Weekly Briefing: Ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza

It is surreal, to say the least, watching the Israeli military carry out ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza while the U.S. Presidential election cycle comes to a close. Make no mistake: ethnic cleansing is happening right now in northern Gaza. It is being funded, fueled, and protected from international accountability by the United States. The Biden administration, including Vice-President Kamala Harris, is fully implicated in this crime.

The choice available in the U.S. election is between someone actively supporting a genocide and someone who would undoubtedly make it worse. It’s not much of a choice if you care about Palestinian lives, international law, and human rights. We’ve published several pieces related to the election and the Uncommitted Movement, which attempted to leverage the election to force some policy changes on the Biden administration and Kamala Harris’ campaign, but with no effect. John Morlino makes a last makes a last-ditch effort in that regard this week.

Our reporters and contributors kept us grounded in reality this week. Take a look at their important stories below Take a look at their important stories below.

On another note, I know you have seen a lot of fundraising emails from us over the last couple of weeks during our Fall Fundraising Campaign. We are a reader-funded publication and it’s critical that we hit our campaign goals throughout the year to continue bringing you the news and analysis you need to inform your activism for Palestinian liberation. Generous donors have extended our match and campaign through Tuesday. If you haven’t made a donation yet, please do it today. Our independence and sustainability depend on you.

– David Reed, Publisher

Survivors of north Gaza invasion report Israeli ‘extermination’ campaign

Tareq Hajjaj reports this harrowing piece with eyewitness testimonies about the apparent ethnic cleansing Israel is carrying out in northern Gaza. “I carried my sons in my hands and buried them. I felt like I was burying myself with each one of them,” said Jaber Abu Laila, a resident of Beit Lahia.

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🪖 Shatha Hanaysha interviewed Gaith Radwan, the commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s al-Quds Brigade in the West Bank city of Tulkarem. Radwan was killed on October 3 by an Israeli airstrike, the first such attack in the West Bank in 20 years. An entire family was also killed in that airstrike. “My personal dream is to live like any person who is comfortable in their life. There is no Palestinian who is comfortable. Anyone who says otherwise is lying. No one can be at ease while being occupied,” he told her.

❌ Qassam Muaddi reports on Israel’s effort to empty northern Gaza of all Palestinians. The Israeli army forcibly expelled Palestinians in northern Gaza from their shelters, as relayed by eyewitness accounts, news reports, and video footage released by Israeli sources.

📺 Sharaiz Chaudhry says the BBC is manufacturing consent for Israel’s genocidal assault on Palestine and attacks on Lebanon. Lucy Williamson, the BBC’s Middle East correspondent, embedded with the Israeli military for a report from Lebanon. In response, seven BBC Arabic journalists suspended their work in protest.

🎓 Michael Arria reports on more crackdowns by university administrators on campus activism in his weekly newsletter, The Shift. Radhika Sainath, senior staff attorney at Palestine Legal, said, “We have student conduct hearings where schools have either been late to file charges or have filed charges, but the hearings haven’t occurred yet. We’re dealing with appeals. There’s a lot of ongoing work.”

🏥 Qassam Muaddi details the brutal assault Israeli forces carried out on northern Gaza’s last functioning hospital. Israeli forces have since withdrawn, leaving the hospital barely functioning and heavily damaged.

🗳️ John Morlino argues in an opinion column that the Uncommitted Movement missed their opportunity to hold Kamala Harris accountable for her role in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and urges them to reconsider in the closing days of the Presidential race. “[I]nstead of forcing Harris to confront her moment of truth, Uncommitted prioritized defeating Trump in lieu of going all-in to try to prevent an untold number of casualties in Palestine.”

🇵🇸 Abdaljawad Omar offers a powerful piece on Yahya Sinwar’s death. “In Sinwar’s last stand, this fear was laid bare—a military unwilling to face its enemy eye to eye, relying instead on distant destruction, where the risk of true combat is minimized,” he writes.