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DW
11 hours ago
- Politics
- DW
Israel tells aid ship to change course as it nears Gaza – DW – 06/09/2025
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage The ship is trying to deliver humanitarian supplies to the besieged enclave, where the UN has warned of a looming famine Image: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/picture alliance A ship carrying humanitarian aid bound for the Gaza Strip is approaching the Palestinian enclave, which is under an Israeli blockade. In addition to much-need supplies, the British-flagged Madleen is carrying climate advocate Greta Thunberg and several other activists. As it neared Gaza early on Monday morning, the occupants aboard the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's ship said it was coming "under assault" from Israeli forces and was surrounded by quadcopters. Israel's Navy has said it has told the aid ship to change course. On Sunday, Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said that he had instructed the military to stop the ship from reaching Gaza, warning "the antisemitic Greta and her Hamas-propaganda-spouting friends" to turn back. We'll bring you the latest developments on the situation in Gaza and the wider Middle East region on Monday, June 9, 2025.
New York Post
27-05-2025
- General
- New York Post
Shots fired at new Gaza food aid hub after thousands overrun center
Chaotic scenes showing civilians in Gaza overrunning one of two new US-backed aid distribution centers have been shared on social media. Thousands of Palestinians are seen crowding the center near the city of Rafah, which was supplying boxes of food, video taken on Tuesday shows. The newly opened centers, operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), aim to provide aid to around half of all Palestinians in the territory, or approximately one million people, by the end of the week. Aid boxes, including bags of rice, dried beans, flour, oil, salt and canned vegetables, were pictured on X. 6 The first two of four aid distribution centers have opened in Gaza. via REUTERS 'Approximately 8,000 food boxes have been distributed so far. Each box feeds 5.5 people for 3.5 days, totaling 462,000 meals,' the GHF said in a statement earlier. A further two aid distribution sites — operated by a private American security company and under the supervision of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) — are expected to open in the Gaza Strip. But after an orderly start to the food distribution, tensions seemed to boil over as thousands crowded around the aid centers, leading to the IDF firing shots to disperse the throngs of people. 6 The aid centers aim to deliver food to half of Gaza's two million inhabitants. AFP via Getty Images The IDF was forced to deny reports that its troops opened fire from a helicopter during the disarray at the center. Israeli forces did not carry out 'any aerial fire toward the humanitarian aid distribution center,' the IDF said in a statement. However, troops fired warning shots outside the compound, a military source told The Times of Israel. 'Control over the situation was established, food distribution operations are expected to continue as planned, and the safety of IDF troops was not compromised,' the source said. American security subcontractors fell back to allow 'a small number' of Palestinians to collect food from the distribution center, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said in a statement on Tuesday as it looked to downplay the chaos. 'The needs on the ground are great. At one moment in the late afternoon, the volume of people at the SDS [distribution center] was such that the GHF team fell back to allow a small number of Gazans to take aid safely and dissipate,' the Foundation said in a statement. 6 The supply of food to Gaza has become a major diplomatic incident between Israel and the UN. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Shutterstock Aid has been allowed into Gaza for the past week by Israel following a 78-day blockade of the territory. Operations at the distribution center have since returned to normal, the GHF claimed. Non-profit leaders, meanwhile, have slammed the foundation as 'selfish' over its alleged mishandling of the new aid distribution center. 6 The destruction in the Gaza Strip. AFP via Getty Images 'The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has left Palestinians without food. The people that created it are selfish,' Emirati-backed NGO World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andrew wrote on X. WCK has refused to cooperate with GHF, whose CEO resigned earlier this week in frustration at what he called Israeli restrictions. The United Nations decried the scenes from the Gaza food distribution center on Tuesday as 'heartbreaking.' 6 The UN has accused Israel of making it difficult to supply aid to Gaza. REUTERS 'We have been watching the video coming out of Gaza around one of the distribution points set up by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. And frankly, these videos, these images, are heartbreaking to say the least,' Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres, said in a statement. 6 For its part, Israel has accused the UN of failing to collect humanitarian aid. via REUTERS Israel is still allowing the UN to deliver aid, but with obstacles, Dujarric added. For its part, Israel has accused the UN of failing to collect the humanitarian aid it says is piling up on the Israeli side of the Gaza border. More than 400 truckloads of humanitarian aid are still awaiting collection and distribution by the UN, the Israeli Defense Ministry's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) said in a statement. 'In the past few days, the UN has avoided fulfilling its role and instead continues to spread false and incorrect information regarding civilian distress,' COGAT chief Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian said.
The Intercept
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Intercept
How to Write About Palestine
A man carries a dead child at Nasser Hospital, Khan Yunis, Gaza on May 24, 2025. Photo:Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu/Getty Images Begin on October 7th, 2023. Nothing important happened before this date. History began on October 7th. Never say the word occupation and avoid using terms like, 'apartheid,' 'segregation' and 'illegal settlements.' Avoid writing about the wall. If you do, preface its existence by talking about terrorism and security. Terrorism and security are very important words. Use them a lot in reference to Palestinians. Remind your audience that Palestine is a 'complicated' situation. Avoid the word genocide — for legal and technical reasons of course. If you must use the word, put it in quotes. Do not describe the escalation of Israeli hostility as an assault on the people of Gaza. Instead, use words like 'war,' and 'conflict,' because that makes it easier to avoid the g-word. When reporting on the dead, always use the passive voice and don't mention how they were killed, or by whom. As often as possible remind your readers of October 7th . When writing about Palestinians, do not forget to center Israeli feelings. Although the Israeli miliary is dropping bombs and killing Palestinians, the real story is about the persecution of Israelis in the wake of October 7th. Avoid making everything even more complicated pointing out that antisemitism is a European invention. Writing about Palestine mainly involves writing about Hamas. Writing about Hamas is almost as important as writing about October 7th. Hamas is a person, a thing, a monster, a ghost. Hamas is in every home. Hamas is in tunnels and hospitals. Hamas is in tents sleeping next to patients in wheelchairs. Hamas is in ambulances that are buried with paramedics. Hamas infiltrated World Food Kitchen and all the soup kitchens and schools, even the children's souls have been infiltrated by Hamas. Palestinian children try to get a ration of hot food from a charity kitchen set up at a camp for displaced people in Gaza City, on May 21, 2025. Photo: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images The October 7th Hamas attack can be described in any of the following ways: horrific brutal gruesome murderous shocking atrocious harrowing graphic terrifying On the other hand, when writing about attacks on Palestinians no adjectives should be used. It's better to simply write something like, 'More than 90 killed in Gaza strikes.' You do not want readers to think you're taking a side. When writing about Palestine, do not let facts get in the way of telling a good story. To this end, ignore Palestinian sources. They may be biased. On the other hand, the Israeli military is a highly credible source of information. If the Israeli army says nothing happened, then nothing happened. When the army claims their troops didn't rape Palestinian women or use civilians as human shields, or shoot children in the head with sniper guns, continue to publish their denials without comment. Linking countries that fund weapons to the armies that use them fosters transparency. So, when you write about attacks on Tel Aviv, it is important to mention that the missiles were fired by Iran-backed Hezbollah. Do the same when you write about the Houthis. Do not follow the same protocols when it comes to Israel. The American-backed Israeli army makes its own decisions about when to drop American and British bombs. When talking about Muslim communities, throw around phrases like 'terrorist hotbed,' and 'Hamas sympathizers.' This works even when those communities are in the UK or America. Repeatedly demonize people who peacefully protest for Palestine. Center the voices of people living in Western countries who feel unsafe when they hear the phrase 'from the river to the sea.' Don't ask your readers to imagine how unsafe children actually living, wounded and dying in Gaza and the West Bank feel. Do not ask them to think about whether mothers feel safe as they enter labor. Do not write one single paragraph asking whether fathers burying their children have a right to feel unsafe in Gaza. When writing about Palestine, try not to zoom into individual stories or write about the intimate details of people's lives. Keep your focus on Hamas militants. In fact, when writing about Palestine try not to interview Palestinians at all. They might be Hamas or Hamas sympathizers. If you must interview a Palestinian, always begin by asking them to condemn October 7th. After this, be sure to ask them to confirm that Israel has a right to exist. Ask the same leading questions of anyone who looks like an Arab, or is Muslim, or who seems to sympathize with Palestinians. Sometimes they will throw the question back at you and ask if you think Palestine has a right to exist. Ignore this line of questioning as it only leads to trouble. When all else fails, remember: Begin on October 7th, 2023. Nothing important happened before this date. History began on October 7th. This piece borrows its satirical form from How to Write About Africa by the late Kenyan writer Binyavanga Wainaina . Many of the details and critiques of the media examples are from the excellent report put out by the Australian Islamophobia Register in December 2023. Written by Dr Susan Carland, A War of Words: Preliminary Media Analysis of the Gaza War is a great resource. There are many articles online that can help you read more critically. Search 'media bias Palestine' and you'll find dozens of reports.
Mail & Guardian
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Mail & Guardian
Stolen childhoods: Israel's war on Palestinian children
Israeli air strikes shatter Gaza. Photo: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images Ramallah, Occupied West Bank: More than 350 Palestinian children have been imprisoned by Israeli forces in military camps and central prisons across the country, according to recent reports by human rights groups. Of those detained, more than 100 are being held without charge or trial under Israel's controversial and unlawful military court system. Palestinian child detainees face a grim reality behind bars. Like thousands of other political prisoners, they endure systemic abuse, including starvation; physical and psychological torture; denial of medical care and inhumane treatment. On 22 March 2025, the death of Walid Ahmad, a young detainee from Ramallah, marked the first known child martyr since the start of the genocide that began in October 2023. Since then, mass arrests have intensified throughout the occupied territories, targeting civilians of all ages. Children have not been spared. In occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank alone, more than 1 200 child arrest cases have been documented. The situation in Gaza remains opaque, because Israeli authorities have blocked lawyers and human rights organisations from access to data regarding arrests and detentions. Israel's military court system permits the use of administrative detention against children — a practice where detainees are held without charge, often based on undisclosed evidence. Lawyers and even the children themselves are denied access to these 'secret files', undermining the most basic principles of justice. Since the escalation of violence in October 2023, the number of children held under administrative detention has reached an unprecedented level, with reports indicating that 3 498 Palestinian children are detained under this system. In addition to imprisonment, Palestinian children are subjected to military trials that lack due process and transparency. Legal experts and human rights advocates describe these proceedings as 'charade trials' that serve only to legitimise the occupation's continued violation of children's rights. Even more concerning is the imposition of house arrest, particularly in occupied Jerusalem, where children are cut off from education, social contact and essential support networks. These actions are in direct violation of several international laws and conventions: The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Israel has ratified, prohibits arbitrary detention and requires that detention of children be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time (Article 37). The Fourth Geneva Convention prohibits the transfer of protected persons from occupied territories and outlines protections for civilians, including children, during military occupation. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees the right to a fair trial and protection from arbitrary arrest or detention (Articles 9 and 14). The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment prohibits torture and mistreatment under any circumstances. By continuing to detain children without charge, deny them fair trial guarantees and subject them to inhumane treatment, Israeli authorities are committing serious breaches of international law. These practices amount to grave violations of human rights and constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It is evident tht Israel has not only stolen the childhoods of Palestinian children — it is systematically trying to erase their future. Behind bars, these children are denied the chance to dream, to learn, to grow. Instead, they are subjected to trauma, isolation and violence — not because of what they have done, but because of who they are. Children are the seeds of tomorrow, but under occupation, they are treated as threats to be crushed. Through mass incarceration, psychological torment and physical abuse, Israel is waging war on a generation, attempting to break their bodies and spirits before they ever have the chance to blossom. This is not collateral damage. It is deliberate. It is a calculated strategy to strip Palestinians of their next generation of leaders, thinkers and dreamers — to suffocate resistance by extinguishing hope at its root. If the world continues to look away, it becomes complicit in a system that dehumanises children and buries their futures behind prison walls. Justice demands not silence, but urgent action. Sõzarn Barday is an attorney based in South Africa and has a particular interest in human rights in the Middle East.
The Intercept
12-04-2025
- Politics
- The Intercept
"An Abrupt Plunge Into Hell": Gaza After the Ceasefire
People try to salvage some items in the devastated yard of a school in the al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, on April 4, 2025, a day after it was hit by an Israeli strike. Photo: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images It feels as though time has folded back on itself. The bombing on Gaza resumed in the darkness of the night of March 18, and has continued for weeks since. It feels like a flashback — like the first day of October 7, when the morning broke with the same shock, the same uncertainty. On one level, we expected the war to resume. In early March, the beginning of Ramadan, the first phase of the ceasefire deal ended. By March 2, Israel had closed the border crossings into Gaza, and aid — food — stopped entering. In the middle of March, Israel resumed killing people with drones across Gaza. One attack killed nine Palestinians: four journalists, the others aid workers. On March 18, after two months of ceasefire, the deal was shattered. At 2 a.m, I heard the deafening sounds of heavy airstrikes and violent explosions. Thunderous booms shattered our night, rattling windows in our apartment. But these airstrikes evoked a strange new type of fear, coming out of a supposed ceasefire. For the first time, Israeli warplanes struck across the entire Gaza Strip at the same time. They targeted tents, mosques, schools, hospitals, and houses. After the airstrikes began, I smelled a suffocating, poisonous gas seeping into our new apartment in Gaza City. A ceasefire broken, and Israel killing sleeping civilians in the night. The shift from ceasefire back to genocide feels like an abrupt plunge into hell. I have lived through multiple cycles of escalation. The transition from a temporary peace to renewed attack is the return of feeling unsafe and the trauma I never healed from. It's the return to the panic of hearing a moving car and thinking it's a bomb dropped. It's the return to the sharp screech of ambulances rushing by, carrying the injured and martyrs, and the thuds of artillery fire, the echo of explosions, airstrikes, and the horror of fire belts — the Israeli tactic of bombing the same area again and again — that tear through our days. It's the return to seeing the bodies, skulls, and remnants covered with blood and dust. It's the return to the sounds of the screams, the wails, the cries that are still rooted in our minds, refusing to leave us. It's the return to the news of loss, the lengthy list of martyrs killed by Israel, the funeral prayers, the mourning and sorrow, and the farewell. It's the return to the atrocities and massacres committed by Israel. Read our complete coverage This week, the Israeli occupation committed massacres in the Shujaiya neighborhood, erasing an entire area and killing many innocent people. The internal situation has become even more precarious and unbearable. Airstrikes come at random, especially at night while we sleep. The Israeli drones and warplanes hover overhead ceaselessly. The cost of food, medicine, gas, and fuel has skyrocketed, placing an even greater burden on Gazans who are already living in dire conditions. The bag of flour that cost 10 shekels, around three U.S. dollars, as recently as six months ago, now can only be found for 500 shekels, close to $130. One liter of gas now costs 300 shekels, or nearly $80. Before the war, a large family could live on $600 a month, but now have to find $2,000 just to survive, scraped together from savings and money stashed away — or in many cases, forced to starve. I hate seeing the white coffins covering my beloved martyrs' bodies. The blockade and closure of the Gaza border crossings have exacerbated the suffering, making it nearly impossible for aid to reach us. Previously, essential supplies like flour, hygiene kits, vegetables, fruit, canned food, and other basic ingredients would come in through these crossings, providing vital support amid the genocide and before the ceasefire. Now, with the border closed, everything has stopped. My family is baking bread from the last of the flour we received as aid. Water has become scarce, and we are forced to rely on limited local sources, making it difficult to sustain even the most basic necessities of life. It feels like war and tragic stories have become part of our DNA. I hate farewells, and I hate seeing the white coffins covering my beloved martyrs' bodies. Here, the air seems thick and heavy, and all around me is rubble and black destruction. The death toll keeps rising. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since March 18, and more than 3,000 people severely injured. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that the attacks will intensify with time. In Gaza, everything changes in an instant: Gazans get killed or injured in an instant, buildings get demolished in an instant, prices get higher in an instant, and the border crossings get closed in an instant. I've started expecting to be killed at any moment, separated from death by only a fraction of a second. Our pain of loss and suffering hasn't satisfied Israel and its goals. Maybe seeing us moving forward despite the destruction evoked their anger. Why does Israel keep killing children and women? Why does Israel keep killing Palestinians, whether individually or collectively, asleep or awake, alive or dead? My aunt told me, 'After launching an airstrike against a neighboring building next to my building, we found dismembered remnants and flesh of a human body scattered in the staircase of my building.' My mom's relative was in the Baptist hospital last week, and she told us, 'There were a lot of children injured as a result of yesterday's massacre. All these children had their limbs amputated without any painkillers because it was not available.' We are being cut into pieces. Since the beginning of the war in October, Israel has kept deliberately targeting journalists, killing at least 220 journalists for only documenting, reporting, and covering the truth on the ground. Israel killed Samer Abu Daqqa, Hamza al-Dahdouh, and Roshdi Sarraj and separated them from their families. Israel killed Ismail al-Ghoul, beheaded him, and separated him from his wife and his lovely daughter. Israel targeted Fadi Alwhidi, paralyzing his legs. On March 24, two more Palestinian journalists, Hossam Shabat and Mohammed Mansour, were killed in Gaza by the criminal Israeli occupation only for doing their mission in journalism and for telling the truth. There was only one hour between their deaths. Days ago, an Israeli airstrike targeted tents sheltering journalists in front of Nasser Hospital in Gaza. The journalist Ahmad Mansour was martyred after being burned alive and many other journalists such Abdullah al-Attar and Hassan Aslih were injured severely. Unfortunately, there is no international protection for the journalists in Gaza. Their helmets and press vests don't prevent Israel from killing them. These brave journalists, especially Anas al-Sharif and Hind Khoudary, inspire me to write. 'Don't let the world look away. Keep fighting. Keep telling stories until Palestine is free.' The killing of Hossam Shabat, Ismail al-Ghoul, and Roshdi Sarraj pushes me forward to follow their footsteps. Hossam Shabat's last message was, 'Don't stop talking about Gaza. Don't let the world look away. Keep fighting. Keep telling stories until Palestine is free.' So I will keep fighting until the end despite the challenges to make sure that those journalists' sacrifices were not in vain. We are living in a state of panic and anticipation of what will happen. We feel helpless and powerless, and don't know how to provide basic necessities for our families and afford the essentials. What terrifies the people of Gaza the most is being displaced from the north to the south again, with the ground invasions threatening us all. While our existence annoys Israel, we declare we will remain in Gaza in our own homes, come what may. We completely dismiss Donald Trump's proposal to expel us from our homes in all its forms. We know the deception of the Israeli occupation, as it previously ordered us to head south to the so-called 'safe zone,' then bombed us. My connection to Gaza deepens even more through this genocide. My connection to Gaza deepens even more through this genocide. The war, the death, the destruction — it never really leaves us. It lingers, seeping into our lives like the dust from the airstrikes, covering every moment, every breath, every hope we have left. Life was never normal in Gaza, but I miss what I thought was a 'normal' life. I have already survived the previous wars, but I can't be sure I'll survive this time. Why does it feel like every time we try to move forward, the occupation rips us back? Why, when the colors of our lives begin to emerge, do they fade so quickly into shades of pale and black? When will we have an end to our struggle?
