hunger

UN Says Food Availability Has Hit ‘All-Time Low’ in Gaza as Forced Famine Takes Hold

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Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Palestinians gather to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza on December 1, 2024.  (Photo: Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“The window of opportunity to deliver assistance is now, today, not tomorrow,” said the deputy director-general of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

A top official at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said Monday that food availability across Gaza has reached “an all-time low” under Israel’s suffocating blockade, which has heavily restricted the entrance of lifesaving humanitarian assistance and plunged the enclave into famine.

“Food supply has sharply deteriorated,” FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol said at a conference in Cairo, Egypt. “The window of opportunity to deliver assistance is now, today, not tomorrow. Food, medicine, and fuel are self-evident priorities, but we must also prioritize the ability to grow food locally where it is needed most to ensure survival.”

Bechdol’s grim assessment came weeks after the Biden administration pressured Israel to improve conditions on the ground in Gaza, which has been utterly devastated by more than a year of bombing.

Aid organizations say that far from improving, Gaza’s humanitarian crisis has only gotten worse since the Biden administration threatened to cut off the supply of U.S. weapons to Israel. Last month, the U.S. effectively dropped its pressure campaign by concluding that Israel was not violating international law by blocking American humanitarian assistance.

Most of Gaza’s population is currently experiencing “high levels of food insecurity,” according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) figures, and the “risk of Famine persists across the whole Gaza Strip.”

“The catastrophe in Gaza is nothing short of a complete breakdown of our common humanity. The nightmare must stop.”

In addition to obstructing aid deliveries, Israeli forces have decimated Gaza’s agricultural infrastructure and cropland, repeatedly attacked aid workers, and facilitated the looting of humanitarian supplies, fueling desperation among Gaza’s starving population. Last week, as The Associated Pressreported, “two children and a woman were crushed to death… as a crowd of Palestinians pushed to get bread at a bakery in the Gaza Strip amid a worsening food crisis in the war-ravaged territory.”

Amina Mohammed, the U.N.’s deputy secretary-general, said at the Cairo conference on Monday that “conditions for Palestinians in Gaza are appalling and apocalyptic,” with malnutrition running “rampant” and famine “imminent.”

“In the past four months alone, nearly 19,000 children were hospitalized due to acute malnutrition—nearly double the cases in the first half of the year,” Mohammed said. “In the face of the gigantic needs, humanitarian aid is—outrageously—being blocked. This flies in the face of the clear requirements under international humanitarian law to respect and to protect civilians and to ensure their essential needs are met.”

“It’s past time for an immediate cease-fire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” she added. “The catastrophe in Gaza is nothing short of a complete breakdown of our common humanity. The nightmare must stop. We cannot continue to look away.”

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
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/O74hZCKKdpA
Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government's support for Israel's Gaza genocide and the UK government and military's active participation in genocide.
Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide and the UK government and military’s active participation in genocide.
Continue ReadingUN Says Food Availability Has Hit ‘All-Time Low’ in Gaza as Forced Famine Takes Hold

Children in Gaza face health crisis and hunger amid continued Israeli attacks

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Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Photo: AWDA Health & Community Association

Children in Gaza are becoming increasingly hungry and unhealthy as the destruction of healthcare infrastructure exacerbates the spread of infectious diseases

The health of children in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly. Between June and October 2024, Nasser Medical Complex treated 300 children daily for infectious diseases like diarrhea, respiratory issues, and skin infections. These numbers are compounded by Israeli attacks on hospitals, obstruction of humanitarian aid, and the dire living conditions faced by more than one million forcibly displaced Palestinians preparing for winter in makeshift shelters.

The situation is equally critical regarding hunger and related conditions among children. Since the beginning of the year, nearly 33,000 children have been admitted for acute malnutrition. Health workers have also reported a rise in cases of nutritional edema, a condition that causes swelling due to a lack of protein intake. For over a year, children in the Gaza Strip have struggled to access adequate nutrition because of Israel’s blockades.

Child health experts have repeatedly warned about the long-term consequences of hunger for generations growing up in Palestine. Now, they caution that “there are clear signs of a rapidly worsening nutritional situation across Gaza, with two-thirds of the children admitted for outpatient treatment of acute malnutrition since the beginning of 2024 recorded in the past five months alone.”

Read more: UN experts say, there is already famine in Gaza

Many child health services have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks, leaving families reliant on sparse healthcare facilities still providing support. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) recently reported that, as a result, many mothers are forced to undertake dangerous journeys on foot to access healthcare for their infants. These journeys, MSF stated, expose both mothers and children to potential attacks and “put them [ill children] at high risk of health complications.”

“Even after receiving treatment, newborns and children return to unsanitary living conditions, which in turn leads to a deterioration of their health conditions and ability to heal properly,” MSF said. “My son doesn’t laugh, doesn’t play, doesn’t drink milk. He sleeps all the time,” a forcibly displaced mother shared with MSF.

Poor hygiene conditions, resulting from Israeli bombardment of water and sanitation infrastructure, are set to worsen further as the rainy season progresses. Thousands of tents have already been destroyed by heavy rains in recent days. Humanitarian agencies expect that heavy rainfall and rising sea tides will make sewage accumulation worse, fueling the spread of disease.

Read more: Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh’s death by torture underscores brutal targeting of Palestinian health workers by Israel 

Meanwhile, Israeli attacks on healthcare facilities and other civilian infrastructure in Gaza continue. Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza is still being targeted, including by quadcopters, resulting in damage to essential medical equipment and critical injuries to more healthcare personnel. Among the injured is the hospital’s director, Hussam Abu Safiya.

Israeli authorities are still trying to justify the attacks by alleging the presence of Palestinian resistance groups in the hospitals they are attacking, despite not providing any proof. However, UN human rights experts emphasize that even if such claims were true, “Israeli forces are still bound by their obligations under international humanitarian law.”

“The manner in which this Israeli operation [the attack on Kamal Adwan] has been conducted is raising concerns about the likelihood that northern Gaza will be emptied of Palestinians through death and displacement,” the UN Human Rights Office in Palestine stated.

People’s Health Dispatch is a fortnightly bulletin published by the People’s Health Movement and Peoples Dispatch. For more articles and subscriptions to People’s Health Dispatch, click here.

Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

dizzy: Israel’s genocides should be regarded as a joint enterprise involving the United States, United Kingdom and Israel.

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
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/O74hZCKKdpA
Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government's support for Israel's Gaza genocide and the UK government and military's active participation in genocide.
Genocide denying UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy says that UK is suspending 30 of 350 arms licences to Israel. He also confirms the UK government’s support for Israel’s Gaza genocide and the UK government and military’s active participation in genocide.

Continue ReadingChildren in Gaza face health crisis and hunger amid continued Israeli attacks

Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh’s death by torture underscores brutal targeting of Palestinian health workers by Israel

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Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh

New details have emerged in the case of the Palestinian surgeon who was tortured to death and sexually abused by Israeli forces. Meanwhile, the health situation in Gaza remains dire.

New reports have surfaced regarding the death of Palestinian surgeon Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh, who was abducted by Israeli armed forces in December 2023 during an attack on Al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza. His case sheds further light on the abuse endured by health workers in Israeli prisons and detention camps. Palestinian prisoner associations had previously reported that Dr. Al-Bursh died as a result of torture. Now, testimonies from other detainees reveal that his abuse included sexual abuse.

These reports indicate that Israeli soldiers subjected Al-Bursh to exceptionally harsh treatment as soon as they identified him at Al-Awda Hospital. Dr. Khalid Hamouda, another physician detained by Israeli forces, recounted the severe injuries Dr. Al-Bursh sustained during his imprisonment in Sde Teiman concentration camp. At one point, Dr. Al-Bursh had difficulty walking or using the toilet without help, and feared his ribs had been broken in the beatings. Dr. Hamouda described meeting him in this state before Dr. Al-Bursh was transferred to Ofer prison.

When Dr. Al-Bursh was transferred to the new facility, fellow prisoners described his state as “deplorable.” They recounted visible injuries across his body, evidence of severe assault, and reported that he had been left naked “in the lower part of his body.” Soon after, he died.

“A doctor. A stellar surgeon. The embodiment of Palestinian ethics. Likely raped to death,” UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese wrote on X following the release of the new reports. She condemned the lack of reaction to the atrocities committed by Israeli soldiers, stating, “The racism of Western media who are not covering this, and Western politicians who are not denouncing this, together with the thousand other testimonies and allegations of rape and other forms of mistreatment and torture that Palestinians have suffered in Israeli jails, is absolutely sickening.”

Read more: Remember the Palestinian doctors killed by Israel

Accounts of torture and abuse similar to what Dr. Adnan Al-Bursh endured have been shared by other health workers recently released from Israeli detention. Many have highlighted that health workers represent a significant proportion—up to one quarter in some camps—of the total number of detainees held by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). This supports reports that the IOF systematically targets health workers in an effort to undermine Palestinian resistance and destroy any prospects for rebuilding.

Among those who described their imprisonment is Dr. Khaled Al Serr, a doctor originally employed at the Nasser Medical Complex, who spent six months in detention. He described following a similar path to Dr. Al-Bursh, being transferred from Sde Teiman to Ofer prison, where he endured regular beatings, including to intimate areas. “It was humiliating, but worse than that, they treated us like criminals,” he said in recent interviews. “We were just doctors trying to save lives.”

Read more: In Palestine, healthcare is also a form of resistance

Despite targeted attacks and the acute shortage of medical supplies, nurses, doctors, and other health workers in Gaza continue to provide care under dire circumstances. Recent efforts by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other UN agencies finally succeeded in reaching the few remaining hospitals in northern Gaza to facilitate medical evacuations and deliver some essential supplies, including fuel, food, and medicine. However, these missions were obstructed by Israeli soldiers, who blocked parts of the deliveries. This has led to even more uncertainty about how much longer these facilities can remain operational.

The consequences of shortages and ongoing attacks in Gaza are escalating by the day. Hunger is spreading rapidly, with health and nutrition experts warning that signs of famine in the northern regions are becoming increasingly alarming. They are urgently calling for the immediate delivery of food across the Strip and an end to Israeli obstructions of humanitarian aid, emphasizing that delays will have fatal outcomes. People will die of hunger even before a famine is officially declared, and this would have “irreversible consequences that can last generations,” warned Rein Pulsen of the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Read also: UN experts say, there is already famine in Gaza

The number of people hospitalized due to hunger, including many children, is rising, with their health further deteriorated by critical living conditions. Infectious diseases are spreading, compounded by the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure. Most forcibly displaced people are living in makeshift tents and are forced to rely on improvised absorption trenches for sanitation. These trenches, mostly dug by the displaced themselves, pose severe risks: children have fallen into them, collapses caused by oversaturation are not uncommon, and they have become breeding grounds for diseases like cholera. “We relieve ourselves in a pit that smells and certainly causes us disease, but we have no choice but to use it,” Abdul Salam Al-Aswad, one of the displaced, told The Electronic Intifada.

The impact on chronic diseases in Gaza is equally worrying. Cancer patients are being denied access to lifesaving care, while Israeli bombardments have exposed thousands of pregnant women to toxic materials found in explosives. Doctors have noted a troubling increase in infants born with congenital conditions, such as underdeveloped lungs, limbs, and other severe abnormalities, warning of correlations with the use of white phosphorus. Without adequate medical care in Gaza and with medical evacuations systematically denied, many of these children die.

As an immediate ceasefire is the only true solution to the destruction of healthcare in Gaza, health workers and activists are urging more international pressure on Israel. This pressure is essential not only to stop the attacks, but also to ensure the entry of medical supplies and, critically, food into the besieged Strip, offering at least some immediate relief.

People’s Health Dispatch is a fortnightly bulletin published by the People’s Health Movement and Peoples Dispatch. For more articles and subscription to People’s Health Dispatch, click here.

Original article by Ana Vračar republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
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/O74hZCKKdpA
Continue ReadingDr. Adnan Al-Bursh’s death by torture underscores brutal targeting of Palestinian health workers by Israel

‘Grotesque’: Israeli Knesset Bans UN Agency in Charge of Humanitarian Aid in Gaza

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Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

A worker with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East and displaced Palestinians check the damage inside a U.N. school-turned-shelter near Gaza City after a reported Israeli strike on October 19, 2024. (Photo: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images)

“This legislation not only contravenes the basic principles of human rights that led to the U.N. General Assembly’s founding of UNRWA, but also violates a range of Israel’s international legal obligations.”

Over a year into Israel’s obliteration of the Gaza Strip, Israeli lawmakers faced sharp criticism on Monday after voting for a pair of bills targeting the United Nations agency responsible for humanitarian aid in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories.

The first bill, which says that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) “will not operate any missions, won’t provide any service, and won’t hold any activity—directly or indirectly—in the sovereign territory of the state of Israel,” passed the Israeli parliament 92-10.

The second legislative proposal—under which the Israeli agency that handles humanitarian issues, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), will have to cut off contact with UNRWA—passed the 120-member Knesset 87-9. Critics called the votes “grotesque” and “outrageous.”

The Israel-based organization Adalah said in a statement that “despite widespread international pressure and condemnation, the Knesset has nearly unanimously passed two bills aimed at dismantling UNRWA, all while Israel continues its genocidal assault on Gaza and intensifies violence across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”

“This legislation threatens a vital lifeline for over 2.5 million Palestinian refugees throughout the occupied Palestinian territory,” the group warned. “It represents a deliberate attempt to fundamentally undermine UNRWA and its essential mission of supporting the relief, education, and human development of Palestinian refugees. Specifically, the laws aim to strip Palestinians—who were forcibly displaced from their homes during the 1948 Nakba and the 1967 war—of their status as refugees and their right of return.”

The United Nations General Assembly created UNRWA in 1949, in the wake of the Nakba, or “catastrophe,” when more than 750,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homeland to establish the modern state of Israel—whose officials have claimed without providing evidence that a dozen of the agency’s 13,000 staffers in Gaza were involved with the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

“This legislation not only contravenes the basic principles of human rights that led to the U.N. General Assembly’s founding of UNRWA, but also violates a range of Israel’s international legal obligations, including those under the Genocide Convention and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” said Adalah. “The international community must hold Israel accountable.”

Although Israel faces a South Africa-led genocide case at the International Court of Justice over its war on Hamas-controlled Gaza—which has killed at least 43,020 people and injured another 101,110 since last October—governments around the world have not acted to stop the bloodshed. The U.S. Congress and President Joe Biden’s administration have even provided Israel with billions of dollars in military aid and blocked cease-fire resolutions at the United Nations.

Earlier this month, the Biden administration finally threatened to cut off weapons if the Israeli government does not take “urgent and sustained actions” to improve humanitarian conditions in Gaza within 30 days. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s letter specifically raised concerns about the legislation that passed the Knesset Monday.

Asked about the Israeli bills on Monday, Matthew Miller, a U.S. State Department spokesperson frequently slammed for his statements about Israel, pointed to the secretaries’ criticism of the legislation in the recent letter and acknowledged that UNRWA serves the West Bank and plays “an irreplaceable role” in Gaza, where Palestinians are starving to death.

Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s regional director in the Middle East and North Africa, said Monday that “Israel has bombed Palestinians to death, maimed them, starved them, and is now ridding them of their biggest lifeline of aid. Piece by piece, Israel is systemically dismantling Gaza as a land that is autonomous and liveable for Palestinians.”

“Its banning of UNRWA today is condemnable and another step in this crime,” she argued. “The decision will further undermine the ability of the international community to provide sufficient humanitarian aid and to save lives in any safe, independent, and impartial way. UNRWA was not only the biggest and most established agency that has been delivering aid and sustenance to the people of Gaza for years, it was also a thread that connected them in some hope of solidarity and security to the United Nations.”

“We are in no doubt that Israel and its allies are fully aware of the terrible consequences that this decision will have on Palestinians living in Gaza, many of whom are already starving,” she added. “We join others in warning again that this will result in more death, more suffering, and more forced displacement of people from their besieged homeland. It is impossible not to believe that this is their aim.”

Leading up to the votes, human rights advocates have been sounding the alarm. On Saturday, over 50 groups including Oxfam, Human Rights Watch, and ActionAid released a joint statement demanding action and warning that “dismantling UNRWA would be catastrophic for Palestinians especially in Gaza and the West Bank as they are deprived of essentials such as food, water, medical aid, education, and protection. It will also have catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, where essential humanitarian aid is crucial for both the refugees and the host communities.”


Philippe Lazzarini, the UNRWA commissioner-general, delivered a similar warning on social media Monday, declaring that the Knesset action not only “is unprecedented and sets a dangerous precedent” but “it opposes the U.N. Charter and violates the state of Israel’s obligations under international law.”

“This is the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimize its role towards providing human-development assistance and services to Palestine Refugees,” he continued. “These bills will only deepen the suffering of Palestinians, especially in Gaza where people have been going through more than a year of sheer hell.”

“It ⁠will deprive over 650,000 girls and boys there from education, putting at risk an entire generation of children,” Lazzarini added. “These bills increase the suffering of the Palestinians and are nothing less than collective punishment.”

Original article by Jessica Corbett republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). 

Continue Reading‘Grotesque’: Israeli Knesset Bans UN Agency in Charge of Humanitarian Aid in Gaza

Palestinian Diplomat Calls Israeli Assault on Northern Gaza ‘Genocide Within the Genocide’

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Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

A Palestinian man mourns after an Israeli attack killed members of this family on October 12, 2024. (Photo: Omar al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly “examining a plan to seal off humanitarian aid to northern Gaza,” which could starve hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

Palestine’s deputy permanent observer to the United Nations said Saturday that “what is happening in northern Gaza now is a genocide within the genocide” as Israeli forces continued to bombard the region and terrorize the hundreds of thousands of people who remain trapped there, in increasingly desperate need of food and other necessities.

Palestinian Ambassador Majed Bamya’s message came after the World Food Program (WFP) warned that Israel’s latest offensive in northern Gaza “is having a disastrous impact on food security for thousands of Palestinian families.”

“Food distribution points, as well as kitchens and bakeries in North Gaza, have been forced to shut down due to airstrikes, military ground operations, and evacuation orders,” the U.N. body said in a statement. “The only functioning bakery in North Gaza, supported by WFP, caught fire after being hit by an explosive munition.”

Antoine Renard, WFP’s country director for Palestine, said that the northern part of the enclave “is basically cut off and we’re not able to operate there.”

“WFP has been on the ground since the onset of the crisis,” said Renard. “We are committed to delivering lifesaving food every day despite the mounting challenges, but without safe and sustained access, it is virtually impossible to reach the people in need.”


No shipments of food, water, or medicine have been able to enter northern Gaza in at least two weeks due to Israel’s assault, which has trapped around 400,000 people and killed dozens. Residents have reported witnessing Israeli drones and quadcopters fire on people attempting to flee the famine-stricken area.

Israel’s military said Saturday that even shelters for displaced people in northern Gaza are considered part of a “dangerous combat zone,” further underscoring that there is no safe place in the besieged enclave.

” Israel is exterminating northern Gaza right now,” said Middle East historian and analyst Assal Rad. “There are 400,000 Palestinians there being deliberately starved, with nowhere to go, trapped inside a killing field. There’s no outrage or wall-to-wall media coverage because Israel is the one doing it and the victims are Arab.”

On Sunday, The Associated Press reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “examining a plan to seal off humanitarian aid to northern Gaza in an attempt to starve out Hamas militants, a plan that, if implemented, could trap without food or water hundreds of thousands of Palestinians unwilling or unable to leave their homes.”

According to AP, the plan was proposed to Netanyahu and the Israeli parliament by “a group of retired generals.” It would give the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who remain in the northern third of Gaza a week to leave before the area is declared a “closed military zone.”

“Those who remain would be considered combatants—meaning military regulations would allow troops to kill them—and denied food, water, medicine, and fuel,” AP added. “The plan calls for Israel to maintain control over the north for an indefinite period to attempt to create a new administration without Hamas, splitting the Gaza Strip in two.”

While the Netanyahu government has not yet decided whether to “fully carry out” the plan, the outlet observed, “one official with knowledge of the matter said parts of the plan are already being implemented, without specifying which parts.”

Citing senior defense officials, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported Sunday that the Netanyahu government “is not seeking to revive hostage talks and the political leadership is pushing for the gradual annexation of large parts of the Gaza Strip.”

“Army commanders in the field who spoke with Haaretz say the recent decision to launch operations in northern Gaza was taken without any in-depth discussion. They said it appeared that the operations were aimed principally at pressuring local residents, who were again told to evacuate the area for the coast as winter is approaching,” the newspaper continued. “It is possible that the operation is laying the groundwork for a decision by the government to put into effect the so-called surrender or starve plan of Maj. Gen. (ret.) Giora Eiland.”

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).

Continue ReadingPalestinian Diplomat Calls Israeli Assault on Northern Gaza ‘Genocide Within the Genocide’