Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

[SvennoJ]

Main events on October 17th

• The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, recovered the remains of a captive’s body in Gaza and handed it over to Israel via the Red Cross.
• Gaza’s Civil Defence spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, said about 10,000 Palestinians are believed to be buried under the rubble after Israel’s intense war on the enclave.
• Basal announced Israel targeted a car which had 11 people from the same family inside in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, east of Gaza City.
• The Israeli military said it identified “several terrorists” exiting a tunnel shaft in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis area who were approaching soldiers.
• The military also said its forces targeted southern Lebanon’s Kherbet Selem area and killed “a terrorist who took part in Hezbollah’s attempts to reestablish its military capabilities”.
• The UN’s human rights office reported that Israeli troops and settlers have killed at least 1,001 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023.
• Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said his government was “working diligently to ensure that the agreement reached between Hamas and Israel is permanent and paves the way for lasting peace”.
• US President Donald Trump said he expects an expansion of the Abraham Accords soon and hopes Saudi Arabia will join the pact that normalises relations with Israel.

‘You Will Not Silence Me’: Watch Mehdi’s Defiant Speech on Gaza

This week at the National Press Club in Washington, DC — our editor-in-chief Mehdi Hasan accepted the Arab Center’s Award for Commitment to Media Excellence and Journalistic Integrity.

In his speech, Mehdi addressed the genocide in Gaza, including America’s complicity, and debunked Trump’s Gaza peace plan. He also shared what keeps him hopeful, while dedicating the award to the Palestinian journalists murdered by Israel for reporting the truth.

Aaron Mate & Mnar Adley: How Israel Took Over U.S. Politics and Media

Award-winning investigative journalist Aaron Mate (The Grayzone, Useful Idiots) delivers a searing indictment of the U.S. political-media complex—and how it has been captured by pro-Israel interests.

Responding to Mnar Adley’s question about Kamala Harris boasting that she and Biden “brought peace to Gaza,” Aaron lays bare the truth: How both Democrats and Republicans prioritize Israel over democracy itself, even at the cost of losing elections. Why Kamala Harris refused to break from Biden on Gaza, despite polls showing massive Democratic base revolt.

How pro-Israel billionaires now own the media: Larry Ellison (TikTok), Jeff Bezos (WaPo), Elon Musk (X), and the Adelsons (who openly directed Trump’s Middle East policy) The absurd appointment of Barry Weiss—a pro-Israel activist with zero journalism experience—as head of CBS News.

How the “Russia hoax” distracted from real foreign influence: Trump’s own admission that he served Israeli oligarchs like Sheldon Adelson. And why trust in U.S. media has collapsed—not because of “fake news,” but because the press is the propaganda arm of empire. This is not conspiracy. It’s all on the record. And Aaron Mate connects the dots with clarity, precision, and moral urgency.