The Free

from thefreeonline on 22nd Nov 2023 by Al Jazeera / HomeWorld News

The breakthrough agreement will see dozens of hostages freed over a 4 day halt to the massacre and some entry of food, fuel and water

The Israeli government has agreed to a deal that will secure the release of 50 hostages abducted by Hamas during the group’s October 7 attack, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In exchange, Israeli forces will briefly pause operations to allow aid into the besieged Gaza enclave.

1,700,000 Palestinians are displaced, refugees in a giant refugee prison, by Israel’s blitz. Many have no shelter from current cold and rain storms

Is the truce already in force? No. As of Wednesday morning, fighting continued between the two sides. Qatar said that the start time of the pause would be declared within 24 hours.

The agreement also includes desperately needed humanitarian aid for the people of Gaza following weeks of relentless Israeli attacks that have killed more than 14,100 people, including 5,600 children, and forced about 1.7 million from their homes.

What has Israel said about the deal?

Israel’s cabinet voted in favor of the agreement early on Wednesday morning, with Netanyahu outlining the basic details of the “first stage” of the deal in a brief statement. 

“At least 50 hostages – women and children – will be released over four days, during which a pause in the fighting will be held,” the PM said, adding that for every additional ten hostages freed, Israel would pause operations for one more day.

However, Netanyahu stressed that his country would “continue the war in order to return home all of the hostages, complete the elimination of Hamas and ensure that there will be no new threat to the State of Israel from Gaza

All of Israel’s security agencies – the IDF, Shin Bet and Mossad – reportedly voiced support for the arrangement.

400 Palestinian child hostages held in Israeli jails

Why are so many Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails?

Today, the number of Palestinian prisoners/captives currently behind Israeli bars is over 10,000, including 83 Palestinian women and 380 children under 18. If they are ever tried, Palestinians are prosecuted in military courts

Hamas’ response?

The leadership of the Palestinian militant group issued a statement on its official Telegram channel announcing what it dubbed a “cease-fire from both parties.” It added that Israel had agreed to suspend military flights over southern Gaza for the duration of the pause, and limit air operations in the northern portion of the enclave.

The cessation of hostilities would allow humanitarian aid to reach all parts of Gaza, it said.

The group added that 150 Palestinian women and children currently held in Israeli custody would be freed as part of the deal, although the Israeli side did not confirm a specific number.

“The provisions of this agreement were formulated according to the vision of the resistance and its determinants that aim to serve our people and enhance their steadfastness in the face of aggression,” the Hamas statement said.

What happens if either side breaks the truce?

Neither side is expected to hold back on restarting hostilities if the other breaks — or is perceived to have broken — any of the terms of the agreement. Israel is not withdrawing its soldiers, tanks, armoured vehicles and other military infrastructure from Gaza, which it entered late in October in a ground offensive.

International reactions

Washington, which was involved in the negotiations, was quick to issue a statement hailing the hostage deal, with US President Joe Biden saying he was “extraordinarily gratified” that captives would be reunited with their families.

In its own statement, Qatar confirmed that the deal would include freeing Palestinian women and children from Israeli prisons, adding that “the number of those released will be increased in later stages of implementing the agreement.” It said the pause to fighting “will be announced within the next 24 hours.”

Moscow hailed Qatar’s efforts in brokering the deal and welcomed the agreement itself. Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed that the truce “is something that Russia was calling for since the start of the conflict.”

What’s next?

According to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, Israel will soon issue a list of Palestinian prisoners to be released. However Hamas previously announced the deaths of over 50 captives by ‘indiscriminate Israeli bombing and shelling’.

The Prime Minister’s Office has also reportedly developed a process for captives freed by Hamas, who will be received by the Red Cross before being transferred to the IDF. Freed hostages will undergo medical checks, and will be debriefed by Israeli authorities before their release, Israeli media reports said.

from thefreeonline on 22nd Nov 2023 by By Atia Darwish and Maram Humaid at Al Jazeera/ Gallery|Gaza

“These bodies were human beings, had dignity. To see them reduced to burned remains or chopped pieces is unbearable.”

Deir el-Balah – Dozens of bodies, wrapped in improvised white cloths that double as shrouds, lie together in a newly dug mass grave.

Team at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital do what they can to provide last rites to those killed in Israeli attacks.

They are the unidentified Palestinians who were killed in Israeli attacks, their bodies are either charred beyond recognition or torn apart, to the point where the burial supervisors are sometimes not completely sure if they got the whole person.

But the team at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital does its best to offer the proper Islamic burial rituals to the remains, hoping that their efforts will allow the deceased victims to rest.

Yasser Abu Ammar, who supervises the ritual washing of the dead at the hospital, told Al Jazeera: “About 80 percent of the bodies we receive are torn apart. We’re burying torn-apart limbs, and some bodies have their organs lacerated and exposed.

Israel has killed more than 14,000 Palestinians since October 7, the vast majority of them women and children. [Atia Darwish/Al Jazeera]

“We’ve never seen anything like this, like these puzzling wounds inflicted on these mangled body parts.”

Abu Ammar added that he had supervised the burial of body parts belonging to a six-member family in one shroud.

“All of them barely made up one complete body,” he said.

Continue reading “Burying the Mangled Bodies of Unidentifiable Victims of Israel’s Genocide on Gaza”

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from thefreeonline on 21st Nov 2023 the Israel-Palestine conflict by Al Jazeera Staff

Gaza’s health ministry spokesperson says occupancy rate in hospitals in the enclave’s north has reached 190 percent as they overflow with the wounded.

Hospitals in northern Gaza are now completely out of service, according to the besieged enclave’s Ministry of Health.

Ashraf al-Qudra, Gaza’s health ministry spokesperson, said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the occupancy rate in hospitals in Gaza’s north has reached 190 percent.

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end of list

Israel bombed and destroyed parts of al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza, where more than 700 people are still held captive under a siege by the Israeli army, according to al-Qudra.

Last week, Israeli forces seized the hospital to search for what they said was a Hamas tunnel network and command centre built underneath the complex. Hamas has denied the allegations.

A group of 28 premature babies were evacuated from the al-Shifa Hospital to Egypt to receive treatment on Monday, according to the Palestinian authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Continue reading “Hospitals in northern Gaza completely out of service: Health official”

The carbon emissions of the wealthy will cause 1.3 million heat-related excess deaths, according to a new study

The richest 1% of the world’s population produced more carbon pollution in 2019 than the poorest 66%, anti-poverty charity Oxfam has revealed. It is the most recent year for which data is available, according to a report released on Monday.

The research showed that the group of about 77 million people, including billionaires, millionaires, and those paid more than $140,000 a year, were responsible for 16% of global consumption emissions in 2019, which is more than all car and road transport emissions, Oxfam claimed.

Their outsized emissions will cause 1.3 million heat-related excess deaths, roughly equivalent to the population of Dublin, Ireland, the report says. Most of these deaths will occur between 2020 and 2030, it adds.

“The super-rich are plundering and polluting the planet to the point of destruction, leaving humanity choking on extreme heat, floods and drought,” said Amitabh Behar, Oxfam International interim Executive Director.

“For years we’ve fought to end the era of fossil fuels to save millions of lives and our planet. It’s clearer than ever this will be impossible until we, too, end the era of extreme wealth,” Behar noted.

The report indicated that it would take about 1,500 years for someone in the bottom 99% to produce as much carbon as the richest billionaires do in a year.  

READ MORE: 125 billionaires have carbon footprint the size of France – Oxfam

Oxfam calculated that a 60% tax on the incomes of the richest 1% would cut emissions by more than the total emissions of the UK and raise $6.4 trillion a year to pay for the green energy transition.

“Not taxing wealth allows the richest to rob from us, ruin our planet… Taxing extreme wealth transforms our chances to tackle both inequality and the climate crisis,” Behar concluded.