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Pro-Hamas Writers’ Coalition Celebrates Hezbollah Attacks on Israel
Smoke and fire rise in northern Israel following attacks from Lebanon, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, seen from the Israeli side on June 3, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Ayal Margolin
Writers Against the War on Gaza (WAWOG) — a group of authors, novelists, journalists, and essayists opposed to Israel’s defensive military operations against the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza — celebrated Hezbollah drone and rocket launches against the Jewish state this week.
On Thursday, the group shared a news article from Al Jazeera discussing the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah’s launch of more than 200 missiles and drones into Israeli airspace from Lebanon. Beside the article, WAWOG posted a photo of the Hezbollah projectiles as they appeared to be intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system.
“Happy 4th of July,” the group wrote on X/Twitter, seemingly celebrating the assault on Israel.
Happy 4th of July. https://t.co/jPwvTTIqsi pic.twitter.com/qOqw9RsXvM
— Writers Against the War on Gaza (@wawog_now) July 4, 2024
WAWOG formed in October, weeks after Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that runs Gaza, launched the ongoing war against Israel by slaughtering over 1,200 people across the southern portion of the Jewish state. On Oct. 26, the organization issued a statement condemning Israel of attempting to “commit genocide” in Gaza and erecting an “apartheid state” in the West Bank. The letter rejected the notion that Hamas’ indiscriminate massacre of Israelis was “unprovoked,” arguing that it was a necessary act of self-defense on behalf of Palestinians. The fiery missive also dismissed the suggestion that Israel’s critics are motivated by antisemitism as “specious” at best.
“We stand with [Hamas’] anticolonial struggle for freedom and for self-determination, and with their right to resist occupation,” the letter read.
On its official website, the coalition of writers expresses support for Palestinian “right to armed resistance,” a slogan often parroted by defenders of Hamas’ terrorism against Israeli civilians. The organization claims to draw inspiration from so-called “heroes of the resistance” such as Souha Bechara, Basil al-Araj, and Georges Abdallah — internationally recognized terrorists with charges ranging from murder to armed attacks against the Jewish state. The organization also asserts that justice for Palestinians can only be achieved through the “complete dismantling of ‘Israel,’” an explicit call to eradicate the only Jewish state in the world and commence genocide against Jews.
WAWOG boasts an impressive roster of influential writers and artists including Roxanne Gay, George R.R. Martin, Ocean Vuong, and Susan Surandon.
In recent months, WAWOG has tried to rally the entire literary community against Israel, demanding writers declare allegiance to “Palestine” and vilifying authors who support Zionism. The organization recently spearheaded a protest against the PEN America World Voices Festival, citing its leaders’ unwillingness to condemn Israel for “genocide” and “apartheid.” After leftist activists, including WAWOG, successfully pressured many high-profile writers to drop out of the conference, the PEN America canceled its annual event.
PEN America CEO Suzanne Nossel penned a letter lamenting the unwillingness of left-wing writers to tolerate nuanced or dissenting viewpoints on contentious topics such as the Israel-Hamas war.
“We share the anguish over the loss of life and devastation of the war. We are listening to our critics,” she wrote. “We now face a campaign that casts our struggle to reflect complexity, uphold our identity as a big tent organization, and show fealty to our principles as a moral abdication. The perspective that engaging with those who hold a different point of view constitutes an impermissible act of legitimization negates the very possibility of dialogue.”
The post Pro-Hamas Writers’ Coalition Celebrates Hezbollah Attacks on Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Major Brush Fire Erupts Near Jerusalem, Evacuations Underway
A view of the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem fast train seen over the HaArazim Valley (“Valley of Cedars”) just outside of Jerusalem, Sept. 25, 2018. Photo: Yossi Zamir/Flash90.
i24 News – A large brush fire broke out Sunday in the Cedars Valley area, near Route 1 and the Motza interchange, prompting an emergency response from Jerusalem district fire services. Several water-bombing planes were dispatched, and authorities have declared a “fire emergency.”
As a precaution, residents of Mevaseret Zion are being evacuated. Access to the town from Route 1 has already been blocked, and officials are weighing a full closure of the major highway.
Fire crews from the Ha’uma station are on site working to contain the flames, while motorists in the area are urged to heed traffic updates and follow instructions from emergency services.
Eight firefighting aircraft are currently operating above the blaze in support of ground teams. The fire comes amid one of the hottest, driest summers on record, with conditions fueling a series of destructive wildfires across the country.
Officials warn the situation remains critical, as the blaze threatens a vital transportation corridor leading into Jerusalem.
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Egyptian Army Reinforces Its Eastern Border Ahead of Israel’s Gaza City Takeover
A man sits against a wall with a graffiti of a heart with the word “Gaza”, near the Rafah border crossing, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, Egypt, Feb. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
i24 News – The Egyptian army has reinforced its presence on the eastern border, fearing the humanitarian and military repercussions of the IDF’s takeover of Gaza City as authorities remain on high alert, Qatari media outlet Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported Sunday.
According to the report, Egyptian authorities estimate that Israeli military operations will force roughly one million Gazans to flee Gaza City toward the southern part of the Strip, creating the opportunity for Israel to attempt to deliberately push these refugees toward the Egyptian border.
Cairo fears that Israel will force Gazans south — only as a temporary stop — before taking advantage of the chaos of the operation to push them further towards the Rafah crossing, bordering Egypt’s North Sinai.
According to the report, Egypt intends to send two messages with its reinforced military presence on the border: the first a stand against an attempted crossing breach, and the second against the idea of a humanitarian solution at the expense of its territory.
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Widespread Protests Held in Australia to Support Palestinians
Demonstrators hold placards as they take part in the ‘Nationwide March for Palestine’ protest in Sydney, Australia, August 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Thousands of Australians joined pro-Palestinian rallies on Sunday, organizers said, amid strained relations between Israel and Australia following the center-left government’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state.
More than 40 protests took place across Australia on Sunday, Palestine Action Group said, including large turnouts in state capitals Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. The group said around 350,000 attended the rallies nationwide, including around 50,000 in Brisbane, though police estimated the numbers there at closer to 10,000. Police did not have estimates for crowd sizes in Sydney and Melbourne.
In Sydney, organizer Josh Lees said Australians were out in force to “demand an end to this genocide in Gaza and to demand that our government sanction Israel” as rallygoers, many with Palestinian flags, chanted “free, free Palestine.”
Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the umbrella group for Australia’s Jews, told Sky New television that the rallies created “an unsafe environment and shouldn’t be happening.”
The protests follow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week stepping up his personal attacks on his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese over his government’s decision this month to recognize a Palestinian state.
Diplomatic ties between Australia and Israel soured after Albanese’s Labor government said it would conditionally recognize Palestinian statehood, following similar moves by France, Britain and Canada.
The August 11 announcement came days after tens of thousands of people marched across Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge, calling for peace and aid deliveries to Gaza, where Israel began an offensive nearly two years ago after the Hamas militant group launched a deadly cross-border attack.