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

[margarita25]

Our late great @Foxfire was an ISIS/terrorism expert, AND veteran, among many other things. We are truly missing a lot in here with his absence.

We love and miss ya, Foxy.

 

[Friday Fan]

Israel vows to ‘destroy’ Hamas. What happens to Gaza at the war’s end?​

(Gifted article from Washington Post)

https://wapo.st/3PY5r1r

 

[JennieM]

President Abbas says Hamas does not represent Palestinian people​

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said that the actions and policies of Hamas do not represent the Palestinian people.

The comments were made in a phone call with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, news agency WAFA said.

According to the news outlet, Abbas "affirmed his rejection of the killing of civilians on both sides and called for the release of civilians, prisoners and detainees on both sides".

Abbas has been president since 2005 and represents the Fatah political party, which has a bitter rivalry with Hamas.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67108364

 

[PommyMommy]

4min ago

IDF carries out fresh strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon​

The Israel Defense Forces says it has just struck Hezbollah “military infrastructure” in Lebanon.

A video released by the military shows two buildings being shelled, at least one from the sky. It says the attacks seen in the video were carried out Sunday and early Monday.

The strikes come in response to fire aimed at Israel from Lebanon over Sunday.

Six anti-tank guided missiles at an Israeli town and military positions on the Lebanon border on Sunday morning, killing at least one civilian.

Another nine rockets were also launched at the northern city of Nahariya and nearby towns, causing no damage or injuries.

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[Momoffourboys]

South First Responders - newly released Go-pro footage recovered from a Hamas terrorist:

Warning: Triggering

While kicking the hostage (an Israeli youth who has a ponytail) you can hear the terrorist behind the camera scream "Ya *advertiser censored*" (an anti-Gay slur) (10 seconds into the video).

To respect the families of the hostages and victims we have taken the time to blur the image partially.

South First Responders

We have analyzed more footage from GoPros found on the bodies of Hamas terrorists at the Nova Nature Party. This video clip shows the group of terrorists beating and taunting one of the partygoers as they drag him off as a hostage. While kicking the hostage (an Israeli youth who has a...

t.me

South_First_Responders (عربي)

قناة تنشر فيديوهات صورت في غلاف غزه بعد تطهير المنطقة من قوات حماس. المواد مجانية الاستخدام، ولكن يرجى منح الفضل لـ "South First Responders".

t.me

South First Responders Français

Canal pour images téléchargées par les premiers arrivants au sud d’Israël, après avoir été dégagé du Hamas. Avertissement : contenu graphique.

t.me

I am speechless. Just when you think it can’t get any worse. It gets so much worse. They slaughtered everyone. Men. Women. Babies. Dogs.

 

[PommyMommy]

Israel-Hamas war live updates: Gaza still in dire crisis as Israel readies attack by ‘air, sea and land’ (nbcnews.com)
4m ago / 3:18 PM PDT

6-year-old Palestinian American boy stabbed to death in hate crime related to Israel-Hamas conflict, authorities say​

An Illinois man stabbed a 6-year-old boy to death and critically wounded his mother in an anti-Muslim hate crime, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said today.

“Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement on social media.

The boy, Wadea Al-Fayoume, was stabbed 26 times at his Plainfield home by his landlord, Joseph Czuba, 71, investigators said. Czuba is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and two counts of committing a hate crime.

It was not clear whether he has legal counsel. The county public defender's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Wadea loved soccer and basketball, and he had just celebrated his sixth birthday, Ahmed Rehab, the president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said at a news conference today.

“And he paid the price for the atmosphere of hate and authorization and dehumanization that, frankly, I think we are seeing here in the United States,” Rehab said, “as a result of the irresponsible leadership and lopsided one-sided statements and coverage that we’re seeing in the media, elected officials, all across.”

 

[Arkay]

Once they have given the locals a fair chance to evacuate, they can bring in their many reserve officers, and they can search the underground bunkers for hostages and also for weapons and communication systems etc. JMO

To send thousands of young men into sniper territory, down booby-trapped tunnels, with hidden, heavily armed fighters just waiting to pick them off one by one as they enter...lambs to slaughter.

IMO if the Israeli, American and other foreign nationals who are being held hostage are in the tunnels, it’s going to take a true miracle to rescue them alive and unharmed.

And I most sincerely hope that all the Hamas terrorists whom we are watching on their videos are by now very, very dead and in Hell.

IMO

 

[SouthAussie]

In Nasser Hospital, in the southern town of Khan Younis, intensive care rooms are packed with wounded patients, most of them children under the age of 3.

Thousands at risk of dying in Gaza hospitals, cut off by Israel from fuel, water and supplies

Medics in Gaza warned Sunday that thousands could die as hospitals packed with wounded people ran desperately low on fuel and basic supplies. Palestinians in the besieged coastal enclave struggled to find food, water and safety ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive in the war sparked by...

www.pbs.org

 

[margarita25]

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.

Bbm-

I think has to be the case. IDF are not amateurs. There is a lot going on that we are not privy to.

Yes exactly, I was puzzled when Hamas said something about not giving advance notice, iirc. I looked it up, and there was a whole thing about this, international laws, sorry brain is overloaded right now and racing to catch up but wanted to mention there was a whole thing about not giving advance notice, note to come back to this.

 

[MyBelle]

Rishi Sunak
@RishiSunak

I stand with you, the British Jewish community, and I will do everything I possibly can to protect you. To those trying to stir up tensions online and on our streets with intimidating behaviour and shameful antisemitism, I say this: Not here. Not in Britain. Not in our country.

https://x.com/RishiSunak/status/1713254402398535927?s=20

The rhetoric needs to stop EVERYWHERE.

JMO

 

[dotr]

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Oct 15, 2023 #israel #gaza
WARNING: This report contains body bags and the accounts of what volunteers found, that may cause distress.

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'Oct 15, 2023
New videos of a terrorist attack on a music festival near Re'im, Israel last Saturday.show how Hamas were targeting individuals. '

 

[Vern]

3min ago

Abbas says Hamas does not represent Palestinians​

Palestinian Authority President Mahmuod Abbas says the policies and actions of Hamas “do not represent the Palestinian people”, the news agency Wafa reports.

Speaking to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Abbas says the Palestine Liberation Organization is the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.

Abbas also calls for the release of “prisoners and detainees” by both sides and reiterates his claim that the displacement of Gazans would constitute a “second Nakba.”

Maduro says he is dispatching humanitarian supplies to Gaza, Wafa says.

I hope there is progress, but the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip (where Abbas is not) aren't fully supportive of him or his punishing policies towards the Gaza Palestinians either (Gaza Palestinians are governed by Hamas):

A little background on his contribution to issues within the Gaza:

Abbas faced criticism throughout his presidency for his authoritarianism and his neglect of the Gaza Strip. Apart from ruling by presidential decree after he dismissed the legislature in 2007, he remained president long after his term expired, at first claiming he should stay an extra year in order to hold presidential and legislative elections simultaneously. But elections were continually delayed because the PA could not hold elections throughout all the Palestinian territories.
Moreover, the PA occasionally cracked down on dissidents, including individuals who criticized Abbas on social media. He at times scolded or punished Hamas, seemingly without regard for the Palestinians under its governance. In 2008 he quickly condemned Hamas for its role in a conflict with Israel while he was slow to condemn Israel’s assault on the Gaza Strip; in 2017, after a reconciliation agreement with Hamas faltered, he imposed sanctions on the Gaza Strip, contributing to a humanitarian crisis there that had resulted from decade-long sanctions from Israel and Egypt.

Palestinian Authority - Mahmoud Abbas, Peace Process, Negotiations | Britannica

Palestinian Authority - Mahmoud Abbas, Peace Process, Negotiations: Arafat remained president until his death in 2004; Abbas succeeded him as chairman of the PLO and was elected president of the PA in 2005. Elections for the PLC were held in 2006, and Hamas won a surprise victory over Fatah...

www.britannica.com

 

[MyBelle]

I just want to put out there that I have faith in the Israeli's and their compassion for innocent life and attempts to minimize. Of course they will protect hospitals to the extent they can and barring Hamas having put rocket launch sites on their roofs etc.

I really, no really, do not believe that the IDF has any intent to destroy hospitals and/or "kill" their patients. IMO, when the IDF does enter into Gaza, they will certainly "clear" these hospitals to ensure they are not harbouring hiding terrorists, weapons, munitions etc (this is a war that is the priority). Then, I'm willing to wager that the IDF will begin ensuring the operation of the facilities via generators, fuel etc. I also wouldn't be surprised to see the IDF treat & evacute patients out of Gazan Hospitals to more robust facilities - even those facilities within Israel.

I have faith in Israel; this isn't the first time they've been in the position of having to conduct Gazan ground operations.

What we have no way of knowing is whether any of those underground tunnels are tied to hospitals. I think that may be the reason why some hospitals were told to evacuate.

JMO

 

[margarita25]

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​

Rsbm/BBM:

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.”

Exaaactly. Overkill. This was my (one of) my first thoughts about “the video” in the last thread iirc, the poor dead soul, that they gauged his eyes out, it maaaybe looked like his might have possibly been dead for a while (or not, I didn’t of course watch long, I could be wrong), but if so, I was wondering, did they go back for further desecration. Whatever the case, overkill (and torture) seem to definitely be at play here, from an MO perspective.

 

[PommyMommy]

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

What to know about Gaza, the Hamas-run territory falling deeper into a humanitarian crisis​

Israel is gearing up for the next stage of its war on Hamas, following the Palestinian militant group’s brutal October 7 attacks that killed 1,400 people.

Following a week of unprecedented airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, which have killed more than 2,600 people, Israel is massing troops and military equipment on its border with the Hamas-controlled enclave. It has warned some 1.1 million people in the northern half of the strip to evacuate, according to the United Nations.

As Israel prepares for a ground offensive into Gaza, here’s what you need to know about the 140 square-mile territory – one of the most densely-populated areas on Earth.

What is Gaza? Gaza is a narrow strip of land, only about 25 miles long and seven miles wide – just over twice the size of Washington DC.

To its west lies the Mediterranean Sea, to its north and east is Israel, and Egypt is to its south.

It is one of two Palestinian territories, the other being the larger, Israeli-occupied West Bank, which borders Jordan.

Who lives there? Around 2 million people are crammed into the 140-square-mile territory. The overwhelming majority of people are young, with 50% of the population under the age of 18, according to the World Health Organization.

Nearly all of Gazans – 98-99% – are Muslim, according to the CIA World Factbook, with most of the rest Christians.

More than 1 million of Gaza’s residents are refugees, with eight recognized Palestinian refugee camps, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Hamas has held the territory for years: In 2006, Hamas won a landslide victory in Palestinian legislative elections – the last polls to be held in Gaza.

Hamas is an Islamist organization with a military wing that formed in 1987, emerging out of the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist group that was founded in the late 1920s in Egypt.

The group considers Israel to be an illegitimate state and an occupying power in Gaza. Unlike other Palestinian groups, such as the Palestinian Authority, Hamas refuses to engage with Israel.

The group has claimed responsibility for many attacks on Israel over the years and has been designated as a terrorist organization by countries including the United States, the European Union and Israel. The last war between Hamas and Israel was in 2021, which lasted for 11 days and killed at least 250 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel.

Israel's enduring blockade: Despite Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, since 2007 it has maintained tight control over the territory through a land, air and sea blockade. For nearly 17 years, Gaza has been almost totally cut off from the rest of the world, with severe restrictions on the movement of goods and people.

The blockade has been fiercely criticized by international bodies including the UN, which said in a 2022 report that restrictions have had a “profound impact” on living conditions in Gaza and have “undermined Gaza’s economy, resulting in high unemployment, food insecurity and aid dependency.”

Israel has said the blockade is vital to protect its citizens from Hamas.

You can read much more about Gaza here, including details about Hamas, the territory's history, and living conditions in the enclave.

 

[Vern]

What we have no way of knowing is whether any of those underground tunnels are tied to hospitals. I think that may be the reason why some hospitals were told to evacuate.

JMO

The IDF knows - of that I am certain - and most likely why the hospitals were put on the "You need to Evacuate List".

I am also certain that Hamas has tunnels in the immediate vicinity of hospitals ... their wounded need them (hospitals) - usually quite quickly. But, I have faith that the IDF will be able to mitigate and minimize risk to the patients, health care providers and facility itself and still achieve their objective to eradicate Hamas terrorism and it's support structures. It'll just make the going 'slower' for the IDF in as much as they can allow it to IMO.

 

[JennieM]

US's language focusing more on humanitarian situation - former diplomat​

There has been a change in the language used surrounding the Israel Gaza conflict by US President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken to focus more on the humanitarian situation, a former diplomat says.

Gerald Firestein, former US ambassador to Yemen and former deputy consul general to Jerusalem tells the BBC: “If you look at the nuances beginning to appear in US statements – Biden’s statement’s, Blinken’s statements, you see an increasing focus on the humanitarian situation and concern.

"I think that is a reflection of the concern he is hearing, the worry that he is hearing from counterparts in the region,” he says.

Firestein also says that an Israeli ground offensive into Gaza is inevitable but it’s becoming clear that Israel might not have much time.

“The international community will be focused on the need to end this conflict. The objective of destroying Hamas is perhaps an unachievable one,” he says.

The former ambassador also says that there are concerns that Hezbollah might become engaged in the conflict and that Iran is also threatening to get involved. He said the US was sending a second aircraft carrier to the region in a bid to stop trouble spilling over.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67108364

 

[PommyMommy]

A few more details about the opening of the Rajah border crossing which I think is the best news I've seen all day.

Israel-Gaza live updates: - ABC News (go.com)
Oct 15, 6:19 PM EDT

Border crossing from Gaza into Egypt to open Monday 'for a few hours': Source​

An agreement has been reached to open the border crossing out of Rafah, in southern Gaza, on Monday for the entry of foreigners and dual nationals into Egypt as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza, a security source told ABC News.

The Rafah border crossing is the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The crossing will be opened for a few hours on Monday and then closed again in the late afternoon, the source said. The exact times of the opening and closing were not specified.

The evacuation may include Egyptian nationals stranded in Gaza, the source said.

Israel will deploy crews from the Red Cross to inspect aid shipments flowing into the Palestinian side through the border, the source added.

Military forces in the North Sinai cities of Al-Arish and Sheikh Ziweid moved closer to the border late on Sunday in preparation for the opening, the source said.

 

[arielilane]

DENVER (KDVR) — A Denver man’s family members, who were visiting Israel, are among those taken hostage by Hamas earlier this month.

Ben Raanan spoke with Nexstar’s KDVR and said his family was on a call with President Joe Biden on Friday, confirming the kidnapping. Now they’re in shock and desperately hoping for their loved ones’ safe return home.

Raanan’s 17-year-old sister, Natali Raanan, and his step-mother, Judith Tai Raanan, both from Evanston, Illinois, were visiting relatives and celebrating holiday in Israel in Nahal Oz, near Gaza, when the attacks began earlier this month.

‘No proof of life from Hamas’: Denver man’s family members taken hostage in Israel

A Denver man says his younger sister and her mother are among those that have been taken hostage by Hamas.

www.abc4.com

Updated: Oct 15, 2023 / 11:35 AM MDT

 

[mickey2942]

https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/14/middleeast/us-aircraft-carrier-eisenhower-israel-gaza-intl-hnk-ml/index.html

This is concerning. Anyone else?