This is The Prophecy. The Prophecy is much more than seeing into the future. For The Prophecy sees without the limits of time. For The Prophecy sees what is, what was, and what always shall be.
Tuesday, 14 May 2024 8:54 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 14 May 2024 8:54 AM ]
Israeli warplanes have conducted fresh aerial assaults on the Gaza Strip, killing dozens of civilians, including children, in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Citing medical sources, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported on Tuesday that 14 people lost their lives in overnight Israeli bombing of a three-story house owned by the Karaja family, south of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
The report added that children were among those killed in the strike that also injured several more.
Meanwhile, dozens of Palestinians were killed in Israeli air raids on the Jabalia refugee camp and the city of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.
Jabalia residents said Israeli tanks were advancing towards the camp.
Civilians are “running in the streets,” a Jabalia resident told Al Jazeera, adding, “We’ve been displaced from one place to the next … we don’t know where to go.”
UN condemns killing of staff member in Israel’s Rafah attack
In an X post, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned all attacks on UN personnel.
“More than 190 UN staff have been killed in Gaza. Humanitarian workers must be protected,” he said.
A staff member of the United Nations Department of Safety and Security was killed and another injured in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah on Monday after an Israeli strike hit their vehicle which was displaying the UN flag and insignia.
Guterres’ deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said the UN chief had called for a full investigation into the killing.
Israel waged a genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out a historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
The Tel Aviv regime has so far killed at least 35,091 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 78,827 others.
Israeli forces are advancing on the southern city of Rafah, aiming to destroy what Israeli officials have called the last significant Hamas stronghold in Gaza, at the same time that Israel and the militant group are again clashing in areas in the north. The Gaza Health Ministry said Monday that the health system in the strip will collapse within “a few hours” due to a lack of fuel needed to power generators and ambulances, after similar warnings from aid agencies last week.
Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardments of the Gaza Strip in front of the morgue of the Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) (Associated Press)
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The exodus of Palestinians from Gaza’s last refuge accelerated Sunday as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the southern city of Rafah. Israel also pounded the territory’s devastated north, where some Hamas militants have regrouped in areas the military said it had cleared months ago.
Rafah is considered Hamas’ last stronghold. Some 300,000 of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there have fled the city following evacuation orders from Israel, which says it must invade to dismantle Hamas and return scores of hostages taken from Israel in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.
Neighboring Egypt issued its strongest objection yet to the Rafah offensive, saying it intends to formally join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice alleging Israel is committing genocide in Gaza — an accusation Israel rejects. The foreign ministry statement cited “the worsening severity and scope of the Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians.”
United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement that he cannot see how a full-scale invasion of Rafah can be reconciled with international humanitarian law.
Gaza has been left without a functioning government, leading to a breakdown in public order and allowing Hamas’ armed wing to reconstitute itself even in the hardest-hit areas. On Sunday, Hamas touted attacks against Israeli soldiers in Rafah and near Gaza City.
Israel has yet to offer a detailed plan for postwar governance in Gaza, saying only that it will maintain open-ended security control over the enclave of about 2.3 million Palestinians.
Internationally mediated talks over a cease-fire and hostage release appeared to be at a standstill.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Memorial Day speech vowed to continue fighting until victory in memory of those killed in the war. But in Tel Aviv, hundreds of protesters stood outside military headquarters and raised candles during a minute-long siren marking the day’s start, demanding an immediate cease-fire deal to return the hostages.
Netanyahu has rejected postwar plans proposed by the United States for the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to govern Gaza with support from Arab and Muslim countries. Those plans depend on progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state, which Israel’s government opposes.
The Oct. 7 attack killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 250 hostage. Militants still hold about 100 captives and the remains of more than 30.
Israel’s offensive has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. Israel says it has killed over 13,000 militants, without providing evidence.HEAVY BOMBARDMENT IN THE NORTH
Palestinians reported heavy Israeli bombardment overnight in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp and other areas in northern Gaza, which has been largely isolated by Israeli forces for months. U.N. officials say there is a “full-blown famine” there.
Residents said Israeli warplanes and artillery also struck the Zeitoun area east of Gaza City, where troops have battled militants for over a week. They have called on tens of thousands of people to relocate to nearby areas.
“It was a very difficult night,” said Abdel-Kareem Radwan, a 48-year-old from Jabaliya. He said they could hear intense and constant bombing since midday Saturday. “This is madness.”
First responders with the Palestinian Civil Defense said they were unable to respond to multiple calls for help from both areas, as well as from Rafah.
In central Gaza, staff at the Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah said an Israeli strike killed four people.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the top Israeli military spokesman, said forces were also operating in the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, which were heavily bombed in the war’s opening days.
Hamas’ military wing said it shelled Israeli special forces east of Jabaliya and fired mortar shells at troops and vehicles entering the Rafah border crossing area.
“Hamas’ regime cannot be toppled without preparing an alternative to that regime,” columnist Ben Caspit wrote in Israel’s Maariv daily, channeling the growing frustration felt by many Israelis more than seven months into the war. “The only people who can govern Gaza after the war are Gazans, with a lot of support and help from the outside.”CIVILIANS FLEE IN THE SOUTH
Rafah had been sheltering 1.3 million Palestinians, most of whom had fled fighting elsewhere. But Israel has now evacuated the eastern third of the city.
The U.N. has warned that a planned full-scale invasion would further cripple humanitarian operations and cause a surge in civilian deaths. The main aid entry points near Rafah are already affected. Israeli troops have captured the Gaza sideof the Rafah crossing, forcing it to shut down.
A senior Egyptian official told The Associated Press that Cairo has lodged protests with Israel, the United States and European governments, saying the offensive has put its decades-old peace treaty with Israel — a cornerstone of regional stability — at high risk. The official was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Israel rejects those allegations, saying it tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames Hamas for the high toll because the militants fight in dense, residential areas.
In the West Bank, where deadly violence has increased since the war began, the Palestinian Health Ministry said a man was shot dead by Israeli forces in Balata refugee camp in Nablus. The army said its forces responded with live fire after being shot at by militants in the camp.
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Krauss reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writer Jack Jeffery in Jerusalem contributed.
An Israeli tank moves near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)Read More
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Family of Israeli solider Sergeant Yosef Dassa mourn in grief during his funeral in Kiryat Ata, Israel, Sunday, May 12, 2024. Dassa ,19, was killed during Israel’s ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)Read More
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Demonstrators chant slogans during a protest outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, Sunday, May 12, 2024, to show solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing war in Gaza. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)Read More
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Israeli tanks move near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Sunday, May 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)Read More
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Family of Israeli solider Sergeant Yosef Dassa mourn in grief over his casket during his funeral in Kiryat Ata, Israel, Sunday, May 12, 2024. Dassa ,19, was killed during Israel’s ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)Read More
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Israeli soldiers carry the casket of Sergeant Yosef Dassa during his funeral in Kiryat Ata, Israel, Sunday, May 12, 2024. Dassa ,19, was killed during Israel’s ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)Read More
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Family of Israeli solider Sergeant Yosef Dassa mourn in grief during his funeral in Kiryat Ata, Israel, Sunday, May 12, 2024. Dassa ,19, was killed during Israel’s ground operation in the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army has been battling Palestinian militants in the war ignited by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack into Israel. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Rafah is considered the last refuge in Gaza for more than a million civilians as well as Hamas’ last stronghold. Some 300,000 people have fled the city following evacuation orders from Israel, which says it must invade to dismantle Hamas and return scores of hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack against Israel that sparked the war.
“A full-scale offensive on Rafah cannot take place,” United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement, adding he cannot see how it can be reconciled with international humanitarian law.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated opposition to a major military assault on Rafah, and told CBS that Israel would “be left holding the bag on an enduring insurgency” without an exit from Gaza and postwar governance plan.
Internationally mediated talks over a cease-fire and hostage release appeared to be at a standstill.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Memorial Day speech vowed to continue fighting until victory in memory of those killed in the war.
Netanyahu has rejected postwar plans proposed by the United States for the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, to govern Gaza with support from Arab and Muslim countries. Those plans depend on progress toward the creation of a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu’s government opposes.
Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli bombardments of the Gaza Strip in front of the morgue of the Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)Palestinian medics treat a wounded man in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at Al Aqsa hospital in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, on Saturday, May 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Saher Alghorra)
The Oct. 7 attack killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took another 250 hostage. Militants still hold about 100 captives and the remains of more than 30.
Israel’s air, land and sea offensive has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. Israel says it has killed over 13,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Residents said Israeli warplanes and artillery struck across the camp and the Zeitoun area east of Gaza City, where troops have battled militants for over a week. They have called on tens of thousands of people to relocate to nearby areas.
“It was a very difficult night,” said Abdel-Kareem Radwan, a 48-year-old from Jabaliya. He said they could hear intense and constant bombing since midday Saturday. “This is madness.”
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip arrive at a makeshift tent camp west of Rafah, Gaza, Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
First responders with the Palestinian Civil Defense said they were unable to respond to multiple calls for help from both areas, as well as from Rafah.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the top Israeli military spokesman, said forces were also operating in the northern towns of Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, which were heavily bombed in the war’s opening days.
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, the main provider of aid in Gaza, said 300,000 people have fled Rafah since the operation began there. Most are heading to the heavily damaged nearby city of Khan Younis or Mawasi, a coastal tent camp where some 450,000 people are already living in squalid conditions.
Israel has now evacuated the eastern third of Rafah, which had been sheltering some 1.3 million Palestinians, most of whom had fled fighting elsewhere. The U.N. has warned that a planned full-scale invasion would further cripple humanitarian operations and cause a surge in civilian deaths.
The main aid entry points near Rafah are already affected. Israeli troops have captured the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, forcing it to shut down. Egypt has refused to coordinate with Israel on the delivery of aid though the crossing because of “the unacceptable Israeli escalation,” the state-owned Al Qahera News channel reported.
A senior Egyptian official told The Associated Press that Cairo has lodged protests with Israel, the United States and European governments, saying the offensive has put its decades-old peace treaty with Israel — a cornerstone of regional stability — at high risk. The official was not authorized to brief media and spoke on condition of anonymity.
U.S. President Joe Biden has said he won’t provide offensive weapons to Israel for Rafah, and his administration says there is “reasonable” evidence that Israel had breached international law protecting civilians.
Israel rejects those allegations, saying it tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames Hamas for the high toll because the militants fight in dense, residential areas.
In the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where deadly violence has increased since the war began, the Palestinian Health Ministry said a man was shot dead by Israeli forces in Balata refugee camp in Nablus. The army said its forces responded with live fire after being shot at by militants in the camp.
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands more people to leave as it prepared to expand its military operation deeper into what is considered Gaza’s last refuge, in defiance of growing pressure from close ally the United States and others.
As pro-Palestinian protests continued against the war, Israel’s military also said it was moving into an area of devastated northern Gaza where it asserted that the Hamas militant group has regrouped after seven months of fighting.
Rafah borders Egypt near the main aid entry points, which already are affected. Israeli troops have captured the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, forcing it to shut down. Egypt has refused to coordinate with Israel on the delivery of aid though the crossing because of “the unacceptable Israeli escalation,” the state-owned Al Qahera News television channel reported, citing an unnamed official.
U.S. President Joe Biden has said he won’t provide offensive weapons to Israel for Rafah. On Friday, his administration said there was “reasonable” evidence that Israel had breached international lawprotecting civilians — Washington’s strongest statement yet on the matter.
In response, Ophir Falk, foreign policy adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told The Associated Press that Israel acts in compliance with the laws of armed conflict and the army takes extensive measures to avert civilian casualties, including alerting people to military operations via phone calls and text messages.
More than 1.4 million Palestinians — half of Gaza’s population — have been sheltering in Rafah, most after fleeing Israel’s offensives elsewhere. The latest evacuations are forcing some to return north, where areas are devastated from previous attacks. Aid agencies estimate that 110,000 had left before Saturday’s order that adds 40,000.
“Do we wait until we all die on top of each other? So we’ve decided to leave,” Rafah resident Hanan al-Satari said as people rushed to load mattresses, water tanks and other belongings onto vehicles.
“The Israeli army does not have a safe area in Gaza. They target everything,” said Abu Yusuf al-Deiri, displaced earlier from Gaza City.
Many people have been displaced multiple times. There are few places left to go. Some Palestinians are being sent to what Israel has called humanitarian safe zones along the Muwasi coastal strip, which is already packed with about 450,000 people in squalid conditions.
Georgios Petropoulos, with the U.N. humanitarian agency in Rafah, said that aid workers had no supplies to help people set up in new locations.
“We simply have no tents, we have no blankets, no bedding,” he said.
The World Food Program had said it would run out of food to distribute in southern Gaza by Saturday, Petropoulos said — a further challenge as parts of Gaza face what the WFP chief has called “full-blown famine.” Aid groups have said that fuel will be depleted soon, forcing hospitals to shut down critical operations.
Heavy fighting was also underway in northern Gaza, where Hagari said that the air force was carrying out airstrikes. Palestinians in Jabaliya, Beit Lahiya and surrounding areas were told to leave for shelters in the west of Gaza City, warned that Israel would strike with “great force.”
Northern Gaza was the first target of Israel’s ground offensive launched after Hamas and other militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking another 250 hostage. They still hold about 100 captives and the remains of more than 30. Hamas on Saturday said that hostage Nadav Popplewell had died after being wounded in an Israeli airstrike a month ago, but provided no evidence.
Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives have killed more than 34,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants in its figures. Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties, accusing it of embedding in densely populated residential areas.
Civil authorities in Gaza gave more details of mass graves that the Health Ministry announced earlier at Shifa hospital, the largest in northern Gaza and the target of an earlier Israeli offensive. Authorities said most of the 80 bodies were patients who died from lack of care. The Israeli army said “any attempt to blame Israel for burying civilians in mass graves is categorically false.”
At least 19 people, including eight women and eight children, were killed overnight in central Gaza in strikes that hit Zawaida, Maghazi and Deir al-Balah, according to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and an AP journalist who counted the bodies.
“Children, what is the fault of the children who died?” one relative said. A woman stroked the face of one of the children lying on the ground.
Another round of cease-fire talks in Cairo ended earlier this week without a breakthrough, after Israel rejected a deal that Hamas said it accepted.
Tens of thousands of people attended the latest anti-government protest in Israel on Saturday evening amid growing pressure on Netanyahu to make a deal.
“I think the (Rafah) operation is not meant for the hostages and not meant for killing the Hamas, it’s meant for just for one thing, save the government,” protester Kobi Itzhaki said.
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Sam Mednick reported from Tel Aviv and Samy Magdy from Cairo. Jack Jeffery contributed to this story from Jerusalem.
FILE – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23, 2022, at the U.N. headquarters. The U.N. General Assembly is expected to vote Friday, May 10, 2024, on a resolution that would grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and… (Associated Press)
UN assembly approves resolution granting Palestine new rights and reviving its UN membership bid | Newser
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin on Friday to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and called on the Security Council to reconsider Palestine’s request to become the 194th member of the United Nations.
The world body approved the Arab and Palestinian-sponsored resolution by a vote of 143-9 with 25 abstentions. The United States voted against it, along with Israel, Argentina, Czechia, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Papua New Guinea.
The vote reflected the wide global support for full membership of Palestine in the United Nations, with many countries expressing outrage at the escalating death toll in Gaza and fears of a major Israeli offensive in Rafah, a southern city where about 1.3 million Palestinians have sought refuge.
It also demonstrated growing support for the Palestinians. A General Assembly resolution on Oct. 27 calling for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza was approved 120-14 with 45 abstentions. That was just weeks after Israel launched its military offensive in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people.
While Friday’s resolution gives Palestine some new rights and privileges, it reaffirms that it remains a non-member observer state without full U.N. membership and the right to vote in the General Assembly or at any of its conferences. And the United States has made clear that it will block Palestinian membership and statehood until direct negotiations with Israel resolve key issues, including security, boundaries and the future of Jerusalem, and lead to a two-state solution.
U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood said Friday that for the U.S. to support Palestinian statehood, direct negotiations must guarantee Israel’s security and future as a democratic Jewish state and that Palestinians can live in peace in a state of their own.
Under the U.N. Charter, prospective members of the United Nations must be “peace-loving” and the Security Council must recommend their admission to the General Assembly for final approval. Palestine became a U.N. non-member observer state in 2012.
The United States considers Friday’s resolution an attempt to get around the Charter’s provisions, Wood reiterated Thursday.
Unlike resolutions in the Security Council, there are no vetoes in the 193-member General Assembly. Friday’s resolution required a two-thirds majority of members voting and got significantly more than the 118 vote minimum.
U.S. allies supported the resolution, including France, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Australia, Estonia and Norway. But European countries were very divided.
The resolution “determines” that a state of Palestine is qualified for membership — dropping the original language that in the General Assembly’s judgment it is “a peace-loving state.” It therefore recommends that the Security Council reconsider its request “favorably.”
The renewed push for full Palestinian membership in the U.N. comes as the war in Gaza has put the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict at center stage. At numerous council and assembly meetings, the humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinians in Gaza and the killing of more than 34,000 people in the territory, according to Gaza health officials, have generated outrage from many countries.
Before the vote, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, told the assembly in an emotional speech that “No words can capture what such loss and trauma signifies for Palestinians, their families, communities and for our nation as a whole.”
He said Palestinians in Gaza “have been pushed to the very edge of the strip, to the very brink of life” with Israel besieging Rafah.
Mansour accused Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of preparing “to kill thousands to ensure his political survival” and aiming to destroy the Palestinian people.
He welcomed the resolution’s strong support and told AP that 144 countries have now recognized the state of Palestine, including four countries since Oct. 7, all from the Caribbean.
Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan vehemently opposed the resolution, accusing U.N. member nations of not mentioning Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and seeking “to reward modern-day Nazis with rights and privileges.”
He said if an election were held today, Hamas would win, and warned U.N. members that they were “about to grant privileges and rights to the future terror state of Hamas.” He held up a photo of Yehya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Hamas attack on Israel, saying a terrorist “whose stated goal is Jewish genocide” would be a future Palestinian leader.
Erdan also accused the assembly of trampling on the U.N. Charter, putting two pages that said “U.N. Charter” in a small shredder he held up. .
The original draft of the resolution was changed significantly to address concerns not only by the U.S. but also by Russia and China, three Western diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations were private.
The first draft would have conferred on Palestine “the rights and privileges necessary to ensure its full and effective participation” in the assembly’s sessions and U.N. conferences “on equal footing with member states.” It also made no reference to whether Palestine could vote in the General Assembly.
According to the diplomats, Russia and China, which are strong supporters of Palestine’s U.N. membership, were concerned that granting the rights and privileges listed in an annex could set a precedent for other would-be U.N. members — with Russia concerned about Kosovo and China about Taiwan.
Under longstanding legislation by the U.S. Congress, the United States is required to cut off funding to U.N. agencies that give full membership to a Palestinian state, which could mean a cutoff in dues and voluntary contributions to the U.N. from its largest contributor.
The final draft that was voted on dropped the language that would put Palestine “on equal footing with member states.” And to address Chinese and Russian concerns, it decided “on an exceptional basis and without setting a precedent” to adopt the rights and privileges in the annex.
It also added a provision in the annex clarifying that it does not give Palestine the right to vote in the General Assembly or put forward candidates for U.N. agencies.
What the resolution does give Palestine are the rights to speak on all issues not just those related to the Palestinians and Middle East, to propose agenda items and reply in debates, and to serve on the assembly’s main committees. It also allows Palestinians to participate in U.N. and international conferences convened by the United Nations, but without the right to vote.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas first delivered the Palestinian Authority’s application for U.N. membership in 2011. It failed because the Palestinians didn’t get the required minimum support of nine of the Security Council’s 15 members.
They went to the General Assembly and succeeded by more than a two-thirds majority in having their status raised from a U.N. observer to a non-member observer state. That opened the door for the Palestinian territories to join U.N. and other international organizations, including the International Criminal Court.
In the Security Council vote on April 18, the Palestinians got much more support for full U.N. membership. The vote was 12 in favor, the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstaining, and the United States voting no and vetoing the resolution.
By Kathleen Magramo, Leinz Valez, Sophie Tanno, Rob Picheta and Elise Hammond, CNN
Updated 10:32 PM ET, Fri May 10, 2024
What we covered here
The Biden administration said Friday it is “reasonable to assess” that US weapons have been used by Israeli forces in Gaza in ways that are inconsistent with international humanitarian law – but the highly anticipated report stopped short of officially saying Israel violated the law.
East Coast Earthquake Preparedness By By BEN NUCKOLS Posted: 08/25/2011 8:43 am EDT WASHINGTON — There were cracks in the Washington Monument and broken capstones at the National Cathedral. In the District of Columbia suburbs, some people stayed in shelters because of structural concerns at their apartment buildings. A day after the East Coast’s strongest earthquake in 67 years, inspectors assessed the damage and found that most problems were minor. But the shaking raised questions about whether this part of the country, with its older architecture and inexperience with seismic activity, is prepared for a truly powerful quake. The 5.8 magnitude quake felt from Georgia north to Canada prompted swift inspections of many structures Wednesday, including bridges and nuclear plants. An accurate damage estimate could take weeks, if not longer. And many people will not be covered by insurance. In a small Virginia city near the epicenter, the entire downtown business district was closed. School was canceled for two weeks to give engineers time to check out cracks in several buildings. At the 555-foot Washington Monument, inspectors found several cracks in the pyramidion – the section at the top of the obelisk where it begins narrowing to a point. A 4-foot crack was discovered Tuesday during a visual inspection by helicopter. It cannot be seen from the ground. Late Wednesday, the National Park Service announced that structural engineers had found several additional cracks inside the top of the monument. Carol Johnson, a park service spokeswoman, could not say how many cracks were found but said three or four of them were “significant.” Two structural engineering firms that specialize in assessing earthquake damage were being brought in to conduct a more thorough inspection on Thursday. The monument, by far the tallest structure in the nation’s capital, was to remain closed indefinitely, and Johnson said the additional cracks mean repairs are likely to take longer. It has never been damaged by a natural disaster, including earthquakes in Virginia in 1897 and New York in 1944. Tourists arrived at the monument Wednesday morning only to find out they couldn’t get near it. A temporary fence was erected in a wide circle about 120 feet from the flags that surround its base. Walkways were blocked by metal barriers manned by security guards. “Is it really closed?” a man asked the clerk at the site’s bookstore. “It’s really closed,” said the clerk, Erin Nolan. Advance tickets were available for purchase, but she cautioned against buying them because it’s not clear when the monument will open. “This is pretty much all I’m going to be doing today,” Nolan said. Tuesday’s quake was centered about 40 miles northwest of Richmond, 90 miles south of Washington and 3.7 miles underground. In the nearby town of Mineral, Va., Michael Leman knew his Main Street Plumbing & Electrical Supply business would need – at best – serious and expensive repairs. At worst, it could be condemned. The facade had become detached from the rest of the building, and daylight was visible through a 4- to 6-inch gap that opened between the front wall and ceiling. “We’re definitely going to open back up,” Leman said. “I’ve got people’s jobs to look out for.” Leman said he is insured, but some property owners might not be so lucky. The Insurance Information Institute said earthquakes are not covered under standard U.S. homeowners or business insurance policies, although supplemental coverage is usually available. The institute says coverage for other damage that may result from earthquakes, such as fire and water damage from burst gas or water pipes, is provided by standard homeowners and business insurance policies in most states. Cars and other vehicles with comprehensive insurance would also be protected. The U.S. Geological Survey classified the quake as Alert Level Orange, the second-most serious category on its four-level scale. Earthquakes in that range lead to estimated losses between $100 million and $1 billion. In Culpeper, Va., about 35 miles from the epicenter, walls had buckled at the old sanctuary at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, which was constructed in 1821 and drew worshippers including Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and J.E.B. Stuart. Heavy stone ornaments atop a pillar at the gate were shaken to the ground. A chimney from the old Culpeper Baptist Church built in 1894 also tumbled down. At the Washington National Cathedral, spokesman Richard Weinberg said the building’s overall structure remains sound and damage was limited to “decorative elements.” Massive stones atop three of the four spires on the building’s central tower broke off, crashing onto the roof. At least one of the spires is teetering badly, and cracks have appeared in some flying buttresses. Repairs were expected to cost millions of dollars – an expense not covered by insurance. “Every single portion of the exterior is carved by hand, so everything broken off is a piece of art,” Weinberg said. “It’s not just the labor, but the artistry of replicating what was once there.” The building will remain closed as a precaution. Services to dedicate the memorial honoring Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were moved. Other major cities along the East Coast that felt the shaking tried to gauge the risk from another quake. A few hours after briefly evacuating New York City Hall, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city’s newer buildings could withstand a more serious earthquake. But, he added, questions remain about the older buildings that are common in a metropolis founded hundreds of years ago. “We think that the design standards of today are sufficient against any eventuality,” he said. But “there are questions always about some very old buildings. … Fortunately those tend to be low buildings, so there’s not great danger.” An earthquake similar to the one in Virginia could do billions of dollars of damage if it were centered in New York, said Barbara Nadel, an architect who specializes in securing buildings against natural disasters and terrorism. The city’s 49-page seismic code requires builders to prepare for significant shifting of the earth. High-rises must be built with certain kinds of bracing, and they must be able to safely sway at least somewhat to accommodate for wind and even shaking from the ground, Nadel said. Buildings constructed in Boston in recent decades had to follow stringent codes comparable to anything in California, said Vernon Woodworth, an architect and faculty member at the Boston Architectural College. New construction on older structures also must meet tough standards to withstand severe tremors, he said. It’s a different story with the city’s older buildings. The 18th- and 19th-century structures in Boston’s Back Bay, for instance, were often built on fill, which can liquefy in a strong quake, Woodworth said. Still, there just aren’t many strong quakes in New England. The last time the Boston area saw a quake as powerful as the one that hit Virginia on Tuesday was in 1755, off Cape Ann, to the north. A repeat of that quake would likely cause deaths, Woodworth said. Still, the quakes are so infrequent that it’s difficult to weigh the risks versus the costs of enacting tougher building standards regionally, he said. People in several of the affected states won’t have much time to reflect before confronting another potential emergency. Hurricane Irene is approaching the East Coast and could skirt the Mid-Atlantic region by the weekend and make landfall in New England after that. In North Carolina, officials were inspecting an aging bridge that is a vital evacuation route for people escaping the coastal barrier islands as the storm approaches. Speaking at an earthquake briefing Wednesday, Washington Mayor Vincent Gray inadvertently mixed up his disasters. “Everyone knows, obviously, that we had a hurricane,” he said before realizing his mistake. “Hurricane,” he repeated sheepishly as reporters and staffers burst into laughter. “I’m getting ahead of myself!” ___ Associated Press writers Sam Hananel in Washington; Alex Dominguez in Baltimore; Bob Lewis in Mineral, Va.; Samantha Gross in New York City; and Jay Lindsay in Boston contributed to this report.
Thursday, 09 May 2024 11:35 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 09 May 2024 11:35 PM ]
File photo of a warplane belonging to the Israeli air force’s “aggressor squadron”
Iraq’s Islamic Resistance has announced striking the airbase housing the Israeli air force’s “aggressor squadron,” which acts as the opposing force in wargames partaken by the occupying regime.
The resistance, which is an umbrella group of anti-terror fighters, made the announcement on Thursday after conducting the strike, which it said it had carried out “using drones.”
It specified the target as the regime’s Ovda Airbase, which lies in the southern part of the occupied territories, around 40 kilometers (24 miles) north of the port of Eilat.
The operation, the group said, came “in support of our people in Gaza, and in response to the massacres committed by the usurping entity against Palestinian civilians, including children, women, and the elderly.”
The coalition was referring to the Israeli regime’s October-present war against the Gaza Strip.
At least 34.904 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed so far during the war, which began following al-Aqsa Storm, a retaliatory operation by the coastal sliver’s resistance groups.
The Iraqi resistance vowed to continue “striking the enemy’s strongholds.”
The group has conducted numerous such strikes against the occupied territories since the beginning of the war.
Most recently, it said it had conducted a pro-Palestinian drone attack agianst a “vital” target in Eilat on Tuesday evening.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq says it has conducted a new retaliatory attack on an Israeli position in the occupied lands.
Staging its most daring attack since the onset of the Israeli military onslaught on Gaza, the coalition carried out a series of strikes, including against the regime’s spy agency of Mossad’s “Glilot” intelligence center in Tel Aviv on Friday, using advanced “al-Aqrab” cruise missiles.
Published May 9, 2024Updated May 10, 2024, 5:23 p.m. ET
Displaced Palestinian families evacuate Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, amid the threat of an Israeli ground invasion.Reuters
Palestinians heeding Israel’s warning to evacuate Rafah, southern Gaza.Mohammed Salem/Reuters
Israeli protesters blocked a road near Mitzpe Ramon, southern Israel, and scattered rocks to prevent aid trucks from entering the Gaza Strip.Tzav 9/Reuters
High-level hostage negotiations in Cairo were put on hold Thursday, according to officials briefed on the negotiations and Egyptian state media, with one official saying that anger had flared among participants over Israel’s incursion into the southern Gazan city Rafah.
The pause is a setback given that some people watching the negotiations closely had seen signs that an agreement might be in reach this week. Still, one official briefed on the talks said that negotiators did not believe Hamas or Israel were leaving the negotiations permanently and were interpreting the suspension as a temporary pause rather than a derailment.
William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director and top American negotiator, and other senior officials departed Cairo, according to multiple officials. The officials all spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss diplomatic negotiations.
Mr. Burns, who has been involved in daylong negotiating sessions, had extended his trip, moving between Egypt and Israel on Wednesday to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel in an effort to persuade Israel not to dismiss Hamas’s most recent cease-fire counterproposal and to continue negotiating over it.
While midlevel Egyptian, Qatari and American officials remain in Cairo for discussions, both Hamas and Israeli delegations left on Thursday, Hamas and Israeli officials said. A senior Egyptian official told state-owned television that mediation efforts were still underway to bridge the difference between the most recent proposals by Israel and Hamas.
American officials said they believed that the differences between Hamas and Israel still could be resolved, at least enough to begin the first phase of hostage negotiations. One proposal called for Hamas to free hostages in return for a 42-day cease-fire and the release of a much larger number of Palestinian prisoners. That would be the first of three phases of reciprocal actions from each side.
On Thursday, Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman, said that work was continuing to finalize the text of an agreement, but that it was “incredibly difficult.”
Egyptian and Hamas negotiators have been enraged by Israel’s military operations in Rafah. And the United States has argued that the military operation is threatening the hostage talks. The Biden administration announced it would withhold 3,500 bombs from Israel until it ended military operations in Rafah.
The Israeli ambassador to Washington, Michael Herzog, said on Thursday that Mr. Biden’s decision to withhold some weapons from Israel “sends the wrong message to Hamas and to our enemies in the region.” He added, “It puts us in a corner.”
Speaking in a public conversation hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, Mr. Herzog said, “It will be impossible to establish a postwar government in Gaza unless Hamas is completely vanquished. He added, “Nobody presented to me or to us a strategy of defeating Hamas without dealing with Rafah.”
On Monday, Israeli tanks and troops seized the border crossing in the Gazan city, shutting off the flow of aid from Egypt. American officials had hoped the incursion was not the start of a larger ground invasion in Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians are crammed into tent cities and temporary shelters in the city.
The United States believes that such an operation would weaken Israel’s position in cease-fire negotiations and diminish its international standing, Mr. Miller said on Thursday. The United States also believes that the operation, “in addition to all the harm it would cause to the Palestinian people, actually weakens Israel’s security,” he added.
Israeli officials have reacted with defiance, saying the invasion is necessary to dismantle Hamas as a fighting force in Rafah.
Anushka Patil and Michael Crowley contributed reporting.
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