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

SvennoJ on 12 February 2024

Lebanese security officer killed in Israeli shelling

Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces (ISF) says Ali Mohammed Mahdi, a 27-year-old sergeant in its public relations division, was killed yesterday in Israeli bombing of his hometown of Houla in the south of the country.


Panic grows in Rafah after night of heavy Israeli airstrikes

Palestinians in Rafah are frantically trying to figure out whether to stay or evacuate after deadly Israeli strikes rained down on the southern city overnight, a displaced aid worker in the city told CNN on Monday.  “It was one of the most terrible nights,” Jamal al Rozzi said. “Not because of the number of martyrs of the number of injuries, but also because everybody was just asking themselves what to do.” 

Israel’s bombardment since October 7 has forcibly displaced 1.7 million people in Gaza, according to the UN’s agency for Palestine refugees, which says nearly 1.5 million civilians are crammed into the tiny territory of Rafah alone. “Rafah is fully crowded with people who have been evacuated from the north and the middle area,” said al Rozzi. “I have to face this question myself with my family ... It’s not easy to decide.”

The attacks on Monday, carried out during a raid to rescue two Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas, killed dozens of Palestinians and reignited fears that a looming Israeli ground offensive in Rafah would cause a devastating bloodbath, with those trapped there having no remaining escape route.

"This is the question that nobody answers for the other. If you ask your brother or your father or your son or your daughter ... they cannot tell you because they don't want to feel guilty if anything happens to you,” added al Rozzi.  "I look at the faces of the people in the street. Of course, after 120 days or more of war, they are really sad, angry and so on. But today they are ... totally confused." 

‘Gates of hell opened suddenly’ in Rafah last night

Al Jazeera contributor Ahmed Abdullah Mohsen has described the moments Israeli forces launched strikes on Rafah overnight. “The screaming and wailing nearly drowned out the warplanes that covered the sky, dropping barrages in a fiery belt that crushed the bodies of the displaced in their tents. About 20 minutes of explosions lit the night like something from an artificial Hollywood film,” he said.

Mohsen said “the displaced and the injured fled en masse to the Kuwaiti Hospital, the only one open in the Shaboura area”. “A doctor in the hospital helped a child who was taking his last breath to utter the final prayer.

“Ahmed Abu Al-Hinud saw his mother’s body lying on a hospital gurney. He held her body close and seemed to lose consciousness for an hour of uncontrollable terror and shock,” he said.

Mohsen said “amidst overwhelming anger and a sense of helplessness, the director of the Kuwaiti Hospital, Dr Suhaib Al-Hams, called out to the world to stop sending medicines to treat COVID, which some countries who want to give the impression they have helped Gaza have done”.

Israel’s war on Gaza to continue until ‘total victory over Hamas’: Netanyahu to Rutte

Meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the Israeli army “will not leave the terror battalions alone in Rafah”. Rutte, who is visiting Israel for the third time since October 7, is also scheduled to meet war cabinet minister Benny Gantz, and Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.

Rutte warned on X that an Israeli invasion of Rafah would have “catastrophic humanitarian consequences”, and called for an immediate ceasefire that culminates in a “lasting end” to the conflict, including a “viable Palestinian state, next to a safe Israel”.

Rutte can rot in hell, how complicit can you be

Dutch government to appeal court order to halt export of F-35 jet parts to Israel

The Dutch government has said it will make its appeal at the country’s Supreme Court. As we reported earlier, a Dutch court had ordered that exports be halted within seven days over concerns the jet parts were being used in violation of international law during Israel’s war on Gaza. The government said the F-35s were crucial for Israel to protect itself from “threats in the region, for example from Iran, Yemen, Syria and Lebanon”.

Dutch court ruling is a ‘turning point’: Rights group

The head of Oxfam Novib, Michiel Servaes, has hailed the ruling by the Dutch court blocking the sale of F-35 fighter jet parts by the Netherlands to Israel as a “very significant” verdict. “I’m hopeful it will change the behaviour of my [Dutch] government. It must, because they need to obey this ruling,” Servaes, whose group was one of the petitioners in the appeal, told Al Jazeera.

The appeals court in The Hague ruled that the Netherlands must stop delivering parts for the fighter jets used in Gaza, as there was a “clear risk” the planes would be involved in breaking international humanitarian law.

“I also hope that it’s a turning point for governments in Europe or elsewhere who have supported Israel to look at themselves in the mirror and realise that they are, in fact, responsible or even complicit of the violations taking place,” Servaes added.

Hopefully the supreme court upholds the ruling




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SvennoJ on 12 February 2024

Israel’s Gallant says captives rescue operation ‘turning point’ in war

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has hailed an Israeli military operation to rescue two captives held in Gaza as a “turning point” against Hamas, according to The Times of Israel. At least 67 Palestinians were killed in Israeli air strikes on surrounding areas during the raid.

Only a handful of Israeli captives in Gaza have been returned through military raids. Israeli forces have also killed several captives.

“We [still] have hostages, and we need to reach them. Most of them we will not bring this way [but rather], I hope, through processes of agreement. But how many more times will [a rescue operation] be required, and under what circumstances — who knows?” Gallant said.

‘Israel freeing two captives a marketing ploy for a defeated army’: Hamas

Osama Hamdan, a Beirut-based member of the group’s political bureau, says this comes “in light of the defeats and resistance the Israeli army faces in ongoing fighting, especially in Khan Younis, as well as its failure to retrieve the rest of the captives”. “It is an attempt to boost the army’s low morale in light of its failure to achieve any of its goals,” he added.

“As we wait for the official account from the resistance [Hamas], we point to news reports that indicate that the two captives were not in Hamas’s custody but rather held with a civilian family, which casts doubt on the credibility of Israel’s account and confirms its effort to exaggerate the incident,” Hamdan said. Four months in, fighters in the Qassam Brigades still have 134 captives, which “in itself is an achievement for the resistance”, he added.

Hamas says three more Israeli captives killed in air raids

Abu Obaida, spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, says the three captives have died of wounds sustained in Israeli attacks. The same air raids had killed two captives and seriously injured eight on Sunday, Hamas had said previously. Abu Obaida said the group will postpone releasing the slain captives’ names until the fate of the rest of the wounded captives becomes clear.

Palestinian journalist killed in Israeli shelling on eastern Rafah

Ala’a al-Hums, who worked for Yemeni channel al-Masirah TV, has been killed in Israeli shelling of her house, Houthi spokesperson Mohamed Abdelsalam says. In a post on X, Abdelsalam sent his condolences to the journalist’s remaining family, condemning “the ongoing Israeli onslaught on Gaza” and stressing Yemen’s support for Palestinians.

United Nations experts have previously condemned deadly attacks on journalists and media workers in Gaza. In a statement released on February 1, the experts described the war on Gaza as the “most dangerous conflict for journalists in recent history”.



SvennoJ on 12 February 2024

UNRWA reports outbreaks of hepatitis A, alarmingly high rates of diarrhoea in Rafah

Thomas White, the Gaza chief of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), has said the agency has seen alarmingly high rates of diarrhoea, which can be deadly if there is not enough clean water, in addition to outbreaks of hepatitis A.

“These are the result of a million people jammed into a pretty small area without access to sanitation,” White said, adding that the conditions in Rafah were grim. “Hundreds of thousands of people are digging a hole in the sand adjacent to where they’re living, and that’s where they are defecating,” he said.

As an Israeli invasion of Rafah becomes imminent, White warned of “the reality of having a million people move in the Gaza Strip into areas that are not set up to accommodate them”. “Many of them will have to leave the shelters they have constructed here [in Rafah],” White said. “We will have hundreds of thousands of people living in the open again.”

‘Unprecedented’ levels of food insecurity in Gaza: UN

The deputy director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says with each passing day, people in Gaza are “simply going hungry” and increasingly lacking any access to food, water and medical services.

“There are unprecedented levels of acute food insecurity, hunger, and near-famine-like conditions in Gaza,” Beth Bechdol said in an interview with FAO staff. Bechdol said the FAO was unable to provide any agricultural production support in Gaza, as most of it had been damaged or destroyed.

Israel blacklists UN special rapporteur over ‘oppression’ remarks: Ministers

The United Nations special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories has been refused a visa for months, but now she will be banned from Israel, according to Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel. In a joint statement, the ministers said the announcement comes following rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s comment a day earlier that the October 7 attacks were a “response to Israel’s oppression”.

“The victims of 7/10 were not killed because of their Judaism, but in response to Israel’s oppression,” she wrote on X, responding to a Le Monde newspaper post reporting on French President Emmanuel Macron honouring the victims of the attack.

UNRWA chief says he has no plans to resign

Philippe Lazzarini says he has “no intention to resign” after Israeli allegations that some of the agency’s staff members participated in Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7. The UN agency provides vital aid to Palestinians in Gaza. Since the accusations were made, several donor countries have suspended funding to UNRWA although Israel has not publicly provided proof to back its claims.

UNRWA has launched an investigation and dismissed staff accused of involvement in the attacks.

UN agency in Gaza says it is becoming difficult to operate in Rafah after funding cuts and visa issues 

Just weeks after it warned that it would have to "most likely" halt its work by the end of the month, the main UN relief agency in Gaza says it is becoming difficult to operate in Rafah, where 1.5 million civilians are seeking refuge.

Addressing EU development ministers in Brussels on Monday, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said in addition to funding cuts, other restrictions are also hindering operations, including the “local bank" freezing UNRWA's account and visas for staff members only being granted on a month-to-month basis instead of once per year.

Lazzarini also said the situation on the ground was becoming more complex, describing "a deep sense of panic and anxiety regarding the prospect of an unfolding military operation" in Rafah. He also outlined the agency had to operate without police support for the first time on Sunday, as some local police are reluctant to be seen with the agency.



SvennoJ on 12 February 2024

Belgium receives no clarification from Israel on Gaza building bombing

A building containing the offices of the Belgian Agency for Development Cooperation in Gaza was destroyed in suspected Israeli strikes on Gaza City two weeks ago. The Israeli ambassador to Belgium had promised an investigation at the time. Belgian Minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez said her country still has not received a response from Israel.

Eleven rights groups urge EU countries to publicly support ICJ provisional measures

The human rights organisations have penned a letter to 16 EU countries urging them to ensure that Israel complies with the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ’s) provisional measures against genocide. “The EU and member states’ answer has been unsatisfactory. Not enough European states have declared their intention to adhere to the legal obligations instituted by the provisional measures or ensure that Israel applies them,” the organisations said.

On January 26, the ICJ determined a plausible risk of Israel committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. The provisional measures ordered Israel to take measures to prevent genocidal acts and ensure the provision of immediate humanitarian aid to Gaza. Additionally, Israel was told to report back to the court within a month on its implementation of the measures.

The groups further said: “The comparison with the wide support given by EU member states to the preliminary rulings of the ICJ in the context of the wars in Ukraine and in Myanmar have not escaped Palestinian eyes. The difference in treatment between Ukraine and Palestine has led many to note that Europe is operating with a clear double standard concerning the application of the Genocide Convention.”

EU’s foreign policy chief suggests US rethink military aid to Israel

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has suggested the US rethink its military aid to Israel due to the high number of civilian casualties in the war on Gaza. Borrell recalled that Biden said last week that Israel’s onslaught on Gaza had been “over the top” and US officials had repeatedly said that too many civilians are being killed in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

“Well, if you believe that too many people are being killed, maybe you should provide less arms in order to prevent so many people being killed,” Borrell told reporters after a meeting of EU development ministers in Brussels. “If the international community believes that this is a slaughter, that too many people are being killed, maybe we have to think about the provision of arms,” he added.

‘Ceasefire has to be achieved as soon as possible’: WHO surgeon

Dr Athanasios Gargavanis, a trauma surgeon and emergency officer for the UN agency, says a ceasefire is needed now so “health workers are able to deliver at the best of their capacities”. “We are here to support the health system that’s suffering, not only because of the chronic blockade and this actual war, but also from the movement of population that impedes health workers to do their work at the best possible way,” Gargavanis said in a video posted on social media.

Majority of Americans favour permanent ceasefire in Gaza: Survey

The US-based Institute for Social Policy and Understanding has found that the majority of Muslim, Catholic, and Protestant Americans – among them white Evangelical and non-affiliated Americans – favour a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Though just shy of a majority, Jewish Americans are more likely to favour (50 percent) than oppose (34 percent) a cessation in violence.

However, views on where to lay the blame are divided.

A majority of Jews (65 percent) and white Evangelicals (51 percent) blame Hamas for the ongoing violence, and a plurality of Catholics (47 percent) agree. Muslims are roughly four times as likely to blame the Israeli government (40 percent) for the war.

The survey also found that:

  • Jewish and Muslim Democrats, like Democrats in the general public, favour an end to the war on Gaza.
  • The majority of young Americans favour a cessation in the violence.

ICC prosecutor ‘concerned’ by Rafah bombing

Karim Khan, prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), says he is “deeply concerned” by Israel’s bombardment of Rafah as well as reports of an anticipated Israeli ground offensive there. “My Office has an ongoing and active investigation into the situation in the State of Palestine. This is being taken forward as a matter of the utmost urgency, with a view to bringing to justice those responsible for Rome Statute crimes,” Khan said in a social media post.

“All wars have rules and the laws applicable to armed conflict cannot be interpreted so as to render them hollow or devoid of meaning. This has been my consistent message, including from Ramallah last year. Since that time, I have not seen any discernible change in conduct by Israel.” The ICC official also reiterated his call for the immediate release of those who continue to be held captive in Gaza.



SvennoJ on 12 February 2024

King Abdullah's call for permanent ceasefire underscores divide with Biden over war in Gaza


Jordan's King Abdullah delivers remarks during a press conference with US President Joe Biden at the White House on Monday, February 12

Jordan’s King Abdullah II, the first Arab leader to visit the White House since the start of the war in Gaza in October, broke with his host President Joe Biden on key issues during a joint appearance Monday. Abdullah made a call for a “lasting ceasefire” in Gaza that would bring the current fighting to an end and said it was essential the main United Nations agency responsible for Gaza continue to receive funding after the US and other nations withdrew support last month.

Biden has stopped short of calling for a permanent ceasefire, and his administration pulled funding for the agency over allegations some of its staff were involved with Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel. The open rifts between Biden and Abdullah underscored the delicate diplomatic balance the president is facing as the war in Gaza enters its fifth month. Speaking from the White House Cross Hall, Abdullah said a ground operation in Rafah, which Israel has previewed in recent days, would amount to devastation.

“We cannot stand by and let this continue. We need a lasting ceasefire now. This war must end,” he said.

Starting to look more and more like a PR stunt

Israeli military releases footage apparently showing the moment hostages were rescued in Rafah

The Israeli military has released a pair of videos of what it says shows the moments two hostages were rescued from Rafah in an early morning raid Monday. One video primarily shows aerial footage in black and white thermal imaging. It starts with a group of people walking through the street, with the voice of an unknown person saying, "The hostages are in our hands," according to the English translation on screen.

It then appears to show an exchange of gunfire during the rescue. Moments later, a convoy of vehicles is seen moving along a road, with someone declaring, "The forces have started to move along the route. The forces are on their way. The forces are on their way." The video ends with more aerial footage showing a helicopter taking off as one voice is heard saying, "They’re good and healthy," and another voice responds: "Good. Keep going. We’re accompanying you."

The second video was shot with the cameras of Shayetet 13 soldiers, and shows the troops meeting with the hostages for the first time inside a vehicle before boarding a helicopter to Israel, the Israel Defense Forces said. The troops are seen chatting with both hostages, comforting them, and offering water and blankets. One soldier asks, "How are you feeling?" "Shocked, shocked, all right," one of the hostages responds, according to the English translation on screen.

Graphic images show devastation in Rafah after Israeli airstrikes

Graphic images from Gaza illustrate the toll airstrikes are taking on the city of Rafah, now home to more than half of the enclave's population. Israeli airstrikes killed at least 94 people overnight Monday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The Israel Defense Forces said it launched a mission against Hamas to extract two hostages, which was successful.

Two of the videos, which CNN obtained from social media groups used by Palestinian journalists, show hospitals in southern Gaza. One video shows a young boy hanging lifelessly from the side of a structure. Several men are trying to bring his body down.

A second image shows another boy, who appears to be a young teen, lying on a bed and clinging to a shroud-wrapped body. According to Gaza journalists, it's the body of his mother in the hospital mortuary.  The woman's name is written on her shroud: Ghada Ahmad Yousef Abu al-Hanoud. Her name appears on a list of 74 victims identified and issued death certificates by the Abu Yousef Al-Najjar government hospital in Rafah.

In a third clip, a young girl wipes her eyes and cries but gathers herself to describe what she experienced, "I was going to the bathroom and the strikes were ongoing suddenly I found the fire in our house...(inaudible)...then I went to the bathroom and all the walls collapsed on me," the girl said.

Another video shows a woman holding a dead infant baby covered in a shroud. A young girl sits next to her with a pained expression. The woman says:"What do I do with the baby, tell me what to do, leave him?" She hugs the lifeless body of the child. CNN cannot independently verify when this video was filmed.  


Since there was no evacuation order this time (which are BS anyway), it's no longer legally debatable whether these 'human shields' were fair targets. No loophole protecting the IDF, it's a war crime plain and simple.

UN special rapporteur ‘welcomes ICC prosecutor’s announcement’

We reported earlier that Karim Khan, prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), had said he is “deeply concerned” by Israel’s bombardment of Rafah as well as reports of an anticipated Israeli ground offensive there.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Palestine, Francesca Albanese, has welcomed his comments, saying: “May all perpetrators be brought to justice soon. Even more urgently, may a ceasefire be enforced (as Israel is killing Palestinians even in ‘safe zones’) and hostages released, along with the thousands of Palestinians arbitrarily detained.”

US calls on Israel to urgently investigate the death of 5-year-old Palestinian Hind Rajab

The US has called on the Israeli government to investigate the death of 5-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said on Monday "We have asked the Israeli authorities to investigate this incident on an urgent basis. We understand that they're doing so. We expect to see those results on a timely fashion and they should include accountability measures as appropriate," Miller said.

Rajab was found dead this weekend after being trapped in a car for Gaza City with members of her family who were reportedly shot to death by Israeli forces weeks ago. Rescue workers dispatched to find her were also reportedly shot and killed. 

"We are devastated about reports of the death of Hind Rajab. I will tell you that I have a little girl that's about to turn six myself, and so it's just a devastating account, a heartbreaking account for this child," Miller said. 


Miller found his heart, it only took over 11,000 children to die before Hind became a bit too public to ignore

https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2024-02-04/ty-article-opinion/.premium/11-500-children-have-been-killed-in-gaza-horror-of-this-scale-has-no-explanation/0000018d-6fe9-d4f1-a18d-fff9c4010000
https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/number-children-killed-west-bank-including-east-jerusalem-reaches-unprecedented


Killing of children continues unabated

Palestinian child killed in Israeli bombing in Rafah: Red Crescent

Four others have been injured in the shelling by Israeli forces, the Red Crescent added in a social media post. The attack took place in the Brazil neighbourhood in Rafah earlier this evening, it said. Israel has carried out several air strikes in the southern Gaza city in the past 24 hours, killing dozens, according to health officials.

‘Humanitarian workers should be protected’: UNRWA chief

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency, has said that in two separate incidents, Israeli forces opened fire on an UNRWA school in Khan Younis, in the southwest area of the besieged coastal enclave. “As a result, two UNRWA colleagues on duty were shot, one was killed. Despite multiple attempts, we couldn’t retrieve his body,” he said. “Humanitarian workers are not a target; they should be protected,” Lazzarini added.



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SvennoJ on 12 February 2024

UN says it ‘won’t be party’ to forced displacement in Rafah

A spokesperson for United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has said that the international body “will not be party” to any forced displacement of Palestinian civilians in Rafah, as Israel prepares for an assault on the city where Israeli forces previously instructed displaced Palestinians to seek shelter.

“We will not be party to forced displacement of people,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. “As it is, there is no place that is currently safe in Gaza.” “You can’t send people back to areas that are littered with unexploded ordnance, not to mention a lack of shelter,” Dujarric said, referring to parts of the northern and central Gaza Strip.


Palestinian children wounded in an Israeli strike rest as they receive treatment at a hospital in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, February 12



Two orphaned teens got their seven siblings to Rafah; now they live in fear

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/2/12/two-orphaned-teens-got-their-seven-siblings-to-rafah-now-they-live-in-fear

Fifteen-year-old Nagham al-Yaziji and her 14-year-old brother Mohammad have lost both their parents over the past four months as Israeli forces laid siege to the Gaza Strip. They have been caring for their seven younger siblings, bringing them south to Rafah, setting up a tent, and struggling through every day as best they can.

“I queue for water and aid and bread every morning. I start a wood fire and heat up the water to prepare formula for my baby sister,” Mohammad says. Nagham, as the eldest, frets about her siblings daily. “Life without a father and mother would be excruciating in normal circumstances, let alone such dire circumstances,” she says.



That's "Grave of the fireflies" type horror.

‘Anyone who intends to invade Rafah intends to commit a war crime’: Ahmad Tibi

The Knesset member, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, is urging the international community to “stop this war”, as “[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu threatens to invade Rafah, where Israel has sent 1.5 million people”. “Maybe you can try to prevent the war crime that threatens civilians, women and children before it happens,” he says.

EU perpetuating Israeli war in Gaza: Greek economist

Yanis Varoufakis says European countries share responsibility for the atrocities being committed in Gaza.

“We Europeans created the problem. … We are playing a vicious role in its perpetuation,” Varoufakis told Al Jazeera.

The former finance minister accused EU foreign policy chief Borrell of hypocrisy for saying not enough pressure was being applied on Israel, asserting that the EU was “collectively arming” Israel. “As we speak, Germany, France, Italy are sending the armaments that are being used in Rafah to kill people,” Varoufakis added.

He said that while the official EU position was to support a two-state solution, European countries are “completely” in support of the Netanyahu government, “whose life’s work has been the destruction of any prospect of a Palestinian state”.

‘Israel’s denying me entry is not news’: UN special rapporteur

Francesca Albanese says Israel has banned all special rapporteurs from the occupied Palestinian territories since 2008. Israeli authorities recently said they banned Albanese from entering the country. “This must not become a distraction from Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, which are taking a new level of horror with the bombing of people in ‘safe areas’ in Rafah,” Albanese said.

Top US official meets virtually with American hostage families frustrated about "pace of negotiations"

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan virtually met Monday with the families of the six Americans believed to be held hostage in Gaza, sources familiar with the meeting said. The conversation came a day ahead of CIA Director Bill Burns's expected travel to Egypt for further hostage release talks, two sources familiar with the plans told CNN.

In a statement, the families said they “expressed our gratitude for the Administration’s continued efforts to bring our loved ones home but made clear our frustration with the pace of negotiations.” “With more than 20 percent of the hostages reported murdered, there is no time to waste,“ the families said. “Another week cannot go by without a deal. We need an agreement now to bring the hostages home.”

The hostage families participating in the call included Jonathan Dekel-Chen and Gillian Kaye; Yael and Adi Alexander; Lee Siegel and Hanna Siegel; Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg; Ruby and Hagit Chen; and Ronen and Orna Neutra, a source said. Liz Hirsh Naftali, whose niece Abigail Edan was freed as part of the November hostage deal, also participated. Several of the families met with Sullivan in person at the White House two weeks ago and with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken while he was in Israel last week.



SvennoJ on 12 February 2024



SvennoJ on 13 February 2024

Good for Ukraine, but Wtf on $14 Billion security aid to Israel

US Senate passes $95 billion package with aid for Israel and humanitarian assistance in Gaza

The US Senate passed a $95.3 billion foreign aid bill, which includes assistance for Ukraine and Israel in a vote early Tuesday morning. But before any countries see the assistance, the bill has to pass in the House, where many Republicans are opposed to further aid to Ukraine.

Here's what's in the bill: The foreign aid package includes billions of dollars to support Ukraine and for security assistance for Israel, as well as humanitarian assistance for civilians in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine, among other priorities. 

Of the funding passed, $14.1 billion is in security assistance for Israel, $9.2 billion for humanitarian assistance and $4.8 billion to support regional partners in the Indo-Pacific region in addition to other policy provisions, according to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The bill passed the Senate despite House Speaker Mike Johnson’s criticism of the legislation and former President Donald Trump signaling opposition to the bill by arguing the US should stop providing foreign aid unless it is in the form of a loan.

Palestinian women describe 12-mile escape on foot from Gaza City

After being trapped in a building for more than a week in a neighborhood of Gaza City besieged by Israeli troops, a group of Palestinian women told CNN they were forced to flee south with their children, with some walking barefoot for more than 12 miles along a stretch of coastline to escape.

CNN spoke with the four women at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir Al-Balah, central Gaza, where they arrived on February 3 with their 16 children – aged 9 months to 12 years – after walking for about eight hours in the cold rain from Gaza City.

The group of relatives and neighbors from Abu Eskandar in northern Gaza said they had sought shelter in Gaza City on their journey south, holing up in an apartment building in the Al-Rimal neighborhood.

The women alleged that Israeli forces abducted their husbands and sons, older relatives, and one sister, a female doctor, from the building where they were sheltering. They accused the Israeli military of blowing up the building, as well as others nearby.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/13/middleeast/gaza-city-escape-israel-hamas-war-cmd-intl/index.html

CNN continues to dehumanize as well, Palestinians 'allege' and "They accused the Israeli military of blowing up the building, as well as others nearby." can't even show them the courtesy of believing them when they say their husbands and sons were taken by the Israeli forces. But I guess it's the IDF censor that changes the language...

It is difficult to access Al-Rimal to verify what is happening there, as fighting has raged. CNN was unable independently to confirm the allegations made by the women, but they each gave very similar accounts of what had happened.

Wtf why are the victims on trial?



SvennoJ on 13 February 2024

South Africa makes "urgent request" to Top UN court to intervene in Israel's planned Rafah incursion

The South African government has made an “urgent request” to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to decide if Israel's military actions in Rafah require the court to “use its power to prevent further imminent breach of the rights of Palestinians in Gaza.” In a statement issued by the country’s presidency on Tuesday, the South African government called the southern Gaza city of Rafah “the last refuge for surviving people in Gaza.” 

In its request to the ICJ, which was submitted on Monday, the government said it was “gravely concerned” that Israeli military action in Rafah “has already led to and will result in further large scale killing, harm and destruction.”  South Africa suggested that Israel’s offensive in Rafah "would be in serious and irreparable breach both of the Genocide Convention" and the ICJ’s January court order that Israel must take “all measures” to prevent genocide in Gaza.

Some context: On Monday, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Israel carried out a "wave of strikes" on Rafah to rescue two hostages held captive since the October 7 attack, "and to hit Hamas terrorists in the area". More than 100 people were killed in the strikes, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said Monday.

UN won’t participate in any forced Rafah evacuation

The UN humanitarian office hasn’t received any communication from Israel about a plan to evacuate Gaza’s Rafah area. “We have not received any official communication from Israeli officials,” Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for OCHA. “Regardless, the UN does not participate in forced, non-voluntary evacuations. There is no plan at this time to facilitate the evacuation of civilians.”

Survivor pleads for war to stop after strike in Gaza kills at least 8, according to hospital

At least eight people were killed when an Israeli strike destroyed a building in the Nuseirat neighborhood of central Gaza Monday into Tuesday, according to the Al-Aqsa Hospital, leaving survivors imploring for a ceasefire. “We want the war to stop; it’s enough, we are peaceful people,” said Abu Hans Al Ashqar, who was staying next door. “We want peace, we are desperate for peace, we want everyone on both sides to live peacefully,” he said.

Images from the scene show survivors sifting through the rubble with their bare hands while their children watch. The victims were taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital, according to doctors there.  Al Ashqar said he was woken up by the explosion. “We were asleep when a heavy hit struck the building beside us. It was damaged and our building was also damaged,” he said. “There were dead and injured.”

Another survivor, Dr. Khalil A Dalu, described a similar scene. “We were asleep, it was midnight. Suddenly, we heard a huge explosion that shook the building we shelter in; it was an indescribable fear and horror," he said. “Many were killed and injured, and there are still people under rubble, many of whom are women and children.”

The Israel Defense Forces have not commented on the strike, but the IDF has repeatedly claimed it is trying to avoid civilian casualties.

State Department confirms death of another US citizen in the West Bank

An American died in the West Bank on Saturday, the US State Department confirmed Monday, the second death in less than a month of a US citizen in the occupied Palestinian territory. “We can confirm the death of a U.S. citizen civilian in the West Bank on February 10, 2024,” a State Department spokesperson told CNN, adding that department officials “are working to gather more information and have pressed the Government of Israel for further information.” “We extend our deepest condolences to the family,” the spokesperson said. “Out of respect to the family, we have nothing further to share.”

The spokesperson did not provide the name of the American who died or the circumstances of their death. According to the group “Defense for Children – Palestine,” the American was 17-year-old Mohammad Ahmed Mohammad Khdour. The organization said he was shot in the head by Israeli forces on Saturday while traveling by car in the town of Biddu in the West Bank. CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.

Last month, another American, 17-year-old Tawfiq Hafiz Ajjaq, was fatally shot in the head, according to Palestinian news agency WAFA. Israel’s police have opened an investigation into the incident, the IDF and Israeli police told CNN last month.

Israel’s primary objective is to destroy ‘all of Palestine’: Activist

Hanan Ashrawi, veteran Palestinian activist and former member of the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s executive committee, says, “We are in the midst of a genocide” in Gaza. “Israel is hellbent on taking it a notch up … having treated the Palestinians like herds of cattle where they shift them from one place to the other carrying out demographic engineering … now they are destroying the last refuge that they have,” she told Al Jazeera.

“Everybody knows that there are no limits to Israeli depravity, to Israeli blood thirst, to the use of massacres and carnage to achieve we don’t know what ends, because they don’t know what ends. They cannot destroy Hamas … so in a way it is a willful infliction of pain, death and destruction without any accountability,” Ashrawi said. “The primary objective is to destroy not just the Palestinians of Gaza but all of Palestine,” she concluded.

Imagine Western media telling it as it is... But no, Palestinians are just human shields that get in the way of the moral army that is the IDF. Let's give them another 14 Billion to keep on going.



Fuck Germany, worried you might get implicated at the ICJ is about all you're worried about.

Germany’s FM worried about Israeli plans for assault on Rafah

Annalena Baerbock is “concerned” about Israel’s announcement that it is planning a large military offensive in Rafah. Israel has to guarantee “safe corridors” for civilians in Rafah before conducting any incursion, she said. “I am especially concerned about the announcement by the Israeli government of a large ground military operation in Rafah,” she said at a news conference with the Palestinian foreign minister in the German capital.

“Of course, it is completely clear that also in Rafah there is an unbelievably large net of [the] Hamas terrorist organisation,” she said, adding Israel has a right to defend itself from “terrorism”.

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2024/01/02/german-weapons-exports-reached-record-high-in-2023/

https://braveneweurope.com/german-foreign-policy-germany-weapons-for-israel

The German government is about to authorise new arms exports to Israel. Reports indicate that it has already decided to green-light the export of 10,000 rounds of 120-millimetre precision guided ammunition to the Israeli military. The only aspect still under discussion is the price. These shells are apparently being fired in very large numbers in the Gaza Strip. In December, the US administration had already approved the supply of almost 14,000 rounds of the same calibre, in a procedure that bypassed Congress. Last year Berlin approved a delivery of 3,000 portable anti-tank weapons and 500,000 ammunition rounds for semi-automatic and fully automatic firearms. German munition is flowing into the war zone at the same time as Israel is having to defend itself before the International Court of Justice against the charge of genocide in Gaza. - Januari 23rd 2024



SvennoJ on 13 February 2024

Al Jazeera says 2 journalists seriously injured in Israeli strike near Rafah 

Two Al Jazeera journalists, Ismail Abu Omar and Ahmad Matar, were injured on Tuesday during an Israeli airstrike north of Rafah in the Gaza Strip, Al Jazeera reported.  Abu Omar, a reporter, and Matar, a cameraman, were "seriously injured" and are being treated at the European Hospital near Khan Younis, Al Jazeera English reported, adding that Abu Omar has had to have his leg amputated. CNN has reached out to Al Jazeera and the Israel Defense Forces. 

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, as of Tuesday, at least 85 journalists and media workers have been killed in the fighting since October 7. It marks the deadliest period for journalists since CPJ began gathering data in 1992. 

Remember: In December, an Al Jazeera journalist died after an Israeli attack in southern Gaza. Camera operator Samer Abu Daqqa died of wounds sustained in the attack, the Qatar-based network said, adding that he was bleeding for hours before medical personnel could reach him due to heavy shelling in the city. Four other Al Jazeera journalists have been injured during the war, CPJ says, including three in southern Lebanon, as well as Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh, whose wife, daughter, son and grandson were killed in an attack on Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza in late October.

 

Statement: Al Jazeera condemns the Israeli Army’s deliberate targeting of its correspondent in Rafah, Ismail Abu Omar

Today, Tuesday, February 13, 2024, Israeli occupation forces targeted the Al Jazeera crew in the Mirage area, north of Rafah, by a drone, seriously injuring Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent Ismail Abu Omar, which led to the amputation of his leg and the serious injury of photojournalist Ahmed Matar.

Al Jazeera Media Network confirms that targeting of the reporter Ismail and the photographer Ahmed is a full-fledged crime added to Israel’s crimes against journalists, and a new part in the series of the deliberate targeting of Al Jazeera’s journalists and correspondents in Palestine. The network stresses that this targeting comes as intimidation to journalists to prevent them from reporting the heinous crimes committed by the occupation army against innocent civilians in Gaza.

Al Jazeera renews its call on the international community and media freedom organizations to take immediate measures to protect journalists in Gaza and to hold the Israeli occupation army accountable.

‘Everyone is a target’

Our colleagues, Ismail Abu Omar, an Al Jazeera correspondent, as well as his cameraman Ahmad Matar in northern Rafah, were documenting the living conditions of displaced Palestinian families. They were documenting the horror that they experienced within the past 24 hours as massive air strikes on major parts of Rafah city – where close to 100 people were killed – when they were directly targeted by a missile fired by a drone.

They were transferred to Gaza European Hospital, where they underwent immediate surgeries. Unfortunately, Omar went through surgery where his leg had to be amputated as the shrapnel fractured his bones to the point that [his leg] was not attached properly. The doctors had to amputate his leg to save his life.


A video screengrab showing Ismail Abu Omar being at the operating room of the European Hospital in Khan Younis

Muhammad Al-Astal, an emergency physician at the European Hospital in Khan Younis, said “Al Jazeera’s correspondent, Ismail Abu Omar, arrived at the makeshift hospital after suffering severe injuries. He was targeted by a drone missile in Muraj, [north of Rafah]". “Upon examination, his right leg had already been severed. In addition, he had shrapnel lodged in his chest and head, as well as his left leg. We suspect his femoral artery might have been severed at the bottom of his leg.”

“We administered the necessary first aid before transferring him to the European Hospital, where he was rushed to the operating room. He was bleeding heavily and lost a lot of blood, to the degree that his blood pressure and pulse were not readable,” the doctor continued. “This means he’s in a very critical condition and may lose his life. We pray for his recovery.”

This is not the first incident and we are expecting this is not the last one. There is ongoing, systematic, almost consistent attacks on journalists – there are more than 100 journalists since the beginning of this war who have been targeted.

 

Journalists ‘clearly targeted’ in Israel’s war on Gaza: International Press Institute

Frane Maroevic, the executive director of the International Press Institute (IPI), has told Al Jazeera from Vienna that most of the journalists killed or injured in Israel’s war on Gaza were wearing a vest and a helmet clearly identifying them as press. “We see journalists clearly targeted because press symbols used to be defence … now, it seems to be a target,” he said.

“Our organisation is completely outraged by this situation … Our organisation has been monitoring press freedom for almost 75 years and this is the worst attack we have seen on journalists in any conflict,” Maroevic added. He also said that all 25 members of his organisation’s executive board were expressing their “solidarity with journalists in Gaza who are under this terrible attack in this appalling situation”.

Gaza government condemns ‘deliberate’ targeting of Al Jazeera crew

The Government Media Office in Gaza denounced the “targeting of the Al Jazeera channel crew for the fifth time” in an attack it said was “deliberate”. “This targeting comes within the framework of intimidation of journalists” to prevent media coverage of the military offensive in Gaza, it said. At least 126 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7 while 10 others have been arrested by Israeli forces, according to government figures.