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Lapid: Gaza Take Over Disastrous For Israel

CrossFireArabia
August 8, 2025

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Friday sharply criticized the Cabinet’s latest decision on Gaza, calling it “a disaster that will lead to many more disasters.”

In a statement, Lapid accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of capitulating to the extremist demands of far-right ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

The criticism from Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party, comes after Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan by Netanyahu to take control of Gaza City, according to Anadolu.

“In complete contradiction to the opinion of the military and security ranks, without considering the erosion and exhaustion of the fighting forces, Ben Gvir and Smotrich dragged Netanyahu into a move that will take months,” said Lapid.

He added that this will “lead to the death of the hostages, the killing of many soldiers, cost tens of billions to the Israeli taxpayers, and lead to a political collapse.”

He warned that Israel will be “trapped in the field without a goal, without defining the picture of the day after, in a useless occupation that no one understands where it is leading.”

Israel has been facing mounting outrage over its destructive war on Gaza, where more than 61,200 people have been killed since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for 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.

News

HRW: Israel Destroys 500 Schools in Gaza

CrossFireArabia
August 7, 2025

In its latest report “Gaza: Israeli School Strikes Magnify Civilian Peril”, Human Rights Watch states that hundreds of Israeli attacks since October 2023 have struck over 500 school buildings through out the Gaza Strip.

These schools, used as shelters for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced since the Israeli war on the enclave, have since become killing fields. Many people living there continued to be killed because of the strikes.

The report stated the Israeli forces’ deadly attacks on schools sheltering Palestinian civilians highlight the absence of safe places for displaced people, the vast majority of Gaza’s population.

Human Rights Watch added the Israeli attacks is sure to contribute to the disruption of access to education for many years, as repair and reconstruction of schools can require significant resources and time.

See: Full Report

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Britain Hires US Jet to Spy Over Gaza

CrossFireArabia
August 7, 2025

The British military has secretly hired a US private company to conduct aerial surveillance over Gaza in search of Israeli soldier prisoners, according to The Times.

Due to a shortage of available RAF reconnaissance planes, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) turned to a Nevada-based firm, Straight Flight Nevada Commercial Leasing LLC. The company is a subsidiary of Sierra Nevada Corporation, one of the largest US military contractors.

The aircraft used, a Boeing Beech King Air 350i registered as N6147U, flew over southern Gaza on July 28. Its flight path was unintentionally revealed after the crew failed to switch off the transponder. This mistake exposed the plane’s presence over Khan Yunis, raising questions about Britain’s role in supporting Israeli operations.

Two UK defence sources confirmed to The Times that the government is paying for the aircraft and its missions. The plane is contractor-owned and operated, meaning British pilots are not flying it. The MoD has declined to disclose the cost or duration of the contract.

Sources say the MoD’s own fleet of Shadow R1 aircraft, which previously flew over Gaza, is either undergoing maintenance or assigned to other missions. One source described the outsourcing as a “privatization” of military intelligence and called it “shocking.”

“This is about supporting Israel,” a senior British military official told The Times. “Instead of sending a message that we’re pulling back, we’re hiring American contractors to do the job.”

Between December 2023 and July 2025, the RAF’s Shadow fleet reportedly carried out over 600 surveillance flights over Gaza. Intelligence gathered during those missions was shared with Israel to allegely help locate israeli soldier prisoners according to the Quds News Network.

News

Open Letter to End The Gaza Genocide

CrossFireArabia
August 6, 2025

What follows below is an open letter in the British Lancet called “Break The Selective Silence on The Genocide in Gaza.”

Substantial and well-documented evidence indicates a catastrophic public health emergency in Gaza (appendix pp 1–5), marked by severe food insecurity and alarming levels of malnutrition-related deaths.1 Life expectancy at birth reportedly declined by approximately 35 years in 2024.2 This represents a greater collapse in longevity than that recorded during the genocide in Rwanda, where life expectancy at birth declined from age 42·9 years in 1993 to age 12·2 years in 1994.3

Palestinian children have been disproportionately affected. Since October 7, 2023, Gaza has recorded more child deaths than any other conflict zone and has the highest number of children with amputations per person in the world.4 The health-care system has also been systematically dismantled. Between October, 2023 and May, 2025, there were 720 documented attacks on health-care targets, including 125 health facilities, 34 hospitals, and 186 ambulances.5 Gaza has recorded the highest numbers of health-care worker fatalities (over 1400 deaths), UN staff deaths (295 deaths), and journalist fatalities (212 deaths) in any recent conflict zone.6

Starvation is being used repeatedly and relentlessly as a weapon of war.7 Leading human rights organisations, UN agencies, and UN Special Rapporteurs have officially recognised the genocide in Gaza.8 This position is also supported by a broad and distinguished group of genocide scholars.9 However, most public health, medical, and social science associations have either remained silent or issued vague statements—a response that contrasts sharply with their rapid and vocal support in other conflicts, such as with Ukraine.10 This pattern suggests a selectively empathic response: a tendency to express solidarity with people who are perceived as being part of a so-called in-group and neglect those classified as an out-group based on nationality, ethnicity, religion, or geopolitical alignment.11

To challenge this selective silence, we issued an open letter urging professional and academic associations in the fields of health care, public health, and the social sciences to publicly recognise the genocide in Gaza and to revise their official positions accordingly (appendix pp 6–20).12 Within days, the letter gathered over 3300 signatures, including 1300 from academics and professionals. Moreover, the initiative prompted three major public health associations—the European Public Health Alliance, the European Public Health Associations, and the World Federation of Public Health Association, who represent over 5 million health professionals globally—to issue a joint statement acknowledging the genocide.13

The genocide in Gaza is a defining ethical test for the global public health community, social scientists, and academic associations. Silence is not an option. As scholars and health professionals, we face a stark choice: either we uphold our collective ethical responsibility and speak out to prevent further mass violence and starvation, or we will be remembered for our selective silence and inaction during one of the most urgent moral and public health crises of our time.

Reliefweb

News

‘Aid Trickle’ Mean People Die Before Reaching Hospitals

CrossFireArabia
August 6, 2025

Children in Gaza are dying not just from hunger, but from the total collapse of the systems meant to protect them, UN agencies warned on Tuesday.

With 96 per cent of households lacking clean water, many malnourished children are not surviving long enough to receive hospital care.

James Elder, Spokesperson for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), told a media briefing in Geneva that it would be a mistake to assume that the situation was improving.

“There’s a sense through the world’s press that things are improving,” he said. “But unless there is sustained humanitarian aid…there will be horrific results.”

He emphasised the scale of need: “When food comes in which supports 30,000 children, there are still 970,000 children not getting enough. It is a drop in the ocean.”

Aid still a trickle

The UN relief coordination office, OCHA, said that although unilateral pauses have allowed some aid into Gaza, the current trickle is vastly insufficient.

“There should be hundreds and hundreds of trucks entering Gaza every day, for months or years to come,” said Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesperson. “People are dying every day. This is a crisis, on the brink of famine.”

Thousands of tons of pre-funded aid remain stuck just outside the enclave, he added, as bureaucratic delays and lack of safe access continue to block distribution.

Urgent scale-up needed

In New York, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq also noted the impediments to bringing in and distributing sufficient aid.

“Massive food shortages continue to impact people’s chances for survival,” he said. “As malnutrition levels rise, children’s immune systems are weakened, hindering their development and growth far into the future.”

Last Thursday alone, 71 kitchens delivered over 270,000 hot meals across Gaza, including 10,000 to health facilities. But that figure falls far short of what’s needed to feed more than two million people.

“We need an urgent scale-up of supplies, as well as an environment that allows humanitarians to reach people in need safely, rapidly and efficiently,” Mr. Haq added.

Health challenges continue

Some medicine has entered Gaza in recent days, but supplies remain limited. Health workers continue to operate under extreme pressure and shortages.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 46 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome in July, including two deaths. The condition, which affects the nervous system, has been linked to compromised immunity, poor nutrition and hygiene-related infections.

The situation of pregnant women and nursing mothers is equally alarming. The UN reproductive health agency, UNFPA, said that 40 per cent of pregnant or breastfeeding women are suffering from severe malnutrition, with newborn deaths and stillbirths on the rise.

Meanwhile, three UN fuel tankers reached Gaza City on Monday. The fuel will power critical health, water and sanitation services, but OCHA stressed this only allows operations to run at “bare minimum” capacity according to UN News.