Israel's War Against Hamas - Updates

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Why doctors come volunteer in Israel at war: ‘I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t’

Filling in for Israeli doctors called to military duty or preoccupied with emergency preparedness, these 5 physicians are picking up the slack wherever and however they are needed

www.timesofisrael.com

 

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The Erez Border Crossing, at the northern end of the Gaza Strip, was the sole civilian crossing point from Hamas-run Gaza into Israel. Every day, thousands of Gazans with permits to work in Israel would proceed through the modern terminal complex; others came in for medical treatment; diplomats, UN officials and others could drive through.

It was the only avenue of Israel-Gaza coexistence.

Maj. Ido Shaya, who showed me around Erez on Tuesday, told me it was spotlessly maintained — like an airport terminal.

(full article online)

The sole avenue of coexistence that became a Hamas killing field

Gaza workers used to pass through Erez. So did medical patients, diplomats, UN personnel. Then terrorists struck. Reservists, including a Google staffer from Denver, show ToI around

www.timesofisrael.com

 

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At National Library in Jerusalem, a chair and a book for each hostage

Installation at new building housing archive reflects personality, hobbies, or family connections of each captive held by Hamas in Gaza Strip

www.timesofisrael.com

 

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Israeli women’s rights experts met with the United Nations mission UN Women on Wednesday for the first time in order to advocate for official recognition of Hamas crimes against women and children on October 7, which have been largely ignored on the international stage.

The Civil Commission of Oct. 7 Crimes by Hamas Against Women and Children was set up by Israeli international law and women’s rights experts in order to draw international attention to the crimes of rape and sexual violence committed by Hamas during its October 7 onslaught in southern Israel — of which there is forensic and eyewitness evidence — and to advocate on behalf of the victims.

The civil commission’s meeting with UN Women marked the first time that the United Nations mission dedicated to upholding the rights of women and children has met with Israeli advocates since Hamas terrorists killed more than 1,200 people in southern Israel, most of them civilians, and took some 240 hostages.

(full article online)

Israeli rights experts press UN to condemn Hamas crimes against women on Oct. 7

Ahead of Security Council session on impact of war on women and children, Israeli civil commission meets with panel for 1st time to present evidence of terrorists' sexual violence

www.timesofisrael.com

 

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Meet the Scientist Helping to Identify Israel’s Oct. 7 Victims - Algemeiner.com

The process of identifying the bodies of the more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, killed by Hamas terrorists across southern Israel on Oct. 7 has been grueling and required innovative techniques to bring closure to families. Due to the fact that many of the victims were burned or mutilated...

www.algemeiner.com

 

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Now almost 35, Levi has seen his most recent song — a collaboration with Christian singers Sean Feucht from the United States and Carine Bassili from Lebanon — become a hit. The song, called God of Israel, was recorded shortly after the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and praises God in Hebrew, Arabic, and English.

Levi told The Algemeiner that it was a dream of his while serving in the Israeli army to become a singer. A captain in Shayetet 13, Israel’s version of the US Navy SEALs, he spoke while he is currently on reserve duty. More than 350,000 reservists have jointed the military for duty since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.

The father of three explained his journey of growth through music, with the COVID-19 pandemic being a huge catalyst. Levi said all his concerts were canceled due to the pandemic, so he prayed asking for guidance. Just then he received a call from his father telling him that his beloved grandmother was sick. That was his inspiration to write Refa Na, which means “please heal her” in Hebrew and garnered millions of views. The hit was translated into multiple languages.

That experience began his near monthly trips around the world performing for mainly Christian audiences of Israel supporters.

God of Israel was something discussed in brief before the war, Levi explained, but upon embarking on a campaign in the US to raise money for soldiers immediately after the outbreak of war, he gathered with Feucht and Bassili to create the new hit.

The song quickly reached the top of the charts, reaching number one in the global Christian music genre, which Levi says is the biggest in the world.

Something unique about the collaboration is the feature of the Lebanese-born Bassili. Lebanon does not recognize Israel and is home to the Iranian backed terror organization Hezbollah, which has been striking targets in northern Israel amid the current war, forcing tens of thousands of Israelis to flee their homes.

Levi said that Bassili had to evacuate her family from Lebanon and that she is unable to enter other Arab states. Hezbollah, which openly seeks Israel’s destruction, has also publicly threatened her life.

The latest musical collaboration, Levi said, showed the possibilities of peace that exist in the world despite the chaos facing the Middle East today.


(full article online)

Amid Gaza War, Israeli Singer Teams Up With Lebanese Artist to Release New Hit ‘God of Israel’ - Algemeiner.com

Israeli Yair Levi did not write his first song until the age of 28, but that has not stopped him from quickly becoming a recognizable figure in the international Jewish music scene. Now almost 35, Levi has seen his most recent song — a collaboration with Christian singers Sean Feucht from the...

www.algemeiner.com

 

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Part 1

This is the text of the farewell letter written by Danielle Haas, senior editor at Human Rights Watch, It confirms everything we've been saying for years about its obsessive anti-Israel bias.

Dear Human Rights Watch,

Because we live in dangerous times and this is a human rights organization dedicated to free speech, open dialogue, and rights for all, I’m sending a final email before leaving HRW. I’m hopeful, but wary, that an organization with a mission to “Expose. Investigate. Change” can do just that when it comes to its own practices regarding its Israel work, with authenticity and without retaliation.

When I joined Human Rights Watch over 13 years ago as senior editor, I did so with years of experience in journalism covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and time in academia.

Human Rights Watch seemed to be a good blend of both; a leading human rights organization dedicated to rigorous research, focused on international law and human suffering, with a mandate to bring about change. I believed in, and stayed for, the broader mission.

But as the organization grew and its composition shifted, so too did the focus, tone, and framing of its Israel-Palestine work. Following the Hamas massacres in Israel on October 7, years of institutional creep culminated in organizational responses that shattered professionalism, abandoned principles of accuracy and fairness, and surrendered its duty to stand for the human rights of all.

HRW’s initial reactions to the Hamas attacks failed to condemn outright the murder, torture, and kidnapping of Israeli men, women, and children. They included the “context” of “apartheid” and “occupation” before blood was even dry on bedroom walls. These responses were not, as some have since characterized it internally, a messaging misstep in the tumult after the Hamas assault. It was not the failure of a few to follow robust internal mechanisms of editing and quality control, as others have claimed.

It did not happen in a vacuum.

Rather, HRW’s initial response was the fruition of years of politicization of its Israel-Palestine work that has frequently violated basic editorial standards related to rigor, balance, and collegiality when it comes to Israel.

It was the expression of years of select historical and political framing that could always contextualize and “explain” why Jewish Israeli lives were lost in Palestinian violence.

And it was the domination of HRW’s Israel-Palestine work by some voices that drown out others to the point where those who feel uncomfortable with HRW’s approach and processes – and they do exist – feel silenced.

To be clear: focus on, and criticism of, Israeli policies and actions is valid for a human rights organization.

But what I know from over 13 years at HRW is:

* Israel has featured in the World Report annual global review of human rights I oversaw for more than a decade almost as extensively as world powers including China, Russia, and the United States, and that the Israel-Palestine chapter has always been longer than those of rights-abusing goliaths such as Iran and North Korea.

* The 2021 “Apartheid” report, hailed internally in its goal to affect “narrative change,” sealed the slide. HRW knew its careful, legal argument would rarely be read in full. And there is little doubt it has not been by those – including Hamas supporters – who now bandy about the term with appalling ease. It’s a one-word gift to those who want to characterize Israel in as few words as possible with as little nuance as possible, a go-to “context” for any fate that befalls Israel and Jewish Israelis; 120 HRW researchers recently signed a petition calling for its inclusion in a press release about Israeli hostages.

* Internal fora nominally dedicated to both Israel and Palestine were, in practice, mostly dedicated to expressions of outrage over Israeli abuses and their consequences, both real and speculated. The focus on Israel dominated those spaces both before and after October 7, including the links shared; the space given to colleagues to articulate their lived realities and trauma; and ultimately advocacy.

* Some types of Israeli-Palestine expertise were valued more than others. There was no value placed on having a Jewish Israeli staff member who spoke Hebrew, had covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for international media, a rich academic background, and 17 years’ immersion in the country. The profile of those entrusted with HRW’s-related work is different. The only contact I had with Israel-Palestine content over the years, despite working on virtually every other area of the world, was as World Report editor. I received thinly veiled insinuations and pushback when I highlighted factual inaccuracies in the Israel-Palestine chapter that were later corrected.

* HRW has so little credibility for most Israelis they do not even trust it with their corpses. Zaka, the emergency responder group that collected body parts after the Hamas massacres, said it did not want to talk to HRW because its members did not have faith the organization would not misuse and distort their eyewitness accounts of the carnage they had seen.

* When I named the constellation of my experiences over years to a senior manager as feeling a lot like antisemitism, he replied: “You are probably right.” He did not ask or do anything further.

HRW worker confirms what we've known all along: the organization is wildly biased against Israel

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

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Part 2

Three weeks after the October 7 massacres, Human Rights Watch told staff it was “proud” of its response to the crisis.

The self-affirmation failed to address output that included, but is not limited to:

HRW’s first matter-of-fact announcement following the October 7 massacres that barely addressed what had happened, contrasting starkly with its thousands of statements over the years condemning a range of human rights abuses:

“Palestinian armed groups carried out a deadly assault on October 7, 2023, that killed several hundred Israeli civilians and led to Israeli counterstrikes that killed hundreds of Palestinians,” Human Rights Watch said in releasing a questions and answers document about the international humanitarian law standards governing the current hostilities.”

An early press release that could easily be construed as blaming the victim:

“The unlawful attacks and systematic repression that have mired the region for decades will continue, so long as human rights and accountability are disregarded.”

A piece on Israeli attacks on Gaza being devastating for Palestinians with disabilities that failed to mention the devastating impact of Hamas’ attacks on Israelis with disabilities. They included those murdered on October 7, among them a 17-year-old girl with muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy killed at a music festival; those who are now disabled because of the attacks; and Israeli hostages with pre-existing health conditions ranging from heart problems to diabetes.

Lack of context when using controversial figures that came from a Hamas-run ministry:

“[Washington Post] Reporter Adam Taylor quoted Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch Omar Shakir, who said, “Everyone uses the figures from the Gaza Health Ministry because those are generally proven to be reliable. In the times in which we have done our own verification of numbers for particular strikes, I’m not aware of any time which there’s been some major discrepancy.”

It is not logical, not possible, and not the case that everyone at HRW agrees with its pre- and post-October 7 Israel work or feels safe. Instead, it is a deeply worrying indication that staff are self-censoring because they fear isolation if they speak and that nothing will be done even if they do. It is a warning that they are cowed by the way in which critics of Human Rights Watch are talked about internally, and by the tone and content of banter before and during meetings, in listservs, and in message chats.

Maybe they’re also not reassured by responses like the one senior management sent me regarding a recent email I sent them, in which they said they “appreciate” my “feedback” and “learn” from it.

I hope so, but I doubt it.

The serious professional concerns I raised over the years with the Program Office, General Counsel, and MENA managers never went anywhere. They were always received – it appeared – through a filter of me being a Jew and/or Israeli, even though Muslim and Arab staff and those with overt political backgrounds are trusted as advocates and to oversee research.

Also, my comments are not “feedback.”

Rather, they amount to a charge and a challenge to Human Rights Watch: tackle the long-standing issues infecting your Israel work and the hostile internal climate that Hamas’ attacks brought into sharp relief but did not birth. Face down the conscious and unconscious biases that inform them. Address inaccuracies by omission.

Do so not because you are under pressure to be seen to be listening, but because you respect the professionalism and expertise of your many thoughtful, serious colleagues from diverse backgrounds who cannot do their work without fear of stigma and retaliation if they speak.

Do so because you care about the health of the organization, upholding your internal standards, and ensuring human rights advocacy is not a fig leaf for political beliefs, or worse.

Do so because you want not just to claim your mantle of moral authority, but to earn it.

Dani

Here is a screenshot of Haas' former bio at HRW.

HRW worker confirms what we've known all along: the organization is wildly biased against Israel

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

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According to this article, Israel has killed "76 fighters of Hezbollah, two fighters from the Lebanese Resistance Brigades, one fighter from the Lebanese Resistance Regiments, seven members of the Hamas Movement, four fighters from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and 12 Lebanese civilians."

It doesn't include an airstrike Wednesday night that killed 5 Hezbollah members including two top leaders.

It looks like Israel's strategy in Lebanon to dissuade Hezbollah is to go after prominent members of the terror groups.

Hezbollah has said it would adhere to the Gaza ceasefire if Israel does. I haven't seen any word from Israel that it would stop its attacks in Lebanon, which indicates that Hezbollah is feeling the heat.

Either way, Israel's record in Lebanon in avoiding civilian casualties is proof that it uses the same strategy in Gaza. Israel gains nothing and loses a lot when it kills civilians in the course of its fighting, and the percentage of militants that it kills in Lebanon, as well as Syria, is close to 100%.

89% of those reportedly killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon have been terrorists

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

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Yet now Mr Lineker is not so quiet. Now he invites his millions of followers to watch a prof accuse Israel of genocide. So this is the ‘virtue’ of the virtue-signallers: when racist terrorists carry out the worst act of anti-Semitic slaughter of modern times, they go dumb; when the victim of that racist slaughter dares to respond, they pipe up. The inversion of morality taking place here is mind-bending. Hamas is a genuinely genocidal terror movement that frequently gives voice to its apocalyptic racial animus for the Jews and its desire to erase Israel. And yet it is Israel’s war againstHamas that is branded genocidal. The idea that hunting genocidal terrorists is genocide is an act of despicable doublethink.

When you actually watch those 13 minutes that Mr Lineker thinks are worth ‘anybody’s time’, it gets worse. Raz Segal doesn’t only accuse Israel of genocide – he also rebukes those who say Hamas’s 7 October pogrom echoed the anti-Jewish barbarism of the past. Yes, it was ‘horrendous’, he says, but it is ‘not a crime related to the Holocaust in any way’. His reasoning? Well, in the mid-20th century it was ‘powerless Jews’ being killed by ‘one of the most powerful states and armies’ – the Nazis. This time round, we have a ‘very powerful state’ – Israel – being attacked by ‘Palestinians who for decades [have been] under Israeli settler-colonial rule’. So it’s a ‘very, very different context’.

This is one of the most morally vacuous statements I have heard in a very long time. It is proof, surely, of the mind rot that flows from the Western identitarian obsession with power relations. For the truth is that on 7 October it was ‘powerless Jews’ being murdered by a ‘powerful army’. In that pogrom, that moment, unarmed Jews were completely overpowered by a racist militia. Anyone who has witnessed the summary execution of two teenage girls at the music festival, or the bombing to death of an unarmed dad trying to shield his two sons, or the shooting of an elderly Jew in his kitchen, will know that, once again, yes, ‘powerless Jews’ were murdered for being Jews. No, it was not the Holocaust. Hamas, mercifully, is incapable of carrying out such industrial levels of murder. But the idea that ‘powerless Jews’ being murdered by racists in 2023 is entirely different to ‘powerless Jews’ being murdered by racists in 1943 is a wilful delusion born of brains poisoned by wokeness.



(full article online)

Accusing Israel of genocide is despicable doublethink

Gary Lineker’s Israel-bashing has exposed the moral rot of the woke West.

www.spiked-online.com

 

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Bombshell exclusive: The BBC doesn’t just push Hamas propaganda. The BBC even gets a Hamas terrorist supporter to help write the story for them!

To say the BBC has been in trouble over their reporting of the conflict would be a grievous understatement. The BBC has rushed to present Hamas propaganda as news. It has reliedon the words of terrorist supporters to create stories that demonise Israel. The immediate public outcry has been so bad that they had to publicly apologise twice when cornered. Since October 7 the BBC has sided with – and chosen to believe – a radical Islamic terror group over Israel – a democracy and staunch ally of the United Kingdom.

The BBC’s relentless obsession:​

This article published yesterday is a perfect example of how the BBC goes out of its way to demonise Israel – and the means through which it does so. If ever BBC executives are forced to stand before a panel at an inquiry – this should be one of the articles they need to explain.

It seems so benign. A human interest story about Gazan footballers who have been trapped by the conflict and could not play in the Palestine v Australia World Cup qualifier that took place yesterday (Australia won 1-0):

The BBC is not a local town newspaper. When looking at an article such as this – we need to analyse the motivation behind it warranting exposure to the BBC’s massive audience. Did the BBC put a team on this because it was such an important story that it needed to be reported – or is another dynamic at work; are they scrambling around for stories that demonise Israel – and this article got the green light only because it could potentially tick so many anti-Israel boxes?

Time to have a closer look.

Test 1 – is the pillar of the story true​

We have no way of fully verifying the story. And importantly – nor did the BBC. But we can look at the evidence available:

Three Gazan footballers were named.

• Ibrahim Abuimeir(FB)
• Ahmed Kullab (FB)
• Khaled Al-Nabris (FB)

The BBC tells us that these three footballers ‘should have been training for the World Cup Qualifiers’ and we are then told that Ibrahim is described by his trainers ‘as one of the star defenders of the Palestinian team’,

Well that is a fact we can check. This is the number of times those three players have played for the Palestine National Team:

• Ibrahim Abuimeir = zero (u23 appearances)
• Ahmed Kullab = zero (u23 appearances)
• Khaled Al-Nabris = zero (u23 appearances)

None of them have ever played for the national team at senior level before. It is true they have performed at the U-23 level – and are part of the set-up for next year’s olympics – but that is not the same thing. There is no evidence AT ALL – these players were all going to be called up for the world cup qualifiers. In fact – evidence was found to suggest they would NOT BE as Abuimeir only recently turned professional and remains part of the 2024 Olympic u23 plans.

There is more. The Palestinian team doesn’t play many youngsters. In the current squad only one player is under the age of 23 (naturally a forward). The squad has NO DEFENDERS under the age of 24 (also quite normal for anyone who understands football). Two of the trapped Gazan players are defenders. Abuimeir (just turned 21) and Kullab (Just turned 22).

The BBC argument is that these three extremely young players – all coincidentally trapped in Gaza – none of whom have ever played for the national team before – were due to be in the World Cup squad. This story is nonsense.

We can say certainly that the description of Abuimeir in the headline as one of Palestine’s star defenders is blatantly untrue.

One other point of note. The BBC also relies on the words of Ehab Abu Jazar – a coach of the Palestinian team. This is what Abu Jazar posted on the morning of the 7th October. In this post he suggests that if someone does not see the events of Oct 7 as a great thing- then they are not really Palestinian. Perhaps FIFA need to look closely at him:



(full article online)

Verifying BBC (Hamas) propaganda - presenting exhibit A

Shocking exclusive: The BBC doesn't just push Hamas propaganda. The BBC even gets a terrorist supporter to help write the story for them.

david-collier.com

 

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[Sayaras]

Skydivers in California Form a Human Star of David in Solidarity With Israel, Against Antisemitism - Algemeiner.com

A total of 50 skydivers gathered to form a human Star of David in the sky in solidarity with Israel amid its war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip. Skydivers, with only a three-day notice, gathered at the skydiving center Skydive Perris in Southern California for the jump that took...

www.algemeiner.com

Skydivers in California Form a Human Star of David in Solidarity With Israel, Against Antisemitism.

 

[Sayaras]

Bombshell exclusive: The BBC doesn’t just push Hamas propaganda. The BBC even gets a Hamas terrorist supporter to help write the story for them!

To say the BBC has been in trouble over their reporting of the conflict would be a grievous understatement. The BBC has rushed to present Hamas propaganda as news. It has reliedon the words of terrorist supporters to create stories that demonise Israel. The immediate public outcry has been so bad that they had to publicly apologise twice when cornered. Since October 7 the BBC has sided with – and chosen to believe – a radical Islamic terror group over Israel – a democracy and staunch ally of the United Kingdom.

The BBC’s relentless obsession:​

This article published yesterday is a perfect example of how the BBC goes out of its way to demonise Israel – and the means through which it does so. If ever BBC executives are forced to stand before a panel at an inquiry – this should be one of the articles they need to explain.

It seems so benign. A human interest story about Gazan footballers who have been trapped by the conflict and could not play in the Palestine v Australia World Cup qualifier that took place yesterday (Australia won 1-0):

The BBC is not a local town newspaper. When looking at an article such as this – we need to analyse the motivation behind it warranting exposure to the BBC’s massive audience. Did the BBC put a team on this because it was such an important story that it needed to be reported – or is another dynamic at work; are they scrambling around for stories that demonise Israel – and this article got the green light only because it could potentially tick so many anti-Israel boxes?

Time to have a closer look.

Test 1 – is the pillar of the story true​

We have no way of fully verifying the story. And importantly – nor did the BBC. But we can look at the evidence available:

Three Gazan footballers were named.

• Ibrahim Abuimeir(FB)
• Ahmed Kullab (FB)
• Khaled Al-Nabris (FB)

The BBC tells us that these three footballers ‘should have been training for the World Cup Qualifiers’ and we are then told that Ibrahim is described by his trainers ‘as one of the star defenders of the Palestinian team’,

Well that is a fact we can check. This is the number of times those three players have played for the Palestine National Team:

• Ibrahim Abuimeir = zero (u23 appearances)
• Ahmed Kullab = zero (u23 appearances)
• Khaled Al-Nabris = zero (u23 appearances)

None of them have ever played for the national team at senior level before. It is true they have performed at the U-23 level – and are part of the set-up for next year’s olympics – but that is not the same thing. There is no evidence AT ALL – these players were all going to be called up for the world cup qualifiers. In fact – evidence was found to suggest they would NOT BE as Abuimeir only recently turned professional and remains part of the 2024 Olympic u23 plans.

There is more. The Palestinian team doesn’t play many youngsters. In the current squad only one player is under the age of 23 (naturally a forward). The squad has NO DEFENDERS under the age of 24 (also quite normal for anyone who understands football). Two of the trapped Gazan players are defenders. Abuimeir (just turned 21) and Kullab (Just turned 22).

The BBC argument is that these three extremely young players – all coincidentally trapped in Gaza – none of whom have ever played for the national team before – were due to be in the World Cup squad. This story is nonsense.

We can say certainly that the description of Abuimeir in the headline as one of Palestine’s star defenders is blatantly untrue.

One other point of note. The BBC also relies on the words of Ehab Abu Jazar – a coach of the Palestinian team. This is what Abu Jazar posted on the morning of the 7th October. In this post he suggests that if someone does not see the events of Oct 7 as a great thing- then they are not really Palestinian. Perhaps FIFA need to look closely at him:



(full article online)

Verifying BBC (Hamas) propaganda - presenting exhibit A

Shocking exclusive: The BBC doesn't just push Hamas propaganda. The BBC even gets a terrorist supporter to help write the story for them.

david-collier.com

Wow. I suspected it.

 

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