Israel - Palestinian militants launch massive attack, 7 Oct 2023 #10

[JennieM]

8 hr 52 min ago

Poll suggests most Israelis want to negotiate for hostages but continue fighting​

From CNN’s Richard Allen Greene in Jerusalem

An increasing number of Israelis say their country should immediately begin negotiations with Hamas for the release of hostages held in Gaza – but should continue fighting while negotiating, a new survey out Friday suggests.

Nearly four out of 10 Israelis (38%) expressed the opinion in a survey by the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute.

That’s a rise from 32% saying Israel should negotiate while fighting when the survey was last conducted about two weeks earlier.

Another 22% – about one in five – said Israel should not negotiate at all to trade Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails for hostages.

One in 10 (10%) said Israel should negotiate only when the fighting is over, while about one in five (21%) said Israel should begin negotiations immediately, even if it meant halting the fighting.

The survey of 606 men and women was carried out online and by phone on November 5-6, 2023. Some 502 interviews were in Hebrew and 104 were in Arabic. The margin of error on the full sample is four points.

November 10, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave one of his most direct condemnations yet of the mounting death toll in Gaza, saying "far too many Palestinians have been killed."

edition.cnn.com

 

[Momoffourboys]

Jonathan Conricus

@jconricus

Since very few foreign journalists live in Gaza, the system relies on Gazan stringers. They are the primary sensors and collectors of info. The stringers are systematically intimidated and controlled by Hamas, so that international coverage is never off-script. @greta

https://twitter.com/x/status/1723115660161474898

 

[Momoffourboys]

WATCH: Broadway stars sing 'Bring Him Home' in tribute to Gaza hostages​

Broadway stars, including Debra Messing and Jeremy Jordan, gathered together in a recording booth, or at home, and recorded both voice and film.​

WATCH: Broadway stars sing 'Bring Him Home' in tribute to Gaza hostages

Broadway stars, including Debra Messing and Jeremy Jordan, gathered together in a recording booth, or at home, and recorded both voice and film.

www.jpost.com

 

[JennieM]

10m ago

Joe Biden spoke with the sultan of Oman, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, today.

The two leaders discussed the situation in Gaza, as well as “the importance of sustained humanitarian access and the importance of protecting civilians, consistent with international humanitarian law”, according to a readout by the White House.

The statement went on to say:

They emphasized the importance of deterring threats from any state or non-state actor seeking to expand the conflict and of working towards a durable and sustained peace in the Middle East, to include the establishment of a Palestinian state.

WHO says a child is killed every 10 minutes in Gaza – as it happened

Head of World Health Organisation says Gaza’s health system is ‘on its knees’. This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

15 min ago

Negotiators discuss dayslong pause in fighting in exchange for freeing large group of hostages​

From CNN's MJ Lee

The parties involved in the ongoing negotiations to secure the release of hostages that Hamas is holding in Gaza are working toward a deal that would entail a sustained, dayslong pause in fighting in exchange for a large group of hostages being freed, a senior US official familiar with the talks told CNN Friday.

If a deal were to be struck, the hostages would exit Gaza in stages on a rolling basis – with priority placed on extra vulnerable groups, like children and women – in a process that is expected to take multiple days, the official said.

Still, they repeatedly cautioned that the talks could at any point stall or deteriorate: “It’s been close before. There’s no certainty at all.”

Many details have yet to be worked out — and it would still likely be days, even in the best-case scenario, before a deal could be reached, the official said. But even as a deal was being considered, Israel did not relent in its Gaza offensive. CNN reporters witnessed a heavy bombardment by Israeli forces in Gaza late Friday.

Remember: The US, Israel and Hamas – with Qatar playing a significant mediating role – have been engaged in talks for weeks to free the hostages from Gaza.

November 10, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave one of his most direct condemnations yet of the mounting death toll in Gaza, saying "far too many Palestinians have been killed."

edition.cnn.com

 

[JennieM]

People look at an installation called "Empty Beds" on November 9 in Tel Aviv, Israel, where beds represent around 240 hostages seized in the attack by Hamas gunmen. Tomer Appelbaum/Reuters

November 10, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave one of his most direct condemnations yet of the mounting death toll in Gaza, saying "far too many Palestinians have been killed."

edition.cnn.com

 

[JennieM]

5 min ago

US shifts messaging as pressure — and attacks in Gaza — ramps up. Here's what to know​

From CNN staff

The ferocity of Israel's military operation shows no sign of letting up. On Friday, Israeli tanks surrounded a Gaza hospital, its director said, as the territory’s largest healthcare facility came under a reported “bombardment.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it is "prepared and operating in any arena that threatens the State of Israel."

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Gazan civilians have moved south of the enclave in the last week. Israel had agreed to move forward with daily four-hour pauses of military operations in areas of northern Gaza, the White House said Thursday.

Here's what to know:

• Hospital "completely surrounded": The director of a hospital in northern Gaza has warned that the medical center is completely surrounded by tanks, making it impossible to leave. Mustafa al-Kahlout, who heads Al Nasr hospital and Al Rantisi pediatric hospital, urged for an evacuation of the doctors and patients inside. His call comes after strikes were reported near at least two other hospitals in northern Gaza. The IDF has said Hamas is embedding itself in civilian infrastructure and that it will strike Hamas “wherever necessary.”
• Hit on another hospital: The Israeli military claimed that a misfired projectile "launched by terrorist organizations" inside Gaza was responsible for a strike on al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Friday. IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said it was aimed at “IDF troops operating in the vicinity.” The Hamas-run media office claimed the IDF carried out the strike, Hecht said. Several social media videos emerged online Friday showing injured people lying on the ground of the outpatient clinic following the strike.
• Destruction in Gaza: At least 45% of Gaza’s housing has been destroyed or damaged as of November 4, and as many as 200,000 people no longer have homes, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Northern Gaza has had no electricity or fuel since October 11. Gaza’s sole power plant is out of fuel, and the seawater desalination plant in the north is also down.

[…]

November 10, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave one of his most direct condemnations yet of the mounting death toll in Gaza, saying "far too many Palestinians have been killed."

edition.cnn.com

 

[JennieM]

Al-Shifa hospital director: 'I hear shooting and bombardment all around me'​

As we reported a little earlier, Israel's military is fighting near or at the four main hospitals in Gaza City.

Dr Mohammed Abu Salamiya, Al-Shifa hospital director, said he was hearing "shooting and bombardment everywhere around me in Shifa hospital".
"It's a horrible situation now," Dr Salamiya explained.

He said that some people "evacuated from Shifa because it is not a safe place to stay". But the hospital's staff, Dr Salamiya added, are "still there" and the healthcare facility continues to take in casualties.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67364296

 

[JennieM]

4m ago

Israel preparing for a year of fighting in Gaza - report​

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is preparing to fight in Gaza for a year, according to a report.

Israel’s military is set to expand its ground operations into areas of the Gaza Strip where the IDF has never operated before, the Times of Israel said that Channel 12 reported.

The report said the IDF is “preparing for a period of a year of fighting… in different areas… different methods, but a year of fighting to get to the fourth stage of this war: The entry of a new government in Gaza that is not Hamas and is not backed by the Iranians.”

There is “no pressure to hurry”, the report said.

That is the message army commanders are being told all the time: Work slowly and securely. Bring the results.

WHO says a child is killed every 10 minutes in Gaza – as it happened

Head of World Health Organisation says Gaza’s health system is ‘on its knees’. This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

Risk of disease spread soars in Gaza as health facilities, water and sanitation systems disrupte​

8 November 2023 – As deaths and injuries in Gaza continue to rise due to intensified hostilities, intense overcrowding and disrupted health, water, and sanitation systems pose an added danger: the rapid spread of infectious diseases. Some worrying trends are already emerging.

Lack of fuel has led to the shutting down of desalination plants, significantly increasing the risk of bacterial infections like diarrhea spreading as people consume contaminated water. Lack of fuel has also disrupted all solid waste collection, creating an environment conducive to the rapid and widespread proliferation of insects, rodents that can carry and transit diseases.

The situation is particularly concerning for almost 1.5 million displaced people across Gaza, especially those living in severely overcrowded shelters with poor access to hygiene facilities and safe water, increasing risk of infectious diseases transmission. UNRWA, WHO, and the Ministry of Health are scaling up a flexible disease surveillance system in many of these shelters and health facilities. The current disease trends are very concerning.

[…]

Risk of disease spread soars in Gaza as health facilities, water and sanitation systems disrupted

www.emro.who.int

 

[otto]

Tunnels and guns every 2-3 houses throughout the community.

 

[JennieM]

4m ago

Columbia University has suspended two student organisations that have led protests calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s military offensive against Hamas.

The New York university said in a statement on Friday that it has suspended Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace as official student organisations for the rest of the fall semester.

The statement reads:

This decision was made after the two groups repeatedly violated University policies related to holding campus events, culminating in an unauthorized event Thursday afternoon that proceeded despite warnings and included threatening rhetoric and intimidation.

On Thursday, hundreds of Columbia University students walked out of their classes to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

WHO says a child is killed every 10 minutes in Gaza – as it happened

Head of World Health Organisation says Gaza’s health system is ‘on its knees’. This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

5 min ago

UN Security Council addresses dire humanitarian situation in Gaza​

From CNN's Richard Roth

United Nations officials addressed the humanitarian situation in Gaza as Israeli and Palestinian UN representatives accused one another of targeting medical facilities during a UN Security Council briefing Friday.

The meeting began with a minute of silence for the deaths of Palestinians, Israeli citizens and foreign nationals, as well as UN officials and journalists in Gaza and the West Bank.

While describing the dire situation unfolding in Gaza, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesussaid there are "morgues overflowing; surgery without anesthesia; tens of thousands of displaced people sheltering at hospitals."

Ghebreyesus said the WHO has verified more than 250 attacks on health care in Gaza and the West Bank since October 7. The WHO also identified 25 attacks on health care in Israel, he said.

"Half of the Gaza Strip’s 36 hospitals and two-thirds of its primary health care centers are not functioning at all," Ghebreyesus said.
"I fully understand the anger, grief and fear of the Israeli people following the horrific, barbaric and unjustifiable attacks by Hamas and other armed groups on Israeli civilians on the 7th of October," Ghebreyesus said. "I also understand the anger, grief and fear of the people of Gaza, who had already suffered through 16 years of blockade, and are now enduring the destruction of their families, their homes, their communities and the life they knew."

Lana Nusseibeh, the UN representative for the United Arab Emirates, was the person who asked for the meeting to take place. She called on Israel to "end its siege on Gaza."

"It is unconscionable that it has been 33 days of the destruction of Gaza, without any Council action and response. It is time to act and to respond and help save innocent lives," Nusseibeh said.

The Israeli and Palestinian UN representatives traded accusations of targeting medical facilities.

[…]

November 10, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave one of his most direct condemnations yet of the mounting death toll in Gaza, saying "far too many Palestinians have been killed."

edition.cnn.com

 

[Baby baby Jane]

I vote NO on that. We'd end up with Hamas invaders in this country too.

Why don't Middle Eastern countries welcome Gazan refugees into their lands?

Certain Hamas would love nothing more than the “dumb” Americans giving them and their families shelter and money in the USA to send home for supporting the baddies and creating sleeper cells in US. Elite schools giving them free education, all the American goodies. It’s naive to think if US is generous & nice, that they will win hearts and minds. It’s old outdated idea.
We have to learn that not everyone in the world has the same idea of what being a good person is, some people think being good is killing Americans. Sorry,

 

[Dotta]

Jonathan Conricus
@jconricus

Since very few foreign journalists live in Gaza, the system relies on Gazan stringers. They are the primary sensors and collectors of info. The stringers are systematically intimidated and controlled by Hamas, so that international coverage is never off-script. @greta

https://twitter.com/x/status/1723115660161474898

The Journalist's Creed​

• I believe in the profession of journalism.
• I believe that the public journal is a public trust; that all connected with it are, to the full measure of their responsibility, trustees for the public; that acceptance of a lesser service than the public service is betrayal of this trust.
• I believe that clear thinking and clear statement, accuracy and fairness are fundamental to good journalism.
• I believe that a journalist should write only what he holds in his heart to be true.
• I believe that suppression of the news, for any consideration other than the welfare of society, is indefensible.
• I believe that no one should write as a journalist what he would not say as a gentleman; that bribery by one’s own pocketbook is as much to be avoided as bribery by the pocketbook of another; that individual responsibility may not be escaped by pleading another’s instructions or another’s dividends.
• I believe that advertising, news and editorial columns should alike serve the best interests of readers; that a single standard of helpful truth and cleanness should prevail for all; that the supreme test of good journalism is the measure of its public service.
• I believe that the journalism which succeeds best — and best deserves success — fears God and honors Man; is stoutly independent, unmoved by pride of opinion or greed of power, constructive, tolerant but never careless, self-controlled, patient, always respectful of its readers but always unafraid, is quickly indignant at injustice; is unswayed by the appeal of privilege or the clamor of the mob; seeks to give every man a chance and, as far as law and honest wage and recognition of human brotherhood can make it so, an equal chance; is profoundly patriotic while sincerely promoting international good will and cementing world-comradeship; is a journalism of humanity, of and for today’s world.

Let's not undermine people's integrity.

Journalist's Creed - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Baby baby Jane]

Good point. ^^^

Idk.
But if they're (Hamas) shooting over their heads, what's to say they won't end up killing some of the people trying to leave ?
Omo.

Am so cynical - are there actual patients in this “hospital” or a 100% Trojan horse hospital? Beds filled with Hamas in hospital gowns …

 

[JennieM]

Netanyahu’s vague vision for Gaza after war may open up new chapter of violence​

Peter Beaumont in Jerusalem

PM’s once unthinkable assertion Israel will reclaim security in territory would come with responsibilities towards Palestinians

[…]

Now Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has suggested what many Israelis thought unthinkable: a return of security in Gaza to the Israeli administration, a place already half in ruins, with a population of 2.3 million.

“Israel will for an indefinite period have the overall security responsibly,” Netanyahu told ABC news on Monday, “because we have seen what happens when we do not have it.”

Exactly what Netanyahu has in mind remains unclear. Indeed, his comments appear to run contrary to assessments in the US and elsewhere that Israel […] planned to reoccupy Gaza in any fashion and in any case would be opposed by Washington.

“Israel cannot reassume control and responsibility for Gaza,” the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said last week, adding it was his understanding that “Israel has made clear it has no intention or desire to do that”.

However, Netanyahu’s remarks follow statements by some other Israeli officials who have suggested Israel will need to maintain a military presence inside Gaza as a buffer to protect its civilians.

[…]

Under international humanitarian law, the prolonged presence of Israeli troops in Gaza would make the occupation of the coastal strip far more obviously concrete and place clear responsibilities on Israel as an occupying force, defined by it having effective control over the territories it is present in.

The fourth Geneva convention, for example, stipulates: “The occupying power has the duty to ensure that the adequate provision of food and medical supplies is provided, as well as clothing, bedding, means of shelter, other supplies essential to the survival of the civilian population of the occupied territory.”

[…]

Netanyahu’s vague vision for Gaza after war may open up new chapter of violence

PM’s once unthinkable assertion Israel will reclaim security in territory would come with responsibilities towards Palestinians

www.theguardian.com

 

[Baby baby Jane]

UK​

Police brace for largest pro-Palestinian protest and impose Cenotaph exclusion zone​

The Metropolitan Police is preparing for an unprecedented security operation ahead of a pro-Palestinian demonstration in London on Saturday.

The force expects the march - which coincides with Armistice Day - to be the largest yet, and has warned there is a risk of clashes.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathering near the Cenotaph can be arrested under sweeping measures announced by the Met.

Rishi Sunak has repeated his view the timing of the march is "disrespectful".

He urged protesters to be "mindful of the fear and distress in Jewish and Muslim communities" when they gather on Saturday, and said he had been given assurances police had taken all steps to ensure Remembrance services would be "safeguarded".

In a statement on Friday, Mr Sunak said: "It is because of those who fought for this country and for the freedom we cherish that those who wish to protest can do so, but they must do so respectfully and peacefully.

"Remembrance weekend is sacred for us all and should be a moment of unity, of our shared British values and of solemn reflection."

The Met has said it will deploy 1,850 public order officers on duty on Saturday, and another 1,375 on Sunday, as part of a "huge" security operation in order to reassure local communities.

It expects Saturday's demonstration to be the largest since weekly pro-Palestinian marches began in early October, and warned the situation in the capital could be "challenging" and "tense".

An exclusion zone will be in place around the Cenotaph and a large swathe of Whitehall, which the Met says will "in effect" ban pro-Palestinian protesters from these locations and goes further than the security measures usually deployed around the key Remembrance site.

A dedicated 24-hour police presence is already in place around the Cenotaph, which will remain until after Sunday's ceremony.

[…]

Police brace for largest pro-Palestinian protest and impose Cenotaph exclusion zone

Hundreds of thousands are due to take part in the march, while elsewhere commemorations take place for Armistice Day.

www.bbc.co.uk

Police can control Notting Hill Carnival … they should be able to handle this …

 

[JennieM]

A divided UN Security Council​

Nada Tawfik
North America correspondent

UN Security Council members have been trying to reach consensus for weeks now and it just doesn't seem like they are making any ground.

In particular, there is some frustration that the United States isn’t showing serious interest in having a resolution - they are of course Israel's strongest ally on the council and oppose a ceasefire.

The US also vetoed a resolution that was supported by 12 other members of the council, saying it didn't have enough strong language on Israel's right to self-defence.

Russia and China went on to veto a US resolution, saying it would give a green light to further escalation of the war. In total, the Security Council has failed four times to reach consensus.

We have a very divided council.

The UAE called today's meeting because they were concerned about the health crisis and ongoing strikes on hospitals in Gaza. The World Health Organization (WHO) just gave a briefing on the dramatic deterioration of the health system, which as we already heard the ICRC say today "has reached a point of no return".

At the end of the briefing by WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, he said the crisis underlined once again the need for reform of the Security Council. Not holding back his criticism, he said the council no longer served the purposes for which it was established and reiterated his call for a ceasefire.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67364296

 

[JennieM]

Israel tanks seen outside Gaza hospitals on 35th day of war​

On Friday, eyewitnesses told the BBC that Israeli forces were close to key Gaza hospitals - Al-Shifa, Al-Quds, Al-Rantisi and the Indonesian Hospital - and there were reports of explosions inside or near them throughout the day.

Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of operating from tunnels underneath Al-Shifa, which Hamas denies.

A video verified by the BBC showed a woman filming herself at the Al-Rantisi Hospital in Gaza City, where she claimed that the children’s hospital was being “besieged” by tanks and full of people told to evacuate.

And the International Committee of the Red Cross warned that hospitals in northern Gaza have "reached a point of no return", risking the lives of thousands of people.

[…]

The Hamas-run health ministry says 11,078 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war and more than 27,000 others are injured.

Away from Gaza, in the West Bank, dozens of people attended the funerals of 11 Palestinians killed in a reported Israeli raid on the Jenin refugee camp.

[…]

Israel revised the death toll down from 1,400 on Friday because, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat, many poeple killed were not immediately identified after the attack, and "now we think those belong to terrorists... not Israeli casualties".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67364296