Israel has a long history of taking Palestinian children captive, abusing and scarring them in the process. This mass incarceration of children living under occupation boils down to one thing: control and the deprivation of liberty.
As leaders discuss extending the temporary truce, Israeli forces kill two children, including an 8-year-old boy, in the occupied West Bank. Meanwhile, Gaza is still facing a grave humanitarian crisis, with children on the front line.
Thirty-nine Palestinians were released from Israeli prisons on Friday, as aid trickles back into Gaza amid calls for a full-fledged ceasefire to address the full scope of humanitarian devastation. Spain, Belgium, and the UK have strong words for Israel.
Israeli forces besiege Indonesian Hospital in north Gaza. Meanwhile, two Lebanese journalists were killed by Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, and Palestinian prisoners continue to face humiliation, abuse and torture inside Israeli prisons.
Following Israel’s brutal attack on Al-Shifa Hospital, Israeli forces have set their sights on the Indonesian hospital, besieging it and shooting at anyone who tries to leave.
Israeli forces took dozens of Palestinians captive inside Al-Shifa and bombed their way into floors and rooms. The Palestinian health minister warned of a massacre to be committed in the complex.
Thousands of lives are at risk as Al-Shifa Hospital becomes non-operational, with ICUs and incubators shutting down due to lack of fuel, and medical staff and patients trapped waiting to die. Israeli forces continue to shell hospitals in north Gaza.
Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, passed what rights groups are calling one of the “most intrusive and draconian legislative measures” ever passed.
UN agencies report that fuel shortages will force Gaza hospitals, desalination plants, and bakeries to close, indirectly killing many. “The situation is catastrophic. Civilians, especially children, continue to pay the heaviest price,” says Save the Children.
Palestinians are desperate for international intervention to end Israel’s ongoing onslaught and siege. President Biden calls for a pause over concern for Israeli captives, as Gaza death toll surpasses 9,000.