Israel-Palestine Conflict Updates

It has been 2 months and 5 days since the Hamas invasion of southern Israel on October 7th 2023. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, more than 18,200 Palestinians have been killed in response to the invasion. Over 1 million Palestinians have been displaced due to the relentless bombing campaign destroying their homes and livelihoods. The death toll in Israel stands at 1,147, according to various media outlets including Al Jazeera.

There have been several reports of Israel utilizing U.S. supplied white phosphorus rounds near a civilian population, which is considered a war crime by the Geneva Convention. New evidence brought to light by The Washington Post on December 11th verifies Israel’s use of white phosphorus.

Israel used U.S.-supplied white phosphorus munitions on a small town near Lebanon’s southern border on October 16th and reportedly in the Gaza Strip on October 11th.

A journalist working for The Washington Post found remnants of three 155 millimeter artillery rounds fired into Dheira, near the border of Israel. The attack destroyed at least 4 homes. Nine people were injured during the attack and three were hospitalized. The lot production codes found on the shells match the nomenclature used by the U.S. military. The shells were made by ammunition depots in Louisiana and Arkansas in 1989 and 1992. According to arms experts, the light green color and “WP” printed on one of the exploded shells are consistent with white phosphorus rounds.

Palestinian journalists risk their lives in active warzones to bring news to the world and protect the truth. But even their families are not safe from the brutality of war.

The 65-year old father of Al Jazeera journalist Anas Al-Sharif has been killed in an Israeli air strike on Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza.

“My beloved father has become a martyr. To God we belong and to Him we shall return,” al-Sharif wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Al Sharif is the fourth Al Jazeera journalist to lose family members since Israel launched an assault on Gaza in response to the October 7th Hamas attack. Al-Sharif said the rest of his family was at an UNRWA school but his father was unable to flee due to poor health.

With the death toll reaching record high numbers and the U.N. being unable to protect civilian life, coalitions within Palestine have decided to take matters into their own hands.

The Palestinian National and Islamic Forces called for a general strike across Palestine and the world on Monday. Palestinian activists and social media influencers have also called for a global strike in response to the U.N. falling to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Shops, schools and offices have been shut across West Bank and East Jerusalem as Palestinians stage a general strike in protest against Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip. “We expect the entire globe to join the strike, which comes in the context of a broad international movement involving influential figures. This movement stands against the open genocide in Gaza, the ethnic cleansing and the colonial settlement in the West Bank,” the coalition said in a statement.

Over 18,000 Palestinians have died in the last two months since Israel launched its brutal assault on the Palestinian people in response to the October 7th Hamas attack.

Tags: Israel-Palestine War Hamas