Israel’s military says its forces have fully encircled Gaza City as it intensifies its bombardment of the besieged Palestinian territory. Israeli leaders say the ground offensive has split the territory in two: “a south Gaza and a north Gaza.” On Sunday, Gaza was once again plunged into a total communications blackout, the third such outage since October 7.

Eighteen U.N. and other prominent aid groups issued a rare joint statement calling for an immediate ceasefire after 30 days of incessant and indiscriminate attacks. “Enough is enough,” the groups declared. The death toll in Gaza has topped 10,000; nearly half the victims are children. The U.N. says 88 of its staff have been killed, the highest number of U.N. deaths ever in a single conflict.

At least 45 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Maghazi refugee camp Saturday. Al-Maghazi is located in the southern area in which Israel had told Gazans they should seek shelter to escape bombing up north. Photojournalist Mohammed Al-Aloul lost four of his five children and other family members in the attack on Al-Maghazi.

Mohammed al-Aloul: “The news began to trickle in slowly, telling me, 'Your daughter is wounded, your son is wounded.' I got in touch with colleagues at Al-Aqsa Hospital. I found my four children martyred: my only daughter; my oldest son Ahmed, the kind one, may God have mercy on him; Kenan, may God have mercy on him; Qais, may God have mercy on him.”

Israel continues to strike schools and health facilities in Gaza, including the areas around Al-Quds and Al-Shifa hospitals. Fresh strikes also took aim at the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp Saturday, where Israeli killed dozens of residents.

Jabaliya resident 1: “I was standing here when three bombings happened. I carried a body and another decapitated body with my own hands.”

Jabaliya resident 2: Where should I go? They’ve hit the shelters. Those who are on the streets in Gaza are hit while walking. Since when has it become normal to strike shelters? This is so unfair. You walk on the street, you’re hit. And while you’re carrying the body to bury, they strike us. Where is the United Nations in this? Never in any war were shelters hit.”

Around 1,100 people have left the Gaza Strip since the Rafah crossing with Egypt was briefly opened last week. Evacuations were suspended Saturday, but resumed earlier today. Meanwhile, reports emerged Friday that Israel was not allowing citizens of Brazil and Ireland to leave the war-torn enclave as retaliation for their government’s criticism of Israel and calls for a ceasefire.

This is an 11-year-old American Palestinian girl, Farah Salouha, who was forced to leave her father behind in Gaza as she traveled to Egypt with her mother and siblings.

Farah Salouha: “I’m very sad, because I love all of my friends, especially in school, because I was always happy with them. And I miss being happy instead of just worrying about my safety all the time. … The start of the war was very hard, because I was sick, and we had to sleep — I couldn’t sleep in my room. But then they told me to get out of Gaza, and I didn’t want to leave Gaza. But so, I had to go to Rafah and sleep in different places. And we kept on moving and moving, and I didn’t want this. There was no electricity and no internet and no water.”

Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, said his government will file a complaint to the U.N. Security Council after an Israeli drone attack Sunday evening killed a grandmother and three children. The strike came as Israeli and Hezbollah forces have been engaged in skirmishes along the border over the past month. Hezbollah fired rockets into northern Israel in response. The group has vowed to retaliate against Israel if it kills civilians in Lebanon.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Ankara for talks with Turkey’s foreign minister about Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip. Ahead of Blinken’s arrival, Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse thousands of protesters who’d marched on an air base housing U.S. troops. On Saturday, Turkey recalled its ambassador to Israel after condemning the “unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Gaza.”

On Sunday, Blinken made a surprise trip to Baghdad for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani. That followed Blinken’s unscheduled meeting earlier in the day with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. Blinken rejected Abbas’s demand for a ceasefire in Gaza. On Saturday, Blinken joined a summit of Arab leaders in Jordan, all of whom condemned Israel’s assault and demanded a ceasefire. Meanwhile, CIA Director William Burns arrived in Israel Sunday for talks with Israeli leaders and intelligence officials.

Massive protests demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestine took place across the globe again over the weekend. Drone footage shows an endless sea of protesters in major cities including Jakarta, Paris, London and Berlin. Here in the U.S., over 100,000 people took the streets of Washington, D.C., Saturday in the largest-ever U.S. demonstration for Palestinian rights. Speakers addressed the crowd from a stage in Freedom Plaza before marching toward the White House. This is Hatem Bazian, a Palestinian professor at UC Berkeley.

Hatem Bazian: “Palestine was the last settler colonial project to be commissioned by these Western hypocritical countries. And as we celebrated the release of Nelson Mandela and the end of apartheid, the last settler colony in Africa, we will celebrate the end of settler colonialism in Palestine. Why? Because that’s what justice call. That’s what courage calls for. That’s what integrity calls for.”

Later in the broadcast, we’ll hear more voices from the historic protest in D.C.

One day before Saturday’s mass protest, 52 activists were arrested on Capitol Hill as they occupied the offices of Democratic senators, demanding the lawmakers back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The senators included Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey.

In Rhode Island, the Providence City Council has passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire and for the Biden administration to send humanitarian aid to Gaza. This came just days after City Councilor Miguel Sanchez was fired from his job at the Rhode Island Governor’s Office for speaking out against the Israeli assault in Gaza.

The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning writer Jazmine Hughes resigned after signing an open letter condemning Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The move constituted a violation of newsroom policy. New York Times contributor Jamie Lauren Keiles, who describes himself as a “religiously observant Jew,” also left the publication after signing on to the letter.

In California, dozens of protesters demanding a ceasefire in Gaza gathered at the Port of Oakland Friday, blocking the departure of a U.S. military supply vessel. Organizers say the ship was holding weapons bound for Israel. Protesters occupied the berth while others locked themselves to ladders on the side of the ship. After nine hours of occupation, police moved in to forcefully remove protesters from the vessel, and the ship began to leave the port as people shouted “Shame on you!” Organizers in Oakland said they’ve coordinated with partners in Tacoma, Washington, the vessel’s expected next stop, for another peaceful blockade Monday.

Meanwhile, during a Palestinian solidarity action in Puerto Rico Saturday, a protester climbed a flagpole in front of the Capitol in San Juan to remove the U.S. flag and replace it with a Palestinian flag.

An Arab Muslim student at Stanford University is calling on people to spread compassion and kindness after he was struck Friday in a hit-and-run that is being investigated as a hate crime. The driver shouted “F*** you people” as he drove away. Abdulwahab Omira released a statement from his hospital bed, saying, “This ordeal has solidified my resolve to advocate for love, understanding, and inclusivity.”

In Nepal, a 5.6-magnitude quake struck the far western Karnali province Friday, killing at least 157 people. It was Nepal’s worst earthquake since its 2015 disaster which killed 9,000 people. Rescue workers had to clear roads blocked by landslides and debris to reach the mountainous villages at the epicenter of the quake. An estimated 5,000 houses were destroyed or damaged. Survivors say they are still waiting for help three days after the disaster.

Pavitra Chalaune Giri: “We have nothing left. Dust from the debris are entering into our noses and mouths. We can’t see properly due to the dust. We have dust on our ears. What to do? We are in a very bad situation. The children are complaining that they are hungry. We don’t have a place to stay nor food to eat or clothes to wear. No one is looking after us.”

In India, officials have extended elementary school closures in the capital New Delhi through the end of the week as the city of 33 million chokes under a thick gray haze of air pollution. The hazardous air conditions are due to crop stubble burning in neighboring farm states, a drop in temperatures, and winds. Residents are battling a myriad of health problems due to the smog.

Prakash Tokas: “The situation is very bad here. There is a lot of coughing, colds, and burning sensation in the eyes. The kids are also sick. We cannot take the kids out, and we also step out far less than we used to, because of this pollution.”

In the Philippines, 57-year-old radio journalist Juan Jumalon was shot dead during a live broadcast in his home studio Sunday by an attacker who fled on a motorcycle with an accomplice. Viewers watching the program on Facebook witnessed the brazen murder in real time, though the shooter was not on camera. Police say they’re investigating whether the killing was related to Jumalon’s work as a journalist. He was the 199th media worker to be killed in the Philippines since the dictator Ferdinand Marcos — the father of the current president — was toppled in a popular uprising in 1986.