Middle East & North Africa

Palestine: Hamas says will not release Israel hostages until demands met

27 March 2024; MEMO: Hamas vowed, Wednesday, that it will not release any Israeli hostage in its captivity until its demands are fulfilled, Anadolu Agency reports.

Hamas demands an end to Israel’s deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip and the withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the Territory for any hostage-prisoner swap deal with Tel Aviv.

Israeli forces executed 13 children in Gaza in front of their families, says human rights NGO

27 March 2024; MEMO: Documented testimonies have been collected regarding the execution of Palestinian children in Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces in and around Al-Shifa Hospital, at a time when a UN expert has confirmed her belief that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

Americans do not want to be 'complicit in the slaughter' of Palestinian children: Senator

27 March 2024; MEMO: Americans do not want to see Palestinian children killed in the Gaza Strip, Independent Senator, Bernie Sanders, said Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

“The American people, in my view, no matter what your politics may be, do not want to be complicit in the slaughter of small kids who are bombed to death while they sleep.

Palestinians call US's temporary pier in Gaza ‘occupation port’

27 March 2024; MEMO: Palestinians are describing a temporary pier being constructed by the US on the shores of Gaza City as an “occupation port”, Anadolu Agency reports.

US President Joe Biden, on 7 March, announced that he had tasked the US military with building a temporary pier off Gaza for the delivery of much-needed humanitarian aid, as Israel continues to let only a trickle of aid into the enclave by land.

Israel: Netanyahu's coalition gov’t in turmoil over exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service

28 March 2024; MEMO: The Israeli Prime Minister faces a challenge within his coalition government as tensions escalate over proposed legislation exempting the ultra-Orthodox, known in Hebrew as Haredim, from military service, threatening the coalition’s rule collapse, Anadolu Agency reports.

Israel asks US to reschedule scrapped meeting on Rafah offensive plans

27 March 2024; MEMO: Israel has asked to reschedule a meeting with US officials to discuss its military plans in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, a US official said on Wednesday, days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly scrapped the planned talks, Reuters reports.

Saudi Arabia condemns Israeli seizure of 800 hectares of Palestinian land in West Ban

28 March 2024; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has condemned Israel’s decision to seize 800 hectares of Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, joining the growing list of nations opposing the move, which violates international law.

Last week, the Israeli authorities seized more land in the Jordan Valley area of the occupied West Bank, in a move overseen by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for the purpose of enabling the construction of more illegal settlements for Jewish settlers.

Ceasefire in Gaza must be 'substantive' to end 'darkest chapters' of humanity; UNICEF

28 March 2024; MEMO: A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip must be “substantive, not symbolic” to end the “darkest chapters” of humanity, a UNICEF official said on Tuesday.

“Gaza has shattered humanity’s records for its darkest chapters. Humanity must now urgently write a different chapter,” UNICEF spokesman James Elder said at a UN press briefing in Geneva.

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