Friday, May 9, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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Israel bombs refugee camps – many dead

The situation in Gaza

Published 3 November 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Photos taken shortly after the attack.

Jabalia, Gaza’s largest refugee camp, has been bombed by Israel with the stated purpose of killing one of Hamas’s top commanders. A large number of civilians were killed in the attack and several countries are now condemning Israel’s ruthless attacks.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and foreign correspondents on the scene, at least 50 people have been killed and hundreds injured in the bombings of the refugee camp. However, Israel maintains that it is doing what it can to minimize civilian casualties.

The primary target was Ibrahim Biari, a senior commander within Hamas, who is said to have been involved in planning the bloody attack against Israel on October 7th. Biari and “dozens” of Palestinian fighters are reported to have been killed in the bombings according to the IDF, but they do not wish to comment on the number of civilians who lost their lives at the same time.

– We do not yet know how many non-combatants were killed, says Jonathan Conricus, a spokesperson for the IDF in a statement.

Uncertain death toll

In Jabalia, a very large number of Palestinian refugees live in multi-story buildings, and several of these were completely destroyed during the bombings. Video clips spreading on social media show dead men, women, and children being pulled from the ruins.

According to a nearby hospital, the figures of 50 killed are considerably understated, and they report having received over 120 bodies following the bombings.

The bombings have led several countries to condemn Israel’s actions – including Bolivia, Chile, and Colombia, which are now choosing to recall their ambassadors.

“I have decided to recall our ambassador to Israel for consultations. If Israel does not stop the massacre of the Palestinian people, we cannot be there”, comments Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro.

Bombing refugees

Meanwhile, a BBC investigation has revealed that the Israeli army, the IDF, has on multiple occasions bombed the areas to which they had previously directed the civilian population to flee.

For instance, on October 8th, Palestinian civilians were advised to move to Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip – but just two days later, extensive bombings of the city were carried out, and several buildings were completely destroyed.

The same thing happened in the city of Rafah, to which civilians were urged to flee – but whose central parts were bombed the following day. The channel points out that a number of similar attacks have been conducted by the Israeli military.

Warning for graphic images below.

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Smotrich: “We will finally occupy the Gaza Strip”

The situation in Gaza

Published 6 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Bezalel Smotrich has long advocated for the permanent Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and the re-establishment of Israeli settlements in the area.

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Monday that the country intends to occupy the entire Gaza Strip. At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the planned expansion of the offensive against the area.

We will stop being afraid of the word ‘occupation’, declared Smothrich.

On Monday, Israel’s security cabinet unanimously approved a plan to expand the military operation in Gaza, which, according to government officials, means a de facto occupation of the entire Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands of reservists have been called up for the operation.

We are finally going to occupy the Gaza Strip. We will stop being afraid of the word ‘occupation’, said the Finance Minister and Religious Zionist Party leader during a conference organized by B’Sheva newspaper.

Prime Minister Netanyahu described the operation as “intensive” and stressed that Israel will not withdraw from areas taken under its control.

– Once the new offensive is launched, Israel will not withdraw from conquered territories. The intention is the opposite of that, said Netanyahu in a video clip on X.

Opposition: It’s about saving Netanyahu

Netanyahu added that Gaza’s civilian population will be moved south “for its own protection” as part of the plan.

The decision has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition and relatives of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. Many accuse the government of prioritizing territorial gains over human lives.

– The cabinet decided last night to expand the military operation inside the Gaza Strip – not to maintain Israel’s security, but to save Netanyahu and the extremist government, opposition leader Yair Golan wrote on X.

May constitute genocide

Plans to forcibly displace civilians in Gaza raise questions of international law. According to the UN Genocide Convention, the forcible transfer of a protected group with the intent to destroy it in whole or in part may constitute genocide.

Also under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), such displacement can count as a crime against humanity.

Palestinian documentary filmmaker killed in airstrike – film to be shown in Cannes

The situation in Gaza

Published 24 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Fatima Hassouna also lost 10 family members in the Israeli attack - including a pregnant sister, according to local sources.

Palestinian photojournalist and documentary filmmaker Fatima Hassouna was killed last week in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, just days after her film was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. The incident has attracted international attention and highlights the dangers for media workers in conflict zones.

Hassouna, 25, was killed on April 16 in an airstrike on her home in the Al-Touffah neighborhood of Gaza City, reports The Independent.

The Cannes Film Festival announced just 24 hours before the attack that the documentary Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, which features Hassouna, had been selected for screening in ACID – a parallel section of the film festival that highlights independent filmmakers.

The film, directed by Iranian-Swedish Sepideh Farsi, is based on months of video conversations between the two women, in which Hassouna talks about everyday life during the war. The ACID section describes the film as an intimate portrayal of life in Gaza and a testimony from a civilian voice in the midst of the conflict.

According to local sources, ten family members also died during the attack, including a pregnant sister, while Hassouna’s parents were severely injured but survived. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed the deaths the day after the attack.

IDF: Attack targeted Hamas member

The Israel Defense Forces has stated that the attack was directed against a suspected Hamas member, but critics question the claim and say that the attack hit civilians with no connection to military targets. Director Sepideh Farsi has commented on the IDF’s claim, calling the information “nonsense”.

Fatima Hassouna worked as a freelance photographer, documenting the impact of war on the civilian population. She posted pictures and stories of everyday life on social media, including children playing among ruins and families losing their homes.

– If I die, I want a loud death. I don’t want to be just breaking news, or a number in a group, I want a death that the world will hear, an impact that will remain through time, and a timeless image that cannot be buried by time or place, she wrote in a post on Instagram in August 2024.

After her death, the statement was widely circulated and provoked strong reactions.

Hundreds of journalists killed in the war

UNESCO and several press freedom organizations have condemned the attack, and have long warned of the increasing risk to journalists in Gaza. According to data from Reporters Without Borders, more than 200 journalists have been killed in the region since October 2023.

The film Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk has already attracted international interest. ACID announced that it also plans to show Hassouna’s photographs at the festival in May as a tribute to her work.

Fatima Hassouna’s fate has come to symbolize the high price paid by many civilians and media workers in conflict-affected areas.

Last working Gaza hospital bombed by Israel

The situation in Gaza

Published 14 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The IDF attacks in Gaza are growing in strength (archive photo).

Al-Ahli hospital in northern Gaza was bombed early Sunday in an Israeli airstrike as part of the further intensification of the military campaign in Gaza. The Israeli military (IDF) justifies the bombing of the hospital on the grounds that it was used by Hamas to plan attacks.

The head of Al-Ahli hospital, Dr. Fadel Naim, says they were warned of the attack before it took place. In a post on X, he writes that the emergency room, pharmacy and surrounding buildings were severely damaged, affecting more than 100 patients and dozens of doctors.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that one child died during the evacuation due to the interruption of care. The organization’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stresses that hospitals are protected under international law and that attacks on health care must stop.

Israel’s defense minister has announced that military activity will be rapidly increased across Gaza, and that people are being urged to evacuate from what it describes as “combat zones”. Israel has also promised to pressure Hamas to release remaining hostages.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed so far in the Israeli military offensive, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza. Most of the dead are reported to be women and children.

UN: 15 health workers murdered by Israeli military

The situation in Gaza

Published 1 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The bodies from the mass graves are collected.

The UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, warns that at least 15 Palestinian health and rescue workers associated with the Red Crescent Society and Civil Defense have been murdered by the Israeli army.

According to Jonathan Whithall, OCHA’s head of Palestine, the staff were killed “one by one” – and then thrown into a mass grave.

The incident occurred on March 23 during a rescue operation in the Tel al-Sultan district in the context of an ongoing Israeli offensive. The rescue workers were on site to evacuate colleagues previously injured in a firefight when their clearly marked ambulances and civil defense vehicles were suddenly fired upon.

A representative of the Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said at least one of the dead was found with his hands tied indicating that he was first captured before being executed, reports The Guardian.

– One by one, were hit, they were struck. Their bodies were gathered and buried in this mass grave. We’re digging them out in their uniforms, with their gloves on. They were here to save lives. Instead, they ended up in a mass grave, Whithall said in a video clip posted on X, which was recorded for documentation purposes as the bodies were unearthed.

IDF: “Moved suspiciously”

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN refugee agency UNRWA, also confirmed that one of his employees was among the victims.

– The body of our colleague killed in Rafah was retrieved yesterday, together with the aid workers from – all of them discarded in shallow graves – a profound violation of human dignity.

The Israeli military states in a “preliminary investigation” that it opened fire on several vehicles that were “advancing suspiciously toward IDF troops without headlights or emergency signals”. It further claims that the vehicles were in an “active combat zone” without first coordinating their activities with Israeli authorities.

According to the PRCS, an ambulance was first dispatched to take casualties of an Israeli airstrike to hospital. The first ambulance also arrived at the hospital, but it lost contact with the second ambulance and was alerted that it had been fired upon and that two medical workers had been killed.

A convoy of five vehicles was then sent to the scene including ambulances and civil defense vehicles, as well as two cars from the Ministry of Health to collect the bodies. However, these vehicles were also fired upon and in total, eight Red Crescent staff, six civil defense personnel and one UN staff member were reportedly killed.

Emergency buried under the sand

– The available information indicates that the first team was killed by Israeli forces on 23 March, and that other emergency and aid crews were struck one after another over several hours as they searched for their missing colleagues, comments Jens Laerke, spokesperson for OCHA, in Geneva.

– They were buried under the sand, alongside their wrecked emergency vehicles – clearly marked ambulances, a fire truck and a UN car, he continues.

Since the invasion and bombing of Gaza began following Hamas attacks in October 2023, at least 408 aid workers are reported to have been killed at least 280 of whom were working for the refugee agency UNRWA. More than 200 journalists have also lost their lives more than in any other conflict in modern times.

Criticism of the Israeli killings has been very harsh from many parts of the world. However, the country’s military usually defends itself by claiming that the journalists or aid workers killed were in fact either terrorists and thus legitimate targets, or that they were killed by mistake while in a combat zone.

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