By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
SvennoJ on 18 February 2024
Edit Thread

I can't even count on how many levels this constitutes a war crime.

Israel is a terrorist state.

Israel says it will expand military operations in Rafah if hostages are not returned by Ramadan

Israeli forces will expand military operations in Rafah if hostages held by Hamas are not returned by the start of Ramadan, war cabinet minister Benny Gantz said Sunday. The Muslim holy month is expected to start on March 10 or 11 and Gantz's comments appear to be the clearest deadline yet for Israeli military action in the southern Gaza city, where more than 1 million displaced Palestinians are taking shelter near the Egyptian border.

"The world must know, and Hamas leaders must know — if by Ramadan our hostages are not home — the fighting will continue to the Rafah area," Gantz told a gathering of American Jewish organizations in Jerusalem. "We will do so in a coordinated manner, facilitating the evacuation of civilians in dialogue with our American and Egyptian partners to minimize civilian casualties."

Israel has said it plans to expand its ground operations into Rafah as part of its goal to destroy Hamas after the October 7 attacks. But there is growing concern that the roughly 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering there will have nowhere to go. "To those saying the price is too high, I say this very clearly: Hamas has a choice — they can surrender, release the hostages, and the citizens of Gaza will be able to celebrate the holy holiday of Ramadan," Gantz said.

What choice do the civilians have? And what until March 10, let the population continue to starve and die of disease outbreaks while continuing to bomb Gaza?

This is terrorist threat.


Veteran British director Ken Loach calls for end to war on Gaza

Loach stood next to a sign with the message, “Gaza – Stop the massacre”, during the red carpet ceremony of the annual British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards in London. The image was posted by the UK news outlet The Telegraph and reposted by Loach’s and his production company’s X account with the caption, “CEASEFIRE NOW!!!”

Jeremy Corbyn urges vote for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

The former leader of the UK Labour Party says he will be voting for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza next week. “I urge fellow MPs to wake up, think about what is happening in Gaza, and do the same,” Corbyn said in a post on X. The Scottish National Party is set to table the motion to be debated in parliament on Wednesday.

UAE calls for immediate ceasefire and aid to Gaza

Yousef Al Otaiba, Abu Dhabi’s ambassador to Washington, has sounded the alarm on the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. “An immediate ceasefire and urgent aid surge are needed to meet the mounting humanitarian calamity in Gaza,” Al Otaiba said in a statement shared on social media by the UAE’s embassy in the US.

“Half of the people are starving. The medical system has collapsed. Safe water is scarce. An impending Israeli offensive will displace millions.” The UAE, a close ally of the US, has formal diplomatic ties and economic relations with Israel.

Israeli accusations of Hamas activity at hospitals ‘nonsense’: Gaza doctor

Osaid Alser, a Gaza surgeon and medical resident at Texas Tech University, says he has never seen any military activity while working at several medical centres in Gaza since 2010, including at the al-Shifa and Nasser hospitals. “When we talk about tunnels and all of that, I think this is Israeli propaganda that everybody should get used to at this point,” he told Al Jazeera.

“Anybody who has worked in any of these hospitals, they can easily say this is just nonsense. We never had our access limited to any area in these hospitals. We could go to literally any area in the hospital and nobody would say stop.”

Nablus facing ‘economic and political seige’ by Israel: Official

Ghassan Daghlas, the acting governor of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, says 48 people from the Palestinian city have been killed by Israeli forces since the start of the war on Gaza. Earlier, Israeli forces fatally shot Anas Jamil Dwaikat, a 26-year-old Palestinian police officer, at a checkpoint east of Nablus.

Daghlas said Israeli forces are also erecting gates and checkpoints around the towns and villages of the Nablus Governorate, turning it into a “big prison”. “Settler violence and aggression have also noticeably increased after October 7, especially in villages south of the city of Nablus,” Daghlas told Al Jazeera. He added that Nablus has been facing an “economic and political siege” by Israel, which intensified with the outbreak of the war on Gaza.

Turning the West Bank into lots of smaller copies of Gaza...



‘Occupation is always illegal’: UN expert

Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN rapporteur on the right to housing, says he is “hoping for justice” as the ICJ starts hearings on Monday about Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land. “Occupation is always illegal, no matter how long it has existed. Land theft and home demolitions are the main tools of converting occupation to annexation,” Rajagopal wrote in a social media post.

Hamas slams Israel’s rejection of international Palestine recognition

The Palestinian group says the Israeli government’s symbolic vote to reject any international recognition of a Palestinian state underscores Israel’s “rogue” behaviour and abuse of international law and treaties. Hamas added that Israel has been using peace talks for decades to buy time and further entrench its occupation and theft of Palestinian land.

Israeli policies must move the international community to reject Israel’s “manipulation” and violation of Palestinians’ right to self-determination, Hamas said.

The Israeli cabinet vote comes amid reports that some Western countries are considering recognising Palestine as a state in a push to end the broader conflict based on the two-state solution.