Concerns about Jewish safety have been raised globally by Hamas’s calls for solidarity events. From Washington state, Natasha Mozgovaya is on a US campus where tensions were visible.
A potential Hezbollah attack has prompted the evacuation of some towns in northern Israel. And as Yan Boechat reports for VOA from Metula, Israel, soldiers prepare for what they fear could become a new front while Israel shoots down rockets over the city.
Disinformation spread like wildfire on Saturday, just as rockets and Hamas militants infiltrated Israel.In addition to being fought offline, the conflict is also being fought online.
As missiles pound Gaza and more Israeli victims’ bodies are found in their homes, the dead toll from the Israel-Hamas conflict has risen to more than 2,300 on both sides.
Following the surprise attack against Israel by Hamas, a photo of a mother, father, and three children caught in the crossfire has gone viral on the internet. When the family’s safe room—which was where they were taking refuge—was breached by a Palestinian militant group over the weekend, the family members were killed. The family friend Dor Pundark was in contact with them just before they went silent.
As Israel continuously pounding the Gaza Strip, the families of at least 150 Israeli hostages inside Gaza are growing increasingly terrified, and surrounding areas have been evacuated.
In a Monday press conference in New York, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned the deaths that resulted from the weekend’s Hamas strikes and Israeli counterattacks. According to Margaret Besheer, a U.N. correspondent for VOA, Guterres called for a two-state solution to the crisis through negotiation and urged both sides to protect civilians and Hamas to release hostages. Guterres also urged both sides to protect civilians.
After three days of fierce fighting, an apparent cease-fire between Israel and the Islamic Jihad appears to be holding. The 2 million Palestinians who live there continue to confront difficulties, as evidenced by the most recent fighting in Gaza. 95% of the water is undrinkable, and unemployment and poverty are also rampant
Last month, US President Joe Biden urged Israel’s new leaders to take confidence-building measures to enhance Palestinians’ lives, prompting Israeli officials to release a package that includes 120 million dollars in loans and 16,000 Israeli work licences for Palestinians
Tor Wennesland, the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, urged all parties in Gaza to “avoid unilateral steps and provocations” and “take steps to reduce tensions”