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☆ Some Gazans Say U.S. Campus Protests Give Them ‘Hope’
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Hiba Yazbek | More About Hiba Yazbek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Thousands of miles away from the campus protests that have divided Americans, some displaced Palestinians are expressing solidarity with the antiwar demonstrators and gratitude for their efforts. “Thank you, American universities,” read one message captured on video by the Reuters news agency. “Thank you, students in solidarity with Gaza your message has reached” us, read another nearby. The protesters have been calling for universities to divest from companies with ties to Israel, and some have vowed not to back down. “I’ve lived my whole life in Gaza Strip and I’ve never felt hope like now,” said Ms. Owda.

Persons: ”, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Mohammed al, Akram al, Bisan, “ I’ve, I’ve, Owda, Nader Ibrahim Organizations: Reuters, Columbia University, Al, Azhar University Locations: Rafah, Gaza, United States, Israel, America, London

☆ Baby Born in Gaza After Her Mother Was Killed Has Died
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Hiba Yazbek | More About Hiba Yazbek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A baby who was born premature after her mother was killed in an Israeli strike died on Thursday, a relative said, less than a week after news of her birth brought a glimmer of hope to war-torn Gaza. The baby, who was born after a strike in southern Gaza that also killed her father and sister, suffered respiratory problems and doctors were unable to save her, said her uncle, Rami al-Sheikh. The mother, Sabreen al-Sakani, was killed along with her husband, Shukri, and their 3-year-old daughter Malak when an Israeli strike hit their home in the city of Rafah shortly before midnight last Saturday. Instead of a name, doctors initially wrote, “The baby of the martyr Sabreen al-Sakani” on a piece of tape across her chest. “The baby was delivered into a tragic situation,” Dr. Salama told Reuters after her birth, adding, “Even if this baby survives, she was born an orphan.”

Persons: Rami al, “, ”, Sabreen, Shukri, Malak, Rouh, Mohammed Salama, Dr, Salama Organizations: Emirati, Emirati Hospital, Reuters Locations: Gaza, Israeli, Rafah

☆ Threat of Unrest Looms Over Al Aqsa Mosque on First Friday of Ramadan
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-15 | by ( Hiba Yazbek | More About Hiba Yazbek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

A heavy Israeli police contingent checked worshipers on Friday entering the Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, where the threat of unrest loomed over the conclusion of Ramadan, the holiest month for Muslims and one that has taken on added significance during the war in Gaza. Al Aqsa is one of the holiest sites for Muslims and part of a compound that is sacred to Jews, who call it the Temple Mount. The rules have tightened further since Oct. 7, and most Palestinians may not be able to answer Hamas’s call to flock to Al Aqsa even if they want to. Israel’s agency overseeing policy for the Palestinian territories said on Monday that only men over age 55, women over 50 and children under 10 would be allowed to enter Israel from the West Bank to pray at Al Aqsa on Fridays during Ramadan. The group has issued similar statements during its war with Israel.

Persons: Israel, ”, Al Aqsa, “, Ayman Abu Ramouz, Rami Nazzal Organizations: West Bank Locations: Aqsa, Jerusalem, Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Al Aqsa, Al, Ramallah

U.S. officials said Israel’s apparent willingness to agree to a cessation of hostilities in return for the release of more hostages being held in Gaza has created a new opening for negotiations. Any new deal would likely include phased releases of hostages, though the White House is hoping that a more ambitious one, possibly leading to the release of all of the remaining hostages, might be possible. The talks were mediated by Qatar, which was negotiating with Hamas, as well as by Egypt. At least some of the officials last met in Warsaw in December, but those discussions stalled over Hamas’s insistence that the remaining hostages be released in exchange for a permanent cease-fire and larger prisoner releases. Israel rejected any permanent cease-fire and was pushing for a shorter pause in fighting.

Persons: William J, Burns, David Barnea, Barnea, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim, Abbas Kamel, Israel Organizations: Qatari, Hamas Locations: Europe, United States, Gaza, Israel, Qatar, Egypt, Thani, Warsaw

The two cousins spotted each other on the bus leaving the prison, as shocked to see the other as they were by their sudden freedom. “I need to know if this is a dream.”Then, early Sunday morning, the bus pulled out of Ofer Prison in the West Bank and into a throng of cheering Palestinians. “This is thanks to the resistance in Gaza,” Anwar said hours later from his family’s home on the outskirts of the city. Anwar and his cousin, Mourad Atta, 17, are among the 180 Palestinian teenagers and women freed from Israeli prisons in recent days, the largest such release of prisoners and detainees in more than a decade. The deal also included a temporary cease-fire in the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 13,000 people, according to Gazan officials.

Persons: ” Anwar Atta, “, Ofer, ” Anwar, Anwar, Mourad Atta Organizations: West Bank Locations: Ramallah, Gaza, Israel

The family of Avigail Idan, a small child whose parents were murdered in front of their children by Hamas militants at a kibbutz during the Oct. 7 assault, hoped that they would be able to celebrate her fourth birthday with her on Friday. “I find myself barely breathing through the last 24 hours,” her aunt, Tal Idan, said after the announcement of the agreement. Image An undated photo (from left) of Avigail Idan, Roy Idan, Michael Idan, Amelia Idan, and Smadar Idan. And in the Gaza Strip, Palestinians who have endured nearly seven weeks of intense airstrikes waited anxiously for the truce. Several international humanitarian organizations said the four-day cease-fire window was too tight to address the dire situation.

Persons: Mohammad Abu Salmiya, “, Tal Idan, ”, Avigail, Abigail ”, Idan, Roy Idan, Michael Idan, Amelia Idan, Smadar, Walaa Tanji, Tanji, Nagham, ” Shadi Hijazi, Catherine Russell Organizations: Al, Shifa, U.S ., West Bank, Qatar, UNICEF, . Security Locations: U.S, Nablus, Gaza

☆ Jordan Airdrops Medical Aid to Its Field Hospital in Gaza
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Hiba Yazbek | More About Hiba Yazbek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

King Abdullah II of Jordan said on Monday that his country’s air force had airdropped “urgent medical aid” to a field hospital operated by the kingdom in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military confirmed the unusual move and said in a statement that it had been a coordinated effort between the neighboring nations. Israel’s blockade and recent siege of Gaza have put some hospitals out of service, and aid deliveries through the Rafah crossing with Egypt have been inadequate, humanitarian groups say. This appeared to be the first time in this war that aid was dropped into Gaza from the air. “The return of the ambassadors will be tied to Israel stopping its war on Gaza and stopping the humanitarian disaster,” the foreign ministry said.

Persons: King Abdullah II, Jordan, ”, Muhannad Mubaideen, Ayman Safadi, “, Safadi, Antony J, ” Israel, Rana, Sweis Organizations: Gaza, Israel Locations: Gaza, Jordanian, Egypt, Israel, Amman —, Amman, Jerusalem, Jordan

An explosion overnight in a densely populated refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip destroyed several buildings and appeared to have killed and wounded many people, photos and videos from the scene on Sunday showed. The Gazan Health Ministry said an Israeli airstrike had hit the Al Maghazi camp, killing at least 47 people and wounding dozens of others. It warned that the toll was expected to rise, saying that many bodies remained buried under the rubble. A spokesperson for the Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the strike. Israel hit a neighborhood with a similar refugee camp last week in a strike that Hamas, the armed group that controls Gaza, and local doctors said had killed or wounded hundreds of people.

Persons: Al Maghazi, Israel, Mohammed al Organizations: Gazan Health Ministry, Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, The New York Times, Hamas, Anadolu Agency Locations: Gaza, Al, Aqsa, Israel, Turkish

Her 9-year-old and 7-year-old had been killed in their home, he said, along with several of her siblings and relatives. “We wish for death,” said Dr. Abu Safyia. With no anesthesia, doctors were operating on people with severe injuries using over-the-counter painkillers like paracetamol to help ease the pain. They had a limited supply of antibiotics and were using vinegar and chlorine to disinfect wounds, the doctor added. “The children’s screams during surgeries can be heard from outside,” Dr. Abu Safyia said.

Persons: Abu Safyia, Jabaliya, “, ”, Dr Organizations: Hamas Locations: Jabaliya, Beit Lahia, Gaza

A day after an Israeli airstrike thundered across a densely populated Gaza Strip neighborhood, Palestinians trying to reach family members there to learn their fates were met largely with unnerving silence. “May God protect Gaza and its people.”“This is getting more insane every day,” Yousef Hammash, an employee of the Norwegian Refugee Council who was born in the Jabaliya neighborhood hit by the airstrike, said Wednesday. Mr. Hammash, who is now taking shelter in southern Gaza, said continuing communications outages were adding exponentially to the anguish of living amid deprivation and death. Sousan Hammad, 38, a writer and teacher in Brooklyn, said she had been frantically trying to reach family members in Jabaliya. Rescue workers and residents can be seen digging through the rubble and carrying what appear to be injured and dead people, including children.

Persons: “, ” Yousef Hammash, Hammash, Sousan Hammad, Hammad’s, Ahmed, ”, — Organizations: Norwegian Refugee Council, Ministry, The New York Times Locations: Gaza, Brooklyn, Jabaliya, United States, Israel, Falluja

Ambulances, yellow cabs and cars scream up to the entrance of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza in a nonstop convoy, rushing in both broken and lifeless bodies. Inside, hospital staff scramble to treat the wounded who are crammed into corridors that are also filled with people who fled their homes and are seeking refuge. Al Shifa Hospital is the Gaza Strip’s largest medical complex. Many of the limestone villas and high-rise buildings surrounding the hospital in its affluent Gaza City neighborhood of Al Rimal have been reduced to piles of rubble and concrete. The Israeli Army claims that the neighborhood is a financial hub for Hamas, making it a target of airstrikes.

Persons: Israel —, Al Rimal Organizations: Al Shifa Hospital, Israeli Army Locations: Al Shifa, Gaza, Israel, Gaza City, Al

President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority made his first visit in years to Jenin, the battle-scarred and impoverished Palestinian city in the north of the Israeli-occupied West Bank that was the target of a two-day raid by the Israeli military last week. Jenin is within the roughly 40 percent of the West Bank that has been nominally administered by the Palestinian Authority since the 1990s, when Israeli and Palestinian leaders signed diplomatic agreements, known as the Oslo Accords, that increased Palestinian autonomy within some parts of the territories that Israel captured during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. But in recent years, areas of Jenin and other parts of the northern West Bank have become dominated instead by Palestinian militias that reject Mr. Abbas’s leadership and conduct frequent attacks on Israelis. As a result, the Israeli Army has increased its raids on the city and the wider region, like the one last week that killed at least 12 Palestinians. Mr. Abbas’s inability to prevent those raids has further dented his popularity among Palestinians, making it even harder for him to assert his authority over the city.

Persons: Mahmoud Abbas, Abbas’s Organizations: Palestinian Authority, West Bank, Oslo Accords, Israeli Army Locations: Jenin, Palestinian, Oslo, Israel, West

When he learned that the Israeli army had launched a raid this week to comb for weapons and explosives in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin, Mahmoud Sarahat and his friends mobilized to fight back. His comrades shot at Israeli soldiers, while he helped evacuate the wounded and the dead, he said, retrieving their guns to give to other fighters. After two days of violence left 12 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier dead, the Israelis pulled out on Wednesday, leaving behind damaged homes, broken infrastructure and renewed rage at Israel’s occupation of the West Bank. But it was mixed with frustration with the Palestinians’ own leaders for their failure to chart a better future for their people, much less to protect them. “We want the Authority to leave,” Mr. Sarahat, 23, said of the Palestinian Authority.

Persons: Mahmoud Sarahat, ” Mr, Sarahat, ” Organizations: West, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, “ Locations: West Bank, Jenin, ” Israel

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