Gaza journalist went to get food for his 3 starving kids and pregnant wife, returned to see them killed

News Network
March 3, 2024

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A young Palestinian journalist Motasem Dalloul took a short break from his reporting to fetch food for his pregnant wife and little children, who were starving.

When Dalloul came back, he saw them lying under the rubble. They were killed in an Israeli bombing of a residential compound in Yafa Street, Gaza City. The incident occurred on February 28, 2024. 

“To Allah we belong and to Him we return my pregnant wife, Rahim, and my 3-year-old son, Abu Baker, have been Killed along with 20 other people in the Israeli bombing of a residential compound in Yafa Street, in the city of Gaza,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The graphic picture of the lifeless bodies of the duo was attached to the post, which drew anger and outrage from netizens over the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

Journalists in the besieged coastal strip have borne the brunt of the Israeli genocidal war since October 7, with more than 130 scribes killed by the occupying regime so far.

However, more tragically, Gaza-based journalists have also lost their families and houses in what human rights activists believe are deliberate attacks to muzzle their voices.

The death toll in Gaza has already surpassed the mark of 30,000, most of them children and women. Earlier this week, more than 100 people were killed after regime forces and tanks opened fire on a large crowd of people who were queuing up to collect aid.

This starvation that Palestinians in Gaza are facing separated Dalloul from his family.

Dalloul went out to search for some food for his hungry wife and kids. He came back to see the house where the family had sought refuge bombed by the apartheid regime.

“At night, she told me she was hungry. I said: I had nothing to do except risking my life to get some aid. She begged me not to go, but I insisted. I LOVED her too much. I LOVED her more than my soul,” he wrote in a post on X, overwhelmed by emotions.

“I went there and succeeded in getting flour and I was happy that she would eat with my little kids. Before I reached them, I was told they were bombed and wounded. I left the flour and rushed to the hospital, found my 6-year-old sim, Asem, wounded and her and my little angel Abu Baker martyred. I got very crazy.” 

Dalloul’s three-year-old son Asem survived the attack and is now recovering from injuries.

In another post, the Palestinian journalist shared a picture of his house, razed to the ground, where his pregnant wife and child were killed.

“Here, from under this rubble, my beloved wife and little angel ascended to Heaven. My heart is completely broken,” he wrote.

UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, has repeatedly stressed that denial of food is a war crime and constitutes a "situation of genocide."

Israel has been intentionally starving Palestinians and should be held accountable for war crimes and genocide, according to the UN’s leading expert on the right to food.

“Intentionally depriving people of food is clearly a war crime. Israel has announced its intention to destroy the Palestinian people, in whole or in part, simply for being Palestinian. This is now a situation of genocide. This means…Israel in its entirety is culpable and should be held accountable – not just individuals or this government or that person,” Fakhri said.

A day before Dalloul’s family got killed; the journalist described their plight amid the worsening food situation in the besieged strip due to the crippling siege.

“We are hungry. I got sick after walking more than 20 kilometers every day since the beginning of the week and got nothing.”

“Last night was the worst since the start of the genocide as I was separated from my son. Two of my sons went to try collecting some aid today. I pray for their safety and wish they get something to eat,” he hastened to add, not knowing that the pain of separation would become permanent.

As per a consensus among hunger experts across the globe, a huge civilian population like that of Palestinians in Gaza has never been starved in such a brief period.

“Israel is not just targeting civilians, it is trying to damn the future of the Palestinian people by harming their children,” Fakhri was quoted as saying.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday said 10 children have died of starvation in the besieged strip, pointing to the gravity of the humanitarian catastrophe.

“The official records, yesterday or this morning, said that there was a 10th child officially registered in a hospital as having starved to death,” WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said.

As per the statistics provided by Project Hope, a health and humanitarian NGO, 21 percent of the pregnant women and 11 percent of the children in Gaza under the age of 5 that were treated by the organization in the last three weeks suffer from malnutrition.

As per a UN report released on February 19, one in six children under the age of 2 is acutely malnourished in the northern part of the coastal strip, “putting young children at highest risk of medical complications and death unless they receive urgent treatment.”

“The Gaza Strip is poised to witness an explosion in preventable child deaths which would compound the already unbearable level of child deaths in Gaza,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations (ASG), Ted Chaiban.

“If the conflict doesn’t end now, children’s nutrition will continue to plummet, leading to preventable deaths or health issues which will affect the children of Gaza for the rest of their lives and have potential intergenerational consequences,” Chiban added.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court regards intentionally starving a particular civilian population by denying them food, water and shelter as a war crime.

The Geneva Conventions also recognize starvation as a war crime. In 2018, the UN Security Council placed deliberate deprivation of food on the list of war crimes.

Experts say that Israel’s claim of exceptions in war crimes holds no ground. The regime is purposefully destroying the food system, holding humanitarian aid, to let hunger and diseases spread in Gaza.

Meanwhile, a day after losing his wife and son, Dalloul returned to his professional duty.

“Motasem Dalloul continues to cover the ongoing genocide despite losses in his immediate family. If there is any journalist you should be following in Gaza, it's him,” wrote Wad Kosti.

The Gazan journalist asked the world to pray for his children recuperating from injuries and shock of losing their mother and sibling.

“Pray for my son, Asem, who was left without mother, due to Israeli bombing, along with three little daughters: Habiba, 7, Hafsa, 5 and Halima, 2.”

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News Network
February 12,2025

Mangaluru: A woman in Mangaluru fell victim to a sophisticated scam, losing Rs 14.02 lakh to fraudsters posing as police and CBI officials. The scammers deceived her under the pretense of a "digital arrest," using fake legal threats and official-looking documents.

The Deceptive Call

On November 12, 2024, the woman received a call from a customer care number claiming that Rs 1 lakh had been fraudulently transferred in Delhi using her ID. The caller warned that an FIR would be filed against her.

Shortly afterward, she received a WhatsApp video call from someone pretending to be a Delhi Police officer. The imposter accused her of being involved in 25 black money cases and instructed her to contact two alleged senior CBI officers.

The Fake Supreme Court Link

While at a research center of a private university, the woman received a suspicious link, supposedly from the Supreme Court. Upon opening it, she saw what appeared to be an official case number, an arrest warrant, and legal documents implicating her in black money transactions.

The fraudsters claimed she would be arrested within two hours unless she took immediate action. To "verify her innocence," they instructed her to transfer money to the RBI, assuring her that the funds would be refunded later.

The Financial Trap

Fearing arrest, the woman complied and transferred Rs 6.50 lakh via RTGS on November 13. To further cement their deception, the scammers even sent her a receipt. However, the threats didn’t stop.

Over the next two weeks, between November 13 and 30, the fraudsters continued pressuring her with dire warnings of imminent arrest and a seven-year prison sentence. Panicked and desperate to clear her name, she transferred a total of Rs 14.02 lakh to multiple accounts.

The Realization and Police Complaint

It was only after discussing the situation with her family that she realized she had been conned. She immediately filed a complaint at Ullal police station.

Authorities have urged citizens to be cautious and verify any legal claims before making payments. Scammers often use fear tactics and fake legal documents to manipulate victims into compliance.

Safety Measures to Avoid Such Scams

  • Verify Official Claims: Government agencies do not demand payments over the phone or WhatsApp.
  • Do Not Click Suspicious Links: Official legal documents are never shared through random links.
  • Consult Family or Authorities: If faced with legal threats, seek advice before taking action.
  • Report Suspicious Calls: Contact the cybercrime helpline if you receive questionable calls.

The case is currently under investigation.
 

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News Network
February 12,2025

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The family of Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, director of Gaza's Kamal Adwan Hospital, says he has been subjected to “severe torture and mistreatment” following his arrest by Israeli forces in late December.

Abu Safiya’s family, citing his lawyer, said in a post on X on Wednesday that he endured harsh conditions in the first days of his detention in Israeli jails and was held in solitary confinement for 24 days before being transferred to Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank, where he continues to face poor treatment.

According to Abu Safiya's family, he suffers from chronic high blood pressure and an enlarged heart muscle.

His family added that although Abu Safiya is currently receiving treatment, he is only given one meal per day which is "inadequate” and of very poor quality.

“Regarding his legal case, it is clean, and there are no charges against him,” his family said, adding that all accusations attributed to him have been denied due to lack of evidence and the case is clear.

His family noted that Abu Safiya’s release could be imminent in the coming stages of the prisoner exchange, as the Israeli prosecutors have not filed any charges.

Abu Safiya’s family further called on the international community to pressure Israel to provide adequate food and medicine for him and secure his immediate release.

In late December, Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital, forcing patients and medical staff to leave while detaining the rest.

Dr. Abu Safiya, 51, was among those taken for questioning by the Israeli military over alleged links to the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

He has already called for international intervention to secure his release and that of all detained medical personnel, stressing that healthcare workers must be protected, their rights upheld, and their immediate release ensured. 

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Agencies
February 7,2025

Washington DC: In a big relief for Indian students and professionals living in the United States on visas and awaiting green cards, a federal judge in Seattle has indefinitely blocked President Donald Trump's executive order that seeks to end birthright citizenship. Slamming the order, the court reportedly said Trump is trying to skirt the rule of law to play "policy games" with the Constitution.

US District Judge John Coughenour's preliminary injunction is the second major legal blow to Trump's efforts to alter the US law as part of a broader immigration crackdown after a federal judge in Maryland issued a similar ruling.

"It has become ever-more apparent that to our president, the rule of law is but an impediment to his policy goals. The rule of law is, according to him, something to navigate around or simply ignore, whether that be for political or personal gain," Judge Coughenour said during a hearing on Thursday in Seattle, according to a report by CNN.

"In this courtroom and under my watch, the rule of law is a bright beacon which I intend to follow," Coughenour continued.

The judge noted that the Constitution is not something with which the government can play policy games. "If the government wants to change the exceptional American grant of birthright citizenship, it needs to amend the Constitution itself," he stressed.

The new nationwide preliminary injunction issued in Seattle expands a previous short-term block Coughenour issued against the President's order days after he signed it. It came a day after US District Judge Deborah Boardman in Maryland issued another preliminary injunction against Trump's order on Wednesday.

Both orders apply nationwide and will remain in effect while the case proceeds. The Justice Department said late Thursday it was appealing the Seattle court's order. The appeal of the preliminary injunction will reportedly go to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, a left-leaning appeals court, a move that could eventually land the issue before the US Supreme Court.

How Does Trump's Order Affect Indians In America?

Soon after taking for the second time on January 20, Trump signed an executive order ending birthright citizenship in the United States. The order denies US citizenship to children born on American soil to parents who are not permanent residents of the United States.

The order caused concerns among the Indian community in the US, particularly those living on temporary visas like H-1B (work visas), L (intra-company transfers), H-4 (dependent visas) and F (student visas). As per Trump's order, children born to parents on temporary visas would not get citizenship unless one parent was a US citizen or a green card holder.

Without the right to birthright citizenship, children of these immigrants are at risk of losing access to in-state tuition rates, federal financial aid and scholarships, significantly impacting their educational prospects. The order caused many expectant Indian parents to rush for pre-term deliveries before February 20-- the deadline fixed by Trump's order.

Trump's order also brought anxieties for Immigrants caught in green card backlogs, as their children born outside America could be forced to self-deport upon turning 21 unless they secure another visa.

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