• ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 171: ‘Horrific’ eyewitness accounts continue to emerge from Israel’s siege on Gaza’s hospitals
    Leila WarahMarch 25, 2024
    Injured Palestinians, including children, are brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir El-Balah for treatment following the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, on March 23, 2024. (Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images)
    Injured Palestinians, including children, are brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir El-Balah for treatment following the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, on March 23, 2024. (Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images)
    Casualties

    32,333 + killed* and at least 74,694 wounded in the Gaza Strip.
    435+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.**
    Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147.
    594 Israeli soldiers killed since October 7, and at least 3,221 injured.***
    *Gaza’s Ministry of Health confirmed this figure on its Telegram channel. Some rights groups estimate the death toll to be much higher when accounting for those presumed dead.

    ** The death toll in the West Bank and Jerusalem is not updated regularly. According to the PA’s Ministry of Health on March 17, this is the latest figure.

    *** This figure is released by the Israeli military, showing the soldiers whose names “were allowed to be published.”

    Key Developments

    UNRWA: Israel says no more UNRWA food convoys to north Gaza.
    UNRWA chief: Israeli decision to deny all UNRWA food convoys to northern Gaza is “obstruct[ing] lifesaving assistance during a man-made famine.”
    Doctors Without Borders “deeply concerned” after medical staff arrested at al-Shifa Hospital amid “heavy air strikes by Israeli forces and fierce fighting” nearby.
    Tanks crushed bodies, ambulances at al-Shifa Hospital, reports AP News, citing witnesses.
    Footage emerges of Israeli soldiers assaulting Palestinian boy
    Casualties in Israeli attack on aid distributors at Kuwaiti roundabout in Gaza City, reports Al Jazeera.
    Israeli forces raid Al Aqsa mosque during nightly prayers, assault and expel worshipers, reports Al Jazeera journalist.
    WHO Chief: Israel must reverse decision on blocking north Gaza aid.
    Israeli war cabinet minister threatens to quit if bill exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from conscription passes
    UNRWA: U.S. funding cut will ‘compromise access to food’ in Gaza.
    UN special rapporteurs decry underreporting of sexual violence against Palestinians.
    Israel blocks access to Jerusalem for West Bank Christians on Palm Sunday, reports Wafa.
    PRCS says it has lost radio contact with staff at al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis.
    Euro-Med: Israel’s attacks on academics in line with Gaza ‘genocide’
    WAFA correspondent killed along with son Israeli airstrike on Gaza
    MAP report: Doctor says conditions inside European Gaza Hospital ‘unimaginable’
    Gaza: Three Hospitals under military siege

    The Israeli military has imposed ongoing sieges on at least three medical facilities in the besieged enclave, terrorizing, injuring, and killing thousands of civilians in the process.

    Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza has entered its seventh day under siege, and the civilians able to flee are reporting ruthless massacres in and around the medical complex.

    A teenage Palestinian boy, Farouk Mohammed Hamd, told Al Jazeera he witnessed Israeli soldiers executing a group of eight people, including his father and brother, inside al-Shifa Hospital.

    He said he and the others were stripped of their clothing and moved several times inside the al-Shifa Hospital building in central Gaza over the course of hours before being taken to the top floor of the facility.

    “They left us for about three hours, then said, ‘You are safe. You can go south.”

    “We stood up, but then they opened fire. We all laid down on the floor again. Then, the snipers entertained themselves by shooting us one after the other.”

    Hamad said his father told him before being killed to run away if he could, and he managed to run, but not before seeing the unresponsive bodies of the executed group.

    On Sunday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said its staff have reported “heavy air strikes by Israeli forces and fierce fighting” in the vicinity of al-Shifa hospital, “endangering patients, medical staff and people trapped inside with very few supplies.”

    Jameel al-Ayoubi, one of the thousands of Palestinians sheltering at the hospital, saw Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers drive over at least four bodies in the hospital courtyard, AP News reports. Ambulances were also crushed, he says.

    Kareem Ayman Hathat, who lived in a five-story building about 100 meters (328 feet) from the hospital, told AP he hid in his kitchen for days waiting as explosions shook the building.

    “From time to time, the tank would fire a shell,” he said. “It was to terrorise us.”

    MSF added that Israeli forces have carried out a mass-arrest campaign of medical staff and other people and that the organization is “deeply concerned” for the safety of those detained.

    Meanwhile, another two hospitals in Khan Younis have been under Israeli military siege for the last 24 hours: al-Amal and Nasser hospitals, reports Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud from Gaza.

    “Military vehicles, tanks and attack drones are encircling these two facilities. They’re also blocking the entrance with piles of sand, preventing medical staff, patients and injured people inside from leaving safely and constantly failing to provide a safe corridor for people and evacuees trapped inside the hospital,” Mahmoud said.

    Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) gave their latest update on the situation in al Amal hospital on Sunday afternoon, saying Israeli tanks and armored vehicles have completely surrounded all entrances to the hospital and control any movement in and out.

    Israeli forces attacked the hospital earlier on Sunday, surrounding it with tanks and forcing nearly everyone inside, from patients to displaced Palestinians sheltering there, to evacuate.

    “What we’re getting confirmed from al-Amal Hospital is that not only has it been under constant bombing and tank shells, but loudspeakers are ordering people inside the hospital to come out only with their underwear on. And that has been confirmed by multiple sources and witnesses on the ground, those who managed to flee the harrowing situation,” Mahmoud added.

    On Sunday evening, the PRCS announced that they lost radio contact with their staff at the hospital.

    While all displaced Palestinians and patients who could move independently were evacuated towards the al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, hospital staff remain, along with nine patients and their ten companions and a displaced family with children who have disabilities. PCRS says all of them need to be safely evacuated.

    PRCS added that staff member Amir Abu Aisha and a wounded individual who was being treated at the hospital after being shot in the head by the Israeli military were both killed, and their bodies need to be removed.

    In a statement, Hamas said the Israeli military is systematically targeting hospitals across Gaza with the goal of displacing all Palestinians from their lands, showing Israel wants to continue its “war of extermination” against Palestinians and forcibly displace them from their land “by destroying all means of life in the Gaza Strip, especially hospitals,” reported Al Jazeera.

    Underreporting of sexual violence against Palestinians

    Witnesses at al-Shifa hospital have reported that “Palestinian women have been subjected to rape, torture, and execution by Israeli forces.”

    Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, said in a post on X that it is “abhorrent” that reports of rape by Israeli forces keep coming out without any consequences.

    “Rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity or a constitutive act with respect to genocide! It must stop!”

    Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, similarly said, “I lost count of how many renowned journalists interviewed me on the alleged mistreatment of/sexual abuse against Palestinian women by Israeli forces, and never published any article on this.”

    “What we can see on the ground is a systematic creation of a corrosive environment in which Israel, with its destruction of neighborhoods and hospitals, is making Gaza unliveable for the majority of Palestinians,” said Al Jazeera co-respondent, Tareq Abu Azzoum from Gaza while reporting on the besieged hospitals.

    “Horrific scenes” at European Hospital

    Meanwhile, at Gaza’s European Hospital near Khan Younis, one of the last functioning medical facilities, medical staff report “horrific scenes” at the hospital with patients “dying from infections with evidence of serious malnutrition,” reported Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP).

    Husam Basheer, an orthopedic surgeon working at the hospital, says he and his staff are “managing with the bare minimum of resources” at the medical facility due to Israeli restrictions on medical aid entering the besieged enclave.

    “One day we wanted to do a plate and screw, which is a standard procedure for bone fixation, but we didn’t have the right equipment. Sometimes we’ve also lacked gauze which is a basic supply for surgery. We worked around the challenges we faced and managed in a different way, but the staff here are overwhelmed,” he said.

    Similarly, Konstantina Ilia Karydi, an anesthetist, described the situation inside the medical facility as “unimaginable.”

    “This hospital had an original capacity of just 200 beds. Now, it has expanded to 1,000 beds,” she said.

    “There are around 22,000 displaced people sheltering in the corridors and in tents inside the hospital because people feel that it’s safer to be here than anywhere else.”

    Israel bars UNRWA from northern Gaza

    The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced on Sunday that Israel has officially barred it from making aid deliveries in northern Gaza, where the threat of famine is highest.

    “This is outrageous [and] makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man-made famine. These restrictions must be lifted,” the head of the UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, wrote in an X post.

    Famine is likely to occur by May in northern Gaza and could spread across the enclave by July, according to the world’s hunger watchdog, Integrated Food-Security Phase Classification (IPC), said last week.

    Lazzarini warned that Israel’s decision would speed up the coming of famine in the north of the Strip and said that “many more will die of hunger, dehydration.”

    Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), says Israel must “urgently reverse” its decision to block the entry of food convoys organized by UNRWA into northern Gaza, where humanitarian needs are most urgent.

    “The levels of hunger are acute. All efforts to deliver food should not only be permitted but there should be an immediate acceleration of food deliveries,” Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.

    Martin Griffiths, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator at the UN, says he repeatedly urged Israel to lift all its restrictions on aid to Gaza. Still, it has now done the exact opposite.

    “UNRWA is the beating heart of the humanitarian response in Gaza,” Griffiths said on X , “The decision to block its food convoys to the north only pushes thousands closer to famine. It must be revoked.”

    No other agency is able to provide lifesaving assistance in Gaza in the same way as UNRWA, Natalie Boucly, the deputy commissioner-general of the UN agency, has said on X.

    Boucly added that attempts to “isolate” UNRWA will result in more people dying, “UNRWA is part of the UN and it was given a specific mandate by the General Assembly.”

    In January, several countries cut funding to UNRWA following unverified Israeli allegations that less than a dozen employees participated in Hamas’s operation on October 7.

    While some countries, including Canada and Sweden, have since reinstated their funding, several countries, including the US, have yet to follow suit, which will have severe implications for Palestinians in Gaza and the region.

    Israel is using famine as a “weapon of war” in Gaza to put pressure on the Palestinian people to leave the besieged enclave, Adel Abdel Ghafar, an analyst at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, told Al Jazeera.
    “In Gaza, the humanitarian community is racing against the clock to avert famine. As the backbone of the humanitarian response, any gap in funding to UNRWA will compromise access to food, shelter, primary health care & education at a time of deep trauma,” the organization’s chief, Lazzarini, wrote on X.

    “Palestine Refugees are counting on the international community to step up support to meet their basic needs.”

    Israel is using famine as a “weapon of war” in Gaza to put pressure on the Palestinian people to leave the besieged enclave, Adel Abdel Ghafar, an analyst at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, told Al Jazeera.

    The “dream” of many far-right politicians in Israel is to make Gaza “uninhabitable” for Palestinians, with the goal of re-establishing settlements for the Israelis, Ghafar continued.

    “The destruction of schools, hospitals, infrastructure [is making Gaza] almost unlivable and it will force the international community to take further refugees and thin out the population of Gaza,” he said.

    “I think Israel wants to have a big chunk of the population leave and become refugees elsewhere.”

    UN Resolution for ceasefire

    On Monday, the UN Security Council is expected to vote on yet another resolution regarding Israel’s war on Gaza. Since October seven, only two of eight resolutions have been accepted, with both mainly dealing with humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave.

    Guterres says the most recent UN Security Council resolution does not link a ceasefire in Gaza to the release of Israeli captives, reported Al Jazeera.

    In the resolution, “a ceasefire is required together with, but not in a linkage with, the unconditional release of all hostages,” he said. “And we have also claimed the need for that release.”

    Diplomats told the AFP news agency that the resolution had been worked on with the U.S. to avoid a veto, reported France 24. The U.S. has vetoed three resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

    “We expect, barring a last-minute twist, that the resolution will be adopted and that the US will not vote against it,” one diplomat told AFP.

    Last Friday, the Security Council voted on a draft submitted by the U.S. that called for an “immediate” ceasefire linked to the release of captives. China and Russia vetoed the resolution, criticizing it for stopping short of explicitly demanding Israel halt its campaign.

    No progress on negotiations.

    Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas have continued negotiations mediated by Qatar with little progress.

    Hamas’s political bureau official Basem Naim says a lot of “misinformation” has recently been circulated through the media regarding the ongoing truce talks in Doha, reported Al Jazeera.

    Naim said the Israelis are focusing on only one aspect of the negotiations, the release of captives, and are unwilling to discuss Hamas’s three demands – a permanent end to the war, “total withdrawal” from Gaza, and the return of displaced people to their homes.

    Hamas had proposed the release of some 100 Israeli captives in phases in exchange for a permanent end to the war, total withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the return of displaced people to their homes; however, according to Al Jazeera, Israel rejected the demand to end the war and withdraw troops from Gaza.

    Al Jazeera added that Israeli negotiators said they would allow only 2,000 Palestinians to return to their homes each day, meaning it would take more than two years for all displaced Palestinians to leave Rafah.

    Meanwhile, Israel wants all Israeli captives released immediately. Hamas has indicated it will only release women and children in the first phase.

    As negotiations continue, Yossi Amrosi, an ex-senior official of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security service, was quoted by The Jerusalem Post as admitting that the Israeli army does not have the means to return all captives currently held in Gaza by Hamas and other Palestinian groups.

    Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said at the start of the war that it had taken 250 captives during its October 7 incursion into Israel.

    According to the Qassam Brigades, 50 captives have been killed in Israeli air raids. Israeli intelligence officers say 30 captives have died in Gaza so far since they were taken to the enclave.

    https://mondoweiss.net/2024/03/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-171-horrific-eyewitness-accounts-continue-to-emerge-from-israels-siege-on-gazas-hospitals/
    ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 171: ‘Horrific’ eyewitness accounts continue to emerge from Israel’s siege on Gaza’s hospitals Leila WarahMarch 25, 2024 Injured Palestinians, including children, are brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir El-Balah for treatment following the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, on March 23, 2024. (Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images) Injured Palestinians, including children, are brought to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir El-Balah for treatment following the Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip, on March 23, 2024. (Photo: Omar Ashtawy/APA Images) Casualties 32,333 + killed* and at least 74,694 wounded in the Gaza Strip. 435+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.** Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147. 594 Israeli soldiers killed since October 7, and at least 3,221 injured.*** *Gaza’s Ministry of Health confirmed this figure on its Telegram channel. Some rights groups estimate the death toll to be much higher when accounting for those presumed dead. ** The death toll in the West Bank and Jerusalem is not updated regularly. According to the PA’s Ministry of Health on March 17, this is the latest figure. *** This figure is released by the Israeli military, showing the soldiers whose names “were allowed to be published.” Key Developments UNRWA: Israel says no more UNRWA food convoys to north Gaza. UNRWA chief: Israeli decision to deny all UNRWA food convoys to northern Gaza is “obstruct[ing] lifesaving assistance during a man-made famine.” Doctors Without Borders “deeply concerned” after medical staff arrested at al-Shifa Hospital amid “heavy air strikes by Israeli forces and fierce fighting” nearby. Tanks crushed bodies, ambulances at al-Shifa Hospital, reports AP News, citing witnesses. Footage emerges of Israeli soldiers assaulting Palestinian boy Casualties in Israeli attack on aid distributors at Kuwaiti roundabout in Gaza City, reports Al Jazeera. Israeli forces raid Al Aqsa mosque during nightly prayers, assault and expel worshipers, reports Al Jazeera journalist. WHO Chief: Israel must reverse decision on blocking north Gaza aid. Israeli war cabinet minister threatens to quit if bill exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from conscription passes UNRWA: U.S. funding cut will ‘compromise access to food’ in Gaza. UN special rapporteurs decry underreporting of sexual violence against Palestinians. Israel blocks access to Jerusalem for West Bank Christians on Palm Sunday, reports Wafa. PRCS says it has lost radio contact with staff at al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis. Euro-Med: Israel’s attacks on academics in line with Gaza ‘genocide’ WAFA correspondent killed along with son Israeli airstrike on Gaza MAP report: Doctor says conditions inside European Gaza Hospital ‘unimaginable’ Gaza: Three Hospitals under military siege The Israeli military has imposed ongoing sieges on at least three medical facilities in the besieged enclave, terrorizing, injuring, and killing thousands of civilians in the process. Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza has entered its seventh day under siege, and the civilians able to flee are reporting ruthless massacres in and around the medical complex. A teenage Palestinian boy, Farouk Mohammed Hamd, told Al Jazeera he witnessed Israeli soldiers executing a group of eight people, including his father and brother, inside al-Shifa Hospital. He said he and the others were stripped of their clothing and moved several times inside the al-Shifa Hospital building in central Gaza over the course of hours before being taken to the top floor of the facility. “They left us for about three hours, then said, ‘You are safe. You can go south.” “We stood up, but then they opened fire. We all laid down on the floor again. Then, the snipers entertained themselves by shooting us one after the other.” Hamad said his father told him before being killed to run away if he could, and he managed to run, but not before seeing the unresponsive bodies of the executed group. On Sunday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said its staff have reported “heavy air strikes by Israeli forces and fierce fighting” in the vicinity of al-Shifa hospital, “endangering patients, medical staff and people trapped inside with very few supplies.” Jameel al-Ayoubi, one of the thousands of Palestinians sheltering at the hospital, saw Israeli tanks and armored bulldozers drive over at least four bodies in the hospital courtyard, AP News reports. Ambulances were also crushed, he says. Kareem Ayman Hathat, who lived in a five-story building about 100 meters (328 feet) from the hospital, told AP he hid in his kitchen for days waiting as explosions shook the building. “From time to time, the tank would fire a shell,” he said. “It was to terrorise us.” MSF added that Israeli forces have carried out a mass-arrest campaign of medical staff and other people and that the organization is “deeply concerned” for the safety of those detained. Meanwhile, another two hospitals in Khan Younis have been under Israeli military siege for the last 24 hours: al-Amal and Nasser hospitals, reports Al Jazeera correspondent Hani Mahmoud from Gaza. “Military vehicles, tanks and attack drones are encircling these two facilities. They’re also blocking the entrance with piles of sand, preventing medical staff, patients and injured people inside from leaving safely and constantly failing to provide a safe corridor for people and evacuees trapped inside the hospital,” Mahmoud said. Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) gave their latest update on the situation in al Amal hospital on Sunday afternoon, saying Israeli tanks and armored vehicles have completely surrounded all entrances to the hospital and control any movement in and out. Israeli forces attacked the hospital earlier on Sunday, surrounding it with tanks and forcing nearly everyone inside, from patients to displaced Palestinians sheltering there, to evacuate. “What we’re getting confirmed from al-Amal Hospital is that not only has it been under constant bombing and tank shells, but loudspeakers are ordering people inside the hospital to come out only with their underwear on. And that has been confirmed by multiple sources and witnesses on the ground, those who managed to flee the harrowing situation,” Mahmoud added. On Sunday evening, the PRCS announced that they lost radio contact with their staff at the hospital. While all displaced Palestinians and patients who could move independently were evacuated towards the al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis, hospital staff remain, along with nine patients and their ten companions and a displaced family with children who have disabilities. PCRS says all of them need to be safely evacuated. PRCS added that staff member Amir Abu Aisha and a wounded individual who was being treated at the hospital after being shot in the head by the Israeli military were both killed, and their bodies need to be removed. In a statement, Hamas said the Israeli military is systematically targeting hospitals across Gaza with the goal of displacing all Palestinians from their lands, showing Israel wants to continue its “war of extermination” against Palestinians and forcibly displace them from their land “by destroying all means of life in the Gaza Strip, especially hospitals,” reported Al Jazeera. Underreporting of sexual violence against Palestinians Witnesses at al-Shifa hospital have reported that “Palestinian women have been subjected to rape, torture, and execution by Israeli forces.” Reem Alsalem, the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, said in a post on X that it is “abhorrent” that reports of rape by Israeli forces keep coming out without any consequences. “Rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity or a constitutive act with respect to genocide! It must stop!” Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, similarly said, “I lost count of how many renowned journalists interviewed me on the alleged mistreatment of/sexual abuse against Palestinian women by Israeli forces, and never published any article on this.” “What we can see on the ground is a systematic creation of a corrosive environment in which Israel, with its destruction of neighborhoods and hospitals, is making Gaza unliveable for the majority of Palestinians,” said Al Jazeera co-respondent, Tareq Abu Azzoum from Gaza while reporting on the besieged hospitals. “Horrific scenes” at European Hospital Meanwhile, at Gaza’s European Hospital near Khan Younis, one of the last functioning medical facilities, medical staff report “horrific scenes” at the hospital with patients “dying from infections with evidence of serious malnutrition,” reported Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). Husam Basheer, an orthopedic surgeon working at the hospital, says he and his staff are “managing with the bare minimum of resources” at the medical facility due to Israeli restrictions on medical aid entering the besieged enclave. “One day we wanted to do a plate and screw, which is a standard procedure for bone fixation, but we didn’t have the right equipment. Sometimes we’ve also lacked gauze which is a basic supply for surgery. We worked around the challenges we faced and managed in a different way, but the staff here are overwhelmed,” he said. Similarly, Konstantina Ilia Karydi, an anesthetist, described the situation inside the medical facility as “unimaginable.” “This hospital had an original capacity of just 200 beds. Now, it has expanded to 1,000 beds,” she said. “There are around 22,000 displaced people sheltering in the corridors and in tents inside the hospital because people feel that it’s safer to be here than anywhere else.” Israel bars UNRWA from northern Gaza The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced on Sunday that Israel has officially barred it from making aid deliveries in northern Gaza, where the threat of famine is highest. “This is outrageous [and] makes it intentional to obstruct lifesaving assistance during a man-made famine. These restrictions must be lifted,” the head of the UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, wrote in an X post. Famine is likely to occur by May in northern Gaza and could spread across the enclave by July, according to the world’s hunger watchdog, Integrated Food-Security Phase Classification (IPC), said last week. Lazzarini warned that Israel’s decision would speed up the coming of famine in the north of the Strip and said that “many more will die of hunger, dehydration.” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), says Israel must “urgently reverse” its decision to block the entry of food convoys organized by UNRWA into northern Gaza, where humanitarian needs are most urgent. “The levels of hunger are acute. All efforts to deliver food should not only be permitted but there should be an immediate acceleration of food deliveries,” Ghebreyesus said in a post on X. Martin Griffiths, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator at the UN, says he repeatedly urged Israel to lift all its restrictions on aid to Gaza. Still, it has now done the exact opposite. “UNRWA is the beating heart of the humanitarian response in Gaza,” Griffiths said on X , “The decision to block its food convoys to the north only pushes thousands closer to famine. It must be revoked.” No other agency is able to provide lifesaving assistance in Gaza in the same way as UNRWA, Natalie Boucly, the deputy commissioner-general of the UN agency, has said on X. Boucly added that attempts to “isolate” UNRWA will result in more people dying, “UNRWA is part of the UN and it was given a specific mandate by the General Assembly.” In January, several countries cut funding to UNRWA following unverified Israeli allegations that less than a dozen employees participated in Hamas’s operation on October 7. While some countries, including Canada and Sweden, have since reinstated their funding, several countries, including the US, have yet to follow suit, which will have severe implications for Palestinians in Gaza and the region. Israel is using famine as a “weapon of war” in Gaza to put pressure on the Palestinian people to leave the besieged enclave, Adel Abdel Ghafar, an analyst at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, told Al Jazeera. “In Gaza, the humanitarian community is racing against the clock to avert famine. As the backbone of the humanitarian response, any gap in funding to UNRWA will compromise access to food, shelter, primary health care & education at a time of deep trauma,” the organization’s chief, Lazzarini, wrote on X. “Palestine Refugees are counting on the international community to step up support to meet their basic needs.” Israel is using famine as a “weapon of war” in Gaza to put pressure on the Palestinian people to leave the besieged enclave, Adel Abdel Ghafar, an analyst at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, told Al Jazeera. The “dream” of many far-right politicians in Israel is to make Gaza “uninhabitable” for Palestinians, with the goal of re-establishing settlements for the Israelis, Ghafar continued. “The destruction of schools, hospitals, infrastructure [is making Gaza] almost unlivable and it will force the international community to take further refugees and thin out the population of Gaza,” he said. “I think Israel wants to have a big chunk of the population leave and become refugees elsewhere.” UN Resolution for ceasefire On Monday, the UN Security Council is expected to vote on yet another resolution regarding Israel’s war on Gaza. Since October seven, only two of eight resolutions have been accepted, with both mainly dealing with humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave. Guterres says the most recent UN Security Council resolution does not link a ceasefire in Gaza to the release of Israeli captives, reported Al Jazeera. In the resolution, “a ceasefire is required together with, but not in a linkage with, the unconditional release of all hostages,” he said. “And we have also claimed the need for that release.” Diplomats told the AFP news agency that the resolution had been worked on with the U.S. to avoid a veto, reported France 24. The U.S. has vetoed three resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. “We expect, barring a last-minute twist, that the resolution will be adopted and that the US will not vote against it,” one diplomat told AFP. Last Friday, the Security Council voted on a draft submitted by the U.S. that called for an “immediate” ceasefire linked to the release of captives. China and Russia vetoed the resolution, criticizing it for stopping short of explicitly demanding Israel halt its campaign. No progress on negotiations. Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas have continued negotiations mediated by Qatar with little progress. Hamas’s political bureau official Basem Naim says a lot of “misinformation” has recently been circulated through the media regarding the ongoing truce talks in Doha, reported Al Jazeera. Naim said the Israelis are focusing on only one aspect of the negotiations, the release of captives, and are unwilling to discuss Hamas’s three demands – a permanent end to the war, “total withdrawal” from Gaza, and the return of displaced people to their homes. Hamas had proposed the release of some 100 Israeli captives in phases in exchange for a permanent end to the war, total withdrawal of Israeli troops, and the return of displaced people to their homes; however, according to Al Jazeera, Israel rejected the demand to end the war and withdraw troops from Gaza. Al Jazeera added that Israeli negotiators said they would allow only 2,000 Palestinians to return to their homes each day, meaning it would take more than two years for all displaced Palestinians to leave Rafah. Meanwhile, Israel wants all Israeli captives released immediately. Hamas has indicated it will only release women and children in the first phase. As negotiations continue, Yossi Amrosi, an ex-senior official of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic security service, was quoted by The Jerusalem Post as admitting that the Israeli army does not have the means to return all captives currently held in Gaza by Hamas and other Palestinian groups. Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said at the start of the war that it had taken 250 captives during its October 7 incursion into Israel. According to the Qassam Brigades, 50 captives have been killed in Israeli air raids. Israeli intelligence officers say 30 captives have died in Gaza so far since they were taken to the enclave. https://mondoweiss.net/2024/03/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-171-horrific-eyewitness-accounts-continue-to-emerge-from-israels-siege-on-gazas-hospitals/
    MONDOWEISS.NET
    ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 171: ‘Horrific’ eyewitness accounts continue to emerge from Israel’s siege on Gaza’s hospitals
    Eyewitness accounts continue to emerge from Gaza’s hospitals, including rape, torture, mass executions, and soldiers crushing Palestinian bodies with tanks. Hamas says Israel’s systematic attack on hospitals is central to its “war of extermination.”
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  • I own a small business and have been self employed since 1993 - this rings so very true!!!

    The unfortunate truth of owning and running a business.
    Running a business is really hard.
    What they don’t tell you is that it can cause severe stress and anxiety, and drains you mentally to the point of depression in even the most laid-back people.
    People will talk about you, compare you to others, use you, they will view you as a service and not a person anymore.
    People will expect discounts and people will value you and your hard work less than a big chain store.
    You have to worry about if you forget to email/message someone back, are they going to think it was on purpose? Did you disappoint them? Will they hold that against you? When in reality you just can’t get to everyone’s messages and emails.
    Starting up and running a successful business puts incredible strain on personal lives and relationships, many of which fail because there is just often no work life balance. You need to be the director, the worker, the admin, the marketing team, the accountant, the cleaner..... All whilst being a parent, a provider, family support, friend, spouse...
    There’s a reason you don’t see many people succeed in small businesses after 5-10 years. If they are successful they are overwhelmed. It takes a toll. It’s freaking exhausting. Especially the past couple of years when so much has been out of our control.
    Here’s a small reminder that we are just normal people with hectic lives. Be kind, be patient, support small businesses…….and hopefully more of us will stick around!
    I own a small business and have been self employed since 1993 - this rings so very true!!! The unfortunate truth of owning and running a business. Running a business is really hard. What they don’t tell you is that it can cause severe stress and anxiety, and drains you mentally to the point of depression in even the most laid-back people. People will talk about you, compare you to others, use you, they will view you as a service and not a person anymore. People will expect discounts and people will value you and your hard work less than a big chain store. You have to worry about if you forget to email/message someone back, are they going to think it was on purpose? Did you disappoint them? Will they hold that against you? When in reality you just can’t get to everyone’s messages and emails. Starting up and running a successful business puts incredible strain on personal lives and relationships, many of which fail because there is just often no work life balance. You need to be the director, the worker, the admin, the marketing team, the accountant, the cleaner..... All whilst being a parent, a provider, family support, friend, spouse... There’s a reason you don’t see many people succeed in small businesses after 5-10 years. If they are successful they are overwhelmed. It takes a toll. It’s freaking exhausting. Especially the past couple of years when so much has been out of our control. Here’s a small reminder that we are just normal people with hectic lives. Be kind, be patient, support small businesses…….and hopefully more of us will stick around!
    Like
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  • ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 129: Israel bombards Rafah, killing more than 60 in a night
    67 Palestinians, including babies and children, were killed Sunday night as Israel intensified bombing in Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians are sheltering, in preparation for a ground invasion that experts warn would amount to genocide.

    Leila WarahFebruary 12, 2024
    A Palestinian man inspects the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip
    Palestinians inpect the damage in the rubble of a building where two Israeli captives were reportedly held before being extracted in an operation by Israeli forcess in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2024. Israeli bombardments on Rafah on the 12th killed more than 60 Palestinians. (Bashar Taleb/ APA Images)
    Casualties:

    28,340+ killed* and at least 67,984 wounded in the Gaza Strip.
    380+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
    Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147.
    566 Israeli soldiers killed since October 7, and at least 3,221 injured.**
    *This figure was confirmed by Gaza’s Ministry of Health on Telegram channel. Some rights groups put the death toll number closer to 35,000 when accounting for those presumed dead.

    ** This figure is released by the Israeli military, showing the soldiers whose names “were allowed to be published.”

    Key Developments:

    Hamas’ military wing says Israeli bombing kills two Israeli captives and wounds of eight others, it is unclear where the attacks took place.
    CENTCOM: US carries out “self-defense strikes” in Yemen.
    UNICEF: Civilians in Rafah must be protected as they have nowhere to go.
    UN: At least 395 displaced people killed in UNRWA shelters since October 7
    100 Palestinian bodies recovered from Gaza City after Israeli troops withdrew, most killed by sniper bullets.
    Israel says two captives rescued from Rafah in southern Gaza, claims they are in good medical condition.
    In the last 24 hours, Israeli forces killed 164 people and injured 200 in Gaza, a ministry statement on Telegram said.
    At least 67 Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, says the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
    Israeli forces kill Palestinian man in occupied West Bank
    In four months, 17 settlement plans for over 8,400 housing units were advanced in occupied East Jerusalem.
    Israel spends at least 7 million dollars on zionist Super Bowl advertisement.
    Dutch court orders Netherlands to halt delivery of F-35 jet parts to Israel.
    US Senator Bernie Sanders: “No one in Congress” should support the Biden administration sending military aid to Israel, Netanyahu’s “war machine” is responsible for an “unprecedented humanitarian disaster.”
    Military expert: Israeli army invasion of Rafah would lead to genocide, considering over a million Palestinians are living in 60 square kilometers, reported Al Jazeera
    Dutch court orders government to halt delivery of F-35 fighter jet parts used by Israel in its attacks on Gaza, saying there is a “clear risk” that the parts being exported by the Netherlands are being used in “serious violations of international humanitarian law”.
    Israel ‘deports’ 51-year-old Palestinian journalist from occupied West Bank to Gaza Strip.
    Israel bombards Rafah ahead of planned ground invasion

    The Israeli military has ramped up its attacks on Rafah in southern Gaza as it prepares for a possible ground offensive on the Palestinian city, which has become one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

    Advertisement

    Watch now: NOURA ERAKAT on Witnessing Palestine with Frank Barat
    Rafah, which borders Egypt, is the last key city that Israeli troops have yet to enter. The area was once designated a “safe zone,” although it has been subjected to constant air attacks since Israel’s offensive began.

    Overnight on Sunday, the military intensified their air raid on the city, killing at least 67 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, including babies and children.

    The strikes have resulted in significant destruction in Rafah, damaging homes, businesses, and mosques, which, according to Al Jazeera, are hosting 1.4 million Palestinians.

    Hamas has condemned the latest Israeli air strikes on Rafah in southern Gaza, saying they represent an “expansion of the scope of the massacres it is committing against our people,” in a press release, reported Al Jazeera.

    “The Nazi occupation army’s attack on the city of Rafah tonight” the group said, “is considered a continuation of the genocidal war and the attempts at forced displacement it is waging against our Palestinian people,” the group continued.

    Similarly, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry has “condemned in the strongest terms the mass massacres” the Israeli forces continue to commit against Palestinians, especially displaced people.

    “Israel is officially continuing to target civilians and transfer the war to Rafah to push the population to get displaced under bombardment,” it said in a statement released on X.

    “The recent massacres of the occupation are evidence of the validity of international warnings and fears of catastrophic results of the expansion of the war to Rafah,” the ministry added.

    The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned of “dire consequences” of an Israeli military assault on the southern city.

    “Egypt reiterates its complete rejection of statements by top Israeli officials about launching a military operation on Rafah, warning of its dire consequences, in light of the humanitarian catastrophe it threatens to deepen,” the ministry said in a statement.

    “Egypt called for the necessity of uniting all international and regional efforts to prevent the targeting of the Palestinian city of Rafah,” it added.

    Military expert Wassef Erekat has told Al Jazeera that an Israeli army invasion of Rafah would lead to genocide, considering over a million Palestinians are living in 60 square kilometers.

    “It would be another tragedy befalling the Palestinian people, a catastrophe of epic proportions,” he said.

    Erekat added that in the eyes of Netanyahu, a war without an invasion of Rafah would mean an admission of defeat.

    “An invasion has dangerous and disastrous repercussions. Any number of scenarios can unfold: allowing the displaced back into the central and northern Gaza Strip, pushing them into [Egypt’s] Sinai, or merely bombing them further,” Erekat added.

    The evacuation of Rafah would be ‘unlawful’, human rights experts warn

    The majority of those in Rafah have been forcibly displaced several times since October due to Israel’s offensive, which has gradually expanded its invasion across the besieged enclave.

    The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) “estimates that in total at least 395 IDPs [internally displaced persons] sheltering in UNRWA shelters have been killed and at least a further 1,379 injured” since October 7, it said in a statement.

    Nadia Hardman, researcher at Human Rights Watch, has said that people are already struggling to survive in the small area where they have been pushed and displaced.

    Hardman told Al Jazeera that people she spoke with, some of whom have been displaced up to 10 times, say they are fearful of a ground invasion of the area.

    “The one question they continue to ask is ‘Where do we go?’ They have fled from areas that were once considered safe. Israel’s promise to provide safe passage must be analyzed in light of the fact that it has consistently failed to do this,” Hardman said.

    “This evacuation would be unlawful if it is ordered,” she added.

    The Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell, has said that the civilians in Rafah must be protected no matter what.

    “Civilians are pushed into a corner, living on streets or in shelters. They must be protected. They have nowhere safe to go,” Russell posted on X, adding that the area is teaming with children and families.

    “Rafah already has nearly half of Gaza’s population. Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, people have been fleeing to Rafah following Israeli evacuation orders.” Nebal Farsakh, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) spokesperson, told Al Jazeera.

    “There is no safe place at all, and there is no way to evacuate. On top of that, there is a complete destruction of the infrastructure, and the lack of transportation as well makes it impossible for people to make their way anywhere,” Farsakh added.

    “We are asking to stop war because it has continued for so long,” he concluded.

    Healthcare system in Gaza continues to suffer

    Medical care all across the besieged enclave has been severely affected by Israel’s deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities. With the looming ground invasion of Rafah, Medical professionals are apprehensive about how the ground operation would further debilitate the already collapsed health system in the area.

    Jamal al-Hams, a doctor at the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah, told Al Jazeera that an Israeli attack on the southern city would cause endless suffering for Palestinians.

    “We are suffering a lot during these days because of the huge number of people who have been displaced from the northern and middle areas of the Gaza Strip towards Rafah,” al-Hams said.

    “Secondly, we [already] have a huge number of injured people and patients with chronic diseases and acute illnesses who have been collected from all over the Gaza Strip [to Rafah]. We are suffering from the shortage of medical disposables and drugs. Most of the antibiotics and analgesics are not available.”

    “We have changed the admission beds to emergency beds. The Najjar Hospital has a bed capacity of 70, and they changed it to 200 but that is still not enough,” al-Hams continued.

    “I don’t know what is coming but I am sure that we will suffer very much,” al-Hams concluded.

    “There would be no place for more injured people. There will be no bed capacity, not even for one, because all hospitals [in the south] – the European, Najjar, and Kuwaiti – are all at full capacity.”

    World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has described the reports of Israel’s looming offensive as “extremely worrying”.

    “Proceeding with the plans could have gravely devastating consequences for the 1.4 million people who have nowhere else left to go, and who have almost no place left to seek health care,” he posted on X.

    Moreover, the WHO chief said hospitals in Rafah in the Gaza Strip were “overwhelmed and overflowing.”

    “In the rest of the Strip, a majority of hospitals are either minimally or non-functional,” he added.

    Meanwhile, in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, sewage water has flooded the emergency department of the medical complex, hindering medical staff from providing life-saving medical care.

    The Palestinian Ministry of Health is calling for the protection of the hospital’s technical staff to repair the sewage network in the medical courtyard, where seven people have been shot dead by Israeli snipers and 14 others injured.

    Both al Nasser and Al Amal hospital in Khan Younis have been under military siege for over two weeks and subjected to constant Israeli attacks.

    PCRS has once again called on the international community to protect healthcare professionals after Israeli forces killed two PRCS paramedics in an airstrike on their way to rescue six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was also killed by Israel a few meters away.

    “According to international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, the direct targeting and deliberate killing of PRCS crews and volunteers is considered a war crime,” the group said in a statement on X.

    “[T]he contracting parties that signed the Geneva Conventions and are obligated to enforce respect for international humanitarian law must take the necessary measures to suppress, rebuke and punish the perpetrators.”

    Francesca Albanese, the United Nations rapporteur on Palestine, has also said that Israel’s escalation in Gaza has led to hundreds of casualties, more devastation, and forced displacement, defying the terms the International Court of Justice imposed on Israel, including ending incitement to genocide and improving the supply of humanitarian aid.

    “Israel is obligated to adhere to the court’s order and states must act decisively to prevent further atrocities,” she said.

    Despite growing international calls, U.S. won’t tell Israel not to invade Rafah

    Despite the growing international concern regarding the plans to invade Rafah, Israel is determined to go forward with the attack. Meanwhile, the US has put little to no pressure on Israel to halt their plans, aside from a verbal request, with no material pressure, to protect civilian lives.

    The White House released a readout after Biden’s call with Netanyahu, where the US president said: “a military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for more than one million people sheltering there.”

    The readout added that Biden stressed “the need to capitalize on progress made in the negotiations to secure the release of all hostages as soon as possible.”

    Mustafa Barghouti of the Palestinian National Initiative told Al Jazeera that the fact that the United States president did not call for an immediate ceasefire represents a regression in US policy vis-a-vis the war on Gaza.

    “What I expected to hear from Biden [is something] we will never hear. His comments about the imminent Israeli attack on Rafah should have been accompanied by the United States supporting a ceasefire,” he said.

    “Rafah is the only area that is not destroyed completely in Gaza. Israel never gave up on its plan to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian population into Egypt. That’s what the US president should have opposed. But he doesn’t. The US is a participant in this attack,” Barghouti continued.

    “For days, United States officials have been suggesting that this potential Rafah military operation would be disastrous and that it can’t go ahead, but now we have the conditions for the Rafah operation to go ahead, despite the 1.5 million people there,” Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi pointed out.

    As the US funded Israel’s increasing attacks, the American public tuned into the Super Bowl, where Israel spent at least 7 million dollars on zionist propaganda to be shown during the football game advertisements.

    Australian Senator David Shoebridge has decried the bombardment on Rafah and questioned the timing while viewers in the United States watch the Super Bowl.

    “The attack on Rafah happening at 2am Gaza time while the US is watching the Superbowl is utterly horrific and devastating,” said Shoebridge.

    “Our hearts are with the Palestinian people now more than ever,” he added.

    BEFORE YOU GO – At Mondoweiss, we understand the power of telling Palestinian stories. For 17 years, we have pushed back when the mainstream media published lies or echoed politicians’ hateful rhetoric. Now, Palestinian voices are more important than ever.

    Our traffic has increased ten times since October 7, and we need your help to cover our increased expenses.

    Support our journalists with a donation today.

    https://mondoweiss.net/2024/02/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-129-israel-bombards-rafah-killing-more-than-60-in-a-night/


    ☝️https://donshafi911.blogspot.com/2024/02/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-129-israel.html
    ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 129: Israel bombards Rafah, killing more than 60 in a night 67 Palestinians, including babies and children, were killed Sunday night as Israel intensified bombing in Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians are sheltering, in preparation for a ground invasion that experts warn would amount to genocide. Leila WarahFebruary 12, 2024 A Palestinian man inspects the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip Palestinians inpect the damage in the rubble of a building where two Israeli captives were reportedly held before being extracted in an operation by Israeli forcess in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on February 12, 2024. Israeli bombardments on Rafah on the 12th killed more than 60 Palestinians. (Bashar Taleb/ APA Images) Casualties: 28,340+ killed* and at least 67,984 wounded in the Gaza Strip. 380+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147. 566 Israeli soldiers killed since October 7, and at least 3,221 injured.** *This figure was confirmed by Gaza’s Ministry of Health on Telegram channel. Some rights groups put the death toll number closer to 35,000 when accounting for those presumed dead. ** This figure is released by the Israeli military, showing the soldiers whose names “were allowed to be published.” Key Developments: Hamas’ military wing says Israeli bombing kills two Israeli captives and wounds of eight others, it is unclear where the attacks took place. CENTCOM: US carries out “self-defense strikes” in Yemen. UNICEF: Civilians in Rafah must be protected as they have nowhere to go. UN: At least 395 displaced people killed in UNRWA shelters since October 7 100 Palestinian bodies recovered from Gaza City after Israeli troops withdrew, most killed by sniper bullets. Israel says two captives rescued from Rafah in southern Gaza, claims they are in good medical condition. In the last 24 hours, Israeli forces killed 164 people and injured 200 in Gaza, a ministry statement on Telegram said. At least 67 Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, says the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Israeli forces kill Palestinian man in occupied West Bank In four months, 17 settlement plans for over 8,400 housing units were advanced in occupied East Jerusalem. Israel spends at least 7 million dollars on zionist Super Bowl advertisement. Dutch court orders Netherlands to halt delivery of F-35 jet parts to Israel. US Senator Bernie Sanders: “No one in Congress” should support the Biden administration sending military aid to Israel, Netanyahu’s “war machine” is responsible for an “unprecedented humanitarian disaster.” Military expert: Israeli army invasion of Rafah would lead to genocide, considering over a million Palestinians are living in 60 square kilometers, reported Al Jazeera Dutch court orders government to halt delivery of F-35 fighter jet parts used by Israel in its attacks on Gaza, saying there is a “clear risk” that the parts being exported by the Netherlands are being used in “serious violations of international humanitarian law”. Israel ‘deports’ 51-year-old Palestinian journalist from occupied West Bank to Gaza Strip. Israel bombards Rafah ahead of planned ground invasion The Israeli military has ramped up its attacks on Rafah in southern Gaza as it prepares for a possible ground offensive on the Palestinian city, which has become one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Advertisement Watch now: NOURA ERAKAT on Witnessing Palestine with Frank Barat Rafah, which borders Egypt, is the last key city that Israeli troops have yet to enter. The area was once designated a “safe zone,” although it has been subjected to constant air attacks since Israel’s offensive began. Overnight on Sunday, the military intensified their air raid on the city, killing at least 67 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, including babies and children. The strikes have resulted in significant destruction in Rafah, damaging homes, businesses, and mosques, which, according to Al Jazeera, are hosting 1.4 million Palestinians. Hamas has condemned the latest Israeli air strikes on Rafah in southern Gaza, saying they represent an “expansion of the scope of the massacres it is committing against our people,” in a press release, reported Al Jazeera. “The Nazi occupation army’s attack on the city of Rafah tonight” the group said, “is considered a continuation of the genocidal war and the attempts at forced displacement it is waging against our Palestinian people,” the group continued. Similarly, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry has “condemned in the strongest terms the mass massacres” the Israeli forces continue to commit against Palestinians, especially displaced people. “Israel is officially continuing to target civilians and transfer the war to Rafah to push the population to get displaced under bombardment,” it said in a statement released on X. “The recent massacres of the occupation are evidence of the validity of international warnings and fears of catastrophic results of the expansion of the war to Rafah,” the ministry added. The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned of “dire consequences” of an Israeli military assault on the southern city. “Egypt reiterates its complete rejection of statements by top Israeli officials about launching a military operation on Rafah, warning of its dire consequences, in light of the humanitarian catastrophe it threatens to deepen,” the ministry said in a statement. “Egypt called for the necessity of uniting all international and regional efforts to prevent the targeting of the Palestinian city of Rafah,” it added. Military expert Wassef Erekat has told Al Jazeera that an Israeli army invasion of Rafah would lead to genocide, considering over a million Palestinians are living in 60 square kilometers. “It would be another tragedy befalling the Palestinian people, a catastrophe of epic proportions,” he said. Erekat added that in the eyes of Netanyahu, a war without an invasion of Rafah would mean an admission of defeat. “An invasion has dangerous and disastrous repercussions. Any number of scenarios can unfold: allowing the displaced back into the central and northern Gaza Strip, pushing them into [Egypt’s] Sinai, or merely bombing them further,” Erekat added. The evacuation of Rafah would be ‘unlawful’, human rights experts warn The majority of those in Rafah have been forcibly displaced several times since October due to Israel’s offensive, which has gradually expanded its invasion across the besieged enclave. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) “estimates that in total at least 395 IDPs [internally displaced persons] sheltering in UNRWA shelters have been killed and at least a further 1,379 injured” since October 7, it said in a statement. Nadia Hardman, researcher at Human Rights Watch, has said that people are already struggling to survive in the small area where they have been pushed and displaced. Hardman told Al Jazeera that people she spoke with, some of whom have been displaced up to 10 times, say they are fearful of a ground invasion of the area. “The one question they continue to ask is ‘Where do we go?’ They have fled from areas that were once considered safe. Israel’s promise to provide safe passage must be analyzed in light of the fact that it has consistently failed to do this,” Hardman said. “This evacuation would be unlawful if it is ordered,” she added. The Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell, has said that the civilians in Rafah must be protected no matter what. “Civilians are pushed into a corner, living on streets or in shelters. They must be protected. They have nowhere safe to go,” Russell posted on X, adding that the area is teaming with children and families. “Rafah already has nearly half of Gaza’s population. Since the beginning of the war in Gaza, people have been fleeing to Rafah following Israeli evacuation orders.” Nebal Farsakh, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) spokesperson, told Al Jazeera. “There is no safe place at all, and there is no way to evacuate. On top of that, there is a complete destruction of the infrastructure, and the lack of transportation as well makes it impossible for people to make their way anywhere,” Farsakh added. “We are asking to stop war because it has continued for so long,” he concluded. Healthcare system in Gaza continues to suffer Medical care all across the besieged enclave has been severely affected by Israel’s deliberate attacks on medical personnel and facilities. With the looming ground invasion of Rafah, Medical professionals are apprehensive about how the ground operation would further debilitate the already collapsed health system in the area. Jamal al-Hams, a doctor at the Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah, told Al Jazeera that an Israeli attack on the southern city would cause endless suffering for Palestinians. “We are suffering a lot during these days because of the huge number of people who have been displaced from the northern and middle areas of the Gaza Strip towards Rafah,” al-Hams said. “Secondly, we [already] have a huge number of injured people and patients with chronic diseases and acute illnesses who have been collected from all over the Gaza Strip [to Rafah]. We are suffering from the shortage of medical disposables and drugs. Most of the antibiotics and analgesics are not available.” “We have changed the admission beds to emergency beds. The Najjar Hospital has a bed capacity of 70, and they changed it to 200 but that is still not enough,” al-Hams continued. “I don’t know what is coming but I am sure that we will suffer very much,” al-Hams concluded. “There would be no place for more injured people. There will be no bed capacity, not even for one, because all hospitals [in the south] – the European, Najjar, and Kuwaiti – are all at full capacity.” World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has described the reports of Israel’s looming offensive as “extremely worrying”. “Proceeding with the plans could have gravely devastating consequences for the 1.4 million people who have nowhere else left to go, and who have almost no place left to seek health care,” he posted on X. Moreover, the WHO chief said hospitals in Rafah in the Gaza Strip were “overwhelmed and overflowing.” “In the rest of the Strip, a majority of hospitals are either minimally or non-functional,” he added. Meanwhile, in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, sewage water has flooded the emergency department of the medical complex, hindering medical staff from providing life-saving medical care. The Palestinian Ministry of Health is calling for the protection of the hospital’s technical staff to repair the sewage network in the medical courtyard, where seven people have been shot dead by Israeli snipers and 14 others injured. Both al Nasser and Al Amal hospital in Khan Younis have been under military siege for over two weeks and subjected to constant Israeli attacks. PCRS has once again called on the international community to protect healthcare professionals after Israeli forces killed two PRCS paramedics in an airstrike on their way to rescue six-year-old Hind Rajab, who was also killed by Israel a few meters away. “According to international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions, the direct targeting and deliberate killing of PRCS crews and volunteers is considered a war crime,” the group said in a statement on X. “[T]he contracting parties that signed the Geneva Conventions and are obligated to enforce respect for international humanitarian law must take the necessary measures to suppress, rebuke and punish the perpetrators.” Francesca Albanese, the United Nations rapporteur on Palestine, has also said that Israel’s escalation in Gaza has led to hundreds of casualties, more devastation, and forced displacement, defying the terms the International Court of Justice imposed on Israel, including ending incitement to genocide and improving the supply of humanitarian aid. “Israel is obligated to adhere to the court’s order and states must act decisively to prevent further atrocities,” she said. Despite growing international calls, U.S. won’t tell Israel not to invade Rafah Despite the growing international concern regarding the plans to invade Rafah, Israel is determined to go forward with the attack. Meanwhile, the US has put little to no pressure on Israel to halt their plans, aside from a verbal request, with no material pressure, to protect civilian lives. The White House released a readout after Biden’s call with Netanyahu, where the US president said: “a military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for more than one million people sheltering there.” The readout added that Biden stressed “the need to capitalize on progress made in the negotiations to secure the release of all hostages as soon as possible.” Mustafa Barghouti of the Palestinian National Initiative told Al Jazeera that the fact that the United States president did not call for an immediate ceasefire represents a regression in US policy vis-a-vis the war on Gaza. “What I expected to hear from Biden [is something] we will never hear. His comments about the imminent Israeli attack on Rafah should have been accompanied by the United States supporting a ceasefire,” he said. “Rafah is the only area that is not destroyed completely in Gaza. Israel never gave up on its plan to ethnically cleanse the Palestinian population into Egypt. That’s what the US president should have opposed. But he doesn’t. The US is a participant in this attack,” Barghouti continued. “For days, United States officials have been suggesting that this potential Rafah military operation would be disastrous and that it can’t go ahead, but now we have the conditions for the Rafah operation to go ahead, despite the 1.5 million people there,” Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi pointed out. As the US funded Israel’s increasing attacks, the American public tuned into the Super Bowl, where Israel spent at least 7 million dollars on zionist propaganda to be shown during the football game advertisements. Australian Senator David Shoebridge has decried the bombardment on Rafah and questioned the timing while viewers in the United States watch the Super Bowl. “The attack on Rafah happening at 2am Gaza time while the US is watching the Superbowl is utterly horrific and devastating,” said Shoebridge. “Our hearts are with the Palestinian people now more than ever,” he added. BEFORE YOU GO – At Mondoweiss, we understand the power of telling Palestinian stories. For 17 years, we have pushed back when the mainstream media published lies or echoed politicians’ hateful rhetoric. Now, Palestinian voices are more important than ever. Our traffic has increased ten times since October 7, and we need your help to cover our increased expenses. Support our journalists with a donation today. https://mondoweiss.net/2024/02/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-129-israel-bombards-rafah-killing-more-than-60-in-a-night/ ☝️https://donshafi911.blogspot.com/2024/02/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-129-israel.html
    MONDOWEISS.NET
    ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 129: Israel bombards Rafah, killing more than 60 in a night
    67 Palestinians, including babies and children, were killed Sunday night as Israel intensified bombing in Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians are sheltering, in preparation for a ground invasion that experts warn would amount to genocide.
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  • I recently discovered something very weird.

    Bill Gates invested a whopping $55 MILLION in BioNTech that made the Pfizer mRNA injection.

    You will never believe the date that this happened...

    Is this just a coincidence?

    You know, the company that partnered with Pfizer to make their mRNA covid vaccine and drove Pfizer's revenue to a record $100 billion in 2022.

    Well, I had a look and found something very interesting indeed. When did Bill Gates invest this large sum of money?

    Turns out that it was on the 4th of September 2019.

    Covid was discovered just two months later in November 2019 (at least the first time we got to hear about it).

    This turned out to be very profitable for Bill Gates, his investment increasing by 10 times. The original $55 million was worth over $550 million just a few years later.

    "the collaboration will fund the identification of potential HIV and tuberculosis vaccine and immunotherapy candidates and their pre-clinical development. It will further enable BioNTech to build out its infectious disease infrastructure, including platform development" - it says in the press release from BioNTech.

    Guess what?

    Bill Gates has also donated some $20 million to the BBC.

    Now it is being reported that the BBC misrepresented the risk of covid in order to boost public support for lockdown.

    other words, the mainstream media deliberately mislead the public and scared them into supporting draconian lockdown measures, and also probably scared people into rushing to get the brand new mRNA injections.

    Meanwhile Bill Gates investment grew and grew...

    "One example is that they gave the impression that hospitals were being overwhelmed during the first wave. Some (mainly in London) were, but overall hospital bed occupancy was at an all-time low during that period" said Professor Mark Woolhouse.

    Remember when we were told that the hospitals were completely full and we had all the dancing nurses on TikTok? Remember how some peopel were labelled "conspiracy theorists" for questioning this?

    Turns out that the so called "conspiracy theorists" were right once again. The hospitals were not full. We were being lied to.

    What do you think about all of this, surely it is just a coincidence that Bill Gates just happened to invest large amounts of money into BioNTech just two months before covid?

    Join: @RevealedEye
    I recently discovered something very weird. Bill Gates invested a whopping $55 MILLION in BioNTech that made the Pfizer mRNA injection. You will never believe the date that this happened... Is this just a coincidence? You know, the company that partnered with Pfizer to make their mRNA covid vaccine and drove Pfizer's revenue to a record $100 billion in 2022. Well, I had a look and found something very interesting indeed. When did Bill Gates invest this large sum of money? Turns out that it was on the 4th of September 2019. Covid was discovered just two months later in November 2019 (at least the first time we got to hear about it). This turned out to be very profitable for Bill Gates, his investment increasing by 10 times. The original $55 million was worth over $550 million just a few years later. "the collaboration will fund the identification of potential HIV and tuberculosis vaccine and immunotherapy candidates and their pre-clinical development. It will further enable BioNTech to build out its infectious disease infrastructure, including platform development" - it says in the press release from BioNTech. Guess what? Bill Gates has also donated some $20 million to the BBC. Now it is being reported that the BBC misrepresented the risk of covid in order to boost public support for lockdown. other words, the mainstream media deliberately mislead the public and scared them into supporting draconian lockdown measures, and also probably scared people into rushing to get the brand new mRNA injections. Meanwhile Bill Gates investment grew and grew... "One example is that they gave the impression that hospitals were being overwhelmed during the first wave. Some (mainly in London) were, but overall hospital bed occupancy was at an all-time low during that period" said Professor Mark Woolhouse. Remember when we were told that the hospitals were completely full and we had all the dancing nurses on TikTok? Remember how some peopel were labelled "conspiracy theorists" for questioning this? Turns out that the so called "conspiracy theorists" were right once again. The hospitals were not full. We were being lied to. What do you think about all of this, surely it is just a coincidence that Bill Gates just happened to invest large amounts of money into BioNTech just two months before covid? Join: @RevealedEye
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  • “I Have Lost Everything”: In Federal Court, Palestinians Accuse Biden of Complicity in Genocide
    Bolstered by a momentous ICJ ruling, Palestinians, including Americans, gave three hours of testimony against the Biden administration.


    All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name (only available in desktop version).

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    Click the share button above 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.

    New Year Donation Drive: Global Research Is Committed to the “Unspoken Truth”

    ***

    In a momentous day for the quest to keep Israel and its allies accountable for its brutal war on Gaza, members of leading Palestinian human rights groups, residents of Gaza, and Palestinian Americans argued in a U.S. District Court on Friday that the Biden administration should halt its financial and military support for Israel and uphold its obligations to prevent genocide.

    The arguments came in a lawsuitOpens in a new tab that the Center for Constitutional Rights, or CCR, filed in November against President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, charging them with complicity and failure to prevent the “unfolding genocide” in the occupied strip. Testifying either in person at the Oakland, California, courthouse or remotely from Palestine, the plaintiffs spoke for nearly three hours about the deliberate devastation wrought by Israel in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks.

    The hearing commenced hours after the International Court of Justice in The Hague found that it’s plausible that Israel has committed acts of genocide in Gaza, in a case brought by South Africa. While the United Nations court fell short of ordering an immediate ceasefire, a panel of judges delivered a historic set of rulings and denied Israel’s request to dismiss the case. A final resolution in that case is expected to take years.

    Lawyers involved with the lawsuit playing out in federal court said that the ICJ ruling bolsters their case. Their lawsuit argues that Biden, Blinken, and Austin are liable under U.S. lawOpens in a new tab for failing to uphold their obligation to prevent genocide in Gaza. In Oakland, dozens of people lined up outside the courthouse hours before the hearing on Friday, according to organizers on the ground, while the Zoom stream reached its capacity of 1,000 people tuning in.

    The Biden administration has maintained that genocide allegations against Israel are “meritless” and “unhelpful” while on Friday, U.S. government attorneys argued the court has no standing to decide on what they say is a matter of foreign policy. Plaintiffs meanwhile, including several Palestinian Americans, spoke powerfully about the need for the U.S. government to take immediate action to save lives.

    In the last three months, Israel’s has killed at least 25,000 Palestinians — one in every 100 residentsOpens in a new tab of Gaza.

    Laila el-Haddad, a Palestinian American writer and one of the plaintiffs in the case, described her neighborhood being reduced to “a large pile of sand” and the killing of dozens of her relatives, including some who were buried in mass graves.

    “My family is being killed on my dime,” she told the court. “President Biden could, with one phone call, put an end to this.”

    Questions of Law

    At the hearing, U.S. Judge Jeffrey S. White went to some length to state the impact of Israel’s war on Palestinian civilians and the U.S. government’s support for it but indicated the case might ultimately hinge on questions of jurisdiction.

    “The Palestinian people are living in fear and without food, medical care, clean water, or sufficient humanitarian aid. Defendants — the president of the United States and his secretaries of state and defense — have provided substantial military, financial, and diplomatic support to Israel,” he said.

    “However, the primary concern for this court is the limitation of its own jurisdictional reach.”

    He later described the case as one of the “the most difficult” of his career. “You have been seen, you have been heard by this court,” he told the plaintiffs. “I’m going to take it extremely seriously.”

    CCR and Justice Department attorneys deliberated for more than an hour about the court’s standing to hear the case. Attorneys for the plaintiffs referenced a different legal case accusing Russia of genocide in Ukraine, which the U.S. government has supported, to point to the Biden administration’s awareness of its responsibility to take steps to prevent genocide.

    Katherine Gallagher, a senior attorney at CCR, stressed that the case is not a “wholesale challenge to U.S. military support to Israel.”

    “This case does not present the court with a political question,” she added. “These are not questions of policy. These are questions of law.”

    Justice Department attorney Jean Lin, for her part, referenced a legal concept known as the “political question doctrine” to argue the court has no authority over foreign policy matters. “It’s a long-standing doctrine that the court has no jurisdiction to enjoin the president in his exercise of official duties,” she said.

    “This court is not the proper forum,” she said in her closing remarks.

    “Judges and courts have roles to play in enforcing and making real this duty that all of us in this world have to prevent a genocide,” CCR senior attorney Pamela Spees said in her closing remarks. “And the government’s only response is to say to this court that it can’t even engage with the question.”

    “Everything Has Been Destroyed”

    The legal argument was followed by nearly three hours of testimony by the plaintiffs, which include the human rights groups Defense for Children International – Palestine and Al-Haq, as well as Gaza residents Ahmed Abu Artema, the founder of the 2018 Great March of Return; Omar Al-Najjar, a 24-year-old doctor; and Mohammed Ahmed Abu Rokbeh, all of whom have lost many relatives since the war started. The plaintiffs also include Palestinian Americans whose families in Gaza have been subjected to a relentless bombing campaign by Israel.

    Al-Najjar called into the hearing from a hospital hallway in Rafah, on the border with Egypt. Wearing scrubs, he described a medical infrastructure that is overwhelmed and on the brink of collapse, heavy shelling and gun fighting near medical facilities, and medical workers coming under attack in areas the Israeli military had declared safe.

    “I have lost everything in this war … I have nothing but my grief,” he told the court. “This is what Israel and its supporters have done to us.”

    Ahmed Abofoul, a Palestinian lawyer and legal researcher at Al-Haq, testified from the courthouse that he lost 60 relatives on his father’s side of the family alone, 15 in a single airstrike, and that many of their bodies remain under the rubble. His cousin, he said, has been unable to retrieve the bodies of his five children, as the Israeli military fires at him whenever he tries to approach his destroyed home. Abofoul described not being able to get in touch with some family members after the war started and other relatives, including children, with no access to food and water.

    “People are struggling to have anything to survive on,” he said. “Those who survive the bombing most likely will not survive staying in this condition.”

    Abofoul also put the current onslaught in the context of the forced displacement of Palestinians since the 1948 establishment of the state of Israel. Pleading with his grandfather to evacuate to a different part of the territory after the war started, Abofoul’s relatives reassured the grandfather he would eventually return home. “That is exactly what they told me in 1948,” he responded, echoing fears by tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians that Israel is seeking to drive them out for good.

    Schools, universities, churches, and even Gaza’s archives were destroyed in the ongoing war, Abofoul added. “Everything has been destroyed,” he said, “The Gaza that we know no longer exists.”

    El-Haddad, the writer, told the court that she felt an obligation as an American to bring the lawsuit against the Biden administration and that hearing “our president not only actively support this, but cast doubt on the deaths of my family members and other college students in Gaza” had made her feel “dehumanized” and “completely invisible.”

    “I felt it was my duty as an American whose taxes and government have been directly responsible for the deaths of my family,” she added. “My government is complicit in this ongoing genocide against my family and the destruction of everything that I knew and I loved.”

    Barry Trachtenberg, a professor of Jewish history and author of two books about the Holocaust, testified as an expert witness in the case – over repeated objections from Justice Department attorneys. When he filed his declaration in the case in November, he said, some 11,000 Palestinians had been killed. Today, that number is far greater.

    “Everything that we feared and more is unfolding,” he said, noting that often, legal actions about genocide happen long after the fact. “What makes this situation so unique is that we’re watching the genocide unfold as we speak. And we’re in this incredibly unique position where we can actually intervene to stop it using the mechanisms of international law that are available to us.”

    A Historic Case

    CCR’s 89-page complaintOpens in a new tab lays out, in painstaking detail, statements of genocidal intent by Israeli officials, paired with affirmations by U.S. officials that they would back Israel’s war effort with every tool at their disposal.

    “The highest level of Israel’s senior political and military leadership made statements on October 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, laying out that they intended, in effect, to destroy Gaza,” Gallagher, a senior staff attorney at CCR and one of the lead attorneys on the case, said on Intercepted last week. “And as the statements of intent were being made, senior levels of the United States government — including President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Austin — were likewise making declarations about their intentions in the coming days, weeks, months … And that was to give unconditional and complete support to Israel.”

    Under international law, the crime of genocide is defined as the intention to destroy or partially destroy a group of people based on their ethnic, religious, racial, or national identity, either by direct killing or by the creation of conditions making life impossible. While Israel has for decades flouted international law standards and ignored rebukes, including by the ICJ, the Israeli government’s actions in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks were “qualitatively different,” Gallagher said.

    Two days after the attacks, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered mass war crimes when he announced “a complete siege of the Gaza Strip,” which is home to 2.2 million Palestinians, nearly half of them children. “There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” he said then, a threat that Israel has since largely delivered on. “We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly.”

    As Israel unleashed an onslaught that quickly outpaced any recent conflictsOpens in a new tab for the number and pace of deaths, human rights groups warned the Biden administration that its unconditional support for Israel risked making it complicit in the crime of genocide.

    Josh Paul, a former senior State Department official who resigned over the Biden administration’s support for the war on Gaza and filed a declaration in support of the CCR case, said on Friday morning, “Since October 7th, we’ve seen a sharp increase in the transfer of arms to Israel both through the speeding up of previously authorized transfers and through the ramming through Congress of so-called emergency sales of thousands of rounds of tanks, ammunition, and alternative shells.”

    “The U.S. has likely transferred munitions totaling in the tens of thousands since October 7 to Israel,” he added, speaking at a briefing CCR hosted on Friday morning. “This also demonstrates, I think, the significant amount of leverage that we have if we wanted to push Israel to end or curtail its operations in Gaza.”

    “None of this could be done without the U.S. government,” echoed Ata Hindi, a lawyer who helped draft an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit on behalf of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, at the event preceding the hearing. “It’s for the United States to say whether or not, through its weapons in particular, whether or not this genocide continues.”

    The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, he noted, was “drowned” in complaints by Palestinian Americans who accused the U.S. government of discriminating against them. “It’s unfortunate to see how little the U.S. government in particular has paid attention to these American citizens and their families,” said Hindi. “And we hope that the court will do something to change that.”

    The lawsuit has garnered significant international attention, with 77 legal and civil society groups from around the world backing it in a late December briefing to the court. They argued that the U.S. is violating its duties under international law to prevent and not be complicit in genocide, contributing to the erosion of “long and widely-held norms of international law,” like the Genocide Convention and Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

    The U.S. federal case is one of a number of legal efforts stemming from Israel’s war on Gaza. In another U.S. lawsuit, Palestinian Americans have accused the administrationOpens in a new tab of failing to protect U.S. citizens in Gaza and denying them equal protection, a constitutional right. That lawsuit argues that U.S. officials have not done as much to evacuate U.S. citizens trapped in Gaza as they did for Israeli Americans.

    In addition to South Africa’s genocide case against Israel before the ICJ, a group of South African lawyers have also indicated their intentOpens in a new tab, pending the court’s early rulings, to bring civil action against the U.S. and British governments over their support for Israel’s actions. Other countries have also filed separate complaintsOpens in a new tab against Israel before the ICJ.

    The cascading cases against Israel are a remarkable development for a country that has for decades acted with impunity, largely thanks to unwavering U.S. support. In a further sign of waning support, a poll Opens in a new tab released this week issued its own verdict: One-third of Americans — and nearly half of the country’s Democrats — believe Israel is committing genocide in Palestine.

    *

    Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles.

    Featured image: I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream- by Mr. Fish

    https://www.globalresearch.ca/i-have-lost-everything-federal-court-palestinians-accuse-biden-complicity-genocide/5847895


    https://donshafi911.blogspot.com/2024/01/i-have-lost-everything-in-federal-court.html
    “I Have Lost Everything”: In Federal Court, Palestinians Accuse Biden of Complicity in Genocide Bolstered by a momentous ICJ ruling, Palestinians, including Americans, gave three hours of testimony against the Biden administration. All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name (only available in desktop version). To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here. Click the share button above 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. New Year Donation Drive: Global Research Is Committed to the “Unspoken Truth” *** In a momentous day for the quest to keep Israel and its allies accountable for its brutal war on Gaza, members of leading Palestinian human rights groups, residents of Gaza, and Palestinian Americans argued in a U.S. District Court on Friday that the Biden administration should halt its financial and military support for Israel and uphold its obligations to prevent genocide. The arguments came in a lawsuitOpens in a new tab that the Center for Constitutional Rights, or CCR, filed in November against President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, charging them with complicity and failure to prevent the “unfolding genocide” in the occupied strip. Testifying either in person at the Oakland, California, courthouse or remotely from Palestine, the plaintiffs spoke for nearly three hours about the deliberate devastation wrought by Israel in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks. The hearing commenced hours after the International Court of Justice in The Hague found that it’s plausible that Israel has committed acts of genocide in Gaza, in a case brought by South Africa. While the United Nations court fell short of ordering an immediate ceasefire, a panel of judges delivered a historic set of rulings and denied Israel’s request to dismiss the case. A final resolution in that case is expected to take years. Lawyers involved with the lawsuit playing out in federal court said that the ICJ ruling bolsters their case. Their lawsuit argues that Biden, Blinken, and Austin are liable under U.S. lawOpens in a new tab for failing to uphold their obligation to prevent genocide in Gaza. In Oakland, dozens of people lined up outside the courthouse hours before the hearing on Friday, according to organizers on the ground, while the Zoom stream reached its capacity of 1,000 people tuning in. The Biden administration has maintained that genocide allegations against Israel are “meritless” and “unhelpful” while on Friday, U.S. government attorneys argued the court has no standing to decide on what they say is a matter of foreign policy. Plaintiffs meanwhile, including several Palestinian Americans, spoke powerfully about the need for the U.S. government to take immediate action to save lives. In the last three months, Israel’s has killed at least 25,000 Palestinians — one in every 100 residentsOpens in a new tab of Gaza. Laila el-Haddad, a Palestinian American writer and one of the plaintiffs in the case, described her neighborhood being reduced to “a large pile of sand” and the killing of dozens of her relatives, including some who were buried in mass graves. “My family is being killed on my dime,” she told the court. “President Biden could, with one phone call, put an end to this.” Questions of Law At the hearing, U.S. Judge Jeffrey S. White went to some length to state the impact of Israel’s war on Palestinian civilians and the U.S. government’s support for it but indicated the case might ultimately hinge on questions of jurisdiction. “The Palestinian people are living in fear and without food, medical care, clean water, or sufficient humanitarian aid. Defendants — the president of the United States and his secretaries of state and defense — have provided substantial military, financial, and diplomatic support to Israel,” he said. “However, the primary concern for this court is the limitation of its own jurisdictional reach.” He later described the case as one of the “the most difficult” of his career. “You have been seen, you have been heard by this court,” he told the plaintiffs. “I’m going to take it extremely seriously.” CCR and Justice Department attorneys deliberated for more than an hour about the court’s standing to hear the case. Attorneys for the plaintiffs referenced a different legal case accusing Russia of genocide in Ukraine, which the U.S. government has supported, to point to the Biden administration’s awareness of its responsibility to take steps to prevent genocide. Katherine Gallagher, a senior attorney at CCR, stressed that the case is not a “wholesale challenge to U.S. military support to Israel.” “This case does not present the court with a political question,” she added. “These are not questions of policy. These are questions of law.” Justice Department attorney Jean Lin, for her part, referenced a legal concept known as the “political question doctrine” to argue the court has no authority over foreign policy matters. “It’s a long-standing doctrine that the court has no jurisdiction to enjoin the president in his exercise of official duties,” she said. “This court is not the proper forum,” she said in her closing remarks. “Judges and courts have roles to play in enforcing and making real this duty that all of us in this world have to prevent a genocide,” CCR senior attorney Pamela Spees said in her closing remarks. “And the government’s only response is to say to this court that it can’t even engage with the question.” “Everything Has Been Destroyed” The legal argument was followed by nearly three hours of testimony by the plaintiffs, which include the human rights groups Defense for Children International – Palestine and Al-Haq, as well as Gaza residents Ahmed Abu Artema, the founder of the 2018 Great March of Return; Omar Al-Najjar, a 24-year-old doctor; and Mohammed Ahmed Abu Rokbeh, all of whom have lost many relatives since the war started. The plaintiffs also include Palestinian Americans whose families in Gaza have been subjected to a relentless bombing campaign by Israel. Al-Najjar called into the hearing from a hospital hallway in Rafah, on the border with Egypt. Wearing scrubs, he described a medical infrastructure that is overwhelmed and on the brink of collapse, heavy shelling and gun fighting near medical facilities, and medical workers coming under attack in areas the Israeli military had declared safe. “I have lost everything in this war … I have nothing but my grief,” he told the court. “This is what Israel and its supporters have done to us.” Ahmed Abofoul, a Palestinian lawyer and legal researcher at Al-Haq, testified from the courthouse that he lost 60 relatives on his father’s side of the family alone, 15 in a single airstrike, and that many of their bodies remain under the rubble. His cousin, he said, has been unable to retrieve the bodies of his five children, as the Israeli military fires at him whenever he tries to approach his destroyed home. Abofoul described not being able to get in touch with some family members after the war started and other relatives, including children, with no access to food and water. “People are struggling to have anything to survive on,” he said. “Those who survive the bombing most likely will not survive staying in this condition.” Abofoul also put the current onslaught in the context of the forced displacement of Palestinians since the 1948 establishment of the state of Israel. Pleading with his grandfather to evacuate to a different part of the territory after the war started, Abofoul’s relatives reassured the grandfather he would eventually return home. “That is exactly what they told me in 1948,” he responded, echoing fears by tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians that Israel is seeking to drive them out for good. Schools, universities, churches, and even Gaza’s archives were destroyed in the ongoing war, Abofoul added. “Everything has been destroyed,” he said, “The Gaza that we know no longer exists.” El-Haddad, the writer, told the court that she felt an obligation as an American to bring the lawsuit against the Biden administration and that hearing “our president not only actively support this, but cast doubt on the deaths of my family members and other college students in Gaza” had made her feel “dehumanized” and “completely invisible.” “I felt it was my duty as an American whose taxes and government have been directly responsible for the deaths of my family,” she added. “My government is complicit in this ongoing genocide against my family and the destruction of everything that I knew and I loved.” Barry Trachtenberg, a professor of Jewish history and author of two books about the Holocaust, testified as an expert witness in the case – over repeated objections from Justice Department attorneys. When he filed his declaration in the case in November, he said, some 11,000 Palestinians had been killed. Today, that number is far greater. “Everything that we feared and more is unfolding,” he said, noting that often, legal actions about genocide happen long after the fact. “What makes this situation so unique is that we’re watching the genocide unfold as we speak. And we’re in this incredibly unique position where we can actually intervene to stop it using the mechanisms of international law that are available to us.” A Historic Case CCR’s 89-page complaintOpens in a new tab lays out, in painstaking detail, statements of genocidal intent by Israeli officials, paired with affirmations by U.S. officials that they would back Israel’s war effort with every tool at their disposal. “The highest level of Israel’s senior political and military leadership made statements on October 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, laying out that they intended, in effect, to destroy Gaza,” Gallagher, a senior staff attorney at CCR and one of the lead attorneys on the case, said on Intercepted last week. “And as the statements of intent were being made, senior levels of the United States government — including President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Austin — were likewise making declarations about their intentions in the coming days, weeks, months … And that was to give unconditional and complete support to Israel.” Under international law, the crime of genocide is defined as the intention to destroy or partially destroy a group of people based on their ethnic, religious, racial, or national identity, either by direct killing or by the creation of conditions making life impossible. While Israel has for decades flouted international law standards and ignored rebukes, including by the ICJ, the Israeli government’s actions in the aftermath of the Hamas attacks were “qualitatively different,” Gallagher said. Two days after the attacks, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered mass war crimes when he announced “a complete siege of the Gaza Strip,” which is home to 2.2 million Palestinians, nearly half of them children. “There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” he said then, a threat that Israel has since largely delivered on. “We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly.” As Israel unleashed an onslaught that quickly outpaced any recent conflictsOpens in a new tab for the number and pace of deaths, human rights groups warned the Biden administration that its unconditional support for Israel risked making it complicit in the crime of genocide. Josh Paul, a former senior State Department official who resigned over the Biden administration’s support for the war on Gaza and filed a declaration in support of the CCR case, said on Friday morning, “Since October 7th, we’ve seen a sharp increase in the transfer of arms to Israel both through the speeding up of previously authorized transfers and through the ramming through Congress of so-called emergency sales of thousands of rounds of tanks, ammunition, and alternative shells.” “The U.S. has likely transferred munitions totaling in the tens of thousands since October 7 to Israel,” he added, speaking at a briefing CCR hosted on Friday morning. “This also demonstrates, I think, the significant amount of leverage that we have if we wanted to push Israel to end or curtail its operations in Gaza.” “None of this could be done without the U.S. government,” echoed Ata Hindi, a lawyer who helped draft an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit on behalf of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, at the event preceding the hearing. “It’s for the United States to say whether or not, through its weapons in particular, whether or not this genocide continues.” The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, he noted, was “drowned” in complaints by Palestinian Americans who accused the U.S. government of discriminating against them. “It’s unfortunate to see how little the U.S. government in particular has paid attention to these American citizens and their families,” said Hindi. “And we hope that the court will do something to change that.” The lawsuit has garnered significant international attention, with 77 legal and civil society groups from around the world backing it in a late December briefing to the court. They argued that the U.S. is violating its duties under international law to prevent and not be complicit in genocide, contributing to the erosion of “long and widely-held norms of international law,” like the Genocide Convention and Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The U.S. federal case is one of a number of legal efforts stemming from Israel’s war on Gaza. In another U.S. lawsuit, Palestinian Americans have accused the administrationOpens in a new tab of failing to protect U.S. citizens in Gaza and denying them equal protection, a constitutional right. That lawsuit argues that U.S. officials have not done as much to evacuate U.S. citizens trapped in Gaza as they did for Israeli Americans. In addition to South Africa’s genocide case against Israel before the ICJ, a group of South African lawyers have also indicated their intentOpens in a new tab, pending the court’s early rulings, to bring civil action against the U.S. and British governments over their support for Israel’s actions. Other countries have also filed separate complaintsOpens in a new tab against Israel before the ICJ. The cascading cases against Israel are a remarkable development for a country that has for decades acted with impunity, largely thanks to unwavering U.S. support. In a further sign of waning support, a poll Opens in a new tab released this week issued its own verdict: One-third of Americans — and nearly half of the country’s Democrats — believe Israel is committing genocide in Palestine. * Note to readers: Please click the share button above. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel free to repost and share widely Global Research articles. Featured image: I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream- by Mr. Fish https://www.globalresearch.ca/i-have-lost-everything-federal-court-palestinians-accuse-biden-complicity-genocide/5847895 https://donshafi911.blogspot.com/2024/01/i-have-lost-everything-in-federal-court.html
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    “I Have Lost Everything”: In Federal Court, Palestinians Accuse Biden of Complicity in Genocide
    All Global Research articles can be read in 51 languages by activating the Translate Website button below the author’s name (only available in desktop version). To receive Global Research’s Daily Newsletter (selected articles), click here. Click the share button above to email/forward this article to your friends and colleagues. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter and subscribe to our Telegram Channel. Feel …
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  • It May be Genocide, But it Won’t Be Stopped - Read by Eunice Wong
    Chris Hedges19 hrs ago
    Text Originally posted Jan. 26, 2024


    Red Ink - by Mr. Fish

    The International Court of Justice (ICJ) refused to implement the most crucial demand made by South African jurists: “the State of Israel shall immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.” But at the same time, it delivered a devastating blow to the foundational myth of Israel. Israel, which paints itself as eternally persecuted, has been credibly accused of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Palestinians are the victims, not the perpetrators, of the “crime of crimes.” A people, once in need of protection from genocide, are now potentially committing it. The court’s ruling questions the very raison d'être of the “Jewish State” and challenges the impunity Israel has enjoyed since its founding 75 years ago.

    The ICJ ordered Israel to take six provisional measures to prevent acts of genocide, measures that will be very difficult if not impossible to fulfill if Israel continues its saturation bombing of Gaza and wholesale targeting of vital infrastructure.

    The court called on Israel “to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide.” It demanded Israel “take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.” It ordered Israel to protect Palestinian civilians. It called on Israel to protect the some 50,000 women giving birth in Gaza. It ordered Israel to take “effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts within the scope of Article II and Article III of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide against members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip.”

    The court ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent the crimes which amount to genocide such as “killing, causing serious bodily and mental harm, inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.”

    Israel was ordered to report back in one month to explain what it had done to implement the provisional measures.

    Gaza was pounded with bombs, missiles and artillery shells as the ruling was read in The Hague — at least 183 Palestinians have been killed in the last 24 hours. Since Oct. 7, more than 26,000 Palestinians have been killed. Almost 65,000 have been wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Thousands more are missing. The carnage continues. This is the cold reality.

    Translated into the vernacular, the court is saying Israel must feed and provide medical care for the victims, cease public statements advocating genocide, preserve evidence of genocide and stop killing Palestinian civilians. Come back and report in a month.

    It is hard to see how these provisional measures can be achieved if the carnage in Gaza continues.

    “Without a ceasefire, the order doesn’t actually work,” Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s minister of international relations, stated bluntly after the ruling.

    Time is not on the side of the Palestinians. Thousands of Palestinians will die within a month. Palestinians in Gaza make up 80 percent of all the people facing famine or catastrophic hunger worldwide, according to the United Nations. The entire population of Gaza by early February is projected to lack sufficient food, with half a million people suffering from starvation, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, drawing on data from U.N. agencies and NGOs. The famine is engineered by Israel.

    At best, the court — while it will not rule for a few years on whether Israel is committing genocide — has given legal license to use the word “genocide” to describe what Israel is doing in Gaza. This is very significant, but it is not enough, given the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

    Israel has dropped almost 30,000 bombs and shells on Gaza — eight times more bombs than the U.S. dropped on Iraq during six years of war. It has used hundreds of 2,000-pound bombs to obliterate densely populated areas, including refugee camps. These “bunker buster” bombs have a kill radius of a thousand feet. The Israeli aerial assault is unlike anything seen since Vietnam. Gaza, only 20 miles long and five miles wide, is rapidly becoming, by design, uninhabitable.

    Israel will no doubt continue its assault arguing that it is not in violation of the court’s directives. In addition, the Biden administration will undoubtedly veto the resolution at the Security Council demanding Israel implement the provisional measures. The General Assembly, if the Security Council does not endorse the measures, can vote again calling for a ceasefire, but has no power to enforce it.

    Defense for Children International - Palestine v. Biden was filed in November by the Center for Constitutional Rights against President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The case challenges the U.S. government’s failure to prevent complicity in Israel’s unfolding genocide of the Palestinian people. It asks the court to order the Biden administration to cease diplomatic and military support and comply with its legal obligations under international and federal law.

    The only active resistance to halt the Gaza genocide is provided by Yemen’s Red Sea blockade. Yemen, which was under siege for eight years by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, France, Britain and the U.S., experienced over 400,000 deaths from starvation, lack of health care, infectious diseases and the deliberate bombing of schools, hospitals, infrastructure, residential areas, markets, funerals and weddings. Yemenis know too well — since at least 2017 multiple U.N. agencies have described Yemen as experiencing “the largest humanitarian crisis in the world” — what the Palestinians are enduring.

    Yemen’s resistance — when the history of this genocide is written — will set it apart from nearly every other nation. The rest of the world, including the Arab world, retreats into toothless rhetorical condemnations or actively supports Israel’s obliteration of Gaza and its 2.3 million inhabitants.

    The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the U.S. has sent 230 cargo planes and 20 ships filled with artillery shells, armored vehicles and combat equipment to Israel since the attacks of Oct. 7, in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed. U.S. weapons and military equipment are being shipped to Israel — which is running out of munitions — from the British base RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, according to the U.K. investigative website Declassified UK. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that more than 40 U.S. and 20 British transport aircraft, along with seven heavy-lift helicopters, have flown into RAF Akrotiri, a 40-minute flight from Tel Aviv. Germany reportedly plans to provide 10,000 rounds of 120mm precision ammunition to Israel. If the court rules against Israel, these countries will be recognized by the world’s most important international court as accomplices to genocide.

    The ruling was dismissed by Israeli leaders.

    Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking to paint the decision not to demand a ceasefire as a victory for Israel, said “Like every country, Israel has an inherent right to defend itself. The vile attempt to deny Israel this fundamental right is blatant discrimination against the Jewish state, and it was justly rejected. The charge of genocide leveled against Israel is not only false, it’s outrageous, and decent people everywhere should reject it.”

    “The decision of the antisemitic court in The Hague proves what was already known: This court does not seek justice, but rather the persecution of Jewish people,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said. “They were silent during the Holocaust and today they continue the hypocrisy and take it another step further.”

    The ICJ was founded in 1945 following the Nazi Holocaust. The first case it heard was submitted to the court in 1947.

    “Decisions that endanger the continued existence of the State of Israel must not be listened to,” Ben-Gvir added. “We must continue defeating the enemy until complete victory.”

    The court, which rejected Israel’s arguments to dismiss the case, acknowledged “that the military operation being conducted by Israel following the attack of 7 October 2023 has resulted, inter alia, in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries and the destruction of homes, schools, medical facilities and other vital infrastructure, as well as displacement on a massive scale.”

    The ruling included a statement made by the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, who on Jan. 5, called Gaza “a place of death and despair.” The court document went on:

    . . . Families are sleeping in the open as temperatures plummet. Areas where civilians were told to relocate for their safety have come under bombardment. Medical facilities are under relentless attack. The few hospitals that are partially functional are overwhelmed with trauma cases, critically short of all supplies, and inundated by desperate people seeking safety.

    A public health disaster is unfolding. Infectious diseases are spreading in overcrowded shelters as sewers spill over. Some 180 Palestinian women are giving birth daily amidst this chaos. People are facing the highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded. Famine is around the corner.

    For children in particular, the past 12 weeks have been traumatic: No food. No water. No school. Nothing but the terrifying sounds of war, day in and day out.

    Gaza has simply become uninhabitable. Its people are witnessing daily threats to their very existence — while the world watches on.

    The court acknowledged that “an unprecedented 93% of the population in Gaza is facing crisis levels of hunger, with insufficient food and high levels of malnutrition. At least 1 in 4 households are facing ‘catastrophic conditions’: experiencing an extreme lack of food and starvation and having resorted to selling off their possessions and other extreme measures to afford a simple meal. Starvation, destitution and death are evident.”

    The ruling, quoting Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), continued:

    Overcrowded and unsanitary UNRWA shelters have now become ‘home’ to more than 1.4 million people,” the ruling read. “They lack everything, from food to hygiene to privacy. People live in inhumane conditions, where diseases are spreading, including among children. They live through the unlivable, with the clock ticking fast towards famine.

    The plight of children in Gaza is especially heartbreaking. An entire generation of children is traumatized and will take years to heal. Thousands have been killed, maimed, and orphaned. Hundreds of thousands are deprived of education. Their future is in jeopardy, with far-reaching and long-lasting consequences.

    The court also referred pointedly to comments made by multiple senior Israeli government officials advocating genocide, including the president and minister of defense. Statements made by government and other officials form a crucial element of the “intent” component when seeking to establish the crime of genocide.

    It quoted Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who declared — two days after the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7 — that he ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza City with “no electricity, no food, no fuel” being permitted.

    “I have released all restraints . . . You saw what we are fighting against. We are fighting human animals. This is the ISIS of Gaza,” Gallant told Israeli troops massing around Gaza the following day. “This is what we are fighting against…Gaza won’t return to what it was before. There will be no Hamas. We will eliminate everything. If it doesn’t take one day, it will take a week, it will take weeks or even months, we will reach all places.”

    The ICJ quoted Israel’s President Isaac Herzog as saying, “It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved. It is absolutely not true. They could have risen up. They could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza in a coup d’état. But we are at war. We are at war. We are defending our homes.” Herzog continued “We are protecting our homes. That’s the truth. And when a nation protects its home, it fights. And we will fight until we’ll break their backbone.”

    Today’s decision was read out by the ICJ’s current president, Judge Joan Donoghue, an American lawyer who used to work at the U.S. State Department and the Department of the Treasury before she joined the World Court in 2010.

    “In the Court’s view, the facts and circumstances mentioned above are sufficient to conclude that at least some of the rights claimed by South Africa and for which it is seeking protection are plausible,” it read. “This is the case with respect to the right of the Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide and related prohibited acts identified in Article III, and the right of South Africa to seek Israel’s compliance with the latter’s obligations under the Convention.”

    It is clear from the ruling that the court is fully aware of the magnitude of Israel’s crimes. This makes the decision not to call for the immediate suspension of Israeli military activity in and against Gaza all the more distressing.

    But the court did deliver a devastating blow to the mystique Israel has used since its founding to carry out its settler colonial project against the indigenous inhabitants of historic Palestine. It made the word genocide, when applied to Israel, credible.

    Share
    It May be Genocide, But it Won’t Be Stopped - Read by Eunice Wong Chris Hedges19 hrs ago Text Originally posted Jan. 26, 2024 Red Ink - by Mr. Fish The International Court of Justice (ICJ) refused to implement the most crucial demand made by South African jurists: “the State of Israel shall immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.” But at the same time, it delivered a devastating blow to the foundational myth of Israel. Israel, which paints itself as eternally persecuted, has been credibly accused of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Palestinians are the victims, not the perpetrators, of the “crime of crimes.” A people, once in need of protection from genocide, are now potentially committing it. The court’s ruling questions the very raison d'être of the “Jewish State” and challenges the impunity Israel has enjoyed since its founding 75 years ago. The ICJ ordered Israel to take six provisional measures to prevent acts of genocide, measures that will be very difficult if not impossible to fulfill if Israel continues its saturation bombing of Gaza and wholesale targeting of vital infrastructure. The court called on Israel “to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide.” It demanded Israel “take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.” It ordered Israel to protect Palestinian civilians. It called on Israel to protect the some 50,000 women giving birth in Gaza. It ordered Israel to take “effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts within the scope of Article II and Article III of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide against members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip.” The court ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent the crimes which amount to genocide such as “killing, causing serious bodily and mental harm, inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.” Israel was ordered to report back in one month to explain what it had done to implement the provisional measures. Gaza was pounded with bombs, missiles and artillery shells as the ruling was read in The Hague — at least 183 Palestinians have been killed in the last 24 hours. Since Oct. 7, more than 26,000 Palestinians have been killed. Almost 65,000 have been wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. Thousands more are missing. The carnage continues. This is the cold reality. Translated into the vernacular, the court is saying Israel must feed and provide medical care for the victims, cease public statements advocating genocide, preserve evidence of genocide and stop killing Palestinian civilians. Come back and report in a month. It is hard to see how these provisional measures can be achieved if the carnage in Gaza continues. “Without a ceasefire, the order doesn’t actually work,” Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s minister of international relations, stated bluntly after the ruling. Time is not on the side of the Palestinians. Thousands of Palestinians will die within a month. Palestinians in Gaza make up 80 percent of all the people facing famine or catastrophic hunger worldwide, according to the United Nations. The entire population of Gaza by early February is projected to lack sufficient food, with half a million people suffering from starvation, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, drawing on data from U.N. agencies and NGOs. The famine is engineered by Israel. At best, the court — while it will not rule for a few years on whether Israel is committing genocide — has given legal license to use the word “genocide” to describe what Israel is doing in Gaza. This is very significant, but it is not enough, given the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Israel has dropped almost 30,000 bombs and shells on Gaza — eight times more bombs than the U.S. dropped on Iraq during six years of war. It has used hundreds of 2,000-pound bombs to obliterate densely populated areas, including refugee camps. These “bunker buster” bombs have a kill radius of a thousand feet. The Israeli aerial assault is unlike anything seen since Vietnam. Gaza, only 20 miles long and five miles wide, is rapidly becoming, by design, uninhabitable. Israel will no doubt continue its assault arguing that it is not in violation of the court’s directives. In addition, the Biden administration will undoubtedly veto the resolution at the Security Council demanding Israel implement the provisional measures. The General Assembly, if the Security Council does not endorse the measures, can vote again calling for a ceasefire, but has no power to enforce it. Defense for Children International - Palestine v. Biden was filed in November by the Center for Constitutional Rights against President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. The case challenges the U.S. government’s failure to prevent complicity in Israel’s unfolding genocide of the Palestinian people. It asks the court to order the Biden administration to cease diplomatic and military support and comply with its legal obligations under international and federal law. The only active resistance to halt the Gaza genocide is provided by Yemen’s Red Sea blockade. Yemen, which was under siege for eight years by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, France, Britain and the U.S., experienced over 400,000 deaths from starvation, lack of health care, infectious diseases and the deliberate bombing of schools, hospitals, infrastructure, residential areas, markets, funerals and weddings. Yemenis know too well — since at least 2017 multiple U.N. agencies have described Yemen as experiencing “the largest humanitarian crisis in the world” — what the Palestinians are enduring. Yemen’s resistance — when the history of this genocide is written — will set it apart from nearly every other nation. The rest of the world, including the Arab world, retreats into toothless rhetorical condemnations or actively supports Israel’s obliteration of Gaza and its 2.3 million inhabitants. The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that the U.S. has sent 230 cargo planes and 20 ships filled with artillery shells, armored vehicles and combat equipment to Israel since the attacks of Oct. 7, in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed. U.S. weapons and military equipment are being shipped to Israel — which is running out of munitions — from the British base RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, according to the U.K. investigative website Declassified UK. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that more than 40 U.S. and 20 British transport aircraft, along with seven heavy-lift helicopters, have flown into RAF Akrotiri, a 40-minute flight from Tel Aviv. Germany reportedly plans to provide 10,000 rounds of 120mm precision ammunition to Israel. If the court rules against Israel, these countries will be recognized by the world’s most important international court as accomplices to genocide. The ruling was dismissed by Israeli leaders. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking to paint the decision not to demand a ceasefire as a victory for Israel, said “Like every country, Israel has an inherent right to defend itself. The vile attempt to deny Israel this fundamental right is blatant discrimination against the Jewish state, and it was justly rejected. The charge of genocide leveled against Israel is not only false, it’s outrageous, and decent people everywhere should reject it.” “The decision of the antisemitic court in The Hague proves what was already known: This court does not seek justice, but rather the persecution of Jewish people,” National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said. “They were silent during the Holocaust and today they continue the hypocrisy and take it another step further.” The ICJ was founded in 1945 following the Nazi Holocaust. The first case it heard was submitted to the court in 1947. “Decisions that endanger the continued existence of the State of Israel must not be listened to,” Ben-Gvir added. “We must continue defeating the enemy until complete victory.” The court, which rejected Israel’s arguments to dismiss the case, acknowledged “that the military operation being conducted by Israel following the attack of 7 October 2023 has resulted, inter alia, in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries and the destruction of homes, schools, medical facilities and other vital infrastructure, as well as displacement on a massive scale.” The ruling included a statement made by the U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, who on Jan. 5, called Gaza “a place of death and despair.” The court document went on: . . . Families are sleeping in the open as temperatures plummet. Areas where civilians were told to relocate for their safety have come under bombardment. Medical facilities are under relentless attack. The few hospitals that are partially functional are overwhelmed with trauma cases, critically short of all supplies, and inundated by desperate people seeking safety. A public health disaster is unfolding. Infectious diseases are spreading in overcrowded shelters as sewers spill over. Some 180 Palestinian women are giving birth daily amidst this chaos. People are facing the highest levels of food insecurity ever recorded. Famine is around the corner. For children in particular, the past 12 weeks have been traumatic: No food. No water. No school. Nothing but the terrifying sounds of war, day in and day out. Gaza has simply become uninhabitable. Its people are witnessing daily threats to their very existence — while the world watches on. The court acknowledged that “an unprecedented 93% of the population in Gaza is facing crisis levels of hunger, with insufficient food and high levels of malnutrition. At least 1 in 4 households are facing ‘catastrophic conditions’: experiencing an extreme lack of food and starvation and having resorted to selling off their possessions and other extreme measures to afford a simple meal. Starvation, destitution and death are evident.” The ruling, quoting Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), continued: Overcrowded and unsanitary UNRWA shelters have now become ‘home’ to more than 1.4 million people,” the ruling read. “They lack everything, from food to hygiene to privacy. People live in inhumane conditions, where diseases are spreading, including among children. They live through the unlivable, with the clock ticking fast towards famine. The plight of children in Gaza is especially heartbreaking. An entire generation of children is traumatized and will take years to heal. Thousands have been killed, maimed, and orphaned. Hundreds of thousands are deprived of education. Their future is in jeopardy, with far-reaching and long-lasting consequences. The court also referred pointedly to comments made by multiple senior Israeli government officials advocating genocide, including the president and minister of defense. Statements made by government and other officials form a crucial element of the “intent” component when seeking to establish the crime of genocide. It quoted Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who declared — two days after the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7 — that he ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza City with “no electricity, no food, no fuel” being permitted. “I have released all restraints . . . You saw what we are fighting against. We are fighting human animals. This is the ISIS of Gaza,” Gallant told Israeli troops massing around Gaza the following day. “This is what we are fighting against…Gaza won’t return to what it was before. There will be no Hamas. We will eliminate everything. If it doesn’t take one day, it will take a week, it will take weeks or even months, we will reach all places.” The ICJ quoted Israel’s President Isaac Herzog as saying, “It is not true this rhetoric about civilians not aware, not involved. It is absolutely not true. They could have risen up. They could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza in a coup d’état. But we are at war. We are at war. We are defending our homes.” Herzog continued “We are protecting our homes. That’s the truth. And when a nation protects its home, it fights. And we will fight until we’ll break their backbone.” Today’s decision was read out by the ICJ’s current president, Judge Joan Donoghue, an American lawyer who used to work at the U.S. State Department and the Department of the Treasury before she joined the World Court in 2010. “In the Court’s view, the facts and circumstances mentioned above are sufficient to conclude that at least some of the rights claimed by South Africa and for which it is seeking protection are plausible,” it read. “This is the case with respect to the right of the Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide and related prohibited acts identified in Article III, and the right of South Africa to seek Israel’s compliance with the latter’s obligations under the Convention.” It is clear from the ruling that the court is fully aware of the magnitude of Israel’s crimes. This makes the decision not to call for the immediate suspension of Israeli military activity in and against Gaza all the more distressing. But the court did deliver a devastating blow to the mystique Israel has used since its founding to carry out its settler colonial project against the indigenous inhabitants of historic Palestine. It made the word genocide, when applied to Israel, credible. Share
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  • ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 104: Israel’s unrelenting assault continues – ‘If we’re not killed by bombs, we die from the cold, starvation, or disease’
    Leila WarahJanuary 18, 2024
    Palestinians injured in Israeli air strikes being treated at Al-Aqsa Hospital on January 6, 2024 in Deir El-Balah, Gaza. (Photo: Ali Hamad/APA Images)
    Palestinians injured in Israeli air strikes being treated at Al-Aqsa Hospital on January 6, 2024 in Deir El-Balah, Gaza. (Photo: Ali Hamad/APA Images)
    Casualties

    24,448+ killed* and at least 61,504 wounded in the Gaza Strip.
    388+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
    Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147.
    549 Israeli soldiers killed since October 7, and at least 3,221 injured.**
    *This figure was confirmed by Gaza’s Ministry of Health on January 16. Some rights groups put the death toll number at more than 31,000 when accounting for those presumed dead.

    **This figure is released by the Israeli military.

    Key Developments

    Occupied West Bank: Deadly military raid in Tulkarem continues for second day.
    UN: Every single person in Gaza is hungry, and a quarter are facing starvation
    PRCS: Two ambulance workers wounded by Israeli fire in the West Bank while trying to reach victims of air attack in Tulkarem refugee camp.
    U.S. designates Ansar Allah as a “terrorist” group for its attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
    $15bn needed to rebuild Gaza’s 350,000 homes after the war
    300% increase in Gaza miscarriages since October 7
    At least 16 Palestinians, including children, killed in an Israeli shelling of a house east of Rafah.
    Medicine and aid entered Gaza for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages as per Qatari-mediated deal.
    UNOCHA: Israeli missile strikes UNRWA health clinic in Daraj, in Gaza City.
    Gaza’s telecommunications blackout imposed by Israel enters seventh day.
    Hundreds in Gaza killed every day

    Every day, the situation in Gaza grows exponentially worse amid Israel’s bombardment and ongoing blockade, leaving the majority of the besieged enclave’s population displaced with little to no belongings and nowhere safe to run.

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    In Rafah, southern Gaza, 16 people were killed by Israeli forces on Thursday when the home sheltering them was bombed, reported Al Jazeera, which expects the death toll to rise as more bodies are found in the rubble.

    Abu Khaled, a relative of those killed in the attack, told the network, “They fled their homes in Gaza City to the Bureij refugee camp to Khan Younis before coming to Rafah because they thought it was safer.”

    Although the U.S. claims that Israel is beginning to lower the intensity of their attacks on Gaza, Palestinians living in the besieged enclave have noticed no changes in Israel’s bombardment.

    “The strikes have not stopped over the last few hours across the Gaza Strip, despite the fact that Israel says that they’re moving to a completely new phase with low-intensity bombing,” Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Rafah in southern Gaza.

    “We can see that the death toll and casualties among civilians keeps rising, to reach more than 163 Palestinians killed in the past 24 hours,” Abu Azzoum said Wednesday evening.

    “Every day, hundreds of us are killed,” Abu Khaled added, “If we’re not killed by the bombs, we die from the cold, or starvation, or from disease.”

    According to the UN, every single person in the Gaza Strip is hungry, with a quarter of the population facing starvation. Residents of the besieged enclaves make up 80 percent of the world’s collective population facing famine or catastrophic hunger.

    “In addition, all children under five – 335,000 of them – are at high risk of severe malnutrition as the risk of famine conditions continues to increase, a whole generation is now in danger of suffering from stunting,” the humanitarian group said.

    The UN’s humanitarian agency’s (OCHA) latest update, which has been limited to Israel’s ongoing telecommunications blackout imposed on the besieged enclave, said that a missile reportedly struck the UNRWA health clinic in Daraj, in Gaza City on Wednesday.

    The humanitarian group also reported heavy bombardment in the Khan Younis area for the last two days, targeting residential buildings, a cemetery, and hospitals.

    “Initial reports and video footage show that much of the al-Namsawi cemetery was destroyed and graves empty with some corpses reportedly missing,” it said.

    “The people of Gaza have moved from the sheer shock of losing everything – in some cases every member of their family – to a debilitating struggle to stay alive and protect their loved ones,” said UNRWA Commissioner Philippe Lazzarini after his fourth trip to Gaza since October 7.

    Amnesty International has said the telecommunications blackout, which has entered its seventh day, has put civilians at risk, hampered the work of rescue services, and complicated aid delivery efforts.

    “These recurrent and life-threatening blackouts must not be normalized. An immediate ceasefire is critical to urgently restore power and connectivity to Gazans,” the group said, adding that the communications blackout is the ninth imposed by Israeli forces since the beginning of the current round of fighting.

    “This has gone on for far too long. There are no winners in these wars. There is endless chaos and growing despair. I call once again for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to bring some respite,” Lazzarini added.

    Healthcare: Still a target

    Over 61,000 people have been wounded by Israel’s aggression on Gaza, which has left healthcare workers and humanitarian staff overwhelmed as undersupplied hospitals witness people die in front of them every day.

    “I’ve seen children full of shrapnel dying on the floor because there are not the supplies in the emergency department, and the healthcare workers … to care for them,” Sean Casey of the World Health Organization said after a visit to several of Gaza’s hospitals.

    “Doctors can’t find anything to treat their patients, now they just use salt. Even salt is $13 per kilogramme. Can you imagine putting salt on people’s wounds to disinfect them?” displaced Palestinian Ibrahim Baraikat told Al Jazeera.

    “We’ve reached a critical point. People are dying and they don’t even have painkillers.”

    To make matters worse, hospitals have been repeatedly targeted by Israel’s military, making it impossible for patients to remain safe as they receive treatment.

    On Wednesday, the Jordanian field hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis was badly damaged as a result of Israeli shelling in the vicinity.

    Wafa reported that a Palestinian citizen, who was receiving treatment in the ICU, was injured by shrapnel and a bullet during the Israeli attack and that the hospital was subjected to severe material damage as a result of the continuous Israeli bombing.

    Despite the damages, the hospital remains adamant that it will continue to operate.

    The Jordanian Armed Forces have said they hold Israel fully accountable for the safety of the hospital’s staff, who are performing their humanitarian role by international laws and norms, added Wafa.

    Meanwhile, pregnant women in Gaza are experiencing a 300% increase in miscarriages, which has been caused by the limited medical supplies and access to health centers, putting them at an increased risk of infection, Nour Beydoun, regional adviser on protection and gender in emergencies for humanitarian agency CARE, told Jezebel.

    Beydoun added that another reason for the increase is that pregnant women lack proper food and nutrition, resulting in poor fetal health.

    Israel’s “draconian” measure to restrict dissent

    Meanwhile, in Israel, authorities have been cracking down on Palestinians “for simply expressing their views or opinions on various online platforms, through a variety of measures including censorship, surveillance and arrests,” says 7amleh, The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, as cited by Al Jazeera.

    7amleh says since October 7, Israel has introduced “draconian legislation” to restrict freedom of expression and criticism of its actions in Gaza.

    “The most notable measures included mass content removals and extensive ‘shadowbanning’ of users criticizing Israel or posting in support of Palestinians. During Israel’s war on Gaza, these content restrictions and removals soared to unprecedented levels,” it noted.

    “Users of Meta’s platforms, including journalists, activists, media pages, and those simply documenting reality on the ground or posting in support of Palestinian rights, were subject to account banning, content removal, and other restrictive measures,” the group continued.

    Israel has also planned to indict Israeli politician Ofer Cassif, a member of the Knesset for the Hadash-Ta’al party, on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer that took place in 2022, The Times of Israel reports.

    It is unclear why the indictment is proceeding in January 2024, however, it is essential to note that Cassif recently declared his backing for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

    The politician has also been in the spotlight for his comments against members of the government, saying they are “calling for ethnic cleansing and even actual genocide” against Palestinians.

    U.S. intimidation tactics not working on Yemen

    On Wednesday, the U.S. designated Ansar Allah as a “terrorist” group for its attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

    “Today, in response to these continuing threats and attacks, the United States announced the designation of Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.

    The designation comes into effect in 30 days and could be reevaluated if the Yemeni group ceases attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

    “This designation is more like an insult. It’s the old glove in the face – slap someone with your glove. You’re sort of challenging but not really hurting them,” Nabeel Khoury, a former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Yemen, told Al Jazeera.

    Khoury said Ansar Allah would likely see the move as an “insult” and “provocation” that could lead to further escalation. He called the Biden administration’s strategic motivation “baffling.”

    “I think the idea from the Biden administration is this will intimidate and this will stop further widening of the war,” Khoury said. “But if it has the opposite effect, which I think is more likely, then you are widening the war and opening yourself up and American presence to further attacks. And so the only possible thing I see is negative or potential further escalation.”

    Ansar Allah spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam told Al Jazeera that the group would not stop its attacks on ships heading to Israel from the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.

    Abdulsalam said the group would “not back down in its position in support of the Palestinian people,” adding that the U.S. had no power to implement its decision against the Houthis and denied reports that Iran has been supplying arms to the group.

    Hours after the U.S. announcement, the Yemeni group targeted a U.S. ship in the Gulf of Aden, achieving “precise and direct” hits.

    “The Yemeni armed forces reaffirm that the response to the American and British aggression is inevitable, and no aggression will pass without response or punishment,” said Ansar Allah.

    The U.S. later launched yet another barrage of missiles at Yemen.

    Sullivan’s statement added that the re-designation of Ansar Allah, which comes with harsh sanctions, will not hurt the people of Yemen since the sanctions will include “unprecedented” humanitarian carve-outs.

    Still, “rights advocates have warned that blacklisting the Houthis would complicate the work of humanitarian organizations operating in areas under the group’s control. Yemen is enduring one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises where millions of people are dependent on international aid,” reported Al Jazeera.

    Hamas has denounced the U.S. designation of Ansar Allah as a ‘terrorist’ group, describing the Biden administration’s decision as “politicized,” saying that the move shows Washington’s “blatant bias” and aims to protect Israel as it continues its “barbaric aggression and genocide” in Gaza.

    Over 30 hours of Israeli terror in West Bank city

    In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces have continued their overnight rampages in Palestinian neighborhoods and cities, which often turn deadly and have resulted in dozens of arrests.

    The military has wreaked havoc in Tulkarem for two days straight now, demolishing infrastructure, destroying homes, beating and arresting residents, and killing the Palestinian city’s youth. It is unclear when the deadly raid will end.

    Since the military invasion began, seven Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces.

    The Office of the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said the killings of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have raised concerns of “unlawful” lethal attacks by the Israeli military.

    “Unlawful killings of Palestinians must end,” the OHCHR’s Palestine office said.

    “Israel must ensure a prompt, independent and effective investigation” of the killings, as “according to initial information, both cases raise concerns of unlawful killings,” it continued.

    BEFORE YOU GO – At Mondoweiss, we understand the power of telling Palestinian stories. For 17 years, we have pushed back when the mainstream media published lies or echoed politicians’ hateful rhetoric. Now, Palestinian voices are more important than ever.

    Our traffic has increased ten times since October 7, and we need your help to cover our increased expenses.

    Support our journalists with a donation today.

    https://mondoweiss.net/2024/01/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-104-israels-unrelenting-assault-continues-if-were-not-killed-by-bombs-we-die-from-the-cold-starvation-or-disease/
    ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 104: Israel’s unrelenting assault continues – ‘If we’re not killed by bombs, we die from the cold, starvation, or disease’ Leila WarahJanuary 18, 2024 Palestinians injured in Israeli air strikes being treated at Al-Aqsa Hospital on January 6, 2024 in Deir El-Balah, Gaza. (Photo: Ali Hamad/APA Images) Palestinians injured in Israeli air strikes being treated at Al-Aqsa Hospital on January 6, 2024 in Deir El-Balah, Gaza. (Photo: Ali Hamad/APA Images) Casualties 24,448+ killed* and at least 61,504 wounded in the Gaza Strip. 388+ Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem Israel revises its estimated October 7 death toll down from 1,400 to 1,147. 549 Israeli soldiers killed since October 7, and at least 3,221 injured.** *This figure was confirmed by Gaza’s Ministry of Health on January 16. Some rights groups put the death toll number at more than 31,000 when accounting for those presumed dead. **This figure is released by the Israeli military. Key Developments Occupied West Bank: Deadly military raid in Tulkarem continues for second day. UN: Every single person in Gaza is hungry, and a quarter are facing starvation PRCS: Two ambulance workers wounded by Israeli fire in the West Bank while trying to reach victims of air attack in Tulkarem refugee camp. U.S. designates Ansar Allah as a “terrorist” group for its attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. $15bn needed to rebuild Gaza’s 350,000 homes after the war 300% increase in Gaza miscarriages since October 7 At least 16 Palestinians, including children, killed in an Israeli shelling of a house east of Rafah. Medicine and aid entered Gaza for Palestinian civilians and Israeli hostages as per Qatari-mediated deal. UNOCHA: Israeli missile strikes UNRWA health clinic in Daraj, in Gaza City. Gaza’s telecommunications blackout imposed by Israel enters seventh day. Hundreds in Gaza killed every day Every day, the situation in Gaza grows exponentially worse amid Israel’s bombardment and ongoing blockade, leaving the majority of the besieged enclave’s population displaced with little to no belongings and nowhere safe to run. Advertisement Are you tired of Twitter? Follow Mondoweiss on the Mastodon social network. In Rafah, southern Gaza, 16 people were killed by Israeli forces on Thursday when the home sheltering them was bombed, reported Al Jazeera, which expects the death toll to rise as more bodies are found in the rubble. Abu Khaled, a relative of those killed in the attack, told the network, “They fled their homes in Gaza City to the Bureij refugee camp to Khan Younis before coming to Rafah because they thought it was safer.” Although the U.S. claims that Israel is beginning to lower the intensity of their attacks on Gaza, Palestinians living in the besieged enclave have noticed no changes in Israel’s bombardment. “The strikes have not stopped over the last few hours across the Gaza Strip, despite the fact that Israel says that they’re moving to a completely new phase with low-intensity bombing,” Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum reported from Rafah in southern Gaza. “We can see that the death toll and casualties among civilians keeps rising, to reach more than 163 Palestinians killed in the past 24 hours,” Abu Azzoum said Wednesday evening. “Every day, hundreds of us are killed,” Abu Khaled added, “If we’re not killed by the bombs, we die from the cold, or starvation, or from disease.” According to the UN, every single person in the Gaza Strip is hungry, with a quarter of the population facing starvation. Residents of the besieged enclaves make up 80 percent of the world’s collective population facing famine or catastrophic hunger. “In addition, all children under five – 335,000 of them – are at high risk of severe malnutrition as the risk of famine conditions continues to increase, a whole generation is now in danger of suffering from stunting,” the humanitarian group said. The UN’s humanitarian agency’s (OCHA) latest update, which has been limited to Israel’s ongoing telecommunications blackout imposed on the besieged enclave, said that a missile reportedly struck the UNRWA health clinic in Daraj, in Gaza City on Wednesday. The humanitarian group also reported heavy bombardment in the Khan Younis area for the last two days, targeting residential buildings, a cemetery, and hospitals. “Initial reports and video footage show that much of the al-Namsawi cemetery was destroyed and graves empty with some corpses reportedly missing,” it said. “The people of Gaza have moved from the sheer shock of losing everything – in some cases every member of their family – to a debilitating struggle to stay alive and protect their loved ones,” said UNRWA Commissioner Philippe Lazzarini after his fourth trip to Gaza since October 7. Amnesty International has said the telecommunications blackout, which has entered its seventh day, has put civilians at risk, hampered the work of rescue services, and complicated aid delivery efforts. “These recurrent and life-threatening blackouts must not be normalized. An immediate ceasefire is critical to urgently restore power and connectivity to Gazans,” the group said, adding that the communications blackout is the ninth imposed by Israeli forces since the beginning of the current round of fighting. “This has gone on for far too long. There are no winners in these wars. There is endless chaos and growing despair. I call once again for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to bring some respite,” Lazzarini added. Healthcare: Still a target Over 61,000 people have been wounded by Israel’s aggression on Gaza, which has left healthcare workers and humanitarian staff overwhelmed as undersupplied hospitals witness people die in front of them every day. “I’ve seen children full of shrapnel dying on the floor because there are not the supplies in the emergency department, and the healthcare workers … to care for them,” Sean Casey of the World Health Organization said after a visit to several of Gaza’s hospitals. “Doctors can’t find anything to treat their patients, now they just use salt. Even salt is $13 per kilogramme. Can you imagine putting salt on people’s wounds to disinfect them?” displaced Palestinian Ibrahim Baraikat told Al Jazeera. “We’ve reached a critical point. People are dying and they don’t even have painkillers.” To make matters worse, hospitals have been repeatedly targeted by Israel’s military, making it impossible for patients to remain safe as they receive treatment. On Wednesday, the Jordanian field hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis was badly damaged as a result of Israeli shelling in the vicinity. Wafa reported that a Palestinian citizen, who was receiving treatment in the ICU, was injured by shrapnel and a bullet during the Israeli attack and that the hospital was subjected to severe material damage as a result of the continuous Israeli bombing. Despite the damages, the hospital remains adamant that it will continue to operate. The Jordanian Armed Forces have said they hold Israel fully accountable for the safety of the hospital’s staff, who are performing their humanitarian role by international laws and norms, added Wafa. Meanwhile, pregnant women in Gaza are experiencing a 300% increase in miscarriages, which has been caused by the limited medical supplies and access to health centers, putting them at an increased risk of infection, Nour Beydoun, regional adviser on protection and gender in emergencies for humanitarian agency CARE, told Jezebel. Beydoun added that another reason for the increase is that pregnant women lack proper food and nutrition, resulting in poor fetal health. Israel’s “draconian” measure to restrict dissent Meanwhile, in Israel, authorities have been cracking down on Palestinians “for simply expressing their views or opinions on various online platforms, through a variety of measures including censorship, surveillance and arrests,” says 7amleh, The Arab Center for the Advancement of Social Media, as cited by Al Jazeera. 7amleh says since October 7, Israel has introduced “draconian legislation” to restrict freedom of expression and criticism of its actions in Gaza. “The most notable measures included mass content removals and extensive ‘shadowbanning’ of users criticizing Israel or posting in support of Palestinians. During Israel’s war on Gaza, these content restrictions and removals soared to unprecedented levels,” it noted. “Users of Meta’s platforms, including journalists, activists, media pages, and those simply documenting reality on the ground or posting in support of Palestinian rights, were subject to account banning, content removal, and other restrictive measures,” the group continued. Israel has also planned to indict Israeli politician Ofer Cassif, a member of the Knesset for the Hadash-Ta’al party, on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer that took place in 2022, The Times of Israel reports. It is unclear why the indictment is proceeding in January 2024, however, it is essential to note that Cassif recently declared his backing for South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The politician has also been in the spotlight for his comments against members of the government, saying they are “calling for ethnic cleansing and even actual genocide” against Palestinians. U.S. intimidation tactics not working on Yemen On Wednesday, the U.S. designated Ansar Allah as a “terrorist” group for its attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. “Today, in response to these continuing threats and attacks, the United States announced the designation of Ansar Allah, also known as the Houthis, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon. The designation comes into effect in 30 days and could be reevaluated if the Yemeni group ceases attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. “This designation is more like an insult. It’s the old glove in the face – slap someone with your glove. You’re sort of challenging but not really hurting them,” Nabeel Khoury, a former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Yemen, told Al Jazeera. Khoury said Ansar Allah would likely see the move as an “insult” and “provocation” that could lead to further escalation. He called the Biden administration’s strategic motivation “baffling.” “I think the idea from the Biden administration is this will intimidate and this will stop further widening of the war,” Khoury said. “But if it has the opposite effect, which I think is more likely, then you are widening the war and opening yourself up and American presence to further attacks. And so the only possible thing I see is negative or potential further escalation.” Ansar Allah spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam told Al Jazeera that the group would not stop its attacks on ships heading to Israel from the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. Abdulsalam said the group would “not back down in its position in support of the Palestinian people,” adding that the U.S. had no power to implement its decision against the Houthis and denied reports that Iran has been supplying arms to the group. Hours after the U.S. announcement, the Yemeni group targeted a U.S. ship in the Gulf of Aden, achieving “precise and direct” hits. “The Yemeni armed forces reaffirm that the response to the American and British aggression is inevitable, and no aggression will pass without response or punishment,” said Ansar Allah. The U.S. later launched yet another barrage of missiles at Yemen. Sullivan’s statement added that the re-designation of Ansar Allah, which comes with harsh sanctions, will not hurt the people of Yemen since the sanctions will include “unprecedented” humanitarian carve-outs. Still, “rights advocates have warned that blacklisting the Houthis would complicate the work of humanitarian organizations operating in areas under the group’s control. Yemen is enduring one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises where millions of people are dependent on international aid,” reported Al Jazeera. Hamas has denounced the U.S. designation of Ansar Allah as a ‘terrorist’ group, describing the Biden administration’s decision as “politicized,” saying that the move shows Washington’s “blatant bias” and aims to protect Israel as it continues its “barbaric aggression and genocide” in Gaza. Over 30 hours of Israeli terror in West Bank city In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces have continued their overnight rampages in Palestinian neighborhoods and cities, which often turn deadly and have resulted in dozens of arrests. The military has wreaked havoc in Tulkarem for two days straight now, demolishing infrastructure, destroying homes, beating and arresting residents, and killing the Palestinian city’s youth. It is unclear when the deadly raid will end. Since the military invasion began, seven Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces. The Office of the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said the killings of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank have raised concerns of “unlawful” lethal attacks by the Israeli military. “Unlawful killings of Palestinians must end,” the OHCHR’s Palestine office said. “Israel must ensure a prompt, independent and effective investigation” of the killings, as “according to initial information, both cases raise concerns of unlawful killings,” it continued. BEFORE YOU GO – At Mondoweiss, we understand the power of telling Palestinian stories. For 17 years, we have pushed back when the mainstream media published lies or echoed politicians’ hateful rhetoric. Now, Palestinian voices are more important than ever. Our traffic has increased ten times since October 7, and we need your help to cover our increased expenses. Support our journalists with a donation today. https://mondoweiss.net/2024/01/operation-al-aqsa-flood-day-104-israels-unrelenting-assault-continues-if-were-not-killed-by-bombs-we-die-from-the-cold-starvation-or-disease/
    MONDOWEISS.NET
    ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 104: Israel’s unrelenting assault continues – ‘If we’re not killed by bombs, we die from the cold, starvation, or disease’
    As Palestinians in Gaza continue to be starved and bombed by Israel, the U.S. has designated Yemen’s Ansar Allah group as terrorists in hopes of intimidating their resistance against Israel’s ongoing aggression.
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  • My Story - By Professor Gabriel Oon
    "Between 2021 and now, I have lost 34 senior medical colleagues. Most were working in institutions and had been vaccinated with Pfizer."

    Aussie17
    Dear Readers, today I bring to you a guest post by Professor Gabriel Oon, retired Professor of Medicine who worked as a WHO consultant and founding President of Singapore’s Society of Oncology. Please feel free to share and distribute!

    -Aussie17

    Share


    My Story - By Professor Gabriel Oon

    "SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!"

    These words were relentlessly drummed upon us during our WHO meetings in Geneva from 1983 to 1987, where vaccine manufacturers from around the globe (Netherlands, Germany, China, Singapore, Korea, Australia, US, UK, France, Russia, Sweden, Israel, etc.) came together. The gathering was initiated by the Director of Biologics, Dr. Frank Perkins, and the Director-General, Dr. Karl Mahler MD, who had appointed me as a WHO Consultant.

    Every one of us had created our own variant of the novel hepatitis B vaccine from plasma HBV, employing different inactivation techniques.

    Dr. Perkins reminded us of the two monumental vaccine calamities in history.

    The Lübeck disaster (1929-33) saw many children inoculated with live BCG instead of the killed vaccine, resulting in thousands of children affected and several deaths.

    The Cutter incident (1955) in the USA was when 200,000 received a live polio vaccine; 40,000 fell ill, many became paralyzed, or died.

    Such tragedies were not to be repeated. With the then-unknown threat of AIDS transmitted by infected blood, it became crucial to source safe, uninfected blood for the production of hepatitis B vaccines.

    Advancements in molecular science led to the discovery of the common “a” antigen present in all serotypes in both humans and animals. Consequently, a prototype yeast recombinant HB vaccine was formulated, safety-tested, and implemented in Singapore as a collaboration between the International Agency for Research in Cancer/WHO and the Singapore Government.

    I was then appointed by the Singapore government and IARC/WHO (International Agency for Research on Cancer) to oversee the safety in the manufacture and implementation of the vaccine.

    Then Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, who mandated the directive to me and my team, insisted on "300% safety, not just 100%."

    Together with my team and WHO oversight, we rejected several unsafe vaccines and identified vaccine-escape mutants in plasma vaccines that were over-treated with chemicals, which damaged the epitopes of the “a” antigen. This product was rejected.

    Similar Vaccine Escape Mutants (VEMs) arose with the Pfizer mRNA. Instead of inactivation, nine chemicals were used, including the deep-freezing agent phosphophenolglycol. I believe these VEMs on the Covid mRNA are the cause of the continuous eruption of spike mutants ranging from Delta to Omicron variants seen today, as humans have become reservoirs for these mutants.

    On my 80th birthday, July 4, 2019, 34 years since the WHO consultation, I announced the complete elimination of HBV and associated lethal liver failures and liver cancer at a Duke-NUS lecture (video below).

    SARS-2/COVID-19

    In October 2018, my wife and I returned from a Yangtze River Cruise where we had admired the beautiful and ancient industrial city of Wuhan, home to 8 million people.

    START OF THE COVID PANDEMIC: January 2020

    We woke to the news that Wuhan was besieged by a lethal coronavirus, resulting in thousands dead daily and several more thousands hospitalized until hospitals reached full capacity. Field hospitals were erected within days. Doctors and nurses arrived from all over China to provide aid; tragically, around a thousand of them died.

    Within a week, top Chinese scientists had determined the molecular structure of the coronavirus, which was dissimilar to any of the known viruses in their archives.

    The molecular structure seemed akin to the USCDC's patented invention (No. 7220852/B1 filed on May 22, 2004), with the addition of an HIV glycoprotein insert in the spike protein (later confirmed by Nobel Laureate Prof. Luc Montagnier).

    China disseminated information on the epidemic and the virus through premier journals and transmitted details to the International Genomic Bank. They invited the WHO in January 2020, who discovered many corona viruses but not this particular virus.

    Singapore

    We learned from the news that SG Prime Minister's wife, Ho Ching, chairman of Temasek Holdings, a Singapore investment company, had invested nearly S$3 billion in Pfizer/BioNTech and had initiated the procurement of Pfizer mRNA vaccines, Moderna, and plans for establishing vaccine manufacturing in Singapore.

    Pfizer and mRNA Vaccines

    Publications in JAMA 2021 showed that Pfizer was 98% effective. Six of my senior academic staff on the board of journals agreed with me that the end points for assessing efficacy were symptoms.

    (Later, a US Texas judge in 2022 ordered the FDA to release 55,000 pages showing thousands of deaths and serious adverse reactions. The US Supreme Court in 2022 also accepted Senator Robert Kennedy's charge that mRNA vaccines are not vaccines.)

    These were not the usual endpoints like antibody levels and virus absence in recipients. This was open to "ghost papers," which we had discovered at WHO.

    I alerted our three Ministers who know me and the 14 medical experts, "The Pfizer mRNA vaccines are not safe for mass immunization as the live lethal virus is still present in the mRNAs."

    Mandatory Vaccination

    Then, we received notice from our MOH (Ministry of Health) that all hospital and clinic staff, workplaces, and schools must be vaccinated or they cannot work.

    Retirement

    I was then 82 years old, and my mission after being recalled/returning from Cambridge with an MD in Cancer Immunology was completed. However, with my vast experience with vaccines, I continued to advise our MOH privately, as well as colleagues and friends in our country and worldwide.

    Request to MOH to Release Sinovac

    A full-length inactivated COVID virus vaccine, Singapore had 20,000 doses of Sinovac in stock. When the new Delta variant infected frontline workers in five public hospitals and Changi Airport in May 2021, I advised our Ministers that the mRNA vaccines were not preventative and to use Sinovac lest our hospitals be overwhelmed by infections.

    I also informed Ministers that many individuals with allergies cannot take mRNA vaccines and to release the Sinovac.

    This news was leaked, and I was chastised as peddling fake news by Prof. David Lye of the National Infectious Disease Center and senior Straits Times journalist Shamir Khalid.

    The Future

    COVID will remain for many years as the reservoirs of VEMs (Vaccine Escape Mutates) are evolving from failed protection in millions but causing deaths, delayed deaths, and illnesses.

    The 95% who received Pfizer and other mRNA vaccines, and not inactivated vaccines like Novavax, are developing new mutants.

    Losses

    Between 2021 and now, I have lost 34 senior medical colleagues. Most were working in institutions and had been vaccinated with Pfizer.

    I lost my eminent elder obstetrician aunt on March 31, 2022, who was infected by a Pfizer-vaccinated caregiver who had contracted the Delta spike mutant. She became too weak, stopped playing mahjong, stopped eating, and five days before she passed, she became blind. She died in my arms.

    I also lost my elder brother, a senior physician at 85, who received Moderna followed by two boosters of Pfizer. He contracted COVID and died two months later.

    How to Eliminate

    Wear masks to reduce aerosol transmission.

    Use antiviral drugs like Tamiflu, 75mg daily for 7 days. It is a potent neuraminidase inhibitor of COVID and the flu. As with most serious infections, take it early at the onset. Usually, ART is negative on day 2-3.

    Vaccine Research - With the many combinations of mutations, we need to find common antigens and make new inactivated vaccines.

    Sinovac and Sinopharm

    My wife and I have had three doses of Sinovac and two of Sinopharm. We have nucleocapsid spike antibodies and are well.

    1.6 billion people, including children in 150 countries, have taken the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines. They are safe, protective, and have caused no fatalities. Countries can copy or learn from China. Save lives, not politics first.

    Retired, we stay at home and wear masks in crowded areas.

    Lessons

    It's essential to control and eliminate lethal airborne/aerosol infections.
    A healthy population is a robust workforce.
    A healthy youth is the future of our country.

    God bless all,
    Gabriel Oon
    Retired Professor of Medicine
    Former WHO Consultant for Biologicals for Human Use


    Some final comments by Aussie17:
    I am fully aware that there are people who are against any kind of vaccine, people who are against wearing masks, and people who believe there is no such thing as viruses. Whatever your opinion is on these matters, I’d just like to say that I know Professor Gabriel personally, and he does not have a single nefarious bone in his body. The world is such a divided place right now that even when you agree with someone 99%, people start calling names and scolding each other over the 1% disagreement, which only serves to deepen our divisions. I hope we can accept diverse views and come together.

    Signing off for now
    A17

    Thank you for reading PharmaFiles by Aussie17. This post is public so feel free to share it.

    Share

    https://www.aussie17.com/p/my-story-by-professor-gabriel-oon
    My Story - By Professor Gabriel Oon "Between 2021 and now, I have lost 34 senior medical colleagues. Most were working in institutions and had been vaccinated with Pfizer." Aussie17 Dear Readers, today I bring to you a guest post by Professor Gabriel Oon, retired Professor of Medicine who worked as a WHO consultant and founding President of Singapore’s Society of Oncology. Please feel free to share and distribute! -Aussie17 Share My Story - By Professor Gabriel Oon "SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!" These words were relentlessly drummed upon us during our WHO meetings in Geneva from 1983 to 1987, where vaccine manufacturers from around the globe (Netherlands, Germany, China, Singapore, Korea, Australia, US, UK, France, Russia, Sweden, Israel, etc.) came together. The gathering was initiated by the Director of Biologics, Dr. Frank Perkins, and the Director-General, Dr. Karl Mahler MD, who had appointed me as a WHO Consultant. Every one of us had created our own variant of the novel hepatitis B vaccine from plasma HBV, employing different inactivation techniques. Dr. Perkins reminded us of the two monumental vaccine calamities in history. The Lübeck disaster (1929-33) saw many children inoculated with live BCG instead of the killed vaccine, resulting in thousands of children affected and several deaths. The Cutter incident (1955) in the USA was when 200,000 received a live polio vaccine; 40,000 fell ill, many became paralyzed, or died. Such tragedies were not to be repeated. With the then-unknown threat of AIDS transmitted by infected blood, it became crucial to source safe, uninfected blood for the production of hepatitis B vaccines. Advancements in molecular science led to the discovery of the common “a” antigen present in all serotypes in both humans and animals. Consequently, a prototype yeast recombinant HB vaccine was formulated, safety-tested, and implemented in Singapore as a collaboration between the International Agency for Research in Cancer/WHO and the Singapore Government. I was then appointed by the Singapore government and IARC/WHO (International Agency for Research on Cancer) to oversee the safety in the manufacture and implementation of the vaccine. Then Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, who mandated the directive to me and my team, insisted on "300% safety, not just 100%." Together with my team and WHO oversight, we rejected several unsafe vaccines and identified vaccine-escape mutants in plasma vaccines that were over-treated with chemicals, which damaged the epitopes of the “a” antigen. This product was rejected. Similar Vaccine Escape Mutants (VEMs) arose with the Pfizer mRNA. Instead of inactivation, nine chemicals were used, including the deep-freezing agent phosphophenolglycol. I believe these VEMs on the Covid mRNA are the cause of the continuous eruption of spike mutants ranging from Delta to Omicron variants seen today, as humans have become reservoirs for these mutants. On my 80th birthday, July 4, 2019, 34 years since the WHO consultation, I announced the complete elimination of HBV and associated lethal liver failures and liver cancer at a Duke-NUS lecture (video below). SARS-2/COVID-19 In October 2018, my wife and I returned from a Yangtze River Cruise where we had admired the beautiful and ancient industrial city of Wuhan, home to 8 million people. START OF THE COVID PANDEMIC: January 2020 We woke to the news that Wuhan was besieged by a lethal coronavirus, resulting in thousands dead daily and several more thousands hospitalized until hospitals reached full capacity. Field hospitals were erected within days. Doctors and nurses arrived from all over China to provide aid; tragically, around a thousand of them died. Within a week, top Chinese scientists had determined the molecular structure of the coronavirus, which was dissimilar to any of the known viruses in their archives. The molecular structure seemed akin to the USCDC's patented invention (No. 7220852/B1 filed on May 22, 2004), with the addition of an HIV glycoprotein insert in the spike protein (later confirmed by Nobel Laureate Prof. Luc Montagnier). China disseminated information on the epidemic and the virus through premier journals and transmitted details to the International Genomic Bank. They invited the WHO in January 2020, who discovered many corona viruses but not this particular virus. Singapore We learned from the news that SG Prime Minister's wife, Ho Ching, chairman of Temasek Holdings, a Singapore investment company, had invested nearly S$3 billion in Pfizer/BioNTech and had initiated the procurement of Pfizer mRNA vaccines, Moderna, and plans for establishing vaccine manufacturing in Singapore. Pfizer and mRNA Vaccines Publications in JAMA 2021 showed that Pfizer was 98% effective. Six of my senior academic staff on the board of journals agreed with me that the end points for assessing efficacy were symptoms. (Later, a US Texas judge in 2022 ordered the FDA to release 55,000 pages showing thousands of deaths and serious adverse reactions. The US Supreme Court in 2022 also accepted Senator Robert Kennedy's charge that mRNA vaccines are not vaccines.) These were not the usual endpoints like antibody levels and virus absence in recipients. This was open to "ghost papers," which we had discovered at WHO. I alerted our three Ministers who know me and the 14 medical experts, "The Pfizer mRNA vaccines are not safe for mass immunization as the live lethal virus is still present in the mRNAs." Mandatory Vaccination Then, we received notice from our MOH (Ministry of Health) that all hospital and clinic staff, workplaces, and schools must be vaccinated or they cannot work. Retirement I was then 82 years old, and my mission after being recalled/returning from Cambridge with an MD in Cancer Immunology was completed. However, with my vast experience with vaccines, I continued to advise our MOH privately, as well as colleagues and friends in our country and worldwide. Request to MOH to Release Sinovac A full-length inactivated COVID virus vaccine, Singapore had 20,000 doses of Sinovac in stock. When the new Delta variant infected frontline workers in five public hospitals and Changi Airport in May 2021, I advised our Ministers that the mRNA vaccines were not preventative and to use Sinovac lest our hospitals be overwhelmed by infections. I also informed Ministers that many individuals with allergies cannot take mRNA vaccines and to release the Sinovac. This news was leaked, and I was chastised as peddling fake news by Prof. David Lye of the National Infectious Disease Center and senior Straits Times journalist Shamir Khalid. The Future COVID will remain for many years as the reservoirs of VEMs (Vaccine Escape Mutates) are evolving from failed protection in millions but causing deaths, delayed deaths, and illnesses. The 95% who received Pfizer and other mRNA vaccines, and not inactivated vaccines like Novavax, are developing new mutants. Losses Between 2021 and now, I have lost 34 senior medical colleagues. Most were working in institutions and had been vaccinated with Pfizer. I lost my eminent elder obstetrician aunt on March 31, 2022, who was infected by a Pfizer-vaccinated caregiver who had contracted the Delta spike mutant. She became too weak, stopped playing mahjong, stopped eating, and five days before she passed, she became blind. She died in my arms. I also lost my elder brother, a senior physician at 85, who received Moderna followed by two boosters of Pfizer. He contracted COVID and died two months later. How to Eliminate Wear masks to reduce aerosol transmission. Use antiviral drugs like Tamiflu, 75mg daily for 7 days. It is a potent neuraminidase inhibitor of COVID and the flu. As with most serious infections, take it early at the onset. Usually, ART is negative on day 2-3. Vaccine Research - With the many combinations of mutations, we need to find common antigens and make new inactivated vaccines. Sinovac and Sinopharm My wife and I have had three doses of Sinovac and two of Sinopharm. We have nucleocapsid spike antibodies and are well. 1.6 billion people, including children in 150 countries, have taken the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines. They are safe, protective, and have caused no fatalities. Countries can copy or learn from China. Save lives, not politics first. Retired, we stay at home and wear masks in crowded areas. Lessons It's essential to control and eliminate lethal airborne/aerosol infections. A healthy population is a robust workforce. A healthy youth is the future of our country. God bless all, Gabriel Oon Retired Professor of Medicine Former WHO Consultant for Biologicals for Human Use Some final comments by Aussie17: I am fully aware that there are people who are against any kind of vaccine, people who are against wearing masks, and people who believe there is no such thing as viruses. Whatever your opinion is on these matters, I’d just like to say that I know Professor Gabriel personally, and he does not have a single nefarious bone in his body. The world is such a divided place right now that even when you agree with someone 99%, people start calling names and scolding each other over the 1% disagreement, which only serves to deepen our divisions. I hope we can accept diverse views and come together. Signing off for now A17 Thank you for reading PharmaFiles by Aussie17. This post is public so feel free to share it. Share https://www.aussie17.com/p/my-story-by-professor-gabriel-oon
    WWW.AUSSIE17.COM
    My Story - By Professor Gabriel Oon
    "Between 2021 and now, I have lost 34 senior medical colleagues. Most were working in institutions and had been vaccinated with Pfizer."
    Angry
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    0 Комментарии 1 Поделились 8148 Просмотры
  • Mystery Pneumonia AKA White Lung Syndrome: What's Going On?
    More questions than answers for now, but it could be a mix of VAIDS and Vitamin A deficiency, and the unlikely edge case remains that the Middle Kingdom is giving us the middle finger yet again.

    Dr. Syed Haider

    Nothing will stop these kids from acing their exams, not even white lung disease
    China has been hit with a “mystery pneumonia”, AKA “white lung disease”, except they insist it’s not really a mystery pneumonia at all, it’s just the usual suspects like mycoplasma, Flu, RSV, rhinovirus, adenovirus, and yes, COVID-19.

    Or perhaps the word mystery refers to the mystery of why there is such a large outbreak of it this year?

    The prevalent explanations are an “immune debt” due to lockdowns overlaid on a multi-year cyclic upturn in mycoplasma infections.

    What we do know is that children are primarily affected and it has spread beyond China to many other countries, and possibly even the US now. But there does not seem to be a spike in deaths at this point.

    Beyond the immune debt and cycle theories, what else could be driving this?

    Well the elephant in the room is VAIDS, as well as Long COVID AIDS, which unfortunately is also a thing.

    But another lesser known possibility is relative vitamin A deficiency.

    Yes, Vitamin A, not Vitamin D.

    Vitamin A is important for immunity, especially from mycoplasma. It’s a fat soluble vitamin and what makes this an even more likely culprit in many cases is that so many people have been heavily supplementing with Vitamin D for the last 3 years, and Vitamin D supplementation can lead to deficiencies of Vitamins A, E and K, since all 4 of these fat soluble vitamins compete for absorption.

    So the cure of the last pandemic could have set some people up for this outbreak.

    The most common supplement regimen during and after COVID was Vitamin C, D, Zinc and Quercetin.

    The other nutritional imbalance that this regimen can trigger is a deficiency of copper due to prolonged Zinc suppelementation.

    Signs of copper deficiency also include immunodeficiency evidenced by low white blood cell count and thyroid problems, anemia, weak bones, irregular heartbeat, and loss of pigment from the skin.

    Thank you for reading Dr. Syed Haider. This post is public so feel free to share it.

    Share

    However mild deficiencies might not have any warning signs beyond increased susceptibility to illness and trouble with recovery.

    For this reason I’m working on a new supplement to balance the effects of our popular IMMUNITY [vitamins] supplement. We already included vitamin K2 in that one, to help balance the effect of D3 intake on calcium absorption, but this new one will have Vitamins A and E as well as copper and a few other ingredients like selenium, necessary for the optimal immune balance required for prevention, treatment of acute illness and recovery from long haul/vax injuries.

    Until then I would recommend most people who are supplementing with D3 on an ongoing basis to take the same dose of Vitamin A in retinol form, so if it’s 5000 IU D3, I would usually take 5000 IU of retinol as well. Vitamin E in the form of mixed tocopherols 20 IU and the K2 form of Vitamin K 100mcg per day. To balance 50 mg of zinc you probably need about 4-8 mg of copper per day. Oyster max is a powdered oyster supplement that has both zinc and copper in it.

    Optimally you would use lab testing along with a nutrient calculator to determine how. much of each micronutrient you get from your diet, and then just dial up your nutritional intake as required, or add supplemental doses based on nutritional deficiencies.





    At mygotodoc we offer comprehensive nutritional testing panels to help optimize nutrition, because the building blocks of health are at their most basic just two: nourishment and detoxification, of course those two words belie a lot of complexity.

    For example nourishment doesn’t just include food and vitamins, it also includes sunlight in the day, darkness at night, relaxation and rest, grounding, fulfilling relationships, happy thoughts, gratitude, etc.

    And detoxification doesn’t just include spike protein and heavy metals, but also plastics, industrial chemicals, chronic infections/infestations, non natural EMFs, light at night, anger and other toxic emotions, negative thoughts, harmful relationships, addictions, etc.

    Optimizing just some of these can often give your body enough strength and energy to overcome the others being suboptimal.

    Overall we need balance in life and the story of imbalanced micronutrients just serves to highlight the importance of balance in all things.


    In modern industrial societies we tend towards action over inactivity, but in truth we need both for optimal health and productivity.

    Muscles only get built during rest, not during exercise, which breaks them down to stimulate rebuilding.

    Similarly spending all our time in our heads processing the firehose of incoming information leaves us no time to chew it and digest it and make the most of it.

    Give yourself some down time to just do nothing, so that when you go back to doing something you do it better than you would have otherwise.

    This is why many cultures encourage timeouts during the day to pray or meditate instead of packing every waking moment with activity and information.

    We’re currently also undergoing an uptick in COVID infections around the world, but not an increase in severity.

    Geert Van Den Boscche’s warnings of a coming supervariant targeting the vaxed have not yet materialized

    At the same time many in the medical freedom community are hyperaware of the current happenings around the world because they expect round two of COVID or some other bioweapon along with lockdowns heading into the 2024 presidential election year.

    If this were going to happen this is when it would get started, because it takes some time to really get going.

    I hope we don’t fall for the same thing all over again, but it may just be a matter of time and the last one may have just been a dry run for the real power grab.

    No more pandemics | Bill Gates
    The next pandemic we’ve been warned is definitely coming has been termed “Disease X” by Gates and company, a placeholder name for some as yet unknown bug that could be far worse than COVID, i.e. an actual threat to human life on a scale similar to the Black Plague or the 1918 Spanish Flu.

    If something of that magnitude and severity were to be unleashed on humanity many would forget their righteous indignation over COVID lockdowns and demand stringent measures including quarantine camps and forced treatment - it sounds impossible, yet this has just become law in the state of New York.

    New Yorkers can be forcibly extracted from their homes and interred in quarantine camps.


    The Supreme Court actually ruled over a 100 years ago that compulsory vaccination was constitutional (and now the definition of vaccine extends to gene therapies).

    We’ll have to see what the future holds, but whatever it is, there is likely to be a cheap off-label treatment and if all else fails sunlight is the best disinfectant (i.e. get outside and get some sun).

    Ivermectin works for a number of viruses including RSV and Flu, and it even has activity against mycoplasma pneumonia.

    Other common meds are exceedingly helpful as well like doxycycline, which is why our Disaster-Pak prescriptions are as popular as ivermectin.

    We work with patients to prescribe an array of meds as comprehensive as possible. We have options that may work against Ebola and Marburg, as well as a whole host of other bioweapons and run of the mill infections.

    We prescribe the right doses and the right quantities, which I haven’t seen anywhere else. Usually patients who go somewhere else end up coming to us when they actually get sick, because they didn’t get anywhere near enough ivermectin or whatever else from another provider, who isn’t familiar with the latest dosing protocols.



    I’m also working on a vitamin C supplement, because in my experience high dose oral vitamin C is the single most effective treatment of any infection. A recent post on Vitamin C was one of my most popular ever:

    Is High Dose Vitamin C a PanaCea?

    Is High Dose Vitamin C a PanaCea?
    Sometimes you come across something that is so life changing you wonder how you made it through your entire life without knowing about it. Then you find out that many others already knew about it for decades and have been trying to spread the word to no avail, because there are multi billion dollar corporations that just can’t and won’t allow it.

    Read full story

    Unlike most Vitamin C supplements that come from GMO cornstarch and may have trace amounts of mold, mine will have 1000mg of non GMO tapioca sourced Vitamin C in a veggie cap (same as the C in our IMMUNITY [vitamins] supplement), which I find to be the most convenient form for rapidly consuming 30-50,000 mg of Vitamin C in a single dose (2-4 capsules at a time with a sip of water until you’re done).


    Back to our mystery pneumonia outbreak: I know why people are extra cautious given what we went through with COVID-19. Some people really did get very sick, and others ended up with debilitating long haul syndromes. China has not historically been exactly forthcoming with information on outbreaks early on.

    Social media and news reports said that 800 bed hospitals were overwhelmed with 5000-7000 patients per day, but the authorities on a call with the WHO denied that.

    This could just be a whole lot of nothing and one of the risks going forward is allowing the health authorities to turn regular or even really bad flu seasons into enough reason lock us down and take away all our rights.

    We should not want to entirely rid the world of infectious diseases even if we could, because we need to tune up our immune systems from time to time in order to prevent chronic illness.

    The same immune system that stays in shape fighting off a mild to moderate cold or flu every year, also fights off cancer cells and heart disease.

    Share

    I came cross a study once (that I can’t find - drop it in the comments if you know it) showing that 4 or more viral illnesses like chickenpox and measles as a child was associated with a 90% lower risk of heart disease as an older adult.

    So we need to keep our immune system in shape with occasional viral and bacterial infections, even though some small percentage of people will die from them.

    This sounds worse than it is though, because those people who die, would have died from something else anyway.

    COVID deaths in the elderly might have been pulled forward a year or two, which is terrible for each person who knew those who died, but fighting the natural way of things with technology can lead to far more harm than good.

    The real population “vaccines” are the infectious diseases themselves, not Big Pharma shots or government lockdowns.

    Artificially interfering with what nature demands just shuffles deaths around a bit, or God-forbid actually increases them.

    The upshot to all this is: don’t get scared, get prepared.

    https://blog.mygotodoc.com/p/mystery-pneumonia-aka-white-lung

    https://telegra.ph/Mystery-Pneumonia-AKA-White-Lung-Syndrome-Whats-Going-On-03-10
    Mystery Pneumonia AKA White Lung Syndrome: What's Going On? More questions than answers for now, but it could be a mix of VAIDS and Vitamin A deficiency, and the unlikely edge case remains that the Middle Kingdom is giving us the middle finger yet again. Dr. Syed Haider Nothing will stop these kids from acing their exams, not even white lung disease China has been hit with a “mystery pneumonia”, AKA “white lung disease”, except they insist it’s not really a mystery pneumonia at all, it’s just the usual suspects like mycoplasma, Flu, RSV, rhinovirus, adenovirus, and yes, COVID-19. Or perhaps the word mystery refers to the mystery of why there is such a large outbreak of it this year? The prevalent explanations are an “immune debt” due to lockdowns overlaid on a multi-year cyclic upturn in mycoplasma infections. What we do know is that children are primarily affected and it has spread beyond China to many other countries, and possibly even the US now. But there does not seem to be a spike in deaths at this point. Beyond the immune debt and cycle theories, what else could be driving this? Well the elephant in the room is VAIDS, as well as Long COVID AIDS, which unfortunately is also a thing. But another lesser known possibility is relative vitamin A deficiency. Yes, Vitamin A, not Vitamin D. Vitamin A is important for immunity, especially from mycoplasma. It’s a fat soluble vitamin and what makes this an even more likely culprit in many cases is that so many people have been heavily supplementing with Vitamin D for the last 3 years, and Vitamin D supplementation can lead to deficiencies of Vitamins A, E and K, since all 4 of these fat soluble vitamins compete for absorption. So the cure of the last pandemic could have set some people up for this outbreak. The most common supplement regimen during and after COVID was Vitamin C, D, Zinc and Quercetin. The other nutritional imbalance that this regimen can trigger is a deficiency of copper due to prolonged Zinc suppelementation. Signs of copper deficiency also include immunodeficiency evidenced by low white blood cell count and thyroid problems, anemia, weak bones, irregular heartbeat, and loss of pigment from the skin. Thank you for reading Dr. Syed Haider. This post is public so feel free to share it. Share However mild deficiencies might not have any warning signs beyond increased susceptibility to illness and trouble with recovery. For this reason I’m working on a new supplement to balance the effects of our popular IMMUNITY [vitamins] supplement. We already included vitamin K2 in that one, to help balance the effect of D3 intake on calcium absorption, but this new one will have Vitamins A and E as well as copper and a few other ingredients like selenium, necessary for the optimal immune balance required for prevention, treatment of acute illness and recovery from long haul/vax injuries. Until then I would recommend most people who are supplementing with D3 on an ongoing basis to take the same dose of Vitamin A in retinol form, so if it’s 5000 IU D3, I would usually take 5000 IU of retinol as well. Vitamin E in the form of mixed tocopherols 20 IU and the K2 form of Vitamin K 100mcg per day. To balance 50 mg of zinc you probably need about 4-8 mg of copper per day. Oyster max is a powdered oyster supplement that has both zinc and copper in it. Optimally you would use lab testing along with a nutrient calculator to determine how. much of each micronutrient you get from your diet, and then just dial up your nutritional intake as required, or add supplemental doses based on nutritional deficiencies. At mygotodoc we offer comprehensive nutritional testing panels to help optimize nutrition, because the building blocks of health are at their most basic just two: nourishment and detoxification, of course those two words belie a lot of complexity. For example nourishment doesn’t just include food and vitamins, it also includes sunlight in the day, darkness at night, relaxation and rest, grounding, fulfilling relationships, happy thoughts, gratitude, etc. And detoxification doesn’t just include spike protein and heavy metals, but also plastics, industrial chemicals, chronic infections/infestations, non natural EMFs, light at night, anger and other toxic emotions, negative thoughts, harmful relationships, addictions, etc. Optimizing just some of these can often give your body enough strength and energy to overcome the others being suboptimal. Overall we need balance in life and the story of imbalanced micronutrients just serves to highlight the importance of balance in all things. In modern industrial societies we tend towards action over inactivity, but in truth we need both for optimal health and productivity. Muscles only get built during rest, not during exercise, which breaks them down to stimulate rebuilding. Similarly spending all our time in our heads processing the firehose of incoming information leaves us no time to chew it and digest it and make the most of it. Give yourself some down time to just do nothing, so that when you go back to doing something you do it better than you would have otherwise. This is why many cultures encourage timeouts during the day to pray or meditate instead of packing every waking moment with activity and information. We’re currently also undergoing an uptick in COVID infections around the world, but not an increase in severity. Geert Van Den Boscche’s warnings of a coming supervariant targeting the vaxed have not yet materialized At the same time many in the medical freedom community are hyperaware of the current happenings around the world because they expect round two of COVID or some other bioweapon along with lockdowns heading into the 2024 presidential election year. If this were going to happen this is when it would get started, because it takes some time to really get going. I hope we don’t fall for the same thing all over again, but it may just be a matter of time and the last one may have just been a dry run for the real power grab. No more pandemics | Bill Gates The next pandemic we’ve been warned is definitely coming has been termed “Disease X” by Gates and company, a placeholder name for some as yet unknown bug that could be far worse than COVID, i.e. an actual threat to human life on a scale similar to the Black Plague or the 1918 Spanish Flu. If something of that magnitude and severity were to be unleashed on humanity many would forget their righteous indignation over COVID lockdowns and demand stringent measures including quarantine camps and forced treatment - it sounds impossible, yet this has just become law in the state of New York. New Yorkers can be forcibly extracted from their homes and interred in quarantine camps. The Supreme Court actually ruled over a 100 years ago that compulsory vaccination was constitutional (and now the definition of vaccine extends to gene therapies). We’ll have to see what the future holds, but whatever it is, there is likely to be a cheap off-label treatment and if all else fails sunlight is the best disinfectant (i.e. get outside and get some sun). Ivermectin works for a number of viruses including RSV and Flu, and it even has activity against mycoplasma pneumonia. Other common meds are exceedingly helpful as well like doxycycline, which is why our Disaster-Pak prescriptions are as popular as ivermectin. We work with patients to prescribe an array of meds as comprehensive as possible. We have options that may work against Ebola and Marburg, as well as a whole host of other bioweapons and run of the mill infections. We prescribe the right doses and the right quantities, which I haven’t seen anywhere else. Usually patients who go somewhere else end up coming to us when they actually get sick, because they didn’t get anywhere near enough ivermectin or whatever else from another provider, who isn’t familiar with the latest dosing protocols. I’m also working on a vitamin C supplement, because in my experience high dose oral vitamin C is the single most effective treatment of any infection. A recent post on Vitamin C was one of my most popular ever: Is High Dose Vitamin C a PanaCea? Is High Dose Vitamin C a PanaCea? Sometimes you come across something that is so life changing you wonder how you made it through your entire life without knowing about it. Then you find out that many others already knew about it for decades and have been trying to spread the word to no avail, because there are multi billion dollar corporations that just can’t and won’t allow it. Read full story Unlike most Vitamin C supplements that come from GMO cornstarch and may have trace amounts of mold, mine will have 1000mg of non GMO tapioca sourced Vitamin C in a veggie cap (same as the C in our IMMUNITY [vitamins] supplement), which I find to be the most convenient form for rapidly consuming 30-50,000 mg of Vitamin C in a single dose (2-4 capsules at a time with a sip of water until you’re done). Back to our mystery pneumonia outbreak: I know why people are extra cautious given what we went through with COVID-19. Some people really did get very sick, and others ended up with debilitating long haul syndromes. China has not historically been exactly forthcoming with information on outbreaks early on. Social media and news reports said that 800 bed hospitals were overwhelmed with 5000-7000 patients per day, but the authorities on a call with the WHO denied that. This could just be a whole lot of nothing and one of the risks going forward is allowing the health authorities to turn regular or even really bad flu seasons into enough reason lock us down and take away all our rights. We should not want to entirely rid the world of infectious diseases even if we could, because we need to tune up our immune systems from time to time in order to prevent chronic illness. The same immune system that stays in shape fighting off a mild to moderate cold or flu every year, also fights off cancer cells and heart disease. Share I came cross a study once (that I can’t find - drop it in the comments if you know it) showing that 4 or more viral illnesses like chickenpox and measles as a child was associated with a 90% lower risk of heart disease as an older adult. So we need to keep our immune system in shape with occasional viral and bacterial infections, even though some small percentage of people will die from them. This sounds worse than it is though, because those people who die, would have died from something else anyway. COVID deaths in the elderly might have been pulled forward a year or two, which is terrible for each person who knew those who died, but fighting the natural way of things with technology can lead to far more harm than good. The real population “vaccines” are the infectious diseases themselves, not Big Pharma shots or government lockdowns. Artificially interfering with what nature demands just shuffles deaths around a bit, or God-forbid actually increases them. The upshot to all this is: don’t get scared, get prepared. https://blog.mygotodoc.com/p/mystery-pneumonia-aka-white-lung https://telegra.ph/Mystery-Pneumonia-AKA-White-Lung-Syndrome-Whats-Going-On-03-10
    BLOG.MYGOTODOC.COM
    Mystery Pneumonia AKA White Lung Syndrome: What's Going On?
    More questions than answers for now, but it could be a mix of VAIDS and Vitamin A deficiency, and the unlikely edge case remains that the Middle Kingdom is giving us the middle finger yet again.
    1 Комментарии 0 Поделились 16437 Просмотры
  • ‘DEJA VU’_ Chinese hospitals overwhelmed with childhood pneumonia

    https://rumble.com/v400n28-deja-vu-chinese-hospitals-overwhelmed-with-childhood-pneumonia.html
    ‘DEJA VU’_ Chinese hospitals overwhelmed with childhood pneumonia https://rumble.com/v400n28-deja-vu-chinese-hospitals-overwhelmed-with-childhood-pneumonia.html
    0 Комментарии 0 Поделились 412 Просмотры
  • Israel’s strategy is “cold and calculated, and lacks any sense of decency” – Day 60
    contact@ifamericansknew.org December 5, 2023 ethnic cleansing, Gaza, hamas, humanitarian aid, Israel, tunnel
    Israel’s strategy is “cold and calculated, and lacks any sense of decency” – Day 60
    UNICEF spokesperson says alleged Gaza safe zones are ‘zones of death’ In a Sky News interview, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder says Israel’s proclaimed ‘safe zones’ in Gaza are ‘zones of death’ with increased risk for disease. Elder says Israeli authorities are fully aware of the dire consequences in the alleged safe zones, and that the decision to push 80% of the population into a zone that is 4% the size of Gaza is ‘cold’ and ‘calculated’ and lacks ‘any sense of decency’.

    Khan Younis and Rafah: Monday night was terrifying for residents of Khan Younis and Rafah, and 1.5 million evacuees. Since early yesterday evening, there has been non-stop heavy artillery shelling, relentless air strikes and mass bombardment.

    The vast majority of residential homes and public facilities – schools, hospitals, medical centers and shops – in the eastern side of Khan Younis, have been completely destroyed. At the same time, people were ordered to evacuate in the middle of the night and early hours of this morning under heavy bombardment.

    As ambulances tried to get to the eastern side of Khan Younis to Abasan al-Kabira and Bani Suheila, where people were stranded and caught under the heavy bombardment, they were shot at and could not evacuate any of the injured or bring out any of those who were killed overnight.

    The Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis has called for blood donations due to the high number of severely injured patients arriving every hour. Twenty-six out of 35 hospitals in Gaza are currently out of service, and 52 out of 72 primary healthcare clinics have been shut down.

    Palestinian officials in Gaza say Israeli jets dropped phosphorus bombs north and east of Khan Younis. (Use of white phosphorus in civilian areas is considered a war crime due to its extremely dangerous effects on the human body. White phosphorus ignites instantly when in contact with oxygen. It can burn through the human body, including through bone, causing severe, excruciating damage. It can also cause extreme harm when inhaled, with risks of suffocation, cardiovascular failure, coma, death, and other lifelong effects. The substance burns at temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.)


    Nasser hospital staff are stretched to their limits as casualties mount in southern Gaza, says UNICEF. Fifty-two of 72 primary healthcare clinics have shut down in Gaza. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters] (photo)
    Central Gaza: Israeli jets targeted the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza this morning. Bombing began around 6:05am (04:05 GMT) while most residents were asleep, leading to a total “state of panic”. At least 15 houses were “completely destroyed” more than 15 people were killed, including children. Many wounded are still trapped under the rubble.
    The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has shared footage of the moment an Israeli artillery tank targeted the vicinity of two ambulances in Gaza. PRCS said the two ambulances were attending to casualties in Deir el-Balah, southern Gaza.

    Northern Gaza: Gaza’s health ministry is warning of a “massacre” at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, where Israeli tanks and snipers are reportedly surrounding the facility and “shooting at anyone who moves”; Israeli forces have already killed 108 civilians and injured dozens in the hospital’s vicinity. Munir al-Bursh, director-general of the Health Ministry in Gaza, said,

    The Israeli occupation forces have laid siege to the facility from all sides. Patients and those who took shelter here are gripped with fear and overwhelmed by horror.

    The Israeli forces are attacking with the aim of forcibly removing all those inside the hospital. These are patients, victims and displaced civilians.

    We, the medical staff, are holding our ground. We are standing by our patients. We will continue to serve our people by all means left here at Kamal Adwan Hospital.

    UN says no place is safe: The United Nations warns that creating “so-called safe zones” for civilians to flee to within the Gaza Strip is impossible amid Israel’s bombing campaign. The Israeli army, which initially focused much of its offensive on the north of the enclave, has now dropped leaflets on parts of the south, telling Palestinian civilians there to flee to other areas. “The so-called safe zones … are not scientific, they are not rational, they are not possible, and I think the authorities are aware of this,” said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder.

    Journalists face grave threats: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that 63 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 7. The overall death toll includes 56 Palestinians, four Israelis and three Lebanese nationals. Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, said,

    CPJ emphasizes that journalists are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties. Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heart-breaking conflict. Those in Gaza, in particular, have paid, and continue to pay, an unprecedented toll and face exponential threats.

    Humanitarian update

    UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said the resumption of the Israeli military operation and its expansion further in southern Gaza is repeating horrors from past weeks. He added,

    The latest developments are further strangling the humanitarian operation, with limited supplies going in and complex logistical and coordination arrangements that slow down and at times obstruct the flow. The Israeli Authorities continue to restrict the flow of humanitarian supplies, including fuel, forcing the UN to only use the ill-equipped crossing point with Egypt.

    We call on the State of Israel to reopen Kerem Shalom and other crossings and facilitate the unconditional, uninterrupted and meaningful delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance. The failure to do so violates international humanitarian law.

    On 4 December, 100 aid trucks carrying humanitarian supplies and 69,000 litres of fuel entered from Egypt into Gaza, about the same as the previous day. This is well below the daily average of 170 trucks and 110,000 litres of fuel that had entered during the humanitarian pause implemented between 24 and 30 November.

    On 4 December, for the second consecutive day, Rafah was the only governorate in Gaza where limited aid distributions, primarily of flour and water, took place.

    On 4 December at about 20:30, the main telecommunication provider in Gaza announced that all telecom services had shut down due to cuts in the main fibre routes. This followed a partial shutdown in Gaza city and northern Gaza a few hours earlier due to ongoing hostilities. Humanitarian agencies and first responders have warned that blackouts jeopardize the already constrained provision of life-saving assistance.

    Al-Azhar University of Gaza before and after Israel bombed the institution
    Al-Azhar University of Gaza before and after Israel bombed the institution. The university was built in 1991 (photo)
    Other Gaza updates

    Agriculture destroyed: Human Rights Watch (HRW) has found that orchards, greenhouses and farmland have been razed due to Israel’s ground invasion in the north of Gaza. In Beit Hanoun in northeast Gaza, what was once green agricultural land has now become “brown and desolate”, increasing concerns about food insecurity and the loss of livelihoods.

    The razing continued during the seven-day truce and satellite imagery showed the destruction of farmland by Israel’s use of bulldozers to carve new roads for its armored vehicles.

    Israel set to possibly flood Gaza’s tunnel system: the Wall Street Journal reports:

    Israel has assembled a system of large pumps it could use to flood Hamas’s vast network of tunnels under the Gaza Strip with seawater, a tactic that could destroy the tunnels and drive the fighters from their underground refuge but also threaten Gaza’s water supply, U.S. officials said.

    The Israel Defense Forces finished assembling large seawater pumps roughly one mile north of the Al-Shati refugee camp around the middle of last month. Each of at least five pumps can draw water from the Mediterranean Sea and move thousands of cubic meters of water per hour into the tunnels, flooding them within weeks.

    Sentiment inside the U.S. was mixed. Some U.S. officials privately expressed concern about the plan, while other officials said the U.S. supports the disabling of the tunnels and said there wasn’t necessarily any U.S. opposition to the plan. The Israelis have identified about 800 tunnels so far, though they acknowledge the network is bigger than that.

    Because it isn’t clear how permeable the tunnels are or how much seawater would seep into the soil and to what effect, it is hard to fully assess the impact of pumping seawater into the tunnels, said Jon Alterman, senior vice president at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

    “It’s hard to tell what pumping seawater will do to the existing water and sewage infrastructure. It is hard to tell what it will do to groundwater reserves. And it’s hard to tell the impact on the stability of nearby buildings,” Alterman said.

    RECOMMENDED READING: ICRC president describes human suffering in Gaza as ‘intolerable’

    Attacks on southern Gaza promise to be “worse” than north: Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister, has been saying that what will come to the southern part of the Gaza Strip will not only be equal to what we saw in the north but, actually, even worse. He says the army is going to continue its ground operation inside of the northern part of the Gaza Strip. He also said that Israeli troops are going to remain stationed there until every single Hamas target – infrastructure and fighters – is eliminated.

    Palestinians mourn the death of loved ones who were killed by Israeli bombardment in the southern Gaza Strip
    Palestinians mourn the death of loved ones who were killed by Israeli bombardment in the southern Gaza Strip (photo)
    RECOMMENDED READING: Is Israel’s Gaza bombing also a war on the climate?

    West Bank, Jerusalem, and Israel news

    Israeli settlers break into Jerusalem’s Aqsa mosque: Dozens of fanatic Israeli settlers Tuesday morning broke into the compounds of al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy protection from the Israeli police. The extremist settlers divided into groups, raided the holy Islamic Mosque from al-Maghariba gate and took provocative tours in its compounds. The settlers performed Talmudic rituals in the eastern part of the Mosque.

    Jerusalem Palestinian killed: A Palestinian was Tuesday morning killed, while his brother was detained, by Israeli forces during a raid in Qalandia camp, north of occupied Jerusalem. Witnesses said that the occupation forces violently stormed Manasra’s and blew up the door of the house just as he was about to open it, with a bomb that disintegrated his body. The occupation forces later detained his brother before they withdrew.

    Israel says Jerusalemite children released in recent prisoner swap can’t go back to school: Families of the child prisoners released in the recent exchange deal said that the schools’ administrations affiliated with the so-called Israeli Ministry of Education and the occupation municipality in Jerusalem refused the return of their children to school.

    2 Palestinians killed Monday night: Two Palestinian youths was Monday evening killed after they were shot by Israeli occupation forces in the town of Sa’ir, northeast of Hebron. The Ministry of Health said that Anas Ismail al-Froukh, 23, and Mohammad Saa’di al-Frouk, 22, died due to their severe injuries by Israeli forces.

    Major new settlement plan approved for occupied East Jerusalem: Ir Amim, an organization that focuses on the Israel-Palestine conflict in Jerusalem, says that amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Israel is seeking to expand the settler presence in occupied East Jerusalem. “Today, officials shockingly announced the approval of the Lower Aqueduct plan – the first major new settlement plan to be fully approved in East Jerusalem since [the settlement of] Givat Hamatos in 2012,” the group said.

    This plan has disastrous ramifications, the group said, predicting “It will extend the Israeli settlement wedge along East Jerusalem’s southern boundary, further sealing [it] off from the southern West Bank, while fracturing the Palestinian space and depleting more vacant land for Palestinian development.”

    Israel says three more soldiers were killed during fighting on Tuesday and four others were seriously injured in various battles in northern Gaza. More than 80 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave, the UN said on Tuesday, citing official Israeli sources. It was not known if the latest deaths announced by Israel were part of that total.

    RECOMMENDED VIEWING: Watch: Debunking Israel’s “mass rape” propaganda

    The firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups towards Israeli population centers has continued over the past 24 hours, with no reported fatalities. (Information on rocket attacks is here.) It appears that the last time a rocket killed an Israeli was October 7-8, as reported by Ha’aretz and the Times of Israel. 15 Israelis were killed – 10 of them Palestinian Israelis who reportedly had no access to bomb shelters. Rockets have killed a total of 35 Israelis over the 22 years they’ve been fired,.

    Elsewhere

    Resigned US State Department official reveals details of child rape case in Israeli prison, calls for accountability: In a CNN interview, former US State Department official Josh Paul discloses a troubling incident involving the alleged rape of a 13-year-old Palestinian boy in an Israeli prison. The State Department’s inquiry into the case resulted in Israeli officials shutting down the charity involved in bringing the case to light.

    Paul condemned ongoing atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank and called for accountability. He questioned the US foreign policy’s impact on global perceptions and whether the US is using its ‘leverage’ to end the Israeli onslaught on Gaza.

    Josh Paul resigned from the US State Department in October over the Biden administration’s decision to continue sending weapons and ammunition to Israel following the Israeli war on Gaza.

    More pro-Israel legislation: A week after US lawmakers expressed frustration in having to vote for yet another pro-Israel resolution, the House is expected to vote again this week to declare anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism, in a new bill which critics say will further undermine free speech protected by the US constitution.

    House Resolution 894 — introduced by Jewish Republicans, Representative David Kustoff (Tenn.) and Max Miller (Ohio) – “clearly and firmly states that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.” The bill embraces the highly controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) so called working definition of anti-Semitism, which, while not explicitly mentioning anti-Zionism, includes “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” and “claiming that the existence of a state of Israel is a racist endeavor,” as anti-Semitic.

    Some Democratic senators say that Israel’s military must adopt substantive measures to lessen civilian deaths in Gaza as part of receiving the supplemental $14.3 billion in US aid for Israel’s war, but only a few call for a ceasefire (Bernie Sanders is not among them). House Resolution 786 calling for a ceasefire has 17 cosponsors. (Bernie Sanders is not among them.)

    Poll shows split support in US for Israel’s war on Gaza: A survey by US polling agency Gallup shows among members of US President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party, only 36 percent support the war as opposed to 71 percent among opposition Republican Party members.

    Biden received a 32 percent approval rating for his handling of the Gaza conflict. Also, four in 10 Americans surveyed say the US is sending too little aid to the Palestinians in Gaza.



    Statistics as of Dec. 4:

    Palestinian death toll: OCHA reports at least 15,688* (~15,428 in Gaza** (4,257 women and 6,387 children), and at least 260 in the West Bank). This does not include an estimated 7,000 more still buried under rubble. Euro-Med Monitor reports 20,360 Palestinian deaths.

    *IAK does not yet include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile is being disputed; although much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, experts are still looking into the incident. Israel is blocking an international investigation. Israel killed more Palestinians in a little over a month after Oct. 7 than in all the previous 22 years combined.

    Palestinian injuries: 44,595** (including at least 42,000 in Gaza** and 3,365 in the West Bank). **NOTE: it is impossible to offer an accurate number of injuries in Gaza due to the ongoing bombardment and communication disruption.

    It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties. in Gaza**. About 1.8 million people have been displaced (nearly 80% of the population).

    Reported Israeli death toll ~1,200 (7 killed in West Bank, 80 in Gaza), including 32 Americans, and 5,431 injured, approximately 30 children).

    NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel may have been caused by Israeli soldiers; additionally, since Israel has a policy of universal conscription, it is unknown how many of those attending the outdoor rave a few miles from Gaza on stolen Palestinian land were Israeli soldiers.

    Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here. For more news, go here and here.**** Live broadcast news from the region is here.

    RELATED READING:

    US poised to give Israel $18 billion in aid this year
    Gaza Civilians, Under Israeli Barrage, Are Being Killed at Historic Pace
    Israel has lost control of the narrative – October 7 truths coming out
    Essential facts and stats about the Hamas-Gaza-Israel war
    What media reports fail to tell you about October 7
    More Palestinians killed in past 34 days than in the past 22 years combined

    https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-strategy-cold-calculated-lacks-decency-day-60/
    Israel’s strategy is “cold and calculated, and lacks any sense of decency” – Day 60 contact@ifamericansknew.org December 5, 2023 ethnic cleansing, Gaza, hamas, humanitarian aid, Israel, tunnel Israel’s strategy is “cold and calculated, and lacks any sense of decency” – Day 60 UNICEF spokesperson says alleged Gaza safe zones are ‘zones of death’ In a Sky News interview, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder says Israel’s proclaimed ‘safe zones’ in Gaza are ‘zones of death’ with increased risk for disease. Elder says Israeli authorities are fully aware of the dire consequences in the alleged safe zones, and that the decision to push 80% of the population into a zone that is 4% the size of Gaza is ‘cold’ and ‘calculated’ and lacks ‘any sense of decency’. Khan Younis and Rafah: Monday night was terrifying for residents of Khan Younis and Rafah, and 1.5 million evacuees. Since early yesterday evening, there has been non-stop heavy artillery shelling, relentless air strikes and mass bombardment. The vast majority of residential homes and public facilities – schools, hospitals, medical centers and shops – in the eastern side of Khan Younis, have been completely destroyed. At the same time, people were ordered to evacuate in the middle of the night and early hours of this morning under heavy bombardment. As ambulances tried to get to the eastern side of Khan Younis to Abasan al-Kabira and Bani Suheila, where people were stranded and caught under the heavy bombardment, they were shot at and could not evacuate any of the injured or bring out any of those who were killed overnight. The Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis has called for blood donations due to the high number of severely injured patients arriving every hour. Twenty-six out of 35 hospitals in Gaza are currently out of service, and 52 out of 72 primary healthcare clinics have been shut down. Palestinian officials in Gaza say Israeli jets dropped phosphorus bombs north and east of Khan Younis. (Use of white phosphorus in civilian areas is considered a war crime due to its extremely dangerous effects on the human body. White phosphorus ignites instantly when in contact with oxygen. It can burn through the human body, including through bone, causing severe, excruciating damage. It can also cause extreme harm when inhaled, with risks of suffocation, cardiovascular failure, coma, death, and other lifelong effects. The substance burns at temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.) Nasser hospital staff are stretched to their limits as casualties mount in southern Gaza, says UNICEF. Fifty-two of 72 primary healthcare clinics have shut down in Gaza. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters] (photo) Central Gaza: Israeli jets targeted the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza this morning. Bombing began around 6:05am (04:05 GMT) while most residents were asleep, leading to a total “state of panic”. At least 15 houses were “completely destroyed” more than 15 people were killed, including children. Many wounded are still trapped under the rubble. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has shared footage of the moment an Israeli artillery tank targeted the vicinity of two ambulances in Gaza. PRCS said the two ambulances were attending to casualties in Deir el-Balah, southern Gaza. Northern Gaza: Gaza’s health ministry is warning of a “massacre” at Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, where Israeli tanks and snipers are reportedly surrounding the facility and “shooting at anyone who moves”; Israeli forces have already killed 108 civilians and injured dozens in the hospital’s vicinity. Munir al-Bursh, director-general of the Health Ministry in Gaza, said, The Israeli occupation forces have laid siege to the facility from all sides. Patients and those who took shelter here are gripped with fear and overwhelmed by horror. The Israeli forces are attacking with the aim of forcibly removing all those inside the hospital. These are patients, victims and displaced civilians. We, the medical staff, are holding our ground. We are standing by our patients. We will continue to serve our people by all means left here at Kamal Adwan Hospital. UN says no place is safe: The United Nations warns that creating “so-called safe zones” for civilians to flee to within the Gaza Strip is impossible amid Israel’s bombing campaign. The Israeli army, which initially focused much of its offensive on the north of the enclave, has now dropped leaflets on parts of the south, telling Palestinian civilians there to flee to other areas. “The so-called safe zones … are not scientific, they are not rational, they are not possible, and I think the authorities are aware of this,” said UNICEF spokesperson James Elder. Journalists face grave threats: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reports that 63 journalists and media workers have been killed since October 7. The overall death toll includes 56 Palestinians, four Israelis and three Lebanese nationals. Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, said, CPJ emphasizes that journalists are civilians doing important work during times of crisis and must not be targeted by warring parties. Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heart-breaking conflict. Those in Gaza, in particular, have paid, and continue to pay, an unprecedented toll and face exponential threats. Humanitarian update UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said the resumption of the Israeli military operation and its expansion further in southern Gaza is repeating horrors from past weeks. He added, The latest developments are further strangling the humanitarian operation, with limited supplies going in and complex logistical and coordination arrangements that slow down and at times obstruct the flow. The Israeli Authorities continue to restrict the flow of humanitarian supplies, including fuel, forcing the UN to only use the ill-equipped crossing point with Egypt. We call on the State of Israel to reopen Kerem Shalom and other crossings and facilitate the unconditional, uninterrupted and meaningful delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance. The failure to do so violates international humanitarian law. On 4 December, 100 aid trucks carrying humanitarian supplies and 69,000 litres of fuel entered from Egypt into Gaza, about the same as the previous day. This is well below the daily average of 170 trucks and 110,000 litres of fuel that had entered during the humanitarian pause implemented between 24 and 30 November. On 4 December, for the second consecutive day, Rafah was the only governorate in Gaza where limited aid distributions, primarily of flour and water, took place. On 4 December at about 20:30, the main telecommunication provider in Gaza announced that all telecom services had shut down due to cuts in the main fibre routes. This followed a partial shutdown in Gaza city and northern Gaza a few hours earlier due to ongoing hostilities. Humanitarian agencies and first responders have warned that blackouts jeopardize the already constrained provision of life-saving assistance. Al-Azhar University of Gaza before and after Israel bombed the institution Al-Azhar University of Gaza before and after Israel bombed the institution. The university was built in 1991 (photo) Other Gaza updates Agriculture destroyed: Human Rights Watch (HRW) has found that orchards, greenhouses and farmland have been razed due to Israel’s ground invasion in the north of Gaza. In Beit Hanoun in northeast Gaza, what was once green agricultural land has now become “brown and desolate”, increasing concerns about food insecurity and the loss of livelihoods. The razing continued during the seven-day truce and satellite imagery showed the destruction of farmland by Israel’s use of bulldozers to carve new roads for its armored vehicles. Israel set to possibly flood Gaza’s tunnel system: the Wall Street Journal reports: Israel has assembled a system of large pumps it could use to flood Hamas’s vast network of tunnels under the Gaza Strip with seawater, a tactic that could destroy the tunnels and drive the fighters from their underground refuge but also threaten Gaza’s water supply, U.S. officials said. The Israel Defense Forces finished assembling large seawater pumps roughly one mile north of the Al-Shati refugee camp around the middle of last month. Each of at least five pumps can draw water from the Mediterranean Sea and move thousands of cubic meters of water per hour into the tunnels, flooding them within weeks. Sentiment inside the U.S. was mixed. Some U.S. officials privately expressed concern about the plan, while other officials said the U.S. supports the disabling of the tunnels and said there wasn’t necessarily any U.S. opposition to the plan. The Israelis have identified about 800 tunnels so far, though they acknowledge the network is bigger than that. Because it isn’t clear how permeable the tunnels are or how much seawater would seep into the soil and to what effect, it is hard to fully assess the impact of pumping seawater into the tunnels, said Jon Alterman, senior vice president at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. “It’s hard to tell what pumping seawater will do to the existing water and sewage infrastructure. It is hard to tell what it will do to groundwater reserves. And it’s hard to tell the impact on the stability of nearby buildings,” Alterman said. RECOMMENDED READING: ICRC president describes human suffering in Gaza as ‘intolerable’ Attacks on southern Gaza promise to be “worse” than north: Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defense minister, has been saying that what will come to the southern part of the Gaza Strip will not only be equal to what we saw in the north but, actually, even worse. He says the army is going to continue its ground operation inside of the northern part of the Gaza Strip. He also said that Israeli troops are going to remain stationed there until every single Hamas target – infrastructure and fighters – is eliminated. Palestinians mourn the death of loved ones who were killed by Israeli bombardment in the southern Gaza Strip Palestinians mourn the death of loved ones who were killed by Israeli bombardment in the southern Gaza Strip (photo) RECOMMENDED READING: Is Israel’s Gaza bombing also a war on the climate? West Bank, Jerusalem, and Israel news Israeli settlers break into Jerusalem’s Aqsa mosque: Dozens of fanatic Israeli settlers Tuesday morning broke into the compounds of al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy protection from the Israeli police. The extremist settlers divided into groups, raided the holy Islamic Mosque from al-Maghariba gate and took provocative tours in its compounds. The settlers performed Talmudic rituals in the eastern part of the Mosque. Jerusalem Palestinian killed: A Palestinian was Tuesday morning killed, while his brother was detained, by Israeli forces during a raid in Qalandia camp, north of occupied Jerusalem. Witnesses said that the occupation forces violently stormed Manasra’s and blew up the door of the house just as he was about to open it, with a bomb that disintegrated his body. The occupation forces later detained his brother before they withdrew. Israel says Jerusalemite children released in recent prisoner swap can’t go back to school: Families of the child prisoners released in the recent exchange deal said that the schools’ administrations affiliated with the so-called Israeli Ministry of Education and the occupation municipality in Jerusalem refused the return of their children to school. 2 Palestinians killed Monday night: Two Palestinian youths was Monday evening killed after they were shot by Israeli occupation forces in the town of Sa’ir, northeast of Hebron. The Ministry of Health said that Anas Ismail al-Froukh, 23, and Mohammad Saa’di al-Frouk, 22, died due to their severe injuries by Israeli forces. Major new settlement plan approved for occupied East Jerusalem: Ir Amim, an organization that focuses on the Israel-Palestine conflict in Jerusalem, says that amid the ongoing war in Gaza, Israel is seeking to expand the settler presence in occupied East Jerusalem. “Today, officials shockingly announced the approval of the Lower Aqueduct plan – the first major new settlement plan to be fully approved in East Jerusalem since [the settlement of] Givat Hamatos in 2012,” the group said. This plan has disastrous ramifications, the group said, predicting “It will extend the Israeli settlement wedge along East Jerusalem’s southern boundary, further sealing [it] off from the southern West Bank, while fracturing the Palestinian space and depleting more vacant land for Palestinian development.” Israel says three more soldiers were killed during fighting on Tuesday and four others were seriously injured in various battles in northern Gaza. More than 80 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave, the UN said on Tuesday, citing official Israeli sources. It was not known if the latest deaths announced by Israel were part of that total. RECOMMENDED VIEWING: Watch: Debunking Israel’s “mass rape” propaganda The firing of rockets by Palestinian armed groups towards Israeli population centers has continued over the past 24 hours, with no reported fatalities. (Information on rocket attacks is here.) It appears that the last time a rocket killed an Israeli was October 7-8, as reported by Ha’aretz and the Times of Israel. 15 Israelis were killed – 10 of them Palestinian Israelis who reportedly had no access to bomb shelters. Rockets have killed a total of 35 Israelis over the 22 years they’ve been fired,. Elsewhere Resigned US State Department official reveals details of child rape case in Israeli prison, calls for accountability: In a CNN interview, former US State Department official Josh Paul discloses a troubling incident involving the alleged rape of a 13-year-old Palestinian boy in an Israeli prison. The State Department’s inquiry into the case resulted in Israeli officials shutting down the charity involved in bringing the case to light. Paul condemned ongoing atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank and called for accountability. He questioned the US foreign policy’s impact on global perceptions and whether the US is using its ‘leverage’ to end the Israeli onslaught on Gaza. Josh Paul resigned from the US State Department in October over the Biden administration’s decision to continue sending weapons and ammunition to Israel following the Israeli war on Gaza. More pro-Israel legislation: A week after US lawmakers expressed frustration in having to vote for yet another pro-Israel resolution, the House is expected to vote again this week to declare anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism, in a new bill which critics say will further undermine free speech protected by the US constitution. House Resolution 894 — introduced by Jewish Republicans, Representative David Kustoff (Tenn.) and Max Miller (Ohio) – “clearly and firmly states that anti-Zionism is antisemitism.” The bill embraces the highly controversial International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) so called working definition of anti-Semitism, which, while not explicitly mentioning anti-Zionism, includes “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination” and “claiming that the existence of a state of Israel is a racist endeavor,” as anti-Semitic. Some Democratic senators say that Israel’s military must adopt substantive measures to lessen civilian deaths in Gaza as part of receiving the supplemental $14.3 billion in US aid for Israel’s war, but only a few call for a ceasefire (Bernie Sanders is not among them). House Resolution 786 calling for a ceasefire has 17 cosponsors. (Bernie Sanders is not among them.) Poll shows split support in US for Israel’s war on Gaza: A survey by US polling agency Gallup shows among members of US President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party, only 36 percent support the war as opposed to 71 percent among opposition Republican Party members. Biden received a 32 percent approval rating for his handling of the Gaza conflict. Also, four in 10 Americans surveyed say the US is sending too little aid to the Palestinians in Gaza. Statistics as of Dec. 4: Palestinian death toll: OCHA reports at least 15,688* (~15,428 in Gaza** (4,257 women and 6,387 children), and at least 260 in the West Bank). This does not include an estimated 7,000 more still buried under rubble. Euro-Med Monitor reports 20,360 Palestinian deaths. *IAK does not yet include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile is being disputed; although much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, experts are still looking into the incident. Israel is blocking an international investigation. Israel killed more Palestinians in a little over a month after Oct. 7 than in all the previous 22 years combined. Palestinian injuries: 44,595** (including at least 42,000 in Gaza** and 3,365 in the West Bank). **NOTE: it is impossible to offer an accurate number of injuries in Gaza due to the ongoing bombardment and communication disruption. It remains unknown how many Americans are among the casualties. in Gaza**. About 1.8 million people have been displaced (nearly 80% of the population). Reported Israeli death toll ~1,200 (7 killed in West Bank, 80 in Gaza), including 32 Americans, and 5,431 injured, approximately 30 children). NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries in Israel may have been caused by Israeli soldiers; additionally, since Israel has a policy of universal conscription, it is unknown how many of those attending the outdoor rave a few miles from Gaza on stolen Palestinian land were Israeli soldiers. Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here. For more news, go here and here.**** Live broadcast news from the region is here. RELATED READING: US poised to give Israel $18 billion in aid this year Gaza Civilians, Under Israeli Barrage, Are Being Killed at Historic Pace Israel has lost control of the narrative – October 7 truths coming out Essential facts and stats about the Hamas-Gaza-Israel war What media reports fail to tell you about October 7 More Palestinians killed in past 34 days than in the past 22 years combined https://israelpalestinenews.org/israel-strategy-cold-calculated-lacks-decency-day-60/
    ISRAELPALESTINENEWS.ORG
    Israel's strategy is "cold and calculated, and lacks any sense of decency" – Day 60
    Gaza humanitarian updates; Israel considers flooding tunnels; West Bank, Jerusalem, and Israel news; US government continues to support Israel
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  • My Story - By Professor Gabriel Oon
    "Between 2021 and now, I have lost 34 senior medical colleagues. Most were working in institutions and had been vaccinated with Pfizer."

    Aussie17
    Dear Readers, today I bring to you a guest post by Professor Gabriel Oon, retired Professor of Medicine who worked as a WHO consultant and founding President of Singapore’s Society of Oncology. Please feel free to share and distribute!

    -Aussie17

    Share


    My Story - By Professor Gabriel Oon

    "SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!"

    These words were relentlessly drummed upon us during our WHO meetings in Geneva from 1983 to 1987, where vaccine manufacturers from around the globe (Netherlands, Germany, China, Singapore, Korea, Australia, US, UK, France, Russia, Sweden, Israel, etc.) came together. The gathering was initiated by the Director of Biologics, Dr. Frank Perkins, and the Director-General, Dr. Karl Mahler MD, who had appointed me as a WHO Consultant.

    Every one of us had created our own variant of the novel hepatitis B vaccine from plasma HBV, employing different inactivation techniques.

    Dr. Perkins reminded us of the two monumental vaccine calamities in history.

    The Lübeck disaster (1929-33) saw many children inoculated with live BCG instead of the killed vaccine, resulting in thousands of children affected and several deaths.

    The Cutter incident (1955) in the USA was when 200,000 received a live polio vaccine; 40,000 fell ill, many became paralyzed, or died.

    Such tragedies were not to be repeated. With the then-unknown threat of AIDS transmitted by infected blood, it became crucial to source safe, uninfected blood for the production of hepatitis B vaccines.

    Advancements in molecular science led to the discovery of the common “a” antigen present in all serotypes in both humans and animals. Consequently, a prototype yeast recombinant HB vaccine was formulated, safety-tested, and implemented in Singapore as a collaboration between the International Agency for Research in Cancer/WHO and the Singapore Government.

    I was then appointed by the Singapore government and IARC/WHO (International Agency for Research on Cancer) to oversee the safety in the manufacture and implementation of the vaccine.

    Then Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, who mandated the directive to me and my team, insisted on "300% safety, not just 100%."

    Together with my team and WHO oversight, we rejected several unsafe vaccines and identified vaccine-escape mutants in plasma vaccines that were over-treated with chemicals, which damaged the epitopes of the “a” antigen. This product was rejected.

    Similar Vaccine Escape Mutants (VEMs) arose with the Pfizer mRNA. Instead of inactivation, nine chemicals were used, including the deep-freezing agent phosphophenolglycol. I believe these VEMs on the Covid mRNA are the cause of the continuous eruption of spike mutants ranging from Delta to Omicron variants seen today, as humans have become reservoirs for these mutants.

    On my 80th birthday, July 4, 2019, 34 years since the WHO consultation, I announced the complete elimination of HBV and associated lethal liver failures and liver cancer at a Duke-NUS lecture (video below).

    SARS-2/COVID-19

    In October 2018, my wife and I returned from a Yangtze River Cruise where we had admired the beautiful and ancient industrial city of Wuhan, home to 8 million people.

    START OF THE COVID PANDEMIC: January 2020

    We woke to the news that Wuhan was besieged by a lethal coronavirus, resulting in thousands dead daily and several more thousands hospitalized until hospitals reached full capacity. Field hospitals were erected within days. Doctors and nurses arrived from all over China to provide aid; tragically, around a thousand of them died.

    Within a week, top Chinese scientists had determined the molecular structure of the coronavirus, which was dissimilar to any of the known viruses in their archives.

    The molecular structure seemed akin to the USCDC's patented invention (No. 7220852/B1 filed on May 22, 2004), with the addition of an HIV glycoprotein insert in the spike protein (later confirmed by Nobel Laureate Prof. Luc Montagnier).

    China disseminated information on the epidemic and the virus through premier journals and transmitted details to the International Genomic Bank. They invited the WHO in January 2020, who discovered many corona viruses but not this particular virus.

    Singapore

    We learned from the news that SG Prime Minister's wife, Ho Ching, chairman of Temasek Holdings, a Singapore investment company, had invested nearly S$3 billion in Pfizer/BioNTech and had initiated the procurement of Pfizer mRNA vaccines, Moderna, and plans for establishing vaccine manufacturing in Singapore.

    Pfizer and mRNA Vaccines

    Publications in JAMA 2021 showed that Pfizer was 98% effective. Six of my senior academic staff on the board of journals agreed with me that the end points for assessing efficacy were symptoms.

    (Later, a US Texas judge in 2022 ordered the FDA to release 55,000 pages showing thousands of deaths and serious adverse reactions. The US Supreme Court in 2022 also accepted Senator Robert Kennedy's charge that mRNA vaccines are not vaccines.)

    These were not the usual endpoints like antibody levels and virus absence in recipients. This was open to "ghost papers," which we had discovered at WHO.

    I alerted our three Ministers who know me and the 14 medical experts, "The Pfizer mRNA vaccines are not safe for mass immunization as the live lethal virus is still present in the mRNAs."

    Mandatory Vaccination

    Then, we received notice from our MOH (Ministry of Health) that all hospital and clinic staff, workplaces, and schools must be vaccinated or they cannot work.

    Retirement

    I was then 82 years old, and my mission after being recalled/returning from Cambridge with an MD in Cancer Immunology was completed. However, with my vast experience with vaccines, I continued to advise our MOH privately, as well as colleagues and friends in our country and worldwide.

    Request to MOH to Release Sinovac

    A full-length inactivated COVID virus vaccine, Singapore had 20,000 doses of Sinovac in stock. When the new Delta variant infected frontline workers in five public hospitals and Changi Airport in May 2021, I advised our Ministers that the mRNA vaccines were not preventative and to use Sinovac lest our hospitals be overwhelmed by infections.

    I also informed Ministers that many individuals with allergies cannot take mRNA vaccines and to release the Sinovac.

    This news was leaked, and I was chastised as peddling fake news by Prof. David Lye of the National Infectious Disease Center and senior Straits Times journalist Shamir Khalid.

    The Future

    COVID will remain for many years as the reservoirs of VEMs (Vaccine Escape Mutates) are evolving from failed protection in millions but causing deaths, delayed deaths, and illnesses.

    The 95% who received Pfizer and other mRNA vaccines, and not inactivated vaccines like Novavax, are developing new mutants.

    Losses

    Between 2021 and now, I have lost 34 senior medical colleagues. Most were working in institutions and had been vaccinated with Pfizer.

    I lost my eminent elder obstetrician aunt on March 31, 2022, who was infected by a Pfizer-vaccinated caregiver who had contracted the Delta spike mutant. She became too weak, stopped playing mahjong, stopped eating, and five days before she passed, she became blind. She died in my arms.

    I also lost my elder brother, a senior physician at 85, who received Moderna followed by two boosters of Pfizer. He contracted COVID and died two months later.

    How to Eliminate

    Wear masks to reduce aerosol transmission.

    Use antiviral drugs like Tamiflu, 75mg daily for 7 days. It is a potent neuraminidase inhibitor of COVID and the flu. As with most serious infections, take it early at the onset. Usually, ART is negative on day 2-3.

    Vaccine Research - With the many combinations of mutations, we need to find common antigens and make new inactivated vaccines.

    Sinovac and Sinopharm

    My wife and I have had three doses of Sinovac and two of Sinopharm. We have nucleocapsid spike antibodies and are well.

    1.6 billion people, including children in 150 countries, have taken the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines. They are safe, protective, and have caused no fatalities. Countries can copy or learn from China. Save lives, not politics first.

    Retired, we stay at home and wear masks in crowded areas.

    Lessons

    It's essential to control and eliminate lethal airborne/aerosol infections.
    A healthy population is a robust workforce.
    A healthy youth is the future of our country.

    God bless all,
    Gabriel Oon
    Retired Professor of Medicine
    Former WHO Consultant for Biologicals for Human Use


    Some final comments by Aussie17:
    I am fully aware that there are people who are against any kind of vaccine, people who are against wearing masks, and people who believe there is no such thing as viruses. Whatever your opinion is on these matters, I’d just like to say that I know Professor Gabriel personally, and he does not have a single nefarious bone in his body. The world is such a divided place right now that even when you agree with someone 99%, people start calling names and scolding each other over the 1% disagreement, which only serves to deepen our divisions. I hope we can accept diverse views and come together.

    Signing off for now
    A17

    Thank you for reading PharmaFiles by Aussie17. This post is public so feel free to share it.

    Share


    https://www.aussie17.com/p/my-story-by-professor-gabriel-oon
    My Story - By Professor Gabriel Oon "Between 2021 and now, I have lost 34 senior medical colleagues. Most were working in institutions and had been vaccinated with Pfizer." Aussie17 Dear Readers, today I bring to you a guest post by Professor Gabriel Oon, retired Professor of Medicine who worked as a WHO consultant and founding President of Singapore’s Society of Oncology. Please feel free to share and distribute! -Aussie17 Share My Story - By Professor Gabriel Oon "SAFETY, SAFETY, SAFETY!" These words were relentlessly drummed upon us during our WHO meetings in Geneva from 1983 to 1987, where vaccine manufacturers from around the globe (Netherlands, Germany, China, Singapore, Korea, Australia, US, UK, France, Russia, Sweden, Israel, etc.) came together. The gathering was initiated by the Director of Biologics, Dr. Frank Perkins, and the Director-General, Dr. Karl Mahler MD, who had appointed me as a WHO Consultant. Every one of us had created our own variant of the novel hepatitis B vaccine from plasma HBV, employing different inactivation techniques. Dr. Perkins reminded us of the two monumental vaccine calamities in history. The Lübeck disaster (1929-33) saw many children inoculated with live BCG instead of the killed vaccine, resulting in thousands of children affected and several deaths. The Cutter incident (1955) in the USA was when 200,000 received a live polio vaccine; 40,000 fell ill, many became paralyzed, or died. Such tragedies were not to be repeated. With the then-unknown threat of AIDS transmitted by infected blood, it became crucial to source safe, uninfected blood for the production of hepatitis B vaccines. Advancements in molecular science led to the discovery of the common “a” antigen present in all serotypes in both humans and animals. Consequently, a prototype yeast recombinant HB vaccine was formulated, safety-tested, and implemented in Singapore as a collaboration between the International Agency for Research in Cancer/WHO and the Singapore Government. I was then appointed by the Singapore government and IARC/WHO (International Agency for Research on Cancer) to oversee the safety in the manufacture and implementation of the vaccine. Then Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, who mandated the directive to me and my team, insisted on "300% safety, not just 100%." Together with my team and WHO oversight, we rejected several unsafe vaccines and identified vaccine-escape mutants in plasma vaccines that were over-treated with chemicals, which damaged the epitopes of the “a” antigen. This product was rejected. Similar Vaccine Escape Mutants (VEMs) arose with the Pfizer mRNA. Instead of inactivation, nine chemicals were used, including the deep-freezing agent phosphophenolglycol. I believe these VEMs on the Covid mRNA are the cause of the continuous eruption of spike mutants ranging from Delta to Omicron variants seen today, as humans have become reservoirs for these mutants. On my 80th birthday, July 4, 2019, 34 years since the WHO consultation, I announced the complete elimination of HBV and associated lethal liver failures and liver cancer at a Duke-NUS lecture (video below). SARS-2/COVID-19 In October 2018, my wife and I returned from a Yangtze River Cruise where we had admired the beautiful and ancient industrial city of Wuhan, home to 8 million people. START OF THE COVID PANDEMIC: January 2020 We woke to the news that Wuhan was besieged by a lethal coronavirus, resulting in thousands dead daily and several more thousands hospitalized until hospitals reached full capacity. Field hospitals were erected within days. Doctors and nurses arrived from all over China to provide aid; tragically, around a thousand of them died. Within a week, top Chinese scientists had determined the molecular structure of the coronavirus, which was dissimilar to any of the known viruses in their archives. The molecular structure seemed akin to the USCDC's patented invention (No. 7220852/B1 filed on May 22, 2004), with the addition of an HIV glycoprotein insert in the spike protein (later confirmed by Nobel Laureate Prof. Luc Montagnier). China disseminated information on the epidemic and the virus through premier journals and transmitted details to the International Genomic Bank. They invited the WHO in January 2020, who discovered many corona viruses but not this particular virus. Singapore We learned from the news that SG Prime Minister's wife, Ho Ching, chairman of Temasek Holdings, a Singapore investment company, had invested nearly S$3 billion in Pfizer/BioNTech and had initiated the procurement of Pfizer mRNA vaccines, Moderna, and plans for establishing vaccine manufacturing in Singapore. Pfizer and mRNA Vaccines Publications in JAMA 2021 showed that Pfizer was 98% effective. Six of my senior academic staff on the board of journals agreed with me that the end points for assessing efficacy were symptoms. (Later, a US Texas judge in 2022 ordered the FDA to release 55,000 pages showing thousands of deaths and serious adverse reactions. The US Supreme Court in 2022 also accepted Senator Robert Kennedy's charge that mRNA vaccines are not vaccines.) These were not the usual endpoints like antibody levels and virus absence in recipients. This was open to "ghost papers," which we had discovered at WHO. I alerted our three Ministers who know me and the 14 medical experts, "The Pfizer mRNA vaccines are not safe for mass immunization as the live lethal virus is still present in the mRNAs." Mandatory Vaccination Then, we received notice from our MOH (Ministry of Health) that all hospital and clinic staff, workplaces, and schools must be vaccinated or they cannot work. Retirement I was then 82 years old, and my mission after being recalled/returning from Cambridge with an MD in Cancer Immunology was completed. However, with my vast experience with vaccines, I continued to advise our MOH privately, as well as colleagues and friends in our country and worldwide. Request to MOH to Release Sinovac A full-length inactivated COVID virus vaccine, Singapore had 20,000 doses of Sinovac in stock. When the new Delta variant infected frontline workers in five public hospitals and Changi Airport in May 2021, I advised our Ministers that the mRNA vaccines were not preventative and to use Sinovac lest our hospitals be overwhelmed by infections. I also informed Ministers that many individuals with allergies cannot take mRNA vaccines and to release the Sinovac. This news was leaked, and I was chastised as peddling fake news by Prof. David Lye of the National Infectious Disease Center and senior Straits Times journalist Shamir Khalid. The Future COVID will remain for many years as the reservoirs of VEMs (Vaccine Escape Mutates) are evolving from failed protection in millions but causing deaths, delayed deaths, and illnesses. The 95% who received Pfizer and other mRNA vaccines, and not inactivated vaccines like Novavax, are developing new mutants. Losses Between 2021 and now, I have lost 34 senior medical colleagues. Most were working in institutions and had been vaccinated with Pfizer. I lost my eminent elder obstetrician aunt on March 31, 2022, who was infected by a Pfizer-vaccinated caregiver who had contracted the Delta spike mutant. She became too weak, stopped playing mahjong, stopped eating, and five days before she passed, she became blind. She died in my arms. I also lost my elder brother, a senior physician at 85, who received Moderna followed by two boosters of Pfizer. He contracted COVID and died two months later. How to Eliminate Wear masks to reduce aerosol transmission. Use antiviral drugs like Tamiflu, 75mg daily for 7 days. It is a potent neuraminidase inhibitor of COVID and the flu. As with most serious infections, take it early at the onset. Usually, ART is negative on day 2-3. Vaccine Research - With the many combinations of mutations, we need to find common antigens and make new inactivated vaccines. Sinovac and Sinopharm My wife and I have had three doses of Sinovac and two of Sinopharm. We have nucleocapsid spike antibodies and are well. 1.6 billion people, including children in 150 countries, have taken the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines. They are safe, protective, and have caused no fatalities. Countries can copy or learn from China. Save lives, not politics first. Retired, we stay at home and wear masks in crowded areas. Lessons It's essential to control and eliminate lethal airborne/aerosol infections. A healthy population is a robust workforce. A healthy youth is the future of our country. God bless all, Gabriel Oon Retired Professor of Medicine Former WHO Consultant for Biologicals for Human Use Some final comments by Aussie17: I am fully aware that there are people who are against any kind of vaccine, people who are against wearing masks, and people who believe there is no such thing as viruses. Whatever your opinion is on these matters, I’d just like to say that I know Professor Gabriel personally, and he does not have a single nefarious bone in his body. The world is such a divided place right now that even when you agree with someone 99%, people start calling names and scolding each other over the 1% disagreement, which only serves to deepen our divisions. I hope we can accept diverse views and come together. Signing off for now A17 Thank you for reading PharmaFiles by Aussie17. This post is public so feel free to share it. Share https://www.aussie17.com/p/my-story-by-professor-gabriel-oon
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  • Our Response in Crisis will Demonstrate Our Core Values as Muslims
    We feel hopeless and helpless witnessing all this violence. How we respond to these emotions will determine whether we are better human beings.

    Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism

    Every day, we are witnessing acts of violence, terrorism and extreme military campaigns that do not give any consideration to children, women and civilians and even to the international communities and laws.

    Be it coming from Hamas, who is seeking justice for the decades of oppression under Israel’s military occupation, or all the dehumanising acts by the Zionist Israeli military who are taking advantage of the incident on 7 October 2023 to justify their merciless military actions, further illegal expansions and occupation of Palestinian lands and the collective punishment of innocent Palestinians.

    We are witnessing how the sacredness of human life that has been bestowed by Allah s.w.t. has not prevented people of power and influence from exploiting that power and manipulating narratives to garner support by dehumanising the other side.

    All these cause us pain, stir our emotions, and evoke anger within us. We feel hopeless and helpless and sometimes lose our trust in the authorities. The emotions are sometimes confusing and suffocating, especially when we see images that shrink our hearts and send currents up our spines. These emotions are natural for us human beings who have been nurtured to have a good heart, respect lives and humanity, and trust in one another.

    Read: A Mental Health Guide for Those Grappling With The Crisis in Gaza

    Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism

    How we respond to these emotions will determine whether we are better human beings. We are defending the humanity of everyone. Violence and terrorist acts have no place in humanity. All Palestinians and Israelis have the right to live peacefully and in harmony. All of them have their rights to the necessities of life like water, food, safety and security.

    For youths, as we go about our daily routines and activities amidst the images, narratives of violence and hatred that are flooding social media, let us be mindful of our actions. Let us reflect and think through some of these principles and take them as our guidance in finding our emotional, psychological and spiritual balance and equilibrium.

    Violence Begets Violence, Hatred Begets Hatred

    Through this conflict, we observe that violence begets violence, and hatred begets hatred. This is a universal law. When violence becomes the heartbeat that defines a conflict, innocent civilians are the primary victims.

    Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism

    The current government of Israel is led by a Prime Minister and several ministers who are known for their far-right extremist ideologies. For example, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the current Minister of National Security, is known for his extremist views and advocacy for radical groups in Israel.[1] The government has clearly outlined its commitment to solidify the dominance of Jewish identity while continuing to suppress Palestinian rights in both Israel and the occupied West Bank. This is proposed through a governance system that establishes distinct tiers, perpetuating inequality across all levels. As a result, Palestinians have been deprived of their rights and protections, rendering them more vulnerable to violence and worsening the hardships they already face.[2]

    The leadership issues among the Palestinian people involve the disunity of several political groups governing Palestine, including Fatah, Hamas, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Palestinian Authority and various political parties. One of the key points of division among them is how to engage and interact with Israel. Does it involve violence and force, or do they pursue objectives via negotiations and diplomacy?[3]

    Simultaneously, we must also be cautious of irresponsible people who propagate hate speeches, instigate disunity among us and take advantage of the emotional instability of people to propagate their own agendas. We have seen how extremist individuals and groups have exploited the internet and social media to lure vulnerable youths into radicalisation.

    Read: How Does Social Media Influence Online Radicalisation?

    Emulate and Embody the Prophetic Exemplars

    To end this long conflict requires restraint, big hearts, compassion, justice, humility, and other values that define us as human beings. Therefore, we should embody these values of humanity instead of succumbing to what is portrayed by these conflicts. This is truly a test not just for the whole of humanity but also individually for ourselves as well.

    Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism

    Our best example to emulate and embody is the exemplary traits of our beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Let us reflect on this tradition, especially the collection of Imām al-Bukhārī, where a hadith[4] narrated by Khabbab Bin Al-Arat r.a. tells us how he asked Rasulullah s.a.w. to pray for the Muslims due to the intensity of the persecution they were facing in Makkah during the early days of Islam.

    The Prophet s.a.w. replied that the previous community of believers (of past Prophets) also faced persecution of such severity. Even when it intensified, they would not lose or abandon their faith.

    Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. then continued to prophesise that the lands of Sana’a and Hadramaut in Yemen would eventually be populated by Muslims. A prophecy that is proven true today without a doubt. This was a glad tiding to the declining situation of the relatively small generation of early Muslims.

    The hadith demonstrates to us the patience of the Prophet and the hastiness of the companions, at that time, who wanted to win over the people who oppressed them. The Beloved Prophet s.a.w, who is fully connected to Allah, assured the companions that Allah would grant them victory to the point that the route between Sana'a and Ḥaḍramawt would become safe.

    We Must Be Thankful for Allah’s Blessings Bestowed Upon Us in Singapore

    One way to be thankful for this blessing is to protect it. We must believe in the model of our Muslim community in Singapore. The fact that we are all able to carry on with our daily routines and activities in these difficult times does not come about by chance.

    As Singaporeans, we all have worked hard to develop trust with one another. We live amicably with our friends and neighbours who are of different races and religions, with the Islamic values of care, compassion, and trusting one another.

    We have lived peacefully with one another way before the coming of Sir Stamford Raffles to this island. We can see different places of worship within a neighbourhood or a street built way before Singapore’s independence.

    The peace and harmony we enjoy are rare commodities in this world. Let us all continue to be gracious Singaporeans to one another, believing in and trusting each other.

    As we advocate for our cause, let us ensure that we remain respectful and wise, avoiding personal attacks and hate speeches that could erode the trust we've built together.

    The Palestine-Israel Crisis Is Not a War Between Islam and Judaism

    Israel is not equal to Judaism. Israel is not equal to Jews. Simultaneously, Hamas does not represent all the Palestinians. Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived peacefully in the land in the last century.

    The crisis involves territorial disputes, historical grievances, and differing claims to the land. While it has often been framed in religious terms due to the significance of the land to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, at its core, the issue is primarily about land, power, and self-determination.

    Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Abrahamic faiths

    Some of the rhetoric being played out on social media aims to create the impression for both the Muslim and Jewish communities that this conflict is a religious one. Some individuals employ religious symbols and the chant of "takbīr" in an effort to garner attention from the public.

    Others invoke end-of-time discourses when discussing this conflict. Such discussions are not limited to Muslims; they also involve Christians and Jews. These narratives have raised concerns as public sentiments among both Muslims and Jews have been mocked and condemned.

    Read: Dealing With Recurrent Claims About The End Of The World

    We must be wary of the rise of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia to the point that it could potentially cause tensions in our multi-religious country. More importantly, as we strengthen our faith for the Hereafter, let us pay attention to how Prophet Muḥammad s.a.w. advised us to navigate the signs of the end of times.

    Narrated by Anas r.a, from the Prophet s.a.w:

    “Even if the Day of Judgement is approaching and you have a palm shoot in your hand and can plant it before the Hour arrives, you should plant it.”

    (Adab Al-Mufrad)

    Do Not Underestimate the Power of Dua

    Never underestimate the power of dua (supplication) with a firm belief. It can change what you may have thought was impossible to change. Dua is never wasted. So, keep making supplications as it is a special gift that Allah has given to us. He is the Best Listener and He is always Listening.

    Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism, Dua, Supplication

    Keep knocking on the door of the Merciful, and it will open eventually. The key is to be patient. Allah knows when is the right time to fulfil our supplications and bring us relief. The Prophet s.a.w. said:

    “Supplication is the shield of a believer, a pillar of the religion and light of heavens and earth.”[5]

    The Prophet further taught us the best way we can carry out our supplication. He said:

    “Whomsoever has completed reading the Quran, ask Allah with it”

    (Narrated by Imam At-Tabrani)

    Based on the above hadith, we can make supplications for our brothers and sisters in Gaza, Palestine and for all humanity after reading ṣūrah al-Ikhlāṣ three times as reading this ṣūrah three times is equivalent to completing the Qurān.

    Let us make duā after every ṣolat for all those who are experiencing oppression to be given patience, perseverance and paradise for the sacrifices that they are experiencing.

    رَبِّ سَلِّمْ سَلِّمْ

    Oh Allah, save us, save us

    رَبِّ سَلِّمْ سَلِّمْ إِخْوَانَنَا فِى فِلِسْطِيْنَ

    Oh Allah, save us, save us, save our brothers and sisters in Palestine

    Read: Seeking Allah in Times of Distress

    As the crisis continues, we can be overwhelmed when we experience moments of incapacity to help, the loss of freedom of choice to voice our concerns and acts, and other types of emotions.

    This is where we seek refuge in Allah out of our sheer necessity with no other ulterior motive. All these emotions are His creations, and we turn ourselves towards Him with these emotions.

    As we turn ourselves towards Him, we acknowledge our weaknesses and inabilities and read a dua taught to us by Allah in Surah Ali-’Imran,

    حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ

    “For Allah suffice for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.”

    (Surah Ali-’Imran, 3:173)

    This was the dua read by Nabi Ibrahim a.s when he was catapulted into the fire. As he flew into the fire, he read this dua, and Allah commanded the fire to cool down for Nabi Ibrahim a.s.

    قُلْنَا يَا نَارُ كُونِي بَرْدًا وَسَلَامًا عَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ

    We said, “O Fire! Be your coolness and safety unto Ibrahim”

    (Surah Anbiya, 21:69)

    Read: Dua Qunut Nazilah With English Translation

    Channel Our Energy Towards a Good Cause

    Work together with others in contributing towards humanitarian aid during this conflict. People in Singapore, regardless of race and religion, were able to raise almost five million dollars in humanitarian aid for Palestine in less than 2 weeks after the fundraiser by the Rahmatan Lil Alamin (Blessings to all) Foundation, or RLAF, was launched.

    Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism, Humanitarian, UNRWA, Help

    Always start something good within your means and circle of influence. For example, aside from making dua, donating and raising awareness about the crisis, we can also channel our efforts by volunteering at the mosque near our homes. Join the youth wing of the mosque and start supporting one another.

    Seek Guidance From Our Local Certified Asatizah

    As the conflict continues to unfold, we will continue to be bombarded with many different narratives. You may feel overwhelmed by the discussions and the emotions attached. Look for our local asātizah to process your feelings and thoughts. Go to the nearest mosque to seek help. Or you can look for a trusted adult to speak about your worries.

    Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism, Humanitarian, Safe Space, Discussion, AYN

    There are available channels for you to seek help, like the Asatizah Youth Network, mysafespace.sg, Asatizah Solace Care and others. Keep an eye on divisive speeches and extremist thoughts in virtual chat rooms or in social media platforms.

    Read: Ask An Ustaz or Ustazah Questions Through Anonymous Chat With MYSAFESPACE

    The Prophet always wants us to unite instead of being divided. Narratives that seek to plant the seed of hatred towards fellow Muslims and others are signs for us to distance ourselves from them.

    In conclusion, let us take the opportunity in this challenging time to explain and showcase the beauty of Islam. Let us elucidate the core principles and values such as Peace, Excellence, Mercy, Forgiveness, Justice and Wisdom that are contained in the Qurān and the exemplars of the Prophet s.a.w.

    Read: 4 Ways to Respond to the Suffering Faced by the Palestinian People

    References & Notes:

    [1] Ruth Margalit, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of Chaos, The New Yoker, February 20, 2023. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/27/itamar-ben-gvir-israels-minister-of-chaos accessed on 8th November 2023.

    [2] Jonathan Guyer, Israel’s new right-wing government is even more extreme than protest would have you think, in Vox Journalism, 2023. https://www.vox.com/world/2023/1/20/23561464/israel-new-right-wing-government-extreme-protests-netanyahu-biden-ben-gvir, accessed on 8th November 2023.

    [3] Alexandra Sharp, A Guide to Palestinian and Other Anti-Israel Factions, Foreign Policy, October 10 2023. https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/10/what-is-hamas-israel-war-palestine-fatah-hezbollah/ accessed on 8th November 2023.

    [4] Narrated by Khabbab bin Al-Arat, “We complained to Rasulullah s.a.w. (of the persecution inflicted on us by the enemies) while he was laying down (and resting his head on a cloth) under the shade of the Kaabah. We said to him, "Would you seek help for us? Would you pray to Allah for us?" He said, "A man from the previous nation would be put in a ditch that was dug for him, and a saw would be put over his head, and he would be cut into two; yet that (torture) would not make him give up his religion. His body would be combed with iron combs that would remove his flesh from the bones and nerves, yet that would not make him abandon his religion. By Allah, this religion (i.e. Islam) will prevail till a traveller from á¹¢an‘ā (in Yemen) to Ḥaḍramawt will fear none but Allah, or a wolf as regards his sheep, but you (people) are hasty” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

    [5] https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/74/1701/index.php assessed on 8th November 2023.



    https://muslim.sg/articles/our-response-in-crisis-will-demonstrate-our-core-values-as-muslims
    Our Response in Crisis will Demonstrate Our Core Values as Muslims We feel hopeless and helpless witnessing all this violence. How we respond to these emotions will determine whether we are better human beings. Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism Every day, we are witnessing acts of violence, terrorism and extreme military campaigns that do not give any consideration to children, women and civilians and even to the international communities and laws. Be it coming from Hamas, who is seeking justice for the decades of oppression under Israel’s military occupation, or all the dehumanising acts by the Zionist Israeli military who are taking advantage of the incident on 7 October 2023 to justify their merciless military actions, further illegal expansions and occupation of Palestinian lands and the collective punishment of innocent Palestinians. We are witnessing how the sacredness of human life that has been bestowed by Allah s.w.t. has not prevented people of power and influence from exploiting that power and manipulating narratives to garner support by dehumanising the other side. All these cause us pain, stir our emotions, and evoke anger within us. We feel hopeless and helpless and sometimes lose our trust in the authorities. The emotions are sometimes confusing and suffocating, especially when we see images that shrink our hearts and send currents up our spines. These emotions are natural for us human beings who have been nurtured to have a good heart, respect lives and humanity, and trust in one another. Read: A Mental Health Guide for Those Grappling With The Crisis in Gaza Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism How we respond to these emotions will determine whether we are better human beings. We are defending the humanity of everyone. Violence and terrorist acts have no place in humanity. All Palestinians and Israelis have the right to live peacefully and in harmony. All of them have their rights to the necessities of life like water, food, safety and security. For youths, as we go about our daily routines and activities amidst the images, narratives of violence and hatred that are flooding social media, let us be mindful of our actions. Let us reflect and think through some of these principles and take them as our guidance in finding our emotional, psychological and spiritual balance and equilibrium. Violence Begets Violence, Hatred Begets Hatred Through this conflict, we observe that violence begets violence, and hatred begets hatred. This is a universal law. When violence becomes the heartbeat that defines a conflict, innocent civilians are the primary victims. Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism The current government of Israel is led by a Prime Minister and several ministers who are known for their far-right extremist ideologies. For example, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the current Minister of National Security, is known for his extremist views and advocacy for radical groups in Israel.[1] The government has clearly outlined its commitment to solidify the dominance of Jewish identity while continuing to suppress Palestinian rights in both Israel and the occupied West Bank. This is proposed through a governance system that establishes distinct tiers, perpetuating inequality across all levels. As a result, Palestinians have been deprived of their rights and protections, rendering them more vulnerable to violence and worsening the hardships they already face.[2] The leadership issues among the Palestinian people involve the disunity of several political groups governing Palestine, including Fatah, Hamas, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the Palestinian Authority and various political parties. One of the key points of division among them is how to engage and interact with Israel. Does it involve violence and force, or do they pursue objectives via negotiations and diplomacy?[3] Simultaneously, we must also be cautious of irresponsible people who propagate hate speeches, instigate disunity among us and take advantage of the emotional instability of people to propagate their own agendas. We have seen how extremist individuals and groups have exploited the internet and social media to lure vulnerable youths into radicalisation. Read: How Does Social Media Influence Online Radicalisation? Emulate and Embody the Prophetic Exemplars To end this long conflict requires restraint, big hearts, compassion, justice, humility, and other values that define us as human beings. Therefore, we should embody these values of humanity instead of succumbing to what is portrayed by these conflicts. This is truly a test not just for the whole of humanity but also individually for ourselves as well. Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism Our best example to emulate and embody is the exemplary traits of our beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. Let us reflect on this tradition, especially the collection of Imām al-BukhārÄ«, where a hadith[4] narrated by Khabbab Bin Al-Arat r.a. tells us how he asked Rasulullah s.a.w. to pray for the Muslims due to the intensity of the persecution they were facing in Makkah during the early days of Islam. The Prophet s.a.w. replied that the previous community of believers (of past Prophets) also faced persecution of such severity. Even when it intensified, they would not lose or abandon their faith. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. then continued to prophesise that the lands of Sana’a and Hadramaut in Yemen would eventually be populated by Muslims. A prophecy that is proven true today without a doubt. This was a glad tiding to the declining situation of the relatively small generation of early Muslims. The hadith demonstrates to us the patience of the Prophet and the hastiness of the companions, at that time, who wanted to win over the people who oppressed them. The Beloved Prophet s.a.w, who is fully connected to Allah, assured the companions that Allah would grant them victory to the point that the route between Sana'a and Ḥaḍramawt would become safe. We Must Be Thankful for Allah’s Blessings Bestowed Upon Us in Singapore One way to be thankful for this blessing is to protect it. We must believe in the model of our Muslim community in Singapore. The fact that we are all able to carry on with our daily routines and activities in these difficult times does not come about by chance. As Singaporeans, we all have worked hard to develop trust with one another. We live amicably with our friends and neighbours who are of different races and religions, with the Islamic values of care, compassion, and trusting one another. We have lived peacefully with one another way before the coming of Sir Stamford Raffles to this island. We can see different places of worship within a neighbourhood or a street built way before Singapore’s independence. The peace and harmony we enjoy are rare commodities in this world. Let us all continue to be gracious Singaporeans to one another, believing in and trusting each other. As we advocate for our cause, let us ensure that we remain respectful and wise, avoiding personal attacks and hate speeches that could erode the trust we've built together. The Palestine-Israel Crisis Is Not a War Between Islam and Judaism Israel is not equal to Judaism. Israel is not equal to Jews. Simultaneously, Hamas does not represent all the Palestinians. Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived peacefully in the land in the last century. The crisis involves territorial disputes, historical grievances, and differing claims to the land. While it has often been framed in religious terms due to the significance of the land to Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, at its core, the issue is primarily about land, power, and self-determination. Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Abrahamic faiths Some of the rhetoric being played out on social media aims to create the impression for both the Muslim and Jewish communities that this conflict is a religious one. Some individuals employ religious symbols and the chant of "takbÄ«r" in an effort to garner attention from the public. Others invoke end-of-time discourses when discussing this conflict. Such discussions are not limited to Muslims; they also involve Christians and Jews. These narratives have raised concerns as public sentiments among both Muslims and Jews have been mocked and condemned. Read: Dealing With Recurrent Claims About The End Of The World We must be wary of the rise of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia to the point that it could potentially cause tensions in our multi-religious country. More importantly, as we strengthen our faith for the Hereafter, let us pay attention to how Prophet Muḥammad s.a.w. advised us to navigate the signs of the end of times. Narrated by Anas r.a, from the Prophet s.a.w: “Even if the Day of Judgement is approaching and you have a palm shoot in your hand and can plant it before the Hour arrives, you should plant it.” (Adab Al-Mufrad) Do Not Underestimate the Power of Dua Never underestimate the power of dua (supplication) with a firm belief. It can change what you may have thought was impossible to change. Dua is never wasted. So, keep making supplications as it is a special gift that Allah has given to us. He is the Best Listener and He is always Listening. Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism, Dua, Supplication Keep knocking on the door of the Merciful, and it will open eventually. The key is to be patient. Allah knows when is the right time to fulfil our supplications and bring us relief. The Prophet s.a.w. said: “Supplication is the shield of a believer, a pillar of the religion and light of heavens and earth.”[5] The Prophet further taught us the best way we can carry out our supplication. He said: “Whomsoever has completed reading the Quran, ask Allah with it” (Narrated by Imam At-Tabrani) Based on the above hadith, we can make supplications for our brothers and sisters in Gaza, Palestine and for all humanity after reading ṣūrah al-Ikhlāṣ three times as reading this ṣūrah three times is equivalent to completing the Qurān. Let us make duā after every á¹£olat for all those who are experiencing oppression to be given patience, perseverance and paradise for the sacrifices that they are experiencing. رَبِّ سَلِّمْ سَلِّمْ Oh Allah, save us, save us رَبِّ سَلِّمْ سَلِّمْ إِخْوَانَنَا فِى فِلِسْطِيْنَ Oh Allah, save us, save us, save our brothers and sisters in Palestine Read: Seeking Allah in Times of Distress As the crisis continues, we can be overwhelmed when we experience moments of incapacity to help, the loss of freedom of choice to voice our concerns and acts, and other types of emotions. This is where we seek refuge in Allah out of our sheer necessity with no other ulterior motive. All these emotions are His creations, and we turn ourselves towards Him with these emotions. As we turn ourselves towards Him, we acknowledge our weaknesses and inabilities and read a dua taught to us by Allah in Surah Ali-’Imran, حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ وَنِعْمَ الْوَكِيلُ “For Allah suffice for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs.” (Surah Ali-’Imran, 3:173) This was the dua read by Nabi Ibrahim a.s when he was catapulted into the fire. As he flew into the fire, he read this dua, and Allah commanded the fire to cool down for Nabi Ibrahim a.s. قُلْنَا يَا نَارُ كُونِي بَرْدًا وَسَلَامًا عَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ We said, “O Fire! Be your coolness and safety unto Ibrahim” (Surah Anbiya, 21:69) Read: Dua Qunut Nazilah With English Translation Channel Our Energy Towards a Good Cause Work together with others in contributing towards humanitarian aid during this conflict. People in Singapore, regardless of race and religion, were able to raise almost five million dollars in humanitarian aid for Palestine in less than 2 weeks after the fundraiser by the Rahmatan Lil Alamin (Blessings to all) Foundation, or RLAF, was launched. Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism, Humanitarian, UNRWA, Help Always start something good within your means and circle of influence. For example, aside from making dua, donating and raising awareness about the crisis, we can also channel our efforts by volunteering at the mosque near our homes. Join the youth wing of the mosque and start supporting one another. Seek Guidance From Our Local Certified Asatizah As the conflict continues to unfold, we will continue to be bombarded with many different narratives. You may feel overwhelmed by the discussions and the emotions attached. Look for our local asātizah to process your feelings and thoughts. Go to the nearest mosque to seek help. Or you can look for a trusted adult to speak about your worries. Palestine, Israel, Hamas, Fatah, Crisis, Conflict, Middle East, Apartheid, Violence, Terrorism, Humanitarian, Safe Space, Discussion, AYN There are available channels for you to seek help, like the Asatizah Youth Network, mysafespace.sg, Asatizah Solace Care and others. Keep an eye on divisive speeches and extremist thoughts in virtual chat rooms or in social media platforms. Read: Ask An Ustaz or Ustazah Questions Through Anonymous Chat With MYSAFESPACE The Prophet always wants us to unite instead of being divided. Narratives that seek to plant the seed of hatred towards fellow Muslims and others are signs for us to distance ourselves from them. In conclusion, let us take the opportunity in this challenging time to explain and showcase the beauty of Islam. Let us elucidate the core principles and values such as Peace, Excellence, Mercy, Forgiveness, Justice and Wisdom that are contained in the Qurān and the exemplars of the Prophet s.a.w. Read: 4 Ways to Respond to the Suffering Faced by the Palestinian People References & Notes: [1] Ruth Margalit, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel’s Minister of Chaos, The New Yoker, February 20, 2023. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/02/27/itamar-ben-gvir-israels-minister-of-chaos accessed on 8th November 2023. [2] Jonathan Guyer, Israel’s new right-wing government is even more extreme than protest would have you think, in Vox Journalism, 2023. https://www.vox.com/world/2023/1/20/23561464/israel-new-right-wing-government-extreme-protests-netanyahu-biden-ben-gvir, accessed on 8th November 2023. [3] Alexandra Sharp, A Guide to Palestinian and Other Anti-Israel Factions, Foreign Policy, October 10 2023. https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/10/what-is-hamas-israel-war-palestine-fatah-hezbollah/ accessed on 8th November 2023. [4] Narrated by Khabbab bin Al-Arat, “We complained to Rasulullah s.a.w. (of the persecution inflicted on us by the enemies) while he was laying down (and resting his head on a cloth) under the shade of the Kaabah. We said to him, "Would you seek help for us? Would you pray to Allah for us?" He said, "A man from the previous nation would be put in a ditch that was dug for him, and a saw would be put over his head, and he would be cut into two; yet that (torture) would not make him give up his religion. His body would be combed with iron combs that would remove his flesh from the bones and nerves, yet that would not make him abandon his religion. By Allah, this religion (i.e. Islam) will prevail till a traveller from á¹¢an‘ā (in Yemen) to Ḥaḍramawt will fear none but Allah, or a wolf as regards his sheep, but you (people) are hasty” (Sahih Al-Bukhari) [5] https://www.islamweb.net/ar/library/content/74/1701/index.php assessed on 8th November 2023. https://muslim.sg/articles/our-response-in-crisis-will-demonstrate-our-core-values-as-muslims
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  • U.S. and Russia ‘can’t stop’ Turkey’s new Syria incursion
    By ALEXANDER WARD, MATT BERG and LAWRENCE UKENYE
    11/22/2022 03:59 PM EST
    Syrian Kurds attend a funeral of people killed in Turkish airstrikes.
    Syrian Kurds attend a funeral of people killed in Turkish airstrikes in the village of Al Malikiyah, northern Syria, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. | Baderkhan Ahmad/AP Photo
    Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt

    With help from Phelim Kine and Lara Seligman

    PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off for Thanksgiving this Thursday and Friday but back to our normal schedule on Monday, Nov. 28.

    Turkey is threatening to kill more U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters in Syria — and the United States and Russia might not try very hard to stop it.

    Turkish President RECEP TAYYIP ERDOÄžAN vowed to soon launch a ground attack on U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northern Syria, claiming they were responsible for a deadly terrorist attack last week.

    “We have been bearing down on terrorists for a few days with our planes, cannons and guns,” ErdoÄŸan said Tuesday, alluding to Turkey’s recent lethal aerial bombardments in Syria. “God willing, we will root out all of them as soon as possible, together with our tanks, our soldiers.”

    It’s unclear if it was Kurdish separatists who killed six people in the heart of Istanbul on Nov. 13. The Kurds deny the allegation, after all. But experts say it has presented ErdoÄŸan with a pretext to delve deeper into northern Syria, a push he’s long wanted to do.

    “Turkey is quite serious about the current Syria offensive,” the Middle East Institute’s and St. Lawrence University’s HOWARD EISSENSTAT told NatSec Daily. “This fits with both long-standing Turkish assumptions about its security interests and ErdoÄŸan’s need to look strong in advance of elections scheduled for June. Under the current circumstances, Russia or the U.S. might be able to impose limits on Turkish actions, but they can’t stop them entirely.”

    Both have reasons to be worried about Turkey launching a ground attack.

    Russia backs Syrian President BASHAR AL-ASSAD while Turkey supports rebels seeking to topple him. “We understand and respect Turkey’s concerns about ensuring its own security,” Kremlin spokesperson DMITRY PESKOV told reporters. “At the same time, we call on all parties to refrain from steps that could lead to the destabilization of the overall situation.”

    About 900 U.S. troops, meanwhile, are in Syria to keep ISIS at bay alongside Syrian Democratic Forces and fear heavy fighting could disrupt their plans.

    Turkey has a legitimate right to defend itself and its citizens, National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY told NatSec Daily during a Tuesday news conference, but added cross-border operations “might force a reaction by some of our SDF partners that would limit and constrain their ability to fight against ISIS…and we want to be able to keep the pressure on ISIS.”

    “We continue to urge for deescalation on all sides and in our conversations,” Pentagon deputy press secretary SABRINA SINGH later told reporters.

    But those statements don’t fully reflect the state of play, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s SONER CAGAPTAY told NatSec Daily, because “Ankara has just about aligned all-stars for an incursion.”

    The U.S. may not resist too strongly since it wants Turkey, a NATO ally, to accept Sweden and Finland’s accession to the alliance. Cagaptay said a Monday State Department statement that barely lambasted Turkey over the violence in Syria was evidence of Washington’s light approach. “I can’t recall any statement that nicely worded about Turkey’s incursion into Syria in a long time,” he said.

    And Russia is providing millions for Turkey’s economy and energy sector, propping up ErdoÄŸan ahead of next year’s vote. In exchange, experts say ErdoÄŸan may finally accept Assad as Syria’s legitimate ruler, effectively bringing an end to what remains of the war in Syria.

    If that’s the case, it seems the U.S. and Russia may stand aside as Turkey kills more Kurds — and American allies — in Syria.

    The Inbox

    U.S. LEADERS IN ASIA: Vice President KAMALA HARRIS warned of U.S. intervention if China takes aim at the Philippines, our own PHELIM KINE reports.

    In a visit to the Philippines, Harris pushed back against Beijing’s expansive territorial claims in the region, pledging $7.5 million for the Philippine Coast Guard. On Monday, Harris also warned of a U.S. response if there is “an armed attack” on Filipino ships or aircraft in the South China Sea, invoking a treaty between the allies.

    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson ZHAO LIJIAN clapped back on Tuesday, warning that U.S.-Philippines cooperation “should not target or hurt other countries’ interests.”

    Meanwhile, Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN met with his Chinese counterpart in Cambodia on Tuesday, discussing strained bilateral relations and regional and global security issues, the Associated Press’ HENG SINITH reports.

    The two met on the sidelines of a regional meeting, marking the second time in six months Austin and Gen. WEI FENGHE met face-to-face. It comes just over a week after President JOE BIDEN met with Chinese leader XI JINPING in Indonesia, a gathering widely seen as an effort to ease tensions between the two world powers.

    On the issue of Taiwan, Austin assured Wei of Biden’s commitment to the “one China” policy, but called on China to refrain from taking destabilizing actions toward the island nation, Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. PAT RYDER said.

    EUROPE’S NEW MIGRANT INFLUX: Europe is struggling even more to properly welcome thousands of people seeking asylum from war and famine.

    Specifically, the EU plus Norway and Switzerland recorded about 564,000 applications in August this year — an increase of 62 percent from the same period last year, according to the European Union Agency for Asylum.

    That increase doesn’t include the millions of Ukrainian refugees moving westward since Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24. “Tents and sleeping bags have become a common sight along the canal in central Brussels, as well as in underpasses and railway stations, as some asylum seekers are forced to wait months for shelter after lodging applications,” per The Financial Times’ SAM FLEMING and GUY CHAZAN, underscoring just how overwhelmed the reception system is right now.

    NAVY BLAMES IRAN FOR DRONE ATTACK: The U.S. Navy confirmed Iran’s involvement in a Nov. 15 drone attack on a commercial tanker, identifying the drone as a Shahed-136 — the same type Iran has supplied to Russia for use in Ukraine.

    The attack fits “a historical pattern of Iran’s increasing use of a lethal capability directly or through its proxies across the Middle East,” reads a statement by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command.

    “The Iranian attack on a commercial tanker transiting international waters was deliberate, flagrant and dangerous, endangering the lives of the ship’s crew and destabilizing maritime security in the Middle East,” said Vice Adm. BRAD COOPER, the command’s chief.

    U.S. officials had already said they suspected Iran was behind the strike.

    IT’S TUESDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily. This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at award@politico.com and mberg@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter at @alexbward and @mattberg33.

    While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @woodruffbets, @politicoryan, @PhelimKine, @BryanDBender, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @AndrewDesiderio, @magmill95, @ericgeller, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco and @Lawrence_Ukenye.

    Flashpoints

    ARCTIC POWER: Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN touted Moscow’s growing footprint in the Arctic at a Tuesday flag-raising ceremony that commemorated two new nuclear-powered icebreakers that will allow the country to have year-round access to western parts of the Arctic, Reuters reports.

    The icebreakers “are part of our large-scale, systematic work to re-equip and replenish the domestic icebreaker fleet, to strengthen Russia’s status as a great Arctic power,” Putin said.

    The Arctic has become more significant due to climate change as melting ice has prompted countries like Russia, the U.S. and China to try to increase their influence in the region, which could also affect trade and shipping lane access.

    Keystrokes

    KISS IT GOODBYE, FOR NOW: The idea of creating a new platform where the government and the private sector can rapidly share data on cyber threats has hit a Fort Meade-sized speed bump: the National Security Agency, our friends over at Morning Cybersecurity (for Pros!) report.

    Until recently, the joint collaborative environment looked like a solid bet to make it into the final version of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, featuring in both the House and Senate markups of the must-pass defense bill.

    But the NSA began voicing objections to the JCE in the last few weeks, tilting the scales against the provision on the Hill, two Hill staffers granted anonymity to speak freely about the proposal told MC.

    The NSA’s “biggest concern” about the legislation is that it “would overly constrain” the NSA and CISA’s ongoing threat-sharing efforts, ROB JOYCE, the director of NSA’s cybersecurity directorate, told MC.

    The Complex

    ON THE WAY: The Army is on track to award the multibillion-dollar contract for the UH-60 Black Hawk replacement by the end of the year, our friends over at Morning Defense (for Pros!) report.

    Competing for the deal are Bell, with its V-280 Valor tiltrotor, and a Sikorsky-Bell team, with the SB-1 Defiant coaxial helicopter for the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, Army acquisition chief DOUG BUSH told reporters Monday. Bell estimates the program is worth more than $100 billion because of foreign military sales opportunities.

    Black Hawks won’t be phased out of the Army overnight. The service intends to buy them through fiscal 2028 and does not anticipate the replacement to come online until 2035.

    On the Hill

    NOT WINGING IT: Republicans have an answer for anyone asking about the effect the party’s populist wing might have on foreign policy: Sorry, what?

    Lawmakers at the Halifax International Security Forum told our own ANDREW DESIDERIO that “Congress is likely to allocate well more than the $38 billion the Biden administration requested for Ukraine’s military and economic needs as part of a year-end governing funding bill. And that extra infusion is set to advance with the help of senior Republicans, even as influential conservative groups urge a pause.”

    That means Republicans predict enough Democrats and Republicans will support the package, drowning out loud voices on the right who don’t want to give Kyiv another penny.

    “If we were on the other side of this, they’d be pounding the table saying, ‘Send more money to Ukraine,’” Sen. JIM RISCH (R-Idaho), the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview.

    Lawmakers from both parties believe the package will get through Congress before newly elected representatives and senators arrive in Washington.

    SEND ARMED DRONES TO UKRAINE: Sixteen senators are urging the Biden administration to give Ukraine armed drones to better repel Russia’s invasion, our own LEE HUDSON reports.

    The Biden administration has been hesitant to send the drone to Ukraine due to fears that sensitive technologies aboard the aircraft may end up in Russian hands. An electro-optical/infrared ball on the Gray Eagle provides real-time intelligence, targeting and tracking. The administration was also concerned that the drone and the instruments it carries would pose too many training and logistics challenges for the Ukrainian military.

    But the bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Sens. JONI ERNST (R-Iowa) and JOE MANCHIN (D-W.V.), say the benefits of helping Ukraine take out Russian positions outweigh the risks.

    “The MQ-1C could erode Russia’s long-range fires advantage. Most importantly, armed UAS could find and attack Russian warships in the Black Sea, breaking its coercive blockade and alleviate dual pressures on the Ukrainian economy and global food prices,” they wrote in the letter.

    The Wall Street Journal first reported on the letter.

    Broadsides

    FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY — CAMPAIGN AGAINST CHIPS IN 889: Loyal NatSec Daily readers will remember our report that two senators want to ban the federal government from acquiring products or services from Chinese chipmakers. Simply put, they want to update Section 889 in the federal code to include three Chinese firms and Chinese-made semiconductors.

    Well, the backlash to that bill by Sens. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-N.Y.) and JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas) has begun.

    “Left unaddressed, adding the covered semiconductors to part B of section 889 would harm federal agencies’ ability to procure the essential goods and services they need to promote our nation’s well-being, while putting added financial pressure on businesses that are operating in an inflationary economy,” reads a draft letter obtained by NatSec Daily. It’s signed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Aerospace Industries Association, among other groups.

    The groups are fine with the section’s Part A, which deals with the procurement of items, even though “it presents federal contractors with costly and complex compliance burdens.” Their main gripe is with Part B because it bans interactions with a contractor that “uses” a banned technology. That makes compliance much harder, they argue. “A company with both federal and nonfederal customers would be barred from selling to the government because it ‘uses’ a coffee service that ‘uses’ the covered semiconductors,” the letter reads.

    Some lawmakers in both parties told NatSec Daily they don’t fully support the Schumer-Cornyn bill because of Point B.

    The draft note, dated Nov. 22, is addressed to Sens. JACK REED (D-R.I.) and JIM INHOFE (R-Okla.), the top members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

    Still, much of the non-government national security community is behind the chip ban out of fear China can manipulate the semiconductors for its own purposes. Some of the three companies up for a ban allegedly have ties to China’s military.

    An AIA spokesperson said of the reason for sending the letter: “We have serious concerns about the cumulative effect of well-intentioned, but burdensome regulations that could drive small businesses out of the industrial base.”

    Transitions

    — MICHAEL HOCHMAN is now chief of staff for the White House Office of the National Cyber Director. He previously was deputy chief of staff and deputy general counsel.

    — HADY AMR has been named a special representative for Palestinian affairs, the first time the State Department has had a D.C.-based post focused on that issue. He was previously the deputy assistant secretary of State for Israeli-Palestinian affairs.

    What to Read

    — NATHALIE TOCCI, POLITICO: Europe’s Defense Efforts Remain Underwhelming

    — BEN OLLERENSHAW and JULIAN SPENCER-CHURCHILL, Real Clear Defense: To Deter China, the U.S. Must Have the Political Courage to Retaliate Against Russia

    — ANDREW KREPINEVICH, JR., Foreign Affairs: Is Putin a Rational Actor?

    Wednesday Today

    — The Hudson Institute, 10 a.m.: “Countering Russian Influence in Georgia”

    Have a natsec-centric event coming up? Transitioning to a new defense-adjacent or foreign policy-focused gig? Shoot me an email at award@politico.com to be featured in the next edition of the newsletter.

    Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who has aligned the stars to gain full control of this newsletter.

    And we thank our producer, Kierra Frazier, who is a star in her own right.



    https://www.politico.com/newsletters/national-security-daily/2022/11/22/u-s-and-russia-cant-stop-turkeys-new-syria-incursion-00070431
    U.S. and Russia ‘can’t stop’ Turkey’s new Syria incursion By ALEXANDER WARD, MATT BERG and LAWRENCE UKENYE 11/22/2022 03:59 PM EST Syrian Kurds attend a funeral of people killed in Turkish airstrikes. Syrian Kurds attend a funeral of people killed in Turkish airstrikes in the village of Al Malikiyah, northern Syria, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. | Baderkhan Ahmad/AP Photo Subscribe here | Email Alex | Email Matt With help from Phelim Kine and Lara Seligman PROGRAMMING NOTE: We’ll be off for Thanksgiving this Thursday and Friday but back to our normal schedule on Monday, Nov. 28. Turkey is threatening to kill more U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters in Syria — and the United States and Russia might not try very hard to stop it. Turkish President RECEP TAYYIP ERDOÄžAN vowed to soon launch a ground attack on U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in northern Syria, claiming they were responsible for a deadly terrorist attack last week. “We have been bearing down on terrorists for a few days with our planes, cannons and guns,” ErdoÄŸan said Tuesday, alluding to Turkey’s recent lethal aerial bombardments in Syria. “God willing, we will root out all of them as soon as possible, together with our tanks, our soldiers.” It’s unclear if it was Kurdish separatists who killed six people in the heart of Istanbul on Nov. 13. The Kurds deny the allegation, after all. But experts say it has presented ErdoÄŸan with a pretext to delve deeper into northern Syria, a push he’s long wanted to do. “Turkey is quite serious about the current Syria offensive,” the Middle East Institute’s and St. Lawrence University’s HOWARD EISSENSTAT told NatSec Daily. “This fits with both long-standing Turkish assumptions about its security interests and ErdoÄŸan’s need to look strong in advance of elections scheduled for June. Under the current circumstances, Russia or the U.S. might be able to impose limits on Turkish actions, but they can’t stop them entirely.” Both have reasons to be worried about Turkey launching a ground attack. Russia backs Syrian President BASHAR AL-ASSAD while Turkey supports rebels seeking to topple him. “We understand and respect Turkey’s concerns about ensuring its own security,” Kremlin spokesperson DMITRY PESKOV told reporters. “At the same time, we call on all parties to refrain from steps that could lead to the destabilization of the overall situation.” About 900 U.S. troops, meanwhile, are in Syria to keep ISIS at bay alongside Syrian Democratic Forces and fear heavy fighting could disrupt their plans. Turkey has a legitimate right to defend itself and its citizens, National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY told NatSec Daily during a Tuesday news conference, but added cross-border operations “might force a reaction by some of our SDF partners that would limit and constrain their ability to fight against ISIS…and we want to be able to keep the pressure on ISIS.” “We continue to urge for deescalation on all sides and in our conversations,” Pentagon deputy press secretary SABRINA SINGH later told reporters. But those statements don’t fully reflect the state of play, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s SONER CAGAPTAY told NatSec Daily, because “Ankara has just about aligned all-stars for an incursion.” The U.S. may not resist too strongly since it wants Turkey, a NATO ally, to accept Sweden and Finland’s accession to the alliance. Cagaptay said a Monday State Department statement that barely lambasted Turkey over the violence in Syria was evidence of Washington’s light approach. “I can’t recall any statement that nicely worded about Turkey’s incursion into Syria in a long time,” he said. And Russia is providing millions for Turkey’s economy and energy sector, propping up ErdoÄŸan ahead of next year’s vote. In exchange, experts say ErdoÄŸan may finally accept Assad as Syria’s legitimate ruler, effectively bringing an end to what remains of the war in Syria. If that’s the case, it seems the U.S. and Russia may stand aside as Turkey kills more Kurds — and American allies — in Syria. The Inbox U.S. LEADERS IN ASIA: Vice President KAMALA HARRIS warned of U.S. intervention if China takes aim at the Philippines, our own PHELIM KINE reports. In a visit to the Philippines, Harris pushed back against Beijing’s expansive territorial claims in the region, pledging $7.5 million for the Philippine Coast Guard. On Monday, Harris also warned of a U.S. response if there is “an armed attack” on Filipino ships or aircraft in the South China Sea, invoking a treaty between the allies. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson ZHAO LIJIAN clapped back on Tuesday, warning that U.S.-Philippines cooperation “should not target or hurt other countries’ interests.” Meanwhile, Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN met with his Chinese counterpart in Cambodia on Tuesday, discussing strained bilateral relations and regional and global security issues, the Associated Press’ HENG SINITH reports. The two met on the sidelines of a regional meeting, marking the second time in six months Austin and Gen. WEI FENGHE met face-to-face. It comes just over a week after President JOE BIDEN met with Chinese leader XI JINPING in Indonesia, a gathering widely seen as an effort to ease tensions between the two world powers. On the issue of Taiwan, Austin assured Wei of Biden’s commitment to the “one China” policy, but called on China to refrain from taking destabilizing actions toward the island nation, Pentagon spokesperson Brig. Gen. PAT RYDER said. EUROPE’S NEW MIGRANT INFLUX: Europe is struggling even more to properly welcome thousands of people seeking asylum from war and famine. Specifically, the EU plus Norway and Switzerland recorded about 564,000 applications in August this year — an increase of 62 percent from the same period last year, according to the European Union Agency for Asylum. That increase doesn’t include the millions of Ukrainian refugees moving westward since Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24. “Tents and sleeping bags have become a common sight along the canal in central Brussels, as well as in underpasses and railway stations, as some asylum seekers are forced to wait months for shelter after lodging applications,” per The Financial Times’ SAM FLEMING and GUY CHAZAN, underscoring just how overwhelmed the reception system is right now. NAVY BLAMES IRAN FOR DRONE ATTACK: The U.S. Navy confirmed Iran’s involvement in a Nov. 15 drone attack on a commercial tanker, identifying the drone as a Shahed-136 — the same type Iran has supplied to Russia for use in Ukraine. The attack fits “a historical pattern of Iran’s increasing use of a lethal capability directly or through its proxies across the Middle East,” reads a statement by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command. “The Iranian attack on a commercial tanker transiting international waters was deliberate, flagrant and dangerous, endangering the lives of the ship’s crew and destabilizing maritime security in the Middle East,” said Vice Adm. BRAD COOPER, the command’s chief. U.S. officials had already said they suspected Iran was behind the strike. IT’S TUESDAY: Thanks for tuning in to NatSec Daily. This space is reserved for the top U.S. and foreign officials, the lawmakers, the lobbyists, the experts and the people like you who care about how the natsec sausage gets made. Aim your tips and comments at award@politico.com and mberg@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter at @alexbward and @mattberg33. While you’re at it, follow the rest of POLITICO’s national security team: @nahaltoosi, @woodruffbets, @politicoryan, @PhelimKine, @BryanDBender, @laraseligman, @connorobrienNH, @paulmcleary, @leehudson, @AndrewDesiderio, @magmill95, @ericgeller, @johnnysaks130, @ErinBanco and @Lawrence_Ukenye. Flashpoints ARCTIC POWER: Russian President VLADIMIR PUTIN touted Moscow’s growing footprint in the Arctic at a Tuesday flag-raising ceremony that commemorated two new nuclear-powered icebreakers that will allow the country to have year-round access to western parts of the Arctic, Reuters reports. The icebreakers “are part of our large-scale, systematic work to re-equip and replenish the domestic icebreaker fleet, to strengthen Russia’s status as a great Arctic power,” Putin said. The Arctic has become more significant due to climate change as melting ice has prompted countries like Russia, the U.S. and China to try to increase their influence in the region, which could also affect trade and shipping lane access. Keystrokes KISS IT GOODBYE, FOR NOW: The idea of creating a new platform where the government and the private sector can rapidly share data on cyber threats has hit a Fort Meade-sized speed bump: the National Security Agency, our friends over at Morning Cybersecurity (for Pros!) report. Until recently, the joint collaborative environment looked like a solid bet to make it into the final version of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, featuring in both the House and Senate markups of the must-pass defense bill. But the NSA began voicing objections to the JCE in the last few weeks, tilting the scales against the provision on the Hill, two Hill staffers granted anonymity to speak freely about the proposal told MC. The NSA’s “biggest concern” about the legislation is that it “would overly constrain” the NSA and CISA’s ongoing threat-sharing efforts, ROB JOYCE, the director of NSA’s cybersecurity directorate, told MC. The Complex ON THE WAY: The Army is on track to award the multibillion-dollar contract for the UH-60 Black Hawk replacement by the end of the year, our friends over at Morning Defense (for Pros!) report. Competing for the deal are Bell, with its V-280 Valor tiltrotor, and a Sikorsky-Bell team, with the SB-1 Defiant coaxial helicopter for the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, Army acquisition chief DOUG BUSH told reporters Monday. Bell estimates the program is worth more than $100 billion because of foreign military sales opportunities. Black Hawks won’t be phased out of the Army overnight. The service intends to buy them through fiscal 2028 and does not anticipate the replacement to come online until 2035. On the Hill NOT WINGING IT: Republicans have an answer for anyone asking about the effect the party’s populist wing might have on foreign policy: Sorry, what? Lawmakers at the Halifax International Security Forum told our own ANDREW DESIDERIO that “Congress is likely to allocate well more than the $38 billion the Biden administration requested for Ukraine’s military and economic needs as part of a year-end governing funding bill. And that extra infusion is set to advance with the help of senior Republicans, even as influential conservative groups urge a pause.” That means Republicans predict enough Democrats and Republicans will support the package, drowning out loud voices on the right who don’t want to give Kyiv another penny. “If we were on the other side of this, they’d be pounding the table saying, ‘Send more money to Ukraine,’” Sen. JIM RISCH (R-Idaho), the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview. Lawmakers from both parties believe the package will get through Congress before newly elected representatives and senators arrive in Washington. SEND ARMED DRONES TO UKRAINE: Sixteen senators are urging the Biden administration to give Ukraine armed drones to better repel Russia’s invasion, our own LEE HUDSON reports. The Biden administration has been hesitant to send the drone to Ukraine due to fears that sensitive technologies aboard the aircraft may end up in Russian hands. An electro-optical/infrared ball on the Gray Eagle provides real-time intelligence, targeting and tracking. The administration was also concerned that the drone and the instruments it carries would pose too many training and logistics challenges for the Ukrainian military. But the bipartisan group of lawmakers, led by Sens. JONI ERNST (R-Iowa) and JOE MANCHIN (D-W.V.), say the benefits of helping Ukraine take out Russian positions outweigh the risks. “The MQ-1C could erode Russia’s long-range fires advantage. Most importantly, armed UAS could find and attack Russian warships in the Black Sea, breaking its coercive blockade and alleviate dual pressures on the Ukrainian economy and global food prices,” they wrote in the letter. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the letter. Broadsides FIRST IN NATSEC DAILY — CAMPAIGN AGAINST CHIPS IN 889: Loyal NatSec Daily readers will remember our report that two senators want to ban the federal government from acquiring products or services from Chinese chipmakers. Simply put, they want to update Section 889 in the federal code to include three Chinese firms and Chinese-made semiconductors. Well, the backlash to that bill by Sens. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-N.Y.) and JOHN CORNYN (R-Texas) has begun. “Left unaddressed, adding the covered semiconductors to part B of section 889 would harm federal agencies’ ability to procure the essential goods and services they need to promote our nation’s well-being, while putting added financial pressure on businesses that are operating in an inflationary economy,” reads a draft letter obtained by NatSec Daily. It’s signed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Aerospace Industries Association, among other groups. The groups are fine with the section’s Part A, which deals with the procurement of items, even though “it presents federal contractors with costly and complex compliance burdens.” Their main gripe is with Part B because it bans interactions with a contractor that “uses” a banned technology. That makes compliance much harder, they argue. “A company with both federal and nonfederal customers would be barred from selling to the government because it ‘uses’ a coffee service that ‘uses’ the covered semiconductors,” the letter reads. Some lawmakers in both parties told NatSec Daily they don’t fully support the Schumer-Cornyn bill because of Point B. The draft note, dated Nov. 22, is addressed to Sens. JACK REED (D-R.I.) and JIM INHOFE (R-Okla.), the top members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Still, much of the non-government national security community is behind the chip ban out of fear China can manipulate the semiconductors for its own purposes. Some of the three companies up for a ban allegedly have ties to China’s military. An AIA spokesperson said of the reason for sending the letter: “We have serious concerns about the cumulative effect of well-intentioned, but burdensome regulations that could drive small businesses out of the industrial base.” Transitions — MICHAEL HOCHMAN is now chief of staff for the White House Office of the National Cyber Director. He previously was deputy chief of staff and deputy general counsel. — HADY AMR has been named a special representative for Palestinian affairs, the first time the State Department has had a D.C.-based post focused on that issue. He was previously the deputy assistant secretary of State for Israeli-Palestinian affairs. What to Read — NATHALIE TOCCI, POLITICO: Europe’s Defense Efforts Remain Underwhelming — BEN OLLERENSHAW and JULIAN SPENCER-CHURCHILL, Real Clear Defense: To Deter China, the U.S. Must Have the Political Courage to Retaliate Against Russia — ANDREW KREPINEVICH, JR., Foreign Affairs: Is Putin a Rational Actor? Wednesday Today — The Hudson Institute, 10 a.m.: “Countering Russian Influence in Georgia” Have a natsec-centric event coming up? Transitioning to a new defense-adjacent or foreign policy-focused gig? Shoot me an email at award@politico.com to be featured in the next edition of the newsletter. Thanks to our editor, Heidi Vogt, who has aligned the stars to gain full control of this newsletter. And we thank our producer, Kierra Frazier, who is a star in her own right. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/national-security-daily/2022/11/22/u-s-and-russia-cant-stop-turkeys-new-syria-incursion-00070431
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  • What media reports fail to tell you about October 7
    Alison Weir November 13, 2023 bbc, Gaza, hamas
    What media reports fail to tell you about October 7
    BBC's Lucy Williamson is taken by the Israeli military to view kibbutz damage.regurgitating Israeli claims. (photo)
    It is journalistic malpractice for the media to still be repeating so credulously the Israeli military’s account of that day, including alleged Hamas atrocities that turned out to be fiction

    Media neglected to report much key information, e.g. Israeli military commanders had ordered the shelling of kibbutz houses in order to eliminate the “terrorists along with the hostages”… once Israeli special forces arrived: “They eliminated everyone, including the hostages”

    Are the images of charred bodies evidence that Israeli civilians and Hamas fighters burned alongside each other, after they were engulfed in flames caused by Israeli shelling of the houses?

    While this article focuses on BBC coverage, it’s analysis applies equally to US media. Some news coverage, in fact, has been considerably worse

    By Jonathan Cook, reposted from Jonathan Cook Substack, Nov 2, 2023.

    The BBC’s Lucy Williamson was taken once again this week to view the terrible destruction at a kibbutz community just outside Gaza attacked on October 7. As we have been shown so many times before, the Israeli homes were riddled with automatic fire, both inside and out. Sections of concrete wall had holes in them, or had collapsed entirely. And parts of the buildings that were still standing were deeply charred. It looked like a small snapshot of the current horrors in Gaza.

    There is a possible reason for those similarities – one that the BBC is studiously failing to report, despite mounting evidence from a variety of sources, including the Israeli media. Instead the BBC is sticking resolutely to a narrative crafted for them, and the rest of the western media, by the Israeli military: that Hamas alone caused all this destruction.

    Simply repeating that narrative without any caveats has by now reached the level of journalistic malpractice. And yet that is precisely what the BBC does night after night.

    Just a cursory look at the wreckage in the various kibbutz communities that were attacked that day should raise questions in the mind of any good reporter. Were Palestinian militants in a position to actually inflict physical damage to that degree and extent with the kind of light weapons they carried?

    And if not, who else was in a position to wreak such havoc other than Israel?

    A separate question that good journalists ought to be asking is this: What was the purpose of such damage? What did the Palestinian militants hope to achieve by it?

    The implicit answer the media is supplying is also the answer the Israeli military wants western publics to hear: that Hamas engaged in an orgy of gratuitious killing and savagery because … well, let’s say the quiet part out loud: because Palestinians are inherently savage.

    With that as the implicit narrative, western politicians have been handed a licence to cheerlead Israel as it murders a Palestinian child in Gaza every few minutes. Savages only understand the language of savagery, after all.

    Brutal tango

    For this reason alone, any journalist who wishes to avoid colluding in the genocide unfolding in Gaza ought to be increasingly wary of simply repeating the Israeli military’s claims about what happened on October 7. Certainly, they should not credulously regurgitate the latest agitprop from the IDF press office, as the BBC is so evidently doing.

    What we know from a growing body of evidence gleaned from the Israeli media and Israeli eyewitnesses – carefully laid out, for example, in this report from Max Blumenthal – is that the Israeli military was completely blindsided by that day’s events. Heavy artillery, including tanks and attack helicopters, was called in to deal with Hamas. That appears to have been a straightforward decision in regard to the military bases Hamas had overrun.

    Israel has a long-standing policy of seeking to prevent Israeli soldiers from being taken captive – chiefly, because of the high price Israeli society insists on paying to ensure soldiers are returned. For decades, the military’s so-called “Hannibal procedure” has directed Israeli troops to kill fellow soldiers rather than allow them to be taken captive. For the same reason, Hamas expends a great deal of energy in trying to find innovative ways to seize soldiers.

    The two sides are essentially engaged in a brutal tango in which each understands the other’s dance moves.

    Given Hamas’ situation, effectively managing the Israeli-controlled concentration camp of Gaza, it has limited resistance strategies available to it. Capturing Israeli soldiers maximises its leverage. They can be traded for the release of many of the thousands of Palestinian political prisoners held in jails inside Israel, in breach of international law. In addition, in the negotiations, Hamas usually hopes to win an easing of Israel’s 16-year siege of Gaza.

    To avert this scenario, Israeli commanders reportedly called in the attack helicopters on the military bases overwhelmed by Hamas on October 7. The helicopters appear to have fired indiscriminately, despite the risk posed to the Israeli soldiers in the base who were still alive. Israel’s was a scorched-earth policy to stop Hamas achieving its aims. That may, in part, explain the very large proportion of Israeli soldiers among the 1,300 killed that day.

    Charred bodies

    But what about the situation in the kibbutz communities? By the time the army arrived and was in position, Hamas was well dug in. It had taken the inhabitants as hostages inside their own homes. Israeli eyewitness testimony and media reports suggest Hamas was almost certainly trying to negotiate safe passage back into Gaza, using the Israeli civilians as human shields. The civilians were the Hamas fighters’ only ticket out, and they could be converted later into bargaining chips for the release of Palestinian prisoners.

    [YouTube and others are suppressing the video below – see this]

    The evidence – from Israeli media reports and eyewitnesses, as well as a host of visual clues from the crime scene itself – tell a far more complex story than the one presented nightly on the BBC.

    Did the Israeli military fire into the Hamas-controlled civilian homes in the same fashion as it had fired into its own military bases, and with the same disregard for the safety of Israelis inside? Was the goal in each case to prevent at all costs Hamas taking hostages whose release would require a very high price from Israel?

    Kibbutz Be’eri has been a favoured destination for BBC reporters keen to illustrate Hamas’ barbarity. It is where Lucy Williamson headed again this week. And yet none of her reporting highlighted comments made to the Israeli Haaretz newspaper by Tuval Escapa, the kibbutz’s security coordinator. He said Israeli military commanders had ordered the “shelling [of] houses on their occupants in order to eliminate the terrorists along with the hostages”.

    That echoed the testimony of Yasmin Porat, who sought shelter in Be’eri from the nearby Nova music festival. She told Israeli Radio that once Israeli special forces arrived: “They eliminated everyone, including the hostages because there was very, very heavy crossfire.”

    Are the images of charred bodies presented by Williamson, accompanied by a warning of their graphic, upsetting nature, incontrovertible proof that Hamas behaved like monsters, bent on the most twisted kind of vengeance? Or might those blackened remains be evidence that Israeli civilians and Hamas fighters burned alongside each other, after they were engulfed in flames caused by Israeli shelling of the houses?

    Israel will not agree to an independent investigation so a definitive answer will never be forthcoming. But that does not absolve the media of their professional and moral duty to be cautious.

    Consider for a moment the stark contrast in the western media’s treatment of events on October 7 and its treatment of the strike on the car park at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in northern Gaza on October 17, in which hundreds of Palestinians were reported killed.
    In the case of Al-Ahli, the media were only too ready to cast aside all the evidence that the hospital had been hit by an Israeli strike immediately Israel contested the claim. Instead journalists hurriedly amplified Israel’s counter-allegation that a Palestinian rocket had fallen on the hospital. Most of the media moved on after concluding “The truth may never be clear”, or even less credibly, that Palestinian militants were the most likely culprits.

    In telling contrast, the western media have not been willing to raise even a single question about what happened on October 7. They have enthusiastically attributed every horror that day to Hamas. They have ignored the reality of utter chaos that reigned for many hours and the potential for poor, desperate and morally dubious decision-making by the Israeli military.

    In fact, the media have gone much further. In advancing the narrative of “Hamas as savages”, they have promoted obvious fictions, such as the story that “Hamas beheaded 40 babies”. That piece of fake news was even taken up briefly by US President Joe Biden, before it was quietly walked back by his officials.


    Similarly, it is still a popular throwaway line among the western commentariat that “Hamas carried out rapes”, though once again the allegation is evidence-free so far.

    We should be clear. If Israel had serious evidence for either of these claims, it would be aggressively promoting it. Instead, it is doing the next best thing: letting innuendo gently sink into the audience’s subconscious, settling there as a prejudice that cannot be interrogated.

    Hamas undoubtedly committed war crimes on October 7 – not least, by taking civilians as human shields. But that kind of crime is one we are familiar with, one “ordinary” enough that the Israel military has been regularly documented carrying it out too. The practice of Israeli soldiers taking Palestinians as human shields goes under various names, such as the “neighbour procedure” and the “early warning procedure”.

    Worse atrocities may have happened too, especially given the unexpected scale of Hamas’ success in breaking out of Gaza. Large numbers of Palestinians escaped the enclave, some of them doubtless armed civilians with no connection to the operation. In such circumstances, it would be surprising if there were no examples of the headline-grabbing atrocities being committed.

    The issue is whether such atrocities were planned and systematic, as Israel claims and the western media repeats, or examples of rogue actions by individuals or groups. If the latter, Israel would be in no position to judge. Israel’s own history is littered with examples of such crimes, including the documented case of an Israeli army unit taking captive a Bedouin girl in 1949 and repeatedly gang-raping her.

    Savagery would certainly not be a uniquely Hamas trait. Following the October 7 attack, videos have been emerging of systematic abuses of any Hamas fighters captured, whether alive or dead. Images show them being beaten and tortured in public for the gratification of onlookers, when there is clearly not even the pretence of information gathering. Others show the bodies of Hamas fighters being defiled and mutilated.

    No one can claim the moral high ground here.

    What the media’s uncritical promotion of Israel’s “Hamas as savages” narrative has achieved is something sinister – and all too familiar from the West’s long colonial history. It has been used to demonise a whole people, presenting them either as barbarians or as the willing protectors and enablers of barbarism.

    The “savages” narrative is being weaponised by Israel to justify its mounting campaign of atrocities in Gaza. Which is why it is so important that journalists don’t simply allow themselves to be spoonfed. Far too much is at stake.

    Hamas committed war crimes on October 7 on a scale that is unprecedented for any Palestinian group. But there is little more than Israeli narrative spin so far to suggest that there was an unparalleled depravity to Hamas’ actions. Certainly from what we know, it is hard to see that anything Hamas did that day was worse, or more savage, than what Israel has been doing daily in Gaza for weeks.

    And Israel’s actions – from bombing Palestinian families to starving them of food and water – has the blessing of every major western politician.

    Jonathan Cook is an independent British journalist who has covered the Israel-Palestine beat for 20+ years. He is a winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. He was formerly with the Guardian and Observer newspapers.

    RELATED:

    More Palestinians killed in past 34 days than in the past 22 years combined
    A Synopsis of the Israel/Palestine Conflict
    Gaza-Israel: Latest news and statistics (the first 25 days)
    It’s not just Gaza – Israel is also killing scores in the West Bank
    Israeli communities near Gaza are on stolen land, former owners consigned to the Gaza ghetto
    The Israeli strike on Al Ahli Hospital days BEFORE the famous blast
    WATCH: What was happening in Gaza BEFORE the Hamas attack that the media didn’t tell you?
    Gideon Levy: Israel Can’t Imprison Two Million Gazans Without Paying a Cruel Price
    Palestinians inspect damage to their homes caused by Israeli air strikes on October 13, 2023, in Gaza City
    Palestinians inspect damage to their homes caused by Israeli air strikes on October 13, 2023, in Gaza City (photo)


    https://israelpalestinenews.org/what-media-reports-fail-to-tell-you-about-october-7/
    What media reports fail to tell you about October 7 Alison Weir November 13, 2023 bbc, Gaza, hamas What media reports fail to tell you about October 7 BBC's Lucy Williamson is taken by the Israeli military to view kibbutz damage.regurgitating Israeli claims. (photo) It is journalistic malpractice for the media to still be repeating so credulously the Israeli military’s account of that day, including alleged Hamas atrocities that turned out to be fiction Media neglected to report much key information, e.g. Israeli military commanders had ordered the shelling of kibbutz houses in order to eliminate the “terrorists along with the hostages”… once Israeli special forces arrived: “They eliminated everyone, including the hostages” Are the images of charred bodies evidence that Israeli civilians and Hamas fighters burned alongside each other, after they were engulfed in flames caused by Israeli shelling of the houses? While this article focuses on BBC coverage, it’s analysis applies equally to US media. Some news coverage, in fact, has been considerably worse By Jonathan Cook, reposted from Jonathan Cook Substack, Nov 2, 2023. The BBC’s Lucy Williamson was taken once again this week to view the terrible destruction at a kibbutz community just outside Gaza attacked on October 7. As we have been shown so many times before, the Israeli homes were riddled with automatic fire, both inside and out. Sections of concrete wall had holes in them, or had collapsed entirely. And parts of the buildings that were still standing were deeply charred. It looked like a small snapshot of the current horrors in Gaza. There is a possible reason for those similarities – one that the BBC is studiously failing to report, despite mounting evidence from a variety of sources, including the Israeli media. Instead the BBC is sticking resolutely to a narrative crafted for them, and the rest of the western media, by the Israeli military: that Hamas alone caused all this destruction. Simply repeating that narrative without any caveats has by now reached the level of journalistic malpractice. And yet that is precisely what the BBC does night after night. Just a cursory look at the wreckage in the various kibbutz communities that were attacked that day should raise questions in the mind of any good reporter. Were Palestinian militants in a position to actually inflict physical damage to that degree and extent with the kind of light weapons they carried? And if not, who else was in a position to wreak such havoc other than Israel? A separate question that good journalists ought to be asking is this: What was the purpose of such damage? What did the Palestinian militants hope to achieve by it? The implicit answer the media is supplying is also the answer the Israeli military wants western publics to hear: that Hamas engaged in an orgy of gratuitious killing and savagery because … well, let’s say the quiet part out loud: because Palestinians are inherently savage. With that as the implicit narrative, western politicians have been handed a licence to cheerlead Israel as it murders a Palestinian child in Gaza every few minutes. Savages only understand the language of savagery, after all. Brutal tango For this reason alone, any journalist who wishes to avoid colluding in the genocide unfolding in Gaza ought to be increasingly wary of simply repeating the Israeli military’s claims about what happened on October 7. Certainly, they should not credulously regurgitate the latest agitprop from the IDF press office, as the BBC is so evidently doing. What we know from a growing body of evidence gleaned from the Israeli media and Israeli eyewitnesses – carefully laid out, for example, in this report from Max Blumenthal – is that the Israeli military was completely blindsided by that day’s events. Heavy artillery, including tanks and attack helicopters, was called in to deal with Hamas. That appears to have been a straightforward decision in regard to the military bases Hamas had overrun. Israel has a long-standing policy of seeking to prevent Israeli soldiers from being taken captive – chiefly, because of the high price Israeli society insists on paying to ensure soldiers are returned. For decades, the military’s so-called “Hannibal procedure” has directed Israeli troops to kill fellow soldiers rather than allow them to be taken captive. For the same reason, Hamas expends a great deal of energy in trying to find innovative ways to seize soldiers. The two sides are essentially engaged in a brutal tango in which each understands the other’s dance moves. Given Hamas’ situation, effectively managing the Israeli-controlled concentration camp of Gaza, it has limited resistance strategies available to it. Capturing Israeli soldiers maximises its leverage. They can be traded for the release of many of the thousands of Palestinian political prisoners held in jails inside Israel, in breach of international law. In addition, in the negotiations, Hamas usually hopes to win an easing of Israel’s 16-year siege of Gaza. To avert this scenario, Israeli commanders reportedly called in the attack helicopters on the military bases overwhelmed by Hamas on October 7. The helicopters appear to have fired indiscriminately, despite the risk posed to the Israeli soldiers in the base who were still alive. Israel’s was a scorched-earth policy to stop Hamas achieving its aims. That may, in part, explain the very large proportion of Israeli soldiers among the 1,300 killed that day. Charred bodies But what about the situation in the kibbutz communities? By the time the army arrived and was in position, Hamas was well dug in. It had taken the inhabitants as hostages inside their own homes. Israeli eyewitness testimony and media reports suggest Hamas was almost certainly trying to negotiate safe passage back into Gaza, using the Israeli civilians as human shields. The civilians were the Hamas fighters’ only ticket out, and they could be converted later into bargaining chips for the release of Palestinian prisoners. [YouTube and others are suppressing the video below – see this] The evidence – from Israeli media reports and eyewitnesses, as well as a host of visual clues from the crime scene itself – tell a far more complex story than the one presented nightly on the BBC. Did the Israeli military fire into the Hamas-controlled civilian homes in the same fashion as it had fired into its own military bases, and with the same disregard for the safety of Israelis inside? Was the goal in each case to prevent at all costs Hamas taking hostages whose release would require a very high price from Israel? Kibbutz Be’eri has been a favoured destination for BBC reporters keen to illustrate Hamas’ barbarity. It is where Lucy Williamson headed again this week. And yet none of her reporting highlighted comments made to the Israeli Haaretz newspaper by Tuval Escapa, the kibbutz’s security coordinator. He said Israeli military commanders had ordered the “shelling [of] houses on their occupants in order to eliminate the terrorists along with the hostages”. That echoed the testimony of Yasmin Porat, who sought shelter in Be’eri from the nearby Nova music festival. She told Israeli Radio that once Israeli special forces arrived: “They eliminated everyone, including the hostages because there was very, very heavy crossfire.” Are the images of charred bodies presented by Williamson, accompanied by a warning of their graphic, upsetting nature, incontrovertible proof that Hamas behaved like monsters, bent on the most twisted kind of vengeance? Or might those blackened remains be evidence that Israeli civilians and Hamas fighters burned alongside each other, after they were engulfed in flames caused by Israeli shelling of the houses? Israel will not agree to an independent investigation so a definitive answer will never be forthcoming. But that does not absolve the media of their professional and moral duty to be cautious. Consider for a moment the stark contrast in the western media’s treatment of events on October 7 and its treatment of the strike on the car park at Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in northern Gaza on October 17, in which hundreds of Palestinians were reported killed. In the case of Al-Ahli, the media were only too ready to cast aside all the evidence that the hospital had been hit by an Israeli strike immediately Israel contested the claim. Instead journalists hurriedly amplified Israel’s counter-allegation that a Palestinian rocket had fallen on the hospital. Most of the media moved on after concluding “The truth may never be clear”, or even less credibly, that Palestinian militants were the most likely culprits. In telling contrast, the western media have not been willing to raise even a single question about what happened on October 7. They have enthusiastically attributed every horror that day to Hamas. They have ignored the reality of utter chaos that reigned for many hours and the potential for poor, desperate and morally dubious decision-making by the Israeli military. In fact, the media have gone much further. In advancing the narrative of “Hamas as savages”, they have promoted obvious fictions, such as the story that “Hamas beheaded 40 babies”. That piece of fake news was even taken up briefly by US President Joe Biden, before it was quietly walked back by his officials. Similarly, it is still a popular throwaway line among the western commentariat that “Hamas carried out rapes”, though once again the allegation is evidence-free so far. We should be clear. If Israel had serious evidence for either of these claims, it would be aggressively promoting it. Instead, it is doing the next best thing: letting innuendo gently sink into the audience’s subconscious, settling there as a prejudice that cannot be interrogated. Hamas undoubtedly committed war crimes on October 7 – not least, by taking civilians as human shields. But that kind of crime is one we are familiar with, one “ordinary” enough that the Israel military has been regularly documented carrying it out too. The practice of Israeli soldiers taking Palestinians as human shields goes under various names, such as the “neighbour procedure” and the “early warning procedure”. Worse atrocities may have happened too, especially given the unexpected scale of Hamas’ success in breaking out of Gaza. Large numbers of Palestinians escaped the enclave, some of them doubtless armed civilians with no connection to the operation. In such circumstances, it would be surprising if there were no examples of the headline-grabbing atrocities being committed. The issue is whether such atrocities were planned and systematic, as Israel claims and the western media repeats, or examples of rogue actions by individuals or groups. If the latter, Israel would be in no position to judge. Israel’s own history is littered with examples of such crimes, including the documented case of an Israeli army unit taking captive a Bedouin girl in 1949 and repeatedly gang-raping her. Savagery would certainly not be a uniquely Hamas trait. Following the October 7 attack, videos have been emerging of systematic abuses of any Hamas fighters captured, whether alive or dead. Images show them being beaten and tortured in public for the gratification of onlookers, when there is clearly not even the pretence of information gathering. Others show the bodies of Hamas fighters being defiled and mutilated. No one can claim the moral high ground here. What the media’s uncritical promotion of Israel’s “Hamas as savages” narrative has achieved is something sinister – and all too familiar from the West’s long colonial history. It has been used to demonise a whole people, presenting them either as barbarians or as the willing protectors and enablers of barbarism. The “savages” narrative is being weaponised by Israel to justify its mounting campaign of atrocities in Gaza. Which is why it is so important that journalists don’t simply allow themselves to be spoonfed. Far too much is at stake. Hamas committed war crimes on October 7 on a scale that is unprecedented for any Palestinian group. But there is little more than Israeli narrative spin so far to suggest that there was an unparalleled depravity to Hamas’ actions. Certainly from what we know, it is hard to see that anything Hamas did that day was worse, or more savage, than what Israel has been doing daily in Gaza for weeks. And Israel’s actions – from bombing Palestinian families to starving them of food and water – has the blessing of every major western politician. Jonathan Cook is an independent British journalist who has covered the Israel-Palestine beat for 20+ years. He is a winner of the Martha Gellhorn Special Prize for Journalism. He was formerly with the Guardian and Observer newspapers. RELATED: More Palestinians killed in past 34 days than in the past 22 years combined A Synopsis of the Israel/Palestine Conflict Gaza-Israel: Latest news and statistics (the first 25 days) It’s not just Gaza – Israel is also killing scores in the West Bank Israeli communities near Gaza are on stolen land, former owners consigned to the Gaza ghetto The Israeli strike on Al Ahli Hospital days BEFORE the famous blast WATCH: What was happening in Gaza BEFORE the Hamas attack that the media didn’t tell you? Gideon Levy: Israel Can’t Imprison Two Million Gazans Without Paying a Cruel Price Palestinians inspect damage to their homes caused by Israeli air strikes on October 13, 2023, in Gaza City Palestinians inspect damage to their homes caused by Israeli air strikes on October 13, 2023, in Gaza City (photo) https://israelpalestinenews.org/what-media-reports-fail-to-tell-you-about-october-7/
    ISRAELPALESTINENEWS.ORG
    What media reports fail to tell you about October 7
    It's journalistic malpractice for media to repeat the Israeli military's accounts, including alleged atrocities that turned out to be fiction
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