Monday, March 04, 2024

03/04 Links Pt1: Longing for Auschwitz; The Golden Age of American Jews Is Ending; IDF accuses additional UNRWA officials of Oct. 7 massacre

From Ian:

Longing for Auschwitz
As a result of their success in invading Israel on October 7th and killing and capturing so many Jews, Hamas has incited the passions of many in the broader Arab and Muslim worlds and, alarmingly, well beyond. In doing so, it has made emphatic the Islamist reading of the Arab-Israeli conflict as essentially a Muslim-Jewish conflict. Most people in the West view the problem as basically political and territorial in nature. That is true, but only in part. As represented by Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and the Islamic Republic of Iran (the sponsor of all the others), it is also religious, and at its heart of hearts there resides an annihilationist fantasy of killing Jews and bringing an end to the Jewish state. Hamas and its allies are not looking for a two-state solution but a repeat of the Final Solution. Their brutally successful killing spree on October 7th was an extravagant rehearsal for that larger goal, a genocidal one.

Where does that leave Israel? Right now, at war with Hamas in Gaza and in a simmering battle with Hezbollah in the north that could rapidly explode into a full-scale and even more fearsome war.What is at stake, as most Israelis understand it, is nothing less than the survival of the state itself. Hamas spokesmen have said as much. On October 24th, Gazi Hamad, speaking as a representative of Hamas to a Lebanese television station, declared that the October 7th attack “is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth…until Israel is annihilated.” Iran, long sworn to finish off “the criminal Zionist entity,” has inscribed some of its newest ballistic missiles with the words “Death to Israel” in bold Hebrew letters. The Houthis in Yemen, well-armed with powerful Iranian-supplied missiles, chant “Death to America, Death to Israel, and a curse upon the Jews.” Iran itself, as recent reports indicate, continues its progress toward building nuclear weapons. As far back as 2001, Hashemi Rafsanjani, then president of Iran, boasted that “the use of even one nuclear bomb inside Israel will destroy everything.”

What is new here are not the threats against Israel but the determination to carry them out and the capability of doing so. Hamas’s successful penetration of southern Israel and the extreme violence it displayed has no precedent in Israeli history. The country was traumatized on that day and remains traumatized, making October 7th a date frozen right now on the national calendar. Most of the world has moved on, but to Israelis every day will remain October 7th until all the hostages are returned home from Gaza, Hamas is militarily disarmed, and its aim of obliterating Israel is definitively nullified. Whether Israel can succeed in achieving these goals is an open question. What is clear is that Israelis today feel seriously let down by their national and military leaders, less secure, and far more vulnerable than they did before October 7th.

Every Israeli’s worst nightmares have come true.
Although the existential circumstances of Jews living outside of Israel are much different, on the emotional and psychological levels they, too, have been shaken by recent developments. The anti-Israel passions set loose in street demonstrations and on college campuses and social media have heightened already resurgent displays of open Jew-hatred and rattled a previously assumed sense of security. Academic scholars will continue to debate whether anti-Zionism and antisemitism are similar or separate phenomena, but to most others, the links between hatred of Israel and Jew-hatred are apparent. The reasons are clear: the widespread and unapologetic branding of Israel as an apartheid, genocidal, even Nazi state—defamatory accusations that were in wide circulation well before October 7th—are rapidly becoming normalized. The same is true for both verbal and physical hostility to Jews. As these impassioned animosities coalesce and go mainstream, Jews everywhere are experiencing an unease about their place in society that is new and unnerving for many of them.

Reactions vary: for reasons of self-protection, some feel it’s best to be less visibly Jewish, set aside Jewish markers, and distance themselves from Israel. For reasons of pride and self-affirmation, others refuse to be cowed, step forward as strongly identified Jews, and publicly proclaim themselves in solidarity with Israel and other Jews. October 7th has sharpened both responses, and what lies ahead remains to be seen, but the date’s significance for how Jews see themselves and others see Jews is evident.

Also evident is the following: There will be no Jewish future worthy the name without the State of Israel. At present, something like 47% of world Jewry lives in Israel. That’s almost 1 out of every 2 Jews alive. Were Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and their allies ever to succeed in liquidating Israel, the loss would be immeasurable and irrecoverable. Most Jews still alive elsewhere would be physically imperiled, psychologically traumatized, and spiritually enervated to the point of collapse. That might have been the Jewish condition after the Holocaust, were it not for Israel’s founding only three years after the liberation of the death camps—an act of collective revival that demonstrated a level of national resilience and spiritual rebirth almost without parallel in history. But far from recognizing the Jewish people’s reestablishment of national independence and political sovereignty in its ancient homeland in positive terms, some of Israel’s neighbors have seen the existence of the Jewish state as an intolerable affront that needs to be reversed.

Hamas set out to reverse it as forcefully as possible on October 7th. Its murderous deeds on that day were meant to debase and kill Jews and rally others to collectively put an end to the Jewish state, a strategic objective that recalls some memorable words of the Hungarian Jewish writer and Holocaust survivor, Imre Kertész: “The antisemite of our age no longer loathes Jews; he wants Auschwitz.” Today’s most passionate antisemites continue to loathe Jews and, for that very reason, want Auschwitz. If Israelis were not fully aware of those hateful passions before October 7th, they surely know them now. They also know that one Holocaust is one too many and are committed to doing whatever they must to make sure there will not be a repeat. They need and deserve all the support we can give them.
The Golden Age of American Jews Is Ending
After each incident, my anxiety about the safety of my own family and synagogue would spike, but I consoled myself with the thought that once Trump disappeared from the scene, the explosion of Jew hatred would recede. America would revert to its essential self: the most comfortable homeland in the Jewish diaspora.

That reassuring thought required downplaying the anti-Semitism that had begun to appear on the left well before October 7—on college campuses, among progressive activists, even on the fringes of the Democratic Party. It required minimizing Representative Ilhan Omar’s insinuation about Jewish control of politics—“It’s all about the Benjamins baby”—as an ignorant gaffe. And it meant dismissing intense outbreaks of anti-Zionist harassment by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, which coincided with tensions in the Middle East, as a passing storm.

Part of the reason I failed to appreciate the extent of the anti-Semitism on the left is that I assumed its criticisms of the Israeli government were, at bottom, a harsher version of my own. I opposed the proliferation of settlements in the West Bank, the callousness that military occupation required, and the religious zealotry that had begun to infuse the country’s right wing, including its current ruling coalition.

Such criticisms were not those of a dissident—the majority of American Jews share them. The Palestinian leadership has a long record of abject obstructionism, historical denialism, and violent irredentism, but American Jews heap blame on recalcitrant right-wing Israeli governments, too. Polling by the Pew Research Center in 2020 found that only one in three American Jews said they felt that the Israeli government was “sincere” in its pursuit of peace. But whatever criticism American Jews leveled against Israel, the anger was born of love. Eight in 10 described Israel as either “essential” or “important” to their Jewish identity. And they still held out hope for peace. In that same poll, 63 percent of American Jews said they considered a two-state solution plausible. Jews were, in fact, more likely than the overall U.S. population to believe in the possibility of peaceful coexistence with an independent Palestine.

Among the brutal epiphanies of October 7 was this: A disconcertingly large number of Israel’s critics on the left did not share that vision of peaceful coexistence, or believe Jews had a right to a nation of their own. After Hamas’s rampage of rape, kidnapping, and murder, a history professor at Cornell named Russell Rickford said Palestinians were understandably “exhilarated by this challenge to the monopoly of violence.” He added, “I was exhilarated.” A student at the same university was arrested and charged with posting online threats about slitting the throats of Jewish males and strafing the kosher dining hall with gunfire. In Philadelphia, a mob descended on a falafel restaurant, chanting about the Israeli American co-owner’s complicity in genocide. Over the three-month period following the Hamas attacks, the Anti-Defamation League recorded 56 episodes of physical violence targeting Jews and 1,347 incidents of harassment. That 13-week span contained more anti-Semitic incidents than the entirety of 2021—at the time the worst year since the ADL had begun keeping count, in 1979.
The New Israel, and the Old
Since the end of the Second Lebanon War (2006), Israel had enjoyed a run of relative safety and stability, unlike any period in its history—perhaps including the early Zionist settlements in Palestine in the 1880s. The suicide terror that had tested the social fabric during the 1990s and especially during the Second Intifada (2000–05), when thousands of Israelis were killed or injured, largely tapered off, despite occasional flare-ups. In the West Bank and, above all, in Gaza, the terror threat seemed to be “in a box,” with violence met by the Israeli strategy of “mowing the grass”—killing a certain number of Hamas fighters and taking out infrastructure while avoiding the risks involved in trying to destroy the Hamas regime.

All through this period, the Israeli economy grew at a seemingly unstoppable rate, typically above 5 percent per year, even in bad years. When Israel turned 75 in 2023, many Israelis agreed with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s claim that the country had become an “indispensable partner” because of its rising power. The Abraham Accords, which saw Israel normalize relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan, seemed to confirm Israel’s stature and its acceptance in the Middle East. A recent geopolitical title in Hebrew, How Israel Became an Empire, expressed a popular opinion about the Jewish state’s rising fortunes. We now see such claims as laden with hubris, but they also expressed an undeniable reality: Israeli power had increased dramatically over the last generation.

It was a phenomenon as rapid as it was unexpected. During the Second Intifada, many intelligent observers wondered whether the state could weather overlapping security, demographic, and economic crises. When I came to Jerusalem for my first several-years-long stint, in 2006, a series of national traumas had battered the country. The Oslo Accords and mainstream Israel’s dream of normalcy had crashed in the Intifada, which dealt the Israeli Left a blow from which it has yet to recover. In response to the Intifada, Ariel Sharon led a costly but successful reassertion of Israeli military control over the West Bank. Sharon subsequently enacted the unilateral “disengagement” from Gaza in 2005, calling on Israeli troops to remove some of the 7,000 Jewish settlers there who had refused the order to leave. The following year, Hamas forcibly asserted itself as the government of Gaza, where it has ruled ever since.

The Second Lebanon War was a national trauma all its own. The 32-day conflict saw Israel launch a ground incursion into southern Lebanon in response to Hezbollah’s murder of three soldiers and rocket fire on northern Israel. Judged a “bloody stalemate” by foreign observers, the war was widely regarded as a failure in Israel due to high military casualties (more than 100 killed and more than 1,000 wounded), as well as Hezbollah’s further military and political entrenchment in Lebanon.

Israelis were in a surly mood after that war. War-veteran students from Hebrew University frequently excused themselves from class to join weekly protests against the government, outside the prime minister’s residence. Public anger over the war’s mismanagement melded with a sense that the state had reached a political impasse. The peace process seemed dead, despite one final attempt by Ehud Olmert to conclude a two-state solution in 2008—rebuffed by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, to no one’s surprise. Where would Israel go from here?


The Devastation of Gaza Was Inevitable: A Comparison to U.S. Operations in Iraq and Syria
When war is fought among civilians, civilians are killed. When the Allies bombed German forces in France prior to the June 1944 Normandy invasion, some 20,000 French civilians who had the misfortune of living near ports, bridges, roads, or railroad infrastructure were killed in these attacks and during the subsequent two months of ground and air operations.

In the campaign to destroy 3,000-5,000 Islamic State fighters in Mosul, Iraq, from October 2016 to July 2017, some 9,000-11,000 civilians died, at least a third of them from coalition fire. Some 65% of residential construction was damaged or destroyed.

In the campaign against 2,900-5,600 Islamic State fighters in Raqqa, Syria, from June to October 2017, the bodies of 4,100 civilians were found under the rubble. NGOs estimated that 774-1,600 civilian casualties were caused by coalition fire. Some 60-80% of buildings were rendered uninhabitable.

Hamas presented Israel with a more difficult military problem than Mosul or Raqqa. Hamas had three times the combat power that Islamic State had in either Mosul or Raqqa. This alone would produce a significantly more difficult and destructive offensive campaign. Hamas were also well equipped with assault rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns, shoulder-fired anti-tank rocket launchers, mortars, and anti-tank guided missiles.

A well-trained and well-armed infantry force becomes formidable in an urban environment, which favors tactical defense because it provides the defender with concealment and cover. Buildings provide multiple hiding places. Basements offer natural bunkers. Tall buildings provide firing positions and unobstructed fields of fire, while enabling observation of enemy movements.

It should not be a surprise, therefore, that the IDF now finds itself destroying a great many structures in Gaza. Given America's own recent military history, it does not have much ethical ground to stand on in decrying Israeli strategy. Israel is not doing anything that the U.S. and its Arab allies have not done recently. When the U.S. is provoked, it is historically quite ferocious. Collateral damage results.
Exclusive – Col. Kemp_ Arab States Want Hamas, Hezbollah ‘Destroyed’
Israel’s military operation in Gaza, led by the IDF, has been a strategic success against Hamas, significantly diminishing the terror group’s capabilities while prioritizing the minimization of civilian casualties, according to former commander of British forces in Afghanistan Col. Richard Kemp, who noted that international allies, including Arab states, tacitly support Israel’s actions, especially considering the broader context of Iran’s influence which threatens the world. In addition, he argued, Western states’ frequent accusations against Israel are merely “for the consumption of anti-Israel voters,” though doing so is both “irresponsible” and “very dangerous.”

In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News, Kemp described the IDF’s military operations in Gaza thus far as having been “remarkable.”

“I think the success of their campaign so far will be studied by military professionals for a long time to come,” he said. “They’ve achieved, I think, much more than they expected [and] with far fewer casualties than they feared on their own side.”

Gaza Challenges
The former commander, who led British forces in Afghanistan in 2003 and later joined the committee supervising the country’s intelligence services, listed three reasons why the ground offensive has taken nearly four months, which he deemed a relatively long time.

“One is that the need to deal with a tunnel system, which is unparalleled in the history of warfare, has meant that it’s slowed their operations down significantly, and it’s been probably the single major function of the ground-war,” he said. “But they’ve already had well trained units prepared and equipped to deal with fighting the tunnels. And from what I understand, they’ve been very successful at it.”

“I’ve been into one of the tunnels underneath Gaza myself and I can testify to the complexities involved in that and the professionalism of the IDF in dealing with it,” he added.

The second reason he offered is because of the caution maintained in relation to civilian casualties.

“They obviously are intent on minimizing civilian casualties in Gaza, which is very difficult when you’re fighting an enemy that wants you to maximize their own civilian casualties as part of their strategy,” he said. “So that’s been a contributor.”

The third reason he suggested is their conduct, which aims to minimize its own casualties.

“So it’s gone relatively slowly, but I think very impressively, in the circumstances,” he said, noting that IDF soldiers are “fighting on one of the most treacherous and complex battlefields any army has ever fought on.”
IDF accuses additional UNRWA officials of Oct. 7 massacre
The IDF on Monday night revealed the name of four additional UNRWA officials about whom it said it has "decisive proof" of their involvement in the October 7 massacre, to be added to the 12 previous names disclosed.

The four officials are still yet to be named.

According to the IDF, each of the four have set roles in UNRWA in health, education, and other positive roles, while wearing a dual hat with set, sometimes senior roles, in terror groups.

Part of the evidence was proving that the UNRWA officials were in Israeli territory in the South at the time of the October 7 massacre.

In addition, the IDF said that it can confirm 400 officials of UNRWA are affiliated with Palestinian terror groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Next, the IDF released two recordings of UNRWA officials discussing their roles in the October 7 massacre.

What did the recordings say?
One recording appears to be from the afternoon of October 7 after the morning massacre in which one of the UNRWA officials refers to Israeli women who were attacked and taken captive in Arabic as "property."

An IDF official said that the discussion of Israeli women as property was similar to the way that ISIS referred to women in their fanatical extremist publications.
The IDF exposes incriminating evidence of UNRWA workers involved in the October 7 massacre



Israeli FM: UNRWA anti-Israel report ‘swan song of Hamas mission to UN’
There is “no limit” to UNRWA’s chutzpah, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Monday, calling the terror-tainted aid agency’s investigation into alleged Israeli abuse of Palestinian detainees “the swan song of the Hamas mission at the United Nations.”

The swift and furious push-back against the United Nations Reliefs and Works Agency, which itself is at the center of an investigation, comes amid a diplomatic battle over the future of the organization following Israeli revelations of its direct ties to Palestinian terrorism.

“The audacity of UNRWA, with employees complicit in the October 7th massacre and thousands linked to Hamas is unacceptable,” Katz wrote in the English version of the statement on X. “UNRWA’s presence in Gaza post-Hamas is untenable. This marks the end of Hamas’s influence in the UN.”

He again urged UNRWA Commisioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, who is trying to resuscitate the agency, to resign.

A bombshell Israeli intelligence report, shared with the U.S. administration, showed that dozens of UNRWA employees actively participated in the Hamas onslaught on Oct. 7, while 10% of the agency’s 13,000 employees in Gaza are Hamas members. The revelations prompted nearly 20 countries, led by the U.S. and Germany, UNRWA’s biggest donors, to suspend contributions to the agency totaling $438 million, or more than half of this year’s expected funding.


Hamas official says group doesn’t know which hostages are alive, or where they are
A Hamas official explained to the BBC on Sunday why the terror group didn’t accede to the Israeli demand to provide the number of hostages still alive: it doesn’t know itself.

“Practically it is impossible to know who is still alive because of the Israeli bombardment and blockage. They are in different areas with different groups,” according to Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political wing, who spoke with the BBC‘s London-based “Newshour” program from Istanbul.

“We have asked for a ceasefire to collect that data… we cannot accept any preconditions.”

Qatar told Israel on Sunday that ceasefire talks will not be able to advance after Hamas failed to give Israel the number of living captives, which Israel said was a requirement to move forward with a ceasefire agreement.

There are believed to be 134 hostages remaining in Gaza, out of 253 kidnapped during the Hamas-led assault on the northwestern Negev on October 7 that killed 1,200 people and wounded thousands more. Israel has confirmed that 32 are dead.

Jerusalem is also demanding that the terror group specify the ratio of security prisoners it wants to be released for ever Israeli hostage.

Without those two demands met, Israel decided not to send a delegation to Cairo for talks on a ceasefire deal on Sunday that involved Hamas as well as American, Egyptian and Qatari mediators.


85% of strategic Hamas tunnels in Khan Yunis destroyed
The IDF announced on Monday that it has destroyed 85% of the strategic tunnels in Khan Yunis.

The announcement came shortly after a parallel update that the air force had eliminated a terrorist squad less than 30 minutes after the squad fired rockets toward Hatzerim and Be'eri on Saturday.

All of this came as the IDF on Sunday launched its first full division level attacks in Khan Yunis in multiple weeks, having achieved general control in early February, and reduced military activities there to smaller scale attacks in recent weeks.

During the large operation in recent days, somewhere between 80 to a couple hundred Hamas terrorists were arrested, around 35-40 were killed, and several thousand civilians were evacuated.

Dating back to the late January invasion of western Khan Yunis, 1,200 Hamas terrorists have been arrested in that area.
IDF, local Gazans make attempt to cooperate on aid behind Hamas's back
The IDF has begun taking steps to test the rule of local Gazan clans in the Gaza Strip after Hamas was destroyed, according to a report by London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday.

According to the report, the head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Major General Ghassan Alian, was in contact with local leaders who weren't affiliated with Hamas in order to organize the protection of the humanitarian aid convoys by local armed groups.

The report stated that most factions refused, however a large clan reportedly agreed, and another one is considering the proposal.

Sources in Hamas allegedly told Asharq Al-Awsat that the terror group has sufficient information about the communications taking place between Israel and the local clans. They claimed that they are monitoring actions made by local armed men, calling their actions violations and said that their aim is to cause chaos, sabotage and incitement.

The sources also claimed that Hamas leadership has decided to take action against the local groups and that they "will pay for their actions," according to the report.

This report comes following US airdrop of aid into Gaza, following the aid convoy disaster on Thursday in which over 100 Gazans were killed.


Seth Frantzman: Can local Gaza clans fill vacuum of Hamas after the war is over?
Over the last two months, several reports have indicated that large influential family clans could play a role in Gaza in areas where Hamas has been defeated, and where there is a power vacuum.

This is one of the story arcs to emerge from the lack of any civilian authority to control these parts of Gaza where Hamas is absent. Israel has preferred not to have the Palestinian Authority take that place. It is also unclear whether the PA would agree to work with Israel in this respect at all.

So this leaves few options. The IDF has preferred not to run Gazan civilian affairs, which means that where there are civilians, they are generally separated from the military.

In northern Gaza, there are around 300,000 Palestinians. While Hamas is defeated on the surface, it continues to retain hold among the population. Many fear the creation of an alternative to Hamas because they think Hamas will return and enact revenge.

The only powerful groups that might provide a shield against Hamas atrocities in the future are large clans because even Hamas fears angering large families that have influence and power and may have weapons as well. London-based Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Saturday that the IDF began to take steps to test the rule of local clans in the enclave.

In January, a different report claimed that Israel was looking into the idea of having clans take over administration in some areas. This dovetails with the idea of having humanitarian pockets in Gaza. However, as the stampede near the trucks last Thursday in Gaza illustrates, no such plan has materialized yet.


Israeli forces conduct one of largest Ramallah operations in overnight raid
Israeli forces operated for six hours in the Al Am'ari refugee camp in Ramallah on Sunday night, one of the largest Israeli raids in the city in years.

During the raid, Israeli forces arrested two wanted individuals, interrogated several other suspects, and confiscated incendiary material published by Hamas, according to the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.

A riot broke out during the raid, with Palestinians throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at the soldiers who responded by opening fire. A Border Police officer was lightly wounded on her leg during the riot and was evacuated to the hospital.

A 16-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire during the riot, according to Palestinian reports.
Israeli forces nab Islamic State cell near Hebron
Israeli security personnel last month arrested four Palestinians planning Islamic State-inspired terrorist attacks against troops in Judea and Samaria, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), Israel Defense Forces and Israel Police cleared for publication on Monday afternoon.

The four suspects, named by the Shin Bet as Murad Marqatan, Hasin Marqatan, Muhammad Marqatan and Ahmed Marqatan, were taken into custody in a joint operation of the three organizations in the village of Tarqumiyah near Hebron in Judea.

During the raid, Israeli forces discovered some 100 explosive devices. The four terrorists are alleged to have manufactured the bombs using online instructions and guidance that the head of the cell, Murad Marqatan, received from Islamic State operatives abroad.

The terrorist squad was also in possession of M16 assault rifles and makeshift Carlo-style submachine guns, the Shin Bet said on Monday.

The four men have been charged with “serious security offenses” at the IDF military court in Judea, added the agency.
IDF Razes Nablus Home of Hamas Terrorist Who Murdered Dee Family
The Nablus home of Moaz al-Masri, on the fourth floor of an apartment building, was blown up and reduced to a shell on Sunday night.

Al-Masri was part of a Hamas cell that opened fire at Lucy Dee, 48, and her daughters Maia and Rina Dee, aged 20 and 15, as they drove through the northern Jordan Valley on April 7, 2023.

Al-Masri and the other two members of his cell, Hassan Qatani and Ibrahim Jabr, were killed in an Israeli military raid in May.


Anti-tank missile from Lebanon kills one, wounds nine in Upper Galilee
An anti-tank missile launched from Lebanon struck a plantation in Margaliot, a moshav in the Galilee panhandle, at around 11 a.m. on Monday. One man, about 30 years of age, was killed and 9 others wounded, two of them seriously.

The wounded, all of them workers from India in their 30s, were evacuated by helicopter to various hospitals. All suffered shrapnel wounds, Magen David Adom reported.

“Two injured foreign workers were brought to us after they were hit by anti-tank fire in an agricultural area where they were working,” said MDA paramedic Eli Assoulin, who described one of them as being lightly injured and another “in serious condition, fully conscious and suffering from severe facial injuries and shrapnel throughout his body.”

The more seriously wounded man was given medical treatment before being put on a helicopter to Rabin Medical Center, formerly Beilinson, in Petach Tikvah.

Simultaneously with the attack, alarms sounded in in a number of settlements in the Upper Galilee warning of the possible infiltration of a hostile aircraft.

The attack took place only hours before U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein was expected in Beirut as part of a U.S.-led diplomatic effort to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. The Iranian proxy group has been launching attacks on Israel on a near daily basis since Hamas’s Oct. 7 massacre.

Israel has threatened a full-scale invasion to push Hezbollah north of the Litani river if a diplomatic solution is not found. So far, U.S. efforts have not been successful in calming tensions.

Fourteen northern Israeli communities have been evacuated to give the IDF freedom of movement, displacing some 80,000 Israelis from the region.


US ‘flooding market,’ as Gaza gangs ‘monetize’ humanitarian aid
The United States, which as provided $180 million in humanitarian aid to Palestinian since Oct. 7, is seeking “additional pathways” to get aid into the Strip, three senior U.S. officials said on Saturday on a background call with journalists.

Three U.S. military transport planes dropped 66 bundles, with a total of 38,000 Meals, Ready-to-Eat, along the Gazan coastline at sites “where we thought people would be able to best access the aid,” one of the senior U.S. officials said.

“We’re looking at the land routes. We’re looking at the sea route, we’re looking at the air route to really ensure that we’re exploring every opportunity to get assistance in,” the senior official said.

The challenge, a second senior U.S. official said, has been distribution once the 250 to 300 truckloads of assistance have gotten into Gaza.

“Distribution is what matters. If you cannot move assistance from storage facilities, from warehouses—Kerem Shalom, Rafah—out to the communities at need throughout center and south Gaza; if you cannot get aid into the north—and that has been a major challenge since October—you’re not meeting the critical needs to provide that minimal feeding that prevents famine,” the senior official said.

In the absence of police in Gaza, lawlessness, “which was always a problem in the background, has now moved to a very different level,” the senior U.S. official said. “This is a product of, if you will, commercialization of the assistance; criminal gangs are taking it, looting it, reselling it. They’ve monetized humanitarian assistance.”

In response to the criminal interference, Washington aims to “flood the market,” the senior official said.

“You bring in assistance from every point you can—air, sea, land—you bring it in, and you know that some of this assistance is going to be looted, is going to be self-distributed by desperate people, but you keep coming,” the senior official said.
Seth Frantzman: The UAE’s humanitarian aid operation is key to helping Gaza
The United Arab Emirates has been playing an important role in providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Along with Jordan, Egypt, and several other countries in the region, it is one of the key contributors.

Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, triggering a massive war, which has led to much internal displacement, requiring humanitarian aid; some countries are supporting field hospitals in Gaza, and just this weekend, the US began airdrops.

The UAE’s operation to support Gaza is called Gallant Knight 3. An article at Al-Ain Media in the UAE provided a glimpse into the progress of its humanitarian mission. It notes that, as of Sunday, the UAE’s operation has been ongoing for 119 days. “The number of cargo planes reached 173, and the total relief aid amounted to 16,004 tons,” the report notes. The Emirates has sent 521 trucks to Gaza, with 388 driven from Cairo to El-Arish in Egypt.

“Six water desalination plants with a production capacity of 1.2 million gallons per day were also established, according to the UAE Ministry of Defense,” the report notes. “The total number of marine cargo ships reached two, in addition to the establishment of the Emirati floating hospital in the Egyptian city of El-Arish.

The number of cases received in the UAE reached 474 cases, in addition to 7,551 cases in the Emirati Field Hospital in Gaza, and 72 cases received by the Emirati Floating Hospital in El-Arish.” Five bakeries have also been established, which can now bake 15,000 loaves of bread an hour.


The Israel Guys: BREAKING: U.S. Air Drops Thousands of Food Packets Into the Gaza Strip
The US has completed its first air drop of humanitarian supplies into Gaza following similar moves from Jordan France and others in an attempt to get more food inside of the Gaza strip while simultaneously trying to stop Israel from finishing to mop up Hamas in Gaza so that the war can actually end and people’s live can get back to normal. But no, prolonging the war by pressuring Israel to leave a quarter of Hamas terrorists alive, seems to be the preference of most “civilized” nations of the world.

Meanwhile, the world’s favorite pick for who should run Gaza the “day after the war”, the Palestinian Authority, also known as the terrorist faction of Fatah, are showing their true colors by killing two Jews in Samaria, and saying that Hilter had obvious reasons for perpetrating the Holocaust. . . You know, cause the Jews were trying to take over Germany. . .This stuff is absolutely crazy!


‘We were constantly in terror’: Israeli hostage tells of captivity in Gaza
On their arrival in Gaza, the family were driven to the courtyard of a residential block and guided to a hole in the ground that led to a tunnel. “Throughout the entire event of the kidnapping all the kids were seemingly calm. They were not pulling my shirt, they were not screaming or shouting, but that was the moment my nine-year-old boy cried for the first time,” Almog-Goldstein said.

When Agam had a panic attack on day two of their underground confinement, one Hamas guard reassured her: “Tuesday, you’re back in Israel.”

That was not to be the case. The family were eventually driven to an apartment in a multi-storey block where they would spend the next five weeks. “You could see the sea, not very far off in the distance,” Almog-Goldstein recalled.

On some days, they were allowed to spend time in a child’s toy-filled bedroom, but they would spent most nights sleeping on mattresses in the corridor. They were not physically harmed and often ate pitta and cheese with their captors until food became scarce.

They were always watched over by at least three of their six heavily armed guards. “Because some of them would go and fight and then come back, that’s what they told us,” Almog-Goldstein said.

The family tried to establish a relationship with their guards, engaging them in long conversations as part of a “survival mechanism”. Two spoke some English and another was learning Hebrew.

“They kept on telling us they’re not going to harm us and that we were very important to them,” Almog-Goldstein said. “But we were always terrified they would flip on us, that they’d get an order from someone to harm us, because clearly they were low-ranking cogs in the machine. We were constantly in angst or terror.”

The guards also discussed politics and the roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict.

“Ultimately it would always end with the guards telling us to go read history books; that we’re the ones who expelled them from their lands; we’re the ones who killed them; and we’re the ones who kept them in a pressure cooker that kept bubbling and bubbling until it erupted,” Almog-Goldstein said.

Some of the guards told the social worker they wanted to live side-by-side as neighbours, but others warned her to move away. “They told me to go to Tel Aviv but don’t return to Kfar Aza. They said: ‘We’ll return, we’ll be back.’ They asked: ‘Do you know how many we are in the organisation? On 7 October, we were 3,000. Next time we’ll be 20,000.’”
'Girls we left behind in Gaza asked us to fight for them'
Chen Goldstein-Almog and her three children, Agam, Tal and Gal, were released from Hamas captivity over three months ago. When they were abducted on October 7, husband and father Nadav, and their oldest daughter and sister Yam were killed. In an interview with Ynet, Chen shared the request she received from the women she left behind before leaving the Gaza Strip with her children. "The girls we left behind asked us to fight for them, not to forget them, to attend protests, to do everything we can for them, and that their voices will be heard. We need to do everything so that all the captives will be here."

Chen and her three children were released by Hamas terrorists 51 days after being abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. They are currently living in a hotel and still do not know what the future holds for them. "We visit the kibbutz from time to time, to take things from home or to meet people there," she said. "Our home is very charged with memories - the murder of Nadav and Yam took place in our home, in our safe room. I still don't know if we will return to live there. There are discussions with the children about returning, moving to Kibbutz Ruhama, which is in our regional council. We are trying to create some routine within our new reality."

She said that her children "are studying in a nearby school. It seems that they are very happy, their lives are quite full with friends, studies and activities. They have many social activities and, overall, their spirits seem good. The children remember what happened, and we think about the hostages that are still there. They remember things they did with those who were with us there, and they are very concerned for them."

"We went through something very complex, undoubtedly it connects and unites us as a family that has gone through this difficult experience together. It is reasonable to assume that, over time, we may see more of the effects of these events. My daughter Agam and I felt that we were part of something very big when we were in Gaza, that there may be people who wanted to exchange places with us in terms of our closeness or the conversations we sometimes had with our captors," she said.

Chen emphasized that there must be another deal to release the hostages. "This is something that needs to happen as soon as possible. The situation there is unbearable, with daily life-threatening circumstances. Each passing day is a nightmare. I don't know what the situation is like for the people we were with. They need to be released, and everything possible must be done to ensure their return to their families and homes," she said.
UN report expected to confirm evidence of sexual violence by Hamas on Oct. 7
A UN report on sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, set to be released today, is expected to present evidence proving that terrorists committed sexual crimes during their onslaught on southern Israeli communities including cases of rape, gang rape, sexual assault, and genital mutilation.

Pramila Patten, the UN’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, was in Israel last month to probe a wave of allegations of Hamas sexual violence on October 7, when thousands of terrorists burst across the border from Gaza, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping another 253, mostly civilians.

According to reports in Hebrew media, Patten’s report also confirms that female hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were subjected to sexual violence, and raises concerns that these crimes are ongoing.

It is believed that 134 hostages abducted by Hamas remain in Gaza — not all of them alive — including 20 women.
Letter signed by anti-Zionist Jews claims Israel 'weaponized' Hamas rape
A group of women, including Jewish signatories, has written and signed an open letter addressing the Israeli and US governments, calling for what they term an end to the weaponization of rape and sexual assault. The letter, published last Thursday, claims that the Israeli government has exploited sexual violence to shield the IDF’s operations in Gaza amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Among the signatories is Angela Davis, the far-left radical who is a major proponent of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.

The authors have pledged to deliver the letter to Israeli and American officials, as well as public figures who have advocated for Israeli victims of Hamas’s sexual violence.

According to the statement, the letter was initiated by American anti-Zionist Jewish women. In it, they reject criticisms directed at pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist activists who failed to condemn the systemic sexual violence perpetrated against Israeli women and children by Hamas terrorists on October 7. Failure to condemn outright

The authors say that they condemn rape and sexual violence regardless of the perpetrator, explicitly naming both Hamas and the IDF, while also calling on Israel to “cease its genocidal massacre of Palestinians.”

Furthermore, the Jewish signatories emphasized that while they embrace their Jewish identity, they condemn “the actions of the state created in our name that was birthed in massacre and mass expulsion.”

While the letter states that the signatories believe survivors, they claim that Israel’s reaction is one of “militarized violence.” The statement rails against what the authors see the discrediting of feminists, namely feminists of color, Arab feminists, and Jewish anti-Zionist feminists, who, the statement says, are critical of the war in Gaza and have been discredited as a result.


‘It’s a bit stressful’: Schools in Sderot reopen after five months of war
Schools reopened in the Gaza-adjacent city of Sderot on Sunday, five months after Hamas gunmen roamed the streets during the terror group’s murderous attack on Israel, which prompted the mass evacuation of residents.

About 100 kindergartens, schools, and other educational sites opened their doors at 8 a.m., with officials expecting most students to show up.

An Education Ministry spokesperson told The Times of Israel that between 55% and 60% of kindergarten to 12th-grade students returned.

The number of students returning to school and kindergarten in the city “was a surprise, we thought it would be lower,” said Mayor Alon Davidi, speaking at an informal press conference outside an elementary school in the city alongside Education Minister Yoav Kisch and other officials. Children in their classroom on the first day of school since the October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel, in the southern city of Sderot, March 3, 2024. (Liron Moldovan/Flash90)

Sderot was one of many locations overrun on October 7, with terrorists moving through the city on foot and in pickup trucks and slaughtering at least 50 civilians and 20 police officers.

The Hamas attack on southern Israel killed a total of 1,200 people, mostly civilians, amid horrific atrocities including widespread gang rape, mutilation, and torture. Israeli forces walk by a burned car and a collapsed building in the southern town of Sderot, October 8, 2023, following an assault by Hamas terrorists. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The Hamas attack, during which terrorists also abducted 253 people from across the area and took them to Gaza as hostages, came under a barrage of thousands of rockets fired across Israel. Border areas have borne the brunt of rocket attacks from Gaza for the past two decades and rockets continued to rain down in the weeks and months that followed the October 7 onslaught, with areas close to the Palestinian enclave, including Sderot, particularly targeted.
No longer a ghost town, Sderot welcomes returnees and a renewed sense of normalcy
Aliza Avitan had just returned to her home in Sderot on Thursday when a reporter’s knock on the front yard gate triggered anxious unease.

“Are you Jewish? Say something, keep talking,” she replied from inside her apartment to a request to interview her.

Satisfied that her interlocutor wasn’t a threat, she apologized for her caution.

“Sorry, the power is out and it’s sort of all coming back to me,” said Avitan, a 62-year-old mother of five who has lived here her whole life, save the five months since October 7.

Avitan is among the thousands of Sderot residents, many of them still traumatized by the atrocities committed in their city by dozens of Hamas terrorists on October 7, who have returned home in recent days as the government pushes ahead with plans to repopulate part of the evacuated Gaza border region.

Some 90 percent of Sderot’s approximately 27,000 residents left town in the days after the October 7 massacre, in which about 3,000 invading Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 people and abducted another 253, among other war crimes.

Related — ‘It’s a bit stressful’: Schools in Sderot reopen after five months of war

In Sderot, over 100 terrorists roamed, shooting people on the streets and in their homes. The police station was reduced to rubble by a fierce battle between security forces and gunmen holed up inside that lasted over a day. At least 70 people were killed, and in the days following the attack, rocket fire continued to rain down, with a number of homes suffering direct hits.

In the months since, the rocket fire has largely, but not completely, abated, as the Israeli army rolled out a major ground offensive in Gaza aimed at retrieving the hostages and toppling Hamas.

Signs of the ongoing warfare are everywhere in Sderot, ranging from facades scarred by fragments of projectiles to the gaping holes in multiple residential buildings – including in sheltered areas. In the center of town was the footprint of the razed police station, strewn with charred debris, which many see as an open wound in the city’s heart.

There were also signs of residents’ hurried exodus five months earlier. Around the city were dotted ceremonial sukkah huts, used over the Sukkot holiday. Normally they would have been taken down right after Simhat Torah, the day of the attack, but many had left without dismantling them, and had yet to return to the hardscrabble town.


Call Me Back PodCast: External pressures on Israel, and within – with Haviv Rettig Gur
Hosted by Dan Senor
Will there be a negotiated pause in fighting in advance of Ramadan, or will the IDF move against the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah?

At the same time, what to make of the new external and internal pressures on Israel? Externally, there is mounting pressure on Israel regarding delivery of humanitarian aid, and increasing internal pressure — specifically on Prime Minister Netanyahu — relating to how he’ll hold his Government together in the midst of a new debate about exemptions of Haredim from military service.

To help us unpack what’s going in with these intensifying external and internal political pressure points, we are joined by Haviv Rettig Gur, for our regular check in.


Urging 6-week ‘ceasefire,’ US VP Harris says Israel not doing enough to get aid to Gaza
US Vice President Kamala Harris bluntly called out Israel on Sunday for not doing enough to ease a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza and called for an extended pause in hostilities to be implemented immediately, as the Biden administration faces increasing pressure to rein in its close ally.

Harris’s call for an “immediate ceasefire” won loud cheers from the crowd even as she clarified that she was referring to a cessation of hostilities as part of a deal that would free hostages kidnapped from southern Israel by the Hamas terror group some five months ago.

“Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza there must be an immediate ceasefire,” Harris said to raucous applause. “For at least the next six weeks, which is what currently is on the table.”

“Hamas claims it wants a ceasefire. Well, there is a deal on the table. And as we have said, Hamas needs to agree to that deal,” Harris said. “Let’s get a ceasefire. Let’s reunite the hostages with their families. And let’s provide immediate relief to the people of Gaza.”

Her remarks were consistent with long-standing US policy that the best way to secure a truce is through a hostage deal, but reflected the White House’s increasing willingness to support rhetoric backing a halt to Israel’s offensive even if Jerusalem’s goal of eliminating the Hamas terror group remains unrealized.

Harris, speaking in front of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, where state troopers beat US civil rights marchers nearly six decades ago, directed the bulk of her comments at Israel in what appeared to be the sharpest rebuke yet by a senior leader in the US government over the conditions in the coastal enclave. Palestinians sell canned food in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza on March 3, 2024. (AFP)

“People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane and our common humanity compels us to act,” Harris said at an event to commemorate the 59th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” in Alabama. “Our hearts break for… all the innocent people in Gaza who are suffering from what is clearly a humanitarian catastrophe.”

Her comments underlined intense frustration within the US government about the war, which has hurt President Joe Biden with left-leaning voters as he seeks re-election this year.


The Commentary Magazine Podcast: Did Kamala Turn on Israel?
Hosted by Abe Greenwald, Christine Rosen, John Podhoretz & Matthew Continetti
Today we take up the very confusing statement by Kamala Harris yesterday that the media are treating as a change in administration policy with its seeming call for an immediate ceasefire. The problem is that while Harris surely wanted the headlines she’s getting, the policy itself was not changed by her words at all. Then again, who can tell what is going on in an administration whose head is now viewed by a significant majority of the American people as incapable of actually being president?


Daniel Greenfield: Kamala Attacks Israel During Civil Rights Commemoration
There is a timing for everything and Kamala Harris specifically picked this particular location to launch her verbal assault on Israel. The location is the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, often used by Democrats to wrap themselves in the ‘bloody sheet’ and stage attacks on Republicans.

There’s nothing coincidental about it.

Sometimes politicians have to upstage a pre-scheduled event to react to some breaking crisis, but that’s not the case here. There was no urgent story that Kamala was commenting on that required upstaging the Edmund Pettus Bridge commemoration. But much like Hamas supporters have sabotaged every event and made it about them, Kamala decided to take a black civil rights event and make it about Arab Muslim terrorists in Gaza.

In a very calculated opening, Kamala claimed that “before I begin today, I must address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”

She ranted that “the Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid… No excuses. They must open new border crossings. They must not impose any unnecessary restrictions on the delivery of aid.”

The rant was followed by some formal remarks about Israel having a right to defend itself against Hamas, and the threat of Hamas having to be eliminated, which was quickly contradicted by a call for “an immediate ceasefire — for at least the next six weeks”.

Some who have not been paying close attention may be surprised by this, but Kamala has been the highest-ranking opponent of Israel in the administration since Oct 7. She’s undoubtedly been pushing to be able to do this kind of thing for some time. “Let me loose, boss.” And as Biden increased pressure on Israel, he did.

Kamala gets to score some points with the Left. And considering her boss faces the real risk of losing the White House, potentially ending her career, she’s thinking about the future, and maneuvering to break away while blaming his defeat on failing to ‘get right’ with the Left. This will be one of those issues.


Tlaib punts question about her support for Biden’s re-election
Keeping up with her promotion of a campaign for Michigan Democratic primary voters to cast their ballots as “uncommitted” rather than punch their cards for U.S. President Joe Biden, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) dodged a reporter’s question asking whether or not she intends to support his candidacy in the 2024 presidential election.

At a Feb. 29 press conference outside the U.S. Capitol building calling for an immediate ceasefire to end Israel’s war against the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip, a journalist asked the member of the progressive “Squad” in the U.S. House of Representatives: “Will you vote for President Biden in November?”

Tlaib responded with “Thank you very much, y’all. Thank you,” before walking away from the podium.

Before brushing off the press, Tlaib urged people to focus on down-ballot candidates and domestic issues rather than the November contest.

“Everybody’s always driven by what’s on top of the ballot, and there’s so many folks on that ballot, many of which support a ceasefire. Folks that have been working on rents too damn high in Michigan, making water human right in Michigan and all of those things,” she said. “To think of that ballot as a way to speak that truth of what you believe in and not always think about that top of that ticket.”

Others in attendance at the press event included Tlaib’s far-left allies Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.), Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.). Bush said, “We, the United States, have a moral obligation to use our immense power to stop the Israeli government’s plans to invade Rafah.”
Jamaal Bowman and Rashida Tlaib Lead ‘Free Palestine’ Chant at Joint Fundraising Event
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.) held his first joint fundraising event with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D., Mich.) on Saturday, with the lawmakers filming themselves leading a "free Palestine" chant at a New York restaurant that is not in Bowman's district.

Bowman and Tlaib gathered with supporters at the Sunshine Restaurant on Long Island for a "Muslims for Reps. Jamaal Bowman & Rashida Tlaib Fundraiser," according to an online invitation. There, Bowman and a smiling Tlaib led the crowd in a "free, free Palestine" chant, which Bowman filmed and posted to his Instagram under the caption, "The movement for justice is growing!"


Fetterman directs anti-Israel protesters to others, ‘We’re not changing’
Clad in a dark hoodie and shorts and holding a miniature Israeli flag, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) emerges from his office to engage with a small group of anti-Israel protesters. The first thing he does, in video footage that circulated widely on social media, is direct activists to the offices of colleagues.

“We’re not changing, so there might be more different people that you may want to [be] protesting around,” said the senator, whose speech has been imprecise since a May 2022 stroke. “I’ve been very clear. Very clear.”

“I’m going to respect your views. I ask you to respect mine,” Fetterman says.

“I’m a Palestinian,” one woman says. Another says to the senator, “That’s an inhumane view.”

“I’m a Palestinian. Why can’t you look me in the face?” a woman asks.

“I’m a constituent,” another woman insists.

“Pro-genocide is not a view,” a man says as Fetterman walks away, closing the door to his office.

A woman calls him a coward.

Another woman, apparently in uniform, says, “I’m a military—I’m an intelligence officer.” Moments later, the woman says, “I’m an intelligence officer. I demand to speak with him.”

According to a U.S. Department of Defense directive on “Political activities by members of the armed forces,” members of the military can participate in “local nonpartisan political activity,” but they “shall not wear a uniform or use any government property or facilities while participating.”

Members of the military on active duty “engaging in permissible political activities” must “refrain from participating in any political activity while in military uniform,” the directive adds.


Marking 30 Years Since the Deadly Brooklyn Bridge attack that Killed Ari Halberstam
On the Brooklyn Bridge ramp Friday, anti-semitic slurs were shouted at the peaceful group marking 30 years since yeshiva student Ari Halberstam was killed in a hateful terror attack.
I heard “F—Israel!”
“F—the Jews!” among other upsetting words.


Amnesty UK backs senior staff member who said London suicide protest over Gaza would be a ‘supreme act’
A senior member of staff at Amnesty International UK has said the suggestion of a suicide protest over Gaza outside the Houses of Parliament would be “a supreme act that communicates a strong message”.

Peter Frankental was speaking to a reporter at a pro-Palestinian march in London after a US airman, Aaron Bushnell, set himself on fire outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington DC in protest at the conflict.

The charity’s economic affairs programme director was carrying a sign at Saturday’s event that said: “Aaron Bushnell: An act of bravery and courage that will not be forgotten.” Asked whether he would condone a similar action in Westminster, he said: “Yes, certainly, it’s a supreme act for somebody to take their life in that way for what they believe in. Very few people would be prepared to do that and it communicates a strong message.”

Bushnell, 25, was wearing military uniform and shouted “free Palestine” during the incident, which he live-streamed on the website Twitch. He was taken to hospital but died a few hours later. Earlier, he had emailed several news and anarchist websites, the BBC reported.

Concerns have been expressed about the mental health of Bushnell, who grew up in Massachusetts in a neighbourhood on Cape Cod known as the Community of Jesus and which has been accused of being a cult. In 2020, a Canadian court cited the influence of the Community of Jesus in the physical and psychological abuse of students at Grenville Christian College who told of being forced to undergo bizarre, humiliating and painful punishment at the hands of those in charge.

Amnesty issued a statement backing Frankental, saying worldwide protests over Gaza show the strength of feeling on the issue. “We support any colleague who chooses, in their own personal time, to commemorate someone who died while protesting about the terrible human rights crisis happening right now while the world is watching but failing to act,” the charity said.

In his role at Amnesty, Frankental is responsible for tackling the rights impacts of businesses, trade, investment and the regulatory environment to hold companies accountable and to ensure access to remedy for victims of corporate abuse, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has previously worked in the NHS and has done postgraduate studies at institutions including the London School of Economics.

On the war in Israel-Gaza war, sparked by Hamas’s 7 October pogrom in southern Israel, Amnesty has issued “an urgent call for an immediate ceasefire by all parties in the occupied Gaza Strip and Israel”. It has added: “The root causes – including the Israeli authorities system of apartheid against Palestinians and decades of impunity – must be fully addressed.”


Fake News: Anti-Israel Radicals Falsely Claim KFC Facebook Post ‘Mocked Displaced Palestinians’
Another day, another lie spread by anti-Israel radicals.

This time around, their target was Kentucky Fried Chicken.

You’d think the fast food restaurant wouldn’t come close to making it onto their radar, but considering McDonald’s and Starbucks have also been targeted for similar reasons, I guess it was only a matter of time before KFC, too, was on the receiving end of some undeserved attention.

It started with a message and image posted to KFC’s Facebook page last month, where they wrote “Sorry, no tents here, just finger-lickin’ good chicken, just the way you like it to spice up your weekend.”

Included were the hashtags #NoTentsJustChicken and #KFCAntigua. Below that was an image of a KFC bucket and a tent, with the “Tents” hashtag in between.

As one might guess from seeing the Community Notes that were added, the claim that KFC was “mocking displaced Palestinians” by referencing tents was not remotely true. In fact, the lie was so egregious that media fact-checkers who normally act as apologists for leftists and their many falsehoods stepped in to refute what was being claimed.

Here’s what Reuters wrote:
On Feb. 15, 2024, the Facebook page for the Antigua Public Utilities Authority posted about a tent positioned “to facilitate linesman training” that went missing.

Meredith Krones, a spokesperson for KFC Global, told Reuters in an email that the “post was shared by the KFC Antigua team with the intention of joining the trending conversation in Antigua related to a tent that was reported missing by the Antigua Public Utilities Authority. This post is in no way related to the conflict in the Middle East and was removed when we realized it was being misinterpreted.”




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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For 20 years and 40,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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