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Israeli crimes in Gaza

A senior Hamas official says the Israeli occupation has turned Gaza into a Nazi concentration camp and the regime is practicing genocide there. In a televised speech, Osama Hamdan said Israel is deliberately starving Palestinians in Gaza and preventing the entry of 22,000 aid trucks into the territory. He said the number of Palestinians killed as a result of the Israeli targeting of aid seekers is nearly 1,500, calling it part of a systematic policy of starvation practiced by Israel against the Gaza population. The Hamas officials described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as catastrophic, saying essential health supplies are needed to address the effects of hunger and malnutrition. Hamdan said Israel’s continued engineering of starvation and escalation of all forms of genocide in Gaza amounts to crimes against humanity. He added that the Israeli genocide in Gaza has been committed with full American support, saying Washington’s disregard for the regime's crimes represents its double-standard policy.

Israel massacring aid seekers

Israeli strikes continue to pound the Gaza Strip, taking more Palestinian lives, with aid centers still being the focal point of the regime’s attacks. One of the latest strikes killed five civilians after a tent for displaced people was hit west of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza. Several Palestinians were also killed after Israeli artillery shelled a group of civilians awaiting humanitarian aid northwest of Gaza. Eight others were shot dead after Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian aid seekers on Salah al-Din Street, central Gaza. Separately, an aid center near Rafah, southern Gaza, was also attacked, with multiple fatalities reported. Israeli air and artillery attacks also ravaged Gaza, resulting in deaths and injuries across the territory. Medical sources said nearly 40 people waiting for humanitarian aid were killed by Israeli forces within the 24 hours. The US-Israeli genocide, which began in October 2023, has so far killed more than 60,900 Palestinians, leaving over 150,000 others injured.

Gaza freedom flotilla

A massive civilian flotilla is set to depart for Gaza at the end of August in a new effort to break Israel’s blockade that has pushed the territory to the brink of famine. According to the organizers, who were speaking at a press conference in Tunis, activists from 44 countries have joined forces for this massive coordinated effort. The organizers said dozens of boats, both large and small, will sail from ports across the world, converging on Gaza in the largest civilian flotilla ever organized. The initiative unites four major groups: the Maghreb Sumud Flotilla, the Global Movement to Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, and Sumud Nusantara. Organizers say their goal is to break Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza by sea, open a humanitarian corridor, and confront the regime’s ongoing genocide against Palestinians. The first convoy will depart from Spanish ports on August 31, followed by a second wave to be launched from Tunisian ports on September 4. More than six-thousand activists have already registered online to join. The announcement comes days after Israeli naval forces intercepted the Handala aid ship on July 26, as it neared Gaza’s shores, and took it to Ashdod Port.

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