Israel's War Against Hamas - Updates

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

As expressions of support for Hamas continue on the West Bank, a teacher arranged young schoolgirls in rows outside a school and shouted slogans in support of Hamas’ terror waragainst Israel that the young students repeated.

With her chant, she taught her students to admire Hamas leader and murderer Muhammad Deif. She told them that their “path” is holy war – “Jihad,” and that “death for Allah” should be their “sublime wish.”

In short: She brainwashes them.

What are her goals?

- To “blow up the Zionist’s head”

- To “strike Tel Aviv”

- To “strike Ashkelon”

- To rise up (“intifada” – i.e., terror campaign against Israel)

Female students: “Allahu Akbar (i.e., “Allah is greatest”)…
Millions of Martyrs are marching to Jerusalem…
O beloved [town of] Beita, strike, strike Tel Aviv…”
Teacher: “Prophet [Muhammad] is ourmodel”
Students: “Prophet [Muhammad] is ourmodel”
Teacher: “Jihad is our path”
Students: “Jihad is our path”
Teacher: “The Quran is our savior”
Students: “The Quran is our savior”
Teacher: “Death for Allah is our sublime wish…”
Students: “Death for Allah is our sublime wish…”
Teacher: “O Muslim, call out ‘Allahu Akbar,’”
Students: “O Muslim, call out ‘‘Allahu Akbar’”
Teacher: “Blow up the Zionist’s head”
Students: “Blow up the Zionist’s head...”
Teacher: “Strike, strike Ashkelon (i.e., Israeli city)”
Students: “Strike, strike Ashkelon … Blow up the Zionist’s head...”
Teacher: “We are the daughters of Muhammad Deif (i.e., Hamas leader and murderer)”
Students: “We are the daughters of Muhammad Deif…”
Teacher: “Traitor, traitor, do not rest”
Students: “Traitor, traitor, do not rest”
Teacher: “Neither tank nor cannon [will help you]”
Students: “Neither tank nor cannon [will help you]…”
Teacher: “The Martyrs’ blood is precious to us”
Students: “The Martyrs’ blood is precious to us”
Teacher: “We have come to make the decision:”
Students: “We have come to make the decision:”
Teacher: “intifada and victory…”
Students: “Millions of Martyrs are marching to Jerusalem.”
Posted text: “News coverage: ‘We are the daughters of Muhammad Deif (i.e., Hamas terror leader)’ – the female students’ calls in the procession in Jenin as a sign of support for the Gaza Strip (refers to Hamas’ terror war on Israel; see note below -Ed.).”
[Quds New Network (Hamas), Twitter account, Oct. 29, 2023]

Quds News Network is identified with Hamas.

West Bank girls march: âBlow up the Zionistâs head⦠Strike Tel Aviv⦠Strike Ashkelonâ | PMW Analysis

West Bank girls march: “Blow up the Zionist’s head

palwatch.org

 

[Shusha]

Agree…but that is where I think Israel dangerously close to crossing the line if it hasn’t already.

Oh. Admittedly, that went better than I expected it to. Let's go over this part, then, with the caveat that while I am sufficiently knowledgeable on the conflict in general, and while I'm well-read, specifically, on legal and historical documentation, I am not a military expert. If anyone here wanted to jump in with that piece, that would be welcomed.

Here is a list of specifics action items. Let's see if we can agree on where the line is, legally, morally, or both:

• Hamas may not use indiscriminate weapons which fail to target a specific military objective.
• Hamas must ensure the distribution of humanitarian aide to its civilian population.
• Hamas must not acquire humanitarian aide meant for its civilian population to re-supply its war efforts.
• Hamas must not use humanitarian aide as a means of acquiring wealth to fund its war efforts.
• Hamas must not restrict the voluntary movement of its civilian population.
• Hamas must not place war materials (munitions, personnel, intelligence) in civilian or protected infrastructure.
• Hamas must not hold civilians hostage.
• Hamas must treat all prisoners of war humanely and provide the necessities of life.
• Hamas must not commit torture.
• Egypt must allow the entry of humanitarian aide into Gaza.
• Egypt must permit foreign third-party nationals to traverse Egypt and return home.
• Egypt must allow refugees to temporarily take up refuge in Egypt for the duration of the active conflict. Egypt must facilitate humanitarian aide and necessities of life to the refugees until they can return home.
• Israel must not prevent the voluntary movement of Gaza's civilians, including their entry into Egypt, or exit by sea.
• Israel must not target civilians.
• Israel must not target protected objectives or purely civilian infrastructure.
• Israel may target military objectives, even when it can be reasonably foreseen that civilians will suffer incidental harm.
• Israel may target military objectives embedded in civilian infrastructure, provided adequate warning is given to civilians to minimize incidental harm.
• Israel may target protected objectives if they are used for military purposes, provided adequate warning is given to civilians and adequate time between warning and attack to allow evacuation.
• Israel must ensure each operation which may cause incidental harm to civilians is proportionate to the achievement of the military objective.
• Israel must provide warning of impending targets and objectives. Israel must inform civilians and protected persons of safe corridors of egress and safe zones of refuge. Israel must not target civilians accessing these safe zones. Israel may target military objectives adjacent to these safe zones, even when it can reasonably be foreseen that civilians will suffer incidental harm.
• The presence of civilians or protected persons does not obligate Israel to refrain from obtaining its military objectives, providing the principles of proportionality and warning are observed.
• Israel is not obligated to provide Gaza with materials, goods, or services, or necessities of life.
• Israel must not prevent access to necessities of life.
• Israel is obligated to prevent, to the extent possible in keeping with other principles, access to materials, personnel, and intelligence, which contribute to continued war efforts perpetrated by the government of Gaza, terrorist organizations, jihadis, and others which endanger the citizens of Israel.
• Israel must not deliberately create conditions intended to starve the civilian population.
• Israel may not prevent the return of temporary refugees to usual places of residence after the resolution of the conflict through peace treaties and other agreements.

There is probably more that I've missed. Please feel free to add as necessary. We probably agree on many of these, if not most. Did you want to take a few that you either entirely disagree with and discuss? Or did you want to re-word some?

The other big question that comes to mind is how to enforce violations. But that might have to have its own space.

Your play.

 

[Sixties Fan]

As Israel combats this ruthless and barbaric enemy, the media has had the chance to directly question Hamas leaders about the terror attack.

The terrorists skillfully expose their own dishonesty without assistance from truth-seekers.

Hamas’ Tangled Web of Lies: Terror Leaders’ Changing Stories | United with Israel

Hamas leaders alter their responses each time they are questioned about their alleged involvement in human rights violations.

unitedwithisrael.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

DF troops under the command of the Givati Brigade took control over a Hamas military stronghold in western Jabalya in the northern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, a military spokesperson said.

Approximately 50 terrorists were eliminated by Israeli forces. Furthermore, Israeli fighter jets, under Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) intelligence, killed Ebrahim Biari, the commander of Hamas's Jabalya battalion, and was one of the leaders of the October 7 massacre. Jabalya is around four kilometers northeast of Gaza City.

The stronghold was used by Biari for training in preparation for terrorist operations. There were infrastructures and terror tunnels at the place that were used for terrorists to move to the coastal area.


(full article online)

IDF takes command of Hamas military stronghold in west Jabalya in Gaza

The IDF also killed 50 Hamas terrorists in the Jabalya area of the Gaza Strip.

www.jpost.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Israel presents filmed October 7 atrocities to ambassadors

The Israel Foreign Affairs Ministry presented the atrocities done by Hamas on October 7 that were caught on fi

www.jpost.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

[ The right to destroy Jewish history ]​

​

Disgusting, antisemitic Arab American News pretends that practically none of the 10/7 victims were civilians​

The Arab American News is accusing Israelis, and all Jews worldwide, of being liars while exonerating Hamas of crimes against humanity as it pushes antisemitic tropes of Jews controlling the media:

Israel lies about civilians losses to conceal its colossal failure. Here is the proof

Since the Hamas onslaught on the Southern area of Israel on October 7, Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, along with the U.S. administration has insisted on advancing a deceitful narrative of the event. They claim that this attack targeted women, children and elders who cannot defend themselves in civilian towns and kubutzes [sic] near the Gaza strip. This narrative was so overwhelming that President Biden personally, in an address to the nation, had to lie. A lie that was not a temperamental off-the-cuff statement, but one that he read from a teleprompter. He said that he saw babies and women being slaughtered, describing this as the most horrifying scenes he has seen in his life.

...Israel has been a master in the media field for decades. It knows how to mold and win public opinion and how to turn the human stories of Jewish victims into front page headlines and leading segments in the news. But this time there were no innocent faces in despair, no broken family lives and no evidence to support the narrative at all.

What happened to the most effective propaganda machine in the world? Did the Israeli media lose its touch, or was it hit by a sudden paralysis? To answer this question, one must take a closer look at the source: The Israeli media. There were no stories about the young or elder victims. Very little coverage was given to the victims, whom Israel said are more than 1,300 people.

...The great majority of civilians were between the ages of 18 and 70, which make them by definition a part of the reserve forces. Only the names of a total of 14 children (under 18 years) and seven elders (70 or over) are listed. Of course, these facts paint a picture that must drive the Israeli leadership mad and make them quite frightened. How can the Netanyahu government face its people or the world with this scandalous failure after taking such pride in being the best guarantor of the Jewish people’s safety and security? It is a colossal failure of apocalyptic proportions, and all the media tricks and the international support won’t be enough to hide the truth regardless of how the false narrative is advanced.

There were no stories in Israeli media about child victims? Or about the elderly? There are dozens printed every day! Plus videos taken by the terrorists themselves, in the kibbutzim and towns that are obviously not military!
But the nauseating newspaper makes up facts (like all Israelis are in the reserves until age 70) to push a narrative of the Hamas pogrom as a legitimate military action.
Israel is still identifying victims, including many babies who have been burned beyond recognition. The current list from Haaretz has over 1000 victims, including these children the article didn't count:


And I stopped trying to list all the elderly they missed:


Looking at the list, one is stunned by how many entire families were murdered. To say these weren't "civilian" is grotesque.

Not to mention the people who weren't Israeli, like the workers and the visitors.

So this is an altogether disgusting, antisemitic article. From a newspaper that many Arab Americans rely on for their news.

Disgusting, antisemitic Arab American News pretends that practically none of the 10/7 victims were civilians

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

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

Three particularly stupid recent @NYTimes statements​

Yesterday, the New York Times reported that Israel was employing a particularly galling trait: not broadcasting its military strategy to the media.


It apparently requires an in-depth news analysis to understand why an army wouldn't announce what it was doing, or planning on doing.

But this wasn't the only piece of stupidity in the New York Times recently. Also yesterday, for example, reporters were not certain about something:


Could the women have made the video themselves and then asked Hamas to kindly release it for them?

And here, in an otherwise decent piece about Hamas hoarding, we see this:



The ruling government might not have any responsibility to its population?

There is a theme here: Israel is expected to act in ways that go beyond what any other country ever would do; when it doesn't reach those artificial expectations it is big news. Palestinians aren't expected to adhere to even the minimum standards of decency and are given the benefit of the doubt no matter what.

It isn't just a New York Times problem. It is an everybody problem.

Three particularly stupid recent @NYTimes statements

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

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

[Sixties Fan]

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 1

Before the facts though, some context:

1. For years Israel sent water and electricity into Gaza, and in return Gaza sent rockets, mortars, incendiary balloons and terrorists into Israel, all intended to kill Israeli civilians. That is, Israel sending supplies to Gaza is a humane gesture towards an entity run by popularly elected inhumane jihadists, determined to murder Jews and Israelis wherever the opportunity arises.

And yet, on many college campuses and elsewhere, Israel is accused of engaging in “apartheid” and “genocide.”

2. There is no doubt that since Hamas started the war, Gaza residents have faced serious shortages of power, water, medical care, food, etc. But as we shall see below, with the partial exception of electricity this is not because Israel stopped supplying Gaza.

Water

Gaza is an oasis with its own water supply, which is why it has been inhabited for thousands of years – indeed, it was the setting for the Biblical story of Samson and Delilah. Gaza sits on top of the southern part of the Coastal Aquifer, with a local capacity of almost 100 million cubic meters (MCM) annually; without that water Gaza would just be another part of the desert.

However, because the water table is very high, many Gaza residents, especially farmers, have drilled wells wherever they want, leading to vast overuse and saltwater infiltration from the nearby Mediterranean, severely damaging the aquifer’s water quality. When Israel ruled Gaza it tried to preserve the aquifer by preventing such drilling, but Hamas made no effort to stop illegal drilling until 2021, after much damage had already been done to the aquifer’s water quality.

Israel has also long supplemented Gaza’s water supply, initially by pumping about 4 MCM annually through the Kissufim pipeline to the local water grid, providing water to the communities of El-Bureij, Moazi, Abasan, Bani Suheila and Khan Yunis.

(It should be noted that the small community of Kissufim was not spared by Hamas during its recent murderous attacks – at least 8 residents were murdered.)

In recent years Israel has built new pipelines greatly increasing its supply of water to Gaza. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics in 2021 Israel supplied 14.4 MCM of water to Gaza, while 192.5 MCM was drawn from the aquifer under Gaza. As already noted, Hamas’s policy to allow such overuse of the aquifer is a self-inflicted disaster, since it is about three times the annual recharge rate, guaranteeing infiltration of seawater from the Mediterranean.

In summary, when Gallant said Israel is cutting off water to Gaza, he was referring only to the approximately 14 MCM, and in the end this cut off didn’t last very long – on Oct. 29th Israel announced that two of the three pipelines into Gaza had been reopened, suppling water at a rate equivalent to 10.4 MCM/year.

Is Israel’s 'Siege' Denying Water and Food to Gaza? Just the Facts

After horrific mass terror attacks by Hamas, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a “complete siege” of Gaza: 'There will be no electricity, no food,

www.camera.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 2

Electricity

Gaza gets its electricity from three main sources. The largest amount comes from the Israel Electric Company which provides power through 10 transmission lines (see image) that connect to the Gaza electrical grid (subsidized by Israeli taxpayers since the PA rarely remits the required payments):

However, during the Oct. 7 attacks 9 out of 10 of those lines were cut. So the bizarre argument some make is that even though Hamas attacks cut the power lines, Israel is obligated to repair the lines at its own expense, and then to supply power to Hamas-run Gaza at its own expense.

There is also a powerplant run by Gaza Power Generating Company, which burns diesel fuel that usually comes from Israel (Egypt used to provide some fuel through their Rafah crossing point), plus private generators and a significant amount from solar power.

Indeed, according to one study Gaza has become a world leader in solar power (PV) generation, with estimates that this yields at least 25% of its power. Including this PV power, the electrical power supply for Gaza in 2021 in MW (megawatts) is estimated to be:

Power from Israel	Gaza Power Company*	Private and Govt. PV	Total Power
118	82.68	67	268

(* excluding Gaza govt. PV)

Since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks Israel has stopped diesel fuel deliveries to Gaza, however there is evidence that Hamas has stored over half-a-million liters of diesel fuel near Rafah. In addition, Hamas is estimated to have stored enough fuel and supplies in their subterranean bases and tunnels for several months of fighting, as reported by the New York Times:

As supplies of virtually every basic human necessity dwindle in Gaza, one group in the besieged enclave remains well-stocked: Hamas. Arab and Western officials say there is substance to Israeli claims of Hamas stockpiling supplies, including desperately needed food and fuel… Hamas has hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel for vehicles and rockets; caches of ammunition, explosives and materials to make more; and stockpiles of food, water and medicine, the officials said.

Hamas could easily share this fuel with the Gaza powerplant and local civilians, but it seems to have decided not to. So there is no shortage of fuel in Gaza, just a refusal by Hamas to share it with the people it supposedly protects.

Finally, it should be noted that even if the Gaza power plant is down, hospitals will not be without electricity, thanks to a UN/WHO program that helped to provide Gaza’s hospitals and many of its clinics with rooftop solar panels that supply a significant portion of their electrical needs. For example, in Khan Younis the European Hospital gets 70% of its power from roof-top solar panels:

In Palestine’s Gaza Strip, around 70% of the European Gaza Hospital’s electricity is now generated directly on its roof. Palestinian Ministry of Health, Dr Yusef Abu Al-Rish mentioned that the solar power generated will supply the intensive care unit and the surgical areas which continuously ensures that the health care of the citizens is guaranteed.

The Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis also has a large solar panel installation that provides about 40% of its electrical needs:

[For more regarding Gaza electricity see also Cutting the Electricity Supply to Gaza – Consequences and Implications.]

Is Israel’s 'Siege' Denying Water and Food to Gaza? Just the Facts

After horrific mass terror attacks by Hamas, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a “complete siege” of Gaza: 'There will be no electricity, no food,

www.camera.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

Part 3

Food

While Gaza did import food stuffs and industrial supplies from Israel through the Kerem Shalom crossing point, it should be noted that this is one of the many places attacked by Hamas on Oct. 7, meaning even if Israel wanted to allow transport of goods into Gaza, this would have to wait until the crossing is repaired, and until Palestinian trucks could get to the crossing to pick up the goods. But thanks to Hamas, the area around Kerem Shalom is a war zone, meaning there won’t be any Palestinian trucks driving there for the foreseeable future.

In addition, Gaza produces so much food the local market can’t absorb it, and much is exported, including fresh fruits, fish and vegetables that were sold to Israel and the West Bank. In March 2023 there was a year-over-year increase of 140% of such agricultural exports, as outlined in Leap in Gazan exports of agricultural produce:

Over the past months … [there has been] a leap of more than 140% in the marketing of agricultural produce from the Gaza Strip in Israeli territory, as compared with the same months last year. The increase coincides with extensive exports into the Judea and Samaria area. A total of more than 17 thousand tons of agricultural produce has been shipped from the Gaza Strip to the Judea and Samaria area and Israel. In addition, the fishing sector too has seen a surge upward in marketing — an increase of roughly 100% in exports from the Gaza Strip this February as against the previous February…
Those steps have brought employment to many residents of the Gaza Strip, significantly boosted its economy, and improved the welfare of the civilian population. The continuation and expansion of such policies depends on the continued maintenance of stability and of a quiet security situation in the area.

Indeed, more than seven years ago Gaza was already self-sufficient in food, according to senior Hamas official Ziad al-Zaza:

In addition, under Hamas, the people of Gaza searched for and developed their lost capabilities, achieving self-sufficiency in the cultivation of vegetables, fruits and other foodstuffs.

So the food problems Gaza civilians are experiencing now are not because Israel chose to impose a siege on Gaza, it’s because Hamas chose to impose an all-out war on Israel.

Is Israel’s 'Siege' Denying Water and Food to Gaza? Just the Facts

After horrific mass terror attacks by Hamas, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced a “complete siege” of Gaza: 'There will be no electricity, no food,

www.camera.org

 

[Sixties Fan]

[ No Internet, no Tik Tok, so how? ]

 

[Sixties Fan]