Hamas launches war on Israel [Archive] - Page 4

Skybird

01-22-24, 09:51 AM

Hamas' members are not some foreign mercenaries that came from oversea to Gaza, they are for the most young men that from childhood on have been trained to hate and dispise Jews and see them as dogs or pigs and they learned as little kids of kindergarden age already that it is an achievement to slay a Jew. Hamas recruits its people from the very middle of the Palestinian society.

That innocent the "civilians" are not, in my view.

Also, Islam has had hate on Jews and antisemitism in its founding genes from all its beginning on. This obsessive hate on Jews started already with Muhammad himself after the pharisees rejected him as an equal in theological debate, and Muhammad not concluded he learned too little, but felt offended by them showing him his deficit. Mind you, Islam knows no tolerance on equal terms for non believers, only their subjugation if they belong to the community of the book - or their execution in case of all others. That is no radical Islam. That is no Islamism. That simply is Islam based on the Quran. Thats why I am so unforgivably sceptical about and hostile to this ideology. Its not an ideology preaching tolerance and coexistence, but conquest and subjugation. And its "anything goes" regarding acchieving these goals. Want to stop it? Be stronger and tougher than them. And be aware that Muhammad warned his disciples to ever accept long lasting peace treaties, only limited seizefires - until Islam is strong enough (again, or in the first) to overthrow the other.

Sorry, but this and nothign else is what the Quran is saying. Let the other live, but only under your (Muslim) rule and dominance. And punish the other for not readily converting to islam by letting him know and make him feel he is inferior and is being discriminated. Westerners do not want to see this, since it would force them to realise what a beast they are dealing with, and that it demands self-defending reactions that Westerners are not readily willing to practice. It spoils our illusions of how convincing our ratio is to the others. Well. The West is in free fall. Totalitarian regimes as well as Islam are rising all around. Any questions? :roll:

Jimbuna

01-22-24, 12:29 PM

^ Israel for the win :yeah:

Jimbuna

01-22-24, 12:37 PM

More than 25,000 now killed in Gaza since Israel offensive began, Hamas-run health ministry says

More than 25,000 people have now been killed in Gaza during Israel's offensive there, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

It said there had been 178 deaths in the last 24 hours, making it one of the deadliest days in the war so far.

As fighting continued, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again rejected creating a Palestinian state.

The White House has said the US and Israel "clearly see things differently" when it comes to a two-state solution.

Israel began its offensive following the 7 October attack in which Hamas fighters killed 1,300 people in southern Israel and took more than 240 hostage.

In its first public account of the October assault, published on Sunday, Hamas described it as a "necessary step" against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and a way to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners.

Israel's air and ground operation is currently focusing on southern Gaza, where the military are convinced top Hamas commanders are holed up in, or beneath, the city of Khan Younis.

That is where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had discovered another tunnel, some 830m (2,700ft) long and containing booby-traps and blast doors.

The IDF footage showed what appeared to be a tunnel with mattresses and cells inside - it is where Israel believes around 20 hostages, including children, were held at various points. None were found when the tunnel was discovered, though.

Israeli soldiers have also faced renewed attacks in the north of the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is said to have seized an opening around the town of Jabalia as Israel moved troops and tanks south.

More than three months since the conflict erupted, Israel - whose army far outstrips Hamas's capabilities - is still facing significant resistance across Gaza.

US intelligence agencies reportedly estimate that the Israeli military has killed 20-30% of Hamas fighters, which falls far short of Mr Netanyahu's stated aim of "completely destroying" the armed group.

The classified report is also said to have found that Hamas still has enough munitions to continue striking Israel and Israeli forces for months, raising the spectre of a prolonged war in which Israel could get bogged down.

The apparent slow progress, the fact no top Hamas commander has yet been captured or killed, and the collective trauma over the 130 or so Israeli hostages still missing, is prompting growing anti-government anger in Israel.

Protests are continuing by relatives of those still held by Hamas, calling for Mr Netanyahu to prioritise their release over the potentially impossible aim of destroying Hamas. And a still relatively small anti-war movement is also demonstrating, horrified by the damage wrought on Gaza - one of the most intense and destructive military campaigns in recent history.

Most Israelis have rallied around their flag - but not around their prime minister, who, according to a recent poll, only 15% of the public believe should stay in office once the war ends.

How it does end is the subject of growing disagreement between Mr Netanyahu and Israel's western allies. After speaking to US President Joe Biden for the first time in almost a month, the Israeli prime minister reiterated his rejection of a future Palestinian state.

In a post on X - formerly Twitter - he said Israel must retain "security control over the entire area west of [River] Jordan", which also encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank territory.

Mr Netanyahu has been fiercely opposed to a Palestinian state throughout his political career. But by repeatedly asserting it now, an increasingly unpopular prime minister appears to be doubling down on a view that he feels chimes with the majority opinion in a nation too horrified by the attacks to countenance an independent Palestinian state.

His apparent fight for political survival is clashing with exasperated Israeli allies, who hope that the current bloodshed could force both sides into meaningful diplomacy over a sustainable two-state solution.

UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC earlier that Mr Netanyahu's stance was "disappointing". The White House has said the US and Israel "clearly see things differently".

Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, went further, calling the refusal to accept a Palestinian state "completely unacceptable". He added it "would indefinitely prolong a conflict that has become a major threat to global peace and security".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68050172

Jimbuna

01-23-24, 09:49 AM

IDF says 24 soldiers killed in Gaza in one day

The Israeli army says 24 of its soldiers were killed in Gaza on Monday - the deadliest day for its forces since their ground operation began.

That includes 21 reservists who died in an explosion likely caused by mines that Israeli forces had placed in two buildings to demolish them, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.

It is thought a missile fired by Palestinian armed fighters hit a tank guarding the troops just beforehand.

The IDF is investigating what happened.

According to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry, 195 Palestinians have been killed in the past day.

The IDF's chief spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, said the reservists were killed in central Gaza at around 16:00 (14:00 GMT) on Monday - close to the kibbutz of Kissufim on the Israeli side of the border.

They were involved in an operation to allow for residents of southern Israel to safely return to their homes after tens of thousands were evacuated after the Hamas attack on 7 October.

The first funerals for those killed in the explosion have been held at Mount Herzl in a rainy Jerusalem.

Many of the mourners wore military uniforms and the scene was full of blue and white Israeli flags.

Israel's military had already confirmed that three officers were killed in a separate attack in southern Gaza on Monday.

The country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that despite its suffering, his country would push on with its offensive until it had "absolute victory."

Elsewhere in Gaza, there has been fierce fighting by three hospitals in Khan Younis in the south, which is crowded with displaced people.

The IDF announced it has completely encircled the city, which has been a main focus of its ground offensive targeting Hamas.

Israel believes that the group's leaders may be hiding there and that it may also be where some Israeli hostages are being held.

According to the IDF, dozens of local gunmen were killed in its operation and its forces found rockets in rocket-launchers ready to fire, as well as tunnel shafts and a large number of weapons.

The Palestinians said that women and children have been killed in the latest fighting in the city.

They added that Israeli blockades and the storming of hospitals since Monday had left the wounded and dead beyond the reach of rescuers.

The dead were being buried inside the grounds of Nasser hospital because it has been unsafe to leave in order to reach the cemetery.

It is said that Israeli forces stormed another hospital, Al-Khair - which is in the al-Mawasi area to the west - and arrested staff.

Israel launched the war with the declared aim of destroying Hamas after waves of its gunmen killed 1,300 people - mostly civilians - and took about 250 others hostage in the unprecedented attack.

According to the IDF website, 217 soldiers have been killed since the beginning of Israel's ground invasion on 27 October out of a total of 552 killed since 7 October.

At least 25,490 people - mainly women and children - have been killed in the Israeli military campaign in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68065903

Jimbuna

01-24-24, 11:37 AM

Khan Younis: Israel says forces have encircled Gaza's second city

The Israeli military says its ground forces have encircled Khan Younis, the southern Gaza Strip's largest city.

Troops have also reportedly advanced deeper into remaining parts of the city, where they believe Hamas leaders are hiding in tunnels with hostages.

Residents said tanks had shut the last road out of the city to the Mediterranean coast, effectively stopping them from fleeing southwards.

There was also intense fighting around the city's two main hospitals.

It came as funerals took place for some of the 24 Israeli soldiers killed on Monday on the deadliest day for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) since the start of its ground offensive in Gaza 12 weeks ago.

At least 195 Palestinians were also killed in Gaza over the previous 24 hours, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

The ministry says more than 25,400 people have been killed - mostly children and women - during the war between Hamas and Israel.

It was triggered by an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,300 people were killed - most of them civilians - and about 250 others taken hostage.

Israeli ground forces expanded their operation into southern Gaza in early December, after largely taking control of Hamas strongholds in the north.

Within days they were said to have reached the "heart" of Khan Younis, where hundreds of thousands of people who had fled northern areas were sheltering.

But the troops have since faced fierce resistance from Hamas's Khan Younis Brigade. It is considered to be one of the two strongest in the group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the UK and other countries.

The Israeli operation has expanded and intensified in recent days, with dozens of people reported killed in air and artillery strikes on Monday alone as tanks pushed into the west and centre of the city.

On Tuesday, the IDF put out a statement saying that over the past day its troops had "carried out an extensive operation during which they encircled Khan Yunis and deepened the operation in the area".

The troops had "engaged in close-quarters combat, directed [air] strikes, and used intelligence to co-ordinate fire, resulting in the elimination of dozens of terrorists", it added.

The IDF also ordered residents of western Khan Younis to move immediately to the al-Mawasi area, on the Mediterranean coast, for their own safety.

However, some witnesses said tanks had blocked the road leading there, preventing them from joining the estimated million people currently sheltering to the south in Rafah, on the border with Egypt.

"I am trying to leave for Rafah but the tanks are now very near to the coast and are firing toward the west," Shaban, an electrical engineer with four children, told Reuters news agency.

The World Health Organization meanwhile said it was deeply concerned by reports of attacks on hospitals in Khan Younis.

On Tuesday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said a civilian had been killed by an Israeli drone at the entrance of Al-Amal Hospital, which it runs, and that others had been injured when shells struck its nearby headquarters.

"The situation remains extremely dangerous. Early this morning, there was direct artillery shelling of the Palestine Red Crescent's headquarters on the fourth floor. Israeli drones did not stop firing at people at al-Amal Hospital," spokeswoman Nebal Farsakh told the BBC from Ramallah.

"[There is] panic and fear among thousands of displaced people who are taking shelter inside our facilities."

There was no immediate comment from the IDF, but it has previously accused Hamas fighters of embedding themselves among the civilian population and operating in and around medical facilities.

Ms Farsakh also said ambulances were "facing significant challenges to reach wounded people and transport them to hospitals", adding that they were now being told to take critical cases to Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza.

And she warned that Al-Amal and the nearby Nasser Medical Complex - the largest of the 14 hospitals still partly working in Gaza - were "overwhelmed and overcrowded".

Dr Haytham Ahmad, who works in Nasser's emergency department, told the BBC that multiple amputations were being performed, and that in some cases, patients were not being given anaesthetic because of a shortage of supplies.

"These cases have severe crush injuries and there is just some skin and muscle still connected. We try to use limited anaesthetic in this situation," he said.

A World Health Organization spokesman said Nasser was "now basically besieged" and that there was "no way in and out" for its 400 patients, as well as the medical staff treating them and displaced civilians.

Gaza's health ministry alleged that Israeli forces had fired "heavily on the upper floors of the specialised surgery building and the emergency building" of the hospital.

One video filmed by a Palestinian journalist appeared to show gunfire hitting the hospital's western corner, while in another clip smoke is seen rising from an area to the south.

The IDF told AFP news agency that it was "not aware of the event".

Later, UN Secretary General António Guterres said the humanitarian situation in Gaza was "appalling" and that the entire population was "enduring destruction at a scale and speed without parallel in recent history".

He also once again appealed for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman said it was "engaging in serious discussions with both sides" on a potential deal, and a Palestinian official told the BBC that a Hamas delegation had arrived in Cairo on Tuesday morning to "discuss new proposals" with Egypt's intelligence minister.

Israel has not denied that it has proposed a two-month truce, involving the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. But there are reports that has already been rejected by Hamas, which demands a permanent ceasefire.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68074566

Jimbuna

01-24-24, 12:08 PM

Israel's military said today it was intensifying operations around Khan Younis, Gaza's second-largest city. The assault has forced thousands of civilians to flee the area, although many remain trapped in the encircled city. Around 850 patients were still inside the city's main Nasser Hospital, according to the aid group Doctors Without Borders.

Overnight, the U.S. said it struck Houthi missiles, radar sites and weapons depots in Yemen that had been prepared to attack cargo ships and American assets in the Red Sea. The military said it also carried out strikes yesterday against Iranian-backed militia facilities in Iraq.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed yesterday that his forces would not stop fighting until “absolute victory” was achieved. His comments came a day after 24 soldiers were killed as a building was being wired for demolition with explosives. It marked the deadliest day for his country's forces since the war began.

More than 25,700 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. More than 63,300 have been injured, and thousands more are missing and presumed dead.

Israeli military officials said at least 221 soldiers have been killed during the ground invasion of Gaza. About 1,200 people were killed and about 240 hostages were taken after Hamas launched multipronged attacks on Israel on Oct. 7.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/live-blog/israel-hamas-war-live-updates-rcna135409

Jimbuna

01-25-24, 02:04 PM

UN says 12 killed at Gaza shelter as fighting rages

At least 12 people were killed and 75 injured when a UN facility sheltering civilians was struck in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency says.

UNRWA said two shells hit its Khan Younis Training Centre during fighting in the city's western outskirts.

Its commissioner condemned the "blatant disregard of basic rules of war".

Israel's military said it had ruled out that the incident was the result of an air or artillery strike by its forces.

It added that it was reviewing Israeli operations nearby and examining the possibility that it was "Hamas fire".

Israeli troops have been battling Hamas fighters as they advance into western Khan Younis, a day after the military said it had completely encircled the city.

Clashes and bombardment around the city's two main hospitals have also left thousands of patients, staff and others unable to leave.

The conflict was triggered by an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,300 people were killed and about 250 others taken hostage.

More than 25,700 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68078580

Jimbuna

01-26-24, 11:48 AM

The UN's top court rules that Israel must take all measures to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza, but stops short of ordering an immediate halt to operations.

Judges at the International Court of Justice delivered an interim ruling in South Africa's genocide case against Israel.

Riyad al-Maliki, the Palestinian foreign minister, says the judges ruled "in favour of humanity and international law"

Meanwhile, PM Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will "continue to defend ourselves and our citizens while adhering to international law"

A verdict on South Africa's allegation of genocide is not expected for years; Israel strongly denies the accusation, calling it "baseless"

Meanwhile, US media report that the head of the CIA is due to meet Israeli, Qatari and Egyptian officials in the coming days to discuss a new potential ceasefire in Gaza.

Israel's retaliatory attacks in Gaza have killed 25,900 people, mostly women and children, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

Jimbuna

01-26-24, 11:51 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZBiF8g5tBs

em2nought

01-26-24, 11:29 PM

Reports are indicating tonight that 12 UN personnel participated on the side of HAMAS in the Oct 7th massacre, and I believe it. :o

Jimbuna

01-27-24, 01:11 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyvO3nh7sqM

Jimbuna

01-27-24, 01:16 PM

UK halts aid to UN agency over allegation staff helped Hamas attack

The UK has become the latest country to pause funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

It comes after the agency announced the sacking of several of its staff over allegations they were involved in the 7 October Hamas attacks.

The UK government said it was "appalled" by the allegations made by Israel.

The US, Australia, Italy, Canada and Finland have already suspended additional funding to the UN agency.

Created in 1949, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, is the biggest UN agency operating in Gaza. It provides health care, education and other humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. It employs around 13,000 people inside Gaza.

Since Israel began its offensive in response to the 7 October attacks, UNRWA has used its facilities across Gaza to shelter hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians.

It says it has ordered an investigation into information supplied by Israel.

Israel has long accused different branches of the United Nations including UNRWA of bias and even of antisemitism.

Speaking to the BBC, the organisation's former chief spokesperson, Christopher Gunness, said that the suspension of aid to UNRWA was disproportionate and can only lead to further suffering in Gaza.

Mr Gunness believes UNRWA has demonstrated its zero-tolerance policy by sacking the staff members before their internal investigation was complete.

"One million displaced people are currently taking refuge in and around UNRWA buildings. They are the ones who will suffer as a result of this decision," said Mr Gunness, adding: "The curtailing of UNRWA services will also destabilise the region at a time when Western governments are trying to contain a regional conflagration."

On Friday, an adviser to the Israeli prime minister told the BBC that the 7 October Hamas attacks had involved "people who are on their [UNRWA] salaries".

Mark Regev said there was information showing teachers working in UNRWA schools had "openly celebrated" the 7 October attacks.

He also referred to an Israeli hostage who, on her release, said she had been "held in the house of someone who worked for UNRWA".

"They have a union which is controlled by Hamas and I think it's high time that the UN investigated these links between UNRWA and Hamas," he added.

The allegations prompted reaction from major donors.

"The UK is appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned," the UK Foreign Office said in a statement.

"The UK is temporarily pausing any future funding of UNWRA whilst we review these concerning allegations," it added.

Earlier, the US State Department announced that it was suspending additional funding to the UN agency, saying it was "extremely troubled" by the allegations of UN staff involvement in the attacks.

The EU said that it would assess further steps "based on the result of the full and comprehensive investigation".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "horrified by this news".

The head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, said a full investigation into the allegations was being carried out "to establish the truth without delay."

"To protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members," Mr Lazzarini added.

He said any staff found to have been involved in "acts of terror" would be held accountable.

Israel's Foreign Minister, Israel Katz said he aimed to stop UNRWA operating in Gaza after the war.

But the Palestinian Authority's minister for civilian affairs, Hussein Al-Sheikh, said the decision by some countries to pause support for the vital UN agency "entails great political and humanitarian relief risks".

Mr al-Sheikh urged Western donors to immediately reverse their decision, adding: "We need the maximum support for this international organisation."

The Irish deputy premier, Micheál Martin, said his country had no plans to suspend its funding for the agency, saying it provided "life saving assistance to 2.3m people and at incredible personal cost - with over 100 staff killed in last four months".

In a post on Telegram, Hamas's press office said the group urged the UN and the international organisations "to not cave in to the threats and blackmail" from Israel.

Hamas killed around 1,300 people, mostly civilians, in the unprecedented attack on southern Israeli communities on 7 October last year.

Another 250 people were taken hostage. The events triggered Israel's retaliatory attacks on Hamas in Gaza, which have killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.

The US, Germany and the EU are among some of UNRWA's biggest donors.

The agency says it is struggling to get humanitarian aid to many of the estimated 1.7 million people - nearly three-quarters of the population - displaced by 12 weeks of fighting.

A number of UN facilities where Gazans had taken shelter have been hit in Israeli air strikes.

On Wednesday, 12 people were killed when a UN shelter was struck in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68104203

Jimbuna

01-28-24, 07:56 AM

Israeli protesters again block aid trucks from entering through Kerem Shalom crossing

Hundreds of Israeli protesters on Sunday blocked aid trucks from driving into Gaza via the Kerem Shalom crossing, demanding that hostages held in Gaza are freed before any more aid is delivered into the Strip, CNN's International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson reports from the scene.

The protests have been ongoing for days and were organized by families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza. On Sunday, the protesters again blocked the convoys despite an expectation that Israeli police would clear the protests to allow the crossing to operate, Robertson reports. The aid trucks, however, remain parked a few hundred meters from the protesters.

On Wednesday, only nine trucks crossed into Gaza via Kerem Shalom due to the protests, while the crossing remained closed on Thursday and Friday due to protesters blocking access, according to Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT). The border was closed on Saturday for Shabbat.

Last Sunday, 139 aid trucks were inspected and transferred via Kerem Shalom, according to COGAT.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Saturday warned of the repercussions of declining humanitarian access in parts of Gaza and the blocking of aid at the crossing.

"The inability to deliver food, water and medical aid will exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation of those in need of assistance," OCHA said in a statement.
https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-01-28-24/index.html

Jimbuna

01-28-24, 07:57 AM

Heavy fighting continues for seventh day in the vicinity of hospitals in Khan Younis

Heavy fighting in the vicinity of the Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals in Khan Younis in Gaza has continued into a seventh day Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Palestinian Ministry of Health both said.

The IDF again said it was carrying out "precise operations" against Hamas in the southern city, saying its intelligence indicates members of Hamas are operating inside and around the Nasser and Al-Amal hospitals.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said hospital facilities have over the past week been "under siege" after the Israeli military intensified its operations in Khan Younis.

Oxygen supplies at Al Amal hospital have been depleted and that medical teams are unable to perform surgeries as a result, PRCS warned Sunday. It said it is coordinating with the International Committee of the Red Cross "to explore the possibility of providing a safe passage" so oxygen cylinders can be brought to the hospital.

The IDF said they continue to liaise with hospital directors and medical staff to “ensure that the hospitals can remain operational and accessible.” They said that they have not ordered either hospital to evacuate, but that civilians who wish to do so are able to through a specified corridor.

The Nasser Medical Complex is the largest functioning health facility in Gaza.
https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-01-28-24/index.html

Jimbuna

01-29-24, 01:53 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CfYA8WlIs0

em2nought

01-29-24, 11:49 PM

UK halts aid to UN agency over allegation staff helped Hamas attack

Temporary halt in funding? My gosh, that will surely teach them. :har:

Israeli protesters again block aid trucks from entering through Kerem Shalom crossing

GOOD!

Skybird

01-30-24, 06:29 AM

https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/proportionality-again/

In April 1988, after Iran mined the Persian Gulf to paralyze commerce and security traffic, one of these mines detonated and nearly sank the USS Samuel B. Roberts, a guided-missile frigate, as it was escorting Kuwaiti oil tankers. President Reagan responded with what became known as Operation Praying Mantis, combined surface-ship and air attacks that destroyed much of Iran’s navy. As described by retired U.S. Navy captain William Luti in a Christmas Day Wall Street Journal op-ed (https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-we-deterred-iran-in-the-gulf-last-time-reagan-navy-operation-praying-mantis-580b3c95), the operation remains a case study in effective deterrence.

That operation was textbook proportionality.

Plainly, a proportionate response to Iran’s deadly aggression would be disproportionate to the scope of its aggression. It has to communicate that more of the same will not be tolerated. The opposite is achieved by tit-for-tat — the Biden notion of proportionality. It tells the mullahs that they, rather than we, are in control of the extent of our response and therefore that they merely need to keep their aggression at a level they figure Iran can tolerate.

The point of a response is not to even the score. It is to end the contest.

Jimbuna

01-30-24, 09:34 AM

Israeli forces kill three Palestinian fighters in West Bank hospital raid

Israeli forces have killed three members of Palestinian armed groups in a hospital in the occupied West Bank.

CCTV footage showed members of an undercover unit disguised as medics and other civilians making their way through a corridor with rifles raised.

The Israeli military said the men were hiding in the Jenin hospital, and that one was about to carry out an attack.

The Palestinian Authority's ministry of health accused Israel of carrying out a "new massacre inside hospitals".

Hamas, an armed Palestinian Islamist group which is fighting a war with Israel in Gaza triggered by its unprecedented attacks on Israel on 7 October, said the Israeli forces had "executed three fighters", including one of its members

Another armed group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, said two of those killed were its members and were brothers. It added that one of them had been receiving treatment at the hospital.

The security camera video from Ibn Sina hospital shows several members of the Israeli undercover unit - men and women - hurrying through a corridor, training their weapons left and right. One can be seen taking a piece of clothing of an unidentified person who is kneeling down with his hands behind his head, then covering his head with it.

Tensions have soared in the West Bank since the 7 October attacks, with near daily Israeli arrest raids and clashes with Palestinians. Jenin, a militant stronghold, has been a focus of such raids for months.

Since 7 October, Israeli forces have killed at least 357 Palestinians - militants, civilians and attackers - in the West Bank, while Israeli settlers have killed at least eight, according to the United Nations.

Palestinians from the West Bank have killed at least 10 Israelis in attacks in the West Bank and Israel in the same period.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the Hamas suspect who was killed had "planned a raid attack inspired by the October 7th massacre". On that date, waves of Hamas gunmen invaded Israel from Gaza, killed about 1,300 people - mainly civilians - and took about 250 others back to Gaza as hostages.

The attack triggered Israel's military campaign in Gaza, with the declared aim of destroying Hamas. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 26,600 Palestinians - mostly women and children - have been killed in the Israeli offensive.

The official Palestinian news agency in the West Bank, Wafa, said the three Palestinians in the hospital had been "assassinated".

According to its sources in the hospital, about 10 members of Israeli special forces dressed in civilian clothes went to the third floor, where they killed the men using weapons fitted with silencers.

One of the PIJ members who was killed had been receiving treatment for an injury in the hospital since 25 October, it added.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68137050

mapuc

01-30-24, 09:37 AM

Why didn't I think of it before-The attacks on Civilian vessel and the attack on US-bases has connection to the Israel-Palestine war. So following video should be posted here and not in the Iran thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBGVl2AXSn8&ab_channel=CombatVeteranReacts

Markus

Jimbuna

01-30-24, 09:39 AM

UK considering recognising Palestine state, Lord Cameron says

Britain is ready to bring forward the moment when it formally recognises a Palestinian state, the foreign secretary has suggested.

Lord Cameron said Palestinians had to be given a political horizon to encourage peace in the Middle East.

He is beginning his fourth visit to the region since being appointed foreign secretary in November.

The UK has a responsibility to set out what a Palestinian state would look like, he told a Westminster reception.

The Palestinian people would have to be shown "irreversible progress" towards a two-state solution, Lord Cameron said.

"As that happens, we - with allies - will look at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations," he told the Conservative Middle East Council.

"That could be one of the things that helps to make this process irreversible."

The foreign secretary also urged Israel to allow more humanitarian support into Gaza and said it was "ludicrous" that vital British and other aid was being sent back at the border.

Lord Cameron said the last 30 years had been a story of failure for Israel because it had failed to provide security to its citizens.

Only by recognising that failure, he said, would there be peace and progress.

Britain has long supported a two-state solution, where Israelis and Palestinians could live side by side in separate countries.

But Lord Cameron is suggesting Britain could give formal, diplomatic recognition to a Palestinian state not as part of a final peace deal, but earlier, during the negotiations themselves.

At the same time, there would have to be a new Palestinian authority "stood up quickly" with "technocratic and good leaders" able to govern Gaza, he said.

Lord Cameron added: "Together with that, almost most important of all, is to give the Palestinian people a political horizon so that they can see that there is going to be irreversible progress to a two-state solution and crucially the establishment of a Palestinian state.

"We have a responsibility there because we should be starting to set out what a Palestinian state would look like, what it would comprise, how it would work and crucially, looking at the issue, that as that happens, we with allies will look at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations.

"That could be one of the things that helps to make this process irreversible."

As part of any long-term deal, the foreign secretary said Israel would need to see all hostages released, with a guarantee that Hamas could not launch attacks on Israel and its leadership had left Gaza.

He said a deal would be "difficult" but not impossible.

On the ongoing efforts to end the war in Gaza, Lord Cameron said a pause in the fighting was needed now and there were "hopeful signs" about the negotiations under way.

"There is a path that we can now see opening up where we really can make progress, not just in ending the conflict, but progress in finding a political solution that can mean peace for years rather than peace for months," he said.

The real challenge would be to "turn that pause into a sustainable ceasefire without a return to the fighting, he said.

"That is the prize we should be looking for, and more than that, not just how you go from pause to sustainable ceasefire, but how you go from there to a set of political moves and arrangements that could start to deliver the longer term political solution," Lord Cameron said.

"Although it is incredibly difficult, although efforts in the past have failed, we cannot give up.

"If the last 30 years tells us anything, it is a story of failure.

"Ultimately it is a story of failure for Israel because yes, they had a growing economy, yes they had rising living standards, yes they invested in defence and security and walls and the rest of it, but they couldn't provide what a state most wants, what every family wants, which is security.

"And so the last 30 years has been a failure.

"And it is only by recognising that failure and recognising that true peace and progress will come when the benefits of peace and progress are greater than the benefits of returning to fighting."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68137220

mapuc

02-01-24, 10:20 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfKK1zbUxss&ab_channel=TheJournalist

Markus

Skybird

02-01-24, 10:37 AM

The difference between Israel's past wars and its present war? Its winning the political war for the first time ever.

https://unherd.com/2024/01/israel-is-still-winning-the-political-war/

em2nought

02-01-24, 12:29 PM

UK considering recognising Palestine state, Lord Cameron says

Somebody channeling Chamberlain's ghost? What is it with this modern trend of rewarding bad behavior? Might as well increase funding for the UN at the same time so their employees can participate in more massacres. :har:

The difference between Israel's past wars and its present war? Its winning the political war for the first time ever.

The left is doing all they can to try and turn that around.

Jimbuna

02-01-24, 01:26 PM

Israelis tell British MPs of evidence of Hamas sexual violence

Israelis who dealt with the bodies of victims of Hamas's 7 October attacks on Israel have told British MPs and peers that there was "deliberate, systematic genital mutilation" of female victims and that there was "no question" that some had been sexually assaulted.

Business Secretary and Minister for Women Kemi Badenoch said all the reports must be fully investigated and sexual violence must be condemned. "Rape is not resistance," she stated.

Hamas has denied its gunmen sexually assaulted women during the attacks.

But a senior Israeli police officer said her force had "clear evidence" that rape and other acts of sexual violence had been committed on a scale large enough to define it as a crime against humanity.

Warning: Readers may find some of the details below distressing.

On 7 October, hundreds of Palestinian gunmen from Gaza infiltrated southern Israel, where they killed around 1,300 people - mostly civilians - and took 250 others hostage.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which more than 26,900 people - most of them women and children - have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Many of the MPs and members of the House of Lords who attended Wednesday's meeting in Parliament were in tears as they listened to the testimony of the Israelis.

Shari Mendes, an architect, was called up as a reservist by the Israeli military to help medics identify female bodies brought to the Shura army base after 7 October.

"Many women arrived with bloody, shredded underwear, many arrived with no clothing," she said.

"Our team commander saw several female soldiers who were shot in the vagina, the crotch or they were shot in the breast. This was gratuitous. This was a deliberate, systematic, genital mutilation."

Ms Mendes said her identification unit had seen bodies decapitated or with limbs cut off. "I'm here to be their voice," she said.

Simcha Greiniman was a volunteer for Zaka, an Israeli religious organisation that collects remains of the dead for burial.

He told the BBC he had recovered many bodies after the Hamas attack.

"In one of the houses there was a woman separated from her family. She was in her bedroom leaning on her bed," he recalled.

"She was half naked from the waist down. She was shot in the back of her head... She had a live grenade in her hand."

He described finding another woman who had "nails and different objects in her body, in women's personal places", adding: "It's something you can't imagine."

Mr Greiniman was clear that some of the victims he had seen had been sexually attacked.

"For sure, for sure, there's no question," he said. "I'm the person that dealt with it. I'm the eyes."

"I'm here to say, 'Yes, this is what happened,' and to show the world. We are telling the truth and the world has to understand and do something with it."

His plea to the international community was to understand that it had happened and not push it away, and to put those in charge behind bars. "They have to pay for what they did," he said.

Neither Ms Mendes nor Mr Greiniman are experts on sexual violence, but their testimony is in line with the evidence that the Israeli government says has been collected from forensic investigations as well as from hundreds of statements by witnesses and first responders.

Chief Superintendent Mirit Ben Mayor of the Israel Police told the Parliamentarians that it had not been easy to collect evidence because of the many different locations and because people had been murdered.

But she said: "There is clear evidence that rape and sexual violence offences were committed against the victims. We are investigating crimes against humanity."

The BBC has also seen and heard evidence that women were raped and mutilated. It includes video testimony from an eyewitness at the Nova music festival, videos of naked and bloodied women filmed by Hamas gunmen, and photographs of bodies taken at the scenes of a number of attacks.

The cousin of 19-year-old female hostage Agam Berger told the meeting that they had to bring home the more than 100 Israelis and foreign nationals believed to still be held captive in Gaza.

Ashley Waxman Bakshi said she did not even know if her cousin wanted to stay alive after being held for so long.

"You can clearly understand our worry with every minute that passes when our women and girls are in the hands of these monsters, if they were able to do this in eight hours or 12 hours on 7 October," she said. "They have been there for 117 days. What if they are pregnant?"

Kemi Badenoch said the UK stood in solidarity with all the victims. She also called on international organisations to do more to be clear in their condemnation of sexual violence against Israelis, saying there must not be double standards.

Israeli officials and activists have complained that leaders of the UN and other international organisations have been slow to respond to the allegations.

On Monday, the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, arrived in Israel on a visit to "give voice to survivors, witnesses, recently released hostages and those affected; to identify avenues for support, including justice and accountability; and to gather, analyse and verify information".

In a message to victims, their families and witnesses published by the Israeli presidency, Ms Patten said: "Please come forward, please break your silence, because your silence will be the licence of those perpetrators."

"We really want to ensure that [victims] have justice so that we put an end to this heinous act," she added.

Two UN human rights experts said earlier this month that the reported acts of sexual violence constituted "gross violations of international law, amounting to war crimes which, given the number of victims and the extensive premeditation and planning of the attacks, may also qualify as crimes against humanity".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68162920

Jimbuna

02-02-24, 10:13 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v91MfIwuLxI

Jimbuna

02-03-24, 07:43 AM

Hamas is expected to respond soon to a proposal that includes hostage releases

A senior Hamas official says the group will respond “very soon” to a proposal that includes extended pauses in Gaza fighting and phased exchanges of Hamas-held hostages for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

The official told The Associated Press on Friday a lasting cease-fire is the most important component for Hamas, and that everything else can be negotiated.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/hamas-ap-israel-gaza-palestinians-b2489362.html

Jimbuna

02-04-24, 02:38 PM

Western officials in protest over Israel Gaza policy

More than 800 serving officials in the US and Europe have signed a statement warning that their own governments' policies on the Israel-Gaza war could amount to "grave violations of international law".

The "transatlantic statement", a copy of which was passed to the BBC, says their administrations risk being complicit in "one of the worst human catastrophes of this century" but that their expert advice has been sidelined.

It is the latest sign of significant levels of dissent within the governments of some of Israel's key Western allies.

One signatory to the statement, a US government official with more than 25 years' national security experience, told the BBC of the "continued dismissal" of their concerns.

"The voices of those who understand the region and the dynamics were not listened to," said the official.

"What's really different here is we're not failing to prevent something, we're actively complicit. That is fundamentally different from any other situation I can recall," added the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The statement is signed by civil servants from the US, the EU and 11 European countries including the UK, France and Germany.

It says Israel has shown "no boundaries" in its military operations in Gaza, "which has resulted in tens of thousands of preventable civilian deaths; and… the deliberate blocking of aid… putting thousands of civilians at risk of starvation and slow death."

"There is a plausible risk that our governments' policies are contributing to grave violations of international law, war crimes and even ethnic cleansing or genocide," it said.

The identities of those who signed or endorsed the statement have not been made public and the BBC has not seen a list of names, but understands that nearly half are officials who each have at least a decade of experience in government.

One retired US ambassador told the BBC that the coordination by dissenting civil servants in multiple governments was unprecedented.

"It's unique in my experience watching foreign policy in the last 40 years," said Robert Ford, a former American ambassador to Algeria and Syria.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68177357

Jimbuna

02-05-24, 02:50 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8gZp7Yh3vg

Jimbuna

02-06-24, 02:09 PM

Hamas has replied to a proposal aimed at the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza and a sustained cessation in fighting, Qatar and the United States announced Tuesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US is reviewing Hamas' response, adding that he will discuss the proposal with Israel Wednesday as part of his current Middle East tour.

In Gaza, aid workers have raised concerns over any expanded Israeli military operation south toward Rafah, where satellite images show a makeshift tent city estimated to house more than 1 million civilians displaced by the war.

Israel's defense minister said Hamas' leadership is "on the run." A Hamas spokesperson said the group's fighters were "still operating in all areas" of the enclave.

Jimbuna

02-07-24, 02:09 PM

Gaza ceasefire: Israel's PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejects Hamas's proposed terms

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected Hamas's proposed ceasefire terms - saying "total victory" in Gaza is possible within months.

He was speaking after Hamas laid out a series of demands in response to an Israel-backed ceasefire proposal.

He said negotiations with the group were "not going anywhere" and described their terms as "bizarre".

Talks between negotiators are continuing.

"There is no other solution but a complete and final victory," Mr Netanyahu told a press conference on Wednesday.

"If Hamas will survive in Gaza, it's only a question of time until the next massacre."

He added that Israeli forces have been ordered to prepare to operate in the southern Gaza city of Rafah - where thousands of Palestinians have fled in order to escape the fighting.

The United Nations has warned of many more civilian casualties if fighting escalates in Rafah.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told the Reuters news agency that Mr Netanyahu's remarks show he intends to pursue the conflict in the region and "are a form of political bravado".

"The movement [Hamas] is prepared to deal with all options," Mr Abu Zuhri said.

An Egyptian official source told the BBC that a new round of negotiations is expected to start tomorrow in Cairo, sponsored by Egypt and Qatar.

Egypt calls on all parties to show the necessary flexibility to reach a calm agreement, the source said.

On Tuesday, Hamas had put forward a counter-offer to a ceasefire proposal backed by Israel and the US, and mediated by Qatar and Egypt.

A draft of the Hamas document seen by Reuters news agency listed these terms:

Phase one: A 45-day pause in fighting during which all Israeli women hostages, males under 19, the elderly and sick would be exchanged for Palestinian women and children held in Israeli jails. Israeli forces would withdraw from populated areas of Gaza, and the reconstruction of hospitals and refugee camps would begin.

Phase two: Remaining male Israeli hostages would be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and Israeli forces leave Gaza completely.

Phase three: Both sides would exchange remains and bodies.

The proposed deal would also see deliveries of food and other aid to Gaza increase. By the end of the 135-day pause in fighting, Hamas said negotiations to end the war would have concluded.

Around 1,300 people were killed during the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on 7 October last year.

More than 27,700 Palestinians have been killed and at least 65,000 injured by the war launched by Israel in response, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68232883

Jimbuna

02-08-24, 01:49 PM

The Guardian view on an Israeli assault on Rafah: Gaza’s people have no place to run

The last refuge is no longer a refuge. Around half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have found some kind of shelter in Rafah, often under canvas, raising the border city’s population fivefold. Now, though desperate, traumatised and exhausted, many are readying to flee again.

Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israeli troops will soon enter, despite warnings from António Guterres, the UN secretary general, that it would “increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences”. Strikes on the city appeared to be intensifying on Thursday.

The UN has warned that a ground offensive could lead to war crimes. It is hard to see how devastating civilian casualties would not result, given what has happened in less crowded areas. Israel said in late January that it had killed only about 30% of Hamas fighters – around 10,000, including 1,000 killed in the group’s murderous attack on 7 October, which claimed 1,200 mostly Israeli lives. The total death toll stands at 27,000 people, more than 11,000 of them children. Another 66,000 have been injured. A quarter of the population is starving.

Israel has reportedly told Egypt that it will allow people to leave Rafah before it moves in. But not everyone is capable of fleeing again, and there is nowhere safe to go. Some of those who have tried to leave the city in recent days have not been heard of since making the attempt. Fierce fighting continues in the Gazan city of Khan Younis. Overall, more than half of Gaza is still under evacuation orders, and Israel has said that fighting will continue in the north, where it had previously said operations were completed, due to the reappearance of Hamas combatants and officials.

Where fighting has ceased, a wasteland is left. Homes, schools, bakeries, hospitals, mosques, churches, sewage infrastructure, aid centres – all erased from the earth. In the words of one witness: “It’s like after an atomic bomb.” The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has also complained that it has not been able to deliver aid to the north for more than a fortnight. A major ground offensive in Rafah threatens to cut off Gaza’s lifeline completely, since aid comes via the city’s crossing with Egypt.

Meanwhile, each day of war increases the need for those deliveries. The US has, belatedly, invested heavily in attempts to pursue a ceasefire and the release of hostages. Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, said the Hamas counteroffer to proposals from the US and Israel contained clear non-starters, but offered “space to pursue negotiations”. However, Mr Netanyahu’s response made it clear that American shuttle diplomacy is of limited use while Washington’s pressure essentially amounts to urging and imploring. He insisted that “absolute victory” is needed, and that there will be months more fighting. Nor is the prime minister willing to listen to freed hostages, and relatives of those still held, as they plead for a deal. The extreme right, upon whom he depends for political survival, would not tolerate such an agreement.

Mr Netanyahu is far from being the only obstacle on the Israeli side to a ceasefire and the release of hostages. But there can be little if any progress while he remains at the helm. He is too busy pursuing his personal interests to serve his country’s. That means, frighteningly, that the least grim scenario for Rafah now looks like further mass displacement and a deepening humanitarian disaster.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/08/the-guardian-view-on-an-israeli-assault-on-rafah-gazas-people-have-no-place-to-run

Jimbuna

02-09-24, 02:22 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tQOHeeO-7A

Jimbuna

02-09-24, 02:46 PM

Israel-Gaza war: US says it will not back unplanned Rafah offensive

The US has warned Israel that staging a military offensive into Gaza's southern city of Rafah without proper planning would be a "disaster".

Some 1.5 million Palestinians are surviving in the city bordering Egypt in dire humanitarian conditions.

The White House said it would not support major operations without due consideration for the refugees there.

The comments come days after Israel's leader said the military had been told to prepare to operate in Rafah.

Speaking on Thursday evening, and without referring to Rafah, US President Joe Biden said Israel's actions in Gaza had been "over the top".

Reported Israeli air strikes on Gaza on Friday killed at least 15 people including eight in Rafah, officials from the Hamas-run health ministry said. Israel did not immediately comment.

Salem El-Rayyes, a freelance journalist living at a camp for displaced people in Rafah, said children were among those killed when an air strike hit a house nearby. Bodies of the victims "flew from the third floor", he told Reuters.

Most of the people in Rafah have been displaced by fighting from other parts of Gaza and are living in tents.

Garda al-Kourd, a mother-of-two who said she had been displaced six times during the war, said she was expecting an Israeli assault but hoped there would be a ceasefire agreement before it happened.

"If they come to Rafah, it will be the end for us, like we are waiting for death. We have no other place to go," she told the BBC from a relative's house in Rafah where she was living with 20 other people.

The head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, told the BBC that such an operation in Rafah - which he called "the world's biggest displacement camp" - would be a catastrophe.

"There are people on their flimsy plastic sheeting. They are fighting for food. There is no drinking water. There is epidemic disease and then they [the IDF] want to bring a war to this place. You can't make it up really," he said.

Much of northern and central Gaza has been reduced to ruins by sustained Israeli bombardment since the war began on 7 October.

Earlier, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the Israeli military had a "special obligation as they conduct operations there or anywhere else to make sure that they're factoring in protection for innocent civilian life".

"Military operations right now would be a disaster for those people and it's not something that we would support," he said, adding that the US had not seen anything to suggest Israel was going to launch a major operation in Rafah imminently.

Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel echoed Mr Kirby's comments, saying: ''We [the US] would not support the undertaking of something like this without serious and credible planning."

Asked by the BBC where refugees in Rafah should go in the event of an operation, Mr Patel said these were "legitimate questions that we believe the Israelis should answer".

Speaking in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said any "military operation that Israel undertakes needs to put civilians first and foremost... and that's especially true in the case of Rafah".

It is rare for the US, a key ally and military backer of Israel, to talk about any forthcoming stages of the country's military offensive in Gaza - but this was a clear warning.

Washington sends around $3.8bn (£3bn) in military aid to Israel each year, making the country the world's biggest recipient of such funding.

Around 1,300 people were killed during the Hamas attacks on southern Israel on 7 October, according to Israeli officials.

More than 27,800 Palestinians have been killed and at least 67,000 injured by the war launched by Israel in response, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

"They are living in overcrowded makeshift shelters, in unsanitary conditions, without running water, electricity and adequate food supplies," was the stark assessment of the situation by UN chief António Guterres on Thursday.

"We were clear in condemning the horrific acts of Hamas. We are also clear in condemning the violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza."

On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered troops to "prepare to operate" in Rafah and that "total victory" by Israel over Hamas was just months away.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68247050

Jimbuna

02-10-24, 12:23 PM

Gaza residents surviving off animal feed and rice as food dwindles

People living in the isolated north of Gaza have told the BBC that children are going without food for days, as aid convoys are increasingly denied permits to enter. Some residents have resorted to grinding animal feed into flour to survive, but even stocks of those grains are now dwindling, they say.

People have also described digging down into the soil to access water pipes, for drinking and washing.

The UN has warned that acute malnutrition among young children in the north has risen sharply, and is now above the critical threshold of 15%.

The UN's humanitarian coordination agency, Ocha, says more than half the aid missions to the north of Gaza were denied access last month, and that there is increasing interference from Israeli forces in how and where aid is delivered.

It says 300,000 people estimated to be living in northern areas are largely cut off from assistance, and face a growing risk of famine.

A spokesman for the Israeli military agency tasked with coordinating aid access in Gaza said in a briefing last month that there was "no starvation in Gaza. Period." The agency, Cogat, has repeatedly said it does not limit the amount of humanitarian aid sent to Gaza.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68239320

Skybird

02-10-24, 04:45 PM

This story has the potential to seriously backfire against Israel.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68180642

No happy end.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68261286

It could turn the public opinion in the West completely.

Meanwhile, Israel reports that it has found HAMAS tunnels under the UNRWA headquarters. UNRWA employs 10-12 thousand people, virtually all of whom are Palestinian Arabs. 1200-1500 of them are now listed as appointed Hamas members. The UNRWA scandal started with only 12 or 15 Hamas members being exposed.

UNRWA must get dismantled, like Hamas. The whole UN blue helmet mission should be gone. In past Lebanon wars UN soldiers radioed reprts on Israeli acitvites over unprotected radio networks, allowing Hezbollah to listen to them, too, and learn intel from them. That makes the UN not neutral observers, but a war party. But that is nothing new. The UN always was predominantly anti-Israel and is pro-Islam.

mapuc

02-10-24, 05:09 PM

Why is it that a picture or story of a little girls fate in a dangerous situation makes us sad and more eager to help, than if it was a picture or story of a middle age man ?

It sadden me seeing all this dead and destruction whether it is in Gaza or in Ukraine.

Another thing - Can somebody confirm this story. I do know BBC is a reliable source

I know from life experience that people has a tendency to become more sad/mad/angry when a little girl is harmed

Hamas are in big problems so they need some help and this story came as a gift.

I'm not saying it's untrue, however I need a second and a third source of information.

This is how I see it.

Markus

Skybird

02-10-24, 05:42 PM

Me too thought about manipulation, and even AI editing. Such things must be expected these days. Also, bias making the media house rpeorting prone to propaganda manipualtion. German media for example all the time uncritically copy info given by Hamas speakers and officials, without labelling the source as such, and they treat this info a "fact" from then on. It has already several times exploded them into their faces.

Skybird

02-11-24, 05:16 AM

Not that it means too much, but I nevertheless wondered what took them so long. Families of Israeli hostages move to sue Hamas leadership at The Hague.

Jimbuna

02-11-24, 08:53 AM

Warnings over Rafah offensive mount as Israel plans push in Gaza

Israel is facing growing international warnings over its planned offensive in Rafah - the city in southern Gaza crammed with Palestinian refugees.

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said "over half of Gaza's population are sheltering in the area", while Dutch FM Hanke Bruins Slot said there could be "many civilian casualties".

Saudi Arabia warned of "very serious repercussions" if Rafah was stormed.

Gaza's Hamas rulers said there could be "tens of thousands" of casualties.

On Sunday Hamas warned any operation would also undermine ongoing talks about a possible release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza.

Israel launched its operations in the Palestinian enclave after more than 1,200 people were killed in southern Israel on 7 October by Hamas gunmen, who also took about 240 people hostage.

On Sunday the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said 112 more Palestinians had been killed by the Israeli military over the previous day, bringing the overall death toll to more than 28,100 and more than 67,500 injured.

Many Gazans have ended up in Rafah having been forced to flee their homes elsewhere at least once.

Saturday's warnings came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his military to prepare to evacuate civilians from the city ahead of an expanded offensive against Hamas.

"It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war without eliminating Hamas, and by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah. It is clear that intense activity in Rafah requires that civilians evacuate the areas of combat," Mr Netanyahu's office said.

The prime minister also rejected Hamas's latest proposed ceasefire terms.

The US has already warned Israel that an invasion of Rafah as part of its assault on Gaza would be a "disaster", while the EU and the UN both expressed their own concerns.

Aid groups say it is not possible to evacuate everyone from the city on the border with Egypt.

UN humanitarian co-ordinator Jamie McGoldrick, who has just been to Gaza to assess the situation, told the BBC's Barbara Plett Usher that people in Rafah would have "nowhere to go" if Israeli troops launched their offensive.

"The safe areas that were declared are no longer safe. And if these people have to move - where can they move? We are really fearful of the horrific nature of where we are could only ever get worse," he said.

Some 1.5 million Palestinians are believed to be in Rafah, seeking refuge from Israeli combat operations in the rest of the Gaza Strip. Most of them are living in tents.

In a social media post, Mr Cameron said he was "deeply concerned about the prospect of a military offensive in Rafah.

"The priority must be an immediate pause in the fighting to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire."

Meanwhile, Ms Bruins Slot described the situation in Rafah as "very worrying".

"Many civilians in Gaza have fled south. Hard to see how large-scale military operations in such a densely populated area would not lead to many civilian casualties and a bigger humanitarian catastrophe. This is unjustifiable," she added.

Also on Saturday, the Saudi foreign ministry issued a statement that warned against "targeting the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, which is the last resort for hundreds of thousands of civilians forced by the brutal Israeli aggression to flee".

The ministry also repeated its "demand for an immediate ceasefire".

In other developments on Saturday:

At least five Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Rafah, according to the Palestinian news agency, Wafa
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its air force killed two Hamas operatives in the southern city
The IDF also said it discovered a tunnel shaft near a school run by the relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) that was leading to an "underground terrorist tunnel beneath UNRWA's main headquarters"
UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini denied any knowledge of a Hamas tunnel near the agency's office - a building which he said his staff vacated months ago
A six-year-old girl who went missing in Gaza City last month was found dead with several of her relatives and two paramedics - after appearing to come under fire from Israeli tanks
The BBC is unable to independently verify many battlefield claims made during the course of the war.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68266335

Jimbuna

02-12-24, 08:25 AM

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says Israeli strikes kill 67 people in the overcrowded city of Rafah.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled to Rafah, at the southern edge of the Strip, after months of fighting in Gaza.

Overall, the health ministry in Gaza says 164 people have been killed in the past day.

In Rafah, a doctor tells the BBC the "most popular question on people’s minds is, where can we go?"

Israel says it carried out a "wave of strikes" while rescuing two hostages from the second floor of a building in Rafah.

The Israeli military says Fernando Simon Marman, 60, and Louis Har, 70, are in "good medical condition"

Israel launched its operations in Gaza after Hamas killed more than 1,200 people on 7 October, and took 253 people hostage.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 67,500 injured since then.

Jimbuna

02-12-24, 09:14 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4ZT_eAMCpQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cb4puEKc1c

Jimbuna

02-13-24, 11:10 AM

Biden says Israel must protect vulnerable in Rafah

US President Joe Biden has said civilians who are "packed" into Rafah in the Gaza Strip are "exposed and vulnerable" and must be protected.

Israel must make "credible" efforts to protect the more than one million Palestinians sheltering in the southern Gazan city, he said.

Rafah has come under heavy Israeli air strikes in recent days, with a number of casualties reported.

A Palestinian doctor told the BBC people in Rafah were living in fear.

Last week, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he had ordered troops to prepare to expand its ground operation to Rafah. He vowed to defeat Hamas gunmen hiding in the city.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk said any assault would be "terrifying" and many civilians "will likely be killed".

More than half of the Gaza Strip's population of 2.3 million is now crammed into the city on the border with Egypt, which was home to only 250,000 people before the war between Israel and Hamas erupted in October.

Many of the displaced people are living in makeshift shelters or tents in squalid conditions, with scarce access to safe drinking water or food.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68281213

In an ideal world Israel would like everyone moved into Egypt but that is a non starter as far as the Egyptians are concerned.

Jimbuna

02-13-24, 11:41 AM

Ceasefire talks resume as Rafah under fire

Negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza have resumed in Cairo, Egyptian media say.

Senior officials from the US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar are meeting as Israel faces strong international pressure to stop its bombardment of the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

About 1.5 million people are crammed into this small border town, amid fears of an Israeli ground offensive.

Israel's PM rejected as "delusional" ceasefire proposals by Hamas last week.

Benjamin Netanyahu said "total victory" was possible in Gaza within months.

He later ordered Israeli troops to prepare to expand their ground operation, and vowed to defeat Hamas gunmen hiding in Rafah.

But UN human rights chief Volker Türk said any assault on the city would be "terrifying" and many civilians "will likely be killed".

US President Joe Biden has called for civilians in the area to be protected.

Rafah has come under heavy Israeli air strikes in recent days, with deaths and injuries reported.

The discussions in Cairo are continuing despite Israel's rejection of Hamas's terms.

Mr Netanyahu has sent his intelligence chief, David Barnea, to the talks to try to make further progress - Israeli media said he did so under American pressure.

He is joined by the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency William Burns, Egyptian intelligence officials and Qatar's Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani.

There is a framework for a temporary truce on the table, involving releasing Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and a period of calm.

Qatar and Egypt, with US support, have been going back and forth between Israel and Hamas to try to broker a deal.

Israel says 130 hostages are still unaccounted for out of the 253 taken by Hamas-led gunmen during the 7 October attacks on southern Israel. A number of hostages have been released - including most recently two male Israeli-Argentines - but some have died.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68284819

Jimbuna

02-14-24, 11:08 AM

UN warns of 'slaughter' if Israel launches ground assault on Rafah

A top UN official has warned an Israeli assault on Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, could lead to a "slaughter".

Humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said Palestinians in Gaza were already suffering an "assault that is unparalleled in its intensity, brutality and scope".

The consequences of an invasion of Rafah would be "catastrophic", he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to defeat Hamas gunmen he says are hiding in the city.

In an unusually strongly worded statement, Mr Griffiths said over a million people were "crammed in Rafah, staring death in the face". He said civilians in the city had little food or access to medicine and "nowhere safe to go".

An Israeli invasion of the city, he added, would "leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death's door".

A spokesperson for UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the BBC's Newshour programme the UN had not received any Rafah evacuation plans from Israel and would not participate in any forced evacuation.

Stephane Dujarric said: "The United Nations will not be party to any forced displacement of people."

Rafah is a small city in the south of the Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt. Before the war it was home to around 250,000 people, but since Israel ordered civilians to evacuate south its population has swelled to an estimated 1.5 million.

Many are living in tents in desperate conditions and say they have nowhere to go.

Rafah has come under heavy Israeli air strikes in recent days, with at least 67 people killed there on Monday according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Mr Griffiths also said humanitarian workers working in Gaza had been "shot at, held at gunpoint, attacked and killed" because of the breakdown in law and order.

His statement came as negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza resumed in Cairo.

Senior officials from the US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar met on Tuesday, as pressure mounted on Israel from the international community not to invade Rafah.

Mr Guterres said that hoped the talks would be successful so as to avoid an Israeli attack on the city.

But subsequent statements following the meeting from the Egyptian State Information Service indicated there had been no breakthrough.

It said the meeting "confirmed the extreme danger of escalating operations in Rafah in southern Gaza and warned of the serious consequences of such an action", but made no announcement of progress towards peace.

US President Joe Biden has warned Israel that civilians must be protected. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron has told Israel to "stop and think seriously" before attacking Rafah.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68287513

Jimbuna

02-15-24, 09:32 AM

The Israeli military says it is carrying out a "precise and limited mission" in Nasser hospital in Khan Younis.

The Israel Defense Forces says it has "credible intelligence", including from released hostages, that Hamas held hostages at the hospital in southern Gaza.

It adds that it has apprehended a number of suspects, after earlier claiming that "terrorists appear to have been operating from within the hospital". Hamas has dismissed Israel's claims as "lies"

The IDF adds that it contacted the director of the hospital on Tuesday calling for the immediate end of "all Hamas terrorist activity" within the facility.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says Israel forced people to leave, as well as using a bulldozer to demolish a wall and turn the hospital into a barracks.

Footage shows medical staff working under gunfire, with Nasser hospital sources telling the BBC one patient has been killed.

Israel ordered civilians sheltering at the hospital to leave on Wednesday.

Doctors at the hospital say a number of people have been killed by Israeli sniper fire there in recent days.

Jimbuna

02-15-24, 09:53 AM

Special forces entered the hospital and began what Israel describes as a "precise and limited mission"

The IDF says the aim is to find and return bodies of hostages it believes are hidden inside the medical complex. This information, the IDF says, is based on its own “credible evidence”

Chaotic scenes are being reported from inside and around the hospital, where many displaced people are said to be sheltering.

Hamas rejects the IDF’s accusations, saying claims about hostages being held inside Nasser are "lies"

Intensive care patients are reportedly in “grave danger”, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. But the IDF says "there is no obligation for patients or staff to evacuate"

This morning’s raid comes amid warnings from heads of aid agencies, who made impassioned appeals to UN member states to do their utmost to prevent an Israeli ground operation in Rafah, the border city 7km (4.5 miles) from Nasser.

There are estimated to be more than 1.4 million people sheltering inside Rafah - prior to the 7 October attack it held a population of 250,000

Jimbuna

02-16-24, 02:30 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRqQWAJ9H9c

Jimbuna

02-16-24, 02:57 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ-QIyKF7K0

Jimbuna

02-17-24, 09:38 AM

Satellite images show construction on Egypt's border

Satellite images appear to show extensive construction work in progress along Egypt's border with Gaza, which reports claim is being carried out in preparation for housing Palestinian refugees.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68317541

Jimbuna

02-18-24, 09:48 AM

Latest ceasefire talks not very promising - Qatar

Talks to agree a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza were "not very promising" in recent days, mediator Qatar has said.

Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said he remained optimistic, but added "time is not in our favour".

It comes as Israel's prime minister said he would press ahead with plans for a Rafah ground invasion, despite growing international pressure.

Hamas has blamed Israel for a lack of progress in achieving a ceasefire deal.

Talks have been taking place in Cairo as senior officials from the US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar meet to try to broker a pause in fighting.

"The pattern in the last few days [is] not really very promising but, as I always repeat, we will always remain optimistic and will always remain pushing," said Sheik Mohammed, speaking at a meeting of world leaders at the Munich Security Conference.

"I believe in this agreement we are talking at a bigger scale and we still see some difficulties on the humanitarian part of these negotiations," he added.

But he said a truce should not be dependent on a deal to release the hostages held by Hamas.

"This is the dilemma that we've been in and unfortunately that's been misused by a lot of countries - that in order to get a ceasefire, it's conditional to have the hostage deal," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he sent negotiators following a request from US President Joe Biden, but added they did not return for further discussions because Hamas's demands were "delusional".

The group has laid out a series of demands, including the exchange of hostages for Palestinian prisoners, full withdrawal of Israel's forces and an end to the war after a 135-day pause in fighting, broken into three phases.

Israel launched its military offensive after Hamas-led gunmen killed at least 1,200 people and seized 253 hostages in a surprise attack on its territory on 7 October.

The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 28,800 people, mainly women and children - have been killed in Israel's campaign.

Speaking in Jerusalem on Saturday, Mr Netanyahu reiterated his aims of destroying Hamas and said his forces would fight until Israel achieved "total victory".

He said those urging against military action in Rafah, the southern-most Gazan city where some 1.5 million people have fled, were effectively telling the country to "lose the war", adding that his troops would enter even if a hostage deal was reached.

In the earlier days of the war, Israel had instructed Palestinians to seek refuge in Rafah as the Israeli military moved against the northern cities.

Israeli authorities this week said they wanted civilians to relocate to what they call a "humanitarian zone" - a thin strip of mainly agricultural land along the Mediterranean coast known as al-Mawasi.

President Biden has urged Israel not to launch an offensive in Rafah without a plan to keep civilians safe.

Mr Netanyahu is also facing pressure domestically to bring home the hostages who remain in Gaza.

Thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday calling for early elections, which are not scheduled until 2026. Israel's prime minister dismissed similar calls from within his own ruling Likud party for an election immediately after the conflict with Gaza had ended, saying it would "immediately divide us".

Meanwhile, Hamas has blamed Israel for a lack of progress in achieving a ceasefire deal and threatened to suspend its involvement unless relief supplies are brought into the north of Gaza. Aid agencies say they are increasingly concerned about the lack of food, water and medicine in the territory.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68326788

Jimbuna

02-18-24, 10:20 AM

WHO says Gaza's Nasser hospital not functional after Israel raids

The World Health Organization has said Gaza's Nasser hospital has ceased to function following an Israeli raid.

Israel Defense Force (IDF) troops entered the complex on Thursday, saying intelligence indicated hostages taken by Hamas were being held there.

The WHO said it had not been allowed to enter the site to assess the situation.

The IDF has described its operation in Nasser as "precise and limited" and accused Hamas of "cynically using hospitals for terror".

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "Nasser hospital in Gaza is not functional anymore, after a week-long siege followed by the ongoing raid."

"Both yesterday and the day before, the WHO team was not permitted to enter the hospital to assess the conditions of the patients and critical medical needs, despite reaching the hospital compound to deliver fuel alongside partners," he said.

"There are still about 200 patients in the hospital. At least 20 need to be urgently referred to other hospitals to receive health care; medical referral is every patient's right."

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says only four medical staff were left in the hospital trying to care for the remaining patients.

One source inside the hospital, who did not want to be named, told BBC News that 11 patients had died due to interruptions in the supply of electricity and oxygen, and that several doctors had been arrested.

Yesterday, the Israeli military said its troops had been told to keep the hospital running and that food and water had been delivered. Asked about the state of the hospital this morning, an army spokesman said only that they were checking.

Fighting has raged around the Nasser site for weeks. Israel has repeatedly claimed Hamas is using hospitals, along with schools, as operational bases.

The Israeli military says it has killed about 20 Hamas fighters and seized numerous weapons in the area of the hospital.

"Over the past day, dozens of terrorists were eliminated and large quantities of weapons were seized," the IDF said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68330579

Jimbuna

02-19-24, 09:58 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAQMOco_WSc

Jimbuna

02-19-24, 10:52 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZBTM_gZD9M

Skybird

02-20-24, 06:13 AM

The drone warfare in Ukraine serves as a precedence.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/unmanned-houthi-submarines-pose-new-threat-us-warships/story?id=107343473

Jimbuna

02-20-24, 06:45 AM

US calls for temporary ceasefire in UN text

The US has proposed a draft resolution at the UN Security Council which calls for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza.

It has also warned Israel against invading the overcrowded city of Rafah.

The US has previously avoided the word "ceasefire" during UN votes on the war, but President Joe Biden has made similar comments.

However, the US plans to veto another draft resolution - from Algeria - which calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire.

More than a million displaced Palestinians, who represent about half of Gaza's population, are crammed into Rafah after being forced to seek shelter there.

The southern city, which borders Egypt, was home to only 250,000 people before the war.

Many of the displaced are living in makeshift shelters or tents in squalid conditions, with scarce access to safe drinking water or food.

The UN has issued its own warning that a planned Israeli offensive in the city could lead to a "slaughter".

Israel launched its operations in Gaza following an attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 others taken hostage.

The Israeli military campaign has killed 29,000 people in the Palestinian territory, according to the Hamas-run health ministry there.

Washington has come under immense international pressure to use its leverage to rein in Israel's devastating operations, having spent much of the war emphasising its ally's right to self-defence.

While it has vowed to block the Algerian draft, its rival text does register opposition to Israel's plans.

Talks will begin on the US draft this week, but it is not clear when or if the proposal might be put to a vote. Under the UN charter, members "agree to accept and carry out" decisions made by the Security Council - in contrast with decisions made at the General Assembly, which are non-binding.

It is the first time the US has called for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza at the UN, having vetoed previous resolutions using the word.

The US draft also states that a major ground offensive in Rafah would result in more harm to civilians and their further displacement, including potentially into neighbouring countries - a reference to Egypt.

It also says such a move would have serious implications for regional peace and security.

The draft resolution calls for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable, echoing remarks by President Joe Biden in his conversations with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week.

Mr Netanyahu has so far resisted international pressure to reconsider the plan - vowing to rescue remaining hostages and defeat Hamas throughout Gaza.

Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has warned the manoeuvre will be launched unless Hamas frees all its hostages by 10 March. The date marks the start of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting.

The Arab group of nations says the Security Council cannot turn a deaf ear to the pleas of the international community demanding a ceasefire.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68346027

Skybird

02-20-24, 06:57 AM

The Israeli position makes more sense to me: free all hostages until March 10, and then we consider to not have an offensive on Rafah. Once again Western domestic party policies ruin something bigger than themselves: Biden wants to appease the left in his party.

Why is it that nboody has üprosoed pressure and forceful measures against Hamas to have the freeing the hostages? All there is is appeals. They even want to reward them with an independent state. While both Hamas and Fatah deny Israel's right to exist as a state. Some people seem to not know what the term reciprocity means. Israel has withdrawn from Gazah many yeras ago, and what was the result? The following year already Gazah started to lob missiles into Israel.

Israel would be suicidally insane if it accepts a two state solution. Thats just Western stupidity at work once again.

The militant settlers and conservative Jews invading into West Jordan however must be stopped and held back, too.

There are two kinds of walls in nations and in politics. One wall is to keep one's own people inside. We had that in Germany. The other kind of wall is to keep two sides from going for each other's throats. If nothing else works, that is an acceptable scenario.

Jimbuna

02-20-24, 06:59 AM

'Evacuating was a mistake': Israelis push to return to border homes

Ayelet Kohn and Shachar Shnurman harvested the grapefruits this month - a defiant act of normality amid the burnt-out remains of their neighbours' homes.

The juice, sharp and vivid, is stored in plastic bottles for the weekly barbecues at their home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Soldiers are their only guests.

Kfar Aza - only 2km (1.2 miles) from Gaza - was one of the first places targeted by Hamas gunmen on 7 October, in co-ordinated attacks that killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel, and saw more than 240 others taken hostage.

In the days that followed, the community was evacuated to hotels and apartments in other parts of Israel.

Ayelet and Shachar are the first to move back.

"In the evening, it's very lonely," Ayelet says. "You used to see people walking along the road, coming in to say hello - obviously that's not happening now."

During the day, the kibbutz is full of visiting groups: new army recruits, potential donors, journalists, humanitarian organisations.

Kfar Aza has become a kind of museum - its burned and broken houses left frozen on the day of the attack, their entrances roped-off; debris and belongings scattered across the ground.

When the tour groups leave, the couple sit on their veranda, the silence broken only by the whine of Israeli army drones and the regular boom of outgoing artillery. The kibbutz dark, the houses empty.

Ayelet points to the house opposite and to another further up the road.

"Our next-door neighbour, who was a very good friend, was murdered," she says. "It's a constant reminder of all the others."

So far, they are the only members of the kibbutz to move back full-time.

The shock of 7 October is still fresh for many residents here. And the ongoing war in Gaza, sparked by those attacks, is close enough that the destruction in places like Beit Hanoun is visible from the kibbutz border fence.

The challenge for the Israeli prime minister is how to restore a sense of security, as the costs of the country's displaced communities - both political and financially - rise, month by month.

After the attacks, 200,000 people were evacuated from Israel's border areas - both the southern border with Gaza and the northern border with Lebanon, where the Iran-backed group Hezbollah, in support of Hamas, has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu built a political career on being the strongman who could defend Israel from its enemies. Empty border communities are a daily reminder of that failure to protect.

"We bought into the con," Ayelet says. "Maybe they convinced themselves that what they were saying was the truth. But, obviously, it was a lie. And we all bought into it."

After the war is over, she says, something will have to change.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68338551

Jimbuna

02-21-24, 02:12 PM

China condemns US veto of call for immediate ceasefire at UN

China has sharply criticised the US for vetoing a United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Beijing said the move sent the "wrong message" and effectively gave a "green light to the continued slaughter".

The White House said the Algerian-proposed resolution would "jeopardise" talks to end the war.

The US has proposed its own temporary ceasefire resolution, which also warned Israel not to invade the city of Rafah.

Algeria's resolution was backed by 13 of the 15 members of the UN Security Council - with the UK abstaining.

Under the council's rules, any resolution that is vetoed by one of its five permanent members - which includes the US - is immediately thrown out.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68355436

Jimbuna

02-22-24, 09:38 AM

UK aid supplies air-dropped into Gaza for first time

The UK has air-dropped aid into Gaza for the first time since war broke out after striking a deal with Jordan.

Four tonnes of supplies including medicines, food and fuel were delivered into the strip on a Jordanian Air Force plane on Wednesday.

Packages fitted with parachutes floated down to the Tal Al-Hawa Hospital in northern Gaza.

UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the aid would save lives and keep the hospital running.

The UK has until now only sent aid to Gaza by land and sea, but northern Gaza - a wasteland after nearly five months of war - is impossible to reach.

The World Food Programme has suspended deliveries there because its convoys had endured "complete chaos and violence", the organisation said.

There is a heavy Israeli military presence in the area and much of the population were forced south.

However, an estimated 300,000 Palestinians remain in northern Gaza with little food or water and the UN has warned for months of a looming famine there.

The British Jordanian delivery contained diesel, critical medical equipment and ration packs for patients and medical staff.

As the last pallet sailed into the night sky, the Jordanian air crew saluted. It landed right on target, they said.

Banking sharply over the Mediterranean sea in two passes, the Royal Jordanian Air Force Hercules aircraft dropped the four tonnes of British aid directly into northern Gaza, just after sunset.

The pallets - fitted with parachutes and GPS trackers to ensure they reached the hospital - were bound for an area just to the north of a Jordanian army field hospital in Gaza City.

The UK Foreign Office said it signed an agreement with Jordan earlier this week which will see £1m ($1.2m) worth of UK aid sent to Gaza.

Commenting on the deal, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said: "Thousands of patients will benefit and the fuel will enable this vital hospital to continue its life saving work.

"However, the situation in Gaza is desperate and significantly more aid is needed - and fast. We are calling for an immediate humanitarian pause to allow additional aid into Gaza as quickly as possible and bring hostages home."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68360902

Jimbuna

02-22-24, 09:52 AM

Israeli report says Hamas sexual violence 'systematic and intentional'

The Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel says it has gathered evidence Hamas gunmen "systematically and intentionally" committed sexual crimes during the 7 October attacks.

A report by the umbrella organisation describes "identical patterns" of sexual violence at multiple locations.

These allegedly included violent rapes of women conducted "collectively" or "in front of an audience".

Hamas has denied its gunmen sexually assaulted women during the attacks.

On 7 October, hundreds from the Palestinian armed group infiltrated southern Israel, where they killed about 1,200 people and took 253 others hostage.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which 29,300 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Warning: Contains graphic descriptions of rape and sexual violence

Reports of sexual violence carried out by Hamas - which is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Israel, the UK and others - began to emerge soon after 7 October and have accumulated steadily ever since.

A senior Israeli police officer told British MPs last month there was "clear evidence" - collected from forensic investigations as well as from hundreds of statements by witnesses and first responders - that sexual crimes had been committed on a scale large enough to define it as a crime against humanity.

The BBC has also seen and heard evidence of rape, sexual violence and mutilation of women.

The report by the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel (ACCRI) brings together much of what has been reported, as well as other information that it says it has received directly from professionals and confidential calls.

It found that the 7 October attacks included "brutal acts of violent rape, often involving threats with weapons, specifically directed towards injured women".

"Many rape incidents occurred collectively, with collaboration among the perpetrating terrorists," the report says. "In some cases, rape was conducted in front of an audience, such as partners, family, or friends, to increase the pain and humiliation for all present."

"Some Hamas members pursued victims who escaped the massacre, dragging them by their hair with screams. The majority of victims were subsequently killed during or after the sexual assault."

It also cites various sources as indicating that many victims' bodies were "found mutilated and bound, with sexual organs brutally attacked, and in some cases, weapons were inserted into them".

The report concludes that there is "a clear picture of identical patterns of action repeated in each of the attack zones" - the Nova festival, homes in kibbutzim and villages near the Gaza border, and Israeli military bases.

Several Nova festival survivors reported cases of gang rapes, "where women were abused and handled between multiple terrorists who beat, injured, and ultimately killed them", it says.

First responders and volunteer body collectors who went to border communities witnessed signs of sexual violence on women and girls, as did those who identified the bodies of female soldiers killed at bases.

The report also warns that information from released hostages suggests abuse has continued in captivity - an allegation that Hamas has denied.

The BBC's Paul Adams in Jerusalem says this is something Israeli officials are extremely reluctant to talk about openly, out of respect for anxious family members. But they do say that one reason Hamas is still holding female hostages is that does not want their stories to be told.

Asked about these reports at a recent briefing, a senior Israeli official declined to give details, saying simply: "Believe me. We know."

The ACCRI says it has submitted its findings to the UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Pramila Patten, who is carrying out a similar investigation and visited Israel last month.

Israel has complained that the UN and other international organisations have been slow to respond to the allegations, and the ACCRI's executive director said its report now left them "no room for denial or disregard".

On Monday, several independent UN experts put out a statement expressing concern about reports of violence by Israeli forces against Palestinian women and girls in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

They said the "credible allegations" included that women and girls had been killed extrajudicially in Gaza, and that others detained in Gaza and the West Bank had been subjected to multiple forms of sexual assault.

Israel rejected the allegations as "despicable and unfounded".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68365284

Skybird

02-23-24, 07:24 AM

Israel's plan foir post-Hamas Gaza. I must say I more or less agree with it and its reasoning. It aims in the direction I had on mind.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/02/23/middleeast/netanyahu-unveils-future-post-hamas-gaza-plan-mime-intl/index.html

It will send the UN and EU fuming, which I like.

em2nought

02-23-24, 11:32 AM

Jimbuna

02-23-24, 02:18 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4AB0Z1y4nI

Jimbuna

02-23-24, 02:43 PM

Walled site grows at Egypt border near Gaza

Egypt has built more than 3km of wall in the past week in addition to further clearance of a large area next to its border with Gaza, BBC Verify has found.

It comes after Israel warned it is preparing for a ground offensive in Gaza's southern city of Rafah.

The city has seen a huge increase in its population in recent months.

Egyptian authorities say "no provisions" are being made for displaced Palestinians and the area is meant for a "logistical hub" for aid.

But an aid worker for a UK charity, who is part of the humanitarian efforts in Gaza, told the BBC she had "never seen large scale clearing of land" for such a logistical hub and they were unaware of any such plan.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68375460

Jimbuna

02-24-24, 11:04 AM

Israel's PM Netanyahu lays out Gaza plan for after the war

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has laid out his vision for a post-war Gaza.

Under his plan Israel would control security indefinitely, and Palestinians with no links to groups hostile to Israel would run the territory.

The US, Israel's major ally, wants the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA) to govern Gaza after the war.

But the short document - which Mr Netanyahu presented to ministers last night - makes no mention of the PA.

He has previously ruled out a post-war role for the internationally backed body.

He envisages a "demilitarised" Gaza; Israel would be responsible for removing all military capability beyond that necessary for public order.

There would be a "Southern Closure" on the territory's border with Egypt to prevent smuggling both under- and overground.

And "de-radicalisation" programmes would be promoted in all religious, educational and welfare institutions. The document suggests Arab countries with experience of such programmes would be involved, though Mr Netanyahu has not specified which.

Under the plan Israel would also maintain security control over the entire area west of Jordan from land, sea and air.

Mr Netanyahu has been under pressure - at home and internationally - to publish proposals for Gaza since he began his military operation. He is keen to restore a crumbling reputation as a leader who can keep Israel safe and will want to appeal to right wing hardliners in his coalition government.

A spokesman for Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the PA, said Mr Netanyahu's plan was doomed to fail.

Nabil Abu Rudeineh said: "If the world is genuinely interested in having security and stability in the region, it must end Israel's occupation of Palestinian land and recognise an independent Palestinian state."

Mr Netanyahu repeated his rejection of any unilateral recognition by Western countries of a Palestinian state.

On Friday US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was opposed to any reoccupation of Gaza by Israel as well as any reduction in the size of the territory.

"Gaza... cannot be a platform for terrorism. There should be no Israeli reoccupation of Gaza. The size of Gaza territory should not be reduced," he said at a G20 ministers meeting in Argentina.

Meanwhile negotiators trying to broker a temporary ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages are expected to meet in Paris.

The US wants a deal in place before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins in just over a fortnight.

And, as the humanitarian situation worsens in Gaza, there is international pressure too for the war to end. The Hamas-run Ministry of Health reports that more than 29,500 people, mostly women and children, have been killed since the war began in October.

Israel's military offensive was triggered by Hamas's unprecedented attack on 7 October in which gunmen killed about 1,200 people - mainly civilians - and took 253 back to Gaza as hostages.

Overnight the head of the UN body responsible for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) warned that Gaza faces a "monumental disaster with grave implications for regional peace, security and human rights".

In a letter to the president of the UN general assembly, Philippe Lazzarini said the agency "has reached breaking point, with Israel's repeated calls to dismantle Unrwa and the freezing of funding by donors at a time of unprecedented humanitarian needs in Gaza".

Some of Unrwa's biggest donors suspended funding for the agency last month after Unrwa sacked several of its staff amid allegations by Israel that they had participated in the October attacks.

Mr Netanyahu aims to close the agency as part of his post-war plan and replace it with - as yet unspecified - international aid organisations.

And he has insisted that he will continue his war until Israel has dismantled Hamas and Islamic Jihad - the second largest armed group in Gaza - and all Israeli hostages are returned.

At the end of 2023, Mr Netanyahu warned the war could go on for "many more months".

Meanwhile the US has described Israel's expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank as inconsistent with international law.

"Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion, and in our judgment this only weakens, doesn't strengthen Israel's security," Mr Blinken said.

It overturns a move made in 2019 by the Trump administration, which was welcomed by Israel, when then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Washington no longer viewed settlements as breaching international law.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68379646

Jimbuna

02-25-24, 10:33 AM

Israel, Hamas skirmish in Gaza as truce efforts pick up pace

JERUSALEM/CAIRO, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Israeli troops and Palestinian gunmen clashed throughout the Gaza Strip over the weekend, as mediators picked up the pace of talks on a possible ceasefire to free hostages held by Hamas and bring a measure of Ramadan respite to the battered enclave.

Prospects for securing any truce looked uncertain, however, with Israel saying it was, in parallel, planning to expand its sweep to destroy Hamas, while the Islamist faction stood firm on its demand for a permanent end to the nearly five-month-old war.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-hamas-skirmish-throughout-gaza-talk-truce-resurfaces-2024-02-25/

Jimbuna

02-26-24, 12:29 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwagigmd-wo

Jimbuna

02-26-24, 01:46 PM

Aaron Bushnell: US airman dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli embassy in Washington

A US airman has died after setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC.

The man was identified by police as Aaron Bushnell, 25, of San Antonio, Texas.

Officers from the US Secret Service extinguished the flames before the man was taken to hospital on Sunday afternoon.

Before setting himself on fire, he said he would "no longer be complicit in genocide".

In a video aired live on a streaming site, Twitch, the man identified himself and said he was a serving member of the Air Force.

He said he was "about to engage in an extreme act of protest." After setting himself on fire, he repeatedly shouted "free Palestine".

The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington said that it was "not confirming the authenticity of the video".

No embassy staff members were injured in the incident, said a spokeswoman for the embassy.

The incident happened at 13:00 local time (18:00 GMT) on Sunday.

A bomb disposal unit was sent to the site over concerns about a suspicious vehicle that could have been connected to the individual.

This was later declared safe after no hazardous materials were found.

DC police said officers were working with the US Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to investigate the incident.

Mr Bushnell was taken to the hospital in a critical condition.

The Air Force would not confirm details of Mr Bushnell's service, citing family notification policies.

The Israel-Gaza war erupted on 7 October last year when Hamas gunmen infiltrated southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 253 others hostage.

Israel responded by launching a military campaign in Gaza, during which 29,300 people have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

As of mid-January, 1.9 million civilians in Gaza have been displaced amid Israel's military operations, according to the United Nations, accounting for 85% of its population.

In an interview with CBS News on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the offensive in the face of international criticism, saying America would be "doing a hell of a lot more" if it had suffered such an attack.

It is not the first time someone has set themselves on fire in front of an Israeli diplomatic mission in the US.

In December, a protester self-immolated in front of the Israeli consulate in the US state of Georgia.

A Palestinian flag found at the scene was part of the protest, police said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68405119

Jimbuna

02-27-24, 11:56 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAOj4VkTWgg

Jimbuna

02-28-24, 10:15 AM

No 'miracles' expected in talks between Hamas and Fatah on unified government

Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki says he does not expect "miracles" at talks with Hamas in Moscow tomorrow.

Representatives of Fatah, the governing party in the West Bank, and Hamas will meet to discuss the formation of a unified Palestinian government and the rebuilding of Gaza.

"We hope that there we might be good results in terms of mutual understanding between all factions about the need to support such a technocratic government that will emerge," said Mr Maliki.

"We don't expect miracles to happen in just a simple meeting in Moscow, but I believe that the meeting in Moscow should be followed by other meetings in the region soon."

The talks come as the Palestinian Authority, created approximately 30 years ago as part of the Oslo peace accords, seeks to challenge accusations of ineffectiveness.

Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh resigned as the president, Mahmoud Abbas', moved to try and ensure the Authority maintains its claim to leadership as international pressure grows for a revival of efforts to create a Palestinian state.

Skybird

02-28-24, 05:56 PM

Who said Germans cant do comedy? :timeout:

[Die Welt] The German frigate "Hessen", which is deployed to protect merchant ships in the Red Sea, may be facing an ammunition problem. "We have now only found out on request that some of the ammunition on the frigate 'Hessen' can apparently no longer be replenished because the corresponding industrial capacity no longer exists," said the defense policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Florian Hahn (CSU), to Die Welt on Wednesday.

"So if the stocks are empty, the navy can no longer replenish them - and has to withdraw the frigate," Hahn added. The defense expert accused the traffic light coalition of having concealed this fact from the opposition for months. "Parliament has therefore decided on a deployment without knowing that there is obviously an ammunition problem with frigate class 124," said Hahn.

:dead:

Jimbuna

02-29-24, 08:21 AM

More than 30,000 killed in Gaza, Hamas-run health ministry says

More than 30,000 Palestinians have now been killed in Gaza since 7 October, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

That number equates to about 1.3% of the 2.3 million population of the territory - the latest grim marker of the awful toll of this war.

The ministry says that the majority of those killed were women and children.

Its figures do not differentiate between civilians and fighters when identifying those killed.

In its daily update on Thursday, the ministry said 81 people had been killed in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 30,035.

The actual number of dead is likely to be far higher as the count does not include those who have not reached hospitals, among them thousands of people still lost under the rubble of buildings hit by Israeli air strikes.

More than 70,000 injured people have been registered by the Gaza ministry of health (MoH), which is the only official source for casualties. Its data is quoted by UN agencies and other international institutions.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says it has a "long-standing co-operation" with the Gaza body and that it has "good capacity in data collection/analysis". Its previous reporting has been considered credible and "well developed" by the UN agency.

The WHO notes that when the current breakdown of deaths is compared with previous data recorded by the UN from past conflicts in Gaza, "it clearly shows an increasing number of civilians being killed, with a higher proportion of children and women fatalities".

Asked about its assessment on the number of fatalities and the breakdown of civilians and fighters, Israel's military told the BBC only that "the number of terrorists killed stands at approximately 10,000".

For a Palestinian death to be registered in Gaza, a corpse or remains must be seen by hospital staff or medical workers. At the end of each day, hospitals send lists of all casualties including - where known - names, identity numbers, dates of injury or death, and details of injuries and condition to a centralised MoH system. Its operators are now based in Rafah.

The Palestinian Red Crescent also contributes data.

During this war it has been more difficult than ever to report figures because of overflowing mortuaries, fighting in and around hospitals and clinics, and poor internet and phone connectivity.

However, if and when a longer-term truce is agreed or the war ends, efforts to recover bodies and trace the missing should allow a clearer picture to emerge of numbers killed, including numbers of combatants. The UN and rights groups, as well as the Israeli military, can be expected to carry out their own investigations.

An ongoing criticism of the existing figures is that they do not give a sense of how Palestinians were killed - whether this was as a result of Israeli air strikes, artillery shelling or other means such as misfired Palestinian rockets. All casualties are currently counted as victims of "Israeli aggression".

In recent days, the Gaza MoH has highlighted more cases of what the WHO calls "indirect mortality" - that is people dying as a result of the war but not directly because of the fighting.

On Wednesday, it said six children had died from dehydration and malnutrition at hospitals in northern Gaza. Two were at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and four at the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the town of Beit Lahia.

The UN is warning that a quarter of Gaza's population is now at risk of famine and that there has been a dramatic increase in infectious diseases compounded by a general shortage of medicines and lack of medical care.

The war began when thousands of Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68430925

Jimbuna

03-01-24, 01:16 PM

Israel-Gaza war: UN chief urges probe into aid convoy tragedy

Several countries have joined the UN in calling for an investigation into the deaths of more than 100 Palestinians during an aid delivery in Gaza.

At least 117 people were killed and more than 760 injured on Thursday as they crowded around aid lorries.

UN Secretary General António Guterres condemned the incident and said "desperate civilians" need urgent help.

Hamas accused Israel of firing at civilians, but Israel said most died in a crush after it fired warning shots.

On Thursday international criticism of Israel mounted with French President Emmanuel Macron saying civilians had been "targeted by Israeli soldiers".

The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borell, described the incident as "totally unacceptable carnage".

Reacting to the incident, Mr Guterres wrote on social media: "I condemn Thursday's incident in Gaza in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed or injured while seeking life-saving aid."

"The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the north where the UN has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week."

On Friday France, Italy and Germany also called for an independent investigation into the aid convoy deaths.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry called the incident a "massacre".

The UN Security Council scheduled a closed-door emergency meeting to discuss the incident, during which Algeria - the Arab representative of the body - put forward a draft statement blaming Israeli forces for "opening fire".

While 14 of the Council's 15 members supported the motion, the US blocked it, according to AP news agency, citing the Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour who spoke to reporters afterwards. US envoy Robert Wood said the facts of the incident remained unclear.

Thursday's incident took place shortly after 04:45 (02:45 GMT) at the Nabulsi roundabout, on the south-western edge of Gaza City.

Ramzi Mohammed Rihan was injured in the stampede and described to BBC Arabic what he saw.

He said: "We were informed that a shipment of flour would arrive through Al-Nabulsi Street and that there would be no shooting.

"We went to get flour to feed our children. We went to Nabulsi Street and before the trucks arrived there was gunfire.

"As the trucks entered, we headed towards them, and as we tried to get the first bag of flour out of the truck, they began to fire at us."

Mr Rihan said he was carried to the hospital on a cart and that his X-rays have been delayed due to a lack of electricity.

Khaled al-Tarawish was also wounded and said his surgery has also been postponed due to a lack of fuel in al-Awada Hospital.

"I went to Nabulsi Street to get a bag of flour," he said. "Because of the crowd I ran under the car, I went to the Awda hospital where they told me that I needed to have an operation but because there was no diesel fuel, they told me the operation would be carried out three days later.

"All I want is to provide the hospital with diesel fuel so that I can undergo the operation and get my treatment."

The convoy of 30 lorries carrying Egyptian aid was making its way north along what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described as a "humanitarian corridor" which it said its forces were securing.

IDF chief spokesman, Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, said civilians surrounded the convoy and people began climbing on the lorries.

"Some began violently pushing and even trampling other Gazans to death, looting the humanitarian supplies," he said. "The unfortunate incident resulted in dozens of Gazans killed and injured."

Israeli tanks, he said, "cautiously tried to disperse the mob with a few warning shots" but pulled back "when the hundreds became thousands and things got out of hand".

Another IDF spokesman, Lt Col Peter Lerner, said some civilians approached a checkpoint which was about 70 metres (230 feet) away and ignored warning shots fired by the soldiers there.

He said the soldiers, fearing that some of the civilians posed a threat, then opened fire on those approaching in what he described as a "limited response."

Hamas rejected the IDF's account, citing "undeniable" evidence of "direct firing at citizens, including headshots aimed at immediate killing".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68443883

mapuc

03-01-24, 03:30 PM

When reading your latest comment and quote I came to think of the former Danish Politician Naser Khader who in an issue wrote among others following:

In recent days, it has been documented that Hamas is now shooting at civilians queuing for emergency aid. Hamas leader and spokesman Mousa Abu Mazook confirmed it: The aid is only for Hamas fighters, and if civilians try to "steal" aid, expect to be shot at!

Markus

Jimbuna

03-02-24, 07:23 AM

Large number of bullet wounds among those injured in aid convoy rush - UN

Many of the people treated for injuries following a rush on an aid convoy in Gaza on Thursday suffered bullet wounds, the UN has said.

UN observers visited Gaza City's al-Shifa Hospital and saw some of the roughly 200 people still being treated.

Hamas, which governs Gaza, has accused Israel of firing at civilians, but Israel said there was a "stampede" after its troops fired warning shots.

Leaders from around the world have called for a full investigation.

The incident unfolded after hundreds of people descended on an aid convoy as it moved along a coastal road, accompanied by the Israeli military, in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The World Food Programme has warned that a famine is imminent in northern Gaza, which has received very little aid in recent weeks, and where an estimated 300,000 people are living with little food or clean water.

In footage from the scene, volleys of gunfire can be heard and people are seen scrambling over lorries and ducking behind the vehicles.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has said that at least 112 people were killed in the incident and another 760 were injured.

In a statement on social media, Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), said, "Dozens of Gazans were injured as a result of pushing and trampling."

The IDF's Lt Col Peter Lerner also told the UK's Channel 4 News that a "mob stormed the convoy" and that Israeli troops "cautiously [tried] to disperse the mob with a few warning shots".

Mark Regev, special adviser to the Israeli prime minister, had earlier told CNN that Israel had not been involved directly in any way and that the gunfire had come from "Palestinian armed groups", though he did not provide evidence.

Giorgios Petropoulos, head of the Gaza sub-office of the UN Co-ordinator for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told the BBC he and a team sent to al-Shifa hospital found a large number of people with bullet wounds.

He said all but a handful of the 70 to 80 patients in the emergency room he visited had been injured during the convoy incident.

In addition to those with bullet wounds, he said doctors had treated many who had fallen down or been trampled - but he was unable to say with certainty which group was larger.

Mr Petropoulos said those with bullet injuries had suffered wounds in the upper and lower body. One patient told him he had been shot in the chest and who had walked to Shifa to get treatment.

"He said they (Israeli troops) usually shoot in the air. This time, they shot into the thickest part of the crowd," Mr Petropoulos said.

But, Mr Petropoulos emphasised UN personnel had not been present during the incident making it very difficult to know precisely what happened.

Dr Mohamed Salha, interim hospital manager at al-Awda hospital, previously told the BBC that they had received 176 of the injured, of whom 142 had bullet wounds.

He added that the others had suffered broken limbs.

Responding to the incident, UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron called the deaths "horrific" and said there "must be an urgent investigation and accountability".

"This must not happen again," he said.

He added that the incident could not be separated from the "inadequate aid supplies" entering Gaza and called the current levels "simply unacceptable".

US President Joe Biden announced that the US would begin dropping aid into Gaza by air, saying: "Innocent people got caught in a terrible war, unable to feed their families. We need to do more, and the United States will do more."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68454348

Jimbuna

03-02-24, 01:53 PM

US carries out first aid airdrop in strip

The US has carried out its first airdrop of aid for Gaza, with more than 30,000 meals parachuted in by three military planes.

The operation was carried out in conjunction with the Royal Jordanian Air Force, US Central Command said.

Officials say the drop was the first of many announced by President Joe Biden on Friday.

He promised to step up aid after at least 112 people were killed as crowds rushed a convoy on Thursday.

C-130s dropped more than 38,000 meals along the coastline of Gaza, US Central Command said in a statement.

"These airdrops are part of a sustained effort to get more aid into Gaza, including by expanding the flow of aid through land corridors and routes," it added.

Other countries including the UK, France, Egypt and Jordan have previously airdropped aid into Gaza, but this is the first by the US.

In his statement on Friday, President Biden said the US would "insist that Israel facilitate more trucks and more routes to get more and more people the help they need".

US officials say Israel is supportive of the mission, which is being carefully planned to ensure the safety of those on the ground.

Aid agencies have said that airdrops are an inefficient, expensive and complex way of delivering supplies.

The fact the US has opted for this method highlights the severity of the humanitarian crisis, and the difficulty of getting aid by road to Gaza's civilians.

In Thursday's incident, 112 people were killed and more than 760 injured as they crowded around aid lorries on the south-western edge of Gaza City.

Hamas accused Israel of firing at civilians, but Israel said most died in a crush after it fired warning shots.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68457937

Jimbuna

03-03-24, 01:38 PM

Israel demands names of hostages still alive for deal on new ceasefire

Mediators and Hamas have arrived in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, for talks on a new ceasefire, as Israel is reported to be demanding reassurances on the hostages' fate before attending.

An unnamed US official has said Israel has "more or less accepted" the deal.

But Israeli media say Hamas is refusing to confirm which of its hostages are still alive, so Israel will not attend.

The US says the six-week pause would see the release of more Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.

Pressure for a deal intensified after Thursday's incident outside Gaza City in the north of the territory where at least 112 people were killed as crowds rushed an aid convoy.

Hamas has accused Israel of shooting at civilians as they attempted to get food. Israel has denied this.

On Sunday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said an initial review had been completed "of the unfortunate incident where Gazan civilians were trampled to death and injured as they charged to the aid convoy.

"Our initial review has confirmed that no strike was carried out by the IDF towards the aid convoy," he said. "Several looters approached our forces and posed an immediate threat to them."

He said a full investigation would be conducted by "an independent, professional and expert body" of the army, and updates would be shared in the coming days.

The Israeli account is disputed. BBC Verify spoke to witnesses, who described being shot at.

Dr Mohamed Salha, interim hospital manager at al-Awda hospital, where many of the dead and injured were taken, told the BBC: "Al-Awda hospital received around 176 injured people...142 of these cases are bullet injuries and the rest are from the stampede and broken limbs in the upper and lower body parts."

Hamas is reported to have said that an agreement on a truce could be reached within the next 24 to 48 hours, with a source from the group telling Egyptian media a deal depended on Israel agreeing to its demands.

Egyptian officials, who have been running the talks with Qatar, said delegations from both Hamas and Israel were expected to attend the negotiations.

Expectations of a deal were raised after a senior US official said Israel for its part had "basically agreed" a framework for a six-week ceasefire.

The Israel military launched a large-scale air and ground campaign to destroy Hamas after its gunmen killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on 7 October and took 253 back to Gaza as hostages.

Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says at least 30,410 people, including 21,000 children and women, have been killed in Gaza since then with some 7,000 missing and 71,700 injured.

Calls for ceasefire come as aid organisations have warned there is a risk of famine in northern Gaza.

Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, has just returned from a three-day visit to the territory.

"I was prepared for nightmare, but it is worse, much worse," Mr Egeland told the BBC on Sunday.

"People want to take your hand... saying 'we are starving, we are dying here'.

"I think there is famine in the north," he said, adding that there had been no aid for 300,000 people living in ruins, with Israel not allowing any through.

After Thursday's aid convoy incident, the US carried out its first airdrop of humanitarian aid for Gaza, with more than 30,000 meals parachuted in by three military planes on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Israel said on Sunday it carried out an intensive wave of air strikes in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis. The number of casualties is not known.

At least 11 people were killed in an Israeli air strike at a camp for displaced people in Rafah in southern Gaza on Saturday, according to Hamas.

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the attack "outrageous".

The Israeli army said it had carried out a "precision strike" against Islamic Jihad militants in the area.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68461543

Jimbuna

03-04-24, 09:23 AM

Hopes for ceasefire falter ahead of Ramadan

Hopes had been high over the past week following talks in Paris that there could be a new Gaza ceasefire deal in place for the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan next week.

However, while Hamas has now sent a delegation to Cairo for further negotiations with Egyptian and Qatari mediators, Israel has not. This looks like a serious new block.

Israeli officials - quoted in local media - demand clear answers from Hamas on key issues as well as a list of the surviving Israeli hostages who could be released with an agreement.

Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official, Dr Basem Naim, told the BBC on Sunday that "practically, it is impossible to know who is still alive" because of continuing Israeli bombing.

"They are in different areas with different groups. We have asked for a ceasefire to collect that data," he added.

Dr Naim went on to say that such "valuable information" about the hostages could not be given "for free". He, and other senior Hamas figures, have also been continuing to demand a full ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, rather than a temporary truce.

The US and regional players with leverage will now be putting pressure on both Israel and Hamas trying to shore up recent progress on the potential deal.

This would reportedly see some 40 Israeli hostages released in exchange for about 10 times as many Palestinian prisoners being freed from Israeli jails.

More than 130 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas. Israeli officials have said that at least 30 of them are dead.

Over the course of a proposed 40-day truce, there would be a surge in desperately needed aid entering into Gaza.

Without a deal, there is a higher threat of a further spread of tensions during Ramadan, which this year is due to begin on 10 or 11 March, depending on the lunar calendar.

Israel is expected to impose restrictions on access for Palestinians to the holiest Muslim site in occupied East Jerusalem, the al-Aqsa Mosque compound, citing its security concerns.

The site - which is also the holiest place in Judaism, known as Temple Mount - has often been a flashpoint for violence in the decades-old Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Hamas is well aware of international fears about a new conflagration and has previously used al-Aqsa to raise the stakes.

Last week, in a televised address, the leader of the Islamist group, Ismail Haniyeh, claimed Hamas was showing flexibility in negotiations, but also called on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem to march to the mosque to pray on the first day of Ramadan.

International pressure for a ceasefire deal has ratcheted up with the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza where, according to the UN, hundreds of thousands of people are facing famine following nearly six months of war.

"Given the immense scale of suffering, there must be an immediate ceasefire for at least the next six weeks, which is what is currently on the table," the US Vice-President Kamala Harris told an event in Alabama. "This will get the hostages out and get a significant amount of aid in."

"People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane and our common humanity compels us to act," Ms Harris went on

Her comments were some of the strongest language used yet to describe the situation by a senior US government official and reflect the growing frustration within Washington - the closest ally of Israel - about developments in the war.

Increasingly what is happening on the ground in Gaza is hurting President Biden's presidential re-election campaign.

In Israel, there is also intense domestic pressure on the war cabinet to agree a new deal from the families of the hostages.

Thousands of Israelis joined them for the last leg of a four-day solidarity march, which began close to the Gaza border at one of the sites that was a focus of the deadly 7 October Hamas attacks, and ended in Jerusalem on Saturday night.

They held up Israeli flags and posters of the hostages.

Speaking at the rally, Sharon Sharabi whose brother, Eli, is still believed to be held in Hamas captivity, said: "We've lost four members of our family, the Sharabi family - my family, your family. We do not intend - listen carefully, leaders of Israel - we do not intend to bring a fifth coffin here."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68469699

Jimbuna

03-05-24, 08:45 AM

Gaza ceasefire talks end with no breakthrough Updated 14 minutes ago

Ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and mediators in Egypt have come to a close without finding a breakthrough, with just days remaining to halt fighting before the start of Ramadan.

Bassem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said the terrorist group had presented its proposal for a ceasefire agreement to the mediators during two days of talks, and was now waiting for a response from the Israelis, who did not attend, Reuters reported.

“(Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu doesn’t want to reach an agreement and the ball now is in the Americans’ court” to press him for a deal, Mr Naim said.

While Israel has declined to comment on the ceasefire talks, reports suggest it stayed away because Hamas had rejected its demand to provide a list of all hostages who are still alive.

Hamas negotiators will remain in Cairo for another day in a bid to keep ceasefire talks alive, an official from the militant group said on Tuesday.

“The delegation will remain in Cairo on Tuesday for more talks. They are expected to wrap up this round later today,” a Hamas official told Reuters. Egypt’s Qahera television also reported the talks had been extended for a third day, but said they were “facing difficulties”.

With intermediaries negotiating on behalf of Israel, the two sides are currently at an impasse with each claiming the other has not yet responded to their offer.

The talks, which have been ongoing for two days without breakthrough, aim to broker an extended ceasefire, during which time Israeli hostages would be free and aid pumped into Gaza.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/03/05/israel-hamas-war-latest-news-updates-harris-biden/

Jimbuna

03-06-24, 12:23 PM

Israel approves plans for 3,400 new homes in West Bank settlements

Israel's government has advanced plans for more than 3,400 new homes in settlements in the occupied West Bank.

About 70% of the homes will be built in Maale Adumim, east of Jerusalem, with the rest in nearby Kedar and Efrat, south of Bethlehem.

A minister has said the construction is a response to a deadly Palestinian attack near Maale Adumim two weeks ago.

The Palestinian Authority condemned the plans, which are reportedly the first to be approved since June.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem - land the Palestinians want as part of a future state - in the 1967 Middle East war.

The vast majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Israel's Haaretz newspaper said the Higher Planning Committee of the Civil Administration - the body that implements Israeli government policy in the West Bank - had advanced plans for the development of 3,476 settler homes on Wednesday - with 2,452 in Maale Adumim, 694 in Efrat and 330 in Kedar.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right politician who oversees the Civil Administration, said following the meeting that a total of 18,515 homes in West Bank settlements had now been approved over the past year.

"The enemies try to harm and weaken us but we will continue to build and be built up in this land," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

However, the Israeli anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now warned: "Instead of building a future of hope, peace, and security, the Israeli government is paving the way for our destruction."

It said the projects would have a negative impact on the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The foreign ministry of the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority condemned both the new plans and Mr Smotrich's remarks.

"Settlement is void and illegitimate from its foundation, representing an explicit call for the continuation of the spiral of violence and wars," a statement said.

Mr Smotrich put forward the plans on 22 February, hours after three Palestinian gunmen opened fire on cars on a road near Maale Adumim, killing one Israeli and wounding several others. He said the attack "must have a determined security response but also a settlement response".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed disappointment with the decision the following day and surprised many observers by declaring that the US viewed settlements as illegal - reverting to a position that had been overturned by former President Donald Trump's administration in 2019.

"It's been longstanding US policy under Republican and Democratic administrations alike that new settlements are counterproductive to reaching an enduring peace," he told reporters in Argentina.

"They're also inconsistent with international law. Our administration maintains a firm opposition to settlement expansion. And in our judgement, this only weakens - it doesn't strengthen - Israel's security."

A Peace Now report said in January that there had been an "unprecedented surge in settlement activities" across the West Bank since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by Hamas's deadly attacks in Israel on 7 October.

The West Bank has also experienced a spike in violence over the same period.

The UN says at least 413 Palestinians - members of armed groups, attackers and civilians - have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, or in Israel since October.

Fifteen Israelis, including four security forces personnel, have also been killed.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68490034

Jimbuna

03-08-24, 11:47 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjE5mAvoeGs

Skybird

03-09-24, 07:23 AM

War between Israel and Hezbollah is becoming inevitable

https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/02/29/israel-hezbollah-war-inevitable/

That will be a different event callibre than Gaza - if Hezbollah really has as many missiles as claimed. And who would doubt they have, after the findings in Gaza regarding Hamas' msissile arsenal and tunnel infrastructure?

Jimbuna

03-09-24, 09:19 AM

Gaza aid ship expected to set sail from Cyprus

A ship carrying desperately needed humanitarian aid is expected to set sail this weekend, bound for Gaza.

The Spanish vessel, Open Arms, is scheduled to depart from Cyprus - the closest EU country to Gaza - and hopes to use a newly opened shipping route.

With no functioning port and shallow waters, it is still unclear where the ship will dock when it reaches Gaza.

The UN says a quarter of the Strip's population is on the brink of famine and children are starving to death.

The ship, expected to reach Gaza in the next few days, belongs to the Spanish charity of the same name, Open Arms.

It will tow a barge loaded with 200 tonnes of food provided by US charity World Central Kitchen, Open Arms founder Oscar Camps told the Associated Press.

The ship is expected to depart Cyprus' Larnaca port this weekend, and will take around two to three days to reach an undisclosed location off the coast of Gaza, Mr Camps told the news agency.

He added that the final mile of the journey - which is about 216 nautical miles in total - would be "the most complicated operation", but added that he was not "concerned at all about security".

At the destination point, a team from the World Central Kitchen has been building a pier to receive the aid, he said. The group has 60 kitchens throughout Gaza, where it will be able to distribute the food.

"What initially appeared as an insurmountable challenge is now on the verge of realization," read a post on Open Arms' X account.

"Our tugboat stands prepared to embark at a moment's notice, laden with tons of food, water, and vital supplies for Palestinian civilians."

World Central Kitchen said it had been preparing for the aid trip for weeks, waiting for the shipping route to open.

The maritime corridor was announced by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen on Friday, while she was in Cyprus.

That came a day after President Joe Biden announced that the US plans to build a temporary floating port to Gaza's shoreline.

The Pentagon later said it would take up to 60 days to complete and need about 1,000 troops to build - none of whom would go ashore.

The port will be able to receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters, US officials said. Initial shipments will arrive via Cyprus, where Israeli security inspections will take place.

A Pentagon spokesman said the pier could help to deliver up to 2 million meals every day.

It is unclear whether, or how, the US' temporary pier and the EU's sea corridor will work together, as neither Mr Biden nor Ms Von der Leyen mentioned the other's plans.

Getting aid into the Gaza Strip has been increasingly difficult and dangerous - the World Food Programme paused its deliveries to northern Gaza last month, after its convoys endured "complete chaos and violence", the organisation said.

With land deliveries near impossible, several nations have turned to air drops, but the situation in Gaza is so dire, the drops are an inefficient way of getting supplies to people.

And on Friday there were reports that five people had been killed by a falling aid package, when its parachute failed to open properly.

Israel's military launched an air and ground campaign in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's attacks on Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 253 others were taken hostage.

More than 30,800 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says.

The conflict has created a growing humanitarian crisis, and the UN has warned that famine in Gaza is "almost inevitable".

At least 576,000 people across the Gaza Strip - one quarter of the population - are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity and one in six children under the age of two in the north are suffering from acute malnutrition, a senior UN aid official warned last week.

Save the Children welcomed the recent international efforts to provide more aid into Gaza, but said children there "cannot wait" for the time it may take to build a temporary port to eat.

"They are already dying from malnutrition and saving their lives is a matter of hours or days - not weeks," the charity said in a statement.

Doctors Without Borders said the US plan for a temporary pier was a "glaring distraction from the real problem", urging Israel to facilitate the flow of supplies.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68518918

Jimbuna

03-09-24, 10:06 AM

Sweden resumes funding for UNRWA with £15m grant

Sweden has said it is resuming suspended payments to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), with a grant of 200 million crowns (£15m).

UNRWA supports Palestinian refugees in Gaza, east Jerusalem and the West Bank, as well as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

Several countries, including the US and UK, paused their funding to UNRWA last month after accusations by Israel that a dozen of the agency's 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel.

The Swedish government said it had resumed payments after UNRWA agreed to strengthen internal controls and carry out extra checks on its employees, among other measures.

The organisation offers services including food aid, healthcare and education.

Jimbuna

03-10-24, 05:41 AM

IDF completes road across width of Gaza, satellite images show

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has finished building a new road which runs across northern Gaza from east to west, according to satellite images verified by the BBC.

The IDF told the BBC they were attempting to gain an "operational foothold", and facilitate the movement of troops and equipment.

But some experts fear it will used as a barrier, preventing Palestinians from returning to their homes in the north.

Others said it appeared to be part of an Israeli plan to remain in Gaza beyond the end of current hostilities.

In February, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled a post-war vision in which Israel would control security in Gaza indefinitely.

International leaders have previously warned Israel against permanently displacing Palestinians or reducing the size of Gaza.

It runs across north Gaza, with central and southern areas lying below it. It starts at Gaza's border fence with Israel near the Nahal Oz kibbutz and finishes near the coast.

It also intersects with the Salah al-Din and al-Rashid roads, the two major arteries running through the territory.

Although there is a network of roads which connect east and west, the new IDF route is the only one which runs uninterrupted across Gaza.

Satellite imagery analysis by the BBC reveals that the IDF has built over 5km (3 miles) of new road sections to join up previously unconnected roads.

The initial section of the road in eastern Gaza near the Israeli border was established between late last October and early November. But most of the new sections were built during February and in early March.

The new route is wider than a typical road in Gaza, excluding Salah al-Din.

Imagery analysis also shows that buildings along the route, which appear to be warehouses, were demolished from the end of December until late January. This includes one building several stories high.

The road spans an area which previously had fewer buildings and was less densely populated than other parts of Gaza.

It also sits below a makeshift and winding route which the IDF had been using to move from east to west.

An Israeli TV channel reported on the route in February, saying it was code named "Highway 749". A reporter from Channel 14 travelled along parts of the route with the Israeli military.

In the video, road construction vehicles and diggers were seen preparing for the construction of new sections of the route.

Analysts at Janes, a defence intelligence company, said the type of unpaved road surface seen in the Channel 14 footage, was suitable for tracked armoured vehicles.

The IDF did not go into this type of detail in its statement. "As part of the ground operation, the IDF uses an operational route of passage," it said.

Retired Brig Gen Jacob Nagel, former head of Israel's National Security Council and a former security adviser to Mr Netanyahu, told BBC Arabic that the objective of the new route was to provide fast access for security forces when dealing with fresh threats.

"It will help Israel go in and out... because Israel is going to have total defence, security and responsibility for Gaza," he told BBC Arabic.

He described it as "a road that divides the northern part from the southern part".

"We don't want to wait until a threat is emerging," he added.

Maj Gen Yaakov Amidror, formerly of the IDF, had a similar view. The primary purpose of the new road was to "facilitate logistical and military control in the region", he said.

Justin Crump, a former British Army officer who runs Sibylline, a risk intelligence company, said the new route was significant.

"It certainly looks like it's part of a longer-term strategy to have at least some form of security intervention and control in the Gaza Strip," said Mr Crump.

"This area cuts off Gaza City from the south of the strip, making it an effective control line to monitor or limit movement, and has relatively open fields of fire."

Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow at the US-based Middle East Institute, also thinks the road is a long-term project.

"It appears that the Israeli military will remain in Gaza indefinitely," he told the BBC.

"By dividing Gaza in half, Israel will control not only what goes in and out of Gaza, but also movement within Gaza," said the analyst.

"This includes quite possibly preventing the 1.5 million displaced Palestinians in the south from returning to their homes in the north."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68514821

Jimbuna

03-10-24, 05:43 AM

US military ship heading to Gaza to build port

A US military ship is sailing towards the Middle East, carrying equipment to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza, the army says.

The support ship, General Frank S Besson, set sail from a military base in the state of Virginia on Saturday.

It comes after President Joe Biden said the US would build the floating harbour to help get aid into Gaza by sea.

The UN has warned that famine in the Gaza Strip is "almost inevitable" and children are starving to death.

Aid deliveries by land and air have proved difficult and dangerous.

The World Food Programme had to pause land deliveries after its convoys came under gunfire and looting. And on Friday, there were reports that five people had been killed by a falling aid package, when its parachute failed to open properly.

The US ship departed "less than 36 hours" after Mr Biden made his announcement, US Central Command wrote on X.

It is "carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies" to Gaza, the statement continued.

The Pentagon has said it could take up to 60 days to build the pier with the help of 1,000 troops - none of whom would go ashore.

Charities have said those suffering in Gaza cannot wait that long.

Meanwhile, an aid ship laden with some 200 tonnes of food was still waiting for clearance to set sail from a port in Cyprus on Sunday morning.

It is hoped the vessel, Open Arms, will be able to depart before Monday, following an EU announcement that a new sea route would be opened over the weekend to allow aid to sail directly from Cyprus - the closest EU country to Gaza.

The ship belongs to the Spanish charity of the same name, Open Arms, and the food on board has been provided by US charity World Central Kitchen.

It is unclear how any aid delivered by sea would get safely to shore before the US pier is built. Gaza has no functioning port and its surrounding waters are too shallow for large vessels.

However Oscar Camps, the founder of Open Arms, told the Associated Press that at the destination point - which remains a secret - a team from the World Central Kitchen has been building a pier to receive the aid.

Israel has welcomed the ocean initiative, and said aid would be delivered after security checks were carried out in Cyprus "in accordance with Israeli standards".

Israel's military launched an air and ground campaign in the Gaza Strip after Hamas's attacks on Israel on 7 October, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 253 others were taken hostage.

More than 30,900 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the territory's Hamas-run health ministry says.

The conflict has created a growing humanitarian crisis, and the UN has warned that at least 576,000 people across the Gaza Strip - one quarter of the population - are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

Western countries have pressed Israel to expand land deliveries by facilitating more routes and opening additional crossings.

Lorries have been entering the south of Gaza through the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing and the Israeli-controlled Kerem Shalom crossing. But the north, which was the focus of the first phase of the Israeli ground offensive, has been largely cut off from assistance in recent months.

An estimated 300,000 Palestinians are living there with little food or clean water.

Israel has been accused of hampering aid efforts, and an independent UN expert last week accused it of mounting "a starvation campaign against the Palestinian people in Gaza".

Yeela Cytrin, a legal adviser at the Israeli mission to the UN, responded that "Israel utterly rejects allegations that it is using starvation as a tool of war", before walking out in protest.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68526503

Jimbuna

03-11-24, 02:42 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azdv85b9p1A

Jimbuna

03-12-24, 09:03 AM

Hamas leader ‘Shadow Man’ may have been killed in Israeli air strike

Israel is investigating whether a Hamas leader, the elusive deputy commander of its armed wing, was killed in an air strike over the weekend.

A strike on a building in the Nuseirat refugee camp early on Sunday targeted Marwan Issa, one of the suspected masterminds of the Oct 7 attack on Israel, Israeli media reported.

Reports said five Palestinians were killed in the strike, although it is unclear if Issa was among them.

Issa, 59, is the third most senior Hamas leader in Gaza and has been nicknamed “Shadow Man” for his eagerness to avoid publicity.

Israeli officials also believe that another senior Hamas official was at the site during the attack.

Both Israel and Hamas are working to establish whether the Hamas commander came out of attack alive but neither has made public statements.
It came as Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, confirmed the killing of another senior Hamas leader in January.

Israel, he said, in a statement broadcast on Monday afternoon, “has eliminated number four in Hamas. And number three, two and one are on their way”.

“They all are dead men walking. We will reach them.”

Mr Netanyahu did not name the Hamas official but he appeared to be referring to Saleh al-Arouri, a Hamas political leader who was killed in an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) air strike on Beirut, Lebanon, at the beginning of the year.

But it is Hamas’s top three leaders – Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Issa – who are Israel’s top targets in Gaza.

Sinwar and Deif are both believed to be hiding in the area of the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israeli troops are still operating.

Issa is notorious for keeping a low profile, constantly moving around Gaza’s tunnel network.

It was only in 2011 that the first photograph of him emerged, standing next to Gilad Shalit, the IDF private who was taken hostage by Hamas before being freed in a landmark prisoner exchange.

A promising basketball player in his youth, Issa is a long-time Hamas member and considered influential within the terror group.

In 1987 he was imprisoned in Israel for his activities with Hamas during the First Intifada. A decade later, he was imprisoned by the Palestinian Authority for his role in a series of bombings, but escaped jail in 2000 when the Second Intifada erupted.

Israel has tried to kill him on several occasions, bombing his house three times, including during the 2021 offensive in Gaza.

Issa has four children, two of whom are believed to have died. His eldest son, Bara’a, died in 2009 after Egypt refused to allow him to enter from Gaza for medical treatment.

The Hamas commander’s other son was killed at the end of last year in an IDF airstrike.

Earlier in the war, the Israeli military released photos of what it said was Issa’s vacation home in al-Bureij in central Gaza. The photos showed a mansion, with a swimming pool and manicured lawns.

Issa’s death, if confirmed, could significantly affect Hamas’s combat operations in Gaza.

The commander has been credited with overhauling the operations of Hamas’s al-Qassam brigades, turning them into a fighting force capable of full-scale military operations.

Issa would be the highest-ranking Hamas official to be taken out by Israel in more than five months of war that has destroyed Gaza and killed tens of thousands of people, most of them civilians.

His death could also complicate efforts to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages, although Israel says talks are continuing through Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/hamas-leader-shadow-man-may-have-been-killed-in-israeli-air-strike/ar-BB1jHHn5?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=9cb9dd6f839849d795f7411e7ff78cf3&ei=58

Jimbuna

03-14-24, 05:59 AM

'Every day felt like an eternity' - freed hostage Itay Regev

Freed Israeli hostage Itay Regev has told the BBC he was held in "horrific" conditions in Gaza and he did not think he would get out alive. The 19-year-old was kidnapped from the Nova music festival along with his sister and a friend.

In November, he was released along with his sister, Maya, and 103 other hostages in return for some 240 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails during a brief truce.

On a visit to London, Itay also accused the world of forgetting those still held by Hamas and urged the Israeli government to do whatever it took to bring them home.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-middle-east-68561634

Jimbuna

03-15-24, 09:04 AM

Israel downplays truce prospects after Hamas response

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has downplayed the chances of a truce in Gaza after Hamas gave what it called a "comprehensive vision" to mediators.

Mr Netanyahu's office said Hamas was still "holding to unrealistic demands".

Hamas wants a permanent end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

On Thursday night Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry said 20 people had been killed as they waited for aid. Israel denies involvement and accuses armed Palestinians of firing at the crowds.

The incident took place at the Kuwaiti roundabout on the southern outskirts of Gaza City, a known drop off point for the little aid that reaches northern Gaza where the UN says children are dying of malnutrition and famine is looming.

In its latest update, the health ministry said 155 people were injured in the incident. People wounded in the attack were lying on the floor of Shifa hospital in Gaza City and medical teams struggling to deal with the number and type of injuries they had, it said.

In a statement the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had facilitated the passage of 31 aid trucks to northern Gaza.

"Approximately one hour before the arrival of the convoy to the humanitarian corridor, armed Palestinians opened fire while Gazan civilians were awaiting the arrival of the aid convoy," it said.

The firing continued as a crowd looted the trucks and some people were run over, the IDF said, adding that it was continuing to review the incident.

Meanwhile a ship towing a barge loaded with 200 tonnes of food supplies was visible off the Gaza coast in a pilot voyage aimed at opening up a maritime route for aid.

Open Arms - a salvage vessel belonging to a Spanish charity of the same name - is towing a barge filled with rice, flour, legumes, canned vegetables and canned proteins.

Gaza has no functioning port, so the US charity behind the mission, World Central Kitchen, has been building a jetty to unload the cargo.

The quickest, most effective way to get aid into the territory is by road. But aid agencies say Israeli restrictions mean a fraction of what is needed is getting in.

Israel says it welcomes the creation of a maritime corridor and that it is facilitating the transfer of aid to Gaza while its forces continue to fight Hamas.

On Friday, Australia said it would resume funding to UNRWA - the main United Nations aid agency in Gaza. Australia and several other donors paused funding two months ago when Israel accused some of its staff of involvement in the 7 October attack on Israel by Hamas.

Australian foreign minister Penny Wong said government lawyers had advised that UNRWA "was not a terrorist organisation".

Canada, Sweden and the EU have already said they will resume funding to UNRWA but its biggest donor, the US, is maintaining a payment freeze.

Ms Wong urged Israel to let more food into Gaza.

"The Australian Government has been briefed by the World Food Program that there are large stocks of food outside of Gaza's borders, but there is no way to move it across the border into Gaza and deliver it at scale without Israel's cooperation and we implore Israel to allow more aid into Gaza now," she said.

Israel has said that trucks containing aid have crossed into Gaza but have not been distributed and accuses aid agencies of logistical failures.

The war began when Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages. More than 31,400 people have been killed in Gaza since then, the Hamas-run health ministry says.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68573551

Jimbuna

03-16-24, 06:05 AM

Aid supply ship from Cyprus reaches Gaza coast but weather slows delivery

GAZA STRIP (Reuters) -A ship towing a barge loaded with food arrived off Gaza on Friday, witnesses said, in a test run for a new aid route by sea from Cyprus into the devastated Palestinian enclave where famine looms after five months of Israel's military campaign.

The ship, arranged by the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity, is carrying nearly 200 tonnes of aid to be delivered via a jetty being prepared in Gaza, with a second ship expected to sail soon.

Floating on a barge attached by rope to a salvage ship, rough seas appeared to slow down the cargo reaching land, footage posted by a WCK official on social media showed.

WCK have been constructing a makeshift jetty which would allow the flat-bottomed barge to approach Gaza's shallow waters for lack of proper port infrastructure.
"So far 2 crates already delivered from the barge," WCK founder Jose Andres, a Michelin-starred chef, said in a post on X. "But still more to do next few (h)ours".

There are few details on how the aid delivery and distribution will work once it is ready to unload in Gaza, with U.N. relief agencies having described huge obstacles to getting relief supplies to those in need.

If the new sea route is successful, it may help to ease the hunger crisis affecting Gaza, where much of the population faces malnourishment and hospitals in the worst-stricken northern areas have reported children dying of starvation.

However, bringing in aid by sea and through air drops will not be enough to make up for difficulties getting in supplies by land, aid agencies have repeatedly said.

The war in Gaza began on Oct. 7 when Hamas fighters rampaged into Israel killing 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages according to Israeli tallies.

Israel's air and ground campaign has since killed more than 31,000 Palestinians according to health authorities in Hamas-run Gaza, while driving most of the population from their homes and pushing the enclave towards famine.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/aid-supply-ship-from-cyprus-reaches-gaza-coast-but-weather-slows-delivery/ar-BB1jYsbm?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=40ae8fb4fe8f471daf05bf4e95b270fc&ei=24

Jimbuna

03-17-24, 02:46 PM

Germany calls for more larger-scale aid

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for more aid to reach Gaza on the ground, as he criticised Israel's plans for a full-scale offensive in the southern city of Rafah.

Israel has previously defended its plans for an offensive in Rafah, calling it necessary to bring an end to Hamas in the strip.

Mr Scholz's remarks come a day after the first maritime aid package to Gaza.

The shipment contained 200 tonnes of food, including rice, oil and dates.

The mission was carried out by US charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) in co-operation with the United Arab Emirates.

Aid has trickled into Gaza slowly since the start of the war, which began after Hamas gunmen attacked southern Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and seizing 253 hostages.

Since then, more than 31,400 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a visit to the Middle East, Mr Scholz described the situation in Gaza as "difficult", adding that it is "necessary for aid to reach Gaza on a larger scale now".

He said he will be bringing up the subject during talks with his counterparts in the region.

Mr Scholz went on to stress that Germany is concerned about military developments in Rafah, which is on the border with Egypt.

More than a million people from other parts of Gaza are sheltering there.

"There is a danger that a full-scale offensive in Rafah will result in many terrible civilian casualties, which must be avoided at all costs," Mr Scholz said.

It comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved plans for a military operation in Rafah, adding that the army was preparing for the evacuation of civilians.

Defending its strategy, Israel says Hamas cannot be fully removed in Gaza without targeting Rafah.

Israel's plans have been criticised by the international community, with the UN and US also warning that a full-scale assault in Rafah could be disastrous.

Speaking on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it planned to move displaced Palestinians in Gaza to what it called "humanitarian islands" in the middle of the strip. It is not clear what the "islands" will look like, or how they will operate.

A population plagued by deprivation, Gazans are in desperate need of food with the United Nations previously warning that the enclave is on the brink of famine.

Cogat, the Israeli body that coordinates humanitarian aid to Gaza, says that so far this month an average of 126 food trucks have entered each day. It says this is more than the 70 trucks carrying food specifically that entered Gaza before the war. Some 500 trucks in total entered Gaza each day before the war.

Getting aid in by land is most effective. But military operations and the breakdown of social order have severely hampered aid distribution, leading some countries to try alternative routes - by air and sea.

Israel denies impeding the entry of aid to Gaza and accuses aid organisations of failing to distribute it.

Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas could meet in Doha for talks on a potential truce deal as soon as Sunday. Hamas said it had given a "comprehensive vision" to mediators.

But Mr Netanyahu accused the group of making "unrealistic" demands. Nevertheless, he agreed to send Israeli negotiators to Qatar.

In an interview with the BBC on Saturday, Dr Margaret Harris, spokeswoman for the World Health Organization (WHO), said it is "good news" to hear there is movement towards a ceasefire.

She described that measure as "the only answer" to the current situation in Gaza. Dr Harris said her colleagues on the ground have never seen misery like it.

"They have never seen the speed and the horror and the misery the people are living in there, living massively crowded together, starving in places covered in human waste faeces, unable to clean the place because we can't even bring chlorine in".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68586065

Jimbuna

03-18-24, 12:06 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKy3lha3eIU

Jimbuna

03-18-24, 01:03 PM

Israel blocks UNRWA chief from entering Gaza, UNRWA and Egypt say

CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli authorities denied permission for the head of the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) to enter the Gaza Strip on Monday, UNRWA and the Egyptian foreign minister said, calling it an unprecedented move.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini, speaking alongside Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry at a Cairo news conference, said he had intended to go to Rafah on Monday "but I have been informed an hour ago that my entry into Rafah is declined".

Shoukry told Lazzarini: "You were declined by the Israeli government, refused the entry which is an unprecedented move for (a) representative at this high position".

UNRWA, founded in 1949, provides aid and essential services to Palestinian refugees and is the largest such provider in Gaza.

The move to deny Lazzarini permission to enter the territory comes as Palestinians in Gaza face a deepening humanitarian crisis, with a U.N.-backed report saying on Monday that famine is expected between now and May in the north of Gaza.

"We are engaged in a race against the clock to try to reverse the impact of the spreading hunger and the looming famine in the Gaza Strip," Lazzarini said, describing hunger in the Gaza Strip as "man-made".

The crisis could be resolved and reversed through proper political will and Gaza could be "flooded" with food through the land crossings, he added.

Lazzarini has visited the Gaza Strip four times since the Gaza war began on Oct. 7, and on numerous occasions prior to that, UNRWA communications director Juliette Touma told Reuters.

"The Israeli authorities denied entry of the UNRWA CG (Commissioner General) to Gaza today," she said.

It marked the first time Lazzarini had been denied entry since he began in the post, to which he was appointed in 2020.

"We were ready to leave this morning on an Egyptian plane from Cairo to El Arish," Touma said.

UNRWA is at the centre of a crisis over Israeli allegations made in January that 12 of its 13,000 staff in Gaza took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

The Israeli accusations led 16 countries including the United States to pause $450 million in UNRWA funding, throwing its operations into crisis.

UNRWA fired some staff members, saying it acted in order to protect the agency's ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, and an independent internal U.N. investigation was launched.

Australia is one of several countries which have subsequently resumed funding, its foreign minister saying last week that Australia had consulted with UNRWA and other donors and was satisfied the aid agency was not a terrorist organisation.

UNRWA has condemned the Oct. 7 attacks, saying the Israeli allegations against the agency - if true - are a betrayal of U.N. values and of the people UNRWA serves.

With the war between Israel and Hamas now in its sixth month, the U.N. has warned that at least 576,000 people in Gaza – one quarter of the population – are on the brink of famine and global pressure has been growing on Israel to allow more access for aid.

Lazzarini also said that more than 150 of UNRWA's facilities have been hit, damaged or completely destroyed during the offensive launched by Israel in response to the Oct. 7 attacks.

"We also know that a number of staff that have been arrested have gone through very tough investigation, ill-treatment and humiliation," Lazzarini said.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/israel-blocks-unrwa-chief-from-entering-gaza-unrwa-and-egypt-say/ar-BB1k5Y1r?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=396e8d9b73fe4904b94866d348a6c3e6&ei=59

em2nought

03-18-24, 01:39 PM

Israel blocks UNRWA chief from entering Gaza, UNRWA and Egypt say

UNRWA should be declared a known terrorist organization.

Jimbuna

03-19-24, 07:09 AM

Agreed :yep:

Jimbuna

03-19-24, 07:15 AM

Israel Gaza: US reports death of senior Hamas military leader Marwan Issa

Hamas leader Marwan Issa died in an Israeli air strike, White House official Jake Sullivan has said.

As deputy military commander, Mr Issa would be Hamas's most senior leader to die since the war began on 7 October.

The Palestinian group, which controls Gaza, has not officially commented on reports of his death.

Israeli media sources have reported that Mr Issa was killed in a strike on a tunnel complex under the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza last week.

The deputy commander of Hamas's military wing - the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, was considered one of Israel's most-wanted men. The European Union, which placed the Hamas leader on its terrorist blacklist, linked him directly to the 7 October attack led by the group which killed approximately 1,200 people.

He had been jailed by Israel for five years during the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, and detained by the Palestinian Authority in 1997 until the start of the second intifada in 2000.

The Israeli military has killed a number of Hamas's senior leaders since 7 October. Hamas political leader Saleh al-Arouri died in an explosion in Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh. Israel is widely considered responsible for that attack.

Mr Sullivan, the White House's national security adviser, said other Hamas leaders were believed to be in hiding, "likely deep in the Hamas tunnel network" in Gaza.

He pledged that the US would aid Israel in its continued hunt for top Hamas leaders, adding: "Justice will come for them, too."

But he also emphasised that US President Joe Biden had expressed his growing alarm over the rising number of civilian deaths in Gaza in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - their first conversation in a month.

The US president reiterated his commitment to Israel and its "right to go after Hamas", according to Mr Sullivan, but he also said that it would be a "mistake" for Israel's military to invade Rafah - a city in southern Gaza where an estimated million refugees have fled to during the war.

The invasion "would lead to more innocent civilian deaths, worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis, deepen the anarchy in Gaza and further isolate Israel internationally", the US national security adviser told reporters.

More than 31,000 Palestinian civilians have died since the war started on 7 October, according to the Hamas-led health ministry in Gaza. The death toll has drawn international condemnation and alienated many of Israel's allies.

President Biden pushed Mr Netanyahu for a "clear, strategic end game" in Gaza during the call, Mr Sullivan said.

"The president told the prime minister again today that we share the goal of defeating Hamas, but we just believe you need a coherent and sustainable strategy to make that happen," he said.

Mr Biden was able to get the Israeli leader to agree to sending a "senior interagency team composed of military, intelligence and humanitarian officials" to Washington in the coming days to discuss US concerns over an invasion of Rafah.

The expectation is that Israel will delay its assault until that meeting is held, Mr Sullivan said.

Mr Netanyahu confirmed the call on X, formerly Twitter, and said the two had "discussed the latest developments in the war" as well as Israel's goals in the conflict.

The Israeli prime minister said those objectives included: "Eliminating Hamas, freeing all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel - while providing the necessary humanitarian aid that will assist in achieving these goals."

Senior Democrats in the US are growing more vocally critical of Mr Netanyahu.

On Thursday, Chuck Schumer - the top Democrat in the Senate - called for new elections in Israel, saying that Mr Netanyahu was prioritising his "political survival" over the country's needs.

Mr Netanyahu's Likud party pushed back, saying Israel was not a "banana republic" and that the prime minister's policies were "supported by a large majority".

Mr Biden told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he knew Mr Schumer's remarks were coming. The president said, however, that the Senate leader had "expressed serious concern shared not only by him, but many Americans".

Elsewhere, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to the Middle East this week on his sixth visit to the region since the conflict in Gaza erupted.

He will hold meetings in Saudi Arabia and Egypt to discuss international efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement that secures the release of all remaining hostages.

Israeli negotiators are due to begin talks in Qatar on Tuesday in a fresh attempt to secure a ceasefire deal.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68578735

Jimbuna

03-20-24, 01:36 PM

Blinken visits Middle East to discuss Gaza post-war plan

The US secretary of state has flown to the Middle East to discuss a post-war plan to govern and secure Gaza.

Antony Blinken's talks with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia and then Egypt will focus on what the US calls "an architecture for lasting peace".

It comes as witnesses said Israeli forces had escalated their operation around al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, carrying out a number of air strikes.

Earlier, Israel's military said it had killed 90 gunmen there since Monday.

Separately, indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are continuing in Qatar to bring about a ceasefire and the release of hostages. But there are few signs that a breakthrough is imminent.

Mr Blinken's sixth trip to the region since the start of the war in Gaza saw him land in Jeddah on Wednesday afternoon to meet the Saudi leadership.

Descending from the plane shortly before sundown he was greeted by waiting officials, including Mazin al-Himali from the Saudi foreign ministry, who embraced Mr Blinken.

He is expected to meet the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, at the royal palace on Wednesday night.

State department spokesman Matthew Miller said they would discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement and increase aid deliveries to Gaza, amid further dire warnings about the scale of the humanitarian crisis there.

A UN-backed food security assessment this week said 1.1 million people in Gaza were struggling with catastrophic hunger and starvation, adding that a man-made famine in the north was imminent between now and May.

Also on the agenda would be "co-ordination on post-conflict planning for Gaza, including ensuring Hamas can no longer govern or repeat the attacks of 7 October, a political path for the Palestinian people with security assurances with Israel, and an architecture for lasting peace and security in the region", Mr Miller added.

Mr Blinken will travel to Cairo on Thursday to meet Egyptian leaders.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68614549

Jimbuna

03-21-24, 07:29 AM

Gaps are narrowing in Israel-Hamas cease-fire talks, Blinken says during Mideast visit

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the “gaps are narrowing” in indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas over another cease-fire and hostage release that the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have spent several weeks trying to broker.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/hamas-ap-antony-blinken-israel-egypt-b2516165.html

Exocet25fr

03-22-24, 05:07 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZD8x8x88cg

Jimbuna

03-22-24, 06:43 AM

New Gaza hospital raid shows Hamas is not a spent force

Four months after Israeli troops first stormed Gaza's biggest hospital, al-Shifa, claiming it was a cover for a Hamas command and control centre, they have returned.

The Israeli military said it had "concrete intelligence" that Hamas operatives had regrouped there. Palestinians have told the BBC of their fears at being trapped in fierce battles.

While this week's raid again highlights a desperate humanitarian situation, it is also a strong reminder that Hamas is far from a spent force.

Some analysts suggest it shows the desperate need for a comprehensive strategy to deal with the Islamist armed group and a clear plan on the post-war governance of Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) now claim to have killed "over 140 terrorists" in ongoing fighting at al-Shifa and to have made some 600 arrests, including dozens of top Hamas commanders as well as some from Islamic Jihad. Two Israeli soldiers have also been killed.

Israeli reports suggest that in recent weeks the army found that senior Hamas figures had resumed operations at al-Shifa and that some even took their families to the hospital. The IDF says it uncovered arms caches and a large quantity of cash at the site.

Hamas has denied that its fighters were based there and claims that those killed were wounded patients and displaced people.

Palestinian witnesses have told the BBC that gunfire and Israeli air strikes have been endangering patients, medics and hundreds of people still sheltering in the grounds.

A local journalist has shared footage of smoke billowing from the complex.

In another unverified video, shared on social media, dozens of women can be seen hunkering down in a building with their children. One says: "They took our men to an unknown place and now they're asking women and children to leave. We don't know where we'll go".

In the background, an IDF officer says over loudspeaker: "Do not leave the buildings without instructions. We seek to evacuate civilians without harm, as we did in other hospitals in the past."

Since Wednesday evening, communications have been severely restricted, making it hard to contact medics and others at the scene.

Back in November, there were accusations of possible violations of international law as Israeli tanks closed in on al-Shifa, in the heart of Gaza City. Premature babies were among those who died as conditions deteriorated in the besieged hospital.

The IDF released surveillance camera footage which showed two hostages snatched from Israel being taken into the hospital. After an extensive search, Israeli troops blew up a large tunnel with rooms which ran under the site and later withdrew.

The Israeli army went on to suggest that Hamas's regional brigades and battalions in the north of the Gaza Strip had been disbanded. But soon reports emerged that small cells were regrouping.

While Hamas has undoubtedly been severely weakened by the war, there have since been signs that it has been trying to restore its governing capability, including through policing and with some possible involvement in aid distribution.

Washington has indicated that Israel's renewed military action at al-Shifa Hospital illustrates its worry that its close ally does not have an adequate strategy to dismantle the organisation.

"Israel cleared Shifa once. Hamas came back into Shifa, which raises questions about how to ensure a sustainable campaign against Hamas so that it cannot regenerate, cannot retake territory," the US National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, said this week.

The US has been pressing Israel to come up with a feasible alternative for Hamas rule in Gaza. Its plan has been to promote individuals linked to the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority (PA) and to work with Arab states to prevent a power vacuum.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68629540

Jimbuna

03-22-24, 01:15 PM

Russia, China veto US-led UN resolution on Gaza ceasefire

March 22 (Reuters) - The United Nations Security Council on Friday turned down a U.S.-led resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal after Russia and China vetoed the measure proposed by the United States.
The resolution, on which Algeria also voted no and Guyana abstained, called for an immediate and sustained ceasefire lasting roughly six weeks that would protect civilians and allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-security-council-fails-pass-us-resolution-calling-immediate-ceasefire-gaza-2024-03-22/

em2nought

03-22-24, 02:53 PM

Russia, China veto US-led UN resolution on Gaza ceasefire

:har:

Jimbuna

03-23-24, 06:34 AM

Head of UN agency says Israel blocked him from entering Gaza - and he says it would be 'easy to flood besieged territory with food'

The head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees says he has been blocked from entering Gaza.

Philippe Lazzarini claimed it was the first time this had happened to an UNRWA commissioner-general in its history.

Speaking on Sky News' The World With Yalda Hakim, Mr Lazzarini said it would be "easy to flood Gaza with food" - but he was prevented from entering the besieged territory earlier this week.

He has accused Israel of singling him out and challenged the country's claim he was barred due to mistakes on his entry application.

Mr Lazzarini, who has been to Gaza numerous times before, says he was the only member of his delegation to be blocked by the Israeli defence body COGAT from entering on Monday.

It comes as Israel faces pressure from Western allies, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains steadfast in his commitment to a ground invasion of Rafah, where he claims Hamas's remaining battalions are hiding.

The nation has been accused of restricting the flow of aid into Gaza, something it has denied but the UN previously said could amount to war crimes.

Talking to Sky News, Mr Lazzarini said: "It is easy to flood Gaza with food, it's easy to reverse this trend."

He continued: "I was supposed to go to Gaza on Monday. I was in Cairo, when I was informed by the Israeli authorities that I will not be allowed to go into Gaza despite the fact that the rest of my delegation was allowed to enter.

"It is the first time in the history of the agency that the commissioner-general has been deliberately denied entry into Gaza."

UNRWA is the largest aid organisation in Gaza. Israel has accused the agency of providing cover for Hamas and alleges at least 12 UNRWA workers took part in the October 7 attack on southern Israel.
https://news.sky.com/story/head-of-un-agency-says-israel-blocked-him-from-entering-gaza-and-he-says-it-would-be-easy-to-flood-besieged-territory-with-food-13098871

Jimbuna

03-23-24, 08:00 AM

Netanyahu says he is going into Rafah with or without American support

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that he is determined to send troops into the southern Gaza city of Rafah and would do so without U.S. support. He made the announcement after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. President Joe Biden's administration has urged Israel to hold off on its invasion of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering.

'Today, I met with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. I conveyed my deep appreciation for our joint effort in combating Hamas for over five months,' Netanyahu said. 'I emphasized our commitment to evacuating civilians from conflict zones and addressing humanitarian needs. However, I underscored the necessity of entering the Strip and neutralizing the remaining militias to defeat Hamas,' he added.

'While I expressed hope for U.S. support, I made it clear that if necessary, we would proceed independently.' Blinken, meanwhile, warned Netanyahu that Israel's security and its place in the world are in peril, and 'you might not realize it until it's too late,' Axios reported citing sources. 'You need a coherent plan, or either you're going to be stuck in Gaza,' Blinken said.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/netanyahu-says-he-is-going-into-rafah-with-or-without-american-support/ss-BB1kmuAF?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=ed6fda3fb8da4ed4b9c14d462f2aeb88&ei=18#image=1

Skybird

03-23-24, 08:16 AM

What is mostly ignored in Western media is that Netanjahu has the very wide support of the vast majority of Israeli people behind him, regarding this question.

Still, it must noit be that he really gives the order to execute. He may find it more useful to maintian the current status oif tensiuon with the US, to benefit from the prestige this may earn him with his people as the unwavering rock opposing American pressure. If he attacks, the cards can no longer be used to just bluff, but must be shown. And then the result will be either this way - or that way.

Jimbuna

03-23-24, 08:19 AM

I don't think he has any alternative other than to go in, especially whilst there are still captive hostages being held.

Jimbuna

03-24-24, 12:01 PM

Israel besieges two more Gaza hospitals, demands evacuations, Palestinians say

CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli forces besieged two more Gaza hospitals on Sunday, pinning down medical teams under heavy gunfire, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, and Israel said it had captured 480 militants in continued clashes at Gaza's main Al Shifa hospital.

Israeli forces say hospitals in the Palestinian enclave where war has been raging for over five months have frequently been used as strongholds of Hamas militants harbouring bases and weapons. Hames and medical staff deny this.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said one of its staff was killed when Israeli tanks suddenly pushed back into areas around Al-Amal and Nasser hospitals in the southern city of Khan Younis, amid heavy bombardment and gunfire.
Israeli armoured forces sealed off Al-Amal Hospital and carried out extensive bulldozing operations in its vicinity, the Red Crescent said in a statement, adding: "All of our teams are in extreme danger at the moment and are completely immobilised."

It said Israeli forces were now demanding the complete evacuation of staff, patients and displaced people from Al Amal's premises and were firing smoke bombs into the area to try to force out its occupants.

A displaced Palestinian was killed inside the hospital compound after being hit in the head by Israeli fire, the Red Crescent said in an update later in the day.

The Israeli military said its forces were hitting "infrastructure" in Khan Younis used as lairs for numerous militants. Hamas denies using hospitals for military ends and accuses Israel of war crimes against civilian targets.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said dozens of patients and medical staffers had been detained by Israeli forces at Al Shifa in Gaza City in the enclave's north that has been under Israeli control for a week.

The Hamas-run government media office said Israeli forces had killed five Palestinian doctors during their seven-day-old swoop on Al Shifa.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on that report. It said earlier that it had killed over 170 gunmen in the raid, which the Palestinian Health Ministry said had also caused the deaths of five patients.

Al Shifa is one of the few healthcare facilities even partially operational in north Gaza, and - like others - had also been housing some of the nearly 2 million civilians - over 80% of Gaza's population - displaced by the war.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/israel-besieges-two-more-gaza-hospitals-demands-evacuations-palestinians-say/ar-BB1krK3l?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=7bd8c32086a64e3f8e0502ac4377041a&ei=13

Jimbuna

03-25-24, 12:32 PM

The UN Security Council has passed a resolution calling for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza.

In a change in position, the US refrained from vetoing the measure, which also calls for the release of hostages.

The US move signals divergence with Israel - although the White House insists it's not a policy shift.

In response, Israel has cancelled its delegation's planned visit to the White House this week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls it a "clear retreat" from the previous US position.

The US says it's "very disappointed" by the cancelled visit - but says a separate visit by Israel's defence minister will go ahead.

The Security Council resolution was approved by 14 votes to none, with one abstention - from the US

Jimbuna

03-26-24, 07:56 AM

Fighting is continuing in the Gaza Strip despite the first UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire passing on Monday.

The resolution, which also called for the release of all hostages, followed several failed attempts at similar measures since the 7 October attacks.

The US abstained from the vote - allowing the motion to pass - leading Israel to cancel a meeting in Washington.

The Israeli Prime Minister's office said on Tuesday it Israel will not surrender to Hamas' "delusional" ceasefire demands.

In Gaza, witnesses say Israeli warplanes bombed the southern city of Rafah. Palestinian media report at least 18 people were killed in an air strike on a residential building.

Elsewhere, fierce gun battles raged around hospitals in nearby Khan Younis and Gaza City.

Meanwhile talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives aimed at ending the fighting continue via mediators in Qatar.

Jimbuna

03-26-24, 08:49 AM

Jeremy Bowen: Biden has decided strong words with Israel are not enough

For weeks, President Joe Biden and his senior officials have been losing patience with the way that Israel is fighting the war in Gaza.

They have used increasingly stiff language to convey their displeasure to Israel and the wider world.

The decision to allow the latest ceasefire resolution through the Security Council shows that President Biden has decided that strong words are not enough.

Removing diplomatic protection from Israel's conduct of the war is a significant step.

It shows the depth of the rift that has opened between the White House and Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Prime Minister Netanyahu responded with a broadside directed at Israel's most important ally.

He condemned the US decision not to use its veto, saying it had harmed the war effort and attempts to free the hostages taken by Hamas on 7 October last year.

Joe Biden and his top officials might file those remarks under the heading of extreme ingratitude.

The president is deeply attached to Israel, calls himself a Zionist, and has provided the Israeli people with emotional support as well as all the military and diplomatic assistance their state has needed since 7 October last year.

He wants freedom for the hostages as well as the destruction of Hamas as a military force. But Mr Biden wants Israel to do that, as he put it, "the right way".

In those devastating first weeks of the war President Biden warned Israel not to be blinded by rage, as America had been after the al-Qaeda attacks on 11 September 2001.

The US president travelled to Israel, comforted families of victims of the Hamas attacks and even embraced Mr Netanyahu, with whom he has never had an easy relationship.

President Biden and his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, who's visited Israel six times since 7 October, have repeatedly told Israel to respect international humanitarian law, which includes an obligation to protect civilians.

At the start of the war, as those first American warnings were being prepared, Prime Minister Netanyahu promised Israelis what he called a "mighty vengeance".

Since then, more than 30,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed with weapons mostly provided by the US.

With Gaza in ruins, famine looming for Palestinian civilians and the prospect of many more deaths in an Israeli offensive on Rafah in southern Gaza, President Biden seems to have had enough of having his advice ignored.

Israel claims that it always respects the laws of war and denies that it blocks humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza.

But evidence has piled up that the Israelis are not telling the truth, with children dying of hunger a few miles from ample stores of food in Israel and Egypt.

The Americans, and the rest of the world, can see the evidence presented by the UN and aid agencies that Gaza is on the brink of famine.

The US military is dropping aid by air and bringing a temporary dock across the Atlantic so that supplies can come to Gaza by sea, while Israel lets only small amounts through the port of Ashdod, a modern container terminal only half an hour's drive north of Gaza.

The decision not to veto the Ramadan ceasefire resolution is also an attempt by the Americans to push back at accusations that they have enabled Israel's actions.

It comes after Prime Minister Netanyahu has rejected, vehemently, the Biden Administration's plans to find a way through the worst Middle East crisis in decades.

The Americans are trying to show that Israel's impunity from international pressure has limits.

Security Council resolutions are normally considered to have the force of international law. Israel must decide now whether it will respect the resolution, which has been welcomed by Hamas as well as the Palestinian representative at the UN.

Mr Netanyahu's coalition government relies on the support of Jewish ultranationalist extremists.

They will urge him to ignore the resolution. If he does, the US will have to respond.

If more words are not enough, the biggest lever at President Biden's disposal controls the air bridge of arms supplies to Israel, dozens of flights by huge transport planes bringing in the munitions Israel has used in the war, as well the ones it would need if it goes through with its plan to widen the ground war to Rafah.

The US-Israel alliance is deep - in 1948 President Harry Truman recognised Israel's independence 11 minutes after it had been declared - but at times it is dysfunctional.

Crises happen when Israel defies the wishes of American presidents, and harms what they see as US interests.

This isn't the first time that Benjamin Netanyahu has infuriated the men in the White House.

He has done so regularly since he first became Israel's prime minister in 1996.

But his defiance of the US has never been this prolonged, or bitter, and no crisis in the long US-Israel alliance has been as serious as the one that's developed in almost six months of the Gaza war.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68662011

Jimbuna

03-27-24, 02:15 PM

Surprise! Hamas has thousands more fighters than Israel initially thought

30,000 was always an estimate for how many fighters Hamas had. We now know that the number was too low. Following numbers provided by Israeli defense sources, Israel has killed around 13,000 members of Hamas.

Already back in early February, the IDF had wounded another 10,000 to such a degree that it was assessed that they would not be able to return to battle and had arrested another 2,300.

The IDF has not provided updated wounded and arrest numbers since then, but simply adding together a series of public announcements regarding arrests, such as the more than 500 Hamas terrorists arrested at Shifa Hospital, at least around 3,500 would have been arrested to date.

This means that at least around 26,000 Hamas members have been put out of action by Israel to date when adding together killed, wounded, and arrested totals.

Until Tuesday, Israeli defense sources had said that there were four Hamas battalions in Rafah and two left in central Gaza, leaving around 6,000 Hamas forces.

Adding 26,000 and 6,000 would have broken the 30,000 total but could be considered close enough to be generally accurate. However, on Tuesday, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer said that Hamas has 8,000 of its forces in Rafah. Adding an additional 4,000 to 32,000 brings us up to 36,000.

But that is not the end of it. Recently, IDF sources gave a briefing indicating that around 70% of Hamas forces in Khan Yunis, out of an original 4,500, had been removed from the battlefield. That would leave at least 1,300 additional forces in Khan Yunis.

Similarly, there have been reports that Hamas still had at least a few thousand forces left in northern Gaza. Adding all these numbers up, one comes closer to a pre-war Hamas force of 40,000 or more and the idea that it still has around 15,000 or more remaining forces.

None of this takes credit away from Israel for having succeeded at taking apart 18 out of Hamas's 24 battalions and from having succeeded at removing - even with these new numbers - more than 60% of Hamas forces from the battlefield, an impressive feat.

The truth is that even as almost all official channels from the IDF repeated the 30,000 number, a couple of high officials always let slip, in less regulated briefings, that the actual number was closer to 40,000.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/surprise-hamas-has-thousands-more-fighters-than-israel-initially-thought/ar-BB1kDNhW?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=4fcbd5131dee422caf43b4c87f2fb1fb&ei=102

Jimbuna

03-28-24, 07:59 AM

Gaza starvation could amount to war crime, UN human rights chief tells BBC

After months of warnings, a recent UN-backed report offered hard statistical evidence that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is turning into a man-made famine.

It has increased the pressure on Israel to fulfil its legal responsibilities to protect Palestinian civilians, and to allow adequate supplies of humanitarian aid to reach the people who need it.

The UN's most senior human rights official, Volker Türk, said in a BBC interview that Israel bore significant blame, and that there was a "plausible" case that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.

Mr Türk, who is the UN high commissioner for human rights, said that if intent was proven, that would amount to a war crime.

Israel's economy minister, Nir Barkat, a senior politician in Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, dismissed Mr Türk's warnings as "total nonsense - a totally irresponsible thing to say".

Like his cabinet colleagues, Mr Barkat insisted that Israel was letting in all the aid offered by the US and the rest of the world. Israel says the UN fails to distribute whatever is left once Hamas has helped itself.

But a long line of lorries fully loaded with aid supplies desperately needed in the Gaza Strip is backing up on the Egyptian side of the border with Rafah. They can only enter Gaza through Israel, after a complex and bureaucratic series of checks.

The absence of adequate supplies has forced Jordan, and now other countries including the US and UK, to drop aid from the air - the least effective way to deliver humanitarian supplies.

Palestinians on the ground fighting to secure a share have drowned as they try to swim to pallets that have landed in the sea, or have been crushed when parachutes fail.

The US Navy is also sending an engineering flotilla across the Atlantic to build a temporary pier to land aid by sea.

None of that would be necessary if Israel granted full road access to Gaza and expedited the delivery of relief supplies through the modern container port at Ashdod, only about half an hour's drive north of the Gaza Strip.

In an interview from Geneva, Mr Türk said evidence had emerged that Israel was slowing down or withholding the delivery of aid.

Mr Türk condemned the Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers on 7 October, including killing, rape and hostage-taking. But he also said that no side in the war should evade accountability for its actions, including for any attempt to withhold aid supplies from the people who need it in Gaza.

"All of my humanitarian colleagues keep telling us that there is a lot of red tape. There are obstacles. There are hindrances… Israel is to blame in a significant way," he said.

"I can only say the facts speak for themselves… I understand that this needs to be controlled, but it cannot take days for it to be done.

"When you put all kinds of requirements on the table that are unreasonable in an emergency… that brings up the question, with all the restrictions that we currently see, whether there is a plausible claim to be made that starvation is, or may be used as, a weapon of war."

Concern about humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip deepened last week with the release of a soberly written commentary alongside a series of maps, charts and statistics. It prompted more warnings from Israel's allies that it should change the way it is fighting the war against Hamas to spare civilians from death from either high explosive or hunger.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68679482

Jimbuna

03-28-24, 09:40 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7CGonrhG_k

Jimbuna

03-29-24, 01:19 PM

Top UN court orders Israel to allow food and medical aid into Gaza

The UN's top court has ordered Israel to enable the unhindered flow of aid into Gaza in order to avert a famine.

In a unanimous decision, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Israel had to act "without delay" to allow the "provision... of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance".

This follows warnings that famine could hit Gaza within weeks.

Israel has called allegations it is blocking aid "wholly unfounded".

Giving its response to the court order, the Israeli foreign ministry said it was continuing "to promote new initiatives, and to expand existing ones" to allow a continuous flow of aid into Gaza "by land, air and sea", working with the UN and others.

It said that Hamas was to blame for the situation in Gaza and for starting the war.

The latest ruling by the court in The Hague comes after South Africa asked it to bolster an order issued to Israel in January to take all measures to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza.

South Africa said it had an obligation to act to prevent genocide as a signatory of the UN's 1948 Genocide Convention.

The country has been highly critical of Israel's military operation in Gaza and its governing African National Congress (ANC) has a long history of solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

Although orders issued by the ICJ are legally binding, the court lacks the power to enforce them. The UN Security Council is the only UN body which can introduce measures to try to ensure compliance.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68691095

Jimbuna

03-29-24, 01:52 PM

Netanyahu says Israel will return to table for cease-fire talks with Hamas

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will return to the table for cease-fire talks with Hamas.

Friday’s announcement marks yet another attempt to reach a deal with the militant group that would pause Israel’s military offensive in Gaza in exchange for the release of Israeli hostages. Several rounds of negotiations have faltered.

Netanyahu says he has spoken with Israel’s lead negotiators and authorized Israeli delegations to join talks in Qatar and Egypt over the coming days.

With the war now grinding through a sixth month, the United States, Qatar and Egypt have spent months trying to negotiate another cease-fire and hostage release. But those efforts appear to have stalled.

Hamas has previously proposed a phased process in which it would release all the remaining hostages in exchange for an end to the war and full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the opening of its borders for aid and reconstruction, and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including top militants serving life sentences.

Netanyahu has called the demands delusional and vowed to resume Israel’s offensive after any hostage release and keep fighting until the militant group is destroyed.

Hamas is believed to be holding roughly 100 hostages, as well as the remains of about 30 people killed in the group’s Oct. 7 attack, which triggered the war, or who died in captivity.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/the-latest-netanyahu-says-israel-will-return-to-table-for-cease-fire-talks-with-hamas/ar-BB1kKMnr?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=46f0bc87804d41cfb7579c9c685eee09&ei=16

Jimbuna

03-30-24, 06:12 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kZ_O9ttLV8

Jimbuna

03-31-24, 01:31 PM

Second aid ship heads for Gaza with tonnes of food for starving Palestinians

Athree-ship convoy carrying 400 tonnes of food and other supplies to starving Palestinians in Gaza left a port in Cyprus on Saturday as concerns mount about hunger in the territory.

US charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) said the vessels and a barge were carrying enough ready-to-eat items, including rice, pasta, flour, legumes, canned vegetables and proteins, to prepare more than 1 million meals. Also on board were dates, which are traditionally eaten to break the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

It is the second shipment this month, after Israel eased a 17-year naval blockade on the Gaza Strip to allow aid sourced by WCK to enter the territory from Cyprus. It comes after the Cypriot authorities established, in cooperation with Israel, a maritime corridor to facilitate the delivery of pre-screened cargo directly to Gaza.
A ship operated by Spanish charity Open Arms inaugurated the direct sea route to the Palestinian territory earlier this month, with 200 tonnes of food, water and other aid. A makeshift jetty was built from rubble to offload the cargo, as the territory does not have any port facilities.

Saturday’s convoy includes two forklifts and a crane to assist with future marine deliveries, as well as a team to operate the crane.

Separately, the US plans to construct a floating pier off Gaza to receive aid. The target for completion is 1 May but it could be ready by around 15 April, Cypriot president Nikos Christodoulides said late on Friday, citing briefings with US officials earlier in the week.

The aid will be taken to Gaza on a cargo ship and a barge towed by a salvage vessel, along with a tugboat carrying a support team – a journey that will take about 60 hours, according to a Cypriot official.

WCK, which has been active in Gaza for months, arranged the mission with the Open Arms charity, with financing mainly from the United Arab Emirates and support from Cypriot authorities.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/second-aid-ship-heads-for-gaza-with-tonnes-of-food-for-starving-palestinians/ar-BB1kNKNN?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=894bbff0ba7b455ab9d30f8941f12837&ei=22

Skybird

03-31-24, 03:04 PM

This fool lost it.

https://unherd.com/2024/03/israels-victory-will-be-netanyahus-downfall/

When I asked an officer at IDF headquarters why so much time had passed with Rafah untouched, his answer was unexpectedly gnomic: “Netanyahu is not Ben Gurion.” The comparison is charged: Ben Gurion was not only Israel’s first prime minister, but its spiritual founder, midwife to a nation born under siege. When he declared independence on May 15, 1948, he triggered the invasions of four Arab states, each one better equipped than his underground Jewish militias, for whom a rifle was precious and artillery an impossible dream. With this act, Ben Gurion ignored American and British warnings that the war would end in a massacre and went it alone, demonstrating a faith in the fighting spirit of his young country and a conviction in his own powers of leadership. These are qualities that Netanyahu sorely lacks. Netanyahu was once a very decisive politician who set Israel on the path to techno-prosperity as a revolutionary finance minister two decades ago. And he had been an equally decisive soldier, serving for five years instead of the obligatory two and a half, fighting hard in Israel’s premier commando force in dozens of combat actions. But he has not been a decisive war leader. His political trajectory is a story of declining authority, propped up by ever more marginal and objectionable elements within Israeli politics.
Fear the old men who miss the right time to step down.

Jimbuna

04-01-24, 07:56 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPFR8VYf1bA

Jimbuna

04-02-24, 06:39 AM

Seven people working for food aid charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) have been killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza.

The UK's foreign secretary says British nationals are reported to have been killed.

Others who died were Australian, Polish, Palestinian, and a dual US-Canadian citizen, WCK say.

Australia's PM has said he expects "full accountability" after Australian worker Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom is listed among the dead.

Israel's military says it is conducting a "thorough review" into the incident.

A Palestinian medical source told the BBC the workers had been wearing bullet-proof vests bearing the charity's logo.

The CEO of World Central Kitchen says it was an "unforgiveable attack" - the organisation is pausing its operations.

em2nought

04-02-24, 12:05 PM

This fool lost it.

https://unherd.com/2024/03/israels-victory-will-be-netanyahus-downfall/

Fear the old men who miss the right time to step down.

...and yet Netanyahu is far superior to our current squatter in the White House. :D

Dargo

04-02-24, 01:30 PM

Netanyahu days are numbered, he cannot get the hostages released if he continues this way, his current power is only based on this war. The Israeli people want the hostages alive, Netanyahu has handled this conflict totally the wrong way. Only thing Netanyahu has created is Hamas 2.0 that will be the result of his way of dealing with this conflict, how longer this goes on more and more hostages will die. The Israeli people are and will not take this, their protests will grow demanding him to go. What the White House demands is not new Bush did this also Netanyahu crossed the lines he can say he does not care but the pressure within is growing Netanyahu will in the end comply to the demands of the White House. What you in your own political rhetoric do not see that there is building up a war that will be regional in the north that will become a greater problem than this Hamas conflict.

Skybird

04-02-24, 01:49 PM

Netanyahu's mistake is that he does not put his deeds where his mouth is. He pretends to be the wild and determined man, but does not act like a wild and determined man. The moment Israel was attacked and found itself in war due to the assault my Hamas, he should have gone all the way, not just the first part of it. Now he is bogged down in hesitation and the resulting repowering of Hamas.

Rafah by now already should have been fallen, since days and weeks. No matter what the West wishes. No matter the costs. See the link I gave somewhere above. The reference made by an Israeli to Ben Gurion. Gurion did his thing and gave brown stuff for what the Americans and British wished him to do. He took the risk and saw it through. Israel fought that founding war, against the odds. Israel won.

Netanhayu has lost his bite that maybe, long time ago, he has had. Foolish old man. Became a bloody opportunist the moment he stopped being a commando soldier and instead became a politician.

You can't make it right for everyone. Try it, and you ruin it.

Dargo

04-02-24, 02:08 PM

Skybird

04-02-24, 02:44 PM

Netanyahu was/is too focused on Hamas he forgot the hostages they are priority one they weigh more than trying to do the impossible killing Hamas this is his political mistake and the Israeli people will make him pay for this. The Taliban is back, ISIS is back terror groups you can not kill you can't kill extreme retarded religion ideas with bullets.
If you put the hostage on top of your priorities. You play according to the conditions set up by Hamas. You already have lost.

Its hard to say, and I dont like it. But what needs to be done, needs to be done - despite the hostages. If you can get them out alive, the better. But its a bonus. Nobody dares to say that. But its true.

The priority is to kill every Hamas guy in Gaza that you can put a bullet into. This was clear to me from day one of the massacre on Octobre 7th. And those in the background, the planners and decision makers - hunt them, find them kill them, everywhere in the world. Be a rabid dog, make everybody afraid of your unpredictability and ruthlessness. Thats the number one rule to play by in the Middle East. The game's name is "mere survival".

Soft sensitive civilised Western beings dont understand this.

I never did anything else but laugh about this "two state solution". To me its utmost ridiculous, and in total ignorrance of reality.

Saying this as a non-Jew, as a German, and as somebody who does not have any special affection for or antipathy against Israel. My reasons to side with it are purely pragmatic. It slognterm chances to survive I see as very quesitonable, due to its overly exposed and very vulnerable strategic position, and massive inner conflicts that accompany it already since it was founded. It most likely will blow up one day. But it must not be today already.

Dargo

04-02-24, 02:57 PM

Violence has never solved any conflict, with the troubles in Northern Ireland both sides came to an agreement because both sides realized armed conflict could not win their cause the same is for Israel and Palestine they both need to figure out to live with each other else this will last forever this is not soft this is harder than killing each other. Transitioning from war to peace is not a technical exercise but a highly political process where different principles, priorities and approaches need to come together. There is no one-size-fits-all template or solution: what works in one place may not work in another because every person, community or society deals with the aftermath of conflict differently. You can biaach (because we so "soft" you can) about Europe, but we kept the peace for more than 75 years that soft dealing with each other this in an EU made us very, very rich people we can do, say, work, live anywhere without being hindered because of that "soft" doing we are at peace and free.

Skybird

04-02-24, 03:07 PM

Violence has never solved any conflict,
Blödsinn. History is full of examples.

Thats typical Western illusion. Rationality's forming and creating power gets overestimated, the world-forming effect of violence and force gets underestimated. Probably a consequence from unconditional "pacifism".

Im a thankful German who directly benefits from that violence solved the conflict Hitler started. If they would have followed Chamberlain, and your argument, I maybe today would wear a black uniform with silver skulls on the collar - and be stinking proud of it. Who knows what would have happened if Hitler would have won the war and I only knew the world as it would have been then.

Or Ukraine today. Tell them that violence never has solved a conflict. They will love you.

:nope: :nope: :nope:

Dargo

04-02-24, 03:36 PM

Blödsinn. History is full of examples.

Thats typical Western illusion. Rationality's forming and creating power gets overestimated, the world-forming effect of violence and force gets underestimated. Probably a consequence from unconditional "pacifism".

Im a thankful German who directly benefits from that violence solved the conflict Hitler started. If they would have followed Chamberlain, and your argument, I maybe today would wear a black uniform with silver skulls on the collar - and be stinking proud of it. Who knows what would have happened if Hitler would have won the war and I only knew the world as it would have been then.

Or Ukraine today. Tell them that violence never has solved a conflict. They will love you.

:nope: :nope: :nope:My father was a 7-year-old boy when WWII started he was damaged because of it in my family people went to the camps because of political reasons they were all broken for life I know what Hitler did I experienced their damages in my live this war did change my life in a bad way I rather be a pacifist than a warmonger I am damaged because of their experience in WWII.

Skybird

04-02-24, 04:58 PM

You probably would be dead or would never have come into existence - if WW2 has not been fought.

You mistake the reason of a catastrophe with its cure, you declare those responisble for the drama who actually ehlped to overcome it. My family was not in the camps, but my two grandfathers came back as crippled men both in body and soul, their three brothers were killed, one of them court-martialed and shot for refusing to complicit and not covering the dirty crimes they did i France behind the frontline, my father's family had to flee from the Sudetenland from the Russians who wiped out the rest of their family, and the whole village.

Your logic is flawed. The source of the suffering your family had to endure was not the Allies who picked up the fight, but the megalomania of that mad Austrian in Germany who launched it all, him and his crimional barbaric minions. Like russia is the source of the evil it has brought over and into Ukraine. And a radical pacifist base atittude will to do anything to stop these evils - but it will give them the space and opportunity to grow and to thrive. Perpetrator and victim are not the same. Self-defence is not the same like aggressive first strike and assault.

There are two forms of war. Wars of need, and wars of desire. I warn to fall for the second. I know that it is unrellistic to reject reality when the first finds you.

That is what I call pacifism, and yes, I see myself as a pacifist. Pacisifsm needs the aiblity and will to defend itself. Else its not pacifism, but victimhood. There is nothing noble or ennobling in being a weak victim. Weakness always is nothing more than just weakness. It kills your degrees of freedom to act and deicde. It leaves you incapable, impotent of any sort of action, and at your attacker's mercy. I have no respect for people who do not even understand why they should want to be able to defend themselves if they come under attack. I will not move one hand for them. Their fate leaves me unmoved.

"Nie wieder Krieg" (never again war), they say over here in Germany, meaning they do not want to ever have to act in a war again. That is a wrong conclusion from the horror of WW2, it dooms us to repeat the desaster because we refused to learn the lessons last time . After the dark years 1933-45, the German conclusion only can and must be: "never again for the wrong reasons, never again on the side of darkness". You do not secure peace and liberty by ignoring unwelcomed reality. More so, by following the contemporary German attitude "Nie wieder", you bring suffering and misery over the victims of war and injustice whom to protect or to enable to defend themselves you reject. I admit however that many reasons governments of the present give for the wars they unleash, may it be Iraq, may it be Afghanistan, may it be Vietnam and so many others, were lies, and crimes. That is a problem with the lacking trustworthiness of politicians. Too many people believe the wrong leaders, too many fall for lies and slogans, cheap propaganda and a cozy wallowing in lowest sentiments of the masses. Dispicable.

Do not prematurely seek war. But if war finds you - then fight with all and everything you have and open the gates of hell if needed - put all your heart into it. Else you will get destroyed, killed, lost. Just because you do not want war does not mean that war spares you from getting found by it. Even those who refuse to fire a rifle can be killed by a round.

Or in the words of my mentor from my youth and training years: "Always be a warrior - but with a peaceful heart. Always be at peace with yourself and always be sure of your reasons. Always let yourself be unmoved by the state of fight or peace. Never draw a weapon unless you are ready to use it. Never put back an unused weapon." - Very wise words. But many do not understand the meaning of these words. And not a few even try hard to misunderstand them. I dont like the modern Zeitgeist. It stinks, and it sucks.

mapuc

04-02-24, 05:04 PM

'Violence has never solved any conflict'

In a way it is true. However sometimes violence has to be met with counter violence.

What if USA said in 1942/3
- Violence has never solved any conflict-lets end this world war and sign a treaty with Germany and Japan and stop deliver war material to Russia.

By the way I'm a offensive pacifist not a defence pacifist

Markus

Skybird

04-02-24, 06:10 PM

By the way I'm a offensive pacifist not a defence pacifist

Whats that?

mapuc

04-03-24, 06:53 AM

Whats that?

To put it simple I will not attack another person or I wouldn't take part in an offensive against another country

I will however defend myself or my family and friends if they are attacked.

Markus

Skybird

04-03-24, 07:53 AM

I see. I more or less tick like that, too.

Jimbuna

04-03-24, 11:10 AM

Hamas chief says movement sticking to ceasefire conditions including Israeli pullout

DUBAI (Reuters) -Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said on Wednesday that the Islamist movement at war with Israel was sticking to its conditions for a ceasefire in Gaza, including an Israeli military withdrawal.

"We are committed to our demands: the permanent ceasefire, comprehensive and complete withdrawal of the enemy out of the Gaza Strip, the return of all displaced people to their homes, allowing all aid needed for our people in Gaza, rebuilding the Strip, lifting the blockade and achieving an honourable prisoner exchange deal," Haniyeh said in a televised speech marking Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day.

The exchange he referred to would be a release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for Israeli hostages being held by militants in Gaza since Oct. 7.
Israel had said it is interested only in a temporary truce to free hostages, while Hamas says it will let them go only as part of a deal to permanently end the war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that Israel will push its invasion into Rafah at the southern end of Gaza, where 1.5 million people have sought shelter.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/hamas-chief-says-movement-sticking-to-ceasefire-conditions-including-israeli-pullout/ar-BB1l12Y0?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=6a9ab0371eef4191ac899ce91561a38d&ei=16

Jimbuna

04-03-24, 11:33 AM

Pressure is mounting on Israel after seven people working for food aid charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) were killed in an Israeli strike in Gaza.

Israel’s prime minister said “this happens in war” and that “a thorough inquiry” was being conducted to prevent a recurrence.

The head of the Israeli military says the strike was a grave mistake that occurred due to misidentification in very complex circumstances.

There are concerns about aid supplies in Gaza, as some charities pause their operations while they reassess the security situation.

Meanwhile, more information about those killed is emerging, as are tributes from the families involved.

Three British nationals, John Chapman, James Henderson and James Kirby, were working as security advisors.

Palestinian, Polish, Australian and American-Canadian citizens were also victims.

Dargo

04-03-24, 11:54 AM

The Justice Department in Poland has launched an investigation into the death of aid worker Damian Soból, who was affiliated with World Central Kitchen. A convoy belonging to the American aid organization was hit by an Israeli attack earlier this week. Soból and six others were killed. "We have launched an investigation into Soból's death between April 1 and 2 in Gaza as a result of an Israeli attack with explosives," said the prosecutor in Przemyśl, the town in southeastern Poland where Soból was from. The 35-year-old man was the only Pole killed in the attack. The BBC writes that the mayor of Przemyśl was able to identify him on images as one of the victims. Soból was in Gaza providing meals to Palestinians.

The death of the seven volunteers has caused diplomatic tensions between Israel and several Western allies. Polish Prime Minister Tusk lashed out at his Israeli counterpart on X today. He did so after Netanyahu declared that the convoy was unintentionally targeted and such things "just happen in times of war." "Since Oct. 7, the majority of Poles have consistently shown solidarity with Israel," Tusk wrote. "But today that solidarity is very much put to the test." Tusk described the furious reaction in his country to Netanyahu's remarks as "understandable."

The Israeli army acknowledges that it made "a big mistake" by killing seven employees of the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) in an attack in the Gaza Strip. "It is a mistake due to poor nighttime identification, during a war, in very complex circumstances," General Herzi Halevi said in a video message. "It should not have happened." "We share with all our hearts the grief of the families and of all of World Central Kitchen," Halevi said. "An independent body will investigate the event in detail and will report its findings in the coming days."

em2nought

04-03-24, 02:35 PM

Guess it's not a good idea to send your aide workers into a war zone in an armored personnel carrier. :hmmm:

Skybird

04-03-24, 03:11 PM

Guess it's not a good idea to send your aide workers into a war zone in an armored personnel carrier... :hmmm:
... and when Hamas is known to hide in schools, Kindergardens, mosques and hospitals, and having abused ambulances and aid transports before.

As usual, Western media give only one side of the picture. Hamas has defined the rules, or better the absence of rules, by which this war is fought. They defined them and they started all this.

Also things like this happen in war, its not flawless and clean and surgical and well orchestrated. And Hamas propaganda celebrates civilian losses, and provokes them. Call out the right ones for this tragedy.

em2nought

04-03-24, 04:37 PM

... and when Hamas is known to hide in schools, Kindergardens, mosques and hospitals, and having abused ambulances and aid transports before.

Exactly! :up:

Jimbuna

04-04-24, 09:06 AM

Israeli military halts leave for all combat units - statement

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel's military halted leave for all combat units on Thursday, it said in a statement, amid concerns of a possible escalation in violence after the killing of Iranian generals in Damascus this week drew threats of retaliation.

"In accordance with the situational assessment, it has been decided that leave will be temporarily paused for all IDF (Israel Defence Forces) combat units. The IDF is at war and the deployment of forces is under continuous assessment according to requirements," the military said in a statement.

On Wednesday, the military said it had drafted reservists to boost aerial defences. Reuters witnesses and Tel Aviv residents reported on Thursday that GPS services had been disrupted, an apparent measure meant to ward off guided missiles.
Iran has vowed revenge for the killing of two of its generals along with five military advisers in an airstrike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital Damascus on Monday.

It was widely believed to be an Israeli attack, one of the most significant yet on Iranian interests in Syria, which Israel has neither confirmed nor denied and which carries the risk of further inflaming the region.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/israeli-military-halts-leave-for-all-combat-units-statement/ar-BB1l3wOC?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=68f1955be6b94bd693493ed2e36417da&ei=25

Jimbuna

04-04-24, 01:29 PM

Joe Biden has told Benjamin Netanyahu that US support for Israel will depend on steps being taken to "address civilian harm" and "humanitarian suffering"

The US president and Israeli prime minister were speaking for the first time since an Israeli strike killed seven aid workers in Gaza on Monday.

Biden told Netanyahu the strike and "overall humanitarian situation" in Gaza are "unacceptable", the White House says.

Israel is yet to issue its readout of the call - but said earlier this week the incident was a "grave mistake" and promised an independent investigation.

As a result of the strike, some aid groups have paused operations, increasing concerns about starvation in the north of the Strip.

The BBC's Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abualouf says residents there are living in tragic, near-famine conditions.

Meanwhile, the UK government is under pressure to suspend arms sales to Israel - more than 600 legal experts have written to PM Rishi Sunak saying exports must end.

Jimbuna

04-05-24, 06:48 AM

Israel approves opening of two humanitarian routes into Gaza after call with Biden

Israel has agreed to reopen two border crossings into Gaza after the cabinet approved a series of “immediate steps” amid pressure over the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Strip.

The Erez crossing in northern Gaza will be opened for the first time since the conflict began on 7 October and Ashdod Port will be opened to allow aid shipments, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday.

"This increased aid will prevent a humanitarian crisis and is necessary to ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goals of the war," Mr Netanyahu’s office said.

The decision follows US president Joe Biden’s first phone call to the Israeli prime minister since the drone strike on the vehicles of seven charity workers killed in Gaza.
Mr Biden told Mr Netanyahu that future US policy towards Israel will be determined by whether its government takes action to protect aid workers and civilians in Gaza. He asked Mr Netanyahu "to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers", according to the readout.

Concerns have been raised over evidence of humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza turning into a man-made famine after nearly six months of war.

The UN’s human rights chief Volker Turk on 19 March said that Israeli actions could amount to using starvation as a “weapon of war” and would prove to be a war crime if proven. Tel Aviv has rejected the allegations and dismissed the dire warnings.

The Erez crossing, a heavily fortified pedestrian passageway, has been the only passenger terminal for the people to move in and out of the territory.

But it was heavily damaged when it was breached by Hamas fighters during 7 October attacks and has remained closed since.

The UN and the US National Security Council welcomed the move by Tel Aviv to open the crossings.

The US National Security Council said the opening of humanitarian routes came “at the president’s request”. Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said these steps “must now be fully and rapidly implemented”.

It comes as the Israel Defence Forces halted leaves for all soldiers serving in combat units and disabled GPS amid a possibility of escalation in violence with Iran.

Iran has vowed to retaliate after a strike on its consulate building in Syria on Monday killed 13 people, including two of its generals along with five military advisers.

GPS systems have been disrupted in an apparent measure meant to ward off guided missiles. Israeli residents have reported difficulties accessing location-based app services in significant urban areas such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, despite these cities being far from active combat zones.

The IDF also urged people to not panic buy as stores witnessed boost in sales of essential wartime supplies. DF spokesperson Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said: "There is no need to buy generators, store food and withdraw money from ATMs.

“The instructions of the Home Front Command remained unchanged,” he said.

Israeli media outlets report that some of the embassies in the country have been put on alert and some have been evacuated over the threat of a potential strike from Iran.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/israel-approves-opening-of-two-humanitarian-routes-into-gaza-after-call-with-biden/ar-BB1l6yb1?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=80eafe7abf1f47a98c015b321cede413&ei=22

Jimbuna

04-05-24, 07:51 AM

The Israeli military has sacked two senior officers after seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers were killed in a strike in Gaza on Monday.

The IDF's inquiry into the incident says some workers survived initial air strikes, but were killed when a third car was hit.

The BBC's Middle East bureau chief in Jerusalem attended a late night briefing on the IDF's response and is analysing the key lines.

WCK has called for an independent commission to investigate the killings, saying Israel's apologies "represent cold comfort" for the victims' families.

The charity and other aid agencies have paused their operations in Gaza, where the UN estimates 1.1 million people - half the population - are facing catastrophic hunger.

It comes after Israel says it has approved the opening the Erez crossing and Ashdod Port for humanitarian deliveries. More aid from Jordan will also be allowed to enter via the Kerem Shalom crossing.

In their first call since the strike, Joe Biden tells Benjamin Netanyahu that US support for Israel will depend on steps being taken to "address civilian harm" in Gaza.

Jimbuna

04-06-24, 04:22 AM

'Incitement of violence!': Sinwar’s book glorifying October 7 attacks appears on Amazon

On Friday, reports emerged of Yahya Sinwar's latest book, "The Thorn and the Carnation," being sold on the Amazon website. Additionally, it is purportedly available through the US book retailer Barnes and Noble.

The book, listed on Amazon since December 2023, allegedly goes in depth of the October 7 attacks.

The book proudly claims Sinwar’s responsibility for the October 7 Hamas attacks, dubbing him the "architect of the Flood of Al-Aqsa."

The 212-page book delves into the topic of "incarceration in Israeli prisons" and claims to be "an essential read for those aiming to understand the persistent tensions within the Middle East."

Reports have claimed that the book was written by Sinwar when he was serving a sentence in Israeli prison for murdering several Israelis.

Supporters of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar protest in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on May 7, 2022 (credit: ATTIA MUHAMMED/FLASH90)
The book’s description hails it as the “chronicles [of] the relentless pursuit of liberation.”

Opinions on the book expressed in Amazon reviews are varied, with some condemning it as fueling anti-Semitic sentiments, while others applaud its portrayal of the Palestinian struggle.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews has urged Amazon to remove the listing, expressing concerns that it may have been exploited to, stating that it has been used to “propagandize on behalf of a proscribed terrorist organization [Hamas] and also to raise money for it.”

Yahya Sinwar leads both the political and military branches of the Hamas organization in the Gaza Strip and is accused of being the mastermind behind the October 7 attacks.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/incitement-of-violence-sinwar-s-book-glorifying-october-7-attacks-appears-on-amazon/ar-BB1la8S0?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=ca165a42433647af8667d988d624e8ba&ei=44

Jimbuna

04-06-24, 11:55 AM

Netanyahu demands US to send weapons on same day of Biden's ultimatum

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded that Washington speed up the delivery of weapons on the same day he was warned by President Joe Biden that future military aid may depend on how he addresses worries about civilian casualties and an escalating humanitarian crisis. Netanyahu delivered a defiant message in a meeting with visiting Republican members of Congress.

He pushed back firmly on calls for a two-state solution, which is the long-term goal of U.S. policy. In a meeting in Jerusalem with visiting Republicans, organized by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, he said he had a three-pronged message.

'The first is we're going to win. Absolutely. Victory is within reach. It's very close, and there is no substitute for victory,' he said, according to a readout of the meeting provided by his office. 'The second is that it can be made quicker.

'I'll paraphrase someone you all have heard of, Winston Churchill. He said, "Give us the tools and we'll do the job." Give us the tools faster and we'll finish the job faster.' More than 33,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched an offensive in response to the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7.

The toll includes 200 aid workers and about 100 journalists. But the issue took on added significance in Washington this week when six foreign aid workers, including an American, and a Palestinian driver were killed when their convoy was hit by Israeli Defense Forces strikes.

The dead were working for World Central Kitchen, founded by chef Jose Andres who is well-connected among Washington's elite. In response, Biden ratcheted up the severity of his language and heaped pressure on Netanyahu during a 30-minute phone call on Thursday.

He called for an immediate ceasefire and concrete steps to protect civilians and enable aid to reach the besieged territory. And the White House readout of the call suggested that future military help may now be conditional on those goals.

'He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel's immediate action on these steps,' it said. Netanyahu's office offered no readout of its own. But in his other comments Thursday he sounded defiant.

'The third thing is this is, there is a contrary move, an attempt to force, ram down our throats a Palestinian state, which will be another terror haven, another launching ground for an attempt, as was the Hamas state in Gaza,' he said, repeating his well-known opposition to the two-state solution that is backed by Washington and much of the world. 'That is opposed by Israelis, overwhelmingly.'

Later he met with his security cabinet. It approved steps to increase humanitarian aid to the civilian population in Gaza, a statement said. Moves included reopening the Erez crossing into northern Gaza and the temporary use of Ashdod port in southern Israel for aid. Israeli leaders had repeatedly rebuffed calls to reopen any more land crossings into Gaza.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/netanyahu-demands-us-to-send-weapons-on-same-day-of-biden-s-ultimatum/ss-BB1l8P2g?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=5c03d5fb7fa64dbfb51312aa8009a4f7&ei=17#image=1

Jimbuna

04-07-24, 11:23 AM

Israel withdraws almost all troops from southern Gaza - as 'desperate' Netanyahu wants ceasefire deal

Only one brigade remains in Khan Younis and is tasked with securing the 'Netzarim corridor' that divides the Gaza Strip, according to a report from The Times of Israel.

The move comes six months to the day that Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis, prompting the war in Gaza.

The pullout of troops is linked to ongoing negotiations with Hamas over Israeli hostages and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "desperate" for a ceasefire deal, a senior source in the Israeli government told Sky's Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall.

The killings of seven Gaza aid workers in an Israeli airstrike "changed everything", the source added.

Israel had planned a ground invasion of the southern city of Rafah, claiming it is a hive of Hamas's remaining strongholds. More than half of Gaza's 2.3 million population are taking refuge in the city.

Israel had been warned of "disastrous consequences" if it went ahead with the ground invasion but insisted it would.

On Sunday morning, following the withdrawal of the troops, Sky News spoke to Israeli government spokesperson Avi Hyman, who said Benjamin Netanyahu would "absolutely" go ahead with a ground invasion of Rafah.

"If we don't go ahead with Rafah, we lose the war," he said.

"We're certainly entering a new phase of this war," says Sky's Middle East correspondent Alistair Bunkall.

"It looks like, as a lot of people have been putting pressure on Israel to do for some time now, it will move to more of a counter-terrorism strategy.

"So rather than a full blown, land occupation within Gaza, it will be operations that are based on intelligence going into certain areas."

Meanwhile, an Iranian official says none of Israel's embassies are safe any more, after a suspected Israeli strike on the Iran consulate in Damascus.

Twenty-eight Israeli embassies around the world temporarily closed on Friday due to fears of reprisal from Iran, the official said.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/israel-withdraws-almost-all-troops-from-southern-gaza-as-desperate-netanyahu-wants-ceasefire-deal/ar-BB1ldlOc?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=0cb23b27c82e45e3945be56cf94c97d6&ei=13

Skybird

04-07-24, 03:43 PM

So much gets lost by refusing the little that is left to be done.

Netanjahu is not only an egocentric opportunist - he is an irresponsible idiot.

19 of 24 Hamas batallions should have been killed, media say, refering to Israeli military speakers. The remaining 5 batallions by now should have already been dead as well. Why aren't they? Because Netanjahu refuses to go all the way. Likely for perosnal reasons.

And has any media in the West ever cared to reflect on how many of the quoted 30,000 killed Palestinian Arabs - actually were Hamas fighters? It must have been thousands, many thousands. Instea dit always gets implid these 30,000 all were innocent civilians. As if the Palestinian civil society were innocent - they have raised their children from cradle on to hate and and dispise and wanting to kill Jews. Hamas recruits from the very centre of their "innocent" civil society.

And Biden? Cares for Arab voters and thus sings the palesatinian Arab'S song. Like he cares for his eleciton chances if gasoline prices got up and thus he demands Ukraine should stop to bomb Russian refineries.

Politicians. Religious fanatics. Both are egocentric scum. All of them. They ruin all things. They bring people up against each other. Think the ymust correct the greater scheme of things that are, sicne they see themselves as the blessed ones. They claim to be the solution for the problems they have created themselves and that without their formidable missionising spirit would not even exist.

🤮

Jimbuna

04-08-24, 08:31 AM

I tend to agree and this is just the latest example of the west betraying a loyal ally.

Jimbuna

04-08-24, 12:50 PM

Hamas says Gaza truce talks still deadlocked despite reports of progress

CAIRO (Reuters) -A Hamas official said on Monday no progress had been made at a new round of talks in Cairo on a ceasefire in the Gaza war after the Egyptian hosts said headway had been achieved on the agenda.

Israel and Hamas sent teams to Egypt on Sunday after the arrival on Saturday of CIA Director William Burns, whose presence underlined rising U.S. pressure for a deal that would free Israeli hostages held in Gaza and get aid to Palestinian civilians. Qatari representatives also attended.

"There is no change in the position of the occupation (Israel) and therefore, there is nothing new in the Cairo talks," the Hamas official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters. "There is no progress yet."
Western powers have voiced concern over the high Palestinian civilian death toll and the humanitarian crisis arising from Israel's military onslaught to destroy Hamas in the densely populated Gaza Strip.

Some 33,207 Palestinians have been killed in six months of conflict, Gaza's health ministry said in an update on Monday. Most of the enclave's 2.3 million people are homeless and many at risk of famine.

Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel in the cross-border attack on Oct. 7 that triggered the conflict, according to Israeli tallies. The Israeli army says over 600 of its soldiers have been killed in combat since.

On Monday, a day after Israeli forces pulled back from some areas in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, Palestinian medical officials said their teams had recovered more than 60 bodies from areas where the soldiers operated in the past months.

Hundreds of residents who had fled and been living in tents in the city of Rafah - where more than one million people were sheltering - returned to their devastated home areas.

Some rode on donkey carts, rickshaws and open-deck vehicles while some just walked. They were shocked at the destruction of buildings, roads and property they had left behind.

"It is a shock, a shock...the destruction is unbearable," said resident Mohammed Abou Diab. "I am going to my house and I know that it is destroyed. I am going to remove the rubble to get a shirt out," he added.

In Washington, a White House spokesperson said the United States was hoping to secure a hostage release deal as soon as possible since it would also lead to a ceasefire of around six weeks. Hamas is reviewing a new proposal now, John Kirby said.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/hamas-says-gaza-truce-talks-still-deadlocked-despite-reports-of-progress/ar-BB1lhi5X?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=f80204ddaed5452487512e2f546b8af9&ei=9

em2nought

04-08-24, 01:45 PM

Maybe we should demand a new state for all of Sleepy Joe's illegal aliens be staked out in California or New York? :D

Skybird

04-08-24, 04:33 PM

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68745681

In a recent statement, the IDF said it had killed about 13,000 Hamas fighters since the start of the war, although it did not say how it calculated that figure.
Israel also publishes the names of individual Hamas leaders it says have been killed.
A total of 113 people have been named in this way since October, the overwhelming majority of whom were reported killed in the first three months of the war. By comparison, the Israeli army did not report any senior Hamas leaders killed in Gaza this year until March.

With reports saying all in all 30,000 dead, that would make 17,000 civilians then and 13,000 terrorists. Roughly 4 dead civilians for 3 dead terrorists in their middle. Well. Who expects war to be clean and surgical? Honestly said, I would have expected far worse numbers, from a humanitarian POV.

That's war.

Jimbuna

04-09-24, 06:49 AM

Benjamin Netanyahu sets date for Rafah offensive as pressure grows

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has set a date for a military offensive into Rafah.

The Israeli army has been planning to send troops into the southern Gazan city for weeks, despite warnings it could lead to high civilian casualties.

Mr Netanyahu's apparent commitment to a date came after he faced calls by far-right government allies to intensify military actions against Hamas.

The prime minister's popularity has plummeted after six months of war.

With negotiations with Hamas ongoing in Egypt, Mr Netanyahu is being pushed to agree a hostage-prisoner swap and ceasefire deal by many Israelis - as well as key international allies, including the US.

But as discontent grows at home and abroad over how his government has conducted the war, he is also facing calls to ramp up operations against Hamas by far-right leaders he has relied on for political support.

Mr Netanyahu's rule is backed by a coalition that includes far-right, ultranationalist parties, some of whom are against the idea of making concessions to Hamas.

They say the war must continue and believe the Israeli military should go ahead with plans to launch an incursion into the southern city of Rafah, where about 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering in tents and overcrowded camps.

Those calls intensified after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced it was pulling its troops out of Khan Younis, the largest city in southern Gaza, effectively ending major ground operations in the area.

Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right national security minister, warned Mr Netanyahu that if he "decides to end the war without a broad attack on Rafah to defeat Hamas, he won't have a mandate to continue serving as prime minister".

Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich told the prime minister "we have to increase the pressure on Hamas in Gaza, which is the only way to bring back the [Israeli] hostages and destroy Hamas".

Speaking on Monday after those interventions, Mr Netanyahu said: "Today I received a detailed report on the talks in Cairo - we are constantly working to achieve our goals, first and foremost the release of all our hostages and achieving a complete victory over Hamas.

"This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen - there is a date."

The remarks may be seen as an attempt to appeal to allies that sustain his coalition, as any offensive is unlikely to be imminent. Mr Netanyahu did not indicate which date he had decided on.

The US is opposed to an assault on Rafah, and the Israeli government has also been urged to halt the planned offensive in a joint statement signed by Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, French President Emmanuel Macron and Jordan's King Abdullah II.

Writing in France's Le Monde newspaper, they warned the plan would have "dangerous consequences" and "threaten regional escalation", adding: "The war in Gaza and the catastrophic humanitarian suffering it is causing must end now.

They also said a recent UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and the release of all Hamas-held hostages must be "fully implemented without further delay".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68766913

Jimbuna

04-09-24, 07:37 AM

Turkey imposes export restrictions on Israel until Gaza ceasefire

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey will restrict exports of a wide range of products to Israel, including steel and jet fuel, until a ceasefire is declared in Gaza, the Turkish Trade Ministry said on Tuesday, in Ankara's first significant measure against Israel after six months of war.

Turkey has denounced Israel for its campaign on Gaza, which was launched following Palestinian militant group Hamas' Oct. 7 rampage. Ankara has called for an immediate ceasefire, supported steps to try Israel for genocide, and sent thousands of tons of aid for Gazans.

However, Ankara also maintained commercial ties with Israel despite its strong rhetoric, prompting a domestic backlash.

In a statement following Ankara's announcement that it would be taking measures after Israel rejected its request to take part in an aid air-drop, the ministry said the restrictions would take effect as of Tuesday.
It said the measures would apply to the export of products from 54 different categories, including iron, marble, steel, cement, aluminium, brick, fertilizer, construction equipment and products, aviation fuel, and more.

"This decision will remain in place until Israel, under its obligations emanating from international law, urgently declares a ceasefire in Gaza and allows the unhindered flow of sufficient humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip," it said.

Shortly after the Israel-Hamas war started, Turkey and Israel pulled back their ambassadors. Tuesday's move is the first significant measure taken by Ankara against Israel since the start of the conflict. President Tayyip Erdogan has faced growing criticism over his government's commercial ties to Israel.

Police detained dozens of protestors demanding an end to the trade with Israel in Istanbul on Saturday. Authorities suspended two police officers involved in the incident, as the government works to restore popular support after a thumping opposition win in March 31 local elections.

Erdogan's stance toward Israel and the conflict in Gaza was a key factor for some of his party's losses in the vote, with the Islamist New Welfare Party (Yeniden Refah) increasing its support on the back of a more hardline stance on Gaza.

According to the data published by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), while trade with Israel has fallen since Oct. 7, exports to Israel have increased each month in 2024 so far, and were worth $423.2 million in March.

Total exports in the first quarter of the year amounted to $1.1 billion, down 21.6% year-on-year, TIM data showed.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/turkey-imposes-export-restrictions-on-israel-until-gaza-ceasefire/ar-BB1ljel0?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=46973f683883408d82fd6a79485d0d55&ei=19

Skybird

04-10-24, 04:45 AM

[FAZ] According to media reports, Israel's Defence Minister Joav Galant has told his US counterpart Llyod Austin that there is no date yet for a ground offensive against the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip. Galant thus contradicted the statement by his Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli newspapers Haaretz, Times of Israel and the news portal Axios reported unanimously on Tuesday evening, citing informed sources.

On Monday, Netanyahu had publicly stated that the date for the planned offensive in the city of Rafah on the border with Egypt, which is currently overcrowded with hundreds of thousands of refugees, had been finalised. Galant, however, reportedly said in a telephone call with Austin that Israel was still finalising plans for the evacuation of the civilian population there.

Jimbuna

04-10-24, 08:09 AM

Netanyahu making a 'mistake', says Biden

US President Joe Biden has said he believes that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making a "mistake" in his handling of Gaza.

"I think what he's doing is a mistake. I don't agree with his approach," he said in an interview.

He said Gaza should have "total access to all food and medicine" for the next six to eight weeks.

Last week he warned ongoing US support for the war depended on Israel allowing in more food and medicine.

Israel has denied impeding the entry of aid or its distribution inside Gaza, and has accused UN agencies on the ground of failing to get the aid that is allowed in to the people who need it.

Weeks of talks have failed to produce a ceasefire agreement but international pressure is growing.

The hour-long interview was recorded last Wednesday - days after Israeli military strikes killed seven aid workers with World Central Kitchen - and it aired on Tuesday night on US Spanish-language network Univision.

Mr Biden said it was "outrageous" how the aid organisation's vehicles had been "hit by drones and taken out on a highway".

The Israel Defense Forces have since said "grave mistakes" led to the fatal targeting of the workers. An inquiry led to two senior officers being dismissed.

In the interview Mr Biden said: "What I'm calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country."

The president has previously said Hamas must agree to a pause and release remaining hostages.

Israel said recently that it would open a crossing to northern Gaza and a deep water port, to allow more aid to flow into the area. It has not yet detailed when or how these routes will operate.

Mr Biden is facing domestic pressure over Israel. Over the past weeks he has sharpened his rhetoric, including towards Mr Netanyahu, over the conduct of the war which has now lasted six months.

Meanwhile, military supplies including bombs, missiles and ammunition have continued to flow from the US to Israel uninterrupted.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68766592

Jimbuna

04-10-24, 08:49 AM

David Cameron says Britain WON'T suspend arms sales to Israel despite the killing of three British veterans in an IDF airstrike in Gaza

Britain won't suspend arms sales to Israel despite the recent killing of three British veterans in an IDF airstrike in Gaza, David Cameron confirmed tonight.

The Foreign Secretary, speaking in Washington DC, said he had reviewed the most recent legal advice and this had left the UK's position 'unchanged'.

The deaths of James 'Jim' Henderson, John Chapman, and James Kirby, who were all former members of the Armed Forces, has piled pressure on the Government to take a tougher line on Israel.

They were among seven aid workers who died when a World Central Kitchen (WCK) convoy was hit by an Israeli air strike last week.

Calls for a halt to arms sales to Israel in the wake of the tragedy have come from MPs - including senior Tories - as well as a former national security adviser and retired senior judges.

But, speaking at a press conference this evening, Lord Cameron said: 'On Israel and international humanitarian law, as required by the UK's robust arms export control regime, I have now reviewed the most recent advice about the situation in Gaza and Israeli conduct of their military campaign.

'The latest assessment leaves our position on export licences unchanged. This is consistent with the advice that I and other ministers have received and as ever we will keep the position under review.

'Let me be clear though, we continue to have grave concerns around the humanitarian access issue in Gaza, both for the period that was assessed and subsequently.'

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has dismissed two officers over last Monday's drone strike, which it described as a 'grave mistake stemming from a serious failure'.

Mishandling of critical information and violations of the army's rules of engagement were cited as the reasons for the dismissal.

Three other senior officers were also reprimanded for their roles in the strike, which brought widespread international condemnation of Israel's actions in Gaza.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/david-cameron-says-britain-won-t-suspend-arms-sales-to-israel-despite-the-killing-of-three-british-veterans-in-an-idf-airstrike-in-gaza/ar-BB1llbFK?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=2ca02accc7b6467482c090d8d87b8f19&ei=43

Skybird

04-10-24, 04:24 PM

This is a very empowered, insightful and documentarily accurate analysis of the conflict, with a detailed appreciation of the role of collective psychology in particular. Very, very worth reading.

https://www.ft.com/content/459c1bad-a121-42da-8685-d639d6ca4073

It would be wrong to equate the situation of the Israelis with that of the Palestinians. They have different histories, live under different conditions and are exposed to different threats. But both have good reasons to believe that the other side wants to kill or expel them all. Consequently, they see each other not just as ordinary enemies, but as an existential threat. Unsurprisingly, both sides want to eliminate this threat. However, the Israeli desire to eliminate the existential threat posed by the Palestinians poses an existential threat to the Palestinians - and vice versa. For them, the only way to eliminate it completely seems to be to get rid of the other side.
The tragedy of this conflict is that the problem does not arise from unjustified paranoia, but from a well-founded analysis of the situation and their own fantasies. When Israeli and Palestinians take a close look at their own dark desires, they come to the conclusion that the other side has ample reason to fear and hate them. It is a diabolical logic. Each side says to itself: "Given what we want to do to them, it's only logical that they want to get rid of us - and that's why we have no choice but to get rid of them first."
^From a German re-translation, the English FT link I gave above does not allow paste&copy.

em2nought

04-10-24, 07:31 PM

Maybe we should demand a new state for all of Sleepy Joe's illegal aliens be staked out in California or New York? :D

Even better idea: We can end this now if we let HAMAS resettle in Michigan. They're already chanting DEATH TO AMERICA! up there anyway. Might as well add a few more nuts to the mix. Hurray for the democrat cartel! :har:

HAMAS can't even find forty of the Israelis that they kidnapped!

Jimbuna

04-11-24, 07:51 AM

Hamas claims it hasn’t got 40 hostages Israel wants for first round of ceasefire

Hamas has claimed it does not have the 40 hostages needed to fulfil the demands of the first round of ceasefire negotiations, according to Israeli sources.

US president Joe Biden is pushing a plan for Israel and Hamas to agree to a six to eight-week ceasefire providing Hamas release hostages - a group that includes older men, civilians and both male and female Israeli soldiers who have been held for 187 days now.

According to Axios, in the terms of the agreement Israel would release 700 Palestinian security prisoners, including more than 100 serving life for attacks that killed Israelis.

However, Israel’s Channel 12 News cited mediators as saying that Hamas had “no ability to release 40 abductees as part of the humanitarian deal and insists on other numbers – less than [the number sought] by Israel”.
Israel had also requested the addition of a “single-digit number” of fighting-aged men to make up the shortfall to 40, according to reports.

The Israeli prime minister’s office also told CNN that of the 129 hostages from October 7 massacre, at least 33 are dead. But the latest discussions have sparked fears that more hostages may be dead than have been publicly revealed.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/hamas-claims-it-hasn-t-got-40-hostages-israel-wants-for-first-round-of-ceasefire/ar-BB1lpdma?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=a21ddb60d9144e00b7e3bc4bb969e188&ei=44

Jimbuna

04-11-24, 08:24 AM

Hamas leader shrugs off the news his three sons were killed by IDF

Chilling video shows the moment top Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh hears for the first time that his t hree sons and 'several' grandchildren have been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza. A deeply distressed voice can be heard delivering the news to the group's top political leader, sobbing as he says: 'Hazem, Mohammed and Amir have been killed, along with their children.' Haniyeh barely flinches as he hears the information, and remains composed as he nods and takes it in before slowly walking out of the room. 'God rest their souls,' he says, before he is asked by an aide: 'Shall we end the visit?'

The Hamas chief nonchalantly responds: 'No, why? Let's continue,' as he walks to the door, followed by his entourage and officials. The group were meeting wounded Palestinians at a hospital in Qatar, where Haniyeh lives in exile. Haniyeh's family members are said to have been killed in a fatal strike near the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City. Israel claims Mohammed and Hazem were two Hamas military operatives, while the third, Amir, was a cell commander. Haniyeh, 61, who has 13 sons and daughters according to Hamas sources, later confirmed the news to Al Jazeera, telling the broadcaster: 'I am grateful to God for the honor he has given me in the deaths of three of my children and a few of my grandchildren. My sons were awarded this honor. They remained with our Palestinian people in Gaza, did not leave and did not run,' he said, adding: 'The blood of my sons is not dearer than the blood of our people.'

The terror leader hit out at Israel , stating they are 'driven by the spirit of revenge' as he claimed around 60 members of his family have been killed since the start of the war. Hama later said that four of Haniyeh's grandchildren, named as Mona, Amal, Khaled and Razan, were among those killed in what they described as the 'treacherous and cowardly' strike. The Israeli military did not comment on the reports. A report today has suggested that Israeli forces carried out the air strike without consulting senior commanders or political leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Quoting senior Israeli officials, Walla news agency said neither Netanyahu nor Defence Minister Yoav Gallant had been told in advance of the strike, which was coordinated by the Israeli military and the Shin Bet intelligence service. It said Amir, Mohammad and Hazem Haniyeh had been targeted as fighters and not because they were the sons of Hamas's political leader. No comment on the Walla report was immediately available from the prime minister's office or the military. The IDF claimed that the trio were 'en route to carry out terror activity in the area of central Gaza' when they were hit by the strike. Pictures purporting to show Hazem, Amir and Mohammed Haniyeh have been circulating on Palestinian media channels.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/hamas-leader-shrugs-off-the-news-his-three-sons-were-killed-by-idf/ss-BB1lrQNo?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=f4cbee8de74a4a1393e77dcbc7a9ced3&ei=18#image=7

Jimbuna

04-12-24, 05:36 AM

US fears most of the hostages held by Hamas could be dead

The United States fears Hamas may not have enough live hostages to secure a deal that leads to a Gaza ceasefire, reports suggest. Israel has demanded the return of at least 40 captives if there was going to be a pause in fighting.

But new reports state that most of those taken during the October 7 terrorist attack may already be dead. International negotiators have been involved in intense talks to reach a deal that leads to a six-week ceasefire. But the troubling latest reports have sparked more alarm bells and could derail future negotiations.

Israeli Defense Forces fear there could be twice as many hostages dead as the 34 who are believed to have died in captivity, the Wall Street Journal reported. Families now face the prospect of never seeing their loved ones again, as the U.S, desperately tries to cut a deal and civilian casualties pile up in Gaza.

Israel has rejected claims they haven't made the safe return of hostages a priority as it continued its strikes and counter offensives. Hostages who have been released in the six months since the war began have shared their harrowing experiences.

They include being [sexually assaulted], beaten and having surgeries done by those holding them captive. Their families have campaigned furiously for their freedom and were this week at the White House petitioning Kamala Harris.

Harris met with family members of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza Tuesday who said they weren't interested in expressions of incremental results. 'We don't want any more progress. We want results,' said Rachel Goldberg (center), mother of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

Like other family members of hostages taken in the brazen Oct. 7 attack, Goldberg wore a piece of tape with the number 186 signifying the number of days in captivity. Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen appealed to all sides to reach a deal which 'the horror – the horror – that the civilians of Gaza have been experienced, we've been experiencing for the last six months, to come to an end.'

'There is hope for people on both sides of the border - only after the hostages come home,' he said. 'We are waiting now in the world waits for Hamas to get to yes ... And we all of us will see shortly if Hamas cares enough about its own people, its own people, to say nothing of our loved ones to move towards de-escalation to returning the light to everyone in and around Gaza,' he said.

The Israeli Defense Forces say there are 133 hostages remaining in Gaza as the war continues. Goldberg spoke of the eight Americans held in Gaza, as well as people 'we don't hear about' – including eight Muslim Arabs, seven Thai Buddhists, and two black African Christians.

Earlier at the White House, national security advisor Jake Sullivan sought to pressure Hamas to accept a deal negotiated in Cairo that would include a temporary cease fire and the release of hostages. 'You have a party who is holding innocent people that it took hostage a long time ago doesn't get a lot of attention, unfortunately, in the commentary,' he said.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/report-us-fears-most-of-the-hostages-held-by-hamas-could-be-dead/ss-BB1ltBko?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=f59eedbe69bb4b12831db427b9d0de1b&ei=37#image=6

Jimbuna

04-12-24, 06:34 AM

US restricts travel for diplomats in Israel amid fears of Iran attack

The United States has restricted travel for its embassy personnel in Israel amid fears of an attack by Iran.

The US embassy said staff had been told not to travel outside the greater Jerusalem, Tel Aviv or Beersheba areas "out of an abundance of caution".

Iran has vowed to retaliate, blaming Israel for a strike on its consulate in Syria 11 days ago, killing 13 people.

UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has phoned his Iranian counterpart to urge against further escalation.

Israel has not claimed responsibility for the consulate attack but is widely considered to have been behind it.

Iran backs Hamas, the armed Palestinian group fighting Israel in Gaza, as well as various proxy groups throughout the region, including some - such as Hezbollah in Lebanon - that frequently carry out strikes against the Israelis.

Those killed in the consulate attack included a senior commander of Iran's elite Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, as well as other military figures.

The attack came at a time of continuing diplomatic efforts to prevent the war in Gaza spreading across the region.

Speaking on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden warned Iran was threatening to launch a "significant attack" and vowed to offer "ironclad" support to Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his government was ready to meet any security challenge, warning that Israel would harm any country that caused it harm.

"We are prepared to meet all of the security needs of the State of Israel, both defensively and offensively," he said.

The commander responsible for US operations in the Middle East, Erik Kurilla, has travelled to Israel for talks with officials on security threats.

The Pentagon said the visit had been scheduled previously but had been brought forward "due to recent developments".

Following a call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Lord Cameron said he had "made clear... that Iran must not draw the Middle East into a wider conflict".

"I am deeply concerned about the potential for miscalculation leading to further violence," he said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken to the foreign ministers of China, Saudi Arabia and Turkey to argue that further escalation is not in anyone's interest.

Following the call, China urged the US to play "a constructive role" in the Middle East, while also condemning the strike widely believed to have been carried out by Israel on Iran's consulate building in Damascus.

It is not clear what form any reprisal attack would take nor whether it would come directly from Iran or via one of its proxies.

On Sunday an Iranian official warned Israel's embassies were "no longer safe", suggesting a consulate building could be a possible target.

Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant has told his US counterpart that "any direct Iranian attack" on Israeli territory would "require an appropriate Israeli response against Iran".

Asked about the travel restrictions on Thursday, state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said he would not disclose the "specific assessments" behind them, but added: "Clearly we are monitoring the threat environment in the Middle East and specifically in Israel."

The UK Foreign Office has also updated its travel advice for Israel to state that the country's government has raised the "possibility of an attack on Israeli territory from Iran, and that such an attack could trigger wider escalation".

Since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October, the Foreign Office has warned against travel to large parts of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

France similarly warned its citizens to "imperatively refrain from travel in the coming days to Iran, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian territories".

Family members of French diplomats in Iran are being evacuated.

German airline Lufthansa has extended a suspension of flights to the Iranian capital Tehran until Saturday.

The October attack saw gunmen kill 1,200 people and take more than 250 hostage after crossing into Israel from Gaza.

Israel says that of 130 hostages still in Gaza, at least 34 are dead.

More than 33,000 Gazans, the majority of them civilians, have been killed during Israel's subsequent offensive in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry says.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68795021

Jimbuna

04-13-24, 06:14 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbHl6xJXkGk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YBKT2tYslk

mapuc

04-13-24, 06:22 AM

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- Commandos from Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard rappelled down from a helicopter onto an Israeli-affiliated container ship near the Strait of Hormuz and seized the vessel Saturday, the latest in a series of attacks between the two countries.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/british-military-warns-vessel-boarded-strait-hormuz-109196167

Markus

Jimbuna

04-13-24, 06:23 AM

West Bank: Palestinian man killed after Israeli boy goes missing

A Palestinian man has been killed in the occupied West Bank and 25 are reported hurt after dozens of Jewish settlers stormed a village during an Israeli search for a missing teenager.

Israeli troops intervened after dozens of settlers stormed al-Mughayyir armed with guns and stones.

It is not yet clear whether the man who died, Jehad Abu Alia, 26, was shot by an armed settler or Israeli soldier.

The Palestinian Red Crescent said live fire hit at least eight people.

Missing Benjamin Ahimeir, 14, has not been found. A huge search is under way.

Local media said the circumstances around the teenager's disappearance were still unknown and the military was not sure if the incident was terrorism-related. Troops have set up roadblocks in the area.

Israeli media reported that Benjamin Achimeir had left "Gal Farm" in the settler outpost of Malachei Shalom early on Friday, and had not been seen since.

He had been grazing sheep, and the sheep returned to the farm without him, police said. His sister Hannah, quoted by AFP news agency, said he was familiar with the area.

Separately, Israeli forces shot and killed two West Bank Palestinians.

One was confirmed by Hamas to be a local commander of the group. The Israeli military say Mohammed Daraghmeh was killed in a shoot-out with their troops.

There has been a surge in violence in the West Bank since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by Hamas's deadly attacks in Israel on 7 October, which killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

At al-Mughayyir, videos posted on X by an Israeli human rights group, Yesh Din, show dark clouds of smoke billowing from burning cars next to an olive orchard, as gunshots are heard. Social media pictures also show what appears to be a crowd of masked settlers.

The father of Jehad Abu Alia, the 26-year-old who was shot, spoke from a hospital in Ramallah, where Jehad's body had been taken. "My son went with others to defend our land and honour, and this is what happened," Afif Abu Alia said.

The IDF says its troops, and not settlers, opened fire at stone-throwing Palestinians as "violent disturbances erupted at several points in the area".

Troops managed to remove the settlers who had entered the village, it said.

"As of this moment, the violent riots have been dispersed and there are no Israeli civilians present within the town," the IDF said.

The Palestinian prime minister, Mohammad Mustafa, has condemned the attack.

Foreign governments including Israel's closest ally, the US, have repeatedly raised concerns over a surge in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank since Israel began its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

Israel has built about 160 settlements housing some 700,000 Jews since it occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. The vast majority of the international community considers the settlements illegal under international law, though Israel and the US dispute this.

The Palestinian health ministry says at least 460 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since 7 October.

Israeli sources say at least 13 Israelis have been killed there by Palestinians in the same period.

The surge in West Bank violence has prompted the US, UK and France to impose sanctions on some settlers for the first time.

But the casualties there are dwarfed by the Gaza war: more than 33,600 Gazans, the majority of them civilians, have been killed during Israel's campaign, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

On 7 October gunmen also took more than 250 people hostage. Israel says that of 130 hostages still in Gaza, at least 34 are dead.

The latest violence comes as Israel remains on high alert after US officials warned of an imminent Iranian strike against Israel. Iran has vowed to retaliate for last week's deadly air strike on an Iranian diplomatic compound in Syria, in which several senior Iranian military figures died.

Israel has not commented but is widely considered to have carried out that attack targeting the elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68803939

Skybird

04-13-24, 03:27 PM

Dargo

04-13-24, 03:56 PM

Nothing is certain an dnothing is confirmed, but it seems the Iranian retaliatory attack has started. Dozens of missiles/drones were reported to be in transit to Israel, and dozens of Israeli fighter jets and support aircraft are operating in midair.

The situation is unclear at present. But something is going on. Question is whether it is background noise or the expected big thing.What is the source of those missiles/drones? Iran or Lebanon? Np got the intel:
Iran confirms 'massive' drone attack, believed to involve over 50 drones launched towards Israel.
Attack reportedly includes missiles.
Iranian sources claim drones have also been launched from Yemen.
Airspace of Israel, Iran, Iraq and Jordan set to be shut or already have been.
Iraqi security sources confirm Iranian drone activity over the country.
Israeli military and air defenses on high alert.
Israeli war cabinet has convened, Biden set to meet with senior security officials.
First direct Iranian attack on Israeli territory

mapuc

04-13-24, 04:22 PM

Now we await the arrival of the missiles and drones AND the Israeli response

Which will come

Markus

Dargo

04-13-24, 04:30 PM

According to Channel 12 TV, Iran has launched a total of about a hundred drones and missiles. Some of these are said to have already been shot down over Syria and Jordan. Former Israeli General Amos Yadlin said on Israel's Channel 12 television channel that the drones are each equipped with 20 kilograms of explosives. According to Yadlin, Israeli anti-aircraft units are ready to shoot down the drones.

mapuc

04-13-24, 04:32 PM

According to Channel 12 TV, Iran has launched a total of about a hundred drones and missiles. Some of these are said to have already been shot down over Syria and Jordan.

According to the news here Iran has send a warning to these two countries to not open their airspace

Does any of you know where USA standpoint is ?

Markus

Dargo

04-13-24, 04:36 PM

According to the news here Iran has send a warning to these two countries to not open their airspace

Does any of you know where USA standpoint is ?

MarkusThe US has warned Iran to not do it, think reaction will be big. U.S. Air Force fighter jets are reportedly working over Iraq in an attempt to intercept Iranian drones flying toward Israel. Jordan's air defense is ready to intercept and shoot down any Iranian drones or aircraft that violate its airspace. This is reported by Reuters news agency based on regional security sources. According to the same sources, the Jordanian army is in a high state of readiness. Radar systems are said to monitor drones.

mapuc

04-13-24, 04:45 PM

The US has warned Iran to not do it, think reaction will be big.

Time will tell

It all depend on further development af the situation between Iran and Israel I think.

Markus

Dargo

04-13-24, 04:56 PM

Time will tell

It all depend on further development af the situation between Iran and Israel I think.

MarkusThe region is already reacting that includes the US their planes are in the air to counter the threat, this is the war I talked about before, the Gaza conflict became a regional war today. Al-Arabiya reports that US and British forces are engaged in intercepting drones over Syria and Iraq. Egypt's air defense is on highest alert. Jordan and Saudi Arabia are also involved in intercepting drones. ABS News reports that cruise missiles have been launched from Iraq. Forces from Bashar al-Assad's army have launched a number of rockets from Syrian territory towards the Golan Heights. Iranian media says ballistic missiles have been fired towards Israel. Iran is trying to disable Israel's air defense systems. Israel's air defense systems are under cyberattack.

em2nought

04-13-24, 05:07 PM

Stolen elections have consequences. :hmmm:

Dargo

04-13-24, 05:08 PM

Oh bugger off stupid

Skybird

04-13-24, 05:14 PM

this is the war I talked about before, the Gaza conflict became a regional war today. Not necessarily yet. Iran must honour the population'S desire for retaliation, but has no real interest to unleash a full war now, because then it would torpedoe its own longterm strategy to drive a wedge between Israel and the US - this night will bring both closer together again.

A lot depends on the dmage this attack will do in Israel, and whether or not Israel and the US directly counterattack Iran, not its proxies, but its very own territory. Also, Hezbollah activity ha snot spiked. One wpuld assume that if Itan wants to unleasha full war, Hezbollah would be even more active now. Its said to have at least 100,000 missiles.

It could get to where you described, but I think it is not yet there.

Meanwhile, the drone swarms are being followed by later-fired missiles and now also cruise missiles with shorter flight times, it gets reprted. I assume they arte timed to reach targets very short after the drones arrived. IF they arrive, which is a big "if". The drones probably only are decoy, distractions, like in Ukraine, to get the Israeli defences straying off their primary targets.

Dargo

04-13-24, 05:20 PM

There are 5 countries attacking Israel Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon. The US has asked Iran, through Qatar, to immediately stop its attack on Israel. Iran ignored the request, and threatened to strike US bases if they intervene. Hezbollah warns if Israel responds to the Iranian Strikes, they will invade Northern Israel. Iranian Hypersonic Missiles to hit Israel any minute, they have been fired. Jordan has opened its airspace for Israel to use to intercept Iranian Drones and missiles. Dozens of British Fighter Jets are departing from Cyprus to try and intercept Iranian Drones before they hit Israel. The Houthis confirm they have launched a barrage of drones and missiles towards Israel. There are now a combination of two sides that now in active war operations this will not go away tomorrow, this is a regional war starting tonight. If the gods of war are engaging it is hard to call them back to many airspaces is violated for that.

Skybird

04-13-24, 05:25 PM

mapuc

04-13-24, 05:29 PM

Oh bugger off stupid

Not a nice response- to his comment.

I would change the words.

Markus

Dargo

04-13-24, 05:34 PM

Not a nice response- to his comment.

I would change the words.

MarkusNope this how he always operates reacting his politics in threads that have nothing to do with his political view it neither gives any informational insides on the subject discussed.

Dargo

04-13-24, 05:41 PM

I still think a lot depends on the ammount of damage and loss of life that will be done.

Iran has two dozen types of medium range missiles, with flight times between 12 and maybe as low as just 4 minutes - if rumours are true that they have hypersonic types.Surprised me that Iran would directly attack it got balls, but they will regret it biggly they have now given Israel and allies all means to strike back hard. Russia will not help them neither China they only got some minor proxies that cannot do much damage.

mapuc

04-13-24, 05:43 PM

Is this the start of a regional war, we are witnessing this evening ?

Markus

mapuc

04-13-24, 05:45 PM

Surprised me that Iran would directly attack it got balls, but they will regret it biggly they have now given Israel and allies all means to strike back hard. Russia will not help them neither China they only got some minor proxies that cannot do much damage.

Could it be so that Iran is calculating on massive help from other Islamic countries if the evil USA attack Iran ?

Markus

Dargo

04-13-24, 05:47 PM

Israel claims over 100 Iranian Drones have been intercepted by Britain, US, Jordan, Israel. Iran says they are watching Jordan, and they may become a target if they help Israel. North Korea Leader Kim Jong Un has just placed the Military onto alert. Russian President Putin declared that RUSSIA will SUPPORT IRAN if the United States attacks Iran's soil in support of Israel (I do not know with what, lol). Sirens sounding across Israel accord the IDF. In Jerusalem, reports of a hit in the town.

Dargo

04-13-24, 05:54 PM

Could it be so that Iran is calculating on massive help from other Islamic countries if the evil USA attack Iran ?

MarkusNot all Islamic countries are Shia Muslims like Iran they are Sunni (85–90% of the world's Muslims) the Sunni countries will not help them, and they are the majority.

mapuc

04-13-24, 05:57 PM

There's nothing about missiles and drones from other countries than from Iran on the news here.

And Iran have said they see this as a close case now - They got their revenge.

Markus

Dargo

04-13-24, 06:00 PM

There's nothing about missiles and drones from other countries than from Iran on the news here.

And Iran have said they see this as a close case now - They got their revenge.

MarkusJerusalem is just hit do not think this is a closed case, Israel knowing they never forget and certainly never forgive. Iran’s Ambassador to the UN says Iran / Israel tensions can be “deemed concluded” after this Iranian Retaliation. He also added if Israel responds, then Iran will retaliate again but with larger force. The backfire of their attack will be so big they will regret this forever, Iran is on their own against the biggest air force of the region with no help from any ally that can react against that kinda air force. In response, Israel has just started bombing Damascus in Syria. The French Navy has been deployed to “help defend Israel from incoming Iranian attacks” This not a regional war any more! Russia China Axis thinking the West cannot war any more or is divided is proven horrible wrong tonight. This attack from Iran could mean a change in western support to Ukraine also how an Op can fireback in Putin's face LOL.

Missiles incoming (source IDF):
https://i.postimg.cc/HL0tjsjS/incoming.jpg

mapuc

04-13-24, 06:15 PM

Not all Islamic countries are Shia Muslims like Iran they are Sunni (85–90% of the world's Muslims) the Sunni countries will not help them, and they are the majority.

Maybe not every Islamic country in the middle east. They even get support from Russia now

It's not a question around what Russia can provide with, but that they are supporting Iran.

Markus

mapuc

04-13-24, 06:20 PM

The French Navy has been deployed to “help defend Israel from incoming Iranian attacks” This not a regional war any more! Russia China Axis thinking the West cannot war any more or is divided is proven horrible wrong tonight.

Are you saying that WWIII has begun ?

Markus

Dargo

04-13-24, 06:26 PM

Iran is sending in cheap drones to bait the Iron Dome into wasting interceptor rockets on those. Iran will be following up with a heavy rocket attack, whilst the Iron Dome needs reloading (which takes ages). Those missiles are now being launched (I thought it was a closed case) Multiple reports that a US Military Base has been attacked with missiles in Erbil, Iraq. Confirmed impacts on Nevatim airbase, southern Israel.

mapuc

04-13-24, 06:29 PM

em2nought

04-13-24, 06:31 PM

Nope this how he always operates reacting his politics in threads that have nothing to do with his political view it neither gives any informational insides on the subject discussed.

None of this crap would even be happening if Joe Biden wasn't installed as President, so my view seems to be topical and pertinent. All the useless waste of life that has happened since then can be traced back to that moment.

Dargo

04-13-24, 06:35 PM

Maybe not every Islamic country in the middle east. They even get support from Russia now

It's not a question around what Russia can provide with, but that they are supporting Iran.

MarkusOk if Russia is so helpful why can Israel bomb Damascus without any Russia anti-air system Putin is too weak that it cannot support a ally that is why I say it can not do anything or win in Ukraine it does not have the means.
Are you saying that WWIII has begun ?

MarkusWorld wars are not so easily started where is the other global country if you think Russia forget them they can hardly advance kilometres in Ukraine they have their hand full with a david they can not do world wars Russia is a farce always was. And China does not want a war with his biggest markets.

Skybird

04-13-24, 06:41 PM

Iran has launched a second wave. The first seems to be finished now more or less, having been 200+ drones and missiles strong.

Dargo

04-13-24, 06:45 PM

Iran has launched a second wave. The first seems to be finished now more or less, having been 200+ drones and missiles strong.Do you think Iran planners had planned for so many Western interceptors in the air the plan was to weaken the iron dome, but that plan failed hits will be reported, but it will not be so many they had planned. A US official confirmed to ABC that US forces downed multiple Iranian drones headed towards Israel tonight. There goes the plan, lol. Iran has launched a second salvo of 70 missiles toward Israel, First salvo was 80 missiles per a senior US official. Israel was hit by 7 Iranian Ballistic Missiles. Mainly in the Negev Desert Area an Israeli Base was likely hit by several missiles. Iranian missiles in the skies of Jerusalem are being intercepted, with most of them being successfully countered!

Dargo

04-13-24, 06:54 PM

None of this crap would even be happening if Joe Biden wasn't installed as President, so my view seems to be topical and pertinent. All the useless waste of life that has happened since then can be traced back to that moment.So Trumpy is an Iran lover, your geopolitics is a bucket full of bull.... Yeah, another war! I mean, oh now thatʼs terrible… how long would it take for the senate to make a decision on 2 wars going on at the same time? Also, are we going to jerk off Iran while figuring out the goals for the military in the Middle East? Let’s not attack their oil refineries as well. Perhaps Israel should only attack Iranian forces on their territory? No? This doesn’t sound like a feasible strategy? Who knew ?! It is all Biden fault! This all would not happen under Trump’s leadership! ” All rise. Loud and prolonged applause, rising to an ovation and faint in awe of our Great Helmsman, exceptional, glorious president. " Oh huh... "No Americans were harmed in last night's attack by the Iranian regime," Trump said shortly after the strike. He added, "We suffered no casualties." But the Pentagon later said that 11 people had suffered TBI. And on Jan. 24, the number jumped to 34. Nearly a week later, the Pentagon said 50 personnel were injured, only to revise the figure days later to 64. https://www.npr.org/2020/02/11/804785515/109-u-s-troops-suffered-brain-injuries-in-iran-strike-pentagon-says Oops?

Skybird

04-13-24, 07:00 PM

Surprised me that Iran would directly attack it got balls, but they will regret it biggly they have now given Israel and allies all means to strike back hard. Russia will not help them neither China they only got some minor proxies that cannot do much damage.Iranian regime had to respect pressure from the streets. A full war however may be more dangerous for Iran'S regime than for its enemies, they have reason to be worried about the hostility of significant parts of civil society against the relgious orthodox caste. This is a far bigger risk factor in Iran than oppositional civilian unrest in Russia.

I know iran a bit, I was there, in the nineties, some longer time, not just for vacation. Back then, I saw a society that was surprisingly diverse, from ultra orthodox and hate-dripping anti-West mentality to a moderate and quite burgeoise middle class with high esteem for education and social standing. The youth revolts of that tie m never were about gettign Wetsenr style society and dmeicracy, only about access to free media ause and perkmsision for free travel, some social issues as well like unemployment. However, they all were hot-burning patriots. Go against Iran, and they will in no time rally around their flag despite all their anger for the religious leaders and their differences. It was even more extreme so than in Turkey, and that means something if you came to know rural Turkey away from the West-oriented tourism hotspots and metropoles. From all Muslim coutnries IO was in, I wopuld favour the Iran of the 90s as it wa sback then, before the others. Worst was Turkey, rural Turkey that is, where I was often met with open hostility and ultra-nationalistic sentiment- that happened never in Iran. My antipathy against Turkey not only but also roots in these experiences I made in the country. Even without Erdoghan I would not like it.

However, that were the mid and late nineties. Things may have changed, its one generation later. I hjave completely lost interest in travelling and working oversea, but I would not go back to the ME and Turkey and Iran at all, under no circumstances. And a terrible climate, too hot for me. I always had health issues and practical problems due to the heat.

Dargo

04-13-24, 07:36 PM

Iran is attacking #Israel directly. Normally content with employing proxies to do its dirty work for it, Iran is currenlty launching what appears to be a multi-wave aerial attack with drones and missiles. What might this mean? The U.S. has stated that it will defend Israel, and has the military assets in the region to contribute to this mission. We also might see a rapid airlift of air defence missiles and other materiel from the U.S. to Israel. Besides direct attacks from Iran, the Iranians may also call on its proxies to launch concurrent attacks to overwhelm Israeli sensors, C2 and decision making. Iranian options include massed missile attacks from Hezbollah out of Lebanon (where they have 100-200K missiles), as well as attacks from Syria. Israel has been targeting Hezbollah missiles for a while but won't be able to destroy them all. There are some key questions at this point. First, is this a short 'performance attack' to retaliate for the attack on the Quads force officers, boost Iran's regional reputation and exploit what Iran believe's is Israeli weakness? Or is it someting larger?

Second, what is Iran's ultimate goal here and its strategy to achieve it? This is a shift in the way they have indirectly attacked Israel for years. It should also be noted that these Iranian attacks might generate sympathy for Israel after months of criticism for its Gaza ops. Third, how significant will Israeli retaliation be? Israel has previously rehearsed long-range attacks against Iran before. Could Israel use this as a casus belli to attack Iran's nuclear weapon programs directly? There is much uncertainty about how this will all play out over the coming hours and days. Will this lead to an even larger scale war in the Middle East or is de-escalation possible? This situation will probably dominate the attention of the U.S. administration. It will please Russia and China greatly. And for the Ukrainians desperately seeking more U.S. assistance, the likely step-up in U.S. assistance to Israel will impact the chances of more aid to #Ukraine. https://twitter.com/WarintheFuture/status/1779286657004667286

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari says Iran launched dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel, causing slight damage to a military base. He says most of the missiles were intercepted by the long-range Arrow air defense system. The missiles were mostly downed outside of Israeli airspace, he says. One impact led to the injury of a young girl in the Negev, and additional impacts caused "slight damage to infrastructure" at a military base, Hagari says. He says fighter jets also downed dozens of cruise missiles and dozens of drones. In total, Iran launched more than 200 projectiles at Israel, according to Hagari. He says the incident is not over.

A senior Israel official just told Israeli TV (Channel 12) that an "unprecedented retaliation" against Iran has been authorized in response to tonight's aerial assault. The vast majority of the Iranian missiles that were fired at Israel tonight were intercepted outside Israel borders.

Skybird

04-13-24, 07:48 PM

Dargo

04-13-24, 08:12 PM

I say it for the third time: the religous leaders had to pay attention to the angry public mood, which wanted revenge. This time they could not just send in any proxies. The regime has reason to be concerned about the anger on the street, it could turn against the regime. They probably did not want to do this attack themselves, would have preferred to retaliate with proxy attacks. But they could not afford it, the inner political risk was too huge this time. I mean they just destroy the plan they have pursued for months and months now, to divide US and Israel and alienate the one from the other. And now? As you said, the US jump-starts again and comes to Israel's rescue.

I think a huge war is not wanted. But things may involuntarily slide into that direction.

And then there is Russia. It certainly has an interest to have Western attention diverted from Ukraine.The order to strike back is already approved by Israel war cabinet and for Russia thinking it will divert Western attention will backfire. Of the more than 200 drones and missiles Iran has fired at Israel, the "vast majority" have been intercepted by air defence systems and with help from "partners". The West was prepared and can easily fight two fronts. Nato has the forces in this region and in Europe to counter this kinda attacks this is the purpose of Nato, and it has it proven they can do their job even none NATO members have helped Israel.

Israel has already informed the Americans and governments in the region that its response is inevitable. Its military options include launching drones at Iran, and long-range airstrikes on Iran, possibly on military bases or nuclear installations. Iran says the situation in the Middle East need not escalate further if Israel does not retaliate to this night's attack. But that won't happen, there will be a counter-attack to which Iran will respond again. According to Iran's UN ambassador, with the retaliation as far as his country is concerned, "the matter is finished with this." However, he did promise more violence if Israel responds militarily. "If the Israeli regime makes another mistake, the Iranian response will be decidedly harsher," he said. The Iranian defence minister added that Tehran is also warning other countries not to help Israel. Any country that opens its airspace or territory to an attack on Iran by Israel can count on "a firm response" from Tehran, he told the Mehr News Agency news channel.

This attack also means Netanyahu position is safe:
Iran has set Netanyahu up for what he has been wanting for decades. Will he take the opening and go big against Iran’s nuclear program (capacity dependent) or go for a limited operation aimed at hurting Iran in other ways, especially economically. If the latter, oil infrastructure could be a top target. Hitting stand-off weapons production and installations (much tougher than oil) is another possibility. No way to know but this is new territory. The next 48 hours will be absolutely pivotal. The ball is now in Israel’s court. https://twitter.com/Aviation_Intel/status/1779323709565853799

Dargo

04-13-24, 10:02 PM

Statement from President Joe Biden on Iran's Attacks against the State of Israel
Earlier today, Iran—and its proxies operating out of Yemen, Syria and Iraq—launched an unprecedented air attack against military facilities in Israel. I condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms. At my direction, to support the defence of Israel, the U.S. military moved aircraft and ballistic missile defence destroyers to the region over the course of the past week. Thanks to these deployments and the extraordinary skill of our service members, we helped Israel take down nearly all the incoming drones and missiles.

I’ve just spoken with Prime Minister Netanyahu to reaffirm America’s ironclad commitment to the security of Israel. I told him that Israel demonstrated a remarkable capacity to defend against and defeat even unprecedented attacks – sending a clear message to its foes that they cannot effectively threaten the security of Israel. Tomorrow, I will convene my fellow G7 leaders to coordinate a united diplomatic response to Iran’s brazen attack. My team will engage with their counterparts across the region. And we will stay in close touch with Israel’s leaders. And while we have not seen attacks on our forces or facilities today, we will remain vigilant to all threats and will not hesitate to take all necessary action to protect our people. https://twitter.com/danriversitv/status/1779343551223992359

Skybird

04-14-24, 05:14 AM

Do you think Iran planners had planned for so many Western interceptors in the air the plan was to weaken the iron dome, but that plan failed hits will be reported, but it will not be so many they had planned. A US official confirmed to ABC that US forces downed multiple Iranian drones headed towards Israel tonight. There goes the plan, lol. Iran has launched a second salvo of 70 missiles toward Israel, First salvo was 80 missiles per a senior US official. Israel was hit by 7 Iranian Ballistic Missiles. Mainly in the Negev Desert Area an Israeli Base was likely hit by several missiles. Iranian missiles in the skies of Jerusalem are being intercepted, with most of them being successfully countered!
Iron Dome is a system that had not much to do this night since the incoming targets are not the preferred prey of it, but of Arrow 3 and interceptors in midair.
The Iranians telegraphed intensely in advance that they would do something, giving Israel and its allies the time to prepare. This delay between warnign and action was done by Iran intentionally. They do not really want a further escalation, they had to bow to the pressure form the street, however. They had to do something - without ending up in a total war.

That Israel's air defence are amongst the most formidable in the world, is known. Question is how huge their ammo reserves are. Iranian drones forgoing missiles are meant to deplete the readiness of the firing units and the stockpiled reserves. Ideally the striking missiles arrive when the defending SAMs are empty and undergo reloading. Temporary over-saturation.

A lot now depends on what Israel's coalition government does next. From an Iranian point of view, the issue is - for the moment - settled. The ball is in Israel's field. The Americans want no further escalation, but signalled support for Israel's defensive actions. I dare no prediction what Israel does next. Everything seems possible.

Jimbuna

04-14-24, 07:10 AM

Israel says it and its allies have intercepted the vast majority of more than 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran.

It says there were a small number of hits on its territory, including at an IDF base in southern Israel, while one child has been injured.

Israel's minister of defence, Yoav Gallant, has said the confrontation with Iran is “not over yet"

Iran said the attack "achieved all its objectives" and added it would use greater force if Israel responded in kind.

Iran's unprecedented, retaliatory attack marks the first time it has targeted Israel directly from its own soil.

Tehran's attack is a retaliation for an Israeli strike that killed Iranian military commanders in Damascus earlier this month.

Rishi Sunak confirmed that UK jets shot down a number of Iranian drones and has urged for "calm heads to prevail"

Biden says he told Netanyahu that Israel has demonstrated "remarkable capacity" in defending itself, adding that the US helped "take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles"

Jimbuna

04-14-24, 07:23 AM

There's nothing quite like a huge overdose of hypocrisy.

Russia calls for all sides to 'show restraint'

Russia is calling for all parties to "show restraint" and "expressed concern" over further escalation after Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel overnight.

"We are counting on the regional states to solve the existing problems with political and diplomatic means," the foreign ministry has said in a statement.

Moscow added that it has warned numerous times that the UN Security Council was unable to "adequately" respond to a strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria, which killed seven officers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including top commanders.

It comes after the United States, Britain and France opposed a Russian-drafted UN Security Council statement that would have condemned an attack on Iran's embassy compound in Syria.

Iran accused Israel of carrying out that attack, but Israel has said it doesn't comment on foreign reports.

Reece

04-14-24, 08:05 AM

There's nothing quite like a huge overdose of hypocrisy.

You're not wrong Jim, unbelievable, Poo-tin is an absolute joke! :doh: (I would prefer to have used the word wan---)

Jimbuna

04-14-24, 08:07 AM

Hamas rejects Israel's ceasefire response, sticks to main demands

CAIRO (Reuters) - The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has rejected an Israeli ceasefire proposal, saying on Saturday it had handed to mediators in Egypt and Qatar its response to the proposal it had received last Monday.

After more than six months of war with Israel in Gaza, the negotiations remain deadlocked, with Hamas sticking to its demands that any agreement must end the war.

"We.. reaffirm our adherence to our demands and the national demands of our people; with a permanent ceasefire, the withdrawal of the occupation army from the entire Gaza Strip, the return of the displaced to their areas and places of residence, intensification of the entry of relief and aid, and the start of reconstruction," the Islamist faction said.
Israel wants to secure the return of hostages seized by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war, but says it will not stop fighting until Hamas is destroyed as a military force. It also says it still plans to carry out an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million civilians have taken refuge.

Hamas said on Saturday it was ready to conclude a prisoners-for-hostages swap deal with Israel that would see the release of 133 hostages still believed to be held in Gaza in return for hundreds of Palestinians jailed in Israel.
There was no official Israeli comment on Hamas’ response.

The Hamas statement came a few days after Israel killed several members of the family of the group's chief Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza, raising fears among the families of hostages that it would derail efforts to secure their release from Gaza.

Speaking to Reuters in Qatar a day after the killing, Haniyeh said his group still sought a deal but accused Israel of procrastinating and evading a response to the group's demands.

Global calls for a ceasefire have been growing as the war has entered its seventh month, but there has been little sign of progress in the talks.

Hamas is demanding an end to the Israeli offensive, a withdrawal of Israeli forces, and permission for Gaza's displaced Palestinians to return to their homes.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/hamas-rejects-israel-s-ceasefire-response-sticks-to-main-demands/ar-BB1lzWCp?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=f61a0cbcf543432d988a122191b11937&ei=21

Skybird

04-14-24, 10:09 AM

https://www-focus-de.translate.goog/politik/ex-bnd-agent-rein-militaerisch-war-iranischer-angriff-ein-glatter-fehlschlag_id_259853569.html?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de

"From a purely military point of view, the Iranian attack was an outright failure," states Islamic scholar Gerhard Conrad, who was involved in a number of secret operations as a top agent of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) for many years.

Nevertheless, there is no reason to play down or trivialize the attack. Conrad told FOCUS online: "After all, it took a concerted, highly qualified military effort by Israel and its allies to successfully repel the attack."

(...)
In the view of the former secret agent, there is little to suggest that Israel will leave it at successfully repelling the attack. "The logic of military deterrence pursued so far, which does not leave even the ineffectual attempt at a military attack on Israel unpunished, stands in the way of this."

Gerhard Conrad: "Iran will most likely not be granted the satisfaction of having carried out such an attack without a reaction from its opponent. Such restraint would be seen as a 'sign of weakness' in Israel as well as in Iran and the region."

For this reason alone, a prompt military response from Israel is to be expected. Conrad told FOCUS online: "The risk of a military escalation, including the potential of Hezbollah in Lebanon, is therefore not yet off the table."

mapuc

04-14-24, 11:35 AM

From what I understand by watching the news is that the Iranian attack wasn't an all out attack on Israel, but should be seen as a smack on their fingers.

Also heard that the Israeli war cabinet has approved the response to this attack when, where and howe is unknown.

Markus

Jimbuna

04-14-24, 12:43 PM

Israel says the vast majority of more than 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran were intercepted overnight.

The attacks - which drew international condemnation - marked the first time Iran has targeted Israel directly from its own soil.

It is unclear how Israel plans to respond, but war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has said it will "exact a price" for Iran's attack when the timing is right
Israeli military say there were a small number of hits on its territory, including a base in southern Israel.

Iran had been warning that it would retaliate after an Israeli strike killed Iranian military commanders in Damascus earlier this month.

US President Joe Biden says the US helped Israel "take down nearly all of the incoming drones and missiles"

As world leaders urged restraint, Iran warned that any "reckless" retaliation by Israel would receive a "much stronger response"

Von Due

04-14-24, 12:55 PM

...And then there is Russia. It certainly has an interest to have Western attention diverted from Ukraine.

I think this may be more significant than one would think at first glance.

Jimbuna

04-15-24, 07:12 AM

Israeli military renews warnings to Palestinians not to return to war-torn northern Gaza

The Israeli military renewed warnings on Monday for Palestinians in Gaza not to return to the embattled territory’s north, a day after Gaza hospital officials said five people were killed as throngs of displaced residents tried to reach their homes in the war-torn area.

Northern Gaza was an early target of Israel’s war against Hamas and vast parts of it have been flattened, forcing much of the area’s population to flee south. While around 250,000 people are said to be living in the north, the Israeli military has prevented most displaced people from returning throughout the six-month-long war, saying the area is an active battle zone.

The military has reduced the number of troops it has in Gaza and has said it has loosened Hamas’ control over the north, but Israel is still carrying out airstrikes and targeted operations in the area against what it says are reorganizing militants, most prominently at Gaza's main hospital, Shifa, which is in ruins after a two-week raid and fighting last month.

Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Palestinians should stay in southern Gaza, where they have been told to shelter, because the north is a “dangerous combat zone.”

People appeared to be heeding the new warning, especially after the violence on Sunday.

Hospital authorities in Gaza said that five people were killed by Israeli forces while trying to travel north to their homes. Their bodies were taken to the Awda hospital in the urban Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, hospital records showed. A further 54 were wounded in the incident, the records showed.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment and the precise circumstances behind the deaths were not immediately clear.

Anaam Mohammad, who was displaced from the northern city of Beit Hanoun and was trying to return, said the military was allowing women and children to cross, but when a group of Palestinians did not make room for them to pass, two tanks arrived and opened fire. Forces also threw smoke bombs, dispersing the crowd.

“People started to run away. People were afraid and could not take the risk and enter a dangerous area,” she said.

Ahead of the violence Sunday, throngs of people crowded a coastal road and moved north by foot and donkey cart. The returnees said they were prompted to make the dangerous journey because they were fed up with the difficult conditions they are forced to live under while displaced.

“We want our homes. We want our lives. We want to return, whether with a truce or without a truce,” said Um Nidhal Khatab, who was displaced from the north.

Northern Gaza and the return of its population is a key sticking point between Israel and Hamas in negotiations underway to try to bring about a cease-fire in exchange for the release of hostages taken by the militant group. Israel wants to try to delay the return to prevent militants from regrouping in the north, while Hamas says it wants a free flow of returnees.

The war has had a staggering toll on civilians in Gaza, with most of the territory’s 2.3 million people displaced by the fighting and living in dire circumstances, with little food and often in tents and no end in sight to their misery. Large swaths of the urban landscape have been damaged or destroyed, leaving many displaced Palestinians with nowhere to return to.

Six months of fighting in Gaza have pushed the tiny Palestinian territory into a humanitarian crisis, leaving more than 1 million people on the brink of starvation.

Famine is said to be imminent in the hard-hit north, where aid has struggled to reach because of the fighting. Israel has opened a new crossing for aid trucks into the north as it ramps up aid deliveries to the besieged enclave. However, the United Nations says the surge of aid is not being felt in Gaza because of persistent distribution difficulties.

The U.N. food agency on Monday said it managed to deliver fuel and wheat flour to a bakery in isolated Gaza City in the north for the first time since the war started.

The conflict started on Oct. 7, when Hamas killed 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, in a surprise attack and incursion into southern Israel. Around 250 people were seized as hostages by the militants and taken to Gaza. A deal in November freed about 100 hostages, leaving about 130 in captivity, although Israel says about a quarter of those are dead.

Israeli bombardments and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 33,700 Palestinians and wounded over 76,200, the Gaza Health Ministry says. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

Israel says it has killed over 12,000 militants during the war, but it has not provided evidence to back up the claim.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/israeli-military-renews-warnings-to-palestinians-not-to-return-to-war-torn-northern-gaza/ar-BB1lE5Eq?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=3cf7effcfe0f48b3b0126108548c6c2b&ei=15

Jimbuna

04-16-24, 08:07 AM

Hostage talks:

Hamas has slashed the number of hostages it is willing to release during the first phase of a ceasefire deal by more than half, from 40 down to 20, an Israeli source close to the negotiations said. This represents a significant step backward in the talks.

em2nought

04-16-24, 02:55 PM

Jimbuna

04-17-24, 07:20 AM

I wonder if HAMAS will release the hostages whole, or in pieces? :hmmm:

I suspect there aren't even forty still alive.

Jimbuna

04-17-24, 07:42 AM

US and EU eye new sanctions on Iran after attack on Israel

The United States and the European Union say they are looking at imposing further sanctions on Iran, after its attack on Israel at the weekend.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said she expected to take action "in the coming days", while EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc was working on it.

Israel has urged its allies to sanction Tehran's missile programme.

United Nations sanctions over the programme expired in October.

Those sanctions had been linked to a wider deal to limit Iran's nuclear programme.

However a number of countries including the US, EU and UK maintained sanctions and added new ones.

The Israeli military's chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, said on Monday that the Iranian attack would not go unanswered.

Iran's first-ever direct attack on Israel on Saturday saw a wave of more than 300 missiles and drones fired from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, with most being downed by Israel and its allies.

Tehran said the attack was retaliation for a presumed Israeli air strike on its consulate in Syria on 1 April, in which 13 people were killed.

So far, Israel appears to have countered with only a diplomatic offensive. Its foreign minister urged more than 30 countries to impose sanctions on Iran's missile programme.

It has also called for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) - a major military, political and economic force in Iran - to be designated a terrorist organisation, something the US has already done but the UK has not.

Speaking on Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Ms Yellen said: "With respect to sanctions, I fully expect that we will take additional sanctions action against Iran in the coming days.

"We don't preview our sanctions tools. But in discussions I've had, all options to disrupt terrorist financing of Iran continue to be on the table."

She said Iran's oil exports were "a possible area we could address", adding: "Clearly, Iran is continuing to export some oil. There may be more that we could do."

Ms Yellen said the US was already using financial sanctions to isolate Iran and disrupt its ability to fund proxy groups and support Russia's war in Ukraine - including by targeting more than 500 individuals and entities.

Existing US sanctions on Iran already ban nearly all American trade with the country.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said later that the new sanctions would target "Iran including its missile and drone program" as well as the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian defence ministry.

"We anticipate that our allies and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions," he added. "These new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran's military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviours."

Mr Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, said some member states had asked for sanctions against Iran to be expanded.

He said he would send a request to the EU's diplomatic service to "start the necessary work related to the sanctions".

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz welcomed the "positive trend towards the adoption of sanctions" in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

World leaders have urged restraint in a bid to avoid a major escalation in the Middle East, following the latest attack.

US President Joe Biden - who has repeatedly declared his support for Israel is "ironclad" - has said he believes Israel should declare victory in this episode and "take the win".

In a phone call on Tuesday evening, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against a further escalation in its response.

"He stressed that significant escalation was in no one's interest and would only deepen insecurity in the Middle East. This was a moment for calm heads to prevail," a Downing Street spokesperson said.

The G7 group of the world's seven largest advanced economies was now "co-ordinating a diplomatic response", they added.

Iran has indicated that it deems the matter "concluded" unless Israel retaliates - with Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi warning that "the slightest action against Iran's interests will definitely be met with a severe, extensive and painful response".

Russia - an ally of Iran - has also urged restraint, the Kremlin said on Tuesday following a call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Raisi.

"Vladimir Putin expressed hope that all sides would show reasonable restraint and prevent a new round of confrontation fraught with catastrophic consequences for the entire region," the Kremlin said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68832045

Skybird

04-17-24, 08:09 AM

I suspect there aren't even forty still alive.
I think you are right. Any maybe people should pray they aren't. What released hostages described, was hell.

Jimbuna

04-17-24, 11:06 AM

Israel makes own decisions, Netanyahu says after Cameron talks

Benjamin Netanyahu has told UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron that Israel would "make its own decisions" over how to respond to an Iranian attack.

He said his government would "do everything necessary to defend itself" during talks the British government had hoped would help prevent escalation.

Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to retaliate to the unprecedented missile and drone assault at the weekend.

Lord Cameron told him any response should be "smart" and limited.

Speaking to reporters in Jerusalem after the meeting with Mr Netanyahu, Lord Cameron said he was there to "demonstrate our solidarity" after Iran's "appalling" attack.

He continued: "We hope that anything Israel does is as limited and as targeted and as smart as possible.

"It's in no-one's interest that we see escalation and that is what we said very clearly to all the people I've been speaking to here in Israel."

After the meeting, the Israeli prime minister said: "I want to make it clear - we will make our own decisions, and the State of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself."

Mr Netanyahu's remarks will reinforce the belief in western capitals that Israel is set to take action against Iran and there is a limit to how often they can call for restraint.

Israel is more than aware of concerns in Europe and the United States about the war escalating in the region.

However, western leaders may take comfort from the fact that Israeli leaders are trying to exploit the diplomatic support they have gained after Iran's attacks, which has seen international condemnation and the promise of new sanctions on Tehran.

It is possible Mr Netanyahu may not want to destroy that alliance with an act of retaliation that plunges the region into a full-scale war.

Lord Cameron is one of several Western foreign ministers who are expected to visit Israel in the coming days as part of a diplomatic drive to prevent that from happening.

Before meeting Mr Netanyahu, Lord Cameron held talks with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz.

The UK foreign secretary also plans to visit the Occupied Palestinian Territories to meet Mohammad Mustafa, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority.

Later, Lord Cameron will travel to a gathering of G7 ministers in Italy, where he will push for co-ordinated sanctions on Iran.

Earlier, he accused Tehran of being "behind so much of the malign activity" in the Middle East and called for other countries to adopt measures designed to restrict Iran's influence.

The US and European Union are considering further sanctions, and Israel is calling on its allies to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) - a major military, political and economic force in Iran - as a terrorist organisation.

The Israeli government has repeatedly vowed to retaliate after Iran sent more than 300 drones and missiles towards Israel in an unprecedented direct attack overnight on Saturday.

Almost all the projectiles were intercepted by Israel's air defence systems, with the help of the UK, US, France, and Jordan.

Iran's direct attack on Israel was carried out in response to a strike in Syria on 1 April which killed senior Iranian military figures. Israel has not publicly confirmed it was behind the attack, but is widely believed to have been.

On Tuesday evening, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Mr Netanyahu and warned that "significant escalation will only deepen instability in the region", adding: "This is a moment for calm heads to prevail."

Lord Cameron will seek to reinforce Mr Sunak's call for restraint during his visit to Israel, and put more pressure on its leaders to do more to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza - but he is walking a delicate diplomatic line.

The foreign secretary will not want to appear to be hectoring an ally which has just been subject to an unprecedented attack on its soil.

That is why Lord Cameron is also talking about the need for Hamas to release hostages and the importance of western powers imposing yet more sanctions on Iran.

His presence in Jerusalem is a show of support and solidarity - but also an attempt to warn Israeli leaders that any significant escalation would be against their interests and the world's.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68833121

em2nought

04-17-24, 11:28 AM

It's always nice to have people who are running their own countries into the ground giving you advice. :D

Jimbuna

04-17-24, 11:47 AM

It's always nice to have people who are running their own countries into the ground giving you advice. :D

Wasn't that long ago he spat his dummy out after losing the Brexit referendum.

Dargo

04-17-24, 11:57 AM

Wasn't that long ago he spat his dummy out after losing the Brexit referendum.Same goes for Bibi his politics resulted in a weaker defence, and he was warned for this by his own security service.

Jimbuna

04-17-24, 12:15 PM

Striking Iran's nuclear facilities 'on the table', says ex-Mossad intelligence chief

The former director of intelligence at the Israeli spy agency, Mossad, says targeting nuclear facilities in Iran is among the options on the table as Israel decides how to respond to Saturday's attack.

Zohar Palti spoke to The World with Yalda Hakim in Jerusalem about possible responses after Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel.

Asked if everything was on the table, including targeting nuclear facilities, Mr Palti said: "No doubt. Everything is on the table right now."

Pressed on whether this included nuclear facilities, he said: "Including everything."

Iran temporarily closed its nuclear facilities on Sunday over "security considerations" and the International Atomic Energy Agency kept its inspectors away for two days.

Skybird

04-17-24, 12:29 PM

Striking nuclear program components of critical nature for the bomb program could not be done with distance weapons alone, would need fighterbombers inside Iranian airspace, most likely, also would need warheads of a size that make them practically equivalents to small nukes. The two key facilities of Iran are practically buried under mountains that would be needed to be practically blown up. One can safely assume the Iranians know this and did not leave it as open as Tora Bora. I am not certain it can be done without troops on the ground in these locations, and no matter the chosen tactical method it woud, be a very extremely high risk operation. As long as one does not want just to push a symbolic action. In which case one must ask the question - why then taking any risk at all? Iran turned itself into a joke with its 320 missile/drone attack, militarily it was a desaster for them - this time.

Very difficult choices. No matter the plan, if it goes wrong, it costs Israel the nimbus of being militarily very capable. And that, albeit being an immaterial one, would be a loss hard to overestimate. If you lose the nimbus of being a fearsome enemy, then your enemy will not fear you anymore. Not good.

This is like a chess position where all moves available cannot improve or even just support the current situation, but can only compromise it - but making a move you nevertheless must, skipping a move is not allowed.

em2nought

04-17-24, 12:55 PM

Wasn't that long ago he spat his dummy out after losing the Brexit referendum.

I was thinking "The West" in general as I don't pay too much attention to the UK other than to look at pretty pictures of old buildings built with stone, or videos of pipe bands marching thru a town playing "Scotland the Brave". :up:

Jimbuna

04-17-24, 01:01 PM

Ah, okay, my mistook :oops:

mapuc

04-17-24, 01:15 PM

Skybird

04-17-24, 03:50 PM

If there's any military in the world who can this, then it has to be the Israeli

Markus
The situation they face is at it is. There biggest bombs in their arsenal are US-made. Their pilots and soldiers are humans. Theys stand with their back against the two walls of a corner.:03:
They cant yet walk over water.
I think since long time that if you want to blow up said two key installations, you have to do it from inside. Means: special commandos on the ground seizing the objectives and mining them. I give the success chances of that as almost zero.

If they could have destroyed these sites with cyberattacks, they would have done so by now.

Skybird

04-17-24, 04:01 PM

Why the probability that Israel will strike hard is bigger than the probability that it won't.

https://www-focus-de.translate.goog/politik/ausland/gastbeitrag-von-gabor-steingart-drei-gruende-warum-netanjahu-zum-grossen-gegenschlag-ausholen-wird_id_259862164.html?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de

em2nought

04-17-24, 04:03 PM

I think since long time that if you want to blow up said two key installations, you have to do it from inside. Means: special commandos on the ground seizing the objectives and mining them. I give the success chances of that as almost zero.

Too bad somebody can't just ram a container ship into them. :D

mapuc

04-17-24, 04:23 PM

The situation they face is at it is. There biggest bombs in their arsenal are US-made. Their pilots and soldiers are humans. Theys stand with their back against the two walls of a corner.:03:
They cant yet walk over water.
I think since long time that if you want to blow up said two key installations, you have to do it from inside. Means: special commandos on the ground seizing the objectives and mining them. I give the success chances of that as almost zero.

If they could have destroyed these sites with cyberattacks, they would have done so by now.

Maybe you're right I'm not a military expert I only recalled all the Special operations the Israeli army is known to have done.

If I had the knowledge I would say-They are not going to bomb Iran, no, they are going to bomb Iranian interest in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

Next step or secondary targets would be important Iranian infrastructure in Iran.

Markus

em2nought

04-17-24, 05:33 PM

I'd think that if somebody had just launched ballistic missiles at me, I might be thinking of eliminating anything really really really dangerous that those fellows could send towards me on top of a ballistic missile the next time. :hmmm: Especially if my so called friend is going to keep giving those fellows pallets and pallets of yankee greenbacks. :hmmm:

Jimbuna

04-18-24, 05:16 AM

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh loses another close relative days after three sons killed by IDF

The Head of the Political Bureau of the Hamas movement Ismail Haniyeh, 61, has reportedly lost his nephew to an Israeli attack.

Mohammed Abdul Karim Haniyeh was killed in an airstrike by Israeli warplanes at the Sheikh Radwan district in Gaza City on Wednesday, according to Palestinian media outlets. It comes just seven days after Haniyeh lost three sons and three grandchildren on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr due to an Israeli air raid on their car in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas leader maintains his six relatives were targeted by the Israel Defence Forces, claiming they were visiting family for Eid at the Shati refugee camp.

About 60 members of Haniyeh's family have been killed since the war began last October. The Islamic Republic News Agency, a Palestinian media outlet, reported that Israel's constant bombardments and ground assaults have "achieved nothing" but the deaths of tens of thousands of Gaza civilians.

The death toll in Gaza exceeds 30,000 and in January, US intelligence agencies estimated that Israel had successfully eliminated 20-30% of Hamas fighters, falling short of its goal to completely destroy the group, the Wall Street Journal.

Recent footage showed Haniyeh seemingly shrugging off the death of his relatives. After first hearing that his children were killed in an IDF airstrike, Haniyeh barely moves a muscle and shows little to no emotion as he originally planned to visit injured Palestinians at a hospital in Qatar, where he resides in exile. The bearer of bad news is heard saying "Hazem, Mohammed and Amir have been killed, along with their children."

He then leaves the room and says "God rest their souls," before he is asked by an aide: "Shall we end the visit,?" to which the political leader replies "No, why? Let's continue" as he heads to the doors flanked by allies and officials.

The Hamas leader reportedly has 13 sons and daughters. Israeli officials claimed Mohammed and Hazem were Hamas military operatives and Amir was a cell commander. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Haniyeh said "I am grateful to God for the honour he has given me in the deaths of three of my children and a few of my grandchildren."

He added "My sons were awarded this honour. They remained with our Palestinian people in Gaza, did not leave and did not run. The blood of my sons is not dearer than the blood of our people."
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/hamas-leader-ismail-haniyeh-loses-another-close-relative-days-after-three-sons-killed-by-idf/ar-BB1lO5zT?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=7562d362678d4cf6d8a0bb37c7344a87&ei=33

Jimbuna

04-18-24, 05:39 AM

Over 55,000 Russian soldiers dead in Ukraine, reveals BBC analysis

Since February 2022, when Russia attacked Ukraine, the station, alongside volunteers and the independent media group Mediazona, has been conducting analyses. The team scours the internet, collecting data from various sources such as media reports, blogs, social media, and also monitors cemeteries.

Russia has not released official lists of the deceased and has refused to comment on the information collected by the BBC. The station's website mentioned that the data does not account for deaths among members of pro-Russian paramilitary groups in the occupied east of Ukraine.

The team monitors 70 cemeteries, noting an increase in military graves that occupy "significantly more space." In some instances, such as at the Bogorodskoje cemetery in Ryazan, management had to create entirely new sections to accommodate the influx of burials, primarily for fallen soldiers and officers.

Amateurs fall in "meat grinder attacks"
The BBC estimates that at least two in five of the deceased had no prior military connection before the invasion.

Samuel Cranny-Evens from the defence and security think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) says that at the start of the 2022 invasion, Russia was able to use its professional troops to conduct complicated military operations. However, the analyst points out that now, as experienced soldiers have either died or been injured, their places are being taken by less well-trained volunteers, civilians, and prisoners who lack the skills of professional soldiers.

"This means they have to do things that are a lot simpler tactically - which generally seems to be a forward assault onto Ukrainian positions with artillery support," he notes.

Convict-Wagner fighters see longer combat
In June 2022, the recruitment of prisoners for combat began, initially by the mercenary group Wagner, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, and later by the regular army. The BBC team has identified that so far, at least 9,900 prisoners have died.

Journalists found that killed convicts in the Wagner group had an average of three months in the war, while those recruited later by the regular army only had around two. In the Wagner group, prisoners underwent at least two weeks of training. However, according to the BBC's conversations with families of prisoners recruited by the army, these individuals were sent to the front almost directly from their cells after minimal training. Wagner prisoners, upon surviving, could regain their freedom after a six-month contract, whereas those recruited by the army can only do so when the war ends.

The army forms so-called storm units from these prisoners, experiencing exceptionally high losses. One online forum member for recruited prisoners mentioned that his unit initially had one hundred soldiers five months ago; now, only 38 remain.

For comparison, during the 10-year war in Afghanistan, the fatalities on the USSR side amounted to about 15,000.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/over-55-000-russian-soldiers-dead-in-ukraine-reveals-bbc-analysis/ar-BB1lNViD?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=15d9f69f18f94952b1c594b8daa2d4f1&ei=13

em2nought

04-18-24, 04:41 PM

Over 55,000 Russian soldiers dead in Ukraine, reveals BBC analysis

I wonder if Russia might want some illegal aliens? :D

ET2SN

04-18-24, 11:29 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjANRqf-_94

It sounds like they targeted the fighter base in Isfahan. :hmmm:
Not the Natanz "nuclear site", but close.

mapuc

04-18-24, 11:30 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhGFsogtY8Y&ab_channel=Military%26History

Edit
Was uncertain to where I should post this video here or in our Nuclear Iran thread.
As I see it the Iran - Israel conflict should have it's own thread
End edit

Markus

Skybird

04-19-24, 05:52 AM

Was uncertain to where I should post this video here or in our Nuclear Iran thread.
As I see it the Iran - Israel conflict should have it's own thread.Its all interwoven, hard to separate the various aspects from each other.

The guy is funny, involuntarily. The Israel-Iran war has begun, he writes/says - no, it has begun already decades ago and is fought since thern, as a proxy war. And that Israel is trying to close the door for the nuclear ambition of Iran with these attacks, well, I do not see the needed strength and seriousness in these attacks to even get close to that.

The message Israel sends is another one. Of Iranian missiles fired, almost none got through. Of Israeli missiles, obviously quite some got through. Food for thought.

Of course, Iran is said to have so many missiles that they probably can oversaturate Israeli air defences which from some point on simply would run dry on ammo. I have no idea where to set this mark. Its just a base mechanism I point at. If you fire more missiles than the target can have defence missiles ready in time, obviously the excess of attack missiles will get through - small 101 of missile warfare.

There was a rumour reported two days ago that Netanjahu and Biden got a deal - Washington accepts an Israeli offensive at Rafah if Israel does not strike Iran hard/at all. I wonder if this apparently limited attack is part of that "deal" - if it indeed was made -, or indicates a break of it. Or whether the rumour was just a rumour indeed.

Jimbuna

04-19-24, 05:55 AM

'Israel's strikes do little damage but send powerful 'last word' message to Iran'

Early reports of the Israeli retaliatory strikes against an Iranian air base and a nuclear site indicate they were not hugely physically damaging.

But they carry a message from Israel that they can get to Iran and also a strong indication of what its priorities are - the military and Iran’s nuclear interests. The single most important thing Israel feels it has to destroy as a priority is Iran’s ability, sometime in the near future, to gain nuclear capability.

For the short term it seems these demonstrative ping-pong strikes between Israel and Iran are some kind of tit-for-tat chess game to muscle flex. But Israel and Iran have been conducting war against each other for years via proxies - Israel assassinating Iran’s nuclear scientists and military leaders, and Iran’s outreach partners Hezbollah, Hamas and others striking Israel.

Israel may well have to try to take out Iran’s nuclear sites some time soon - with a massive, high-risk operation involving bunker busting bombs, cruise missiles and the list goes on. But this latest escalation was not that.

It appears to be another notch up the escalation ladder towards overt war, which neither side wants right now and which the west is lobbying heavily against. Israel has to keep its coalition partners on board, as shown by the stunning defence by its air force, supported by US, UK, Jordanian and Saudi fast jets.

An unwarranted escalation could put that good will at risk but these strikes attract widespread attention, whilst also delivering a major warning to Iran, telling its regime “we will have the last word.” Plus it is at war in Gaza, whilst having to ward of the constant threat from Iran’s proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen.

And Iran, whilst needing to placate its Hezbollah and Syrian allies and also show-off military power to the wider Middle East, likely feels it is not ready for all-out war. Nevertheless, this was a major escalation towards war and each step forward is a difficult one to go back on.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/israel-s-strikes-do-little-damage-but-send-powerful-last-word-message-to-iran/ar-AA1nhRk1?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=9a17510d268f460bbd0fb62ff8bc2bfb&ei=18

mapuc

04-19-24, 07:55 AM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI2kRpxteLg&ab_channel=Military%26History

Markus

Jimbuna

04-19-24, 07:59 AM

Netanyahu has done what the world warned him not to

Israel’s strike on Iran on Friday morning will not come as a surprise to Western observers – but it will cause great concern in Washington and London as the region tips closer towards an all-out war.

Following Iran’s attack on Israel on April 13, itself a response to an Israeli strike on an Iranian consulate, Israel was clear a response would be required.

That night, Joe Biden talked down Benjamin Netanyahu from launching an immediate response, warning him that America would not support or join in any offence against Iran.

The president reportedly told the Israeli leader to “take the win” from his stunningly effective air defences, which restricted the effect of the Iranian strikes to a damaged plane and a battered runway.
However, that advice has not been heeded universally by Mr Netanyahu’s colleagues.

Israel’s war cabinet has since been locked in negotiations about the timing, scope and location of a military response.

For some “doves” in the Israeli government, the risk of all-out war with Iran was simply too great.

Tehran has vowed to respond in kind to any attack on its territory, plunging the two countries into a series of retaliatory strikes that would escalate the situation beyond either’s control.

But for the Israeli “hawks”, a direct missile and drone attack on home soil after months of Iranian support for Islamist proxy groups was one provocation too great.

Mr Netanyahu has now done what Mr Biden, other G7 leaders and the UN warned him not to do.

He has further provoked a hostile and unpredictable regional power with uncertain nuclear capabilities.

For years, Iran and Israel have existed in a state of cold war, driven by Tehran’s support for Israel’s enemies close to home.

But the events of the early hours of Friday morning make a hot war between the two countries a realistic possibility for the first time.

Unlike other recent conflicts in the Middle East, a war between Iran and Israel would pit two of the region’s superpowers in direct conflict.

There is also concern about the ongoing relationship between Israel and the United States, which has been increasingly critical of Mr Netanyahu’s strategy in Gaza and his willingness to launch a strike on Tehran.

Until now, the importance of Israel’s relationship with the US has restricted Mr Netanyahu from what may be his instinct to fight as hard as possible against Iran and its proxies.

The risk to peace in the whole of the Middle East is now greater than ever. In Washington, as in Tel Aviv, leaders are now holding their breath to see what Iran does next.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/netanyahu-has-done-what-the-world-warned-him-not-to/ar-AA1nhaMj?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=849dcd5d40d64f2db3b38920d8882e8e&ei=13

em2nought

04-19-24, 09:00 AM

For Biden it's all about his off their nut radical "potential" voters. :har:

Skybird

04-19-24, 05:41 PM

:D Of blasé, stupid little girls.

As Bild (https://www.bild.de/politik/inland/sie-haben-alle-moeglichen-ratschlaege-aber-netanjahu-watscht-baerbock-ab-661fc79a76c1b75419616d53) reports (https://www.bild.de/politik/inland/sie-haben-alle-moeglichen-ratschlaege-aber-netanjahu-watscht-baerbock-ab-661fc79a76c1b75419616d53), Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has received a metaphorical slap in the face for trying to prevent Israel's Prime Minister from launching a military counter-attack in Iran by warning of an "escalation spiral".

It is helpful to know the following:

When Annalena Baerbock wasn't even born, Bibi Netanyahu had already served five years in the special unit Sayeret Matkal, including participating in a commando operation to free hostages from a hijacked plane and fighting in the Yom Kippur War, graduating at the top of his class at the MIT Sloan School of Management and working as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group.

By the time she started school, Bibi had already been Deputy Ambassador in Washington for two years and then Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations in New York.

When Annalena first won bronze in the double mini tramp (junior division), Bibi was already party leader and still two years away from becoming prime minister for the first time.

Now she is flying around the globe, stuttering into microphones (https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/politik-gesellschaft/versprecher-zum-nahost-konflikt-irritierender-auftritt-von-baerbock-in-den-tagesthemen-li.2207119) and trying to tell Benjamin Netanyahu what Israel can and cannot do in its defense because she thinks she knows everything better. She is actually still well served with the verbal "slap".
https://www.achgut.com/artikel/der_baerbock_bibi_kompetenzvergleich