Hamas

Families of Israeli hostages threaten legal action against Netanyahu over blocked Gaza deal

Spread the love

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241226-families-of-israeli-hostages-threaten-legal-action-against-netanyahu-over-blocked-gaza-deal

Thousands of Israelis gather in front of the Israel’s Ministry of Defense building, holding banners and Israeli flags to protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for not signing the ceasefire agreement with Gaza and to demand hostage swap deal with Palestinians in Tel Aviv, Israel on November 16, 2024 [Mostafa Alkharouf – Anadolu Agency]

Families of Israeli hostages in Gaza threatened legal action on Thursday against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing him of blocking a prisoner swap deal with Palestinians, Anadolu Agency reports.

“We will petition the High Court if you persist in abandoning our loved ones in Hamas captivity,” the families said in a letter to Netanyahu cited by Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth.

The letter accused the Israeli premier of hindering efforts to reach a prisoner exchange agreement with Hamas.

“Refusing to end the war sacrifices the hostages and diminishes their chances of returning alive,” it reads.

On Wednesday, Hamas said that a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap has been delayed due to new Israeli conditions.

“The (Israeli) occupation set new issues and conditions related to withdrawal, ceasefire, prisoners, and the return of the displaced, which delayed reaching an agreement that was available,” it added in a statement.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu said that an Israeli negotiating team would return from Qatar for consultations on a potential prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

Observers, however, view Netanyahu’s announcement as part of a pattern of delays in negotiations.

Since the lone ceasefire in late November 2023, the Israeli premier has hinted at progress in talks for a prisoner swap and a potential cease-fire, only to later insist on continuing military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu told The Wall Street Journal last week that the Gaza war will continue “until Hamas is entirely eradicated,” emphasizing Israel’s rejection of Hamas’ presence near its borders.

His Defense Minister Israel Katz also said that Israel will maintain security control in Gaza and establish buffer zones along the border.

Their remarks drew fire from officials in Israel’s negotiating team for jeopardizing talks to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap deal with Hamas.

Israel is believed to hold more than 10,300 Palestinian prisoners, while approximately 100 Israeli captives are in Gaza. Hamas has said that dozens of the captives were killed in indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes.

Israel has continued a genocidal war on Gaza that has killed nearly 45,400 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack on 7 October, 2023.

Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.

READ: 3 babies freeze to death in Gaza amid Israel’s genocidal war [since increased to 4]

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Continue ReadingFamilies of Israeli hostages threaten legal action against Netanyahu over blocked Gaza deal

‘We Are Being Attacked in Plain Sight’: Israeli Forces Besiege Three Gaza Hospitals

Spread the love

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Relatives of Palestinians killed in an Israeli attack mourn after their bodies were brought to al-Awda Hospital in Gaza City, Gaza on December 23, 2024. (Photo: Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“It is unacceptable for the world to remain silent and unable to protect the healthcare system,” said Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

Israeli forces have encircled and attacked three barely functioning hospitals in northern Gaza with growing intensity over the past week, endangering the lives of patients receiving treatment inside the facilities—including premature babies—and medical workers.

Dr. Husam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, said in a video statement over the weekend that the Israeli military had surrounded the facility and that “bullets had penetrated the intensive care unit, the maternity department, and the specialized surgery department.”

“The nursery, maternity, and all departments of the hospital are being targeted by the occupation forces with all types of weapons, including sniper fire, tank shells, and quadcopters,” said Abu Safiya, who noted that the hospital was still treating more than 80 patients.

Al Jazeera reported late Monday that a video recorded by eyewitnesses “shows robots in the vicinity of the hospital leaving behind an explosive device.”

“We were told by the person who filmed that video that there were at least four other robots in the vicinity of the hospital,” the outlet added. “Another video shows everyone in one corridor of the hospital, in the middle of the building, away from the windows and balconies and the rooms that are looking over the streets where these explosive devices are planted.”

Israeli authorities have ordered the evacuation of Kamal Adwan as well as Indonesian Hospital and al-Awda Hospital, but medical personnel and patients inside the facilities fear for their lives as there’s nowhere safe to go.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health said in a Telegram post that Israel’s military has targeted Kamal Adwan in recent days with “explosives and tank fire.”

“We hold the world accountable for what is happening to us and demand that they take responsibility for our suffering,” the ministry said. “It is unacceptable for the world to remain silent and unable to protect the healthcare system. We are being attacked in plain sight, with the entire world watching, yet no one intervenes in the face of this barbarity.”

https://twitter.com/DropSiteNews/status/1871489152157462768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1871489152157462768%7Ctwgr%5Ee4a4f161b3c185cdf4bc118b91bb9de31290ae64%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.commondreams.org%2Fnews%2Fisrael-gaza-hospitals

Sorry, this content could not be embedded.

X

Since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack, Israeli forces have waged what one United Nations expert described as an “unrelenting war” on Gaza’s already-strained healthcare system, invading and destroying hospitals and other medical infrastructure while choking off necessary supplies.

An Oxfam report published Monday found that just 12 trucks were able to distribute aid in northern Gaza over the past two and a half months due to Israel’s siege and incessant military attacks. Oxfam noted that between early October and mid-December, only 11 medical evacuation and assessment missions were approved for Kamal Adwan, and “one could not reach the hospital due to military activity and the rest all faced impediments along the way.”

“The situation in Gaza is apocalyptic and people are trapped, unable to find any kind of safety,” said Sally Abi-Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East and North Africa director. “The absolute desperation of having no food or shelter for your family in the biting cold of winter. It is abhorrent that despite international law being so publicly violated by Israel and starvation being used relentlessly as a weapon of war, world leaders continue to do nothing.”

“Every day that passes without a cease-fire,” Abi-Khalil added, “is a death sentence for hundreds more civilians.”

Efforts to evacuate the three hospitals in northern Gaza have been hindered by ongoing Israeli military attacks as well as a lack of ambulances, according to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). The group said it lost contact with Kamal Adwan Hospital early Sunday “following a harrowing night of relentless shelling, gunfire, and explosive robots targeting nearby buildings.”

“PCHR stresses the urgent need for immediate action to protect patients and medical personnel and to ensure the ongoing operation of the hospital in an area where thousands of residents and IDPs face bombardment, starvation, and deprivation of healthcare and humanitarian services,” the organization said in a statement.

The group added that “Israel’s ongoing military assault and atrocities and its disregard for calls to end the genocide in Gaza are emboldened by the perpetual impunity granted by the U.S. and some Western allies, alongside these nations’ complicity in the serious violations committed against the Palestinian people through continuously arming Israel with weapons, ammunition, and political support.”

Original article by Jake Johnson republished from Common Dreams under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0)

Continue Reading‘We Are Being Attacked in Plain Sight’: Israeli Forces Besiege Three Gaza Hospitals

“Is killing over 40,000 women and children victory?” Ayatollah Khamenei asks

Spread the love

Original article by Abdul Rahman republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Imam Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, in a meeting on December 22. Photo: Khamenei.ir

The leader also emphasized that Iran does not have proxy forces in the region, but that its allies fight because of their belief in resisting oppression.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei asserted on Sunday, December 22 that no matter the temporary setbacks, the resistance will defeat the imperialist and Zionist forces in the region and that their claims of victory against the resistance are premature and hollow.

Khamenei was addressing hundreds of people during a religious ceremony in Tehran. He also refuted Western allegations that the resistance forces in the region fighting against imperialism and Zionist occupation, including Hezbollah, Hamas, Ansar Allah, and the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, were in any way “proxies” of Iran. He emphasized that the forces part of the Axis of Resistance are driven by their faith and commitment to fight against oppression. He claimed that it is “the power of faith” which has “brought the faithful and honorable men to the resistance field” in Yemen, Lebanon and in Palestine. None of these groups are “acting on our behalf” Khamenei underlined. He also added that the Islamic Republic does not have proxies anywhere and neither does it need any such mechanism to act when needed, Iranian media reported.

Talking about the capture of power in Syria by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Israel’s invasion inside the country as temporary Khamenei said he was confident that it cannot be termed as “victory” for the zionist regime as claimed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Following HTS’ control of Syrian state power on December 8, Israeli forces have advanced beyond the buffer zone in the Golan Heights, in violation of prior agreements. Netanyahu has also claimed that the victory of HTS against president Bashar al-Assad, was made possible because of the Israeli efforts. Israel has asserted its forces would remain inside Syria for as long as required.

Khamenei expressed hope that “God willing, soon in Syria,” young men will follow the examples of Yemen, Lebanon and Palestine and fight against oppression and the crimes imposed by the Zionist regime.” He reiterated his country’s resolve to “remove this regime [Zionist regime] from the region.”

“I predict that a powerful and honorable group will rise in Syria as well. A young Syrian has nothing to lose – his university is unsafe, his school is unsafe, his home is unsafe, his street is unsafe, his entire life is unsafe. What is he supposed to do?” Khamenei said.

Steadfast resistance against occupation

Khamenei called for “steadfast resistance” against the forces of occupation and dominance who are making the region unstable for their own narrow interests.

Khamenei noted that the US approach to the region is to control the regimes for its strategy to control the resources. It works against the interest of the people by either installing despotic regimes who align with its own interests or simply destabilizes a country by fomenting chaos and unrest in case it fails to install a favorable regime there. He gave the example of Syria where the US “resorted to unrest and created disorder.”

Khamenei warned against the repeated US attempts to create unrest in Iran as well. He however, expressed that all such attempts would be dealt with strongly by the Iranian state and such endeavors will never succeed.

Khamenei dismissed the claims made by Israel in terms of wars in Gaza and Lebanon. “Is killing over 40,000 women and children victory?” he asked. Even with this horrifying death toll from the last 14 months, the Zionist regime has not been able to defeat Hamas or other Palestinian resistance groups, he claimed. He reiterated that none of the original objectives proclaimed by Israel at the time of the beginning of the war in October 2023 have been achieved in Gaza or Lebanon.

“Have you destroyed Hamas or freed your captives in Gaza? Despite martyring a great leader like Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, have you managed to eliminate Hezbollah in Lebanon?” Khamenei asked.

Original article by Abdul Rahman republished from peoples dispatch under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-SA) license.

Continue Reading“Is killing over 40,000 women and children victory?” Ayatollah Khamenei asks

Netanyahu accused once again of sabotaging prisoner swap talks

Spread the love

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241223-netanyahu-accused-once-again-of-sabotaging-prisoner-swap-talks

People gather with banners and Israeli flags to protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government for not signing the ceasefire agreement with Gaza and to demand hostage swap deal in Tel Aviv, Israel on September 28, 2024. [Nir Keidar – Anadolu Agency]

Israel opposition leader and Chairman of National Unity camp, Benny Gantz, has accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “sabotaging” prisoner swap deal negotiations with Hamas, Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported.

According to the outlet, Gantz criticised Netanyahu’s address to foreign press about the deal. “We are in sensitive days – life and death are truly controlled by the tongue,” he said.

Gantz’s statements came two days after the Wall Street Journal published an interview with Netanyahu in which he said: “I will not agree to end the war [in Gaza] before eliminating Hamas.”

Gantz said: “As Netanyahu himself said just a week ago, the less we talk, the better, while the negotiators are working, Netanyahu is sabotaging the negotiations again.”

Netanyahu, Gantz explained, “does not have a mandate to thwart the return of our hostages again for political reasons. Their return is the right thing to do.”

In response, Netanyahu’s office said Gantz, can not preach “about the need to eliminate Hamas and the sacred mission of returning our captives.”

“It is no coincidence that since Gantz left the government for political reasons, the prime minister has led painful blows against Hamas, the destruction of Hezbollah, and direct operations against Iran – steps that led to the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.”

Yedioth Ahronoth quoted Einav Tsinguker, mother of the detained occupation soldier Matan Tsinguker, as saying that the soldiers’ families’ greatest fear is that the “Israeli government will leave the kidnapped behind.”

“The prime minister is being blackmailed by extremists in his government who want to build settlements on the backs of those kidnapped. We need to end the war in exchange for reaching a comprehensive deal,” she added.

Read: Israeli opposition leaders accuse Netanyahu of sabotaging hostage swap deal with Palestinians

This work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Continue ReadingNetanyahu accused once again of sabotaging prisoner swap talks

Israeli bombers pound Yemen and Gaza as Human Rights Watch accuses Tel Aviv of genocide

Spread the love

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/israeli-bombers-pound-yemen-and-gaza-human-rights-watch-accuses-tel-aviv-genocide

Firefighters work at the scene of an Israeli airstrike on the Haziz power station in southern Sanaa, Yemen, December 19, 2024

ISRAELI bombers pounded Yemen’s capital Sana’a and its port Hodeida today, killing at least nine as they sought to break the Houthi forces, which have launched attacks in solidarity with Palestine.

The bombing raids followed a Houthi missile strike against Israel. The military said it targeted infrastructure in Hodeida, another port Salif, and the Ras Isa oil terminal, then took out energy infrastructure in Sana’a.

Targeting civilian energy infrastructure is a war crime.

“After Hamas, Hezbollah and the Assad regime in Syria, the Houthis are almost the last remaining arm of Iran’s axis of evil,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared.

“Whoever raises a hand against the state of Israel, his hand will be cut off,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz added. “Whoever harms us will be harmed sevenfold.”

…

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/israeli-bombers-pound-yemen-and-gaza-human-rights-watch-accuses-tel-aviv-genocide

Continue ReadingIsraeli bombers pound Yemen and Gaza as Human Rights Watch accuses Tel Aviv of genocide