Gaza’s Numbers Continue Declining:
- The metrics continue worsening, as Israel bombards and attacks the Palestinians.
- 4/4 – Over 390,000 people estimated to have been forcibly displaced between 3/18 through 4/6 [UNRWA]
- 4/7 – Israeli troops flatten farmland and clear entire residential districts to open a “kill zone”. [Reuters]
- 4/7 – Two Palestinian journalists killed by Israeli attack, engulfing a media camp in flames; >200 journalists have been killed by Israel. [Al Jazeera]
- 4/7 – IDF killed 14-year-old Palestinian-American Amir Mohammed Rabee in the West Bank, who “hurled rocks toward the highway.” [CBS]
- 4/9 – An Israeli airstrike killed about 29 Palestinians in a house in Shejaia in Gaza City, dozens wounded and missing. [Reuters]
- 4/11 – U.N. rights office says 36 Israeli strikes between 3/18 and 4/9 killed only Palestinian women and children. [CAIR]
- 4/12 – Two Israeli missiles hit Al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital, destroying the emergency and reception department. [Reuters]
- Despite mounting international pressure, Israel develops new and novel ways of terrorizing the people of Palestine.
- 4/9 – Israel shut down UNRWA-affiliated schools in East Jerusalem, continuing the ‘erasure’ of Palestinian identity. [Middle East Eye]
- 4/9 – No aid has entered Gaza since March 2; at least 60,000 children malnourished, with food stockpiles running out [Al Jazeera] [Reuters]
- 4/10 – U.N. agency says 4,700 new amputees during conflict, with prosthetics and other aid hard to get into blockaded Gaza. [Reuters]
- 4/10 – Footage shows 10 Palestinians prisoners released by Israel, with one man unable to move and showing signs of torture. [Al Jazeera]
- 4/11 – Water, electricity, food, antibiotics, and blood bags are scarce, Red Cross says; clean water supply cut off. [U.S. News] [CBC]
International Pressure Mounts:
- As Israel’s atrocities become more and more apparent, it appears a myriad of countries are beginning to catch on.
- 4/6 – Abtisam Mohamed and Yuan Yang, two British Labour lawmakers, were refused entry to Israel, attempting to visit on a fact-finding trip. [Al Jazeera]
- 4/7 – U.K. lawyers accused 10 Britons who fought for Israel in Gaza of war crimes [Zeteo]
- 4/8 – U.N. Secretary-General rejected a new Israeli proposal to control aid deliveries in Gaza. [Reuters]
- 4/9 – Indonesia’s president said it is ready to temporarily shelter affected Palestinians, estimating there could be 1,000 in the first wave [AP]
- 4/9 – France’s President Macron said it may recognize a Palestinian state, adding that some countries in the M.E. could recognize Israel. [Reuters]
- 4/10 – ~1,000 retired/reserved Israeli fighter pilots wrote a letter, stating the Gaza war is now mainly for ‘personal and political interests’. [Al Jazeera]
- 4/11 – U.N. human rights office warned that Israel is increasingly endangering the existence of Palestinians as a group [UN]
…Yet the U.S. Remains Complicit:
- For decades, the U.S. has been at the forefront of development – not this time.
- 4/8 – Trump’s administration has revoked hundreds of student visas amid a widening crackdown on the U.S. Palestine movement. [Mondoweiss]
- 4/9 – The U.S. government said it will begin screening the social media of immigrants and visa applicants for “antisemitic activity”. [NPR]
- 4/10 – The Trump administration is working to force Columbia to follow federal guidelines in how to combat antisemitism. [Reuters]
Takeaways:
- Life is getting worse in Palestine, and the rest of the world is catching onto this.
- Federal officials aren’t doing enough to follow the worldwide trend of supporting Palestine.
- Yet, ironically, the government is exerting too much power on the people.
- As your constituents, we expect you to:
- Ensure our security and freedom.
- Represent our concerns while influencing lawmaking.
- Act as liaisons between the populace and the broader decision-makers.