Ballal's arrest part of ongoing Israeli crackdown on Palestinian journalists, artists: witnesses

The arrest of Hamdan Ballal, one of the Palestinian co-directors of the Oscar-winning documentary 'No Other Land', has been condemned by friends and local officials as part of Israel's ongoing crackdown on Palestinian journalists and artists.

Ballal was detained in the occupied West Bank on Monday after being beaten outside his home in Susiya while trying to protect his wife and children, according to witnesses. According to the latest reports, Ballal was released on Tuesday and is now receiving treatment at a hospital.

The Israeli military claimed that Palestinians had thrown rocks at Israeli citizens near Susiya, leading to clashes. However, those close to Ballal argue that he was deliberately targeted, pointing to a wider pattern of violence against Palestinian journalists and storytellers.

Basil Adra, a friend of Ballal who was also one of the film's four co-directors, said Israel continues to "systematically target" Palestinian journalists and artists.

"We've seen hundreds of Palestinian journalists personally targeted and killed in order to prevent them from conveying the truth to the world, as happened with Shireen Abu Akleh in Jenin. There has been a consistent policy from Israel over the years targeting Palestinian journalists and artists by the occupation. Particularly those journalists and artists who convey messages to the outside world and describe what life is like here under the occupation. So he was targeted to prevent the truth being told," said Adra.

The incident involving such a revered figure in Ballal has shocked people in the West Bank and Muhammad Rab'i, head of the Susiya Village Council, said he also believes this was a clear pre-meditated move by the Israeli side.

"The film's director, Hamdan, was targeted and his home was deliberately attacked. The goal was to harass Hamdan, one way or another, by attacking him with settler gangs under army protection. He was arrested and injured. This is a result of his portrayal of Israeli violations. The entire world is unaware of what is happening in Palestine, and anyone who seeks to convey the Palestinian message is being targeted," said Rab'i.

Released last year, "No Other Land" gained worldwide attention after winning the coveted Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film earlier this month.

Filmed over a span of four years up to 2023, the documentary captures the displacement and destruction faced by a Palestinian community in the occupied West Bank following the declaration of an Israeli "firing zone" on their land.

Ballal's arrest part of ongoing Israeli crackdown on Palestinian journalists, artists: witnesses

The Chinese Red Cross International Emergency Response Team that arrived in Mandalay, Myanmar early Monday have engaged in search and rescue operation in the quake-hit city.

Mandalay, the second-largest city in Myanmar, was hard hit by a 7.9-magnitude earthquake that jolted the Southeast Asian country Friday.

The search and rescue team was organized under the coordination of China's Ministry of Emergency Management and the Red Cross Society of China.

The team will carry out earthquake relief efforts in the quake-stricken Mandalay, including structure demolition, search and rescue operations, medical transport, healthcare assistance, and psychological counseling service.

The rescuers are racing against time to search for possible survivors in the rubble of a four-story building, which housed 20 residents before the earthquake. According to local rescuers, two of the 20 people were likely to be buried under the collapsed building.

With the assistance of life detectors, the rescuers found some sign of life and then began to establish a channel through the rubble for further detection of possible survivors.

As of 12:00 local time on Monday, the earthquake has left at least 2,056 people dead, 3,900 injured, and 270 missing, according to Myanmar's State Administration Council.

As of Monday morning, 36 aftershocks, with magnitudes ranging from 2.8 to 7.5, have been recorded following the earthquake, said Myanmar's Department of Meteorology and Hydrology on Monday.

Chinese Red Cross team begin search-rescue operations in quake-hit Mandalay