5 vital stories to know this week [6/9]
Get the latest news from the Israel-Hamas war and ways to donate to Palestinians who desperately need the world's help.
More than 250 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli hostage raid, which rescued 4 people
Over the weekend, the Israeli military disguised itself as humanitarian aid workers and conducted a special operation to rescue four hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. The shelling and artillery fire from the attacks killed over 270 Palestinians, with 100 being women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The raid occurred during the daytime in the middle of a market at the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
US: Biden confirmed the U.S. aided with Israel’s operation by providing military intelligence and allowing Israel to use its humanitarian aid pier as a means of escape.
Biden rolls out asylum restrictions, months in the making, to help ‘gain control’ of the border
In defiance of his 2020 campaign policies, President Biden implemented a threshold on the number of asylum seekers that can enter from the Texas-Mexico border illegally. The limitations will be discontinued if there are less than 1,500 migrant encounters between officials and migrants for seven consecutive days. The restrictions would resume when there has been an average of 2,500 encounters or more for seven straight days.
The Biden administration is facing scrutiny from immigrant rights activists who say the move is dangerous for the safety of families who need U.S. support to escape grave conditions.
Palestinian journalist attacked by right-wing ‘Jerusalem Day’ marchers
Last week, during Jerusalem Day marches in East Jerusalem, right-wing Israeli activists brutally assaulted freelance Palestinian journalist Saif Al Qawasmi, taking his equipment and yelling degrading remarks at him.
“The settlers stole my phones, filming equipment and they beat me and insulted me,” he said. A journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) also said that she was “pushed and verbally abused” by other seemingly teenage attackers caught on video in Jerusalem’s old quarter.
Over 100 Palestinian journalists have been killed since Israel’s war on Gaza began, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
PRESS FREEDOM: On March 29, Western media outlets, including ABC News, The Hill, The Washington Post, and the Colombia School of Journalism honored Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich, who is wrongfully detained in a Russian prison, as a symbol of the continued struggle for press freedom. Yet these same outlets have been silent on the struggle of Palestinian journalists as they risk their lives to report Israel’s assault on Gaza.
Highlighting Palestinians In Need: Renad from Gaza
Meet 10-year-old Renad from Gaza, whose cooking videos have garnered her over 454,000 followers on social media and brought thousands of Gazans some glimmer of hope amid the genocide.
“She's smart and beautiful. She suffered severe psychological disturbances at the beginning of the war after witnessing several children scattered in pieces due to the bombing of the house opposite ours,” a GoFundMe post states, which was written by her sister, Dr. Nourhan Attallah.
'“I try to maintain her mental state by creating content and presenting it on Instagram so that she doesn't get preoccupied with the news and the scenes being shown on the internet. But maintaining her mental state is not enough; I want to keep her life as well. I hope I can provide the life she dreams of and the education she deserves.”