Israel - Palestinian militants launch massive attack, 7 Oct 2023 #6

[justtrish]

Hamas appears to be, the crowned King of all Gaslighters.

What's worse, if possible, they actually have supporters all over the world, that the supporters themselves would be next in line to be brutally, violently exterminated, if Hamas had the chance to do so.

It's truly mind-boggling to observe.

This is the most baffling part of all of it.

Terrorists will be terrorists.. it's who they are. Their actions are shocking to those of us that do not think that way, but their behavior is nothing new.. they kill, they torture, they enjoy it, they even kill themselves to commit these heinous crimes. Terrorists terrorize.

Those of us who are not terrorists and who do not believe in killing people, especially not innocent civilians, the idea that ANYONE who isn't a terrorist to see these actions and think, yeah well because A did B, it's fine or to view it as some justified action because of the situation its just baffling. Making the terrorists the "good guys" is not something I can even find a possible excuse for.

Can I feel for innocent civilians in Gaza.. YES 100%
Can I feel for Palestinians around the world feeling helpless and wanting to show support for those in Gaza now? YES

Can I come up with ANY reason for people to praise HAMAS for what was done. NO.. well yes I can and that reason is those people think terrorism is okay, they are terrorists.

It's a sad day when anyone believes that a sneak attack on only 100% innocent people is acceptable for ANY reason. Can't even wrap my head around it. Looking for reasons to justify beheading babies, pregnant women, elderly people, torturing them, mutilating their bodies, abducting them, raping them..

There might be many grey areas in the world, but this is black and white.

PS: The restraint that Israel has shown also highlights the vast difference in HAMAS and Israel. Warning after warning after warning. Did or would HAMAS do that? Not a chance.. they came like a thief in the night and celebrated the shock and awe if it while they committed the worst offences one can commit on another person, even recording the carnage.

 

[Momoffourboys]

Israel Defense Forces

@IDF

The translation from Arabic that has now spread across platforms is imprecise. To clarify, the IDF has no intention of considering those who have yet to evacuate as a member of a terrorist group. The IDF states, once again, for the safety of Gazan civilians, that they should evacuate to the south of Wadi Gaza. All those who remain are endangering themselves due to the Hamas’ terrorist activities within civilian areas.

https://x.com/IDF/status/1715819239221641617?s=20

 

[JennieM]

‘The strikes are everywhere’: Palestinians flee south in Gaza but cannot escape bombs​

Displaced Palestinians give a bleak first-hand account of how the Israel-Hamas war has torn apart the lives of their families

[…]

The implication behind the order for northern Gazans to move south to towns like Khan Younis and Rafah was that it was somehow for their own safety, but Lubna says the bombing in the south is constant. […] “When I say everywhere, it’s literally everywhere,” she said of the airstrikes.

Alongside the bombing, the worst privation for her family is the lack of water. Gaza has been cut off from fuel supplies for two weeks now, so there is no power to run its desalination plants or water pumps. Even if more relief convoys get through from Egypt, Israel has prohibited them from bringing fuel, lest it be used by Hamas. The dire water shortage has no end in sight, and severe dehydration is already widespread.

[…]

The constant bombing of the south has made many of the million displaced Palestinians wonder if they are any safer there, and whether it would be better to take their chances at home. The UN Relief and Works Agency has reported some displaced people leaving their shelters in recent days and moving back to the north.

[…]

‘The strikes are everywhere’: Palestinians flee south in Gaza but cannot escape bombs

Displaced Palestinians give a bleak first-hand account of how the Israel-Hamas war has torn apart the lives of their families

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

Israel-Hamas war: where do surrounding countries stand?​

Complicated web of relationships are strained as Israel bombards Gaza in retaliation to Hamas

Israel-Hamas war: where do surrounding countries stand?

Complicated web of relationships are strained as Israel bombards Gaza in retaliation to Hamas attack

www.theguardian.com

 

[PommyMommy]

Israel-Hamas war live updates: Relief over hostage release; aid crosses into Gaza from Egypt (nbcnews.com)
4m ago / 1:15 PM PDT

Qatar’s strategy: Convince Hamas that freeing hostages is the only way to avert war​

Qatar played a central role in securing the surprise release Friday of an American mother and daughter held hostage by Hamas. Now that Judith Raanan and her daughter, Natalie, are free, negotiators in Qatar hope that the release of more captives by Hamas “could lead to wider dialogue or mediation,” aimed at averting a full-scale war, a diplomat with knowledge of the talks told NBC News on Saturday.

There were “ups and downs” during the discussions, said the diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk publicly. Ultimately the American mother and daughter walked free because negotiators were able to convince Hamas that the unconditional release of two hostages could serve as a confidence building measure.

Read the full story here.

 

[PommyMommy]

6min ago

Netanyahu’s office calls Hamas claim it offered to free hostages ‘propaganda lies’​

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office says it “will not respond” after Hamas claimed to have offered to release two hostages but was rejected by Israel.

The spokesperson for Hamas’s military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Obeida, said earlier that the terror group informed Qatar yesterday that they would release two hostages held in the Gaza Strip, but that Israel refused to accept them.

Abu Obeida named the two hostages, saying they would have been released for “humanitarian reasons.”

“We won’t respond to Hamas’s propaganda lies,” Netanyahu’s bureau says. “We will continue to do everything possible to return all the hostages and missing home.”

Israeli officials have accused Hamas of “psychological terror” by means of various statements and footage of some of the more than 200 hostages it holds in the Gaza Strip.

 

[Momoffourboys]

Cairo summit participants fail to agree on statement condemning Hamas​

…

Western delegates demanded “a clear condemnation placing responsibility for the escalation on Hamas” but Arab leaders refused, a diplomat tells AFP on condition of anonymity.
….

Cairo summit participants fail to agree on statement condemning Hamas

* * *

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[PommyMommy]

Live updates: First humanitarian trucks enter Gaza as Israel-Hamas war rages (cnn.com)
6 min ago

Israeli military will increase Gaza airstrikes, spokesperson says​

The Israel Defense Forces will increase airstrikes on Gaza "from today," IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said Saturday.

“We will increase our strikes, minimize the risk to our troops in the next stages of the war, and we will intensify the strikes, starting from today," Hagari told reporters during a briefing in Tel Aviv.

When asked whether Israel has halted a ground operation in Gaza due to US pressure, Hagari said the Israeli military would launch such an operation when the conditions for the military are optimal.

The IDF has continued to conduct airstrikes over the last day, Hagari said.

"Our main effort in Gaza is to eliminate the terrorists, and especially those involved in the massacre on Saturday two weeks ago," he said, referring to the surprise attack carried out by Hamas, which Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people.

"We continue to destroy terror targets ahead of the next stage of the war, and are focusing on our readiness to the next stage," he added.

Remember: Hamas controls the Gaza Strip, the coastal enclave home to more than 2 million Palestinians. Gaza is gripped by a deepening humanitarian crisis, with an Israeli siege cutting off access to critical resources and airstrikes killing at least 4,385 people since October 7, according to the health ministry in Gaza.

Israel has told over 1 million people to leave the northern Gaza Strip as it prepares for the next stages of the war with Hamas. The Israel Defense Forces' chief of staff told IDF commanders Saturday that the military will "enter the Gaza Strip."

Threats elsewhere: The IDF is focusing "on the goals we have in Gaza, as they were set by the government and they will have to be fulfilled," Hagari said.

"At the same time, we look at all the threats in the Middle East," he added. "If there are any developments, we will adapt, however our focus is Gaza," he said when asked about the potential of an additional front fighting Hezbollah, the paramilitary that has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces at the Israel-Lebanon border.

 

[JennieM]

US ‘holding back Israel from strike against Hezbollah’​

Hawks call for action after attacks on settlements in the north, while Rishi Sunak urges caution to prevent conflict spreading

The Israeli government is coming under growing pressure from security establishment hawks to launch a pre-emptive strike on Hezbollah in Lebanon – but is facing strong opposition from the US, which fears a two-front war would risk igniting a major regional conflict.

[…]

The US has had less success in convincing Israel to open up a humanitarian corridor into Gaza. A week after US officials first claimed to have struck an agreement with Israel to allow aid relief through, a first convoy of 20 trucks went through the border crossing at Rafah on Friday, but aid officials said it fell woefully short of what was needed.

Under the US-brokered agreement, the trucks delivered aid from the Egyptian Red Crescent to the Palestinian arm of that organisation. Aid officials said they were not expecting a delivery on Sunday, with the next consignment due to be a UN convoy on Monday.

[…]

Aid agencies are also negotiating with Israel to allow fuel, essential for hospital generators and Gaza’s water desalination and pumping system, to be part of the humanitarian convoys.

[…]

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, reduced to a bystander in the Israel-Hamas conflict, said Palestinians were being forcibly displaced in Gaza and the West Bank, where harassment from settlers with security force support is driving increasing numbers of people off their ancestral land. “We will never leave our land and we’ll stand tall on our land until the end,” Abbas declared.

[…]

US ‘holding back Israel from strike against Hezbollah’

Hawks call for action after attacks on settlements in the north, while Rishi Sunak urges caution to prevent the conflict spreading

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

21s ago

Another humanitarian organization, Mercy Corps, has joined other organizations in calling for further and urgent release of aid into Gaza following today’s initial release.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the Mercy Corps CEO Tjada D’Oyen McKenna said:

It is welcome news that an initial convoy of 20 trucks bringing food, water and medicine from Egypt has crossed into Gaza – the first since the conflict’s outbreak – but this falls far short of what will be needed to meet the alarming levels of need …

Truckloads of supplies still sit within mere miles on the other side of the Rafah crossing as people in Gaza get their first trickle of aid today. The UN, Egypt, Israel and all others negotiating the terms of aid deliveries must immediately determine a way for safe, sustained and scalable aid access and delivery. Only then can the aid community working in Gaza begin to respond to this worsening humanitarian catastrophe.

Strikes on Gaza to increase from today, Israeli spokesperson says – as it happened

Israeli Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said: ‘We will deepen our attacks to minimise the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war.’ This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

(Not directed at you, @JennieM - I'm just sooooooooooo tired of Russia...)

I think we all are.

 

[JennieM]

19m ago

US president Joe Biden, has said that the US “remains committed to ensuring that civilians in Gaza will continue to have access to food, water, medical care and other assistance, without diversion by Hamas”.

In a statement released on Saturday, Biden said: “The opening of this essential supply route was the result of days of diplomatic engagement at the highest levels.”

He went on to express thanks to the Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the United Nations.

“We will continue to work with all parties to keep the Rafah crossing in operation to enable the continued movement of aid that is imperative to the welfare of the people of Gaza, and to continue working to protect civilians, consistent with obligations under international humanitarian law,” Biden added.

Strikes on Gaza to increase from today, Israeli spokesperson says – as it happened

Israeli Rear Adm Daniel Hagari said: ‘We will deepen our attacks to minimise the dangers to our forces in the next stages of the war.’ This blog is now closed

www.theguardian.com

 

[PommyMommy]

11:25 pm

President of Detroit synagogue stabbed to death​

The president of a Detroit synagogue has been found stabbed to death outside her home, police and officials say.

No motive has been announced in the slaying of Samantha Woll, 40, who led the Isaac Agree Downtown Detroit Synagogue. She was found lying on the ground and unresponsive, with a trail of blood leading back to her home, according to police.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says she is “shocked, saddened and horrified to learn of Sam’s brutal murder. Sam was as kind a person as I’ve ever known.”

Woll worked on campaigns for Nessel and was an aide to Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Slotkin wrote that “in politics & in the Jewish community, she dedicated her short life to building understanding across faiths, bringing light in the face of darkness,” the Detroit News reports.

The killing comes as Jewish communities throughout the US have stepped up security amid rising interfaith tensions around the Israel-Hamas war.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1715798450938216810

 

[cottonweaver]

I'm behind on news but has this been reported elsewhere? (Axios was previously allowed as a source IIRC)


https://x.com/axios/status/1715790582809870556?s=20


SCOOP: Israel says it found Hamas files with instructions for making cyanide-based weapon

More here:

The Israeli military found a USB key with instructions for the production of a "cyanide dispersion device" on the body of a Hamas operative who participated in the Oct. 7 terrorist attack, according to two Israeli officials and a copy of a classified Israeli Foreign Ministry cable obtained by Axios.

The big picture: It is not clear from the file whether Hamas had any serious or operational plan for using makeshift chemical weapons or whether the group had attempted to produce them.

https://www.axios.com/2023/10/21/israel-hamas-cyanide-weapon-instructions?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_source=twitter

WMD?

 

[JennieM]

7:05 pm BST

Israeli airstrikes hit several residential buildings

A Palestinian girl reacts as a child is carried from the rubble of a building after an airstrike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

A barrage of Israeli airstrikes on Gaza’s southern city of [Khan Younis] near a U.N. school struck several residential buildings, prompting a frantic rescue effort as medics rushed several dead bodies and dozens of wounded Palestinians to the hospital.

At the Hamouda family home seven people were killed and 40 others were wounded, survivors told The Associated Press at the scene of the attack.

Israel Hamas war live updates: Israel escalates its bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza

More than 1 million Palestinians, roughly half of Gaza’s population, have fled homes in the north and Gaza City after Israel told them to evacuate.

apnews.com

 

[PommyMommy]

Hamas now says it will release the two hostages tomorrow. Can't tell if more psychological warfare or if they are just indecisive

https://twitter.com/x/status/1715826035407679685

For those who can't view the tweet - this is an update to an earlier tweet which read:

Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obeida claims the terror group informed Qatar yesterday that they would release two hostages held in the Gaza Strip, but that Israel refused to accept them. No immediate comment from Israeli officials.

 

[JennieM]

2:16 pm BST

UNICEF says initial aid convoy will save lives but is inadequate

A two-truck U.N. convoy that entered Gaza from Egypt is carrying over 44,000 bottles of drinking water from the U.N. children’s agency - a day’s supply for 22,000 people, according to UNICEF.

“This first, limited water will save lives, but the needs are immediate and immense,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said.

The agency said it has supplies for up to 250,000 people at the Rafah crossing that can be brought into Gaza in a matter of hours.

Israel Hamas war live updates: Israel escalates its bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza

More than 1 million Palestinians, roughly half of Gaza’s population, have fled homes in the north and Gaza City after Israel told them to evacuate.

apnews.com

 

[JennieM]

10:55 am BST

Egyptian president says forcing Palestinians into Egypt isn’t the answer

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has reiterated his government’s rejection of forcing Palestinians in Gaza to flee into his country’s Sinai Peninsula.

He said that the Palestinian cause won’t be settled through forcing the Palestinians to leave their homes, and “end the statehood dream.”

“The whole Egyptian people won’t accept the liquidation of the Palestinian cause ... and will never happen on the expanse of Egypt,” el-Sissi said.

Speaking at a summit his government is hosting on the war Saturday, the Egyptian leader set out a roadmap to end the ongoing war which included ensuring the flow of aid to Gaza, negotiating a cease-fire, and embarking on peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians to establish a Palestinian state based on the borders before the 1967 Mideast war.

“We are facing an unprecedented crisis that requires full attention to avert expanding the conflict,” he said.

Israel Hamas war live updates: Israel escalates its bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza

More than 1 million Palestinians, roughly half of Gaza’s population, have fled homes in the north and Gaza City after Israel told them to evacuate.

apnews.com

 

[Yesiamapirate]

I can’t help but wonder if this is related to the recent events.

Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll found fatally stabbed outside her home

Samantha Woll was found stabbed multiple times outside her residence in Detroit.

fox2detroit.com

"She was instrumental in the founding of the Muslim-Jewish Forum of Detroit — a grassroots collective of young adults of both faiths who gather in partnership to learn, celebrate, and build community together,' the paper wrote.

 

[JennieM]

11:42 am BST

UN chief: Hamas attack doesn’t justify Israel’s ‘collective punishment’ of Palestinians

The United Nations’ chief says Hamas’ “reprehensible assault” on Israel “can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

Secretary-General António Guterres called for protection of civilians and the sparing of civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and U.N. premises, from the bombardment.

Speaking at a summit Egypt is hosting on the Israel-Gaza war, Guterres pointed to the “the wider context” of war, saying that the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “the only realistic foundation for a true peace and stability.”
“Israelis must see their legitimate needs for security materialized, and Palestinians must see their legitimate aspirations for an independent state realized,” he said.

He said the U.N. is working around the clock with all parties to ensure a sustainable delivery of aid to Gaza, following the crossing of a first 20-truck convoy on Saturday.

“But the people of Gaza need a commitment for much, much more — a continuous delivery of aid to Gaza at the scale that is needed,” he said.

Israel Hamas war live updates: Israel escalates its bombardment of Palestinians in Gaza

More than 1 million Palestinians, roughly half of Gaza’s population, have fled homes in the north and Gaza City after Israel told them to evacuate.

apnews.com