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

[Crazedwraith]

It's probably a moot question. Netanyahu is presumably unlikely to travel to any country willing to arrest him.

[Ralin]

It's probably a moot question. Netanyahu is presumably unlikely to travel to any country willing to arrest him.

It's 2024. Remember when the head of Wagner decided to fly back into Russia with his second in command for no discernable reason?

[Ralin]

Who in any of those countries is actually going to have the balls to arrest the Leader of a Foreign Nation.

To be honest Tev, I find your phrasing kinda odd. It implies that it would take a lot of courage on the part of, say, Ireland's government to do so. Warrants like this have issues with enforcement since the court doesn't have an independent army, but I don't see much reason why any country outside of bombing range would need to be afraid of Israel's wrath.

[LadyTevar]

Who in any of those countries is actually going to have the balls to arrest the Leader of a Foreign Nation.

To be honest Tev, I find your phrasing kinda odd. It implies that it would take a lot of courage on the part of, say, Ireland's government to do so. Warrants like this have issues with enforcement since the court doesn't have an independent army, but I don't see much reason why any country outside of bombing range would need to be afraid of Israel's wrath.

Well... first, you have the whole problem of "Arresting the Rightfully Elected Chosen Leader of a Foreign Nation", which means you have just created an International Incident between your nation and Israel, as well as probably the USofA acting as "big brother".

Second, you have the issue of arresting a JEWISH Leader, which gets you accused of Anti-Semitism and gets condemnation from anyone with connections to Israeli, the Jewish Nation, or whom are Zionists (See USA).

It's going to be a political international clusterfuck that might rival the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.

[Zaune]

Well, he's only the lawfully elected Prime Minister until the next election, which is not guaranteed to go his way.

[Raw Shark]

Second, you have the issue of arresting a JEWISH Leader, which gets you accused of Anti-Semitism and gets condemnation from anyone with connections to Israeli, the Jewish Nation, or whom are Zionists (See USA).

It's going to be a political international clusterfuck that might rival the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.

If you think people who support the Jews are that kind of power bloc in the good ol' US-Of-A like that, I have to wonder if you've ever met a Jew. I dated one recently, and she most def did not feel like she was that kind of welcome here. I think most of the reason she even went out with me is because I fucking love punching a Nazi.

[Elfdart]

Who in any of those countries is actually going to have the balls to arrest the Leader of a Foreign Nation.

To be honest Tev, I find your phrasing kinda odd. It implies that it would take a lot of courage on the part of, say, Ireland's government to do so. Warrants like this have issues with enforcement since the court doesn't have an independent army, but I don't see much reason why any country outside of bombing range would need to be afraid of Israel's wrath.

Well... first, you have the whole problem of "Arresting the Rightfully Elected Chosen Leader of a Foreign Nation", which means you have just created an International Incident between your nation and Israel, as well as probably the USofA acting as "big brother".

Second, you have the issue of arresting a JEWISH Leader, which gets you accused of Anti-Semitism and gets condemnation from anyone with connections to Israeli, the Jewish Nation, or whom are Zionists (See USA).

It's going to be a political international clusterfuck that might rival the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.

That's funny, since the Fatherland has no qualms about arresting Jews who oppose the Gaza Genocide.

[Elfdart]

And right on cue, IDF fluffers start flinging shit like zoo monkeys. Sen. Tom Cotton (imagine Timothy McVeigh if he could've afforded tuition) just threatened to use force against the ICC, as he and other senators did against the ICJ a few months ago. Since Cotton is too busy calling for the mass murder of protesters to look at a map, someone should remind that racist little prick that the Hague in in the Netherlands, a member of NATO. Under the terms of the NATO treaty, the US is required to use force if any member state is attacked.

So if Netanyahoo gets busted, Tom Cotton wants the US to attack... the US!

[Gandalf]

Second, you have the issue of arresting a JEWISH Leader, which gets you accused of Anti-Semitism and gets condemnation from anyone with connections to Israeli, the Jewish Nation, or whom are Zionists (See USA).

It's going to be a political international clusterfuck that might rival the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.

If you think people who support the Jews are that kind of power bloc in the good ol' US-Of-A like that, I have to wonder if you've ever met a Jew. I dated one recently, and she most def did not feel like she was that kind of welcome here. I think most of the reason she even went out with me is because I fucking love punching a Nazi.

Also, a lot of the protests that have happened in the past year have had Jewish people declaring "not in our name."

[Ralin]

It's going to be a political international clusterfuck that might rival the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.

Okay now that's just silly. The only country which has any chance of doing some sort of military intervention over Netanyahu being arrested in the US, and then that is far-fetched. No it would not be on par with assassination that immediately triggered armies marching.

[Ralin]

*even that is far-fetched

[Elfdart]

Second, you have the issue of arresting a JEWISH Leader, which gets you accused of Anti-Semitism and gets condemnation from anyone with connections to Israeli, the Jewish Nation, or whom are Zionists (See USA).

It's going to be a political international clusterfuck that might rival the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.

If you think people who support the Jews are that kind of power bloc in the good ol' US-Of-A like that, I have to wonder if you've ever met a Jew. I dated one recently, and she most def did not feel like she was that kind of welcome here. I think most of the reason she even went out with me is because I fucking love punching a Nazi.

Also, a lot of the protests that have happened in the past year have had Jewish people declaring "not in our name."

One of the co-authors of the warrant for Bibi the Baby Butcher is himself an Israeli. American Jews oppose the slaughter in Gaza more than most other minority groups. For decades, the most strident opponents of Zionist Lebensraum have been American Jews like Noam Chomsky, Greg Grandin, Norman Finkelstein and European ones like Gabor Mate.

It's faux-Christian fundies who want the Palestinians exterminated to make way for more American and European squatters so the Little Lord Jesus can throw them into the lake of fire. In other words, they want western Jews to migrate to the Holy Land in the same way lions want zebras to migrate to the savanna.

[Raw Shark]

It's faux-Christian fundies who want the Palestinians exterminated to make way for more American and European squatters so the Little Lord Jesus can throw them into the lake of fire. In other words, they want western Jews to migrate to the Holy Land in the same way lions want zebras to migrate to the savanna.

More than anything else that baffles me about my fellow Americans is how many of the ones who call themselves, "Christians," haven't cracked a single page of the Bible. I've personally read it cover to cover twice (best advertisement for atheism I've ever seen) because I wanted to be able to win debates in Sunday school when I was a kid, and I can tell you, Jesus was most definitely a Jew. Matthew, whose name I carry, was most definitely a Rabbi. Those guys were Jews, people.

I mean, you actually think that the guy whose death inspired your religion was part of your religion? Jesus Christ. Literally and figuratively. If there's one thing I've had to confront in the last month, it's that more of my fellow Americans than I thought are dumber than two bags of shit. I'm not going to allege that this election was stolen. This is how a grown-ass adult accepts a defeat. That shitbird won it fair and square because my people are fucking idiots.

[Raw Shark]

Probably my favorite John Oliver bit went like this:

"Hello, my children. I'm God. I know we haven't talked much lately, but listen up. I hear you say, "Climate change can't destroy the world! It's all part of God's plan!" Well, what if my plan is to fucking kill you all if you fuck this up? What if that's my plan? Have you thought about this? Have you even read the Old Testament? I'm a short-tempered bad motherfucker. Don't listen to what my hippie kid says about me too much; I'll fucking end you if I feel like it. What do I care? I can make another planet and another human race before breakfast."

Their ideas don't even make sense by their OWN rules.

[Batman]

I won'T go so far as to say it won fair and square, but I Currently have to admit it won 'legally'.And climate change CAN'T destroy the world. It can merely render it uninhabitable for humans. ALDERAAN was destroyed . EARTH will still be here for species hopefully smarter than us to evolve on.

[Raw Shark]

I won'T go so far as to say it won fair and square, but I Currently have to admit it won 'legally'.And climate change CAN'T destroy the world. It can merely render it uninhabitable for humans. ALDERAAN was destroyed . EARTH will still be here for species hopefully smarter than us to evolve on.

That's fair. Maybe this series of events will be better for the other terrestrial animals.

I mean, even if we somehow managed to blow the whole fucking thing up, it'd probably pull itself back into a roughly spherical shape and reset because gravity. This is what passes for optimism for me right now.

[LadyTevar]

Israel Holding Gaza Hospital Chief Abu Safiya

((TL/DR Version: Israel finally admitted they had arrested Abu Safiya for being a terrorist and holding rank in Hamas. He's being held and interrogated after having gone missing with IDF claiming they didn't have him))

Israel has confirmed it is holding Gaza hospital director Dr Hussam Abu Safiya after earlier telling a local NGO that it was unaware of his case, sparking concern for his well being.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement said he was "currently being investigated by Israeli security forces" in person.

The statement did not offer an explanation for the confusion but repeated that he was suspected of being a "terrorist" and for "holding a rank" in Hamas, the armed Palestinian group at war with Israel in Gaza.

Dr Abu Safiya was arrested as the Israeli military forced patients and medical staff to leave Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza last Friday, alleging the facility was a "Hamas terrorist stronghold".

On Thursday the IDF told Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) that it had "no indication of the arrest or detention of the individual in question".

The PHRI filed a petition with the Israeli High Court of Justice on Thursday, demanding Dr Abu Safiya's location be disclosed. It said the court had given the IDF a week to comply.

Meanwhile Amnesty head Agnès Callamard said Israeli authorities must "urgently disclose his whereabouts".

She said Israel had detained "hundreds of Palestinian healthcare workers from Gaza without charge or trial" and said they had been "subjected to torture and other ill-treatment and been held in incommunicado detention".

Israel denies mistreating detainees.

Dr Abu Safiya's family previously told BBC Arabic they believe he is being held at Sde Teiman military base in southern Israel, where Israeli forces have taken many detainees from Gaza for interrogation.

Whistleblowers have previously told the BBC and other international media of extremely harsh conditions for detainees there. Israel has said all detainees there are kept "carefully and appropriately".

The IDF ordered everyone inside Kamal Adwan hospital to leave last Friday morning, giving the hospital about 15 minutes to move patients and staff into the courtyard, medical staff told the BBC.

Beit Lahia, where the hospital is located, has been under a tightening Israeli blockade imposed on parts of northern Gaza since October. The UN has said the area has been under "near-total siege" as the Israeli military heavily restricts access of aid deliveries to an area where an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people remain.

On Saturday, the IDF said it apprehended 240 combatants at Kamal Adwan and said Dr Abu Safiya was among medical staff taken for questioning.

Video footage showed him walking towards an Israeli armoured vehicle before being taken for interrogation. An Israeli military spokesperson confirmed the arrest that same day, saying the doctor had been transferred for questioning.

Dr Abu Safiya was previously arrested by Israeli forces during an earlier raid on the hospital in October, but was freed shortly afterwards. During that Israeli operation Dr Abu Safiya's 15-year-old son was killed in a drone strike. Footage from later that day showed him leading funeral prayers for his son in the hospital courtyard.

Israeli attacks on Gaza's healthcare facilities have prompted increasing condemnation.

On Tuesday the UN Human Rights Office says Israeli attacks on and around hospitals have pushed Gaza's healthcare system to "the brink of total collapse" and raised serious concerns about war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Israel's mission in Geneva said Israeli forces operated in accordance with international law and would "never target innocent civilians".

Israel launched a campaign to destroy Hamas in response to the group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 45,580 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Israel and Hamas finalising agreement on ceasefire deal

Israel and Hamas have reportedly agreed to a ceasefire deal in the Gaza Strip, bringing an end to nearly 16 months of fighting, mediators announced on Wednesday.

Three US officials and one from Hamas have confirmed that a deal had been reached, while a senior Israeli official said details are still being ironed out.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that it hoped "details will be finalised tonight."

Even then, the agreement will still need approval by Netanyahu’s Cabinet but is expected to go into effect in the coming days.

The deal is expected to deliver an initial six-week halt to fighting, accompanied by the opening of negotiations on ending the war altogether.

Abed Radwan, a Palestinian father of three, in reaction to the deal, told AP: "The best day in my life and the life of the Gaza people... Thank God."

Radwan, who has been displaced from the northern town of Beit Lahiya for over a year and currently shelters in Gaza City, said he will try to return home and “rebuild my house, and rebuild Beit Lahiya".

US President-elect Donald Trump has said that the Israeli hostages being held by Hamas would be “released shortly".

“We have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you!" Trump posted on Truth Social.

This all follows extensive peace talks between Israel and Hamas held in Qatar, with mediators from the Gulf State, Egypt and the United States helping to get the deal finalised.

What does the agreement look like?

The agreement outlines the gradual release of 33 hostages over six weeks, including women, children, the elderly, and wounded civilians, in exchange for potentially hundreds of Palestinian women and children imprisoned by Israel.

Among the 33 there would be five female Israeli soldiers, each of whom would be released in exchange for 50 Palestinian prisoners, including 30 convicted militants who are serving life sentences.

An Israeli official confirmed that the country believes most of the 33 hostages are still alive.

During this first, 42-day phase, Israeli forces would withdraw from population centres, Palestinians would be allowed to start returning to their homes in northern Gaza and there would be a surge in humanitarian aid, with some 600 trucks entering each day.

Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News. Direct to your inbox every Friday morning.

Many long-term questions about the future of Gaza remain, including who will govern the territory and oversee its reconstruction.

However, the announcement of the hostage deal marks the first sign of hope in months that Israel and Hamas may be moving towards ending their deadliest and most destructive war.

This conflict has destabilised the broader Middle East and sparked worldwide protests.

Hamas triggered the war with its Oct 7, 2023, cross-border attack, which killed about 1,200 Israelis and took 250 others hostage.

Israel responded with a fierce offensive that has killed over 46,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza's population and sparked a humanitarian crisis.

[Soontir C'boath]

The Muslims who voted for Donald Trump are certainly going to feel vindicated at the very least if not outright righteous. Whatever Biden may say now, you can't really claim to have been working on a ceasefire when the administration still kept sending billions of dollars in weapons to Israel. Biden has just made a decent size voting block Republican for life.

Trump’s pressure on Israel and Hamas to finish the ceasefire deal appears to have worked, analyst says
By ELLEN KNICKMEYER

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has hammered home warnings that there better be a Gaza hostage deal by his Jan. 20 inauguration or “all hell would break out.”

Hamas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both seem to have been listening.

Netanyahu’s agreement to a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal Wednesday “ironically shows how effective actual pressure can be in changing Israeli government behavior,” said Nancy Okail, head of the U.S.-based Center for International Policy.

She accused Netanyahu of long stalling such a deal, and faulted Biden for not raising the stakes for Netanyahu in his continued objections to proposed terms.

Trump declared in a social media post last month “there will be ALL HELL TO PAY” if the hostages weren’t released before the U.S. Inauguration Day.

“It will not be good for Hamas and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone,” he told reporters this month, underscoring the deadline.

[Solauren]

I wonder if Israel took that as Trump going "I've had enough of your shit, and I will do something about it'.
i.e cut off all aid, and then sanctions.


You have to admit, if Trump wanted someone to bully, very few people would object to him coming down on Israel and Hamas and the rest of the 'kill each other at all costs' crowd.

[Ralin]

I'll believe it when I see it and it goes a full month without being undone, but yeah. Wow.

So any bets on how long it will take Trump to realize he can do something really funny by having Biden tried for war crimes?

[Steel]

The Muslims who voted for Donald Trump are certainly going to feel vindicated at the very least if not outright righteous. Whatever Biden may say now, you can't really claim to have been working on a ceasefire when the administration still kept sending billions of dollars in weapons to Israel. Biden has just made a decent size voting block Republican for life.

Whaaat? Every other ceasefire in history has been worked on under these circumstances! How on earth can anyone give a ceasefire agreed under Biden as a win to Trump?!

[Zaune]

Because few if any countries bother to make sure their citizens understand how this shit actually works.

[Soontir C'boath]

by Zaune » Thu Jan 16, 25 1141:51

The Muslims who voted for Donald Trump are certainly going to feel vindicated at the very least if not outright righteous. Whatever Biden may say now, you can't really claim to have been working on a ceasefire when the administration still kept sending billions of dollars in weapons to Israel. Biden has just made a decent size voting block Republican for life.

Whaaat? Every other ceasefire in history has been worked on under these circumstances! How on earth can anyone give a ceasefire agreed under Biden as a win to Trump?!

Do you two actually have a valid response or perhaps the quality of SDN has certainly went down the drain.

[bilateralrope]

by Zaune » Thu Jan 16, 25 1141:51

The Muslims who voted for Donald Trump are certainly going to feel vindicated at the very least if not outright righteous. Whatever Biden may say now, you can't really claim to have been working on a ceasefire when the administration still kept sending billions of dollars in weapons to Israel. Biden has just made a decent size voting block Republican for life.

Whaaat? Every other ceasefire in history has been worked on under these circumstances! How on earth can anyone give a ceasefire agreed under Biden as a win to Trump?!

Do you two actually have a valid response or perhaps the quality of SDN has certainly went down the drain.

What specifically did Trump's administration do to negotiate his ceasefire ?


What reason do you have to think that this ceasefire will last ?