“Around two-thirds of Gaza remain inaccessible or subject to severe access restrictions, leaving civilians confined to overcrowded and insecure areas… Soon, winter will descend on Gaza,” commented Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, the UN’s Special Coordinator and humanitarian chief in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. He was on a 3 day visit to Gaza.
Preparing for winter must be a priority he stressed and the Israeli restrictions on essential engine oil for running sewage treatment plants and other machinery needs to be lifted.
On Wednesday 2 September United Nations agencies collected hundreds of pallets of supplies from the Kerem Shalom-Karem Abu Salem crossing to support the besieged people of Gaza. Israel is not permitting ambulances and medical equipment in.
For many in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, schools run by the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, have provided a pathway to opportunity for generations, with some 2.5 million students graduating.
However, financial constraints and conflict have disrupted or shattered their progress, threatening to further derail their prospects for the future.
In an interview with UN News’s Reem Abaza, UNRWA Director of Education Julia Dicon discusses what education means to Palestine refugee children and why sustained support is critical.
Audio credit: Reem Abaza, UN News
A Peace Vigil will be held in Orkney at the Kirk Green, Broad Street, Kirkwall, between 1 and 2pm today, Saturday 5 September. All are welcome to join with the islanders who have been campaigning for Peace and Justice for Gaza since the end of October 2023.
The shocking video footage appearing on social media sites of the violence perpetrated by illegal Israeli Settlers in the West Bank has raised awareness of Israel’s aim to clear Palestinians from their villages and farms. News media crews have also been attacked who have been exposing the violent crimes being committed by the settlers, ‘Palestinian woman and NBC News team attacked by masked Israeli settlers in West Bank’
In one of the most recent attacks, two Palestinian teenagers were killed by the settlers and Israeli soldiers . The settlers had stolen sheep belonging to the Palestinian farmers. All of these settlements are illegal and are on Palestinian land.
Lebanon is still under attack by Israeli missiles which have devasted the southern part of the country. Civilian Israeli crews have been sent in to bulldoze whole communities preparing the way for occupation . The US/Israel War of choice against Iran, has brought death, destruction and instability to the whole region. In Trump’s latest attacks on Iran, the US hit a venue in Iran where a couple were getting married.
The Guardian reports that:
People in Kuhestak, a predominantly Baloch city in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province, are mourning after a strike on a wedding killed at least four people, including a child, and injured more than 60, according to local authorities.
The Orkney News is documenting the Vigils taking place in our islands. Here is the latest film from last Saturday. All the videos can be found on The Orkney News YouTube channel.
The Orkney Vigil is between 1 and 2pm, every Saturday, on the Kirk Green, Kirkwall.
Fiona Grahame