And yeah, this is what israel did right after the ICJ ruling
UNRWA forced to leave Khan Younis, says agency’s Gaza chief
UNRWA says that its staff, along with thousands of the already displaced Gaza population, have been forced to flee Khan Younis due to intense fighting over the last eight days. “We’ve lost a health clinic, major shelters – facilities that were supporting the people of Khan Younis,” said Thomas White, UNRWA’s director of Gaza affairs.
🛑48 hours passed and the fate of 6-year-old Hind and the PRCS ambulance crew that headed out to rescue her is still unknown.
We need to know what happened❓
🔊We call on the international community to help. To intervene to protect #civilians and #healthcare workers.#NotATarget… pic.twitter.com/8M38NHKXUh
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) January 31, 2024
WHO says Gaza is ‘starving to death’
The World Health Organization’s emergencies director Michael Ryan has said that Gaza is suffering under constraints on humanitarian aid. Israel has consistently stymied aid delivery efforts in Gaza, where severe hunger is widespread and the risk of famine continues to grow. “This is a population that is starving to death,” Ryan said at a press conference on Wednesday. “This is a population that is being pushed to the brink and they are not parties to this conflict.”
Gaza Health Ministry: Khan Younis hospitals have run out of food
The ministry has released an update on the dire humanitarian situation at Nasser and al-Amal hospitals. Things are “getting worse” at Khan Younis’ two major medical complexes, the ministry said. The situation “threatens the death of many wounded and sick people as a result of targeting and the lack of medical capabilities”, it continued, adding that both hospitals have run out of food.
Both facilities have been under siege by Israeli forces for nearly a week, with the Palestine Red Crescent saying yesterday that Israeli tanks breached the courtyard of al-Amal Hospital and “stormed” it. “We hold the Israeli occupation fully responsible for the lives of medical staff, patients and displaced persons in Nasser Medical Complex and Al Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis,” the ministry’s statement concluded, adding a call for the Red Cross the UN to intervene to protect the lives of patients and displaced Palestinians sheltering there, and for the urgent delivery of food and supplies.
6,420 detentions in occupied West Bank since October 7
Prisoners rights group Addameer says most arrests took place in Hebron while the detainees include:
Addameer said the data does not include Gaza’s detainees, because Israeli authorities have denied rights groups information about them. “The total number of detainees in Israeli prisons stands at 8,800 including more than 3,290 administrative detainees,” it said.
Palestinian children in West Bank afraid to go to school: UNICEF
Jonathan Crickx, the chief of communication and advocacy at UNICEF in Palestine, has told Al Jazeera that 99 children have been killed in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war. “That is more than double the entire year of 2022 and that is happening amid an increased military and law enforcement operations,” he said from occupied East Jerusalem. “It is also important to note that 600 children have also been injured.”
Crickx, who also said that 600 Palestinian children have been wounded over the same period, noted that the violence was “creating fear”. “So many children, especially in Jenin and Nablus, are scared of going to school,” he said.
Meanwhile, in the Gaza Strip, an estimated 625,000 students have been unable to attend even an hour of class since October 7 and more than 300 school buildings have been either damaged or are used as shelters for internally displaced people, he said. “So, the overall, situation in the education system is very concerning and what is really required in order for children to go to school is a long, lasting ceasefire,” Crickx said. “Education is where hope lies. It is where children can actually build their own future and hopefully a better future.”
Satellite photos reveal damage done to al-Amal Hospital by Israeli forces
Sanad, our verification unit, has done an analysis of satellite images taken on January 29 that captured the impact of Israel’s military operations near al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis.
Here are some of the findings:
Hamas condemns killing of handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinians in Beit Lahia
The Hamas government media office has called on human rights organisations “to document this horrific crime”.
It said on Telegram that Israel was continuing to “exterminate” the Palestinian people without regard to the decisions of the International Court of Justice, “which demanded that they stop the crime of genocide and ethnic cleansing”.
The identity of the victims is unknown, as are the circumstances and date of their deaths. The area was the scene of heavy fighting in December, and two schools in Beit Lahia, including Hamad bin Khalifa, were surrounded by the Israeli military for a time. Satellite imagery from January 13 shows a number of craters in the immediate area and the tracks of bulldozers.
Interpretations of International Court of Justice’s ruling varied
The interpretations of the ICJ’s ruling from the Algerian ambassador and US ambassador are very different from others I’ve spoken to on the Security Council.
For example, I spoke to the Chinese ambassador at the start of the meeting. He said that when you look at the rulings that were made by the ICJ, for any of those to actually make sense, to be properly imposed, then you need a ceasefire.
The US ambassador was very clear; she said the court did not order an immediate ceasefire and she said the court did not say that Israel violated the genocide convention. I was there on Friday; what the court did say is that South Africa’s claim that actions had been taken by Israel that could be actions to lead to genocide were plausible.
So, a very different legal reading read out there by the US ambassador than many other legal scholars would have, of what happened on Friday at The Hague.
That's all you need, enough political pressure to water down the language to leave it open for (mis)interpretation. No such thing happened with Russia's invasion of Ukraine with far less evidence at the time. (and less than 3 weeks into the current war) You can only make suggestions to Israel, can't say anything definitive.
US ambassador to the UN says ICJ ruling ‘reaffirms’ US stance on Gaza
Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Wednesday that the ICJ ruling is consistent with the US approach to Gaza, and that conditions for a ceasefire “do not exist”. Thomas-Greenfield also says that the US is working to facilitate the delivery of more aid into Gaza, sidestepping reports that Israel has consistently blocked UN aid delivery efforts.
“Some members have argued that the provisional measures ordered by the ICJ are a reason to change course. But in many ways, the court’s measures reaffirmed the framework that we put in place,” she said, adding that the measures are “consistent with the United States view that Israel has the right to take action in accordance with international humanitarian law”.
UN relief chief: Aid to Gaza continues to be blocked
Martin Griffiths has finished his briefing to the Security Council. Here are some final points he made:
Ceasefire needed for ICJ ruling to be implemented: Mansour
In an address to the UN Security Council, Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour says that for the court’s “provisional measures to be implemented, there must be a ceasefire in Gaza. Last week, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to implement measures to prevent genocide as it carries out its war on Gaza.
“Although, the burden is on Israel to implement the six provisional measures, but you are not assuming your responsibility in adopting a resolution to call for a ceasefire, to allow the work and provisional measures ordered by the court to be implemented,” Masour said. “When are you going to act accordingly if you are really serious about respecting your obligations of honouring the ruling of the court? That requires a ceasefire so that Israel can implement it – regardless whether it can or not,” he continued.
“From day one we have said, that this can only be accomplished with a ceasefire and we keep repeating [this].”
South Africa’s top diplomat wants UN to assume greater role after rulings similar to ICJ
South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor says that South Africa has done everything it can and now it is up to the global community to play its part, to hold Israel accountable. She also said the United Nations should not just monitor the rulings from places like the ICJ, but enforce them – there should be a greater implementation role rather than the peacekeeping.
South Africa has also approached the International Criminal Court to hold Israeli individuals accountable. [Pandor] said she is concerned by the slow progress, but they are pushing the ICC to do more regarding the prosecutions.
The UN first needs to be reformed. It's a political tool, corrupted at the top. There are tons of people doing great work for the UN, yet the decision making process is deeply flawed.
Netanyahu calls for the end of UNRWA's mission
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday called for the end of the mission of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). "I think it's time that the international community and the UN itself understand that UNRWA's mission has to end," Netanyahu told a delegation of UN ambassadors.
It's the first time Netanyahu has called for an end of the mission on camera and specifically accused UNRWA officials of being complicit in the October 7 Hamas attacks against Israel.
Netanyahu also addressed genocide accusations brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), saying many of the charges at the UN’s top court were brought by UNRWA officials. "The worst thing that I can say is this: That many of the charges are false and unfounded, that were leveled against us in The Hague, were brought by UNRWA officials. And we have discovered in the last few weeks that UNRWA officials were complicit in the massacre," he said.
Yep as expected, retaliation against the genocide charges, trying to discredit the reports. Attack the messenger!
Netanyahu also said UNRWA is "self-perpetuating" in its "desire to keep alive the refugee, the Palestinian refugee issue," adding "we need to get other UN agencies and other aid agencies replacing UNRWA in if we're going to solve the problem of Gaza, as we intend to do."
Well ofcourse, you want the Palestinians to go away. Much nicer to have a war without refugees that want to return home. How about stop making more refugees to solve the problem of Gaza and honor the right of return. I guess right of return only applies to Zionists based on 2,000 year old scripture...
Netanyahu said the UN has not been a "stellar organization" when it comes to dealing with Israel. "It's often unbelievably tilted," he said of the agency.
Aww they don't do as you say like the USA does?
More Hamas aid agencies
Israel struck a compound housing humanitarian workers in Gaza safe zone earlier this month, aid agencies say
Two aid agencies are claiming they have evidence that indicates Israel carried out a strike earlier this month on a compound housing humanitarian workers and their families in a supposed safe zone in Gaza.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) said an independent assessment carried out by the United Nations concluded that the damage was caused by an airstrike most likely involving a missile package exclusively possessed by the Israeli military. "The Israeli military is the only armed actor in Gaza with access to this weaponry," the statement on Wednesday said. The strike took place on January 18.
More context: Although officially designated as a safe zone by the IDF, Al Mawasi – a 5.22 square mile (13.5 square kilometer) coastal strip where the compound was located – has suffered several strikes in recent weeks, according to reports from the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza and the Palestinian state news agency, WAFA. The two organizations reiterated that attacks against these kinds of settings violate international humanitarian law. Despite remaining committed to serving the "humanitarian imperative," the IRC and MAP likened the current situation in Gaza however to fighting a "losing battle."
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment on the claims.
CNN is unable to independently confirm these claims due to the difficulty of reporting from the war zone.
Poor CNN, IDF censor looking over your shoulder all the time.
MSF chief in Gaza says attacks on health facilities are ‘systematic’
Leo Cans, the director of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) for the Palestinian territories, has said that Israel is “almost systematically” rejecting humanitarian assistance deliveries to northern Gaza and that the health system is experiencing unimaginable strain.
“I saw a majority of women and children among the hospital patients. It’s the first time we’ve seen this, even though we’ve worked with my colleagues in other war situations, in Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan,” Cans said in an interview with the news outlet AFP. “For us, it’s clear proof that the bombings are indiscriminate.”
He also noted that assaults on medical facilities have become a common feature of Israel’s offensive. “Since the start of the war, there have been systematic attacks on health facilities, which is unprecedented for MSF,” he said. “In war, these places are always sensitive areas and there are always incidents, but this is systematic.”
More empty words, unless he means it's absolutely vital to keep up the appearance of providing meaningful aid to the Gaza population.
Blinken stresses importance of UN's humanitarian work in Gaza while calling for allegations to be addressed
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of the United Nation’s humanitarian work inside Gaza, saying it is “absolutely vital,” while also calling again for allegations made against UN staffers in the enclave to be addressed.
In remarks alongside UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag, Blinken noted that “her mission now could not be more vital." “We strongly and fully support it. We'll be working very closely with Sigrid, with Israel, with Egypt, with other concerned parties to in the first instance maximize the assistance getting in, but not only getting into Gaza, getting to people who need it within Gaza, including in the north," he said ahead of their meeting at the State Department Wednesday.
Blinken went on to say that the UN must “work through the terrible allegations” made against its aid agency, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). “That's absolutely essential, and we'll be looking at to see that the necessary work is done to deal with and address that situation,” Blinken said.
The US suspended approximately $300,000 in aid to UNRWA as the agency investigates Israeli allegations that 13 of its personnel were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks. The US is among a growing list of countries who have suspended some or all funding to the agency. Kaag did not mention the UNRWA situation in her remarks. She spoke of the “common objective” of “getting humanitarian aid, assistance to the innocent civilians of Gaza.” “They need it. We need to help them sustain. We need to give them prospects,” she said.
US calls for "fundamental changes" to UNWRA before it will resume its funding
The United States said the main United Nations aid agency in Gaza needs to make changes to "restore donor confidence" before it will resume giving money to the agency, the US ambassador to the UN said. The US has long been a leading donor for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNWRA), but the US and several other countries paused funding after Israel alleged 13 employees were associated with Hamas' October 7 attacks.
Even though humanitarian aid is desperately needed in Gaza, the US will continue its pause until there are "fundamental changes to UNRWA to prevent this from happening again," US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said Wednesday that he was "personally horrified" by the allegations and that the UN acted immediately after hearing them. Thomas-Greenfield said the US appreciates the allegations are being taken seriously. "We know the Secretary-General has pledged to pursue further accountability, including a 'comprehensive and independent' review of UNRWA. This investigation needs to be swift, thorough, and credible," she told the UN Security Council Wednesday.
Oh and what do you suggest? Keep close surveillance on 13,000 workers? US and Israel will never be happy until 1984 is a complete reality. A fundamental change to prevent this from happening again is to solve the Israel-Palestine conflict, starting with an immediate ceasefire.
This guy gets it.
Without two-state solution framework, Hamas won't be destroyed, former Israeli intelligence chief says
Without a two-state solution framework, Hamas won't be destroyed and "will flourish again," according to Israel's former security agency chief. "We have to understand this war is on two fronts. One is the battlefield, but the other is a war of ideas and Hamas will be defeated only on the second front," Ami Ayalon told CNN's Christiane Amanpour during a rare interview from Haifa Wednesday.
"The major defeat for Hamas is a future of two states. And unless we should discuss the future of two states, there is no way to defeat Hamas and to create a better political horizon for Palestinians and for Israelis," he added.
Ayalon went on to say that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't represent the views of the majority of the Israeli people, "and unfortunately, you know, he's leading us." "We shall have elections in a few months and we should find the right way to to a better future," he added. Ayalon said US President Joe Biden's push for a two-state solution is perceived as strong leadership, because "he filled a vacuum of leadership in Israel." He also blamed extremists on both sides of the conflict for leading the region to the current situation.
Addressing the suspension of funding by a growing number of Western countries for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), following allegations from Israel that some of the agency's staff were involved in the October 7 attacks, Ayalon said humanitarian aid for Gaza needs to continue but that perhaps the UN can find a different framework and work with other humanitarian organizations.
That last paragraph rather reads like he has already given up hope on UNWRA being able to survive Israel's smear campaign :/
UNRWA defunding decision consistent with Israeli government policy: Official
According to Mohammad Elayyan, head of the Palestinian committee to defend the right of refugees to return to their homes, says the decision to cut funds to the UN agency is consistent with Israeli attempts “to liquidate UNRWA, in an effort to erase the issue of refugees”.
“Instead of defunding UNRWA, these countries should have taken immediate steps to stop the war on Gaza,” he told Al Jazeera.
“Some Western countries have shown their true colours: their bias against Palestinians, and support for Israel’s occupation, by adopting similar positions, and repeating their same allegations and narrative.”
What was that about incitement to genocide in the ICJ ruling...
Ben-Gvir urges Netanyahu to block aid from entering Gaza
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has urged Prime Minister Netanyahu to stop trucks from delivering humanitarian assistance into Gaza, saying that allowing aid into the strip harms Israeli unity. Ben-Gvir sent the letter to Netanyahu today, noting that Israeli protesters have been trying to block aid deliveries from entering Gaza for days.
“The people of Israel are now fighting a war that has no choice but to defend the State of Israel against those who oppose it, and these images harm the unity of the people, the social cohesion and the war effort,” the letter states. “In light of the above, I demand an immediate halt to the passage of the trucks through the border crossings.”
Israeli protesters, including family members of captives still held in Gaza, have been staging protests at the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) boundary crossing with the strip, physically blocking aid trucks from entering the enclave.
Israel just can't help itself, targeting Ambulances and hospitals
One killed, ambulance destroyed in Israeli raids on southern Lebanon
Local platforms have shared scenes of the impact of destruction created by Israeli forces after targeting the village of Blida in southern Lebanon with a drone attack. The Lebanese al-Risala Association announced the destruction of its ambulance in the Israeli raid on the village.
تعرضت سيارة الإسعاف التابعة لجمعية #كشافة_الرسالة_الاسلامية لأضرار مباشرة جراء استهداف ساحة بلدة #بليدا بغارة جوية عبر طائرة مسيّرة مساء اليوم، من دون وقوع اصابات بشرية.. pic.twitter.com/8NbWNgtxzz
— Mhd Zahreddine (@mhd_zahreddine) January 31, 2024
PRCS reports heavy fire as Israeli forces raid square at Al-Amal Hospital
The PRCS has said that Israeli forces are raiding the square of Al-Amal Hospital, with heavy firing reported. “Urgent: Occupation forces are currently raiding Al-Amal Hospital square, stationed in front of the external gate of the reception and emergency department, and firing heavily,” the group said in a social media post.
🚨Urgent: Occupation forces are currently raiding Al-Amal Hospital square, stationed in front of the external gate of the reception and emergency department, and firing heavily.#NotATarget ❌ #IHL #Gaza #AlAmalHospital
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) January 31, 2024
Pathetic.
While the tit for tat with the Houthis continues
US Central Command says airstrikes destroyed Houthi drone ground control station in Yemen
US Central Command says US destroyer shot down Houthi ballistic missile and 3 drones
The US carried out airstrikes on "a number of" Houthi drones in Yemen, US official says
US destroyer intercepts Houthi ballistic missile and drones in Gulf of Aden, official says
Some positive news from Biden
Biden plans to issue executive order targeting violent settlers in the West Bank, US official says
US President Joe Biden plans to issue an executive order targeting violent settlers in the West Bank who, he has said, have undermined stability in the area, according to a US official. The issue is one that Biden has personally discussed in recent months with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Politico was first to report the upcoming executive order.
What to know about settlers in West Bank: Israel has occupied the West Bank since seizing the territory from Jordanian military occupation in 1967. In the early 1990s, under the Oslo Accords peace agreements, Israel agreed to gradually transfer control over the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority, but that has not happened. Instead, dozens of Israeli settlements have been built in the West Bank, encroaching into land that Palestinians, along with the international community, view as territory for a future Palestinian state.
Approximately 500,000 Israeli Jewish settlers now live in the West Bank, according to Peace Now, an Israeli group that advocates for peace and monitors settlements. Many of these settlements are heavily guarded, fenced-off areas that are completely off limits to Palestinians. Most of the world considers these settlements illegal under international law and Israel has been criticized for allowing their expansion – and, in some cases, supporting them with tax breaks and state-funded security. Israel views the West Bank as “disputed territory” and contends its settlement policy is legal.
The areas around these settlements have always been prone to violence, but the situation has worsened in recent months.
This is from before the current war (stats up to March 2013) 2017-2023
2009 to 2018
About time the US recognizes Settler violence. It has gotten much worse since October 7th, next to the nightly military raids.
This is only up to November 13th
The amount of people living in illegal Settlements seems to vary
According to the UN it was already up to 700,000 in March 2023
That number likely also included illegal settlements in Occupied East Jerusalem, 12 there vs 144 in the West Bank.
But they are widespread, all over the West Bank throwing up barriers for Palestinians trying to live and work there. Making a 2 state solution very difficult to achieve (which is the whole point of the settler movement) A 1 state solution with equal rights is the best way, yet both sides need to fundamentally change for that to ever happen.
Here's the PeaceNow map
An executive order is something, back to empty words now
Biden says he understands "pain and passion" felt for suffering in Israel and Gaza
US President Joe Biden acknowledged the fallen US service members in Jordan and the suffering of the citizens of Gaza and Israel in remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast on Capitol Hill Thursday morning, saying he understands the “pain and passion felt by so many here in America and around the world” in response to the “trauma, the destruction in Israel and Gaza.”
“We value and pray for the lives taken and for the families left behind,” Biden said. “For all those who are living in dire circumstances, innocent men, women and children, held hostage or under bombardment, or displaced not knowing where the next meal will come from, or if it will come at all.”
“Not only do we pray for peace,” he continued, “we're actively working for peace, security, dignity for the Israeli people and the Palestinian people.” Biden said he was engaged in bringing hostages held by Hamas home “day and night,” and was also working to “ease the humanitarian crisis and to bring peace to Gaza and Israel and enduring peace with two states for two peoples.” On the fallen service members, Biden said he had spoken with the families and would attend the dignified transfer of their bodies on Friday.
People need more than prayers to stay alive... In fact, it's those prayers and your actions that got us here.
UNRWA says funding suspensions will "most likely" halt its work across Middle East by end of February
After nearly 20 governments suspended $440 million in funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the colossal humanitarian needs of people in Gaza will likely get worse, the main relief agency in Gaza said. “If the funding remains suspended, we will most likely be forced to shut down our operations by end of February not only in Gaza but also across the region.” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said Thursday.
Daily call for help
UN chief: Everyone in Gaza is hungry
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has again renewed his call for unrestricted humanitarian access throughout Gaza in an X post. He made a similar appeal yesterday during a speech at the UN, before the organisation’s head of humanitarian relief, Martin Griffiths, said that the entry of aid into Gazza was still being blocked.
Currently Online Everyone in Gaza is hungry.
1.7 million people have been displaced.
The humanitarian system in collapsing.
I call for rapid, safe, unhindered, expanded & sustained humanitarian access throughout Gaza.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) February 1, 2024
Netanyahu takes heat over captive deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a huge amount of pressure from the far-right members of his cabinet. Among them is far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who continues to publicly state that if a bad deal with Hamas is reached, he will walk away, causing the collapse of the government.
We’re also hearing similar rhetoric from the far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. This is key for Netanyahu because he is trying to reach a deal that would see some kind of a cessation of hostilities and the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of captives in Gaza.
Far-right ministers do not want to see the end to the hostilities in Gaza and the release of thousands of “terrorists”, as they call them. Some call Netanyahu’s position “untenable” because if he continues down this road, he will be faced with the real possibility of his members of government leaving, and that would mean new elections at a time when he is very low in the polls.
I say let the government fall, but Netanyahu knows he's done when that happens. And the polls don't look like it would help much anyway.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/almost-4-in-10-israelis-back-a-revival-of-jewish-settlements-in-gaza-poll-finds/
As war with Hamas rages on, survey shows Gantz increasing his lead over Netanyahu as preferred prime minister, and the Netanyahu-led bloc losing power were elections held today. Thirty-eight percent of Israelis are in favor of reestablishing settlements in the Gaza Strip, according to a Tuesday television poll.
Channel 12 news asked respondents whether they were in favor of resettling Gaza two days after thousands of settlement activists gathered in Jerusalem to advance plans for such a move, at a conference attended by 11 coalition ministers and 15 coalition MKs.
Regarding the hostages, Channel 12 asked whether Israelis support halting humanitarian aid to Gaza until Hamas returns all the hostages it is holding. An overwhelming 72% said yes, while 21% said the aid should continue. Earlier this week, the IDF declared the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza a closed military zone after some relatives of hostages and other activists repeatedly demonstrated there and blocked aid from getting through.
Gantz's national unity party would become the dominant party if elections were held today.
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-779966
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/gantz-war-against-hamas-could-last-an-entire-generation-hostages-must-remain-top-priority/
War cabinet minister Benny Gantz tells residents of the evacuated southern communities that the war against Hamas could last “a year, a decade, or even an entire generation,” and acknowledges the urgent need to ensure the release of the hostages still held in Gaza, Channel 12 reports.
“There is time to destroy Hamas; there is no time left for the hostages; right now, they are the priority,” he tells representatives of various Gaza border communities during a meeting about the ongoing war.
“Complete removal of the threat will take time; we are hoping for relative security by the summer,” he says, and adds that the troops in Gaza will soon reach the city of Rafah, which borders Egypt.
Really, the only thing that would make a significant difference at this point is the USA finally putting conditions on its military aid it keeps providing to Israel. There is no ceasefire coming from within Israel without real outside pressure. Plus USA putting sanctions on Israel might wake up the people there to see what's really happening. All they see in Israel right now is Netanyahu claiming baseless accusations from the ICJ and the UN etc, cause see the USA stands firmly behind us.
Israeli defence minister says UNRWA is ‘Hamas with facelift’
Yoav Gallant has told a visiting delegation of ambassadors to the United Nations that the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, is “Hamas with a facelift” and has “lost its legitimacy to exist in its current form”. “Funds from countries all over the world have been funnelled through UNRWA and used to strengthen terror infrastructure, and to pay terrorists,” the defence minister was quoted by The Times of Israel as saying.
A statement from the Ministry of Defence did not say where the meeting with the delegation led by Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, took place or who the members of the international delegation were.
More than 150 UNRWA staff have been killed in Gaza since Israel began bombing the territory, the largest number of UN personnel killed in an operation since World War II. Palestinian officials say steps taken by some Western countries to suspend funding to the agency constitute “collective punishment” against millions of Palestinians.
Smotrich denounces reports that Biden administration considering sanctions
Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich has hit out at the Biden administration following reports that the US is considering sanctions against him and fellow ultra-nationalist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for promoting violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.
“The “settler violence” campaign is an anti-Semitic lie spread by Israel’s enemies with the aim of discrediting the pioneer settlers and the settlement enterprise and harming them, thereby discrediting the entire State of Israel,” Smotrich said in a social media post on Thursday. “This is an anti-moral BDS campaign that turns the victim into the aggressor and permits the blood of the settlers. It’s a shame that the Biden government cooperates with this in the days when the settlers are paying a dear blood price in the best of their sons in the war in Gaza.”
Smotrich added that peace will only be achieved once Palestinian aspirations to establish a state “are dashed”.
Time to quote Goebbels again
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/joseph-goebbels-on-the-quot-big-lie-quot
“If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.”
Describes exactly what is happening in Israel
The OSS psychological profile of Hitler described his use of the big lie:
His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if you repeat it frequently enough people will sooner or later believe it.
The parallels with late 1930's Nazi Germany are insane
Palestinian journalist documents the destruction of an entire neighborhood in northern Gaza
New video shot in the northwestern part of Gaza shows an extraordinary level of destruction in an area near the coast. The video, shot by journalist Fadi Al-Wahidi, shows what remains of the neighborhood bisected by Al-Rashid Street, which runs northwest of the district of Beit Lahiya. It is the closest northern area to the border with Israel.
The video shows that the entire neighborhood has been leveled. There is not a single building standing. CNN is unable to geolocate the video for lack of landmarks. Despite the devastation, people are now returning to what remains of their homes in the neighborhood, after Israeli troops withdrew from the area, Al-Wahidi told CNN.
International aid agencies say they have little access to northern Gaza and that food scarcity there has worsened. Fighting has continued there sporadically. Al-Wahidi, who is from nearby Jabalya, told CNN that this part of Al-Rashid Street had been resurfaced and landscaped just a few months before the war. Most of the area's coastal resort houses have now been destroyed, the journalist added. His visit to the area on Wednesday was the first time Al-Wahidi had seen the sea since the latest Israel-Hamas war began, he said.
Palestinian detainees share accounts of torture
Palestinian detainees are sharing harrowing accounts of humiliation and ill-treatment in Israeli detention.
“More evidence of torture has been shown today,” Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Rafah. “Dozens of Palestinians have been released from Israeli detention with different signs of torture on their bodies. They have been beaten on the head. They have broken arms, many reporting that they were humiliated in detention, denied proper access to food and water, prevented from going to the toilet.”
Israel held Gaza woman, 82, as ‘unlawful combatant’: Report
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that Israel held an 82-year-old woman from Gaza with Alzheimer’s as an “unlawful combatant” for two months.
The reporter Amira Hass writes that Fahamiya Khalidi was arrested in early December at a school she was sheltering in after being displaced by Israeli shelling. She was held in Damon Prison, where a lawyer from the organisation Physicians for Human Rights was prevented from meeting with her because she was imprisoned under the Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law, the report said. She was released two weeks ago after an appeal was filed, Hass reported.
‘Israeli soldiers didn’t stop beating us, insulting us and swearing at us’
Here’s the full account of Khalid al-Nabrees:
“When we got an evacuation warning, we left our place and headed towards the sea. The moment we arrived at the security checkpoint, the Israeli soldiers kidnapped us. We were not even given a chance to ask any question. We spent the first three days without food or water. We were not allowed to go to the toilets. We were beaten harshly all over the first three days.
“After that, they moved us to another place for some new methods of torture. After a three-day starvation, they gave us a meal that is not enough for a child. “In the prison, you are allowed to sleep in the yard where the weather is very cold and where you have only a very thin mattress and a very wet blanket. The Israeli soldiers didn’t stop beating us, insulting us and swearing at us all the time.”
‘Worst 10 days of my life’: Palestinian, 70, on Israeli detention
Account of Mahmoud Hassan Abdel Kadel al-Nabulsi:
“I was at home when the army stormed my house. I told them I am sick and I can’t move. They took me out of my house and put me in an armoured vehicle. I thought at the beginning they would take me to the hospital, but instead, they took me to Israel.
“I spent 10 days in Israel, where they hit me, insulted me and humiliated me every day. I feel pain everywhere in my body. They forced us to bend on our knees for hours. They kept asking me about the tunnels and about their captives held by Hamas. I told them I am 70 years old and I know nothing about these matters. They hit me a lot when I couldn’t find an answer to their questions.
“I swear to God that I didn’t have a single drop of water for four days. It was the worst 10 days of my life.”
Fighting intensifies in Khan Younis
In the past couple of hours, the Israeli military has focused its operations on Khan Younis, especially around hospitals, which have been under siege. Israel has claimed that medical facilities are being used by Hamas as headquarters for resistance on the ground. Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis was stormed earlier and there are reports of at least 10 people being critically injured. Evacuation zones to the west are also consistently stormed by the Israeli military.
Meanwhile, we are receiving reports that the Israeli military is withdrawing from Gaza City, which the army described as a tactical withdrawal along a certain axis.
100 prominent personalities call on EU to act on Gaza
A group of 100 political leaders, humanitarians, artists and scholars has called on the EU to do more to uphold international law in Gaza and make efforts to bring peace to Palestine and Israel. Ahead of a foreign ministers meeting in Brussels this weekend, the Call4Peace initiative sent the EU an open letter in which it denounced its inaction.
“We deeply regret the lack of leadership from Europe and are appalled by the weak reactions from the international community to the extreme violence in Gaza and Israel,” the group said in the letter. “We denounce the horrors perpetrated by Hamas on Israel on October 7th, which ensued with hostages still captive to this day, as well as the disproportionate military action by Israeli forces, which has resulted in mass destruction in Gaza and an unprecedented rate of civilian killing among Palestinians. The European Union cannot wait to act.’’
Signatories include former Irish President Mary Robinson, Swedish politician Margot Wallstrom, American political activist Jody Williams, writer Jonathan Littell and Nepalese-French spiritual leader Matthieu Ricard.
Displacement, overcrowding, lack of safe water fueling disease in Gaza
The WHO says it has provided UNRWA with EWARS – an application designed to improve disease outbreak detection in emergency settings – in response to the disease spread and struggling healthcare system. In a post on X, the WHO said health centres and clinics in the Middle Area, Khan Younis, and Rafah now have the tools for timely monitoring and management of diseases like diarrhoea, respiratory infections and acute jaundice.
Displacement, overcrowding, and lack of safe water and adequate hygiene are fueling disease spread in #Gaza.
As the war rages on, the struggling health system is increasingly unable to effectively detect or control outbreaks.@WHO has provided @UNRWA with the 'Early Warning,… pic.twitter.com/7U5HLZLAvZ
— WHO in occupied Palestinian territory (@WHOoPt) February 1, 2024
Children in Gaza facing severe shortage of water
Children in southern Gaza are getting access to just 2 percent or less of WHO’s recommended rate of daily water consumption. In January, they had access to just 1.5 to 2 litres of water per day in comparison to the WHO’s recommendation of at least 100 litres.
Food and water supplies both dwindled when Israel imposed a total blockade on Gaza, banning food and fuel from entering the strip on October 9. While aid was later allowed in, it has since only been a fraction of what entered Gaza before October 7.
PRCS ambulance crew sent to save young girl on Monday still missing
The Palestine Red Cross Society (PRCS) say it still has not heard from the ambulance crew 66 hours after it was sent to rescue a six-year-old girl called Hind in northern Gaza.
‘Catastrophic scenes’ at Nasser Hospital: MSF doctor
Dr Chris Hook, of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), told Al Jazeera that the situation around Khan Younis is “one of the most devastating things” he has seen in his career. Hook spoke of large numbers of casualties, many of them women and children, continuously arriving at Nasser Hospital where thousands of displaced people are already taking shelter.
If the children are “fortunate enough to survive”, he said they will continue to suffer from “terrible injuries, huge burns covering 50-70% of their body and massively broken limbs”. “They’re going to need long-term care, lots of them will never walk properly, if at all” he said.
Death toll in Gaza surpasses 27,000
At least 27,019 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli attacks since October 7 while another 66,139 have been wounded, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave has just said.
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