Thread 2 To think Hamas have given Israel the excuse they were looking for?

I don’t know if I am

But escalation in the region has been on my mind so anyone who focuses on reducing that risk I’ll hear

I can’t say I know it in-depth though, just R4 this morning

You’re less cynical than I am!

Yes. He did answer on that.

They are also mediating on Russia returning Ukrainians

De escalation in the region is incredibly important

Maybe not all positI’ve, or all negative. I can’t draw complete conclusions as not read up enough but on balance is it good Qatar are taking this role or not, worth a consideration in the overall picture

Something which I've not seen mentioned before today is the 278 survivors of the 7/10 Hamas attack still recovering in hospital

40 of whom are in a serious condition

Lives changed forever doesn't really cover it

@EasternStandard you may want to Google just how much of Hamas’ money comes from Qatar.

Listening to Qatar spokesperson this morning I appreciate their de escalatory approach

Not inflaming the region and general talks to both sides are a good priority

Well that's worked well in the USA's domestic arms race, hasn't it?

There's a small fire burning merrily on the West Bank with lots of fuel laid by - how will adding a bit of Kerosene now help anyone?

Guns for Peace?

I don't blame you for misunderstanding. I'd have expressed it better if I hadn't been falling asleep 😊

Do people such as the quote in this post know the full extent of barbarity and atrocities committed by Hamas when they say the terrorist organisation is not so bad

Ah OK I misunderstood you. I see what you mean he's trying even harder now to prove he is capable

Ugh... What a mess. Presumably this is what Hamas wanted to provoke.

Absolutely not!! But I can see how, having catastrophically failed to protect Israel on 7 October because he was wrapped up in his own stupid agenda, he'd want to give the illusion of arming people for their own protection.

This.

Egypt and Israel have co-operated for years over who and what passes through Egypt-Gaza border - both at the border crossing but also via the maze of illegal Hamas smuggling tunnels under the border. eg Egypt flooded many tunnels a few years ago

Tunnels go between Hamas safe houses in Rafah, Gaza and Rafah City just over the border in Egypt which is why Israel bombs homes in Rafah

One of Israels stated top priorities is to 'apprehend' the 2 'masterminds' behind the attack on Israel on 7/10 who were believed to still be in Gaza at the time. Bombing of the Rafah crossing area tunnels started on day 1 of the war ?presumably to stop their escape amongst other objectives

This killed 3 Egyptian border guards and the official crossing hasn't been meaningfully open since then - apart from the recent passage of 3 aid convoys

'500+ foreign passport holders' - mainly from US but actually there are 10s thousands non-US are not being allowed to leave Gaza - ?extra hostages ?stopping high ranking Hamas discretely leaving

Very disappointing to wake up to see that Israel is still blocking the delivery of diesel to keep Gazan hospital generators running

Maybe today there will be some further movement on the supply of humanitarian aid and the incr pressure from Israels allies particularly the US will result in more concessions

There will not only be the 130 premature babies at risk but also adults in ICU and any patients who are receiving oxygen - you really can't run a hospital without electricity

5000 pregnant Palestinian women are due to give birth in Gaza in the next 4 weeks - many will do so without any medical care or hygeine provision And planned c-sections won't take place

Dehydration impairs then stops breastfeeding and baby milk will be hard to find

So not just the 130 premature infants at risk

All adding to the pre-existing suffering of bereaved Jewish and Palestinian parents and families over the last fortnight

Im sorry but Israel controls the crossing by virtue of bombing it anytime Egypt even thinks about opening it without their approval. This has been an ongoing issue for the past two weeks.

“Following hours of talks with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahuand his war cabinet, Biden said Israel had agreed to allow the opening of the Egypt-Gaza Rafah crossing to deliveries of desperately needed food, water and medical supplies on condition that the humanitarian assistance was not diverted by Hamas for its own use.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2023/oct/18/israel-hamas-war-live-news-gaza-hospital-west-bank-update-joe-biden-visit-protests-latest-updates?page=with:block-6530aea78f0858f6e93c8d7e

The reason it took five days to get aid through was due to the bomb craters from Israel bombing the crossing making the road into Gaza impassable and also Israel refused to guarantee safety to any Egyptian road crews who might attempt to repair it without Israel’s permission to make an exception to the total siege they declared.
https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-war-biden/card/repair-work-starts-at-rafah-border-crossing-lGL9r39fEqu3l3n7vXAf

^
Israel's war crimes are far far far worse than that of a terrorist organisation.^

Well, I agree with you. Eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth and all that.

UK was never occupied by the Nazis. You have to understand the history of WW2. That's why Israel came about. Their own land.

Someone in another thread said: Abused often turn into abusers. True.

I've been in Israel and Palestine. (and worked with both). Just breaks my heart what is going on.

We were discussing aid coming in through the Rafah border
Go do a quick Google who has been hindering this process and still is limiting it

Did you even read the article? There are many other news sites reporting the same thing not just Al jazeera. Even israeli news sites

Your tit for tat posts are not doing yourself any favours. Why not contribute and address what is actually being discussed instead

From Reuters -WHERE IS THE RAFAH CROSSING AND WHO CONTROLS IT?
The crossing is at the south of the Gaza Strip, a narrow slither of land that is home to 2.3 million people and wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. It is controlled by Egypt.

From BBC News - But Cairo has kept tight restrictions on movement through the Rafah crossing for many years - to such an extent that many Palestinians have essentially accused Egypt of bolstering Israel's blockade of Gaza, which has been in place since Hamas took full power there in 2007.

@rosemaryandparsley
It’s also on MSN. Watch the video. You know, funded by USA 🇺🇸 biggest ally of Israel

This is an IDF reservist in uniform being driven around by IDF to motivate the troops. He is recorded inciting genocide.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israeli-veteran-95-tells-troops-to-erase-palestinian-kids-he-calls-animals/ar-AA1iffAh

Oh Aljazeera, fancy that !
A TV company funded by the Qatari Government.

Qatar have some interesting guests it seems....

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2023/10/israel-gaza-conflict-qatar-hamas-muslim-brotherhood/675702/

So another ignorant assumption. I see you are having trouble distinguishing between criticism of the Israeli government and policies and the ordinary innocent Israeli civilians

And according to your own reasoning you are anti palestinian?

This is the message the settlers and IDF are getting
https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2023/10/14/these-animals-can-no-longer-live-says-israels-oldest-reservist

Well, your posts tell me you're certainly anti-Israel.

Others can draw their own conclusions about where your sympathies lie.