Hundreds of protesters have defied the Prime Minister and marched through central London on the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks. Scores of demonstrators wearing keffiyehs in an array of colours took part in an Inter-University March stopping to protest at some of London's most prestigious universities, including King's College London (KCL) and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
Growing up in the West Bank, Leqaa Kordia was separated from family in Gaza by Israeli restrictions on movement between the territories. So aunts and uncles in Gaza would call from the beach there, allowing Kordia to share her cousins' laughter and glimpse the waves. Now many of those relatives are dead, killed in the war that has destroyed much of the Strip. And more than 200 days after Kordia
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Security Cabinet, has slammed US President Donald Trump's new peace plan, calling it "a resounding diplomatic failure." In an extensive post on X, Smotrich referenced the 2023 Hamas-led attacks that sparked the current war in Gaza, accusing Trump and Netanyahu of "turning our backs on all the lessons of October 7." He blasted the plan as "a tragedy of leadership fleeing from the truth." "In my estimation, it will also end in tears. Our children will be forced to fight in Gaza again," said Smotrich, the leader of the hardline, ultra-nationalist National Religious Party-Religious Zionism.
Facing international isolation, accusations of war crimes and growing pressure to end a conflict he has continued to escalate, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gets his chance to push back Friday on the international community's biggest platform. Netanyahu's annual speech to the U.N. General Assembly is always closely watched, often protested, reliably emphatic and sometimes a venue for dramatic allegations. But this time, the stakes are higher than ever for the Israeli leader.
Some of the protest's participants handed pamphlets to passersby, which read in part: "We, artists, creators, and cultural practitioners, stand here today to raise our voices against the crimes being committed in our name. Since the beginning of the war, more than 64,000 people have been murdered in Gaza and over 160,000 wounded, among them dozens of artists, writers, and cultural activists."
No matter where you are, Israel's long arm' may be coming for you next. And so Israel has struck again. On Tuesday, the Middle East's favourite perennial aggressor launched missiles against the Qatari capital of Doha, targeting Hamas leaders involved in negotiations surrounding a proposal from the United States for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli genocide of Palestinians has officially killed more than 64,000 people in less than two years.
In just three days, Israel has carried out strikes in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and Yemen. On Tuesday, Israel launched a targeted air strike on a Hamas leadership compound in Qatar's capital, Doha, during a meeting to discuss a US-proposed ceasefire for Gaza. The strike killed six people, including the son of senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, the director of al-Hayya's office, three bodyguards and a Qatari security officer. However, its top leaders are reported to have survived the attack.
A leaked military report suggests only 17 percent of those killed in Gaza were fighters. Israel has been bombing Gaza for nearly two years, killing more than 62,000 people, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza says, but the real number is likely much higher. Israel claims it is targeting fighters from Hamas, not civilians, but a leaked military report reveals a different story.
