Israel kills another World Central Kitchen worker – war on Gaza Day 538

contact@ifamericansknew.org March 28, 2025humanitarian aid to gaza, israeli supreme court, malnutrition in gaza, marco rubio, world central kitchen

An Israeli strike killed a volunteer of the World Central Kitchen and wounded several other people in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the charity group said.

“Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the loss of one of our volunteers in Gaza. Israeli strikes hit near one of our WCK-supported community kitchens just as meals were being distributed. Jalal was tragically killed and six other people were injured,” WCK said.

Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip killed several WCK employees in 2024.

“The true factual picture we were exposed to differs from the one the petitioners sought to present,” wrote Noam Sohlberg, one of the justices of the court. The IDF’s “mobilization to bring humanitarian aid into Gaza, amid intense military activity, is unparalleled among the armies of the world,” he added.***

“Alongside managing the war effort, senior IDF officials were engaged in coordinating logistical and security needs in order to allow the regular transfer of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip—on a large scale, in a vast and extensive manner,” Sohlberg wrote.#

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that no goods or supplies would enter the Strip until further notice, reaffirming that his government will not agree to a truce without the release of hostages.

*International consensus (including the US) is that Israel is indeed occupying Gaza. Only Israel insists that Gaza is not under occupation. While Hamas exercises some authority in Gaza, Israel controls the borders (land and maritime), crossings, even the sky and under the ground.

**NOTE: The use of the word “terrorist” for a group that resists occupation and oppression is a political, not fact-based choice. In reality, international law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, the UN extending that right to the point of armed resistance.

***This statement is patently false. During the war – from October 2023 to January 2025 – Israel severely limited the amount of humanitarian aid going into Gaza; during the so-called ceasefire, larger quantities were allowed, although not nearly as much as the agreement called for. Since March 2, no aid at all has entered Gaza.

# In fact, according to Israeli reporting, Israeli forces not only did not facilitate the transfer of goods to Gaza, they actively enabled armed gangs to hijack truckloads of food, which were later sold on the black market instead of being given to the starving people.

Trucks carrying aid passing through the Kerem Abu Salim Border Gate into Gaza Strip, January 21, 2025 (Abed Rahim Khatib – Anadolu Agency)

Hundreds of thousands in Gaza at risk of malnutrition again, says WFP

Hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are at risk of severe hunger and malnutrition once again, as Israel’s blockade on aid and resumption of war severely disrupted food assistance operations, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has said.

“WFP and partners from the food security sector have been unable to bring new food supplies into Gaza for more than three weeks,” WFP said on Thursday, adding that its remaining food stocks would support operations for a maximum of two weeks.

People gather in front of a UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) building to receive flour in Jabalia on Sunday, the first convoy of aid trucks to reach northern Gaza without incident in four months. (photo)

Palestinian Authority unable to pay salaries before Eid as Israel withholds funds

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has announced that it will not be able to pay its employees’ salaries for February before Eid Al-Fitr, which falls at the beginning of next week, as Israel continues to withhold Palestinian tax revenues.

In a statement issued yesterday, the Palestinian Ministry of Finance said: “Due to the Israeli occupation government’s deliberate refusal to transfer the clearance funds [Palestinian tax revenues] for February 2025 until this moment, the Ministry of Finance announces that the February 2025 salaries will not be disbursed before Eid Al-Fitr.”

“Intensive efforts are ongoing to secure the required liquidity, and salaries will be paid immediately once the clearance funds are transferred,” it added.

It explained that “the occupation has withheld seven billion shekels ($1.89 billion) of Palestinian tax revenues from 2019 until February 2025″ (continue reading here).

Rubio defends revocation of Turkish PhD student’s visa over Israel criticism

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday confirmed the revocation of the visa of Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk, and defended her arrest following her article criticizing Israel.

“We revoked her visa,” Rubio told a news conference in Guyana, referring to Ozturk’s F1 student visa. “We give you a visa to come and study and get a degree, not to become a social activist that tears up our university campuses.”

Rubio defended the decision, saying foreign students engaging in activism that disrupts university life would face similar consequences.

“If you apply for a visa to enter the United States and be a student, and you tell us that the reason why you’re coming to the United States is not just because you want to write op-eds, but because you want to participate in movements that are involved in doing things like vandalizing universities, harassing students, taking over buildings … We’re not going to give you a visa,” he said.

“If you lie to us and get a visa and then enter the United States, and with that visa participate in that sort of activity, we’re going to take away your visa,” he added.

However, Rubio did not provide any evidence linking Ozturk to violence. Her friends and family say she was arrested following a campaign by Canary Mission, a pro-Israel website that blacklists pro-Palestine students and activists, stemming from an article she wrote criticizing Israel.

RELATED: US federal immigration agents detain doctoral student at University of Alabama

Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Anadolu/Getty)

US senator to force votes next week to block nearly $9B in new arms for Israel

US Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Thursday that he will force votes next week on halting nearly $9 billion in new military aid for Israel after it broke a ceasefire in Gaza with large-scale strikes that have added hundreds of new deaths to an already grim death toll.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during a press conference on debt limit negotiations with other Democrat Senators, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, May 18, 2023. — Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) during a press conference, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., May 18, 2023. (photo)

Sanders said he would force votes on two resolutions of disapproval to block the sales of certain offensive weaponry proposed by the Trump administration, which combined total some $8.8 billion.

The senior independent senator said the bombs and other munitions would enable Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “extremist government to continue its destruction of Gaza.”

“Netanyahu has clearly violated U.S. and international law in this brutal war, and we must end our complicity in the carnage,” Sanders said in a statement.

“This war has been conducted almost entirely with American weapons and some $18 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars.

“Israel has dropped U.S.-provided 2,000-pound bombs into crowded neighborhoods, killing hundreds of civilians to take out a handful of Hamas fighters, and made little effort to distinguish between civilians and combatants. These actions are immoral and illegal,” he added.

MORE NEWS:

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Anadolu Agency: OPINION – Trump might find himself trapped in Gaza

IMEMC Daily Reports

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – MARCH 27, 2025:

At least 51,025 Palestinians killed, 121,480 injured – including:
at least 50,082 killed in Gaza (~15,500 children)
at least 943 killed in the West Bank (~187 children)
at least 113,408 injured in Gaza
at least 8,072 injured in the West Bank

According to Palestinian authorities, during the ceasefire Jan. 19- March 18 2025, Israeli attacks killed at least 150 Gazans, and Israel committed at least 962 ceasefire violations.

Thousands of those killed in Gaza have yet to be identified, and an estimated 11,000 more are still buried under rubble.

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – March 27, 2025: ~1,592 – including ~1,139 on October 7, 2023 (~36 children), 407 military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza, 46 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

Hover over each bar for exact numbers. Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org

Saturday, 29 March 2025