Khalil Hamad died waiting for a permit to go to the hospital! Israeli occupying forces launched a massive attack against northern Gaza, focused on Beit Hanoun village. At the start of this assault, the village was placed under strict siege. Nobody was allowed in or out of Beit Hanoun. At Al-Awda hospital where 45 injured were admitted for treatment, and 3 dead bodies received, I was told by our Emergency Room staff that one of these dead could have been saved easily. While bleeding and suffering from multiple injuries, Mr. Khalil Hamad had to wait for special arrangements and an army permit to transfer him via the Red Cross from outside the village to the nearest hospital (Al-Awda) 5 minutes away from the scene. Read more about Diary of Beit Hanoun under siege 

While I was driving to Kamal Udwan hospital in Beit Lahiya and listening to a local radio station to get the news update, suddenly the Israeli army succeeded in occupying the airwaves for a few minutes. They played a recorded message warning the residents in the north to stay inside their houses and to keep away from militants and not offer them any assistance or protection. Zeyad Abdul Dayem, an ambulance driver, said, “We had to wait today for 15 hours until the Israeli army allowed us to evacuate the body of a dead man who was killed by Israeli snipers who were positioned on the rooftops of high buildings belonging to Palestinian residents of Beit Hanoun”. Read more about Dark clouds over Beit Hanoun 

When it comes to cluster bombs, rain was again an issue; a big tent was put up in Martyr s square in downtown Beirut to host the event to avoid the pouring sky. Many NGOs, local and international, gathered to raise awareness about this indiscriminate weapon and to voice a demand for a ban on its manufacturing, distribution and usage. School children and adults toured the multiple sections of the event, an extensive photo exhibit revealing the perilous impact of these weapons in Southern Lebanon; a booth and area where specialists illustrated the stages in constructing prosthetics and artificial limbs, and where the public could also try them along with wheel chairs; and a puppet show for children raising awareness amongst the children. Read more about When Rain Becomes the Nightmare: National Day Against Cluster Bombs!  

When Israel launched its demographic war against Palestinians in 1947, it was carried out through military tactics that were difficult to conceal from the international community. The unresolved result of that war can be seen in refugee camps all over the Arab world. According to U.N. figures, between 1947 and 1949 Zionist military forces forcibly expelled or caused to flee approximately 800,000 Palestinians (amounting to 75 percent of the Arab population of what became Israel). In 1967, more than 200,000 Palestinians fled their homes in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Since 1967, Israel has continued its demographic war but the tactics have become obscured through the use of so-called legal and political criteria. Read more about The Demographic and Economic War against Palestinians 

I noticed that every one of us looked so full and every one had a sizeable belly, especially our host. I said mildly, “Our food is good for the taste but sea food is best for health.” One of my friends looked disgusted at the thought and exclaimed, “Sea food, do you call that food? Food is only meat my adorable friend.” I laughed and said, “Only because you are a cannibal. Scientific evidence is telling us that sea food is best for healthy life and this is a fact.” Our friend Suhail said, “Fish may be good, but how can you eat snails? How can you eat this thing called calamari which is apparently a leg of a crawling animal?” I laughed instantly and said, “Do you know what calamari reminds me of? Fatah, your Fatah.” Read more about Calamari 

Dr. Imad was right! There is an Israeli military incursion happening right here right now, just as he said it would: in the refugee camp adjacent to the town of Tulkarem. And now they are in the main part of town right in front of us! On the way to Qalqilya this morning, we drive right past three Israeli APVs in our mobile health van. Through our van’s front window, we see two soldiers crouched behind their APV with their semiautomatic rifles cocked; now they are running around the vehicle counterclockwise, and right into an apartment building. Read more about An incursion happening right now in Tulkarem 

Our mobile health van, sponsored by Palestinian Medical Relief Society, climbs steep switchbacks through narrow alleyways to the top of the hill. We arrive at the town meeting hall in the village of Far’ata (population 700) and start unpacking our boxes of pharmaceuticals and other equipment. It is here that we set up our makeshift clinic and start seeing patients. Graffiti supporting Hamas fills the walls of the village, and green flags with Islamic inscriptions fly from the roof of the mosque. The meeting hall itself sports a poster supporting Fateh, the party of Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) and the late Yasser Arafat. Read more about On the Road with the Palestine Medical Relief Society 

Israeli occupying forces launched a massive attack against northern Gaza, focused on Beit Hanoun village. At the start of this assault, the village was placed under strict siege. Nobody was allowed in or out of Beit Hanoun. At Al-Awda hospital, where 45 injured were admitted for treatment, and three dead bodies received, I was told by our emergency room staff that one of these dead could have been saved easily. While bleeding and suffering from multiple injuries, Mr. Khalil Hamad had to wait for special arrangements and an army permit to transfer him via the Red Cross from outside the village to the nearest hospital, five minutes away from the scene. Mr. Hamad bled to death before he arrived at our hospital. Read more about Three days of siege and defiance in Beit Hanoun 

Resolution 1701 ignores, apparently deliberately, the investigations held not only by the United Nations itself, but also independent investigations conducted by international organizations like Human Rights Watch, Greenpeace, and Amnesty International — only to name a few — which find Israel responsible for serious violations on many levels, some irreversible. Resolution 1701 equates between an act of invasion and aggravated damage to the Lebanese infrastructure, environment, and population both Lebanese and Palestinian, with the legitimate response and (in comparison to Israel’s military power) the microscopic military power of Hezbollah. Read more about UNIFIL: What are they here for?