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Special reports: Updates February and earlier, 2025-'24: Families in terror & Rebuilding Gaza: What it would take to win this uphill battle & Art as survival & Egypt, Jordan, and the US aid game & On idle talk and genocide in Gaza Earlier:  & Stories about nazis and medic-aid heroes and the PA betraying the people & Our ‘return’ to northern Gaza is not the end of exile & Overview special reports

November 28 - 24 and earler stories, 2024 Is Netanyahu immune from ICC arrest warrant-NO!   TRIBUTES TO MOTHERS AND CHILDREN

Shireen Abu Akleh In commemoration of Shireen Abu Akleh, the 'voice of Al Jazeera' killed while revealing the true face of israel Updated: December 6, 2024: Attacks, arrests, threats, censorship: The high risks of reporting the Israel-Gaza war   Click here for earlier stories/news

February 19 - 16, 2025 Unchilding Palestine’s children... Read more and decide for yourself February 15 - 12, 2025 more fact-finding news

February 13 - 12, 2025 Opinion: Western democracy has lost her tongue. just read the actual and fact-finding news February 11 - 5, 2025 <<Does Israel violate the Gaza ceasefire? Yes! Together with their western allies. just read the actual and fact-finding news February 7 - 1, 2025 Fact: Gaza is not for sale... despite the continues suffering and betrayals on netanyahus' Western allies side. And more fact-finding news January 31 - 28, 2025 In pictures and words: Bittersweet homecoming for Palestinians returning to Gaza City... Read more and decide for yourself

January 28 - 24, 2025 "Now it's time to grief" If the ones guilty of the genocide let us and it doesn't look like it. By the way, did you know that during WW2 the american allies knew all about the transportation routes that brought the jews to the gaschambers but simply let the trains roll. And now there was this so-called 'holocaust remembrance day' but... too many haven't learned anything from history... Read more and decide for yourself  Pre-ceasefire & Post-Ceasefire December 30 - 26, 2024 'Betrayed' and 'abandoned' Sixth baby dies from severe cold

 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 - Feb 17, 2025 - Opinions - Yara Hawari - Co-director of Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network
<<Unchilding Palestine’s children
The Israeli and Western portrayal of Palestinian children as adults aims to cover up their murder, maiming and imprisonment.
On February 7, 10-year-old Saddam Rajab died in a hospital in the occupied West Bank after being shot by an Israeli soldier days earlier. Saddam was standing in the street in front of his home when Israeli soldiers invaded his village near Tulkarem and started firing. CCTV footage shows the moment he was shot. He fell to the ground, clutching his abdomen and curling up into a foetal position. The first hospital he was rushed to was unable to treat him and so he had to be transferred to another in Nablus. On the way, the ambulance was held up for hours at a checkpoint where an Israeli soldier taunted Saddam’s father, saying: “I am the one who shot your son. God willing, he will die.” Saddam is one of 13 Palestinian children that the Israeli army has killed in the occupied West Bank since the start of the year. The death toll of children murdered by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied West Bank has shockingly exceeded 220 since January 2023. Saddam’s story – like the stories of other Palestinian child victims – never made international headlines. There was no reaction from the international community to his murder. That is because Palestinian children experience relentless dehumanisation. This is apparent even in the few stories that get in the media spotlight, like the case of six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed by the Israeli army in Gaza on January 29, 2024, almost exactly a year before Saddam was shot. Along with her aunt, uncle and cousins, Hind was attempting to evacuate from Gaza City in a car when they were surrounded by Israeli forces, who fired on them. While her relatives were killed, Hind survived the initial bout of fire and managed to get in touch with the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS). The released recording of her phone calls to the PRCS asking for help as Israeli tanks closed in on her shocked the world. The ambulance that was sent to rescue her never came back, and Hind’s calls to the PRCS ceased. Nearly two weeks later, the bodies of Hind, her relatives and the two ambulance workers, Yusuf Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun, were found. Subsequent investigations showed that the Israeli army fired on the ambulance and the car in which Hind was stuck, despite being given their coordinates.

Hind Rajab
Palestinian girl Hind Rajab poses for a photograph, in this undated handout picture obtained by Reuters on February 10
Palestinian child Hind Rajab poses for a photograph, in this undated handout picture obtained by Reuters on February 10, 2024
While the story of Hind’s brutal death made international headlines – a rare case among the more than 17,000 children killed in Gaza – there were still attempts to dehumanise her and deny her the status of a child victim. For example, when reporting on the Columbia University student encampment that named a building after her, CNN explained “Hind’s Hall” was a reference to a “woman” who was killed in Gaza. Another particularly egregious example of denying the child status of a Palestinian child is a January 2024 report by Sky News, in which a broadcaster claimed that: “accidentally, a stray bullet found its way into the van ahead, and that killed a three- or four-year-old young lady”. This “young lady” was a Palestinian child named Ruqaya Ahmad Odeh Jahalin, who was shot in the back by Israeli soldiers while sitting in a taxi with her family in the West Bank. These examples illustrate what Palestinian academic Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian has called “unchilding”. She coined the term to expose the dehumanisation that accompanies violence against children in a colonial context. In occupied and colonised Palestine, Palestinian children are stripped of their childhood in order to justify the brutality that is inflicted upon them. For decades, Palestinian children have been portrayed by the Israeli regime and the West either as inferior to other children or not children at all; they have often been equated with adults who have the potential to be “terrorists”. In this way, they are seen as inherently dangerous and denied the status of “child” and the connotation of innocence that is afforded to it. Unchilding not only covers up the murder and maiming of Palestinian children; it also facilitates their kidnapping, detention and abuse in Israeli jails. Last year, Ayham al Salaymeh, a 14-year-old Palestinian boy from Silwan, Jerusalem, became the youngest Palestinian to serve a prison sentence in an Israeli prison. Ayham had been arrested two years prior and was accused of throwing stones at illegal Israeli settlers. He was interrogated and placed under house arrest for two years, before being convicted under new Israeli legislation that permits the imprisonment of Palestinian children for capital offences classed as “terrorism”. Israel is the only country in the world that systematically prosecutes and imprisons children. The Israeli media routinely brands Palestinian children like Ayham as potential security threats, indoctrinated minors or human shields, in an effort to justify their imprisonment and torture. As the genocide extends across Palestine, the horrific reality is that more Palestinian children and adults will be killed by the Israeli army while the world watches on. Their killings will not be covered by the Western mainstream media, there will be no segments interviewing their families with collages of pictures from their childhoods, nor will there be statements of condemnation from world leaders. Palestinian children have been effectively stripped of their childhood and with it, their humanity.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.>>
Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/2/17/unchilding-palestines-children


Al Jazeera - Feb 19, 2025 - By Lyndal Rowlands and Nils Adler
<<LIVE: Hamas ready to free Israeli captives in one go for a permanent truce
Hamas proposes exchanging all Israeli captives and Palestinian prisoners in “one go” during the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal, with the aim of reaching a permanent truce and a full Israeli pullout.
The Palestinian group also confirms it will release the remaining six living captives, who were set to be freed in the first phase, on Saturday, as Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar says negotiations for the second stage of the deal “will happen this week”.>>
Video: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2025/2/19/live-israeli-tanks-fire-on-palestinians-in-gaza-as-captive-exchange-agreed

Al Jazeera - Feb 18, 2025
<<Hamas to release six Israeli captives, hand over four bodies this week
Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas leader in Gaza, says six more Israeli captives will be released on Saturday under a ceasefire agreement.
Hamas will release six Israeli captives and hand over the bodies of four others this week as part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, the group’s leader in the enclave said. Khalil al-Hayya, head of the Palestinian group in Gaza said the handover of the bodies will take place in Gaza on Thursday and that six living Israeli captives will be released on Saturday. “Hamas has proven, along with the resistance, its seriousness in implementing the agreement with full responsibility,” he said on Tuesday. “We stress the need to oblige the occupation to implement all provisions of the agreement without procrastination. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that talks in Egypt resulted in an agreement on the release of six living Israeli captives on Saturday as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal with Hamas. Israel will also receive the bodies of four dead captives on Thursday, before another four bodies later next week, the statement said. The first phase of the Gaza truce, which was brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt, is due to expire on March 1. Negotiations on the next stages, including a permanent end to the war, have not yet begun. Reporting from Amman, Jordan, Al Jazeera’s Hamdah Salhut said the releases could be a major development regarding negotiations on phase two of the ceasefire. “Hamas said they are doing this because they want the second phase to take place. The Israelis have been asking for this for about a week now, saying they want the bodies of some captives to be released sooner than the end of phase one,” she said. Salhut noted that the bodies of members of the Bibas family were expected to be handed over on Thursday. In November 2023, Hamas announced the family was killed in an Israeli air strike. Husband and father Yarden Bibas was released last month as part of phase one of the ceasefire deal. “The Israeli military had said they had great concerns over the fate of the mother and her two children, but did not confirm whether they were killed. Hamas now confirms they will be releasing the bodies,” Salhut added. Former director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry Alon Liel, pointed out that Hamas returning bodies of the Israeli captives to the Red Cross, “could have a devastating effect on the Israeli public.” He said it would be a day of mourning in Israel which would shock the people. “But it is still better than getting nothing from Hamas. We would love to have all the living hostages and the bodies back in Israel as soon as possible,” Liel said.
Israel seeks ‘maximum flexibility’ in talks
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal in Gaza on January 19, after more than 460 days of a war that has devastated the Palestinian territory.
However, Israel has violated the ceasefire in Gaza 266 times, killing at least 132 people, Palestinian security sources told Al Jazeera on Tuesday.
Since the ceasefire took effect, Israeli leaders have also discussed the possibility of an imminent return to fighting in Gaza, with far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet pushing for a military occupation of the enclave, while US President Donald Trump has called for the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza. Mohamad Elmasry, a professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera, said Israel is looking for “maximum flexibility” in advance of potential talks over the second phase of the truce deal with Hamas. “On the one hand, there are whispers that at least some in the Israeli government want to move to phase two of the Gaza ceasefire and [US President] Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy said he is confident there will be a phase two. All of that seems to be positive,” Elmasry said. “On the other hand, Israel and the US are in a way talking from both sides of their mouth because they’re still talking about the complete eradication of Hamas and Trump’s forced expulsion and ethnic cleansing plan for Gaza,” Elmasry added. On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel will begin negotiations “this week” on the second phase of the ceasefire deal in Gaza. “We had yesterday night a security cabinet meeting. We decided to open negotiations on the second phase. It will happen this week,” Saar said of the talks, which were originally supposed to start on February 3. He added that Israel demands “a total demilitarisation of Gaza and no presence of the Palestinian Authority”.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/18/hamas-to-release-six-israeli-captives-hand-over-four-bodies-this-week

Al Jazeera - Feb 18, 2025
<<Israel accused of series of Gaza ceasefire violations
Israel has been accused of a series of violations to the Gaza ceasefire agreement, from attacking Palestinians in the enclave to obstructing the flow of aid.>>
Video: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2025/2/18/israel-accused-of-series-of-gaza-ceasefire-violations

Al Jazeera - Feb 18, 2025 - By Al Jazeera Staff
<<US man shot two Israeli tourists thinking they were Palestinians
Two Israeli tourists in Miami were shot by a Jewish-American man who had reportedly told police he’d carried out the attack thinking they were Palestinians.>>
Video: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2025/2/18/us-man-shot-two-israeli-tourists-thinking-they-were-palestinians


Jinha - Womens News Agency - Feb 18, 2025 - by RAFIF ESLEEM
<<Sewage, debris in Gaza pose risks to human health
Sewage flowing through the damaged roads in the Gaza Strip, the enormous quantities of debris generated by the war on Gaza and dead bodies remaining scattered in the streets and under the rubble of the destroyed buildings pose risks to human health.
Gaza- Israel’s months-long war on the Gaza Strip has damaged sanitation infrastructure, causing untreated wastewater and sewage to overflow into the streets and the sea and destroyed tens of thousands of buildings. Sewage flowing through the damaged roads, the enormous quantities of debris generated by the war and dead bodies remaining scattered in the streets and under the rubble of the destroyed building pose risks to human health in Gaza. The environmental devastation in the Gaza Strip has been worsening, most of the buildings have been destroyed by Israel’s attacks and most of the tents have collapsed due to the bad weather, said Wissam Al-Sadudi, a resident of Gaza City.
‘It poses risks to the health of women and children’
Wissam Al-Sadudi stressed that sewage flew through the damaged roads in the city. “The Israeli forces have destroyed the city. The women and children in Gaza suffer from trauma due to the war and they need urgent psychological support. There are no health centers in the camps. People also suffer from respiratory and skin diseases due to open sewers. This situation poses risks to the health of mothers and children,” she said, adding:
“Due to the lack of hygiene products, women are afraid that their children will get sick from sewage. Therefore, mothers mostly do not allow their children to go out in order to protect them. Actually, children have no space to play due to sewage and debris.”
‘Water infrastructure must be rebuilt’
Wissam Al-Sadudi hopes that humanitarian aid organizations will help the municipalities to rebuild water infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. “Water infrastructure must be rebuilt and heavy equipment must be sent to the Gaza Strip to remove the rubble. There is also sewage, debris and dead bodies remaining scattered in the streets and under the rubble of the destroyed buildings. There are also tons of debris containing unknown dangerous items, posing risks to women and children. “Women in Gaza are tired of dealing with difficult living conditions and want to start a new chapter in their lives. They want to build a better future for themselves and their children and to have a normal life.”>>
Video: https://jinhaagency.com/en/actual/sewage-debris-in-gaza-pose-risks-to-human-health-36565

Al Jazeera - Feb 18, 2025
<<Palestinian bookseller recalls ‘inhumane’ treatment in Israeli prison
A Palestinian bookseller who was detained after his store was raided by Israeli forces for allegedly ‘inciting terrorism’ told Al Jazeera of the ‘level of inhumanity’ he experienced whilst in prison.>>
Video: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2025/2/18/palestinian-bookseller-recalls-inhumane-treatment-in-israeli-prison

Al Jazeera - Feb 18, 2025
<<Egypt developing Gaza reconstruction plan to counter Trump’s ‘take over’
Egypt’s foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, has confirmed Cairo is ‘actively developing’ a reconstruction plan for Gaza.
The Egyptian government is developing a plan to rebuild Gaza without displacing the Palestinian enclave’s population, as it attempts to provide a viable alternative to United States President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to “take over” the territory and displace its population. Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Badr Abdelatty said Cairo is “actively developing a comprehensive, multi-phase plan for Gaza’s early recovery and reconstruction”, the state-run Al-Ahram newspaper reported on Monday. The newspaper added that Egypt expects to finalise the plan “by next week”, while its first phase should begin “after the emergency Arab summit in Cairo”, currently scheduled for February 27. Before that, Saudi Arabia will host officials from Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan on Thursday, as part of a five-way Arab meeting in the capital Riyadh to discuss Cairo’s proposed reconstruction. Trump has caused international uproar since he returned to the White House in late January, as he has repeatedly suggested the US could “take over” and “own” Gaza, permanently resettle its Palestinian population of more than 2 million people, and redevelop the enclave into a holiday destination. Trump has pressured both Egypt and Jordan to take in Gaza’s residents as part of the plan, in a proposal robustly rejected by both countries and decried as “ethnic cleansing” by rights groups. Part of Cairo’s plan is to establish “secure areas” within Gaza where Palestinians can live while dozens of Egyptian and international construction firms remove and rehabilitate the Strip’s war-torn infrastructure, Al-Ahram reports. The proposed reconstruction process will have three phases that will take up to five years, two Egyptian officials told The Associated Press (AP) news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.
‘Refute American President Trump’s logic’
The Al-Ahram newspaper says Egypt’s formulation of its own plan was designed to “refute American President Trump’s logic”, as well as counter “any other visions or plans that aim to change the geographic and demographic structure of Gaza Strip”. Palestinians will be allowed to remain in Gaza during reconstruction, with three “safe zones” established within the territory to host them during an initial six-month “early recovery period”, the officials told the AP. Mobile houses and shelters will be erected in the safe zones, while humanitarian aid will be allowed to stream in. The reconstruction effort will also provide tens of thousands of jobs to Gaza’s population, according to the anonymous Egyptian officials. Cairo has also held discussions about ways to finance their plan with European diplomats, as well as Arab partners Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, the AP reports, citing Arab and European diplomats. An international conference on Gaza’s reconstruction has also been floated, according to two of the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity as the proposal is still being negotiated. On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he remains “committed” to Trump’s plan for the “creation of a different Gaza”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also been in Saudi Arabia this week to push Trump’s plan. Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Monday that he will establish a special directorate for the “voluntary departure” of Palestinians from the coastal enclave. Katz’s office said Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) presented an initial proposal which would see “any Gaza resident who wants to emigrate to a third state” be given “extensive assistance” to do so. Netanyahu has promised that “neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority” will govern Gaza at the end of Israel’s 15-month war on the enclave, which has seen more than 48,000 Palestinians killed and sparked a humanitarian crisis in the enclave. Hamas has said it is willing to give up power, with a spokesman telling the AP on Sunday that the group would accept the formulation of either a Palestinian unity government without its participation or a committee of technocrats to run the enclave.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/18/egypt-developing-gaza-reconstruction-plan-to-counter-trumps-take-over

Al Jazeera - Feb 17, 2025
<<Netanyahu says Israel committed to Trump’s ‘take over’ Gaza plan
Israeli PM hails US push to build ‘different Gaza’ as defence minister unveils agency assisting ‘departures’ from the Palestinian territory.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is “committed” to a United States proposal to take over the Gaza Strip and displace its Palestinian residents, as Washington’s top diplomat was in Saudi Arabia to push the plan, which is opposed by Arab states. In a statement on Monday, Netanyahu said he was “committed to US President Trump’s plan for the creation of a different Gaza”.
The Israeli leader also promised that “neither Hamas nor the Palestinian Authority” would govern the enclave at the end of the 15-month war, which has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians and led to a dire humanitarian crisis. Netanyahu’s remarks come a day after he hailed “Trump’s bold vision for Gaza’s future” during a meeting with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem. Human rights groups have slammed the Trump administration’s push to take over Gaza and forcibly displace Palestinians as a violation of international law amounting to ethnic cleansing. Supporting Trump’s plan, Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz announced on Monday that he would establish a special directorate for the “voluntary departure” of Palestinians from Gaza. Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit presented an initial proposal which would see “any Gaza resident who wants to emigrate to a third state” be given “extensive assistance” to do so, according to Katz’s office. “That includes special departure arrangements through the sea, air, and land, among other things,” Katz’s office said in a statement. Trump’s proposal has been widely denounced by Arab countries, but it will be on the agenda during Rubio’s visits to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates this week. Rubio was welcomed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday in Riyadh, the latest stop on the top US diplomat’s first visit to the Middle East. “The Secretary and the Crown Prince reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the ceasefire in Gaza and ensuring that Hamas releases all hostages, including American citizens,” a State Department spokesperson said in a readout of the talks. “The Secretary underscored the importance of an arrangement for Gaza that contributes to regional security.” Saudi Arabia is spearheading Arab efforts to develop a counterproposal to Trump’s plan for Gaza, which could involve a Gulf-led reconstruction fund and a deal to sideline Hamas. The Saudi Foreign Ministry has said it rejects any attempts to displace Palestinians from their land. Rubio said in a recent interview that the US remained open to alternative proposals from Arab governments, but for now, “the only plan is the Trump plan”. Meanwhile, Israel’s security cabinet was expected to discuss the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire on Monday. The second phase – in which Hamas is to release dozens of remaining captives in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza – has yet to be agreed to. Far-right members of the Israeli government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have said they would quit Netanyahu’s coalition if the war does not resume. So far, 19 captives taken from Israel have been freed as part of the first phase of the ceasefire deal that began on January 19. A total of 33 captives are expected to be released at staggered intervals during this stage. Netanyahu has said that “the gates of hell will be opened” on Gaza if all the captives are not freed. Reporting from the Jordanian capital, Amman, Al Jazeera’s Nour Odeh noted that the Israeli premier has faced sustained protests by relatives and supporters of the captives held in Gaza. “They have repeatedly accused the Israeli prime minister of trying to derail talks on the ceasefire in Gaza, of trying to not go on to phase two, partly because he is really trying to keep his coalition partners happy,” Odeh explained. Senior members of the Trump administration also have called for the deal to move forward. Meron Rapoport, an editor for Israeli news outlet Local Call, said that while Netanyahu’s government has little desire to move to the second stage of the ceasefire, it is being pressured on two fronts. “Netanyahu is seeing in Trump’s plan the fulfilment of the dream of emptying Gaza of Palestinians,” Rapoport told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv. “But at the same time, [he is] being pressured by the US and by the families of the hostages who have not yet been released to go into the second stage.” He added that the second stage of the deal “would mean the end of the war” and the potential release of prominent Palestinian political prisoners, such as Marwan Barghouti.
“And this is very hard to swallow for Israel,” Rapoport said.>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/17/netanyahu-says-israel-committed-to-trumps-gaza-plan


Video Palestinian boy Injured footage
Al Jazeera - Feb 17, 2025
<<Palestinian boy injured as Israel continues raids across West Bank
A 13-year-old boy was injured by bullet shrapnel outside a school as Israeli forces raided Nablus. Multiple raids were reported across the occupied West Bank on Sunday night, with videos showing groups of Palestinians being lined up and detained.>>
Video: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2025/2/17/palestinian-boy-injured-as-israel-continues-raids-across-west-bank


Video Drone footage
Al Jazeera - Feb 17, 2025 - By Al Jazeera Staff
<<Drone footage shows destruction of north Gaza after 500 days of war
New drone footage from northern Gaza shows entire neighbourhoods reduced to rubble after 500 days of Israel’s war.>>
Video: https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2025/2/17/drone-footage-shows-destruction-of-north-gaza-after-500-days-of-war

Al Jazeera - Feb 17, 2025
<<The Take: 500 days on, how Hamas survived Israel’s war on Gaza
What is Hamas’s strategy at this stage of Israel’s war on Gaza?
Hamas has survived 500 days of relentless bombardment, defying Israel’s repeated pledges to destroy it. Despite its losses, including assassinations of prominent leaders, Hamas is intact, manning checkpoints, coordinating aid and releasing Israeli captives. How does Hamas continue to endure?
PODCAST SOURCE: AL JAZEERA: https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/2025/2/17/the-take-500-days-on-how-hamas-survived-israels-war-on-gaza

Al Jazeera - Feb 16, 2025
<<Israeli soldiers used 80-year-old Palestinian as Gaza human shield: Report
Israeli army forced elderly man to scout buildings with an explosive cord tied around his neck, before he was later shot dead along with his wife.
The Israeli military forced an 80-year-old Palestinian man to act as a human shield in Gaza by tying an explosive cord around his neck and threatening to have his head blown off, an investigation by the Israeli outlet The Hottest Place in Hell has found. A senior officer from the army’s Nahal Brigade tied the explosive cord around the man’s neck before he was ordered to scout houses. After eight hours, soldiers ordered the man to flee with his wife from their home in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood in May, said +972 magazine, which reported the piece in partnership with The Hottest Place in Hell. The Israeli soldiers had initially encountered the couple in their home. They told Arabic-speaking soldiers that they were unable to flee to southern Gaza due to mobility difficulties. But even in his condition, the soldiers forced the unnamed 80-year-old to walk ahead of them with his cane, while his wife was detained in their house. A soldier told the investigation that the commander had decided to use the Palestinian couple as “mosquitoes”, referring to a procedure where the Israeli army forces Palestinian civilians to serve as human shields to protect the Israeli forces from being shot or blown up. “He entered each house before us so that if there were [explosives] or a militant inside, he would [take the hit] instead of us,” one soldier said.
“He was told that if he did anything wrong or didn’t follow orders, the soldier behind him would pull the cord, and his head would be torn from his body.” The man was forced to act as a human shield for eight hours, before he was ordered, along with his wife, to walk towards the so-called “humanitarian zone” in southern Gaza. But the soldiers did not care to tell nearby Israeli divisions that the couple was going to pass through the area, according to the testimonies. “After 100 metres, the other battalion saw them and immediately shot them,” a soldier said. “They died like that, in the street.” Al Jazeera has reached out to the Israeli army for comment on the reported incident. Israeli forces’ use of Palestinian civilians as human shields has been extensively reported on, despite it being forbidden under international law. In August, the Israeli daily Haaretz published an expose revealing that Israeli troops had abducted Palestinian civilians, dressed them in military uniforms, attached cameras to their bodies, and sent them into underground tunnels as well as buildings in order to shield Israeli troops. “[I]t’s hard to recognise them. They’re usually wearing Israeli army uniforms, many of them are in their 20s, and they’re always with Israeli soldiers of various ranks,” the Haaretz article said. But if you look more closely, “you see that most of them are wearing sneakers, not army boots. And their hands are cuffed behind their backs and their faces are full of fear”. In the occupied West Bank in June, Israeli forces tied a wounded Palestinian man to the hood of their military jeep, in an apparent use of a human shield. Francesca Albanese, the United Nations’ special rapporteur to the occupied Palestinian territory, slammed the incident, calling it “human shielding in action”. And in January 2024, Palestinian shop owner Bahaa el-Din Abu Ras, 36, recounted how Israeli soldiers used him as a human shield for nearly two hours in Dura, in the occupied West Bank. “So many questions went through my mind: Will I get to go back to my family? Will I be shot or would a rock hit me? Will I be arrested by these soldiers for whatever reason? When or how can I be released, in the middle of this warzone?” Abu Ras said. “I spent about an hour and a half like that, not sure when I would be killed and whether I would ever rest again.”>>
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/16/israeli-soldiers-used-80-year-old-palestinian-as-gaza-human-shield-report
 

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