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

SvennoJ on 18 August 2024

Ex- Israeli prime minister slams Netanyahu’s stance on truce talks

Ehud Barak said Netanyahu is leading Israel into regional war while creating a “death sentence” for Israeli captives held in Gaza.

In a post on X, Barak also criticised the current prime minister’s claim that Israel should stay in the Philadelphi Corridor, saying there was “no political interest” for Israel in seizing the demilitarised zone along both sides of the Israel-Egypt border.

Pro-Palestinian protests in Chicago ahead of Democratic convention

Pro-Palestinian protesters took to the streets of Chicago on Sunday ahead of the Democratic National Convention



The protests covered a range of issues, with people calling for the Democratic Party to do more to earn their votes in the upcoming elections



Some Democrats also plan to bring their protests over the Gaza war inside the convention, with the ‘uncommitted movement’ sending dozens of delegates to represent their views



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SvennoJ on 19 August 2024

Israeli forces arrest Palestinian freed in last exchange deal

The Wafa news agency is reporting that Israeli soldiers have arrested Dania Hanatsheh, a student at Birzeit University, after raiding her family’s home in the town of Baqat al-Hatab in Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank.

Wafa said Hanatsheh was among the Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in a prisoner-captive exchange deal in late 2023.

Israeli soldiers also arrested a young man from Tulkarem at a military checkpoint near Jericho, the agency reported.


Israel to return 20 Palestinian patients from East Jerusalem to Gaza: Report

The Wafa news agency is reporting that Israeli authorities are planning to send 20 Palestinian patients who had been receiving treatment at hospitals in occupied East Jerusalem back to the Gaza Strip.

The agency cited the Israeli advocacy group, Physicians for Human Rights-Israel (PHRI), and said the patients and their companions are due to be returned to Gaza later today.

The individuals – who include two cancer patients and a person who underwent open heart surgery – face severe health risks if returned to Gaza due to a lack of medical care and the ongoing conflict there, PHRI was quoted as saying.

“Israel’s decision to return patients to the Gaza Strip, after having devastated its healthcare system and continuing its attacks on it, is wrong from medical, legal, and moral perspectives” PHRI said.

“Continuous follow-up and access to appropriate health services are crucial to their care. This decision not only jeopardizes their health but also undermines the fundamental principle of continuity of care.”

Palestinian child with cirrhosis deprived of treatment due to Israeli blockade

Hammam Khudair, 10, who suffers from liver cirrhosis, lives with his family on the roof of al-Tabin mosque in northern Gaza City.

Connected to a special breathing device, his health is deteriorating daily due to his inability to access medical care amid relentless Israeli attacks.



Israeli forces injured 4 in Nablus, occupied West Bank: Ministry

The Palestinian Ministry of Health says Palestinians wounded by Israeli soldiers’ bullets have arrived at Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, including one seriously injured in the abdomen and head. Several hours ago, violent clashes took place between Palestinian fighters and the Israeli forces in the Old City of Nablus in the northern West Bank.


Israeli forces arrest 14 Palestinians in West Bank

The overnight arrests mainly targeted former prisoners, according to the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society.

The arrests were reported from many occupied West Bank governorates, including Bethlehem, Hebron, Ramallah, Nablus and Tulkarem, the two organisations said in a statement.


Tractors ‘working non-stop’ demolishing Palestinian structures: Ben-Gvir

The far-right Israeli national security minister says in a post on X that authorities plan to keep demolishing Palestinian structures. His post also had a photo of a tractor demolishing a structure in al-Ram, north of occupied Jerusalem.

Itamar Ben-Gvir has been subject to domestic criticism amid rising security incidents in Israel, most recently a bomb blast in Tel Aviv claimed by Hamas and a hammer attack in the occupied West Bank that killed an Israeli security guard.

According to the Wafa news agency, Israeli forces have taken measurements of a house in a village east of Qalqilya in the occupied West Bank in preparation to demolish it. The house is owned by the Abdul Ghani family, a member of which is accused of carrying out the attack.

Israeli military forces continue to impose tight military measures at checkpoints surrounding Qalqilya for a second day in a row.

Translation: The law enforcement tractor works non-stop, and is now demolishing an illegal building in the heart of Ramla city. I praise the MMAZ Center Chief Avi Biton, the HSM fighters and the civil enforcement officials for their determination.


Israeli settlement expansion in West Bank defies international law: UN

The UN Human Rights Office has said it is “alarmed by Israel’s recent and ongoing settlement expansion and legal changes in the occupied West Bank; measures which fly in the face of international law, including a landmark ruling by the International Court of Justice in July”.

It also said that illegal settlements, settler violence and the presence of settlers are the root causes of the majority of human rights violations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The statement said the recently-announced construction of a new settlement of Nahal Heletz west of Bethlehem “severely compromises the livelihoods, safety and movement of Palestinians living in five surrounding villages, while posing a significant threat to the contiguity and viability of a Palestinian state”.



SvennoJ on 19 August 2024

Tel Aviv blast investigation under way, man carrying bomb dead

The blast, which occurred on Sunday night, caused significant damage to a truck, and a passer-by was moderately wounded. The identity of the man in his 50s is not yet known.

The Israeli police and the security agency Shin Bet are investigating the incident as a possible terror attack.


Israeli police say Sunday’s blast in Tel Aviv was ‘terror attack’

Forces in Tel Aviv District and the General Security Services have been investigating the incident in which an explosive device exploded in Tel Aviv on Sunday night. “This was a terror attack involving the explosion of a powerful explosive,” the police said in a statement.

Authorities said one person – the suspected assailant – was killed in the blast, according to media reports. The police said a civilian was moderately injured in the incident and had sought medical treatment.


Hamas claims responsibility for Tel Aviv bomb attack, promises more

The armed wing of Hamas says it is responsible for Sunday night’s bomb attack in Tel Aviv which it says it carried out with al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

“The Brigades confirm that martyrdom operations inside the occupied territories will return to the forefront as long as the occupation’s massacres, the displacement of civilians, and the policy of assassinations continue,” the Qassam Brigades said in a short statement.

The man carrying the bomb inside a truck was killed and has not been identified by Israeli authorities, who said yesterday they are investigating the incident as a terror attack. A passer-by was wounded as a result of the blast that took place near a synagogue.


Israeli security and emergency responders work at the site of a bomb blast in Tel Aviv



SvennoJ on 19 August 2024

Red Crescent says volunteer doctor ‘forcibly disappeared’ for 230 days

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has urged Israel to immediately release its volunteer doctor Suliman Abu Shari’a and three of his colleagues.

“Our colleague … has been forcibly disappeared for 230 days after being arrested by Israeli occupation forces during their raid on the PRCS EMS center in Jabalia, northern Gaza,” the PRCS said in a post on X.

“To this day, his fate remains unknown,” the PRCS added, noting with “deep concern” the “testimonies from released colleagues about mistreatment and abuse”.


UN decries ‘normalisation of violence against aid workers’

The UN’s acting humanitarian chief has expressed concern over the increasing “normalisation of violence against aid workers” in a statement released on World Humanitarian Day.

Joyce Msuya, the acting director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), added that the “lack of accountability” for aid worker deaths is “unacceptable, unconscionable and enormously harmful for aid operations everywhere”.

More than 280 aid workers have been killed in Gaza since October, including many local employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, OCHA said.

More than half of the deaths in 2023, or 163, were aid workers killed in Gaza during the first three months of the war, mainly in Israeli air strikes, OCHA added.


207 UNRWA members killed in Gaza so far

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says 207 of its team members have been killed in Gaza during the war.

In a post on X, UNRWA marked World Humanitarian Day by paying tribute to those killed in the Strip since October 7.


‘Fear haunts us in every step’: Female aid workers in Gaza

On World Humanitarian Day, female aid workers in Gaza continue to face “extreme danger” amid relentless Israeli attacks, says aid organisation ActionAid UK, which works with a host of partner groups in the enclave.

Buthaina, director of the Wefaq Association for Women and Child Care, said female aid workers leave their homes each day not knowing whether they will ever return to their families.

“I will not hide from you that most humanitarian workers, including myself, suffer from anxiety. We can’t sleep; we can’t have sound, uninterrupted sleep. Our sleep is intermittent as a result of the fear we all feel living in the Gaza Strip. Fear haunts us in every step we take to provide humanitarian aid.”

Tasneem, 23, who works with the Palestinian NGOs Network (PNGO) and graduated from university just two months before October 7, said supporting others helped her cope with the horrors.

“This motivates and inspires me to go and to persist, to keep going and to insist on delivering what I can do for my people with the available resources I have in my hand… Helping my people is a therapy that helps me to heal."



‘Status quo is shameful’: Hundreds of humanitarian organisations call for protections

As Israel’s war on Gaza and other conflicts continue to claim lives, 413 humanitarian organisations have written to the UN General Assembly to call for protecting civilians and aid workers.

“The brutal hostilities we are seeing in multiple conflicts around the world have exposed a terrible truth: We are living in an era of impunity,” they write in the letter published by Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), the highest-level humanitarian coordination platform of the UN System.

“This status quo is shameful and cannot continue,” they wrote, adding that fatalities among humanitarian workers doubled in 2023 compared with the previous year, and that the 2024 fatalities are already “staggering”.


21 Red Crescent workers killed in West Bank, Gaza since October 7

The Palestine Red Crescent Society has said that “21 PRCS members have tragically lost their lives while on duty in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip” since Israel’s war on Gaza erupted on October 7 last year.

In a post on X marking World Humanitarian Day, the organisation said: “We must act for humanity, to safeguard those who risk everything to protect others.”


Israeli attacks have killed 82 civil worker deaths in Gaza

The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza says countries are unable to to help and protect humanitarian workers in the Gaza Strip.

“Today the world celebrates the sanctity of humanitarian work, while international humanitarian organisations remain silent in the face of the Israeli occupation’s violations of international humanitarian law,” it said in a statement.

According to the organisation, 82 civil defence workers have been killed in Gaza since October 7 and 270 wounded by Israeli attacks while more than 75 percent of civil protection centres are destroyed.

It added that Israeli forces have killed 885 medical personnel in the enclave and stopped operations in 34 hospitals and health facilities.


The Palestinian Civil Defence crew work to retrieve bodies in the rubble of a home in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, August 18



SvennoJ on 19 August 2024

40,139 Palestinians killed in Gaza since October 7: Health Ministry

At least 40,139 Palestinians have been killed and 92,743 others injured in Israel’s offensive on Gaza since October 7, says Gaza’s Health Ministry. The toll includes 40 deaths over the past 24 hours, according to the ministry figures.

Nearly two million Palestinians have been displaced and face a grave humanitarian crisis as the war enters its 11th month.


Six children among 25 killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza

Entire Palestinian families are being wiped out by with the latest Israeli air strikes in Gaza.

A family of eight, including six children, were killed while they were sleeping in Deir el-Balah, in the centre of the Strip.


Fighting in Deir el-Balah would cut off vital medical care

We have been hearing from doctors, nurses, and even the administration of [al-Aqsa] Hospital that they are grappling to continue providing healthcare services to Gaza’s population, especially since they are getting very few hours of electricity and are forced to ration the depleted fuel reserves.

They depend on small generators that can sustain critical functions. Vulnerable patients are in desperate need of advanced surgeries, and newborn babies need a high level of medical care in terms of incubators. Medical teams here are doing their best to continue providing services despite a lack of salaries and humanitarian resources.

They have been saying that if there’s going to be more expansion of the fighting in Deir el-Balah, it means that Al-Aqsa Hospital will become out of service, which means that more than a million Palestinians will be deprived of getting essential medical care.


Israeli forces kill Palestinian journalist in Khan Younis

Palestinian journalist Ibrahim Muharab, 26, was killed last night by Israeli forces north of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

Accompanied by a group of colleagues, he was on his way to Hamad City – where the Israeli military has launched a second ground invasion since the start of the war – when they were targeted by tanks, according to the Wafa news agency. Ambulance crews found Muharab’s body this morning.

He had worked with multiple outlets as a freelance journalist and was a member of the Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate.

Muharab is the 169th journalist to be killed in Gaza by the Israeli military.


Casualties reported after Israeli attacks on Nuseirat and Deir el-Balah

At least three Palestinians have been “killed and wounded” in Israeli shelling of southern Nuseirat and another three casualties are reported after an Israeli air attack on a house south of Deir el-Balah, according to our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic.

The casualties were taken from the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza to al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp.

Separately, the Palestinian Information Center reported an unidentified number of deaths and injuries in an Israeli air attack on the Abu Awda family home in the town of Abasan al-Kabira, east of southern Gaza’s Khan Younis city.


Palestinians ‘live among the rubble’: UNRWA spokesperson

Louise Wateridge, spokesperson for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), says some Palestinians in Gaza have no choice but to live in the rubble of destroyed buildings amid expanding Israeli evacuation orders.

“Strikes are now relentless: the day starts with people checking if family and friends are still alive, and ends hoping they make it through the night,” she said in a post on X.


Israeli military confirms ‘expanding’ ground invasion of Khan Younis, Deir el-Balah

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari has confirmed that the ground invasion of Khan Younis in southern Gaza and the outskirts of Deir el-Balah in the central part is expanding.

The military released aerial footage of what it said was a 1.5km-long (about a mile-long) tunnel that was being demolished. It also claimed that Israeli soldiers killed an unspecified number of Palestinian fighters and found weapons in Khan Younis.


Several Palestinians killed in Israeli attack in southern Gaza

Our colleagues on the ground are reporting five Palestinians have been killed and many wounded in an Israeli air strike targeting the Austrian Towers area west of Khan Younis.

Earlier, we reported an Israeli army spokesperson had confirmed a ground offensive on Khan Younis in southern Gaza and on the outskirts of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza is expanding.


More on Israeli attack in Khan Younis

We have more updates for you on the Israeli raid in Khan Younis that we just reported on. The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza says six people were killed in the attack and 15 were wounded.


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SvennoJ on 19 August 2024

Israel bombs Hezbollah sites in Lebanon

The Israeli military said its fighter jets attacked Hezbollah military buildings in Aita al-Shaab, Beit Lif and Hula in southern Lebanon.


‘Heavy drone, rocket attack’ reported in northern Israel

Israel’s Ynetnews is reporting a “heavy drone, rocket” attack on the Western Galilee area in northern parts of the country. The Israeli military said a “number of suspicious aerial targets” crossed from the territory of Lebanon and that its air defences had intercepted some of them. Some of the projectiles fell in the Ya’ara region, it added.


Hezbollah claims attack on Israeli troops in northern Israel

On Telegram, the Lebanese group says its fighters struck a military site and soldiers in the Zarit settlement with artillery fire. The statement said part of the outpost was destroyed and caught fire after the attack. The group said the strike was in response to the Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s southern villages.


Multiple ‘suspicious aerial targets’ launched from Lebanon: Israeli military

The Israeli forces said that its ariel defence systems had intercepted some of the targets while others fell in the area of Ya’ara in northern Israel. Israeli President Isaac Herzog had referred to a rocket attack from Lebanon earlier in the day, telling reporters that “there is information that we have suffered possible casualties”.

The Israeli newspaper, citing the Israeli military, stated there were no casualties, although Israeli Army Radio said that there had been initial reports of damage caused to buildings.


Two dead after Israeli attack in Lebanon

The Lebanese Health Ministry says two people have been killed in an Israeli raid on the town of Hula in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah announces killing of 2 members

The Lebanese group says on Telegram that they were killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” an expression it uses for deaths in Israeli attacks. In the statement, they are named as Abbas Melhem from Majdal Selem and Muhammad Qaddouh from Ghandouriyeh – two villages in southern Lebanon.


Hezbollah claims to have ‘thwarted’ Israeli infiltration into south Lebanon

Hezbollah says its fighters have thwarted an infiltration attempt by a group of Israeli soldiers into the Horsh Hadab Aina area in southern Lebanon. The armed group added in a statement that, after monitoring and tracking the soldiers, they targeted them with rocket and artillery shells. It said they inflicted “confirmed casualties” on the soldiers who were forced to retreat.‏


Israel claims strikes on southern Lebanon

Israeli jets have hit Hezbollah targets in the areas of Aita al-Shaab and Hanine, according to a military statement. It said aircraft struck fighters and a military building as well as a rocket launcher in separate attacks, the statement added.


Israeli jets again break sound barrier over Beirut

Israeli warplanes have again flown low over the Lebanese capital, breaking the sound barrier after several days of relative calm. To find out more about how the Israeli military has for long used the tactic in its psychological warfare, read this.


Hezbollah claims missile attack on Israeli military site

The Lebanese group has claimed to have hit Israel’s Bayyad Blida military site near the Lebanon-Israel border with a Burkan missile. The group said in a statement on Telegram that the attack came at 1:35pm (10:35 GMT), without elaborating on the results.


Israeli soldier killed in drone attack in northern Israel: Army

Chief Warrant Officer Mahmood Amaria has been killed in the strike carried out in the Baram area in the morning, the Israeli military says in a statement. Amaria, 45, was a part of the 300th “Baram” Regional Brigade, the statement said, adding that one other soldier was seriously injured in the attack and is being treated.

Hezbollah-Israel conflict is gradually expanding

Undoubtedly, this conflict’s trajectory is on the rise. There has been an escalation in hostilities since the killing of Hezbollah’s top commander in Beirut.

What we’re seeing is that Israel is carrying out attacks deeper inside Lebanon, causing more civilian casualties.

In the past, it used to make sure that these were surgical strikes, and that civilians were not hurt. But in recent days, we’ve seen some targeted killings in busy intersections. These attacks have caused further displacement in the south [of Lebanon]. We’re talking to up to 7,000 people leaving their homes. That’s an 8 percent increase in the last 10 days alone.

Now Hezbollah, in turn, is trying to do the same. It has expanded its attacks in northern Israel, striking deeper up to 18km [11.2 miles], hitting military targets but also hitting new towns that have not been evacuated.

So, they are still not deliberately targeting civilians but are trying to create a bigger buffer zone along the border with Israel, putting more military pressure, trying to cause further displacement, because all this adds pressure on the Israeli government.



SvennoJ on 19 August 2024

Protests around the world call for Palestinian freedom


A protester holds a sign saying ‘Time to free Palestine’ at a demonstration in Ottawa, Canada on Sunday


People gathered in front of the US embassy building, to protest against the Israeli attacks on Gaza in Tunis, Tunisia on Saturday


People take part in the ‘All on the street for a free Palestine’ demonstration in Copenhagen, Denmark on Sunday


Pro-Palestine protesters participate in the ‘Not Another Bomb’ rally outside the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Sunday


Colombia halts coal export to Israel over Gaza war

Colombia’s government has banned coal export to Israel, with a decree signed by the country’s president and several ministers coming into effect within five days.

“Colombian coal is used to make bombs to kill Palestinian children,” President Gustavo Petro said on X.

Colombia, which exports 5 percent of its total coal production to Israel, had also suspended diplomatic relations with the country in May.


‘Disrespect for Palestinian life disconcerting’: UN special rapporteur

Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, has criticised a recent White House statement which focused on Israel’s security as a reason to end the war on Gaza.

“40,000 ascertained casualties, yet the focus remains on Israel’s security, whatever that implies,” she wrote, demanding an immediate ceasefire.

“The disrespect for Palestinian life is disconcerting.”


Army ready to set up field hospitals in Gaza, says Algerian president

Abdelmadjid Tebboune says the country’s soldiers are ready to establish three field hospitals in the Gaza Strip within a few weeks if the Israeli-occupied Rafah border crossing with Egypt is reopened.

Algeria is prepared to send “hundreds of doctors” to Gaza as well and work to “help rebuild what the occupation destroyed”, he said during a rally speech in the northeastern city of Constantine.

The 78-year-old, who is running for re-election, pledged that “we will never abandon Palestine, especially Gaza”.

This comes a day after the North African country said it will send fuel to Lebanon amid a nationwide blackout caused by fuel shortages amid rising concerns of a looming war with Israel.



SvennoJ on 19 August 2024

Israel’s July strikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah port a ‘possible war crime’: HRW

The Israeli air strikes appeared to be an indiscriminate or disproportionate attack on civilians which may amount to a war crime, says the Human Rights Watch.

Israel said on July 20 its warplanes struck Houthi military targets near Hodeidah. The attack targeted oil facilities and a power station and HRW said it killed at least six people and wounded at least 80.

It took place a day after a Houthi drone hit Israel’s economic hub Tel Aviv, killing one person, which HRW said also may constitute a war crime.

The retaliatory Israeli air strikes on Hodeidah hit more than two dozen oil storage tanks and two shipping cranes in the port, as well as a power plant in the province’s as-Salif district, the rights group said.

“The attacks appeared to cause disproportionate harm to civilians and civilian objects. Serious violations of the laws of war committed willfully, that is deliberately or recklessly, are war crimes.”


UK court receives case detailing Israeli war crimes: Report

Lawyers seeking an order to prevent the United Kingdom’s government from continuing to grant arms export licences to UK companies selling arms to Israel have submitted their case to the high court in London, according to the Guardian newspaper.

The lawsuit is backed up by 14 witness statements by Palestinian and Western medical doctors, covering more than 100 pages and including descriptions of Palestinians being tortured, left untreated in hospital and unable to escape constant Israeli bombardment in Gaza, the report said.

The case has been brought by an alliance of NGOs, including Al-Haq, Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), Amnesty International, Oxfam and Human Rights Watch, according to the Guardian.

The report said this was the first attempt to put such graphic testimony of alleged Israeli war crimes in front of a British judge since October 7 last year.


Five suspects in Sde Tieman rape case interrogated: Report

Israel’s Channel 12 reports that Israeli military police are currently interrogating five suspects in the Sde Teiman prisoner abuse case who are under house arrest.

Ten soldiers were initially arrested for the gang rape of a Palestinian prisoner by the guards on July 29.

Military prosecutors released three of the arrested soldiers on August 4, adding to the two previously released by investigators following a military court hearing in Kfar Yona on July 30.



SvennoJ on 19 August 2024

Blinken says ‘decisive moment’ for Gaza ceasefire talks

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described the latest diplomatic push by the US to strike a deal between Hamas and Israel as “probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity” to secure the release of the Israeli captives in Gaza.

Speaking before meeting Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Blinken said Washington was also working “to get a ceasefire and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security” amid concerns over a possible attack by Iran on Israel in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran’s capital Tehran.


Blinken meets Israel’s President Herzog in Tel Aviv


Lapid renews call for Gaza ceasefire deal

The Israeli opposition leader urges Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to not miss the chance to reach a ceasefire agreement in the ongoing talks with Hamas on the war in Gaza.

“When the US Secretary of State says this morning, ‘Maybe this is the last chance for a deal’, this is an appeal to Netanyahu,” Yair Lapid wrote on X.

“Don’t miss this opportunity, you abandoned them. It’s your duty to return them. If they don’t come back, we can’t heal,” he said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Israel to hold talks with officials. He met President Herzog this morning and will meet Netanyahu later today.


Iran welcomes any ‘sincere effort’ aimed at Gaza ceasefire

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani says Tehran has in the past months used all its diplomatic capacity to stop Israel’s war on Gaza, adding that his country welcomes any “sincere effort” aimed at establishing a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.

He said during his weekly news conference that Iran does not consider the United States as a qualified party to pursue the Gaza ceasefire talks because Washington is complicit in the war.

The US has repeatedly shown it is not committed to protecting regional peace and security, and instead is committed to Israel’s security, Kanaani added. The spokesman also said that the war has continued in the Palestinian territory as a result of the inaction of the international community, particularly the UN Security Council.


Netanyahu says meeting with Blinken was ‘positive’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his three-hour meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was “positive and conducted in a good spirit”, according to a statement from his office.

“The prime minister reiterated Israel’s commitment to the latest American proposal regarding the release of our hostages – taking into account Israel’s security needs, which he insists on firmly,” Netanyahu’s office said.


Airlines suspend more flights to Middle East amid regional tensions

Concerns over a wider conflict in the Middle East have prompted international airlines to suspend more flights to the region or to avoid affected air space.

  • Aegean Airlines: The Greek airline cancelled all flights to and from Beirut, Amman and Tel Aviv until Monday.
  • Air Algerie: The Algerian airline suspended flights to and from Lebanon until further notice.
  • Air India: The Indian flag carrier suspended scheduled flights to and from Tel Aviv until further notice.
  • Air France-KLM: KLM cancelled all flights to and from Tel Aviv until October 26. Air France resumed service between Paris and Beirut on Thursday after a two-week suspension.
  • Cathay Pacific: The Hong Kong-based airline cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until March 27.
  • Delta Airlines: The US carrier extended the suspension of flights between New York and Tel Aviv until August 31.
  • LOT: The Polish flag carrier suspended flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut until August 26.
  • Ryanair: Europe’s biggest budget airline cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv until September 3.
  • United: The Chicago-based airline suspended flights to Tel Aviv for the foreseeable future.
  • Lufthansa extends Middle East flight suspensions through August 26


Preventing escalation requires stopping aggression on Gaza: Jordan

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi has said that the only way to prevent a regional escalation “is to stop the killing and stop the aggression on Gaza”. “If a ceasefire is reached and the aggression ends, the threat of a regional escalation will go down significantly,” he said in a post on X.

“A ceasefire must happen. An end to the aggression in Gaza must materialise as soon as possible. Failure to act now means more death, destruction, and a greater risk of regional escalation,” Safadi added.



SvennoJ on 19 August 2024

Blinken emphasises ‘ironclad’ support for Israel in meeting with Herzog

The US State Department says Secretary of State Antony Blinken renewed support for Israel and stressed the necessity of an agreement on Gaza during a meeting earlier today with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv.

“The Secretary reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region,” Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said in a statement.

“The Secretary reiterated the urgent need to finalise the ceasefire agreement that would release the hostages, allow a surge of humanitarian assistance, and create the conditions for broader regional stability.”

But not for a permanent ceasefire nor conditions for the end of the occupation... Blinken just wants Gaza out of the news and not be dragged into a war with Iran. He doesn't give a crap about Gaza, West Bank, Assassinations, Torture camps, Apartheid, Ethnic cleansing, Racism, Terrorist Settler attacks, Ironclad support!

US’s Blinken warns it could be last chance for ceasefire

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is holding a press briefing after meetings with Israeli officials in Tel Aviv.

Here are some of the points he has made so far:

  • Israel has accepted a US-backed bridging proposal for a ceasefire and says it is also “incumbent” on Hamas to do the same.
  • The meeting with Netanyahu was “very constructive”.
  • The US reaffirmed its commitment to Israel’s security with Blinken saying: “That’s a commitment that we put into practice virtually every day since October 7.”
  • He will soon travel to Egypt and Qatar to push for a Gaza ceasefire.


Netanyahu says he aims to free ‘maximum’ living captives in first exchange

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he sought to free a “maximum number” of captives still held in Gaza in the first stage of a possible ceasefire deal with Hamas.

“I would like to emphasise: The efforts to release a maximum number of living hostages – already in the first stage of the deal”, Netanyahu said in a video statement posted on X after meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

More evidence Netanyahu isn't interested in phase 2 at all, back to war right after phase 1 is all Netanyahu ever wanted to commit to.


What’s the latest on the ceasefire talks?

Speaking in Tel Aviv after meeting Netanyahu, Blinken said the Israeli leader, who has consistently said he will not agree to a deal that would bring the war to an end without the destruction of Hamas, has agreed to a “bridging proposal” put forward by the US.

Hamas has insisted that a ceasefire deal must result in a permanent end to the war in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.

The US news outlet Axios reported on Sunday that Hamas said the US proposal would give Israeli forces control of the Netzarim Corridor, which divides north Gaza from south Gaza, as well as the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and the Philadelphi Corridor along the border with Egypt.

This bridging proposal sounds like concessions to Netanyahu and a road to permanent occupation of Gaza.


Former Israeli PM slams Netanyahu’s stance on truce talks

Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Netanyahu is leading Israel into a regional war while creating a “death sentence” for Israeli captives held in Gaza.

In a post on X, Barak also criticised the current prime minister’s claim that Israel should stay in the Philadelphi Corridor, saying there was “no political interest” for Israel in seizing the demilitarised zone along both sides of the Israel-Egypt border.


US ‘buying time for Israel to continue its genocide’: Hamas

Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan has reiterated the group’s stance that it will agree to the ceasefire that Biden proposed and “which we agreed to a few months ago”. Hamdan’s comments came after Blinken urged Hamas to accept the latest ceasefire proposal, which he asserted Netanyahu had.

“We will only agree to the implementation of Biden’s proposal, which we agreed to a few months ago,” Hamdan told Al Jazeera.

“The Israelis have retreated from issues included in Biden’s proposal. Netanyahu’s talk about agreeing to an updated proposal indicates that the US administration has failed to convince him to accept the previous agreement.”

Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire proposal in an address on May 31. Washington and regional mediators have since tried arranging the Gaza ceasefire-for-captives deal but have run into repeated obstacles.

Moreover, Hamdan said the US was “merely buying time for Israel to continue its genocide”. Hamas has insisted that a ceasefire deal must result in a permanent end to the war in Gaza and the withdrawal of Israeli forces.