Syracuse University Cancels Lecture Due to Safety Concerns Amid Ongoing Conflict in Gaza

Syracuse University has canceled a lecture by a Middle Eastern studies scholar due to safety concerns. The university sent a letter to the speaker and attendees, citing their inability to ensure the safety of the campus community.

The Israel Defense Forces and the country’s ISA security agency said in a joint statement that fighter jets carried out an intelligence-based strike that killed Nasim Abu Ajina, whom they identified as the commander of a Hamas combat battalion in northern Gaza. The Indonesian Hospital in Gaza reported on its Facebook page that dozens of dead and hundreds of wounded arrived at its emergency department as a result of the strike on the Jabalia refugee camp today.

Desperate civilians in Gaza scramble for food as civil order breaks down. Israel’s military said Tuesday that it had killed another Hamas commander with its airstrikes on the Palestinian Gaza Strip. It said in a statement that two soldiers were “killed during combat in north Gaza,” where there have been intense clashes over the last 24 hours. The IDF confirmed Tuesday that it had suffered two more military casualties as it ramps up ground operations in Gaza.

The Indonesian Hospital said most of the casualties were children or women. The situation in Gaza is dire, and the cancellation of the lecture at Syracuse University is a reflection of the safety concerns that have been raised due to the ongoing conflict.