Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: The Israeli navy intercepted the Freedom Flotilla Coalition convoy bound for Gaza, forcibly boarding and seizing<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">&nbsp;nine boats&nbsp;<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">early Wednesday in the Mediterranean Sea, according to reports from international media and flotilla organizers. As reported by Anadolu Agency, a state-run news outlet based in T&uuml;rkiye, the interception occurred approximately 120 nautical miles off the Gaza coast, where Israeli troops boarded several of the aid ships. <div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1975766044183830923&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=addad1825ab0ca011155675421f18275991ea98d&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 649px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div> The ambush took place while the coalition was en route to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. Flotilla organizers stated on social media that Israeli forces boarded the vessels and cut off live transmissions from the ships, adding that communication with most boats was lost shortly after the raid began. In a statement, the Israeli foreign ministry confirmed that all flotilla vessels had been intercepted and escorted to an Israeli port. Officials claimed that <span style="color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">the 145 activists taking part in the Freedom Flotilla Coalition and Thousand Madleens to Gaza<span style='color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.9); font-family: "AP Font", "AP Font Local", Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;' id="isPasted">, were safe and would be sent back to their home countries in the coming days. <span style="font-style: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; text-decoration-thickness: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-decoration-color: initial; float: none; display: inline !important;" id="isPasted">The activists on board the nine-vessel group included doctors, politicians, lawmakers from Turkey and Denmark. Turkey&#39;s foreign ministry said the intervention against the Freedom Flotilla, including Turkish nationals and lawmakers, showed that the &quot;genocidal&quot; Israeli government targeted all peaceful measures and heightened tensions in the region while damaging peace efforts. It added in its statement that all initiatives were being taken for Turkish citizens held by Israel to be freed and returned to Turkey, and that it was coordinating with other countries regarding their citizens too. The operation comes just days after Israeli authorities stopped the Global Sumud Flotilla, detaining more than 500 activists headed to Gaza. Most of those detained have since been released, including former Pakistani senator Mushtaq Ahmed. The Freedom Flotilla Coalition has repeatedly attempted to challenge the Israeli blockade of Gaza, which it describes as an unlawful restriction on humanitarian access.&nbsp; The latest seizure is expected to intensify international criticism of Israel&rsquo;s enforcement of the Gaza blockade.

Middle East

Israeli naval forces intercept the Freedom Flotilla Coalition convoy about 120 nautical miles off Gaza, seizing three aid ships and detaining passengers. The flotilla was delivering humanitarian supplies amid growing criticism of Israel’s Gaza blockade.

Israel ambushes yet another aid flotilla en route to Gaza

ANKARA/ROME: Some 137 activists detained by Israel for taking part in a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to Gaza arrived in Turkey on Saturday after being deported, with two alleging that Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg was mistreated during her detention. Israel did not immediately comment on the new allegations, but its foreign ministry earlier described reports that detainees had been mistreated as &ldquo;complete lies.&rdquo; The activists who landed at Istanbul Airport included 36 Turkish nationals, as well as citizens from the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Morocco, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Switzerland, Tunisia, and Jordan, according to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources. Thunberg &lsquo;treated terribly,&rsquo; activist allegesTwo of them, Hazwani Helmi, a Malaysian citizen, and Windfield Beaver, an American citizen, told Reuters at the airport that they had witnessed Thunberg being mistreated, saying she was shoved and forced to wear an Israeli flag. &ldquo;It was a disaster. They treated us like animals,&rdquo; said Helmi, 28, adding that detainees were not provided with clean food or water and that medication and belongings were confiscated. Beaver, 43, said Thunberg was &ldquo;treated terribly&rdquo; and &ldquo;used as propaganda,&rdquo; describing how she was pushed into a room as Israel&rsquo;s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir arrived. Israel has faced international condemnation after its military intercepted about 40 boats in a flotilla carrying aid to Gaza and detained more than 450 activists. Its foreign ministry wrote on X that all detained activists were &ldquo;safe and in good health,&rdquo; adding it was keen to complete the remaining deportations &ldquo;as quickly as possible.&rdquo; In a separate X post, it accused some flotilla members of &ldquo;deliberately obstructing&rdquo; the deportation process, without providing evidence. Reuters was unable to verify the allegation independently. Israel denies allegations of mistreatmentItaly&rsquo;s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said 26 Italians were on board the Turkish Airlines flight, with another 15 still held in Israel and set to be expelled over the next few days, along with activists from other nations. &ldquo;I have once again given instructions to the Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv to ensure that the remaining compatriots are treated with respect for their rights,&rdquo; Tajani wrote on X. A first group of Italians from the flotilla &mdash; four parliamentarians &mdash; arrived in Rome on Friday. &ldquo;Those who were acting legally were the people aboard those boats; those who acted illegally were those who prevented them from reaching Gaza,&rdquo; Arturo Scotto, one of the Italian lawmakers who took part in the mission, told a press conference in Rome. &ldquo;We were brutally stopped ... brutally taken hostage,&rdquo; said Benedetta Scuderi, another Italian parliamentarian. According to Adalah, an Israeli group offering legal assistance to flotilla members, some detainees were denied access to lawyers, water, medication, and toilets. They were also &ldquo;forced to kneel with their hands zip-tied for at least five hours after some participants chanted &lsquo;Free Palestine,&rsquo;&rdquo; Adalah said. Israel denied the allegations. &ldquo;All of Adalah&rsquo;s claims are complete lies. Of course, all detainees were given access to water, food, and restrooms; they were not denied access to legal counsel, and all their legal rights were fully upheld,&rdquo; a foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters. The flotilla, which set sail in late August, marked the latest attempt by activists to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, where Israel has been waging a war since the Palestinian militant group Hamas&rsquo;s deadly attack on Israel in October 2023. Israeli officials repeatedly denounced the mission as a stunt and warned it against violating a &ldquo;lawful naval blockade.&rdquo;

Halil Rifat Canakci of Turkey, one of the activists who were sailing aboard vessels from the Global Sumud Flotilla which were seized by Israeli forces, reacts after arriving at Istanbul Airport on a special flight, in Istanbul, Turkey, October 4, 2025. RE

Europe

Some 137 activists detained by Israel arrive in Turkey after being deported, with two alleging that the Swedish campaigner was mistreated during her detention. Israel's foreign ministry describes reports that detainees had been mistreated as 'complete lies.'

Freed activists allege Greta Thunberg mistreated in Israeli custody

GAZA:&nbsp;Noor Abu Hassira and her three daughters are sheltering in a dark basement in Gaza City, where explosions shake the surrounding walls. Although they can barely see through a small, elevated window, the noise of buzzing drones and loud airstrikes indicates that Israeli forces are approaching. Despite Israeli warnings to evacuate, Abu Hassira remains because she suffers from severe leg injuries caused by an airstrike that destroyed her home at the beginning of the war. Like many others in the war-torn area, she cannot afford the $2,000 she says is needed to relocate to southern Gaza and set up a tent in a displacement camp. While most Palestinians in Gaza City have fled south at some point in the 23-month long war, Abu Hassira has been largely bedridden &mdash; except for the 11 times she&#39;s had to relocate within her city to keep safe from Israeli assaults. Her husband is in an Israeli prison, and she and her young girls &mdash; Jouri, Maria and Maha &mdash; are among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still in Gaza City, which before the war had a million residents.&nbsp;&ldquo;It feels like we&rsquo;re just waiting to die, I don&rsquo;t really care that much anymore,&rdquo; Abu Hassira wrote over text. Israel says its offensive is aimed at destroying Hamas and freeing hostages taken during the attack that started the war. It says it is taking steps to mitigate harm to civilians. If the Abu Hassira family could somehow make it to the south, their troubles would not be over.&nbsp;&ldquo;I&rsquo;m afraid to live in a tent with my daughters. I&rsquo;m afraid we will drown in the winter. I&rsquo;m afraid of insects. How will we get water?&rdquo; she said. An airstrike destroyed their home Eight months before the war, Abu Hassira and her family moved into an apartment in Gaza City. She worked as a medical lab technician. Her husband, Raed, was a journalist for a media outlet suspected of links to Hamas. Abu Hassira said her husband was not a member of the group. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/1f9e25ad-fe48-4609-adc9-17871d4f01e7-An injured mother stranded in Gaza City as Israeli troops approach, show the destruction outside her parent's home, where she is sheltering with her three daughters in the Gaza Strip. (AP) (2).jpg" alt="An injured mother stranded in Gaza City as Israeli troops approach, show the destruction outside her parent's home, where she is sheltering with her three daughters in the Gaza Strip. (AP) " style="max-width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">Noor Abu Hassira&#39;s husband, Raed, smiles as he holds his three daughters, Jouri, Maria and Maha, before the Israel-Hamas war began and he was arrested by Israeli troops in the Gaza Strip, Jan. 2023. (Noor Abu Hassira via (AP))</figcaption></figure> Jouri, their oldest, was in elementary school. Maria was about to start kindergarten. Maha was just a baby. &ldquo;We worked and saved for 10 years to have a comfortable, nice home &mdash; our dream house. Now it&rsquo;s gone,&rdquo; she said. Israel laid siege on Gaza in October 2023 with heavy airstrikes across the enclave&nbsp;and a ground invasion. That December, the Abu Hassiras&#39; apartment building was struck. The blast collapsed a concrete pillar that pinned Abu Hassira under the rubble, shattering her shoulders, back and legs and knocking her into a coma. Her daughters were also buried in the rubble, though all survived. Israeli troops raided the hospital Abu Hassira awoke at Shifa Hospital. Her daughter, Maria, lay beside her with a fractured skull.&nbsp;Israeli forces had raided the hospital weeks earlier, accusing Hamas of sheltering there. Supplies were running low. It was packed with displaced families and doctors were preoccupied with a steady flow of casualties coming through the gates. Her husband sent the other two girls to stay with an uncle so he could care for the mother and daughter at the hospital.&nbsp;&ldquo;He would change my diapers, my clothes,&rdquo; Abu Hassira said. &ldquo;I lay on my back for three months, and he took care of me, combed my hair, and bathed me.&rdquo; In March 2024, Israeli troops raided the hospital again, arresting scores of men, including Abu Hassira&#39;s husband. He is now one of hundreds of Palestinian men Israel has rounded up during the war whose whereabouts and legal status remain unknown. She hasn&rsquo;t heard from him, but Addameer, a Palestinian legal aid group, said an attorney visited him in an Israeli prison last November. Israel&rsquo;s prison service, Shin Bet intelligence agency and military declined to say why he was arrested or where he was being held.&nbsp;&ldquo;Maha was just over a year old when they took her father away,&rdquo; Abu Hassira said. &ldquo;She&rsquo;s never once said the word &lsquo;daddy.&rsquo;&rdquo; She feared her daughters would die Israel&#39;s military said it killed some 200 militants over two weeks of fighting inside the sprawling Shifa hospital. The World Health Organization said 21 patients died during the siege. Israel denied harming civilians. Abu Hassira, who said soldiers told her to leave, fled the incursion with a single bag, leaving her wheelchair and most of her clothes and food behind. The family spent the rest of the year moving from one place to another as Israel carried out raids in and around Gaza City.&nbsp;&ldquo;The hardest part is living at other people&rsquo;s homes ... especially with small children, and everything is expensive. I had no clothes or belongings, so I had to use theirs,&rdquo; she said. In the fall of 2024, Israel largely sealed off northern Gaza, including Gaza City, launching major ground operations and heavily restricting humanitarian aid. Clean water was hard to find. They ate little more than bread. Jouri, her oldest, grew malnourished and sick.&nbsp;&ldquo;I felt weak, lonely, helpless,&rdquo; Abu Hassira said. &ldquo;I was terrified my daughters would die and I couldn&rsquo;t do anything for them.&rdquo; A neighbor volunteered to take Jouri to a malnutrition program where the girl began to recover. In January, a long-awaited ceasefire took hold, raising hopes that the war would wind down. Hundreds of thousands of people returned to Gaza City, Abu Hassira&#39;s extended family was reunited, and Israel allowed humanitarian aid to flow in. <figure class="fr-media"><img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/0e30311b-7e4a-4e0d-9bfe-a2986fdf6c0b-An injured mother stranded in Gaza City as Israeli troops approach, show the destruction outside her parent's home, where she is sheltering with her three daughters in the Gaza Strip. (AP).jpg" alt="An injured mother stranded in Gaza City as Israeli troops approach, show the destruction outside her parent's home, where she is sheltering with her three daughters in the Gaza Strip. (AP) " style="max-width: 100%;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><figcaption class="caption-cover-image text-sm text-gray-600 italic">In this undated photo taken during the Israel-Hamas war, Noor Abu Hassira&#39;s three daughters, Jouri, Maria and Maha, smile and pose in Gaza City, Gaza Strip. (Noor Abu Hassira via AP)</figcaption></figure> The war resumes But Israel shattered the ceasefire in March, launching more airstrikes after halting imports of food, medicine and other goods &mdash; a complete blockade that would only be eased two-and-a-half months later. In Gaza City, families like the Abu Hassiras are often without food, which costs 10 times what it did before the war: a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of sugar around $180, a kilogram of flour around $60. Over 65,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to Gaza&rsquo;s Health Ministry, which doesn&#39;t distinguish between civilians and combatants. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, but U.N. agencies and many independent experts view its figures as the most reliable estimate of casualties. In August, international experts determined Gaza City was experiencing famine. Weeks later, Israel launched an offensive to occupy the city, saying it was needed to pressure Hamas into releasing 48 remaining hostages, around 20 of them believed by Israel to be alive. Abu Hassira has seen the evacuation leaflets dropped by Israeli aircraft. Many of her neighbors have packed up and left. But she can barely walk, and a truck ride south would cost around $900. A tent would cost around $1,100, she says, and who knows where they would put it. The Israeli-designated humanitarian zone largely consists of crowded camps and demolished buildings. Families who have moved to new grounds for the displaced have found them sparse and lawless, with armed gangs patrolling the area to demand rent. For now, Abu Hassira says she and her daughters will remain in her parents&rsquo; basement in the once-upscale Rimal neighborhood, near the Mediterranean Sea. She says she can&#39;t cook or wash, and spends her days sitting in a chair or lying down. She needs help to use the bathroom. &ldquo;I wish my daughters and I would die together before we are forced to leave,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;We are exhausted.&rdquo;

An injured mother stranded in Gaza City as Israeli troops approach, show the destruction outside her parent's home, where she is sheltering with her three daughters in the Gaza Strip. (AP) 

Asia

Noor Abu Hassira and her daughters, injured and trapped in a Gaza City basement after their home was destroyed and her husband imprisoned, face severe hardship and fear, unable to afford evacuation amid relentless airstrikes and blockade.

Mother and daughters sheltering in Gaza basement await death as airstrikes rage

Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Jerry Greenfield, the co-founder of the iconic ice cream brand Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s, resigned from the company due to escalating tensions with its parent firm, Unilever, over the company&rsquo;s stance on the Gaza war. The departure sheds&nbsp;light on the ongoing struggle between Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s commitment to social activism and Unilever&rsquo;s control over the brand&rsquo;s operations. <h2>Background to the dispute</h2> Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s, founded by Greenfield and Ben Cohen in 1978 in Vermont, built its reputation not only on its ice cream but also its outspoken commitment to social causes. This socially conscious mission remained a hallmark even after Unilever acquired the company in 2000. However, the relationship between the two has been strained since 2021 when Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s announced it would cease sales in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a move that triggered sharp criticism and legal battles. The company&rsquo;s outspoken description of the war in Gaza as genocide&nbsp;marked a rare stance for a large U.S.-based corporation and deepened the rift with Unilever. Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s has accused Unilever of trying to silence the brand&rsquo;s social mission, leading to a lawsuit against its parent company. <h2>Greenfield&rsquo;s resignation and open letter</h2> Jerry Greenfield made his resignation public through an open letter addressed to the Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s community, which was shared on social media by Ben Cohen. In his letter, Greenfield said he could no longer remain with a company that had been &ldquo;silenced&rdquo; by Unilever, despite a unique merger agreement intended to safeguard Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s independence and social activism. He stated&nbsp;that this independence was secured through negotiations by him and Cohen at the time of the Unilever merger. A spokesperson for Unilever&rsquo;s Magnum Ice Cream unit, which oversees Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s, disputed Greenfield&rsquo;s view. They expressed that they had sought to engage both founders in constructive discussions to strengthen the brand&rsquo;s values-based position. The spokesperson confirmed Greenfield stepped down as a brand ambassador and noted he is not involved in the ongoing lawsuit. Unilever has not issued any public comment on Greenfield&rsquo;s departure. <h2>Future uncertain for Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s</h2> The resignation occurs amid Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s push to spin off from Unilever before Magnum Ice Cream&rsquo;s planned public listing in November. The founders&rsquo; calls to &ldquo;free Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s&rdquo; to protect its social mission were recently rebuffed by Magnum&rsquo;s new CEO, Peter ter Kulve. Cohen revealed that the company attempted to raise investment offers ranging from $1.5 billion to $2.5 billion but these were rejected. Ben &amp; Jerry&rsquo;s journey from a renovated Vermont gas station to a globally recognised brand was always intertwined with its progressive values. The current division betrays the difficulties of maintaining a socially driven agenda within the framework of a large corporate ownership.&nbsp;

Jerry Greenfield, the co-founder of the iconic ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, resigned from the company due to escalating tensions with its parent firm, Unilever, over the company’s stance on the Gaza war.

Americas

The co-founder of the popular ice cream brand was forced to resign due to his outspoken support for the war on Gaza.

Activism, ice-cream and the war on Gaza 

SYROS: Two ships set sail Sunday evening from the Greek island of Syros to join the Global Sumud Flotilla, an international mission aiming to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, AFP journalists saw. Chanting &quot;Free Palestine&quot;, around 500 people gathered at the port of Ermopoulis to see off the two Greece-flagged boats, the Oxygen and Ilektra, carrying goods for famine-hit Gaza, along with five and eight people on board respectively. &quot;This is the way to show Israel that it shouldn&#39;t have the right to impose starvation,&quot; Kostas Fourikos, a 39-year-old crew member, told AFP. &quot;And of course, to send the message of solidarity to the Palestinians, who suffer so much.&quot; Another crew member, Angeliki Savvantoglou, said the flotilla aimed to &quot;put pressure on our own governments to also stop collaborating with Israel and stop this genocide.&quot; &quot;Eventually, we want this genocide to stop,&quot; the 35-year-old added. The two vessels are set to join the rest of the fleet, which hopes to help relieve the spiralling humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Israel&#39;s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas grinds on. In August, as a result of the conflict, the United Nations officially declared famine in and around Gaza City, home to around a million people. Israel denies the existence of famine in the coastal territory. Attack fearsBacked by high-profile participants including environmental activist Greta Thunberg, the pro-Palestinian Global Sumud flotilla describes itself as an independent group not linked to any government or political party. Sumud (pronounced samood) is an Arabic word for &quot;resilience.&quot; Its journey to the Gaza Strip has been dogged by at least two suspected drone attacks while docked off the coast of Tunisia, sparking concern for the safety of the Greek ships. Crew member Savvantoglou played down such concerns and fears. &quot;I think we are all worried, but we&#39;re also all very prepared for as much as we can be prepared for,&quot; she told AFP. &quot;What we are facing all these days with the bureaucracy or even with the drone attacks in Tunisia is nothing in comparison to just one minute of being alive in Gaza.&quot; Along with Rhodes and Crete, Syros saw demonstrations rallying hundreds of people in July to prevent the Israeli cruise ship Crown Iris from docking, in response to Israel&#39;s military campaign in Gaza. The Gaza war erupted in October 2023, triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Israel&#39;s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,871 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The UN considers those figures to be reliable.

Global Sumud Flotilla, Gaza blockade, Syros Island

Two Greek ships join the Global Sumud Flotilla to break the Gaza blockade and deliver aid amid famine. Activists urge global action against Israel's campaign.

Articles tagged with "Gaza blockade"

Israel ambushes yet another aid flotilla en route to Gaza

Freed activists allege Greta Thunberg mistreated in Israeli custody

Mother and daughters sheltering in Gaza basement await death as airstrikes rage

Activism, ice-cream and the war on Gaza

Two ships set sail from Greece to join Gaza aid flotilla