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Gaza’s unbreakable resistance: A historical perspective on the war and its aftermath

By Ramzy Baroud | MEMO | January 22, 2025

The problem with political analysis is that it often lacks historical perspective and is mostly limited to recent events.

The current analysis of the Israeli war on Gaza falls victim to this narrow thinking. The ceasefire agreement, signed between Palestinian groups and Israel under Egyptian, Qatari and US mediation in Doha on 15 January is one example.

Some analysts, including many from the region, insist on framing the outcome of the war as a direct result of Israel’s political dynamics. They argue that Israel’s political crisis is the main reason the country failed to achieve its declared and undeclared war objectives –  namely, gaining total “security control” over Gaza and ethnically cleansing its population.

However, this analysis assumes that the decision to go to war or not is entirely in Israel’s hands. It continues to elevate Israel’s role as the only entity capable of shaping political outcomes in the region, even when those outcomes do not favour Israel

Another group of analysts focuses entirely on the American factor, claiming that the decision to end the war ultimately rested with the White House. Shortly after the ceasefire was officially declared in Gaza, a pan-Arab TV channel asked a group of experts whether it was the Biden or Trump administration that deserved credit for supposedly “pressuring Israel” to agree to a ceasefire.

Some argue that it was Trump’s envoy to Israel, Steve Witkoff, who denied Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu any room to manoeuvre, thus forcing him, albeit reluctantly, to accept the ceasefire terms.

Others counter by saying that the agreement was initially presented by the Biden administration. They argue that Biden’s supposedly active diplomacy ultimately led to the ceasefire.

The latter group fails to acknowledge that it was Biden’s unconditional support for Israel that sustained the war. His UN envoy’s constant rejection of ceasefire calls at the Security Council made international efforts to stop the war irrelevant.

The former group, however, ignores the fact that Israeli society was already at a breaking point. The war on Gaza had proven unwinnable. This means that, whether Trump pressured Netanyahu or not, the outcome of the war was already sealed. Continuing the war would have meant the implosion of Israeli society.

On the Palestinian side, some analyses – affiliated with one faction or another – exploit the war’s outcome for political gain. This type of thinking is extremely insensitive and must be wholly rejected.

There are also those hoping to play a role in Gaza’s reconstruction to gain political and financial leverage and increase their influence. This is a shameful stance, given the total destruction of Gaza and the urgent need to recover the thousands of bodies trapped under rubble, as well as to heal the wounded and the population as a whole.

One thing all these analyses overlook is that Israel failed in Gaza because the population of Gaza proved unbreakable. Such notions are often neglected in mainstream political discussions, which tend to commit to an elitist line. This line is entirely removed from the daily struggles and collective choices of ordinary people, even when they achieve extraordinary feats.

Gaza’s history is one of both pain and pride. It stretches back to ancient civilisations and includes great resistance against invasion, such as the three-month siege by Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army in 332 BCE.

Back then, Gazans resisted and endured for months before their leader, Batis, was captured, tortured to death, and the city was sacked.

This legendary resilience and sumoud (steadfastness) proved crucial in numerous other fights against foreign invaders, including resistance to Napoleon Bonaparte’s army in 1799.

Even if some of Gaza’s current population is unaware of that history, they are a direct product of it. From this perspective, neither Israeli political dynamics, the change of the US administration, nor any other factor is relevant.

This is known as “long history” or longue durée. Far from being merely an academic concept, the long legacy of resistance against injustice has shaped the collective mindset of the Palestinian population in Gaza over the years. How else can we explain how a small, isolated and impoverished population, living in such a tiny piece of land, managed to withstand firepower equivalent to many nuclear bombs?

The war ended because Gaza withstood it –  not because of the kindness of an American president. It is crucial that we emphasise this point repeatedly, rather than seeking inconclusive and irrational answers.

It matters little how we define victory and defeat for a nation still suffering the consequences of a war of annihilation. However, it is important to recognise that Palestinians in Gaza stood their ground, despite immense losses and prevailed. This can only be credited to them -a nation that has historically proven unbreakable. This truth, rooted in “long history”, remains valid today.

January 22, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , | 1 Comment

Israel lost the war in Gaza from every perspective

Regardless of the success of the ceasefire, the Israeli side is the defeated one.

By Lucas Leiroz | Strategic Culture Foundation | January 18, 2025

After more than a year of bloody fighting in the Gaza Strip, both sides reached a ceasefire agreement. Hamas and Israel reportedly agreed to halt hostilities from January on, implementing a multiple step “pacification” plan to end the war. The agreement came after several bilateral talks mediated by Qatar. The final terms of the deal were highly unfavorable to Israel, which led to harsh criticism from the Zionist press and internal opposition, who described it as a “surrender.”

As a result of local political pressure, on January 16, Benjamin Netanyahu announced his interest in delaying the signing of the agreement due to unfounded accusations of “violations” allegedly on the part of Hamas. Additionally, new Israeli airstrikes occurred in Gaza on the same day, killing dozens of people. However, only a few hours later, reports emerged that the agreement had been signed in Doha.

It is still too early to say what the final outcome of this agreement will be. The fact that both sides agreed to temporarily stop hostilities does not mean the end of the conflict. For the Palestinians, the true war will only end when Israel withdraws from Palestine. For Zionists, the end depends on the success of the ethnic cleansing plan in Gaza and the West Bank. However, the halting of bombings and killings is a significant political victory for Palestinian Resistance, especially considering the favorable terms for Hamas.

The agreement, as outlined in its final terms, establishes a prisoner exchange system at a ratio of one Israeli for fifty Palestinians. Tel Aviv is required to completely withdraw from Gaza and stop attacks, while Hamas maintains its legitimate political authority in Gaza. In other words, the agreement includes substantial concessions from Israel, clearly showing that the winning side — i.e., the side in a position to demand its terms — was Hamas.

It is possible that the agreement will fail early. Even with both sides signing, Israel could withdraw at any time, given that Netanyahu is under constant pressure to disguise his political defeat. However, even if hostilities continue, Tel Aviv will still be viewed by all analysts as the defeated side in this war.

It is important to emphasize that war is a political phenomenon, not a military one. Military operations are merely some of the means through which a war occurs, but they are not the central point of a conflict. In fact, war is an extreme political mechanism, where two or more political entities confront each other using violence as a legitimate weapon.

Being a political event, the winner in a war is the side that achieves its political objectives, regardless of the military situation. In this sense, it is possible to lose all military battles but still win politically in the end. Something similar happened, for example, in Vietnam and Afghanistan. In both cases, the U.S. devastated the enemy countries, massacring the local populations through inhumane acts of violence. However, both in Vietnam, in 1973, and in Afghanistan, in 2021, Washington was defeated at the end of the war, leaving the battlefield without achieving its political objectives.

In Gaza, Israel devastated the civilian population and destroyed the infrastructure, but failed to achieve the political goals of its counterattack: eliminating Hamas, occupying Gaza, and freeing prisoners. No Israeli objective was achieved, so Tel Aviv lost. Meanwhile, Hamas achieved its political objectives of weakening the Zionist enemy and preventing the destruction of the Al Aqsa Mosque, clearly demonstrating that the Resistance won the war.

The situation is far from over. Only the end of the State of Israel — or its complete demilitarization and territorial reconfiguration — would represent a final victory for Hamas. But regardless of this, the current victory is important for the Resistance. If the ceasefire holds, Hamas will have relief and enough time to regroup and strengthen for the next battle. If the agreement fails, the war will continue in its status quo, where Hamas already has the advantage on the battlefield, efficiently preventing enemy territorial advances despite constant civilian casualties.

In the end, Israel is defeated from every perspective. Netanyahu criticizes the agreement because he knows he is committing political suicide by signing a disguised surrender pact. However, if he does not respect the ceasefire, Netanyahu will further harm his government and will have to accept the consequences of a permanent war.

Palestinian victory is the only certainty for now.

January 19, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

What legitimacy is the PA talking about?

By Ramona Wadi | MEMO | January 16, 2025

“While we are waiting for the ceasefire, it is important to stress that it won’t be acceptable for any other entity to govern the Gaza Strip but the legitimate Palestinian leadership and the government of the state of Palestine,” the Palestinian Authority’s Prime Minister, Mohammad Mustafa, stated during a meeting of the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.

The PA is not a legitimate leadership. In 2006, Hamas won the Palestinian legislative elections, disturbing the Western world’s preferred outcome. Democracy, according to the West, can only conform with Western expectations; therefore Palestinians got a taste of what the US does when democracy crashes imperialist expectations. Instead of respecting the electoral result, the US and Fatah embarked upon a series of destabilisation and coercion tactics, aimed at marginalising Hamas further and ultimately destroying the legitimate representation of Palestinians according to the 2006 electoral result.

While Hamas was shunned and its diplomatic efforts rebuffed, even though it combined resistance and political pragmatism, the PA intensified its efforts at forcing Hamas to relinquish power, enforcing sanctions on an enclave repeatedly bombarded by Israel. When Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank protested against such authoritarianism and cruelty, the PA unleashed its security services on civilians, and continues to do so. As the US and the EU continued funnelling funds to enhance the PA’s brutality under the guise of state-building, the PA continued harming Palestinians in the name of security, to the point of detaining, torturing and, at times, killing their critics.

All this was orchestrated because the international community sided with an illegitimate political representation under the auspices of democracy. Are we to assume that legitimacy and democracy change meaning according to colonial and imperialist interests? What of the importance of language, which is of equal importance in the anti-colonial struggle against Israel and the PA?

Back to the present. Since Israel started its genocide in Gaza, the PA has consistently sought to navigate the corridors of power by presenting itself as an alternative to Hamas. Yet, in doing so, it completely neglected the fact that its silence on the genocide is tantamount to tacit support. The PA merely reiterated the importance of the two-state paradigm as it has for decades, with no acknowledgement of the fact that not even the hypothesis can sustain itself, let alone implementation. Meanwhile, to garner favour with Israel and the international community, and possibly prove how relevant it is to post-genocide Gaza governance, the PA started its own attack against the Palestinian Resistance.

The question is, since legitimacy does not hold the same meaning for the PA and its accomplices, what does legitimacy mean in the context of its Prime Minister citing legitimacy as the reason why the PA should return to Gaza? There is no other acceptable entity, according to the PA – based on what parameters? Just as genocide became synonymous with human rights in the Israeli and international narrative, is the PA’s illegitimate rule becoming synonymous with democracy? Why hasn’t the PA suggested elections and why has the international community not voiced any concern over Ramallah wanting to extend its power to Gaza?

The PA’s attempts to prove itself purportedly worthy of governing Gaza are precisely the reason why it should not. The PA’s only foundations are foreign funding and Israeli colonialism. Having sold itself to the two highest bidders (not forgetting the tangible illegitimacy since 2006), what Palestinian leadership and legitimacy is the PA really talking about?

January 16, 2025 Posted by | Aletho News | , | Leave a comment

Gaza Ceasefire: What to expect?

Al-Manar | January 14, 2025

As the Israeli enemy’s war on Gaza enters its 466th day, the besieged enclave stands as a symbol of resilience against an unprecedented campaign of destruction and genocide, carried out with global complicity and silence.

Despite relentless attacks, Gaza has refused to surrender. The Palestinian resistance has engaged the Israeli occupation forces at close range, inflicting heavy losses and proving that its resolve cannot be broken. Over 46,000 Palestinians—children, women, men, and fighters—have been martyred, yet the resistance continues to strike back. Every time Israeli occupation forces believe they’ve secured a foothold, new resistance emerges, keeping them locked in a costly cycle of attrition.

Northern Gaza: A Testament to Failure

In northern Gaza, the Israeli enemy’s aim of “zero confrontation” through systematic genocide and forced displacement has also faltered. Last week in Beit Hanoun, the Israeli occupation forces faced significant setbacks, acknowledging their failure even as they tried to regroup their forces.

The Question of Prisoners

One of the Israeli enemy’s primary objectives has been the retrieval of its captives. However, its strategy of annihilation has failed to achieve this. Any resolution remains contingent on agreements dictated by the Palestinian resistance, which, despite enduring immense hardship, has maintained its strength and thwarted the Zionist entity’s attempts to establish full control, even over small areas of the enclave.

Ceasefire Talks Spark Internal Tensions

As reports emerge of a potential ceasefire agreement in the coming hours or days, tensions within the Zionist government are boiling over. Far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are threatening to resign if the agreement moves forward.

Ben Gvir criticized the deal as a “surrender,” urging Smotrich to join him in pressuring Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Meanwhile, Israeli Channel 12 reported that Smotrich is consulting with senior rabbis over the prisoner exchange deal.

The right-wing minister, who previously called the agreement a “disaster for Israel’s national security,” hinted at issuing an ultimatum to Netanyahu in the coming hours. He condemned the proposed terms, which reportedly involve releasing high-profile Palestinian prisoners, ending the war, and nullifying Israel’s so-called achievements.

Admission of Defeat

Through the voices of its leaders, the Zionist entity has effectively acknowledged its failure. The narrative of invincibility is crumbling as the war shifts from conquest to survival for an occupation increasingly entangled in its miscalculations.

Positive Progress in Doha Negotiations

Spokesman for the Qatari Foreign Ministry, Majed bin Mohammad Al-Ansari, announced today that discussions in Doha have entered the final stages. He described the talks as “productive and positive,” focusing on the last remaining details, and hinted that an official announcement of the agreement is imminent.

“We have overcome the primary obstacles in the disagreements between the parties,” Al-Ansari stated, adding, “When the agreement is announced, it will also mark the start of the ceasefire implementation.” He further noted that draft agreements have been submitted, and negotiations are now centered on resolving the final details regarding the Gaza ceasefire.

Urging both sides to finalize the deal, Al-Ansari emphasized the need to end the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza.

Latest Developments in Negotiation Talks

Amid these updates, US President-elect Donald Trump, in an interview with Newsmax, expressed optimism, saying he believes a deal on hostages and a Gaza ceasefire could be finalized by the weekend. Observers have noted that the negotiations are now entering critical hours.

Additionally, the deputy foreign minister of the Israeli occupation entity confirmed that Trump has pushed for the agreement to be concluded before his inauguration on January 20. “I cannot disclose details of the deal, as we want to avoid statements that could affect the morale of the hostages’ families,” she said.

A Closer Look at the Proposed Gaza Ceasefire Agreement

According to leaks from Israeli enemy sources, the initial phase of the agreement will see the release of 33 Zionist prisoners, including women, children, and the wounded. In exchange, Palestinian prisoners will be freed according to a specific mechanism, and a ceasefire in Gaza will be enacted.

Second Phase to Begin After 16 Days

An official from the Israeli occupation revealed that, 16 days after the agreement is implemented, negotiations will begin for the second phase. This will include the release of remaining live hostages—male soldiers and men of military age—along with the return of the bodies of those who died during captivity.

Gradual Israeli Withdrawal and Security Arrangements

The agreement outlines a gradual Israeli withdrawal, though forces will remain near the border. It also includes security arrangements for the “Philadelphi Corridor” (Salah Al-Din) on the southern edge of Gaza, with Israeli enemy withdrawal from parts of the area within days of the agreement’s enactment.

Return of Civilians and Restrictions

Civilians from northern Gaza will be allowed to return, with mechanisms in place to prevent weapon transfers. The Israeli enemy will also withdraw from the “Netzarim” area in central Gaza, which had previously been rejected in negotiations.

Prisoner Release Details

The deal includes the release of Palestinians convicted of killings or attacks resulting in death, although the number will depend on the number of remaining live hostages—still unknown. However, prisoners involved in the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023, will not be included in the release list. This marks a significant victory for the resistance, as the Israeli occupation had previously refused to release those it categorized as “convicted murderers” or sentenced to life imprisonment.

Progress Towards Final Agreement

These developments coincide with reports from inside Gaza that Zionist forces have begun dismantling some of their positions in the Netzarim area. Sources from the “Jerusalem Post” suggest that, barring last-minute changes, an announcement on the deal could come today.

Recent Diplomatic Efforts

Earlier on Monday, Axios reported that Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to concessions regarding withdrawals from the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors and new terms for releasing Palestinian prisoners. This comes as Netanyahu consults with security leaders.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden spoke with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, reaffirming that a deal is imminent. Qatar’s emir also met with a Hamas delegation, who expressed their positive stance on the ongoing negotiations in Doha.

Palestinian Resistance: No Compromise on Red Lines

A Hamas official told CNN on Monday that several points of contention remain in the ongoing negotiations. Key issues include Hamas’s demand for the Israeli occupation’s withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor and a call for a permanent ceasefire instead of a temporary halt to military operations.

Qatar Presents Final Draft

An informed source involved in the prisoner swap negotiations in Doha stated that Qatar has delivered a “final draft” of the ceasefire and prisoner release agreement aimed at ending the war. According to Reuters, a breakthrough occurred in Doha after midnight, following talks between Israeli intelligence chiefs, US President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witztkopf, and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.

January 15, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , | 1 Comment

Al Mayadeen obtains terms of Gaza ceasefire deal

Al Mayadeen | January 15, 2025

Al Mayadeen has obtained details of the Gaza ceasefire agreement with the Israeli occupation. The agreement, which outlines an eleven-clause framework, marks a significant step toward resolving the ongoing war and addressing the humanitarian crisis in the region.

Key terms of the agreement

  1. Israeli forces are required to fully withdraw from all areas of the Gaza Strip and return to the pre-war borders.
  2. The Rafah crossing must be reopened, with Israeli forces withdrawing entirely from the area.
  3. “Israel” is mandated to ease the travel of injured individuals for treatment abroad.
  4. “Israel” must permit the daily entry of 600 aid trucks, as per a humanitarian protocol backed by Qatar.
  5. “Israel” must facilitate the entry of 200,000 tents and 60,000 caravans for immediate shelter.
  6. A large-scale prisoner exchange will occur, including the release of 1,000 prisoners from Gaza and hundreds of detainees serving lengthy sentences.
  7. “Israel” is to release all women and children under the age of 19 from its prisons.
  8. Israeli forces must gradually withdraw from the Netzarim corridor and the Philadelphi Route.
  9. Displaced residents must be allowed to return to their homes, with guaranteed freedom of movement throughout the Gaza Strip.
  10. Hostile aircraft must vacate Gaza’s airspace for 8 to 10 hours daily.
  11. All hospitals in Gaza must be rehabilitated. Field hospitals, medical equipment, and surgical teams must be permitted entry.

Implementation phases

The first phase of the agreement, lasting six weeks, will involve the release of 33 Israeli captives, both living and deceased. This phase also includes the immediate return of displaced persons from southern Gaza to the north, facilitated by the withdrawal of Israeli forces from al-Rashid Street to the depths of the Netzarim corridor.

Subsequent phases will address the release of the remaining 66 captives held by Palestinian resistance factions.

If the deal succeeds, the gradual ceasefire could mark the end of more than a year of sporadic negotiations and result in the largest release of Israeli captives since the early stages of the war, when Hamas released roughly half of its captives in exchange for 240 Palestinian detainees.

In further detail, an Israeli official stated that negotiations were in advanced stages for the release of 33 of the remaining 98 Israeli captives, marking the first phase of the deal. In exchange, “Israel” will release 1,000 Palestinian detainees, according to a Palestinian source close to the talks, who added that the first phase would last for 60 days.

Meanwhile, Hamas fighters allegedly involved in Operation al-Aqsa Flood would not be released.

The Israeli official mentioned that the first stage of the agreement would involve the release of 33 captives, including “children, women, female soldiers, men above 50, and the wounded and sick,” as well as a gradual, partial withdrawal of invading Israeli units.

Commenting on the number of detainees, The Times of Israel considered, citing a copy of the agreement obtained by The Associated Press, that “Israel” will pay a steep price to secure the release of female soldiers being held captive.

Among the 33 would be five female Israeli soldiers, each of whom would be released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 convicted security prisoners who are serving life sentences.

January 15, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , | 4 Comments

UK doctor suspended over posts praising slain Hamas and Hezbollah leaders as ‘legends’

MEMO | January 1, 2025

Dr Rehiana Ali, a British neurologist, was been suspended last week by the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) following complaints about social media posts on Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. The interim suspension, lasting 18 months and subject to review, prevents her from practising medicine pending a full investigation by the General Medical Council (GMC).

The suspension relates to posts praising the martyred leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah as “legends.” On 7 October, the anniversary of the Al-Aqsa Flood resistance operation, Ali referred to Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah as “a legend” and later eulogised Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in similar terms – both were assassinated by the occupation army. “Israel will lose. They’ve just turned Sinwar into a legend. A male role model,” she wrote.

The GMC acknowledged public “concerns” over Dr Ali’s comments. “We will take action where concerns suggest patient safety or public confidence in doctors may be at risk,” said a GMC spokesperson.

Ali, who had aimed to contest the 2024 general election as an independent for Bradford South, described the complaints as politically motivated. In a post on X last week, Ali said she had been “punished for a perfectly legal political comment” and for speaking out against Israeli lobbies and the occupation state’s war crimes.

She also slammed the GMC and MPTS for bowing to Zionist pressure “rather than protect a doctor from vexatious harassment.”

“I stand by my tweets. I will not bow to demons,” Ali affirmed.

Pro-Israel lobbyists UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), which reported Ali’s posts alongside GnasherJew, another “watchdog” that tries to silence critics of Israel, welcomed the decision. “We are grateful that the GMC has decided on an interim suspension,” said UKLFI director Caroline Turner.

Hamas and Hezbollah are both primarily social movements with political and armed wings and significant popular support bases. Hamas was established during the First Intifada (1987–1993) as a response to Israeli occupation in Palestine, while Hezbollah emerged following Israel’s 1982 invasion of southern Lebanon during the country’s Civil War.

January 1, 2025 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Full Spectrum Dominance | , , , , | Leave a comment

A Palestinian year in review: Genocide, resistance and unanswered questions

By Ramzy Baroud | MEMO | December 26, 2024

The story of the Israeli war on Gaza can be epitomized in the story of the Israeli war on Beit Lahia, a small Palestinian town in the northern part of the Strip.

When Israel launched its ground operations in Gaza, Beit Lahia was already largely destroyed due to many days of relentless Israeli bombardment which killed thousands.

Still, the border Gaza town resisted, leading to a hermetic Israeli siege, which was never lifted, even when the Israeli military redeployed out of much of northern Gaza in January 2024.

Beit Lahia is largely an isolated town, a short distance away from the fence separating besieged Gaza from Israel. It is surrounded mostly by agricultural areas that make it nearly impossible to defend.

Yet, a year of grisly Israeli war and genocide in Gaza did not end the fighting there. To the contrary, 2024 has ended where it started, with intense fighting on all fronts in Gaza, with Beit Lahia, a town that was supposedly ‘conquered’ earlier, still leading the fight.

Beit Lahia is a microcosm of Israel’s failed war in the Strip, a bloody grind that has led nowhere, despite the massive destruction, the repeated ethnic cleansing of the population, the starvation and the genocide. Every day of Israel’s terrible war on the Palestinians serves as a reminder that there are no military solutions and that the Palestinian will cannot be broken, no matter the cost or the sacrifice.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, remains unconvinced. He entered the new year with more promises of ‘total victory’, and ended it as a wanted criminal by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The issuing of an arrest warrant for the Israeli leader was a reiteration of a similar position taken by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the start of 2024.

The ICJ’s position, however, was hardly as strong as many had hoped or wanted to believe. The world’s highest court had, on 26 January, ordered Israel “to take action to prevent acts of genocide”, but stopped short of ordering Israel to halt its war.

The Israeli objectives of the war remained unclear, although Israeli politicians provided clues as to what the war on Gaza was really all about. Last January, several Israeli ministers, including 12 from Netanyahu’s Likud party, took part in a conference calling for the resettlement of Gaza and the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. “Without settlements, there is no security,” extremist Israeli minister of finance, Bezalel Smotrich, said.

For that to happen, the Palestinian people themselves, not merely those fighting on the ground, had to be tamed, broken and defeated. Thus, the ‘flour massacres‘, a new Israeli war tactic that was centered around killing as many Palestinians as possible while waiting for the few aid trucks that were allowed to reach northern Gaza.

On 29 February, more than 100 Gazans were killed while queueing for aid. They were mowed down by Israeli soldiers, as they desperately tried to lay their hands on a loaf of bread, baby milk or a bottle of water. This scene was repeated, again and again in the north, but also in other parts of the Gaza Strip throughout the year.

The aim was to starve the Palestinians in the north so that they would be forced to flee to other parts of the Strip. Famine actualized as early as January, and many of those who tried to flee south were killed, anyway.

From the early days of the war, Israel understood that to ethnically cleanse Palestinians, they must target all aspects of life in the Strip. This includes hospitals, bakeries, markets, electric grids, water stations, and the like.

The Gaza hospitals, of course, received a large share of Israeli attacks. In March, once more, Israel attacked the Al-Shifa Medical Complex in Gaza City with greater ferocity than before. When it finally withdrew, on April 1, the Israeli army destroyed the entire compound, leaving behind mass graves with hundreds of bodies, mostly medical staff, women and children. They even executed several patients.

Aside from a few statements of concern by western leaders, little was done to bring the genocide to an end. Only when seven international aid workers with the charity, the World Central Kitchen, were killed by Israel, a global outcry followed, leading to the first and only Israeli apology in the entire war.

Desperate to distract from its failure in Gaza, but also Lebanon, and keen on presenting the Israeli public with any kind of victory, the Israeli military began escalating its war beyond Gaza. This included the strike on the Iranian Embassy in Syria on 1 April. Despite repeated attempts, which included the assassination in Iran of the head of Hamas’s Political Bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, on 31 July, an all-out regional war has not yet come to pass.

Another escalation was taking place, this time not by Netanyahu but by millions of people around the world, demanding an end to the Israeli war. A focal point of the protests were student movements that spread across US campuses and, ultimately, worldwide. Instead of allowing free speech to flourish, however, America’s largest academic institutions resorted to the police, who violently shut down many of the protests, arresting hundreds of students, many of whom were not allowed to return to their colleges.

Meanwhile, the US continued to block international efforts aimed at producing a ceasefire resolution at the United Nations Security Council. Ultimately, on 31 May, US President Joe Biden delivered a speech conveying what he termed an “Israeli proposal” to end the war. After some delay, Hamas accepted the proposal, but Israel rejected it. In his rejection, Netanyahu referred to Biden’s speech as “incorrect” and “incomplete”. Strangely, but also unsurprisingly, the White House blamed the Palestinians for the failed initiative.

Losing faith in the American leadership, some European countries began changing their foreign policy doctrines on Palestine, with Ireland, Norway and Spain recognizing the State of Palestine on 28 May. The decisions were largely symbolic but indicated that western unity around Israel was faltering.

Israel remained unfazed and, despite international warnings, invaded the Rafah area in southern Gaza on May 7, seizing control of the Philadelphi Corridor – a buffer zone between Gaza and the Egyptian border that extends for 14 kilometers.

Netanyahu’s government insisted that only war can bring their captives back. There was very little success in that strategy, however. On June 8, Israel, with logistical support from the US and other western countries managed to rescue four of its captives held in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. To do so, Israel killed at least 276 Palestinians and wounded 800 more.

In August, another heart-wrenching massacre took place, this time in the Al-Tabaeen school in Gaza City, where 93 people, mostly women and children, were murdered in a single Israeli strike. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, women and children were the main victims of the Israeli genocide, accounting for 70 per cent by 8 November.

An earlier report by the Lancet Medical Journal said that if the war stopped in July, “186,000 or even more” Palestinians would have been killed. The war, however, went on. The rate of genocide in Gaza seemed to maintain the same killing ratio, despite the major regional developments including the mutual Iranian-Israeli tit-for-tat strikes and the major Israeli ground operation in Lebanon.

In October, Israel returned to the policies of targeting or besieging hospitals, killing doctors and other medical staff, and targeting aid and civil defence workers. Still, Israel would not achieve any of its strategic goals of the war. Even the killing of Hamas’ leader, Yahya Sinwar, in battle on 16 October  would not, in any way, alter the course of the war.

Israel’s frustration grew by leaps and bounds throughout the year. Its desperate attempt to control the global narrative on the Gaza genocide largely failed. On 19 July, and after listening to the testimonies of over 50 countries, the ICJ issued a landmark ruling that “Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal.”

That ruling, which expressed international consensus on the matter, was translated on 17 September to a UN General Assembly resolution “demanding an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestine within the next twelve months”.

All of this effectively meant that Israel’s attempt at normalizing its occupation of Palestine, and its quest to illegally annex the West Bank was considered null and void by the international community. Israel, however, doubled down, taking its rage against West Bank Palestinians, who, too, were experiencing one of the worst Israeli pogroms in many years.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, by 21 November, at least 777 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October 2023, while thousands more were wounded and over 11,700 arrested.

To make matters worse, Smotrich called, on November 11, for the full annexation of the West Bank. The call was made soon after the election of Donald Trump as the next US President, an event that initially inspired optimism amongst Israeli leaders, but later concerns that Trump may not serve the role of the saviour for Israel after all.

On 21 November, the ICC issued its historic ruling to arrest Netanyahu and his Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. The decision represented a measure of hope, however faint, that the world is finally ready to hold Israel accountable for its many crimes.

2025 could, indeed, represent that watershed moment. This remains to be seen. However, as far as Palestinians are concerned, even with the failure of the international community to stop the genocide and reign in Israel, their steadfastness, sumoud, will remain strong until freedom is finally attained.

December 27, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Illegal Occupation, War Crimes | , , , , | 2 Comments

Israel deliberately targeted captives in Gaza to ‘get rid of them’: Hamas

Press TV – December 14, 2024

The Israeli military has recently pounded a location in the Gaza Strip “deliberately and repeatedly” to eliminate regime soldiers held captive by resistance groups, according to a statement by Hamas’s armed wing.

Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman Abu Obeida said on Saturday that the regime’s forces “targeted a location where some enemy captives were held, bombing it multiple times to ensure that they were killed.”

He said they bombed the place “with the intent to kill the captives and their guards.”

According to the statement, the resistance fighters “made attempts to rescue the Israeli prisoners, successfully extracting one of them, but his fate remains unknown.”

In a separate post on Telegram, Qassam Brigades released a footage showing a wounded Israeli captive, who was struggling to move amid the rubble most probably caused by the regime’s airstrike.

In a message along the footage, it said that prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli military’s chief of staff Herzi Halevi “are seeking to get rid of their captives in Gaza by all means.”

Hamas held captive around 250 people during its unprecedented operation against the occupied territories on October 7, 2023. The resistance released 105 of the captives during a week-long truce last November.

Six captives were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the southern Gaza Strip in September.

Hamas said at the time that Netanyahu “is directly responsible for the killing of dozens of captives due to bringing the ceasefire efforts to a failure.”

It has repeatedly said that there is no alternative other than “a ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation forces, and the implementation of a prisoner exchange agreement” in exchange for the release of the Israeli captives.

Netanyahu has long been obstructing mediation for a truce and a deal to release the captives still held by Palestinian groups in Gaza.

December 14, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , | 1 Comment

Ceasefire with Hezbollah ends Israel’s illusion of reshaping West Asia by force: Hamas

Press TV – November 27, 2024

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says the ceasefire Israel eventually clinched with Hezbollah has shattered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “illusion” of reshaping West Asia by force.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu finally accepted the deal, which is expected to end the regime’s months-long deadly escalation against Lebanon.

It came after a meeting of his “security cabinet” to discuss a proposal put forward by the United States and France.

“The enemy’s acceptance of the agreement with Lebanon without fulfilling the conditions it set is an important milestone in shattering Netanyahu’s illusions of changing the map of the Middle East by force,” Hamas said in a statement published on its Telegram channel on Wednesday.

It said Netanyahu’s “illusions of defeating the Resistance forces or disarming them” were also sent to the oblivion.

The Israeli regime has killed more than 3,700 people in Lebanon, including 42 who perished across the country on Tuesday, besides wounding nearly 15,700 others.

“We commend the pivotal role played by the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, in support of the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian resistance, and the great sacrifices made by Hezbollah and its leadership, led by the late Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.”

“We appreciate the steadfastness of the brotherly Lebanese people and their constant solidarity with the Palestinian people in confronting the Zionist occupation and its brutal aggression, asking God Almighty to protect Lebanon and its people from all harm and evil,” Hamas said.

Israeli military commanders had pledged to eradicate Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. However, they were ultimately compelled to accept the ceasefire agreement without achieving any of those goals.

“We affirm that this agreement would not have been achieved without the steadfastness of the Resistance and the popular support around it. We are confident that the Resistance Axis will continue to support our people and back their battle with all possible means,” Hamas said in its statement.

Hezbollah has been responding to the Israeli aggression with hundreds of successful retaliatory strikes against various sensitive and strategic military targets across the occupied territories.

The Lebanese resistance movement recently announced killing more than 100 Israeli troops and injuring upwards of a thousand others during the strikes.

November 27, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism | , , , , , | 3 Comments

Israel chief of staff calls for end to Gaza war, prisoner exchange deal with Hamas

MEMO | November 6, 2024

Israel’s Chief of Staff, General Herzi Halevi, has said that it’s time to end the war in Gaza and reach a prisoner swap deal with Hamas, Sama news agency has reported, citing Israeli Channel 12. The Hebrew-language channel revealed details of a meeting between Halevi and families of hostages held by Palestinian resistance forces in the Gaza Strip.

According to Channel 12, sources said that the general recently met with relatives of Israeli prisoners and informed them that, “The time has come to work towards a deal that could bring an end to the war.” He assured the families that he had no concerns over concluding the conflict through a prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

“We have achieved numerous accomplishments,” explained Halevi. “We are strong enough, and we must also be brave enough to reach an agreement.”

Meanwhile, Israeli sources noted that, during a brief meeting held on Sunday evening with security officials and several ministers, the coordinator for prisoners and missing persons in the Israeli army, Major General Nitzan Alon, made it clear that without a shift in Israel’s approach to Gaza, no agreement would be reached and Hamas would not alter its stance.

November 6, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Militarism | , , , | Leave a comment

Hamas says it will judge new US president on his stances towards Palestinians

Palestinian Information Center – November 6, 2024

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – The Hamas Movement has said that it will judge the new US administration on its actions and policy towards the Palestinian people and their national cause.

“Our position on the new US administration depends on its positions and practical behavior towards our Palestinian people, their legitimate rights and their just cause,” Hamas said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The new US administration must realize that our Palestinian people will continue to confront the abominable occupation and will not accept any trajectory that detracts from their legitimate rights to freedom, independence, self-determination, and the establishment of their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital,” Hamas underlined.

“Unfortunately, all the successive US administrations, since the occupation of Palestine in 1948, have had negative positions on the Palestinian cause and have always been the biggest supporter of the [Israeli] occupation in all fields and situations,” Hamas said.

“The previous US administration took a supportive path towards the occupation and its aggression by granting its war criminals political and military cover to help them persist in the most heinous wars of extermination known in modern history, which confirmed its role as a full partner in the killing of tens of thousands of our people, including children, women and elderlies,” Hamas added.

Hamas called for ending the blind bias in favor of the occupation state and working seriously on putting an end to the genocidal war on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The Movement urged the US president-elect “to listen to the American community’s voices that have been resounding for over a year in rejection of the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip” and their country’s support for the occupation state.

Donald Trump was elected the 47th president on Wednesday, four years after his defeat by outgoing president Joe Biden.

November 6, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, War Crimes | , , , , | Leave a comment

Israel’s Deadly Miscalculation: Consequences of Attacking Iran & Hezbollah

Dialogue Works | October 29, 2024

Seyed Mohammad Marandi is a Professor of English Literature and Orientalism at the University of Tehran and advisor to Iran’s nuclear negotiations team: (https://x.com/s_m_marandi​)

October 30, 2024 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Video, War Crimes | , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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