Israel Gaza onslaught
More than two weeks on since Israel launched its deadly onslaught on Gaza but there is no end in sight to the regime’s atrocities against Palestinians. At least 53 people were killed in Israeli strikes on the city’s residential areas early Saturday. Earlier, an Israeli air raid killed 3 Palestinians in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, adding to the 20 already killed there on Friday. Dozens were also injured. The death toll from the Israeli aggression has now crossed the 4,100 mark, with more than a thousand people missing. Meanwhile, the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA said 17 of its staff members were killed in the conflict. This comes as the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza has reopened and aid trucks have been allowed into the besieged Palestinian territory.
Hamas frees captives
Hamas resistance movement says it has released two American women who were taken captive in the Gaza Strip. Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, says the mother and her daughter were released for humanitarian purposes. The group’s spokesman Abu Ubaida says the move proves to Americans and the world that claims by the US president and his administration are false and baseless. Abu Ubaida says they are also considering the release of other captured foreigners. Hamas officials earlier said nearly 200 people were taken captive during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7. These include high-ranking Israeli military officials. Hamas has suggested the captives could be swapped for 6,000 Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
Global support for Gaza
From Sydney to Bangkok and to Washington, more Pro-Palestine rallies have been held in cities around the world. People showed solidarity with Palestinians and condemned the ongoing Israeli atrocities and crimes in the Gaza Strip. Thousands of people turned out in Australia’s most populous city. They gathered outside Sydney’s town hall, chanting “Palestine will never die” as police officers were patrolling the demonstration. Other Australian cities, including Brisbane and Perth, also witnessed rallies in support of Palestinians. The Thai capital was also the scene of a similar demonstration. Hundreds of people gathered outside the Israeli embassy in Bangkok to demand an end to the regime’s aggression. On Friday, scores of demonstrators hit the streets of the US capital in a show of support for Palestinians. Multiple cities across Africa and West Asia saw similar events on that day. During all pro-Palestine rallies, people from all walks of life call for an immediate end to Israel’s bloodshed in Gaza as well as its siege of the Palestinian territory.