All posts tagged: Israel-Hamas war

UN rights report condemns displacement of Palestinians in West Bank

UN rights report condemns displacement of Palestinians in West Bank

Published by Sam Flores

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. human rights office Tuesday expressed concerns about possible “ethnic cleansing,” denouncing an acceleration of Israeli settlements and displacements of thousands of Palestinians in large parts of the occupied West Bank that has grown “more relentless” in recent months. A new report from the office of Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, covers a yearlong period through the end of October and warns of expanded settlements in large parts of the West Bank and the forced displacement of more than 36,000 Palestinians. Since then, “the pace of the concerted efforts by the Israeli government to seize as much Palestinian land as possible — with as few Palestinians in it as possible — is only becoming more relentless,” Ajith Sunghay, the head of the rights office in occupied Palestinian areas, told a U.N. briefing in Geneva. The Israeli diplomatic mission in Geneva responded by saying that as far as Israel was concerned, the U.N. rights office “has lost all credibility.” It alluded to longtime allegations — backed often by …

Judge to decide if Penn must produce records in probe of antisemitism at Ivy League school

Judge to decide if Penn must produce records in probe of antisemitism at Ivy League school

Published by Sam Flores

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The federal government’s demand for information about the membership of Jewish groups from the University of Pennsylvania in an investigation into whether antisemitism has created a hostile environment for employees landed Tuesday before a federal judge who will decide whether to enforce a subpoena. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s probe of the Ivy League school in Philadelphia has cited several incidents, including that someone had shouted antisemitic obscenities and destroyed property at a Jewish student life center, a Nazi swastika was painted on an academic building and “hateful graffiti” was left outside a fraternity. The investigation has also focused on actions related to protests over the war in Gaza, and Penn’s response to that and other incidents. The hearing before U.S. District Judge Gerald Pappert on Tuesday involved the EEOC’s request, filed against Penn’s Board of Trustees in November, seeking to enforce an administrative subpoena it issued as part of the investigation into claims the school has subjected its Jewish faculty and employees to an illegal hostile work environment based on national …

Prominent Israeli Artist Doron Langberg Addresses ‘Atrocities’ in Gaza

Prominent Israeli Artist Doron Langberg Addresses ‘Atrocities’ in Gaza

Published by Jenni Sidey

On Friday, Doron Langberg, one of the most successful and well-known Israeli artists working today, will open his first New York exhibition in seven years at Jeffrey Deitch’s Tribeca gallery. For the occasion, Langberg has so far opted to give a single interview—to the New York Times—and to publish an accompanying 750-word text on Deitch’s website addressing how his new body of work reflects the Israel-Palestine conflict. Langberg has not spoken extensively about the issue in the past. The body of work for which he is best known consists of portraits and domestic scenes that explore queer life, gender, and sexuality. He has cited David Hockney, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Mickalene Thomas as influences; in a 2019 Jewish Currents feature, Langberg and several other LGBTQIA+ painters, including Louis Fratino and Salman Toor, were described as part of a movement dubbed “New Queer Intimism.” Related Articles A graduate of Yale University’s prestigious art school, Langberg has been featured in exhibitions at the Leslie Lohman Museum in New York and the Schwules Museum in Berlin, had a piece …

Gaza’s ceasefire had some momentum. Now, some fear a new war will distract the world

Gaza’s ceasefire had some momentum. Now, some fear a new war will distract the world

Published by Sam Flores

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Some Palestinians say they fear the widening war sparked by U.S. and Israeli attacks against Iran could overshadow the fragile situation in Gaza, just over a week after U.S. President Donald Trump rallied billions of dollars in pledges for the territory’s reconstruction and tried to nudge a ceasefire forward. Residents say they are scared of neglect and deprivation, with Israel in the wake of the weekend strikes closing all crossings into their shattered territory of over 2 million people. COGAT, the Israeli military body overseeing civilian affairs in Gaza, has closed crossings into the territory and frozen the entrance and exit of humanitarian workers because, it says, the crossings cannot not be safely operated under fire. It said crossings would reopen as soon as the security situation allows. It said that Palestinians there have enough food stockpiled, though some organizations warned they could soon run out of supplies. Palestinians told The Associated Press they were rushing to markets, haunted by memories of painful food scarcity last year under months …

A new Gallup poll shows how Americans’ sympathies have shifted in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

A new Gallup poll shows how Americans’ sympathies have shifted in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON (AP) — American sympathies in the Middle East have shifted dramatically toward the Palestinians, according to new Gallup polling, after decades of overwhelming support for the Israelis. That shift accelerated during the war in Gaza. Three years ago, 54% of Americans sympathized more with the Israelis, compared with 31% for the Palestinians. Now, their support is about evenly balanced, with 41% saying their sympathies lie more with the Palestinians, and only 36% saying the same about the Israelis. The numbers reflect how support for Israel has become deeply contentious in the U.S., with profound implications for American politics and foreign policy. The changing sentiment has been largely driven by Democrats, who are now much more likely to sympathize with Palestinians. U.S. assistance to Israel has been a major dividing line in the party’s primaries this year. Gallup’s data indicates that the shift was already happening before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, then increased during Israel’s subsequent military operations in Gaza. The polling has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 …

When the Internet Goes Dark, the Truth Goes With It

When the Internet Goes Dark, the Truth Goes With It

Published by skeptic

Alaqad says that because traditional media outlets pick and choose what to show their audiences, losing on-the-ground journalists means losing parts of the truth. “When the people are being silenced and censored, and they don’t have a space for them to talk or a platform to express what’s happening, and for us to see what’s happening through their eyes, there will always be limitations [on] how much we know,” she says. In every crisis, when communication breaks down, accountability is lost and injustice becomes easier to ignore. “Injustice is super loud,” Alaqad says. “Justice needs to be louder.” Targeted Journalists are also silenced permanently. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) wrote in December 2025 that 67 media professionals were killed that year, 43 percent of whom were killed in Gaza by Israeli armed forces. The total number of journalists killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023 has risen to over 220, according to the RSF. The UN estimate sits at more than 260. “When we look at it within the framework of imposing a ban on the …

Gaza’s Nasser Hospital condemns MSF decision to suspend most services

Gaza’s Nasser Hospital condemns MSF decision to suspend most services

Published by Sam Flores

CAIRO (AP) — One of Gaza’s last functioning large hospitals condemned the decision by Doctors Without Borders to pull out of operations over concerns about armed men, claiming on Sunday that the facility had installed civilian police for security. The rare public friction between two well-known health care providers in Gaza came as the Palestinian death toll since the current ceasefire surpassed 600. At least 11 Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in the last 24 hours, hospitals said. Doctors Without Borders, also known by its acronym MSF, said in a statement Saturday that all its noncritical medical operations at Nasser Hospital were suspended due to security breaches that posed “serious” threats to its teams and patients. MSF said there had been an increase in patients and staff seeing armed men in parts of the compound since the U.S.-brokered October ceasefire was reached. Nasser Hospital said Sunday the increase in armed men was due to a civilian police presence aimed at protecting patients and staff and said MSF’s “allegations are factually incorrect, irresponsible and pose …

Australia seeks charges over a 2024 Israeli airstrike in Gaza that killed an Australian aid worker

Australia seeks charges over a 2024 Israeli airstrike in Gaza that killed an Australian aid worker

Published by Sam Flores

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia is demanding criminal charges over a 2024 Israeli airstrike on an aid convoy in Gaza that killed seven people, including an Australian aid worker, the country’s prime minister said Wednesday in a case that has drawn sweeping condemnation and strained relations between the two countries. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he conveyed the request to visiting Israeli President Isaac Herzog during a meeting earlier in the day. Australian Zomi Frankcom was one of four World Central Kitchen aid workers killed by an Israeli drone on April 1, 2024. The other aid workers were an American-Canadian dual citizen, a Palestinian and a Polish national. Three British security staff were also killed in the same airstrike. There was no immediate response on Albanese’s request from Herzog, who visited the national capital, Canberra, on Wednesday after spending two days in Sydney, where he comforted Jews reeling from an antisemitic attack at Bondi Beach in December that left 15 dead. Herzog’s visit triggers controversy Though Australia’s major political parties largely back Herzog’s visit, Albanese …

Israeli strikes kill 3 people in Gaza, hospital says

Israeli strikes kill 3 people in Gaza, hospital says

Published by Sam Flores

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli military strikes on Monday killed three people west of Gaza City, according to the hospital where the casualties arrived. Shifa Hospital reported the deaths amid the months-old ceasefire that has seen continued fighting. The Israeli army said Monday it is striking targets in response to Israeli troops coming under fire in the southern city of Rafah, which it says was a violation of the ceasefire. The army said it is striking targets “in a precise manner.” The four-month-old U.S-backed ceasefire followed stalled negotiations and included Israel and Hamas accepting a 20-point plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war unleashed by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel. At the time, Trump said it would lead to a “Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.” Hamas freed all the living hostages it still held at the outset of the deal in exchange for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and the remains of others. But the larger issues the agreement sought to address, including the …

Palestinians allowed in to Gaza and patients are evacuated to Egypt as the Rafah crossing reopens

Palestinians allowed in to Gaza and patients are evacuated to Egypt as the Rafah crossing reopens

Published by Sam Flores

CAIRO (AP) — A dozen Palestinian returnees were allowed into Gaza from Egypt late Monday after the long-awaited reopening of the Rafah border crossing was marred by delays. Their arrival came hours after a small group of medical evacuees was ferried from the territory into Egypt. The reopening of the crossing marked a key step in the Israel-Hamas ceasefire but mostly a symbolic one, with few people allowed to travel and no goods allowed to pass through. The limitations were apparent Monday as crossings fell well short of the 50 people officials had said would be allowed to move in each direction. About 20,000 Palestinian children and adults needing medical care hope to leave the devastated territory via the crossing, according to Gaza health officials. Thousands of other Palestinians outside the territory hope to enter and return home. The crossing had been closed since Israeli troops seized it in May 2024. The number of travelers is expected to increase over time if the system is successful. Israel has said it and Egypt will vet people …