(August 25, 2025)
28. Urges the OIC Member States to examine further whether Israel‘s membership in the United Nations aligns with the UN Charter, given Israel‘s evident violations of the requirements for membership and its consistent disregard for UN resolutions. Additionally, efforts should be coordinated to suspend Israel‘s membership in the United Nations;
Foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), representing 57 Muslim countries, called on Monday in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia, to examine whether Israel’s membership in the United Nations is compatible with the UN Charter, given its violations of membership conditions. They stressed the need to coordinate efforts towards suspending Israel’s membership in the international body, while rejecting what is so-called the “Greater Israel”.
Thousands have already left, but church leaders in the city said on Wednesday they were staying put, as leaving Gaza City and „trying to flee to the south would be nothing less than a death sentence“.
„For this reason, the clergy and nuns have decided to remain and continue to care for all those who will be in the compounds,“ a joint statement by the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said.
(today)
Here’s what you should know:
The shooter is dead: The gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, O’Hara said at the news conference. The shooter, who was in his early 20s but has not been publicly identified, was clad in black and armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol. Police are still investigating a possible motive.
(August 27, 2025)
“Today I renew a strong appeal both to the parties involved and to the international community, that an end be put to the conflict in the Holy Land, which has caused so much terror, destruction, and death,” said the Pope.
He also called for the safe entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and the protection of civilians.
“I appeal for all hostages to be freed, a permanent ceasefire to be reached, the safe entry of humanitarian aid to be facilitated, and humanitarian law to be fully respected—especially the obligation to protect civilians and the prohibitions against collective punishment, the indiscriminate use of force, and the forced displacement of populations,” he added.
Jerusalem August 26th,2025
“In the path of righteousness there is life, in walking its path there is no death” (Proverbs 12,28).
A few weeks ago, the Israeli government announced its decision to take control of Gaza City. In recent days, the media have repeatedly reported a massive military mobilization and preparations for an imminent offensive. The same reports indicate that the population of Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of civilians live — and where our Christian community is located — is to be evacuated and relocated to the south of the Strip. At the time of this statement, evacuation orders were already in place for several neighborhoods in Gaza City. Reports of heavy bombardment continue to be received. There is more destruction and death in a situation that was already dramatic before this operation. It seems that the Israeli government’s announcement that “the gates of hell will open” is indeed taking on tragic forms. The experience of past campaigns in Gaza, the declared intentions of the Israeli government with regard to the current operation, and the reports now reaching us from the ground, show that the operation is not just a threat, but a reality that is already in the process of being implemented.
Since the outbreak of the war, the Greek Orthodox compound of Saint Porphyrius and the Holy Family compound have been a refuge for hundreds of civilians. Among them are elderly people, women, and children. In the Latin compound we are hosting since many years people with disabilities, who are under the care of the Sisters Missionaries of Charity. Like other residents of Gaza City, the refugees living in the facilities will have to decide according to their conscience what they will do. Among those who have sought shelter within the walls of the compounds, many are weakened and malnourished due to the hardships of the last months. Leaving Gaza City and trying to flee to the south would be nothing less than a death sentence. For this reason, the clergy and nuns have decided to remain and continue to care for all those who will be in the compounds.
“As the spotlight turns on the Venice Film Festival, we’re in danger of going through yet another major event that remains indifferent to this human, civil, and political tragedy,” the letter reads. “‘The show must go on,’ we are told, as we’re urged to look away — as if the ‘film world’ had nothing to do with the ‘real world.‘”
For once, the letter continues, “the show must stop. We must interrupt the flow of indifference and open a path to awareness,” adding, “there is no cinema without humanity.”
The V4P (Venice for Palestine) movement, led by some 1,500 Italian and international film icons — including Marco Bellocchio, Matteo Garrone, Alice Rohrwacher, Ken Loach, and Céline Sciamma — sent a letter to the festival last Friday urging it to officially criticize the “ongoing genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing across Palestine.“ In a second, more recent letter, it requested the withdrawal of invitations to two celebrities — Gal Gadot and Gerard Butler — for having previously adopted pro-Israeli positions.
Streamed live 18 hours ago #komo #komonews #komo4
HAPPENING NOW: Microsoft is holding a press conference after pro-Palestinian protesters breached Microsoft executives‘ building at the Redmond campus.
A group of current and former Microsoft employees staged a sit-in at the company’s headquarters Tuesday, occupying Building 34, which houses the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith and other executives.
The protest is part of an ongoing series of actions by employees and activists criticizing the company’s business ties to Israel.
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Microsoft had to temporarily shut down a building at its headquarters after protestors entered inside the office of the company’s president Brad Smith. A few current and former employees of Microsoft organised protests against the company’s connections with the Israel Defense Forces during the Gaza conflict.
This weekend’s violence in Al Mughayyir is yet another example of the ongoing oppression of and coercion against Palestinians. All such violence must stop and impartial accountability ensured – @volker_turk
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces are conducting a raid on Nablus. At least 80 Palestinians have been injured. This comes a day after Israeli forces raided Ramallah and al-Bireh. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, 58 people were injured, eight by live fire and 14 by rubber-coated bullets. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that a child had to receive surgery after being hit by live fire. Israeli forces detained three Palestinians in the raid.
At least 62,895 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.
A statement from the ministry said 76 people were killed and 298 others injured in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of injuries to 158,927.
The ministry also reported ten new fatalities from starvation and malnutrition, including two children, raising the total famine-related deaths to 313, among them 119 children.
According to Palestinian health officials, at least 1,500 people have lost their eyesight during the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Many were blinded by direct impacts from shrapnel and gunfire, while others suffered permanent vision loss due to a lack of medical care after Israeli forces attacked hospitals.
Between 4,000 and 5,000 more are at risk of blindness and are unable to receive the necessary treatment.
10 Palestinian citizens, including two children, died of starvation and malnutrition in the Gaza Strip within the past 24 hours, according to a statement released by Gaza’s health ministry on Wednesday morning.
At least 32 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since dawn, Al Jazeera Arabic is reporting, citing medical sources.
The figure includes eight aid seekers.
Days before, a source for one of Salama’s major investigations for MEE told him that they had been briefly detained at an aid distribution centre by US security contractors guarding the site.
There, the source said, they had been interrogated about the identity of the reporter behind the story. Salama worked on the story anonymously for security reasons.
“The source would not have been in contact with me unless they thought something was deeply wrong,” Salama told colleagues at the time.
When asked if he felt safe knowing he was being pursued for his work, Salama replied: “We journalists are never safe in Gaza.”
Middle East Eye asked Safe Reach Solutions and UG Solutions, the two US security firms working at the aid distribution sites, whether they were involved in the source’s interrogation.
MEE also asked if their employees were passing intelligence to Israel on the identity of Palestinian journalists such as Salama.
They had not replied by the time of publication.