Gaza assault

File photo of an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip (Photo by ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com)

Losing my faith in humanity: Six years since ‘Operation Cast Lead’

Somewhere between that Saturday, when the gates of hell had opened on Gaza, until the ceasefire 22 days later, everything I had known about human beings, about my society, even about myself had been blown to pieces. By Lilach Ben David It happened exactly six years ago. Three weeks of murder, blood and unfathomable cruelty…

By +972 Magazine January 17, 2015

The son of refugees from Salameh stands outside the village mosque. Today Salameh is known as 'Kfar Shalem' and is part of Tel Aviv. (photo: Eléonore Merza)

From Gaza to Salameh: A Palestinian refugee’s journey home

A Palestinian refugee from Gaza journey’s to his family’s hometown in present-day Tel Aviv. Standing on what used to be the village cemetery, he feels the ghosts of the past as he must reckon with the currently reality. By Eitan Bronstein Aparicio (translated by Charles Kamen) On International Human Rights Day, he took advantage of his…

By +972 Magazine December 14, 2014

Palestinians clash with Israeli soldiers in the West Bank village of Beit Furik during a solidarity demonstration with Gaza. (photo: Activestills.org)

The West Bank may be on the verge of exploding

Armed men roam the streets, enlisting people to the Al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade, Fatah officials call for the end to security coordination with Israel and Mahmoud Abbas is seen as the enemy of the people. Is the explosion closer than we think? By Gershon Baskin I have just returned from a work visit to Ramallah. I…

By +972 Magazine August 18, 2014

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Palestinian woman walks between the ruins of Beit Hanoun, North Gaza Strip, August 12, 2014. (Basel Yazouri/Activestills.org)

Photos of the week: Gazans search for normalcy among the ruins

What does life look like in Gaza after both the Israeli army and the media leave? Photos and Text: Basel Yazouri/Activestills.org People in Gaza are lost and uncertain. They cannot fathom what happened to them, and they cannot predict what might happen in the few next days. People whose houses were destroyed are living in…

By Activestills August 15, 2014

A mosque minaret rises among the ruins of Al-Nada towers after they were destroyed by Israeli strikes in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza Strip, August 4, 2014. The towers had 90 flats. So far, Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,870 Palestinians, and injured 9,470 since the beginning of the Israeli offensive (photo: Activestills)

This is what life in Gaza sounds like

I have heard the sounds of war before. In Iraq, I was jolted from sleep by the sound of incoming rockets, massive truck bombs, and exploding IEDs. In Afghanistan, I temporarily lost my hearing when an explosives-packed SUV detonated meters from my office. I have heard windows shatter and bystanders scream. And I have seen…

By Samer Badawi August 10, 2014

A Palestinian girl cries after an Israeli attack on Beit Hanoun elementary schools mourn in Kamal Edwan Hospital, Jabalyia, Gaza Strip, July 24. The school was being used as a shelter by 800 people. The attack killed at least 17 and injured more than 200 of the displaced civilians. Israeli attacks have killed 788 Palestinians and injured around 5,000 in the current offensive, most of them civilians. (photo: Anne Paq/Activestills)

How will Gaza’s children carry their scars into adulthood?

The children who survive Operation Protective Edge will emerge to find their previous lives almost unrecognizable, as the families, schools, hospitals and mosques that framed their world are systematically destroyed. By Olivia Watson Israel’s ground invasion of the Gaza Strip has seen the child death toll climb so rapidly – at the rate of one…

By +972 Magazine August 5, 2014

A Palestinian man watches on as a child breathes through a medical ventilator. (photo: Activestills.org)

Dispatch from Gaza: In Al Shifa, doctors can’t keep up with the wounded

In Cast Lead, some 5,300 Palestinians were injured. This time around, the number is almost twice that – with no end in sight. Hebron-born oncologist Haitham Al Amleh had never seen Gaza. Like most Palestinians from the West Bank, he had been barred from traveling here by an Israeli-imposed permit system that has made…

By Samer Badawi August 4, 2014

A Palestinian child in Gaza on the third day of Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012. (Activestills.org)

Why are there are no white flags in Gaza?

Israel may think that bombing – and killing – innocents is a viable strategy. But there is a better option: to actually understand what has been driving Palestinian resistance for all these decades. Point out the barbarity of Israel’s ongoing attacks against Gaza – as of this writing, more than 80 killed, a quarter of…

By Samer Badawi July 10, 2014