Israel has declared war on peacekeeping; Washington joins Israel in war on truth – Day 370
[email protected] October 12, 2024 famine, hind rajab, humanitarian aid, international solidarity movement, iran sanctions, israel self investigation, Jeremy Loffredo, journalists in gaza, Lebanon, Michael Jacobsen, peacekeepers, UN Human Rights Council, unifil, world health organization
Israel has declared war on peacekeeping; Washington joins Israel in war on truth – Day 370
Palestinian residents of the northern Gaza Jabalia Refugee Camp flee to other areas with the belongings they could carry, following Israeli attacks on the camp in Gaza City, Gaza on October 1, 2024 (Mahmoud İssa/Anadolu Agency)
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
At least 56 people have been killed in Gaza in several Israeli strikes, including at least 20 in Jabalia refugee camp.
Israel blocks World Health Org evacuation of sick children in northern Gaza: Health Ministry
Anadolu Agency reports:
The Israeli army blocked a World Health Organization (WHO) delegation from evacuating sick children from hospitals in northern Gaza amid the worsening situation due to ongoing military operations in the area, now in their sixth day, a senior Gaza health official said Friday.
A health ministry spokesperson said, “The army turned back the WHO delegation tasked with evacuating intensive care patients and children from northern hospitals.”
He added that Israeli attacks and blocking of fuel trucks are putting the hospitals at risk of halting operations.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society also revealed on Friday that all its ambulances in northern Gaza were forced to stop over the lack of fuel due to the Israeli army’s incursion and siege for the sixth consecutive day.
Dozens of ambulances are destroyed during the Israeli raids on Nasser Hospital as the repairmen try to provide parts from ambulances that are out of use and put them into use again as the Israeli attacks continue in Khan Yunis, Gaza on October 9, 2024
Dozens of ambulances are destroyed during the Israeli raids on Nasser Hospital as the repairmen try to provide parts from ambulances that are out of use and put them into use again as the Israeli attacks continue in Khan Yunis, Gaza on October 9, 2024 (Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu Agency])
World Food Program warns of famine threat in Gaza as winter approaches
Anadolu Agency reports:
The World Food Program (WFP) warned Thursday that the threat of famine persists in Gaza amid tragedy and suffering in the Palestinian enclave.
There are around 100,000 tons of food waiting to enter Gaza – enough to feed over a million people for five months – but according to WFP, the closure of crossing points, security issues and route disruptions at crossings are limiting aid delivery.
WFP warned that one million people risk losing vital support if the flow of assistance does not resume.
“As another winter approaches, every day is a struggle for survival. Hunger remains rampant and the threat of famine persists,” the UN agency said on X.
(Click to enlarge.)
Four Days in Gaza: Five Journalists Killed or Wounded
The Intercept reports:
On Wednesday, a group of journalists were covering the siege in northern Gaza, when they were attacked. Witnesses said the journalists were targeted.
Like other Palestinian journalists who have been killed and injured in Gaza, Fadi al-Hawidi, a cameraman for Al Jazeera Arabic, was wearing a flak jacket with the word “PRESS” clearly visible on it.
In his last post on Instagram before he was shot, al-Hawidi filmed himself as he reported on civilians being shot at by Israeli forces while attempting to leave the area in compliance with the military’s orders. Unarmed people can be seen running as gunfire rings in the background.
One of the other journalists described what happened: “Suddenly a quadcopter drone appeared above the broadcast vehicle and the place where we were, and it started firing directly at us.
“The drone started chasing us and the entire crew, firing directly at us. A bullet hit my colleague Fadi’s neck and he immediately passed out and fell to the ground.”
According to his colleagues, Fadi is now permanently paralyzed due to his injuries.
A spokesman for the Israeli military told The Intercept, “The IDF is not aware of the incident referred to. The IDF has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists.”
(Read the full story here.)
Below is a short video of one of the first Israeli attacks on journalists in this war: Dylan Collins’ video testimony of the targeted IDF attack on October 13, 2023.
WATCH: American Journalist Could Face Death Penalty for Reporting in Israel
UPDATE: According to The Intercept, Jeremy Loffredo was released from prison Friday morning by Israeli authorities after four days in Israeli detention, but was ordered to remain in the country until October 20, allowing investigators more time to bring additional allegations or to further interrogate him.
Israeli police had held Loffredo, an independent journalist from New York, on suspicion of assisting an enemy in war, a serious allegation that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment or death, his attorney said.
In his reporting, he showed the locations of several Iranian missiles that had landed inside Israel earlier this month. As was the case with other media outlets, some of Loffredo’s footage was shot near sensitive Israeli sites.
Israeli forces again attack UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, peacekeepers injured
Anadolu Agency reports:
Israeli forces on Friday launched another attack on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters in southern Lebanon, injuring several Sri Lankan peacekeepers stationed there.
An Israeli Merkava tank reportedly targeted one of UNIFIL’s observation towers on a main road, in front of a Lebanese Army checkpoint, injuring the Sri Lankan contingent stationed there.
Israeli artillery fired a shell that struck the main entrance of the UNIFIL command center, causing damage to the site. This was the second attack on the location in three days.
According to legal experts, recent Israeli attacks on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) constitute a serious violation of international law.
AL JAZEERA ADDS: The Israeli military says it is “conducting a thorough review” to determine details of attacks on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon: “The [Israeli military] expresses deep concern over incidents of this kind and is currently conducting a thorough review at the highest levels of command to determine the details,” the army said in a statement.
NOTE: Israel’s self-investigations consistently whitewash its crimes and fail to appropriately punish the perpetrators. Israeli sources, including the government itself, have a long track record of lying (for example, this and this and this.)
Headquarters of the UN Interim Force (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon’s Naqoura
Headquarters of the UN Interim Force (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon’s Naqoura (Ali Abdo - Anadolu Agency )
WATCH: 254 days after Hind Rajab’s murder, Biden admin says Israel can investigate itself
From Middle East Monitor:
Zeteo News’ Prem Thakker asked US Secretary of State spokesperson Matthew Miller how Washington can continue to arm Israel when its investigations into misconduct by its soldiers keep being closed without anyone being held to account.
Miller said it’s not for the US ‘to adjudicate’ over what information Tel Aviv issues is accurate.
US officials continue to see Israel’s operation across Lebanese border as ‘limited’: Pentagon
Anadolu Agency reports:
Israel is conducting a “limited” operation across the Lebanese border to remove the Hezbollah group’s infrastructure, the Pentagon said Thursday.
“All indications that we have right now are that Israel continues to conduct limited ground operations across the border to remove Hezbollah attack infrastructure,” Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.
Israel has been mounting massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23 that have killed more than 1,323 people and injured nearly 3,700.
US expands sanctions against Iran following attack on Israel
In the context of Israel’s siege on northern Gaza, shooting civilians and journalists, blocking healthcare for critically ill children, attacking peacekeeping forces, and other actions – the US has chosen to sanction Iran.
Anadolu Agency reports:
The US expanded sanctions on Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors in response to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack on Israel, the Treasury Department said on Friday.
“This action intensifies financial pressure on Iran, limiting the regime’s ability to earn critical energy revenues to undermine stability in the region and attack U.S. partners and allies,” the department said in a statement.
“As long as Iran devotes its energy revenues to funding attacks on our allies, supporting terrorism around the world, and pursuing other destabilizing actions, we will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to hold it accountable.
“These measures will be reinforced by ongoing close coordination with partners and allies to address and counter Iran’s actions,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
US military veteran arrested by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank
Middle East Eye reports:
United States citizen and military veteran, Michael Jacobsen, was arrested Thursday by Israeli forces while accompanying a Palestinian farmer in a village in the West Bank, according to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
The ISM said the farmer was facing “daily harassment, attacks, and invasions of his private land by Israeli settlers and occupation forces”.
Israeli police arrested Jacobsen and took him into custody at the interrogation center created by Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. ISM explained that Israel has a policy of silencing international activists, who often raise awareness of the plight of Palestinians.
Police said Jacobsen was “endangering the public due to provocation of disturbances” and accused him of entering the country illegally because they suspected him of supporting the Palestinian-led Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment (BDS) movement – which is forbidden in Israel.
Jacobsen was threatened with “imprisonment and deportation if he did not leave the country immediately”, according to the ISM, and he chose to leave for Jordan.
The moments before Israeli police arrest Michael Jacobsen in Masafer Yatta in occupied West Bank, on 10 October 2024
The moments before Israeli police arrest Michael Jacobsen in Masafer Yatta in occupied West Bank, on 10 October 2024 (International Solidarity Movement)
The US won’t run for another term on UN human rights council. Israel is likely why.
Kenneth Roth writes for the Guardian:
Something unusual happened this week at the UN: the US government decided not to run for a second term on the human rights council.
Various rationales are circulating, but one, in my view, looms large: Israel. Or more to the point, Joe Biden’s refusal to suspend or condition the massive US arms sales and military aid to Israel as its military bombs and starves the Palestinian civilians of Gaza.
The election for the 47-member human rights council in Geneva is conducted by the UN general assembly in New York.
It is rare that the UN general assembly has the chance to vote on the US government’s conduct. Given widespread outrage at Israeli war crimes in Gaza – and at Biden’s refusal to use the enormous leverage of US arms sales and military aid to stop it – that vote could easily have resulted in an overwhelming repudiation of the Biden administration. Rather than face the possibility of a humiliating reprimand, the US government withdrew its candidacy.
By virtue of its diplomatic and economic power, the US government can be an important force for human rights. Other than on Israel, its presence on the council has generally helped the defense of human rights.
But US credibility, already compromised by Washington’s close alliances with the repressive likes of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has been profoundly undermined by Biden’s aiding and abetting of Israeli war crimes in Gaza. With Biden seemingly constitutionally unable to change, the defense of human rights is taking a hit.
Germany to supply Israel with new arms shipments
Middle East Monitor reports:
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced that Berlin will deliver new shipments of weapons to Israel.
This is in contrast to French President Emmanuel Macron who has called for a halt to any arms supplies to the occupation state if they are to be used in Gaza.
Speaking before the Bundestag during discussions marking the first anniversary of 7 October 2023, Scholz said: “We in the government have made decisions that will ensure the delivery of more weapons soon.”
“We have not decided to cease arms deliveries,” Scholz added, addressing claims from the opposition that the government paused weapons shipments to Tel Aviv for months, causing a “breach in German solidarity” with Israel.
The German chancellor further stated, “We have delivered weapons and will continue to deliver weapons,” without specifying their type, quantity, or intended purpose.
Iraqi resistance warns of crippling oil shortages worldwide if Israel begins ‘energy war’
The Cradle reports:
A leader of a major faction in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has warned that if Israel begins a war that involves the energy sector, the world will lose 12 million barrels per day, “and this is what we will make sure of.”
Abu Ali al-Askari, the head of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades Security Bureau, stated: “This is what we will be taking care of, but only God knows what our brethren in Yemen will do in Bab al-Mandab and our brethren in Iran will do in the Strait of Hormuz,” referring to important shipping routes for oil tankers.
Israeli leaders have threatened to launch a massive attack against Iran, including against nuclear power and oil infrastructure.
Askari warned further that the resistance’s response “will not be limited to Israel, but will extend to Washington’s bases and interests in Iraq and the region.”
Some analysts believe that oil prices, currently around $80 per barrel, could reach more than $300 per barrel in the case of a full blockade of the Gulf of Hormuz.
MORE NEWS:
Anadolu Agency: Palestinians file criminal complaint over Israel impeding ICC probe into Gaza genocide
Anadolu Agency: After meeting with pope, Spanish premier urges int’l community to halt arms sales to Israel
Common Dreams: Gaza Doctor Corrects CNN Anchor: ‘This Is Not a Humanitarian Crisis… This Is Genocide’
Middle East Eye: How western lies about the ‘Sunni-Shia divide’ have set the region ablaze
Middle East Monitor: Trump Organization resumes plans to set up luxury hotel in occupied East Jerusalem
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – OCTOBER 11, 2024:
Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – October 11, 2024: at least 42,926* ( 42,175 in Gaza* – 69% are women and children, according to Gaza’s Media Office). [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 751 in the West Bank (~164 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more in Gaza 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 – October 11, 2024: at least 104,536 (including at least 98,336 in Gaza and 6,200 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 – October 11, 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 at least 2,169 and 10,212 injuries. An estimated 1.2 million have been displaced.
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 56 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)
How Israel killed hundreds of its own people on October 7
The most precarious place in the world to be a child: Israel’s year of war on children
Every accusation a confession: Israel and the double lie of ‘human shields’
Most Americans want to stop arming Israel. Politicians don’t care.
Happy 100th birthday, Jimmy Carter – loved by many, smeared by some
You can’t arm a genocidal state into moderation. So why does the West keep trying?
How Does Israel Justify Mass Killings? It Starts in the Schools.
From the Americas to Gaza: Spreading disease has long been used by colonizers to commit genocide
Contrived charges of antisemitism are the new ‘Red Scare’
How Israel’s quadcopters traumatize, maim and kill Palestinians in Gaza
Israeli society’s dehumanization of Palestinians is now absolute
The unpublished genocide diaries of Refaat Alareer
An arms embargo on Israel is not a radical idea — it’s the law
Israel is redrawing the West Bank, cutting into a prospective Palestinian state
Gaza breakdown: 20 times Israel used US arms in likely war crimes
U.S. universities spent the summer strategizing to suppress student activism. Here is their plan.
‘Words like Slaughter:’ A comparative study of The New York Times reporting in Ukraine and Gaza
Cracks in the Dome: Israel’s security mirage
Israel Suddenly Has A Problem With Attacks On Population Centers
Americans are always the last to know…about Israel’s crimes
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https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-declared-war-peacekeeping-washington-war-truth-day-370/Israel has declared war on peacekeeping; Washington joins Israel in war on truth – Day 370
[email protected] October 12, 2024 famine, hind rajab, humanitarian aid, international solidarity movement, iran sanctions, israel self investigation, Jeremy Loffredo, journalists in gaza, Lebanon, Michael Jacobsen, peacekeepers, UN Human Rights Council, unifil, world health organization
Israel has declared war on peacekeeping; Washington joins Israel in war on truth – Day 370
Palestinian residents of the northern Gaza Jabalia Refugee Camp flee to other areas with the belongings they could carry, following Israeli attacks on the camp in Gaza City, Gaza on October 1, 2024 (Mahmoud İssa/Anadolu Agency)
Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
At least 56 people have been killed in Gaza in several Israeli strikes, including at least 20 in Jabalia refugee camp.
Israel blocks World Health Org evacuation of sick children in northern Gaza: Health Ministry
Anadolu Agency reports:
The Israeli army blocked a World Health Organization (WHO) delegation from evacuating sick children from hospitals in northern Gaza amid the worsening situation due to ongoing military operations in the area, now in their sixth day, a senior Gaza health official said Friday.
A health ministry spokesperson said, “The army turned back the WHO delegation tasked with evacuating intensive care patients and children from northern hospitals.”
He added that Israeli attacks and blocking of fuel trucks are putting the hospitals at risk of halting operations.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society also revealed on Friday that all its ambulances in northern Gaza were forced to stop over the lack of fuel due to the Israeli army’s incursion and siege for the sixth consecutive day.
Dozens of ambulances are destroyed during the Israeli raids on Nasser Hospital as the repairmen try to provide parts from ambulances that are out of use and put them into use again as the Israeli attacks continue in Khan Yunis, Gaza on October 9, 2024
Dozens of ambulances are destroyed during the Israeli raids on Nasser Hospital as the repairmen try to provide parts from ambulances that are out of use and put them into use again as the Israeli attacks continue in Khan Yunis, Gaza on October 9, 2024 (Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu Agency])
World Food Program warns of famine threat in Gaza as winter approaches
Anadolu Agency reports:
The World Food Program (WFP) warned Thursday that the threat of famine persists in Gaza amid tragedy and suffering in the Palestinian enclave.
There are around 100,000 tons of food waiting to enter Gaza – enough to feed over a million people for five months – but according to WFP, the closure of crossing points, security issues and route disruptions at crossings are limiting aid delivery.
WFP warned that one million people risk losing vital support if the flow of assistance does not resume.
“As another winter approaches, every day is a struggle for survival. Hunger remains rampant and the threat of famine persists,” the UN agency said on X.
(Click to enlarge.)
Four Days in Gaza: Five Journalists Killed or Wounded
The Intercept reports:
On Wednesday, a group of journalists were covering the siege in northern Gaza, when they were attacked. Witnesses said the journalists were targeted.
Like other Palestinian journalists who have been killed and injured in Gaza, Fadi al-Hawidi, a cameraman for Al Jazeera Arabic, was wearing a flak jacket with the word “PRESS” clearly visible on it.
In his last post on Instagram before he was shot, al-Hawidi filmed himself as he reported on civilians being shot at by Israeli forces while attempting to leave the area in compliance with the military’s orders. Unarmed people can be seen running as gunfire rings in the background.
One of the other journalists described what happened: “Suddenly a quadcopter drone appeared above the broadcast vehicle and the place where we were, and it started firing directly at us.
“The drone started chasing us and the entire crew, firing directly at us. A bullet hit my colleague Fadi’s neck and he immediately passed out and fell to the ground.”
According to his colleagues, Fadi is now permanently paralyzed due to his injuries.
A spokesman for the Israeli military told The Intercept, “The IDF is not aware of the incident referred to. The IDF has never, and will never, deliberately target journalists.”
(Read the full story here.)
Below is a short video of one of the first Israeli attacks on journalists in this war: Dylan Collins’ video testimony of the targeted IDF attack on October 13, 2023.
WATCH: American Journalist Could Face Death Penalty for Reporting in Israel
UPDATE: According to The Intercept, Jeremy Loffredo was released from prison Friday morning by Israeli authorities after four days in Israeli detention, but was ordered to remain in the country until October 20, allowing investigators more time to bring additional allegations or to further interrogate him.
Israeli police had held Loffredo, an independent journalist from New York, on suspicion of assisting an enemy in war, a serious allegation that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment or death, his attorney said.
In his reporting, he showed the locations of several Iranian missiles that had landed inside Israel earlier this month. As was the case with other media outlets, some of Loffredo’s footage was shot near sensitive Israeli sites.
Israeli forces again attack UNIFIL in southern Lebanon, peacekeepers injured
Anadolu Agency reports:
Israeli forces on Friday launched another attack on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters in southern Lebanon, injuring several Sri Lankan peacekeepers stationed there.
An Israeli Merkava tank reportedly targeted one of UNIFIL’s observation towers on a main road, in front of a Lebanese Army checkpoint, injuring the Sri Lankan contingent stationed there.
Israeli artillery fired a shell that struck the main entrance of the UNIFIL command center, causing damage to the site. This was the second attack on the location in three days.
According to legal experts, recent Israeli attacks on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) constitute a serious violation of international law.
AL JAZEERA ADDS: The Israeli military says it is “conducting a thorough review” to determine details of attacks on UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon: “The [Israeli military] expresses deep concern over incidents of this kind and is currently conducting a thorough review at the highest levels of command to determine the details,” the army said in a statement.
NOTE: Israel’s self-investigations consistently whitewash its crimes and fail to appropriately punish the perpetrators. Israeli sources, including the government itself, have a long track record of lying (for example, this and this and this.)
Headquarters of the UN Interim Force (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon’s Naqoura
Headquarters of the UN Interim Force (UNIFIL) in southern Lebanon’s Naqoura (Ali Abdo - Anadolu Agency )
WATCH: 254 days after Hind Rajab’s murder, Biden admin says Israel can investigate itself
From Middle East Monitor:
Zeteo News’ Prem Thakker asked US Secretary of State spokesperson Matthew Miller how Washington can continue to arm Israel when its investigations into misconduct by its soldiers keep being closed without anyone being held to account.
Miller said it’s not for the US ‘to adjudicate’ over what information Tel Aviv issues is accurate.
US officials continue to see Israel’s operation across Lebanese border as ‘limited’: Pentagon
Anadolu Agency reports:
Israel is conducting a “limited” operation across the Lebanese border to remove the Hezbollah group’s infrastructure, the Pentagon said Thursday.
“All indications that we have right now are that Israel continues to conduct limited ground operations across the border to remove Hezbollah attack infrastructure,” Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters.
Israel has been mounting massive airstrikes across Lebanon against what it claims are Hezbollah targets since Sept. 23 that have killed more than 1,323 people and injured nearly 3,700.
US expands sanctions against Iran following attack on Israel
In the context of Israel’s siege on northern Gaza, shooting civilians and journalists, blocking healthcare for critically ill children, attacking peacekeeping forces, and other actions – the US has chosen to sanction Iran.
Anadolu Agency reports:
The US expanded sanctions on Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors in response to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack on Israel, the Treasury Department said on Friday.
“This action intensifies financial pressure on Iran, limiting the regime’s ability to earn critical energy revenues to undermine stability in the region and attack U.S. partners and allies,” the department said in a statement.
“As long as Iran devotes its energy revenues to funding attacks on our allies, supporting terrorism around the world, and pursuing other destabilizing actions, we will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to hold it accountable.
“These measures will be reinforced by ongoing close coordination with partners and allies to address and counter Iran’s actions,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
US military veteran arrested by Israeli forces in occupied West Bank
Middle East Eye reports:
United States citizen and military veteran, Michael Jacobsen, was arrested Thursday by Israeli forces while accompanying a Palestinian farmer in a village in the West Bank, according to the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).
The ISM said the farmer was facing “daily harassment, attacks, and invasions of his private land by Israeli settlers and occupation forces”.
Israeli police arrested Jacobsen and took him into custody at the interrogation center created by Israeli Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. ISM explained that Israel has a policy of silencing international activists, who often raise awareness of the plight of Palestinians.
Police said Jacobsen was “endangering the public due to provocation of disturbances” and accused him of entering the country illegally because they suspected him of supporting the Palestinian-led Boycott, Sanctions, and Divestment (BDS) movement – which is forbidden in Israel.
Jacobsen was threatened with “imprisonment and deportation if he did not leave the country immediately”, according to the ISM, and he chose to leave for Jordan.
The moments before Israeli police arrest Michael Jacobsen in Masafer Yatta in occupied West Bank, on 10 October 2024
The moments before Israeli police arrest Michael Jacobsen in Masafer Yatta in occupied West Bank, on 10 October 2024 (International Solidarity Movement)
The US won’t run for another term on UN human rights council. Israel is likely why.
Kenneth Roth writes for the Guardian:
Something unusual happened this week at the UN: the US government decided not to run for a second term on the human rights council.
Various rationales are circulating, but one, in my view, looms large: Israel. Or more to the point, Joe Biden’s refusal to suspend or condition the massive US arms sales and military aid to Israel as its military bombs and starves the Palestinian civilians of Gaza.
The election for the 47-member human rights council in Geneva is conducted by the UN general assembly in New York.
It is rare that the UN general assembly has the chance to vote on the US government’s conduct. Given widespread outrage at Israeli war crimes in Gaza – and at Biden’s refusal to use the enormous leverage of US arms sales and military aid to stop it – that vote could easily have resulted in an overwhelming repudiation of the Biden administration. Rather than face the possibility of a humiliating reprimand, the US government withdrew its candidacy.
By virtue of its diplomatic and economic power, the US government can be an important force for human rights. Other than on Israel, its presence on the council has generally helped the defense of human rights.
But US credibility, already compromised by Washington’s close alliances with the repressive likes of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has been profoundly undermined by Biden’s aiding and abetting of Israeli war crimes in Gaza. With Biden seemingly constitutionally unable to change, the defense of human rights is taking a hit.
Germany to supply Israel with new arms shipments
Middle East Monitor reports:
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced that Berlin will deliver new shipments of weapons to Israel.
This is in contrast to French President Emmanuel Macron who has called for a halt to any arms supplies to the occupation state if they are to be used in Gaza.
Speaking before the Bundestag during discussions marking the first anniversary of 7 October 2023, Scholz said: “We in the government have made decisions that will ensure the delivery of more weapons soon.”
“We have not decided to cease arms deliveries,” Scholz added, addressing claims from the opposition that the government paused weapons shipments to Tel Aviv for months, causing a “breach in German solidarity” with Israel.
The German chancellor further stated, “We have delivered weapons and will continue to deliver weapons,” without specifying their type, quantity, or intended purpose.
Iraqi resistance warns of crippling oil shortages worldwide if Israel begins ‘energy war’
The Cradle reports:
A leader of a major faction in the Islamic Resistance in Iraq has warned that if Israel begins a war that involves the energy sector, the world will lose 12 million barrels per day, “and this is what we will make sure of.”
Abu Ali al-Askari, the head of the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades Security Bureau, stated: “This is what we will be taking care of, but only God knows what our brethren in Yemen will do in Bab al-Mandab and our brethren in Iran will do in the Strait of Hormuz,” referring to important shipping routes for oil tankers.
Israeli leaders have threatened to launch a massive attack against Iran, including against nuclear power and oil infrastructure.
Askari warned further that the resistance’s response “will not be limited to Israel, but will extend to Washington’s bases and interests in Iraq and the region.”
Some analysts believe that oil prices, currently around $80 per barrel, could reach more than $300 per barrel in the case of a full blockade of the Gulf of Hormuz.
MORE NEWS:
Anadolu Agency: Palestinians file criminal complaint over Israel impeding ICC probe into Gaza genocide
Anadolu Agency: After meeting with pope, Spanish premier urges int’l community to halt arms sales to Israel
Common Dreams: Gaza Doctor Corrects CNN Anchor: ‘This Is Not a Humanitarian Crisis… This Is Genocide’
Middle East Eye: How western lies about the ‘Sunni-Shia divide’ have set the region ablaze
Middle East Monitor: Trump Organization resumes plans to set up luxury hotel in occupied East Jerusalem
STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – OCTOBER 11, 2024:
Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – October 11, 2024: at least 42,926* ( 42,175 in Gaza* – 69% are women and children, according to Gaza’s Media Office). [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 751 in the West Bank (~164 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more in Gaza 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 – October 11, 2024: at least 104,536 (including at least 98,336 in Gaza and 6,200 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 – October 11, 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 at least 2,169 and 10,212 injuries. An estimated 1.2 million have been displaced.
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 56 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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