Tag: Israel

  • US government official resigns over ‘provision of lethal arms to Israel’

    US government official resigns over ‘provision of lethal arms to Israel’

    A senior US State Department official has resigned from his position on Wednesday in the light of the Biden administration’s role in the Israel-Palestine escalation.

    Josh Paul, director of congressional and public affairs at the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, posted a letter on his LinkedIn account announcing his resignation and the reasoning behind it.

    While he clarified his stance on October 7 and deemed the Hamas attack on Israel as “a monstrosity of monstrosities,” he also stated that “I believe to the core of my soul that the response Israel is taking, and with it the American support both for that response, and for the status quo of the occupation, will only lead to more and deeper suffering for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people – and is not in the long term American interest.”

    “I cannot work in support of a set of major policy decisions, including rushing more arms to one side of the conflict, that I believe to be shortsighted, destructive, unjust, and contradictory to the very values that we publicly espouse”, he added

    In the latest developments following October 7, Israel has been more aggressive in its attacks in Gaza which has resulted in the killings of more than 3,300 Palestinians whereas Biden pledged to support Israel in its so-called right to defend through and through.

    “When I came to this bureau … I knew it was not without its moral complexity and moral compromises, and I made myself a promise that I would stay for as long as I felt … the harm I might do could be outweighed by the good I could do,” Paul acknowledged in his letter.

    “In my 11 years I have made more moral compromises than I can recall, each heavily, but each with my promise to myself in mind, and intact. I am leaving today because I believe that in our current course with regards to the continued – indeed, expanded and expedited – provision of lethal arms to Israel – I have reached the end of that bargain.”

    He also pointed out that “I fear we are repeating the same mistakes we have made these past decades, and I decline to be a part of it any longer.”

    HuffPost spoke to Paul following his resignation.

    “I’ve been surprised by how many have said, ‘We absolutely understand where you’re coming from, we feel similarly and understand’”, he said.

  • Surgeries conducted on floor, without anaesthesia: What do we know about day 12

    Tuesday night, an Israeli air raid on al-Ahli Arab Hospital killed more than 500 Palestinians.

    Biden meets Netanyahu

    President Biden landed in Tel Aviv, Israel, today, to meet PM Benjamin Netanyahu, less than a day after more than 500 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike at a hospital.

    Without any proof to back up his claim, Biden said that the al-Ahli Arab Hospital bombing seems to be carried out by the “other team, not you”, indirectly putting the blame on Palestinians.

    Read more: ‘Civilised world must unite to defeat Hamas’: Netanyahu meets Biden

    Read more on false information from day 12:
    Israel tries deflecting blame for hospital attack; evidence proves otherwise

    “Time is OVER!”

    Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has called for unity across the world to stand up to Israel after the hospital bombing, calling it a “massacre of … innocent women and children”.

    “After the terrible crime of the Zionist regime in the bombing and massacre of more than a thousand innocent women and children in the…hospital the time has come for the global unity of humanity against this fake regime more hated than ISIS and its killing machine,” he wrote on social media.’

    Protests across the world

    The hospital bombing led to spontaneous protests across the Middle East, North Africa, and beyond but many ended with confrontations with security forces.

    Palestinians got together in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, the Lebanese gathered in capital Beirut outside the US Embassy, hundreds gathered outside the French embassy in Tunis, all of which were interrupted and dispersed by the police.

    Other major protests were recorded in Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq.

    EU and Russia want facts

    The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is “saddened” by the recent hospital attack in Gaza.

    She posted on X saying, “There is no excuse for hitting a hospital full of medical staff and civilians,

    “All the facts have to be established and those responsible must be held accountable.”

    Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has asserted that Israel must provide satellite images to prove their claims that they were not involved in the Gaza hospital attack.

    RIA news agency quoted her as saying that “Russia classifies the attack as a crime and an act of dehumanisation”.

    UN calls for ceasefire

    United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has now called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Israel-Gaza war.

    The UN Security Council is also said to vote on a Brazilian-drafted resolution on Wednesday to halt the escalation between Israel and Hamas and to continue humanitarian aid into Gaza Strip.

    The head of World Health Organization (WHO) post on X saying, “We need violence on all sides to stop,” and the situation in Gaza is “spiralling out of control”.

    “Every second we wait to get medical aid in, we lose lives. For four days, WHO supplies have been stuck at the border. We need immediate access to start delivering life-saving supplies.”, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said

    Surgeries without anaesthesia

    Gaza already lacks enough healthcare facilities due to the Israeli blockade and after the attack on al-Ahli Arab Hospital, 350 people were rushed to al-Shifa Hospital which was already assisting a large number of wounded patients from other Israeli air strikes.

    According to reports by the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra, some of the victims were decapitated, disembowelled or were missing limbs.

    And because the number of patients is now beyond capacity, doctors are forced to perform surgeries on floors and in the halls, mostly without anaesthesia.

    “We need equipment, we need medicine, we need beds, we need anaesthesia, we need everything,” Abu Selmia told The Associated Press.

    “Viable” solution is needed, says El-Sisi

    In a news conference in Cairo while visiting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, President el-Sisi asked Israel to shift the affected Palestinians to Negev desert instead of expecting Egypt to host them.

    “There is the Negev desert in Israel. The Palestinians can be moved to Negev desert until they [Israel] do what they wish to do with the military operatives in the Gaza Strip before returning [the Palestinians] back,” he said.

    “If the Palestinians are transferred to Egypt, the military operation initiated by Israel may last for years and years to come. In this case, Egypt will continue to bear the consequences and Sinai will be a base for operations against Israel and in this case, Egypt will be labelled as a base for terrorists,” he said.

    “The acts by Israel, cutting power, water, electricity is a means to forcibly transfer Palestinians to the Sinai Peninsula, which we totally reject.”

    Casualties, arrests

    Israeli forces have detained 65 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and since October 7, the number has now reached 750 excluding the detained workers from Gaza which are yet to be confirmed.

    Additionally, 61 Palestinians have been killed and more than 1,250 injured.

    As for Palestinians in Gaza, more than 3,300 have been killed while 13,000 injured, according to Palestinian health minister.

    On the contrary, the death toll in Israel remains at 1,400, with another 3,500 injured.

    Jordan cancels US summit

    Biden was due to visit Jordan but after the hospital attack, the meeting was cancelled.

    White House spokesperson John Kirby, however, said that the decision was “mutual” and that the reason was the declaration of a three-day mourning after the hospital attack.

    Credit: Al Jazeera

  • ‘Civilised world must unite to defeat Hamas’: Netanyahu meets Biden

    ‘Civilised world must unite to defeat Hamas’: Netanyahu meets Biden

    President Biden landed in Tel Aviv, Israel, today, to meet PM Benjamin Netanyahu, less than a day after more than 500 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike at a hospital.

    Without any proof to back up his claim, Biden said that the al-Ahli Arab Hospital bombing seems to be carried out by the “other team, not you”, indirectly putting the blame on Palestinians.

    Last night, following the attack, Biden took to X to say that he had directed his “national security team to continue gathering information about what exactly happened”.

    However, his claims are already inclined in support of Israel. Al- Jazeera reports that he also drew comparisons of Hamas to ISIL (ISIS), saying that atrocities committed by Hamas militants made ISIS look “somewhat rational”.

    Biden also posted on X saying “I’m proud to be in Israel to honor the courage, commitment, and bravery of the Israeli people.

    Americans are grieving with you following last week’s terror attacks.”

    On the other hand, Netanyahu asserted that Israel will do everything to ensure the protection of civilians. Contrary to his words, more than 3,000 Palestinians have been killed.

    And while both the leaders were in a meeting, it was reported by Al Jazeera that a residential building in Khan Younis was targeted which resulted in the death of seven people and left forty seriously injured.

  • Egyptian comedian combats Piers Morgan with satire

    Egyptian comedian combats Piers Morgan with satire

    Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef is being hailed all over social media after a recent interview on Piers Morgan show.

    Bassem, an Egyptian comedian, political satirist, and television host, replied to the British television host with a satirical tone throughout his 26-minute conversation with the controversial and outspoken presenter.

    The interview was centred on the current Israel-Palestine escalation and, like any other Western news show, there was a sense of undermining of the Palestinian suffering, to which Bassem responded with sheer brilliance.

    Piers quoted the October 7 attacks, which he believes “supersedes anything else” in the Israel-Palestine “conflict”, adding that “the question then becomes again about proportion” and that October 7 was “on a different level altogether, quite deliberately by Hamas, designed to provoke “.

    He asked Youssef, “If you were Israel and that had happened to you, what would you think would be the appropriate way for the country to respond”.

    “I would do exactly like Israel did: Kill as many people as possible since the world is letting me do it,” Bassem responded. “I mean, I can do it because I can,” he said.

    “Let’s for a minute imagine a world without Hamas. What will this world look like? Let’s give this world a name and let’s name this word the West Bank. Hamas has absolutely no control in the West Bank… Only through August, 37 Palestinian kids were killed. No music festival, no paragliding, no Hamas. Since the occupation of the West Bank, 7,000 Palestinians were killed; no music festival, no paragliding, no Hamas. I can go on and on and on and on.”

    At this point Morgan interrupted, saying that “You’re preaching to the choir” to which Youssef responded, “Don’t interrupt me and interrupt my points. Because this has to be fair because if you want to only hear your opinion, I can just condemn Hamas and go home. I can do that… Do you want to do that or do you want to have a much more nuanced conversation?”

    When asked, “How do we get from where we are now to peace,” Youssef said, “You need to change the perception.”

    “If you have already decided someone is good, he can do no evil and if you decide that someone is evil, it’s good to kill them.
    killing them is good… it is not like something new.”

    He added that the West first treats people “like savages”, giving examples of the native americans:

    “They’re savages, kill all the savages and when they are almost extinct you start feeling sorry for them like animals.

    So, maybe the solution is we kill as many Palestinians as possible so the few of them who remain do not bother you.”

    When Pier Morgan asked Youssef to leave since he gave “half of the show” to Bassam Yousef, Yousef left after making another dig.

    “By the way, my wife’s family’s alright and they sent us a house, its bombed, it beautiful , it’s going to be a good halloween theme,” he said of his in-laws who are in Gaza.

    Morgan: “I’m very sorry for what your family is going through in Gaza.”

    Youssef: “I haven’t actually met them. They didn’t come to my wedding. They couldn’t because they are stuck in Gaza and she never saw them because, you know, Gaza is not a destination. We hear their voices, they die, it’s fine.”

    Morgan said, “Bassam, I wish your family all the very best, thank you for joining me. I appreciate it.”

    Youssef replied, “I don’t, thank you.”

    You can watch the entire interview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4idQbwsvtUo

  • Israel tries deflecting blame for hospital attack; evidence proves otherwise

    Israel tries deflecting blame for hospital attack; evidence proves otherwise

    On Tuesday night, Israel targeted Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza in an air-strike that killed more than 1000 civilians.

    Media reports state that thousands of Palestinians were present in the hospital for treatment and refuge when it was attacked.

    As the world recoiled in horror, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza.”

    However, fact-checking organisations and journalists are proving otherwise. Evidence show that the former digital media officer of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, shared a post announcing that “the Israeli Air Force has hit a hospital in Gaza”.

    “It was determined that Naftali, who deleted the post after a short time, tried to manipulate the world public opinion by sharing posts claiming that “the missile that hit the hospital was fired from Gaza””

    Additonally, the official Israeli state account posted a video blaming Hamas for the bombing of the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital but later removed it on realizing it was filmed after the attack and had a time stamp proving so.

    The Palestinian Ambassador to the UN also rebutted the claims being made by Israel.

    Busting false information

    Communications Directorate’s Center for Combating Disinformation, a Turkish fact checking body, said on X:

    “The claim that ‘(Palestinian group) Hamas, not Israel, carried out the attack’ on the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza’s al-Zaytoun neighbourhood is false,”

    After analysis of widely circulated media posts it was deducted that the “images shared by Israeli propaganda accounts claiming that a ‘Hamas missile hit the hospital’ were from 2022,” not 2023.

    The Anadolu Agency quotes the centre in which it has been pointed out “the Israeli army demanded the immediate evacuation of hospitals, alleging that they were being used as shelters,” reinforcing that Israeli forces were “deliberately” carrying out the deadly attacks.

    “The claim shared on some social media accounts that ‘Gaza’s official account admits that Hamas carried out the hospital attack’ is not true,

    “’Gaza Report’ account cited as the basis for the claim is not the official account of Gaza or any Palestinian institution,”

    “It has been determined that the account was used for manipulation purposes.”

  • Israeli propaganda getting help from Indians

    Israeli propaganda getting help from Indians

    Ahead of the statement given by Israeli Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, about being “overwhelmed” by the unprecedented response he has received from the country, Indians have become an active part of the Israeli propaganda team all across social media.

    In his interview to The Economic Times, Gilon stated that with this kind of support from Indians, he believes “he could have another IDF with the (Indian) volunteers” because everyone is calling him to offer help. He goes on to elaborate that “the closeness India and Israel has is understandable but cannot be explained, It’s something very unique.”

    The Ambassador also posted messages of solidarity by spectators in the Pak vs India match and as recently as some hours ago posted about Hamas being the culprit behind the bombing of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. Indian media quotes him as their official resource as Gilon retweets journalists and media houses propagating the false narrative.

    There are a number of accounts on social media titled Indians for Israel or India stands with Israel. Added to that are fake accounts posing as Palestinians, even Al Jazeera reporters (Farida Khan) spreading Anti-Hamas and Pro-Israeli narrative. A number of tweets were found and reported to have similar content.

    Al-Jazeera has reported about the virality of disinformation caused by the blue-ticked accounts terming them “disinfluencers” with budding Islamophobic conspiracy theories. The article takes a closer look at the “BJP IT Cell” to which most Islamopobic content and trolling is likely to be attributed to.
    Author and Journalist Marc Owen Jonas has revealed many instances of fake-news including a video circulating on social media, mostly shared by Indians, gaining millions of impressions and retweets about girls becoming sex-slaves for Hamas. A closer look shows them to be happily chatting and using phones.

    However, there are some voices of dissent too, which get rebuked but stand tall in their stance. Ravi Nair, an esteemed journalist, not just voiced his opinion on India’s growing inclination towards right-wing but also exposed the original supporters of Zionism.
    In one of his tweets he said, “Hello, Israel, we Indians don’t support right-wing criminals whether Zionists or Hindutavaadis.”

    To which he got hate from American Hindu Republican Renee Lynn in these words, “If you want to support Terrorists because you are brainwashed and want to shout Allahu Akbar then go away. You are not the majority in India”.

    Pratik Sinha associated with ALT News, a credible fact checker resource has said, “With India now exporting its disinformation actors in the Indian mainstream media and on social media in support of Israel, hopefully the world will now realise how the Indian right-wing has made India the disinformation capital of the world”.

  • ‘This will be a long war; the price will be high’, says Israel: What do we know about day 11

    ‘This will be a long war; the price will be high’, says Israel: What do we know about day 11

    Palestinians arrested in occupied West Bank

    Israeli forces in have arrested around 30 Palestinian workers in the occupied West Bank, as per Al Jazeera Arabic.

    Up until the Hamas attacks of October 7, around 14,000 workers from Gaza were living in Israel and were heavily examined for security purposes.

    Their employment in Israel was a part of the deal between the Gaza labour ministry and Israel which helped money come into the Gaza Strip whereas Israel benefited from cheap labour and were able to avoid Israeli labour laws.

    After the escalation of Israel’s attacks on Gaza, the workers have been “dumped” in the occupied West Bank by their employers, interrogated, and sent to refugee camps. 

    Southern Gaza: 71 reported killed in Israeli air raids

    Another night went by in the southern Gaza Strip with Israel carrying out air raids, killing 71 people.

    Many of those killed were women and children.

    Medical sources have confirmed that hundreds were wounded in the air raids while houses were also bombed in Rafah and Khan Younis.

    The Israeli military has claimed to have carried out more than 200 strikes.

    The injured are being sent to hospitals that are already overcrowded while on the other hand, many people are still trapped in the rubble of bombed buildings.

    Northern Gaza: Heavy shelling

    Currently, reports of heavy Israeli artillery shelling are being reported from different areas in the northern Gaza strip. 

    So far, there are no reports of casualties.

    11,000 people injured in Gaza

    A World Health Organization official reports 11,000 injured people in Gaza, half of whom are women and children.

    So far, 115 attacks have been made on health facilities in Gaza.

    As for casualties, 2,800 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since October 7.

    16 journalists killed in current fighting

    The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) released a statement reporting the killings of at least 15 journalists since October 7, including 11 Palestinians, three Israelis and one Lebanese.

    Eight journalists were reported injured and three others were reported missing or detained.

    Israeli captives under Hamas

    Hamas’s Qassam Brigades have claimed to have 200 Israeli captives whereas other Palestinian groups are said to be having 50 more. A spokesperson said the Qassam Brigades has stated that they will release captives with foreign nationalities “as soon as it was feasible to do so”.

    ‘This will be a long war; the price will be high’

    The defence minister of Israel, Yoav Gallant, has stated that the attack on Gaza will be “a long war” and “the price will be high”.

    A “great ally”, as described by Gallant after his meeting with Blinken, the US has been deploying aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean. 

    The minister believes that no matter the time and cost the war against Hamas takes, Israel will win.

    On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden is also expected to pay a visit to Israel to express his support  while the country prepares for the potential ground operation against Hamas in Gaza, Anthony Blinken has said. 

    A total of 500 Palestinians, including those that Israel alleges are Hamas members, have been arrested across the West Bank. 

    Iran’s strongest warning so far

    On Monday night, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian gave his most stern statement so far, warning of a possible preemptive strike in the coming hours.

    He asserted that Iran-backed groups will not allow Israel to commit atrocities in Gaza, mentioning Lebanon’s Hezbollah who has exchanged cross-border fire with Israel in the past week. 

    At least 55 Israeli police officers killed since war started

    The Israeli police say at least 55 officers have been killed since the war started on October 7.

    Police added the latest officer to lose his life was Mumtaz Enin Sivan, a member of the Bedouin community police unit in the Negev region of the country’s south.

    UN says concerned by risk of waterborne diseases in Gaza

    On one hand, Gaza is said to be running out of water due to Israel’s embargo while on the other hand, the UN has said that there is a risk of an outbreak of waterborne diseases.

    “Concerns over dehydration and waterborne diseases are high given the collapse of water and sanitation services, including today’s shutdown of Gaza’s last functioning seawater desalination plant,” the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) said in a statement.

    Southern Gaza reportedly received water for three hours on Tuesday that could only provide for only 14 per cent of the population.

    $10m in assistance to Gaza civilians from Japan

    Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa has stated that Japan will provide $10m in assistance for the people in Gaza.

    Credit: Al Jazeera

  • BBC admits to ‘misleading’ coverage of pro-Palestine protests

    BBC admits to ‘misleading’ coverage of pro-Palestine protests

    British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) News has admitted to “misleading” sentences used to describe recent pro-Palestine protests when one of its presenters, Maryam Moshiri, termed the marches supportive of Hamas.

    Moshiri posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Earlier we reported on some of the pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the weekend.

    “We spoke about ‘several demonstrations across Britain during which people voiced their backing for Hamas’.

    “We accept this was poorly phrased and was a misleading description of the demonstrations.”

    Notably, BBC did not apologise for the statement.

    People around the world have been coming out on the streets against Israeli attacks on Gaza. So far, more than 2,800 Palestinians have been killed while the survivors are deprived of basic necessities including food, water, healthcare, electricity and internet.

  • Five Palestinian accounts to follow for live updates from Gaza

    Five Palestinian accounts to follow for live updates from Gaza

    Here is a list of five Instagram accounts of Palestinians who are currently present in Gaza and have been actively updating on the Israel-Palestine escalation since October 7.

    1. Plestia Alaqad @byplestia

    2. Motaz Azaiza @motaz_azaiza

    3. Ali Jadallah @alijadallah66

    4. Hind Khoudary @hindkhoudary

    5. Lara @gazangirl

  • Israel-Palestine war: 10 days in 10 pictures

    Israel-Palestine war: 10 days in 10 pictures

    Here are 10 pictures from the past 10 days following Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.

    Israel has been accused of using white phosphorus in Gaza and Lebanon [File: Mohammed Abed/AFP]

    An airstrike destroyed buildings and cars around Jabaliya in Gaza on Monday.Credit…Mohammed Abed/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
    A fireball erupts during one of the latest Israeli bombardments of Gaza Strip on Monday night (October 9) and early Tuesday (October 10) [Mahmud Hams/AFP]
    Palestinian men carry bread through a heavily bombed street following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City on October 10, 2023.   © 2023 Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
    Palestinian relatives stand with bodies wrapped in funeral shrouds with their names written for identification, at a hospital following Israeli military attacks on Rafah, in the southern of Gaza Strip on October 16, 2023. – The death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip has risen to around 2,750 since Hamas’s deadly attack on southern Israel last week, the Gaza health ministry said October 16. Some 9,700 people have also been injured as Israel continued its withering air campaign on targets in the Palestinian coastal enclave, the Hamas-controlled ministry added. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP)
    A protestor is detained by French Police during an unauthorized demonstration in support of Palestinians at Place de la Republique, in Paris, on October 12, 2023. Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images

    People rally to protest against the Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen [Khaled Abdullah/Reuters]
    A man man works on moving the body of a Palestinian, who was killed in Israeli strikes, from an ice cream truck where it was kept, as the hospital morgues are packed, amid the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in the central Gaza Strip October 15, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer

    Graphic content / The foot of a young Palestinian sticks out from under the rubble of a home following an Israeli attack on the town of Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on October 15, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas. – Thousands of Palestinians have gathered in the south of the Gaza Strip, laying out beds on the streets after UN-run schools filled up following Israel’s warning to evacuate the north of the impoverished enclave. (Photo by Mohammed FAEQ / AFP)
    Israeli civilians volunteers feed soldiers at a barbeque and check their wellbeing prior to their deployment to the zone along the Israel-Gaza border near southern Israeli city of Ofakim on October 16, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. – Thousands of people, both Israeli and Palestinians have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip, entered southern Israel in a surprise attack leading Israel to declare war on Hamas in Gaza on October 8. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)