Israel formally declares war against Hamas as it battles to push militants off its soil

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US strikes Iran-backed groups as Israel-Hamas war rages​

What we're covering

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the first stop on his latest trip to the Middle East as the Biden administration seeks to advance an Israel-Hamas hostage deal, get more aid into Gaza and ensure the war doesn’t escalate into a wider regional conflict.
• The Us will take 'further actions action' after carrying out major strikes on tran-backed groups in Iraq and Syria, President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN. The strikes mark the "beginning" of the response to an attack thst killed US soldiers in Jordan, he said.
• US forces also carried out further strikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The Houthis, who have said their attacks on global shipping are in response to Israel's war in Gaza, vowed the latest strikes will not go unanswered.
• Meanwhile, Israel is pressing on with its bombbardment and ground operations in Gaza. And thousands of Israeli protesters demanded a change of government and the return of hostages held by Hamas.

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LIVE UPDATES

The latest on Israel-Hamas war​

Here's What We're Covering

• Hamas has replied to a proposal aimed at thetelease of the remaining hostages in Gaza and a sustained cessation in fighting, Qatar and the United States announced Tuesday.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US is reviewing Hamas' response, adding that he will discuss the proposal with Israel Wednesday as part of his current Middle East tour.
• In Gaza, aid workers have raised concerns over any expanded Israeli military operation south toward Rafah, where satelite show a makeshift tent city estimated to house more than 1 million civilians displaced by the war.
• Israel's defense minister said Hamas' leadership is "on the run" A Hamas spokesperson said the group's fighters were "still operating in all areas" of the enclave.

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What the U.S. recognizing a Palestinian state would mean​

The Biden administration is drawing up internal policy options on officially recognizing a Palestinian state after Israel's war in Gaza, a senior administration official told NBC News.

For decades the U.S. has pushed a two-state solution to the conflict in the Middle East but not formally recognized an independent Palestinian state. That may be about to change. The Biden administration is drawing up options to enact the policy after Israel's current war in Gaza, a senior administration official told NBC News, a move that could offer political, legal and symbolic power for Palestinians and add to international pressure on Israel to engage in meaningful talks for a long-term peace. Offering that recognition before any final comprehensive deal between the two parties would mark an apparent shift in Washington’s position, as it navigates an issue of extraordinary sensitivity at home and abroad. News of the internal deliberations was met with expected pushback from some on the Israeli right and their supporters internationally, as the country still reels from Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in which 1,200 people were killed and another 240 kidnapped. But the White House plans, first reported by Axios, have also been met with skepticism — and outright anger — from many Palestinians themselves.

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Middle East Crisis | Airstrikes Hit Packed City in Southern Gaza as Israel Plans Advance​

Israeli forces bombarded the southern Gaza border city of Rafah with airstrikes, killing multiple civilians, Palestinian media reported on Thursday, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said the military was preparing to advance on the area, which is crowded with people who have fled other parts of the Strip. The strikes heightened fears among the more than a million Palestinians crowded into Rafah, which lies along a closed Egyptian border, as Israel’s army has repeatedly warned that it plans to push further south in its ground invasion in Gaza in what it says is an attempt to defeat Hamas. The Biden administration said on Thursday that it would not at this point support Israeli plans for a military operation in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than half of the enclave’s total population has sought shelter, and both a White House spokesman and the U.N. secretary general warned of catastrophe should Israel attack.

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Gaza: Israel moves closer to Rafah offensive despite ‘bloodbath’ warning​

Israel has moved closer to a full-scale ground offensive against the southern Gaza city of Rafah, as Benjamin Netayahu ordered military leaders to present a plan to evacuate civilians from the area. Despite warnings from a senior aid official that an assault on Rafah – where about 1.3 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering – would lead to a “bloodbath”, and the UN urging against forced mass displacement, Israel appeared determined to push ahead. “It is impossible to achieve the war goal of eliminating Hamas and leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah,” the Israeli prime minister said in a statement, rejecting a warning from the Biden administration that it could not support an offensive against Rafah. “On the other hand, it is clear that a massive operation in Rafah requires the evacuation of the civilian population from the combat zones.” Situated on the southern border with Egypt, Rafah’s prewar population of several hundred thousand has increased massively as about half of the territory’s 2.3 million people have sought shelter in the city and surrounding areas. The disclosure by Netanyahu’s office that it had requested detailed evacuation plans, along with a military plan for fighting in the city, came a day after Joe Biden described Israel’s military response in Gaza as “over the top” and said he was seeking a “sustained pause” in fighting.

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Israel in breach of international law if it denies Gaza food and water, says Cameron​

Israel is in breach of international law as the occupying power if it fails to provide food and water to the people of Gaza, the UK foreign secretary, Lord Cameron, told peers on Tuesday in his clearest warning yet over Israel’s conduct. He also said it was simply not possible for people in Rafah to leave as proposed by the Israeli Defense Forces, remarks that suggest the UK would not endorse any Israeli plan to mount a full scale attack on the area containing more than 1 million people in crowded refugee camps. He also argued the US was beginning to shift on when Palestine might be recognised so Israel was no longer given a veto. He said: “The people who are in Rafah on many occasions have already moved three, four or five times. And it’s not possible to move again, they can’t go north because they’d be going back to homes that have been destroyed. They can’t go south, because that would involve going into Egypt, which none of us want to see and the Egyptians do not want to see.

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Israel vows action against Hamas in Rafah amid global calls for restraint​

Israel will press ahead with an offensive against Hamas in Rafah, the last refuge for displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza, after allowing civilians to vacate the area, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday. The Israeli leader, who is under growing international pressure to hold off on the planned assault, gave no indication as to when the offensive might take place or where the hundreds of thousands of people now crammed into Rafah might go. Earlier, Netanyahu's office said Hamas had presented no new offer for a hostage deal in the Cairo talks and that Israel would not accept the militant group's "ludicrous demands". "A change in Hamas' positions will make it possible to move forward in the negotiations," it said. Relatives of Israeli hostages held by Hamas said they would barricade the Israeli defence headquarters on Wednesday in protest at what they said was a scandalous decision by Israel not to send negotiators to the next session of the Cairo talks.

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Egypt clearing land, building wall near Gaza border, satellite imagery shows​

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Footage and satellite imagery obtained by The Washington Post show that Egypt is clearing off, and building a wall around, a plot of land along its border with the Gaza Strip, amid fears of an Israeli offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Israeli officials reacted negatively to a Washington Post report that the United States was rushing to formulate a plan for long-term peace between Israel and Palestine that included a timeline for the creation of a Palestinian state. Some Israeli lawmakers and officials cast the purported plan for postwar Gaza as a “gift” or “prize” to Palestinians.

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Searching for the remains of hostages, Israeli forces raid another Gaza hospital​

Since Wednesday, dramatic footage of an Israeli military operation at a hospital in the southern Gaza Strip has shown scenes of chaos, with people running through dark hallways and doctors trying to escort limping patients to safety. Among those remaining was Dr. Khaled al-Serr, a general surgeon who has frantically been trying to find ways to protect patients at Nasser Hospital. He had been in contact with a group of specialist surgeons from all over the world who have been providing expertise and assistance via the phone messaging program WhatsApp to doctors in Gaza. For the past 3 1/2 weeks, doctors at Nasser have been unable to refer patients in need of specialized care elsewhere. NPR asked the Israeli military for comment on the situation Serr described in the hospital's intensive care unit. No response had been received by the time of publication.

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US proposes UN Security Council oppose Rafah assault, back temporary Gaza ceasefire​

The United States has proposed an alternative draft United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and opposing a major Israeli ground offensive in Rafah in southern Gaza, according to the text seen by Reuters on Monday. Washington has been averse to the word ceasefire in any U.N. action on the Israel-Hamas War, but the U.S. draft text echoes language that President Joe Biden said he used last week in conversations with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The U.S. draft text "determines that under current circumstances a major ground offensive into Rafah would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement including potentially into neighboring countries."
Israel plans to storm Rafah, where more than 1 million of the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza have sought shelter, prompting international concern that such a move would sharply worsen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

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U.S. vetoes U.N. resolution on Gaza cease-fire, hostage releases​

The United States vetoed an Arab-sponsored resolution that called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and the release of all hostages in a U.N. Security Council vote Tuesday. The United States has circulated its own draft resolution seeking a six-week pause in fighting — calling it a “temporary ceasefire” — and the phased release of hostages.

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Israel Gaza: China condemns US veto of call for immediate ceasefire at UN​

China has sharply criticised the US for vetoing a United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Beijing said the move sent the "wrong message" and effectively gave a "green light to the continued slaughter". The White House said the Algerian-proposed resolution would "jeopardise" talks to end the war. The US has proposed its own temporary ceasefire resolution, which also warned Israel not to invade the city of Rafah. Algeria's resolution was backed by 13 of the 15 members of the UN Security Council - with the UK abstaining. Under the council's rules, any resolution that is vetoed by one of its five permanent members - which includes the US - is immediately thrown out.

Israel launched its operations in Gaza following an attack by Hamas on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 others taken hostage. The Israeli military campaign has left more than 29,000 people dead in Gaza, according to the Palestinian territory's Hamas-run health ministry. More than a million displaced Palestinians - about half of the Strip's population - are crammed into Rafah after being forced to seek shelter there. The southern city, which borders Egypt, was home to only 250,000 people before the war.

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Israel, Hamas 'willing to give concessions' in new cease-fire talks: Live updates​

Stalled negotiations for a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages picked up steam late Thursday when the Israeli War Cabinet agreed to send a delegation to Paris for weekend talks, Israeli media reported. White House Special Envoy Brett McGurk met Thursday in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who said the Israeli government “will expand the authority given to our hostage negotiators.” There were signs of more flexibility on both sides after Netanyahu called back his team from talks in Cairo last week, citing “delusional” demands from Hamas. “The initial indications we’re getting from Brett are these discussions are going well,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said. Negotiations will restart Friday and include Mossad spy agency chief David Barnea for Israel, CIA Director William Burns for the U.S.; Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani; and Abbas Kamel, head of Egyptian intelligence, the New York Times reported.

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Newly recruited Houthi fighters attend a protest march against the U.S.-led strikes on Yemen and the Israeli war in the Gaza on February 21, 2024[/center]

 

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Palestinian Authority says Israeli post-war Gaza plan ‘destined to fail’​

Israeli plan envisions indefinite Israeli control over Gaza, and no ‘unilateral recognition’ of Palestine.

The Palestinian Authority has sharply criticised a “day after” plan for Gaza presented by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling it “destined to fail”. “If the world wants security and stability in the region, it must end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and recognise the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, was quoted as saying on Friday by the Palestinian state news agency Wafa.

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Israel-Hamas War Day 143 | Biden Sets March 4 Target for Gaza Truce; Mossad Chief: Delaying North Gaza Aid Will Jeopardize Hostage Deal

Israeli delegation in Qatar for hostage deal talks ■ Palestinian PM submits resignation, will head transitional PA government ■ IDF confirms it assassinated head of Hezbollah's eastern command; Hezbollah says it fired 60 rockets in response to strikes ■ Israeli war cabinet to allow aid directly into north Gaza.

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Israel’s war on Gaza live: Worsening famine could ‘kill thousands’ in days​

• UN humanitarian affairs chief Ramesh Rajasingham has said that 576,000 people in Gaza, or about a quarter of the population, are on the edge of famine.
• Gaza’s Health Ministry says children are dying due to dehydration, and “escalating famine” could “kill thousands” in days if more aid does not enter the Gaza Strip. It also said 96 people were killed and 172 wounded in 24 hours.
• The UN humanitarian affairs chief said that about a quarter of Gaza’s population – estimated to be some 576,000 people – is “one step away from famine” as Israel continues to block large portions of humanitarian aid amid deteriorating conditions in the strip.
• Voters in the US state of Michigan, home to a large Arab-American community, take part in a presidential primary vote, where many have said they will vote “uncommitted” to express their anger over President Joe Biden’s firm support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
• Hezbollah said that it struck the Meron military base in northern Israel, with Israeli forces saying they responded with a round of strikes in Lebanon. US officials warned against further escalation and called for a diplomatic solution to growing tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border.
• Uncertainty remains about a potential truce between Hamas and Israel, with US and Qatari officials expressing optimism that a deal may be reached in the coming week. Hamas and Israel, however, have taken a more cautious tone.
• Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, says it has seen “no signs” that Israel is attempting to alleviate suffering or avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, noting that Israel has “tightened” its restrictions on humanitarian assistance even as extreme hunger envelops the strip.

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US airman dies after setting himself on fire outside Israeli embassy​

Aaron Bushnell yelled ‘Free Palestine!’ then lit himself on fire near the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC.

A member of the United States air force who had set himself on fire outside the Israeli embassy in Washington in an apparent protest against Israel’s war in Gaza has died, the Pentagon says. The 25-year-old airman, Aaron Bushnell of San Antonio, Texas, died from his injuries, the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, DC, said on Monday.

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[jack]

Best part of this copycat (jealousy) thread is Watching you wait ALL DAY LONG for me to be off line so you can post this and your shit russia thread that no one ever reads together.

Your mental illness if fun to exploit. And it's so easy to piss you off. Maybe one day you'll get so mad you'll pop a blood vessel and bleed to death internally.

I sincerely wish for that to happen to you.

But look what I just did HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

You go to a lot of trouble for nothing you know. Everyone hates you, and know one ever responds to you.

Except for me and Lox when we puttin da boot deeply up dat ass.