Israel - Palestinian militants launch massive attack, 7 Oct 2023 #5

[JennieM]

9m ago

Australia updates travel advice for Lebanon to 'do not travel'​

The Australian government has updated its travel advice for Lebanon to “do not travel”, citing, “the volatile security situation and the risk of the security situation deteriorating further.”

The move follows similar advisories from the US and UK governments.

Egypt’s president agrees to open the Rafah crossing – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

www.theguardian.com

 

[Friday Fan]

I’m sorry …morbid question, but before they buried them today in the mass grave, we’re they able to identify them all?

I have no idea. I just read that they would be buried in a mass grave today.

 

[JennieM]

3h ago

With Israeli airstrikes relentlessly pounding the Gaza Strip, displaced Palestinians increasingly feel that no place is safe.

AP has this story, from the Musa family, who fled to the typically sleepy central town of Deir al-Balah and took shelter in a cousin’s three-story home near the local hospital.

But at 7:30pm on Wednesday, a series of explosions, believed to be airstrikes, rocked the building, turning the family home into a mountain of rubble that they said buried some 20 women and children.

An injured child is seen as injured Palestinian children, taken to the Suheda al-Aqsa Hospital (Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital), receive medical treatment after the Israeli airstrikes in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on 18 October 2023. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Anadolu/Getty Images

The dead body of Hiam Musa, the sister-in-law of Associated Press photojournalist Adel Hana, was recovered from the wreckage Wednesday evening, the family said. They don’t know who else is under the rubble.

“It doesn’t make sense,” Hana said. “We went to Deir al-Balah because it’s quiet, we thought we would be safe.”

The Israeli military said it was investigating.

Israel-Hamas war live: Egypt-Gaza crossing to open for aid on Friday at the earliest, says White House

Egypt’s president agrees to open the Rafah crossing to allow 20 trucks with humanitarian aid into Gaza

www.theguardian.com

 

[Gypsy Road]

From CNN

 

[JennieM]

People gather by the wrapped bodies of victims who died in an overnight blast at the hospital.


The death toll has been put variously between 300 and 500.


Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images

Israel-Hamas war live: Egypt-Gaza crossing to open for aid on Friday at the earliest, says White House

Egypt’s president agrees to open the Rafah crossing to allow 20 trucks with humanitarian aid into Gaza

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

18h ago
Harriet Sherwood

A statement signed by more than 800 scholars, including experts in international law and Holocaust and genocide studies, has warned that Israel is at risk of committing genocide in Gaza.

Their statement said: “We are compelled to sound the alarm about the possibility of the crime of genocide being perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. We do not do so lightly, recognising the weight of this crime, but the gravity of the current situation demands it.”

It added: “Israel’s current military offensive on the Gaza Strip … is unprecedented in scale and severity, and consequently in its ramifications for the population of Gaza. Following the incursion by Palestinian armed groups on 7 October 2023, including criminal attacks against Israeli civilians, the Gaza Strip has been subjected to incessant and indiscriminate bombardment by Israeli forces.”

The signatories “urgently appeal to states to take concrete and meaningful steps to individually and collectively prevent genocidal acts, in line with their legal duty to prevent the crime of genocide. They must protect the Palestinian population, and ensure that Israel refrains from any further incitement to genocide and from the perpetration of conduct prohibited by article II of the genocide convention.”

Meanwhile, some of the UK’s leading Jewish lawyers have warned Israel of its obligations under international law in its war with Hamas.

Lord Neuberger, Philippe Sands and six other prominent UK Jewishlawyers condemned atrocities committed by Hamas as crimes against humanity and war crimes, but added “there are laws that we must all live by”.

In a letter to the FT, they said: “There are some aspects of Israel’s response that already cause significant concern. International law forbids sieges of civilian populations … collective punishment is prohibited by the laws of war. Equally, international law requires combatants to ensure minimum destruction to civilian life and infrastructure.”

They add: “In these early days when emotions are so understandably raw, many might be reluctant to remind Israel of its international law obligations, considering to do so insensitive or inappropriate. However, we disagree.”

Israel-Hamas war live: Egypt-Gaza crossing to open for aid on Friday at the earliest, says White House

Egypt’s president agrees to open the Rafah crossing to allow 20 trucks with humanitarian aid into Gaza

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

18h ago

Lisa O'Carroll

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, has condemned the attack on the hospital in Gaza as “senseless” and “horrifying”.

“Hamas’s terror has plunged Israel and Palestine into a new spiral of violence. Last night, a new, senseless tragedy has shocked us all. A hospital in Gaza – sheltering hundreds of wounded people – was turned into a hell of fire. The scenes from al-Ahli hospital are horrifying and distressing. There is no excuse for hitting a hospital full of civilians. All facts need to be established, and those responsible must be held accountable.

“In this tragic hour, we must all redouble our efforts to protect civilians from the fury of this war.”

Israel-Hamas war live: Egypt-Gaza crossing to open for aid on Friday at the earliest, says White House

Egypt’s president agrees to open the Rafah crossing to allow 20 trucks with humanitarian aid into Gaza

www.theguardian.com

 

[Cedars]

They were all buried in a mass grave today. I really doubt that we will know the number, unless someone besides Hamas controls death certificates or death declarations.
<modsnip -

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-middle-east-67141589?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=65308dd9364b3f1612ec56df%26Doctor%3A%20Operating%20room%20ceiling%20%E2%80%98fell%20on%20us%E2%80%99%20after%20explosion%262023-10-19T02%3A45%3A35.730Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:775cfbb7-ac19-4a83-9279-dd243bea5606&pinned_post_asset_id=65308dd9364b3f1612ec56df&pinned_post_type=share

I imagine hospital staff continue to be extremely frustrated because they still can't evacuate, they have even more casualties to deal with after the blast, they have not been re-supplied, and there's a very high risk another bomb will fall on/near/around or anywhere in the vicinity of the hospitals.

When there's a crisis, doctors, nurses, paramedics, don't bring everything to a stop while they try to figure out who's to blame, they just frantically try to save lives. Thank goodness.

JMO

 

[JennieM]

Palestinians inspect their destroyed homes following Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, an area where residents have been instructed to evacuate by the Israeli military.

Photograph: Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Images

Israel-Hamas war live: Egypt-Gaza crossing to open for aid on Friday at the earliest, says White House

Egypt’s president agrees to open the Rafah crossing to allow 20 trucks with humanitarian aid into Gaza

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

13h ago

Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Lebanon has called on its citizens to leave the country.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1714647829052871078

Egypt’s president agrees to open the Rafah crossing – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

www.theguardian.com

 

[PommyMommy]

12 hour operational recap:

Here’s a summary of activity on our border with Lebanon:

• 9 launches crossed from Lebanon into Israel
• 4 interceptions by the IDF Aerial Defense Array
• several anti-tank missiles fired from Lebanon toward Israel

Our forces responded to these hostilities by:

• returning fire to the origin of the strikes
• thwarting a terrorist cell using an IDF UAV
• striking Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure using tank fire

Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) / X (twitter.com)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1714852119944085782

 

[JennieM]

12h ago

US to provide $100m in humanitarian assistance in Gaza and the West Bank​

The US will provide $100m (£82m) in humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people in Gaza and the West Bank, the White House said.

The assistance will be provided through “trusted partners” including UN agencies and international NGOs, a statement from the White House said.

The funding will help support more than one million people with clean water, food, hygiene support, medical care, and other essential needs, it said.

Civilians are not to blame and should not suffer for Hamas’s horrific terrorism. Civilian lives must be protected and assistance must urgently reach those in need.
We will continue to work closely with partners in the region to stress the importance of upholding the law of war, supporting those who are trying to get to safety or provide assistance, and facilitating access to food, water, medical care and shelter.

Israel-Hamas war live: Egypt-Gaza crossing to open for aid on Friday at the earliest, says White House

Egypt’s president agrees to open the Rafah crossing to allow 20 trucks with humanitarian aid into Gaza

www.theguardian.com

 

[Seattle1]

I’m sorry …morbid question, but before they buried them today in the mass grave, we’re they able to identify them all?

Dozens of unidentified bodies have been buried in mass graves in Gaza City, according to head of the Hamas-controlled government media office. “Because dozens of other martyrs were incoming, children, babies, women, men, elders, we were inclined to perform our rightful and moral duty toward those martyrs to bury them

Dozens buried in mass graves in Gaza City, Hamas government media office says

Gaza is being "strangled" by Israel's weeklong siege and aerial bombardment, UN experts warned, as concerns grow that further escalation and a lack of safety for fleeing civilians risks drawing regional foes into the long-running conflict.

www.cnn.com

 

[JennieM]

11h ago

Israel’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, hinted that Israel may annex part of Gaza in a radio interview on Wednesday.

Cohen was reported by the Times of Israel as saying:

At the end of this war, not only will Hamas no longer be in Gaza, but the territory of Gaza will also decrease.

Israel-Hamas war live: Egypt-Gaza crossing to open for aid on Friday at the earliest, says White House

Egypt’s president agrees to open the Rafah crossing to allow 20 trucks with humanitarian aid into Gaza

www.theguardian.com

 

[Sillybilly]

ADMIN NOTE:

There's an antagonistic tone going on in this thread tonight. Stop the back and forth snark, sarcasm, rudeness and personalizing or thread bans and/or Time Outs will be issued.

Thank you.

 

[Gypsy Road]

Dozens of unidentified bodies have been buried in mass graves in Gaza City, according to head of the Hamas-controlled government media office. “Because dozens of other martyrs were incoming, children, babies, women, men, elders, we were inclined to perform our rightful and moral duty toward those martyrs to bury them

Dozens buried in mass graves in Gaza City, Hamas government media office says

Gaza is being "strangled" by Israel's weeklong siege and aerial bombardment, UN experts warned, as concerns grow that further escalation and a lack of safety for fleeing civilians risks drawing regional foes into the long-running conflict.

www.cnn.com

Dozens?

 

[PommyMommy]

From CNN

Great video. Thank you.

 

[SouthAussie]

9m ago

Australia updates travel advice for Lebanon to 'do not travel'​

The Australian government has updated its travel advice for Lebanon to “do not travel”, citing, “the volatile security situation and the risk of the security situation deteriorating further.”

The move follows similar advisories from the US and UK governments.

Egypt’s president agrees to open the Rafah crossing – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

www.theguardian.com

About 4 or 5 days ago is when Foreign Minister Penny Wong started telling Aussie people to reconsider any need to be in Lebanon. If you didn't have to be there, get out.

Wong tells Australians to leave Lebanon as Israel-Hamas conflict escalates

 

[JennieM]

5m ago

Sunak to meet Netanyahu in Tel Aviv​

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected in Israel early on Thursday morning, where he will meet his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

He is also expected to insist that humanitarian aid, which London recently announced would be increased for the Palestinians, be allowed to arrive at a time when Israel has authorised the entry of aid into Gaza from Egypt, and that Britons stranded in Gaza be allowed to leave.

Alongside the British prime minister’s trip, his Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is due to visit Egypt, Turkey and Qatar “in the coming days”, according to Downing Street.

Israel defence minister tells troops they will soon see Gaza – as it happened

This blog is now closed. You can find the latest updates here.

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

1m ago

EU ministers to meet on security​

Reuters: The European Union’s migration ministers meet on Thursday to discuss improving security in the bloc after deadly attacks in France and Belgium, as well as worries whether the war between Israel and Hamas would force mass displacement of people.

Some in the 27-nation bloc have already called for tighter borders, more repatriations of foreigners and new deals with African states to keep refugees and migrants from Europe since a Tunisian failed asylum-seeker killed two in Brussels on Monday.

A teacher was slain in northern France last week in an attack President Emmanuel Macron condemned as “Islamist terrorism”.

The killings occurred at a time of heightened security concerns across much of Europe linked to the Israel-Hamas war.

“The implications of the situation in the Middle East for our internal security... are very topical right now,” said an EU diplomat involved in preparing the ministerial talks.

“Both with regard to the situation as it develops in the Middle East and to what we’re seeing happening inside of the EU.”

The ministers are not expected to take any specific decisions but will discuss topics including what particular developments could cause Palestinians to flee in large numbers, or trigger violent acts inside the bloc.

Israel defence minister tells troops they will soon see Gaza – as it happened

This blog is now closed. You can find the latest updates here.

www.theguardian.com