Captive Polin Appeals to Biden Before Bombing

The Hamas Qassam Brigades broadcast a recording, Thursday, 5 September, 2024, of an Israeli prisoner with American citizenship, who was killed by the occupation army and whose body and five  other prisoners were recovered last Saturday inside a tunnel in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

In the recording, slain prisoner Hersh Goldberg-Polin asked US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and all American citizens to do everything they can to “stop the war and this madness and bring him home.”

He pointed out he became 23 years old just four days before his arrest at a concert in the Re’im area in the so-called “Gaza enveloped” on 7 October, 2023.

He highlighted the extent of the suffering he is experiencing in Gaza and said he does not remember the last time he saw the sun or breathed fresh air, but he stressed what is worse is the Israeli [government] attempt to bomb him without stopping “so it wouldn’t not bear responsibility and reach an agreement.”

Born in California

Goldberg-Polin, who was born in California and lives in occupied Jerusalem, said that since his arrival in Gaza, he has been trying to stay alive without any medical assistance, with little food and water.

He sent an emotional message to his family, stressing he knows they are doing everything they can to bring him home, and asked his family to stay strong for him.

Last April, the Qassam Brigades published a video recording of the prisoner Goldberg-Polin, in which he attacked the Netanyahu government and accused it of negligence and failure to work to release him and the rest of the detainees.

On 13 May, the Qassam Brigades announced it had lost contact with a group of resistance fighters guarding four Israeli prisoners in Gaza, including Goldberg-Polin, due to the Israeli bombing of the Strip.

Since last Monday, the Qassam Brigades began broadcasting the last messages of the six Israeli prisoners, starting with the prisoner Idan Yerushalmi, then Ori Danino, before broadcasting – Wednesday – a recording of the prisoners Alexander Lubnov and Carmel Gat.

All the recordings hold the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu and the security and military services responsible for what happened on 7 October, 2023, and all the captives demanded the speeding up of an exchange deal and for the popular demonstrations demanding their return continue so that they could return home alive.

Last Sunday, Al-Qassam broadcast a message to Israeli society stating that “Netanyahu chose the Philadelphi Corridor at the expense of liberating your prisoners,” noting that these captives were alive but have become a thing of the past, whilst stressing Netanyahu is creating dozens of Ron Arads.

On 23 April, the Brigades’ spokesman Abu Obeida said that the “the Ron Arad scenario may be the most likely to be repeated with the enemy’s prisoners in Gaza,” stressing that “the so-called military pressure will only push us to stand firm in our positions and preserve the rights of our people and not relinquish them,” according to JO24.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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“Third states have an obligation, per the ICJ, to act to end Israel’s unlawful occupation,” Albanese wrote on the US social media platform X, referring to a July 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice that deemed Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory unlawful and said states must not assist in maintaining it.

Albanese also questioned whether UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ diplomatic efforts and the General Assembly’s “Uniting for Peace” mechanism could overcome the Security Council’s deadlock on the conflict.

The mechanism allows the General Assembly to consider international peace and security issues when the Security Council cannot act because of a lack of unanimity among its permanent members. The council has repeatedly been unable to take action on Gaza and the West Bank amid vetoes by the US. Anadolu

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40 Million Tons of Rubble: Gaza Ministry Faces Challenges in Removing it

Gaza’s Ministry of Public Works and Housing confirmed that Israel’s ongoing targeting of tents and shelters of displaced people in the enclave is a systematic policy of destroying the basic necessities of life. It noted the amount of rubble that has piled up in the various regions of the Strip has exceeded 40 million tons.

Ministry spokesman Najla Hammad told the Sanad News Agency, Monday, the ministry is facing unprecedented challenges in removing the rubble because of the severe shortage of heavy machinery due to the Israeli-imposed blockade and the closure of crossings.

Hammad pointed out that the recent Israeli aggression has displaced more than 80 families, leaving them homeless and exposed, noting the ministry received widespread appeals to replace the tents that have been damaged and/or completely destroyed.

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She added what is making things worse is that the Israeli occupation is preventing the entry of tents, tarpaulins, and shelter supplies and the reduction of usable land in the Gaza Strip to less than 30%.

Hammad explained that crews are continuing to work on opening main roads and providing alternative spaces for service facilities and educational centers but tough going. However, she announced the completion of the removal of the rubble at the site of the Hijazi Clinic in northern Gaza, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and its handover to the Ministry of Health for reconstruction.

She indicated that the demolition and clearing of rubble is currently limited to only 4 out of the 10 sites previously identified, due to security restrictions and a lack of heavy equipment. The teams are operating with only one excavator and a very limited number of trucks.

Hammad noted the use of local alternatives and solutions, such as recycling crushed rubble to level roads and areas threatened by flooding, and melting plastic and aluminum to recycle supplies for health units in the camps is also moving.

UN reports confirm that the scale of destruction and rubble in the Gaza Strip surpasses that of major wars and conflicts in modern history. International organizations warn that preventing the entry of machinery, engineering equipment, and shelter materials exacerbates the humanitarian, environmental, and health catastrophe, hindering the provision of even the most basic services to more than two million displaced people lacking safe shelter.

The Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza previously warned in August of the severe deterioration in the housing sector due to the widespread presence of tons of rubble. It emphasized that the aid and tents permitted entry by the Israeli occupation amount to no more than 5% of the actual needs of the displaced, given the strict restrictions at the crossings and the repeated forced displacement.

Recently, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing launched an emergency program to repair and renovate partially damaged homes in the Gaza Strip, a step aimed at persuading and facilitating the return of displaced families to their homes and original areas.

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Hammad said that the Ministry is presently working with the UNDP and have to-date  constructed more than 15 shelters that have accommodated over 1,700 displaced families in the Gaza Strip, including five centers in the south that alone have housed approximately 700 families.

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