Hamas frees 24 hostages from Gaza on first day of truce
Updated: 9:30am (AEDT) Gaza/Israel-Gaza border Reuters Hamas fighters released 24 hostages on Friday during the first day of the war’s first truce, including Israeli women and children and Thai farm workers, after guns fell silent across the Gaza Strip for the first time in seven weeks. The hostages were transferred out of Gaza and handed […]
Palestinians protest as Jerusalem refugee camp locked down
Jerusalem Reuters Hundreds of people protested at checkpoints into a refugee camp in Jerusalem and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces broke out across the West Bank on Wednesday, with a Palestinian killed near the southern city of Hebron. The violence spread to the streets in East Jerusalem where Israeli police said they clashed […]
Childhood amid conflict: For some Gaza children, another round of violence reopens trauma
NIDAL AL-MUGHRABI and HENIRETTE CHACAR, of Reuters, report on the trauma Palestinian children face growing up in the densely populated Gaza Strip…
In Gaza and Israel, people readjust after ceasefire
Gaza Reuters After huddling at home during Israel’s 11-day bombardment of Gaza, the shock of seeing houses and other buildings destroyed after yet another conflict tempered Palestinian joy that this round of fighting was over. “It’s like a tsunami,” said Abu Ali, standing next to a heap of rubble that had been a 14-storey tower […]
The Sea of Galilee is full, but the beaches are empty
Jerusalem AP After an especially rainy winter, the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel is at its highest level in two decades, but the beaches and major Christian sites along its banks are empty. Tourism usually peaks in April, when Christians flock to the holy sites during the Easter season and Israelis descend on the […]
Postcards – Photo Essay: In the early morning, ‘ecumenical accompaniers’ join Bedouin Shepherds in Jordan Valley
ALBIN HILLERT, in an article first published on the World Council of Churches website, reports on the work of ecumenical accompaniers…
Essay: The limits of love
JOSHUA KORN, publishing manager at Musalaha – a non-profit, Jerusalem-based organisation that promotes reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, writes that only by “tapping into God’s love” can we reverse the trend of dehumanisation that occurs in contexts such as that now playing out in Middle East…