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

SvennoJ on 16 July 2024

Parents of female captives demand immediate meeting with Netanyahu

A group representing the loved ones of those held captive in Gaza has released still images of the five female captives taken on October 7 and held a press conference in Tel Aviv, calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with them.

The identities of the captives were verified from their faces, which match photographs previously released by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Their families also confirmed their identities.

The captives in the released pictures were Naama Levy, Agam Berger, Liri Albag, Daniella Gilboa and Karina Ariev, Reuters reported.

During the press conference, the parents of the captives demanded a meeting with Netanyahu immediately, asking him not to depart to Washington, DC before he does so.

Families release photos of five female Israeli soldiers from their first days of captivity in Gaza


Liri Albag, Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, Karina Ariev are seen in this image taken in the early days of their captivity in Gaza.

The families of five female Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 have released photographs from their early days in captivity, urging Israel’s government to reach a deal that would secure the release of those still held in Gaza.

The women were Israel Defense Forces (IDF) observers stationed at an Israeli military base at Nahal Oz, which was stormed by Hamas militant groups during their attack on Israel last year.

The Hostages Families Forum Headquarters said the families of the observers – Agam Berger, Daniella Gilboa, Liri Albag, Naama Levy and Karina Ariev – have decided to allow the publication of photos taken during their first days being held by the militant group.

“The images reveal them bruised and wounded from the horrific abduction that the entire world witnessed,” the forum said.

In the pictures, Levy appears to have a badly bruised right eye. Another image shows four of the women sitting on bedding in a bare room; two of them, Gilboa and Ariev, have bandaged heads.

“The courageous decision by the parents to reveal these photos aims to bring them closer to embracing their daughters,” they said.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/16/middleeast/israel-hamas-hostages-idf-images-released-intl-latam/index.html



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SvennoJ on 16 July 2024

Armed group attacks Iraqi base housing US personnel in first since pause

Two armed drones have targeted the Ain al-Assad base, two Iraqi military sources told the Reuters news agency.

The reported attack represents the first time armed groups in the country have attacked a site housing US personnel in months.

Despite an increase in attacks by Iran-aligned groups in opposition to Israel’s war on Gaza in the months following October 7, a pause was imposed in February in what many saw as an indication Tehran was trying to prevent wider escalation.

No casualties were reported in today’s attack.

Macron discusses Gaza war with Egypt, Qatar and Bahrain

The French president has spoken with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to discuss the Gaza war, Macron’s office said.

France is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and the country has both large Jewish and Muslim populations. Also, captives holding French citizenship were killed in the October 7 attack.

“The President condemned recent Israeli air strikes that have targeted UN schools as well as displaced citizens in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp which have left a large number of civilian victims,” Macron’s office said in a statement.

“He also reaffirmed France’s insistence that Hamas immediately release the hostages,” it added.

No ceasefire?



SvennoJ on 16 July 2024

Pro-Palestine protesters flood streets of Tunisian capital


Protesters carry banners and flags in support of Palestinians in Gaza, in Tunis, July 16



Pro-Palestine activists spray antiwar message next to Cenotaph in London

Police in the UK have arrested two activists from the pro-Palestine group Youth Demand after they sprayed painted an antiwar message next to the Cenotaph war memorial in London.

In footage of the incident published by our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues, the two women can be seen laying a Palestine flag with flowers at the base of the memorial to Britain’s war dead.

They then spray “180,000 killed” on the floor next to the statue in red paint and pose with placards saying, “stop arming Israel” and “never again for everyone”.

“Everything that the Cenotaph stands for is contrary to the Labour government allowing companies to profit from genocide,” Youth Demand said, posting footage of the incident on X.

Police have confirmed that the women have been arrested on charges of causing criminal damage.



The 180 thousand number comes from The Lancet
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext

In recent conflicts, such indirect deaths range from three to 15 times the number of direct deaths. Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death 9 to the 37 396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.



SvennoJ on 16 July 2024

US legal advocacy group asks Biden administration for information on ICC Israel investigations

The Center for Constitutional Rights filed a request to the administration of US President Joe Biden for all internal communications related to the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s investigation into crimes committed by the Israeli government during its war on Gaza.

In late May, the chief prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan, said that his office had applied for arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders for alleged crimes committed during the Hamas-led October 7 attack on southern Israel and Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza.

The legal group said that it is particularly interested in any ongoing efforts by the US to halt or delay the issuance of these arrest warrants, and wishes to obtain the information via a request under the Freedom of Information Act. These requests, under US law, must be answered by the government.


US State Dept says Israeli strikes aren’t aimed at derailing ceasefire talks

Speaking during a news conference today, spokesman Matt Miller was asked about Hamas’s claim that recent deadly Israeli strikes were meant to derail recently renewed truce talks.

The last two weeks have seen Israeli air strikes on some six schools in Gaza, including today’s strike on a UN-run school that is functioning as a shelter for the displaced in Nuseirat, central Gaza. These strikes have killed dozens of Palestinians. You can read more about some of these strikes here.

“No, I don’t think the strikes that they are taking have anything to do with a ceasefire deal,” said Miller, who said the strikes were in line with Israel’s stated goal of “trying to degrade and ultimately end Hamas’s ability to launch attacks”.

He added that Israel has told US officials “they are committed to trying to reach a ceasefire”.

Is Miller doing stand up comedy now?

 

Israeli attacks ramp up in one of the deadliest weeks since the war began



SvennoJ on 16 July 2024

Traumatised Palestinians in shock after Israel strikes UN shelter

At least 25 Palestinians were killed and more than 70 others wounded in the attack on the UN’s al-Razi school in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, according to reports.



The school was the sixth UNRWA school in Gaza to have been attacked in Israeli air raids in 10 days. The UN agency said that 539 people sheltering in UNRWA facilities have been killed in Israeli attacks since October.




Israeli military bombs home, mosque in Gaza

At least two Palestinians have been killed and others injured, including children, as Israeli aircraft bombed a home in Gaza City this morning, the Wafa news agency reports.

Israeli military aircraft also targeted a mosque north of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, causing injuries, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic report.

Translation: Injuries as a result of the occupation aircraft targeting Abdullah Azzam Mosque, north of the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip.

 

Israeli military bombs home in az-Zawayda, killing at least 7: Report

Local media is reporting that the Israeli military has bombed a home in the az-Zawayda area of central Gaza, killing at least seven people and injuring many more. The house, which belonged to the Diab family, was reportedly sheltering as many as 70 people.


700,000 face health ‘crisis’ as water treatment stops in central Gaza city

More than 700,000 people could be at risk from a “health and environmental crisis” as wastewater pumping stations in central Gaza’s Deir el-Balah city have stopped working due to a lack of fuel, local officials say.

In a statement, city authorities said stocks of fuel necessary for the functioning of water pumping stations were exhausted and warned of roads being “flooded by wastewater” and diseases spreading.

Ismail Sarsour, an official with the city’s emergency committee, told the AFP news agency that the shutdown impacts more than 140 sites where tens of thousands of Palestinians displaced by war have taken shelter.

The fuel shortage is the result of an Israeli military blockade of Gaza’s border crossing points, which has also prevented desperately needed supplies of food, clean water and medicine from entering the war-torn territory.


Palestinian children walk with water containers past destroyed buildings and a puddle of sewage water erupting from collapsed underground pipes in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 8



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SvennoJ on 16 July 2024

Video said to show Houthi ‘drone boat’ attack on Red Sea oil tanker

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic have shared a video released by Yemen’s Houthi fighters said to show scenes of the targeting and attack on the Chios Lion oil tanker in the Red Sea by an armed “drone boat”.

A crew on the Liberia-flagged tanker are assessing damage and investigating a potential oil spill after the vessel was attacked by drones on Monday, according to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC).

The Houthi attacks on the Chios Lion as well as the Israeli-owned Bentley I oil tanker with ballistic missiles and aerial and surface drones are part of the Yemeni group’s campaign against shipping linked to Israel or using Israeli seaports.

The Houthis say their attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden will end when Israel stops its war on Gaza.

Translation: Ansar Allah: The “CHIOS Lion” oil ship was targeted by a drone boat in the Red Sea

 

US envoy to UN discusses Israel-Lebanon conflict with Lebanese FM

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield has released details of a meeting with Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib in New York.

“They discussed the need for de-escalation along the Blue Line so that displaced persons in both Lebanon and Israel can return to their homes,” a spokesperson for Thomas-Greenfield said in a readout of the meeting.

Though the United States has ended its funding to UNRWA, the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees, including those staying in Lebanon, Thomas-Greenfield expressed support for Lebanon hosting refugees, the spokesperson said.

Lebanon is home to the most refugees relative to the size of its population in the world with some 1.5 million Syrians and an estimated 270,000 Palestinians residing in the country.



Stop arming Israel if you want de-escalation.



SvennoJ on 16 July 2024

Republican Jewish leader says Trump to give ‘blank cheque’ to Israel in Gaza

Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks has celebrated Donald Trump’s record on Israel and said he believes the presidential hopeful will provide a “blank cheque to Israel” to “finish the job quickly” in Gaza.

“If you need to carpet bomb the area, do it. Just get it done. Rip the band-aid off. Finish the job because Hamas needs to be destroyed,” Brooks said at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.

“This is just taking months and months. All [Trump] is saying is that time is not Israel’s ally. The longer this continues, the more public support erodes, the more international support erodes, and Trump’s point [is] do what you have to do, get it done and get out,” he added.

Brooks also said Trump will “rebuild the US-Israel relationship after four disastrous years under President Biden”.


Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 15

Pentagon Chief stresses land crossings needed for Gaza aid in call with Gallant

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant discussed their “shared desire” for the “enduring defeat of Hamas” in a call on Tuesday, according to a statement from a Pentagon press secretary.

Austin also “stressed the importance of increasing the flow of humanitarian assistance [to Gaza] through all land crossings” and Israel’s Ashdod port, with the impending closure of the troubled US temporary pier off Gaza’s coast.

Gallant ordered a “total siege” of the Gaza Strip on October 9 and is facing a possible arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) after an investigation found reasonable grounds he has committed war crimes including “starvation of civilians as a method of warfare”.



hellobion2 on 16 July 2024

It seems like this conflict will keep going on and on. Both sides seem to not see a common line. Though I wish for a one-state solution where everyone can work together like what happened in Turkey. Though that's a totally different situaiton.



BiON!@ 

SvennoJ on 17 July 2024
hellobion2 said:

It seems like this conflict will keep going on and on. Both sides seem to not see a common line. Though I wish for a one-state solution where everyone can work together like what happened in Turkey. Though that's a totally different situaiton.

I don't think the Kurds agree with you and there's also the matter of Cyprus still being divided in two.

But it's on a totally different scale at least, and now mostly pushed into Northern Iraq and Northern Syria while slowing down
https://www.crisisgroup.org/content/turkiyes-pkk-conflict-visual-explainer







SvennoJ on 17 July 2024

Biden faces ridicule for saying he’s been ‘very supportive’ of Palestinians

After the Israeli military bombed a school shelter in central Gaza on Tuesday, a young Palestinian man stood amid the chaotic scene with a rocket fragment in his hand. “This is an Israeli-American missile,” he said.

Officials and everyday people in Gaza have expressed outrage that the bombs decimating their lives are, in many cases, supplied by the US as part of its alliance with Israel.

But US President Joe Biden has a different view of his role in the war that has killed almost 39,000 Palestinians. “I’m the guy that did more for the Palestinian community than anybody,” he said in an interview on Monday, and for which he is being ridiculed now.


A Palestinian woman reacts after Israeli strikes on a tent camp in al-Mawasi area on Saturday



Hamas leaders can end the war if they ‘stop being stubborn’, says Hagari

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari has said that Hamas leaders can “end the suffering of the people of Gaza” if they “stop being stubborn”.

Hagari’s comments, made to Saudi television channel Al Arabiya, came as a photo of female Israeli soldiers, taken captive by Hamas in Gaza on October 7, was published on Tuesday.

“They cause the suffering of the residents of Gaza. They are preventing us from reaching an agreement,” Hagari said, holding up an image of the three captives.

Just as delusional as Biden. Hamas has agreed to a ceasefire since May, actually the same proposal from Hamas that has been on the table since December. Two months later Netanyahu is still blocking it despite Biden shuffling the language around and getting it passed in the UNSC start of June. Netanyahu doesn't want to end the war. Nvm there was the demand for an immediate ceasefire by the UNSC at the end of March.

Israel is the stubborn one, going against international law, the UN, the UNSC, even against Biden's (supposed) pleading to accept a ceasefire.

Israel should be under the definition of gaslighting in the dictionary.

Israeli forces killed over 2,500 Palestinians every month since ICJ ruling

On January 26, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) decided that Palestinians in Gaza had the “plausible” right to be protected from genocide and ordered Israel to refrain from acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention.

At the time, the casualties toll in Gaza stood at 26,083 people killed with more than 64,400 people wounded.

Since then, Israeli forces have killed another 12,630 people and wounded more than 24,600 others, meaning more than 2,500 Palestinians were killed every month over the past five months.

Israeli forces have continued to hit UN-run facilities sheltering civilians. UNRWA, the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, says 70 percent of its schools in Gaza have been bombed during the war, and that the vast majority of them, 95 percent, were being used as displacement shelters at the time they were attacked.

US ‘actively assisting’ Israel’s genocide in Gaza: Activists

The US activist group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) said the Biden administration is now “actively assisting” Israel to commit genocide in Gaza.

“The Israeli government’s genocide is accelerating with full support from the US,” JVP said in a series of posts on social media rallying supporters to take action against Israel by contacting their political representatives.

Washington’s intention “couldn’t be clearer” when it resumed the transfer last week of 500-pound bombs to Israel’s military, the group said. “The US isn’t just allowing the Israeli government to commit a genocide, it’s actively assisting it. It’s well past time for a weapons embargo,” it added.

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 17 July 2024