Israel sets date for Rafah ground offensive in ultimatum to Hamas

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Written by northsouth

Category: MENA

Published: 19 February 2024

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JERUSALEM - Israel will launch a ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah if hostages are not released by the upcoming Muslim holy month of Ramadan, war cabinet member Benny Gantz warned on Sunday.

The statement comes as prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off growing international calls to halt Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

"If by Ramadan our hostages are not home, the fighting will continue to the Rafah area," Mr Gantz, a former prime minister and part of Mr Netanyahu’s three-member war cabinet, told a conference of Jewish American leaders.

“We will do so in a coordinated manner, facilitating the evacuation of civilians in dialogue with our American and Egyptian partners to minimise civilian casualties,” the former IDF chief of staff and defence minister was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel.

“To those saying the price [of an offensive] is too high, I say this very clearly: Hamas has a choice – they can surrender, release the hostages, and the citizens of Gaza will be able to celebrate the holy holiday of Ramadan,” he said.

The holy month of Ramadan begins on 10 March. Israel‘s government has not publicly discussed a timeline for a ground offensive on Rafah, where more than half the enclave’s 2.3 million Palestinians have sought refuge, but is facing mounting pressure to agree a ceasefire in the conflict that began with Hamas’s 7 October attack on southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people.

The suggested timing for the Rafah offensive came as the World Health Organisation chief said southern Gaza’s main medical centre, Nasser Hospital, "is not functional anymore" after Israeli forces raided it in Khan Younis last week.

Israeli strikes across Gaza continued, killing at least 18 people overnight into Sunday, according to medics and witnesses. A strike in Rafah killed six people, including a woman and three children, and another killed five in Khan Younis, the main target of the southern Gaza offensive in recent weeks.

"All those who were martyred were those whom the Jews asked to move to safe places," a bystander after the Rafah strike, Ahmad Abu Rezeq, told the Associated Press.

In Gaza City, which suffered widespread destruction early in the war, an airstrike flattened a home, killing seven people, including three women, according to relative Sayed al-Afifi.

The US, Israel‘s top ally, still hopes to broker a ceasefire and hostage-release agreement despite talks slowing in recent days.

The US also says it will veto another draft UN resolution calling for a ceasefire, with its UN ambassador warning against measures that could jeopardise "the opportunity for an enduring resolution of hostilities”.

The vote, tabled by Algeria and backed by 22 Arab nations, demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and is expected to take place on Tuesday.

US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement that Washington has been working on a hostage deal for months that would bring at least a six-week period of calm to the region, "from which we could then take the time and the steps to build a more enduring peace".

She said US president Joe Biden has had multiple calls over the last week with the Israeli prime minister and the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to push the deal forward.

But Mr Netanyahu opposes Palestinian statehood, which the US calls a key element in a broader vision for normalisation of relations between Israel and regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia. His cabinet adopted a declaration Sunday saying Israel "categorically rejects international edicts on a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians" and opposes any unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.

Gaza's remaining young voice after Motaz Azaiza and Plestia Alaqad: Who is Bisan Owda?

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Written by northsouth

Category: MENA

Published: 16 February 2024

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GAZA STRIP - Two rising female Palestinian voices, Bisan Owda and Plestia Alaqad, have emerged from Gaza, wielding storytelling to illuminate realities often unseen and unheard in the course of Israel's genocidal war on their homeland, in which Israel has deliberately targeted journalists.

While their journeys began separately, remarkable similarities bind their paths, painting a portrait of resilience, courage, and unwavering commitment to telling the story of the atrocities Gaza, drowned out by Western media pro-Israel bias.

Both Owda and Alaqad gained international recognition for their firsthand accounts of life during the conflicts in Gaza.

Bisan, Plestia and Motaz Azaiza, a young man also from Gaza, are among a new generation of journalists speaking to the world in Arabic and English through social media.

Plestia evacuated from Gaza in November and Motaz Azaiza left in January, but Owda remains in Gaza at the time of writing.

Who is Bisan Owda?

Owda is a 24-year old Palestinian filmmaker. Through her poignant social media videos starting with the chilling "I'm still alive," she offers glimpses into the daily anxieties and struggles under siege.

Armed with her camera and unwavering spirit, Owda's raw and unfiltered portrayals of life under siege in Gaza garnered international attention.

Major news outlets, including BBC News, Al Jazeera, and ABC News, shared her work, propelling her into the spotlight as a chronicler of a complex and often misunderstood narrative.

Bisan Owda, known as 'Hakawatia'--[The Storyteller] for her captivating historical narratives, now paints a grimmer picture on social media - the stark reality of life under Israeli bombardment in Gaza.

Gone are the tales of cultural heritage, replaced by harrowing messages: "Peace be upon you. I'm Bisan from Gaza, Palestine. Thank God I'm still alive." The 24-year-old's life, like countless others, has been upended by the month-long conflict.

At the start of the war, Israeli airstrikes targeted her office and equipment, forcing her and her family to seek refuge in the crowded Al-Shifa Medical Complex.

Undeterred, Bisan uses her phone to document the war's toll - destroyed buildings, displaced families, and the tragic loss of over 28,000 lives.

Amidst the scenes of devastation, flickers of hope emerge in her reporting despite everything. Children diligently cleaning the bombed-out hospital and an elderly woman's unwavering resilience offer solace. But the ever-present threat of Israeli attacks looms large.

The children of Gaza, its stones, its sea, its buildings, its residents, and every grain of soil in it - these are the subjects of her stories.

Despite the nightmares, the constant fear, and the ever-present danger, Bisan persists. She moves between the rubble and the fallen, capturing the human cost of the conflict in audio and video.

Who is Plestia Alaqad?

Plestia Alaqad is 22 years old. Utilizing platforms like Instagram, she shares personal narratives that resonate deeply, humanizing the cost of conflict for global audiences.

Since before the current war, Owda, leveraging her platform, has become a powerful advocate for human rights, gender equality, and youth empowerment. Partnering with organizations like UNFPA and UN Women. She has tackled social issues and inspired others to find their voices.

Graduating in 2022 with a degree in Communication and Media Studies, Alaqad worked freelance and served as editor-in-chief of her university newspaper, gaining valuable experience.

She previously trained media professionals and participated in eco-journalism workshops. Her dedication garnered recognition from international media outlets like SBS News and Outlook India.

Alaqad fled the Gaza Strip via Egypt. She is now in Australia.

Alaqad, who garnered a following of 3.9 million on Instagram documenting the plight of Palestinians under Israeli occupation, announced her departure in November after 46 days of sharing videos and photos from the besieged territory.

"The decision is far from easy," she said in a video message.

"Leaving my family, home, and people is difficult, but my presence has become a threat."

Alaqad's flight came amid a surge in violence against journalists. Since the war began in October, over 119 journalists and media workers have been killed in Gaza -- amounting to more than one journalist a day, according to the International Federation of Journalists -- in addition to three Lebanese journalists in South Lebanon by Israeli fire.

The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate accuses Israeli forces of deliberately targeting media personnel.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has condemned the attacks, calling it the deadliest period for journalists in the organization's 30-year history of monitoring conflicts.

Gaza post-war reconstruction estimated at $20 billion: UN

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Written by northsouth

Category: MENA

Published: 15 February 2024

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GENEVA - Gaza will need a new "Marshall Plan" to recover from the conflict between Israel and Hamas, a UN trade body official said on Thursday, adding that the damage from the conflict so far amounted to around $20 billion.

Speaking on the sidelines of a UN meeting in Geneva, Richard Kozul-Wright, a director at trade body UNCTAD, said the damage was already four times that endured in Gaza during the seven-week war in 2014.

"We are talking about around $20 billion if it stops now," he said.

Kozul-Wright said the estimate was based on satellite images and other information and that a more precise estimate would require researchers to enter Gaza.

The reconstruction will require a new "Marshall Plan", he said, referring to the US plan for Europe's economic recovery after World War Two.

UNCTAD already said in a report last month that it could take until the closing years of the century for Gaza's economy to regain its pre-conflict size if hostilities in the Palestinian enclave were to cease immediately.