Dada El-Kurd

Hello, everyone, and welcome to It Could Happen Here.

My name is Dada El-Kurd.

I'm an associate professor of political science, a senior non-resident fellow at the Arab Center Washington, and I specialize in Palestinian and Arab politics.

Although Gaza has sort of leaked off the headlines, what with everything going on domestically, there's still obviously a lot happening on the issue of Palestine.

I feel like I've started the last few episodes like this, but it's worth repeating.

So here's an update on what's been happening in Gaza specifically.

Despite the ceasefire agreement, reports indicate ongoing demolition of homes in Gaza City and restricted entry of food, medical and humanitarian aid.

Again, since the ceasefire started, more than 600 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, with hundreds more injured.

For some reason, these don't count as ceasefire violations.

And according to the Gaza government media office, there's been over 1,600 violations by Israeli forces, including air attacks, shelling, and direct shooting.

Of the past 130-some days of the ceasefire, analysis shows attacks on 111 of them, at least.

In a previous episode, I also talked about what the Yellow Line was, which was this kind of unilaterally imposed military boundary inside Gaza to make sure that Palestinians are sequestered into smaller spaces.

And Israeli forces have continued to target individuals and structures across this Yellow Line, claiming that these actions are necessary to stop militants.

And Al Jazeera reports, however, that Israeli-backed gangs, armed gangs, are operating back and forth across the Yellow Line.

So they're allowed.

Now, Rafah Crossing, which is at the southern tip of Gaza, has officially opened, but is operating under intense Israeli security, with some monitoring by the Palestinian Authority and EU officials.

But reports indicate that only about 50 to 150 people are allowed to cross daily, which is far below the demand for the estimated 20,000-plus sick or wounded Palestinians needing evacuation.

And since it's opened, it's faced closures.

There's been a lot of confusion about policy, with many reporting harsh treatment, invasive searches, and restrictions on personal belongings for those passing through.

And that crossing is not functioning for commercial or humanitarian aid, which must go through other Israeli-controlled crossings.