A Palestinian person begs for help with just a hand under the rubble of Jabalia, but above them are concrete slabs & the weight of a building pic.twitter.com/7hn7bFhH1F

— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) November 17, 2023

■ US armed Israel with 25,000-plus bombs, missiles since Oct. 7: Report (PressTV)

Israeli team is set to participate in the Paris Olympics starting Friday after the French government as well as the International Olympic Committee turned down calls to ban it over the genocidal war on Gaza. | Netizens have been fuming at the body responsible for organizing the Olympic Games and Emmanuel Macron's government for allowing “mass murderers” to participate in the marquee sports competition. According to reports, the flag-bearer of the Israeli contingent at the Paris Olympics will be Peter Paltchik, a Ukrainian-born Israeli judoka who competes in the under-100 kg weight category. ● Social media users have pointed out that Paltchik, a former European champion, was one of those who signed bomb shells aimed at Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, after the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in the besieged territory in October 2023, Paltchik shared a photo of munitions signed by him. “From me to you with pleasure,” he wrote in the tweet, which stirred up the hornet’s nest.

Hebrew media reports that the army is urging Tel Aviv that ‘now is the right time’ for escalation against Hezbollah and Lebanon | Former Israeli intelligence and security official Yuval Malka told Hebrew media on 25 July that Washington has greenlit a wider war on Lebanon. “According to the information I received from the delegation and what I know, Netanyahu has received full legitimacy in the United States to wage a war in Lebanon,” Malka told Israel’s Channel 14. [...] “The Israeli army is prepared for a major ground maneuver in Lebanon and warns: Any delay will be in Hezbollah’s favor when there is progress in the background in negotiations to release the hostages,” said Amir Bohbot, military editor and senior defense analyst for Israeli news site Walla, on 24 July.

■ US armed Israel with 25,000-plus bombs, missiles since Oct. 7: Report (PressTV)

Is this the picture that shocked the consciences of the world? or are they coldly unmoving, please tell me — israelis commit #Genocide pic.twitter.com/MDGAFxvdhL

— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) October 28, 2023

Andre Damon | The Lancet, the prestigious peer-reviewed British medical journal, has warned that the true death toll in the Gaza genocide could be 186,000 or more. | This staggering figure amounts to 8 percent of the population of Gaza. ■ A similar percentage of the US population would be 26 million people. It stands as an indictment of the United States and its imperialist allies, who have funded, armed and politically defended Israel’s genocide in Gaza. ■ The official death toll since the onset of the Israeli attack, according to Gazan government sources, is 37,396. But The Lancet noted that this figure reflects neither the thousands of people buried under the rubble nor the countless deaths caused by the deliberate destruction of Gaza’s food distribution, healthcare and sanitation systems.

Multiple Palestinian factions have released statements criticizing the US for hosting Netanyahu in the Congress on Wednesday. | Izzat Al-Risheq, a member of the political bureau of Hamas, blasted Netanyahu's speech before the United States Congress, describing it as "a criminal's speech filled with lies and a mockery of the [peoples'] intelligence."Another senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, said that Netanyahu's speech addressing the US Congress is evidence that he does not want to conclude a ceasefire deal.

💬 "Netanyahu's speech was full of lies and it will not succeed in covering up for the failure and defeat in the face of the Resistance to cover up for the crimes of the war of genocide his army is committing against the people of Gaza," Abu Zuhri said in an interview.

■ Netanyahu's lies in Congress speech debunked amid huge boycott (The New Arab)
■ Iran Condemns US For Welcoming Israeli PM (Asharq Al-Awsat)
■ Türkiye: Netanyahu's speech to US Congress great stain on legislative body (TRT World)
■ Democrats to Netanyahu: 'Liar with promotion campaign', 'war criminal' (Al Mayadeen)
■ Key takeaways from Netanyahu’s speech and the protests outside US Congress (Al Jazeera)
👉 Netanyahu Commands, US Obeys (Joe Lauria)

Ron Unz | Israel Shahak and the Middle East ● The Unusual Doctrines of Traditional Judaism ● The Attitude of Judaism Towards Non-Jews ● The Historical Role of Jews in Western Societies ● The Controversial Scholarship of Ariel Toaff [...] My encounter a decade ago with Shahak’s candid description of the true doctrines of traditional Judaism was certainly one of the most world-altering revelations of my entire life. But as I gradually digested the full implications, all sorts of puzzles and disconnected facts suddenly became much more clear. There were also some remarkable ironies, and not long afterward I joked to a (Jewish) friend of mine that I’d suddenly discovered that Nazism could best be described as “Judaism for Wimps” or perhaps Judaism as practiced by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. [...]

■ “Jewish values”? (Nahida Izzat)
■ THE EXPRESSION OF HATRED FOR GENTILES Richard Edmondson/Nahida Izzat) (10/04/14)

 ● At least 89 Palestinians have been killed and 250 others wounded in Khan Younis in “one of the bloodiest” Israeli attacks in the past eight months. Israeli forces are facing fierce resistance from Palestinian fighters.
 ● About 150,000 Khan Younis residents were forced to flee in one day, with residents saying they barely got a couple of minutes to escape to areas with little or no infrastructure.
 ● Hundreds of protesters were arrested in Washington, DC, before the Israeli PM’s scheduled address to the US Congress. Netanyahu, who faces a potential ICC arrest warrant for war crimes, likely to meet President Biden, as well as presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
 ● At least 39,090 people have been killed and 90,147 injured in Israel’s war on Gaza. The death toll in Israel from the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 is estimated at 1,139 with dozens of people still held captive in Gaza.

In another spine-chilling incident, 24-year-old Palestinian man Muhammad Bhar, who was suffering from Down syndrome and autism, was killed by an Israeli army dog in broad daylight. | Bhar’s diabolic murder earlier this month sent shock waves across the globe and once again brought to focus the genocidal war crimes of the Israeli regime against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. ● Bhar family, which had been displaced at least five times during the war, sought refuge in their home in eastern Gaza City’s Shujaiya neighborhood when Israeli troops stormed their house on June 27. ● The regime forces first unleashed their sniffer dogs into the house. The dogs instantly attacked Bhar who was made to sit in the safest corner of the living room by his family.

Eva Bartlett | Israeli attacks have likely killed many more than the nearly 40,000 people reported, and even more will yet perish | Earlier this month, the Lancet published an article estimating that the total number of Palestinian civilian deaths caused directly and indirectly by Israeli attacks since October 2023 could be nearly five times higher than the official death toll, and could reach “up to 186 000 or even more.” It noted that “this would translate to 7.9% of the total population in the Gaza Strip.” According to the piece, the latest available count of Palestinians killed – 37,396 – is far too low, based on the fact that it is still unknown how many more lie under the rubble, how many are missing but not accounted for among the dead, and how many will perish due to starvation, dehydration, or diseases.

Royal Air Force has surveillance tape of Gaza from the day Israel killed British aid workers – but refuses to publish it. | Britain’s Ministry of Defence holds video surveillance footage of Gaza from the day that Israel killed seven international aid workers but is refusing to publish the tape. Among those killed in the World Central Kitchen convoy on 1 April were three British military veterans: John Chapman, James Kirby and James ‘Jim’ Henderson. The footage was taken by a Royal Air Force (RAF) surveillance plane which spent approximately five hours above Gaza that day.

■ UK approved arms for Israel days after it killed British aid workers (Declassified)

The Israeli leader will address a joint session of Congress | On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in the US, where he is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress. Netanyahu’s visit comes amid political turmoil in the US as President Biden announced on Sunday that he was dropping out of the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. [Fully vaccinated] Biden was supposed to host Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, but an Israeli source told The Times of Israel that the meeting might not happen because the president is still sick with COVID-19.

👉 US Congress gives Benjamin Netanyahu 29 Standing Ovations (VIDEO) (2015)
■ American Surgeon Who Volunteered in Gaza Says IDF Snipers Shoot Toddlers (Antiwar.com)
■ Israel Launches New Assault on Khan Younis, Kills 70 Palestinians (Antiwar.com)

🔴 LIVE DAY 289 #Israel #Palestine

- Gaza death toll approaches 39,000
- Houthis to continue attacking Israel
- Meeting between Biden and Netanyahu to go ahead

Follow our live coverage ⤵️https://t.co/D8dd1uBb9w

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) July 22, 2024

■ Israel murders 45 Palestinians as Gaza death toll surpasses 39,000 (PressTV)
■ Israel’s killing spree in Gaza leaves dozens dead in under 24 hours (The Cradle)
■ Israel’s war on Gaza live: Israel kills 27 in new attack on Khan Younis (Al Jazeera)
■ Israel’s latest airstrikes in Gaza kill at least 15 including children (Associated Press)

The Saudi Ministry of Defense has reacted to the reports released by Israeli media sources regarding the country's alleged involvement in the Zionist regime's attack on Yemen last night. | Reacting to the claims, Defense Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki said on Sunday that his country did not participate in the Israeli raids targeting the Yemeni city of Hodeidah on Saturday. He further stressed that Saudi Arabia would not allow any party to violate its airspace. ● Israeli war jets launched a series of airstrikes on Saturday targeting Yemen's province of Hodeidah on the Red Sea coast. The aggression targeted an oil refinery, leading to a massive fire that can be seen kilometers away. ● After the Israeli attack on Yemeni soil, the spokesperson of the Arab country's Army Yahya Saree said that Yemeni armed forces would not hesitate to retaliate the Israeli strikes on Hudaydah Port.

■ UN warns of escalation risk after Israeli attacks on Yemen (TRT World)
■ Cairo Says Concerned About Israeli Airstrikes on Yemen’s Hudaydah (Sputnik News)
■ Israeli attack against Yemen signals ‘dangerous’ new phase: Hezbollah (Anadolu)
■ Yemen successfully hits occupied Eilat, US ship in Red Sea (Mehr News Agency) | Local sources reported a massive explosion in the Israeli-occupied Eilat early on Sunday. Zionist media sources reported that alarm sirens sounded after a loud explosion was heard in Eilat. The incident occurred just hours after the Israeli regime attacked Yemen's Al-Hudaydah Port.

For most of us, the night typically means dinner with family, a movie, and preparing for bed. For those living—or more accurately, trying to live—in Gaza, the night signifies something entirely different: terror. “The night is long. The night is terrifying. The night means fear. The night means remembering Hind,” says the mother of Hind Rajab, a young girl who was shot dozens of times by the IDF in Gaza. This documentary echoes the sentiments of many who endure the relentless bombing campaign in one of the most densely populated areas worldwide. ● “My mother, my brother, my sister, and my two children—they’re my only children and they’re gone...” This heart-wrenching account is just one of the many that highlight the horrors Gazans face under Israel’s brutal siege and bombing. Emily Tripp, Director of Airwars, emphasizes the severity, stating, “This is the conflict where we have counted more children killed in a single strike than we have in any other conflict… multiple times.” (Odysee here + BitChute here)

“Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law,” said the president of the court. | The United Nations’ highest court said on Friday that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there are illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible, in its strongest findings to date on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. ● The advisory opinion by judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), known as the World Court, was not binding but carries weight under international law and is likely to fuel more criticism of Israel’s settlement expansion policies. The court ruling will impact any future Palestinian-Israeli settlement negotiations. ● “Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law,” President Nawaf Salam said, reading the findings of a 15-judge panel. The court said Israel’s obligations include paying restitution for harm and “the evacuation of all settlers from existing settlements”. ● The ICJ opinion also found that the UN Security Council, the General Assembly, and all states have an obligation not to recognize the occupation as legal nor “render aid or assistance” toward maintaining Israel’s presence in the occupied territories.

■ Landmark ICJ ruling says world must act to end Israel’s illegal occupation (Maureen Clare Murphy)
👉 Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem | The Court gives its Advisory Opinion and responds to the questions posed by the General Assembly (ICJ)(.pdf)

Israel's settlement policy in occupied Palestinian territories is in breach of international law, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled. | The "transfer by Israel of settlers to the West Bank and Jerusalem as well as Israel's maintenance of their presence" is "contrary to article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention", a panel of 15 judges from around the world said. The court said Israel must end the construction of settlements immediately - acts which render "Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful". Israel's continued presence is "illegal" and should be ended as "rapidly as possible", the ICJ added. It also found that Israel's use of natural resources was "inconsistent" with its obligations under international law as an occupying power. ● Israel did not send a legal team to the hearings. In written comments, however, it said questions put to the court were prejudiced and failed to address its security concerns.

■ ICJ says Israel violates international law in West Bank and must end the occupation (Ynet News)
■ Top UN court declares Israeli settlements illegal (RT.com)
👉 Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem | The Court gives its Advisory Opinion and responds to the questions posed by the General Assembly (ICJ)(.pdf)

Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, has added her voice to a call for Israel to be unseated from the United Nations. | Albanese said it was “time” to remove Israel from the world body, as she reposted an earlier call on social media for the “unseating” of Israel by the UN’s special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing. ● On Tuesday, the UN rapporteur on housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, said that it was “high time” to take action as Israel continued its “criminal attacks” on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza “without any consequences”. Israel should be unseated “from the UN, as was done with apartheid South Africa”, Rajagopal said in a post on social media.

The Houthis used a novel UAV dubbed Jaffo which, according to the rebels, is capable of bypassing air defense systems [...] According to a statement published on his Telegram channel, the Houthis carried out a "military operation which involved delivering strikes on one of important targets" in Tel Aviv. The Houthis used a novel UAV dubbed Jaffo which, according to the rebels, is capable of bypassing air defense systems. ● The Houthis noted that Tel Aviv is "no longer safe and will become the main target" of the rebels within the range of their weapons. The rebel movement has determined a number of targets in Israel, "including important military facilities," and will continue to deliver strikes on them in response to Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip, the statement noted.

■ Yemen's Houthis claim deadly drone attack on Tel Aviv (MEE)
■ ‘Suicide drone’ explodes near US consulate in Tel Aviv – reports (RT.com)

Matt Kennard 1 The US military has been flying covert planes to Israel from RAF Akrotiri since the bombing of Gaza began, Declassified has discovered.

 ■ Unmarked planes are being used by US forces to fly from Cyprus to Israel, including as recently as June 26
 ■ The aircraft are believed to be used by highly secretive 427th Special Operations Squadron and the CIA
 ■ Declassified also finds 26 huge US military transport planes have landed at UK base on Cyprus, believed to be carrying weapons for Israel
 ■ Revelations could further implicate British ministers in war crimes

After 9 months of being in israeli custody, a once perfectly healthy & fit young Palestinian man is released hardly able to stand or walk unaided pic.twitter.com/QLKrePtV4m

— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) July 9, 2024

■ 'I have the prison inside me': The emaciated Palestinian bodybuilder broken by Israel (MEE)

■ “All rules of war have been broken in Gaza”, with at least eight schools housing displaced Palestinians attacked by Israel in last 10 days, says UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini.
■ Al Jazeera’s correspondent reports at least 81 killed in day of attacks targeting homes and UN facilities in Gaza.
■ Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s envoy to the UN, tells the UN Security Council that Israel’s war on Gaza is the “most documented genocide in history”.
■ Washington’s envoy to the UNSC says there is progress in talks to adopt an immediate ceasefire in Gaza nearly four months after the council demanded one.
■ At least 38,794 people have been killed and 89,364 wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza. The death toll in Israel from the Hamas-led attacks on October 7 is estimated at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive in Gaza.

Rasha Reslan | In its latest reports, the HRW perpetuates a longstanding Western narrative that serves to whitewash the current Israeli atrocities being committed in Gaza by the Israeli occupation. | Over the past nine months, a well-documented genocidal carnage in Gaza has been unfolding daily, live and unabated in front of the world's eyes. ■ Today, the Human Rights Watch published a comprehensive 280-page report. And no, it's not about the Gaza genocide. The report does not focus on the unbearable civilian death toll, the numerous massacres committed within a few hours of each other daily, the decayed bodies scattered in the streets, the children dying from man-made famine, the beheaded children due to the use of heavy bombs, the bodies cut into pieces, the more than 9,000 abductees, or the disturbing reports of torture and rape from Sde Teiman and other Israeli prisons. ■ Unsurprisingly, the HRW report perpetuates a longstanding Western narrative that serves to whitewash the current Israeli atrocities being committed in Gaza by the Israeli occupation. Nothing new as the report turns a blind eye to the fact that these actions have been ongoing since 1948.

Horror-story-after-horror-story in Shifa hospital: this tiny Palestinian baby injured by shrapnel burns by the israeli bombing of Gaza, shivers pic.twitter.com/aixJB49dxO

— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) November 15, 2023

With at least 44 Palestinians killed in Gaza within an hour of Israeli strikes, the US has criticised it ally for the high death toll. | Authorities in Gaza said dozens of Palestinians were killed Tuesday in three separate strikes, as Israel pounded the territory despite renewed US criticism of the high civilian toll. ● Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said the three air strikes killed at least 44 people and wounded dozens within an hour across the war-torn Palestinian territory. ● The health ministry said a strike on a fuel station in Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza killed 17 people, and the Palestinian Red Crescent said a separate strike at almost simultaneously hit the UN-run Al-Razi School in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing five people.

■ Gaza live: Israeli strikes across Gaza leave dozens dead and wounded (MEE)

When you have to exit the hospital with your children in plastic bags, humanity is dead, values are dead, the UN is dead | #GazaHolocaust pic.twitter.com/S7oT7iIrJP

— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) November 10, 2023

More than anything, he’s relieved to be found, but more importantly, letting the israelis continue this insanity is a stain on our planet @UN https://t.co/99TGzPJObe

— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) February 16, 2024

■ Gaza death toll nears 38,600 as Israel kills 141 more Palestinians (Anadolu)

At any other time in Palestinian history, the West Bank’s resistance to Israel’s lethal military raids and colonial encroachments would earn the title of a third intifada. | Since 7 October, Israel’s military has intensified its raids into occupied West Bank cities, towns and refugee camps. These military operations, which often involve special units and an array of armored vehicles and bulldozers, have wrought widespread devastation, severely damaging electricity networks, water and sewage infrastructure, uprooting roads and destroying homes. ● In the West Bank, Israel has been killing Palestinians by various means. Israeli forces shoot Palestinians at protests, during military incursions or even by carrying out extrajudicial executions. ● Now, even aerial attacks in the occupied West Bank is not an unusual occurrence, after the practice was dormant since the second intifada until last summer. Since 7 October, Israel has conducted dozens of airstrikes in the occupied West Bank, killing at least 86 Palestinians, including 14 children, according to records kept by UN monitoring group OCHA.

■ As the world [the media] focuses on Gaza, Israel is annexing the West Bank (Arab News)

Israel’s war on Gaza live: 300,000 Palestinians flee Gaza City invasion | Civilians fleeing Gaza City say people were shot dead during evacuations after the entire population of Gaza City – 300,000 people – was ordered to leave by Israel’s military. ● A trail of destruction is left as Israeli forces partially pull out of Gaza City’s Shujayea district after a bloody two-week incursion, with bodies “filling the streets” of their next target, the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood, residents say.

■ IDF Soldiers Detail Policies of Shooting Civilians, Destroying Homes - Report (07/09/24)