DESPERATE SITUATION: Mohammed al-Neder, 21, mourns over the body of his 4-month-old brother Ahmed, who was killed by Israeli fire, during his funeral at Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City
THE Global Sumud (steadfastness) Flotilla will launch its largest fleet yet in a bid to get aid into Gaza next spring, it has announced.
The group, which organised the 40-plus-vessel flotilla which earlier this year became the first to get within 70 nautical miles of Gaza since Israel began blockading the Palestinian territory in 2009, said it plans a new mission with over 100 ships and 1,000 participants.
…
Despite an official ceasefire agreed as of October 10, Gaza remains gripped by a humanitarian crisis, with insufficient food and shelter in a harsh winter. Israel insists it is meeting the ceasefire condition of allowing 600 lorryloads of aid in a day, but these are vetted by Israeli military agency Cogat and it admits 80 per cent are private-sector vehicles, many carrying commercial goods which residents of Gaza — where the economy has been destroyed by the war and the preceding 17-year illegal siege — cannot afford.
“This mission is also not only about those at sea. It is about the millions around the world who are ready to say ‘enough is enough’,” the flotilla organisers said.
“Together, we rise against apartheid, racism, imperialism, colonialism, ecocide, and all systems of oppression.”
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Civil defense teams continue searching with heavy machinery for the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks and trapped under rubble in the al-Amal neighborhood of Khan Yunis, Gaza, on December 20, 2025. [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency]
Civil defense teams in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis are continuing efforts to recover the bodies of Palestinians trapped beneath rubble following Israeli attacks, as the Gaza Strip remains under blockade, Anadolu reports.
The bodies of those killed in the strikes and left buried under collapsed buildings throughout the war are being searched for by civil defense crews using heavy machinery.
Remains recovered after prolonged periods beneath the rubble, including dismembered body parts and bones, are being collected by the teams for later identification.
Israel has killed nearly 70,700 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000 in Gaza since October 2023 and reduced the enclave to rubble.
According to the latest data from Gaza’s Government Media Office, the conflict has resulted in the complete destruction of 268,000 housing units, with 148,000 severely damaged beyond habitability and 153,000 partially damaged.
A ceasefire agreement brokered between Hamas and Israel on October 10 of last year halted large-scale military operations. However, reports indicate that Israel continues demolitions in areas under its control, and the Israeli military has been accused of hundreds of violations of the agreement, including bombardments and killings.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Displaced Palestinians, who struggle with hunger, wait to receive hot meal, distributed by charity organizations, in al-Mawasi region of Khan Yunis, Gaza on December 17, 2025. [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency]
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday warned that while famine in the Gaza Strip has been averted, the humanitarian situation remains extremely fragile, with more than 75% of the population facing acute food insecurity and critical risks of malnutrition, Anadolu Agency reports.
“Famine has been pushed back. Far more people are able to access the food they need to survive,” Guterres told a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York. “Gains are fragile, perilously so.”
He said 1.6 million people in Gaza, more than 75% of the population, are projected to face “extreme levels of acute food insecurity and critical malnutrition risks.”
“And in more than half of Gaza, where Israeli troops remain deployed, farmland and entire neighborhoods are out of reach. Strikes and hostilities continue, pushing the civilian toll of this war even higher and exposing our teams to grave danger,” he said.
Guterres also renewed calls for “a durable ceasefire,” saying: “We need more crossings, the lifting of restrictions on critical items, the removal of red tape, safe routes inside Gaza, sustained funding, and unimpeded access, including for NGOs.”
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released its news findings on Friday, noting that famine conditions in the enclave have been temporarily offset following a reduction in hostilities and improved access for humanitarian and commercial food deliveries. The latest report, however, warned that the overall situation in Gaza remains critical.
The UN chief also touched on Israel’s refusal to move onto the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan until the return of the remains of a final deceased hostage.
“It is essential to move to phase two, and I don’t think that we should have any pretext to avoid it,” said Guterres.
“It’s very important to move with the peace process as a whole. And it’s not only phase two. It’s to make sure that phase one, and namely the ceasefire, are fully implemented,” he added.
ICJ ruling on occupied West Bank ‘must be implemented’
On the situation in the West Bank, Guterres warned that “we cannot lose sight of the rapidly deteriorating situation” in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.
He stressed that Palestinians face “escalating Israeli settler violence, land seizures, demolitions and intensified movement restrictions.”
“Tens of thousands have been displaced following operations by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank,” he added.
Guterres emphasized that provisional measures indicated by the International Court of Justice “are binding and must be implemented.”
He also reaffirmed his support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), calling it “an indispensable role in serving the Palestinian people.”
Saying that the crisis in Palestine is “born of human decisions,” the UN chief urged for an end to “perverse and prolonged suffering.”
“Palestinians need a horizon of hope. The ceasefire must be implemented in full. The endless cycle of violence must be broken,” he said.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Vote Labour for Genocide.Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Palestinians trying to maintain daily life in partially destroyed buildings as heavy rainfall cause tents sheltering displaced Palestinians in the eastern Zaitoun neighborhood to flood in Gaza City, Gaza on December 12, 2025. [Saeed M. M. T. Jaras – Anadolu Agency]
The top diplomats of Egypt and Russia stressed Friday the importance of implementing the Gaza ceasefire agreement and ensuring its sustainability amid continued Israeli violations, Anadolu Agency reports.
Addressing a joint press conference held in Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said Egypt is exerting intensive efforts to stabilize the ceasefire and ensure the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, emphasizing the need to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2803, as well as the need to reopen the Rafah crossing in both directions.
He also highlighted the depth of Egyptian-Russian relations across various fields, noting that he discussed with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, the strategic partnership between Cairo and Moscow and ways to increase bilateral trade.
They also discussed the situation in Sudan and efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, according to Egypt’s state-run Al-Qahera News channel.
Lavrov, for his part, said the trade exchange with Egypt has increased by more than 12% recently, affirming that the two countries share common views on many international issues.
Lavrov added that diplomatic efforts must continue to ensure the sustainability of the Gaza ceasefire, stressing the need to work toward a two-state solution and calm the situation in the West Bank, according to Al-Qahera News.
He also praised Egypt’s role and its mediation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, in addition to what he described as Cairo’s “balanced” position on the Ukraine crisis, saying a settlement is possible “once the root causes are removed.”
Lavrov is visiting Egypt to participate in the second ministerial meeting of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum on Friday and Saturday, with the participation of more than 50 African countries, and heads of regional organizations.
This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpAKeir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks while President Donald Trump looks on during a December 2, 2025 Cabinet meeting in the White House in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk,” the court said.
The International Criminal Court and human rights groups on Thursday condemned new US sanctions on two more of the tribunal’s judges, which brought the total number of sanctioned ICC jurists to 11 amid the Trump administration’s escalating campaign of retaliation against people and institutions seeking to hold Israel and the United States accountable for their alleged crimes.
“Today, I am designating two International Criminal Court (ICC) judges, Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, pursuant to Executive Order 14203, ‘Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court,’” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, referring to President Donald Trump’s February edict.
“These individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent, including voting with the majority in favor of the ICC’s ruling against Israel’s appeal on December 15,” Rubio added, referencing Monday’s rejection of an Israeli bid to block a probe into alleged war crimes committed during the genocidal two-year war on Gaza.
Although Israel and the US are not ICC members and do not recognize the Hague-based tribunal’s jurisdiction, Palestineis a state party to the Rome Statute governing the court. The treaty says that individuals from nonsignatory nations can be held liable for crimes committed in the territory of a member state.
Last year, the ICC issued warrants for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza, including murder and forced starvation in a war that has left more than 250,000 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing.
The Trump administration had previously sanctioned nine other ICC jurists: Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan (United Kingdom), Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan (Fiji), Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang (Senegal), Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa (Uganda), Judge Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza (Peru), Judge Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini-Gansou (Benin), Judge Beti Hohler (Slovenia), Judge Nicolas Yann Guillou (France), and Judge Kimberly Prost (Canada).
The affected judges have recently described how the US sanctions have left them and their families—who are also blacklisted—“wiped out economically and socially.”
Responding to the new US punitive measures, the ICC said Thursday that “these sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution which operates pursuant to the mandate conferred by its states parties from across regions.”
“Such measures targeting judges and prosecutors who were elected by the states parties undermine the rule of law,” the court continued. “When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk.”
“As previously stated, the court stands firmly behind its personnel and behind victims of unimaginable atrocities,” the ICC added. “It will continue to carry out its mandate with independence and impartiality, in full accordance with the Rome Statute and in the interest of victims of international crimes.”
Human Rights Watch also slammed the new US sanctions, which the group called “the latest attempt by the Trump administration to blatantly interfere with independent justice.”
The US government has imposed sanctions on two additional ICC judges in order to shield Israeli officials from charges of grave international crimes.These sanctions are the latest attempt by the Trump administration to blatantly interfere with independent justice.
Amnesty International’s Center for International Justice lamented that “once again, the US administration is attacking international justice—sanctioning two ICC judges. This cannot be normalized.””States must firmly oppose US threats and sanctions and uphold the court’s ability to pursue accountability,” the group added, “even against the most powerful perpetrators.”
Elon Musk urges you to be a Fascist like him, says that you can ignore facts and reality then.Orcas discuss how Trump was re-elected and him being an obviously insane, xenophobic Fascist.
DESPERATE SITUATION: Mohammed al-Neder, 21, mourns over the body of his 4-month-old brother Ahmed, who was killed by Israeli fire, during his funeral at Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City
