Compilation of news reports – IAK staff
The Israeli army killed another 15 Palestinians in attacks across the Gaza Strip on Friday, medical sources said.
99 US doctors who volunteered in Gaza say they have not seen any militant activity in hospitals
Anadolu Agency reports:
A group of 99 American physicians and medical professionals who volunteered to work in Gaza said they saw no signs of militant activity in the enclave’s hospitals, calling on the Biden administration to immediately cease military, economic and diplomatic support for Israel.
In a letter Thursday to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the group, who collectively spent 254 weeks volunteering at Gaza’s health care facilities, shared their firsthand experiences of the dire humanitarian conditions amid Israel’s ongoing offensive, saying they had “witnessed crimes beyond comprehension.”
“We wish to be absolutely clear: not once did any of us see any type of Palestinian militant activity in any of Gaza’s hospitals or other health care facilities,” they said in the letter, which was published on the website “Gaza Healthcare Letters.”
“We urge you to see that Israel has systematically and deliberately devastated Gaza’s entire health care system and that Israel has targeted our colleagues in Gaza for torture, disappearance, and murder,” they added.
“This letter collects and summarizes our own experiences and direct observations in Gaza. The letter is accompanied by a detailed appendix summarizing the publicly available information from media, humanitarian, and academic sources on key aspects of Israel’s invasion of Gaza…[which] show probative evidence that the human toll in Gaza since October is far higher than is understood in the United States. It is likely that the death toll from this conflict is already greater than 118,908, an astonishing 5.4% of Gaza’s population. (The appendix is available here.)
NOTE: Using the figure of 118,908 deaths in Gaza, and the current figure of 96,844 injuries, the total killed and injured in Gaza would be 9.8 percent – much higher than the 6 percent estimate the World Health Organization shared.
The Lancet provided a conservative estimate of 186,000 direct and indirect deaths, which would result in 12.9 percent killed and injured.
Israel targets hospitals, healthcare workers in Lebanon, a mirror image of Gaza
Middle East Monitor reports:
Three hospitals, two in southern Lebanon and another on the outskirts of the southern suburb of Beirut, announced the suspension of their services on Friday due to intensive Israeli raids, causing damage to at least one of them.
The administration of the Sainte Therese Hospital in the Hadath area on the outskirts of the southern suburb reported the “suspension of hospital services” after “severe damage” to the building and equipment following violent raids at night in its vicinity.
In southern Lebanon, the Meiss Ej Jabal Hospital’s administration announced the hospital’s evacuation and the “suspension of work in all its departments,” given that all roads and supply lines have been cut and staff access to the hospital is difficult.
The Marjayoun Governmental Hospital also closed its doors after an Israeli raid targeted two ambulances at its main entrance, according to its director.
Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad announced on Thursday that the total number of paramedics and firefighters who were killed since the escalation between Hezbollah and Israel began a year ago has reached at least 97, including 40 within just three days this week.
NOTE: The hospitals of Gaza went through similar attacks, in which the Israeli military threatened, then struck the buildings and compounds where thousands of Palestinians were sheltering. Gazan hospital staff were often abducted. Some hospitals have been attacked multiple times. Israel alleged each time that there was a Hamas stronghold in or beneath the compound, but have not provided any compelling evidence.
Israel’s blockade on Lebanon, echoes of Gaza
Middle East Eye reports:
Israel’s bombing of the highway near Lebanon’s Masnaa border crossing with Syria has completely halted the flow of traffic on the key artery, in what Lebanon’s Transport Minister Ali Hamieh has called an “unannounced siege” on Lebanon.
The attack comes a day after the Israeli army had claimed the crossing was being used by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons.
Israel previously also threatened to “not allow hostile aircraft carrying weapons to land at the civilian airport in Beirut”, which some had perceived as a threat against the only operational commercial air terminal in Lebanon.
One expert said Israel’s strike near the Masnaa crossing was “to disrupt and sever key supply lines between Syria and Lebanon, which it believes are used to transport arms and logistical support to Hezbollah”.
However, Israel’s attack on the only legal crossing to Syria also severely hampers civilian and commercial transit.
“Israel is not just controlling military activities but is also exerting influence over civilian and commercial transportation, determining what goods and personnel can enter or leave the country,” the expert said.
“This situation has left Lebanon’s fate largely in the hands of Israel, as it now controls much of the country’s access to the outside world.”
(Read the full article here.)
NOTE: Lebanon’s airport and seaports still remain intact, so the blockade is only partial – for now.
Gaza has been under a complete blockade for 17 years. Israel controls border crossings, maritime perimeter, and airspace (Israel destroyed Gaza’s only airport in 2001-2002). It has even installed an underground wall around the enclave.
Evacuation and displacement of Lebanese residents, shades of Gaza
For anyone following the situation in Gaza over the last year, the below descriptions from Lebanon will sound eerily familiar.
ABC News reports:
Nearly one quarter of the Lebanese population, 1.2 million residents, have been displaced by Israel’s military campaign there, forced from their homes by Israel’s air and ground attacks [in Gaza, 90% of the population – about 1.9 million – are displaced].
Mikati said that the number of displaced people is the largest in the nation’s history [the same is true in Palestine, where in 1948 750,000 were permanently displaced, many of them to Gaza].
Twenty-eight percent of the population of Lebanon are Syrian refugees, many of whom are being displaced again now by the Israel invasion [an estimated 80 percent of Gaza’s residents are refugees or descendants of refugees from what is now Israel].
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians, and tens of thousands of Lebanese fleeing Lebanon are heading to Syria [Gazans are prevented by Israel from leaving – they have struggled since 1948 to return to their land – which is their right under international law – but Israel refuses].
The IDF has issued evacuation notices for some 90 villages in south Lebanon, warning residents to evacuate north of the Awali River around 37 miles from the Israeli border [Israel has also issued many evacuation orders to Gazans – and then bombed them as they fled or when they reached the “safe” zones they were sent to].
The IDF said it is hitting Hezbollah “terrorist infrastructure” and “weapons manufacturing plants” in “precise” strikes in the capital.
Many evacuees in Lebanon are living on the street, in parks and sheltering under trees. Others sleep on the city’s beaches to avoid the attacks [the same is true in Gaza].
RECOMMENDED READING: Palestine and Lebanon are living the same nightmare. We will rise out of it together
85% of Gaza’s water, sewage facilities destroyed by Israel’s bombs
Middle East Monitor reports:
US to provide humanitarian aid in response to Lebanon crisis
US State Department press release:
The United States will provide nearly $157 million in new U.S. humanitarian assistance to support populations affected by conflict in Lebanon and the region. This funding will address new and existing needs of internally displaced persons and refugee populations inside Lebanon and the communities that host them.
NOTE: According to USAID, between October 2023 and June 2024, the US has provided $674 million to Palestinians, including both Gaza and the West Bank.
USAID adds, “The United States continues to work around the clock to overcome diplomatic and operational hurdles for humanitarian access and significantly scale up the amount of assistance reaching vulnerable populations in Gaza and the West Bank.”
Many dispute the claim that the US is “working” to get aid to the people of Gaza: The Biden administration has so far not used its leverage by withholding military aid to and for Israel (with one exception), a move that could potentially end the war in short order – and begin to correct the humanitarian crises in both Gaza and now Lebanon.
Washington provides Israel with at least $3.8bn in military aid annually, and US President Biden has greenlit at least $14bn in additional assistance since the Gaza war began in October of last year.
UN experts deplore Israel’s increasing disregard for international law
Statement from more than 30 UN human rights experts:
“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions, like the state of Israel, arose in response to the horrors inflicted on civilians during the Second World War. It is a terrible and tragic irony that Israel is operating as though every provision of these instruments were null and void,” the experts said.
“While [Lebanon’s] humanitarian response has been commendable, Israel has impeded relief efforts through attacking vital civilian infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and water and health facilities, as well as health and humanitarian workers themselves,” said the experts. “These are clear violations of the international obligation to respect and protect relief personnel that risk collapsing the system to protect and assist displaced persons.”
The experts voiced their concern for those displaced within Israel but emphasized that their plight does not absolve Israel of its international obligations: “Perpetrators should be held accountable, and those displaced should receive protection and assistance.
“However, Israel cannot use such crimes to justify its own atrocities in Lebanon, including acts of violence intended to spread terror among civilians and indiscriminate warfare. To do so would amount to collective punishment, another grave violation of international law.”
NYT: A Pentagon Debate: Are U.S. Deployments Containing the Fighting, or Inflaming It?
New York Times reports:
As the Israeli offensive in Lebanon expands to include ground incursions and intensifying airstrikes, senior Pentagon officials are discussing whether the enhanced U.S. military presence in the region is containing a widening war, as they had hoped, or inflaming it.
In the 12 months since Hamas attacked Israel, launching a conflict that includes Yemen, Iran and Lebanon, the Pentagon has sent a bristling array of weaponry to the region, including aircraft carriers, guided missile destroyers, amphibious assault ships and fighter squadrons.
The larger American presence, a DoD spokesperson said, is meant to “deter aggression and reduce the risk of a broader regional war.”
But several Pentagon officials expressed concern that Israel was waging an increasingly aggressive campaign against Hezbollah, knowing that an armada of American warships and dozens of attack planes stand ready to help blunt any Iranian response.
Successive U.S. administrations have tried to extricate the American military from the Middle East for nearly a decade. But the region is again hosting a growing array of U.S. military power.
(Read the full article here.)
Amid Lebanon Bloodshed, Key House Democrats Say U.S. Must End Israeli ‘Culture Of Impunity’
Huffington Post reports:
A group of prominent House Democrats has urged the Biden administration to end the “lack of U.S. enforcement” of human rights law as the country continues its military support for Israel — suggesting an Israeli “culture of impunity” is driving bloodshed in the Palestinian territories and in Lebanon.
“The failure of the United States to consistently apply our own laws … actively endangers the lives of US citizens,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and four colleagues argue in a letter they sent the Pentagon and State Department this week.
Israeli forces have killed several Americans in the occupied West Bank, most recently Aysenur Ezgi Eygi on Sept. 6, they note. They also cite “credible reports” of Israeli officials subjecting detained Palestinians to torture, sexual abuse and mistreatment, as well as Israeli troops shooting civilians carrying white flags.
Though small, the Democratic group includes heavyweights: McGovern is the top Democrat on the powerful House Rules Committee, and his co-signatories include Reps. Barbara Lee (Calif.), Mark Pocan (Wis.) and Betty McCollum (Minn.), key players on the House Appropriations Committee that oversees government funding, as well as Rep. Joaquin Castro (Texas) of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
(Read the Congress members’ letter to Blinken and Austin here.)
MEANWHILE, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul sent a letter to President Joe Biden urging him to advance long delayed weapons sales to Israel amid increasing threats – specifically the 2,000-pound bombs purchased by Israel via Foreign Military Financing and at least ten additional cases purchased via Direct Commercial Sale.
McCaul pointed out that Israel used a number of 2,000-pound bombs recently, and needs more. “We all wish Israel did not need these larger bombs, but they are operationally necessary as Israel’s enemies, including Hamas and Hezbollah, are intentionally using deeply buried subterranean bunkers and tunnels. I call on you to allow these weapons, which are ready to ship, to be sent to Israel immediately.”
NOTE: Israel’s use of 2,000-pound bombs (and smaller bombs) in densely populated Gaza has resulted in many civilian deaths and human rights violations.
ALSO NOTE: The U.S. has sent Israel more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles since the start of the Gaza war in October, U.S. officials told Reuters in June.
Iraqi drone attack kills 2 Israeli soldiers, injures 2 dozen
The Cradle reports:
The Israeli army confirmed on 4 October that two soldiers were killed and 24 others were wounded during a drone attack launched on Thursday by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq (IRI) on the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
According to the Times of Israel, “Two explosive-laden drones were launched from Iraq in the attack, one of which was shot down by air defenses and the second impacted an army base in the northern Golan Heights several minutes later.”
Air raid sirens failed to be activated as the second drone entered the Israeli-occupied Syrian territory.
Resistance factions allied with Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) and operating under the IRI umbrella have intensified their attacks on Israeli positions in recent weeks in support of Lebanon and Palestine, and have pledged their readiness to join forces with Hezbollah if necessary.
The IRI has also intensified its attacks on US occupation bases in Syria and Iraq.
Smoke rises from Yemen after US airstrikes hit Houthi targets
From the Guardian:
US officials have said its military struck more than a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen, targeting weapons systems, bases and other equipment belonging to the Iran-backed group.
According to the US, military aircraft and warships bombed Houthi strongholds at about five locations.
Houthi media say the airport in Hodeidah was hit, as well as a military base in the Katheib area. Smoke could also be seen rising from the capital, Sana’a. This is the latest escalation of violence in the Middle East as calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza continue.
