“Ceasefire everywhere”

IDF military operations during Passover. Photo CC BY-SA 3.0 IDF spokesperson

Today Liberation Day will be celebrated with various initiatives throughout Italy. The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, will participate in a ceremony in Civitella Valdichiana, in the province of Arezzo, site of a Nazi-fascist massacre in which 244 people were murdered on 29 June 1944. Meloni and the second state official, Ignazio La Russa, will be content to participate in the ceremony at the Altar of the Fatherland with Mattarella himself, evidently not intending to expose themselves too much and still very reluctant to clearly define themselves as anti-fascists.

Obviously the fear of the authorities is always for possible outbreaks of violence or damage that may erupt in the various demonstrations – in this regard it is useful to note that violence against people and damage to property are not synonymous, although today they are often made to coincide. In particular, this year we fear more explicit demonstrations than usual in support of the Palestinian cause, which will inevitably reopen the question of the presence of the Jewish Paramilitary Brigade – a Zionist paramilitary formation that fought against Nazi-fascism but then merged into the organization of the forces Israeli armies. In Milan, the social centers and Palestinian youth will be in Piazza del Duomo before the main procession, and according to reports Rai News “Behind the partisans the banner ‘Ceasefire everywhere’ will be displayed, which has created quite a bit of controversy, followed by the unions.” The national politicians Schlein, Fratoianni and Calenda (the latter with the Jewish Brigade) will be present at the procession, as well as the writer Antonio Scurati.

In the Gaza Strip, searches continue near the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis: at the time of writing, the lifeless bodies of more than 400 people have emerged, divided into three mass graves, but according to Palestinian Civil Protection workers the number could increase significantly further – There may still be “dozens” of mass graves in the area. Abdullah Obaid, a civil protection operator, commented, speaking with Sky News Arabia: “When we entered the city” — in Khan Yunis — “we found no one alive, but we smelled a strong smell of death.” “We are certain that there are dozens more graves — we are looking for them — because we have lists with more than two thousand missing.”

US and European Union officials expressed support for an independent investigation into mass graves outside hospitals, but did not expressly point out the obvious: Jake Sullivan said Washington is “in contact at several levels with the Israeli government” : “We want answers. We want to understand exactly what happened.” European Union spokesperson Peter Stano commented that mass graves are “something that forces us (!) to call for an independent investigation into all suspicions and all circumstances, because it actually creates the impression (!!) that there may have been violations of international human rights.” On the same day that Sullivan commented on the mass graves, Biden signed the package on military support for US allies, which will provide the IDF with an additional $9 billion in weapons. The shovels, however, must be placed by the surviving Palestinians – in one https://twitter.com/IsraelMFA/status/1783135725791179197 freezing cold, the Israeli Foreign Minister shared the video of residents of Khan Yunis burying 30 dead: “The grave in question was dug by the inhabitants of the Strip a few months ago. (…) Any attempt to accuse Israel of burying civilians in mass graves is categorically false and a mere example of disinformation campaigns aimed at delegitimizing Israel.” The ministry did not elaborate on who had killed the 400 people found in recent days.

Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya told The Associated Press that the political and military group would be willing to accept a truce of up to five years, and that it would be willing to permanently lay down its weapons and become a political party if a Palestinian state is established within the pre-1967 borders: “All the experiences of the peoples who fought against the occupiers, when they became independent and got their rights and their state, what did those forces do? They became political parties, and their defense forces became the national army.” The statements come in the context of the stalled deal by Hamas and Israel.

In Ukraine, the Russian army has launched a new attack on the Nikopol district, not far from the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. Two civilian residences were hit, as well as some gas pipes and an electricity line. In the previous hours, the Ukrainian army had boasted of having killed more than a thousand Russian soldiers in a single day.

Speaking to journalists, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan revealed that the United States has secretly sent long-range missiles to Ukraine, with a range of about 300 kilometers, and that the Kyiv army has already used them at least 2 times. Sullivan justified the decision by explaining that the delivery came following the delivery of ballistic missiles produced in North Korea to Russia.

Texts by Stefano Colombo and Alessandro Massone