At least 34 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and attacks across Gaza since dawn on Tuesday, according to medical sources cited by Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) has reported a development involving Chris Smalls, a US labour activist. Smalls, the former president of the Amazon Labour Union, was one of 21 activists and journalists intercepted by Israeli forces while aboard the Handala, a ship attempting to deliver aid to Gaza.
According to the FFC, Smalls was assaulted by seven uniformed Israeli personnel who reportedly choked and kicked him, leaving visible injuries on his neck and back. The group condemned the assault as discriminatory, calling for immediate accountability.
The violence in Gaza continues to intensify, with Israeli forces carrying out overnight bombings that have killed at least 30 people in the central Nuseirat region. Hospitals in the area are struggling to manage the influx of patients, many of whom are civilians trapped in the rubble of collapsed buildings.
Read: Trump warns of ‘real starvation’ in Gaza
The West Bank, too, has seen deadly clashes. A Palestinian activist, Odeh Muhammad Hadalin, was shot dead by an Israeli settler in the village of Umm al-Khair in the occupied Masafer Yatta region.
Hadalin, known for his activism in documenting settler violence, was killed while standing in front of a community centre. His death has sparked widespread condemnation, with fellow activists mourning the loss of a committed advocate for Palestinian rights.
“My dear friend Awdah was slaughtered this evening,” said Basel Adra, the co-director of No Other Land, an Oscar-winning film that documents Israeli settler and soldier attacks on the Palestinian community of Masafer Yatta. “This is how Israel erases us – one life at a time.”
Israel’s war on Gaza
The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 60,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The relentless bombardment has destroyed the enclave and led to food shortages.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
