UN peacekeepers operating in Lebanon with the goal of “restoring state authority and ensuring lasting stability”. Photo: UNIFIL/X
Israel’s repeated violations of its neighbors’ sovereignty without being held accountable by the UN Security Council, confirm once again its guaranteed impunity.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a press release on Sunday, November 16, that some of its troops were targeted by Israeli artillery shelling earlier that day inside the Lebanese territories.
The peacekeeping mission clarified that its personnel escaped the offensive unharmed, after asking the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) to stop the assault through liaison channels.
The UNIFIL considered the incident, which marks the third Israeli attack on its troops in the last three months, a serious violation of the Security Council resolution 1701, which was adopted in 2006 to resolve the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
For its part, the IOF claimed that it misidentified the targeted peacekeepers due to poor visibility caused by weather conditions, after spotting two suspects in southern Lebanon, which entailed firing “warning shots” to disperse them.
However, the repeated assaults by the IOF against the mission for over a year exposes Israel’s systematic targeting of United Nations personnel, not only in Lebanon but also in other parts of the region, particularly Gaza.
Lebanon to file complaint against Israel for building a wall on the southern Lebanese border
Besides its daily airstrikes across Lebanon, and the recurrent attacks on UNIFIL troops, Israel has also committed another violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty by building a concrete wall that crosses the UN-demarcated Blue Line.
In response to the blatant violation, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, issued directives to the concerned government officials to file an urgent complaint against Israel with the UN Security Council.
A UNIFIL report that refutes Israel’s denial of building the wall, and confirms that the wall has made 4,000 square meters of Lebanese land inaccessible to the residents in the affected area, will be enclosed in the complaint.
“Israeli presence and construction in Lebanese territory are violations of Security Council resolution 1701 and of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The UNIFIL asserted in the report.
It further reiterated its call on the IOF “to respect the Blue Line in its full length and withdraw from all areas north of it.”
Palestinians return to their neighborhoods in Gaza amid the third ceasefire deal with Israel. Photo: screenshot
The entry of a minimum quantity of aid to besieged Gaza, the release of all Israeli captives in return for Palestinian prisoners, the return of displaced people to their home areas, and the IOF’s withdrawal to agreed-upon lines are the main points of the first phase.
Over two years after one of the most gruesome genocides in modern history began, claiming tens of thousands of lives in the besieged Gaza Strip and shaking hearts and minds across the world, a ceasefire deal was finally reached. The hope is that it will be permanent, ending the latest and intensified genocidal violence that the Palestinian people have endured.
The current ceasefire deal, which US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday, October 8, finally went into effect at noon on Friday local time, according to the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
The agreement is the third reached during Israel’s merciless, two-year-long genocidal aggression against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The first ceasefire took place in November, 2023, and lasted only 6 days before being violated by Netanyahu’s government. The second was reached in January 2025, before being annihilated by the Israeli occupation two months later.
The ceasefire begins with the IOF’s withdrawal to agreed-upon deployment lines
The ceasefire officially started after the IOF completed the withdrawal of its troops to certain agreed-upon deployment lines within the besieged Gaza Strip on Friday at noon.
The timeline for releasing Israeli captives by Hamas
Now that the ceasefire has taken effect, Hamas was given a 72-hour window to release all 48 Israeli captives held in Gaza (alive or deceased). The deadline for the whole process to be completed was set for Monday, October 13, at noon.
All the 20 living captives, and some of the deceased, should be released by the timeline. However, Hamas made it clear that it will not be able to determine the location of all the 28 dead captives by the established deadline. A fact which Israel has also been familiar with.
Israeli sources reported that the Israeli government has for months been aware of the fact that Hamas does not know the whereabouts of some deceased Israeli captives because a group of them were held by other Palestinian factions in Gaza. Thus their release or retrieval may be beyond Hamas’s control.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have started to return to their home areas
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, forcibly displaced to southern Gaza, began to return to their devastated home areas in other parts of the besieged strip as soon the ceasefire went into effect on Friday at noon.
Videos went viral of a flood of Palestinian people walking towards Gaza city along the coastal road, weeks after fleeing Israel’s merciless offensive, which flattened the city into rubble.
The majority of the population is seen in the footage walking on foot for distances of about 20 kilometers, carrying shabby luggage sacks on their backs. Meanwhile, others hired donkey carts, a high-price service often unaffordable for many.
Although the IOF withdrew its troops from certain areas in the besieged strip, they informed the people of Gaza that Israeli soldiers are still deployed in other areas, warning them to avoid approaching them. The alarming message has added a level of panic to the already arduous and long return journey.
Aid to start entering Gaza under UN supervision on Sunday
Multiple international media outlets reported on Friday that Israel has finally given approval to the United Nations to begin large-scale aid deliveries to Gaza as of Sunday, October 12.
The prospective aid shipment will include 170,000 metric tons of supplies, which are already stationed in neighboring countries, including Jordan and Egypt. Humanitarian teams in charge of handling the delivery process had also been waiting for Israel’s authorization to resume their operations.
For his part, the spokesperson for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Stéphane Dujarric, told reporters in New York on Friday that some essential life-saving materials have started to flow into Gaza through the Israel-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing, including fuel, medical supplies, and other critical materials.
The senior UN official further urged Israel to open more border crossings, and guarantee the safe movement of aid workers and civilians alike, especially in areas that were very recently subjected to heavy fire by the IOF during their return journey.
Israel publishes list of Palestinian prisoners to be released as part of the deal, Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office denies reaching an agreement on the list
The Israeli Ministry of Justice published on its website on Friday, a list of the Palestinian prisoners, who are allegedly intended to be freed as part of the current ceasefire deal.
The published list includes the names of 250 Palestinians sentenced to life imprisonment, and 1,700 other prisoners, including women and children, who were arrested from Gaza after October 7, 2023.
Nonetheless, the published list does not include the names of prominent figures in the Palestinian Prisoners’ movement, whose release Hamas has always held as a condition during every round of Gaza ceasefire negotiations. The eminent prisoners excluded from the list published by Israel are:
Marwan Barghouti
Ahmed Saadat
Abdullah Barghouti
Hassan Salama
Abbas al-Sayed
Ibrahim Hamed
Commenting on the list, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Media Office issued a statement via its Telegram channel, denying that any final agreement has been reached regarding the Palestinian prisoners to be released.
“No official agreement has yet been reached regarding the lists of prisoners included in the exchange deal,” the statement reads.
“If a final agreement is reached, the official lists will be published on the Prisoners’ Media Office’s (social media) platforms,” the office added.
Reports say that Hamas is insisting on the release of the eminent prisoners, making that the most significant sticking point in current negotiations. The group has also affirmed their refusal to disarm.
The ceasefire deal is a victory of Palestinian people and the masses who mobilized against Genocide, says IPA
The International Peoples’ Assembly (IPA) issued a statement on Thursday, October 9, unequivocally saluting “the unyielding resistance and resilience of the Palestinian people, who have bravely confronted unimaginable violence and devastation with steadfastness.”
“This agreement would not have been reached were it not for their strength and determination,” the IPA emphasized.
The IPA considered reaching the agreement a victory that “belongs to the Palestinian people and the masses who mobilized against Genocide, Imperialism, and Zionism.” A victory that was achieved despite Israel’s “widespread atrocities and destruction with the full support of US imperialism”.
The statement asserts that the “Zionist regime has failed in displacing the Palestinian people from their land.” The anti-imperialist assembly also called “on the people of the world to continue taking action, building pressure and mobilizing”.
“We must relentlessly work to isolate Zionism, ensuring that the terms of this agreement are fully upheld by the occupying power. This ceasefire is not an end, but a crucial juncture. We must intensify our efforts until the full demands of the Palestinian people are met, rooted in self-determination and the complete liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea.”
PYM hails Palestinians for remaining steadfast on their land after 732 days of genocide
The Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), in an Instagram post, reflected the IPA’s commendation of the steadfastness of the Palestinian people on their land after over two years of genocide, which in itself represents a victory:
“The streets of Gaza ring out tonight with the joyful cries of its people. While a ceasefire proposal is announced, Israel’s flagrant and repeated violations of previous agreements give us pause. Still, we find cause to celebrate. That despite the best efforts of Israel, the United States, Canada, Europe, and Arab regimes to conspire against them, 732 days of genocide later, the Palestinian people remain steadfast on their land. Gaza still rises, and with it, the people of the world rise. The joy of our people in Gaza is our joy, their relief is our relief, and their determination must also be our determination: to lift the siege, liberate all prisoners, end the occupation, and free our land. From the river to the sea.”
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.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
58 Palestinians injured in IOF raid on Central Ramallah. Photo: Andalou Agency
The offensive is considered a major escalation as it took place in Ramallah, the political and administrative hub of the Palestinian Authority.
Daily raids carried out by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have for decades been routine for Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank. However, Ramallah city center has been relatively safe compared to other areas, largely since the second intifada ended in 2005.
This isn’t to say that such relative calm extends to the entire governorate of Ramallah and Al-Bireh; it applies exclusively to the few square kilometers surrounding the Palestinian Authority (PA) headquarters near the center of the city.
Although this particular part of the city was previously subjected to IOF raids, such offensives happened rarely, for a brief time and usually not during daytime.
In a major escalation, the IOF stormed Ramallah city center on Tuesday, August 26, at rush hour in the afternoon, shooting at passersby and a journalist’s vehicle. Eyewitnesses and media workers reported the use of live ammunition, rubber-coated steel bullets, and gas canisters during the raid.
Those taking part in a sit-in to commemorate the National Day for the Recovery of the Bodies of Slain Palestinians, a day when families demand the return of their martyrs’ bodies, 700-1500 of which are reportedly held by Israel, were also suppressed by Israeli military personnel when they raided the area.
At least 58 Palestinians were wounded in the assault, which lasted for hours, including a 13-year-old boy, who sustained an injury to his abdomen.
The IOF also arrested three people from a money exchange shop, and confiscated around 1.5 million Israeli Shekel (USD 447,000), over allegations that the shop was transferring money to Hamas.
The IOF continues its military operations across the West Bank
On Wednesday, August 27, the IOF raided the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, and imposed a siege on its Old City.
Dozens of Palestinians were reported injured in the attack, which lasted 14 hours. Palestinian citizens also told Turkish news agency Anadolu that the IOF turned a number of houses in the city into military barracks.
The spokesperson for the Palestinian Presidency Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned and rejected the IOF’s intensified military operations in cities, villages, and refugee camps across the West Bank on Wednesday.
Abu Rudeineh called the latest Israeli military actions in the West Bank a “dangerous escalation”. He also held the Israeli government responsible for the escalating assaults of the IOF, and the terrorist acts of illegal Israeli settlers against the Palestinian people.
The Palestinian official warned Netanyahu’s government that continuing with these policies will lead the region to further tension and instability.
He also reiterated his call for the US administration to pressure Israel to stop these dangerous policies, which violate the resolutions of international legitimacy and international law, and to oblige it to end the war and other acts of aggression.
PRCS workers bidding farewell to the 8 PRCS workers who were targeted and killed by Israel. Photo: PRCS
The mass killings tainted the supposedly joyful occasion in Gaza with blood, and replaced celebrations with funerals.
Over 60 Palestinians were killed in multiple Israeli airstrikes that rocked different parts of the Gaza strip, on Sunday, March 30, which also marked the first day of Eid Al-Fitr holiday.
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) intensified their aerial attacks on the besieged enclave in the early hours of Sunday and throughout the day. However, hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza gathered to perform Eid prayers atop the rubble of demolished mosques, in a clear message to the world that their will to survive is greater than Israel’s destruction.
Israel deliberately targeted rescue teams in Rafah
The first day of Eid saw another incident of tragedy for the people of Gaza, after the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced that it retrieved the bodies of 14 aid workers in Rafah, southern Gaza. The 14 included eight PRCS medics, five staff members of the Palestinian Civil Defense agency, and an employee working with a UN agency.
The recovery of the bodies was announced six days after the PRCS had lost contact with the rescue teams. The release of satellite images exclusively obtained by Al Jazeera demonstrated that the IOF destroyed at least five rescue vehicles belonging to the PRCS and the Civil Defense, who were on a humanitarian mission in Tel al-Sultan neighborhood in Rafah. The IOF did so after they targeted the teams of both organizations, which included 15 volunteers.
Mourning its executed staff, the PRCS said in a statement that “they were targeted by the Israeli occupation forces while performing their humanitarian duties as they were heading to the Hashashin area of Rafah to provide first aid to a number of people injured by Israeli shelling in the area.” The organization added that a ninth medic remains missing.
The PRCS called the massacre a “tragedy” not only for the organization “but also for humanitarian work and humanity.” Emphasizing that the incident was a deliberate execution the PRCS said that the rescue teams were targeted by the IOF “despite the protected status of their mission and the Red Crescent emblem.”
It also pointed out that the incident “can only be considered a war crime punishable under international humanitarian law, which the occupation continues to violate before the eyes of the entire world.”
Meanwhile, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) expressed its outrage at the deaths of eight medics from the PRCS.
The IFRC stressed that when the medics were killed, their ambulance vehicle was “clearly marked” and they were wearing emblems that “should have protected them.”
“I am heartbroken. These dedicated ambulance workers were responding to wounded people. They were humanitarians. They wore emblems that should have protected them; their ambulances were clearly marked. They should have returned to their families; they did not.” IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain stated.
“Even in the most complex conflict zones, there are rules. These rules of International Humanitarian Law could not be clearer – civilians must be protected; humanitarians must be protected. Health services must be protected.” He added.
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/O74hZCKKdpAUK Labour Party Shadow Foreign Secretary repeatedly heckled at a speech to the Fabian Society over his and the Labour Party’s support for and complicity in Israel’s genocide of Gaza.
