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

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  • #21
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  • #23
Does anyone share my puzzlement at the idea of Israel attempting to eliminate Hamas by telling them exactly what they are planning to do days before they plan to carry out their plan. First of all, the Hamas leaders have plenty of time to get out of Gaza and why wouldn't they? The reason Hamas was so horrifically successful was the element of surprise: there is sure no surprise here. I also have a problem with murdering so many innocent citizens of Gaza to carry out a plan which to me is really very questionable. I also recognize that there are a lot of citizens of Gaza who want to wipe Israel off the map. I understand the idea of vengence- Israel right now is seeing red- blood red after what was done to their innocent citizens: I just don't know if this is the best plan to eliminate Hamas (is that even possible?). Also, they could be going into a trap----
 
  • #24
Israel-Hamas war live updates: Fears for civilians as 'next stages' of Gaza attack loom (cnn.com)
11 min ago

IDF warns Hezbollah to "watch very closely what is happening to Hamas"​

The Israel Defense Forces warned the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to “watch very closely what is happening to Hamas,” following the recent exchanges of fire along the Israeli-Lebanese border.

“With Hezbollah, we have had several skirmishes along the border over the last few days,” IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week” program on Sunday.

“Even today, during the day, we've had anti-tank guided missiles fired at forces indeed causing some casualties. So, we need to be prepared,” Lerner said.

On Sunday, Hezbollah launched an attack on the northern Israeli town of Shtula, killing one Israeli, according to medics.

Hezbollah said Sunday’s attack was launched as a response to the killing of a Reuters journalist during Israeli shelling in Lebanon.

“I would highly recommend that Hezbollah watch very closely what is happening to Hamas and their organization in Gaza as we speak,” Lerner added, stressing the militant group should be “very cautious of crossing that threshold.”

Israel is also keeping a close eye on Iran, Lerner said, accusing them of using “millions and millions of dollars” to “fund terrorist organizations.”

More background: This fighting is centered on northern Israel and southern Lebanon — separate from Israel's fighting with Hamas farther south, which is centered around Gaza.

But an uptick in clashes with Hezbollah has raised fears the powerful Lebanese paramilitary group could actively participate in the conflict. Hezbollah has unambiguously supported the Palestinian militants and roundly condemned Israel’s large-scale airstrikes on Gaza, but it has not intervened on behalf of Hamas so far.
 
  • #25
8min ago

Smotrich announces initial financial aid to Gaza border residents


Israeli soldiers around the destruction caused by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kfar Azza, near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel, October 15, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)
Israeli soldiers around the destruction caused by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Kfar Azza, near the Israeli-Gaza border, in southern Israel, October 15, 2023. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

Israel’s Tax Authority has opened applications for an estimated NIS 80 million of monetary assistance grants for residents of the Gaza border communities who were evacuated or chose to leave, since Hamas launched its mass assault on October 7.

Residents of communities within seven kilometers of the Gaza Strip border are eligible for grants, according to a cabinet decision.

The grants — NIS 1,000 per person and up to NIS 5,000 per family — are intended to assist evacuees with their initial expenses.

The grants are not considered compensation for property damage and will not count against future damage claims, a spokesperson for Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich explains.

“The State of Israel embraces the [Gaza border community] residents and is determined to provide them with any help they need. No citizen will be left alone or riddled with bureaucracy. All of them will be compensated up to the last shekel. This is the least the state can and should do for its citizens who have gone through the worst,” Smotrich adds, in a statement.
 
  • #26
Israel-Hamas war live: Netanyahu says Israel will dismantle ‘bloodthirsty monsters’ of Hamas (theguardian.com)
15m ago16.00 BST

Summary of the day so far …​

It is 6pm in Gaza City and in Tel Aviv.
  • Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has promised to “dismantle” Hamas, whom he described as “bloodthirsty monsters” at the first cabinet meeting of the new national emergency government in Tel Aviv. Speaking before the session, which began with a moment of silence for Israeli victims of the violence, he said “We are working around the clock, as a team and a united front. The unity among us gives a clear message to the nation, the enemy and the world. I have seen our amazing soldiers who are now on the frontline. They know that the entire nation is behind them. They understand the scope of the mission. They are ready to take action at any time in order to defeat the bloodthirsty monsters who have risen against us to destroy us. Hamas thought that we would come apart – we will dismantle Hamas.”
  • The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have said that the number of confirmed Israeli hostages being held in Gaza is 126. Hamas has previously claimed that 13 hostages have been killed within Gaza by Israeli airstrikes. It said there were foreigners among those who died, without specifying their nationalities.
  • The Israeli military also said that at least 279 of its soldiers had been killed since 7 October, when Hamas launched its attack on southern Israel. At least 1,300 Israelis have been killed and at least 3,400 wounded in total.
  • Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 2,329 Palestinians, with more than 9,714 wounded. In addition at least 53 people have been reported killed in the West Bank, with more than 1,100 wounded. Medics in Gaza said on Sunday that thousands could die if hospitals packed with wounded people ran out of fuel and basic supplies, as civilians under an air bombardment struggled to find food, water and safety before an expected Israeli ground offensive.
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has repeated his claim that Israeli evacuation orders are a “death sentence” to those receiving medical care. Calling the health situation in Gaza “dire”, in a message posted to social media, he said “Attacks on health care are causing additional deaths and injuries. Evacuation orders by Israel to hospitals are practically impossible to implement and are a death sentence for the sick and injured. Health workers are staying by their patients’ sides. WHO calls on Israel to protect health facilities, health workers, patients, and civilians, and to immediately reverse evacuation orders to hospitals.”
  • Egypt’s president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, told the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, that Israel’s reaction to Hamas’s attack went beyond self-defence and amounted to collective punishment. In televised comments during a meeting with Blinken in Cairo on Sunday, Sisi also said he rejected the targeting of any civilians in the conflict.
  • Earlier, a statement from the Egyptian president’s office said Egypt rejected any plan to displace Palestinians “to the detriment of other countries” and that Egypt’s own security was a red line. It said Palestinians should stay on their lands, and that it was working to secure delivery of aid.
  • The Egyptian Red Crescent, World Health Organization and other NGOs and volunteer groups remain poised to deliver aid through the Rafah crossing from Egypt into Gaza.
  • Fire has been exchanged over the blue line that has acted as the boundary between Lebanon and Israel since 2000. The Israel Defense Forces at one point claimed to have intercepted five out of nine rockets fired, and said it had struck back at Hezbollah targets. One person was reported killed in an Israeli village along with three people being wounded.
  • White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a CNN interview on Sunday that Israeli officials had informed him that water pipes in southern Gaza have been turned back on.
  • US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said on social media that a bipartisan group of senators visiting Israel had to be rushed to a shelter in Tel Aviv on Sunday to wait out a rocket attack warning.
  • Blinken will travel to Israel again on Monday for further consultations with Israeli leaders after visiting the country five days ago.
  • Israel’s communications minister has said he is seeking a possible closure of Al Jazeera’s local bureau and accused the Qatari news station of pro-Hamas incitement and of exposing Israeli soldiers to potential attack from Gaza. Shloma Karhi said the proposal to shut Al Jazeera had been vetted by Israeli security officials and was being examined by legal experts. He would bring it to the cabinet later in the day, he said. Al Jazeera and the government in Doha had no immediate comment.
  • The Jerusalem Post reported earlier that Iran had sent a private message to Israel through the UN that it could intervene if Israel continues its military campaign in Gaza.
  • Pope Francis on Sunday called for humanitarian corridors to help those under siege in Gaza and renewed his appeal for the release of hostages held by the militant Islamist group Hamas. “I strongly ask that the children, the sick, the elderly, women and all civilians do not become victims of the conflict,” the pope said during his weekly address to the crowds in St Peter’s Square. “Humanitarian right must be respected, above all in Gaza.”
  • The EU is to convene an emergency meeting of its member states to discuss the consequences of the deteriorating situation in Israel and Palestine. Sending out an invitation for a summit on Tuesday, the European Council president, Charles Michel, said if the EU was “not careful” the conflict could “feed extremism” across Europe.
  • Ireland’s deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister Micheál Martin has urged Israel to think again about its instruction to the people of north of the Gaza Strip to evacuate.
  • Britain’s foreign secretary has said Israel should show “restraint”, marking a slight change of tone from the UK government. James Cleverly on Sunday urged the Israel Defence Forces to show “discipline” and avoid mass casualties. He told the BBC the UK government had been lobbying Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing.
  • Cleverly said that considering about 10 British people dead or missing was not an “unreasonable estimate”, and declined to say if the UK believed actions by Israel so far had been a breach of international law. The UN’s OHCHR position has been that the evacuation order imposed by the Israeli military on the civilian population of the Gaza Strip is “a crime against humanity, and collective punishment is prohibited under international humanitarian law”.
  • The Scottish National party has supported the UN’s calls for an immediate ceasefire on the Gaza Strip. The motion, passed by acclaim on Sunday morning at its conference in Aberdeen, follows repeated pleas from Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister and SNP leader, for restraint in the conflict. Yousaf’s mother-in-law and father-in-law, who is Palestinian, are stranded in Gaza and living without enough food, water and power.
 
  • #27
Does anyone share my puzzlement at the idea of Israel attempting to eliminate Hamas by telling them exactly what they are planning to do days before they plan to carry out their plan. First of all, the Hamas leaders have plenty of time to get out of Gaza and why wouldn't they? The reason Hamas was so horrifically successful was the element of surprise: there is sure no surprise here. I also have a problem with murdering so many innocent citizens of Gaza to carry out a plan which to me is really very questionable. I also recognize that there are a lot of citizens of Gaza who want to wipe Israel off the map. I understand the idea of vengence- Israel right now is seeing red- blood red after what was done to their innocent citizens: I just don't know if this is the best plan to eliminate Hamas (is that even possible?). Also, they could be going into a trap----
I think that's about the best they can do. International laws require protection of innocent civilians.
Don't know if it's possible to eliminate Hamas.
It would be great, but "wars on terror" often do not end well. All they can do is get rid of the head guys who are probably not in Gaza. They can also look at international funding. Then there is an element in Gaza, which is going to be harder to get rid of it.
 
  • #28
Live update: Officials say Qatar pressing Hamas to release women, children and elderly hostages http://dlvr.it/SxTF7n . Click to read
 
  • #29
Listen to this phone call.

A Gaza resident trying to evacuate southward tells an IDF Intelligence Officer about how Hamas is not letting them leave.

For the 9th day in a row—sirens sounding in Tel Aviv and central Israel

For the 5th time today, a report was received of an anti-tank missile being fired toward an IDF post along the Blue Line with Lebanon.
 
  • #30
I think that's about the best they can do. International laws require protection of innocent civilians.
Don't know if it's possible to eliminate Hamas.
It would be great, but "wars on terror" often do not end well. All they can do is get rid of the head guys who are probably not in Gaza. They can also look at international funding. Then there is an element in Gaza, which is going to be harder to get rid of it.
It’s all bad. No matter what. There is no “win”. Horrific.
 
  • #31

US think tank MEMRI opens Hamas Atrocities Documentation Center​

The Hamas Atrocities Documentation Center has the goal of documenting the actions of Hamas, which it described as the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.​


 
  • #32
Does anyone share my puzzlement at the idea of Israel attempting to eliminate Hamas by telling them exactly what they are planning to do days before they plan to carry out their plan. First of all, the Hamas leaders have plenty of time to get out of Gaza and why wouldn't they? The reason Hamas was so horrifically successful was the element of surprise: there is sure no surprise here. I also have a problem with murdering so many innocent citizens of Gaza to carry out a plan which to me is really very questionable. I also recognize that there are a lot of citizens of Gaza who want to wipe Israel off the map. I understand the idea of vengence- Israel right now is seeing red- blood red after what was done to their innocent citizens: I just don't know if this is the best plan to eliminate Hamas (is that even possible?). Also, they could be going into a trap----
I am not sure how they would get out of Gaza. They can't fly out, they can't go by sea, they can't walk out unless they sneak through the border wall.. seems if they did that they'd now be in Israel.. not the best place to be.

I think announcing the plan is giving anyone who can the chance to get away from the area. I suspect as they make public announcements they are watching, gathering intel and seeing how HAMAS reacts to it. They have been bombing targets and have eliminated several of those leaders already. Each time they make a statement of actions they are taking I am sure they are taking quiet action inside Gaza also.

There are several surveillance planes that continue to fly off and on over Israel and the Mediterranean sea. Currently the United Kingdom has a surveillance plane up. Israel had it's signal intelligence plane "IRON" up earlier also and I've seen the US have one in the area in the last few days also.

www.flightradar24.com

RRR7215
IRON

HAMAS has to communicate with each other somehow. I think they have a plan bigger than what they are saying publicly. They make an announcement.. then watch and listen. If HAMAS has to always be ready not knowing exactly when this will happen, I can't imagine they are getting any sleep or not good sleep. Also, if they announce several plans and then delay then will HAMAS think it's going to happen when it actually does? I am sure there is a strategy here. They have some of the most advanced capabilities in the world in the area and they are up against an enemy that can't get supplies in without it being known.. surrounded on all sides I guess you could say.

The attack on them was a surprise. They had no control over that because they didn't pick up intel on it. Since then they have recovered some plans on the bodies of dead terrorists and I suspect they are interrogating heavily any terrorists they have captured alive.
 
  • #33
  • #34
I am not sure how they would get out of Gaza. They can't fly out, they can't go by sea, they can't walk out unless they sneak through the border wall.. seems if they did that they'd now be in Israel.. not the best place to be.

I think announcing the plan is giving anyone who can the chance to get away from the area. I suspect as they make public announcements they are watching, gathering intel and seeing how HAMAS reacts to it. They have been bombing targets and have eliminated several of those leaders already. Each time they make a statement of actions they are taking I am sure they are taking quiet action inside Gaza also.

There are several surveillance planes that continue to fly off and on over Israel and the Mediterranean sea. Currently the United Kingdom has a surveillance plane up. Israel had it's signal intelligence plane "IRON" up earlier also and I've seen the US have one in the area in the last few days also.

www.flightradar24.com

RRR7215
IRON

HAMAS has to communicate with each other somehow. I think they have a plan bigger than what they are saying publicly. They make an announcement.. then watch and listen. If HAMAS has to always be ready not knowing exactly when this will happen, I can't imagine they are getting any sleep or not good sleep. Also, if they announce several plans and then delay then will HAMAS think it's going to happen when it actually does? I am sure there is a strategy here. They have some of the most advanced capabilities in the world in the area and they are up against an enemy that can't get supplies in without it being known.. surrounded on all sides I guess you could say.

The attack on them was a surprise. They had no control over that because they didn't pick up intel on it. Since then they have recovered some plans on the bodies of dead terrorists and I suspect they are interrogating heavily any terrorists they have captured alive.
Bbm-

I think has to be the case. IDF are not amateurs. There is a lot going on that we are not privy to.
 
  • #35
Does anyone share my puzzlement at the idea of Israel attempting to eliminate Hamas by telling them exactly what they are planning to do days before they plan to carry out their plan. First of all, the Hamas leaders have plenty of time to get out of Gaza and why wouldn't they? The reason Hamas was so horrifically successful was the element of surprise: there is sure no surprise here. I also have a problem with murdering so many innocent citizens of Gaza to carry out a plan which to me is really very questionable. I also recognize that there are a lot of citizens of Gaza who want to wipe Israel off the map. I understand the idea of vengence- Israel right now is seeing red- blood red after what was done to their innocent citizens: I just don't know if this is the best plan to eliminate Hamas (is that even possible?). Also, they could be going into a trap----
It shows that they aren’t savages and are trying to spare as much life as possible. I think the main goal would be to eliminate the weapons and destroy the tunnels. imo
 
  • #36
Lots of sick people fighting about whether or not Hamas beheaded 40 babies or whether they were just burned alive or just butchered.

Shame on you.

"But there's no proof of gas chambers!"

There are literal videos of Hamas terrorists executing families and antisemites like you are still yelling where's the proof.

SHAME ON YOU.
This is what is so unbelievable to me. All these talking heads saying Israel should not do this or that and that Gaza has a right to defend itself against Israels oppression, etc.

THIS is not and should NEVER be an acceptable way to "defend" oneself.

This issue here is black and white. No grey area.

The world cannot accept the actions of HAMAS on Oct 7th as an acceptable way to fight back against oppression. Their actions were not fighting back to protect or save their own people, their actions were vile and barbaric. They were simply doing what terrorists do and it's unfortunate that Palestinians have a legit concern and possibly are being oppressed, but committing these acts on behalf of them is NOT what HAMAS is doing.. it's only doing what it does because they want to kill.. period. They aren't fighting FOR anyone.. they aren't making any situations better for anyone...

Yet some in the world are trying to paint the actions of HAMAS as defending Gaza. Its warped.. we can't confuse the 2. Palestinians need help, but HAMAS is not trying to do that and justifying their actions by claiming they are is only harming them further.
 
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  • #37
Israel-Hamas war live updates: Dire humanitarian crisis grips Gaza, Israel readies ground attack (nbcnews.com)
9m ago / 8:34 AM PDT

IDF medical corps commander describes 'massacre' after attack​

ASHDOD — An IDF medical corps commander has described the disturbing scenes he witnessed, including signs that victims were "tortured" as he responded to the chaotic scene in Israel's south on Oct. 7, the day of Hamas' unprecedented attack.

Speaking in a Zoom news conference, IDF Medical Corps Commander of the 99th Division, Maj. Itamar, who would only provide his first name, said he was on holiday with his family when his phone started to sound with "a lot of SMS messages." After racing to the scene, he described first seeing "a lot of smoke" in Israel's south, before encountering his first patient: a police officer with gunshot wounds to the leg.

After that, what he saw "was a massacre" with victims of all ages from babies to the elderly. Many were dead and others had "all kinds of injuries you can imagine." Asked by NBC News to expand on what he saw, he said some victims "were tied to the bed or to the chair and I saw that even though they shot them they, still stab them and they still burn them. It was not only to kill them. It was much more than that.”

He also said there were naked bodies. Asked if there were any indications that any of the victims had been raped, he said medics "couldn't check something like this, but I can tell you that there were more than one naked woman over there. I can assume what happened."

"I didn’t do a forensic science over there. There was not time for that. But I can assume that if you see naked women," he said, "it didn’t happen by itself, so I can understand or I can assume what happened before she died or before someone killed her."

Reuters recently reported that military forensic teams in Israel said they had examined bodies of victims in Israel's south and found multiple signs of torture, rape and other atrocities. NBC News was not able to independently verify the IDF statements.
 
  • #38
Listen to this phone call.

A Gaza resident trying to evacuate southward tells an IDF Intelligence Officer about how Hamas is not letting them leave.

For the 9th day in a row—sirens sounding in Tel Aviv and central Israel

For the 5th time today, a report was received of an anti-tank missile being fired toward an IDF post along the Blue Line with Lebanon.
Thanks for this !
It's vitally important that these residents are getting the word out.
Many prob. suspected this was the case. :(
Hamas doesn't care about it's own people.
Omo.
 
  • #39

Map Image of Extensive tunnel system "under Gaza" (IE: under schools, hospitals, residential areas, refugee camps etc). These tunnel systems are legit military targets and ergo the extensive area to which Israel must ensure becomes unusable in order to protect their citizens. I wonder if there is some way whereby Israel can simply flood the heck out of these.

That is likely where they are hiding the hostages, dispersed across the Gaza Strip in multiple tunnel systems.

Edited to add: So flooding the tunnels while hostages aren't rescued would not be possible.
 
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  • #40
21min ago

Gallant says Israel has no interest in conflict with Hezbollah, but warns it against choosing war

Israel is not interested in having a war on its northern frontier with Lebanon, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says, as tensions mount that the terror group could enter the fray to support Hamas.

“We have no interest in a war in the north, we don’t want to escalate the situation,” Gallant says in a video released by his office, as he visited troops in the country’s south.

“If Hezbollah chooses the path of war, it will pay a very heavy price… But if it restrains itself, we’ll respect the situation and keep things the way they are, despite shooting from both sides,” he says.

14min ago

369 Israelis still hospitalized from Hamas assault, fighting

The Health Ministry updates that as of 5:30 p.m. today, 369 people injured since the shock Hamas attack on Israel from Gaza on October 7 are still hospitalized.

Of them, 90 are in serious condition, 191 are in moderate condition and 89 are in light condition.

A total of 3,842 injured have been brought to hospitals throughout the country since October 7.
 
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