Tabitha H. Sanders

Details in this report are incredibly troubling. As the authors note, accounts are still v difficult to verify at this stage. There needs to be an independent investigation.

www.phr.org.il/en/gender-ba...

النظام يدفع تجار مخدرات لشنّ حملة أمنية ضد تجار آخرين ف... دفع النظام السوري مجموعة مسلّحة مدعومة من قبل جهاز الأمن العسكري على رأسها أشخاص متورطون بتجارة المخدرات وته�...

Assad still trying to appease Arab states by launching another empty campaign targeting smugglers in Daraa 

…but security figures heading the campaign have ties to the captagon trade

www.syria.tv/%D8%A7%D9%84...

I have 2 degrees in IR & war, but all I know is that things will get worse before they get better.

And they might not get better.

As of now, there are at least 15,400 Palestinians & 1,200 Israelis who won’t be here to see if it does.

Taken by the Mediterranean: A mother’s search for her lost son A two-year search for refugees disappeared at sea trying to reach Spain is an endless mission, desperate relatives say.

Great piece on the devastating--and often deadly--journey from Syria to Europe

So many young men are fleeing Daraa & south Syria especially bit.ly/480se3Z

The Uses and Abuses of the Term ‘Genocide’ in Gaza The contested word is invoked by both sides in the debate over the current war

Worth a read: newlinesmag.com/spotlight/th...

Israel investigates an elusive, horrific enemy: Rape as a weapon of war The first indications of sexual violence came as early as Oct. 7, the day Hamas and other fighters streamed into Israel and live-streamed their deadly rampage.

Rape is very much a devastating weapon of war, and allegations of its use should be thoroughly investigated.

www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/1...

Witnessing Gaza Through My Instagram Feed Every morning, I check my feed in the hopes of finding something from Bisan. My stomach tightens with each scroll until she appears.

“At what stage do we become voyeurs? Are people just watching and not witnessing? To watch is to consume; to witness is to acknowledge, to bestow some degree of legitimacy. But what does it do to see it? Is empathy ever enough?”

nymag.com/intelligence...

Really did not expect to find myself quoting an MCU show, but gotta say…this Tom Hiddleston line feels pretty relevant.

“Annihilating is easy. Razing things to the ground is easy. Trying to fix what's broken is hard. Hope is hard.”

Hard but, as a good teacher reminds us, hope is a discipline.

For so long I’ve thought Syria could have been saved if enough people & enough states just paid attention & cared to act. But now everyone’s eyes are on Gaza & it’s still not enough.

Did Syria ever have a chance?

This poet's family reported his arrest in Gaza. Sharing one of his pieces below:

Hezbollah deploys 700 fighters near Syria's Golan Heights Lebanese Hezbollah militia has reportedly deployed 700 'elite' fighters in Syria, near the border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Now & always, keep your eyes on south Syria

www.newarab.com/news/hezboll...

The Biden team's decision to compare Russia's invasion of Ukraine to Hamas' 7 October attack on Israel is....something

wapo.st/3MRtH4J

The Syrians are still in the city of Suwayda in southern Syria, demanding the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad and his regime, freedom, democracy, political change, and the implementation of international resolutions.

November 19, 2023

World court orders Syria to stop torture and preserve evidence | Reuters Judges at the World Court on Thursday ordered Syria to take steps to prevent torture as part of emergency measures in a case against Damascus brought before the top U.N. tribunal by the Netherlands an...

A start. Too late, though, for so so many. www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Memory Voids and Role Reversals A Palestinian scholar describes the whiplash of learning about the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks while visiting the Jewish Museum of Berlin, and reflects on moral juxtapositions and worlds overturned

What is the purpose of a state? Is it only to defend its people? And always at the cost of others?

newlinesmag.com/first-person...

DC don’t let me down 🙏

Biden officials alarmed by soaring Palestinian death toll in Gaza Administration officials are worried that the president’s quick support for Israel after Hamas’ attack could backfire.

Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions

Cratered ground and destroyed lives: piecing together the Jabalia camp airstrike Guardian analysis of footage and imagery sheds more light on pulverising attack in Gaza

In Syria, Russia & Assad have been using the "double-tap" strike strategy for years.

The initial hit targets key infrastructure. The 2nd targets the first responders & volunteers searching for survivors.

www.theguardian.com/world/2023/n...

Jordan fears the crossfire if Gaza war pulls Iran into wider conflict | Reuters Jordan's request for Patriot air defence systems from Washington reflects its growing concern about being caught in the crossfire if the war in Gaza pulls in Iran and its well-armed regional militias ...

Jordan fears the crossfire if Gaza war pulls Iran into wider conflict www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Northwest Syria witnesses most intense military escalation in three years More than 65 civilians have been killed in Idlib and nearby cities by government forces and Russia so far this month.

"Recent escalation in northwest Syria has displaced more than 12,000 civilians from their cities and villages"

www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10...

From Idlib to Gaza

Posting from beautiful #Amman, where everyone's eyes are on #Gaza & everything feels heavy.