Palestine

"Madleen, named after a Palestinian fisher, is set to sail today to Gaza to help break the aid blockade imposed by the Israeli army. Stressing its peaceful intentions and nature, the Flotilla announced itself clear of any forms of weaponry.
On board, the team includes: Alana Hadid, Susan Sarandon, Daniel Machover, Abby Martin, Brian Eno, Max Porter, Aiysha Hart, Greta Thunberg, Liam Cunningham, Indya Moore, Guy Pearce, Rahma Zein, Maxine Peake, Melissa Barrera, Lisa Moorish, Nicole Jenes, Juliet Stevenson, Misan Harriman, Khalid Abdalla, Nan Goldin, Susan Abulhawa, Del Naja, and Carice Van.
The ship carries life-saving aid, including baby formula, medical supplies, and more.

@palestine@a.gup.pe @israel

Now, if the GHF’s Gaza debut is any indication, the militarised distribution of food will continue to provide opportunities for mass killing as crowds of starving Palestinians gather around aid hubs. The phrase “shooting fish in a barrel” comes to mind – as if the Gaza Strip weren’t enough of a barrel already.

To be sure, the idea of luring starving people to specific geographical points to facilitate Israel’s genocidal conquest is singularly diabolical. And as the US persists in enabling Israel’s fish-in-a-barrel approach, any remotely moral world would refuse to stomach the arrangement any longer.

Eyewitnesses have filmed Israeli military excavators in northern Gaza demolishing the Noura Al-Kaabi Dialysis Centre – the only specialised dialysis facility in Gaza. It’s the latest facility Israel has destroyed or blocked off as it forces Gaza’s population to the south.

The Israeli couple found the Family Hotel Agoncev on booking.com and arrived last Monday. For most of the stay, the two didn’t see anyone at reception except one man on the first day who gave them the code to the hotel and their room.

“When we went to breakfast, we said there was no toilet paper, and they said they would sort it. We then left for the whole day, and when we came back that evening, there was still no toilet paper. There was no one at reception, but they had left a phone number, so we called and called and called. My husband sent a message.”

The next day, the couple left the hotel. On returning to Israel, Michael-Gayego’s husband saw the WhatsApp response:

'Not because we are Jews, because we are Israeli'

Since the incident, she and her husband have contacted booking.com – “We don’t want to give money to these kinds of people” – but have had no response. They also contacted the Bulgarian embassy in Israel and the Sofia police but have not heard from either.

from Middle East Eye June 1, 2025

"He later posted a clip of the confrontation on his X account, captioning it “Street justice” alongside the Irish and Palestinian flags.

As the referee declared McCorry the winner, the Irishman was draped in the Palestinian flag and used the announcement to repeat his message: “Free Palestine.” "

#NeverStopTalkingAboutPalestine

Sinwar had reasons for his grievances against the occupation. He was born into a refugee camp in Khan Younis, the child of parents whose home had been stolen by Zionists during the Nakba.[7] In 1967, when Sinwar was four years old, Israel took command of the Gaza Strip after the Six-Day War. Thereafter, Sinwar and his family were subjected to the daily humiliations of life under Israeli occupation.

In his young adulthood, he was detained by Israeli forces multiple times for involvement with student political groups, and by his early twenties, Sinwar was involved in armed resistance. According to Israeli courts and Western reporting, in this period of his life, he tortured and killed people—including two Israeli soldiers and twelve Palestinians whom he suspected of collaborating with Israel. Now once again, I’ll condemn torture. Genocide bad; torture bad. Bear in mind, however, that the information that led to Sinwar’s conviction was also extracted by Israeli “interrogation.” Meaning torture. Israeli forces torture Palestinian prisoners.

Sinwar spent the following twenty-two years in Israeli prisons, where he taught himself Hebrew, studied Jewish history, wrote a novel, and once led a hunger strike of 1,600 prisoners. In 2011, his brother had him freed through a hostage swap in which Israel traded one Israeli soldier for over 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. A hostage swap. That’s as deep as I’m going to dive into Yahya Sinwar’s biography, because I have absolutely no qualifications or additional information with which to dig deeper. But even from these surface-level facts, reported by every mainstream Western outlet, you can understand Sinwar’s logic when it comes to October 7th. He got free through a hostage deal, so maybe another one could free his 5,000 Palestinian comrades who were still being held in Israeli detention on October 7th, 2023. He was trying to pay it forward. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that Sinwar was more motivated by a desire to free his people than to kill a bunch of Jews.

By Elis Gjevori
Published date: 1 June 2025 01:38 BST

"As part of the agreement, Hamas has agreed to release 10 living Israeli captives and the remains of 18 others, in exchange for a number of Palestinian prisoners to be agreed upon.

However, the group proposed that the releases be carried out in phases: four living captives would be freed on day one, two on day 30, and the final four on day 60. The remains of Israeli captives would also be returned in stages - six on day 10, another six on day 30, and the final six on day 50."

By Katherine Hearst
Published date: 1 June 2025 09:22 BST

Sabbah coordinates the Sameer Project with two other Palestinians living in the diaspora - California-based Lena Dajani, who organises medical aid, and an anonymous activist who runs the Instagram page, ‘Translating Falasteen’.

The trio have raised millions of dollars and coordinated with people on the ground in Gaza to respond to requests for food, medicine and emergency aid via Whatsapp groups.

With a skeleton team and a strong web of contacts, the group is agile and flexible in their approach, able to adapt quickly to the daily flurry of requests.

A recent survey of Israeli Jews reveals a growing comfort with the idea of forcibly expelling Palestinians – both from Gaza and from within Israel's borders. The poll also found that a significant minority supports the mass killing of civilians in enemy cities captured by the Israeli army.

By GIADA ZAMPANO and SALVATORE CAVALLI
Updated 11:18 AM EDT, June 1, 2025

"CATANIA, Italy (AP) — Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg and other 11 activists set sail on Sunday afternoon for Gaza on a ship aimed at “breaking Israel’s siege” of the devastated territory, organizers said.

The sailing boat Madleen – operated by activist group Freedom Flotilla Coalition — departed from the Sicilian port of Catania, in southern Italy.

It will try to reach the shores of the Gaza Strip in an effort to bring in some aid and raise “international awareness” over the ongoing humanitarian crisis, the activists said at a press conference on Sunday, ahead of departure. "

Lorenzo Tondo in Jerusalem and agencies Sun 1 Jun 2025 06.04 EDT

"Thousands of people headed toward the distribution site hours before dawn. As they approached the site, Israeli forces ordered them to disperse and come back later, witnesses said. When the crowds reached the Flag Roundabout, about 1km away, at about 3am, Israeli forces opened fire, the witnesses said."

Mohammed Abu Teaima, 33, said he saw Israeli forces open fire and kill his cousin and another woman as they were heading to the hub. He said his cousin was shot in his chest and died at the scene. Many others were wounded, including his brother-in-law, he said."

A Palestinian father who had lost nine of his 10 children in an Israeli airstrike has died from wounds sustained in the same attack, local health officials have said.

Hamdi al-Najjar, 40, a doctor at Nasser hospital, was critically injured when Israeli forces bombed the family house in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on 23 May, killing nine of his children. He had just returned home after accompanying his wife Alaa, a paediatrician at the Nasser medical complex, to work when the building was struck. He had initially survived alongside his son Adam, 11, who is still in hospital.

May 31, 2025, 5:00 AM EDT
By Hala Gorani and Shira Pinson

"TEL AVIV — Barely noticeable only a few months ago, opposition is growing about fresh Israeli operations in Gaza even among the country’s military reservists, some of whom have publicly called out the government for what they say is an immoral and politically motivated decision to continue the war."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/30568189

June 1st, we’ll attempt to, again, sail towards Gaza and to try to break the siege and open up a humanitarian corridor by delivering aid like food and medical supplies,” says Thunberg. A similar mission to sail to occupied Gaza in May was aborted after a flotilla dubbed the “Conscience” suffered two drone attacks while in international waters.

“Keep your eyes on deck, continue flooding the streets, organize, boycott, and do everything in your power to stand for Palestine,” Thunberg ends her message, readying to set sail for Gaza from Catania, Sicily, on Sunday with aid supplies and several high-profile activists alongside her.