Our Wednesday News Analysis | Swift global intervention can halt Gaza genocide

Smoke billows following an Israeli strike in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip. May 25, 2025 (File/AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose entire war strategy hinges on the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza, unilaterally decided last week to allow “immediate” food entry to the famine-stricken Strip. The decision resonated as shocking for all sides.

"A series of decisive actions taken by Trump further accentuated this shift:
Continued talks with Iran,
The truce with the Houthis in Yemen,
negotiations with Hamas, etc.
These moves received surprisingly little pushback
from the pro-Israel element in US power circles.

The UK, Canada, and France jointly issued a strong statement threatening Israel with sanctions last week. This unfamiliar language was swiftly followed by action just a day later, when London suspended trade talks with Israel.

The decision to allow some food into Gaza, though patently not enough to stave off the deepening famine, was meant as a distraction, as the Israeli war machine relentlessly continues to harvest the lives of Palestinians daily."

Of course, Netanyahu still maneuvered. Instead of permitting at least 1,000 trucks of aid to enter the utterly destroyed and devastated Gaza per day, he initially allowed a mere nine trucks, a number that nominally increased in the following days.

Even Netanyahu’s staunch supporters, who fiercely criticized the decision, found themselves confounded by it. The prior understanding among Netanyahu’s coalition partners regarding their ultimate plan in Gaza had been unequivocally clear: total occupation of the Strip and the forced displacement of its population.

The latter was articulated as a matter of explicit policy by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. “Gaza will be entirely destroyed, civilians will be sent to … third countries,” he declared on May 6...

Read more: Swift global intervention can halt Gaza genocide

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TOP GENOCIDE SCHOLARS UNANIMOUS THAT ISRAEL IS COMMITTING GENOCIDE IN GAZA: DUTCH INVESTIGATION

Source: Jews for Justice for Palestinians
https://jfjfp.com/top-genocide-scholars-unanimous-that-israel-is-committing-genocide-in-gaza-dutch-investigation/

Sondos Asem reports in Middle East Eye on 17 May 2025

A Palestinian man carries the body of a child killed in Israeli strikes in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on 16 May 2025

Professor Ugur Umit Ungor of the University of Amsterdam and NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies said that while
there are certainly researchers who say it is not genocide,
“I don’t know them”.

The Dutch paper reviewed 25 recent academic articles published in the Journal of Genocide Research, the field’s leading journal, and found that
“all eight academics from the field of genocide studies see genocide or at least genocidal violence in Gaza”.

“And that is remarkable for a field in which there is
no clarity about what genocide itself exactly is,” it noted.

A growing number of the world’s leading genocide scholars believe that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide, according to an investigation by Dutch newspaper NRC.

The paper interviewed seven renowned genocide and Holocaust researchers* from six countries – including Israel – all of whom described the Israeli campaign in Gaza as genocidal. Many said their peers in the field share this assessment.

“Can I name someone whose work I respect who does not think it is genocide? No, no counterargument takes into account all the evidence,” Israeli researcher Raz Segal told NRC.

Professor Ugur Umit Ungor of the University of Amsterdam and NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies said that while there are certainly researchers who say it is not genocide, “I don’t know them”.

The Dutch paper reviewed 25 recent academic articles published in the Journal of Genocide Research, the field’s leading journal, and found that “all eight academics from the field of genocide studies see genocide or at least genocidal violence in Gaza”. “And that is remarkable for a field in which there is no clarity about what genocide itself exactly is,” it noted.

Leading human rights organisations have also reached the conclusion that Israel is committing genocide. In December 2024, Amnesty International became the first major organisation to conclude that Israel had committed genocide during its war on Gaza, while Human Rights Watch more conservatively concluded that “genocidal acts” had been committed...

Read more: Top genocide scholars unanimous that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza: Dutch investigation
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PRELIMINARY GAZA CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT REACHED BETWEEN HAMAS, TRUMP ENVOY

Source: Palestine Chronicle
https://www.palestinechronicle.com/preliminary-gaza-ceasefire-agreement-reached-between-hamas-trump-envoy/

By Palestine Chronicle Staff
Published May 26, 2025

Washington is reportedly pressuring Tel Aviv to halt its Gaza offensive as Hamas signals conditional readiness for a long-term ceasefire.

New details have emerged about the positions of Hamas, Israel, and the United States regarding the ongoing Doha ceasefire talks. (Design: Palestine Chronicle)

"Israeli estimates suggest there are currently 58 prisoners held in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. In contrast, over 10,100 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, where they face widespread reports of torture, starvation, and medical neglect.

Both Palestinian and Israeli human rights groups have documented numerous deaths.

Hamas has repeatedly stated its willingness to release all Israeli prisoners in a single exchange, contingent upon a complete end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the release of Palestinian detainees."

The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas has reached a preliminary agreement with the US envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, during talks held in Doha, Al-Jazeera reported, citing informed sources.

The proposed deal centers on a permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

According to the sources, the agreement outlines an initial 60-day ceasefire period, during which 10 Israeli prisoners would be released in two batches—five on the first day of the ceasefire and five on the 60th day. In return, Palestinian prisoners would be released, and bodies would be exchanged.

The deal reportedly includes a commitment by US President Donald Trump to guarantee a ceasefire within 60 days and to ensure an Israeli withdrawal in line with a prior agreement reached in January.

The proposal also includes a mechanism for extending the ceasefire, with mediators tasked with overseeing its continuation and implementation...

Read more: Preliminary Gaza Ceasefire Agreement Reached between Hamas, Trump Envoy