Palestine

From the diaspora to the occupied territories and the Palestinian minority in Israel, left-wing forces have played a major role in organizing popular struggles for democratic rights in Palestine. A new Jacobin podcast series looks at their impact and legacy.

From the diaspora to the occupied territories and the Palestinian minority in Israel, left-wing forces have played a major role in organizing popular struggles for democratic rights in Palestine. A new Jacobin podcast series looks at their impact and legacy.

An Israeli special forces unit opened fire near an International Committee of the Red Cross field hospital in Gaza on Monday, killing two Palestinians, including a journalist, and abducting Dr. Marwan Al-Hams, head of field hospitals in the enclave, according to reports.

In the last year and a half, thousands of left-wing American Jews have protested Israel’s crimes against Palestinians. They are taking part in a long tradition of anti-Zionist Jewish radicalism in the United States.

Israeli authorities have refused to renew the visa of Jonathan Whittall, Head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territories, following his outspoken condemnation of Israel’s actions against starving civilians in Gaza.

Whittall, who resides in Jerusalem and frequently visits Gaza, has repeatedly denounced the catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the besieged Palestinian enclave. In recent statements, he described Israel’s conduct as a deliberate attempt to erase Palestinian life.

“What we are witnessing is a massacre. Hunger is being used as a weapon. This is forced displacement. This is a death sentence for people who are simply trying to survive,” Whittall said on Sunday.

“All these elements appear to form a process aimed at wiping out Palestinian life from Gaza,” he added.

At least five Palestinians, including one woman, have been killed in an Israeli missile attack on a water desalination plant in al-Rimal neigbourhood in northern Gaza, Wafa news agency is reporting.

Gaza is facing severe water shortages due to months of Israeli attacks targeting water infrastructure. The Gaza government press office has said the attacks are aimed at "turning water into a tool of genocide and a weapon of slow killing".

FFC’s Handala Launches from Gallipoli, Begins Final Leg of Its Journey to Break the Blockade [despite two disturbing incidents] - Freedom Flotilla (2025-07-20)

https://freedomflotilla.org/2025/07/20/ffcs-handala-launches-from-gallipoli-begins-final-leg-of-its-journey-to-break-the-blockade-for-the-children-of-gaza/
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>> Just hours before launching, #Handala was the target of two deeply alarming incidents that appear to be deliberate sabotage intended to obstruct our mission and harm our crew.

>> On the night of July 19 or early morning July 20, a rope was discovered tightly wound around the boat’s propeller. This could not have occurred through normal use or by accident...

>> ... on the morning of July 20, the truck sent to deliver fresh water to our boat for washing and cooking on the journey, carried not water, but sulfuric acid. It splashed on a crew member’s leg, causing chemical burns. Another crew member who smelled the substance and opened the container sustained burns to his hand.

#FreedomFlotilla #BreakTheSiege @palestine@a.gup.pe

Gallipoli, Italy, July 20, 2025 — The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) announces that Handala, our civilian aid boat, launched today from Gallipoli, Italy, beginning the final leg of its journey to Gaza. This marks a determined step in our ongoing effort to confront and break Israel’s illegal and deadly blockade of the Palestinian people in Gaza. Handala carries life-saving humanitarian aid and a message of solidarity from people across the world refusing to stay silent as Gaza is starved, bombed, and buried under rubble.

SUSPECTED SABOTAGE JUST HOURS BEFORE DEPARTURE Just hours before launching, Handala was the target of two deeply alarming incidents that appear to be deliberate sabotage intended to obstruct our mission and harm our crew.

On the night of July 19 or early morning July 20, a rope was discovered tightly wound around the boat’s propeller. This could not have occurred through normal use or by accident. It was a direct threat to the safety of our vessel and its ability to sail.

Even more dangerous, on the morning of July 20, the truck sent to deliver fresh water to our boat for washing and cooking on the journey, carried not water, but sulfuric acid. It splashed on a crew member’s leg, causing chemical burns. Another crew member who smelled the substance and opened the container sustained burns to his hand.

We have video footage of the individuals who delivered this dangerous substance. We call for an immediate investigation and full accountability for these acts.

Despite this suspected sabotage, we remain undeterred. The attempt to harm our team and silence this mission will not succeed.

https://archive.is/k3m9u

A few weeks ago, our teams in Gaza started sending alarming photos of emaciated babies. More than 50 children died of malnutrition during Israel’s total blockade between March and May, according to the WHO, and malnutrition rates are still rising rapidly. Since January 24, UNRWA has screened over 242,000 children at its clinics and medical points, covering more than half of Gaza’s under-5 population. One in 10 children screened is malnourished.

One of them is Ahlam, only seven months old. Her family has been displaced every month since the war began, always searching for safety that doesn’t exist. Like many babies in Gaza, her tiny body is weakened; her immune system has been damaged by trauma, repeated displacement, lack of clean water, poor hygiene, and very little food.

In Gaza, therapeutic food and medicine are in desperately short supply. Israeli authorities have imposed a tight siege, blocking the entry of food, medical supplies, nutritional aid, and even hygiene items like soap. Although the blockade is sometimes eased, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the primary humanitarian organization in Gaza, has not been allowed to bring in aid for over four months.

Last week, Salam, another baby girl, died of malnutrition. She was only a few months old. By the time she reached our clinic, it was too late.

A touching song

In Gaza City, Palestine,
Just standing by the sea
Here I was born a refugee,
But no refuge could they find for me.
Well I’ve been trapped here all my days
Three borders closed surrounding me
And soldiers sitting in the sea
And bombs a-falling down on me.
And there’s no place to hide,
My home isn’t even safe inside -
Nowhere to run, to play,
Where I can be a child:
Just for one minute,
Just an hour of my troubled days,
Let this flying kite take back the sky for me.
This kite that’s flying over me
Seeing things that I can’t see,
Saying all the things that I would say
If I could leave this place;
No walls could stop me dreaming,
No lies could lock me down,
And all the words in all the world
Couldn’t stop me from roaming around.
This kite that’s flying over me,
It’s just paper string and wood,
And a picture that I painted
And I hope it’s understood.
Will you carry all my dreaming up towards the sun,
Will you show the world that freedom means the same to everyone.
All it needs is the right wind blowing
Just one breath from the sea,
And where bombs and bullets have been falling
I send my kite soaring.
It may seem a simple thing
Just holding on to a piece of string –
But don’t forget I’ve been holding on
For all of my short years,
And my mother and my father
Held on long before my time.
Just for one minute,
Just an hour of my troubled days,
Let this flying kite take back the sky for me.