Israel - Palestinian militants launch massive attack, 7 Oct 2023 #4

[SouthAussie]

Interesting. I wonder how many refugee Palestinians Australia will welcome.

I have already answered that question, and provided a link. Most of the Palestinians residing in Australia now were allowed in after major conflicts in the Middle East. They were allowed in as displaced persons.

Annually, we take in our fair share of refugees. Last financial year we issued 17,875 refugee and humanitarian visas. Some years we have taken more (up to 30,000 IIRC). Our population of 25M people consists of almost a million refugees. Link

.

 

[cottonweaver]

Axios reporter

BREAKING: Biden: I am outraged and deeply saddened by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza, and the terrible loss of life that resulted. Immediately upon hearing this news, I have directed my national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened

The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy

https://x.com/BarakRavid/status/1714420734561235261?s=20

 

[Friday Fan]

Times of Israel releasing recordings of the hospital explosion:


Al Jazeera Gaza Live Feed:
I note timestamps of:
9 seconds: where airborne rocket can be seen to "fail" on the screen;
10 - 14s: Rocket can be seen streaking downwards toward the ground;
17 seconds: huge explosion can be seen at the hospital right underneath where the rocket was. Al Jazeera then zooms in on the hospital.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1714378040115867883

Surveillance camera footage from Netiv Haasara:
(Low horizon footage) Timestamps:
0 - 16 seconds: Barrage of Rockets being launched in Gaza;
(Note: misfire cannot be seen on this screen due to low horizon angle);
19 seconds: Huge explosion can be seen on ground underneath at the hospital. Note that is the same 3 second difference in time from the above video from last firing to explosion at hospital.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1714377828131553446

Oh this is helpful

https://x.com/manniefabian/status/1714378040115867883?s=20

 

[JennieM]

2m ago
The United Arab Emirates, which has full diplomatic ties with Israel, has condemned the blasts at al-Ahli al-Arabi, which it said was a strike by the Israeli military.

The UAE “called on the international community to intensify efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of life, to avoid further fuelling the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory […] preventing the region from being pulled into new levels of violence, tension and instability.”

In a statement posted to X, Afra Al Hameli, the communications director at the UAU’s foreign affairs ministry, said:

#UAE strongly condemns the Israeli attack that targeted Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in the #Gaza Strip resulting in the death and injury of hundreds of people.
[The Ministry of Foreign Affairs] expresses its deep regret for the loss of life and conveys its condolences to the families of the victims, wishing a swift recovery for all those injured. The Ministry also stressed the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and to ensure that civilians and civilian institutions are not targeted. The Ministry further underlined the importance of the protection of civilians, according to international humanitarian law, international treaties for the protection of civilians and human rights, and the need to ensure that they are not targeted in conflict. The United Arab Emirates called on the international community to intensify efforts to reach an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of life, to avoid further fuelling the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, and to advance all efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just peace, while preventing the region from being pulled into new levels of violence, tension and instability.

US president’s visit to Jordan cancelled – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

www.theguardian.com

 

[cottonweaver]

Part of a thread from Haaretz & Economist guy ( & he wrote an autobiog of Bibi)

https://x.com/AnshelPfeffer/status/1714420108292956381?s=20

Joe Biden is landing in Israel in 8hours. A lot will depend on whether the IDF by then will have assembled enough evidence to prove to a U.S. expert team which doubtless is already examining the case that the carnage at Al Ahli Hospital was caused by an errant Palestinian rocket

If the US experts are convinced by the time Biden lines, then an official POTUS statement blaming Islamic Jihad for the deaths may change the narrative. But it may also be too late. Western media may accept the evidence eventually but many don’t trust the US or the western media

Israel is primed and mobilized to launch a ground offensive in Gaza that was widely expected to begin shortly after Biden’s departure. Even if Biden directly blames PIJ for the deaths it’s almost impossible to see him winning Arab support for a plan helping Israel go after Hamas

 

[arielilane]

WASHINGTON – Within hours of the horrific Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, the U.S. began moving warships and aircraft to the region to be ready to provide Israel with whatever it needed to respond. On Tuesday, more ships and forces were heading toward Israel, and other troops in the U.S. were preparing to deploy if called on.

One U.S. aircraft carrier and its strike group is already in the eastern Mediterranean and a second one has left the U.S. and is heading that way. In addition, three Marine warships with are moving into the region. Scores of aircraft were dispatched to U.S. military bases around the Middle East, and American special operations forces are working with Israel's military in planning and intelligence.


More at link...

More US ships head toward Israel and 2,000 troops are on heightened alert. A look at US assistance

Updated: October 17, 2023 at 7:20 PM

 

[sds71]

Increased security at the Capitol WEDNESDAY

https://twitter.com/x/status/1714403932569563269

 

[Emmjay]

Israel has no need to issue propaganda. There are plenty of photos and video that prove the horrific terrorist attack on the very innocent human victims. Twice in the last two days, I have received an email from a online publication asking me to subscribe and making outrageous, propaganda claims. My response was to hit spam.

JMO

Respectfully, I did not name Israel in my post re propaganda. It's been a tool in every war...including our own...

 

[JennieM]

2m ago

Biden 'outraged' by Gaza hospital explosion​

US President Joe Biden said Tuesday he was “outraged and deeply saddened” by a deadly explosion at a Gaza hospital.

Biden had “directed my national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened,” he added in a statement.

Hamas has blamed Israel for the strike, while Israel says a rocket misfired by Islamic Jihad Palestinian militants was responsible.

US president’s visit to Jordan cancelled – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

www.theguardian.com

 

[Leve]

The only way to know whose bomb this is, is to go to the site and inspect the debri from the bomb.

I heard the word "sortie" on the Arabic video that the IDF spokesman shared.

Generally you can hear a plane on these livestream videos if there is audio. So, if there is audio, it's fairly easy to determine if a sortie was going on at the same time.

IDF spokesman said a terrorist group fired a volley of rockets and a rocket misfired.


Is it possible that Israel had another target and a rocket hit the Israeli bomb and sent it off course?

I have been hearing those terror groups didn't possess bombs of this capacity. Or did the terrorist bomb hit something explosive on the ground?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1714376318136021443

Don't shoot me. I'm not too bright!

I wonder if the explosion was from explosives/weapons ect that Hamas has reportedly hidden in and under hospitals and schools. They wouldn't need a huge bomb to set it off.

 

[JennieM]

More on cancelled Jordan summit​

There is more information coming out on Jordan's reason for cancelling the summit between President Biden and Arab leaders that was meant to take place tomorrow in Amman.

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said they would meet at a time when the parties could agree to end the "war and the massacres against Palestinians", blaming Israel for pushing the region to "the brink of the abyss".

This comes in the wake of the hospital explosion that both Israel and Hamas deny responsibility for.

President Biden was briefed by his national security team about the hospital blast, the White House said, and also spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan and with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

"The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy," the US president said.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67119233

 

[JennieM]

8m ago

Five Hezbollah fighters killed in clashes on Lebanon-Israel border​

AP: Clashes erupted Tuesday along the Lebanon-Israel border that left five Hezbollah fighters dead, marking the largest number of casualties for the militant group in a single day as tensions with Israel escalate.

Israeli forces and armed groups in Lebanon have engaged in a series of low-level skirmishes since the outbreak of the latest conflict in Gaza between the Israeli military and the Hamas militant group. Hezbollah has announced the death of 10 militants since skirmishes began.

Israeli military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi threatened that Israel would retaliate aggressively should Hezbollah escalate.

“This is a war on the home,” Halevi said after meeting with Israeli troops near the northern border with Lebanon. “If Hezbollah makes a mistake, it will be annihilated.”

The escalation comes amid fears that the war could spread into Lebanon, where Hezbollah has expressed strong support to the militant Palestinian group Hamas. Israel considers the heavily-armed group in Lebanon an even bigger threat than Hamas. So far, artillery exchanges between Hezbollah and Israel have been limited to several towns along the border.

Israel has threatened that if Hezbollah opens a new front, all of Lebanon will suffer the consequences.

US president’s visit to Jordan cancelled – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

2m ago

Biden 'outraged' by Gaza hospital explosion​

US President Joe Biden said Tuesday he was “outraged and deeply saddened” by a deadly explosion at a Gaza hospital.

Biden had “directed my national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened,” he added in a statement.

Hamas has blamed Israel for the strike, while Israel says a rocket misfired by Islamic Jihad Palestinian militants was responsible.

US president’s visit to Jordan cancelled – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

www.theguardian.com

What if the hospital explosion turns out to be from Israel? How will the US react then?

 

[JennieM]

3m ago

Protests in Tehran​

Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the British and French embassies in Tehran in the early hours of Wednesday, an AFP correspondent said, as regional anger grew over a deadly strike on a Gaza hospital.

“Death to France and England,” protesters shouted, throwing eggs at the walls of the French embassy compound in the Iranian capital.

Several thousand people also gathered in Palestine Square in central Tehran to voice their anger, according to an AFP photographer.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi declared a day of “public mourning” on Wednesday and said the strike on the hospital would turn against Israel and its US ally.

“The flames of the US-Israeli bombs, dropped this evening on the Palestinian victims injured at the... hospital in Gaza, will soon consume the Zionists,” Raisi said, according to the IRNA agency.

“Iran is in mourning,” he added.

US president’s visit to Jordan cancelled – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

www.theguardian.com

 

[SouthAussie]

What if the hospital explosion turns out to be from Israel? How will the US react then?

Mistakes are made in war. A weapon can be a "lemon" as much as a car can be, or any other mechanical/electrical device.
A hospital bombing is particularly confronting and upsetting.

 

[Vern]

What if the hospital explosion turns out to be from Israel? How will the US react then?

I prefer to wait for the investigation.

We could also "What if the hospital explosion turns out to be from Hamas? How will the world react then?" We've already seen how they react when Israel is quickly targetted for the blame.

It seems that minds are already made up that it was Israel before any evidence of such was actually in. Even those not explicitly "blaming/naming" Israel are stating things like "deliberate targetting of hospitals must stop" which explicity implies that "Israel" is responsible.

IMO, I willing to entertain that the hospital was not targetted by either side, but rather suffered a horrendous accident when a rocket misfired (based on footage I'm seeing of a Gaza-rocket misfiring overhead 3 seconds before the Hospital suffers the massive explosion). The Israelis will have more evidence than I though.

My condolences and thoughts are with all of those suffering the loss of life and family, and injuries from this horrific incident.

 

[Cedars]

I think all the focus on who is to blame for the actual bomb is beside the point: Everyone has been pointing out for days that this is an unfolding crisis, this is proof of what they've been saying, that hospitals cannot evacuate in such a short period of time and with inadequate protection and resources.

Biden's visit was part of an agreement announced last night, including:
"the U.S. and Israel will develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza and them alone, including the possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm's way,'

President Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday: Sec. Blinken

Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday.

abcnews.go.com

Saying an incident is so and so's fault, is not the same as having a plan to protect civilians.

JMO

 

[JennieM]

42s ago
US President Joe Biden says that he spoke to Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “immediately upon hearing this news” of the hospital blasts.

“The United States stands unequivocally for the protection of civilian life during conflict and we mourn the patients, medical staff and other innocents killed or wounded in this tragedy,” Biden said.

US president’s visit to Jordan cancelled – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

www.theguardian.com

 

[cottonweaver]

What if the hospital explosion turns out to be from Israel? How will the US react then?

Personally I don't think it will be but yes it's still an interesting 'what if' question

 

[JennieM]

UN secretary general condemns civilians deaths at hospital​

EPE-EFE/Rex

We're continuing to get international reaction to the deadly hospital blast.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has condemned the strike on the Al Ahli hospital, tweeting:" "I am horrified by the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians."

He "strongly condemned" it, adding that "hospitals, clinics, medical personnel, and UN premises are explicitly protected under international law".

In his statement, Guterres also extended "sincere condolences" to the six people who were killed in an attack at a UN school in the Al Maghazi refugee camp earlier on Tuesday.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67119233