No. 31

May 8, 2024

Israel's U.S.-Backed Criminal Invasion of Rafah Begins

• All Out to Hold the U.S., Canada and Other Organizers and Appeasers of Israeli Zionist Genocide to Account!
Stop the Invasion of Rafah Now! Ceasefire Now!
Unfettered Humanitarian Aid Now!

• Amid Bombardments Israel Orders a Quarter of a Million Palestinians in Rafah to Evacuate

• Israel Begins Ground Operations in Clear Genocidal Move
to Force Palestinians to Evacuate Gaza or Die

• Israeli Massacres Continue in the Gaza Strip

• Al-Qassam Brigades Put Up Fierce Resistance

Unfolding Events

• Israeli Prime Minister Rejects Mediators' Ceasefire Proposal

• Palestinian Resistance Accepts Mediators' Ceasefire Proposal

• Israel Shuts Down Al Jazeera in Tel Aviv

• Israeli Torture to Extract False Confessions

Photo Review

• Actions Demand Hands off Rafah! Ceasefire Now!

Israel's U.S.-Backed Criminal Invasion of Rafah Begins

All Out to Hold the U.S., Canada and Other Organizers and Appeasers of Israeli Zionist Genocide to Account!
Stop the Invasion of Rafah Now! Ceasefire Now! Unfettered Humanitarian Aid Now!

Toronto emergency demonstration May 7, "Hands Off Rafah!"

The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) vigorously condemns the criminal actions of the U.S.-backed Israeli Zionists against the Palestinian people. We condemn Canada's official appeasement and direct support even as its foreign minister wishes they would be more humanitarian. It denounces all media disinformation which persists in putting the blame on the Palestinian Resistance for what the Zionists are doing, as well as claiming the genocide the whole world is witnessing is being carried out in a humanitarian manner. The U.S. claims to be "studying" the ceasefire proposal accepted by the Palestinian Resistance, while Israel bombs Rafah, blocks aid, tortures prisoners and continues its massacres. Official support or justifications from any quarter whatsoever are unforgivable.

CPC(M-L) salutes the youth and students who are steadfastly, courageously and with intelligence engaging in actions to propagate their just demands and agitate for them. CPC(M-L) salutes the actions and statements of faculty and staff at the universities where encampments are taking place and deeply appreciates the courage of the faculty standing on the front lines with them, many of whom in the U.S. have themselves been beaten by police. The militant stands of the students who speak out against the crimes being committed against the people of Palestine and their demand for recognition of Palestine's Right to Be, as well as against the state-repression and criminalization, are a serious obstacle to the green light given by the Biden Administration and all those who have joined it. The reactionary forces are doing everything within their positions of privilege and power to smash current constitutional understandings and protections of freedom of speech and assembly. Never will the peoples of their own countries and the world give them freedom to act with impunity.

The extent and significance of the Israeli occupiers' heinous destruction, massacres, murders and starvation in Palestine can only be fully understood in the actions of resistance which give new meaning to the fight of the peoples of the world for a democracy instituted by them where they empower themselves by removing the criminals who are hell bent on smashing all post-World War II arrangements, conventions and rule of law. Israel's destruction of Gaza's infrastructure, of all the institutions of civil society, and its violations of international humanitarian law including wanton killing of journalists, smashing of hospitals, universities, mosques and other religious establishments, libraries and museums are criminal indeed and also a futile attempt to smash a people by obliterating their history. It is a vain attempt because the history, memory and intelligence of a people live through the ages, refreshed generation after generation on the basis of their resistance which affirms their right to be.

So too the attempt by the Biden Administration to turn the opposition of the students and youth and peoples of the world to the U.S./Israeli genocide into a clash of extremist beliefs on the part of the resistance will fail. What is taking place is not a matter of beliefs or moral outrage from this or that side. It is a just and mighty opposition to crimes the U.S. and Zionists are committing against humanity, criminal violations of international law including the Convention on Refugees and of international humanitarian law. And yes, millions of youth and people are fighting for and representing the moral standards humanity espouses. Any attempt to provide the crimes and atrocities with a moral justification is as criminal as the crimes themselves. Such crimes could not take place except for those who appease them and give them the green light.

All Out to Hold the U.S., Canada and Other Organizers and Appeasers
of Israeli Zionist Genocide to Account!
Stop the Invasion of Rafah Now! Ceasefire Now!
Unfettered Humanitarian Aid Now!

Amid Bombardments Israel Orders a Quarter of a Million Palestinians in Rafah to Evacuate

Rafah from the air

The Israeli military heavily bombed Rafah early on the morning of May 6, before ordering up to 250,000 Palestinians to leave parts of the border town ahead of a threatened ground assault. At least 22 civilians, including eight children, were killed in air strikes that hit 11 homes across Rafah, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. The Israeli military dropped flyers ordering displaced people and residents to leave the eastern areas of the city near the fence that separates the Gaza Strip and Israel. It said the military was "about to operate with force against the terror organizations in the area."

Bombing of Rafah, May 6, 2024

Israel Begins Ground Operations in Clear Genocidal Move to Force Palestinians to Evacuate Gaza or Die

Nothing underscores the criminality and genocidal intent of the U.S.-backed Israeli Zionists more horribly than the evacuation orders they delivered to the people of Rafah on May 6. The Israeli military has now announced that it has taken "operational control" of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, the only point of exit and entry between Gaza and Egypt. A spokeswoman of the military said that its 401st Armoured Brigade captured the crossing in southern Gaza on the morning of May 7, following an overnight military operation.

The Times of Israel reported that several families of captives held in Gaza have blocked Tel Aviv's major Begin Road, demanding Israel agree to a hostage release deal. Addressing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the mother of one of the captives reportedly told Israel's Channel 12: "The government and war cabinet should accept the [ceasefire] deal. We need our hostages home. Every last one." She added, "The streets will burn, the country will burn. You can't play like this with people's lives."

The Palestinian Resistance organizations issued a joint statement condemning the Israeli incursion in Rafah. It says that the closure of vital crossings and the execution of military operations in Rafah are seen as indicative of the occupation's intent to perpetrate further atrocities and cause an even greater humanitarian catastrophe. The actions of the Israel Defense Forces, the statement points out, amount to a humanitarian catastrophe impacting 2.5 million Palestinian citizens in Gaza, with particular concern for over 1.5 million forcibly displaced individuals, including 400,000 recently forced to flee from areas previously deemed "safe." In their joint statement, the Palestinian organizations call for immediate international intervention to prevent further loss of life and to address what they describe as the world's largest humanitarian crisis.

Israel closes Rafah border crossing

Israeli Massacres Continue in the Gaza Strip

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said on May 7 that the Israeli occupation army committed six massacres in different areas of the Gaza Strip during the previous 24 hours, killing at least 54 civilians and injuring 96 others. The Ministry confirmed in its daily report that the toll of the Israeli aggression had risen to 34,789 martyrs and 78,204 injured persons in the seven month period since October 7.

"A number of victims are still under the rubble and on the roads, as ambulance and civil defense crews have been prevented by Israeli occupation forces from reaching them," the Ministry underlined.

Al-Qassam Brigades Put Up Fierce Resistance

The military wing of Hamas destroyed one Israeli tank and showered Israeli troops with projectiles in eastern Rafah on the southern border of the Gaza Strip, on May 7 in response to Israel's military occupation of the Rafah crossing into Egypt. In a communique, Al-Qassam Brigades said that one Merkava tank burst into flames after it was attacked with one Yassin 105 projectile, amid clashes with Israeli soldiers barricaded inside a nearby building in ash-Shuka neighborhood in eastern Rafah. Resistance fighters from the Brigades also fired barrages of Rajum missiles and mortar shells at Israeli troops and vehicles in eastern Rafah. A similar missile attack targeted the Israeli occupation forces at the Karam Abu Salem military site.

On May 5 the Palestinian Resistance carried out an operation that targeted an Israeli occupation forces' (IOF) position in the town of Karam Abu Salem. According to the Al-Qassam Brigades, resistance fighters targeted the location using a 114 mm short-range Rajum missile system. According to a source in the Resistance, the targeted forces were responsible for the aggression against Rafah and included Israeli military and Shin Bet leaders. Reportedly, five were killed and 10 others were injured. The sources said the Resistance's preparation for the operation, its setup, and intelligence capabilities, affirmed its capabilities to accurately and directly engage its targets.

The extent of the successes achieved by the Resistance Movement can be seen in the response of the IOF. The Israeli newspaper Maariv revealed that the families of over 600 Israeli occupation soldiers carrying out the genocide in Gaza addressed Security Minister Yoav Gallant and Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi in a letter, demanding a backtrack on the Rafah invasion. The newspaper Haaretz reported: "Tens of Thousands of Israelis Protest for Hostage, Cease-fire Deal Amid Reported Progress in Gaza Talks."

Reports read: "With an exceptionally large turnout, Saturday's protests are taking place across Israel's major cities; Protesters are also demanding early elections. At a rally in Jerusalem, the father of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin said: Politicians must remember, we are fighting for real people." Voice of America also reported: "Thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday (May 4), demanding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accept a cease-fire agreement with the Islamist movement Hamas that would see the remaining Israeli hostages brought home from Gaza. At a rally in Tel Aviv that took place as Hamas officials were meeting Egyptian and Qatari mediators in Cairo, relatives and supporters of the estimated 100 hostages still alive and in captivity said anything possible had to be done to bring them home.

Unfolding Events

Israeli Prime Minister Rejects Mediators'
Ceasefire Proposal

Demonstration in Tel Aviv demanding Israeli government accept ceasefire agreement, May 6

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected yet again the demand of the Palestinian resistance forces for a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces in exchange for the release of prisoners taken captive during the Al Aqsa Flood military operation. Netanyahu said on May 6 that such a move would keep Hamas in power in Gaza and pose a threat to Israel. Netanyahu said Israel was willing to pause fighting in Gaza in order to secure the release of Israeli captives held by the resistance forces but "Ending the war, and leaving Hamas intact -- the State of Israel cannot accept that," he said. "It would be a huge victory for Hamas, for Iran, for the entire axis of evil. Therefore, Israel will not agree to Hamas's demands which mean surrender, and will continue the fighting until all its goals are achieved."

The Hamas Movement said in a statement issued May 5 that the current round of ceasefire talks in the Egyptian capital had ended, and that its negotiating team would leave for Doha after two days of meetings. "The movement's delegation had delivered the movement's response to the mediator brothers in Egypt and Qatar, where in-depth and serious discussions took place with them," Hamas' statement said.

The statement mentioned that Hamas' key demands include "a complete end" to the fighting, Israeli withdrawal "from the entire Gaza Strip, the facilitation of the return of displaced people, the intensification of relief efforts, the start of reconstruction and the conclusion of a prisoner exchange deal." Senior Palestinian Resistance sources told Al Mayadeen that the negotiations face a major obstacle due to the Israeli refusal to adhere to a permanent ceasefire.

A senior source in the Palestinian Resistance movement affirmed to Al Mayadeen that the Resistance leadership is exhibiting high flexibility in indirect negotiations to reach a deal that achieves the Palestinian people's demands of a complete halt to Israeli aggression and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. The source added that the Resistance reacted positively to the proposal set by mediators, emphasizing that contact and negotiations are ongoing between Resistance leaders and mediators, aimed at reaching a serious and actual deal.

Meanwhile, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) called for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza as the genocide continues to unfold in the blockaded strip for more than 213 days. The OIC condemned the Israeli occupation's genocide in the Gaza Strip, calling for the imposition of sanctions on the Israeli regime.

Palestinian Resistance Accepts Mediators'
Ceasefire Proposal

Dr. Khalil al-Hayya, deputy head of the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip and a member of its political bureau, said that the movement agreed to the mediators' proposal on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. He stressed that the proposal achieves the desired goals of the Palestinian people, explaining that the ball is now in the court of the Israeli occupation.

The agreement stipulates the unconditional return of the displaced to their places of residence in all areas of the Gaza Strip, as well as details regarding relief work and the introduction of all Gaza Strip requirements, including food, shelters and temporary housing. It stipulates that the reconstruction process will be supervised by Egypt, Qatar and organizations such as the United Nations, so that the necessary plans are developed during the first phase.

The proposal includes three phases, each phase lasting 42 days. The first phase proposes a temporary ceasefire, the cessation of military operations by both sides, the withdrawal of the occupation forces from densely populated areas to the areas along the strip separating the Gaza Strip and the rest of the occupied territories, in addition to stopping the Israeli reconnaissance within specific hours. The prisoners' key negotiations will start in the second phase. A ceasefire will be announced directly in the third phase, or what is termed in the proposal as the return of sustainable calm (the permanent cessation of military measures and hostilities) and that it must be announced before the exchange of military prisoners and the remaining detainees in the Gaza Strip.

On the exchange of prisoners, Al-Hayya said that this will take place in three stages: the first is the exchange of civilians and the remaining Israeli women in the Gaza Strip, in addition to Israeli soldiers, children under the age of 19, adults over 50 years of age and prisoners who are ill. He pointed out that for each Israeli female soldier, 50 prisoners in Israeli prisons, 30 life sentences and 20 high sentences, are to be released. Hamas is to provide lists of their names.

In related news, the Times of Israel reported that protests are taking place in Israel demanding the government accept the ceasefire proposal put forward by the Mediators Qatar and Egypt. The mother of one of the captives held by the Palestinian Resistance reportedly told Israel's Channel 12: "The government and war cabinet should accept the deal. We need our hostages home. Every last one."

To read the full text of the mediators' ceasefire proposal as published by Palestine Chronicle, click here.

Israel Shuts Down Al Jazeera in Tel Aviv

In its latest attempt to target journalists and shut down press agencies which report on what is taking place in Gaza and the occupied territories the government of Israel voted unanimously on May 5 to shut down the bureau of the Qatar-owned Al Jazeera television station in Tel-Aviv, Anadolu news agency reported. "Our orders will go into effect immediately," Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi said after signing an order to close the channel. "Too much time has passed and there have been too many unnecessary legal hurdles in order to finally stop the well-oiled incitement machine of Al Jazeera, which harms the security of the state," he said.

Following the orders, the Al Jazeera offices were raided and everything confiscated and destroyed.

Israeli Torture to Extract False Confessions

According to a statement from the Palestinian Prisoners Society, Palestinian orthopedic surgeon Adnan al-Bursh, who served as the head of orthopedic surgery at Al-Shifa Hospital, died in the Ofer Israeli detention centre in the West Bank on April 19 after being imprisoned and tortured for more than four months. According to available information, his name was first reported on May 2 after a released detainee said al-Bursh had been tortured and killed.

The surgeon's body is being held by Israel, four Palestinian human rights groups -- Addameer, Al Mezan, Al-Haq and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights -- informed on May 3. They said that Israel released more than 60 Palestinian prisoners and detainees via the Kerem Shalom crossing, some of them displaying "visible signs of physical torture." Israeli authorities also transferred the body of 33-year-old Ismail Abdelbari Khader. Dr. Marwan al-Hams, the director of Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza, said that Khader's body bore "torture marks on his wrists, as well as swelling in his shoulders, knees and chest."

Following the information on the death of al-Bursh, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese said on May 3 that she was "extremely alarmed" at the death of the prominent doctor. "I urge the diplomatic community to intervene with concrete measures to protect Palestinians. No Palestinian is safe under Israel's occupation today," she said via social media.

More than 3,660 Palestinians are being held without charge, including 22 women and 40 children.

Photo Review