Gaza War Is one of the bloodiest this century – Day 316

The Israeli military claims it is working with the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to get 1.3 million polio vaccines into Gaza after the highly contagious virus was found in the enclave.

This comes after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the only real solution against the virus, along with other humanitarian concerns in Gaza, is an immediate ceasefire.

The army had announced in July that it was giving vaccines to its soldiers operating in the enclave, claiming a large number of vaccines had already been brought in.

The Cradle recently reported that the Palestinian Health Ministry accused Israel of preventing the entry of over a million desperately needed polio vaccines into the Gaza Strip.

“The Gaza Strip needs 1.3 million doses of polio vaccine … Israel is still refusing to allow vaccines into the Strip,” said Musa Abed, Director of Health Care at the ministry.

“The risk of the spread of the polio virus in the Gaza Strip still exists in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression and the deprivation of the population of public hygiene tools. Any delay in the supply of vaccines would exacerbate the already poor health conditions and have serious repercussions on the health of children and vulnerable groups such as the elderly and the sick,” Abed added.

NOTE: “Fact” is a word COGAT tends to use rather loosely.

Polio in Gaza: 🧵 1/6

💉 95%+ Gazans are immunized against polio
💉 Israel is working with @WHO & @UNICEF to get 1.3m more vaccines into Gaza
💉 UNICEF campaign will cover 600,000 children under 10 for new mutation
》》》 pic.twitter.com/j1RsS1ZSyo

— COGAT (@cogatonline) August 18, 2024

US-Israel spy network confessions expose embassy role in destabilizing Yemen

Middle East Monitor reports: Confessions from members of a US-Israeli spy network, uncovered by Yemeni Security Forces in Sanaa back in June, have exposed Washington’s strategic goal of fragmenting Yemen and sowing long-term instability in the country.

The network, active since 2015, had deeply infiltrated various Yemeni institutions, influencing leadership and parliamentary decisions, according to a report yesterday by Al Mayadeen citing a Yemeni source.

The source said the confessions exposed “American conspiracies on the political level through reproducing crises and escalating them in Yemen.”

The revelations suggest that the US transformed Yemen’s previous government into a “puppet” under its control, manipulating political affairs to serve US interests. The spy network confessed to undermining the Yemeni National Dialogue Conference (NDC) and allowing the US to push through its agenda of restructuring Yemen’s state and constitution.

Yesterday the Yemen Press Agency Key noted key Yemeni figures who were named as collaborators, including Ali Mohsen, who had close ties with the US ambassador, and Sultan Al-Barakani, who reportedly hosted recruitment events for US intelligence. The confessions also implicated several other prominent politicians in working for US interests.

Moreover, the network disclosed the US role in assassinating members of the NDC who opposed its divisive agenda. The US reportedly aimed to split Yemen into six regions, with plans to privatize state-owned economic sectors. The confessions further revealed that US intelligence closely monitored the 11 February Revolution, using the information gathered to shape outcomes in their favor.

Al Jazeera reports: The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza has renewed its call to international organizations to deliver more humanitarian aid, as it reports some statistics from Gaza.

• • At least 10,000 Palestinians remain under the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli military attacks, and rescuers are unable to get to them due to the ongoing attacks, including the deliberate targeting of civil defense crews.
  • About 1,760 presumed-dead Palestinians’ bodies were described as “disintegrated” due to the use of high-intensity weapons.
  • Approximately 8,240 Gazans have been “forcibly disappeared” by the Israeli military
  • About 2,210 bodies have disappeared from graves across the Gaza Strip
  • 82 civil defense responders have been killed and 270 wounded since October 7. That means 40 percent of crews have been subjected to physical harm, in addition to all losing relatives or homes.
  • Civil defense headquarters were completely leveled, with 12 administrative vehicles, 11 fire engines, eight ambulances, three rescue and rapid intervention vehicles and four water tankers also destroyed.
  • Nearly 85,000 explosives were dropped over Gaza – with 17 percent remaining unexploded – leading to the destruction of 80 percent of total urban infrastructure.
  • Over 90 children have been killed so far after handling explosives that were placed inside cans of food.
  • Over 72,000 distress calls were answered, but some 15,000 could not be responded to by civil defense crews due to chronic fuel shortages.

273 fires set by Israeli army, settlers in West Bank since Oct 7

The New Arab reports: The Israeli army and settlers have set 273 fires targeting Palestinians’ lands and properties in the occupied West Bank since the war on Gaza began, a Palestinian governmental commission has said.

Moayyad Shaban, the head of the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission (CWRC) said on Friday that the fires were set after 7 October, with 120 taking place in Nablus province, 42 in Ramallah, and 26 in Jenin.

Shaban “said that the occupation army and colonists [settlers] have used the cover of the horrific aggression being waged by the occupying state against our people to carry out many types of crimes, with fires being the most prominent form”, according to a CWRC press release.

He added that the setting of fires was a “tool of terrorism and intimidating unsuspecting people” and aimed at “inflict heavy losses on citizens, affecting Palestinians’ social and economic patterns”.

Of the 273 fires, 77 impacted lands, fields, and crops, while 196 targeted properties, including residential apartments, buildings, and cars.

The most recent incident occurred on Thursday night during a settler attack on the village of Jit in Qalqilya province, which also saw one Palestinian shot dead.

Israeli army reservists stood by as dozens of armed Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank attacked Palestinian residents and torched their homes and cars, a preliminary investigation by Israel has revealed.

The attack resulted in the killing of a 23-year-old Palestinian man and dozens of others to be wounded, as the settlers opened fire in the village of Jit on Thursday.

The probe also showed that a “security squad” from the Havat Gilad illegal settlement outpost were present at the scene of the attack, but none of the settlers were arrested.

The soldiers “didn’t do anything to stop the pogrom…they just stood there next to them, saw everything and did nothing,” a senior Israeli defense official said.

Half of Israeli Jews say Israel should not obey int’l law & moral values in Gaza

Middle East Eye reports: A new poll has revealed that 47% of Israeli Jews believe Israel should not obey international law and moral values during the course of the current war in Gaza.

The poll’s findings were released on Sunday by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS).

The same poll suggested a majority of Israelis believe the prison officials accused of sexually assaulting a Palestinian detainee should not face criminal charges and just be disciplined by the army.

Late last month, nine Israeli soldiers were arrested for the alleged rape of a Palestinian detained in Sde Teiman, a facility in southern Israel’s Negev desert.

The incident created a backlash in Israel, with a far-right mob, that included an MP and minister, storming the detention center and a military court in protest against the arrests.

Five of those detained were released to house arrest on Tuesday, pending a potential decision by the army to file indictments.

UK: Civil servant who resigned was formerly lead author of arms assessment

Middle East Eye reports: The British civil servant who resigned over concerns that the government is complicit in Israeli war crimes in Gaza has said he was formerly the lead author of the central assessment governing the legality of UK arms sales in the Foreign Office’s Middle East and North Africa Directorate.

Diplomat Mark Smith’s resignation was first reported when prominent journalist Hind Hassan posted the contents of his resignation letter on X on Friday evening.

On Saturday Middle East Eye confirmed the resignation through two sources familiar with the situation.

Smith was working as a counter-terrorism official in the British embassy in Dublin before he resigned.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Smith added that he was the lead author of the central assessment governing the legality of UK arms sales in the Middle East and North Africa Directorate.

He said: “It was my job to gather all relevant information regarding civilian casualties, international law compliance as well as assess the commitment and capabilities of the countries in question.”

“To export arms to any nation, the UK must be satisfied that the recipient nation has in place robust procedures to avoid civilian casualties and to minimize harm to civilian life. It is impossible to argue that Israel is doing that.”

It is unclear when Smith, who appears to have been at the British embassy in Dublin since at least 2022, was in this role.

Smith said he has written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy informing him of his resignation.

“I sincerely hope that he will listen to the concerns of Civil Servants on this issue and make the necessary changes.”

Netanyahu refuses meeting with UK foreign secretary during Israel visit

The Cradle reports: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to meet with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy during his recent trip to Israel, Hebrew media reported on 17 August.

London made several requests for Lammy to hold a meeting with the Israeli premier, according to Channel 13 and The Times of Israel.

However, the British government was informed that Netanyahu had a scheduling conflict.

Channel 13 cited Israeli sources as saying that Netanyahu was angry at the new UK Labour government for its decision to drop London’s rejection of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) decision to seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

Colombian coal will no longer be used to ‘make bombs to kill Palestinian children’

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has said in a post on X that coal from his country is being used for bombs that kill Palestinian children.

Petro also linked to a post showing a decree issued by the government on August 14 prohibiting the export of coal to Israel.

According to the document signed by Petro, Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo and the ministers of finance, mines and commerce, the measure will go into effect five days after its publication in the official journal.

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Smotrich, Ben-Gvir supervised forced displacement of 40 Bedouin communities

Al Jazeera reports: The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has expressed “great concern” for the forced displacement of the Bedouin communities throughout the occupied Palestinian territory, especially in Masafer Yatta and the Jordan Valley in the West Bank.

It said in a statement that the attacks by the Israeli settlers against the communities come with the support and protection of the army and the direct supervision of Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The latest displacement of the last Palestinian Bedouin family came in Umm al-Jimal in the northern Jordan Valley, bringing the number of forcibly displaced Bedouin communities to 40, the ministry said.

“The Ministry considers this crime to be a crime of ethnic cleansing, and falls within the framework of the ongoing gradual annexation of the occupied West Bank and emptying it of its inhabitants and original owners,” it added.

The ministry stressed that the deterrent international sanctions must include “not only the extremist settlers and their armed militias, but also the ministers and officials in the Israeli government who provide protection, support, funding and backing, such as Smotrich and Ben-Gvir”.

Mayor of Chicago calls Gaza war ‘genocidal’ ahead of DNC

Brandon Johnson, the mayor of Chicago, has referred to Israel’s war on Gaza as “genocidal” in an interview with Mother Jones magazine, ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which begins in Chicago on Monday.

“What’s happening right now is not only egregious, it is genocidal,” Johnson, a progressive Democrat, said.

“We have to acknowledge and name it for what it is and have the moral courage to exercise our authority.”

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Trump says Harris wants to ‘destroy Israel’ at ‘antisemitism’ event

The New Arab reports: Donald Trump spoke at an event dealing with “antisemitism” in the US state of New Jersey on Thursday, as part of his ongoing presidential campaign, where he was seen posing with Israeli flags and attacking his opponent, Kamala Harris.

Trump threw multiple jabs at his rival during the event hosted by the Republican-aligned Stop Antisemitism group, saying she is “always demanding a ceasefire” in reference to the ongoing negotiations to bring a halt to Israel’s deadly war in Gaza.

Trump claimed that the Biden-Harris administration’s “weakness and indulgence of Israel’s enemies directly enabled” Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7.

“Kamala Harris is the candidate of the forces who want to destroy Western civilization, but most particularly Israel and Jewish people,” Trump said. “And I’m the candidate of those who want to defend Western civilization, defend Israel and defend the United States of America.”

Trump also claimed that “toxic poison of antisemitism now courses through the veins of the radical Democrat party“, to which “Kamala Harris is pandering to”, prompting cheers from the audience.

[NOTE: Trump was less supportive of Israel in 2016. He came under fire from Jewish groups when he repulsed efforts by neocons to join his administration and delayed appointing an Anti-Semitism Envoy. His stance changed as he increasingly came under attack by the establishment and began to rely on donations from people like Sheldon and Miriam Adelson. This escalated in 2024.]

NOTE: Actual antisemitism is not as prevalent as Trump would like to think. Most of the animosity Israel experiences is opposition to Zionism. Zionism is not a benign philosophy, but a racist ideology – the ideology under which Israel dispossessed 750,000 Palestinian people and exiled them to Gaza and other locations. The so-called “demonization” of Israel is in most cases a legitimate criticism of Israel’s policies of occupation, apartheid, and genocide, and other illegal practices.

The presidential candidate also claimed that people in the US “are denying” that the October 7 attacks ever took place, in a similar fashion to those who deny the events of the Holocaust.

NOTE: see oct7factcheck.com for documentation proving the truth/falsehood of many allegations about what happened on October 7th. Much of what Western mainstream media has been telling Americans has long ago been discredited. Also see this.

Expecting a win in the November elections despite polls suggesting otherwise, Trump said he will “support Israel’s right to win its war on terror”. He also said “wouldn’t it be nice if Israel wins the war fast?”

NOTE: The use of the word “terrorist” for a group that resists occupation and oppression is a political, not fact-based choice. In reality, international law supports the efforts of resistance groups against an occupying power, the UN extending that right to the point of armed resistance. Hamas has clearly and openly stated that its enemy is not the Jewish people, but the racist ideology of Zionism – the ideology under which Israel dispossessed 750,000 Palestinian people and exiled them to Gaza and other locations. 

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‘Murder in Broad Daylight’ – Roger Waters Speaks Out against Western Silence on Gaza Genocide

Palestine Chronicle reports: Rock legend and the co-founder of Pink Floyd Roger Waters has said it is “unimaginable” that the world’s leaders are “allowing” and “encouraging” Israel to continue with the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

“It’s murder in broad daylight, and it’s being perpetrated by our governments, the Americans, the Brits, the French, the Dutch… in plain sight, and we will not swallow it,” Waters emphasized in an interview with the Palestine Deep Dive (PDD) media platform.

Regarding desensitization towards the catastrophic situation in Gaza, Waters said the world is at a point where “Big Brother has won the battle so far. We are living in 1984,” a reference to George Orwell’s dystopian novel.

“There is a Ministry of Truth. It’s called the mainstream media that does nothing but tell lies about what’s actually happening in the world,” Waters explained.

“And we, the people, are persuaded by this propaganda to accept genocide and to accept perpetual warfare simply because we allowed it to creep up on us slowly enough.”

With over 40,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since October 7, Waters stressed that “It’s not a war, it’s a genocide.”

(Read the full article here; see the interview here.)

IMEMC Daily Reports.

Caitlyn Johnstone: Democrats Are Pigs

Caitlyn Johnstone: Republicans Are Morons

Al Jazeera: Solidarity with Palestine must be about decolonization, not just ceasefire

Mondoweiss: Statewide ‘Students for Justice in Palestine’ coalition unites Arizona campuses in face of legislative repression

The New Arab: Documents reveal Meta’s bias in moderating Arabic content over Hebrew

The New Arab: US: Jill Stein announces Muslim convert as VP running mate at online event

STATISTICS OCTOBER 7 – AUGUST 18:

Palestinian death toll from October 7, 2023 – August 18, 2024: at least 40,774* (40,139 in Gaza* – 11,445 women (30%), 16,251 children as of July 22. [The Ministry’s figures have been contested by the Israeli authorities, although they have been accepted as accurate by Israeli intelligence services, the UN, and WHO. These data are supported by independent analyses, comparing changes in the number of deaths of UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff with those reported by the Ministry, which found claims of data fabrication implausible.]

This is expected to be a significant undercount since thousands of those killed have yet to be identified – and at least 635 in the West Bank (~147 children). This does not include an estimated 10,000 more still buried under rubble (4,900 women and children). Euro-Med Monitor reports 46,848 Palestinian deaths.

Lancet: “Applying a conservative estimate of four indirect deaths per one direct death9 to the 37,396 deaths reported, it is not implausible to estimate that up to 186 000 or even more deaths could be attributable to the current conflict in Gaza.

Ralph Nader earlier estimated 200,000 Palestinians may have been killed in Gaza.

• • • At least 45 Palestinians have died in Israeli prisons (27 from Gaza, 18 from West Bank).
    • At least 41 Palestinians have died due to malnutrition**.
    • About 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population are currently displaced.
    • Almost 500,000 Gazans are currently experiencing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.

Palestinian injuries from October 7 – August 18: at least 98,163 (including at least 92,743 in Gaza and 5,420 in the West Bank, including 830 children). [It remains unknown how man Americans are among the casualties in Gaza.]

Reported Israeli death toll from October 7, 2023 – August 18, 2024: ~1,454 (~1,139 on October 7, 2023, of which ~32 were Americans, and ~36 were children); 293*** military forces since the ground invasion began in Gaza; 25 military and civilians in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Israel) and~10,000 injured.

NOTE: It is unknown at this time how many of the deaths and injuries of Israelis on October 7 were caused by Israeli soldiers.

*Previously, IAK did not include 471 Gazans killed in the Al Ahli hospital blast since the source of the projectile was being disputed. However, given that much evidence points to Israel as the culprit, Israel had previously bombed the hospital and has attacked many others, Israel is prohibiting outside experts from investigating the scene, and since the UN and other agencies are including the deaths from the attack in their cumulative totals, if Americans knew is now also doing so.

**Euro-Med Monitor reports that Gaza’s elderly are dying at an alarmingly high rate. The majority die at home and are buried either close to their residences or in makeshift graves dispersed across the Strip. There are currently more than 140 such cemeteries. Additionally, according to Euromed, thousands have died from starvation, malnourishment, and inadequate medical care; these are considered indirect victims as they were not registered in hospitals. 

***Approximately ten of the deaths listed above were Israeli soldiers killed by Hezbollah in fighting at the Israel-Lebanon border. The figure does not include the reportedly 41 Israeli soldiers – nearly 16% of the total Israeli military deaths – killed due to friendly fire in Gaza and other military-related accidents. 

† For most of the conflict, women and children accounted for about 70% of deaths in Gaza, with children making up a little over 40% of those killed, according to official statistics.

Find previous daily casualty figures and daily news updates here.

• • Human rights reports on Israel-Palestine (regularly updated)
  • Understanding what motivates ultra-orthodox Jewish attacks on West Bank Palestinians
  • Palestinians’ harrowing stories of rape by Israeli soldiers (including female soldiers)
  • A Palestinian journalist visited Ismail Haniyeh’s home in Gaza to report on his death. Israel assassinated him too.
  • I reported a piece for the New York Times on antisemitism. I found a major error, but the Times didn’t care.
  • How Israel plans to whitewash its war crimes in Gaza
  • Why the West Bank is on the verge of economic collapse
  • Netanyahu’s plan to involve US in regional war on its behalf
  • Western media continue to withhold the truth about Israel and Gaza – 4 stories
  • “Well What SHOULD Israel Have Done After October 7?”
  • Welcome to Hell
  • More dead children. More BBC ‘news’ channelling Israeli propaganda as its own
  • U.S. media downplays and ignores ICJ ruling declaring Israeli occupation illegal
  • Israeli soldiers tell story of savage cruelty in Gaza – one given blessing by the West
  • Searching for Gaza’s missing children
  • What Would You Do With An Extra $320 Million?
  • Assassination of Haniyeh an intentional, dangerous escalation – Parsi, Macgregor
  • When Israel Burned Refugees Alive, Establishment Media Called It a ‘Tragic Accident’
  • Israel has turbocharged West Bank housing demolitions under the cover of war
  • Western media ignores Israeli confirmation of Hannibal Directive on 7 Oct
  • US Should Arrest Benjamin Netanyahu When He’s in Washington
  • Airwars investigation: Israeli airstrikes uniquely lethal (video)
  • Hesen Jabr paid the price of conscience
  • Gaza genocide denial
  • Why the news media’s job is to groom us
  • ‘Disappeared, buried, detained’: The horrors of Gaza’s missing children