For today, links to six reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, National Public Radio, and Middle East Monitor; an interview from NPR; a guest essay from the New York Times via pan-Asian.blogspot.com; and a reply to it from a blog of the Times of Israel; other published material or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on sources’ names or initials below. (GAZA 7-16-25 is HERE, or scroll down. SYRIA, YEMEN and IRAN entries for this date are HERE, HERE and HERE.) — MCM
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2 killed and several injured in Israeli strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church, by Wafaa Shurafa and Melanie Lidman | AP DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Two people were killed in an Israeli strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church this morning, according to church officials. Several others, including the parish priest, were injured. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for report from Reuters and earlier one from AFP.
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UN Security Council to meet today to discuss situation in the Middle East. Reported by Ruth Sherlock and Steve Inskeep | NPR Israel hit the Syrian military headquarters and close to the presidential palace in Damascus with airstrikes Wednesday. The UN Security Council will meet to discuss the crisis between the countries. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Stampede at food distribution site in Gaza leaves about 20 dead. Reported by Daniel Estrin and Hannah Bloch of NPR A stampede in Gaza on Wednesdayleft around 20 people dead as they were rushing to collect food at a U.S.- and Israeli-backed food distribution site. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Historian Omer Bartov on why he believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Steve Inskeep of NPR NPR’s Steve Inskeep speaks with Omer Bartov, Holocaust and genocide studies scholar at Brown University, about his essay outlining why he believes Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Click HERE to listen and, later, read, and HERE for Bartov’s essay in the July 15 New York Times via pan-asian.blogspot.com.
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Respectfully, Professor Bartov: This is not genocide, by Seth Eisenberg | The Times of Israel In his New York Times opinion piece, “I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It,” Dr. Omer Bartov of Brown University expresses his anguished belief that Israel’s war in Gaza now constitutes genocide. Let’s examine his core assertions one by one. READ MORE . . .
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FROM JULY 16 UNRWA: Israel kills the equivalent of a classroom full of children each day in Gaza. From Middle East Monitor. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees estimated that since October 2023, Israel, the occupying power, has been killing the equivalent of a classroom full of children each day, with the number of students ranging between 35 and 45. READ MORE . . .
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