Children and Gender

10/10/2025

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18/10/2024

World reactions after Israel says it killed Hamas leader Sinwar
Hamas has yet to comment on Israeli announcement its forces killed the group’s leader in southern Gaza on Wednesday.

Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Al Sinwar (C) waves to supporters during a Hamas rally to mark the 31st anniversary of the group, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, 16 December 2018 (reissued 17 October 2024). The Israeli Army, Tsahal, on 17 October 2024 confirmed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was "eliminated" on 16 October 'after a year-long pursuit'. Sinwar was appointed Hamas leader in August 2024, a few days after his predecessor had been killed in Iran.
Israel has said its forces have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in an attack in the southern Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military on Thursday announced Sinwar’s death, but there has been no comment from Hamas.
According to the Israeli military statement, Sinwar was killed on Wednesday after soldiers “eliminated three fighters”.
In August, Hamas appointed its Gaza leader, Sinwar, as the group’s political bureau head to succeed Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated during a visit to Iran on July 31.

Here are some reactions

Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has “settled its account” with Sinwar but the “war is not yet ended”.
Netanyahu said in televised remarks that “light is prevailing over darkness” in the region and that Sinwar’s death is an “important landmark” in the decline of the group.

Hamas will no longer rule Gaza, he said.

Foreign Minister Israel Katz called Sinwar’s killing a “military and moral achievement for the Israeli army”, while Benny Gantz, chairman of Israel’s National Unity Party, congratulated the Israeli military.

“This is an important achievement with a clear message – we will pursue our enemies to the end, anytime and anywhere,” Gantz wrote on social media platform X.

He said the Israeli military “will continue to operate in the Gaza Strip for years to come, and now the series of achievements and the elimination of Sinwar must be taken advantage of to bring about the return of the abductees and the replacement of Hamas’s rule”.

The forum “welcomes Yahya Sinwar’s elimination and urges leveraging this major achievement to secure hostages’ return”, it said in a statement.

United States
President Joe Biden said Sinwar’s death marks a moment of relief for Israelis while providing the opportunity for a “day after” in Gaza without the group in power.

“Yahya Sinwar was an insurmountable obstacle to achieving all of those goals. That obstacle no longer exists. But much work remains before us,” Biden said in a statement.

“I will be speaking soon with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders to congratulate them, to discuss the pathway for bringing the hostages home to their families, and for ending this war once and for all, which has caused so much devastation to innocent people,” Biden said.

Vice President Kamala Harris hailed Sinwar’s death and said it is a chance to “finally end the war in Gaza”.

“Justice has been served,” Harris told reporters. “Sinwar was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent people, including the victims of October 7 and hostages killed in Gaza.

“Today I can only hope that the families of the victims of Hamas feel a sense and measure of relief,” she added.

Mike Johnson, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, also applauded Israel’s claim that Sinwar has been killed, saying his death had brought “relief” to the people of Israel.

“Sinwar’s life was the embodiment of evil and marked by hatred for all that is good in the world,” Johnson said in a statement. “His death brings hope for all those who seek to live in freedom, and relief to Israelis he has sought to oppress.”

US Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sinwar’s “beliefs and actions have caused so much pain to the Israeli and Palestinian people”.

“I pray that his elimination from the scene will clear a path to urgently and immediately bring home all the hostages – including the seven Americans – and negotiate an end to hostilities that will ensure the security of the Israeli people and provide full humanitarian relief and a new path forward for the people of Gaza.”

Iran
The country’s mission to the United Nations said the final moments of Sinwar will be a model for resistance to Israel.

“When Muslims look up to the Martyr Sinwar standing on the battlefield – in combat attire and out in the open, not in a hideout, facing the enemy – the spirit of resistance will be strengthened,” the mission wrote in a post on X.

“He will become a model for the youth and children who will carry forward his path towards the liberation of Palestine,” it said, adding that “as long as occupation and aggression exist, resistance will endure, for the martyr remains alive and a source of inspiration.”

European Union
Josep Borrell, the 27-nation bloc’s foreign policy chief, described Sinwar as “an obstacle to an urgently needed ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages”.

“Yahya Sinwar was a terrorist, listed by the EU, responsible for the heinous 7/10 attack,” he wrote on X.

“There must be an end to violence, liberation of hostages [and] stop to the suffering of Palestinians.”

Germany
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, in a statement, branded Sinwar “a cruel murderer and a terrorist”.
She said Hamas should “immediately release all the hostages” and “lay down its arms”.

France
President Emmanuel Macron said Sinwar “was the main person responsible for the terrorist attacks and barbaric acts of October 7”.

“France demands the release of all hostages still held by Hamas,” Macron posted on X.

NATO
Secretary-General Mark Rutte told reporters at a Brussels news conference that “if he has died, I personally will not miss him,” referring to Sinwar.

Italy
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said “with the death of Yahya Sinwar, the person principally responsible for the October 7 attacks no longer exists.”

“I am convinced that a new phase should be launched: it is time for all the hostages to be released, for a ceasefire to be immediately proclaimed and for the reconstruction of Gaza to begin.”

United Kingdom
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom “will not mourn” the death of Sinwar.

Starmer condemned the mastermind of the October 7 attacks and said his thoughts were with the families of the victims.

“The release of all hostages, an immediate ceasefire and an increase in humanitarian aid are long overdue so we can move towards a long-term, sustainable peace in the Middle East,” he added.

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Hours after Israel said it had confirmed the assassination of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.????????????????

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17/10/2024

What was the Balfour Declaration?
More than 100 years ago, on November 2, 1917, Britain’s then-foreign secretary, Arthur Balfour, wrote a letter addressed to Lionel Walter Rothschild, a figurehead of the British Jewish community.
The letter was short – just 67 words – but its contents had a seismic effect on Palestine that is still felt to this day.
It committed the British government to “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people” and to facilitating “the achievement of this object”. The letter is known as the Balfour Declaration.
In essence, a European power promised the Zionist movement a country where Palestinian Arab natives made up more than 90 percent of the population.
A British Mandate was created in 1923 and lasted until 1948. During that period, the British facilitated mass Jewish immigration – many of the new residents were fleeing Na**sm in Europe – and they also faced protests and strikes. Palestinians were alarmed by their country’s changing demographics and British confiscation of their lands to be handed over to Jewish settlers.

02/10/2024

SUCH CRUELTY AND BABARISM,SAY NO TO WAR,SAY NO TO MISSILE PRODUCTION NOW

Israel pledges to respond to Iran’s barrage of missiles; Tehran threatens repeated attack ‘with multiplied intensity’.

02/10/2024

UN General Assembly: What did world leaders say about Israel’s war on Gaza?
Here’s what world leaders said during the annual UNGA session about Israel’s war on Gaza.

9 / 22
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 1 Oct 2024
1 Oct 2024
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Prime ministers, presidents, and other world leaders from around the world gathered in New York City this month for the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

War in Gaza was one of the issues that topped the agenda of speeches – here are some snippets.

INTERACTIVE - UNGA Speeches on Gaza

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
The speed and scale of the killing and destruction in Gaza are unlike anything in my years as secretary-general. More than 200 of our own staff have been killed, many with their families.
The Take: A year of unprecedented war looms over UNGA
list 2 of 4
The theatrics of genocidal impunity
UN demands Israel end occupation of Palestine: How did your country vote?
No, the UNGA resolution on Palestine was not a win
end of list
Gaza is a nonstop nightmare that threatens to take the entire region with it.

The international community must mobilise for an immediate ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and the beginning of an irreversible process towards a two-state solution.

INTERACTIVE - UNGA Speeches on Gaza

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
In Gaza and the West Bank, we are witnessing one of the greatest humanitarian crises in recent history, now spreading dangerously to Lebanon.
[Israel’s response in the wake of the Hamas attacks on October 7] has become a collective punishment for the entire Palestinian people.
There are more than 40,000 fatal victims, most of them women and children.
The right to defence has become the right to revenge, which prevents an agreement to release hostages and postpones the ceasefire.
US President Joe Biden
Innocent civilians in Gaza are also going through hell. Thousands and thousands killed, including aid workers. Too many families dislocated, crowding into tents, facing a dire humanitarian situation.
As we look ahead we must also address the rise of violence against innocent Palestinians on the West Bank and set the conditions for a better future, including a two-state solution where the world where Israel enjoys security and peace and full recognition and normalised relations with all its neighbours, where Palestinians live in security, dignity, and self-determination in a state of their own.
I put forward with Qatar and Egypt a ceasefire and hostage deal. It’s been endorsed by the UN Security Council. Now is the time for the parties to finalise its terms, bring the hostages home, secure security for Israel, and Gaza free of Hamas’s grip, ease the suffering in Gaza, and end this war.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
As a result of the Israeli attacks, Gaza has become the largest cemetery for children and women in the world: Over 17,000 children have been the targets of Israeli bullets and bombs.
In Gaza, not only are children dying, but also the United Nations system. The values the West claims to defend are dying, the truth is dying, and the hopes of humanity to live in a more just world are dying – one by one.
I am asking you bluntly here: Are those in Gaza and the occupied West Bank not human beings? Do children in Palestine have no rights?
Jordan’s King Abdullah II
It often feels that there was not a moment when our world was not in turmoil. And yes, I cannot recall a time of greater peril than this.
For nearly a year, the sky blue flag flying over UN shelters and schools in Gaza has been powerless to protect innocent civilians from Israeli bombardment. So it’s no surprise that both inside and outside this hall, trust in the UN’s cornerstone principles and ideals is crumbling.
The harsh reality many see is that some nations are above international law, that global justice does bend to the will of power, and that human rights are selective; a privilege to be granted or denied at will.
Colombia President Gustavo Petro
That richest 1 percent of humanity, the powerful global oligarchy, is the one that allows bombs to be dropped on the women, elderly, and children of Gaza, Lebanon, or Sudan.
The power of a country in the world is no longer exercised by the type of economic or political system it has or its ideology but power is wielded according to how much capacity one has to destroy humankind.
That is why we are not listened to when we vote to stop the genocide in Gaza. Even though we are the majority of the presidents of the world and represent the majority of humanity, we are not listened to by a minority of presidents who can stop the bombing.
Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
Every year I stand on this podium and begin my speech by talking about the Palestinian cause, the absence of justice, the perils of believing that it can be neglected, and the illusions of making peace without a just solution.
The ongoing Israeli aggression for nearly a year is nothing but a result of the absence of a sincere political will, deliberate international failure to resolve the Palestinian issue with a just solution, and insistence of the occupying Israeli authorities to impose a fait accompli on the Palestinians and the world with all types of force.
There is no Israeli partner for peace during the current government’s tenure, and no peace process taking place, but rather a genocide.
The end of the occupation and the Palestinian people exercising their right to self-determination is neither a favour nor a gift from anyone. Unfortunately, the Security Council has failed to implement its ceasefire resolution in the Gaza Strip and to refrain from granting the state of Palestine full membership status in the United Nations despite the General Assembly’s adoption of a resolution supporting Palestine’s request for UN membership last May.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa
The violence the Palestinian people are being subjected to is a grim continuation of more than half a century of apartheid.
We South Africans know what apartheid looks like. We lived through it. We suffered and died under it. We will not remain silent and watch as apartheid is perpetrated against others.
In December last year, South Africa approached the International Court of Justice seeking an order to prevent Israel from committing genocide against the people of Gaza.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian
Over the past year, the world has witnessed the true nature of the Israeli regime. It has witnessed how this regime carries out atrocities in Gaza; and in eleven months has murdered in cold blood over 41,000 innocent people—mostly women and children.
Its leaders label this genocide; the killing of children, war crimes, and state terrorism as “legitimate self-defence”.
They label the freedom-loving and brave people around the world who protest against their genocide as “anti-Semitic”. They label an oppressed people, who have stood up against seven decades of occupation and humiliation, as “terrorists”.
Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo
In the Middle East, decades of dehumanising the enemy has led to a vicious cycle of violence, resulting in the killing of over 40,000 people in less than a year.
Early on in the Gaza war, my government warned against lack of respect for international humanitarian laws on both sides, and the disproportionate attack with blatant disregard for Palestinian civilian life.
We’ve been calling for an immediate and lasting ceasefire for many months, but today it seems more distant than ever. Hostilities need to stop before the whole region becomes engulfed in violence.
Action speaks louder than words. Belgium has imposed a weapons embargo. We never ceased our support to UNRWA and other humanitarian organisations.
French President Emmanuel Macron
Israel’s war in Gaza has gone on for too long. The tens of thousands of Palestinian civilian casualties cannot be justified or explained away. Too many innocent people have died and we mourn them, as well.
This war must, therefore, end and a ceasefire must be achieved as quickly as possible, along with the release of the hostages and a massive flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
It is absolutely crucial for a new phase to begin in Gaza, for the weapons to fall silent, for humanitarian workers to return, and for civilian populations to be protected.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
Around the world, more fires are breaking out and burning with ever greater intensity. Exacting a terrible toll in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar, Yemen, and beyond.
I call on Israel and Hezbollah: Stop the violence. Step back from the brink.
We need to see an immediate ceasefire to provide space for a diplomatic settlement, and we are working with all partners to that end. Because further escalation serves no one.
This is intimately linked with the situation in Gaza where, again, we need to see an immediate ceasefire. It shames us all that the suffering in Gaza continues to grow.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif
Can we, as human beings, remain silent while children lie buried, under the rubble of their shattered homes? Can we turn a blind eye to the mothers, cradling the lifeless bodies of their children? This is not just a conflict; this is systematic slaughter of innocent people; an assault on the very essence of human life and dignity.
The blood of Gaza’s children stains the hands of not just the oppressors,ِ butِ also of those who are complicit in prolonging this cruel conflict.ِ
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley
And let me be clear, we condemn the actions of Hamas on October 7, but we equally and strongly deplore the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which is the result of the disproportionate use of force by Israel.
There’s no justification for it and that is why treaties exist governing the rules of engagement for war.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
The question of Palestine is the biggest wound to human conscience. As we speak, the conflict in Gaza is still going on, causing more civilian casualties with each passing day. Fighting has spread to Lebanon; might must not take the place of justice.
Palestine’s long-held aspiration to establish an independent state should not be shunned any more, and the historical injustice suffered by the Palestinian people should not be ignored any longer.
There must not be any delay in reaching a comprehensive ceasefire, and the fundamental way out lies in the two-state solution.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
Pull quote: The murder of Palestinian civilians by US weapons must stop.
All those who are still capable of compassion resent the fact that the October tragedy is being used for a massive collective punishment of the Palestinians, which has turned out to be an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.
The murder of Palestinian civilians by US weapons must stop.
The delivery of humanitarian cargoes to the enclave must be ensured, the restoration of infrastructure must be arranged and, most importantly, the implementation of the legitimate right of self-determination of the Palestinians must be guaranteed, and they must be allowed to establish a territorially integral and viable state within the borders of 1967 with its capital in East Jerusalem, not in words but in deeds, “on the ground”.
Indonesia Minister for Foreign Affairs Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday mentioned, and I quote, that “Israel seeks peace,” that “Israel yearns for peace”. Really? How are we supposed to believe that statement?
Yesterday, while he was here, Israel conducted unprecedented massive air attacks on Beirut. PM Netanyahu wants the war to continue … We must stop that.
We must pressure Israel to come back to a political solution for the two-state solution.
As I speak now more than 41,000 in Gaza have been killed, the situation in West Bank Lebanon is deteriorating.
Is that not enough? Will the Security Council only take action to stop Israel’s atrocities when all Palestinian are displaced? Or when 100,000 Palestinians are killed? Or when a regional armed conflict breaks out? That will be too late!
Malaysia Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohamad Hasan
Just months ago, the world witnessed Israel’s mockery, and utter disrespect of the United Nations in this very hall, with the insolent shredding of the UN Charter.
Israel’s actions, with each passing day, raise our doubts as to whether it actually believes in the UN system, or values its membership in this organisation.
Let there be no doubt: The question of Gaza is a direct test of the capability of the United Nations. Let this 76-year-old issue not age into a century of our failure to uphold justice. Let our dreams of a free Palestine live beyond today, and beyond the words that we say.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez
In Palestine, for almost a year now we’ve been witnessing an unconscionable spiral of death and devastation which is now, unfortunately, spreading to Lebanon.
This is an escalation of the conflict, which is woefully grave in nature.
Spain condemns in the strongest terms the death of innocent civilians once again and consequently, I wish to once again call for de-escalation, detente and diplomacy.
We must put an end to the conflict in Gaza and tackle the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, that’s the only way that we’ll be able to successfully extinguish the hotbeds of tension that are jeopardising regional and global stability.

Everything we’re seeing daily in Gaza, and now unfortunately in Lebanon, is forcing us to think about the very validity of international humanitarian law just as we mark the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas
The massacres, the crimes, the genocide that Israel has been perpetrating against our people since its inception in 1948 to this very day will not go unpunished; there is no statute of limitations. But despite repeated calls, the world has not succeeded in obliging Israel to stop this war of genocide and its war crimes against innocent civilians.
Palestinian people, for almost a year now, have been “subjected to one of the most heinous crimes of our era”.
Seventy-five percent of everything in Gaza has been fully destroyed.
The world bears responsibility for the situation of our people in Gaza and the West Bank.
We want a solution that will protect both countries, the State of Palestine and the State of Israel, so that they can coexist in peace, stability and security.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
To speak for my country, to speak for the truth. And here’s the truth: Israel seeks peace. Israel yearns for peace. Israel has made peace and will make peace again.
Yet we face savage enemies who seek our annihilation, and we must defend ourselves against them.
In measured military operations, we destroyed nearly all of Hamas’s terror battalions – 23 out of 24 battalions. Now, to complete our victory, we are focused on mopping up Hamas’s remaining fighting capabilities.
Israel must also defeat Hezbollah in Lebanon.

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Iranian leader tells UN meeting his country is ‘ready to engage’ on nuclear deal if all participants act ‘in good faith’.
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The UN General Assembly is meeting after a year of unprecedented war, as Israel escalates its attack on Lebanon.So sad but real.😭😭😭😭😭😭

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20/09/2024

https://youtu.be/ito7GbF4u_Y?si=pxnDTFgdqwE3ZtKj

Your Number is an Afro beat, Afro Pop song with beautiful and lovely lyrics to amplify loving souls by Bengazy a Ghanaian music producer, Song Writer, Musici...

03/09/2024

The UK is shutting off some arms shipments to Israel amid growing cries for a cease-fire in Gaza, but some experts say it's not enough
Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert
Tue, September 3, 2024 at 2:56 AM GMT·4 min read
2

The UK on Monday announced it would suspend the export of some arms to Israel.

UK officials said there's a risk the weapons could lead to "serious violation" of humanitarian law.

Though the move by the UK stands to have limited impact on the fighting, it holds symbolic weight.

UK officials said Monday that the country would suspend the export of some arms to Israel.

The decision by the key Israeli ally marked one of the latest signs that some members of the international community were contemplating pulling back military support for the country. It came days after Israel said it recovered the bodies of six hostages, whom the country said had been killed by Hamas in a tunnel in Gaza. The news of their deaths magnified the urgency for both sides to reach a cease-fire.

In explaining its decision, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy cited a "clear risk" that some weapons could be used by Israel to "commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law," according to a video posted to the UK's Parliament website.

Lammy added that the decision would impact roughly 30 of 350 export licenses for equipment including parts for planes, helicopters, and drones. According to Sam Perlo-Freeman, a research coordinator for the group Campaign Against Arms Trade, the step is "a belated, but welcome move," the AP reported. But Perlo-Freeman said it was nevertheless "outrageous and unjustifiable" that F-35 fighter jet materials did not appear to have been suspended as well.

On Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted on the social-media platform X that he was "deeply disheartened" by the UK's decision to impose sanctions on the export licenses for weapons and equipment.

"This comes at a time when we fight a war on 7 different fronts - a war that was launched by a savage terrorist organization, unprovoked," Gallant wrote. "At a time when we mourn 6 hostages who were executed in cold blood by Hamas inside tunnels in Gaza. At a time when we fight to bring 101 hostages home."

Globally, pressure mounted as the week began for Israel to reach a deal. US President Joe Biden said on Monday that he did not believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had done enough to secure a cease-fire with Hamas.

Meanwhile, inside Israel, widespread protests and nationwide labor stoppages erupted following the news of the hostages' deaths. Hundreds of thousands of protestors pressured Netanyahu's government throughout the weekend to reach an accord with Hamas that would enable the remaining hostages to come home alive.

"It's a mix of grief and anger," Niv Keidar, a protestor, told Business Insider after helping block a major intercity highway in Tel Aviv on Sunday night. "There must be a deal that will bring back alive those people that are still possible to rescue."

The impact of the UK's decision
Since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out on October 7 — when roughly 1,200 Israeli citizens were killed during attacks by Hamas fighters — more than 40,000 Palestinians have died amid Israel's retaliatory efforts, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The International Rescue Committee says that roughly 75% of the Gazan population has been displaced.

Israel's push into Gaza and strikes on Hamas-controlled territory have sparked international condemnation for their effects on civilians, and contributed to heightened regional tensions with groups including Iran and their proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah.

Though the consequences of the UK's decision on the wider war may ultimately be limited, its impact may hold more symbolic weight on the geopolitical stage. Josh Paul, a senior advisor for the nonprofit organization Democracy for the Arab World Now, said in an emailed statement to BI on Monday that the action by the UK marked a "critical step" in holding Israel "accountable."

"With the UK finally recognizing its responsibilities under international humanitarian law, the US is becoming increasingly isolated in its unwillingness to do the same," Paul added. (DAWN, which was founded in 2018 by the late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, supports democracy and human-rights efforts throughout the Middle East and North Africa.)

Still, Netanyahu appeared undeterred on Monday, refusing to budge on a key point that has thwarted cease-fire efforts so far: the presence of Israeli troops in the Philadelphi corridor, a strip of land along the border which Gaza shares with Egypt. Netanyahu has said that withdrawing troops from the area is off the table — a decision that stands to protract the fighting.

"The axis of evil needs the Philadelphi corridor, and for that reason, we must control the Philadelphi corridor," Netanyahu said during a press conference. "Hamas insists for that reason that we not be there, and for that reason, I insist that we be there."