Israel #10

Jim Sciutto {CNN} @jimsciutto | 1:49 PM · May 6, 2024:
Breaking: Hamas agrees to ceasefire proposal from Egypt and Qatar.
Israel has received Hamas response

Jim Sciutto {CNN} @jimsciutto | 4:06 PM · May 6, 2024:
Latest: The Israeli Prime Minister's Office has issued a statement saying that the military operation in Rafah will continue. Multiple explosions now reported in Rafah area.

Gershon Baskin🟣 جرشون باسكين גרשון בסקין @gershonbaskin | 3:55 PM · May 6, 2024 {X}:
Middle East Director, Int'l Communities Organization -ICO, Author, Negotiator, Award winning Times of Israel Columnist and Al Quds Newspaper

It seems that Netanyahu may be trying to sabotage the deal even before the cabinet gets the details and votes on it. The Israeli military operation going on right now (almost 11:00 pm Israel time) is clearly aimed at pushing Hamas to withdraw its agreement for a ceasefire. Netanyahu, it appears, is once again putting his own political self interests ahead of the country and ahead of the Israeli hostages. If this is true, Netanyahu is dangerous to Israel and Netanyahu must go!

Benjamin needs this war to stay in power.....his right wing allies will pull the rug from out under him if he tries to stop it but I don't think he's ever really wanted to anyway. They're in sync with each other even if sometimes his allies might feel the need to warn him. The United States helps him by continuing to send war material to murder and maim what are mostly civilians......children, women, men, the elderly etc. Watching this from afar is beyond grotesque. I have to wonder what kind of bubble Biden is living in not to see this mass murder campaign for what it is.

Just a note in passing. Yes, the timing is probably political (in the face of major protests). But it's refreshing to be outside whatever bubble Biden inhabits.

Colombia to cut diplomatic ties with Israel over Gaza war, Petro says
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/1/colombia-to-cut-diplomatic-ties-with-isr...

>2 lriley: By "right wing allies", I assume you're referring to Hamas?

US pauses shipment of bombs Israel could use in Rafah
Lara Seligman | 05/07/2024

The decision comes amid international outrage over civilian deaths.

...The weapons shipment in question contains 1,800 2,000-lb bombs and 1,700 500-lb bombs, the official said. The administration has not made a final decision on whether to proceed with the shipment...

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/07/us-pauses-shipment-of-bombs-israel-coul...
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Israeli military appears to play down US arms shipment hold-up
Reuters | 8 May 2024

Chief military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari described coordination between Israel and the United States as reaching 'a scope without precedent, I think, in history'.

...The Israeli military appeared ... to play down an arms shipment hold-up by a US administration troubled at this week's operation in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, saying the allies resolve any disagreements "behind closed doors...

https://www.deccanherald.com/world/israeli-military-appears-to-play-down-us-arms...

{margd: Reuters photo of a field of military vehicles reminded me of Dad's observation from Sinai posting in mid-20th c. He described Palestinian as little guy with a donkey and Israelis as Europeans in jeeps. Now Israelis in military vehicles and Gazans in Rafah in tents? :( }

Sure hope Israeli operation in Rafah is nothing more than pressuring Hamas in negotiations and will soon end--not just smashing the last buildings still standing. Gazans looked so happy in that brief moment when ceasefire was announced ... especially cruel to then send them scrambling once again...

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus @DrTedros | 9:07 AM · May 8, 2024 {X}:
Director-General of the World Health Organization.

One of the three hospitals in Rafah, Al-Najjar, is no longer functioning due to the ongoing hostilities in its vicinity and the military operation in Rafah.

The closure of the border crossing continues to prevent the UN from bringing fuel. Without fuel all humanitarian operations will stop. Border closures are also impeding delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Hospitals in the south of #Gaza only have three days of fuel left, which means services may soon come to a halt.

At a time when fragile humanitarian operations urgently require expansion, the Rafah military operation is further limiting our ability to reach thousands of people who have been living in dire conditions without adequate food, sanitation, health services and security. This must stop now.

>6 margd: What I'm expecting is another bloodbath.

There are some noises that the Biden Administration is holding up some of some of the arms shipments such as the 2000 lb. bombs. Hopefully but honestly for me it's like we've been here before numerous times. The 35,000 dead Palestinian numbers have been stable for some time but what Israel would call Hamas numbers.....well Hamas would get those numbers from Gaza's civil authority particularly from the hospital system and that's all destroyed. If there's nobody to count deaths and casualties they don't get counted. They were undercounts anyway in that those who disappeared under rubble weren't counted before and they're still under and they're dead....some buried alive, kids and little children too.....as well the IDF's recent assaults on hospitals left hundreds dead and missing. Mass graves then found later of doctors, nurses, patients some still attached to hospital lines like they were taken right off their beds, many also with their hands bound behind......pretty much mass executions. There's been nothing humane about the world's most moral army and any claim of supporting human rights by those supporting this genocide are just lies.

FWIW I'm a boomer and might not be around 10/15/20 years from now when this will be looked back upon with universal condemnation (in most of the world it already is looked at that way) and eventually it's going to get there. There is a point to at least try to be on the right side of things.

Trinity College Dublin agrees to divest from Israeli firms after student protest (Guardian)

Five-day encampment in university grounds that caused the college major loss of income ended in victory for campaigners...

Biden PANICS Over Israel's Genocide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIxkI6HREHA
Owen Jones is particularly trenchant in this one.

The New York Times @nytimes | 1:10 AM · May 9, 2024 {X}:

New satellite imagery taken after Israeli forces pushed into Rafah shows widespread damage to the southern Gaza city — including large areas of flattened structures — and clusters of Israeli armored vehicles.

Satellite photo (https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1788436267694223494)
From nytimes.com

Just a bit of hypocrisy. The Israeli govt. is destroying Bedouin homes in the Negev desert. Ben Gvir claiming they are 'illegal constructions'. The law is the law. 'The police will fight anyone who seizes land and tries to build another reality on the ground' he says. No reason to worry though......illegal settlements and the stealing of parts of the West Bank by Jewish settlers is still totally fine.

>5 margd: contd.

"Israeli officials have slammed the United States and have descended into a bout of infighting over US President Joe Biden’s remarks that he would halt some shipments of American weapons to Israel if a full-scale ground operation is launched into the city of Rafah...The announcement has also exposed the deep divisions between Israel’s various political parties. "

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/09/middleeast/biden-weapons-deliveries-israel-reacti...

Closure of Rafah crossing imperils humanitarian aid in Gaza
Copy link
Mariano Zafra and Jon McClure | 9 May 2024

After Israel began ground operations in Rafah, a move staunchly opposed by most Western allies, the flow of critical aid into Gaza has ground to a near halt...

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/MAPS/movajdladpa/#closure-o...
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First shipment of aid to the US-built floating pier in Gaza departs from Cyprus

MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS and SAM MEDNICK
Updated 9:38 AM EDT, May 9, 2024

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A shipment of humanitarian aid left a port in Cyprus on Thursday morning and was on its way to the U.S-built pier in Gaza, the first delivery to the newly built ramp, Cyprus’ foreign minister said...

https://apnews.com/article/cyprus-aid-shipment-gaza-c2f2545739b7c9499476e6b4cfa9...
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World Central Kitchen Resuming Gaza Operations
April 28, 2024

...We will continue to get as much food into Gaza, including northern Gaza, as possible—by land, air, or sea. We have 276 trucks, with the equivalent of almost 8 million meals, ready to enter through the Rafah Crossing. We’ll also send trucks from Jordan. We’re exploring the maritime corridor and utilizing the Ashdod Port. In addition to 68 community kitchens, we’re building a third high production kitchen in Mawasi (the other two are in Rafah and Deir al-Balah). The Mawasi Kitchen is affectionately known as Damian’s* Kitchen, being built to his favorite saying, "No Problems, Only Solutions."...

https://wck.org/news/chefs-for-gaza

* one of 7 WCK staff killed by IDF

A couple days ago Biden was slamming college protestors (a large % of whom are Jewish and also Arabic....another Semitic group, just saying) as anti-semitic. Then he goes on TV and says he's going to pause weapons shipments to Israel if the IDF invades Rafah which they already were doing that. What to make of that other than that there's quite a lot of cognitive dissonance I would say here though by this point I'm used to all these unheeded warnings from us to them. Politicos on both sides---particularly the Republican side coming out against Biden on this. Just to say something about our political representatives and their dual loyalties. So the declared Zionist Joe is an anti-semite now? Meanwhile Ben Gvir comes out with a twitter post.....Biden loves Hamas. So there you go. You bend over backwards for these right wing fascists and they kick you in the ass. And all your 'friends' on the other side of the aisle and some of those on your own are there to cheer you getting your ass handed to you.

.....and then we get the following......'Senior Israeli officials warning the U.S. (that's our govt.) that the Biden Administration's decision to pause a (that's one single) weapons shipment could jeopardize hostage negotiations'. Parsing through that I conclude that they need the weapons to continue the war to get their hostages back because they've never really seemed interested in negotiating about anything. Their ambition is to destroy Hamas and take the territory....not negotiate with them.....that's pretty clear and that they'll kill or displace the entire population to accomplish that. Even if the remaining hostages are all released they intend to resume their war. As for the hostages. It's 7 months----they've been bombed no doubt multiple times like the rest of the population in the Strip. Food, water, sanitation, hospitals, medicine are all severely compromised if not wiped out and some of the hostages are middle aged or older. How many of them are still alive is one question.....another question is how much the ruling govt. of Israel really wants them back?---because they've been useful to whip up the Israeli population throughout to keep the war going and the hostages they got back earlier made it clear they weren't too happy about being bombed by the IDF and were more often than not negative on Netanyahu and gang.

Unrwa Jerusalem HQ closed after ‘Israeli extremist’ arson attack (Guardian)

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has temporarily closed its East Jerusalem headquarters after “Israeli extremists” set fire to the perimeter following weeks of repeated attacks. “This evening, Israeli residents set fire twice to the perimeter of the Unrwa headquarters in occupied East Jerusalem,” the head of the agency, Philippe Lazzarini, said on X, lamenting that it was the second attack on the compound in a matter of days. He said: “A crowd accompanied by armed men were witnessed outside the compound chanting ‘Burn down the United Nations’.” Unrwa and staff from other UN agencies were on the compound, which has on its grounds petrol and diesel stations for a fleet of UN cars. “While there were no casualties among our staff, the fire caused extensive damage to the outdoor areas,” Lazzaroni said, adding that Unrwa staff had put out the fire themselves. The attack came after two months of “Israeli extremists staging protests outside the Unrwa compound”, he said. One protest earlier this week “became violent when demonstrators threw stones at UN staff and at the buildings of the compound”, he said. Thursday’s arson attempts marked “an outrageous development”, Lazzarini said. “Once again, the lives of UN staff were at a serious risk”... The Unrwa chief said that “over the past months, UN staff have regularly been subjected to harassment and intimidation”. “Our compound has been seriously vandalised and damaged. On several occasions, Israeli extremists threatened our staff with guns”...

UN general assembly calls on Security Council to admit Palestine as member (BBC)

The United Nations General Assembly has enhanced Palestine's rights within the organisation and called for it to be accepted as a member. Palestine has had non-member observer state status since 2012, which allows some rights short of a full member. Membership can only be decided upon by the UN Security Council. The US recently vetoed a bid for full membership, but Friday's vote can be seen as a gesture of support for the Palestinians... several European countries plan to recognise a Palestinian state... Friday's UN resolution confers additional rights on Palestine at the world body, allowing it to take part fully in debates, propose agenda items and have its representatives elected to committees. It will still not, however, have the right to cast a vote - something the General Assembly does not have the power to grant and would have to be backed by the Security Council... According to the Reuters news agency, Palestinian statehood has been recognised by 139 out of 193 UN member states - although this is largely seen as symbolic... Security Council resolutions are legally binding, whereas General Assembly resolutions are not.

UN general assembly votes to back Palestinian bid for membership (Guardian)

Assembly votes 143 to nine, with 25 abstentions, signalling Israel’s growing isolation on the world stage...

US finds Israel’s use of weapons in Gaza ‘inconsistent’ with human rights law, but will not cut flow of arms (Guardian)

The US says it is “reasonable to assess” that the weapons it has provided to Israel have been used in ways that are “inconsistent” with international human rights law, but that there is not enough concrete evidence to link specific US-supplied weapons to violations or warrant cutting the supply of arms... In Israel’s case, the report expresses deep misgivings about Israeli compliance but says the US does not have sufficient evidence about individual cases to recommend that US arms supplies be suspended...

The students protesting in Dublin are on the right side of history – and they know it (Guardian)

With their success in persuading their university to divest from Israeli companies, they join a rich tradition of student activists...

#16--It took 7 months for the United States to decide that weapons that we've been sending to Israel have been used inconsistently with human rights laws? Really? 7 months......watching one horror after another day after day. Holding up one arms shipment now. Holding it up.....not meaning the IDF won't get it. Holding this shipment up and saying not enough evidence to link the dropping of 2000 lb. bombs on civilian homes and living structures? when it's been all over the internet from any number of sources for months and months. When pretty much half or more of the standing buildings in the Gaza are not fit for living in now if they're not altogether reduced to rubble. Hospitals all destroyed or severely damaged. Schools all destroyed or severely damaged. The Israeli govt. demanding more and more weapons from us to continue this assault. What the United States is saying here is coming out both sides of its mouth......'reasonable to assess' but we're not sure. The ICC was pretty sure.....they have all kinds of evidence and warnings to nations who won't stop supporting a genocide. At the same we're refusing to budge on Palestine statehood at the UN.

It's interesting our congress too. Some republicans want to impeach because of this one holdup of weapons. Lawmakers on both sides are mad though and demanding more bloodshed. What's happened isn't enough for them. But it's also the more bloodshed means more help from the Israeli state for their elections. That's what really matters most for any number of our lawmakers. My guess is Biden is somewhat worried now though about all the possible voters he might lose. He's absurdly referenced many young voters protesting this genocide as anti-semites, more or less saying those arrested are haters and deserve it. Our younger people here, lots and lots of them, of all faiths including the Jewish faith in large numbers.....the same young people who are the backbone that have been driving the get out the vote campaigns for the democrats for decades. But now some of the pro-Israel democratic voters are upset too over this one shipment and among them are many of Biden's largest donors. So there we go. I wonder why this administration couldn't have seen the Israeli response all the way back in October was way out of hand and took charge and put the Israelis in their place because someone needed to. They depend on us for support and not the other way around. We don't need weapons or financial help from them.

Song of the now.
MACKLEMORE - HIND'S HALL (AUDIO ONLY)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmg6vbt04TY

At least eight Israeli strikes on Gaza aid groups since October, says report (Guardian)

Israeli forces have carried out at least eight strikes on humanitarian convoys and their facilities in Gaza since October, even after aid organisations provided their coordinates to the Israeli authorities, according to a report by Human Rights Watch. HRW said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) did not issue warnings to the aid organisations before the strikes, which killed or injured at least 31 people...

Israeli public opinion is shifting on the Gaza war – but this may make Netanyahu even more reckless (Guardian)

At 7.40pm on Monday 6 May, Hamas issued a statement saying that it had accepted a ceasefire proposal offered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. Spontaneous demonstrations, led by the relatives of Israelis who were kidnapped on 7 October, broke out in Tel Aviv and elsewhere in Israel, calling for the government to accept the deal. At 10pm on the same night came the first reports from Rafah indicating that the long awaited and feared Israeli attack had begun. In a nutshell, this sequence of events reflects the contradictory situation in which Israel finds itself: on the one hand, growing voices saying that the only way to bring back the hostages is to end the war, a demand that was almost a taboo until just a few weeks ago; and on the other, the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reluctant to accept any end to the war, claiming that the only way to bring back the hostages is through military pressure, in Rafah and elsewhere...

>19 John5918:

Earlier, UNWRA was attacked in E Jerusalem while Israeli authorities stood by. UNWRA staff extinguished flames themselves. Note passive voice in DW's tweet:

DW News @dwnews | 5:49 AM · May 14, 2024
A UN staff member was killed and another injured in Rafah on Monday when their UN-marked vehicle was struck on its way to a hospital in the area. UN chief Guterres called for a "full investigation."
Photo of UN-marked vehicle (https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1790318419427938594/photo/1)

david🔻roser @5th_davidroser | 5:50 AM · May 14, 2024:
Who struck them, DW, you cowards!

Concerned Jewish Faculty Against Antisemitism

The Statement* from Concerned Jewish Faculty against Antisemitism was written on Friday, May 3rd, 2024, two days after the House of Representatives passed the Antisemitism Awareness Act. The Statement drew more than 1000 signatures in its first week.

...The signatories are scholars of different generations and hold a variety of political views. They represent the diversity of U.S. higher education from community colleges to the Ivy League. They include numerous winners of Macarthur, Pulitzer, and Guggenheim fellowships and prizes.

You can read the full statement here.*
https://concernedjewishfaculty.org/
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* We accordingly urge our political leaders to reject any effort to codify into federal law a definition of antisemitism that conflates antisemitism with criticism of the state of Israel. This includes ongoing efforts to codify the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, which has been internationally criticized for conflating antisemitism with legitimate criticism of Israel.

We hold varied opinions on Israel. Whatever our differences, we oppose the IHRA’s definition of antisemitism. If imported into federal law, the IHRA definition will delegitimize and silence Jewish Americans–among others–who advocate for Palestinian human rights or otherwise criticize Israeli policies. By stifling criticism of Israel, the IHRA definition hardens the dangerous notion that Jewish identity is inextricably linked to every decision of Israel’s government. Far from combating antisemitism, this dynamic promises to amplify the real threats Jewish Americans already face.

If our leaders are earnestly concerned with antisemitism, they should join hundreds of Jewish scholars from across the globe who have endorsed alternative definitions of antisemitism–such as those contained in the Nexus Document or Jerusalem Declaration. Unlike the IHRA definition, these documents offer meaningful tools to combat antisemitism without undermining Jewish safety and civil rights by insulating Israel from legitimate criticism.

{Signatories}
https://concernedjewishfaculty.org/

National Security Memorandum on Safeguards and Accountability With Respect to Transferred Defense Articles and Defense Services
White House | February 08, 2024
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/02/08/nationa...
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Report to Congress under Section 2 of the National Security Memorandum on Safeguards and Accountability with Respect to Transferred Defense Articles and Defense Services (NSM-20)
{Unclassified Version. 46 p}

{Israel, pp 18-32}

https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Report-to-Congress-under...
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US report finds possible Israeli violations of international law in Gaza
Aljazeera | 10 May 2024

A report from the administration of President Joe Biden has found that Israeli forces likely used United States-supplied weapons in a manner “inconsistent” with international law, but it stopped short of identifying violations that would put an end to the ongoing military aid.

In the report, released on Friday after a delay, the US State Department indicated Israel did not provide adequate information to verify whether US weapons were used in possible violations of international law during its war in Gaza.

...Overall, the report said that US intelligence agencies have “no direct indication of Israel intentionally targeting civilians”, but they assessed that “Israel could do more to avoid civilian harm”.

In addition, the State Department pledged to continue to monitor the situation in Gaza, particularly with regards to the delivery of aid.

“This is an ongoing assessment and we will continue to monitor and respond to any challenges to the delivery of aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza moving forward.”...

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/10/us-report-punts-on-possible-israeli-vio...
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Bernie Sanders says Israel shouldn't receive 'another nickel' in US military aid after State Dept. report
Danielle Wallace | May 12, 2024

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders claims Israel becoming 'pariah nation,' broke international law

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bernie-sanders-israel-shouldnt-receive-another-...

Egypt joins ICJ case against Israel as one official warns Rafah op puts peace at risk
Lazar Berman and AP |12 May 2024|

As IDF deepens action in city, Cairo escalates pressure on Jerusalem to pull back troops; at the same time, country’s FM insists peace treaty {1978 Camp David Accord} is ‘core pillar of regional stability’

...Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry...“The peace agreement with Israel has been Egypt’s strategic choice for 40 years, and it represents a core pillar of peace in the region for peace and stability,” he said, adding that there are mechanisms for adjudicating violations of the agreement.

...the decision (to support South Africa’s ongoing lawsuit in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza) “comes in light of the worsening severity and scope of Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, and the continued perpetration of systematic practices against the Palestinian people, including direct targeting of civilians and the destruction of infrastructure in the Strip, and pushing Palestinians to flee.”

...Egypt has said it would not open its borders to allow large numbers of Gazans to escape the fighting...

...The Wall Street Journal reported in February that Egyptian officials had warned the decades-long peace treaty between Egypt and Israel could be suspended if Israel Defense Forces’ troops were to enter Rafah, or if any of Rafah’s refugees are forced southward into the Sinai Peninsula.

In an effort to forestall a massive influx of refugees, Egypt has stationed tanks near its border with Gaza, after reinforcing the border wall since the beginning of the war, both structurally and with surveillance equipment...

https://www.timesofisrael.com/egypt-warns-rafah-op-puts-peace-treaty-at-risk-joi...
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Egypt deals ‘diplomatic blow’ to Israel by joining ICJ genocide case (1:21)
Aljazeera | 12 May 2024

...Israel’s former foreign minister tells Al Jazeera it represents an ‘unbelievable diplomatic blow to Israel’.

https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/5/12/egypt-deals-diplomatic-blow...

DW News @dwnews | 4:29 PM · May 15, 2024:

Israeli activists said "Jewish terrorists" threw away aid meant for Gaza after witnessing far-right settlers attack a humanitarian convoy.

1:23 (https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1790841934723870956)

Barak Ravid @BarakRavid | 2:40 PM · May 18, 2024:
Political reporter for Axios covering foreign policy & the 2024 election. CNN analyst. Washington correspondent for Walla. Author of Trump's Peace.

BREAKING: Israeli War Cabinet member Benny Gantz gives an ultimatum to Netanyahu and says his party will leave the government if the cabinet doesn't approve a strategy for the war in Gaza by June 8

Netanyahu rejects Gantz's ultimatum. In his statement Netanyahu made clear he is against a Palestinian state as part of normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia

The apex of the event came when the pope embraced Maoz Inon, an Israeli whose parents were killed in Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, and Aziz Sarah, a Palestinian, whose brother was killed in the war. Calling them “brothers,” Francis proceeded to hug each, calling the embrace “a project for the future.” This was met by a thunderous standing vocation, but followed by a moment of silence for the victims of the war.

(link)

>25 margd: contd.

Israel has no plan for Gaza after Hamas rule, the Israeli defense chief says
Daniel Estrin | May 16, 2024

How the controversy began
Israel's far-right dream: settlements in Gaza
Netanyahu's political bind

https://www.npr.org/2024/05/16/1251564884/israel-gaza-day-after-gallant-netanyah...
-----------------------------------

"...In his speech and in a letter to Netanyahu on Saturday {5/1/2024}, Gantz presented a six-point plan he demanded the prime minister adopt by June 8:
1. Prioritizing the return of Israeli hostages from Gaza;
2. returning Israeli civilians displaced by fighting near the restive Lebanon border to their homes by September;
3. advancing a normalization deal for diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia;
4. creating a governing body, overseen by the U.S., European and Arab parties, and unspecified Palestinians, to manage Gaza's civilian affairs after the war; and
5. agreeing to a law for equal military and national service including ultra-Orthodox Jews who have long been exempt..."
{6?? ending Hamas's rule??}

https://www.npr.org/2024/05/18/1252325103/member-of-israeli-war-cabinet-threaten...
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{margd: With Israel manning crossing points on the Gaza side, Egypt must fear 2,000 lb bombs opening up the border so that thousands of traumatized, hungry Gazans can pour through. Could that be what Israel has in mind?}

Uh oh? Did Israel chose this time and place? Threat of wider war would save Nethanyahu's skin--once again... No plausible denial, if, for example, Russia did it, say, to distract US??

Anton Gerashchenko @Gerashchenko_en | 9:14 AM · May 19, 2024:

⚡️A helicopter carrying the Iranian president Ibrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, crashed. The president and minister were returning from a visit to Azerbaijan, media report.

No information on their condition yet. Rescue services trying to reach them.

Photos (https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1792181960187555893/photo/1)
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Gantz says Israel will respond to Iran ‘in the place, time and manner it chooses’
Sam Sokol | 16 April 2024
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/gantz-says-israel-will-respond-to-i...
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ETA
DW News tweeted: One of the helicopters in the convoy carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi made a "hard landing" on Sunday. It is unclear whether Raisi was on board.

Iran: Helicopter in presidential convoy in 'hard landing'
DW | {5/19/2024} 43 minutes ago

...helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was involved in an "accident" in the north of the country...

Jolfa is located about 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran, on the border with Azerbaijan.

The helicopter was carrying (President) Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, East Azarbaijan Governor Malek Rahmati and several other passengers, state media reported.

...rescue and relief teams have been dispatched to the area and search operations are continuing. However, foggy weather and the inaccessibility of the area have hampered search efforts.

...Raisi was in Azerbaijan early Sunday to inaugurate a dam with the neighboring country's president, Ilham Aliyev. The dam is the third built by the two nations on the Aras River...

https://www.dw.com/en/iran-helicopter-in-presidential-convoy-in-hard-landing/a-6...
-------------------------------------------
ETA: Could crash have been weather-related?

Faytuks News @Faytuks | 9:54 AM · May 19, 2024:

IRNA has released footage of rescue workers trying to locate the helicopter carrying Iran's president after it suffered an accident

0:21 (https://x.com/Faytuks/status/1792192211834286292)
https://t.me/irna_1313/283983

>28 margd: It could be Israel but it also could be just what it appears on face---a helicopter going down in bad weather. Either way I don't think it serves a good purpose. Politicos and a lot of people in the West and in Israel/Saudi Arabia have a thing about Iran and lots of pols and media are always at work trying to stoke the fire---keep their populations enraged while not talking or doing the diplomacy that they should be doing to bring the temperature down. It's like we need other countries and their peoples to hate. We've also the nonsense idea that just by being us we're the good guys and all of our perceived/manufactured enemies are the bad ones.

>29 lriley: Maybe...Iranian president lives? Fingers so crossed that it was demonstrably an accident!

Anton Gerashchenko @Gerashchenko_en | 9:53 AM · May 19, 2024:
Media reports appeared that president of Iran is fine and is continuing his travel by vehicle.

ETA:
The New York Times tweeted at 10:21 AM · May 19, 2024:
Breaking News: A helicopter carrying Iran’s president and foreign minister crashed, but is yet to be found, state media said. Their status is unknown.
President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran, who was with the country’s foreign minister on a helicopter that crashed on Sunday, according to Iran’s state media.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMcPrjc7YVM

I found this and thought it interesting to watch what life in Gaza was like before Oct. 7. For anyone who does watch you will see ordinary people going about their daily lives pretty much like ordinary people in any large city around the globe. It starts off in a shopping district and there are lots of women and young people/children along the way. Knowing that some of them are dead, injured or maimed now....that at least mostly all of what we see here is now empty, destroyed or rubble. Do we pass someone from Hamas along the way? (how can we tell?) probably a few but anyone who thinks that everyone in this 40 minutes worth of a Gaza tour is Hamas is not completely right in their head. I think watching this puts into perspective how things are now and maybe will give a viewer an idea of what a tragedy (man made and evil) has befallen this place and its people.

>30 margd: Al-Jazeera just ran the Raisi obit.
Iran helicopter crash live news: President Raisi, FM Amirabdollahian die
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/19/iran-helicopter-accident-live-...

I'm with you. This had damned well better be generally acknowledged as accidental, or there will be no end to the repercussions.

>32 davidgn: "he was part of a committee of judges who oversaw executions of political prisoners."

POLITICAL prisoners... One of these was a young biologist educated at McGill U, who worked as an undergrad on the St Lawrence River, Niloufar Bayani, thankfully pardoned in April of this year after serving six of a ten year sentence. Her crime? Working for a conservation group with US and UK connections, she studied the highly endangered Asiatic Cheetah, which involved using FIELD CAMERAS (="espionage") in Iran's back country: https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/final-cheetah-conservationists-freed-in-iran-b...

No doubt Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has innocent blood of his countrymen on his hands. Sure hope his passing does not result in many more deaths.

JFK Said 'Palestine Was Hardly Britain's to Give Away'?
Kennedy was largely pro-Israel when in politics.
Nur Ibrahim | May 19, 2024

Claim: Former U.S. President John F. Kennedy wrote in a 1939 letter to his father, "Palestine was hardly Britain's to give away."

Rating: Correct Attribution

Context: The quote does not fully encapsulate Kennedy's views. He wrote in the same letter he had become "more pro-British" during his visit to Jerusalem as "the men on the spot are doing a good job here." He called the British proposed solution at the time theoretically "just and fair" but did not think it would work. On the Israel-Palestine crisis, he wrote: "I have never seen two groups more unwilling to try and work out a solution … than these two groups."...

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jfk-palestine-britain/

>34 margd:

It's a little known fact that the British also offered Uganda, another country which was not theirs to give away, to the Jewish community, as an alternative to Palestine. Fortunately for Africa, the British colonial officers who were delegated to show the Jewish delegation around Uganda secretly sympathised with the Ugandans, and it is said that they deliberately made the trip as uncomfortable and uninviting as possible, so it was no suprise that the offer was turned down. Uganda is, of course, a beautiful country, which Winston Churchill described as "the pearl of Africa".

>35 John5918: Hmm, so there were alternatives. After serving as UN Peacekeeper in Suez and Cyprus, my dad (jokingly?) said UN should have sent Greeks and Turks home and given Cyprus to the Jews.

The Iranian leadership certainly aren't good guys either. All the actors---even taking Biden and Trump into consideration, the Brits Sunak and Starmer, the Germans, the Turks are not good guys either. Certainly not the Israelis or Hamas's leaders. One of the issues though with Raisi's death if there's evidence that the Israelis had something to do with his death (which considering past actions of theirs killing another nation's head of state seems well within their wheelhouse which is why something like this event automatically grabs our attention) the likelihood of a full blown regional war seems like an inevitability and other than their air war against a Gaza that has no air defense at all the IDF hasn't exactly impressed anyone for anything apart from they can kill unarmed civilians in great numbers so it's likely if they get in a for real war with Iran etc. it won't be long before they're looking for us to be fighting besides them.

On JFK's comments 85 years ago I really don't look at that as very relevant now though Britain didn't have a right to give away either Palestine or Uganda then or ever. Calling himself pro-British isn't something anyone who trades on their Irishness as much as the Kennedy's did should ever do. I find lots to criticize about that. It's like our friendships and alliances have always spoken to our empirical ambitions. To be in the club of political movers and shakers like the Kennedy family wanted I guess they felt they had to make some compromises.

ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas leaders (BBC)

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas's leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. Karim Khan is also seeking the arrest warrants of Hamas leaders Ismail Haniyeh, Mohammed al-Masri, and Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant. Khan says he has "reasonable grounds to believe" the men bear responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity...

What ICC arrest warrants mean for Israel and Hamas (BBC)

pages of carefully chosen legal language in a statement issued by Mr Khan, the ICC chief prosecutor who is a British King’s Counsel. Word by word, line by line, they add up to a devastating series of allegations against the three most prominent leaders of Hamas as well as Israel’s prime minister and defence minister. A determination to apply international law and the laws of armed conflict to all parties, no matter who they are, lies at the heart of Mr Khan’s statement in which he lays out his justification for requesting arrest warrants. "No foot soldier, no commander, no civilian leader - no one - can act with impunity." The law, he says, cannot be applied selectively. If that happens, "we will be creating conditions for its collapse"... Mr Khan does not make direct comparisons between the two sides, except to lay out his claim that they have both committed a series of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He also emphasises that this latest war comes in the context of "an international armed conflict between Israel and Palestine, and a non-international armed conflict between Israel and Hamas". The court treats Palestine as a state as it has observer status at the United Nations, which meant it was able to sign up to the Rome Statute which created the ICC... human rights groups have applauded the way that the ICC prosecutor is seeking to apply the law to both sides. Btselm, a leading Israeli human rights organisation, said the warrants marked "Israel’s rapid decline into a moral abyss". "The international community is signalling to Israel that it can no longer maintain its policy of violence, killing and destruction without accountability," it added. Human rights campaigners have complained for many years that powerful Western countries, led by the US, turn a blind eye to Israeli violations of international law, even as they condemn and sanction other states who are not in their camp. The actions being taken by Mr Khan and his team are, they believe, long overdue... Mr Khan says that the three main leaders of Hamas committed war crimes that include extermination, murder, hostage-taking, rape and torture... He said Hamas had assaulted fundamental human values: "the love within a family, the deepest bonds between a parent and a child were contorted to inflict unfathomable pain through calculated cruelty and extreme callousness". Israel, Mr Khan said, does have the right to defend itself. But "unconscionable crimes" did not "absolve Israel of its obligation to comply with international humanitarian law". The failure to do that, he said, justified issuing warrants for the arrest of Mr Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes including starvation of civilians as a weapon of war, murder, extermination, and intentional attacks on civilians...

I would again highlight that "Israel... does have the right to defend itself. But 'unconscionable crimes' did not 'absolve Israel of its obligation to comply with international humanitarian law'".

Ireland, Spain and Norway to recognize Palestine as a state on May 28.

Jim Sciutto {CNN} @jimsciutto | 10:34 AM · May 22, 2024:
Pay attention to this - part of a long rightward shift in the Israel govt that goes beyond Netanyahu:

Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday rescinded orders barring Israelis from parts of the northern West Bank, paving the way for the reestablishment of Israeli settlements there that were evacuated and demolished in 2005.

Gallant’s move, which he hailed as “historic,” follows through on the Israeli parliament’s repeal last year of a 2005 disengagement law, which barred Israelis from entering the area of four former settlements in the northern West Bank. Israelis can now enter the area of all four former settlements without military restrictions.

Netanyahu's Warning to US Leaders: 'You're Next'
https://www.newsweek.com/netanyahu-warning-us-leaders-youre-next-icc-arrest-warr...

Good.

>41 davidgn: There was a clip on 'Rising' with Lindsey Graham aghast that the ICC might charge him with a war crime. The conservative guy on that show was laughing at Graham. Even he liked the idea of no more Lindsey. Some of these people have an illusion of their own self importance. Graham forgets how he was booed through an airport just a couple years ago. There's not a conservative/right winger I know that likes him.

Graham, like all US politicians, has nothing to worry about, since

The United States is not a state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute), which founded the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2002.

(wikipedia)

Which is why Netanyahu did not actually say that US leaders were "next", as you can read in this article

(he does say that Britain is "next", but I think technically the US is no longer part of Britain)

>43 kiparsky: Assuming they stay in the U.S., you are correct.

Gaza war: What does victory look like for the US and Israel?
Ali Harb | 22 May 2024

After more than seven months of war, analysts say Israel’s aims may be to destroy Gaza and displace its population.

...In the US, meanwhile, the administration of President Joe Biden has articulated a complex vision for the war and its outcome.

Washington says it backs Israel’s push to eliminate Hamas’s military capabilities. It is also seeking a ceasefire deal that would see a temporary halt in the fighting, the release of Israeli captives and a surge in humanitarian aid to Gaza.

At the same time, Biden officials have pursued an agreement to establish diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which they say would boost the prospects of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

As for Gaza, the US says the territory should ultimately be under the governance of a “reformed” Palestinian Authority (PA)...

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/22/gaza-war-what-does-victory-look-like-fo...

>44 davidgn: Yes, A country which has signed the agreement is obligated to arrest anyone with a warrant from the ICC out on them. It does cut down on the number of places someone can visit and if a plane is diverted and a warranted fugitive is found out there's a decent likelihood he/she will be arrested at the airport.

DW News @dwnews | 10:04 PM · May 22, 2024:

"Nobody deserves to starve."

These Israeli activists are trying to stop attacks by settlers on Gaza-bound aid convoys, calling this a fight "for our own humanity."

3:04 (https://x.com/dwnews/status/1793462855196414434)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-2s_fTcR6g

The pier is up. Nothing is being delivered to Palestinians because there is no entity to deliver food, medicine, whatever. That was what UNWRA would do and apparently whoever dreamed up this brilliant idea didn't plan distribution.

>48 lriley: whoever dreamed up this brilliant idea didn't plan distribution

Which was pointed out by many people months ago when the pier plan was mooted - but those with the power to do something about it either didn't listen or else deliberately ignored it.

>49 John5918: .....and Palestinian worries that this pier might be used to force them into exile. Whether the Israelis think anymore that they can get away with that is a question. The longer this has gone on the more other nations of the world are pressuring Israel to stop.....it's just not the United States, United Kingdom and Germany. But it is getting closer and closer to isolation beyond those three countries.

For now we can just call the pier performance art that accomplished nothing but maybe made some people think the Biden administration was trying to actually do something positive. Putting the pressure on Israel to open up the border crossings would have been something that actually helped and not jumping the gun on Israel's completely unsubstantiated allegations on UNWRA. Since this thing reared up again Biden's early unconditional support took away any chance he could have reined in the excesses of Congress and he's pretty much even lost control of his own Democratic caucus many of whom either don't care enough whether he's reelected or are so delusional they don't think that it could cost him said reelection. So we see Jefferies the Democratic House leader leading the charge to save the Republican speaker Johnson and Democrats and Republicans coming together regularly (for the first time in about 20 some years) holding hands on draconian legislation (such as against free speech rights) to support Israel when they haven't agreed on almost anything else in forever and Johnson sharpening his knives to stab his saviors in the back is almost certainly planning to use his invitation to Netanyahu to speak before congress to shit all over Biden in particular and claim the Republicans are Israel's real friends because that's about the most important thing of all. And some Democrats in Congress are on board with even that because they do take loads of money from Israeli lobbyists and there is such a thing as having loyalties beyond the loyalty to your own country.

If Biden had taken a firm hand early and stopped the weapons shipments when he saw Israel's uncontrolled response to the events of Oct. 7 I don't think he'd be in the dire predicament he is in now. He couldn't look any weaker.

UN’s top court orders Israel to immediately halt Rafah offensive (Guardian)

The UN’s top court has ordered Israel to halt its assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah in a ruling that will ratchet up the pressure on the increasingly isolated country. The president of the international court of justice, Nawaf Salam, said the humanitarian situation in Rafah had deteriorated further and was now classified as “disastrous”, meaning the ICJ’s previously issued provisional measures were insufficient. He said the court had voted by a majority of 13 votes to two that “Israel shall, in conformity with its obligations under the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide, and in view of the worsening conditions of life faced by civilians in Rafah governorate … immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in the Rafah governorate which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that would bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part”. The order by the ICJ is not enforceable, and Israeli ministers indicated that they would not comply with it...

Irish Lawmaker: Recognizing Palestine as a State Is Rooted in Our History of Colonization & Famine
Bravo to TD Catherine Connolly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNQKZR-obKk

>52 davidgn:

Ireland is usually on the right side on international political, developmental and human rights issues, precisely because their own history and experience makes them one of the few Global North countries to understand those dynamics. They also value their neutrality.

Call to prosecute Netanyahu for war crimes exposes the west’s moral doublethink (Guardian)

US and Britain condemn Hamas and Putin, yet balk at attempts to hold Israel’s leaders to account. But no one should be above the law... Indignant protests by Israeli and US leaders over last week’s decision by the prosecutor of the international criminal court (ICC) to seek Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrest for alleged war crimes shone new light on an old reality: for those at the top who wield decisive political power, all people are equal – but some are more equal than others... Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, and the US president, Joe Biden, insist that arraigning Israeli and Hamas leaders at the same time implies “moral equivalence”. This is nonsense. There are “reasonable grounds to believe,” as Khan and his expert advisers state, that both sides have committed grave criminal offences. All those responsible must answer equally, whoever and whatever they may be. Netanyahu and his co-defendant, the defence minister, Yoav Gallant, may think they are above the law, especially international law, which they contemptuously flout. Perhaps they believe, while enforcing the occupation of Palestinian areas, that Israel is, too. That is certainly the impression given by their army’s reckless conduct in Gaza. If so, they are not alone. Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, is accused of overseeing numerous crimes in Ukraine. The ICC issued an arrest warrant last year. Does this suggest “moral equivalence” with Hamas terrorists – or Netanyahu? No. It simply means that Putin, like any other individual, must answer for his alleged actions. Like them, his assumption of impunity is – and must be shown to be – false. It’s surprising how difficult western leaders find this concept of equality before the law, even as they prate about upholding the democratic, international rules-based order...

>54 John5918: It's not a comparison of Hamas leaders to Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant that is going on here. The Israelis and Biden and loads of American politicians are just trying to muddy the waters with their bs. The charges are about people who have committed war crimes and those criminal charges are based on specific action taken by the actors in questions. For instance the Hamas leaders are charged with planning and enacting the events that took place on Oct. 7. The two Israeli leaders are charged with promoting and enabling the genocide of the Palestinian people to happen. All these governmental leaders in Israel and in the West that are supporting Israel see themselves as above the crimes they commit and FWIW it's been par for the course in Israel and the United States and even the UK for a long time. Examples in the US go back into the Nixon years for sure but Reagan, Bush1, Clinton, Bush 2, Trump (who certainly believes he's above the law) and now Biden. They've all done things IMO that deserve investigation on criminal charges whether domestic, foreign or both. We could go further into government agencies---particularly secret services. There's not a whole lot of difference between the Russian, the United States, the British, the Israelis etc. etc.---they're all past masters in dirty tricks and they borrow from each other when one of them comes up with anything new.

Biden’s Response to Israel’s ICC Prosecution Is an Attack on International Law (truthout)

On Monday, a prestigious team of international jurists and legal scholars released a report to the International Criminal Court (ICC) recommending the indictment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (along with three Hamas leaders) for war crimes. The angry reactions from President Joe Biden’s administration and Congressional leaders are not simply another defense of Israel’s war crimes, but an attack on international humanitarian law itself. Biden denounced the report as “outrageous,” marking the first time in U.S. history that a sitting president has openly sided with suspected war criminals against the ICC...

Biden Continues to Provide Israel Billions for War Crimes (truthout)

Despite Friday’s near-unanimous ruling by the International Court of Justice for Israel to halt its devastating attacks on the Gazan city of Rafah and Biden’s previous pledge to halt offensive military aid if they did so, U.S. arms continue to flow...

>56 John5918: The problem for Biden now is he's implicated in Israel's war crimes. If Trump were POTUS he for sure would be implicated too.....but he's not. That though is from Trump's own statements about this mass murder campaign. He's full on for it and there wouldn't be any of the hand wringing. Not being an elected politician though he can say whatever he wants pretty much. For members of the House and Senate whether of either party.....at least those voting to send bombs and bullets they are implicated too. Whether that will ever amount to much.....probably not but Biden and members of his administration particularly State Dept. and Defense their asses are the most on the line. We could look at Bush 2 and Iraq/Afghanistan and see war crimes too but genocide was never on the table for them. It is for Biden and even though the ICC has not charged Biden he's reacting pretty much the same way as Netanyahu and Gallant like what's going on is a legit war and not a mass murder of civilians ethnic cleansing. The United States as superpower with the most bombs might blow the fuck out of the world if anyone came after whoever was our POTUS.

Some people here do not like when I call Biden a criminal. If what a person sees going on in Gaza are war crimes though it is our bombs that the Israelis are dropping and that's been clear for months and there has been more than enough chance for us to stop supplying Israel these weapons but Biden and Congress have continued again and again to ship more. I think the death toll is well past 35,000 but even taking that amount of mostly civilians including thousands of children is about as appalling a thing to see going on day after day for months. It's almost incredible to me that our political leaders continue to make excuses over this. It's clear as day what is going on. But it ties into the corrupting influence of the wealthy and the lobbying groups that fund political campaigns. It also says something about the political system of the United States and how citizens here look at global politics and the use of military force....the propaganda/lies of the mainstream media who aid and abet.

At this point, anyone who would believe Netanyahu, would let Lucy hold their football...

Natasha Bertrand (CNN) @NatashaBertrand | 8:28 AM · May 28, 2024:

Israel has told the US that it used a precision munition to hit a target in Rafah on Sunday, but that shrapnel from the explosion ignited a fuel tank nearby and started a fire that engulfed a camp for displaced Palestinians and led to dozens of deaths, a US official told CNN.

The US has not been able to independently confirm the Israeli explanation, the official said.

It is not clear whether the US will conduct its own assessment— throughout the course of the war, the Biden admin has typically relied on Israel to investigate itself and share its findings with US officials.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/middleeast
Here's some of the international reactions:
"Horror must stop": UN chief Antònio Guterres issued a blistering condemnation. "There is no safe place in Gaza. This horror must stop," he said. The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the strike on Tuesday, according to a UN diplomat.

"Abomination": UN relief chief Martin Griffiths criticized Netanyahu's response to the attack. "Whether the attack was a war crime or a 'tragic mistake' for the people of Gaza, there is no debate. What happened last night was the latest – and possibly most cruel – abomination," Griffiths said.

"Unbearable": French President Emmanuel Macron said he was "outraged" by the strikes and called for a ceasefire. Germany described the "images of charred bodies, including children, from the airstrike" as "unbearable."

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said Israel must implement the ICJ ruling.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the strike a "massacre" and said his country “will do everything” in its power to hold Israeli officials accountable.

"Heartbreaking": A US National Security Council spokesperson said the strike was “heartbreaking," adding that the United States was “actively engaging” with officials in Israel to determine what happened. The spokesperson also said "Israel has a right to go after Hamas, and we understand this strike killed two senior Hamas terrorists who are responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians."

"Complete disregard for the lives of civilians": Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) strongly denounced the strike and called for an "immediate and sustained ceasefire" in Gaza. MSF said the airstrike on the camp "shows the complete disregard for the lives of civilians." MSF nurse activity manager Gaia Giletta said from Gaza that "we are shocked by the continuous attacks on civilians, and we have no word to describe the horror of what we've seen here."

"Hell on earth": “The images from last night are a testament to how Rafah has turned into hell on earth," said Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The scenes from Rafah last night are harrowing, Lazzarini said, and some victims “were reportedly burnt to death."

Strike could “hinder” negotiations: Qatar said Israel’s strike on the Rafah camp could “hinder” negotiations aiming for the release of hostages and reaching a ceasefire in Gaza. The Qatari foreign ministry said the strike is a “serious violation of international laws” and expressed concern that it “would complicate the ongoing mediation efforts.”

Spying, hacking and intimidation: Israel’s nine-year ‘war’ on the ICC exposed (Guardian)

Exclusive: Investigation reveals how intelligence agencies tried to derail war crimes prosecution, with Netanyahu ‘obsessed’ with intercepts... Now, an investigation by the Guardian and the Israeli-based magazines +972 and Local Call can reveal how Israel has run an almost decade-long secret “war” against the court. The country deployed its intelligence agencies to surveil, hack, pressure, smear and allegedly threaten senior ICC staff in an effort to derail the court’s inquiries. Israeli intelligence captured the communications of numerous ICC officials, including Khan and his predecessor as prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, intercepting phone calls, messages, emails and documents. The surveillance was ongoing in recent months, providing Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, with advance knowledge of the prosecutor’s intentions...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciVYC2pNo14

Gaza pier falling apart already. Of course we couldn't ask our Israeli friends to open up the border from Egypt to all the trucks have been sitting there for months.

>58 margd: Israel's Rafah Massacre: They Think They Can Get Away With Anything (Owen Jones)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TwbPewyzPI

The New York Times @nytimes | 12:05 PM · May 29, 2024:

Israel’s national security adviser said that he expected military operations in Gaza to continue through the year’s end. Here are the latest updates. https://nyti.ms/3X1xT7H
--------------------------------------

Inspired Lunatic @Cyclingaddict
At this point, the Gaza operation has no purpose except to keep Netanyahu in power and to elect Trump.
Of course they’re going to continue through November.

Laabidi Raissi @laabidi_raissi
And he counts on your {NYT's} cooperation for cover

elmo's complete lack of accountability @joshuarsnyder
what the hell will be left by then? seriously.