Three Palestinians killed in Israeli strike on occupied West Bank
Israeli forces have carried out near-daily raids in the territory, killing more than 600 Palestinians since October. Three Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air attack on a house in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says. The attack on Thursday came as the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said fighters from its Tulkarem Battalion clashed with Israeli soldiers in the camp and detonated explosive devices targeting military vehicles. “Our fighters continue to clash with the occupation forces and we have achieved direct hits among them,” the Qassam Brigades said. The Israeli military deployed snipers on roofs and sent in bulldozers to destroy infrastructure. The Quds News Network posted a video of a fire following the army’s ground assault on the camp. The Israeli military said its aircraft struck “several militants” in Tulkarem as ground forces searched for buried explosives in an operation that was still ongoing. Dozens of buildings were destroyed in the eight-hour incursion and at least one Israeli soldier was wounded. Israeli forces also conducted raids in cities and towns across the West Bank, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported, and arrested two teenagers in the town of Deir Ballut and Tubas city. A total of 25 Palestinians, including two women and a child, were arrested overnight and through Thursday morning across the West Bank, according to Wafa. The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS) said in a joint statement that the Israeli raids were marked by violence and intimidation. Witnesses told PPS that detainees and their families there threatened and their homes were damaged. In the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah, Israeli troops clashed with Palestinians and deployed tear gas, live rounds and sound bombs. Attacks in the West Bank have surged since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza. Since October 7, Israeli forces have killed more than 600 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 144 children, while more than 10,000 Palestinians have been arrested. In a landmark but nonbinding ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last month declared Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as unlawful, saying it should come to an end “as rapidly as possible”. Adblock test (Why?)
Canada rail freight traffic comes to a standstill over labour dispute
The standoff could cause economic damage and supply chain problems for businesses and consumers in Canada and the US. Canada’s two major freight railroads have completely halted operations due to a contract dispute with their workers in a standoff that could cause considerable economic damage to businesses and consumers in both Canada and the United States. Canadian National (CN) and CPKC railroads both locked out their employees after the Thursday deadline passed without new agreements with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference which represents some 10,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers. This is the first time the country has faced simultaneous work stoppages at the two companies, which in the past have negotiated labour deals in alternate years. All rail traffic in Canada and all shipments crossing the US border have stopped, although CPKC and CN’s trains will continue to operate in the US and Mexico. Labour talks started early this year, but progress has been slow with both the union and the companies accusing each other of bad faith. The negotiations are stuck on issues related to the way rail workers are scheduled and concerns about rules designed to prevent fatigue and provide adequate rest to train crews. Both railroads had proposed shifting away from the existing system, which pays workers based on the miles in a trip, to an hourly system they said would make it easier to provide predictable time off. Business groups had urged the government to intervene, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has declined to force both sides into arbitration yet, but he urged them to reach a deal on Wednesday because of the economic damage that would follow a full shutdown. “It is in the best interest of both sides to continue doing the hard work at the table,” Trudeau told reporters in Gatineau, Quebec. “Millions of Canadians, workers, farmers, businesses, right across the country, are counting on both sides to do the work and get to a resolution.” Numerous business groups have been urging Trudeau to act. “Despite the lockout, the Teamsters remain at the bargaining table with both companies,” the union said in a statement. Rail traffic in Canada and all shipments crossing the US border have stopped over the labour dispute [File: Nick Ingram/AP Photo] Effect on trade Canada – the world’s second-largest country by territory – relies heavily on rail to ship grain, fertiliser and commodities, and the country’s main business lobby group estimates losses would hit $1 billion Canadian dollars ($733m) a day during a stoppage. If the dispute drags on for a couple of weeks, water treatment plants across the country might have to scramble without new shipments of chlorine. Billions of dollars of goods each month move between Canada and the US via rail, according to the US Department of Transportation. “If rail traffic grinds to a halt, businesses and families across the country will feel the impact,” Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, said in a statement. “Manufacturing workers, their communities and consumers of all sorts of products will be left reeling from supply chain disruptions.” Adblock test (Why?)
Video: Walz accepts VP nomination at Democratic convention
NewsFeed The Democrats’ candidate for the US vice presidency Tim Walz drew on his background as an American football coach as he urged supporters to fight for an election win, in a speech at the Democratic National Convention. Published On 22 Aug 202422 Aug 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Water erupts from manhole during heavy rain in Tokyo
NewsFeed A manhole cover blew off and water shot up into Tokyo’s night sky, as torrential rain drenched Japan’s capital city. Published On 21 Aug 202421 Aug 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Israel kills dozens of displaced Palestinians in Gaza amid more evacuations
Israel has killed at least 50 more Palestinians and wounded more than 120 in Gaza as its military has ordered new evacuations in central and southern parts of the enclave. Gaza’s Civil Defence agency on Wednesday said at least four people were killed and 18 wounded in the latest Israeli strike on Salah al-Din School, which is sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City. Agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told the AFP news agency that 10 of the injured were children. A father told AFP his child was killed in the strike while playing in the schoolyard. “We ran to see and saw my son dead,” he said without giving his name. “What did this child do to deserve this? He had no missile, no plane, no tank.” Displaced Palestinians flee the western part of Khan Younis after the Israeli army issued an evacuation order [Mohammed Salem/Reuters] The Israeli military said in a statement the air force “conducted a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating inside a command and control centre” located in the school compound. “Hamas operatives used the compound as a hideout and a base to plan and execute attacks against [Israeli] troops and the State of Israel,” a statement said. Israel has targeted more than 500 schools in its 10-month offensive on Gaza, alleging Hamas was using them as hideouts. But it has not provided sufficient evidence to back up its claim while Hamas has denied the charge. In Bani Suheila, a town near Khan Younis in southern Gaza, an Israeli air raid killed seven Palestinians, two of them children and five women, at a tent camp for displaced people, medics said. In Rafah, a Civil Defence crew recovered the bodies of four other Palestinians. They were farmers working near al-Mawasi who were killed by Israeli tanks, which opened fire on them without warning, Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reported on Wednesday. Israel’s military has killed at least 40,223 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the territory’s Ministry of Health. Most of the dead in Gaza are women and children, the United Nations human rights office said. ‘Have mercy on us, world’ Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders on Wednesday for several neighbourhoods in Deir el-Balah, the enclave’s most densely populated area, signalling an expansion of the army’s ground operations from south to central Gaza. Israeli forces fired into the crowds, killing at least one person and wounding several others, medics and residents in the central Gaza city said. Al Jazeera’s Maram Humaid, reporting from Gaza, said “a wave of terror and panic has swept through the area” as people scrambled to leave following the orders. She said witnesses reported Israeli tanks near the al-Mazraa school area, southeast of Deir el-Balah. “The tanks approached one of the schools and started shelling near civilians. Quadcopters were also shooting at people,” Dia Lafi, another Palestinian journalist, reported. “There’s no place to go, no transportation for those trying to flee.” As Mohammad Yasser loaded mattresses into a car outside his family’s temporary shelter, he shouted in desperation: “Have mercy on us, world! Have mercy! We don’t want aid or food coupons. Just stop this war. “The evacuation feels like a mass exodus. There’s nowhere to go. Deir el-Balah is the final station. We’ll end up sitting in the streets,” Yasser told Al Jazeera. “If it weren’t for my children, I would stay, even if it meant dying here. My daughter was born and raised in this war. We have endured enough.” Gaza’s Government Media Office said more than 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced to so-called humanitarian zones. Only about 9 percent of the Gaza Strip is now designated “safe” by the Israeli military. Israel has repeatedly carried out strikes in such areas, which lack basic infrastructure and water and are overcrowded. The UN says at least 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced at least once since the start of the war in October. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA, denounced Wednesday’s strike on the Gaza City school, saying “some were burnt to death” in the “horrific attack on one of our UNRWA schools”. “Is there any humanity left?” Lazzarini wrote on the social media platform X. “Gaza is no place for children anymore. They are the first casualty of this merciless war. “We cannot let the unbearable become a new norm. Enough. A ceasefire is beyond over due.” Adblock test (Why?)
Meet the ‘uncommitted’: How Gaza hangs over Democratic National Convention
Chicago, Illinois – The “uncommitted” delegates at the Democratic National Convention in the United States have a message for their party: “Help us help you.” Approximately 30 such delegates earned a spot at the convention in Chicago after hundreds of thousands of people voted “uncommitted” in the Democratic primaries, in protest of President Joe Biden’s unconditional support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Since then, Biden has withdrawn from the 2024 presidential race, and Vice President Kamala Harris has replaced him on the Democratic ticket. Still, the war in Gaza remains a flashpoint dividing the Democratic Party. Many of the “uncommitted” delegates say they want Harris to win — but they also want her to listen to the antiwar voters who elected them to the convention. Only with their support can she succeed on election day, several delegates told Al Jazeera. The “uncommitted” movement started with the Listen to Michigan campaign in February. A grassroots protest movement, Listen to Michigan encouraged the state’s primary voters to cast protest votes — and its push exceeded expectations, winning more than 13 percent of the vote. Then the movement went national. Voters across the country cast enough “uncommitted” ballots to send delegates from states like Hawaii, Washington and Minnesota to the convention. Those delegates are using their presence at the convention to demand a commitment to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo against Israel, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians over the past 10 months. To make their case, the delegates are arguing that, without a meaningful change in policy, large parts of the party base — including young voters, Arabs, Muslims and progressives — will not be energised to elect Harris in November. At the convention this week, uncommitted delegates and their allies are making themselves visible with keffiyehs and lapel pins calling for an end to weapon transfers to Israel. Al Jazeera spoke to several uncommitted delegates in Chicago. Here’s what they had to say. Uncommitted delegates speak to reporters on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19 [Ali Harb/Al Jazeera] Yaz Kader: ‘We just need to apply’ US laws Kader, a delegate from Washington state, says the “uncommitted” movement has allowed people to use a “powerful” civic tool — voting — to protest the atrocities in Gaza. “We have to work within the system that we have. And we are showing right now that political pressure can be applied from within,” Kader told Al Jazeera. “And furthermore, the Democratic base here is in agreement with us. We can make those changes. We’ve already seen some of the changes in language. We need to make changes with policy.” The 35-year-old Palestinian American medical professional arrived at the convention draped in a keffiyeh decorated with a pin. “Not another bomb,” it read. Kader added that it has been “very tough” seeing what Palestinians in Gaza are enduring. “There are US laws and international laws that are already on the books. We just need to apply them and make sure that this can never happen again,” he said. “Our laws do not allow for 16,000 children to be killed in Palestine. There has been this exception made for the Israeli government and military, and it’s not OK.” Abbas Alawieh: ‘A big responsibility’ Alawieh, a Michigan delegate and one of the leaders of the “uncommitted” movement, says he has not been getting much sleep as he works to advance the campaign’s goals. “It feels like a big responsibility to the voters who sent us here, who sent me here,” Alawieh told Al Jazeera. “I also feel a big responsibility to our Palestinian community members who are counting on us to push as hard as we can for Palestinian human rights. I also feel a responsibility to my own family in south Lebanon, who want to know when the bombing that’s happening all around them is going to stop. It feels like a big weight, and I’m trying to remember to drink water.” Sabrene Odeh: ‘We just need an end to the violence’ Odeh, a delegate from Washington state, says it has been “incredibly depressing” being a Palestinian American during the war on Gaza. At the same time, she said it is a “huge honour” to represent Palestinian rights supporters at the convention in Chicago. “Our messages are very clear: We want a permanent, immediate ceasefire, and we want an arms embargo. Everything else comes after. We just need an end to the violence and to the slaughtering of the Palestinian people,” she told Al Jazeera. Uncommitted delegate Sabrene Odeh from Washington state attends a news conference on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19 [Ali Harb/Al Jazeera] Jeremiah Ellison: Pushing Democrats to adopt ‘popular policies’ Ellison, a Minneapolis City Council member, said the war in Gaza is affecting people across Minnesota, not just Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims. He dismissed criticisms that the “uncommitted” movement helps Republican candidate Donald Trump by splitting the Democratic base, calling the idea “silly”. “We are here as delegates in the party,” Ellison told Al Jazeera, explaining that he and other delegates are “participating in the process that the party built” to make themselves heard. “If we had an interest in helping Donald Trump win, we would not have become delegates to the DNC. We would have saved our money, saved our time, and we would have gone and told people how to vote in November,” he said. “We’re here now at the DNC, trying to get this party to adopt really popular policies across the Democratic Party.” Ellison stressed that the uncommitted delegates are “not doing it alone”, saying that many voters care about the issue and want an end to the atrocities in Gaza. Uncommitted Democratic delegate Jeremiah Ellison wears a pin on his lapel to show support for a Gaza ceasefire [Ali Harb/Al Jazeera] Shay Chan Hodges: Harris should listen to young people Chan Hodges, an uncommitted delegate from Hawaii, says she wants Harris
Bus crash in Iran kills at least 28 Pakistani pilgrims travelling to Iraq
Accident in central province of Yazd was blamed on a defective braking system, according to preliminary police probe. At least 28 pilgrims from Pakistan have been killed and 23 injured after their bus overturned in central Iran, according to Iranian state media. The accident took place late on Tuesday in the central province of Yazd. There were 53 passengers on board when the bus crashed en route to the holy city of Karbala in Iraq for the Arbaeen pilgrimage. A technical defect in the vehicle’s braking system caused the accident, according to a preliminary investigation by traffic police in Yazd, state media reported on Wednesday. Millions of Shia Muslims are currently taking part in the Arbaeen pilgrimage and they typically drive through Iran to reach their destination. “Unfortunately, 11 women and 17 men lost their lives in this accident. Seven of the injured people are in critical condition and six injured people have now left the hospital,” Ali Malekzadeh, the crisis management director general of Yazd, told state TV. Of the 23 people injured, six have been discharged while seven are in critical condition, he said. The Arbaeen commemoration marks the 40th day of mourning for Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and son of Imam Ali, who was killed in 680 AD on the plains of Karbala. Many pilgrims opt to walk 80km (50 miles) from the nearby city of Najaf, where Imam Ali is buried, to Karbala. Last year, some 22 million pilgrims attended the commemoration in Karbala. Iran has one of the world’s worst traffic safety records with some 17,000 deaths annually. The high death toll is blamed on a disregard for traffic laws, unsafe vehicles and inadequate emergency services in its vast rural areas. Adblock test (Why?)
Australia greenlights $19bn solar project to export power to Singapore
Australia-Asia Power Link is slated to provide up to 15 percent of city-state’s energy needs once completed. Australia has granted environmental approval for a $19bn solar power project to export electricity to Singapore. The Australia-Asia Power Link is slated to generate 6GW of renewable energy, one-third of which would be transmitted to the Southeast Asia city-state via an undersea cable. SunCable, owned by billionaire software entrepreneur and climate activist Mike Cannon-Brookes, has said the project will supply up to 15 percent of Singapore’s energy needs once completed in the early 2030s. Australia’s Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said on Wednesday that the 12,000-hectare (29,650-acre) solar farm in the remote Northern Territory would create 14,300 jobs and transform Australia into a “renewable energy superpower”. “This massive project is a generation-defining piece of infrastructure. It will be the largest solar precinct in the world – and heralds Australia as the world leader in green energy,” Plibersek said in a statement. Plibersek’s office said the approval came with “strict conditions” to protect the natural environment, including that the project must avoid the habitat of the greater bilby, a rabbit-like mammal considered vulnerable to extinction. SunCable Managing Director Cameron Garnsworthy said the government’s decision was a vote of confidence in the project and the company as “responsible stewards of the local Northern Territory environment”. “SunCable will now focus its efforts on the next stage of planning to advance the project towards a Final Investment Decision targeted by 2027,” Garnsworthy said in a statement. Despite winning environmental approval in Australia, the project still faces various other regulatory hurdles, including assessments by authorities in Singapore and Indonesia. The future of the project was thrown into doubt in January last year when SunCable went into voluntary administration amid a dispute between Cannon-Brookes and fellow billionaire backer Andrew Forrest over the direction of the company. Cannon-Brookes, the co-founder of US-Australian software company Atlassian, revived the bid in May after a consortium he led won control of the company’s assets. Energy is a politically fraught issue in Australia, where coal and gas remain the largest sources of electricity generation despite growing use of renewables. While the governing centre-left Labor Party and opposition centre-right Liberal Party have both committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, the parties disagree on the steps for getting there. In June, the Liberal Party proposed constructing the country’s first nuclear power plants, which Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dismissed as an uncosted “thought bubble”. “Australians have a choice between a renewable energy transition that’s already under way creating jobs and driving down prices, or paying for an expensive nuclear fantasy that may never happen,” Plibersek said. Adblock test (Why?)
War-ravaged Sudan battles cholera outbreak
Lying on a hospital bed, Aisha Mohammed said she was suffering from cholera symptoms, an increasingly common disease in Sudan where a prolonged war has ravaged the healthcare system. Cholera, caused by contaminated water or food, had been common in Sudan, particularly during the rainy season even before a conflict broke out in April 2023 between rival generals. But more than 16 months of fighting have forced most hospitals out of service, leaving the country of 48 million people struggling to control the sometimes deadly but treatable disease. In the southeastern town of Wad al-Hulaywah, 40-year-old Mohammed received intravenous medicine to ease her symptoms and said she had acute diarrhoea. Sudanese authorities and the United Nations have reported a surge in cholera cases amid several weeks of torrential rains that have battered parts of the country and displaced thousands. Rains and floods have contributed to a resurgence of the largely waterborne disease, which can cause severe dehydration and lead to death within hours if not treated. The Ministry of Health on Monday declared an epidemic, later reporting 556 cholera cases including 27 deaths, most in Kassala state where Wad al-Hulaywah is located. Nearby Gadarif state has also been hit particularly hard, the ministry said. The World Health Organization said Sudan has had at least 11,327 cholera cases, 316 of them deadly, since June 2023. Health Minister Haitham Ibrahim said “climatic conditions and water contamination” were behind the epidemic. In Wad al-Hulaywah alone “we’ve counted 150 cases so far, among them seven dead” since late July, local health official Adam Ali told the AFP news agency. Before the start of the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the UN had said that about 40 percent of Sudanese did not have access to clean water. Conditions have since worsened. “Our problem is drinking water,” said Ali. Most residents of Wad al-Hulaywah “drink water directly from the river – polluted water”, he said. During the rainy season, large amounts of silt are washed into the Setit river, which begins in neighbouring Ethiopia, increasing pollution levels, the health official added. Near the local hospital, workers spray insecticide to fight the proliferation of flies, which Ali said was a symptom of poor sanitation. Dam construction in 2015 on the Setit river had displaced “entire villages”, he said, and their inhabitants “dug makeshift latrines, which attract flies because they are not maintained”. Access to clean water has been hampered across the country, in areas under either the SAF or the RSF, both fighting for control of Sudan. Adblock test (Why?)
What is the Gaza ceasefire ‘bridging proposal’ and will it work?
The United States top diplomat landed in Israel on Monday with a message for those pleading for an end to the war in Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he consulted with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who – the American official said – had accepted a “bridging proposal” for a ceasefire in Gaza. The proposal ostensibly aims to bridge unresolved disputes between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas in order to scale down violence in Gaza, where Israel has killed more than 40,000 people and uprooted nearly the entire 2.3 million population during the last 10 months. Israel’s devastating war on Gaza began shortly after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which an estimated 1,139 people were killed and more than 250 taken captive. Despite continuous efforts this year to bring about a ceasefire, and even after a proposal announced by US President Joe Biden that he said was supported by Israel and has publicly been backed by Hamas, the US has now been forced to announce its another bridging proposal. Hamas has rejected the proposal, calling it an attempt by the US to buy time “for Israel to continue its genocide”, and urged a return to the previous proposal. With Blinken travelling the Middle East, and a new potential round of talks in Cairo this week, let’s take a closer look at the latest proposal, and what the dispute between Israel and Hamas now centres on. Paramedics carry a body from the site of an Israeli attack on a school, housing displaced Palestinians, in the Remal neighbourhood of central Gaza City on August 20, 2024 [Omar al-Qattaa/AFP] Permanent ceasefire? Israel doesn’t want a permanent ceasefire, despite engaging in “ceasefire” talks. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to reserve the right to resume attacks on Gaza after Israeli captives have been retrieved. This fits with a longstanding Israeli military doctrine of carrying out “preemptive attacks” in occupied Palestinian territory to ostensibly weaken the threat coming from Palestinian fighters, as it often does in the occupied West Bank. “Most Israelis can’t argue with what Netanyahu wants to do, which is to destroy Hamas, despite those being empty words that have no meaning,” said Ori Goldberg, an Israeli commentator on political affairs. However, Israel’s own security brass has said that Netanyahu’s stated goal of completely destroying Hamas is impossible and amounts to “throwing sand in the eyes of the [Israeli] public”. Even Netanyahu’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has rubbished the idea of a “total victory” against Hamas. Back in July, Hamas expressed willing to sign a temporary ceasefire and then indirectly continue talks that would eventually lead to a permanent one. Netanyahu, however, has continued to add conditions and has proved unwilling to compromise. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has maintained a hardline position opposed to an end to the war in Gaza, even as pressure on him mounts from inside and outside Israel [File: Craig Hudson/Reuters] Troop withdrawals Hamas is calling for the departure of all Israeli troops from Gaza, beginning with a withdrawal from the Philadelphi corridor, a name used for the land that separates the enclave from Egypt. Netanyahu, however, insists that Israeli troops must remain in the corridor – and other locations in the enclave – to preserve Israeli security and derail the smuggling of weapons to Hamas. That, Hamas says, is a departure from the ceasefire proposal backed by Biden in May, which the Americans said at the time Israel had agreed to. Secretary of State Blinken has tried to talk Netanyahu into watering down his new condition – which is also vehemently opposed by Egypt – by agreeing to keep a minimal number of soldiers in the Philadelphi corridor, according to Hugh Lovatt, an expert on Israel-Palestine for the European Council for Foreign Relations (ECFR). “It seems, from my view, the US is accepting the latest Israeli conditions, but trying to water them down to some extent,” said Lovatt. “This [proposal] is basically a bridge between the US and Israel and not Israel and Hamas,” he added. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog, right, in Tel Aviv, Israel, August 19, 2024 [Kevin Mohatt/Pool via Reuters] Right of return Israel has insisted on screening all Palestinians for weapons before allowing them to return to their homes in northern Gaza, a condition that is regarded by Palestinians as a pretext to be used to block families from returning to areas where they have been forcefully and deliberately displaced. Israel has said that it aims to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping in the north. Hamas, on the other hand, says Palestinians should have total freedom of movement and that Israeli forces must withdraw in order to guarantee the safety of people in the Strip, tens of thousands of whom have been killed by Israeli forces. The call for an unimpeded return to the north is particularly sensitive for Palestinians, who have been repeatedly expelled from their lands since the creation of Israel in 1948. Back then, some 750,000 Palestinians were uprooted by Zionist militias – a period Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, or catastrophe. About 70 percent of Gaza’s population are from refugee families that had fled their homes in other parts of Palestine during the Nakba. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally to mark the Nakba anniversary in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on May 18, 2024 [File: John Lamparski/AFP] Captive exchange On Tuesday, Israeli families of the captives in Gaza met Netanyahu to gauge the likelihood of a ceasefire. After the meeting, one of them told local reporters that the prime minister is “not sure there will be a deal”. A ceasefire would, in theory, involve three phases, in which all Israeli captives are released in exchange for a certain number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Hamas wants a deal, but will not release captives unless Netanyahu agrees to withdraw troops from Gaza. Netanyahu’s new ceasefire conditions, however, make the release of