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Gaza/Israel Update (04/02): Israeli airstrike kills foreign workers of World Central Kitchen (Chef José Andrés food aid charity)


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More than 1,000 Israelis killed in recent violence, Israeli embassy says

 

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The Israeli embassy to the US has said 1,008 Israelis have been killed since Hamas forces crossed into the country on Saturday.

 

More than 3,400 Israelis have been injured, it said.

 

 

From the Associated Press:

 

Israeli military says about 1,500 bodies of Hamas militants found in Israel as border is secured

 

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Israel’s military said about 1,500 bodies of Hamas militants were found in Israeli territory as, as it said it had largely gained control in the country’s south and “restored full control” over the border on the fourth day of fighting following an unprecedented surprise attack.

 

Spokesperson Richard Hecht said no Hamas fighters have crossed into Israel since last night, although infiltrations could still be possible. Israel has previously reported 900 soldiers and civilians killed, and Palestinian authorities have reported about 700 deaths in Gaza and the West Bank.

 

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APNEWS.COM

Humanitarian groups are scrambling to assist civilians caught in the war between Israel and Hamas and determine what aid operations are still safe to continue, efforts that are being complicated by an intensified blockade of Gaza and the ongoing fighting.

 

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Humanitarian groups are scrambling to assist civilians caught in the war between Israel and Hamas and determine what aid operations are still safe to continue — efforts that are being complicated by an intensified blockade of Gaza and ongoing fighting.

 

Two days after Hamas militants went on a rampage that took the world by surprise, Israel increased airstrikes on Gaza and blocked off food, fuel and other supplies from going into the territory, a move that raised concerns at the United Nations and among aid groups operating in the area home to 2.3 million people. Hamas, in turn, pledged to kill Israelis it abducted if the country’s military bombs civilian targets in Gaza without warning.

 

Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded on both sides, and aid groups operating in the region say there are needs both in Gaza and Israel.

 

More than 2 tons of medical supplies from the Egyptian Red Crescent have been sent to Gaza and efforts are underway to organize food and other deliveries, according to an Egyptian military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press. But the United Nations and other aid groups are pleading for more access to help Palestinians who find themselves in the middle of intense fighting.

 

Doctors Without Borders, which is still operating in Gaza, has to rely on supplies it already has inside the territory because it can’t bring any more in, said Emmanuel Massart, a deputy desk coordinator with the organization in Brussels.

 

The group — which says it only runs programs in Palestinian areas since Israel has strong emergency and health services — reported Monday that it provided treatments to more than 50 people following airstrikes at the Jabalia refugee camp located north of Gaza City. In addition to helping patients in Gaza, it said it was donating medical supplies to other clinics and hospitals, which have become overcrowded with patients and are experiencing shortages of drugs and fuel that can be used for generators.

 

If Doctors Without Borders is not able to resupply fairly quickly, Massart said, it will run out of supplies it can use to operate on patients who might be wounded. He also said since the facilities the organization uses are running on generators due to the low supply of electricity, cutting off fuel will present a “huge problem.”

 

“If there is no fuel anymore, there is no medical facilities anymore because we cannot run our medical facility without the energy,” Massart said.

 

 

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Red Cross officials working to gain access to prisoners, including Israeli hostages

 

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An official at the International Committee of the Red Cross says his organization has been in touch with both Hamas and Israeli officials about accessing prisoners, but so far have had no access to them.

 

Fabrizio Carboni, the regional director for the Near and Middle East for the ICRC, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that included the Israelis taken hostage by Hamas during their unprecedented incursion into Israel from the Gaza Strip.

 

“The level of violence is still very high but we’ve asked for access,” Carboni said from Geneva. “We ask also for the civilians who have been captured to have an opportunity to communicate with their family, to tell them that they are safe and well. We also ask that some people who have nothing to do in prison or shouldn’t be captured to be released”

 

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Further engagements with Hezbollah on the Lebanese border:

 

Israel and Hezbollah trade border fire

 

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Lebanon’s Hezbollah fired a guided missile at an Israeli tank on Tuesday afternoon, according to reports, and Israel said it responded by striking an observation post belonging to Hezbollah, in a third day of violence at the Lebanese-Israeli border.

 

The Israeli army said no injuries were reported in Tuesday’s attack by Hezbollah, three of whose fighters were killed on Monday by Israeli shelling into Lebanon. Reuters reported.

 

A salvo of rockets was also fired from Lebanon into Israel, in an attack a security source in Lebanon said was carried out by Palestinian factions, according to the news agency. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

 

Meanwhile, the Israeli army said a helicopter struck an observation post belonging to the Hezbollah. No injuries were reported, it said.

 

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WWW.WSJ.COM

The U.S. may deploy a second aircraft carrier near Israel, U.S. defense officials said, an escalation of the U.S. military effort to deter regional powers from joining the war between Hamas and Israel. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its accompanying ships were scheduled months ago to sail this we

 

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The U.S. may deploy a second aircraft carrier near Israel, U.S. defense officials said, an escalation of the U.S. military effort to deter regional powers from joining the war between Hamas and Israel.

 

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its accompanying ships were scheduled months ago to sail this week for the Middle East. They are expected to reach the Middle East in roughly two weeks, defense officials said.

 

The USS Gerald R. Ford and its accompanying ships, some of which have nuclear capabilities, are expected to arrive later on Tuesday, defense officials said. The Pentagon is considering, but hasn't formally decided, whether the Eisenhower would relieve the Ford or both groups would remain, defense officials said.

 

 

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Times of Israel US bureau chief:

 

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Israel is readying for a months-long ground campaign in Gaza, an Egyptian official tells Times of Israel, saying that this message has been passed along from Jerusalem to Cairo.

The Egyptian official tells Israel has thus far dismissed Cairo's efforts to mediate any sort of de-escalation, indicating that it wants to deal a knock-out blow to Hamas first before entertaining the idea of a ceasefire

 

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Erdogan has spoken:

 

Turkey denounces US aircraft carrier deployment: ‘What is it coming to do?’

 

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticised Israel’s blockade of Gaza, saying cutting off electricity and water is against international human rights law.

 

Erdogan also denounced US plans to send an aircraft carrier to the region suggesting the deployment could lead to “massacres”.

 

“What is the US aircraft carrier doing in Israel? What is it coming to do? It will take down Gaza by striking the surrounding areas and start committing serious massacres,” said Erdogan.

 

Besides, he's rather busy continuing to kill Kurds:

 

WWW.REUTERS.COM

Turkish aircraft and drones are striking mainly Kurdish areas of Iraq and Syria with increasing frequency, Reuters data analysis shows. Civilians are suffering.

 

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Airstrikes have surged since Turkey launched “Operation Claw-Lock” in April last year. The aim, the Turkish Defence Ministry says, is to protect Turkey’s borders and “neutralise terrorism and terrorists at source.” Earlier this month , Turkey unleashed air strikes on militant targets in northern Iraq and Syria after the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said it was behind a bomb attack near government buildings in Ankara, in which two police officers were injured.

 

Northern Iraq is the base of the PKK, which over decades has carried out many deadly attacks in Turkey and is labelled a terrorist organisation by the United States and European Union.

 

Turkish operations in Syria target the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), a militia that Ankara says is a PKK-affiliated terrorist group. The YPG is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a U.S. ally against Islamic State.

 

Turkey’s Defence Ministry said in a statement to Reuters that all of its operations fall “within the framework of international law, respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all our neighbours.”

 

“In the planning and execution of the operations, only terrorists and their positions, warehouses and shelters are targeted, and the utmost care and sensitivity is shown to prevent harm to civilians and to prevent damage to infrastructure and cultural sites.”

 

Any claims to the contrary “are unfounded, slanderous, and lies,” the statement said.

 

 

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22 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

Erdogan has spoken:

 

Turkey denounces US aircraft carrier deployment: ‘What is it coming to do?’

 

 

Besides, he's rather busy continuing to kill Kurds:

 

WWW.REUTERS.COM

Turkish aircraft and drones are striking mainly Kurdish areas of Iraq and Syria with increasing frequency, Reuters data analysis shows. Civilians are suffering.

 

 

lol Seems pretty obvious at the minimum deter any other countries from attacking.

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18 minutes ago, CitizenVectron said:

 

That's really good to hear. ❤️

This is going to be a long process of recovery for her and she’s already showing survivor guilt for her being able to get out when her friends and family can’t. None of my training has prepared me for this but I’m just glad I’ll be able to get the chance to learn how. 
 

Thank you everyone for the well wishes and thoughts, I used this place to vent and thanks for dealing with it. 

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7 minutes ago, Air_Delivery said:

lol Seems pretty obvious at the minimum deter any other countries from attacking.

 

I have a strong suspicion that Israel is going to request that the US assume a role in providing air patrols over the northern border to deter Hezbollah and Iranian assets in Lebanon/Syria while the IDF is focused on Gaza.

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Just now, Air_Delivery said:

Was she in the middle of the violence?

She hasn't talked about it yet, I do know she lost a few friends at the music festival, she cancelled her plans to go to it last week, and since she's in the acute trauma phase I am not pushing her to speak until she's ready. First time we spoke she was in a full blown panic attack,

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WWW.REUTERS.COM

Bodies of Israeli residents and Hamas militants lay in the grounds of the Kfar Aza kibbutz among burned out houses, strewn furniture and torched cars, as Israeli soldiers went from house to house to take away the dead.

 

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Bodies of Israeli residents and Hamas militants lay in the grounds of the Kfar Aza kibbutz among burned out houses, strewn furniture and torched cars, as Israeli soldiers went from house to house to take away the dead.

 

Israeli Defence Forces took the foreign press through the site, one of the hardest hit areas when Hamas militants attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday.

 

The stench of bodies was heavy in the air as reporters walked the paths of the kibbutz.

 

Seemingly corroborated reports have begun to circulate regarding the exact nature of the atrocities committed in the Kfar Aza kibbutz.  I'm going to urge those of you with children to NOT read them nor for the descriptions to be posted here.

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Gaza health ministry says death toll in has risen to 900

 

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Israeli airstrikes since Saturday have resulted in 900 deaths in Gaza, including 260 children and 230 women, with an additional 4,500 individuals wounded, the Ministry of Health in Gaza said Tuesday.

 

The airstrikes have caused the deaths of 150 members of 22 families, six health workers, and eight journalists, while 15 health workers and 20 journalists have been wounded, the ministry said.

 

Airstrikes on residential neighborhoods have displaced approximately 140,000 citizens to U.N. shelters and hospitals, the ministry said. The U.N. is reporting that at least 200,000 residents have been displaced.

 

The strikes have targeted nine health institutions, including the Ministry of Health building, the Rimal Clinic, and the International Eye Center, and bombed 15 ambulances, the ministry said.

 

The situation is further complicated by fuel shortages and electrical outages affecting generators, the ministry said.

 

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WWW.ALJAZEERA.COM

The third attack on the crossing’s Palestinian side in the last 24 hours consisted of ‘four missiles’, reports say.

 

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Gaza’s sole border crossing with Egypt, the only entry point not controlled by Israel, has been hit again by an Israeli air raid, reports say.

 

The third attack on the Rafah crossing in 24 hours consisted of “four missiles” that targeted the Palestinian side of the crossing, local Egyptian group Sinai for Human Rights said on Tuesday.

 

Witnesses had said the second attack hit the no-man’s land between the Egyptian and Palestinian gates, damaging the hall on the Palestinian side. The Israel military said it could “neither confirm or deny” any attack on the crossing “at this point”, the AFP news agency reported.

 

NGO Sinai for Human Rights said Tuesday’s attacks prompted the closure of the crossing, but there was no immediate confirmation from either side.

 

Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli military revised a recommendation by one of its spokespeople that Palestinians fleeing its air raids in Gaza head to Egypt.

 

Rafah is the sole possible crossing point into Sinai for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents. The rest of the 40km-long (25-mile-long) strip of land is surrounded by Israel and the sea. The passage of people and goods is strictly controlled under a blockade of Gaza enforced by Egypt and Israel.

 

 

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Israel shells Syria after rockets hit open land in Golan Heights

 

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The Israeli military said it shelled Syria on Tuesday after rockets hit open land in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

 

The military did not accuse any group of the rocket attack.

 

The Syrian government did not comment. However, Britain-based opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says a Palestinian faction conducted the rocket attack from Syrian territory.

 

 

Note: this is a fairly routine event - Israel shells/bombs Syria practically every week or so.

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UNRWA headquarters in Gaza has ‘significant damage’

 

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The UN agency for Palestinians says that its headquarters has sustained significant damage as a result of nearby airstrikes.

 

All UN international staff present in Gaza are taking shelter in another building within the same compound, UNRWA said in a statement on Tuesday.

 

UNRWA did not record any deaths among its staff from the incident, however two UNRWA staff members and five UNRWA students have been killed since 7 October.

 

More than 137,000 of the 187,500 people the UN estimates to be displaced within Gaza are sheltering in over 80 UNRWA schools across the Gaza Strip.

 

At least 18 UNWRA buildings, including including schools sheltering displaced civilians, have been directly or indirectly damaged, the statement said.

 

 

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WWW.NDTV.COM

The militant group's attack on Saturday caught Israel's national security apparatus completely off guard - a shocking fact given the scope of the incursion, which included attacks by sea, air and land, and pushed deep into Israeli territory.

 

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In theory, it shouldn't have been possible.

 

Facing one of the most sophisticated surveillance states on the planet, Hamas simply went dark.

 

The militant group's attack on Saturday caught Israel's national security apparatus completely off guard - a shocking fact given the scope of the incursion, which included attacks by sea, air and land, and pushed deep into Israeli territory.

 

In theory, it shouldn't have been possible. Israel's intelligence services have a reputation as some of the world's most sophisticated. And the Gaza Strip, a slice of land next to Egypt, is one of the most surveilled places on the planet. Phone lines are tapped. Satellites watch overhead. Informants keep tabs on the 2 million residents of an area just over twice the size of Washington, DC.

 

 

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While many questions remain unanswered, what's clear is that Hamas went low-tech, avoiding Israel's ability to tap its communications, and even, perhaps, exploiting the Israeli Defense Forces' confidence that its missile attacks could be repelled or prevented.

 

"My suspicion is that Hamas was able to keep such a vast operation - which included many, many trainers, lots of operational training, and bringing in a vast amount of munitions - close-hold because they went very old school," said Beth Sanner, former deputy director of national intelligence.

 

"I suspect they never talked about it electronically," Sanner said. "They broke it up into cells and did individual meetings. And each group was assigned to do different things. Very few people understood how each of the components came together as the whole plan."

 

 

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A person familiar with Israeli intelligence operations said the success of the attack likely means that the country's military intelligence, which has primary responsibility for monitoring developments in Gaza, lacked high-quality human sources inside Hamas' leadership.

 

It's also possible that the group's planning relied on encrypted technology, according to Andrew Borene, an executive director with Flashpoint and a former group chief at the US National Counterterrorism Center. "I have a feeling there is also a component of clandestine communications using devices," he said.

 

Alon Arvatz, a former member of Israel's Unit 8200, which is responsible for the military's signals intelligence, said it's clear that Hamas has been able to sidestep Israel's ability to intercept phone and email communication. That includes some of the "perception techniques" Israel has used in the past, which he said might be based on computers or phones or anything that can be intercepted.

 

 

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The group's Military Intelligence Department has devoted significant resources to observing the border with Israel, running agents in the country and listening to the Israeli Defense Forces' tactical communications. As a result, Hamas has amassed knowledge on Israeli weaponry, training and troop deployments, according to the study.

 

Hamas "had very good intelligence that the Israeli border was lightly manned, that it could be overrun, that they would able to get close enough to detonate explosives and get through the fences, wires and checkpoints - that's the key," said Kenneth Katzman, the Congressional Research Service's former top Middle East expert. All of this information would have allowed Hamas to "map out this type of assault," he said.

 

 

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WWW.REUTERS.COM

Israel calls last week's devastating attack by Hamas its 9/11 moment. The secretive mastermind behind the assault, Palestinian militant Mohammed Deif, calls it Al Aqsa Flood.

 

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The source close to Hamas said the decision to prepare the attack was taken jointly by Deif, who commands Hamas's Al Qassam Brigades, along with Yehya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, but it was clear who was the architect.

 

"There are two brains, but there is one mastermind," the source said, adding that information about the operation was known only to a handful of Hamas leaders.

 

Secrecy was such that Iran, Israel's sworn foe and an important source of finance, training and weaponry for Hamas, knew only in general terms that the movement was planning a major operation and did not know the timing or the details, according to a regional source familiar with the group's thinking.

 

The source said that while Tehran was aware a major operation was being prepared, it was not discussed in any joint operation rooms involving Hamas, the Palestinian leadership, Iranian-backed Lebanese militants Hezbollah, and Iran.

 

"It was a very tight circle," the source said.

 

 

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The plan as conceived by Deif involved a prolonged effort at deception. Israel was led to believe that Hamas, an ally of Israel's sworn foe Iran, was not interested in launching a conflict and was focusing instead on economic development in Gaza, where the movement is the governing power.

 

But while Israel began providing economic incentives to Gazan workers, the group's fighters were being trained and drilled, often in plain sight of the Israeli military, a source close to Hamas said.

 

"We have prepared for this battle for two years," said Ali Baraka, the head of external relations for Hamas.

 

 

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From NBC News:

 

First plane carrying U.S. armaments lands in Israel
 

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The first plane carrying U.S. armaments landed at Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel tonight, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

 

“The armaments are designed to facilitate significant military operations and increase preparedness for other scenarios,” the IDF said in a statement.

 

The IDF added it was “grateful” for the U.S. support.

 

“Our common enemies know that the cooperation between our militaries is stronger than ever, and is a key part in ensuring regional security and stability,” it said.

 

 

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