🔴 The Grayzone live: On the road to Damascus Max Blumenthal and Aaron Mate discuss the lightning takeover of Aleppo by rebranded Al Qaeda militants, and the role of NATO, the US and Israel in nurturing them as an asset. They will also discuss the Lebanon ceasefire and its near-certain collapse, as well as the furor in Washington over Trump's FBI nominee and the pardon of Hunter Biden. 🔴 Watch on Rumble 🔴 Watch on YouTube 🔴 Read TheGrayzone.com

Israel continues to wreak havoc across Palestine, Lebanon – Day 422 [email protected] December 3, 2024 digital rights violation, extermination, Hebron, home demolition, israeli hostages, lebanon ceasefire, netzarim corridor Palestinians who fled their homes due to Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip struggle with cold weather conditions in makeshift tents, in the southern city of Khan Younis, November 25, 2024 (Hassan Jedi/Anadolu Agency) Compilation of news reports – IAK staff Gaza’s health ministry says Israeli strikes have killed 36 Palestinians and wounded 96 others in the latest 24-hour reporting period. At least 25 people were killed when Israeli warplanes hit and leveled an inhabited home in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, a local source said on Monday. Women and children were sheltering there. More than 3,700 people have been killed or reported missing during 60 days of Israeli military’s operations in northern Gaza, the enclave’s media office said Monday. 1,750 are reported detained. In Lebanon, in spite of a ceasefire, Israeli forces killed at least 11 on Monday. Palestinians try to extinguish the fire in a store after an Israeli attack on the Omar al-Mukhtar market in Gaza City on Monday, Dec. 2 Palestinians try to extinguish the fire in a store after an Israeli attack on the Omar al-Mukhtar market in Gaza City on Monday, Dec. 2 (Mahmoud İssa/Anadolu) There are no ‘humanitarian zones’ or ‘evacuation orders’ in Gaza As you read this, many families in Gaza are weighing whether they should flee their current shelter and risk having to endure the harsh winter out on the streets or risk being bombed and killed where they are. There is no guarantee that they will be safe from Israel’s bombs and bullets if they choose either option. These are dilemmas no human should ever have to endure, yet recent research by Action For Humanity found that 98 percent of the 200,000 people in the “humanitarian zones” in central Gaza have had to wrestle with them. In fact, according to our findings, more than a quarter of these people have had to move 10 or more times in the past 13 months. The research, based on the testimonies of displaced Palestinians on the ground, revealed that Israel’s “evacuation orders” often give people just an hour, and sometimes even less, to pack up what remains of their lives and run for their lives. And when they agree to “evacuate”, they are often still chased by a hail of bullets as they try to find new shelter in another “humanitarian zone”. The devastating details in the report, titled Erasure by Design, make it clear that there are no real humanitarian zones in Gaza and that the “evacuation orders” Israel issues are not aimed at getting Palestinians out of harm’s way. The use of these terms by Israel, its allies and international media serve only to whitewash what is happening before our eyes in Gaza: land grabs under the threat of extermination. It is doing so to ensure nowhere in Gaza is safe for Palestinians. It is trying to kill two birds with one stone: creating the illusion of adherence to humanitarian law while laying the groundwork for illegally expanding Israeli territory. The reality on the ground is clear: There are no “humanitarian zones” or “evacuation orders” but only threats of extermination and islands of medieval suffering not fit for basic survival, let alone dignified living. Israeli army razes 600 buildings in Gaza to build dozens of military bases, expand Netzarim Corridor The Israeli army has been expanding its construction of military bases, outposts, and communication towers in the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza, the New York Times (NYT) reported on 2 December. The military has demolished over 600 buildings around the corridor in the past three months “in an apparent attempt to create a buffer zone,” the report states. Satellite images reviewed by NYT showed the Israeli army has built at least 19 large bases throughout the area and dozens of small ones, suggesting plans for a long-term occupation. “While some were built earlier in the war, the imagery also shows that the pace of construction appears to be accelerating: 12 of the bases were either built or expanded since early September,” NYT writes. As a result of the construction, the corridor has slowly grown into a 46.6 square-kilometer military zone occupied by Israeli forces. Children stare at the destruction following an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on 7 November 2024 Children stare at the destruction following an Israeli strike in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on 7 November 2024 ((AFP)) Hamas says 33 Israeli captives killed in Gaza Hamas says 33 captives held by the group in Gaza have been killed since the start of Israel’s nearly 14-month-old war in the besieged enclave. The group issued a video statement on Monday saying the captives were killed “because of the stubbornness of the war criminal” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and “his ongoing aggression”. Hamas made the announcement as key mediators, including Egypt, Qatar and the United States, launch another effort to reach a ceasefire that would see the release of Israeli captives. The push comes after a recent truce in Lebanon raised hope for a diplomatic breakthrough. Hamas’s video lists and dates the incidents in which the group said captives were killed. Most of them were air strikes. However, some were rescue attempts by the Israeli military gone wrong. Hamas offered to release all Israeli hostages in the early days of the war. The Israeli air force bombed a tent encampment in Al-Mawasi camp near south Gaza's Khan Younis, a so-called ‘safe zone,’ killing two children – Jawad and Sareen – on 1 December. The children's mother and a sibling were also injured in the attack, according to medics. The Israeli air force bombed a tent encampment in Al-Mawasi camp near south Gaza’s Khan Younis, a so-called ‘safe zone,’ killing two children – Jawad and Sareen – on 1 December. The children’s mother and a sibling were also injured in the attack, according to medics. (Ahmad Salem/Bloomberg/Getty) B’Tselem: “Unleashed: Abuse of Palestinians by Israeli Soldiers in the Center of Hebron” In the West Bank, the view of all Palestinians as enemies who should be treated with unyielding force is translating into further oppression of the entire civilian population, by the various arms of the Israeli regime. A record number of Palestinians were killed by Israeli fire in 2024, and the number of detentions and administrative detainees reached a historic high. Since the beginning of the war, many attacks on Palestinians by soldiers and settlers have been documented throughout the West Bank. The attacks were aimed at Palestinians suspected of no wrongdoing and often carried out in plain sight, in full view of officers and commanders. Soldiers are being urged to take more “proactive” and “offensive” actions, while the public is demanding – or, at least, accepting – revenge on all Palestinians for the crimes of Hamas. They see themselves as authorized to play the role of prosecutor, judge and executioner in any encounter with a Palestinian. In practice, every soldier has been granted virtually unlimited power to use violent means of oppression. They know they will not be held accountable for their conduct. B’Tselem’s field researchers gathered testimonies from Palestinians who were attacked by soldiers in the city center of Hebron between May and August 2024. Their accounts indicate a rise in the scope, type and severity of violence that soldiers are currently employing against Palestinians in the West Bank. Read the report, “Unleashed: Abuse of Palestinians by Israeli Soldiers in the Center of Hebron” here. Palestinian child stands at an Israeli checkpoint in Hebron in the occupied West Bank Palestinian child stands at an Israeli checkpoint in Hebron in the occupied West Bank (Middle East Eye/Mosab Shawar) Israel has demolished over 1,500 West Bank facilities in 2024, says UN Israeli forces have demolished 1,528 Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied West Bank since the start of the year, according to the latest figures published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The UN data, published on 29 November, indicated that 3,637 Palestinians have been displaced as a result of an ongoing Israeli demolition campaign. The destroyed infrastructure included inhabited residences (700), agricultural infrastructure (398), and livelihood-related assets (205), such as shops and businesses. The lsraeli aggression on Jenin City earlier in 2024, northern West Bank, caused widespread destruction. The lsraeli aggression on Jenin City earlier in 2024, northern West Bank, caused widespread destruction. (social media) ‘Significant progress’ made by Hamas, Fatah on post-war Gaza govt: Report Hamas and the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) Fatah party have made “significant progress” towards forming a joint governing body to administer a post-war Gaza Strip during talks in the Egyptian capital Cairo, Al-Araby al-Jadeed reported on 2 December. The source said, “There is a general consensus among all on the need to seize the opportunity to resolve the differences and end the suffering of the Palestinian people.” In late July this year, Hamas, Fatah, and 12 other Palestinian factions signed a Chinese-brokered reconciliation agreement during meetings in Beijing. Washington has been pushing its own plans for post-war Gaza, which involves the installment of a “reformed” PA under the tutelage of an Arab-International mission. The Palestinian resistance factions have rejected western initiatives for post-war Gaza and maintain that the fate of their people must remain in their hands. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to reject the PA and Fatah’s involvement in any post-war government in Gaza. The premier has advanced his own plans for the ‘day after’ the war, which involves indefinite Israeli security control over the strip. Israel strikes Lebanon again and again, but hopes ceasefire will hold Israel has a unique and unilateral interpretation of the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon, whereby Israel has given itself the right to enforce that agreement with “fire”. So far, according to UNIFIL, the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, Israel has broken the ceasefire at least 100 times. These were the words of the Israeli army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, “We will maintain the ceasefire with fire”, meaning that Israel can strike at Hezbollah on Lebanese territory and beyond. Israel views any infraction, any movement, any activity of Hezbollah as a violation that it has the right to respond to. US envoy Amos Hochstein has expressed frustration and fear that these Israeli attacks could threaten this fragile ceasefire. In the meantime, Israel continues striking but is still hoping that this ceasefire would hold. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar told his French counterpart in a phone call that his country is, in fact, enforcing the ceasefire – which stipulates Hezbollah’s withdrawal from the Israel-Lebanon border area – rather than violating it, Sa’ar said on X Monday. On Monday alone, in spite of the ceasefire, Israeli forces killed at least 11 Lebanese. RECOMMENDED READING: The ‘Ceasefire’ in Lebanon is a Ticking Bomb Following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, residents of the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh began returning to their homes on November 30, 2024. Following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon, residents of the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh began returning to their homes on November 30, 2024. (Houssam Shbaro – Anadolu Agency) Over 500 digital rights violations against Palestinian content recorded in November: Report Sada Social, an organization dedicated to documenting digital rights violations against Palestinian content online, reported over 500 violations in November. The organization documented extensive digital suppression across multiple platforms in its monthly report. Meta platforms accounted for 57% of the violations, followed by TikTok at 23%, YouTube at 13% and X at 7%. Additionally, 30 WhatsApp accounts belonging to Palestinians were removed, including two news groups. These actions deepen “digital policies that suppress Palestinian voices and limit their reach to audiences,” the organization said. It also noted that a persistent “digital blackout” continued in northern Gaza, “severely hindering residents’ ability to communicate.” Digital policies regularly suppress Palestinian voices and limit their reach to audiences, according to Sada Social, an organization dedicated to documenting digital rights violations against Palestinian content online Digital policies regularly suppress Palestinian voices and limit their reach to audiences, according to Sada Social, an organization dedicated to documenting digital rights violations against Palestinian content online (AA) MORE NEWS: The Intercept: How Universities Are Trying to Stop Another Year of Anti-War Activism Drop Site News: REVEALED: Israeli Settler Company Specializing in West Bank Outposts Now at Work in Northern Gaza Mondoweiss: Leak reveals UK lawyers, Israeli government planned ‘special unit’ to counter human rights reporting. Here’s what we know. STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – DECEMBER 2, 2024: Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – December 2, 2024: at least 45,303* ( 44,502 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. This does not include an estimated 10,000 more in Gaza still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). In the West Bank, Israeli soldiers and/or settlers have killed at least 801 Palestinians (~167 of them children). In July 2024, the Lancet said: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death 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 60 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (at least 47 from Gaza). At least 43 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. About 345,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity. Palestinian injuries from October 7 – December 2, 2024: at least 111,904 (including at least 105,454 in Gaza and 6,450 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 – December 2, 2024: ~1,584 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 406*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza (updated: Nov 29); 39 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 3,961, with 16,520 injuries. 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) Why more than 500 scholars think Israel should be unseated from the UN Leaked documents reveal US intel cutout’s Iranian counter-revolution plans Israeli attacks on Gaza leading to increase in birth defects On-the-Ground Reporting Dismantles Israeli Claim Bolstering Case for War With Iran Netanyahu cries ‘anti-Semitism’ as Israeli Maccabi hooligans instigate riots in Amsterdam Latest effort to cancel Palestine activist David Rovics More than 100 BBC staff accuse broadcaster of Israel bias in Gaza coverage Witnesses Say The Israeli Army Is Using Facial Recognition Technology In Its Assault On North Gaza US Identified 500 Cases Where Its Weapons Harmed Gazan Civilians, But Hasn’t Taken Action UN schools in Gaza shaped our reporter’s childhood. She worries for the future. The powerful elites behind the Ukraine & Middle East wars – Col. Douglas Macgregor How Does AIPAC Shape Washington? We Tracked Every Dollar. The Religious Extremism That Motivates Israeli Settler Expansion in the West Bank Police escalate the British state’s war on independent journalism U.S. Media’s Doublespeak: Israelis Live in “Densely Populated Areas,” Palestinians Are “Human Shields” Where was Amnesty International during the Genocide in Gaza? FLASHBACK 2014: U.S. Senators Are Nearly All Stooges for Israel More on Israeli Atrocities: Attacking UN peacekeepers is a dangerous policy 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’ https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-wreak-havoc-palestine-lebanon-day-422/

Assad’s Army and Russian Forces Killed 1,000 HTS Terrorists. “US-Zionist plot’ behind Jihadists” Syria offensive (video). Fabio G. C. CarisioDecember 1, 2024 Become a VT Supporting Member Today Please keep VT Radio and VT Foreign Policy alive! Donate today to make sure VT stays on the internet free and clear of Big Tech control! Donate today: Please Donate - Click Here UPDATE ON DECEMBER, 1, 2024 Syria stops terrorists from infiltrating Hama province, eliminates a Thousand of militants Nearly a thousand foreign-backed Takfiri terrorists, led by members of the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group, have been killed in Syria’s northwestern provinces of Aleppo and Idlib in the past three days, as government forces are pressing ahead with their counter-terrorism operations. According to Syrian media outlets, the terrorists have been killed by Syrian troops with Russian air support. WORLDWIDE real DEMOCRATS vs the NWO-NATO Plot in Syria. Here Why ASSAD will Defeat BIDEN’s Ghosts According to a post on social media X, Abu Muhammad al Jolani, leader of Hayat Tahrir al Sham, a Sunni rebel group that has attacked in Syria, was killed in a Russian airstrike. The incident allegedly occurred in Idlib, Syria. The Syrian Armed Forces units operating in the north of Hama province prevented terrorists from breaking through and destroyed dozens of militants, holding back their offensive, the General Command said in a statement. “Our units operating in the northern part of Hama [province] last night strengthened the defense line with firepower and equipment, confronted the terrorist organizations and prevented them from breaking through,” said the statement posted on the Defense Ministry’s Facebook. “Our forces also managed to take control of a number of areas, the most important of which are Qalaat al-Madiq and Maardis, eliminating dozens of terrorists and causing the rest to flee,” the General Command said. Syria will defeat terrorist whoever its sponsors might be, Assad vows The source added that the friendly Syrian and Russian warplanes are also targeting terrorists’ gatherings, movements and supply lines. Syria will ultimately defeat terrorism no matter who supports or sponsors it, Syrian President Bashar Assad pledged. FREEMASONRY & ZIONISM – 3. Devilish Roots of HOLOCAUST IN HOLY LAND. 70 % of Exterminated are Children, Women by Netanyahu thanks Western NeoNazis “President Assad stressed that terrorism doesn’t know any language other than the language of force and this is the language we will use to defeat and uproot it, whoever its supporters or sponsors might be,” Assad’s office quoted him as saying during a phone call with Abkhazia’s acting President Badra Gunba. READ MORE ABOUT BELOW Iran: “Terrorism to Boomerang on Plotters, Qalibaf Warns after Chaos in Syria” Islamic nations should not let US, Israel exploit Syrian crisis: Pezeshkian ARTICLE PUBLISHED ON NOEWMBER, 28. 2024 Iran: “The US and Israel are responsible for the resurgence of Salafist terrorism in Syria” The US and Israel are responsible for the resurgence of Salafist terrorism in Syria, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has claimed, adding that Tehran will support the efforts by the government in Damascus aimed to to halt the ongoing jihadist offensive. Click to watch Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS), the terrorist group formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, attacked government-controlled territory in northern Syria on Wednesday alongside a collection of allied militias, breaking a fragile truce brokered by Russia and Türkiye in 2020. By Friday, HTS fighters had entered Aleppo, which had been under Syrian government control since 2016. In a phone call with his Syrian counterpart, Bassam al-Sabbagh, on Friday, Araghchi called the offensive “an American-Zionist” plot. According to Iran’s PressTV, Araghchi noted that the attack took place immediately after Israel struck a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon, suggesting that Washington and West Jerusalem were using HTS as proxies to strike a blow against Syria’s government, which supports the Palestinian cause. 4 rockets hit US occupation Conoco base in Syria: Exclusive Araghchi told al-Sabbagh that Iran continues to support the “Syrian government, nation, and army towards fighting terrorism and protecting regional security and stability,” PressTV paraphrased. Before adopting its current name in 2017, Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham was known as Jabhat al-Nusra. Indirectly armed by the US and allegedly backed by Türkiye, the terrorist group was one of the main factions opposing Bashar Assad’s government during the Syrian Civil War. Russia intervened in the conflict in 2015, helping Damascus retake much of the country from Jabhat al-Nusra, Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), and dozens of US-supported armed groups deemed “moderate rebels” by Washington. Turkish papers: 21 Erdogan’s jihadist militias supported by Cia, Pentagon and armed with TOW missiles Iran also played a key role in helping the Syrian government hold back the jihadists, with the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps providing weapons and training to the Syrian Army and sending thousands of military advisers and volunteers to assist Assad’s forces on the battlefield. While the US waged war against IS fighters in Syria, it overtly supported other anti-Assad militias and covertly backed jihadist groups. Despite Washington placing a $10 million bounty on the head of Al-Qaeda’s commander in Syria in 2013, current US National Security Adviser and then-State Department staffer Jake Sullivan had written to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton several months earlier, explaining that “AQ [Al Qaeda] is on our side in Syria.” Jihadists-Linked White Helmets Staging new Chemical False-Flag Attack together Ukraine, NATO Intel Al-Qaeda’s Syrian commander, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, broke ties with the organization in 2016 and went on to lead HTS. In an interview in 2021, Former US Special Representative for Syria Engagement James Jeffrey described HTS as “an asset” to American strategy in Syria, saying that supporting the jihadist commander was “the least bad option” for keeping Idlib out of Syrian government control. While the US officially considers al-Jolani a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ and has implicated his group in a litany of human rights abuses, al-Jolani insists that HTS “does not represent a threat” to Western interests. READ MORE ABOUT Jihadists claim to re-enter Syria’s Aleppo https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/12/american-zionist-plot-behind-jihadists-syria-offensive-russian-aistrikes-killed-400-terrorists/

Can Turkey be Trusted If It Joins BRICS? Officially, Turkey’s state ideology is secularism imposed by Ataturk a century ago. However, for all intents and purposes, Ankara’s driving force is an extremely volatile mix of Neo-Ottomanism, political Islam and pan-Turkism. Erdogan is doing everything in his power to spread and implement these all over the place, be it Southeast Europe, the Middle East, North Africa or Central Asia. Turkey is punching way above its weight in doing so, but its geostrategic position allows this (at least for the time being). Namely, Ankara is trying to play all sides it’s engaged with in order to achieve its megalomaniacal expansionist goals, but its NATO membership still makes it an asset of the political West. For years, I’ve been arguing that all the evidence suggests that Turkey is one of NATO’s “Trojan horses” and that its policies undermine regional stability, particularly in the South Caucasus and Central Asia, where Ankara is using its resources to radicalize young populations, resulting in a massive increase in the number of terrorists who join ISIS and other similar NATO-backed terrorist organizations operating all over the world. The latest events in Syria serve as a testament to that. Namely, yet another US/NATO invasion that started in 2011 (ever so euphemistically dubbed the “Syrian Civil War”) is now escalating once again, resulting in hundreds of casualties on all sides, as Turkish and NATO-backed “democratic opposition” terrorists are attacking the Aleppo Governorate. Based in the occupied Idlib province, where the CIA and other Western intelligence services are working closely with the Turkish military, the terrorists seem to have been gathering troops and equipment to break the ceasefire established around half a decade ago. It should be noted that the occupation forces are also composed of Jabhat Al Nusra, now known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group that has been infesting the area for nearly a decade and a half. To make matters worse, the Neo-Nazi junta in Kiev is also closely linked with the HTS and similar terrorist organizations operating under NATO support in Syria. Turkey supplies everything these terrorists need, including M113 APCs (armored personnel carriers) that were recently filmed advancing in the area. Military sources report that factions such as the Turkestan Islamic Party have also been involved in the terrorist offensive that started on November 27. The Kiev regime’s propaganda also brags about the involvement of its intelligence services, confirming reports about their involvement that InfoBRICS published in recent months. These intelligence assets were sent to Idlib through Turkey to train terrorists in new tactics with a particular focus on drone warfare. This includes the infamous GUR’s Khimik Group, which launched an attack on a Russian military outpost in Aleppo on September 15. There’s strong evidence, including footage that shows the direct involvement of the United States. All this suggests that Washington DC and the Kiev regime are trying to overstretch Moscow in order to disrupt the SMO. Namely, the political West has been trying to stop the steady advance of the Russian military by authorizing long-range strikes deeper within Russia and is even contemplating the possibility of delivering previously banned medium-range missiles, along with nuclear weapons to the Kiev regime. The Kremlin has already said it will have zero tolerance for such actions and that it will respond to NATO directly. This leaves the political West with one option – (re)activate other global hotspots in order to shift Moscow’s focus away from Ukraine. Unsurprisingly, Turkey is directly supporting this by pushing its terrorists in Idlib to resume fighting. It should be noted that Ankara also recently stated that it fully supports the Neo-Nazi junta in the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict, proving that the latest escalation in Syria is very well planned and coordinated. Another interesting development is Turkey’s likely return to the F-35 program, with military sources indicating that it could acquire up to 40 of the troubled fighter jets. What this means is that Ankara effectively jeopardizing its future in return for one of the worst military aircraft in recent history. It should be noted this is not a new development, as I’ve already argued back in April that this would happen. For their part, Russia and Syria are responding to the new crisis with airstrikes on NATO-backed terrorists, with hundreds eliminated since last week. However, it will take some time for Damascus to fully mobilize the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and push back. Syrian special forces are already responding, but their actions are aimed at coordinating defenses and preventing further gains by terrorists. The latest developments in Syria are yet another undeniable proof that the political West is obsessed with war, death and destruction and that it’s simply incapable of peaceful coexistence with the actual world. It also demonstrates why it’s so important for the planet to unite and form an indivisible security architecture that would isolate the US/NATO and its vassals and satellite states. This is the only way to prevent their aggression against the entire world. As for Turkey, it needs to change its expansionist policies in order to build better relations with BRICS. Ankara will need to make a far more convincing commitment, first by leaving NATO and then by rejecting Neo-Ottomanism, pan-Turkism and Islamic radicalism as tools of its power projection. Click the share button below to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles. Global Research’s Holiday Fundraiser This article was originally published on InfoBrics. Drago Bosnic is an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a regular contributor to Global Research. Featured image: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has his sights on Syria. Photo: Ramil Sitdikov / Sputnik https://www.globalresearch.ca/turkey-trusted-joins-brics/5874195

Trump forms new alliance to stop aid to Ukraine Ahmed AdelAhmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher who regularly contributes to InfoBRICS. November 14, 2024 Trump Orban Become a VT Supporting Member Today Please keep VT Radio and VT Foreign Policy alive! Donate today to make sure VT stays on the internet free and clear of Big Tech control! Donate today: Please Donate - Click Here Ukraine could stop receiving aid from the West under the influence of an alliance led by newly elected US President Donald Trump, writes The Independent newspaper. Despite this development, though, Trump has found interest in elements of the so-called “Victory Plan” of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “A surprising trinity of Donald Trump, Hungary’s right-wing prime minister Viktor Orbán and Pope Francis could spell the end to hopes for continued support for Ukraine,” The Independent reported. As the article pointed out, in recent years, Hungary has been practically alone among Western countries in wanting to end the conflict in Ukraine, and the only figure who shared Budapest’s position was Pope Francis. However, the views of the new American president and the leadership of Hungary coincide on a number of issues, including peace in Ukraine, so new opportunities for cooperation have emerged. “The Pope, along with Hungary, has called for a ceasefire and talks ‘to break the cycle’ of war and achieve peace,” the article stated. Following Trump’s victory in the US elections, Orbán said that his country’s isolation is over and that a growing number of EU leaders are cautiously switching to a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Ukraine. This growing pressure on Zelensky will eventually force him to begin negotiations directly with Russia, even after promising to never speak with the Kremlin. “Last week at the European Political Community summit, Mr Orbán boasted of how ‘the world is changing’ with Mr Trump re-elected, while renewing his demands for a Ukrainian ceasefire,” noted the British newspaper. “The clash with Mr Zelensky, who was at the summit, saw the Ukrainian leader note that the Hungarian prime minister is the one NATO member state leader to oppose Ukraine’s membership of the defence alliance.” Speaking to The Independent, Hungary’s ambassador to the Vatican, Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, said: “During Donald Trump’s first presidency, Hungarian-American political relations were at their peak, with dialogue and negotiations taking centre stage in resolving conflicts that threaten world security.” “Following the decision of the American electorate a few days ago, we really have good hope that Hungarian-American political cooperation will return to its peak: we share similar views on peace, illegal immigration and the protection of families. I believe there is a better chance than ever that peace will finally return to Ukraine after almost a thousand days of war.” Even though it is becoming abundantly clear that US support for Ukraine will be rolled back once Trump enters the Oval Office, the president-elect appears to be interested in elements of Zelensky’s so-called Victory Plan that were presented to him in September, particularly those relating to access to raw resources, business deals, and the replacement of several US forces in Europe with Ukrainian ones. According to a source cited by the Financial Times, allies of Ukraine in Europe and the US, including leading representatives of the Republican Party, advised on how best to formulate proposals that would encourage close cooperation with Kiev. “Two proposals were specifically tailored for Trump,” the paper writes, referring to sources who participated in drafting the Ukrainian proposals. As specified, one idea is that after the end of the conflict, some of the American forces in Europe will be replaced by Ukrainian troops. The second idea, first developed by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, envisages the sharing of Ukraine’s most important natural resources with Western partners. “Trump found the ideas intriguing,” the paper’s source said. On October 16, Zelensky presented his Victory Plan in the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament of Ukraine), which consists of five points: the immediate invitation of the country to NATO, the deployment of a non-nuclear containment package in Ukraine, the lifting of restrictions on attacks deep into Russian territory with Western weapons, economic cooperation after the end of the conflict and the replacement of part of the American units in Europe with Ukrainian troops. Although Trump’s interest in parts of the Victory Plan can be perceived as a boost for Zelensky, the interest pertains only to the points of one-way benefit to the US – the economic exploitation of Ukraine and replacing American troops in Europe. The more meaningful and impactful points of the Victory Plan, especially NATO membership, which would change the course of the war, will not be entertained by Trump as he wants to end the fighting, not escalate it to unprecedented levels by directly involving the Atlantic Alliance. Trump will latch onto the two points of the Victory Plan that are of direct interest to the US but will ignore the other three that will actually boost Ukraine’s chances of victory over Russia while continuing to develop a new alliance to end aid to Ukraine and encourage peace negotiations. In effect, Zelensky will allow Ukrainian troops to take over military responsibilities in Europe and the US to cannibalise his country’s economy but will not receive any benefits in return. VT Condemns the ETHNIC CLEANSING OF PALESTINIANS by USA/Israel $280+ BILLION US TAXPAYER DOLLARS INVESTED since 1948 in US/Israeli Ethnic Cleansing and Occupation Operation 150B direct "aid" and $ 130B in "Offense" contracts Source: Embassy of Israel, Washington, D.C. and US Department of State. ATTENTION READERS We See The World From All Sides and Want YOU To Be Fully Informed In fact, intentional disinformation is a disgraceful scourge in media today. So to assuage any possible errant incorrect information posted herein, we strongly encourage you to seek corroboration from other non-VT sources before forming an educated opinion. About VT - Policies & Disclosures - Comment Policy Due to the nature of uncensored content posted by VT's fully independent international writers, VT cannot guarantee absolute validity. All content is owned by the author exclusively. Expressed opinions are NOT necessarily the views of VT, other authors, affiliates, advertisers, sponsors, partners, or technicians. Some content may be satirical in nature. All images are the full responsibility of the article author and NOT VT. https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/11/trump-forms-new-alliance-ukraine/

Qatar suspends mediation efforts for Gaza ceasefire, denies closure of Hamas office Western media reports claimed Doha asked Hamas to shutter its political offices and leave the kingdom under pressure from the US News Desk The Qatari foreign ministry on 9 November announced that Doha is suspending its mediation efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza until the parties “show their willingness and seriousness to end the brutal war and the ongoing suffering of civilians.” In a statement published on social media, Foreign Ministry spokesman Dr. Majed bin Mohammed al-Ansari also denied western media reports that said Doha had asked Hamas officials to shutter their political offices and leave the kingdom. “Media reports regarding the Hamas office in Doha [are] inaccurate … the main goal of the office in Qatar is to be a channel of communication between the concerned parties, and this channel has contributed to achieving a ceasefire in previous stages,” Ansari told Qatar News Agency (QNA), stressing “the need to obtain information from official sources.” Doha reportedly notified Tel Aviv and Hamas 10 days ago it would suspend its mediation efforts if a ceasefire agreement were not reached. "The State of Qatar will not accept that mediation be a reason for blackmailing it, as we have witnessed manipulation since the collapse of the first pause and the women and children exchange deal, especially in retreating from obligations agreed upon through mediation, and exploiting the continuation of negotiations to justify the continuation of the war to serve narrow political purposes," Ansari said. On Friday, western media cited “diplomatic sources” as saying that, under direct pressure from Washington, Qatar told Hamas officials over a week ago that the Palestinian resistance group must close its diplomatic office in Doha. “After rejecting repeated proposals to release hostages, [Hamas] leaders should no longer be welcome in the capitals of any American partner. We made that clear to Qatar following Hamas’s rejection weeks ago of another hostage release proposal,” a US senior administration official was quoted as saying. Al Jazeera cited a senior Hamas official saying on Saturday that the group is “aware” of Qatar’s decision to suspend mediation efforts, “but no one told us to leave.” "The Qatari leadership did not ask Hamas to leave Doha, but the movement has developed some alternative plans to move its offices to other places," Al Mayadeen quoted a Hamas official as saying. https://thecradle.co/articles-id/27636

Israel dropped over 85,000 tons of bombs on Gaza since start of genocide – Day 396 [email protected] November 7, 2024 beit lahiya, bombs dropped on gaza, campus protest, deportation, ethnic cleansing, massacre, military aid to israel, Netanyahu, Rashida Tlaib, university of minnesota, unrwa, west bank deaths Palestinians will not be allowed to return to homes in northern Gaza, says Israeli military Israeli ground forces are getting closer to “the complete evacuation” of northern Gaza and residents will not be allowed to return home, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has said, in what appears to be the first official acknowledgment from Israel it is systematically removing Palestinians from the area. In a media briefing on Tuesday night, the IDF Brig Gen Itzik Cohen told Israeli reporters that since troops had been forced to enter some areas twice, such as Jabaliya camp, “there is no intention of allowing the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their homes”. He added that humanitarian aid would be allowed to “regularly” enter the south of the territory but not the north, since there are “no more civilians left”. International humanitarian law experts have said that such actions would amount to the war crimes of forcible transfer and the use of food as a weapon. (Read the full article here.) Israeli Strike on Home in Northern Gaza Kills 25, Including 13 Children An Israeli strike on a home in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, killed at least 25 Palestinians, including 13 children, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported on Tuesday. Medical sources told WAFA that people are still missing under the rubble, meaning the death toll could rise. Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, the director of the nearby Kamal Adwan Hospital, which has come under repeated Israeli attacks, said the home that was targeted was sheltering several displaced Palestinian families. According to The Associated Press, Israel claimed it targeted a weapons storage facility but, as usual, offered no evidence for the claim. Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza on Friday, Nov. 1 Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza on Friday, Nov. 1 (AFP/Getty Images) Israel dropped over 85,000 tons of bombs inside Gaza since start of genocide The Israeli military has dropped more than 85,000 tons of bombs inside the besieged Gaza Strip since the start of the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023, according to a statement by the Palestinian Environment Quality Authority. Palestinian officials say the continuous bombing “has caused the destruction of vast areas of agricultural land and contaminated soil with toxic chemicals, which will hinder agriculture in the enclave for decades.” Furthermore, the officials say Israeli attacks have caused significant damage to Gaza’s water sources, “causing polluted water to seep into groundwater basins, [posing] a health and environmental crisis that endangers hundreds of thousands of residents for future generations.” Earlier this year, the UN warned that removing tens of millions of tons of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel’s bombardment could take 15 years and cost between $500-600 million. Moreover, rebuilding destroyed homes could take at least until 2040. In economic terms, the UN Conference on Trade and Development said in a report released last month that if the war ends soon and Gaza returns to the status quo before 7 October 2023, it could take 350 years for its economy to return to its precarious prewar level. RECOMMENDED READING: Israel’s Scholasticide and the Irrelevance of US Politics: 11,923 Palestinian students didn’t go back to school this fall because Israel killed them Palestinian journalists at work during the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, Palestine, on October 15, 2023. Palestinian journalists at work during the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, Palestine, on October 15, 2023. (Momen Faiz / NurPhoto via Getty Images) Israel signs $5.2B deal to acquire advanced F-15 fighter jets Israel, which continues to strike both Gaza and Lebanon, announced signing a deal to purchase 25 next generation F-15 fighter jets from US aviation giant Boeing. In a statement, the Defense Ministry said the agreement, signed on Wednesday, is part of a broader aid package approved by the US administration and Congress earlier this year and includes an option for 25 additional aircraft. The jets will be “equipped with cutting-edge weapon systems” and integrated with advanced Israeli technologies, the statement said. According to the ministry, the upgraded aircraft will help the air force “maintain its strategic superiority in addressing current and future challenges in the Middle East.” Delivery of the aircraft will begin in 2031, with four to six aircraft to be supplied annually. Residents conduct a search and rescue operation after the Israeli army targeted Asma School, run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza Strip on October 27, 2024 Residents conduct a search and rescue operation after the Israeli army targeted Asma School, run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza Strip on October 27, 2024 (Ayman Alhesi/Anadolu Agency) New criminal probe alleges Netanyahu tried to make discussions of the war “untraceable” Israeli police are investigating “criminal incidents” reportedly linked to meetings held by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet at the start of the war on Gaza in October last year, Israeli media reported on 5 November. “The police’s Lahav 433 investigation unit is conducting a criminal probe related to incidents from the start of the war, including several open investigations,” a police statement said, adding that further details remain under gag order and are barred from publication. The Times of Israel added that reports appearing in Hebrew media earlier this year claimed that Netanyahu had been “attempting to keep his conversations regarding the management of the war in Gaza untraceable.” Senior figures in the security establishment allegedly fear that efforts were being made to edit the minutes of wartime discussions held with Netanyahu after discovering discrepancies between transcripts of the meetings and what officials in attendance had heard first-hand. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, on August 4, 2024 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem, on August 4, 2024 (NAAMA GRYNBAUM/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Knesset Passes Law to Deport Relatives of Resistance Fighters for Up to 20 Years Israel’s Knesset approved a bill on Wednesday to allow the deportation of relatives of resistance fighters (their word: “terrorists”) from Israel for up to 20 years. A temporary five-year provision was also passed, enabling the imprisonment of minors under 14 years of age who are convicted of homicide as part of a terror act. It was proposed by Likud lawmaker Hanoch Milwidsky, and states that family members may be deported by the Interior Minister to to Gaza “or another destination determined by the circumstances” if it is found that they “knew in advance of the [so-called] terrorist’s plan and did not take necessary measures to prevent it.” The interior minister would also have the authority to deport a relative who “expressed support or sympathy for the act of [so-called] terrorism or published praise, admiration, or encouragement.” A decision on the deportation will be made after a hearing. The law, which was fast-tracked, is considered extreme, and the Attorney General’s office did not issue an opinion on it after a representative claimed that despite the Attorney General’s request, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position on the matter was not submitted. The law applies to the immediate family of [so-called] terrorists: parents, siblings, children, and spouses. Israeli citizens who meet the criteria will be deported for at least seven years and up to 15 years. Non-citizen deportees will face a minimum of 10 years and up to 20 years. Additionally, the police will have the authority to enforce deportations, “including the power to enter any premises, remove individuals, and use reasonable force.” NOTE: The use of the word “terrorist” for a group that resists occupation and oppression is a political, not fact-based choice. In reality, international law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, the UN extending that right to the point of armed resistance. Hamas has clearly and openly stated that its enemy is not the Jewish people, but the supremacist ideology of Zionism – the ideology under which Israel dispossessed 750,000 Palestinian people and exiled them to Gaza and other locations. Red Cross officials wait outside Israel’s Ofer Prison as thousands of displaced Palestinians go to check on their homes as the 4-day humanitarian pause begins for prisoner exchange and aid in Ramallah, Gaza on November 24, 2023. Red Cross officials wait outside Israel’s Ofer Prison as thousands of displaced Palestinians go to check on their homes as the 4-day humanitarian pause begins for prisoner exchange and aid in Ramallah, Gaza on November 24, 2023. [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency] (Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency) UN signals to Israel: Replacing UNRWA would be your responsibility The United Nations responded to Israel’s decision to cut ties with the Palestinian relief agency (UNRWA), by saying it has no responsibility to replace the agency’s operations in Gaza and the West Bank, signalling it was Israel’s problem as the occupying power, according to a letter excerpt seen by Reuters. Under a new law, Israel ended a 1967 cooperation agreement with UNRWA that covered the protection, movement and diplomatic immunity of the Agency. The law will also ban UNRWA’s operations in Israel from late January. UNRWA has said that its operations in Gaza and the West Bank are now at risk of collapse. “I would note, as a general point, that it is not our responsibility to replace UNRWA, nor do we have the capacity to do so,” UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres’ chef de cabinet, Courtenay Rattray, wrote to a senior Israeli foreign affairs official late on Tuesday. The mention of responsibility is a veiled reference to Israel’s obligations as an occupying power. The UN views Gaza and the West Bank as Israeli-occupied territory. International humanitarian law requires an occupying power to agree to relief programs for people in need and to facilitate them “by all the means at its disposal” and ensure food, medical care, hygiene and public health standards. NOTE: According to the Congressional Research Service, UNRWA’s budget for 2023 alone was $1.47 billion. RECOMMENDED READING: Israel Is Restricting Aid More Than Ever, UNRWA Warns as Millions Starve Israeli Settler Kills Palestinian, Israeli Forces Kill Another Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man, on Wednesday night, injured several citizens and abducted others, during a prolonged military assault on the northern West Bank city of Jenin and its refugee camp. The Palestinian Health Ministry announced that the citizen, Abdullah Mohammad Saeed Saadi, 53, succumbed to a critical gunshot wound inflicted on him by occupation forces. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that its ambulance crews transported a critically injured citizen to hospital for treatment, while sources at the Ibn Sina Hospital said that they received a seriously injured man who was shot in the thigh, later announcing his death. The PRCS added that occupation forces shot Saadi with three live rounds while he was in the “Hursh Al-Sa’ada” neighborhood in the western part of Jenin city. On Wednesday afternoon, an Israeli colonizer killed a Palestinian man after an alleged car-ramming attempt near the illegal “Shilo” colony, built on citizens’ lands northeast of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank. The General Authority of Civil Affairs informed the Palestinian Health Ministry that the young man, Harith Khaled Abdullah Jabara, 32, succumbed to critical gunshot wounds during an alleged car-ramming attempt. The Health Ministry announced that occupation forces shot Jabara after his vehicle crashed at the entrance to the “Shilo” settlement, near the town of Turmus Ayya, injuring two Israeli colonizers. Israeli media reported that two Israeli settlers sustained minor injuries, while an armed colonizer shot and killed the suspect after he exited his vehicle. Since the beginning of the Israeli military onslaught against the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, Israeli forces have killed 777 Palestinians in the West Bank, including 167 children, and injured 6,300. Abdullah Mohammad Saeed Saadi, Harith Khaled Abdullah Jabara, killed Wednesday Nov 6 in the West Bank Abdullah Mohammad Saeed Saadi, Harith Khaled Abdullah Jabara, killed Wednesday Nov 6 in the West Bank (IMEMC) Election: In Dearborn, Rashida Tlaib Did Nearly Twice as Well as Kamala Harris Harris refused to distance herself from the Biden administration’s support of Israel’s war on Gaza. Tlaib railed against it. Voters in the biggest U.S. city with an Arab-majority population shifted decisively toward Donald Trump on Tuesday, in a stinging rebuke of the Biden administration’s policies in the Middle East. Trump claimed 43 percent of the vote in Dearborn, Michigan, to Kamala Harris’s 36 percent. Jill Stein claimed 15 percent of the vote in the city, where the Green Party had notched less than 1 percent in 2020. Trump’s margin of victory in Dearborn represents a massive reversal from the 2020 election, when Joe Biden won 69 percent to Trump’s 30. The huge shift toward Trump will not be decisive in a race where he cruised to a Electoral College victory without the help of Michigan, the state with the highest percentage of Arab Americans. The state had yet to be called Wednesday morning. Still, it was a telling sign of how completely the administration has lost Arab Americans over the war. Down-ballot results suggest that the move was motivated in large part by anger toward the Biden administration rather than dissatisfaction with Democratic policies overall. Letter to U of Minnesota admin protesting suspension of students for protesting Gaza War Dear President Cunningham and Colleagues: We write on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) and its Committee on Academic Freedom to express our concern about the decision of the administration of the University of Minnesota (UMN) to indefinitely suspend eight students who participated in an occupation of a university building, Morrill Hall, on 21 October 2024. Whatever one thinks of the students’ action, we regard the university’s decision to bar them from classes, dormitories, dining halls and campus jobs as an unduly harsh sanction that violates their rights to education and sustenance. The fact that this sanction was imposed without the students having had the opportunity to defend their actions in a properly conducted disciplinary process makes it all the more egregious. The university’s actions in this regard seem aimed at deterring students from exercising the dictates of their conscience on matters of urgent public concern. They also contravene the University of Minnesota’s laudable tradition of countenancing contentious student protests… (Read the full letter here.) Pro-Palestine protesters stand firm as Chicago police officers prepare to begin arrests at the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois on May 4, 2024. Protests on US school campuses are continuing nationwide, with pro-Palestine encampments calling on institutions to divest investments in Israel and in support of a ceasefire in Gaza Pro-Palestine protesters stand firm as Chicago police officers prepare to begin arrests at the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois on May 4, 2024. Protests on US school campuses are continuing nationwide, with pro-Palestine encampments calling on institutions to divest investments in Israel and in support of a ceasefire in Gaza (photo) According to the World Health Organization, across Gaza as a whole, 556,774 children under age 10 -- or 94% -- received two doses of the polio vaccine in recent weeks. According to the World Health Organization, across Gaza as a whole, 556,774 children under age 10 — or 94% — received two doses of the polio vaccine in recent weeks. (social media) MORE NEWS: IMEMC Daily Reports. The Cradle: Israel’s war on Lebanon’s history and heritage Common Dreams: From Netanyahu to Orbán, Global Far-Right Figures Celebrate Trump Win Middle East Eye: How Arab autocrats enabled Israel’s Gaza genocide STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – NOVEMBER 6, 2024: Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – November 6, 2024: at least 44,159* ( 43,391 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 778 in the West Bank (~166 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more in Gaza still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). In July 2024, the Lancet said: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death 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 – November 6, 2024: at least 108,647 (including at least 102,347 in Gaza and 6,300 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 – November 6, 2024: ~1,574 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 396*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza (most recent: Nov 2); 39 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 3,050, with 13,658 injuries. An estimated 1.34 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) More than 100 BBC staff accuse broadcaster of Israel bias in Gaza coverage Witnesses Say The Israeli Army Is Using Facial Recognition Technology In Its Assault On North Gaza US Identified 500 Cases Where Its Weapons Harmed Gazan Civilians, But Hasn’t Taken Action UN schools in Gaza shaped our reporter’s childhood. She worries for the future. The powerful elites behind the Ukraine & Middle East wars – Col. Douglas Macgregor How Does AIPAC Shape Washington? We Tracked Every Dollar. The Religious Extremism That Motivates Israeli Settler Expansion in the West Bank Police escalate the British state’s war on independent journalism U.S. Media’s Doublespeak: Israelis Live in “Densely Populated Areas,” Palestinians Are “Human Shields” Where was Amnesty International during the Genocide in Gaza? FLASHBACK 2014: U.S. Senators Are Nearly All Stooges for Israel More on Israeli Atrocities: Attacking UN peacekeepers is a dangerous policy 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 https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-dropped-85000-tons-bombs-gaza-genocide-day-396/ https://donshafi911iamthefaceoftruth.blogspot.com/2024/11/israel-dropped-over-85000-tons-of-bombs.html

In Dearborn, Rashida Tlaib Did Nearly Twice as Well as Kamala Harris Matthew SledgeNovember 6 2024, 1:47 p.m. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., arrives before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to a joint meeting of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) Voters in the biggest U.S. city with an Arab-majority population shifted decisively toward Donald Trump on Tuesday, in a stinging rebuke of the Biden administration’s policies in the Middle East. Trump claimed 43 percent of the vote in Dearborn, Michigan, to Kamala Harris’s 36 percent. Jill Stein claimed 15 percent of the vote in the city, where the Green Party had notched less than 1 percent in 2020. Trump’s margin of victory in Dearborn represents a massive reversal from the 2020 election, when Joe Biden’s won 69 percent to Trump’s 30. The huge shift toward Trump will not be decisive in a race where he cruised to a Electoral College victory without the help of Michigan, the state with the highest percentage of Arab Americans. The state had yet to be called Wednesday morning. Still, it was a telling sign of how completely the administration has lost Arab Americans over the war. Down-ballot results suggest that the move was motivated in large part by anger toward the Biden administration rather than dissatisfaction with Democratic policies overall. “She bucked her Party’s leadership, because she refused to ignore the needs of her constituents — which in this case meant opposing a genocide.” Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a progressive Palestinian American, won 62 percent of the vote in Dearborn compared to Republican candidate James Hooper’s 30 percent. She was easily reelected to a fourth term. For observers, the contrast between Tlaib’s strong performance and Harris’s weakness is striking. “Working class voters across this country no longer see the Democratic Party as a Party that fights for their interests,” said Usamah Andrabi, the communications director of Justice Democrats, “and they saw Rashida Tlaib as someone who does for the very reason that she bucked her Party’s leadership, because she refused to ignore the needs of her constituents — which in this case meant opposing a genocide.” Most Read “That’s what putting democracy back at the center of the Democratic Party looks like,” Andrabi said. “Anything else is a betrayal to everyday people and they feel it.” Why the Turn? Some Arab and Muslim voters in Michigan had gone over to Trump because of their conservative values and culture-war alignment. A nationwide ad campaign attacked Harris for her support of trans people, often using misinformation, and the tack had been successful. The issue had helped Trump peel Arab and Muslim voters away from Democrats. Tlaib, though, took progressive stands on the issue, vocally supporting trans rights. “Even though social issues were there, a huge focus was on the Middle East and the war.” So what made Harris perform so poorly in comparison to Tlaib? One lightning rod stands out: Tlaib, a Palestinian American, has been one of the most vocal critics in Congress of Israel’s war on Gaza and, more recently, Lebanon. One prominent Lebanese American civic leader in Dearborn, Abed Hammoud, said he saw no contradiction in Trump and Tlaib — a social progressive — both winning the city because the election was a clear referendum on Israel’s assault against Gaza. “Even though social issues were there, a huge focus was on the Middle East and the war,” he said. The unofficial results for Dearborn track with The Intercept’s reporting on Arab and Muslim residents of Michigan during early voting. Many said they were lifelong Democrats who were turning to Trump out of a sense of dismay over the war in Gaza and the invasion of Lebanon. Trump has promised to let Israel “finish the job” in Gaza and supported inflammatory pro-Israel policies such as recognizing Jerusalem as its capital. Still, some voters said they wanted to give him a chance after more than a year of devastating war in Gaza — and in light of Harris’s refusal to break with Biden on the issue. Related Arab and Muslim Voters in Michigan: “I Can’t Overlook Genocide” In a statement, Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the huge shift of votes to Trump could be attributed to Harris’s failure to take a stronger position on Gaza. “Rather than listening to the clear majority of American who support both a ceasefire and a suspension of weapons to Israel, Vice President Harris only struck a slightly more sympathetic tone toward Palestinians while sticking with the substance of President Biden’s disastrous stance,” said Awad. “This led to an unprecedented shift of support from Muslim, Arab, and other communities who traditionally vote for Democratic presidents.” “Very Hard Thing to Do” Trump campaigned aggressively for the Arab and Muslim vote in Michigan, paying several visits in the race’s final weeks to Hamtramck, which has an all-Muslim city council, and Dearborn. Trump cast himself as the peace candidate, and Awad called on him to follow through. “The president-elect should fulfill his campaign pledge to pursue peace abroad, including by ending the war on Gaza. However, this must be a real peace based on justice, freedom, and a state for the Palestinian people,” Awad said. Dearborn was a center of the national “Uncommitted” movement, which sought to push the administration to shift its policies toward Israel. Harris rejected Uncommitted’s campaign to have a Palestinian American speaker address the Democratic National Convention in August. David Dulio, a professor at Oakland University in Michigan, said that given such activism in the area, Trump’s overperformance was not entirely surprising. “We have known this has been a possibility for months going all the way back to the presidential primary when Uncommitted gets 100,00 votes statewide,” Dulio said. “We knew that this was a point of contention in these three Arab American communities. We knew that many people in those communities were not and are not happy with the current administration’s policy with respect to Israel and the war in Gaza.” Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, Uncommitted movement co-founder Abbas Alawieh said the people voting for Trump included his own family members. “Folks who voted for Trump are my cousins, my friends, people who were tasked with a very difficult task of carrying a lot of grief, and trying to do a politically savvy thing at the same time,” Alawieh said. “It’s a very hard thing to do.” Alawieh said he hoped the “gamble” of voting for Trump in an attempt to end the war will pay off, but he expected members of his movement to be organizing in the streets to pressure politicians of both major parties. “It’s going to be a tough road,” he said. “And for a lot of us, our activism, our organizing, might even be criminalized. And that’s a very grim prospect, but we’ve got to get going.” https://theintercept.com/2024/11/06/dearborn-michigan-rashida-tlaib-kamala-harris-gaza/

New Israeli atrocities coming to light – Day 368 [email protected] October 10, 2024 international criminal court, Jeremy Loffredo, Lebanon, Matthew Brodsky, northern Gaza, Ofer Prison, Palestinian children, palestinian olive harvest, The Killings They Tweeted, west bank deaths At least 10 Gazans were killed in a horrific Israeli massacre targeting displaced people’s tents in the yard of Al-Yemen Al-Saeed Hospital in the heart of Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza. (Hossam Shabat) Compilation of news reports – IAK staff At least 45 Palestinians were killed and 130 were injured in three massacres of families in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry in Gaza said on Wednesday. On Wednesday, at least 10 Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces bombed the tents of displaced people in Jabaliya. Gaza has become a sea of rubble and a graveyard for tens of thousands of people Gaza has become a sea of rubble and a graveyard for tens of thousands of people (Image: Getty) The reality in northern Gaza: witnesses report a bloodbath From Mondoweiss: The following are some eyewitness reports from residents of Jabaliya, where the Israeli army surrounded the area and launched a surprise invasion on Sunday morning, coinciding with the first anniversary of October 7. Roughly 200,000 Palestinians are under siege; the hospitals in the vicinity are under evacuation orders. Most residents could not [or would not] evacuate and were locked in their homes with very little available for them to survive. One family that evacuated carrying a white flag found themselves under fire from quadcopter attack drones. The father and one son were killed; the rest of the family took shelter. What they saw was “like a horror movie.” The road was filled with dead bodies, and “dismembered bodies strewn across the streets.” “My cousin came the second night and joined us in the shelter,” Raneem explains. “They said that people lay dead at their homes’ front doors and in the street,” killed as they tried to follow evacuation orders. The Civil Defense in Gaza has reported several massacres perpetrated by the Israeli army during the ongoing invasion of Jabalia, although rescue workers have been unable to tally an exact number of casualties due to difficulties accessing the area. (Read the full report here.) Local journalist Hossam Shabat, living and working in northern Gaza, confirmed the above descriptions: Israeli occupation forces have asked all residents of northern Gaza (300k+) to evacuate as a means of ethnically cleansing North Gaza . However, they then besieged Jabalia refugee camp, and when people tried to leave, they were shot at by snipers. Many residents are on the streets, bleeding, as Israeli forces have destroyed ambulances and are targeting anyone who tries to help. The situation in the north is horrific and very dangerous; there are currently hundreds of thousands trapped, and the shelling is nonstop. RECOMMENDED READING: Ex-US diplomat calls ‘red lines’ meaningless as Israel orders 400,000 to leave Gaza’s north US: former White House advisor urges Israel to ‘carpet bomb’ Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon Middle East Monitor reports: Former White House advisor Matthew Brodsky has urged Israel to drop napalm on Irish peacekeepers in South Lebanon, sparking outrage and concern over the ideological stance of individuals advising the US administration on Israel and Palestine. UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon) has some 10,000 peacekeepers in south Lebanon, including members of the Irish Defense Forces. All UNIFIL personnel are distinguishable by their blue helmets and white vehicles. Brodsky, a Senior Fellow at the Gold Institute for International Strategy and former Director of Policy at the Jewish Policy Centre, posted a shocking tweet on X stating: “Israel should carpet bomb the Irish area and then drop napalm over it.” The tweet, which has since been deleted, included a map showing the deployment of Ireland’s peacekeeping force in Southern Lebanon. The comment has been condemned widely, with many questioning the appropriateness of having individuals with such extreme views in advisory roles within the US government. Brodsky’s comments come at a time of heightened tensions in the region and have raised concerns about the influence of hard-line Zionist ideologues on US foreign policy. Critics have accused Brodsky, who has lived and studied in Israel, of promoting Jewish supremacism. This incident has reignited debates about the prevalence of extremist ideologies within US political circles and their potential impact on diplomatic efforts in the Middle East. (Read more here.) NOTE: According to his website, Matthew Brodsky has worked for over two decades in U.S. foreign policy and national security. He has briefed members of Congress, Department of State, Department of Defense, and the National Security Council on Iran, Syria, and Palestinian-Israeli issues. New York Times: American doctors who volunteered in Gaza report massive number of children shot in the head Some eyewitness accounts from the New York Times: At least 44 doctors, nurses and paramedics saw multiple cases of preteen children who had been shot in the head or chest in Gaza. Dr. Mohamad Rassoul Abu-Nuwar, General, bariatric and foregut surgeon, 36 years old, Pittsburgh, Pa. “One night in the emergency department, over the course of four hours, I saw six children between the ages of 5 and 12, all with single gunshot wounds to the skull.” Rania Afaneh, Paramedic, 23 years old, Savannah, Ga. “I saw a child who had been shot in the jaw. No other part of his body was affected. He was fully awake and aware of what was going on. He stared at me while he choked on his own blood as I tried to suction the blood out with a broken suction unit.” Dr. Khawaja Ikram, Orthopedic surgeon, 53 years old, Dallas, Texas “One day, while in the E.R., I saw a 3-year-old and 5-year-old, each with a single bullet hole to their head. When asked what happened, their father and brother said they had been told that Israel was backing out of Khan Younis. So they returned to see if anything was left of their house. There was, they said, a sniper waiting who shot both children.” Dr. Ahlia Kattan, Anesthesiologist and critical care doctor, 37 years old, Costa Mesa, Calif. “I saw an 18-month-old little girl with a gunshot wound to the head.” Dr. Nidal Farah, Anesthesiologist, 42 years old, Toledo, Ohio “I saw many children. In my experience the gunshot wound was often to the head. Many had non-curable, permanent brain damage. It was almost a daily occurrence to have children arrive at the hospital with gunshot wounds to the head.” Times Opinion sent questions about the experiences of these American health care workers to the Israel Defense Forces. A spokesperson for the I.D.F. responded with a statement that did not directly answer whether or not the military had investigated reports of shootings of preteen children, or if any disciplinary action had been taken against soldiers for firing at children. The statement began, “The I.D.F. is committed to mitigating civilian harm during operational activity. In that spirit, the I.D.F. makes great efforts to estimate and consider potential civilian collateral damage in its strikes. The I.D.F. is fully committed to respecting all applicable international legal obligations, including the Law of Armed Conflict.” NOTE: Israeli sources, including the government itself, have a long track record of lying (for example, this and this and this.) Israel’s self-investigations consistently whitewash its crimes and fail to appropriately punish the perpetrators. These photographs of X-rays were provided by Dr. Mimi Syed, who worked in Khan Younis from Aug. 8 to Sept. 5. She said: “I had multiple pediatric patients, mostly under the age of 12, who were shot in the head or the left side of the chest. Usually, these were single shots. The patients came in either dead or critical, and died shortly after arriving.” These photographs of X-rays were provided by Dr. Mimi Syed, who worked in Khan Younis from Aug. 8 to Sept. 5. She said: “I had multiple pediatric patients, mostly under the age of 12, who were shot in the head or the left side of the chest. Usually, these were single shots. The patients came in either dead or critical, and died shortly after arriving.” (Dr. Mimi Syed) Israel detains US journalist reporting on damage to its military bases Middle East Monitor reports: Israel has detained American Grayzone journalist Jeremy Loffredo while he was on assignment in Israel. According to social media posts, Loffredo was detained on Tuesday along with four other journalists who were “beaten, blindfolded, and taken to an Israeli military base.” They also had their phones confiscated. Loffredo remains in custody, while the others, including Andrey X, were released 11 hours later. Loffredo’s last video posted on X reported the damage caused by the Iranian missile strikes on Israel’s military sites on 1 October. Social media users believe this is the reason for his detention as no local news organisations have covered the damage from the attack. Netanyahu says it will be Lebanese civilians’ fault if Israel destroys Lebanon Various agencies report: Once again, Israel is setting the stage for massive civilian casualties – this time in Lebanon – and placing the blame for it squarely on the civilians’ shoulders. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu released a video statement Tuesday, calling on the people of Lebanon to “free [their] country from Hezbollah,” threatening them with “destruction and suffering” if they refused to do so. “You have an opportunity to save Lebanon before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza. It doesn’t have to be that way,” Netanyahu said, as his country’s air force continued to launch non-stop raids across Lebanon. Israeli officials have been saying they’re going to destroy Lebanon like they destroyed Gaza for months. Back in December Israel’s defense minister Yoav Gallant said, “Every person in Lebanon can take the map, the aerial photograph of Gaza, place it on an aerial photograph of Beirut, and ask themselves if this is what they want to happen there.” Now Netanyahu himself is saying this. Notably, Netanyahu’s statement was delivered in English, with English subtitles. This wasn’t actually a plea made to the people of Lebanon, it was propaganda made for western consumption. Netanyahu does not actually believe the Lebanese people are going to take up arms against Hezbollah to stop their country from being destroyed, he’s just creating a narrative to justify what he already plans on doing to Lebanon. And the US is encouraging Israel to move forward. On Tuesday State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller told the press that the Biden administration no longer supports a ceasefire with Hezbollah, saying “We support Israel’s efforts to degrade Hezbollah’s capability” instead. Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threats toward Lebanon, the US on Wednesday warned that the situation there must not turn into something resembling the situation the Gaza Strip, where more than 42,000 people have been killed in the last year. “We cannot and must not see the situation in Lebanon turn into anything like the situation in Gaza. That would, of course, not be acceptable,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. Ben Gvir oversees violent raid against Palestinians inside Ofer Prison Palestine Chronicle reports: A pre-dawn raid on Ofer prison on Monday saw police officers using stun grenades and dogs. In the footage shared by Ben-Gvir on X, detainees are seen handcuffed, and being violently moved around inside the prison, and several are seen laying face down on the ground with their hands tied behind their backs. “With zero tolerance and a heavy hand – this is how the prison fighters work with the animals of prey from the Nohba terrorists. I back them up!” Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said alongside the footage. He claimed detainees whom he called “human scum” were “planning to riot inside the prison to mark the anniversary” of the October 7 resistance operation. Historic Int’l Criminal Court War Crimes Complaint Names 1,000 Israeli Soldiers Common Dreams reports: A Belgium-based advocacy group on Tuesday announced it “filed an unprecedented and historic complaint with the International Criminal Court against 1,000 Israeli occupation forces soldiers for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Gaza,” where more than 150,000 Palestinians have been killed or wounded and millions more displaced, starved, and sickened by Israel’s yearlong onslaught. The Hind Rajab Foundation—named after the 6-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed in January along with half a dozen relatives and rescue workers by Israeli troops invading Gaza in retaliation for the October 2023 Hamas-led attack—said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel identified by name in the International Criminal Court (ICC) complaint “are accused of participating in systematic attacks against civilians during the ongoing genocide in Gaza.” “This complaint, supported by over 8,000 pieces of verifiable evidence—including videos, audio recordings, forensic reports, and social media documentation—demonstrates the soldiers’ direct involvement in these atrocities,” the group explained. “All of the named soldiers were located in Gaza during the genocidal assault, and the evidence reveals their participation in violations of international law.” “This complaint is not only the largest ever submitted to the ICC, but it is also a milestone in documenting Israeli war crimes for future generations,” the Hind Rajab Foundation said. “By meticulously identifying the perpetrators and detailing their crimes, we are establishing a historical record that will ensure the individuals responsible are remembered and held accountable.” (Read more about the case here.) Bodies of Palestinians are brought to al-Awda Hospital after an Israeli attack on northern Gaza City. Bodies of Palestinians are brought to al-Awda Hospital after an Israeli attack on northern Gaza City. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu) West Bank: Israeli Soldiers Kill Five Palestinians IMEMC reports: On Wednesday, Israeli special forces assassinated four Palestinian young men, and injured one, after targeting their vehicle in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the slain men as Issam Mohammad Suleiman Salaj, 30, Abdul Halim Mohammad Nasser, 43, Salim Izz al-Din Mahmoud Abu Saada, 40, and Naim Mohammad Raji Abdul Hadi, 32. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said their ambulance crews transported the bodies of the slain men to the Rafidia Governmental Hospital in Nablus, in addition to a young man who sustained injuries to the head and chest as a result of shrapnel from live rounds. Media sources said that an undercover Israeli unit (Musta’ribeen) infiltrated the eastern area of Nablus city, on Wednesday afternoon, and fired many live rounds at a vehicle, executing all four men inside. Issam Mohammad Suleiman Salaj, 30, Abdul Halim Mohammad Nasser, 43, Salim Izz al-Din Mahmoud Abu Saada, 40, and Naim Mohammad Raji Abdul Hadi, 32. Issam Mohammad Suleiman Salaj, 30, Abdul Halim Mohammad Nasser, 43, Salim Izz al-Din Mahmoud Abu Saada, 40, and Naim Mohammad Raji Abdul Hadi, 32. (photo) On Tuesday night, Israeli soldiers killed a Palestinian man, after surrounding his home, in Aqaba town, north of Tubas in the northeastern part of the occupied West Bank, and took his corpse before withdrawing. Media sources said Israeli undercover forces infiltrated the town and surrounded a house, before additional military vehicles invaded it. Media sources in the town, said the soldiers fired an Energa shells at the home, killing the Palestinian. Sources from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said their crews received a report of an injury inside the besieged house, but Israeli forces detained the injured young man, abducted him, and withdrew. The army later confirmed the death of the slain Palestinian, identified Abdul-Rauf Rajeh Hamed Al-Masri, 37, but refused to allow the release of his corpse. In West Bank, Palestinian olive harvest terrorized by Israeli settlers, blocked by Israeli restrictions Anadolu Agency reports: Palestinians are unable to harvest olives in their orchards due to restrictions imposed by the Israeli army since Oct. 7, 2023, and attacks by Israeli settlers. Palestinian Minister of Agriculture Rezq Basheer-Selimia told the press that the ongoing restrictions imposed by the Israeli army and attacks by the Israelis are affecting Palestinian farmers, noting that at least 100,000 acres (approximately 404.69 sq km) of olive groves in the West Bank are not available for harvesting. For example, Palestinians in Madma, a town of 2,500 inhabitants in the northern part of the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, are unable to harvest their 5,000 acres (around 20.23 sq km) of olive groves. Israeli settlers attacked the town of Madma, beat and threatened the Palestinian residents, damaged their homes, and stole agricultural tools. A town spokesman said, “A group of Israeli settlers attacked residents of the town who were harvesting olives the other day. The settlers opened fire at the farmers and drove them away from the olive groves.” The Israeli army responds by protecting the attackers and imposing restrictions on Palestinians. NOTE: According to Bethlehem Bible College, the olive tree in Palestine has essential economic, cultural, social, and national significance, and symbolizes the Palestinian attachment to their land – olive trees resist the tough conditions of drought and poor soil conditions and remain attached to their place. Many Palestinian families inherited olive trees over many generations. Families gather every year in October to harvest the olive trees. They feel proud, bearing in mind their ancestors who were taking care of these trees before. Olive fruit compromises the income of 80,000 Palestinian families. Almost half of the West Bank and Gaza Strip (48%) is planted with olive trees. 70% of food production in Palestine is accounted for by olive trees, and economically olive trees contribute to 14% of the Palestinian economy. Most olive harvesting (90%) is used for oil production, while the rest (10%) is used for olive soap and pickling. A group of Jewish settlers under the protection of Israeli soldiers raids the Old City area of Hebron, West Bank on September 14, 2024 [Mamoun Wazwaz/Anadolu Agency] A group of Jewish settlers under the protection of Israeli soldiers raids the Old City area of Hebron, West Bank on September 14, 2024 (Mamoun Wazwaz/Anadolu Agency) MORE NEWS: Anadolu Agency: Pro-Palestinian Australian senator announces launch of new political party Al Jazeera: Is Israel deliberately targeting Lebanon’s first responders? STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – OCTOBER 9, 2024: Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – October 9, 2024: at least 42,814* ( 42,065 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 749 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 9, 2024: at least 104,086 (including at least 97,886 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 9, 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 2,141 and 10,099 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 https://israelpalestinenews.org/new-israeli-atrocities-coming-to-light-day-368/

Slaughter in Gaza and Lebanon as War with Iran Approaches. “These psychos must be stopped”. Caitlin Johnstone Israel appears to have begun its long-planned ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza, with the IDF dropping bombs, issuing evacuation orders for multiple hospitals, attacking civilians with sniper drones, and besieging civilian populations in order to force tens of thousands of people to either move south or die. Israel has reportedly been dropping leaflets on the Jabalia refugee camp ordering people to leave, and then shooting anyone who tries to. Since the 7th of October last year, Israel has committed roughly 100 October sevenths in Gaza; scores of American medical workers who volunteered in the enclave signed an open letter to president Biden estimating the real death toll from Israel’s onslaught at over 118,000. Israel has also committed about two October sevenths in Lebanon during that time, with the majority of the 2,100 Israeli killings in that country coming just in the last few weeks. As Israeli murderousness ramps up in both Gaza and Lebanon, Benjamin Netanyahu has issued a statement addressed to the Lebanese people telling them that they need to somehow defeat Hezbollah in order to “save Lebanon before it plunges into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza.” Israeli officials have been saying they’re going to destroy Lebanon like they destroyed Gaza for months. Back in December Israel’s defense minister Yoav Gallant said, “Every person in Lebanon can take the map, the aerial photograph of Gaza, place it on an aerial photograph of Beirut, and ask themselves if this is what they want to happen there.” Now Netanyahu himself is saying this. Notably, Netanyahu’s statement was delivered in English, with English subtitles. This wasn’t actually a plea made to the people of Lebanon, it was propaganda made for western consumption. Netanyahu does not actually believe the Lebanese people are going to take up arms against Hezbollah to stop their country from being destroyed, he’s just creating a narrative to justify what he already plans on doing to Lebanon. And the US is encouraging Israel to move forward. On Tuesday State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller told the press that the Biden administration no longer supports a ceasefire with Hezbollah, saying “We support Israel’s efforts to degrade Hezbollah’s capability” instead. Two weeks ago CNN reported that the administration has also essentially given up on a ceasefire in Gaza. And we haven’t even talked about Iran yet. NBC News reports that US military officials have been discussing directly joining in Israel’s planned attack on Iran, potentially launching their own airstrikes on the Iranian military whenever Israel begins its attack. Whether the US joins with Israel in its coming attack or not, Iran has already made it clear that it will retaliate against any further aggressions by Israel, and Israel has made it clear that if Iran strikes back it’s going to ramp up its aggressions and perhaps start attacking Iranian energy infrastructure. If this blows up into full-scale war, as looks increasingly likely, it’s inevitable that the US will come to Israel’s defense. Axios and its Israeli intelligence insider Barak Ravid have a new report out on how super duper frustrated the Biden administration is becoming with Israeli warmongering. In typical Axios fashion the outlet reports that the White House is becoming “increasingly distrustful” of Israel’s planned military operations against Iran and Lebanon, but that, in typical Biden administration fashion, its American sources admit that the US “would very likely help Israel defend itself regardless” of whatever happens. Whoever wins the US election in November appears to be committed to riding with Israel down this path into the depths of hell. In an interview with 60 Minutes, Vice President Kamala Harris defended the Biden administration’s genocidal support for Israel, saying the weapons it has been giving them “allow Israel to defend itself.” She also named Iran as the number one enemy of the United States. In an appearance on The View, Harris was asked what she would have done differently from President Biden, and she said “There is not a thing that comes to mind.” Then later she added, “You asked me what is the difference between Joe Biden and me, that will be one of the differences: I’m going to have a Republican in my Cabinet.” And lest you make the mistake of thinking Trump would be any better, last week the former president said that Israel should attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, and criticized the Biden administration for not being sufficiently aggressive on this front. “They asked [Biden], what do you think about Iran, would you hit Iran?” Trump said at a campaign event on Friday. “And he goes, ‘As long as they don’t hit the nuclear stuff.’ That’s the thing you want to hit, right? I said I think he’s got that one wrong.” Anyone who still says Trump is a peacemaker is a damn fool. Statements like this are in full alignment with the absolute worst warmongers in Washington like John Bolton or Lindsey Graham. Anyway, that’s where we’re at right now. That’s the trajectory the US empire has us on. An active genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza, the threat of another extermination campaign in Lebanon, and acceleration toward a direct war of unimaginable horror with Iran. These psychos must be stopped. * Click the share button below to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles. Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War Featured image: Slaughterhouse – by Mr. Fish https://www.globalresearch.ca/slaughter-gaza-lebanon-war-iran-approaches/5869715

Palestine and the People of the World. 124 Nations endorsed the UN General Assembly Resolution to End the Illegal Israeli Occupation of Palestine Israel’s wanton aggression against Lebanon has overshadowed an important decision made by the UN General Assembly linked to the violence and wars that mark our present moment in history. On Wednesday, 18th September 2024, 124 nations voted in favour of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution to end the illegal Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in Palestine. The resolution was prompted by a ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the world’s highest judicial body, which had ordered Israel to withdraw from Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). The ICJ decision of 19th July 2024 was undoubtedly influenced by Israel’s blatant genocide in Gaza and its massacres in the West Bank. The UN General Assembly gave Tel Aviv 12 months to withdraw from the OPT. Given Israel’s track record, no one should expect Israel to abide by the UNGA’s resolution. Nonetheless, the 124 nations that endorsed the resolution should go all out to ensure that the resolution is implemented. They represent almost two-thirds of the total membership of the UN. Their vote, viewed collectively, is the voice of the vast majority of the human family. The huge public gatherings held in so many different parts of the world in the course of the last one year against Israel’s genocide and for the right of the Palestinians to establish their own sovereign, independent state in accordance with UN resolutions attest to the overwhelming support that the Palestinian quest for self- determination enjoys among the people of the world. The 124 member states of the UN that endorsed the 18th September resolution should remember that the ICJ decision that underscores the UNGA resolution requires member states not to recognize “the unlawful presence of Israel in the OPT” and not to render aid or assistance to Israel in maintaining its illegal occupation. Translated into tangible action, the 124 states should appeal to the five veto wielding members of the UN Security Council not to use the veto to repudiate the UNGA vote when the issue is brought to the Council for its endorsement. Needless to say, the resolution can only be enforced by the Council. If there is any indication that the veto is going to be used to deny the will of the majority of the UN membership, the endorsers of the UNGA resolution should meet and set up a committee that will explore ways and means by which the resolution can be rendered meaningful. Countries such as South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brazil can be part of such a committee. The UN Secretary-General will also be a crucial member of the Committee. Apart from organizing a permanent ceasefire, the Committee can also ensure that food, fuel, medicines and other essentials are readily available to the people of Gaza and other parts of Palestine. The proposed Committee should also facilitate the release of all hostages presently held by Hamas. Most of all, the Committee should lay out a framework for the resolution of all conflicts between Israel and Palestine and Israel and its neighbours. The Committee’s final recommendations should be presented to the UNGA for its approval. The UNGA’s approval would signal that the General Assembly —and not the Security Council— is the body within the UN that decides on fundamental issues of war and peace. This is the empowerment of the General Assembly that we should work towards. An empowered GA will give hope to people everywhere. * Click the share button below to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles. Birds Not Bombs: Let’s Fight for a World of Peace, Not War Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST), Malaysia. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). Featured image is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 https://www.globalresearch.ca/palestine-people-world/5869797

Northern Gaza has become a killing field – Day 367 [email protected] October 9, 2024 ecocide, ethnic cleansing, Hezbollah, hind rajab, human shield, Iran, Lebanon, military aid to israel, northern Gaza In the first four months of the attacks, Israel dropped 70,000 tons of bombs on the region, including phosphorus bombs, which are prohibited under the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), the government in Gaza announced. (Anadolu Agency) Compilation of news reports – IAK staff Gaza’s Health Ministry said Tuesday that Israeli forces killed at least 56 Palestinians and wounded another 278 in the previous 24-hour period as Israel continues to launch strikes across the Strip. The Lebanese Health Ministry said in a statement that during the past 24 hours 36 people were killed and 150 others injured. In Syria, at least seven people, including women and children, have been killed by an Israeli strike on a residential building in Damascus. Israel has dropped more than 85,000 tonnes (94,000 tons) of explosives on Gaza; about 17 percent of these ordnances remain unexploded,” according to Gaza’s civil defense. Bodies of Palestinians are brought to al-Awda Hospital after an Israeli attack on northern Gaza City. Bodies of Palestinians are brought to al-Awda Hospital after an Israeli attack on northern Gaza City. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu) ‘Humanitarian situation in northern Gaza becoming more dangerous’ Al Jazeera reports: The Palestinian Civil Defense said the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza is becoming more dangerous following a large-scale Israeli military attack on Beit Hanoon, Beit Lahiya and Jabalia that has been ongoing for four days. “Israeli forces have imposed a tight siege on these areas and are preventing the entry of water, food and medical supplies. The occupation has committed massacres against civilians, killing dozens and injuring hundreds. People’s bodies are strewn in the streets and it is difficult to reach them because soldiers are targeting ambulance and civil defense crews,” it said in a statement. The Palestinian Civil Defense added that the Israeli military is forcing the more than 200,000 citizens in these areas to evacuate their homes and medical staff and patients to leave hospitals in the northern Gaza. Palestinians in the north say the Israeli forces are wiping everything out: agricultural land, houses, water plants. Any source of life is being wiped from the Israeli forces. A Palestinian child at Ibn Rushd school in Al-Zawaida following an Israeli airstrike, Gaza, 6 October 2024. A Palestinian child at Ibn Rushd school in Al-Zawaida following an Israeli airstrike, Gaza, 6 October 2024. (Anadolu/Getty Images) Israel orders 3 hospitals to be evacuated in northern Gaza: Health Ministry Anadolu Agency reports: The Israeli army ordered the evacuation of patients and staff at three hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip, the enclave’s Health Ministry said Tuesday. Israel “demands the evacuation of Kamal Adwan Hospital, the Indonesian Hospital, and Al-Awda Hospital from patients and health personnel,” it said in a statement. Israeli troops arrested “a paramedic who accompanied a critical care patient during their transfer from Kamal Adwan Hospital despite prior coordination,” according to the statement, that noted the army is besieging the Kamal Adwan Hospital and firing at its administrative headquarters. The army threatened the hospitals with “destruction, killing, and arrest” if they did not evacuate. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israeli forces threatened Kamal Adwan Hospital staff and opened fire at the administration office. The director of Kamal Adwan Hospital stated, It is evident that there is a new plan to displace our people in northern Gaza by dismantling the healthcare system across all its sectors in this region. We urge the world to intervene to stop this terrifying decision, which does not serve the people of northern Gaza. We have informed everyone that the northern region is densely populated with a significant number of residents. We have the right to continue providing services to these people. We will remain steadfast, we will stay and we will continue to offer medical services no matter the cost. On Monday, the Jerusalem Post reported that the IDF has was providing “expanded” services in northern Gaza, including field hospitals, tent compounds, and supplies of food, water, and medicine. Local Palestinians in Jabaliya report that there is nowhere to receive healthcare, nowhere to live, as buildings have been turned to rubble, As has been reported for 12 months, Israel has destroyed hospitals, schools and residential areas. Tuesday’s evacuation orders are a continuation of this policy. The Jerusalem Post report appears to be fictional. NOTE: Israel’s attacks are wreaking havoc on healthcare in Lebanon too. RECOMMENDED: Israel’s war on Gaza:Before and after satellite images reveal the extent of ruin to civilian infrastructure after a year of war Al-Shifa Medical Complex is currently out of service due to the Israeli army bombing and setting fire to every one of its buildings, including the mortuary and all internal and external courtyards and corridors. Al-Shifa Medical Complex is currently out of service due to the Israeli army bombing and setting fire to every one of its buildings, including the mortuary and all internal and external courtyards and corridors. (photo) Gaza faces one of largest cases of ecocide in recent history, including contamination from “depleted uranium bombs” Various agencies report: Israel’s attacks in Gaza, in addition to causing massive loss of life and shelter, have brought about ecocide – “the destruction and devastation of the environment at any cost.” Ecocide is recognized as a crime under the category of war crimes in the Rome Statute. In the first four months of the attacks, Israel dropped 70,000 tons of bombs on the region. Various analyses have concluded that bombings, damage caused by heavy vehicles, airstrikes, and other elements of conflict have severely impacted agricultural areas. Approximately 75% of the agricultural land in northern Gaza has suffered damage. According to the Environmental Quality Authority affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, Israeli attacks are putting Gaza’s biodiversity at risk, including between 150 and 200 bird species, around 20 mammal species, and 20 rare and endangered reptile species. Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh, head of the Biodiversity and Sustainability Center at Bethlehem University, told Anadolu that some of the environmental damage in the region is now irreversible. He noted that the water aquifers in the region have suffered significant damage and may not recover; if they do, it could take decades. The president of the Lebanese Association of Social Medicine, Raif Reda, said Israel has been using banned bombs with uranium warheads in south Beirut. and called for an international investigation. Warheads made with depleted uranium casings are designed to penetrate deep fortifications, causing significant destruction and releasing toxic gases. They are also radioactive and have been linked to massive increases in cancer rates in Iraq following the US wars on that country in 1991 and 2003. Israeli air forces may have used depleted uranium bombs on at least four residential buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs on September 27 to kill Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The Israeli air force has already been known to use these bombs in Gaza. A UN Human Rights report documented airstrikes by the Israeli air force carried out on residential buildings, a school, refugee camps, and a market between October 9 and December 2, 2023. Depleted uranium munitions pose a risk to civilians years after a site is bombed because they release radioactive particles upon impact and contaminate the soil and surrounding environment. Radioactive dust emitted by depleted uranium munitions has been linked to rises in cancer and congenital defects in babies following the US bombing of Iraq. RELATED READING: ‘Death sentence’: Asbestos released by Israel’s bombs will kill for decades Residents check the damaged in the aftermath of overnight Israeli bombardment in Beirut’s southern suburbs, on September 28, 2024. Residents check the damaged in the aftermath of overnight Israeli bombardment in Beirut’s southern suburbs, on September 28, 2024. (Anwar Amro | Afp | Getty Images) ‘Undeniable’ – Probe Confirms Israeli Army Presence when Hind Rajab was Killed in Gaza Sky News reports: Even though the Israeli military denies being in the area on the day that six-year-old Hind Rajab and six members of her family were killed in Gaza, a Sky News investigation has found that the army’s presence in the area was “undeniable.” Two paramedics who were trying to rescue her were also killed. The channel analyzed satellite imagery, Israeli military press materials, and interviewed weapons and forensics experts. (Read the full analysis here.) RECOMMENDED READING: You need to meet this little girl named Hind FOR HIND’S STORY, ALSO WATCH: The Night Won’t End: Biden’t War on Gaza Hezbollah says Israel using UN troops as ‘human shields’ in south Lebanon, as Israel expands ground operation Various agencies report: Hezbollah has ordered its fighters not to attack Israeli forces who established a forward operating base behind UN peacekeeping troops (UNIFIL) near a Lebanese border village: “the Israeli enemy is attempting to use UNIFIL forces as human shields,” a statement issued by the Islamic resistance movement on 7 October said. “The operations room of the Islamic Resistance instructed the fighters to hold back and not engage with the movement to protect the lives of international soldiers,” the statement added, just a day after UNIFIL warned Israel’s operations near their position at Maroun al-Ras were an “extremely dangerous development.” “It is unacceptable to compromise the safety of UN peacekeepers carrying out their Security Council-mandated tasks,” UNIFIL stated while reminding all actors in the conflict of their obligations to protect UN personnel and property. NOTE: Israel has blatantly used Palestinians as human shields on many occasions (see this, this, this, this, this for example.) RECOMMENDED READING: Every accusation a confession: Israel and the double lie of ‘human shields’ Israel has said it is expanding its ground operation in Lebanon with the deployment of a fourth division after another night of intense airstrikes across the south and east of the country. Launching what it has called Operation Northern Arrows last week, the Israeli army said the ground offensive would involve “limited, localized and targeted raids” to remove Hezbollah infrastructure along the disputed de facto border between the two countries, known as the blue line. The rapid deployment of four divisions operating across south Lebanon, alongside evacuation orders for Lebanese villages upwards of 20 miles from the blue line and the intensive bombing of the country’s south, east and the capital, suggests however that Israel is preparing for a wider offensive against the Lebanese militia. Since 1978 a series of Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon, including a years-long occupation, have failed to bring security and calm to northern Israel. RECOMMENDED READING: How does Israel’s Lebanon invasion compare with its previous operations? Israeli air strikes on Beirut on Sunday were the heaviest yet Israeli air strikes on Beirut on Sunday, Oct 6 were the heaviest yet (Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu via Getty) Support for Israel Has Cost US Taxpayers At Least $22.76 Billion in One Year Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University reports: U.S. spending on Israel’s military operations and related U.S operations in the region total at least $22.76 billion and counting. This estimate is conservative; while it includes approved security assistance funding since October 7, 2023, supplemental funding for regional operations, and an estimated additional cost of operations, it does not include any other economic costs. This figure includes the $17.9 billion the U.S. government has approved in security assistance for Israeli military operations in Gaza and elsewhere since October 7 – substantially more than in any other year since the U.S. began granting military aid to Israel in 1959. Yet the report describes how this is only a partial amount of the U.S. financial support provided during this war. Related U.S. military operations in the broader region since October 7 are part of the fuller picture. In particular, the U.S. Navy has significantly scaled up its defensive and offensive operations against Houthi militants in Yemen, which the Houthis claim is related to Israel’s war in Gaza. Hostilities have escalated to become the most sustained military campaign by U.S. forces since the 2016-2019 air war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. U.S. operations in the region, including in Yemen, have already cost the U.S. government $4.86 billion (included in the overall figure, above, of $22.76 billion). (Access the full report here.) NOTE: US voters strongly favor ceasefire and de-escalation. This military spending goes against the will and priorities of Americans. Nearly all the publicly available information on U.S. arms transfers to Israel comes from leaks reported by the media. The Biden administration says very little about the weapons it delivers to Israel or how the Israeli military uses them. Nearly all the publicly available information on U.S. arms transfers to Israel comes from leaks reported by the media. The Biden administration says very little about the weapons it delivers to Israel or how the Israeli military uses them. (photo) Report: US Considers Launching Airstrikes Against Iran To Support Israeli Attack NBC News reports: American military officials have discussed possibly supporting Israeli retaliation with intelligence or airstrikes of their own, according to two U.S. officials. The U.S. has long supported Israel with intelligence and that support could continue during Israel’s retaliatory strikes against Iran, the two officials said. NOTE: Characterizing Israel’s strikes against Iran as “retaliatory” de-contextualizes the conflict, which began when Israel attacked the Iranian consulate in Syria on April 1, then killed Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran on July 31; Israel also assassinated Hezbollah leader Nasrallah on September 27th. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi correctly declared that Iran’s missile attack was an act of “self-defense” that only targeted military and security sites used for attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. He pointed out that Iran’s measured attack came “after exercising tremendous restraint for almost two months [after the attack inside Iran], to give space for a ceasefire in Gaza.” The foreign minister added that Iran’s action was “concluded” unless Israel “decides to invite further retaliation” – words that indicate that Western leaders who want an end to the conflict ought to counsel Israel to let the matter drop. NBC continues: Senior U.S. military officials have also discussed conducting very limited strikes against Iranian targets, the two officials said. Strikes inside Iran have been discussed, as have strikes on targets outside Iran, though strikes of any kind are less likely than intelligence sharing, the officials said. The U.S. could target Iranian assets at sea, the officials said, or try to disrupt Iran’s military assistance to proxies in the region by hitting Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps sites that support militia groups in Yemen or Syria. A U.S. strike on an Iranian target could be considered defensive if it eliminates a possible threat to the U.S. or allies, like previous American strikes on Iran-linked targets inside Yemen, Iraq, and Syria. NOTE: Iran has already declared that Israel’s allies ought to “part ways with the [Israeli] regime,” suggesting that an attack on Iran by the US would not go unanswered – that is, while some players might consider a US strike on Iran to be “defensive,” Iran would not. ALSO NOTE: The US has offered Israel a “compensation package” if it avoids hitting certain targets in its planned attack on Iran, The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday, citing the Israeli TV channel Kan 11. USS Abraham Lincoln USS Abraham Lincoln, currently stationed in the Middle East (Wikimedia Commons) The Guardian: Rashid Khalidi, America’s foremost scholar of Palestine, is retiring: ‘I don’t want to be a cog in the machine any more’ The Cradle: Israel looking at $66bn war bill as economic woes deepen Anadolu Agency: UN official warns about ‘use of reproductive violence in unfolding genocide in Gaza’ Jonathan Cook: Why is the ‘liberal’ media peddling the vilest genocide apologism? Sky News investigation: ‘Undeniable’ – Probe Confirms Israeli Army Presence when Hind Rajab was Killed in Gaza STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – OCTOBER 8, 2024: Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – October 8, 2024: at least 42,753* ( 42,010 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 743 in the West Bank (~160 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 – October 8, 2024: at least 103,920 (including at least 97,720 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 8, 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 2,119 and 10,019 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 https://israelpalestinenews.org/northern-gaza-killing-field-day-367/

Palestinian pain and outrage are being ignored, but will not be erased – Day 366 [email protected] October 8, 2024 biden biography, genocide, Iran, iran earthquake, northern Gaza, palestinian diaspora, pope francis, south africa, West Bank Palestinian families arrive in Gaza City after evacuating their homes in the Jabalia area after the Israeli army ordered people to evacuate the area north of Gaza, on October 6, 2024. (OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images) Compilation of news reports – IAK staff On the first anniversary of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army continued its deadly strikes on Monday, killing 42 Palestinians across the devastated enclave. The health ministry in Lebanon said that Israeli airstrikes killed 22 people and injured 110 others in southern Lebanon on Sunday. During a lull in Israeli air strikes, a Palestinian child can be seen eating bread in Gaza City on 7 April 2024 During a lull in Israeli air strikes, a Palestinian child can be seen eating bread in Gaza City on 7 April 2024 (MEE/Mohammed al-Hajjar) On October 7th, top US politicians focus on crime against Israel, barely nod to Palestinian pain, ignore US complicity President Biden: On this day last year, the sun rose on what was supposed to be a joyous Jewish holiday. By sunset, October 7 had become the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust…We will not stop working to achieve a ceasefire deal in Gaza that brings the hostages home, allows for a surge in humanitarian aid to ease the suffering on the ground, assures Israel’s security, and ends this war. VP Kamala Harris: We must uphold the commitment to repair the world, an idea that has been passed on throughout generations of the Jewish people and across many faiths. And to that end, we must work to relieve the immense suffering of innocent Palestinians in Gaza who have experienced so much pain and loss over the year. Former U.S. President Donald Trump commemorated the one-year anniversary of the October 7 attack by lighting a memorial candle at his resort in Florida. In his comments, he said, “I will not allow the Jewish state to be threatened with destruction, I will not allow another Holocaust of the Jewish people, I will not allow a jihad to be waged on America or its allies, and I will support Israel’s right to win its war on terror.” Trump also spoke about antisemitism, claiming it is only a problem within the Democratic Party: “The Republican Party has not been infected by this horrible disease, and hopefully it won’t be. It won’t be as long I’m in charge.” The armed wing of the Palestinian Hamas resistance group on Monday added historical context when it said the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on Oct. 7 last year “was preemptive as the (Israeli) occupation aggression reached a dangerous level.” The spokesperson added, “A year has passed and we are still fighting in an asymmetrical battle a criminal enemy that doesn’t hesitate to commit all crimes.” A Palestinian boy sits atop the rubble of a destroyed building in the Jabalia refugee camp on 30 May 2024 A Palestinian boy sits atop the rubble of a destroyed building in the Jabalia refugee camp on 30 May 2024 (MEE/Enas Rami) Israel has killed 146 doctors in Gaza: Ministry Anadolu Agency reports: Israel has killed 146 doctors from various specialties in Gaza, while most medicines and medical supplies have been depleted amid the Israeli military’s genocide in the enclave, the Gaza Health Ministry announced Sunday. In a statement marking one year since the start of the Israeli genocide, the ministry said that 83% of medical supplies and 60% of medications are unavailable in hospitals and health centers. The ministry also noted that there are 25,000 patients and injured people in need of treatment outside the besieged territory. A few of the many children wounded by shrapnel – some also severely burned – in the course of Israel's now nine-month-long attack on Gaza. The weapons create small pieces of shrapnel that leave barely discernible entry wounds but create extensive destruction inside the body. A few of the many children wounded by shrapnel – some also severely burned – in the course of Israel’s now nine-month-long attack on Gaza. The weapons create small pieces of shrapnel that leave barely discernible entry wounds but create extensive destruction inside the body. (collage) Israeli Army Reservist Shown Reading Talmud Passage to Cuffed Palestinians in Viral Video – is this even legal? Ha’aretz reports: A video circulated on social media shows an IDF reservist soldier reading a passage from the Talmud to three cuffed Palestinians in the West Bank. In the footage, which was filmed in recent weeks, the soldier is seen reciting the passage while the three Palestinians lie on the ground, blindfolded. Another soldier, who filmed the incident, can be heard laughing and encouraging the reservist. The social media post has been removed. In response, the IDF announced that both soldiers involved have been suspended from their duties and will face disciplinary action. The Israeli army added, “The soldier’s behavior in the video is serious and does not align with the values of the IDF or the standards expected of its soldiers.” Something is happening in northern Gaza – who is telling the truth? Various agencies report: The Jerusalem Post reports: The IDF has expanded the humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi in northern Gaza [to accommodate Palestinians it has expelled from Jabaliya and other locations in the north], it announced Sunday morning. This expansion included field hospitals established since the outbreak of the war, tent compounds, and supplies of food, water, and medicine. Local Palestinians in Jabaliya report that there is nowhere to receive healthcare, nowhere to live, as buildings have been turned to rubble, As has been reported for 12 months, Israel has destroyed hospitals, schools and residential areas According to Refugees International: In some areas of Gaza, prolonged food scarcity has driven families to desperate measures. Lacking access to food for extended periods, some Gaza residents told Refugees International that they resorted to consuming whatever was available, including non-food items. A resident from northern Gaza reported that his family went without food for 17 days during the early months of the war, with the scarcity lasting nearly four months. To survive, the family ate animal feed, local weeds, and tree leaves. He recounted, “For four months, the north had no food supplies, and people ate tree leaves.” One UN official told Refugees International that Gaza was “always two weeks away from a famine” due to the IDF’s refusal to normalize free-flowing aid. UN health officials have reported a significant surge in documented malnutrition cases, with a 170 percent increase across Gaza and a staggering 300 percent rise in the northern region. Far from providing food, water, and medicine to the people of Gaza, Israel is preventing it – and has been for the last year. From Anas Alsharif, journalist for Al Jazeera Arabic: “The Israeli occupation forces are committing a series of massacres against civilians in Jabalia camp and Jabalia al-Balad city, where the bodies of martyrs and wounded are spread in the streets, while ambulance and emergency teams are unable to evacuate them due to repeated targeting by drones.” Here the charred hulk of an Unrwa clinic in the Jabalia refugee camp can be seen after it was torched by Israeli forces before they left on 30 May 2024 Here the charred hulk of an UNRWA medical clinic in the Jabalia refugee camp can be seen after it was torched by Israeli forces before they left on 30 May 2024 (MEE/Enas Rami) Israel’s year of war on the West Bank Mondoweiss reports: For a year now in the West Bank, Israel has launched a war against Palestinians. While the genocidal assault on Gaza has claimed the lives of tens of thousands, and according to some estimates, hundreds of thousands, the onslaught in the West Bank has ramped up in the form of displacement, the unprecedented expansion of settlements, rampant settler violence and pogroms, economic warfare, mass incarceration, and the launching of a military offensive on centers of resistance across the West Bank. As of this writing, Israeli forces and settlers have killed 743 Palestinians, wounded 5,250, and displaced 5,947. But underlying these numbers is a far deeper reality of Israeli settler encroachment and creeping annexation in the West Bank. The Israeli offensive in the West Bank is nothing random, nor is it detached from Israel’s policies in Gaza. It follows a strategy in line with Israel’s stated plans to annex the West Bank and undermine any possibilities for a future Palestinian state. Although these Israeli policies have been employed by Israel for decades of occupation in the West Bank, observers argue that Israel’s strategy in the West Bank after October 7 has aimed to create a new political reality, heading towards achieving definitive Israeli control over the West Bank. (Read the full article here.) Israeli forces intervene in the protest held by Palestinians against illegal Israeli settlers who set up encampments at Umm Safa village, north of Ramallah, West Bank on September 14, 2024. [ Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency] Israeli forces intervene in the protest held by Palestinians against illegal Israeli settlers who set up encampments at Umm Safa village, north of Ramallah, West Bank on September 14, 2024. (Issam Rimawi – Anadolu Agency]) “It’s like being in an abusive relationship with the world”: Palestinians in the diaspora grapple with collective grief Middle East Eye reports: “We have no map to understand the depth, the breadth, the transgenerational component to it, the multi-generational component to it, the persistence of it, and the impact that it’s going to have on our current generation and generations to follow,” psychiatry professor at the University of California San Francisco, Jess Ghannam told viewers of an online webcast, just weeks into the war. “In the Palestinian context, there is no ‘post’ in post-traumatic stress disorder,” Ghannam said. Aside from the week-long ceasefire and prisoner swap in November, there has not been a day in the last 365, when air strikes, sniper fire or the threat of famine and disease have not targeted Palestinians in Gaza. “I’m watching this happen to my people. And I’m looking at these faces, and they look like me, and they sound like me, and they speak like me, and they have the same names as us, and they eat the same foods as us,” Safa Soueissi, a Palestinian American in Tulsa, Oklahoma, told Middle East Eye. “So if my children were on the street and they were hit by a car and they were bleeding out on the streets, nobody’s gonna care, because they’re Palestinian children?” “I’ve never personally experienced this amount of grief in my life,” Nada al-Hanooti, a Palestinian American from Dearborn, Michigan, said in January. “It’s like being in an abusive relationship with the world. So it also makes me kind of go crazy with rage.” (Read the full article here.) Rashida Tlaib, speaking before the House on June 27: "It’s disgusting that my colleagues would support legislation to prohibit U.S. officials from even citing the Palestinian death toll. They want to erase the Palestinians who are living, and now they are trying to erase the Palestinians who are dead. This is genocide denial." Rashida Tlaib, speaking before the House on June 27: “It’s disgusting that my colleagues would support legislation to prohibit U.S. officials from even citing the Palestinian death toll. They want to erase the Palestinians who are living, and now they are trying to erase the Palestinians who are dead. This is genocide denial.” (screenshots) Israeli forces beat renowned Palestinian activist to death, kill a 12-year-old child Various agencies report: Middle East Eye: Israeli forces on Monday beat to death a renowned 66-year-old Palestinian activist after raiding his home in the occupied West Bank. Ziad Abu Helaiel was a popular tribal figure in the West Bank, famous for peacefully confronting Israeli soldiers during demonstrations and standing between them and protesters. Abu Helaiel’s son, Murad, told AFP that around 3am on Monday, a group of Israeli forces stormed their home in Dura, south of Hebron, trying to arrest one of their relatives. “My father tried to stop them, so they struck him twice on the chest, then pushed him, causing his chest to collide with the door, which led to his martyrdom,” Murad said. The soldiers then withdrew from the house, leaving Abu Helaiel unconscious on the floor. The activist was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. IMEMC: On Monday, Israeli soldiers invaded the Qalandia refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem, in the West Bank, fatally shot a Palestinian child in the abdomen, shot seven other Palestinians, including three children, and abducted twenty citizens. In a statement, the Palestinian Health Ministry has confirmed that the soldiers killed a child, identified as Hatem Sami Hisham Gheith, 12. Ziad Abu Helaiel (L) and Hatem Sami Hisham Gheith Ziad Abu Helaiel (L) and Hatem Sami Hisham Gheith (social media) South Africa to present new evidence of Israel’s genocide in Gaza to ICJ Middle East Monitor reports: South Africa intends to present new evidence in the genocide case filed against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), President Cyril Ramaphosa said Monday. In a statement on the first anniversary of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, Ramaphosa said the memorandum that his country will submit this month contains “detailed evidence” proving that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. He called on Israel to implement the provisional measures issued by the court in January, March and May. South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel before the World Court in December 2023 on the grounds that it violated the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention of Genocide. White House ‘continuing’ to advise Israel on response to Iranian attack Anadolu Agency reports: White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that the Biden administration is “continuing to have discussions with the Israelis about their response, obviously responding to Iran’s attack, almost 200 missiles right that went flying into Israel. Our commitment continues to be very clear on Israel’s security, and that’s ironclad.” US President Joe Biden suggested last week that Israel should not strike Iran’s oil or nuclear facilities. NOTE: The Israeli paper Jerusalem Post reported Sunday that the US has offered Israel a “compensation package” if it avoids hitting certain targets in its planned attack on Iran. The package would include military aid and a guarantee that the US would provide total diplomatic support. “Israeli officials reportedly answered, ‘We consider the United States and listen to them. But we will do anything and everything we can to protect the citizens and the security of the State of Israel.’” ALSO NOTE: Mainstream media and pro-Israel leaders ignore the context of Iran’s attack, framing it instead as somehow unprovoked. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, however, correctly declared that Iran’s missile attack was an act of “self-defense” that only targeted military and security sites used for attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. He pointed out that Iran’s measured attack came “after exercising tremendous restraint for almost two months, to give space for a ceasefire in Gaza.” The foreign minister added that Iran’s action was “concluded” unless Israel “decides to invite further retaliation” – words that indicate that Western leaders who want an end to the conflict ought to counsel Israel to let the matter drop. Israeli soldiers and a woman walk past a damaged vehicle in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack on Israel, on October 2, 2024 in Tel Aviv. Israeli soldiers and a woman walk past a damaged vehicle in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack on Israel, on October 2, 2024 in Tel Aviv. No major damage was reported. (JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images) Pope Francis slams world’s ‘shameful inability’ to stop Israel-Palestine war Reuters reports: Pope Francis criticized, on Monday, what he called the “shameful inability” of the international community to end the war in the Middle East, one year after Hamas’s devastating attack on Israel, Reuters reports. “It seems that few people care about what is most needed and what is most desired: dialogue and peace,” he wrote. “Violence never brings peace. History proves this, yet years and years of conflict seem to have taught us nothing.” Francis has recently become more vocal in his criticism of Israel’s military campaign. On 29 September, the 87-year-old Pontiff criticized Israeli air strikes in Lebanon that killed Hezbollah leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, as well as non-combatants, suggesting the air strikes went “beyond morality”. Earlier in September, the Pope called Israel’s actions in Lebanon “unacceptable” and urged the international community to do everything possible to halt the fighting. In his letter on Monday, Francis directly addressed Gazans: I am with you, the people of Gaza, long embattled and in dire straits. You are in my thoughts and prayers daily. I am with you, who have been forced to leave your homes, to abandon schooling and work and to find a place of refuge from the bombing. … I am with you, who are afraid to look up for fear of fire raining down from the skies. Earthquake in Iranian desert – could it be a covert nuclear weapons test? The Cradle reports: On 5 October 2024, a 4.5-magnitude seismic event occurred in Iran’s Semnan province, sparking speculation that Iran has tested a nuclear weapon for the first time. Such a seismic event is typically the result of an earthquake, but speculation has arisen on social media suggesting the event was instead an underground nuclear test carried out by the Islamic Republic in response to Israeli threats to bomb Tehran’s nuclear energy and oil facilities. The speculation that Iran carried out a nuclear test comes just days after the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank in the US, published a report stating that “Iran can produce nuclear weapons far more rapidly than expected.” Members of Israel’s home front inspect a crater created by an Iranian missile at a school in Gedera. Members of Israel’s home front inspect a crater created by an Iranian missile at a school in Gedera. (Menahem Kahana/AFP/Getty Images) ‘A f***ing liar’ and ‘a bad guy’: Quotes from new Bob Woodward book show Biden’s growing frustration with Benjamin Netanyahu CNN reports: CNN reported on quotes U.S. President Joe Biden said to and about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that appeared in a new book by veteran journalist Bob Woodward. According to the book, Biden said of Netanyahu privately earlier in the year: “That son of a bitch, Bibi Netanyahu, he’s a bad guy. He’s a bad fucking guy!” In another interaction, Biden asked Netnayhu: What’s your strategy, man?” in an April phone call. The Israeli prime minister answered, “We have to go into Rafah,” to which Biden responded, “Bibi, you’ve got no strategy.” “I know he’s going to do something, but the way I limit it is tell him to ‘do nothing,'” Biden told his advisers, according to Woodward, but his frustration with Netanyahu boiled over as the war continued to escalate. “He’s a fucking liar,” Biden said privately of Netanyahu, after Israel went into Rafah, Woodward writes. “Bibi, what the fuck?” Biden yelled at Netanyahu in July after an Israeli airstrike killed a top Hezbollah military commander and three civilians in Beirut, according to Woodward. “You know the perception of Israel around the world increasingly is that you’re a rogue state, a rogue actor,” Biden said to Netanyahu, who responded that the target was “one of the leading terrorists.” “We saw an opportunity and took it,” Netanyahu said. “The harder you hit, the more successful you’re going to be in the negotiation.” RECOMMENDED READING: Trump blasts Netanyahu: “F**k him”, he never wanted a deal US President Joe Biden responded to the ICC arrest warrant request for Israel's leaders by condemning it. US President Joe Biden responded to the ICC arrest warrant request for Israel’s leaders by condemning it. (photo) MORE NEWS: IMEMC Daily Reports. The Guardian (Peter Beinart): The mainstream media has failed us after 7 October Truthout: As a Rabbi, Taking Direct Action Against Genocide Is Part of My Sacred Practice Palestine Chronicle: One Year into Israel’s Genocide, Gaza Suffers Massive Environmental Damage STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – OCTOBER 7, 2024: Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – October 7, 2024: at least 42,708* ( 41,965 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 743 in the West Bank (~160 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 – October 7, 2024: at least 103,790 (including at least 97,590 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 7, 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 2,083 (at least 127 children, 194 women) and 9,869 injuries (690 of them children). 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) 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 https://israelpalestinenews.org/palestinian-pain-outrage-ignored-not-erased-day-366/

The beginnings of ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza, as Year Two of the revolution begins – Day 365 [email protected] October 7, 2024 apartheid, beersheba, desmond tutu, ethnic cleansing, evacuation, generals plan, hassan hamad, Iran, iron dome, population transfer, religious freedom, self immolation, Syria, West Bank “If you look at Gaza really through the eyes of a child, it is a hellscape,” UNICEF’s executive director Catherine Russell told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, noting the toll of family deaths and displacements, as well as ongoing lack of food and clean water. “They are so traumatized by what’s happening,” Russell said of the kids. “Even if we can get more supplies in there, the trauma that these children are suffering is going to have lifetime and even post-generational challenges for them.” (Dawoud Abo Alkas – Anadolu Agency) Compilation of news reports – IAK staff LATEST STATISTICS: The Palestinian Health Ministry announced that 68 people have been killed in Gaza in a series of deadly attacks on Sunday The Government Media Office in Gaza said that Israeli forces have committed 3,654 massacres in the Gaza Strip since 7 October. Israeli strikes across Lebanon Saturday killed 23 people and injured 93 others, the country’s health ministry said on Sunday. Around 40 per cent of Lebanon’s 1.25 million schoolchildren have been displaced by ongoing Israeli airstrikes, according to Imad Achkar, the director general of education. FLASHBACK 2023: Day 1 If Americans Knew reported: (October 7th, 2023) Palestinian resistance launches surprise attack on Israel After decades of Israeli occupation and human rights abuses, and after a 20-month-long mass nonviolent effort, Palestinians in Gaza launched a surprise operation against Israel on early Saturday morning, October 7th. Its scale is unprecedented, involving aerial, sea and ground operations. Details are only beginning to emerge. Israel immediately began bombing Gaza and has turned off electricity to the enclave, leaving most of its two million inhabitants in the dark and hospitals dangerously impacted. There are now 200 Israelis dead, 9000 injured, and an unknown number captured; and 232 Palestinians dead and 1,600 injured. Israeli forces, partly funded by the $13 million dollars per day that U.S. politicians have voted for them, are one of the world’s most powerful militaries, their weaponry vastly dwarfing Palestinians’. Today’s Palestinian land incursions largely consisted of individuals riding motorcycles and pickup trucks. WHY DID THEY DO IT? Hamas spokesperson Khaled Qadomi told Al Jazeera that the group’s military operation is in “response to all the atrocities the Palestinians have faced over the decades,” and the Hamas deputy chief said the group is engaged “in a battle for freedom.” Hamas military chief Muhammad Deif explained: “We have decided to put an end to all of the occupation’s crimes”; senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh indicated that recent provocations at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem were a major reason for the surprise attack. Other Israeli provocations include increased violence against Palestinians by illegal Israeli settlers, Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners, and a spike in killings of Palestinians by the Israeli military. 2023 was the deadliest year on record for Palestinians in the West Bank, including for children. Hamas fighters broke down the barrier wall that imprisons Gaza and entered several Israeli communities near the border. They took over 200 prisoners, which they hope to exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and also captured a number of Israeli military vehicles. After being surprised by the scope of the Palestinian offensive, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced, “Citizens of Israel, we are at war [and will] fight back on a scale and intensity that the enemy has so far not experienced. The enemy will pay an unprecedented price.” In Gaza, Israeli warplanes reportedly destroyed a 5-story residential building, hit a hospital, and targeted an ambulance. Some media outlets refer to the Palestinian resistance fighters as “terrorists” – but under international law, armed resistance is the right of occupied people. Israel's war has left the Gaza Strip in ruins and killed over 40,000 Palestinians, including 16,000 children. Israel’s war has left the Gaza Strip in ruins and killed over 40,000 Palestinians, including 16,000 children. (Getty) Israeli troops bombard, besiege northern Gaza as ethnic cleansing unfolds AntiWar reports: The Israeli military has launched a fresh assault on northern Gaza and ordered all Palestinian civilians living in the north to head south, signaling Israel may be enacting an ethnic cleansing plan that has been reviewed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Known as the “general’s plan” since it was drawn up by retired IDF generals, the plan would result in the complete ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from areas in Gaza north of the Netzarim Corridor, a strip of land controlled by the Israeli military that separates Gaza City and other parts of the north from the south. Itsik Zuaret, a reporter for Israel’s public broadcaster Kan, said the general’s plan was underway. “In the future, the entire northern area of ​​the Gaza Strip will be cleansed according to the general’s plan,” he wrote on X. The first step of the plan is to transfer the estimated 300,000 Palestinian civilians out of northern Gaza, then impose a full siege on the north to starve out remaining Hamas fighters and other Palestinians who remain. Northern Gaza would be declared a “closed military zone,” meaning anyone who remains will be targeted by the IDF. Palestinian leaders are encouraging residents of the north to stay, reminding them there is no safe place in Gaza. ANADOLU AGENCY ADDS: At least 30 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in Israeli airstrikes on northern Gaza early Sunday, marking the deadliest Israeli escalation since May. Palestinian medics reported that 30 bodies and several injured people were transported to hospitals in northern Gaza following Israeli airstrikes that struck Jabalia and Beit Lahia. NOTE: In 1948, Israel dispossessed 750,000 Palestinian people and exiled them permanently to Gaza and other locations in what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba (“catastrophe”). Many Palestinians see the current situation as another Nakba – already 75% of the population of Gaza has been internally displaced – and fear that they will never be allowed to return to their homes. Forced transfer of a people group is a crime against humanity. Palestinians, carrying what belongings they can, migrate toward areas they believe to be safer as the Israeli army intensifies its attacks in Jabalia, Gaza on October 6, 2024. Palestinians, carrying what belongings they can, migrate toward areas they believe to be safer as the Israeli army intensifies its attacks in Jabaliya, Gaza on October 6, 2024. (Hasan N. H. Alzaanin – Anadolu Agency]) Report: US To Give Israel ‘Compensation’ If It Hits Only US-Approved Targets in Iran AntiWar reports: The US has offered Israel a “compensation package” if it avoids hitting certain targets in its planned attack on Iran, The Jerusalem Post reported Sunday, citing the Israeli TV channel Kan 11. Amichai Stein, a correspondent for Kan 11, said the package would include military aid and a guarantee that the US would provide total diplomatic support. “An American official said, ‘If you don’t hit targets A, B, C, we will provide you with diplomatic protection and an arms package,” Chair said. “Israeli officials responded saying, ‘We consider the United States and listen to them. But we will do anything and everything we can to protect the citizens and the security of the State of Israel.’” The US is coordinating with Israel on its plans to respond to the Iranian missile barrage that hit Israel last week, which came in response to several Israeli escalations throughout the region, including the July 31 assassination of Hamas’s political chief, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran. The US has said it will ensure Iran faces “severe consequences” but has warned against certain types of attacks, including attacks on Iran’s civilian nuclear facilities. President Biden said the US and Israel were discussing the idea of strikes on Iranian oil sites, but later said if he was in Israel’s shoes, he would be thinking about “other alternatives than striking oil fields.” NOTE: Mainstream media and pro-Israel leaders ignore the context of Iran’s attack, framing it instead as somehow unprovoked. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, however, correctly declared that Iran’s missile attack was an act of “self-defense” that only targeted military and security sites used for attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. He pointed out that Iran’s measured attack came “after exercising tremendous restraint for almost two months, to give space for a ceasefire in Gaza.” The foreign minister added that Iran’s action was “concluded” unless Israel “decides to invite further retaliation” – words that indicate that Western leaders who want an end to the conflict ought to counsel Israel to let the matter drop. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Joe Biden meet in New York on Sept. 20. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Joe Biden meet in New York on Sept. 20, 2023 (photo) Report: Israel’s year-long attacks on religious freedom Anadolu Agency reports: Israel destroyed 611 mosques, eight cemeteries and three churches and caused the partial destruction of 214 mosques during its year-long aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip which began on 7 October 2023, the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments has said. In a report issued Sunday, the ministry pointed out that over the past year, Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank have stormed and desecrated Al-Aqsa Mosque 262 times, performing Jewish prayers in the Muslim holy site. According to the report, Israeli National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque along with ministers of his far-right government six times, and threatened to establish a Jewish synagogue on the site. Ben-Gvir has relentlessly worked to intensify the Jewish presence at the mosque through government support and by giving it a legal cover, it added. The report indicated that “extremist Jewish religious groups have attacked and spat on Christians and Christian pilgrims in the occupied city of Jerusalem, specifically around ​​the Church of the Prison of Christ, and restricted them during Christian holidays, and prevented them from reaching the Nativity Church in Bethlehem in southern occupied West Bank and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in East Jerusalem.” Gaza’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs also said that 19 of 60 cemeteries were targeted, with bodies exhumed and desecrated. The ministry also reported that 238 of its staff members were killed and 19 were detained by Israeli forces. Palestinians at the site of a mosque destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, near the Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, April 26, 2024. Palestinians at the site of a mosque destroyed in an Israeli airstrike, near the Shaboura refugee camp in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, April 26, 2024. (photo) Israel issues new evacuation orders for 26 towns in southern Lebanon Various agencies report: The Israeli army ordered civilians in 26 border towns in southern Lebanon on Sunday to evacuate immediately amid air and ground attacks on the country. Military spokesman Avichay Adraee asked the Lebanese residents to leave their homes and move north of the Awali River. A key ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed the creation of an “empty” buffer zone in southern Lebanon. Writing in Israel Hayom, an outlet traditionally supportive of Netanyahu, former national security advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat said that emptying the border area in Lebanon of people would be one way to ensure that residents in northern Israel can return home without facing attacks. “The advantage of this alternative is the relatively low costs of enforcement and the fact that it can be made possible on a routine basis without serious dilemmas,” he wrote. “Another advantage of it is in the message it conveys: that terrorism against Israel causes a loss of territory.” NOTE: Forced transfer of a people group is a crime against humanity. Dozens of families were seen leaving the border village of Wazzani in southern Lebanon, after the Israeli army dropped leaflets ordering the evacuation of the village, September Dozens of families were seen leaving the border village of Wazzani in southern Lebanon, after the Israeli army dropped leaflets ordering the evacuation of the village, September (Ramiz Dallah/Anadolu]) Palestinian journalist killed in Israeli bombing after threats against his life Middle East Eye reports: Israeli forces killed a Palestinian journalist on Sunday, weeks after he received threatening messages instructing him to stop filming Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. Hassan Hamad, 19, died when his home in Jabalia refugee camp was struck by artillery fire. Hamad was reporting on the new Israeli incursion just moments before he was killed. A colleague with access to his account on X said that Hamad had been sending videos about the assault late into the night. During their last phone call at 6am (3am GMT), Hamad said: “There they are. There they are. It’s over.” A few months before his killing, Hamad shared a screenshot with his colleagues of a threatening WhatsApp message he received from an Israeli number. The message read: “Listen… If you continue spreading lies about Israel, we’ll come for you next and turn your family into… This is your last warning.” RECOMMENDED READING: Israel has killed more journalists in Gaza than in any conflict in 30 years Lebanon calls for international pressure to end brutal Israeli attacks on medics, hospitals Anadolu Agency reports: Lebanese authorities called on Sunday for piling pressure on Israel to halt its attacks against the health sector in Lebanon amid air and ground attacks on the country. In a statement, the Lebanese Order of Nurses (ONS) accused Israel of deliberately targeting hospitals, doctors, nurses, and paramedics “in a blatant defiance of international laws and conventions,” and called on international groups to pressure Israel to cease. Israel has launched massive airstrikes on Lebanon against what it calls Hezbollah targets, killing more than 2,011 victims since Sept. 23, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. At least 97 medical and emergency personnel have been killed and more than 10 hospitals damaged in the attacks. RELATED: Israeli airstrikes targeted areas in a southern suburb of Beirut on Sunday following Israeli army warnings to evacuate two areas. Israeli aircraft carried out strikes on three different locations in the southern suburbs of Beirut, an Anadolu correspondent said. RELATED: Israel has killed more than 100 children in Lebanon over the past 11 days, while 690 others have been wounded during the last six weeks of the Israeli onslaught, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced. RELATED: The Syndicate of Chemists in Lebanon (SCL) has warned that the extent of destruction and the depth of damage to buildings and the ground confirms the use of internationally banned bombs containing depleted uranium by Israeli forces, warning of the risk of contracting many diseases as a result of inhaling the dust caused by the bombing. Israeli air strikes on Beirut on Sunday were the heaviest yet Israeli air strikes on Beirut on Sunday were the heaviest yet (Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu via Getty) On 1st anniversary of Oct. 7, Israel imposing complete lockdown on West Bank Anadolu Agency reports: Israel has announced a complete lockdown on the occupied West Bank for Monday, marking the first anniversary of the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023 and the start of Israel’s offensive on Gaza. The official broadcasting authority reported Sunday that Israeli authorities have decided to enforce a full security perimeter around the West Bank, closing the crossings that connect it to Israel and preventing the entry of Palestinian workers. In the occupied West Bank, at least 742 Palestinians, including children, have since been killed, nearly 6,200 others injured, and more than 10,900 arrested, according to Palestinian figures. Israeli forces raid Jenin refugee camp in Jenin, West Bank, on November 29, 2023 Israeli forces raid Jenin refugee camp in Jenin, West Bank, on November 29, 2023 (photo) Man attempts self-immolation at pro-Palestine protest near White House Anadolu Agency reports: A man attempted to self-immolate Saturday during a pro-Palestine protest near the White House, according to footage on social media. The man, who claimed to be a journalist, was seen in the video with burns to his left arm as those around him poured water on it. He raised his left arm high with flames engulfing it. The man is heard screaming that he is a journalist. “We spread the misinformation,” he screams at one point. “I’m a journalist and I said it was okay.” Police detained the man and established a perimeter around the area; one report said he was transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Witnesses said the man is a CBS-affiliated journalist and he was accusing the network of “spreading misinformation.” Four people so far have staged self-immolations in the US to protest Washington’s support of the war in the Gaza Strip. RECOMMENDED READING: Ignoring Immolators Lulls the Society to Sleep: Aaron Bushnell at the Israeli Embassy: “FREE PALESTINE!” A man attempted to self-immolate Saturday during a pro-Palestine protest near the White House, according to footage on social media. A man attempted to self-immolate Saturday during a pro-Palestine protest near the White House, according to footage on social media. (social media) Remembering Archbishop Desmond Tutu, defender of Palestine Middle East Monitor looks back: When the world lost Archbishop Desmond Tutu on 26 December 2021, it lost more than just a Nobel Peace Prize laureate or the former Archbishop of Cape Town. It lost a moral compass, a voice that refused to be silenced in the face of injustice, whether in the townships of South Africa or Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. Tutu displayed a rare foresight that was lacking in most public figures. As early as 2002, in an article for the Guardian titled ‘Apartheid in the Holy Land’ he described Israel as an apartheid state, a stance taken at a time when such comparisons were still relatively rare. The former US President Jimmy Carter was the only other global figure to describe Israel as such in a 2006 book titled ‘Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid’. Many have followed since, and over the past few years, a wall-to-wall consensus has formed within the international human rights community about Israel’s practice of apartheid. Talking to South African media, Tutu would say: “I have witnessed the systemic humiliation of Palestinian men, women and children by members of the Israeli security forces. Their humiliation is familiar to all black South Africans who were corralled and harassed and insulted and assaulted by the security forces of the apartheid government.” Often he’d describe the racism perpetrated by Israel as being worse than the racism in South Africa. “In many instances [Israeli apartheid] is worse” than South Africa under white minority rule, said Tutu in a 2012 interview with David Frost. Tutu’s journey to becoming a leading voice for Palestine began in the townships of South Africa, where he witnessed the daily indignities and injustices of apartheid. As Tutu rose to prominence in the Anglican Church and the anti-apartheid movement, he developed a theology that emphasised what he would describe as God’s concern for justice and human dignity. “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor,” Tutu would say. “If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” In this 2012 interview with Sir David Frost he talks about how Israel’s occupation of the West Bank is ‘in many ways worse than apartheid in South Africa’: NOTE: Multiple human rights organizations have documented and reported on Israeli apartheid, including: Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Israeli human rights groups B’Tselem, and Yesh Din , the UN Special Rapporteur on Palestine, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), and Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic. Iranian missiles ‘overwhelmed’ Israel’s air defenses: Wall St. Journal The Cradle reports: Satellite imagery shows that Iran’s barrage of ballistic missiles earlier this week was successful in overwhelming Israel’s air defenses, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on 6 October. The Iranian attack on Israel demonstrated Iran’s advanced missile capabilities and caused major damage to three Israeli airbases, where as many as 32 of the roughly 180 Iranian missiles (18 percent) successfully hit within the bases’ perimeters, according to experts. WSJ concluded that future Iranian strikes “could have much more serious consequences if they target civilian infrastructure or heavily populated residential areas.” Iran fired the ballistic missiles at Israel on 1 October in response to a series of aggressions committed by Israel, including the assassination of high-level Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. The Iranian armed forces’ general staff has promised that, if Israel retaliates, Iran will answer with “widespread and comprehensive destruction” of infrastructure within Israel. Many rockets, fired from Iran, are seen over Jerusalem from Hebron, West Bank on October 01, 2024 [Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency] Many rockets, fired from Iran, are seen over Jerusalem from Hebron, West Bank on October 01, 2024 (Wisam Hashlamoun – Anadolu Agency) Israeli Airstrikes Target Aid Trucks in Central Syria AntiWar reports: Israeli attacks against Syria continued apace over the weekend, with strikes reported against humanitarian aid trucks in the Homs Province of Central Syria. The trucks were carrying food and blankets, along with medical aid, from the Iraqi Red Crescent for those fleeing Israel’s attacks in Lebanon. Details are still emerging. The attacks reportedly took place in an industrial area, near a car factory. Three members of the relief teams sent from Iraq were reported wounded in the strikes, and their condition is not at present clear. Israel has reportedly been attacking Syria almost daily since its ground invasion of Lebanon started. Shooting operation kills one Israeli officer, injures several in Beersheba The Cradle reports: One female Israeli officer was killed and ten people wounded, two of them critically, in a shooting operation at the central bus station in the city of Beersheba in southern Israel, Israeli media reported on 6 October. The attacker was identified as Ahmed Saeed al-Uqbi, an Israeli citizen and resident of Hura, a Bedouin village in the Negev Desert. Uqbi, who wore a bulletproof vest and was armed with a gun and a knife, opened fire at Beersheba’s central bus station, authorities reported, before being shot and killed by police. RECOMMENDED READING: Cleansing the Negev: Israel plans to evict “tens of thousands” of Palestinian Bedouin MORE NEWS: Middle East Monitor: Israel settlers publish children’s book claiming ‘Lebanon is ours’ The Guardian: Disabled Palestinians are facing horrors piled upon horrors. I think of their suffering every day. Anadolu Agency: 1 year of Gaza genocide: ‘Element of decay’ and signs of strain in Israeli society Axios: Harris won’t say whether the U.S. has “a real close ally” in Netanyahu Truthout: View From Gaza: This War Has Broken Me in Ways I Didn’t Think Possible Middle East Eye: How the US revived ‘war on terror’ era surveillance to suppress pro-Palestine movement STATISTICS OCTOBER 7, 2023 – OCTOBER 6, 2024: Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – October 6, 2024: at least 42,650* ( 41,909 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 741 in the West Bank (~160 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 – October 6, 2024: at least 103,503 (including at least 97,303 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 6, 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 2,011 (at least 127 children, 194 women) and 9,535 injuries (690 of them children). 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) 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. 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🎥 Tens of thousands of protesters marched from Times Square to Washington Square Park on Saturday, marking one year since the onset of Israel’s war on Gaza. Demonstrators called for an arms embargo, a ceasefire, the lifting of the siege on Gaza, and the full liberation of Palestine.