Israel - Palestinian militants launch massive attack, 7 Oct 2023 #11

[JennieM]

6h ago
Here are some of the latest images coming to us from the city of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. Palestinians have fled to the south after being told to do so by the Israeli military, which has however also launched strikes there.

Palestinians from northern Gaza shelter in Khan Younis Photograph: Mohammed Saber/EPA

Relatives mourn those killed in the conflict at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. Photograph: Haitham Imad/EPA

Palestinians wounded in an Israeli bombardment at a hospital in Khan Younis. Photograph: Fatima Shbair/AP

Palestinians crowd on to a horse-drawn cart in Khan Younis. Photograph: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

A mosque struck by Israel in Khan Younis. Photograph: Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67423274

 

[IDK]

Sorry otto but the account is lying. More Pallywood BS. This wasn't taken at Al Shifa and certainly not yesterday.

https://x.com/TomAWatling/status/1724782683128234147?s=20

Thank you for pointing that out!!!!

 

[justtrish]

Either I'm real tired or this is full of weapons jargon that I don't understand...At least no hospitals involved in these articles...

IDF unveils Hamas ‘pit’ under headquarters | The Jerusalem Post

Rockets down 80%, all long range anti-tank missiles quickly destroyed.

www.jpost.com

Don't know if this is the same operation, but what the heck. Looks all kinda the same to me.

Watch: IDF forces capture key Hamas terror training ground

14th Armored Reserve Brigade troops seize control of Palestine Outpost where Hamas planned, trained and carried out attacks against IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians; dozens of terrorists eliminated

www.ynetnews.com

Israeli soldiers prepare to storm Hamas tunnels beneath Gaza

As the battle intensifies around the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City - and the grim tally of dead civilians continues to rise - the Israel Defence Forces are determined to root out their enemy.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Reading all these articles and seeing the pictures just makes me think all these brave soldiers.

I am thankful for all the brave souls that go into danger to help keep the world a littler safer.

 

[Simply Southern]

3min ago

IDF tells BBC that photos of hostages after capture found on laptop in Shifa hospital​

The IDF tells a BBC reporter, the first foreign journalist taken into Shifa hospital in Gaza, that among the items discovered by troops was a laptop that contained photos and videos of hostages, taken after their abduction to Gaza.
The reporter is also told, but not shown, that the laptop also contains recently released footage, shared by Israeli police, of their interrogations of Hamas terrorists arrested after the October 7 assault.
This, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus tells the BBC, suggests Hamas was in the hospital “within the last few days.”
“At the end of the day, this is just the tip of the iceberg,” he says. “Hamas aren’t here because they saw we were coming. This is probably what they were forced to leave behind. Our assessment is that there’s much more.”

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-november-16-2023/

 

[JennieM]

6m ago

A group of UN experts said there was “evidence of increasing genocidal incitement” against the Palestinian people in what it said were “grave violations” committed by Israel, Reuters reports.

In a statement, the group of experts, which included several UN special rapporteurs, said:

We are deeply disturbed by the failure of governments to heed our call and to achieve an immediate ceasefire.
We are also profoundly concerned about the support of certain governments for Israel’s strategy of warfare against the besieged population of Gaza, and the failure of the international system to mobilise to prevent genocide.

UN experts had previously warned that the Palestinian people were at “grave risk of genocide”.

Gaza civilians ‘face immediate possibility of starvation’ – as it happened

This blog is now closed. Read our recent coverage at the link below:

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

'Such an outpouring of fear, anger and despair' - UN human rights chief​

Reuters
Volker Türk spoke to reporters, politicians and civil society representatives during his visit to Jordan and Egypt last week

The UN's high commissioner for human rights says that one in every 57 people living in the Gaza Strip "has been killed or wounded in the past five weeks", based on Hamas-run health ministry figures.

Volker Türk highlights the pain and "anguish" of both Israeli and Palestinian civilians as the fighting in Gaza continues, in a statement following his visit to Egypt and Jordan.

He adds that civilians in Gaza - "who for years have been profoundly impoverished behind barbed wire fences" - are enduring an intense bombardment that has seldom been experienced this century."

Quote Message: Rarely have I heard such disturbing testimony about the catastrophic harm that ordinary people have endured, and which continues to mount. And never in my career of working in many crisis situations around the world have I met such an outpouring of fear, anger and despair."
Rarely have I heard such disturbing testimony about the catastrophic harm that ordinary people have endured, and which continues to mount. And never in my career of working in many crisis situations around the world have I met such an outpouring of fear, anger and despair."

Read his full statement here.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67423274

 

[JennieM]

Former adviser says US 'recalibrating' approach to Israel​

A former top US political aide says he's observed a "recalibration" over the last few weeks in the way the Biden administration is approaching its ally Israel.

Ben Rhodes, who was deputy national security adviser under President Obama, suggested the current administration initially hoped it could have an impact on the Israeli military operation by "embracing" the country's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government.

But this has not been borne out, he told BBC Radio 4 this morning. Rhodes noted that the US had asked for more humanitarian pauses but Israeli had "largely ignored that advice".

Rhodes suggested this signalled a growing distance between the two countries, though he said the US was "still generally supportive".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67423274

 

[JennieM]

What Israel says is underneath Al-Shifa hospital​

As we've reported, Israeli soldiers are continuing their search of Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City - the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip.

Late last month, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accused Hamas of having its main base base underneath Al-Shifa. It gave a presentation that used 3D modelling to visualise an alleged network of underground tunnels and control rooms. Below is a screengrab.

A spokesman said there was a connection from the hospital to the tunnels, and it had “concrete evidence” that “hundreds" of Hamas fighters had hidden in the hospital after the attacks on Israel on 7 October.

The US later said its own intelligence corroborated the Israeli statements about the use of the hospital by Hamas - though Hamas has consistently denied it.
Israel said its troops had entered the hospital about 36 hours ago. They have allowed the BBC’s Lucy Williamson inside, showing her items they say they've found - including 15 guns, bullet-proof vests and other items including laptops.

The IDF is yet to show evidence of a Hamas base or tunnel complex under the hospital as it said existed in last month's presentation.

Israel Defense ForcesCopyright

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67423274

 

[JennieM]

27m ago
Relatives of hostages taken by Hamas on its 7 October attack on Israelcontinue a march from Tel Aviv to Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in Jerusalem as they plea for the release of their loved ones held captive in Gaza.

The march began on 14 November and is 40-miles long. The families aim to march between the two cities over five days, camping in tents along the way and arriving outside Netanyahu’s office on Saturday.

Family members hold posters of their loved ones and many wear T-shirts with their relatives faces on, which say “bring [name of captive] home now!”

Families of Israeli hostages continue march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu/Getty Images

Gaza civilians ‘face immediate possibility of starvation’ – as it happened

This blog is now closed. Read our recent coverage at the link below:

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

5m ago

The UN is looking for ways to evacuate Al Shifa hospital in Gaza but options are limited by security and logistical constraints, a senior World Health Organization official said on Thursday.

One obstacle is that the Palestinian Red Crescent lacks sufficient fuel for its ambulances within Gaza to evacuate patients, WHO regional emergencies director, Rick Brennan, told Reuters.

Egypt was open to having its ambulances cross into Gaza to help evacuate people as long as security guarantees and safe passage could be provided, he said in an interview from Cairo.

The WHO understood that there were still about 600 patients including 27 in critical condition at Shifa hospital, which Israeli forces entered this week after a days-long siege, Brennan said.

He said:

We are looking at the case for full medical evacuation but there are a lot of security concerns, there are a lot of logistics constraints. Our options are rather limited but we hope to have some better news in the next 24 hours or so.

Those given priority in an evacuation would include the critically ill and 36 newborn babies who lost access to incubators because of lack of fuel to generate power, he said.

Plans for an evacuation had been complicated by the fact that communications with the hospital had been cut most of the time, Brennan said.

He added:

The idea is that we would bring the majority of patients over days or weeks from Shifa.
We’d bring the bulk of them to hospitals in southern Gaza but those hospitals are already overwhelmed as well so that’s another complicating factor. The other option is of course to bring a number of them to Egypt.

Gaza civilians ‘face immediate possibility of starvation’ – as it happened

This blog is now closed. Read our recent coverage at the link below:

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

2m ago

The White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the US is "deeply concerned that Jordanian medical personnel in Gaza were wounded in an attack near their field hospital.”

"Their essential role in conflict must be protected," Sullivan wrote in a post on X, calling Jordan "a critical ally." Jordan said seven staffers were wounded in shelling on Wednesday, according to reports.

Gaza civilians ‘face immediate possibility of starvation’ – as it happened

This blog is now closed. Read our recent coverage at the link below:

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

6 min ago

Biden says Middle East conflict will not end until there's “a two-state solution that’s real”​

From CNN's Rob Picheta

US President Joe Biden said Wednesday the “only answer” to the conflict between Israel and Hamas is “a two-state solution that’s real” — and warned Israel that occupying Gaza would be a “big mistake.”

Biden told reporters during a news conference after his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco that he had put that position to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“I made it clear to the Israelis and Bibi and to his war cabinet — that I think the only answer here is a two-state solution that’s real,” Biden said.

“We've got to get to the point where there is an ability to be able to even talk without worrying whether to not we are just dealing with Hamas … I can’t tell you how long it is going to last, but I can tell you that I don’t think it will end until there’s a two state solution,” the President added.

November 16, 2023 Israel-Hamas war

Israel released a photo and video of an alleged "operational tunnel shaft" it claimed was found in the Al-Shifa Hospital complex in Gaza. Hamas rejected the claim as "baseless lies."

edition.cnn.com

 

[Brightchaser47]

Sorry otto but the account is lying. More Pallywood BS. This wasn't taken at Al Shifa and certainly not yesterday.

https://x.com/TomAWatling/status/1724782683128234147?s=20

Maybe so (and thanks for correcting), but it still doesn't explain all the healthy, clean, able-bodied males in that place. jmo

 

[PommyMommy]

26min ago

IDF says special forces still carrying out ‘focused’ searches of Shifa hospital​

In this image taken from a video released by the Israeli Defense Forces, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, points to a cache of weapons the IDF says were found in an MRI center at the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. (Israel Defense Forces via AP)

The IDF says the elite Shaldag unit and forces of the 36th Division continue to operate in the Shifa Hospital complex.

It says the operations in the hospital are “focused” with special forces moving from building to building and scanning each floor.

While there are still patients and staff at the hospital, the IDF says it is operating with “discretion, patience and thoroughness.”

No soldiers or hospital staff have been hurt so far, it says.

“We operate with the understanding that there is much more terror infrastructure in the area of the complex, that is well hidden,” the IDF says.

 

[Dotta]

"War cabinet to meet tonight amid reports of progress on hostage deal.​

The war cabinet is slated to meet at 8:30 p.m.

Hebrew media reports say the move comes amid advances in efforts to reach a deal to free hostages held by Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza."

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/war-cabinet-to-meet-tonight-amid-reports-of-progress-on-hostage-deal/

 

[Brightchaser47]

“While the IDF knew that the military high command area and some connected tunnel network would be hard to take, and assigned both high-powered Units 401 and Givati troops to do so, senior officials were surprised by the scope and sophistication of what could only be described as similar to the IDF’s “pit” under the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.

Part of this network included a special shaft with an elevator that did not merely go the conventional three to five meters underground that many Hamas tunnels run but rather reached an almost unheard-of depth of 30 meters.

The elevator could fit around seven people.

Inside the bottom of this special tunnel, the IDF found signs that Hamas’s high command had hidden there, with a top official speculating that this could very well have included: Gaza Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar and Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif.

This tunnel was also outfitted with oxygen, air conditioning, and even more advanced communications than other underground mini command centers.“

It's been hinted at (imo), they copied a bit from IDF structure. Wonder how that happened...

 

[PommyMommy]

Overnight, IDF fighter jets struck the residence of Ismail Haniyeh, the Head of Hamas’ Political Bureau. The residence was used as terrorist infrastructure and a meeting point for Hamas’ senior leaders to direct terrorist attacks against Israel.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1725044793439367529

IDF humanitarian efforts:

To the residents of Tal Al-Hawa, Al-Sabra, Al-Zeitoun, Al-Gharbi, Darj Al-Tuffah, Al-Shuja’iyya and Jabalia, the evacuation corridors will remain open until 16:00 for civilians through the Salah Al-Din route southward of Wadi Gaza.

There will be a tactical pause of military operation for humanitarian purposes between 10:00-14:00 in the neighborhoods of Shuja’iyya and Turkmen. During this time, civilians should move south to the Salah Al-Din route.

Residents that are being blocked from evacuation by Hamas are able to contact the IDF through this number +972 50-341-0322 or the Telegram channel- @gaza_saver.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1725105297952256280

 

[PommyMommy]

The IDF has gained operational control over the Hamas-operated Gaza Harbor.

Disguised as a civilian area, the harbor was used by Hamas as a training facility for their naval commando forces to plan and execute terrorist attacks.

During the operation, conducted by soldiers of the 188th Armored Corps' Brigade and Flotilla 13, numerous terrorist tunnel entrances and terrorist infrastructures were destroyed.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1725126463421116674

IDF releases footage showing the Navy's elite Shayetet 13 unit capturing Gaza's port a few days ago.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1725136754171162673

IDF releases footage showing clashes between the Paratrooper's 202nd Battalion and Hamas operatives in Gaza City's Sheikh Ijlin neighborhood last week. One Israeli soldier was killed and two others were hurt in the battle.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1725137286268952773

 

[Simply Southern]

5m ago

The UN is looking for ways to evacuate Al Shifa hospital in Gaza but options are limited by security and logistical constraints, a senior World Health Organization official said on Thursday.

One obstacle is that the Palestinian Red Crescent lacks sufficient fuel for its ambulances within Gaza to evacuate patients, WHO regional emergencies director, Rick Brennan, told Reuters.

Egypt was open to having its ambulances cross into Gaza to help evacuate people as long as security guarantees and safe passage could be provided, he said in an interview from Cairo.

The WHO understood that there were still about 600 patients including 27 in critical condition at Shifa hospital, which Israeli forces entered this week after a days-long siege, Brennan said.

He said:


Those given priority in an evacuation would include the critically ill and 36 newborn babies who lost access to incubators because of lack of fuel to generate power, he said.

Plans for an evacuation had been complicated by the fact that communications with the hospital had been cut most of the time, Brennan said.

He added:

Gaza civilians ‘face immediate possibility of starvation’ – as it happened

This blog is now closed. Read our recent coverage at the link below:

www.theguardian.com

This is a daily pled, no offers seem to meet the hospital expectations.
No, they want fuel, now for ambulances.

The IDF did deliver medical supplies and equipment, bottle water, and other supplies.

I do not believe Egypt/Israel will approve those connected to Hamas to enter for medical care.
Moo...

 

[Brightchaser47]

26min ago

IDF says special forces still carrying out ‘focused’ searches of Shifa hospital​

In this image taken from a video released by the Israeli Defense Forces, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2023, Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, points to a cache of weapons the IDF says were found in an MRI center at the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. (Israel Defense Forces via AP)

The IDF says the elite Shaldag unit and forces of the 36th Division continue to operate in the Shifa Hospital complex.

It says the operations in the hospital are “focused” with special forces moving from building to building and scanning each floor.

While there are still patients and staff at the hospital, the IDF says it is operating with “discretion, patience and thoroughness.”

No soldiers or hospital staff have been hurt so far, it says.

“We operate with the understanding that there is much more terror infrastructure in the area of the complex, that is well hidden,” the IDF says.

I find it interesting that since IDF "besieged" al-Shifa, there have been no reports of "the soldiers are killing us". js