Battles force Palestinians out of hospitals in Gaza, leaving patients, babies and medics stranded
By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY
21 mins ago
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Battles around hospitals forced thousands of Palestinians to flee from some of the last shelters in northern Gaza, stranding critically wounded patients, including newborns, and their caregivers with dwindling supplies and no electricity, health officials said Monday.
The Israeli military has urged Palestinians to flee south on foot through what it calls safe corridors. But its purported drive to separate civilians from Hamas militants has come at a heavy cost, with more than two-thirds of the territory’s population of 2.3 million having already fled their homes.
Thousands fled Gaza's Shifa Hospital over the weekend as Israeli troops encircled it, but hundreds of patients and displaced people remained, according to officials. Shifa “is not functioning as a hospital anymore,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. A second Gaza City hospital faces evacuations after running out of fuel.
Both sides have seized on the plight of hospitals, particularly Shifa’s, as a symbol of the larger war, now in its sixth week. The fighting was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack into Israel, and Israel’s response has brought unseen levels of death and destruction to Gaza.
For Palestinians, Shifa evokes the suffering of civilians. For weeks, staff running low on supplies have performed surgery there on war-wounded patients, including children, without anesthesia. Up until days ago, tens of thousands of people driven from their homes by airstrikes lived in and around the complex, hoping it would be safe.
Israel says Hamas shields itself among civilians, and that the hospital, Gaza’s largest, is a prime example. It says the militants have a command center in and beneath the medical compound. Israel has released maps and diagrams showing what it says are bunkers and other Hamas installations in and around Shifa, but has not provided any evidence.
Israeli officials recently released photos and footage showing what they described as the opening of a tunnel next to another hospital, as well as gunmen firing from inside the building. They also have shared footage of militants operating in residential neighborhoods and positioning rockets and weapons near schools, hospitals and mosques.
Both Hamas and Shifa hospital staff deny the Israeli allegations.
After power went out for Shifa's incubators, the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza released a photo it says shows about a dozen premature babies wrapped in blankets together on a bed to keep them at a proper temperature. Otherwise, “they immediately die,” said ministry spokesman Medhat Abbas, who added that four of the babies had been delivered by cesarean section after their mothers died.
The Palestinians accuse Israel of firing recklessly toward hospitals, while Israel accuses Hamas of using the hospitals for cover. On Monday, Israel released a video showing what it said was a militant carrying an RPG launcher in front of Al-Quds hospital, the facility that ran out of fuel and was forced to shut down Sunday. An Israeli tank was stationed nearby.
Preparations are being made to evacuate some 6,000 patients, medics and displaced people from Al-Quds, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, which operates the facility.
After the exodus of people from Shifa over the weekend, about 650 patients and 500 staff remain in the hospital, along with around 2,500 displaced Palestinians sheltering inside the complex, said Mohammed Zaqout, the director of hospitals in Gaza.
The Health Ministry said 32 patients, including three babies, have died since Shifa’s emergency generator ran out of fuel Saturday. It said 36 babies, as well as other patients, are at risk of dying because life-saving equipment can't function.
Medical Aid for Palestinians, a U.K.-based charity that has supported Shifa's neonatal intensive care unit, said transferring critically ill infants is complex. “With ambulances unable to reach the hospital ... and no hospital with capacity to receive them, there is no indication of how this can be done safely," CEO Melanie Ward said. She said the only option was to pause the fighting and allow in fuel.
The military said it placed 300 liters (79 gallons) of fuel several blocks from the hospital, but Hamas militants prevented staff from reaching it. The Health Ministry disputed that, saying Israel refused its request that the Red Crescent bring them the fuel rather than staff venturing out to retrieve it. The fuel would have provided less than an hour of electricity, it said.
The U.S. has pushed for temporary pauses to allow wider distribution of badly needed aid. Israel has agreed only to daily windows during which civilians can flee northern Gaza along two main roads. It continues to strike what it says are militant targets across the territory, often killing women and children.
Tens of thousands of people remain in the north.
Saib Abu Hashish said he has been trapped on the ground floor of his family home along with 27 others in Gaza City, and they haven't left the house in three days and are running out of food and water. He said their neighbors attempted to escape the area Sunday, but Israeli forces fired on them.
“We want to leave but we can’t because of the bombing,” he said by phone. “If we survive the bombing, we will die from hunger.”
Those who make it south face a host of other difficulties. U.N.-run shelters are overflowing, and the lack of fuel has paralyzed water treatment systems, leaving taps dry and sending sewage into the streets. Israel has barred the import of fuel for generators.
As of last Friday, more than 11,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and minors, have been killed since the war began, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. About 2,700 people have been reported missing.
Health officials have not updated the toll, citing the difficulty of collecting information.
At least 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial Hamas attack. Palestinian militants are holding nearly 240 hostages seized in the raid, including men, women, children and older adults. The military says 44 soldiers have been killed in ground operations in Gaza.
About 250,000 Israelis have evacuated from communities near Gaza, where Palestinian militants still fire barrages of rockets, and along the northern border, where Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group repeatedly trade fire, including on Monday.
___
This story has been corrected to show that the Israeli military says 44, not 48, soldiers have been killed in ground operations in Gaza.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Amy Teibel in Jerusalem and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
Battles force Palestinians out of hospitals in Gaza, leaving patients, babies and medics stranded
By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY
21 mins ago
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Battles around hospitals forced thousands of Palestinians to flee from some of the last shelters in northern Gaza, stranding critically wounded patients, including newborns, and their caregivers with dwindling supplies and no electricity, health officials said Monday.
The Israeli military has urged Palestinians to flee south on foot through what it calls safe corridors. But its purported drive to separate civilians from Hamas militants has come at a heavy cost, with more than two-thirds of the territory’s population of 2.3 million having already fled their homes.
Thousands fled Gaza's Shifa Hospital over the weekend as Israeli troops encircled it, but hundreds of patients and displaced people remained, according to officials. Shifa “is not functioning as a hospital anymore,” World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. A second Gaza City hospital faces evacuations after running out of fuel.
Both sides have seized on the plight of hospitals, particularly Shifa’s, as a symbol of the larger war, now in its sixth week. The fighting was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack into Israel, and Israel’s response has brought unseen levels of death and destruction to Gaza.
For Palestinians, Shifa evokes the suffering of civilians. For weeks, staff running low on supplies have performed surgery there on war-wounded patients, including children, without anesthesia. Up until days ago, tens of thousands of people driven from their homes by airstrikes lived in and around the complex, hoping it would be safe.
Israel says Hamas shields itself among civilians, and that the hospital, Gaza’s largest, is a prime example. It says the militants have a command center in and beneath the medical compound. Israel has released maps and diagrams showing what it says are bunkers and other Hamas installations in and around Shifa, but has not provided any evidence.
Israeli officials recently released photos and footage showing what they described as the opening of a tunnel next to another hospital, as well as gunmen firing from inside the building. They also have shared footage of militants operating in residential neighborhoods and positioning rockets and weapons near schools, hospitals and mosques.
Both Hamas and Shifa hospital staff deny the Israeli allegations.
After power went out for Shifa's incubators, the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza released a photo it says shows about a dozen premature babies wrapped in blankets together on a bed to keep them at a proper temperature. Otherwise, “they immediately die,” said ministry spokesman Medhat Abbas, who added that four of the babies had been delivered by cesarean section after their mothers died.
The Palestinians accuse Israel of firing recklessly toward hospitals, while Israel accuses Hamas of using the hospitals for cover. On Monday, Israel released a video showing what it said was a militant carrying an RPG launcher in front of Al-Quds hospital, the facility that ran out of fuel and was forced to shut down Sunday. An Israeli tank was stationed nearby.
Preparations are being made to evacuate some 6,000 patients, medics and displaced people from Al-Quds, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent, which operates the facility.
After the exodus of people from Shifa over the weekend, about 650 patients and 500 staff remain in the hospital, along with around 2,500 displaced Palestinians sheltering inside the complex, said Mohammed Zaqout, the director of hospitals in Gaza.
The Health Ministry said 32 patients, including three babies, have died since Shifa’s emergency generator ran out of fuel Saturday. It said 36 babies, as well as other patients, are at risk of dying because life-saving equipment can't function.
Medical Aid for Palestinians, a U.K.-based charity that has supported Shifa's neonatal intensive care unit, said transferring critically ill infants is complex. “With ambulances unable to reach the hospital ... and no hospital with capacity to receive them, there is no indication of how this can be done safely," CEO Melanie Ward said. She said the only option was to pause the fighting and allow in fuel.
The military said it placed 300 liters (79 gallons) of fuel several blocks from the hospital, but Hamas militants prevented staff from reaching it. The Health Ministry disputed that, saying Israel refused its request that the Red Crescent bring them the fuel rather than staff venturing out to retrieve it. The fuel would have provided less than an hour of electricity, it said.
The U.S. has pushed for temporary pauses to allow wider distribution of badly needed aid. Israel has agreed only to daily windows during which civilians can flee northern Gaza along two main roads. It continues to strike what it says are militant targets across the territory, often killing women and children.
Tens of thousands of people remain in the north.
Saib Abu Hashish said he has been trapped on the ground floor of his family home along with 27 others in Gaza City, and they haven't left the house in three days and are running out of food and water. He said their neighbors attempted to escape the area Sunday, but Israeli forces fired on them.
“We want to leave but we can’t because of the bombing,” he said by phone. “If we survive the bombing, we will die from hunger.”
Those who make it south face a host of other difficulties. U.N.-run shelters are overflowing, and the lack of fuel has paralyzed water treatment systems, leaving taps dry and sending sewage into the streets. Israel has barred the import of fuel for generators.
As of last Friday, more than 11,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of them women and minors, have been killed since the war began, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. About 2,700 people have been reported missing.
Health officials have not updated the toll, citing the difficulty of collecting information.
At least 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side, mostly civilians killed in the initial Hamas attack. Palestinian militants are holding nearly 240 hostages seized in the raid, including men, women, children and older adults. The military says 44 soldiers have been killed in ground operations in Gaza.
About 250,000 Israelis have evacuated from communities near Gaza, where Palestinian militants still fire barrages of rockets, and along the northern border, where Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group repeatedly trade fire, including on Monday.
___
This story has been corrected to show that the Israeli military says 44, not 48, soldiers have been killed in ground operations in Gaza.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Amy Teibel in Jerusalem and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
One simple inescapable truth the one way the devastating horror pictured above doesn’t happen. That’s if all Palestinians recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace Oct 7.
Did you also support the 9/11 terrorists? I was on Manhattan island 8.46am on 9/11. Please don’t lecture me that Oct 7th wasn’t cold blooded terrorism targeting women, children and the elderly.
nobody here is saying what hamas did is NOT terrorism. stop putting words in everyone's mouths. what you are doing is blaming all palestinians for hamas' actions, and justifying israel's overwhelming response targeting civilians. this is the same thing the US did with afghanistan and then pivoting to iraq. 19 people carried out 9/11 and because of that we killed nearly 1 million iraqis. did you support that too?
AND most of those 19 were Saudi....
yep, i forgot to add that part. we did nothing to the saudis after 9/11 even though we knew they were saudi nationals.
by lerxs' rationale and what he has said about the israel/hamas conflict, we should have flattened saudi arabia based on the actions of 19 people.
We should have turned all those Arab nations into parking lots immediately. And we should turn Israel and Palestine into rubble right now.
you should change your user name to evenbro. LBC does not fit your comments.
evenbro. is that one taken yet??
asking for a friend.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,283
One simple inescapable truth the one way the devastating horror pictured above doesn’t happen. That’s if all Palestinians recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace Oct 7.
Did you also support the 9/11 terrorists? I was on Manhattan island 8.46am on 9/11. Please don’t lecture me that Oct 7th wasn’t cold blooded terrorism targeting women, children and the elderly.
nobody here is saying what hamas did is NOT terrorism. stop putting words in everyone's mouths. what you are doing is blaming all palestinians for hamas' actions, and justifying israel's overwhelming response targeting civilians. this is the same thing the US did with afghanistan and then pivoting to iraq. 19 people carried out 9/11 and because of that we killed nearly 1 million iraqis. did you support that too?
AND most of those 19 were Saudi....
yep, i forgot to add that part. we did nothing to the saudis after 9/11 even though we knew they were saudi nationals.
by lerxs' rationale and what he has said about the israel/hamas conflict, we should have flattened saudi arabia based on the actions of 19 people.
We should have turned all those Arab nations into parking lots immediately. And we should turn Israel and Palestine into rubble right now.
you should change your user name to evenbro. LBC does not fit your comments.
evenbro. is that one taken yet??
asking for a friend.
hmmm, sounds like a song we all know.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
One simple inescapable truth the one way the devastating horror pictured above doesn’t happen. That’s if all Palestinians recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace Oct 7.
Did you also support the 9/11 terrorists? I was on Manhattan island 8.46am on 9/11. Please don’t lecture me that Oct 7th wasn’t cold blooded terrorism targeting women, children and the elderly.
nobody here is saying what hamas did is NOT terrorism. stop putting words in everyone's mouths. what you are doing is blaming all palestinians for hamas' actions, and justifying israel's overwhelming response targeting civilians. this is the same thing the US did with afghanistan and then pivoting to iraq. 19 people carried out 9/11 and because of that we killed nearly 1 million iraqis. did you support that too?
AND most of those 19 were Saudi....
yep, i forgot to add that part. we did nothing to the saudis after 9/11 even though we knew they were saudi nationals.
by lerxs' rationale and what he has said about the israel/hamas conflict, we should have flattened saudi arabia based on the actions of 19 people.
We should have turned all those Arab nations into parking lots immediately. And we should turn Israel and Palestine into rubble right now.
Brilliant solution- kill everyone. In fact, let's turn the planet into a parking lot. We've already made a good start.
:sigh:
Planet will be just fine. Relax.
I'm quite relaxed thank you very much.
And yeah, of course the planet will be fine... after it's had several thousand years to clean up our mess. Too bad for all the people in the meantime who will suffer, not to mention the very many species that will die of before their time thanks to stupid humans who don't give a shit about anything but their own selfish short-sighted desires.
You'll be long gone sir, stop acting like it makes any difference once you're toast. You are fretting over something that may happen in hundreds of years. Spend your days enjoying your life instead of being a paranoid wreck for the rest of it. The many species, here we go.
You can't save the world from the Pearl Jam Forums. Hate to break that to most of you here. Try to relax, everything will be fine sir.
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,283
One simple inescapable truth the one way the devastating horror pictured above doesn’t happen. That’s if all Palestinians recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace Oct 7.
Did you also support the 9/11 terrorists? I was on Manhattan island 8.46am on 9/11. Please don’t lecture me that Oct 7th wasn’t cold blooded terrorism targeting women, children and the elderly.
nobody here is saying what hamas did is NOT terrorism. stop putting words in everyone's mouths. what you are doing is blaming all palestinians for hamas' actions, and justifying israel's overwhelming response targeting civilians. this is the same thing the US did with afghanistan and then pivoting to iraq. 19 people carried out 9/11 and because of that we killed nearly 1 million iraqis. did you support that too?
AND most of those 19 were Saudi....
yep, i forgot to add that part. we did nothing to the saudis after 9/11 even though we knew they were saudi nationals.
by lerxs' rationale and what he has said about the israel/hamas conflict, we should have flattened saudi arabia based on the actions of 19 people.
We should have turned all those Arab nations into parking lots immediately. And we should turn Israel and Palestine into rubble right now.
Brilliant solution- kill everyone. In fact, let's turn the planet into a parking lot. We've already made a good start.
:sigh:
Planet will be just fine. Relax.
I'm quite relaxed thank you very much.
And yeah, of course the planet will be fine... after it's had several thousand years to clean up our mess. Too bad for all the people in the meantime who will suffer, not to mention the very many species that will die of before their time thanks to stupid humans who don't give a shit about anything but their own selfish short-sighted desires.
You'll be long gone sir, stop acting like it makes any difference once you're toast. You are fretting over something that may happen in hundreds of years. Spend your days enjoying your life instead of being a paranoid wreck for the rest of it. The many species, here we go.
You can't save the world from the Pearl Jam Forums. Hate to break that to most of you here. Try to relax, everything will be fine sir.
Well, look, you're not "breaking" anything to me. I've been around the block. Let's get that straight right off.
And look, my time here is irrelevant. I could be dead tomorrow-- not uncommon at my age, ya know? But I do care about these things for a whole lot of reasons that have nothing to do with what happens in my brief little flash of a lifetime.
And here's another thing-- I don't "worry" about about any of this stuff. I worry about things like the fact that I may have leukoplakia, or that my cat may have a chronic condition that is causing her to limp, or that my wife my not be able to resume our daily walks together. That's the kind of shit I worry about at my age, not where and when is climate change going to start causing all kind of havoc and causing massive numbers of deaths and so forth. No, I worry about the things that are closest to me and mine. The rest of it- all the BIG issues out there- is stuff I think about with concern, no worry, and certainly not paranoia (maybe look that word up and use it correctly next time). I am concerned about these issues because I personally and otherwise know quite a few people who are a lot younger than me (not to mention a lot of other species I think are pretty cool) who may become heavily affected by these environmental issues in the not too distant future (After my time? Maybe, maybe not). Instead of merely fretting about those things, I've spent decades doing what I can to help those following me have a better chance for a decent life like I have had. I've written letters, made phone calls, been a member of and/or made many donations of time and money to various environmental groups. I've attended city, county, and state board meetings, and organized a gathering on the steps of town hall to raise awareness about climate change. That's not worry, bud, that's action.
And look, I'm not telling you or anyone else what to do. You can sit on your couch and watch football all day long for all I care. But if you want to help, if you want to lend a hand with the rest of use who do give a shit, I'm right there with you man.
Post edited by brianlux on
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
One simple inescapable truth the one way the devastating horror pictured above doesn’t happen. That’s if all Palestinians recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace Oct 7.
Did you also support the 9/11 terrorists? I was on Manhattan island 8.46am on 9/11. Please don’t lecture me that Oct 7th wasn’t cold blooded terrorism targeting women, children and the elderly.
nobody here is saying what hamas did is NOT terrorism. stop putting words in everyone's mouths. what you are doing is blaming all palestinians for hamas' actions, and justifying israel's overwhelming response targeting civilians. this is the same thing the US did with afghanistan and then pivoting to iraq. 19 people carried out 9/11 and because of that we killed nearly 1 million iraqis. did you support that too?
AND most of those 19 were Saudi....
yep, i forgot to add that part. we did nothing to the saudis after 9/11 even though we knew they were saudi nationals.
by lerxs' rationale and what he has said about the israel/hamas conflict, we should have flattened saudi arabia based on the actions of 19 people.
We should have turned all those Arab nations into parking lots immediately. And we should turn Israel and Palestine into rubble right now.
Brilliant solution- kill everyone. In fact, let's turn the planet into a parking lot. We've already made a good start.
:sigh:
Planet will be just fine. Relax.
I'm quite relaxed thank you very much.
And yeah, of course the planet will be fine... after it's had several thousand years to clean up our mess. Too bad for all the people in the meantime who will suffer, not to mention the very many species that will die of before their time thanks to stupid humans who don't give a shit about anything but their own selfish short-sighted desires.
You'll be long gone sir, stop acting like it makes any difference once you're toast. You are fretting over something that may happen in hundreds of years. Spend your days enjoying your life instead of being a paranoid wreck for the rest of it. The many species, here we go.
You can't save the world from the Pearl Jam Forums. Hate to break that to most of you here. Try to relax, everything will be fine sir.
Well, look, you're not "breaking" anything to me. I've been around the block. Let's get that straight right off.
And look, my time here is irrelevant. I could be dead tomorrow-- not uncommon at my age, ya know? But I do care about these things for a whole lot of reasons that have nothing to do with what happens in my brief little flash of a lifetime.
And here's another thing-- I don't "worry" about about any of this stuff. I worry about things like the fact that I may have leukoplakia, or that my cat may have a chronic condition that is causing her to limp, or that my wife my not be able to resume our daily walks together. That's the kind of shit I worry about at my age, not where and when is climate change going to start causing all kind of havoc and causing massive numbers of deaths and so forth. No, I worry about the things that are closest to me and mine. The rest of it- all the BIG issues out there- is stuff I think about with concern, no worry, and certainly not paranoia (maybe look that word up and use it correctly next time). I am concerned about these issues because I personally and otherwise know quite a few people who are a lot younger than me (not to mention a lot of other species I think are pretty cool) who may become heavily affected by these environmental issues in the not too distant future (After my time? Maybe, maybe not). Instead of merely fretting about those things, I've spent decades doing what I can to help those following me have a better chance for a decent life like I have had. I've written letters, made phone calls, been a member of and/or made many donations of time and money to various environmental groups. I've attended city, county, and state board meetings, and organized a gathering on the steps of town hall to raise awareness about climate change. That's not worry, bud, that's action.
And look, I'm not telling you or anyone else what to do. You can sit on your couch and watch football all day long for all I care. But if you want to help, if you want to lend a hand with the rest of use who do give a shit, I'm right there with you man.
Oh wow. Where to begin? Sorry you have dedicated so much time and effort to save the world only to deem your time here “irrelevant”. I guess one question is, if you’ve always realized your/our irrelevance, why have you wasted the better part of your life saving the world? The wonderful folks who are much younger than you will be just fine. Don’t believe the hype. Thats paranoia speaking. I will absolutely choose watching football all day (on Sunday, college football blows) over convincing myself I am saving the world through what is really wasted effort unfortunately. Maybe save the energy for the important reasons you mentioned above that should cause you concern, and enjoy some football or something when it comes to climate and government and all the cool species instead of wasting time and energy. Healthy balance? I just couldn’t imagine spending “decades” of my time and energy on saving the world, only to turn around and say my time here is irrelevant. I would feel like my life is one big contradiction. And to think, I did it all for the Saola.
One simple inescapable truth the one way the devastating horror pictured above doesn’t happen. That’s if all Palestinians recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace Oct 7.
Did you also support the 9/11 terrorists? I was on Manhattan island 8.46am on 9/11. Please don’t lecture me that Oct 7th wasn’t cold blooded terrorism targeting women, children and the elderly.
nobody here is saying what hamas did is NOT terrorism. stop putting words in everyone's mouths. what you are doing is blaming all palestinians for hamas' actions, and justifying israel's overwhelming response targeting civilians. this is the same thing the US did with afghanistan and then pivoting to iraq. 19 people carried out 9/11 and because of that we killed nearly 1 million iraqis. did you support that too?
AND most of those 19 were Saudi....
yep, i forgot to add that part. we did nothing to the saudis after 9/11 even though we knew they were saudi nationals.
by lerxs' rationale and what he has said about the israel/hamas conflict, we should have flattened saudi arabia based on the actions of 19 people.
We should have turned all those Arab nations into parking lots immediately. And we should turn Israel and Palestine into rubble right now.
Brilliant solution- kill everyone. In fact, let's turn the planet into a parking lot. We've already made a good start.
:sigh:
Planet will be just fine. Relax.
I'm quite relaxed thank you very much.
And yeah, of course the planet will be fine... after it's had several thousand years to clean up our mess. Too bad for all the people in the meantime who will suffer, not to mention the very many species that will die of before their time thanks to stupid humans who don't give a shit about anything but their own selfish short-sighted desires.
You'll be long gone sir, stop acting like it makes any difference once you're toast. You are fretting over something that may happen in hundreds of years. Spend your days enjoying your life instead of being a paranoid wreck for the rest of it. The many species, here we go.
You can't save the world from the Pearl Jam Forums. Hate to break that to most of you here. Try to relax, everything will be fine sir.
Well, look, you're not "breaking" anything to me. I've been around the block. Let's get that straight right off.
And look, my time here is irrelevant. I could be dead tomorrow-- not uncommon at my age, ya know? But I do care about these things for a whole lot of reasons that have nothing to do with what happens in my brief little flash of a lifetime.
And here's another thing-- I don't "worry" about about any of this stuff. I worry about things like the fact that I may have leukoplakia, or that my cat may have a chronic condition that is causing her to limp, or that my wife my not be able to resume our daily walks together. That's the kind of shit I worry about at my age, not where and when is climate change going to start causing all kind of havoc and causing massive numbers of deaths and so forth. No, I worry about the things that are closest to me and mine. The rest of it- all the BIG issues out there- is stuff I think about with concern, no worry, and certainly not paranoia (maybe look that word up and use it correctly next time). I am concerned about these issues because I personally and otherwise know quite a few people who are a lot younger than me (not to mention a lot of other species I think are pretty cool) who may become heavily affected by these environmental issues in the not too distant future (After my time? Maybe, maybe not). Instead of merely fretting about those things, I've spent decades doing what I can to help those following me have a better chance for a decent life like I have had. I've written letters, made phone calls, been a member of and/or made many donations of time and money to various environmental groups. I've attended city, county, and state board meetings, and organized a gathering on the steps of town hall to raise awareness about climate change. That's not worry, bud, that's action.
And look, I'm not telling you or anyone else what to do. You can sit on your couch and watch football all day long for all I care. But if you want to help, if you want to lend a hand with the rest of use who do give a shit, I'm right there with you man.
Oh wow. Where to begin? Sorry you have dedicated so much time and effort to save the world only to deem your time here “irrelevant”. I guess one question is, if you’ve always realized your/our irrelevance, why have you wasted the better part of your life saving the world? The wonderful folks who are much younger than you will be just fine. Don’t believe the hype. Thats paranoia speaking. I will absolutely choose watching football all day (on Sunday, college football blows) over convincing myself I am saving the world through what is really wasted effort unfortunately. Maybe save the energy for the important reasons you mentioned above that should cause you concern, and enjoy some football or something when it comes to climate and government and all the cool species instead of wasting time and energy. Healthy balance? I just couldn’t imagine spending “decades” of my time and energy on saving the world, only to turn around and say my time here is irrelevant. I would feel like my life is one big contradiction. And to think, I did it all for the Saola.
If it wasn’t for people like brian we’d have gone extinct years ago. You don’t have to agree but being so flippant isn’t necessary, is it?
I personally think it’s a waste to watch the NFL over college football based on players passion alone, but I’m not going to keep harping on you about it.
One simple inescapable truth the one way the devastating horror pictured above doesn’t happen. That’s if all Palestinians recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace Oct 7.
Did you also support the 9/11 terrorists? I was on Manhattan island 8.46am on 9/11. Please don’t lecture me that Oct 7th wasn’t cold blooded terrorism targeting women, children and the elderly.
nobody here is saying what hamas did is NOT terrorism. stop putting words in everyone's mouths. what you are doing is blaming all palestinians for hamas' actions, and justifying israel's overwhelming response targeting civilians. this is the same thing the US did with afghanistan and then pivoting to iraq. 19 people carried out 9/11 and because of that we killed nearly 1 million iraqis. did you support that too?
AND most of those 19 were Saudi....
yep, i forgot to add that part. we did nothing to the saudis after 9/11 even though we knew they were saudi nationals.
by lerxs' rationale and what he has said about the israel/hamas conflict, we should have flattened saudi arabia based on the actions of 19 people.
We should have turned all those Arab nations into parking lots immediately. And we should turn Israel and Palestine into rubble right now.
Brilliant solution- kill everyone. In fact, let's turn the planet into a parking lot. We've already made a good start.
:sigh:
Planet will be just fine. Relax.
I'm quite relaxed thank you very much.
And yeah, of course the planet will be fine... after it's had several thousand years to clean up our mess. Too bad for all the people in the meantime who will suffer, not to mention the very many species that will die of before their time thanks to stupid humans who don't give a shit about anything but their own selfish short-sighted desires.
You'll be long gone sir, stop acting like it makes any difference once you're toast. You are fretting over something that may happen in hundreds of years. Spend your days enjoying your life instead of being a paranoid wreck for the rest of it. The many species, here we go.
You can't save the world from the Pearl Jam Forums. Hate to break that to most of you here. Try to relax, everything will be fine sir.
Well, look, you're not "breaking" anything to me. I've been around the block. Let's get that straight right off.
And look, my time here is irrelevant. I could be dead tomorrow-- not uncommon at my age, ya know? But I do care about these things for a whole lot of reasons that have nothing to do with what happens in my brief little flash of a lifetime.
And here's another thing-- I don't "worry" about about any of this stuff. I worry about things like the fact that I may have leukoplakia, or that my cat may have a chronic condition that is causing her to limp, or that my wife my not be able to resume our daily walks together. That's the kind of shit I worry about at my age, not where and when is climate change going to start causing all kind of havoc and causing massive numbers of deaths and so forth. No, I worry about the things that are closest to me and mine. The rest of it- all the BIG issues out there- is stuff I think about with concern, no worry, and certainly not paranoia (maybe look that word up and use it correctly next time). I am concerned about these issues because I personally and otherwise know quite a few people who are a lot younger than me (not to mention a lot of other species I think are pretty cool) who may become heavily affected by these environmental issues in the not too distant future (After my time? Maybe, maybe not). Instead of merely fretting about those things, I've spent decades doing what I can to help those following me have a better chance for a decent life like I have had. I've written letters, made phone calls, been a member of and/or made many donations of time and money to various environmental groups. I've attended city, county, and state board meetings, and organized a gathering on the steps of town hall to raise awareness about climate change. That's not worry, bud, that's action.
And look, I'm not telling you or anyone else what to do. You can sit on your couch and watch football all day long for all I care. But if you want to help, if you want to lend a hand with the rest of use who do give a shit, I'm right there with you man.
Oh wow. Where to begin? Sorry you have dedicated so much time and effort to save the world only to deem your time here “irrelevant”. I guess one question is, if you’ve always realized your/our irrelevance, why have you wasted the better part of your life saving the world? The wonderful folks who are much younger than you will be just fine. Don’t believe the hype. Thats paranoia speaking. I will absolutely choose watching football all day (on Sunday, college football blows) over convincing myself I am saving the world through what is really wasted effort unfortunately. Maybe save the energy for the important reasons you mentioned above that should cause you concern, and enjoy some football or something when it comes to climate and government and all the cool species instead of wasting time and energy. Healthy balance? I just couldn’t imagine spending “decades” of my time and energy on saving the world, only to turn around and say my time here is irrelevant. I would feel like my life is one big contradiction. And to think, I did it all for the Saola.
If it wasn’t for people like brian we’d have gone instinct years ago. You don’t have to agree but being so flippant isn’t necessary, is it?
I personally think it’s a waste to watch the NFL over college football based on players passion alone, but I’m not going to keep harping on you about it.
One simple inescapable truth the one way the devastating horror pictured above doesn’t happen. That’s if all Palestinians recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace Oct 7.
Did you also support the 9/11 terrorists? I was on Manhattan island 8.46am on 9/11. Please don’t lecture me that Oct 7th wasn’t cold blooded terrorism targeting women, children and the elderly.
nobody here is saying what hamas did is NOT terrorism. stop putting words in everyone's mouths. what you are doing is blaming all palestinians for hamas' actions, and justifying israel's overwhelming response targeting civilians. this is the same thing the US did with afghanistan and then pivoting to iraq. 19 people carried out 9/11 and because of that we killed nearly 1 million iraqis. did you support that too?
AND most of those 19 were Saudi....
yep, i forgot to add that part. we did nothing to the saudis after 9/11 even though we knew they were saudi nationals.
by lerxs' rationale and what he has said about the israel/hamas conflict, we should have flattened saudi arabia based on the actions of 19 people.
We should have turned all those Arab nations into parking lots immediately. And we should turn Israel and Palestine into rubble right now.
Brilliant solution- kill everyone. In fact, let's turn the planet into a parking lot. We've already made a good start.
:sigh:
Planet will be just fine. Relax.
I'm quite relaxed thank you very much.
And yeah, of course the planet will be fine... after it's had several thousand years to clean up our mess. Too bad for all the people in the meantime who will suffer, not to mention the very many species that will die of before their time thanks to stupid humans who don't give a shit about anything but their own selfish short-sighted desires.
You'll be long gone sir, stop acting like it makes any difference once you're toast. You are fretting over something that may happen in hundreds of years. Spend your days enjoying your life instead of being a paranoid wreck for the rest of it. The many species, here we go.
You can't save the world from the Pearl Jam Forums. Hate to break that to most of you here. Try to relax, everything will be fine sir.
Well, look, you're not "breaking" anything to me. I've been around the block. Let's get that straight right off.
And look, my time here is irrelevant. I could be dead tomorrow-- not uncommon at my age, ya know? But I do care about these things for a whole lot of reasons that have nothing to do with what happens in my brief little flash of a lifetime.
And here's another thing-- I don't "worry" about about any of this stuff. I worry about things like the fact that I may have leukoplakia, or that my cat may have a chronic condition that is causing her to limp, or that my wife my not be able to resume our daily walks together. That's the kind of shit I worry about at my age, not where and when is climate change going to start causing all kind of havoc and causing massive numbers of deaths and so forth. No, I worry about the things that are closest to me and mine. The rest of it- all the BIG issues out there- is stuff I think about with concern, no worry, and certainly not paranoia (maybe look that word up and use it correctly next time). I am concerned about these issues because I personally and otherwise know quite a few people who are a lot younger than me (not to mention a lot of other species I think are pretty cool) who may become heavily affected by these environmental issues in the not too distant future (After my time? Maybe, maybe not). Instead of merely fretting about those things, I've spent decades doing what I can to help those following me have a better chance for a decent life like I have had. I've written letters, made phone calls, been a member of and/or made many donations of time and money to various environmental groups. I've attended city, county, and state board meetings, and organized a gathering on the steps of town hall to raise awareness about climate change. That's not worry, bud, that's action.
And look, I'm not telling you or anyone else what to do. You can sit on your couch and watch football all day long for all I care. But if you want to help, if you want to lend a hand with the rest of use who do give a shit, I'm right there with you man.
Oh wow. Where to begin? Sorry you have dedicated so much time and effort to save the world only to deem your time here “irrelevant”. I guess one question is, if you’ve always realized your/our irrelevance, why have you wasted the better part of your life saving the world? The wonderful folks who are much younger than you will be just fine. Don’t believe the hype. Thats paranoia speaking. I will absolutely choose watching football all day (on Sunday, college football blows) over convincing myself I am saving the world through what is really wasted effort unfortunately. Maybe save the energy for the important reasons you mentioned above that should cause you concern, and enjoy some football or something when it comes to climate and government and all the cool species instead of wasting time and energy. Healthy balance? I just couldn’t imagine spending “decades” of my time and energy on saving the world, only to turn around and say my time here is irrelevant. I would feel like my life is one big contradiction. And to think, I did it all for the Saola.
If it wasn’t for people like brian we’d have gone instinct years ago. You don’t have to agree but being so flippant isn’t necessary, is it?
I personally think it’s a waste to watch the NFL over college football based on players passion alone, but I’m not going to keep harping on you about it.
Go Birds
Philly fan? Me too! Common ground can always be found!
One simple inescapable truth the one way the devastating horror pictured above doesn’t happen. That’s if all Palestinians recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace Oct 7.
Did you also support the 9/11 terrorists? I was on Manhattan island 8.46am on 9/11. Please don’t lecture me that Oct 7th wasn’t cold blooded terrorism targeting women, children and the elderly.
nobody here is saying what hamas did is NOT terrorism. stop putting words in everyone's mouths. what you are doing is blaming all palestinians for hamas' actions, and justifying israel's overwhelming response targeting civilians. this is the same thing the US did with afghanistan and then pivoting to iraq. 19 people carried out 9/11 and because of that we killed nearly 1 million iraqis. did you support that too?
AND most of those 19 were Saudi....
yep, i forgot to add that part. we did nothing to the saudis after 9/11 even though we knew they were saudi nationals.
by lerxs' rationale and what he has said about the israel/hamas conflict, we should have flattened saudi arabia based on the actions of 19 people.
We should have turned all those Arab nations into parking lots immediately. And we should turn Israel and Palestine into rubble right now.
Brilliant solution- kill everyone. In fact, let's turn the planet into a parking lot. We've already made a good start.
:sigh:
Planet will be just fine. Relax.
I'm quite relaxed thank you very much.
And yeah, of course the planet will be fine... after it's had several thousand years to clean up our mess. Too bad for all the people in the meantime who will suffer, not to mention the very many species that will die of before their time thanks to stupid humans who don't give a shit about anything but their own selfish short-sighted desires.
You'll be long gone sir, stop acting like it makes any difference once you're toast. You are fretting over something that may happen in hundreds of years. Spend your days enjoying your life instead of being a paranoid wreck for the rest of it. The many species, here we go.
You can't save the world from the Pearl Jam Forums. Hate to break that to most of you here. Try to relax, everything will be fine sir.
Well, look, you're not "breaking" anything to me. I've been around the block. Let's get that straight right off.
And look, my time here is irrelevant. I could be dead tomorrow-- not uncommon at my age, ya know? But I do care about these things for a whole lot of reasons that have nothing to do with what happens in my brief little flash of a lifetime.
And here's another thing-- I don't "worry" about about any of this stuff. I worry about things like the fact that I may have leukoplakia, or that my cat may have a chronic condition that is causing her to limp, or that my wife my not be able to resume our daily walks together. That's the kind of shit I worry about at my age, not where and when is climate change going to start causing all kind of havoc and causing massive numbers of deaths and so forth. No, I worry about the things that are closest to me and mine. The rest of it- all the BIG issues out there- is stuff I think about with concern, no worry, and certainly not paranoia (maybe look that word up and use it correctly next time). I am concerned about these issues because I personally and otherwise know quite a few people who are a lot younger than me (not to mention a lot of other species I think are pretty cool) who may become heavily affected by these environmental issues in the not too distant future (After my time? Maybe, maybe not). Instead of merely fretting about those things, I've spent decades doing what I can to help those following me have a better chance for a decent life like I have had. I've written letters, made phone calls, been a member of and/or made many donations of time and money to various environmental groups. I've attended city, county, and state board meetings, and organized a gathering on the steps of town hall to raise awareness about climate change. That's not worry, bud, that's action.
And look, I'm not telling you or anyone else what to do. You can sit on your couch and watch football all day long for all I care. But if you want to help, if you want to lend a hand with the rest of use who do give a shit, I'm right there with you man.
Oh wow. Where to begin? Sorry you have dedicated so much time and effort to save the world only to deem your time here “irrelevant”. I guess one question is, if you’ve always realized your/our irrelevance, why have you wasted the better part of your life saving the world? The wonderful folks who are much younger than you will be just fine. Don’t believe the hype. Thats paranoia speaking. I will absolutely choose watching football all day (on Sunday, college football blows) over convincing myself I am saving the world through what is really wasted effort unfortunately. Maybe save the energy for the important reasons you mentioned above that should cause you concern, and enjoy some football or something when it comes to climate and government and all the cool species instead of wasting time and energy. Healthy balance? I just couldn’t imagine spending “decades” of my time and energy on saving the world, only to turn around and say my time here is irrelevant. I would feel like my life is one big contradiction. And to think, I did it all for the Saola.
Spoken like a true human - we should stop investing in better futures today, lead our lives identically to how we always have, and give today's problems to tomorrow's humans once we've made it worse through inaction.
All I can say is that to criticize a life in search of meaning, purpose and betterment because of your sense of futility, is highly rude and informed by a sense of apathy and cynicism, but also a lack of respect for others. It doesn't make you a better or more enlightened human just because you don't see a point in trying to solve a bigger problem, while others still do (or have).
'05 - TO, '06 - TO 1, '08 - NYC 1 & 2, '09 - TO, Chi 1 & 2, '10 - Buffalo, NYC 1 & 2, '11 - TO 1 & 2, Hamilton, '13 - Buffalo, Brooklyn 1 & 2, '15 - Global Citizen, '16 - TO 1 & 2, Chi 2
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
0
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 42,283
One simple inescapable truth the one way the devastating horror pictured above doesn’t happen. That’s if all Palestinians recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace Oct 7.
Did you also support the 9/11 terrorists? I was on Manhattan island 8.46am on 9/11. Please don’t lecture me that Oct 7th wasn’t cold blooded terrorism targeting women, children and the elderly.
nobody here is saying what hamas did is NOT terrorism. stop putting words in everyone's mouths. what you are doing is blaming all palestinians for hamas' actions, and justifying israel's overwhelming response targeting civilians. this is the same thing the US did with afghanistan and then pivoting to iraq. 19 people carried out 9/11 and because of that we killed nearly 1 million iraqis. did you support that too?
AND most of those 19 were Saudi....
yep, i forgot to add that part. we did nothing to the saudis after 9/11 even though we knew they were saudi nationals.
by lerxs' rationale and what he has said about the israel/hamas conflict, we should have flattened saudi arabia based on the actions of 19 people.
We should have turned all those Arab nations into parking lots immediately. And we should turn Israel and Palestine into rubble right now.
Brilliant solution- kill everyone. In fact, let's turn the planet into a parking lot. We've already made a good start.
:sigh:
Planet will be just fine. Relax.
I'm quite relaxed thank you very much.
And yeah, of course the planet will be fine... after it's had several thousand years to clean up our mess. Too bad for all the people in the meantime who will suffer, not to mention the very many species that will die of before their time thanks to stupid humans who don't give a shit about anything but their own selfish short-sighted desires.
You'll be long gone sir, stop acting like it makes any difference once you're toast. You are fretting over something that may happen in hundreds of years. Spend your days enjoying your life instead of being a paranoid wreck for the rest of it. The many species, here we go.
You can't save the world from the Pearl Jam Forums. Hate to break that to most of you here. Try to relax, everything will be fine sir.
Well, look, you're not "breaking" anything to me. I've been around the block. Let's get that straight right off.
And look, my time here is irrelevant. I could be dead tomorrow-- not uncommon at my age, ya know? But I do care about these things for a whole lot of reasons that have nothing to do with what happens in my brief little flash of a lifetime.
And here's another thing-- I don't "worry" about about any of this stuff. I worry about things like the fact that I may have leukoplakia, or that my cat may have a chronic condition that is causing her to limp, or that my wife my not be able to resume our daily walks together. That's the kind of shit I worry about at my age, not where and when is climate change going to start causing all kind of havoc and causing massive numbers of deaths and so forth. No, I worry about the things that are closest to me and mine. The rest of it- all the BIG issues out there- is stuff I think about with concern, no worry, and certainly not paranoia (maybe look that word up and use it correctly next time). I am concerned about these issues because I personally and otherwise know quite a few people who are a lot younger than me (not to mention a lot of other species I think are pretty cool) who may become heavily affected by these environmental issues in the not too distant future (After my time? Maybe, maybe not). Instead of merely fretting about those things, I've spent decades doing what I can to help those following me have a better chance for a decent life like I have had. I've written letters, made phone calls, been a member of and/or made many donations of time and money to various environmental groups. I've attended city, county, and state board meetings, and organized a gathering on the steps of town hall to raise awareness about climate change. That's not worry, bud, that's action.
And look, I'm not telling you or anyone else what to do. You can sit on your couch and watch football all day long for all I care. But if you want to help, if you want to lend a hand with the rest of use who do give a shit, I'm right there with you man.
Oh wow. Where to begin? Sorry you have dedicated so much time and effort to save the world only to deem your time here “irrelevant”. I guess one question is, if you’ve always realized your/our irrelevance, why have you wasted the better part of your life saving the world? The wonderful folks who are much younger than you will be just fine. Don’t believe the hype. Thats paranoia speaking. I will absolutely choose watching football all day (on Sunday, college football blows) over convincing myself I am saving the world through what is really wasted effort unfortunately. Maybe save the energy for the important reasons you mentioned above that should cause you concern, and enjoy some football or something when it comes to climate and government and all the cool species instead of wasting time and energy. Healthy balance? I just couldn’t imagine spending “decades” of my time and energy on saving the world, only to turn around and say my time here is irrelevant. I would feel like my life is one big contradiction. And to think, I did it all for the Saola.
We're done here. I'm not a fish and I don't argue with strangers on the internet.
"Pretty cookies, heart squares all around, yeah!" -Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
One simple inescapable truth the one way the devastating horror pictured above doesn’t happen. That’s if all Palestinians recognized Israel’s right to exist in peace Oct 7.
Did you also support the 9/11 terrorists? I was on Manhattan island 8.46am on 9/11. Please don’t lecture me that Oct 7th wasn’t cold blooded terrorism targeting women, children and the elderly.
nobody here is saying what hamas did is NOT terrorism. stop putting words in everyone's mouths. what you are doing is blaming all palestinians for hamas' actions, and justifying israel's overwhelming response targeting civilians. this is the same thing the US did with afghanistan and then pivoting to iraq. 19 people carried out 9/11 and because of that we killed nearly 1 million iraqis. did you support that too?
AND most of those 19 were Saudi....
yep, i forgot to add that part. we did nothing to the saudis after 9/11 even though we knew they were saudi nationals.
by lerxs' rationale and what he has said about the israel/hamas conflict, we should have flattened saudi arabia based on the actions of 19 people.
We should have turned all those Arab nations into parking lots immediately. And we should turn Israel and Palestine into rubble right now.
What a humanitarian solution you have! Where did you conjure it up in a cave or the swamps of Louisiana?
With the world's eyes on Gaza, attacks are on the rise in the West Bank, which faces its own war
By ISABEL DEBRE
Today
QUSRA, West Bank (AP) — When Israeli warplanes swooped over the Gaza Strip following Hamas militants’ deadly attack on southern Israel, Palestinians say a different kind of war took hold in the occupied West Bank.
Overnight, the territory was closed off. Towns were raided, curfews imposed, teenagers arrested, detainees beaten, and villages stormed by Jewish vigilantes.
With the world’s attention on Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, the violence of war has also erupted in the West Bank. Israeli settler attacks have surged at an unprecedented rate, according to the United Nations. The escalation has spread fear, deepened despair, and robbed Palestinians of their livelihoods, their homes and, in some cases, their lives.
“Our lives are hell,” said Sabri Boum, a 52-year-old farmer who fortified his windows with metal grills last week to protect his children from settlers he said threw stun grenades in Qaryout, a northern village. “It's like I'm in a prison.”
In six weeks, settlers have killed nine Palestinians, said Palestinian health authorities. They've destroyed 3,000-plus olive trees during the crucial harvest season, said Palestinian Authority official Ghassan Daghlas, wiping out what for some were inheritances passed through generations. And they've harassed herding communities, forcing over 900 people to abandon 15 hamlets they long called home, the U.N. said.
When asked about settler attacks, the Israeli army said only that it aims to defuse conflict and troops “are required to act” if Israel citizens violate the law. The army didn't respond to requests for comment on specific incidents.
U.S. President Biden and other administration officials have repeatedly condemned settler violence, even as they defended the Israeli campaign in Gaza.
“It has to stop,” Biden said last month. "They have to be held accountable."
That hasn't happened, according to Israeli rights group Yesh Din. Since Oct. 7, one settler has been arrested — over an olive farmer's death — and was released five days later, the group said. Two other settlers were placed in preventive detention without charge, it said.
Naomi Kahn, of advocacy group Regavim, which lobbies for settler interests, argued that settler attacks weren't nearly as widespread as rights groups report because it's a broad category including self-defense, anti-Palestinian graffiti and other nonviolent provocations.
“The entire Israeli system works not only to stamp out this violence but to prevent it,” she said.
Before the Hamas assault, 2023 already was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank in over two decades, with 250 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, most during military operations.
Over these six weeks of war, Israeli security forces have killed another 206 Palestinians, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, the result of a rise in army raids backed by airstrikes and Palestinian militant attacks. In the deadliest West Bank raid since the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, of the 2000s, Israeli forces killed 14 Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp Nov. 9, most of them militants.
While for years settlers enjoyed the support of the Israeli government, they now have vocal proponents at the highest levels of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. This month, Netanyahu appointed Zvi Sukkot, a settler temporarily banned from the West Bank in 2012 over alleged assaults targeting Palestinians and Israeli forces, to lead the subcommittee on West Bank issues in parliament.
Palestinians who've endured hardships of Israeli military rule, in its 57th year, say this war has left them more vulnerable than ever.
“We’ve become scared of tomorrow,” said Abdelazim Wadi, 50, whose brother and nephew were fatally shot by settlers, according to health authorities.
Conflict has long been part of daily life here, but Palestinians say the war has unleashed a new wave of provocations, disrupting even their grim routine.
THE SETTLERS IN FATIGUES
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war. Settlers claim the West Bank as their biblical birthright. Most of the international community considers the settlements, home to 700,000 Israelis, illegal. Israel considers the West Bank disputed land, and says the settlements' fate should be decided in negotiations. International law says the military, as the occupying power, must protect Palestinian civilians.
Palestinians say that in nearly six decades of occupation, Israeli soldiers often failed to protect them from settler attacks or even joined in.
Since the war's start, the line between settlers and soldiers has blurred further.
Israel’s wartime mobilization of 300,000-plus reservists included the call-up of settlers for duty and put many in charge of policing their own communities. The military said in some cases, reservists who live in settlements replaced regular West Bank battalions deployed in the war.
Tom Kleiner, a reservist guarding Beit El, a religious settlement near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, said the Oct. 7 Hamas attack's brutality cemented his conviction that Palestinians are determined to “murder us.”
“We don’t kill Arabs without any reason,” he said. “We kill them because they’re trying to kill us.”
Rights groups say uniforms and assault rifles have inflated settlers' sense of impunity.
“Imagine that the military supposed to protect you is now made of settlers committing violence against you,” said Ori Givati, of Breaking the Silence, a whistleblower group of former Israeli soldiers.
Bashar al-Qaryoute, a medic from the Palestinian village of Qaryout, said residents from the nearby settlement Shilo, now wearing fatigues, have blocked all but one road out. He said they smashed Qaryout’s water pipeline, forcing residents to truck in water at triple the price.
“They were the ones always burning olive trees and creating problems,” al-Qaryoute said. “Now they're in charge.”
THE CURFEW
“Close it!” a soldier barked at Imad Abu Shamsiyya when he met the young man's eyes through his open window. Then, he pointed his rifle.
Over 52 years, Abu Shamsiyya has witnessed crises strike the heart of Hebron, the only place in which Jewish settlers live amid local residents, not in separate communities.
He thought life in the maze of barbed wire and security cameras couldn't get worse. Then came the war.
“This terror, these pressures,” he said, "are unlike before."
The Israeli military has barred 750 families in Hebron's Old City — where some 700 radical Jewish settlers live among 34,000 Palestinians under heavy military protection — from stepping outside except for one hour in the morning and one in the evening on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursday, said residents and Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem.
Schools have closed. Work has stopped. Sick people have moved in with relatives in the Palestinian-controlled part of town. Israeli settlers often roam at night, taunting Palestinians trapped indoors, according to footage published by B'Tselem.
Checkpoints instill dread. Soldiers who in the past just glanced at Abu Shamsiyya’s ID now search his phone and social media. They pat him down, he said, gawking and cursing.
“Hebron is a blatant microcosm of how Israel is exerting control over the Palestinians population,” said Dror Sadot, of B'Tselem.
The Israeli military didn't respond to a request for comment on the curfew.
THE SETTLER RAID
The grinding of a bulldozer's gears. The crack of a gun. With a glance, parents let each other know the drill: Grab the children, lock the doors, keep away from windows.
Palestinians say settlers storm the northern village of Qusra almost daily, covering olive orchards in cement and dousing cars and homes in gasoline.
On Oct. 11, settlers tore through dusty streets, shooting at families in their homes. Within minutes, three Palestinian men were dead.
Israeli forces sent to disperse armed settlers and Palestinian stone-throwers fired into the crowd, killing a fourth villager, Palestinian officials said.
The next day, settlers heeded social-media calls to ambush a funeral procession the village coordinated with the army. They cut off roads and sprayed bullets at mourners who sprang from cars and sprinted through fields, attendees said.
Ibrahim Wadi, a 62-year-old chemist, and his 26-year-old son Ahmed, a lawyer, were killed. The funeral for four became one for six.
Settlers’ online posts rejoicing at the deaths, shared with The Associated Press, stung Ibrahim's brother, Abdelazim, almost as much as the loss.
“The mind breaks down, it stops comprehending,” he said.
THE GHOST TOWN
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel should “wipe out” Palestinian town Hawara after a gunman killed two Israeli brothers in February, sending hundreds of settlers on a deadly rampage.
Another far-right religious lawmaker, Zvika Fogel, said he wanted to see the commercial hub “closed, incinerated."
Today, Hawara resembles a ghost town.
The army shuttered shops “to maintain public order” after Palestinian militant attacks, it said. Abandoned dogs roam among vandalized storefronts. Posters with a Talmudic justification for killing Palestinians adorn road blocks: “Rise and kill first."
From the war's start, much of the West Bank's main north-south highway has been closed to Palestinians, said anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now. Commutes that took 10 to 20 minutes now take hourslong detours on dangerous dirt roads.
The restrictions, said Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti, “have divided the West Bank into 224 ghettos separated by closed checkpoints.”
The 160,000 Palestinian laborers who passed those checkpoints to work in Israel and Israeli settlements before Oct. 7 lost their coveted permits overnight, said Israel's defense agency overseeing Palestinian civil matters. The agency allowed 8,000 essential workers to return to factories and hospitals earlier this month. There's no word on when the rest can.
“My grandfather relies on me, and now I have nothing,” said Ahmed, a 27-year-old from Hebron who lost his barista job in Haifa, Israel. He declined to give his last name for fear of reprisals.
“The pressure is building. We expect the West Bank to explode if nothing changes."
THE OLIVE HARVEST
Palestinians wait all year for the autumn moment that olives turn from green to black. The two-month harvest is a beloved ritual and income boost.
Violence has marred the season. Soldiers and settlers blocked villagers from reaching orchards and used bulldozers to remove gnarled roots of centuries-old trees, they say.
Hafeeda al-Khatib, an 80-year-old farmer in Qaryout, said soldiers shot in the air and dragged her from her land when they caught her picking olives last week. It's the first year she can remember not having enough to make oil.
In a letter to Netanyahu this month, Smotrich called for a ban on Palestinians harvesting olives near Israeli settlements to reduce friction.
Palestinians say settlers' efforts have done the opposite.
“They've declared war on me,” said Mahmoud Hassan, a 63-year-old farmer in Khirbet Sara, a northern community. He said reservist settlers have surrounded it. If he ventures 100 meters (yards) to his grove, he said, soldiers standing sentry scream or fire into the air. He needs permission to leave home and return.
“There is no room anymore for talking to them or negotiating," he said.
The military said it “thoroughly reviewed” reports of violence against Palestinians and their property. “Disciplinary actions are implemented accordingly,” it said, without elaborating.
THE EVACUATION
Rights groups say the goal of settler violence is to clear Palestinians from land they claim for a future state, making room for Jewish settlements to expand.
The Bedouin hamlet of Wadi al-Seeq was pushed to its breaking point by three detained Palestinians' ordeal over nine hours Oct. 12. The harrowing accounts were first reported by Israel’s Haaretz daily. Weeks of vigilante violence had already forced 10 families to flee when masked settlers in army uniforms barreled through that day, slamming a Bedouin resident and two Palestinian activists onto the ground and shoving them into pickups, villagers said.
One of the activists, 46-year-old Mohammed Matar, told AP they were bound, beaten, blindfolded, stripped to their underwear and burned by cigarettes.
Matar said reservist settlers urinated on him, penetrated him anally with a stick, and screamed at him to leave and go to Jordan.
When released, Matar left. So did Wadi al-Seeq’s 30 remaining families. They took their sheep to the creases of the hills east of Ramallah and abandoned everything else.
The Israeli military said it fired the commander in charge and was investigating.
Matar said that to move on, he needs Israel to hold someone accountable.
“I'd be satisfied with the bare minimum," he said, “the tiniest shred of justice.”
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MSF convoy attacked in Gaza: all elements point to the responsibility of the Israeli army
Published: Dec 1, 2023Updated: Dec 1, 2023
On 18 November 2023, an MSF evacuation convoy came under fire in Gaza
city. Two people were killed in what immediately appeared as a
deliberate attack against clearly identified MSF cars. Both were family
members of MSF staff, one of them was also a volunteer supporting MSF
medical teams at Al-Shifa hospital.
Two weeks later, after collecting the testimonies of MSF staff present that day in the convoy, MSF considers that all elements point to the responsibility of the Israeli army for this attack.
MSF has also collected testimonies of the destruction of five MSF
vehicles and the severe damage caused to the MSF clinic in Gaza city,
all clearly identified by the organization’s logo, on 20 November, which
can also be attributed to the intervention of an Israeli bulldozer and a
heavy military vehicle. These vehicles were potential evidence, in case
of an independent investigation on the attack on the MSF convoy. Shots
were aimed at the MSF facilities where these colleagues were sheltering,
leaving bullet holes in the interior walls. On 24 November, MSF staff
also witnessed the destruction of a minibus, also clearly identified by
the organization’s logo, by an Israeli tank. This minibus had been sent
by the MSF team in south Gaza, following the destruction of the vehicles
a few days before, to facilitate the evacuation of colleagues in the
north.
MSF condemns again in the strongest terms the attack on its convoy
and extends again its condolences to the families of the victims. MSF
requested a formal explanation for this attack from the Israeli
authorities and calls for an independent investigation to establish the
facts and the responsibilities.
The staff and family members who went through this ordeal had been
trapped in MSF facilities amid heavy fighting, with no electricity, and
limited access to food and water, for almost two weeks, before they were
able to evacuate to the south of the Gaza Strip on 24 November. These
are their words, recorded between 26 and 29 November.
TIMELINE
18 November: an MSF volunteer and another staff’s family member killed by the Israeli forces
“On 18 of November,
the MSF office in Jerusalem obtained the authorisation for us to
evacuate from the Gaza office, clinic and guesthouse to the south of the
Gaza Strip. We collected our things and everyone got in the cars, ready
to go south along Salah al Din Street.”
MSF staff member 1
“We arrived at the
checkpoint of Salah al Din Street. street. I was in the fourth van.
There were Israeli troops standing there and they asked us to move back
to where we came from, because there was no authorisation.”
MSF staff member 2
On 18 November, an MSF convoy of five cars, all clearly identified by
MSF logos, left the MSF premises (guesthouse, office, and outpatient
clinic) headed to southern Gaza to reach a safer place. Since 11
November, they had been trapped by ongoing fighting around them and
since then, MSF had repeatedly called to safely evacuate them.
MSF had informed both parties to the conflict of this evacuation
movement. The convoy followed the itinerary indicated by the Israeli
army and reached Salah Al-Deen street, along with other civilians trying
to leave the area.
The convoy reached the last checkpoint near Wadi Gaza, which was
overcrowded at that time due to extensive screening of Palestinians by
Israeli forces. Despite the prior authorisation from the Israeli
authorities, the convoy wasn’t allowed to cross the checkpoint and was
left waiting for hours. Shots were later heard by our staff, who out of
fear decided to head back to the MSF premises, around 7 kilometres north
of the checkpoint.
“We stayed there
around three hours, it was getting dark. Hundreds of people were waiting
and some of them decided to head back north because the checkpoint
would not let them through. My colleagues in the cars said: ‘Let’s go back, our only shelter is the MSF Gaza office’.We contacted Paul [an MSF colleague in Jerusalem]
to inform him that we would head back because we were not allowed to
pass the checkpoint. He said he would ask for the authorisation for us
to go back.”
MSF staff member 1
On their way back, between 3:30 pm and 4:00 pm local time, the convoy
was attacked in Al-Wahida street near the junction of Said Al-A’as
Street, near the MSF office. Two of the MSF cars were deliberately hit,
killing a nurse who volunteered with MSF teams and injuring the family
member of another, who later also died from his wound.
“When we arrived in Al
Wahida street, which is close to our office and guesthouse and clinic, I
saw tanks and snipers at the top of the buildings. I was terrified when
I saw that the snipers and the tanks were pointing their weapons at us,
especially at the fourth and the fifth van [in the convoy]. They
started opening a fire at us and when a bullet grazed my forehead, I got
a superficial injury. The bullet hit my colleague Alaa in the head, he
sat next to me. He got a critical head injury and started bleeding
massively. His head fell on the steering and I immediately retook control of the steering to move to the right of the street.”
MSF staff member 2
“We
arrived at the clinic and we started to try to give Alaa life support,
trying to stop the bleeding from his head. We couldn’t do anything. He
died while we were trying to (support him and to) save his life.”
MSF staff member 2
“I stopped at the
entrance of the clinic and waited for the last two vans to come; people
were saying that one of us had been killed and his name was Alaa al
Shawa.”
MSF staff member 1
“We stood up, just
shocked by his death and all that had happened to us. I was speechless
and just not able to think. My kids were crying and people were
discussing how to bury our colleague. And we had another person injured in the abdomen.”
MSF staff member 2
“I decided to take
shelter in the guesthouse with about 50 other people as it felt safer
than the clinic. [My colleague] Mohammad, his family and other families
decided to stay in the clinic. The cars were parked outside the clinic. Most of the people’s belongings stayed in the cars. We managed to stay in touch with the people in the clinic. They told us they had buried Alaa al Shawa.”
MSF staff member 1
20 November: five MSF vehicles destroyed by the Israeli forces
“Two
days later, after the convoy attack, a bulldozer clearing the way for
Israeli tanks came and damaged our cars and threw them away from the
right and the left side of the street. I was witnessing this from the window from upstairs in Gaza Clinic.”
MSF staff member 2
On
20 November, five MSF vehicles parked in front of our clinic in Gaza
city were destroyed by the intervention of the Israeli forces. The
clinic was also damaged as a result and part of the building was
engulfed by fire for a few hours. The cars and the clinic were clearly
identified with the MSF logo. This happened while 21 people, including
an MSF staff and his family members, were sheltered in the clinic and
more than 50 others were in the guesthouse across the street: luckily,
they survived unscathed. The cars that were destroyed were the ones used
in the aborted evacuation of our staff and their relatives on 18
November, resulting in the killing of two people. Some of the staff
sheltering in the MSF premises that day were witnesses to the incident.
“Out of the stairs
window, we saw an Israeli bulldozer, a tank next to it. And behind it
there were 4 or 5 vehicles, tanks and tracked vehicles. They were moving
and firing and the shooting was heavy.”
MSF staff member 3
On
20 November, five MSF vehicles parked in front of our clinic in Gaza
city were destroyed by the intervention of the Israeli forces. The
clinic was also damaged as a result and part of the building was
engulfed by fire for a few hours. The cars and the clinic were clearly
identified with the MSF logo. This happened while 21 people, including
an MSF staff and his family members, were sheltered in the clinic and
more than 50 others were in the guesthouse across the street: luckily,
they survived unscathed. The cars that were destroyed were the ones used
in the aborted evacuation of our staff and their relatives on 18
November, resulting in the killing of two people. Some of the staff
sheltering in the MSF premises that day were witnesses to the incident.
“We heard a strange sound, like cars being crushed, and gunshots. I looked through the window and I saw. The cars had been pushed to the side and a fire had started. Once the tanks moved a little further away, I started filming, though I was scared. It was a terrible, frightening sight. My
colleagues were in the clinic and I was afraid the fire could reach
them. The fire crept up along the trees [by the clinic]. The electrical
wiring also caught fire, it was a horrible scene.”
MSF staff member 1
On
20 November, five MSF vehicles parked in front of our clinic in Gaza
city were destroyed by the intervention of the Israeli forces. The
clinic was also damaged as a result and part of the building was
engulfed by fire for a few hours. The cars and the clinic were clearly
identified with the MSF logo. This happened while 21 people, including
an MSF staff and his family members, were sheltered in the clinic and
more than 50 others were in the guesthouse across the street: luckily,
they survived unscathed. The cars that were destroyed were the ones used
in the aborted evacuation of our staff and their relatives on 18
November, resulting in the killing of two people. Some of the staff
sheltering in the MSF premises that day were witnesses to the incident.
“When
[the bulldozer] pushed aside the cars, the western wall of the clinic
fell apart. Then the tank came and opened fire towards the MSF cars and
vans. The MSF vans caught fire. I was in the clinic, the fire and
the smoke came inside. We stood there, thinking about how to stop the
fire. So we moved the children and the women through the back doors to
the other building, where MSF has the physiotherapy department.”
MSF staff member 2
“We
closed the doors, the clinic doors, and got inside. So the tanks were in
the street outside the clinic, they kept coming back and forth for four
days.”
MSF staff member 2
“The morning of the
next day, at around 10 o’clock, we started shouting, to check on [our
colleagues], to know if they were alive or dead… I did not know. Thank goodness, someone replied and said they were unhurt, and were also worried about us.”
MSF staff member 1
24 November: more MSF vehicles destroyed
“We used to take power
and electricity from the guesthouse generators. But after this fire,
the lines were all damaged and we had no power for three days. During
these three days and before the truce, we had no electricity, no food
and no clean water at all. The first day of the truce at 4.30 am, an
Israeli tank destroyed the MSF minibus and cars that had been sent to us
[from the south of Gaza] for our evacuation too.”
MSF staff member 2
As the only vehicles available to the staff and their family members
had been destroyed, our teams based in the south of the Gaza Strip sent
more vehicles to Gaza city to attempt another evacuation. However, they
were also hit by bullets while approaching the MSF clinic and the
movement was cancelled. Later, they too were destroyed by the Israeli
forces – in the early hours of 24 November. Eventually, our colleagues
and their families were able to reach the south once the truce came into
effect on the morning of 24 November, thanks to the vehicles of other
civilians evacuating.
MSF requested a formal explanation for this attack from the Israeli
authorities and calls for an independent investigation to establish the
facts and the responsibilities.
We extend again our deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
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Israel orders evacuations as it widens offensive but Palestinians are running out of places to go
By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY
50 mins ago
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel's military renewed calls Monday for mass evacuations from the southern town of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in recent weeks, as it widened its ground offensive and bombarded targets across the Gaza Strip.
The expanded operations, following the expiration of a weeklong cease-fire, are aimed at eliminating Gaza's Hamas rulers, whose Oct. 7 attack into Israel triggered the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades. The war has already killed thousands of Palestinians and displaced over three-fourths of the territory's population of 2.3 million people, who are running out of safe places to go.
Already under mounting pressure from its top ally, the United States, Israel appears to be racing to strike a death blow against Hamas — if that’s possible, given the group’s deep roots in Palestinian society — before any new cease-fire. But the mounting toll of the fighting, which Palestinian health officials say has killed several hundred civilians since the truce ended on Friday, is likely to further increase international pressure to return to the negotiating table.
It could also render even larger parts of the isolated territory uninhabitable.
Airstrikes and the ground offensive have transformed much of the north, including large areas in Gaza City, into a rubble-filled wasteland. Around 2 million people are now crowded into the 230 square kilometers (90 square miles) that make up Gaza’s south, where Israel’s focus is starting to shift.
As Israel calls for more areas to be evacuated, it’s not clear where people can go. Already shelters are overwhelmed, and both Israel and neighboring Egypt have refused to accept any refugees.
FIGHTING IN CENTRAL GAZA
Residents said Monday they heard airstrikes and explosions in and around Khan Younis overnight after the military dropped leaflets warning people to relocate farther south toward the border with Egypt. The military has ordered the evacuation of nearly two dozen neighborhoods in and around the town.
Later in the day, the military warned civilians to avoid the main north-south highway between Khan Younis and the central town of Deir al-Balah, saying the road had become a “battlefield” and was “extremely dangerous.” That indicated Israeli troops were approaching Khan Younis from the northeast, possibly with plans to cut central Gaza off from the south.
Al-Jazeera television aired footage of medics rescuing people wounded by what appeared to have been a strike on a car on that stretch of highway. An Israeli tank could be seen just up the road.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, said the army is pursuing Hamas with “maximum force” in the north and south, and said it was trying to minimize harm to civilians.
He pointed to a map that divides southern Gaza into dozens of blocks in order to give “precise instructions” to residents on where to evacuate.
Many Palestinians, however, have ignored past evacuation orders, saying they do not feel any safer in the areas where they are told to seek refuge — which have also been repeatedly bombed. The military has meanwhile barred those who fled the north from returning, even during the cease-fire.
“The level of human suffering is intolerable,” Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said during a rare visit to Gaza. She also called for the immediate release of scores of hostages captured by Palestinian militants during the Oct. 7 attack.
“It is unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza, and with a military siege in place there is also no adequate humanitarian response currently possible.”
RISING TOLL
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory since Oct. 7 has surpassed 15,500, with more than 41,000 wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70% of the dead were women and children.
A Health Ministry spokesman asserted that hundreds had been killed or wounded since the cease-fire ended early Friday. “The majority of victims are still under the rubble,” Ashraf al-Qidra said.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah received 32 bodies overnight after Israeli strikes across central Gaza, said Omar al-Darawi, an administrative employee. Associated Press footage showed women in tears, kneeling over the bodies of loved ones and kissing them.
The military said aircraft struck some 200 Hamas targets overnight, with ground troops operating “in parallel,” without elaborating. It said troops in northern Gaza uncovered a militant hideout in a school after coming under attack. Inside, they found two tunnel shafts, one of which had been booby-trapped, as well as explosives and weapons, the military said.
It is not possible to independently confirm battlefield reports from either side.
Israel says it targets Hamas operatives, not civilians, and blames civilian casualties on the militants, accusing them of operating in residential neighborhoods.
It adds that it takes measures to protect civilians. In addition to leaflets dropped over Gaza, the military has used phone calls and radio and TV broadcasts to urge people to move from specific areas.
Israel claims to have killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence. Israel says at least 81 of its soldiers have been killed.
U.S. PRESSURE
The U.S. is pressing Israel to avoid more mass displacements and the killing of civilians, a message underscored by Vice President Kamala Harris during a visit to the region. She also said the U.S. would not allow the forced relocation of Palestinians out of Gaza or the occupied West Bank, or the redrawing of Gaza's borders.
But it’s unclear how far the Biden administration is willing or able to go in pressing Israel to rein in the offensive, even as the White House faces growing pressure from its allies in Congress.
The U.S. has pledged unwavering support to Israel since the Oct. 7 attack, which killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, including rushing munitions and other aid to Israel.
Israel has rejected U.S. suggestions that control over postwar Gaza be handed over to the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority as part of renewed efforts to resolve the overall conflict by establishing a Palestinian state.
Hopes for another temporary truce faded after Israel called its negotiators home over the weekend. Hamas said talks on releasing any more of the scores of hostages seized by Palestinian militants on Oct. 7 must be tied to a permanent cease-fire.
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The Israeli military has begun an invasion of southern Gaza, according to a New York Times analysis of satellite imagery, evidence of a long-awaited operation that could decide the fate of its war with Hamas and create more peril for Palestinian civilians.
After capturing large parts of northern Gaza since late October, Israeli troops have now advanced into the last section of the territory that had been under full Hamas control. Their move sets the stage for what is likely to be the decisive battle of the war: a showdown in Khan Younis, the largest city in the south, where Israeli officials believe Hamas’s military and political leadership has sought shelter since fleeing from the north.
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Heavy fighting in Gaza halts most aid delivery and leaves civilians with few places to seek safety
By WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY
1 hour ago
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces battled Hamas militants across Gaza on Wednesday in intense fighting that has prevented the distribution of vital aid in much of the territory and brought some of the devastation and mass displacement seen in the north to the south.
As the focus of the ground offensive moves down the Gaza Strip and into the second-largest city of Khan Younis, it is further shrinking the area where Palestinians can seek safety and pushing large numbers of people, many of whom have been forced to flee multiple times, toward the sealed-off border with Egypt.
On the Gaza side of the border, makeshift shelters and family homes are already overflowing and many are sleeping in the streets. On the other side, thousands of Egyptian troops have deployed to prevent any mass influx of refugees, which Egypt says would undermine its decades-old peace treaty with Israel.
The U.N. says some 1.87 million people — over 80% of the population — have already fled their homes. Many Palestinians fear they will not be allowed to return.
Much of the north, including large parts of Gaza City, has been completely destroyed, and Palestinians worry the rest of Gaza could suffer a similar fate as Israel tries to dismantle Hamas, which has deep roots in the territory it has ruled for 16 years.
An estimated 138 hostages remain in Gaza after more than 100 were freed during a cease-fire last week. Their plight, and accounts of widespread rape and other atrocities committed during the rampage, have deepened Israel’s outrage and further galvanized support for the war.
PUSHED TO THE EDGE
The war has been an unprecedented catastrophe for Palestinians civilians, eclipsing all four previous wars between Israel and Hamas, and their suffering is set to worsen as the offensive grinds on.
For the past three days, aid distribution — mainly just supplies of flour and water — has been possible only in and around Rafah, on the border with Egypt, because of fighting and road closures by Israeli forces, the U.N.'s humanitarian aid office said.
Hamza Abu Mustafa, a teacher who lives near a school-turned-shelter in Rafah and is hosting three families himself, said “the situation is extremely dire.”
“You find displaced people in the streets, in schools, in mosques, in hospitals … everywhere.”
A Palestinian woman who identified herself as Umm Ahmed said the harsh conditions and limited access to toilets are especially difficult for women who are pregnant or menstruating. Some have taken to social media to request menstrual pads, which are increasingly hard to find.
“For women and girls, the suffering is double,” Umm Ahmed said. “It’s more humiliation.”
The humanitarian crisis gets even worse farther north.
Nawraz Abu Libdeh, who is sheltering in Khan Younis after being displaced six times, said the situation in U.N.-run shelters there is “beyond catastrophic,” with people fighting over food. “The hunger war has started,” he said. "This is the worst of all wars.”
In the central town of Deir al-Balah, the aid group Doctors Without Borders said fuel and medical supplies have reached “critically low levels” at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Up to 200 wounded people have been brought in every day since Dec. 1, when a weeklong truce expired, it said.
“Without electricity, ventilators would cease to function, blood donations would have to stop, the sterilization of surgical instruments would be impossible,” said Marie-Aure Perreaut Revial, the aid group's emergency coordinator in Gaza. She said they are also running low on surgical supplies and equipment to stabilize broken bones.
Gaza has been without electricity since the first week of the war, and Israel has severely limited fuel imports, forcing several hospitals to shut down because they cannot operate emergency generators.
NO END IN SIGHT
The war has killed more than 16,200 people in Gaza — most of them women and children — and wounded more than 42,000, the territory's Health Ministry said late Tuesday. It has said many are also trapped under rubble.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Its overall tally tracks with a figure released this week by the Israeli military, which said about 5,000 of the dead were militants, without saying how it arrived at its count.
The military says 88 of its soldiers have been killed in the Gaza ground offensive.
It accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields when the militants operate in residential areas. But Israel has not given detailed accounts of individual strikes, some of which have leveled entire city blocks.
The Israeli military said Tuesday that its troops were “in the heart” of Khan Younis after what it described as “the most intense day” of fighting since the start of the ground operation five weeks ago, with heavy battles in the north as well.
Hamas' continuing ability to fight in areas where Israel entered with overwhelming force weeks ago, signals that eradicating the group without causing further mass casualties and displacement — as Israel's top ally, the U.S., has requested — could prove elusive.
Even after weeks of bombardment, Hamas’ top leader in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar — whose location is unknown — was able to conduct complex cease-fire negotiations and orchestrate the release of scores of hostages last week. Palestinian militants have also kept up their rocket fire into Israel.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press reporter Najib Jobain in Rafah, Gaza Strip contributed.
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Protesters brandish swastikas at pro-Palestinian rally outside Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting
At least two protesters brandished signs with swastikas at an anti-Israel protest targeting the annual Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday night.
One demonstrator held a sign with the Nazi symbol and the words “Israeli military.” The protester was forcibly ejected from the event by other participants who shouted at him and trampled his sign, prompting police to separate the two sides.
Another protester carried a sign that compared Jews to Nazis via a blood-spattered swastika intertwined with a Star of David and the words, “The irony of becoming what you once hated.”
The protest took place at 47th Street and 6th Avenue, near but not at the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting ceremony, which was attended by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and featured performances from Cher, Barry Manilow and others. More than 1,000 protesters instead crowded onto the block next to another massive Christmas tree at the News Corp. company headquarters. The protest coincided with the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Wednesday. Dozens of police cordoned off the crowd on the sidelines of the event as tourists passed by, and traffic was blocked off on adjacent streets.
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Amnesty report 'shines light on horrific ordeals' of Iran protesters including brutal sexual assault
Video by:
05:50
Members of the Iranian security forces raped and used other forms of sexual violence against women, men, and even boys and girls as young as 12, all detained in the crackdown on nationwide protests that erupted from September 2022. An Amnesty International report documented 45 such cases of rape, gang rape or sexual violence against protesters. With cases in more than half of Iran's provinces, it expressed fear these documented violations appeared part of a "wider pattern". The London-based organisation said it had shared its findings with the Iranian authorities on November 24 "but has thus far received no response". The protests began in Iran in September 2022 after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, 22. Her family says she was killed by a blow to the head but this has always been disputed by the Iranian authorities. For in-depth analysis and a closer look into the Amnesty report, FRANCE 24's Kethevane Gorjestani is joined by Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Amnesty report 'shines light on horrific ordeals' of Iran protesters including brutal sexual assault
Video by:
05:50
Members of the Iranian security forces raped and used other forms of sexual violence against women, men, and even boys and girls as young as 12, all detained in the crackdown on nationwide protests that erupted from September 2022. An Amnesty International report documented 45 such cases of rape, gang rape or sexual violence against protesters. With cases in more than half of Iran's provinces, it expressed fear these documented violations appeared part of a "wider pattern". The London-based organisation said it had shared its findings with the Iranian authorities on November 24 "but has thus far received no response". The protests began in Iran in September 2022 after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, 22. Her family says she was killed by a blow to the head but this has always been disputed by the Iranian authorities. For in-depth analysis and a closer look into the Amnesty report, FRANCE 24's Kethevane Gorjestani is joined by Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
i've stopped reading your posts, but i am just wondering. why do you never post links?
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
Comments
"Spox" That's the second new term I learned this week. The other one I learned was... ah hem... "bell ends".
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
spokesperson = spox
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you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
asking for a friend.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
hmmm, sounds like a song we all know.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
You can't save the world from the Pearl Jam Forums. Hate to break that to most of you here. Try to relax, everything will be fine sir.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
All I can say is that to criticize a life in search of meaning, purpose and betterment because of your sense of futility, is highly rude and informed by a sense of apathy and cynicism, but also a lack of respect for others. It doesn't make you a better or more enlightened human just because you don't see a point in trying to solve a bigger problem, while others still do (or have).
EV
Toronto Film Festival 9/11/2007, '08 - Toronto 1 & 2, '09 - Albany 1, '11 - Chicago 1
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
We're done here. I'm not a fish and I don't argue with strangers on the internet.
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
“or means to an end. who can say. I dont trust any with the thirst for power”
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
QUSRA, West Bank (AP) — When Israeli warplanes swooped over the Gaza Strip following Hamas militants’ deadly attack on southern Israel, Palestinians say a different kind of war took hold in the occupied West Bank.
Overnight, the territory was closed off. Towns were raided, curfews imposed, teenagers arrested, detainees beaten, and villages stormed by Jewish vigilantes.
With the world’s attention on Gaza and the humanitarian crisis there, the violence of war has also erupted in the West Bank. Israeli settler attacks have surged at an unprecedented rate, according to the United Nations. The escalation has spread fear, deepened despair, and robbed Palestinians of their livelihoods, their homes and, in some cases, their lives.
“Our lives are hell,” said Sabri Boum, a 52-year-old farmer who fortified his windows with metal grills last week to protect his children from settlers he said threw stun grenades in Qaryout, a northern village. “It's like I'm in a prison.”
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
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In six weeks, settlers have killed nine Palestinians, said Palestinian health authorities. They've destroyed 3,000-plus olive trees during the crucial harvest season, said Palestinian Authority official Ghassan Daghlas, wiping out what for some were inheritances passed through generations. And they've harassed herding communities, forcing over 900 people to abandon 15 hamlets they long called home, the U.N. said.
When asked about settler attacks, the Israeli army said only that it aims to defuse conflict and troops “are required to act” if Israel citizens violate the law. The army didn't respond to requests for comment on specific incidents.
U.S. President Biden and other administration officials have repeatedly condemned settler violence, even as they defended the Israeli campaign in Gaza.
“It has to stop,” Biden said last month. "They have to be held accountable."
That hasn't happened, according to Israeli rights group Yesh Din. Since Oct. 7, one settler has been arrested — over an olive farmer's death — and was released five days later, the group said. Two other settlers were placed in preventive detention without charge, it said.
Naomi Kahn, of advocacy group Regavim, which lobbies for settler interests, argued that settler attacks weren't nearly as widespread as rights groups report because it's a broad category including self-defense, anti-Palestinian graffiti and other nonviolent provocations.
“The entire Israeli system works not only to stamp out this violence but to prevent it,” she said.
Before the Hamas assault, 2023 already was the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank in over two decades, with 250 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire, most during military operations.
Over these six weeks of war, Israeli security forces have killed another 206 Palestinians, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, the result of a rise in army raids backed by airstrikes and Palestinian militant attacks. In the deadliest West Bank raid since the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, of the 2000s, Israeli forces killed 14 Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp Nov. 9, most of them militants.
While for years settlers enjoyed the support of the Israeli government, they now have vocal proponents at the highest levels of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition. This month, Netanyahu appointed Zvi Sukkot, a settler temporarily banned from the West Bank in 2012 over alleged assaults targeting Palestinians and Israeli forces, to lead the subcommittee on West Bank issues in parliament.
Palestinians who've endured hardships of Israeli military rule, in its 57th year, say this war has left them more vulnerable than ever.
“We’ve become scared of tomorrow,” said Abdelazim Wadi, 50, whose brother and nephew were fatally shot by settlers, according to health authorities.
Conflict has long been part of daily life here, but Palestinians say the war has unleashed a new wave of provocations, disrupting even their grim routine.
THE SETTLERS IN FATIGUES
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 Mideast war. Settlers claim the West Bank as their biblical birthright. Most of the international community considers the settlements, home to 700,000 Israelis, illegal. Israel considers the West Bank disputed land, and says the settlements' fate should be decided in negotiations. International law says the military, as the occupying power, must protect Palestinian civilians.
Palestinians say that in nearly six decades of occupation, Israeli soldiers often failed to protect them from settler attacks or even joined in.
Since the war's start, the line between settlers and soldiers has blurred further.
Israel’s wartime mobilization of 300,000-plus reservists included the call-up of settlers for duty and put many in charge of policing their own communities. The military said in some cases, reservists who live in settlements replaced regular West Bank battalions deployed in the war.
Tom Kleiner, a reservist guarding Beit El, a religious settlement near the Palestinian city of Ramallah, said the Oct. 7 Hamas attack's brutality cemented his conviction that Palestinians are determined to “murder us.”
“We don’t kill Arabs without any reason,” he said. “We kill them because they’re trying to kill us.”
Rights groups say uniforms and assault rifles have inflated settlers' sense of impunity.
“Imagine that the military supposed to protect you is now made of settlers committing violence against you,” said Ori Givati, of Breaking the Silence, a whistleblower group of former Israeli soldiers.
Bashar al-Qaryoute, a medic from the Palestinian village of Qaryout, said residents from the nearby settlement Shilo, now wearing fatigues, have blocked all but one road out. He said they smashed Qaryout’s water pipeline, forcing residents to truck in water at triple the price.
“They were the ones always burning olive trees and creating problems,” al-Qaryoute said. “Now they're in charge.”
THE CURFEW
“Close it!” a soldier barked at Imad Abu Shamsiyya when he met the young man's eyes through his open window. Then, he pointed his rifle.
Over 52 years, Abu Shamsiyya has witnessed crises strike the heart of Hebron, the only place in which Jewish settlers live amid local residents, not in separate communities.
He thought life in the maze of barbed wire and security cameras couldn't get worse. Then came the war.
“This terror, these pressures,” he said, "are unlike before."
The Israeli military has barred 750 families in Hebron's Old City — where some 700 radical Jewish settlers live among 34,000 Palestinians under heavy military protection — from stepping outside except for one hour in the morning and one in the evening on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursday, said residents and Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem.
Schools have closed. Work has stopped. Sick people have moved in with relatives in the Palestinian-controlled part of town. Israeli settlers often roam at night, taunting Palestinians trapped indoors, according to footage published by B'Tselem.
Checkpoints instill dread. Soldiers who in the past just glanced at Abu Shamsiyya’s ID now search his phone and social media. They pat him down, he said, gawking and cursing.
“Hebron is a blatant microcosm of how Israel is exerting control over the Palestinians population,” said Dror Sadot, of B'Tselem.
The Israeli military didn't respond to a request for comment on the curfew.
THE SETTLER RAID
The grinding of a bulldozer's gears. The crack of a gun. With a glance, parents let each other know the drill: Grab the children, lock the doors, keep away from windows.
Palestinians say settlers storm the northern village of Qusra almost daily, covering olive orchards in cement and dousing cars and homes in gasoline.
On Oct. 11, settlers tore through dusty streets, shooting at families in their homes. Within minutes, three Palestinian men were dead.
Israeli forces sent to disperse armed settlers and Palestinian stone-throwers fired into the crowd, killing a fourth villager, Palestinian officials said.
The next day, settlers heeded social-media calls to ambush a funeral procession the village coordinated with the army. They cut off roads and sprayed bullets at mourners who sprang from cars and sprinted through fields, attendees said.
Ibrahim Wadi, a 62-year-old chemist, and his 26-year-old son Ahmed, a lawyer, were killed. The funeral for four became one for six.
Settlers’ online posts rejoicing at the deaths, shared with The Associated Press, stung Ibrahim's brother, Abdelazim, almost as much as the loss.
“The mind breaks down, it stops comprehending,” he said.
THE GHOST TOWN
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel should “wipe out” Palestinian town Hawara after a gunman killed two Israeli brothers in February, sending hundreds of settlers on a deadly rampage.
Another far-right religious lawmaker, Zvika Fogel, said he wanted to see the commercial hub “closed, incinerated."
Today, Hawara resembles a ghost town.
The army shuttered shops “to maintain public order” after Palestinian militant attacks, it said. Abandoned dogs roam among vandalized storefronts. Posters with a Talmudic justification for killing Palestinians adorn road blocks: “Rise and kill first."
From the war's start, much of the West Bank's main north-south highway has been closed to Palestinians, said anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now. Commutes that took 10 to 20 minutes now take hourslong detours on dangerous dirt roads.
The restrictions, said Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti, “have divided the West Bank into 224 ghettos separated by closed checkpoints.”
The 160,000 Palestinian laborers who passed those checkpoints to work in Israel and Israeli settlements before Oct. 7 lost their coveted permits overnight, said Israel's defense agency overseeing Palestinian civil matters. The agency allowed 8,000 essential workers to return to factories and hospitals earlier this month. There's no word on when the rest can.
“My grandfather relies on me, and now I have nothing,” said Ahmed, a 27-year-old from Hebron who lost his barista job in Haifa, Israel. He declined to give his last name for fear of reprisals.
“The pressure is building. We expect the West Bank to explode if nothing changes."
THE OLIVE HARVEST
Palestinians wait all year for the autumn moment that olives turn from green to black. The two-month harvest is a beloved ritual and income boost.
Violence has marred the season. Soldiers and settlers blocked villagers from reaching orchards and used bulldozers to remove gnarled roots of centuries-old trees, they say.
Hafeeda al-Khatib, an 80-year-old farmer in Qaryout, said soldiers shot in the air and dragged her from her land when they caught her picking olives last week. It's the first year she can remember not having enough to make oil.
In a letter to Netanyahu this month, Smotrich called for a ban on Palestinians harvesting olives near Israeli settlements to reduce friction.
Palestinians say settlers' efforts have done the opposite.
“They've declared war on me,” said Mahmoud Hassan, a 63-year-old farmer in Khirbet Sara, a northern community. He said reservist settlers have surrounded it. If he ventures 100 meters (yards) to his grove, he said, soldiers standing sentry scream or fire into the air. He needs permission to leave home and return.
“There is no room anymore for talking to them or negotiating," he said.
The military said it “thoroughly reviewed” reports of violence against Palestinians and their property. “Disciplinary actions are implemented accordingly,” it said, without elaborating.
THE EVACUATION
Rights groups say the goal of settler violence is to clear Palestinians from land they claim for a future state, making room for Jewish settlements to expand.
The Bedouin hamlet of Wadi al-Seeq was pushed to its breaking point by three detained Palestinians' ordeal over nine hours Oct. 12. The harrowing accounts were first reported by Israel’s Haaretz daily. Weeks of vigilante violence had already forced 10 families to flee when masked settlers in army uniforms barreled through that day, slamming a Bedouin resident and two Palestinian activists onto the ground and shoving them into pickups, villagers said.
One of the activists, 46-year-old Mohammed Matar, told AP they were bound, beaten, blindfolded, stripped to their underwear and burned by cigarettes.
Matar said reservist settlers urinated on him, penetrated him anally with a stick, and screamed at him to leave and go to Jordan.
When released, Matar left. So did Wadi al-Seeq’s 30 remaining families. They took their sheep to the creases of the hills east of Ramallah and abandoned everything else.
The Israeli military said it fired the commander in charge and was investigating.
Matar said that to move on, he needs Israel to hold someone accountable.
“I'd be satisfied with the bare minimum," he said, “the tiniest shred of justice.”
___
Find AP's full coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
MSF convoy attacked in Gaza: all elements point to the responsibility of the Israeli army
On 18 November 2023, an MSF evacuation convoy came under fire in Gaza city. Two people were killed in what immediately appeared as a deliberate attack against clearly identified MSF cars. Both were family members of MSF staff, one of them was also a volunteer supporting MSF medical teams at Al-Shifa hospital.
Two weeks later, after collecting the testimonies of MSF staff present that day in the convoy, MSF considers that all elements point to the responsibility of the Israeli army for this attack.
MSF has also collected testimonies of the destruction of five MSF vehicles and the severe damage caused to the MSF clinic in Gaza city, all clearly identified by the organization’s logo, on 20 November, which can also be attributed to the intervention of an Israeli bulldozer and a heavy military vehicle. These vehicles were potential evidence, in case of an independent investigation on the attack on the MSF convoy. Shots were aimed at the MSF facilities where these colleagues were sheltering, leaving bullet holes in the interior walls. On 24 November, MSF staff also witnessed the destruction of a minibus, also clearly identified by the organization’s logo, by an Israeli tank. This minibus had been sent by the MSF team in south Gaza, following the destruction of the vehicles a few days before, to facilitate the evacuation of colleagues in the north.
MSF condemns again in the strongest terms the attack on its convoy and extends again its condolences to the families of the victims. MSF requested a formal explanation for this attack from the Israeli authorities and calls for an independent investigation to establish the facts and the responsibilities.
The staff and family members who went through this ordeal had been trapped in MSF facilities amid heavy fighting, with no electricity, and limited access to food and water, for almost two weeks, before they were able to evacuate to the south of the Gaza Strip on 24 November. These are their words, recorded between 26 and 29 November.
TIMELINE
18 November: an MSF volunteer and another staff’s family member killed by the Israeli forces
On 18 November, an MSF convoy of five cars, all clearly identified by MSF logos, left the MSF premises (guesthouse, office, and outpatient clinic) headed to southern Gaza to reach a safer place. Since 11 November, they had been trapped by ongoing fighting around them and since then, MSF had repeatedly called to safely evacuate them.
MSF had informed both parties to the conflict of this evacuation movement. The convoy followed the itinerary indicated by the Israeli army and reached Salah Al-Deen street, along with other civilians trying to leave the area.
The convoy reached the last checkpoint near Wadi Gaza, which was overcrowded at that time due to extensive screening of Palestinians by Israeli forces. Despite the prior authorisation from the Israeli authorities, the convoy wasn’t allowed to cross the checkpoint and was left waiting for hours. Shots were later heard by our staff, who out of fear decided to head back to the MSF premises, around 7 kilometres north of the checkpoint.
On their way back, between 3:30 pm and 4:00 pm local time, the convoy was attacked in Al-Wahida street near the junction of Said Al-A’as Street, near the MSF office. Two of the MSF cars were deliberately hit, killing a nurse who volunteered with MSF teams and injuring the family member of another, who later also died from his wound.
20 November: five MSF vehicles destroyed by the Israeli forces
24 November: more MSF vehicles destroyed
As the only vehicles available to the staff and their family members had been destroyed, our teams based in the south of the Gaza Strip sent more vehicles to Gaza city to attempt another evacuation. However, they were also hit by bullets while approaching the MSF clinic and the movement was cancelled. Later, they too were destroyed by the Israeli forces – in the early hours of 24 November. Eventually, our colleagues and their families were able to reach the south once the truce came into effect on the morning of 24 November, thanks to the vehicles of other civilians evacuating.
MSF requested a formal explanation for this attack from the Israeli authorities and calls for an independent investigation to establish the facts and the responsibilities.
We extend again our deepest condolences to the families of the victims.
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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel's military renewed calls Monday for mass evacuations from the southern town of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in recent weeks, as it widened its ground offensive and bombarded targets across the Gaza Strip.
The expanded operations, following the expiration of a weeklong cease-fire, are aimed at eliminating Gaza's Hamas rulers, whose Oct. 7 attack into Israel triggered the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades. The war has already killed thousands of Palestinians and displaced over three-fourths of the territory's population of 2.3 million people, who are running out of safe places to go.
Already under mounting pressure from its top ally, the United States, Israel appears to be racing to strike a death blow against Hamas — if that’s possible, given the group’s deep roots in Palestinian society — before any new cease-fire. But the mounting toll of the fighting, which Palestinian health officials say has killed several hundred civilians since the truce ended on Friday, is likely to further increase international pressure to return to the negotiating table.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
Live updates | Israel’s military calls for more evacuations in southern Gaza as it widens offensive
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Dutch lawyers seek a civil court order to halt the export of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel
3 commercial ships hit by missiles in Houthi attack in Red Sea, US warship downs 3 drones
It could also render even larger parts of the isolated territory uninhabitable.
Airstrikes and the ground offensive have transformed much of the north, including large areas in Gaza City, into a rubble-filled wasteland. Around 2 million people are now crowded into the 230 square kilometers (90 square miles) that make up Gaza’s south, where Israel’s focus is starting to shift.
As Israel calls for more areas to be evacuated, it’s not clear where people can go. Already shelters are overwhelmed, and both Israel and neighboring Egypt have refused to accept any refugees.
FIGHTING IN CENTRAL GAZA
Residents said Monday they heard airstrikes and explosions in and around Khan Younis overnight after the military dropped leaflets warning people to relocate farther south toward the border with Egypt. The military has ordered the evacuation of nearly two dozen neighborhoods in and around the town.
Later in the day, the military warned civilians to avoid the main north-south highway between Khan Younis and the central town of Deir al-Balah, saying the road had become a “battlefield” and was “extremely dangerous.” That indicated Israeli troops were approaching Khan Younis from the northeast, possibly with plans to cut central Gaza off from the south.
Al-Jazeera television aired footage of medics rescuing people wounded by what appeared to have been a strike on a car on that stretch of highway. An Israeli tank could be seen just up the road.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, said the army is pursuing Hamas with “maximum force” in the north and south, and said it was trying to minimize harm to civilians.
He pointed to a map that divides southern Gaza into dozens of blocks in order to give “precise instructions” to residents on where to evacuate.
Many Palestinians, however, have ignored past evacuation orders, saying they do not feel any safer in the areas where they are told to seek refuge — which have also been repeatedly bombed. The military has meanwhile barred those who fled the north from returning, even during the cease-fire.
“The level of human suffering is intolerable,” Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said during a rare visit to Gaza. She also called for the immediate release of scores of hostages captured by Palestinian militants during the Oct. 7 attack.
“It is unacceptable that civilians have no safe place to go in Gaza, and with a military siege in place there is also no adequate humanitarian response currently possible.”
RISING TOLL
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory since Oct. 7 has surpassed 15,500, with more than 41,000 wounded. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70% of the dead were women and children.
A Health Ministry spokesman asserted that hundreds had been killed or wounded since the cease-fire ended early Friday. “The majority of victims are still under the rubble,” Ashraf al-Qidra said.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah received 32 bodies overnight after Israeli strikes across central Gaza, said Omar al-Darawi, an administrative employee. Associated Press footage showed women in tears, kneeling over the bodies of loved ones and kissing them.
The military said aircraft struck some 200 Hamas targets overnight, with ground troops operating “in parallel,” without elaborating. It said troops in northern Gaza uncovered a militant hideout in a school after coming under attack. Inside, they found two tunnel shafts, one of which had been booby-trapped, as well as explosives and weapons, the military said.
It is not possible to independently confirm battlefield reports from either side.
Israel says it targets Hamas operatives, not civilians, and blames civilian casualties on the militants, accusing them of operating in residential neighborhoods.
It adds that it takes measures to protect civilians. In addition to leaflets dropped over Gaza, the military has used phone calls and radio and TV broadcasts to urge people to move from specific areas.
Israel claims to have killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence. Israel says at least 81 of its soldiers have been killed.
U.S. PRESSURE
The U.S. is pressing Israel to avoid more mass displacements and the killing of civilians, a message underscored by Vice President Kamala Harris during a visit to the region. She also said the U.S. would not allow the forced relocation of Palestinians out of Gaza or the occupied West Bank, or the redrawing of Gaza's borders.
But it’s unclear how far the Biden administration is willing or able to go in pressing Israel to rein in the offensive, even as the White House faces growing pressure from its allies in Congress.
The U.S. has pledged unwavering support to Israel since the Oct. 7 attack, which killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, including rushing munitions and other aid to Israel.
Israel has rejected U.S. suggestions that control over postwar Gaza be handed over to the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority as part of renewed efforts to resolve the overall conflict by establishing a Palestinian state.
Hopes for another temporary truce faded after Israel called its negotiators home over the weekend. Hamas said talks on releasing any more of the scores of hostages seized by Palestinian militants on Oct. 7 must be tied to a permanent cease-fire.
The earlier truce facilitated the release of 105 of the roughly 240 Israeli and foreign hostages taken to Gaza during the Oct. 7 attack, and the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Most of those released by both sides were women and children.
___
Magdy reported from Cairo.
___
Full AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
The Israeli military has begun an invasion of southern Gaza, according to a New York Times analysis of satellite imagery, evidence of a long-awaited operation that could decide the fate of its war with Hamas and create more peril for Palestinian civilians.
After capturing large parts of northern Gaza since late October, Israeli troops have now advanced into the last section of the territory that had been under full Hamas control. Their move sets the stage for what is likely to be the decisive battle of the war: a showdown in Khan Younis, the largest city in the south, where Israeli officials believe Hamas’s military and political leadership has sought shelter since fleeing from the north.
continues....
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces battled Hamas militants across Gaza on Wednesday in intense fighting that has prevented the distribution of vital aid in much of the territory and brought some of the devastation and mass displacement seen in the north to the south.
As the focus of the ground offensive moves down the Gaza Strip and into the second-largest city of Khan Younis, it is further shrinking the area where Palestinians can seek safety and pushing large numbers of people, many of whom have been forced to flee multiple times, toward the sealed-off border with Egypt.
On the Gaza side of the border, makeshift shelters and family homes are already overflowing and many are sleeping in the streets. On the other side, thousands of Egyptian troops have deployed to prevent any mass influx of refugees, which Egypt says would undermine its decades-old peace treaty with Israel.
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR
New signs emerge of 'widespread' sexual crimes by Hamas, as Netanyahu alleges global indifference
Live updates | Dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza grow worse as Israel widens its offensive
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Live updates | Netanyahu says Israel must retain control of security in Gaza after the war
The U.N. says some 1.87 million people — over 80% of the population — have already fled their homes. Many Palestinians fear they will not be allowed to return.
Much of the north, including large parts of Gaza City, has been completely destroyed, and Palestinians worry the rest of Gaza could suffer a similar fate as Israel tries to dismantle Hamas, which has deep roots in the territory it has ruled for 16 years.
Israel has vowed to fight on, saying it can no longer accept a Hamas military presence in Gaza after the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war. Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took captive some 240 men, women and children in that attack.
An estimated 138 hostages remain in Gaza after more than 100 were freed during a cease-fire last week. Their plight, and accounts of widespread rape and other atrocities committed during the rampage, have deepened Israel’s outrage and further galvanized support for the war.
PUSHED TO THE EDGE
The war has been an unprecedented catastrophe for Palestinians civilians, eclipsing all four previous wars between Israel and Hamas, and their suffering is set to worsen as the offensive grinds on.
For the past three days, aid distribution — mainly just supplies of flour and water — has been possible only in and around Rafah, on the border with Egypt, because of fighting and road closures by Israeli forces, the U.N.'s humanitarian aid office said.
Hamza Abu Mustafa, a teacher who lives near a school-turned-shelter in Rafah and is hosting three families himself, said “the situation is extremely dire.”
“You find displaced people in the streets, in schools, in mosques, in hospitals … everywhere.”
A Palestinian woman who identified herself as Umm Ahmed said the harsh conditions and limited access to toilets are especially difficult for women who are pregnant or menstruating. Some have taken to social media to request menstrual pads, which are increasingly hard to find.
“For women and girls, the suffering is double,” Umm Ahmed said. “It’s more humiliation.”
The humanitarian crisis gets even worse farther north.
Nawraz Abu Libdeh, who is sheltering in Khan Younis after being displaced six times, said the situation in U.N.-run shelters there is “beyond catastrophic,” with people fighting over food. “The hunger war has started,” he said. "This is the worst of all wars.”
In the central town of Deir al-Balah, the aid group Doctors Without Borders said fuel and medical supplies have reached “critically low levels” at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Up to 200 wounded people have been brought in every day since Dec. 1, when a weeklong truce expired, it said.
“Without electricity, ventilators would cease to function, blood donations would have to stop, the sterilization of surgical instruments would be impossible,” said Marie-Aure Perreaut Revial, the aid group's emergency coordinator in Gaza. She said they are also running low on surgical supplies and equipment to stabilize broken bones.
Gaza has been without electricity since the first week of the war, and Israel has severely limited fuel imports, forcing several hospitals to shut down because they cannot operate emergency generators.
NO END IN SIGHT
The war has killed more than 16,200 people in Gaza — most of them women and children — and wounded more than 42,000, the territory's Health Ministry said late Tuesday. It has said many are also trapped under rubble.
The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Its overall tally tracks with a figure released this week by the Israeli military, which said about 5,000 of the dead were militants, without saying how it arrived at its count.
The military says 88 of its soldiers have been killed in the Gaza ground offensive.
It accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields when the militants operate in residential areas. But Israel has not given detailed accounts of individual strikes, some of which have leveled entire city blocks.
The Israeli military said Tuesday that its troops were “in the heart” of Khan Younis after what it described as “the most intense day” of fighting since the start of the ground operation five weeks ago, with heavy battles in the north as well.
Hamas' continuing ability to fight in areas where Israel entered with overwhelming force weeks ago, signals that eradicating the group without causing further mass casualties and displacement — as Israel's top ally, the U.S., has requested — could prove elusive.
Even after weeks of bombardment, Hamas’ top leader in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar — whose location is unknown — was able to conduct complex cease-fire negotiations and orchestrate the release of scores of hostages last week. Palestinian militants have also kept up their rocket fire into Israel.
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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press reporter Najib Jobain in Rafah, Gaza Strip contributed.
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Full AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Protesters brandish swastikas at pro-Palestinian rally outside Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting
At least two protesters brandished signs with swastikas at an anti-Israel protest targeting the annual Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday night.
One demonstrator held a sign with the Nazi symbol and the words “Israeli military.” The protester was forcibly ejected from the event by other participants who shouted at him and trampled his sign, prompting police to separate the two sides.
Another protester carried a sign that compared Jews to Nazis via a blood-spattered swastika intertwined with a Star of David and the words, “The irony of becoming what you once hated.”
The protest took place at 47th Street and 6th Avenue, near but not at the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting ceremony, which was attended by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and featured performances from Cher, Barry Manilow and others. More than 1,000 protesters instead crowded onto the block next to another massive Christmas tree at the News Corp. company headquarters. The protest coincided with the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on Wednesday. Dozens of police cordoned off the crowd on the sidelines of the event as tourists passed by, and traffic was blocked off on adjacent streets.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Amnesty report 'shines light on horrific ordeals' of Iran protesters including brutal sexual assault
05:50
Members of the Iranian security forces raped and used other forms of sexual violence against women, men, and even boys and girls as young as 12, all detained in the crackdown on nationwide protests that erupted from September 2022. An Amnesty International report documented 45 such cases of rape, gang rape or sexual violence against protesters. With cases in more than half of Iran's provinces, it expressed fear these documented violations appeared part of a "wider pattern". The London-based organisation said it had shared its findings with the Iranian authorities on November 24 "but has thus far received no response". The protests began in Iran in September 2022 after the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, 22. Her family says she was killed by a blow to the head but this has always been disputed by the Iranian authorities. For in-depth analysis and a closer look into the Amnesty report, FRANCE 24's Kethevane Gorjestani is joined by Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."