Israel - Palestinian militants launch massive attack, 7 Oct 2023 #3

[MyBelle]

Oh geez. I wish China would just stay out of it. They've done enough damage in Ukraine. What negotiating table is that again?

7min ago

China: Israel’s actions in Gaza have gone ‘beyond the scope of self-defense’​

Israel’s actions in Gaza have gone “beyond the scope of self-defense” and the Israeli government must “cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza,” China’s foreign minister Wang Yi says.

Wang, who made the comments on a call to his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Saturday, said “all parties should not take any action to escalate the situation and should return to the negotiating table as soon as possible,” according to a foreign ministry readout.

China has no leverage. Neither does Saudi Arabia. There is no "negotiating table" and the world knows it.

JMO

 

[DeDee]

(05:23 GMT)

Israel claims senior Hamas commander killed​

Al Jazeera’s Willem Marx reporting from Tel Aviv:
We’ve heard from the Israeli military just this morning about the targeting of over a hundred, they say, military targets inside Gaza involving their jets.
Talking about also their killing of a commander involved in those attacks last Saturday. There’s a specialised force inside Hamas called the Nukhba force. Apparently the Israeli military claiming they have killed one of the senior commanders involved in one of those attacks.

 

[margarita25]

“Ada Sagi, 74, is also believed to have been abducted from her home in Nir Oz. Her son, Noam, said Israeli soldiers found bloodstains but no sign of his mother and she was not among those killed or injured in the small community.”

IMAGE SOURCE, NOAM SAGI
Image caption,
Noam had been expecting his mother, Ada Sagi, in London next week for her 75th birthday

Hamas hostages: Stories of the people taken from Israel

It is thought 103 hostages remain unaccounted for after the 7 October attacks.

www.bbc.com

 

[PommyMommy]

View from Gaza: ‘I can’t leave. It’s horrific that I have to choose between my life and my home’

Manchester scientist Mohammed Ghalayini was visiting his family in the enclave when Israeli missiles struck – and now he is staying by their side

www.theguardian.com

Mohammed Ghalayini awoke to the sound of outgoing rocket fire. It was 6am on Saturday 6 October ...

He soon saw that things were going to be different this time, not like the previous Israeli attacks on the enclave. “When I saw videos of Israeli hostages being brought into Gaza and Israeli military vehicles that had been seized, I twigged it was something big,” he said. Ghalayini, his mother Mona, and his sister Sondos fearfully wondered whether they should move.

As they mulled their options, they heard a loud bang and the sound of shattering glass – a building just 100 metres away had been hit. They and their neighbours fled their apartments on the 10th floor of a building on the Gaza seafront, fearing they were too exposed to what they knew was about to come.

The buzz of drones intensified overhead as they filled their overnight bags with passports, medications and as many books, clothes, toiletries and chargers as they could carry. “It’s hard to leave your home not knowing if you’ll have a home to come back to,” he said. He didn’t realise this would be the first of three times he would flee in just one week.

Story continues at the link.

 

[DeDee]

Jewish New Yorkers grieving after Hamas' attack on Israeli civilians are split over the country's response, with some voices urging Israel to defend itself and others increasingly warning of Palestinian "genocide."

Friday evening hundreds of New Yorkers gathered in Brooklyn in solidarity against Israel's offensive -- which has killed more than 2,200 Palestinians -- wielding a banner emblazoned with the message "Jews Say Stop Genocide Against Palestinians."


Protestors called on the United States Congress to demand a ceasefire and cut off the billions in funding for Israel.

The rally was sponsored by the left-wing organization Jewish Voice for Peace, and saw demonstrators march to the home of top US Senator Chuck Schumer.

Schumer, who is Jewish, was preparing to lead a delegation of senators to Israel as a show of support.

Shared Grief, Divided Opinion On Israel Among Jewish New Yorkers

 

[Brightchaser47]

Israeli Kibbutz Grandma? Who knows, she could be hard core military gal, who can kill with one hand tied behind her back. I wouldn't underestimate her. These guys have probably learned the hard way.

Seriously. Defense is something tevery single Israeli learns practically from birth. Read the biography of Golda Mier, former Israeli Prime Minister and Mossad agent.

I have her biography--don't recall her being Mossad. Will have to reread...

 

[PommyMommy]

Israel-Hamas war live: US sends second aircraft carrier ‘to deter hostile actions against Israel’; ground assault on Gaza looms (theguardian.com)
2m ago16.43 AEDT

The death toll in the Gaza Strip climbed to 2,329 Palestinians dead and 9,714 injured on Sunday morning, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The latest casualty toll, reported by Reuters, reflects those killed and injured by Israeli forces since the conflict began on 7 October.

8:50 am

Hamas-run ministry says Gaza death toll reaches 2,329​

The Hamas-run health ministry says some 2,329 Palestinians have been killed and another 9,042 have been wounded in Israeli retaliatory airstrikes in the Gaza Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces has said it has killed some 1,500 Palestinian terrorists in Israeli territory after they breached the border fence and rampaged murderously in southern Israel, killing over 1,300 people, mostly civilians.

 

[margarita25]

“Shani Louk, a tourist from Germany, had been attending a festival near the Gaza border when Hamas militants stormed the area, opening fire and sending terrified partygoers fleeing through the desert. Her mother, Ricarda, said she had seen a video of Shani after she was taken and later said she had information that Shani was in a critical condition in Gaza following a head injury.”

IMAGE SOURCE, SHANI LOUK'S INSTAGRAM
Image caption,
Shani Louk - pictured here in Mexico - was attending a a festival in Israel when she went missing

Hamas hostages: Stories of the people taken from Israel

It is thought 103 hostages remain unaccounted for after the 7 October attacks.

www.bbc.com

——

6 days ago:

Shani Louk: Mother pleads for help as daughter goes missing at festival

Shani Louk's family believe she was taken away by Hamas militants in the back of a pick-up truck.

www.bbc.co.uk

“Her mother, Ricarda, said she had seen a video of Shani "unconscious in a car" after being taken.

Holding up a picture of the twenty-something on her mobile phone, she said in a social media appeal that her daughter had been "kidnapped with a group of tourists in southern Israel by Palestinian Hamas".

"We were sent a video in which I could clearly see our daughter unconscious in the car with the Palestinians and them driving around the Gaza Strip," she said. "I ask you to send us any help or news. Thank you very much."

As news of Hamas's multi-pronged assault into Israeli territory broke early on Saturday, Ms Louk's family began desperately trying to contact her.

To their horror, they then recognised her in a video being widely shared on social media, showing the body of a young woman being paraded through the streets in the back of a flatbed truck, surrounded by armed fighters and others yelling "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest).

The woman is lying face down but her family say they identified Ms Louk from her dreadlocks and distinctive tattoos.”

 

[Sundog]

You don’t think the rallies on Friday “Hamas Day of Rage“ were pro Hamas?

I would LOVE to ask and hope for peace.
It is becoming more and more difficult to remain optimistic with so much hatred.

Hamas 'Day of Rage' protests break out in Middle East and beyond​

Israelis have been urged to take extra caution.

Hamas 'Day of Rage' protests break out in Middle East and beyond

Pro-Palestinian protests broke out across the Middle East and beyond on Friday after a former Hamas leader called on supporters to join in a "Day of Rage."

abcnews.go.com

They were pro-Hamas and anti-Israel, IMO.

 

[PommyMommy]

Israel-Hamas war live updates: Fears for civilians as 'next stages' of Gaza attack loom (cnn.com)
16 min ago

Israeli military says more than 100 military targets struck in Gaza overnight​

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say they attacked “over a hundred military targets” in various parts of Gaza overnight Saturday, including Hamas headquarters and military compounds, dozens of launchers, anti-tank posts and observation posts.

The IDF said that the areas of Zaytoun and Khan Yunis were among those struck. It said the military headquarters of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad organization were also destroyed

The Nukhba commander of forces in Khan Yunis, Billal al Kedra, was killed Saturday night, the IDF said, alleging that he was responsible for killings in the Kibbutz Nirim when Hamas launched its attack on Israel last weekend.

The Hamas media office in Gaza said a number of areas were struck by the Israeli military overnight and on Sunday morning, including Gaza City in the north and Rafah in the south. It said Israeli tanks were shelling eastern areas of Gaza.

A CNN team close to northern Gaza heard heavy machinegun fire Sunday morning, apparently close to the border fence. They also reported further air strikes and large explosions.

 

[Dhighsmith]

Israel-Hamas war live: rockets fired from Syria as Israel prepares ground invasion of Gaza (theguardian.com)
10m ago23.31 EDT

Opening summary​

Welcome to our continuing coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas. Here is a summary with a selection of the latest developments.

• The US is sending a second aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean, the US defence secretary has confirmed, saying it is “to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack”. Lloyd Austin said on Saturday the deployment signalled Washington’s “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our resolve to deter any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this war”. The USS Eisenhower and its affiliated warships will join another carrier group already deployed to the region in the wake of the attack on Israel a week ago and Israel’s ongoing response. The US has sent munitions to Israel and warned other countries not to escalate the conflict.
• The World Health Organization has condemned Israel’s order to evacuate 22 hospitals in northern Gaza that are treating more than 2,000 inpatients. Moving that many patients to southern Gaza, “where health facilities are already running at maximum capacity and unable to absorb a dramatic rise in the number patients, could be tantamount to a death sentence”, the organisation said.
• Iran has warned of “far-reaching consequences” if Israel’s “war crimes and genocide” are not stopped immediately. On Saturday, the permanent mission of Iran to the United Nations added: “The responsibility of which lies with the UN, the security council and the states steering the council toward a dead end.”
• Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian met Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Doha, Qatar. Hamas said the two had agreed to continue cooperation to achieve Hamas’s goals. Earlier, Haniyeh said in a televised speech that “there will be no migration from Gaza to Egypt” in the wake of Israel’s order to evacuate, and that Egypt “welcomes the Palestinian people, but not on the basis of migration or an exodus”.
• US president Joe Biden spoke separately with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday. Netanyahu’s office said that the prime minister told Biden that “unity and determination” were needed to achieve Israel’s goal of defeating Hamas. Meanwhile, Abbas’s office said Abbas told Biden he rejected the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza as thousands fled amid deadly Israeli airstrikes.
• Russia has asked the United Nations security council to vote on Monday on a draft resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict that calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and condemns violence against civilians and all acts of terrorism.
• The Syrian defence ministry has confirmed Israel’s targeting of its Aleppo airport on Saturday night, putting it out of action. “The Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, west of Latakia, targeting Aleppo international airport, which led to material damage to the airport and it being out of service,” Reuters reports the ministry saying.
• Israel’s military said on Saturday that it had fired back at Syrian areas from which two rockets were launched towards Israeli territory and fell into open areas. The military also said it fired an interceptor towards a “suspicious target” that crossed into Israeli territory from Lebanon but did not provide any additional details.
• The European Council chief has called on a virtual summit with EU leaders next week to discuss the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. “It is of utmost importance that the European Council, in line with the treaties and our values, sets our common position and establishes a clear unified course of action that reflects the complexity of the unfolding situation,” said Charles Michel, president of the European Council.
• Médicins Sans Frontieres (MSF) has called on the Israeli authorities to “show humanity”. In a statement issued on Saturday, MSF condemned Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip “without restraint for a week”.
• Israel has admitted to intelligence “mistakes” in failing to predict Hamas’s attacks last weekend. “It’s my mistake, and it reflects the mistakes of all those making [intelligence] assessments,” Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, said at a press briefing.
• The Israeli military announced on Saturday that its forces were preparing to implement a wide range of operational offensive plans. It also announced its forces had been deployed throughout Israel and were preparing for the next stages “with an emphasis on significant ground operations”.
• Lebanon said on Saturday that Israel had launched a deadly strike on Friday that killed a Reuters journalist and injured six other journalists from Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Al Jazeera. The Lebanese army said in a statement: “The Israeli enemy fired a rocket shell that hit a civilian car belonging to a media team, leading to the death of Issam Abdallah.”
• The UN’s under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, Martin Griffiths, has warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “fast becoming untenable”. In a statement issued on Saturday, Griffiths said: “Even wars have rules, and these rules must be upheld, at all times, and by all sides. Civilians and civilian infrastructure, including humanitarian workers and assets, must be protected.”
• The European Commission announced that it will triple humanitarian aid for Gaza. The move comes after the EU faced criticism for conflicting messaging from its senior leadership. The commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke on Saturday with the UN secretary general, António Guterres, the commission said.

Just some random thoughts as I see repeated statements from the UN.

No matter what immediate actions taken by Israel are there is going to be a continued push for peace with Hamas, which is not possible - it’s not even about the rights of the Palestinian people.

We need a Global reset to restore humanity world wide and to achieve balance and effective guidance from the UN. I’m not an expert on foreign affairs but it’s a fact that these issues have been ongoing and basically ignored for not only the Middle East but in portions of Africa and areas of the former Soviet Union for as long as I can remember- 50+ years.

Two things have remained constant:

1. Terrorist groups thrive and flourish amid instability.

2. Terrorist groups target young people, exploiting real or perceived grievances and use manipulation to accomplish the goal of mental terrorism by mass killings, the assumption being that the results weakens the enemy.

My opinion is that it kills the life and soul of the people who have been deceived and who blindly support those who are driven by hate. It’s not based on religious ideology but political motivation for power to satisfy the hate and ego, whether ISIS, Iran or Putin, it’s the same results in the loss of life.

Recently, read article from the 2023 UN report of the greatest terrorist threats, which report included:

“Afghanistan seems eerily reminiscent to pre-9/11 Afghanistan, with the number of groups that are allegedly active.”

The Taliban continues to struggle in establishing control over Afghanistan and the Islamic State has taken advantage of the failures by the UN to ensure stable political environment, terrorist training camps have reopened- ignores the risk associated with vulnerability of the Taliban government.

No one should live in fear of the attacks we’ve witnessed in Israel or those we experienced on 9/11 or even the invasion of Ukraine by Russia who’s not being held accountable for the civilians murdered in targeted military actions.

Thanks for sharing updates and allowing me to ramble on about issues with no solutions.

 

[DeDee]

New York City synagogues receive outpouring of support for people of Israel


LOCAL NEWS

New York City synagogues receive outpouring of support for people of Israel at Friday night services​

NEW YORK -- There were services at synagogues throughout the Tri-State Area in support of Israel, and several lawmakers made their voices heard in solidarity.

There was a solemn air over Temple Emanu-El on the Upper East Side during Friday night service, nearly a week since the attacks were carried out by Hamas on Israel.

Mayor Eric Adams spoke at Friday night's service against the hate speech he's witnessed throughout the week. "We have the largest Jewish population outside of Israel. If you don't feel safe here, where else can you feel safe?" Adams said.

 

[margarita25]

Oh geez. I wish China would just stay out of it. They've done enough damage in Ukraine. What negotiating table is that again?

7min ago

China: Israel’s actions in Gaza have gone ‘beyond the scope of self-defense’​

Israel’s actions in Gaza have gone “beyond the scope of self-defense” and the Israeli government must “cease its collective punishment of the people of Gaza,” China’s foreign minister Wang Yi says.

Wang, who made the comments on a call to his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Saturday, said “all parties should not take any action to escalate the situation and should return to the negotiating table as soon as possible,” according to a foreign ministry readout.

Iran’s their buddy too.

 

[Sundog]

Israel-Hamas war live updates: Israel says it’s preparing Gaza ground attack (nbcnews.com)
3m ago / 4:14 PM PDT

An emotional goodbye after Florida family’s son goes to Israel to fight​

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Nata Nagli was in the family’s South Florida home last week when she woke her 22-year-old son David and told him about the Hamas terror attack on her native Israel.

David was soon on his feet, she said, telling her, “Mom, I know you’re going to start crying now,” which she did.

“But there’s nothing that you can tell me that’s going to stop me from going, I need to join my unit,” Nagli told NBC News.

David Nagli in the Miami airport.Courtesy Nagli family

David joined the Israel Defense Forces when he was 18 and is in the reserves. Israel has called up more than 300,000 reservists since Hamas launched its terror attacks. Israel’s prime minister declared war on Hamas and vowed to crush the group.

David’s parents drove him to the airport last Saturday, the same day that he and the world learned of the Hamas attacks

A long time ago, David gave his mother a box with a bug inside that says, “Love Bug.” Nagli gave her son that box back at the airport as they said goodbye.

“When he hugged me goodbye, he said, 'Mom, I promise I’m going to bring the love bug back,'" she said.

Be safe, Sargeant David Nagli.

 

[nightowl1975]

I'm wondering what happens if they stay put. Israel can't guarantee their safety, imo. It's a bad situation.

Given that Hamas is known to shelter themselves and their weapons in and around hospitals, my guess is the hospital will be fair game once IDF enter Gaza on ground.

 

[Brightchaser47]

Given that Hamas is known to shelter themselves and their weapons in and around hospitals, my guess is the hospital will be fair game once IDF enter Gaza on ground.

That won't end well.

 

[PommyMommy]

Israel-Hamas war live: US sends second aircraft carrier ‘to deter hostile actions against Israel’; ground assault on Gaza looms (theguardian.com)
3m ago06.56 BST

US secretary of state Antony Blinken began a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh soon after 7.30am (0430 GMT) on Sunday, a US official said, as Blinken works with regional allies to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from spiralling into a bigger conflict and help win release of Israeli hostages.

A senior Israeli official, meanwhile, accused Iran on Sunday of trying to open such a second front by deploying weapons in or through Syria, in a response to a post on X/Twitter posited such a scenario, Reuters reports.

“They [Iranians] are,” wrote Joshua Zarka, head of strategic affairs for Israel’s foreign ministry.

Iran’s mission to the UN warned late on Saturday that if Israel’s “war crimes and genocide” were not halted immediately, “the situation could spiral out of control” and have far-reaching consequences.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has told the militant group Hezbolla – which neighbours Israel to the north and like Hamas is backed by Iran – not to start a war on a second front, threatening the “destruction of Lebanon” if it did.

 

[margarita25]

“Maya Regev, 21, and her brother Itay, 18, from Herzliya, had been attending the Supernova music festival in southern Israel. On the morning of the attack, Maya's father got a call from his daughter who screamed "Dad they're shooting at me, I'm dead". The family said they later spotted Itay in handcuffs in the back of a vehicle in a video released by Hamas. Almost two days later, the Israeli army informed the family that both Maya and Itay had been abducted.”

IMAGE SOURCE, FAMILY OF MAYA AND ITAY REGEV
Image caption,
Itay and Maya Regev (front row) pictured with their mother and younger brother

Hamas hostages: Stories of the people taken from Israel

It is thought 103 hostages remain unaccounted for after the 7 October attacks.

www.bbc.com

Interview with their mother:

—-

Note to also find this other video interview with a father whose daughter and boyfriend were killed. Her tracked her phone and found her, iirc. He written out and read a long statement about the situation, resolution, and plea to release hostages, iirc.

And there’s this other video I saw with baby boy twins found alive, left alone for 14 hours iirc. Both of their parents were killed. Father found by the cribs, iirc. They are receiving lots of care and love from other family members.

 

[DeDee]

Chicago area synagogue collecting supplies for Israel amid war with Hamas​

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chabad Israeli Center in north suburban Skokie is collecting donations to send to Israel in the wake of Hamas' brutal attack from Gaza.

The supplies have been coming in by the truckload, and will be heading overseas to help out those in need.

"We have coats. Then we have battery packs, < >. Israel said people should prepare themselves to be … everything's set, God forbid, in case there's a shortage of electricity," Rabbi Menachem Slavaticki said.

Godspeed!

 

[PommyMommy]

9:04 am

IDF: Hostages likely being held underground in Gaza, military will not target civilians​

Supporters and family members of Israeli hostages look at images of the hostages plastered on a wall during a rally outside of the Israeli military base HaKirya in central Tel Aviv on October 14, 2023. (Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP)

A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces says the top priority in the military operation is to rescue the hostages, who are “most likely” being held underground.

Noting the “elaborate network of tunnels” in the Gaza Strip, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus tells CNN the 150-200 people kidnapped by Hamas terrorists are “most likely held underground in various locations.”

“It is extremely difficult for any modern military to fight in such a dense urban area,” he says.

Conricus additionally says the IDF will not target civilians.

“But again, we must remember… we are going to fight a ruthless enemy that has no problems using everything available… civilians as human shields and using civilian infrastructure for military purposes,” he adds.