Middle East Eye

🎥 “It is deplorable and implies a failure not only for the international system but for humanity as a whole.” Protesters gathered in Mexico City on Wednesday to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the Nakba. The Mexican government also released a statement that same day, expressing “solidarity with the people of Palestine” and reiterating calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Each year, on 15 May, millions mark the Nakba, or catastrophe, which refers to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Zionist militias to make way for the creation of Israel in 1948.

📰 A new study has revealed plummeting ratings for UK Conservative and Labour leaders among ethnic minority voters between October and December 2023, compared with the first eight months of Rishi Sunak’s time as prime minister. Analysis by Ipsos Mori shows that the dip in ratings for Labour leader Keir Stamer is particularly acute, suggesting that the "Gaza effect" could be responsible for the drop in support. The study, which examines voting intention and leadership satisfaction ratings among ethnic minority and white Britons from 1996 to 2023, found that in the second half of 2023, 67% of ethnic minorities were dissatisfied with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Read more ⤵️ https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/support-sunak-and-starmer-among-ethnic-minority-voters-plummets-new-analysis-reveals?utm_source=telegram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social_traffic

📰 The US military has finished building a floating pier in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, with officials saying they are ready to begin ferrying aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave. The pier's completion comes two months after US President Joe Biden ordered it, and follows Israel's seizure and closure of Gaza's Rafah border crossing with Egypt, stripping millions of Palestinians from much needed aid. While the pier is supposed to support aid deliveries, it is not expected to replace the cheaper and more efficient land deliveries that are now largely blocked off. Though it is a US-mandated project, American officials insist that their troops will not set foot in Gaza.

📰 Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas has called for financial support from Arab countries, saying that the government has not received the funds it expected from international and regional partners. “It has now become critical to activate the Arab safety net, to boost the resilience of our people and to enable the government to carry out its duties,” Abbas said at an Arab league summit on Thursday. 🔴 Live updates: https://www.middleeasteye.net/live/gaza-live-israel-bombs-unrwa-clinic-gaza-city?utm_source=telegram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social_traffic

🎥 While speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said he is opposed to Israel establishing military control over the Gaza Strip if the war is brought to an end. Gallant’s comments come after Netanyahu said any discussion on preparations concerning who rules Gaza after the war was just “empty talk” as long as Hamas remains in Gaza.

🎥 In an interview with CNBC’s Sara Eisen aired on Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced his opposition to a two-state solution and said that it would be “the greatest reward for the terrorists that you can imagine”. He added that he believes Palestinians should receive powers to govern themselves but that they should not be allowed to have security and military powers of their own, which would instead be handled by Israel and other “sovereign powers”. 🔴 Live updates: https://www.middleeasteye.net/live/gaza-live-israel-bombs-unrwa-clinic-gaza-city?utm_source=telegram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social_traffic

🎥 "Where is my mother? I’m scared. I want my mother." A young Palestinian girl repeatedly asked for her mother as rescue workers, who found she had sustained injuries, worked to pull her out from under the rubble where she had been trapped, following an Israeli air strike in Gaza. 🔴 Live updates: https://www.middleeasteye.net/live/gaza-live-israel-bombs-unrwa-clinic-gaza-city?utm_source=telegram&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social_traffic

🎥 The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, emphasised the importance of upholding the rule of law and stated that every human life should be valued equally while briefing UN Security Council members on the situation in Libya. He announced at the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the investigative stage of the legal proceedings into alleged war crimes in Libya is expected to conclude by the end of 2025, transitioning into the judicial stage. Khan urged the international community to seize this moment to renew commitment to international criminal justice. “If a cause could unite this Council, naively perhaps, but I believed and hoped it would be the cause of international criminal justice,” he said.

🎥 Students at the University of Melbourne in Australia (UniMelb) set up a pro-Palestine encampment, renaming Arts West Hall as Mahmoud's Hall in memory of Mahmoud al-Nouq, a prospective UniMelb student who was killed in Gaza. Following the announcement, the university requested the students to disperse their encampment, warning of "serious consequences" and stating that the university would take actions that could escalate tensions. Two hours later, UniMelb for Palestine, a grassroots coalition of students, staff and alumni supporting Palestine and the primary organiser of the encampment, announced its intention to continue until the university severs all ties with Israel. They shared videos on their X account, showing students chanting and calling for the university to sever ties.

🎥 Footage circulating online from early April shows Razan, one of the granddaughters of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, along with her father and uncles a few minutes before an Israeli strike killed them on the first day of Eid while they were on their way to visit relatives. They were in a car near Gaza City on their way to a family celebration to mark the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid. The video was posted by Razan’s uncle who obtained the video from his brother’s phone after he was killed. Three of Haniyeh’s sons and four of his grandchildren were among those killed in a strike celebrated by Israel.