Israel-Hamas Thread II

[essentialsaltes]

Israel says there's no hunger, and they are not restricting aid, but will allow aid to be airdropped and remove some restrictions on aid.

IDF says it will conduct aid airdrops in Gaza as hunger crisis deepens​

The IDF said in a statement that it was taking several actions, including dropping "seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food" at the behest of the Israeli government to "refute the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip."

[I don't see how that refutes anything about what's been going on there for months. And we'll have to see what results come of this change from previous policy, and how long it lasts.]

In addition to the airdrops, the IDF said it would create a "humanitarian pause in civilian centers and in humanitarian corridors" Sunday morning to allow for the passage of aid. The hours and locations of this short "pause" have not yet been announced publicly.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Israel says there's no hunger, and they are not restricting aid, but will allow aid to be airdropped and remove some restrictions on aid.

It's a very dangerous environment under heavy bombardment and the IDF wouldn't want to get killed under fire from ... the IDF.

IDF says it will conduct aid airdrops in Gaza as hunger crisis deepens​

The IDF said in a statement that it was taking several actions, including dropping "seven pallets of aid containing flour, sugar, and canned food" at the behest of the Israeli government to "refute the false claim of deliberate starvation in the Gaza Strip."

Seven pallets of food including canned goods. I used to load that much between consecutive breaks back in the day. I don't think they are trying very hard.

[I don't see how that refutes anything about what's been going on there for months. And we'll have to see what results come of this change from previous policy, and how long it lasts.]

In addition to the airdrops, the IDF said it would create a "humanitarian pause in civilian centers and in humanitarian corridors" Sunday morning to allow for the passage of aid. The hours and locations of this short "pause" have not yet been announced publicly.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Seven pallets of food including canned goods. I used to load that much between consecutive breaks back in the day. I don't think they are trying very hard.

Stories today have noted that the total amount is less than one truckload. IIRC, the UN says several hundred trucks should be entering Gaza every day.

On the bright side, Israel has magnanimously restored power to the last remaining functional desalination plant in Gaza.

 

[Hans Blaster]

Stories today have noted that the total amount is less than one truckload. IIRC, the UN says several hundred trucks should be entering Gaza every day.

It would all fit on one of those standard military transport trucks, not even a big rig.

On the bright side, Israel has magnanimously restored power to the last remaining functional desalination plant in Gaza.

I'm going to by cynical here (it is earned), dehydration is a more rapid form of death. If there is little water there will be mass death very soon. Israel doesn't want that to be story.

Whatever their motives were on October 8, at this point the intent of the Israeli government is to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza as a viable entity in the future, whether through ethnic cleansing or murder. How it got to that point will be for an international tribunal to sort out.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Israel committing genocide in Gaza, say Israel-based human rights groups​

Two leading human rights organisations based in Israel, B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, say Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza and the country’s western allies have a legal and moral duty to stop it.

“What we see is a clear, intentional attack on civilians in order to destroy a group,” said Yuli Novak, the director of B’Tselem, calling for urgent action. “I think every human being has to ask himself: what do you do in the face of genocide?”

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) focuses in its report on a detailed chronological account of the assault on Gaza’s health system, with many details documented directly by the group’s own team, which worked regularly in Gaza before 7 October 2023.

The destruction of the healthcare system alone makes the war genocidal under article 2c of the genocide convention, which prohibits deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy a group “in whole or part”, said its director, Guy Shalev.

“You don’t have to have all five articles of the genocide convention to be fulfilled in order for something to be genocide,” he said, although the report also details other genocidal aspects of Israel’s war.

The destruction of health infrastructure, two years without medical care and the killing of medical workers also meant the toll from the genocide would continue to mount even after any ceasefire halts fighting, Shalev said.

“For example, there have been no MRI machines in Gaza for months now, so what about all the illnesses and diseases that were not diagnosed all that time. There are all the malnutrition and chronic diseases that went untreated, we’re going to see the effects of that for months and years to come.”

While medication can be brought in within days, there is no easy way to replace medical workers who have been killed, including specialists who took decades to train, he said.

Genocidal statements from politicians and military leaders, and a chronology of well-documented impacts on civilians after nearly two years of war are proof of [genocidal] intent [to add to the genocidal actions and outcomes], even without a paper trail of orders from the top, both PHR and B’Tselem say.

The extensive documentation, by medics, media and human rights organisations over a long period of time, meant Israel’s government could not claim it did not understand the impact of its actions, Shalev said. “There were enough times and enough opportunities for Israel to stop this gradual systematic attack.”

 

[essentialsaltes]

President Trump cites incontrovertible evidence of "real starvation" in Gaza.

 

[essentialsaltes]

President Trump cites incontrovertible evidence of "real starvation" in Gaza.

View attachment 367792

Who you gonna believe? Trump's eyes or the IDF?

Israelis rebuff Trump, insisting images of starvation in Gaza are ‘fake’​

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Sunday that “there is no starvation in Gaza.”

And on Sunday, during a press tour of a small area of the Gaza Strip, Effie Defrin, a commanding officer and Israel Defense Forces spokesman, told reporters that visuals emerging from Gaza were “breaking our hearts.”

“But most of it is fake, fake distributed by Hamas,” Defrin said. “It’s a campaign. Unfortunately, some of the Israeli media, including some of the international media, is distributing this information and those false pictures, and creating an image of starvation which doesn’t exist.”

Trump rejected that explanation on Monday, telling reporters during a visit to Scotland that the United States would increase its efforts to get food into the territory. “That’s real starvation,” he said. “I see it, and you can’t fake that.”

An Israeli official told The Times that the Israeli government stands by Defrin’s remarks.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Netanyahu considering annexing territories in Gaza if Hamas doesn't agree to ceasefire: Sources​

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering a plan to annex territories in Gaza, two sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu is considering a plan to annex territories in Gaza if Hamas doesn't agree to a ceasefire plan. This is one of several options," a source said.

The news comes less than a week after Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, said the U.S, was cutting ceasefire talks short and bringing its negotiation team home from Doha, Qatar.

[Netanyahu:] "Together with our U.S. allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas's terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region.

In its own statement on Sunday, Hamas accused Witkoff and the Israelis of negotiating in bad faith and claimed there is no point in continuing negotiations in the current format.

 

[Philip_B]

ABC statement on journalists in Gaza - About the ABC

The ABC is the only Australian media organisation with a permanent presence in the region and we have repeatedly tried to get reporters back into Gaza. We had reporters in Gaza prior to the 7 October terrorist attack, but since then Israeli authorities have blocked access to international media to operate independently.

In order to keep Australians fully informed, we rely on a network of freelance journalists and individuals on the ground to tell the story of what they are witnessing. We are deeply concerned about their health and safety.

According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 186 journalists and media workers, mostly Palestinian, have been killed while gathering evidence of the war inside Gaza since 7 October. That number includes journalists who have done work for the ABC.

When the free press is not free to be the free press, there becomes a problem, and possibly a credibility vacuum. When Netanyahu and others suggest that there is no genocide in Gaza, I wonder what they mean. That they also seem to insist that there is no Palestinian People and there has never been a State of Palestine, ad leaves me wondering if that is the basis of the other claim.

Whilst the left may have dominated much in the media, the determination of authoritarian regimes to control/regulate and limit the Free Press is concerning. It leaves us minions and spear cariers to be kept in the dark and fed on bulldust,

 

[essentialsaltes]

Netanyahu said set to order full takeover of Gaza, despite IDF qualms, risk to hostages​

Senior official close to PM quoted saying ‘the die is cast — we are going for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip,’ also suggests IDF chief resign if he opposes move​

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told ministers this week that he will seek cabinet backing for a plan to fully occupy the Gaza Strip, despite objections from within the Israel Defense Forces.

According to reports in Hebrew media, several ministers said Netanyahu used the term “occupation of the Strip” in private conversations describing his vision for the expansion of military operations in Gaza — a notable shift in tone as the government prepares to discuss the future of the Gaza campaign.

The IDF currently holds control over approximately 75 percent of the Gaza Strip, but under the new plan, the military would be expected to occupy the remaining territory as well — bringing the entire enclave under Israeli control.

 

[essentialsaltes]

ESPN: 'Palestinian Pele' Suleiman Al-Obeid killed by Israeli forces while waiting for aid in Gaza​

Suleiman Al-Obeid, known fondly as the Palestinian Pele, was killed in an attack by Israeli forces while waiting for humanitarian aid, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) said. Al-Obeid, who was 41, leaves behind a wife and five children.

With Gaza facing a hunger crisis caused by Israel's severe restrictions on the amount of humanitarian aid it allows into the territory, the UN rights office said last month that Israeli forces had killed more than 1,300 Palestinians trying to get food aid in the enclave since late May.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Israel strike kills Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza​

A prominent Al Jazeera journalist, who had previously been threatened by Israel, was killed along with four colleagues in an Israeli airstrike on Sunday in an attack condemned by journalists and rights groups.

Israel's military said it targeted and killed Anas Al Sharif, alleging he had headed a Hamas militant cell and was involved in rocket attacks on Israel.

U.N. Special Rapporteur Irene Khan said last month that Israel's claims against him were unsubstantiated.

Al Jazeera, which is funded by the Qatari government, rejected the assertion, and before his death, Al Sharif had also rejected such claims by Israel.

"Anas Al Sharif and his colleagues were among the last remaining voices in Gaza conveying the tragic reality to the world," Al Jazeera said.

"The deliberate targeting of journalists by Israel in the Gaza Strip reveals how these crimes are beyond imagination," Qatari Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, said on X.

Al Sharif was previously part of a Reuters team which in 2024 won a Pulitzer Prize in the category of Breaking News Photography for coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

Al Jazeera said Al Sharif had left a social media message to be posted in the event of his death that read, "...I never hesitated to convey the truth as it is, without distortion or misrepresentation, hoping that God would witness those who remained silent."

 

[Benaiah468]

The killing of Al Jazeera correspondents Anas Al-Sharif in Gaza has sparked a wave of grief and outrage across social media platforms.

They say Anas Al-Sharif was a journalist.

On the day of the Hamas massacre, Sharif thanked Allah for the mass murder on his Telegram channel and called the "Palestinian" terrorists heroes. Before Oct 7, Anas al-Sharif shared content on his channel, which is followed by over 100,000 people, some of which glorified Hamas.

Pictured here with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Al Jazeera “journalist” Anas Al-Sharif - recently eliminated - posted the following on Oct 7:

“9 hours and the heroes are still roaming the country killing and capturing… God, God, how great you are ”

telegram

According to the IDF, Al Sharif headed a cell tasked with planning and coordinating rocket attacks on Israel. Documents found in Gaza, such as personnel lists, training books, address books and pay slips, provide irrefutable evidence of his involvement in the Hamas military apparatus and his links to the Qatari television station Al Jazeera, which Israel accuses of supporting the organization.

The evidence proves al-Sharif's involvement with Al Jazeera, despite the media network's efforts to distance itself from his activities.

The documents detail al-Sharif's role as a fighter and cell leader since joining Hamas in 2013, including his leadership in rocket units and his participation in elite Nukhba Battalion units. These records show not only a clear link to terrorist activities, but also an attempt to use journalistic accreditations as a cover for operational activities

x.com

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, declared:

"A terrorist with a camera remains a terrorist. I thank our security forces for eliminating the terrorist Anas Jamal Mahmoud Al-Sharif, who disguised himself as an Al-Jazeera journalist."

A press badge isn’t a shield for terrorism.

 

[Benaiah468]

When the “reporter” becomes a weapon - and the world still accuses Israel.

The death of Hamas activist and Al-Jazeera employee Anas al-Sharif is dominating the headlines of Western media. But anyone who omits the fact that he was part of the terrorist organization is not practising journalism - but war propaganda.

“I was held captive by a journalist - and his father was a doctor!”

With this sentence, Shlomi Ziv, survivor of Hamas hostage-taking and freed as part of “Operation Arnon”, reacted to the worldwide outrage over the death of Anas al-Sharif. Sky News had headlined:

“Al-Jazeera condemns ‘assassination’ of its journalists in Gaza”.

For Ziv, this was not an appalling attack on press freedom - but a reminder that in Gaza, the press card is often a cover for something else entirely.

Anas al-Sharif is dead. For the BBC, Reuters, the Guardian and the New York Times, he was the “prominent reporter from Gaza”. For the Israeli army, he was a member of Hamas, active in its military arm - and thus a legitimate target in the war against a terrorist organization that unleashed Oct 7. There is a gulf between these two descriptions. And this chasm says more about the state of international journalism than about the circumstances of his death.

If you want to understand how disinformation works in the guise of press freedom, you only have to look at this case. The “reporter” becomes a symbol of suffering, his Hamas background a disturbing detail that is suppressed in order to maximize outrage against Israel. This mechanic is not new - it has been used during past conflicts - but at a time when Israel's international legitimacy is under unprecedented attack, it is particularly toxic.

This is not a sober analysis of media failures. It is the deliberate use of selective reporting that steers emotions and produces political consequences. When governments around the world now call for “action” against Israel, they are relying on public opinion based on half-truths. Whoever tells only half of a story decides the image that people keep in their minds.

It is true that real journalists must be protected - even in war. But it is extremely dangerous when terrorists abuse this protective cloak and the media in the West willingly play along. Those who refer to al-Sharif only as a “reporter” deliberately conceal the fact that he played an active role in an organization that regards mass murder, kidnappings and rocket attacks as legitimate means.

Israel is engaged in a battle that is not only being fought on the battlefield, but also in the headlines. The world sees what Reuters and the BBC show - not what IDF intelligence reveals. This is not a side issue, but a second front. And on this front, it is not the precision of a drone that counts, but the precision of words.

When Western media make themselves the mouthpiece of an organization that denies Israel's right to exist, it is not just bad journalism - it is aiding and abetting the delegitimization of a country that has had to fight for its survival since its foundation.
S.: haolam.de