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Humanitarian agencies have lost contact with aid workers in Gaza, as the Palestinian enclave faces its third communications blackout of the Israel-Hamas war, according to operators. Earlier in the day, the IDF said its soldiers had reached the coast as part of an effort to encircle Hamas forces and strike targets in Gaza. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah spoke on Friday about the October 7 Hamas attacks and ensuing war in Gaza. IDF accuses Hamas of using civilian infrastructure: The Israeli military released what it said was evidence of Hamas using civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and children’s playgrounds, as shields for its attacks on Israel. Hostages in Gaza: The Israeli military’s current count of hostages being held by Hamas is 240, Hagari, the Israel Defense Forces' spokesperson, said Sunday.

Persons: Paltel, Daniel Hagari, Antony Blinken's, Blinken, Mohammed Shia, Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s, ” Organizations: Facebook, United Nations, Palestine Red Crescent Society, Israel Defense Forces, CNN, IDF, Iraqi, Hamas, Palestinian, West Bank, Palestinian Authority, Turkish, Air Force, Anadolu Agency, Humanitarian Relief Foundation, " Police Locations: Gaza, Israel, Palestine, Sderot, Blinken, Iraq, Sudani, Baghdad, Jordan, Ramallah, Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, Turkish, United States, Anadolu

☆ Blinken Visits Iraq in Bid to Prevent Gaza Spillover
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Washington wants to prevent a wider regional conflict and has stepped up diplomacy with regional countries whose populations have been angered by Israel's assault on Gaza. Blinken landed at Baghdad’s international airport, donned a ballistic vest and traveled by Black Hawk helicopter to the Green Zone, a remnant of the U.S. occupation of Iraq after its 2003 invasion. At the U.S. ambassador’s residence he was briefed on threats to U.S. facilities, before heading to the prime minister’s office. Iran-backed group Kataib Hezbollah issued a warning on Saturday night that the expected Blinken visit would be met with "an unprecedented escalation." Iraqi armed groups aligned with Iran have threatened to target U.S. interests with missiles and drones if Washington intervened to support Israel against Hamas in Gaza.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Mohammed al, Sudani, Asad, Hezbollah's, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Simon Lewis, Hugh Lawson, Conor Humphries Organizations: West Bank, U.S, Iraqi, Baghdad’s, Black, Green Locations: BAGHDAD, Iraq, Israel, Baghdad, . Washington, Gaza, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Gaza . Iraqi, Ain, Harir, Iraqi, Erbil, Lebanon, U.S

☆ Blinken Meets With Palestinian and Iraqi Leaders in Bid to Contain Gaza War
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Adam Entous | More About Adam Entous | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Mr. Blinken, who has been in the Middle East since Friday, early in the day held an unannounced meeting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. During his visit to the West Bank city of Ramallah earlier in the day, Mr. Blinken spoke to Mr. Abbas about U.S. efforts to get Israeli leaders to “minimize civilian harm” in Gaza, a senior State Department official said. The Health Ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip says more than 9,700 people in the territory have been killed in the Israeli campaign. Mr. Abbas called for “an immediate halt” to the war in Gaza and an end to Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank, which he described as “no less horrific,” according to Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency. An explosion overnight in a densely populated residential area in the central Gaza Strip destroyed several buildings and appeared to have killed and wounded many people, photos and videos from the scene showed.

Persons: Antony J, Blinken, Mahmoud Abbas, ” Mr, Abbas Organizations: West Bank, Sunday, Palestinian, State Department, Health Ministry Locations: Iraq, United States, Gaza, Israel, Iran, Baghdad, Ramallah

CNN —Dozens were killed and many more injured in a blast at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip late Saturday night, according to an official at a nearby hospital and eyewitnesses who spoke with CNN. One resident of the camp told CNN: “We were sitting in our homes, suddenly we heard a very, very powerful sound of an explosion. People check the damage at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp on Sunday. Alaloul, who is a freelance photojournalist with the Turkish news agency Anadolu, said his home was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Al-Maghazi refugee camp. The Al-Maghazi refugee camp is located in the central part of the coastal enclave south of Wadi Gaza, the waterway that divides north from south Gaza.

Persons: Mohammad al Hajj, Dr Eyad Abu Zaher, ”, Khalil Al, “, Mahmud Hams, Muhammed Alaloul, Alaloul, Kenan, Rahaf, Ahmad, …, Qais, ” Alaloul, Jamal Al Aloul, Samah Shaqoura, CNN “, Sundos Shaqura, Israel, Antony Blinken, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Blinken, Mohammed Shia, ” “ Israel, We’ve Organizations: CNN, Hamas, of Health, Al, Israel Defense Forces, Aqsa Martyr’s Hospital, IDF, Getty, Israel, Palestinian Ministry of Health, Sunday, Anadolu, United Nations Relief, Works Agency, Iraqi Locations: Gaza, Aqsa, AFP, Wadi Gaza, Ramallah, Turkish, Jordan, Iraq, Sudani, Baghdad

☆ Blinken says Palestinian voices key to Gaza future
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Simon Lewis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Blinken passed through Israeli checkpoints to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, and then traveled on to Iraq. Palestinian views, voices and aspirations need to be “at the center” of conversations about the future of Gaza, Blinken told reporters in Baghdad. Blinken had some "good ideas" about the future he said, but "now is the time to ....stop the murder of civilians"Abbas told Blinken there should be an immediate ceasefire and that aid should be allowed into Gaza, according to spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudeineh. While Hamas tightly controls besieged Gaza, the West Bank is a complex patchwork of hillside cities, Israeli settlements and army checkpoints that split Palestinian communities. Blinken credited Abbas for tamping down tension in the West Bank and told him he had pressed Israeli officials for accountability, the senior State Department official said.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Mahmoud Abbas, Israel, Abbas, WAFA, Mohammed Shia, Al Sudani, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Matthew Miller, Miller, Jordan, Simon Lewis, Ali Sawafta, Doina Chiacu, Ted Hesson, Hugh Lawson, Alexander Smith, Heather Timmons Organizations: U.S, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian, West Bank, Hamas, CBS, United Nations, senior State Department, Thomson Locations: RAMALLAH, BAGHDAD, Gaza, Ramallah, Iraq, Israel, Baghdad, Iran, United States, East Jerusalem, Palestinian, U.S, United Kingdom, Egypt, Washington

☆ Blinken makes unannounced visit to Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Baghdad, Iraq CNN —Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Sunday – a significant stop on his whirlwind trip through the region. Blinken met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in Baghdad for more than an hour. In the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attack, Iranian-backed proxy groups have scaled up attacks aimed at US troops in Iraq and Syria. Ahead of his stop in Iraq, Blinken on Sunday also met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah amid escalating Israeli settler violence in the West Bank. Before Blinken’s visit to Iraq, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was the highest-ranking Biden administration official to travel to the country, when he made an unannounced trip to Baghdad in March.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Blinken, Mohammed Shia, “, ” Blinken, Matthew Miller, ” Miller, Mahmoud Abbas, Blinken’s, Defense Lloyd Austin, Biden, CNN’s Jack Forrest, Abby Baggini, Oren Liebermann Organizations: Iraq CNN, Sunday, Iraqi, Embassy, US, State Department, Palestinian, West Bank, Defense Locations: Baghdad, Iraq, Sudani, Israel, Iranian, Syria, Gaza, Ramallah, Jordan, Cyprus, Turkey

☆ Blinken visits Iraq in bid to prevent Gaza spillover
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Persons: Antony Blinken, Mohammed Shia, Al Sudani, Blinken, Mohammed al, Sudani, Asad, Hezbollah's, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Simon Lewis, Hugh Lawson, Conor Humphries Organizations: Hamas, West Bank, U.S, Iraqi, Baghdad’s, Black, Green, Thomson Locations: Baghdad, Israel, Palestinian, Iraq, BAGHDAD, . Washington, Gaza, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Gaza . Iraqi, Ain, Harir, Iraqi, Erbil, Lebanon, U.S

REUTERS/Jonathan... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreAMMAN, Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S.-allied Arab states will press Secretary of State Antony Blinken for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza at a meeting of foreign ministers in Amman on Saturday, as Washington tries to persuade Israel to agree to temporary pauses to allow in aid. Health officials in Hamas-run Gaza say more than 9,250 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since then. Blinken is in Amman for meetings with Arab officials after visiting Tel Aviv on Friday. After meeting Blinken on Friday, Netanyahu said Israel refused a temporary ceasefire that did not include the release of hostages. Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati stressed the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza during a meeting with Blinken in Jordan on Saturday, Mikati's office said.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Philippe Lazzarini, Jonathan, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken, Matthew Miller, Netanyahu, Blinken's, David Satterfield, Satterfield, King Abdullah of Jordan, Olaf Scholz, Najib Mikati, Mikati, Miller, Tom Perry, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Hamas, REUTERS, Washington, United, Israeli, Health, Tel, NATO, Saudi, State Department, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: East, Israel, Palestinian, Amman, Jordan, AMMAN, Gaza, United States, Food, Tel Aviv, Turkey, Jordanian, U.S, Middle East, Rafah, Iraqi, Iran, Tehran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon

Whoever wants to prevent a regional war, and I am talking to the Americans, must quickly halt the aggression on Gaza," Nasrallah said. Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with Israeli forces at the Lebanese-Israeli frontier since Oct. 8, with more than 55 of its fighters killed. The group, founded by Iran's Revolutionary Guards in 1982, is the spearhead of a Tehran-backed alliance hostile to Israel and the United States. The White House said Hezbollah must not exploit the Hamas-Israel conflict, and the United States did not want to see the conflict expand into Lebanon. The United States holds Hezbollah responsible for the attacks.

Persons: Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Mohamed Azakir, Nasrallah, Lebanon's, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Laila Bassam, Tom Perry, Riham al, Nadine Awadalla, Michael Georgy, Angus MacSwan, Tomasz Janowski, Mark Heinrich, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, United, Lebanese, Iran's, Guards, House, Pentagon, . Marine, U.S ., group's, Gaza, West Bank, Thomson Locations: Israel, Beirut's, Lebanon, Gaza, United States, BEIRUT, Iran, Tehran, U.S, Iraq, Syria, Beirut, Hamas, Riham al Koussa, Maayan, Jerusalem

☆ Russia's armored trains are a valuable tool with some big vulnerabilities
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Hope Seck | Sandboxx News | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Russia has used armored trains for military purposes for more than a century. Russia's use of armored trains for transport, mine-clearing, and resupply, however, has drawn particular scrutiny and criticism. Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty ImagesHowever, as details have emerged about these new armored transport trains used in Ukraine, observers have expressed bemusement. A video by the YouTube channel EngineerReact summarizes the primary problems with train warfare in the 21st century, calling Russia's armored trains "a terrible idea." "That was probably the best use of [military trains] in an offensive operation, in combat, in the recent wars," he said.

Persons: —, Vladimir Putin, luxuriously, trainspotter, Maksim Konstantinov, Richard Killblane, Scott Sturkol Killblane, Killblane, Taji, Jerome Bishop The, it's, there's Organizations: Service, Red Army, Russo, Museum of Russian Railways, Getty, YouTube, Ukraine's Territorial Defence Force, Army Special Forces, Army Transportation School, Army, US Army, Jerome Bishop The US Army, 757th Expeditionary Railway Center Locations: Russia, Ukraine, United States, Japanese, Germany, Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Russian, St . Petersburg, McCoy, Wisconsin, Iraq, Mosul, Taji, Sadr

☆ Hezbollah leader set to weigh in on Middle East war
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Many people in Lebanon are anxiously awaiting the 3 p.m. (1300 GMT) speech, rattled for weeks by fear of a catastrophic conflict. OVERSEEING THE BATTLEWhile Nasrallah has stayed out of the public eye since Oct. 7, other Hezbollah officials have indicated the group's combat readiness. But they have not set any red lines in the conflict with Israel. The speech will be broadcast to coincide with rallies called by Hezbollah to honour fallen fighters. Mutual threats of destruction have deterred Israel and Hezbollah from waging war across the Lebanese-Israeli frontier since 2006.

Persons: Nasrallah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Israel, Yemen's Houthis, sayyed, Prophet Mohammad, Hassan Fadlallah, Benjamin Netanyahu, Tom Perry, Angus MacSwan, William Maclean Organizations: U.S, Thomson Locations: Lebanon, BEIRUT, Palestinian, Iran, Israel, United States, Syria, Iraq, Gaza, Lebanese

☆ Telegram rarely bans channels. Israel-Gaza forced it to step in.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It has also restricted two of Hamas' official channels on Android and iOS devices. Restrictions, not bans — but rare for Telegram nonethelessTelegram, which is known for its message encryption and lax moderation, restricted two official Hamas channels on Android devices earlier this month. The impact of banning Telegram channels remains to be seenAs for Hamas, Telegram has been under pressure for weeks to cut the militant group from its services. Before the restrictions, Hamas' official Telegram channels saw a three-fold jump in followers after the attacks, the Digital Forensic Research Lab reported. Notably, Hamas channels are not the only ones spreading content related to the October 7 attacks, and some of those channels are still available on the platform.

Persons: —, Pavel Durov, Durov, it's, It's, Abu Obaida Organizations: Service, Telegram, Google, Jerusalem Post, Meta, Hong, Kremlin, Makhachkala International Airport, Morning, Apple, Middle East Media Research Institute, Capitol, Forensic Research, Wired, Digital Forensic Research Lab, Human Rights, Hamas, Brigades, DFRLab, CNBC, Washington Post, Palestinian Health Authority Locations: Israel, Ashkelon, Jerusalem, Hong Kong, Gaza, Russia, Dagestan, Tel Aviv, Makhachkala, Morning Dagestan

☆ Fact Check: Video about Islamic State atrocities miscaptioned as an Israeli describing Hamas
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Video of a 2017 interview with Yazidi Iraqi lawmaker Vian Dakhil conducted by Egyptian channel eXtra news describing Islamic State (IS) atrocities recounted to her by victims has been miscaptioned as showing an Israeli woman who escaped Hamas in 2023. In the clip she weeps as she talks about the crimes perpetuated by IS against Yazidi women and girls. The Yazidis are a religious minority in eastern Syria and northwestern Iraq who were victims of genocidal attacks by IS during 2014 and the enslavement of 7,000 Yazidi women and girls. On Oct. 9, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in broadcast remarks that the crimes committed by Hamas mirrored those of Islamic State. The interviewee is Yazidi Iraqi MP Vian Dakhil discussing crimes committed by IS against Yazidi women and girls, not an escaped Israeli woman talking about Hamas.

Persons: Vian Dakhil, Benjamin Netanyahu, ”, Read Organizations: Islamic, Twitter, Facebook, Middle East Media Research, Washington DC, ISIS, Hamas, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Washington, Syria, Iraq, Gaza, Islamic State

His statement confirmed the widening scope of a conflict that has unnerved states including the world's biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia, hardening fears of spillover as Israel seeks to destroy Hamas in its Gaza Strip stronghold. The Houthis have demonstrated their missile and drone capabilities during the Yemen war in attacks on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has been holding talks with the Houthis in a bid to exit the war, as Riyadh focuses on economic priorities at home. But Houthi missile and drone attacks on Israel have increased the risks of conflict for Saudi Arabia. Saudi analyst Aziz Alghashian said Saudi Arabia would be worried about the conflict spilling across its own borders.

Persons: Yahya Saree, spillover, Saree, Tzachi Hanegbi, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Mohanad Hage Ali, Aziz Alghashian, Nadine Awadalla, Nayera Abdallah, Tom Perry, Henriette Chacar, Ari Rabinovitch, Mohamed Ghobari, Angus MacSwan, Gareth Jones Organizations: Resistance, Mideast DUBAI, ., Israeli National Security, U.S, Lebanese, United, United Arab Emirates, Zionist, Carnegie Middle East Center, Thomson Locations: Iran, Israel, Sanaa, Saudi, Saudi Arabia, Gaza, Egypt, America, United States, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, United Arab, Iranian, Qatar, SAUDI, Riyadh, Jordan, Tehran, Dubai, Beirut, Parisa, Jerusalem, Aden

☆ Opinion | The Memories That Feed Distrust in the Middle East
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Zeynep Tufekci | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +10 min

His pained voice turned to anger when he recounted encountering disbelief that Hamas committed terrible atrocities when it attacked Israel. Indeed, since Hamas did murder children and take others as hostages, should it get credit if it didn’t also behead them? But if the U.S. response after Sept. 11 is a model, it is as a model of what not to do. After the attacks, the United States received deep global sympathy. In the Middle East, the devastating aftermath of that war — justified by false claims — has never ended.

Persons: Moshe Lavi, Lavi, there’s, Biden, didn’t, that’s, ”, Bush, —, Peter Lerner, Saddam Hussein, Saddam, Benjamin Netanyahu Organizations: Hamas, New York Times, United Nations, Britain’s Sky, United, Iraqi Army, The New York Times, Guardian, Israeli Defense Forces, Hamas’s Naval Police, Naval Force, Amnesty International, Kuwaiti, American, Rights, Amnesty, West Bank Locations: Israel, Gaza, Iraq, U.S, United States, Abu Ghraib, People, Israeli, Kuwait, Vietnam, Kuwaiti

☆ Lebanon's Hezbollah: What weapons does it have?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Here is an overview of some of Hezbollah's most significant weapons, based on Hezbollah statements, security sources, weapons experts and academic reports. Hezbollah says it has rockets that can hit all areas of Israel. Last year, he said Hezbollah had the ability within Lebanon to retrofit thousands of rockets with guidance systems to make them precision missiles. Hezbollah has posted videos of what it says are direct hits on Israeli tanks and other military vehicles since Oct. 7. Hezbollah has since broadcast videos that it says show more of the same weapons that were used in 2006.

Persons: Amr Alfiky, Israel, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah, Maya Gebeily, Timour Azhari, Tom Perry, Edmund Blair, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Palestinian, Raad, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Beirut, Lebanon, Iran, Islamic Republic, Iraq, Syria, Dawn, Haifa

Khan’s office has opened an investigation into potential war crimes by Israel in Gaza in the 2014 war. THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN KILLED IN THE CONFLICT SOARSThe number of children killed in the blockaded Gaza Strip since the start of the Hamas-Israel earlier this month has exceeded the number of children killed in armed conflict every year globally since 2019, international charity Save the Children said Sunday. It also mentioned the deaths of 33 children in the occupied West Bank and 29 children killed in Israel. The militant group Hezbollah, Hamas’ allies in Lebanon, has clashed with Israeli troops along the Lebanon-Israeli border since the Gaza war erupted on Oct. 7. PALESTINIAN RED CRESCENT SAYS ISRAEL ORDERS GAZA HOSPITAL TO EVACUATEJERUSALEM — A spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent says Al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City received two calls from Israeli authorities Sunday morning demanding it evacuate.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, “ ‘, ”, Israel, Karim Khan, Khan, “, Jason Lee, ” U.N, António Guterres, Guterres, Hamas ’, ” Guterres, Rishi Sunak’s, Emmanuel Macron, Macron, VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, “ Let’s, ” Francis, Ibrahim Faltas, Jonas Gahr Støre, U.N, Israel’s, ” Tedros Adhanom, Tarik Jasarevic, Nebal Farsakh, ” Thomas White, ” Mahmoud, Abdallah Sayed Organizations: Saturday, Health Ministry, Hamas, West Bank, ICC, Criminal, Gaza, Gaza Health Ministry, Country, MINISTER, LONDON, UN, UNIFIL, VATICAN CITY, ISRAEL HELSINKI — Norway’s, NRK, “, United Nations, MINISTRY, FIRE, WHO, World Health Organization, JERUSALEM, Palestinian, Pentagon, UNITED NATIONS, . Security Council, United Arab Emirates Locations: Gaza, Israel, EGYPT, GAZA, Rafah, Egypt, Cairo, Kathmandu, ISRAEL, ”, LEBANON BEIRUT, Lebanon, Houla, Naqoura, Ukraine, Palestine, St, NORWAY'S, Norwegian, Norway, “, UN, FIRE KATHMANDU, Nepal, GAZA CAIRO, PALESTINIAN, Al, Quds, Gaza City, SYRIA DAMASCUS, Syria, Iranian, Iraq, U.S, Assad, GAZA'S, CAIRO, Gaza’s

“Our Iraqi soldiers were clearing out, using bulldozers, ISIS fighters who were literally dug into the rubble,” he said. Palestinians responded by building hundreds of tunnels to smuggle in food, goods, people and weapons. The tunnels cost Hamas about $3 million each, according to the Israeli military. The tunnel system stretches all the way to the Israeli border in the north. Israel has limited visibility into tunnel activity on the Egyptian side of the border, he added.

Persons: “, Yocheved, Daniel Hagari, Votel, ”, Joel Roskin, Roskin Organizations: Islamic, Iraqi, ISIS, Bar, Ilan University Locations: Iraqi, Mosul, Gaza, Israel, Al Shifa, Israel’s, Egypt, Northern Sinai

A Palestinian fighter of the Al-Quds brigade in a military tunnel in the northern Gaza Strip last year. Overnight on Saturday, Israeli fighter planes struck 150 underground targets in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said. The group’s leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, said in 2021 that there were 310 miles of tunnels in Gaza. Ben Milch, an Israeli American who cleared tunnels with the Israeli military during the 2014 Gaza War, said his unit came under fire repeatedly while working to destroy some 13 tunnels. After the Israeli military announced on Tuesday that it had destroyed the tunnel to the sea, it released a video of another incident.

Persons: “, Israel, ”, Joseph L, Sergey Ponomarev, Yocheved, Daniel Hagari, Votel, Joel Roskin, Roskin, Ali Ali, Daphne Richemond, Barak, Yahya Sinwar, Yousef Masoud, ” Ms, Richemond, Ms, Amir Olo, Olo, Ben Milch, Milch, Uriel Sinai, Jeffrey Gettleman, Gal Koplewitz Organizations: Hamas, Israel Defense Forces, U.S, United States Central Command, The New York Times, Islamic, Iraqi, ISIS, Bar, Ilan University, European Pressphoto Agency, Reichman University, telltale, RAND Corporation, West Bank, Officials Locations: Al, Quds, Gaza, Israel, Israeli, Iraqi, Mosul, Al Shifa, Israel’s, Egypt, Northern Sinai, Khan Younis, Col, Israeli American, Kissufim, The, Zikim Beach, Jerusalem

☆ Shi'ite Cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr Calls for Closure of U.S. Embassy in Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-27 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on the Iraqi government and parliament on Friday to vote to close the U.S. embassy in Iraq for its "unfettered support of Israel." "If the government and parliament do not abide by this demand, we will go for further actions which we will later announce," the statement said. Hundreds of supporters of Iranian-backed Iraqi paramilitary groups gathered last week at Iraq's main border crossing with Jordan to express solidarity with Gaza and call for an end to Israel's blockade. Some 800 supporters of Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), an umbrella group of mainly Shi'ite militia, departed from Baghdad last week in buses for the Iraqi-Jordanian border crossing in western Anbar province. It is the closest access point from Iraq to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Persons: Muqtada al, Sadr, Nadine Awadallah, Tala, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Iraq's Popular, Forces, Iraqi, West Bank Locations: BAGHDAD, U.S, Iraq, Israel, Iraqi, Iraq's, Jordan, Gaza, Baghdad, Jordanian, Anbar, Dubai

☆ Analysis: Israel’s allies fear it could be walking into a trap in Gaza as Hamas and its backers seek a wider conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Jerome Taylor | Sam Kiley | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The bomb-making skills of Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group and close ally of Hamas, have metastasized across the Middle East. In Gaza, Israeli troops will know they face improvised explosive devices built with charges that can cripple a tank. Hamas does hope to establish a Palestinian state based on the teachings of Islam. There have been pro-Palestinian marches throughout the world protesting at the level of destruction visited already on Gaza by Israel. They’ll be looking to exploit Israel’s next moves in Gaza as their own “phase two” of the October 7 attacks.

Persons: Israel’s, ”, Hossein Amir, Abdollahian, Joe Biden, Saddam Hussein, Benjamin Netanyahu, Rishi Sunak, “, Emmanuel Macron, ” Atatra, –, Hassan Nasrallah, Saleh Al, Ziad Al, Tehran’s, Quds, They’ll, John Kirby, Jalaa Marey, Biden, Islam, Iraq ’, Karin von Hippel, Martin Sherman, Israel Organizations: London CNN, Hamas, American, ISIS, Iran’s, British, Islam, Israel Defense Forces, UN, Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Brigade, US, US National Security Council, Palestinian, Getty, Israel’s, Royal United Services Institute, Israel Institute for Strategic Studies Locations: Gaza, Tehran, Israel, Hamas, Mosul, Iraqi, Lebanese, Lebanon, Beit Hanoun, Washington, Iraq, realpolitik, Palestine, Iran, Baghdad, Iranian, Yemen, Israeli, AFP, United States, State, Afghanistan

☆ Ex-SOCOM head warns an Israeli invasion of Gaza will be harder than even the toughest battle against ISIS
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

More than two weeks after the Hamas terror attacks, the Israeli ground invasion is yet to begin. A ground fight in Gaza would likely feature brutal urban combat, including surprise and guerilla tactics. Current and former US military leaders warn it will be harder than the toughest battle against ISIS. AdvertisementAdvertisementCurrent and former US military leaders are warning that an Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, should the military go forward with it, will be more difficult than even the toughest battle against the Islamic State. There, in Gaza, Israeli soldiers could face a prolonged urban combat, brutal fighting which may feature heavy civilian casualties, booby traps, surprise attacks, and guerilla tactics.

Persons: —, Joseph Votel, Israel, Mostafa Alkharouf, Votel, ABC's Jonathan Karl, Lloyd Austin, we've, Austin, Hatem Ali Gaza, Biden, John Kirby Organizations: ISIS, Service, Islamic, Israel Defense Forces, IDF, Army, Operations Command, Associated Press, Getty, US Central Command, US, AP, National Security Locations: Gaza, Islamic State, Syrian, Raqqa, Iraqi, Mosul, Israel, Sderot, Anadolu, Austin, Rafah, Iran

☆ Opinion: Israel ground attack on Gaza would be a long, deadly ordeal, say urban warfare experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Peter Bergen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

That’s the way two leading experts on urban warfare described the prospect of a ground attack by Israel on Hamas’ base in the streets and tunnels of Gaza. It’s in a body of knowledge on how to do this big of an urban operation as fast and effectively as possible. Israel continues to deploy soldiers and armored vehicles along the Gaza border in Zikim kibbutz of Ashkelon, Israel on October 14. In the concrete jungle of urban warfare, most of your weapons may not even penetrate the building the enemy is in. BERGEN: Doesn’t this have some implications for the “mass” involved when you launch a military operation in Gaza?

Persons: Peter Bergen, ”, Liam Collins, John Spencer, ” Collins, Spencer, ” PETER BERGEN, JOHN SPENCER, LIAM COLLINS, SPENCER, Mostafa Alkharouf, You’re, Liam Collins SPENCER, COLLINS, It’s, Nir Oz, David Kilcullen, you’ve, BERGEN, There’s, Yoav Gallant, Ronen Zvulun, We’re, Let’s, Liam, John Spencer BERGEN, Ukraine that’s Organizations: New, Arizona State University, Apple, Spotify, CNN, Hamas ’, Warfare, Madison Policy, New America, US Army Special Forces, Modern, US Military Academy, West, Israel Defense Forces, Hamas, Getty, IDF, Israel's, ISIS, Twitter, Facebook Locations: New America, Israel, Gaza, US, Madison, Afghanistan, Iraq, United States, Jerusalem, BERGEN, Gaza . Israel, Zikim, Ashkelon, Anadolu, COLLINS, Palestinian, Hamas, Israel's, Mosul, That’s, Ukraine, Russia, Let’s, Berlin, SPENCER

According to the United Nations, there are now some 5.9 million Palestinian refugees worldwide, most of them descendants of that 1948 generation of exiles. The struggle of the Palestinians is felt especially keenly in Jordan, where more than half of the population is either Palestinian or of Palestinian descent – including more than two million Palestinian refugees. But that passion for the Palestinian cause resonates across the Arab world that is home to more than 450 million people. Young people from across the Arab world have chanted the very same rallying cries their parents and grandparents chanted before them. Leon Neal/Getty Images“For much of the Arab world, the question of Palestine represents the last colonized Arab people trying to gain their freedom,” said H.A.

Persons: Hussein, Abdel, Munim Dababsheh, Israel, Hatem Moussa, Gazans, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Abdel Fattah el, Sisi, ”, Dababsheh, won’t, “, Mustafa Hamarneh, ” Hamarneh, CNN’s Clarissa Ward, Rahma Zein, Leon Neal, Ahmed El, Saied, Alya, Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben Gvir, Meir Kahane, Ben Gvir’s, Ayala Nimrodi, Benjamin Netanyahu, ” Hellyer, Hanya, ” CNN’s Claudia Otto, Aqeel Najim Organizations: Jordan CNN —, United Nations, Camp, West Bank, Israel, European Union, Israel Defense Forces, Press, UNRWA, Tel Aviv University, Sunday, Getty, Carnegie Endowment, International Peace, Royal United Services Institute, Hamas, Finance, National, CNN Locations: Amman, Jordan, Jabal Al, Jordanian, Palestine, America, ”, Israel, Gaza, Egypt, Deir al, Palestinian, reoccupying Gaza, Rafah, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, Iraq, Yemen, Kuwait, Iran, Young, Tel Aviv, London, Baghdad, Huwara

☆ Even Before the Israel-Hamas War, Being Palestinian Was Controversial - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Hala Alyan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +9 min

I’d had the privilege of a youth — adolescence and young adulthood — in countries where being Palestinian was fairly common. The task of the Palestinian, we’ve seen in the past two weeks, is to audition for empathy and compassion. In the past couple of weeks, I’ve watched Palestinian activists, lawyers, professors get baited and interrupted on air, if not silenced altogether. What is the word of a Palestinian against a machinery that investigates itself, that absolves itself of accused crimes? Diasporically or not, being Palestinian is the quintessential disrupter: It messes with a curated, modified tape.

Persons: I’ve, I’d, hadn’t, we’ve, they’ve, dehumanized, You’ve, I’d humanized, Al Jazeera, “ It’s, it’s, infographics, I’m Organizations: NBC Locations: United States, Kuwait, Palestine, Manhattan, Gaza, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, I’m, Palestinian

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