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

SvennoJ on 07 July 2024

Palestinian flag raised on Mostar’s Old Bridge in Bosnia

Rallies have begun in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina to denounce the genocide committed by Israeli forces against Palestinians in Gaza. Demonstrators waved a huge Palestinian flag on the historic iconic bridge on the Neretva River.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9FnYWytIqg



One of three Samouni brothers returns home in Gaza, recalls months of Israeli torture

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/7/one-samouni-brother-comes-home-in-gaza-recalls-months-of-israeli-torture

Faraj al-Samouni, 39, sits in a tent in a makeshift camp in Deir el-Balah, surrounded by his family who can hardly believe he is alive after months of Israeli captivity.

“My brothers didn’t recognise me when I was released,” he says. He is diminished, he lost 30kg (66 pounds) in captivity, 30 percent of his body weight.

It does not matter to his mother Zahwa, 56, who sits beaming next to him, welcoming visitors, many of them families of other prisoners seeking information about their detained relatives.

Faraj spent more than six months in captivity after he and his two brothers were arrested while walking down the so-called “safe corridor” on November 16 on their way to the south of Gaza.


Faraj al-Samouni with his mother Zahwa, left, his wife Shifaa, to the right of Faraj, and children



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SvennoJ on 07 July 2024

Israeli forces arrest 16 in West Bank town

Israeli soldiers have arrested at least 16 Palestinians during a raid on the town of Silwad near Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency is reporting.


Israeli forces make arrests near Hebron and Masafer Yatta

Here’s the latest from the occupied West Bank:

  • Israeli forces have stormed Dura, south of Hebron and arrested three citizens after raiding their homes.
  • In the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron, Israeli forces raided the Bahr neighbourhood in the centre of the town, firing live bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas. They raided and searched a filling station.
  • Israeli forces raided Tuqu, southeast of Bethlehem, and handed a report to a young man to meet with Israeli intelligence.
  • They arrested activist Hafez al-Harini, his daughter, and his son raiding al-Tuwanah village in Masafer Yatta.
  • The arrest comes after Israeli settlers attacked al-Harini and his family and prevented them from reaching their land in the area near the illegal Khavat Ma’on settlement, located on Palestinian land in Masafer Yatta.
  • Israeli forces also arrested three foreign activists permanently active in Masafer Yatta.


Israeli forces arrest 15 Palestinians across West Bank: Prisoners’ group

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society says Israeli forces have arrested 15 Palestinians overnight across the occupied West Bank. Arrests were made across the governorates of Hebron, Tubas, Ramallah, and Jerusalem.

There were widespread raids, abuse, severe beatings and threats against detainees and their families, as well as destruction of Palestinians’ homes, the group said in a statement.



SvennoJ on 07 July 2024

Hamas denies its fighters were present in UNRWA school

The Palestinian group’s statement came after the Israeli military claimed the attack on the UNRWA-run Jaouni school and said its target had been “terrorists”.

“The claim of the occupation army of the presence of members of the resistance in the UNRWA al-Jaouni school is a lie and misleading,”  Hamas said. “The occupation is trying through allegations to pass and market its crimes to public opinion and hide its clear goals that it seeks to implement by exterminating our people.”

Probably some family member or civil worker was flagged by Lavender AI to be at the school.


Rescue workers recover three bodies from Gaza City

Gaza’s Civil Defence crews recovered the bodies after Israeli forces bombed a house in the al-Mina neighbourhood in Gaza City, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

The Israeli attack took place at dawn, AJA reported.


Intense gunfire, artillery shelling reported west of Gaza’s Rafah city

There are reports of artillery shelling and intense gunfire from Israeli tanks west of southern Gaza’s Rafah city.


Six civilians killed in Israeli air raid on Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan

Gaza City’s al-Ahli Arab Hospital has received six bodies after Israeli aircraft targeted a house in the Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood, north of Gaza City, according to the Wafa news agency.


Bodies of 3 handcuffed Palestinians recovered in eastern Rafah

The bodies of three handcuffed Palestinians have been recovered east of Rafah, an Al Jazeera correspondent reports. The victims were shot following their release.

Videos on Telegram channels showed their family members in shock and crying when they were identified. Over the months, bodies have been recovered in Gaza, with some showing signs of mutilation and torture amounting to war crimes, according to Palestinian officials.


Israel claims overnight attack on municipality building in Khan Younis

The Israeli military says its air force attacked the Khan Younis municipality building in southern Gaza overnight, claiming it was used by Hamas for “military activity”.

It said the Shin Bet internal security service told the army the building had an operational shaft connected to an underground tunnel and was being used as a gathering place for Hamas fighters.

We earlier reported, based on Wafa inputs, that three people were wounded in an attack that destroyed a post office building in Khan Younis. The attack also set tents, where displaced Palestinians were sheltering, on fire, Wafa added.


Israel seeks to make Gaza uninhabitable

The Israeli forces issued a statement claiming they struck the UNRWA school in Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp because there were Hamas elements inside it without giving further explanation or providing any evidence whatsoever.

At least 16 people were killed and 75 were critically injured, who were transferred to al-Awda Hospital and Al-Aqsa Hospital. It’s a largely civilian population with children and women making up the vast majority of the casualties.

Public facilities are being equally targeted and bombed. It feeds into one conclusion – everything here is being destroyed and severely damaged to make Gaza uninhabitable. When the war is over and the dust settles, there’s nothing left for the civilian population, including all these public facilities and the infrastructure.



SvennoJ on 07 July 2024

Gaza death toll rises

At least 38,153 people have been killed and 87,828 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, the enclave’s Health Ministry says. Of those, 55 Palestinians were killed and 123 wounded in the past 24-hour reporting period, the ministry added.

Israel kills Hamas government official in Gaza City

Ehab al-Ghussein, the Hamas-appointed deputy labour minister of Gaza, has been killed in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City along with three others, according to the enclave’s Civil Defence.

It said earlier that its crews recovered four bodies and rescued many injured people after Israeli aircraft bombed a school building sheltering a large number of displaced people on the western outskirts of Gaza City.

Video footage verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking news agency Sanad showed dozens of displaced people fleeing the school after it ground floor was bombed. The dead and injured were transported to the al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the city.

Caption translation: Killing of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labor, Eng. Ehab al-Ghussein, in an Israeli raid on Gaza City




Qassam Brigades claims attack on Israeli tanks in Rafah and Gaza City

The armed wing of Hamas says its fighters targeted a Merkava 4 tank with an al-Yassin 105 rocket on Baghdad Street in eastern Gaza’s Shujayea neighbourhood, where intense battles have been reported.

The group also said on Telegram that another Merkava 4 tank was struck with a Shawaz antitank weapon in the south of the Tal as-Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah city in southern Gaza.


Al-Quds Brigades claims attack on Israeli forces in Gaza City

The armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group says it fired a barrage of mortars on Israeli soldiers and vehicles penetrating the Gaza City neighbourhood of Shujayea.

Separately, the group said on Telegram, its fighters engaged in fierce clashes with Israeli soldiers, using anti-armour and other appropriate weapons west of the city of Rafah.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army.



SvennoJ on 07 July 2024

Israel launches artillery attacks on south Lebanon

Israel has carried out artillery attacks targeting areas on the outskirts of the towns of Yaroun and Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon, an Al Jazeera correspondent reports.


Israeli interceptor missiles explode in southern Lebanon

Israeli interceptor missiles have exploded in the airspace of border villages in the central sector of southern Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera’s team on the ground.


Israeli injured by shrapnel from rockets fired from Lebanon

At least one Israeli citizen has been seriously injured by rocket shrapnel after the latest barrage fired from southern Lebanon towards northern Israel’s Lower Galilee, according to Magen David Adom emergency service.

It said the 28-year-old man was being treated at a hospital in Tiberias. The Israeli Army Radio said the victim was injured in an open area in Kfar Zeitim, about 9km (5.5 miles) from Tiberias.

The Israeli army said earlier that several fires erupted around Tiberias after dozens of rockets were fired from Lebanon. Sirens had sounded as far as Sde Ilan, located about 35km (21 miles) from the Lebanon border.


Hezbollah claims attack on Israel’s Nimra military base

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group says its fighters bombed Israel’s Nimra military base, west of Tiberias, with dozens of Katyusha rockets.

The statement on Telegram said the attack came in response to the Israeli drone strike on a car in Lebanon’s Baalbek that killed Meitham Mustafa al-Attar, a Hezbollah fighter who Israel claims was a senior figure in the group’s air defence unit.


Israeli forces attack Lebanon’s Aita al-Shaab and Maaroub

Israeli forces have carried out air attacks on the town of Maaroub in the Tyre district and the town of Aita al-Shaab in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon, according to Al Jazeera’s team on the ground.


Hezbollah strikes another Israeli army site

We are receiving updates on the Hezbollah-Israeli tensions. The Lebanese group says it struck Israel’s al-Baghdadi military site with missiles and achieved “a direct hit”, without elaborating on the results.

Earlier, Hezbollah said its fighters bombed Israel’s Nimra military base, west of Tiberias, with dozens of Katyusha rockets.

Hezbollah’s strikes come after the Israel army carried out artillery attacks on areas on the outskirts of the towns of Yaroun and Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon, according to an Al Jazeera correspondent.


Israel fights fires after missiles from Lebanon start blaze in Lower Galilee

Ten fire brigades and six aircraft have been working in the Lower Galilee region to put out fires that broke out from missiles launched from southern Lebanon, according to Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.


Hezbollah claims attack on Israeli surveillance unit at Mount Meron base

Hezbollah says it bombed the headquarters of an Israeli surveillance unit at the Mount Meron military base in northern Israel’s Upper Galilee region. It said in a statement it fired dozens of Katyusha missiles and hit it directly, destroying part of its equipment and causing a fire.

Hezbollah said the attack was in support of the Palestinian resistance and part of a response to the Israeli assassination of one of its members a day earlier in Lebanon’s Bekaa region.


About 60 rockets fired towards northern Israel: Report

Israeli Army Radio reports that about 60 rockets have been fired towards northern Israel from southern Lebanon in the past few hours. We reported earlier that Hezbollah claimed it hit al-Baghdadi, Nimra and Mount Meron military bases in revenge for the killing of one of its fighters a day earlier.

One of the waves of attacks started a fire in Israel’s Lower Galilee region.


Hezbollah claims killing Israeli soldiers in attack on Birkat Risha military site

The Lebanese armed group says it has struck Israel’s Birkat Risha military site near the border with guided missiles, killing and injuring an unknown number of soldiers. Earlier, Hezbollah said its fighters bombed two different army sites around the Israeli-Lebanese border.

Hezbollah’s attacks come after the Israeli army reportedly carried out artillery attacks on areas on the outskirts of the towns of Yaroun and Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon.

Situation is volatile near Israel-Lebanon border

This latest barrage of attacks comes after an Israeli drone strike against a Hezbollah member in Bekaa, southern Lebanon. That drone strike targeted a car. What we know from Hezbollah is that one of their operatives, Meitham Mustafa al-Attar, was killed in that attack.

What’s interesting is that Hezbollah hasn’t given his rank; they just said he was an operative. But Israel said this was an expert in Hezbollah’s air defences and was involved in the planning and executions of a variety of operations.

Is this an escalation? Not as much as following the killing of the commander last week, but the situation is volatile.



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Ryuu96 on 07 July 2024

Keir Starmer has told the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, that recognition of the state of Palestine as part of a Middle East peace process is an "undeniable right". Labour's election manifesto committed the party to recognising a Palestinian state as part of a process that results in a two-state solution alongside Israel. Labour suffered significant election setbacks in areas with large Muslim populations on Friday amid discontent over its position on Israel's war in Gaza. Starmer, the UK's prime minister, has faced criticism for only gradually shifting towards calling for a ceasefire.

In his talks with the Palestinian leader this morning, No 10 said Starmer was "pleased to be able to speak to President Abbas so early in his tenure, given the pressing issues in the region, ongoing suffering, and devastating loss of life in Gaza". "Discussing the importance of reform, and ensuring international legitimacy for Palestine, the prime minister said that his longstanding policy on recognition to contribute to a peace process had not changed, and it was the undeniable right of Palestinians," No 10 said.

The commitment to recognising a Palestinian state "as part of a peace process" echoes comments made in January by David Cameron, the former foreign secretary. It is likely to irritate Israel. Netanyahu reacted angrily when Ireland, Spain and Norway all officially recognised Palestine in May, describing the move as a "reward for terrorism".

Here are some more conversations Starmer has had with world leaders today:

  • Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a readout of the call with Netanyahu, Downing Street said: "The leaders discussed the importance of regional security in the Middle East, and the prime minister said he was committed to continuing the UK and Israel's vital cooperation to deter malign threats. The prime minister said the situation on the northern border of Israel was very concerning, and it was crucial all parties acted with caution."

  • "Turning to the conflict in Gaza, the prime minister reiterated his condolences for the tragic loss of life following the October attacks. He then set out the clear and urgent need for a ceasefire, the return of hostages and an immediate increase in the volume of humanitarian aid reaching civilians. He added that it was also important to ensure the long-term conditions for a two-state solution were in place, including ensuring the Palestinian Authority had the financial means to operate effectively."
Last edited by Ryuu96 - on 07 July 2024

SvennoJ on 07 July 2024

A ceasefire should be imposed on Israel: UN rapporteur

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian Territories, says Palestinians in Gaza have been “trapped in a hell without comparison” since October 8.

“There is no way they can be safe in Gaza. It is shocking to me that there is even a resolution of the UN Security Council ordering a ceasefire and it is still not in place,” she told Al Jazeera from Catania, Italy.

“There is no other way to stop this carnage in Gaza other than enforcing a ceasefire [on Israel],” she added.

Albanese said she agrees the worldwide reaction to Israel’s attack on Gaza has grown quieter in recent weeks after anti-war protests were repressed, including in the West. People are horrified with what is happening in Gaza and distressed because politicians fail to respond to their demands for action against Israel, Albanese indicated. “The politics do not align with the street,” she said.

“I can see that level of violence and tension is escalating in the past months,” said Albanese, who added that she doesn’t see any “tangible signal” this is going to stop the war despite ongoing truce talks.


‘Stop this abomination’: UN rapporteur

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur to the occupied Palestinian Territories, has warned of a new era she described as one of “humanitarian” genocide.

In a post on X, she said: “If Israel’s logic of assimilating and fighting against an entire civilian population [Palestinians in Gaza] to the perceived enemy [Hamas] is condoned and normalised, it will be the beginning of a new era: the era of ‘humanitarian’ genocides.

“Let’s stop this abomination!”



SvennoJ on 07 July 2024

Settler attacks on herding communities in West Bank on the rise: UN

The UN Human Rights Office says Israel is facilitating an environment characterised by fear, forcing Palestinian communities from their homes and land.

“Settlers, acting with the protection and support of Israeli security forces, are escalating violent attacks on herding communities in the South Hebron Hills, Jordan Valley, and East Jerusalem that have been encircled by settlements and outposts,” the office said in a statement.

In incidents monitored by UN Human Rights Office, settlers attacked women and children in or near their homes, set fire to and vandalised property, stolen livestock, and destroyed infrastructure to prevent access to water.

“Alongside demolitions carried out by the Israeli civil administration, such attacks are forcing Palestinians to leave their lands. This, in turn, aids consolidation and expansion of Israeli settlements and outposts in the areas,” it said.

“Such attacks fit within long-standing trends of organised violence against Palestinians committed with impunity and with the backing of Israel forces but reflect an increase in intensity and overt state support since October 7.”


Israeli forces raid towns in Ramallah area

Here’s the latest from the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem:

  • Israeli troops raided the town of Birzeit and village of Umm al-Safa, located north and west of Ramallah, respectively.
  • Israeli settlers chopped down olive trees in the village of Kafr Nima, west of Ramallah in the central West Bank.
  • Israeli settlers raided the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah, and torched a resident’s car.
  • A staff member of the Islamic Waqf that runs the affairs of the Al-Aqsa Mosque was beaten by Israeli forces at the compound in occupied East Jerusalem. The man was taken to hospital, Wafa news agency reported.
  • Israeli settlers confiscated Palestinian land in the village of Husan, west of Bethlehem, and began construction of a road.



A 2 state solution won't be easy to accomplish and illegal settlements have only increased since this snapshot and sharply accelerated since October 7th.



SvennoJ on 07 July 2024

CNN waking up to the Israel-Hezbollah conflict

Injured American citizen’s condition ‘worsening’ after Hezbollah missiles fired toward Israel

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/07/middleeast/american-injured-hezbollah-missiles-israel-intl-latam/index.html

The condition of an American citizen injured Sunday after the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired missiles toward northern Israel is “worsening,” according to the medical center treating him.

The 31-year-old man suffered shrapnel injuries to his upper body and was admitted to the operating room Sunday evening local time, the Galilee Medical Center said in a statement. Two other people injured by the missile fire – a soldier and a civilian – have also been hospitalized in a surgical department, the center added.

Hezbollah fired dozens of projectiles and anti-tank missiles toward northern Israel on Sunday, according to the Israeli military. It said the soldier had been lightly injured and evacuated to receive treatment.

The two civilians were both hit by shrapnel, according to the medical center. A spokesperson from the medical center had earlier told CNN the American civilian was in a “serious and stable condition.” “(He) was admitted to the shock room, where the medical teams had to anesthetize him and put him on a ventilator,” the center added.

CNN has reached out to the US State Department on the injured American.

The Israeli military said it had responded with strikes on Hezbollah military structures. Hezbollah said in multiple statements on Sunday that it had fired rockets toward several Israeli military sites. That comes after the Israeli military conducted an airstrike in northern Lebanon on Saturday that it said killed a senior Hezbollah operative.

Hezbollah claims it struck another Israeli army site

The Lebanese group says it attacked Israel’s Bayad Blida military outpost near the border with missiles and achieved a “direct hit”. Earlier, Hezbollah said in separate statements three other army sites near the border were shelled.

Hezbollah’s strikes come after the Israeli army carried out artillery attacks on areas on the outskirts of Yaroun and Maroun al-Ras in southern Lebanon, according to an Al Jazeera correspondent.

Hezbollah launches ‘largest’ drone operation since October 8

The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah says it has carried out its biggest drone attack against Israel since its war on Gaza began.

“We attacked, with drones, a technical and electronic reconnaissance centre in Mount Hermon in the occupied Syrian Golan,” it said in a statement. “We hit spy and intelligence equipment and technical systems and destroyed part of them.”

The reconnaissance centre in Mount Hermon was targeted for the first time since the 1973 war, it added.



SvennoJ on 07 July 2024

Rights group alleges four prisoners killed during release by Israeli troops

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society accused Israeli forces of killing the four men as they were being released at the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing from Israel into Gaza.

The rights group described the incident as “a field execution”, adding the four Palestinians had helped guard humanitarian aid entering the besieged coastal enclave. “The body of one of the men was recovered yesterday and the rest this morning, and pictures taken show that their hands were bound, and there was evidence of torture on their bodies,” the organisation said.

Israeli forces have detained more than 9,700 Palestinians since October 7, the prisoners’ group said, with 3,800 of them being held without charge or trial in “administrative detention“.

 
Israeli jets strike ‘Hamas sites’ in school in Gaza City

The Israeli army says its warplanes hit a Hamas weapons-manufacturing site in a school in Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip.

The military said in a statement on X that fighter jets also struck a compound within the school where Hamas fighters were gathered. Before launching the attacks, the army carried out “many steps” to mitigate harm to civilians, it said.

Hamas denies using civilian infrastructure for military purposes.


‘Indescribable’: Attacks escalate throughout Gaza in recent hours

The body of a woman killed in an Israeli strike just arrived at Al-Aqsa Hospital. She was killed in artillery shelling of the Bureij refugee camp.

Israeli forces targeted the Holy Family School – again – earlier today. At least four Palestinians were killed, including women and children, with dozens of others injured. People were evacuating when the attack occurred. Yesterday, a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was targeted and 16 Palestinians died.

In the past couple of hours, the Israelis hit different residential areas in Beit Hanoon, Beit Lahiya and also Rafah. It’s very intense and escalating in the Gaza Strip right now.

The situation at Al-Aqsa Hospital is indescribable. There is no space to even walk once inside because there are so many wounded patients on the floor. There’s no medicine since Israel’s Rafah incursion began in early May and the flow of supplies stopped. There’s only one generator operating the hospital because of the lack of fuel.


‘Raises questions about what Israel doesn’t want international journalists to see’

The Foreign Press Association, which represents international media working in Israel and Palestine, says it’s shocked and disappointed that Israel continues to ban journalists nine months into the war.

“Never before has Israel enforced such a long and strict information blackout. It has repeatedly rejected our appeals for access, fought us in court to uphold this draconian ban, and offered just a handful of highly controlled ’embed’ opportunities for a small number of our members,” it said in a statement.

The association said local journalists in Gaza continue to face unprecedented threats and movement restrictions “as they courageously try to cover this story”.

“It raises questions about what Israel doesn’t want international journalists to see,” the group said, reiterating its call for Israeli authorities to allow unfettered and independent access to Gaza.


Israeli army orders evacuation of western parts of Gaza City

The Israeli military is calling on residents and displaced Palestinians in several areas of Gaza City to evacuate westwards during ongoing fighting in the Shujayea neighbourhood, in the eastern part of the city.

The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesperson Avichay Adraee listed Tuffah, Daraj and the Old City among the neighbourhoods to be evacuated. Israeli troops launched a ground invasion of Gaza City in late June, forcing tens of thousands of Palestinians to hastily flee during air and artillery strikes.

Translation: To all residents and displaced people located in the areas of Al-Tuffah, the Old City, and Al-Daraj in blocks: 604-606, 608, 609. For your security, you must evacuate immediately to known shelters in the west of Gaza City.