#100 Palestinian Journalists | Media Workers

[xtruss]

“Terrorist, Fascist, Illegal Occupier of Palestine 🇵🇸, Apartheid, the Bastard Child of the United States and the West, War Criminal Zionist 🐖 Isra-hell’s” attacks in Gaza, Forever Palestine 🇵🇸, have Killed at least 100 Innocent Palestinian Journalists and Media Workers. Others have been Severely Wounded, forcibly displaced or lost entire families. These journalists report on Israel's attacks, the resulting starvation and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, all while experiencing it themselves.

Now, Palestinian Journalists are calling on U.S. Reporters to Boycott the White House Correspondents' Dinner in protest of the War Criminal Genocidal Biden Administration's Actions Toward Gaza. "It is Unacceptable to Stay Silent out of fear or Professional concern while Journalists in Gaza continue to be Detained, Tortured, and Killed for doing our jobs," the Journalists wrote in a letter Calling for the Boycott.

[opencommunion]

"The historical struggle against colonialism and imperialism ... is waged at the same time as a struggle over the historical and cultural record. One of the first targets, for example, of the Israeli Defense Forces when they entered the Lebanese capital of Beirut in the fall of 1982 was the PLO Research Center and its archives containing the documentary and cultural history of the Palestinian people. Similarly the United States police squadron which in August 1985 arrested in San Juan, Puerto Rico, eleven Puerto Rican independentistas on charges of bank robbery and violation of interstate commerce laws also entered the offices of the journal Pensamiento critico where they confiscated the journal's archival resources as well as its copier and typewriter. The struggle over the historical record is seen from all sides as no less crucial than the armed struggle."

Barbara Harlow, Resistance Literature (1987)

[mariacallous]

(JTA) — Vivian Silver, a Canadian-Israeli peace activist who had been presumed kidnapped by Hamas, was declared dead after her remains were found at her home.

Her death was confirmed to JTA by multiple activists who said they were in touch with Silver’s family. Shifra Bronznick, a prominent Jewish social justice activist and lifelong friend of Silver’s, learned from Silver’s son that her remains were identified via her DNA. 

“Vivian was always persistent in the pursuit of peace and justice,” Bronznick told JTA on Monday evening. “She was a lifelong feminist, a committed activist, a fearless leader, an exceptional friend and a loving mother, wife and grandmother.”

Until Monday, Silver, 74, was assumed to be among the more than 200 people held captive by Hamas. She is now among the approximately 1,200 people murdered by the terror group in its Oct. 7 attack. Hamas terrorists killed more than 100 people at Silver’s home community, Kibbutz Be’eri, in one of the day’s worst massacres. 

She is one of several peace activists to have been killed or captured by Hamas on Oct. 7. Hayim Katsman, 32, who worked with Palestinians in the southern West Bank, was killed in his home in another community on the Gaza border. Yocheved Lifschitz, who helped ferry Palestinians from Gaza to medical care in Israel, was taken captive by Hamas and released in late October; her husband Oded, also involved in peace work, remains missing.

“A woman of infinite, deep, ongoing compassion, humanity and dedication to Arab-Jewish partnership and peace. Yes. Peace,” Anat Saragusti, an Israeli writer and feminist activist, wrote on social media in a post announcing Silver’s death. John Lyndon, the executive director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace, wrote that “she wanted to be free & at peace. Rest in power, Vivian.”

Silver’s sons, like the family members of many of those presumed hostage, lobbied extensively for her release, traveling the country and speaking to journalists around the world to call attention to her story. One son, Yonatan Zeigen, stood out for his calls for a ceasefire, an unusual position in Israel. He said he had learned from his mother to seek peace above all else.

“I would tell her, ‘Israel is dead. It’s hopeless,’ and she would say, ‘Peace could come tomorrow,’” Yonatan, a social worker in Tel Aviv told the Washington Post in a story published last week.

Chen Zeigen, her other son, is a doctoral student in archaeology at the University of Connecticut. She is also survived by four grandchildren.

On the day of the massacre, according to the Washington Post story, Silver took a call with a radio station where she pushed back against the idea that the Palestinians were “insane.” In messages with Yonatan, she expressed fear, frustration and love. “I’m with you,” he wrote to her. Her last message back to him was, “I feel you.”

Born in Winnipeg, Canada, she was the longtime director of  the Arab Jewish Center For Empowerment, Equality, and Cooperation, which organized projects joining communities in Israel, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In 2014, after the last major war between Israel and Hamas, she helped found Women Wage Peace, which promotes peace-building actions among women from all communities and across the political spectrum.

Speaking to Forbes in 2021 for a series on women who assist the vulnerable, Silver said she remembered feeling relief after the government built bomb shelters in Kibbutz Be’eri, which had been subject to rocket fire from Gaza for more than a decade.

“In 2009, the [Israeli] government only built shelters for communities that were four kilometers from the border. The community I live in is four and a half kilometers from the border, so we didn’t have shelters then,” Silver told Forbes. “Now we do, so psychologically we feel better, and we feel safer, and in fact, we are safer, we’re a lot safer than the people in Gaza.”

At a 2018 Women Wage Peace event on the Gaza border in 2018, she said that the Israeli government needed to change its approach in order to bring peace to the area. “Show the required courage that will bring changes of policy that will bring us quiet and security,” she said then, addressing the government. “Returning to the routine is not an option.”

Appealing to women across the border, she said, “Terror does not make anything better for anyone, you too deserve quiet and peace.”

Bronznick first met Silver in the early 1970s when both were involved in organizing a national conference of Jewish women. They remained friends and, for a period of six years, took an annual trip together — the last one was to Santa Fe, New Mexico. When Silver would stay at Bronznick’s home, she would prepare an Israeli breakfast, Bronznick recalled. 

“She would be passionately advocating for peace right now,” Bronznick said, referring to Israel’s war against Hamas, launched following the Oct. 7 attack. “She never gave up on bridge-building. She never gave up on making change. She never gave up on people… She always focused on people, children, what motivated them, what meant something to them.”

Before Oct. 7, Silver was due for another stay at Bronznick’s home in New York City in early December. On top of each of the days in Bronznick’s calendar, she had written “Viv.”

[i-am-aprl]

Israel’s attacks in Gaza have killed at least 100 Palestinian journalists and media workers. Others have been severely wounded, forcibly displaced or lost entire families. These journalists report on Israel’s attacks, the resulting starvation and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, all while experiencing it themselves.

Now, Palestinian journalists are calling on U.S. reporters to boycott the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in protest of the Biden administration’s actions toward Gaza. “It is unacceptable to stay silent out of fear or professional concern while journalists in Gaza continue to be detained, tortured, and killed for doing our jobs,” the journalists wrote in a letter calling for the boycott.

As press organizations continue to raise concerns about Israel’s deliberate targeting of journalists, the Biden administration has made over one hundred military sales to Israel since Oct. 7.

…

Associate Producer: Katherine Conner

#Palestine #Gaza #Biden #Journalist #WhiteHouse #Boycott #Palestinian #Israel

[gowns]

Many Democratic lawmakers are telling their staff to let phone calls asking for a cease-fire in Gaza go to voicemail.

At least 24 lawmakers in the House and Senate have called for a cease-fire in Gaza, but Joe Biden has said there is “no possibility” of that happening. Instead, Israel agreed this week to a daily four-hour “humanitarian pause,” which it seems to think is enough time for civilians to flee bombs on foot.

Staff from more than 24 Democratic congressional offices told HuffPost in a story published Thursday that the caucus was unprepared for how many calls, emails, and letters they are receiving from constituents demanding a cease-fire. Most lawmakers do not yet have an official response.

One staffer, speaking anonymously, said that until a formal stance is developed, many of them have been told to “let it go to voicemail.”

Another staffer said that the office phone rings every five minutes with someone urging a cease-fire. A third staffer said the phone “doesn’t stop ringing at any point in the day.”

The majority of voters across party lines believe in the need for a cease-fire, and 80 percent of Democratic voters agree that the United States should call for a cease-fire and de-escalation in Gaza, according to a poll from Data for Progress.

It’s not just constituents, either. More than 100 staffers, both Democratic and Republican, staged a walkout on Wednesday to call for a cease-fire in Gaza.

But lawmakers, by and large, seem to be fine ignoring the calls. Some believe the movement will eventually just die down, and one lawmaker allegedly joked, “They weren’t going to vote for me anyway.”

Staffers are shocked at both the public unity behind the issue and lawmakers’ refusal to take it seriously.

“This building is not listening,” one Democratic aide told HuffPost. “I’ve never seen such a disconnect between where voters and constituents are and where Congress is, and that’s saying something because there’s always a disconnect.”

More than 11,000 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s ongoing retaliation to Hamas’s October 7 attack. The fighting has also killed at least 39 journalists and other media workers and more than 100 United Nations employees.

[limelocked]

wrote this on twitter because its on twitter, instagram, and tiktok that the EBU might see and be forced to care, not here

for the international community; israel being banned from Eurovision Song Contest would be kinda a PR nightmare for them, it would mean that the EBU that has allowed them to continue participating through several wars, the establishing of the blockade on the gaza strip, and several human rights abuses under apartheid... has finally decided to wash their hands of israel

while participating in ESC doesnt directly fund israel like companies do, participating is in itself Huge propaganda due to the popularity of eurovision

so as the israeli preliminaries that select their star for Eurovision is set to start airing today; go on social media and ask how many more palestinian lives it will take until they will care and if audience members will be punished for waving palestinian flags

use the eurovision tags to ask how 64 killed UN workers, 31 killed journalists, a lack of essential goods, and the over 100 people killed in west bank does not taint ESCs "pristine" reputation

or ask if the ESCs and EBUs reputation has always been this dirty

more people are now aware and protesting for a free palestine, dont wait to complain about it in may next year, take advantage of this energy online and get their ass

[stareyedsheeple]

hello!! im doing this as part of the social media storm for the icj hearing on january 11th-january 12th, and also because i generally feel as though i haven't done as much posts about palestine as i would have liked to. more under the cut.

the violence committed against the palestinian people by israel has been going on for nearly 100 days at the time of writing– although it has been going on, truthfully, for roughly 75 years. the death toll has risen to 23,000+ and counting. palestinians again and again have been chased from their homes, with the amount reaching 1.9 million palestinians with their houses forcibly taken away (x), and some fully destroyed. they have been brutalised and treated as less than human for existing on land that the israeli government deemed theirs. the streets of palestine smell of rot and flood with sewage; the palestinian people have held their dead infants for the camera for the camera to see, recorded their children dying, far more than anyone should ever have to do, just to gain enough compassion from the world to stop israel's bombardment, just to make sure their lives and their entire existence isn't lost to bombs and false statements from israel about whats currently going on, and yet again and again western governments have continued to turn a blind eye and in the us' case, assist in the genocide of the palestinian people while preaching peace and unity. 97% of water in gaza is unfit for consumption, and "[...] famine is right around the corner."

in this case, it also falls upon us, people outside palestine, to spread the word about palestine and hope enough pressure falls upon our politicians to make real change for palestinians, who have undergone unimaginable amounts of pain and deserve to see a world where they can live freely and without suffering. moreover, in motaz's words (who everyone should definitely follow, he is a good journalist and is extremely resilient in the face of what has happened to him), (edit: he has now left gaza, but nonetheless, i believe it is important to uplift palestinian voices regardless of where they are) we cannot call ourselves a free people if we can be so against such an awful thing happening and see no yield from our presidents and governors past a shrug of the shoulders and a vague statement about not liking the death of innocents. we cannot call ourselves a free people if israel can so blatantly bypass several laws, killing hundreds of journalists and health workers (one more journalist was killed recently, hamza al-dahdouh. i would feel wrong to not mention him during this portion. his father is staying strong even in the face of it, and i wish him a dignified funeral when this is all over and a proper time for his surrounding family to grieve.) trying to ease the strain in gaza, who have done far more good than i could ever hope to do in my lifetime, along with many more innocent civilians, because what does that say about the effectiveness and application of these laws? what does that say about our actual safety at the end of the day, that if, in the eyes of western governments, the right person is behind the trigger, they can shoot whoever they want with no consequence? the genocide of the palestinian people by israel is directly related to everyone on this planet, and until we have them and everyone else under the boot of a genocidal regime freed, we are not free either.

we MUST call for a free palestine, for every palestinian within it, for those who were killed calling it, so that maybe in this lifetime we see real change for palestinians, so that maybe everything gets a little better in the world. it won't be a fast change, it'll require a lot of yelling and stomping and pushing against israel and the us and everyone else who benefits from whats happening to the palestinian people, it'll take the disassembling of a country built on the corpses of palestinian people and planning to take far more away with its bombings of lebanon and syria, but that does not mean its impossible, just hard. i do truly believe change can be made with enough people dedicated to the cause and enough pressure placed upon governments who can intervene via protests, boycotts, educating one's self about the genocide via literature and documentaries, and calling + emailing representatives about the genocide. below is an assembly of links talking about whats going on and also statements by palestinians, i'll stop rambling on. free palestine. and FUCK ISRAEL!

info on the sde teimen concentration camp (couldnt find a non-paywalled vers of the article linked in post)

decolonise palestine

gaza is starving

wael al-dahdouh's statement on his son (and general family)'s death

south africa's statement submitted to the international court of justice

palestinian hostage says he was sent into a hamas tunnel strapped with bombs

article + video of idf soldiers detaining dozens of palestinian civilians (including elderly people and children) half naked into a stadium

reporting of attacks on refugee camps and hospitals, of which there are many, so heres a few (x) (x) (x)

more than 10 kids per day on average lose one or two limbs in gaza

several amputations done on palestinian children without anaesthesia

the brutality of israeli prisons && camps

house to house executions in gaza by israeli soldiers

coverage of palestine in the media and bias towards israel

and, finally, what you can do to help. do not roll over and lie still under the weight of all this suffering. you must continue fighting, you must shape that weight into a weapon, and yes, it will hurt, and yes, you will get tired and worn out (in which case, you rest. you working yourself to the bone is of use to no one) but eventually, something will happen, and until then you hold that weight like a fire in your chest and direct it towards helping those who need help. never forget that weight. never forget palestine. nothing lasts forever, and neither will this. there will be a free palestine.

i'd advise tuning into the icj hearing if you have time– i personally will not be available, but i'm sure whatever goes on over there will be of some value to whats going on. follow palestinian journalists (motaz, hind, bisan, plestia, and many others, who are risking their lives to deliver the news to outsiders, who have done more than anyone should be obligated to in a thousand lifetimes, who deserve safe families and good lives and a long rest and a thousand years in a free palestine, on their beautiful homeland) if you have the linked platforms and can, continue talking about palestine along with them. treat yourself kindly. for the fourth time i've said this in this post, and however many more times it needs to be said, free palestine!

[ultyso]

1. Classification – Dividing people into ‘them’ and ‘us’. (Palestinian civilians referred to as “terrorists”, look at any gov official, they say it themself)

2. Symbolisation – Forcing groups to wear or be associated with symbols which identify them as different. (Worker ID tags on ankles. Color of ID determines how much can even move, if can event get an id to begin with. Can purchase but not guaranteed.

3. Discrimination – Excluding groups from participating in civil society, such as by excluding them from voting or certain places. (East Jerusalemites were denied or delayed for citizenship. Restricting Water Access for Palestinians, but ensures plentiful access for Israel. Road Restrictions , American Road , More of road restrictions . Many Palestinians (not all) aren’t able to vote, Those coming to visit Palestine are faced with harsh restrictions by Israel. Color of ID determines how much can even move, if can event get an id to begin with. Can purchase but not guaranteed. Travel permits for aid struggles.

4. Dehumanisation – To deny the humanity of one group, and associate them with animals or diseases in order to belittle them.(Go on really any gov officials for Israel they call them animals all the time, remember the children of darkness and children of light comment? Shirts of pregnant Palestinians with a cross hair. Palestinians are tried to military court. Palestinians held without charge indefinitely. Children have most difficulty getting aid as they have hardest time traveling due to IDs needing to be for 16+, those under age have to travel with someone 55+. Facial Recognition of West Bank Civilians. Blockades and caloric counting

5. Organization – Training police or army units and providing them with weapons and knowledge in order to persecute a group in future. (IDF veterans talks of their violent treatment of Palestinians. , Facial Recognition of West Bank Civilians. )

6. Polarisation – Using propaganda to polarise society, create distance and exclude a group further. Some examples:

7. Preparation – Planning of mass murder and identifying specific victims. (Desiring Gaza to be flattened. ,The Gospel AI targets, if it truly was for Hamas, why are so many children being killed, Short Selling of Stock, Knew of the planned attack a year ago, Development of more settlements, Using unguided “dumb” bombs, Razing Cemeteries, False claims to Al-Shifa, “Voluntary” Emigration, Planned Settlements , Destroying more graves, Dug up graves to destroy them, Cutting of water, Unable to use rain water, Control of water, Israeli children singing to annihilate Gaza, Child being taken hostage in 2013, Desire to level Gaza

8. Persecution – Incarcerating groups in ghettos or concentration camps , forcibly displacing groups, expropriating  property, belongings or wealth. (Incarcerations 1 , 2 , Displacement, IDF ransacking homes, Burning food more ransacking, Stealing cigarettes, Stealing jewelry, Detaining at the border, Stealing pets, Kidnapping a baby, liquidate the ghetto, Taking and abusing UNRWA school civilians and stripping them

9. Extermination – Committing mass murder. (20K and counting), Killing doctors and nurses, vowing not to stop till complete quiet, Blockades where people are being killed and ambulances being restricted, Targeting PRCS , Residential buildings being bombed, UN schools bombed, Over 100 journalists killed, Journalists targeted , Use of White Phospherus, More PRCS Volunteers killed, Increased hospital shortages due to bombings, Decomposed Babies in hospital, due to lack of aid there is a rise in diseases, lack of aid now has COVID spreading,

10. Denial – Denial of any crimes. This does not necessarily mean denying that the acts of murder happened, but denying that these acts were a crime, and were in fact justified. (Look at any social media, it’s rampant everywhere, it’s all for “defense.”)

Stages of Holocaust Genocide

[tieflingkisser]

Israel forces closure of Gaza hospitals, kills dozens at al-Shifa

Israel massacred Palestinians throughout Gaza on Monday and Tuesday, killing dozens of people at al-Shifa hospital and forcing the closure of al-Ahli hospital, the only partially functioning medical center in the north of the territory. The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza reported on Tuesday nearly 19,700 fatalities in Gaza since 7 October, with another 52,600 wounded. The actual death toll is likely much higher, with some 8,000 people reported missing and presumed dead under the rubble of destroyed buildings. Unprecedented famine and disease borne from Israel’s siege is causing a secondary wave of mortality that the UN’s humanitarian chief warns may soon outpace the death toll from the bombing. Israel struck Rafah, near Gaza’s boundary with Egypt, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge after intensive bombing and destruction in the north of the territory and in eastern Khan Younis. At least 20 people were reported killed in the strikes in Rafah, including Palestinian journalist Adel Zuroub, the 97th Palestinian media worker killed in Gaza since 7 October. Israel has meanwhile denied foreign correspondents access to Gaza since the beginning of the war, with the exception of journalists embedded with the military. The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem petitioned Israel’s high court on Tuesday demanding immediate access to the territory. More than 100 people were reported killed in Israeli strikes on Jabaliya, northern Gaza, between 17 and 18 December. Dozens more were killed in the Sheikh Ridwan, al-Rimal, Shujaiya and al-Daraj neighborhoods in the area of Gaza City. More than 30 people were reportedly killed at al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on 17 December. “Three people were reportedly shot and injured inside the hospital compound,” according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “and another three persons were shot and injured when they were trying to fetch water near the hospital gate.”

[cont'd]

[good-old-gossip]

US weapon used in Gaza City school massacre that killed 100

by Maureen Clare Murphy

Palestinians search for victims after an Israeli attack that killed more than 100 people at a school in Gaza City on 10 August.By Mahmoud Zaki

Israel killed at least 100 Palestinians at a school being used as a shelter for displaced people in central Gaza City on Saturday, according to Gaza officials.

The attack came one day after Israeli tanks pushed back into Khan Younis, the largest city in Gaza’s south, forcing war-weary families to once again flee to the unknown.

Israel dropped leaflets on eastern Khan Younis ordering residents and displaced people sheltering there to “evacuate from an area that has already seen repeated waves of fighting,” Reuters reported.

On Friday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that “thousands of Palestinians have moved towards western Khan Younis and western Deir al-Balah in the past 72 hours.”

Many hoped to find shelter in al-Mawasi, a coastal area in southern Gaza where an Israeli airstrike killed at least six Palestinians, including journalists Tamim Abu Muamar and Abdullah al-Sousi, on Friday.

Earlier in the week, on 5 August, eight Palestinians including five officers were reported killed when a Gaza police car being used to distribute aid was targeted in Deir al-Balah.

Nadi Salout, a father of four young children and a staff member with the World Central Kitchen was killed in an Israeli airstrike near Deir al-Balah on 7 August, according to the organization.

The Washington-based charity said that Salout was its eighth employee to be killed in Gaza after seven of its team members were killed in successive Israeli strikes on three of its vehicles on 1 April.

At least 287 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since October.

School attacked without warning

The government media office in Gaza said that more than 100 people were killed in Saturday’s attack on Tabaeen school, which reportedly occurred without warning during dawn prayers.

The school is located in al-Daraj, a neighborhood in central Gaza City. On 7 August, Israel issued evacuation orders in northern Gaza, instructing residents of areas including Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun to go to shelters in central Gaza City – the area that was targeted on Saturday.

During a press conference, Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense, said at least 93 people were killed, including six women and 11 children.

Many of those killed were shredded or burned beyond recognition, as documented in horrific video and photos of the carnage. Others who were present at the school remained unaccounted for after the massacre.

Video broadcast by Al Jazeera showed what the broadcaster’s correspondent Anas al-Sharif said was an “indescribable” scene as a camera panned across a room containing countless bodies in pieces:

The civil defense spokesperson said that some 350 families were sheltering at Tabaeen school when it was hit in strikes on the upper floor, used to house displaced people, and the lower floor that served as a mosque.

Pattern of attacks on shelters

The deadly strike on Saturday was the latest in a series of deadly attacks on facilities sheltering displaced people.

The civil defense spokesperson said that Israel had attacked 13 shelters since the beginning of August.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor said on Friday that Israel had attacked nine schools being used as shelters in Gaza City in eight days, killing nearly 80 Palestinians and injuring more than 140 more.

Other victims “were buried beneath the rubble and could not be retrieved due to the lack of the necessary tools,” the Geneva-based group added.

The UN human rights office said Saturday’s attack was “at least the 21st strike on a school, each serving as a shelter … since 4 July.”

The UN office added that “these strikes have resulted in at least 274 fatalities, including women and children.”

Israel’s attempted justification

Israel claimed that it killed 19 operatives with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad during the attack and accused the resistance groups of using the school as a command center – repeating previous attempts to justify strikes on schools, hospitals and other civilian targets.

Israel’s chief military spokesperson claimed without evidence that the number of fatalities given by Palestinian officials was inflated.

“This was verified by intelligence, and the strike was carried out using three small, precise munitions which cannot cause the scale of damage that the Palestinians are reporting,” the spokesperson said.

But despite Israel’s statements that it had taken measures to avoid harm to civilians, the UN human rights office said that the “systematic attacks” on shelters “suggest a failure to strictly comply with obligations required by international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack.”

The attacks on shelters occur “in the context where more than 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced [and] while the Israeli military continues detonating residential buildings and restricting the entry and distribution of humanitarian assistance,” the UN office added.

Noting Israel’s oft-used claim that the targeted shelters were being used by Palestinian armed groups, the UN office said that this does not relieve Israel of its “obligation to comply strictly” with the laws of war.

Hamas rejects Israeli claims

In a statement published on its Telegram channel, Hamas rejected Israel’s claims, saying that no militants were at the Tabaeen school and that its fighters are under strict orders to not congregate among civilians so as “to spare them from Zionist targeting.”

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor also said its initial investigation indicated there was no presence of any armed groups at the school, which it said was sheltering more than 2,500 displaced people.

“The school was sheltering hundreds of children whose families felt safe there without feeling in danger, according to survivors’ testimonies,” the rights group stated.

Ramy Abdu, director of the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said that some of the supposed Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives that Israel claimed to have targeted at Tabaeen school on Saturday had in fact been killed in other locations in previous days:

Hamas said that Israel’s claims are fabrications as it targets civilian sites and escalates its attacks against displaced people with “direct US support,” making Washington “a full partner in these massacres and crimes.”

Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, said on Saturday that Israel’s brutal crimes in Gaza, which receive a green light from Washington, are aimed at pushing Palestinians out of the territory.

US weapons

Many observers noted the timing of the especially horrific massacre, following 10 months of relentless atrocities, to the joint statement made by the US, Qatar and Egypt giving Israel and Hamas a deadline of 15 August to reconvene negotiations towards a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

The deadly attack destroying the bodies of dozens of Palestinians also came one day after the US State Department announced that Washington would provide Israel $3.5 billion for additional US weapons and military equipment.

Congress approved $14 billion in additional funding for Israel in April.

CNN reported that “at least one US-manufactured precision-guided bomb” was used in the strike on the Gaza City school on Saturday.

“Footage of the aftermath filmed by CNN showed parts of an explosive device that Trevor Ball, a former US Army explosive ordnance disposal technician, confirmed were from a GBU-39 small diameter bomb,” the American broadcaster added, noting that the munition is manufactured by Boeing.

In a statement attributed to National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett, the White House said it was “deeply concerned about reports of civilian casualties” following the Israeli strike on Tabaeen school.

The statement repeated Israel’s unsubstantiated claim that “Hamas has been using schools as locations to gather and operate out of, but we have also said repeatedly and consistently that Israel must take measures to minimize civilian harm.”

The echoing of Israel’s pretext for the carnage by the White House was aimed at “the US covering for its own complicity in this massacre,” according to journalist Mohammad Alsaafin.

“You don’t target ‘senior Hamas officials’ by waiting until ordinary people gather in a prayer space to pray together, and then bomb that specific part of the school,” Alsaafin added.

In any case, the US has given multiple signals in recent days reinforcing Israel’s perception that there are no red lines when it comes to its campaign of annihilation in Gaza.

Al-Ahli hospital overwhelmed with casualties

Fadel Naim, director of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, said that the facility “received dozens of bodies ��� others with amputations and severe burns and piles of shattered flesh and bones from those who could not be identified” following the use of “precision” weapons against the school.

The overwhelmed hospital is only partially functioning after being forced to evacuate by the Israeli military last month.

In October, the hospital was the scene of a massacre similar to that which occurred at Tabaeen school on Saturday. Israel blamed the October strike on a misfired rocket from Islamic Jihad, which denied responsibility.

Independent investigations conducted remotely have challenged Israel’s claims regarding the al-Ahli hospital massacre.

Israel has denied international investigators and reporters access to Gaza for the duration of its offensive, now in its eleventh month, and its military has killed around 170 Palestinian journalists in the territory during that time.

The Palestinian health ministry in Gaza said on Saturday that at least 39,790 people had been killed and 92,000 injured in the territory since early October.

An additional 10,000 people remain missing under the rubble or their bodies not yet recovered from the streets or inaccessible areas.

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor estimates that at least an additional 51,000 Palestinians have died as a result of Israel’s siege on Gaza and its deliberate collapse of the medical sector in the territory, as well as the widespread destruction of infrastructure and mass displacement of civilians, leading to the spread of disease.

[catdotjpeg]

On February 27, over 100 people gathered at a candlelight vigil in San Jose to honor the life and sacrifice of Aaron Bushnell.

[...]

On the front steps of San Jose's Martin Luther King Library, community members laid out candles, flowers, Palestinian and Yemeni flags, and a sign reading “Rest in power and peace, Aaron Bushnell.” Members of the public were invited to speak in an impromptu open-mic program. People from a wide variety of backgrounds shared the impact that Bushnell's act of protest had on them, including veterans, students, healthcare workers and journalists. Harry Adams, a U.S. Air Force veteran who served during the Vietnam War, spoke about Bushnell's courage in refusing to be complicit in this ongoing atrocity. Adams has spent the last several decades of his life advocating for peace alongside other veterans. Bojana Cvijic, a journalist who was previously a writer for San José State University student newspaper Spartan Daily, strongly criticized the mainstream corporate media for their obfuscation of Bushnell's act of protest. Many news outlets have omitted any mention of the genocide in Gaza from their headlines about Bushnell's death. Tarentz Charite from Students for a Democratic Society encouraged the crowd to continue to protest against the genocide, saying, “We are not complicit in a system of death if we fight for a system of life. We are not complacent in a system of oppression if we fight for freedom.” The vigil was called by San Jose Against War, a new grassroots anti-war organization in San Jose.

-- "San Jose anti-war activists hold vigil for Aaron Bushnell" from Fight Back! News, 29 Feb 2024

[whitesinhistory]

Marc Lamont Hill talks to Al Jazeera journalist Hind Khoudary on World Press Freedom Day about reporting from Gaza.

As the world marks Press Freedom Day, we turn to Gaza and the mounting toll of journalist deaths since October 7th. More than 100 media workers have been killed in the last seven months, as Israel continues its deadly war on Gaza.

So how are journalists in Gaza continuing their reporting? And are journalists in the West doing enough to shine a light on the plight of their Palestinian colleagues?

This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks to Hind Khoudary, an Al Jazeera journalist who has been reporting from the ground since day one.

[lordzannis]

Based on the information provided, there were several critical reactions from pro-Palestinian groups and individuals regarding the media coverage of Hind Rajab's death:

Many pro-Palestinian figures criticized Western media outlets for stating that Rajab had been "found dead" without attributing her death to Israel. They contrasted this with what they saw as more sympathetic coverage of children's deaths in other conflicts, like the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

There was particular criticism of how some media described Hind Rajab. For example, during a CNN segment discussing protests that renamed a university building after her, host Kasie Hunt referred to Hind as "a woman who was killed in Gaza." This was criticized as an example of the "adultification" of Palestinian children and potential pro-Israel bias.

Pro-Palestinian activists highlighted the case to draw attention to civilian casualties in Gaza. Student protesters at universities like Columbia and UC Berkeley renamed occupied buildings after Hind Rajab to memorialize her.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society and Rajab's family were critical of initial Israeli denials about the incident. They used social media and press statements to keep attention on the case while calling for accountability.

Some groups, like the human rights organization Justice For All, used the incident to file war crimes charges against Israel with the International Criminal Court.

The case became a rallying point for pro-Palestinian protesters globally, with Hind Rajab's name and story being used to symbolize the broader impact of the conflict on Palestinian children.

These reactions reflect frustration with perceived bias in Western media coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict and attempts to use Hind Rajab's story to galvanize support for the Palestinian cause.

Citations: [1] https://abcnews.go.com/International/killing-5-year-girl-gaza-sparks-international-condemnation/story?id=110481771 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Hind_Rajab [3] https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/forensic-architecture-probe-says-israeli-tank-fire-likely-killed-palestinian-child-hind-rajab [4] https://www.commondreams.org/news/hind-rajab-forensic-investigation [5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAgfoA0VYN0 [6] https://tmj.news/investigation-reveals-that-355-bullets-were-fired-on-the-car-carrying-6-year-old-hind-rajab/ [7] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/killing-six-year-old-hind-rajab-war-crimes-rcna162824 [8] https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/forensic-architecture-probe-concludes-israeli-tank-likely-killed

ournalist Casualties:

Over 100 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023. The majority (111) were Palestinian, with 2 Israeli and 3 Lebanese journalists also killed.

CPJ reports 116 confirmed journalist deaths as of August 29, 2024.

RSF states this is the deadliest period for journalists in decades.

Restrictions on Press Freedom:

International media have been largely denied access to Gaza, except for rare escorted trips arranged by the Israeli military.

Over 60 international news organizations signed an open letter calling on Israel to end restrictions on foreign media entering Gaza.

RSF describes the situation as an "effective ban on foreign reporting" that places an "impossible burden" on local reporters.

Targeting of Journalists:

RSF has filed multiple complaints with the International Criminal Court (ICC) alleging Israeli war crimes against journalists in Gaza.

There are reports of journalists being directly targeted, including an incident where an Israeli tank reportedly fired on a group of identifiable journalists, killing one and wounding another.

Calls for Action:

RSF and other organizations have urged the European Union to suspend its association agreement with Israel due to press freedom violations.

There are calls for independent investigations into journalist killings and for Israel to stop targeting media personnel.

Impact on Information:

The restrictions and dangers have made it increasingly difficult to obtain and verify information from Gaza.

Local journalists are working under extreme conditions with limited resources.

Broader Context:

These issues are part of a larger pattern of press freedom concerns in the region, including restrictions within Israel itself.

This is how many bullets they shot on a fucking kid.

[progressglobenews]

Common Dreams:

Al Jazeera is the only international news network providing nonstop on-the-ground coverage of Israel's war on Gaza. Its reporters work under constant risk to life and limb, as more than 100 media professionals, the vast majority of them Palestinians, have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7. CPJ and others say have decried what they say are deliberate attacks on media workers and their families. In December, Israeli troops killed Al Jazeera cameraman Samer Abudaqa as he reported on the war in southern Gaza, an attack that also injured the network's Gaza bureau chief, Wael Dahdouh, whose wife, son, daughter, and grandson were killed in a separate IDF strike. Previous independent probes—including investigations of Abu Akleh's killing—have confirmed that Israel has deliberately targeted journalists. Last May, CPJ published Deadly Pattern, an investigation that found the IDF killed at least 20 journalists over the past 22 years with impunity. While some of the slain journalists have been foreigners—including Italian Associated Press reporter Simone Camilli and British cameraman and filmmaker James Miller—the vast majority of victims have been Palestinian. Israeli forces have also attacked newsrooms in every major assault on Gaza, including in May 2021 when the 11-story al-Jalaa Tower, which housed offices of Al Jazeera, The Associated Press, and other media outlets, was destroyed in an airstrike.

[sa7abnews]

Dozens killed in Israeli airstrike on school

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/16/dozens-killed-in-israeli-airstrike-on-school/

Dozens killed in Israeli airstrike on school

West Jerusalem claims that the facility was being used by Hamas as a military headquarters

Dozens of people have been killed and many more injured in an Israeli airstrike on a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City, the Palestinian authorities have said. The attack on the Tabeen school in the central part of the city took place on Saturday morning and was confirmed by both officials in Gaza and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). There are conflicting reports so far about the number of casualties. Al Jazeera said, citing Gaza’s government media office, that more than 100 people have been killed and dozens more injured in the bombing. Not all of the bodies have been recovered so far, it added. AP provided information from the Gaza Health Ministry’s ambulance and emergency service, which put the death toll at 60, with 47 others wounded. The outlet described the incident as “one of the deadliest strikes” in the ten months of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas. Gaza’s government media office said in a statement that the number of casualties was so high because IDF warplanes “bombed the displaced people [at the school] while they were performing the dawn prayer.”

Read more

Washington slams Israeli minister’s ceasefire criticism

“We hold the Israeli occupation and the American administration fully responsible for this massacre,” the statement read. The strike “comes within the framework of the crime of genocide and ethnic cleansing against our Palestinian people,” it added. Palestinian journalists said the facility was hit by at least three bombs. Some people were reportedly trapped in the building, which caught fire after the attack. Emergency workers are unable to extinguish the blaze and rescue them, as Israel cut off the water supply to the area, according to their reports. The Israeli military claimed on X (formerly Twitter) that it targeted the school because it had been used as a headquarters by Hamas, from which the group “planned and promoted terrorist operations against the IDF forces and the citizens of the State of Israel.” “Hamas systematically violates international law and operates from civilian shelters, using the population as a human shield,” the IDF said. According to UN data, 477 out of 564 schools in Gaza, almost all of which were turned into shelters for refugees during the conflict, have been directly hit or damaged as of July 6.

READ MORE: Allowing two million Gazans to starve ‘may be moral’ – Israeli minister

Israel began its military operation in Gaza in response to a cross-border incursion by Hamas last October, in which around 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage. More than 39,600 people have been killed so far and over 91,700 others have been wounded in Israel’s airstrikes and ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

[noctomania]

Even before the outbreak of the current war, CPJ’s “Deadly Pattern” report in May 2023 documented 20 journalists killed by Israeli fire over two decades without anyone held accountable, such as Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist killed in the West Bank in 2022. In that report, CPJ also noted several cases in which journalists killed were accused of being terrorists without any credible evidence produced.

In case you missed it, this has been the deadliest "war" for journalists ever

In Salman al-Bashir's words as he tore his press vest off in the middle of his broadcast:

"We are victims, live on air," he cried. "It is only a matter of time until we are killed. We wait our turn, one after the other."

Protecting the word is important. Protect the people who carry the word is of much higher priority. This is a genocide. Free Palestine. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be Free.