Top UK diplomat renews calls for Gaza truce, release of captives

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has renewed his call for “an immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, marking 300 days since “the deadliest attack” on Israel.

Lammy made the remarks on X without elaborating on the subsequent Israeli war on Gaza that has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians.

He called on Hamas to release all the captives taken from Israel on October 7 last year.

Palestinian representative asks UN when it will act against ‘rogue’ Israel

Palestinian representative on Wednesday shames the United Nations Security Council turning a blind eye to Israeli transgressions and the rogue regime’s violation of international laws on a regular basis.

Israel Beginning To Fracture As Economy Goes Into Steep Decline

'Genocide Olympics': Israeli soccer team plays in Paris while Gaza is bombed

On the same day that Israeli forces bombed a girls’ school in central Gaza, killing at least 30 people and injuring over 100, Israel's soccer team was allowed to compete without sanctions at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Even though Paraguay defeated Israel 4-2, TRNN's Dave Zirin reports that "Israel actually won this, because they were allowed to play at all." In this on-the-ground report from Paris, Zirin covers the protests and politics surrounding Saturday's soccer match

Al Jazeera staff gather to condemn Israel’s killing of journalists in Gaza

Our colleagues have gathered at the our network headquarters in Doha to condemn the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and camera operator Rami al-Rifi in Gaza.

They called for justice and held banners, reading: “Killing Journalists is a Crime”.

UN calls on Israel to stop killing journalists

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has reiterated its calls for the Israeli army “to minimize the impact of military operations on civilians in Gaza and to end the killing of journalists”.

The comments came in a statement published in reaction to the killing of Al Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi in an Israeli drone strike on their car yesterday.

You have called on Israel to stop killing journalists many times before. When are you going to do something...

Israeli attack on journalists’ car also killed teenage cyclist delivering food to elderly

Israel’s deadly attack on the car of Al Jazeera staff has also killed Khaled Saed al-Shawa, a 17-year-old riding a bicycle “to do good”.

Speaking to Al Jazeera over the phone, his mother said the teenager was carrying food to an elderly man in the Shati refugee camp when the drone strike hit the nearby vehicle that killed Al Jazeera’s Ismail al-Ghoul and cameraman Rami al-Rifi.

“The elderly man and his injured son did not have any relatives, and my son was trying to do good with them and go with his bag that appeared in the video circulating to transport food to this elderly man and his son,” Khaled’s mother said. “He was a passerby and did not do anything for them. Why did they kill him?”

She went on to call for the international community to stop the killing of innocent children in Gaza.

UN expert slams international media silence on AJ reporter killing

Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, has slammed international media who have “remained silent” on the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his camera operator Rami al-Rifi.

“Much of the news from Gaza they have either ignored or doubted about, come from Palestinian journalists who have literally been slaughtered for doing their job,” Albanese said on X.

#Ismail_AlGhoul was decapitated while reporting. Int' #media - who have either remained silent or amplified the narrative of the oppressor during 9+ genocidal months in #palestine- should be ashamed. Much of the news from #Gaza they have either ignored or doubted about, come from… https://t.co/811Zg9vyNM

— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) August 1, 2024

Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat, reporting from Gaza, said they buried al-Ghoul without his head as he was decapitated when an Israeli missile hit his car. Al-Rifi also died on the spot.

According to preliminary figures by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 111 journalists and media workers are among those killed since the start of the war on October 7.

Al Jazeera rejects Israeli army claims killed journalist was Hamas member

Earlier today, Israel’s army spokesperson confirmed an air strike targeted and killed Al Jazeera journalist Ismail al-Ghoul and his colleague Rami al-Rifi in Gaza on Wednesday.

The spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, claimed that al-Ghoul was a Hamas member and took part in the October 7 attack on Israel.

Al Jazeera Media Network strongly refutes the baseless allegations made by the Israeli occupation forces in an attempt to justify its deliberate killing of our colleague.

The Israeli occupation forces had previously abducted Ismail on March 18 during their raid on al-Shifa Hospital, detaining him for a period of time before his release, which debunks and refutes their false claim of his affiliation with any organisation.

The network condemns the accusations against its correspondent, without providing any proof, documentation or video, and highlights Israel’s long history of fabrications and false evidence used to cover up its heinous crimes, while also denying journalists from around the world access to the Gaza Strip to report on the deteriorating humanitarian conditions and the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.

Al Jazeera Media Network calls for an independent international investigation into the brutal and heinous crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against its journalists and staff since the beginning of the war on Gaza.

And this is why we need functional international law and a functional UN/UNSC. Without it escalation will only continue.

Hezbollah leader vows ‘definite’ response to Shukr killing

Hassan Nasrallah says Hezbollah will respond to Israel’s killing of the group’s most senior military commander in a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier this week.

“The resistance’s response to the assassination of commander Fuad Shukr is settled and there is no discussion about it,” Nasrallah said, speaking at the funeral of the slain commander. The leader of the Iran-backed group said that unnamed countries had asked Hezbollah not to retaliate, but he said the group was exploring a “real, studied” response.

Here are a few other main takeaways from what Nasrallah said:

Israeli actions part of strategy to draw US into region

Karim Makdisi, an associate professor at the American University of Beirut, told Al Jazeera that Israel is pursuing a strategy to box the US into a position of firm support for its ally.

“I think they [Israel] are out of control in the sense that they are trying to create a situation in the region in which they remain in charge of what’s going on, in which they are able to create all sorts of violence, assassinate at will, blow civilian infrastructure at will, continue the genocide in Gaza, take on Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen and other countries in the region, and not necessarily understand what the repercussions are going to be,” he said.

“I do think that there is a strategy there. I think the strategy, especially with Netanyahu just having come from the US, is to try to create this kind of atmosphere in the region in order to draw the Americans in and in order to scupper any kind of ceasefire talks.”

Demonstrations continue in Tel Aviv for captives held in Gaza

Shouting slogans and waving flags, hundreds of Israelis marched in Tel Aviv to demand the government bring back captives held in Gaza.

“There is no victory until the hostages are back,” chanted the demonstrators, many wearing t-shirts emblazoned with “300 Days”, near the Defence Ministry.

“As we stand here today … dozens still remain in captivity, enduring unimaginable suffering,” campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement before the rally.

The forum called on the Netanyahu government to sign a truce deal that will ensure the captives are freed.

The way things are going, it will be another 300 days if not more :(

Lebanese Health Ministry says four Syrians killed in Israeli strike

Lebanon’s Health Ministry says four Syrian civilians have been killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon.

Five Lebanese were also wounded.

Israeli authorities announce more land seizure in occupied West Bank

Israeli authorities have announced the seizure of about 790 hectares (1,950 acres) of land near the town of Salfit in the occupied West Bank, Wafa news agency reports.

The report adds that 7,902 dunums of land – 790 hectares – will be appropriated from residents of the village of Iskaka, for the use of the nearby illegal Israeli settlement of Nofim Haniya, first established in 2002.

Palestinian dies after torture in Israeli prison

A Palestinian from Gaza held in an Israeli prison has died after severe torture, the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs says.

The agency added that Omar Abdel Aziz Junaid, 26, died inside the prison. The commission quoted his father as saying he received a call on Thursday from authorities informing him that Junaid had died on June 17.

Junaid and his brother Yasser were detained at their home in Jabalia in December. Yasser was released in April.

At least 10 killed in Israeli air raid on eastern Gaza

The Palestinian emergency crew says the attack hit a school east of the Shujayea neighbourhood in eastern Gaza.

At least 10 people are reported to have been killed.

Palestinian homes were destroyed ‘for revenge,’ says Israeli soldier who served in Gaza

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/01/middleeast/israeli-soldier-alleges-serious-misconduct-gaza-intl/index.html

Destroyed homes, looting, and a desire for revenge. A former Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reservist has alleged serious misconduct by Israeli forces in Gaza, and a lack of discipline in the command structure, in an interview with CNN.

....

Green, who served as a medic in his unit, told CNN that prior to October 7 – when he was recruited for reserve duty – he had intended to leave the army, objecting to its conduct in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He had planned to tell his comrades on October 8, but after Hamas attacked, he felt duty-bound to support them as they were mobilized for the war.

....

Atmosphere of ‘demonizing Gazans’

Green told CNN that he served in the Gaza perimeter in November last year before being sent into the strip on December 2, spending 51 days in the city of Khan Younis, in the south. He said that the anger felt by Israelis after October 7 and calls for revenge were expressed openly in his unit, as they waited to be sent into Gaza, and called it the “demonizing” of Palestinians.

“In the days before we entered Khan Younis … there was this atmosphere that was kind of growing of demonizing the Gazans,” he said, adding that he heard people “speaking about killing, ruining all of Gaza. Wiping it out became something that people (were discussing), as if it was some kind of a legitimate idea.”

IDF rules of engagement in Gaza have been under great scrutiny. Green claims that IDF commanders on the ground seemed to acquiesce to soldiers’ desires to have fewer restrictions on their conduct than in previous incursions.

“I felt like my commanders were trying to kind of go with the soldiers and try to say things that they thought … (were) what the soldiers wanted to hear. You know, saying things like, ‘We’re not going to have any boundaries in Gaza this time.’”

_{A view of destruction in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, on December 17, 2023, after weeks of Israeli bombardment.}

‘We don’t care enough’ about Palestinian lives

The war in Gaza has caused widespread material destruction to homes, infrastructure, hospitals and schools. Green says he witnessed the “unnecessary” destruction of Palestinian homes.

“We’ve seen a lot of destruction that was not necessarily related to military reasons. Everything tends to (get) really mix up, you know – people are destroying houses because they believe that they should (get) revenge (for) what happened on (October 7) and it mixes up with the reasons to destroy houses for military reasons,” Green said, adding he witnessed “chaos … I could tell you 100% that we’ve destroyed houses at least for reasons that … we don’t care enough about the lives of Palestinians.”

Describing the extent of the damage in Gaza, he said, “You can’t imagine it. Cities that are completely ruined.”

Don't care enough, or don't care at all?

Accusations of looting

Green told CNN that one of the things that bothered him most was witnessing what he alleged was the looting of Palestinian homes by soldiers in his own unit.

“You’re seeing looting by your peers all the time. That was something (that) was very difficult for me to see. I mean, people were taking ‘souvenirs’ (from) the Palestinians’ houses, which I think directly relates to the demonization we’ve seen before the entrance to Khan Younis,” he said. “People were taking, you know, necklaces and doing graffiti on the walls and … leaving behind damage to the houses that was just completely unnecessary.”

....

I guess people on the ground don't see children blown to pieces if looting is the most bothersome...

The decision to leave

In the end, one specific moment pushed Green to make the tough decision to leave his unit: when a commander allegedly ordered the burning of a Palestinian home they were stationed in.

“At some point, my commander told my platoon to burn down the house we’re staying at,” Green recounted. “And I went to him, I approached him and I asked him, ‘Why are we doing that?’ And he gave me a few reasons, and I think those reasons were just not strong enough.”

“They were, you know, military type of reasons, but they (were mixed up with) the revenge type of reasons. Now, I think this is just what’s going on in Gaza. Israel is doing things because it needs to fulfil a type of military purpose, but it all mixes up with our need for – or the Israeli need for – revenge.”

....

Green said he decided to speak out publicly to put pressure on the Israeli government to accept a ceasefire and hostage deal. The Israeli government said this week that it was Hamas leadership that was preventing an agreement.

“I think there are concrete deals on the table right now, that Hamas is agreeing to, that make sense. I mean, those deals say that all the hostages would be freed – and Israel is not accepting the ending of the war. And this is crazy,” Green said.

Green added that Israel’s alleged refusal to accept a deal was causing the deaths of hostages. “I’ve seen it from within,” he said. “I mean, we said nothing before we entered Gaza about the hostages. We could have killed them, you know, any moment, and it’s something that has happened. We know about more than 10 hostages that were killed directly from Israeli bombings or, you know, the three hostages that were killed,” referring to an incident of friendly fire by the IDF in December, in which soldiers fatally shot three hostages.

...

“We have to tell our government to stop the war. This is the only right solution to save the lives of Palestinians that are dying every day and going through a living hell the past few months, saving the lives of soldiers, Israeli soldiers, that are now present in Gaza and dying every day, and obviously the lives of hostages.”


There's some more in the article, including denial and excuses by the IDF.

Anyway it collaborates UN findings

UN inquiry concludes Israeli army is “one of the most criminal armies in the world”
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/06/20/cxkk-j20.html