By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Politics Discussion - Israel-Hamas war, Gaza genocide

SvennoJ on 04 June 2024

WFP providing reduced rations, prioritising meals

The World Food Programme (WFP) says families that fled Rafah in southern Gaza “are now in areas with insufficient clean water, medical supplies, fuel, and limited food assistance”.

It added on X: “To reach as many people as possible with fewer resources, WFP is forced to provide reduced rations and is prioritising hot meals at community kitchens.”

The UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Monday that a “staggering” one million people have fled Rafah, amid reports of overnight attacks by Israeli forces.

Children unfed all day, thousands for one toilet in Gaza: Oxfam

Palestinians displaced by the Gaza war are living in “appalling” conditions, with children sometimes going for a whole day without food and thousands sharing the same toilet, the United Kingdom-based charity Oxfam has warned.

“Despite Israeli assurances that full support would be provided for people fleeing, most of Gaza has been deprived of humanitarian aid, as famine inches closer,” the aid agency said. “A food survey by aid agencies in May found that 85 percent of children did not eat for a whole day at least once in the three days before the survey was conducted,” it added.

Oxfam said families in some parts of southern Gaza, like the coastal area of al-Mawasi, were getting by with barely any water or sanitation services. “Living conditions are so appalling that in al-Mawasi, there are just 121 latrines for over 500,000 people – or 4,130 people having to share each toilet,” it said.






Up to 11,000 Palestinians need immediate medical evacuation: WHO official

Hanan Balkhy, World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, has said that between 7,000 to more than 11,000 Palestinian patients need immediate medical evacuations.

Speaking in Geneva, Balkhy said the patients who need evacuation are required to receive treatment in specialised hospitals.

“If you’re talking about leaving nobody behind, we are already leaving significant numbers behind from Gaza, but also, when there’s pressure on already fragile health systems in the neighbouring countries,” she said, adding, “So we have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Balkhy continued, “If we do not have peace, that’s going to be an extremely challenging situation. We need peace within the borders to open up.


War’s impact ripples through neighbours’ health systems, WHO says

Healthcare systems of neighbouring countries are feeling the strain as thousands of critical patients from Gaza are evacuated for treatment of complex injuries and ailments, a top WHO official says.

“The ripple effect on Egypt, Lebanon, Syria as the immediate neighbours of the OPT [occupied Palestinian territory] is significant,” said Hanan Balkhy, the World Health Organization’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean.

Fewer than half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals were partially functional as of Thursday, the global body reported, as most of the medical infrastructure has been destroyed by Israel’s eight-month assault.

This has caused pressure on “already fragile health systems in the neighbouring countries”, Balkhy said. “It’s not like sewing a laceration,” she added, referring to the typical injuries seen among patients from Gaza.



Around the Network
SvennoJ on 04 June 2024

Oh really?

Biden suggests Netanyahu’s political interests pushing him to extend war

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/04/politics/biden-hints-netanyahu-is-dragging-out-gaza-war-for-political-survival/index.html

The US president has given a wide-ranging interview to Time Magazine focused on foreign policy, including the war on Gaza.

In it, Joe Biden suggests that Netanyahu, who faces a litany of corruption charges in Israel, may be dragging the war out to keep his grip on power.

Asked whether he thought Netanyahu was prolonging the war for his own political reasons, Biden said, ” I’m not going to comment on that. There is every reason for people to draw that conclusion.”

Biden also said his main disagreement with the Israeli prime minister, who has long refused to entertain a two-state solution, is “what happens after, what happens after Gaza’s over”. The US president gave the interview, which was released today, on May 28 – several days before he unveiled a three-stage ceasefire proposal that has drawn mixed reactions from Israeli political leaders.


Biden keeps on lying and pretending

Biden says ‘uncertain’ if Israel committed war crimes

Asked whether he’s seen evidence of Israeli war crimes in Gaza, the US president said, “The answer is it’s uncertain.”

“But one thing is certain,” he added. “The people in Gaza, the Palestinians have suffered greatly, for lack of food, water, medicine, etc. And a lot of innocent people have been killed.”

Biden went on to blame Hamas for contributing to Palestinians’ suffering, saying the group is fully responsible for blocking a ceasefire agreement and could “end this tomorrow”.

Earlier today, a senior Hamas official expressed frustration at the suggestion it is hampering a ceasefire, saying the White House knows that it is Israel who is not serious about reaching a deal in Gaza.


Biden believes some US citizens held captive in Gaza ‘still alive’

In his interview with Time magazine, the US president also gave an update on eight US citizens held captive in Gaza, saying he believes “there are those that are still alive”.

“But we don’t have final proof on exactly who’s alive and who’s not alive,” he added.

According to an Israeli government tally, 43 of the remaining 120 captives taken to Gaza are believed to be dead, based on intelligence tips, video footage and forensic evidence.

Keep providing more bombs and political cover and they won't be much longer...



SvennoJ on 04 June 2024

Images from Rafah depict ‘decline of humanity in our world’: Narges Mohammadi

Narges Mohammadi, the imprisoned Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner, says in a statement that “images of children burning in refugee tents in Rafah starkly depict the decline of humanity in our world”.

“To achieve long-lasting peace, this war must end immediately through a permanent ceasefire, the release of hostages and prisoners, the recognition of a two-state solution, and adherence to international law, including the rulings of the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, and United Nations bodies,” said the rights activist, who is currently held in Evin Prison in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

“This is a moment to demand respect for law and human rights norms, to recognise the need to sever ties with warmongering and interventionist countries, and to eliminate extremist and fundamentalist forces that, if they gain power, will hold their people hostage.”


Three killed in Bureij attacks

We are getting reports that Israeli air raids and artillery shelling have now killed three people in central Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp. The attacks also wounded dozens, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

The casualty reports come less than an hour after Israel announced ground forces moved into the Bureij area, while fighter jets hit Hamas targets.


Children scream as explosions go off near Bureij camp

Explosions near central Gaza’s Bureij camp, where Israeli ground troops have moved in, can be heard in footage verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking unit.

In the video, cries of displaced Palestinians, including children, can be heard as the explosions sound off in the distance. As we reported earlier, Israeli air strikes and artillery fire have killed at least three people and wounded dozens in the Bureij area.



SvennoJ on 04 June 2024

Controversial Israeli minister Ben-Gvir calls for war with Hezbollah

Israel’s far-right police and security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, called for war with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

“All Hezbollah strongholds must be burned down and destroyed. War!” Ben-Gvir demanded in a video published on X.

It is unacceptable for parts of Israel to be attacked and people evacuated while peace prevails in Lebanon, he said during a visit to Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel. The town has been particularly affected by shelling from southern Lebanon.

Ben-Gvir lamented that Hezbollah is burning large areas of Israel, a reference to several fires in the north of the country caused by rocket fire from Lebanon in recent days. He said he published the video after assessing the situation with the fire service and police in the region.

‘We are ready for war’: Hezbollah

Sheikh Naim Qassem, the Lebanese group’s deputy chief, says Hezbollah had decided not to expand the scope of its operations but is ready to do so if forced.

In comments made to Al Jazeera, Qassem said it “is ready for the battle and will not allow Israel to secure any victories”. “Any Israeli expansion of the war on Lebanon will be met with devastation, destruction and displacement in Israel,” he added.

“If Israel wants to fight an all-out war, we are ready for it.”

Hezbollah confirms fighter killed by Israeli air strike

Hezbollah named its member as Haider Hassan Maslamani, a resident of the southern Lebanon city of Naqoura. It said he died “on the road to Jerusalem” – a term used by the armed group to refer to those killed in Israeli attacks.

Earlier, Israel said it killed a Hezbollah fighter in an air strike on Naquora, without naming the person.

At least 329 Hezbollah members have been killed in Israeli attacks since the Gaza war began in October, mostly in Lebanon, according to the group. Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily fire across the border during this time.



SvennoJ on 04 June 2024

Yesterday:

White House formally rejects bill to sanction ICC officials

In a so-called statement of administration policy, the White House voiced opposition to a proposal in the US Congress that would penalise International Criminal Court (ICC) officials over pursuing war crime charges against Israeli leaders.

It described the ICC prosecutor Karim Khan’s push for arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yaov Gallant as “heedless”. But it said it rejects compelling sanctions against ICC personnel.



Today:

US House votes to sanction ICC officials

The bill has passed in the House with a vote of 247 to 155, with nearly all Republicans in the chamber voting in favour. A few Democrats also joined the effort.

If passed by the full US Congress, the legislation would require the president to impose sanctions on ICC officials engaged “in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any protected person of the United States and its allies”.

The measure comes after the chief prosecutor of the ICC requested arrest warrants for the Israeli prime minister and defence minister, spurring outrage among Israel’s allies in Washington, DC.

The Biden administration had earlier called the arrest warrant requests “outrageous”, but has since said it opposes the legislation.



USA, how far can you fall



I guess it was just a short delay, well done Slovenia.

Slovenia lawmakers approve recognition of Palestine as independent state

In a majority vote, the Slovenian parliament has approved the recognition of an independent Palestinian state.

“Dear people of Palestine, today’s final decision of Slovenia is a message of hope and peace,” the country’s foreign minister, Tanja Fajon, said in a post on X. “We believe that only a two-state solution can lead to a lasting peace in the #MiddleEast. Slovenia will tirelessly continue to work on the security of both nations, Palestinians and Israelis.”

Spain, Ireland and Norway also recognised Palestine as an independent state last week.

 



Around the Network
SvennoJ on 04 June 2024

Ambiguity behind ceasefire plan is ‘US strategy’

There’s an American strategy of ambiguity. I get the tactic on the part of Washington. What I don’t get is trying to convince all of us that what the Israelis say in public is not important. The Israeli prime minister himself says Israel won’t stop the war until it destroys Hamas.

They’re only interested in phase one of the ceasefire proposal because they want to release as many captives as possible and continue the war.

So while everyone in Washington is trying to spin it as if there is confliction and controversy, there really isn’t. It’s quite simple: Netanyahu does not want to end the war. Israel continues to kill dozens of people in Gaza every day while Washington fails to put pressure on it to end the war – when Biden himself says “this war must end”.


White House spokesman insists Israel put forward Gaza ceasefire proposal

John Kirby has reiterated the Biden administration’s line amid days of confusion over whether Israel actually agreed to the three-phase, ceasefire proposal laid out by the US president last week.

“I’m comfortable that this is in fact an accurate depiction of the proposal, the Israeli proposal. The president laid it out in stark detail. He didn’t lay out every single detail, but the big components of it – and he did so accurately,” Kirby told Al Jazeera.

“And it is an Israeli proposal.”



What a muppet. It's an Israeli proposal that Israel doesn't support...


Netanyahu doesn't even call it a ceasefire

Netanyahu says captive-release plan enables Israel to destroy Hamas

During the Israeli leader’s call with French President Macron earlier, he said the truce proposal would allow it to meet all war objectives including the “elimination of Hamas”.

Netanyahu said this remains one of Israel’s “fundamental objectives” along with freeing Israeli captives.

Competing interpretations of a three-stage ceasefire plan unveiled by US President Biden seem to be complicating the negotiation process. The proposal, as stated by Biden, calls for a six-week ceasefire in stage one, and then negotiations for a permanent ceasefire in stage two.

Netanyahu, however, insists there will be no full ceasefire until Israel roots out Hamas. Hamas, for its part, says it will only back a plan that commits to a permanent end of the war and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.




Biden, Blinken, Kirby, Miller, all made to look like fools by Netanyahu. Could even have been planned that way as it's no secret Netanyahu rather wants Trump in office over Biden. Making Biden look weak is good for Trump's chances.



Speaking of looking like fools

As war nears eight-month mark, US says doesn’t know if Israel committing war crimes

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says Washington has “processes ongoing to look at whether there have been violations of international humanitarian law”.

His comments come after Biden, in an interview with TIME Magazine released earlier in the day, said it is “uncertain” that Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza.

“That’s why the president says the answer to that question is uncertain, it’s because we don’t know the answer,” Miller told reporters. “It’s something that we have an ongoing process to look at and to try to get an answer to, but at this time we don’t know the answer.”

In December, Biden said Israel was losing support for its war on Gaza over its “indiscriminate bombing” of the territory – a war crime.


Palestinians walk amid the rubble of destroyed buildings in Jabalia, northern Gaza, on June 2



SvennoJ on 04 June 2024

Hamas official makes plea for Palestinian prisoners suffering in Israeli jails

Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan gave a press briefing in Beirut addressing the plight of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Hamdan highlighted Israel’s arrest of more than 9,500 Palestinians, including 200 children, since October 7 while accusing troops of committing “field executions” in Gaza. Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, he said, are routinely subjected to torture, beatings and being bound so tightly their limbs eventually have to be amputated.

Eighteen prisoners have been killed in custody, he added.

The alleged abuses of Palestinians are flagrant violations of international law, Hamdan said, calling for international intervention to put an end to such acts.

Hamas waiting for ‘clear Israeli position on permanent ceasefire’

Continuing with his news conference in Beirut, Hamas official Osama Hamdan responded to the three-stage ceasefire plan put forward by US President Biden.

He called into question Israel’s commitment to the deal, saying its government has yet to relay a clear position on several key points, namely a “permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal from Gaza”.

Hamdan said statements by officials indicate Israel aims to secure the release of their captives during a temporary truce – outlined in stage one of the plan – before continuing the war.

This goes against the principle of the deal, which calls for a permanent ceasefire to be negotiated in the second stage and then Israel’s full withdrawal from Gaza. “We cannot agree to an agreement that does not secure a final ceasefire,” said Hamdan.

 

‘There is no safety in Gaza,’ UN humanitarian chief says

Martin Griffiths says the UN does not have capacity to deliver humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Rafah in southern Gaza and in the enclave’s central area.

“Because of the insecurity, because of the fighting, [there are] fewer and fewer aid workers in those places to be able to manage distribution,” Griffiths told reporters.

He also stressed that the amount of aid entering the Gaza Strip remains wholly insufficient and called for more crossings to be opened.

“We know what we need, and we know what we haven’t got,” Griffiths said. “We need fuel and it’s not being brought in in great numbers. We need truckloads of food that get through.”



SvennoJ on 04 June 2024

Families in Bureij refugee camp caught in line of fire

People are coming to the hospital here from the Maghazi and Bureij refugee camps which have been under attack for the past few hours.

Judging from what we were able to see, just getting close to the ambulances that have been dispatched to pick up the wounded, the kind of injuries we’ve seen are either [people] coming shredded or need surgery for amputation.

Eyewitnesses from the Maghazi and Bureij camps are talking about what looks like a scaling-up in the attacks in what they predict as the beginning of a ground invasion and this bombing campaign is just a preparation providing coverage for the tanks and for the armoured vehicles to move forward.

Four people were already transferred from the emergency department to the morgue; they were pronounced dead right away.

Entire families in Bureij refugee camp are caught in the line of fire right now; they cannot leave the targeted areas due to the presence of attack jets, quadcopters and the constant artillery shelling. Ambulances, paramedics are unable to get to these areas.

It further increases the difficulties of the situation for people who have already moved from Rafah and the western part of Rafah seeking shelter in the central area.

Qassam Brigades say targeted Israeli forces advancing on Bureij

The armed wing of Hamas says it fired a number of mortar shells at Israeli troops advancing east of the refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.


Death toll rises in central Gaza from Israeli attacks

Israeli attacks on central Gaza’s Bureij and Maghazi camps have now killed at least 11 people, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report.

Dozens of people wounded in the attacks were rushed to the nearby Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, according to footage verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking agency.


Doctors overwhelmed by casualties pouring in after Israeli attacks

These have been quite difficult hours. Dead and injured people are being brought to the hospital. There is a whole family inside the morgue – a father, a mother and their two children.

The Al-Aqsa Hospital’s floor is full of wounded people. Doctors are running everywhere, searching for remaining medical supplies including antiseptics and anaesthetics to perform urgent operations to save lives. There was one case where, because of a lack of medical supplies, a person who needed immediate medical intervention lost their life.

We can still hear explosions of ongoing attacks and heavy machine-gun fire in the eastern area of central Gaza – including the densely populated Maghazi and Bureij camps.

We’re learning from victims’ relatives there are still entire families trapped inside bombed homes in those camps.


Hamas fighters ambush Israeli troops with blast in Gaza City

The Qassam Brigades says it lured more than a dozen Israeli soldiers into a booby-trapped home and blew it up during battles in northern Gaza City.

“As soon as the force entered the house, it was targeted with a TBG [Thermobaric] rocket and the device detonated,” the armed wing of Hamas said in a statement on Telegram.

When reinforcements arrived in south of the al-Sabra neighbourhood, a Yasin-105 rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a Merkava tank “inflicting a direct hit”.

No casualty figures were given in the statement.

Five killed in Deir el-Balah

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report that an Israeli attack on a home near Deir el-Balah killed five people and injured others. It comes during a surge of strikes on central Gaza where many of the one million Palestinians fleeing the southernmost city of Rafah have sought refuge.


Inundated Al-Aqsa Hospital issues ‘urgent appeal’ for international help

With dozens of wounded people coming in, the hospital in central Deir el-Balah doesn’t have the means to treat the number of victims and desperately needs support from abroad, its spokesperson says.

“This is an urgent appeal to international health organisations across the world to save Gaza’s health system and to stop this genocidal war before it is too late,” Khalil al-Dhaqran told a news briefing.

“We demand the Rafah and Karem Abu Salem crossings be reopened to transfer the sick and injured abroad to ease this health crisis. Medical supplies, field hospitals, fuel and staff must be allowed in to operate the hospitals and health centres.”



SvennoJ on 04 June 2024

US rights group condemns House push to impose ICC sanctions

In a statement before the House vote, Sarah Leah Whitson, the executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), called the effort a “shameful attempt to obstruct justice and undermine the rule of law to shield Israeli leaders from accountability”.

The Washington, DC-based group’s advocacy director, Raed Jarrer, also said the bill would violate Article 70 of the Rome Statute which prohibits intimidation, retaliation, or obstruction of the court’s judicial proceedings.

“The House bill isn’t only an attack on efforts to hold Israeli abusers accountable for their heinous crimes against Palestinians, it’s an attack on human rights, justice, and the rule of law,” he said.

When has the US cared about any of that :/


House vote on ICC sanctions ‘symbolic’ but highlights Democratic Party split

This is really more of a symbolic move by part of the House of Representatives, at least at this moment. There’s still a long way before this would become law.

This is a Republican-drafted bill to sanction and impose visa restrictions on anyone who is a staff member or cooperates with the ICC, involving prosecutions of American citizens and allies, which of course is Israel.

What’s notable here is not only did it pass 247 to 155 in the House of Representatives, with all Republicans voting [in favour], but also 42 Democrats agreed to pass this bill in the House. That’s despite the protest of the Biden White House.

This has really threatened to split the Democratic Party and indeed, we’re seeing where that split has happened.


Biden's genocide is breaking the Democratic party as much as Trump is breaking the Republican party... Why don't they both split, no more 2 party system, 4 parties! (or more)


Trump says Biden ‘scrambling to fix disaster’ he created in Middle East

Former US President Donald Trump has accused Joe Biden of creating a “disaster” in the Middle East through his “incompetence”.

“Weak Joe Biden is only now scrambling to fix the DISASTER he created in the Middle East because he’s afraid of losing the Election,” he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Trump, who was convicted last week on 34 counts of falsifying business records, continued that he will fix Biden’s “mess” and promised to “bring Peace to ALL Parties once again”.

“We HAD Peace in the Middle East, and we can have it again, but it won’t be with Joe Biden in office,” he wrote.

Trump made similar promises to bring peace to the Middle East before his election in 2016 and presented a plan in 2020, which ultimately collapsed. In 2021, he blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for its failure, saying he didn’t think he “ever wanted to make peace”.


Trump was buddies with Netanyahu and helped him get back in power. Trump also moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, angering Hamas further.
Biden made Trump's mess worse, but Trump helped the current disaster come into being.

Israel's right-wing transformation was accelerated by the Netanyahu-Trump alliance
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-03-27/what-netanyahu-and-israelis-learned-from-the-trump-playbook





Biden must push Israel to ‘stop slaughter and starvation’ in Gaza: CAIR

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says despite pushing for a ceasefire deal to end the war, the US government “continues to fund the Israeli government’s daily genocidal war crimes against Palestinians in Rafah and the rest of Gaza”.

The advocacy group pointed to an Oxfam report released this week that found 85 percent of Palestinian children in Gaza did not eat for a whole day at least once in the three days before the survey was conducted.

“The Biden administration must take concrete action to force the Israeli government stop the slaughter and starvation in Gaza,” said Ibrahim Hooper, CAIR’s national communications director.

“The genocide must end now, without delay.”

That's exactly what Biden's 'ceasefire plan' is, more delay, more distraction.



SvennoJ on 04 June 2024

Israeli right-wingers disrupt conference on Palestinian statehood

Hardline lawmakers attempted to obstruct a meeting in the Knesset discussing the recognition of a Palestinian state.

The conference was initiated by Aida Touma-Sliman, a Knesset member from the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality, known as Hadash. “Right-wing extremist lawmakers attacked the conference,” it said in a statement, sharing a video showing politicians interrupting the proceedings by shouting.

Among the Israeli lawmakers who sought to obstruct the event was Tally Gotliv, a member of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud party, and Zvi Sukkot from Finance Minister Smotrich’s Religious Zionism Party.

“Despite the feeling we are living in the worst period in the region’s history, and confidence in our ability to progress towards hope and peace is at its lowest, history teaches us the most difficult wars and conflicts have ended through arduous negotiation efforts that led to political agreements,” Touma-Sliman said a speech to the conference.

“This path must also be our choice.”


No ‘concrete approvals’ yet on current ceasefire proposal, says Qatar

Qatar’s Foreign Ministry says it hasn’t received any firm agreements from Israel or Hamas on the Gaza ceasefire plan put forward by the US President Joe Biden last week.

However, Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari says he’s positive negotiations are moving in the right direction.


 

EU’s Borrell urges Israel, Hamas to accept ‘three-phase’ ceasefire proposal

The European Union fully supports the “comprehensive roadmap” announced by US President Joe Biden that would lead to an “enduring ceasefire in Gaza”, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

“Too many civilian lives have been lost. An enduring ceasefire is urgently needed,” Borrell said in a statement, adding that a ceasefire would ensure the protection of civilians, the release of captives held in Gaza, and alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.

“The EU urges both parties to accept and fulfil the three-phase proposal and stands ready to contribute to reviving a political process for a lasting and sustainable peace, based on the two-state solution, and to support a coordinated international effort to rebuild Gaza,” he said.