Update on Gaza | News

Seeking Refuge

Today, we are discussing the current situation in Gaza and related topics.

Script:

Hello everyone, I’m Claire Mattes, and you’re listening to Seeking Refuge News, a podcast sharing stories of refugees and the world events that affect them. Today, we are going to give an update on the situation between Gaza and Israel.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry - since the attack on Israel by Hamas, an Islamic Jihad group originating out of Palestine, on October 7th - 5,791 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed. Gaza is an area where almost half of the population are children. Thus, as a result of the deadly airstrikes, the Israeli government has murdered 2,360 children so far. As reported by Reuters, in one day, on October 23rd, Israel launched over 400 airstrikes, killing more than 700 Palestinians, the highest death toll in a day so far. Israel says that this airstrike killed Hamas commanders, hitting militants as they were preparing to launch rockets toward Israel and striking command centers and a Hamas tunnel shaft. Ammar al-Butta, a survivor of an airstrike, says that there were about 100 people in his area, including many who had come from Gaza City, which Israel has ordered civilians to evacuate. Ammar further notes, “They were sheltering at our home because we thought that our area would be safe. But apparently, there is no safe place in Gaza.” 13 people from his family have died due to the aforementioned airstrike. On October 18th, there was a deadly airstrike on the al-Ahli hospital that killed nearly 500 people, as noted by Aljazeera. The Health Ministry in Gaza says it was Israel, and Israel says it was by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad who misfired a rocket. There have been multiple conflicting reports on who is to blame.

The United Nations is now urging Israel to allow more aid to reach Gaza. Currently, the Israel blockade of food, travel route, supplies, etc. is worsening the already critical condition of the area. Dr. Rick Brennan, WHO Regional Emergencies Director, stated, “We are on our knees asking for that sustained, scaled up, protected humanitarian operation.” A Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson has said that all hospitals in Gaza are now running out of fuel to power their electricity generators, leaving them unable to treat severely injured patients. More than 40 medical centers in the area have ceased operations. Without an end to the deadly blockade, thousands more Gaza residents will die as a result of the continued airstrikes.

On October 23rd, two Israelis kidnapped by Hamas were freed. According to AP News, one of the captives noted that on the way to her prison, she was beaten with sticks, bruising her ribs and making it difficult for her to breathe. In the prison, she notes that her treatment and conditions were clean and she had access to medical care and food.

Currently, the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK support Israel and its right to defend itself. During the Cairo Peace Summit, many Arab countries expressed anger toward Israel, including countries who were once close allies to Israel such as Egypt. Many Arab countries demonstrate hesitancy to accept Palestinian refugees. They fear that if Palestinians leave, they will never be allowed to return - an event that occurred in the 1948 war when Palestinians fled as Israel colonized the area.

Protests have erupted in all corners of the world in support of Palestine alongside protests in support of the Israeli state. Such protests have resulted in violence across oceans. On October 16th, 2023, PBS reports on the story of a six-year-old boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, a Palestinian American 6-year-old boy in Illinois, was stabbed 26 times by his family’s landlord in a hate crime relating to the current Israel-Palestine development. Samantha Woll, a Jewish leader dedicated to building ties between young Muslims and Jews, was murdered outside of her home in Detroit on October 21st, according to NDTV. A suspect has not been named yet.

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Claire Mattes (Host) Shireen Kaur (Researcher) Anusha Ghosh (Scriptwriter/Editor/Publisher) Thrisha Mote Rohit Swain Victoria Halsey Diana Clark Saanvi Somani Emily Jensen Shireen Kaur Archana Ramesh Yatin Nerella

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