Latest news with #Owda
Al-Ahram Weekly
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Genocide uninterrupted - World - Al-Ahram Weekly
Siham Shamlakh keeps up with the situation in Gaza after the outbreak of war with Iran. Israel has continued its military campaign in Gaza without pause despite its recent conflict with Iran. Analysts viewed its war on Iran as an effort by Tel Aviv to maintain pressure on Hamas and assert its military dominance on multiple fronts. Far from viewing the confrontation with Iran as a reason to scale back operations, Israeli officials have framed the Gaza offensive as part of a wider battle against what they describe as Iran's 'axis of resistance', grouping Hamas alongside Hizbullah and other allied factions. Recent tensions between Israel and Iran have cast a long shadow over already stalled ceasefire efforts in Gaza. With the diplomatic focus shifting to the regional stage, efforts to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas have become even more complicated. Mediators from Egypt, Qatar, and the United States are still working behind the scenes to revive talks. Qatar has reaffirmed its commitment to pushing the negotiations forward, though progress has slowed considerably. On the Israeli side, officials have indicated that a pause in fighting remains possible, but only after Hamas' military infrastructure is fully dismantled and all remaining hostages are released. These demands have been met with caution by Hamas, which continues to insist on firm guarantees including a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and unrestricted humanitarian access before considering any final agreement. Political analyst Reham Owda told Al-Ahram Weekly that after Israel's strikes on Iran had come to an end, talks over a potential prisoner exchange deal in Gaza are expected to resume. Owda suggests that early July could bring signs of progress, including a temporary agreement that may lead to serious Israeli discussions about ending the war and exploring post-war arrangements. However, Owda added that Israel is likely to insist on key conditions, such as refusing a full military withdrawal from Gaza, maintaining buffer zones, and preventing Hamas from regaining political or security control over the territory. Hamas strongly condemned the Israeli escalation against Iran, describing it as a blatant violation of international law and a direct threat to regional and global security and peace. The Israeli War on Gaza is also a strategic political aim for the Israeli government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government remains under intense pressure to deliver a decisive outcome after the shock of the 7 October border attack. For Netanyahu, halting operations now could be interpreted as a sign of weakness, particularly as public opinion continues to demand retribution and security assurances. Moreover, some observers argue that Israel is using the cover of regional instability to push forward its long-term objectives in Gaza. The relentless bombardment, they say, is not only aimed at dismantling Hamas' infrastructure but also reshaping the territory's political and humanitarian landscape. With much of the world's attention diverted to other flashpoints, including the Israeli-Iranian standoff and escalating tensions in Southern Lebanon, Gaza risks slipping further into isolation even as the toll on civilians continues to rise. Over the past week, humanitarian suffering has notably deteriorated, as Israeli bombardment and growing shortages of essential resources continue to strain civilian life. Last week, the Israeli military continued its intensive bombardment of residential areas in the Gaza Strip with airstrikes hitting homes in Jabaliya, Shujaiyah and Khan Younis in the southern Strip. According to local sources, entire families were buried under the rubble as strikes targeted civilian buildings in these densely populated neighborhoods without prior warning. The repeated attacks have left a trail of devastation, exacerbating already dire humanitarian conditions and forcing more families to flee what little shelter they had left. Rescue teams, often working with bare hands and minimal equipment, struggle to recover bodies and reach the wounded amid ongoing shelling. At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured as Israeli warplanes bombed tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in Al-Shati Refugee Camp west of Gaza city on 19 June. In a separate strike on the northern Gaza Strip, eight Palestinians were reported killed and many others wounded after an air raid hit a residential home in Jabaliya while civilians were still inside. Meanwhile, airstrikes and artillery fire targeted areas near US aid distribution points in central Gaza. At least 25 people including women and children were reportedly killed in Khan Younis. Scenes of chaos unfolded as desperate civilians were met with gunfire while chasing food convoys, with some reports pointing to warning shots fired by Israeli troops and incidents of looting. International organisations have sounded the alarm over worsening water scarcity. On 20 June, UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder stated in a press briefing that only about 40 per cent of Gaza's water systems are functioning, and the dire lack of clean water resulting from destroyed infrastructure, fuel shortages and restricted aid access amounts to a 'man-made drought.' On 20 June, Civil Defence Spokesperson Mahmoud Basal reported that at least 76 Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip. Among the dead, he noted, were 21 individuals shot while waiting for humanitarian aid. The fatalities included civilians in Khan Younis and in central Gaza near the Netzarim Corridor. Basal said the victims had gathered in hope of obtaining food and basic supplies, describing attacking them as part of an ongoing pattern of violence against a displaced and vulnerable population. Ahmed Al-Dremlyr, 40, who was near the site, said, 'unarmed, hungry people were killed in cold blood for no reason. They went to get flour and food for their children.' In a grim reflection of the crisis, local medical teams struggle to operate under the near total collapse of healthcare and supply systems. Calls for an immediate ceasefire have grown louder from aid groups and international observers, warning that Gaza's humanitarian situation is reaching an irreversible breaking point. As Israeli strikes continue to pound Gaza, civilians remain the primary victims of attacks on vital infrastructure. According to the latest figures, four people were killed and more than 20 others injured last week when Israeli forces targeted an internet charging and distribution point near the Interior Ministry headquarters, in Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood, west of Gaza City. This was not the first time such an incident has occurred; previous strikes on areas providing internet and communication access have further deepened Gaza's isolation amid an unrelenting humanitarian crisis. Haitham Jbreel is a nursing student. It's end of term and exam time in Palestine, so he and everyone like him in Gaza went out to find a spot where they could have internet to take their exams. However the Israeli military bombed them. Haitham is now in intensive care with multiple skull fractures and shrapnel lodged in his stomach and intestines. On that same day, additional casualties were reported following an Israeli airstrike on a house belonging to Al-Zebda family on Al-Mukhabarat Street in the northwest of Gaza City. As the humanitarian and medical crises deepen across Gaza, health officials warn that hospitals are reaching a breaking point. Ahmed Al-Farra, head of the Pediatrics and Obstetrics Department at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, said in a press release that the hospital can no longer take in casualties due to overcrowded wards and a severe shortage of medical supplies and equipment. He pointed out that the medical compound has seen a surge in daily injuries, many linked to the so-called 'humanitarian aid centres' which, he explained, are causing chaos and total harm on the ground. Al-Farra added that at least 500 patients and wounded individuals in Gaza have died due to delays in medical referrals and travel restrictions imposed by Israel. For its part, Hamas described the Israeli army's deliberate murder of women, children and innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip as a fixed, daily objective and a defining feature of its criminal war against the people of Gaza. While diplomatic efforts remain alive, the tone of recent statements from all sides suggests that a comprehensive ceasefire is not imminent. As Gaza reels under relentless bombardment and worsening humanitarian conditions, the path to peace appears increasingly tense if not entirely deadlocked. According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, 200 people were killed and more than 1,037 others injured in deliberate attacks by the Israeli Army in the last 48 hours, while 55,908 were martyred and over 131,138 injured since 7 October 2023. * A version of this article appears in print in the 26 June, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Sinar Daily
11-06-2025
- Sinar Daily
Palestinian journalist unfollow accounts celebrating life amid Gaza siege
'Forgive me, but I am unable to see your posts and your luxurious and empty lives at the same time." Prominent Palestinian journalist and activist Bisan Owda has announced she will unfollow social media users who continue to share celebratory or lifestyle content while Gaza continues to suffer under Israeli bombardment. - Photo: Instagram @wizard_bisan1 SHAH ALAM – Prominent Palestinian journalist and activist Bisan Owda has announced she will unfollow social media users who continue to share celebratory or lifestyle content while Gaza continues to suffer under Israeli bombardment. In an Instagram Story posted on Thursday, Owda, widely known by her online moniker Wizard Bisan said she would no longer engage with posts about food, holidays, clothing or leisure, regardless of the user's religion or nationality. 'Forgive me, but I am unable to see your posts and your luxurious and empty lives at the same time. 'We may live in different worlds, and this step may be late, but neither me nor my people are able to see your food and your lives and not curse you and hate you. 'So that we do not see you as insignificant and ignorant, I am going to unfollow you and not see your Honolulu life,' the caption read. She added that if she and her people survive the ongoing genocide, rebuild their lives and experience joy again, only then will she consider re-engaging with such content. "This is the least I can do for my family and my people," she wrote. Palestinians prepare to carry an injured person, pulled from the rubble of a home that was targeted in an Israeli strike in the Saftawi neighbourhood, west of Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip on June 9, 2025. Photo by Bashar Taleb/AFP Owda has become one of the most recognised voices documenting the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. Since Oct 7, 2023, she has regularly reported from the ground, providing firsthand accounts of the destruction, displacement and death caused by Israel's military campaign. At just 20-something, Owda has amassed more than four million Instagram followers and continues to reach millions across platforms like TikTok and X (formerly Twitter). Her social media presence has grown significantly since the start of the war, often opening her videos with the haunting phrase, "I'm still alive." Her reporting has covered key atrocities, including the Al-Shifa ambulance strike, the Flour Massacre in February 2024 and mass displacements to Khan Younis. She herself has been displaced multiple times, including when her home and filming equipment in Gaza City's Rimal district were destroyed by Israeli airstrikes. Media report, The New Arab reported, in recognition of her brave journalism, Owda was awarded an Emmy in Sep 2024 for her documentary "I'm Bisan from Gaza and I'm Still Alive." The report, produced in collaboration with AJ+, won the award for Outstanding Hard News Feature Story: Short Form at the 45th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards, hosted by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS).
The National
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Gaza journalist Bisan Owda confirms family deaths in Israeli strikes
Owda, better known as Wizard Bisan, has provided regular updates from the ground in Gaza since Israel ramped up its violence in the territory following October 7. In an update posted to Facebook and Instagram, she confirmed that three of her cousins were killed after Israeli forces bombed a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City on Monday. Owda said: 'Today, the Israeli army bombed a very crowded school, killing 40 people — three of them were my cousins. Children among them. READ MORE: Israeli strikes kill 46 people in Gaza as shelter bombed 'The rest of the family are injured, severely injured, with severe burns [and] not enough medicine, very hot weather and no hospitals.' The reporter broke down on camera as she recalled her efforts to find doctors, nurses and medical supplies in the field hospital tents. In a harrowing moment, she stated that her family were stuck in a burning classroom for '43 minutes' after the blast led to the room's metal door becoming jammed. READ MORE: Anas Sarwar slams 'poisonous man' Nigel Farage amid 'racist' Reform UK ad row She sobbed whilst condemning the Israeli government for the continuation of the genocide, adding: 'I lost three cousins. Why? Because of nothing. Nothing. Because of the brutal, extreme, corrupt colony of Israel. 'They are carrying on this genocide only for political and individual interests. They are having fun.' She also accused Israeli forces of using intel to track the locations of Palestinians and being 'aware' of children being killed in the repeated strikes. European and American government officials were also slammed in the five-minute clip for focussing more on 'commercial agreements' with Israel, enabling the blocking of aid trucks and 'benefiting from the genocide from A-Z'. The update from Owda follows reports of the school bombing which killed at least 46 people in the north of the Gaza Strip, with the Israeli military blaming Hamas for the strikes for their use of the school as an intelligence gathering centre.
The National
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Gaza journalist confirms family deaths in Israeli strikes
Bisan Owda, better known as Wizard Bisan, has provided regular updates from the ground in Gaza since Israel ramped up its violence in the territory following October 7, and confirmed that three of her cousins were killed after Israeli forces bombed a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City on Monday. In an update posted to Facebook and Instagram, she said: 'Today, the Israeli army bombed a very crowded school, killing 40 people — three of them were my cousins. Children among them. READ MORE: Israeli strikes kill 46 people in Gaza as shelter bombed 'The rest of the family are injured, severely injured, with severe burns [and] not enough medicine, very hot weather and no hospitals.' Owda broke down on camera as she recalled her efforts to find doctors, nurses and medical supplies in the field hospital tents. In a harrowing moment, she stated that her family were stuck in a burning classroom for '43 minutes' after the blast led to the room's metal door becoming jammed. READ MORE: Anas Sarwar slams 'poisonous man' Nigel Farage amid 'racist' Reform UK ad row The journalist sobbed whilst condemning the Israeli government for the continuation of the genocide, adding: 'I lost three cousins. Why? Because of nothing. Nothing. Because of the brutal, extreme, corrupt colony of Israel. 'They are carrying on this genocide only for political and individual interests. They are having fun.' She also accused Israeli forces of using intel to track the locations of Palestinians and being 'aware' of children being killed in the repeated strikes. European and American government officials were also slammed in the five-minute clip for focussing more on 'commercial agreements' with Israel, enabling the blocking of aid trucks and 'benefiting from the genocide from A-Z'. The update from Owda follows reports of the school bombing which killed at least 46 people in the north of the Gaza Strip, with the Israeli military blaming Hamas for the strikes for their use of the school as an intelligence gathering centre. Since October 7, Israel has killed around 54,000 Palestinians — more than half being women and children — according to Gaza's Health Ministry, and over half of the Israeli hostages captured by Hamas have now been released, with Israeli forces recovering the remains of several more.
