memories of Aaron Bushnell : As Recounted by His Friends
Rachel Corrie Gave Her Life for Palestine
This day in 2003, the IDF killed American activist Rachel Corrie as she defended homes in Rafah from destruction. As Israel threatens to invade the city, a volunteer who stood alongside Rachel writes on her legacy — a call for steadfast solidarity with Gazans.
Donated!
World Central Kitchen | Operation Safeena: WCK aid boat offloads in Gaza
World Central Kitchen’s team in Gaza is offloading 200 tons of desperately needed food that arrived on our first maritime aid shipment to the region. Carried on the Open Arms vessel, the cargo is part of Operation Safeena, our effort to bring as much aid as possible to Palestinians by sea. We have provided more than 37 million meals to families in war-torn Gaza by land and air since first responding to the conflict.
Mehdi Hasan Debunks 7 Israeli Myths About UNRWA - YouTube
As Israel launches a propaganda campaign against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), millions of Palestinians continue to rely on the agency’s critical support when it comes to healthcare, education, and food. In this latest DEBUNKED!, Mehdi Hasan refutes the top 7 Israeli lies about UNRWA.
Love in the time of genocide | Israel War on Gaza | Al Jazeera
For weeks in southern Gaza during a recent visit, I collected stories of women admitted to hospital, each of them there to recover from what they call “war wounds”. But it’s not a war, because only one side has an actual army. Only one side is a state with full military wares.
These victims were mothers, wives and babies, whose slight bodies were pierced, torn, broken and burned. Their deeper injuries aren’t visible, until they open up about their lives over the past five months.
#gaza
Famine in Gaza
Is there famine in Gaza? | Reuters
The United Nations said in February that more than a quarter of Gaza’s 2.3 million people were “estimated to be facing catastrophic levels of deprivation and starvation.” It said without action widespread famine could be “almost inevitable.”
The IPC is due to release a new analysis of the situation in Gaza by mid-March.
…as U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has said: “Once a famine is declared, it is too late for too many people.”
Pro-Palestinian protesters block roads leading to Oscars
Love to see it:
Pro-Palestinian protesters chanting “Cease fire now” blocked roads leading to the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, delaying the start of the Oscars. Some ceremony attendees in formalwear shoved past protesters.
An 11 minute clip that clearly explains the current crisis in Gaza, Biden and his loss of support among progressives
Uncommitted vote in Michigan ‘doing Biden a favor’ by sounding alarm on Gaza policy…
“Uncommitted” earned 100,000 votes in the Michigan Democratic primary Tuesday, raising flags to the Biden administration that its policy on Gaza could lose him crucial swing state voters. SiriusXM’s Dean Obeidallah and Jewish Current’s Peter Beinart say the effort reflects a need for urgency in resolving the war in Gaza.
America is built on settler colonialism, slavery and white supremacy. For decades we’ve supported Israel in its constant breaking of international laws and now, genocide.
If we refuse to end our complicity in genocide what are we? I see a pattern here.
But do go on about democracy.
The March 4 episode of The Majority Report features an excellent interview with Rashid Khalidi that begins at 23:30 and covers his work documenting the Palestinian resistance to Britain dating back to 1917:
…well before the establishment of the state of Israel, looking at the central role of the West – namely Britain and the US – in support and facilitating the violent establishment and maintenance of a Zionist apartheid state.
Thinking of to Aaron Bushnell and his self-immolation to protest genocide
Over the past week my mind went often to Aaron Bushnell and his self-immolation to protest genocide a week ago.
“Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now." - Aaron Bushnell, February 25, 2024
Linked: Palestinian and Gaza News
For Israel, violence is inherent in its colonial DNA: Marwan Bishara…
At least 77 Palestinians have been killed and more than 250 people are injured - after Israeli forces opened fire on people trying to collect food aid in Gaza City. Hundreds of hungry and starving Palestinians had come to collect food aid, when they were attacked by Israeli snipers and shelled by Israeli tanks. Civilians were left scrambling to transport the dead and injured to nearby hospitals - many are in critical condition. Most of the medical facilities in Gaza are barely functioning or out of service.
“Uncommitted”: Over 100,000 Cast Protest Vote Against Biden’s Gaza Policy in Michigan Primary…
Over 100,000 voters cast their ballots for “uncommitted” in an organized campaign protesting U.S. support for Israel’s assault on Gaza. The major battleground state is home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the country, but the movement to vote “uncommitted” is now expected to spread to other states… “There is genocide unfolding. People want it to end. The president either is going to have to act decisively to end it, or it’s going to have an impact in November.”
In a recent thread about Israel’s ongoing atrocities against Palestinians on Micro.Blog, these two excellent posts stood out to me. First, David Marsden offered this postwhich included a link to the history of the Palestinian slogan “from the river to the sea” . Then this:
For almost 20 years Hamas has repeatedly offered Israel a peace process and effectively a two state solution, based on an Israeli military withdrawal to its 1967 borders, the establishment of a Palestinian mini-state on the West Bank and Gaza, with a ten year truce to negotiate other outstanding issues, such as the right of return for refugees.
Then Samjc offered this:
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable” ~ JFK
Without justifying the atrocities of Oct 7, the structural reality of Israel makes violence inevitable. You have one group who has taken the land of another to create an ethno-state, leaving most of the original inhabitants with no rights. Until that basic structure changes, we can expect outbursts of violence from both sides – for Palestinians as resistance, and perhaps also vengeance as you put it; for Israel, it is “security” (even though it is the structural violence of the situation that reproduces Israel’s vulnerability)
Republican House Rep. Andrew Ogles on Gaza: “We Should Kill Them All”…
In a stunning admission, a House Republican was caught on camera this week saying that he thinks the U.S. and Israel should kill all Palestinians in Gaza.
Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles made the comments in response to pro-Palestine activists who confronted him in a hallway about the U.S.’s continued support for Israel’s genocidal assault in Gaza, which has killed 30,000 Palestinians so far, including 12,300 children.
HunterNP: Rest in power, Aaron Bushnell…
“Many of us like to ask ourselves, ‘What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?’ The answer is, you’re doing it. Right now."
Suicide vs genocide: Rest in power, Aaron Bushnell
On Sunday, February 25, 25-year-old active duty member of the United States Air Force Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in the US capital of Washington, DC, in a one-airman revolt against the US-backed slaughter currently being perpetrated by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip.
Over the past 143 days, Israel has killed nearly 30,000 Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave…
Linked: Palestinian and Gaza News
Mhairi Black’s incredible speech demanding a ceasefire in Gaza…
The SNP Westminster Deputy Leader kicked off the debate before tonight’s Gaza vote with a stirring plea to the House.
Over 2/3 of Jewish Israelis oppose humanitarian aid to Palestinians starving in Gaza…
This is a shocking data point. The Israeli Democracy Institute released a survey this week showing that over 2/3 of Jewish Israelis – 68% that is – opposed “the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza residents at this time.”
It gets even worse – the survey lowered the bar to exclude any possible opposition to either UNRWA (which Israel has been inciting against) or the Hamas authorities (which Israel considers terrorists). To no avail. Over two-thirds still oppose humanitarian help “via international bodies that are not linked to Hamas or to UNRWA… A majority of Jewish respondents (68%) oppose the transfer of humanitarian aid even under these conditions,” the survey notes.
Democrats Back Effort To Vote Against Biden In Michigan Primary…
Democratic congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, along with former Democratic congressman Andy Levin, have both backed an effort within Michigan to vote “uncommitted” and against President Joe Biden as a way to send a message. Here’s the breakdown and my thoughts.
US isolation grows amid international scrutiny: Marwan Bishara…
It’s day four at the UN’s top court for public hearings on the impact of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. China, Ireland, Iran, and Jordan are among a host of countries that say Israel’s nearly six-decade-long occupation is a flagrant violation of international law.
U.S. isolated at G-20 as Gaza crisis worsens…
RIO DE JANEIRO — The U.S. opposition to an immediate cease-fire in Gaza came under repeated criticism during a two-day meeting of the chief diplomats of the world’s 20 largest economies in the latest sign of Washington’s isolation on the issue.
Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, the host of this year’s annual Group of 20 gathering, began the meeting by decrying the “paralysis” at the United Nations Security Council, where Washington vetoed a third resolution for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza earlier in the week.
Claims of Israeli sexual assault of Palestinian women are credible, UN panel says…
UN experts say they have seen “credible allegations” that Palestinian women and girls have been subjected to sexual assaults, including rape, while in Israeli detention, and are calling for a full investigation.
The panel of experts said there was evidence of a least two cases of rape, alongside other cases of sexual humiliation and threats of rape. Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, said the true extent of sexual violence could be significantly higher.
“Moral Failure”: Democrats Urge Biden to Change Gaza Policy…
As the death toll of Palestinians killed by Israel’s assault on Gaza approaches 30,000 and the United States vetoes a ceasefire resolution at the U.N. Security Council for the third time, the Biden administration’s support for Israel has come under fierce criticism both around the world and in the U.S. In Michigan, which is a key battleground state and home to one of the largest Arab American populations in the country, a campaign is growing to vote “uncommitted” in next week’s Democratic primary in protest of Biden’s policies backing Israel. “We’re not standing against anyone, but we’re simply reaffirming our stance for humanity and for the basic tenets of human rights,” says Democratic state Representative Abraham Aiyash, Michigan’s highest-ranking Arab and Muslim leader. “The administration needs to change course in foreign policy in the Middle East in order to gain the trust of people who we have lost,” says California Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna, who says the U.S. must call for an immediate ceasefire and place conditions on aid to Israel.
More Than 50 Countries Argue Before World Court Against Israeli Occupation of Palestine…
Arguments are underway at the International Court of Justice, where more than 50 countries are asking the World Court to issue a nonbinding legal opinion against Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza since 1967. The request is separate from South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the ICJ. “Israel has been instrumentalizing the rules of international humanitarian law … to further its settler-colonial project in Palestine,” says Ahmed Abofoul of the Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq, which submitted an advisory opinion on the case. “I have no doubt that the court will decide that Israel’s occupation is illegal,” he says. We also discuss what comes after the ruling and Israeli society’s reaction to the war.
ICJ ruling will have ramifications across the board: Marwan Bishara…
Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, has has said that the ICJ is not judging whether the occupied Palestinian territories are occupied or not in this case. They are occupied and there is no dispute about it, according to the UN Security Council resolutions on the issue, he said. “Israel can make the [opposite] claim if it wants and it does with huge lies for the last 50 years,” he said.
Brazil’s Lula compares Israel’s war on Gaza with the Holocaust…
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has accused Israel of committing “genocide” against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and compared its war on Gaza with Adolf Hitler’s campaign to exterminate Jewish people.
“What’s happening in the Gaza Strip isn’t a war, it’s a genocide,” Lula told reporters in Addis Ababa where he was attending an African Union summit on Sunday.
“It’s not a war of soldiers against soldiers. It’s a war between a highly prepared army and women and children,” added the Brazilian president.