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

SvennoJ on 20 August 2024

Iran will punish Israel in due time for Haniyeh’s killing, IRGC commander says

Ali Fadavi, the deputy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said Iran will punish Israel “in due time” over the assassination of Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh, according to the IRNA news agency.

Haniyeh was killed in Tehran on July 31 in an attack widely blamed on Israel.

“The fake and child-killing Zionist regime continued its stupidity and martyred Haniyeh on Iranian soil, and we will give an appropriate response in due time and place”, Fadavi was quoted as saying.


US is a party in war in Gaza: Iranian spokesperson

A spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps says Tehran does not consider US actions on the war in Gaza sincere, according to state media.

Washington is a party in the war, the spokesperson was quoted as saying, while stressing that Iran supports any move that would lead to an end of the war and help the people of Gaza.


Smotrich says Israel will keep fighting until goals are achieved

The Israeli finance minister says on X his country is “obliged to resolve this war and end it with complete victory”, adding that it will continue until Hamas is destroyed and captives are returned.

“We will continue to act with God’s help together until all the goals are achieved and security is restored to the citizens of Israel,” he added.



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SvennoJ on 20 August 2024

Palestinian advocacy group slams Israeli attacks on human rights workers in Gaza

Al-Haq said Israeli forces have killed, detained and abused Palestinian human rights defenders and severely damaged or destroyed the offices of human rights organisations in Gaza.

The West-Bank based group made the statement in a post marking the anniversary of an Israeli raid on their office in Ramallah two years ago.

It mourned the deaths of lawyers Dana Yaghi and Nour Naser in Israeli air raids on Gaza and noted the detention and torture of researcher Ayman Lubbad by Israeli forces last year. All three were employees a the Gaza-based Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), Al-Haq said.

All of the offices of PCHR as well as those of Al Mezan Center have been destroyed or vandalised by Israeli forces since the war on Gaza began, it added.


‘Systematic torture’ at Israel’s Ofer Prison

Palestinians being held in Israel’s Ofer Prison face “systematic torture and humiliation”, alleges the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, citing inmates’ testimonies.

The abuse at this prison is on par with that documented at Israel’s Sde Teiman facility, which has been rocked by allegations its guards raped a Palestinian inmate.

Since October 7, Israel has carried out more than 10,200 arrests in the occupied West Bank and hundreds more in Gaza, often keeping prisoners in custody without charge.

Many of the detainees from Gaza are being held at Ofer Prison, according to the society. In late July, eight of those released from the facility said they experienced torture.


‘Subjected to all types of torture’: Palestinians released in Gaza from Israeli detention

Israel has released 33 Palestinian detainees taken from Gaza, who described severe abuse at the hands of Israeli guards at the infamous Ofner prison.

“I was detained by Israeli forces at the Karem Abu Salem [called Kerem Shalom by Israel] crossing. I was there helping with the delivery of humanitarian aid to our people. Then I was taken and interrogated; beaten up and humiliated,” said a man who was held for 37 days.

Mohammed, one of the prisoners released in Khan Younis with handcuff marks seared into his skin, was asking to make a phone call because all he wanted was to tell his family he is alive.

Hubadeen Muqati, another freed Palestinian, told Al Jazeera he was detained for almost three months. “I was tortured day and night. My ribs were broken, shoulders dislocated. We were subjected to all types of torture, beyond anybody’s imagination,” he said.

“All detainees lost at least 90 percent of their physical capacity. I was blindfolded and handcuffed for 70 days in a row. All of us abused, humiliated and tortured.”

The Israeli military, which regularly detains civilians in Gaza, periodically releases some back into the enclave. Many have reported being tortured and abused.


Medical organisation urges Kamala Harris to advocate for Gaza ceasefire

MedGlobal, a leading Chicago-based medical aid organisation, urges Vice President Kamala Harris to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and other critical humanitarian measures, including opening border crossings, increasing aid, and protecting healthcare centres.

MedGlobal operates a dozen healthcare clinics and malnutrition stabilisation centres in Gaza and has conducted multiple medical missions there since January.

“During my meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House in April, she expressed deep empathy for Palestinian civilians and children – and committed to a permanent ceasefire, increased aid, and the rebuilding of Gaza,” said MedGlobal’s president, Dr Zaher Sahloul.

“Since then, the situation in Gaza has worsened dramatically. It’s crucial that Vice President Harris’ words are transformed into concrete actions to immediately stop the war, rebuild Gaza, and heal traumatised communities,” he said in a statement.



SvennoJ on 20 August 2024

Explosions, arrests as Israeli forces raid West Bank towns

Israeli forces have stormed a number of towns across the occupied West Bank tonight, including the city of Tubas and the towns of Tammun and Jaba’, according to the Wafa news agency.

Here are the details:

  • In Tammun, Israeli forces arrested two brothers after raiding their home
  • In Tubas, explosions were heard as Israeli forces accompanied by a military bulldozer raided the city
  • Meanwhile, gunshots were heard as Israeli forces raided Jaba’, south of Jenin, and stationed themselves near the town’s municipal building


More on the Palestinian killed in Dura

The Wafa news agency has more details on the Palestinian who died on Monday night after Israeli forces shot him in the head during clashes in the town of Dura in the occupied West Bank.

Wafa identified the victim as 18-year-old Mahmoud Ibrahim al-Haroub.

The agency said a bullet fired by Israeli forces penetrated al-Haroub’s right eye and lodged in his brain. The teen was transferred to the hospital in critical condition and died there hours later.

Al-Haroub’s death brings to 636 the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on the West Bank since October 7, Wafa added.


Ten arrested in latest West Bank raids

Israeli forces have rounded up 10 people, including one woman, in the occupied West Bank since last night, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society. The arrests took place in the governorates of Hebron, Bethlehem, Tubas and Nablus, the group said.

Since October 7, Israeli forces have made some 10,200 arrests in the West Bank during daily raids in the territory.


Palestinians mourn 18-year-old killed by Israeli forces near Hebron

Palestinians have held funeral for 18-year-old man killed by Israeli forces during a military raid on the town of Dura, near Hebron in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian health ministry said that 18-year-old Mahmoud al-Haroub was shot by a bullet that penetrated his right eye and lodged in his brain. The teen was transferred to the hospital in critical condition and died there hours later.

Al-Haroub’s death brings to 636 the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks on the West Bank since October 7, the official news agency Wafa said.

It added that another man was also injured during the raid and transferred to hospital.


Mourners attend the funeral of an 18-year-old Palestinian who was killed by Israeli forces in Dura near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, August 20


Demolitions intended to drive Palestinians from Jerusalem: Israeli group

Ir Amim, a Jerusalem-focused Israeli rights group, has said that demolitions carried out by Israeli authorities “are a deliberate outcome of a planning policy intended to drive Palestinians from Jerusalem”.

The group’s statement comes following the demolition of five structures in occupied East Jerusalem today: A car wash belonging to the Tamimi family, a shop and apartment belonging of the Jabari family, a store belonging to Hassan Eid and another belonging to Salama Skafi.

“Restricted zoning plans in Palestinian neighbourhoods make it very difficult to obtain building permits, which leads many people to build without them, and risk demolition,” Ir Amim said.

“Since October 7, 167 homes and 77 non-residential buildings have been demolished, meaning hundreds of people have lost their homes or livelihoods.”



SvennoJ on 20 August 2024

Israeli attacks target water treatment facilities in Gaza

For Palestinians sheltering in Gaza’s ruins, survival is not only a matter of avoiding Israeli military strikes. Israel’s latest forced displacement from central and southern Gaza has cut even more people off from vital water sources.


Israeli forces blow up buildings near Rafah

The Israeli military is blowing up residential buildings west of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera Arabic’s correspondent is reporting.

An estimated 60 percent of residential buildings have been damaged by Israel’s war on Gaza as of May, according to data from the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA.


UN says rare fuel delivery to Gaza City ‘far from enough’

A UN convoy has reached Gaza City, delivering “critical fuel to help keep essential services like bakeries and health facilities running”, the UN said in a post on X.

But the post went on to say the delivery was “far from enough,” and that a “ceasefire and sustained humanitarian access are needed to save lives”.

The UN also shared photographs showing destroyed buildings and piles of waste in the city in the north of the Gaza Strip, which faced intense Israeli bombardment from October last year.

Critical services in Gaza have had to rely on fuel to run generators, after Israel cut off all electricity to the Strip in October.

Ten killed in strikes on homes in Bureij, Rafah

Israel’s military has waged several early morning attacks across Gaza, killing and injuring numerous Palestinians, according to local news agency Wafa.

They include:

  • Bombardment of a family home in Bureij camp, killing six people.
  • Strike on a home in Rafah city, killing four people.
  • Tank fire on the outskirts of al-Mawasi area, near Khan Younis, injuring five people.
  • Shelling in Gaza City neighbourhoods of Tal al-Halwa, Sabra and Zeitoun.
  • Shelling in the northwestern part of Nuseirat camp and eastern Deir el-Balah.


Army confirms it retrieved bodies of six Israeli captives

A military statement says the bodies have been recovered in an operation in the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza. The captives have been named as Alex Dancyg, 75, Yagev Buchshtav, 35, Chaim Peri, 79, Yoram Metzger, 80, Nadav Popplewell, 51, and Avraham Munder, 78.

The overnight operation was jointly carried out by the army and Shin Bet, the Israeli intelligence agency, the statement said. After an identification procedure was carried out, the families of the deceased were informed, the army added.


Haniyeh’s guards among those killed in Shati camp

The Israeli military is stepping up its strikes despite ceasefire talks.

Over the past 24 hours, there has been a surge in air strikes in the north of the Strip. One attack in the Shati refugee camp killed seven personal guards of the late Ismail Haniyeh. An overnight attack on a car in northern Gaza killed at least four more people, according to medical sources.

The situation is also increasingly grim in central Gaza. The military destroyed a family house in the Bureij refugee camp without any warning, killing six Palestinians.

In the south, the Israeli army has jolted towards al-Mawasi in Rafah, opening fire on residents and displaced families. Attacks have also continued in Khan Younis, where the army is still operating.

Bombardment is overwhelming the entire Strip, with no respite since the early hours of this morning.


Gaza Health Ministry says still waiting for polio vaccines

The ministry says in a statement that it is still awaiting vaccines for a UN-backed mass-vaccination campaign after Gaza recorded its first polio case last week.

“In order to reach every child, we need safe conditions, and this requires a ceasefire during the campaign,” the statement reads, echoing comments from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“It is impossible to conduct a polio vaccination campaign with war raging all over,” Guterres told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York on August 16.

The UN chief added that the organisation is poised to launch a polio vaccine campaign in Gaza for children under the age of 10, but he said the “challenges are grave”.

Humanitarian organisations struggling to get goods into Gaza

Arwa Damon, founder of the charity Inara, says humanitarian organisations in Gaza are struggling to get supplies. She tells Al Jazeera from Deir el-Balah that even when supplies arrive in Gaza, it’s almost impossible to transport them to where they are needed the most.

Damon said the situation is so “dire” that Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital is running out of bandages.

“And what that has meant is that a 13-year-old child who has 50 to 60 percent burns on his body was not able to get sufficient bandage changes for wound cleaning, which then resulted in him having blood poisoning and exhibiting signs of early sepsis,” Damon said. “He’s in the ICU.”

At Nasser Hospital, she said, they’re missing many basics, including sufficient paper on which to write patient conditions.

“All of us here are scraping around trying to find whatever we can, from fresh vegetables to hygiene products, and begin to distribute that out to the people, but the numbers we are able to reach – it’s almost embarrassing in the face of how vast the need is right now,” she said.



SvennoJ on 20 August 2024

Israeli army bombs Gaza City school



Our correspondent on the ground in the Gaza Strip reports that Israeli warplanes have attacked the Mustafa Hafez school, which shelters displaced people in the west of Gaza City.

The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza says it is sending its teams to the location of the school after getting reports of its bombing. Mustafa Hafez school has been a place offering displaced families some sort of refuge on the western side of Gaza City. It served as a last resort.

The Israeli military has now targeted it without warning. The attack killed three Palestinians and reportedly caused more injuries. The victims are being transferred to Ahli Hospital for treatment.

Witnesses have also confirmed more air strikes in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, destroying a number of houses.


Death toll from Gaza City school strike rises to 12

Gaza’s Civil Defence force has released an updated casualty toll from Israel’s bombardment of Gaza City’s Mustafa Hafez school.

So far, 12 people have been confirmed killed in the attack, the Civil Defence said. Mahmoud Basal, the civil defence spokesman, told AFP that bodies were being pulled out of the school, whose second floor was directly hit by a bomb.

At least two of those killed were children, said Basal.

Others are still missing under the building’s rubble, with rescuers unable to reach them due to a lack of equipment, it said.


Paramedics carry a body from the site of an Israeli strike on a school in Gaza City, on August 20

Gaza civil defence says five bodies recovered in central Gaza

Civil defence crews and medical teams have recovered the bodies after Israeli forces struck the Abu Zaid family in the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. They were transferred to al-Awda Hospital, a statement on Telegram added.

The Wafa news agency said six civilians were killed and others were injured as a result of the Israeli bombing of the family’s house.


Civil defence says 700 displaced Palestinians sheltered in targeted school



The strike was launched against one of the main evacuation centres on the western side of Gaza City. According to initial information we managed to obtain from the civil defence, they managed to recover 10 Palestinians who were found killed.

The strike left a great deal of destruction on the buildings of the Mustafa Hafez school that was housing 700 displaced Palestinians, according to the civil defence. Israel, in the past period, had targeted at least nine evacuation centres only in the north of Gaza.

Emergency workers say they were forced to leave victims under the remnants of these shuttered buildings, because of a lack of essential equipment.


PRCS recovers two killed in Israeli strikes

The Palestine Red Crescent Society says in a post on X that it transported the bodies of two people killed in an Israeli attack Ain Jalut area of southern Gaza’s Rafa. It said that it transported the bodies to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.


Still trying to retrieve bodies at Mustafa Hafez School

The Civil Defence teams say that they’re still searching under the rubble for more bodies.

So far, they were able to retrieve only 12 bodies, among them children, women and journalist Hamzah Mortaja, who was working on a story about displaced Palestinians in schools. Hamzah is the brother of Yasser Mortaja, another journalist who was killed in the Great March of Return in 2018.

Now back to the Mustafa Hafez School – it had at least 700 families that were sheltering from different parts of the Gaza Strip, especially the northern parts and Shujayea.

After Israeli forces targeted the school, the ceiling of the building collapsed on top of the people. That’s why the Civil Defence teams are having a lot of challenges and obstacles to retrieve the bodies, because they do not have the equipment, so they’re trying to rescue those Palestinians with their bare hands.



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SvennoJ on 20 August 2024

Israeli attack on Gaza market kills at least nine Palestinians

Israeli forces have targeted a street near the al-Birka roundabout. It’s in the heart of Deir el-Balah. It’s a very busy area. The attack was a drone strike. We saw many wounded people, most of them children, coming into the hospital in ambulances.

The hospital is also crowded with children lying on the ground without any treatment. Al-Aqsa Hospital has been suffering due to lack of medical supplies. Since Israeli forces took over the Philadelphi Corridor, there has been no supplies entering the Strip.

More wounded are now coming in. We are not allowed to enter the hospital. You barely have the space to walk because of the amount of blood, bodies and children on the floor. There was no warning, no sign that there is going to be a target, and this is the main reason why there are so many casualties.


Most of those wounded in Israel’s Deir el-Balah market strike are children

There are at least 10 Palestinians, including children, still in the ICU. They suffered critical injuries after Israeli forces targeted a roundabout in Deir el-Balah. This area is also close to the market, it’s a very busy street. It has a lot of traffic and that’s why there are a lot of casualties.

Most of those who were wounded were children. We saw them in the hospital in the corridors lying on the ground, covered in blood and waiting for doctors.

At the same time, we know that since Israeli forces took over the Philadelphi Corridor there has been no medical supplies entering Gaza and that’s why the number of casualties is expected to rise.

Moving to Khan Younis, we just learned that Israeli forces targeted a point for internet and charging, leading to four Palestinians being killed and many wounded.



Palestinian officials say US responsible in ‘continued massacres’ in Gaza

Gaza’s Government Media Office has condemned the three Israeli air raids in the past few hours that have killed at least 25 Palestinians. The bombing of the Mustafa Hafez School in Gaza City, a market in Deir el-Balah, and a mobile phone charging point in Khan Younis also wounded dozens more.

“These massacres come as part of the ongoing genocide that the occupation uses various policies to complete, including targeting civilians in shelters and displacement centres and targeting gatherings of civilians,” it said in a statement.

“We hold the Israeli occupation and the American administration fully responsible for the catastrophic and dangerous consequences of these ongoing massacres.”


Palestinian medics transport wounded after Israeli air strike in Deir el-Balah

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has released this footage of its first responders transporting 14 wounded Palestinians to medical facilities after an Israeli air strike killed at least nine people.



SvennoJ on 20 August 2024

Pro-Palestine protesters break through barricades near DNC arena

Police in Chicago have arrested multiple people after a group of pro-Palestinian protesters broke through part of a security fence near the site of the Democratic National Convention, according to media reports.

The Reuters news agency said at least four people were detained and placed in handcuffs near the United Center in Chicago.

The police did not comment immediately.

NBC Chicago reported “multiple arrests” and said confrontations took place between protesters and police clad in riot gear after activists scaled fences in the Park 578 area near the convention arena.

The DNC’s security team said the protesters breached a portion of the outer perimeter fencing and there was no threat to those attending the convention.


Police detain protesters after several people broke through a security fence near United Center during the Democratic National Convention (DNC), in Chicago, Illinois, US, August 19



Many young Palestinians self-censoring: 7amleh

The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media has published a report about the digital security landscape for Palestinians aged 15 to 30 in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The centre, known as 7amleh, found that since Israel’s war on Gaza began, there has been a decline in active youth political participation on social media networks with 39 percent of respondents resorting to deleting political and social posts for fear of repercussions.

It added that 50 percent of users said restrictions by platforms on publishing, such as shadow banning by Meta (the company that owns Facebook and Instagram), have led them to reduce their digital footprint.

The report also found that nearly half of users had been questioned and investigated by Israeli security agencies or had heard of individuals who had been questioned about their posts on social media platforms.



SvennoJ on 20 August 2024

White House says truce talks will continue in Cairo

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, told reporters that “senior officials will convene again in Cairo before the end of the week” to continue talks on a ceasefire in Gaza.

She added, “Secretary Blinken is in the region to reaffirm our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and also to continue our intensive efforts to conclude this agreement”.


Jean-Pierre made the comments as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Netanyahu had agreed to a ‘bridging proposal’

 

Hamas reveals details of Israel’s new conditions for Gaza truce

We have a statement from Dr Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, on the latest ceasefire talks.

Naim is urging the world to pressure Netanyahu and the Israeli government to sign the ceasefire deal that was proposed by Biden on May 31 and backed by the UN Security Council on June 11.

He noted that Hamas has agreed to the three-phase proposal, which – in the first stage – calls for an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of Israeli forces to the border areas, the unconditional return of displaced people to their homes, the entry of humanitarian aid and the release of captives and prisoners.

But Naim said Netanyahu’s response since then has been to carry out more “massacres and killings” in Gaza, including on al-Mawasi and al-Tabin school in Gaza City.

The Israeli leader also presented new conditions for negotiations, he said, including:

  • no withdrawal from the Rafah crossing
  • no withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor
  • no withdrawal from the Netzarim Route
  • the inspection of returning displaced people moving from south to north
  • alterations to the agreed-upon prisoner exchange deal, effectively nullifying its substance
  • tying humanitarian aid and reconstruction to the acceptance of the aforementioned conditions.
  • not committing to continued negotiations under the terms of the first phase (complete and comprehensive ceasefire and withdrawal to the borders) until an agreement is reached on the conditions of the second phase, while demanding a written commitment from the Americans allowing the resumption of hostilities if so decided.

Hamas slams ‘misleading’ US claims about ceasefire status

Hamas has released a new statement rejecting US accusations that it is blocking a ceasefire deal.

In its statement, Hamas said the claim by Blinken that it is backing away from a deal is “misleading”. The group stressed it is eager to reach a deal and remains committed to the US and UN-backed ceasefire framework put forward in June.

However, the Palestinian group said the latest proposal being pushed by the US and Israel includes new provisions contradicting the earlier framework.

“Biden’s proposal states that Israel would entirely retreat in two phases and a complete ceasefire. Whereas the Israeli demands include only a temporary ceasefire for six weeks,” senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said.

“It means a big military force will remain in the Philadelphi Corridor and stay in the Rafah crossing, which means restricting aid to Israeli approval.”

By shifting the terms, the US is showing “blind bias” towards Israel and acquiescing to its demands, Hamas said, enabling it to “commit more crimes against defenceless civilians, in pursuit of the goals of exterminating and displacing our people”.


Egypt unlikely to ‘budge’ on Philadelphi Corridor, Rafah crossing

Egypt’s former assistant foreign minister, Hussein Haridy, says questions over the status of Gaza’s Philadelphi Corridor and Rafah crossing are likely to feature prominently in US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s talks with Egyptian officials today.

As we’ve reported, Israel has pressed to maintain control over these strategic sections of Gaza in ceasefire negotiations, conditions that Hamas and Egypt have rejected.

Haridy told Al Jazeera that the dispute has been a sticking point in the negotiations and raised tensions between Israel and Egypt. Haridy said he expected discussions between Blinken and Egyptian officials today to be “quite frank” and that Cairo was unlikely to “budge” on its stance.

“Egypt has always rejected the permanent Israeli military presence in the Philadelphi Corridor as well as Israeli control over Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing,” Haridy said. “This remains the Egyptian position.”


‘Time has come to end the ongoing war’: El-Sisi

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has warned US Secretary of State Antony Blinken of the risk of the war in Gaza expanding regionally in a way “difficult to imagine”.

“The ceasefire in Gaza must be the beginning of broader international recognition of the Palestinian state and the implementation of the two-state solution, as this is the basic guarantor of stability in the region,” he added as the two met in El Alamein.

“The time has come to end the ongoing war, and to resort to wisdom, and to uphold the language of peace and diplomacy,” el-Sisi said in a statement, adding all parties must be wary of the “danger of the conflict expanding regionally”.

Blinken was in the Egyptian capital pushing for areas of possible progress on a Gaza ceasefire and captive release deal in talks planned for later this week, with major areas of the dispute left unresolved.


Netanyahu ‘not sure’ there will be a deal: Report

Israeli PM Netanyahu has told relatives of captives in Gaza that he is “not sure” there will be a ceasefire, reports Israel’s Walla news site. “I’m not sure there will be a deal, but if there is a deal – the deal will be one that preserves … Israel’s strategic assets,” Netanyahu told the captives’ family members in a meeting today.

During the meeting, Netanyahu also doubled down on maintaining control over the Philadelphi Corridor, which has become a major sticking point in the continuing ceasefire negotiations, reported Walla.

Israel will not withdraw from the area “under any circumstances”, Netanyahu said, despite “enormous” pressure.


Netanyahu remarks ‘not constructive’ to Gaza ceasefire: US official

A US official travelling with Blinken in the Middle East has criticised “maximalist” remarks attributed to Netanyahu on maintaining control of the Gaza-Egypt border, saying they are not helpful in reaching a ceasefire with Hamas.

“Maximalist statements like this are not constructive to getting a ceasefire deal across the finish line,” the senior official said, requesting anonymity to talk about sensitive discussions.

Earlier, in statements reported by the Israeli newspaper Maariv, Netanyahu said: “Israel will not, under any circumstances, leave the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Axis despite the enormous pressure it is under to do so.”

Yeah kinda interferes with blaming Hamas for the Blinken ceasefire deal not getting anywhere....



SvennoJ on 20 August 2024

Palestine panel at DNC hears stories of ‘deep anguish’ from Gaza

Ruwa Romman, a Palestinian–American representative from Georgia, said that a panel on Palestine on the first day of the Democratic National Convention attracted a “packed house” as panellists shared experiences of “deep anguish” and loss from Gaza.

“One of the speakers, Hala, talked about how she’s lost 100 family members. Two of them last week,” Romman said, in a post on X.

Tanya Haj-Hassan, an American doctor who has treated patients in Gaza was also on the panel, and spoke about a young boy whose family was killed who told her he no longer wanted to live because everybody he loved “is now in heaven”.

The side event was organised by delegates from the “Uncommitted” movement, in what the Associated Press news agency described as an “olive branch” from the Harris-Walz campaign.

Biden says protesters against Gaza war ‘have a point’

US President Joe Biden, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention, briefly touched on the pro-Palestine protesters rallying outside the arena demanding an end to Washington’s support for Israel.

“Those protesters out in the street, they have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed, on both sides,” Biden said, without mentioning Israel or Palestinians directly.

He added that his administration is “working around the clock” to achieve a ceasefire agreement.

Biden spoke in front of a sea of people holding matching signs saying “We [love] Joe”, which obscured a protest banner unfurled by a small group in the audience, saying, “Stop arming Israel”.

Being killed on both sides? That's the most warped bothsidesism statement ever. But I guess that's what you get when you don't value Palestinians as human beings. 1 Israeli civilian for 100 Palestinian civilians...

Your administration is working around the clock to keep the genocide going. These aren't ceasefire negotiations, it's all theater to give Netanyahu more time.



SvennoJ on 20 August 2024

Captives’ families, kibbutz demand return deal

Following reports that the Israeli army recovered the bodies of six captives taken by Hamas and other groups in the Gaza Strip, the two groups released statements pressuring the Netanyahu government to make a deal to secure the release of the remaining captives.

Nir Oz, an Israeli kibbutz near the Gaza Strip which was attacked by Hamas on October 7, says that the body of one of its community was retrieved by the Israeli army, and that this is “is the greatest proof of all the importance of a deal that will return our sons and daughters as soon as possible before it is too late”.

A group representing captives’ families also called for the Israeli government to strike a deal with Hamas, saying, “The Israeli government, with the help of the mediators, must today approve the deal that is currently on the table – and allow rehabilitation for the living abductees, a dignified burial for all the victims and the murdered abductees and restore hope to the State of Israel.”

The latest round of negotiations for a deal that would see the release of captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners is continuing.


Captives’ ‘time is running out’, warns Israel’s former military chief

Gadi Eisenkot has responded to the news of six captives’ bodies being recovered from Gaza, stating that it underscores the urgent need for Israel to secure a deal and bring the remaining captives home.

“This is a reminder to the prime minister – in Gaza there are another 109 abductees, their time is running out,” Eisenkot, Israel’s former military chief, told local newspaper Maariv. “They are dying in captivity, and he [the prime minister] must act as soon as possible to return them.

“Otherwise, there will be no one to return”.


Israeli politicians react to recovery of captives’ bodies

Israeli political leaders have been reacting to the news that the bodies of six people taken captive by Hamas were recovered by the army in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

Here are some of their comments:

  • PM Netanyahu: “The State of Israel will continue to make every effort to return all of our abductees – both alive and dead.”
  • Opposition leader Lapid: “The days pass and we lose more and more hostages. We have to make a deal. must now.”
  • Defence Minister Gallant: “I participate in the mourning and the heavy sorrow of the families and embrace them to my heart.”
  • National Security Minister Ben-Gvir: “The living abductees and those who are not, should be returned only by heavy military pressure, the cessation of fuel and humanitarian aid to terrorism.”


How many captives remain in Gaza?

As we reported earlier, Israel’s military has announced the recent recovery of the bodies of six Israeli captives from Gaza. With this discovery, how many captives remain in Gaza, and how many are believed to be alive?

According to a tally from AFP news agency, there are more than 100 captives – out of 251 originally taken on October 7 – still in Gaza. Seventy-one of the remaining captives are believed to be alive.

Of the 71 who may still be alive, 64 are Israelis (some of whom have more than one nationality), six are Thai nationals and one is a Nepalese national, said AFP. They comprise 57 men, 12 women and two children. Eleven are military personnel, the agency added.


Lapid demands Gaza truce, deal on captives ‘before they all die’

The Israeli opposition leader has renewed his call for an agreement for a Gaza truce and the release of captives in the enclave. “Enough with the briefings, enough with the tweets, enough with the rhymes in front of cameras,” he wrote on X.

“All of Netanyahu’s attempts to sabotage the negotiations should stop. Deal now, before they all die,” Lapid added.


‘Abandonment’ of captives ‘is on the hands of the Israeli government’

Zahiro Shahar Mor, nephew of captive Abraham Munder, one of the six whose bodies were retrieved by Israeli forces, says authorities had “torpedoed” opportunities to sign a ceasefire and bring the captives back alive.

“My uncle was a war hero who lived his whole life building the country. Hamas took him, but the continuous abandonment is on the hands of the Israeli government,” he told Reuters.

“I will not stop fighting for them to get [back] the people that are still alive. Otherwise, there is no future for the state of Israel. No one will want to live in a state that does not take care of its citizens, that betrays them and abandons them.”


Israeli media says captives killed by Israeli military attack

An initial assessment of the deaths of six captives, whose bodies were retrieved from Gaza by Israeli forces on Tuesday, suggests that they died of suffocation caused by a gas leak in a tunnel during an Israeli army attack, according to a report by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.

According to the report, the captives, who were taken from Khan Younis, appear to have died of suffocation in the tunnel where they were being held. Their deaths are attributed to the result of an Israeli military attack.

The report claimed that the incident occurred about six months ago during an Israeli military attack in Khan Younis by the 98th Division. Evidence collected from the scene supported this preliminary assessment, which is still being investigated, the newspaper report said.