An Israeli attack on the Gaza city of Rafah killed a pregnant Palestinian woman and her family. Her baby girl was delivered via emergency C-section and is in stable condition. The attack also killed 13 children from another family. The Israeli military claims to have struck militant targets, but the victims were mostly civilians.
As the Jewish festival of Passover approaches, many Israelis are in a somber mood due to the ongoing captivity of over 130 hostages in the Gaza Strip. The holiday, which traditionally involves joyful gatherings and a retelling of the biblical story of liberation, will be marked with a focus on the missing hostages and the ongoing conflict. The Seder meal, a central part of the Passover celebration, will carry a profound meaning this year, with many families placing an empty chair at their tables to represent the absent loved ones.
In a heartbreaking turn of events, a baby girl named Sabreen Jouda was born after her mother was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Rafah, Gaza. Sabreen’s mother, Sabreen al-Sakani, was 30 weeks pregnant when she was killed. Emergency responders performed an emergency cesarean section at the hospital where the bodies were taken, saving Sabreen’s life. Sabreen is now in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Emirati hospital, where she is fighting to survive. At least two-thirds of the more than 34,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since the war began have been children and women.
Students at New York University (NYU) have joined the anti-Israel protest movement by setting up an encampment on campus. The protesters are calling on the university to divest from the Jewish State and end its campaign across the Palestinian enclave. They are also demanding that the school shut down its campus in Tel Aviv and remove NYPD cops from campus.
More than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators were arrested on Thursday at Columbia University in New York City after blocking an encampment set up in protest of Israel’s actions in Gaza. In response, university officials have ordered classes to be held virtually on Monday to de-escalate tensions and give the community time to consider next steps.
