…more from Al-Amal:
There is a degree of absolute pettiness, casual cruelty, almost trolling, in the way Israel have chosen to conduct this war. A reminder that many working for Red Crescent are volunteers. That most of the doctors and nurses working at the hospitals right now are unpaid.
From Doctors without Borders, about Nasser:
If you think you have caught me in a gotcha, you seem to have missed, or ignored, the next sentence in my post that you quoted.
“Because this is just the latest round in an endless cycle of violence.”
So yes, Israel is being cold blooded in their response, no disagreement from me. How has a cold blooded response worked for them in their past dealings with Palestinian terrorists? Nipped it right in the bud did it?
True
No.
It’s difficult to fight an enemy that uses civilians and civilian infrastructure as a base of operations.
I don’t see how that’d be a gotcha; it’s simply what I think Israel is doing, and what I thought Israel was doing before I read your post. And so, when I saw the same sort of thinking in your post, I wondered: wait, isn’t that along the lines of what I’d already thought Israel was clearly doing?
As far as I can tell, they’ve responded in a decidedly less over-the-top manner before, and this didn’t get nipped in the bud — and, for some reason, they’re responding in a decidedly more over-the-top manner now. Would that claim get any disagreement from you?
A more over the top response than recent years? No disagreement. If you want a definitive answer on this being the record setter, I would give an incomplete grade to Gaza at the moment, but likely to surpass Lebanon in the early 80s.
Sure, it must be:
When i visited Israel, i took the commuter train from the Tel Aviv airport to Jerusalem and soldiers offered us old people seats. The seats aren’t overly roomy, and i sat cuddled up next to one of those big guns.
(It was Sunday morning, and soldiers were returning to duty after spending the Sabbath with their families.)
Does this make Israel blink, or at least think.
"Egypt is threatening to suspend its peace treaty with Israel if Israeli troops are sent into the densely populated Gaza border town of Rafah, where it fears fighting could force the closure of the besieged territory’s main aid supply route, two Egyptian officials and a Western diplomat said Sunday.
The threat to suspend the Camp David Accords, a cornerstone of regional stability for nearly a half-century, came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said sending troops into Rafah was necessary to win the four-month war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas. He said Hamas still has four battalions there."
https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-news-02-11-2014-785309c668e15728c6aac9905f290b4d
That is not news, in the sense that Egypt has already publicly made it clear it will not be accepting any Palestinian refugees. Any operation is obviously going to send hundreds of thousands of refugees somewhere, and, when you are desperate, at some point crossing the border seems like an increasingly attractive option, border controls or no border controls.
Okay. If, as you say, Israel’s government is behaving in a manner inconsistent with morality or humanity or whatever, then anyone who does believe that morality or humanity or whatever is important has a significant choice to make. I believe that, for the sake of humanity or whatever, nations that go rogue in this manner should be isolated and condemned, and support should be withdrawn from them, such that deicding to forgo morality or humanity or whatever turns out not to be a winning choice. As soon as such nations return to caring about morality or humanity or whatever, of course, they should be welcomed back into the community of humanity or whatever.
It is news in the sense that Egypt is not just saying it isn’t willing to take refugees. It isn’t clear what this means yet, and it may well be nothing more than saber rattling. However, it is news for Egypt to even mention that breaking the Camp David accords is an option. It would be fascinating if the US were forced to choose whether Israel or Egypt is the more important ally.
In spite of this, Reuters reported that day that Egypt had warned of “dire consequences” of a potential Israeli military assault on Rafah.
“Egypt called for the necessity of uniting all international and regional efforts to prevent the targeting of the Palestinian city of Rafah,” its foreign ministry added in a statement.
I believe I can meet you halfway on that: that, after all of this, when Israel is no longer ‘going rogue’, it’d be grand for them to get welcomed back into the community of humanity or whatever. But — since they’d presumably be doing otherwise now if they believed ‘otherwise’ would in fact be the winning choice — I think it’s better if they get Susan-Collins-esque concern from the sidelines while they keep doing what they’re doing: some folks can furrow their brows and somberly intone the appropriate sentiments now, and those who make the winning choice can follow suit later.
We’re done.
…the footage coming from Nasser Hospital and the immediate surroundings is utter madness.
Basically, Israeli snipers are shooting at people around the hospital. And are shooting at people inside the hospital. People having to risk their lives, sprinting, using sticks, to try and drag people to safety.
All Twitter links, sorry. Spoiled because they contain scenes of people who have been shot.
https://twitter.com/RamAbdu/status/1756770121006174291
https://twitter.com/Timesofgaza/status/1756196298372366659
https://twitter.com/swilkinsonbc/status/1756693339070468262
https://twitter.com/OnlinePalEng/status/1756230793951637619
https://twitter.com/search?q=nasser%20nurse%20shot&src=typed_query&f=top
In an update from Tedros yesterday: missions to resupply Nasser were denied yesterday by Israel. Missions to the north of Gaza have been regularly denied, leaving the north cut-off from humanitarian aid. But now they are cutting off the hospitals in the south.
From the latest Flash Update.
MUCH more at the link.
…Israel bought an ad at the Super Bowl.
And at the same time have launched their offensive against Rafah.
I’m already seeing horrific scenes start popping up. At least 60 confirmed dead after an hour of bombing and shelling. 3 Mosques reported destroyed. People abandoning tents and heading to the hospitals, hoping that they will be safe. A lot of dead kids.
Some wonderful news for a change!
https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/12/middleeast/israel-hostages-rescued-gaza-rafah-intl-hnk/index.html
2 hostages rescued during operations in Rafah.
An article that includes pictures of the hostages:
https://www.axios.com/2024/02/12/israel-gaza-hostages-rescue-hamas-idf
Both of them are Argentinian citizens.
You know what? Never mind…
…some “wonderful news.”
Just saw video footage of the remains of a child, hanging from a building, her legs blown off.
And some more footage of people walking down the street, picking up body parts and collecting them in bags.
The Super Bowl Slaughter.
…just read that the heavy bombing that caused indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinian civilians during the Super Bowl was intended as a diversion from the hostage rescue.
As I said: the images, that I won’t link to, from the attacks in Rafah are the worst I’ve seen since the start of the conflict. I’m happy the hostages have been freed. But Palestinians are grieving. 110 dead in Rafah, confirmed so far.
From Doctors without Borders: