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

SvennoJ on 01 August 2024

Captive’s mother calls for ‘regional diplomatic agreement’

Meirav Leshem Gonen, the mother of Israeli captive Romi Gonen, has called for a diplomatic solution to escalating tensions in the Middle East, as she addressed thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Thursday night.

“We all cry out – enough!” she said at the march, marking 300 days since the Hamas-led October 7 assault on southern Israel.

“Now is the time for our country to take one courageous action and advance a regional diplomatic agreement,” she said.

Romi Gonen was taken from the Supernova music festival on October 7. Addressing her daughter and other captives in Gaza, Meirav said, “We will not rest until you are all back home.”

“We are acting on every front – military, political, diplomatic – both openly and covertly – to ensure that in the coming days, you will start returning here,” she said.


Israelis take part in a march in Tel Aviv, on August 1, 2024 marking 300 days since the October 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas and calling for a deal to be reached for the immediate release of captives held in Gaza



Day 300 of Israel’s ‘genocide’ in Gaza a ‘blight on all humanity’, says scholar

Marking the 300th day of Israel’s war on Gaza today, Palestinian-American scholar Noura Erakat said it was “maddening and shameful” that the world had not been able to stop one of the “grossest, most blatant colonial genocides”.

In a post on social media, Erakat said Israel’s genocide in Gaza has featured the use of advanced weapons as well as the spread of disease, “poisoning of the earth” as well as sexual assault and torture.

Israel’s genocide must be remembered for what it is, Erakat said, adding “we cannot afford to lose the next battle over narrative”.

“A blight on all humanity, to ascribe shame to all who let it happen [and] glory to those who fought so that the future indeed ensures: never again,” she said.

Australian review shows Israeli military failures resulted in killing of aid workers

An Australian government review into the deaths of several aid workers in Gaza has concluded that “serious failures” such as “mistaken identification” by the Israeli military resulted in their killing, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said.

Wong said Australia would push for full accountability from those responsible, including criminal charges if appropriate.

In April, an Israeli drone carried out three air strikes on a World Central Kitchen convoy, killing seven aid workers from the US-based NGO. The deaths of an Australian, three Britons, a North American, a Palestinian and a Pole triggered global outrage.

The charity, which provides vital food distribution programmes for Gaza’s starving population, resumed its work in May after suspending operations following the attack.


The vehicle in which employees from World Central Kitchen were travelling in when they were killed by an Israeli air strike in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on April 2



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SvennoJ on 01 August 2024

Israeli Analyst: Assassination Of Hamas Leader Sign Of Israel's Weakness w/. Ori Goldberg

From the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh to riots in support of torture in Israel, we have a lot to talk about with brilliant Israeli analyst Ori Goldberg.

Israel’s Torture & Rape of Palestinian Prisoners Defended by Knesset Members, Far-Right Mobs

Unrest continues to brew in Israel after a right-wing mob including members of the Knesset broke into two Israeli military bases in an effort to prevent Israeli military police from detaining nine soldiers who were under investigation for gang raping a Palestinian prisoner at the notorious Sde Teiman facility. +972 Magazine's Oren Ziv, who was at one of the bases reporting on the events, says that the support of Israeli political leaders, including some members of the Knesset who participated in the riots, and the apathy of the military police all indicate that those protesting against the soldiers' charges are “the face of the state,” expressing what are “mainstream” views in Israeli society. We also speak to Diana Buttu, a Palestinian human rights attorney who has interviewed some of the torture victims and says the extent of their abuse is “appalling.” She calls Sde Teiman a “concentration camp” that the entirety of Israeli society and the international community are “complicit” in.

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 02 August 2024

SvennoJ on 02 August 2024

More on the Australian government review of World Central Kitchen deaths

Earlier, we reported that an Australian government review into the Israeli military’s killing in Gaza of several aid workers from US-based NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK) concluded that “serious failures” such as “mistaken identification” resulted in their deaths.

The Australian review also said Israeli forces launched missiles at the convoy after mistakenly believing Hamas fighters had hijacked it. The armed personnel they saw were, in fact, locally-contracted security guards.

Australian Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, who travelled to Israel to investigate the deaths, said “controls failed, leading to errors in decision making and a misidentification”.

“Based on the information available to me, it is my assessment that the [Israeli military] strike on the WCK aid workers was not knowingly or deliberately directed against the WCK,” he said.


UN staff inspect the carcass of a car used by US-based aid group World Central Kitchen that was hit by an Israeli air strike in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, on April 2

Huh? They mistakenly believed the WCK convoy was hijacked, but weren't deliberately targeting the WCK convoy they believed was hijacked? Wouldn't a simple call to the WCK have confirmed there was no hijacking... They all have radios to stay in contact.

There was a lot of time between the first strike and the other two. Is Australia trying to cover for the IDF by rewriting history?


They knowingly and deliberately targeted the aid convoy. The excuse of it being hijacked doesn't fly.



They had well over half an hour to contact the WCK from the time they believed the convoy was hijacked 22:28 (which were the security guards boarding) until the first strike 23:09. They knew full well there were aid workers on board as they didn't see anyone leave the convoy... Nor did they care about the car splitting off and unloading at 22:46 and 23:06...

More poor excuses, but nothing will come from it anyway. All the promises and measures to do better led nowhere, the opposite in fact.



SvennoJ on 02 August 2024

Biden says killing of Hamas leader not helpful for ceasefire

US President Joe Biden has said the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh will not help ceasefire negotiations between the Palestinian group and Israel.

Speaking at Joint Base Andrews in the US state of Maryland, where a plane landed late on Thursday carrying detainees released by Russia, Biden said he had a “direct conversation” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the killing.

Haniyeh was killed in his accommodation in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Wednesday, in an assassination widely blamed on Israel.

Master of understatement. Netanyahu wants Trump in power, he'll keep undermining your ceasefire plan in any way possible. If you care at all about you legacy, you need to impose sanctions and stop sending more weapons to get a ceasefire secured.



Blinken speaks with UAE, Saudi foreign ministers as tension mounts

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Thursday, in a call in which the pair discussed “ongoing tensions and developments in the Middle East”.

“The Secretary emphasised the importance of reaching a ceasefire in Gaza that secures the release of hostages and reiterated the importance of preventing the escalation or spread of the conflict,” a State Department readout of the call said.

The same day, Blinken spoke with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in a call in which the pair also discussed a ceasefire in Gaza, as well as facilitating “increased and sustained levels of humanitarian assistance” to the Palestinian enclave.

More words without actions

Fighting censorship with err censorship

Turkey restricts Instagram after ‘censorship’ of Haniyeh posts

Turkey has shut off access to Instagram, according to its national communications authority, after a top government official slammed the social media platform for “censoring” Hamas-related content.

The communications authority said in a post on its website that “instagram.com has been blocked by a decision on the date of 02/08/2024”, without giving a reason for the block.

On Wednesday, the Turkish presidency’s communications director, Fahrettin Altun, accused Instagram of blocking condolence posts on the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

“This is censorship, pure and simple,” Altun wrote on X, noting that Instagram had not cited any policy violations for its decision to block the content. “We will continue to defend freedom of expression against these platforms, which have repeatedly shown that they serve the global system of exploitation and injustice,” Altun said.

“We will stand by our Palestinian brothers at every opportunity and on every platform,” he said.



SvennoJ on 02 August 2024

Hamas calls for day of ‘roaring anger’ to honour Haniyeh

The group has called on people to honour its political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran on Wednesday. In a statement, Hamas asked that people pray for Haniyeh “after Friday prayers in all mosques, in loyalty to him, his message, and the blood of the martyrs”.

The Hamas statement also called on people “to launch marches of roaring anger from every mosque, denouncing the cowardly crime of assassination, and condemning the continuation of war, genocide against our people in the Gaza Strip, in defence of our land, our sanctity, and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque”.

Qatar is to hold funeral ceremonies later today for Haniyeh.


Hezbollah leader promises ‘angry response’ to Israeli attack on Beirut

In Lebanon, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah promised to respond with “anger and retribution”, following an Israeli strike which killed one of the group’s senior commanders Fuad Shukr.

Nasrallah made the statement during Shukr’s funeral in Beirut. Israel has accused Shukr of orchestrating an attack in the occupied Golan Heights that resulted in the deaths of 12 people on Saturday.



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SvennoJ on 02 August 2024

Fatah’s vice chairman to attend Haniyeh funeral in Qatar

A high-level delegation from Fatah, including its vice chairman Mahmoud al-Aloul, will attend the funeral procession for Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh today in Doha.

Hamas and Fatah, the two main Palestinian political parties in the Palestinian territory, have been bitter rivals since conflict arose in 2006, after which Hamas seized control of Gaza.

Last week, the two parties and 12 other Palestinian factions signed a “national unity” agreement in Beijing, China, aimed at maintaining Palestinian control over Gaza once Israel’s war on the enclave concludes. The agreement marked a key turning point in internal Palestinian relations.

Mustafa Barghouti, secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, is also reported to have left Ramallah for Qatar with a delegation.

Palestinian factions show unity after Haniyeh assassination

A senior delegation from Fatah will be participating in Ismail Haniyeh’s funeral procession in Doha later today, including the movement’s number two, Mahmoud al-Aloul. That is in the context of widespread Palestinian condemnation of this political assassination.

Assassination is a longstanding Israeli policy, and it has touched and marked all Palestinian factions, including Fatah. So, all political differences are set aside for this moment of unity. This is expected and demanded from the Palestinian public, who are furious with this kind of targeting and who have been watching their fellow Palestinians slaughtered at an industrial scale for the past few months.

Having said that, looks could be deceiving in the occupied West Bank. You won’t see large-scale protests there most likely. You won’t see the kind of fury from the public that one expects.

But we have to keep in mind two things: First, Israel’s occupation has changed the dynamics of movement in the West Bank. Over 500 different checkpoints dissect and fragment the territory. Second, Israel is going after people for posting things online, including condolences over the death of people like Ismail Haniyeh or even fellow Palestinians they may be related to or friends with.


Israel ‘alarmed’ by signs of Palestinian unity

Israel’s government is likely paying close attention to who is attending the funeral ceremony of Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh and how they are interacting, especially members of Palestinian factions, says Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan.

The fact that most Palestinian political groups have sent at least one representative to the ceremony in Doha will be “alarming” to Israel, which has long attempted to keep them divided, he added.

“Israel has, when it comes to the Palestinians, a divide and rule policy. That’s why it was very instrumental in making sure that the occupied West Bank and Gaza never really became politically unified,” said Khan. “But things are now changing. They [Palestinian factions] are all going to be talking now.”

“What Israel doesn’t want to see is a unified Palestinian front,” he said.

Thousands pay respects to Haniyeh at Qatar national mosque

The Jummah (Friday) prayer has been performed in Doha’s Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque and the funeral prayer [for Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh] has just started. People are paying their final respects to the former political head of Hamas.

When this prayer is over, Haniyeh’s body, probably escorted by thousands and thousands of people now attending the prayer, will be taken to the Lusail royal cemetery north of Doha.

The security measures are extreme here because there are going to be dozens and dozens of state dignitaries from all around the world, particularly from Islamic countries. In addition, the leaders of Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Islamic Jihad, are going to be here … Haniyeh’s family is here, too, to pay their respects.



SvennoJ on 02 August 2024

Expressions of solidarity in public carry a very heavy price

The high-level delegation of Fatah in the funeral procession comes in the context of the fact that Israel’s policy of political assassination is longstanding.

All political factions in Palestine have been touched and really scarred by that, including, of course, Fatah.

So, the political assassination of Haniyeh required that all political differences and splits be set aside and that the rhetoric of unity takes centre stage. That is what the Palestinian public expects.

Palestinians are very much affected, saddened and also enraged by this assassination, understanding that it will impact their lives no matter where they live.

In contrast to the pictures we’re seeing now in Qatar, where you have dignitaries and ordinary people attending the funeral procession, people here in the occupied West Bank most likely won’t be coming out in their thousands, and that’s for two reasons.

On the one hand, Israel fragments the occupied West Bank with over 500 military checkpoints. On the other, Israel is pursuing Palestinians even for expressing empathy with fellow Palestinians on social media platforms.

It has detained thousands of Palestinian activists from all factions.

There is real fear here among Palestinians to express what they really feel, which is anger and fury at this point.



Ben-Gvir criticises Turkish embassy personnel for lowering flag to half-staff

The Turkish embassy in Tel Aviv has lowered its flag to half-staff in honour of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated on Wednesday.

Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir responded on X to the move, saying, “Representatives of the Turkish Embassy in Israel are invited to take down the flag completely and return home. shameful.”

Israel summons Turkish deputy ambassador over half-staff flag incident

We reported earlier that the Turkish embassy has flown its flag at half-staff, as the funeral of assassinated Hamas political head Ismail Haniyeh takes place in Doha.

Israel’s Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, says on X that he ordered the summoning of Turkey’s deputy ambassador to Israel for a “stern reprimand” over the incident.

“The State of Israel will not accept expressions of participation in mourning for a murderer like Ismail Haniyeh who was the head of the Hamas terrorist organization,” Katz wrote.

Solidarity with Palestinians among attendees of Haniyeh’s funeral in Doha

Regardless of punishing temperatures, thousands of people gathered at Imam Muhammad ibn Abdul al-Wahhab Mosque in Doha to pay tribute to the late Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

The message from most of those Al Jazeera spoke to is one of solidarity for Palestinians in Gaza.

“Even if he died, that does not mean the system is dead,” said Nadine Ramadan, a 28-year-old audiologist, while queueing to enter the mosque. “The Palestinian women are going to raise an even better man than him and we will still be here and fight,” Ramadan said.

A few steps behind, Aisha, 23, said it was important to attend the ceremony in a show of support for those trapped in Gaza. “For a lot of people, Haniyeh was a beacon of hope,” she said. “And so I think it’s important to show our solidarity with the Palestinians and to just make sure that we are here for them, even if we can’t physically do anything, we are still with them,” she added.


People gather at Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque in Doha



SvennoJ on 02 August 2024

As Haniyeh laid to rest, questions on what happens next

As people attend commemorations across cities in the Middle East, questions loom on what is going to happen next as the region braces for a retaliatory attack from Iran and its allies, especially Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“Israel has been doing a lot of massacres in the past days … but I am sure the [Palestinian and regional] resistance will be able to stand up because apparently Israel is a spoiled brat and no one is standing up against them, so we have to stand up for ourselves,” said 32-year-old Sara Abdelshafy, present at Haniyeh’s funeral in Doha.

Others in the crowd have little doubt about whether Haniyeh’s killing was a blow to Hamas.

“It doesn’t matter that they killed him. There will be stronger than Ismail Haniyeh, Haniyeh is not just one person,” said Hadeel Abu Kaff, 46.



Emotions running high at Haniyeh’s funeral

There were leaders of the different Palestinian factions, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and some of the important Palestinian diaspora figures.

I have seen dozens of representatives of NGOs as well because Hamas is vitally seen as a Palestinian resistance movement that is trying to pave the way for the state of Palestine.

So, contrary to the main rhetoric of the Israelis or some of the Western countries, Hamas is widely seen as a legitimate voice of the Palestinians.

That’s why they have seen people from all walks of life, politicians and ordinary people, coming here and paying their respects to Ismail Haniyeh.

He had been a prominent figure, an important face of the Palestinian resistance. He was not just respected by Hamas members or those who have sympathy for Hamas, but he was seen as a very dignified voice of the whole Palestinian cause.



SvennoJ on 02 August 2024

More Palestinian properties demolished in the West Bank: UN

Demolitions of Palestinian-owned property have been reported in the occupied West Bank’s Beit ‘Anan village, located to the northwest of Jerusalem, and the Al Baqa‘a village, east of Hebron, the UN reports.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) also reports that in the week between July 23 and 29, Israeli authorities demolished or forced the demolition of 30 Palestinian-owned properties, resulting in 57 people, including 25 children, being left displaced from their place of residence.

Since October 7, Israeli authorities have overseen or carried out the demolition of 1,311 Palestinian-owned structures across the occupied West Bank, resulting in the displacement of almost 3,000 people, including 1,310 children.


Israeli military carries out arrests in Bethlehem, Nablus and Tulkarem

The Israeli military has arrested three Palestinians from Bethlehem governorate, the Wafa news agency reports.

Two men were arrested in the town of Doha to the west of the city of Bethlehem, while a third man was arrested from the village of al-Asakra to the east, according to Wafa.

Israeli forces have also arrested three men in the city of Nablus, while a man has been arrested in the city of Tulkarem.


Israeli forces raid Nablus

Local Palestinian media outlets have published videos that have been verified by Al Jazeera, documenting ongoing Israeli raids in the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.


Israeli forces bulldoze farmland near Tulkarem: Report

Israel has sent bulldozers into the Palestinian village of Ramin, 15km (9.3 miles) east of Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank, and began razing farmland there, reports the Wafa news agency.

The bulldozed land belongs to dozens of local families, said Wafa, citing local sources.

In addition, a group of Israeli settlers stormed the area and set fire to more agricultural land.


Two homes set on fire during Israeli raid near Ramallah: Report

The Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reports that Israeli forces have stormed the village of Umm Safa, north of Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank.

Marwan Sabbah, head of the Umm Safa Village Council, told Wafa that Israeli forces fired stun grenades and tear gas at residents and their homes, resulting in two homes being set on fire.



SvennoJ on 02 August 2024

Situation in West Bank ‘worsening daily’, says UNRWA

The UN’s Palestinian refugee agency says on X that the “Nur Shams and Tulkarm camps are suffering from water shortages and electricity outages”.

The agency added that constant raids by Israeli security forces “continue causing destruction & threatening the lives of people in the area”.

Today alone, we’ve been reporting on raids on the occupied West Bank cities of Nablus and Ramallah, in which Palestinians were injured and agricultural land was bulldozed by Israeli forces.

“This ‘silent war’ has to end”, said UNRWA.

‘Despair’ in Gaza after 300 days of war, Haniyeh assassination

After 300 days of continued killing and destruction across the Gaza Strip … the general mood here is filled with despair and depression.

People were hoping that at some point negotiations were going to make some sort of progress to end this madness – the mass killing of innocent people across the Gaza Strip.

The assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has not affected Israel’s war conduct.

What we’re seeing here is more killing and destruction.

Yesterday evening, there was an attack on a school turned shelter for displaced people. It was struck by at least three missiles. The third one was fired as people tried to get into the school to rescue those hit by the first two missiles.

The facility has been completely destroyed.

Elsewhere, the Israeli military continued with its strikes as well. There doesn’t seem to be an end to this genocide.

The mood across the Gaza Strip is one of despair.

85% of Gaza’s schools hit, damaged during war

Since the Gaza war broke out, Israeli attacks have “directly hit or damaged” close to 85 percent of Gaza’s schools, says the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), citing satellite assessments by the Global Education Cluster.

“The war is destroying the present and the future of Palestinian children”, said the UN agency in a post on X.


UNRWA chief sounds alarm about Hepatitis A in Gaza

Since the Gaza war broke out, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has recorded nearly 40,000 cases of Hepatitis A in its shelters, up from just 85 in the same span of time before the war.

The disease is spreading rapidly due to Gaza’s collapsing waste management and sewage systems and lack of clean water and hygiene, warned UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini.