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Last October, Israeli occupation government has legalized two bills banning UNRWA from practicing its work within the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank. These ban laws will come to effect this month, as UN officials stated that the agency is preparing to halt its operations in the occupied territories. Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Sharren Haskel, rejected to explain the method that laws will be employed with during a speech last December.
CrossFireArabia
The Gaza police chief and his aide were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the southern city of Khan Younis on Thursday, the Interior Ministry said.
A ministry statement said Mahmoud Salah and his deputy Hussam Shahwan were killed in a dawn strike by the Israeli army.
Several people were reportedly killed in the attack.
The ministry accused the Israeli army of “deliberately seeking to spread chaos in Gaza and exacerbate the humanitarian suffering of its citizens.”
It called the killing of the two police officials “a blatant disregard to international law” by targeting the police force “despite its role as a civil protection body,” according to Anadolu.
There was no comment from Israel on the attack.
Despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, the Israeli army has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed over 45,550 victims, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants 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.
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Mohamed Jabaly, Palestinian filmmaker from Gaza, has lived through extraordinary circumstances. Born during the first intifada and raised during the second, Jabaly’s life has been shaped by the relentless turbulence in his homeland.
Now residing in Tromso, Norway, his journey is a testament to resilience, displacement, and the power of storytelling.
Jabaly’s path to Tromso, however, was not a straightforward one. “Tromso and Gaza, in the first place, are twin cities,” he tells Anadolu, referring to the long-standing relationship between the two. In 2013, a Norwegian delegation screened one of his short films in Gaza, marking the beginning of a meaningful connection. “They invited me in 2014 to visit Tromso and be a part of the film festival there.”
However, life in Gaza rarely follows a predictable script. The summer of 2014 brought a 51-day assault on the blockaded enclave, delaying Jabaly’s departure. Amid the chaos, he joined an ambulance unit, capturing the harrowing reality of frontline responders. This footage became his first feature documentary, Ambulance.
“Shortly after the attacks, I traveled to Tromso,” he recalls. “What was supposed to be a one-month visit turned into seven years.”
Two weeks after his arrival, the Rafah border closed, trapping him in Norway. “I decided not to seek asylum. Instead, I applied for an artist visa, and that’s when this whole journey began.”
Starting from below zero
Life in Tromso was a stark contrast to Gaza. Jabaly describes his first winter in Norway with characteristic candor. “It was dark, below zero, and everything was new. I had never touched snow in my life,” he says. Adapting to this unfamiliar environment was not just a physical challenge but an emotional one as well.
“Being far from my family, my friends, my city … that was the biggest challenge,” he says. With limited resources, he relied on the generosity of friends who hosted him. Volunteering at film and music festivals allowed him to contribute to his new community while earning small amounts to survive. “Norway is an expensive country, but I managed to stand on my feet. I started from below zero, not just with the temperature but in life.”
Capturing the human impact of displacement
Jabaly’s second feature documentary, Life is Beautiful, chronicles his experience of being caught between two worlds: the homeland he could not return to and the foreign land he had to call home. “It puts new names and faces into the struggle of displacement and statelessness,” he says. The film not only highlights the challenges of being a Palestinian in exile but also raises awareness about the broader human struggle of stateless individuals worldwide.
“In Palestine, I was always Palestinian. In Gaza, I was always Gazan. Suddenly, I’m considered stateless,” he explains, touching on the complex legal and emotional terrain of his identity. “I didn’t make the film just to make a film. I wanted to shed light on our human struggle and fight the term ‘statelessness.'”
The indelible mark of Gaza
For Jabaly, Gaza is not just a place; it is an integral part of his identity. “You cannot escape from your identity,” he asserts. “Being from Gaza became even more special today with what’s happening. But all Palestinians share the same struggle. We try to raise awareness and insist on our freedom.”
This deep connection fuels his work. “If life had been normal, I wouldn’t need to make films about freedom. But I was born into a struggle, and that’s what drives me to tell our stories.”
Looking ahead
Despite the heavy burden of his past and the ongoing challenges facing Gaza, Jabaly remains hopeful. “I imagine having a film school in Gaza in five years,” he shares. “If life gave me normalcy, I would build things. But for now, I feel compelled to make films about war and our human struggle.”
As for his immediate plans, Jabaly’s work continues to be shaped by the present-day realities of Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 45,000 people since Oct. 7, 2023. “It’s difficult to be creative when your mind is occupied with worry. But we have to insist on our narrative and raise awareness for future generations.”
‘Life is beautiful’
Jabaly’s unwavering optimism shines through, even in the face of despair. “I named my film Life is Beautiful because I hope one day life will be beautiful. If not today, maybe tomorrow, or next year.” It is a sentiment that encapsulates his journey and his vision — a reminder that even amidst the darkest times, hope persists for a new dawn.
CrossFireArabia
Yedioth Ahronoth acknowledged that after nearly 15 months since the start of the war on Gaza, Israel continues to pay a heavy price in wounded and dead every time it takes a step forward.
The newspaper continues that “…no one really understands the reason” why the “army takes two steps back.” It noted that every time the army announces the “cleansing” of an area, it states that the “terrorists” (Palestinian resistance fighters) return to it.
The newspaper asked: “What is happening behind the scene? After 15 months since the start of the war, we have proven to ourselves, to the enemy in Gaza, and to the entire Middle East, that we are failing to accomplish the mission.”
The Jewish daily therefore poses the other question and states: “Isn’t it a crime to send our sons over and over again to shed their blood in the same area,” stating that don’t “Israelis deserve senior leaders at the political level who know how to bear responsibility, and know how to determine policy, without excuses and without cover-up.”
This is while Maariv, another Jewish daily acknowledged that “Israel has begun to feel drowning in the Gaza quagmire and intellectual stagnation regarding the future,” adding: “We are paying a very heavy price.”
CrossFireArabia
Different Israeli media confirmed about 1000 soldiers are wounded and registered in the Ministry of War’s Rehabilitation Department every month. This is due to Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority (KAN) reported that more than 13,500 Israeli soldiers wounded have been registered in the Ministry of War’s Rehabilitation Department since 7 October, 2023.
It explained that 51% of the wounded are under the age of 30, noting that 43% of the wounded suffer from psychological trauma.
Last August, the number of disabled in the occupation army who received treatment in the Ministry’s Rehabilitation Department from all the wars that Israel fought reached 72,056. These include soldiers and officers who suffered from mental and psychological disorders and trauma. It pointed however that more than 10,000 were added during the war on Gaza.
The Israeli Ministry of War estimated that by the end of 2024, the Rehabilitation Department will have to care for about 82,000 disabled soldiers, adding more than 20,000 wounded and disabled as a result of the present ongoing war on Gaza.
However, the occupation army has only admitted – according to its website – to only 5,550 soldiers and officers that have been injured since the beginning of the war, 2,504 of whom since the start of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip on 27 October, 2023.
The Israeli occupation army, supported by the United States and Europe, continued its aggression on the Gaza Strip since 7 October, 2023, where its aircraft have bombed the vicinity of hospitals, buildings, towers and homes of Palestinian civilians and destroyed them over the heads of their residents, and prevented the entry of water, food, medicine and fuel.
The aggression left about 154,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and famine that killed dozens of children and elderly people, in one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world according Quds Press.
