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

SvennoJ on 13 February 2024

Fight the truth!

Israeli regulator considers penalising TV channel over remarks against Netanyahu

Israel’s Second Authority for Radio and Television, which regulates commercial broadcasts in the country, has opened an inquiry into Channel 13, after a commentator slammed Netanyahu on the network for rejecting the Hamas deal to free the captives and secure an end to the fighting in Gaza, Haaretz reports.

“I’ve been saying for a month that Netanyahu has no real incentive to free the hostages,” panelist Gil Tamari said on Monday, according to the Israeli newspaper. “He wants them dead, as holy martyrs, for his own reasons.” The inquiry “could result in a financial penalty – on the grounds that Tamari’s statement potentially harmed public sentiment,” Haaretz reported.

 

Human Rights Watch says international law being ‘demolished’ in Gaza

Omar Shakir, Israel-Palestine director for Human Rights Watch, says international law is being “demolished” in Gaza as Israeli violations go unpunished by Western allies. “Years of [the] international community failing to hold perpetrators — mainly Israel — accountable for unlawful acts has led us to this flagrant disregard for the most basic principles of int’l law that grew out of ashes of WWII,” Shakir said on X.

‘We will all die, all of us,’ MSF doctor says

The medical humanitarian organisation MSF has posted on social media a harrowing series of texts by one of its staff members in Rafah. “I have written the names of my children and my family on their wrists and their legs, so that they can be identified if we are bombed,” the female doctor said. “We will all die, all of us. Hopefully soon enough to stop the suffering that we are living through every single second.”

Israeli forces urging evacuation of Nasser Hospital: Physician

Khaled Nasser, who works at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, says Israeli forces are using drone speakers to tell people to evacuate the hospital. He said the Israeli military also sent Palestinians who had been previously detained by Israel to the Nasser Hospital to convey the message.

The physician said there are approximately 8,000 people at the hospital: medics and their families, patients, wounded people and internally displaced Palestinians. He added that the evacuation order was difficult to follow, especially since many injured people were unable to move and would be difficult to transport outside the hospital. “So the decision by the hospital’s administration is to carry on with offering services until the last breath – until we reach a point where the medical teams can no longer help patients,” Nasser told Al Jazeera.

Gaza Health Ministry calls for international intervention

“We call on international organisations to work immediately to protect the Nasser Medical Complex and prevent the health and humanitarian catastrophe that medics, injured people and patients are facing,” ministry spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said in a brief statement.

 

Palestinians leave Rafah fearing Israeli assault

Nahla Jarwan fled her home in the central Gaza Strip to seek refuge in Rafah like more than one million other Palestinians escaping Israel’s military offensive. Now, as Israeli shells crash into Rafah, Jarwan said she is going back to an area she fled, even though nowhere is safe.

“I fled Maghazi, came to Rafah, and here I am, returning to Maghazi,” Jarwan told Reuters, referring to the refugee camp from which she fled earlier in the conflict. “Last night in Rafah was very tough. Hopefully, Maghazi will be safe, God willing.”

Momen Shbair said he would return to Khan Younis after what he also described as a tough night in Rafah. “We’re lost. We don’t know where to go. I pray that the whole world pressures Israel to end the war,” he said, driving a donkey cart along a sand road by the sea. “We’re tired [of going] from one place to another.”


A man ties up a rope securing items onto a vehicle as members of a Palestinian family flee from Rafah, Gaza, on February 13.

‘With every displacement, resilience decreases’: WFP

The World Food Programme has warned that a new mass displacement of people from Rafah will cause “resilience” to decrease, endangering the estimated 1.4 million Palestinians sheltering in the southern Gaza city. "Families on the move, again. This time, leaving Rafah, where 1.4 million came for safety. With every displacement, resilience decreases,” Matthew Hollingworth wrote on X.

He added that Israeli plans to expand military operations to Rafah were “concerning”. “It risks cutting the lifeline of assistance into Gaza & causing great suffering,” he said.

Biden urges Congress to pass bill with aid to Israel, ban on UNRWA funding

The White House has issued a statement calling on the US House of Representatives to pass a bill approved by the Senate earlier today, which allocates more than $95bn for military assistance for US allies Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel.

The bill also bans US funding for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which rights advocates have described as indispensable for addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. “It is time for the House to take action and send this bipartisan legislation to my desk immediately so that I can sign it into law,” Biden said.

Border conflict with Israel will stop only when ‘aggression’ on Gaza ends: Nasrallah

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has made a televised address. Here are some of his main points:

  • Hostilities along the Lebanon-Israel border will stop when Israeli “aggression” on Gaza stops, he said.
  • He threatened further displacement of residents in northern Israel.
  • He warned that if Israel’s military widened the war, Hezbollah would do the same.
  • The Western delegations that have visited Lebanon have one purpose – to get security guarantees for Israel so that “100,000 settlers” can return to their homes, he said.
  • He added that the delegations are not acting as mediators but instead, present Israel’s proposals and expect Hezbollah to accept them.
  • He said Hezbollah is asked to give guarantees, and in return, the delegations won’t give us guarantees that Israel will withdraw from our occupied territories along the border.
  • Lebanon is in a strong position he said, adding that Israel is not in a position to impose conditions.

Israeli military says it attacked Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon

The Israeli military says in a social media post that its fighter jets have attacked several buildings that belong to Hezbollah. It added that it hit an observation post and other Hezbollah military infrastructure and fired artillery at several locations in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border attacks since the beginning of the war on Gaza.


Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli air raid on the southern Lebanese village of Khiam near the border with Israel on February 9, 2024



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SvennoJ on 13 February 2024

There are still negotiations for a ceasefire, but I give it about 0.1% chance of actually happening.

Hostage and ceasefire talks in Cairo enter critical 24-hour stretch

Hamas considers the next 24 hours of the ongoing hostage and ceasefire talks — underway in Cairo on Tuesday — as critical, a Hamas source has told CNN.

“The picture will become clearer within the next 24 hours,” a Hamas source told CNN. The person added: "There is clear and strong determination among the mediators to reach ceasefire understandings and begin an exchange process to release prisoners from both sides, and bring in food, supplies, medical and oil supplies.”

CIA Director Bill Burns and Mossad chief David Barnea are in Cairo on Tuesday to meet with Qatari and Egyptian officials to discuss a possible weeks-long ceasefire that would free the hostages still being held captive in Gaza.  A senior official familiar with the negotiations tells CNN that the talks are “nudging forward,” but emphasized that the parties are not yet quite “close” to a final agreement. The talks remain “difficult,” the official put it bluntly. While there has been some progress in recent days, the official said a deal is not yet imminent. 

What we know: A diplomat familiar with the talks said the current efforts centered around a six-week pause that includes guarantees that the negotiations will continue toward an eventual, permanent ceasefire. The diplomat said there was more work to be done and described the Cairo talks as critical in bridging remaining gaps between the parties.

An official with Hamas told CNN that representatives for the group are ready to return to Cairo if current talks progress further.


Without actual outside pressure, Netanyahu and his war cabinet are never going to agree to a ceasefire.



SvennoJ on 13 February 2024

US-funded shipment of flour for Gaza held for weeks at Israeli port of Ashdod, Israeli official says

A US-funded shipment of flour destined for Gaza has been stuck at the port of Ashdod in Israel for weeks because the main United Nations agency in Gaza is listed as the recipient, according to an Israeli official. The shipment was blocked by Israeli customs under operational orders of controversial Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, despite Israel’s war cabinet having approved shipments of flour to Gaza via the Ashdod port following a request from US officials.  

Last month, US President Joe Biden publicly thanked Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allowing the flour shipment to go through the port, according to a readout of a call between the two leaders. The Israeli official said the Israeli government is committed to releasing the flour as soon as possible following discussions Tuesday involving top Israeli officials, including national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi. It is not clear exactly when that would be, according to the official. 

The United States is engaging with the Israeli government to ensure flour gets to Gaza, "not just as a one-off shipment, but over for a sustained period over months," US State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said. "We have a commitment from the Government of Israel to let that flour go through and we expect them to deliver on that commitment," he added.

Axios first reported that the flour shipment was being held up by Smotrich because it was destined for UNRWA.

Smotrich says he will continue to block flour shipments to Gaza

Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says he has decided to block the transfer of vital food assistance to Gaza, stating that it would be distributed through UNRWA, which he called “a central part” of Hamas’s “war machine”. The UN has warned that many Palestinians in Gaza are facing famine, but Israel has consistently blocked large portions of aid deliveries for the strip.

Earlier in the day, the US news outlet Axios reported that Smotrich had blocked the flour shipments after Netanyahu promised Biden they would be allowed into Gaza. In a social media post, Smotrich said he stopped the deliveries “in coordination with the prime minister”. His comments come as the US and several its allies have suspended funding for UNRWA despite warnings from humanitarian organisations that the UN agency’s work is vital for Palestinians.

Last month, the UN’s top court ordered Israel to allow adequate aid into Gaza.



US Muslim group says ‘shame on Senate’ for passing Israel aid bill

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has slammed US legislators for approving a measure that would provide $14bn in aid for Israel. “Shame on the Senate for prioritizing funding for Netanyahu’s far-right genocidal government while turning a blind eye to the war crimes it is committing against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” CAIR Director of Government Affairs Robert McCaw said in a statement. “This vote is morally reprehensible and goes against the American principles of justice and humanity.”

The bill would also allocate billions in assistance to Ukraine. Some senators, including Chris Van Hollen, had criticised the Israeli war on Gaza but voted for the measure in support of Kyiv. “This shocking vote effectively traded brown Palestinian lives for white Ukrainian lives – an act that should be unequivocally condemned,” McCaw said.

I doubt the senate actually cares about Ukrainian lives any more than Palestinian, it's just that Israel is the US' foothold in the Middle-East while Russia is the mortal enemy. If they actually cared about Ukraine the Ukraine aid would have passed long ago without needing to be tied in a package deal.

Slow down one genocide while speeding up another.



Amnesty says countries sending arms to Israel contributing to war crimes

The human rights watchdog calls on countries to stop sending weapons to Israel, stressing that arming the Israeli military puts them at risk of complicity in human rights violations. “By providing arms to Israel, EU states and the US are violating their responsibility to prevent genocide and contributing to war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the group said in a social media post.





SvennoJ on 13 February 2024

MSF calls on Israel to protect people at Nasser Hospital

Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) has confirmed that Israeli forces have ordered displaced people inside the medical complex in Khan Younis to leave the hospital. “We call on Israeli Forces to ensure that all medical staff, patients and displaced people are unharmed,” the medical aid group said in a series of social media posts.

“Today, Israeli Forces ordered all displaced people sheltering inside Nasser hospital, the largest in southern Gaza, to evacuate the facility. Medical staff and patients were told that they may remain in the hospital with a limit of one caretaker per patient. “People are afraid to leave the hospital because they hear reports of people being shot at. Those who wish to leave must be granted safe passage out.”

Israeli snipers kill three people at Nasser Hospital: Health Ministry

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza says Israeli forces also injured 10 people inside the besieged medical complex in Khan Younis. We reported earlier that Israeli authorities had used drone speakers to urge the evacuation of the hospital, but medical teams have promised to stay put until it becomes impossible to help patients.

Israeli military chief of staff says ‘long way to go’ before war goals realised

Herzi Halevi says Israeli forces have carried out a “high-quality and powerful” campaign in Gaza but there is “still a ways to go” before the country realises its war aims. “In the past decades, there has not been an army that manoeuvred in such a built-up and dense area, high up and below the ground. The [Israeli] soldiers deal with this with great success and the military achievements are extraordinary,” Halevi said after visiting outposts near Gaza.

“Unfortunately, this also comes at a cost in casualties. The defence of the home requires the willingness to do so.” Halevi also noted that the military must “harm the [Hamas] senior leadership, kill more of the enemy’s commanders”, a goal that has thus far largely eluded Israeli forces.

Israeli army can go anywhere ‘in Lebanon and beyond’: Gallant

Israel’s Defence Minister has said that there is “a realistic possibility” that the Israeli army will have “to return the northern residents to their homes forcefully”, according to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz. He is reported to have made the comments during a visit with soldiers from an infantry brigade in northern Israel.

“This means creating a different security situation by force, and that could lead to anything. If the division presents itself on the northern border, we can reach anywhere we decide to go in Lebanon and beyond that,” he is quoted as saying.



SvennoJ on 13 February 2024

Shocker

‘No progress made on a potential ceasefire deal’

Israeli media outlets are reporting that even before the Israeli delegation went to Cairo, the deal that had been presented to Netanyahu that was made by his own security establishment was rejected by him, and that he nearly sent them to listen and not respond to whatever Hamas put on the table.

It is very interesting because the Israelis had severe red lines before going into these negotiations. The Israeli prime minister reiterated for weeks that there will not be the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails and there will not be an end to the war. In fact, Hamas wants to see an end to the war, a multi-phase deal that would see an end to the assault on Gaza.

These negotiations were not fruitful at all and it comes on the heels of an expected invasion into Rafah. There are disagreements within the Israeli government. Those who do want to see a deal to bring back the captives and those who are saying Netanyahu should not have sent a delegation to Cairo.

Oh and see how CNN reports it

Hostage talks in Cairo were productive and serious, US official says

Hostage talks held Tuesday in Cairo were productive and serious, but did not yet arrive at a breakthrough that would result in a final deal, a US official said. The negotiations will continue, the official added. A second US official said the outstanding area of disagreement among the parties in the hostage talks is the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to hostages that would be released as part of the deal.

CNN previously reported that Hamas' counterproposal included a call to release “all prisoners in Israeli prisons, including women, children, the elderly (over 50 years old), and the sick, who were arrested up until the date of signing this agreement.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has balked at the demand, which would be greater than the 3-to-1 ratio of Palestinian prisoners to hostages that was included in the deal in November 2023.

An Israeli official has told CNN that the Israeli delegation is on its way back from Cairo.



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SvennoJ on 14 February 2024

Palestinian American detained in the West Bank by IDF was beaten and not granted consular access, family says

Samaher Esmail, a Palestinian American detained in the West Bank by the Israel Defense Forces, still has not been given US consular access more than a week later and was beaten and denied medication in Israeli custody, her family said in a statement Tuesday.

The family said that Esmail, 46, was "dragged" from her home by IDF members and "beaten badly in Israeli custody." They also said her home was destroyed in the process. "Despite having had her prescription medication from the moment they arrested her, the IDF has declined to administer it," according to the family statement. "Despite having a clear obligation to grant Consular access, the Netanyahu government has declined daily requests from the US Embassy for permission to visit Ms. Esmail."

The IDF confirmed Esmail’s detention, saying she was “arrested for incitement on social media,” but did not respond to the allegations of mistreatment raised by the family. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said he could not speak to the specific claims made by the family, citing privacy laws.

According to the family, Esmail was detained because of "10-year-old Facebook posts and political cartoons she shared." "Ms. Esmail’s opinions may be disfavored in Israel proper, but the inescapable reality is they were protected speech which no rational person could consider an incitement to violence," the statement said.

The family said she has not been formally charged with a crime. According to the statement, Esmail was presented to a military commission on Monday and was granted bail, but the IDF appealed the ruling. Esmail's family called on the US to do more to obtain consular access to her.

“The United States is not without tools to obtain consular access to Ms. Esmail and to end her ordeal. It just has to find the moral courage to do so, which has been, thus far, a tall order,” the statement said.

Israel has become "blinded by rage" and risks unleashing a massacre in Rafah, Irish prime minister says

Leo Varadkar, Ireland's Taoiseach (or prime minister), strongly criticized Israel Tuesday, accusing the country of becoming "blinded by rage" as it doubles down on plans to launch a ground offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where Israeli forces previously told hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to seek shelter.

Speaking to lawmakers in the Irish parliament, Varadkar said it was "very clear" to him that Israel is "is not listening to any country in the world," even the United States.  "They [Israel] have become blinded by rage. And they are going to, I believe, make the situation much worse for their own security in the long term by going down the path they are going," the Irish leader said. 

Varadkar said an Israeli ground offensive on the border city of Rafah "should not happen," drawing attention to the 1.3 million Palestinians who are "taking refuge there." "There is a serious risk of a massacre occurring in Rafah if a ground assault were to occur," Varadkar warned.  Other members of the Irish government joined Varadkar in condemning Israel this week including Trade Minister Simon Coveney, who accused the country of acting like a rogue state and behaving "like a monster to defeat a monster."

WHO chief pleads with Israel to not enter Rafah, warning the outcome could be "hell"

Ahead of an expected Israeli ground operation on Rafah in southern Gaza, the World Health Organization (WHO) has pleaded with Israel to not carry out the incursion, saying it will be a “serious disaster.”

“The situation is already beyond words. I can’t even describe the situation in Gaza. And if this assault happens on Rafah I think it will be a serious disaster,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told CNN’s Becky Anderson in Dubai on Tuesday in an exclusive interview. “The best solution is not to do it, and I think the whole world is calling for that. Doing it, I can’t imagine what will happen…I don’t think even hell could describe it...I plead to Israel not to do this,” he added. 

Panic is soaring in Rafah as desperate Palestinians decide whether to flee the last refuge in Gaza while Israel draws up plans for its ground offensive. Dr. Tedros called for a ceasefire, saying it was the only way to find a lasting solution to the conflict. “More than 28,000 deaths now, and more than 70% are women and children. That alone is enough to stop the war, because those who are dying are the wrong people and who haven’t done anything to bring this problem," he said.

Civilians flee Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza amid heavy gunfire

Palestinian civilians on Wednesday are fleeing Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, amid an ongoing Israeli military operation, according to a journalist at the hospital, the Ministry of Health in Gaza, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). A journalist at the hospital with whom CNN spoke on Wednesday said that hundreds of patients and people sheltering at the hospital are leaving. The sound of heavy gunfire can be heard in the background.

“The Israeli occupation forces thousands of displaced people, families of medical staff, and patients who cannot move to forcibly evacuate from the Nasser Medical Complex,” Dr. Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health in Hamas-controlled Gaza said in a statement on Wednesday. “They are threatened with extreme danger.”

What Israel is saying: The IDF in a statement Wednesday said that its soldiers had “opened a secure route to evacuate the civilian population taking shelter in the area of the Nasser Hospital toward the humanitarian zone.” It said that it did “not intend to evacuate patients and medical staff,” and that the operation was “being conducted in a controlled and precise manner by IDF troops in order to prevent terrorists exploiting the evacuation.”

More on the situation on the ground: Video filmed on Tuesday at the hospital shows columns of smoke at its perimeter, an Israeli bulldozer destroying a hospital perimeter wall, and an armored vehicle entering the hospital grounds. The sound of gunfire can be heard throughout.



SvennoJ on 14 February 2024

At least 8 people wounded after rocket attack on northern Israel


The site where a rocket landed near the entrance to a hospital in Safed, northern Israel, on February 14

At least eight people were wounded after a rocket attack on the northern Israeli city of Safed on Wednesday, the Ziv Medical Center said in a statement. The Israel Defense Forces said a base in the north of the country was targeted by rockets from Lebanon, without specifying which city.  Hezbollah, an Iran-backed armed group that is a regional force in its own right, has not claimed the attack.

Some context: From the day after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, crossfire has broken out on Lebanon's border with Israel. These exchanges are between Israel and Hamas-ally Hezbollah, as well as other factions operating in southern Lebanon.

IDF fighter jets begin "extensive wave of attacks" in Lebanon

The Israeli Air Force has begun an “extensive wave of attacks” in Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement Wednesday. Lebanese state media and Hezbollah-owned media reported air raids on several towns on southern Lebanon, including Aadchit, Souaneh and Chehabiya. The Israeli strikes follow an earlier rocket attack on the northern Israeli city of Safed, which the IDF said originated from Lebanese territory.

The Israeli military spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, says fighter jets launched “an extensive wave of attacks” on Lebanese territory. One Israeli soldier was killed and eight others wounded earlier in rocket strikes that came from southern Lebanon. The armed group Hezbollah has yet to claim responsibility.

Threat from Hezbollah not a ‘drip’ but an actual war: Ben-Gvir

Media have reported Israel’s war cabinet met to discuss how to respond to heavy shelling by Hezbollah on the city of Safed, which left one dead and eight wounded. Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is also reported to have sent Prime Minister Netanyahu a message asking him to hold an urgent meeting.

Ben-Gvir warned Israel’s leader the bombing from Lebanon is not a “drip” but an actual war as he urged him to rethink the current strategy in Israel’s north.

Reports of civilian casualties after strikes on Lebanon

Three people are reported to have been killed in the Marjayoun district after a house was struck by Israeli air strikes. The attacks came after a barrage of rockets from southern Lebanon hit a military base in Safed in northern Israel, killing one person and wounding several others.



SvennoJ on 14 February 2024

Trump’s ex-secretary Pompeo dances with Israeli forces

Ex-US secretary of state Mike Pompeo visited and danced with Israeli soldiers in the southern city of Ofakim, according to Israel National News. “I’ve been to Israel on numerous occasions. But this visit has been the most poignant and the most heartbreaking. What happened on October 7th was so shocking and so sadistic that the trauma is felt constantly, everywhere by everyone,” said Pompeo. “And yet their resilience is truly inspiring. I stand with Israel. I stand with the Jewish people.”

Pompeo is a major supporter of Israel. In 2019, he announced the United States was softening its position on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank after a series of moves by the Trump administration that reversed decades of US policy.





Amnesty International stages silent vigil outside UK PM residence

Protesters from the human rights group held the vigil in solidarity with Palestinians in Rafah outside Downing Street, the official residence and office of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.




Palestinians pay for Israeli, international policy failures: PA

The Palestinian people “are victims of the international and Israeli failure to deal with the Palestinian cause”, the Palestinian Authority said in a statement. “Netanyahu bears full responsibility for the failure of his policy in dealing with the Gaza Strip,” it said.

The foreign ministry added Israeli policies towards Palestinians included mass murder, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement. It blamed the international community for allowing international law and human rights to be trampled on.





Palestinian president calls on Hamas to ‘quickly complete’ truce deal

President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to “quickly complete” the prisoner-captive truce agreement and spare Palestinians another Nakba in Rafah. Palestinians refer to the Nakba, or catastrophe, to indicate the ethnic cleansing of Palestine in 1948, when Zionist forces declared the establishment of the state of Israel and expelled at least 750,000 people from their homes.

Abbas urged Hamas “to avoid dire consequences” of Israel’s ground invasion of Rafah, which would lead to thousands of victims, more suffering, and further displacement of the Palestinians. Anyone who disrupts the deal would be held responsible, Abbas said, as things are no longer tolerable. “We want to protect our people from the repercussions of any serious disaster that will befall them, so we must make decisions that serve the interests of our people and protect them … by stopping the aggression,” he said.

No further proof needed the PA is a tool of Israel. It's Netanyahu and the war cabinet that stand in the way of a deal and have the power to stop the aggression. It's like blaming the Ukrainians for not accepting Putin's 'truce' deal.



SvennoJ on 14 February 2024

Five injured in confrontations in Beit Ummar

At least five people have been injured during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces in Beit Ummar, occupied West Bank, local news agency Wafa reported. The Israeli military opened fire in the town, located north of Hebron, wounding five men with live rounds. More were hurt by rubber-coated metal bullets or suffered from tear-gas inhalation.

The United Nations has called on Israel to end “unlawful killings” and settler violence in the occupied West Bank, warning of a rapidly deteriorating human rights situation during intensified Israeli raids.

At least 18 Palestinians arrested in West Bank overnight

At least 18 Palestinians were arrested overnight in the occupied West Bank, including two women from Jericho. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society and the Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs say detentions also took place in Hebron, Qalqilya, Nablus, East Jerusalem and Ramallah.

The total number of arrests after October 7 is 7,020. Arrests are “one of the most prominent tools of collective punishment”, the groups said in a statement on Telegram.

Israeli army raids home of Silwan activist before demolition

The Israeli army stormed the house of Fakhri Abu Diab, an activist and spokesman for the people of Silwan, in occupied East Jerusalem, in advance of a planned demolition. The neighbourhood has been under increased pressure as the Israeli-controlled Jerusalem Municipality pursues its policy of encroachment on the occupied eastern part of the city.

Palestinian activist’s house demolished to pave way for ‘biblical theme park’

We were first inside the house then the Israeli police came in fully armed and threw us all out forcefully and moved us as far away as they could. The demolition is happening as we speak, a jackhammer on the end of a digger. That is the house of Fakhri Abu Diab. He is an activist who campaigns to stop exactly the same thing that is happening to his house right now.

The Israelis say many of the homes in this neighbourhood – it’s called al-Bustan, part of occupied East Jerusalem – are illegal. Palestinians don’t have the right permit since anything built after 1976 shouldn’t have been built and, therefore, is eligible for demolition. There are about 116 houses in this neighbourhood in the crosshairs and could have the same fate. There’s no compensation, Abu Diab is now homeless. This is something that happens very regularly.

This home isn’t being demolished for settlers, it’s because the Israelis want to build a biblical theme park in this neighbourhood.



SvennoJ on 14 February 2024

Israeli ships continue to attack fishermen on Deir el-Balah’s beach

Palestinian fishermen in central Gaza say they’re regularly attacked by the Israeli Navy, which opens fire on them as they attempt to feed the starved population of the besieged enclave. “Yesterday it was hugely dangerous. Our boats were damaged because of the intense shooting,” Imad al-Aqra, a fisherman from Deir el-Balah, told Al Jazeera.

“We can’t get further than 200 metres [656 feet] in the sea. We simply risk our lives going in. Two days ago, my relative was shot dead and his friend was severely wounded. I have survived bullets 20 times. Next time I may not go back to shore.”

Al-Aqra questioned why Israeli forces would target them. “We are just fishermen. How can we live if I can’t practise my profession safely? My family is starving. What we have per day is just 2-3kg, which is one-quarter of what we used to catch before October 7.”

Displaced Palestinians leave Nasser Hospital amid siege

Footage obtained by our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic shows displaced Palestinians who had been sheltering inside the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis leaving the compound. The Israeli military has imposed a weeks-long siege on the hospital and ordered the evacuation of the displaced.

Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) said those sheltering there were afraid to leave after reports people have been shot on the way. The army also fired on people inside the hospital, including a doctor and a nurse.

The Israeli military said Hamas continues to conduct military activities in the medical facility, an allegation Hamas denies.

Israeli protesters block aid bound for Gaza

The Nitzana border crossing between Egypt and Israel has been closed after dozens of Israel protesters blocked humanitarian aid trucks from entering the Gaza Strip. In recent weeks, similar protests occurred particularly at the Karam Abu Salem border crossing, known as Kerem Shalom in Israel. Protesters often include family members of captives being held by Hamas who demand their release before any more humanitarian aid can cross.

Palestinian sources told Al Jazeera that aid supplies stopped entering through the Rafah land crossing about a week ago. Only a limited number of fuel trucks have been allowed to enter.

Gaza Health Ministry: Death toll at 28,576

Israel’s war on Gaza has killed at least 28,576 people with at least 68,291 others wounded, Gaza Health Ministry says. The latest toll includes 103 people killed over the past 24 hours, a ministry statement said. Thousands of bodies are buried under collapsed buildings in Gaza, meaning the actual death toll since October 7 is far higher than official figures suggest.