In Spite of Ceasefire Israel Kills 8 People Daily

Despite a month having passed since the ceasefire took effect in the Gaza Strip, Israel continues to commit genocide against Palestinian civilians through various means. It maintains conditions that devastate the lives of more than two million Palestinians and prevent any recovery from over 25 months of humanitarian catastrophe, in the midst of persistent international silence and failure to ensure protection and accountability.

Over the past four weeks, Euro-Med Monitor has documented the continued premeditated killing of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli army. An average of eight Palestinians are killed daily under the ongoing comprehensive blockade on the Gaza Strip, alongside a policy of deliberate starvation, deprivation of basic means of survival, obstruction of reconstruction, restrictions on movement, denial of medical treatment for the wounded and sick, and the deliberate hindrance of humanitarian aid. This situation represents a continuation of the ongoing crime of genocide against the population of the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army continues to violate the ceasefire daily through aerial and artillery bombardment, gunfire, and the ongoing destruction of homes and buildings, particularly in the eastern areas of Khan Yunis and Gaza City. These actions form part of a systematic approach to eroding the foundations of life in the Gaza Strip and denying its residents their most basic rights, in clear violation of international law.

    Israel is exploiting the absence of international oversight to reshape the geographical landscape of Gaza, using the ceasefire as a cover to make areas under its direct military control effectively uninhabitable, both now and in the future   

Since the ceasefire took effect on 10 October, the Israeli army has continued to kill Palestinian civilians, with 242 Palestinians killed, including 85 children, at a rate of more than eight deaths per day, and around 619 others injured, at more than 20 injuries per day. This clearly shows that Israel has not ceased its policy of killing and systematically targeting Palestinians.

In the absence of any effective international monitoring mechanism to enforce the ceasefire, Israel continues to commit violations on the ground by excluding the areas it controls, which make up over 50 per cent of the Gaza Strip, from the scope of the agreement. It has continued to carry out bombing and destruction operations even in the absence of active fighting.

Israel is exploiting the absence of international oversight to reshape the geographical landscape of Gaza, using the ceasefire as a cover to make areas under its direct military control effectively uninhabitable, both now and in the future. Euro-Med Monitor stresses that these actions are not merely violations of the agreement, but in effect transform the truce into a tool for expanding control and inflicting comprehensive, long-term destruction.

Israel continues to administer a deliberate policy of starvation in the Gaza Strip, having blocked the entry of approximately 70 per cent of the aid required under the agreement. It also controls the type of goods allowed in, systematically restricting essential food items such as meat and dairy products while flooding the markets with calorie-dense but nutrient-poor products. This maintains the population in a state of controlled, chronic hunger, without addressing its causes or severe health consequences, and without visibly displaying the acute physical signs of malnutrition.

The World Food Programme stated in a report issued on 7 November that hunger in Gaza has reached devastating levels, noting a 20 per cent increase in child malnutrition rates compared to last year, along with a shortage of routine vaccinations for one in five children due to the collapse of the health system.

Israel continues to close the Rafah crossing and block movement in both directions, restricting the movement of civilians, including the wounded and sick, and hindering the implementation of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement.

These actions are not isolated incidents but part of a systematic pattern indicating a clear policy by the Israeli political and military leadership to use the ceasefire as a cover to continue genocide against Gaza’s residents. By maintaining a disguised military assault and perpetuating killing, starvation, and systematic destruction, Israel exploits the absence of international will to protect civilians and hold perpetrators accountable.

Euro-Med Monitor warns of a grave development: the dismantling of the Gaza Strip’s geographical unity, turning it into an isolated and uninhabitable area. This risks entrenching a permanent geographical and demographic division and pushing the population towards forced displacement as the only means of survival.

The continued silence of the international community and the failure to activate accountability mechanisms provide Israel with practical cover to continue committing genocide, albeit at a slower pace, as part of a consistent policy aimed at eliminating the Palestinian presence in the Gaza Strip.

The international community must take immediate practical steps to ensure genuine protection for Palestinian civilians, secure the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip, and bring an immediate and comprehensive end to the illegal blockade. All crossings must be opened for the movement of people and goods, including the sick and wounded, under the supervision of the United Nations and its relevant agencies.

Safe, sufficient, and regular access to humanitarian aid must be guaranteed, particularly for essential items such as food, medicine, fuel, and supplies needed to restore health and basic services. It is imperative to prevent Israel from continuing to control the quantity and quality of aid or obstruct its delivery.

Euro-Med Monitor stresses the need to ensure the safe return of all forcibly displaced persons to their homes and original places of residence within the Gaza Strip and rejects any arrangements or projects that would entrench forced displacement or impose isolation zones or so-called “humanitarian zones” as substitutes for their original homes.

The deployment of an effective international mission under the United Nations is required to monitor Israeli conduct, document violations, and provide a protective presence that would help safeguard civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Euro-Med Monitor urges all states to halt the export and import of weapons and military or security equipment to and from Israel, and to suspend any military or security cooperation with it, in fulfilment of their obligation to prevent genocide and avoid contributing to war crimes or crimes against humanity.

All states and regional organisations, particularly states parties to the Genocide Convention, must take effective political, economic, and legal measures, including imposing targeted sanctions and suspending partnership and cooperation agreements with Israel, until it complies with its obligations under international law. States must also support the investigations of the International Criminal Court and implement the relevant orders of the International Court of Justice, while exercising their national jurisdictions to prosecute those involved in genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Gaza, and ensure that such individuals are not afforded any safe haven.

Euro-Med Monitor calls for the establishment of an international mechanism for compensation and reconstruction to guarantee redress for civilian victims and the rebuilding of homes, infrastructure, and vital facilities, in a manner that does not restore Israeli control over resources, crossings, or freedom of movement.

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No Solace in Cheney’s Death

By Ismail Al Sharif

I did what I thought was my duty – Dick Cheney.

Because of him, more than five million people were killed, and more than 38 million displaced from their homes in what was falsely called the “War on Terror.” And now, the man, mainly responsible for those crimes has passed away peacefully surrounded by his family, after his heart stopped beating: And I thought he had no heart. If there were any justice in this world, he should have died alone in a cold, empty cell.

Dick Cheney, Vice-President to George W. Bush, who effectively wore the mantle of the President, the true ruler behind the scenes, has passed away. Cheney is considered the chief architect of the expansion of American militarism and one of the most bloodthirsty criminals in modern history. He cast his heavy shadow on one of humanity’s darkest periods, leaving behind an indelible stain of shame on the face of humankind.

Cheney was one of the key architects of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC), which laid the foundation for the idea that the United States should be the sole dominant power in the world, leading a unipolar system through which it would dictate its will to other nations using economic pressure and military force. This approach persists to this day, as America has never ceased waging wars and instigating conflicts since then.

The events of 11 September, 2001, presented him with a golden opportunity to implement his agenda. His influence within the Bush administration soared to unprecedented levels, and he was the one who coined the term “dark side,” which granted intelligence agencies broad powers to spy on citizens and use torture in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He was the first to promote the lie that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion, claiming that the overthrow of President Saddam Hussein was essential for American national security, while his true aim was to seize Iraqi oil. Meanwhile, his company, Halliburton, was reaping enormous profits from the war and securing lucrative contracts, leaving him with a fortune estimated at $150 million.

When one of his top aides, Joseph Wilson, publicly questioned his account of Iraq, Cheney retaliated with a covert act of revenge: Leaking the identity of his wife, Valerie Plame, a CIA operative, effectively ending her career. Lewis Libby was later convicted of obstruction of justice and perjury before receiving a presidential pardon from Donald Trump.

Cheney was also the architect of Paul Bremer’s appointment as President Bush’s special envoy to Iraq after the invasion. Bremer meticulously implemented the neoconservative agenda, privatizing state-owned enterprises and reversing the 1972 nationalization of oil, granting international oil companies sweeping concessions for exploration and investment. Cheney was rewarded by having control of the oil. A 2003 CNN report concluded the war in Iraq was about oil, and that the real winners were the major oil companies.

History later proved that all of Cheney’s justifications for the war were false. No weapons of mass destruction were found, while millions of children and women perished, and thousands of American soldiers were killed defending the interests of the elite and Zionists in a senseless and unjustified war. Thus, Cheney became one of the most controversial figures in modern American history.

Cheney died, but his legacy did not. The ideology of hegemony and militarism that he instilled still governs power politics today. His body is gone, but he left behind a generation of monsters who continue to implement his agendas of murder, tyranny, and greed. Perhaps the recent war on Gaza is the truest testament to the fact that his ideology was not buried with him.

There is no solace in Cheney’s death, for his crimes are too horrific to be contained by fire, just as is the case with Netanyahu and all those who follow in his footsteps.

This article by Ismail Al Sharif was originally written in Arabic for the Addustour daily.

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150 Women Raped in North Darfur – NGO

More than 150 Sudanese women were subjected to rape and sexual harassment while fleeing the city of El-Fasher in North Darfur, a local civil group said Friday.

Adam Regal, a spokesman for the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur, told the Sudan Tribune that militants from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) chased fleeing civilians along escape routes, detaining some in the area of Qarni, where thousands of stranded people remain trapped, including children separated from their families.

He said more than 1,300 people have been injured by gunfire, while over 1,210 children are suffering from malnutrition, and 700 elderly individuals are in critical health conditions.

Regal added that the number of survivors who managed to reach Tawila town, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of El-Fasher, has exceeded 15,000, many of whom are in poor health due to injuries and violence they suffered during their escape.

He urged international and humanitarian organizations to provide life-saving medicine, food, safe water sources, shelter materials, sanitation facilities, psychological support and safe spaces for children traumatized by the horrific scenes they witnessed along the way.

Tawila, which has already received thousands of displaced civilians in recent months, is now hosting more than 1 million internally displaced persons, Regal said, warning that the situation requires urgent humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs.

The RSF captured El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, on Oct. 26 and committed massacres against civilians, according to local and international organizations, amid warnings that the assault could entrench the geographical partition of Sudan.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that more than 81,000 people have been displaced from El-Fasher and its surroundings since the RSF takeover.

Since April 15, 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been locked in a war that regional and international mediations have failed to end. The conflict has killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others according to Anadolu.

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Iran Denies Role to Assassinate Israeli Envoy

Iran denied allegations Friday that it attempted to assassinate Israeli ambassador to Mexico, Einat Kranz-Neiger

It called the claims “a fabricated lie” to damage Tehran’s relations with Mexico.

The Iranian Embassy said the reports were “a major falsehood and media fabrication intended to harm the friendly and historic relations between Iran and Mexico.”

“Iran categorically rejects these baseless allegations,” it said, stressing that “we would never harm the good image of our Mexican friends. Betraying Mexico’s interests would be like betraying our own. Respect for Mexican law remains our top priority.”

The denial followed a report by US-based news outlet Axios, which cited unnamed American and Israeli officials claiming that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force attempted to assassinate the Israeli ambassador earlier this year.

Axios said Mexican security forces allegedly foiled the plot, a claim that Israel’s Foreign Ministry later said was accurate.

Mexico also has rejected the allegations. The Foreign Ministry said there were no reports of an attack on Kranz-Neiger and denied security forces had thwarted any such operation.​​​​​​​

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterates its commitment to maintaining open and continuous communication with all diplomatic missions accredited in our country,” it said, adding that Mexico remains committed to “respectful and harmonious cooperation with all security institutions” within the framework of national sovereignty according to Anadolu.

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Turkish Court Issues Arrest Warrants For Netanyahu, 36 Israeli Officials

Hamas welcomed a Turkish court decision, Friday, to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 36 other officials on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity over Israel’s deadly war on the Gaza Strip.

The warrants issued by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office target senior Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Israel Katz, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Army Chief Eyal Zamir, and Israeli Naval Forces Commander David Saar Salama.

“This commendable step reflects the genuine positions of the Turkish people and leadership in standing firmly by justice, humanity, and the bonds of brotherhood that unite them with our oppressed Palestinian people, who have faced and continue to face one of the most brutal genocidal wars in modern history at the hands of the fascist occupation leaders,” Hamas said in a statement.

It called on world governments and judicial bodies to “issue legal warrants to pursue the leaders of the Zionist (Israeli) occupation wherever they are, and to bring them before courts to hold them accountable for their crimes against humanity.”

On Nov. 2024, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Israel has killed close to 69,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,000 others in a brutal assault in Gaza since October 2023, before the offensive came to a halt under a ceasefire deal that took effect on Oct. 10.

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