2 press members have been killed and several injured since the start of the Gaza March on 30 March. Now a journalist from MEMOnhas been shot and hospitalized. Protection of the press is part of free speech, and Israel’s snipers are picking them off one by one.
In the 7th and last weekly protest at the Gaza-Israel border, one Palestinian was killed, and 167 were injured, bringing the death toll to at least 48. Tuesday, Nakba Day, will be the culminating protest – preparations are underway, and so are attempts to stop it.
This report from the UN OCHA-oPt details the number killed & injured during the Great March of Return, discloses Gaza’s struggle to deal with casualties, & itemizes its critical needs – medical personnel, medicine, access to treatment, & staff to help with documentation, legal issues, and mental health counseling.
Yousef Kronz was well within Israel’s designated “safe zone” in Gaza, wearing a Press vest, when he was shot in both legs. A young man who ran to help him was shot in the leg as well. Then Israel refused Yousef passage to the West Bank for treatment that would have saved at least one of his legs.
“The people in Gaza have been living one tragedy after another.” A young father reflects on the legacy of suffering, the need to find meaning in life and struggle, and the unity that the Great March is inspiring.
How can American Jews endorse the strangulation of 2 million human beings in Gaza? Because Jewish leaders, in both Israel and the United States, encase Israel’s actions in a fog of euphemism and lies.The organized American Jewish community doesn’t only conceal the truth about Gaza from itself. It lobbies American politicians to do the same. The three main talking points: that Israel “withdrew” from Gaza, that its actions are decreed by a need for “security,” and that “Hamas” is to blame. Let’s look at the real facts:
Since March 30, 2018 Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip–including families, women, and children–have gathered along the Israeli border to highlight their dispossession in 1948 and protest the growing humanitarian catastrophe. From that time through December 16th, 2019, Israeli forces have killed 364 Gazans and injured over 35,000, including women, children, disabled individuals, medics, and journalists. Many have been shot in the back, nearly all were unarmed and posed no risk to the heavily armed Israeli soldiers. During the same period, Gazan resistance forces killed 9 Israelis.
All hands on deck: the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine needs our help to help the people in Gaza educating Americans about the Great March of Return. They propose a “tent campaign,” a rich metaphor for refugees and demolished homes. Here are instructions, plus an offer from If Americans Knew for free materials to hand out.
Doctors Without Borders teams in Gaza report “devastating injuries of an unusual severity” and likely “serious, long-term physical disabilities” for most victims. According to Gaza Health Ministry, Israel’s new bullets are “the deadliest” ever; they explode inside the victim’s body, “frequently resulting in death.”
Palestinian journalist Yousef Alhelou’s vivid description of the situation at the Gaza-Israel border brings us up close, where we can see the images and understand the motivations on both sides.