Friday, May 30, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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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European diplomats forced to flee Israeli shelling

The situation in Gaza

Published 23 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Stock image - Israeli snipers in the West Bank.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has demanded that those responsible be “held accountable” after Israeli soldiers opened fire near a diplomatic delegation during a recent visit to the Palestinian city of Jenin in the West Bank, with several EU countries now demanding immediate explanations from Israel.

The delegation, which according to the Palestinian Authority included diplomats from the EU, France, Britain, Italy, Canada, Russia, China, Denmark, and other countries, had visited a refugee camp in Jenin when several shots were fired. No one was injured, but video footage shows delegates being forced to flee and seek shelter during the shooting.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry claims that the delegation left an “approved route” and was in an area where they “were not authorized to be”. The statement on social media claims that the soldiers fired “warning shots” to disperse the group.

Critics, however, are skeptical of the explanation and that it would be reasonable or proportionate to start shooting at a group of diplomats instead of trying to communicate with them.

– Any threats on diplomats’ lives are unacceptable, Kallas said at a press conference on Wednesday. She emphasized that even so-called warning shots are considered gunfire and that those responsible must be “held accountable”.

“Unprovoked” attack

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) say they regret the incident and are launching an investigation. They promise to inform the countries concerned of the results, but at the same time do not acknowledge that their actions were wrong.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed that a French diplomat was at the scene:

– A visit to Jenin, in which one of our diplomats was participating, was fired upon by Israeli soldiers. This is unacceptable, he said, announcing that Israel’s ambassador in Paris had been summoned for talks.

The German Foreign Ministry also reacted sharply:

– It was a matter of luck that nothing worse had happened, they wrote in a statement describing the shots fired by Israeli soldiers as “unprovoked”. Minister Johann Wadephul has spoken with diplomats on the ground and is demanding an explanation from his Israeli counterpart.

Demanding “convincing explanations”

Belgium’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Maxime Prévot, confirmed that a Belgian diplomat was also in the group.

– Fortunately, he is all right. Belgium demands convincing explanations from Israel, he said.

A spokesman for the Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry called the incident a “heinous crime” and accused Israeli forces of deliberately firing live ammunition at an accredited international delegation.

Images of the incident, published by the Palestinian Authority, show chaotic scenes with delegates running in panic while shots are heard in the background.

Belgium’s aid office bombed

The incident occurred just one day after Kallas announced that the EU would review its association agreement with Israel – an agreement governing political and economic cooperation – citing Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the humanitarian catastrophe that followed in its wake.

Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, wrote on social media that he too had summoned Israel’s ambassador to Rome to demand official clarification about the shooting in Jenin.

During Israel’s invasion and bombing of Gaza, a large number of journalists, photographers, aid workers, and UN personnel have been killed without any major consequences.

However, European diplomats and government officials have so far been relatively spared from the violence – even though the Israeli army bombed Belgium’s development aid office as recently as February this year. As far as is known, this incident did not lead to any significant consequences either.

Sources: US wants to expel Palestinians to Libya

The situation in Gaza

Published 18 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The US advises its own citizens against traveling to Libya - but at the same time, according to sources, it wants around one million Palestinians to be deported there.

According to multiple sources speaking to NBC News, Donald Trump’s administration is currently working on a plan to permanently relocate up to one million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya. However, the White House dismisses the claims as false and denies that any such plans exist at present.

The administration of former US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering permanently relocating up to one million Palestinians from Gaza to Libya, NBC News reports, citing informed sources. The White House denies that any such plan exists.

Since taking office in January, Trump has repeatedly said the US is ready to take control of Gaza and turn the area into a “Riviera of the Middle East”. However, the proposals have faced strong opposition from other countries in the region, who argue that they violate international law, threaten regional stability and undermine the right of Palestinians to remain on their ancestral land.

According to NBC’s sources, the White House is now “seriously” considering a proposal to relocate about half of Gaza’s population to Libya. In exchange for Libya agreeing to take in the Palestinians, the US is reportedly prepared to release about $30 billion in Libyan assets that were frozen more than a decade ago.

NBC says talks have already been held with the Libyan leadership, but it is not clear which of the country’s rival governments has been involved in the discussions.

Civil war and chaos

Libya has been in a state of chaos since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011. Today, the country is divided between two rival power centers: the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) and the UN-backed Stability Support Apparatus (SSA) based in Tobruk.

Notably, the leader of the SSA, Abdulghani al-Kikli – also known as “Ghaniwa” – was killed just last Monday, sparking violent clashes in the capital. The US State Department today advised its own citizens against traveling to Libya at all because of “due to crime, terrorism, unexploded landmines, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict“.

The sources also state that Israel has been informed about the discussions between the US and Libya. However, no final agreement on a possible relocation of Palestinians has been reached yet and details on how or when such a plan could be implemented are described as “murky”.

A Trump administration spokesperson rejects the NBC reports as “untrue” and stressed that “situation on the ground (in Libya) is untenable for such a plan. Such a plan was not discussed and makes no sense”.

Trump wants to make Gaza an American “freedom zone”

The situation in Gaza

Published 15 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Many Palestinians are very hostile to the idea of Israel's main ally taking control of their homes.

Donald Trump has once again proposed that the US take control of the Gaza Strip and turn the entire area into a “freedom zone”.

However, what this would mean in practice for the population is highly unclear, and Palestinian activists emphasize that they have no interest in coming under US sovereignty.

During a visit to Doha, Qatar, Donald Trump reiterated his vision of the US “taking over” the Gaza Strip and creating a so-called freedom zone.

The statement comes in the middle of a regional tour and follows earlier heavily criticized proposals to transform Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East by moving the Palestinian population to neighboring countries and replacing them with “people from all over the world”.

– We are working very hard on Gaza and Gaza has been a territory of death and destruction, the president proclaimed, continuing:

– I’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone.

Israel’s most important ally

He did not clarify exactly what a “freedom zone” means, nor has Trump previously provided details on how a relocation or reconstruction of Gaza would be carried out.

Qatar and Egypt, which are mediating in the war between Israel and Hamas, have seen peace negotiations stall in recent months, as large-scale displacement of Palestinians is rejected not only by the Palestinians themselves, but also by many Arab states.

Trump’s proposal raises questions about whether the people of Gaza have any interest in breaking Israeli occupation under American control. Since the outbreak of the war, over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed and most of the infrastructure destroyed, according to the UN. Many more have been injured or are missing under the rubble, and more and more voices are describing the situation as ongoing genocide.

Many Palestinian activists and outside observers point out that the US supports and has enabled Israel’s invasion, bombings, and war crimes, and that from a Palestinian perspective, it is hardly desirable for Israel’s closest ally, the US, to take control of the area.

Others emphasize that the Palestinian people want and have the right to independence and self-determination and to rule over their own territory without having to submit to either Israel or the US.

Journalist asked critical questions about Israel – banned from Eurovision

The situation in Gaza

Published 15 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Journalist Szymon Stellmaszyk, banned from Eurovision 2025.

Polish journalist Szymon Stellmaszyk has been denied accreditation for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Basel. He believes this is due to a critical question he asked Israeli artist Eden Golan last year – something the EBU denies.

Szymon Stellmaszyk has covered the Eurovision Song Contest for 20 years and runs both the Facebook page “Let’s talk about ESC” and the industry website “Radio Newsletter”. This year, for the first time, he has been denied accreditation to cover the contest in Basel.

The background, according to Stellmaszyk himself, is a critical question he asked Israel’s contestant, Eden Golan, during Eurovision in Malmö last year. He asked whether Golan, given the political situation and the war in Gaza, thought her presence could pose a security risk to other participants and the audience.

The question attracted attention and was criticized by some, but Stellmaszyk emphasizes that it was not intended to be offensive or “anti-Semitic”. In an email to Stellmaszyk, which the Swedish state broadcaster SVT has seen, the EBU justifies its decision by saying that the platforms Stellmaszyk uses do not have sufficient reach.

“Restriction”

Szymon Stellmaszyk himself is convinced that the EBU is making excuses and that it is in fact about the question he asked last year.

– This is some kind of revenge and, in practice, a restriction of freedom of expression, he says.

It should also be noted that this year’s EBU media handbook contains a new rule stating that published content must be “respectful” towards Eurovision and the EBU. Eurovision boss Martin Green says the wording is unfortunate and promises that it will be reworded for next year.

At the same time, he does not want to comment on individual cases, but points out that there are a limited number of places for journalists.

The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 will be held in Basel, Switzerland.

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