Following one year of the Israel-Gaza war, the prospect of the war ending is bleak; Israel has expanded the war to include a land invasion of Lebanon, killing thousands, bombing historic cities, and murdering civilians and medical personnel at will, after it had previously attacked and destroyed parts of the occupied West Bank. In the previous month, Israel had killed the topmost leadership of Hezbollah, while this month, its forces killed the topmost leader of Hamas, Yahya al-Sinwar. However, the publishing of drone footage of his last moments played a major role in boosting his legacy in the Arab and Islamic world. Similarly, videos documenting heinous Israeli crimes, such as the burning of 19-year-old Shaban Dalou as he was strapped to an IV and lying on a hospital bed in an Israeli airstrike on Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, and numerous atrocities documented in Northern Gaza and the Kamal al-Adwan hospital have shaken the hearts of humanity worldwide, yet seemed not to affect those of world leaders at all. Going beyond all measures of cruelty, the Israel Knesset voted to ban the UNRWA in Israeli-occupied territories, the lifeline of besieged Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, at a time when the Zionist state has refused to let any water, food or medicine enter Northern Gaza for a month in hopes of flushing out the Palestinian population and killing as much as possible to remove them permanently from this region. This comes as South Africa filed a detailed submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) outlining evidence of Israel’s alleged violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention in its ongoing war on Gaza; it includes 750 pages of evidence of acts of genocide and genocidal intent, in addition to over 4,000 pages of annexes. Israeli atrocities and flouting of UN institutions, laws and directives have reached a limit where UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, has called for UN member states to consider suspending Israel over the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza and its decades-long illegal occupation of Palestinian land.

The number of Palestinian casualties in Gaza as of October 29 is at least 43,061 dead, including more than 16,765 children, while the number of Palestinians wounded has reached more than 101,223. Last July, according to a study published in the Lancet, it was reported that the accumulative effects of Israel’s war on Gaza could mean the true death toll could reach more than 186,000 people in Gaza alone; and current estimates are much higher with the expansion of the war into other areas of the region. The number of missing people is more than 10,000, most of whom are reported missing due to being trapped in building rubble and might have been killed as well. In the Occupied West Bank, there have been at least 763 deaths, of whom more than 166 are children, while more than 6,250 are injured. According to the latest data from the UN, WHO and the Palestinian government as of October 27, more than half of Gaza homes have been destroyed or damaged, 80% of commercial facilities, 87% of school buildings, 17 out of 36 hospitals are partially functioning, 68% of road networks and 68 per cent of cropland have been damaged. Every hour in Gaza, 15 people are killed, of whom 6 are children, while 35 people are injured and 12 buildings are destroyed. As of July 31, more than 125 journalists, predominantly Palestinians, had been killed since October 7. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), 120 Palestinian, three Lebanese, and four Israeli journalists were killed.

References: AJLabs. (2023, October 9). Israel-Gaza war in maps and charts Live tracker. Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera. South Africa files 750-page evidence against Israel at ICJ. (2024, October 28). Middle East Eye. Staff, A. J. (2024, October 17). ‘Spirit of resistance’ Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. Al Jazeera. Staff, A. J. (2024, October 15). Shaban al-dalou The Palestinian teen burned to death in Israeli bombing. Al Jazeera. UN should consider suspending Israel over genocide, says special rapporteur. (n.d.). Al Jazeera.

The Israeli Knesset overwhelmingly passed two laws banning the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) from operating inside Israel and occupied Palestine, despite a torrent of international pressure urging Israel not to pass the ban. The move has sparked international debate over the future of Palestinian aid and services in the West Bank and Gaza. The first law says that UNRWA is not allowed to "operate any institution, provide any service, or conduct any activity, whether directly or indirectly", in Israel, as reported by The Jerusalem Post. The second law states that no Israeli government official or agency may contact UNWRA, effectively prohibiting Israeli officials from providing services or dealing with UNWRA employees. The decision, which will go into effect within 90 days, will significantly impact the operations of the UN agency, which was formed to address the issue of displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees by Israel in 1949, currently serves over 5 million registered Palestinian refugees across the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, offering critical resources in education, healthcare, and social services. Israel’s ban halts UNRWA’s activities within Israeli-controlled areas, raising questions about who will step in to support these vulnerable communities.

Although Israeli officials claim the decision is motivated by security concerns, such that aid goes to Hamas or that Hamas operatives work undercover in the UN organisation, UNRWA has repeatedly denied such allegations, and Israel has not cooperated with investigations into the claims. Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, expressed "deep disappointment" at the ban, describing the organisation’s role as “purely humanitarian.” He emphasised that UNRWA’s education and health programs are “lifelines for Palestinian refugees,” warning that the ban could lead to "severe consequences for the health and well-being of countless families." He called the Israeli vote a "dangerous precedent" that opposes the U.N. charter and violates Israel's obligation under international law. "This is the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimise its role towards providing human-development assistance and services to #Palestine Refugees," he wrote on social media platform X.

The decision has garnered international concern and condemnation, with several governments and humanitarian organizations urging Israel to reconsider. "UNRWA plays a crucial role in maintaining stability in a highly fragile region," stated a spokesperson from the European Union, one of the agency’s largest donors. “Any disruption to these services could have far-reaching humanitarian and security implications.” Critics say that the ban will further endanger the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, since without a replacement for UNRWA’s services, Palestinian communities will be cut off from essential healthcare, education, and housing assistance, especially in Gaza, where more than 70 per cent of the infrastructure has been destroyed by the Israeli offensive since October last year. Moreover, the decision to ban UNWRA is also a direct violation of the legally binding order of the ICJ for Israel to ensure the unhindered provision of humanitarian aid in cooperation with the UN, sparking questions as to whether Israel could lose its status as a member of the UN.

References: Could Israel's Unrwa ban lead to its suspension from the UN? (2024, October 29). Middle East Eye. How Israel's Unrwa ban could collapse Palestine's health, education and food services. (2024, October 30). Middle East Eye. Israel's Parliament passes laws banning Unrwa from operating inside Israel, occupied Palestine. (2024, October 28). Middle East Eye.

President Joe Biden’s unconditional support for Israel amid the horrific atrocities in Gaza and Lebanon has left many Muslim community advocates highly distraught. In fact, the Arab and Muslim vote in Michigan is immensely disenchanted with the stance of the Democratic ticket on issues like the war in Gaza. The lukewarm lip service to the Palestinian cause versus the unconditional declaration of support and arms supply to Israel has severely antagonised the Arab-Muslim bloc. Some are so distraught that they are forging an alliance with Trump in the hope of change – any change. Others are looking towards supporting a third candidate in the elections, perhaps Jill Stein, Cornell West or Oliver Chase. Democrats have time and again opined that any vote given to a third party, on account of protest against their staunch pro-Israel position on Israel-Gaza, is a vote for Trump, who they argue will be worse for Palestine. In this, they have at times insinuated that it is Muslim Americans who are a fifth column and that they will not lose because of their Gaza policies, but because of some sort of ‘betrayal’ by the Muslim voters, a demographic which Democrats have generally taken for granted during elections.

Contrary to the assertions of the Democrats, those voting for a third-party candidate such as Dr. Jill Stein say that they do not consider it a wasted vote. The aggrieved bloc does not see much daylight between Trump and Harris when it comes to Palestine-Israel—and now Lebanon, Iran, Syria, and Yemen, with more (perhaps) to come—crisis. Similarly, for those few Muslims who have publicly endorsed Trump, supporting Trump is not entirely about the former president, but about holding the current vice president accountable for the Biden-Harris administration’s unprecedented military support for Israel. Harris, on her part, has little to distance herself from Biden’s pro-Israel policies and has promised to keep the flow of American weapons to Israel uninterrupted. Moreover, she hesitated in several instances when the opportunity presented to say something in support of Palestine and against genocide, by repeating her previous rhetoric of bringing the Israeli hostages back home and expressing her sadness at Israeli deaths on October 7 while completely ignoring Palestinian victims and their suffering.

References: Harb, A. (2024, November 2). Why many Arab voters in Michigan are flocking to Trump ahead of US election. Al Jazeera. Kamala Harris' can still get it right on Gaza | Opinion. (2024, October 30). Newsweek. Mitrovica, A. (2024, October 29). No, US voters, you don’t need to choose between Harris and Trump. Al Jazeera.

The interim government in Bangladesh recently banned the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami League (AL), under the Anti-Terrorism Act. This decision follows widespread allegations that BCL members were involved in criminal and terrorist activities, including violence against protesters, killings and murder, gunrunning, extortion, torture, harassment, and campus dominance politics. The Home Ministry's gazette highlighted that BCL's actions posed a threat to public security, with accusations of murder, torture, and other violent acts, especially during the AL's previous decade and a half in power. The ban came after sustained pressure from the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, a group that had been pushing for the organisation's dissolution due to its actions against protesting students. Demonstrators celebrated the decision on Dhaka University’s campus, marking it as a victory for a student-people uprising, where more than a thousand had died as a result of joint police and Chhatra League violent crackdown.

There have also been intense protests and pressure from various quarters of the July uprising for President Mohammed Shahabuddin, known as Chuppu, to resign due to his perceived loyalty to the Awami League and the old regime. These calls have been going hand-in-hand with national discussions on whether the Awami League should be allowed to participate in upcoming elections due to their undemocratic and fascist actions over the past three elections. National figures such as Mahmudur Rahman have been calling for a change in the governance model in post-July uprising Bangladesh, whereby he has demanded the Yunus administration re-constitute itself as a revolutionary government, with Yunus as President of the government, alongside taking steps to write a new constitution and formulate a new constituent assembly to achieve the aims of the student-people uprising of 2024. In this regard, Rahman has stressed the importance of retributive justice and rooting out of pockets and groups that have helped maintain Indian interests and hegemony in Bangladesh, especially in the media, judiciary and bureaucracy.

References: Bangladesh bans student wing of ousted Sheikh Hasina's party. (2024, October 24). reuters . Bangladesh’s new outcasts Students from ex-PM Hasina’s party now in hiding. (2024, October 27). Al Jazeera. Bangladesh Awami league A study of its politics and crimes against humanity – South Asian policy initiatives. (2023, July 25). South Asian Policy Initiatives – SAPI.

On October 23, 2024, an attack took place at the headquarters of state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) in Ankara, which killed at least five and injured 22. The attack was carried out by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and came a day after an unprecedented statement from a Turkish nationalist leader about the possibility of a renewed peace process with the PKK. The incident involved two assailants, a man and a woman, who reportedly detonated explosives and opened fire, killing and injuring employees at the site. Following an operation by Turkish special forces, both attackers were killed in the assault. Following the incident, Turkiye launched a series of retaliatory airstrikes targeting PKK positions in Iraq and Syria. The Turkish Defense Ministry claimed that more than 30 PKK sites were destroyed in these operations, part of Turkiye's continued campaign against the terrorist organisation PKK.

Previously, a peace process between Turkiye and the PKK broke down in 2015, and the group and its affiliates carried out a number of attacks in the years that followed, as the Turkish military and security forces conducted operations against the PKK in southeast Turkiye, as well as in Iraq and Syria. The number of attacks in major Turkish cities has dropped sharply since 2017. The attack came a day after an unprecedented statement by Nationalist Movement Party leader and ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Devlet Bahceli, who suggested that jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan – imprisoned since 1999 – could be allowed to speak at the parliament if he calls off the rebellion and disbands his organisation – a sign of a possible resurrection of the peace process. But Wednesday’s assault may be a message that the PKK is reluctant to put down arms and normalise ties with the government, according to experts.

References: Staff, A. J. (2024, October 24). Attack on aerospace company near Turkiye’s Ankara What we know. Al Jazeera. Turkey's government is pretending Bahceli’s Ocalan outreach is being done alone. (2024, October 24). Middle East Eye.