Omar Kabbaj

jaded leftist | proud owner of an easily accessible nostril

[Omar Kabbaj @cabbagekid_]

Thinking about the time I got a covid test at CityMD and the guy doing the test said (unprompted) ‘one of the easier nostrils to get into’

[sandy @sandyhonig]

everything on tiktok is like “haircut theory” the theory being a haircut makes you look different

[one dozen rats at a keyboard @PanasonicDX4500]

The presumption that every elected Democrat is going to have to issue a statement one way or another on Darializa Avila Chevalier while no one ever asks how a JD Vance or Marco Rubio campaign in 2028 would handle Randy Fine really gives the game away on how the cards are stacked.

[George Carmi @georgecarmi]

heavy is the hand that buys all the odyssey tickets for his boys.

[Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @NYCMayor]

Today marks Nakba Day, an annual day of remembrance to commemorate the expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians between 1947 and 1949 during the creation of the State of Israel and the year that followed.

Inea is a New Yorker and a Nakba survivor. She shared her story with us — one of home, tradition and memory over generations.

[sara yasin @sarayasin]

Ta-Nehisi Coates on Tucker Carlson and other right-wing figures vocally criticizing Israel: "These people will turn on you in a second" https://t.co/LZgWFhvpSc

[Mohamad Safa @mhdksafa]

I don't think people understand the gravity of the situation as the UN is preparing for possible nuclear weapon use in Iran.

This is a picture of Tehran. For you uneducated, untraveled, never-served, warhawks licking your chops at the thought of bombing it. It's not some low population desert. There are families, children, family pets. Regular working class people with dreams. You're sick to want war.

Tehran is a city of nearly 10,000,000 people. Imagine nuking Washington, Berlin, Paris, London, or beyond, bombed with nuclear weapons.

I gave up my diplomatic career to leak this information. I suspended my duties so as not to be part of or a witness to this crime against humanity, in an attempt to prevent a nuclear winter before it is too late.

Yesterday, nearly ten million people protested “No Kings” in the United States. The possibility of the use of nuclear weapons must be taken very seriously. It's dangerous. Act now. Spread this message worldwide. Take the streets. Protest for our humanity and future. Only the people can stop it. History will remember us.

[Robby Kalland @RKalland]

Watching a team I've never seen before struggling in the NCAA Tournament: "You gotta run your stuff guys"

[Omar D. Foda @EgyptsBeer]

in America you need less evidence to kill thousands of Muslims than to arrest one member of an international sex trafficking ring

[Drop Site @DropSiteNews]

🔴 NEW: Israel Confirms Open Fire Orders Along Gaza’s ‘Yellow Line’

Since the ceasefire began, Israeli forces have killed at least 23 Palestinians, many of them later confirmed as civilians attempting to return to their homes. They were shot while crossing the “Yellow Line”—an unmarked boundary where Israel now exerts control over more than half of Gaza.

On Thursday, Defense Minister Israel Katz acknowledged this enforcement policy, and announced that the IDF would begin marking the line on the ground “to clearly establish where the security-political separation line runs” while threatening that “any violation or attempt to cross the line will continue to be met with fire.”

His statement formalizes the lethal reality already unfolding on the ground: Palestinians crossing into Israeli-controlled zones are being shot on sight.

The ‘Yellow Line’ runs through densely populated civilian neighborhoods in Gaza City, Jabaliya, and Khan Younis, and more, where families returning to retrieve belongings have encountered gunfire and blocked access to their own streets and homes. In Shujaiya, Gaza City, where the line bisects the neighborhood itself, residents told Drop Site’s @AbdSabbah91 they are being forced to choose between remaining displaced or risking death to reach their homes. His full report is below.

[Progressive International @ProgIntl]

BREAKING 🌊 The Global Sumud Flotilla has been swarmed by drones in another midnight attack off the coast of Crete. Unidentified drones targeted multiple boats with explosive devices and unspecified substances. Radio channels have been jammed. More info to follow.

[PRCS @PalestineRCS]

🚨A video captures the initial moments of the Israeli forces' attack on the Palestine Red Crescent Society headquarters in Khan Younis, which sparked a fire in the building, killing one staff member and injuring three others.
#NotATarget #Gaza

[PRCS @PalestineRCS]

🚨The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) issues an urgent alert about the rapidly deteriorating and catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the #Gaza Strip. The Israeli occupation continues to enforce a systematic #starvation policy, implemented through a suffocating blockade and severe restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid.

⭕Official figures indicate that 127 people — including 85 children — have died from hunger and severe malnutrition since the beginning of the war. This horrifying toll is a clear sign of the accelerating humanitarian collapse. Life in Gaza has become nearly unlivable, as civilians are denied access to the most basic necessities: food, water, and medicine.

More than two million people are now facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity. Thousands of families have not had a single meal in days. Hospitals are overwhelmed with cases of severe malnutrition, emaciation, and fainting — particularly among children, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and the elderly.

With infant formula unavailable and breastfeeding nearly impossible due to maternal malnutrition, the lives of infants are in grave danger. The lack of nutritional supplements and critical medications further hinders healthcare workers, who continue to serve their communities despite facing hunger and deprivation themselves.
#IHL

[Aaron Maté @aaronjmate]

Beheaded babies, Hamas mass rapes, Hamas HQ under Al-Shifa Hospital, Hamas blocks a ceasefire, Hamas steals aid: Israeli propaganda to wage genocide.

These lies are always parroted by Israel apologists and media stenographers, and are always admitted to be fake long after serving their purpose of enabling Israeli mass murder.

[Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus @DrTedros]

.@WHO’s staff residence in Deir al Balah, #Gaza, was attacked three times today as well as its main warehouse.

Israeli military entered the premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot toward Al-Mawasi amid active conflict. Male staff and family members were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated on the spot and screened at gunpoint.

Two WHO staff and two family members were detained. Three were later released, while one staff remains in detention.

32 WHO staff and family members were evacuated to the WHO office once access became possible.

WHO demands the immediate release of the detained staff and protection of all its staff.

The latest evacuation order in Deir al Balah has affected several WHO premises, compromising our ability to operate in Gaza and pushing the health system further towards collapse.

WHO’s main warehouse located in Deir al Balah is within the evacuation zone, and was damaged yesterday when an attack caused explosions and a fire inside.

With the main warehouse nonfunctional and the majority of medical supplies in Gaza depleted, WHO is severely constrained in adequately supporting hospitals, emergency medical teams and health partners, already critically short on medicines, fuel, and equipment.

WHO urgently calls on Member States to help ensure a sustained and regular flow of medical supplies into Gaza.

As the lead agency for health, compromising WHO’s operations is crippling the entire health response in Gaza.

A ceasefire is not just necessary, it is overdue.

[World Food Programme @WFP]

WFP Statement | #Gaza

On the morning of 20 July, a 25 truck WFP convoy carrying vital food assistance crossed the Zikim border point destined for starving communities in northern Gaza.

Shortly after passing the final checkpoint beyond the Zikim crossing point into Gaza, the convoy encountered large crowds of civilians anxiously waiting to access desperately needed food supplies.

As the convoy approached, the surrounding crowd came under fire from Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire.

We are deeply concerned and saddened by this tragic incident resulting in the loss of countless lives. Many more suffered life-threatening injuries. These people were simply trying to access food to feed themselves and their families on the brink of starvation. This terrible incident underscores the increasingly dangerous conditions under which humanitarian operations are forced to be conducted in Gaza.

Today’s violent incident comes despite assurances from Israeli authorities that humanitarian operational conditions would improve; including that armed forces will not be present nor engage at any stage along humanitarian convoy routes.

There should never, ever, be armed groups near or on our aid convoys, as reiterated on many occasions to all parties to the conflict. Shootings near humanitarian missions, convoys and food distributions must stop immediately. Any violence involving civilians seeking humanitarian aid is completely unacceptable.

We stand firmly by our principles of operating with independence, impartiality and neutrality. It is one of the many reasons why communities trust us.

The World Food Programme continues to call for the protection of all civilians and aid workers delivering life-saving assistance. WFP teams accompanying convoys should not have to risk their own lives in the effort to save others. Without these fundamental conditions in place, we cannot continue providing life-saving support across the Gaza strip.

Gaza’s hunger crisis has reached new levels of desperation. People are dying from lack of humanitarian assistance. Malnutrition is surging with 90,000 women and children in urgent need of treatment. Nearly one person in three is not eating for days. Food aid is the only way for most people to access any food – as the cost of a one-kilogram bag of flour has surged to over USD100 in local markets.

Only a massive scale-up in food aid distributions can stabilize this spiraling situation, calm anxieties and rebuild the trust within communities that more food is coming.

An agreed ceasefire is long overdue. All hostages should be released, and humanitarians should be able to reach the civilian population in Gaza with critical food supplies in a consistent, predictable, orderly and safe manner -- wherever they are across the Gaza Strip.

WFP is ready. We have food supplies nearby, experienced teams on the ground, and proven systems in place to respond at scale. We did it before and we can do it again.

We urgently call on the international community and all parties to advocate for, and facilitate, the delivery of life-saving food aid to starving populations inside Gaza – safely, securely, wherever families are, and without obstruction.

[Al Jazeera PR @AlJazeera]

Below is a message from Anas Alshariff Al Jazeera journalist in Gaza. He, along with nearly two million Gazans, including women and children, are being starved under the draconian siege and ongoing bombardment by Israeli occupying forces. We call for immediate humanitarian aid and the protection of all civilians.

[UNRWA @UNRWA]

UNRWA has enough food for the entire population of #Gaza for over three months stockpiled in warehouses–including this one in Al Arish, Egypt–awaiting entry.

The supplies are available. The systems are in place.

Open the gates, lift the siege, allow UNRWA to do its work and help people in need among them 1 million children.

[MSF International @MSF]

Today, July 16, at 3 am, Israeli forces bombed tents of displaced people in Khan Younis as they further expand their operation in the area. Our colleague Hossni Al Naijar, was among those injured in the attack, while a baby in the tent next to his was killed. Shrapnel hit Hosni’s back, filling his lungs with blood. He was immediately taken to Nasser hospital but the lack of beds meant he had to be moved to the MSF Al Zawaida Field Hospital in Deir Al Balah for further treatment.

We have had 2 colleagues injured and 1 killed in less than a month. Over the past 24 hours alone, Israeli forces have killed 93 Palestinians and injured 278 more in continued and relentless attacks across the Strip, according to the Ministry of Health. Every one of these numbers represents a life cut short, or forced to go through pain, suffering and loss. This must stop now.

[MSF International @MSF]

🚨Carnage continues in Gaza.

On 17 June, Israeli forces killed 59 Palestinians and wounded over 200, who were brought to Nasser hospital, according to the Ministry of Health. These were people trying to receive flour rations in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

The medical team responding to the influx of patients had to clear the maternity ward to make space for the wounded, turning delivery rooms into emergency operating theatres. Many of the injuries required amputations to save the patients' lives.

Every day Palestinians are met with carnage in their attempts to receive supplies from the insufficient amount of aid trickling into Gaza.

“I saw people torn to pieces; it's a disaster. Seeking food should not be a death sentence,” says Dr Wafaa Abu Nemer, a paediatrician working with us.

“In this horrific situation, nothing can replace Nasser, the last remaining lifeline in the south,” warns Aitor Zabalgogeazkoa, our emergency coordinator. “But the hospital is over-capacity and running on limited supplies, it is dangerously close to breaking point.”

[Quds News Network @QudsNen]

Footage shows the massive destruction caused by the Israeli war machine in Gaza City.