Documentation of the Israeli abuse of power, mistreatment of humanity, and perpetration of the genocidal war on the Palestinian people in the  Gaza Strip.

*** 

UN Warns Against Use of Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, for Forcible Displacement

 

27 Killed, 85 Injured, Which Brings the Death Toll of the Israeli Genocidal War on the Gaza Strip to 52,787 and the Injuries to 119,349

 

May 9, 2025

***

Editor's Notes:  

 

Here are some initial (not final) statistics, which show the Israeli war crimes against humanity, during the current Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, based on the reliable data reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza:

 

By May 9, 2025, the initial death toll of Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza Strip is 66,281+.  

 

This includes the accounted for deaths (52,787), those who are still missing under the rubble (an estimate of at least 13,494+). 

 

By May 9, 2025, the documented injuries exceeded 119,349.

 

By May 9, 2025, according to news report, 963 Palestinians who were killed, 6,743 who were injured, and 12,014*, who were abducted by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, since October 7, 2023.  

 

***

 

(The Palestine Information Center reported that there were 925 deaths and 14,500 kidnappings but without mentioning how many were released, by February 27, 2025).  

 

Note About the Missing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip:

 

On February 26, 2025, the Palestinian Center for Political and Development Studies announced that the number of the missing in the Gaza Strip has exceeded 14,000 people, including 2,000-3,000 held in Israeli occupation prisons, without releasing any information on their fate.

 

***

The Israeli blockade of Gaza Strip is engineering a famine to annihilate the Palestinian population, driving people to look for any food available by local charities, as seen above, file photo, May 9, 2025.	UN agencies warned about the Israeli use of humanitarian aid in Gaza as a tool of coercion to pressure civilians into forced displacement, amid Israel’s ongoing siege and military campaign, file photo, May 9, 2025.
27 Palestinians were killed, 85 were injured, mostly children, women, and elderly, by the Israeli genocidal air strikes on the Gaza Strip, which brings the death toll to 52,787 and the injuries to 119,349, by May 8, 2025.	27 Palestinians were killed, 85 were injured, mostly children, women, and elderly, by the Israeli genocidal air strikes on the Gaza Strip, by May 8, 2025.
1,000 Palestinians were killed, nearly 7,000 were injured, and more than 17,779, who were kidnapped by the Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, between October 7, 2023 and May 9, 2025.	The ongoing Israeli aggression on Tulkarem for the 103rd day resulted in the forced displacement of 4,200 families, comprising 25,000 citizens, total destruction of 400 homes, and partial destruction of 2,573 homes, by May 9, 2025.
Grieving the death of martyrs, who were massacred by the Israeli genocidal air strikes on displaced Palestinian families in their tents, in Gaza City, May 9, 2025.	Site of an Israeli genocidal air strike on a house in Al-Nusayrat, in central Gaza Strip, in which a mother and her infant child were killed and her husband and other children were injured, on May 9, 2025.
Site of an Israeli genocidal air strike on a UNRWA food distribution center in Jabalya, in northern Gaza Strip, part of the Israeli genocidal campaign to starve the Palestinian population, May 9, 2025.	As the tight Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip continues, food has become too scarce to find, as seen above, where starving Palestinians were trying to get some food from a local charity in Gaza City, on May 9, 2025.

***

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَـٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

"مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَٰلِكَ كَتَبْنَا عَلَىٰ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنَّهُ مَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسًا بِغَيْرِ نَفْسٍ أَوْ فَسَادٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَكَأَنَّمَا قَتَلَ النَّاسَ جَمِيعًا"  (الْمَائِدَةُ ، 5: 32).

"وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُّتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا وَغَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَلَعَنَهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ عَذَابًا عَظِيمًا" (النِّسَاءُ ، 4: 93).

"إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۖ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا ۚ فَإِذَا جَاءَ وَعْدُ الْآخِرَةِ لِيَسُوءُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَلِيَدْخُلُوا الْمَسْجِدَ كَمَا دَخَلُوهُ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَلِيُتَبِّرُوا مَا عَلَوْا تَتْبِيراً ‎(الإسْرَاءُ ، 17: 7). 

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

"Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul, unless for a soul, or for corruption in the land, it is as if he had killed humankind entirely" (The Holy Quran, Al-Ma-ida, 5: 32).

 

"And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell, wherein he will abide eternally, and Allah has become angry with him, and has cursed him, and has prepared for him a great torment" (Al-Nisa, 4: 93).

 

"If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, (you do it) to yourselves. Then, when the latter (final) promise came, they (your enemies) will sadden your faces, and to enter the Masjid (in Jerusalem), as they entered it the first time, and will destroy what they had taken over with (total) destruction (Al-Isra, 17: 7). 

***

While brutal force has been used to create Zionist Israel and sustain it thus far, Zionist claims to Palestine are false. Actually, from the five thousand years of known written human history, there has been a continuous Palestinian-Canaanite presence in the Holy Land. Despite the Zionist false claims, the ancient Israelites ruled part of the land for only 85 years (during the reign of Prophets David and Solomon , peace be upon them, and Solomon's son).

 

 After that, the Egyptians conquered Palestine-Canaan in 925 BC, followed by Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans, before the Arab Muslim rule, starting from 636 AD.

 

By the Time Jesus, peace be upon him, started his mission, the three population groups of Canaanites, Palestinians, and Israelites were melted together in religion and language. Most of them became Christians when Constantine converted in 313 AD. Then, most of them became Muslims in the 7th and 8th centuries AD.

 

So, Palestinian Muslims, Christians, and Jews are the ones who have the right to claim descent from ancient Israelites, Palestinians, and Canaanites, not Zionists from other continents.

 

No matter what the Zionists and their supporters do, they cannot change the will of God, Who promised the Holy Land to Abraham and his descendants, basically the Palestinian Muslims and Christians.

 

No matter how much persecution and aggression the Zionists and their supporters inflict upon the Palestinian people, they will never be able to force them out of the Holy Land, which Allah, praise to Him, promised for them, and kept His promise ever since.

 

This is a necessary brief background to understand the US-Backed Zionist Israeli continuous wars against the Arab nation generally, and the Palestinian people in particular, which included the wars of 1948, 1956, 1967, 1978, 1982, the brutal crushing of the two Uprisings (1987-1993 and 2000-2004), 2009, 2012, 2014, 2021, and the current genocidal war on Gaza (Since October 7, 2023), which has culminated a blockade of Gaza since 2007. In addition, the Israeli occupation and apartheid regime launched so many covert operations, raids, and air strikes on many Arab states since 1948.

 

The following news stories are just examples, not a systematic record, of the Israeli occupation government abuse, mistreatment, and violations of Palestinian human rights, on daily basis.

 

Killing and Injuring of Palestinians in Ghazza (Gaza) by Israeli Occupation Regime Forces

***

Medical sources: Gaza death toll surges to 52,787

GAZA, May 9, 2025 (WAFA, PIC) –

 

The death toll arising from the Israeli genocidal aggression on the Gaza Strip surged to 52,787 people, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza reported on Friday.

The Ministry announced that the death toll and the toll of casualties as a result of the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, which started on October 7, 2023, rose to 52,787 and 119,349 respectively.

 

The Ministry added that since Israel unilaterally ended the Gaza ceasefire agreement and resumed its aggression on the Strip on Tuesday, March 18, it has killed 2,678 and injured 7,308 others.

 

In the last 24 hours, the bodies of 27 slain Palestinians, including a body that was retrieved from the rubble, and 85 casualties were admitted to hospitals in the Strip.

Moreover, at least 10,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

 

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafa'h near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

K.F.

 

***

Multiple Palestinians killed, including infant, in Israeli airstrikes and shelling across Gaza

GAZA, May 9, 2025 (WAFA) —

 

Several Palestinians were killed and others wounded today as Israeli occupation forces launched a series of airstrikes and artillery attacks on various areas across the Gaza Strip, according to local sources.

 

In Gaza City, 23-year-old Dhiyaa Jihad Tayih succumbed to injuries sustained in a previous airstrike that targeted Al-Karama School in the Al-Tuffa'h neighborhood. Another civilian was killed in an Israeli drone strike in the Tel Al-Hawa area, south of the city.

 

In the southern governorate of Khan Younus, civil defense teams recovered the body of 3-month-old Mu'hammed Hisham Shihab from beneath the rubble of his family’s home in the neighborhood of Al-Zannah, which was bombed two days ago. The infant’s parents were killed in the same attack, and his two siblings were wounded.

Also in Khan Younus, a Palestinian identified as Baraa Majdi Al-Agha was killed and several others injured when an Israeli drone targeted a group of civilians near the Islamic University.

 

In Rafah, at the southernmost part of the Strip, Israeli forces detonated several residential buildings in the city center, causing extensive destruction to civilian properties.

In northern Gaza, Israeli artillery shelled the outskirts of Bait Lahya, causing significant property damage and widespread panic among residents.

 

Additionally, 22-year-old A'hmed Al-Sayyid Salout was pronounced dead after succumbing to critical injuries he sustained three months ago when Israeli forces bombed his family home in Dair El-Bala'h, in central Gaza.

 

The ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza since October 2023 has so far resulted in at least 52,760 documented Palestinian fatalities, with over 119,264 others injured.

Thousands of victims are feared trapped under rubble, inaccessible to emergency and civil defense teams due to Israeli attacks.

 

Israel's genocidal attacks continue unabated despite calls from the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire and directives from the International Court of Justice urging measures to prevent genocide and alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.

M.N.

***

Four civilians killed in Israeli airstrikes on Khan Younus and Gaza

GAZA, May 9, 2025, WAFA –

Three civilians were killed on Friday in Israeli drone strikes at the Murtaja junction in eastern Khan Younus in the southern war-torn Gaza Strip.

According to WAFA correspondent, the strike resulted in the killing of three people, including a 60-year-old man and his 19-year-old son.

 A civilian also succumbed to the critical wounds he sustained on Thursday after Israeli forces targeted a group of civilians near Al-Amal Hotel west of Gaza City. His father and uncle were also killed in the same attack.

 

T.R.

 

***

Four civilians killed, including a child, in Israeli strike west of Gaza City

GAZA, May 9, 2025, WAFA –

 

Four Palestinian civilians, including a child, were killed and others were injured on Friday after Israeli occupation forces targeted a group of citizens in the Al-Rimal neighborhood, west of Gaza City.

 

According to medical sources, the death toll and the toll of casualties as a result of the Israeli genocidal offensive on the war-torn Strip, which started on October 7, 2023, have risen to 52,787 and 119,349, respectively.

 

Thousands of victims remain missing; either buried under the rubble or scattered on the roads, as rescue teams face tremendous difficulties in reaching them due to the continued Israeli attacks and the massive amount of debris.

 

T.R.

 

***

Four killed, dozens injured in Israeli strike on UNRWA facility sheltering displaced people in Jabalya

GAZA, May 9, 2025 (WAFA) –

 

An Israeli strike on Friday evening targeted an UNRWA facility sheltering displaced people in Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, killing four and injuring dozens, according to WAFA correspondent.

 

He said that Israeli fighter jets conducted an airstrike targeting an UNRWA aid facility in the refugee camp, claiming the lives of four civilians and injuring dozens, including women and children.

 

Israel unilaterally ended the Gaza ceasefire agreement and resumed its aggression on the Strip on Tuesday, March 18, carrying out a wave of bloody airstrikes across the Strip and killing hundreds of Palestinians, including over 100 children.

 

The death toll reached 2,678 with 7,308 others wounded, according to medical sources. Emergency teams are attempting to recover victims still trapped beneath the rubble.

The aggression was resumed amidst concerns over the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the Strip, given the ongoing siege and ban on the entry of medical and humanitarian aid.

 

Israel has waged a military onslaught on the Strip since October 2023, killing 52,787 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 119,349 others.

Moreover, at least 10,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

 

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafa'h near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

 

K.F.

 

***

‎***

Killing, Injuring, and Abduction of Palestinians in the West Bank by Israeli Occupation Regime Forces 

***‎

Two Palestinian martyrs in armed clash with IOFs in Nablus

Friday 9-May-2025

NABLUS, (PIC)

 

Two Palestinian resistance fighters were martyred Friday evening after engaging in an armed clash with Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) who surrounded them in a house in the 'Ain Qaqoub area near the neighborhood of Al-Masakin Al-Sha'biya, east of Nablus.

 

Witnesses reported that the IOFs encircled a house in the 'Ain Qaqoub area, hit it with several Energa shells amid ongoing clashes, and dispatched additional military reinforcements, preventing ambulances from reaching the area.

 

The martyrs were identified as Jineen Battalion commander Nour Abdul Kareem Al-Bitawi, and young man 'Hikmat Abdul Nabi.

 

The Red Crescent Society in Nablus reported that its crews recovered the bodies of the two martyrs from inside a besieged house in Nablus. 

***

Palestinian sustains injury from Israeli occupation army gunfire near Bait La'hm (Bethlehem)

Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), May 9, 2025 (WAFA) –

 

A Palestinian on Friday evening sustained an injury from Israeli army gunfire in the town of Tuqu'a, southeast of the occupied West Bank city of Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), according to local sources.

 

Mustafa Al-Badan, an activist, said that the occupation forces stormed the town and fired volleys of tear gas and concussion bombs towards the citizens’ houses.

Tayseer Abu Mifri'h, Director of Tuqu‘a Municipality, said that the gun-toting soldiers opened fire at a 19-year-old youth, injuring him in the foot.

 

The Israeli occupation forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost daily across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.

 

These raids are conducted without the need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses, in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.

 

Under Israeli military law, army commanders have full executive, legislative, and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.

 

K.F. 

***

 Israeli occupation forces shell house in Nablus, Red Crescent retrieves remains of young man

NABLUS, May 9, 2025, WAFA –

 

Israeli occupation forces on Friday besieged a home in the city of Nablus and targeted it with Energa anti-tank missiles.

 

According to the WAFA correspondent, Israeli forces surrounded a house in the eastern part of Nablus and fired several anti-tank rounds at it. Additional military reinforcements were deployed to the area.

 

Israeli forces also prevented ambulances from reaching the area.

 

In a later development, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) in Nablus reported that its teams retrieved body parts of a young man from inside the shelled house in Nablus.

 

WAFA correspondent reported that the Red Crescent teams found the dismembered remains of the young man, whose identity remains unknown. The Israeli occupation forces have withheld the remaining parts of the body.

 

T.R.

 

***

Several Palestinians suffocate in Israeli army raid near Bait La'hm (Bethlehem)

Bait La'hm (Bethlehem), May 9, 2025 (WAFA) –

 

Several Palestinians on Friday evening suffocated in an Israeli army raid in the town of Al-Khadhir, south of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, according to local sources.

They said that the occupation forces barged their way into the town and unleashed barrages of gunfire and tear gas bombs, causing several civilians to suffocate from excessive tear gas inhalation.

 

The Israeli occupation forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost daily across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.

 

These raids are conducted without the need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses, in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.

 

Under Israeli military law, army commanders have full executive, legislative, and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.

 

K.F.

 

***

IOFs kidnap four Palestinians in Al-Khaleel (Hebron), injures two others in Bait La'hm (Bethlehem)

Friday 9-May-2025

WEST BANK, (PIC)

 

The Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) kidnapped four Palestinians early Friday morning during multiple raids in Al-Khaleel (Hebron), southern West Bank.

 

In southern Al-Khaleel (Hebron), the military stormed the city and kidnapped former prisoner Abdul Ra'hman Mahdi Barqan, before withdrawing from the area.

 

In Dair Razi'h village, south of Doura, forces kidnapped Yousuf Ashraf 'Amro, along with brothers Bashar and Mu'hammed Ayman 'Amro, during a raid that included home searches.

 

According to PIC correspondent, Israeli soldiers also entered Al-'Arroub refugee camp in northern al-Khalil and stationed themselves near 'Omar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque, but no arrests were reported there.

 

In Al-Dthahiriya town, the IOFs gathered near Al-Mukhareeza clan hall, fired stun grenades to disturb residents, and then withdrew without kidnappings.

 

Meanwhile, on Thursday evening, a Palestinian youth and a child were injured by Israeli gunfire in Al-Khadhir town, south of Bait La'hm (Bethlehem).

 

Local sources reported that Israeli occupation forces stormed the town, deployed snipers in the Al-Bawwaba area, and fired live bullets, tear gas, and stun grenades. One young man was shot in the leg, while a child sustained shrapnel injuries to the chest and face.

 

The forces also damaged a local shop, shattering its glass entrance door.

 

According to Palestinian data, since October 7, 2023, the Israeli occupation forces and illegal settlers have killed more than 961 Palestinians and injured nearly 7,000 across the occupied West Bank.

 

***

IOFs continue their aggression on Toulkarm for the 103rd day

Friday 9-May-2025

Toulkarm, (PIC)

 

Israeli occupation forces (IOFs) continued their aggression on the city of Toulkarm and its refugee camp for the 103rd consecutive day, and for the 90th day against the Nur Shams camp on Friday.

 

The aggression continues amidst a continuous field escalation that includes raids and house demolition operations.

 

Last night, the Toulkarm and Nour Shams camps witnessed IOF incursions into neighborhoods, accompanied by heavy firing of live ammunition towards homes and vehicles, along with the use of stun grenades and reconnaissance drones, accompanied by the sound of explosions from time to time.

 

The IOFs bulldozers continued to demolish homes in the Nour Shams camp, specifically in the Al-Jami’ area, in implementation of a plan to demolish 106 buildings and homes in the two camps, including 58 buildings in the Toulkarm refugee  camp and 48 homes in the Nour Shams refugee camp, according to the plan announced by the occupation last Thursday.

 

The ongoing aggression included a comprehensive destruction of buildings in the Nur Shams camp, which includes dozens of residential apartments, whose residents were forcibly displaced, and distributed in the neighborhoods of Al-Manshiya, Al-Maslakh, Al-'Oyadha, Al-Jami’, and Al-Shuhada, in addition to the complete destruction of the infrastructure.

 

The aggression resulted in the forced displacement of more than 4,200 families from the Toulkarm and Nour Shams refugee camps, comprising more than 25,000 citizens, and the total destruction of more than 400 homes, and 2,573 homes partially.

 

In the same context, the Tulkarem city is witnessing continuous movements of occupation vehicles around the clock, as they roam the main streets, specifically Al-Ma'hakim Street, the city center, and Al-Shuwaika Roundabout, obstructing the movement of citizens and vehicles, amidst the provocative honking of their vehicles and their deliberate moves against the direction of traffic.

 

The IOFs continue to seize homes and residential buildings on Nablus Street and the adjacent northern neighborhood, turning them into military barracks after forcing residents to evacuate them, with military vehicles stationed in their vicinity.

 

The aggression has so far resulted in the martyrdom of 13 citizens, in addition to the injury and arrest of dozens. It also caused widespread destruction to infrastructure, homes, shops, and vehicles.

 

***

 

1,000 Palestinians killed, nearly 7,000 injured in the West Bank since October 2023

Friday 9-May-2025

WEST BANK, (PIC)

 

The Palestine Information Center “Mu’ti” has documented the killing of 1,000 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank by Israeli forces since October 7, 2023.

In a report released Friday, the center noted that 6,989 others were injured during daily Israeli military assaults and raids across various West Bank areas.

Since the same date:

 

Over 17,779 Palestinians have been arrested.

 

85 individuals have been forcibly displaced from the West Bank and Occupied Jerusalem.

 

The Israeli military has carried out around 22,291 incursions, often accompanied by the destruction of property, totaling approximately 4,926 Palestinian-owned structures.

The report also highlighted:

 

Around 18,121 military checkpoints and restriction campaigns were imposed.

 

About 7,756 full or partial closures of Palestinian towns and cities were recorded.

 

1,375 Palestinians were subjected to field interrogations and detentions.

 

Israeli forces conducted 5,643 shooting incidents.

 

1,156 homes were demolished.

 

Settler violence:

 

At least 410 settlement expansion activities were documented.

 

3,721 settler attacks have taken place across the West Bank since the war began.

 

***

***

Aggression and Attacks by Illegal Israeli Settlers and Soldiers

*** 

Note: Despite the Trump administration support for the Israeli occupation apartheid regime, the U.S. official policy is still considering the Israeli settlement activities in the Palestinian territories as illegal.

 

***

 The Israeli occupation apartheid regime municipality issues demolition notice against residential building in Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)

 Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem), May 9, 2025, WAFA –

 

The Israeli occupation apartheid regime municipality issued a demolition notice against a residential building in the Wadi Qaddum neighborhood, east of the city of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem).

 

According to a statement released by Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) Governorate on Friday, Israeli municipal crews re-delivered the demolition order, granting residents a final deadline of two weeks.

 

The building, known as "Al-Wa’ad Building," consists of 12 apartments and houses approximately 85 Palestinian residents of Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem).

A similar demolition order had been issued in 2022, but at the time, popular efforts and interventions by local and international organizations succeeded in halting the demolition.

 

T.R.

 

***

 Illegal Israeli settlers attack Palestinians’ vehicles near Aree'ha (Jericho)

Aree'ha (Jericho), May 9, 2025 (WAFA) –

 

A group of the illegal Israeli settlers on Friday attacked Palestinians’ vehicles near Al-'Auja Spring, north of the occupied West Bank city of Aree'ha (Jericho), according to eyewitnesses.

 

They said that illegal settlers obstructed the entry of Palestinians to the spring and attacked some of their vehicles, causing damage to them.

 

Colonists’ violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by the Israeli occupation apartheid regime.

 

The Israeli settler violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, and attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.

 

Approximately 1 million Israeli colonists are living in colonies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in violation of international law.

K.F.

 

***

 Illegal Israeli settlers torch agricultural land near Ramallah

RAMALLAH, May 9, 2025 (WAFA) –

 

A group of the illegal Israeli settlers on Friday evening torched large swaths of agricultural lands belonging to the villagers of Al-Mughayyir, northeast of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, according to local sources.

 

They said that colonists set fire to large tracts of agricultural land in the area of Marj Al-Dthahab, east of the village, destroying crops.

 

Meanwhile, colonists, under army protection, razed large swaths of Palestinian-owned land and set up mobile homes in the Khallet Al-Qasr area, east of Bait Ta’mar village, east of Bethlehem, to make room for colonial construction.

 

The occupation forces frequently raid Palestinian houses almost daily across the West Bank on the pretext of searching for “wanted” Palestinians, triggering clashes with residents.

 

These raids are conducted without the need for a search warrant, whenever and wherever the military chooses, in keeping with its sweeping arbitrary powers.

 

Under Israeli military law, army commanders have full executive, legislative, and judicial authority over 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank. Palestinians have no say in how this authority is exercised.

 

K.F.

 

***

Illegal Israeli settlers attack community near Aree'ha (Jericho)

Aree'ha (Jericho), May 9, 2025 (WAFA) -

 

A group of the illegal Israeli settlers Friday evening attacked the 'Arab Al-Mulai'hat community, northwest of the occupied West Bank city of Aree'ha (Jericho), according to a local activist.

 

'Hasan Mulai'hat, supervisor of Al-Baidar Organization in Defense of Bedouin Rights, said that colonists barged their way into the community and attacked the inhabitants, spraying pepper in their faces.

 

He added that the assailants also assaulted an inhabitant, injuring him and causing him to suffocate from pepper spray, and intimidated his family members.

 

According to the Applied Research Institute of Jerusalem (ARIJ), the 'Arab Al-Mulai'hat come originally from Negev; people of this area were forcefully expelled to live in different places of the West Bank due to their nomadic nature.  In mid mid-eighties, people of Al-Mulai'hat were sent out from Al-Irqa area to Mughair Al-Dair, which is only 7km away from it, claiming the area a military closed zone by Israel.

 

Approximately 1 million Israeli colonists are living in colonies in the West Bank and Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem) in violation of international law.

 

K.F.

 

***

***

News Related to the Israeli Genocidal War on the Palestinian People

***

UN: Food exhaustion in Gaza places civilians at imminent risk of famine, disease, and death

GENEVA, May 9, 2025 (WAFA) –

 

The food exhaustion in the Gaza Strip places civilians at the imminent risk of famine, disease and death, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) said on Friday in a press release.

 

The food exhaustion in Gaza, combined with the widespread destruction or serious damage to water and electricity infrastructure, are “placing the civilian population—especially vulnerable groups such as children, women, the elderly, and persons with disabilities—at imminent risk of famine, disease, and death,” the Committee said.

The Committee made an urgent call for immediate humanitarian access and a lasting ceasefire, warning of catastrophic consequences for the civilian population.

 

The Committee issued its statement hours after the World Central Kitchen announced it was forced to shut down its remaining soup kitchens across Gaza due to a lack of food.

 

It raised grave alarm at the intensification of Israeli military operations across the Gaza Strip since early March, citing indiscriminate bombardments and expanded ground incursions, “which have dramatically worsened the humanitarian crisis and severely endangered the civilian population.”

 

Invoking its early warning and urgent action procedures, the Committee recalled its 2024 decision, which raised serious concerns regarding Israel’s obligations under international law to prevent war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

 

It also drew attention to the broader deterioration of conditions across the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and the West Bank, where patterns of mass displacement and settler violence are increasingly mirroring those in Gaza.

 

The Committee urged Israel, the occupying power, to “lift all barriers to humanitarian access, allow the immediate and unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid, and cease all actions obstructing the provision of essential services to the civilian population in Gaza.”

 

It called on all States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to fulfil their international obligations by taking immediate and appropriate measures to prevent further escalation of hostility and to ensure the protection of civilians.

 

It urged all states to “cooperate to bring an end to the violations that are taking place and to prevent war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, including by ceasing any military assistance.”

 

K.F.

 

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EU official urges immediate end to Gaza blockade

GAZA, May 9, 2025, WAFA –

 

The European Union has reiterated its urgent call on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza, stressing that humanitarian assistance must never be subject to political or military conditions.

 

European Union Representative to the State of Palestine, Alexandre Stutzmann, stated: “Humanitarian aid must never be politicized or militarized. Aid must reach the civilians in need, always.”

 

Stutzmann emphasized the European Union’s ongoing commitment to the Palestinian people, stating: “We are more than ever committed to engage with and in favor of the Palestinian people, in the whole of the Palestinian Territory, whether financially or politically. We have not, and we will not, let you down.”

 

He also highlighted the EU’s recent pledge during the first high-level political dialogue between the European Union and Palestine. As part of this effort, the EU announced a multi-annual comprehensive support program for the Palestinian people, worth up to 1.6 billion euros over the next three years.

 

He commended Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa for his leadership and the reform-driven approach his government has adopted under challenging conditions.

“Dear Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa,” said Stutzmann, “I wish to express here my profound admiration for your leadership, for your steady engagement, for your consistency, and your optimism, and also praise the significant achievements made over the past year in extremely difficult circumstances.”

 

Stutzmann emphasized the European Union’s support for the Palestinian government, stating: “The EU was quick in putting up an emergency financial package in the summer of 2024, in straight consultation with your then-new government — a government that from the beginning showed to be determined, hands-on and eager to tackle the long-awaited administrative, institutional, financial and political reforms that people were calling for.”

 

T.R.

 

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Norway’s largest trade union votes for comprehensive boycott of Israel

OSLO, May 9, 2025, WAFA –

 

The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), the country’s largest labor federation, has voted in favor of a comprehensive boycott of Israel, including a ban on trade and investment with Israeli companies.

 

The decision was passed with an overwhelming 88% majority during LO’s national congress, held in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, on May 8–9.

 

Secretary-General of the Palestinian General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU), Shaher Saad, welcomed the decision during his participation in the conference. He noted that many countries invest workers’ social security funds in Israel, calling for an end to the use of funds from the Norwegian Oil Fund to support the Israeli occupation and settlements.

 

Saad also underscored the dire humanitarian and political situation facing the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, emphasizing the systematic and ongoing Israeli aggression over the past 17 months.

 

He also highlighted the severe challenges facing Palestinian workers, noting that unemployment has surged to 56% of the labor force, equivalent to around 507,000 individuals. This has resulted in an estimated loss of €400 million per month, totaling approximately €7 billion over the past 17 months, all in the absence of a functioning social protection system.

 

Saad further highlighted the ongoing harassment and violence faced by Palestinian workers, which has led to the killing of over 33 workers and the detention of more than 11,000 others by Israeli forces.

 

He pointed out that successive Israeli occupation governments have a clear policy of employing only 25% of the Palestinian labor force, holding responsibility for their unemployment. Additionally, Saad noted that the general secretaries of international trade unions who visited Palestine documented the harsh conditions of Palestinian workers and filed a case with the International Labour Organization (ILO), invoking Article 24 of the ILO Constitution and Convention No. 95 to seek the restoration of their rights.

 

He stressed that the occupation’s policies aim to systematically dismantle every component of the Palestinian economy, controlling its savings and resources by all available means.

 

He concluded by urging the conference members to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people and workers, calling for an end to the ongoing genocide and displacement attempts, which, he asserted, will ultimately fail due to the unwavering resilience of the Palestinian people on their land.

 

T.R.

 

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Amnesty International: Situation in Gaza is beyond tragic

LONDON, May 9, 2025 (WAFA) -

 

Secretary General at Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, said the situation in Gaza is beyond tragic.

 

“The genocide is live-streamed, but governments with some degree of influence keep tiptoeing around the reality, failing to name the genocide and failing to use their power to prevent and respond effectively.”

 

In a post published on her X account, she added: “There are tools and ways to respond. The EU-Israel Agreement is such an instrument.”

 

As EU foreign ministers meet, the Netherlands has requested a review of Israel’s compliance with the EU-Israel Association Agreement, highlighting Article 2 – Israel’s obligations under humanitarian law, she noted.

 

“ALL EU governments must follow suit. They must act. Urgently. Immediately.”

 

She emphasized that the EU-Israel Association Agreement is a key form of leverage in the hands of the EU.

 

“They must use it to protect Palestinians still alive in Gaza from extermination.”

 

T.R.

 

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Editorial Notes about terms & names of people and places:

1. Names of people and places have been standardized to match standard Arabic grammatical rules.

2. Underlined letters and letters preceded by an apostrophe are references to Arabic letter sounds, which does not exist in the English alphabet.

3. The English letter i is equivalent to the Arabic short vowel known as kasra, as in Ibraheem and Qasim as well as in the English words sit and bit. So, it is incorrect to use it as a long vowel for such Arabic names as Jameel and Jibreel.

4. The English letter e is equivalent to the Arabi short vowel known as fat'ha, as in A'hmed and Mu'hammed.

5. It is more accurate to refer to the land-grabbing Israelis, who establish illegal settlements in the Palestinian territory of the West Bank, as illegal Israeli settlers, than referring to them as colonists.

The term colony is a reference to a large entity or a country, such as American states before independence. It was also a reference to Egypt, and India, when they were British colonies.

In addition, the term "colony" represents a positive nostalgic theme, in the minds of native speakers of English, particularly in America and Britain.

6. It is more accurate to use the verbs "abduct" and "kidnap" than the verbs "detain" and "arrest," in reference to taking Palestinian citizens by force to prisons and interrogation centers, by Israeli occupation regime soldiers. This is because the presence of the Israeli occupation regime forces is illegal in the Palestinian territories, and they have no jurisdiction over the Palestinian people.

Click here for more about using the apostrophe and the underlining of letters in the transliteration of Arabic names. 

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Names of some of the Palestinian cities, as pronounced in standard Arabic, and their foreign names in parentheses: 

Al-Khaleel (Hebron)

Al-Nusayrat

Al-Quds (occupied Jerusalem)

Aree'ha (Jericho)

Al-Zaytoun (al-Zeitoun)

Bait (Beit)

Bait La'hm (Bethlehem)

Dair El-Bala'h

Jineen (Jenin)

Khan Younus (Khan Younis)

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Person's names as pronounced in standard Arabic:

A'hmed, 'Hasan, Mu'hammed, Younus, Yousuf,  

'Hasan Mulai'hat,

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Conflict terminology

The Israeli occupation apartheid regime (the Israeli government)

Illegal Israeli settlers (instead of settlers, colonists)

A group of the illegal Israeli settlers

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