Israel-Hamas Thread II

[essentialsaltes]

Israel orders evacuation of former Gaza safe area; U.N. aid convoy fired on​

Israel’s army intensified military operations in southern Gaza on Monday, sending Palestinian casualties streaming into already buckling hospitals, as thousands of civilians fled an area that the army had previously designated a safe zone.

As the prime minister boarded his plane [to address the US Congress], the United Nations accused Israeli troops of firing on one of its aid convoys a day earlier as it traveled an agreed-upon route to northern Gaza. Past attacks by Israeli forces on aid workers have strained relations between Netanyahu’s government and the Biden administration, which has provided Israel with a steady stream of weapons throughout the war.

“The teams were traveling in clearly marked UN armoured cars & wearing UN vests. One vehicle received at least five bullets,” Lazzarini said in a message posted to X. “Those responsible must be held accountable.”

After nine months of conflict, relief groups describe Gaza as one of the most dangerous places to operate in the world, as more than 1 million civilians shelter in tents from the summer heat. Famine is looming, according to a U.N.-backed assessment, and Israel’s Health Ministry said Friday that it has detected a strain of the polio virus in Gaza’s sewage as a sanitation crisis mounts.

--

China brokers Palestinian unity declaration in bid to be global mediator​

Leaders of Palestinian factions, including Fatah and Hamas, signed a joint statement Tuesday in Beijing aimed at ending divisions between the bitter rivals, a deal bolstering China’s claim to being a global mediator but unlikely to heal the deep rift between the Palestinian political groups.

Chinese media hailed the “Beijing declaration” as a breakthrough and a sign of the country’s emerging role as a peace broker in faraway conflicts. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called it a “historic moment for the cause of Palestine’s liberation” and highlighted the “consensus around establishing an interim national reconciliation government to manage Gaza after the war” in a speech after talks had ended.

Wang restated China’s support for a “comprehensive, lasting and sustainable cease-fire” and for the convening of a large “international peace conference” to work toward a two-state solution.

The statement calls for the formation of a Palestinian unity government overseeing the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip and eventually holding elections, for which the leaders of the factions will meet and draw up a road map.

Palestinian political experts generally dismissed the agreement as a rehash of several previous statements of reconciliation, including a 2022 accord signed by 14 Palestinian factions in Algeria. To date, none of those efforts have produced any lasting changes in the Hamas-Fatah rift.

 

[Merrill]

So as Joe Biden has gone completely MIA and Harris is on the campaign trail, Israel has opened up with new assaults, involving tanks, ground troops, etc. on areas deemed "humanitarian"

Fighting rages in Gaza ‘humanitarian zone’ during new Israeli assault

Witnesses report being attacked trying to flee a fierce ground invasion by Israel’s army on overcrowded Khan Younis.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[Valletta]

Noa Argamani shares 2 hostages were killed right next to her​

The former captive recounts darkest moment while in captivity in Gaza, and urges swift action: "We need to bring them back as quickly as possible."​

https://www.israelhayom.com/2024/07/23/noa-argamani-yossi-sharabi-and-itay-svirsky-were-killed-right-next-to-me/

 

[essentialsaltes]

Israel is blocking physicians with Palestinian heritage from entering Gaza​

WashingtonCNN —
Palestinian-American doctor Jiab Suleiman arrived in Jordan last month ahead of an emergency medical mission into Gaza, which he was due to oversee. The Ohio-born orthopedic surgeon had already led two trips into the besieged strip since the Israel-Hamas war broke out in October and was finalizing details for his third.

But his preparation would ultimately be for nothing. The day before the team was set to cross into Gaza, Suleiman received notice that he had been denied entry by Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, or COGAT, the Israeli agency that manages policy for the Palestinian territories and the flow of aid into the strip.

Suleiman’s denial is part of a policy recently communicated to medical missions going into Gaza through Israel. The restrictions block the entry of US healthcare workers, and those of other nationalities, if they are of Palestinian origin or have Palestinian heritage, according to internal memos from the World Health Organization (WHO) obtained by CNN.

 

[JosephZ]

American physicians’ and nurses’ observations from the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023

I’ve never seen such horrific injuries, on such a massive scale, with so few resources. Our bombs are cutting down women and children by the thousands. Their mutilated bodies are a monument to cruelty. -- Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, trauma and critical care surgeon

I saw so many stillbirths and maternal deaths that could have been easily prevented if the hospitals had been functioning normally.-- Dr. Thalia Pachiyannakis, obstetrician and gynecologist

Every day I saw babies die. They had been born healthy. Their mothers were so malnourished that they could not breastfeed, and we lacked formula or clean water to feed them, so they starved. -- Asma Taha, pediatric nurse practitioner

Gaza was the first time I held a baby’s brains in my hand. The first of many. -- Dr. Mark Perlmutter, orthopedic and hand surgeon

We are forty-five American physicians, surgeons, and nurses who have volunteered in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. We worked with various nongovernmental organizations and the World Health Organization in hospitals throughout the Strip.

This letter collects and summarizes our own experiences and direct observations in Gaza. We have also provided links to a much longer and heavily cited appendix summarizing the publicly available information from media, humanitarian, and academic sources on key aspects of Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

The appendix is available as a PDF file at Dropbox

This letter can be accessed electronically as a PDF file at Dropbox

It is likely that the death toll from this conflict is already greater than 92,000, an astonishing 4.2% of Gaza’s population.

With only marginal exceptions, everyone in Gaza is sick, injured, or both. This includes every national aid worker, every international volunteer, and probably every Israeli hostage: every man, woman, and child.

We worry that unknown thousands have already died from the lethal combination of malnutrition and disease, and that tens of thousands more will die in the coming months. Most of them will be young children.

Children are universally considered innocents in armed conflict. However, every single signatory to this letter treated children in Gaza who suffered violence that must have been deliberately directed at them. Specifically, every one of us on a daily basis treated pre-teen children who were shot in the head and chest.

The pregnant women we treated were particularly malnourished. Those of us who worked with pregnant women regularly saw stillbirths and maternal deaths that were easily preventable in any third-world healthcare system. The rate of infection in C-section incisions was astonishing. Women underwent C-sections without anesthesia, and were given nothing but Tylenol afterwards because no other pain medications were available.

Israel has destroyed more than half of Gaza’s healthcare resources and has killed one out of every 40 healthcare workers in Gaza. At the same time healthcare needs have increased massively from the lethal combination of military violence, malnutrition, and disease.

These observations and the publicly available material detailed in the appendix lead us to believe that the death toll from this conflict is many times higher than what is reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health. We also believe this is probative evidence of widespread violations of American laws governing the use of American weapons abroad, and of International Humanitarian Law.

Israel is currently blocking any physician of Palestinian descent from working in Gaza, even American citizens. This makes a mockery of the American ideal that “all men are created equal” and degrades our nation and our profession. Our work is lifesaving. Our Palestinian healthcare colleagues in Gaza are desperate for relief and protection, and they deserve both

 

[essentialsaltes]

At least 30 killed and over 100 injured in an Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza, Palestinian officials say​

At least 30 people have been killed and over 100 injured in an Israeli airstrike on a school in Deir-al Balah, central Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

The Israeli military it had launched the strike in order to destroy a Hamas command and control center inside the compound.

Most of the victims from the school arriving to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the aftermath of the attack were women and children, according to Dr. Khalil Al-Daqran, a spokesperson for the hospital. More than 4,000 displaced people were housed in the school, the Palestinian Civil Defense said.

As of early July, nearly 2 million peoplehad been displaced in Gaza – almost the entire population, according to figures from the UN.

 

[Valletta]

​

Foreign Minister Israel Katz said he discussed the cowardly terror strike with Netanyahu. He also declared that “Hezbollah crossed all red lines” and Israel was now “facing an all-out war” with the terror group.
Katz then warned Hezbollah would pay a high toll for its actions and was confident Israel would have the full support of the United States and Europe when they decided to ultimately retaliate.
Given Hezbollah’s close ties with Iran, this attack raises the possibility of an eventual all-out war between Iran and Israel.

PURE EVIL: Iran-Backed Hezbollah Terrorists Kill At Least 11 in Israel Including Several Children After Rocket Strikes Playground - Israel Vows Revenge (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit | by Cullen Linebarger

On Saturday, Israel experienced the worst attack on its soil since the Hamas invasion on October 7th, which left 1,200 people dead and 240 others kidnapped by the terrorists.

www.thegatewaypundit.com

Iran is behind it all.

 

[Valletta]

In January, Hamas released a video showing three hostages, Noa Argamani, 26, Yossi Sharabi, 53, and Itai Svirsky, 38, and asked, “What do you think?’ The sick goal seemed to guess who, if any, of the three remained alive.
Later that day, they released a video where Argamani was forced to say that two of her fellow captives were dead.

Hamas Accused of Sending Videos of Hostages Being Tortured to Israeli Officials to Pressure The Jewish State | The Gateway Pundit | by Margaret Flavin

In an unconfirmed report, The Telegraph claims that Hamas has allegedly filmed the torture of Israeli hostages and is sending the videos to Israeli officials, including directly addressing National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

www.thegatewaypundit.com

Hamas must be eliminated.

 

[JosephZ]

Iran says Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the assassination but suspicion immediately fell on Israel, which has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other leaders of Hamas over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw some 250 others taken hostage.

 

[Valletta]

“We stand by Israel’s right to defend its citizens from terrorist attacks.”
US National Security Council rep Adrienne Watson echoed Blinken’s assertion.
“It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control,” Watson said, referring to Hezbollah, in a statement.

IDF shows rocket that killed 12 kids matches Iranian-made Hezbollah weapon

Israel says it has proof the rocket that killed 12 kids playing on a soccer field was fired by Hamas using an Iranian-made weapon, with US officials agreeing that the terrorists were behind the att…

nypost.com

 

[Pommer]

“We stand by Israel’s right to defend its citizens from terrorist attacks.”
US National Security Council rep Adrienne Watson echoed Blinken’s assertion.
“It was their rocket, and launched from an area they control,” Watson said, referring to Hezbollah, in a statement.

IDF shows rocket that killed 12 kids matches Iranian-made Hezbollah weapon

Israel says it has proof the rocket that killed 12 kids playing on a soccer field was fired by Hamas using an Iranian-made weapon, with US officials agreeing that the terrorists were behind the att…

nypost.com

Yes, we knew and recovered much Iranian munitions and evidence of munitions over the years, that’s how we know Iran supports Hezbollah…it’s “news” but not ”new news”.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Al Jazeera journalists killed in reported Israeli airstrike in Gaza refugee camp, network says​

Ismail Al-Ghoul and his cameraman, Rami Al-Rifi, who lived in the besieged enclave, were killed in an airstrike on their car in the al Shati refugee camp, according to the Qatar-based network. The journalists, both aged 27, were reporting live for much of the day from a location close to the family home of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Tuesday.

Al-Ghoul was wearing a press flak vest when he was killed, according to his colleague. He had not seen his wife and two-year-old daughter Zeina, who were displaced in central Gaza, in 10 months.

Al Jazeera condemned what it claimed was the “targeted assassination” of its journalists by Israeli forces, claiming the attack was “part of a systematic targeting campaign against the network’s journalists and their families since October 2023.”

“I was going home close to where we were filming when one, exactly one missile from a drone targeted Ismail and Rami,” said [reporter] Ayman Abed, a resident of Al-Shati camp. “There was nothing unusual except the sound of drones in the sky humming. It was one strike on their car.”

[More than 100 journalists, mostly Palestinian, have been killed in Gaza since October, per the Committee to Protect Journalists]

The CPJ asked Israel to explain the killing of both Al Jazeera staffers, in what it said, “appears to be a direct strike.” Jodie Ginsberg, the CPJ chief, added: “Journalists are civilians and should never be targeted.”

 

[Valletta]

“Regrettably, there will inevitably be some casualties of this war, because Hamas purposefully operates within the midst of the civilian population and hides behind human shields, and we deplore the loss of innocent life.”

Over 1,000 American rabbis join forces to support Israel | The Jerusalem Post

"We hope and pray that the vision of the Hebrew prophets shall come to pass, that 'all shall sit under their vine and fig tree, and none shall make them afraid.'"

www.jpost.com

 

[Pommer]

“Regrettably, there will inevitably be some casualties of this war, because Hamas purposefully operates within the midst of the civilian population and hides behind human shields, and we deplore the loss of innocent life.”

Over 1,000 American rabbis join forces to support Israel | The Jerusalem Post

"We hope and pray that the vision of the Hebrew prophets shall come to pass, that 'all shall sit under their vine and fig tree, and none shall make them afraid.'"

www.jpost.com

Yes, if Only the enemy would come out and fight [the heroes] where it’ll be easy for [the heroes] to mow them down!

 

[essentialsaltes]

Update

Israeli strike targets Hamas military commander and kills at least 90 in southern Gaza​

Israeli officials confirmed that Deif and Salama were the targets.

The IDF says they have confirmed the Deif was killed in the July 13 strike in a 'safe zone for civilians'.

 

[Valletta]

The IDF says they have confirmed the Deif was killed in the July 13 strike in a 'safe zone for civilians'.

The terrorist leaders are now being targeted. Gazans need to decide whether they will continue to hide Hams leaders and cover for Hamas, or whether they will renounce the torture, rape, and murder of innocents.

i24NEWS

www.i24news.tv

 

[essentialsaltes]

The terrorist leaders are now being targeted.

Maybe they could have started with that and the civilian body count might be a lot lower even if you take out ~90 innocents with each one.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Palestinian homes were destroyed ‘for revenge,’ says Israeli soldier who served in Gaza​

He said that the anger felt by Israelis after October 7 and calls for revenge were expressed openly in his unit, as they waited to be sent into Gaza, and called it the “demonizing” of Palestinians.

“In the days before we entered Khan Younis … there was this atmosphere that was kind of growing of demonizing the Gazans,” he said, adding that he heard people “speaking about killing, ruining all of Gaza. Wiping it out became something that people (were discussing), as if it was some kind of a legitimate idea.”

“We’ve seen a lot of destruction that was not necessarily related to military reasons. Everything tends to (get) really mix up, you know – people are destroying houses because they believe that they should (get) revenge (for) what happened on (October 7) and it mixes up with the reasons to destroy houses for military reasons,” Green said, adding he witnessed “chaos … I could tell you 100% that we’ve destroyed houses at least for reasons that … we don’t care enough about the lives of Palestinians.”

--

The possibility that hostages have been killed during Israeli bombardments is a sensitive one in Israel. There have been occasions when officials have announced that hostages were believed to have been killed while in captivity, but at no point have any such announcements been attributed to Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli army has not responded to CNN’s request for comment on Green’s claims.

 

[Valletta]

Palestinian homes were destroyed ‘for revenge,’ says Israeli soldier who served in Gaza​

He said that the anger felt by Israelis after October 7 and calls for revenge were expressed openly in his unit, as they waited to be sent into Gaza, and called it the “demonizing” of Palestinians.

“In the days before we entered Khan Younis … there was this atmosphere that was kind of growing of demonizing the Gazans,” he said, adding that he heard people “speaking about killing, ruining all of Gaza. Wiping it out became something that people (were discussing), as if it was some kind of a legitimate idea.”

“We’ve seen a lot of destruction that was not necessarily related to military reasons. Everything tends to (get) really mix up, you know – people are destroying houses because they believe that they should (get) revenge (for) what happened on (October 7) and it mixes up with the reasons to destroy houses for military reasons,” Green said, adding he witnessed “chaos … I could tell you 100% that we’ve destroyed houses at least for reasons that … we don’t care enough about the lives of Palestinians.”

--

The possibility that hostages have been killed during Israeli bombardments is a sensitive one in Israel. There have been occasions when officials have announced that hostages were believed to have been killed while in captivity, but at no point have any such announcements been attributed to Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli army has not responded to CNN’s request for comment on Green’s claims.

War is hell. Soldiers get out of line. I dealt with the office of Senator Bob Kerrey, many many times complaining about his behavior. But he's a Democrat, an establishment player so the major media gives him a pass. There was a rather frank article about him:
Bob Kerrey’s Unit Slaughtered Civilians in Vietnam; Why Was He Appointed to Chair Fulbright University? Why does the left give Kerrey a pass for the killing of pregnant women but villify Israel because they don't believe a building should have been blown up? And why is the media not focusing on the killing of twelve children playing soccer? Soldiers are not robots. And here they are dealing with a civilian population that very much supports Islamic jihad. They know Jewish women and children and the elderly are deliberately targeted. They are dealing with an enemy, and I include Iran and Iran puppets, that if left unchecked will slaughter millions.As humans they sometimes are not going to automatically give the benefit of the doubt to every Palestinian. This is the nature of war.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Al Jazeera journalists killed in reported Israeli airstrike in Gaza refugee camp, network says​

Ismail Al-Ghoul and his cameraman, Rami Al-Rifi, who lived in the besieged enclave, were killed in an airstrike on their car in the al Shati refugee camp, according to the Qatar-based network. The journalists, both aged 27, were reporting live for much of the day from a location close to the family home of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in the Iranian capital of Tehran on Tuesday.

Al Jazeera rejects Israeli allegation that slain journalist was Hamas fighter​

Ismail al-Ghoul, the channel’s Gaza correspondent, was killed in an Israeli airstrike this week. Al Jazeera said allegations that he was a member of Hamas’s military wing are “baseless.”

In a joint statement Thursday, the Israeli military and intelligence service accused Ismail al-Ghoul, one of the channel’s main Arabic-language reporters, of participating in the Oct. 7 massacre, and said that he had been a part of Hamas’s military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades.

When asked for evidence by The Washington Post, the Israel Defense Forces said it had “no further comment.”

“The network condemns the accusations against its correspondent, Ismail Al Ghoul, without providing any proof, documentation or video,” Al Jazeera said in its statement Thursday.

The IDF made similar accusations against [some of the other Al Jazeera journalists killed in Gaza] Thuraya and Dahdouh, saying that they were terrorists who had operated an aircraft that threatened Israeli troops. A Post investigation found that they had been on assignment for the network, using a drone to document the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike south of Khan Younis, and that no military positions were visible in the footage.

Ghoul was one of Al Jazeera’s chief reporters in Gaza, and to many in the Arabic-speaking world, he was the face of coverage of the war. He broadcast daily from northern Gaza, which Israel’s military cut off from the rest of the territory, as rescue workers searched blast sites for survivors and as casualties flooded into local hospitals.

Israel has blocked foreign media from entering the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, save for occasional military embeds where access is tightly controlled.

To understand the conflict, in which local authorities say that more than 39,000 people have been killed, the world has relied on Palestinian journalists to broadcast the news.