Israel - Palestinian militants launch massive attack, 7 Oct 2023

[cuffem]

I don't understand the hate for Jews, they are devout people, hard workers, peace seekers, frugal, family oriented...what am I missing?

When I worked at the JCC they were kind, devout and peaceful loving towards everyone. It was truly positive experience for me to learn about the religion.
(Jewish Community Center)

 

[Inthedetails]

For those interested, Agenda Free TV is now live-streaming on youtube. The host, Steve Lookner, has been covering this situation over the past few days. He is a former reporter for RSB but left to cover news on his own youtube channel that is "agenda free," neither right or left. He uses MSM and reputable sources. Not everyone likes him, fwiw, but I find his streams informative.

jmo

 

[bobbymkii]

Why did all of this not end after the 6 day war? I know I have the supreme benefit of hindsight, but in 1967 Palestine gathered up all of its' mates in order to invade and destroy Israel from every angle they could, and a war that should have lasted 6 years was over in 6 days because Israel didn't just defeat its' invaders. It BATTERED them!

JMO - The situation we're in now exists mainly because Israel is forced by the international community to continue to fight a war it won (as convincingly as a war could possibly be won) over 50 years ago.

 

[Ontario Mom]

This is crazy

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7287960177792388398

Okay who else held their breath while watching that?

Goodness I can't even imagine.

 

[JennieM]

The Iron Dome was created after Israel's war with Hezbollah in 2006.

It uses radar to identify and destroy incoming threats before they can cause damage.

The all-weather system was specially designed to help combat shorter-range rudimentary weapons like the rockets fired from Gaza.

More than 4,500 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel since the surprise attack began, according to Israeli military figures.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67050350

 

[Herat]

IDF is reporting that there are still HAMAS members still trying to breach the southern Gaza borders and continue to try to infiltrate southern Israel, some as suicide bombers. "Southern Israel is now saturated with Israeli troops."

 

[borndem]

The images and videos coming out of Israel are horrific. Civilians gunned down in their homes, in their cars, and on the streets. I saw one video of several elderly people shot dead at a bus stop. That’s not to mention the destruction caused by the thousands of rockets that were launched.

Untold hundreds of people are likely already dead, and this only began a few hours ago. It doesn’t appear this is anywhere near the conclusion.

My bold.
I sadly have to agree. SMH. I don't see Israel backing down -- they just don't, and it's understandable certainly.
It certainly make me nervous and concerned all the way around.

 

[Tealgrove]

Search YT for this title (edit: looks like google search is better)

LIVE Multi-Cam: Views from Israel and Gaza amid ongoing fighting

Israeli time is in the middle of the screen. Scroll back to 2:25. There is a major hit on a building next to the cam and the sound is utter chaos now

You can also scroll back to about 1:55, the people in the building were warned to get out and there was chaos then too.

I’ve been watching that all day off and on.

I’ve also been watching Al Jezeera on YouTube. They have very good coverage, albeit there is obviously more leaning on the Palestinian side but not Hamas.

It’s been very interesting to hear from their guests. I’ve had quite the education today.

Honestly, I’ve found their coverage very insightful, to the point, and believe it or not, balanced.

MOO

 

[Gardenista]

Nothing to see here y'all. It's all Israeli propaganda. I guess we can shut down this thread

 

[Seattle1]

What is Hamas, and why did it attack Israel now?

Since winning Gaza Strip elections in 2006, Hamas has repeatedly attacked Israel. Here's more on the history of strife, retaliation and life on the Gaza Strip.

www.seattletimes.com

10/9/23

[..]

Israel declared war against Hamas on Sunday following a surprise attack by the Palestinian militant group based in Gaza that included the taking of military and civilian hostages. Israeli security forces, caught off guard, have pounded the Gaza Strip with retaliatory strikes, and U.S. officials said they expect Israel to soon launch a ground incursion into the enclave as violence escalates in the conflict-ridden region.

Since winning legislative elections in 2006, Hamas has repeatedly attacked Israel with rockets and mortars, emerging as a defiant adversary. Israel has retaliated with its superior firepower and a punishing blockade, restricting imports and the movement of civilians in a strategy of collective punishment. The blockade and recurring Israeli strikes have contributed to Gaza’s poor infrastructure and living conditions. Israel declared a full siege of the enclave on Monday, with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant promising “no electricity, no food, no fuel” and calling Hamas militants “savages.”

Here’s what to know about Hamas and the latest violence.

What is Hamas?

Hamas, or the Islamic Resistance Movement, is a militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, a 25-mile-long, densely populated enclave of more than 2.1 million people. Hamas emerged in 1987 as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood during the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising, against the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. It was founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, a Palestinian cleric. Its military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, was established around 1991.

Unlike the Palestinian Authority, Hamas does not recognize the existence of Israel and is committed to replacing it through armed struggle with a Palestinian state stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.

In October 1997, the United States designated Hamas a terrorist organization. The group, supported by Iran, has used explosives and rockets, along with suicide bombings and kidnappings, to target Israel.

Hamas won elections in Gaza in 2006, defeating Fatah, the main Palestinian party that still controls the West Bank.

[..]

Why did Hamas attack Israel now?

The coordinated attack by Hamas caught Israel by surprise but comes after months of worsening tensions over violence at al-Aqsa Mosque – a sacred Muslim site in the heart of Jerusalem located on the same spot as the Temple Mount revered by Jews – as well as the punishing blockade and occupation of Palestinians. The presence of once-fringe Jewish supremacists and settler leaders in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-right government have further inflamed tensions with the Palestinians, as well as caused domestic strife inside Israel that has led to a perception of weakness.

Palestinian anger also reached a boiling point in May 2021 over the proposed evictions of families from a Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem, leading to clashes between protesters and Israeli forces that prompted Hamas to launch rockets at Israeli cities.

In the months leading up to Saturday’s surprise attack, clashes had increased between Israeli forces and Palestinians, particularly in the West Bank. Between January and September, 227 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces or settlers – more than the number in all of 2022, according to the United Nations. Israeli fatalities, before the latest violence, totaled at least 29.

During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in April, Israeli forces stormed al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and used force on worshipers, including women and the elderly, and Israeli police last week guarded a group of settlers marching through the area. Both Muslims and Jews, which call the mosque the Temple Mount, consider the site among the holiest in their respective faiths.

A five-day conflict broke out in May between Israel and Islamic Jihad, another armed Palestinian faction, killing at least 33 in Gaza and two in Israel.

Over the summer, clashes broke out between Palestinian militants in the West Bank and Israeli forces or Jewish settlers. In June, four Israelis were killed after two Hamas gunmen opened fire at a hummus restaurant outside an Israeli settlement.Days later, Israel carried out its most expansive military operation in two decades in the West Bank when it stormed the city of Jenin with about 1,000 soldiers backed by drone strikes. Calling it a “counterterrorism” effort, Israel focused the operation on the impoverished Jenin refugee camp, known to be a hub of armed factions, many with links to Hamas and Islamic Jihad.


Tensions in Gaza nearly spilled over in September after Israeli agents found explosives in a shipment of jeans and ended all exports from the enclave. In response, Hamas held field exercises, including practice rocket launches, and allowed Palestinians to protest at the border fence separating Israel and Gaza.

[..]

 

[borndem]

Interesting that all this seems to have started just before Simchat Torah... (At least that is what I researched -- I could certainly be mistaken -- I am not Jewish.)
Just SMH.

 

[justtrish]

Nothing to see here y'all. It's all Israeli propaganda. I guess we can shut down this thread

Well those poor people at the music festival say otherwise. I mean those people were definitely unarmed and NOT posing a threat to the HAMAS invaders so why were they killed?

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Interesting that all this seems to have started just before Simchat Torah... (At least that is what I researched -- I could certainly be mistaken -- I am not Jewish.)
Just SMH.

It began in the early hours of it.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Northern Ireland was a good example/point, and I did see it but it flew right out of my head. My apologies as your point is sincerely worth long consideration.

I'm not sure why things (and mindsets) are so different in the middle east.

In Ireland the conflict was between Catholics and Protestants. The radicals in the middle east hate the United States and Israel and only want to wipe both off the map. moo They aren't interested in peace. Look at what they've done, parading naked women through the streets and desecrating bodies. That's savage.

 

[fred&edna]

In Ireland the conflict was between Catholics and Protestants. The radicals in the middle east hate the United States and Israel and only want to wipe both off the map. moo They aren't interested in peace. Look at what they've done, parading naked women through the streets and desecrating bodies. That's savage.

I think the original post was related to Israeli appetite for peace. But, I completely agree regarding the radicals.

 

[Herat]

Reuter news agency reporting Qatar is participating in mediating the hostage issue.

One possibility reported is "one female Israeli hostage for one female Palestinian prisoner held in Israel"

Hmmm. Perhaps HAMAS has at least realized holding women, children, and babies is not going to get them any sympathy.

 

[JennieM]

3m ago

Hamas official: attack was planned by 'handful of Hamas commanders'​

The Associated Press has interviewed a senior Hamas official who said only a small number of top commanders inside Gaza knew about the wide-ranging incursion launched into Israel, but that allies like Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah “will join the battle if Gaza is subjected to a war of annihilation.”

Ali Barakeh, a member of Hamas’ exiled leadership, spoke to The Associated Press in his Beirut office as Israel bombarded Gaza and vowed a total blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.

Ali Barakeh, a member of Hamas’ exiled leadership, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, 9 October 2023. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

Barakeh said the attack was planned by around a half dozen top Hamas commanders in Gaza and that even the group’s closest allies were not informed in advance about the timing. He denied reports that Iranian security officials helped plan the attack or gave the go-ahead at a meeting last week in Beirut.

“Only a handful of Hamas commanders knew about the zero hour,” Barakeh said, adding that no one from the central command or the political bureau of Hamas was in the Lebanese capital last week.

He said even Hamas was shocked by the extent of the operation, dubbed “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm,” saying it had expected Israel to prevent or limit the attack.

“We were surprised by this great collapse,” Barakeh said. “We were planning to make some gains and take prisoners to exchange them. This army was a paper tiger.”

Netanyahu says Israel’s siege ‘just getting started’ – as it happened

This blog is now closed. The latest Israel-Hamas war news is here.

www.theguardian.com

 

[Tealgrove]

Reuter news agency reporting Qatar is participating in mediating the hostage issue.

One possibility reported is "one female Israeli hostage for one female Palestinian prisoner held in Israel"

Hmmm. Perhaps HAMAS has at least realized holding women, children, and babies is not going to get them any sympathy.

Let’s hope so.

 

[JennieM]

'As in all wars, it is children who suffer first' - UNICEF​

UNICEF has warned that the humanitarian situation in the conflict zone is "rapidly detereorating", and said aid workers need to have safe passage to bring lifesaving services and supplies to children and families.

UNICEF is the UN agency that provides humanitarian and developmental aid to children globally.

“I remind all parties that in this war, as in all wars, it is children who suffer first and suffer most,” UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell said in a statement on Monday night.

“I am also deeply concerned about measures to block electricity and prevent food, fuel and water from entering Gaza, which may put the lives of children at risk," she added.

She also called for the "immediate and safe release of any children being held hostage in Gaza so that they can be reunited with their families or caregivers".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67050350

 

[shotgun09]

3m ago

Hamas official: attack was planned by 'handful of Hamas commanders'​

The Associated Press has interviewed a senior Hamas official who said only a small number of top commanders inside Gaza knew about the wide-ranging incursion launched into Israel, but that allies like Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah “will join the battle if Gaza is subjected to a war of annihilation.”

Ali Barakeh, a member of Hamas’ exiled leadership, spoke to The Associated Press in his Beirut office as Israel bombarded Gaza and vowed a total blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.

Ali Barakeh, a member of Hamas’ exiled leadership, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, 9 October 2023. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

Barakeh said the attack was planned by around a half dozen top Hamas commanders in Gaza and that even the group’s closest allies were not informed in advance about the timing. He denied reports that Iranian security officials helped plan the attack or gave the go-ahead at a meeting last week in Beirut.

“Only a handful of Hamas commanders knew about the zero hour,” Barakeh said, adding that no one from the central command or the political bureau of Hamas was in the Lebanese capital last week.

He said even Hamas was shocked by the extent of the operation, dubbed “Operation Al-Aqsa Storm,” saying it had expected Israel to prevent or limit the attack.

“We were surprised by this great collapse,” Barakeh said. “We were planning to make some gains and take prisoners to exchange them. This army was a paper tiger.”

Netanyahu says Israel’s siege ‘just getting started’ – as it happened

This blog is now closed. The latest Israel-Hamas war news is here.

www.theguardian.com

The back pedaling, and excuses are something else!

Now, it's " Only a few of us knew about it..."

And the blaming of the Israeli military? For the barbaric assaults?

Dude! Your pants have fallen down.

Actions = Consequences

End