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CRY FREEDOM.net
formerly known as
Women's Liberation Front
MORE INSIGHT MORE LIFE
Welcome to cryfreedom.net,
formerly known as Womens
Liberation Front.
A website
that hopes to draw and keeps your attention for both the global 21th. century 3rd. feminist revolution as well
as especially for the Zan, Zendegi, Azadi uprising in Iran and the
struggles of our sisters in other parts of the Middle East. This online magazine
that started December 2019 will
be published every week. Thank you for your time and interest.
Gino d'Artali
indept investigative
journalist
radical feminist and women's rights activist
'WOMEN, LIFE, FREEDOM'
You are now at the section on what is happening in the rest of the Middle
east
(Updates
Sept. 12, 2024)
For the
Iran 'Woman, Life, Freedom' Iran news
Updated
Sept 11, 2024
For the 'Women's Arab Spring 1.2' Revolt
news
Updated Sept. 12, 2024
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When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi
figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da
qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so
called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali.
Al Jazeera - Sept 12, 2024 - By Stephen Quillen and Federica Marsi
<<Israel's war on Gaza live: Deadly attack on UN school condemned
This video may contain light patterns or images that could trigger
seizures or cause discomfort for people with visual sensitivities.
Israel's military has bombed the United Nations-operated al-Jaouni
school in central Gaza for the fifth time since October, killing at
least 18 people. Witnesses say "women and children were blown to pieces"
in the assault. Six of the victims were UNRWA staff, including the
shelter's manager. The agency's chief condemned the "endless and
senseless killing" as the number of its staff killed since the start of
the war rises to at least 220.>>
Read more and view video here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/9/12/israels-war-on-gaza-live-women-children-blown-to-pieces-in-school-raid
BBC - Sept 11, 2024
<<Israeli strike in Gaza humanitarian zone kills 19, Hamas-run health
ministry says
Residents said the strike left three deep craters in the al-Mawasi area
At least 19 people have been killed in an overnight Israeli strike in
the designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, the Hamas-run health
ministry says. Witnesses said the strike obliterated an area crowded
with tents for displaced Palestinians in al-Mawasi, south-west of Khan
Younis, leaving huge craters in the sand. "The bombing was incredibly
intense. People were thrown into the air," one displaced man told the
BBC. "You can't imagine the devastation." The Israeli military said its
aircraft attacked what it called <a number of senior Hamas terrorists>
operating there - a claim Hamas denied. The military also disputed the
initial death toll put out by the Hamas-run Civil Defence authority,
which reported that rescue teams had recovered more than 40 bodies.
Hundreds of thousands of people have sought shelter in the humanitarian
zone - which spans only about 41 sq km (16 sq miles) along Gaza's
southern Mediterranean coast - after being told by the Israeli military
to evacuate there for their own safety over the past 11 months. Living
conditions inside the area are dire. The UN says it lacks critical
infrastructure and basic services, while aid provision is limited due to
access and security issues. A vehicle was left buried in sand after the
overnight air strike in southern Gaza. Eyewitnesses said large
explosions rocked al-Mawasi shortly after midnight local time on Tuesday
(21:00 GMT on Monday). Khaled Mahmoud, a volunteer for a charity who
lives near the site of the strike, told the BBC that he had been stunned
by the scale of the destruction. "The strikes created three craters 7m
[23ft] deep and buried more than 20 tents," he said.
Aya Madi, a displaced mother of seven from the southern city of Rafah,
told a freelance journalist working for the BBC: "We woke up to nothing
but sand and fire. My children were screaming, and the tent collapsed on
them. I pulled them out from under the rubble. I held my two-month-old
son, thinking he was dead, covered in sand, barely breathing. I washed
him and thanked God he was still alive." She said all of those killed
were civilians, adding that there was "not a single resistance fighter".
"All that remains is dust and ashes," she added. "Some of [the
casualties] were torn in parts, other they had to dig to find, some were
found in people's houses... The scene is terrifying."
Saib, a 12-year-old boy from Bani Suheila, told BBC Arabic that "the
screams of people filled the place" after the explosions stopped. "I
rushed with my father to help the people and put out the fire. We put
out the fire with sand and then we entered the tents where we found
burned children and people torn to pieces," he said. "This is the first
time since the war began that I have seen such horrific scenes."
Another woman, Aisha Nafi al-Shaeri, said: "It was all tents of
displaced people. And now everything is destroyed. They told people to
stay here, but there is no safe area," she added. "They didn't warn
anyone. Everyone was sleeping, and suddenly they started shelling."
Map showing location of Israeli air strike on al-Mawasi humanitarian
area, in southern Gaza, on 10 September 2024
The Civil Defence's operations director said overnight that more than 40
people were killed and more than 60 others were injured. Later on
Monday, the nearby Nasser hospital in Khan Younis said 13 people killed
in the strike had been brought there. An emergency physician at the
hospital, Dr Mohammed al-Qudra, told BBC Arabic that it was also
treating 60 injured people, 40 of whom were in a critical condition.
"Most of the injuries that arrived at the hospital were third-degree
burns and amputations," he said. He also warned that the hospital lacked
medical equipment and supplies to treat them, and that there was even a
shortage of sheets for their beds. In the afternoon, the Hamas-run
health ministry said in a statement that hospitals had received a total
of 19 bodies and more than 60 wounded people, some of whom were in a
serious condition. It did not say how many were men, women or children.
Rescuers were unable to reach a number of other victims still buried
under sand and rubble, or on roads, the ministry added. In a statement,
the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said aircraft had conducted <a precise
strike on a number of senior Hamas terrorists who were operating within
a command and control centre embedded inside the humanitarian area>.
They included Samer Abu Daqqa, head of Hamas's aerial unit, and Osama
Tabesh, head of the observation and targets department in Hamas's
military intelligence headquarters, it added. <Prior to the strike,
extensive intelligence gathering was conducted, as well as continuous
aerial surveillance in the hours leading up to the strike, which
confirmed the presence of the terrorists in the area alongside
additional terrorist operatives,> it said, adding that casualty numbers
put out by Hamas-run authorities did <not align> with its information.
The IDF accused Hamas of embedding its operatives and military
infrastructure in the humanitarian zone and using civilians as human
shields. A Hamas statement denounced the strike on al-Mawasi as a
"heinous massacre" and rejected the IDF’s claim that it had a command
centre there. "This is a clear lie that aims to justify these ugly
crimes. The resistance has denied several times that any of its members
exist within civilian gatherings or use these places for military
purposes," it said. UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland condemned
the strike on a densely-populated area where displaced people were
sheltering. "I underline that international humanitarian law, including
the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in
attack, must be upheld at all times," he said. "I also emphasize that
civilians must never be used as human shields." He also urged Israel and
Hamas to immediately agree a deal that would for a ceasefire and the
release of the remaining hostages in Gaza. The Israeli military launched
a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's unprecedented
attack on southern Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,200 people were
killed and 251 others were taken back to Gaza as hostages.
More than 41,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according
to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
The polio vaccination campaign began in northern Gaza on Monday
An estimated 1.9 million people - more than 80% of the population - are
estimated to have been displaced by the war, and some have had to flee
as many as 10 times. UN agencies and their partners are currently trying
to stop the spread of polio in the overcrowded camps with poor
sanitation where many of them are living. The World Health Organization
said the third phase of its vaccination campaign began in northern Gaza
on Tuesday, after 446,000 children were inoculated in the centre and
south earlier this month during localised pauses in the fighting agreed
by Israel and Hamas.
On Monday, a team of 12 UN staff members on their way to the north to
support the campaign was stopped by Israeli troops at a checkpoint for
more than seven hours, according to UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator
Muhannad Hadi. "While at the checkpoint the team was informed that the
IDF wanted to hold two of the UN staff members in the convoy for further
questioning," he said. "The situation escalated quickly, with soldiers
pointing their weapons directly towards the convoy personnel. Live shots
were fired, and tanks and bulldozers approached, engaged with, and
damaged UN vehicles, endangering the lives of UN staff inside the
vehicles." The two staff were eventually questioned and then released
following the intervention of senior UN officials to de-escalate the
situation, he added. The IDF said its forces had intelligence that a
number of Palestinian suspects were present in the convoy, and that they
delayed the convoy in order to question them.>>
Source:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyx9znxl4eo
Le Monde - Sept 11, 2024 - By Jean-Philippe Remy (Jerusalem,
correspondent)
<<Gaza polio vaccination campaign has limited time and space to act
A limited three-day 'humanitarian pause' was negotiated between the
Israeli army and Hamas, to allow the administration of vaccines. On
Monday, a UN convoy was blocked and attacked. It's only a "humanitarian
pause" in the north of the Gaza Strip, not even a ceasefire on the
enclave as a whole, and just long enough for a vaccination campaign. The
"pause" conceded by the Israeli army and Hamas is limited in both time
and space. It began on Tuesday, September 10, with the aim of enabling
the second phase of a polio vaccination campaign, which began on
September 1, further south, to be carried out in this part of the
territory. This new phase is due to take place from Tuesday to Thursday,
for seven hours each day, during which the Israeli army and Hamas
suspend warfare in a delimited area, but continue their activities
everywhere else. The intention is to prevent the spread of the
poliovirus, originally detected in wastewater in July before the Gaza
Ministry of Health reported a first case in August. The massive
destruction of infrastructure and the forced displacement of 1.9 million
of the enclave's 2.3 million residents have encouraged the spread of
this virus. Negotiations between United Nations officials and the
Israeli authorities had been conducted in advance to set up a framework
for "humanitarian pauses" to enable the vaccine to be administered
orally in two doses, with a booster four weeks later, to just over
600,000 children (the exact number is not known, due to deaths,
disappearances and births, which can no longer be accurately counted).
Each day, however, the truce ends at 3 pm. "At 4 pm, the bombardments
could resume," noted a humanitarian source. The initial request from the
UN side was for a Gaza-wide suspension of fighting. After negotiations,
three zones were drawn up, where the campaign is being carried out
within defined perimeters. There has been no fundamental change in the
policy of the Israeli authorities regarding access - and therefore
restrictions - on international humanitarian aid to Gaza. Vaccination
has been understood as a vital necessity by all those implicated in the
Gaza Strip. The polio strain represents a regional risk that, if left
unchecked, could spread beyond Gaza. However, the virus will not be
eradicated after this preventative phase. "A month later, it will be
time for the second round of vaccination," explained Jonathan Crickx,
spokesperson for UNICEF Palestine. "Only then can we begin the process
of assessing whether the operation has worked." A new round of
negotiations will be necessary to re-establish the conditions for the
second round of vaccinations.
Blocked convoy
The virus detected is said to be "type 2" (of the three existing). A
local vaccination campaign normally extinguishes the outbreak. If
nothing is done, the epidemic could start very quickly and become
difficult to contain. Beyond the justified fear of such an eventuality,
the vaccination campaign also demonstrates that humanitarian operations
led by UN groups can be successfully carried out in Gaza as soon as the
war is over.>>
Read more here:
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/09/11/gaza-polio-vaccination-campaign-has-limited-time-and-space-to-act_6725624_4.html
Al Jazeera - Sept 11, 2024
<<Mapping 11 months of Israel-Lebanon cross-border attacks
Israel, Hezbollah and other Lebanese groups have exchanged more than
9,613 attacks between October 7 and September 6.>>
Read more and view maps here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/11/mapping-11-months-if-israel-lebanon-cross-border-attacks
Al Jazeera - Sept 11, 2024
<<Clashes as antiwar protesters target Australian arms fair
Police use stun grenades and pepper spray and arrest 39 people as
officers pelted with rocks, manure and tomatoes. Antiwar-protesters have
clashed with police outside an arms fair in the Australian city of
Melbourne as they demanded a change in Canberra's stance on Israel's war
in the Gaza Strip.
Police said they used stun grenades, pepper spray and <rubber bullets>
and arrested 39 people on Wednesday as about 1,200 picketed the Land
Forces 2024 military weapons exposition. Australia has seen numerous
protests against its arms industry's involvement in the war over the
past 11 months. "We're protesting to stand up for all those who have
been killed by the type of weapons on display at the convention,"
Jasmine Duff from organiser Students for Palestine said in a statement.
About 1,800 police officers were deployed to the Melbourne Convention
and Exhibition Centre hosting the three-day weapons exhibition. Up to
25,000 people had been anticipated to turn up at the protest. Protesters
pelted officers with rocks, horse manure and bottles filled with liquid
irritants, some of which were identified as acid, leaving two dozen
requiring medical treatment, said a Victoria state police spokesperson
in a statement. Demonstrators also lit fires in the street and disrupted
traffic and public transport, while missiles were thrown at police
horses. However, no serious injuries were reported, according to police.
Arrests were made for a range of offences, including assaulting,
obstructing or hindering police, arson and blocking roads, said the
statement, adding that police were <appalled> by the behaviour of
protesters. The Wage Peace - Disrupt War group, which was involved in
the protests, said on its Facebook page that it had made its message
"loud and clear". The group reported that police had used "extreme
weaponry" throughout the protests, including pepper spray, flashbangs
(or stun grenades) and rubber bullets. Chief Commissioner Shane Patton
said reports of using <rubber bullets> during the protest were false as
those were hard foam baton rounds. <We've used these before, our
tactical police are trained in them,> he was quoted as saying by the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Controversial
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said people have the right to protest
but peacefully. <You don’t say you're opposed to defence equipment by
throwing things at police. They've got a job to do and our police
officers should be respected at all times,> Albanese told Australia's
Channel Seven.
Australian media reported the police operation in Melbourne was the
largest since 2000, when Australia's second-largest city hosted the
World Economic Forum. About 1,000 exhibiting organisations from 31
countries are expected to attend the event through Friday, which the
organisers said was Australia's largest defence expo. The country's role
in supplying arms for Israel's war on Gaza remains controversial. In
February, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles insisted that there were
<no exports of weapons from Australia to Israel and there haven't been
for many, many years".
However, the Australian government approved some 322 export permits for
military and dual-use equipment to Israel between 2016 and 2023.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's data shows that Australian
exports of <arms and ammunition> to Israel totalled 15.5 million
Australian dollars ($10.1m) over the same period.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES>>
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/11/clashes-as-gaza-protestors-target-australian-weapons-convention
Al Jazeera - Sept 11, 2024 - By Ruwaida Amer
<<Antiwar protesters clash with police at Australian arms fair
Police deploy tear gas and stun grenades to disperse crowd flinging
horse manure and setting bins alight. Gaza war protesters and police
have clashed outside an arms fair in Australia. About 1,200 people
attended the protest on Wednesday, picketing the Land Forces 2024
exposition being held in Australia’s second largest city of Melbourne,
authorities said. Police used sponge grenades, flash-bang devices and
irritant sprays against a rowdy crowd, and arrested dozens.
Pro-Palestine slogans were chanted through loudspeakers and Palestine
flags waved. Police were pelted with rocks, horse manure and bottles
filled with liquid as they tried to protect attendees of the expo, some
of whom were assaulted by protesters, a Victoria state police
spokesperson said in a statement. The protest was organised by the
Students for Palestine and Disrupt Wars groups. Police arrested 33
people for offences including assault, arson and blocking roadways.
Australian media reported it was the largest police operation in
Melbourne since 2000, when the city hosted the World Economic Forum.
Photo: William West/AFP
About 1,000 exhibiting organisations from 31 countries are expected to
attend the event, which runs until Friday. Organisers branded it
Australia’s largest defence expo. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said
people had the right to protest but had to do it peacefully. <You don't
say you're opposed to defence equipment by throwing things at police.
They've got a job to do and our police officers should be respected at
all times,> Albanese told Channel Seven.>>
View photos here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/9/11/antiwar-protesters-clash-with-police-at-australian-arms-fair
Al Jazeera - Sept 11, 2024 - By Ruwaida Amer
<<Trump and Harris discuss war on Gaza at presidential debate
US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump clashed on
foreign policy including Israel's war on Gaza, during their presidential
debate.>>
View video here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/9/11/trump-and-harris-discuss-war-on-gaza-at-presidential-debate
Al Jazeera - Sept 11, 2024 - By Ruwaida Amer
<<Israel's war on Gaza updates: 64 Palestinians killed in one day>>
View video here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/9/11/israels-war-on-gaza-live-deadly-attack-on-al-mawasi-prompts-global-outcry
Al Jazeera - Sept 10, 2024
<<How do Palestinians in Gaza resist Israel's attacks on education?
Schools and universities have been destroyed in Israel's assault as
teachers and thousands of students have been killed.Read more and view
video here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/program/inside-story/2024/9/10/how-do-palestinians-in-gaza-resist-israels-attacks-on-education
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi
Al Jazeera - Sept 10, 2024 - By Ruwaida Amer
<<Israel says highly likely its soldiers killed American-Turkish
activist
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the killing of 26-year-old
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was 'unprovoked and unjustified'.
Palestinians honour American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who was shot
dead by Israeli forces, in Nablus, in the Israeli- occupied West Bank.
Israel's military says it is very likely its soldiers fired the shot
that killed an American-Turkish woman at a protest in the occupied West
Bank last week but says her death was unintentional and expresses deep
regret. Turkish and Palestinian officials said on Friday that Israeli
soldiers shot 26-year-old Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who had been taking part in
a demonstration against settlement expansion during a regular protest
march by activists in Beita, a village near Nablus. In a statement on
Tuesday, the Israeli army said it had conducted an inquiry into the
incident. <The inquiry found that it is highly likely that she was hit
indirectly and unintentionally by [Israeli military] fire which was not
aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator of the riot,> the military
said. <The incident took place during a violent riot in which dozens of
Palestinian suspects burned tyres and hurled rocks towards security
forces at the Beita Junction.> The Israeli military <expresses its
deepest regret over the death of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi>, it added and said
the military had also <sent a request to carry out an autopsy>. The
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had
earlier said Israeli forces killed Eygi with a "shot in the head". Eygi
was a member of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a
pro-Palestinian organisation that on Saturday dismissed claims that ISM
activists threw rocks at Israeli forces as "false" and said the
demonstration was peaceful. Eygi's killing came amid a surge of violence
in the West Bank since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October with
increasing Israeli raids, attacks by Palestinian fighters on Israelis,
attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and heavier military
crackdowns on Palestinian protests.
More than 690 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian
health officials.
The Palestinian Authority held a funeral procession for Eygi in the West
Bank city of Nablus on Monday. Turkish authorities also said they are
working on repatriating her body to Turkey for burial in the Aegean
coastal town of Didim per her family's wishes.
US says killing 'unjustified'
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Eygi's killing was
"unprovoked and unjustified" and showed Israeli security forces need to
make fundamental changes in their rules of engagement. "No one should be
shot while attending a protest. In our judgement, the Israeli security
forces need to make some fundamental changes in the way they operate in
the West Bank," he said. "We have the second American citizen killed at
the hands of Israeli security forces. It’s not acceptable. It has to
change." The deaths of American citizens in the West Bank have drawn
international attention in the past, such as the fatal shooting of a
prominent Palestinian-American journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh, an Al
Jazeera correspondent, in 2022 in the Jenin refugee camp.
Shireen Abu Akleh
Human rights groups said Israel rarely holds soldiers accountable for
killing Palestinians and any military investigations often reflect a
pattern of impunity. The Israeli military, however, has repeatedly said
it thoroughly investigates allegations of killings of civilians and
holds its forces accountable. But even in the most shocking cases - and
those captured on video - soldiers often get relatively light sentences,
such as in the 2017 case of Israeli soldier Elor Azaria. The combat
medic was convicted of manslaughter and served nine months after he
killed a wounded, incapacitated Palestinian in the West Bank city of
Hebron. The man, Abed al-Fattah al-Sharif, had been shot after the
Israeli army said he stabbed an Israeli soldier. The case deeply divided
Israelis with the military saying Azaria had clearly violated its code
of ethics while many Israelis - particularly on the nationalist right -
defended his actions and accused military brass of second-guessing a
soldier operating in dangerous conditions.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES>>
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/10/israel-says-highly-likely-its-soldiers-killed-american-turkish-activist
Al Jazeera - Sept 10, 2024 - By Al Jazeera Staff
<<'Like a nightmare, but real': Surviving Israel's attack on Gaza's al-Mawasi
Most people were asleep when Israel's bombs made a three-storey-deep
crater and started a large fire.
I'm Tala Herzallah, 22, from northern Gaza. I'm currently displaced and
staying in al-Mawasi. This is what I saw on September 10, the day of the
explosion:
We were all asleep. Then suddenly, everything was turned upside down -
the colour of the sky changed. The explosion hit about 200 metres (about
220 yards) away. The scene was like one of my nightmares, but it was
real life. The sound, ... the huge damage the bombs caused, made us
realise that these were meant for the largest buildings and not for
tents made of the weakest materials in the world. I saw two colours -
red and grey. Everything turned grey [from the dust], and there were red
flames everywhere. The sky was filled with screams, crying and the sound
of ambulances.
I avoided looking at the injured. I try to treat my mind like a
recorder, and I’m trying not to record anything bad. The night before, I
was looking at the sky. It was full of stars. It was very romantic, I
never imagined I would open my eyes to the complete opposite. Now, we're
literally surrounded by death. It's hard to admit, but this is our daily
life now. We witness horrible things and then continue as if nothing has
happened. We all have this feeling that we only have a few days left to
live. And that’s why we're still trying and working hard. Despite
knowing I might die at any second, I'm trying to finish my last year at
university. I'm doing my best to survive and to live. I am with my mom
and dad, but my siblings aren't with me.
We're trying to split up so that not all of us are gone in one second.
One is abroad, and two are here - one in Deir el-Balah and the other at
Nuseirat camp. Families are now being completely erased in one bomb.
It's so scary.
We want people to be able to tell our stories.
There's no way they can get rid of all of us. This is our means of
survival."
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA>>
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/9/10/first-person-account-of-surviving-israels-bombing-of-al-mawasi-in-gaza
Al Jazeera - Sept 10, 2024 - By Al Jazeera Staff
<<What's Mawasi, the Israel-designated Gaza 'safe zone' it bombed
overnight?
Israel killed 19 people in overnight attacks on the tent encampment in
al-Mawasi Khan Younis. Israel has killed at least 19 people in an attack
on a tent encampment within the so-called humanitarian, or <safe>, zone
in al-Mawasi, Gaza. About 65 more are wounded and an unknown number
remain under the rubble, health officials said. The encampment,
designated a humanitarian safe zone by Israel in December, was struck by
at least three missiles in the early hours of Tuesday, displaced people
and medics told news agencies. The attack ignited a blaze that engulfed
at least 20 tents. The camp at al-Mawasi, near Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah,
is one of the most overcrowded areas in a landscape devastated by 11
months of relentless Israeli bombardment.
Who's sheltering at al-Mawasi?
A lot of people.
Palestinians displaced by Israel's war on Gaza are "increasingly forced
to concentrate within the Israeli-designated zone in al-Mawasi", an area
of approximately 41sq km (15.83sq miles) lacking critical infrastructure
and services, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Some 1.9 million people - 90 percent of
Gaza's population - have been displaced at least once by Israel’s war.
Of those, roughly 43,580 are estimated to be pregnant women, statistics
from the UN Population Fund show. Many are crowded into flimsy tents
after being ordered to al-Mawasi by the Israeli army. The targeted area
was crowded with more than 60 tents, according to September 5 satellite
images examined by Al Jazeera's Sanad investigations agency.
What are conditions like there?
Desperate.
Many of those in al-Mawasi only went there when they ran out of options.
Multiple families share tents, with space at a premium and privacy
nonexistent. People are trying to survive without proper access to food,
water, and essential services like sanitation and healthcare, aid
agencies report. Queues for water, even to use in latrines, can last
hours. Aid delivery to the area is "limited due to access and security
issues" while severe overcrowding compounds the dire health and sanitary
conditions, OCHA said. "Every day, we see between 300 to 400 people at
the medical clinic, of which 200 cases are related to skin conditions,"
Dr Youssef Salaf al-Farra told ReliefWeb in August.
"Children are the most impacted."
Why did Israel say al-Mawasi is a 'safe zone'?
Under international pressure for the <scale> of its war on Gaza, Israel
designated al-Mawasi a <safe zone> in October last year, using leaflets,
social media, and phone calls to tell people to go there for safety.
However, those who did found it unfit for human habitation. Establishing
the area as a humanitarian zone was widely criticised at the time, with
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calling the
Israeli proposal a recipe for disaster on November 17. "Attempting to
cram so many people into such a small area with such little
infrastructure or services will significantly increase risks to health
for people who are already on the brink," he said.
So why did it hit al-Mawasi then?
Israel says several senior Hamas figures were in the humanitarian zone.
<[E]xtensive intelligence gathering was conducted, as well as continuous
aerial surveillance in the hours leading up to the strike, which
confirmed the presence of the terrorists in the area,> the statement
read. However, this claim has been rejected by Hamas, which condemned
the"heinous massacre" and said, "The resistance has denied several times
that any of its members exist within civilian gatherings or use these
places for military purposes." Israel also says that every step was
taken to minimise the loss of life, including the <use of precision
weaponry, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence information>.
Translation: This is another example of the systematic use by the
terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip of the population and civilian
infrastructure, including the humanitarian space, for the purpose of
carrying out terrorist acts against Israel and the [military] forces
Was that successful?
Not unless the deaths of 19 or more people mark a <success>.
Video from al-Mawasi shows large craters where the three missiles
struck, damage inconsistent with the use of precision weaponry. Analysis
of footage of the bomb site by Al Jazeera's Sanad suggests that Israel
deployed the US-manufactured 2,000-pound MK-84 bomb on the encampment.
The MK-84 is the largest of the US’s MK-80 series of weapons. When
detonated, has a lethal blast radius of 370 metres (1,213 feet).
Israeli airstrikes
Has this humanitarian zone been targeted before?
Yes.
Al-Mawasi has suffered four major Israeli attacks before last night's
attack.
In total, excluding the 19 deaths recorded in the latest attack, Israel
has killed 148 people in its raids on the humanitarian zone.
The biggest attack occurred on July 13, 90 people were killed and at
least 300 wounded.
At the time, Israel said the attack intended to target two senior Hamas
senior commanders, a claim dismissed by Hamas.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA>>
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/10/what-was-the-humanitarian-zone-bombed-overnight-by-israel
Le Monde - Sept 10, 2024 - by Le Monde with AFP
<<Jordan reopens West Bank crossing after deadly attack
Jordan reopened a border crossing with the Israeli-occupied West Bank on
Tuesday, September 10, two days after a truck driver shot dead three
Israeli guards in a rare attack. The Jordanian national carried out his
attack at the Allenby Crossing on Sunday nearly a year into the Israel-Hamas
war in Gaza, which has also seen a spike in violence in the West Bank.
Israel's military shot dead the attacker, saying that he had killed
three Israelis working as <security guards> who were not in the army or
police. Jordan's authorities closed the crossing, also known as the King
Hussein Bridge, after the attack. The shooting was the first such
incident in the area since the 1990s. The crossing, in the Jordan
Valley, is the only international gateway for Palestinians from the West
Bank that does not require entering Israel, which has occupied the
territory since 1967.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Jordanian security source said
Jordan had reopened the crossing to passengers, but that it would remain
closed to freight traffic. The reopening came as Jordan held a
parliamentary election Tuesday, with the Israel-Hamas war weighing
heavily on voters' minds. Analysts predicted a high abstention rate,
with Islamist candidates struggling to harness public anger over the
devastating war sparked by Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on
Israel. Following the attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
denounced the assailant as a <despicable terrorist> inspired by <a
murderous ideology> which he said was fuelled by Israel's regional
arch-foe Iran. Hamas praised the attack but did not claim responsibility
for it, adding it <affirms the Arab peoples' rejection of the
occupation, its crimes, and its ambitions in Palestine and Jordan.>
Le Monde with AFP>>
Source:
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/09/10/jordan-reopens-west-bank-crossing-after-deadly-attack_6725486_4.html
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