Israeli occupation forces arrested a young man and seized his vehicle in Jenin at dawn on Friday.

Local sources reported that occupation forces stormed several neighborhoods in the city, arrested the young man, Jihad Abu Jamhour, and seized his vehicle after raiding his home in the Al-Dubous neighborhood. The occupation forces also raided several homes in the eastern neighborhood and the Al-Marah neighborhood.

The occupation continues its aggression on the city of Jenin and its camp for the 74th consecutive day, leaving 36 martyrs and dozens of injuries, while the occupation army intensifies its raids and incursions into the city's neighborhoods, villages and towns in the Jenin governorate, and launches widespread arrest campaigns.

The Israeli occupation forces continue their aggression on the city of Tulkarm and its camp for the 68th consecutive day, and on the Nour Shams camp for the 55th day, amid ongoing field escalation and extensive military reinforcements.

Local sources reported that occupation forces dispatched military reinforcements to the city and its two camps at dawn on Friday, deploying large infantry units on Nablus Street leading to the Nour Shams camp east of the city, while heavy gunfire was heard inside the camp.

Infantry soldiers were also seen deployed along the street extending from the employee housing in the Aktaba suburb to the Hassouna roundabout at the suburb's entrance, deliberately obstructing traffic.

On Nablus Street, specifically at the entrance to Al-Salam neighborhood near Nour Shams camp, occupation forces set up a flying checkpoint at dawn today and searched passing vehicles after stopping them. They seized a sum of money from one of them, while detaining young men while searching and abusing them.

Over the past few days, Israeli bulldozers have closed sections of Nablus Road with earth mounds, especially in the area adjacent to Tulkarm refugee camp, in both directions. This coincided with the occupation forces' seizure of a number of homes there, converting them into military barracks and positioning their vehicles in the vicinity.

Israeli occupation forces continue to impose a stifling siege on Nour Shams camp, accompanied by repeated incursions by military vehicles, bulldozers, and infantry units, raids, vandalism, and burning of homes and infrastructure, and the expulsion of residents from their homes, particularly in Jabal al-Nasr and Jabal al-Salihin.

Meanwhile, late last night, Israeli occupation forces deployed inside the neighborhoods of Tulkarm camp, specifically Qaqun and Abu al-Foul, and detained a citizen and assaulted him without knowing his identity. Meanwhile, they continue their siege of the camp, which has become empty of its residents after they were forcibly displaced from their homes, and completely devoid of any signs of life, following the complete destruction of the infrastructure and the sabotage, demolition and burning of homes and facilities.

In a related development, occupation forces patrolled the city's streets throughout the night, specifically around Thabet Thabet Square and Bank Street, obstructing the movement of civilians and passing vehicles.

Yesterday, Israeli bulldozers began leveling sections of streets in the Aktaba suburb, starting from the Al-Hamdallah water pumping station area, adjacent to Aktaba roundabout, and extending 800 meters towards the employee housing neighborhood, causing destruction and damage to the infrastructure of the water and sewage networks.

The ongoing aggression on the city and its two camps has resulted in the deaths of 13 citizens, including a child and two women, one of whom was eight months pregnant. Dozens have also been injured and arrested, and more than 4,000 families have been forcibly displaced from the Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps, along with dozens of families from the city's northern neighborhood after their homes were seized and a number of them converted into military barracks.

The occupation's aggression also caused widespread destruction to the infrastructure, including homes, shops, and vehicles, which were completely and partially demolished, burned, vandalized, looted, and stolen. 396 homes were completely destroyed and 2,573 partially destroyed in the Tulkarm and Nur Shams camps, in addition to closing their entrances and alleys with earth mounds.

Two citizens were killed, Friday morning, by Israeli occupation forces in Jenin and Bethlehem.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Hussein Jamil Hardan, 42 years old, was martyred in Jenin.

The Ministry of Health announced that a young man was killed by Israeli occupation forces' gunfire near the town of Husan, west of Bethlehem, last night, and that his body was being withheld.

The Ministry of Health reported that the boy, Yousef Bakr Zaoul (17 years old), was killed by the occupation forces' bullets near the town of Husan last night, and his body was detained.

Twenty-five people were killed in the Gaza Strip, most of them in an Israeli airstrike on a house in the al-Manara neighborhood of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, in addition to raids on Shujaiya. The Israeli army announced on Friday the expansion of its ground invasion of the Shujaiya area in the northern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army said in a statement that its forces "began operations in the Shuja'iyya area in the northern Gaza Strip in recent hours, with the aim of consolidating control and expanding the security zone."

It added, "As part of the operation, the forces have so far been able to eliminate a number of (fighters) and destroy infrastructure. Among other things, a command and control complex used by Hamas operatives to plan and direct operations was destroyed."

On Friday, the Israeli army continued its war on the Gaza Strip, carrying out intensive raids on Rafah, Khan Younis, Gaza City, and Shuja'iyya in the northern Gaza Strip. Dozens of people, including women and children, were killed and injured in these raids. Israeli forces have also intensified their aerial and artillery bombardment of various areas across the Gaza Strip in recent hours.

The death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 1,163 and 2,735 wounded since the war resumed on March 18. Over 100 martyrs and 138 wounded have arrived at hospitals in the Strip over the past 24 hours.

The UN Security Council held a special session this evening, Thursday, to discuss the escalating Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, under the item on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: Israel's blockade of Gaza may amount to starvation as a method of warfare

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said that the Israeli blockade of Gaza may amount to the use of starvation as a method of warfare, expressing his shock at the recent killing of 15 medical and humanitarian workers in Gaza, "raising further concerns about the Israeli military committing war crimes." He called for an independent, prompt, and comprehensive investigation, stressing the need to hold accountable those responsible for any violations of international law.

In his briefing to the UN Security Council, Türk said, "The Israeli military continues to bombard camps of people who have been displaced multiple times and who have nowhere safe to go," adding that "Israeli evacuation orders do not comply with the requirements of international humanitarian law."

He said that the comprehensive Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza for a month "amounts to collective punishment and may amount to the use of starvation as a method of war."

He stressed that the blockade imposed on vital aid and supplies, including food, water, electricity, fuel, and medicine, is harming all Gazans, saying, "We are witnessing a return to the collapse of the social order that preceded the ceasefire."

Turk expressed concern about the "inflammatory rhetoric" of senior Israeli officials regarding land seizure, annexation, and partition, and the transfer of Palestinians out of Gaza. He said, "This raises serious concerns about the commission of international crimes and contradicts the fundamental principle of international law against the acquisition of territory by force."

He also expressed grave concern about the situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where more than 40,000 Palestinians have been displaced and entire refugee camps have been destroyed. Meanwhile, he reported that illegal settlement expansion "continues unabated," with some Israeli ministers calling for "Israeli sovereignty" over the occupied territories.

Türk urged an immediate return to the ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access to all parts of Gaza, warning of "a growing and significant risk of atrocity crimes being committed in the occupied Palestinian territory."

"Under the Geneva Conventions, states are obligated to act when a serious violation of international humanitarian law is committed. Under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, states parties have a responsibility to act to prevent such a crime when the threat becomes clear," Turk said.

"Israel must refrain from any actions that amount to forcible transfer of Gaza's population," he said.

The Israeli occupation army issued a warning to residents of several areas in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, urging them to evacuate their homes immediately before a military attack is launched.

The warning included residents of the Old City of Gaza, Sabra, Tal al-Hawa, and Western Zeitoun, where the occupation claimed that Palestinian factions were launching rockets from within civilian areas.

The Israeli military indicated that it had warned these areas "numerously," calling on residents to immediately move south to shelters in the Mawasi area, claiming this was "for their safety," according to the statement.

This warning comes amid the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in tens of thousands of civilian casualties and the displacement of large numbers of residents, amid a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Israeli occupation forces attacked a number of vehicles on Thursday evening during a raid on the town of Aqraba, south of Nablus.

According to local sources, occupation forces stormed the town of Aqraba, firing gunfire and stun grenades, sparking clashes and targeting civilian vehicles, some of which had their windows shattered.

Qatar has expressed its "strong condemnation" of recent media reports alleging that it paid money to undermine Egypt's mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel.

The Qatari government denied the "baseless allegations, which only serve agendas aimed at sabotaging mediation efforts and undermining relations between brotherly peoples."

The Qatari government's statement addressed the recent controversy in Israel, following the revelation that advisors close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had received funds from Qatar to promote Doha positively in Israel, in exchange for downplaying Egypt's role in mediating between Hamas and Israel. Suspects have been arrested in this case, which has become known in the media as "Qatargate."

A statement issued by the International Media Office in Doha said that the State of Qatar expresses its "strong condemnation of media statements by some media professionals and outlets alleging that the State of Qatar is paying money to diminish the efforts of the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt or any of the mediators in the mediation process between Hamas and Israel."

The statement added, "These allegations are baseless and serve only agendas aimed at sabotaging mediation efforts and undermining relations between brotherly peoples. They also represent a new chapter in the series of misinformation, distraction from the humanitarian suffering, and the ongoing politicization of the war."

Qatar also warned against "these individuals slipping into serving projects whose sole purpose is to thwart mediation and increase the suffering of our brothers in Palestine."

Doha affirmed its commitment to its humanitarian and diplomatic role in mediating between the concerned parties to end this disastrous war, and is working closely and continuously with our brothers in the Arab Republic of Egypt to enhance the chances of achieving a lasting ceasefire and protecting the lives of civilians.

The statement added: "The State of Qatar commends the pivotal role of our brothers in the Arab Republic of Egypt in this important issue, as daily cooperation and coordination between the two sides is underway to ensure the success of joint mediation efforts aimed at achieving stability in the region."

Qatar also reiterated its "emphasis that mediation efforts must remain free from any attempts at politicization or distortion, and that the priority remains alleviating the suffering of the Palestinian people, protecting civilians, and achieving a just and sustainable settlement based on the two-state solution."

Settlers established a new settlement outpost on Thursday evening near the Bedouin community of Hathrura, in the village of Khan al-Ahmar in Khan al-Ahmar, east of Jerusalem.

According to local sources, settlers, protected by occupation forces, have set up caravans and begun building infrastructure in an attempt to seize more land and expand settlements, linking the surrounding settlements within the "E1" settlement plan, which aims to separate the northern West Bank from the southern one.

The sources added that this move comes as part of the occupation's ongoing attempts to evacuate Bedouin communities, stressing that such measures constitute a clear violation of international law, especially given the ongoing threats to Khan al-Ahmar's residents for years.

Israeli airstrikes targeted two military headquarters near Damascus on Thursday, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA). The strike came hours after other Israeli airstrikes hit the capital and central Syria.

The Observatory said, "Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on military positions and posts in the First Division around the city of Al-Kiswah, and the 75th Brigade in the town of Al-Muqaylibah in the Damascus countryside, without any information about the extent of the losses."

Israel intensified airstrikes on Syria, declaring the attacks a warning to the new rulers in Damascus. It also accused Türkiye on Thursday of trying to impose its control over Syria.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine affirmed his country's opposition to any form of Israeli annexation in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank.

During the ministry's weekly press conference on Thursday, Lemoine stated that Paris condemns Israel's resumption of attacks on Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

He described the ceasefire violation as a "tragic setback," stressing France's opposition to any annexation efforts, whether in the West Bank or Gaza.

The French Foreign Ministry spokesman stressed the importance of resuming negotiations in the region, noting that the number of Palestinian deaths has reached catastrophic levels.

He also condemned the targeting of UN civilian infrastructure in Gaza, describing it as "unacceptable" and that humanitarian workers should not be targeted under any circumstances.

He revealed that Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stressed to his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa'ar, during their meeting in Paris this morning, the need for Israel to adhere to its responsibilities under the ceasefire agreement in effect since January 19, as does Hamas.

In a related context, Lemoine warned that the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem by extremist Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir constitutes a violation of the historical status quo of the holy sites.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to escalate the genocide in the Gaza Strip and implement US President Donald Trump's plan to displace Palestinians.

With full American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 165,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing.

Palestinian authorities warn that the widespread and destructive Israeli aggression comes "as part of a plan by Benjamin Netanyahu's government to annex the West Bank and declare sovereignty over it, which could represent an official declaration of the death of the two-state solution."

A young man was injured by Israeli occupation forces' bullets this evening, Thursday, near the Al-Jalameh military checkpoint.

Local sources said that occupation forces fired live bullets at a young man near the Jalameh checkpoint, north of Jenin, wounding him in the feet and then arresting him.

This evening, Thursday, the occupation forces arrested a citizen from Nazareth Street in the city of Jenin.

The occupation's aggression on the city of Jenin and its camp continues for the 73rd consecutive day, leaving 35 martyrs and dozens of wounded and detained.

An Israeli military spokesman announced Thursday that his forces had carried out more than 600 airstrikes on targets in the Gaza Strip, noting that these attacks were part of "preparing the ground" for an imminent ground operation.

He also confirmed that military operations would continue gradually until "all detainees, living and dead, are freed," he claimed.

In a related development, the spokesman admitted to carrying out airstrikes in Syria, targeting sites he said contained weapons that he claimed posed a threat to Tel Aviv.

He added that his forces encountered some "saboteurs" during their operations and eliminated them. He also noted that Tel Aviv "maintains ambiguity" in its military operations to surprise its enemies, according to his claims.

Regarding Lebanon, the spokesman held the Lebanese army responsible for what is happening within its territory, stressing the continuation of military operations "to protect the security of Israeli settlers" and prevent the deployment of any hostile forces in southern Syria, indicating the ongoing escalation in the region.

A number of citizens suffered suffocation on Thursday during an Israeli occupation forces raid on the town of Qaryut, south of Nablus.

According to local sources, occupation forces stormed the town amid heavy gunfire and tear gas canisters, sparking clashes that left several residents suffering from suffocation, including those inside their homes.

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the international community and the Security Council on Thursday to take a serious and firm stand against ongoing Israeli violations in Syria and the region and to activate international accountability mechanisms.

In a statement published on the X platform, the Saudi Foreign Ministry expressed the Kingdom's "strong condemnation and denunciation of the Israeli raid that targeted five different areas in the sisterly Syrian Arab Republic, resulting in dozens of civilian and military casualties."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated "the Kingdom's categorical rejection of the Israeli occupation authorities' attempts to threaten the security and stability of Syria and the region through their violations of international law."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, called on member states to withdraw from the Court, following Hungary's lead.

This came during a joint press conference held by Netanyahu on Thursday with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest, following the latter's announcement of his country's decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court.

Addressing his Hungarian counterpart, Netanyahu said, "You proudly support Israel and stand with us in international institutions. You have taken a clear moral stand on the International Criminal Court, and I call on other countries to follow your example and withdraw from the ICC," he said.

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted the Hungarian Prime Minister as saying that he decided to withdraw from the International Criminal Court "because it has become politicized, and the decisions made regarding Israel clearly demonstrate this."

Orbán claimed, "The court has become a cheap political tool, and we don't want to participate in it. The foreign minister will submit a bill to parliament, and we will leave the court."

For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Hungarian Prime Minister's reception of his Israeli counterpart was "a disregard for international justice and law."

In a statement, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry expressed its disapproval of the press conference between the Hungarian Prime Minister and the occupying state's disregard for the war of genocide, displacement, and annexation, as well as the rights of the Palestinian people, which enjoy international consensus.

She considered that "this disregard constitutes a serious setback in international relations."

Hamas also condemned "in the strongest terms the Hungarian government's announcement of its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, coinciding with the visit of war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the court for the heinous crimes committed by his fascist army against our Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip."

Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévost said Hungary's withdrawal from the ICC was "regrettable and a setback for international justice and the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes."

Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock described Hungary's decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court as "a bad day for international criminal law."

"I have repeatedly stated clearly that no one in Europe is above the law, and that this applies to all areas of the law," Baerbock added.

Netanyahu arrived in Hungary early Thursday morning for a visit that will last until Saturday evening.

Hungary has become the first country in the world to refuse to implement the International Criminal Court's decision to arrest Netanyahu.

Netanyahu decided to travel to Hungary at the invitation of its prime minister, who pledged not to implement the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant.

Netanyahu is subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court on November 21, 2024, when the court's judges ordered his arrest and that of his then-Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Gaza Strip, dating back to at least October 8, 2023.

These crimes include starvation of civilians, directing deliberate attacks against the civilian population, murder, and persecution.

The court lacks the police force to enforce its ruling, but its 124 member states are legally obligated to arrest Netanyahu and Galant if they enter their territories and hand them over to the court for legal action against them, in light of the ongoing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, with US support.

Since the arrest warrant was issued, Netanyahu has only left for the United States, which is not a member state of the court.

The Rome Statute was adopted in the Italian capital in 1998 and entered into force in 2002.

This system is the cornerstone of the establishment of the International Criminal Court as the first permanent international judicial body competent to hold accountable those responsible for gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.

Daily Mail columnist Dan Hodges reported on Wednesday that the United States and Israel are currently planning to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities, an attack that could occur within "a few weeks."

Hodges wrote the report while in Tel Aviv, citing Israeli political, diplomatic, and military sources. He stated that the aim of the strike was to "eliminate the threat" posed by Iran's "nuclear weapons program," despite the lack of evidence that Tehran possesses a nuclear weapons program, a fact recently confirmed by US intelligence agencies.

Hodges said that a senior Israeli diplomatic source believes that the Trump presidency represents the best time to strike Iran. The official said, "From Israel's perspective, with Trump in the White House, this is the best time to deal with Iran. There will be no better opportunity."

Trump recently threatened to bomb Iran if a nuclear agreement was not reached, reportedly giving Tehran a two-month deadline, ending at the end of May. Iran responded to Trump by rejecting direct talks in the face of mounting US pressure, but Tehran offered indirect negotiations. Axios reported on Wednesday that the White House was seriously considering Iran's offer of indirect talks, but was amassing US forces in the Middle East in preparation for an attack on the Islamic Republic. US officials told Axios that there was an internal debate within the White House between those who wanted to engage with the Iranians and those who wanted to bomb Iran immediately. The report stated: "If Trump decides the time is right, he will be prepared to respond."

Experts believe that while the United States could launch intensive bombing campaigns against Iran in its efforts to destroy the Iranian nuclear program, in whole or in part, these nuclear programs are scattered over more than 5,000-6,000 sites across the country, extending from its borders with Iraq and Turkey to its borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan, most of them deep in the mountains, requiring heavy B-52 bombers in a carpet bombing campaign that would last for months, and perhaps years.

It's worth noting that during his first presidential term, Trump withdrew from the 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers, which placed strict restrictions on Tehran's disputed nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

Recent US deployments to the Middle East have included an additional aircraft carrier, additional air assets, and the deployment of more B-2 bombers to the US base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. According to Haaretz, this military buildup is the largest US offensive deployment to the region since October 7, 2023. This US military buildup also comes amid an intensified US bombing campaign in Yemen, which Trump launched on March 15. The US president has linked the airstrikes to Iran, stating that every Houthi attack will be blamed on the Islamic Republic, despite US officials acknowledging that the Houthis act independently and have a domestically produced weapons supply.

Trump had imposed comprehensive US sanctions to appease Netanyahu. Since then, according to experts, Iran has far exceeded the agreed-upon limits in its escalating uranium enrichment program.

A comprehensive US-Israeli attack on Iran would likely trigger massive Iranian missile attacks on US bases in the region, and the situation could escalate rapidly from there. In the face of US threats, a senior commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard warned that the United States has "10 bases in the region, especially around Iran, and 50,000 troops stationed there," and said that the United States is "sitting in a glass house."

A number of civilians were killed and injured when the Israeli occupation forces bombed a school housing displaced persons in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood, northeast of Gaza City.

According to local sources, Israeli aircraft bombed the Dar al-Arqam school, which was sheltering displaced persons, with three missiles, killing and wounding a number of civilians.

The death toll in the Gaza Strip has risen to 50,523, and the number of injuries to 114,776, since the start of the aggression on October 7, 2023.

Israeli occupation bulldozers began leveling streets in the Aktaba suburb, east of Tulkarm, on Thursday afternoon.

According to local sources, two Israeli bulldozers, backed by a number of vehicles and infantry units, stormed the suburb and began bulldozing sections of the street adjacent to the Iktaba roundabout, extending 800 meters toward the Employees' Housing District.

The sources added that the bulldozing caused destruction and devastation to the infrastructure, particularly the water and sewage networks, while occupation soldiers raided a building and began firing live ammunition indiscriminately.

The occupation forces stopped vehicles heading to the Al-Iskan neighborhood and prevented them from passing, causing a severe traffic jam in the area.

In the same context, the occupation forces continue their aggression on the city of Tulkarm and its camp for the 67th consecutive day, and on the Nur Shams camp for the 54th day, amidst a tight siege on the two camps, accompanied by military reinforcements and attacks on citizens, forcing them to leave their homes by force and preventing them from returning to them, coinciding with the massive destruction of infrastructure and property.

Tonight, 8 citizens were killed and others were injured when the occupation forces targeted a home and tents of displaced people west of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip.

Local sources confirmed that eight members of the Al-Aqqad family were killed when Israeli forces targeted a house and tents housing displaced persons in the Al-Katiba area, west of Khan Yunis.

A short while ago, a citizen, his wife, and three of his children were killed, along with another citizen, and others were injured in an Israeli bombardment of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Medical sources announced on Wednesday that the death toll from the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip had risen to 50,423, and the number of injuries to 114,638, since October 7, 2023.

The Hungarian government said Thursday it has decided to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, a move that came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the country on an official visit.

There is an arrest warrant for Netanyahu from the International Criminal Court.

Viktor Orbán, Hungary's right-wing prime minister, invited his Israeli counterpart to Budapest last November, a day after a court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on charges of war crimes in the Gaza Strip, where Israel has been waging a military operation in response to a Hamas attack on southern Israel.

Israel has rejected the charges, calling them politically motivated and anti-Semitic. It also argues that the court has lost all legitimacy by issuing an arrest warrant for the democratically elected leader of a state exercising its right to self-defense.

Hungary is a founding member of the International Criminal Court and is theoretically obliged to arrest and surrender anyone against whom a warrant is issued by the court.

But Orbán made it clear when he issued the invitation that Budapest would not implement the decision, which he described as "blatant, ridiculous and completely unacceptable."

Hungary signed the Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1999 and ratified it in 2001, but the law has not been formally promulgated.

Gergely Gulyás, Viktor Orbán's chief of staff, said in November that although Hungary had ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, it "has never been incorporated into Hungarian law," meaning none of the court's proceedings could be implemented within Hungary.

The Hungarian government will begin withdrawal procedures later today, the official MTI news agency quoted Gulyas as saying on Thursday.

Orbán hinted at the possibility of Hungary withdrawing after US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan in February.

"It's time for Hungary to review what it is doing in an international organization that is subject to US sanctions," Orbán said on Twitter in February.

The Hungarian parliament, dominated by Orbán's Fidesz coalition of young democrats, is likely to pass a bill to begin the process of withdrawing from the court. The withdrawal process will last for a year.

Netanyahu has enjoyed strong support for years from Orban, a key ally who has been willing to block EU statements and actions critical of Israel in the past.

In issuing the arrest warrants, ICC judges said there were reasonable legal grounds to believe Netanyahu and the former Israeli defense minister bore criminal responsibility for crimes including murder, persecution, and the use of starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population in Gaza."

The court also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, known as Mohammed al-Deif, whose death the movement announced in January.

Prisoners' Club spokesman Amjad al-Najjar said that the conditions of detainees in Israeli prisons have returned to square one, following the end of the first phase of the ceasefire agreement.

Speaking to Voice of Palestine Radio, Al-Najjar pointed out that the decisions issued by the extremist Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, which included more than 32 military orders and 77 repressive directives and regulations, led to an unprecedented escalation in violations against detainees and resulted in the deaths of more than 63 detainees in prisons since October 7, 2023.

Al-Najjar pointed to the widespread prevalence of scabies among detainees as a result of the denial of cleaning and bathing supplies and the entry of clothing. He also noted that prison authorities deliberately transferred those infected to empty cells, thereby spreading the infection without providing treatment.

The Water Authority reported on Thursday that the Israeli company Mekorot has reduced the amount of water supplied from the Deir Sha'ar water connection to the southern West Bank governorates, specifically the Hebron governorate, by a recent rate of more than 5,500 cubic meters per day.

The Water Authority explained in a statement that this connection previously supplied the area with 32,000 cubic meters of water per day, and after the reduction, it now supplies an average of 26,500 cubic meters per day. The authority noted that the reduction in water quantities is ongoing, which will impact the approved distribution program for the areas supplied by this connection.

She noted that after communicating with Mekorot, the company explained that the reduction in quantities was a result of the company carrying out maintenance and upgrades to the pumps in the Deir Shaar system, with the aim of ensuring a more stable situation during the coming summer.

She added, "The technical team is continuing to follow up with Mekorot to restore pumping volumes to previous levels, and service providers will be informed of any subsequent developments."

The Water Authority called on municipalities and water supply entities to take the necessary measures to ensure the continued supply of water to citizens, based on available quantities, and to reschedule distribution operations to accommodate the current emergency.

- More than 1,055 cases of arrest of children since October 7

Famine and malnutrition threaten the lives of children in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli aggression destroyed the right to education for an entire Palestinian generation.

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics said Thursday that children constitute 43% of the Palestinian population, and that there are 39,000 orphans in the Gaza Strip, describing it as the largest orphan crisis in modern history.

On the eve of Palestinian Children's Day, the statistics revealed that famine and malnutrition threaten the lives of children in the Gaza Strip, with an expected 60,000 cases of acute malnutrition. The statistics also confirmed the return of polio to the Gaza Strip.

It pointed out that the occupation forces have arrested more than 1,055 children since October 7, in a systematic violation of children's rights and a flagrant breach of international law.

Children constitute 43% of the Palestinian population, with the Gaza Strip leading at 47%.

Demographic estimates indicate that the population of the State of Palestine will reach approximately 5.5 million by the end of 2024, distributed as follows: 3.4 million in the West Bank and 2.1 million in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian society is characterized by a young population, with children under 18 years of age constituting 43% of the total population, approximately 2.38 million children, including 1.39 million in the West Bank and 0.98 million in the Gaza Strip. The under-15 age group constituted 37% of the total population, equivalent to approximately 2.03 million children, including 1.18 million in the West Bank and 0.9 million in the Gaza Strip. The under-18 age group constituted approximately 47% of the population in Gaza, compared to 41% in the West Bank, while the percentage of children under 15 in the Gaza Strip reached 40.3% compared to 34.8% in the West Bank.

The Gaza Strip is bleeding childhood: 534 days of aggression rob children of their dreams and destroy their innocence under the rubble.

During the 534 days of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip (October 7, 2023 – March 23, 2025), Palestinian children faced an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, as they, along with women, constituted more than 60% of the total victims.

The aggression resulted in the death of 50,021 Palestinians, including 17,954 children, including 274 infants born and killed by shelling, 876 children under the age of one, 17 children who died of cold in displacement camps, and 52 children who died of starvation and systematic malnutrition. 113,274 were injured, 69% of whom were children and women, while more than 11,200 citizens remain missing, 70% of whom are children and women.

In the West Bank, 923 citizens, including 188 children, have been killed and 660 children have been injured since the beginning of the Israeli aggression until the date of this statement.

More than 1,055 cases of arrest of children: a systematic violation of children's rights and a flagrant breach of international law.

A report issued by prisoners' rights organizations revealed an unprecedented escalation in the Israeli occupation's arrests of Palestinian children. During 2024 alone, the report documented the arrest of at least 700 children, bringing the total number of children detained since the outbreak of the war to more than 1,055. These children were deprived of their childhood and their right to education, and were subjected to serious violations during their arrests, including nighttime raids on their homes, beatings in front of their families, and shooting at them. They were also handcuffed, blindfolded, and denied legal assistance, in clear violation of international law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. As of early March 2025, the occupation continued to hold more than 350 child prisoners. Under the January 2025 ceasefire agreement, 51 children from the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Green Line were released, in addition to 44 children from the Gaza Strip who had been arrested after October 7, as part of the first phase of the prisoner exchange deal.

39,000 orphans in the Gaza Strip: the largest orphan crisis in modern history.

Estimates reveal that 39,384 children in the Gaza Strip have lost one or both parents after 534 days of Israeli aggression. This includes approximately 17,000 children who were deprived of both parents, leaving them facing a harsh life without support or care. These children live in tragic conditions, with many forced to take refuge in torn tents or destroyed homes, with virtually no access to social care or psychological support.

However, the suffering is not limited to the loss of family and shelter; it extends to severe psychological and social crises. They suffer from profound psychological disorders, such as depression, isolation, and chronic fear, lacking security and proper guidance. Furthermore, they suffer from impaired learning and social development, which can lead them to fall prey to child labor or exploitation in a harsh and unforgiving environment.

Gaza's children caught between the bombing and the collapse of the health system: an ongoing tragedy.

A report issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) revealed a catastrophic reality experienced by children with disabilities in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli aggression. Fifteen children were permanently disabled every day due to the use of internationally banned explosive weapons, bringing the total number of injuries to 7,065 children, including hundreds who lost limbs, sight, or hearing. 4,700 amputations were recorded, 18% (equivalent to 846 cases) of which were among children, further compounding the tragedy. These children face a double catastrophe due to physical and psychological disabilities, in addition to the collapse of the health system due to the destruction of hospitals and the prevention of the entry of medical supplies and prosthetic limbs. The spread of malnutrition has exacerbated bone deformities and hindered wound healing.

In addition, approximately 7,700 newborns are at risk of death due to a lack of medical care, as the remaining hospitals operate at very limited capacity, endangering the lives of children. With incubators, ventilators, and essential medicines in short supply, health conditions have deteriorated, increasing the likelihood of their deaths.

Polio returns to the Gaza Strip after 25 years: Vaccination campaigns face major challenges amid a stifling health crisis.

The Gaza Strip experienced its first polio outbreak in 25 years in July 2024, due to a drop in vaccination rates from 99% to 86% due to the difficult health conditions. In response, the World Health Organization, in collaboration with other UN agencies and the Palestinian Ministry of Health, implemented three vaccination rounds to combat the spread of the disease. During the first round, 559,161 children aged 0-10 years were vaccinated with the new oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), followed by 556,774 children in the second round, and 602,795 children in the third round. These efforts have contributed to limiting the spread of the virus despite ongoing challenges.

Famine and malnutrition threaten the lives of children in the Gaza Strip: 60,000 cases of acute malnutrition expected.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report for the period from November 2024 to April 2025 shows that approximately 1.95 million people across the Gaza Strip are expected to suffer from high levels of acute food insecurity, classified as Phase 3 or higher (Crisis or worse). This includes approximately 345,000 people who are likely to face catastrophic food insecurity (IPC Phase 5). Approximately 60,000 cases of acute malnutrition are expected to be recorded among children aged 6 to 59 months between September 2024 and August 2025. This means that these children suffer from a severe shortage of essential nutrients that significantly impacts their health and growth. Among these, 12,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition, the worst form of malnutrition, can lead to serious health complications, including organ failure or death. 16,500 pregnant and breastfeeding women will also require treatment for severe malnutrition, which significantly impacts their health and that of their children and may lead to health complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

From bombing to arrest: How the Israeli aggression destroyed the right to education for an entire Palestinian generation.

Education in the Gaza Strip has been a major victim of the ongoing Israeli aggression, which has lasted for 471 days. The occupying forces have completely destroyed 111 public schools, severely damaged 241 others, and bombed and vandalized 89 UNRWA schools. As a result, 700,000 students have been deprived of their basic right to education for the 2024/2025 academic year, while approximately 39,000 students have been deprived of their right to take the General Secondary Certificate Examination for the 2023/2024 academic year.

The destruction was not limited to buildings; lives were also affected: 12,441 students and 519 teachers were killed under the bombardment, while 19,819 students and 2,703 teachers were injured with varying degrees of severity. There is still no accurate information on the number of school students and teaching staff arrested by the Israeli occupation forces during ground operations in various areas of the Gaza Strip.

The aggression disrupted regular education for two consecutive academic years, with classes suspended for 300 school days until January 28, 2025. Although the Ministry of Education has adopted alternative educational paths such as synchronous and asynchronous e-learning and temporary schools, data from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education indicates that more than 298,000 students in the Gaza Strip are enrolled in virtual schools. However, many of these students have been unable to receive their education effectively throughout this period due to the lack of safe areas, in addition to power and internet outages, and the scarcity of necessary equipment. This threatens an educational gap that threatens the future of an entire generation.

In the West Bank, the situation was no better, with 90 students killed and 555 others injured, in addition to 301 students and 163 teaching staff arrested, as part of a systematic policy to dismantle the educational infrastructure.

A recent report by the Education Cluster indicated a sharp deterioration in access to education for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, during 2024, due to a complex set of obstacles including Israeli movement restrictions, home demolitions, settler violence, and intensive military operations.

The Palestinian Ministry of Education recorded 2,274 incidents of violence targeting the education system, including 109 attacks targeting schools through vandalism or direct assault, where armed settlers stormed classrooms, detained students and teachers, or harassed students on their way to school.

The report indicated that more than half of students in the most affected areas were subjected to harassment or forced delays on their way to school, depriving approximately 806,000 students of safe access to education. Since the occupation's large-scale aggression in the northern West Bank on January 21, 2025, the educational process has been disrupted in approximately 100 schools.

Al-Tafakji to (i): A tool to strengthen Israeli control and undermine the chances of a two-state solution, the economy, and the social and geographical fabric... The occupation approves the "fabric of life" project for settlement expansion and connection.

The Israeli cabinet approved the implementation of the "Fabric of Life" settlement road project on Sunday, pre-dawn, before Eid al-Fitr. The road connects the northern West Bank to its southern part via a tunnel east of occupied Jerusalem, and includes large areas in the central West Bank and the Jordan Valley.

The occupation government, through Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, said: "The project aims to improve the infrastructure of Israeli settlements and connect them to each other."

But in reality, it reinforces the de facto annexation of the settlements surrounding Jerusalem within the Zionist concept of "Greater Jerusalem," imposes greater restrictions on the Palestinians, and deprives them of large areas of the West Bank, especially Areas B and C, according to the Oslo Accords.

Settlement expert Khalil Al-Tafakji told Al-Quds that the project is being implemented in successive sections and rings, and that this part of the project is the final link in separating the Palestinians from the Jordan Valley and the northern and southern Badia of Jerusalem. It is a prelude to implementing the settlement project (i.e. 1) the eastern gate of Jerusalem to close off Jerusalem from the West Bank in the final circle.

Al-Tafkaji pointed out the most significant dangers of this road or tunnel, which will connect the north of the West Bank to its south without entering occupied Jerusalem and without severing the connection between the outposts and settlements in the east of the city and the Jordan Valley. This road separates the West Bank from the Jerusalem desert in the center of the West Bank and consolidates the Palestinian presence in two separate blocs in the south and north, with no geographical connection except through this tunnel, which is controlled by the occupation and the settlers.

Al-Tafakji said: “The most prominent goals and dangers of this tunnel, which represents a bottleneck for the Palestinians, are:

1. Strengthening the de facto annexation of the West Bank: The project includes the construction of roads, tunnels, and bridges aimed at connecting Jewish settlements, separate from Palestinian communities, thus deepening the occupation's control over the region. It contributes to the separation of Palestinian cities and villages from one another and reinforces the division of the West Bank into isolated cantons.

2. Enforcing the apartheid system: Palestinians are allowed to use specific roads that are different from those designated for settlers, which deepens the policy of segregation and confirms the existence of a racist system of transportation.

It deprives Palestinians of freedom of movement and travel within their lands, which harms economic and social life.

3. Expanding and legalizing settlements: The project aims to provide advanced infrastructure for settlements, facilitating their expansion and attracting more settlers, with the goal of reaching one million settlers in the West Bank by 2030. It also contributes to legalizing illegal settlements by connecting them to an integrated Israeli road network.

4. Destruction of the Palestinian environment: Implementing the project requires the confiscation of vast areas of Palestinian land, leading to the uprooting of trees, the destruction of agricultural land, and the demolition of homes. It also threatens Palestinian water resources, exposing groundwater sources to Israeli exploitation.

5. Stifling the Palestinian economy: It hinders the movement of goods and internal trade between Palestinian cities, harming economic sectors such as agriculture and industry. It increases Palestinians' dependence on the Israeli economy by reducing their ability to move freely between production and distribution centers.

6. Complicating the two-state solution by consecrating the fragmentation of the West Bank into separate cantons and population blocs, by imposing new facts on the ground, makes it difficult to discuss the possibility of establishing a geographically contiguous Palestinian state. It also reinforces the imposition of Israeli sovereignty over large parts of the West Bank, weakening any future possibility of negotiations.

Al-Tafakji explained that the "fabric of life" project is not merely an infrastructure development, but rather a new colonial tool to consolidate Israeli control and undermine the chances of establishing an independent Palestinian state. It directly impacts the lives of Palestinians through increased isolation, settlement expansion, and economic destruction, making it a long-term strategic threat.

For his part, Jerusalem affairs researcher Ziad Abhais reviewed the repercussions of the construction of the "Fabric of Life Road" designated exclusively for Palestinians, saying: "It is an underground tunnel designated for Palestinians only, starting from the south of Al-Eizariya and extending to the north of the town of Al-Za'im. This means that Palestinian passage between the southern and northern parts of the West Bank is restricted to this tunnel, thus preventing their passage from the current Bethlehem-Ramallah road, which connects to Route 1 at the Ma'ale Adumim junction." He added, "The approval of this road was initially supported by Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home party, which formed a coalition of religious Zionist forces when he served as Minister of Defense in Netanyahu's government in 2020. It is proposed that it be fully funded from the clearance revenues confiscated from the Palestinian Authority, noting that its cost is $92 million."

"It was called the 'fabric of life' road because the Israeli army is trying to market it as a road that enhances the 'Palestinian lifestyle' and creates a 'fabric of life' between the northern and southern West Bank," Buhais explained. "The actual goal of its construction is the complete opposite: allowing direct communication between Israeli settlements, removing security barriers from the roads that connect them, and designating them exclusively for Israelis."

Buhais explained that this road will consume hundreds of dunams of Palestinian land, and its construction will require the demolition of structures in the towns of al-Eizariya, which are classified as "Area B" according to the Oslo Accords. According to the agreement, the Palestinian Authority is supposed to regulate construction and housing there.

It is noteworthy that according to the Oslo Accords and the subsequent Wye River Agreement, the West Bank was supposed to be divided into three areas: the first (A), which constitutes 18% of the West Bank and where security and administrative powers are vested in the Palestinian Authority; the second (B), which constitutes 21% of the West Bank and where administrative powers are vested in the Palestinian Authority and security powers are shared; and the third (C), which is completely outside the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority and constitutes 61% of the West Bank.

“To pave the way for the establishment of this road and the annexation of the Adumim settlement bloc, the Israeli government had previously withdrawn the building and planning powers in the Jerusalem wilderness from the Palestinian Authority in June 2024, thus removing its authority over approximately 3% of the area of Area B of the West Bank and transferring it to the occupation army through the “Civil Administration,” meaning that the authority’s powers in its two parts, Areas A and B, now extend over 2,110 square kilometers, which constitutes 7.8% of the original area of Palestine, cut off by approximately 700 checkpoints,” Buhais said.

Building on its predecessor, the "Fabric of Life" road is actually divided into two sections: the northern section, which was completed between 2017 and 2020, and the southern section, which has now been referred for implementation. The northern section connects the towns of Az-Zayyim and Anata to the north, and consists of two parallel roads separated by the wall. The first is for Palestinians and allows passage from Az-Zayyim to Anata and then continuing north toward Ramallah. The second is for Israelis and provides a northern entrance to Jerusalem, linking it to the Adumim settlement bloc.

He concluded by saying, "If work is completed on this section of the underground tunnel, it will be connected to the northern section adjacent to the wall, making it the only road designated for Palestinians between the north and south of the West Bank, while the settlers' roads connecting them to Jerusalem will be free of barriers."

Today, Thursday, the Israeli occupation forces began demolishing a house in the town of Jaba, north of occupied Jerusalem.

The Jerusalem Governorate reported that Israeli bulldozers stormed the town and began demolishing a 40-year-old home belonging to Jerusalemite Atta al-Obeidi.

A citizen was injured by live bullets from the town of Jaba', north of occupied Jerusalem, during clashes with occupation forces.

The Red Crescent Society reported that a citizen was shot in the thigh by live Israeli occupation forces in the town of Jaba', north of occupied Jerusalem, and was transferred to a hospital in Ramallah.

She added that the occupation forces stormed the town of Qatana, northwest of Jerusalem, and raided a commercial store.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu begins a four-day visit to Hungary on Thursday, defying an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for his alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The Israeli Prime Minister is scheduled to meet with his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, before a press conference at approximately 10:00 a.m. GMT.

Hungary is a founding member of the International Criminal Court and is legally obligated to arrest and surrender anyone subject to a warrant issued by the court, but the Hungarian Prime Minister made it clear when he issued the invitation that Budapest would not implement the decision.

Orban reiterated Israel's condemnation of the court, describing its decision to issue the warrants as "blatant, cynical, and completely unacceptable."

In Budapest, workers were busy Wednesday constructing a platform at Buda Castle, where Orban is scheduled to receive Netanyahu with military honors on Thursday morning. Security forces were seen near the hotel in the center of the capital where Netanyahu will stay.

Second trip abroad..

This visit will mark Netanyahu's second foreign trip since the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for him and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant last November, but details of the agenda are unclear, except for a planned visit to a Holocaust memorial.

Netanyahu visited Washington last February to meet with his close ally, US President Donald Trump.

Israel and the United States have not joined the International Criminal Court, as Washington argues that the court could be used for politically motivated prosecutions.

Orban extended the invitation to Netanyahu a day after a court issued an arrest warrant for him on charges of war crimes in the Gaza Strip, where Israel is waging a military operation.

The targeting of Gaza resulted in the deaths of more than 50,000 Palestinians and the destruction of the Strip, sparking protests around the world and prompting South Africa to file a separate lawsuit at the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of committing genocide.

This is the final chapter of genocide. It is the final, bloody push to expel Palestinians from Gaza. No food, no medicine, no shelter, no clean water, no electricity.

Israel is rapidly turning Gaza into a site of human misery, where Palestinians are being killed by the hundreds, and soon again by the thousands and tens of thousands, or forced to leave never to return.

This final chapter marks the end of the Israeli lies: the lie of the two-state solution. The lie that Israel respects the laws of war that protect civilians. The lie that Israel bombs hospitals and schools only because they are used by Hamas. The lie that Hamas uses civilians as human shields, while Israel forces Palestinian captives into tunnels and buildings that are likely to be booby-trapped ahead of its forces.

The lie that Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad are responsible—often allegedly due to errant Palestinian rockets—for the destruction of hospitals, UN buildings, or Palestinian casualties.

The lie that humanitarian aid to Gaza is being blocked because Hamas seizes trucks or smuggles weapons. The lie that Israeli children were beheaded, or that Palestinians committed gang rape against Israeli women.

The lie that 75% of the tens of thousands killed in Gaza were Hamas "terrorists." The lie that Hamas, because it was rearming and recruiting fighters, bears responsibility for the collapse of the ceasefire agreement.

The naked face of genocidal Israel is now exposed. It has ordered the evacuation of the residents of northern Gaza, where desperate Palestinians are camped out amid the rubble of their homes.

What is coming now is mass starvation—the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on March 21 that it had only six days of flour supplies—death from diseases caused by contaminated water and food, and dozens of people killed and wounded daily under a barrage of rockets, shells, and bullets.

Nothing will function: bakeries, water and sewage treatment plants, hospitals—Israel bombed the damaged Turkish Palestine Hospital on March 21—schools, aid distribution centers, or clinics. Fewer than half of the 53 ambulances operated by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society are operational due to fuel shortages. Soon, there will be nothing left.

Israel's message is clear: Gaza will not be livable. Leave or die.

Since Tuesday, when Israel violated the ceasefire with intense bombing, more than 700 Palestinians, including 200 children, have been killed. In just 24 hours, 400 Palestinians have been killed. And this is just the beginning. None of the Western powers, including the United States, which supplies Israel with weapons, intends to stop these massacres.

The images from Gaza during the nearly 16 months of devastating attacks were horrific. But what's to come will be even worse. It will rival the worst war crimes of the 20th century, including mass starvation, massacres, and the Nazis' razing of Warsaw Ghetto in 1943.

October 7 marked a dividing line between an Israeli policy aimed at subjugating and oppressing Palestinians, and a policy calling for their extermination and displacement from historic Palestine.

What we are witnessing now parallels a historical moment similar to what happened after the deaths of some 200 soldiers under George Armstrong Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. After that humiliating defeat, it was decided to exterminate the Native Americans or to herd the survivors into prison camps, later called "reservations," where thousands died of disease and lived in misery and despair under the watchful eyes of armed occupiers. Expect the same for the Palestinians in Gaza, where they will likely be buried in one of the hells on earth and then forgotten.

"Residents of Gaza, this is your final warning," threatened Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant. "The first Sinwar destroyed Gaza, and the second Sinwar will destroy it completely. The air force's strikes against Hamas terrorists were just the first step. Things will get more difficult, and you will pay the full price. The evacuation of residents from combat zones will soon begin again. Return the hostages and get rid of Hamas, and another path will open for you, including evacuation to other parts of the world for those who wish. The alternative is complete destruction."

The ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas was designed to be implemented in three phases. The first, a 42-day cessation of hostilities, stipulates that Hamas will release 33 Israeli hostages captured on October 7, 2023—including women, the elderly, and the sick—in exchange for approximately 21,000 Palestinian men, women, and children held by Israel (Israel had released approximately 1,900 Palestinians as of March 18).

Hamas has released 147 hostages so far, including eight who are deceased. Israel says 59 Israelis are still being held by Hamas, 35 of whom it believes are dead.

Under the agreement, Israeli forces will withdraw from populated areas in Gaza on the first day of the truce. On the seventh day, displaced Palestinians will be allowed to return to northern Gaza. Israel will allow the entry of 600 aid trucks daily carrying food and medicine.

The second phase, which was supposed to be negotiated on the sixteenth day of the ceasefire, included the release of the remaining Israeli hostages. Israel would complete its withdrawal from Gaza, while maintaining a presence in some areas of the Philadelphi Corridor, which runs along the Gaza-Egypt border. It would also hand over control of the Rafah border crossing to Egypt.

The third phase was devoted to negotiating a permanent end to the war and the reconstruction of Gaza.

But Israel has consistently signed agreements—such as the Camp David Accords and the Oslo Accords—that include phases and timetables, only to violate them after achieving what it wanted in the first phase. This pattern has never changed.

Israel refused to abide by the second phase. It blocked the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza two weeks ago, a violation of the agreement. It also killed 137 Palestinians during the first phase of the truce, including nine people—three of them journalists—when Israeli drones attacked a relief team on March 15 in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza.

Israel resumed its heavy bombardment of Gaza on March 18, while most Palestinians were asleep or preparing for the pre-dawn meal of Ramadan. Israel will not cease its attacks even if all hostages are released—the stated reason for resuming the bombing and blockade.

The Trump administration, along with Democratic Party leaders like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, is encouraging these massacres. They attack critics of the genocide as "anti-Semites" who must be silenced, criminalized, or deported, while they pour billions of dollars in arms into Israel.

Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza is the culmination of its colonial settlement project and its apartheid state. The seizure of all of historic Palestine—including the West Bank, which Israel is soon expected to annex—and the displacement of all Palestinians has always been the goal of the Zionist movement.

Israel's worst atrocities occurred during the 1948 and 1967 wars, when it seized vast swaths of historic Palestine, killed thousands of Palestinians, and forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands. Between these wars, the slow-motion theft of land, settlement expansion, bloody attacks, and ongoing ethnic cleansing continued in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

That calculated dance is over. This is the end. What we are witnessing now eclipses all historical attacks on Palestinians. Israel’s insane genocidal dream—the Palestinians’ nightmare—is about to come true. It will forever shatter the myth that we, or any Western country, respect the rule of law or defend human rights, democracy, and the “virtues” of Western civilization. Israel’s barbarism is a reflection of us. We may not realize it, but the rest of the world does.

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The images from Gaza during the nearly 16 months of devastating attacks were horrific. But what's to come will be even worse. It will rival the worst war crimes of the 20th century, including mass starvation, massacres, and the Nazis' razing of Warsaw Ghetto in 1943.

The war against our people is intensifying and expanding, against their cause, their rights, their existence and their awareness, not to mention the internal devastation. There is a fear that the rift will widen beyond repair, and this is what we see and feel from the extent of the devastation, as there are tools and militias pushing towards the dismantling and fragmentation of Palestinian society, and penetrating the walls of its societal and national protection, by igniting tribal and clan disputes, based on "frights", and transforming any personal dispute between two people and dressing it in the garb of tribalism, regionalism and sectarianism. We also find those working to encroach on people's rights, property and possessions, imposing tributes and protection money on them, spreading a culture of despair and frustration among the people, and pushing them towards unpatriotic choices that serve hostile projects. It seems that suspicious weapons, "shocking" weapons, bullying and thuggery are spreading like wildfire, and through them threats are spread to people, terror and fear are spread among them, and through them shootings and killings are also facilitated. The incubators of these militias and gangs that benefit from the state of chaos are found in the tribes and even have security and political incubators.

The disintegration and collapse of the home front is more dangerous than the occupation and its continued existence. This front is tearing us down from within, causing us to lose our cohesion and unity, and disintegrating nationally and as a society.

Therefore, the battle to protect existence and the social fabric is a fundamental battle, in which everyone must be mobilized, and in which great energies and capabilities must be employed. It is necessary to question, hold accountable, and remove the cover from these groups. Wherever it is possible to apply the law, its implementation should be a priority. In areas where it is impossible to apply the law, assistance is sought from tribal and national symbols and religious and national figures known for their competence and financial integrity. Unfortunately, people motivated by their own interests have infiltrated the institution of loyal reformers, and they have turned the process of reform and suppressing sedition into a “livelihood” business, where they support the oppressor and aggressor at the expense of the oppressed and the aggressed, if they pay them money and “honor” them.

If we lose our internal resilience and our social fabric disintegrates, as the Israeli orientalist and academic Mordechai Kedar suggests, it is necessary to work to end and dismantle the Palestinian Authority and replace it with the authority of the "seven regions" of the tribes. This means dividing the West Bank into seven governorates, each controlled by the major tribes and linked to the Israeli Civil Administration, whose authority has been stripped away in favor of a military government in the West Bank led by the extremist Israeli Finance Minister Smotrich.

Yes, we will face serious and real dangers if these groups are able to impose their influence and dominance over society. Therefore, we must work to besiege such individuals and groups, and dismantle their structures and frameworks. Everyone is required to enlist in this battle, as it is one of the battles for existence and the protection of the national project.

Our people are going through their most critical and dangerous phase, and the dangers facing them are so great that efforts are being made to completely uproot them from their land and existence. The hostile alliance does not hesitate to use all means and methods to implement its projects and schemes in this regard.

There are those who say that there is no Palestinian people, and that this is an invention less than a hundred years old. There are those who display maps of their state, whether on the Israeli Foreign Ministry website in Arabic, or during the 78th and 79th sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, stripping us of all our rights, and turning us into population centers that lack any national political rights and are devoid of their identity and nationality. The borders of the occupying state do not only include historical Palestine, but also parts of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and all the way to Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Perhaps the initiative launched by the Jerusalem Governorate to strengthen, protect and fortify the community structure and civil peace constitutes an important initiative in this direction, requiring care, follow-up and diligent work. We realize that the roads are impassable and that the energies, capabilities and capacities that are being pumped, expended and mobilized in this mission are hindered by many obstacles from the occupation, whose primary concern is to keep our society disintegrated, "eaten" and torn apart by family, clan and tribal disputes, and drowning in the swamp of societal diseases, such as drugs and the collapse of values and morals, and giving priority to personal concerns over public concerns. Likewise, those who benefit and are benefited from such disintegration and clan and tribal strife inside the country will put spokes in the wheels, so that such initiatives do not succeed, and so that society remains in a cycle of violence and internal strife, without paying attention to its national and political rights.

There are many who benefit from falsehood, each with his own goals and plans. Therefore, they will not extend their hands to strengthen the cohesion and fabric of society, and prevent its fragmentation, disintegration and division. However, when all good people are mobilized and there are loyal and trustworthy tools, they will inevitably succeed in creating a new reality, in which our people, regardless of their components, feel safe, secure and reassured. In the words of the great thinker and revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” We also repeat and say, “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”

Everyone is required to fulfill their responsibility to protect the social fabric and civil peace through an integrated process that extends from the home and family to schools, universities, religious, civil, and community institutions, as well as political forces, parties, and official authorities in the governorate, ministries, security and police agencies, and others.

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Perhaps the initiative launched by the Jerusalem Governorate to strengthen, protect, and fortify the community structure and civil peace constitutes a significant initiative in this direction, requiring careful attention, follow-up, and diligent work.

The use of Palestinian civilians as human shields by the Israeli occupation army in its current war on Gaza has returned to the forefront after being exposed by press reports last October. This time, however, the report was revealed by the Hebrew newspaper Haaretz, which relies on the testimonies of soldiers who participated in the war on Gaza. This crime is being carried out under the pseudonym "Mosquito Protocol."

This protocol, according to the soldiers' own testimonies, is based on forcing Palestinian prisoners and civilians into areas deemed "dangerous" or buildings that the soldiers suspect are booby-trapped, or to explore tunnels before the soldiers advance, under the pretext of preserving the soldiers' lives first. One soldier explicitly stated this by saying, "Our lives are more important than theirs."

The use of civilians as human shields is a grave breach of international humanitarian law. The Fourth Geneva Convention criminalizes this practice, deeming it a complete crime. Stepping back a little, the Israeli Supreme Court explicitly prohibited this practice in 2005, following a legal petition filed by human rights organizations during the Second Intifada in 2002, most notably Adalah. The court deemed the use of Palestinian civilians in what was then known as the "neighbor procedure," a similar crime, whereby soldiers force neighbors or relatives of "wanted" Palestinians to knock on doors and persuade them to surrender. The presiding judge at the time, Justice Aharon Barak, described this practice as "cruel and barbaric."

Ironically, Justice Barak himself was among the International Court of Justice judges who heard the genocide case brought by South Africa. He was among two of the fifteen judges who dissented from the Court’s decision, along with Ugandan Judge Sibutinde. This confirms that the Israeli judicial system is a functional component and an integral part of an integrated colonial system when it comes to Palestinian rights. It is worth remembering that last week, the Israeli Supreme Court justices unanimously rejected petitions by human rights organizations demanding the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza. This is a clear violation of the established rules of international law, internationally recognized as applicable to the occupied Palestinian territories, a serious violation of the International Court of Justice’s decisions in the genocide case, and a clear contradiction of its advisory opinion.

These practices cannot be understood without considering the psychological and social aspects that drive soldiers and commanders to commit these crimes. According to psychoanalysts, these crimes stem from a logic of "superiority and superiority" that is constantly nurtured within soldiers, making them see themselves as "of higher value" than Palestinian civilians. This leads them to make inhumane decisions without the slightest sense of guilt or moral responsibility towards the victims. This reinforces an integrated system of human indifference and justifies all forms of violence against Palestinians. Psychological analyses go further, pointing to the state of "dehumanization" that is constantly practiced against Palestinians, causing soldiers to view Palestinians as beings "devoid" of human feelings and value. This leads them to commit these crimes without feeling hesitation or guilt, justifying these crimes to themselves and minimizing their enormity in their eyes.

Historically, this was not the first time that Palestinian civilians were used as human shields. However, what "distincts" the current phase is the documentation of crimes through direct confessions and the complete absence of serious international legal deterrence. This requires human rights organizations to re-evaluate their approach to dealing with this level of war crimes. Verbal statements and condemnations are not enough. Rather, real steps must be taken to ensure that these crimes are prevented from recurring, that "justice" is achieved for the victims, and that Palestinian civilians are protected. This also raises difficult moral questions about the meaning of justice, the reality of the international community's commitment to humanitarian values, and its role in protecting the rights of Palestinians, which are guaranteed and protected by international law in its three generations, in accordance with what is stipulated in international charters, covenants, declarations, and agreements, which are not subject to negotiation.

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This was not the first time Palestinian civilians were used as human shields, but what "distincts" the current phase is the documentation of crimes through direct confessions and the complete absence of serious international legal deterrence.