“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:
- Gaza is nearing zero food quantity, leading to desperation and looting; Israel perpetuates plans to continue flattening the Strip.
- A humanitarian aid ship bound for Gaza was bombed in international waters, allegedly by Israel
- Israel is accused at the International Court of Justice, by many countries globally, of utilizing food for warfare.
- UNRWA, Reporters Without Borders, Amnesty International, the WHO, and the Red Cross have all described Gaza as a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe.
Takeaways:
- Israel is committing acts of inhumanity by enforcing a blockade on Gaza.
- Countries around the world are speaking against Israel, besides the U.S.
- America remains an unsafe place for practitioners of free speech.
As your constituents we expect you to:
- Ensure our freedoms to speak out.
- Respect and participate in a global conscience.
- Act with courage to recognize and fight inhumanity.
Israel Starves a Flattened Gaza
- Gaza starves as Israel’s barbaric blockade reaches its 60th day.
- 4/29 – Gaza’s community kitchens may soon run out of meals; fishermen have resorted to eating turtle meat; desperation has led to looting. [Reuters] [Al Jazeera] [Reuters]
- 5/1 – Israeli forces are accused of targeting Palestinians collecting food for their families in Gaza. [Al Jazeera]
- 5/3 – >57 Gazans have died of starvation as Israel’s blockade stretches into its third month. [Al Jazeera]
- Hundreds of thousands are crying out for Gaza.
- 4/28 – Israel is accused at the International Court of Justice of violating international law by blocking aid to Gaza. [Reuters]
- 4/29 – Amnesty International calls it a “live-streamed genocide”, with the “specific intent” of wiping out Palestinians. [Amnesty International]
- 5/1 – UNRWA reports: over 420,000 displaced, aid and health services nearly gone, and 290+ staff killed. [UNRWA]
- 5/2 – A humanitarian aid ship bound for Gaza was bombed by drones in international waters; Israel is allegedly responsible. [CBS]
- 5/2 – Reporters Without Borders: Palestine has become the world’s most dangerous state for journalists, with ~200 journalists killed. [RSF]
- 5/2 – International Committee of the Red Cross: The humanitarian response in Gaza is nearing “total collapse”. [ICRC]
- All while Israel keeps up its horrific momentum in wiping Gaza off the map.
- 4/28, 5/1 – Israeli airstrikes kill >29 civilians, including 12 in busy Gaza City, 8 in a Khan Younis family home. [Al Jazeera] [Al Jazeera]
- 4/28 – Israel’s army is flattening the remaining ruins of the city of Rafah in southern Gaza; fears of forced relocation. [CBC]
- 5/2 – Israeli strikes targeted Syria, injuring civilians near Damascus. [Reuters]
- 5/3 – Israeli military issued call-up notices to thousands of reservists to support an expansion of its offensive in Gaza. [Reuters]
Ship carrying aid for Gaza was hit by drones near Malta. [Washington Post]
Israel on Defensive at the ICJ
- Silence is complicity, and many in the world are refusing to stay silent.
- 4/29 – France accused Israel’s embassy of “unacceptable” behavior after it banned two French groups from visiting Israel. [US News]
- 4/29 – U.N. Secretary-General says the two-state solution is “at risk of dwindling to the point of disappearance”. [Reuters]
- 4/29 – Saudi Arabia condemned Israel’s settlement activities at the International Court of Justice. [Middle-East Eye]
- 5/1 – World Health Organization’s Executive Director: “We are breaking the bodies and minds of the children of Gaza…We are complicit.” [Reuters]
- 5/1 – Palestinian solidarity organizer Mohammed Khatib was arrested in Belgium for attending an anti-genocide protest. [Al Jazeera]
- 5/1 – Qatar to the ICJ: Israel is conducting a “genocidal war against the Palestinian people” and weaponizing humanitarian aid. [Al Jazeera]
- 5/3 – Even Israelis are demanding their government focus on releasing captives instead of escalating the war. [Al Jazeera]
Israelis protesting against Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. [Al Jazeera]
Freedom for Some, Fire for Others
- Some are finding justice while others are denied it — all as the U.S. extends its trail of destruction in Yemen.
- 4/28 – >68 people killed in a U.S. air attack on a migrant detention center in Yemen. [Al Jazeera]
- 4/29 – Jewish and Muslim students at Harvard report facing widespread bigotry and marginalization for expressing political views. [NYT]
- 4/30 – The U.S. supports Israel’s ban on UNRWA Gaza aid operations at the ICJ. [NPR]
- 4/30 – A judge in the U.S. has ordered the release of Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi, while his case proceeds. [ABC]
- 5/2 – Illinois man who stabbed a Palestinian child to death is sentenced to 53 years in prison. [AP]
- 5/2 – Lawyers say the Trump administration’s efforts to deport Georgetown scholar Badur Khan Suri violate his freedom of speech. [Al Jazeera]
Rally outside the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, for Badur Khan Suri [Al Jazeera]