Mohamed Omer has been covering the conflict for MEE. His latest piece reflects on the difficulty of living and reporting on the situation. 

Omer said: 

"It is surreal to watch, but a nightmare to live. Each person killed here had a life, feelings and memories. Their death affects parents, children and spouses, none of whom can mourn as they must continue running for their lives in an increasingly shrinking cage. To put this in perspective, the number of people killed in Gaza, given as a percentage of the population, translates to 120,000 Israelis or 3 million Americans murdered within three weeks. We are an occupied people, who are told what we may eat, where we may go, how to live and even with whom we may associate. We have few choices. 

"I am one of these people and Gaza is my home."

Israeli Army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, gave a press conference on the Gaza border. In it he blamed Hamas for the scale of destruction and said that the Israeli army had succeeded in neutralising Hama Hamas' strategic ability to develop and manufacture rockets and use underground tunnels. 

"The result in Gaza is devastating, and the tragic blame lies with Hamas leaders, who operated in population centres," Gantz said. 

"Hamas has absorbed a very serious blow in all areas. Its commanders are sitting in bunkers and aren't coming out. And if they do go out, they'll see the extent of the damage caused to Hamas forces and, unfortunately, to the population in the Strip."

Powerful images by AP photographers, show the extent of the devestation as the ceasefire continues.

Leading UK Labour Party politician Sadiq Khan, applauds Sayeeda Warsi’s resignation over Gaza.

In an Op-Ed for the Guardian, Khan – a fellow leading UK Muslim, said that the ex-Conservative minister was brave to call out David Cameron’s silence as a moral failure.

Khan said:

“…Warsi must be listened to when she says, ‘our response to [Gaza] is becoming a basis for radicalisation that could have consequences for us for years to come’. The government’s failure to criticise Israel’s incursion is not just a moral failure – it goes directly against Britain’s interests in the world and risks making our citizens less safe as a result.”

Michal Zak talks about a nation’s collective myopia that has developed in Israel in her latest column for MEE. She writes: 

"I had hoped that social media would fill in the blind spots, as it provides access to so much more information, but it too is limited because each one of us has his or her 'friends' - most of them people who think like we do - through which we channel certain information. Information that is circulated by 'the enemy' is categorised as false, edited and manipulative."

Democracy Now discusses the Gaza ceasefire after more than 1,800 people were killed. They ask what led Israel to stop the assault and what comes next? 

According to a survey done by Haaretz: "A decisive majority of respondents proved unimpressed by the claims of victory made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz"

See Al Jazeera's infographic on statistics of Palestinians who have lost their homes and become displaced

Ramzy Baroud says that the West preaches to Palestinians about the pitfalls of “armed struggle”, but history shows that when Israeli tanks rumble into Shajaiya, Jabalya or Maghazi, there is no time to lay flat and sing “we shall overcome” 

Tariq Abu Khdeir and his family went to Washington DC seeking justice from American officials for Tariq, a Palestinian-American teenager who was beaten and arrested without charge in East Jerusalem in early July. Footage of the beating was posted to youtube shortly after. According to reports from Mondoweiss, his lawyer said on Friday that “there is a lot of support” from American officials in Washington.

Maan news has reported that a delegation of West Bank doctors and nurses will be heading to Gaza to help those wounded in Israel's offensive which has taken the lives of at least 1,875 Palestinians and injured 9,567

 

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, says that Hamas' ceasefire conditions are reasonable and form the basis of a long-lasting truce with Israel that could address underlying, systemic problems. Read more on MEE.

UNRWA workers are holding a demonstration in Nablus to protest at the silence of the UN and the international community over Gaza, reports al-Quds News Network.

Signs read:

The children of the West Bank and Gaza are in the same boat.

Conspirators, our blood will be on your hands until Judgement Day.