Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu shoots down claims of mass starvation in Gaza during an address to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Conference, chaired by Israel, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem. He said that Israel has supplied about 1.8 million tons of food and humanitarian aid to Gaza and ‚this means that there cannot be mass starvation at all.‘ ….
Archiv: United States of America (USA)
Netanyahu shuns claims of mass starvation in Gaza, says ‚they don‘t exercise‘
„In fact I‘ll give you one simple indication of that. We take thousands of prisoners. We sort them out into civilians and into combatants and we photograph them. You can see those photographs, those videos. What‘s the first thing you do when you take a prisoner in Gaza? First thing you do is you tell them, take your shirt off we want to see that there‘s no suicide vest.
“Thousands and thousands of prisoners have taken their shirt off. And you don‘t see one, not one emaciated, not a single case from the beginning of the war till the present. In fact you see the opposite, you don‘t get enough exercise,” he further added.
Israel killed at least 10 Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza in two days, Gaza media office says
The office said that the Israelis “opened direct fire on hungry Palestinian civilians who had gathered to receive aid“.
“This crime was part of a dubious engineering project run by the American organization called Gaza Humanitarian Relief (GHF),“ the centre said.
The centre said that the foundation contradicts „humanity, neutrality, integrity, and independence“.
Chaos breaks out at Gaza aid distribution center
The U.N. said at least one person was killed and 47 were injured by gunfire after thousands of Palestinians descended on a new aid site in Rafah on Tuesday.
Chaos at Gaza aid hub staffed by armed American contractors
For the first time in more than a year of war in Gaza, a group of armed Americans is in the middle of it. They are part of a new system designed to deliver desperately needed humanitarian aid. Imtiaz Tyab reports.
Dozens wounded at Gaza aid hub after Israel opens fire, UN says
Ajith Sunghay, head of the U.N. Human Rights Office for the Palestinian territories, told reporters in Geneva that it appeared Israeli army fire had caused most of the injuries.
On Tuesday, crowds of Palestinians broke through fences and an Associated Press journalist heard Israeli tank and gun fire, and saw a military helicopter firing flares.
UN blasts new US-backed aid distribution system in Gaza
This handout satellite picture obtained from Planet Labs PBC dated on May 23, 2025, shows an area around Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip where a new aid distribution centre run by a US-backed group has been set up
Around 2.4 percent of human beings in Gaza have been annihilated – will you do something about it or not?
Do you demand from any NGO, any government, from the UNRWA director Philippe Lazzarini, from the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to stop their unbearable whining and finally kick this fascist gang of Benyamin Netanyahu out of the United Nations?
Do you?
If not – GET OUT OF THE WAY!
Best,
Daniel
Israel’s new Gaza aid system likened to ‚concentration camps’
(last Update 26 May, 2025 10:29 AM)
Internal documents seen by The Washington Post show that biometric technology will be deployed at the hubs, handing the Israeli military power to choose who is allowed to receive aid.
There are plans to construct guarded „humanitarian transition areas“, where tens of thousands of Palestinians will be held. Planners anticipate these zones to be described as „concentration camps“ by the public, the documents show.
Five people involved in the planning expressed concern about the militarisation of aid, and the use of mercenary forces and biometrics to police civilians.
The scheme has triggered outcry among some of Israel‘s closest Western allies and humanitarian organisations, who have refused to cooperate with a plan that they say violates basic humanitarian principles.
The UN has warned that the policy has been designed to facilitate the mass displacement of Palestinians, an accusation effectively confirmed by Israeli ministers who have publicly articulated plans to drive the entire population to the south and force them out of Gaza.
Israel’s latest vision for Gaza has a name: Concentration camp
(April 1, 2025)
Connecting all these dots leads to a fairly clear conclusion: Israel is preparing to forcibly displace the entire population of Gaza — through a combination of evacuation orders and intense bombardment — into an enclosed and possibly fenced-off area. Anyone caught outside its boundaries would be killed, and buildings throughout the rest of the enclave would likely be razed to the ground.
Without mincing words, this “humanitarian zone,” as Magal so kindly put it, in which the army intends to corral Gaza’s 2 million residents, can be summed up in just two words: concentration camp. This is not hyperbole; it is simply the most precise definition to help us better understand what we are facing.
Gaza: UN agencies call for aid ‘surge’ as Israeli distribution plan begins
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, meanwhile, explained that “no supplies whatsoever” prepared by the agency have reached Gaza since the Israeli siege began on 2 March.
Palestinians storm US-backed aid centres despite concerns over checks
Thousands of Palestinians stormed on Tuesday into sites where aid was being distributed by a foundation backed by the U.S. and Israel, with desperation for food overcoming concern about biometric and other checks Israel said it would employ.
By late afternoon on Tuesday, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation said it had distributed about 8,000 food boxes, equivalent to about 462,000 meals, after an almost three-month-old Israeli blockade of the war-devastated enclave.
Gaza hunger crisis: Desperate crowds storm US aid distribution site in Rafah as operation collapses
Chaotic scenes unfolded in Rafah, southern Gaza, as Palestinians rushed a US aid distribution site in Tal as-Sultan, prompting American security personnel to fire warning shots.
US envoy says Gaza ceasefire deal is on the table, as Israel prepares to launch an ‘unprecedented attack’
(today)
US special envoy Steve Witkoff has told CNN that a ceasefire-hostage deal for Gaza is currently on the table with a pathway to end the war, and urged Hamas to accept it.
The proposal would see the release of half of the living hostages and half of those who have died in exchange for a temporary ceasefire before negotiations begin for a comprehensive agreement to end the war.
He declined to specify how long that temporary truce would last, which has been a key issue in the negotiations.
Hamas agrees to a Gaza ceasefire, sources say; US and Israel reject offer
(today)
Al Jazeera’s sources said Hamas and the US’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, agreed to the draft deal at a meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha. They said it includes a 60-day ceasefire, and the release of 10 living captives held in Gaza, over two stages.
US President Donald Trump would guarantee the terms of the deal and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. The agreement would also allow for the entry of humanitarian aid, without conditions, from day one, the sources said.
What we know so far on Gaza truce proposal
(24 hours ago)
Sources told Al Jazeera that representatives of Hamas and US special envoy Steve Witkoff have reached a draft ceasefire agreement in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
However, a US official told Al Jazeera that, according to Witkoff, Hamas has not agreed to a proposal currently on the table, and what he’s seen from the Palestinian group is “disappointing and completely unacceptable”.
Al Jazeera’s sources said the draft of the deal included a 60-day truce, the release of 10 living captives, and the return of bodies of others in return for Palestinian prisoners over two stages.
Five Israeli captives would be freed at the start of the agreement, with the other five released on the 60th day, they said.
Palestinian official says Hamas agrees to Gaza proposal, Israel dismisses it
Witkoff also rejected the notion that Hamas had accepted his offer for a hostage deal and a ceasefire in Gaza, telling Reuters that what he had seen was „completely unacceptable“ and the proposal being discussed was not the same as his.
Israeli prepares to annex the occupied West Bank and impose a fait accompli on the Palestinians
(November 21, 2024)
The gradual annexation of so-called Area C of the West Bank (delineated by the Oslo Accords and controlled fully by Israel), or even part of it, is expected to lead to the collapse of the Palestinian Authority, and thus the end of its security coordination with the occupation state, and the occupation army will have to control the occupied Palestinian territory. In such a situation, Israel will be forced to fund a military-run regime and be responsible for the lives of 2.8 million Palestinians.
Hamas accepted Witkoff proposal for Gaza truce, Reuters and AFP report
Several news outlets reported on Monday that Hamas accepted a ceasefire proposal that reportedly involves the releasing of 10 captives in two batches and a 70-day truce.
Citign a Hamas source, the AFP reported that Hamas agreed to the new proposal by US envoy Steve Witkoff.
However, Witkoff appeared to walk back the reports. He told Axios on Monday that he was „disappointed“ that Hamas did not accept his proposal.
White House envoy says Hamas‘ response to ceasefire proposal „unacceptable“
White House envoy Steve Witkoff told Axios on Monday he is „disappointed“ that Hamas has so far failed to accept his proposal for a new Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
White House quiet on possible Gaza ceasefire deal
The United States government has not said anything about this deal to reporters, in fact, it’s a bit of a ghost town at the White House North Lawn because it’s a federal holiday here.
Hamas agrees to US proposal on Gaza ceasefire, Palestinian official says
Hamas has agreed to a proposal by U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff for a Gaza ceasefire, a Palestinian official close to the group told Reuters on Monday, paving the way for a possible end to the war with Israel.
The new proposal, which sees the release of ten hostages and 70 days of truce, was received by Hamas through mediators.
Joint donor statement on humanitarian aid to Gaza
(May 19, 2025)
Israel’s security cabinet has reportedly approved a new model for delivering aid into Gaza, which the UN and our humanitarian partners cannot support. They are clear that they will not participate in any arrangement that does not fully respect the humanitarian principles. Humanitarian principles matter for every conflict around the world and should be applied consistently in every warzone. The UN has raised concerns that the proposed model cannot deliver aid effectively, at the speed and scale required. It places beneficiaries and aid workers at risk, undermines the role and independence of the UN and our trusted partners, and links humanitarian aid to political and military objectives. Humanitarian aid should never be politicised, and Palestinian territory must not be reduced nor subjected to any demographic change.
(…)
The Foreign Ministers of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, the EU Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management and the EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean.
New Gaza Aid Plan, Bypassing U.N. and Billed as Neutral, Originated in Israel
The New York Times found that the broad contours of the plan were first discussed in late 2023, at private meetings of like-minded officials, military officers and business people with close ties to the Israeli government.
The group called itself the Mikveh Yisrael Forum, after a college where members convened in December 2023. Its leading figures gradually settled on the idea of hiring private contractors to distribute food in Gaza, circumventing the United Nations.
Sweeping overhaul of Gaza aid raises questions of morality and workability
The planning documents anticipated public skepticism and preemptively prepared talking points in case the GHF encountered allegations likening its food distribution hubs and residential compounds to “‘concentration camps’ with biometrics” or comparing the organization to Blackwater, a former U.S. mercenary firm implicated in violence against civilians in Iraq.
(…)
In mid-2024, Israeli officials shared their plans with a group of private-sector American consultants led by Phil Reilly, a retired CIA paramilitary officer and former agency station chief in Afghanistan. Reilly’s group, said five of the Israeli and American individuals, took over the planning and determined that a new company led by Reilly, named Safe Reach Solutions, would be the future subcontractor that would provide security and logistics for the hubs.
What we know about Elias Rodriguez, suspect in shooting of Israeli embassy workers
The suspect in a shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., shouted pro-Palestinian chants after he fatally shot two Israeli embassy workers, authorities said.
(…)
The Israeli foreign ministry identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim.
Imagine If Gaza Was Jewish And The People Bombing It Were Muslims
In the eyes of the western empire, there are some people who may be murdered with mass military violence, and others who may not be. There are some types of children who can be photographed with their ribcages sticking out because of deliberately inflicted starvation without causing much of a stir, and there are other types of children for whom such photographs would shake the earth.
In the eyes of the western empire, Jews are considered fully human, while Muslims and Arabs are not. A massacre of Jews is a terrible, unforgivable atrocity which cries out to the heavens for limitless vengeance, while Israel’s daily massacres of Palestinians merit nothing more than a footnote.
Pope Leo XIV meets with US Vice President Vance
The Holy See Press Office announced that Pope Leo XIV met with the Vice President of the United States of America, James David Vance, on Monday morning. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, and their wives were also present at the audience.
The US Vice President and Secretary of State represented the United States at the Pope’s Mass of Inauguration of his Petrine Ministry on Sunday morning in St. Peter’s Square.
Exclusive: Any nuclear consortium must involve enrichment to happen in Iran
(May 17, 2025)
Reports claiming that the U.S. has asked Iran to cease uranium enrichment for a couple of years are also false, a second source said. „From the outset, the negotiating team tasked with discussing a potential new agreement with the United States has made it clear that a cessation of uranium enrichment is not an option, even temporarily.“ Iran also maintained this position throughout the diplomatic process that led to the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015, the source added.
Trump threatens Iran over nuclear offer Tehran calls ‘confusing’
(May 16, 2025)
Iran’s lead negotiator, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said in a post on X later Friday that the country hasn’t received a written proposal.
“In the meantime, the messaging we — and the world — continue to receive is confusing and contradictory,” he wrote. Earlier, Araghchi had said, “What the parties to the negotiations say in the media is not the same as what they say behind closed doors.”
Araghchi also repeated his insistence that Iran retain some enrichment capacity, which has been a major sticking point. U.S. officials have given conflicting messages on the levels of uranium enrichment they would accept.
this is the biggest blunder in American history. Mark my words
(December 9, 2023)
Trump administration working on plan to move 1 million Palestinians to Libya
The Trump administration is working on a plan to permanently relocate up to 1 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Libya, five people with knowledge of the effort told NBC News.
The plan is under serious enough consideration that the administration has discussed it with Libya’s leadership, two people with direct knowledge of the plans and a former U.S. official said.
In exchange for the resettling of Palestinians, the administration would potentially release to Libya billions of dollars of funds that the U.S. froze more than a decade ago, those three people said.
Supreme Court extends block on some Alien Enemies Act deportation flights
Over the dissents of conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, the emergency decision prevents authorities from removing the migrants under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as a legal challenge proceeds, a win for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which is suing on the migrants’ behalf.
But the justices declined the ACLU’s additional request to leapfrog the lower courts to immediately take up the issue of whether President Trump can invoke the rarely used law outside of wartime.
Supreme Court blocks Trump from restarting Alien Enemies Act deportations
“Today’s ruling effectively extends the temporary freeze that the justices put on Alien Enemies Act removals from the Northern District of Texas back on April 19,” said Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at Georgetown Law. “Because lower courts have blocked use of the act in every other district in which the president has sought to invoke it, that means it’s effectively pausing all removals under the act until the 5th Circuit – and, presumably, the Supreme Court itself – conclusively resolves whether they’re legal and how much process is due if so.”
‘Render it unusable’: Israel’s mission of total urban destruction
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly endorsed this vision in late March, soon after Israel resumed the war. “Hamas will lay down its weapons. Its leaders will be allowed to leave. We will see to the general security of the Gaza Strip and allow the realization of the Trump plan for voluntary migration,” Netanyahu affirmed. “This is the plan. We are not hiding it and are ready to discuss it at any time.”
Just this week, Netanyahu made this link between the destruction of civilian buildings and forced displacement more explicit. “We are destroying more and more homes — they have nowhere to return to,” he reportedly said at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee. “The only expected result will be a desire for Gazans to emigrate outside the Strip.”
Report: Witkoff Told Mediators That the US Won’t Force Israel To End Gaza Slaughter
At another meeting with hostage families this week, Witkoff was pressed on why the US didn’t force Israel to stop. “We’re not the Israeli government. We don’t disagree. The Israeli government is a sovereign government. They can’t tell us what to do, and we can’t tell them what to do,” Witkoff said, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by Haaretz.
Israel’s military operations in Gaza are entirely reliant on US military aid, meaning the US has the ability to pressure Netanyahu to end the slaughter and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, which has been under a total Israeli blockade since March 2.
Qatari cybertrucks, elite camels and trillion-dollar vows: Why Gulf countries are going all out for Trump’s visit
The optics of the U.S. leader’s Middle East visit were strong, showcasing the larger-than-life opulence of the region’s richest petrostates — and how much of that wealth they are willing to spend to deepen their ties with the U.S. and advance their own economic agendas.
The numbers are historic. Qatar and the U.S. agreed on a $1.2 trillion “economic exchange”; Saudia Arabia promised to invest $600 billion in the U.S., and major projects were signed with the United Arab Emirates, after Abu Dhabi in March committed to a 10-year, $1.4 trillion investment framework in the U.S.
Hamas Says Witkoff Personally Promised to Lift Gaza Blockade in Exchange for Edan Alexander
“It was a deal,” said Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau who has previously engaged in direct talks with U.S. officials. He said the pledge was made by “Witkoff, himself.” In an interview with Drop Site, Naim said the agreement was: “If we release [Alexander], Trump will speak out thanking Hamas for its gesture, obliging Israel on the second day to open the borders and allow aid to come into Gaza, and [Trump would] call for an immediate ceasefire and to go for negotiations to end the war.”
“He did nothing of this,” Naim added. “They didn‘t violate the deal. They threw it in the trash.”