v Reuters - quotes from the speech of Israel PM Netanyahu :
ONGOING GROUND OPERATION IN #GAZA IS THE SECOND STAGE OF THE #WAR
WE WILL EXERT EVERY EFFORT TO RETURN #HOSTAGES
THOSE ACCUSING US OF WAR CRIMES ARE HYPOCRITS
THE WAR INSIDE THE GAZA STRIP WILL BE DIFFICULT AND LONG
CAN'T SAY #IRAN WAS INVOLVED IN PLANNING OF OCT. 7 ATTACK BUT THEY FUND #HAMAS
from the #BBCWorldService news bulletin:
As #Israel 's bombardment of #Gaza intensifies alongside a large ground operation, its chief military spox has once again urged civilians there to move south. But for the first time Gazans were told they could move back when the fighting ends. #Israeli tanks and troops, which entered northern #Gaza in force overnight, remain in the field. #Hamas authorities say another 400 civilians were killed in overnight strikes, (cont.)
bringing the total number of deaths to more than 7700. A short while ago #Israel ’s PM, Benjamin #Netanyahu, held meetings with families of some of the #hostages still being held by #Hamas . Many want to know if Israel’s escalation is endangering the lives of their loved ones. (cont.)
The UN human rights chief has warned that large-scale #Israeli ground operations in #Gaza could produce "catastrophic" consequences, with possibly thousands more civilian deaths. Volker Turk urged the two sides and others with influence in the region to do everything to de-escalate the conflict. The #EU foreign pol chief Borrell said a pause in hostilities was urgently needed to allow humanitarian access. #Saudi Arabia condemned any #Israeli ground operations that threaten #Palestinian lives.
Pro- #Palestinian rallies have been held in a number of cities around the world --from #London and #Paris to #Bishkek , the capital of #Kyrgyzstan. Speaking at a huge demonstration in #Istanbul , the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told the crowds #Israel was an occupier in #Gaza, and repeated his stance that #Hamas was not a terrorist organisation. Earlier he used social media to call on #Israel to immediately stop what he described as "this madness" and end its attacks.
Erodgan's comments have prompted #Israel to say it's officially withdrawing some of its Embassy staff from Turkey. The #Israeli For Min, Eli Cohen said what he described as "grave statements" from Mr Erdogan meant that the two countries' relationship would have to be re-evaluated. #Turkey is the only predominantly-Muslim country which has always recognised the state of Israel, and President Erdogan had initially offered to mediate in the present conflict with #Gaza
Elon Musk, the billionaire boss of #Starlink, says his satellite communications network will be used to support international #aid agencies facing a #blackout in #Gaza Mr Musk made the offer on his X platform after agencies said they were struggling to contact their teams inside Gaza because most communication networks were cut overnight. Access to Starlink has (initially) played a vital role in #Ukraine’s war effort.
V #BBC Imogen Foulkes:
The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for an immediate de-escalation of the conflict in #Gaza , deploring the loss of life and what it said was an intolerable level of suffering.
The #ICRC is the guardian of the Geneva conventions, the laws of war, and since the #Hamas attack on Israel three weeks ago it has repeatedly called for the release of all #hostages , and appealed for access to Gaza for aid supplies.
(Cont.)
The Red Cross issued an urgent warning. "Two million civilians were trapped in #Gaza with nowhere to flee, amid massive bombardment and a military siege". This, the #ICRC statement continued, was a "catastrophic failingthe world must not tolerate".
It condemned the use of civilians as human shields and called for the release of #hostages
"But the absolute priority is the preservation of life, and that means allowing sustained deliveries of aid, and access for aid agencies," said the statement.
@fulelo - If, at the end of us, there are a million dead Palestinians, will we even hear about it? Will Israel say it’s all fake? Will US media go silent?
Good morning, it is 9 AM in the Middle East. V #BBC Jeremy Bowen:
"Since I woke up in my hotel in southern #Israel about an hour ago I’ve heard continuous drumbeat of #Israeli heavy artillery shelling #Gaza . Counted up to 6 loud explosions per minute. Here’s the latest TV reports from me - and Rushdi Abualouf inside Gaza" - from last night:
Thousands of #Gaza residents have broken into warehouses and distribution centres in the south and middle of the strip, taking flour and other basic supplies, UNRWA says:
"This is a worrying sign that civil order is starting to break down after 3 weeks of war and a tight siege on Gaza. People are scared, frustrated and desperate. Tensions and fear are made worse by the cuts in the phones and internet communication lines."
The UNRWA stmt released does not specify which warehouses were raided
'Meanwhile, UNRWA teams in Gaza have reported that internet services and connections were restored. They will reassess the situation with the aim of resuming convoys and distribution of assistance this morning.'
The #BBC team in #Israel was told by a contact in #Gaza that airstrikes had hit close to the Al #Shifa hospital, which is the biggest hospital in the Strip.
Israel's military has said Hamas's main base of operations is beneath the hospital. #Hamas has rejected that claim and some of the doctors working there have called for the hospital to be protected.
The source's claim aligns with what BBC reporter on the ground, Rushdi Abualouf, was hearing from his base in southern Gaza
On Fri #IDF spox Daniel Hagari said #Hamas "wages war from hospitals" in #Gaza by using these facilities as "terror infrastructures".
He made specific reference to Al #Shifa hospital, describing an elaborate network of tunnels beneath the building in Gaza City, adding "hundreds of terrorists fled into the hospital to hide there" after attacks on #Israel on 7 Oct, and says Israel has intelligence that "there is fuel in hospitals in Gaza, and Hamas is using it for its terror infrastructures".
UK Culture Sec Michelle Donelan has told the #BBC' that the government wants to see a pause in hostilities in the Israel-Gaza war in order to get critical aid to people.
"We continue to call for a pause," she says adding that getting aid in is "absolutely essential".
She explains the UK has so far donated and flown over 21 tonnes of aid to the Strip equating to the value of £13m.
On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak called for "specific pauses" in the Israel-Gaza war to allow more aid into Gaza.
#Israel 's military has said troops are on the ground in #Gaza : #IDF spox Hagari: "Overnight we increased the entry of IDF forces into the Strip, and they joined the forces already fighting there."
The Telegram account of the military arm of #Hamas reported armed clashes with Israeli troops and vehicles in the north-west of the territory. There were similar reports yesterday too.
Overnight, the same al-Qassam Telegram account reported clashes with Israeli troops east of Gaza City.
A division of the #Israeli military responsible to overseeing civilian affairs in #Gaza#COGAT said this morning that it would allow increased supplies through the #Rafah crossing in the coming days.
A spokesman said the (non-fuel) aid would be distributed via the UN in what it called “humanitarian safe zones” in southern Gaza around Khan Younis.
The UN and other aid agencies have described the situation in Gaza as a humanitarian crisis. (cont)
With an average of fewer than 20 trucks of basic aid each day, the need is huge and desperation means that civil order is on the verge of breaking down.
But the #COGAT spox said there were “no food shortages" in #Gaza, that water supplies were “enough to meet #humanitarian needs”, and that #Israel had opened two water supply lines in the south.
The spokesman also intimated there were plenty of medical supplies but they were being strictly controlled by #Hamas.
The #ICRC say they are "deeply alarmed" after staff at the Al-#Quds hospital in #Gaza were told to immediately evacuate the site.
The hospital is thought to be providing shelter to more than 14,000 civilians as well as hundreds of patients.
"Hospitals are places of help and refuge; they must be protected at all cost. PRCS’s Al-Quds hospital in Gaza city is caring for 100s of injured people and bed-ridden, long-term patients.
"Evacuating is close to, if not impossible in the current situation"
@fulelo thank you @fulelo for posting on the current situation, with the lack of information coming out of Gaza it’s important to share what information is available.
Some 55,000 internally displaced people #IDPs are now "occupying each square metre" of Al #Shifa hospital, so Dr Marwan Abusada to #BBC. The dr said the hospital was "overwhelmed" and patients were "invading" its corridors. About 100 patients were moved to other hospitals over the weekend, he said. "But still we are receiving many, many, many cases. Each half an hour, we receive a huge number of injured people." (Cont.)
A shortage of everything from anaesthetics to painkillers and antibiotics is making the situation "very difficult", he added. "We cannot do more."
#Israel 's military has said #Hamas 's main base of operations is beneath Al #Shifa . Hamas rejects that claim and some of the doctors working there have called for the hospital to be protected.
Children are facing a "catastrophic" situation in #Gaza, with parents left with no choice but to give them salty water, according to Unicef.
Toby Fricker, a spox told #BBC News the shortages had been "raised to another level".
“One of our staff members just trying to keep (her) girls alive on an everyday basis, She spoke about how they’re just drinking salty water, and her daughter’s saying, ‘Mum, why can’t I have the normal water back we used to have?’
(Cont.)
V @michaelh992:
'There are reports in #Palestinian media that #Israeli forces have taken control of a segment of the Salah al-Din Road, the main street that runs from northern to southern #Gaza, and that the Strip has now been divided in two.' #Israel#hamas
#BBC is receiving reports of more violence in the occupied West Bank. #Palestinian health officials said this morning that at least four people had been killed in clashes with #Israeli forces in #Jenin
According to the Palestinian official news agency Wafa, military vehicles and two bulldozers carried out a raid in Jenin and destroyed part of the outer wall of the Ibn Sina Hospital. Missiles were also fired into a house and into Jenin refugee camp, Wafa reported.
In their update this morning, #IDF spox Hagari said it had carried out an air strike operation in #Jenin , adding: "We targeted and eliminated several armed terrorists."
The Israeli military regularly carried out raids in the #WestBank before this war. But it rarely uses air strikes there.
The West Bank is separate from the #Gaza Strip, which is run by #Hamas
The #Palestinian Authority #PA governs parts of the West Bank that are not under full #Israeli control.
V #BBC Yolande Knell:
An Israeli tank and armoured vehicle have cut a key road from the north to the south of #Gaza , entering close to Gaza City, according to #Palestinian witnesses.
The tanks are reported on Salah-al-Din road, near the Karni-Netzarim junction, sparking speculation that it could be part of an advance on Gaza City.
A video circulating on social media shows a car doing a turn after approaching a tank, only for it to open fire and destroy the vehicle.
A recap of #Israel#Gaza news:
Netanyahu has rejected calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying it would amount to a "surrender to #Hamas "
Speaking in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu cited the Bible as he said "this is a time for war"
Meanwhile, UN aid agencies repeated their calls for a humanitarian ceasefire at an emergency UNSC meeting
Unicef says the situation in Gaza is growing worse by the hour, and the “true cost of this latest escalation will be measured in children’s lives”
(Cont.)
Separately, Hamas has released a video of three #hostages being held in Gaza. The BBC isn't showing the video as we do not publish material which may have been filmed under duress
Israel's PM described it as "cruel psychological propaganda", while the father of one of the women in the video said his heart "nearly stopped beating" when he saw her
(Cont.)
What an ordeal... how can this Gordian knot be resolved...
Hamas are a bunch of murderous thugs out for the destruction of Israel, and Netanyahu's right wing government keeps supporting settlers and taking away Palestinian land...
A real 2 state solution is the only possible solution... if needed with UN mandate. This orgy of violence needs to stop now!
#Israeli ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan has vowed to wear a yellow star until the UN Security Council condemns the atrocities of #Hamas and demands the immediate release of #hostages
@fulelo It's a disgrace to the memory of the Holocaust to be presenting Israelis as the only victim in a multigenerational war that has killed ten times as many of "the enemy" as Jews.
Meanwhile the death toll in the enclave has risen to 8,306 people - including 3,457 minors - according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by #Hamas
The US has said it expects there will be a significant increase of aid going into Gaza in the coming days
(Cont.)
The announcement comes amid warnings from the UN that most #children now have only salty water to survive on
More than 200 hostages are still being held by #Hamas in #Gaza , but on Monday the Israel Defense Forces #IDF said it had successfully freed one of its soldiers - Private Ori Megidish - from the group
#Israel has continued bombing the Gaza Strip even as the UN called for a #humanitarian#ceasefire and gave dire warnings of the situation inside the enclave
#IDF spox have described #Israeli troops as "slowly and meticulously" expanding their operations in northern #Gaza . Conricus adds IDF is "striking all parts of the Strip", focusing their attacks on northern #Gaza .
The IDF also says "numerous #Hamas terrorists have been killed" by troops, who battled "terrorist cells that fired both anti-tank missiles and machine gun fire" Among the targets are 'rocket launch posts below tunnel shafts, as well as military compounds inside underground tunnels'
Good morning from London, the latest overnight on #Israel and #Gaza:
Various sources in the region suggest the border at Rafah might open today to allow seriously wounded Palestinians to seek treatment in Egypt
The UK Foreign Office says it informed British nationals trapped in Gaza about "credible reports" that Rafah might open for limited exits, but had no further details
WHO head Ghebreyesus says his organisation continues to be "gravely concerned" about the condition of #hostages held by #Hamas .
In a post on X, he expressed particular concern for children, women, older people, and those with health conditions requiring immediate medical attention.
" #WHO , once again, calls for the immediate release of all the hostages," he wrote.
#MSF nurse providing emergency care at the Al #Shifa hospital #Gaza tweeted after the #Jabalia airstrike: "Young children arrived with deep wounds and severe burns. They came without their families. Many were screaming and asking for their parents. I stayed with them until we could find a place, as the hospital was full." MSF said it was horrified by the Jabalia air strike and condemned the "latest episode of senseless violence", while calling for a ceasefire. "Enough is enough!"
V WaPo:
'Kim Song, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations, said Tuesday that reports of Hamas using North Korean weapons are “groundless rumors,” Yonhap News Agency reported. The Washington Post reported that a Hamas document included instructions for operating North Korean rocket-propelled grenades.'
#Bolivia said it is cutting diplomatic ties with #Israel over its attacks on #Gaza
Dep for min Freddy Mamani said tge decision was "in repudiation and condemnation of the aggressive and disproportionate Israeli military offensive being carried out in the Gaza Strip".
Separately, the leaders of #Colombia and #Chile have recalled their ambassadors to Israel in protest.
Good morning from London and a quick recap:
Gaza has witnessed fierce fighting overnight - with a live feed capturing sounds of explosions and bright flames on the horizon
The Israeli military says it's killed dozens of Hamas fighters - having earlier said its troops had broken through its enemy's defensive lines
More civilians are expected to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing today; 400 people used the crossing yesterday for the first time since the war broke out
Responding to a heckler during a speech, US President Joe Biden said there had to be a "pause" in fighting to facilitate the release of Hamas's hostages
Israel has been bombing Gaza since the 7 October Hamas attacks that killed 1,400 people, with 239 people kidnapped as hostages
The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 8,700 people have been killed since Israel's retaliatory bombing began
More than 20,000 wounded people are still trapped in #Gaza, according to #MSF
Egyptian officials said 335 foreigners or dual-nationals, plus 76 seriously wounded and sick people, were brought across #Rafah on Wed. AFP reported that ambulances were seen taking wounded evacuees to Egyptian field hospitals.
MSF has called for a greater number of people to be evacuated - and for a ceasefire and more critical aid to to be delivered to Gaza
#Israel 's defence minister Yoav Gallant says the Israeli military has dropped more than 10,000 munitions on #Gaza City alone since the start of the current conflict and is progressing towards its goal of eliminating #Hamas:
"It's a determined operation and decisive action Very strong cooperation between the ground and air forces with supporting fire from the sea. I want to convey my great appreciation. These are very important achievements in the field, we're hitting terrorists at every level."
@ChemicalEyeGuy@fulelo I’m not going to debate your misinformation but I will say this, in WWII the Nazis were destroyed. And while there are Nazis today, pretty much from the end of the war until maybe a decade ago they stayed under their rocks. New nazis were not created because we stopped the originals.
@ChemicalEyeGuy@fulelo Hamas will commit October 7th massacres until they annihilate Israel. That isn’t me saying it, it’s the political wing of Hamas. The same wing that said the over 300 miles of tunnels are only for Hamas and not the population. It’s the UN who is responsible for Palestinian civilians. So we are talking about a genocidal organization who does not care about their people. Sounds like fascist Nazis to me.
Morning from London, a recap of the last few hours:
Israel's military says it has "completed the encirclement of Gaza City" and has been attacking outposts, headquarters and other Hamas infrastructure
Gazans working in Israel will be sent back to the besieged enclave, the Israeli government says
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Israel, his second visit since Hamas attacks on 7 October
V #BBC Yolande Knell:
The US has promised full support and increased military aid to Israel, but there’s also been a shift in tone.
As Antony Blinken left for the Middle East, he said he’d talk about “concrete steps” to minimise harm to civilians.
The White House has proposed a series of localised pauses in fighting to allow aid to be delivered to Gaza or to carry out evacuations. It has stressed these would fall well short of a ceasefire, which it believes would benefit Hamas.
“ #Israel is severing all contact with #Gaza . There will be no more #Palestinian workers from Gaza. Those workers from Gaza who were in Israel on the day of the outbreak of the war will be returned to Gaza,” so #Netanyahu ’s office on X.
Israel’s security cabinet also agreed to “deduct all funds designated for the Gaza Strip… from Palestinian Authority [PA] funds”.
Some 18,500 Palestinians from Gaza had received permits to enter Israel before the deadly 7 October attack by Hamas
The UN said four of its schools in #Gaza that were being used as shelters had been damaged in less than 24 hours.The UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees also noted that at least 20 people were reportedly dead at a school in the Jabalia refugee camp
A limited number of citizens were able to leave Gaza through #Rafah , near the #Egyptian border, which opened on Wed. Egyptian officials said 21 injured #Palestinians had left on Thursday, plus 344 foreign passport holders, including 72 children
Udi Goren's cousin is one of them. He told the #BBC he feels the families of hostages "just can't trust anyone".
"We don't trust our government, that they're doing their best to bring them back. Obviously we don't trust Hamas.
I don't see in any way, in any way, how bombing Gaza to the ground is going to get my cousin back. I don't see in any kind of scenario, how this is getting him back alive sooner," Goren adds.
36 journalists and media workers were confirmed dead: 31 Palestinian, 4 Israeli, and 1 Lebanese.
8 journalists were reported injured.
9 journalists were reported missing or detained.
CPJ is also investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing, detained, hurt, or threatened, and of damage to media offices and journalists’ homes.
'The government is advancing regulations to close the network's Israel branch, a move journalists and free press defenders decry as baseless and dangerous.'
@fulelo that “heckler” is a Rabbi and member of Jewish Voice for Peace. She disrupted as a protester, shouting that if Biden really cared about the safety of America Jews, he should call for a ceasefire 🕊️
@fulelo perhaps the BBC can retrieve some of its reputation for being truthful purveyors of news. The senior manager needs sorting out, and perhaps news separated from current affairs once more. One is fact filled, the other various shades of conjecture, hopefully most will be expert led, and grounded in facts.
@fulelo Latin America has a deep trauma from US interference. The US promoted anti democratic coups and backed ruthless dictators, in the name of “fighting communism” in the region. Because of that, everything and everyone allied to US or US interests is “bad”.
(this is not saying I agree with their stance or not - it’s just what happens)
— by the way your journalism is just great, thank you for your work.
@notwithstanding thanks for the praise and for your info - we are working on the next episode of #TheGlobalJigsaw as we speak, on global narratives, and LatAm features very prominently
@fulelo I'm glad you used the quotations around "terrorists" there because, no matter what one thinks of Hamas or their assault of 10/7, if people can't attack the invading military of a country that has declared war without being called "terrorists", the word has lost all meaning whatsoever.
Those are legitimate targets, unlike (checks notes) refugee camps.
If the BBC is right that the car was going North, that is going from the safer area into the area Israel warned should be evacuated. Why would a family be driving towards the dangerous area? It is possible, eg going to a hospital, but less probable. There is no evidence it is a family.
There are claims Hamas blocked people leaving the North, which would mean the people massed around the hospitals are being made human shields.
@fulelo Even if one trusted the IDF after their frequent lies, THIS DOES NOT JUSTIFY COMMITTING A WAR CRIME BY BOMBING A HOSPITAL. There is NO justification for such war crimes. Bibi et al have become Zionazis, justifying genocide with lies and horror.
@fulelo Video proves it's where their base is...Hamas is putting their own citizens (whom they couldn't care less about) in harms way purposely. Their base is under the hospital. Hamas is a terrorist govt; Ministry of Health is under that govt. Are we to believe terrorists who were told before massacre that beheading was the only way to kill the innocents. Look up the manifesto that's been published. Their goal is to wipe out an entire population. It's just sad for all ppl - both govts suk.
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