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

[PommyMommy]

15min ago

Mortgage payments to be deferred for soldiers, evacuees, families of victims and missing​

The government agrees to advance legislation that will allow for the deferral of mortgage and other payments for IDF soldiers, both conscripted and in the reserves, police officers, prison officers, firefighters, Hamas hostages, missing persons from Hamas’s terror assault, and their families, families of those murdered in the attack, and citizens who have been evacuated from their homes due to the ongoing war with Gaza and the skirmishes on the northern border.

[...]

The legislation will now move to the Knesset for approval. The law will be extended if necessary, depending on the security situation, Levin’s office says.

50sec ago

White House: 2,000 US troops preparing for Mideast deployment to ‘send signal of deterrence’​

The US military orders 2,000 personnel to prepare for deployment to the Middle East as a show of force amid the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the deployment will allow the United States “to respond more quickly” to the crisis, while the White House stresses it does not intend to put US combat forces on the ground.

[...]

US media reports the troops being readied for deployment would cover support roles, such as medical assistance and handling explosives.

 

[justtrish]

This article says Israel has hit the crossing at least 4 times in the last 10 days. I would say that there is something about the crossing that Israel knows about. And it won't be the humanitarian aid or the people wanting to leave. They are probably trying to make it a safer zone due to some known (to their intelligence) threat. imo


Overnight Israeli air raids on Khan Younis, Rafah and Deir el-Balah, where Israel had ordered civilians to seek refuge, killed at least 71 people. Israel has hit the Rafah crossing at least four times over the past 10 days.

Mapping the Israel-Palestine war, major events on the ground

As the conflict between Israel and Palestine enters its 28th day, these are the most recent developments on the ground.

www.aljazeera.com

I am wondering if HAMAS has booby-trapped areas inside the border. We know they have blown things up and claimed Israel did it. Israel has no reason to bomb hospitals, supplies or other things supporting humanitarian efforts, innocent civilians, etc. If that was their goal, they would just level Gaza right now.. they would have done that on Saturday night after they were attacked by HAMAS.. so why would they warn everyone to flea areas they are about to bomb, only to then bomb the people they are trying to warn?

We also have reports that HAMAS is telling people to stay put and die martyrs.. so what's more believable? HAMAS doesn't want supplies getting in or Israel doesn't want supplies getting in?

I think if that convoy enters GAZA and begins heading to where it is going.. then IED's or other "traps" will be triggered. Perhaps the bombing by Israel is an attempt to blow up hidden IEDs that might be in the area?

These terrorists do not want help arriving to their people, I feel that 100%. If help arrived and people were rushing to get the aide that was there and IEDs go off? Horrific to think of, but this is what HAMAS is like.. Tunnels could be filled with explosives. I do wonder if the missiles coming from Israel are not an attempt to destroy things, but an attempt to trigger hidden explosives before sending people into harms way?

 

[Vern]

Israel-Hamas war: 'What is the difference between Hamas and Islamic State?' asks Sky's Mark Austin to Hamas's Dr Basem Naim​

Sky's Mark Austin questions Hamas's head of political and international relations, Dr Basem Naim.

Video at link: Israel-Hamas war: 'What is the difference between Hamas and Islamic State?' asks Sky's Mark Austin to Hamas's Dr Basem Naim

Wow.

Interviewer Q: .... Hamas crossed the border with the intention of killing civilians (paraphrased) ...
Answer: "You can't build your narrative based on Israeli propoganda." (WTF!!!?? It's caught on cameras dude and in your captured/recovered battle plans & aide memoires.)

My conclusion: As long as this ideology is allowed to continue to exist, and to be passed on to children in schools and communities, there will never be peace in the mid-east ... especially for Israel as they will always have to be on alert and keep their heads on a swivel.

It's high time for the Muslim nations of the world to finally step up and erradicate the terroristic mindsets allowed to fester in their midsts. The whole situation reminds me of a famous quote from Golda Meir regarding Israel laying down her arms (not going to happen ... ever).

 

[JennieM]

Escalation risk is 'nine out of 10' - Palestinian diplomat​

Sean Coughlan
Reporting from London

There was a sombre message from the senior Palestinian diplomat in the UK, as he reported the latest casualty figures of 2,850 Palestinians killed in Gaza and the West Bank.

Husam Zomlot, head of the Palestinian mission to the UK, warned in a press briefing that the “real figure is much higher” as rescue teams have yet to reach all those trapped under rubble.

The casualties included 1,000 children, said Zomlot, with 50 families “completely wiped out”.

He called for an “immediate ceasefire” and the setting up of a humanitarian corridor.

How high is the risk of escalation of conflict in the Middle East? “Nine out of 10," he says.

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

 

[Momoffourboys]

Iran’s Khamenei says ‘no one’ can stop resistance if Israel continues Gaza offensive​

‘Muslim nations are angry,’ says supreme leader, accusing Jewish state of ‘genocide’ and asserting that no action can ‘make up for the scandalous failure it suffered’​

Iran’s Khamenei says ‘no one’ can stop resistance if Israel continues Gaza offensive

'Muslim nations are angry,' says supreme leader, accusing Jewish state of 'genocide' and asserting that no action can 'make up for the scandalous failure it suffered'

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[JennieM]

13:05

Give us access to help 11,000 injured in Gaza - WHO​

The World Health Organization says it needs urgent access to Gaza to deliver aid and medical supplies, as it warns of a long-term humanitarian crisis.

About half of the 2,800 Palestinians killed were women and children, officials from WHO said in a briefing reported by the news agency Reuters. Another 11,000 have been injured in Gaza since the start of Israel's retaliatory bombardments following Hamas's deadly attacks.

The UN agency is meeting with "decision-makers" today to open access to Gaza as soon as possible - there's currently no way in or out.

Officials further said there had been 115 attacks on healthcare facilities and the majority of hospitals in Gaza are not functioning, with water and electricity scarce.

"Concerns over dehydration and waterborne diseases are high given the collapse of water and sanitation services," the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said in a statement. "People will start dying without water."

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

 

[JennieM]

A few reasons why a ground offensive hasn't happened yet​

Lyse Doucet
Chief international correspondent, in southern Israel

Armies don’t announce a date to commence military operations - Israel won’t either.
Its spokesman even said today “we’re not saying what our plans are - they could be something different".

But Israel has made it clear that its forces have mobilised - and artillery and armour have moved into place along the Gaza border, on other borders too.

Their statements have even suggested an attack is imminent. Keeping a mobilised army waiting too long could affect their readiness and morale.

There may, or may not, be a delay. There’s been heavy rain in this region - and weather matters in war.

Intense diplomacy, including the arrival of US President Joe Biden, on the need to develop a plan to get aid into Gaza and get foreign nationals out, may be staying Israel’s command. There’s also the thorny issue of foreign hostages.

Once this war intensifies, Israel’s closest allies want to be sure they’ve done everything possible to protect civilians, and prevent this war from erupting into a much wider conflagration.

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

 

[JennieM]

UN warns Israel over possible war crime​

The UN is again pleading for aid agencies to gain access to Gaza, and warning of possible war crimes.

Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN high commissioner for human rights, says the organisation is "concerned" that the Israeli military's demand that Palestinians move from northern Gaza to the south could amount to the "forcible transfer of civilians - in breach of international law".

If a country is believed to have committed a war crime during conflict, the case can be looked at by the International Criminal Court (ICC) - the Palestinians are members, but Israel is not.

In a statement, Shamdasani adds that attacks on civilians - while attempting to flee the necessary parts of Gaza - must be investigated independently.

She also appeals for the "immediate and unconditional" release of all Israeli hostages, with the latest Israeli reports indicating around 199 are being held.

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

 

[JennieM]

Israeli volunteers still searching for bodies at festival site​

There is a mismatch between the number of people reported missing and the number of bodies discovered.

So, volunteers including Moshe Melayev and Meir Barel are driving slowly across fields around the Nova music festival, trying to check if anyone injured may have escaped and hidden from the attackers, but then died and not yet been found.

“We have more than 1,400 missing people and we’ve found just 1,000 bodies,” Meir tells me, stopping to search a patch of bushes.

“Hamas said they have almost 200 hostages – so we’re still missing around 150 people."

“People were hiding between the trees, and in holes, so we’re going to check those places," Moshe adds.

Their organisation, 360 National Rescue Unit, also ensures that bodies, and body parts, are collected in line with Jewish religious law which insists all the remains, including the victim’s blood, should be buried together.

“It’s a holy mission for us," Moshe explains, “to keep the bodies dignified”.

Some initial recovery work was done in the dark on the day of the attack and the fear is something may have been missed.

BBC

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

 

[Momoffourboys]

Hamas says Ayman Nofal, member of Hamas' General military council and the commander of the center brigade in the Gaza Strip, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Al Bureij in central Gaza

https://x.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1714273357540258137?s=20

ETA: He was Another of the terrorists freed in exchange for Gilad Shalit

Hamas official: We may freeze Schalit talks

Official threatens negotiations may end if Egypt doesn't release senior Hamas leader Ayman Nofal.

www.jpost.com

 

[JennieM]

13m ago
Caroline Davies

A British man has spoken of the agony of waiting for news of relatives still missing after the Hamas attack in Israel 10 days ago, after they came under attack during a morning walk.

Arad Haggai, a surveyor based in Epping Forest, Essex, does not know if his uncle and aunt are alive, kidnapped or dead after Hamas attacked the Nir Oz kibbutz where they lived.

Gad Haggai, 73, a retired chef and talented musician, and his wife, Judih Weinstein Haggai, 72, an English teacher and puppeteer originally from Toronto, Canada, were on their regular early morning walk when they messaged relatives to say they were under attack.

The couple, US citizens who have four adult children, had left the kibbutz at about 6.30am on Saturday 7 October, their nephew said.

“At about 6.50am Israel time, they sent a text to the kids, my cousins, that they were under rocket fire and they have to try to hide somewhere in the fields. There is a possibility that on Saturday morning, at 11am or 11.30am, there was a signal from Gaza, the phone was in Gaza. But we are not sure. We can’t verify it 100%.”

Haggai said the family had not heard from the Israeli authorities whether the couple were among the 199 identified hostages taken by Hamas.

They had not been located at any hospital, and the family could not be certain whether they were moved to Gaza as they could not discount the possibility Hamas had taken the couple’s phones.

Read more of Caroline Davies’s report here: ‘Nobody knows where they are’: British man tells of helpless wait for news of Israeli aunt and uncle

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

This blog is now closed.

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

18m ago
Charity ActionAid have criticised the lack of access to water in Gaza, emphasising that it poses a particular risk for mothers with young children. In a statement, Soraida Hussein-Sabbah, who is based in Ramallah in the West Bank, said:

With water nearly running out throughout Gaza, the situation is critical, particularly for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Unable to access water – and amidst the continuous bombardments and displacement – dehydrated women will struggle to produce the milk they need to feed their babies and keep them alive.
Access to water is universally recognised as a basic human right, meaning that the continued blockade of Gaza is a denial of the rights of women and children across Gaza. We’re urgently calling for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza and the full and uninterrupted restoration of the water supplies from Israel into Gaza.

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

This blog is now closed.

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

22m ago
Reuters has a quick snap that security sources in Lebanon say four people have been killed in southern Lebanon by Israeli shelling.

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

This blog is now closed.

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

19 min ago

Food stocks in Gaza shops will last "less than a week," UN warns​

From CNN’s Caitlin Danaher and Sharon Braithwaite in London

People wait in line at a shop in Gaza City on October 17. Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images

Shops in Gaza will run out of available food stocks in “less than a week," with retailers unable to restock from wholesalers due to “widespread destruction and insecurity,” a spokesperson for the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) told CNN Tuesday.

Bread supplies are running short, with only one of the five flour mills in the Gaza Strip functioning due to a lack of fuel and electricity, the spokesperson warned. Meanwhile, people are “lining up for hours to get bread” from bakeries, and only five of the 23 bakeries contracted by the WFP to provide fresh bread to shelters are operational.

In warehouses, commercial supplies of essential food commodities are “sufficient for approximately two weeks,” but due to damaged infrastructure, it is difficult to distribute, the spokesperson for the UN agency added.

With warehouses located in Gaza City, the WFP is struggling to channel food to the southern region where displaced people are moving.

Live updates: Israel-Hamas war rages as crisis in Gaza deepens

US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday as he seeks to demonstrate staunch support for the country while also pressing for ways to ease humanitarian suffering in Gaza. Follow here for the latest.

edition.cnn.com

 

[JennieM]

1 hr 49 min ago

Pregnant women in Gaza prepare to give birth in a war zone​

From CNN's Mohammed Abdelbary and Nadeen Ebrahim

Khulood Khaled was woken up by the sound of Israeli airstrikes as she slept next to her son last week. Black smoke filled the room, making it difficult for her to breathe. She felt a sense of panic setting in, followed by pain in her abdomen. She thought she was going into early labor.

Eight months pregnant and worried about her unborn child, the 28-year-old decided to leave her home in the al-Karama district of the northern Gaza Strip the next day as the bombing continued.

“We watched houses dropping as we drove, thinking we could die any minute,” she told CNN. On the way, she saw refugees being struck by Israeli jets “just meters away,” She hugged her son “so we’d die together.”

Khulood eventually made it to the southern city of Khan Younis, but she is now surviving on “a dry piece of bread,” as the territory faces a food shortage and no electricity or running water. “I don’t know if the bread will be available tomorrow,” she said.

Around 50,000 women in Gaza are pregnant, 10% of whom are expected to give birth in the coming month, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Gaza residents have faced Israeli airstrikes in several rounds of conflict over the past few years. But this time it’s different. Israel has vowed “mighty vengeance” after the Hamas militants that control the territory launched an attack on October 7, killing 1,400 in Israel. Between October 7 and 12, Israel dropped 6,000 bombs on the enclave – that’s equivalent to the total number of airstrikes on Gaza during the entire 2014 Gaza-Israel conflict, which lasted 50 days.

Israel has also imposed what it calls a “complete siege” on the territory, blocking supplies of water, electricity, goods and fuel. Human rights organizations have condemned the move as “collective punishment” and “a war crime.” Locals say that Khan Younis is still being targeted by Israeli strikes.

Khulood said she doesn't know where to go when it’s time for her to give birth.

“I’m scared. For my son, my unborn child and myself,” she told CNN. “I don’t want to die. I want to see my son grow up… but there’s no life left here. Gaza has become a ghost city.”

Read more about the plight of pregnant women in Gaza

Additional reporting by Kareem Khadder, Abeer Salman, Chloe Liu and Niamh Kennedy

Live updates: Israel-Hamas war rages as crisis in Gaza deepens

US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday as he seeks to demonstrate staunch support for the country while also pressing for ways to ease humanitarian suffering in Gaza. Follow here for the latest.

edition.cnn.com

 

[JennieM]

CNN is also now reporting the four deaths in Lebanon.


3 min ago

At least 4 killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes​

From CNN's AnneClaire Stapleton and Tamara Qiblawi

At least four people were killed in Israeli strikes in the Alma al-Shaab area of Southern Lebanon on Tuesday, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.

Hezbollah announced two of its fighters were killed in confrontations Tuesday, but it's unclear whether they are part of the death toll reported by the Red Cross.

Some context: News of the deaths come amid clashes along Israel's northern border with Lebanon. Hezbollah — an armed group backed by Iran — dominates the southern part of the country, and while the fighting there appears marginal compared to fighting between Israel and Hamas, it raises fears of a wider war that could drawn in a myriad of actors.

Read more about the clashes at the Lebanon-Israel border.

Live updates: Israel-Hamas war rages as crisis in Gaza deepens

US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday as he seeks to demonstrate staunch support for the country while also pressing for ways to ease humanitarian suffering in Gaza. Follow here for the latest.

edition.cnn.com

 

[Momoffourboys]

Foreign media given unprecedented access to forensic institute to witness atrocities​

Staff at Abu Kabir work 24/7 along with colleagues in IDF and police to identify victims of mass butchery by Hamas terrorists; in some cases identification likely impossible​

For the first time since it opened in 1954, on Monday Israel’s National Center of Forensic Medicine (Abu Kabir) in Jaffa allowed reporters to see and photograph the dead bodies inside.

The stench of death and putrefaction was overwhelming on Abu Kabir’s bottom floor where bodies that await specialized examination and bone fragments are unloaded for DNA extraction or study by anthropologists.

Some of the journalists couldn’t stomach viewing the horrific scenes in the autopsy rooms as the center’s teams worked reverently and professionally, burying their emotions for the moment.

more: Foreign media given unprecedented access to forensic institute to witness atrocities

 

[Leve]

THIS is just infuriating. I wonder if the Gazans are as angry as I am?

It's been posted frequently that Jordan has very good reason not to want the Palestinians. Where they go terrorism and death follow.

 

[PommyMommy]

Live updates: Israel-Hamas war rages as crisis in Gaza deepens (cnn.com)
13 min ago

Multiple airstrikes seen about a kilometer from Rafah border crossing​

There have been a number of airstrikes Tuesday about a kilometer from Rafah crossing, according to a CNN stringer at the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza.

Dozens of trucks are on the Egyptian side of the crossing waiting to get into Gaza, the stringer said.

Some context: The Rafah crossing is the only remaining outlet for supplies, but it has been closed for much of the past week. Humanitarian supplies have been piling up on the Egyptian side of the border, and neither Gazans nor foreign nationals have been able to cross.

“Two airstrikes struck 15 minutes apart around 1 kilometer away from the Rafah crossing,” the CNN stringer said. “Loud sounds of airstrikes have been heard every 30 minutes since Tuesday at 4 a.m.” local time.

In videos filmed by the CNN stringer on the Egyptian side, plumes of smoke can be seen rising beyond the main gate into the crossing.

 

[JennieM]

I am wondering if HAMAS has booby-trapped areas inside the border. We know they have blown things up and claimed Israel did it. Israel has no reason to bomb hospitals, supplies or other things supporting humanitarian efforts, innocent civilians, etc. If that was their goal, they would just level Gaza right now.. they would have done that on Saturday night after they were attacked by HAMAS.. so why would they warn everyone to flea areas they are about to bomb, only to then bomb the people they are trying to warn?

We also have reports that HAMAS is telling people to stay put and die martyrs.. so what's more believable? HAMAS doesn't want supplies getting in or Israel doesn't want supplies getting in?

I think if that convoy enters GAZA and begins heading to where it is going.. then IED's or other "traps" will be triggered. Perhaps the bombing by Israel is an attempt to blow up hidden IEDs that might be in the area?

These terrorists do not want help arriving to their people, I feel that 100%. If help arrived and people were rushing to get the aide that was there and IEDs go off? Horrific to think of, but this is what HAMAS is like.. Tunnels could be filled with explosives. I do wonder if the missiles coming from Israel are not an attempt to destroy things, but an attempt to trigger hidden explosives before sending people into harms way?

Either way the people of Gaza are doomed.