 Bami, here we are live. Great. So we are now live and I want to welcome everybody as they're starting to join us for this important webinar live from the ground in Gaza. I am joined right now by Aziz Abu Zayed. He's a Bedouin Palestinian Egyptian refugee who takes incredible pride in his roots. He was an exchange student in the US and loves traveling, though that's very difficult from Gaza as it is an open air prison. His ultimate goal is to become an ambassador representing and assisting Palestinians everywhere. He's a freelance translator and an educator of English and a writer with the organization. We are not numbers who is co-hosting this webinar with us. And we're going to also be joined by Asma Taye. We're working on getting onto the webinar because Zoom is giving us some problems that might have to do with her joining from Gaza. So we'll let her take her time to get on and we're going to go ahead and get started in the meantime with Aziz. Aziz, if you can give us an update from the ground of what's going on. Thank you Ariel for having us and I would like to thank everyone who's watching right now. It shows that you care and it shows that this cause is being talked about in the way it should be. The air strikes and the air raids that Israelis have been doing over Gaza are still ongoing. I'm hearing some exclusions as I'm talking to you right now. There was a massacre or a wiping out of a family just an hour ago in the city of Dar al-Balah. Israeli air strike hits a residential home for a family. And a father, a mother and a two year old kid died. The mother was pregnant and they had a guest at their house. She was a friend of the mother and she also passed away. More people and then a few years. I don't really care about them as numbers. They are from a family in the middle area. And this is getting too much killing, too much house demolitions. The house demolition has not stopped overnight in the morning yesterday. And when I say house demolitions, I mean the complete house of a family is uprooted and reduced to rubble. People are losing their homes and just today an Israeli intelligence officer called someone from a place called Saftawi north of Gaza. I'm calling him that they will be hit a section of a street, a public street that's connecting Gaza city to the north part of the. It's a large section. They gave them a chance to evacuate, but this is a declared declared intent on committing a crime because I don't think that a street has to do with a military target or a legitimate combat target. So, destroying a street is destroying the livelihood of people destroying a street is destroying the way people transport. It's not enough for Israel that they're stopping us from moving outside of the strip. They're also trying to impede our, our ability to move inside trip, which is already impeded by the COVID-19 restrictions. The COVID-19 cases are slowing down. Obviously, since nobody is moving, nobody's going somewhere because people are afraid of being killed in the street by Israeli drones, Israeli air strikes. But obviously, the disease is there. The pandemic is still here. Vaccination has been halted by the destruction of Minister of Health headquarters, which is a remand clinic. Nobody is getting their vaccination right. Nobody can move to the vaccination centers to get their COVID-19 vaccines, which are in very limited supply in Gaza. We're already talking about medical apartheid before this attack began on Gaza. Also, the, the massacre of the Wahla Street has not been, has not been forgotten yet. People are still we think that some of the hospitals are still suffered from the ones they have sustained during the attack. Like there's a lot going on and people are talking about a ceasefire and the, the possibility of a period of calm. But other people are talking about if we're going to have a ceasefire now, what have the people who died for? We do not want ceasefire unless we have like tangible changes in Gaza and in the situation in Gaza. Just today as the, as a situation with the, with the network, with the mobile network going down, going online. And in the southern parts of the strip, this has been devastating for a lot of people, but it also reminds us of something that most of the, the civilized world have like taken for granted. Gaza still operating at 2G network, which means we don't have 3G, we don't have 4G, we don't even have 5G. So we're still operating on 2G network. And we just make the, the, the, the documentation and life. And the atrocities in Gaza. I think that all I can think of right now, there's too much going on. We have, Asma was able to get on and I want to ask everyone to bear with us in terms of sound and video quality and if our wonderful guests get kicked off the internet at times, because as Aziz was saying, Gaza, even before the assault, only had 2G wire, Wi-Fi. And I heard today as well that some of the communication towers were hit by Israel's bombs and, you know, I just want to point out because Israel calls this collateral damage that Israel keeps the census, every member of every single Palestinian in historic Palestine, from the river to the sea, they have drones flying over Gaza. They know exactly where everybody is and where every target is. And when they say they're hitting things with precision weapons, they mean it. So when they hit Wi-Fi towers, when you hit medical centers, this is intentional. So I'd like to welcome, and thank you so much for being able to join us and for dealing with the difficult situation getting online. Asma Tayyye is a contributor and the operations manager of We Are Not Numbers. We Are Not Numbers is a organization that empowers Palestinians to tell their own stories and their own stories, to write about what's going on in Gaza, and tell the story from a human perspective, not from a perspective of statistics and numbers in that way. Welcome and thank you so much for joining us, Asma. You could just start out by telling us. Thank you so much. What it's been like for you over the past few days since we last spoke. There's actually no specific words that I can use to express my feelings or the feelings of the people around me or even the feelings of each Palestinian living in the Gaza Strip. And today is actually the 10th day of the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip. And each day we have been discovering and reading about more stories. And each day has been just more brutal than the other one. And I'm not sure if there is any way we can at least read and dig in for more stories so we can tell you how it's like to be under an Israeli attack. But to be brief, I can just say that this has been a really hard attack and compared to the other ones that we lived and, let me say, survived. This could be the most brutal of them. We have been dealing with new strategies, new weapons, and even new sounds of weapons. And it's getting, actually every day, it's getting so much more terrifying that each one of us is living in danger and no one is feeling any safer every day. And it's actually hard to deal with all these situations while we're hearing of more Palestinians killed and injured. And it's even more difficult to deal with this when we're being attacked by some Israelis or some of their supporters as they say that it's a normal attack or that they are being hit by us. So they're doing nothing about self-defense and all of these things. These things are just provoking us because we're having enough hearing Gaza and still we're being attacked by some of the people who didn't know how to be a Palestinian sometimes. But also at the same time, we're really having some good support and we're receiving so many loving messages from our friends around the world just like people are really doing their best to raise their voices, to spread the word and hear more about us. And they're doing their best at least, organizing such a webinar so we can come up and tell you about our feelings and the situation here in Gaza. So thank you for hosting us. For me, I think, I don't know, to be honest, I just started to realize that I'm using the word if I live or when we live or after this is done and we are still alive, I'm going to do this and that. So each time I'm going to share any of my plans or wishes, I find myself saying these things. And today, actually, I was by an Israeli friend and he's actually the only Israeli friend whom I have in support of the Palestinian rights. And he really stands this situation here in Gaza. And I have been talking to him and also find out. I think we're losing connection to you for a moment. We'll wait for you to unfreeze. Are you back? Just bear with us everyone. I'm going to read for Asma's stream to work again. Aziz, I've, what I've been hearing in reports are that like you should like in previous attacks. Oh, Asma, we have you back. One of you and we'll see who has the better connection at that time. I've been hearing in Israel's assaults on infrastructure, which is what they do that electricity is now down to only about one to two hours a day. I've also heard that Israel is denying aid convoys from getting in, including a field hospital from Jordan and medicines through UNRA. What's it like to meet basic needs right now, food, electricity, and today he was asking me, are you still alive? Aziz, while we wait for Asma's connection to hopefully improve a sip. The thing is, Ariel, is that Gaza has been suffering from short supply of medicine, short supply of like fuel and the electricity has always been problematic here in Gaza. We have had only a third of what we need, the amount of electricity that we need. We only have a third of it. So we used to have an eight by eight electricity hours schedule. That means you get eight hours of electricity, then you get eight hours off and so on for every day. So some days you get 16 hours, some days you get only for eight. So in that sense, now that Israel has closed the Karam Abu Salem checkpoint, which is called the Kerem Shalom crossing, the only commercial checkpoint or crossing between Gaza and the outside world. No fuel is coming into the only Gaza power plant, which has four units, four generation units. Only one is one right now, and it's not at full capacity. Also, we have a number of Israeli power lines that are coming from inside Israel. And these power lines are easily controlled by Israel, and they can cut them off anytime claiming technical difficulties or a short, and they're only giving us electricity because we pay for it. So it's not free. It's not based on their duty as an occupying power according to international law, but we pay for it. And in terms of mail supplies, they have always been in short supply since Gaza has been under the blockade for 14 years, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic that has crippled the health system in Gaza. It has overwhelmed it with many patients. Also, we have let's say a crisis in the kinds of goods that we get here in Gaza. We have a very large blacklist on goods that are labeled as double usage, such as chemicals, essential materials for industry and construction. So these things are restricted. They are in constant relation to the border authorities because they cannot be used by Hamas to manufacture rockets and misuse according to them. So that's the situation. In terms of how Israel is blocking envoys, this has always been happening, especially with the Gaza flotillas that try to break the siege on Gaza. The many international envoys and help missions that come to Gaza through Egypt or Israel, which Egypt is helping to enforce this siege and blockade. And it's no different under the current situation. It's a lot worse because of the demand, the increased demand. That's it. So I have brought in and Asma has dropped off for a moment because, as I said, connections there are very difficult intentionally from Israel. But I have brought in code code pink member and right, who is one of the main organizers of the flotilla to Gaza. Welcome and thank you so much for joining us and I see Asma is trying to get back on as well. Well, we think we think our friends from Gaza for being with us this morning as these and Asma. And again, our deepest apologies for the complicity of the United States in its military support for Israel and Biden's Okay, really for the attack on Gaza saying Israel has to defend itself. At least this morning, apparently Biden has said that the the level of violence should end today. Well, that's after nine days of brutal, brutal assaults. I just wanted to ask a question in terms of all of the people the medical people that have been targeted the doctors that have been assassinated in their families and then the the destruction or at least I've not destruction the damage that's been done to medical facilities. Thank you. Asma looks a little bit frozen again as these I'm glad your internet is working well I think we had the opposite during our last webinar. So, yes, please go ahead. Like I was saying, the internet connection is as good, I think, even with as much good. But the problem is with the with the blockings going on that the IB pan because I tried to connect it first and it says that you cannot join this meeting with a Palestinian territory is IP address. So I am using a VPN service to connect through a US IP number. And that's the only thing that could work. I think Asma services not strong enough to sustain a good connection. And that's why she's not she's having a trouble. Like I said about the, the targeting of hospitals and medical facilities in Gaza. We have known through this, this round of aggression and the previous ones that Israel is does not discriminate between a facility and educational facility residential unit does not discriminate when they want to hit something they go for it. And whatever happens is a collateral image. Now, the, the, you mentioned something about the assassination of doctors. It's very unfortunate that two of the doctors that I know that have been killed in the one street massacre. I mean, I will off is a prominent doctor and he's a also a picture at the Islamic University medical school. Also we have more than a little more than a little was a very prominent neurologist doctor neurologist. And like age when they, when they treated the Palestinians and we had a lot of testimonies from people from their patients from the friends. My daughter was my colleague at one of the US government programs that I participated in additional programs. Now, the thing is, Israel does. I mean, is discriminating against Palestinians and everything in death, like death is the only thing that Israel is not using apartheid or discrimination with. I think she has a good finish now. I think so, yes. Just can't find you. So, as I said, they're just don't, they just don't care about our lives they wouldn't differentiate between a doctor or an engineer or even work. This is their strategy and they care only about what they call targets. And these targets are actually of Palestinian civilians who were doing nothing but trying to lead a normal life. And actually since the Israeli attack started, they, they destroyed completely at least 1020 and 200 houses, one day, partially at least 7000 others. So, you can imagine how... I think we're losing a bit of Esma's connection again. Esma, maybe try turning off your video and we can see if audio only is more effective. Not the moment. What's the feeling right now in Gaza on the ground? How are people coping? Yeah, how are people coping? Well, you know how everybody stayed at home for the COVID-19 lockdowns in the US and everywhere else in the world. It feels like it, but the danger of going out is imminent than just catching a virus and I'm down with the virus now because it's nothing compared to an Israeli airstrike on your head. So, people are afraid to go out, people are afraid to... There is no education. The education system has been already hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic. And as a teacher right now, even getting in touch with my students would pose a big dilemma since most of them do not have internet connections. And even those who do, now with the current situation, we're not sure if some of them are still alive. Some of them are in underwear shelters, which are housing now more than 58,000 internally displaced people. The education metrics is falling down, it's collapsing. People are not having the mentality to start studying or think about their futures. They just want to live, they think about today rather than tomorrow. They think that you get a pandemic first, then you get an aggression that indiscriminately kills people and they have no motive whatsoever in terms of continuing to school you. Even after this aggression round is over, we're going to go back to the circle with the pandemic. And we're still going to have problems with people who have a day-to-day job, like a daily paid job or profession. Now, looking at the big picture, I think the way back to before this aggression is not going to happen. A lot of people are homeless now, a lot of people have lost their jobs, lost their livelihoods because of the bombing of residential and office buildings in Gaza. I think going back to what we had gotten used to as normal, which is actually in and of itself is not normal, is not possible. So we are getting from bad to worse. And the only thing that's good happening in Gaza right now is that Darfah crossing is open and people can travel outside of Gaza and people can come inside. But I don't think that anybody would want to come and face this in the eye. Well, I know that doctors have tried to come in before because they are among those that do want to come in. And I know that doctors have been denied access in the past during Israel's horrible, horrible assaults. I am just seeing news that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has introduced a resolution in Congress to try to block a sale of weapons. It's not really a sale at all. It's actually a gift from the U.S. So the U.S. gives Israel $3.8 billion a year and then Israel spends that money at U.S. weapons companies and then we call that a sale. But one of those sales is in process right now and just receiving word that one of the members of Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is introducing resolution to block that sale. And as well, I want to ask what else can we be doing? How can we be in solidarity and how can we help your cause? Well, I think what's going on right now is going in the right direction. I have seen a video of Rashida Tlaib, the congresswoman in the U.S. of Palestinian origin as she talked and approached Joe Biden on the tarmac. And after he had mistaken her name, calling her Rashid instead of Rashida, and at the same time reassuring her people take care of her family and her grandmother. So is the president looking after his congresswoman to try to buy her silence? Or is he actually concerned about the Palestinian life that is threatened along with five million other Palestinian lives in the West Bank in Gaza and two million others in occupied Palestinian territories? Now, seven million Palestinians are living in Palestine and they're expecting the U.S. administration to change up a little bit of what Trump had messed up with his administration. And we Palestinians look at Biden as a member of the Democratic Party and look at his campaign, his running campaign that he was a little bit critical of Israel's actions, which doesn't show in his speeches during these days. Although he always had been pros and nests, he had always been against any sanctions against Israel. But I think the pressure is being applied now pretty good. They are in the right direction and people are listening actually. And he is feeling the pressure from the Democratic powers in the Congress and the Senate. I think the American people have the biggest responsibility to act because this is speaking on their behalf. This is presenting them their name as immigrants and it really has to do with the image of the U.S. at the Middle East and in Palestine. Now, as an alum of many U.S. sponsored educational programs, having been in the States for a year and having been from many educational programs. I always hear the sentence that says we have created this program to bridge the gap between the Middle East and the American people. Now, how are you going to bridge the gap by raising the view of America as a democratic state, as a land of freedom, a land of free speech while American corporations like Facebook are censoring the Palestinian content. How are you going to do that while your government is blatantly supporting Israel and giving it a blank check to implement and maintain the occupation of Palestine? How are you going to maintain that image when we have the president of the United States saying that he wants to come. I think his father doesn't want civilians to be hurt. At the same time, he is approving sales to the U.S., sales of weapons from the U.S. too, and he is condemning the rockets that are fired in self-defense from Gaza, but not condemning the killing of children. Everything that has been going on, every action that the American administration has taken so far has proven exactly the opposite of the U.S. administration is trying to tell the world and is trying to just draw its image. So as we get ready to wind down, I'm not sure if we're able to, I think asthma is definitely having trouble with the connection fully. First of all, I want to let folks know that we're going to do another one in the next few days as well, another update. And in the meantime, our Code Pink team will do some research on trying to improve the internet connection so that I'm so glad we were able to get one person, we get U.S. E's, and I'm so glad that we were able to hear a bit from asthma, and we all understand how trying and difficult it is and how intentional this is. We'll put the asthma picture on again for a moment. And as I was saying, we will do another update in the next few days, and we will send out the invite to everybody. But before we close, if you could, Aziz, tell us a bit about we are not numbers and how to find your and asthma's writings, your social media profiles, all of that stuff. And as you have, we are not numbers, a small youth group have actually started in, in, like, at the conclusion of the last aggression against Gaza in 2014. And we have decided that the world needs to hear from us, the world needs to hear our stories, the world needs to see us as a human, and not as terrorists or warm or blood thirsty people like the mainstream media and propaganda are trying to perpetuate. Now, what we do is we have a non-hierarchal system to organize ourselves. Like I am a burden member of the organization to be, and I am at the top of the pyramid and at the bottom of the pyramid at the same time. Because we feel that we are all in the same spot. We are all trying to tell stories. We are trying to dig deeper into the, the numbers that are being conveyed in the news. And we have seen how many stories going into the direction of human rights in the Palestinians, a lot more than we have used to me in the previous occasions like this, the previous aggression against them. We have seen videos of children speaking out, expressing themselves, telling the world how clear they are, and telling their parents that they have missed them during the assault. And we have seen many details that have otherwise been hidden and obfuscated by the Israeli regime. The mainstream media are starting to listen to us, they are starting to review Palestinians a little bit more, like we have seen in an interview with an UNRWA teacher and a mother called Iman. And she was talking about how her children, she takes their children to bed and puts them to bed in her own bedroom, so that if they die, they die together and nobody stays back or behind to miss the other. Now, we are not numbers, it's all about that. Obviously, we are not numbers, we are people, we are stories, we are dreams, we are everything but number. We have a Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, and we have also a newly established TikTok channel that we try to approach the audience, we are trying to amplify our reach. And there is also something that the audiences of CodeBank and the community can help us. So I want to thank both of you so much for joining us today. In the chat I put the link to We Are Not Numbers, and I also put the link to CodePink's Palestine page where we have a number of actions that people can take, including supporting the resolution that is about to be introduced by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and a petition to President Biden and Secretary of State Blinken to end military assistance to Israel's apartheid regime, and much more. We will do another webinar in the next few days for an update, hopefully, hopefully, hopefully by then there will at least be a ceasefire. And in the meantime, we wish everybody in Gaza and across Palestine peace and safety. We will be not only praying and having you in our thoughts, but working our butts off here to do everything we can to end our government's complicity in this. And is there last thoughts you wanted to give us? Last thoughts that we can not only support those resolutions, but also there are various organizations that have had long ties to Gaza that have programs in Gaza, medical programs and supporting them with donations, because it's a really tough time with all of the hospitals getting hit and things like that. So please consider the donations and I put them into the chat of the organizations, among many of them. Thank you. Thank you to all of you. Thank you so much for hosting us.