Main events on August 8th

• Governments and world leaders have condemned Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City, warning the move will put thousands of Palestinians at risk and deepen the humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
• Palestinians in Gaza City also rejected the Israeli government’s push, stressing that they will refuse further displacement.
• Israeli leaders have rebuffed the criticism, saying they want to “demilitarise” Gaza and that no amount of international condemnation would “weaken [their] resolve”.
• At least four Palestinians have died of starvation in the past 24 hours, Gaza’s Health Ministry says, as Israel continues to restrict deliveries of food and humanitarian aid.
• Humanitarian groups have reiterated their calls for Israel to allow assistance into Gaza via land crossings, condemning continued airdrops as inefficient and dangerous.

Israel's plan to take over Gaza City “wrong,” puts lives of hostages at “greater risk,” Carney says

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke out Friday against the Israeli government’s plan to seize control of Gaza City, calling it “wrong” and suggesting it would put the lives of hostages still being held in the enclave at “greater risk.” Asked if Canada would consider sanctions against Israel in the wake of the government’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood, Carney said he is “not on the cusp of making another announcement.”

That's all Carney can say... It's "wrong". Pathetic.

Roger Water EXCORIATES Sellout Liberal Class

Roger Waters astutely captures how craven and careerist the liberal class is in their capitulation to Wall Street interests, and now the demands of outright fascists.

Egypt’s $35 Billion Israel Deal That’s Now Powering the Gaza Aid Blockade

Whilst Sisi keeps the Rafah crossing firmly closed to aid, he's just signed a $35 billion energy deal with Israel.

They say you should never go shopping while you’re hungry. Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has just proved the opposite is also true: never sign a shopping list with your neighbour while your other neighbour is starving to death. Yet here he is, pen in hand, locking Egypt into a $35 billion gas feast with Israel — even as Gaza, a few miles away, is being deliberately starved. It’s the kind of deal that makes sense only if you measure success in Gulf wire transfers and Washington smiles, not in bread or in dignity, or the screams of a besieged people.

Inside job all along. Expansion was always the plan

Not an inside job, but definitely looks a lot like entrapment.

The plans were well known, the IDF was aware of the training exercises prior to the attack, now it turns out patrols were explicitly withdrawn on the morning of the attack and warning calls from border posts ignored, slow response (perhaps also deliberate) while initiating the Hannibal directive causing more chaos and death than Hamas could manage on their own. 

Then all the lies and embellishments about the attack like 40 beheaded babies and systematic sexual violence / rape campaign to dehumanize Palestinians further, compiling a death reel of the attacks to showcase around the world to garner support for the annihilation of Gaza.  

As 'unprepared' Israel was for the attack, they certainly were well prepared for the response. Propaganda and carpet bombing Gaza started on the same day, everything was cut off and the ground invasion started 6 days later. 

Hamas wanted to return the civilian hostages straight away, they didn't expect that many hostages and rather just wanted PoWs.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/no-doubt-netanyahu-preventing-hostage-deal-charges-ex-spokesman-of-families-forum/
“We later found out that Hamas had offered on October 9 or 10 to release all the civilian hostages in exchange for the IDF not entering the Strip, but the government rejected the offer.”

And that has been the pattern since, hostage deals get cut short by Israel, fighting goes on in the name of freeing the hostages...

And of course the destruction of Hamas, ignoring that many more groups were involved
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/07/17/questions-and-answers-hamas-led-armed-groups-october-7-2023-assault-israel

Human Rights Watch confirmed the participation of at least five Palestinian armed groups from Gaza in the attacks: Hamas’ armed wing, the Qassam Brigades; the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, the Quds Brigades; the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s armed wing, the National Resistance Brigades or the Omar al-Qasim Forces; the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine’s armed wing, the Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades; and the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, formerly linked to the Fatah political faction.

But to keep it simple for the world to go along with the genocide, Hamas Hamas Hamas! However destroying Hamas will not make Gaza nor Israel safe. There are many actors and Netanyahu is funding new armed groups to cause more chaos in the power vacuum after destroying/killing the civil police forces.

And yes expansion was always the plan, Oct 7 was the excuse to go full throttle. Plans for driving the Gaza population out into the Sinai desert date back to Oct 13 2023, the day the ground invasion started.
https://www.972mag.com/intelligence-ministry-gaza-population-transfer/

The snag in the plan is that nobody wants to take in more Palestinian refugees. Plus half the Gaza population still don't want to leave and rather die on their own land. So now we're at the point to either let them starve or ... ?

Even if the IDF did deliberately back away and allowed it to happen, doesn't mean that it SHOULD have happened. Yeah, I think they allowed it to happen to garner support for a war and that's wrong, but it doesn't mean that it's OK for Israelis to get killed. It kind of sounds like your saying it's OK to kill Israeli people If the military stands down. I promise I'm not trying to gaslight or bait you here as we have talked before about other things and we've never had any issues with each other. 

Your also saying that some of the most horrific and violent things seen on the internet, recorded by Hamas themselves is all just fake and embellished. Hamas took ownership of everything they did because they are very open with their dislike for Jews. 

UN Security Council meeting on Gaza situation moved to Sunday: Reports

As we previously reported, the UN Security Council is set to hold a rare weekend session to discuss Israel’s recently announced decision to occupy Gaza City.

The session, previously scheduled for Saturday, is now slated for Sunday morning at 10am New York time (14:00 GMT), the Anadolu news agency reports, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.

The sources said the UK, Denmark, France, Greece and Slovenia all requested the emergency session.

All of the 15-member council – barring current chair Panama and the US – have endorsed the meeting.

Ireland ‘intends’ to pass trade ban on Israeli settlements despite US pressure

Ireland will continue to advance legislation banning the import of goods from illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris has said.

More than a dozen members of the US Congress had called on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to add Ireland to a list of countries boycotting Israel if the Occupied Territories Bill is passed by Dublin.

But Harris said Ireland’s government remains undeterred and “isn’t alone” in carrying out the measures.

“This week we also saw Slovenia take action in relation to trade from the occupied territories, I expect Belgium are likely to do the same and we intend to advance with our legislation,” Harris told reporters on Friday.

“People in Ireland, people in Europe and people right across the world feel extraordinarily strongly about the genocidal activity that we’re seeing in Gaza, about the starving children and we will use all tools at our disposal,” he added.

Meanwhile continuing to trade with Israel as the 2nd largest importer of Israeli goods....
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/2025/06/08/despite-the-politics-ireland-is-israels-second-biggest-export-market-for-goods/

Ireland imports very little from illegal settlements.A proposed Irish bill focuses on banning imports from occupied Palestinian territories, with trade currently limited to goods like dates, oranges, and olives.In the four years from 2020 to 2024, this trade amounted to just €685,000 (£575,000).This figure represents a small fraction of Ireland's overall trade, which in 2023 saw €196 billion in exports and €140 billion in imports.

It's more than Slovenia at least (about 35,000 Euros worth of trade) but nothing to deter Netanyahu.

‘Without sanctions, Israeli actions in Gaza will face no meaningful opposition’

Xavier Abu Eid, a political scientist and former adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organization, said that despite widespread criticism against the Israeli government’s plan to seize Gaza City, there will not be any meaningful change as long as countries do not impose sanctions on Israel.

“As long as we don’t hear the word sanctions from main Western powers, things are not going to change,” Abu Eid told Al Jazeera.

“The Israeli government has been announcing every single step of this genocide, starting with their announcement that there are no innocent civilians in Gaza. They said they will cut water. They cut water. They said they will cut food. They cut food. They said they were going to bomb, and they bombed. Now they are saying that they are going to ethnically cleanse Gaza City,” he said.

According to Abu Eid, Netanyahu’s plan is not about defeating Hamas but to ethnically cleanse the enclave’s northern city because the prime minister “thinks that he’s in a position whereby he can dictate not just the future of Israel, but the future of the whole region”.

It definitely should not have happened. The world should have woken up at the 2018-2019 border protests. 

Definitely not OK for anyone to get killed or injured. Diplomacy is the way to solve conflicts, armed resistance is a last resort and a failure of diplomacy. 

I'm not saying the violence is fake. I'm saying Israel used that footage not for evidence and prosecution but to shock governments around the world into turning a blind eye to the subsequent genocide.

I'm not for "Death to the IDF" nonsense either. In the end they're all mostly teenagers getting drafted to do horrible things, leading to suicides, PTSD and other life long trauma. The damage to Israeli society might not be as tragic as in Gaza, but Israel as a safe homeland for Jews is pretty much gone. It will take many decades to repair the damage Netanyahu has done over his 15 years of rule.

Hamas is also not the boogeyman Israel makes them out to be (but does have elements that are all for war crimes and killing Jews, same as plenty in the IDF...)

Great interview with Osama Hamdan on the current situation and how we got here. Perspective from Hamas' side.
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/osama-hamdan-hamas-interview-podcast-gaza-israel

And unfortunately it shows how impossible it is for Hamas (plus other factions) to reach an agreement with Netanyahu (and his other factions).

‘I got a glimpse of what Palestinians have to go through’: Chris Smalls

Amazon Labor Union founder and activist @Chris.smalls was a crew member on the Handala – an aid boat sent out by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition – that tried to break Israel’s siege of Gaza.

Israeli forces raided the ship on July 26 and detained 21 people on board.

Smalls and @gazafreedomflotilla say he experienced racism and abuse in Israeli custody, and was one of the final two activists to be released by Israeli authorities.

“I got a glimpse of what Palestinians have to go through, not even close to what they have to endure every day,” Smalls told AJ+

Pro-Palestine demonstrations planned around the world

A number of pro-Palestine marches and demonstrations are scheduled to take place across the world today, including in:

UEFA pays tribute to Suleiman al-Obeid – the ‘Palestinian Pele’

The Union of European Football Associations has hailed former Palestine national team player Suleiman al-Obeid, who was killed in an Israeli attack while he waited for food aid in Gaza on Wednesday.

“A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times,” UEFA said in a post on social media.

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) said al-Obeid, 41, was married with two sons and three daughters.

“The Gazelle, the Black Pearl, Henry of Palestine, and the Pele of Palestinian football are all nicknames for the late star who strode the Palestinian playing fields,” the association said.

The PFA also said that the number of association members killed in Gaza has now reached 321, including players, team coaches, administrators, referees, and club board members.

Farewell to Suleiman al-Obeid, the 'Palestinian Pelé'.

A talent who gave hope to countless children, even in the darkest of times. pic.twitter.com/wGSXCq2ceo

— UEFA (@UEFA) August 8, 2025

UEFA faces backlash after not addressing Palestinian footballer killed by Israel

UEFA hailed former Palestine national team player Suleiman al-Obeid, who was killed in an Israeli attack while he waited for food aid in Gaza on Wednesday.

Following that tweet, UEFA is facing criticism online for not clarifying how he died or naming the Israeli army as complicit in his death.

Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin wrote on X: “How pathetic that you don’t name how Israel killed him while he was lined up to get aid for his starving kids. SHAME.”

“‘Farewell,’ like he died of old age or natural causes. He was murdered by Israel,” wrote Assal Rad, scholar of modern Middle Eastern history and nonresident fellow at DAWN on X.

Israel’s attacks have killed 321 people in the football community, according to the Palestinian Football Federation.

Far-right Israeli football fans set off pyrotechnics in Latvia

Thick black smoke billowed across Riga FC’s stadium as fans of the Israeli football team Beitar Jerusalem defied UEFA rules on Thursday, setting off several rounds of pyrotechnics.

A banner displaying the name of Beitar supporters’ fan club “La Familia”, known for its anti-Arab chants and violent behaviour, sat draped across the away stand.

After the UEFA Conference League qualifier match, Latvian police had to intervene as Beitar fans set off flares in busy traffic.

This comes just weeks after Beitar fans were filmed chanting “Death to Arabs” while marching through the streets of Bucharest, where their team beat Sutjeska of Montenegro 5-2.

Seeing Israeli football fans being allowed to shout anti-Palestinian chants without punishment around Europe is something Dima Said, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Football Association, told Al Jazeera is “one of the hardest things to watch”.

“For me to see that those people who publicly support genocide, who publicly advocate for children to be killed, is something that’s very harmful for me as a human being, first, but secondly, as a Palestinian, it should not be allowed,” she said.

She also pointed to the fact that hundreds of Palestinian footballers have been killed since Israel’s war on Gaza began, including football icon Suleiman al-Obeid.

Israeli settlers attack water source, uproot trees in occupied West Bank

A group of Israeli settlers have attacked a spring in the northern Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank where Palestinians take their cattle to drink water, according to Wafa.

The news agency also reported another settler attack in Khirbet Samra, also in the northern Jordan Valley, saying settlers roamed among Palestinian tents in an attempt to scare away families, including children.

In Khirbet Masoud, located southwest of Jenin, settlers used bulldozers to uproot olive trees on Palestinian land in an attempt to expand an illegal Israeli pastoral settlement established in 2019.

The Wadi Rahhal village of Bethlehem was subjected to a settler attack as well, Wafa reported, saying three Palestinian farmers suffered bruises from a beating by settlers. In the Old City of Hebron, Israeli soldiers backed an incursion by settlers.

قوات الاحتلال تغلق مداخل البلدة القديمة في الخليل، والمستوطنون يقتحمون المنطقة. pic.twitter.com/wx2gE1A1kM

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) August 9, 2025

Israeli soldiers fire tear gas, make arrests as they back settler raids in West Bank

Several more raids by Israeli soldiers and attacks by settlers have been recorded across the occupied West Bank in the past several hours amid efforts to drive out Palestinians.

Israeli soldiers arrested two child brothers after storming the southeastern part of the town of Qusra, located in Nablus, amid heavy gunfire and tear gas release, according to the Wafa news agency.

They also hit Turmus Ayya, northeast of Ramallah, to provide cover for attacking settlers. They fired tear gas in Qalandiya refugee camp and Kafr Aqab town, located north of occupied East Jerusalem, causing suffocation injuries.

Two more settler attacks were also recorded in the villages of Deir Jarir and Rammun in Ramallah.