Israel's War Against Hamas - Updates

[Sixties Fan]

Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton agreed that Israel has the right to defend itself against the terrorist group Hamas, during a bipartisan panel discussion at the 30th anniversary celebration for Baker Institute on Thursday evening.

They discussed the situations worldwide, including the Israel-Hamas war.

When discussing the call for a ceasefire, the former secretary of state stated: "People who are calling for a ceasefire now, don't understand Hamas. That is not possible.

"It would be such a gift to Hamas because they would spend whatever time [that] there was a ceasefire in effect rebuilding their armaments [and] creating strong positions, to be able to fend off an eventual assault by the Israelis," Clinton explained further.

In 2014, during the Israel-Gaza War, Clinton voiced criticism of Hamas and expressed support for the Israeli military campaign in the Gaza Strip.

"They're trapped by their leadership, unfortunately," Clinton said of the Palestinians during an interview with Jon Stewart of The Daily Show.



(full article online)

Hillary Clinton: 'People who call for ceasefire do not understand Hamas'

Hillary Clinton agreed that Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, during a bipartisan panel discussion at the 30th anniversary celebration for Baker Institute.

www.jpost.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

[ The Death Eaters (Harry Potter), Vultures, Wolves, Hyenas are out in force ]

From JTA:

Police at Cornell University were called to the school’s kosher dining hall, and the campus Hillel warned students to stay away from it, after anonymous antisemitic posts on a Greek life website that included threats to “shoot up” the building and kill and rape Jewish students.

The posts, whose text has circulated widely on social media, were published Saturday and Sunday under pseudonyms including “hamas,” “jew evil,” “jew jenocide,” “hamas warrior” and “kill jews.” The posts have titles such as “jewish people need to be killed,” “eliminate jewish living from cornell campus” and “gonna shoot up 104 west,” the name of the kosher dining hall.

The posts were made on Greekrank, a site that students at the Ivy League school and others use to rate fraternities and sororities. “If i see a pig male jew i will stab you and slit your throat,” read another post by a user called “hamas” that was viewed directly by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “If i see another pig female jew i will drag you away and ràpe you and throw you off a cliff. if i see another pig baby jew i will behead you in front of your parents.”

Looking at the Greekrank site, it is fairly clear that the person posting chose that venue because it allows completely anonymous posting without even the pretense of verification. Anyone from around the world can post literally anything with any Internet handle as often as they want with impunity. As long as they use a service that hides their IP address, it is very difficult to find them, especially if they are posting from an address that is physically overseas.

The specific posts refer to the name of the kosher dining hall, "104West!" - it is not an address - and indicates a familiarity with the campus. The "Allahu Akbar" strikes me as an attempt to misdirect suspicion on Muslims on campus, which seems unlikely as the rest of the messages do not fit a typical Islamist antisemite. In fact,the poster hits on all the themes of left-wing, right-wing and Arab antisemitism which makes me think that while the poster is indeed an antisemite, it is also someone who wanted to push all the buttons he (almost certainly a male) could to not only frighten Jews on campus but also to get lots of attention nationwide.
The only philosophy this person actually has is to feel important and relevant. Blatant antisemitism is a surefire way to achieve that.

Greekrank allows anyone to pretend to be anyone, and the reward is to get the campus police and FBI involved with the additional bonus of making lots of Jews fearful.

This is terrorism. Death threats are crimes, and "criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes"are terrorist by definition.

This particular brand of terrorism that has the lowest risk/reward ratio possible. It costs nothing, it is nearly impossible to track, and it is just as effective in terrifying the Jewish population as a hand grenade tossed into the dining hall would have been. The (probable) incel who wrote this gets a huge psychic reward for doing something that causes so many people so much fear and prompts national attention and the use of law enforcement resources.

Even though the actual physical threat from this poster is probably nil - this person is almost certainly not the type to actually do anything - it helps normalize and justify antisemitism and it could encourage others to act. Death threats like this cannot and must not be ignored.

The most immediate thing that must be done is to force the Greekrank site administrators (and any other similar site) to add email verification, and since its entire audience is for and by people on campus, it should only allow people with campus email addresses (.edu) to post. It can still allow people to post anonymously but the records as to who they are should be available. This will make it much more difficult for losers to feel important for a day or two by threatening Jews.

Online terrorism against Jews at Cornell: an analysis

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

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Spain and Turkey Are Leading the Diplomatic War Against Israel - Algemeiner.com

JNS.0rg - There are few advantages for any country embroiled in a war, but if one can be said to exist, it is that armed conflict provides unmistakable evidence of who your friends are, as well as your enemies. Israel is at war with Hamas, and the Jewish people globally are at war with a

www.algemeiner.com

 

[xyz]

1) There are no 7000 Gaza people dead. No one can verify that.

How many are Hamas?
How many are people Hamas uses as Human Shield?
Palestinian Americans are not being allowed to leave by Hamas.

People in the North are not being allowed to move South because of Hamas.

Getting rid of Hamas is the only choice for Israel and the people of Gaza who are not for Hamas, and do not want to be used, and are forced to live a poor life while Hamas collects all the money and medicine, and food and other supplies.

Never mind what Israeli governments have said about Palestinians. Palestinian society is one of "Kill the Jews" and "Destroy Israel".


It is beyond amazing that one can be for a society, any society like that.

The Palestinian authorities have provided all the information on the victims: their names, birth dates, national identification number (somewhat akin to SSN). Which means that the number of victims is much greater, given that a lot of unidentified bodies are likely to be buried under the rubble.

Israel has given information only on 900 something victims. Which does not mean they are wrong on 1400 casualties, but they haven't yet made it public.

There is no way to know which Palestinian casualties were Hamas.

The Israeli Defense Minister has constantly called the Palestinians "animals", so there is a lot of bigotry on both sides.

I completely support your efforts to post on the discrimination and attacks on Jews around the world.

However, there are also many attacks (and much discrimination) on Arabs and Muslims in the world, especially after 9/11, and even worse now.

In the past there have been massacres of Muslims in India, the genocide of the Rohinhya in Myanmar, and the Anti-balaka militias in the Central African Republic, who massacre Muslims. The Anti-balaka are helped by Wagner.

 

[Sixties Fan]

[ Why are people still going to Russia, after that country invaded Ukraine? After a few Americans have been detained? ]

Russia's aviation watchdog Rosaviatsiya said on Monday that flights from Tel Aviv to Makhachkala and Mineralniye Vody, both in Russia's heavily Muslim North Caucasus, would be temporarily redirected to other cities.

The interior ministry said earlier that 60 people had been arrested after an antisemitic mob stormed Makhachkala airport in the Dagestan region on Sunday as a plane arrived from Israel.

Flights to Dagestan from Israel to be redirected after antisemitic riots

Russia's aviation watchdog Rosaviatsiya said on Monday that flights from Tel Aviv to Makhachkala and Mineralni

www.jpost.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

The Palestinian authorities have provided all the information on the victims: their names, birth dates, national identification number (somewhat akin to SSN). Which means that the number of victims is much greater, given that a lot of unidentified bodies are likely to be buried under the rubble.

Israel has given information only on 900 something victims. Which does not mean they are wrong on 1400 casualties, but they haven't yet made it public.

There is no way to know which Palestinian casualties were Hamas.

The Israeli Defense Minister has constantly called the Palestinians "animals", so there is a lot of bigotry on both sides.

I completely support your efforts to post on the discrimination and attacks on Jews around the world.

However, there are also many attacks (and much discrimination) on Arabs and Muslims in the world, especially after 9/11, and even worse now.

In the past there have been massacres of Muslims in India, the genocide of the Rohinhya in Myanmar, and the Anti-balaka militias in the Central African Republic, who massacre Muslims. The latter are helped by Wagner.

Seriously?

So, one Israeli calls Palestinians Animals, and that upsets you.

Hamas has proven that the Palestinian indoctrination against Israel has only turned SOME Palestinians into "animals", as they behaved exactly as such. Violent, vicious, to the point of needing drugs to go murder, mutilate, burn people alive.


The fact that Hamas has proven that some of them in Gaza, and other Muslims in the world, cannot think about anything else but killing Jews.......well, they are irrational animals. Because only humans who can dehumanize other humans to the point Jews have been dehumanized by Islam, being called sons of pigs and apes, etc........turning any death of a Jew, any carnage of Jews into a celebration......are the worst kind of human animals there is on the planet.

No, there is no bigotry on both sides.

Jews do not teach that one must kill Christians or Muslims for the G-D of Abraham.

Jews do not teach that some land somewhere, which is not their ancestral homeland, belongs to them and has been stolen because Jews once conquered it.

Jews do not teach that if one kills a Muslim or Christian to liberate their "stolen land" , then one becomes a Martyr and will receive 72 Virgins.

Jews are not attacking Arabs or Muslims in the world, it is the other way around. Always has been.
Your examples belong in some other thread, about Muslims being persecuted in China and other places.

Israel knows who in Gaza are Hamas, and are going after Hamas members and fighters.

Hamas, on the other hand, is holding civilians from going to the south, having some civilians against their will as Humans shields, and keeping Palestinians who do not live in Gaza from leaving.


Please, yes, there is a reason to feel sorry for Chinese Muslims in China, and many others around the world, but I am not seeing the Muslim world attack China to free its Million Muslims from the concentration camps imposed on them, are you?

 

[Sixties Fan]

The Palestinian authorities have provided all the information on the victims: their names, birth dates, national identification number (somewhat akin to SSN). Which means that the number of victims is much greater, given that a lot of unidentified bodies are likely to be buried under the rubble.

Israel has given information only on 900 something victims. Which does not mean they are wrong on 1400 casualties, but they haven't yet made it public.

There is no way to know which Palestinian casualties were Hamas.

The Israeli Defense Minister has constantly called the Palestinians "animals", so there is a lot of bigotry on both sides.

I completely support your efforts to post on the discrimination and attacks on Jews around the world.

However, there are also many attacks (and much discrimination) on Arabs and Muslims in the world, especially after 9/11, and even worse now.

In the past there have been massacres of Muslims in India, the genocide of the Rohinhya in Myanmar, and the Anti-balaka militias in the Central African Republic, who massacre Muslims. The Anti-balaka are helped by Wagner.

Where does it say that Gaza has provided information on all of the people in Gaza who died so far? What is your source?

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[xyz]

Seriously?

So, one Israeli calls Palestinians Animals, and that upsets you.

Hamas has proven that the Palestinian indoctrination against Israel has only turned SOME Palestinians into "animals", as they behaved exactly as such. Violent, vicious, to the point of needing drugs to go murder, mutilate, burn people alive.


The fact that Hamas has proven that some of them in Gaza, and other Muslims in the world, cannot think about anything else but killing Jews.......well, they are irrational animals. Because only humans who can dehumanize other humans to the point Jews have been dehumanized by Islam, being called sons of pigs and apes, etc........turning any death of a Jew, any carnage of Jews into a celebration......are the worst kind of human animals there is on the planet.

No, there is no bigotry on both sides.

Jews do not teach that one must kill Christians or Muslims for the G-D of Abraham.

Jews do not teach that some land somewhere, which is not their ancestral homeland, belongs to them and has been stolen because Jews once conquered it.

Jews do not teach that if one kills a Muslim or Christian to liberate their "stolen land" , then one becomes a Martyr and will receive 72 Virgins.

Jews are not attacking Arabs or Muslims in the world, it is the other way around. Always has been.
Your examples belong in some other thread, about Muslims being persecuted in China and other places.

Israel knows who in Gaza are Hamas, and are going after Hamas members and fighters.

Hamas, on the other hand, is holding civilians from going to the south, having some civilians against their will as Humans shields, and keeping Palestinians who do not live in Gaza from leaving.


Please, yes, there is a reason to feel sorry for Chinese Muslims in China, and many others around the world, but I am not seeing the Muslim world attack China to free its Million Muslims from the concentration camps imposed on them, are you?

I would not be bothered if an Israeli calls Palestinians "animals" if he is some random guy, but that is the Defense Minister.

Totally agree with you that discrimination and hate attacks on Muslims outside of Israel and West Bank (some settlers have committed hate crimes) are not carried out by Jews.

In Europe and North America they are generally done by Christians, same with the Christian militia in the Central African Republic. And the Hindu mobs in India, Buddhist Myanmar army, and apparently atheist Chinese. To be honest, I wouldn't care if they attack China. Different topic, I know.

 

[xyz]

Where does it say that Gaza has provided information on all of the people in Gaza who died so far? What is your source?

Gaza health ministry releases full list of Palestinians killed since October 7

You can find this elsewhere if you search. It accounts only for discovered bodies.

 

[Sixties Fan]

I would not be bothered if an Israeli calls Palestinians "animals" if he is some random guy, but that is the Defense Minister.

Totally agree with you that discrimination and hate attacks on Muslims outside of Israel and West Bank (some settlers have committed hate crimes) are not carried out by Jews.

In Europe and North America they are generally done by Christians, same with the Christian militia in the Central African Republic. And the Hindu mobs in India, Buddhist Myanmar army, and apparently atheist Chinese. To be honest, I wouldn't care if they attack China. Different topic, I know.

[Considering what Hamas did on 10/7, here is another Israeli calling Palestinians animals, actually....inhuman animals, which is what Hamas is.
And so many in the Islamic world are, who keep demanding that Jews be killed and Israel destroyed]


Former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman described Palestinians as "horrible, inhuman animals” in a TV interview this week, saying he is "puzzled" by the concern over their fate in the ongoing Israeli war amid a tightened blockade on Gaza.

Gillerman made the remarks during an interview with Britain’s Sky News channel when he was asked to comment on the UN’s concerns over Israel’s "collective punishment" of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip through a blockade and the cutting off of fuel.

In reply, he said “I am very puzzled by the constant concern which the world is showing for the Palestinian people and is actually showing for these horrible, inhuman animals who have done the worst atrocities that this century has seen,” referring to the Palestinian group Hamas’s Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel.

“I don’t remember people shedding tears for the Taliban,” he added.

His statements came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over “the clear violations of international humanitarian law that we are witnessing in Gaza,” stressing that the attacks by Hamas "cannot justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people."

Israel’s former ambassador to UN calls Palestinians 'inhuman animals'

Dan Gillerman says he is 'very puzzled by the constant concern' for the Palestinian people - Anadolu Ajansı

www.aa.com.tr

 

[Sixties Fan]

Gaza health ministry releases full list of Palestinians killed since October 7

You can find this elsewhere if you search. It accounts only for discovered bodies.

Gaza Health ministry says.

Does it say how many are Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terror groups in Gaza? No.

It has not been verified by outside organizations.

Until it is........Health Ministry IS Hamas. Their word is worthless.

 

[xyz]

It has not been verified by outside organizations.

Neither have Israeli claims.

 

[Sixties Fan]

Neither have Israeli claims.

Thank you for your anti Israel tirade.
Delegitimize, delegitimize, delegitimize anything Israel or Jews say or do.

Am Israel Chai !

 

[Sixties Fan]

Salem AlKetbi is an Emirati political analyst and a former candidate to the UAE’s Federal National Council.
------------
There is no doubt that what has been happening in Gaza since October 7 is one of the repercussions of miscalculations by Hamas leaders outside Gaza.

These people were accustomed to fighting while relaxing in hotels and watching TV screens from Turkey and Qatar, and they did not realize that adopting a brutal and widespread terrorist plan to attack Israel could cause a major humanitarian catastrophe that might not stop at the Gaza borders.

Forget the statements of Hamas' Political Bureau Chief Ismail Haniyeh and others who said that they were about to change the map of the Middle East and whatnot.

Hamas' malicious plan was unintentionally revealed by Khaled Mashaal, head of the movement's political bureau, in his statements to the Al Arabiya satellite channel recently, where he said in text: "We have enough captured Israeli soldiers to negotiate over our detainees," adding, "We are only concerned with the Israeli military prisoners. We will exchange our Israeli prisoners for all our prisoners held by Israel."

Mashaal did not mention the previous empty slogans that were chanted loudly, such as liberating land, settling a score, or anything else. All that matters to him and other leaders of terrorist organizations affiliated with Iran is the liberation of their comrades from Israeli prisons.
Mashaal described the attack on Israel as a calculated adventure, adding, "We know very well the consequences of our operation on October 7." An analysis of Hamas' positions since the beginning of the attack shows quite clearly that the brutal attack was not subject to any study, strategic assessment or even consultation with reasonable people trusted by the movement, be they Palestinians or others.

The confusion that befell the movement, the disappearance of its members, and all the blood that spilled due to the expected angry Israeli response to the attack, indicates that Hamas has not prepared for what will come after the attack.

Mashaal says, "History is not made by limited, timid, hesitant steps, but by thoughtful adventures." We say to him, yes, you have made a new history for the victims on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides and the destruction of Gaza. Yes, it killed many Israeli civilians, and the Palestinian people paid a heavy price for what was described as calculated adventures. On top of all that, we do not know of any study carried out by Hamas in its terrorist attack against Israel. There was no study, plan or preparation. The situation involved a brutal crime that disregarded any form of compassion or consideration for the anticipated human suffering resulting from the reckless act, which surpasses the available capabilities.

On the ground, all the evidence clearly indicates that this was a motivated crime, but by no means deliberate, with the main objective of exchanging captives and swapping prisoners.

There was no pursued goal, such as those touted in the slogans sold to the Arab mainstream in the Middle East, like defending Al Aqsa Mosque or Palestinian territories, which many peddle from air-conditioned rooms, leaving innocent people to suffer in the ugliest forms of false pretense, deceit and cause co-optation.

In analyzing the events, we as observers are confronted with certain scenarios and questions, the first of which is that the Hamas movement itself was surprised by the success of the brutal attack in a way that exceeded its expectations. It caused great human losses on the Israeli side, which the movement did not expect, and therefore did not expect an Israeli retaliation with this level of violence and anger.

The second of these scenarios is that the terrorist movement carried out the attack within the framework of an agreement with regional sponsors and that these sponsors, their agents, and their militias intervened to ease the Israeli pressure on the Gaza Strip.

The third of these scenarios is that Hamas leaders ordered the attack to be carried out without preparing a strategy to manage the post-attack scene and its political, security, and strategic repercussions not only on the Palestinians but on all regional parties.

This means that the purpose was limited to how to release the movement's cadres detained by Israel, without developing a full understanding of the conflict scene in the post-attack phase.

It is most likely that Mashaal and his cohorts gave the order to carry out the attack without adequately studying its repercussions after receiving Iranian assurances specifically regarding the intervention of Hezbollah and Iran to save the movement if it was exposed to imminent danger from the Israeli army. What contributed to this was that Israel was not in its best state and internal circumstances and was experiencing an unprecedented state of division and partisan and political turmoil.


(full article online)

https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/hamas-ill-considered-misadventure/

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 1

1. Neutrality: Reticence to condemn Hamas amounts to collusion against Israel. Hesitancy to express explicit support for Israel at this time, which also will mean unequivocally backing Israel in the many months ahead of tough fighting to crush Hamas, is tantamount to siding with the enemy.

Neutral and anodyne sentiments about broken hearts, heartfelt feelings, sympathy for "all victims of conflict" and other such mushy musings – even as Israeli Jews were brutalized by heartless barbarians that next are coming for the West – are a profound moral failure and a stab in Israel's back.

Sympathy for the Palestinian People is understandable. To some extent, Palestinians are, after all, victims of their own horrible leadership. But this is the time for friends of Israel around the world to speak up loudly and unambiguously in support of Israel, not emote limp feelings of concern or equivocation.

2. Ceasefire: The call heard around the world for a ceasefire is neither reasonable nor right. This call must be rejected. Ceasefire now would be a victory for the radical Islamist attackers and a defeat for Israel. The call for immediate ceasefire is in fact meant to neutralize Israel, to leave it exposed and weakened against the next attacks sure to come from Hamas Hezbollah, and other proxies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

3. Negotiate: Believe it or not, the same Mideast "experts" who brought us the failed approach to handling Hamas are once again advocating negotiations with Hamas because it supposedly is "rational" and can be bargained with to achieve "stability." Hamas has an interest in "economic peace," they tell us; a desire to reach understandings on the release of all hostages; and to rehabilitate civilian Gaza neighborhoods – if only Israel would play ball instead of bombing.

The obtuseness and blindness of these experts is astounding and their shilling for Hamas must be repulsed. They blabber away as if the October 7 massacres never happened, as if Hamas' true intentions have not been revealed. As if any compromise with Hamas is possible or advisable.

4. Distinction: "Hamas does not represent Palestinians in Gaza." We have heard this contention from President Biden himself and many other Western leaders, even some Israeli leaders too. Except that broadly speaking Hamas does faithfully reflect the desires and goals of most Palestinians in Gaza, otherwise Hamas would not have been elected by the Palestinians of Gaza and been able to draft tens of thousands of jihadists to its military.

Gaza's "civilian" population actively abetted Hamas in plotting against Israel, and thousands of "everyday" Palestinians (not the "Nukhba" assault commandos, mostly) carried out the worst atrocities of the Simchat Torah (October 7) assault. Tens of thousands have participated in riots on the border fence going back years (which apparently served as cover for assault planning).

The "uninvolved" danced like dervishes around the trucks that hauled away the abducted men, women, and children of Kibbutz Beeri, crying "death to the Jews" and helping Hamas hide them. "Uninvolved" mothers proclaim they are proud to send their children into battle to turn them into shahids (martyrs). And "uninvolved" teachers teach the children of Gaza that it's a religious obligation and heroic task to kill Jews. The "uninvolved" have helped Hamas hide its rocket launchers and other weaponry too.

This does not mean that Israel can or should target every Palestinian household in Gaza. Not at all. But it does mean that the soft sentiments meant to prettify a lot of nasty Palestinians; to completely tie Israel's hands behind its back in wartime; and to weaken Western resolve in backing Israel – are out of whack.

https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/10-myths-to-be-busted-about-israels-war-against-hamas/

 

[watchingfromafar]

It can not be, another IDF sniper hits the mark!!!
Twelve years in the life of a girl in Gaza who was blinded by a bullet. On 1 March 2003, 12-year old Hoda Darwish is hit in the head by a bullet while sitting at her desk in an elementary school in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. Hoda miraculously survives, but she wakes up from her coma asking when the daylight comes. The bullet blinded her.
Hoda’s Story – Polish International Film Festival.
-

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 2

5. War crimes: It is Hamas that is guilty of war crimes, not Israel. In fact, Hamas must be held accountable for triple war crimes. Its barbaric attack on Israeli towns constitutes a war crime. Its use of civilians in Gaza as human shields (along with its expropriation of mosques, schools, and hospitals as bases of military action and weapons storage) is a second, compounded war crime. And its efforts to impede evacuation of the civilian population from the war zone (and in at least one instance, the bombing by Hamas of a civilian evacuation convoy that resulted in the deaths of over 80 individuals), represent a third layer of war crimes.

Add to this several additional war-related offenses like inflating and manipulating casualty counts, stealing relief supplies meant for Palestinian civilians (see below), and more.

6. Palestinian Authority: The suggestion to bring the Palestinian Authority back as ruler of Gaza is both ridiculous and dangerous. No leadership Palestinian group is weaker, more corrupt, and has less legitimacy among Palestinians than the PA. Abbas and his Fatah party never could or would block the rearmament and rebuilding of Hamas. Moreover, Mahmoud Abbas and his coterie also are no less hostile to Israel than the Hamas gang, although they use less Islamic terminology. So, don't delude yourself into thinking that the PA is the solution, or that the full-fledged "two-state solution" is smart or feasible with Palestinian leaders of the near-term future.

7. Iran: Incredulously, Washington is reluctant to call out Iran for its leadership of the radical Islamic assault on Israel and its material support for Hamas, and there is a significant policy camp in Washington that still hopes for a grand deal with Iran after this war to "stabilize" the region. President Obama's predilection/delusion for strategic partnering with Iran is dug deep into the Biden administration. Few in the administration yet understand the current opportunity (and the absolute need) to cut Iran's regional heft down to size. This is a strategic and advocacy challenge for Israel.

8. Qatar: This small, opulent emirate in the Gulf has a history of playing both sides in conflicts and getting away with it. It harbors Hamas leaders, funds Hamas, and operates the equally evil Al Jazeera television network which plays an outsize role in fanning radical Islamic and fiercely anti-Western flames across the region.

There should be an American ultimatum to Qatar with two hours warning to expel Hamas leadership, or else troops from the big US airbase in Qatar will raid Ismail Haniyeh's luxury compound in Doha and capture or kill him – just like it assaulted Osama Bin Laden's headquarters in Pakistan.

Yes, I know that the Israeli national security advisor publicly thanked Qatar this week for its role in trying to have hostages released by Hamas. I think this is mistaken, playing into Qatar's wicked double-dealing (and probably was said under extreme duress).

9. Humanitarian refuge and relief: Relief for Gazan Palestinians should be the world's problem, not Israel's. Egypt, for example, outrageously has sealed its border with Gaza to hundreds of thousands of civilians seeking safety, because Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi does not want "to hurt the cause of Palestinian statehood."

In other words, Sisi is denying Palestinian asylum seekers safety for geopolitical ends. This is a violation of international law and goes against the overwhelming practice of dozens of states in conflicts around the world over the past decade.

For its part, Israel cannot allow Hamas' ongoing supply of fuel and electricity during the war, therefore a blockade on Gaza is needed and justified. Limiting the flow of fuels and electricity into Gaza is meant to substantially impair the enemy's military capabilities, and thus is legal warfare. This is not unlawful "collective punishment" of the civilian population.

Furthermore, to the extent that such tactical means are meant to pressure Hamas to release Israeli hostages, the non-supply of fuels and electricity to the enemy is ethical and further justified under international law.

Note: International law requires only that Israel facilitate the passage of food and medicine to civilians by third parties – if and only if such goods can be reliably delivered without diversion to Hamas and without fear the goods will give Hamas an economic and military boost. Given Hamas' 16-year exploitation of humanitarian aid and infiltration of human rights and international organizations in Gaza, diversion is not merely a possibility – it is a near certainty. And this has the potential of prolonging the conflict and resulting in greater loss of civilian life.

10. The Day After: Who will rule Gaza once Hamas is annihilated? What is the endgame? I don't know. This is going to be a long war. Who knows how the war will develop and where it will lead? And as above, this matter is the world's problem, not just Israel's because resolution is tied to broader regional battles. So, Israel is exempt from answering this question – certainly now when it must laser-focus only on outright military victory.

Israel is rightfully fixated on its entrance and victory strategy, not on exit strategies and Palestinian rehabilitation. In fact, the demand that Israel answer this question now is pointedly meant to prevent Israel from doing what needs to be done in Gaza, so it must be rebuffed.

https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/10-myths-to-be-busted-about-israels-war-against-hamas/

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 1

Some three weeks after Hamas' murderous onslaught from the Gaza Strip, an order came from Tehran to all its terror proxies in the Middle East: continue trying to target Israel with fire to demonstrate Iran's support for "resistance," but remain below the threshold of war.

This directive has been meticulously followed by all the components of the evil axis so far. The Houthi rebels in Yemen have launched drones and ballistic missiles toward Israel, which were intercepted; pro-Iranian militias have attacked US bases in Syria and Iraq, facing retaliatory strikes by F-16 fighter jets; terror elements associated with Iran and Hezbollah in southern Syria's Golan Heights have fired into Israeli territory and have been targeted in response.

In southern Lebanon, Hezbollah continues to launch katyusha rockets at IDF positions and anti-aircraft missiles at Israeli aircraft, causing damage. In an unprecedented move, the organization requested UNIFIL personnel to assist in retrieving the bodies of their slain fighters who were killed by Israeli airstrikes near the border, indicating their concern about further casualties. Despite Israel's strong protest, UNIFIL has been cooperating with this request.

Since October 7, Hassan Nasrallah has not been seen in public, except for a joint photo with senior Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders, and he has not delivered a speech as is customary. His spokespeople claim he is dedicating all his time to monitoring developments.

As the situation becomes more tense, one can understand the dilemma. If Nasrallah receives an order from Tehran to join the conflict, he will do so. However, for now, he carries the heavy responsibility for what is happening in Lebanon. Tens of thousands of residents have fled their villages in the south; the Lebanese economy is in a dire state, many countries are evacuating their citizens, and all political forces in the country are pressuring him not to join the war in order to prevent the country's total destruction.

https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/10/29/iran-willing-to-let-war-continue-until-the-very-last-hamas-fighter/

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 2

But it is not certain that his benefactors in Tehran have settled on what their next move is. The Iranian foreign minister has declared they do not want to be dragged into a regional war, but added they cannot rule out such a scenario and opening new fronts "if there is an escalation in Gaza." In other words, a broad ground invasion by the IDF.

Regional war, one that could escalate to a global war, is one of three scenarios presented by Kamal Kharrazi, former Iranian Foreign Minister and advisor to the Supreme Leader, at a leading Iranian foreign relations research institute. The other two scenarios are Hamas and Israel continuing to fight "until one of them is eliminated," and a protracted war in Gaza where each side continues to receive support, assistance, and backing from external actors.

For now, it appears that the Iranians are leaning toward the third scenario: continued support for Hamas as Hezbollah "harasses" Israel in the north, within the confines of a "limited regional flare-up," without getting into a full-scale confrontation. Reports of Iran attempting to smuggle precise weapons to Hezbollah in Syria, transported on civilian aircraft landing in Syria, may reinforce this interpretation. Essentially, it signifies Tehran and its proxies' willingness to "fight" until the last Hamas terrorist is eliminated.

In the Sunni axis opposed to the Iranian axis, all Muslim countries last week supported the proposal to immediately stop Israel's attacks in Gaza, without mentioning the terrible massacre in the border region.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, stood out, called Israel "insane" for "slaughtering Gaza's residents" and canceling his visit to Israel. Anyone who believed until now that Erdogan, an extremist Muslim leader and supporter of the "Muslim Brotherhood," had changed his attitude and become a friend of Israel should rethink this.

https://www.israelhayom.com/2023/10/29/iran-willing-to-let-war-continue-until-the-very-last-hamas-fighter/