365 days of horror
By Yumna Patel, Editor-in-Chief
For 365 days we have watched unspeakable horrors unfold in front of our eyes. It is hard to believe that one year later, the same atrocities continue unabated, not only in Gaza but across Palestine and the Middle East.
On this day last year, I was in the occupied West Bank, watching incredulously with millions of others as the Hamas attacks unfolded in real-time. As the barrier around Gaza came crashing down, and the aftermath and implications of that moment began to come into focus, the realization that Israel’s response would be unlike anything we had ever witnessed before, quickly started to set in. Six days later, well into its bombing campaign which at that time had killed around 1,500 people, I wrote that Israel was preparing to commit genocide. Nothing could have prepared me for the next 359 days.
Over the past year, we have seen entire cities reduced to rubble, entire families and bloodlines wiped out, and global silence in the face of mass starvation and the targeted bombing of civilians. With every passing day, we have hoped that today would be the last and that the millions of Palestinians in Gaza would find some reprieve, even if just a moment to bury their dead with dignity.
As we mark one year since October 7, and since the beginning of this genocide, we must recognize that history did not begin a year ago. For 76 years, and even before that, Palestinians in Gaza and beyond have been subjected to violence, oppression, and a settler colonial project determined to erase them. This year has just been the latest, most violent iteration of that project.
Over the past year, the Mondoweiss team and our contributors from Gaza, Palestine, and around the world have worked tirelessly to shed light on Israel’s crimes and the reality of the ongoing genocide, with the hope that each story serves as a record and a future tool of justice and accountability. We have reported on daily massacres, the media’s propaganda and misinformation campaigns, and the growing global movement to support Palestinian liberation. This page of special coverage is a collection of new and old reporting, centered around the events of the past year in Palestine.
As we watch Israel continue to bomb Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Yemen and actively plunge the entire region into further turmoil and violence, we mourn the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been lost and recognize that the struggle is far from over.
A Year of Genocide
The following stories are part of Mondoweiss’s special coverage to mark one year since October 7 and the start of the ongoing Israeli genocide. The stories below include new reporting from our correspondents in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as an exclusive interview with Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk.
Since October 7, 2023, Mondoweiss reporters published a daily dispatch tracking Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. The dispatch is now published weekly and stands as a brutal record of Israel’s war on the civilian population of Gaza.
Palestinians Reflect: One Year of Genocide
These stories are part of a special series to mark one year of genocide. For this series, we asked Palestinians from across occupied Palestine and the diaspora to reflect on the past year, the genocide, and the challenges that the future holds for Gaza, Palestine as a whole, and the global movement for Palestinian liberation.
A year of critical coverage and reporting
This is a curated selection of stories Mondoweiss has published since October 7, 2023. Our editors have selected some of the most important pieces of reporting we have published, ranging from investigative pieces dispelling Israeli propaganda and misinformation to on-the-ground testimonials from some of the worst massacres witnessed in Gaza over the past year.
Events of October 7 and its aftermath
Video: Life in Gaza under Israeli assault
On November 14, 2023, Yumna Patel, then Mondoweiss‘ Palestine News Director, was able to speak to our Gaza Correspondent, Tareq Hajjaj, on Instagram Live. Tareq described the living conditions in Gaza on the 39th day of Israel’s genocidal assault on the besieged area.
Podcast: The ‘Hamas question’ and the Left with Abdaljawad Omar
Faris Giacaman speaks to Abdaljawad Omar about his article, “The Question of Hamas and the Left.”
Media Analysis
Video: Israel’s genocide in Gaza exposes the racism of the international system
As the International Court of Justice prepares to hear South Africa’s petition accusing Israel of genocide, Frank Barat talks to Francesca Albanese and Susan Abulhawa about the role Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza plays in the global systems of diplomacy, economics, and culture. The outcome of this shocking destruction of a civilian population will have implications for the entire world. Is Palestinian resistance to the Israeli occupation and apartheid really the only thing standing in between a world governed by laws and one subject to the whims of those with money and weapons?
Podcast: Mohammed El-Kurd and Ahmad Alnaouq on the complicity of mainstream media in Israel’s genocidal attack on Gaza
In this episode, Mondoweiss’s Culture Editor Mohammed El-Kurd speaks with journalist and co-founder of We Are Not Numbers Ahmad Alnaouq.
Tareq Hajjaj Reports from Gaza
Video: Israeli soldier’s social media posts are undermining Israeli propaganda w/ Diana Buttu
Palestinian lawyer and political analyst Diana Buttu talks to Yumna Patel about how social media is streaming the genocide in Gaza to the world.
Podcast: The ‘Hamas question’ and the Left with Abdaljawad Omar
Despite its claim that the goal of the war in Gaza is the elimination of Hamas, Israel’s actions reveal its true intention: the collapse of Palestinian society.
Expert Analysis
Video: “It is my duty to make [Zionists] uncomfortable.” w/ Randa Abdel Fattah & Mohammed El-Kurd
Mohammed El-Kurd spoke to Dr. Randa Abdel Fattah about her recent opinion article, “On Zionist Feelings.” Randa is a Future Fellow in the Department of Sociology at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Her research areas cover Palestine, Islamophobia, race, the war on terror, and social movement activism. Dr Abdel-Fattah is also one of Australia’s most prominent Palestine advocates, a former litigation lawyer, and the multi-award-winning author of 12 books published in over 20 countries and translated into over 15 languages. Mohammed El-Kurd is a writer and poet from Jerusalem, occupied Palestine. He is the Culture Editor at Mondoweiss.
Podcast: Eyewitness accounts from al-Shifa Hospital
Mondoweiss Gaza Correspondent Tareq Hajjaj discusses his reporting on the Israeli siege of al-Shifa Hospital and attacks on Palestinians attempting to return to northern Gaza.
Activism since October 7
Video: South Africa standing up for Palestine has created new hope in the world w/ Angela Davis
Scholar and activist Angela Davis joins Frank Barat to discuss the importance of solidarity with Palestinians as they face a genocide in Gaza by Israel.
Podcast: Students protest Israel’s genocidal war
Student protests over Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza expand across the U.S., while Summer Lee defeats AIPAC in Pennsylvania.
Gaza Diaries
Video: Exposing the Reality of Life Inside an Israeli Prison w/ Munther Amira
Palestinian activist Munther Amira was brutally arrested from his home in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces in December 2023. After brutal interrogations, during which he was abused and subjected to torture tactics, he was ordered by an Israeli military court to 4 months in administrative detention, which is imprisonment without charge or trial. In this video, Munther describes the torture and abuse he and other Palestinian prisoners faced in Israeli prison, which he said was more like a cemetery than a prison.
Podcast: Craig Mokhiber dissects the ICJ’s bombshell ruling on the Israeli occupation
Craig Mokhiber discusses the importance and impact of the International Court of Justice’s ruling that the Israeli occupation of Palestine is illegal.
Personal Reflections
Video: What Do the ICC Warrants for Israeli Politicians Mean?
Yumna Patel speaks with Hassan Ben Imran, a member of the Governing Council of Law for Palestine, about Palestinians’ long effort to access international legal institutions and the impact of this development.
Podcast: Why Jews should support Palestine, lessons from the holocaust, and a message to Amy Schumer
As Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza grinds on, Katie Halper says Jews should support Palestinian liberation from Israeli apartheid in this conversation with Yumna Patel.