From Globetrotter

Israeli Attacks Force Shut Down One of Last Remaining Hospitals in Rafah

On May 27, a day after the Israeli bombing of a tent shelter which killed over 45 Palestinians and injured several others, Israel conducted repeated attacks against one of the two remaining hospitals in Rafah, Kuwaiti Hospital, forcing it to shut down.

Kuwaiti Hospital was one of the only two major hospitals still functioning in Rafah, since the Israeli war has shut down or destroyed most others. Many of the 250 people injured by the Israeli attack on Sunday were being treated in the hospital.

At least two on-duty health workers were killed in an Israeli attack near the entry of the hospital. At least five other medical staff from the hospital were injured in previous attacks. 

According to the latest reports, Israeli forces also attacked a separate hospital, the Indonesian Field Hospital (now the last remaining hospital), in Rafah later on May 7, trapping all medical staff inside.

A statement issued by the director of the Kuwaiti hospital, Suhaib al-Hams, claimed that shutting down the hospital was the only option left, given Israel’s repeated assaults on the medical facilities in Rafah and in other parts of Gaza since October 7. 

The statement, however, claimed that the staff of the Kuwaiti Hospital would be transferred to a field hospital being prepared in the vicinity. 

The Ministry of Health in Gaza called the attack on Kuwait hospitals on Monday a “heinous crime” and a part of an Israeli attempt to destroy the health system in the Palestinian territory completely.

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Israel Subverts All International Laws and Rulings in its Attack Against Rafah

At least 45 people, mostly women and children, were killed and scores of others were injured when Israel bombed a tent camp for displaced Palestinians in Rafah late in the evening on May 26. 

The tent camp in Tal al-Sultan was recently built by UNRWA to shelter the Palestinians forced to move by Israeli forces from other parts of Rafah, and was a designated “safe zone,” Wafa News Agency reported.

Videos and visuals of tents burning and people desperately trying to locate their loved ones in the chaos circulated on social media, along with a ghastly video of a headless body of a child, which volunteers pulled from the rubble.

The attack was part of Israel’s increased assault on Rafah, particularly since the International Court of Justice (ICJ), as a provisional measure, asked Israel to stop such an attack on May 24.

The ICJ, in its interim order, had asked Israel to stop its attacks and open the border crossing with Egypt, which has been shut by it since May 7, hampering the flow of humanitarian aid in the war-ravaged region. 

The ICJ issued a provisional measure asking Israel to comply with the Genocide Convention and “immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in Rafah governorate which may inflict upon the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that would bring about its physical destruction in whole and in part.” The decision was backed by 13 out of the 15 judges in the ICJ. 

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People’s Conference for Palestine Closes With a Pledge to Mobilize Against Rafah Invasion

The People’s Conference for Palestine ended on May 26 with a bold call to mobilize: surround the White House on June 8 in protest of Israel’s ongoing offensive against Rafah. 

“Biden said he had a red line, remember the red line? He said, ‘If Netanyahu dares go into Rafah, that’s a red line, we the United States, will stop sending weapons to Israel,’” said Brian Becker, executive director of the ANSWER Coalition. The comments were made during the plenary session entitled, “How Do Movements Achieve Transformation?” 

“Israel went ahead and invaded Rafah, and what did Biden do? He continued to send the bombs and the missiles to carry out the massacre in Rafah and throughout Gaza. Biden’s red line is a lie!” Becker declared. 

Becker announced that on June 8, a date picked to mark the 57th anniversary of the so-called Six-Day War, “We are going to be surrounding the White House with tens of thousands of people dressed in red, surrounding the White House and letting Biden know, and letting the world know, and letting Palestine know, that we will be the red line to stop the massacre in Gaza.”

The last day of the conference unfolded as Israel bombed hundreds of forcibly displaced Palestinians sheltering in tents in Rafah, martyring dozens of people. Horrific images and videos spread around the world of sheltering families burning alive. Rafah currently contains millions of Palestinians displaced by the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.

As the news unfolded, Mohammed Nabulsi, a leader of the Palestinian Youth Movement, denounced the U.S. government’s complicity in the genocide of the Palestinian people. 

Nabulsi denounced “those who send humanitarian aid simultaneously as they send bombs.” Biden has made promises of aid to Gaza through the building of a temporary pier for the delivery of humanitarian goods.

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China Launches Large Military Exercises Around Taiwan, Calls it a Warning Against Separatists

Chinese Armed Forces and the nation’s Coast Guard launched a massive two-day military exercise surrounding Taiwan and its outlying islands in the Pacific Ocean on May 23. The government claimed the exercise is a warning against separatist elements in Taiwan and their international backers.

The exercises were launched as a response to newly sworn-in President Lai Ching-te’s claims of Taiwan’s independence. Ching-te was elected as president of Taiwan in January 2024 and he took the oath of office on May 20. During his inaugural speech, he claimed Taiwan (officially the Republic of China) is an “independent and sovereign” nation and denied it being part of China.

The military drill, “Joint Sword-2024A,” started early on May 23 and concluded on May 24. It is one of the largest such exercises in recent history, involving all segments of Chinese armed forces, army, navy, air force, and rocket forces along with the Chinese Coast Guard, Chinese military spokesperson Colonel Li Xi said on May 23.

The military exercise was carried out under China’s Eastern Theater Command. It involved all the latest weapons, including J-20 stealth fighter jets and advanced maritime warfare technology.

According to the Chinese military, the vessels participating in the drill on Thursday also ventured inside what the Taiwanese administration called “restricted waters,” which China maintains is Chinese territory.

As per China’s People’s Liberation Army, the objective of the exercise is to “punish” separatist elements as part of the “Taiwan Independence” movement and to send a warning to its international backers.