By Global News Service

Credit Line: from the Peoples Dispatch / Globetrotter News Service

Headlines in This News Package:

– Israel Kills Over 400 Palestinians in a Single Day of Airstrikes

– Sergio Massa Pulls Ahead in First-Round Presidential Election in Argentina, Will Face Javier Milei in Runoff

– Thousands March in Tunis for Palestine

– Harvard Students Stand Strong for Palestine Despite Intimidation

Israel Kills Over 400 Palestinians in a Single Day of Airstrikes

In what has been described as the most intensive bombing of the besieged Palestinian territory since October 7, at least 400 more people were killed in Israel’s indiscriminate strikes in Gaza on October 22.

Israeli bombings inside Gaza continued in the subsequent days as well, with the Palestinian Health Ministry reporting 700 dead over the span of 24 hours on October 24, the deadliest 24-hour period in the entire war against Gaza through that date.

The Israeli military claimed on October 23 that it bombed over 300 targets in Gaza on October 22. Their aircraft continued to target residential areas in Khan Yunis, Al-Faluja, and other localities, killing civilians, including children, on the 15th day since Palestinian resistance movements launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

Israeli warplanes targeted the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp where at least 30 people were killed, as well as other localities close to the Al-Shifa and Al-Quds hospitals.

Footage released by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society on October 23 clearly shows Israeli bombing in the vicinity of the Al-Quds hospital.

These hospitals are overcrowded with the wounded and those seeking refuge from bombings, much like Al-Ahli Arab Hospital last week. Close to 500 Palestinians were killed when Israel bombed it on October 17.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health reports that more than 5,000 Gazans have been killed in Israeli bombings; of those over 2,000 were children. More than 15,000 people have been wounded in these attacks and over a million have been displaced. Israel has also killed over 95 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and wounded over 1,600 in the 17 days ending October 23.

***

Sergio Massa Pulls Ahead in First-Round Presidential Election in Argentina, Will Face Javier Milei in Runoff

Argentina will head to runoff presidential elections after the Unión Por la Patria (Union for the Homeland) candidate, Sergio Massa, the current Minister of Economy, secured an unanticipated 37 percent of the votes on October 22, beating far-right candidate Javier Milei, who received only 30 percent.

The result represents a shift compared to the PASO, or primary election, that took place in August when Milei, from the Libertad Avanza (Liberty Advances), emerged as the frontrunner.

Milei held onto the 30 percent of votes he received during the PASO, while Patricia Bullrich, the candidate of the conservative Junto por el Cambio (Together for Change) coalition, came in third with 23 percent of the vote. These results mean that Argentinians will return to the polls once more in November to vote for their next president.

Milei’s supporters have already alleged electoral fraud, a tactic used by supporters of Jair Bolsonaro and Donald Trump.

However, the shift in vote share is likely a result of efforts by the Union for the Homeland to address the concerns of the people as Argentina navigates a difficult economic period. Following the PASO, Massa’s Ministry implemented a series of measures that have brought at least partial alleviation of difficulties faced by the people, including a VAT refund on basic goods and support to informal workers.

These efforts also led to the election of the Union for the Homeland candidate, Axel Kicillof, as governor of the Buenos Aires province, in which he secured a victory over Néstor Grindetti from Together for Change.

***

Thousands March in Tunis for Palestine

Thousands demonstrated in Tunis on October 21 as part of a national call for mobilization launched by the National Committee in Support of Resistance in Palestine. Demonstrators from different left organizations and parties mobilized to support Palestine in the face of Israeli aggression against Gaza. It is the second march organized by the Committee in Support of Resistance in ten days.

The march began from Human Rights Square or “Chokri Belaid Square” and raised slogans such as “the people want to criminalize normalization,” “the people want to liberate Palestine,” and “the French and Americans are partners in the aggression,” and carrying Palestinian flags.

The march stopped in front of the French embassy, which was guarded by a heavy security presence. Protesters called for the expulsion of the ambassador as an expression of their denunciation of the French position which from the beginning of the Israeli aggression was in line with the Israeli narrative and in support of its actions.

Among those attending the march were Hamma Hammami, Secretary-General of the Tunisian Workers’ Party, and Bassem Trifi, President of the Tunisian League for Human Rights and President of the National Union of Tunisian Journalists.

Addressing thousands of protesters, Hammami said that people must unite their efforts across many countries to support the Palestinian people and expel diplomats of France and the U.S. from their countries, citing how some countries of sub-Saharan Africa did this recently, including Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali.

***

Harvard Students Stand Strong for Palestine Despite Intimidation

Shortly following the historic Palestinian resistance offensive into Israel and the beginning of the bombing campaign of Gaza by Israel, student organizations at one of the most elite universities took a bold stance—citing the state of Israel as responsible for all violence in the region. “We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence,” read the first sentence of a student solidarity statement at Harvard University, spearheaded by the Harvard College Palestine Solidarity Committee.

“From systematized land seizures to routine airstrikes, arbitrary detentions to military checkpoints, and enforced family separations to targeted killings, Palestinians have been forced to live in a state of death, both slow and sudden,” reads the letter. “Today, the Palestinian ordeal enters into uncharted territory. The coming days will require a firm stand against colonial retaliation.”

The student signatories immediately experienced backlash from wealthy and powerful Zionists. Billionaire, hedge fund CEO, and Harvard alum Bill Ackman called for the release of all names associated with the letter and a blacklist of those students from employment.

A truck with an LED screen traveled around the Harvard campus on October 11 advertising the names and faces of students who signed onto the statement, accompanied by the words “Harvard’s Leading Antisemites.” An elite law firm rescinded job offers for students associated with the letter.

A petition has been launched by the ANSWER Coalition to oppose the targeting of these Harvard students.