Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the West Bank to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and discuss the need for a lasting ceasefire and humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. His visit came just hours after an Israeli airstrike killed 40 people in a refugee camp, and he condemned the attack and urged both sides to de-escalate the conflict. Blinken pledged to work with the international community to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in need and expressed his condolences for the civilian casualties in Gaza.
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Israeli military strikes in the Gaza Strip have resulted in multiple civilian casualties, prompting international uproar and calls for an immediate end to the violence. In response, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid called it “shocking and crazy” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suspended Amihai Eliyahu, a member of the far-right Otzma Yehudit party, who had suggested dropping a nuclear bomb on the Gaza Strip. Israel’s military has offered a three-hour window for residents to flee south.
On October 7th, a Hamas attack on the Kibbutz Holit in Israel left 1,400 people dead. In the aftermath, Mohamad Mattar, a Palestinian social and humanitarian worker, was allegedly detained and assaulted by a group of Israeli troops and settlers. This incident has caused alarm among Palestinians in the West Bank, as reports of violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian residents continue to mount.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency is providing support to 89 bakeries in Gaza to provide bread to 1.7 million people, as the average Palestinian is living on two pieces of bread. Israel's military recently carried out a deadly strike in Gaza City, resulting in at least 15 deaths and dozens of injuries. The UNRWA's efforts come at a time of increased violence and destruction in the region.
At least 15 people have been killed and 70 injured in an attack on a refugee camp school in Gaza City, according to the Gaza health ministry. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Jordan to meet with key Middle East leaders in an attempt to ease the plight of civilians caught in the fighting, which has killed over 200 people in Gaza and 10 people in Israel since May 10th. The United Nations has called for an immediate ceasefire.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib has accused President Joe Biden of supporting "the genocide of the Palestinian people" in a video posted Friday, sparking debate over the Biden administration's stance on the conflict in Gaza. Hassan Abdel Salam, a human rights professor based in Minneapolis, has expressed concern about the White House's messaging and has decided to not vote for Biden and encourage others to do the same. It remains to be seen how the Biden campaign will respond to the accusations and how the White House will address the ongoing conflict.
At least 36 journalists have been killed since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7th, with 12 journalists killed in the past eight days alone. The Committee to Protect Journalists is calling for an end to the violence and for all sides to ensure the safety of journalists covering the conflict. Israel has launched airstrikes at the territory and declared war, but there is no clear plan from Israel about how this campaign might end.
Bilal Saleh, a Palestinian man, was shot and killed by an Israeli settler while collecting olives from his ancestral grove in the West Bank. His family has since set up a memorial for him in their living room, and his widow spoke to CBS News about her grief and shock. The tragedy is part of a larger conflict between Palestinians and Israelis over the West Bank, and the family hopes their story will bring attention to the ongoing violence.