caitlin johnstone

October 25, 2023 – 3:33 pm

White House Says Continued Civilian Slaughter “Is Going To Happen” In Gaza
Caitlin Johnstone, Oct 25 2023

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told the press on Tuesday that the continued killing of civilians in Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza “is going to happen.” He said:

This is war. It is combat. It is bloody, ugly and it’s going to be messy, and innocent civilians are going to be hurt going forward. I wish I could tell you something different — I wish that wasn’t gonna happen, but it is going to happen. And that doesn’t make it right. It doesn’t make it dismissible. It doesn’t mean that we aren’t going to express concerns about that and do everything we can to help the Israelis do everything they can to minimize it. But that’s unfortunately the nature of conflict.

Oh okay well as long as you’re going to “express concerns.”

The information interests of Israel and its western allies have been greatly served by framing this onslaught as a “war,” when that label doesn’t actually apply here. A war is when two nations or groups are in a state of armed combat with each other; one side may be more powerful than the other, but the combat is decidedly going two ways. That’s not what’s happening here. Israel is raining high-tech military explosives upon civilian infrastructure inside a giant concentration camp densely populated with children, and every now and then a militant in Gaza fires back a type of rocket that is essentially a glorified firework which historically hardly ever kills anyone. Israel is killing civilians by the thousands and turning entire city blocks to rubble, while Hamas and other resistance groups in Gaza are doing some light property damage in what amounts to a performative display of defiance. That’s not a war. That’s a massacre. By calling this something that it isn’t instead of what it is, Israel apologists are able to respond to all criticisms of its actions with a shrug and a “This is war, man. War is ugly, what can I tell ya?” They wouldn’t be able to do that if they were addressing this atrocity truthfully.

The only thing truthful about Kirby’s framing was his statement that the slaughter of civilians is going to keep happening. The death toll from airstrikes in Gaza has reportedly surpassed 6,500, with the 24-hour periods from Monday to Tuesday and Tuesday to Wednesday both exceeding 700 deaths each. As Antiwar’s Dave DeCamp notes, this large escalation in deaths coincides with claims from Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel has escalated its bombing campaign. This is all being funded and supported by the US, which has been ramping up its military presence in the middle east in some pretty disconcerting ways. Not one but two US aircraft carrier strike groups have been deployed to the eastern Mediterranean since the killing began, and the Pentagon has told the press that it expects a “significant escalation” in attacks on US troops in the middle east in response to Israel’s relentless assault on Palestinian lives. US military advisers have been sent to Israel to help the IDF prepare for its ground invasion of Gaza, and as usual Australia is joining in the US warmongering by sending more troops to the middle east as well. So we can expect a lot more killing in the near future, one way or the other. No meaningful pressure is being placed on Israel to stop butchering civilians, and an escalation into a broader war in the middle east is not at all outside the realm of possibility. Things could be headed in a direction that makes a genocidal massacre look like sunny days in retrospect.

By niqnaq | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

the cradle

October 25, 2023 – 10:47 am

What really happened on Oct 7?
Robert Inlakesh, The Cradle, Oct 24 2023

Two weeks after the Hamas breakout assault on Israel on Oct 7, a clearer picture of what happened, who died, and who killed, is now beginning to emerge. Instead of the wholescale massacre of civilians claimed by Israel, incomplete figures published by Haaretz show that almost half the Israelis killed that day were in fact combatants, soldiers or police. In the interim, two weeks of blanket western media reporting that Hamas allegedly killed around 1,400 Israeli civilians during its Oct 7 military attack has served to inflame emotions and create the climate for Israel’s unconstrained destruction of the Gaza Strip and its civilian population.

Accounts of the Israeli death toll have been filtered and shaped to suggest that a wholesale civilian massacre occurred that day, with babies, children, and women the main targets of a terror attack. Now, detailed statistics on the casualties released by Haaretz paint a starkly different picture. As of Oct 23, the news outlet has released information on 683 Israelis killed during the Hamas-led offensive, including their names and locations of their deaths on Oct 7. Of these, 331 casualties or 48.4% have been confirmed to be soldiers and police officers, many of them female. Another 13 are described as rescue service members, and the remaining 339 are ostensibly considered to be civilians.

While this list is not comprehensive and only accounts for roughly half of Israel’s stated death toll, almost half of those killed in the melee are clearly identified as Israeli combatants. There are also so far no recorded deaths of children under the age of three, which throws into question the Israeli narrative that babies were targeted by Palestinian resistance fighters. Of the 683 total casualties reported thus far, seven were between the ages of 4 and 7, and nine between the ages of 10 and 17. The remaining 667 casualties appear to be adults.

Age distribution of the Israelis killed on Oct 7 (as of Oct 23).

The numbers and proportion of Palestinian civilians and children among those killed by Israeli bombardment over the past two weeks (over 5,791 killed including 2,360 children and 1,292 women and more than 18k injured) are far higher than any of these Israeli figures from the events of Oct 7. The daring Hamas-led military operation, codenamed Al-Aqsa Flood, unfolded with a dramatic dawn raid at approximately 6:30 AM (Palestine time) on Oct 7. This was accompanied by a cacophony of sirens breaking the silence of occupied Jerusalem, signaling the start of what became an extraordinary event in the occupation state’s 75-year history. As per the spokesperson of Hamas’ armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, around 1,500 Palestinian fighters crossed the formidable Gaza-Israel separation barrier. However, this breakout was not limited to Hamas forces alone; numerous armed fighters belonging to other factions such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad later breached the armistice line, along with some Palestinians unaffiliated with any organized militia.

As it became apparent this was no ordinary resistance operation, hundreds of videos quickly flooded social media, most of which have been viewed by The Cradle, depicting dead Israeli troops and settlers, fierce gunfire battles between various parties, and Israelis being taken captive into Gaza. These videos were either taken on the phones of Israelis, or were released by Palestinian fighters filming their own operation. It wasn’t until hours later that more gruesome and downright dubious allegations began to surface. Aviva Klompas, a former speechwriter for the Israeli mission to the UN, was the first Israeli of note to spread this claim:

She posted this on X at 9:18 PM (Palestine time), on Oct 7, although an op-ed Klompa published with Newsweek at 12:28 AM (Palestine time), on Oct 8, made no mention of any sexual violence. Klompas is also the co-founder of Boundless Israel, a “think-action tank” that works “to revitalize Israel education and take bold collective action to combat Jew-hatred.” An “unapologetically Zionist” charitable group that works to promote Israeli narratives on social media. The one case touted as proof of rape was that of a young German-Israeli woman named Shani Louk, who was filmed face down in the back of a pickup truck and was widely assumed dead. It was unclear whether the fighters filmed with Louk in the Gaza-bound vehicle were members of Hamas, as they do not sport the uniforms or insignia of the Al-Qassam troops identifiable in other Hamas videos. Some even wore casual civilian clothing and sandals. Later, her mother claimed to have evidence that her daughter was still alive, but had suffered a severe head wound. This rings true with information released by Hamas that indicated Louk was being treated for her injuries at an unspecified Gaza hospital. Complicating matters further, on the day these rape allegations arose, Israelis would not have had access to this information. Their armed forces had not yet entered many, if not most, of the areas liberated by the resistance and were still engaged in armed clashes with them on multiple fronts. Nevertheless, these rape claims took on a life of their own, with even Biden alleging, during a speech days later, that Israeli women were “raped, assaulted, paraded as trophies” by Hamas fighters. It is important to note that The Forward’s article on Oct 11 reported that the Israeli military acknowledged they had no evidence of such allegations at that point. When the army later made its own allegations of decapitations, foot amputations, and rape, Reuters pointed out:

The military personnel overseeing the identification process didn’t present any forensic evidence in the form of pictures or medical records.

To date, there is no credible evidence of these atrocities that has been presented. Other outrageous allegations, such as the story of Hamas “beheading 40 babies‘ made headlines and the front pages of countless western news outlets. Even Biden claimed to have seen “confirmed photos of terrorists beheading babies.” The claims trace back to Israeli reserve settler and soldier David Ben Zion, who has previously incited violent riots against Palestinians and called for the West Bank town of Huwara to be wiped out. No evidence was ever produced to support these claims and the White House itself confirmed later that Joe Biden had never seen such photos.

There is little to no credible evidence that Palestinian fighters had a plan to kill or harm unarmed Israeli civilians on Oct 7, or deliberately sought to do so. From the available footage, we witness them engaging primarily with armed Israeli forces, accounting for the deaths of hundreds of occupation soldiers. As Qassam Brigades’ Spokesman Abu Obeida made clear on Oct 12:

Al-Aqsa Flood operation aimed to destroy the Gaza Division (an Israeli army unit on Gaza’s borders) which was attacked at 15 points, followed by attacking 10 further military intervention points. We attacked the Zikim site and several other settlements outside the Gaza Division headquarters.

Abu Obeida and other resistance officials claims that the other key objective of their operation was to take Israeli prisoners that they could exchange for the approximately 5,300 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli detention centers, many of whom are women and children. Hamas Deputy Head of the Political Bureau of Saleh Al-Arouri, in an interview after the operation, stressed:

We have a large and qualitative number and senior officers. All we can say now is that the freedom of our prisoners is at the doorstep.

Both sides play this game: Since the start of its military assault on Gaza, Israel has rounded up and imprisoned more than 1.2k Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. To date there have been 38 prisoner exchange deals between the resistance factions and Tel Aviv, deals that Israelis often resist to the very last minute.

While these kinds of testimonies trickle out, reports are emerging that Israeli authorities have dialed up the mistreatment, torture, and even killing of Palestinian prisoners in their custody, a violation of the Geneva Conventions, which ironically, a non-state actor like Hamas appears to have followed to the letter. In relation to the events of Oct 7, there are certainly some videos depicting possibly unarmed Israelis, killed in their vehicles or at entrances to facilities, so that Palestinian troops could gain access. There are also videos which show the fighters engaging in shootouts with armed Israeli forces, where there were unarmed Israelis taking cover in between, in addition to videos of fighters shooting toward houses and throwing grenades into fortified areas. Eyewitness testimony also suggests grenades were thrown into bomb shelters, though by whom is unclear.

Even at the Israeli “peace rave,” which has been cited as the single deadliest attack committed by Palestinian fighters during their operation, videos emerged that appeared to show Israeli forces opening fire through a crowd of unarmed civilians, toward targets they believed to be Hamas members. ABC News also reported that an Israeli tank had headed to the site of the festival.

In its report on the events at Be’eri Kibbutz, ABC News photographed artillery pieces resembling Israeli munitions outside a bombed-out home. The reporter, David Muir, mentioned that Hamas fighters, covered in plastic bags, were found in the aftermath. Additionally, videos of the scene show homes that appear to have been struck by munitions that Hamas fighters did not possess. Muir reported that about 14 people were held hostage in a building by Palestinian fighters. A Hebrew-language Haaretz article published on Oct 20, which only appears in English in a must-read Mondoweiss article, paints a very different story of what went down in Be’eri that day. A Kibbutz resident who had been away from his home, whose partner was killed in the melee, reveals stunning new details:

His voice trembles when his partner, who was besieged in her home shelter at the time, comes to mind. According to him, only on Monday night (Oct 9) and only after the commanders in the field made difficult decisions, including shelling houses with all their occupants inside in order to eliminate the terrorists along with the hostages, did the IDF complete the takeover of the kibbutz. The price was terrible: at least 112 Be’eri people were killed. Others were kidnapped. Yesterday, 11 days after the massacre, the bodies of a mother and her son were discovered in one of the destroyed houses. It is believed that more bodies are still lying in the rubble.

Photo evidence of the destruction in Be’eri corroborates his account. Only the heavy munitions of the Israeli army could have destroyed residential homes in this manner.

Aftermath of Be’eri Kibbutz after the firepower of the two sides ceased.

Yasmin Porat, a survivor from Kibbutz Be’eri, said in an interview for an Israeli radio-show hosted by state-broadcaster Kan that Israeli forces “eliminated everyone, including the hostages,” going on to state that “there was very, very heavy crossfire” and even noted tank shelling. Porat had attended the Nova rave and testified to the humane treatment throughout different interviews she conducted with Israeli media. She explained that when she was held prisoner, the Hamas fighters “guarded us,” telling her in Hebrew:

Look at me well, we’re not going to kill you. We want to take you to Gaza. We are not going to kill you. So be calm, you’re not going to die.

She also added the following:

They give us something to drink here and there. When they see we are nervous they calm us down. It was very frightening, but no-one treated us violently. Luckily nothing happened to me like what I heard in the media.

Increasingly, and to the horror of some Israeli officials and news outlets, Israeli eyewitnesses and survivors of the bloodshed are testifying that they were treated well by Palestinian fighters. On Oct 24, Israeli state broadcaster Kan bemoaned the fact that prisoner Yocheved Lifshitz, released by Hamas the day before, was allowed to make statements live on air. As she was handed over to Red Cross intermediaries, the elderly Israeli female captive was caught on camera turning back to squeeze the hand of her Hamas captor in her last goodbyes. Lifshitz’s live broadcast, in which she spoke about her two-week ordeal, “humanized” her Hamas captors even further as she recounted her daily life with the fighters:

They were very friendly toward us. They took care of us. We were given medicine and were treated. One of the men with us was badly injured in a motorbike accident. Their (Hamas) paramedics looked after his wounds, he was given medicine and antibiotics. The people were friendly. They kept the place very clean. They were very concerned about us.

It is essential to recognize that in many reports by western journalists on the ground, the majority of information regarding the actions of Hamas fighters comes from the Israeli army, an active participant in the conflict. Emerging evidence now indicates that there is a high probability, especially due to the scale of the infrastructural damage, that Israeli military forces could have deliberately killed captives, fired on incorrect targets, or mistaken Israelis for Palestinians in their firefights. If the only source of information for a serious claim made is the Israeli army, then it has to be taken into account that they have reason to conceal cases of friendly fire. Israeli friendly fire was rampant, even in the days that followed, from an army with very little actual combat experience. In the city of Ashkelon on Oct 8, Israeli soldiers shot dead and shouted insults at the body of a man they believed to have been a Hamas fighter, yet later realized they had executed a fellow Israeli. This is just one of three such examples of friendly fire in one day, resulting in the killing of Israelis by their own troops.

Amid the fog of war, parties to the conflict have different perspectives on what occurred during the initial raid and its aftermath. It’s not disputed that Palestinian armed groups inflicted significant losses on the Israeli military, but there will be plenty of ongoing debate regarding everything else in the weeks and months to come. An independent, impartial, international investigation is urgently needed, one that has access to information from all sides involved in the conflict. Neither the Israelis nor the Americans will agree to this, which itself suggests that Tel Aviv has much to conceal. In the meantime, Palestinian civilians in Gaza endure ongoing, indiscriminate attacks with the most sophisticated heavy weapons in existence, living under the persistent threat of forced and potentially irreversible displacement. This Israeli air blitz was made possible only by the flood of unsubstantiated ‘Hamas atrocities’ stories that media began to circulate on and after Oct 7.

New airstrikes hit Jenin camp as Israeli raids escalate
The Cradle, Oct 25 2023

Israel carried out airstrikes near the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank early on Oct 25, coming after a series of Israeli arrest raids and incursions across the territory. WAFA reported:

Three Palestinians were killed, and others were injured, at dawn on Wednesday, after Israeli occupation forces bombed a group of citizens in the Jenin camp.

The three dead were fighters belonging to the Jenin Brigade of Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades. According to local sources, the Israeli army stormed the areas surrounding the camp and deployed snipers on rooftops before the airstrike was carried out. Around 23 Palestinians, including a child, were injured in the attack. Clashes also erupted in the Jenin camp, as fighters targeted the invading Israeli force with explosive devices. The Jenin Brigade said in a statement:

The enemy’s use of warplanes during direct confrontations with our Mujahideen is clear evidence of the cowardice of its soldiers.

This was the second Israeli airstrike on Jenin since the launching of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. Three days ago, the Jenin camp’s Al-Ansar Mosque was badly damaged in an Israeli airstrike. Israeli forces launched a brutal operation in Jenin in July this year, aimed at rooting out Jenin Brigade fighters. During the operation, the city was targeted by airstrikes for the first time since 2002. Another two Palestinians were killed as a result of Israeli military raids in the cities of Qalandiya, near Jerusalem, and Qalqilya. Dozens of Palestinians were also detained by Israeli forces in several areas of the West Bank, coming as part of an ongoing mass arrest campaign. 72 Palestinians were detained by Israel in several areas of the West Bank during the early hours of Oct 25.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS), over 1.2k people have been arrested by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank since Oct 7. There were about 5.2k Palestinians in Israeli prisons before Oct 7, but that number has now risen to more than 10k people due to Israel’s detention campaign, Palestinian officials said recently. West Bank resistance groups are significantly increasing their activity in solidarity with Gaza. Clashes have continued to erupt between resistance fighters and soldiers in several West Bank cities since the start of the ongoing Israeli campaign against Gaza. Al-Jazeera wrote on Oct 25:

The West Bank has emerged as another front in Israel’s war in Gaza.

103 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the West Bank since Oct 7.

Israel lashes out at UN officials over pro-Palestine comments
The Cradle, Oct 25 2023

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said on Oct 25 that Tel Aviv would refuse visas to UN officials a day after he called for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to step down from his position for showing compassion for the decades-long abuse Palestinians have been subjected to. Erdan said on Tuesday:

The UN Secretary-General, who shows understanding for the campaign of mass murder of children, women, and the elderly, is not fit to lead the UN. There is no justification or point in talking to those who show compassion for the most terrible atrocities committed against the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people. There are simply no words.

Erdan told Army Radio a day later:

Due to his remarks, we will refuse to issue visas to UN representatives. We have already refused a visa for Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths. The time has come to teach them a lesson.

The Israeli ambassador had lashed out against Guterres in a previous post over the secretary general’s comments, stating:

It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.

Erdan said that Guterres is “disconnected” from the reality of the region and expressed his view of Hamas’ actions as “distorted and immoral.” This wasn’t the first time Erdan lashed out against UN representatives; previously, he called on all of them to condemn Hamas, saying that the UN is weaponized by the Palestinian group when launching attacks against Israel. Erdan said:

Ceasefires is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. Such steps will not eradicate the cancer that is Hamas. Humanitarian corridors will not prevent the next atrocity. The only thing that will is the utter obliteration of this satanic entity. What are you doing to prevent this evil?

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also reacted similarly to Erdan to Guterres’ speech, holding up a poster with pictures of children “kidnapped in Gaza” written boldly, pointing his finger at the Secretary-General and passionately addressing him directly. Cohen declared:

Mr Secretary General, in what world do you live? Definitely, this is not our world.

He later posted on social media:

I will not meet with the UN Secretary-General. After Oct 7, there is no room for a balanced approach. Hamas must be erased from the world!

Syrian soldiers killed in Israeli airstrikes near Jordan border
The Cradle, Oct 25 2023

Israeli warplanes struck Syria’s southern governorate of Deraa early on Oct 25, killing at least eight Syrian army soldiers and wounding seven. A military source told SANA:

At approximately 01:45 today, the Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the direction of the occupied Syrian Golan, targeting a number of our military points in the Daraa countryside.

Israel’s airstrikes came in response to a rocket attack targeting Israeli settlements in the occupied Golan Heights. Sirens blared across the settlements of Neot Golan, Bnei Yehuda and Givat Yoav, with many settlers making their way to shelters, according to Hebrew media. Israel said two rockets landed in open fields. The Israeli military said:

The IAF recently attacked military infrastructure and positions for launching mortar bombs of the Syrian army, in response to the launches towards Israel last night.

Israeli artillery shelling also targeted what Tel Aviv said was the source of the rocket fire. Israel rarely acknowledges its attacks against Syria. This is the third time Israeli warplanes have bombed Syria since the start of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation on Oct 7 and Israel’s subsequent campaign of genocide in the Gaza Strip. Israeli jets launched airstrikes on Aleppo and Damascus airports three days ago, putting both out of service. The two airports had been crippled by Israeli airstrikes just ten days earlier, on Oct 12. Two days before that, Israeli artillery and mortar shelling targeted the country after shells from Syria landed on Israeli territory. The latest strike comes as Israel’s concerns over a multi-front war continue to grow. Rockets from Syria have targeted Israel several times since Oct 7. The Israeli army has also been engaged in heavy crossfire with Hezbollah near the southern Lebanese border. The fighting with Hezbollah has resulted in the deaths of at least 40 Israeli soldiers and the destruction of at least 12 Merkava tanks and other equipment. Numerous regional resistance factions, including Iraqi groups and Yemen’s Ansarallah movement, have pledged to stand by and support the Palestinian resistance.

Hezbollah chief meets Palestinian resistance leaders in Beirut
The Cradle, Oct 25 2023

Sheikh Nasrallah hosted PIJ Sec-Gen Ziad Nakhala and Deputy Chief of Hamas political bureau Sheikh Saleh Al-Arouri in Beirut on Oct 25. The three reportedly discussed the developments of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, now on its 18th day, and the ongoing confrontations at the Lebanese border. They also discussed the role the Resistance Axis should play moving forward “to achieve a real victory for the resistance in Gaza and Palestine and to stop the aggression against Gaza and the West Bank,” according to a statement released by Hezbollah. Nasrallah, Nakhala, and Arouri also agreed to continue coordination efforts and hold daily checkups on the ongoing crisis. The Hezbollah chief has remained absent from the media since the start of the war, inflaming the nerves of Israeli and US planners. Hezbollah member of parliament Hassan Fadlallah said over the weekend that despite his radio silence, Nasrallah is actively supervising the situation in direct contact with resistance field commanders.

The MP also said that Nasrallah’s absence from the media is a strategic choice in battle management, demonstrating wisdom and courage. He assured Al-Mayadeen that when the time is right for Nasrallah to address the situation publicly, “he will do so.” Wednesday’s meeting in Beirut marks the second appearance of Nasrallah since the start of Al-Aqsa Flood on Oct 7 that has been presented to the public. The Lebanese resistance has been actively confronting Israeli forces on the southern border since the early days of the war, during which at least 28 Hezbollah members have lost their lives. Nasrallah issued a letter referring to Hezbollah fighters killed during border clashes, saying, “our martyrs on the border with occupied Palestine are martyrs on the road to Jerusalem.”

Situation in Gaza ‘growing worse every hour’: UN chief
The Cradle, Oct 24 2023

The UN chief warned at a high-level UNSC meeting on Oct 24 that the situation in Gaza and West Asia is growing worse every hour as the risk of the war between Israel and Hamas erupting into a regional conflict grows. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire to deliver desperately needed food, water, medicine, and fuel to Palestinians in Gaza under Israeli siege. He appealed “to all to pull back from the brink before the violence claims even more lives and spreads even farther.” Guterres was speaking at the UNSC’s monthly meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has taken on major importance since the outbreak of war between Israel and the Hamas-led Palestinian resistance on Oct 7. Ministers from the war’s key players and a dozen other countries flew to New York to participate.

The secretary-general said the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify “the horrifying and unprecedented Oct 7 acts of terror.” Guterres also demanded the immediate release of all of the more than 200 captives taken by Hamas during the attack. Guterres also stated that the Hamas attacks “did not come out of a vacuum,” and cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.” He expressed deep concern at “the clear violations of international humanitarian law,” calling Israel’s constant bombardment of Gaza and the level of destruction and civilian casualties “alarming.” Protecting civilians “is paramount in any armed conflict,” he said. Guterres also criticized Israel without naming it, saying:

Protecting civilians does not mean ordering more than one million people to evacuate to the south, where there is no shelter, no food, no water, no medicine and no fuel, and then continuing to bomb the south itself.

Guterres’ mild criticism of Israel caused Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to denounce him during the UN meeting. Cohen said:

Mr Secretary General, in what world do you live? Definitely this is not our world.

During the session, Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki deplored inaction by the UNSC to stop “massacres” in Gaza by Israel. Maliki said:

The ongoing massacres being deliberately and systematically and savagely perpetrated by Israel, the occupying power against the Palestinian civilian population under illegal occupation, must be stopped.

The US is pushing for adoption of a resolution that would condemn the Hamas attacks in Israel and violence against civilians, and reaffirm Israel’s right to self-defense. A draft obtained Monday by the AP would also demand the immediate release of all hostages, urge respect for international law and protecting civilians, demand immediate humanitarian access to Gaza, and call on all parties to avoid escalating the conflict.

Putin: ‘no plans’ to speak with west regarding Gaza escalation
The Cradle, Oct 24 2023

Putin does not plan to contact the leaders of Western countries regarding a possible escalation in the war between Israel and the Hamas-led Palestinian resistance in Gaza. The Kremlin announced on Oct 24 that Putin does not intend to make phone calls with the leaders of European countries or the US regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, despite fears a broader regional war may erupt. Peskov said in a press statement:

There are no plans for such talks.

Putin has not spoken with Biden or other top US officials since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022. US officials refused to engage in any negotiations with Russian officials when the war started and blocked direct negotiations between Ukraine and Russia that were close to ending the war one month later. However, Putin has been speaking with regional leaders in an effort to end the Israel-Palestine conflict through negotiations. Earlier Tuesday, the Turkish media reported that Putin spoke with Erdogan by phone. Erdogan said that the silence of Western countries led to a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. The Turkish President stressed during the phone call:

The brutality used by Israel against the Palestinian territories is worsening. Deaths among civilians are increasing with every passing minute.

On Oct 16, Putin spoke to Raisi, Assad, Sisi, Abbas and Netanyahu. Reuters reported that in those talks, Putin said he had formed the impression that no major players in the region wanted the conflict to escalate. Putin said:

I have the impression that no one wants this to continue, for the conflict to develop and for the situation to worsen further. In my opinion, the main players – some, by definition do not want to, some are afraid of something – but I have the impression that there are practically no players ready to develop the conflict and turn it into a large-scale war.

On Oct 18, Putin held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The talks followed the Israeli strike of the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, which killed 471, according to the Gaza health ministry. Putin called the attack a terrible catastrophe that showed the conflict should be ended through negotiations. Putin said:

As for the strike on the hospital, the tragedy that happened there is a terrible event. Hundreds of dead and hundreds of wounded are of course a catastrophe. I really hope this will be a signal that we need to end this conflict as soon as possible. In any case, we need to focus on the possibility of starting some contacts and negotiations.

President Putin has criticized Hamas for its Oct 7 attack on Israel, as well as Israel’s retaliatory bombing campaign and siege of Gaza. On Oct 13, Putin said Israel had been subjected to “an attack unprecedented in its cruelty” by Hamas but was responding with cruel methods of its own. Putin cautioned Israel against laying siege to Gaza in the same way that Nazi Germany besieged Leningrad during WW2, saying a ground offensive there would lead to an “absolutely unacceptable” number of civilian casualties. Putin said of Israel’s total blockade of Gaza:

In my view it is unacceptable. More than 2 million people live there. Far from all of them support Hamas by the way, far from all. But all of them have to suffer, including women and children. Of course, it’s hard for anyone to agree with this.

‘They treated us very well’ says freed Hamas captive
The Cradle, Oct 24 2023

Yocheved Lifschitz, 85, with her daughter Sharone Lifschitz in Tel Aviv, Oct 24 2023.

The press conference in which freed captive Yocheved Lifshitz discussed her time in Hamas captivity is being described in the Israel press as a public relations win for the resistance group, after the 85-year-old appeared to praise her captors, the Times of Israel reported on Oct 24. She said that during the abduction, she was beaten with sticks and her watch and jewelry were stolen:

I went through hell. They stormed into our homes. They beat people. They kidnapped others, the old and the young without distinction. However, when we arrived in Gaza, they initially told us that they believe in the Quran and that they wouldn’t harm us. They said they would treat us like those around them.

Lifshitz described how she and other captives were well cared for and provided with medical assistance and food. A video of the moment of her release showed Lifshitz shake the hand of a masked Hamas fighter. When asked at the press conference what she meant by the gesture, Lifshitz said “because they treated us very well.” The Kan public broadcaster reported that Israeli public relations experts are calling the decision to put Lifshitz in front of cameras a “mistake,” because the western media is now reporting on Hamas’ kindness toward the captives. Similarly, Israel Hayom columnist Eddie Rothstein called the interview a “propaganda win for Hamas.” He writes:

What a brave and enlightened woman, the kind we thought they no longer make in Israel, and what clumsy handling of the event. The truth is you don’t need to be a PR expert to know you can’t have a press conference like this live on TV.

Channel 12 reporter Daphna Liel tweeted:

There’s no doubt that Lifshitz’s statement could have been managed better.

Channel 12’s Dana Weiss called the press conference a “disaster,” noting the lack of government control of her media appearances. Times of Israel’s Tal Schnieder criticized the hospital’s spokesperson for allowing Lifshitz to speak directly, rather than just her family members. She tweeted:

From a professional point of view, this is an embarrassment for the hospital.

Lifshitz was released along with fellow captive Nurit Cooper. Both were captured along with their husbands from their homes in Kibbutz Nir Oz, a small settlement near the Gaza border that Hamas attacked on Oct 7. The women’s husbands were not released and remain in captivity. Yocheved Lifshitz and her husband Oded are peace activists. Their daughter Sharone told the BBC that the couple had worked for years with a local aid group that routinely drives wounded Palestinians to area hospitals. Because of this, Oded speaks Arabic and knows a lot of people in Gaza, so she was hopeful that someone might help him. In addition to Nir Oz, Hamas attacked other settlements on Oct 7, including Be’eri and Kfar Aza, killing some residents and taking others captive to exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Israel claimed Hamas killed 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, during the attacks. However, there are a growing number of reports that indicate the Israeli military was also responsible for Israeli civilian and military deaths. The Israeli military itself killed some of the captives using airstrikes and gunfire while attempting to kill Hamas fighters. It remains unclear how many of the 1,400 dead were killed by each side.

Gaza ground op stalls as Israel ‘willing’ to pursue prisoner-release talks: Report
The Cradle, Oct 24 2023

Two Israeli officials told Axios that Israel is willing to postpone its planned ground invasion of the Gaza Strip in order to make way for negotiations to release the scores of prisoners being held by Hamas. One of the officials said:

Both Israel and the Biden administration want to exhaust every effort to try and get hostages out of Gaza. If Hamas proposes a big package, of course we will be ready to do things in return.

The Israeli government “told Egyptian mediators that if Hamas wants some kind of hostage deal, it needs to release all the women and children it’s holding,” according to Axios. Hamas has already released four prisoners over the past week as a gesture of goodwill, and to pressure Israel into allowing desperately needed humanitarian aid into Gaza. Two more hostages were released on the evening of Oct 23. The Israeli officials speaking to Axios confirmed that Israel had initially refused to receive the first two prisoners, claiming that Hamas had demanded a six-hour ceasefire in return. They said:

They refused because they didn’t want to create a precedent in which Hamas would release two hostages every time it wanted a ceasefire. The Israelis’ concern was that every such ceasefire can allow Hamas to regroup, and give the group’s leaders a chance to move from one hiding place to another without being targeted.

The US is currently coordinating the prisoner file with Israel and Egyptian and Qatari mediators who are in direct communication with the resistance group. On Tuesday, Dmitry Peskov urged Hamas to immediately release all prisoners, some of who hold Russian citizenship. Hamas officials have said that the group is willing to release non-combatant prisoners in exchange for a cessation of Israeli airstrikes. The group also holds many soldiers and military personnel prisoner, which it plans to use to secure the release of thousands of its prisoners being held in Israeli detention. However, Israeli officials have publicly vowed not to let a prisoner deal get in the way of the ground invasion, contradicting what the Israeli officials told Axios about a possible delay.

The report follows recent doubt in Washington over Israel’s preparedness for a ground invasion. Bloomberg reported on Oct 14 that Washington is worried about the lack of proper strategy and a coherent plan for the ground invasion. On Monday, senior US officials told the NYT that the Israeli army is “not yet ready” to launch a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip and lacks “achievable military objectives” to accomplish the stated goal of “eradicating” Hamas. “Officials said they have not yet seen an achievable plan of action,” the western news outlet details, but also cites senior US officials as saying that the US “had not told Israel what to do and still supported the ground invasion.”

According to The Cradle’s Hassan Illaik, Israel’s stated goal of “eliminating” Hamas is over-ambitious. “The Palestinian resistance in Gaza has prepared itself well for the ground war,” Illaik writes, adding that Israel’s 2014 ground operation in Gaza was a massive failure that came at a time when the resistance “had nowhere near the quality of armaments, training, and numbers that they have today.” Illaik also says that Israel potentially faces the threat of several new fronts, particularly the Lebanese front, opening up. “Delaying the ground war does not, however, mean canceling it,” he added, noting that Israel’s 2014 ground assault began two weeks after the start of its initial war on Gaza. Another challenge Illaik highlights is that there are hundreds of thousands of civilians in the Gaza Strip who categorically refuse to flee from their homes. He says:

All these factors pose a potentially insurmountable challenge for Tel Aviv. They each conspire to thwart Israel’s plan to destroy Hamas and re-establish the deterrence capacity it lost on Oct 7.

Macron threatens Resistance Axis during Israel visit
The Cradle, Oct 24 2023

Macron visited Israel on Oct 24 to express “solidarity” with Tel Aviv in the wake of Hamas’ daring operation against Israeli settlements earlier this month. Macron said from occupied Jerusalem on Tuesday:

What happened will never be forgotten. I am here to express our solidarity.

Upon arrival, Macron met with President Herzog, after which he met with Netanyahu. Macron told Herzog that France will be standing “shoulder to shoulder” with Israel, adding:

I want you to be sure that you’re not left alone in this war against terrorism. It is our duty to fight against terrorism, without any confusion and without enlarging this conflict.

The French president also expressed his intention to make “proposals that are as operational as possible” aimed at preventing escalation, freeing prisoners, and guaranteeing Israel’s security. During his visit, Macron will also “push for a humanitarian truce” and “work towards a two-state solution.” Macron’s visit also follows a serious and ongoing escalation on the Lebanese-Israeli border. Since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza, Hezbollah has launched daily attacks against Israeli troops. Around 40 Israeli soldiers have been killed, and 12 Merkava tanks destroyed by the group’s anti-tank guided missiles.  Israel continues to respond with shelling and bombardment of southern Lebanese villages, including illegal white phosphorus strikes. Herzog told Macron:

If Hezbollah will drag us into war, it should be clear that Lebanon will pay the price. Lebanon cannot be a sovereign member of the international community, its citizens carrying a Lebanese passport, but when it comes to attacking Israel, they are not responsible. Iran is playing with fire.

Macron told his Israeli counterpart that France has “clearly warned Hezbollah with direct messages,” as well as other regional groups who may wish to get involved in the fighting. Macron also stressed that Israel should respond with a “targeted operation” and without “widening the conflict.” It was unclear whether he was referring to attacks on southern Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, or both. The French president also held a press conference with Netanyahu, who said that “Hamas is the test case of civilization against barbarism.” During the conference, Macron vowed to travel to Ramallah and Jordan for talks with the Palestinian Authority and the Hashemite kingdom He assured Israel of its “right to defend” itself but added that it must do so “within the limits of international law.” Macron said:

We have to renew the political process for peace, but Hamas is a terrorist group that does not represent the Palestinian people. I warn Iran, I warn Hezbollah, I warn the Houthis. Don’t take the risk of attacking Israel. If you do so, there will be a regional confrontation and you will suffer from that. You have to do everything to avoid more tears.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Ansarallah movement, and Iran-linked factions in Iraq have all pledged their solidarity with the Palestinian resistance. As Hezbollah keeps up its pressure on Israel’s northern front, groups in Iraq and Syria have been striking US bases in rejection of Washington’s support for the war on Gaza. According to analysts, full involvement by the Axis of Resistance will be expected if Israel launches a ground invasion into Gaza with the stated aim of “eliminating Hamas.”

Pentagon forges ahead with massive arms buildup in Israel, Jordan, Cyprus
The Cradle, Oct 24 2023

The US government has sent at least 80 military cargo planes and dozens of leased civilian aircraft to Israel, Jordan, and Cyprus since the start of the Gaza-Israel war on Oct 7. According to open-source information reviewed by Haaretz, over the past two weeks, at least eight heavy-cargo planes that set off from supply depots in the US and Europe have landed at a Jordanian airbase. Moreover, two fighter squadrons of F-15E fighter jets and A-10 attack planes have also been deployed to the Hashemite kingdom. In Cyprus, Washington has delivered large quantities of weapons and equipment to UK troops stationed at a British Air Force base, with at least 20 heavy-transport aircraft reportedly landing in the island nation over recent days.

In the days following the start of the Gaza-Israel war, the UK sent surveillance aircraft, two Royal Navy support ships, and 100 Royal Marines to the Eastern Mediterranean. Furthermore, Germany and the Netherlands have also deployed special forces units to Cyprus. But most US arms shipments have headed directly to Israel, as the country has received thousands of tons of advanced armament, munitions, Iron Dome batteries, and armored vehicles, among other types of aid. Moreover, Washington has deployed at least nine US warships to the Eastern Mediterranean to support Israel the moment a regional war breaks out. These ships include the USS Ford CSG, currently operating off the coast of Cyprus and which has onboard about 80 attack, electronic warfare and intelligence aircraft.

The US announced on Sunday that it was deploying a THAAD battery to intercept ballistic missiles and additional Patriot missile systems to West Asia. Washington had already deployed several air defense systems and ground reinforcements to US occupation bases in Syria over the past year. As Israel continues to struggle to launch its ground offensive into the Gaza Strip, and faces the looming threat of Hezbollah in the north, the US this week also took control of the Elefsina air base near the Greek capital Athens, as the US military base on the Greek island of Crete is already at “full capacity.” The massive buildup of US arsenal and troops near Israel comes when western arms manufacturers have already been stretched thin, arming Ukraine and Taiwan to wage war against Russia and China.

Chinese FM calls for de-escalation in Gaza during call with Palestinian, Israeli counterparts
The Cradle, Oct 24 2023

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen on Oct 23:

China is deeply concerned about the continued escalation of the conflict and the worsening situation and deeply saddened by the large number of civilian casualties caused by the conflict. China condemns all acts that harm civilians and opposes any violation of the international law. On the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict, it is imperative to prevent the situation from escalating further and causing even more serious humanitarian hardship. It is hoped that the two sides can consider the current situation as well as the long-term interests of peace and security shared by future generations. Return to the right track of the two-state solution as soon as possible, resume peace talks, and realize the peaceful coexistence of Palestine and Israel and the harmonious coexistence of the Arab and Jewish nations.

In a separate phone call held with Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, Wang told him:

What the people of Gaza need most is security, food and medicine rather than war, weapons, and ammunition.

Wang had also held phone calls with other regional authorities to voice his contempt for Israel’s actions throughout this war. Wang told his Saudi counterpart on Oct 15:

Israel’s actions have gone beyond self-defense. It should heed the call of the international community and the Secretary-General of the UN to stop its collective punishment of the people in Gaza.

China has been actively monitoring the war and diplomatically forward with its attempts at mediating a ceasefire. The nation has sent a special envoy to tour the region in diplomatic efforts to end the ongoing war, Zhai Jun, who said that China is willing to do “whatever is conducive” to promote the war’s end and restore a ceasefire between the parties battling it out.

By niqnaq | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

electronic intifada

October 25, 2023 – 7:42 am

Israel enraged by UN head’s reminder of “suffocating occupation”
Maureen Clare Murphy, Electronic Intifada, Oct 24 2023​​

Guterres speaks during a UNSC meeting on Oct 24.

António Guterres, the UN secretary-general, warned the Security Council on Tuesday that “the situation in the Middle East is growing more dire by the hour.” He said that he “condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented Oct 7 acts of terror by Hamas in Israel” and called for all captives being held in Gaza to be released immediately without preconditions. Guterres said:

It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.

On Sunday, three prominent Palestinian human rights groups pushed the Security Council to immediately call for a ceasefire in Gaza, which it has so far failed to do. Palestinian organizations have repeatedly asked UN organs to address the root causes of the century-long conflict in Palestine and to hold Israel and the nations that support it accountable. Guterres said he mourned and honored the 35 UN employees killed in Gaza over the past two weeks and emphasized that “no party to an armed conflict is above international humanitarian law.” He said there was an urgent need to import fuel to Gaza, without which “aid cannot be delivered, hospitals will not have power, and drinking water cannot be purified or even pumped.” Tor Wennesland, the UN secretary-general’s Middle East envoy, similarly placed current events in “the broader context in the occupied Palestinian territory, Israel and the region, where dynamics are deeply intertwined.” Wennesland said:

The unresolved conflict and continued occupation shape the reality of every Israeli and every Palestinian. For 15 years, the Palestinian population has been living under militant rule and a strict closure regime, as the Palestinian divide hardened. For a generation, hope has been lost and despair has prevailed for those who see prospects for a more peaceful future pulling still further away.

China, meanwhile, called for an immediate ceasefire, saying “the eyes of the entire world are on this chamber.” Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said:

The along with many others for several years now, have warned that the situation is on the brink of explosion and the explosion occurred.

The US, France and UK focused on condemning Hamas, with Blinken accusing Hamas of using civilian shields in Gaza. Riyad al-Maliki, the Palestinian Authority foreign minister, said that “more injustice and more killing will not make Israel safer” and called for an end to the bloodshed. Benny Gantz, Israel’s defense minister, accused the UN secretary-general of condoning terror:

Israel and the Biden administration have sought to divorce the Oct 7 attack from the context of decades of occupation, settler colonization of Palestinian land and apartheid. They have sought to falsely portray Hamas as motivated solely by the desire to kill Jews and have evoked the Holocaust in an attempt to justify the carpet bombing of Gaza that has killed thousands of civilians. During the UNSC meeting, Israel’s foreign minister, Eli Cohen, played a recording of what he said is a Hamas militant bragging to his parents that he killed several Jews. Cohen said that he would cancel a planned meeting with Guterres in protest of his comments.

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, called on Guterres to resign:

Last week, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid repeatedly accused Hamas of lying without acknowledging Israel’s very long track record of such. He blasted the international media, saying:

Of all the distortions of the press coverage of the past days, the worst one is the balance. a large part of the media is offering its readers and viewers a balanced picture, they are presenting both sides equally. My argument is that the media can’t just claim to bring both sides of the story. If you do that, you are only bringing one: Hamas’ side.

UN begs for more aid to enter Gaza as hospitals run out of fuel
Maureen Clare Murphy, Electronic Intifada, Oct 24 2023

Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, Oct 23.

Israel’s relentless bombing of Gaza is getting even deadlier, with more than 700 Palestinians killed overnight, the health ministry in the territory said on Tuesday. Nearly 5.8k Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Oct 7, according to the health ministry, including 2,360 children. Hundreds of people remain under the rubble of destroyed buildings. The UN is begging Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, particularly fuel. the WHO said on Tuesday:

The Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza was forced to shut down some critical services due to lack of fuel, and is now running with limited functionality. Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital, where bed occupancy is already close to 150%, is also waiting for additional medical supplies and fuel. The Turkish Friendship Hospital, the only oncology hospital in the Gaza Strip, remains partially functional due to lack of fuel, putting around 2k cancer patients at risk.

The Indonesian hospital, al-Shifa hospital and the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital are all in the northern half of Gaza. Israel ordered the evacuation of more than one million Palestinians from that area on Oct 12. Hospitals in that area have said that it is impossible to evacuate their patients. More than 5k patients are currently being treated at al-Shifa hospital, “significantly over its capacity of 700 patients,” the UN OCHA said on Monday. Additionally, there are around 45k displaced people staying on the hospital grounds. The UN added:

12 hospitals and 46 primary care clinics across Gaza have been forced to shut down due to damage they had sustained or lack of electricity and supplies.

The WHO has meanwhile documented 72 attacks on health care in Gaza resulting in 16 deaths and 30 injuries of on-duty health-care workers. The lives of thousands of patients are at risk as hospitals run out of fuel, including 1k patients dependent on dialysis treatment, 130 premature babies and patients in intensive care or who rely on life support equipment. WHO said:

34k liters of fuel were delivered to four hospitals in southern Gaza and the Palestine Red Crescent Society to sustain its ambulance services. However, this is only enough to keep ambulances and critical hospital functions running for a little over 24 hours.

The UN’s health agency said that medicines and health supplies were distributed to four hospitals in the southern half of Gaza and to the Palestine Red Crescent Society for two of its facilities and ambulance crews. Palestinian organizations have called on the international community, particularly Egypt and UN agencies, to “ensure that the delivery of humanitarian aid and relief will not be conditioned or limited to Gaza’s southern districts.” WHO said on Tuesday that it had delivered medical supplies to al-Shifa hospital in the northern half of Gaza and emphasized that “much more is needed across all health facilities in the Gaza Strip.”

Since Saturday, aid has begun to trickle into Gaza through the Rafah crossing with Egypt. But the number of trucks entering the territory are only a tiny fraction of what came into Gaza on a daily basis before Israel imposed a total siege on the territory on Oct 9. Aid is being brought in only via Rafah crossing, which is a passenger crossing not equipped for the transfer of large quantities of goods. The nearby Karem Abu Salem/Kerem Shalom crossing, controlled by Israel, is Gaza’s main point of entry for humanitarian aid. Israel says that it will not transfer any aid through the crossings it controls so long as Palestinian armed groups in Gaza are holding people captured in Israel. Human Rights Watch said on Monday:

Willfully impeding relief supplies is a war crime, as is collectively punishing civilians for the actions of armed groups.

Israel furious that elderly captive spoke of humane treatment by Hamas
Ali Abunimah, Electronic Intifada, Oct 24 2023

Israeli propaganda officials are reportedly upset because elderly Israeli woman Yocheved Lifshitz said that she was treated well while she was detained by Hamas in Gaza over the last two weeks. Amichai Stein, a journalist with Israel’s state broadcaster, tweeted on Tuesday:

I’m hearing criticism from sources dealing with Israeli hasbara in recent days. The fact that they allowed Yocheved Lifshitz to make a statement on a live broadcast was a mistake. It’s uncertain if anyone held a discussion on the topic beforehand and asked themselves all the questions.

The 85-year-old Lifshitz is one of two Israeli women Hamas released to the Red Cross at the Rafah border with Egypt on Monday night. Hamas says Israel had earlier refused to accept the two women. A video released by Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades, showed parts of the handover. Right before she is passed to the Red Cross, Lifshitz pauses, turns around, takes the hand of one of the Qassam soldiers and tells him “shalom.”

Asked to explain that action at a press conference at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov hospital on Tuesday, Lifshitz said:

They treated us gently, they provided for all our needs.

Lifshitz described her initial capture from Kibbutz Nir Oz, an Israeli settlement close to Gaza, as a frightening ordeal. She says in the video from Al Jazeera at the top of this article:

I went through hell, something I didn’t think human beings would do to one another,”. “I have never gone through anything like it in my life. They arrived at the kibbutz and kidnapped us, taking us to surrounding fields. The young men beat me and hurt me and took my watch and jewelry. They were riding motorbikes and took us to the entrance of a tunnel.

But once she was taken to Gaza along with other Israelis, the situation improved. Lifshitz saidof her captors:

When they arrived they told us that they believe in the Quran and wouldn’t do anything bad to us.

She described being taken to a “spiderweb” of tunnels. Lifshitz said:

We walked through the tunnels and reached a large hall where about 20 people were gathered. Then they separated us and took one group to another room. There was a doctor with us, another doctor who came every three days, and a nurse who examined us and gave us the same medicines that we get at home. They provided us with everything we needed and were afraid of diseases spreading. They were also very friendly and shared their food with us.

The Times of Israel lamented:

The press conference with Lifshitz’s extensive and repeated description of the care she and other hostages received in captivity, was quickly criticized by some Israeli PR professionals and commentators as a major Israeli misstep and a propaganda victory for Hamas.

It is understandable why Lifshitz’s testimony would anger Israeli officials and even some journalists: The Israeli government’s “Hamas=ISIS” messaging that is being used to justify the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza, depends on painting Palestinians as demonic beasts incapable of empathy.

But Lifshitz’s account of humane treatment, in spite of the overall circumstances of her captivity, is only the latest of a growing number of Israelis telling of such experiences. From Israel’s perspective, the truth that Palestinian fighters did not immediately set about killing every Israeli they encountered, is off-message.

In the meantime, Israel has spread completely unverified atrocity propaganda, including the notorious debunked tale that Hamas fighters beheaded dozens of Jewish babies. There is growing evidence that many Israeli civilians were killed by Israeli forces who attacked Palestinian fighters and Israeli civilians indiscriminately, causing many of the approximately 1,300 deaths Israel says occurred during the Hamas assault. The full truth about what happened on or after Oct 7 could be established by an independent investigation, something Israel is unlikely to ever permit.

The other woman released on Monday night along with Yocheved Lifshitz, 79-year-old Nurit Cooper, has not made a statement, but both women were reported to be in good health. Their husbands Amiram Cooper, 84, and Oded Lifshitz, 83, are among more than 200 Israeli and foreign noncombatants and Israeli military personnel still detained in Gaza following their capture during the Oct 7 Hamas offensive and its aftermath. Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas official, has said that many civilians were brought into Gaza from Israel not by Qassam fighters but by Palestinian civilians who poured through the boundary fence after Israeli defenses collapsed faster than expected. Hamas has said it plans to release all detained civilians as circumstances allow. Last Friday, Hamas released two American women, a mother and daughter, the first civilians to be returned home from Gaza.

Did Israel kill Hamas detainee?
Tamara Nassar, Electronic Intifada, Oct 24 2023

Omar Hamzah Daraghmeh, 58, died in Israeli custody two weeks after he was arrested. A Palestinian prisoner held without charge or trial died in Israeli detention on Monday less than two weeks after his arrest. Omar Hamzah Daraghmeh appeared virtually at Ofer military court on the day he died alongside his lawyer. The 58-year-old’s lawyer asked him if he was in good health, and Daraghmeh said that he was, according to the Palestinian Authority’s prisoners commission. Hamas, of which Daraghmeh was a prominent member, said his death was “a cowardly assassination, for which the occupation bears full responsibility.” The prisoners commission said it was considering “the death of any prisoner in the wake of the collective aggression and extermination of our people in Gaza an act of assassination.” The prisoners commission said it had received information that Palestinian prisoners are being tortured and beaten in Israeli detention. The prisoners commission said:

We are not talking about mere fears of the death of other prisoners.

An independent forensic investigation to determine Daraghmeh’s specific cause of death cannot be done as Israel is withholding his body and refuses to hand it over to the family for burial. Daraghmeh’s death brings to 238 the number of Palestinians who have died in Israeli custody since 1967. At least 11 of their bodies continue to be held by Israel. Israeli occupation authorities arrested Daraghmeh on Oct 9 along with his son Hamzah, from their home in the northern occupied West Bank city of Tubas.

Palestinians in Tubas held a massive demonstration protesting his death in the hours after it was announced.

Daraghmeh was placed under an administrative detention order for a six-month period. Under such orders, detainees are held without charge or trial and they and their lawyers are unable to see evidence against them. The practice is a direct continuation of detention practices under British colonial rule and may constitute a war crime, according to human rights organizations. Israeli authorities detained Daraghmeh amid sweeping arrests across the occupied West Bank. The Israeli authorities have arrested over 1.2k Palestinians since Oct 7, including children, journalists, people who have been previously imprisoned and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council. This brings to over 6k the number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention. More than 1.6k of them are administrative detainees. Since Oct 7, when Hamas launched a surprise operation on an unprecedented scale against Israel, dealing it a massive strategic defeat, Israel unleashed a campaign of revenge and genocide on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s campaign of vengeance has extended across historic Palestine as well, not least against Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons. The Israeli authorities have cut off electricity and water on so-called “security” prisoners since Oct 11, Adalah, a group that advocates for the rights of Palestinians in Israel, said. Prisoners’ rights group Addameer said water has been restricted to “only one hour per day” in some prisons. Adalah said:

This act constitutes collective punishment, is illegal, and amounts to torture.

Jake Tapper targets only Palestinian in US Congress
Michael F Brown, Electronic Intifada, Oct 24 2023

CNN’s Jake Tapper on Oct 19 went after Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian in the US Congress, for not climbing down in a way he found timely from her assertion that Israel bombed al-Ahli hospital in Gaza. Tlaib’s fellow Palestinians are being obliterated, and she’s seen Israeli officials lie about matters from the 1996 Qana massacre to the killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, but she’s supposed to instantly believe the Israeli apartheid army’s intelligence. And, if not, then she’s supposed to accept American intelligence, blotting out US lies from Vietnam to Iraq. More recently, the Biden administration provided Israel considerable space to make its false claims about the death of Abu Akleh. Tlaib commented on Monday:

Media outlets and third-party analysts have raised doubts about claims and evidence offered by both Israel and the Gaza Ministry of Health, and I agree with the United Nations that an independent investigation is necessary. I cannot uncritically accept Israel’s denials of responsibility as fact, especially in light of confirmation from the World Health Organization that Israel has bombed numerous medical facilities in Gaza and reports from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society of ongoing threats from the Israeli military to evacuate hospitals.

Crucially, she cited the historical reasons that would lead a thoughtful politician to be cautious with American and Israeli intelligence, especially at the height of a brutal Israeli military assault devastating civilian life in Gaza.

Both the Israeli and US governments have long, documented histories of misleading the public about wars and war crimes, like last year’s Israeli military assassination of Shireen Abu Akleh and the false claims of weapons of mass destruction that led our country into the Iraq War, and cannot clear themselves of responsibility without an independent international investigation.

Her agonized post about al-Ahli hospital, albeit with a death toll exceeding that of other sources, comes in the context of other Israeli bombings that have undoubtedly killed hundreds upon hundreds of Palestinian children. One must also consider the absolute fear and terror that surely gripped families and humanitarian workers in the chaos of those first hours and the difficulty any health ministry during wartime and intensive bombing would face in determining casualty figures.

What is needed, as Tlaib suggests, is a true international investigation to determine if this time Israel and the US actually got it right as CNN and other western media are strongly suggesting or if serious doubts need ongoing consideration. Simultaneously, though downplayed by western media like CNN, thousands of Palestinian men, women and children have, in fact, been killed by the Israeli military campaign that is being rearmed by the US. Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL, is pounding on this case while ignoring in his tweet the mountains of evidence that Israel’s bombardments have killed vastly more Palestinian civilians than were killed by whatever party at al-Ahli hospital.

He ignores that Palestinian lives are also at stake. Tlaib and Greenblatt would surely be quick to agree that Jews and Palestinians alike must not be threatened here in the US as tensions rise over the conflict there. Tlaib, like any other American who chooses to, however, should have political space to advocate for Palestinians and their rights under a devastating Israeli assault that goes far beyond al-Ahli hospital. Millions of people the world over would be upset and protesting even had the al-Ahli hospital deaths never occurred or if it had and an independent international investigation had swiftly concurred with the US and Israel. When Israel is carpet-bombing Gaza and committing massacres that kill multiple families multiple times a day, massacres it doesn’t deny, it is obviously going to be the first suspect in the al-Ahli hospital massacre. This is even more the case when no Palestinian armed group has ever used a weapon causing so much death and destruction. Serious questions are bound to persist when a preliminary analysis by Forensic Architecture, Al-Haq and Earshot have cast doubt on Israel’s explanations. While none of this is conclusive, if Israel was confident it was not involved and had evidence to prove it then it would welcome an independent international investigation, something American, European and Israeli leaders have not urged. On top of all this, at least one racist member of Congress wants to bar Tlaib from viewing classified information about the Israeli war on Gaza, though some have suggested she be given access on the al-Ahli hospital incident.

But such an investigation is unlikely now and quite possibly in the future with Senator Tom Cotton suggesting Israel “bounce the rubble” in Gaza. Tapper’s response to Cotton and his support for Israel to resort to bombings so intense they only rearrange the rubble remaining from prior attacks? Crickets.

Tapper’s response to Senator Lindsey Graham and his urging Israel to “level the place”? Crickets.

Tapper’s response to Ron DeSantis, Florida’s governor, and his barely euphemistic talk of ethnic cleansing? Crickets.

Tapper’s response to presidential candidate Chris Christie and his similar talk of what can only be understood as ethnic cleansing with CNN’s Abby Phillip? Crickets.

But the only Palestinian woman in the US Congress, whose people are facing massacres (far beyond whatever happened at al-Ahli hospital), casual American political talk of ethnic cleansing, and threats to turn parts of Gaza into a “fire zone” according to CNN earlier that same day? Target.

Tapper did not respond to my questions. Tapper stated:

Bubbling beneath the surface of the Democratic Party here in [Washington] DC are some real resentments of fellow Democrats still blaming Israel for the hospital explosion despite US intelligence, classified and unclassified, suggesting that it was actually a misfired Palestinian rocket that did that damage.

He added that Tlaib “issued political threat to the POTUS.” In fact, she had merely suggested voters would remember how Biden helped advance Israel’s onslaught against Gaza. Jessica Dean, a CNN congressional correspondent, told Tapper that she had talked to several Democrats in the House of Representatives:

And one of them told me in their words, that her colleagues are furious.

Their lack of awareness of the pain their colleague is suffering speaks volumes about the state of the Democratic Party, the anti-Palestinian racism that grips many members, and how little it cares as Palestinians are pounded by the Israeli military, frequently with American weapons. Of course, it’s not surprising that many of her colleagues are “furious” with her for speaking out more vigorously than other politicians about what Palestinians face. Most Democrats have for years voiced strong support for Israel while doing nothing to stop Israeli human rights abuses and apartheid. They continued to lend their support as Netanyahu filled his government with extremists such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who advocates segregation between Jews and Palestinians.

These Democrats have this month stood silent in the face of other massacres in Gaza, wiping out entire familieson a scale unprecedented in Gaza, surpassing even the horrors of past Israeli onslaughts in the tiny coastal strip of territory. And they have failed to call for a proper international investigation of everything occurring since the unexpected attack on Israel’s apartheid soldiers patrolling the Gaza Bantustan which spilled into serious human rights abuses against Israelis and then Israeli bombardments killing hundreds of Palestinian children. No serious appraisal of policy mistakes over the past 75 years, or during the Biden administration, can be expected. Pro-Israel Democrats have ignored, at best, the rights of Palestinian refugees for decades.

Now there is a right-wing effort to blame Tlaib for the brutal stabbing murder of Detroit synagogue president Samantha Woll because of Tlaib’s al-Ahli hospital tweet. The suggestion is intended to inflame passions. Tlaib, of course, has never called for anything like the hate that political opponents falsely attribute to her or akin to the violence promoted by Josh Hammer, senior editor-at-large at Newsweek, who has called the al-Ahli hospital claim a “blood libel.”

Tlaib and Woll, however, were reportedly friends and organized together. Those politicians directly calling for overwhelming violence in Gaza, such as Cotton and Graham, are rarely challenged on what role they may have played in creating the environment in which six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume was stabbed to death, and his mother severely injured, in what is being treated as a hate crime. Nor are these politicians challenged on the even more direct threat they pose to people in Gaza just trying to survive. Such charges are, of course, quickly and unfairly directed at Tlaib though she hasn’t championed violence. With so much US and Israeli intelligence having been shown to be incorrect over the years, the charge of a “blood libel,” a very real danger through the centuries to stir anti-Jewish violence, is misplaced against Tlaib and strays into efforts to silence critics of Israel’s policies. Furthermore, the charge can distract attention from the very real devastation that Israel has rained down on Palestinian civilians. That violence in Gaza is overwhelming and real, erases the humanity of Palestinians, and obscures the reality of Israel employing apartheid against Palestinians for decades along with US and European complicity with it. Expecting those who have closely followed previous Israeli and American falsehoods during wartime to not voice concerns is an impossible ask. Only an independent international investigation will convince many observers. Israel and the US have themselves to blame for past lies and misrepresentations creating profound doubt.

Keeping separate anger at Israeli government policy from Jews generally is imperative. But that’s a two-way street that should also protect Palestinians in the US. Simultaneously, there must be political space to protest and reject the carnage Israel is unleashing if even worse crimes are to be stopped among efforts to turn Palestinians into Nazis in an American political discourse frequently promoting war crimes. As terrible as the Israeli violence has been, it has become worse in recent days as the people I know from my time in Gaza report demolished homes and the deaths of family members, including small children. Each morning brings dread over what news of death and destruction will arrive as American politicians and media cheer it on, thrilled at the prospect of an impending ground invasion. The anxiety and fear among people there who are seeing their families and neighbors and friends wiped out, with children writing their names on their bodies for identification purposes as even CNN reported Sunday, is surely enormous.

Notably, Tlaib is the one calling for a ceasefire and working with a diverse coalition to achieve one before even worse horrors seize the region. This is not easy in a media environment in which CNN’s Abby Phillip has suggested that a ceasefire now, even with thousands killed in Gaza, would be to “do nothing.” In this climate, right-wing politicians are pushing war crimes and ethnic cleansing while Hammer wants much of Gaza reduced to a parking lot. This is not the first time that Tapper has targeted Tlaib. On Oct 10 he interviewed Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.

TAPPER: So you have a Democratic colleague from Michigan, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. She’s the first Palestinian American to serve in Congress. And she released a statement that said: “I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost. The path to peace must include lifting the blockade and ending the occupation and dismantling the apartheid system that creates the suffocating dehumanizing conditions that could lead to resistance. As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue.” What was your reaction when you heard Congresswoman Tlaib’s statement?

Tlaib’s grief for Palestinians and Israelis was insufficient for Slotkin. She told Tapper:

I think for me, it shouldn’t be hard to condemn terrorists and terrorism, right?

Slotkin makes demands of Tlaib she doesn’t make of herself regarding Israel’s dispossession of Palestinians, apartheid and war crimes. In Washington, to be sure, the conflict only started this month and is the Palestinians’ fault. There is never a need for self-examination and to ask whether ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is still a real concern 75 years later. That doesn’t mean these Democrats should forget Oct 7, but it does mean they need to realize much of the world sees Israeli apartheid and the dispossession of the Nakba as real problems to be addressed. Tapper is surely aware that Muslims and Arabs historically are targets in the US during war time. It apparently hasn’t given him pause. Nor has it led him to challenge Republican warmongers and ethnic cleansers. Instead, he’s given them a free pass. That a CNN journalist would be piling on against Tlaib while letting powerful white politicians skate by with their threats of war crimes is instructive regarding how CNN operates. Making the situation worse, the US is balanced on a razor’s edge as Biden pushes the Middle East toward quite possibly a larger war. Meanwhile, he mouths empty words about a “two-state solution” and Palestinians equally deserving to live in “safety, dignity and peace.” His words are notably devoid of any reference to rights and freedom.

Black women and other people of color are doing vital work for a ceasefire. They are trying to prevent Biden from becoming even more complicit in the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza.

Most of the Progressive Caucus, however, is nowhere in sight, though other members of Congress, both in and out of the caucus, have begun to call separately for a ceasefire as well. Tlaib, at the end of her comment on the deaths at al-Ahli hospital, noted:

This debate should not distract us from the urgent need for a ceasefire to save innocent civilian lives.

Yet, as she knows better than most, too many politicians are still progressive except on Palestine. Their anti-Palestinian indifference, seeping into outright anti-Palestinian racism, has been on display for years, but never more than over the past two weeks as they stand aside for a brutal Israeli onslaught against a refugee population.

By niqnaq | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

wsws

October 25, 2023 – 6:19 am

Israeli bombardment claims over 700 lives in 24 hours as imperialist powers double down on support for genocide against Palestinians
Jordan Shilton, WSWS, Oct 25

Palestinian health ministry officials reported Tuesday that 704 Palestinians were killed by Israeli air strikes over the preceding 24 hours, making it the deadliest day since Israel’s bombardment of Gaza began over two weeks ago. The grim statistic coincided with statements by representatives of American and French imperialism underscoring their support for the savage slaughter of civilians in the Gaza Strip. Conditions in the enclave are worsening by the hour. Hospitals are being forced to reduce services due to a lack of fuel, which Israeli authorities are preventing from entering Gaza via the Rafah border crossing from Egypt. Even the UNRWA reported that its operations in Gaza may have to be suspended within 24 hours if fuel supplies fail to arrive. UNRWA director of communications Juliette Touma said:

We are hosting 600k people in over 160 underground facilities, including schools, medical facilities, and other buildings like warehouses. We’re so stretched that we have to open warehouses to receive the displaced. Supplies are also running out, so we will not be able to give any supplies to [Palestinians in Gaza]. We will not be able to do very simple things like start our fleet of cars or turn on the trucks and go pick up those supplies that are coming in from the borders.

The World Health Organization called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” Tuesday to allow for fuel shipments to reach Gaza. Six hospitals across Gaza have shut entirely due to a lack of fuel, the WHO said, and the al-Shifa Hospital, the Indonesian Hospital and the Turkish Friendship Hospital are struggling to maintain critical services. The WHO warned:

Unless vital fuel and additional health supplies are urgently delivered into Gaza, thousands of vulnerable patients risk death or medical complications as critical services shut down due to lack of power.

The Israeli government reiterated yesterday its bitter opposition to any fuel shipments entering Gaza. Only eight trucks passed through the Rafah crossing late in the evening, five carrying water, two food, and one carrying medical supplies for 2.3 million people. Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari asserted without providing any evidence:

Hamas uses it for its operational needs.

The Israeli military continued its indiscriminate bombing campaign throughout the day. It struck several targets in the south of the Gaza Strip, where Israeli government officials ordered over a million people to flee almost two weeks ago to ostensibly be “safe” from attacks. One air strike flattened a residential building in Khan Younis with dozens of casualties. Later in the day, a Gaza health ministry spokesman said that 50 people had been killed in air strikes within an hour. Late in the evening, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported an air strike in the vicinity of its headquarters and the al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis, where some 4k civilians are sheltering from Israeli bombs. Initial reports indicated extensive damage and numerous injuries. The ability of the far-right Netanyahu government, which is deeply unpopular within Israel, to resort to such brutal methods of collective punishment is due above all to the unconditional support it enjoys from the imperialist powers, first and foremost the United States. White House spokesman John Kirby emphasized Washington’s endorsement of the onslaught on Gaza, telling a Tuesday press conference:

This is war. It is combat. It is bloody. It is ugly, and it’s going to be messy. And innocent civilians are going to be hurt going forward.

French President Emmanuel Macron became the latest leader from one of the major imperialist powers to visit Israel, appearing alongside Netanyahu at a Tuesday press conference to declare his unflinching solidarity with the genocide against the Palestinians. Macron proposed extending the international coalition formed to fight the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria and Iraq in 2014 to include Hamas. Countries fighting ISIS “should also fight against Hamas,” he said. An Elysee Palace official later added:
(We are ready) to beef up what we are doing in the coalition against ISIS. We are available to include Hamas in the coalition against ISIS depending on what Israel will ask us to deliver.

The comparison of the present war with the multi-national operations against ISIS is revealing, since the savage US-led war in Syria and Iraq led to the indiscriminate killing of tens of thousands of civilians. The “liberation” of cities like Mosul and Raqqa from ISIS control was achieved through their virtual destruction. The prospect of direct US and French involvement underscores how the Israeli regime’s war on Gaza is rapidly evolving into a region-wide conflict, or more accurately the Middle East front in a global war. The Biden administration has already dispatched two aircraft carrier battle groups to the region with over 15,000 personnel, while making direct threats against Iran.

On Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Brig-Gen Pat Ryder confirmed that American bases in Syria and Iraq came under attack 10 times between Oct 17 and 24. A report from NBC News later in the day revealed that two dozen US soldiers were injured in the attacks. Taking direct aim at Tehran, Ryder remarked menacingly:

We know that the groups that conduct these attacks are supported by the IRGC and the Iranian regime. What we are seeing is the prospect for more significant escalation against US forces and personnel across the region in the very near term coming from Iranian proxy forces and ultimately from Iran. We are preparing for this escalation both in terms of defending our forces and responding decisively.

At a UNSC debate, Blinken also took aim at Iran, accusing it of supporting Hamas, Hizbollah, and the Hauthis “for years.” Referring to the attacks on US bases, he added ominously:

If Iran or its proxies attack US personnel anywhere, make no mistake: We will defend our people, we will defend our security swiftly and decisively.

The UNSC debate also underlined the strident rejection by Israel and its imperialist allies of any recognition of the oppression suffered by the Palestinians over the past three-quarters of a century. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made some remarks that in previous conflicts in the Middle East would have been more or less widely accepted. He said:

It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing.

Israel’s UN envoy Gilad Erdan responded by demanding Guterres’ resignation, calling his remarks “shocking,” while Foreign Minister Eli Cohen cancelled a planned meeting with the UN head. Opposition leader Benny Gantz, who was brought into the war cabinet by Netanyahu, labelled Guterres a “terror apologist.” The looming threat of a regional expansion of the war and the Israeli regime’s brutal collective punishment of the Palestinian population can only be stopped by the development of a mass anti-war movement in the international working class. Workers around the world must demand an end to military aid for Israel and the massive military spending packages demanded by Biden and his European imperialist allies. Workers in Israel must fight for an end to the oppression of the Palestinians, which is the only way to oppose the Zionist regime’s attacks on the democratic and social rights of Israeli workers. Arab and Jewish workers must be unified across the region under the banner of a socialist program to put an end to imperialist domination, ethnic and religious divisions, and war.

In Israel, Macron endorses Netanyahu’s genocidal war on Gaza
Alex Lantier, WSWS, Oct 25 2023

Macron’s lapel pin is the rosette of the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour – RB

Yesterday, Macron traveled to Israel to brazenly solidarize himself with the genocidal war the Israeli state is waging on the Palestinians in Gaza. At his joint press conference with Netanyahu, he gave an open-ended pledge of French military support to Netanyahu’s government. As Macron spoke, over 7k Palestinians had been killed and a quarter of Gaza’s buildings leveled, as the IOF wage a genocidal war on the Palestinians to punish them for their Oct 6-7 uprising against the illegal, 16-year Israeli blockade of Gaza. After closed-door talks with Netanyahu, Macron came out before the cameras to pledge his “solidarity and friendship” with this bloody onslaught. Macron then called to involve France and its NATO allies in a massive escalation across the Middle East. He proposed that the “international coalition against the Islamic State, which we used for our operations in Iraq and Syria, also fight Hamas.” He warned Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Iranian regime and Houthi militias in Yemen that if they attempted any operations in support of Gaza, it would lead to a “regional conflagration.”

What Macron was proposing is a neocolonial war waged by a coalition of all the major NATO imperialist powers not only on Gaza, but across the entire Middle East. The US, Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Turkey, Canada, Australia and Denmark all joined this coalition. It bombed cities, civilian targets and Islamic State militia units in the context of NATO’s war for regime change in Syria, and to protect the neocolonial Iraqi puppet regime set up during the 2003-2011 US-led occupation of Iraq. Macron’s utterly reckless remarks amount to a pledge that NATO would join in a full-scale war across the entire Middle East. With NATO already at war with Russia in Ukraine, this could rapidly trigger a direct military clash on a global scale between the NATO alliance, on the one hand, and Iran, Russia and China on the other. As Macron spoke, there were mounting exchanges of fire between Hezbollah forces in Lebanon and IDF troops in northern Israel, and villages on both sides of the border were being evacuated. Its second-in-command, Naim Qassem, said Hezbollah is “fully ready” and will not allow threats from the US government, which has sent two aircraft carrier battle groups to the region, to deter it. The IOF have also launched air strikes on targets in Syria, which hosts Russian and Iranian military forces. Last week, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that a continued escalation of the genocidal Israeli war with Gaza could provoke a broader entry of countries across the Middle East into the war. He said:

If the crimes of the Zionist regime continue, Muslims and resistance forces will become impatient, and no one can stop them. The bombardment of Gaza must stop immediately.

Yesterday, at the UN, Blinken pledged that US forces would intervene “swiftly and decisively” against any Iranian military action to support Hamas. US officials including US Senator Lindsay Graham have threatened air strikes on Iran’s oil industry. This directly raises the prospect of a NATO clash with Russia and with China, which in 2021 signed a treaty pledging mutual military assistance with Iran, now a key source of oil and gas for China. At the press conference with Macron, Netanyahu threatened to wage war against an “axis of evil” involving “Hamas, Iran and the Houthis” as well as Hezbollah. Saying there would be “horrible consequences” and that “devastation against Hezbollah will be unimaginable” if it intervenes against an IDF ground invasion of Gaza, he indicated that the IDF would provoke mass Lebanese civilian casualties, concluding:

Because they are embedding themselves in the civilian population like Hamas, we will have to take action against them.

The Macron government and the NATO imperialist powers as a whole are backing a war waged by genocidal methods of collective punishment against populations across the entire Near East. It is the end product of over 30 years of neocolonial wars in the region by the NATO powers, since the first Gulf War against Iraq and the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. The relentless aggression waged by the NATO imperialist powers is plunging the world into a third world war, after the two world wars of the 20th century. Macron lied shamelessly, presenting the support of his government and of the NATO alliance for military escalation across the Middle East as a war for democracy against terrorism. He said:

The struggle must be waged without mercy, but not without rules. We are democracies waging war on terrorists, democracies who respect the laws of war and who ensure humanitarian access. We are democracies who do not target civilians, either in Gaza or anywhere else.

While advocating a “military and implacable response” against Gaza, Macron claimed he wanted a “decisive relaunch of a political process with the Palestinians” in order to grant the Palestinian people “a territory and a state.” In reality, Macron applauded a war waged on an oppressed, largely defenseless population of Gaza, implicating the IOF in a string of crimes against humanity. Israel has blockaded Gaza since 2007 in defiance of UN rulings that its blockade was illegal, and, in the first two weeks of the conflict, blocked all water, food, and fuel to the impoverished enclave. The Israeli bombing of the Ahli Arab hospital last week, which cost hundreds of civilian lives, exposes the barbaric character of the war on Gaza. Yesterday, the WHO reported that two-thirds of Gaza’s 72 health facilities, including 12 of its 35 hospitals, had completely ceased treatment due to lack of power. Most of the remaining facilities, including hospitals where premature babies will die if power is cut to their incubators, have at most a day of electricity remaining. Macron himself briefly acknowledged this reality, claiming:

We spoke for a long time about re-establishing the electrical supply in hospitals, without it being possible for it to be used to wage war.

Such statements only make clear, however, that the French government is perfectly aware, as it endorses Netanyahu, that he is waging war on civilians and committing crimes against humanity. As Macron insists that the IDF respects the laws of war and grants humanitarian access to Gaza, he is in fact deliberately lying to the people of France and the world. Macron’s claim that he is seeking an Israeli-Palestinian peace by endorsing Netanyahu, who has issued an illegal order to over 1.1 million inhabitants of Gaza to leave their homes, is obscene. In reality, he is defending an attempt to “solve” the Palestinian issue by methods of genocide and ethnic cleansing that fascist governments of 20th century Europe would have understood easily. This has provoked a wave of demonstrations across the US, Europe, the Middle East and internationally against the Gaza war. Stopping the horrific onslaught against Gaza and averting the imperialist powers’ downward spiral into WW3 requires the mobilization of the international working class in a struggle against imperialist war and the capitalist system. In this, there can be no political compromises with Macron, a banker who is widely despised as the “president of the rich.” As he revealed by sending his riot police to assault mass protests and strikes against his overwhelmingly unpopular pension cuts this spring, the Macron government rules openly and consciously against the people. In order to end the constant diversion of social wealth to war spending and halting a catastrophic global war, there is no other way than to build a movement in the working class to bring down his government.

Second Thomas Shoal incident: A provocation made in Washington
Peter Symonds, WSWS, Oct 25 2023

BRP Sierra Madre

A maritime collision on Sunday in the South China Sea involving Chinese and Philippine vessels has all the hallmarks of a provocation hatched in Manila and Washington to blacken Beijing’s name. The incident revolves around a longstanding dispute over control of the Second Thomas Shoal, a coral reef barely above sea level at low tide. To assert its claims, the Philippines has stationed a unit of Marines on a derelict WW2-era US warship, BRP Sierra Madre, that was deliberately grounded on the reef in 1999. China continues to insist that the shoal, part of the Spratly Islands, is its territory and claims that the Philippines had agreed to remove the warship from the reef. In August, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr declared that he was unaware that such a deal existed, adding that even if it did, he was now rescinding it.

Chinese coast guard and other vessels have been deployed to the waters to block Philippine efforts to reach the reef. In August, the Chinese ships used water cannon to harass and prevent Philippine boats attempting to reach the BRP Sierra Madre. On Sunday, four Philippine vessels apparently attempted to breach the blockade, resulting in at least two collisions with Chinese ships. According to Manila, a Chinese coastguard vessel cut in front of the bow of a small wooden ship, causing it to hit its side. A Chinese maritime militia boat later bumped a Philippine coastguard vessel. No one was injured. The incident was rapidly seized on by the Philippine government and media to denounce China. Philippine defence secretary Gilbert Teodoro branded the maritime confrontation an escalation of China’s “expansionist and aggressive action,” declaring:

What happened yesterday was a serious and egregious violation of international law.

Philippine President Marcos convened an emergency meeting with top military and security officials to discuss a response. An official of the Chinese embassy was summoned to receive a strongly-worded protest. A statement from the presidential press office blamed the collisions on “dangerous, illegal, and reckless manoeuvres by vessels of the China Coast Guard” and declared that the matter was “being taken seriously at the highest level of government.” The Chinese embassy responded by lodging a protest with the Philippine foreign ministry, claiming the shoal as Chinese territory and urging Manila to “tow away the illegally grounded warship as soon as possible” and abandon control of the shoal. China also accused the Philippines not only of seeking to resupply its Marine contingent, but of transporting building materials to construct a more permanent presence. Significantly, the incident was quickly seized upon by the US State Dept, which issued a press statement on Sunday (US time) declaring:

THe US stands with our Philippine allies against the dangerous and unlawful actions of the PLA Navy, and reaffirms that Article IV of the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, and aircraft, including those of its Coast Guard, anywhere in the South China Sea.

Article IV declares that an armed attack in the Pacific on either country would mean that each “would act to meet the common dangers in accordance with its constitutional processes.” In the context of the Biden administration’s escalating preparations for war with China, the statement is a menacing military threat. Washington is already fuelling tensions with Beijing over Taiwan by strengthening diplomatic and military ties with Taipei, even while claiming to adhere to the One China policy that acknowledges the island as part of China. Now the US is threatening to transform an incident involving Chinese and Philippine coastguards into the pretext for military conflict. There is no doubt that Washington had a hand in Sunday’s maritime incident. In comments cited in the Financial Times, John Bradford, executive director at the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies, noted:

A sizeable chunk of the DC policy elite are directly or indirectly egging the Philippines on, as a part of the effort to stand up to China’s so-called unlawful aggression.

The timing of the Philippine attempt to run the Chinese blockade is also significant. It came on the eve of three days of talks in Beijing with Southeast Asian countries over a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea aimed at easing tensions over conflicting territorial claims. The furore over the Second Thomas Shoal will no doubt poison the atmosphere, making any agreement difficult to reach. The incident also comes ahead of a visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Washington, beginning tomorrow, to meet Blinken and Sullivan. Ostensibly, the Biden administration is seeking to ease tensions with China and foster collaboration. In reality, Blinken and other top officials used a trip to Beijing in June to lay down a series of ultimatums to China, and will do so again this week. Over the past decade, beginning with the Obama administration, the US has transformed longstanding territorial and maritime disputes in the South China Sea from a relatively minor regional issue into a dangerous flashpoint for war with China. US warships and warplanes have engaged in escalating provocations by entering Chinese-claimed waters and airspace in the name of “freedom of navigation.” The South China Sea is directly adjacent to sensitive military bases on the Chinese mainland that would be obvious targets in any US conflict with China.

The US has also strengthened its military presence in the Philippines next to the South China Sea and encouraged the Marcos administration to take a more aggressive stance towards Beijing. In February, it was announced that Manila would provide Washington with access to four additional basing locations in the Philippines under the auspices of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement. One of the four bases is on the westernmost fringes of Palawan, as close as possible to the disputed Spratly Islands. Washington’s provocations and military build-up in the Indo-Pacific are taking place even as it intensifies the NATO war in Ukraine against Russia and backs Israel to the hilt in its genocidal onslaught on Palestinian people in Gaza, threatening a wider war in the Middle East. In its reckless determination to maintain its global hegemony at any cost, US imperialism is plunging humanity towards a catastrophic global conflict between nuclear-armed powers.

US, South Korea, and Japan stage joint air force drills
Ben McGrath, WSWS, Oct 25 2023

The US, South Korea and Japan on Sunday held their first trilateral air force drill. These exercises are part of Washington-led efforts to increase cooperation between the three militaries. Even as it threatens to unleash a broader war throughout the Middle East while backing Israel’s genocidal destruction of Gaza, the US is making clear that there will be no let-up in the plans for war against China. Sunday’s exercise took place south of the Korean Peninsula involving both a US B-52H strategic bomber and fighter jets from the three countries. The B-52 is capable of carrying nuclear payloads as well as various types of conventional weaponry. The bomber previously landed at a South Korean airbase on Oct 17 while conducting fly-overs of the peninsula alongside South Korean aircraft. It was the first time a B-52 has landed in South Korea. The three sides claim that such shows of force are necessary to deter a supposed attack from North Korea. The South Korean Air Force stated:

This exercise was designed to follow through on the defense agreements discussed in the Camp David summit in August and expand the three countries’ response capabilities against North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile threats.

In reality, the exercise is another orchestrated provocation, staged on China’s doorstep and meant to threaten Beijing. Such drills are increasing following the April summit between Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, where the two leaders pledged to increase the presence and visibility of US strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula while increasing joint cooperation over the potential use of US nuclear weapons. In addition to the recent B-52 visit, the US also dispatched the USS Kentucky, an Ohio-class nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine, to South Korea in July, the first time in four decades a submarine of this class had visited the country. More recently, Washington deployed the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier to the Indo-Pacific region, joining the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier in the region. The latter recently conducted joint drills with South Korea and Japan while docking at Busan for five days. These provocative moves take place as the US surges its forces into the Middle East to back the Israeli genocide of Palestinians, threatening a much larger conflict against Iran. In increasing its military presence in East Asia, Washington is preparing for a war with China, which it regards as the chief threat to its global hegemony. The global character of the US war plans was made clear in Biden’s recent demand for $105b to fund not only the US proxy war in Ukraine against Russia and to arm Israel, but also to increase military aid for Taiwan, further challenging the “One China” policy. This is a red line for Beijing, which is unwilling to allow the island to become a base for future US war operations.

Seoul and Tokyo are not hesitating to back Washington’s war drive. Seoul in particular has seized on Hamas’s “surprise” attack on Israel to claim that North Korea is preparing a similar assault on the South, thereby justifying the further military build-up in East Asia and cooperation with Japan. The US has been pressing Japan and South Korea to overcome historical tension stemming from Japan’s brutal colonization of Korea between 1910 and 1945. Their close military collaboration is essential to Washington’s preparations for war with China. Earlier this year, Seoul “normalized” an intelligence sharing agreement with Tokyo. Yoon also essentially declared that Seoul would no longer pursue legal claims against Japan for the latter’s past crimes in Korea. This has led to the improved relations and military collaboration. This cooperation was taken to another level during Washington’s war planning summit in August at Camp David, attended by both Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Establishing what is essentially a trilateral alliance, they pledged to increase their number of joint war games, consolidate supply chains and further expand military intelligence-sharing. The three countries recently established a three-way hotline, another pledge coming out of the summit. Citing a senior government official in Seoul, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported the hotline was completed on Oct 16. A US NSC spox stated the previous week that the hotline would provide “regular, timely and redundant access to secure lines of voice and video communication.” In addition, the line will also “ensure secure connectivity between other senior members of government, including our respective national security advisers.”

Japan is also using the pretext of a North Korean “threat” and alleged Chinese “assertiveness” to justify remilitarization and further undermine constitutional bans on maintaining a military. In December Japan announced that it was effectively doubling its military budget by 2027. Japan is expanding the capabilities of its armed forces. Tokyo recently announced that it would increase the presence of its Self-Defense Forces in Kyushu, which includes establishing an F-35B fighter jet air base and a surface-to-ship missile unit. The units are scheduled to be established in FY 2024, beginning next April. The units cover the Ryukyu (or Nansei) Island chain that runs from Kyushu down through Okinawa Prefecture towards Taiwan, which a senior Defense Ministry official called “a single theater of operations.” The proximity of the southernmost islands to Taiwan is exploited by Tokyo to justify military build-up in that area and its integration into US war plans against China, all in the name of “self-defense.” Tokyo is planning to acquire cruise missiles in FY 2025, a year earlier than previously scheduled. Defense Minister Minoru Kihara made the announcement while meeting with Austin earlier this month in Washington. Tokyo will purchase 200 Tomahawk Block-4 missiles from the US between 2025 and 2027. It will then purchase an additional 200 Tomahawk Block-5 variant giving Japan the ability to strike targets in China and North Korea. The advanced preparations for war against China by the US and its allies only underscore the fact that American imperialism will stop at nothing to maintain its world dominance even as it hurtles towards a catastrophic global conflict between nuclear-armed powers.

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military summary

October 24, 2023 – 7:49 pm

Military Summary And Analysis
Military Summary, Oct 24 2023

The Fall | The Russians Captured Strategical Hill Terrikon.

Military Summary And Analysis
Military Summary, Oct 24 2023

The Russians Have Broken Through The Front In Several Directions.

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south front

October 24, 2023 – 6:38 pm

Israel Given Green Light To Kill In Gaza Strip
South Front, Oct 24 2023

Oct 24 marked another day of bloody massacre of the Palestinian people by the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip. According to local reports, more than a hundred civilians were killed last night alone. The bodies of numerous victims still remain under the rubble. According to the updated figures provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 5,791 people were killed in Gaza, including 2,360 children. The victims reportedly also included 6 employees of UNRWA who were killed in the Gaza Strip by Israeli shelling last night. The IDF continues massive strikes on various targets in settlements throughout the Gaza Strip, including in the southern areas of Khan Yunis and Rafah, where the Israeli military asked the Palestinians to evacuate. On Oct 24, one of the targets was a high-rise building near the Al-Wafa hospital in Gaza. In Khan Yunis, another building near the Al-Amal hospital was hit. Dozens more of civilian buildings were destroyed.






A store was bombed in the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip a short while ago:

A large part of victims in the Gaza Strip are children:







Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim ibn Hamad al-Thani accused the international community of “acting as if Palestinian children are worthless, as if they are faceless and nameless. That’s enough. It is unacceptable for Israel to be given an unconditional green light and an unlimited permit to kill, as well as to continue to ignore the reality of the occupation and blockade.” The Emir reiterated that the escalation of Israeli violence in Palestine is disturbing and contradicts all international laws, as well as religious and social morality.

Qatar is one of the main allies of the US in the Middle East. Joe Biden awarded the country this status in March 2022. Qatar hosts a US military base in the country, as well as a Hamas political office. Along with Israel and the United States, Qatar is participating in negotiations on the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas Released Two Israeli Women, Despite Tel Aviv’s ‘Refuse To Take Hostages Back’
South Front, Oct 24 2023

Hamas released two more hostages. They turned out to be Israeli women, Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, who were captured in Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct 7. The release was carried aout through the mediation of Egypt and Qatar. The operation passed through the same procedures that were applied during the release of the two American captives. The representative of the Palestinian group had previously explained that the Americans were released in response to Qatar’s mediation efforts, as well as to “prove to the American people and the whole world” the falsity and groundlessness of the statements of the US authorities about Hamas. The representative of the Izz’ed-Din al-Qassam Brigades noted that Israel had refused to take the hostages back since Oct 20, but the militants “decided to release the captives for compelling humanitarian reasons.” At the same time, Hamas claims that they were not hostages. The women were initially captured by some “other” forces.

Livshits told The Times of Israel that she did not know where she was being held. The woman reported that the militants put her on a motorcycle: one held her from behind and in front so that she would not fall. First, she was brought to the city of Abasan al-Kabir in the southern Gaza Strip, and then taken to another place. Lifshitz described how Hamas militia took her by motorcycle into a “spiderweb” of tunnels under Gaza. She noted that Hamas treated her gently and met all her needs during captivity, including getting her treated by a doctor. Lifshitz also pointed a finger of blame at the Israeli military, claiming the IDF did not take the threat of Hamas ‘seriously.’ According to the latest data provided by the Israeli military, Hamas is holding more than 200 people hostage, but this number may grow. On Oct 23, the Israeli media reported that Hamas was going to hand over 50 foreign hostages with dual citizenship to the Red Cross. On Oct 24, the IDF scattered leaflets over the Gaza Strip asking Palestinians to provide information about hostages held by Hamas. In return, the Israeli army promised to “provide security” and financial rewards and guaranteed “complete confidentiality.”

Mysterious Attacks Hit US Military Bases In Syria
South Front, Oct 24 2023

The war in the Middle East continues escalating, involving more and more parties present in the region. Shi’ite groups in countries neighboring Israel continue launching strikes at military bases of Israel’s main ally, the US. On the evening of Oct 23, local sources reported that a series of strikes had targeted the US military bases in Syria. According to the Al Mayadeen TV channel, three USAF bases came under attack at once. According to an Arab TV channel, the pro-Iranian groups in Syria almost simultaneously attacked US military bases in Al-Tanf, Al-Shaddadi and Al-Omar with suicide drones. A series of explosions have been reported on the territory of these bases, but no data on damage or casualties was revealed. Islamic Resistance of Iraq, which includes Shi’ite fighters, claimed responsibility for the strikes. The group spread a message about the alleged damage to military bases, but did not provide any footage confirming it. Earlier, a representative of the Islamic Resistance of Iraq claimed that they sided with their Palestinian brothers, and began attacks on the US military in the region. The group emphasized that this was only the beginning. Amid the reports about the strikes, fake footage of alleged destruction was shared online but the photos were outdated and had nothing to do with attack in Syria. Biden, who learned about the strikes on the bases, was forced to interrupt his press conference and retire to a meeting on national security. Such a demonstrative move in front of the cameras is very similar to a media campaign.

The large attacks, any details of which have not yet been disclosed, are a good excuse for Washington to point to Iran and accuse Tehran of escalation.

NATO Weapons For Ukraine In Service With Hamas: Evidences, Supply Routes, Beneficiaries
South Front, Oct 23 2023

Arab military sources are widely sharing new video which is reportedly showing military equipment in service with Hams fighters. American M136 and M141 grenade launchers, as well as Swedish-British NLAW ATGMs, are seen on the footage. There are less and less doubts that the foreign weapons fell into the arms of Palestinian militants through Ukraine.

Various reports claimed that during the security operation on October 8, the Israeli military found portable anti-aircraft missile systems “Strela-2” and shots to RPG-7 with the mark of a unit of the AFU from Mukachevo, Transcarpathian region. Ukrainian weapons were discovered in one of the pickups of Hamas militants.

Reports about the weapons from Ukraine in service with Hamas fighters appeared immediately after the hostilities had broken out in the Middle East. Tel Aviv preferred to avoid public scandals and did not officially accuse Ukrainian officials. Back in June, Netanyahu officially declared that some weapons supplied by the US and EU countries to Ukraine had already appeared on the Israeli. It was only a matter of time when it would be used to kill Israelis. In its turn, Kiev hastened to whitewash itself and, as usual, blamed Moscow for its own failures. The Military intelligence Service of Ukraine (GUR), headed by Budanov, stated:

It was the Russian GRU that handed over to Hamas terrorists weapons made in the USA and EU states which was captured during the fighting in Ukraine.

Kiev allegedly has nothing to do with the transfer of NATO weapons. In fact, the claims of Ukrainian officials confirmed that indeed Western weapons destined for Ukraine are deployed with Palestinian militants. The Russian military unlikely has enough NATO trophies that were new and not damaged in the battles before to send it to the third countries. The third point is that the Kiev officials forget to mention its own Soviet-made military equipment found in the war regions in the Middle East. It has long been no secret to anyone that the corrupt Kiev regime sends a large number of NATO weapons to black markets and directly to various militants around the world. The GUR headed by Budanov, a good friend of Zelensky, and the Ministry of Defense under the leadership of ex-Minister Reznikov, are the two departments that were involved in and coordinated the arms trade on the black market. Another important figure in these affairs is the Interdepartmental Commission on the Policy of Military-Technical Cooperation and Export Control under the Government of Ukraine, which was headed by Alexander Polishchuk, who had previously worked as Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine; but immediately after the public scandal on Hamas weapons scandal broke out Zelensky dismissed him from his post.

The Ukrainian government writes off various types of weapons under the pretext of heavy fighting on the frontlines and the necessity to rapidly replenish the warehouses. The process is supervised from Kiev with the support of the Odessa regional administration, from where weapons were transferred abroad. Large port infrastructure allowed large flows of cargo ships to pass through while there was no descent control of the cargo thanks to the grain deal. Moreover, taking into account the close ties between the Ukrainian intelligence, military and civilian services with the CIA, it is highly likely that expost of NATO weapons around the world, including to the Israeli borders, is carried out under strict American supervision. It is worth recalling that weapons from the Balkans and Ukraine entered Syria and Yemen through the ports of Varna and Odessa. It was also massively taken from long-term storage warehouses with Soviet ammunition. For example, mortar mines then assembled in Ukraine were found in service with ISIS in Yemen in large amount. The supplies along the routs from Eastern Europe and Ukraine were set up and actively operated during the wars in Syria and Yemen to arm for example Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and others. The CIA was largely involved in these operations, including financing them from its own secret funds. The destinations also included Pakistan, Afghanistan, Burkina Faso and other countries. Western governments were aware of illegal transfer of weapons before, they know now. Due to the growth of this illegal business in Ukraine after the coup d’etat of 2014, the struggle for operation of the ports in the Odessa region, one of the main hubs of arms trade in the Black Sea region, is strategically important for Western beneficiaries.

Russian Flag Waving Over Dominant Height Of Avdeevka Coke Plant
South Front, Oct 24 2023

Footage from the frontlines in Eastern Ukraine confirmed that the Russian military had taken control of a dominant height near one of the largest Ukrainian strongholds in the Donbass. Russian flag is waving over the ash dump on the northern outskirts of the Avdeevka Coke and Chemical Plant which was turned into another castle by the Ukrainian military during the long years of war in the Donbass. Russia Today showed some footage of the battles in the area, which resulted in the Russian victory. There are flags of the Russian Federation and the one of the 114th Motorized Rifle Brigade (the former ‘Vostok’ Brigade of the DPR), which stormed and took control of the ash dump. Before any assault operations, Ukrainian servicemen were ‘smoked out of their hideout’ by Russian artillery fire, drone strikes, airstrikes etc.

The first reports about the Russian control of the stronghold came about the week ago. However, the AFU launched counter-attacks and Ukrainian fire prevented the Russian military from gaining a foothold in the area. The installation of the flags in the area marked the end of the battles for the hills and confirmed Russian control of them. The intensity of battles and resistance of Ukrainian forces confirm the strategic importance of the control of the ash dump. It allows Russian forces to take close fire control on the Ukrainian military hiding in the large plant. Intensification of Russian shelling on the AFU in the plant will also decrease Ukrainian attacks on civilians in the Donetsk city agglomeration.

CIA Invested Millions To Improve Ukrainian Intelligence System
Lucas Leiroz, South Front, Oct 24 2023

Apparently, relations between the US and Ukraine are deep in the intelligence sector. According to a major American media outlet, the CIA invested exorbitant amounts of money to develop the Ukrainian intelligence system. The case makes it clear how American agents and intelligence are certainly co-responsible for the crimes committed by the Ukrainians. The information was shared by the WaPo on Oct 23. According to the newspaper, the ICA invested “tens of millions” of dollars in Ukrainian intelligence with the aim of transforming the post-post-Soviet system into an actual operational center allied with Washington against Moscow. Since the Maidan, the American agency has been heavily involved in the entire Ukrainian intelligence decision-making process, having achieved a “significant presence” in Kiev. The article reads:

Since 2015, the CIA has spent tens of millions of dollars to transform Ukraine’s Soviet-formed services into potent allies against Moscow, officials said. The agency has provided Ukraine with advanced surveillance systems, trained recruits at sites in Ukraine as well as the US, built new headquarters for departments in Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, and shared intelligence on a scale that would have been unimaginable before Russia illegally annexed Crimea and fomented a separatist war in eastern Ukraine. The CIA maintains a significant presence in Kyiv, officials said.

The article also emphasizes that the entire Ukrainian defense system received American funds, which clarifies that both national intelligence, SBU, and military intelligence, GUR, benefited from CIA investments. Particularly with regard to the SBU, the CIA appears to have had a central role in developing the agency’s operational capacity and making it capable of spying on the “threats” posed by the Donbass’ separatist militias, acting strongly within the conflict zone. Activities were firstly focused on reconnaissance and sabotage against the militias, but later the tactics became increasingly lethal. This supposedly caused “discomfort” among the Americans themselves. The text reports that CIA agents began to feel uncomfortable with the criminal methods of assassination used by their Ukrainian partners, which allegedly generated a decrease in cooperation between both parties. The text mentions that even the most experienced agents who agree with the use of clandestine techniques to assassinate opponents were shocked by Ukrainian practices. According to the sources, the Americans disagreed not only with the methods, but also with the choice of victims, as Kiev routinely chooses to kill civilians with no strategic relevance in the conflict, as happened with Daria Dugina, a journalist and daughter of the philosopher Aleksandr Dugin. The article reads:

Ukraine’s affinity for lethal operations has complicated its collaboration with the CIA, raising concerns about agency complicity and creating unease among some officials in Kyiv and Washington. Even those who see such lethal missions as defensible in wartime question the utility of certain strikes and decisions that led to the targeting of civilians including Dugina or her father, Alexander Dugin, who officials acknowledge was the intended mark, rather than Russians more directly linked to the war.

However, it is naive to believe that the CIA actually invested so much money in Kiev and was “shocked” by the Ukrainian methods. American intelligence is known worldwide for the cruelty with which it treats its enemies, and there is no reason to believe that the CIA would demand “ethical” conduct from Kiev. Furthermore, there is evidence and investigative work showing that even the torture techniques used by the Kiev regime were certainly instructed to Ukrainians agents by the CIA. What appears to be happening is simply another attempt by the US to escape responsibility for the crimes committed by Kiev. This is not the first time that American sources allege that, despite US intelligence relations with Ukraine, there was no participation of American agents in the crimes of Kiev. Regarding the specific case of Daria Dugina, the NYT had already reported more than a year ago that Ukrainian intelligence was responsible for the crime, allegedly without any American cooperation.

However, it is almost impossible for the US not to have complete control over the attitudes of Ukrainian intelligence. Even if the plan to kill Dugina and other civilians was eventually proposed by Ukrainians, the CIA certainly had enough power to prevent Kiev’s action, if it wanted to, since the Ukrainian state is clearly a vassal of the US. So, it seems clear that, if not direct participation, at least some kind of “green light” was given by the US, making Washington co-responsible for all Ukrainian intelligence’s crimes. Amid the current context of changing focus in American foreign policy, with Ukraine losing its priority status to Israel, these media reports play a very important role, which is to prepare public opinion for a gradual “abandonment” of Ukraine. For more than a year, Western media readers have been brainwashed into believing that “defending” Ukraine was a vital necessity. Now, it is necessary to make public opinion “forget” about Ukraine and support the sending of weapons and money to Israel. And the easiest way to reverse the sympathy for Ukraine instilled in citizens over time is to show the crimes committed by the regime, omitting that the US was a co-participant in all of them.

Gallup Poll Finds Record-Breaking 39% Of Americans Don’t Trust Us Media In The Slightest
Drago Bosnic, South Front, Oct 24 2023

It’s a truly laborious task to keep track of the immeasurable quantity of lies the mainstream propaganda machine has been saying since its very inception. Whether it’s the half-truths, unfounded accusations based on circumstantial evidence (or none at all), persistent propaganda narratives, smear campaigns, the demonization of entire nations and ethnicities, etc. the corporate media of the political West are by far the most expensive and elaborate disinformation, misinformation and malinformation (as they would define it) operation in human history. However, at this point, anyone with a mere speck of common sense is perfectly aware of the fact that when the Western mainstream propaganda machine claims it’s daylight at noon, you need to look through the window to make sure that’s the case. And while we might think that’s just a metaphor, the latest polling data shows that’s precisely how nearly 40% of Americans feel when it comes to their own media. Namely, on Oct 19, Gallup published the results of its latest poll, conducted during most of September. According to their findings, American people’s confidence in mass media’s (newspapers, TV, radio, etc.) ability to report news fairly and in a balanced way plummeted to a record-breaking low not seen since 2016. The report is part of a wider annual survey by Gallup dealing with overall trust in US institutions.

The latest data shows that 29% of adult Americans have “not very much” trust in the media. However, as previously mentioned, another 39% of them have “none at all”. This is the highest percentage of US citizens with “zero trust” ever recorded and is 12% higher than it was in 2016. Back then, 41% of American adults described their trust in US media as “not very much”. Long-term data indicates that this decline, although constant over the last 50 years, has never been as steep as it is now. This is particularly true in regard to corporate media, the uniformity of which has become truly terrifying. Interestingly (albeit unsurprisingly), the poll found a massive political divide when it comes to the trust in media narratives. Namely, approximately 58% of Democrats trust the US media, while the same is true for only a puny 11% of Republicans. The primary reason for such an unheard-of distrust from the GOP supporters might be the treatment of former US President Donald Trump. As we are all aware at this point, the amount of legal abuse Trump has been exposed to is unprecedented, probably in the history of the US.

The painfully obvious hatred that the mainstream propaganda machine stopped bothering to hide long ago has only strengthened support for his cause. And while it’s preventing Trump from campaigning, the string of show trials he’ll be forced to undergo is a sort of political campaign in and of itself. The very fact that the judges are heavily biased and that some are even refusing to give a rough deadline for the court proceedings speaks volumes about what the endgame is. Namely, it’s obvious that the goal is to prevent Trump from either running at all or at the very least prevent his reelection by derailing his campaign. The persistent drop in trust in American media is a clear indicator of this. Back in July, Gallup itself found that the trust in TV news and newspapers also stood at a record low. And the same was true in December last year. In the last several years, the official narrative has been extremely inconsistent, leaving many puzzled by the amount of contradictory claims.

Most people realize they are being manipulated by the mainstream propaganda machine. The unrelenting censorship that the US government has been enforcing for years reveals the never-ending cycle of coordination between numerous intelligence agencies, academic institutions and seemingly “non-governmental organizations” that actively seek to prevent citizens from raising legitimate questions and concerns that directly affect their lives. This includes narratives such as the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines, the Biden family’s shady business ventures and non-repentant criminal activities, the “evil Russia” narrative, etc. Perhaps the most prominent example of an attempt to silence people asking questions about any of these topics is the treatment of the immensely popular former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson. The fact that he was willing to risk his career (and even his safety) to ask questions about the aforementioned narratives made him even more popular with the crowd, as people themselves were wondering the same, but were simply not allowed to voice any of it. After he parted ways with Fox, Carlson even admitted that US intelligence services limited his basic rights, supposedly guaranteed by the vaunted American law. Despite numerous attempts to silence Carlson, his success and meteoric rise on Twitter left corporate giants such as CNN and even Fox News itself in the dust.

The overall growing distrust of the American people in their own state institutions is the consequence of constant narrative shifts and painfully obvious double standards that the political elites keep trying to impose on hundreds of millions of regular people. This shift is further reinforced by greater access to ample information through various alternative platforms, such as Telegram, and to a certain extent by the relaxing of the previously Gestapo-style censorship on Twitter. The political West (particularly the ultra-bureaucratic European Union) is now seeking ways to legally prevent access to platforms that advocate for actual free speech. Obviously, this is hardly unexpected, particularly as the mainstream propaganda machine is tasked with keeping the populace under tight control. This is its very raison d’être, so such pushback against alternative media sources is quite unsurprising.

Mobilisation In Ukraine Turns Into Real Nightmare For Citizens, Says Former Ukrainian PM
Ahmed Adel, South Front, Oct 24 2023

Mobilisation reserves in Ukraine have been emptied while the military calls for troop rotation at the front, which cannot be done, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said on his Telegram channel on October 23. This is unsurprising as Ukraine has been illegally mobilising men since at least January, demonstrating the alarming lack of manpower the country has, an issue even well before the failed so-called “Spring Offensive,” which actually began in early June. The former Ukrainian Prime Minister said:

The mobilisation in Ukraine has turned into a real nightmare for the Ukrainians. Ukraine’s reserves have been emptied, while at the front, the military is asking for a rotation, which cannot be done due to lack of personnel in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Thus, as long as the Ukrainian authorities use force against their own people, there will be fewer and fewer supporters in the country, and fewer volunteers will appear in the ranks of the Ukrainian forces. This means that with such sentiments in society, Ukraine has a catastrophically low chance of holding its own.

According to Azarov’s publication, recruitment centres began attracting former prisoners to “capture” as much of the population as possible because the mobilisation resource was exhausted, and many people fled the country in any way possible. Earlier, a spokesperson of the General Staff of the AFU said that the mobilisation potential of Ukraine still allows additional recruitment of men of military age without changing the legislation. Ukraine has been under martial law since Feb 24 2022, and the next day, Zelensky signed a decree on general mobilisation, and thus, male citizens aged 18 to 60 are prohibited from leaving Ukraine’s borders. In fact, the legislation is so draconian that Ukrainian men face prison sentences of up to five years for evading military service during mobilisation. However, even the few provisions within the draconian legislation are being violated, such as the procedure for delivering summonses, a written document issued in the name of a specific person, for conscription. The summons must be prepared in advance, and if issued correctly, the conscript must appear before the relevant state body responsible for mobilisation.

According to the law, summonses cannot be delivered by messenger, text, phone, or e-mail, and they cannot be filled out in front of the person to whom it is handed. If the summons is issued incorrectly, the conscript does not have to appear for mobilisation. Yet, in Ukraine, these few provisions in the legislation are being violated on a mass scale. One such case occurred in Jan 2023 in Odessa, when military recruiters hid inside an ambulance, and when they saw men of military age, they jumped out onto the street, handed out summons and forcibly dragged those who resisted into the ambulance. A month later, in Ternopil, military recruiters grabbed men at a bus station and forced them into the bus. Then, on Mar 20, a video appeared in which a taxi driver in Odessa expressed “insufficiently patriotic thoughts,” but two days later, he was reportedly “found and drafted into the army.” These are just three examples of countless Ukrainians being literally dragged off the streets to fight in a war they have no interest in being involved in. This is also a major contributing reason to the utter failure of the so-called “spring offensive.” These forcibly conscripted men became the “cannon fodder” we heard about over the summer because they naturally had low morale and lacked military training.

In addition, many men are motivated to join the Ukrainian military just because it is one of the few secure sources of income, no matter how meagre it is, due to the destroyed economy. However, many of these men end up dead, become incapacitated due to injury, or do their best to avoid conflict to preserve their lives. It is recalled that Ukrainian investigators detained Yevhen Borisov on charges of illegal enrichment, dereliction of duty, and evading military service in July. Borisov was fired as the military commissioner of the Odessa region in June after investigative reports found he and family members had bought property in Spain along with luxury automobiles worth $4m, money he attained from taking bribes for exemptions, among other reasons. In this way, Ukraine does not only have the problem of empty reserves, as highlighted by Azarov, but deep corruption that means many military-age men can avoid conscription, so long as they can pay the bribe, whilst poor Ukrainian men, which today forms most of the male population, are literally dragged off the streets to participate in a futile war against Russia, which they know they cannot win.

By niqnaq | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

rt.com

October 24, 2023 – 6:17 pm

Google and Apple limit map functions in Israel and Gaza
RT.com, Oct 24 2023

Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps are no longer showing live traffic updates for Israel and Gaza, according to multiple media reports. The move comes ahead of an expected invasion of the Palestinian territory by the IOF. A Google spokesperson told Bloomberg on Monday:

As we have done previously in conflict situations and in response to the evolving situation in the region, we have temporarily disabled the ability to see live traffic conditions and business information out of consideration for the safety of local communities. While real-time traffic data has been turned off, users can still use the navigation systems and will still be able to see the estimated times of arrival, which will be based on live conditions.

Another source with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg that Google’s removal of real-time crowding data in Israel and Gaza was done at the request of the IDF, as such information could potentially reveal Israeli troop movements. Previously, Google made a similar move when it disabled live traffic data on Google Maps in Ukraine in 2022 following the launch of Russia’s military operation. At the time, the company said it made the decision after consulting with Ukrainian authorities. According to Israeli tech outlet Geek Time, Apple appears to have started adhering to the IDF request on Monday, with users unable to see live traffic reports on Apple Maps. Meanwhile, US officials have reportedly expressed concerns over Israel’s anticipated ground operation, with some suggesting that the IDF does not have a workable plan for sending troops into Gaza, and could end up being unable to eliminate Hamas.

Entire global arms production ‘not enough’ for Ukraine: minister
RT.com, Oct 24 2023

Western nations must be prepared to support Kiev against Moscow “for decades” and should build up their arms production accordingly, a Ukrainian minister has said, claiming that worldwide industrial capacity at its current levels was not sufficient. Strategic Industries Minister Aleksandr Kamyshin told Politico on Monday, ahead of a planned announcement this week of a German-Ukrainian joint arms production deal:

The free world should be producing enough to protect itself. If you get together all the worldwide capacities for weapons production, for ammunition production, that will be not enough for this war.

Kamyshin was appointed to his job in March, as Kiev sought to secure the continued supply of arms and munitions to sustain its war effort. At the time it was gearing up for a summer counter-offensive, for which the US and its allies provided tanks, armored vehicles and other military hardware. With Israel now embroiled in a war with Hamas, competition for the dwindling reserves of Western arms has intensified. According to German media, Berlin intends to prioritize supplies to Israel over those meant for Ukraine. The Ukrainian minister argued:

What happens in Israel now shows and proves that the defense industry globally is a destination for investments for decades.

Kiev wants Western defense firms to open production lines on Ukrainian soil to ensure Ukrainian “self-sufficiency,” and has secured pledges from Germany and the UK to do so. Moscow has warned that foreign-funded weapons factories in Ukraine would be considered legitimate targets for Russian missile strikes. Speaking in an interview in July, Zelensky claimed that no amount of aid would be “enough” for his nation, “as long as the war continues.”

By niqnaq | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

middle east eye

October 24, 2023 – 5:45 pm

Israeli officials ‘unhappy’ with released woman’s description of captivity
Middle East Eye, Oct 24 2023

Israeli officials are reportedly unhappy with an interview given by an elderly former captive of Hamas in Gaza because she had not been well prepared for the statement. In a press meeting on Tuesday, 85-year-old Yocheved Lifshitz, an Israeli captive released from Gaza on Monday evening, said she was beaten on Oct 7, the day Palestinian fighters stormed southern Israel, but later treated “gently.” Sources told Israel’s state-owned Kan News that the interview was a “mistake,” adding that a “preliminary meeting” may not have been held with Lifshitz prior to her press statement and that if one had been held, not “all questions” to do with the preparation were asked. Lifshitz is one of four Israelis who have been released after Hamas-led Palestinian fighters stormed Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip in an attack that killed around 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians. Israel believes 220 captives are being held in Gaza. The former Israeli hostage was one of the oldest held by Hamas in Gaza, and spent more than two weeks in captivity. She was released alongside another captive, 79-year-old Nurit Yitzhak. Lifshitz told reporters:

I’ve been through hell, I never thought that I would reach such a state. They went berserk in our kibbutz, put me on a motorcycle.

She went on to describe how children and the elderly were among those taken, calling the scenes “extremely painful.” Lifshitz added that she was hit by a stick en route to Gaza and made to walk several kilometres after reaching the area. According to the former hostage, a medic and later a doctor visited her while she was held by Hamas, to check on her condition. She said:

They took care of every detail. They ensured that we ate the same food they did, white cheese and cucumbers.

Retelling her mother’s story, Lifshitz’ daughter Sharone said:

When she first arrived, they told them that they are Muslims and they won’t hurt them.

When Lifshitz was asked why she shook hands with the Hamas fighter before her release, she replied:

They were gentle with us, our needs were supplied.

During the press statement, Lifshitz also condemned the Israeli army’s lack of preparedness for the attack on Oct 7, saying that “two billion” shekels had been spent on security systems that did not work. She also attacked the government for its failures in the lead-up to the attack, saying:

We were the government’s scapegoat. We were abandoned. We went through hell.

Family members had earlier told media outlets that the grandmother had previously worked to get medical aid to Palestinians in Gaza. Oded Lifshitz, Yocheved’s husband, is still missing and presumed to be held by Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, although his whereabouts or condition are not known. Israel says that Hamas holds 22o of its citizens as prisoners, some of whom hold citizenship of different countries, but that number may in fact be higher, as dozens of people are still missing. Hamas says 22 captives have been killed in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, which has killed at least 5k Palestinians, the vast majority of whom are civilians. In an interview with Sky News broadcast on Tuesday, senior Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said the group would release all of its hostages in exchange for an end to the bombardment of Gaza.

Israel is caught lying time and again. And yet we never learn
Jonathan Cook, Middle East Eye, Oct 23 2023

Western politicians and media act as if they are caught in a permanent spell, sympathetically indulging even the most wildly improbable denials from Israel that it has committed war crimes. As Lenin famously observed: “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” We can go further. It never matters how often Israel is caught out in a lie, because its next lie will be given the benefit of the doubt. Western media refuse to learn from the past. The Israeli military has a long track record of compulsively concocting face-saving falsehoods, disinformation that vilifies the very Palestinian people it has oppressed for decades. The latest example came a few days ago. Israel vigorously kicked up dust to obscure its responsibility for hitting the al-Ahli Baptist hospital in Gaza City last Tuesday, killing many hundreds of Palestinians sheltering in its grounds. Faced with Israel’s relentless campaign of bombing, families had assumed they would be safest close to a Christian institution. Drawing on previous experience, Israel rightly assumes that by the time the dust settles and the truth emerges, the world will have moved on. The lie will stand.

Israel’s job is made considerably easier by the media, whose coverage of Israeli atrocities can invariably be depended on to strip out relevant context. As Israel began pummelling Gaza more than two weeks ago with thousands of high-explosive bombs, its leaders clarified exactly what their intent was. Referring to the people of Gaza as “human animals,” Defence Minister Yoav Gallant vowed to “eliminate everything.” An Israeli military official explained that the “emphasis is on damage, not accuracy.” Another said Gaza would be reduced to “a city of tents. There will be no buildings.” Meanwhile, President Isaac Herzog accused the entire people of Gaza of being responsible for the Hamas attack, effectively denying every man, woman and child their civilian status and designating them all terrorists. He added: “We will break their backbone.”

Israel has demanded that Palestinians leave the northern half of the tiny Gaza Strip, requiring them to ethnically cleanse themselves. It has indicated that the vacated area would be treated as a free-fire zone. According to the UN OCHA, in less than two weeks, a quarter of Gaza’s homes have been turned to rubble, and 600k Palestinians left homeless. To ensure Palestinians do as they are told, Israel has targeted the support structures and major institutions in northern Gaza which ordinary people depend on. Mosques, schools, UNRWA compounds and hospitals have been hit. In the days leading up to the attack on al-Ahli hospital, 23 other medical centres in northern Gaza received warnings to evacuate immediately. Dozens have been hit, according to the WHO. Those threats were ignored because the hospitals are already overflowing with patients too injured from Israel’s bombardments to be moved, and because there are no facilities to treat them elsewhere. Apparently angered by this defiance, Israel hit al-Ahli hospital with two shells three days before the larger strike. This is known by the Israeli military as its “knock on the roof” procedure: firing a small weapon at a building as advance warning to evacuate before a much bigger strike.

Israel had told us precisely what it was going to do. But when it then did it, Israel began its now familiar gaslighting operation. It denied it was the guilty party, accusing a Palestinian militant group, Islamic Jihad, of the war crime instead. It said a Palestinian rocket had misfired and fallen onto the hospital. Israel’s claim was ridiculous. On a video of the actual strike, you can hear the loud whistling sound of an incoming, high-velocity missile or shell moments before it explodes. Palestinian groups in Gaza have only primitive rockets that lumber through the sky. If one fails, it tumbles at free-fall speed, not at near-supersonic velocity.

The casualty rate alone proved it had to be an Israeli missile. No Palestinian rocket has ever killed more than a handful of people, not hundreds as this one did. But Israel was ready with a campaign of lies and disinformation. Embarrassingly, an adviser to Netanyahu had issued a social media post celebrating Israel hitting a supposed “terrorist base” in the hospital. The post was hurriedly deleted. Instead, Israel issued footage of a Palestinian rocket falling nearby. However, Israel had to pull the video, too, when journalists noticed the time stamp was 40 minutes after the explosion at Al-Ahli. Next, Israel produced a laughably inept audio recording supposedly of two Hamas fighters chatting in the wrong dialect about whether they or their rivals in Islamic Jihad had fired the stray rocket. Israel runs a “mistaravim” unit of Israelis who disguise themselves as Palestinians to operate undercover in Palestinian communities. It also famously operates networks of Palestinian collaborators whom it threatens or bribes. Faking an audio would be child’s play for Israel. In any case, in the recording the pair cited a cemetery close to the hospital as the site of their supposed failed rocket launch. But that contradicted other Israeli military claims that the rocket had been fired from an entirely different location. At the weekend, Forensic Architecture, a research team based at the University of London, issued their preliminary findings. Analysis of the site showed, both from the pattern of damage caused by the strike and changes in the sound signature of the projectile as it moved through the air, that its trajectory was from Israel into Gaza, not out of Gaza. Other analysis indicated that the audio file of the two Hamas operatives talking had been manipulated. Israel’s disinformation skills looked almost as amateur as its much-vaunted intelligence operations, which failed to spot months of planning by Hamas for its breakout on Oct 7.

The goal here, as ever, was not to produce evidence but to win the propaganda battle through misdirection, planting a seed of doubt that western politicians and media could then exploit to cloud the issue for their publics. Instead of giving the victims proper attention, instead of finally galvanising anger over Israel’s wanton killing of thousands of Palestinian civilians in two weeks, the media’s reporting reverted to a predictable formula. It weighed claim and counter-claim over the hospital strike, it carried profiles about Islamic Jihad and most importantly for Israel, it adopted a wait-and-see, don’t-rush-to-judgment approach. A moment that might have led to concerted diplomatic pressure on Israel to stop its rampage and negotiate a ceasefire dissolved into a round of bickering in which the hospital victims entirely disappeared from view. By the time outside observers get into Gaza and carry out forensic tests, assuming they can, the story will be cold. No one will care, and Israel will not be held to account – morally, diplomatically or legally.

This is all too familiar to anyone who has followed decades of the media’s endlessly forgiving coverage, when it matters, of Israel’s occupation and illegal colonisation of the Palestinians’ historic homeland. The fog that instantly enveloped al-Ahli hospital story was a repeat, if on a far bigger scale, of what happened last summer when five Palestinian teenagers were killed in an air strike on Jabaliya refugee camp. As with the hospital massacre, Israel immediately denied it was responsible, saying it had not carried out air strikes on Jabaliya at the time. It blamed Islamic Jihad for a rocket misfire. “We have videos that prove beyond doubt that this is not an Israeli attack,” an Israeli official confidently asserted. Oded Bassuk, head of the army’s operations directorate, called the children’s deaths “a self-inflicted injury. We could see the rocket hit a Palestinian home.” As with the hospital story, the military released video footage purporting to show the misfired rocket. But it was all deceit. Later, when the story had moved on, the Israeli army quietly admitted that it was responsible for killing the children.

The murder of children by Israel is not an unusual occurrence. But it is also when Israel can be expected to concoct its biggest falsehoods, for the obvious reason that the killing of children is when the world briefly wakes up to Palestinian suffering before turning off again. As with the hospital strike, a potentially pivotal moment arrived in 2014 during another of Israel’s repeated rampages in Gaza. A series of Israeli strikes killed four young boys from the Bakr family who were playing football on a beach. At the time, Israel claimed that the children had been killed accidentally, because they strayed into a seafront “compound belonging to Hamas’s Naval Police and Naval Force (including naval commandos), and which was utilised exclusively by militants.” Israel’s claim, which gained amplification in the media, was that the boys were collateral damage in a drone strike on Palestinian militants. Unfortunately for Israel, this was easily disproved. Several western journalists, who in those days dared to venture into Gaza, witnessed the strike because the beach was next to their hotel.

The idea that Hamas militants would locate themselves on a beach next to a hotel known for hosting western journalists was patently absurd from the off. Those journalists confirmed that there were no militants in the area at the time, and that the boys should have been visible as children to the drone operators. Reporters noted that the beach was regularly used by fishermen and families for bathing. An investigation of a small shipping container, which had been destroyed by an Israeli missile the day before, also failed to support Israel’s claim that military equipment was stored there. A later investigation found that the drone operators had fired without taking care to distinguish between the children and militants. None of that mattered. Israel’s massacre of the children was forgotten. With no pressure on it, Israel’s reliably supine supreme court ruled last year that no further investigation was necessary. Case closed.

Perhaps the best-known recent disinformation campaign by Israel occurred 18 months ago, over the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Her murder, while wearing a flak jacket emblazoned with “Press” during an Israeli invasion of the West Bank city of Jenin, caused a wave of international indignation. It was a particularly high-stakes moment for Israel. The media took an unusual degree of interest because Abu Akhleh was a prominent journalist who had worked with many of those reporting on her killing. She also held American citizenship.

Again, Israel blamed Palestinians for the death of one of their own. They produced a video that purported to show an exchange of fire with Palestinian gunmen close to where Abu Akleh was standing when she was shot in the head. But an investigation by Israel’s B’Tselem human rights group proved the video was taken in an entirely different area of Jenin. Major US media carried out their own investigations showing Israel had lied. There was no gunfight near Abu Akleh’s location. The most likely explanation was that an Israeli sniper decided to execute her, aiming for the narrow area of exposed flesh between her helmet and flak jacket collar. Belatedly, with the story refusing to go away, Israel admitted one of its soldiers was most likely responsible for her killing.

Israel doesn’t just actively lie when its army murders. One of its most cynical deceptions arrived in 2021 when it designated six respected Palestinian human rights and welfare groups in the West Bank as “terrorist organisations.” It demanded that the European Union immediately stop funding them. Their offices were raided, with equipment confiscated and smashed, and their doors sealed. Staff were arrested. Israel’s aim was obvious: to shut down organisations that provide support structures for ordinary Palestinians and advocate in international forums for the Palestinian cause by documenting Israeli crimes. That has been especially important when cash-strapped foreign media have been shutting down their own bureaux in the region. The lie was so outrageous that even some usually receptive media outlets had trouble swallowing it. Many months later, leaks of a highly classified CIA report revealed that the Israeli accusations were entirely without foundation. The list of these deceptions and disinformation campaigns just goes on and on. Look up the names Muhammad al-Durrah, Rachel Corrie, James Miller, Tom Hurndall, Iain Hook. Israel dissembled over all these high-profile murders carried out by its soldiers. Even cursory research shows Israel lying about its use of cluster munitions in Lebanon in 2006, as well as its mass killing of civilians in the Lebanese village of Qana in the same war, exactly 20 years after it had earlier lied about its responsibility for killing more than 100 civiliansin a UN compound in the same village. Israel lied about its oversight of the mass killing of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp in Lebanon in 1982 by its Christian Phalangist allies.

None of this should surprise. The culture of lying has prevailed since before Israel’s creation in 1948. From its inception, the Zionist movement promoted the lie that Palestine was an empty land. To perpetuate this foundational myth, Israel lied about its wholescale ethnic cleansing operations in 1948 that forced out some 750k Palestinians from their homes and drove them into refugee camps. One in the north was called Operation Broom. It falsely claimed they had been ordered to do so by neighbouring Arab states. It hid archival evidence of massacres of Palestinian civilians carried out by its forces, such as at Tantura and Dawayimah, and smeared anyone who tried to draw attention to them. Equally, it lied that it offered the refugees a chance to return. And it destroyed hundreds of Palestinian villages to stop the refugees from coming back to their homes, and then sought to conceal these crimes by planting forests in their place.

Armies end up lying in times of war because inevitably they commit crimes they wish to conceal. The difference with Israel is that its lies are integral to its decades-long existence as a state dispossessing and colonising another people’s homeland. It must mask its system of apartheid and the crimes that inhere in such regimes of privilege and subjugation. Israel is at permanent war with the Palestinians and the wider region, so it must lie compulsively and continuously. Each lie builds on the earlier ones. Should one fall, the whole edifice risks crumbling. Which is what makes untangling those lies such a difficult and thankless task. Having to engage in protracted forensic battles against Israel and its many apologists to expose every single lie draws attention away from Israel’s even bigger deceptions. It obscures the context. Fighting to hold Israel to account for killing hundreds at al-Ahli hospital comes at the price of shifting the focus away from the fact that Israel is actively carrying out an ethnic cleansing operation in Gaza and committing genocide against the Palestinian people there. To struggle against one lie is to leave other lies, often lies of omission, free to worm their way into the public’s consciousness. These difficulties are compounded by the media’s willingness to indulge and collude in Israel’s disinformation, as it has been doing since the creation of a self-declared Jewish state, because Israel is such an important strategic asset. As a reliable ally, it was intended to project western power into the oil-rich Middle East. Those who seek to bring light to a subject immersed in so much darkness find themselves smeared as anti-Semites, as though solidarity with Palestinian suffering could only ever be motivated by hatred of Jews. Which is why Israel can live with the bickering over who hit the al-Ahli hospital. Because the storm will soon pass, and the Palestinian victims will still be dead.

By niqnaq | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

unz.com

October 24, 2023 – 5:01 pm

American Pravda: Israel, Gaza (and Broader Issues, omitted – RB)
Ron Unz, Unz.com, Oct 23, 2023

A couple of weeks ago, the smoldering political landscape of the Middle East suddenly exploded as the Hamas militants of Gaza launched a surprise attack against Israel, unprecedented in its size and success. News reports now place Israeli fatalities at around 1,400, more deaths in a single day than the country had ever suffered in any of its previous wars, and greater losses than in all of those conflicts combined since 1973, while as many as 200 Israelis were captured and taken back to Gaza as prisoners and hostages. In recent years, Israel had focused upon technological solutions for its border defense, relying upon numerous sensors and remote-control machine-guns to guard the Gaza perimeter, but Hamas used small drones to quickly disable these and the signal-towers that controlled them. Meanwhile, discipline at the nearby IDF garrisons had apparently grown very lax with the sentries asleep or away from their posts, so the bases were easily overrun and the soldiers killed in their beds, by some accounts suffering up to 600 deaths in just a matter of hours, a tremendous military disaster. The IDF had been widely regarded as one of the world’s most formidable military organizations, while Hamas consisted of lightly-armed Palestinian militants lacking any heavy weaponry, so the very serious losses the former suffered at the hands of the latter constituted an enormous national humiliation.

Indeed, decades of boastful Israeli propaganda had inspired such an exaggerated sense of the invincibility of the IDF and its Mossad intelligence service that there were widespread conspiratorial claims all across the Internet, not least among the columnists and commenters of our own website, that the Israeli government must have deliberately allowed the attack to take place. It has long been known that the Israelis originally promoted Hamas as a means of dividing the Palestinians and weakening the PLO, so some even seized on that fact to argue that the Hamas attack had probably taken place under Israeli orders. Although such conspiratorial beliefs were most common among sharp critics of Israel, they actually attained far broader acceptance. Charlie Kirk is the leader of a large pro-Israel conservative organization, and in an interview, he set forth exactly those same dark suspicions.

For many months, the Netanyahu government had been facing enormous public demonstrations by his bitter political opponents, representing a historic division in his own society that was even verging on civil war. So according to this theory, Netanyahu had deliberately allowed that attack to take place, hoping to use it as his “Pearl Harbor” or “9/11” to solidify his own political position, perhaps even providing him an excuse to expel the Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, thereby achieving the political goal of the more extreme members of his coalition by expanding Israel’s frontiers while permanently solving the festering “Palestinian problem.” Despite its apparent popularity, the likelihood of this scenario disintegrates upon any careful consideration. Israel probably suffered the worst one-day defeat in its national history, a strategic disaster. Even aside from the huge loss of life in such a small population, the tremendous Hamas success punctured the powerful myth of Israeli military strength, which for three generations has been the cornerstone of the country’s national security strategy. Such heavy losses suggested that the IDF had become a paper-tiger, greatly amplifying the lesson of its 2006 military setbacks at the hands of Hezbollah in Lebanon. If poorly-armed Hamas militants could achieve such a serious blow, all of Israel’s regional adversaries were surely emboldened, and this would have been obvious to any Israeli national security officials who might have considered such a gambit. We should also remember that Israel had been on the very verge of achieving normalized relations with Saudi Arabia, the wealthiest and most influential Arab state, a prospect that has now completely vanished. Israeli leaders had been pursuing that particular objective for decades and it seems very unlikely that Israel’s government would have sacrificed that opportunity by deliberately enabling a large Hamas attack.

But suppose that Netanyahu had actually been so politically desperate and so irrational that he had decided to allow a successful Hamas assault by standing down his own security defenses. How could he have possibly done so? Aside from its regular army, Israel has three separate intelligence services, Mossad, Shin Bet, and Unit 8200, all of which tend to be rivals. So as former CIA Analyst Larry Johnson noted, Netanyahu would have needed to enlist the leadership of all three of those organizations in his treacherous plan to facilitate a successful Hamas attack, while making sure that none of the relevant rank-and-file officers disagreed and leaked the ultra-explosive story to the fiercely anti-Netanyahu media. This seems an impossibility. Moreover, as already mentioned, Israeli society has recently been extremely divided, with the bulk of the nation’s elites lined up against Netanyahu and trying to drive him from office. According to media reports, the leadership of Mossad was squarely in the anti-Netanyahu camp with claims that Mossad agents were even helping to orchestrate the huge public demonstrations demanding his resignation. Surely if they had gotten the slightest hint the Netanyahu was deliberately opening the country to a huge Hamas attack, they would have used that fact to destroy him.

Also, Netanyahu is running a coalition government, with many of his top ministers hating him and eager to undermine his reputation. Even his own lieutenants might welcome his fall so that they could replace him and rise to power and it’s difficult to believe that so deadly a secret could have been kept in such a political snake-pit. And now that so many hundreds of Israeli civilians have been killed, a single outraged leaker could have Netanyahu and his fellow conspirators put on trial or even lynched. According to Seymour Hersh’s Israeli sources, Netanyahu’s long political career cannot possibly survive the aftermath of the military disaster his country has now suffered. Reports that an Egyptian warning of a planned Hamas attack were ignored may or may not be a sign of negligence; perhaps numerous previous warnings along similar lines had always turned out to be false alarms. More serious are reports that Netanyahu had recently redeployed two of the three Israeli battalions based on the Gaza border to the West Bank in order to support Jewish settlers in their aggressive actions against the local Palestinians. But that seems more a sign of complacency and incompetence than treasonous plotting.

Under normal circumstances, the notion that the Hamas attack was an “inside job” facilitated by Israel’s own government seems so totally absurd I would hardly have given it a single sentence. But with so many on the Internet promoting the idea, it was worth explaining some of the obvious flaws, not that this may do much good. Kevin Barrett is a Muslim convert who has spent decades as an active participant in the 9/11 Truth movement and embraced a very wide range of other conspiracy theories, but when he doubted that this one was correct, most of the commenters angrily disagreed with him, and I got the same reaction when I took a similar position. Based upon my experience, I’d say that 90-95% of all the so-called “conspiracy theories” floating around on the Internet are false or at least unsubstantiated. But the remaining 5-10% still provide a shocking catalog of important exceptions, and when many individuals first discover the reality of these, they often begin to gullibly accept all too many of the others as well.

Stunning military defeats naturally produce a wave of wild claims, and the theory that Netanyahu’s government had deliberately allowed the disaster was hardly alone among these. Within days, the Internet and much of the media was awash with the particularly grotesque atrocity-tale that the Hamas fighters had beheaded 40 Israeli babies, an accusation heavily promoted by pro-Israel activists. This outrageous report had apparently originated with a particularly fanatic leader of Jewish settlers, no evidence was ever provided, and to its credit, the Israeli military refused to endorse the story. But nonetheless it still swept through social media and even reached the lips of our own befuddled President Joe Biden, who claimed to have seen the grisly photos before the White House “walked back” the story.

Mike Whitney published a good column summarizing the narrative arc of this debunked example of especially black propaganda. While many Israeli civilians were certainly killed, I had been immediately skeptical of such extreme atrocity claims, whose huge distribution merely illustrated the overwhelming dominance that Israel and its partisans enjoyed over the Western media. Around the same time I had come across a short interview of an Israeli woman with two young children who told a very different sort of story. According to her, the Hamas militants who occupied her home for a couple of hours were quite respectful, even asking her permission to eat one of the bananas on her kitchen counter. But such eyewitness accounts have received only an infinitesimal fraction of the attention given to those on the other side.

A similar but even more striking story came out in the radio interview of a Kibbutz survivor, who was one of about a dozen civilians taken prisoner by a group of Hamas militants. According to her, none of the captives were harmed and they were all treated “very humanely,” but many of them were later killed, probably by the Israeli forces that eventually arrived and engaged their Hamas captors in a fierce gun-battle. Questions are now being raised about exactly how many Israeli civilians died and who actually killed them.

In 1986, the Israeli government had adopted its notorious “Hannibal Directive” requiring that any Israelis captured by Palestinians must either be rescued or killed to avoid allowing them to become future bargaining chips, so accounts like this raise the likelihood that many of the Israeli civilian victims actually died at the hands of their own troops. Indeed, the Hamas political leader claimed in an interview that his forces were not responsible for the civilian deaths, but instead blamed the Israeli military, an accusation supported by a growing number of eyewitness reports.

The outrageous hoax of 40 beheaded Israeli babies that swept across the Western media soon disappeared, supplanted by a far larger and more real catastrophe as a huge explosion on Oct 17 rocked the grounds of Gaza’s largest Christian hospital. For days, the Israelis had demanded that the hospital be evacuated, underscoring that order by dropping several small bombs, but the staff refused to leave or drive away the many hundreds of desperate refugees sheltering in the vicinity. Given these facts, few were surprised twenty minutes later when an official Israeli military spokesman took credit for the successful attack, which he claimed had killed a number of Hamas militants who had been using the nearby Palestinian civilians as “human shields.” The Gaza Health Ministry similarly blamed Israel.

However, reports then began appearing of the enormous number of civilian casualties, perhaps as many as 500 dead, along with devastating images of the scores or hundreds of bodies, many of them young children, sparking enormous outrage across most of the world, especially in the Middle East. So the Israelis recognized the looming PR disaster, and quickly deleted their Tweet, while also beginning to argue that an errant Palestinian rocket had been responsible, soon producing a very doubtful alleged recording of two Hamas militants acknowledging that the Israelis were innocent.

In lock-step fashion, a spokesman for America’s own National Security Council declared that the Israelis were correct and the Palestinians had accidentally massacred their own people, and Biden took the same position in his Oval Office address. With the Israeli and American governments on the same page, nearly the entire Western mainstream media reversed itself and eagerly took up this new version of reality, just as a year earlier they had all declared that the Russians had destroyed their own Nord Stream pipelines, with the news headlines and several NYT columnists leading the way. Among the latter, Michelle Goldberg courageously explained that the Israelis had notoriously lied about numerous far smaller atrocities over the years, which was why she hadn’t initially believed them, but with the Biden Administration now supporting their story, perhaps this time it was true. My impression is that outside the immediate reach of the Western media, almost everyone in the world was convinced that Israel was responsible. I’m hardly a military expert, but I certainly shared that conclusion. Videos of the explosive strike have been widely distributed on Twitter and elsewhere, and it sounded absolutely nothing like the small home-made rockets fired by Gaza militants, while the scenes of massive devastation are enormous compared to the small explosives used by Hamas and its allies.

Meanwhile, Larry Johnson, a former CIA analyst with considerable military expertise, spent several days carefully reviewing the evidence and reached a very similar verdict. Over the last twenty years, Gaza militants have fired tens of thousands of rockets into Israel, only inflicting one or two deaths each year, so it’s difficult to believe that a single one of those rockets could have now killed hundreds. Chris Hedges, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who had spent fifteen years at the NYT and served as its Middle East Bureau Chief, published a scathing column condemning Israel for its long history of routine deceit. Indeed, just a couple of days later, an Israeli airstrike hit Gaza’s oldest Christian church, killing at least sixteen people, including several relatives of former US Congressman Justin Amash, so there’s no particular reason to think they would have been reluctant to target the Christian hospital.

By niqnaq | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

the cradle

October 24, 2023 – 11:38 am

Russian FM calls for ‘collective’ Palestine action in meeting with Raisi
The Cradle, Oct 24 2023

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Tehran on Oct 23, holding talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi after participating in a regional cooperation platform hosted by the Islamic Republic. The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement early on Oct 24:

In a traditionally trusting atmosphere, current aspects of the bilateral agenda were substantively discussed with an emphasis on further building up the entire complex of multifaceted Russian-Iranian partnership. The talks were held in accordance with the agreements reached between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. During the discussions, the two sides highlighted the implementation of joint projects in the fields of energy and logistics, including the full launch of the North-South international transport corridor.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also took part in the meetings. The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a recently launched international shipping corridor aimed at cooperation outside the constraints of western sanctions. Last year, the first shipment of goods between India and Russia was completed through Iran via the INSTC. The Russian Foreign Ministry said:

Additional steps to further strengthen Russian-Iranian ties have been agreed.

Lavrov and Raisi also discussed the Palestinian issue and Israel’s ongoing war against civilians in the Gaza Strip, which began after Hamas launched a daring operation targeting the Israeli settlements in the Gaza envelope on Oct 7. Lavrov said:

I am convinced that no one can reconcile Palestinians and the Israelis single-handedly like the US has been trying to do for years. It is necessary to act based on the collective potential of countries and the region, and probably the EU and the US, as it is difficult to do without it here. But it is necessary to act collectively, not unilaterally.

In the meeting, Raisi condemned the Israeli bombing campaign in Gaza as “a horrible crime against defenseless children and women,” which is being supported by Washington and the west. The Iranian president said:

Today, the US is trying to get resolutions approved at the UNSC in order to achieve whatever it has been unable to attain on the field when it comes to protecting its racist interests and supporting the Zionist regime. This is why nations are hopeful that Russia, with regard to its position and influence at the UNSC, prevents the US from achieving its goal.

Raisi also referred in the meeting to a speech by Biden years ago, in which he said, “If there weren’t an Israel, we’d have to invent one.” Biden repeated this comment recently. This shows “that the US seeks to establish its own interests even at the cost of the lives of children and women as well as the destruction of the homes of the Palestinian people,” Raisi added. Lavrov’s visit to Tehran comes just a week after a Russian-drafted resolution at the UN Security Council, which aimed for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and aid access, was rejected over what the US representative called a failure “to condemn Hamas.” While Hamas has released a few of its prisoners over the past few days as a gesture of goodwill, Israel has continued to impede Gaza’s access to humanitarian aid through the Rafah crossing with Egypt. Some aid trucks were let through the Rafah crossing over the weekend, yet not nearly enough to tackle the dire humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Israel’s carpet bombing campaign has resulted in the killing of over 5k Palestinians. More than 2k of them are children. Before the discussions with Raisi, Lavrov attended the Ministerial Meeting of the Consultative Regional Platform for the South Caucasus. The foreign ministers of Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkiye were present. During the ministerial meeting, the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers held their first talks since Azerbaijan took control over Nagorno-Karabakh, a long-disputed border region between the two countries.

‘Israel should not be granted green light to kill civilians’: Qatari Emir
The Cradle, Oct 24 2023

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, strongly condemned Israel’s campaign of genocide in the Gaza Strip on Oct 24, urging the world to stop using “double standards” when it comes to the lives of Palestinians. Tamim said in his annual speech to the Shura Council:

It is not permissible to remain silent about the barbaric bombing of civilians in Gaza. We say enough. Israel shouldn’t be granted an unconditional green light and unrestricted authorization to kill.

This is the first time the Qatari Emir has spoken out against the Gaza-Israel war since the start of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood. He added:

In our time, the use of water cuts and the prevention of medicine and food is not supposed to be allowed to be weapons against an entire people. We do not accept double standards and acting like the lives of Palestinian children aren’t accounted for, as if they don’t have faces or names.

Qatar’s efforts to mediate between Hamas and Israel have led to the release of four captives, including two released on Monday night whom Israel initially refused to take in. The Emir also called for international and regional pressure on Israel in their carpet bombing campaign of the besieged coastal enclave that has seen over 5k civilians murdered. Tamim said:

We call for a serious regional and international stance against this dangerous escalation that we are witnessing, which threatens the security of the region and the world.

Qatar has been involved in the mediation process since the early days of the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, calling for an immediate prisoner swap deal since Oct 7. An anonymous Hamas source told Xinhua:

With US support, Qatar is seeking to accomplish an urgent agreement that would lead to the release of Israeli women captured by Hamas in exchange for Palestinian female prisoners in Israeli prisons.

This is another point in Qatar’s history, being the star mediator in the region between West Asian states and the west. Last month, Qatar mediated a landmark prisoner-swap deal between the US and Iran that included releasing $6b in Iranian funds frozen in South Korea.

US doubts Israeli army’s ability to conduct ground invasion of Gaza: Report
The Cradle, Oct 24 2023

The Israeli army is “not yet ready” to launch a ground offensive into the Gaza Strip and lacks “achievable military objectives” to accomplish the stated goal of “eradicating” Hamas, according to senior US officials who spoke with the NYT on Oct 23. The NYT details:

Senior US officials said they have not yet seen an achievable plan of action, but added the US had not told Israel what to do, and still supported the ground invasion.

This support includes deploying three-star Marine Corps General James Glynn, who oversaw operations against ISIS in Iraq, and several other military officers to “advise” Israeli leaders on how to carry out a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. A Pentagon spokesperson told Axios:

We have asked several officials with relevant experience simply to help Israeli officials think through the difficult questions ahead and explore their options. Israel will, as always, make its own decisions.

According to Israeli media, US and Israeli officials have held “marathon meetings and phone calls” over the past two weeks to outline the ground operation, which was expected to start several days ago. On Sunday, Austin said during a televised interview:

This may be a bit more difficult because of the underground network of tunnels that Hamas has constructed over time and the fact that they have had a long time to prepare for a fight.

Bloomberg last week cited Israeli officials as saying that “the role and influence of the US in this war against Hamas are deeper and more intense than any exerted by Washington in the past,” reportedly to allow for more time to negotiate the release of the over 220 Israeli prisoners of war in Gaza. US trepidations about the Israeli army’s lack of preparedness echo years-old comments from retired Israeli general Yitzhak Brick, who on Sunday met with Netanyahu and has on multiple occasions warned that Israel is “not ready for war” and that the armed forces have turned into an “air force army.” Brick stressed back in August:

We did not prepare for the difficult war that will be here in a few months or years. Our competence has been damaged for years. The political echelon has no monitoring of what happens in the IOF, there are no discussions in the cabinet, and the National Security Council has become the prime minister’s personal secretary.

In May, the former army ombudsman called the situation of the Israeli land forces “tragic,” highlighting:

An imaginary reality has been created by the general staff and spread throughout the army. The soldiers have lost their motivation and fighting spirit in recent years, and many are not ready to go into battle. I have seen soldiers who do not take care of their weapons before leaving the base. No army in the world behaves like this. The soldiers carry their smartphones with them everywhere. Commands are sent via WhatsApp groups. These phones are being tracked by the enemy.

Nonetheless, on Monday, the Times of Israel reported:

The Israeli army command informed the government that it is fully prepared for a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip and believes it can achieve the goals set out for it, even at the risk of heavy casualties to soldiers, and amid ongoing attacks by Hezbollah in the north.

White House readies mass evacuation of US citizens from West Asia: Report
The Cradle, Oct 24 2023

Washington is preparing contingencies for a “worst-case scenario” of being forced to evacuate hundreds of thousands of US citizens from West Asia, according to several US officials who spoke with the WaPo on Oct 23. The officials said:

US citizens living in Israel and neighboring Lebanon are of particular concern.

According to State Dept data, about 600k US citizens were in Israel and another 86k in Lebanon when Operation Al-Aqsa Flood was launched. The contingency plan is being prepared in response to widespread anger over Washington’s blind support for Israel’s genocide campaign of Palestinians in Gaza. As of Oct 24, over 5k Palestinians have been killed by Israeli jets in the coastal enclave, nearly half of them children. Since the start of the genocide in Gaza, US and Israeli embassies have been targeted by furious protesters across the region demanding an end to the bloodshed. In response, the State Dept issued a worldwide travel advisory for US citizens last week, citing “increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against US citizens and interests.” Furthermore, over the past several days, US military bases in Iraq and Syria have been targeted near-daily by resistance factions, forcing the Pentagon to deploy more air defense systems to protect their troops. These systems will come on top of already-deployed warships carrying thousands of troops and dozens of warplanes to the Eastern Mediterranean, as Washington is warning that a “broader escalation” is possible “in the days ahead.”

Erdogan ‘politely’ asked Hamas leaders to leave Turkiye: reports
The Cradle, Oct 24 2023

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and other top officials were “politely sent away” by Turkish authorities as details emerged of the surprise Hamas attack on Israeli settlements and military bases on Oct 7, according to a recent report in Al-Monitor. According to the Washington-based news outlet, Haniyeh was in Istanbul when Hamas launched the attack on Israeli settlements and military bases. Previous reports indicated that the Hamas political leader was in his office in Doha, Qatar. The report claimed Turkish officials had expelled Haniyeh and his entourage because they did not want to be perceived as protectors of Hamas following the attack.

The move to expel Hamas is surprising, as Turkiye and Erdogan’s ruling AKP party have long been viewed as protectors of the Palestinian group. Both Hamas and the AKP share roots with the Muslim Brotherhood, and Turkish authorities have allowed Hamas to operate from an office in Istanbul for over a decade, while insisting that they only host the group’s political wing. However, Israel and Turkiye nevertheless collaborated closely to facilitate the export of Iraqi Kurdish oil to Israel starting in 2014. Kurdish forces took advantage of the chaos accompanying the ISIS capture of Mosul in northern Iraq to capture oil-rich Kirkuk in June of that year. Kurdish leaders then partnered with Ankara to export oil via pipeline from Kirkuk to Turkiye’s Ceyhan port on the Mediterranean. From there, the Kurdish oil was loaded onto tankers and shipped to Israel.

Turkiye is again seeking to partner with Israel, this time to build an underwater pipeline to export natural gas from Israel’s recently discovered Leviathan field in the eastern Mediterranean to Europe. Turkiye is seeking to use its strategic geographic position in the nexus of Europe, Russia, West Asia, and Central Asia, to become an energy hub. In an interview with Turkey’s Haberturk TV last week, Qatar-based former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal said he has “great respect for Turkey,” adding that “Turkey should say ‘stop’” to Israel, Al-Monitor reported. Meshaal has met with Erdogan several times over the years, and in an address to members of the AKP party in 2014, he said he hoped to “liberate Palestine and Jerusalem” with them. However, while Iran is currently providing strong military and diplomatic support to Hamas and other Palestinian resistance groups, Erdogan is providing only moral support, accusing Israel of carrying out operations against Hamas in Gaza that “amount to genocide.”

Iraqi resistance targets multiple US bases in Syria
The Cradle, Oct 23 2023

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility for attacks on several US military bases in Syria on Oct 23, the second series of attacks on US military bases in a week, Al-Mayadeen reported. The Islamic Resistance stated that offensives were carried out with drones that caused severe damage after they directly hit their targets at bases in Al-Tanf and Al-Rukban near the Syria-Iraq-Jordan border. The sources said that in Al-Tanf, the drones “managed to target the base without information about the extent of the losses,” adding that there was a subsequent mobilization from the US military forces inside the base.

The US military established the Al-Tanf base in 2016, under the pretext of fighting ISIS. However, Russian and Syrian officials say the US has supported ISIS from the base, which is located on the strategic M2 Baghdad–Damascus Highway. The US seeks to use its forces stationed at Al-Tanf to block Iran from moving weapons and fighters overland between Syria and Iraq. The US has also trained separatist Druze forces at Al-Tanf. The Resistance also announced that its fighters conducted a drone strike on the US military’s Al-Malikiyah base in Syria’s northeastern Hasakah Governorate. The Al-Malikiyah base was established by the US in 2021 near the Turkiye-Syria-Iraq border to facilitate the theft of Syrian oil, Syrian state media SANA said.

Meanwhile, the US base at the Conoco oil fields in Deir Ezzor’s countryside was struck with two missiles, sources speaking with Al-Mayadeen said, also noting that no information regarding damage has been revealed so far. On Oct 19, three drones were able to fly above the Al-Tanf base and launch several successful airstrikes. Sources within the US-led coalition that spoke with Iraq’s Shafaq News on Wednesday claimed that the occupation forces “successfully intercepted and downed two of the drones, but the third managed to target the base.” The US base at the Conoco oil field was also hit by multiple rockets.

Hours before the Oct 19 airstrikes on US troops, the Israeli air force attacked the Syrian army in the southwestern Quneitra governorate, causing material damage. Explosions were also reported in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights. US troops stationed in Iraq’s Ain al-Asad airbase were also targeted by airstrikes on Wednesday, which were claimed by the Kataib Hezbollah resistance faction. Although the Pentagon initially claimed its forces repelled the attack, the official story changed to include reports of wounded soldiers as the hours went on. The military spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah declared on Thursday:

The resistance in Iraq has entered the battle of ‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ and directed its strikes at US bases.

Since the start of the historic Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in the Gaza envelope, factions within the Resistance Axis in West Asia have warned they are ready to join the battle against Israel in support of the Palestinian cause and that US occupation troops and bases would become “legitimate military targets” if Washington also decides to enter the fray. As tensions escalate, the Pentagon has deployed multiple warships and thousands of troops to the Israeli coast. The UK, Germany, and the Netherlands have mobilized troops to support Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign against Palestinians.

Israeli army behind many settler deaths during initial Hamas attack: Report
The Cradle, Oct 23 2023

Israeli forces killed many of the Israeli citizens who died during the Hamas-led Palestinian resistance surprise attack from Gaza on Oct 7 and after, according to a report from Mondoweiss. Israel maintains that during the attack, Hamas killed 1.4k Israelis, the majority unarmed civilians, when 1k or more Hamas militants infiltrated Israeli settlements in what is known as the Gaza envelope. Hamas claims it targeted Israeli soldiers, not civilians. Both Hamas and Israel have acknowledged that the Palestinian resistance group took some 200 Israeli and foreign captives during the assault. Hamas stated their intention to exchange them for some of the roughly 500 Palestinian prisoners then held in Israel. The ability of Hamas to carry out such a stunning attack was blamed by Israeli media on an intelligence failure. The Israeli and western media have portrayed the Hamas attack as “Israel’s 9/11,” while claiming that Hamas resorted to ISIS-style brutality. Mondoweiss states that in addition to reports of the killing of Israelis by Palestinian fighters:

There are a growing number of reports that indicate the Israeli military was also responsible for Israeli civilian and military deaths on Oct 7 and the days after.

The report cites examples from Israeli media where Israeli forces attacked their own civilians and soldiers to defeat the attacking Hamas fighters, in accordance with what is known as the “Hannibal Directive.” Mondoweiss notes that on Friday Oct 20, Haaretz published an account of the events on 7 October as related by the commander of the Gaza Division, Brig-Gen Avi Rosenfeld. The commander described how Hamas fighters overran the division headquarters, killing numerous soldiers. He then states:

The division was compelled to request an aerial strike against the base itself in order to repulse the terrorists.

Mondoweiss notes that a similar event occurred during Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza in 2014. After Hamas fighters captured an Israel soldier, Hadar Goldin, the Israel military targeted the area where he was captured with airstrikes and bulldozers, to kill both Goldin and as many Palestinians as possible. According to investigations by Amnesty International and the UN:

The massive Israeli bombardment killed between 135 and 200 Palestinian civilians, including 75 children, in the three hours following the suspected capture of the one Israeli soldier.

The Israeli response was the result of a well-documented official policy of the Israeli army, at least since 1986, known as the “Hannibal Directive,” which states that Israeli forces may kill their own soldiers to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. Doing so helps prevent the enemy from gaining leverage over Israel. By way of example, Hamas captured an Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, near the Gaza border in 2006. After holding him captive for five years, Hamas compelled Israel to exchange Shalit for over 1k Palestinian prisoners in Israel, including the current political leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. However, in the case of the Oct 7 attack, the Hannibal Directive appears to have been implemented amidst Israeli, rather than Palestinian civilians.

The Electronic Intifada published a long interview with an Israeli woman, Yasmin Porat, who described how she was taken captive by Hamas fighters in Kibbutz Be’eri on Oct 7. According to Israeli sources, Hamas fighters massacred 112 Israelis in the kibbutz before the Israeli military was able to respond. However, according to Porat’s account, her Hamas captors treated her and other captives “humanely,” believing they would be allowed to retreat safely to Gaza due to the protection the Israeli captives would provide as human shields. However, when Israeli soldiers arrived, “they eliminated everyone, including the hostages. There was very, very heavy crossfire,” Porat said. Her testimony is complimented by evidence from Israeli soldiers who described how the Israeli military shot tank shells into buildings where Hamas fighters and their Israeli captives were hiding, Mondoweiss notes, citing an Oct 11 report by journalist Quique Kierszenbaum in the Guardian.

In another report in the Hebrew edition of Haaretz on Oct 11, a deputy commander of an Israeli armored reserve battalion told journalists Nir Hasson and Eden Solomon:

We fought inside the kibbutz, from house to house, with the tanks. We had no choice.

In a later Haaretz article, dated Oct 20, Hasson reports that according to a resident of Be’eri whose partner was killed in the attack:

The army was shelling houses with all their occupants inside in order to eliminate the terrorists along with the hostages.

The report notes:

Yesterday, 11 days after the massacre, the bodies of a mother and her son were discovered in one of the destroyed houses. It is believed that more bodies are still lying in the rubble.

The Mondoweiss report concludes:

It is clear Palestinian militants were hiding in these buildings with their Israeli captives as Israeli soldiers were blasting their way in with massive tank shells in close quarters. It deserves to be investigated who caused most of the death and destruction that took place. This is especially important as these deaths are now being used to justify the destruction of Gaza and the killing of thousands of civilians there.

Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza: not if, but when
Hasan Illaik, The Cradle, Oct 23 2023

The Al-Aqsa Flood battle launched by the Palestinian resistance on Oct 7 dealt Israel an unprecedented blow, in terms of human loss and its impact on the country’s military, intelligence, psychology, and deterrence. In exchange for the blow it received, Israel set itself a goal of eliminating the Hamas movement. This goal was announced by Netanyahu, his Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and the majority of Israeli officials. Hence, any ceasefire without achieving the full elimination of Hamas means a pure Israeli loss. And while the Israeli military has killed about 5k Palestinian civilians and caused massive damage to housing and infrastructure in its 17-day air assault on the Gaza Strip, it has neither restored the pre-Oct 7 deterrence it enjoyed, nor is it capable of emerging victorious. To date, Israel has not been able to seriously harm Hamas’ military structure, say Gaza sources who spoke to The Cradle. Any ceasefire today would therefore mean that Tel Aviv has publicly swallowed the losses it incurred in Operation Al-Aqsa flood: at least 1.4k dead Israelis, the destruction of its army’s Gaza division, and 250 captives held by its enemy inside Gaza. Together, these will deliver a massive blow to Israel’s hard-fought deterrence capacity.

These prisoners will be used by the resistance to negotiate the release of more than 6k Palestinian prisoners in Israeli detention centers, in addition to lifting the siege on the Gaza Strip. Unless Tel Aviv is willing to sacrifice all these prisoners in its Gaza air blitz, the captives will play a big role in any settlement. Consider, for instance, that in 2011, Israel exchanged a single captured soldier for 1,027 Palestinian detainees. Israel cannot exit this battle without fighting a ground war. Its army spokesman, Jonathan Conricus, told the Australian ABC that a ground war will occur unless Hamas complies with two conditions: surrendering without conditions, and releasing all Israeli prisoners. The Palestinian resistance outright rejects these conditions, and will continue to use its captives to pressure Israel to stop the war. Israel believes it needs a ground war to restore its deterrence with not only Gaza’s resistance factions, but also with adversaries in Lebanon, Iran, and the rest of the region. This ground war will focus on the northern Gaza Strip, including Gaza City and its environs, where the military and heart of the resistance is based. Eliminating Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip will inflict a defeat on the resistance that will take years, and perhaps decades, to recover from. So then, why hasn’t the ground war begun yet? Eighteen days have already elapsed since Israel’s declaration of war, when it began to mobilize its 300k soldiers and reserve officers.

First, the occupation army knows well that the goal of “eliminating Hamas” is no easy feat. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak has said that “eliminating Hamas is not possible” because it is an expression of an ideology and exists “in people’s hearts and minds.” Barak’s analysis is important – he isn’t just a former head of state, but importantly, a former Israeli army chief of staff and a former defense minister who led two battles in the Gaza Strip in 2008 and 2012. Second, the Palestinian resistance in Gaza has prepared itself well for the ground war. The last such operation conducted by the Israelis in 2014, in which 60 troops were killed and two went missing, ended in failure by not achieving any of its goals. At that time, the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad forces had nowhere near the quality of armaments, training, and numbers that they have today. Furthermore, the network of strategic underground tunnels allegedly built by the Gaza resistance also developed significantly after 2014, allowing Hamas, PIJ, and others to move troops, weapons, and supplies around the territory unseen. While the Israeli army seems prepared to bear greater human losses than it did in any previous war, largely because of Al-Aqsa Flood’s huge death toll, this does not mean that Tel Aviv can bear the cost of thousands more deaths, hundreds of destroyed armored vehicles, and the economic fallout of war. The Israelis usually also try to avoid lengthy battles at all cost. In the case of a ground war, Tel Aviv recognizes that it may need to occupy the northern Gaza Strip for months, which will place severe hardship and pressure on Israel’s settlement community who will effectively become refugees.

Third, is Israel’s fear that its regional adversaries will open other battle fronts to relieve pressure on the resistance in Gaza. Both Washington and Tel Aviv are most wary of this development unfolding on the border with Lebanon. But even the introduction of two US aircraft carriers into the East Mediterranean was unable to deter the Lebanese resistance, Hezbollah, from continuing its attacks on Israeli military positions along the Lebanese-Palestinian border. Since Oct 8, these borders have turned into daily clashes that have only escalated on both sides. ​​So far, the Israeli army has lost most of the surveillance equipment that it amassed over years on that critical border. Hezbollah has also destroyed more than 15 tanks and 20 armored vehicles, in addition to the killing and wounding of dozens of Israeli troops. In turn, the resistance has lost 28 of its soldiers, along with four Lebanese civilians. Palestinian resistance factions (Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which had 5 casualties) have also participated in these Lebanese border operations, in addition to the “Islamic Group,” the Lebanese branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the “Lebanese Brigades for Resisting the Occupation,” which lost two fighters. The situation on the Lebanese-Palestinian border is still being classified as “clashes,” despite the intensity of confrontations escalating each day. Tel Aviv expects the pace of these clashes to spike after the start of its ground operation in Gaza, which it fears will prevent the achievement of its goals in Gaza. While the Resistance Axis refuses to divulge any of its plans, its sources indicate that escalation against the Israeli military will increase in correlation with developments in the Gaza war.

The fourth factor delaying the onset of Israel’s ground war is Washington’s need to secure its own regional military bases, assets, and interests, in advance of any regional escalation. In recent days, US bases in Iraq and Syria have been bombed by Iraqi resistance factions, as Yemen’s resistance movement, Ansarallah, launched missiles and drones in the direction of Israel. When some of these projectiles were shot down by US defense systems, Ansarallah threatened to target Israeli ships in the Red Sea. On the Iraqi-Jordanian border, Iraqi resistance factions are mobilizing thousands of supporters who have declared their intention to head to the occupied West Bank, via Jordan, if the aggression against Gaza continues. To date, Israel’s western allies have amassed aircraft carriers and battleships; 2k American soldiers have landed in occupied Palestine; about 1k tons of western military aid has been airlifted to Israel; tens of thousands of munitions intended for Ukraine have been diverted to the occupation army; the Biden administration has announced the allocation of $14b in urgent aid to replenish Israel’s war coffers; the US has issued threats to the entire regional Axis of Resistance in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran that it will enter the war if those forces attacked the Israeli army.

Together, all these factors have delayed the start of Israel’s ground war in Gaza, as Tel Aviv awaits the arrival of even more US and western forces into West Asia and the eastern Mediterranean, both to bolster Israeli military forces and to fortify US bases in the region. The fifth and final reason for postponing Tel Aviv’s ground invasion, is to provide a short window for Qatari-led negotiations to gain the release of further captives held in Gaza, as revealed by Israeli Army Radio on Oct 23. The news leak coincides with fears expressed by the Washington establishment that the region could catch fire, to the detriment of American interests, if Israel insists on pursuing its Gaza ground war until the very end. Delaying the ground war does not, however, mean canceling it. In 2014, Israel’s ground attack began two weeks after the war’s onset, although the number of Israeli reservists called up was no more than 40k, one-seventh of the 300k troops mobilized today. Israel also faces another problem that it cannot solve: the presence of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in the northern Gaza Strip who refuse to comply with Israeli orders to abandon their homes. All these factors pose a potentially insurmountable challenge for Tel Aviv. They each conspire to thwart Israel’s plan to destroy Hamas and re-establish the deterrence capacity it lost on 7 October. While the occupation state may win many battles ahead, it cannot win the war with so many uncontrolled variables in the air.

By niqnaq | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)
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