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

SvennoJ on 04 March 2024

That depends on the US really. They can pull many levers to force Israel to accept a ceasefire. Israel keeps walking away from negotiations every time a deal is close and is hell bent on never allowing a two state solution, which is not acceptable to Hamas. Every time Israel finds another gotcha point, this time they want a list of all the captives that are still alive. (and proof I would guess) Which is very likely not easy to get for the Hamas leadership outside of Gaza after all the destruction Israel has wrought on Gaza. Plus they think it's a ploy to get intelligence.

But even if they got that, there will be another sticking point, and another. The war cabinet has made it clear they don't want a ceasefire, they want to go into Rafah and the want to keep occupying Gaza in full after ethnic cleansing the North part. They also don't want people to return North. Then you have even more radical elements already trying to start building settlements in Gaza.

As long as the US doesn't stop funding this genocidal madness, it's unlikely we get a ceasefire at all.


Palestinians hopeful for truce ‘drained’ as overnight attacks continue

People have their eyes and ears on the talks in Cairo and all the leaked reports of either progress or regression in the talks, but also on what’s going on on the ground – the overnight relentless attacks in central and northern Rafah city. And this has been the most draining part of what’s going on.

Meanwhile, over the past 12 hours, there have been about 92 people killed, including those who were killed while waiting for an aid truck.

‘Significant progress’ in Cairo talks for Gaza truce: Egypt TV

Mediators and Hamas officials have made “significant progress” towards a Gaza truce, Egyptian state-linked TV has reported as the talks in Cairo entered a second day. After weeks of diplomatic efforts, Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been scrambling to lock in a proposed six-week truce in the war between Israel and Hamas before Ramadan starts next week.

Al-Qahera News, linked to Egypt’s intelligence services, quoted an unnamed senior official as saying: “Egypt continues its intense efforts to reach a truce before Ramadan”, the Muslim fasting month which begins on March 10 or 11. “There has been significant progress in the negotiations,” the report said after the latest talks began Sunday in Cairo, without Israeli representation.

Israel has, however, not sent its delegation to the talks.

Netanyahu playing ‘hardball’ in truce talks – Analyst

Rami Khouri, a distinguished fellow at the American University of Beirut, has described Netanyahu’s latest demand for a list of captives from Hamas as a “hardball” and said the path to secure a lasting ceasefire in Gaza remained “tough”.

“In the first ceasefire, Hamas did not provide a list of names. The list is a new demand and appears not to be a government demand but Netanyahu’s own demand that he made at the last minute,” Khouri told Al Jazeera.

Hamas outside of Gaza leading negotiations as leadership inside Gaza ‘isolated’

Hassan Barari, a political analyst based in Qatar, said the Hamas leadership outside of the Gaza Strip was”entitled” to negotiate a ceasefire as the Hamas officials inside the blockaded territory were isolated with almost zero communication.

“Communication is almost broken because everything is censored and the Hamas leaders inside Gaza are almost isolated from the world simply because of the continuous bombardment,” he said. “But the political leadership outside Gaza are entitled to come up with a deal if [it] meets the demands of the people inside. We know the broad lines of the agreement from Hamas’s perspective is a ceasefire.

“If the leadership of Qatar and Egypt can reach a deal with the Israelis on these issues [exchange of prisoners and delivery of humanitarian aid], then I think the [Hamas leadership] inside Gaza will be happy simply because they cannot take part in these negotiations – they have to rely on the external leadership.”

Barari also said Hamas was refusing to give Israel the names of captives in the Gaza Strip because it regarded this as intelligence.

“Probably Hamas will provide the information later on if there is a deal looming. But at this point is it difficult for Hamas to give [the Israelis] these details because they will interpret this – in the case, a deal is not reached – as providing them with intelligence necessary for them.”

Hamas official says Cairo talks will go on despite Israel’s absence: Reuters

A Hamas official has said that the Palestinian group is pressing on with talks on securing a truce in Gaza despite Israel’s decision not to attend them. “Talks in Cairo continue for the second day regardless of whether the occupation’s delegation is present in Egypt,” the Hamas official told the Reuters news agency.

The talks, which began on Sunday in Cairo, are billed as a final hurdle to establish the first extended truce of the five-month-old war, in time for the Ramadan Muslim fasting month which is expected to begin on Sunday. Reports said earlier that Israel declined to attend the negotiations because Hamas had refused its request for a list of names of all hostages it is holding that are still alive.

Delegations from Egypt, Qatar and the US are taking part in the talks as mediators.

Yet as the stumbling block seems to be Netanyahu personally this time, and Gantz went behind his back for talks in the US, there is a glimmer of hope.

Although analysts think he went there to get more military assistance :/

Gantz will likely ask for military assistance from US, analyst says

Omar Ashour, a professor of security and military studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says Benny Gantz during his visit to the US will likely ask for more military assistance to bolster Israel’s ammunition stockpiles.

“If some sort of a truce happens or was successful, I think what we will see is a bit more of reconstruction of forces, repairing of some of the armoured vehicles and also rearming them to be much more effective in the next round,” Ashour told Al Jazeera.

The visit by Gantz, who is expected to meet senior US administration officials, comes as US Vice President Harris called for an “immediate” pause in the fighting.


The remarks from Harris didn't go over well in Israel

‘It’s time to destroy Hamas, Kamala’: Israeli minister

Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has called on to “destroy” Harris hours after she demanded “immediate” ceasefire. “It’s time to destroy Hamas, Kamala,” Ben-Gvir posted on X on Monday before a meeting between the US vice president and Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz.

Israel has been running a brutal military campaign since October 7, when the Palestinian Hamas group carried out a deadly attack inside Israel. Israel has refused to cease fire saying it wants total defeat of Hamas.

Netanyahu is reportedly annoyed by Gantz’s visit to the US without his approval.

Harris bluntly called out Israel on Sunday for not doing enough to ease a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza. “People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane and our common humanity compels us to act,” said Harris who also appeared to refute the Israeli narrative of the “flour massacre”.


It's a mess in Israel

Gantz’s US visit aims to ‘strengthen moderates’ in Israel: Report

The US administration’s decision to host war cabinet minister Benny Gantz is a calculated step aimed at “strengthening the moderate axis” in the Israeli government, according to a source speaking to the Haaretz newspaper. According to the source, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is upset about the visit, during which Gantz will meet US Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Any official trip abroad by a minister that is not private but rather in an official capacity requires approval from the prime minister,” the source reportedly said. Gantz arrived in the US on Sunday and is expected to hold meetings with other senior government officials in addition to Harris, such as National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

Gantz’s National Unity party is known to be a counterweight to Netanyahu’s far-right allies.

Ben-Gvir is a threat to national security: Israeli opposition leader

The leader of the Yesh Atid party says Ben-Gvir cannot be trusted and should be immediately removed from his position. “The Minister of National Security is a threat to national security,” Yair Lapid wrote on X.

“You cannot trust him with sensitive material, you cannot trust him around intelligence personnel and you cannot trust him in the defence cabinet,” he said. “Any normal prime minister would have fired him this morning,” Lapid added.

Israeli security heads hold talks over Ramadan measures

Israel’s security services have held talks on the measures to be implemented for Muslims ahead of Ramadan next week, according to the Israeli army.

The military said on X that its chief of staff, the head of the Shin Bet intelligence service and the police commissioner held a joint situation assessment meeting overnight before the Muslim holy month in order to strengthen coordination and readiness among the bodies.

The statement said that the sides expressed the desire to allow freedom of worship for Muslims under security and safety restrictions.

Israeli meeting on Ramadan measures cancelled: Report

The Israeli Broadcasting Corporation has reported that a meeting between senior Israeli officials to discuss security preparation for Ramadan has been cancelled due to Netanyahu’s illness.

Netanyahu was expected to hold a discussion with Minister Ben-Gvir and officials in the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) and the army on the issue of restrictions on Al-Aqsa Mosque during the Muslim holy month.

Families of Israeli captives stage silent march at Knesset

The family members of the captives held by Hamas in Gaza have carried out a silent procession at the Israeli parliament to mark 150 days since their loved ones were abducted. The event began with the family members’ protest outside the Knesset building while counting together to 150, before entering the establishment to continue their demonstration inside, Haaretz newspaper reported.

The Israeli authorities say that about 130 people abducted by Hamas in the October 7 attack remain in Gaza, with an unclear number of deaths among them. More than 100 people were released from Hamas captivity during a pause in late November in exchange for Palestinian prisoners freed from Israeli jails.






It all hinges on Biden

Will Biden reconsider his unconditional support for Israel?

US President Joe Biden is facing a rebellion in his party over his support for Israel as it starves the people of Gaza. But could this force the Biden administration to reconsider its approach?

We speak to Matt Duss, former adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders, for his views.

 

Last edited by SvennoJ - on 04 March 2024

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SvennoJ on 04 March 2024

Israeli jets attack Lebanese town causing damage: Report

Israeli warplanes have conducted air strikes on several homes in the southern Lebanese town of Aita al-Shaab Sunday overnight through to Monday morning, according to the Lebanese state media. The attacks caused significant damage to properties, crops and residences, especially targeting power and water networks, the official National News Agency said.

The Israeli jets also targeted the vicinity of Khallet Warde, neighbouring Aita al-Shaab. The agency said that Israel’s reconnaissance aircraft have carried out flights over southern Lebanon’s Sidon, Naqoura, Chamaa, Majdal Zoun and Tayr Harfa regions.

Thai nationals wounded in attack from Lebanon: Israeli reports

Two Thai workers have been wounded by an antitank missile fired from Lebanon near the Margaliot Jewish settlement in northern Israel, medics quoted by the Israeli media say. The Magen David Adom ambulance service quoted by The Times of Israel said one of the men, in his 30s, is listed as in a moderate-to-serious condition while the other man, aged 29, is lightly hurt.

Earlier, Lebanese state media reported Israeli attacks on a border town overnight and in the morning as well as low-altitude flights by reconnaissance aircraft in several regions.

One dead, 7 injured in attack on northern Israel: State media

We are receiving updates on the reported attack from Lebanon on a Jewish settlement in northern Israel. One person has been killed and seven others injured when an antitank missile landed near the Margaliot Jewish settlement, according to the Israeli state media. Earlier Israeli reports said that two Thai workers were wounded in the attack.

Reporting the increased casualty toll, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation said two of the injured were in serious condition, four were moderate and one was lightly injured.

Lebanon’s Hula and Markaba towns bombed in apparent tit-for-tat attack by Israel

The southern Lebanese towns of Hula and Markaba have been targeted by phosphorus and smoke bombardment, according to the local media. The area overlooks the Hunin Valley and the Margaliot settlement in the Upper Galilee in northern Israel.

The attack appears to be in response to an earlier antitank missile attack on Israel’s Margaliot that killed at least one person and wounded several others, according to the Israeli media.

Translation: Israeli warplanes launched an air strike with missiles targeting the town of Chihine.

Israeli army claims striking Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon

The Israeli air forces have said that it struck targets in southern Lebanon, confirming the reports by the Lebanese media earlier, as the escalation that reportedly started overnight continues over the border. The Israeli army said that its fighter jets attacked two military sites of the Hezbollah group located in the town of Chihine and the village of Aita al-Shaab.

Earlier, both the Lebanese and Israeli media reported mutual cross-border attacks with the one on Israel’s Margaliot killing at least one person and injuring several others. Israel’s strikes are apparently a response to the reported deadly anti-tank missile attack from Lebanon.

Hezbollah claims hitting Israel’s ‘spy services’ in occupied Kfar Shuba hills

The Lebanese armed group has claimed to have hit Israel’s “spy services at the Ruweisat al-Alam site in the occupied Kfar Shuba hills with appropriate weapons”. Hezbollah said in a statement on Telegram that the attack came “in support of out steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip” at 3:20pm local time (13:20 GMT). A map was attached to the announcement with the target marked in a red circle.

What do we know about Hezbollah-Israel border hostilities?

  • Since October 8, Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged near-daily attacks across the Israel-Lebanon border. The rise in hostilities is reviving concerns that the war in Gaza threatens escalation across the region. The hostilities seem be expanding away from border areas in recent days with Israel conducting strikes almost 60km (37 miles) inside Lebanese territory.
  • In one of the latest attacks, a Hezbollah anti-tank missile fired on Israel’s Margaliot settlement in Upper Galilee killed at least one person and wounded several, according to the Israeli media.
  • Israel then proceeded to attack the southern Lebanese towns of Hula and Markaba by phosphorus and smoke bombardment.
  • It is currently the largest escalation of the Hezbollah–Israel conflict to have occurred since the 2006 Lebanon War. Hezbollah has described its attacks as part of a campaign to support Palestinians under fire in the Gaza Strip, where more than 30,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed.
  • In northern Israel, the ongoing conflict has forced 96,000 people to leave their homes while in Lebanon, more than 100,000 individuals have been displaced.
  • Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have killed about 50 civilians and 200 Hezbollah fighters. Attacks by Hezbollah have killed a dozen or so Israeli soldiers and six civilians.

‘Limited war’ at Lebanon-Israel border would not be ‘containable’: US envoy

US Special Envoy Amos Hochstein has said after meeting Lebanon’s parliament speaker Nabih Berri in Beirut that “escalation of violence is in no one’s interest, and there is no such thing as a limited war”. “A temporary ceasefire is not enough. A limited war is not containable,” he added.

Hochstein is on a one-day visit to Lebanon as part of diplomatic efforts to end exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel that intensified since Israel began its war on Gaza. It has marked the worst conflict across Lebanon’s southern border since the 2006 war, raising fears of a bigger confrontation.



SvennoJ on 04 March 2024

Divisions within Israeli war cabinet

Israeli media reports indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “fuming” at the thought of Benny Gantz meeting with US officials, some going so far as to say Netanyahu himself said, “There’s only one prime minister for the state of Israel.”

Gantz’s office did release a statement saying that on Friday, the former defence minister did brief Netanyahu on his travels, who he was meeting and how long he would be gone. But there have been divisions in Israel’s war cabinet after Gantz and his party, National Unity, entered into an emergency war government with the prime minister.

Gantz has had a lot of different opinions on how the war should be prosecuted and what kind of policy Netanyahu is enabling when it comes to succumbing to pressure from the far-right members of his government, such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Source close to Gantz shares his US trip agenda with Al Jazeera

A source close to the Israeli war cabinet minister tells Al Jazeera that his trip to the US is about “strengthening the strategic alliance between the two countries, preserving the legitimacy for the continuation of the ground operation in Gaza” and continued US diplomatic support for Israel’s war on Gaza.

The trip is also aimed at “promoting a security arrangement in Lebanon” amid rising cross-border exchanges. This is quite new. Earlier in the conflict, the US moved large amounts of military assets and personnel into the region out of concern that the conflict could spread.

Gantz also seeks “strengthening US pressure on the negotiators, the mediators on the subject of the hostage framework”, the source added. This seems to be a major sticking point over the past few days, not just about where these captives are, how they will be released, how many will be released in exchange for how many Palestinian prisoners but, crucially, which ones are still alive.

And discussions Gantz will be involved in, including with congressional leaders and administration officials, will focus on “the normalisation agreements [between Israel and Arab countries]” and the plane for “the day after” the war ends. One big question many observers have is who is going to be in charge in Gaza after the war ends.

Smotrich wants Israel’s war on Gaza to continue throughout Ramadan

Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said “only more pressure on Hamas in Ramadan will force them to kneel” and release the Israeli captives.

“We must not allow Hamas to choose who is released from among our abductors, and the demand must be the release of all abductees,” he said.

His comments came as Qatari and Egyptian mediators met US and Hamas envoys in Cairo for a second day of talks aimed at a pause in fighting before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan starts next week. Israel has not sent a delegation so far.



SvennoJ on 04 March 2024

Israeli medics refuse to provide care to prisoners from Gaza: Human rights group

Physicians for Human Rights Israel says it has documented instances in which Israeli nurses or imaging technicians have declined to provide care to prisoners from Gaza and had to be replaced. The group said it documented unethical restraining measures and the limited administration of pain medication to patients from the besieged coastal enclave.

Patients are also dehumanised, the group said. They are not referred to by their names but are assigned a five-digit number while being addressed as “almoni” (anonymous), it said. They also undergo treatment with their arms and legs restrained, blindfolded and with minimal clothing, the group added.

“Many medical personnel in Israel have communicated the position that detained Gazans deserve only minimal care to prevent their death, and some have even advocated for the complete denial of access to medical facilities,” the group said in a statement.

 

Palestinian foreign ministry says Israel wrecking havoc in occupied West Bank

Israeli raids, detentions and movement restrictions are making the lives of Palestinians “an unbearable hell”, the ministry has said, warning of “serious risks” of plunging the occupied West Bank into “violence and anarchy”.

“Our people need international protection now more than ever as a prerequisite to ending the occupation and apartheid,” it added in a statement.

Israel arrests 55 Palestinians overnight in occupied West Bank

The Israeli army has arrested dozens of Palestinians, including children and former prisoners, across the occupied West Bank overnight. The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said in a statement the arrest operations were concentrated in the Hebron governorate, where 22 Palestinians were arrested. The rest of the arrests took place in the governorates of Tubas, Bethlehem, Qalqilya, Jerusalem and Ramallah.

The total number of arrests since the start of the war has risen to about 7,400, the organisation said.

Palestinian teen killed in Israeli raid on refugee camp in Ramallah

Israeli forces have raided the Am’ari refugee camp in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah and shot and killed 16-year-old Mustafa Abu Shalbak, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

Confrontations broke out during which live bullets were fired by Israeli soldiers at the Palestinians protesting the raid. Abu Shalbak was shot in the neck and chest, and was transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex, where he was announced dead.

Several hours after the incursion, Israeli occupation forces stationed themselves at the main entrance to the camp, witnesses said.

Israeli settlers enter Nablus, beat Palestinian man

Israeli settlers have attacked a Palestinian man in the city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank, the Wafa news agency reports. The settlers beat the man and attacked him with pepper spray, Wafa reports. Footage authenticated by Al Jazeera’s Sanad verification unit also shows the Israeli settlers singing and dancing in the streets.

They had entered the city to visit Joseph’s Tomb, regarded by some as the final resting place of biblical figure Joseph. The Israeli military escorts Jewish settlers to the site on a monthly basis, but this incursion was done without authorisation. Israeli forces eventually escorted the group of settlers out of the city.

Translation: “10 vehicles carrying settlers entered the city at dawn”.. Settlers perform Talmudic dances in Nablus in the West Bank.

Israeli military arrests at least 10 people in West Bank town of Dura

The Israeli military has stormed the town of Dura, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank and arrested at least 10 people, the Wafa news agency reports.

All of the men were former Palestinian detainees, according to Wafa. Our Al Jazeera Arabic colleagues are also reporting that Israeli forces have carried out an arrest campaign in the Am’ari camp, south of Ramallah. It is not known how many people have been arrested.

Gunfire, explosions as Israeli forces continue West Bank raids

The Wafa news agency is reporting clashes, gunfire and explosions in the Nur Shams refugee camp after Israeli forces accompanied by bulldozers raided the area. Israeli forces deployed live rounds and destroyed infrastructure, including newly built streets on the camp’s outskirts, it said. There were clashes between Israeli forces and young Palestinian men, while “several explosions” were also heard.

Earlier, we reported that an explosive device was used to blow up an Israeli bulldozer that entered the camp. Israeli military vehicles were also seen in Jericho and Tulkarem city.

The Israeli military has been conducting raids and destroying buildings and facilities in the West Bank nearly every night since October 7.



SvennoJ on 04 March 2024

Israel ramping up attacks over past 24 hours

There has a clear increase in the Israeli military attacks in the past 24 hours, particularly in the southern parts of Gaza. At least 17 Palestinians were killed in the latest Israeli barrage of attacks on the Rafah district that destroyed two residential houses.

Meanwhile, we have been hearing more loud explosions in the city of Khan Younis where the Israeli military is still sieging a residential neighbourhood. The situation is also very dire and critical in the central areas, specifically at the Nuseirat refugee camp, where Israeli bombardment has wounded civilians.

WHO chief shares ‘grim findings’ after agency visits north Gaza hospitals

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said on X that the World Health Organization (WHO) has visited al-Awda and Kamal Adwan hospitals in northern Gaza over the weekend. He said the WHO team found “severe levels of malnutrition, children dying of starvation, serious shortages of fuel, food and medical supplies, hospital buildings destroyed”.

“The situation at Al-Awda Hospital is particularly appalling, as one of the buildings is destroyed,” he said.

“Kamal Adwan Hospital is the only paediatrics hospital in the north of Gaza, and is overwhelmed with patients. The lack of food resulted in the deaths of 10 children. The lack of electricity poses a serious threat to patient care, especially in critical areas like the intensive care unit and the neonatal unit,” Tedros added.

He said the WHO managed to deliver 9,500 litres (2,509 gallons) of fuel to each hospital, and some essential medical supplies. “We appeal to Israel to ensure humanitarian aid can be delivered safely, and regularly. Civilians, especially children, and health staff need scaled-up help immediately. But the key medicine all these patients need is peace. Ceasefire,” Tedros added.



Number of children dying of malnutrition in Gaza rises to 16

Medical sources have confirmed that the number of Palestinian children who died as a result of malnutrition and inadequate medical care had increased to 16, following the death of a child at Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah.

On Sunday, the out-of-service Kamal Adwan Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip said 15 children had died as a result of malnutrition and dehydration, and that there were six other children in intensive care.

Most of Gaza’s hospitals have been either shut down or crippled in the wake of more than five months of Israeli attacks.

‘Child deaths we feared’ in Gaza are here, says UNICEF

UNICEF has warned that many more children in Gaza will die of dehydration and malnutrition unless there is direct intervention to provide assistance.

“Now, the child deaths we feared are here and are likely to rapidly increase unless the war ends and obstacles to humanitarian relief are immediately resolved,” said Adele Khodr, UNICEF regional director for MENA.




How Israeli attacks pushed more than 1.5 million people into Rafah

Since Israel’s war on Gaza began, almost all Palestinians in the besieged enclave have been forced to leave their homes to find safety, the majority of them fleeing to the southern city of Rafah. But as Israel bombards Rafah, once designated by Israel as a “safe zone”, Palestinians are finding that there is no safety in Gaza as long as the war continues.

Al Jazeera’s interactive team has mapped out what displacing more than two million Palestinians in Gaza looks like from October 7 to January 14.

https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/2024/displacement-israel-war-on-gaza-no-safe-place/

Gaza Health Ministry: We detected about one million cases of infectious diseases

The Health Ministry says it has detected about one million cases of infectious diseases, without having the necessary medical capabilities to treat them, as it described the medical situation in the Gaza Strip as “extremely catastrophic”.

In a statement released on Monday, the ministry stressed that the Israeli occupation deliberately caused an unspeakable humanitarian and health catastrophe, which contributed to the spread of epidemics and infectious diseases. The ministry also confirmed that the residents of the northern Gaza Strip are struggling with death as a result of famine that has exceeded global levels due to the scarcity of water and food.

The ministry said that Israel has killed 364 health workers and arrested 269, including hospital directors, during the 150 days of the aggression on the Gaza Strip. It added that Israel has destroyed 155 health institutions, put 32 hospitals and 53 health centres out of service, and targeted 126 ambulances.

‘Grave has no resistance’: Israel bombs cemetery in northern Gaza’s Jabalia camp

Israel has bombed an improvised mass grave in the Block Two area of the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, leaving bodies scattered around the cemetery, according to Al Jazeera’s team on the ground.

“These are the parts of some of the martyrs that I personally placed in the shroud,” said one man, who buried a grandmother, aunts and an uncle in the targeted cemetery. “The mass grave has no resistance and has no missile. Here there are only martyrs from this area and other different areas. They were targeted by an F16 aircraft,” he added.

New operations conducted in Khan Younis, dozens arrested: Israeli army

The Israeli forces have carried out fresh operations in the Hamad Town residential complex in the southern town of Khan Younis in Gaza in the past few days, according to an army statement. The statement on X said the military forces targeted, what they said, the Hamas infrastructure in the neighbourhood, adding that many Hamas fighters fled to the area from battles in other areas of Khan Younis.

Raids by Israeli commandos targeting Hamas “weapon depots, hideouts and other infrastructure” were carried out after “large concentrated wave of air strikes in the area”, it added. The military said that about 80 suspects were captured and questioned in the area, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters.

Intense clashes between the Israeli army and fighters have been ongoing in Khan Younis for the last several weeks, according to reports from both sides.

 

Six Palestinians killed in second Israeli attack on Rafah

At least six Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli air raid on a residential building in Rafah, bringing the total toll from overnight attacks on the southern city to 13. The latest attack targeted the Madi family home in the east of Rafah. Several others who were wounded were taken to the nearby al-Najjar Hospital.

Earlier, we reported that at least seven others were killed in a separate Israeli strike on a house in the Khirbet al-Adas neighbourhood in Rafah. Rescuers in the area have been searching through the rubble by hand to find survivors and recover bodies.

Israeli bombing of Rafah kills dozens, including long-awaited twins

A woman who spent 11 years trying to conceive is mourning her twins, born just four months ago, who were killed in Rafah along with her husband. A series of Israeli attacks in recent days on Gaza’s southernmost city, once declared a safe zone, have killed 25 Palestinians.



Death toll in Israel’s war on Gaza rises to 30,534

More than 100 people have been killed in the past 24 hours in Israeli bombardment, taking the death toll to at least 30,534, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza. Israel’s military offensive since October 7 has wounded 71,920 people in the besieged Palestinian enclave of 2.3 million people, the ministry said.



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SvennoJ on 04 March 2024

Police arrest man who appeared to brandish nail gun at pro-Palestinian protesters during demonstrations outside Thornhill synagogue

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/police-arrest-man-who-appeared-to-brandish-nail-gun-at-pro-palestinian-protesters-during-demonstrations/article_b1527cf8-d98a-11ee-879f-bb043cc67b9e.html

York Regional Police have arrested a man who appeared to be holding a nail gun while attacking pro-Palestinian protesters as two groups clashed outside a Thornhill synagogue Sunday morning.

Appeared? He's right on video with it



Police said no injuries were reported. A 27-year-old Vaughan man has been charged with possession of weapons dangerous to the public, assault with a weapon, mischief and two counts of assault.

Pro-Palestinian groups gathered outside the Aish Hatorah synagogue as it was hosting a travelling Israeli real estate presentation. They were met by a counterprotest promoted by the former leader of the Canadian chapter of a far-right extremist group called the Jewish Defense League.

In an online video of the incident viewed by the Star, a man is seen pointing a nail gun at pro-Palestinian protesters, shoving and smacking those nearest to him. Later in the video another man points to a mark on his jacket and claims he was shot with a nail there.

Protest organizers had called for demonstrators to gather at the synagogue to stand “against the illegal selling of Palestinian land." However, this seems to have been a reference to a separate event planned for Thursday at another synagogue. Promotional materials for that event say it will provide advice on real estate sales in both Israel and illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. There's no indication that Sunday's presentation addressed the West Bank.

Protest organizers told the Star that while they could have been clearer in distinguishing between the two events, ultimately, they believe all Israeli land is stolen and any attempt at selling it is worthy of protest.

The protest at the synagogue comes at a time of increasing concern from the Jewish community that pro-Palestinian demonstrations amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war are targeting Jewish establishments to intimidate them. Protesters strongly deny any antisemitic intent and say their activism and civil disobedience is aimed at Israel, not Jews.



SvennoJ on 04 March 2024

Happening in the states as well (selling Palestinian land)

US Muslim groups denounce planned event to sell occupied Palestinian land

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the US’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation, along with American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), have called for a federal probe into a planned “real estate” event at a synagogue in Teaneck, New Jersey, the US.

The event, reportedly organised by “My Home in Israel Real Estate,” a group based in the occupied West Bank, is set to occur on March 10.

In a statement, CAIR’s Dina Sayedahmed said: “Houses of worship should be sacred spaces, and it is deeply concerning to see anyone use a house of worship to allegedly flout international law by selling off stolen land.”

In a statement, AMP’s Chairperson Wassim Kanaan said the groups are mobilising their communities to protest the planned event. “We are watching Israel commit genocide in Gaza and pillage Palestinians’ homes in the West Bank and Jerusalem. These are both stark violations of international law,” the statement said.

Israeli military attacks southern Lebanon, confirms interception over Israel

The Israeli military has released footage that it says shows an attack by its warplanes on “several military buildings” belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. It also said a “suspicious aerial target” crossed into Israel from Lebanese territory and was intercepted by air defences.

This comes hours after alarms sounded in Upper Galilee near the Lebanese border with reports indicating a possible drone intrusion. The Israeli military said rocket fire alarms sounded after the interceptor was launched.

The Israeli military also reported interceptions of incoming fire from the Mount Dov area and said it targeted the launch sites in southern Lebanon with shelling.

Aid packages airdropped on Gaza

A Palestinian activist has shared footage of humanitarian aid being dropped in the northern Gaza Strip.

The video, verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking unit Sanad, shows residents running to reach the spots where the aid was being parachuted, in order to secure essential supplies amid Israel’s siege on the coastal enclave.

The person who posted the video, Jannat Noufer, called this airdrop “the daily event of humiliation in northern Gaza”, as starving Palestinians are forced to chase packages of supplies that are inadequate to their needs, while Israel continues to block aid from coming in.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4GB_AKMNjN/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=5df46364-79a2-42f8-8ac3-6475198b7b0f

It's amazing how civilized people still are. Compared to Black Friday in the US...

These air drops seem more designed to invite that kind of fighting than to deliver meaningful aid...

Attacks on Palestinians rise after sanctions imposed on Israeli settlers: PA official

Amir Daoud from the Palestinian Authority’s commission on the separation wall and settlements says settler attacks have risen despite American, British and French sanctions.

“In February, settlers carried out 129 attacks in the occupied West Bank with 38 attacks concentrated in the Nablus governorate, 37 in Hebron and 17 in the Ramallah area,” Daoud told Al Jazeera.

“Last month also witnessed a significant and dangerous escalation in confiscation and theft of citizens’ property, cattle and agricultural equipment as well as vehicles, money, gold and mobile phones,” he added.

Attacks, Daoud said, escalated after the sanctions were imposed in what he calls “a clear challenge to the world and a message that sanctions will not deter settlers”.

 

Employee of US embassy in Israel dies

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller has confirmed media reports of the death of a “direct hire” employee of the embassy but did not offer many details. “I can confirm the death of a direct hire of the US embassy employee in Jerusalem,” Miller said during a news briefing.

“It’s an incident that is under investigation,” he continued, saying this is a step that is always taken when an employee dies and there is no indication of foul play. Miller confirmed that the person is an American citizen but would not say what job he or she did for the embassy.



SvennoJ on 04 March 2024

Here we go again. How many times does this need to be debunked.

Israel says UN trying to keep quiet on report about Hamas attacks

Israel’s foreign minister says he has recalled the country’s UN ambassador for consultations over alleged attempts by the organisation to keep quiet a report on what he describes as “mass rapes” committed by Hamas.

“I ordered our ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, to return to Israel for immediate consultations regarding the attempt to keep quiet the serious UN report on the mass rapes committed by Hamas and its helpers on October 7,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

“Despite the authority granted to him, the UN secretary general did not order the convening of the security council in light of the findings, in order to declare Hamas a terrorist organization and impose sanctions on its supporters,” Katz said.

Israel releases alleged audio files of UNRWA employees amid row

The Israeli military has released short audio files that it alleges are recordings of two employees of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) who are accused of participating in the October 7 attack.

It claims both worked as teachers in UNRWA schools, were inside Israel and took young women as hostages back to the Gaza Strip.

In January, Israel alleged that a dozen of the agency’s employees were involved in the October 7 attacks on southern Israel. This recording, released over a month later, is some of the first evidence it has presented to the public. Israeli officials have said they wish to dismantle the UN agency, which they claim is heavily infiltrated by Hamas.

Western allies of Israel, including the US, have cut funding to UNRWA – the main organisation delivering aid to Palestinians – at a time when millions in the besieged enclave are in dire need of humanitarian relief.

Israel has also been heavily hampering the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza despite international criticism and condemnation.

UNRWA says Israel authorities tortured detained staff

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees has said that Israeli authorities tortured some of its staff members during detention and interrogation.

“Some of our staff have conveyed to UNRWA teams that they were forced to confessions under torture and ill-treatment” while being asked about the October 7 attack on Israel, the agency said in a statement to AFP.




US in support of UN probe into killing of aid seekers

US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller says the US is in support of the UN’s investigation into an attack on Palestinians waiting for aid distribution in Gaza City that killed over 100 and left more than 700 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Elsewhere in the US government,  the White House said a temporary ceasefire in Gaza was essential to reaching a deal that would free Israeli captives in Gaza, and called on Hamas to accept the terms currently on the table, as talks to secure a truce were under way in Cairo.



SvennoJ on 04 March 2024

UN General Assembly convenes to discuss US veto on Gaza resolution, UNRWA

The assembly is now in session to debate the February 20 veto by the US that prevented yet another resolution on an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip from passing. The meeting, which started at 10am (15:00 GMT) in New York, will look at Washington’s third veto to protect Israel since its war on Gaza started in October.

The UNGA will also be briefed by Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees.

Situation in Gaza is catastrophic: UN General Assembly president

Dennis Francis, also Trinidad and Tobago’s UN ambassador, says the situation in the besieged coastal enclave is “unconscionable and shameful”.

“I am shocked and horrified at the reported killing and injury of hundreds of people during disbursement of food supplies west of Gaza City last week,” he said while addressing the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

Francis warns that an Israeli invasion of Rafah would leave an already fragile humanitarian operation at death’s door. “I, therefore, urgently call for maximum restraint to prevail in order to save innocent civilian lives.”

“Let me close with a reminder that this week marks a grim milestone: 150 days of violence. … Each day this painful reality continues to entrench the feeling of frustration and disillusionment – especially by those caught in the crossfire,” he said.

Growing isolation of US, Israel at UNGA amid ongoing Gaza war

The United Nations has not been able to act given that so many people, now more than 30,000, have died in Gaza.

The comments from Liechtenstein [at the UN General Assembly or UNGA] meeting on the usage of veto power] were interesting and relevant in that they called on UN resolutions that call on the UN Security Council to act when there is credible evidence and their actions could prevent atrocities.

There is growing isolation of Israel and the United States at the UNGA. The UNGA long ago called for a humanitarian ceasefire [in Gaza], more than three-quarters of member states [agreed]. That goes far beyond the Arab and Islamic world. A number of countries are expressing their support for such action, and their concern about the disregard for international law.

US says working on new draft UN resolution on Gaza

US Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Robert Wood says Washington is working on a new draft resolution on Gaza. He told the UN General Assembly – aimed at reviewing the February 20 US veto in support of Israel – that the draft “would achieve a temporary ceasefire which would allow hostages to go home to their families and would help get aid into the hands of Palestinian civilians, who so desperately need it”.

Wood also reiterated Washington’s claim that the UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire that it vetoed last month could have undermined the framework of the truce agreement between Israel and Hamas. The deal is still under discussion but has so far failed to cross the finish line.

“We remain committed to engage constructively on our resolution in the days to come,” Wood said, shortly after US Vice President Kamala Harris called for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza for six weeks.

Arab Group condemns UN Security Council deadlock

The Arab Group of 22 nations in the United Nations has condemned the “repeated failure” of the UN Security Council to implement its duties on safeguarding international peace and security, and stopping the bloodshed in Gaza.

“The draft resolution had reflected a balanced position and gave priority to humanitarian dimensions to save hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, yet it was disappointing to see a member of the Security Council using the veto right,” representative Abdullah Ali Fadhel al-Saadi said of the most recent target of a US veto in the council.

“This has allowed the Israeli military machine to continue its massacres against Palestinian civilians,” he added, enumerating the impact of the war on civilians, especially women and children, and the dire humanitarian situation.

The Arab Group said UN member states need to “stop this madness and stop the Palestinian bloodshed.

A look at the history of US vetos on Israel resolutions at the UN

As the UN General Assembly meets to discuss the most recent US veto of a Security Council resolution that would have called for a ceasefire in Gaza, take a look at its history of using its veto power, which belongs to only four other countries (China, France, Russia and the UK), to protect Israel.

‘Look at Yazan’: Mansour pleads for Gaza children at UNGA

Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s representative to the United Nations, told the world to look at the children in Gaza who are losing their lives or limbs, either to starvation imposed by Israel or the bombs it drops on the besieged enclave.

“Look at Yazan,” he told the UN General Assembly session in New York, holding up an image of Yazan al-Kafarneh, a Palestinian child who died today of malnutrition. Images of him, gaunt and pale, made an impact on social media users as they circulated online.

“He was a lively boy,” Mansour said. “He was killed by Israel using starvation as a weapon of war.”

“The era of Israeli impunity must come to an end, and we should enter a new era of accountability and sanctions.”

Israel feeling under pressure at the UN General Assembly

Tamer Qarmout, assistant professor at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, says Israel is feeling under pressure at the UNGA meeting on veto powers and referencing the Holocaust.

“For Israelis, they always start their argument when it comes to this war from the point of the Holocaust, the card they use, and then October 7. In between, there’s nothing in his [the Israeli ambassador to the UN’s] mind,” Qarmout told Al Jazeera.

On Israel threatening the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the separate allegations of sexual violence following the October 7 attack, Qarmout says Israel should allow international bodies access into the occupied territories to investigate the claims they’re suggesting.

“If they’re sincere about this, allow this [investigations] to happen. We’re all in for accountability. No one is in favour of these crimes even in conflict situations, but when it comes to applying international law, it has to be applied in an equal way, you cannot pick and choose,” he said.



SvennoJ on 04 March 2024

Again

Israeli forces hit Kuwait Roundabout in Gaza City

Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Gaza reports that several casualties resulted from an Israeli bombing that targeted the Kuwait Roundabout in northern Gaza. The exact number of Palestinians killed and injured by this attack is unclear at this time.

This roundabout, in the south of Gaza City, saw an Israeli attack on aid seekers yesterday that killed “dozens”, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Several killed in Israeli attack on southern Gaza

Our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting multiple deaths following an Israeli bombing that targeted a house near the European Hospital, east of Khan Younis.

Israeli forces kill Palestinian boy in Burin in occupied West Bank

Eleven-year-old Amr Najjar was shot in the head with live ammunition in Burin, a village southwest of Nablus, the Palestine Red Crescent says. He was transported to hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.

Two other Palestinians were injured in the village as well: a 19-year-old man who was shot in the chest and a 30-year-old man who was physically assaulted by Israeli soldiers, resulting in head wounds.

Israeli forces injure Palestinian teen near Hebron

The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) says that a 16-year-old has been shot in his lower body in Fawwar refugee camp in the southern occupied West Bank.

Palestinian media showed footage of the transfer of the boy’s evacuation to hospital by the PRCS.

Israeli air strike reported in southern Lebanon’s al-Adissa

According to the Lebanese media, Israeli warplanes have carried out an air strike in the southern Lebanese town of al-Adissa. It was not immediately clear what the target was or whether the strike resulted in casualties.



Translation: Israeli warplanes launched an air strike targeting the town of al-Adissa.

Yemen’s Houthis confirm missile strike on ‘Israeli ship’ MSC Sky

Military spokesman for Yemeni Houthis Yahya Saree confirms during his latest televised statement that the group successfully hit the MSC Sky in the Arabian Sea, which he identified as an “Israeli ship”. Saree said the cargo vessel was targeted with anti-ship missiles and was directly hit, appearing to confirm earlier reports by British maritime observers that an Israeli-affiliated, Liberia-flagged container ship sailing from Singapore to Djibouti was hit.

The military spokesman said this came hours after the Houthis launched ballistic missiles and drones at several US warships in the Red Sea.

“Through these two operations,” Saree said, “the Yemeni Armed Forces confirm their ability to target warships and non-warships simultaneously, and that their operations are escalating and continuing in the Red and Arab Seas, the Gulf of Aden, and Bab al-Mandeb, until the aggression stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted.”