Yes, American-made bombs killed Hezbollah leader Nasrallah (and thousands more) – Day 358
[email protected] September 30, 2024 ecocide, farming in gaza, Gaza, genocide, Jared Kushner, Lebanon, pope francis, us weapons to israel
Palestinians living in makeshift tents in the Hamad area of Khan Younis, Gaza migrate with their belongings following Israel’s evacuation warning on August 16, 2024 [Doaa Albaz – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
Israel killed at least 28 people in the Gaza Strip Sunday.
At least four Palestinians were killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Umm al-Fahm School in the town of Beit Lahia, which serves to shelter displaced civilians in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Lebanese health ministry has reported that Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed at least 109 individuals and left 364 others wounded across the country.
An entire family of 17 members was wiped out by an Israeli airstrike on Sunday in the town of Zboud, in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, Lebanese media said.
In Yemen, at least four people were killed and 49 others injured in Israeli airstrikes on the western city of Al Hudaydah on Sunday, the Houthi group said.
Around 17,000 children killed in Israeli war on Gaza, Palestinian authorities say
Anadolu Agency reports:
Around 17,000 Palestinian children have been killed in Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip since last October, according to local authorities on Sunday.
“Around 25,973 Palestinian children now live in Gaza without one or both parents due to the Israeli aggression,” Ismail al-Thawabta, who heads Gaza’s government media office, told Anadolu.
He said at least 16,859 children, including 171 infants, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7, 2023.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has repeatedly warned that “Gaza’s children have endured unimaginable horrors” under relentless Israeli attacks.
A child holds a doll among the rubble of a heavily damaged house as nine people, including three children, were killed in an attack by the Israeli army on the house of Akram al-Najjar, a lecturer at University of Jerusalem in the Jabalia Refugee Camp in Jabalia, Gaza, on September 11, 2024. Mahmoud ssa / Anadolu via Getty Images
A child holds a doll among the rubble of a heavily damaged house as nine people, including three children, were killed in an attack by the Israeli army on the house of Akram al-Najjar, a lecturer at University of Jerusalem in the Jabalia Refugee Camp in Jabalia, Gaza, on September 11, 2024.
Mahmoud ssa / Anadolu via Getty Images (photo)
Gaza: Israel’s destruction of agricultural land is expression of its insistence on committing genocide
Euro Med Monitor reports:
Israel has once again destroyed hundreds of dunams of agricultural land, depriving Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip of agricultural land and resources vital to survival, all in support of its illegal blockade of the Strip and tight restrictions on the entry of food supplies for almost a full year. This is an expression of Israel’s insistence on committing genocide against Palestinians in the enclave.
Israel has forced over 75% of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian people’s hands, either by isolating it in preparation for illegally annexing it to its military “buffer zone” or by bulldozing or otherwise damaging it, thereby destroying the Strip’s supply of fruits, vegetables, and meat.
This destruction is part of a larger Israeli plan that dates back to last October. Under this plan, Israeli forces have worked to eliminate almost 80% of the agricultural land in the Gaza Strip from use by Palestinians. Israel has done this either by isolating it in preparation for its forcible annexation to the so-called “buffer zone” or by bulldozing or destroying it by other means, such as bombardment—all of which are in violation of international law.
According to the Euro-Med Monitor field team, Israeli forces stormed the area of Al-Shimaa in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, early on Tuesday morning (25 September 2024). Accompanied by military bulldozers, the forces began their bulldozing operations, destroying more than 500 dunums of newly replanted agricultural land, which was supposed to sustain the needs of the people living in northern Gaza, who are subject to an arbitrary siege and systematic starvation by Israel.
The Israeli destruction of these agricultural lands, the majority of which were filled with eggplants, reflects Israel’s insistence on preventing the Palestinian people from depending on the region’s agricultural food basket during a period when sufficient supplies of vegetables and other foods are being kept out of the northern Gaza Strip. This has led to a severe famine, to the point where a significant portion of the people in the north have been forced to eat tree leaves and bake ground-up animal feed instead of flour.
(Read the full report here.)
Palestinian security in Gaza says spying devices found in displacement camps
Middle East Monitor reports:
The Palestinian security services in Gaza have in recent days seized Israeli spying equipment planted in a shelter for displaced families in the southern Gaza Strip, a Palestinian resistance media platform reported on its Telegram channel yesterday.
The platform quoted a security officer as saying that “the [Israeli] occupation intelligence had disguised the seized spying devices with different shapes, so they appear as part of the surrounding and natural environment including in the form of a rock.”
The officer suggested the Israeli intelligence planted the spying devices via Quadcopter drones, calling on everyone “not to tamper with any suspicious devices and to contact the security officers immediately.”
Tent camp near Al-Aqsa Hospital that was hit by a deadly Israeli air attack [Abdallah FS Alattar/Anadolu]
Tent camp near Al-Aqsa Hospital that was hit by a recent deadly Israeli air attack [Abdallah FS Alattar/Anadolu] (photo)
From Gaza to Lebanon: Israel’s Bombing Campaign Backed by Media Propaganda
MintPress News reports:
Western corporate media outlets, including the BBC, CNN, and The New York Times, have been working overtime to justify Israel’s recent assault on Lebanon, which claimed the lives of approximately 600 people in a single day. These reports have repeatedly claimed that the Israeli strikes were targeting “Hezbollah positions,” an assertion that has been widely echoed without substantial scrutiny.
Israel’s large-scale onslaught against civilian areas throughout Lebanon, which began on Monday, was covered by Western corporate media as “strikes on Hezbollah.”
CNN’s story on the first day of the assault, after around 500 people had been killed across Lebanon, was titled, “Israeli Strikes Targeting Hezbollah Kill Hundreds Across Lebanon.” The New York Times set up a live events feed labeled “Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets in Lebanon.” Even Reuters and the Associated Press, two of the most reputable Western news providers, framed the events as an escalation from “both sides,” covering Israel’s attack on Hezbollah.
A Reuters article published Tuesday opens with a telling lede: “An Israeli airstrike on Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah commander on Tuesday as cross-border rocket attacks by both sides increased fears of a full-fledged war in the Middle East, and Lebanon said only Washington could help end the fighting.”
Israel has made no secret of the fact that it is targeting civilians, as demonstrated by its release of a CGI video showing mockups of Lebanese villages, where missiles are allegedly stored in homes. Despite this, much of the Western media has yet to acknowledge these admissions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispelled any remaining doubt when he delivered a message in English to the people of Lebanon in which he claimed, “Hezbollah has been using you as human shields.” He further stated, “They’ve placed rockets in your living rooms” and “missiles in your garage.”
(Read the full analysis here.)
Garbage situation in Gaza is catastrophic
Various agencies report:
UNRWA, the United Nations group serving Palestinian refugees, says: Mountains of garbage are piling up in Gaza middle areas as sewage leaks onto streets. Families have no choice but to live beside the accumulated waste, exposed to the reek and the threat of a looming health disaster. Sanitary and living conditions across Gaza are inhumane.
According to ReliefWeb, the waste management system in Gaza, already limited before the war, has now completely collapsed as collection vehicles have been destroyed and access to official landfills is refused by the Israeli military.
Waste attracts rodents and insects resulting in the spread of infectious diseases such as cholera or skin diseases, while waste burning, a disposal method that locals use to manage the current emergency, worsens air pollution which in turn can result in further respiratory problems. People, many of whom are children, scavenging waste for food and sustenance, face additional risks from hazardous materials, which include medical waste and industrial chemicals.
There are also growing indications that conflict pollution is risked with the spread of antimicrobial resistance, a development that can deepen the medical health crisis.
Large waste dumps are also a threat to the soil and groundwater, as leachate, a toxic mix that spills from the waste, seeps into the land and affects groundwater, while in the long-term, increased methane release from landfills contributes to an increase of greenhouse gas emissions.
Mountains of garbage in Gaza
Mountains of garbage in Gaza (photo)
Mountains of garbage in Gaza
Mountains of garbage in Gaza (photo)
Lebanon says around 1 million people displaced due to Israeli attacks
Anadolu Agency reports:
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Sunday that around one million people have been displaced due to Israeli attacks, marking the largest wave of displacement in the country’s history.
“Lebanon is experiencing the largest wave of displacement in its history,” he told a press conference following a meeting of the government’s emergency committee in Beirut.
“Our priority is to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression through continued diplomatic efforts. We have no other choice,” he noted.
Mikati also reaffirmed Lebanon’s commitment to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Thousands of Lebanese and Syrian people fled to Syria, many through the al-Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, 45 km from the Syrian capital Damascus
Tens of thousands of Lebanese and Syrian people fled to Syria, many through the al-Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, 45 km from the Syrian capital Damascus (photo)
Israel’s state comptroller accuses army of obstructing investigations into Oct. 7 failures
Anadolu Agency reports:
Israeli State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman accused the military on Sunday of hindering investigations into the failures that led to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
“No external body has shown objectivity in examining the failures,” Englman said during a conference by Israeli media outlets The Jerusalem Post, Maariv and Walla.
He said his office is conducting a series of investigations related to the failures that led to the Oct. 7 attack.
“We are nearing completion of this report, but to finalize it, we need to meet with three individuals in the military,” Englman added.
He emphasized that Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi believes that the State Comptroller’s office should not intervene in military issues, declaring him “wrong.”
The State Comptroller’s office is Israel’s central institution for overseeing various state agencies to ensure public financial accountability.
View of the damage after Israeli forces targeted the Ibn al-Haytham School east of Gaza City. [Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu]
View of the damage after Israeli forces targeted the Ibn al-Haytham School east of Gaza City, mid September. [Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu] (photo)
US senator confirms Israel used US one ton bombs in Nasrallah strike
Reuters reports:
The bomb that Israel used to kill Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week was an American-made guided weapon, a U.S. senator said on Sunday.
Mark Kelly, chair of the Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee, said Israel used a 2,000-lb (900-kg) Mark 84 series bomb, during an interview with NBC. His statement marks the first U.S. indication of what weapon had been used.
“We see more use of guided munitions, JDAMs, and we continue to provide those weapons,” Kelly said, using an abbreviation that stands for Joint Direct Attack Munitions. “That 2,000-pound bomb that was used, that’s a Mark 84 series bomb, to take out Nasrallah,” he said.
The Israeli military said on Saturday it had eliminated Nasrallah in a strike on the group’s central command headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The Israeli military has declined to comment on what weapons were used in the attack. The Pentagon was not immediately available for comment.
JDAMs convert a standard unguided bomb using fins and a GPS guidance system into a guided weapon.
AL JAZEERA ADDS: Israel media says about 85 so-called “bunker-buster” bombs were used in the attack on Hasan Nasrallah.
Also known as “ground penetration munition”, these missiles burrow deep into the ground before they detonate.
They have the power to destroy underground facilities and reinforced concrete buildings.
The crater left by the IDF's strike on Nasrallah's underground bunker in Dahieh, Beirut | Photo: Arab media
The crater left by the IDF’s strike on Nasrallah’s underground bunker in Dahieh, Beirut | Photo: Arab media (photo)
Washington’s failure to condemn Israel’s pager terrorism “can only be called racist”
Ralph Nader writes in Common Dreams:
Furtively booby-trapping a consumer product like a pager or two-way radio opens a new phase of warfare. This savagery prompted Leon Panetta, former director of the CIA and former secretary of defense, in an interview on the CBS “Sunday Morning” news show to charge Israel with “terrorism.” No prominent national security figure has ever assailed Israel this way. Herewith his words:
The ability to be able to place an explosive in technology that is very prevalent these days. And turn it into a war of terror. Really, a war of terror. This is something new.
I don’t think there’s any question that it’s a form of terrorism…This is going right into the supply chain, right into the supply chain. And when you have terror going into the supply chain, it makes people ask the question, what the hell is next?
Panetta would never have uttered these words without the concurrence of the CIA and the Department of Defense. Still no consequences for Netanyahu by the U.S. government.
Netanyahu has made the push button a trigger for mayhem and murder—acts of large-scale terrorism. He and his predecessors have always characterized offensive acts violating the laws of war as “acceptable” defensive tactics.
The supine Congress and White House regularly rubber-stamp their violations of several U.S. laws on behalf of the Israeli government. (See the letter sent to John Kirby on September 12, 2024).
Consider the aftermath. No denunciation by U.S. President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, or Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Alarmingly, there were no editorials in the following week criticizing Netanyahu in The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Imagine if Hezbollah did this to Israeli society. The devaluation of Palestinian and Lebanese lives can only be called racist.
U.S. blowback analysts are apprehensive about the spread of Israeli-style “red button” explosives and the ingenious, and ever-cheaper armed drones. They see such technologies as potential threats within the U.S.
Such is the peril of nations whose leaders wage constant profitable, preventable wars and decline to wage muscular peace with comparable determination.
Ambulances are being dispatched to the area in Beirut, Lebanon while security forces take precautions after at least eight people, including a child, were killed in a mass explosion of wireless communication devices known as pagers on September 17, 2024 [Houssam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency]
Ambulances are being dispatched to the area in Beirut, Lebanon while security forces take precautions after at least eight people, including a child, were killed in a mass explosion of pagers on September 17, 2024 [Houssam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Pope says Israel’s bombings in Lebanon, Gaza ‘immoral’
Anadolu Agency reports:
On Sunday, the pope was asked about Israel’s targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Friday’s strike on Beirut, which led to many casualties and reduced several buildings to rubble.
“Every day I call the parish of Gaza. More than 600 people are there, inside the parish and the college, and they tell me about the things that are happening, including the cruelties that are occurring there,” he told journalists.
“[D]efense must always be proportionate to the attack,” he added.
“When there is something disproportionate, a domineering tendency that goes beyond morality is evident,” the pope said.
“A country that, with its forces, does these things—I’m talking about any country—that does these things in such a “superlative” way, these are immoral actions,” he added.
“Even in war, there is morality to be safe-guarded. War is immoral, but the rules of war indicate some morality. But when this is not respected, you can see—as we say in Argentina—the “bad blood” of these things.”
Jared Kushner says Israel must ‘finish the job’ in Lebanon
Al Jazeera reports:
Jared Kushner, who served as a senior adviser during former US President Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House, has said calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon is “wrong”.
In a post on X, Kushner said Israel “cannot afford now to not finish the job” and dismantle Hezbollah completely.“They will never get another chance. After the brilliant, rapid-fire tactical successes of the pagers, radios, and targeting of leadership, Hezbollah’s massive weapon cache is unguarded and unmanned,” said Kushner, who is also the Republican candidate’s son-in-law.
He added that the “right move” for the US is to allow Israel to “finish the job. It’s long overdue”.
In March, Kushner sparked controversy when he publicly praised the “very valuable potential” of “waterfront property” in Gaza, in comments that gave a window into what Trump’s policy on Palestine could be during his second term.
During Trump’s presidency, Kushner played a major role in negotiating the “Abraham Accords”: normalization deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Palestinians slammed the agreements as “a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people”.
At one point, Trump’s son-in-law described Gaza as having no historical context – “It was the result of a war – you had tribes that went different places and then Gaza became a thing.”
Before leading in the creation of Trump’s so-called Deal of the Century, Kushner claimed his expertise on the subject came from reading 25 books about Palestine.
Russian foreign minister urges Israel to abandon ‘essentially terrorist methods of settling political scores’
Anadolu Agency reports:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged Israel on Saturday to abandon “essentially terrorist methods of settling political scores” as he commented on the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Lavrov said at a news conference in New York that he had the impression that Israel is trying to provoke Iran and the Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah, to push the US into direct involvement in the conflict in the Middle East.
The Russian diplomat noted that Nasrallah’s murder was not the first provocative step by Israel. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in July in the Iranian capital of Tehran where he went to take part in the funeral of President Ebrahim Raisi. Before that, Israel attacked the Iranian diplomatic mission in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
“Apparently, Israel wants to create a reason for the US to get involved in this war. And in order to create this reason, it has been provoking both Iran and Hezbollah. In this situation, Iranian leadership is behaving extremely responsibly,” he said. “I don’t think this is the right course, I am convinced that the bloodshed must be stopped.”
Asked about Israel’s willingness to implement UN Security Council resolutions, Lavrov said: “I do not see Israel’s desire to carry out any peace plans.”
Lebanese Red Cross teams conducted search and rescue operations in the rubble of collapsed buildings following an Israeli army attack in Nabatieh province of southern Lebanon, on September 27, 2024. [Ramiz Dallah – Anadolu Agency]
Lebanese Red Cross teams conducted search and rescue operations in the rubble of collapsed buildings following an Israeli army attack in Nabatieh province of southern Lebanon, on September 27, 2024. [Ramiz Dallah – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
IMEMC Daily Reports.
Foreign Affairs: America Needs a New Strategy to Avert Even Greater Catastrophe in the Middle East
Palestine Chronicle: ‘Only the People Save the People’ – Spain Goes on General Strike against Genocide in Gaza
Anadolu Agency: Germany to deny citizenship to those using pro-Palestinian slogan on social media
Anadolu Agency: Thousands rally across Australia calling for cease-fire in Gaza, Lebanon
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – SEPTEMBER 29:
Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 29, 2024: at least 42,334* (41,615 in Gaza* – 11,308 women (30%), 16,859 children as of September 5. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]
This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 719 in the West Bank (~148 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 49,032 Palestinian deaths.
Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.
Ralph Nader earlier estimated 300,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.
At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 25 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition (at least 37 of them children)**.
About 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are currently displaced.
Almost 500,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – September 29: at least 102,059 (including at least 96,359 in Gaza and 5,700 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 29, 2024: ~1,457 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 293*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 25 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel) and~10,000 injured.
The death toll in Lebanon since October 8, 2023 is 1,640 (104 children, 194 women) and 8,408 injuries. More recently, since September 16, 1,030 have been killed, 6,352 have been injured., with 6,352 injuries, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Saturday, September 28.
NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.
*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.
**Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.
***The figure does not include the reportedly 53 Israeli soldiers – nearly 16% of the total Israeli military deaths – killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents.
† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.
Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.
Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
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https://israelpalestinenews.org/yes-american-made-bombs-killed-hezbollah-leader-nasrallah-and-thousands-more-day-358/Yes, American-made bombs killed Hezbollah leader Nasrallah (and thousands more) – Day 358
[email protected] September 30, 2024 ecocide, farming in gaza, Gaza, genocide, Jared Kushner, Lebanon, pope francis, us weapons to israel
Palestinians living in makeshift tents in the Hamad area of Khan Younis, Gaza migrate with their belongings following Israel’s evacuation warning on August 16, 2024 [Doaa Albaz – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
Israel killed at least 28 people in the Gaza Strip Sunday.
At least four Palestinians were killed and several others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Umm al-Fahm School in the town of Beit Lahia, which serves to shelter displaced civilians in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Lebanese health ministry has reported that Israeli air strikes on Sunday killed at least 109 individuals and left 364 others wounded across the country.
An entire family of 17 members was wiped out by an Israeli airstrike on Sunday in the town of Zboud, in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, Lebanese media said.
In Yemen, at least four people were killed and 49 others injured in Israeli airstrikes on the western city of Al Hudaydah on Sunday, the Houthi group said.
Around 17,000 children killed in Israeli war on Gaza, Palestinian authorities say
Anadolu Agency reports:
Around 17,000 Palestinian children have been killed in Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip since last October, according to local authorities on Sunday.
“Around 25,973 Palestinian children now live in Gaza without one or both parents due to the Israeli aggression,” Ismail al-Thawabta, who heads Gaza’s government media office, told Anadolu.
He said at least 16,859 children, including 171 infants, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7, 2023.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has repeatedly warned that “Gaza’s children have endured unimaginable horrors” under relentless Israeli attacks.
A child holds a doll among the rubble of a heavily damaged house as nine people, including three children, were killed in an attack by the Israeli army on the house of Akram al-Najjar, a lecturer at University of Jerusalem in the Jabalia Refugee Camp in Jabalia, Gaza, on September 11, 2024. Mahmoud ssa / Anadolu via Getty Images
A child holds a doll among the rubble of a heavily damaged house as nine people, including three children, were killed in an attack by the Israeli army on the house of Akram al-Najjar, a lecturer at University of Jerusalem in the Jabalia Refugee Camp in Jabalia, Gaza, on September 11, 2024.
Mahmoud ssa / Anadolu via Getty Images (photo)
Gaza: Israel’s destruction of agricultural land is expression of its insistence on committing genocide
Euro Med Monitor reports:
Israel has once again destroyed hundreds of dunams of agricultural land, depriving Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip of agricultural land and resources vital to survival, all in support of its illegal blockade of the Strip and tight restrictions on the entry of food supplies for almost a full year. This is an expression of Israel’s insistence on committing genocide against Palestinians in the enclave.
Israel has forced over 75% of agricultural land in the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian people’s hands, either by isolating it in preparation for illegally annexing it to its military “buffer zone” or by bulldozing or otherwise damaging it, thereby destroying the Strip’s supply of fruits, vegetables, and meat.
This destruction is part of a larger Israeli plan that dates back to last October. Under this plan, Israeli forces have worked to eliminate almost 80% of the agricultural land in the Gaza Strip from use by Palestinians. Israel has done this either by isolating it in preparation for its forcible annexation to the so-called “buffer zone” or by bulldozing or destroying it by other means, such as bombardment—all of which are in violation of international law.
According to the Euro-Med Monitor field team, Israeli forces stormed the area of Al-Shimaa in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, early on Tuesday morning (25 September 2024). Accompanied by military bulldozers, the forces began their bulldozing operations, destroying more than 500 dunums of newly replanted agricultural land, which was supposed to sustain the needs of the people living in northern Gaza, who are subject to an arbitrary siege and systematic starvation by Israel.
The Israeli destruction of these agricultural lands, the majority of which were filled with eggplants, reflects Israel’s insistence on preventing the Palestinian people from depending on the region’s agricultural food basket during a period when sufficient supplies of vegetables and other foods are being kept out of the northern Gaza Strip. This has led to a severe famine, to the point where a significant portion of the people in the north have been forced to eat tree leaves and bake ground-up animal feed instead of flour.
(Read the full report here.)
Palestinian security in Gaza says spying devices found in displacement camps
Middle East Monitor reports:
The Palestinian security services in Gaza have in recent days seized Israeli spying equipment planted in a shelter for displaced families in the southern Gaza Strip, a Palestinian resistance media platform reported on its Telegram channel yesterday.
The platform quoted a security officer as saying that “the [Israeli] occupation intelligence had disguised the seized spying devices with different shapes, so they appear as part of the surrounding and natural environment including in the form of a rock.”
The officer suggested the Israeli intelligence planted the spying devices via Quadcopter drones, calling on everyone “not to tamper with any suspicious devices and to contact the security officers immediately.”
Tent camp near Al-Aqsa Hospital that was hit by a deadly Israeli air attack [Abdallah FS Alattar/Anadolu]
Tent camp near Al-Aqsa Hospital that was hit by a recent deadly Israeli air attack [Abdallah FS Alattar/Anadolu] (photo)
From Gaza to Lebanon: Israel’s Bombing Campaign Backed by Media Propaganda
MintPress News reports:
Western corporate media outlets, including the BBC, CNN, and The New York Times, have been working overtime to justify Israel’s recent assault on Lebanon, which claimed the lives of approximately 600 people in a single day. These reports have repeatedly claimed that the Israeli strikes were targeting “Hezbollah positions,” an assertion that has been widely echoed without substantial scrutiny.
Israel’s large-scale onslaught against civilian areas throughout Lebanon, which began on Monday, was covered by Western corporate media as “strikes on Hezbollah.”
CNN’s story on the first day of the assault, after around 500 people had been killed across Lebanon, was titled, “Israeli Strikes Targeting Hezbollah Kill Hundreds Across Lebanon.” The New York Times set up a live events feed labeled “Israel Strikes Hezbollah Targets in Lebanon.” Even Reuters and the Associated Press, two of the most reputable Western news providers, framed the events as an escalation from “both sides,” covering Israel’s attack on Hezbollah.
A Reuters article published Tuesday opens with a telling lede: “An Israeli airstrike on Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah commander on Tuesday as cross-border rocket attacks by both sides increased fears of a full-fledged war in the Middle East, and Lebanon said only Washington could help end the fighting.”
Israel has made no secret of the fact that it is targeting civilians, as demonstrated by its release of a CGI video showing mockups of Lebanese villages, where missiles are allegedly stored in homes. Despite this, much of the Western media has yet to acknowledge these admissions.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispelled any remaining doubt when he delivered a message in English to the people of Lebanon in which he claimed, “Hezbollah has been using you as human shields.” He further stated, “They’ve placed rockets in your living rooms” and “missiles in your garage.”
(Read the full analysis here.)
Garbage situation in Gaza is catastrophic
Various agencies report:
UNRWA, the United Nations group serving Palestinian refugees, says: Mountains of garbage are piling up in Gaza middle areas as sewage leaks onto streets. Families have no choice but to live beside the accumulated waste, exposed to the reek and the threat of a looming health disaster. Sanitary and living conditions across Gaza are inhumane.
According to ReliefWeb, the waste management system in Gaza, already limited before the war, has now completely collapsed as collection vehicles have been destroyed and access to official landfills is refused by the Israeli military.
Waste attracts rodents and insects resulting in the spread of infectious diseases such as cholera or skin diseases, while waste burning, a disposal method that locals use to manage the current emergency, worsens air pollution which in turn can result in further respiratory problems. People, many of whom are children, scavenging waste for food and sustenance, face additional risks from hazardous materials, which include medical waste and industrial chemicals.
There are also growing indications that conflict pollution is risked with the spread of antimicrobial resistance, a development that can deepen the medical health crisis.
Large waste dumps are also a threat to the soil and groundwater, as leachate, a toxic mix that spills from the waste, seeps into the land and affects groundwater, while in the long-term, increased methane release from landfills contributes to an increase of greenhouse gas emissions.
Mountains of garbage in Gaza
Mountains of garbage in Gaza (photo)
Mountains of garbage in Gaza
Mountains of garbage in Gaza (photo)
Lebanon says around 1 million people displaced due to Israeli attacks
Anadolu Agency reports:
Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Sunday that around one million people have been displaced due to Israeli attacks, marking the largest wave of displacement in the country’s history.
“Lebanon is experiencing the largest wave of displacement in its history,” he told a press conference following a meeting of the government’s emergency committee in Beirut.
“Our priority is to stop the ongoing Israeli aggression through continued diplomatic efforts. We have no other choice,” he noted.
Mikati also reaffirmed Lebanon’s commitment to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which calls for a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Thousands of Lebanese and Syrian people fled to Syria, many through the al-Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, 45 km from the Syrian capital Damascus
Tens of thousands of Lebanese and Syrian people fled to Syria, many through the al-Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, 45 km from the Syrian capital Damascus (photo)
Israel’s state comptroller accuses army of obstructing investigations into Oct. 7 failures
Anadolu Agency reports:
Israeli State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman accused the military on Sunday of hindering investigations into the failures that led to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
“No external body has shown objectivity in examining the failures,” Englman said during a conference by Israeli media outlets The Jerusalem Post, Maariv and Walla.
He said his office is conducting a series of investigations related to the failures that led to the Oct. 7 attack.
“We are nearing completion of this report, but to finalize it, we need to meet with three individuals in the military,” Englman added.
He emphasized that Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi believes that the State Comptroller’s office should not intervene in military issues, declaring him “wrong.”
The State Comptroller’s office is Israel’s central institution for overseeing various state agencies to ensure public financial accountability.
View of the damage after Israeli forces targeted the Ibn al-Haytham School east of Gaza City. [Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu]
View of the damage after Israeli forces targeted the Ibn al-Haytham School east of Gaza City, mid September. [Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu] (photo)
US senator confirms Israel used US one ton bombs in Nasrallah strike
Reuters reports:
The bomb that Israel used to kill Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week was an American-made guided weapon, a U.S. senator said on Sunday.
Mark Kelly, chair of the Senate Armed Services Airland Subcommittee, said Israel used a 2,000-lb (900-kg) Mark 84 series bomb, during an interview with NBC. His statement marks the first U.S. indication of what weapon had been used.
“We see more use of guided munitions, JDAMs, and we continue to provide those weapons,” Kelly said, using an abbreviation that stands for Joint Direct Attack Munitions. “That 2,000-pound bomb that was used, that’s a Mark 84 series bomb, to take out Nasrallah,” he said.
The Israeli military said on Saturday it had eliminated Nasrallah in a strike on the group’s central command headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
The Israeli military has declined to comment on what weapons were used in the attack. The Pentagon was not immediately available for comment.
JDAMs convert a standard unguided bomb using fins and a GPS guidance system into a guided weapon.
AL JAZEERA ADDS: Israel media says about 85 so-called “bunker-buster” bombs were used in the attack on Hasan Nasrallah.
Also known as “ground penetration munition”, these missiles burrow deep into the ground before they detonate.
They have the power to destroy underground facilities and reinforced concrete buildings.
The crater left by the IDF's strike on Nasrallah's underground bunker in Dahieh, Beirut | Photo: Arab media
The crater left by the IDF’s strike on Nasrallah’s underground bunker in Dahieh, Beirut | Photo: Arab media (photo)
Washington’s failure to condemn Israel’s pager terrorism “can only be called racist”
Ralph Nader writes in Common Dreams:
Furtively booby-trapping a consumer product like a pager or two-way radio opens a new phase of warfare. This savagery prompted Leon Panetta, former director of the CIA and former secretary of defense, in an interview on the CBS “Sunday Morning” news show to charge Israel with “terrorism.” No prominent national security figure has ever assailed Israel this way. Herewith his words:
The ability to be able to place an explosive in technology that is very prevalent these days. And turn it into a war of terror. Really, a war of terror. This is something new.
I don’t think there’s any question that it’s a form of terrorism…This is going right into the supply chain, right into the supply chain. And when you have terror going into the supply chain, it makes people ask the question, what the hell is next?
Panetta would never have uttered these words without the concurrence of the CIA and the Department of Defense. Still no consequences for Netanyahu by the U.S. government.
Netanyahu has made the push button a trigger for mayhem and murder—acts of large-scale terrorism. He and his predecessors have always characterized offensive acts violating the laws of war as “acceptable” defensive tactics.
The supine Congress and White House regularly rubber-stamp their violations of several U.S. laws on behalf of the Israeli government. (See the letter sent to John Kirby on September 12, 2024).
Consider the aftermath. No denunciation by U.S. President Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, or Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Alarmingly, there were no editorials in the following week criticizing Netanyahu in The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Imagine if Hezbollah did this to Israeli society. The devaluation of Palestinian and Lebanese lives can only be called racist.
U.S. blowback analysts are apprehensive about the spread of Israeli-style “red button” explosives and the ingenious, and ever-cheaper armed drones. They see such technologies as potential threats within the U.S.
Such is the peril of nations whose leaders wage constant profitable, preventable wars and decline to wage muscular peace with comparable determination.
Ambulances are being dispatched to the area in Beirut, Lebanon while security forces take precautions after at least eight people, including a child, were killed in a mass explosion of wireless communication devices known as pagers on September 17, 2024 [Houssam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency]
Ambulances are being dispatched to the area in Beirut, Lebanon while security forces take precautions after at least eight people, including a child, were killed in a mass explosion of pagers on September 17, 2024 [Houssam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
Pope says Israel’s bombings in Lebanon, Gaza ‘immoral’
Anadolu Agency reports:
On Sunday, the pope was asked about Israel’s targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Friday’s strike on Beirut, which led to many casualties and reduced several buildings to rubble.
“Every day I call the parish of Gaza. More than 600 people are there, inside the parish and the college, and they tell me about the things that are happening, including the cruelties that are occurring there,” he told journalists.
“[D]efense must always be proportionate to the attack,” he added.
“When there is something disproportionate, a domineering tendency that goes beyond morality is evident,” the pope said.
“A country that, with its forces, does these things—I’m talking about any country—that does these things in such a “superlative” way, these are immoral actions,” he added.
“Even in war, there is morality to be safe-guarded. War is immoral, but the rules of war indicate some morality. But when this is not respected, you can see—as we say in Argentina—the “bad blood” of these things.”
Jared Kushner says Israel must ‘finish the job’ in Lebanon
Al Jazeera reports:
Jared Kushner, who served as a senior adviser during former US President Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House, has said calling for a ceasefire in Lebanon is “wrong”.
In a post on X, Kushner said Israel “cannot afford now to not finish the job” and dismantle Hezbollah completely.“They will never get another chance. After the brilliant, rapid-fire tactical successes of the pagers, radios, and targeting of leadership, Hezbollah’s massive weapon cache is unguarded and unmanned,” said Kushner, who is also the Republican candidate’s son-in-law.
He added that the “right move” for the US is to allow Israel to “finish the job. It’s long overdue”.
In March, Kushner sparked controversy when he publicly praised the “very valuable potential” of “waterfront property” in Gaza, in comments that gave a window into what Trump’s policy on Palestine could be during his second term.
During Trump’s presidency, Kushner played a major role in negotiating the “Abraham Accords”: normalization deals between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco. Palestinians slammed the agreements as “a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian people”.
At one point, Trump’s son-in-law described Gaza as having no historical context – “It was the result of a war – you had tribes that went different places and then Gaza became a thing.”
Before leading in the creation of Trump’s so-called Deal of the Century, Kushner claimed his expertise on the subject came from reading 25 books about Palestine.
Russian foreign minister urges Israel to abandon ‘essentially terrorist methods of settling political scores’
Anadolu Agency reports:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged Israel on Saturday to abandon “essentially terrorist methods of settling political scores” as he commented on the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Lavrov said at a news conference in New York that he had the impression that Israel is trying to provoke Iran and the Lebanese resistance group, Hezbollah, to push the US into direct involvement in the conflict in the Middle East.
The Russian diplomat noted that Nasrallah’s murder was not the first provocative step by Israel. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in July in the Iranian capital of Tehran where he went to take part in the funeral of President Ebrahim Raisi. Before that, Israel attacked the Iranian diplomatic mission in the Syrian capital of Damascus.
“Apparently, Israel wants to create a reason for the US to get involved in this war. And in order to create this reason, it has been provoking both Iran and Hezbollah. In this situation, Iranian leadership is behaving extremely responsibly,” he said. “I don’t think this is the right course, I am convinced that the bloodshed must be stopped.”
Asked about Israel’s willingness to implement UN Security Council resolutions, Lavrov said: “I do not see Israel’s desire to carry out any peace plans.”
Lebanese Red Cross teams conducted search and rescue operations in the rubble of collapsed buildings following an Israeli army attack in Nabatieh province of southern Lebanon, on September 27, 2024. [Ramiz Dallah – Anadolu Agency]
Lebanese Red Cross teams conducted search and rescue operations in the rubble of collapsed buildings following an Israeli army attack in Nabatieh province of southern Lebanon, on September 27, 2024. [Ramiz Dallah – Anadolu Agency] (photo)
IMEMC Daily Reports.
Foreign Affairs: America Needs a New Strategy to Avert Even Greater Catastrophe in the Middle East
Palestine Chronicle: ‘Only the People Save the People’ – Spain Goes on General Strike against Genocide in Gaza
Anadolu Agency: Germany to deny citizenship to those using pro-Palestinian slogan on social media
Anadolu Agency: Thousands rally across Australia calling for cease-fire in Gaza, Lebanon
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – SEPTEMBER 29:
Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 29, 2024: at least 42,334* (41,615 in Gaza* – 11,308 women (30%), 16,859 children as of September 5. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]
This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 719 in the West Bank (~148 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 49,032 Palestinian deaths.
Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.
Ralph Nader earlier estimated 300,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.
At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 25 from West Bank).
At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition (at least 37 of them children)**.
About 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are currently displaced.
Almost 500,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Palestinian injuries from October 7 – September 29: at least 102,059 (including at least 96,359 in Gaza and 5,700 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]
Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – September 29, 2024: ~1,457 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 293*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 25 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel) and~10,000 injured.
The death toll in Lebanon since October 8, 2023 is 1,640 (104 children, 194 women) and 8,408 injuries. More recently, since September 16, 1,030 have been killed, 6,352 have been injured., with 6,352 injuries, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Saturday, September 28.
NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.
*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.
**Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals.
***The figure does not include the reportedly 53 Israeli soldiers – nearly 16% of the total Israeli military deaths – killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents.
† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.
Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.
Hover over each bar for exact numbers.
Source: IsraelPalestineTimeline.org
Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
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https://israelpalestinenews.org/yes-american-made-bombs-killed-hezbollah-leader-nasrallah-and-thousands-more-day-358/
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