Author: mark

(The Age, 19/10/2023) ( https://www.theage.com.au/world/middle-east/this-is-a-massacre-basic-humanity-needs-to-be-restored-in-gaza-20231018-p5ed7k.html ) As we learn of the bombing of the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, once again we are forced to believe the unbelievable. As well as treating people injured in the war, the hospital was also hosting displaced Gazans who believed a medical facility would be a safe haven in… Continue reading ‘This is a massacre’: Basic humanity needs to be restored in Gaza

(The Age, 19/10/2023) ( https://www.theage.com.au/world/middle-east/hospital-explosion-blame-game-pushes-middle-east-closer-to-all-out-war-20231018-p5ed9q.html ) Tel Aviv: A blame game over a deadly explosion at a packed Gaza hospital has pushed the Middle East closer to all-out war and damaged efforts by US President Joe Biden to broker a deal protecting civilians from the fallout of Israel’s impending invasion of Gaza. Hundreds of patients, staff… Continue reading Hospital explosion blame game pushes Middle East closer to all-out war

Dear Mr. Biden  Perhaps I am one of the few who had hoped against hope that your arrival into the holy land today would make a difference.  Perhaps this was not the case for those who have already passed, but definitely, would have for those who are still alive.  I was shuddering after the horrific… Continue reading A LETTER TO PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN

(Canberra Times, 18/10/2023) ( https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8389589/act-teens-labelled-terrorists-as-hell-on-earth-unfolds-in-gaza/?cs=14329 ) Canberran teenager Sarah Luay Taleb says she has been called a “terrorist” more times in the past week than she has heard the word itself her whole life. After war erupted between Israel and Hamas, Sarah, 17, and her sister Salma, 15, have been the subject of ignorant comments… Continue reading Palestinian-Australian students called ‘terrorist’ at school and online, community feels ‘isolated’

Gaza: An explosion has killed hundreds of Palestinians at a Gaza City hospital crammed with patients and displaced people, health authorities in the besieged enclave said. The reported strike on Tuesday, Israel time, was the bloodiest single incident since Israel launched an unrelenting bombing campaign against Gaza in retaliation for a deadly cross-border Hamas assault on southern… Continue reading Explosion at Gaza hospital kills hundreds

A Labor senator has demanded the government condemn Israel for “the killing of innocent civilians in Palestine”, accusing the Jewish state of “indiscriminately” attacking Gaza including with controversial white phosphorus munitions. Western Australian Senator Fatima Payman – a devout Muslim – said Israel had a right to defend itself, but “this cannot equate to the annihilation of Palestinian… Continue reading Labor senator Fatima Payman attacks ‘killing of innocent civilians in Palestine’

The Age | Ben Saul | 17.10 23 The violence in Israel and Palestine has again inflamed bitter partisan divisions that have fuelled this conflict for so long. International humanitarian law protects all civilians, without discrimination. It aims to deescalate spirals of savagery and dehumanisation by insisting on universal human values. As a party to… Continue reading A war crime is a war crime, even in retaliation

The Age ? AP, Reuters, Bloomberg | Natassia Chrysanthos | 17.10.23 About 300,000 Israeli troops have massed at the borders of Gaza and Lebanon, escalating the risk of a war on two fronts, while international diplomatic efforts raced to secure the opening of Gaza’s Egyptian border so humanitarian aid can get into the besieged enclave.… Continue reading Israeli troops massing amid aid efforts

The Age / AP, Reuters | Najib Jobain, Samya Kullab, Ravi Nessman | 17.10.23 Medics in Gaza have warned that thousands could die as hospitals packed with wounded people run desperately low on fuel and basic supplies. Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave struggled to find food, water and safety yesterday, before an expected Israeli… Continue reading Grave fears for patients in overwhelmed Gaza hospitals