US-Israeli genocide in Gaza
Israel has launched fresh air and artillery strikes on various areas of the Gaza Strip, where the situation is nothing less than an absolute catastrophe. Nearly 20 people were killed in the attacks targeting several houses in the southern city of Rafah. Elsewhere in the south, thirteen bodies were recovered from under the rubble in Khan Yunis. To the center, an Israeli air raid on a vehicle killed a civilian and injured two others in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Gaza City also witnessed fresh bombardments that left a number of civilians dead. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 66 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours. Israel launched its genocide in Gaza on October 7, 2023. The death toll now stands at over 34,450, but the number of casualties are said to be much higher as thousands remain trapped under the rubble.
Gaza ceasefire talks
A senior Hamas official says the Palestinian resistance movement is serious about reaching a Gaza ceasefire agreement, but it will not bow down to US pressure. Sami Abu Zuhri was referring to Israel’s counter-proposal on a Gaza deal. He underlined that any agreement that fails to include an end to the Israeli aggression will be unacceptable. In a separate statement, a Hamas spokesman rejected reports that the movement has agreed on the expulsion of some of its leaders from Gaza, saying they will remain there with Palestinian citizens. Jihad Taha said those who will be compelled to leave the region are, in his words, Nazi occupiers. On Saturday, Hamas announced that it had received Israel’s response to a proposal offered two weeks ago by the resistance group. Hamas says any deal must guarantee a permanent ceasefire in addition to the return of displaced Palestinians and withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
Pro-Palestine campus protests
Iran’s President says crackdown on anti-Israeli protests at Western universities has once again exposed the true face of Western civilization and those who claim to be advocates of freedom of expression. Ebrahim Raeisi called the clampdown on protests another scandal for the self-proclaimed advocates of freedom of expression who are in fact seeking to maintain their dominance. He alluded to recent beatings and arrests of pro-Palestinian students in the West, especially on US campuses. Raeisi said images coming from those universities have also revealed the true nature of the West. Raeisi described the protests by university students as an uprising against the West's oppression, crimes and dominance. He noted that violence against pro-Palestine students won’t extinguish the uprising.