Latest news with #PalestineRedCrescentSociety
Canada News.Net
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Canada News.Net
Pope Leo urges end to 'indiscriminate' use of force in Gaza
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy: Pope Leo has issued a heartfelt appeal for an end to the violence in Gaza, condemning what he described as the "barbarity of war." His urging followed last week's Israeli strike on the only Catholic church in the territory. The attack on the Holy Family Church compound in Gaza City killed three people and injured several others, including the parish priest. Photos from the site showed damage to the church's roof near its main cross, with its stone facade scorched and windows shattered. Addressing the faithful from Castel Gandolfo after his Angelus prayer, Pope Leo expressed his deep sorrow and named the victims of the strike. "I appeal to the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians as well as the prohibition of collective punishment, of indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population," he said. The pope appealed for "an immediate halt to the barbarity of the war" and for "a peaceful resolution of the conflict." The pope later told journalists, ""We must encourage everyone to leave weapons behind, and to leave behind the money-making that is behind every war.' The pope's remarks come amid mounting concern over civilian casualties in the region and growing calls for restraint from global leaders and humanitarian organizations. Aside from the unprecedented death and destruction that has gripped Gaza for the past year and 9 months, people are now dying of hunger. 101 Palestinians, including eighty children, have died of starvation in recent days Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS), a branch of the International Red Cross, said people in the enclave are facing an "unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe" and warned the "situation is only getting worse." "Since the closure of all crossings for more than four months, there has been no food, no clean water, medicine… getting into the Gaza Strip," Farsakh said in a video. "This has resulted to a catastrophe where people are literally starving to death," she said. "More people are being admitted to hospitals with malnutrition, especially among children, pregnant women and elderly," she added.
Broadcast Pro
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
Kaouther Ben Hania's ‘The Voice of Hind Rajab' to premiere at Venice Film Festival
Ben Hania obtained the full 70-minute recording from the Red Crescent, spoke with Hind's mother and rescuers, and crafted a script centered on silence, fear, and the agonising wait for help, rather than visible violence. Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania's latest feature, The Voice of Hind Rajab, will premiere in the main Competition at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, which runs from August 27 to September 9. The announcement was made by festival director Alberto Barbera, who described the film as a profoundly moving work likely to leave a lasting impression on both audiences and critics. The Voice of Hind Rajab has been nominated for the Golden Lion, the festival's top prize. The film centres on the harrowing true story of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was killed along with six members of her family during an Israeli attack in Gaza in 2024. While fleeing Gaza City, their car was shelled, killing Hind's uncle, aunt and three cousins. Hind and another cousin initially survived and contacted the Palestine Red Crescent Society for help. Days later, their bodies were discovered along with the paramedics who had attempted a rescue. The tragedy drew global attention, with protests erupting around the world. At Columbia University, students renamed Hamilton Hall to 'Hind's Hall,' and American rapper Macklemore released a protest anthem bearing the same name. According to the official synopsis, the film begins on January 29, 2024, when Red Crescent volunteers receive a desperate emergency call. On the other end is a six-year-old girl trapped in a car, pleading for rescue as gunfire rages outside. The Red Crescent team does everything in their power to reach her in time. Her name is Hind Rajab. Ben Hania, best known for her acclaimed documentary Four Daughters, which premiered at Cannes in 2023 and earned an Oscar nomination, revealed that the decision to make The Voice of Hind Rajab was deeply personal and immediate. While traveling for Four Daughters' awards campaign, she came across an audio clip of Hind's final call for help. The impact, she said, was instant and transformative. 'I heard the sound of her voice, and I felt the ground shift beneath me,' Ben Hania recalled. 'In that moment, I knew I couldn't carry on with my original plans. I had to make this film.' She added: 'I contacted the Red Crescent and asked them to let me hear the full audio. It was about 70 minutes long, and harrowing. 'After listening to it, I knew, without a doubt, that I had to drop everything else. I had to make this film. I spoke at length with Hind's mother, with the real people who were on the other end of that call, those who tried to help her. I listened, I cried, I wrote. 'Then I wove a story around their testimonies, using the real audio recording of Hind's voice, and building a single-location film where the violence remains off-screen. That was a deliberate choice. Because violent images are everywhere on our screens, our timelines, our phones.' She concluded: 'What I wanted was to focus on the invisible: the waiting, the fear, the unbearable sound of silence when help doesn't come. Sometimes, what you don't see is more devastating than what you do. 'At the heart of this film is something very simple, and very hard to live with. I cannot accept a world where a child calls for help and no one comes. That pain, that failure, belongs to all of us. This story is not just about Gaza. It speaks to a universal grief. And I believe that fiction (especially when it draws from verified, painful, real events) is cinema's most powerful tool. More powerful than the noise of breaking news or the forgetfulness of scrolling. Cinema can preserve a memory. Cinema can resist amnesia. May Hind Rajab's voice be heard.'
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Four Palestinians killed in occupied West Bank by settlers, Israeli troops
At least four Palestinians, including a teenager, have been killed in the occupied West Bank, where soldiers have been carrying out deadly raids for months and settlers have been violently rampaging against civilians unchecked, backed by the military. The teenager was shot by Israeli forces, while the other three Palestinians were killed in an Israeli settler attack on the town of Kafr Malek, northeast of Ramallah. Seven others were injured in the settler attack. Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the town, burning vehicles and homes as residents of neighbouring villages attempted to confront them, local sources said. Israeli troops provided protection for the settlers and fired live rounds. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it treated at least five wounded Palestinians who suffered gunshot wounds, with some in serious condition. Palestinian Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh said the settlers were acting 'under the protection of the Israeli army'. 'We call on the international community to urgently intervene to protect our Palestinian people,' he added, in a message on X. In the other deadly incident, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said that Israeli troops shot dead a 15-year-old Palestinian boy during a raid on al-Yamoun, a town west of Jenin. The ministry identified the teenager as Rayan Tamer Houshieh and said he succumbed to his wounds after being shot in the neck. The Palestinian Red Crescent said that its teams had handled 'a very critical case' in al-Yamoun, involving a teenager, before pronouncing him dead. The al-Yamoun incident marked the second time a teenager has been reported killed in the occupied territory in two days. On Monday, the Health Ministry said that Israeli fire killed a 13-year-old, identified as Ammar Hamayel, in Kafr Malek. The occupied West Bank is home to more than 3 million Palestinians who live under harsh Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority governing in limited areas cut off from each other by a myriad of Israeli checkpoints. Israel has so far built more than 100 settlements across the West Bank, which are home to about 500,000 settlers – Israeli citizens living illegally on private Palestinian land in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. Although Israel's genocidal war in Gaza has garnered more attention, Palestinian suffering in the occupied West Bank has been acute, with hundreds of deaths, thousands of people displaced, house demolitions and significant destruction since October 7, 2023. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Palestine has expressed alarm at the 'wave of renewed violence' by Israeli settlers and armed forces in the West Bank earlier this year. 'Israel must immediately and completely cease all settlement activities and evacuate all settlers, stop the forcible transfer of the Palestinian population, and prevent and punish attacks by its security forces and settlers,' UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said. Separately, earlier on Wednesday, a 66-year-old woman was shot in the head and killed by Israeli forces during a raid on the Shu'fat refugee camp, north of occupied East Jerusalem, according to several local media Jerusalem governorate identified the woman as Zahriya Joudeh al-Obaid. Her husband, Joudah Al-Obeidi, a 67-year-old resident of the camp, said his wife was standing on the roof of their home when Israeli forces stormed the area. He confirmed that police shot her in the head, and that she had posed no threat. Like other refugee camps in Israeli-occupied areas, Shu'fat has seen repeated Israeli raids that often result in deaths, injuries and arrests. In the northern West Bank, large-scale military incursions into Jenin and its refugee camp, as well as Tulkarem and the Nur Shams refugee camp, have resulted in widespread destruction and displacement of at least 40,000 people, according to UN figures. Since Israeli forces launched its latest operation in Jenin 156 days ago, at least 40 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Wafa news agency.
France 24
14-06-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Internet restored in Gaza after 3 days: Palestinian telecom official
"The network is up now in all of the Gaza Strip," said the regulatory body's CEO Laith Daraghmeh. The Palestinian Authority's telecommunications ministry reported on Thursday that internet and fixed-line communications were down after Israeli forces targeted a fibre optic cable, a claim Israel has not commented on. The ministry said that its maintenance and repair teams had at first been unable to safely access the sites where the damage occurred. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said on Thursday that the internet outage hindered its operations by impeding communication with first responders in the field, also blaming Israel for the blackout. Now in its 21st month, the war in Gaza has caused massive damage to infrastructure including water mains, power lines and roads across the Palestinian territory. © 2025 AFP
The Sun
11-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Two Palestinians killed as Israeli forces storm West Bank city
NABLUS: At least two Palestinians were killed Tuesday as Israel launched a large-scale military operation in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry and the Israeli army said. The military said troops opened fire and 'eliminated' two Palestinians who had attempted to steal a soldier's weapon as the 'counterterrorism operation' was underway in the old city of Nablus. The Palestinian health ministry said authorities had been informed by Israel of the deaths of Nidal Amira, 40, and Khaled Amira, 35. It did not specify whether the two were related. The Israeli military said one soldier was 'moderately injured' and three others lightly in the incident. AFPTV footage showed Israeli soldiers standing in one of the old city's narrow streets, next to two dead bodies. An AFP journalist said dozens of military vehicles entered Nablus's historic centre shortly after midnight (2100 GMT Monday). A curfew had been announced over loudspeakers the day before. At a major square outside the old city, young men and boys gathered on Tuesday to burn tyres and throw stones at the Israeli armoured vehicles. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said that during the Israeli raid, at least three people were injured from bullet shrapnel, four from 'physical assault', and dozens more from tear gas inhalation. It added that ambulances were blocked from entering the old city, obstructing the work of medical teams. Israel said in a statement that its forces had searched '250 structures' and arrested 'six wanted individuals' during Tuesday's operation. The northern West Bank, where Nablus is located, has been the target of a major Israeli offensive since late January. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its forces regularly carry out raids that authorities say target Palestinian militants. An AFP correspondent in Nablus saw Israeli soldiers searching shops and detaining several people for questioning on Tuesday. The correspondent said Israeli flags were raised over the roofs of buildings taken over by the troops and used as temporary bases. The old city of Nablus has seen several major Israeli raids, including in 2022 and 2023 during large-scale operations targeting a local grouping of armed fighters, and in 2002 during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising. Violence has surged in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, triggered by the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. The Palestinian Authority says at least 938 Palestinians, including fighters but also many civilians, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli soldiers or settlers since October 2023. Over the same period, at least 35 Israelis including civilians and soldiers have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military raids, according to official Israeli figures.
