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Trump’s Gaza ‘peace’ board in turmoil as funding pledges fail to materialise

MEMO | May 21, 2026

Donald Trump’s controversial “Board of Peace” for Gaza has warned that a gap between pledged funds and money actually disbursed must be closed urgently, raising fresh doubts over the US-led scheme already widely viewed as the president’s vanity project rather than a serious plan to rebuild the besieged Palestinian enclave.

A report submitted to the United Nations Security Council said: “The gap between commitment and disbursement must be closed with urgency.” It warned that funds pledged but not transferred mark “the difference between a framework that exists on paper and one that delivers on the ground for the people of Gaza.”

Trump established the Board of Peace to oversee his plan to end Israel’s genocide on Gaza and rebuild the territory, large parts of which have been reduced to rubble after more than two years of bombing. The reconstruction effort is estimated to cost around $70 billion, while $17 billion has reportedly been pledged to the board so far.

The board had previously denied that it faced funding constraints, insisting that it was an “execution-focused organisation that calls capital as needed.” However, its own report to the Security Council now urges countries that have made pledges to accelerate disbursement and calls on non-member states and international organisations to contribute without delay.

The United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar are among the states said to have pledged funds, alongside Kuwait, Morocco and Uzbekistan. Yet the future of Gulf commitments now appears more uncertain following Trump’s war on Iran, which has deepened regional instability and exposed the fragility of US-led security arrangements in the Middle East. The Iran war has widened rifts between Washington and its allies, with European leaders saying they were not consulted before US-Israeli strikes on Iranian leadership and infrastructure.

The funding concerns add to longstanding criticism that the Board of Peace is less a credible reconstruction mechanism than an exercise in Trumpian self-promotion. The initiative is widely seen as “aggrandising theatre” and warned that it erases Palestinian political rights while recasting Gaza as a development site rather than an occupied territory whose people are entitled to freedom, dignity and self-determination.

The board was created after Trump’s broader Gaza plan, which placed the US president at the centre of the transitional initiative. It is chaired by Trump and tasked with supervising a still-to-be-formed Palestinian technocratic government and reconstruction under the second phase of the ceasefire deal.

Critics say the plan fails to confront the root causes of Gaza’s destruction: Israel’s occupation, siege and military assault. Analysts have pointed out that Gaza does not need a branding exercise or a donor board dominated by Washington and its allies, but a political settlement rooted in Palestinian sovereignty and international law.

The board’s report says 85 per cent of Gaza’s buildings and infrastructure have been destroyed and that around 70 million tonnes of rubble must be cleared. Despite an October ceasefire, Israel has kept troops in a large part of Gaza and continued air strikes, while the second phase of Trump’s plan — including broader Israeli withdrawal, reconstruction and the disarmament of Palestinian factions — has not been implemented.

Many states remain reluctant to channel reconstruction funds through Trump’s board because of concerns over transparency, oversight and political control. Under the board’s charter, member states reportedly hold three-year terms unless they pay $1 billion to fund its activities and secure permanent membership, raising further questions over whether Gaza’s reconstruction is being treated as a humanitarian obligation or a pay-to-play diplomatic platform.

May 21, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | Comments Off on Trump’s Gaza ‘peace’ board in turmoil as funding pledges fail to materialise

General strike across Italy in solidarity with Gaza and in protest against the attack on Sumud Flotilla

Palestinian Information Center – May 18, 2026

ROME – Italy witnessed a nationwide general strike on Monday, affecting transportation, education, and logistics sectors, following calls by labor unions protesting military rearmament programs, rejecting Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, and expressing solidarity with the “Global Sumud Flotilla” attempting to break the blockade on the Gaza Strip.

The strike coincided with demonstrations in several Italian cities under the slogan “Stop Everything,” organized by labor unions and civil society groups to protest rising living costs, military policies, and increased spending on weapons at the expense of healthcare and education, while also demanding an end to what protesters described as the genocide against Palestinians and supporting the flotilla heading to Gaza.

In the capital, Rome, protesters gathered in one of the city’s main squares, carrying banners urging the Italian government not to continue what they called “complicity in crimes” alongside Israel.

Demonstrators also waved Palestinian flags and chanted slogans, including “Free Palestine,” expressing outrage over the Israeli attack on the Global Sumud Flotilla.

The strikes disrupted several metro lines, including Rome’s Line C and Naples’ Line 1, while some suburban train services in Milan were suspended. Port workers in the city of Livorno also staged similar protests.

Among the participants in Rome was Spanish-Palestinian activist Saif Abu Kishk, one of the activists detained by Israel during the April 29 attack on the flotilla in international waters near the island of Crete.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Abu Kishk said some of the boats had been seized during the latest attack, but participants remain determined to continue toward Gaza while solidarity movements for the flotilla continue across European cities.

He described the Israeli attack as another violation of international law and maritime law, saying it forms part of a broader pattern of ongoing abuses against Gaza.

Abu Kishk also argued that the continuation of such operations is tied to the complicity of Western governments, including the Italian government, which continues to allow arms trade through ports and airports. He called for sustained public pressure to end that complicity and stop the war on Gaza.

He added that participants were fully aware of the risks before setting sail but said morale remains high, noting that many people responded to the call to support Palestine through the flotilla.

Italian protester Andrea Ziccaro said he joined the strike to express support for the Global Sumud Flotilla and opposition to militarization policies.

He added that the latest Israeli attack on the flotilla represents a dangerous escalation, criticizing governments for prioritizing military spending over healthcare and education in what he described as a “war economy.”

Meanwhile, protester Natalia Mancini said the attack on the flotilla was “another humiliation,” arguing that repeated incidents of this kind expose contradictions within Western democratic discourse.

Earlier Monday, Israeli naval forces began seizing boats from the “Global Sumud Flotilla” in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea and detaining activists onboard.

With the participation of 54 boats, the flotilla had sailed Thursday from the Turkish city of Marmaris in a renewed attempt to break the Israeli blockade imposed on Gaza since 2007.

On April 29, Israeli forces attacked flotilla boats in international waters near Crete. The flotilla included 345 participants from 39 countries, including Turkish citizens.

Israeli authorities then seized 21 boats carrying around 175 activists, while the remaining boats continued toward Greek territorial waters.

May 18, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism | , , , , | Comments Off on General strike across Italy in solidarity with Gaza and in protest against the attack on Sumud Flotilla

Al-Qassam leader Ezzeddin al-Haddad martyred in Israeli attack on Gaza

Al Mayadeen | May 16, 2026

The al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, announced the martyrdom of its Chief of Staff, Ezzeddin al-Haddad “Abu Suhaib,” stating that he was killed alongside his wife, daughter, and several Palestinians in an Israeli assassination in central Gaza City.

In its statement, al-Qassam slammed the killing of its senior commander as a “cowardly assassination” carried out by the enemy in a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement, adding that targeting him would only reinforce the Resistance’s determination to continue its path of struggle.

Al-Qassam stated that his martyrdom would further strengthen the resolve of the steadfast Palestinian people to continue confronting the occupation, reaffirming their commitment to the path of resistance despite continued assassinations and ongoing Israeli escalation in the Gaza Strip.

Sources within the Palestinian Resistance had confirmed to Al Mayadeen that al-Haddad was martyred in an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip earlier today.

The Israeli occupation forces had carried out a massacre in the al-Rimal neighborhood in Gaza City, killing eight Palestinians and wounding over 40 others by targeting a residential building. Local sources reported that the attack struck a populated residential area, causing significant destruction and casualties among civilians.

Who was Ezzeddin al-Haddad?

Martyr Ezzeddin al-Haddad was born in Gaza in 1970 and joined Hamas when the movement was established in the 1980s. He was nicknamed the “Ghost of the Gaza Strip” due to his operational secrecy and his privacy in Gaza.

He succeeded Martyr Mohammad al-Sinwar following his assassination in 2025, and had been involved, during Operation al-Aqsa Flood, in ensuring the well-being of Israeli captives.

Several released Israeli captives disclosed that they had met al-Haddad during their time in Gaza, and revealed that he insisted on speaking to them in Hebrew and asked them if they had any needs. One captive said that al-Haddad instructed Resistance fighters to bring the captive a book he had lost, according to Israeli media.

“Israel” attempted to assassinate al-Haddad six times and had placed a bounty worth $750,000 in return for information about his whereabouts.

He was martyred on May 15, 2026, in al-Rimal, alongside his wife and daughter. Thousands of Palestinians flooded the streets of Gaza during the funeral.

Ceaseless attacks on Gaza

The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip continues unabated, with strikes targeting the Halawa refugee camp in Jabalia earlier today, despite the so-called ceasefire achieved almost a year ago.

The Health Ministry and hospitals across the enclave reported 13 martyrs over the past 24 hours, including one Palestinian who succumbed to injuries sustained in an Israeli attack, alongside 57 injuries.

The death toll in Gaza has risen to 72,757 killed and 172,645 injured since October 7, 2023.

May 16, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | Comments Off on Al-Qassam leader Ezzeddin al-Haddad martyred in Israeli attack on Gaza

Mainstream US media complicit in selling Gaza genocide, sweeping new analysis finds

MEMO | May 15, 2026

US media is systematically biased in favour of Israel, an analysis by The Intercept has uncovered. Investigation of more than 12,000 articles and 5,000 TV segments found mainstream US coverage was “one-sided, racist and dehumanising”, helping Israel justify its genocide in Gaza.

The investigation, published this week and drawn from research for a forthcoming book, examined more than 12,000 articles from the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN.com, Politico, Axios, USA Today and The Associated Press, alongside 5,000 television segments aired on CNN and MSNBC.

The focus is on centre-left outlets influential with the Biden administration during the first year of Israel’s assault on the besieged Gaza Strip.

The analysis identifies seven recurring patterns that, taken together, document the US media’s role in selling Israel’s narrative to the American public as the death toll in Gaza mounted into the tens of thousands.

Chief among the findings is the near-exclusive application of the phrase “right to defend itself” to Israel. On CNN and MSNBC, anchors, reporters and guests invoked the right to self-defence for Israel 94 times more often than for Palestinians, the analysis found. In print, Israel was afforded the same right more than 100 times as frequently.

The report also documents how the term “human shields” — a designation rejected by leading human rights organisations when applied to guerrilla forces operating near civilians — was used hundreds of times to describe Palestinian fighters, implicitly rationalising the killing of civilians in Israeli strikes. By contrast, the surveyed television coverage contained no references at all to the Israeli military’s own documented use of human shields, despite cases that meet the legal definition.

Emotive language was applied with similar partiality. Over a 100-day period in which roughly 24,000 Palestinians were killed, words such as “massacre”, “barbaric”, “savage” and “slaughter”, when used in outlets’ own editorial voice, were deployed “entirely in favour of Israel”, the analysis states.

Following Israel’s bombing of al-Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza City on 17 October 2023, US outlets rapidly adopted the qualifiers “Hamas-run” and “Hamas-controlled” when citing Palestinian casualty figures, a framing the report says functioned to discredit the death toll. Neither CNN nor MSNBC used the phrase in the first ten days of the assault; its use then climbed sharply, even as the US State Department, the World Health Organization and Human Rights Watch continued to treat figures from the Gaza Health Ministry as reliable.

The analysis further finds that victims likely to elicit public sympathy — journalists and children — received markedly less coverage during the first 100 days of Israel’s assault on Gaza than their counterparts in Ukraine had received in the equivalent early phase of Russia’s war.

Coverage of rising hate crimes in the same period focused almost entirely on anti-Semitism, with little attention paid to documented Islamophobia or to the impact of the killing in Gaza on Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities in the US.

Perhaps the starkest example, the report says, is the contrast between the New York Times’ treatment of the resignation of Harvard University’s former president Claudine Gay and its coverage of the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab, who was left to die in a vehicle alongside her family after coming under Israeli fire in Gaza.

May 15, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Mainstream Media, Warmongering | , , , , | Comments Off on Mainstream US media complicit in selling Gaza genocide, sweeping new analysis finds

We refuse to be silenced’: Gaza film producers blast BBC at BAFTAs

Al Mayadeen | May 11, 2026

The producers of the documentary “Gaza: Doctors Under Attack” used their BAFTA TV Awards win on Sunday to publicly denounce the BBC for refusing to air the film, accusing the network of censoring coverage of “Israel’s” genocidal assault on Gaza and silencing voices that document the atrocities committed against Palestinian medical workers.

The documentary, originally commissioned by the BBC but never broadcast due to what the network called  “concerns about impartiality” towards “Israel,” won in the current affairs category at the BAFTA ceremony in London. The film was eventually aired by Channel 4 and investigates the systematic targeting of medical personnel and healthcare infrastructure in Gaza during the ongoing genocide.

Journalist Ramita Navai delivered a speech while accepting the award, in which she stated that the occupation has killed tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza and deliberately targeted hospitals and medical workers. According to the documentary’s investigation, more than 1,700 Palestinian health workers have been killed, and over 400 have been abducted by Israeli forces.

Citing United Nations language, Navai described “Israel’s” attacks against Gaza’s medical infrastructure and personnel as “medicide.” She concluded her remarks with a defiant message: “We refuse to be silenced and censored.”

Executive producer challenges BBC on camera

Executive Producer Ben De Pear, speaking during the acceptance speech, dedicated the award to journalists in Gaza who continue to work under extreme danger. He then directly addressed the BBC on camera, questioning whether the broadcaster would also cut their acceptance speech from the delayed broadcast of the ceremony.

De Pear’s challenge to the BBC adds renewed pressure on the network over its long-standing Zionist bias and controversial editorial decisions regarding coverage of Palestine.

The incident follows a report by a Freedom of Information NGO on April 16, 2026, revealing that BBC executives have met nine times with Zionist groups since the start of the genocide, compared to just once with pro-Palestinian organizations.

Furthermore, over 100 BBC staff signed an open letter on July 2, 2025, addressed to Director-General Tim Davie, accusing the broadcaster of acting as “a mouthpiece” for “Israel” and failing its own editorial standards.

The documentary team’s defiance at the BAFTA awards underscores a growing crisis of credibility for the BBC, as even its own journalists and the filmmakers it commissioned accuse the network of actively suppressing evidence of war crimes and genocide.

UK mainstream media has been constantly criticized for its coverage of “Israel’s” genocide on Gaza, sparking controversy for its journalistic biases that promote double standards through misinformation.

“The coverage of Gaza has several noticeable features. There have been instances of misleading and factually incorrect information being published throughout the last 10 months,” media analyst at the Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM) Faisal Hanif told Anadolu in September.

“Israel” killed two four-day-old newborn twins at their parents’ apartment in central Gaza in an airstrike as their father went to collect their birth certificates.

Western mainstream news outlets, including the BBC and Sky News, did not mention “Israeli strikes” in their headlines on their social media posts, prompting online users to ask “Killed by who?”

Hanif highlighted that many Western news outlets continue to refer to a fabricated story presented at the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, claiming the Palestinian resistance “beheaded babies.”

The media analyst emphasized that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the debunked narrative in his address to the US Congress in July 2024, which the BBC reported verbatim without providing context for readers that investigative journalists determined the story to be a fabrication.

May 11, 2026 Posted by | Film Review, Full Spectrum Dominance, Mainstream Media, Warmongering, War Crimes | , , , , , | Comments Off on We refuse to be silenced’: Gaza film producers blast BBC at BAFTAs

Why the Israeli assassination strategy is leading them to defeat

By Robert Inlakesh | Al Mayadeen | May 10, 2026

The Zionist Entity cannot fight real wars, instead it uses assassinations and terror bombing campaigns to avoid having to actually engage its opponents. Since October of 2023, it has been proven that this strategy is a liability, especially when it is attempting to expand its occupation.

On March 3, 2026, Lebanese Hezbollah debunked the Israeli illusion that it was nearing “total victory” in a 7-front war. Now the reality is setting in for everyone. The Israelis have carried out their most successful assassination strikes, Mossad operations, and implemented the most destructive air attacks that the world has ever witnessed against a defenseless civilian population in Gaza.

All of this, and they haven’t defeated a single opponent. So why then did almost everyone believe that the Israelis had managed to overcome the Iranian-led Axis of Resistance? The answer is quite simple: propaganda.

Hezbollah, Hamas, Ansar Allah, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq and Iran’s IRGC are all still in existence today. In fact, the Israelis failed through committing a genocide in Gaza to fully defeat even one of the some dozen Palestinian Resistance factions that exist there. This is not to say that nothing has been achieved and no blows were suffered, evidently that would be delusional, but the fact of the matter is that the Zionist Entity has thrown everything they have at securing “total victory”.

Some would then come along and argue that Hezbollah did suffer significant blows, with the assassination of their senior leadership, the terrorist pager attacks, that Hamas and the other Palestinian factions have also lost much of their senior leadership, as has the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). All of this is true, but that isn’t what wins a war.

This is especially the case when it comes to the Israelis, who possess the most advanced military technology and are on paper supposed to be a complete mismatch when facing up against Hezbollah or Hamas.

Their biggest issue lies in their military doctrine, the overreliance on technology, and beyond this the ideological weakness that runs through their society. In the year 2000, former Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah issued perhaps his most well-known address, which would later be referred to as the “Spider’s Web Speech”.

26 years later, and the Israeli political and military leadership, along with their media, are still obsessed with the speech. The reason why is because it cuts deep into the Israeli psyche and their self-perception. Israeli society is a military society, one that is obsessed with its citizen army. “The IDF is the most moral army” is the settler mantra, a concept so ridiculous to the rest of the world, yet a concept that the settlers themselves cling to with every ounce of their being. This is because the entire occupying regime is centred around the armed forces and militarism.

A soldier’s death is infinitely more difficult for the Israelis to accept than that of a non-combatant, which is why they do their utmost to cover up soldier casualties. If their soldiers are being killed in enormous numbers, then this begins to rock the entire society to its core and impact their belief in themselves to uphold their settler colonial project. Hence Nasrallah’s Spider’s Web theory. The idea of the Zionist entity being a spider’s web, is that its society is weak, not its technology, not its ability to drop bombs and carry out complex intelligence operations.

The concept of fighting short wars is enshrined in Israeli military thinking; it is a concept that dates back to its first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion. This is to say, fighting short and intense wars is safe, because the Israelis are militarily superior to their opponents, yet fighting long, drawn out conflicts of attrition is a danger due to the sheer size of their enemies.

The most successful Israeli war of aggression, the “6-Day War,” reinforced this view. Over the years, since the US has fully thrown its weight behind the occupying ethno-supremacist regime, the United States military has itself shifted to become risk adverse and implement a counter-insurgency doctrine.

In the Second Intifada, the Israelis then leaned into the use of “targeted assassinations”, special forces raids and counter-insurgency strategies, in a way that they hadn’t previously implemented at such a scale. Palestinian Resistance groups in the West Bank were indeed defeated as a result of it, but in Gaza, they managed to adapt and develop in strength.

After originally withdrawing from Lebanon, the Israelis realised that the threat of Hezbollah had grown to a level where it now posed a significant threat, but when they tried to defeat it in 2006, they failed. Therefore, they developed the Dahiyeh Doctrine, the concept of inflicting massive death and destruction against civilian populations.

The belief was that this achieved “deterrence”; in reality, it was Hezbollah that had deterred the Israelis, because Hezbollah was not the aggressor or attempting to implement a belligerent occupation. In order to deal with their defeat in Lebanon, the Israelis then implemented the Dahiyeh Doctrine in the Gaza Strip, where they were dealing with a weaker Resistance group under siege.

Over the years, the Dahiyeh Doctrine was repeatedly used against the Gaza Strip, alongside assassination campaigns, aimed at “mowing the lawn”, a twisted way of saying subduing the threat and achieving “deterrence”. Yet, this also backfired in Gaza, because eventually the Resistance would become so strong that they pulled off the largest military defeat of the Israelis that had ever been inflicted.

As a reaction to October 7, 2023, the Israelis went bad; they initiated a genocide in the Gaza Strip, before going on the offensive across the region. They relied on those same tactics that had failed them time and again, which led them to the Hamas-led surprise attack.

Assassination after assassination, terrorist tactics against civilian populations in order to try and force them into submission, economic warfare, using proxy groups, doing everything possible without having to actually make the sacrifices necessary to attain victory. The reason why they couldn’t simply fight on the ground and go after the Palestinian Resistance in Gaza, nor wage costly and bloody battles against Hezbollah, is because the Spider’s Web theory is true.

If the Israelis were to actually do what is necessary to truly defeat their opponents, they would have to accept losing tens of thousands of soldiers. This is a price that their citizens’ army is simply not willing to pay. The Palestinians, Lebanese, Yemeni and Iranians are willing to make that level of sacrifice, but the Israelis aren’t.

The Zionist regime seeks to achieve “Greater Israel”, but doesn’t want to make any real sacrifice in order to attain that project; they want to do it the easy way, but an easy way doesn’t exist. People are not simply going to bow down and accept enslavement, to live under the rule of an ethno-supremacist regime that treats them as animals, nor will they stop resisting because you slaughter their families.

Sneaky assassinations, surprise attacks and killing babies do not win wars against populations who are fighting for their ability to live freely in their lands. The Zionist entity had the opportunity to actually secure its existence, which was through accepting the so-called “Two-State solution”, but that would have defeated their entire purpose, despite it being the only route to securing their place in the region.

The “Two-State solution” was the Zionist solution that could have given them the ability to remain, but they chose to go down the path of no return. They couldn’t accept living as equals, because the Zionist project is one of ethno-supremacy, so now they are stuck. The illusion of victory over Lebanon is crumbling, as they fail to produce any solutions other than mass murder against civilian populations and ethnic cleansing across the region.

Especially when the Israelis are a weak society, they can’t succeed. This is why there is an obsession with achieving regime change in Iran and using the US to do it for them, because they are desperately betting on the idea that if they do succeed, the resistance against them will end.

May 10, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Timeless or most popular, War Crimes | , , , , , , | Comments Off on Why the Israeli assassination strategy is leading them to defeat

Harrowing testimonies expose Israeli torture of Gaza hospital director

Press TV – May 8, 2026

Former Palestinian detainees have come forward with disturbing firsthand accounts of the systematic torture inflicted on Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital, during his detention in an Israeli prison.

Rami Abu Amira, a former prisoner, described how interrogators stripped Dr. Abu Safia naked and set police dogs on his frail body, leaving deep wounds and scratches.

Ahmad Qaddas recounted that the prison cells echoed with the doctor’s screams as he endured severe beatings.

He said he could no longer recognize Abu Safia due to extreme weight loss and his dazed, barely conscious state.

“He was physically shattered,” Qaddas added. Another former detainee, Hamza Abu Amira, spoke of the “relentless humiliation” and combined physical and psychological torture carried out by specialized Israeli prison units.

Guards reportedly forced Dr. Abu Safia to repeat degrading phrases while inflicting extreme pain in an apparent effort to break him.

Prisoners also described repeated night raids on their cell using sound grenades and tear gas canisters. Other detainees were strictly forbidden from approaching his cell or inquiring about his condition.

Dr. Abu Safia has been held since 27 December 2024, when Israeli forces abducted him during their assault on Kamal Adwan Hospital — the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza at the time. Even after an Israeli airstrike killed his own son, he had refused to abandon his post and his patients.

In March, UN Special Rapporteurs Tlaleng Mofokeng and Ben Saul confirmed receiving credible reports of his torture and the systematic denial of medical care.

They warned that his life was in grave danger and urged countries with influence over Israel to intervene.

Yet the US and its Western allies have taken no meaningful action to halt Tel Aviv’s brutality.

A UK-based human rights organization described his arrest as part of Israel’s broader policy of systematically targeting Palestinian health workers and destroying Gaza’s healthcare system — actions it said were intended to create conditions calculated to bring about the physical destruction of the Palestinian people.

Dr. Abu Safia is one of at least 737 Palestinian medical workers arbitrarily detained by Israeli forces since October 2023.

During the same period, at least 1,722 medical personnel have been killed — an average of more than two per day.

The World Health Organization has documented over 930 attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system, with all 36 hospitals damaged or destroyed and only half partially functional.

These assaults form part of a deliberate campaign to annihilate Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure as an integral component of Israel’s genocidal war on the Strip, which has so far claimed more than 72,500 Palestinian lives since October 2023.

May 8, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Subjugation - Torture, War Crimes | , , , , | Comments Off on Harrowing testimonies expose Israeli torture of Gaza hospital director

UAE provides $100m for US-backed Gaza police force vetted by Shin Bet

The Cradle | May 8, 2026

The UAE has sent $100 million to US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to fund the training of a new Palestinian police force for Gaza, the Times of Israel reported on 8 May, citing a US official and a diplomat from West Asia.

Setting up a security force to control Gaza on Israel’s behalf will reportedly allow Tel Aviv to sideline Hamas while reducing the presence of the Israeli army, which is suffering from manpower shortages.

The police force is being organized under the umbrella of the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), a panel of Palestinian technocrats tasked by the Board of Peace and Israel to administer the Strip.

Though the NCAG was created three months ago, its members have not yet entered the Strip, reportedly due to a lack of funding and security.

“No money is currently available,” Board of Peace envoy Nickolay Mladenovas privately acknowledged, according to a Palestinian official familiar with the matter speaking with Reuters.

The proposal envisions the new police force seizing weapons in Gaza as part of the effort to disarm Hamas.

Nevertheless, Hamas has yet to agree to disarm, as Israel has not adhered to the terms of the US-sponsored ceasefire that was signed in October 2025.

According to the ceasefire agreement, Israel was required to withdraw their forces to areas near the border, dismantle all military sites and installations, allow displaced Palestinians to return to their homes in the north of the Strip, open the Rafah crossing, and allow humanitarian aid to enter freely.

Israel has also killed over 800 Palestinians in Gaza since the ceasefire took effect.

In February, the NCAG began recruiting for the new 27,000-strong police force. Recruits will be vetted by Israel’s internal security service, the Shin Bet, according to an Arab diplomat who spoke with the Times of Israel in March.

An Emirati security firm will train the recruits in Egypt and Jordan before dispatching them to Gaza.

In February, US President Donald Trump announced $17 billion in pledges for the Board of Peace at a donor conference. He also demanded that world leaders contribute $1 billion each for a seat on the board, which he said would rival the UN.

However, the $100 million contribution from the UAE is the largest pledged amount the board has received so far. The board has not received the billions in contributions initially pledged by the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.

One source with direct knowledge of the peace board’s operations told Reuters that Washington and Tel Aviv’s war of aggression against Iran “affected everything.”

The Board of Peace is also working to establish and deploy a proposed International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza, which is expected to include soldiers from several foreign countries. This move would enable the Israeli army to further outsource its ethnic cleansing efforts.

Indonesia, Albania, Kazakhstan, and Kosovo have each pledged troops to the ISF, but so far none have been deployed or begun training, amid fears they may have to use violence to disarm Hamas on Israel’s behalf.

The UAE has supported Israel not only in Gaza but also in its war with Iran.

The New York Times reported on Friday that the UAE has “doubled down on its alliances with Israel and the United States,” despite Iranian drone and missile strikes targeting the Emirates in retaliation for their support for the US-Israeli war on the Islamic Republic.

“There is a trust premium that Trump will do the right thing,” said Nadim Koteich, an Emirati-Lebanese commentator who is close to the Emirati government. “What suits his legacy and what suits the American interests suits us.”

The UAE has also partnered with Israel and Somaliland to create a new “strategic axis” in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea in a bid to project power into Africa and counter the Ansarallah-led Yemeni Armed Forces.

May 8, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | Comments Off on UAE provides $100m for US-backed Gaza police force vetted by Shin Bet

‘Israel’ kills Azzam al-Hayya, son of Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya

Al Mayadeen | May 7, 2026

Azzam al-Hayya, the son of Khalil al-Hayya, leader of the Hamas Resistance movement in Gaza, was martyred on Thursday after succumbing to wounds he sustained in an Israeli attack on Gaza City on Wednesday evening, according to Al Mayadeen’s correspondent.

The correspondent reported on Wednesday night that Hamza al-Sharbasi was killed and Azzam Khalil al-Hayya was injured in an Israeli airstrike near the Jabalia bus stop in the al-Daraj neighborhood, in central Gaza City.

PIJ condemns assassinating Resistance forces, their leaders

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement condemned the assault, saying, “The government of war criminals in the occupying entity continues to escalate its crimes against the Gaza Strip.”

In a statement, the movement noted that “the occupation army is carrying out ongoing assaults aimed at assassinating Resistance forces and their leaders, particularly within Islamic Jihad and Hamas.”

It further highlighted that the latest in these assassinations was “the treacherous airstrike that targeted Hamza al-Sharbasi, a leader in the al-Qassam Brigades, yesterday.”

“The attack also injured several others, including the martyr Azzam, the son of Khalil al-Hayya, the head of the Hamas movement in Gaza, who succumbed to his wounds this morning,” the movement added.

The PIJ accused “Israel” of using the strikes to impose its terms on Gaza, evade agreed-upon ceasefire commitments, block reconstruction efforts, and continue committing massacres, including by disrupting the Rafah crossing.

‘Israel’ continues its genocide amid so-called ceasefire

In a separate incident on May 6, and as part of ongoing Israeli violations, several Palestinians were wounded when an Israeli strike targeted a displacement camp in Gaza City’s al-Zaytoun neighborhood.

Further south, police colonel Naseem al-Kalzzani was killed and others were injured after an Israeli strike targeted his vehicle in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis.

Hamas said the escalation by the Israeli occupation forces, which continued to target civilians in Gaza, constituted a clear violation of the ceasefire agreement. The movement called on the United States administration and the guarantor states of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement to intervene immediately to restrain Israel.

Despite the ceasefire reached in October 2025, Israeli forces have continued near-daily aggression across the Gaza Strip.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, the death toll has risen to 837, with 2,381 wounded and 769 bodies of martyrs retrieved since the ceasefire took effect.

The cumulative toll since the start of the Israeli genocide on 7 October 2023 has reached 72,619 killed and 172,484 injured.

May 7, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Comments Off on ‘Israel’ kills Azzam al-Hayya, son of Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya

What has Guterres supported in Gaza?

By Ramona Wadi | MEMO | May 7, 2026

In March this year, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had stated that the UN is “cooperating actively with structures created by the Board of Peace.” By the time Guterres made his statement, US Board of Peace High Representative for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov had already warned, in February this year, that Hamas bears the burden of Israel’s full resumption of genocide in Gaza if it fails to disarm.

In a letter that was quoted yesterday in Israeli media, Mladenov and senior US official Aryeh Lightstone warned the Palestinian technocratic government, “Failure by Hamas to accept the framework within a reasonable timeframe, as determined by the Board of Peace and after consultation with the parties, shall render such commitments null and void.”

Two days before Mladenov’s warning was made public, a senior military official said that it was inevitable that Israel would resume “fighting” in Gaza if Hamas refuses to disarm. Israel has in fact not stopped colonising Gaza through violence – what we are seeing now is a slower form of genocide in the aftermath of a very visible genocide which world leaders and diplomats preferred to watch rather than stop.

Mladenov is aware that Israel kept killing Palestinians in Gaza after the ceasefire came into effect, that more buildings were detonated, that the Yellow Line keeps expanding in Gaza besides already occupying more than half of its shrinking territory.

Therefore, the pretence of a before and after the ceasefire does not hold. It is merely a convenient veneer for the Board of Peace’s next rhetorical step that asserts its agreement with genocide.

Israel violated the October 2025 ceasefire multiple times, so in a way the letter is not a warning of novelty. However, the text of the October ceasefire does not stipulate that Hamas should disarm for the ceasefire to hold; that was a clause for the second phase of the ceasefire. The US Board of Peace is therefore saying that Israel is exempt from upholding its obligations stipulated in Phase One if Hamas does not agree to a clause from Phase Two.

In the entire Western narrative of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Mladenov is not employing a new tactic when blaming Hamas for refusing to disarm. However, exploiting the ceasefire text, which was based on the resumption of humanitarian aid and the return of Israeli hostages, is insightful in terms of how institutions hold the power to manipulate the parameters of international law, accountability and impunity. The October 2025 ceasefire text, which was not dependent on Hamas disarming, can now be discarded simply because the focus is on Phase Two and diplomacy will not check the specific stipulations of Phase One.

Mladenov and Lightstone, therefore, are legitimising institutional complicity with genocide.

This is one clear admission in which a body supposedly tasked with rebuilding Gaza and its governance will not hold Israel accountable for continuing to commit genocide.

By stepping back, the spectator tactic has now been fully employed by Mladenov and the so-called Board of Peace.

When has genocide even been advocated for so smoothly among diplomats? Guterres should take note of what he and the UN have supported.

May 7, 2026 Posted by | Deception, Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | Comments Off on What has Guterres supported in Gaza?

Ceasefire no longer viable after 200 days of Israeli violations: Hamas

Al Mayadeen | May 2, 2026

One Palestinian was killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting the vicinity of al-Qastal Towers, east of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent reported on Saturday.

In a separate development, Israeli forces carried out a large-scale demolition operation east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, according to the same correspondent.

In light of the continued Israeli violations, Basem Naim, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, said that after 200 days, it is no longer possible to speak of a ceasefire in Gaza. He stated that the situation is a continuation of a “war of extermination,” despite the Resistance’s adherence to the agreement.

Speaking to Al Mayadeen on Saturday evening, Naim stressed that the future of the Gaza Strip and the broader Palestinian cause remains a solely internal Palestinian matter. He added that the Resistance has fulfilled all obligations requested of it, as confirmed by mediators, while Israeli attacks have continued.

Naim also stated that the Rafah crossing has not been opened in accordance with the agreement, noting that the number of people allowed to pass remains limited. He said mediators had been informed of the need to review the implementation of the first phase of the agreement before moving on to the second.

US providing cover for ‘Israel’ to violate ceasefire

The Hamas official further accused the United States of providing cover for Israeli violations, revealing that a technical committee comprising mediators and relevant parties is being supplied with daily documentation of the breaches.

According to Naim, the negotiating position is based on previous agreements and the rights of the Palestinian people, with insistence on the full implementation of the first phase, including the entry of humanitarian aid and reconstruction materials. He added that the agreement includes a political track aimed at securing Palestinian rights, including the establishment of a state with its capital in al-Quds.

Naim emphasized that armed resistance is a legitimate right and that its weapons are an essential component of that right. He also highlighted unity among Palestinian factions and ongoing coordination between them, while warning that the occupied West Bank is facing a “silent and continuous war,” amid escalating attacks on religious sites.

‘Israel’ working to ‘annex’ West bank as a ‘fait accompli’

In this context, Naim said “Israel” is working to consolidate the “annexation” of the West Bank as a “fait accompli”, while restricting the work of international organizations in Gaza unless they operate under its conditions.

He added that the negotiating delegation remains in Cairo and is serious about continuing talks, while maintaining its demand for the full implementation of the first phase. He stressed that the Resistance is not seeking war and does not oppose political pathways if they lead to ending the occupation, but rejects discussing the issue of its weapons separately from a permanent ceasefire.

Naim also praised international activists expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and condemned attacks on ships attempting to break the blockade, stressing Gaza’s need for an international humanitarian corridor. He concluded by emphasizing the importance of Palestinian unity and rejecting internal divisions that could serve Israeli interests.

May 2, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Comments Off on Ceasefire no longer viable after 200 days of Israeli violations: Hamas

Israeli military ‘failed on all fronts’: Poll

The Cradle | April 28, 2026

A poll published by Israel’s Public Broadcaster (KAN) on 28 April found that a majority of Israelis believe the state has failed to secure victory in any war since October 2023.

According to the survey, 57 percent of respondents said no victory had been achieved, while 28 percent believed success had been reached in at least one arena, and a further 15 percent said they were unsure.

The findings come after more than two years of Israel’s genocide in Gaza – which Israel threatens to reignite –  during which Tel Aviv waged multiple offensive military campaigns against Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran, alongside attacks in Yemen and Syria and a campaign of destruction and displacement in the occupied West Bank.

Confidence levels across all the fronts remain low, with only 17 percent viewing operations in Syria as successful and 16 percent saying the same for Gaza and Iran.

Perceptions dropped further on the Lebanese front at 14 percent, followed by Yemen at 12 percent and the occupied West Bank at 11 percent.

The poll also points to persistent security concerns, with a total of 73 percent of respondents saying the continued armed presence of Hamas and Hezbollah poses a direct threat of a repeat of a 7 October-style event.

Only 10 percent dismissed that possibility, while 17 percent remained uncertain.

On the ground, Israel has reportedly begun withdrawing troops from southern Lebanon. Israeli outlet Maariv described the campaign as ending in “failure” and “bitterness,” as forces pull back under continued Hezbollah attacks, including drone strikes that exposed major gaps in Israeli preparedness.

The poll also showed divisions over Netanyahu’s legal status, with a majority – 56 percent – supporting a pardon for his corruption charges, while 26 percent opposed the move and 18 percent remained undecided.

Netanyahu had requested a presidential pardon on 30 November without admitting guilt or stepping down from office, despite Israeli law requiring an admission of guilt for such a measure.

He is currently facing trial in three separate corruption cases involving fraud, bribery, and abuse of power, with court proceedings ongoing since 2020 after charges were filed in 2019.

Netanyahu’s court testimony was delayed once again on 27 April over a “serious” security incident in southern Lebanon, as the prime minister seeks to prolong the wars to keep his corruption trial from moving forward.

At the same time, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has listed Netanyahu as wanted since 2024, issuing arrest warrants for him and former defense minister Yoav Gallant over their direct involvement and orchestration of the genocide in Gaza, as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the use of starvation as a weapon.

April 29, 2026 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism | , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Israeli military ‘failed on all fronts’: Poll

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