20 years on, cameraman recalls Israeli killing of 11-year-old Palestinian

Wednesday marked the 20th anniversary of the brutal shooting death of an 11-year-old Palestinian boy Muhammad al-Durrah by Israeli regime soldiers in the Gaza Strip despite desperate efforts by his father -- Jamal, who was injured in the incident -- to shield him from a hail of bullets.

Muhammad was killed on September 30, 2000 following a protest rally by local Palestinians in reaction to the provocative visit to the Noble Sanctuary of the Al-Aqsa Mosque by hawkish Israeli general and politician Ariel Sharon (1928-2014). The child’s killers have never been brought to justice by the Israeli regime or any international authority. The images of the vicious police response to the demonstration caused widespread outrage among Palestinians and led to the Aqsa Intifada. The uprising lasted until February 2005 and left nearly 5,000 Palestinians killed, including almost 1,000 children. The atrocity by the Israeli regime forces came after Sharon – who had also led the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians years earlier in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp in Lebanon – marched into the holy Islamic site with a number of right-wing Israeli officials two days earlier on September 28 while protected by some 2,000 military police officers. The move sparked an angry protest by Palestinian Muslims worshiping inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque at the time.

Palestinians in Gaza preparing for Ramadan amid COVID-19

Palestinians in the Gaza strip are preparing for the holy month of Ramadan this year while many restrictions are imposed by the authorities due to COVID-19.

Official warns of ‘dangerous’ situation in Gaza amid surge in COVID-19 cases

With Israel’s blockade in place and amid hard times of the coronavirus pandemic, the “epidemiological situation” in the besieged Gaza Strip is now “dangerous,” says Magdy Dahir, deputy director of primary care at the Gaza Health Ministry.

Gaza protesters demand release of Hamas officials from Saudi jails

Hundreds of Palestinians have staged a protest in the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, urging Saudi Arabia to release two officials from the Hamas resistance movement who are imprisoned in the kingdom.

President Abbas decrees first parliamentary, presidential elections in Palestine in 15 years

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has decreed parliamentary and presidential elections to be held in the besieged Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank later this year, the first such votes after 15 years of rivalry between his Fatah party and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

Israel, Hamas trade fire amid flare-up in Gaza tensions

The Israeli military has carried out airstrikes and artillery attacks on various sites across the besieged Gaza Strip over what it cited as a volley of rockets launched from the Palestinian enclave into occupied territories.