Mohammed Omer

Israeli air strikes on Gaza city resumed around 3pm (15th July). (AFP)

Hamas almost immediately distanced itself from a ceasefire proposal that didn't meet any of its aims - or come through the right channels

When rumors began spreading late on Monday about a possible Hamas-Israel ceasefire brokered by Egypt, Ismail Haniyeh - the top Hamas leader in Gaza - appeared on a pre-recorded TV interview from an unknown location to address Palestinians.

In the video, Haniyeh's message was clear - he wanted to reassure Gazans that he and Hamas were unwilling to compromise on the innocent blood spilled in Gaza during the last nine days. “It is not possible for any party to bypass the conditions set by Palestinian Resistance to implement a period of calm,” he said in the clip. Hamas have since said says the ceasefire draft wasn’t seen by then until after it was made public, suggesting to them that the ceasefire proposal was more a media ploy rather than a true political initiative to end the conflict. “We want to stop the aggression on our people, but the problem is the realities of Gaza such as the starvation siege, closure of borders, the humiliation of people,” Haniyeh said.

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Eva Bartlett

Photos and updates from Gaza paint one of the most dire scenarios the Palestinians locked in the Strip have faced, Israeli bombing campaigns aside.

For over a month Palestinians in Gaza have endured 18 or more hours/day power outages. Now, with unusually heavy rains, cold temperatures, Israeli-released torrents of water (suddenly opening of dams along the border with Gaza), and even snow, Gaza is under water, under siege, and people are suffering freezing conditions. According on one international in Gaza, a baby has frozen to death in one of Gaza’s refugee camps.

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Mohammed Omer

We decided to make this urgent report from Mohammed Omer into an action alert—Gazans need our help now!
Contact Secretary of State John Kerry
U.S. Department of State
2201 C ST., NW
Washington, DC 20520
Call: 202-647-4000; select option 4 and ask operator for the comment line.
202-647-6575 (Public Communication Division); select option 8 to leave your comment.

It is cold, there is no power, and I am charging my computer using a car battery in order to get this message out. It is so cold in Gaza that everyone has cold feet and a cold nose. A new storm is hitting this besieged enclave. There is no electricity, and shortages of water, fuel, and vital services mean people just sit and wait for the unknown.

Tens of houses east of Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip, in Khan Younes and Rafah are flooded with rain today. The sewage system cannot function and Gaza municipalities announced a state of emergency. Schools and most shops are shut, there is no traffic and few people are walking in the street.

Gaza City’s garbage trucks have been at a standstill due to the ongoing fuel shortage. I’d gotten used to the bright orange truck that usually passes by, sounding its horn, a sign for all my neighbors to bring out their garbage for collection.

Now the donkey is our only remaining hope. Since last week—when fuel supplies ran dry—the only sound one hears now is the click-click of their hooves as they pull their carts along the road at 4 a.m. By noon, they have collected all they can on their busy route. In Gaza’s Barcelona neighborhood, garbage containers are overflowing—a normal occurrence since fuel ran out.

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