Raseef22 رصيفــ22

In a live debate that aired just hours ago on the CNN NewsNight program with Abby Phillip, commentator Ryan Girdusky attacked journalist Mehdi Hasan, a vocal critic of Israel’s war on Gaza, saying, “I hope your beeper (pager) doesn’t go off (explode),” referring to the recent Israeli targeting of pager and walkie-talkie devices in Lebanon in September. As the debate heated up, Hasan stated, “I’m a supporter of the Palestinians, so I am used to [being called anti-Semitic].” Girdusky replied, “Yeah, well, I hope your beeper doesn’t go off.” Hasan, who was clearly shocked by the statement, shot back, “Did you just say I should die? You just said I should be killed!” Girdusky later apologized, claiming he thought Hasan was saying he was a Hamas supporter. Hasan asked Girdusky to be brave and explain what he meant by his statement, but Girdusky refused. As a result, CNN banned Girdusky from appearing on its network, issuing a statement saying, “There is zero room for racism or bigotry at CNN or on our air. We will not allow guests to be demeaned or for the line of civility to be crossed. Ryan Girdusky will not be welcomed back at our network.” For his part, Girdusky attacked the network after CNN’s decision to dismiss him, writing on X that “You can stay on CNN if you falsely call every Republican a Nazi. But apparently, you can’t go on CNN if you make a joke.” Social media reactions to the incident highlighted it as an example of the fascist bigotry that attempts to justify indiscriminate mass killings in Palestine and Lebanon. One account stated: “Ryan Girdusky’s attack against Mehdi Hasan during a live CNN debate is hugely revealing. It exposes the fascistic doctrine that has enabled the indiscriminate mass slaughters in Palestine and now Lebanon. Namely that anyone who supports the liberation of Palestinians is a legitimate target for murder.”

Every dead child is my child. Every grieving mother is my mother. Every crying father is my father. Every home turned to rubble is the home I grew up in. Every brother carrying the remains of his brother across borders is my brother. Every sister waiting for a sister who will never come home is my sister. Every one of these people are ours, Just like we are theirs. We belong to them and they belong to us. — Nikita Gill, writer

Sudanese social media users are circulating reports of a mass suicide involving 134 Sudanese women who, fearing rape by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militias, took their own lives following the RSF’s incursion into Sudan’s Gezira state. Sudanese activists reported that the collective suicide came as a result of an “ongoing campaign of retaliation by the RSF,” involving mass executions, torture, rape, and suffering inflicted on the people of Gezira, and was done by the women to avoid sexual violence, rape, and sexual slavery. How did this happen? According to widely shared posts, a group of Sudanese women had agreed that, if RSF forces entered the area, they would walk into the river and drown together. They reportedly tied “heavy objects” to their bodies to ensure they would not resurface. This news comes as Sudanese people appeal globally for intervention to save Gezira, where accounts describe “random killing, mass suicide, and 29 confirmed rape cases, including a 6-year-old victim.” Some reports claim that the village of Al-Sarha in Gezira state is witnessing “genocide.” Some suggest that the atrocities in Gezira are revenge against its residents due to the defection of former RSF commander Abu Aqla Kikl, who recently joined the Sudanese Armed Forces. Rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, state that the continuous flow of arms exacerbates the unending suffering of civilians in the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, ongoing since April 2023. This situation, they note, is a “flagrant violation of the current arms embargo on Darfur.” So far, at least 16,650 people have been killed, over 11 million displaced, and millions more are at imminent risk of starvation. Amnesty International found that “recently manufactured or recently transferred weapons and ammunition from countries including China, Russia, Serbia, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen are being imported in large quantities into Sudan, and then in some cases diverted into Darfur.”

During the 2006 war, Al-Qard Al-Hassan had nine branches across Lebanon, three of which were destroyed. Yet, financial operations and member funds were unaffected, since the gold reserves were kept in a secure location. The question remains: Can the association weather the current crisis as it did previously?

As soon as the WHO delegation left, the Israeli military storms Kamal Adwan Hospital under heavy fire cover, bombs oxygen tanks, and leaves 12 babies in incubators without oxygen Caption: At dawn on Friday, Israeli occupation forces stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, under heavy fire cover and quadcopter surveillance. Upon entering, Israeli soldiers forced patients into the hospital’s main courtyard, separating men from women and violently assaulting everyone present, according to eyewitnesses. Dr. Hossam Abu Safieh, the hospital’s director, warned in a press statement that “we are hours away from the deaths of the wounded and sick patients,” adding in outrage, “We asked [the international community] for aid and medicine, but they sent us shells and tanks.” Reporters stated that Israeli forces began interrogating all young men in the hospital, including social media activists Aboud Battah and Idris Abu Safieh, without clarifying their objectives for storming the hospital and conducting interrogations. The Israeli military had tightened its siege on the hospital on Thursday evening, reaching the main gate before pulling back to allow a World Health Organization (WHO) delegation to deliver essential fuel and medical supplies and evacuate critical cases. Immediately after the international delegation left, Israeli forces stormed the hospital, initiating broad searches and violence that targeted everyone—from patients and their companions to medical staff. The Israeli assault began with an airstrike on the hospital's oxygen station, leaving the lives of 12 critically ill and premature babies in incubators at risk. According to Kamal Adwan’s head of nursing, there were 160 wounded and approximately 250 medical staff inside the hospital when Israel bombed it. Gaza-based journalist Diaa Al-Kahlout stated, “The WHO delegation, which reassured the Kamal Adwan Hospital administration last night that the Israeli army would not enter, must be subject to an international investigation,” adding that “the army entered with prior knowledge and precise information of the hospital’s layout and moved according to the exact same path and movement that the delegation had moved.” The incursion comes 21 days into Israel's devastating siege on north Gaza, where Kamal Adwan is the last functional healthcare facility.

Journalists in Gaza reported that Israeli forces have abducted young activist AbdelRahman Battah, known as “Aboud” and nicknamed “the child journalist,” from Kamal Adwan Hospital. They then subjected him to abuse before taking him to an undisclosed location, sparking serious concerns for his safety. The young journalist describes himself as "the greatest reporter in the world during the year 2023-2024" and “the only legitimate heir to Shireen Abu Akleh,” who was shot in the head and killed by an Israeli sniper on May 11, 2022, while reporting in the field. Battah is among several young activists on social media who were "all arrested from Kamal Adwan Hospital and taken for questioning," including Ali Battah, Abdul Rahim Obaid, and Idris Abu Safiya. These arrests follow a violent night in which Israel bombed the main oxygen station at Kamal Adwan Hospital, trapping more than 150 patients and staff inside and injuring several medical personnel, amid reports that the lack of oxygen has left the lives of 12 sick and premature babies inside incubators at serious risk.

"At dawn today, we experienced firsthand what it means when any journalist says: ‘warplanes launched a strike on people’s homes while they were asleep and killed them,’ while also having to wait for Red Cross vehicles to rescue our colleagues and loved ones, and then search for the missing and treat the injured... We have been informing the public of these ongoing crimes, but today, we became the news." — Ramez el-Kadi, Lebanese journalist

An Israeli drone directly targeted the residence of journalists in Hasbaya, in the southern Nabatieh Governorate, "far from any military operations" and "while they slept" at dawn on Friday. The Israeli strike killed three journalists: Al Manar TV cameraman Wissam Qassim, Al Mayadeen cameraman Ghassan Najjar, and Al Mayadeen broadcast engineer Mohammad Reda, and left an unknown number of others injured. The location served as a residence for journalists from various local and international media outlets. According to a National News Agency correspondent in Hasbaya, civil defense and Red Cross personnel are working to remove debris and transport the bodies of the three journalists and other wounded media personnel to the government hospital, after they were targeted by Israel in an airstrike on the hotel they were residing in. Among the injured journalists are Zakaria Fadel, Hassan Hoteit, and Ali Shoaib. Alaraby TV correspondent Ramez el-Kadi shared on platform ‘X’ that, "At dawn earlier today, we experienced firsthand what it means when any journalist says: warplanes launched a strike on people’s homes while they were asleep and killed them, while also having to wait for Red Cross vehicles to rescue our colleagues and loved ones, and then search for the missing and treating the injured... We have been informing the public of these ongoing crimes, but today, we became the news." Jad Shahrour, the media officer of Samir Kassir Foundation’s SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom, stated on ‘X’ that this Israeli operation is a "new Israeli war crime, intent on silencing the truth. Another deliberate aggression against journalists." This attack raises the number of journalists killed by Israel in Lebanon since October 7, 2023, to 12, including Al Manar TV cameraman Kamel Karaki, Al Mayadeen correspondent Hadi al-Sayyed, Reuters photojournalist Issam Abdallah, Al Mayadeen reporter Farah Omar and her colleague, cameraman Rabih al-Maamari, Hawana Lebanon cameraman Hussein Safa, cameramen Mohammad Ghadhbun and Mohammad Beitar, Al Manar TV cameraman Ali al-Hadi Yassin, in addition to today’s victims.

Lebanese Minister of Environment and head of the National Emergency Committee, Nasser Yassin, revealed that "Lebanon needs $250 million a month to help more than a million people displaced by Israeli attacks and to cover the costs of essential services such as food, water, sanitation, and education for the displaced." In an interview with Reuters, Yassin pointed out that the Lebanese government's efforts, along with local initiatives and international aid, have only covered 20% of the needs for some 1.3 million people uprooted from their homes and currently sheltering in asylum centers, public buildings, or with relatives. Yassin stated that "these needs are likely to increase as the daily waves of airstrikes continue to force more people to flee their homes, while the Lebanese government struggles to find ways to shelter them." He added, "We need a ceasefire today, and we need everybody in the international community, for once, to have the courage to speak out about what is happening." “There is a member state of the UN waging war against a small nation in the most aggressive manner we’ve ever seen in the history of Lebanon. This should be the message,” he said. He also explained that "the damage Lebanon has suffered due to Israeli attacks is estimated in the billions of dollars," noting that "entire villages along the border have been obliterated in recent days, along with public institutions, water facilities, water establishments, pumping stations, and hospitals, all of which need to be rebuilt." Yassin's comments came ahead of a conference on Thursday in Paris to rally support for Lebanon, from which the United States was absent, while other global powers participated to provide urgent humanitarian aid to Lebanon, support its security forces, and push for a ceasefire. The conference aims to emphasize the need for an end to hostilities based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701, as well as to mobilize the international community to assist between 500,000 and one million displaced people.

At the conclusion of the International Conference in Support of Lebanon's People and Sovereignty, held in Paris, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced, "We have collectively raised 800 million dollars in humanitarian aid and 200 million dollars for the security forces" in his closing speech at the Thursday conference. In a press conference, Barrot emphasized the importance of fully implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, issued in 2006. The resolution calls for South Lebanon to be free of any forces or weapons other than those of the Lebanese state and for the strengthening of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) on the border. Barrot stated that "efforts are ongoing to establish a ceasefire in Lebanon, and the French-American proposal remains the foundation for achieving that," stressing that no country can impose dominance of one faction over another in Lebanon. He added that "Iran and Hezbollah must cease their attacks," pointing out that "fire will not lead Israel to peace." The International Conference to Support Lebanon kicked off today, with the notable absence of the United States, in contrast to the participation of other global powers, such as Germany and the UK, to provide urgent humanitarian aid to Lebanon, support its security forces, and push towards a ceasefire. The conference, initiated by French President Emmanuel Macron, aims to "reaffirm the necessity of halting hostilities based on UN Security Council Resolution 1701." It also seeks to "mobilize the international community to provide assistance for between 500,000 and 1 million displaced people," while the Lebanese government claims it needs 250 million dollars per month to manage the crisis as Israel continues its aggression on Lebanon. The conference aims to "intensify support for the Lebanese armed forces, which are considered the guarantor of internal stability and play a pivotal role in implementing Resolution 1701."