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

SvennoJ on 28 March 2024

UNIFIL express concern over escalation between Israel and Hezbollah

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, a peacekeeping force meant to monitor and verify the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanese territory, has issued a statement via its Telegram channel, raising alarm at the “surge of violence occurring across the Blue Line right now”.

The Blue Line, which demarcates Lebanon from Israel and the Golan Heights, was issued in 2000 by the UN to determine if Israeli troops had fully withdrawn from Lebanon. “This escalation has caused a high number of civilian deaths and the destruction of homes and livelihoods,” the statement said.

Yesterday, several Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory killed at least 16 people, making it the deadliest day for the country since Hezbollah and the Israeli army began exchanging fire on October 8. A following attack by Hezbollah, which saw a barrage of rockets fired at the Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona, killed one Israeli.

“It is imperative that this escalation cease immediately. We urge all sides to put down their weapons and begin the process toward a sustainable political and diplomatic solution”, UNIFIL continued.

Mediation is currently under way to find a solution to Hezbollah and Israel’s conflict, spearheaded by the French. The Israeli side has expressed pessimism at the prospect of reaching a negotiated settlement and regularly threatens full-scale war on Lebanon, while Hezbollah insists that it will continue its attacks until Israel ends its war on Gaza.


Hezbollah claims attack on Israeli positions in Kfarchouba

The armed Lebanese group says it used rockets and missiles to target an Israeli position in the Kfarchouba hills in southern Lebanon. Taking place a few hours ago, this was Hezbollah’s fourth attack today.

The group had earlier claimed another attack on Kfarchouba, an artillery shelling of a newly established Israeli military headquarters in an unspecified position and a rocket attack on two Israeli settlements near the country’s border with Lebanon.

Suspected Israeli air raid hits Syria’s Damascus

A suspected Israeli air raid has targeted a building in Syria’s Damascus, according to multiple reports. Images circulating online from the purported site of the strike show a building almost completely destroyed, with several vehicles also heavily damaged or under rubble.

The Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen network in neighbouring Lebanon reported that the attack hit an empty building near the Sayyida Zeinab neighbourhood south of the Syrian capital, where Iranian influence is strong.

Two wounded in Israeli air raid in Syria’s capital

Two people have been injured and there’s been “material damage” after the latest air raid by the Israeli military on Damascus, according to Syrian state media. The state-run SANA news agency reports, citing an unnamed military source, the Israeli air force targeted a residential building. It did not provide further details.

The Israeli military rarely comments on its repeated attacks on Syria, which have significantly increased since the start of its war on Gaza.



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SvennoJ on 28 March 2024

Puppet government approves new puppet government

PA president approves new government

Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, which has limited powers in parts of the occupied West Bank, has approved the new government presented by Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa.

The new government members are set to take office on Sunday.

Mustafa said the “top national priority” for the new government would be the end of the war in Gaza, adding that his cabinet “will work on formulating visions to reunify the institutions, including assuming responsibility for Gaza”.

Abbas’s longtime economic adviser, Mustafa replaces former Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh who, along with his government, resigned in February citing the need for change amid Israel’s war on Gaza and escalating violence in the West Bank.


Mahmoud Abbas, left, appointed Mohammed Mustafa, right, as prime minister on March 14

Belgian foreign minister slams ‘colonisation’ in visit to Palestinian territories

Hadja Lahbib has condemned settler violence in the occupied West Bank, saying that “all Palestinians and Israelis should be able to live in peace.” “Colonisation and the increasing violence perpetrated by settlers in the West Bank are illegal. They must stop,” Lahbib said during a visit to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

“Belgium has taken measures and obtained sanctions at the EU level,” she added.  Lahbib met Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki, who urged her to put “real pressure” on Israel to end the war in Gaza, according to a post on X by Malki’s office.

The Belgian official also met Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz in Kibbutz Nir Oz and visited the memorial site for the victims of the October 7 attacks at the Nova music festival. The family members of the captives held in Gaza asked Lahbib to exert diplomatic pressure in order to bring their loved ones home.



Palestine mission: Israel committing crimes in ‘contempt’ of UNSC resolution

The mission of Palestine to the UN says the Israeli army “continues to commit war crimes” in occupied Palestinian territory, especially in Gaza, “in total contempt” of the Security Council resolution that told it to implement an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan.

“The casualty toll since Israel launched this war 173 days ago is staggering, shaming all who fail to act to stop these horrors and, even more so, those arming Israeli with the lethal weaponry it is using to massacre civilians under its occupation, in grave breach of the law under which they are protected persons,” Ambassador Riyad Mansour wrote.

“It is time to impose an arms embargo on Israeli to halt the transfer of the weaponry it is using to slaughter Palestinian children, women and men and to destroy their homes, communities and all that sustains life.”



Activist group says Israeli arms contractor shuts down Tamworth factory

The Palestine Action network of Pro-Palestinian activists says the Israel-based military technology company has been forced to shut down its factory in the UK’s Tamworth.

“The company had previously manufactured cooling and power management systems for military vehicles, but was sold on after stating that it faced falling profits and increased security costs resulting from Palestine Action’s efforts,” the group said.

“After the sale was completed last month, Elite KL’s new owners, listed as Griffin Newco Ltd, confirmed in an email to Palestine Action that they will have nothing to do with the previous owners, Elbit, and have discontinued any arms manufacturing.”



SvennoJ on 28 March 2024

UN humanitarian agency says ‘no alternative’ to aid delivery by land

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has reiterated its calls for “swift, safe and unimpeded humanitarian passage [of aid] through all crossings”, saying “time is of the essence”. In a post on X, the UN agency said there is “no alternative to large-scale deliveries of aid by land in Gaza”.

Several countries have airdropped aid or coordinated deliveries via sea, yet the UN and other humanitarian actors have said repeatedly that such methods are expensive and inefficient and have called on Israel to open all land crossings to Gaza.




That second aid ship still hasn't arrived, actually it was supposed to be 2 ships. Looks like it's heading out Saturday, the first one arrived March 15th...

https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1234985/second-aid-ship-heading-to-gaza-from-cyprus/


The second ship transporting humanitarian aid to Gaza as part of the Amalthea project is likely to depart from Larnaca, Cyprus on Saturday, according to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

The journey by the 80-meter-long Jennifer to Gaza will take about three days. Citing sources, the CNA said the Jennifer will also tow the barge that the first ship, Open Arms, had transported to Gaza. The Open Arms, which had transported 200 tons of food around two weeks ago, will accompany the Jennifer along with another support vessel to transport equipment.

So Tuesday April 2nd they might get there, 2.5 weeks in between deliveries.

Stalled Israeli visas hindering Gaza aid efforts: Report

Aid efforts are being thwarted by difficulties in getting visas and other permits for foreign staff to work inside Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Reuters news agency reports six aid workers from the UN and other groups interviewed cited delays to visas as an example of red tape they say is restricting aid to Gaza, nearly six months into Israel’s war.

UN data shows 45 visa requests are pending, more than half of which have been on hold for two months and several others stalled since at least November. A further 20 UN requests pending since late 2023 were completely dropped because of delays. The affected missions were either abandoned or postponed.

Israel’s foreign ministry had no immediate response.

 

‘Catastrophic hunger’: Israel blocking aid to Gaza: Oxfam

The British charity made the assertions in a report as international protests surge against  shortages of food, water and medicine in the besieged and battered Palestinian enclave.

The UN-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification warned northern Gaza could be hit by famine any time between mid-March and May, and more than 70 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million population is facing “catastrophic hunger”.




Meanwhile Israel keeps boasting they fail to meet the target of at least 500 trucks a day. (Which was before Israel shut off the water, fuel, electricity and destroyed the agricultural sector)

Israel says 205 aid trucks allowed into the Gaza Strip

Israeli authorities inspected and transferred 205 trucks carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) also said 131 packages of food aid were airdropped over northern Gaza today.

It said 19 food aid trucks belonging to the “private sector” were allowed into northern Gaza, where infants and small children are dying from hunger and dehydration.Israel says it will “continue to expand” its aid efforts even as the UN and others continue to criticise it for hampering aid amid an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.

COGAT claimed to have cleared 274 aid trucks to Gaza on Wednesday. Before the war on Gaza began, about 500 trucks carrying humanitarian relief entered the territory daily. Critics have denounced Israeli-imposed “starvation” of Palestinians.



The woefully inadequate average remains the same.



SvennoJ on 28 March 2024

ICJ orders Israel to stop preventing ‘delivery of urgently needed’ aid

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to provide immediate, unhindered delivery of aid to Gaza as part of new provisional measures issued in a genocide case brought by South Africa.

The ICJ unanimously adopted an order for the unhindered provision by all parties of “urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza, including by increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary”.

Israel should carry out the order “without delay, in full cooperation with the United Nations”, the court said.

The court also adopted by a 15-1 vote an order to “ensure with immediate effect that [the Israeli] military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance”.

The court said Israel must submit a report on “all measures taken” to abide by its order within a month.


Proceedings at the International Court of Justice on Israel’s war on Gaza

ICJ says situation on the ground changing since last provisional measures issued

The court says these are modifications due to the change in the situation on the ground in Gaza. The court [said] “When we wrote or issued our January 26 provisional measures, the people of Gaza were facing a risk of famine”.

The ICJ says now that famine is setting in, and that is why, in its words, it justifies the modification in these provisional measures.

So the bottom line is, the court looks at the situation on the ground in Gaza and says we need to update our provisional measures, and that’s exactly what they’ve done.

You mean, the situation has only been getting more catastrophic.

South Africa welcomes ‘significant’ new UN court orders for Israel

The South African presidency welcomed new orders by the International Court of Justice on Israel’s war on Gaza, saying the changing circumstances in the battered territory warrant new strategies.

“The fact that Palestinian deaths are not solely caused by bombardment and ground attacks, but also by disease and starvation, indicates a need to protect the group’s right to exist,” it said in a statement.

“The most effective way to uphold this right is through prevention. The court’s actions include specific responsibilities to prevent genocide.

“As a number of judges pointed out, these responsibilities can only be fulfilled by halting military operations in Gaza and adhering to the court’s directives. If there is non-compliance, the global community must ensure adherence when it comes to the sanctity of humanity.”







No change in Gaza since UN ceasefire vote: MSF

The resolution adopted by the Security Council demanded an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza for the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan, leading to a “lasting” truce. “We haven’t seen any change after this resolution on the ground,” Christos Christou, MSF’s international president, told AFP news agency in an interview.

“We haven’t seen any impact in … people’s lives there every day; we haven’t seen an impact in our world, [and the] ways of delivering the humanitarian aid,” he said. “The situation remains the same.”


Netanyahu tells captive families Israel army ‘preparing to enter Rafah’

Israel’s prime minister told the relatives of soldiers held in Gaza that only military pressure will secure their release and the military is “preparing to enter Rafah”. “We conquered the north of the Gaza Strip and Khan Younis,” he is quoted as saying in a statement, adding a ground invasion of southern Rafah city is coming next.

Benjamin Netanyahu also sought to emphasise that he’s not abandoning negotiations to release the captives, and said all of Israel’s assets must be “used wisely” in the talks.

Israel and Hamas failed to arrive at a compromise during the latest round of multilateral talks in Qatar, with Hamas saying the Israeli military must end its siege of the enclave and allow displaced Palestinians to return home.


CNN remains silent on most of this, the bridge collapse in Baltimore is a good distraction.



SvennoJ on 29 March 2024

“A Mockery” - Bernie Sanders SLAMS State Dept's Claim Israel Has Not Restricted Gaza Aid




Biden Admin SMEARS UN Genocide Expert as Anti-Semite




POLL: Voters FED UP With Israel's US-Backed Genocide Against Palestinians

 



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SvennoJ on 29 March 2024

‘Much bigger massacre’: Israel won’t stop unless sanctions imposed

Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti says the International Court of Justice’s latest measures against Israel are an “important step”, saying they will have an impact on many levels.

However, Israel will not stop unless sanctions are imposed on the country, he said.  “Netanyahu wants to proceed with this terrible war, and he is now even promising a much bigger massacre by attacking Rafah,” he told Al Jazeera.

Barghouti, general secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, said he’s disappointed in the muted response from Western governments, especially the United States. “The US is playing a very dangerous game here and continues to support Israel. That has created a very dangerous moment,” he said.

“The fact that so many Western governments are providing protection to Israel, allowing it to continue, is going to disturb the whole international order. It simply sends a message to the world that there is no more international law.”

Israel has become a ‘rogue state’

Commenting on the latest UN court measures ordering Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza and allow “unhindered” aid, analyst Adel Abdel Ghafar says international pressure on the country has yet to work.

“In effect, Israel has become a rogue state, which is in contravention of international law and international humanitarian law,” he told Al Jazeera.

“It now wants to push forward even with this potential assault on Rafah. Right now, the US is the only country that can really put more pressure on Israel to end this war. They can stop sending weapons, they can end financial support, and they can stop providing diplomatic cover. But this has not happened yet.”


‘The time of Israeli impunity is fading away’

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) welcomed the ICJ’s ruling ordering Israel to ensure food arrives without delay into besieged Gaza with “famine setting in”.

“The far-right Israeli government continues to ignore all international laws and orders by world bodies demanding that it end its genocidal campaign of slaughter, starvation and ethnic cleansing in Gaza,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said.

“It is able to ignore international demands because it has acted with impunity against the rights of the Palestinian people for decades, safe in its belief that the United States will not allow any substantive action to be taken in response to its denial of Palestinian human rights and dignity.

“The time of Israeli impunity is fading away as people worldwide see what the Palestinian people have experienced: a government that is determined to erase the Palestinian existence so that it can illegally lay claim to their land.”

 



SvennoJ on 29 March 2024

‘Stop starving children’: Belgian minister tells Israel

Caroline Gennez, Belgium’s minister of development cooperation and urban policy, said international pressure must be maintained on Israel to ensure “sufficient” humanitarian aid enters Gaza.

Re-posting a statement on social media from the International Court of Justice ordering Israel to avert the “spread of famine and starvation” in Gaza by ensuring the “unhindered delivery” of aid and basic services, Gennez said, “Israel must stop starving civilians and children.”

The Israeli use of “hunger as weapon of war” is a “flagrant violation of international law”, Gennez said.


 

Babies are dying of hunger and dehydration in Gaza

Starving two-month-old Laila Junaid was brought to the Kamal Adwan Hospital in the city of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza weighing less than half the average baby her age.

Doctors there say babies are dying from hunger and dehydration because of Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid, including food, entering the besieged enclave through land borders.




Gaza protesters heckle Biden inside NYC fundraiser

Pro-Palestine protesters have heckled Joe Biden during a fundraiser for the US president’s reelection campaign in New York City.

Protesters stood up and shouted over a discussion featuring Biden and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, moderated by The Late Show host Stephen Colbert, at the Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan.

Biden reportedly responded to the heckling by saying he would keep working to stop civilian deaths, particularly children, in Gaza. But he added that “Israel’s existence is at stake”.

Obama is said to have snapped back at one protester who interrupted him, saying, “You can’t just talk and not listen … That’s what the other side does”.



Earlier we reported that hundreds of protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza gathered outside the iconic music venue. The fund-raising event, which more than 5,000 people paid between $225 and $500,000 to attend, raised a record $25m for Biden’s campaign.




Israeli strikes on Aleppo kill 33 civilians, military personnel: Report

Israeli air strikes on the Syrian city of Aleppo have killed at least 33 civilians and military personnel, two security sources have told the Reuters news agency.

Reuters also reports that security sources have told them that five fighters from the Lebanese group Hezbollah have been killed in the strikes, which occurred early this morning. It is not clear whether they are included in the 33.

Earlier we reported that the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the Israeli strikes hit a weapons depot near Aleppo International Airport, resulting in a series of large explosions.

The Syrian Defence Ministry said the Israeli strikes happened “in conjunction” with a drone attack on Aleppo targeting civilians, conducted by “terrorist organisations” from the city of Idlib.

 



SvennoJ on 29 March 2024

Daily war crimes continue.

Israeli attack on Gaza police station kills 17

At least 17 people have been killed in an Israeli attack on a police station in the Shujaiya neighbourhood in Gaza City, the government in the strip has said.

The Palestinian police force that was hit by the Israeli attack had been helping to bring aid, including food, to desperate civilians in Gaza’s north, reports Moath al-Kahlout from Jabalia.

“These people were securing humanitarian aid”, said al-Kahlout.


Israeli forces kill 12 Palestinians in strike north of Rafah

An air strike on a residential building in Hayy al-Nasr, north of Rafah, has killed 12 people and injured several in the early morning hours, Al Jazeera Arabic has reported.

The casualties have been transferred to the European Hospital in Khan Younis. Al Jazeera correspondents saw several injured children arrive at the medical facility.


Journalist killed near al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City

Journalist Muhammad Abu Sakhil of the local al-Quds Radio has been shot and killed by the Israeli forces in the vicinity of al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic have reported.

The number of journalists killed in Gaza now stands at 137 since October 7.


Air raid hits vehicle in Gaza City, kills 8: Report

The air raid hit the car as it was travelling on Salah al-Din Street near Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood, according to Wafa. The attack killed at least eight people, including two women and five children, and wounded dozens others, the news agency said.


Israeli air strikes hit Saad bin Abi Waqqas Mosque in Jabalia

Israeli air strikes have hit the Saad bin Abi Waqqas Mosque in the Jabalia refugee camp, Al Jazeera correspondents have confirmed, injuring two Palestinians. The strikes also caused a fire to break out in an electrical appliances store in the camp in the early morning hours.

Gaza fisherman braves Israeli navy fire to support his family

Before Israel’s war on Gaza, Palestinian fisherman Jalal Qaraan navigated his small boat for long distances in search of a good catch. These days, he says, merely casting his nets could be deadly if he draws the wrath of the Israeli navy.

“When we attempt to go out, … we are besieged with gunfire, bombarded with shells, sound bombs. It’s always a risk. Entering the water is a risk,” he told Reuters as he pulled his boat to shore after catching a few fish.

“There is not a day that goes by without them coming at us. It’s all fear and terror, but despite this, I go in to be able to provide a secure living for my children.”

Qaraan said the amount of fish he catches is not enough. “Today during Ramadan, I’m fasting, risking my life to get 1 or 2 kilos [2.2 or 4.4lb] of fish to eat or to sell them to buy household necessities,” he added.


Gaza death toll rises to 32,623

The number of people killed in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7 has risen to 32,623, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. Israeli attacks on Gaza have also wounded at least 75,092 people.

The ministry added that 71 people were killed and 112 wounded over the last 24 hours.



SvennoJ on 29 March 2024

Palestinian foreign ministry says credibility at stake after new ICJ provisions

Palestine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the new ICJ provisions, saying they challenge “Israel’s historic rebellion against international law”. It added that the “kidnapping” of more than two million Palestinians and their starvation constitutes an unprecedented crime.

“The ministry believes the credibility of international law and its institutions is at its final test for what concerns its ability to let aid [into Gaza] in a sustainable way,” it said in a post on X. "There are no excuses for the international community’s terrible failure to protect civilians and to provide the needed humanitarian assistance.”

UNRWA says operational space in Gaza ‘shrinking’

The capacity for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to operate in Gaza is diminishing due to Israel’s refusal to cooperate with the aid agency, a spokesperson for the organisation says. “We’re finding that our operational space is really shrinking,” Tamara Alrifai told Al Jazeera.

Since the Israeli government announced last week that it would stop all cooperation with UNRWA, five requests to enter northern Gaza have been denied. Additionally, the agency’s trucks remain parked in El Arish on the Egyptian side of the border, waiting to enter Gaza.

Alrifai added that an average of 155 trucks enter Gaza every day but this number is a far cry from the 500 trucks estimated by the UN to be the minimum required given the circumstances in Gaza.

“Any attempt to get food into Gaza is welcome, but the easiest, fastest and cheapest way is to use land crossings,” the spokesperson said. “Airdrops are symbolic, a way to say, ‘We will bring food in against the odds.’”

Japan to resume funding to UNRWA

Japan is preparing to resume funding to the UN’s crisis-hit Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), which coordinates the vast majority of aid to Gaza, according to the government.

Once the sixth-largest contributor to the agency, Japan joined more than a dozen countries in pausing funding after Israel claimed that 12 of UNRWA’s 13,000 Gaza employees were involved in the deadly October 7 Hamas attack.

Despite critical rhetoric, US policy towards Israel is ‘business as usual’

While the US is publicly pressuring Israel to “dial back” its war in Gaza, its policy moves are sending an entirely different signal, says Marc Owen Jones, associate professor of Middle East studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

“We need to bear in mind that just a few weeks ago, the US passed a federal funding bill that both reaffirms military aid to Israel with over $3bn and cuts funding to UNRWA,” the main group providing aid in Gaza, Owen Jones told Al Jazeera. “The US’s policy is actually just business as usual.”

The unfettered assistance to Israel, which aid groups says is hindering aid to Gaza as famine-like conditions spread, is undermining US President Biden’s efforts to reposition the US as a “moral authority in the world,” according to Owen Jones.

“Biden is breaking, or at least not enforcing, the Leahy Laws,” he said, referring to US human rights laws that bar the US from supplying weapons to countries plausibly engaged in rights abuses.

“How is Biden going to position himself as any kind of moral authority when he is contravening laws that are meant to defend the human rights of people like those in Palestine?”

Gaza journalists become street art icons in UK

Palestinian journalists working in Gaza have inspired street art in the United Kingdom with the latest wall mural appearing in East London’s Ilford area.

Painted by street artists Auberi Chen, Core 246 and Captain Kris, the large “Heroes of Palestine” mural features Palestinian photographers, from left to right, Mohamed al-Masri and Ali Jaddalah, writer Hind Khoudary, and photographer Abdelhakim Abu Riash.

Media in the UK reported earlier this week that some of the “Heroes of Palestine” murals have been the target of pro-Israeli vandalism, with some of the images honouring Gaza’s journalists painted over with the Star of David religious symbol as well as disparaging comments.


An aerial view of a mural depicting Palestinian journalists in Ilford, east London, on March 28, 2024



SvennoJ on 29 March 2024

Israel expanding war with Hezbollah

Israel will pursue Hezbollah in Beirut, Damascus and beyond: Defence minister

Yoav Gallant has said the Israeli army will expand its campaign against Hezbollah, hours after Israel said it had killed a rocket commander of the group in southern Lebanon and separate attacks blamed on Israel that killed several Hezbollah fighters in Syria’s Aleppo.

“Israel is turning from defending to pursuing Hezbollah, we will reach wherever the organisation operates, in Beirut, Damascus and in more distant places,” the Israeli defence minister told the military’s northern command.

Hezbollah says Israeli air strikes killed six members

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group has announced the deaths of six of its members.

On Telegram, the group announced the names of the killed members as Ahmed Jawad Shehimi, Mustafa Ahmed Makki, Ibrahim al-Zein, Ali Muhammad al-Haf, Mustafa Ali Nassif and Ali Abdel Hassan Naeem.

The Israeli army conducted air strikes on a target in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo overnight, reportedly killing dozens of people. The Lebanese media said a separate attack was carried out on a car in southern Lebanon in the morning. Israel regularly hits areas in southern Lebanon and has occasionally attacked targets in Syria since the beginning of the war in Gaza

Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemns Israel’s attacks in Syria

Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has strongly condemned Israel’s air strikes on northern Syria’s Aleppo province earlier today, which killed at least 42 people. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the victims included six from Lebanon’s Hezbollah group and 36 Syrian soldiers.

“These attacks are a clear violation of international laws and regulations, as well as a violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a serious threat to regional and international peace and security,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said.

He added that the strikes were “a blatant and desperate attempt to continue and expand the crisis in the region”.Kanaani called on the international community and the UN Security Council to condemn the attacks and take measures to hold Israel accountable.

 

 

Veteran Israeli minister says ‘new ideas’ needed

After quitting Israel’s war cabinet, lawmaker and former Justice Minister Gideon Sa’ar says Israel should propose a new ceasefire plan that involves exiling Hamas leaders abroad.

In an interview with the Jerusalem Post, Sa’ar criticised the government’s war strategy as stale and ineffective and said, “The time has come for new ideas.

“We always return to the same ineffective ideas wrapped in bombastic statements that won’t lead to victory,” said Sa’ar, who leads Israel’s centre-right New Hope party and is a vocal opponent of Prime Minister Netanyahu. “We are stuck in every direction. We are stuck in Gaza. We are stuck on the Lebanese border. We are stuck with the hostages, and we are stuck in the international arena.”

By offering Hamas members the option to surrender and live in exile, Israel would be presenting an alternative to a Rafah invasion, Sa’ar said. In addition, Sa’ar said the Israeli military should take over the administration of aid in Gaza, and finish its operations in the enclave “as quickly as possible”.

“We can’t drag on the war forever,” he said.