Today, Saturday, rescue crews recovered the bodies of nine martyrs from various areas in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

Medical sources at the European Hospital in Khan Yunis reported the arrival of the bodies of 9 citizens from different areas in the city of Rafah, who were recovered from homes bombed by the occupation army yesterday and in previous times.

Since dawn today, 19 citizens were killed and at least 50 others were injured, in raids by occupation aircraft that targeted 3 homes in the Al-Shuja’iya and Al-Tuffah neighborhoods, east of Gaza City, while the occupation artillery intensified its bombardment of areas west of Rafah.

The Israeli occupation forces have continued their aggression against the Gaza Strip, by land, sea and air, since October 7, 2023, resulting in the death of more than 37,266 citizens and the injury of 85,102 others, an infinite toll, as thousands of victims are still under the rubble.

On Saturday, Israeli media reported that 8 Israeli soldiers were killed in the bombing of a troop carrier during battles in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

The "Hadshot Bazman" website said, "At around five o'clock in the morning, in Gaza, an anti-missile was fired at an armored vehicle containing 8 soldiers and officers. It exploded immediately and all the fighters sleeping inside caught fire completely. The eight were killed instantly and burned inside the vehicle."

He added: "Israeli helicopters carrying soldiers from the Rafah incident landed in Beilinson and Shaare Zedek hospitals."

The source confirmed that the army informed the families of eight Israeli soldiers that their children were killed in the battles in the Gaza Strip after their vehicle was hit by an anti-tank missile.

The number of Israeli army deaths continues to rise since the beginning of the war on October 7. Sources say that the number exceeded 600, in addition to thousands of infected people.

An Israeli report revealed, on Friday, that the country's senior security officials estimate that the military operation in Rafah will end after a few days.

According to the report, published by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority, security officials estimate that the operation in Rafah will end within two weeks after the evacuation of the entire civilian population.

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

After months of failed talks, Israel's former back-channel negotiator Gershon Baskin says it’s time to bypass the mediators and open a direct line of communication with Hamas.

Shortly after the Oct. 7 massacre, Israeli peace activist Gershon Baskin cut off contact with Ghazi Hamad, a senior Hamas official with whom he maintained a back channel for 18 years. 

“I never want to speak to you again,” Baskin wrote in a Nov. 1 open letter to Hamad, his counterpart in the negotiations over the release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in 2006. 

But as the Gaza war dragged for several months, Baskin had a change of heart. 

“I wrote to him, saying that if our channel of communication could save human lives, I'm ready to renew it. He wrote back to me about a month later, and we renewed it," Baskin said. 

With the two sides still far apart over a US-backed cease-fire deal mediated by Qatar and Egypt, Baskin believes now is the time for Israel to open a channel with Hamas similar to the one he used to help free Shalit after five years in captivity. 

“There are better chances of reaching compromises and understandings when communication is direct, when answers are given back and forth quickly and we don't have to wait two weeks to get an answer,” Baskin said. 

He described indirect talks between Israel and Hamas as more complicated, where "third parties have their own interests and their own styles." He added, "When you control the process, you can be a lot more creative."

About a month ago, Baskin said his Hamas contacts indicated to him they would be open to a direct channel: “an ongoing, non-stop-until-the-white-smoke-comes-out-of-the-chimney kind of arrangement.” 

The Israeli negotiating team rejected the idea. “In their view, it wasn't a problem of communication, but that the issue was the goals of the two sides were diametrically opposed,” Baskin said. 

Baskin said Hamad stopped returning his Telegram messages last month. 

Two weeks after President Joe Biden unveiled a three-phase plan for a “durable end” to the war in the Gaza Strip, a cease-fire remains a distant prospect. Asked by reporters Thursday if an agreement would be reached soon, Biden answered, “No,” but added, “I haven’t lost hope.”

In its formal response this week, Hamas put forward “amendments,” some of which Secretary of State Antony Blinken said were “not workable” and go “beyond positions that it had previously taken and accepted.”

Blinken declined to characterize what differed in Hamas’ counterproposal, but said the last-minute additions makes one “question whether they’re proceeding in good faith or not.”

Hamas demands enduring cease-fire 

Israel's commitment to a permanent cease-fire is a primary sticking point for the militants. Hamas official Bassem Naim told Al-Monitor the group is "looking for guarantees that the negotiations will lead to [a] permanent cease-fire and total withdrawal."

Specifically, Naim said Hamas wants assurances of the Israeli military’s withdrawal from Rafah and the Philadelphi corridor, a buffer zone separating Egypt and Gaza, in phase one and its full withdrawal from all of Gaza in phase two. 

“My experience with Hamas is that they negotiate on the margins,” Baskin said. “They put out their positions way at the beginning, and they stick to those positions.”

“The bottom line, which is uncompromising, is ending the war, the withdrawal of Israel from Gaza and exchange of hostages for prisoners. That's been out there since the beginning of the war.”

Negotiators have tried for months to reach an agreement to halt the war that the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory says has killed more than 37,100 people, a majority of them women and children. Israel launched its war in retaliation for the militants’ killing of 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages during its unprecedented cross-border attack on Oct. 7. 

For the Biden administration, the goal is for Hamas and Israel to at least implement the six-week cease-fire outlined in phase one, during which Hamas would release women, elderly and severely wounded hostages in return for scores of Palestinian prisoners and Israeli troops would withdraw from Gaza’s heavily populated areas. 

The second and third phases call for the release of male and deceased hostages, a permanent cessation of hostilities, the full withdrawal of Israeli troops and the reconstruction of the devastated Palestinian territory. 

US officials say they will try to bridge the gaps between the deal endorsed by the UN Security Council on Monday and the changes proposed by Hamas a day later. But time is of the essence to reach a deal. 

Israeli authorities believe at least 41 of the 116 hostages who remain in Gaza are dead. Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told CNN Thursday that “no one has any idea” how many are alive. He reiterated that any deal to free them must involve guarantees of a permanent cease-fire and full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. 

In 2011, the deal brokered for Shalit’s release had been on the table for nearly five years: his freedom in exchange for some 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, including Hamas' current leader Yahya Sinwar.

Baskin worries the haggling over the current hostage deal could similarly go on for years. 

“The hostages don't have years,” Baskin said. “I can't believe we're already eight-and-a-half months into this war and the hostages aren't home yet.”

The American website "Axios", citing informed sources, confirmed that Democratic representatives are discussing a wide range of options to confront the speech of occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before Congress next month.

The website explained that the Democrats are preparing to send a strong signal expressing dissatisfaction with the Israeli war effort, and with Netanyahu's leadership in particular.

Suggestions include holding a press conference, holding a protest, or organizing an event with the families of the prisoners, many of whom feel that Netanyahu did not do enough to free their children.

According to one of Axios' sources, some Democratic representatives "feel very frustrated because Netanyahu's visit undermines the work of the Biden administration and does not respect the Israelis who want Netanyahu to leave."

Democrats between boycott and obstruction

One lawmaker said that several House Democrats were planning to attend the speech, but intended to disrupt it.

The site stopped at the harsh criticism directed by Democrats who originally supported "Israel" of "Israeli operations in Gaza" in recent months.

In a related context, on Tuesday, Axios revealed a division among Democrats in the Senate between those who support imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court, in response to the court’s decision to request an arrest warrant against Netanyahu, and those who are concerned about harming US relations. With the court in a sustainable manner.

The website confirmed that the talks on this matter between the Democratic and Republican parties in the Senate have reached a dead end, and that determining the strength of the response to the court has become a politically thorny issue before the 2024 elections.

The ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has cost school and university students an entire academic year, especially high school students (Tawjihi) in the Strip.

According to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, the number of students registered for the high school exam in the Gaza Strip amounted to only 1,119 students, out of about 40,000 high school students.

More than 5,000 school students were martyred, as were 240 school teachers, and thousands were injured, according to statistics from the government media office in Gaza.

According to the same source, more than 625 thousand students had gone to school at the beginning of the academic year (2023-2024), where they were now deprived of everything (food, safety, health, education, etc.), and their schools were turned into rubble by targeting them or shelter centers to which they fled. Who is left alive?

The Israeli bombing - which has not stopped in the Gaza Strip since last October 7 - destroyed more than 110 schools and universities completely, and about 320 partially, while the total cost of damage to the education sector was estimated at 341 million dollars, according to the same source.

It should be noted that the Tawjihi exams in Palestine will begin on June 22 without students from the Gaza Strip, as about 40,000 students out of 90,000 will be prevented from taking the exams due to the war.
In turn, the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo decided to include some high school students from the Gaza Strip who were able to reach Egypt into the exam schedule, and announced the distribution of seat and committee numbers according to a specific order.

Switzerland announced on Friday a contribution of 10 million Swiss francs ($11.2 million) to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The Foreign Policy Committee of the Swiss House of Representatives said that this financial payment came in response to UNRWA’s appeal for humanitarian aid, and aims exclusively to cover the organization’s most urgent needs in Gaza in the period until next December, as those needs include food, water, shelter, and health care. Primary and logistics services.

Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, Carl Skau, said today, Friday, that food supplies to the southern Gaza Strip are at risk, after the Israeli occupation forces expanded the scope of their invasion, adding that “those displaced by the Israeli attack there are facing a public health crisis.”

He said that the situation is currently deteriorating in southern Gaza, despite the worsening severity of hunger and the threat of famine in the northern Gaza Strip during the past months.

“We had built up stocks before the operation in Rafah so that we could feed people, but the stocks started to run out, and we no longer had the same ability to reach the people we needed, which we were used to,” Skaw said after a two-day visit to Gaza.

"This is a displacement crisis that is truly a protection disaster, with the million or so people expelled from Rafah now crammed into a small space along the beach," Skau added.

He continued, "It is hot, and the condition of sanitation facilities is very poor. We were driving through rivers of sewage. It is a public health crisis in the making."

“Despite the increase in food shipments entering northern Gaza, there is a need to provide the population with basic health care, water and sanitation, to completely turn the curve of famine in the north,” Skau said. He added that Israel must allow more health care needs into Gaza.

Skaw said that he was surprised by the level of destruction, and that "the people of Gaza are groaning as a result of this conflict."

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported on Friday that estimates confirm that the military operation in Rafah will end after two weeks, in light of the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip for the 252nd day.

The broadcasting authority explained that the Israeli army is considering ending its operation in Rafah after two weeks, and that estimates indicate that Israel needs a deal with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in order for the Lebanese Hezbollah to stop the attack north.

The Commission added, citing security sources, that the presence of prisoners in Gaza and the absence of an alternative to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) turns the success of what it calls Phase “B” of the military operation into a failure, and that the leadership will decide the next step if a ceasefire deal and the exchange of prisoners and detainees is not concluded, pointing out that “ “No party will accept entry into Gaza if it does not destroy Hamas,” according to those sources.

Dedicated to the Northern Front

Israeli media reported that the army recommended ending the military operation in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, as soon as possible and launching another operation on the Lebanese border, according to what was reported by Anatolia Agency.

Channel 12 said that the Northern Command of the Israeli army is focusing on goals that would reduce Hezbollah’s offensive capabilities, noting that the military interest at this stage is focused on the north, meaning ending the operation in Rafah as soon as possible in order to move to the Lebanon front, and that the army recommended The government takes this position.

The channel quoted an unnamed security official as saying that there was a need for more “decisive” action in the northern arena to allow the return to the northern towns whose residents were evacuated with the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

The security official added, “Security can be achieved through an agreement with Hezbollah, but we cannot bring a sense of security to the population without taking effective measures.” He noted, “A profound change must be made on the northern border if we want the population to return to their homes” in northern Israel.

According to the Israeli source, the attack carried out by Hezbollah last Wednesday is the largest attack since last October 8, the day the escalation began on the Israeli and Lebanese borders, one day after launching the war on Gaza. Calls from Israeli politicians to launch a war on Lebanon are escalating, as... The Ministerial Council for Security and Political Affairs (Cabinet) is scheduled to discuss developments on the Lebanese border on Sunday evening, according to Israeli Army Radio.

Source: Al Jazeera + Anatolia + Israeli press

Today, Friday, settlers burned agricultural land belonging to the village of Husan, west of Bethlehem.

Local sources said that a group of settlers burned agricultural land of about 7 dunams, planted with olive, grape, and almond trees, in the “Ain Qaddis” area of the village.

Today, Friday, settlers attacked the residence of a citizen in the northern Jordan Valley and destroyed his vehicle.

The official responsible for the Jordan Valley file in Tubas Governorate, Moataz Bisharat, said that a group of settlers attacked the residence of citizen Ahmed Hussein Abu Mohsen, in the Jubiyah area in the northern Jordan Valley, and broke the windows of his private vehicle and damaged its wheels.

He added that they also attacked a number of foreign solidarity activists who were present in the area.

It is noteworthy that the northern Jordan Valley areas are witnessing escalating attacks by settlers on citizens, their homes, and their property.

Former Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, confirmed that “Israel” is currently facing the peak of a rolling, evolving crisis that is far from over, which is the most dangerous in its history, saying that “the crisis began on October 7 with the most horrific failure in the state’s history.”

Barak added in an article published by Haaretz newspaper, “The current crisis continues in a war that, despite the courage and sacrifice of the soldiers, appears to be the most failed war in our history, the result of strategic paralysis at the highest level.”

He explained: “We stand before a difficult, decisive decision, between bad alternatives regarding the issue of continuing the fighting in Gaza, expanding the operation against Hezbollah in the north, and risking a comprehensive, multi-arena war that includes Iran and its arms, and all of this while in the background the systemic coup that seeks towards religious dictatorship continues.” Racism, extremism, nationalism, and obscurantist Christianity.”

He stated, “The crisis requires recruiting everything that is good, strong, and effective within us in order to return to the path of strength, growth, enlightenment, and hope, which Israel has followed for most of its years... This is the true victory.”

He pointed out that, “At this specific point in time, there is no room for error, and a courageous and direct vision of what happened and why it happened is required, and determination is required to reform quickly, even in the face of opposition and reservations.”

He stated that this “requires decisions, courage and actions, both from the opposition leadership and from brave and strong members of the coalition, and also from all of us, the civilian public.”

Barak warned, “This is a real emergency, and the essence of our catastrophe is precisely that at a time of catastrophe Israel is led by a government and a prime minister who are clearly unqualified to assume their positions, and those responsible for what happened on October 7 and for managing the failed war in Gaza are not qualified to manage Israel and bring it to peace.” “The new chapter has greater dangers.”

He said, “The captain who sank two ships one after the other is prohibited from placing the helm of the third and final ship in his hand.”

He explained, “If this government of failure remains as it is, we could find ourselves within months, or even weeks, deeply stuck in the unity of the arenas, and Qassem Soleimani’s tender dream, and this while Israel is isolated and has a dispute with the United States, which is the only country that provides... We have weapons and effective diplomatic support.”

He added: “We are threatened by the issuance of international orders in The Hague, and a number of countries that seek to recognize the Palestinian state even without negotiations with Israel, and this merger creates a near and certain danger to the security of the state and its future, to which is added the danger to its future as a democratic state.”

Barak considered that what “we need now is an immediate deal to return the kidnapped people, even at the price of a pledge to stop the war.” And calm the situation in the south and north through a political settlement, even if temporary, with American mediation.”

He stated that “the displaced from the cover towns and the towns of the north must be returned to their homes, the reserves must be renewed, the Israeli army should be revived, and the economy should be restored to activity... If we succeed in resuming intimate relations with the American administration, this matter could advance normalization with Saudi Arabia and the crystallization of an Arab force entering the Gaza Strip.” Instead of the Israeli army, it supports the restoration of civilian control, at the basis of which there is a Palestinian party, not Hamas.”

He added, "All of this must come alongside efforts to stop extradition orders from The Hague, and get out of international isolation... In other words: Yes to Biden, and a big no to Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich."

He said: “For everyone who wonders how to stop the war before absolute victory, the answer is that we are far from the end in Gaza, seven months according to the head of the National Security Agency, Tzachi Hanegbi, and years according to Benny Gantz, and until that time the kidnapped will return in coffins or their fate will be like the fate of Ron Arad, taking into account these facts, neglecting them for years means the disintegration of the moral foundation of society and the state.”

He stressed that “absolute victory is an empty slogan from the beginning. With Netanyahu’s failed administration, we are closer to absolute failure. Regarding stopping the war with an international commitment, it must be remembered that if Hamas or Hezbollah threaten Israel after half a year or after a year and a half in a way that requires action, a government can Sovereignty in Israel may decide to act despite the commitment.”

He explained: “This applies to any future prime minister, and certainly to Netanyahu, who has violated political and international obligations many times.”

He said: “There will be those who will say why in particular we must act, and I tell them that bad things happen when good people remain silent,” adding that “others in positions of influence will make the matter difficult and say: Is it really time to act?” I quote Dante and say to them: The hottest place in hell is reserved for those who chose to stand aside when a moral decision was required.”

He concluded by emphasizing that “failing to overthrow this government and its president early endangers the future and continued existence of the State of Israel... The time has come for action, and we will not forgive ourselves and future generations will not forgive us if we walk with our eyes open, but blinded towards the moral abyss and the threat.” The existentialist that exists before us, just as the dreaming fighters of previous generations, the leaders and soldiers of the Israeli army now, are waiting for us to rise up and work. This matter is in our hands. We have to know how to work.”

Somalia, Syria, Myanmar, Boko Haram and Israel. Together, and this is no coincidence. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' decision to add Israel to the blacklist of countries that harm children has insulted and shocked Israel. Us and Syria? Yes, us and Syria. In Israel, everyone went on the attack, but no one asked questions: what were we thinking while the army was killing thousands of children? That the world would remain silent? That the UN would show restraint? Her role is to shout and that’s what she did this weekend.

When it comes to the massacres of children, all excuses disappear, even those from Israel. Gilad Erdan can continue his grotesque shenanigans at the United Nations if he released a video recording yesterday of his conversation with the secretary general, an unprecedented act under the diplomatic code of conduct, all intended for the ears of the Likud central committee , in anticipation of Erdan's next post. Benjamin Netanyahu can continue to assert that “the UN has put itself on the blacklist of history.” The UN?

How many children were killed? The IDF killed 15,517 children, according to Gaza's health ministry. Some 8,000 of these deaths have been verified by the UN. Many children are still missing. Some 17,000 children have lost at least one parent; 3000 lost at least one limb. Nine out of ten children in the Gaza Strip suffer from “acute nutritional deficiency,” according to UNICEF. The World Health Organization has established that four out of five children eat nothing at least one day out of three. In January, the international organization Save the Children established that ten children lost at least one limb every day. On Saturday, Al-Jazeera aired a video of a boy asking his mother if his arm would grow back.

Everyone is on the blacklist of history except Israel. Everyone is anti-Israel and anti-Semitic, only Israel is innocent. “The most moral army in the world,” Mr. Netanyahu proclaimed again on Saturday, which could only elicit an embarrassed smile from his listeners around the world. The evidence is solid, it accumulates unequivocally, it is unforgivable. Eight months of war against children. Eight months of children with amputated limbs, orphans, starving, sick and in shock, dying and dead. The numbers are horrifying, but what is equally horrifying is the complete denial of any responsibility on the part of Israel. Responsibility for the deaths of at least 10,000 children lies with their parents, Hamas and UNICEF, but not with their killers, nor with the soldiers and pilots of the most moral Israel Defense Forces in the world. When you reach such levels of suffering inflicted on so many children, one might have expected a certain degree of shock in Israel as well. After all, we have children too. But here, grief is prohibited by decree, compassion is no longer acceptable, protests only concern the fate of our children, since there are clearly no others, while the hundreds of thousands children on the other side are invisible, not worth considering.

The children of Gaza, those who survive, will never forget. Today they search through the rubble of their homes, mourn their parents and brothers and sisters, try to treat their wounds and stumps in a country where there is not a single functioning hospital, and are rendered crazy from nightmares. But they will grow up and not forget. Humanitarian aid continues to trickle in, settlers sabotage aid trucks, violently blocking their entry into Gaza, and Israel remains silent on this issue as well. But the children will never forget what Israel did to them. How could they? Not for generations. The world is now joining them. Even the cold, cynical world is shocked by such a massacre of children. Erdan, Netanyahu and other Israelis can continue to plead innocence and wash their hands of this affair, but their hands are stained with the blood of children, which no apology can hide. We have to start getting used to it: Somalia, Syria and Israel. This is the club. There is no need to be shocked by its composition, but only by what caused Israel's entry into the club. A justified addition, it must be admitted.

UN-backed commission finds multiple instances of Palestinian women being publicly stripped of clothes and veils

Recently published reports have revealed the systematic sexual abuse and torture of Palestinian men, women and children by Israeli forces during the assault on Gaza.

On Wednesday, a report published by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that the frequency and severity of sexual and gender-based violations meant that they were likely “part of [Israeli security forces] operating procedures”.

The inquiry detailed multiple instances of Israeli forces publicly stripping Palestinian women of their clothes and veils, and subjecting them to sexual harassment in front of their families during ground operations in Gaza.

The commission noted that “Palestinian men and boys have been disproportionally affected and victimised on many grounds”, and heard several reports of male victims being subjected to sexual violence in Gaza and the West Bank by Israeli forces.

This included physical and mental abuse while being undressed, being forced to walk naked between checkpoints, and being coerced into undressing in front of family members.

The commission added that these acts were often filmed and photographed by the soldiers themselves.

Witnesses also reported mistreatment and forced public nudity during Israeli military raids in hospitals.

One account described how, during a raid of Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital in November, Israeli forces took all the men and teenage boys outside and forced them to undress.

The commission said that the increasingly sexual nature of Israeli aggression was likely driven by a desire to humiliate Palestinians in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October, which killed more than 1,100 people.

The worst four days of my life

A three-month investigation by the New York Times published on 6 June also revealed systematic sexual abuse and torture perpetrated against Palestinians detained at Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel.

One detainee, Fadi Bakr, a law student from Gaza City, described his four-day long interrogation as “the worst four days of my life”. 

Bakr reported that, prior to his interrogation, he was taken to a “disco-room” where music was blasted at such a volume that his ears began to bleed. 

Another detainee testified that during interrogation he was forced to sit on a metal stick which penetrated his rectum. His account closely resembled another from an Unrwa report that cited a detainee testifying that interrogators “made me sit on something like a hot metal stick and it felt like fire”.

Former detainees also reported that they had been punched, kicked and beaten with batons, rifle butts and a hand-held metal detector while in custody. 

One victim said that his ribs broke after being beaten with a rifle.

Seven detainees said they had been forced to wear nappies during interrogation, while another three said they had received electric shocks.

Eight former detainees described how they were blindfolded, handcuffed with zip ties and stripped naked except for their underwear, during their capture. 

They were then herded into military trucks with other half-naked men and transported to Sde Teiman.

Israel dismissed the allegations as “evidently inaccurate or completely unfounded”.

Middle East Eye was not able to independently verify the reports, but most of the testimonies were corroborated by hundreds of interviews conducted by Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

According to officers at the base who spoke to the New York Times, of the 4,000 detainees brought to the makeshift interrogation centre since October, 35 have died.

Tortured with dogs and electricity

The reports also chime with testimony reported by Middle East Eye in March from Palestinians detained by Israeli forces.

They told MEE they were physically tortured with dogs and electricity, subjected to mock executions, and held in humiliating and degrading conditions.

One man described how he had been handcuffed, blindfolded and detained in a metal cage for 42 days. During interrogations, he said he had been given electric shocks, and had been set upon by army dogs that scratched and bit him.

Other victims described how they were also attacked by dogs, doused with cold water, denied food and water, deprived of sleep, and subjected to constant loud music. 

Another man described being blindfolded, stripped naked, and hung by his arms during interrogations in which he was repeatedly beaten and burnt with cigarettes.

All four men described being forced to strip naked and being constantly beaten and abused by Israeli soldiers during their weeks-long detentions.

The US State Department announced that it had imposed sanctions on the Tzav 9 group, for committing acts of sabotage and destruction of humanitarian aid going to Gaza.

The US State Department statement, a copy of which was received by Jerusalem, and which was issued by State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, said: “The Zav-9 group is a violent extremist Israeli group that works to prevent, harass, and destroy convoys carrying life-saving humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza".

Miller said in his statement: “For months, members of the “Zaf 9” have repeatedly sought to obstruct the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including by blocking roads, sometimes violently, along their route from Jordan to Gaza, including in West Bank. They also damaged aid trucks and dumped life-saving humanitarian aid on the road. On May 13, 2024, members of “Tesav 9” looted two trucks near Hebron in the West Bank carrying humanitarian aid intended for men, women and children in Gaza and then set them on fire.

The statement stressed, “The provision of humanitarian assistance is vital to prevent the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from worsening and to mitigate the risk of famine. It is the responsibility of the Government of Israel to ensure the safety and security of humanitarian convoys passing through Israel and the West Bank on their way to Gaza. We will not tolerate acts of sabotage and violence targeting these “Essential humanitarian assistance. We will continue to use all tools at our disposal to promote accountability for those who attempt or commit such heinous acts, and we expect and urge the Israeli authorities to do the same.”

According to the statement, the Department is imposing sanctions on Tzav 9 pursuant to Section 1(a)(i)(A) of Executive Order (EO) 14115, for being responsible for or complicit in, or participating in or attempting to engage directly or indirectly in, acts - including That directs, enacts, implements, enforces, or fails to enforce policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of the West Bank.

The Ministry did not specify the nature of the penalties, or the identity of the people who were included.

Al-Qassam Brigades - the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) - announced the killing of two Israeli prisoners in an Israeli bombing of the city of Rafah a few days ago in the southern Gaza Strip.

A short video clip published by Al-Qassam, addressing the families of the prisoners, said: “Your army killed two prisoners in the air strike on the city of Rafah a few days ago.”

Al-Qassam added, sending a message to Israeli society, “Your army deceives you, and continues to deceive you,” and “Your government does not want to return prisoners except in coffins.”

It concluded the video with the hashtag “Time is running out,” which she used to publish, in reference to the shrinking period of time available to conclude an exchange deal with the increasing number of Israeli prisoners killed in Gaza as a result of the intense bombing by the occupation army.

Yesterday, Thursday, prominent Hamas leader Osama Hamdan said, in an interview with the American CNN network, that “no one has an idea about the number of living prisoners.”

Earlier, the Al-Qassam Brigades said that 3 of the prisoners detained in Gaza were killed during the military operation carried out by the occupation army in the heart of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, to recover 4 Israeli prisoners.

Al-Qassam explained in a message addressed to the Israeli community, “After the massacre that your army committed in the Nuseirat camp yesterday to rescue 4 prisoners, your army killed 3 prisoners in the same camp, one of whom held American citizenship.”

Al-Qassam broadcast pictures of the prisoners who were killed, in a video titled “Your government kills a number of your prisoners to save other prisoners,” stressing that “your prisoners will not be released unless our prisoners are liberated.”

In early March, Al-Qassam spokesman Abu Ubaida revealed that the number of Israeli prisoners killed as a result of the occupation army’s military operations in the Gaza Strip “may exceed 70 prisoners,” before announcing late the following month that “the Ron Arad scenario may be the most likely to be repeated.” With enemy prisoners in Gaza.

In the same context, Palestinian journalist Alaa Abu Mohsen, who is in the city of Rafah, confirmed that strong clashes took place between the Palestinian resistance and the occupation army in Rafah.

He said that Israeli army forces advanced into Rafah from the Egyptian border. The clashes took place in the areas of Al-Karaj Al-Sharqi, Al-Awda Roundabout, and Al-Shaboura.

He added that the occupation forces burned a large number of homes in the Al-Karaj Al-Sharqi area.

In western Rafah, strong clashes took place between the resistance and the occupation army, and the Al-Qassam Brigades said that they targeted a number of Israeli vehicles with Al-Yassin 105 missiles and neutralized them.

Abu Mohsen reported that medical teams were able to recover two martyrs from under the rubble in the Saudi neighborhood area, west of Rafah.

Two other martyrs were also recovered from the eastern areas of Rafah.

Strong clashes took place between the resistance and the occupation army, and the Al-Qassam Brigades said that they targeted a number of Israeli vehicles with Al-Yassin 105 missiles and neutralized them.

Source: Al Jazeera, Al Ghad

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant ruled out joining an initiative promoted by French President Emmanuel Macron, under which France, the United States and Israel would form a contact group to work to defuse tensions on Israel's border with Lebanon.

“While we are fighting a just war in defense of our people, France is adopting anti-Israel policies,” Gallant said in a statement.

He added, "Israel will not be a party to the tripartite framework proposed by France."

The party announced this morning, Friday, that it had targeted the Al-Samaqa site in the occupied Lebanese Kfar Shuba hills, and the Metulla site with appropriate weapons, achieving direct hits. The party also targeted, at 08:50 a.m. this morning, Friday, June 14, 2024, the Metulla site with appropriate weapons and wounded it. Direct hit. On Thursday, Hezbollah launched an attack with missiles and drones loaded with weapons on nine Israeli military sites.

Five Palestinians were injured, and the condition of three, including a child, was described as serious, and a young man was arrested during the Israeli occupation forces’ storming of the city of Al-Bireh. This Friday evening.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated that 5 injuries from occupation bullets arrived at the Palestine Medical Complex from Al-Amari Camp, including 3 serious injuries.

The Red Crescent reported that its crews transported a critically injured child (12 years old) who was shot in the abdomen by the occupation forces during their storming of the vicinity of Al-Amari camp, south of Al-Bireh city.

It was reported that the occupation forces arrested a young man during their storming of the city.

In addition, settlers attacked Palestinian vehicles near the towns of Huwwara and Burin with stones, which led to the smashing of the windows of two vehicles.

The occupation forces stormed the town of Idna, west of Hebron, and raided the home of a freed prisoner after his release yesterday after spending 19 months in the occupation prisons.

In detail, the occupation forces stormed the town and deployed on the roads and in the vicinity of citizens’ homes. They raided the home of the freed prisoner, Muhammad Hatem Bashir, and destroyed the contents of the place that the family had set up in the vicinity of the house to receive those congratulating him on his release, and forced those present to leave.

The occupation forces arrested two young men from the town of Sinjil, north of Ramallah, simultaneously with the closure of the entrances to the town.

Local sources reported that the occupation forces arrested the young man, Sari Nasser Dakher Khalil (20 years old), after storming a house near the Ramallah-Nablus road adjacent to the town, and the young man Muhammad Thaer Ghafri (20 years old) while he was herding livestock in the same area.

The sources indicated that the occupation army closed the entrances to Sinjil with military vehicles and prevented citizens from leaving or entering the town.

On Friday, G7 leaders called for the need to allow the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to work without hindrance in the Gaza Strip.

The group said, according to what Agence France-Presse reported from the draft of the final statement of the group’s summit, “We agree that it is extremely important for UNRWA and other organizations and distribution networks affiliated with United Nations agencies to be fully capable of providing aid to those who most need it.” and carry out its mandate effectively.”

On Friday, the United States announced the imposition of sanctions on an extremist settler group “for obstructing the distribution of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in Gaza.”

The US State Department said in a statement that the sanctions "today target Tsav 9, a violent extremist Israeli group that obstructs, harasses, and damages convoys carrying vital humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza."

The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, Hossam Abu Safiya, via Al-Arabi, on Friday, sent a distress call to all international institutions to take the threat of famine in the Strip seriously.

According to Abu Safiya, symptoms of malnutrition have been recorded in more than 200 children in Gaza, and the north of the Strip, where there are no foodstuffs other than flour, is facing a humanitarian catastrophe and the specter of famine looms on the horizon.

A humanitarian food disaster

In detail, Hossam Abu Safia reiterated on Friday that the health system in the Gaza Strip is dilapidated and operating at a minimum, under difficult and harsh conditions as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Strip.

He explained that because of this, they are only counting cases of malnutrition, stressing that the health sector has no capacity to provide anything.

The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital explained to Al-Arabi that malnutrition requires a treatment program under the supervision of specialized countries and institutions such as UNICEF, the World Health Organization and others, in light of the siege imposed by Israel on the Palestinian people.

Abu Safiya continued: “We have called for and sent very important messages, but unfortunately we do not have a sufficient treatment to solve this crisis,” recalling that “among the very important treatments is the availability of food that contains all types of vegetables, meat, proteins, eggs, and fruits.”

Nothing but flour in the north

In this context, Abu Safiya revealed in his interview with Al-Arabi from Jabalia that there is no food available in northern Gaza except flour.

He added, "Very important elements are missing from the food basket, whether for children or adults. We are facing a catastrophe, and there are numbers of children arriving at Kamal Adwan Hospital who are suffering from malnutrition."

In this regard, he stated that at least 200 cases of children suffering from malnutrition had been monitored, sending a distress call to all concerned international and humanitarian institutions “to take what is happening seriously... Nearly 26 children have been martyred due to the siege.”

Sources: Al-Arabi

Today, Friday, settlers attacked citizens’ vehicles, south of Nablus.

Local sources reported that settlers attacked citizens' vehicles with stones near the towns of Huwwara and Burin, which led to the smashing of the windows of two vehicles.

US President Joe Biden said yesterday, Thursday, that he does not expect to reach a ceasefire agreement in Gaza any time soon as the Israeli massacre and starvation of the Palestinians continue.

According to the Associated Press, Biden was asked at the G7 summit whether he believed a truce agreement would be reached soon. He simply replied: “No,” and added that he still “has not given up hope.”

His comments came a few days after the resistance movement Hamas responded to the ceasefire proposal that President Biden announced publicly on May 31. According to press reports, the main point of contention is that Hamas wants Israel to adhere to a permanent ceasefire and withdraw from Gaza in advance.

In his response to the questions of the Al-Quds correspondent regarding the nature of the outstanding issues regarding, and what are the points that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said could be bridged, and others that could not be bridged, the official spokesman for the US State Department, Matthew Miller, said on Thursday: “I will not talk about the points, and I will leave them alone.” The mediators are talking about this. It is clear that we were in contact about this on Tuesday evening with the Egyptian mediators, and the minister spoke directly with the Qatari mediator, the Prime Minister, yesterday during his meeting in Doha, and they tend to be in fairly regular contact with the political wing of the Hamas movement ".

"But in terms of what the next step of the negotiations will look like, I don't want to get into that from here other than to say that we are committed to trying to move forward to reach a ceasefire. We were disappointed with the response that came from Hamas. And as the minister says - we were disappointed," he added. You heard some other people say - there were some changes proposed that were fairly minor and were fairly workable, and then there were some changes that we don't see as workable but, nonetheless, we are committed to trying to move forward and reach a ceasefire Because we still believe that it is in the interest of all parties involved.”

Miller speculated about Hamas' position: "I personally do not believe that the comments or lack of comments by the Israeli government had anything to do with the substance of Hamas's response, which included a number of changes that could delay negotiations any further."

Miller emphasized: “Achieving a ceasefire is urgent. There are people suffering every day. There are Palestinians dying every day as a result of this conflict. There are hostages who are still being held. We see that the conflict in northern Israel continues to reach alarming levels. We want "Addressing all of these issues, the best way to do that is through a ceasefire, and that's why we will continue to strive for that, and we want that to happen without delay."

The initial proposal included a first phase of a six-week ceasefire, during which time a permanent truce would be negotiated and then implemented in the second phase. “Israeli officials believed that the language was vague enough to enable Israel and Hamas to enter the first phase without Israel actually committing to a permanent ceasefire,” The Times of Israel assessed.

After Biden first floated the proposal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected it, saying he would not agree to a permanent ceasefire until Israel achieves its goals in Gaza, which include destroying Hamas. Netanyahu's repeated rejection of a permanent truce has prompted Hamas to seek stronger guarantees.

Despite Netanyahu's rejection of Biden's proposal, American officials continue to claim that Israel accepted it, and they hold Hamas all the blame for not reaching an agreement.

Meanwhile, the genocidal war on Gaza continues, with Israeli bombing hitting areas of Rafah on Thursday. A day before that, an eight-year-old Palestinian girl died of starvation due to the Israeli siege. The child, Hanan Al-Zaanin, was supposed to be transferred to Egypt to receive treatment for severe malnutrition, but the Rafah border crossing has been closed since Israel took control of it on May 7.

Five citizens were killed today, Friday, in continuous bombing by the Israeli occupation of the southern and central Gaza Strip.

Local sources reported that the occupation warboats fired heavy machine guns off the coast of the Khan Yunis Sea in the southern Gaza Strip, leading to the death of two fishermen.

It added that the occupation forces, penetrating into the eastern areas of the city of Rafah, opened fire on citizens in the town of Al-Shouka, east of Rafah, which led to the death of two citizens and the injury of others, coinciding with the occupation military helicopters firing machine guns at the western areas of the city.

In the middle of the Gaza Strip, occupation warplanes bombed a house in Deir al-Balah, killing a citizen and wounding others.

The occupation artillery also bombed Al-Sika Street, east of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood, southeast of Gaza City, simultaneously with the occupation artillery targeting the vicinity of the school complex on Al-Mansoura Street in the middle of the Al-Shujaiya neighborhood, east.

Medical sources reported that at least 20 citizens were killed in occupation raids on various areas of the Gaza Strip since dawn today.

The Israeli occupation forces have continued their aggression against the Gaza Strip, by land, sea and air, since October 7, 2023, resulting in the death of more than 37,232 citizens and the injury of 85,037 others, an infinite toll, as thousands of victims are still under the rubble.

Despite the United States’ strict warning to Israel to avoid opening a new front in northern Palestine to confront Hezbollah’s bombing, Israel wants this war after a long wait, in light of the continued attrition between the two parties since October 8.
The war exhausted many capabilities and claimed the lives of dozens of resistance activists in southern Lebanon. A large number of Israeli soldiers were also killed and dozens injured. The war of attrition forced the settlers of the north to flee to safer places in the center of the occupied entity, and studies were affected in most schools in the northern settlements. The fire destroyed about 45 thousand acres of crops, but it seems that the war will not stop at this point, and this time it is likely to turn into a war of deterrence.
After similar statements, in which Hezbollah said that it would continue to bomb Israeli settlements until Israel was deterred and stopped targeting and assassinating activists, Israel discussed in the cabinet session in its new quartet (Netanyahu, Gallant, Dromer, and Deri) how to respond to Hezbollah in a harsh manner that ensures the achievement of deterrence.
It was not surprising that the American President said that the war in our region would be prolonged, as this statement carries many trends, but the most important of them may be due to his knowledge of Israel’s plans and intentions, that it wants to launch a large-scale ground attack on southern Lebanon, which complicates the situation in the linked Gaza Strip. Completely with the resistance of southern Lebanon, but most importantly of all, the United States fears the outbreak of a loud confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah because of its fear that it will develop into a regional war in which Iran may interfere. All of this will affect the course of the American elections and reduce the chances of President Biden winning them, given his positions on the war. In the Middle East ..
Last night, the Israeli army conveyed its recommendations to the political level regarding the necessity of reducing the duration of the operation in Rafah, which ends on the twenty-ninth of June, and shifting attention to the South Lebanon front, thus considering Lebanon the main front and Gaza the secondary front. However, it is clear that Netanyahu will not dare to do so at this stage. In light of the statements of a number of officials that the army will not be able to fight on two fronts simultaneously..
Decisive days await us, and everything is subject to the equation of the Palestinian north (southern Lebanon) linked to what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The more the pace of the war on Gaza increases, the more ferocious Hezbollah’s response will be. This is what we have observed since the Israeli army stormed Rafah and committed dozens of massacres in the Gaza Strip. This suggests a noticeable increase in the level of tension on the southern Lebanon front, which may eventually lead to a large-scale deterrence war.

The UN Security Council adopted a draft American resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and unconditional implementation of the deal. Therefore, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on the Arab countries to put pressure on Hamas to agree to the American deal. This is considered not only a demand, but something similar to a military instruction, and today the world awaits Israel's public response regarding compliance with the Security Council resolution that stipulates an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
It is no longer a secret to anyone that the significance of the shuttle visits of the American Secretary of State, which have numbered eight since October 7, is that they carry within them the United States’ keenness to support Israel unlimitedly. However, there is nothing new in Blinken’s recent visit other than getting up-to-date on the developments of the war in Gaza and presenting... Political consultations with Israel, reassuring it that his country stands with it, and urging it to “shyly” agree to the terms of his country’s deal.
As for the destruction and killing taking place in the Gaza Strip, this does not matter much to the United States except for repeating empty phrases such as being careful to avoid killing civilians and others. What is unfortunate about this is that you hear America’s keenness to avoid killing and destruction, and it has forgotten what it did to the Red Indians, and what it did in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere? This dishonest mediator had to stop diligently providing weapons to Israel, and stop his support for it politically, financially, and economically. .
America realized that the Zionist project was weakening somewhat, so it was very keen to support it, and entered the Gaza battle directly. The issue is not just American support for Israel with money and weapons. America has become the official sponsor of the war on Gaza.
The features of the next day remain unclear until the moment. What is important is to undermine the Gaza Strip and subjugate its residents. The military pressure on the Gaza Strip has many connotations, all of which lead to the Gaza citizen accusing “Hamas,” and this leads us to know the secrets between Israel and the United States. Today, Gaza has a different color, taste, and flavor than it was before October 7. This is how the picture appeared, but the American-Israeli dispute remains over who will take over the crossings after the next day until they reach a point of understanding in which Gaza has been completely wiped out of existence, and nothing remains, and this is what is required.
Redrawing the Gaza Strip is not that easy. Israel has destroyed hundreds of thousands of buildings and roads and demolished universities, schools, mosques, etc. It remains for it to work to change the thinking of Hamas and Jihad, in other words, to change the renewed idea of Hamas, which is a copy of the Palestine Liberation Organization. A viable Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital. This is what is required today by Hamas. The question that arises is: Will Hamas, as a movement, modify its approach in order to obtain a Palestinian state in which it can be a partner? Experiment is always the best example and evidence of behavior change in the science of experimental research. You will find that the results are more accurate than other research such as descriptive and historical research, through which the researcher collects information without having fingerprints, but in experimental research the situation is different in the sense of the enthusiastic experience from October 7. To this day, Hamas has reached important results, which is that waging wars requires a comprehensive study of all aspects, the most important of which is securing the home front, protecting civilians, and staying away from fighting inside cities. For this reason, Israel still insists on destroying Hamas, and it is in no hurry, as long as American and other support is available without limits. Israel was able to shift the battle from its surroundings, that is, from the envelope that was occupied for limited hours to the heart of the Gaza Strip, and this is what was expected before the war within what was proposed internally by Israel and America, which is the occupation of Gaza and the elimination of Hamas militarily, and I put ten lines under (militarily).
The truth is that there is a need for Arab creative thinking regarding the Zionist movement and what it aspires to. Nothing has changed in Zionist thought and doctrine from that date until today. Rather, practices have become more extreme, and there is no indication that the scene may witness fundamental changes. Especially since the reality after the Gaza War will not be the same as before. Israeli Zionism has changed over the decades, producing extreme right-wing politicians, such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who represent the political front for organized crime groups represented by settlers.
On this basis, we must acknowledge that America is still the strong, undisputed supporter of the Zionist project, and this is what Badin said after his visits to Israel a day or two after the events of October 7. If there had been no Israel, we would have created it. This is a useful summary of the visits of Blinken, the US Secretary of Defense, and others. : "Israel...and after the flood."
.......
America realized that the Zionist project was weakening somewhat, so it was very keen to support it, and entered the battle of Gaza directly. The issue is not just American support for Israel with money and weapons. America has become the official sponsor of the war on Gaza.

The Palestinian political class consists of a limited number of people, some of whom are invited to sit behind the Palestine banner in Arab, regional and international conferences, in their various specializations, and others are invited to capitals to hold talks to end the division, and many of them sign petitions calling for reform of the situation, and the preferred title for this is “The Liberation Organization,” and the lowest-ranking title is “the National Authority.”
Since October 7, 2023, the Palestinian situation as a whole has entered a phase different from all the phases that preceded it, when a major Palestinian faction, the Hamas movement, was able to cause an earthquake that shook the foundations of the Hebrew state and opened the gates of hell to the entire region. For the first time in the history of the conflict with Israel, the flames extend and continue over the longest period of time, over the longest geographical area extending from Gaza to Bab al-Mandab.
All the developments that followed the terrible 7th of October seemed truly unprecedented, in terms of the extent of destruction, the abundance of blood, and the blockage of practical prospects for solutions. Conversely, this resulted in the loudest global talk about the inevitability of going to a radical solution to the Palestinian issue, which the world renewed its recognition of as a reason. to the flames in the Middle East, while acknowledging - in varying tones - our negligence in not reaching this solution early.
As a result, initiatives towards prior recognition of the Palestinian state expanded, completing the more comprehensive recognition embodied by the countries of the world by an overwhelming majority in the United Nations, which was met with almost comprehensive condemnations of Israel. It reached its peak in the International Court of Justice, as well as the Criminal Court, and we can say that the abundance of blood shed over the past eight months has produced a growing international case towards the option of a Palestinian state.
permission; Everything changed globally, including what happened in America itself. Where the university uprising and the relative change in American public opinion were in favor of the Palestinians, after it had been closed in favor of their opponents.
However, what is confusing about the matter, and which can be described as a phenomenon, is that this change and its impact on the Palestinian situation seemed faint and weak, as everything that was before this global development remained the same. Rather, it has become more deteriorating, as if the war of annihilation and destruction is taking place elsewhere. The long-term division has transcended the rivalry between the two traditional poles: “Fatah” and “Hamas,” reaching the “PLO,” which is now making calls to reform it, while clinging to its reality, which it has called the Council. She has stagnation and lack of initiative.
Always and without interruption, initiatives and conferences were taking place that included thousands of Palestinians who considered the “organization” their moral homeland, their protective umbrella for them and their cause, and their common dream of return and the establishment of a state. However, what actually happened was that these efforts froze without anything significant changing in the reality of the “organization.” “And the mechanisms of its attendance and decisions.
Attempts to reform the moral homeland will continue to exist and be repeated, whether through petitions or initiatives, including popular conferences, for example, but their achievement of the desired results remains not guaranteed, because those who seek reform by signing petitions, and even holding conferences, do not have what you have in the field of effective and effective pressure. The forces controlling the game in their land. In the West Bank, there is an authority and organization that feeds on the world’s recognition of its legitimacy, even if it is symbolic. In Gaza, there is an authority and resistance that feeds on the failure of the competitor in its peaceful direction, and relies on the numbers of opinion polls that record a steady rise in its popularity.
In this case, we find ourselves before an equation that has a strong impact in the field of plunder. Its two basic numbers, each of which has its own calculations completely independent of the other, made the meeting between them impossible, like the meeting of two parallel lines. Otherwise, what made the division reach the point of separation, and with a time span exceeding Seventeen years, with all the woes and disasters that befell everyone? What have thousands of meetings achieved in all the hospitable capitals, except statements to satisfy the hosts and to entice others to new hosts?
Attempts at reform through initiatives, petitions, and popular conferences are natural, self-evident, and legitimate. The issue is not the property of an organization or authority, so the door to ijtihad will remain open and circulating. However, what should be paid attention to is that the established influence on the ground remains in the hands of symbolic legitimacy that the world still recognizes and deals with. And armed resistance that the public still sympathizes with, and if these two parties do not take the initiative to meet within the framework of national unity, and towards an agreed-upon national program and how to implement it, petitions will continue to be written and signed, popular conferences will continue to be held and adjourned, and the situation will remain as it is.

......
In this case, we find ourselves in front of an equation that has a strong impact in the field of plunder. Its two basic numbers each have their own calculations completely independent of the other, making the meeting between them impossible, like the meeting of two parallel lines.
About "Middle East"

Medical sources announced today, Friday, the death of a child due to famine and drought, bringing the number of victims of malnutrition in the Gaza Strip to 40.

The same sources said that a child died as a result of malnutrition, dehydration, and a lack of medical supplies at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the city of Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

The Gaza Strip has been subjected to continuous Israeli aggression, since October 7, and has been subjected to extremely difficult humanitarian conditions, amounting to famine, in light of the severe scarcity of food, water, medicine, and fuel supplies.

Medical sources had previously announced that fifty children were suffering from malnutrition and starvation in the northern Gaza Strip.

Quoting medical sources at Kamal Adwan Hospital, “Symptoms of malnutrition have been recorded in more than 200 children in the Gaza Strip, a humanitarian disaster is facing the northern Gaza Strip, and the specter of famine looms on the horizon.”

The population of the northern Gaza Strip, numbering about 700,000 people, suffers from a severe shortage of food and vegetables, as a result of Israel's continued closure of border crossings and the failure of trucks to enter the north, which brings the "specter of famine" to the forefront again, according to local officials and international organizations.

On May 7, the occupation forces occupied the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing, which led to the cessation of the flow of aid to the Strip and the travel of the wounded and sick abroad to receive treatment, and exacerbated the humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, specifically in the north, after citizens exhausted what they had left. Of food supplies in light of the scarcity of aid.

Relief officials and health experts warned of "famine in the Gaza Strip during this May, unless Israel lifts restrictions on aid, the aggression stops, and vital services are restored."

The World Health Organization warned yesterday that many residents of the Strip are exposed to a "catastrophic level of hunger and famine-like conditions."

The Israeli occupation forces have continued their aggression against the Gaza Strip, by land, sea and air, since October 7, 2023, resulting in the death of more than 37,232 citizens and the injury of 85,037 others, an infinite toll, as thousands of victims are still under the rubble.

Details of Israel's massacre in Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp are beginning to emerge. The Israeli army killed 274 people there and injured hundreds.

The Washington Post confirmed on Sunday that Israeli forces used civilian vehicles during this military operation and that it was organized near the “humanitarian” port built by the US army. The Gaza government media office reported that Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers posed as refugees before opening fire on the camp.

This massacre was committed under the pretext of wanting to “free hostages”. But the hostages killed (three) were almost as numerous as the hostages rescued (four).

According to the American media, this massacre which left nearly a thousand victims, dead and injured, and demolished around a hundred buildings, was aimed just at destroying everything that was in the path of the Israeli commando. “The Air Force started shooting to give them a corridor, a wall of fire,” retired Maj. Gen. David Tsur told the Washington Post.

The IDF boasts of close collaboration with the United States in this massacre. They report that "the US hostage cell played a decisive role in the release of the captives" and that it used "high-precision American technology that had never before been used in a liberation process." hostages.”

The Pentagon denied any direct participation by the US military in the attack. "The pontoon facility, its equipment, personnel and instruments, were not used in the [Israeli army's] operation to free hostages in Gaza," the Pentagon spokesperson said, Pat Ryder.

He admitted, however, that “the Israeli army used helicopters” near the pier, but added that this activity was “not associated” with the American army.

The Euro-Med Monitor [Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Observatory] reported that “massive and indiscriminate air and artillery attacks were launched by the Israeli army during the operation in order to cover the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The massacre caused an influx of injured people into Gaza's overloaded hospital system. “We placed the injured along the interior corridors and between the beds. There is no room at all in this hospital. We made them sleep in outdoor tents,” Dr. Khalil al-Dakran of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital told Al Jazeera, adding that there were four times more wounded than beds. in the hospital.

“It’s a nightmare in Al-Aqsa,” said Samuel Johann, coordinator of Doctors Without Borders in Gaza. “The bombings on densely populated areas follow one another and cause many victims. This is way beyond what can be done in a functioning hospital, especially with the meager resources we have here. How many more men, women and children must be killed before world leaders decide to put an end to this massacre?

“Israel committed a massacre in Nuseirat,” Khalil al-Degran, spokesman for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, said on Saturday. “In this terrible state, the hospital cannot absorb the number of dead and injured. The hospital has been operating at full capacity for weeks.”

Karin Huster of Doctors Without Borders told the Associated Press (AP) in an interview: "We have received the full range of war wounds, traumatic wounds, amputations, eviscerations, trauma, traumatic brain injuries, fractures and, of course, severe burns... Children completely gray or white from shock, burned, screaming for their parents. Some of them don’t even scream anymore because they are in shock.”

The Israeli army killed some 274 Palestinians in this massacre and injured 700. Among the dead were 64 children and 57 women. “The streets are full of corpses,” one witness told the AP. Eighty-nine houses or apartment buildings were bombed.

“The area was reduced to ashes...I couldn't find my wife and I started calling those around me to make sure they were still alive,” one witness, Abu Nasser, said in an interview at The Intercept.

Paraphrasing Nasser, The Intercept writes: “The streets were invaded by a swarm of “quadcopter drones” equipped with light weapons. We could hear the tracks of tanks nearby. American-made “Apache” attack helicopters were hovering. Neighboring houses were hit by missiles.

Nasser continued: "We heard people screaming for help in the bombed houses... There were martyrs and wounded, but we could not help them... The street was littered with body parts of civilians... and Many injured people were bleeding out without ambulances being able to reach them.

Martin Griffiths, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said the Nuseirat camp was “the epicenter of the seismic trauma that civilians in Gaza continue to experience”. He added: “The images of death and devastation that followed the Israeli military operation in this camp prove that with each passing day, this war becomes more and more terrible. “As we see the bleeding wounded being treated on the hospital floor, we are reminded that Gaza’s health care is hanging by a thread.”

Since the start of the Gaza genocide, at least 37,124 Palestinians have been killed and 84,712 injured, with countless others missing or presumed dead.

In a statement published on Sunday, the organization Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) called for the opening of an independent international investigation into the massacres perpetrated by Israel in Palestinian hospitals where hundreds of mass graves were discovered.

“Israel attacked almost all hospitals in Gaza. Hundreds of health workers and patients have been killed and detained. The discovery of mass graves at two hospitals demonstrates once again that Gaza's protected status under international health care law has completely failed, and the results are terrible,” said Rohan Talbot, advocacy director for MAP.

“The families of the dead deserve to know the truth about what happened to their loved ones and to obtain justice wherever serious violations of international law were committed. This can only be done through thorough, rapid and impartial investigations,” he said. “The international community must therefore demand that independent investigators and forensic experts have access to Gaza, so that evidence can be preserved and accountability established,” Talbot added.

Relentless Israeli bombardment of the devastated Palestinian territory continued after the raid. “Israeli bombardments – from air, land and sea – continue across much of the Gaza Strip, causing new civilian casualties, displacement and the destruction of homes and other civilian infrastructure,” the Israeli media reported on Monday. United Nations.

The British opposition Labor Party says it wants to "contribute to the relaunch of the renewed peace process which would lead to a two-state solution"

Labor, the British opposition Labor Party, which is well ahead in the polls ahead of the July 4 elections, pledged Thursday to recognize a Palestinian state in order to help revive the peace process.

“The creation of a Palestinian state is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people,” states Labour’s election manifesto, that is to say the set of policies it would implement if it formed the next government.

“We commit to recognizing Palestinian statehood as a contribution to a renewed peace process that would result in a two-state solution, with a safe and secure Israel and a viable and sovereign Palestinian state. »

The current Conservative government has already said that Britain could formally recognize a Palestinian state before the end of the peace process and that Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip must be offered "the political prospect of a credible path forward." towards a Palestinian state and a new future.”

In May, Spain, Ireland and Norway officially recognized the state of Palestine, angering Israel, which said the move was a reward for terrorism, in the wake of the barbaric assault and sadist of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on southern Israel on October 7.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the United States has not yet witnessed an Israeli launch of a major military operation in the city of Rafah in Gaza.

Miller said in a press conference for reporters that the Israeli military operations in Rafah are not of the same “size, scope, or operations in the city of Khan Yunis” or operations taking place elsewhere in Gaza. “It was a more limited operation.”

According to experts, and clarifications from the US administration itself, the United States backed away from the red lines that US President Joe Biden had set for the Israeli invasion of Rafah in his interview with the American network MSNBC on March 8, demanding an Israeli plan to guarantee the exit of citizens. 1.4 One million were safe before the invasion, followed by several meetings between American and Israeli officials to discuss an Israeli plan that could be accepted by the United States regarding storming the city.

Israel has been invading Rafah since May 7, which, according to figures provided by the United Nations, has led to the displacement of at least a million Palestinians who were sheltering there, forcing them to move to areas where there are little or no opportunities to obtain food, water, or food. Shelter. The United Nations has warned that more than one million people are expected to face “death and hunger by mid-July.”

It is noteworthy that Miller's statements came in conjunction with the incursion of Israeli tanks into the western part of Rafah (on Thursday), where the city was subjected to intense fire from helicopters, drones, and artillery in what residents described as one of the worst bombing operations in the region so far, according to what the newspaper reported. The Guardian.

The Biden administration has not yet slowed the flow of weapons in response, arguing that Israel has not yet carried out “major operations,” but Rafah residents described the level of fighting as devastating. A resident told AFP: “There was very intense fire from warplanes, Apaches, and quadcopters, in addition to Israeli artillery and military battleships, all of which were bombarding the area west of Rafah.”

Hamas said that its fighters were fighting Israeli forces in the streets of the city located on Gaza's southern border with Egypt.

The White House is now focusing on the “hostages for ceasefire” proposal presented by Biden on May 31 and approved by the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday. American officials said that Israel accepted the proposal, despite repeated statements by Netanyahu, who distanced himself from key parts of the agreement, and most importantly the mechanism through which the ceasefire would become a permanent end to the war.

Hamas has responded to the proposal with proposed amendments, some of which the United States says are negotiable, and others which it insists are unacceptable.

In a press conference at the beginning of the G7 summit in Italy, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan denied that the Israeli leadership “opposed the proposal or backed away from it.”

“To this day, they stand behind the proposal that was put on the table in late May and that President Biden described in his May 31 speech,” Sullivan said.

He added: "I think that Hamas' assertion that it has accepted this proposal, to the extent that it says so publicly, is not true." While some of the amendments are minor, Sullivan said: “Others are not consistent with what President Biden put forward or what the UN Security Council adopted.”

He added: "Our goal is to figure out how to work to close the remaining gaps and reach an agreement."