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Category: Human Rights

  • Israel’s educide in Gaza sees academics forced to sleep in cemeteries with their children

    In the heart of a cemetery in Khan Yunis, Dr Raghad Hamad, an academic at Al-Aqsa University, lay on the cold ground with her family. She fled northern Gaza to escape Israel’s bombing, only to find herself among the graves, trying to turn a concrete wall into a shelter and the open sky into a roof that would protect her children from fear.

    She hugged her children and hid there trembling, as if she wanted to convince them that life is possible even in the presence of death. Her scene was not just a fleeting moment, but a painting that encapsulates deep human suffering, where the search for safety becomes a daily battle and the right to shelter becomes an unattainable dream.

    Gaza’s educide: life alongside death

    The cemetery was not just a place to sleep, but a harsh symbol of the paradox of Gaza. When the living find their only refuge among the dead, death itself becomes a refuge from a harsher life. The image of Raghad and her family among the gravestones has become a symbol of a life under siege, embracing death in order to survive.

    It is a moment where symbolism and reality merge, where the living become neighbors of the dead, and where death becomes more merciful than displacement in the open. This scene encapsulates the meaning of the place: Gaza, searching for life, finds itself forced to share it with the dead.

    University halls: now the graveyards of Gaza’s minds

    Raghad was not just a displaced person; she was a university professor with advanced degrees who had dedicated her life to building minds and graduating new generations. Today, she sits on the soil of cemeteries instead of university halls, and embraces her children instead of her students. The irony here is even more painful. The guardians of knowledge have become refugees searching for the most basic necessities of survival.

    This loss is not hers alone, but represents the collapse of an entire society. When the academic and medical elite are displaced, the future is shattered. Future generations are robbed of their right to education, health, and knowledge. The tragedy of Gaza does not stop at human beings, but extends to the loss of human knowledge, which is the cornerstone of any renaissance.

    A cry that sums up the story

    We found no home and no tent; all we have left are graves.

    With this short sentence, Raghad summed up her story. Her few words conveyed what dozens of reports could not: a muffled cry that sums up the journey of displacement and betrayal. It transformed her individual experience into a collective testimony to the magnitude of the tragedy.

    From lecture halls to graveyards, the distance between knowledge and death was reduced to a single moment. Here, the story needs no exaggeration or embellishment. It suffices to be told as it is, to serve as irrefutable evidence of the cruelty of war and silent testimony to the pain of an entire nation.

    Human knowledge buried under the rubble

    Dr. Raghad’s story does not stop at the borders of Gaza, but goes beyond them to pose a question to the world: how can knowledge live among the dead? When academia is displaced to the graveyards, the loss is not only to a besieged society, but to all of humanity, which sees human knowledge buried alive under the rubble.

    This is not just a story of displacement, but a mirror of the fate of minds in conflict zones. Raghad’s story has become a global cry against the death of education and the displacement of talent, and against a future stolen from the hands of children and students. It is a testimony that exposes the world’s silence and confronts it with the truth: Gaza is not only losing its homes, but also its minds.

    Feature image via Middle East Eye/Youtube.

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • When cancer becomes good news amid Israel’s genocide in Gaza

    In Gaza, where the smell of gunpowder mixes with the moans of the sick and the cries of the displaced, writer and poet Amal Abu Assi penned one of the most brutal and painful testimonies of genocide, a testimony in which cancer of the body intersects with the cancer of occupation.

    Israel’s occupation and displacement: more cruel than cancer

    Amal Abu Assi said that the tumour that doctors had been warning her about for years had finally made itself known. But the shocking irony is that she did not feel the impact of this news as she did when she received the news of her forced displacement from northern Gaza to the south. There, amid the ruins of her dream and her home, she realised that illness might be easier on the heart than uprooting a person from their land.

    She wrote with pain:

    I understood the meaning of displacement very well when the news of my cancer was easier on my heart than the news that I had to move to the south, leaving my lofty dream standing alone in northern Gaza.

    Thus, she weighed illness on one side and displacement on the other, discovering that Israel’s occupation is more cruel than cancer, and that uprooting a person from their land and their dreams is more painful than removing a tumour from their body.

    Gaza: a city fighting death on more than one front

    Her words are not just a passing confession, but a mirror of the reality of an entire people being pushed into the open. Amal asks herself with painful sincerity: should she rejoice that her steps are now closer to heaven, bringing an end to this long tragedy? Or should she grieve because she does not yet know how many steps remain, nor when the door of life will close?

    Amal Abu Assi, whose body shares the pain of her bleeding land, sums up the tragedy of all Gazans: between the destruction of homes, the loss of dreams, and the absence of security, there is no longer any difference between death from a tumour inside or a shell outside.

    She concluded with a cry that every Gazan knows:

    Only those who have experienced the harshest degrees of oppression, grief, and injustice can understand this pain. Only the people of Gaza can understand this pain.

    It is the testimony of a woman, but it is also the testimony of a nation. Amal Abu Assi, with her exhausted body and full heart, presents a concentrated image of Gaza as a whole: a city fighting death on more than one front, insisting, despite the bleeding, to remain alive, witnessing, and resisting.

    Amal Abu Assi: a testimony that transcends the individual

    Amal Abu Assi’s story is not just a tale of a cancer patient in a genocide. It is a testimony of an entire nation, a testimony of the bleeding of the body and the bleeding of the land, of a woman whose body shares its pain with her city. She writes from the heart with the fire to document a complex human moment: a moment in which illness becomes a minor detail in the face of the loss of homes and dreams.

    With her sincere pain, Amal sums up the image of Gaza: a city clinging to life despite the rubble, hunger, cold, and disease. Her words do not belong only to a personal experience, but echo collectively for all those who have lost their homes, their dreams, and their security.

    Amal Abu Assi, writer and poet, no longer writes only literary texts, but also a testament to her homeland, an elegy to life, and a new statement of resilience.

    Featured image supplied

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Three-quarters of Gaza’s children are suffering from malnutrition – with virtually no families left food secure

    New data released by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) shows that children in the Gaza Strip are facing “extremely dangerous” humanitarian conditions, with Israeli military operations continuing for the second consecutive year and an accompanying severe shortage of food, medicine, and psychological care.

    Growing hunger and widespread malnutrition among Gaza’s children, says IRC

    A rapid needs assessment, which covered 469 displaced families in Gaza City, Deir al-Balah, and parts of Khan Yunis, revealed that one in three children under the age of three had not eaten anything in the 24 hours prior to the survey.

    Nearly three-quarters of families with young children reported clear signs of malnutrition, while only 1% of families were classified as food secure.

    The report noted that families are forced to skip entire meals or reduce food portions, with an almost complete absence of protein, vegetables, and fresh fruit.

    Rise in injuries and amputations

    In parallel with the food crisis, the IRC has observed a 48% increase in child protection cases in recent weeks.

    The report stated that most injuries among children are caused by shrapnel, with a notable increase in amputations. It is estimated that there are around 4,000 children with amputated limbs in the Gaza Strip since the start of the genocide, which is the highest rate in the world relative to the population.

    Senior vice president for crisis, recovery and development at the IRC Kieran Donnelly said:

    These are children who have lost limbs, who wake up screaming from nightmares, who no longer feel safe even within their own families. Our teams are doing everything they can to support them, but without safe access and basic supplies, their recovery is at risk of stalling.

    The report noted that children who have lost family members show more severe psychological symptoms, including anxiety, nightmares, fear of being alone, and sudden outbursts of aggression.

    The organisation’s teams have also observed an increase in some children resorting to begging or child labour, while others cling to positive activities such as drawing and playing to mitigate the effects of trauma.

    Severe shortage of humanitarian services

    The IRC confirmed that prosthetics and rehabilitation are virtually non-existent in the sector, while psychological support for children is almost non-existent.

    The near-total blockade on humanitarian access also hinders the delivery of basic supplies, while safe spaces are overcrowded and the education system is on the verge of collapse due to worsening hunger and malnutrition.

    The committee concluded its report by calling for the opening of urgent and unconditional humanitarian corridors to allow access to food, healthcare, and protection for children, stressing that an immediate ceasefire remains a prerequisite for protecting them from further harm and ensuring the continuation of relief operations.

    Feature image via BBC News/YouTube.

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • More evidence emerges of Israel’s ‘serious and alarming’ abuse of Dr Abu Safiya

    Since his arbitrary detention by Israeli occupation forces in December 2024, the health and wellbeing of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the esteemed pediatrician and director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, have significantly deteriorated amid reports of abuse, neglect, and inhumane conditions in Israeli custody.

    Dr Abu Safiya’s condition: ‘serious and alarming’

    Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), who were given rare permission to visit Abu Safiya on 25 September in Israel’s Ofer Prison, say a “serious and alarming” picture has emerged, of medical neglect of the doctor. He has lost nearly 25 kilograms, suffers from untreated scabies, and shows signs of severe malnutrition and exhaustion.

    There are also reports of repeated torture, including beatings and electric shocks, alongside denial of essential medical care despite suffering from heart problems. Basic hygiene and sanitation are non existent, with Abu Safiya prevented from showering, or changing his clothing, including his underwear. Before yesterdays visit, he had not changed his clothes since his arrest in December.

    Abu Safiya refused to abandon his patients and colleagues

    For over two decades, Abu Safiya dedicated his life to pediatric care in northern Gaza, eventually becoming the head of the crucial Kamal Adwan Hospital. Located in North Gaza, Kamal Adwan was one of the last functioning hospitals in the region, providing vital care to Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip. Dr Abu Safiya refused repeated orders from Israeli forces to evacuate the hospital, realising that his patients – many children – had nowhere else to turn.

    Despite personal loss, including the killing of his son in an Israeli drone strike in October 2024, and injuries he sustained during bombing of the hospital, Abu Safiya continued to provide medical care, refusing to abandon his patients. He became known for documenting the siege on the hospital via social media, appealing publicly to the international community to intervene and prevent what he described as a genocidal assault on Gaza’s health infrastructure.

    Detained under the Unlawful Combatants Law

    On 27 December 2024, Israeli forces stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, forcibly evacuating more than 350 patients and staff, including over 180 medical workers, and family members. They then set fire to the hospital, putting it completely out of service and leaving northern Gaza residents without essential healthcare services. Among those detained was Dr Abu Safiya.

    For weeks, his location and condition were unknown to everyone, despite urgent appeals by human rights organizations. The Israeli military classified him under the controversial Unlawful Combatants Law, allowing indefinite detention without charge or trial, stripping detainees of basic legal protections. His first visit by a lawyer occurred on 11 February 2025, 47 days after his capture.

    Violations of the laws of war

    Abu Safiya’s continued detention without charge, and documented abuse and medical neglect, is a serious violation of international humanitarian and human rights law.

    Medical personnel, facilities, and patients must be protected and allowed to operate without discrimination or interference during conflicts, yet there is a systematic pattern by the Israeli occupation of targeting them, in direct breach of medical neutrality and the Geneva Conventions.

    Human rights organisations including Amnesty International, Front Line Defenders, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, and others have been urgently calling for Abu Safiya’s immediate and unconditional release.

    But Abu Safiya’s case is not isolated. Since the start of this genocide, according to the Gaza Government Media Office, more than 1,670 medical personnel have been martyred by the Israeli occupation, and more than 360 arrested, many without formal charges or access to legal representation.

    Call to action for Dr Abu Safiya’s urgent release

    This systematic targeting of health professionals is a serious breach of international law and an attempt to dismantle Gaza’s healthcare system and inflict the most harm possible to Palestinians. But, it has continued unabated because the international community has never held the Israeli occupation to account for any of its multitude of war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinian people. The time to act is now.

    Write to Israeli occupation authorities demanding the release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya and all other arbitrarily detained Palestinian health workers, using Amnesty International’s letter template.

    For more information about Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, watch Al Jazeera’s: The Disappearance of Dr Abu Safiya.

    Feature image via Al Jazeera English/Youtube.

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Populist threat to rule of law a danger to UK working class, says attorney general

    Richard Hermer aims criticism at Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick at Labour conference event

    Rightwing populists threaten working-class people’s protections under the rule of law, the attorney general has said in his most political intervention yet.

    In a criticism directed squarely at Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick, Richard Hermer said populist politicians posed a threat to the everyday protectionsafforded to people who used the legal system and the courts to right significant wrongs.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • UN Declares Genocide in Gaza While 250 US Lawmakers Are in Israel 

     

    CNN: UN commission says Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

    Israel “shot at and killed civilians, some of whom (including children) were holding makeshift white flags,” according to the UN report (CNN, 9/17/25). “Some children, including toddlers, were shot in the head by snipers.”

    The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory published a report on September 16 that charged Israeli authorities and security forces with having committed, and continuing to commit, acts of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

    The 72-page report, replete with 495 footnotes, was compiled by senior independent rights investigators appointed by the UN Human Rights Council. Specifically, the report concludes that Israel is responsible for committing four of the five genocidal acts defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, namely:

    • (i) killing members of the group;
    • (ii) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
    • (iii) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and
    • (iv) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.

    This report brings the UN into line with leading human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, Genocide Watch, Amnesty International, B’Tselem and Oxfam, all of whom have explicitly labeled Israel’s crimes in Gaza genocidal. The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) also recently passed a resolution stating that Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza meet the legal definition of genocide.

    The corporate press relayed the IAGS resolution to its readers and viewers with varying degrees of emphasis and efficacy. Writing for FAIR (9/4/25), Saurav Sarkar highlighted the fact that the New York Times (9/1/25) “buried the news in the 31st paragraph of a story headlined ‘Israel’s Push for a Permanent Gaza Deal May Mean a Longer War, Experts Say.’”

    Fox: Cruz slams UN's Israel ‘genocide’ charge, pushes for consequences

    Fox News (9/17/25) spun the UN report on Israeli genocide as an anti-UN story.

    Corporate coverage of the United Nation’s latest report was also of varying seriousness. The New York Times (9/17/25) decided that it was appropriate to relegate the headline that “Israel Is Committing Genocide in Gaza, UN Inquiry Says” to page A8 of its print edition. Granted, the UN finding that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza was mentioned on the front page, only under the heading “Israeli Ground Forces Push Into Gaza City, Forcing Many to Flee: Assault Deepens a Humanitarian Crisis.”

    ABC (9/16/25) similarly treated the UN report as a footnote, referring to it in the final moments of a minute-and-15-second report on the assault on Gaza. Fox News (9/17/25) covered the news in the course of rebuking the UN, going so far as to put the label of “genocide” in quotes. While the Wall Street Journal (9/16/25) included the most recent genocide allegations as a subhead, the only mention we could find on MSNBC‘s website (9/18/25) came in an opinion piece headlined “The New Gaza City Offensive Is a Disaster. Trump Is Shrugging.”

    The Washington Post (9/16/25) ran a piece on its website about the UN declaration, but did not find it worth a spot in its print edition.

    Some corporate outlets, such as CNN (9/17/25) and Time (9/16/25), have given more appropriate emphasis to the news that the world’s preeminent governing body has officially labeled what is happening in Gaza genocide, offering dedicated articles.

    ‘Help spread the Israeli narrative’

    Jerusalem Post: Bipartisan US support reminds Israel that true friends stand by us, official tells 'Post'

    Jerusalem Post (9/15/25): “At a time when Israel faces growing isolation around the world, the largest-ever delegation of US lawmakers, representing all 50 states, arrived in Israel.”

    On the same day the UN released its report, approximately 250 US state legislators, representing all 50 states and both parties, were in Israel for a “50 States, One Israel” conference sponsored by the Israeli government. The Jerusalem Post (9/15/25) characterized it as “the largest-ever delegation of US lawmakers” to Israel.

    According to ethics disclosures reported in the Boston Herald (9/14/25), Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Alan Silvia’s trip to Israel for the conference cost $6,500. The Herald said Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs would “reimburse, waive or pay for travel expenses, though it was unclear what portion of the costs the government planned to cover.”

    Quoting Rep. Ilana Rubel (D-Idaho), Boise State Public Radio (9/17/25) reported that no Idaho taxpayer funds were used to send any of five Idaho state legislatures to the conference.

    The Oregon Capital Insider (9/18/25) reported that Rep. Emily McIntire (R-Ore.) “said in an email from Israel that traveling to the country has always been a dream for her, and the trip has only solidified her support for Israel.”

    In this connection, the Times of Israel (9/7/25) was open about the purposes of the conference:

    The ministry stresses the [“50 States, One Israel”] delegation’s strategic importance, noting that state legislators often influence anti-Israel bills, such as those supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Israel hopes the visitors will help block hostile legislation at the state level and promote initiatives combating antisemitism and strengthening US/Israel ties.

    The visit was previously announced as part of a broader campaign launched last month to host some 400 delegations involving over 5,000 participants by year’s end, “to help spread the Israeli narrative in international media,” according to the ministry.

    Mondoweiss: The Shift: 50 States, One Israel

    Mondoweiss (9/25/25): “’50 States, One Israel’ occurred amid growing international solidarity against the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Israel’s further isolation on the world stage.”

    Alert readers may have noticed that this article has only cited local, independent and Israeli sources about the “50 States, One Israel” conference. (See also Columbus Dispatch, 9/17/25; Georgia Public Broadcasting, 9/15/25; Mondoweiss, 9/25/25.)

    At the time of this writing, the “50 States, One Israel” conference is conspicuously absent from all existing reporting on Israel in the national US corporate media. Not one major US outlet has covered the largest delegation of US state legislators to Israel. This is a startling act of omission on the part of the corporate media in the United States, and it speaks to the indispensability of local, not-for-profit, independent news.

    Given that half of US voters believe that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza (Al Jazeera, 8/25/25), it is surely in the interest of the public to know if, when, why and that their local representatives were in Israel networking with parties to what the UN has labeled a genocide.

    This post was originally published on FAIR.

  • Over 60 Lawmakers Launch Investigation Into Trump Administration’s Disappearances

    Dozens of Democratic lawmakers announced they are investigating the Trump administration’s practice of disappearing immigrants to countries where they are not citizens, have no connections, and are at risk of being tortured. “We are concerned that the Trump Administration is offshoring the immigration detention system in an apparent attempt to evade the due process requirements of the U.S.

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Federal Agents Are Abducting Any DC Residents Who Appear Latino, New Suit Says

    Four Washington, D.C. residents, along with the immigration organization CASA, filed a class action suit against the Trump administration on Thursday, alleging that federal agents have systematically arrested people in the city without warrants or probable cause. “Over the past month and a half, plain-clothed, masked, and armed federal agents have flooded the streets of the nation’s capital…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Microsoft Blocks Israeli Spy Agency From Using Its Cloud Platform, Azure

    Microsoft has blocked the Israeli army’s access to technology it was using to store data on Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank after an investigation conducted by the Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call exposed the practice. The investigation, published in August, revealed that Unit 8200, the Israeli military’s cyberwarfare agency, had been intercepting millions of…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Scottish Prison Service admits human rights law breach over death in custody

    Police Scotland and Crown Office also make admissions in court relating to death of Allan Marshall in 2015

    The Scottish Prison Service has admitted breaching human rights law by causing the death of a man who was restrained by 17 officers and has apologised to his family. Police Scotland also apologised to the family.

    In a series of unprecedented admissions, Police Scotland and the Crown Office accepted they similarly breached Allan Marshall’s right to life under article 2 of the European convention on human rights when they failed to carry out an adequate investigation into his death in custody.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Football in Gaza is being completely destroyed: Israel has killed players, coaches, referees, and fans

    In Gaza, death has left no room for neutrality – nor for football. The green field is free of weapons, and the stands are empty of threats, but rockets have mercilessly pierced the heart of the sport.

    The death of football in Gaza: a silent witness to Israel’s genocide

    This is not just a cancelled match or a postponed tournament, but a story about a sport that has been wiped out in its entirety. The ball that used to bring young people together in the alleys and playgrounds is now a silent witness to their absence, rolling in the void with no one to touch it.

    Here, it is not the referee who blows the whistle, but the rockets; it is not flags that are raised in celebration, but bodies on shoulders; it is not the commentator who shouts with joy at a goal, but the muezzin calling for funeral prayers.

    For the youth of Gaza, football was more than a game; it was a temporary respite from the siege, a window to a dream bigger than the boundaries of the land, but the occupation saw it as a threat that warranted bombing.

    No element of the game was spared: the players died dreaming of better stadiums, the coaches left before they could explain their plans, the referees were targeted without a chance to blow the final whistle, and the fans were buried under stands that had been reduced to ruins. This is not just a sports story, but a testimony to a silent genocide that targeted one of the faces of life in Gaza, carried out without fanfare or protest.

    The players: dreams killed before they were realised

    At the Yarmouk Stadium, the locker rooms were empty of the players’ laughter. Many of them died as martyrs, buried with the dreams they carried as symbols. Mohammed al-Malouf (23), a striker for Jabalia Youth Club known as “the fast horse”, was killed in a bombing that targeted his home. Ninety-five players were children who dreamed of reaching the world stage and carrying the Palestinian flag in tournaments, but the occupation ended their lives and dreams, adding them to the list of martyrs.

    The occupation deliberately killed dozens of players who represented the Palestinian national football team, many of whom were talented players who dreamed of becoming like Messi and Ronaldo.

    Al-Yarmouk Stadium, one of the most famous historical Palestinian stadiums, hosted thousands of matches, and everyone in Gaza has memories of it, whether they were players, fans, or children who dreamed of one day playing on the green grass. No one imagined that some of them would be buried in this stadium after the occupation turned it into a mass grave and a detention center for civilians.

    The coaches: tomorrow’s strategies stopped at death

    In Gaza, where football dreams grew with every training session and every new lineup, the coaches sat down to draw up tomorrow’s strategies, distribute the players, and determine who would lead the attack and who would stand in defense. But the war approached relentlessly, and death did not wait.

    Tomorrow was stolen from them before it began, turning their fields into rubble and their hearts into pits of pain. They were creating heroes on the field, only to find themselves fighting a battle that only those who persevere can win.

    They planned for victory, but realised that survival had become the greatest challenge, and that soccer was a dream postponed behind a wall of smoke and tears.

    The referees: whistles powerless in the face of death

    The referee’s whistle, the sound that regulates the game, was unable to stop the bombing or protect the innocent in Gaza.

    International referee Hani Masah, known for his calm demeanor, only raised the red card when necessary, but the bombing did not give him a chance to make his final call, and he died a martyr, like some of his colleagues who were killed or injured during the war. Their whistles were a symbol of order, but no order can control aircraft that do not distinguish between civilians and athletes, between players and combatants.

    The referees used to officiate matches in front of thousands of fans, but some of them left without a funeral or even a few people to see them off.

    The fans: silent stands, death in attendance

    The stands collapsed under direct bombardment, so neither the audience nor the players were present. The only attendees were missiles and aircraft. Entire families of football fans died in their homes or places of refuge, and Gaza, which used to be decorated with the colors of local clubs, became a city engulfed in darkness.

    The world is silent: institutions that do not see the blood. Despite documented reports and testimonies, no serious position has been taken by FIFA or international sports federations, as if the lives of Palestinian players are outside the scope of “sportsmanship”. Israel has killed all elements of the sports system, but continues to play at the international level without sanctions, while other countries have been sanctioned for their wars.

    There is no football left in Gaza

    In Gaza, there are no teams, no referees, no coaches, and no fans left. There are no more matches, only heavy silence, a destroyed stadium, and blood on the dry grass: this is where football used to be… and it has been completely killed.

    The Palestinian Sports Media Union reported that Israel’s war of extermination on the Gaza Strip, now in its 23rd month, has resulted in the deaths of nearly 800 Palestinian athletes, including nearly 400 football players and 95 children, and the destruction of 273 sports facilities.

    Israel destroyed all five official stadiums that used to host thousands of fans, turning them into either mass graves or displacement centers for thousands of families who found no place to pitch their tents except these burned-out stadiums.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • University of Essex Alumni Enrique Márquez remains arbitrarily detained amidst escalating state repression in Venezuela

    Carla Ferstman On 7 January 2025, almost 9 months ago, former Presidential candidate in Venezuela and Essex alumni Enrique Márquez (He graduated from the University of Essex with a masters’ degree in Electronic Systems Engineering in 1994), was arrested by unidentified armed men. He has remained detained ever since with only minimal communication with his […]

    This post was originally published on Human Rights Centre Blog.

  • UN just revealed that Israel has killed one child killed every hour for nearly two years

    The UN assistant secretary general for humanitarian affairs, Tom Fletcher, expressed his helplessness in the face of what he described as the “horrors” of the situation in the Gaza Strip, sharply criticising the lack of action by those capable of putting an end to Israel’s genocide, according to Agence France-Presse.

    Fletcher’s remarks came during a meeting dedicated to discussing the situation of Palestinian children in the besieged enclave, organised by Belgium and Jordan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

    Israel killing one child every hour in Gaza – for nearly two whole years

    The UN official said:

    We meet again to share our testimony and express our shame, trying to find words to describe the horror and emphasize the need for action, but I fear that in the end we will accept doing nothing.

    He explained that “a child has been killed in Gaza almost every hour for nearly two years”, noting that:

    the luckiest children sleep in tents, while schools have been turned into places of terror, depriving more than 700,000 children of their right to education.

    He added:

    We are constantly told that what is happening is the price the population must pay for war.

    And he warned that:

    historians and lawyers will long debate the legal characterization of these crimes, and despite the ban on international journalists, there will be enough evidence to bring justice.

    International meetings ‘repeated to count the dead’ with no concrete action

    Fletcher emphasised that:

    our words will not reach the children under the rubble, or those searching for food amid the debris, or undergoing amputations without anesthesia.

    He stressed that appeals fall on deaf ears among those who have the power to stop these “unforgettable atrocities in the 21st century”. He expressed his fear that:

    international meetings will only be repeated to count the dead and repeat calls, without any concrete action.

    Crucially, he asked:

    How many more lives will be lost, and how much more damage will we inflict on our shared humanity?

    Condemnation not translating into practical results

    According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Israel’s genocide, which has been going on for nearly two years, has claimed the lives of more than 65,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians. This includes more than 19,000 children, according to UNICEF deputy executive director Ted Sheiban.

    Gaza has been under a tight Israeli blockade for 18 years, leading to a catastrophic deterioration in humanitarian conditions, with hospitals suffering from a shortage of medicines and fuel, while the population faces a severe food crisis.

    Despite repeated condemnations from the UN and international human rights organisations, political efforts to end the siege and lift the blockade have yet to translate into practical results.

    Feature image via Al Jazeera English/Youtube.

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • They fled war and sexual violence and found a safe space in Athens. Then the aid cuts hit

    Thirty women and their children found themselves out on the streets when their shelter closed. It was a direct result of US and European governments slashing their aid budgets

    The night of 29 May was sombre at 15 Mitsaki Street, a women’s shelter in the centre of Athens. Shoes, winter coats, shampoo bottles and sheets lay strewn around: belongings the 30 refugee women and five children living there had worked hard to acquire, and would now have to abandon. The next day, the shelter would be shuttered for good.

    “I was so stressed I couldn’t sleep,” says Oksana Kutko, a Ukrainian. “I knew I had nowhere to go.”

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Rep. Summer Lee Says US Must Hold Israel Accountable for Killing Americans

    lawmakers are demanding that Israel be held accountable for the violence perpetrated against Palestinian Americans by Israeli soldiers and settlers. “The grief and outrage of the families of American citizens killed and detained by Israeli forces was palpable,” Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pennsylvania) posted on social media on Wednesday. “I am so grateful for their courage and advocacy driven…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Israel’s brutal genocide has left 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza at risk of hearing loss

    A Palestinian association has warned that around 35,000 children and adults in the Gaza Strip are at risk of permanent or temporary hearing loss as a result of Israel’s ongoing genocide and its severe impact on the deaf community.

    Israel’s genocide leaving tens of thousands in Gaza with hearing loss

    The association Our Children for the Deaf explained that children under the age of five are most at risk. It noted that this group faces a direct threat to the development of their speech and language skills due to the difficulty of accessing appropriate treatment and rehabilitation.

    The association detailed that the destruction of rehabilitation and treatment infrastructure has prevented those affected from accessing treatment centers. Israeli restrictions have led to the loss of assistive devices, including hearing aids, cochlear implants, spare parts, and batteries, further increasing the suffering of children and those affected.

    It confirmed that more than 89% of children suffer from psychological trauma, including night crying and bedwetting. The association has suffered severe damage that has led to a complete halt in its educational and rehabilitation services.

    It stressed that repeated displacement hinders the injured from reaching health centers. The organisation is therefore calling on the relevant authorities to urgently secure hearing aids, establish mobile units to test children’s hearing in displacement areas, and support the remaining rehabilitation centers to provide the necessary care.

    Disabled Palestinians under attack

    The association added that 8% of Palestinians over the age of 18 in Gaza are disabled. In 2023 alone, there were more than 12,000 new cases, including deafness, reflecting the worsening crisis and the urgent need for intervention to prevent the deterioration of the health situation of disabled Palestinians.

    These warnings come amid the ongoing genocide on Gaza, which has had a devastating impact on children, older, and disabled people. Israel’s siege has led to a scarcity of basic services and ongoing challenges in accessing medical and rehabilitation assistance.

    For years, the Gaza Strip has suffered from a tight blockade and repeated crises as a result of armed conflicts, leading to a sharp deterioration in health, education, and social infrastructure. Children and disabled people are the most affected, as they face extreme difficulty in accessing necessary treatment and rehabilitation. This increases their suffering, and threatening their lives, as well as their educational and social future.

    Care services for deaf children are extremely limited, with a shortage of assistive devices such as hearing aids, cochlear implants, and batteries. This is in addition to the wholesale destruction of rehabilitation centers and disruption of educational services.

    This situation exacerbates the psychological trauma of children and those affected, making humanitarian intervention urgent and necessary to avoid permanent damage to their health and psychological and social development.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Spanish government seems united in its response to Israel’s terrorism on the flotilla

    Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez announced on that his country will send a warship from the port of Cartagena in southeastern Spain to support the international Global Sumud Flotilla heading to the Gaza Strip with the aim of breaking the Israeli blockade.

    Spain to send a warship to protect the ‘ray of hope’ Gaza humanitarian flotilla

    Sánchez said in a press statement after participating in the UN General Assembly session on Wednesday that:

    a naval vessel equipped with all the necessary resources will leave tomorrow (Thursday) from Cartagena to support the flotilla and carry out rescue missions if necessary.

    Spanish media reported that the government’s decision came after a similar move by Italy, noting that the Spanish Ministry of Defence confirmed that the ship would operate exclusively in international waters.

    Commenting on the move, deputy prime minister and minister of labor and social economy Yolanda Diaz said:

    We have called for the protection of the flotilla, and we are proud that the government has decided to send a ship for this purpose.

    She added via the Bluesky that:

    pressure works, and the Gaza flotilla is a ray of hope that must be protected.

    For her part, minister of youth and children Sira Rego called for:

    lifting the blockade, opening humanitarian corridors, and stopping the genocide,” stressing that “the Global Solidarity Flotilla is moving forward and will not remain alone.

    Culture minister Ernesto Urtasun stressed that:

    Spain is taking action while others remain silent. Solidarity is not just rhetoric, but action.

    Spain and Italy stepping after Israel’s attacks

    The Spanish move comes after Italy announced it was sending the multi-mission frigate ‘Fasan’, stationed north of Crete, to the Aegean Sea to secure its citizens and support the Global Sumud Flotilla after it was attacked by drones. The Italian government stressed at the time that protecting activists and humanitarian crews is a moral duty, while the Italian opposition emphasised the need for broader action at the European level.

    The Global Sumud Flotilla, which includes more than 50 boats heading towards Gaza to break the siege and open a humanitarian corridor, was attacked on 24 September by drones believed to be Israeli, resulting in several explosions and a loss of communication, but no human casualties.

    In this context, UN Human Rights Commission spokesman Thameen Al-Kheetan condemned the targeting of the flotilla, while the opposition in Greece and France called for its protection.

    Israel’s repeated threats

    The flotilla confirmed that 12 explosions targeted nine of its ships as a result of drone strikes, without specifying the timing of the attacks or who was responsible for them, while Israel remained silent despite its previous threats to prevent the flotilla from reaching Gaza.

    Israel has previously detained individual ships that attempted to sail to the Strip in recent years and deported the activists on board. Now, for the first time since the start of the 18-year blockade, this large number of ships is setting sail together, loaded with humanitarian aid, including medical supplies, towards Gaza. The fleet is doing so in solidarity with 2.4 million Palestinians that call the besieged Strip home.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Israel just shut off the only land crossing between Jordan and the occupied West Bank

    The Israeli occupation indefinitely closed the Allenby Bridge border crossing – also called King Hussein Bridge or Karama Crossing – on Wednesday morning, 24 September, marking a significant heightening of tensions in the West Bank. Although it has been announced that passenger traffic will be allowed to cross once again, from Friday, the closure still deeply impacts over three million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.

    Closure of Karama Crossing between Jordan and West Bank ‘collective punishment’

    Karama is the only land crossing between the occupied West Bank and Jordan, and is vital for Palestinians. It not only allows international travel and family visits- because the Israeli occupation’s restrictions severely limit their travel through Israeli airports, but is the only route for the transport of commercial goods between Jordan and the West Bank, and aids Gaza via humanitarian convoys. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has called its closure an “unjustifiable” act of “collective punishment”.

    The closure follows an incident last week in which a Jordanian truck driver transporting humanitarian aid to Gaza opened fire at the occupation’s soldiers stationed at the crossing, killing two of them. The Israeli occupation responded by temporarily closing the border, then fully and indefinitely shutting it down from Wednesday morning, 24 September, without specifying a reopening date.

    This crossing is critical for Palestinians as it is the only international gateway from the West Bank that does not require passing through Israeli territory, and is the only route for goods to enter and leave the West Bank.

    In a statement on 25 September, Palestine’s Ministry of National Economy called the decision to close the Karama border “arbitrary”, and warned of serious economic, social, and humanitarian repercussions.

    The occupation is tightening its control

    The decision to reopen the Karama Crossing for pedestrians tomorrow will be welcome news for the thousands of Palestinians left stranded, but the economic and humanitarian implications are grave, as the flow of goods is halted, making worse an already fragile economy in the West Bank, and a desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza, especially as the Zikim crossing in the North of Gaza has been closed since 12 September, severely limiting aid getting to the north.

    The occupation is tightening its control over the occupied West Bank. While some coalition members are pressuring for annexation of the territory, Palestinians believe the Karama border closure coincides with growing international recognition of the State of Palestine, which seems to have prompted a hardening Israeli response.

    Netanyahu has publicly rejected the idea of a Palestinian state and to enforce this idea he has recently approved the E1 Settlement Plan, a project that will completely split the occupied West Bank in two and separate East Jerusalem from the rest of the territory.

    Since the start of the Israeli occupation’s genocide in Gaza there has also been a significant surge in the number of movement obstacles in the West Bank, including military checkpoints, isolating communities, and controlling the population.

    Around 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by the occupation since October 2023, while mass arrests, home demolitions, and forcible displacement due to settler attacks and access restrictions have further fragmented Palestinian society.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Netanyahu avoided European airspace on his way to the UN to avoid potential arrest

    Israeli occupation prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent flight to New York- where he will attend the UN General Assembly on Friday, and will visit Trump on Monday, for the fourth time – took a highly unusual route, avoiding the airspace of certain European countries due to an outstanding International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant issued against him. This detour, which added significant distance and time to his journey, highlights the escalating international legal and diplomatic tensions tied to Netanyahu’s travel abroad.

    Netanyahu avoiding European airspace due to ICC arrest warrants

    Although, according to the Times of Israel, France gave permission for Netanyahu’s plane – the Wing of Zion – to fly over its airspace, this route was not taken:

    Netanyahu

    Instead, the plane circumvented the airspace of ICC member states including Ireland, Iceland, and the Netherlands, countries legally obligated to arrest him if he landed or was forced to make an emergency stop at their airports:

    Netanyahu flew the length of the Mediterranean Sea, passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, and briefly flew over Greece and Italy. This was a detour of several hundred miles.

    The ICC had issued arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant in November 2024 for war crimes and ethnic cleansing in Gaza where, according to conservative estimates, more than 65,000 Palestinians have already been killed and more than 167,000 injured people since October 2023.

    ICC members have a legal obligation to arrest him

    The travel of Netanyahu despite active ICC arrest warrants remains legally contentious, as the 125 ICC member states are bound under international law to comply with the warrant and arrest him when he enters their territory, yet enforcement has not, as yet, happened. Some countries, have either refused to enforce the warrant or have taken steps to protect Netanyahu from arrest.

    In January, Poland’s government announced it would ignore the ICC arrest warrant against Netanyahu, and would grant him safe passage during the country’s 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

    Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who called the arrest warrants “outrageously brazen” and “cynical”, refused to detain Netanyahu when he visited the country in April 2025, despite an official request sent by the ICC, and announced Hungary’s decision to withdraw from the ICC.

    Others, including the UK, have avoided a clear answer as to whether they would fulfill their legal obligation to arrest him if he entered their country.

    The debate also extends to the question of immunity. Back in 2024, France argued that “immunities apply” to Netanyahu, as a sitting head of state and that Israel is not a party to the ICC, complicating enforcement. But the ICC Rome Statute states that no individual, regardless of official capacity, is exempt from criminal responsibility, undermining claims of immunity in this context.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Tory candidates must pledge support for leaving ECHR or stand down, says Jenrick

    Shadow justice secretary demands prospective MPs sign contract saying they stand for ‘Conservative values’

    Robert Jenrick has demanded that prospective Conservative candidates should either promise to support leaving the European convention on human rights or stand down.

    As the party continues to debate whether to pledge to withdraw from the international agreement, the shadow justice secretary said he would get candidates “to sign a contract to say they actually stand for Conservative values”.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Footage is now showing Israeli tanks advancing on Al-Shifa hospital

    There have been several reported sightings of Israeli occupation tanks advancing on Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital. One involved a sniper targeting passing civilians, while quadcopter drones hovered overhead.

    These sightings came as the Israel occupation forces claimed that Hamas is “using an active hospital as a terror launch post”, and has fired on them from within Al-Shifa hospital, thereby:

    knowingly endangering the lives of patients, medical staff, and innocent residents.

    Israel’s tanks advance on Al-Shifa hospital

    Al-Shifa hospital was once Gaza’s largest and most vital medical complex, but has faced immense destruction and repeated sieges since the start of the Israeli occupation’s genocide. Ground assaults and airstrikes have reduced the hospital almost to ruins, destroying critical departments such as surgery, intensive care, and emergency services, and at times putting the facility out of service completely.

    To justify its attacks, the occupation’s military claimed Hamas used the hospital as a base for its military operations, and had established a command and control centre underneath the hospital, hiding weapons and coordinating attacks from there, in an attempt to make the facility a legitimate military target. But Hamas and the hospital administration have always denied any military use of the medical complex, and no credible evidence has been produced.

    Israel committing ‘medicide’ in the Gaza Strip

    The World Health Organization (WHO) and international humanitarian organizations have condemned attacks on health care, including the targeting of hospitals and restricting the delivery of essential aid such as medical supplies, fuel, and water, as violations of international humanitarian law. Meanwhile, the UN accuses the Israeli occupation of deliberately attacking and starving healthcare workers, paramedics and hospitals to wipe out medical care in the Strip, and calling the targeted destruction ‘medicide’.

    The occupation has frequently prevented essential medical supplies reaching the hospital, and cut off essential electricity, leading to the deaths of patients, including premature infants who relied on incubators and critically ill adults lacking oxygen and basic care. Medical staff have had to operate in extremely unsanitary conditions, with shortages of medicines including anesthetics and painkillers, and fuel, while there is a constant influx of patients suffering from malnutrition and severely injured civilians from the constant bombardments.

    More hospitals out of action

    Medical staff at Al-Shifa hospital, as with healthcare workers throughout Gaza, are exhausted and starving, but still keep working to serve their patients. They are now worried that all their patients, staff and thousands of displaced civilians will soon be forcibly evacuated by the occupation, yet again.

    Hospitals are struggling to remain open, due to the horrendous conditions, and on 23 September, Gaza’s Health Ministry took two Gaza City hospitals out of operation, due to damage and escalation of the ongoing ground offensive. One of these was the recently bombed Al-Rantissi Children’s Hospital.

    According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, between 12am and 5.25pm local time, 24 September, 92 Palestinians had been killed across the Gaza Strip, 25 of these received at Al-Shifa Hospital.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • UN experts call for FIFA and UEFA to expel Israel from global sporting events

    On Tuesday 23 September, United Nations (UN) experts called on FIFA and UEFA to suspend Israel’s participation in international competitions due to the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.

    The experts said in a statement that international sports bodies should not ignore gross human rights violations. It noted that suspending the membership of national teams has been done before for countries that committed similar violations. They recalled that the provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 26 January 2024 confirmed the obligations of every state to confront the crime of genocide.

    UN FIFA and UEFA: call for Israel’s suspension from international football events

    The statement added:

    Sport should reject the idea that business as usual can continue, and its institutions should not allow their platforms to be used to normalize injustice.” The experts called on FIFA and UEFA to suspend the Israeli national team’s membership, demanding that FIFA stop what they described as “legitimizing the illegal situation resulting from the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

    In this context, Times Square in New York witnessed the launch of a new campaign on Wednesday 17 September under the slogan #GameOverIsrael. Via a huge billboard, the campaign called on the football associations of Belgium, England, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Scotland, and Spain to boycott the Israeli national team. It demanded they prevent Israeli players from participating in local competitions, in protest against the ongoing attacks in Gaza.

    Last January, the ICJ issued provisional orders for Israel to take measures to prevent genocide in Gaza. The orders also called for an end to direct incitement to it. The ICJ rejected Tel Aviv’s request to dismiss the case brought against it by South Africa.

    In August, the UN rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, called on the UEFA to expel Israel from its competitions.

    Israel murdering Palestinian athletes

    Last Thursday, the Palestinian Football Association called for the suspension of Israeli teams and players from participating in various international competitions until the genocide in Gaza ends. According to a previous statement by the federation, 774 Palestinian athletes and scouts have been killed since October 2023. This includes 355 soccer players, 277 members of sports federations, and 142 scouts, in addition to 119 missing persons.

    According to official Palestinian data, since 7 October 2023, Israel, with US support, has committed genocide in Gaza, resulting in 65,382 martyrs and 166,985 wounded. Most of them are children and women. In addition to this, Israel’s engineered famine has claimed the lives of 442 Palestinians, including 147 children.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Premature babies at risk of mass death in Gaza as hospitals come to a standstill

    The director general of the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, Dr Munir Al-Barsh, has warned that hospitals would come to a complete standstill within 48 hours due to a severe fuel shortage, in an “unprecedented humanitarian disaster”.

    Hospitals in Gaza: a complete standstill within the next 48 hours

    Al-Barsh explained that the Israeli occupation continues to directly target the health system, pointing to the destruction of Al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital and Al-Ayoun Hospital, the complete shutdown of Hamad Rehabilitation Hospital, and the bombing of a medical relief center in central Gaza. He added that the occupation has disabled or destroyed 38 hospitals since the start of the war, leaving only 13 hospitals partially operational. These are largely unable to meet the needs of thousands of patients and wounded.

    Al-Barsh said that the remaining fuel reserves are only enough to operate vital departments for two days, warning that the loss of electricity to incubators, respirators, and intensive care units would mean:

    mass deaths of patients and premature babies.

    He added that the oncology, kidney, and heart departments at Al-Rantisi Hospital are out of service, leaving hundreds of patients without treatment.

    Al-Barsh emphasised that the occupation is systematically targeting the health system by destroying facilities and killing personnel. The number of martyrs among medical staff has risen to 1,723, including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

    Al-Barsh called on international institutions to provide urgent protection for medical personnel and ensure the immediate delivery of fuel and medical supplies, in addition to the need to evacuate some 16,000 critically ill patients who cannot be treated within the Strip.

    Systematic destruction of Gaza’s health infrastructure

    These warnings come as the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned of the collapse of the health system in Gaza due to the blockade and fuel shortages, confirming that hospitals are operating at double their capacity amid unprecedented overcrowding.

    The ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza, with US support since 7 October 2023, has so far left more than 65,000 martyrs and 166,000 wounded. Most of them are children and women.

    For years, the Gaza Strip has suffered from a tight blockade imposed by Israel, which has led to a severe deterioration in infrastructure, particularly in the health sector. Many hospitals are operating at limited capacity and suffer from a shortage of basic medical equipment and medicines, making any military escalation a direct threat to civilian lives.

    Targeting medical facilities and health personnel is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, and international organisations have repeatedly called for the protection of personnel and hospitals. Reports indicate that most of the medical personnel killed were attempting to provide care to the wounded in extremely difficult conditions, further exacerbating the fragility of the health system in Gaza.

    Feature image via Al Jazeera English/Youtube

    By Alaa Shamali

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Israel Has “Calculated to Destroy” Palestinians, UN says

    The Israeli government has “deliberately deprived Palestinians in Gaza of resources indispensable for their survival,” according to a United Nations report released Tuesday. The report, released by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, found that “such actions deliberately inflicted conditions of life on the Palestinians in Gaza calculated…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • King Felipe pleads with Israel to ‘stop massacre and abhorrent acts’ in Gaza

    Spain’s monarch uses UN speech to attack Israel’s actions in Gaza saying ‘we can’t keep silent or look the other way’

    King Felipe of Spain has begged Israel to “stop the massacre” and end its “abhorrent acts” in Gaza during an unusually direct and powerful address to the UN general assembly in which he also defended the UN’s role in an increasingly “frenetic and out of control” world.

    Although the monarch was careful not to use the word “genocide” – a term already employed by the country’s outspoken prime minister, Pedro Sánchez – he said Spain and others were at a loss to understand Israel’s actions in Gaza.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Colombian president Gustavo Petro just called for an international army to free Palestine

    In a speech at the United Nations General Assembly on 23 September, Colombian president Gustavo Petro not only accused Trump of being “an accomplice to genocide”, and the UN forum “a mute witness to a genocide”, but also proposed the creation of an armed United Nations peacekeeping force to enter Palestine.

    Gustavo Petro calls for an international army to liberate Palestine

    Petro called for an international army “to liberate Palestine” and stand up to “tyranny and totalitarianism” from the US and NATO, saying:

    We need a powerful army of the countries that do not accept genocide. That is why I invite nations of the world and their peoples more than anything, as an integral part of humanity, to bring together weapons and armies. We must liberate Palestine.

    To date, numerous countries have put forward UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and permanent ceasefires, but the US has consistently shielded Israel by striking down these resolutions using its veto power six times already.

    Uniting for Peace resolution bypasses the US veto

    The Uniting for Peace Resolution provides an alternative route, when the Security Council is deadlocked because of these vetoes, by empowering the UN General Assembly to convene an Emergency Special Session at the call of one member state or through a majority, enabling it to make recommendations, to maintain or restore international peace and security. Colombia, has now started this process, which the US is unable to veto, and all member states will be required to vote on this.

    Last year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s occupation of the occupied Palestinian territory illegal, and the UN General Assembly set a 12-month deadline for Israel to end its unlawful presence there, and comply with a range of measures. This deadline expired on 17 September 2025, marking yet another example of non-compliance by Israel. The UN must now uphold the ICJ decision, and use a General Assembly vote to stop the genocide in Gaza, and establish an armed peacekeeping force to protect Palestinians.

    ‘If Palestine dies, all of humanity dies with it’

    Earlier this month at a televised address, Petro said:

    Humanity cannot allow genocide to exist, because the bombs that fall in Gaza will also fall in Bogota, in Caracas, in Quito, in Buenos Aires… Because today the mathematical war that is being waged is against the peoples of the world who are not wealthy, who do not buy enough, and who are rebellious in the sense that we want a humanity at peace and full of life…. I have said it before, and I repeat it today: If Palestine dies, all of humanity dies with it. Therefore, every action of opposing extermination, every voice that defies indifference, is an act of life.

    Petro has maintained a critical stance on the Israeli occupation since the start of the genocide, and became one of the first voices in the world to describe what was happening as a genocide. He has introduced a wide range of measures against Israel, including severing diplomatic ties with the regime, and implementing an energy embargo.

    Feature image via screengrab.

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Israel Attacks Children’s Hospital in Gaza, Forcing It to Close

    Israeli attacks have forced a pediatric hospital and the only eye care hospital in Gaza to close, according to Middle East Eye. The pediatric hospital, Al-Rantisi Hospital, provides care not available anywhere else in Gaza, the outlet reports. “There are no safe routes to reach hospitals and medical facilities, preventing patients and the wounded from accessing care…

    Source

    This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.

  • Patient Rights are Not a “Scientific” Issue

    I admit it. I am pretty pissed off now.

    I just had a chat conversation with a “colleague” who describes himself as “A physician and was a Uniformed Public Health Service Officer for thirty years”. He was criticizing the Surgeon General of Florida, Dr. Joe Ladapo MD, MPH, for his decision to rescind vaccine mandates for the State of Florida. The accusation being that Joe made this decision based on “Politics” rather than “Science”. Specifically, his comment that triggered me was “What I hear is vaccine recommendations becoming even more politically based and less scientifically based. Polio or other viruses could breakout in FL. I continue to hold that we must only present our scientific evaluations and not our political speculations to the public. Someone, somewhere has to the last credible scientific backstop.”

    These comments basically parrot the current narrative being promoted by the former, voluntarily self-resigned “leadership” of the CDC. As well as the harmonized “dead media” propaganda orcs masquerading as reporters. You know who I am referring to. Demonic, quite literally.

    Distilled to its essence, this argument comes down to whether the State has the right to mandate medical procedures for its citizens. This is not a question of “Science”. This is a question of medical ethics. What are the fundamental rights of individuals?

    What are the fundamental pillars of medical ethics and human rights?

    What we are seeing play out is a long-deferred debate, postponed and prevented from taking place during COVID by the weaponized fear, propaganda, harassment, crowdstalking (including CDC-funded crowdstalking) and gaslighting of both the global population of humans and specifically those who dissented from the obsessive, irrational, fear-driven mass psychosis that took place. And at the moment, the tip of the spear of the growing wave of dissent on this topic is Dr. Joe Ladapo, the MAHA movement, and it’s leadership.

    I assert that it is a fundamental human right to control your own person, your own bodily integrity, not to be taken away based on debatable epidemiologic analyses performed by members of the cult of vaccination.

    I assert that vaccine mandates are fundamentally unethical. The vast majority of physicians, let alone three year degree “Masters in Public Health” program graduates, do not understand vaccines, immunology, or the complexities of pathogen-host interactions. Their position is typically based on a simple belief, with characteristics of a religious catechism. All vaccines are safe and effective. Vaccines safe lives. A shot in every arm. The tenants of this catechism go on and on. But they are not “Science”.

    A catechism ( /ˈkætəˌkɪzəm/; from Ancient Greek: κατηχέω, “to teach orally”) is a summary or exposition of doctrine.

    *****

    What is an anti-vaxxer, that term that has been so thoroughly weaponized by the servants of the cult of vaccination and the pharmaceutical industry that has actively fostered this cult?

    Merriam-Webster defines “anti-vaxxer” as “a person who opposes the use of vaccines or regulations mandating vaccination“. This definition, which includes opposition to vaccine mandates as well as to vaccines themselves, has been in place since at least 2018, when the term was first added to the dictionary.

    If you oppose the State requiring, imposing without their consent, the medical procedure of ‘vaccination” on its citizens, then you too- like me- are literally defined as an anti-vaxxer. So wear the label proudly if you believe that you and your children have the right to decide what medical procedures you will accept.

    *****

    What are the fundamental pillars of medical ethics?

    Six Principles of Medical Ethics

    1. Beneficance. Physicians must act in the best interests of the patient. Singular. One specific patient. Not in the best interests of society. Not to advance the greatest good for the greatest number. The patient in front of them at that specific point in time.
    2. Non-Malfeasance. In short, do no harm. This does not mean you can do some harm to some patients for the good of the many.
    3. Autonomy. The PATIENT has the right to choose whether to accept a medical procedure or intervention. Not Society, and certainly not some “Public health official” has the right to make a determination for a patient. THE PATIENT gets to choose. The physician and the “public health official” can provide honest truthful, unbiased information to the patient about risks and benefits, but THE PATIENT gets to decide on whether to accept the procedure. That is called INFORMED CONSENT, and if you disagree with that then you have no right to be involved in any way with the medical enterprise. There is no special “vaccine exclusion” or “exemption” for this fundamental human right.
    4. Justice. There should be no “tiered” or “special” medical care for some that is withheld from others. Treatment options should reflect the merit of the illness. No discrimination based on whether or not a patient has accepted or rejected some other medical procedure. Like withholding organ transplantation from those that refused a COVID genetic vaccine, for example.
    5. Dignity. Both Physician (or other medical care provider) AND THE PATIENT have the right to be treated with dignity. As opposed to hostile arrogance, for example.
    6. Truthfulness and Honesty: Patients deserve to know the whole truth about both illness and treatment to the best of the ability of the physician or medical care provider. No lies about mask or social distancing or lockdown effectiveness. No cover ups of adverse events. No lies about biodistribution, pharmacokinetics, lot variability, adulteration. I could go on and on. I wrote a whole book about the COVID lies. As did many others. Talk to Scott Atlas about that.

    These are fundamentals. THEY ARE NOT NEGOTIABLE. They are not “Scientific”. This has nothing to do with “Science” and everything to do with human rights. They are the foundational principles of post WW II medical ethics. They are not situation dependent. They do not go away just because someone declares a public health “medical emergency”.

    *****

    Apparently my colleague who identifies as “A physician and was a Uniformed Public Health Service Officer for thirty years” disagrees. Apparently the recently resigned self-described “CDC Leadership” also disagree with these fundamental principles. Apparently many who self-identify as “Public Health Officials” and “Public Health Experts” disagree. Apparently the legislators who passed the legislation concerning “Emergency Use Authorization” that was used to justify legal bypassing of these fundamental principles disagree.

    But this is not negotiable. So say I, and I suspect so say millions who play key roles in the growing grass roots “Make America Healthy Again” movement.

    This is not politics. It is not “Science”. These are fundamental human rights.

    Yes, I am mad as hell, and I am not going to take it anymore.

    I hope you are just as pissed off about this as I am.

    *****

    This narrative of these issues being political or scientific cannot be allowed to stand.

    I call for two specific actions.

    1. A Presidential Executive order clearly stating that medical and vaccine mandates are prohibited, and supporting informed consent and the fundamental human right to chose whether or not to accept a medical procedure.
    2. Specific legislation that makes it explicitly clear that the US Federal Government rejects medical and vaccine mandates and is committed to the fundamental principle that humans have a right to informed consent for all medical procedures.


    Be like Dr. Joseph Ladapo.
    Have courage.
    Stand up for medical ethics and the right to choose.

    The post Patient Rights are Not a “Scientific” Issue first appeared on Dissident Voice.

    This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.

  • Israel launches more drone attacks on the Gaza humanitarian flotilla

    The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF), which is currently in Crete, was attacked by Israel with drones in the early hours of this morning, 24 September, just days before its expected arrival in Gaza.

    Israel attacks the Global Sumud Flotilla with drones – again

    In a post on X, the GSF said:

    Explosions, unidentified drones, and communications jamming. We are witnessing these psychological operations firsthand, right now, but we will not be intimidated.

    The peaceful humanitarian mission, which is carrying aid for the people of Gaza and aiming to break Israel’s ongoing siege, reported that at least 13 explosions were heard on and around several flotilla boats, with widespread disruption in communications, raising urgent concerns for the safety of the activists on board:

     

    In a statement which claimed drones or aircraft also dropped sound bombs and chemical materials, and unidentified objects on at least 10 of the boats, the GSF said:

    The lengths to which Israel and its allies will go to prolong the horrors of starvation and genocide in Gaza are sickening. But our resolve is stronger than ever. These tactics will not deter us from our mission to deliver aid to Gaza and break the illegal siege. Every attempt to intimidate us only strengthens our commitment.

    Ongoing campaign by the occupation to criminalise the flotilla

    For weeks, the Israeli occupation, which is now referring to the GSF as a ‘Hamas flotilla’, has escalated its campaign to discredit and criminalise the GSF, portraying it as a “security threat” and trying to manufacture consent for lethal force against the flotilla. The flotilla consists of more than 45 ships, with a crew of more than 500 unarmed civilians from 44 countries. According to the occupation, the flotilla’s crew are “insincere” and “pursuing a violent course of action” because they refuse to transfer the aid to Ashkelon Marina so Israel can:

    forward it promptly to the Gaza Strip.

    The activists, although concerned, say they will continue with their mission undeterred.

    In a post on X, Israeli occupation’s Ministry of Foreign Affair’s spokesperson Oren Marmorstein, who believes Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza is legal, again threatened the flotilla:

    This flotilla, organized by Hamas, is intended to serve Hamas. Israel will not allow vessels to enter an active combat zone and will not allow the breach of a lawful naval blockade….If the flotilla continues to reject Israel’s peaceful proposal, Israel will take the necessary measures.

    Post on X from Oren Marmorstein which reads: "t? Israel Foreign Ministry reposted Oren Marmorstein @OrenMarmorstein · 18h Ø ... We were sorry to hear the response from the Hamas flotilla representative that the flotilla insists on pursuing a violent course of action and refuses our proposal to transfer, in a coordinated and peaceful manner, any aid that might be aboard the flotilla to the Gaza Strip via the nearby Ashkelon Marina. This response once again highlights the insincerity of the flotilla members and their mission to serve Hamas, rather than the people in Gaza. If the flotilla continues to reject Israel's peaceful proposal, Israel will take the necessary measures to prevent its entry into the combat zone and to stop any violation of a lawful naval blockade, while making every possible effort to ensure the safety of its passengers. We reiterate: if your intentions are sincere, transfer any such aid to the Ashkelon Marina so it can be forwarded promptly to the Gaza Strip in a peaceful and non-violent manner."

    On Sunday night, several drones followed the flotilla across the Mediterranean, but no incidents were reported. In a statement, the flotilla said:

    This surveillance is not neutral. It coincides with the ongoing attempts to criminalise and delegitimise a civilian mission whose only purpose is to challenge the siege and stand with Palestinians. For Palestinians in Gaza, drones are not just cameras. They are daily tools of terror and violence, used to surveil, intimidate and kill. Their constant presence is a reminder of the occupation’s grip over every aspect of life. The policing of these waters is part of the same system that denies Palestinians freedom of movement and keeps Gaza cut off from the rest of the world.

    Earlier this month, the GSF was again attacked by drones, while in Tunisia.

    A call for international protection for the flotilla crew

    The flotilla is now around 600 nautical miles from Gaza. Its volunteers are sailing to break the occupation’s siege of Gaza, which has been ongoing for the last 18 years. They are acting in accordance with international law, because they are civilians undertaking a humanitarian mission in international waters. They are asking for international protection for all participants on the ships.

    Last year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza illegal under international law. This means all states are legally bound to recognise Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as unlawful, and must take action to end this situation, while also not aiding Israel in maintaining its occupation.

    Feature image via Al Jazeera/Youtube.

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.

  • Israel’s apartheid systematically destroys all aspects of Palestinian life

    Through its practices, laws and policies, the Israel enforces systematic segregation, discrimination, and domination over Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, and within Israel itself – amounting to apartheid.

    Widespread consensus on Israel’s apartheid regime

    A multitude of human rights organisations and legal experts – including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and even the former head of Mossad, have all concluded that these combined policies and practices constitute a regime of apartheid because they are intentional, systematic, and widespread, and intended to dominate Palestinians and deny them equal rights based on their ethnicity or race.

    In 2024, the ICJ issued a historic advisory opinion finding that Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) constitute apartheid and breach international law, demanding urgent international action to end this regime, and concluding that:

    Israel’s legislation and measures impose and serve to maintain a near-complete separation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem between the settler and Palestinian communities.

    Apartheid is an Afrikaans word meaning ‘separation’. It is a crime against humanity under international law, as defined in the Apartheid Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), entailing inhuman acts committed for the purpose of establishing and maintaining domination by one racial group over another, and characterised by systematic discrimination, oppression, and segregation. In the case of Israeli apartheid in the occupied territory, it is a system whereby Jewish Israelis receive special rights and freedoms while Palestinians living under Israeli rule, in the same area, are treated as inferior in rights and status to Jews, and systematically deprived of their rights.

    Israel’s apartheid aims to advance Jewish supremacy

    According to Amnesty International, the Israeli occupation enforces a system of apartheid against all Palestinians living under their effective control – whether they live in Israel, East Jerusalam, the West Bank, Gaza, or in other countries as refugees. Oppression is institutionalised, and Israeli laws and policies are specifically designed to deprive Palestinians of their rights, while advancing the regime’s goal of Jewish supremacy in the entire area under its control.

    This has even been confirmed by Netanyahu, when he came to power in 2023 and declared:

    The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all spaces of the Land of Israel. The government will promote and develop settlement in all parts of the Land of Israel – in the Galilee, in the Negev, in the Golan, in Judea and Samaria (the biblical name for the West Bank.

    While Israeli law gives people and their spouses from anywhere in the world with one or more Jewish grandparents the right to relocate to Israel and acquire citizenship, the 7.25 million Palestinians who were expelled from their homes or homeland during Israel’s formation in 1948, and are now refugees in their own country or abroad, are being denied by the occupation their legal right to return to areas from which they have fled or were forced. They’re unable to receive compensation for damages, and to either regain their properties, or receive compensation and support for voluntary resettlement.

    Although it withdrew its military and its settlers in 2005, the Israeli occupation still maintains complete control over Gaza and its population of two million, through a land, sea, and air blockade. This means it’s effectively controlling the movement of people and goods. Because of the Israeli occupation’s actions, Gaza has long been referred to as an ‘open-air prison’, with a failing economy and the inability to travel to the rest of Palestine, or abroad.

    Separate legal systems for Jews and Palestinians

    In the West Bank, where oppression due to Israel’s apartheid is most severe, discrimination is institutionalised, as two separate legal systems are applied in a single territory, and which one you have depends on who you are. Palestinians live under Israel’s harsh military law, marked by arbitrary detention, torture, and discrimination, while illegal Jewish settlers, who live in illegally established settlements in the same territory, live under the protection of full Israeli civil law.

    More than 1,800 military orders intervene in almost all aspects of Palestinian daily life, while the Israeli occupation’s police, soldiers, and private security firms are stationed throughout the area to ensure these orders, which are justified as ‘state security’, are obeyed.

    For those not adhering to these military orders, punishment is severe, with military law ignoring basic rights such as fair trials, and allowing arbitrary detention of Palestinians. Palestinians are often arrested and taken from their home unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, and interrogated without a lawyer. They are tried in a military court, with military judges, prosecutors, and translators. Proceedings are conducted in Hebrew, which many Palestinian defendants do not understand, and there is a conviction rate greater than 99%.

    A two-tier legal system legitimising apartheid

    This dual legal system, in violation of international law, has helped to legitimise the occupation and illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, enforces inequality, and is a key part of Israel’s apartheid as it creates two populations living in the same area with drastically different rights.

    Since 1948, when Israel forcibly displaced almost 800,000 Palestinians from their homes and destroyed hundreds of towns an villages, the occupation has aimed to control as much Palestinian land and resources as possible, and to take this for the Jewish population only. By expanding its settlement enterprise in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Israel has not only demolished the possibility of a Palestinian state, but is also cementing its control over the territory.

    Illegal Jewish settlements soaring: Palestinian home demolitions on the rise

    These Israeli settlements are segregated housing units for Jewish Israelis built on Palestinian land and, although illegal under international law, Jews from around the world are welcomed by the Israeli occupation to colonise Palestine.

    There are currently more than 737,000 illegal Jewish settlers living in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and these have the state’s full ideological and material support, being armed by the government and protected by the Israeli occupation’s police and soldiers. These settlers only aim is to force Palestinians off their land, so their colonial settlements can be built there instead, and they do this by storming villages and terrorising residents, burning homes, killing livestock, and destroying crops and trees.

    Israel’s steps to replace Palestinian communities with settlers and extend its sovereignty over the West Bank and East Jerusalem have accelerated. The biggest expansion of Jewish settlements in decades is now taking place, while the number of Palestinian home demolitions in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem is the highest it has been since occupation started in 1967.

    Forced demolitions: a tool of ethnic cleansing

    Forced demolition of homes and other structures – including water pipes, wells, and roads – have long been a tool of ethnic cleansing. They are a war crime, and devastate Palestinian families and communities. When carried out by the Israeli occupation, these demolitions can cost the owner of the structure the equivalent of around £20,000. So, to avoid paying this fine, Palestinians are often forced to bulldoze and tear down their own home, making their family homeless in the process.

    The majority of demolition orders are issued because a home or structure is supposedly ‘illegal’, as it has been built without an Israeli permit, which are almost impossible to obtain. Demolitions are a form of collective punishment and can also be carried out as part of military activities. Thousands of Palestinians lose their homes yearly through demolitions, and this forced displacement breaks Palestinian communities and increases Israeli control over the land.

    Water apartheid by Israel

    The Israeli national water company Mekorot implements an apartheid policy of water management in the occupied Palestinian territory, illegally restricting access to water, depriving Palestinians of a sufficient water supply, and violating World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations.

    So, while these illegal Israeli settlements have unrestricted access to water, 65% of the Palestinians in the West Bank are not even supplied with daily running water in their homes, according to B’Tselem. And in the Jordan Valley, the herding communities consume just 26 litres a day, while the settlers consume 400-700 litres of water per capita per day. This is collective punishment and apartheid directed at Palestinians.

    Military checkpoints fragmenting Palestinian communities

    And while Israeli settlers living in these illegal settlements drive freely on Jewish only roads, and can move between the West Bank and Israel, Palestinians are unable to do this, instead, facing severe movement restrictions. Military checkpoints, roadblocks, and the separation barrier – which the Israeli occupation calls the ‘security fence’ – fragment Palestinian communities and restrict access to education, health services, and economic opportunities, splitting Palestinian homes and farmland apart, and creating isolated enclaves. Meanwhile a strict permit system controls when and where Palestinians can go and makes life extremely difficult. These movement barriers destroy their social and economic life.

    Even when traveling within their own neighbourhoods, they are held back at checkpoints, and treated as intruders in their own land. Palestinian authorities last week warned that in East Jerusalem alone, the Israeli occupation has erected 88 military checkpoints and iron gates in and around the city. This is not about security, but about an apartheid system of control.

    Failed responsibility of the international community

    Apartheid is both an international wrong and a crime against humanity. When a crime against humanity is committed, the international community has an obligation to not only prevent it, but also to hold those who have committed the crime to account. This has not yet happened in the case of the Israeli occupation.

    Michael Lynk, the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, summed up the situation in 2022, when he said:

    For more than 40 years, the UN Security Council and General Assembly have stated in hundreds of resolutions that Israel’s annexation of occupied territory is unlawful, its construction of hundreds of Jewish settlements are illegal, and its denial of Palestinian self-determination breaches international law……if the international community had truly acted on its resolutions 40 or 30 years ago, we would not be talking about apartheid today.

    Featured image via the Canary

    By Charlie Jaay

    This post was originally published on Canary.