Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

UN Secretary-General warns of “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza

The situation in Gaza

Published 1 November 2024
– By Editorial Staff
The UN Secretary-General also praises the resilience of the Palestinians.
2 minute read

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns that Israel could carry out a full-scale “ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinian population in Gaza unless the international community comes together to stop it.

The UN chief’s appeal comes shortly after Israel’s bombing of northern Gaza intensified, with a growing number of actors accusing Israel of seeking to expel the remaining Palestinian population from the area.

At the same time, aid deliveries to Gaza are reported to have fallen to their lowest levels since the beginning of the war – and Israel has been repeatedly accused of not letting aid through, leading to starvation and the spread of untreated diseases.

Speaking at the ongoing COP16 conference in Colombia, the UN Secretary-General suggested that a full “ethnic cleansing” of Gaza has so far been prevented, partly because parts of the local population have refused to obey Israel’s orders to leave their homes, but also because neighboring Arab countries have so far not accepted any mass displacement of the Palestinian population either.

– The intention might be for the Palestinians to leave Gaza, for others to occupy it. But there has been – and I pay tribute to the courage and the resilience of the Palestinian people and to the determination of the Arab world – [an effort] to avoid the ethnic cleansing becoming a reality, said Guterres.

– We will do everything possible to help them remain there and to avoid ethnic cleansing that might occur if there is not strong determination from the international community, he continued.

Bombing hospitals and apartment buildings

Many observers and political leaders believe that ethnic cleansing is already taking place in Gaza – although Israel denies that it is systematically trying to force Palestinians out.

As recently as Tuesday, France and several other countries condemned the Israeli bombings, including of an apartment building in Beit Lahiya, where many children were among the 93 dead, and called for an immediate end to the siege of northern Gaza.

Even Israel’s key ally the US called the attack a “a horrifying incident with a horrifying result” – but Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, let it be known that IDF troops will “continue exerting as much [military] pressure on Hamas as possible” to free the hostages.

Israel has consistently claimed that it only attacks militant targets, and that the reason hospitals, schools and aid centers are being bombed, and women and children killed by the tens of thousands, is because Hamas is allegedly hiding among them and using them as human shields. It has also accused the UN of being an anti-Jewish “terrorist organization”.

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Swedish doctor in Gaza: “A haze of blood”

The situation in Gaza

Published yesterday 12:02
– By Editorial Staff
2 minute read

Foreign journalists are not allowed to enter Gaza, but continued reports are coming from healthcare workers about a catastrophic humanitarian situation. Swedish doctor Märit Halmin is one of 300 reportedly working at a field hospital and entered with a UN convoy.

It becomes like a haze of blood, gunshot wounds, explosion injuries, amputations, she says.

I don’t really have words to describe it, I had followed the news reporting before I came here and thought I would be prepared but it’s so terrible, she tells Swedish public radio P1.

When I entered Gaza and was driven here it was almost like a moonscape, there are no buildings. There are just piles of rubble and debris, dust and sand from destroyed concrete. Everything is destroyed, she recounts.

“Bizarre and brutal injuries”

Halmin has previously been deployed in Yemen and Syria, but says the proportions in Gaza are completely different with masses of injured civilians streaming in with very severe injuries.

I can’t even distinguish the individual patients because there are so many coming in with such bizarre and brutal injuries. It becomes like a haze of blood, gunshot wounds, explosion injuries, amputations, she says.

Help exists – but doesn’t get in

The doctor reports that there is a shortage of all types of resources, where the field hospitals have to improvise extensively and assist each other with the equipment they have, and she states that even her healthcare colleagues are severely malnourished.

I think the main problem right now is perhaps not that too little help is being sent but that somehow there’s a silent acceptance that the help doesn’t get in because of the blockade that exists against Gaza.

US approves $510 million weapons sale to Israel

The situation in Gaza

Published 1 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Crew aboard USS John C. Stennis prepares to move MK-82/BLU 111 bombs.
1 minute read

The United States has approved a $510 million weapons sale to Israel, including thousands of bomb guidance systems, the Pentagon announces. The deliveries come as Israel faces repeated accusations of committing genocide in Gaza, partially carried out using American bombs.

In a statement, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the sale includes 3,845 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance systems and additional guidance systems for the MK 82 bomb.

“The United States is committed to the security of Israel”, the DSCA stated, adding that the sale “is vital to US national interests”.

The prime contractor is Boeing, based in St. Charles, Missouri.

The deal comes at a time of increased international scrutiny of US military support for Israel, as civilian casualties in Gaza continue to rise due to Israeli bombing campaigns.

Priest in West Bank’s last Christian village: “We live under constant fire from settlers”

The situation in Gaza

Published 29 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Today, Taybeh has approximately 1,300 inhabitants, and the village has maintained a Christian presence for at least 1,500 years.
3 minute read

Violence is escalating in the West Bank – including in Taybeh, the very last entirely Christian village in the region. Here, residents have experienced firsthand how extreme Jewish settlers are intensifying their attacks against Palestinian communities in the area.

– We live under constant fire from settlers, and under the crossfire of the Israeli occupation army, says Bashar Fawadleh to AsiaNews.

Fawadleh has been the parish priest at the Church of the Redeemer, which belongs to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, since 2021. He reports that the violence has forced more than ten Christian families to leave Taybeh since October 2024.

Taybeh, with approximately 1,300 residents, is located about 30 kilometers north of Jerusalem and 15 kilometers northeast of Ramallah in the West Bank. The village is surrounded by both Palestinian communities and several Jewish settlements. During the past week, residents, both Latin Catholic and Greek Orthodox, have experienced an escalation in attacks.

On Tuesday, June 25, dozens of masked settlers attacked the nearby village of Kafr Malik. According to journalist Ihab Hassan, the attack was carried out with support from the Israeli army. The settlers reportedly shot at civilians and set fire to cars and houses – three people were killed and nine were injured, one seriously.

Refuse to abandon their homes

Parish priest Fawadleh describes the situation in the village as desperate. In a statement to news agency ACIMENA, he says:

– Yesterday (Wednesday) evening, settlers attacked homes in the Karamelo roundabout, an area at the eastern entrance to the village

– The incident coincided with an attack by dozens of settlers on the village of Kafr Malik, which is near us, and which led to the death of three martyrs and the burning of many vehicles and homes.

Despite the violence, he says Taybeh’s residents refuse to yield or abandon their homes:

– We are living in very difficult conditions, but we are not afraid to remain in our land. We are not afraid of those who kill. We are a people who love our land and will never abandon it.

Aim to ethnically cleanse the area

The situation in the West Bank has been unstable since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, and settler attacks have escalated in recent months. According to analysts, extremist Jewish settler groups are trying to drive out both Muslims and Christians from areas they consider “the promised land”.

At the same time, radical settlers have gained political strength. Through their influence in the government – particularly via the Jewish Power and Religious Zionist parties – their agenda has gained increased traction.

Both parties are part of the coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu and have pushed for expansion of settlements, increased arming of settlers, and a tougher stance against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Recently, The Nordic Times reported how Jewish settlers near the Gaza border openly advocate for ethnic cleansing, wanting all Palestinians to be expelled – so they can take over the area themselves.

IDF soldiers admit: We kill hungry civilians every day

The situation in Gaza

Published 29 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Israeli soldiers testify about how they use mortars and machine guns on a daily basis to fire upon desperate and starving Palestinians.
3 minute read

Israel’s military handling of aid distribution in Gaza has long been condemned internationally. Now, several Israeli soldiers testify about how they are ordered, on a daily basis, to open fire on and kill unarmed and hungry Palestinians attempting to reach food distributions – despite these individuals posing no threat.

– It’s a killing field. Where I was stationed there, between one and five people were killed every day. They’re treated like a hostile force – no crowd-control measures, no tear gas – just live fire with everything imaginable: heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars. Then, once the center opens, the shooting stops, and they know they can approach. Our form of communication is gunfire, a soldier tells the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

– We open fire early in the morning if someone tries to get in line from a few hundred meters away, and sometimes we just charge at them from close range. But there’s no danger to the forces. I’m not aware of a single instance of return fire. There’s no enemy, no weapons, he continues.

The soldier describes the situation as a deadly version of the children’s game “Red Light, Green Light,” and his account of the Israeli military systematically executing hungry civilians is corroborated by other soldiers.

– Firing mortars to keep hungry people away is neither professional nor humane. I know there are Hamas operatives among them, but there are also people who simply want to receive aid, explains another soldier.

– It’s become a place with its own set of rules. The loss of human life means nothing. It’s not even an ‘unfortunate incident’, as the IDF used to say.

Palestinian authorities: 549 killed

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 549 people have been killed and 4,000 injured since May 27 while trying to receive humanitarian aid at Gaza Humanitarian Foundations (GHF) distribution sites or waiting for UN food convoys. These figures have not been independently verified.

An analysis of reports from Gaza between May 27 and June 24, conducted by The Times of Israel, shows that at least 19 shooting incidents related to aid distribution occurred during this period. In most of these cases, the IDF has admitted to opening fire but described it as “warning shots” against people who came too close to soldiers or tried to enter when the sites were closed.

The repeated mass casualty incidents were recently discussed at a meeting within the Israeli defense establishment, according to Haaretz. Representatives from the Military Advocate General’s Office (MAG) and the IDF Southern Command were among the participants.

According to meeting reports, MAG representatives expressed serious concern about the international outcry over the killing of civilians at aid distribution sites. The Southern Command defended itself by claiming these were isolated incidents and that fire was only opened on Palestinians who posed a threat.

“Dozens killed every day”

But the MAG representatives disagreed, according to a source who attended the meeting.

– The claim that these are isolated cases doesn’t align with incidents in which grenades were dropped from the air and mortars and artillery were fired at civilians, a MAG representative reportedly said.

– This isn’t about a few people being killed – we’re talking about dozens of casualties every day.

In response to the criticism, the Israeli military stated that they don’t deny anything in the reporting. However, they claim that Hamas is trying to sabotage the aid operations.

According to Haaretz, the IDF Military Advocate General has this week formally instructed a special investigation unit to investigate possible war crimes in connection with the Israeli attacks.

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