Sunday, March 10, 2024

Gaza

At tonight's Academy Award ceremony, several individuals wore pins decrying the continued assault on Gaza including actors: Ramsy Youssef Milo Machado-Graner, Swann Arlaud, Eugene Lee Yang, nominee Mark Ruffalo; directors Ava DuVernay, nominee Misan Harriman and nominee Kaouther Ben Hania; and songwriters Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell who were nominated for -- and won for -- writing BARBIE's "What Was I Made For?"

THE ZONE OF INTEREST received five Academy Award nominations.  Jonathan Glazer was nominated for adapted screenplay and for director.  When the film won for Best International Feature Film, Jonathan gave the acceptance speech.  




Meanwhile, Yasim Gadham (CTV NEWS) reports:


  Children of all ages flew kites in Vancouver calling for a ceasefire in Gaza while also sharing and celebrating Palestinian culture.

The event was organized by Parents for Palestine, an interracial and multi-faith group of parents and families who said they came together Sunday to highlight the impact the current violence and ensuing humanitarian crisis is having on children in Gaza. 

Children of all ages flew kites in Vancouver calling for a ceasefire in Gaza while also sharing and celebrating Palestinian culture.


The event was organized by Parents for Palestine, an interracial and multi-faith group of parents and families who said they came together Sunday to highlight the impact the current violence and ensuing humanitarian crisis is having on children in Gaza.


Alaa Shadid is a mother of three Palestinian children growing up in Vancouver and one of the organizers of the event.


“We are here joining thousands of others around the world flying kites in solidarity with the children of Palestine who have endured suffering. We are here to honour the lives lost and to raise awareness of the plight of the Palestinian people,” she said.


Shadid said in light of what is happening in her homeland, it is “heartwarming” to hear her traditional music and see the culture be embraced.


Gaza remains under assault. Day 156 of  the assault in the wave that began in October.  Binoy Kampmark (DISSIDENT VOICE) points out, "Bloodletting as form; murder as fashion.  The ongoing campaign in Gaza by Israel’s Defence Forces continues without stalling and restriction.  But the burgeoning number of corpses is starting to become a challenge for the propaganda outlets:  How to justify it?  Fortunately for Israel, the United States, its unqualified defender, is happy to provide cover for murder covered in the sheath of self-defence."   CNN has explained, "The Gaza Strip is 'the most dangerous place' in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund."  ABC NEWS quotes UNICEF's December 9th statement, ""The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them."  NBC NEWS notes, "Strong majorities of all voters in the U.S. disapprove of President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war, according to the latest national NBC News poll. The erosion is most pronounced among Democrats, a majority of whom believe Israel has gone too far in its military action in Gaza."  The slaughter continues.  It has displaced over 1 million people per the US Congressional Research Service.  Jessica Corbett (COMMON DREAMS) points out, "Academics and legal experts around the world, including Holocaust scholars, have condemned the six-week Israeli assault of Gaza as genocide."   The death toll of Palestinians in Gaza is grows higher and higher.  United Nations Women noted, "More than 1.9 million people -- 85 per cent of the total population of Gaza -- have been displaced, including what UN Women estimates to be nearly 1 million women and girls. The entire population of Gaza -- roughly 2.2 million people -- are in crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse."  ALJAZEERA notes 31,045 Palestinians killed since October 7th with 72,654 more left injured. Months ago,  AP  noted, "About 4,000 people are reported missing."  February 7th, Jeremy Scahill explained on DEMOCRACY NOW! that "there’s an estimated 7,000 or 8,000 Palestinians missing, many of them in graves that are the rubble of their former home."  February 5th, the United Nations' Phillipe Lazzarini Tweeted:







And the area itself?  Isabele Debre (AP) reveals, "Israel’s military offensive has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells."  Kieron Monks (I NEWS) reports, "More than 40 per cent of the buildings in northern Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, according to a new study of satellite imagery by US researchers Jamon Van Den Hoek from Oregon State University and Corey Scher at the City University of New York. The UN gave a figure of 45 per cent of housing destroyed or damaged across the strip in less than six weeks. The rate of destruction is among the highest of any conflict since the Second World War."   

NBC NEWS notes:


  • In an exclusive interview with MSNBC, President Joe Biden said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's disregard for "innocent lives" is "hurting Israel more than helping Israel." He said that a ground invasion of Rafah would be a red line but that he would "never leave Israel." However, he added, Netanyahu "cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead."
  • Biden also said that he wanted to see a cease-fire and that he maintains hope that there could be one before Ramadan. "I think it's always possible," he said. "I never give up on that."


    • There will be no cease-fire that starts before Ramadan.  Ramadan has begun.  The White House released the following statement from Joe Biden:


    Tonight—as the new crescent moon marks the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan—Jill and I extend our best wishes and prayers to Muslims across our country and around the world.

    The sacred month is a time for reflection and renewal. This year, it comes at a moment of immense pain. The war in Gaza has inflicted terrible suffering on the Palestinian people. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, most of them civilians, including thousands of children. Some are family members of American Muslims, who are deeply grieving their lost loved ones today. Nearly two million Palestinians have been displaced by the war; many are in urgent need of food, water, medicine, and shelter. As Muslims gather around the world over the coming days and weeks to break their fast, the suffering of the Palestinian people will be front of mind for many. It is front of mind for me.

    The United States will continue to lead international efforts to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza by land, air, and sea. Earlier this week, I directed our military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier on the coast of Gaza that can receive large shipments of aid. We are carrying out airdrops of aid, in coordination with our international partners, including Jordan. And we’ll continue to work with Israel to expand deliveries by land, insisting that it facilitate more routes and open more crossings to get more aid to more people.

    While we get more life-saving aid to Gaza, the United States will continue working non-stop to establish an immediate and sustained ceasefire for at least six weeks as part of a deal that releases hostages. And we will continue building toward a long-term future of stability, security, and peace. That includes a two-state solution to ensure Palestinians and Israelis share equal measures of freedom, dignity, security, and prosperity. That is the only path toward an enduring peace.

    Here at home, we have seen an appalling resurgence of hate and violence toward Muslim Americans. Islamophobia has absolutely no place in the United States, a country founded on freedom of worship and built on the contributions of immigrants, including Muslim immigrants. My Administration is developing the first-ever National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Related Forms of Bias and Discrimination, to take on hate against Muslim, Sikh, South Asian, and Arab American communities, wherever it occurs. No one should ever fear being targeted at school, at work, on the street, or in their community because of their background or beliefs.

    To Muslims across our country, please know that you are deeply valued members of our American family. To those who are grieving during this time of war, I hear you, I see you, and I pray you find solace in your faith, family, and community. And to all who are marking the beginning of Ramadan tonight, I wish you a safe, healthy, and blessed month. Ramadan kareem.  

    ###




    Lastly, Laura Khan (ALJAZEERA) reports:

     

    We’ve contacted the Israeli military about the killing of a disabled and unarmed Palestinian man in Gaza – a killing that was caught on a soldier’s body-cam video.

    They said they will get back to us. They did however send a statement to a local outlet and they said they are setting up a probe into the incident. It happened at the Shati refugee camp on November 6. They said the soldiers were operating under very difficult circumstances and they were under fire at the time.

    But as you can see from the video, it was very clear that he was an unarmed older man who was shot dead by an Israeli soldier, who then celebrated what had just happened. So that’s going to be a very tough thing for the Israeli army to explain.

    Now, this is not the first time Israeli soldiers have killed innocent civilians.

    In December, Israeli forces executed 19 unarmed Palestinians, according to eyewitnesses. That same month, Israeli forces killed three of their own captives, clearly unarmed once again. And then last week, we saw what’s become known as the flour massacre, where Israelis shot at Palestinians who were trying to get aid, killing more than a hundred people and wounding hundreds more.

    And we know time and time again, Israel – when it investigates its own conduct – continuously absolves itself of blame. Not just since October 7, but far before that as well.


    The following sites updated:


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