Top News | War No More: Veterans Reflect on the Meaning of Memorial Day

Monday, May 26, 2025 ■ Today's Top News  Video Shows Girl Trying to Escape Inferno as Gaza Family 'Burned Alive' in Israeli Massacre "What we are doing in Gaza is a war of extermination: indiscriminate, unrestrained, brutal, and criminal killing of civilians," said former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. By Brett Wilkins Video footage of a young girl trying to flee an inferno caused by a Monday Israeli airstrike that killed dozens of Palestinians including her mother and siblings sparked global outrage and calls for an immediate cease-fire in what one former Israeli prime minister called a "war of extermination." Medical officials in Gaza said that at least 36 people were killed by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombing of the Fahmi al-Jarjawi School in the al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City. The Gaza Government Media Office (GMO) said that 18 children were killed in the "brutal massacre." "The school was supposed to be a place of safety. Instead, it was turned into an inferno," Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told reporters. "We heard desperate cries for help from people trapped alive inside the blaze, but the fire was too intense. We couldn't get to them." Video recorded at the scene of the strike showed the silhouette of a young girl—identified as 7-year-old Ward al-Sheikh Khalil—moving against the infernal backdrop as she tried to escape the blaze. According toThe National, paramedic Hussein Muhaysin rushed in to rescue the child, whom he said "was moments away from death." "When we pulled her out, she was in shock, silent, trembling, unable to comprehend what had just happened," Muhaysin said. "We couldn't bring ourselves to tell her that her entire family was killed in the bombing." The child's mother and at least five siblings were reportedly killed in the bombing. "Only her father survived, and he is now in critical condition," said Muhaysin. "We see tragedy every day, but holding a child who has lost everything, who doesn't even know yet, that's a kind of pain no one can explain," he added. The IDF admitted to the bombing—one of 200 it said it carried out Monday—and claimed it targeted "a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command and control center." As usual, no evidence was provided to support the claim. Meanwhile in the northern Gaza city of Jabalia, another predawn IDF strike reportedly killed 19 people—mostly women and children—sheltering in the Abdel Rabbo family home. Medical officials told reporters that recovery operations were still underway on Monday afternoon, with charred and mangled bodies being pulled from the rubble. Moumen Abdel Rabbo, who rushed to the scene following the attack, told The National: "It was sudden. The house was completely flattened. Ambulances barely made it through to recover the wounded and the dead. Some bodies are still trapped under the rubble." Abdel Rabbo said that Israeli bombing continued nearby and drones buzzed overhead as first responders—who are often attacked and killed by Israeli "double-tap" strikes—dug through the ruins in search of survivors and victims. "How can we search for survivors under fire?" he asked. "These were civilians; mothers, toddlers, elderly people. This wasn't a military target. It was our home." The GMO said Monday that more than 2,200 Palestinian families have been entirely wiped out since October 2023. The U.S.-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a statement Monday condemning the school shelter bombing and Sunday's "barbaric" killing of two Red Cross workers—weapon contamination officer Ibrahim Eid and hospital security guard Ahmad Abu Hilal—in an IDF airstrike on their home in Khan Younis. The weekend bombing followed the March 23 massacre of 15 Palestinian first responders including Red Crescent paramedics by Israeli ground troops in Rafah. "How many more children, women, the elderly, journalists, healthcare workers, and first responders must [Israeli Prime Minister] Benjamin Netanyahu slaughter with American weapons before [U.S. President Donald] Trump forces him to accept a permanent cease-fire deal that ends the genocide for good and frees all captives?" asked CAIR national executive director Nihad Awad. "Every hour that Israel's genocidal crimes continue with impunity—and with our government's complicity—adds more dishonor to a shameful period in the history of our nation and the world," Awad added. Hamas, which led the October 7, 2023 assault on Israel that left more than 1,100 Israelis and others dead—at least some of whom were killed by so-called " friendly fire" and under the intentionally fratricidal Hannibal Directive—is believed to still be holding 23 living hostages of the 251 people it kidnapped during the attack. On Monday, the Trump administration refuted reports that Hamas had agreed to a cease-fire proposal by Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff under which 10 hostages would be released in exchange for a 70-day truce. Although Witkoff toldCNN Monday that the "deal is on the table" and that "Israel will agree" to it, he subsequently walked back his claims. An unnamed Palestinian official toldThe Times of Israel that Witkoff changed his mind on the proposed deal. The envoy blamed Hamas for an unspecified "unacceptable" response to proposal, which he also claimed he never proffered. Netanyahu—who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes including extermination and forced starvation in Gaza—said Monday evening that he hopes to be able to announce at least some progress toward a hostage release deal on Tuesday and that his government "will not give up on the release of our hostages, and if we do not achieve this in the coming days, we will achieve it later." Israeli forces are currently carrying out Operation Gideon's Chariots, a campaign to conquer, indefinitely occupy, and ethnically cleanse Palestinians from Gaza to make way for possible Jewish recolonization. Amid IDF attacks including a Friday airstrike on the Khan Younis home of Drs. Hamdi and Alaa al-Najjar that killed nine of the couple's 10 children, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wrote that his country's relentless obliteration of Gaza amounted to "war crimes." "What we are doing in Gaza is a war of extermination: indiscriminate, unrestrained, brutal, and criminal killing of civilians," said Olmert, who led Israel during the 2008-09 Operation Cast Lead war on Gaza. "We are doing this not because of an accidental loss of control in a particular sector, not because of a disproportionate outburst of fighters in some unit—but as a result of a policy dictated by the government, knowingly, intentionally, viciously, maliciously, recklessly." While Israel has nominally allowed a trickle of aid to enter Gaza—where officials say hundreds of people, mostly children and elderly, have starved to death in recent days—officials said Sunday that only around 100 of the 46,200 trucks scheduled to enter Gaza over the past 84 days have actually made it into the besieged enclave. Hamas said Sunday that "the occupation orchestrates the crime of starvation in Gaza and uses it as a tool to establish a political and field reality, under the cover of misleading relief projects that have been rejected by the United Nations and international organizations, due to lack of transparency and minimal humanitarian standards." On Sunday, Jake Wood, who led the controversial U.S.- and Israel-backed organization established to distribute aid in Gaza, resigned, citing concerns that the mission would violate basic "humanitarian principles." The U.N.'s International Court of Justice is currently weighing a genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel that cites the "complete siege" among evidence of genocidal intent. More than 190,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded by Israel's 598-day annihilation of Gaza, including at least 14,000 people who are missing and feared dead and buried beneath rubble, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. However, a peer-reviewed study published in January by the prestigious British medical journal The Lancet found Gaza fatalities were likely undercounted by 41%. Trump Media Reportedly Plans to Raise $3 Billion to Buy Cryptocurrencies "So much corruption and all out in the open," said one economist. By Jessica Corbett As Russia Escalates Attacks on Ukraine, Zelenskyy Calls for Increased Sanctions "Only a sense of total impunity can allow Russia to carry out such strikes and continue increasing their scale," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. By Eloise Goldsmith Russia launched a major drone attack on Ukraine overnight into Monday, the largest since Moscow's full-scale invasion that began in 2022, according to a Monday social media post from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy—who called for the escalation to be met with sanctions. The attack was the third consecutive night of drone strikes against Ukraine, according to Zelenskyy. "Increase in Russian strikes should be met with increased sanctions," he said. "Only a sense of total impunity can allow Russia to carry out such strikes and continue increasing their scale. There is no real military logic to this, but there is significant political meaning." Zelenskyy also denounced Russia for rejecting a 30-day cease-fire proposed earlier this month. Sunday night into Monday, Russia fired 355 Shahed drones, a record, as well as nine cruise missiles, according to The Guardian. Russia's Defense Ministry reportedly said Monday it had shot down over 100 Ukrainian drones overnight that were flying over southern and western Russia. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to put new sanctions on Russia, but so far hasn't followed through on the threat. On Sunday, Andrii Sybiha, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine wrote that "Russia launched hundreds of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles into Ukrainian cities and communities during the night, injuring and killing people, including at least three children." Meanwhile, Trump in Sunday evening post on social media appeared to distance himself from the conflict, calling it not his war, while also writing that Russian President Vladimir Putin "has gone absolutely CRAZY!" "He is needlessly killing a lot of people, and I'm not just talking about soldiers. Missiles and drones are being shot into Cities in Ukraine, for no reason whatsoever. I've always said that he wants ALL of Ukraine, not just a piece of it, and maybe that's proving to be right, but if he does, it will lead to the downfall of Russia! Likewise, President Zelenskyy is doing his Country no favors by talking the way he does," Trump wrote. According to Bloomberg, Trump told reporters in New Jersey on Sunday that he is "absolutely" mulling new sanctions against Russia following the latest drone attacks. However, The New York Times reported Sunday that the Trump did not indicate to reporters that he's willing to provide Kiev with military aid, and also declined to respond to questions about whether the latest attacks will prompt a policy change from the Trump administration. While aid that was approved under former U.S. President Joe Biden is still flowing to Ukraine, the Trump administration has not sought any new drawdowns or new funding, according to The Washington Post. Earlier this month, under pressure from the U.S. and European governments, delegates from Ukraine and Russia met in Istanbul, Turkey for cease-fire talks. The talks did not result in a truce, but the two sides did agree to swap civil detainees and prisoners of war, according to The Associated Press. Head of US-Backed Gaza Aid Foundation Resigns, Saying Mission Violates 'Humanitarian Principles' "I urge Israel to significantly expand the provision of aid through all mechanisms," said Jake Wood. By Julia Conley Israeli Officer Says 'Nearly Every' IDF Platoon Has Used Palestinians as Human Shields in Gaza "These are not isolated accounts; they point to a systemic failure and a horrifying moral collapse," said the executive director of Breaking the Silence. By Jake Johnson excerpt: Israeli soldiers have "systematically" used Palestinians as human shields during the 19-month assault on the Gaza Strip, The Associated Press reported Saturday, citing Palestinian civilians and members of the Israel Defense Forces who described engaging in the practice that is banned under international humanitarian law. "Orders often came from the top, and at times nearly every platoon used a Palestinian to clear locations," AP reported, citing the account of an unnamed Israeli officer. One Palestinian man, Ayman Abu Hamadan, said Israeli soldiers dressed him in army fatigues, attached a camera to his forehead, and forced him to enter homes to ensure they were clear of bombs and militants. Abu Hamadan said he was passed from unit to unit for over two weeks. "Soldiers stood behind him and, once it was clear, entered the buildings to damage or destroy them, he said," AP reported. "He spent each night bound in a dark room, only to wake up and do it again." Nadav Weiman, executive director of Breaking the Silence—an anti-occupation group founded by former Israeli soldiers—told AP that "these are not isolated accounts; they point to a systemic failure and a horrifying moral collapse." Israeli officials frequently justify attacks on homes, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure by alleging that Hamas uses Gaza's civilian population as human shields. But Israeli forces have long been accused of using detained Palestinians as human shields, both during and prior to the current assault on Gaza. Trump Brags That He's 'Not Cutting 10 Cents' From Pentagon as GOP Guts Medicaid "We can cut plenty of other things," President Donald Trump told West Point's graduating class. By Jake Johnson JOIN THE MOVEMENT As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. 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By Ryan Leitner War No More: Veterans Reflect on the Meaning of Memorial Day This Memorial Day, let us honor the memory of the dead by pledging to protect our precious planet, its people, and its environment. By Michael T. Mcphearson,Gerry Condon VIEW ALL OPINION Call 207.775.0488 to donate by phone or mail a check to: Common Dreams · PO Box 443 · Portland, ME 04112-0443 · USA Common Dreams is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your contribution is tax-deductible. EIN: 20-3368194