Middle East Eye Israel's destruction of Gaza has echoes of the Nakba, following a plan tested in 1948. But Palestinians are still resisting exile and extermination. My grandfather, Ismail Abou Shhadeh - known to most as Abu Subhi - never spoke to us about the Nakba . He talked about everything else but had always avoided describing what happened in 1948. It was only through interviews he gave to various media outlets that we came to understand what it meant to live through the catastrophe of 1948 in what was then one of Palestine 's most prominent cities, Jaffa (Yafa in Arabic). And it was only through one interview in particular, with Al Jazeera, that we learned how his father, Haseen Abou Shhadeh, died. Haseen was born during the Ottoman era, when land was often seen as belonging to those who worked it - a principle that had shaped generations of Palestinian agricultural life, even as formal land ownership laws changed. In 1948, Zionist militias exploited that deep sense of rootedness and security, catching unsuspecting Palestinian villagers off guard and using terror to drive them from their homes and seize their land and property. Haseen, like many others, continued to cultivate his groves despite the new reality . But in the 1960s, when Israeli authorities arrived to uproot his orange trees, he realised he could no longer stop them. He suffered a stroke and passed away on the way to the hospital. How our family managed to remain in Jaffa, when so many others were expelled, is something I only came to know later. That continuity , living in the same city that witnessed the Nakba 77 years ago, shapes how I remember and how I write today. Jaffa and Gaza: Parallel stories In memory of the Nakba, and in light of the ongoing genocide in Gaza , I reflect on the parallel stories of Jaffa and Gaza - two coastal centres bound by loss and resistance. Jaffa was ethnically cleansed of its Palestinian population, destroyed, and transformed into a playground for the world's wealthy. The richest people now stroll along the shores of its ruined neighbourhoods. Hotels have been built atop the city's rubble and even over its cemeteries. Across the Gaza Strip, entire neighbourhoods have been obliterated, with heads of state openly calling for it to be " cleaned out " by expelling its residents and turning it into a similar playground. When US President Donald Trump floated his vision of transforming the Gaza Strip into the " Riviera of the Middle East ", many dismissed it as an absurd fantasy.  But what he proposed for Gaza had, in fact, already happened in Jaffa - once a thriving Palestinian centre, now reduced to a marginal neighbourhood within the Hebrew city erected over its ruins, swallowing it whole. The magnitude of Jaffa's Nakba was not only material and political, but also cognitive. In the spring of 1948, Zionist forces laid siege to the city. Jaffa was bombarded for weeks, and on 14 May, it fell. Of the roughly 120,000 Palestinians who had lived there, only about 4,000 remained.  Entire neighbourhoods were emptied, and families were forced into exile or corralled behind barbed wire. Homes were seized under the Absentee Property Law and handed over to new settlers.  Public buildings, like the Saraya, Jaffa's municipal headquarters, were bombed . Streets were renamed, and cultural landmarks disappeared. What remained of the city was rebranded and repurposed, its Palestinian identity systematically stripped away. This is the model now being projected onto Gaza: a place to be emptied, repackaged, and reopened to the world - but without its people. Jaffa: A thriving centre Like the Gaza Strip today, Jaffa was once among the most densely populated places in Palestine. In 1945, British Mandate records documented around 94,000 residents in the city itself, and another 30,000 in surrounding villages. It was the cultural and economic heart of Palestine : five newspapers, three football clubs, four cinemas and a theatre, printing houses, soap factories, and an international shipping industry.  Buses ran from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and trains connected it to the broader Arab world via the Hejaz railway. The city had 47 educational institutions and Palestine's first train station, just a kilometre from its port. Given the political reality, so few people now recognise that Jaffa is closer to Damascus (215 km) and Amman (160 km) than to Israel's southernmost city, the tourist hub of Eilat (275 km). It is a distortion of perception, memory and geography that speaks to how thoroughly its ties to the Arab world have been erased. Interestingly, most visitors today seek to tour the Old City - undoubtedly a beautiful neighbourhood, but one whose appeal reveals the orientalist trope through which westerners imagine the Palestinian city.  With its emphasis on mosques and churches, the alleys offer a romanticised image of Arab life frozen in time. One can even see how a hammam (bathhouse) was converted into a gourmet restaurant under the same Arabic name, even though its original meaning is simply "restroom".  The Old City, then, tells a tale designed to flatter western sensibilities: a fantasy of Arabs stuck in pre-modern times, before the white man arrived to modernise them. Palestine's cities: Pushed to the margins Jaffa's story as a political and cultural centre lies outside the Old City. Only the keen-eyed will walk down Jamal Pasha Street - named after the Ottoman governor under whose rule Hassan Bey carried out an ambitious modernisation plan for the city during the empire's final decades. At that time, a development project was launched to reshape Jaffa's urban landscape, leaving a distinctive architectural imprint - or at least, what remains of it. Given the scale of destruction of Palestinian urban life...we must ask: what happened to these cities and their inhabitants in 1948, and what might that tell us about Gaza's future? In the mid-1930s, Al-Hamra Cinema was built. Upon its opening, the flag of the 1936 Arab Revolt was raised, and a large placard featuring legendary Egyptian singer and actress Umm Kulthum was hung for a screening of her film The National Choir .  The building still stands, though it was renovated in recent years after being purchased by the Church of Scientology. But while these scenes reveal the depth of urban life before 1948, the histories of Palestine's major cities have often been pushed to the margins of its national narrative. In her book Hidden from View: Palestinian Women and Cities until 1948 , urban sociologist Dr Manar Hassan criticises national historiography for focusing primarily on the rural narrative - portraying Palestinians as a people of fellahin, or peasants expelled from their villages - while giving less attention to urban centres like Jaffa and Haifa. Perhaps, as an occupied people, we wanted to counter the Zionist image of the kibbutznik and prove our connection to the land. Or maybe we sought to highlight the scale of the national catastrophe by invoking the figure of the peasant labourer.  But given the scale of destruction of Palestinian urban life - in Jaffa, Haifa, Acre, Ramle and Lod - we must now ask: what happened to these cities and their inhabitants in 1948, and what might that tell us about Gaza's future? The Nakba of 48: 'Nothing remained' During an interview with the Jordanian channel Ru'ya, a young journalist asked my grandfather: "Abu Subhi, please tell me how Jaffa used to be." He began describing life in the city before 1948. Then she asked him: "How would you summarise the Nakba of '48?" He started to tell her how 4,000 rockets rained down on Jaffa - launched from the sea and all directions, from Lod and elsewhere - and how nothing remained except corpses. Before he could finish his sentence, she asked how he felt. And for the first time, I saw my grandfather break down. He said: "This is the first time I speak about Jaffa and begin to cry." He asked her to stop the interview and stood up to leave. Finally, she called out to him with one last question: "What does Jaffa mean to you?" And he answered: "To me, it is nothing less than a legacy that binds us to the city. You may curse my father, and I will forgive you - but if you curse Jaffa, I will never forgive you for as long as I live." My grandfather passed away in 2021 on the way to a cemetery. I was in the back seat of a car with my father's cousin - a man in his late forties who runs an auto repair shop - as we drove to visit my grandfather's grave. As we approached it, he suddenly bowed his head and said: "Abu Subhi, today you can rest with the children of Saraya." He was referring to the major terror attack carried out by the Lehi militia (Stern Gang) on 4 January 1948. Labelled a terrorist group by the British at the time, Lehi militants bombed the Saraya building - the former governor's palace, located outside the Old City - killing 14 people and wounding 98. To the left children play in the rubble of Jaffa in 1948 (Creative Commons) and to the right a Palestinian child standing on the ruins of destroyed home in Gaza (AFP) According to a Haaretz article published the following day, the building was used by the Jaffa Municipality to provide social services and distribute food to needy children . My grandfather had been working further down Salameh Road when the explosion occurred. As a young man, he ran towards the site to help. He began moving rubble and searching for survivors, but when he saw the bodies of the children crushed beneath the stones, he lost consciousness. The first thing he remembered upon waking was a man telling him, "You've seen enough. Go home. It's better for you." The story of the Saraya haunted him - eventually becoming part of our family's narrative. More importantly, it left the people of Jaffa asking, "If they could do that to needy children, what would they do to the rest of us?" Capture and expulsion Under the original partition plan, Jaffa was to be part of the Palestinian state. But Zionist militias, led by David Ben-Gurion, could not accept such a large concentration of Palestinians in the centre of the proposed Jewish state. It became crucial for them to capture the city and expel its inhabitants before declaring Israel's independence and the end of the British Mandate. Throughout March and April 1948, Jaffa came under siege and was bombarded for weeks. Panic spread across the city - people simply wanted to reach safety. Unlike today, Palestinians at the time believed they would be able to return to their homes. But under relentless military pressure, they were driven out by land and sea. Within days, the combined population of the city and its surrounding villages fell to fewer than 4,000 Palestinians. It remains one of the most striking examples of ethnic cleansing in the 20th century. When I asked my grandfather how our family managed to stay, I learned that his father had deserted the Ottoman army before the First World War and made his way back to Jaffa.The journey took six months, travelling from the Antalya region to northern Syria to Jaffa. He moved only at night, sleeping during the day, because the Ottomans executed deserters. British police disperse an Arab protest in Jaffa in 1936 (Creative Commons) When my grandfather warned him of the danger in 1948 and urged him to leave, he refused. He had already known the hardship of life as a refugee and said he would rather die than go through it again. And so our family remained intact. That was not the case for most Palestinians. Families were often torn apart - some fled to Gaza , others to the West Bank, or neighbouring Arab countries. The Palestinians who remained Most narratives of the Nakba end with the mass expulsion: the war was lost, the land seized, and some 800,000 Palestinians forced into exile as Israel began systematically demolishing Palestinian villages. But for those who remained, further stages of dispossession followed. Immediately after the war, the new state rounded up the remaining Palestinians in Jaffa and forcibly relocated them to the Ajami neighbourhood.A barbed-wire fence was erected around the area, and no one was allowed to leave without a military permit.At the same time, the Israeli government passed the Absentee Property Law , defining as "absentee" anyone who had been in an enemy country or territory between 29 November 1947 and the law's enactment in 1950 - including the West Bank, Gaza, Lebanon , Syria, and Jordan .Crucially, this law applied even to Palestinians who had never left the borders of the new state. In Jaffa's case, most of those who remained were not originally from Ajami. Only a handful came from each surrounding neighbourhood or village.Once confined to Ajami - soon labelled "the Ghetto" by Jewish immigrants who likened it to Europe - they lost everything.  The homes they were assigned became protected tenancies for three generations (later reduced to two) and, to this day, hundreds of third-generation descendants live under threat of eviction orders issued by the courts. It is worth pausing to consider: what happens when an entire city is stripped of its residents and its property is stolen - banks, theatres, homes, furniture, gold, shops, public institutions? One might argue that Palestinian cities experienced the largest armed robbery of the 20th century. In the early 1950s, journalist and writer Moshe Smilansky described Jaffa as undergoing "Bulgarisation". Following the arrival of immigrants from Bulgaria, the city acquired a new, non-Palestinian character and was even promoted as a "Bulgarian city". Photographs from that period show Jaffa thriving again - banks reopened, theatres filled, shops and restaurants bustling - but without Palestinians. The city had been plundered, and it continued to function under Jewish ownership. The stages of the Nakba Ajami, where Palestinians were forcibly relocated, became the Ajami Ghetto. But even the ghetto would last for just a few years. In 1950, Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed the Unification of Jaffa and Tel Aviv law, transferring all of Jaffa's municipal institutions to Tel Aviv Municipality. The first stage of the Nakba was the loss of homeland. The second, the loss of city and property. The third, the home. And the fourth was the loss of belonging - the Nakba of the soul Symbolically, anyone visiting 45 Jerusalem Boulevard will find the old Jaffa Municipality building still owned by Tel Aviv, now housing social welfare services. With the ghetto's dissolution, Palestinians, still under military rule, were officially permitted to work only within the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipal boundaries. However, the removal of barbed wire also had another consequence. Following the influx of Jewish immigrants after the Second World War, the new Israeli regime faced a housing shortage. A policy was introduced allowing multiple families to share a single home, including in Ajami, which enabled Jewish immigrants to move into expropriated Palestinian houses. In some cases, Palestinians were forced to share their homes with newly arrived Jewish immigrants. Among them were Arab Jews from North Africa, who spoke Arabic and, at times, openly expressed their contempt for the Palestinians they now lived with under the same roof. If the first stage of the Palestinian Nakba was the loss of homeland, then the second was the loss of city and property, and the third was the loss of the home. The fourth stage of the Nakba was the loss of belonging - the Nakba of the soul. Palestinians who had once lived in one of the most important cities in the Arab world saw their lives upended within a few years, becoming a small minority in a Hebrew city , subjected to harassment by both the authorities and the Jewish immigrants. To the left barbed-wire separates the area that limits the movement of Arabs in Jaffa in 1948 (Creative Commons) and to the right, a Palestinian woman and her child behind barbed-wire in Gaza (AFP) Sociological shifts began to reshape society: dispossessed and alone in the world, many no longer even knew the fate of their own families. These communities were forgotten and erased from history. For decades, both Jaffa and its remaining Palestinian community became pale shadows of their former selves. The long aftermath It was only through conversations with elders in the community - if they were willing to speak at all - that those of us in the younger generations were able to grasp their experiences. Not only those from 1948, but also from the decades that followed: the rise of drug use and the spread of alcohol; a growing problem that ravaged the community. New patterns of violence and crime emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, turning Ajami into one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in the country.  Ironically, to see what Ajami looked like then, one need only watch Chuck Norris's film Delta Force , which was filmed in the neighbourhood. During production, the crew was even granted permission to demolish houses there. Following the passage of UN Resolution 194, which reaffirmed the right of return for Palestinian refugees, the Israeli authorities launched widespread plans to demolish Palestinian homes.  The next time you see a photo of Tel Aviv's beach promenade, know that one of the city's largest and most populated Palestinian neighbourhoods - al-Manshiyya - once stood there.  It was systematically demolished during and after the Nakba, as Israeli authorities cleared the area to make way for new development. Few today remember that, until the 1967 war, the US maintained an arms embargo on Israel due to the unresolved refugee issue . For a time, the international community still spoke of the right of return as a matter of urgency and justice. Like the Palestinian community that remained, the city itself passed through three stages: first, destruction; then, neglect; and now, the phase of folklore.  The Manshiyya neighbourhood of Jaffa in 1935 (Creative Commons) Today, Jaffa is marketed to tourists eager to experience Arab architecture, traditional food, and a curated glimpse of what is marketed as "authentic Arabian" life - but without the Palestinians who built it. This latest transformation seeks to erase what came before. It turns history into an aesthetic, offering the city not as a site of resistance or memory, but as a cultural performance - a place where the remnants of Arab life are repackaged for consumption. The Jaffa blueprint Trump's plans for Gaza are often dismissed as absurd fantasies. But for Palestinians, they are a description of the past. History does not repeat itself exactly, but this time, the Palestinians in Gaza understand that if they leave, they will be forced into exile outside the homeland - and as before, Arab armies will not defend the city. They will need to resist on their own. Gaza's devastation will carry far-reaching consequences for years to come - social, psychological and historical - the weight of which we have not yet begun to grasp Today, there are about 20,000 Palestinians in Jaffa. And although it is easy to view our history tragically, I want to offer a different perspective. Despite everything, we remained. We resisted. Against the state's intensive efforts to erase us, we fought not only to survive, but to preserve our presence, memory and history. Through relentless struggle, we reclaimed spaces of communal life - from Jaffa's mosques and churches to its schools and social institutions. We forced the authorities to open new schools. The Christian Orthodox Association succeeded in recovering its properties, and where the army once occupied its school on al-Khilweh Street, the Orthodox school now operates once again. Gaza's devastation will carry far-reaching consequences for years to come - social, psychological and historical - the weight of which we have not yet begun to grasp. But as the German-Jewish literary critic Walter Benjamin reminds us , the duty of the present is not only to those who will succeed us, but also to the victims of the past. A Palestinian woman cries as she holds the body of a child killed in Israeli strikes on Jabalia, at the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, on 14 May 2025 (Bashar Taleb/AFP) In 1940, writing in exile as part of the New-Marxist debate on the question of revolution, Benjamin argued that revolution should not be viewed primarily as an act for future generations, but as a response to the injustices endured by those who came before - a struggle not merely to remember the dead but to redeem them through present action. He urges us not to view history as linear progress towards a better future, but as a commitment to those who came before - and to the truth they carried with them. The genocide in Gaza is not a break from history, but its continuation - a new chapter in the Nakba. Confronting it will require years of reckoning with unimaginable loss and devastation. But even as we grapple with what lies ahead, we must also honour those who came before - the dead, the displaced, and the dispossessed, from Jaffa and Gaza to the West Bank and far beyond. This time, Palestinian efforts to halt the rewriting of history may succeed. Copyright © 2025. Middle East Eye. All rights reserved

Thousands have been displaced and conservation work halted as series of killings jeopardises decades of work in Niassa, one of Africa’s biggest protected areas Niassa reserve, Mozambique. At 4.2m hectares (10m acres), Niassa is home to lions, African wild dogs, and recovering populations of elephants and buffalo. Photograph: WCS Moçambique One of Africa’s largest protected areas has been shaken by a series of attacks by Islamic State-linked extremists, which have left at least 10 people dead. Conservationists in Niassa reserve, Mozambique, say decades of work to rebuild populations of lions, elephants and other keystone species are being jeopardised, as conservation operations grind to a halt. On 29 April, militants attacked buildings in Niassa , killing two anti-poaching scouts. Two more scouts are missing and another seriously injured. The attack, which was later claimed by Islamic State-Mozambique, came 10 days after another raid on a nearby safari camp in which two people were beheaded and six soldiers were killed. A village of 2,000 people has been displaced by the violence and all conservation work has been suspended in Niassa reserve, according to local groups. On Monday, wildlife and community organisations warned that the violence is risking more than 20 years of conservation work in the area. “The worst thing about these kind of attacks, which is kind of the point, is the fear factor. The attacks are brutal: the two carpenters that were killed at the safari camp were beheaded. There is enormous fear from communities from the brutality of the attack,” said Colleen Begg, managing director of Niassa Carnivore Project, whose headquarters were attacked in the 29 April raid. Begg said that the suspension of tourism activities could affect the area for several years. “Niassa reserve is special because of its size. It is the size of Switzerland. There are very few places like this in Africa with no fences, with large populations of lions, elephants and animals that require a lot of range. It’s one of these beautiful wilderness areas. We’ve been trying to figure out how to make it a world heritage site and all of that is now at risk because of insecurity,” she said. At 4.2m hectares (10m acres), Niassa is regarded as one of Africa’s most important wildlife refuges. It is home to as many as 1,000 lions, 350 critically endangered African wild dogs, and recovering populations of elephants, buffalo and other keystone species. Logos of Mozambique’s Wildlife Conservation Society and Niassa reserve adorn a pickup truck. Photograph: WCS Moçambique Islamic State Mozambique, known locally as al-Shabaab although not linked to the group in Somalia, emerged in 2017 and has displaced more than 1 million people in northern Mozambique as its activities have expanded. While there was a crackdown on the group after an attack on the city of Palma that resulted in the suspension of a major gas project by TotalEnergies , the militants remain active in the country’s northernmost province. Nine conservation and safari camps have been abandoned since the attacks, with one destroyed by the Islamist group. Begg said that urgent support was needed to restore peace in the region and prevent further loss of life. The Mozambican army is in pursuit of the IS-linked group. “Obviously, the first task is to solve the problems with the insurgents and get them out of Niassa. If we cannot create peace, people can’t walk to collect honey, they can’t go to their fields, they can’t harvest. It’s impossible for conservationists. No tourists will come. It is devastating,” Begg said. © 2025 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies.

Thousands have been displaced and conservation work halted as series of killings jeopardises decades of work in Niassa, one of Africa’s biggest protected areas Niassa reserve, Mozambique. At 4.2m hectares (10m acres), Niassa is home to lions, African wild dogs, and recovering populations of elephants and buffalo. Photograph: WCS Moçambique One of Africa’s largest protected areas has been shaken by a series of attacks by Islamic State-linked extremists, which have left at least 10 people dead. Conservationists in Niassa reserve, Mozambique, say decades of work to rebuild populations of lions, elephants and other keystone species are being jeopardised, as conservation operations grind to a halt. On 29 April, militants attacked buildings in Niassa , killing two anti-poaching scouts. Two more scouts are missing and another seriously injured. The attack, which was later claimed by Islamic State-Mozambique, came 10 days after another raid on a nearby safari camp in which two people were beheaded and six soldiers were killed. A village of 2,000 people has been displaced by the violence and all conservation work has been suspended in Niassa reserve, according to local groups. On Monday, wildlife and community organisations warned that the violence is risking more than 20 years of conservation work in the area. “The worst thing about these kind of attacks, which is kind of the point, is the fear factor. The attacks are brutal: the two carpenters that were killed at the safari camp were beheaded. There is enormous fear from communities from the brutality of the attack,” said Colleen Begg, managing director of Niassa Carnivore Project, whose headquarters were attacked in the 29 April raid. Begg said that the suspension of tourism activities could affect the area for several years. “Niassa reserve is special because of its size. It is the size of Switzerland. There are very few places like this in Africa with no fences, with large populations of lions, elephants and animals that require a lot of range. It’s one of these beautiful wilderness areas. We’ve been trying to figure out how to make it a world heritage site and all of that is now at risk because of insecurity,” she said. At 4.2m hectares (10m acres), Niassa is regarded as one of Africa’s most important wildlife refuges. It is home to as many as 1,000 lions, 350 critically endangered African wild dogs, and recovering populations of elephants, buffalo and other keystone species. Logos of Mozambique’s Wildlife Conservation Society and Niassa reserve adorn a pickup truck. Photograph: WCS Moçambique Islamic State Mozambique, known locally as al-Shabaab although not linked to the group in Somalia, emerged in 2017 and has displaced more than 1 million people in northern Mozambique as its activities have expanded. While there was a crackdown on the group after an attack on the city of Palma that resulted in the suspension of a major gas project by TotalEnergies , the militants remain active in the country’s northernmost province. Nine conservation and safari camps have been abandoned since the attacks, with one destroyed by the Islamist group. Begg said that urgent support was needed to restore peace in the region and prevent further loss of life. The Mozambican army is in pursuit of the IS-linked group. “Obviously, the first task is to solve the problems with the insurgents and get them out of Niassa. If we cannot create peace, people can’t walk to collect honey, they can’t go to their fields, they can’t harvest. It’s impossible for conservationists. No tourists will come. It is devastating,” Begg said. © 2025 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies.

From Lost Girl to Global Advocate: My Story of Survival, Resilience, and Hope Rebecca Deng, age 14, Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp. This photo was taken a day after an engagement party. She was almost married off to an older man who left for Sudan to arrange a dowry. By the time he returned, she had left for the U.S. with the Lost Boys and Lost Girls program. (Credit: UnicefUSA.org) I was born into peace. My childhood in a village in Jonglei State, South Sudan, was filled with the sounds of birds, laughter, and the rustling of my grandmother Kokok’s cowhide skirt. Life was vibrant and living was communal. I remember following Kokok around, listening to the coins she’d sewn onto her skirt rattle like a song. We had cattle, food, songs, and stories. I had never seen a gun. All of that changed in 1991 when I was just five years old. There was a civil war. Our village was attacked. The gunfire came early in the morning, while we were milking the cows. Suddenly, everything was on fire—our homes, our food, our memories. We ran. I had never known fear like that. With my uncle and his family, we walked for what felt like a year—hiding in the bush, drinking from muddy puddles, and surviving on wild fruits. We buried friends and family along the way. Finally, we reached the Sudan-Kenya border and the Kakuma Refugee Camp. That’s when I first heard the word refugee . I didn’t know what it meant, but that the word applied to me and that we were not going home. I lived in Kakuma for eight years. It was safer than the war, but life was still hard. Food was always scarce. Girls’ education was not valued. Yet, there were acts of kindness. A Nuer woman took care of me when I was separated from my family. She shared her food with me, even though she had so little herself. A woman from another tribe, helping a Dinka child. That taught me something: our humanity runs deeper than our divisions. There were other acts of kindness. I was almost forced into marriage at the age of 14. I could have become a child bride, like so many girls still are, but one teacher believed in me. He helped me stay in school and applied for me to be resettled in the United States. His efforts changed my life. His acts of kindness saved me. Eventually, I received a scholarship to a boarding school, and in 2000, I was resettled in the United States as an unaccompanied minor and one of the so-called “Lost Girls of Sudan.” Most people have heard of the Lost Boys. Fewer know there were girls as well. Only 89 of us were brought to the U.S. We were placed in foster homes, scattered, and largely forgotten. The boys had each other. We had to start over, alone. Still, I was lucky. My foster family loved me. They listened to me. Through conversations with my foster dad, with mentors, and with friends, I began to heal. I began to share my story. And through that, I realized something powerful: healing happens when we are heard. Telling my story was about not only finding my voice, but giving voice to others who otherwise would never get the chance. I realized that I was not just a survivor of war, I also was part of a global community of displaced people whose stories have been silenced for too long. Displacement is not unique to Sudan. It happens in every generation, in every region. We have a choice: to look away, or to look closer. Today, I use my voice to advocate for refugees and survivors, especially women and girls. I remind people that we are not poor because of a lack of intelligence or ability. We are poor because of war. South Sudan and Sudan are rich with resources and gifted people. But war has stolen our futures over and over again. Now, I live in the United States—the home I’ve known for the longest period of time in my life—but my heart remains with the girls in Sudan, in refugee camps globally and on dangerous roads, walking toward uncertainty just as I once did. A Crisis Renewed: The Suffering of Sudanese Women Today And now, war has come again to Sudan. Since April 2023, Sudan has been plunged into yet another brutal conflict. More than 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Cities have been destroyed. Hospitals and schools have been bombed. And once again, women and girls are paying the highest price. In Darfur and other regions, women are being targeted with sexual violence. Families are being torn apart. Aid is blocked. Borders are closed. And the world, distracted by other emergencies, is barely noticing. But I see them. I hear them. I remember them. Because I once was them. Right now, Sudanese women are crying out for, not just food and shelter, but dignity, protection, and peace. These are not just headlines. These are my sisters. So I ask you: Please listen. Listen to the girls who are running for their lives. Listen to the mothers burying their children. Listen to the women holding communities together with no support. Their stories matter. Peace is not a luxury. It is a right. And every girl deserves to grow up in safety, with a voice, and with hope. Rebecca Deng is a South Sudanese-American author, speaker, and human rights advocate. A former refugee and one of the 89 “Lost Girls of Sudan” resettled in the United States, she survived war, displacement, and gender-based violence to become a powerful voice for women and refugees worldwide. Rebecca holds a BA in International Development/Relations and MA in Organizational Leadership. She currently lives in the U.S., where she continues her advocacy for peace, gender equity, and refugee rights. Her book, What They Meant for Evil, How a Lost Girl of Sudan Found Healing, Peace, and Purpose in the Midst of Suffering can be ordered here. 2025 Copyright FoRB Women’s Alliance

Rescue workers search through the rubble of a destroyed building following the 24 April 2025 strike in Kyiv, Ukraine. © Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine/Anastasiia Honcharuk 17 May 2025 I  Peace and Security        A drone strike in eastern Ukraine on Saturday could possibly be the deadliest in recent weeks, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in the country, HRMMU, has said. At least nine people were killed and seven injured when a Russian drone struck a minibus near the town of Bilopillia in the Sumy region, according to local authorities. HRMMU monitors are in the process of gathering additional information on the circumstances of the attack and its victims. Preliminary reports suggest that the minibus was carrying civilian evacuees from an area close to the frontline, the majority of whom were women. ‘A stark reminder’ “With nine civilians reported killed, this would be the deadliest attack in weeks,” said Danielle Bell, Head of HRMMU. “This is a stark reminder that civilians continue to be killed and injured on a daily basis across Ukraine.” If confirmed, the strike would represent the deadliest attack since 24 April, when at least 11 civilians were killed and 81 injured in the capital, Kyiv. HRMMU said that while the number of civilian casualties in May has been somewhat lower than in April, it continues to document daily civilian casualties, particularly along the frontline. © 2025 United Nations

Reuters By Stephanie van den Berg  and Anthony Deutsch May 16, 2025 Summary Khan takes leave until end of investigation, his office says Move by ICC prosecutor is unprecedented NGOs hail the step as signal that no-one is above the law Prosecutor denies allegations of sexual misconduct THE HAGUE, May 16 (Reuters) - The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, has stepped down temporarily as an investigation  by the United Nations into alleged sexual misconduct by him nears its end, his office said on Friday. The move is unprecedented and there is no clear procedure for replacing Khan. The situation creates added uncertainty for the ICC, which is already facing an existential crisis due to U.S. sanctions  over its arrest warrants for Israeli officials. Khan's office said the prosecutor had taken leave until the end of the investigation by the U.N. Office of Internal Oversight Services. The prosecutor has denied  allegations of misconduct that were reported to the court's governing body in October last year. In a letter sent to his staff and seen by Reuters, the prosecutor said that he had been keeping his position under constant review. "In light of escalating media reports, I have made the considered decision to take leave," Khan said. "My decision is driven by deep and unwavering commitment to the credibility of our Office and the Court, and to safeguard the integrity of the process and fairness to all involved," he said. Khan had earlier ignored  calls by NGOs and ICC staff to step down while the investigation was underway. Several of those NGOs on Friday hailed his decision to temporarily step down as a sign that no one is above the law. "Stepping aside helps protect the court's credibility and the trust of victims, staff, and the public. For the alleged victim and whistle blowers, this is also a moment of recognition and dignity," said Dana Chaise of human rights watchdog FIDH. Others said suspending Khan would not derail the ICC's investigations as the office of the prosecutor is not a one-man show. "In fact, removing an individual whose alleged behaviour may have fuelled a toxic work culture may strengthen the office’s ability to carry out its mandate with professionalism and public trust,” Alix Vuillemin of the Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice told Reuters. The ICC has high-profile war crimes investigations under way into the Israel-Hamas conflict  and Russia's war in Ukraine . At Khan's request, the ICC issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin  on suspicion of deporting children from Ukraine , and for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza . Neither country is a member of the court and both deny the accusations and reject ICC jurisdiction. The ICC's investigation into Israel's conduct led the U.S. administration of President Donald Trump to impose sanctions  on Khan, which the ICC president says have put the court itself at risk. Sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, told Reuters that Khan had spoken to U.N. investigators last week in what was believed to be the final interview of a months-long outside investigation into the allegations that started in December. It was unclear when the probe would finish. The ICC's two deputy prosecutors would take over his duties in the meantime, his office said. Khan's lawyers did not immediately respond to a written request for comment. Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg and Anthony Deutsch, editing by Bart Meijer, Timothy Heritage, William Maclean © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved

The Wire Not wholly in jest, I tell my friends that in today’s India, the Mahatma would be stoned to death for his views on Muslims and Pakistan. Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty Besides outrage, I felt a twinge of fear and disquiet on hearing the news of the Pahalgam horror because I know from experience that every terrorist act instigates what has now become an ugly reflexive response from the citizenry. The fallout is that a particularly venomous section of Indians sees in such tragedies a godsend to paint Muslims as traitorous acolytes of Pakistan and backers of terrorism who deserve punishment.  It’s been almost eight decades since Partition, but there has hardly been a let-up in the pathological distrust that separates Hindus and Muslims. In the last ten years, anti-Muslim sentiment has gone through the roof, amplified by the diabolical machinations of the party in power. Friction with Pakistan inevitably metamorphoses into persecution of Muslims. Sadly, the aftermath of Pahalgam panned out exactly in that manner. As a society, we have plumbed to the depths of inhumanity. The young hairdresser who tends the few remaining strands on my pate is distraught that he and other Muslims living in the Masudpur dairy area are being pressured to leave the locality. Across the country, Hindutva gangs have been making life hell for the community. Nitish Rane, the infamous Maharashtra minister, has asked people to identify Muslims by asking them to recite the Hanuman Chalisa, and then boycott them and their wares. In Rajasthan, scores of Muslims have been rounded up on the grounds of being Bangladeshi. In Telangana, two branches of the iconic Karachi bakery that is owned by Hindus have been vandalised because of the Pakistani roots of the name. Kashmiri students and workers are hounded and are fleeing to Kashmir. In a brazen act of pointed discrimination, Delhi university has asked colleges to collect particulars of Kashmiri students. And the hellfire that Himanshi Narval is going through, only because she appealed against targeting Muslims and Kashmiris, should shame us all. This is not the Mahatma’s India. Today, we live in an India configured by the Vishwaguru, who has been calling the shots for over a decade, that has not seen peace, justice, well-being or unity. While the opposition is rightly demanding accountability for the unpardonable security lapses, for me, Modi’s greatest failure in the traumatic days following the Pahalgam barbarity was his blunt refusal to address the issue of persecution of Muslims and Kashmiris. His deafening silence in the face of the wickedness of his stormtroopers is unpardonable but not surprising, considering that he has seized and retained power on the plank of ‘fixing’ the Muslim community. The middle class personifies the worst of India – class-conscious, smug, cowardly and self-absorbed. And deeply communal. They are the WhatsApp goons – spewing hate and division from their safe havens, unashamed of the naked display of gross inhumanity to their fellow countrymen. They are tutored via the malicious outpourings of Godi media warriors and yet their TV programs capture the most eyeballs – a reflection of the hate-filled society we have become. The catastrophe that I feared unfolded in the early hours of May 7, when the tough talking ‘g har me ghuske maroonga’ prime minister let loose the dogs of war. India struck nine terror sites in Pakistan and PoK, using high-precision strike weapons. The defence minister made the fantastic claim that over 100 terrorists had been killed but no civilians. The very next day, Pakistan killed 15 Indian civilians along the Line of Control. Contradicting India’s pious claim of killing only militants, international agencies have confirmed the deaths of women and children too.  Politicians of all stripes urged extreme punitive measures without consideration of the costs. No one called for restraint and the need to use means other than war to teach Pakistan a lesson. The tiresomely glib Shashi Tharoor called for a ‘kinetic’ response targeting terrorist infrastructure. Donning the unsolicited role of Modi’s defence counsel, he has extenuated the inexcusable intelligence failure with the absurd argument that security is not omniscient and even Israel couldn’t stop the October 7 Hamas attack.  The vicious cycle of violence lasted for a little over three days before a sudden ceasefire was brokered by the US. Better sense has prevailed and both countries have agreed to suspend hostilities after three days of a suicidal war for both sides.  The stupid belief that we boss the show and that Pakistan is an inferior, defenceless target incapable of hitting back has been obliterated, though we hate to admit it. Our reticence to address the much reported  ‘ambush’ of the Rafale aircraft is telling. We have inflicted serious damage to Pakistan but have also suffered in no small measure. Yet the gaggle of self-designated experts, the bloodthirsty bigots and even former army generals are deeply critical of India’s decision to agree to a ceasefire at a pivotal moment when we apparently could have achieved something else. Let’s speculate on what could have been achieved by carrying on with the killings and destruction. Would we have come close to achieving our far-fetched objectives of a) ending or crippling terrorism; b) wresting back PoK; and c) bringing Pakistan down to its knees? The ultimate theorist in realpolitik, Machiavelli believed that “if an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.” Contrary to what the hawks in our midst think, the undoubted greater military strength of India over Pakistan does not mean that we can impose our will on the rogue nation.   We need to remember that the most vulnerable of people – the Palestinians, despite being abandoned by the international community have, for decades, resisted the brutal killing machine that is Israel. And in Pakistan we have an adversary that is a nuclear power, actively supported by China. Like Douglas Horton observed, “When seeking revenge, dig two graves – one for yourself!”   Modi’s Kashmir policy lies in tatters. J&K, which has been sullenly hostile since the abrogation of Article 370 and diminution to Union territory status, needed to be treated with utmost sensitivity post-Pahalgam. Instead, the Union government went about demolishing the homes of those suspected of being in cahoots with terrorists and rounded up hundreds of Kashmiris under a wide-spectrum security scanner that did not seem to care about innocents. The policy of repression and “let them hate so long as they fear” is playing into the hands of separatists and Pakistan. Clubbed with the persecution of Kashmiris in other parts of the country, Modi has stirred a lethal brew that has further alienated the Kashmiris. Jamuriyat (democracy), insaaniyat (humanity) and Kashmiriyat (spirit of Kashmir) are dead. At this grim time, it’s only right that we look to our leaders from the past for inspiration and guidance. Sadly, our myopic society harks back to the days when the hawkish Indira Gandhi shooed off the bully, Richard Nixon, in1971. Why is it that at this dark hour we have not thought of Mahatma Gandhi? The unpalatable truth is that he would have approached the problem differently. Not wholly in jest, I tell my friends that in today’s India, the Mahatma would be stoned to death for his views on Muslims and Pakistan. It’s critical to remember the Mahatma’s response to the Partition mayhem when both sides shot, stabbed and killed each other. Amidst the bloodletting and bitterness, when the Indian government in 1948 decided to withhold Pakistan’s share (Rs 55 crores) of the sterling balance that undivided India held at Independence, Gandhiji went on a fast till death and called it off only when the funds due to Pakistan were released. We need a similar leap of faith today and reach out to Pakistan and fight terrorism together. ©2023 All rights reserved. Foundation for Independent Journalism (FIJ)

Army kills 34 Palestinians and injures dozens in bombardment of European Gaza Hospital and its surroundings Palestinians carry the body of a victim killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on May 13, 2025. [Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency] The Israeli army provided misleading information about the presence of a tunnel beneath the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, which was bombed twice within 24 hours, local media reported Wednesday. An analysis of aerial images released by the Israeli military “shows that the tunnel is located in a nearby school,” said Israel’s Haaretz daily. It added that the tunnel is “not inside the hospital as the army claimed,” noting “the absence of any evidence supporting the claim that the tunnel runs beneath the medical facility.” The Israeli army killed 34 Palestinians and injured dozens in a series of airstrikes late Tuesday targeting the European Gaza Hospital and its surroundings, according to statements from the Ministry of Health and the Civil Defense. In a joint statement, the Israeli army and Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service claimed they had carried out a “precise strike” targeting Hamas members. Israeli media outlets including the public broadcaster KAN said the objective of the attack was to assassinate senior Al-Qassam Brigades commander Mohammed Sinwar. Mohammed is the brother of Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas's political bureau, who was killed by Israel on Oct. 16, 2024. Hamas described the Israeli targeting of the European Gaza Hospital as “a new war crime.” According to a statement by Gaza’s Government Media Office on May 8, a total of 38 hospitals, 81 health centers and 164 medical institutions have been destroyed, burned or rendered inoperative during the ongoing Israeli onslaught. The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 52,900 Palestinians since October 2023, most of them women and children. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave. Anadolu Ajansı © 2021

Could prolonged warfare in Sudan split the country? Defence Web 16 May 2025 By Moses Chrispus Okello   Drone strike in Sudan. credit Defence Web   The war in Sudan has taken a dramatic turn for the worse. Changes in battlefield tactics, along with new political and diplomatic dynamics, are hampering mediation – and could see Sudan divided under two or more rival administrations. During the first quarter of 2025, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) – on the defensive since the war started in April 2023 – recaptured territories held by its rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Then on 23 February, the SAF amended the country’s 2019 transitional constitution to eliminate all references to the RSF. In response, the RSF introduced a charter and constitution for a ‘new Sudan’ and began establishing a parallel government to rival the Sovereign Council based in Port Sudan under the leadership of SAF commander General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Meanwhile, the civilian coalition Taqaddum split into two factions: Qimam, aligned with the RSF, and the neutral Somoud. These developments have stoked concerns about the country’s potential fragmentation and a major escalation in fighting. The current wave of SAF military successes began with the onset of the dry season in October 2024. Before the season ends in May, the SAF may ramp up operations, seeking decisive military gains particularly in and around Khartoum. The RSF plans a massive counter-offensive to reclaim lost territory and extend its reach to other parts of the country. This would worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis and increase human rights violations, even as some internally displaced people return to ‘liberated’ areas. A reversal of SAF battlefield gains is not impossible, and would continue the seesaw balance of power that has characterised the conflict. The war may also significantly change the Horn of Africa’s geostrategic landscape, particularly if the proposed parallel government gains traction. Multilateral organisations such as the African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) have condemned the idea as it contradicts the principle of the integrity of national borders. Ethiopia, recently elected to the AU Peace and Security Council, is expected to approach the issue cautiously to avoid inflaming its own secessionist movements. Kenya’s hosting of the RSF and allied Sudanese groups to finalise the charter for a parallel government sparked controversy. But the country has yet to take a clear stance on the matter. Ongoing diplomatic tensions with Port Sudan stem from Kenyan President William Ruto’s close relationship with RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti). Although the region’s Intergovernmental Authority on Development has not articulated a unified position, Uganda has rejected the RSF proposal. South Sudan remains silent, probably for fear of worsening its strained relationship with its northern neighbour. The RSF appears increasingly isolated, with Libya being its most significant supporter due to Hemedti’s ties with Libyan National Army commander General Khalifa Haftar. Even Chad, which had previously granted the RSF military bases, is wavering. The positions of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and United Arab Emirates (UAE) underscore the complexities of foreign involvement in Sudan. Alliances between external actors and Sudan’s main combatants would likely persist, even with a parallel government. Turkey is allegedly supplying military technology to both sides while simultaneously brokering a deal between the SAF and UAE. Russia too has links with both the RSF and SAF. These moves secure Russia and Turkey’s interests in Sudan, irrespective of which belligerent wins the war. While the UAE has not taken a definitive stance, its longstanding ties and diplomatic strategies suggest a preference for the RSF. Sudan’s recent petition to the International Court of Justice seems focused on highlighting the UAE’s links to the RSF rather than addressing the human rights violations allegedly committed during the conflict – of which both sides stand accused. Consolidation of SAF military gains could end the conflict. However, while the SAF could overrun additional states in Sudan, the RSF probably won’t be defeated soon. With the support of several armed and unarmed groups, and RSF supply lines linked to Chad and Libya, a prolonged conflict could ensue, leading to either a de facto division of the country or a negotiated separation. The alternative may be a long guerrilla war involving many factions. While the SAF and RSF profess their commitment to Sudanese unity, they are backed by opposing civilian groups, local militias, and unpredictable external entities with seemingly irreconcilable ideological differences. And the belligerents’ positions reinforce division rather than national unity. The new RSF charter endorses secularism. Meanwhile, the SAF’s removal of all references to the RSF in Sudan’s transitional constitution appears to reflect the continuing influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in the SAF. The SAF’s reluctance to negotiate with the neutral Somoud coalition, and the main parties’ hardline positions and insistence on a military solution, make compromise and a permanent ceasefire seem unlikely. Establishing two rival administrations in Sudan could result in a protracted conflict, making the AU’s mediation efforts harder. The belligerents would defer more to their external supporters than the AU, and civilians and internal armed groups would become increasingly fragmented or continue seeking recognition from the RSF or SAF. The AU High-level Panel and AU Committee of Five Heads of State may have anticipated the shifts in alliances, but don’t seem to have adapted to the possibility of disintegration. The AU’s ongoing pursuit of a unified Sudan is becoming increasingly disconnected from realities on the ground. The organisation must adjust its mediation to incorporate the possibility of Sudan splitting. Besides the RSF’s proposal, Darfuri groups – marginalised by successive governments in Khartoum – have previously called for separation from Sudan. Such demands are challenging but not unprecedented, as shown by South Sudan’s split from Sudan in 2011. Nevertheless, the consequences of division must be carefully assessed. By maintaining the current mediation format, the AU risks inadvertently facilitating Sudan’s separation without proper preparation. The much-discussed division of labour between the AU and UN on peacebuilding, along with an expanded mediation mechanism, is vital. A multi-layered, multi-actor strategy, possibly involving proxy processes, should be explored. In June 2024, the PSC instructed its sanctions sub-committee to investigate those providing military, political and financial support to Sudan’s warring factions. This evidence is now urgently needed to enable the AU to target those in Africa and beyond who unilaterally contravene its frameworks. Written by Moses Chrispus Okello, Senior Researcher, Horn of Africa Security Analysis, ISS Addis Ababa. Republished with permission from  ISS Africa . The original article can be found  here . https://www.defenceweb.co.za/african-news/could-prolonged-warfare-in-sudan-lead-to-the-country-splitting/?referrer=newsletter Copyright 2025 ISS Africa

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Israeli Strikes Kill Dozens in Gaza, Hamas Health Ministry Says The New York Times May 15, 2025 By Aaron Boxerman Photographs by Saher Alghorra Reporting from Jerusalem Carrying a body in Gaza. credit   Saher Alghorra Israel intensified its military campaign against Hamas, despite a U.S.-backed push for the two sides to agree a new cease-fire. Israeli military strikes killed dozens across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the territory’s health ministry said, the latest in a wave of attacks after Israel has threatened to intensify its military campaign against Hamas. Many more were injured in the strikes on Thursday, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The Israeli military said it had hit more than 130 targets over the past two days, including operatives affiliated with Hamas and Islamic Jihad in southern Gaza. Gaza’s Civil Defense, an emergency response organization, later reported more people were killed in strikes in the northern Gaza city of Jabaliya, including one on a building that housed a medical clinic. Rescue workers outside of a building in Jabaliya that housed the Al-Tawbah Medical Center.Credit Saher Alghorra Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has threatened to significantly escalate the country’s military campaign unless Hamas lays down its arms and frees the remaining hostages. The Palestinian armed group has rejected Israel’s conditions for a cease-fire, demanding an end to the war and a full Israeli withdrawal in exchange for releasing the captives. The Israeli military has yet to embark on the sweeping ground offensive that government officials have laid out. But Israeli forces have launched a series of deadly airstrikes across the Gaza Strip in recent days. On Wednesday, Israeli strikes killed more than 75 people, according to the Gaza health ministry. That was a day after Israeli aircraft bombarded the area around the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis to try to kill Muhammad Sinwar , one of Hamas’s top leaders in Gaza. Mr. Sinwar’s older brother, Yahya Sinwar, masterminded the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel that precipitated the war, and he led Hamas before he was killed by Israeli forces last year. Neither Israel nor Hamas has publicly commented on the fate of the younger Mr. Sinwar.   Transporting the body of a person killed in a strike in Jabaliya. Credit Saher Alghorra A child in the Indonesian Hospital in Gaza after his father was killed. Credit Saher Alghorra The wave of recent attacks came after aid agencies warned that Gaza is on the brink of starvation. Israel has blocked food, medicine and humanitarian relief from entering the territory since March. Israel has dismissed those warnings in public, but some military officials have privately  conceded that Palestinians will soon not have enough food to meet minimum daily nutritional needs unless the blockade is lifted. The Hamas-led attack on Israel 19 months ago killed about 1,200 people. Roughly 250 others were taken to Gaza as hostages. Israel’s attacks against Hamas have killed more than 50,000 people in Gaza, including thousands of children, according to health officials in the territory. Gaza’s health ministry said that more than 50 people had been killed in the latest strikes. Yet despite the immense toll of Israel's military campaign, the war has failed to either decisively subdue Hamas or force the group to free all of the hostages. Friends and family mourning the loss of a man who was killed on Thursday. Credit Saher Alghorra Over the weekend, the United States effectively bypassed Israel and reached an agreement with Hamas to free Edan Alexander , the last American hostage left alive in Gaza. President Trump wrote on social media that he hoped it would be the “first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict.” Israeli negotiators traveled to Qatar this week for the latest round of indirect cease-fire talks with Hamas to free the remaining hostages. The office of Mr. Netanyahu said he had spoken with Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s Middle East envoy, as well as the Israeli negotiating team. But an Israeli official familiar with the talks said there was little expectation of a breakthrough. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, spoke on condition of anonymity.   The Israeli military said it had hit more than 130 targets over the past two days in Gaza. Credit Saher Alghorra Aaron Boxerman  is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem. Copyright 2025 The New York Times Company

European and Nasser hospitals in Khan Younis attacked by Israel. Palestinians inspect the damage after the European Hospital in Gaza’s southern Khan Younis was targeted by a series of deadly air strikes [Hatem Khaled/Reuters] (Reuters) Nine Israeli missiles have slammed into and around the courtyard of the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, killing at least 16 people and wounding 70, the enclave’s Ministry of Health says, in the second deadly bombardment of a medical facility in the city since dawn. The Civil Defence agency in Gaza said Tuesday its medical teams are recovering more people who were killed or wounded. The rescue organisation said in a short statement that the bodies of some of the victims still cannot be recovered because they are “scattered around the hospital area” from the intensity of the Israeli bombardment. After reports indicated a second round of Israeli missiles hit the area  to deter rescue operations , the agency confirmed the Israeli army “deliberately targeted anyone who tried to reach” the wounded. The Israeli military said it struck a “Hamas command centre” beneath the hospital, without providing any evidence. Al Jazeera Arabic reported early Wednesday that four Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli attack on a house in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip. The air strikes followed a warning by Israel’s military for Palestinians in the flee the area to flee. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there’s “no way” Israel will halt its war on Gaza even if a deal is reached to release more captives held in the besieged and bombarded territory. He has threatened  an all-out military assault   in the coming days. French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday denounced Netanyahu’s policy in Gaza. “What he’s doing is shameful”, he said during an interview on TF1 television, adding that European nations should consider sanctions. Earlier on Tuesday, Israel’s army admitted to carrying out “a targeted attack” on the Nasser Medical Complex, also in Khan Younis, killing two people, including Palestinian journalist Hassan Eslaih. Gaza’s Government Media Office confirmed the killing of Eslaih, who was receiving treatment at the hospital’s burn unit for severe injuries sustained during an April 7 Israeli strike on a media tent located next to the hospital. Mourners walk in the funeral procession of Palestinian journalist Hassan Eslaih, killed at dawn in an Israeli strike which hit the surgeries building at the Nasser hospital, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on May 13, 2025. [Eyad Baba/ AFP) AFP news agency footage taken from Nasser Medical Complex after Tuesday’s strike showed smoke rising from the facility as rescuers searched through the rubble by the light of torches. A hospital worker who gave his name as Abu Ghali said the Israeli bombardment “does not differentiate between civilians and military targets”. “This is a civilian hospital that receives injured people around the clock,” he told AFP. Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said Israel’s attack on Nasser Hospital marked the second time in seven weeks the same building was targeted. “After the first attack seven weeks ago, we had to move our burn unit to a nearby building, where we now treat severe burns, trauma injuries and run two surgical theatres,” MSF said. “Following today’s attack, outpatient consultations are suspended, and the number of our colleagues in the facility is reduced.” Eslaih was the director of the Alam24 News Agency and a freelancer who contributed to international news organisations, including photos of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. Israel has claimed Eslaih was a Hamas fighter who participated in the attacks, an allegation he vehemently denied. Dozens of journalists killed At least 178 journalists and media workers have been killed in Palestine, Israel and Lebanon since the war began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Gaza’s Government Media Office put the death toll at 215. Israel’s military said in a post on Telegram that the strike targeted a Hamas “command and control complex” at Nasser, the largest hospital in southern Gaza, without providing evidence. “The compound was used by the terrorists to plan and execute terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and troops,” the post said, in what appeared to be a reference to Eslaih and Hamas. Gaza’s Health Ministry condemned “the repeated targeting of hospitals and the pursuit and killing of wounded patients inside treatment rooms”, saying it “confirms Israel’s deliberate intent to inflict greater damage to the healthcare system”. Hospitals in Gaza have been a frequent target of Israeli attacks since the war began in October 2023 although attacking health facilities, medical personnel and patients is illegal under the 1949 Geneva Conventions. According to officials in Gaza, Israel has bombed and burned at least 36 hospitals across the enclave since the war erupted. © 2025 Al Jazeera Media Network