IBTN Iran, Israel, Palestine and Lebanon News

Gaza is a post-apocalyptic killing zone: UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini

Apr 11, 2025
It’s been almost a month since Israel broke the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, launching daily strikes across Gaza that have killed more than 1,100 Palestinians. Humanitarian aid has also been blocked from entering the area by Israel for more than a month, deepening the crisis.

Humanitarian workers have also been directly targeted. Since October 7, 2023, more than 400 aid workers have been killed - nearly 300 of them were staff members with the United Nations' Palestinian relief agency, UNRWA.

So, what’s needed to ensure justice and accountability for the victims of war crimes? And what is the situation on the ground in Gaza?

This week on UpFront, Redi Tlhabi speaks with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.

Ralph Wilde on the ICJ & why Israeli occupation must end?

Friday , Apr 11, 2025
International lawyer Ralph Wilde joins Centre Stage to talk about the 2024 landmark ruling by the International Court of Justice that deems Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories illegal - and why it must cease immediately. Wilde provides detailed analysis, which he presented to the court, and tells Al Jazeera principal presenter Cyril Vanier what Israel and the international community must do to comply with the ICJ ruling and the UN resolution that endorsed the court’s decision.

Mearsheimer: The Israelis lost in Gaza

Friday, January 31, 2025
Despite the rhetoric, US President Donald Trump will not be able to ethnically cleanse Gaza nor resolve the Ukraine war, argues University of Chicago political scientist John Mearsheimer.

Mearsheimer tells host Steve Clemons that Arab governments fear “the risk of being overthrown by their populations” should they bend to Trump’s desire to “clean out” the Palestinian people in Gaza.

On Ukraine, Mearsheimer predicts a “frozen conflict” without a peace treaty, and warns that Trump should stop “slapping around” US allies if he wants their cooperation in Europe, Latin America and Asia.

Marwan Bishara on meaning of the prison in Palestinian life, literally and metaphorically

Friday, January 31, 2025
Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara highlights how Israeli prisons have served as both places of education and sites of immense suffering for Palestinians.

He emphasizes that while many detainees pursued higher education and even learned Hebrew through distance learning, they also endured torture, which profoundly affected their lives and their families.

Bishara suggests that these prisons are not just physical confinement spaces but part of a broader metaphorical prison that has encompassed Palestine for the past 75 years. Whether locked inside Gaza and the West Bank or locked out as refugees forbidden from returning home, Palestinians live in a state of perpetual confinement.

He underscores that, for all Palestinians—whether imprisoned or under occupation—their ultimate aspiration remains freedom.

Exchange deal: Eight captives released for 110 Palestinian prisoners

Friday, January 31, 2025
Hamas has released three Israeli and five Thai captives in Gaza and Israel began releasing 110 Palestinian prisoners after delaying the process after crowds swarmed one of the captive handover points.

Agam Berger, a 20-year-old Israeli soldier, was the first to be released on Thursday as she emerged from under rubble at the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza, which has repeatedly been targeted by Israeli forces throughout more than 15 months of war.

Al Jazeera’s Michael Appel reports.

Hamas’s theatrical projection of confidence carries with it risks: Marwan Bishara

Friday, January 31, 2025  
Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst Marwan Bishara highlights the intense emotional and psychological dimensions surrounding the ongoing conflict.

He emphasizes the stark contrast between public emotions -ranging from joy and relief to anger and despair - amid the release of captives on both sides.

Bishara also suggests that beyond the emotional outpouring, there is a calculated strategic element at play, with both Israel and Hamas engaging in psychological warfare. Hamas seeks to project an image of resilience and defiance, while Israel underscores the necessity of its actions despite the broader implications.

He further notes that such displays of power risk escalating tensions, potentially provoking further responses. Ultimately, Bishara reflects on the remarkable endurance of Hamas, as it continues to operate despite relentless Israeli military pressure.

Palestinian prisoners released: Israeli forces open fire to disperse crowds along the route

Thursday, January 30, 2025
Israel has released 110 Palestinian prisoners, as part of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
 
Hundreds of Palestinians gathered Beitunia, in the occupied West Bank to welcome them home.
 
Around 30 children are among the prisoners released. At least 32 of them were serving life sentences.
 
And Israeli forces opened fire as the Red Cross convoy carrying the Palestinian prisoners travelled through the occupied West Bank.
 
Israeli soldiers used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse crowds along the route of the heavily-protected convoy.

Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud is in Gaza City, Tareq Abu Azzoum in Khan Younis and Hamdah Salhut in Jordanian capital, Amman, because the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority have banned Al Jazeera from reporting inside Israel and in the occupied West Bank.

How Israel tests military tech on Palestinians? | The Palestine Laboratory E1 | Featured Documentary

Thursday, January 30, 2025
Uncovering how Israel profits from surveillance technologies using occupied Palestinian territories as a testing ground.

Israel punches way above its weight when it comes to arms sales. The 97th country by population, it is the ninth largest arms dealer in the world with a $13bn military-industrial complex.

"Plenty of countries sell weapons," says award-winning journalist Antony Loewenstein, "but what makes Israel's industry unique is the mix of weapons, surveillance technology and architectural techniques that combine to create a comprehensive system for controlling 'difficult' populations and are based on years of experience in Palestine."

In this two-part series, Loewenstein goes on a journey to investigate how these weapons and surveillance technologies are used to control and repress Palestinians in Palestine before being sold all over the world.

Antony Loewenstein is a Jewish, Australian journalist and author who for more than 20 years has written unflinchingly about Israel and its relationship with the Palestinians, even though it has often put him at odds with many in the Jewish diaspora and Israel.

In Episode 1, Loewenstein returns to Israel to investigate how cutting-edge military and surveillance technology is being used on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip, before being marketed to international clients as "field-proven" and "battle-tested".

Hearing from Palestinians and Israelis, he uncovers how a pipeline of personnel and research from the Israeli army feeds into semi-private arms companies which form a crucial part of Israel's exports to the world. He also investigates the Israeli army's use of targeting systems that utilise artificial intelligence during the Gaza war after October 7, 2023.

Gaza ceasefire deal: Israeli female soldier released in Jabalia

Thursday, January 30, 2025
Israeli captive Agam Berger has been handed over to the Red Cross in the Jabalia refugee camp.

Dressed in a military uniform, she appeared walking, escorted by Palestinian fighters, through the rubble of a wrecked building in the camp.

She then appeared on a stage and waved to onlookers, before getting into a car belonging to the Red Cross.

Al Jazeera’s Anas al-Sharif reports from Jabalia in northern Gaza.

UNRWA ban removes two-state solution dream of Palestinians: Israeli political analyst

Wednesday, January 29, 2025  
The humanitarian aid entering Gaza is providing desperately needed relief to Palestinians after 15 months of Israel's war.

But the lifeline provided by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees is at risk.

An Israeli ban on UNRWA is due to come into effect on Thursday.

Akiva Eldar is a Political analyst and the Author of "Lords of the Land: The War Over Israel's Settlements in the Occupied Territories". He says that the ban on UNRWA, therefore, satisfies Netanyahu’s far-right coalition’s desire to push Palestinians out from Gaza.