US preparing plans for attack on Houthis, wider Middle East conflict: Report
Politico has reported that officials in US President Joe Biden’s administration are “drawing up plans” for a US response to a regional expansion of the war in Gaza, and to “hit back” at Houthi fighters in Yemen.
Citing four US officials familiar with the issue, the news organisation reports that conversations have taken place “about scenarios that could potentially draw the US into another Middle East war”. Plans are also being drafted to attack the Houthis in Yemen over their hostilities towards commercial shipping in the Red Sea with links to Israel.
US officials told Politico that the potential for a regional conflict is growing amid armed confrontations in Lebanon, Iraq and Iran, which has “convinced some in the administration that the war in Gaza has officially escalated far beyond the strip’s borders”. “The scramble inside the administration to draw up reports on potential points of attacks and possible US responses this week came as a result of orders from the top echelons of the administration over fears that the violence in the region will only continue to grow and that Washington will eventually have to intervene,” Politico reports.
More indications Israel's right wing government wants to re-occupy Gaza
Israeli meeting on post-war Gaza descends into shouting match
An Israeli high-level security cabinet meeting descended into a shouting match on Thursday after right-wing ministers and military officials clashed, according to Israeli media sources. Tensions arose around the decision of Herzi Halevi, the Israeli military’s chief of staff, to include Shaul Mofaz, Israel’s defence minister from 2002 to 2006, in a panel set to probe the mistakes made by the military that allowed the October 7 massacres to occur in southern Israel.
“You appointed Mofaz? Are you crazy?” Israel’s Minister of Transport and Road Safety Miri Regev said to Halevi, according to Kan, Israel’s national broadcaster.
Mofaz was central to Israel’s decision to withdraw from Gaza in 2005, a decision which many on Israel’s far right now hope to see reversed as discussions continue over plans for governance in post-war Gaza.
Scores of Palestinians killed; humanitarian groups unable to deliver life-saving assistance: UN
The UN reports that 125 Palestinians were killed and 318 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza in the 24-hour period between Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, citing the Palestinian territory’s Health Ministry. They add to the 22,438 Palestinians killed and 57,614 injured between October 7 and January 3.
The latest UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) situation report also notes:
- Humanitarian groups have been unable to deliver life-saving assistance, including food and medicine, north of Wadi Gaza for four days due to heavy fighting and access delays and denials.
- The area surrounding the El Amal Hospital and Palestine Red Crescent Society in Khan Younis was struck for the third consecutive day on January 4. Seven Palestinians, including a five-year-old, have already been killed in three days of Israeli bombardments in the area.
- On January 4, 177 trucks carrying food and medicine entered Gaza through the Rafah and Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) border crossings, but food insecurity remains acute across the besieged enclave.
- Only 13 out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are partially functional as of January 3 – nine in the south and four in the north – according to the World Health Organization.
More than 100 arrested at downtown Chicago rally to demand ceasefire in Gaza
More than 100 people were arrested Monday morning during a protest at the Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago, where hundreds of Jews from across the Midwest gathered to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Around 9 a.m., hundreds of Jews and pro-Palestinian allies descended on the Ogilvie Transportation Center, home to a huge number of Metra trains. While train lines were not disrupted, the escalators inside the building were shut down for several hours, as chants for a ceasefire in Gaza grew louder and more animated.
Protesters weren't targeting the train station itself, but the Israeli consulate on the 31st floor of Accenture Tower above Ogilvie.
Protesters from various Jewish groups and other Jewish supporters said they came to downtown Chicago to stand in solidarity with Palestinians. Members of Jewish Voice for Peace-Chicago and others around from the Midwest said they're upset with Israeli leadership for their treatment of Palestinian civilians during the war with Hamas, as well as the support the U.S. has given to Israel.
Initially, police sat back and observed the protest, but by 10 a.m., they issued an order to clear out, and most protesters moved their demonstration to the sidewalk outside. Those who didn't leave were lined up, placed in plastic cuffs, and taken to police trucks for processing. With every arrest, fellow protesters cheered.
Police said a total of 106 protesters were arrested for trespassing. The protest group called the arrests unconscionable.
In a statement, Israel Consul General Yinam Cohen said the protest "was not about peace."
"We are overwhelmed by the endless support for Israel by millions of Americans, Jews and non-Jews alike. We are looking forward to tomorrow's March for Israel in DC, the largest rally for Israel in decades."
Ah, rally tomorrow for Israel. That explains why CNN is suddenly bringing up the Oct 7 rapes again.
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