DarkGamer

DarkGamer, 5 months ago

The original article is better than this hot take on it, although it seems to make a lot of assumptions as well:

While the underground tunnel uncovered by Israeli forces after the raid does point to a possible militant presence underneath the hospital at some point, it does not prove that a command node was operating there during the war.

The article admits there were likely militants under the hospital, which I believe would make it a legal target. I'm not sure why it would have to be a, "command node," which is what this article seems to focus on.

The Post mapped the path of the tunnel by geolocating the excavation sites within al-Shifa and analyzing the videos frame-by-frame to determine the network’s directionality and length. The Post then superimposed the tunnel routes on the original map released by the IDF on Oct. 27 that it said showed the full extent of Hamas’s command and control infrastructure.

Now this is the most interesting claim the article makes, that the footage IDF released does not prove that the tunnel networks they showed footage of connects to Al-Shifa. It still might, but the video does not conclusively show that. US intelligence sources agree with IDF's assessment, but they aren't sharing their sources so I suppose the credibility of this depends on one's perceived credibility of US and Israeli intelligence agencies.

IDF released video footage showing spokesman Jonathan Conricus walking through the radiology unit. Behind an MRI machine, he points out what he calls a “grab bag” containing an AK-style rifle and an ammunition magazine.
Photos released by the military later that day purported to show the full haul of weapons recovered at the hospital — about 12 AK-style rifles, in addition to magazines of ammunition and several grenades and bulletproof vests.
The Post was unable to independently verify to whom the weapons belonged or how they came to be inside the radiology unit.

So they have evidence they just don't have the full backstory of how the guns got there. I'm not sure how they would expect the IDF to establish this or why this diminishes the evidence.

IDF published an additional piece of evidence: security camera footage showing armed militants leading two hostages through the hospital on Oct. 7 — among some 240 captured during the assault on southern Israel. One appeared to be wounded and is on a gurney. It was not clear if the hostages were taken to the hospital for medical treatment or other purposes.
Hostage-taking is a crime under international law. But “misuse of the hospital five weeks before the IDF operation does not bear on the legality of the IDF operation,” Haque said.

Oh it doesn't count because they brought hostages there a little while before the bombing? Please.

After arresting the hospital’s director, Ahmed al-Kahlot, Israel released an interrogation video Tuesday in which Kahlot admitted to being a member of Hamas and said the hospital was under the control of the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, the group’s armed wing. In response, Gaza’s Health Ministry said the statement was made “under the force of oppression, torture and intimidation” to “justify [Israel’s] successive crimes, especially against the health system.”

This seems pretty damning, despite Hamas' denial. I have seen no evidence that this confession was obtained by illegal means.

All of this together certainly makes it seem like the hospital was used by militants, despite the article's skepticism. They just gloss over this and focus on anti-IDF conjecture.

DarkGamer, 4 months ago

Riiight because everything is a conspiracy.

DarkGamer, 5 months ago

Calling modern Germany the “side” of the Nazis is incredibly offensive

Well they consider themselves to be atoning for it to this day and accept responsibility, as per the quote above. If you've ever been to Germany they don't shy away from the connection or deny that the Nazis were German.

There are plenty of Jews around the world who have lost family in the Holocaust who very much do believe the term does apply.

A minority opinion, to be sure.

DarkGamer, 4 months ago

That seems accurate except for your misuse of the term genocide. Repeating it like a mantra doesn't make it true.

DarkGamer, 4 months ago

These attacks are against Hamas, the once-elected government of Gaza who has widespread support there, not civilian populations.

Yes yes keep crying wolf until the word genocide is meaningless.

DarkGamer, 4 months ago

How dare they... checks notes... defend themselves!

DarkGamer, 4 months ago

Did you know that reprisals for unprovoked attacks don't have to be symmetrical and that doesn't make it any less defensive?

DarkGamer, 4 months ago

You keep trying to put words into my mouth, maybe focus on positions I actually hold?

DarkGamer, 1 month ago

Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city that is the last haven for many people, faced attack from Israeli forces

Also the last haven of Hamas, who has been cleared from the rest of the surface of Gaza.

DarkGamer, 3 months ago

If only there were a magical form of warfare that only killed intended targets with zero collateral damage....

DarkGamer, 4 months ago

This is what happened because of "armed resistance groups."

DarkGamer, 4 months ago

Choose better sources. This is Hamas propaganda.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor’s current and former Board Chairs appear on a 2013 list, published by Israel, of Hamas’ “main operatives and institutions” in Europe.
https://www.ngo-monitor.org/ngos/euro-med-human-rights-monitor/

DarkGamer, 6 months ago

"We're talking about military age men who were discovered in areas that civilians were supposed to have evacuated weeks ago," he said.
Mr Levy added that they would be questioned to "work out who indeed was a Hamas terrorist and who is not".
He emphasised the detained men had been found in areas where Israeli forces had engaged in "close-quarter combat" with Hamas. They had been "deliberately disguising themselves as civilians" and operating from civilian buildings.

They found them in an active war zone where they said anyone remaining would be considered a potential enemy combatant. They didn't shoot them, instead they arrested them to determine who is a hostile. I guess the IDF is damned if they do and damned if they don't.

DarkGamer, 6 months ago (edited 6 months ago)

It's almost like Israel was once again provoked into war, and all that that entails… cutting off supply lines, destroying enemy infrastructure, launching attacks against Hamas members who surround themselves with human shields, etc, etc, etc…

• Israel has been letting in supplies and humanitarian aid to Gaza.
• The IDF has been clear that they will attack Hamas targets wherever they find them, the evacuation zone is where they will consider anyone remaining to be a potential enemy combatant so it still makes sense to leave.
• Any crimes committed by civilians in the West Bank need to be prosecuted, and I don't know what you mean by kidnapping, but I presume you're inappropriately conflating "random kidnapping" with military arrests.

DarkGamer, 3 months ago

This guy runs Euro Med Monitor:

Abdu was the assistant director and Palestine Office Manager for Council for European Palestinian Relations,[19][20] an organisation described by The Independent as "a Belgian non-profit organisation that lobbies on behalf of the Hamas-led Gaza Government."[21] He was on the board of trustees of the International platform of NGOs working for Palestine.

Congratulations, you're spreading Hamas propaganda. There's a reason this story isn't being run anywhere credible.

DarkGamer, 6 months ago

What should they do instead?

DarkGamer, 5 months ago

Citation? My understanding is Israel has prosecuted the few incidents when their soldiers did such a thing, and it certainly is not policy or commonplace.

DarkGamer, 5 months ago

You're conflating security guards with IDF forces inappropriately. You might have a point given that the IDF is a citizen army, however, many of the people slaughtered that day were not even Israeli. Hamas never bothered to check who was and was not a soldier. They just fired blindly at civilian vehicles driving by, raped and massacred an EDM festival.

The IDF uses military bases instead for that sort of thing. These were civilians, many of whom championed pro-Palestinian causes.

If you haven't seen it, I encourage you to watch October 7th footage, the IDF has it uncensored on their YouTube channel, after watching it my sympathy for Palestine evaporated.

DarkGamer, 5 months ago

Citation? My understanding is that when there was skepticism regarding whether the tunnels connected to the hospital, the IDF released 360° video footage of them walking around in it to address it. I've seen stashes of weapons thrown behind MRI machines, there's been accounts from patients that Hamas members were in the hospital, there's footage of Hamas taking hostages into the hospitals, RPGs being fired from in front of them and then the soldiers run into the hospitals, and I'm pretty sure they have a confession from hospital management. I believe there's even more evidence, but that's all that I'm remembering at the moment.

DarkGamer, 4 months ago

• Hamas was elected to power by Palestinians in Gaza last time they had an election
• 72% of Palestinians still approve of Hamas and October 7th
• Hamas is comprised of Palestinians

These are not unrelated groups. One might say they represent the interests of their constituency in a twisted self-destructive way.

DarkGamer, 5 months ago (edited 5 months ago)

I edited my comment to be more clear and concise, but you replied too soon, I had a feeling you'd interpret that phrase in the least charitable way possible.

Civilians from a hostile nation is more accurate, although widespread public support of intifada doesn't mean you're entirely wrong. Despite this, israel is still choosing military targets, unlike their opponent.

DarkGamer, 4 months ago

There was no recliner and Ottoman from which to comfortably launch my intifada, I'm giving it two stars on HamasBNB.

(Image caption says that's a tunnel, not sure if that's the office part.)

DarkGamer, 4 months ago

As a Democrat, fuck people who misapply the term genocide to trash Israel.