Palestine calls for Arab League extraordinary meeting over Israel's genocide, settlement expansion

A Palestinian woman bakes unleavened bread in a makeshift oven on June 30, 2024 while sitting on the rubble of buildings destroyed in the Israeli war in the Gaza Strip.(Photo by AFP)

Palestine has submitted a request to convene an extraordinary meeting of the Arab League to discuss Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip and the regime's settlement expansion in the West Bank. 

Mohannad Aklouk, Palestine’s permanent representative to the Arab League, called for the session of the Arab League at the level of permanent representatives.

"The meeting will be held at the level of permanent delegates this week to discuss confronting the Israeli crimes of genocide and colonial expansion in the West Bank,” Aklouk said in an interview with the official Palestinian news agency WAFA on Sunday.

However, the pan-Arab body has not made any confirmation of the meeting yet.

On Thursday, Israel’s extremist finance minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that the Security Cabinet authorized one outpost for every country that unilaterally recognized Palestine as a state in the last month.

Last month, Spain, Ireland and Norway formally recognized the Palestinian state, joining over 140 UN member states that have recognized its statehood over the past four decades.

Slovenia and Malta have also indicated they plan to formally recognize the state of Palestine.

The five settlement outposts are Evyatar, Givat Assaf, Sde Efraim, Heletz, and Adorayim.

International law regards both the West Bank and al-Quds as occupied territories and considers all Israeli settlement-building activity there to be illegal.

Tensions have been high across the occupied Gaza Strip and the West Bank since Israel launched a genocidal war in October 2023, which has killed at least 37,877 Palestinian people and injured 86,969 others.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. The ICJ in January ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the 1949 Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians.

In its latest ruling, the court ordered the Tel Aviv regime to immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

Israeli Bombing of Gaza Ranks Among 'Most Devastating' in History

"Gaza is one of the most intense civilian punishment campaigns in history," said a U.S. military historian as Israel's use of arms including 2,000-pound "bunker-buster" bombs pushed the Palestinian death toll over 20,000. 

BRETT WILKINS

A survivor of Israel's bombardment of Gaza makes her way through the rubble of the al-Zahra neighborhood on October 19, 2023.

As the Palestinian death toll from Israel's 10-week annihilation of the Gaza Strip passed 20,000, warfare experts said this weekend that the retaliatory campaign ranks among the deadliest and most destructive in modern history.

Gaza health officials said Friday that 390 Palestinians were killed and 734 others wounded in the besieged strip over the previous 48 hours, driving the death toll from 77 days of near-relentless Israeli attacks to 20,057, with another 53,320 people injured. More than 6,000 women and over 8,000 children have been killed—approximately 70% of all fatalities.

That's more than twice the number of civilians—and over 14 times as many children—as Russian forces have killed in Ukraine since February 2022.

Thousands more Palestinians are missing and feared buried beneath the rubble of the hundreds of thousands of buildings destroyed or damaged by Israeli bombardment.

"The scale of Palestinian civilian deaths in such a short period of time appears to be the highest such civilian casualty rate in the 21st century," Michael Lynk, who served as the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories from 2016 to 2022, toldThe Washington Post on Saturday.

Robert Pape, a U.S. military historian and University of Chicago professor, toldThe Associated Press that "Gaza is one of the most intense civilian punishment campaigns in history."

"It now sits comfortably in the top quartile of the most devastating bombing campaigns ever," he added.

By comparison, the 2017 U.S.-led coalition battle for Mosul, Iraq during the war against the so-called Islamic State—widely viewed as among the most intense urban assaults in recent decades—killed approximately 10,000 civilians, around a third of them from aerial bombardment.

Pape said that by some measures, Israel's bombing of Gaza is surpassing the Allied "terror bombing" of German cities during World War II.

He noted that U.S. and U.K. airstrikes obliterated about 40-50% of the urban areas of the 51 German cities bombed between 1942-45, and that around 10% of all buildings in Germany were destroyed. In Gaza, approximately 1 in 3 buildings have been destroyed. In northern Gaza, over two-thirds of all buildings have been leveled.

"Gaza is now a different color from space. It's a different texture," Corey Scher, who studies natural disasters and wars using satellite remote sensing at the City University of New York's Graduate Center, told the AP.

Experts point to the types of munitions being used by Israeli forces as a major reason why so many Gazans are being killed and injured. These include U.S.-supplied 1,000-pound and 2,000-pound guided "bunker-buster" bombs, which Israel says are necessary to target Hamas' underground tunnels.

These massive bombs turn "earth to liquid," Marc Garlasco, a former Pentagon defense official and war crimes investigator for the United Nations, told the AP. "It pancakes entire buildings."

Garlasco said that 2,000-pound bombs mean "instant death" for anyone within about 100 feet of the blast, with shrapnel posing a deadly danger for people up to 1,200 feet away.

In a separate interview with CNN, Gerlasco said that the intensity of Israel's bombardment of Gaza has "not been seen since Vietnam," when U.S. airstrikes killed up to hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese, Cambodians, and Laotians. The U.S. dropped more bombs on tiny, non-belligerent Laos than all sides combined unleashed during World War II.

"You'd have to go back to the Vietnam War to make a comparison," Garlasco added. "Even in both Iraq wars, it was never that dense."

The use of such heavy ordnance in close proximity to critical civilian infrastructure like hospitals has alarmed observers.

"What we have been witnessing is a campaign that was planned, it was a plan, definitely, to close down all the hospitals in the north," Léo Cans, head of mission for Palestine with Doctors Without Borders, told the Post.

Aided by AI-based target selection systems, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commanders are approving bombings they know will cause large numbers of civilian casualties. In a bid to assassinate a single Hamas commander, the IDF dropped at least two 2,000-pound bombs on the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp on October 31, killing more than 120 civilians.

Although the United States—which has killed more foreign civilians this century than any other armed force in the world—provides Israel with thousands of 1,000 and 2,000-pound bombs, its own military avoids using such massive ordnance in civilian areas due to the devastation they cause.

"It certainly appears that [Israel's] tolerance for civilian harm compared to expected operational benefits is significantly different than what we would accept as the U.S.," Larry Lewis, research director at the Center for Naval Analyses and a former U.S. State Department senior adviser on civilian harm, toldCNN.

That includes the risk of killing Israel's own citizens and others held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.

Lewis added that the Jabalia strike was "something we would never see the U.S. doing."

That isn't entirely true; during the 1991 Gulf War the U.S. dropped a pair of 2,000-pound Raytheon GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided bombs on the Amiriyah air raid shelter in Baghdad, killing at least 408 Iraqi civilians in one of the deadliest single airstrikes in modern history. U.S. officials claimed they thought the shelter, which was used during the Iraq-Iran war, was no longer a civilian facility.

"The use of 2,000-pound bombs in an area as densely populated as Gaza means it will take decades for communities to recover," John Chappell, advocacy and legal fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group Center for Civilians in Conflict, toldCNN.

Even more concerning for some experts is Israel's use of unguided, or "dumb" bombs, against civilian targets in Gaza.

While IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said that "we choose the right munition for each target so it doesn't cause unnecessary damage," the death and destruction in Gaza—and Israeli officials' own words—tell an entirely different story.

Early in the war, Hagari declared that "Gaza will never return to what it was," clarifying that "the emphasis is on damage and not on accuracy."

Meanwhile, numerous Israeli officials advocated the complete destruction of Gaza, with more than a few government figures—including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Cabinet members—making statements supporting genocide against the Palestinian people.

U.S. President Joe Biden—who has affirmed his "unwavering" support for Israel and is seeking $14.3 billion in additional military aid for the country, which already gets almost $4 billion annually from Washington—has implored Israeli leaders to stop the "indiscriminate" bombing of Gaza, even as his administration thwarts international cease-fire efforts and restocks the IDF's arsenal.

Chappell stressed that "the devastation that we've seen for communities in Gaza is, unfortunately, co-signed by the United States."

"Too much of it is carried out by bombs that were made in the United States," he added.

Ahmed Abofoul—a Gaza-born, Netherlands-based attorney with ‎the Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq who has lost 60 of his relatives to Israeli bombing— said in Friday interview with Democracy Now! that "the American government is complicit in this genocide."

"There is blood of Palestinian children on their hands," he added. [Biden] said Israel is engaged in indiscriminate bombing. This is a war crime. So, the question is: Why do you then send weapons to Israel? The position of the U.S. is quite hypocritical."

BRETT WILKINS

Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams.

Tahreek-e-Taliban, a Bone of Contention in Taliban-Pakistan Relationship

Alwaght- While after Taliban's takeover of power in Afghanistan its relations were predicted to be intimate with Pakistan, the course of developments shows that the two neighbors are increasingly heading to confrontation. Amid escalating tensions between Kabul and Islamabad recently over security issues, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned that his country will not hesitate to attack positions of the armed groups in Afghanistan. Asked if Pakistan considered cross-border attacks on the warned groups in an interview published on Friday, Asif said that "if the need arises, nothing is more important than the sovereignty of Pakistan."

Asif asserted that Pakistan has to prioritize its interests. He added: "It is also a violation of international norms that Afghanistan's soil is used to export terrorism [to Pakistan] and that those responsible for this work are protected and given safe havens by those there."

He denied any possibility of talks with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, better known as Taliban of Pakistan, which is blacklisted by Islamabad as a terror group. He maintained that "what we are saying is that there should be a common ground to talk with them." Recently, the Pakistani army announced a new military operation called "Firm Resolve" aimed at curbing the escalation of violence.

Pakistan's warning for possible attacks on Afghanistan territories drew strong reaction from the Taliban officials in Kabul. In an X message, the spokesman to the defense ministry in the interim government Enayatullah Kharazmi said "Pakistan's leadership should not allow anyone to make such sensitive statements in important matters. Anyone who violates our borders under any circumstances will be responsible for the consequences." 

Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the interim government, had previously earlier said that the Taliban reject the claim of the presence of Tehrik-e-Taliban leaders in Afghanistan and "we will not allow anyone to use this country's soil against others, nor do we want war in Pakistan."

Who are Tehrik-e-Taliban? 

Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP) is a radical armed group supporting revocation of inclusion of tribal northwestern regions of Pakistan to the Kheyber Pakhtunkhawa province. The TTP is a coalition of militant networks formed in 2007 to unify opposed factions against the Pakistani army. Mollawi Nik Mohammad Wazir, of North Wazirestan, was first to lay the cornerstone of a militant group similar to Afghanistan’s Taliban in the tribal areas of Pakistan and swore allegiance to the Taliban leader Mullah Omar. That is why, in the eyes of many in Pakistan, the TTP is the Pakistani branch of the Taliban.

The TTP's stated goals include cutting off interference of Islamabad in the federally-administered tribal regions and the neighboring Kheyber Pakhtunkhawa province, precise application of sharia law across Pakistan, and expulsion of the coalition forces from Afghanistan. Its leaders also say that the group seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate in Pakistan, which would entail the overthrow of the Pakistani government. In order to implement these goals, this group has carried out numerous attacks including suicide bombings inside Pakistan. It is estimated that 8,000 to 12,000 members of the TTP group reside in Afghanistan, and their number reaches 30,000 along with their family members.

Islamabad accuses the armed groups active in Afghanistan of involvement in anti-Pakistani attacks. After takeover of power, Taliban provided safe haven to the TTP, says Pakistan, but Kabul has categorically rejected these claims. 

Over the past 2 years, relations between these two neighboring countries have worsened and their border crossings have been closed due to numerous border skirmishes. In March, Pakistan launched airstrikes inside Afghanistan in retaliation for the killing of 7 soldiers in an attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. 

In June 2022, the group struck a ceasefire deal with Islamabad, but earlier in September the same year, it ended the deal and resumed attacks across the country. So far, it has launched several terrorist attacks on various cities, killing dozens. 

The scale of Taliban government's sway over the TTP 

Although the extent of the Taliban's relationship with the TTP is unclear, the Taliban released several of the group's leaders from its prisons after taking control of Kabul. Pakistan considers the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan as a threat to its security and expected the terrorist groups to be curbed after Taliban's takeover, but in practice this did not happen and even because of the support of the Taliban, the TTP gained more power on the borders of the two countries and thus more motivation to confront the government of Pakistan in the hope of one day realizing its lofty aspiration of forming an Islamic Emirate in Islamabad. 

It seems that Haqqani Network terror group that controls the security affairs in Pakistan has friendly relations with the TTP and the common enemity to Pakistan appears to have put the two groups in a single front. However, the Taliban leadership in general is not interested in tensions with Pakistan due to the unstable economic and political conditions as it knows that clashes with Islamabad in these critical conditions will have heavy costs on Kabul. Despite international isolation, Pakistan has trade relations with Iran, China, and Pakistan and mostly with its southern neighbor Pakistan and so does not want to victimize its relations for the TTP. 

In such a situation, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan which finds Pakistan as a political supporter and trade partner seeks a solution to the conflict between Islamabad and the TTP. From another aspect, playing role of a mediation in negotiations helps the Taliban to steer clear of confrontation with the anti-Pakisteni groups in Afghanistan. 

The elements of TTP are Pashtuns and have a tribal relationship with Afghanistan’s Taliban with whom they fought against the American-led Western coalition in the past two decades, and for this reason, the leaders of the interim government do not want to turn their backs on these relations, because they are afraid that the militant group will turn its attacks on Afghanistan. 

Surur Niyazi, an expert of military affairs, in June last year told Tolo News network that "if the Taliban can broker dialogue between the Tehrik-e-Taliban and the government of Pakistan, this would be a good move." Asadullah Nadeem, an expert on military issues, also stated: "If someone or a faction is supposed to mediate between the government of Pakistan and the Pakistani Taliban, there is no group or faction more suitable than the Taliban. The interim government of the Taliban knows very well that supporting the Tehrik-e-Taliban will harm the bilateral relations with Islamabad and will double the sufferings of Afghanistan in case of border conflicts."

According to some observers, China due to its good relations with Pakistan and Afghanistan can play a significant role. The most active militant groups in Pakistan, ISIS-Khurasan and Baluchestan Liberation Army, all target Chinese nationals or interests. Many Chinese investment projects in Pakistan are particularly vulnerable to terrorism. The series of attacks that have targeted China's interests in Pakistan in recent years have pushed Beijing to repeatedly ask Islamabad to tighten its security measures.

Some observers believe that terrorist groups based in Pakistan are supported by the US intelligence to threaten the rival China's interests, because Beijing's extensive investments in Pakistan are in conflict with American global policies, and Washington is trying to implement its malicious plans by destabilizing the security conditions for the Chinese. 

The dim outlook of Doha negotiations 

Amid escalating border tensions, Islamabad and Kabul leaders are eyeing political dialogue to defuse the tensions. In this connection, Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday said that Pakistan intends to send a delegation for talks with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar on June 30. He added that the foreign ministry is planning travels of Pakistani officials to Kabul. He further held: "Afghanistan remains an important priority on our agenda. Make no mistake, our government has not ignored Afghanistan." 

Despite engagement in diplomatic talks in Doha, the experience of past years has shown that we should not set hopes on these talks since the new generation of the Taliban leaders no longer listens to Pakistan. The TTP, on the other hand, has shown that it is seeking an Islamic Emirate in parts of Pakistan and it will not forsake struggle until it realizes this goal. Therefore, finding a fundamental solution to the tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the short run looks unthinkable. Also, the heavy American-Chinese competition for dominance over the geopolitics of the region prevent insecurity from settling. 

'The World Must Not Stay Silent!': Fresh Israeli Bombings Amid Humanitarian Hellscape in Gaza

As the IDF stepped up attacks in Gaza City, one resident said, "We are being starved... with no hope that this war is ever ending."

JULIA CONLEY

Gazans, including children, walk past rubble and leaked sewage at Bureij camp after Israeli attacks in Deir al Balah, Gaza on June 20, 2024.

Residents of Gaza City's Shujayea neighborhood found themselves on Thursday among the main targets of new Israeli military operations, with thousands of people fleeing as they were "hunted by tanks and planes," as one Palestinian man told Reuters—even as Israel claimed the "intense" phase of the war was over.

Al Jazeera reported that the Israel Defense Forces targeted five residential homes in the Shujayea and Sabra neighborhoods in the early morning hours of Thursday, killing at least five people in the former area and three in the latter.

Evacuation orders from the IDF came about 30 minutes after the shelling began in Shujayea, according to Al Jazeera, with families rushing to move west after receiving text messages and leaflets from the military. The IDF published a map showing that certain blocks of the residential neighborhood were now part of a combat zone where tanks were moving in.

"We were suddenly and intensively bombarded by Israel," one man fleeing the area on foot told Al Jazeera. "We came out and we don't know where to go."

Artillery attacks were also reported in the Zeitoun, Hawa, and Sheikh Ijlin neighborhoods of Gaza City. Shujayea was a key target of the IDF in the first weeks of Israel's bombardment of Gaza last October.

As Israel claims to be drawing down its attacks while rejecting a permanent cease-fire agreement, "the world must not stay silent" about the ongoing assault on Gaza, said researcher and academic Nour Naim.

The Gaza Health Ministry reported Thursday that the people who were killed in Gaza City overnight were among 47 Palestinians killed across the enclave in the past 24 hours. Fifty-two people were reported wounded in the same time period—the latest of dozens each day who are taken to hospitals where doctors struggle to treat people with severely limited supplies due to continued humanitarian aid delays and blockades.

"There are moments when anesthesia is not available, but in order to save the lives of citizens, we resort to amputation, and this causes severe pain for the wounded," a surgeon at al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, toldAFP. "Every day, there are attacks that result in amputations of legs or arms for children, adults, and women."

Six people were killed overnight in an Israeli attack in Jabalia, northern Gaza, and an attack on a family home killed one person in the northern town of Beit Lahiya.

In southern Gaza, women and children were among those killed in an attack on a school where displaced people have been staying, and Israeli ground forces "systematically demolished residential buildings in the west of the city" of Rafah, Al Jazeera reported.

As the IDF has stepped up attacks in Gaza City and continued its bombardment of other areas across the enclave, doctors, humanitarian workers, and civilians described the realities of daily life in Gaza, where aid blockades and the disruption of sanitation services and water treatment have all contributed to "grim living conditions" and heightened health risks.

Joanne Perry, a doctor working with Doctors Without Borders (MSF), described to the Associated Press living conditions that have caused concern that a cholera outbreak could soon take hold.

"The crowded conditions, the lack of water, the heat, the poor sanitation—these are the preconditions of cholera," Perry told the AP.

Israeli attacks since October have destroyed Gaza's wastewater treatment plants, water desalination plants, sewage pumping facilities, and wells, and have killed government workers who have tried to repair the infrastructure, leading Palestinians to rely on contaminated and "salty" water.

"We found worms in the water. I had been drinking from it," 21-year-old Adel Dalloul told the AP. "It was salty, polluted, and full of germs... I had gastrointestinal problems and diarrhea, and my stomach hurts until this moment."

The World Health Organization has reported 485,000 cases of diarrhea—the third-leading cause of death in young children worldwide—since October, and has warned of at least one outbreak of Hepatitis A, which is spread through the consumption of water and food contaminated with fecal matter.

A mother of six in Khan Younis told Reuters that her family is relying on a charity kitchen's daily visits to their U.N.-run shelter, as 12 million pounds of food aid and other supplies have been held up since June 9, according to U.S. officials.

"If the charity kitchen did not come here for one day, we would wonder about what we will eat that day," Umm Feisal Abu Nqera told Reuters. "We are living the worst days of our lives in terms of famine and deprivation... Today, your son looks at you and you bleed from within, because you cannot provide him with his most basic rights and the simplest needs for his life."

A girl died of malnutrition on Thursday at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, bringing the official death toll from malnutrition and dehydration among children to 31.

"We are being starved in Gaza City," 25-year-old Mohammad Jamal toldReuters as the renewed Israeli offensive took hold, "with no hope that this war is ever ending."

JULIA CONLEY

Julia Conley is a staff writer for Common Dreams.

How Many More Massacres Must We Palestinians Endure Here in Gaza?

We want to live. As we mourn the lives lost, we think about how much worse it has to get before the world finally says enough is enough.

HAYA ISMAIL

Relatives of Palestinians, who died after the Israeli strike hit the Nuseirat refugee camp, mourns over the dead body of a beloved one after being brought to the morgue of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al Balah, Gaza on June 18, 2024.

Al Nuseirat refugee camp is in the middle of the Gaza Strip, where Mediterranean waves brush up against one of our urban centers of life. Even before the Israeli invasion forced many to shelter there, causing Al Nuseirat to expand to a breaking point, the camp was already crowded with people just trying to survive. It is a camp full of children, who wander the open-air markets in the morning looking for food and trying to create a semblance of joy through play against the backdrop of rubble.

But in the blink of an eye, Israel turned Al Nuseirat refugee camp into another living hell for its young civilian population. The dreadful roaring sounds of raining missiles and bullets reached far outside of the camp, signaling yet another air raid. This one, we would soon learn, was targeting the perimeter of Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital in Deir Al Balah. Could the hospital withstand another influx of injured people fighting for their lives? Would the ambulances even be able to reach them?

We Palestinians don't stop asking ourselves where to go next, and we are running out of options.

The doctors working at Shuhada al-Aqsa—intimately aware of the Al Shifa hospital massacre—were terrified that history could repeat itself in one of the last functioning medical centers in the Gaza Strip. Just like at Al Shifa, Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital had become a refuge for not only patients, but also for the many who had found shelter there, tents pitched in the hospital yard. The hospital grounds were crowded with people, including journalists—they emptied out in seconds just as Israel was about to bomb one of the tents. It was one of the last "safe" places in Gaza.

We Palestinians don't stop asking ourselves where to go next, and we are running out of options.

Central Gaza has endured relentless airstrikes, ground bombardment, and naval assaults—countless civilians lost in the streets because they didn't know where to go in the so-called "safe zone." They had evacuated to camps like Al Nuseirat after Israel started targeting Rafah, the previous "safe zone." However tired, sick, and angry we are, we still go from one "safe zone" to the next and back again—because we want to be safe and we want our families to be safe.

We want to live.

It adds insult to injury that influential governments are trying to frame this operation—this massacre against a refugee camp—as a "rescue mission."

Some Israeli forces entered Al Nuseirat camp under the disguise of a U.S. aid truck, after the U.S. built a humanitarian pier to provide basic aid to Gaza. It is hard enough to know that the U.S. is supporting Israel's military attacks against us by sending them funds and weapons. And it is harder still to see "humanitarian" infrastructure used to enact massacres in which the U.S. is complicit. In this way, even the international health sector is sustaining and profiting from the genocide in Gaza.

It adds insult to injury that influential governments are trying to frame this operation—this massacre against a refugee camp—as a "rescue mission." Murdering more than 270 displaced and innocent people living in unthinkable conditions can never justify a rescue mission. Such could have been achieved instead by accepting ceasefire resolutions linked to reasonable demands.

We often wonder: how many more people will be murdered before Israel feels it has defeated us enough to feel victorious? The Israeli attack on Al Nuseirat happened in an instant, killing some 270 people and injuring at least 700 more in about an hour. The local market was instantly turned into a graveyard with bodies and body parts strewn across the pavement. They were murdered in cold blood.

Mohammed Jehad, a civil engineer working for UNRWA, was servicing the displacement shelters when the attack occurred. "It suddenly got dark under the sun of broad daylight," he recalled. "I saw nothing but blood on the ground after tens of missiles were dropped over the space of a kilometer and buildings were smashed to the ground over the heads of the families living inside."

We often wonder: how many more people will be murdered before Israel feels it has defeated us enough to feel victorious?

When the tanks started approaching, the people of Al Nuseirat ran in opposite directions, staying low to the ground in an attempt to escape the Apache and quadcopters that hovered overhead. But they soon realized that they were encircled by Israeli forces. Mohammed was among those trapped in the area. "I was moving away from the tanks, but then two missiles dropped in the middle of the street," he explained, adding, "people fell dead and injured all around me. It was the worst thing I have ever experienced and I still can't believe I am alive."

The forces finally retreated, leaving nothing but carnage in their wake. And the people of Al Nuseirat loaded their injured and dead loved ones onto donkey carts, bound for Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital. Here in Gaza, we are all broken and we are all martyrs to be. As we mourn the lives lost, we think about how much worse it has to get before the world finally says enough is enough. How many more people must die? How many more children have to lose their mothers, fathers, and body parts? How many more hospitals need to be turned into killing fields?

How many more massacres must we endure?

HAYA ISMAIL

Haya Ismail is a young Palestinian writer and English literature student in Gaza. Throughout her lifetime she has been involved in many programs, clubs, courses, and initiatives. She is an Access program alumni who hopes to grow her writing skills into a career. Haya and her family have been displaced several times in Israel's current round of attacks on the Gaza Strip, which have also destroyed her university. She is determined to continue writing to add to the voice of her beloved Palestine and its people.

Trump-Biden Debate: US A Third World Nation, Biden Could Be Convicted!

By Al Ahed Staff, Agencies

Former President Donald Trump warned the current President Joe Biden that he could be criminally prosecuted in the future.

During a televised debate on Thursday, the two rivals for the 2024 presidential election faced off in Atlanta, Georgia.

During the CNN-moderated debate, Trump was asked about his past statements, in which he indicated that he would prosecute Biden if he wins the election in November.

Trump first brought up how a jury recently found the president’s son, Hunter Biden, guilty of violating federal gun laws when he bought a revolver in 2018, while struggling with drug addiction.

“His son is a convicted felon at a very high level. His son is convicted, going to be convicted probably numerous other times,” Trump said. He then switched to Biden, saying: “But he could be a convicted felon as soon as he gets out of office. Joe could be a convicted felon with all of the things that he’s done. He’s done horrible things.”

Trump leveled numerous accusations against his opponent during the 90-minute clash, sharply criticizing Biden’s policies on the economy and immigration, as well as his response to the Ukraine conflict and the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. Biden defended his record as president, arguing that Trump had left the country “in chaos.”

Biden attacked Trump for his own troubles with the law. “Only one of us is a convicted felon, and I’m looking at him,” the 46th president said, referring to this month’s jury verdict, in which Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Biden also noted that Trump is currently being investigated for other crimes, and that in January he lost a civil lawsuit to columnist E. Jean Carroll, who accused the former president of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s. “The crimes you are still charged with — and think of all the civil penalties you have,” Biden said.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and maintains that all cases against him are part of a politically motivated “witch hunt”. On the debate stage, he again accused Biden of “going after his political opponent.”

On the campaign trail, Trump has promised “a judgment day” for his opponents if he gets reelected.

In parallel, Trump accused Joe Biden has squandered America’s reputation on the world stage.

Trump tore into Biden early in the televised encounter, accusing the US president of wrecking the economy, triggering the migration crisis at the southern border, and “going after his political opponent.”

He also argued that Biden mishandled the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. Such policy failures damage America’s global brand, he argued.

“Throughout the entire world, we are no longer respected as a country,” Trump said during the debate hosted by CNN. “They don’t respect our leadership, they don’t respect the United States anymore… We’ve become like a third-world nation.”

Biden defended his record as president, while insisting that Trump responded poorly to the Covid-19 pandemic and that his tax reform only “benefited the wealthy.”

 “The economy collapsed, there were no jobs. The unemployment rose to 15%,” Biden said of his opponent’s term in office. Trump left the country “in chaos,” he added, arguing that the current administration has been successfully rebuild.