Future people will look back on current discussions about LLMs being conscious in the same way that we look back on Victorians discussing whether the telephone could be used to contact the spirit world.
I am pleased to announce that I have published Part Four of my English translation of the martyred resistance commander Muhammad Zaki Hamad’s "Under the Banner of the Flood." The text, authored between battles, offers a rare witness account of the resistance between 2023 and 2025.
This section can be read on its own as it recounts several operations and tribulations, including the occupation's siege of the al-Shifa Complex, the resistance’s development of a tunnel-based water canalization system, and how the resistance survived on meager rations and half a cup of water a day.
The translation is included in the comments below. It has been produced with care and deliberation. It has not made use of machine translations, contra the extant English translations that I have encountered, all of which elide shahid Hamad’s intended meaning and traffic in clumsy appellation (to say nothing of the misrendered Qur’anic references). Although producing these translations requires significantly more time and labor, I hope readers will appreciate the qualitative difference.
EXCERPT:
"✹ An injured elderly man ('Our blood is worth more than theirs') ✹
Enemy vehicles started advancing toward the area of resistance operations. Alerted, our mujahideen brothers mobilized to carry out their mission. As they prepared to execute an ambush, they suddenly came across an elderly man wounded in the foot and unable to move. Meanwhile, the enemy vehicles were drawing closer and closer to his position. The brothers were waiting for the enemy to enter the ambush point so they could strike and withdraw. But what would happen to this helpless old man?
They immediately informed our commander of the situation. Without hesitating, he assuredly responded: 'Call off the operation and save the man.'
'Call off the operation? The enemy will reach the ambush point within moments!'
But he firmly repeated the order: 'Stop the operation and save the wounded man. Our blood is worth more than theirs. The point of [our struggle] is to save lives.'
Taking cover, the brothers called out to the man, ]Uncle, crawl toward us!' Enemy reconnaissance aircraft were circling overhead, but the old man managed to heave himself forward, crawling inch by inch. Soon enough the brothers reached him, heaving him to safety. They then lowered him into the tunnel. He was stunned, unable to comprehend what was happening.
Our commander later arrived and carried the man himself. This scene reminded us of the humanity behind our struggle. He informed the brothers, 'There is more honor in saving a life than in [eradicating] those pigs.'
The brothers treated the man with a first aid kit and delivered him to a safe location. This was an exhausting task given the rough terrain and condition of the tunnels. He had escaped near-certain death and remains alive today. By the grace of God, the enemy withdrew from the area the following day without harming a single person. This was truly a blessing. Perhaps the old man’s prayers had something to do with it.
Afterwards, the man recounted this story to his children and family. In turn, they replied, 'There is no power and no strength except through God. You’ve lost your mind!'
As a further act of kindness, our commander sent the man a sum of money to help ease his situation. Imagine—these are the mujahideen whom some maliciously accuse of shedding innocent blood. In truth, the resistance has been entrusted with protecting our people’s lives and property. These are the men who guard over the land and its honor. May God guide our commander, protect our men, and bless us with sincerity and acceptance before Him.
[...]
✹ Enemy Provisions ✹
By closely monitoring the minutiae of the enemy’s conduct, we came to appreciate just how heavily they relied on vast logistical networks that kept the occupation soldiers constantly supplied with food, water, and every other necessity. The nature of the war, along with the vast imbalance in resources, allowed them to maintain land, sea, and air supply lines with ease. Meanwhile, the mujahideen survived on a few canned goods and meager sips of water. As we watched trucks and military vehicles deliver crates of food to them, all we could say was: “O God, make it poison in their bellies and blood upon their hands.”
At one point during the fighting, the enemy forces established a position near the entrance to one of our tunnels. They began transporting large quantities of food and water there, unaware that a tunnel ran beneath the perimeter. The mujahideen focused their operations on specific combat sectors where attacks on the enemy were being carried out, while the remaining sectors were used for surveillance, monitoring enemy movements, and moving between positions. Since the enemy’s supply depot lay far from the combat sector assigned to us by the battalion leadership, we began devising means by which we could reach the food without creating noise or movement that might expose our location.
So we watched the area meticulously. Then the moment arrived. The enemy forces were distracted by activity in other sectors. As their attention was fixed elsewhere, the mujahideen prudently seized the opportunity, surreptitiously slipping into the supply area and quickly carried off large quantities of food that we had not seen since the beginning of the war: water, fruit, vegetables, nuts, juices, pastries—an array of mouthwatering foods, praise be to God.
[...]
Their kitchens had prepared the food, measuring out portions according to the number of soldiers, and packing everything before military vehicles hauled it across long distances from inside our occupied lands into the center of our city. There, they unloaded it and stored it as provisions to sustain their ongoing crimes. Yet despite all this, destiny had already decreed that this food belonged to the mujahideen. God made the occupation the very means through which we were nourished, with food that sustained us for many days."
Baby formula and diapers are effectively unavailable for most families on the ground. Even when small amounts enter on trucks for commercial purchase, they are not enough to meet the overwhelming need, leaving parents unable to secure basic care for their infants. Even Gaza’s smallest feel the repercussion of the occupation’s policy of manufactured scarcity.
Help here: https://t.co/1j2S3RoAgU
Most families cannot afford these essentials. Many parents have no income, have lost their jobs, or are injured and unable to work. With no financial stability, even the most basic supplies for newborns become out of reach, adding to the daily struggle of survival and caregiving.
On May 6, The Sameer Project carried out a distribution inside the Ashkelon Complex of Friends Camp in Deir al Balah, reaching some of the most vulnerable families. The distribution included 96 containers of infant formula and diapers in sizes 1 and 2, with 15 packs of each. The total cost was $798, including 11% commission fees.
These distributions provide critical relief for parents trying to care for their infants in extremely difficult conditions. The Sameer Project continues its work to support the most vulnerable families with essential aid wherever possible. Donate to allow us to do so by finding our Shelter, Goods, and Activities link: https://t.co/1j2S3RoAgU
Other ways to donate include:
https://t.co/OmIU4SifDD (Paypal option, please make sure to add a message saying "Goods")
https://t.co/WNZu0ERJci (Venmo option, please make sure to add a message saying "Goods")
A new source of drinking water 💦
That is what The Sameer Project has been working on for the last couple of months.
Support here: https://t.co/jw67Ah9X72
97% of well water in Gaza is contaminated and municipality water is not drinkable so Palestinians in Gaza rely fully on desalination plants to have clean water. The military occupation destroyed many plants in the last 2.5 years so there is less fresh water available now.
A team of experts in The Sameer Project found spare parts that can be put together to build a brand new source of water. A huge undertaking that with your support is in process!
The initial cost was $180,000 which we used some of the installments from crowdfunding and two generous donors but around an additional $40,000 is needed to complete the project. Your donation means flowing water for Palestinians in genocide. We can’t emphasize the importance of this desalination plant and how much money would be saved in our water distributions!
Please support this project through the Rebuild Gaza Campaign today: https://t.co/jw67Ah9X72
Other ways to donate include:
https://t.co/OmIU4SifDD (Paypal option, please make sure to add a message saying "Rebuild")
https://t.co/WNZu0ERJci (Venmo option, please make sure to add a message saying "Rebuild")
Scratching my head at all this anti-Jewish sentiment emerging after 2.5 years of relentless slaughter by the country with a Star of David on its flag. It must be the fault of NYU kids
On Wednesday evening, over 600 nautical miles from their own country, the Israeli Navy violently boarded our ship that was sailing with the Sumud Flotilla in international waters. The Israelis said they would shoot us if we didnt stop the boat and give them conrol. They evebtually seized 21 ships and kidnapped over 180 people.
While they kidnapped us, they physically harrrased and beat us, as they stole our phones, money, and clothes. When i asked if we were being detained and why, i was told "i dont speak English."
The Israeli Navy intercepted 21 vessels altogether, and then took us to a Frigate, which was outfitted with shipping containers where we were forced to live the past two days. Israeli forces kept us in stress positions throghout, under floodlights. They fed us once with bread. Israeli forces took away some people one by one to beat and torture them; the Israelis dislocated the shoulder of a person on my ship, beat the face of a captain to a pulp, and gave severe concussions to at least two people.
I dont have a phone or money, but this is my update for now.
“a post-American future is becoming imaginable. In its place emerge the rudiments of a consciousness that can transmute the widespread despair of our age into intellectual excitement and rejuvenation” from this article to god’s ears!! https://t.co/3pqacpUB7p
it’s impossible for me to express how disturbed i am by this new genre of video i’m seeing, and i’m a single person who lives alone and often spends friday nights at home