Dear Colleagues,  1. UN relief chief warns military operations in Rafah could lead to a slaughter in Gaza 2. New evidence of Israeli attacks causing mass civilian casualties amid real risk of genocide 3. They shone with hope and joy, each in their own way – children killed in Gaza 4. Destruction of Gaza’s health system: need to restore hope 5. Palestine: A Timeline of Traumatic Events and Collective Healing 6. McDonald’s and Starbucks hit by boycotts 7. Letters for Palestinian childhoods exhibition 8. Scholars against the war on Palestine 9. 11-year old Dima Hnaideq describes her life as a child in Gaza Plus Recent pictures from Gaza from the Palestine Trauma Centre UK EVENTS National March for Palestine – Stop the Genocide Saturday 17 February at 12:00 Assemble at Marble Arch (Speakers’ Corner), London Israel has now killed over 30,000 Palestinians in its brutal assault on Gaza. It has now begun another massacre in Rafah. https://palestinecampaign.org/events/ The UKPALMHN banner will be at the march. We will assemble at 12:00 outside Bond Street tube on Oxford Street. All are welcome to join. UKPALMHN Action Half-Hour Monday 19 February at 13:00 UK time These informal events provide an opportunity to talk, swap ideas and take actions together. Zoom link: please contact ukpalmhn@gmail.com if you would like to attend the meeting All of the actions for this event and previous events can be found on: https://ukpalmhn.com/gaza-crisis/ Cafe Palestine 38 – Honouring the work of our colleagues in Gaza, part two Saturday 24 February from 16:00 – 18:00 UK time This second event will feature more of the work of some of the mental health teams that work in Gaza and highlight their professionalism, dedication and creativity. Since most colleagues in Gaza are cut off from electronic communication and have to focus on their own and their families’ survival, we wish to represent and honour them through our voices from outside. Presenters include: – Dr Alice Rothschild, Jewish Voice for Peace, who will provide an overview; – Peter Jakob, Martin Fellacher and Michaela Fried from Bridges for Hope and Peace; – David Denborough from the Dulwich centre, Adelaide, Australia who will describe their collaborations with colleagues in Gaza Full programme details with speaker bios and Zoom link will be sent out in the next mailing. The previous Cafe Palestine Zoom meeting was full with a maximum of 100 participants. In light of this, the Cafe Palestine on 24 February will be available both on Zoom and as a live stream on Facebook. NEWS 1. UN relief chief warns military operations in Rafah could lead to a slaughter in Gaza Issued Tuesday 13 February The scenario we have long dreaded is unraveling at alarming speed. More than half of Gaza’s population – well over 1 million people – are crammed in Rafah, staring death in the face: They have little to eat, hardly any access to medical care, nowhere to sleep, nowhere safe to go. https://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-warns-military-operations-rafah-could-lead-slaughter-gaza-and-put-fragile 2. Evidence of unlawful Israeli attacks in Gaza causing mass civilian casualties amid real risk of genocide Amnesty International report from Tuesday 12 February At least 95 civilians – nearly half of them children – killed in four unlawful strikes in Rafah. Attacks took place in southern governorate supposed to be “safe”. All four strikes are likely direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects and must be investigated as war crimes. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/02/israel-opt-new-evidence-of-unlawful-israeli-attacks-in-gaza-causing-mass-civilian-casualties-amid-real-risk-of-genocide/ 3. They shone with hope and joy, each in their own way Public memorial of children killed in Gaza A video showing some of the many children killed since Oct 7 in Gaza, their name and age. It draws on pictorial tributes from their friends and family. These are deeply felt public memorials depicting each child in the way that those who knew, loved and cared for them wanted them remembered. https://twitter.com/iraqbodycount/status/1755931780794790349 4. Destruction of Gaza’s health system: need to restore hope Balfour project recording of a presentation by Dr Nick Maynard (about 60 minutes) A presentation by a consultant surgeon from Oxford who works in Gaza and leads teams of international surgeons to teach and work in Gaza. https://balfourproject.org/gazahealth/ 5. Palestine: A Timeline of Traumatic Events and Collective Healing Infographic by Dr Samah Jabr, Zaynab Hinnawi and Eman Khateeb Slide through to explore the psychological impact of historical trauma and the path to healing for Palestinian communities. https://www.instagram.com/p/C3JN-IwS0na/?igsh=cXppN3o1cno5Z3Ft&img_index=1 6. McDonald’s and Starbucks blame the Israel-Hamas war for slower sales — and the recovery might take a while [One of the founding aims of the UK-Palestine Mental Health Network is: to encourage our colleagues individually and collectively to consider their response to the Palestinian call for boycott, sanctions and divestment (BDS)] McDonald’s and Starbucks both said the Israel-Hamas war and related boycotts hurt their sales in the latest quarter. Starbucks saw traffic to its U.S. stores fall as occasional customers stopped visiting. McDonald’s said the war hurt its Middle Eastern sales, as well as demand in majority Muslim countries and France. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/05/mcdonalds-and-starbucks-blame-israel-hamas-war-for-slower-sales.html 7. Letters for Palestinian childhoods exhibition This is an exhibition of letters, poems, and artwork dedicated to the children of Palestine. The online version is available here: https://reimaginingchildhoodstudies.com/letters-for-palestinian-childhoods/ The exhibition is now also available as a physical/in-person display for use in halls and meeting rooms Please see this link if you would like to display the exhibition: https://ukpalmhn.com/resources/letters-for-palestinian-childhoods/ 8. Scholars against the war on Palestine A trans-national, cross-disciplinary coalition standing firmly with the Palestinian struggle for liberation and justice. We call for an immediate end to the century-long colonial war on Palestine and its people. https://scholarsagainstwar.org/ 9. 11-years old Dima Hnaideq describes her life as a child in Gaza Listen to 11-years old Dima Hnaideq when she describes her life as a child under the iron heel of Israeli occupation: homeless and displaced with her mother to shelters, starving, looking for water, no money, no school, no playing – and all her 11 years of life has been under siege, occupation and repeated Israeli attacks. She has one wish: ceasefire! Stop the war! https://twitter.com/DrMadsGilbert/status/1757390118313230732?s=20 Plus Recent pictures from Gaza from the Palestine Trauma Centre UK

Clown-led exercises for children shortly after bombardment

Hastily arranged group therapy for children