Palestinian medics said Israeli strikes overnight and on Tuesday killed at least 23 people in the Gaza Strip.
The dead include three children and their parents who died when their tent came under fire near the southern town of Khan Younis, medics said at Nasser Hospital, where a stream of dead and wounded have flocked since Israel resumed heavy bombardment of Gaza last week, breaking a cease-fire that halted the 17-month war.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians and wounded over 113,000, according to the health ministry. Israel claims to have killed about 20,000 militants, without citing evidence.
Israel launched the campaign by pledging to destroy Hamas after its October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed about 1,200 people and kidnapped 251. Tel Aviv claims it only targets militants and blames Hamas for civilian deaths because it operates in densely populated areas.
Oscar-winning Palestinian director of “No Other Land’ assaulted by Israeli settlers
Israeli settlers in the West Bank beat Palestinian filmmaker Hamdan Ballal, who made the documentary film “No Other Land.” The film has won an Oscar this month.
Ballal has since been detained by the military. Lawyer Lea Tsemel said the detention took place in the village of Susiya, with the filmmaker and two other Palestinians being held at a military base for medical treatment. The lawyer said she was unable to speak to them.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that on Monday night near the village of Susiya “clashed between Palestinians and Israelis, in which both sides threw stones” after “terrorists” attacked Israeli vehicles with stones. Israeli security personnel who arrived on the scene were also pelted with stones.
“In response, security forces detained three Palestinians suspected of throwing stones, as well as one Israeli citizen involved in the clash. The detainees were handed over to police for questioning. One Israeli was injured in the incident and was evacuated for medical treatment,” the IDF report said.
“Feels like a punishment”
Witnesses to the incident in a conversation with media disputed the statement. Another director of “No Other Land,” Basel Adra, a witness to the detention, told the media that the attack was carried out by Israeli settlers, they threw stones at Palestinians. Adra said:
“We came back from the Oscar ceremony and every day since then we have been attacked. Maybe this is their revenge on us for making the film. It feels like a punishment.”
Adra and Ballal are the Palestinian directors of the film and Israelis Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor also took part in the making of the film. Abraham said that Ballal suffered head and abdominal injuries after the incident and is “bleeding.”
“No Other Land” tells of the struggle of residents of the Masafer Yatta neighbourhood to prevent the Israeli military from destroying their villages. Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar called the film’s Oscar win “a sad moment for the film world” because “the filmmakers chose to reinforce a narrative that distorts the image of Israel in the eyes of international audiences.”
Voice of Europe
Italy’s Former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte wrote on X:
“Not just the tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians, women and children killed. We are horrified to learn that Hamdan Ballal, Oscar winner for No Other Land, was lynched by Israeli settlers, stoned and arrested by Israel when he should have been receiving medical treatment. Every day is horror, every day is the end of humanity. I am ashamed of our government that shakes hands with Netanyahu, of Europe that confines itself to ritual declarations and continues unconcerned. We need maximum diplomatic and economic sanctions, and an arms embargo on Israel. Talk is useless: it is the pages of history, full of blood and shame, that demand a strong choice. Meloni and von der Leyen, where are you?”
Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis also commented on Israel’s actions in Gaza:
“Once again, the US, Qatar & Egypt endorse ceasefire deals that Netanyahu tears to pieces with gigantic US bombs. Once again a US President, like Biden, Obama & Clinton before, has been subjugated by Netanyahu. Trump’s image as peacemaker is in the toilet.”
