“Bismillaahir-rahmaanir raheem”
(In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful)
Watermelon Wednesday is a weekly brief shared with our elected officials to ensure they are aware of Israel’s aggression, the Palestinian experience, and our country’s complicity in this genocide and international war crimes.
TL;DR:
- >440 Gazans killed this week, as Israel steps up its brutality upon Gaza City’s civilians, warning them to leave southward.
- Israel eyes annexation of the West Bank, as settlers and soldiers raid, pillage, and kill Palestinians in the area.
- Media outlets, genocide scholars, and governments (Belgium, Finland, the EU, etc.) continue recognizing Palestinian statehood and calling for peace.
- Despite half of Americans recognizing genocide and citizen Eygi’s murder unresolved, Trump sanctioned Palestinian rights groups and suspended visas.
Takeaways:
- Israel is taking mounting recognition of Palestine and its struggle as a reason to step up its cruelty in the region, pummeling its densest area.
- It’s stepping up its efforts to expand illegal settlements, despite condemnation.
- America remains in support of these crimes, punishing anyone affiliated with or supporting Palestinian rights, while ignoring the needs of its own citizens.
As your constituents we urge you to:
- Push for deescalation in Gaza City.
- Denounce Israel’s illegal West Bank encroachment.
- Call for visas for Palestinians and justice for Eygi.
- Divest from Israel-supporting businesses.
Siege and Erasure
- Demolition of a starving Gaza City, as the settler project expands
- >440 Gazans killed, particularly in dense Gaza City:
- 8/31 – >78 Gazans killed, many near aid. [Al Jazeera]
- 9/1 – >19 Gazans killed in and near Gaza City. [Reuters]
- 9/2 – >50 Gazans killed, many in Gaza City. [Al Jazeera]
- 9/3 – >100 Gazans killed, some seeking water. [Al Jazeera]
- 9/4 – >75 Gazans killed. [Al Jazeera]
- 9/5 – >51 Gazans killed. [Al Jazeera]
- 9/6 – >67 Gazans killed, most in Gaza City. [Al Jazeera]
- 9/5 – UNRWA report: [UNRWA]
- 1.9M Gazans displaced since Oct 7th
- >856,000 Gazans displaced since March 18th 2025
- >63,746 Gazans killed since Oct 7th
- 987 Palestinians in West Bank killed since Oct 7th
- 8/31, 9/3 – Israeli forces aggressed suburbs of Gaza City by air and ground, evicting families from homes. [Reuters] [Reuters]
- 9/1 – ~274 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza. [Al Jazeera]
- 9/2 – Tens of thousands of Israeli reservists reported for duty to seize Gaza City. [PBS]
- 9/2 – 185 Gazans killed from hunger-related deaths in August. [Al Jazeera]
- 9/3 – Israel used quadcopter drones to drop incendiary bombs on ambulances in Gaza City. [Al Jazeera]
- 9/4 – Israel controls 40% of Gaza City, as thousands of residents defy Israeli orders to leave. [CBC]
- 9/5 – Demonstrators in Tel Aviv warn Israel and the US that time is running out for the hostages in Gaza. [Al Jazeera]
- 9/6 – Israel warned Gazans in Gaza City to leave southward before bombing a high-rise tower. [CBS]
- >440 Gazans killed, particularly in dense Gaza City:
- West Bank
- 8/31 – Israel carried out raids and arrests across the West Bank, including in Bethlehem, Hebron, Nablus, and Ramallah. [Al Jazeera]
- 9/3 – Israel’s finance minister said maps were being drawn for annexing West Bank territory. [Reuters]
- 9/3 – Armed Jewish settlers seized a Palestinian home in Hebron, as Israel bulldozed a minaret under construction. [Al Jazeera] [Al Jazeera]
- 9/5 – Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man in the West Bank. [Al Jazeera]
A residential tower in Gaza City collapsing after an Israeli strike. [Reuters]
Artists and Diplomats
- Organizations and filmmakers protest
- 9/1 – The world’s biggest academic association of genocide scholars has said that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute as genocide. [BBC]
- 9/1 – The Sumud Flotilla departed Spain headed to deliver aid into Gaza. [Reuters]
- 9/1 – >250 media outlets staged a front page protest against Israel’s violence against journalists in Gaza. [RSF]
- 9/3 – Israeli drones dropped four grenades close to peacekeepers in Lebanon. [AP]
- 9/4 – Hind Rajab’s story earns a 24-minute ovation at the Venice Film Festival, the longest ovation in its history. [BBC]
- 9/4 – Nelson Mandela’s grandson says Palestinians’ lives under Israeli occupation is worse than South African apartheid. [Reuters]
- Countries speak out
- 9/1 – Belgium to recognize a Palestinian state and sanction Israel. [Haaretz]
- 9/2 – Turkey’s President urged the US to allow the visas of Palestinian officials. [Reuters]
- 9/3 – The UAE warned the annexation of the West Bank would constitute a “red line”. [AP]
- 9/4 – A senior EU official said Israel’s operations in Gaza constitute genocide. [Reuters]
- 9/4 – Finland is joining a declaration on an implementation of a two-state solution. [Reuters]
- 9/5 – The UN human rights chief rejected the US sanctions on Palestinian rights groups as “unacceptable”. [UN]
- 9/6 – Egyptian Foreign Minister said that describing the displacement of Palestinians as voluntary was “nonsense”. [NBC]
Grandson of Nelson Mandela says the conditions of Palestine are worse than South African apartheid. [Reuters]
Selective Justice
- America supports injustice, while disregarding its own citizens
- 8/31 – Trump’s administration plans to potentially administer Gaza for a decade. [CNBC]
- 9/1 – The US suspended visa approvals for nearly all those who hold a Palestinian passport. [BBC]
- 9/2 – Half of US voters say Israel is committing a genocide, 6/10 oppose further military aid. [Al Jazeera]
- 9/4 – Federal judge ruled that Trump’s termination of $2.2B from Harvard’s grants was unlawful. [Reuters]
- 9/4 – The US sanctioned on 3 Palestinian human rights groups that asked the ICC to investigate Israel’s genocide in Gaza. [US State Dept.]
- 9/4 – Trump’s funding cuts have led to Northwestern University’s president leaving his position. [NPR]
- 9/6 – Family of US citizen Aysenur Ezgi Eygi are still seeking justice for her killing in the West Bank. [Al Jazeera]
Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, an American citizen killed by Israel in the West Bank, whose murder remains unresolved. [Al Jazeera]