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Category: War

Kremlin runs disinformation campaign to undermine Zelensky, documents show

Kremlin runs disinformation campaign to undermine Zelensky, documents show

The Washington Post reports: When news first emerged last month that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was preparing to fire his top military commander, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, officials in Moscow seemed jubilant. They had been trying to orchestrate just such a split for many months, documents show. “We need to strengthen the conflict between Zaluzhny and Zelensky, along the lines of ‘he intends to fire him,’” one Kremlin political strategist wrote a year ago, after a meeting of senior Russian officials…

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As G7 expresses ‘deep concern’ for Palestinians in Rafah, Biden prepares to send Israel more bombs

As G7 expresses ‘deep concern’ for Palestinians in Rafah, Biden prepares to send Israel more bombs

A statement by the G7 Foreign Ministers which has thus far not been reported by a single U.S. outlet, says: [The foreign ministers including U.S. Secretary of State Blinken] called for urgent action to address the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza, particularly the plight of 1.5 million civilians sheltering in Rafah and they expressed deep concern for the potentially devastating consequences on the civilian population of Israel’s further full scale military operation in that area. They underscored that securing full,…

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NY governor expresses support for Israel’s destruction of Gaza but then apologizes for ‘poor choice of words’

NY governor expresses support for Israel’s destruction of Gaza but then apologizes for ‘poor choice of words’

Reuters reports: New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday apologized for remarks she made at a Jewish philanthropy event in New York City that went viral on social media and which suggested Israel had justification to destroy Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. “If Canada someday ever attacked Buffalo, I’m sorry, my friends, there would be no Canada the next day,” Hochul said in a portion of her speech on Thursday at an event for the United Jewish Appeal-Federation…

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Photojournalist Motaz Azaiza: ‘The ghosts of Gaza follow me everywhere’

Photojournalist Motaz Azaiza: ‘The ghosts of Gaza follow me everywhere’

The Guardian reports: Motaz Azaiza should have been dead by now. Death stalked the streets of Deir al-Balah where he grew up, long before Israel’s assault on Gaza. There had been close encounters in the past; as a teen he was once shot by an Israeli sniper. When Israel launched its offensive in Gaza after the 7 October Hamas attacks, Azaiza picked up his camera and headed to the frontlines. Despite his clearly marked press vest, in December he narrowly…

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Gaza and the end of the rules-based order

Gaza and the end of the rules-based order

Agnès Callamard writes: After more than four months of conflict, Israel’s campaign of retaliation against Hamas has been characterized by a pattern of war crimes and violations of international law. Israel’s stated justification for its war in Gaza is the elimination of Hamas, which is responsible for the horrific crimes committed during its October 7 attack on Israel: 1,139 people, mostly Israeli civilians, killed; thousands more wounded; a yet unknown number of women and girls subjected to sexual violence; and…

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Preparing for the next Nakba: A mysterious construction project takes shape in Egypt, near Gaza

Preparing for the next Nakba: A mysterious construction project takes shape in Egypt, near Gaza

The New York Times reports: A wall is going up in the desert of Egypt near the border of the war-torn Gaza Strip, but no one is talking much about it. Satellite imagery, photographs and video analyzed by The New York Times show a large patch of land being bulldozed and the wall being built in the buffer zone between Egypt and Rafah, the southern Gaza city overflowing with over a million displaced Palestinians that Israeli forces are poised to…

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Russian forces getting more access to Starlink satellite internet, threatening Ukraine’s military communications

Russian forces getting more access to Starlink satellite internet, threatening Ukraine’s military communications

RFE/RL reports: Russian troops in Ukraine increasingly have access to Starlink, the private satellite Internet network owned by Elon Musk that Ukraine’s military relies on heavily for battlefield communications. The findings from RFE/RL’s Russian Service corroborate earlier statements from Ukrainian military officials, underscoring how Kyiv’s ability to secure its command communications is potentially threatened. It comes as Ukrainian forces grapple with depleted weaponry and ammunition, and overall exhaustion, with Russian forces pressing localized offensives in several locations along the 1,200-kilometer…

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Biden’s new plan for the Middle East is more of the same

Biden’s new plan for the Middle East is more of the same

Matthew Duss writes: In the wake of the horrific Oct. 7 attacks, U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration have stressed that there can be no return to the pre-Oct. 7 status quo. “It also means that when this crisis is over, there has to be a vision of what comes next. And in our view, it has to be a two-state solution,” Biden said at an Oct. 25 press conference. Last month, the administration offered a preview of its…

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Ireland, Spain want EU to review Israel’s human rights compliance in Gaza

Ireland, Spain want EU to review Israel’s human rights compliance in Gaza

Reuters reports: The prime ministers of Spain and Ireland asked the European Commission on Wednesday to urgently review whether Israel is complying with its human rights obligations in Gaza. At least 1,200 Israelis were killed and around 250 were taken hostage in a raid by Hamas militants on southern Israel on Oct. 7, prompting Israel to retaliate. At least 28,576 Palestinians have since been killed in Israeli strikes, the health ministry in Gaza said on Wednesday. Palestinians jammed into their…

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Biden administration investigating Israel’s possible war crimes — despite public claims to the contrary

Biden administration investigating Israel’s possible war crimes — despite public claims to the contrary

HuffPost reports: A month ago, White House spokesperson John Kirby declared Washington was so confident in Israel’s U.S.-backed offensive in Gaza that the U.S. did not need to investigate its actions. “I’m not aware of any kind of formal assessment being done by the United States government to analyze the compliance with international law by our partner Israel,” Kirby told reporters on Jan. 4, as the Biden administration rallied to defend Israel against an International Court of Justice case arguing…

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Young Israelis block aid to Gaza while IDF soldiers stand and watch

Young Israelis block aid to Gaza while IDF soldiers stand and watch

The Washington Post reports: In Gaza, families are eating animal feed to survive. Ninety-three percent of the population of over 2 million faces “crisis levels of hunger,” a U.N.-backed consortium reported in late December. Hadas Kremer, a 17-year-old with curly blond hair from the Orthodox settlement of Otniel near Hebron, explains that Palestinians who are unhappy and hungry in Gaza should leave. Israel pays for them to exit, she says. In reality, the vast majority of Gazans have no way…

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Israel’s assault on Gaza is exposing the holes in everything liberal politicians claim to believe

Israel’s assault on Gaza is exposing the holes in everything liberal politicians claim to believe

Nesrine Malik writes: Something odd is happening. A sort of glitch or malfunction. Liberal politicians who refuse to call for a ceasefire in Gaza or halt support for Israel’s assault are no longer making sense, and increasingly seem as though they are going through a crisis. Garbled language and contradictory statements are becoming common among establishment figures. When Keir Starmer was asked if cutting off water and supplies are actions that fall within international law, he said on live radio…

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‘This war must end,’ Jordan’s King Abdullah insists after talks with Biden

‘This war must end,’ Jordan’s King Abdullah insists after talks with Biden

AFP reports: Jordan’s King Abdullah II appealed for a full ceasefire to end the war in Gaza after talks with Joe Biden, striking a discordant note with the US president who is seeking a shorter six-week pause to allow Israel time to defeat Hamas. Speaking at the White House with Abdullah by his side, Biden said civilians in the southern city of Rafah must be protected as Israel considers a ground incursion, while the Jordanian warned against any offensive at…

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Dutch court orders halt to export of F-35 jet parts to Israel

Dutch court orders halt to export of F-35 jet parts to Israel

Reuters reports: A Dutch appeals court on Monday ordered the government to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they were being used in violations of international law during Israel’s Gaza offensive. It said the state had to comply with the order within seven days and dismissed a request by government lawyers to suspend the order pending an appeal to the Supreme Court. The state has eight weeks to appeal against the decision. “It is…

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Israel appears to be in breach of ICJ orders on Gaza, senior UN official says

Israel appears to be in breach of ICJ orders on Gaza, senior UN official says

The Guardian reports: Israel appears to be in breach of the orders issued a fortnight ago by the international court of justice requiring it to take immediate steps to protect Palestinians’ rights and cease all activities that could constitute genocide, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied territories, Francesca Albanese, has said. The Israeli government was given until 23 February to report to the ICJ on what it has done to comply with six orders the court issued, including one…

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Israel is bombing Rafah while Americans watch the Super Bowl

Israel is bombing Rafah while Americans watch the Super Bowl

The Israeli military is bombing Rafah, the most densely populated area in the world, while Americans watch the Super Bowl. This is intentional. This is genocide. We're demanding the world watching the #superbowl turn their eyes to #Rafah. #alleyesongaza #CeasefireNOW pic.twitter.com/IPRV6mqD3P — Jewish Voice for Peace (@jvplive) February 12, 2024 Biden tells Netanyahu “a military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety” of 1+ million Gaza refugees sheltering there. Netanyahu’s response:…

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