Israeli aid blockade creates crisis ‘unmatched in severity’ – War on Gaza Day 561

Gaza has been pushed to new depths of despair, civilians, medics and humanitarian workers say, by the unprecedented seven-week-long Israeli military blockade that has cut off all aid to the strip.

The siege has left the Palestinian territory facing conditions unmatched in severity since the beginning of the war as residents grapple with sweeping new evacuation orders, the renewed bombing of civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, and the exhaustion of food, fuel for generators and medical supplies.

Israel unilaterally abandoned a two-month ceasefire with Palestinian militant group Hamas on 2 March, cutting off vital supplies. Just over two weeks later, it resumed large-scale bombing and redeployed ground troops withdrawn during the truce.

Since then, political figures and security officials have repeatedly vowed that aid deliveries will not resume until Hamas releases the remaining hostages seized during the 7 October 2023 attacks that ignited the conflict. Israel’s government has framed the new siege as a security measure and has repeatedly denied using starvation as a weapon, which would constitute a war crime.

The blockade is now entering its eighth week, making it the longest continuous total siege the strip has faced to date in the 18-month war.

Firmly supported by the US, its most important ally under Donald Trump, Israel appears confident that it can maintain the siege with little international pushback.

Many people the Observer spoke to said they are now more afraid of famine than airstrikes. “Many times, I have had to give up my share of food for my son because of the severe shortages. It is the hunger that will kill me – a slow death,” said Hikmat al-Masri, a 44-year-old university lecturer from Beit Lahia in north Gaza.

Food stockpiled during the two-month-ceasefire has run out, and desperate people across the territory are jostling at charity kitchens with empty pots and bowls. Goods at markets are now selling for 1,400% above ceasefire prices, according to the latest assessment from the World Health Organization.

Oxfam estimates that most children are now surviving on less than one meal a day (continue reading here).

 

 

 

 

 

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Gaza: 200,000 patients face possible death due to crossings closure

The Palestinian Ministry of Health has warned that 200,000 people with chronic illnesses are at life-threatening risk due to the continued closure of crossings by Israeli forces, which threatens the functioning of hospitals across the Strip.

Khalil Al-Daqran, spokesperson for Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, described the healthcare situation in the enclave as catastrophic. “The occupation is systematically targeting the health system in Gaza,” he asserted in a press statement on Friday, adding that children are being subjected to severe harm either through direct attacks or by the denial of essential medicines.

Israeli forces have blocked the entry of all forms of treatment or healthcare aid for more than 50 days.

As a result, medical teams have been forced to implement triage protocols, choosing to treat only those whose lives can still be saved while leaving others without care. Al-Hams described this as “one of the most difficult decisions a medical team can be forced to make under occupation.”

Benjamin Netanyahu said again Saturday that Israel had “no choice” but to continue fighting in Gaza and will not end the war before destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages.

The Israeli prime minister also repeated his vow to make sure Iran never gets a nuclear weapon.

Netanyahu is under growing pressure at home, not only from families of hostages and their supporters but also from reservist and retired Israeli soldiers who question the continuation of the war (continue reading here).

RELATED: Mass trials underway as Israel charges 22 Palestinians over 7 October attack

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Hamas says fate of Israeli-American captive remains unknown

Hamas’s armed wing said on Saturday the fate of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was unknown after the group found the guard who was holding the hostage killed.

In a series of posts on Telegram, al-Qassam’s spokesperson, Abu Obaida, confirmed that Hamas had lost contact with the group of fighters tasked with guarding Alexander. 

“We were able to retrieve [the body] of a martyr who was tasked with securing Eden Alexander. Eden’s fate and other brothers securing him remains unknown,” said Abu Obaida. 

“We are trying to protect all prisoners and to keep them alive despite the brutality of the aggression. However, their lives are in danger due to the continued air strikes carried out by the enemy [Israeli] army.”

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Israel restricts Christians’ access to Holy Saturday celebrations in Jerusalem

Israeli authorities on Saturday blocked Christian worshippers’ access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in occupied Jerusalem when they tried to mark Holy Saturday (Holy Fire), a sacred day in Easter weekend celebrations.

Israeli police erected military checkpoints on roads leading to the church in the Old City, checking IDs and denying entry to many young people, according to Palestinian state news agency WAFA.

The restrictions came as Christian communities marked Holy Saturday, one of the holiest days in the Christian calendar, ahead of tomorrow’s Easter Sunday, as marked by many Christians.

Church sources told WAFA that only 6,000 permits were issued to West Bank Christians this year, despite the community numbering around 50,000 across the Palestinian territories.

Despite the limitations, Christian pilgrims continue to travel annually to Jerusalem for the Holy Fire rituals, which take place in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, believed to be the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. However, Israeli security measures have repeatedly marred the celebrations.

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Palestine warns of far-right Israeli incitement to blow up Al-Aqsa Mosque

Palestine on Saturday warned of growing incitement by Israeli far-right settler groups calling for the destruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.

Palestine’s Foreign Ministry condemned an AI-generated video titled “Next Year in Jerusalem,” circulating on extremist Hebrew platforms. The video shows Al-Aqsa Mosque being bombed and replaced by a so-called Third Temple.

In a statement, the ministry called the video “a systematic provocation aimed at escalating attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem.”

It said Israel’s far-right leadership feels “emboldened to advance its Judaization and colonial agenda amid weak international reactions to its ongoing genocidal crimes, particularly in Gaza.”

The ministry urged the international community and UN bodies to treat the incitement seriously and pursue legal measures under international law to halt Israel’s unilateral actions against Palestinians.

RELATED: Legislation, Land Grabs Point to Expedited Israeli Annexation in the West Bank

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Israeli settlers kidnap two Palestinian children, tie them to a tree

Israeli settlers kidnapped two Palestinian children on Saturday and tied them to a tree near the city of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank.

The incident occurred in the afternoon, as a group of children were playing near their homes on the outskirts of Beit Furik, east of Nablus.

Settlers from a nearby, newly established outpost kidnapped 13-year-old Maryam and her three-year-old brother Ahmed, taking them to a remote area where they tied them to an olive tree. One of their cousins tried to intervene but settlers attacked him with stones.

“My two little girls came crying and screaming, so we chased after the settlers. We eventually found the children unconscious and tied to a tree,” Mohammed Hanani, the children’s uncle, said, “The settlers had fled to the outpost on an ATV. We untied the children and rushed them to the health centre,” he added.

While the children did not sustain physical injuries, they remain in a state of extreme terror and psychological distress.

“My daughter, who witnessed the incident, still refuses to leave the house and cries all the time.”

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Social media users fume after ‘Free Palestine’ flag removed at Bernie Sanders rally

US Senator Bernie Sanders is facing a deluge of criticism on social media after a “Free Palestine” flag unfurled by pro-Palestine activists at a rally in the state of Idaho was taken down, and the protesters were ejected from the venue.

Over 12,500 people filled the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa on Monday night, where Sanders and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez urged attendees to rise above political divisions and resist what they called the increasing influence of billionaires over American politics.

Dubbed as “The Fighting Oligarchy Tour” on Sanders’ website, the two politicians said they aim to “have real discussions across America on how we move forward to take on the Oligarchs and corporate interests who have so much power and influence in this country”.

But at the Idaho leg of the tour, Sanders faced fierce backlash for not reacting to the police treatment of the protesters during or after the rally (continue reading here).