By 

Raed Jabr

Relations between Moscow and Tel Aviv were not at their best on the night of October 7, the eve of the situation erupting again between Israel and the Palestinians, and sliding towards the brink of a “major regional war” whose repercussions threaten the region and the world, according to Russian warnings.

Although the positions of the two parties currently reflect a divergence that is considered the widest in the history of relations that began in the early 1990s, what is certain is that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict does not constitute the main reason for this deterioration, but rather a new episode added to the elements of tension that have accumulated severely in recent years. Especially after the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Serious transformation

In previous years, the Kremlin boasted close ties with Israel. President Vladimir Putin repeated several times the statement that a fifth of Israel's citizens are of Russian and former Soviet origins, which constitutes an important asset to the relations between the two parties. Most notably, Russian and Israeli officials have boasted more than once that official talks between the two parties are conducted in the Russian language, especially in previous stages when Israeli politicians such as Avigdor Lieberman (of Moldavian origin) held prominent government positions.

At that time, Russia did not care much about the fact that some of these people were extremists who called for a “final solution” to the Palestinian issue and supported the worst racist policies towards the Palestinians.

But the serious shift in relations began in 2014, after the ignition of the confrontation with the West, against the backdrop of the decision to annex the Crimean Peninsula, and the outbreak of hostilities in eastern Ukraine, which put Russia before broad Western sanctions packages. The second episode of transformation was completed the very next year, in the wake of direct Russian military intervention in Syria.

These two developments resulted in the inauguration of a new, complex and very thorny phase in Russia-Israel relations. On the one hand, Russian circles continued to bet on Israel, the “Russian-speaking friend,” to play an important role in alleviating Western pressures and establishing Jewish influence in the West to reduce sanctions. But on the other hand, Russia has become a “neighbor” of Israel after consolidating the Russian presence in the Mediterranean and deploying Russian military bases on the territory of Syria. This matter carries a number of complications related primarily to the close relationship between Moscow and Tehran, and to the fact that Russia now has direct interests in the Middle East region that cannot be ignored in any political or military move.

Understandings in Syria

In those circumstances, the close relations between Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu helped to arrange understandings that guarantee the interests of both parties, the most prominent title of which was that Tel Aviv does not obstruct Russia’s movements in the region, in exchange for Moscow turning a blind eye to Israel’s steps directed at protecting its interests and security requirements.

This equation quickly produced an understanding related to coordinating the military movements of the two parties. Among its most prominent features is that Russia ensures that the situation in the Golan region does not slide into a path that harms Israeli security. Many remember how Moscow once conducted patrols along the separation line in the Golan, and pledged to ensure Israel's security as one of its main priorities in Syria. In return, Tel Aviv provided guarantees to Moscow not to target military bases and facilities in which Russian forces or trainers are located, or linked to the decision-making, control and management centers of the Syrian government that are operated with Russian assistance, while it reserved the right to direct strikes on airports and facilities used by Iran, or Hezbollah, to transport weapons and equipment to Lebanon. This understanding lived for years during which Moscow turned a blind eye to Israeli strikes inside Syria.

Certainly, these understandings witnessed ebbs and flows, and the situation almost slid more than once towards their implosion, but the speed and accuracy of communications at the highest levels helped every time to overcome urgent crises.

Ukraine war

But the two sides were facing a new turning point in relations after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The situation coincided with major internal fluctuations in Israel that led to Yair Lapid becoming prime minister. The Russian war in Ukraine caused the largest and most violent shock in the history of relations, especially with the Israeli side’s tendency to direct unprecedented criticism at Moscow. It was accompanied by practical action to support Ukraine by supplying it with some limited arms shipments and extensive humanitarian aid, as well as through the transfer of hundreds of trainers and unit men. Private individuals who, according to some reports, helped Kiev confront attacks by Russian or Iranian-made drones and other military technologies.

There is no doubt that relations before the outbreak of the war were facing challenges, including the difference in Russian and Israeli visions about the Iranian position in Syria, and about scenarios for a final solution to the crisis in this country.

But the differences between Moscow and Tel Aviv came to light in an unprecedented way with the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

At that stage, it seemed that the delicate balance that Moscow had established for years in relations between Tel Aviv, on the one hand, and Tehran, on the other, had suffered a major crack.

In contrast to the “hostile” statements issued by Lapid, for example, towards Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is usually described as professional and cautious in choosing diplomatic expressions, detonated a bomb when he did not feel embarrassed during an interview with an Italian newspaper in criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. And the reference to his Jewish origin, and then Tel Aviv responded to him angrily and considered his statement disgraceful and unforgivable.

The “support” visit made by the Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, to Kiev at the beginning of the year was one of the most intense points of tension between the Hebrew state and Moscow, noting that it was the first visit of its kind by an Israeli official at this level to Ukraine since the start of the war.

For its part, Moscow took a serious step toward showing its anger through the decision to close the Russian office of the Jewish Agency “Sakhnot” against the backdrop of accusing it of violating immigration laws, misleading Russians, and adopting illegal mechanisms to transfer qualified people to Israel.

It is true that this crisis subsided with Netanyahu's return to the Prime Minister's Office and his pledge to repair relations with Moscow, but the repercussions of the Ukrainian war were too great for quick settlements to be reached.

The relationship with Tehran

Strengthening the Russian-Iranian alliance has represented the most significant challenge to the attempt to mend relations. Russian experts say that Israel has expanded its activities within the framework of providing Kiev with intelligence information to combat Iranian drones. It began studying providing Kiev with advanced missile systems to confront air attacks. In this context, it seemed that Israel was seeking to examine the repercussions of the “Russian-Iranian alliance” on the one hand, and to work, on the other hand, to expand its activity to examine the capabilities of Iranian aircraft provided to Russia, and other military systems, a large part of which may also be present with “ Hezbollah” in Lebanon.

Russian “punitive” measures against Israel did not succeed in confronting the new situation, including in terms of giving the Syrians free rein to use Russian air defense systems against Israeli attacks, closing Syrian airspace to Israeli warplanes, and activating Damascus’s anti-aircraft missile systems.

All of these measures did not reduce the scale and intensity of the Israeli attacks in Syria, as they took on a dimension that violated all previous understandings, including targeting airports and military infrastructure of the Syrian government.

Against this background, the situation around Gaza exploded, adding a new element of tension that exacerbates the crisis and widens the gap in an unprecedented way between Moscow and Tel Aviv.

It is true that Moscow avoided condemning Israel's actions, and sought primarily to confirm that its close ties with all parties could contribute to playing the role of an acceptable mediator to reduce the severity of the conflict, but Tel Aviv did not forgive the Kremlin for its insistence on confirming and affirming its rejection of the final solution proposed by Israel for the Palestinian issue. Commitment to the two-state solution, and that “no settlement is possible without the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital,” according to Putin’s assertions.

Russian benefits

Experts say the main reason behind Moscow's position is that it currently benefits from distracting attention from the war in Ukraine.

Based on this, the whole world is focused on Israel and the Gaza Strip, which means that Russia now has freedom of action to a large extent, says expert Nikolai Kozanov. He cites, as an example, the fact that Russia was able to abandon the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty relatively quietly - the Duma adopted a law on this matter this week.

Experts also point out that events on the Ukrainian fronts have faded from the front pages of the world, and a debate has begun in the West about how to distribute aid to Israel and Ukraine - all of which is beneficial for Russia.

In addition, Russia had the opportunity to speak with the international community and undermine attempts to isolate it.

It is true that it is difficult to imagine Israel accepting Russian mediation in the ongoing war, but this does not prevent Moscow from accumulating benefits due to the current situation. This explains its movement in the Security Council, and its continuous affirmations about its vision for resolving the conflict in a way that is also consistent with the Russian and Chinese consensus on seeing the features of the new international order

But the focus of some experts on the idea of “Russian benefits” from the worsening conflict does not alone reflect the level of slide that relations between Moscow and Tel Aviv have reached. Here two main factors enter into the debate. The first is the Russian-Iranian relationship, which has reached levels of coordination and alliance, causing Israeli analysts to talk about confronting “an axis that includes Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and many other countries.” Here, it is important to point out that Moscow has moved from ignoring the accusations directed at Iran that it is behind the current escalation, to directly defending Tehran and affirming its refusal to “place the blame” on the Iranians who, as Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “adopt a very balanced position and seek with the countries of the region to... Reducing tension and preventing a slide towards a major regional confrontation.”

The second element relates to the crystallization of a new Russian vision for alliances against the backdrop of the worsening conflict with the West, which means that Moscow has gradually begun to lose interest in establishing difficult balances such as those it has established since the arrival of its military forces in Syria.

Warning of regional war

In general, experts point out that Russian warnings about the danger of a “regional war” are in fact a direct expression of shared positions with Iran, which also does not wish to engage in a broad and comprehensive confrontation, but may be forced to do so if Israel moves towards undermining its regional centers of influence.

This explains, in part, the degree of anger in Israel toward Russia, even though the latter has not officially announced support for Hamas’ positions.

Israeli experts provide some indications that the “cautious” Russian position actually hides current anti-Israel policies, including the fact that Putin is one of the very few world leaders who did not call Netanyahu to condole the Israeli deaths on October 7. It took Putin eight days after that to contact the Israeli Prime Minister as part of a series of contacts he made with regional leaders to confront the possibility of expanding the conflict.

This showed, according to experts, that any actions taken by Russia in the Middle East can no longer be viewed in isolation from the war in Ukraine and Russia's military relations with Iran.

An Israeli expert says that “in Israel in general, expectations are now very modest, and in a direct translation from Hebrew I say that we do not need help - the main thing is that they (the Russians) cause as little harm as possible. “I believe that today is the most accurate position of public opinion and politicians towards what is happening, and Russia’s position on what is happening.”

Burning bridges

This extremely cautious talk towards Moscow was reflected in another way by the ruling Likud Party in Israel, which until recently was Russia's most important friend. One of the party's most prominent leaders, Amir Whitman, declared that Russia "has become an enemy" and pledged to punish it after the end of the battle with Hamas. “Russia will pay the bills,” he said. Believe me (..) Russia supports the enemies of Israel, supports the Nazis who want to commit genocide against the Israeli people.

Whitman added that after the current battle, Israel will not hesitate to “send its forces to Ukraine to punish Russia.”

Some conspiracy theorists in Russia found in the recent destruction of the Orthodox Church in Gaza a message directed at Moscow as “the protector of the Orthodox world.”

It was noteworthy that the targeting of the Church of Saint Porphyry of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which resulted in the killing of eight people, required the strong intervention of the Russian Church, after it had maintained complete neutrality towards the war. The church said in a statement: “The Russian Orthodox Church sympathizes with the brave priests and parishioners of the Orthodox community in the Gaza Strip, sympathizes with the victims and prays that the Lord will strengthen the people of Palestine in the face of the current ordeal.”

In its statement, the Russian Church supported the message of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which described the Israeli air strikes on humanitarian institutions in the Gaza Strip as a “war crime that cannot be ignored.”

This constituted a new indication that the Gaza war may result in burning the last bridges between Moscow and Tel Aviv.

BY

YASEEN AL-SHEIKH

In Thursday night, President Joe Biden delivered a nationally televised address making the case for an unprecedented military aid package for Israel, as well as Ukraine. Biden is requesting a whopping $74 billion to send to Israel and Ukraine, even amid scenes of mass death, humanitarian crisis, and relentless violence in the besieged Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank.

So where does the US public stand on the crisis in Palestine and Israel? Contrary to the impression one might get listening to the leadership of the Democratic and Republican Parties, there appears to be a breakdown in consensus. 

According to a CBS/YouGov poll released yesterday, over 55 percent of Americans disapprove of Biden’s handling of the conflict thus far (though 62 percent of Democrats say Biden is showing the right amount of support for Israel).

Most notably, roughly 53 percent of Democrats believe the United States should not send additional weapons and supplies to Israeli. If the numbers are accurate — and looking into the weeds of the polling data seems to bolster the takeaway — we appear to be witnessing a significant shift in public opinion.

What can we glean from these results? Two things.

One, the age divide. The CBS poll and a Quinnipiac survey released on October 17 both lay bare the substantial generational split on the issue. In each survey, those under fifty years old are more likely to be critical of the president’s approach and of unconditional support for Israel. Even in the Quinnipiac poll, which frames the question in a way that would depress support for the sentiment, 51 percent of voters aged eighteen to thirty-four say they oppose the United States “sending weapons and military equipment to Israel in response to the Hamas terrorist attack.”

Additionally, the CBS poll finds that 70 percent of Democrats and 57 percent of voters overall, including a perhaps surprising 41 percent of Republicans, believe the United States should directly ferry humanitarian aid into Gaza. All of this lines up with polling from earlier this year and previous years that indicate an uptick in support for Palestinians, particularly from younger Americans.

Two, the malleability of public opinion on this issue is stronger than one might have initially anticipated after the horrific October 7 attacks in Israel. Americans still sympathize deeply with Israel, but there are also worries that the bombardment of Gaza will expand into a regional war. Also, the presence of a larger, louder, and more aggressive pro-Palestinian bloc on the left flank of Congress, in tandem with the brutal stories coming out of the siege of Gaza, seems to have dragged down public support for a full-throated endorsement of Israel’s behavior.

Prominent figures like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, and Jamaal Bowman have called for a cease-fire. The sole Palestinian American in Congress, Rashida Tlaib, has said that she has one goal in calling for a cease-fire: “save lives.” A new Data for Progress poll finds that “66% of likely voters agree that the U.S. should call for a ceasefire and de-escalation of violence in Gaza to prevent civilian deaths.”

Progressive and socialist groups have also been active. IfNotNow, an organization made up of Jewish anti-occupation and racial justice activists, staged a sit-in at the United States Capitol this week. The Democratic Socialists of America have made a remarkable 103,000 calls to members of Congress in the last five days, seeking  to press key officeholders to demand a cease-fire. Already, the progressive congressman from Texas Greg Casar has signed onto the cease-fire resolution sponsored by Cori Bush.

In other flash points of public discontent, a senior State Department official has resigned from his position, and the Huffington Post is reporting “extremely low morale” at Foggy Bottom. Yesterday, a letter signed by over four hundred Jewish and Muslim staffers on Capitol Hill was released calling for cease-fire. It is clear that, like in May 2021, there is a much stronger and more organized pushback against a uniformly pro-Israel position than in previous decades.

The US left has an opportunity to press on the generational divide in public opinion and use it to advance the struggle for Palestinian liberation and democracy for all those who live between the Mediterranean and the Jordan. The public is not immovable and neither are those in power. This struggle for democracy and equality will require Palestinians, Jews, and people of all backgrounds to insist that the United States end its military aid and call for an immediate cease-fire and for unmitigated humanitarian aid to Gaza and the rest of the land.

Perhaps in the solidarities formed in this moment, we may at last build the movement needed to bring justice and peace to Israel and Palestine. As the historian Rashid Khalidi writes in the conclusion to his The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: “Overcoming the resistance of those who benefit from the status quo, in order to ensure equal rights for all in this small country between the Jordan River and the sea — this is a test of the political ingenuity of all concerned.”

Source: Jacobin

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said that it had received a threat from the Israeli occupation authorities to bomb the Society’s Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza.

The association indicated in a statement issued on Friday evening that the occupation called on the association to immediately evacuate the hospital, noting that it includes more than 400 patients and about 12,000 displaced civilians who took refuge in the hospital as a safe place, in addition to medical staff.

The association called on the world to take immediate and urgent action to prevent a new massacre like the one that occurred at Al-Ahly Al-Arabi Hospital (Al-Ma’amdani), which resulted in the martyrdom and injury of hundreds of our people.

An article in the American magazine Foreign Affairs asked about the reasons that require Washington to work to curb the “military campaign” that Israel is currently waging in the Gaza Strip, and to preserve the path leading to peace.

Although the author of the article - American diplomat Richard Haass - shows understanding of Israel's desire to completely eliminate the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), striving to achieve this goal does not mean that it is the ideal or desirable method. He goes on to say that Israel's clear strategy is flawed in terms of both ends and means.

He describes Hamas as a network, movement, and ideology as much as it is an organization, explaining that its leadership can be killed, but the entity or something similar will remain in place, and that there is evidence that Israel is preparing for a large-scale ground invasion, which puts Washington in a difficult position, according to Haass, honorary president of the Council. Foreign relations in Washington.

Revenge

He says that the administration of US President Joe Biden is right to support what he calls Israel's right to revenge, but it must still try to formulate what the "revenge" process will look like.

In his opinion, the United States cannot force Israel to abandon a major ground invasion or reduce it shortly after launching it, but American policymakers can and should try.

The United States' case for formulating an Israeli response to the crisis and its repercussions depends not only on the quality of the advice - "even if it is harsh" - but on what friends owe to each other.

The American diplomat confirms that the United States has interests in the Middle East and beyond, which will not be served by any Israeli invasion and occupation of Gaza, nor long-term Israeli policies that do not give hope to the Palestinians who renounce violence, he said.

It is true that such goals will not lead to easy talks and policies, but the alternative - a broader war and the continuation of the unsustainable status quo indefinitely - will be "much more difficult and more dangerous."

Risks of ground attack

Haass warns that trying to eliminate Hamas would require a massive attack in a densely populated urban environment, which would be costly for Israel in that it would lead to civilian casualties, which would generate support for Hamas among Palestinians.

Then, the use of overwhelming force against Gaza will in turn spark international protests, disrupt normalization with Arab governments, and halt Israel’s existing relations with its Arab neighbors or perhaps lead to their cancellation, according to the author of the article’s belief.

Even if Israel manages to crush Hamas, what will happen next? asks the American diplomat, who confirms that there is no alternative authority available to replace it, adding that the Palestinian National Authority lacks legitimacy, capacity, and standing in Gaza.

There is no Arab government prepared to intervene and bear responsibility on behalf of the Gaza Strip, according to the assessment of the honorary president of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Ground invasion alternative

There is - in Haass's view - another option, which is to avoid the invasion and occupation of Gaza, and replace it with strikes targeting Hamas leaders and fighters, which would undermine Hamas' military capabilities.

Israel - and the opinion is still up to the author - must rebuild its military capabilities along its borders with the Gaza Strip so that it can restore its deterrent power and reduce the possibility of launching “terrorist” attacks in the future.

Perhaps a large, prolonged military operation could lead to the outbreak of a broader regional war, sparked by either a decision by Lebanese Hezbollah to fire missiles at Israel, or a spontaneous outbreak of “violence” in the West Bank.

Both the United States and Israel should want to avoid any outcome that would put Tel Aviv under pressure to reach a ceasefire, according to the Foreign Affairs article.

If the dust of war settles, sustained American diplomacy will be needed to “resuscitate” the two-state solution, Haass explains.

Source: Foreign Policy

Amnesty International confirmed that there is conclusive evidence of war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces in their aggression against the Gaza Strip, which caused the destruction of entire families.

In a report issued today, Friday, the organization documented the illegal occupation attacks, especially indiscriminate ones, which caused huge losses among Palestinian civilians, calling for an investigation to be opened as war crimes.

Amnesty International indicated that it met with survivors and eyewitnesses, analyzed satellite images and verified photos and videos; To investigate aerial bombardments launched by occupation warplanes between October 7 and 12, which caused horrific destruction and in some cases wiped out entire families.

The organization noted that it investigated five attacks that targeted residential buildings, a refugee camp, a family home, and a public market, and the results confirmed that they involved violations of international humanitarian law, including failure to take possible precautions to avoid civilians, or by launching indiscriminate attacks that failed to distinguish between civilians and military targets. Or by carrying out attacks that may have been directed against civilian targets.

The results showed that the Israeli occupation forces showed a shocking disregard for civilian lives, and bombed residential buildings on a large scale and destroyed basic infrastructure.

Amnesty International called on the international community to take immediate action to prevent Gaza from turning into a giant cemetery, and called on "Israel's allies" to impose a comprehensive arms embargo on it, given that it has committed serious violations under international law.

The organization also stressed the need for the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to accelerate its ongoing investigations into evidence of war crimes and other crimes under international law, by all parties, and stressed that without achieving justice and dismantling the Israeli apartheid regime against the Palestinians, there will be no An end to the horrific civilian suffering the world is witnessing.

On Friday evening, two Palestinian boys were killed after being wounded by Israeli army bullets earlier today, near the cities of Nablus (north) and Ramallah (centre), bringing the death toll in the West Bank to 83 since October 7.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced in a statement, a copy of which was received by Anatolia, “The death of Suhaib Iyad Muhammad Al-Sous (15 years old) as a result of critical wounds sustained by live occupation bullets in the chest, this morning in the town of Beitunia (west of Ramallah).”

In a separate statement, the Ministry announced, "The boy Uday Fawaz Mansour (17 years old) died as a result of critical wounds sustained by live occupation bullets in the town of Huwwara (south of Nablus)."

According to Ministry of Health data, the death toll of Palestinians in the West Bank has risen to 83 since October 7, in addition to 1,400 wounded.

For its part, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced in a statement, that its crews "dealt on Friday with dozens of casualties in confrontations with the Israeli army in various governorates of the West Bank, including 24 with live bullets."

The West Bank is witnessing a wave of tension and field confrontations between Palestinians and the Israeli army, coinciding with the deterioration of the situation in the Gaza Strip.

The Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman announced the release of two American detainees for humanitarian reasons, in response to Qatari efforts.

The Al-Qassam Brigades spokesman added, "We released the two American detainees to prove to the American people and the world that the allegations made by Biden and his administration are false allegations."

The Israeli army intensified its bombing of the industrial sector and facilities in the Gaza Strip, and continued to destroy the remaining infrastructure, which has witnessed 6 military operations in the past 15 years.

Video clips over the past four days showed an increase in targeting of factories, which have been halted since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza due to the lack of energy and water, and to a lesser extent, communications networks.

For the 11th day, the Israeli army continues to target the Gaza Strip with intense air strikes that destroyed entire neighborhoods that included industrial and commercial facilities and left thousands dead and wounded among Palestinian civilians.

At dawn on October 7, the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas and other Palestinian factions in Gaza launched Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood,” which the Israeli army responded by launching its aggression against the Gaza Strip.

Destruction of the economy

The Minister of National Economy in the Palestinian government, Khaled Asili, said that 50,000 industrial and commercial facilities are spread in the Gaza Strip, according to 2022 statistics.

Al-Osaily mentioned in an interview with Anadolu that these facilities have become a target, in addition to humans and trees, for Israeli missiles, and that these facilities range in size from factories to commercial stores in the markets.

He added, "The complete destruction of economic life is being practiced by Israel today. We are talking about unprecedented losses in the history of military operations in the Gaza Strip."

The teams of the Ministry of Economy and relevant institutions are unable to trace the effects of the 11 days of the Israeli war, due to the difficulty of movement between the cities of the Gaza Strip, which are witnessing severe bombardment.

Of the total number of facilities in Gaza, there are approximately 3,000 factories, of which 2,000 were operating until the eve of the start of the aggression, and the rest have been suspended for years.

Even the factories that were operating, their production capacity did not exceed 30% of their full capacity, due to the lack of raw materials, electrical power and export restrictions.

Since October 7, all factories have closed their doors, while neither the Palestinian Ministry of Economy nor the Businessmen Association have any statistics on the extent of the destruction, due to the inability of the crews to move.

Destruction of infrastructure

Al-Osaili said, "There are no longer streets, no sewage networks, and above all, Israel has eliminated the corroded electricity networks. (They) have run out of gas and fuel, while the workers are straining to provide shelter for their families."

In Gaza, factories were operating in the clothing and textile sectors, food industries, wood and furniture manufacturing, some metal industries, and the manufacture of some types of fertilizers.

According to data from the Palestinian Businessmen Association in Gaza, these 2,000 factories provided about 25,000 direct jobs and about 35,000 indirect jobs.

Until the end of the second quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate in Gaza was 46.4%, meaning 245,000 unemployed individuals, according to data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

Destruction of the communications sector

The communications sector - which is one of the pillars of industry in Gaza - was also a target of the Israeli bombing, as a document issued last Thursday by the Palestinian Telecommunications Group Company - which operates landline telephones and the Internet in addition to cell phones - shows numbers affected by the bombing.

According to the preliminary results of the Palestinian Telecommunications Group, 35% of the terminals of the fixed telephone network and home Internet were disrupted, affecting more than 50% of subscribers, a percentage that increased in the following five days.

The bombing caused complete destruction in some areas and partial destruction in other areas within the Strip, including poles, cables, and fiber-optic lines that connect Gaza internally.

The damage did not stop at this level, but exceeded it, causing interruptions on the main fiber-optic paths that connect the Gaza Strip to the West Bank and the outside world.

40% of cellular phone subscribers in the Gaza Strip were affected after half of the cellular network towers and sites were down, amid efforts by crews to supply the towers with the remaining fuel.

US President Joe Biden requested huge security allocations worth $105 billion on Friday, including $61 billion in military aid to Ukraine and $14 billion to Israel, but it will likely clash immediately with the state of chaos that Congress is witnessing.

“The world is watching and the American people rightly expect their leaders to come together to meet these priorities,” White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Yang said in a letter to Congress.

By Zvi Bar'el  

A prominent analyst in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, said that the Israeli campaign is doomed to failure. He wrote in an article on Friday: “Comparisons between Hamas and ISIS cannot hide the profound differences in the nature of their fighting.”

He added: "An unwritten alliance united Islamic countries and the West in their war against ISIS. From Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Iran to France, Britain, and of course the United States, ISIS posed an existential threat to the regimes of the Middle East and the internal security of Western countries."

He continued: "Many Islamic legal rulings issued by Sunni and Shiite religious authorities define ISIS not only as a terrorist organization, but also as an organization that violates Islamic law - and is an anti-Islam organization."

On the other hand, Bar'el pointed out that "Hamas enjoys a completely different situation."

He said: “Russia, China, Qatar, South Africa, Turkey, and, of course, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran, constitute only a partial list of countries that fought ISIS or at least condemned it, but they do not see Hamas as a terrorist organization, and some of them even host Hamas officials on their lands.” Some have normal or even close relationships with it.”

He added: "Hamas, despite its religious ideology, is viewed by the Arab public as an integral part of the Palestinian national struggle, and ISIS can only dream of such a situation."

He continued: "It is very easy to declare that Iran is the sole source of funding for Hamas, and thus link the movement to the international axis of evil, while ignoring the aid it receives from countries and organizations around the world."

Bar'el considered, "Anyone who seeks to demolish the organization's infrastructure and destroy Hamas just as ISIS was destroyed is taking the easy path by leveling homes in Gaza, cutting off electricity to two million people, and imposing a tight siege that does not allow the entry of basic goods such as medicines and food." .

"But in the end, this concept will also fail," Bar'el added. "We'll get to that in a moment."

The former Israeli ambassador to Egypt, Yitzhak Levanon, said in an exclusive statement to Anadolu that the current war in Gaza has stopped the conclusion of normalization agreements between Israel and Arab countries.

Levanon, who held a number of diplomatic positions around the world, said: “I do not think that at the present time we are talking about any normalization, and we have to wait for the end of the war to see what is happening.”

He added: "At the present time, I do not think that anyone is talking about progress in the normalization process because there is a war, and there is a possibility that this war will continue, especially since we see what Hezbollah is doing in the north and we also see what Iran is doing."

Levanon stated that Israel is monitoring the demonstrations in Arab countries and takes people's positions into account, but he ruled out that they would lead to an Israeli decision to withdraw from the war.

He said: “We see the demonstrations taking place in the Arab countries, but I believe this will not affect Israel’s decision to defend itself,” as he put it.

He added: "We are not satisfied with what is happening and we do not want it, but the reality is that Hamas did what it did, which forced Israel to respond," he claimed.

He continued: "If your question is whether these demonstrations will lead Israel to retreat, my answer is no, even if we take what is happening (the demonstrations) into consideration."

Levanon denied that there was anyone in Israel talking about a state for the Palestinians of Gaza in Sinai, and said: “No one in Israel officially is talking about this matter, because this is not Israel’s policy.”

Levanon added: “We have a peace agreement with Egypt, and Sinai is part of Egyptian territory,” he said.

As part of its ongoing war on Gaza since October 7, the Israeli forces have called on the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate it and head to the south, in preparation for expanding its military campaign that aims to “eliminate Hamas,” according to what its officials say.

However, these demands were met with widespread international condemnation, and were described as forced displacement, “ethnic cleansing,” and the “second catastrophe” of the Palestinian people, and were accompanied by fears that their goal was to force the people of Gaza to move and resettle in the Sinai Peninsula.

Source: Anadolu

The Israeli Ministry of Health announced on Friday that the number of Israelis wounded had risen to 4,834 since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7.

The ministry said in a statement, a copy of which was sent to Anadolu: “The number of injured people who were transported to hospitals as of Friday reached 4,834, including 12 in critical condition, 280 in serious condition, 771 in moderate condition, and the rest in minor condition.”

The Ministry stated that the number of injured people still in hospitals reached 301 on Friday, including 48 in serious condition, 173 in moderate condition, and 80 in minor condition.

Israeli media, including the official Israeli Broadcasting Authority, announced that at least 1,300 Israelis had been killed since the beginning of the war.

For the fourteenth day, the Israeli army continues to target the Gaza Strip with intense air strikes that destroyed entire neighborhoods and killed and wounded thousands of Palestinian civilians.

At dawn on October 7, the Hamas movement and other Palestinian factions in Gaza launched Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood,” in response to “the continuing attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against the Palestinian people, their property, and their sanctities, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem.”

On the other hand, the Israeli army launched Operation Iron Swords and continues to launch intensive raids on many areas in the Gaza Strip, which is inhabited by more than two million Palestinians who suffer from deteriorating living conditions as a result of an ongoing Israeli siege since 2006.

Source: Anadolu

In the latest statistics of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, it said that more than 4,137 dead and more than 13,000 wounded are victims of the occupation’s aggression in Gaza, since it began on October 7.

More than 4,000 people were killed, and more than 13,000 others were injured, most of them children and women, as a result of the Israeli occupation’s aggression against Gaza, in light of the continued intense occupation raids on various areas in the besieged Gaza Strip, which mainly targeted populated areas.

In the latest tally of the Palestinian Ministry of Health, it said that more than 4,137 martyrs and more than 13,000 wounded are victims of the occupation’s aggression in Gaza, since it began on October 7.

The Palestinian Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip said, via a statement on Telegram, that “occupation aircraft simultaneously targeted 6 homes, with their residents on their heads, in Khan Yunis Governorate, south of the Gaza Strip.” The statement indicated that "9 people were killed and more than 60 others were injured," all of whom were transferred to Nasser Medical Hospital.

Israeli warplanes targeted several inhabited homes in Khan Yunis, killing 21 people and wounding 79 people, most of whom were women and children. They were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. The sources indicated that 8 of the martyrs were from one family.

The occupation forces also bombed Gaza City, and the bombing focused on the Al-Zaytoun and Al-Shuja'iya neighborhoods, causing the demolition of several homes, and the bombing continued on several areas in the Gaza Strip.

According to the poll, 65% support a broad invasion of Gaza and 51% support a broad military operation against Hezbollah, and 80% demand that Netanyahu bear responsibility for the political and security failures, while his popularity and the popularity of his coalition decline significantly.

65% of citizens in Israel supported launching a large-scale ground military operation in the Gaza Strip, while 21% opposed it, and 14% said that they had no opinion about that, according to a poll published by the newspaper “Maariv” today, Friday, and showed that there was no difference in positions between Likud party voters and Yesh Atid party voters.

Also, 51% called for a broad military operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon under the pretext of responding to the firing of missiles towards northern Israel, and 30% supported launching a local military operation against Hezbollah.

A large majority, 80%, believed that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, should bear responsibility for the security and political failures that led to the Hamas movement’s success in launching a large, sudden attack in southern Israel on October 7th.

69% of Likud voters said that Netanyahu should announce that he bears responsibility for these failures. This comes after ministers, security and military officials announced that they bear responsibility for this failure, while Netanyahu has so far refrained from doing so.

The decline in Netanyahu's popularity continued this week, and it was found that 28% prefer that Netanyahu assume the position of prime minister, while 49% said that they prefer that the head of the "National Camp" bloc, Benny Gantz, assume this position.

The poll also showed that the popularity of the current coalition parties is still declining, and that if elections were held for the Knesset now, the coalition parties would have won 43 seats, even though they are represented today by 64 seats. Opposition parties will obtain 77 seats in new elections, or 68 seats without the Arab parties.

65% said they were optimistic about Israel's future, while 25% said they were pessimistic about its future. The percentage of optimists decreases and the percentage of pessimists increases among secular Jews.

Source: Arab 48

The Egyptian governorates witnessed massive demonstrations after Friday prayers, as citizens took to the streets and squares denouncing the Israeli aggression against Palestine, especially the Gaza Strip, and rejecting the Israeli plans to displace them.

The demonstrators denounced the Israeli occupation's bombing of the Gaza Strip, which led to the martyrdom of thousands of Palestinian people, raising the Palestinian and Egyptian flags.

The Rifaat al-Masry crossing also witnessed demonstrations by Egyptian citizens, demanding the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, following a speech delivered by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Today, Friday, the President of the State of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, met in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

During the meeting, they discussed the latest developments on the Palestinian scene, the latest developments in the ongoing efforts to stop the aggression against our people, spare civilians the scourge of war, and the importance of introducing medical and food relief materials and providing water and electricity as quickly as possible.

He stressed the State of Palestine’s categorical rejection of the displacement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, the West Bank or Jerusalem.

President Abbas stressed that peace and security are achieved through implementing the two-state solution based on international legitimacy resolutions, which includes the entire territory of the State of Palestine in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, and recognition of the State of Palestine.

For his part, British Prime Minister Sunak offered condolences to the Palestinian victims in Gaza and the West Bank, stressing that his country is against the killing of civilians, and that Britain will provide urgent relief and humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Sunak stressed his country's commitment to the two-state solution, so that Palestine and Israel can live side by side in security, peace and good neighborliness.

This meeting comes within the framework of President Mahmoud Abbas's participation in the Cairo Summit Conference called for by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and within the framework of mobilizing international support for the Palestinian position.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense said that Tel Aviv received supplies estimated at about a thousand tons of weapons from outside the country, without specifying the sources of those military supplies.

The ministry reported - in a statement, a copy of which reached the Turkish Anatolia Agency - that 45 cargo planes had arrived to the Israeli occupation since October 7, between the occupation army and the Palestinian resistance.

The statement said, "The Israeli Ministry of Defense and the Israeli Army announce the successful arrival of an additional cargo plane to Ramon Airport near Eilat (south) earlier this morning, Friday."

The statement indicated that the shipment of military supplies received today includes military ambulances, medical equipment for the use of the Israeli army, and various other resources aimed at enhancing the army’s readiness and ability.

The Israeli Ministry of Defense did not specify the source of this shipment. The Israeli Ministry of Defense said, “This plane is the 45th plane to land in Israel as part of a coordinated initiative led by the Ministry of Defense and the Israeli Army.” It confirmed that about 1,000 tons of weapons have arrived in Israel so far, including various weapons. Designed to support the Israeli army's offensive plans. Yesterday, Thursday, Israel announced the arrival of another batch of weapons from the United States.

Source: Anadolu Agency

On Friday, the Israeli army published new information about the hostage situation in the Gaza Strip following the attack launched by militants of the Islamic Resistance Movement "Hamas" inside Israel on October 7.

The Israeli army said that the majority of the hostages are alive, noting that more than 20 of the hostages are children under the age of 18, and between 10 and 20 of the hostages are over 60 years old.

It is unclear how many hostages are being held in Gaza overall.

The Israeli army said that the number of missing people ranged between 100 and 200 people, while Abu Ubaida, spokesman for the “Al-Qassam Brigades,” the military wing of the Hamas movement, said in a video statement on Monday that the number ranged from at least 200 to 250.

He added that the Al-Qassam Brigades took about 200 hostages, and the rest were being held by other “armed formations” in Gaza, adding that they could not determine the exact number of hostages due to the ongoing Israeli bombing.

Aid trucks need to move to Gaza as quickly as possible, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. He called for a meaningful number of trucks to enter Gaza every day and for verifications of aid to be done in a way that is practical and expedited. “We are actively engaging with all parties to make sure conditions for delivering aid are lifted,” he said. 

The UN chief paid a visit to the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Friday to oversee preparations for the delivery of aid to the war-torn enclave. Trucks stuffed with international aid for Gaza should be rolling “in the next day or so,” the United Nations said Friday, with Palestinians desperate for life-saving supplies after relentless bombing from Israel, still reeling from its bloodiest-ever attack. 

Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after the Islamist militant group launched an unprecedented raid from the Gaza Strip on October 7, killing at least 1,400 people, mostly civilians who were shot, mutilated or burned to death, according to Israeli officials. Hamas gunmen also kidnapped nearly 200 hostages including foreigners from around two dozen countries ranging from Paraguay to Tanzania. In response, Israeli war planes have levelled entire city blocks in Gaza in preparation for a ground invasion they say is coming soon. More than 3,785 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have died in the bombing, according to the latest toll from the Hamas-run health ministry. 

The United Nations says more than one million of Gaza’s 2.4 million people are displaced and that the humanitarian situation is deteriorating daily. 

A spokesman for UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told reporters in Geneva they were in “deep and advanced negotiations” with all sides to ensure aid moves “as quickly as possible. ” “A first delivery is due to start in the next day or so.” Medicine, water purifiers and blankets were being unloaded at El-Arish airport near Gaza, an AFP reporter saw, with Ahmed Ali, head of the Egyptian Red Crescent, saying he was getting “two to three planes of aid a day.” The situation inside Gaza is “beyond catastrophic,” said Sara Alzawqari, UNICEF spokeswoman for the Gulf. “Time is running out and the numbers of casualties among children are rising.” Egyptian state-linked broadcaster Al Qahera News had said the Rafah crossing — the only route into Gaza — would open Friday, but Cairo has said it needed more time to repair roads. Raising some hope aid could soon flow, Egypt has removed concrete blocks on the only route into Gaza, a security source told AFP. 

Egypt is still fixing bomb-damaged roads and on Friday “vehicles and Egyptian equipment went in to repair the road on the Palestinian side,” witnesses told AFP. The World Health Organization’s emergencies director has called a deal struck by US President Joe Biden to allow in 20 trucks “a drop in the ocean of need.” “It should be 2,000 trucks,” said Michael Ryan.

Agencies

With tensions spiking in the Middle East, US forces in the region are facing increasing threats, as a Navy warship shot down missiles appearing to head toward Israel Thursday and American bases in Iraq and Syria were repeatedly targeted by drone attacks.

The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer in the northern Red Sea, intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces in Yemen. The action by the Carney potentially represented the first shots by the US military in the defense of Israel in this conflict. 

Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters the missiles were “potentially” headed toward Israel but said the US hasn’t finished its assessment of what they were targeting. 

A US official said they don’t believe the missiles — which were shot down over the water — were aimed at the US warship. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations that had not yet been announced. But an array of other drone attacks over the past three days did target US bases, including one in southern Syria on Thursday that caused minor injuries. 

The rash of violence comes in the wake of an explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds of people, triggering protests in a number of Muslim nations. The Israeli military has relentlessly attacked Gaza in retaliation for the devastating Hamas rampage in southern Israel almost two weeks ago, but Israel has denied responsibility for the Al-Ahli hospital blast and the US has said its intelligence assessment found that Tel Aviv was not to blame.

In recent days, however, a number of militant groups across the region — from Hezbollah to the Houthis — have expressed support for the Palestinians and threatened Israel. Since Tuesday, militants have launched at least four drone attacks on US military installations in Iraq and Syria where US troops train local defense forces and support the mission to counter the Daesh group.

The attacks fuel escalating worries in the US and the West that the war in Israel could expand into a larger regional conflict. “That’s exactly what we are trying to prevent,” Ryder said. The most recent drone attack was Thursday at Al-Asad Air Base in western Iraq. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq posted a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, saying they had fired a salvo of rockets at the base and “they hit their targets directly and precisely.” A US official confirmed the latest attack but said it was too early to assess any impact.

Also Thursday, the Al-Tanf garrison in southeastern Syria was struck by drones. US troops have maintained a presence at the base for a number of years to train Syrian allies and monitor Islamic State militant activity.
The Pentagon said one drone was shot down, but another hit the base and caused minor injuries.
The garrison is located on a vital road that often used by Iranian-backed militants to ferry weapons to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon — and Israel’s doorstep.
Syrian opposition activists also said there was a separate drone attack on an oil facility in eastern Syria that houses American troops. Omar Abu Layla, a Europe-based activist who heads the Deir Ezzor 24 media outlet, said three drones with explosives struck the Conoco gas field in the eastern province of Deir Ezzor that borders Iraq. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, also confirmed explosions at the site.
On Tuesday, militants launched three drones against two Iraq bases that the US uses to train forces and conduct operations against the Islamic States. During the spate of launches, one warning turned out to be a false alarm at Al-Asad, but it sent personnel rushing into bunkers. During that incident, a contractor suffered a cardiac arrest and died, Ryder said.
He said the Pentagon does not yet have confirmation on who launched the drone attacks but said the US ”will take all necessary actions to defend US and coalition forces against any threat.” He said any military response would come “at a time and a manner of our choosing.”
On the intercepts by the Carney, Ryder said the strikes were done because the Houthi missiles “posed a potential threat” based on their flight profile. He added that the US is prepared to do whatever is needed “to protect our partners and our interests in this important region.” He said the US is still assessing what the target was, but said no US forces or civilians on the ground were injured.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have expressed support for the Palestinians and threatened Israel. Last week, in Yemen’s Sanaa, which is held by the Houthi rebels still at war with a Saudi-led coalition, demonstrators crowded the streets waving Yemeni and Palestinian flags. The rebels’ slogan long has been, “God is the greatest; death to America; death to Israel; curse of the Jews; victory to Islam.”
Last week, Abdel-Malek Al-Houthi, the rebel group’s leader, warned the United States against intervening in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, threatening that his forces would retaliate by firing drones and missiles.
When approached Thursday, two Houthi officials declined to comment on the incident. One said he was unaware of the incident, while the second said he did not have the authority to speak about it.

Source: Arab News

CAIRO: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will be among international leaders to participate in the Cairo summit for peace on Saturday, an official source told Reuters.

Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah also confirmed their presence in Cairo.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, European Council President Charles Michel and EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell have confirmed their presence in the meeting, which will discuss the Palestinian-Israeli issue, according to reports. Colonna had already travelled to Cairo, Beirut and Israel last week as Paris looks to reduce the risk of an escalation across the region.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will also participate in the peace summit, government sources told Reuters.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed his attendance to discuss the conflict in Israel and the Gaza Strip, his office said.

“President Ramaphosa has been deeply concerned by attacks on civilians, the resulting enormous loss of life, displacement of people and the humanitarian crisis that has engulfed the Gaza Strip,” South Africa’s presidency said in a statement on Friday.

“South Africa stands ready to join the global effort that will bring about lasting peace to the Middle East.”

The other attendees expected so far are Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and British foreign minister James Cleverly.

The summit, which was called by Egypt’s President Abdelfattah El-Sisi, aims to de-escalate the violence in Gaza, help reach a ceasefire and arrive at a just solution for the Palestinian issue.

Israel has intensified its bombardment on Gaza over the two weeks, killing at least 3,800 people and wounding more than 13,000. Calls for peace have intensified as Gaza prepares to receive long-awaited aid after an agreement to open the Rafah border crossing.

Source: agencies

Tens of thousands of Jordanians, in all governorates of the Kingdom, participated today, Friday, in marches and vigils in support of Palestine and support for Gaza, and to denounce the aggression of the Israeli occupation.

A massive march began in front of the Al-Husseini Mosque in the capital, Amman, which included thousands of Jordanians, who denounced the Israeli occupation’s aggression against the Gaza Strip, and expressed their support for the Palestinian people in the face of the Israeli war machine.

The participants chanted slogans expressing their solidarity with the people stationed in Al-Aqsa Mosque and the defenders of its sanctities, stressing that these crimes are repeated and desperate attempts in the face of the steadfastness of the Palestinians.

They called on the international community to take quick and urgent action to provide international protection for the defenseless Palestinian people, and to put pressure on the occupation to adhere to international resolutions.

Israel’s defense minister said Friday that after the country destroys the Hamas militant group, the military does not plan to control “life in the Gaza Strip.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s comments to lawmakers were the first time an Israeli leader discussed its long-term plans for Gaza.
Gallant said Israel expected there to be three phases to its war with Hamas. 

He said it first would attack the group in Gaza with airstrikes and ground maneuvers, then it would defeat pockets of resistance and finally it would cease its “responsibility for life in the Gaza Strip.”
Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip early Friday, hitting areas where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, and it began evacuating a sizable Israeli town near the border with Lebanon, the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil.

Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy airstrikes in Khan Younis, a town in the territory’s south, and ambulances carrying men, women and children streamed into the local Nasser Hospital. The hospital, Gaza’s second largest, already was overflowing with patients and people seeking shelter.

The Israeli military said it had struck more than 100 targets across Gaza linked to the territory’s Hamas rulers, including a tunnel and arms depots.
On Thursday, Gallant ordered ground troops to prepare to see Gaza “from the inside,” hinting at a ground offensive aimed at crushing Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers nearly two weeks after their bloody incursion into Israel. Officials have given no timetable for such an operation.

Over a million people have been displaced in Gaza, with many heeding Israel’s orders to evacuate the northern part of the sealed-off enclave on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called areas in south Gaza “safe zones” earlier this week, Israeli military spokesman Nir Dinar said Friday: “There are no safe zones.”

UN officials said that with the bombings across all of Gaza, some Palestinians who had fled the north appeared to be going back.
“The strikes, coupled with extremely difficult living conditions in the south, appear to have pushed some to return to the north, despite the continuing heavy bombing there,” Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN human rights office, said.

Gaza’s overwhelmed hospitals are rationing their dwindling medical supplies and fuel for generators, as authorities worked out logistics for a desperately needed aid delivery from Egypt. Doctors in darkened wards across Gaza performed surgeries by the light of mobile phones and used vinegar to treat infected wounds.
The deal to get aid into Gaza through the territory’s only entry point not controlled by Israel, remained fragile. Israel said the supplies could only go to civilians and that it would “thwart” any diversions by Hamas. More than 200 trucks and some 3,000 tons of aid were positioned at or near the crossing in Rafah, a city that straddles northern Egypt and southern Gaza.

Work began Friday to repair the road at the border that had been damaged in airstrikes, with trucks unloading gravel and bulldozers and other road repair equipment filling in large craters.
Israel has evacuated its own communities near Gaza and Lebanon, putting residents up in hotels elsewhere in the country. The Defense Ministry announced evacuation plans Friday for Kiryat Shmona, a town of more than 20,000 residents near the Lebanese border. Three Israelis including a 5-year-old girl were wounded in a rocket attack there Thursday, according to Israeli health services.

Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, which has a massive arsenal of long-range rockets, has traded fire with Israel along the border on a near-daily basis and hinted it might join the war if Israel seeks to annihilate Hamas. Israel’s archfoe Iran supports both armed groups.
The violence in Gaza has also sparked protests across the region, including in Arab countries allied with the US Those demonstrations could flare anew Friday following weekly Muslim prayers.

Meanwhile, an unclassified US intelligence assessment delivered to Congress estimated casualties in an explosion at a Gaza City hospital this week on the “low end” of 100 to 300 deaths. The death toll “still reflects a staggering loss of life,” said the report, seen by The Associated Press. It said intelligence officials were still assessing the evidence and their casualty estimate may evolve.

“Whoever sees Gaza from afar now, will see it from the inside,” he said. “It might take a week, a month, two months until we destroy them,” he added, referring to Hamas.
With supplies running low because of a complete Israeli siege, some Gaza residents are down to one meal a day and drinking dirty water.

Egypt and Israel were still negotiating the entry of fuel for hospitals. Israeli military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Hamas has stolen fuel from UN facilities and Israel wants assurances that won’t happen again.
The Gaza Health Ministry has pleaded with gas stations to give fuel to hospitals, and a UN agency also donated some of its last fuel. Gaza’s sole power plant shut down last week, forcing Palestinians to rely on generators, and no fuel has gone in since the start of the war.
The agency’s donation to Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, the territory’s largest, would “keep us going for another few hours,” said Mohammed Abu Selmia, the hospital director.

Source: Arab News

A number of citizens were injured by live bullets, rubber-coated bullets, and suffocation, during confrontations that broke out with the occupation forces in the West Bank governorates, today, Friday, in support of our people in the Gaza Strip, which is subjected to aggression and a fierce war waged by the Israeli occupation state.

In Nablus, seven citizens were injured, and two others, including a child, were arrested during confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces, at the Huwwara checkpoint, south of Nablus.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society in Nablus reported that seven citizens were injured, including a 14-year-old child, during the clashes that broke out at the Huwara military checkpoint.

She added that the child was shot in the foot with live bullets before he was arrested, while a young man was injured after he fell at the scene.

In Ramallah, two citizens were injured by live bullets, during confrontations that broke out with the Israeli occupation forces, at the northern entrance to the city of Al-Bireh.

Local sources reported that the occupation soldiers stationed at the military checkpoint in the vicinity of the “Beit El” settlement, built on Al-Bireh lands, fired live bullets and rubber-coated metal bullets at the young men participating in the march that started from the center of Ramallah, denouncing the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip. .

She added that the bullets fired by the occupation led to the injury of two young men, one in the foot and the other in the hand, and they were transferred to the Palestine Medical Complex.

In Hebron, dozens of citizens suffered from suffocation during confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces at the entrance to the Al-Arroub camp, north of Hebron.

Local sources reported that the confrontations broke out after the occupation forces suppressed a mass march that started from the camp mosque in support of our people in the Gaza Strip, which led to dozens of people suffocating.

In Qalqilya, confrontations broke out between citizens and the Israeli occupation forces, in the town of Kafr Qaddum, east of Qalqilya.

Local sources said that following the weekly march, which was launched to denounce the Israeli aggression against our people, the occupation army fired stun grenades and toxic tear gas towards the citizens, which led to the outbreak of confrontations.

In Bethlehem, a young man was injured by live bullets, and dozens suffocated, during confrontations with the Israeli occupation army at the northern entrance to Bethlehem.

A medical source in the Red Crescent reported that a young man was hit by a bullet in his side, and was subsequently transferred to Beit Jala Governmental Hospital, in addition to others suffering from suffocation as a result of inhaling toxic tear gas.

A march left the Bab Al-Zaqq area, passing through Al-Quds Al-Khalil Street, denouncing the Israeli aggression against our people. It was suppressed by the occupation soldiers when it reached the northern entrance, and confrontations broke out as a result.

More than 2,000 British actors and artists signed a petition in which they called for an immediate halt to the Israeli bombing and aggression on the Gaza Strip and an end to the siege imposed on the residents of the region.

In detail, a number of star producers, writers, DJs, architects and designers expressed their support for “the global movement against the destruction of Gaza and the mass displacement of the Palestinian people,” through an open letter they signed.

“We are witnessing a crime and a catastrophe,” the letter read. “Israel has reduced much of Gaza to rubble, cutting off water, electricity, food and medicine supplies to 2.3 million Palestinians. In the words of the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, the ‘specter of death’ hangs over the Region".

The letter was based on Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant's description of the Palestinians as "human animals," indicating that they could do anything to them.

The stars also accused their government of inciting and aiding Israel in committing war crimes in Gaza, writing: “Our governments not only condone war crimes, they also aid and incite them.”

The letter condemned "all acts of violence against civilians and every violation of international law, regardless of who commits them."

Among the signatories of the letter are actors: Tilda Swinton, Charles Dance, Steve Coogan, Miriam Margolyes, Peter Mullan, Maxine Peake, and Khaled Abdullah.

Source: Annahar

Author: Moayad Tanina

“If wars begin with lies, then peace can begin with the truth,” said journalist Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, in his talk about the importance of telling the truth and not remaining silent about it. Perhaps that is what we, Palestinians, need in our battle to For freedom and confronting the misleading media narrative that dehumanizes us and sides with the occupation in its narrative.

As the open battle in Gaza continues, it is clear that things will not return to what they were before October 7, 2023, at all levels, given the unprecedented act of resistance that the battle caused, with the rise of the Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the movement. Hamas, by breaching the separation fence and carrying out a qualitative operation, can be considered the most severe and extensive since the establishment of the occupying state in 1948, and with the accompanying narratives and media news that attempted to distort the image of the Palestinian and describe him as a “terrorist.”

Palestinians, it is important to be aware that this battle came as a natural response to the continuation of Zionist attacks on everything Palestinian, land and people, with the continued encroachment of settlement on the land, even if the Al-Aqsa Mosque was the cause of its direct spark, according to what the Commander-in-Chief of the Martyr Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades stated. Muhammad Al-Deif in his speech announcing the battle: “In response to the occupation’s orgy in Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

In the first moments of the battle, a torrent of visual content invaded social networking sites, coinciding with the Palestinian resistance’s invasion of the occupation army’s camps and settlements in the “Gaza envelope,” which was followed by the entry of dozens of Gazans into these colonies, in a majestic scene, in which the Palestinian saw a “scenario.” Complete liberation of the occupied territory. A dreamy freedom was reflected in the digital space, which had always oppressed, silenced, and prevented the story from being told, and it was clear the heightened feelings of freedom that seeped into the conscience of the Palestinian, who owned the world in both its parts, the real and the virtual.

It was striking in the first hours of this battle that the algorithms of Meta Company, which owns the applications: Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, which impose restrictions and restrictions on Palestinian and pro-supportive content, considering it “sensitive content,” did not comprehend the enormous volume of content that was published and broadcast. Therefore, the stream of visual content continued to flow and arouse enthusiasm and interaction among followers regarding what is happening around the Gaza Strip.

Gradually, the dust of the battle cleared, and the sun of the defeat that the occupying state suffered in the first hours shone. When the occupying forces and intelligence agencies woke up from their slumber, the Gazans were still ecstatic in their famous slumber, waiting for what would bring them back to the reality that was harsh on them, and still is.

The moment colonialism and its tools woke up from sleep, the round of revenge against Gaza and its people began. Fighter planes launched raids on those who were safe, and Meta Company led its war on the Palestinian narrative, and began restricting, blocking, and deleting hundreds of publications and accounts. To complete the unjust and biased role against Palestine and its people. The narrative of the vanquished rebel was silenced, and the door was wide open to the narrative of the aggressor occupier.

The Western media was present as an effective tool in this battle, biased towards the colonizer, as usual, and therefore, misleading reports and coverage began to spread, based on demonizing the Palestinian and describing him as a “terrorist,” and humanizing the Zionist and describing him as a victim, which means global solidarity with the occupying state, and granting it the right to Eliminate Hamas forcefully, under the pretext of self-defense.

The first reports biased towards the occupation, which were broadcast by the media, were carefully directed and referred to a set of information directed at the Western public to gain its sympathy and solidarity. Therefore, phrases appeared, such as: “The return of ISIS, the killing of children, the rape of women, the killing of civilians, the kidnapping of the elderly.” Attacking a celebration on the occasion of Eid.” Following this news, American and Western statements of condemnation of the Hamas movement came in, which gives the occupation, at the same time, the green light to respond and defend itself, according to their point of view.

When the novel refutes itself

In his speech in support of the occupying state, US President Joe Biden said: “I really did not think that I would see... I confirmed the pictures of ‘terrorists’ beheading children.” It was clear that the American President based what he said on the narrative of the occupation and the media biased towards it.

Only a few hours passed until the White House announced its retraction of President Joe Biden's statements, because they had not seen any photos, and the authenticity of the reports had not been independently verified.

The reports intended by the White House were initiated by the Israeli channel i24 and international channels, such as CNN, and quoted officers in the occupation army seeing children and women killed by members of Hamas, without these channels themselves confirming what happened, which is considered one of the ABCs. Journalistic work.

While the media confirmed that this news was baseless, especially with the issuance of a statement by the occupation army, in which it said: “There is no information confirming that ‘Hamas’ beheaded children.” Media professionals apologized and retracted what had been previously published, including CNN correspondent Sarah Sidner, who apologized to her followers on the X platform, in which she said: “I have to be more careful with my words. I’m sorry.”

In continuation of the path of lamentation and pleading, to justify and feed the American and Western green light to the occupying state in order to take revenge on the Palestinians, in response to this operation, the account of the occupation prime minister published on the “X” platform, that Netanyahu showed US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken pictures of three children who were killed and burned by the movement. “Hamas,” and at the bottom of the tweet, he described the “Hamas” movement as “ISIS and terrorist.”

The American journalist, Gascon Hinkle, verified these images himself, and it later became clear that they were created with artificial intelligence, so that the narrative that Netanyahu wanted to promote to demonize the Palestinian and attract more international support and sympathy turned on his head and was used against him.

In the face of the wave of criticism of the White House and the major media institutions that published false and misleading narratives, the White House returned to clarify that its mission is not to verify the truth of these images, as if it were placing responsibility on its ally who misled it. However, the American administration remained committed to its ally and supported him.

On the other hand, and to refute the ongoing occupation narrative that the Hamas movement and its fighters killed children, the Al-Qassam Brigades published a video on its platform on the Telegram website, on October 14, in which resistance members appear, playing and laughing with children, and one of the members helped an infant to stop. He stopped crying and was rocking him to sleep, and one of them was carrying two children and saying to the camera, “Look at the mercy in our hearts. These are the children. We did not kill them as you do.”

Author: Muayad Tanina

As if this is awareness and anticipation of events, and a clear message prepared in advance to the biased world, that real terrorism is practiced by the colonizer who has a profession in killing and torturing children, and that nothing has happened that might be promoted later, as if the resistance knows that this discourse that will be promoted is to justify terrorism and the killing of civilians and children in Gaza from occupation aircraft.

Al-Aqsa Channel, affiliated with the Hamas movement, had broadcast a video showing the release of a woman accompanied by her two children, and the Israeli media, at the time, was quick to interview the woman, thinking that the time had come to expose the “terrorist” practices of Hamas, according to the colonial mentality, which shocked them from Her talk about the resistance fighters carrying the child, and about not harming her or harming her.

The strangeness was evident in international media circles regarding what one of the settlers narrated in an interview about the Qassam officers who were in her house, where one of them asked her permission to eat a “banana,” and that they did not cause her any harm at all. A female settler gave another testimony about the resistance’s gentle treatment and the dialogue that took place between her and them. She then stated that the army bombed a house in which these gunmen were present, along with the settlers’ hostages from the party, and they were all killed.

During the first days, the Zionist media continued to search for actions in its imagination that it wanted to attribute to the Al-Qassam Brigades and Hamas fighters, but the narratives presented by the settlements did not serve it. Rather, they provided content that supported the Palestinian resistance narrative.

Based on the above, it is clear beyond any doubt that the Palestinian is always accused of his humanity, and it is easy to stigmatize him as a terrorist, because his enemy is the child of colonialism and his white ally, and that the Palestinian is forced all the time to prove to the world “how human he is.” This was confirmed by the biased media coverage in this battle.

Source: Institute of Palestinian Studies

Today (Friday), the Israeli army announced a plan to evacuate residents of the Kiryat Shmona settlement, located near the border with Lebanon, amid tension with Hezbollah, against the backdrop of the war in the Gaza Strip.

Army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on his account on the (X) website today, “The National Emergency Authority affiliated with the Ministry of the Army announces the activation of the plan to evacuate the residents of the Kiryat Shmona settlement to guest houses funded by the state.”

Adraee added that Defense Minister Yoav Galant approved the activation of the plan.

The announcement of the settlement's evacuation comes amid tension on the border between Lebanon and Israel.

These days, the Lebanese-Israeli border is witnessing an exchange of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli army since the outbreak of the ongoing round of fighting between the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and Israel in the Gaza Strip and its surroundings on October 7th.

In this context, Adraee said today that an Israeli army march “eliminated a terrorist inside Lebanese territory.”
Adraee confirmed that the army "last night raided several Hezbollah infrastructure in response to the launching of missiles from Lebanon towards Israel yesterday."

Today, Friday, the Israeli government approved emergency regulations aimed at closing media outlets and satellite channels, claiming that they “target state security.” As a result, the government approved closing the offices of the “Al Jazeera” network and preventing it from broadcasting from Israel.

A statement issued by the Israeli Ministry of Communications stated that, according to the instructions of the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karai, and with the support of the Mossad, the Shin Bet, and the Ministry of Security, and the approval of the government’s judicial advisor, Gali Beharav Meara, the government approved, today, the suspension of the work of the “Al Jazeera” network. During the war on Gaza.

The statement claimed that the closure of the "Al Jazeera" network comes in the wake of "providing evidence that it helps the enemy, broadcasts propaganda in the service of Hamas in Arabic and English to its viewers around the world, and also transmits sensitive information to our enemies."

The closure of the "Al Jazeera" network will be proposed during the upcoming meeting of the Israeli mini-ministerial council for political and security affairs (the cabinet), and after the cabinet's approval, Karai will sign the "order to stop broadcasting" from Israel, which will go into effect immediately.

The statement quoted Karai as saying, “Israel is at war. We will not, in any way, allow the broadcast of reports that harm the security of the state. The regulations that the government is now approving will allow us to close channels, confiscate equipment, and withdraw the journalist’s card from those who target the security of the state during the war.”

Karai claimed that "Al Jazeera's reports and correspondents constitute an incitement broadcast against Israel, serving Hamas and terrorist organizations through propaganda reports and encouragement of violence against Israel, and thus targeting the security of the state."

Israel levelled a northern Gaza district on Friday after giving families a half-hour warning to escape, and hit an Orthodox Christian church where others had been sheltering, as it made clear that a command to invade Gaza was expected soon.

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden, back from a trip to Israel to demonstrate support, asked Americans in a televised speech to spend billions more dollars to help Israel fight Hamas, which he said sought to "annihilate" Israel's democracy.

Israel has vowed to wipe out the Hamas Islamist group that rules Gaza, after its gunmen burst through the barrier fence surrounding the enclave on Oct. 7 and rampaged through Israeli towns and kibbutzes, killing 1,400 people, mainly civilians.

"You see Gaza now from a distance, you will soon see it from inside. The command will come," Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops gathered at the Gaza border on Thursday.

Israel has pounded Gaza with air strikes and put the enclave's 2.3 million people under a total siege, banning shipments even of food, fuel and medical supplies. Since Oct. 7, 3,785 Palestinians have been killed including more than 1,500 children, Palestinian officials say. The U.N. says more than a million have been made homeless.

Israel has already told all civilians to evacuate the northern half of the Gaza Strip, which includes Gaza City. Many people have yet to leave saying they fear losing everything and have nowhere safe to go with southern areas also under attack.

The Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the main Palestinian Christian denomination, said Israeli forces had struck the Church of Saint Porphyrius in Gaza City, where hundreds of Christians and Muslims had sought sanctuary.

Video from the scene showed a wounded boy being carried from rubble at night. A civil defense worker said two people on upper floors had survived; those on lower floors had been killed and their bodies were still in the rubble.

"They felt they would be safe here. They came from under the bombardment and the destruction, and they said they would be safe here but destruction chased them," a man cried out.

Gaza's Hamas-run government media office said 18 Christian Palestinians had been killed. There was no immediate word from the church on the final death toll. It said targeting churches that were used as shelters for people fleeing bombing was "a war crime that cannot be ignored."

The Israeli military said part of the church was damaged in a strike on a militant command center and it was reviewing the incident.

In Zahra, a northern Gaza town, residents said their entire district of some 25 multi-storey apartment buildings was razed to the ground.

They received Israeli warning messages on their mobile phones at breakfast time, followed ten minutes later by a small drone strike that hammered the message home. Half an hour after the initial warning, F-16 warplanes brought the buildings down in huge explosions and clouds of dust.

"Everything I ever dreamt of and thought that I have achieved was gone. In that apartment was my dream, my memories with my children, and my wife, was the smell of safety and love," Ali, a resident of the district, told Reuters by phone, declining to give his full name for fear of reprisals.

The United Nations humanitarian affairs office said more than 140,000 homes - nearly a third of all homes in Gaza - have been damaged, with nearly 13,000 completely destroyed.

The south of the enclave has also been regularly hit. Gaza authorities said there were several dead and wounded in fresh strikes on Khan Younis, the enclave's main southern city.

OTHER FRONTS IN LEBANON, WEST BANK

While Israeli troops are massing around Gaza in anticipation of an order to invade, conflict is also spreading to two other fronts - the West Bank and the northern border with Lebanon.

The defense ministry ordered residents of the largest Israeli town near the Lebanese border, Kiryat Shmona, to evacuate to guest houses. Clashes at the border between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement have been the deadliest since a full-blown war in 2006.

In the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said 13 people were killed including five children after Israeli troops raided and called in air strikes on the Nur Shams refugee camp near Tulkarm.

The territory, where Palestinians have limited self rule under Israeli military occupation, has seen the deadliest clashes since the second intifada uprising ended in 2005.

Diplomats fear the conflict could spread even further. The Pentagon on Thursday said a U.S. Navy warship operating in the northern Red Sea intercepted three cruise missiles and several drones launched by the Houthi movement in Yemen, potentially toward Israel.

The Houthi, like Hamas in Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah, are backed by Iran, which has lauded the Hamas attacks on Israel though it denies being behind them.

AID TO GAZA STILL HELD UP

Western leaders have so far mostly offered support to Israel's campaign against Hamas, although there is mounting unease about the plight of civilians in Gaza, which has yet to receive long promised aid.

"We can't ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians who only want to live in peace and have opportunity," Biden said in his speech.

Israel has said it will allow no aid from its own territory to reach Gaza until more than 200 hostages captured by the gunmen are set free, a position Palestinians say amounts to unlawful collective punishment of the civilian population.

Biden secured a promise from Israel to allow some aid to enter Gaza from Egypt, provided it is monitored to ensure none reaches Hamas. So far, the trucks remain backed up on the Egyptian side of the crossing.

Moody's and Fitch announced that they had placed under review the rating of Israel's long-term sovereign debt (currently A1), in preparation for the possibility of lowering it due to the ongoing war between the Hebrew state and the Hamas movement.

Moody's announced this decision in a statement (Thursday), two days after a similar move by Fitch, which placed under negative monitoring Israel's long-term and short-term sovereign debt in foreign and local currencies.

Fitch justified the possibility of downgrading the rating (Tuesday) “by the increasing risk that the current conflict in Israel will expand to include widespread military clashes with many actors, for a long period.” “Hezbollah, other regional armed groups, and Iran,” the agency reported.

For its part, Moody's said, "This review was decided due to the sudden and violent conflict between Israel and Hamas," warning that the most dangerous repercussions of this conflict are its "human cost." She stressed that this announcement is “related to the repercussions of recent incidents on credit.”

Recalling that its expectations for Israeli sovereign debt “were previously stable,” Moody’s said that it would study during the review the future of the current war and its repercussions.

She said that during this review, she will “assess whether it is possible for the conflict to move toward a solution, or whether there is a possibility of a significant and prolonged escalation.”

Moody's explained, “The review will focus on the potential duration and scope of the conflict, and on evaluating its effects on Israeli institutions, especially the effectiveness of its policies, public finances, and economy.”

Moody's noted that "the review period could be longer than the usual three months." She particularly noted the unusual nature of this war compared to previous ones.

Moody's warned that “the longer and more intense the military conflict is, the greater its impact on the effectiveness of policies, public finances and the economy” in Israel.

Moody's added, "Even if the dispute is short-term, it could have an impact on credit."

Fitch said that the rating may not be downgraded if there is “de-escalation, which reduces the risks of a long-term material impact on the economy and public finances” of Israel.