Israel orders mass 'evacuation' from Northern Gaza, humanitarian crisis certain to ensue

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Hezbollah confirms top commander killed in Israeli strike

Hezbollah has confirmed one of its top commanders was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut.

The Iran-backed group confirmed that Fouad Shukur, the commander allegedly behind the recent strike on the Golan Heights that killed 12 children, had been killed.

Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the Golan Heights attack.

It comes after an overnight strike in Tehran that killed Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, which Hamas and Iran blamed on Israel.

Shukr was also suspected of being behind the deadly 1983 Marine bombing in the Lebanese capital which killed 241 US military personnel.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had “carried out a targeted strike in Beirut, on the commander responsible for the murder of the children in Majdal Shams and the killing of numerous additional Israeli civilians.”

Lebanese state news agency NNA said the attack was conducted by a drone that fired three missiles.

The strike hit an apartment building next to a hospital, collapsing half of it.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least five civilians - two children and three women - died in the strike in a busy neighbourhood where Hezbollah has political and security operations.

Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said “Hezbollah crossed the red line” in a social media post minutes after the Israeli military claimed responsibility for the strike on Tuesday.

A Hezbollah official, Ali Ammar, said: “The Israeli enemy has committed a great stupid act in size, timing and circumstances by targeting an entirely civilian area.

"The Israeli enemy will pay a price for this sooner or later.”
The last time Israel targeted Beirut was in January when an airstrike killed a top Hamas official, Saleh Arouri.

It marked the first time Israel had hit Beirut since the 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in the summer of 2006.

The two sides have exchanged near-daily strikes for the past 10 months against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, but they have previously kept the conflict at a low level that was unlikely to escalate into full-on war.

But stressed that the Biden administration did not see all-out war as inevitable, adding that the President believed a diplomatic solution was still possible as its important to “continue to be optimistic here".

[Gandalf]

US clears $20bn in arms sales for Israel as atrocities continue in Gaza

Genocide Joe is cementing a bit of his legacy, and Netanyahu gets to keep up the crusade.

From what I can tell Harris is ready to keep it going too.

[Solauren]

US clears $20bn in arms sales for Israel as atrocities continue in Gaza

Genocide Joe is cementing a bit of his legacy, and Netanyahu gets to keep up the crusade.

From what I can tell Harris is ready to keep it going too.

This is part and parcel with US foreign policy and deals with Israel.

IF Biden/Harris want to end that, doing it during an election hands Trump a metric shit-ton of political ammo to use, including claiming the Biden/Harris are anti-semtic/support terrorists/would allow another 9-11 to happen, so it's a bad idea.

The best we can hope for is Harris gets elected, and stops military aid and sales to Israel after she is sworn into office.

[AniThyng]

US clears $20bn in arms sales for Israel as atrocities continue in Gaza

Genocide Joe is cementing a bit of his legacy, and Netanyahu gets to keep up the crusade.

From what I can tell Harris is ready to keep it going too.

This is part and parcel with US foreign policy and deals with Israel.

IF Biden/Harris want to end that, doing it during an election hands Trump a metric shit-ton of political ammo to use, including claiming the Biden/Harris are anti-semtic/support terrorists/would allow another 9-11 to happen, so it's a bad idea.

The best we can hope for is Harris gets elected, and stops military aid and sales to Israel after she is sworn into office.

Why would they, won't the excuse just shift to "but think of the midterms?"

[Solauren]

US clears $20bn in arms sales for Israel as atrocities continue in Gaza

Genocide Joe is cementing a bit of his legacy, and Netanyahu gets to keep up the crusade.

From what I can tell Harris is ready to keep it going too.

This is part and parcel with US foreign policy and deals with Israel.

IF Biden/Harris want to end that, doing it during an election hands Trump a metric shit-ton of political ammo to use, including claiming the Biden/Harris are anti-semtic/support terrorists/would allow another 9-11 to happen, so it's a bad idea.

The best we can hope for is Harris gets elected, and stops military aid and sales to Israel after she is sworn into office.

Why would they, won't the excuse just shift to "but think of the midterms?"

Perhaps. Perhaps not.
I know, that if I became POTUS, I'd pull all military from Israel over this, put it into something US Citizens, and not care if I ended up losing office because I'd have done the right thing.

A Career politico? Probably not as likely.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

This is part and parcel with US foreign policy and deals with Israel.

IF Biden/Harris want to end that, doing it during an election hands Trump a metric shit-ton of political ammo to use, including claiming the Biden/Harris are anti-semtic/support terrorists/would allow another 9-11 to happen, so it's a bad idea.

The best we can hope for is Harris gets elected, and stops military aid and sales to Israel after she is sworn into office.

Why would they, won't the excuse just shift to "but think of the midterms?"

Perhaps. Perhaps not.
I know, that if I became POTUS, I'd pull all military from Israel over this, put it into something US Citizens, and not care if I ended up losing office because I'd have done the right thing.

A Career politico? Probably not as likely.

I don't see Biden doing this even as outgoing president now he's not running for re-election.

Israel agrees to limited pause in fighting in Gaza for polio vaccinations, UN says

Limited pauses in fighting in Gaza have been agreed upon to allow for polio vaccinations for hundreds of thousands of children, the UN's World Health Organisation has announced.

It comes after a baby contracted the first confirmed case of the disease in 25 years in the Palestinian territory.

Described as “humanitarian pauses” that will last three days in different areas of the war-ravaged territory, the vaccination campaign will start Sunday in central Gaza, said WHO representative Rik Peeperkorn.

That will be followed by another three-day pause in southern Gaza and then another in northern Gaza, he said, noting the pauses will last eight or nine hours each day.

Mr Peeperkorn said he believes more days would be needed to complete the vaccinations.

Health workers say they aim to vaccinate 640,000 children under ten and that the campaign has been coordinated with Israeli authorities.

"I’m not going to say this is the ideal way forward. But this is a workable way forward,” Mr Peeperkorn said. “It will happen and should happen because we have an agreement," he added.

These humanitarian pauses are not part of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that mediators from the US, Egypt and Qatar have long been seeking.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity as plans had not been finalised, said there is expected to be some sort of tactical pause to allow vaccinations to take place.

The Israeli army has previously announced limited pauses in limited areas to allow international humanitarian operations.

Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, said the militant group welcomed the push for a pause in Gaza to implement the vaccination drive. He said: "We are ready to cooperate with international organizations to secure this campaign."

The WHO is joined in the vaccination effort by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees and other partners.

Each organisation has been assigned a role in the technical and strategic “micro-plan” to execute the vaccine campaign. For weeks, the organisations have emphasised that some kind of halt in fighting — what they are calling a “polio pause”— would be crucial to the effort’s success, and even to contain the disease from spreading to the broader region.

The WHO said health workers need to vaccinate at least 90% of children in Gaza to stop the transmission of polio.

The campaign comes after ten month old Abdel-Rahman Abu El-Jedian was partially paralysed by a mutated strain of the virus that vaccinated people shed in their waste.

The baby boy was not vaccinated because he was born just before October 7, when Hamas militants attacked Israel and Israel launched a retaliatory offensive on Gaza.

He is one of hundreds of thousands of children who missed vaccinations because of the fighting between Israel and Hamas.

[Juubi Karakuchi]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/artic ... -netanyahu

Israel’s first nationwide strike starts amid anger over handling of hostage talks
Schools, offices and airport close as trade union says general strike needed to ‘shake those who need to be shaken’ over inaction

Guardian staff and agencies
Mon 2 Sep 2024 07.40 BST

Israel’s first nationwide general strike since the Hamas attacks of 7 October is under way, amid widespread public anger at the government’s handling of the war in Gaza after the discovery of the bodies of six hostages at the weekend.

Israel’s largest trade union, Histadrut, ordered a nationwide general strike from 6am on Monday that is expected to bring large parts of the economy to a halt. Government and municipal offices were due to close, as well as schools and many private businesses. Israel’s international airport, Ben Gurion, was reported to have shut down at 8am local time (6am BST) for two hours.

The chair of Histadrut, Arnon Bar-David, said in a statement: “I have come to the conclusion that only our intervention can shake those who need to be shaken.

“A deal is not progressing due to political considerations and this is unacceptable.”

The mayors of Tel Aviv and nearby Givatayim announced the municipalities would be striking on Monday to demand the return of the hostages, and more are expected to follow suit.

The action comes after tens of thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Sunday night, cutting off the Ayalon highway, the motorway running through the heart of Tel Aviv, and lighting fires in the streets. A few dozen police officers tried to contain the protest but were unable to push it back. Local media reported that 29 people had been arrested.

The union called the strike after campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum backed the idea in order to force the government to reach a deal for the return of the remaining hostages taken during Hamas’s attacks on 7 October. Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid also supported the move.

“Were it not for the delays, sabotage and excuses” in months of mediation efforts, the six hostages “would likely still be alive”, a statement from the group said, referring to the discovery of Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Ori Danino in tunnels “dozens of metres” underground during fighting in Rafah, southern Gaza.

The strike could affect hospitals and other public services, costing the economy millions of shekels.

On Sunday, Israeli media reported the attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, had instructed prosecutors to seek an injunction against the strike. Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, wrote to the attorney general on Sunday seeking an injunction, arguing that it would harm the economy and had no legal basis as its main aim was to influence government policy on state security.

The Histadrut union has not taken such drastic action since March 2023, over Netanyahu’s controversial judicial overhaul plans.

Military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said all six hostages “were abducted alive on the morning of 7 October” and “brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them”.

However, the findings pointing to Hamas executions did little to deflect widespread fury towards Benjamin Netanyahu and his rightwing coalition for failing to agree a US-backed hostages-for-peace deal with Hamas, which has been on the negotiating table since late May. The longtime Israeli leader has been repeatedly accused of stalling on a ceasefire deal for his own political gain.

On Sunday, Netanyahu asked hostage Lobanov’s parents for “forgiveness for not succeeding in bringing Sasha back alive”.

Some analysts said the public outcry over the six hostages who died could signal a new level of political pressure on Netanyahu. “I think this is an earthquake. This isn’t just one more step in the war,” said Nomi Bar-Yaacov, associate fellow in the International Security Programme at Chatham House, shortly before Sunday’s protests.

The US president, Joe Biden, said he was “devastated and outraged” by the hostage deaths, but told reporters he was “still optimistic” a deal could be reached.

With Agence France-Presse and Associated Press

Israel's Labour Court has since ordered the strike to end at 14:30 local time. As far as I know, this has not happened.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Israeli PM asks for 'forgiveness' over hostage deaths amid protests outside his home

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has asked the families of six hostages whose bodies were recovered over the weekend for "forgiveness".

Speaking at a press conference, he said: “I told the families, and I repeat and say this evening: I am asking for your forgiveness that we didn’t manage to bring them back alive. We were very close but we couldn’t make it.”

His vow to bring consequences to Hamas comes as protests have broken out across Israel, including in front of Netanyahu's home.

Israelis poured into the streets late on Sunday in grief and anger in what appeared to be the largest protest since the start of the war. The families and much of the public blamed Netanyahu, saying the hostages could have been returned alive in a deal with Hamas.

A rare general strike was held across the country on Monday, affecting airports, shopping centres and schools in a day of action calling on the government to agree a Gaza ceasefire deal to release hostages held by Hamas.

The move was organised by Israel's largest trade union, the Histadrut, and marks the first of its kind since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, where some 250 people were taken hostage by the militant group.

Flights from Israel's Ben-Gurion airport were halted between 8am and 10am local time (6am - 8am BST), with some slight delays.

The union said banks, some large shopping centres and government offices were closed due to the strike, as well as some transport services, but no major disruptions were reported.

In Tel Aviv, school hours were shortened and public nurseries were closed.

In the UK, foreign secretary David Lammy announced that the government would be suspending some arms exports to Israel.

Histadrut said hospitals and healthcare services could also be impacted, with both working on a weekend schedule and on an emergency basis.

Others parts of Israel were not participating in the strike, including in Jerusalem.

There was a night of protests on Sunday, with organisers estimating 500,000 people took to the streets after the bodies of six more hostages were recovered in Gaza.

Demonstrators demanded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reach a ceasefire deal with Hamas where remaining hostages would be released, chanting: "Now! Now!".

Thousands of people, some of them weeping, gathered outside Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem. In Tel Aviv, hostages' relatives marched with coffins.

Izzat al-Rishq, a senior Hamas official, said the hostages would still be alive if Israel had accepted a US-backed ceasefire proposal that Hamas said it had agreed to in July.

Three of the six hostages found dead were reportedly scheduled to be released in the first phase of the deal.

Hamas has offered to release the hostages in return for an end to the war, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.

The Israeli government blamed Hamas for stalled negotiations, and said the six hostages were killed shortly before Israeli forces discovered their bodies in a tunnel beneath Gaza.

“Whoever murders hostages doesn’t want a deal,” he said.

One of those found dead was Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, who lost part of his left arm to a grenade on October 7.

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The army identified the others as Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; Alexander Lobanov, 33; and Carmel Gat, 40.

President Biden has been "clear" that Hamas is the one responsible for the deaths of Goldberg-Polin and the five other hostages.

Biden previously said that Netanyahu is not doing enough to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas, and that he is "close" to presenting a final deal to negotiators working on a ceasefire agreement.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum praised the comments made by Biden.

According to the Israeli Health Ministry, the hostages were shot at close range and were recovered just half a mile from where a hostage was rescued alive last week.

During the funeral of Almog Sarusi, his mother said: “You were abandoned on and on, daily, hour after hour, 331 days.

“You and so many beautiful and pure souls.”