Gaza Deaths Surpass 5,000; US Increases ‘Deterrence’ Force Near Israel

Russia Accuses US Of Stoking "Escalation" By Mideast Force Build-Up As Pentagon Blames Iran | The United Nations has revised its grim figure of the rising death toll from Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, saying that it has surpassed 5,000 as of Monday. It stands at 5,087. Separately, over 90 Palestinians have been killed in escalating West Bank violence, which over the weekend included Israel launching a rare airstrike on Jenin. Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are still holding at least 222 Israeli and foreign captives – a number which has again been revised upward. ● European Union foreign ministers are meanwhile gathered in Brussels for an urgent meeting to take up the contentious issue of a ceasefire. UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has been calling on world bodies to back a ceasefire. In response, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said, “Personally, I think that a humanitarian pause is needed in order to allow the humanitarian support to come in and be distributed, seeing that half of the population of Gaza has been moving from their houses.”

■ U.K. Prime Minister Sunak’s Message to Israel: Carry On with the Slaughter (Peter Oborne)(Global Research)

■ The Mask Comes off: Israeli Officials Show True Nature of Conflict | Over the past 24 Hours, the "real" face of Israel has begun to show; Genocidal rhetoric from Israeli officials:

💬 "We are dropping hundreds of tons of bombs on Gaza, the focus is on destruction, not accuracy”
-Daniel Hagari, Israeli Army Spox.

💬 “Now there is only one goal: Nakba. A Nakba in Gaza that will dwarf the Nakba of 1948”
-Ariel Kallner, Israeli politician of Likud

💬 “Wipe out their families, their mothers and their children. These animals must not be allowed to live any longer”
-Ezra Yachin, Israeli army veteran

💬 “Jericho missile! Doomsday weapon! That’s my opinion. Powerful rockets to be fired without borders, Gaza to be smashed and razed to the ground. Without mercy!”
-Tally Gotliv, Israeli politician of Likud

💬 “It is an entire nation who are responsible. This rhetoric about civilians not being involved is absolutely untrue…and we will fight until we break their backs.”
-Israeli President Herzog

💬 “I want to tell the world what they have long known about me in Israel: I don’t care about Gaza. I literally don’t care about Gaza. They can go swimming in the sea”
-Maya Golan, Israeli Minister of Women’s Affairs

Yet Joe Biden says Israel is doing everything to avoid civilian casualties, when the stated goal is destruction of Palestinians in Gaza?