Police are looking into Irish rapper Kneecap and other musicians who sang pro-Palestinian songs at Glastonbury. The UK government and festival organizers have harshly criticized the ‘death to the IDF’ chant by punk duo Bob Vylan.
Few readers anticipated that the world they live in would be the setting for scenes from The Hunger Games books when they first appeared in print in the late 2000s. However, they continue to do so every day in Gaza.
Since the beginning of March, Israel has been firmly encumbered by our country. The entire strip is covered in starvation. The majority of families only consume one meal per day. Some people spend days without eating at all.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is supported by the United States and Israel, began limiting aid deliveries to the area in late May. Palestinians have since been subjected to a deadly game in an effort to get some food.
Some of my neighbors and friends have dared to visit a distribution point for GHF aid, but none of my family members have dared. They only have horror stories to tell me.
We initially assumed there would be tents, queues, and order when we learned about the Israeli-named “Netzarim Corridor.” However, those who took the chance found only chaos and death there.
Near Salah al-Din Street, in a dangerous area known as the “death corridor,” locals refer to it as the “death corridor.” It is guarded by foreign military contractors and is surrounded by sand. Israeli soldiers and tanks are stationed nearby.
No precise timetable for the aid deliveries is available. The GHF occasionally opens the gates at 4 a.m. and 4 a.m. The night before sunset, pilgrims wait.
The crowd erupts when the gates finally open. No staff, signs, or queues are present. only fear, dust, and noise.
Over the top, drones circling resemble vultures. Then, a loudspeaker’s voice says, “Four minutes! Do what you can”!
There aren’t enough food boxes in the middle of the sand, but there are some. They never suffice. People shoving and climbing over each other as they approach the pile. They push one another. Come out with knives. Fighting breaks out in the air. Children scream. Men are falling. Through the sand, women crawl. Few people have the ability to grab and hold onto a box, which is fortunate. Then the gunshots begin. The sandy square turns into a battlefield for murder.
People flee their homes. Many are struck. Some people leave with injuries. Friends, family, or even strangers carry strangers. Other animals bleed into the sand alone.
More than 500 Palestinians have died since the end of May when Israeli soldiers have opened fire on gathered aid workers. More than 4, 000 people have been hurt.
One of them was Subhi, the son of my friend Nour. He felt compelled to risk his life to seek aid because the family had no food left. He made his way to Netzarim’s aid station on June 14 morning. He never returned.
Nour described the hours that were spent waiting by the door. There were no hours. No action. No calls made. The internet was unavailable. The silence was intolerable. Then, unapologetically, they audible a distant shooting ring. They were notified that something was wrong but couldn’t be reached for him right away.
His body was later discovered by paramedics. He was killed trying to bring his children’s food bag home.
Another friend, Hala, shared the story of Khamis, her sister’s brother-in-law, who was another victim of the GHF death trap. He carried the weight of the entire household on his back despite having only been married for two years and not having any children. After his brother’s death earlier in the war, he had begun looking after his own children.
Khamis’ friends managed to persuade him to travel with them to try to get some aid when their food ran out. When someone yelled, “They’ve opened the gates! ” as they were waiting near the aid hub on June 24!
Khamis stepped out of their hiding place to observe him briefly. His shoulder was pierced by an Israeli quadcopter, and his heart was lodged in his, killing him. He left behind hungry nieces and nephews and a grieving widow.
There are uncountable other stories that will never be made public, all of which are equally painful and heartbreaking.
These incidents have been referred to as “aid massacres,” according to the Gaza-based ministry of health. They are referred to as war crimes by legal experts. They are, in fact, “hunger games.”
People are affected by hunger. It tests the soul as well, not just weakening the body. It causes the most fundamental instincts to be unleashed, undermining trust and mutual respect.
The occupier is aware of this and uses it to bolster its position.
UNRWA, the United Nations organization for Palestinian refugees, was viciously attacked and banned by it.
Organization and fairness were UNRWA’s aid distribution system as examples. Through a thorough, honest process, each family that had an ID card could receive aid from the agency. The most vulnerable people, such as widows, orphans, elderly people, and disabled people, received priority, ensuring that those who needed it most first, were first.
Because of its system’s emphasis on order, dignity, and respect for human life, it reduced the chance of deadly stampedes and violent clashes.
None of that is what the occupier wants.
In order to provide aid in the form of “hunger games,” it was created.
These are plotted traps that create chaos and disorder, causing division between Palestinians and breaking up the social order and solidarity that sustains Palestinian unity.
Another Israeli lie that was widely believed was that Israel and the GHF denied that there were any large-scale killings taking place at the aid centers for a month. Israeli media reports that Israeli soldiers were instructed to fire at Palestinian aid distribution centers by the Israeli government.
Will the world now accept our ideas? Will it take any action?
Not fiction, what is happening in Gaza. It’s not a horror film, either. Both the genocide they are involved in and the “hunger games” are real. The world’s willingness to create such a dystopia is damning evidence of its own humanity losing.
The 80-year-old made announcing late on Saturday that he was interested in “running for president” of his National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.
Museveni seized control of the country in 1986 following a five-year civil war, and he has remained in power ever since.
Museveni’s term and age restrictions can now be extended thanks to the NRM’s constitutional amendments, which were amended twice.
He is accused of using state support and dissenting accounts to stifle opposition and bolster his position of authority, which he denies.
Museveni stated that he wants to see re-election in order to “transform Uganda into a $500 billion economy in the next five years.” The country’s current gross domestic product, in the eyes of the government, is just under $66 billion.
In January, Ugandans will elect a president and parliamentarians.
Opposition leader Bobi Wine, a former pop star turned politician by the name Robert Kyagulanyi, has confirmed that he will run again. The 2021 results were disqualified by Win because of widespread fraud, ballot tampering, and security forces’ intimidation.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in January, the court’s decision to allow military courts to try civilians has caused tensions in recent months.
Rights groups and opposition figures claimed the change was a means of intimidating and demonizing critics, despite the government’s insistence that it was necessary to combat threats to national security.
Uganda has used military courts for prosecution of opposition figures and critics of the government for years.
Wine was accused of unlawfully possessing firearms in a military court in 2018. Later, the charges were dropped.
Human Rights Watch has criticised Uganda’s military courts for breaking international standards for judicial independence and fairness.
As anti-government demonstrations in Belgrade erupted into violent protests, police in Serbia shot tear gas and made arrests. Students are leading tens of thousands of protests calling for the resignation of President Aleksandar Vucic and the holding of early elections, accusing him of corruption and censoring dissent.
The last remaining pro-democracy party in China-ruled Hong Kong, the League of Social Democrats (LSD), has announced its dissolution due to “immense political pressure.”
The financial hub is now without an opposition force that can stage street protests following the recent passage of stringent national security laws.
The relatively small left-wing party, which was established in 2006, claimed in a statement that it had made its decision after careful consideration, particularly in terms of “the consequences” for its members.
We have experienced the hardships of internal conflict, the nearly total imprisonment of our leaders, the eroding of civil society, the fading of grassroots voices, the omnipresence of red lines, and the oppressive suppression of dissent, it continued.
The LSD continued, warning that the “terrain ahead is even more treacherous,” and the “road has narrowed beyond passage.”
Following the massive pro-democracy protests in 2019, China enacted a national security law in Hong Kong in 2020 that would punish crimes like subversion and sentence people to life in prison. Numerous influential activists were charged or imprisoned under the law, numerous civil society organizations disbanded, and government-critical media outlets were shut down.
The city’s pro-Beijing legislative enacted a second set of laws in 2024, known as Article 23. A wide range of crimes are punished by them, including espionage, treason, sabotage, sedition, the theft of state secrets, and external interference. Penalties range from years to life in prison.
Despite the risks, the LSD was the only pro-democracy party that still held street booth events and staged small street protests occasionally.
Its best performance came in the 2008 legislative elections, where it won three seats, but it was never as well-known as the more moderate Democratic Party and Civic Party.
LSD is well known for its more aggressive stances in opposition to change. As a form of protest, its members have reportedly thrown bananas, eggs, and luncheon meat at government officials or pro-Beijing lawmakers. According to the party’s platform, the organization argued that it supported nonviolent resistance but opposed physical confrontations, setting it apart from more recent, conventional pro-democracy organizations.
Party leader Chan Po-ying said she was proud to say the party had still supported the city’s pro-democracy movement but did not give further details about the pressure the LSD faced.
She said, “We haven’t let down the trust that those who went to prison have placed in us,” and that we have remained true to our original aspirations. We have no other choice because we are now forced to disband and have a conscience ache.
The announcement comes just before Hong Kong, a former British colony, will celebrate its 28th anniversary on Tuesday following its return to Chinese rule.
The city once hosted annual pro-democracy demonstrations on the anniversary and other demonstrations calling for better policies, but those events stopped once the most organized organizations and activists were arrested.
Critics claim that Beijing’s dramatic political changes following the handover of Hong Kong reflect the country’s shrinking freedoms. Beijing and Hong Kong’s governments insist that the measures must be taken in order for the city’s stability, arguing that they must preserve both the rights and freedoms of the city’s residents.
Trump criticized Israeli authorities for undermining Netanyahu’s ability to negotiate with Hamas in Gaza and manage mounting tensions with Iran in a post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.
Trump referred to the Israeli leader as “Bibi Netanyahu” in a statement that read “It is INSANITY doing what the out-of-control prosecutors are doing to him” and claimed that his trial would obstruct regional peace efforts.
“The United States of America invests billions of dollars annually in Israel’s defense and support.” He continued, “We are not going to stand for this.”
Netanyahu will appear on the witness stand on Monday for a decade-long corruption investigation that began in 2020.
He denies all of his allegations of bribery, fraud, and trust breach. In response to Israel’s recent 12-day conflict with Iran, his lawyers had requested a two-week delay in testimony. On Friday, that appeal was turned down.
Netanyahu is accused of using regional conflicts to put an end to his corruption trial by Israeli Knesset members.
Naama Lazimi, a Knesset member from the Democrats Party, quoted a journalist from The Times of Israel as saying, “Netanyahu is shaping the future of Israel and our children during his trial.”
By fusing his legal future with regional normalization agreements and captive negotiations, Yesh Atid party Knesset member Karine Elharrar warned that Netanyahu is “acting against the Israeli public interest.”
A warrant for him and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, was issued last year, among other legal issues.
The charges relate to Israel’s ongoing conflict in Gaza, which will start in October 2023, and include war crimes and crimes against humanity. The arrest warrant has been deemed “anti-Semitic” by both leaders.
Trump made the comments just days after suggesting a possible ceasefire deal with Hamas.
He claimed that Netanyahu and the Palestinian group were talking about negotiations, but no further details were given.
Hamas has pledged to release any Israeli prisoners who are still imprisoned in Gaza as part of a peace deal, but it has rejected Israeli demands for total disarmament.
Trump’s support for Netanyahu was echoed in a tweet from Netanyahu: “Thank you again, @realDonaldTrump. We can all work together to restore Middle East greatness.
Netanyahu’s resignation has been reportedly demanded once more in Israel due to the growing political unrest. Naftali Bennett, the former prime minister, said in a televised interview with Channel 12 that Netanyahu should step down.
He has been in power for 20 years, Bennett claimed. He “has a lot of responsibility for Israeli society’s divisions.”