Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 06-07/2023
There is no difference between who calls for throwing Israel into the sea and chants death to Israel and America, and who advocates for dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza./Elias Bejjani/November 05/2023
UK withdraws staff from Lebanon embassy as foreign office warns against all travel
Lebanon, Jordan Assert Need to Intensify Efforts to Stop War on Gaza
Some UK embassy staff and families withdrawn from Lebanon amid Gaza tensions
Hezbollah says Israel to 'pay price' after strike kills 3 children in Lebanon
France to give armoured vehicles to Lebanese army - defence minister
UNIFIL spokesperson Tenenti: We urge everyone to ceasefire now to prevent further harm to people
Fact-check: Reports of mother's death in Ainata attack disputed
Lebanon mourns Rimas, Taline, Layan, killed by Israeli strike with grandmother
Report: US tells Iran and Hezbollah it's ready to back Israel militarily
Al-Qassam Brigades in Lebanon: We bombed Nahariyya and south of Haifa with 16 missiles in response to the occupation's massacres in the Gaza Strip
Hamas shells south Haifa from Lebanon, Hezbollah attacks Israeli posts
Haniyeh to visit Beirut, Ibrahim taking part in negotiations in Doha
Al-Rahi: 1701 compels Israel, Hezbollah to instantly halt all attacks
Israel-Hezbollah border skirmishes: Latest developments
Report: No ceasefire in south Lebanon, Gaza before Arab summit
Lebanon files complaint with UN Security Council after Israel kills woman, childrena
Lebanon's FM Bou Habib condemns Israel's 'deliberate targeting of civilians'
Mikati receives invitation to attend Riyadh emergency summit on Nov. 11, meets Australian and Brazilian Ambassadors, MP Abou Faour, Renewal"...
Berri broaches latest developments in Lebanon and region with Ain El-Tineh visitors, meets Bou Saab, Egyptian Ambassador, Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly...
Al-Rai's decisive stance on Army Chief's term amid south situation
Kahlil Gibran's hometown Bsharre celebrates 'The Prophet' centennial
Lebanon is held captive by Nasrallah and Hezbollah/Smadar Perry/Ynetnews/November 06/2023

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 06-07/2023
Video Link for a Round Table Discussion from The Washington Institute under the title: The Hamas-Israeli War One Month On/Participants are Dennis Ross/Zohar Palti/ Hanin Ghaddar/ Gaaith Al- Omari
Guterres: A ceasefire in Gaza becomes more urgent by the hour
Iran's president to attend summit in Saudi Arabia on Gaza war
Pentagon: US submarine in the Middle East aimed at "deterrence"
Israel says it dropped 6,000 bombs on Gaza in one week. That's almost as many as what the US dropped in Afghanistan in one year.
Blinken wraps up Mideast tour, tries to soothe Turkey's anger in Ankara
Israel intensifies Gaza strikes despite ceasefire calls
Israeli minister calls for security zones around West Bank settlements to keep Palestinians away
Four Palestinian militants killed by Israeli forces in West Bank
Live updates | Israeli troops divide north and south Gaza, as reported death toll exceeds 10,000
Israel’s War Against Hamas Has Killed More U.N. Workers Than Any Other Conflict
Indonesia group denies hospital used by Hamas network
Norway says exploring how to revive Israel-Palestinian diplomatic channel
South Africa recalls ambassador and diplomatic mission to Israel and accuses it of genocide in Gaza
In rare announcement, US says guided missile sub has arrived in Middle East, a message of deterrence to adversaries
Female Israeli soldier stabbed by ‘terrorist’ in east Jerusalem
Israel’s cyber defense chief tells CNN he’s concerned Iran could increase severity of its cyberattacks
Did you kill a Palestinian?': Anti-West boycott sweeps Mideast
Yemeni Armed Forces launch drone strikes on Israeli targets
Palestinian icon: Ahed Tamimi re-arrested by Israeli authorities
France says it's in talks with Egypt on setting up field hospital for Gaza wounded
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi goes on a hunger strike while imprisoned in Iran

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 06-07/2023
Deemed ‘Accidental’: The Burning Alive of Christians in the Middle East/Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/November 6, 2023
A 'Humanitarian Pause' - To Save the Terrorist Group Hamas?!/Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/November 6, 2023
Between fear, horror and solidarity, Canadian Jews in the background of the war/Yaron Deckel/Ynetnews/November 06/2023
The moral failure of Western institutions on Gaza is unparalleled/Ramzy Baroud/Arab News/November 06, 2023
Hamas and the American crossing/Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper./November 06, 2023
Russia’s Relationship with Hamas and Putin’s Global Calculations/Anna Borshchevskaya/Washington Institute Also published in Al Majalla/November 06, 2023
Iran and The Search For a Seat/Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 07/2023
‘Flood of Peace/Sam Menassa/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 07/2023

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 06-07/2023
There is no difference between who calls for throwing Israel into the sea and chants death to Israel and America, and who advocates for dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza.
Elias Bejjani/November 05/2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/123949/123949/
It is essential and a moral duty to condemn the bizarre statement of the Israeli Minister of Heritage, Amihai Eliyahu, in which he called for dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza. This unethical and criminal statement raises significant and serious concerns due to the dangerous ideas and kind of hostile culture it represents and advocates for, as well as its negative impact on peace, stability, and the acceptance of the different other in the Middle East region.
Meanwhile, we must focus on this provocative and blind hostile rhetoric from its cultural and ethical aspects, and everything related to human dignity and the right to a free and dignified life for each and every person all over the world
First, it must be pointed out that the use of nuclear weapons is an inhumane and criminal option and is irresponsible, with potentially dire consequences for civilians and the environment, and because it direly violates human values and principles. This makes it imperative that security and defense strategies in all countries of the world be cautious, moderate, and far from such an option, which necessitates a continuous search for diplomatic and peaceful solutions in a bid to resolve conflicts, especially the complex Arab-Israeli conflict.
Second, the elements of fanaticism, recklessness, hatred, and the desire to kill the different other are qualities that do not foster the necessary constructive components of dialogue and understanding required to resolve conflicts in the Middle East countries. Therefore, it is necessary for leaders and officials in Arab countries, Israel, and the rest of the free world to work on achieving communication and opening channels of dialogue with all relevant parties to avoid wars, violence, and to promote peace and stability.
Third, it is vital not to view any such atrocity with one eye, and focus solely on criticizing the inhumane statement of the Israeli minister, which, in practice and reality, is not significantly different from the barbarism, hostility, and fundamentalism of those who adopt and promote slogans calling for “death to America and Israel”, and openly call for the annihilating of Israel and throwing it into the sea, as is evident in the discourse and culture of the Iranian regime and its proxy armed-terrorist militias in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Gaza, Iraq, and many other third-world countries. As well as the fundamentalist, Jihadist, and political Islamic groups, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Boko Haram, and dozens of alike terrorist organizations that share the same Jihadist Iranian-Mullahs’ culture and agenda.
In conclusion, there is no credibility in any criticism of the extremist and fundamentalist statement of the Israeli minister, while ignoring the culture and depravity of those who call for throwing Israel into the sea, view America and Israel as demons, and openly expressing their hatred and hostility towards them.
It is worth mentioning, that the language of violence and killing the different other does not serve the interests of any party, and does not help in resolving conflicts, in a civilized, peaceful, and constructive manner, whether large or small.

UK withdraws staff from Lebanon embassy as foreign office warns against all travel
The Independent UK/November 6, 2023
The Foreign Office has withdrawn staff from its Lebanese embassy and has warned against all travel to the country as tensions rise with neighbouring Israel. It advised against travelling to Lebanon, which is on Israel’s northern border, due to risks associated with the conflict between Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. It comes after Israeli warplanes conducted airstrikes along the border with Lebanon on Saturday as the militant Hezbollah group attacked several Israeli army posts, including one that was struck with two large rockets. “There are ongoing mortar and artillery exchanges and air strikes in South Lebanon, on the boundary with Israel. Tensions are high and events could escalate with little warning, which could affect or limit exit routes out of Lebanon,” the FCDO’s website said. “There is also a risk of civil unrest. There have been large protests outside embassies, including outside the US and French embassies on 17 October. Further protests are expected. British nationals should exercise caution and avoid areas where demonstrations may be held. “Due to the security situation, some staff at the British embassy and all family members of staff have been temporarily withdrawn. The embassy continues with essential work including services to British nationals.”The Israeli airstrikes killed four civilians, including a woman and three children, according to local reports. Two civilian cars carrying members of the same family were driving between the towns of Ainata and Aitaroun on Sunday when they were hit by the missile. One of the cars was hit directly and burst into flames, the report said. One woman and three girls, ages 10, 12 and 14 were killed, and others were wounded. Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari didn’t comment on the details, but said: “We study and investigate all incidents that take place to know the details.”
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned Israel for the attack, calling it a “heinous crime.” He said that Lebanon will file a complaint to the UN Security Council. On Friday, Hezbollah’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said he was prepared to use all options against Israel and he could “resort to them at any time.”Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded by warning Hezbollah it would “pay dearly” if the militant group “tested us”. Exchange of gunfire has been on the rise along the Lebanon-Israel border following the 7 October attack by the Palestinian militant Hamas group that killed more than 1,400 civilians and troops in southern Israel. Hezbollah started attacking Israeli positions on 8 October in the disputed Chebaa Farms area along Syria’s Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and within days the attacks spread to cover the whole border area.

Lebanon, Jordan Assert Need to Intensify Efforts to Stop War on Gaza
Beirut: Asharq Al Awsat/November 06/2023
Jordan and Lebanon asserted on Sunday the need to step up the efforts to stop the war on Gaza, prevent the expansion of the conflict in the region, and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the coastal enclave. King Abdullah II of Jordan received caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati in the presence of Crown Prince Hussein at the Royal Court in Amman. According to a statement by the Lebanese government, the two parties stressed the importance of delivering unimpeded humanitarian aid to the people in Gaza and supporting international relief organizations working there.
The meeting also addressed the situation in Lebanon, with the monarch reaffirming Jordan's support for Lebanon's efforts to enhance its stability. For his part, Mikati praised Jordan's efforts under the leadership of King Abdullah in defending Arab issues and working towards peace and stability. Mikati stressed "the necessity of continuing efforts to stop the war in Gaza and reach a solution that keeps the Palestinians in their land, so that their cause remains alive and a just and final solution can be reached."He met with his Jordanian counterpart Bisher al-Khasawneh in the presence of Jordan's Minister of State for Prime Ministerial Affairs Ibrahim al-Jazi and Lebanon's Ambassador to Jordan Youssef Emil Raji. The talks addressed the need to intensify Arab and international efforts to stop the Israeli aggression against Gaza and prevent the expansion of the conflict in the region. Both officials reiterated their countries' positions "in calling for ending the Israeli aggression against Gaza, ensuring the sustainable delivery of humanitarian aid to the brothers in Gaza, and rejecting the forced displacement of Palestinians from their land." Mikati lauded King Abdullah II's stances in supporting Arab issues, especially the Palestinian cause.
The premier explained that the efforts and communications he is making with Arab and international parties aim to ensure the cessation of the Israeli attack on Gaza, secure the sustainable arrival of aid, and reject forced displacement. Khasawneh emphasized that Israel's impunity for its transgressions and flagrant violations of international humanitarian law by committing massacres and targeting civilians must end. The life of the Palestinian is of no less importance than the life of any other person in the world, he asserted. He stressed the advanced position of King Abdullah II, since the very first day of the attack against Gaza, in mobilizing international support to stop the assault and the humanitarian catastrophe facing the Palestinians and secure unimpeded access to humanitarian and medical aid. "Jordan's diplomacy led by the King has always stressed that the cycle of this violence will not end except by ensuring a political horizon that leads to the establishment of an independent and fully sovereign Palestinian state," the Jordanian PM underscored. Khasawneh explained that a sovereign Palestinian state must be established according to the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and within the framework of the two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for the region's countries and peoples. Mikati began an Arab tour last week, calling on the international community to pressure Israel to stop the daily attacks and violations against Lebanon. On Saturday, he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Amman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo. Mikati is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia next to participate in the emergency Arab League and Arab-African summits.

Some UK embassy staff and families withdrawn from Lebanon amid Gaza tensions
PA Reporters/ UK News/November 6, 2023
Some staff and family members have been temporarily withdrawn from the British embassy in Lebanon, amid growing tensions in the region sparked by the escalating situation in Gaza. The Foreign Office pointed to the current “security situation” as the reason behind the move, which comes after Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group traded fire along the border. Guidance on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) website said: “FCDO advises against all travel to Lebanon due to risks associated with the conflict between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. “There are ongoing mortar and artillery exchanges and air strikes in South Lebanon, on the boundary with Israel. Tensions are high and events could escalate with little warning, which could affect or limit exit routes out of Lebanon. “There is also a risk of civil unrest. There have been large protests outside embassies, including outside the US and French embassies on October 17. Further protests are expected. British nationals should exercise caution and avoid areas where demonstrations may be held. “Due to the security situation, some staff at the British embassy and all family members of staff have been temporarily withdrawn. The embassy continues with essential work including services to British nationals.”Four civilians were killed by an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon on Sunday evening, including three children, a local civil defence official and state-run media reported. The Israeli military said it had attacked Hezbollah targets in response to anti-tank fire that killed an Israeli civilian. Hezbollah said it fired Grad rockets from southern Lebanon into Israel in response. Rishi Sunak welcomed the fact more than 100 British nationals have been able to flee the conflict in Gaza, as he said that UK diplomatic efforts would continue in the region. The Prime Minister said: “We have been very clear and consistent that we support humanitarian pauses, which are there specifically to allow aid to get into Gaza and hostages and foreign nationals to come out. “I’m pleased that over 100 British nationals have now been able to leave Gaza thanks to our diplomatic engagement. “I spoke to both the Egyptian president and the Israeli prime minister about this specific issue last week.”It is hoped that more British citizens will be able to leave through the Rafah crossing in the coming days, after the border checkpoint remained closed over the weekend. The Foreign Office confirmed that it remained closed to foreign nationals on Sunday, having been shut on Saturday following an apparent row between Israel and the Palestinians over evacuating injured patients. British nationals have spoken about being turned away from the crossing on Saturday when it was unexpectedly sealed. Downing Street said it is in contact with those still trapped in the territory. It could not confirm how many remain, but it is thought to be around 100. Mr Sunak’s spokesman said the Rafah crossing’s closure is “disappointing” and that the Government will use “all diplomatic options available to us” to press for its reopening in co-ordination with international partners. More than 9,700 Palestinians have been killed in the territory in nearly a month of war, as Israel’s military said it had encircled Gaza City and divided the territory in two.
Israel-Hamas conflict
Meanwhile in London, police are considering whether to ban a pro-Palestinian march planned for Armistice Day. The Metropolitan Police said it would use “all powers and tactics” at its disposal to prevent disruption, including Section 13 of the Public Order Act 1986, which allows the banning of a procession when there is a risk of serious disorder. Ms Coutinho said ministers would “stand fully behind” police if they choose to ban the demonstration. “If they were to choose to ban those protests then the Government would stand fully behind them. “It is a decision that rests with the police.
“The ministers involved have made it very clear that they have serious concerns. “I think people in this country want to make sure that veterans and the memories of fallen soldiers are respected.”

Hezbollah says Israel to 'pay price' after strike kills 3 children in Lebanon
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters)/November 6/2023
An Israeli strike on a car in south Lebanon killed three children and their grandmother on Sunday, Lebanese authorities said, as the Israeli army said a Hezbollah attack from Lebanon killed an Israeli citizen in northern Israel. The Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah said it responded to the Israeli strike, in which three girls aged between 10 and 14 were killed, by firing a barrage of grad rockets at the town of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel. It marks the first time Hezbollah has announced using that particular weapon during four weeks of clashes with Israeli forces, underlining the risks of escalation. In a statement, Hezbollah said it would never tolerate attacks on civilians and its response would be "firm and strong". "The enemy will pay the price for its crimes against civilians," Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told Reuters. Israel's military said its troops engaged a vehicle "identified as a suspected transport for terrorists" in Lebanon on Sunday, and it was looking into reports there were civilians inside. Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called it a "heinous crime." Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib told Reuters Lebanon would submit a complaint to the United Nations over the killing of civilians, including children, in the attack. Footage broadcast by television station al-Mayadeen showed rescue workers removing one of the casualties from the still-smouldering remains of the car. A report by the Lebanese security forces said the children were killed when Israel targeted the car they were in as it drove between the villages of Aynata and Aitaroun. Their grandmother was also killed and their mother was wounded. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire across the frontier since the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel went to war on Oct. 7. It has marked the worst violence across the border since Israel and Hezbollah fought a war in 2006. The Israeli military said an Israeli was killed on Sunday in an attack by Hezbollah over the border, without giving further details. Mikati met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Amman earlier on Saturday and emphasized the importance of working towards a ceasefire in Gaza and stopping Israeli aggression in southern Lebanon, the state news agency reported.
DRONE DOWNED
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military said its air defences intercepted a drone flying towards Israel from Lebanon while it was over Lebanese territory, and that an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit the Yiftah area of northern Israel. Hezbollah announced several attacks on Israeli positions at the border using guided missiles and other weapons. The Israeli army said the drone was identified flying from deep inside Lebanon toward Israel. Lebanon's state-owned National News Agency, citing its correspondent, earlier reported that Hezbollah shot down a hostile drone over south Lebanon, with wreckage falling over the villages of Zebdine and Harouf 30 km (20 miles) from the border. There was no comment from Hezbollah on the report. Hezbollah has for the first time declared its use of anti-aircraft missiles during the latest hostilities. In an incident 3 km (2 miles) from the border, a scout troop affiliated with Lebanon's Amal Movement, a Hezbollah ally, said four of its paramedics were wounded by an Israeli drone strike. The Islamic Al-Risala Scout Association said the drone hit two cars directly as rescuers were evacuating people from a house struck in an earlier Israeli attack near the village of Tayr Harfa.

France to give armoured vehicles to Lebanese army - defence minister
PARIS (Reuters)/November 6, 2023
France will send dozens of armoured vehicles to the Lebanese army so it can properly carry out patrol missions in the country, France's defence minister said in remarks published on Monday. Speaking to Lebanon's L'Orient Le Jour newspaper after a trip to the country, Sebastien Lecornu said it was vital to beef up the Lebanese national army so that it could coordinate well with the United Nations peacekeeping force as tensions mount between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. "We will pursue our partnership with military equipment, notably for the transport of troops protected by armour, which is key to maintain patrols," he said, adding that several dozen armoured vehicles would be given to the Lebanese army soon. "Our support for the Lebanese army is for the long-term whatever the current difficulties," Lecornu added. Paris will also provide medicines and is setting up a joint programme to purchase medical supplies at reasonable prices for the Lebanese army in the future, he said. France has sought to use its historical relationship with Lebanon to try to defuse tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, but violence has spiked. Some 700 French soldiers are part of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) established in 1978 following violence on the Israel-Lebanon border. Hezbollah, a Shi'ite Muslim armed group classed by the United States and others as a terrorist organisation, wields enormous power in Lebanon, whose economy is in ruins and whose state is barely functioning. Lebanese leaders fear clashes between Hezbollah and Israel could flare into a major conflict.

UNIFIL spokesperson Tenenti: We urge everyone to ceasefire now to prevent further harm to people
LBCI/November 06/2023
The official spokesperson for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Andrea Tenenti, announced that "UNIFIL witnessed intense gunfire across the Blue Line" on Sunday. In a statement, he said, "We have received distressing reports of the deaths of four civilians, including three children and a woman, in the vicinity of Aitaroun in southern Lebanon. The possibility of escalation spiraling out of control is evident and must be halted. The death of any civilian is a tragedy, and nobody wants to see more people injured or killed." Tenenti added, "We remind all parties involved that attacks on civilians constitute a violation of international law and can rise to the level of war crimes. We urge everyone to ceasefire now to prevent further harm to people."

Fact-check: Reports of mother's death in Ainata attack disputed
LBCI/November 06/2023
A news report has circulated claiming the death of the mother of the girls who were targeted by Israeli shelling on Sunday. The municipality of Ainata has denied the news, stating that the mother is in the hospital and receiving treatment. Media outlets have been urged to "exercise accuracy in disseminating information related to the events of this massacre."

Lebanon mourns Rimas, Taline, Layan, killed by Israeli strike with grandmother
Naharnet/November 06/2023
Students in Lebanon observed Monday a moment of silence for Rimas, Taline and Layan, ages 10, 12 and 14, and their grandmother who were killed Sunday evening by an Israeli airstrike in the southern town of Ainata. The death of the three children and their grandmother raised the number of civilians killed on the Lebanese side in the border clashes between Hezbollah and Israel to at least 14, despite Hezbollah's warning that if Israel kills Lebanese civilians, it will be considered a violation of the rules of engagement and it will retaliate by attacking civilian targets. Many Lebanese officials, lawmakers and ministers deplored the airstrike. Caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, condemned Israel for the drone attack, calling it a “heinous crime.” He said that Lebanon will file a complaint to the U.N. Security Council. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri dubbed Israel's aggressions in Gaza and Lebanon "organized state terrorism."
Earlier Sunday, an Israeli drone had struck near two ambulance on their way to pick up casualties from overnight strikes in southern Lebanon, wounding four paramedics. The three children and their grandmother were killed, between the towns of Ainata and Aitaroun when their car was hit by an Israeli airstrike. The car was hit directly and burst into flames. The grandmother and three girls were killed, and their mother was wounded. “There were no men in the car that was hit — there were three innocent young children with their grandmother and their mother,” the uncle of the girls, journalist Samir Ayoub said. “Three children were burned in the car and no one could save them. And I pulled out their mother as she was screaming, ‘My children!’ Where are the terrorists? Israelis, you are the terrorists."Mohammad Suleiman, head of Salah Ghandour hospital in the town of Bint Jbeil, the bodies of the woman and three children were “completely burned." The children's mother was wounded but in stable condition and was transferred to another area hospital, he said. Daniel Hagari, an Israeli military spokesperson, didn't comment on the details, but told reporters, “We study and investigate all incidents that take place to know the details.”Amal, the Free Patriotic Movement and Kataeb leader Sami Gemayel condemned the airstrike. So did Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi, as he called on officials to implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which compels Israel and Hezbollah to instantly halt all attacks and military operations from the two sides. The children were students at the Saints-Coeurs College, a catholic school in Ain Ebel. "The enemy will pay the price," Hezbollah MP Hassan Fadlallah said, as Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel’s north in response to the killing of civilians.

Report: US tells Iran and Hezbollah it's ready to back Israel militarily
Naharnet/November 06/2023
The U.S. administration has warned Iran and Hezbollah that it is ready to intervene against them if they attack Israel, a media report said on Monday. "The Biden administration has … sent messages to Iran and Hezbollah, through regional partners including Turkey, that the United States would be prepared to intervene militarily against them if they launched attacks against Israel," the New York Times quoted officials as saying.

Al-Qassam Brigades in Lebanon: We bombed Nahariyya and south of Haifa with 16 missiles in response to the occupation's massacres in the Gaza Strip
LBCI/November 06/2023
As a response to the ongoing hostilities and aggression by the Israeli occupation against the people of Gaza, the Al-Qassam Brigades announced that they launched 16 rockets from Lebanon, targeting Nahariyya and southern Haifa.

Hamas shells south Haifa from Lebanon, Hezbollah attacks Israeli posts
Agence France Presse/November 06/2023
Hamas militants on Monday fired 16 rockets from south Lebanon towards northern Israel, the Palestinian group's armed wing announced, saying they targeted areas south of the Israeli coastal city of Haifa. The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades said the strikes came "in response to the occupation's (Israel's) massacres and its aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip."This is the first time that rockets fired from Lebanon reach the south Haifa area during the current war. The Israeli army meanwhile reported about 30 projectiles had been fired at northern Israel from Lebanon, adding that it fired back at the direction they had been launched from. In addition to the 16 rockets fired by Hamas, the Israeli military was referring to 14 shells and anti-tank missiles fired by Hezbollah at Israeli military posts along the border. The shelling from Lebanon came after the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip announced earlier Monday that the death toll in the enclave had surpassed 10,000 nearly a month after the start of the war triggered by the militant group's unprecedented attack on Israel. Hamas, which is allied with Lebanon's Hezbollah, has a number of fighters in south Lebanon and has previously claimed attacks on Israel from there. Tensions have run high at the border between Israel and Lebanon -- which remain technically at war -- since the October 7 attack, with Hezbollah and Israel regularly exchanging attacks. Since October 7, at least 81 people have been killed on the Lebanese side in cross-border skirmishes, according to an AFP tally, including 59 Hezbollah fighters. Six soldiers and two civilians have been killed on the Israeli side.

Haniyeh to visit Beirut, Ibrahim taking part in negotiations in Doha
Naharnet/November 06/2023
Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh will arrive in Beirut within days, following his visit Sunday to Iran and his meeting with its supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, media report said. A highly informed source meanwhile told the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper that former General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim’s “presence in Qatar to take part in the ongoing negotiations over the prisoner swap file between Hamas and Israel is direct intervention by Hezbollah in this file.”Hebzollah wants to “guarantee that Hamas’ leadership in exile will benefit from this essential file to achieve the highest possible gains,” the source added. “Maj. Gen. Ibrahim, who is used to exchanging messages between Hezbollah and the Americans, especially over the maritime and land border files, is aided in his current mission by the fact that his friend (U.S. mediator) Amos Hochstein is involved in the negotiations over the supposed swap deal,” the source went on to say.

Al-Rahi: 1701 compels Israel, Hezbollah to instantly halt all attacks
Naharnet/November 06/2023
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Monday said he strongly condemns “this genocidal, destructive and displacement war against the Palestinian people.” “We express solidarity with them, defend their cause, support the two-state solution and call on the international community to work on stopping this war,” the patriarch added. He also called on Lebanese state officials to work on protecting Lebanon from “the tragedies of this destructive war,” noting that it would be more beneficial for Lebanon to “perform its political and diplomatic role in support of the Palestinian cause.”Accordingly, he called on officials to “cling to the implementation of (U.N.) Security Council 1701, which compels Israel and Hezbollah to instantly halt all attacks and military operations from the two sides.”Moreover, al-Rahi condemned the Israeli strike that killed a woman and her three grandchildren on Sunday near the southern town of Ainata. “We strongly condemn the ugly massacre that targeted innocent children who were students at our catholic schools,” the patriarch added. Turning to the issue of the looming expiry of the army chief’s term, al-Rahi said that “the army must be immunized and supported and its commander must not be changed until the election of a president, for the sake of stability in the country.”“The military institution is today before a fateful juncture that is threatening the country’s security and it is not in the interest of the state to carry out any changes in the army’s leadership,” the patriarch added. “It is direly needed to elect a president and subsequently secure the soundness of all institutions,” al-Rahi went on to say.

Israel-Hezbollah border skirmishes: Latest developments
Associated Press/November 06/2023
Israel shelled Monday the outskirts of the southern border towns of Alma al-Shaab, al-Naqoura, and al-Khiyam. Meanwhile, Israeli residents near Lebanon's border have been asked to stay home over a suspected security incident. Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi had called on Lebanese officials to abide by Resolution 1701, which compels Israel and Hezbollah to instantly halt all attacks and military operations, as the killing of four Lebanese civilians, including a woman and three children, raised the likelihood of a dangerous new escalation in the conflict on the Lebanon-Israel border. Israeli troops and Hezbollah have been clashing for a month along the border since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. While clashes remain largely contained, they have increased in intensity as Israel conducts a ground incursion in Gaza against Hezbollah ally Hamas. Shortly after the Israeli strike on a car carrying a family between the towns of Ainata and Aitaroun, Hezbollah fired Grad rockets from southern Lebanon into Israel in response. A number of rockets hit the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona. The death of the woman and three children raised the number of civilians killed on the Lebanese side in the border clashes to at least 14, while at least two Israeli civilians have been killed, as well as seven Israeli soldiers and dozens of fighters with Hezbollah and allied groups in Lebanon. Hezbollah officials have warned that if Israel kills Lebanese civilians, it will be considered a violation of the rules of engagement and it will retaliate by attacking civilian targets.

Report: No ceasefire in south Lebanon, Gaza before Arab summit
Naharnet/November 06/2023
All the ongoing military developments and diplomatic efforts do not indicate that there will be any imminent agreement on a ceasefire in Gaza or on Lebanon’s southern front, informed political sources said. Such an agreement will not be reached before the emergency Arab summit that will be held in Riyadh on November 11, the sources added, in remarks to al-Joumhouria newspaper published Monday.

Lebanon files complaint with UN Security Council after Israel kills woman, childrena
Arab News/November 06, 2023
UNIFIL warns: Targeting civilians in southern Lebanon amounts to war crime
Students observe minute’s silence to pay tribute to three minors killed in Israeli attack
BEIRUT: UNIFIL warned on Monday potential military escalation in southern Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah must be stopped. It came after an Israeli airstrike in south Lebanon killed a woman and three children. Andrea Tenenti, a UNIFIL spokesperson, said: “Any civilian death is a tragedy. No one wants to see more people hurt or killed.”Tenenti added: “We urge everyone to cease fire now to prevent more people from being hurt.”The Israeli attack led to the death of Samira Abdel Hussein Ayoub and her three granddaughters, Remas Mahmoud Shor, 14, Talin Mahmoud Shor, 12, and Layan Mahmoud Shor, 10. At the request of the Education Ministry, Lebanese students observed a minute’s silence in their schools on Monday as a tribute to the slain children. The Israel Defense Forces reportedly targeted two civilian cars with a drone on a road between the towns of Aitaroun and Aainata. The girls’ mother, Hoda Abdel-Nabi Hejazi, who was driving the first car, is in hospital after undergoing surgery to treat her injuries. Her brother — a journalist — was injured in the second car. UNIFIL witnessed intense firing across the Blue Line on Sunday, Tenenti said.
“We have heard tragic reports of four civilians, three young girls, and a woman being killed in the vicinity of Aitaroun in south Lebanon. “We remind all the parties involved that attacks against civilians are a violation of international law that may amount to war crimes.”
Lebanese leaders condemned the “massacre of children and civilians,” and Beirut filed a complaint with the UN Security Council over the killings. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said: “This is a heinous crime and a new disgrace on the global conscience that turns a blind eye to what the Israeli occupation is doing in southern Lebanon and Gaza.”Caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib said: “It is a war crime that reflects Israel’s policy of deliberately targeting families, children, medics, and journalists.”A correspondent in the border area told Arab News: “The shelling targeted an ordinary road on which civilian cars pass in a place whose residents are considered well-off given the mansions and villas built there.
“The road is exposed to Israeli positions, but it is far from the Blue Line.
“It is incomprehensible why the two cars were targeted, especially since today, Monday, there is traffic on the same road, and no car was targeted.”While the displacement of Lebanese civilians from the southern border areas toward areas north of the Litani River continued, UK authorities decided to reduce the number of embassy staff in Lebanon. The evacuation of foreign and dual nationals from Lebanon continued after 30 days of war in the Gaza Strip and tension in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah responded to the killing of the Lebanese family by targeting the Israeli settlement of Kiryat Shmona with Grad rockets.
Hezbollah stressed in a statement that it “will never tolerate any harm or aggression against civilians. The retaliation will be resolute and powerful.” Hezbollah targeted Israeli military sites with guided missiles on Sunday night.
The IDF responded with artillery fire in the vicinity of the missile launch areas. Israeli shelling also struck the border town of Naqoura on Monday morning. Since Oct. 8, the Blue Line has witnessed military operations during which Hezbollah targeted Israeli positions. The IDF shelled Lebanese border villages and towns, violating the Litani Line in its aggression, extending its raids, artillery, and drone flights northwards. Before Sunday’s assault, there had been an Israeli attack on ambulances near the town of Qabrikha early on Sunday, injuring four members of the Civil Defense who were inside. These incidents could potentially escalate the confrontation in southern Lebanon. The rules of engagement agreed upon after the issue of the UN Resolution 1701 in 2006 stipulate that “any response will be met with a similar response.” An IDF spokesperson, however, told Reuters last month that “the rules of engagement stipulate that anyone approaching the border shall be fired upon.”Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah threatened Israel in his recent Friday address to “restore the equation of a civilian for a civilian.” Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said: “What happened confirms beyond doubt that Israel, at the military and political levels — not to mention its heritage minister, who called for the use of a nuclear bomb against the Palestinian people in Gaza — all fall within a single context that represents an example of organized state terrorism.”

Lebanon's FM Bou Habib condemns Israel's 'deliberate targeting of civilians'
LBCI/November 06/2023
After filing a complaint with the United Nations Security Council regarding Israel's killing of children and civilians in southern Lebanon, the Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, stated that "it is a war crime that clearly reflects Israel's policy of deliberately targeting families, children, paramedics, and journalists."

Mikati receives invitation to attend Riyadh emergency summit on Nov. 11, meets Australian and Brazilian Ambassadors, MP Abou Faour, Renewal"...
NNA/November 06/2023
Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Monday received an invitation from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to attend the emergency Arab summit “to discuss the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and developments in the occupied Palestinian territories next Saturday, the eleventh of this month, in Riyadh.”On the other hand, Premier Mikati held a series of diplomatic and political meetings at the Grand Serail today. In this framework, Mikati met with Australian Ambassador to Lebanon, Andrew Barnes, in the presence of the Prime Minister’s Advisors, Ambassador Boutros Asaker and Ziad Mikati. Discussions reportedly touched on the current situation, as well as bilateral relations between the Lebanon and Australia. The Prime Minister later met with Brazilian Ambassador to Lebanon, Tarcísio Costa, over the current general situation and the bilateral relations between the two countries. Mikati then received MP Wael Abou Faour, who announced after the meeting that he conveyed to the Premier, the Progressive Socialist Party and the Democratic Gathering’s appreciation for the great efforts he is making at the level of Arab and international contacts, as part of the Arab communications network that is being conducted to stop the aggression in Gaza. Moreover, Mikati received at the Grand Serail, the "Renewal" parliamentary bloc, which included MPs: Ashraf Rifi, Fouad Makhzoumi, Michel Mouawad and Adeeb Abdel Massih. The PM also received at the Grand Serail, in the presence of Caretaker Displaced Minister, Issam Sharaf El-Din, a delegation representing the “National Coalition for the Return of Displaced Syrians”. The meeting took stock of the risks ensued in line with the continued presence displaced Syrians on Lebanese territories, especially amid the prevailing circumstances. The meeting also stressed the need to activate the displaced Syrians’ return to their homeland as soon as possible. Mikati also met with Beirut Municipality head, Abdallah Darwish.

Berri broaches latest developments in Lebanon and region with Ain El-Tineh visitors, meets Bou Saab, Egyptian Ambassador, Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly...
NNA/November 06/2023
House Speaker, Nabih Berri, on Monday met at his Ain-el-Tineh residence, with Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab, with whom he discussed the latest political and field developments, in light of the escalating Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and on Lebanon, as well legislative affairs. Speaker Berri later received in Ain El-Tineh, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Ahl al-Bayt World Assembly, Sheikh Mohammad Hasan Akhtari, with an accompanying delegation, in the presence of the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani. Discussions reportedly touched on the current developments in Lebanon and the region. Berri also received in Ain El-Tineh, Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon, Dr. Yasser Alawi, with talks reportedly touching on the current development locally and regionally, and on the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Al-Rai's decisive stance on Army Chief's term amid south situation
LBCI/November 06/2023
After a relatively long absence from Lebanon, Maronite Patriarch Beshara Al-Rai has returned to the local scene, particularly concerning extending the term of Army Chief General Joseph Aoun. This article was originally published in and translated from Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al-Watan. His decisive stance, as declared in his Sunday sermon, aimed to end the attempt led by Gebran Bassil, the head of the Free Patriotic Movement, and Sleiman Frangieh, Leader of the Marada Movement, to obstruct the extension. To distance the Patriarch's position from personalization, the Maronite Church's leader was keen to communicate his stance on the presidential vacancy to General Aoun during their meeting. The Patriarch praised the performance of the military institution after expressing his respect for the General. During their meeting, Al-Rai discussed the security situation in the South, the issue of displaced people, and the Army's role in maintaining security within the country. The Patriarch expressed his absolute support for the Army Chief and his rejection of the leadership vacuum extending into his position.
He emphasized his desire for the extension of General Aoun's term and the use of all legal means to achieve it. He also stressed that this issue should not be subject to any trade-offs with other matters, regardless of their significance, as it is unacceptable for the leadership vacuum to affect the military institution, especially during the region's ongoing conflicts.
Furthermore, he underscored that the leadership vacuum in the Army, particularly for the Maronite community, is a red line. An agreement was reached between the Patriarch and General Aoun to continue their communication in the upcoming phase.
Al-Rai then said, "It is truly disgraceful to hear talk of dismissing the Army Chief at the most critical stage in Lebanon's life, its security, stability, and international relations."
However, sources said the Patriarch's stance reflects his meeting with Bassil.
The latter did not hesitate to openly express his rejection of extending the term of the Army Chief, stating, "Our ministers and the ministers of Frangieh refuse the extension. If they are overridden, it would be an unethical act."
Bassil's position seemed like an attempt to deprive the Maronite community of the second most important position in the country, which is the leadership of the Army, especially after it lost the presidency last year.
Moreover, sources indicated that the Patriarch emphasized in his sermon that the position of Army Chief is associated explicitly with the Maronites and that, in the absence of a president, Bkerki should be the reference for deciding on this matter.
However, observers pointed out that all eyes will turn to the Speaker of Parliament, Nabih Berri, to convince Frangieh to have his ministers participate in the government session for the extension, as it has become clear that the extension is within the authority of the Council of Ministers.
They further noted that what gives the extension added significance is that Qatar links the aid it currently provides to the Army to the presence of Joseph Aoun at the helm of the military institution. This aid includes $30 million in fuel and $100 per month for each individual in the military institution. On the other hand, the southern issue was present during the tour of the Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, over the past weekend.
The tour included meetings with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Jordan's King Abdullah II, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Jordanian capital.
However, sources explained that there are efforts to establish a ceasefire before the Arab League summit. Still, it's not yet known whether these efforts will result in a humanitarian ceasefire or a comprehensive cessation of hostilities.
They pointed out that Lebanon is still within the category of "fragile neutrality," marred by the hostilities witnessed in the South. However, this neutrality faced a critical test on Sunday after an Israeli shelling led to the death of four members of the same family, including the sister of journalist Samir Ayoub and her three grandchildren (14, 12, and 10 years old). The journalist who was driving his car on the Ainata-Aitaroun road near Bint Jbeil was also injured. Members of his sister's family were traveling behind him in another car. The crime of killing members of journalist Ayoub's family sparked an intense internal outcry, including positions from Speaker Berri and PM Mikati.
Consequently, Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib has initiated "the preparation of an urgent new complaint to the Security Council," which will be presented Monday "in response to Israel's crime in Ainata against the innocent children and family," as Bou Habib stated. Furthermore, four paramedics were injured in an Israeli shelling on two ambulances Sunday morning. Meanwhile, Hezbollah stated the "heinous and atrocious crime," announcing "the launching of several Grad (Katyusha) rockets at the Kiryat Shmona settlement." The statement added: "The Islamic Resistance affirms that it will never tolerate harming civilians, and its response will be firm and strong." On the Israeli side, the media announced "the killing of an Israeli civilian in an anti-tank missile attack launched from Lebanon on a location near the northern kibbutz of Yiftah" Sunday.
Amidst this troubled southern scene on the ground, Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, will appear at 3 p.m. next Saturday on the occasion of the "Party's Martyrs' Day," which he commemorates annually on this day.
While waiting to understand Nasrallah's positions regarding the developments on the southern front, his new appearance comes a week after the Friday speech honoring the "Party's" martyrs in the southern confrontation linked to the Gaza war.

Kahlil Gibran's hometown Bsharre celebrates 'The Prophet' centennial
Agence France Presse/November 06/2023
Nestled in the mountains of northern Lebanon, a museum dedicated to Kahlil Gibran in his hometown of Bsharre has been celebrating the centennial of "The Prophet", the renowned author's most famous work. Since it was first published in the United States in 1923, millions of copies of "The Prophet" have been sold worldwide, with the book becoming a literary classic that has been translated into dozens of languages from the original English. "Every reader, no matter where they're from, feels that this book relates to them and moves them deeply... whether they are Christian, Muslim, Jewish" or atheist, said museum director Joseph Geagea. It "touches the spirituality of each individual, dealing with death, life, friendship, love, children" and other topics, he added. A collection of poetic prose, "The Prophet" tells the story of Almustafa, who before returning to his homeland, speaks to residents of the city of Orphalese about various aspects of life. Divided into 26 chapters, verses from "The Prophet" are often quoted at births, weddings and funerals around the world. "Biblical style is pervasive" in "The Prophet", Lebanese author Alexandre Najjar said during a recent reading in Beirut, also noting the influence of Islam's mystic Sufi tradition. "The Prophet" captured the hearts of students and hippies in the 1960s, Najjar said, including for the passage: "Your children are not your children... they come through you but not from you."
Elvis Presley "loved the book so much that he used to give it to his friends on their birthday", he added. Other celebrities and leaders, from John Lennon to Japan's former Empress Michiko and late Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, were also fond of the book, the museum's Geagea said.
'Deeply spiritual vision'
Gibran was born in Bsharre in 1883, when Lebanon was under Ottoman rule, but wrote most of his books in the United States, where he headed the New York Pen League, the first Arab-American literary society. Overlooking Lebanon's Qadisha Valley, the museum was set up in a former 18th century monastery and exhibits some 150 paintings by the author that show "his deeply spiritual vision of existence", Geagea said. A table displays 11 translations of "The Prophet" released between 1923 and 1931. "Gibran strongly wished to return to Bsharre, which he left at age 12," said Geagea, but the writer died before he could get the chance. The monks decided to sell the monastery and the surrounding land to Gibran's sister after the author's death in 1931, when he was just 48. The site was transformed into his burial place and then into a museum for his artworks and other objects, and receives around 50,000 visitors a year from five continents, Geagea said. Despite his popularity among readers, Gibran's most famous work received a lukewarm reception at the time of writing from American critics, who criticised it as simplistic and moralising. In April this year, an exhibition at the United Nations headquarters in New York also marked the work's centenary.

Lebanon is held captive by Nasrallah and Hezbollah
Smadar Perry/Ynetnews/November 06/2023
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bjb2rgbxp
Analysis: Lebanese citizens are begging Hezbollah to provide them with food and fear being drafted into its military; they are ready for Israel to take Hezbollah out, even at their expense
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati refused to issue statements on Saturday after their meeting, but according to reports in Washington and Beirut neither was able to utter the name "Hezbollah" in their conversation. Mikati, according to reports, implored the top U.S. diplomat to bring about a cease-fire "in Lebanon and in Gaza and if not in Gaza, at least in Lebanon," for 48 hours, so that residents there would be able to recover. Blinken, it was reported, said he tried, but that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the possibility. Mikati did not give up. "Tell him we in Lebanon comply with UN resolution 1701, and will ensure the cessation of fire," he reportedly said. Blinken replied that Netanyahu "is not ready to listen. Before leaving for his surprise visit to Amman, the capital of Jordan, on his way to the meeting with Blinken, Mikati still had time to address Parliament. "Finally elect a permanent president. I neither want nor need this position," he admonished them.
This was not the first time the billionaire businessman with companies in Europe, Africa and the United States, but very few financial interests in Lebanon, tried unsuccessfully to get out of continuing to serve as acting president. At least 12 attempts to reach an agreement on who should fill the role have failed. "One day you will discover I've gone home and there is no one sitting in the president's chair," Mikati has threatened in the past. His threats have fallen on deaf ears. There are no exact numbers on the size of the Lebanese population, that is made up of at least seven different ethnic groups. There are an estimated 5.3 million residents who are mostly impoverished and many, especially in the south of the country, are in constant readiness to leave their homes in case they have to flee - like the residents of southern Israel - to escape the fighting between the IDF forces, Hezbollah and Palestinian factions along the border, while others hope to relocate to Gulf nations where they would be able to earn a living. The country's institutions that are not under Hezbollah's control, including schools that are closed and hospitals that have seen most of their medical teams leave the country, are in dire straits amid a shortage of food and medicine.
They are begging for assistance from Hezbollah and, although some stores have reopened, most Lebanese cannot afford to buy meat, eggs or vegetables.
"We live on pita bread and beans," explains 16-year-old Mohammedin, who was sent to the neighborhood grocery store with single Lebanese pound bills that would not be able to pay for even half of the list of items in his hand.
Hezbollah's aid agency hands out surplus food to its citizens, but young Lebanese are in a hurry to flee, out of fear of being inducted into the Iran-backed group that has been willing to take in fighters who are not Shiite to its estimated 200,000-strong army. The veteran speaker of the Parliament, Nabih Berry, who is Shi'ite, has been urging Lebanese to join the terror group.
Hezbollah posted pictures of the visit of senior members of Hamas with the group's leader Hassan Nasrallah, but even they were made to travel in circles to prevent them from identifying the location of Nasrallah's hideaway. He knows how to navigate political ties with Mikati. Both men understand how not to cross the line after the Hezbollah leader promised not to endanger the lives of Lebanese civilians, and Mikati is careful not to confront Nasrallah head on. All that is left for that countries desperate population is to express their anger and frustration on social media mocking Nasrallah and calling him a heatless murderer. Some have even expressed the hope that Israel will rid them of his hold on their country, even at their expense.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 06-07/2023
Video Link for a Round Table Discussion from The Washington Institute under the title: The Hamas-Israeli War One Month On
رابط فيديو لحلقة نقاش من موقع معهد واشنطن تتناول حرب غزة بعد مرور شهر على بدءها/المشاركين هم دانيس روس وزوهار بلتي وحنين غدار وغيث العمري
Participants
Dennis Ross/Zohar Palti/ Hanin Ghaddar/ Gaaith Al- Omari
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/124004/124004/
One month after the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, the country has begun the "second phase" of its military operation: a ground incursion in Gaza to eliminate Hamas. Meanwhile, attacks on Israel from Lebanon and Yemen—and on U.S. targets in Syria and Iraq—may presage an even wider war to come.
To explore the short- and long-term ramifications of these breaking developments, The Washington Institute is pleased to announce a virtual Policy Forum with:
Dennis Ross, the Institute’s counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow
Zohar Palti, the Institute’s Viterbi International Fellow and former head of the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Policy and Political-Military Bureau
Hanin Ghaddar, the Institute’s Friedmann Senior Fellow and co-creator of its new interactive map tracking clashes along the Israel-Lebanon border
Ghaith al-Omari, the Institute’s Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Senior Fellow and former advisor to the Palestinian Authority

Guterres: A ceasefire in Gaza becomes more urgent by the hour
AFP/November 6, 2023
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged for an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas on Monday, warning that the Gaza Strip, under constant bombardment, is turning into a "graveyard for children."
Guterres made his remarks during a press briefing at the United Nations headquarters, emphasizing the urgent humanitarian need for a ceasefire as the unfolding catastrophe demands immediate action. He stated, "The disaster unfolding before us makes a humanitarian ceasefire all the more imperative by the hour."The Secretary-General continued, "The parties to the conflict, and indeed the international community, bear an immediate and fundamental responsibility to put an end to this inhumane and escalating humanitarian crisis and significantly expand humanitarian assistance to Gaza."He added, "The nightmare in Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis. It is a crisis for humanity."

Iran's president to attend summit in Saudi Arabia on Gaza war
LBCI/November 6, 2023
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is expected to attend a summit in the Saudi capital on Sunday to address the Israel-Hamas war, a source familiar with the preparations told AFP on Monday. It would be Raisi's first visit to the Kingdom since the two countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations after seven years of severed ties, a deal brokered by China and announced in March.

Pentagon: US submarine in the Middle East aimed at "deterrence"
AFP/November 6, 2023
The US Department of Defense announced on Monday that an American nuclear-powered Ohio-class submarine is present in the Middle East to help prevent the worsening and expansion of the Israel-Hamas war. The US Central Command released an image of the submarine crossing the Suez Canal on the previous day on "X." Pentagon spokesperson General Pat Ryder told reporters, "It is currently in the area of operations for the Fifth Fleet," referring to the region that includes the Gulf, the Red Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. He added, "What this (submarine) is doing... is providing support for the deterrence efforts we have in the region," without providing further details. Some Ohio-class submarines are equipped with ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads, while others are capable of carrying over 150 Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Israel says it dropped 6,000 bombs on Gaza in one week. That's almost as many as what the US dropped in Afghanistan in one year.
Kwan Wei Kevin Tan/ Business Insider/November 6, 2023
Israel said it dropped about 6,000 bombs on the Gaza Strip within the first six days of war. That staggering number is close to the 7,423 bombs US dropped on Afghanistan in 2019. Israel has launched multiple airstrikes on the densely populated Gaza Strip since October 7. Israel's dogged attempts to defeat the Palestinian militant group Hamas have seen the country use a staggering amount of bombs on the Gaza Strip. On October 12, the Israeli Air Force said on X, formerly Twitter, that they had "dropped about 6,000 bombs against Hamas targets" within the first six days of the war. The Washington Post later reported on Sunday that the figure's just trailing the thousands of bombs the US dropped on Afghanistan in the entirety of 2019. According to the US Air Forces Central Command, the US dropped 7,423 bombs on Afghanistan in 2019. The US dropped 7,362 bombs in 2018.
On October 7, Hamas launched a series of brutal terrorist attacks against Israel. Israel declared war against Hamas the next day. Israel has since launched multiple airstrikes on the densely populated Gaza Strip. This included a strike on Tuesday on northern Gaza's Jabalia refugee camp, which the Israel Defense Forces said it bombed while hunting Hamas. Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a press conference on Saturday that "there will be no more security threat from Gaza on Israel" when Hamas has been eliminated, per The Times of Israel. "At the end of the war, there'll be no Hamas in Gaza," Gallant said. Both sides have reported civilian deaths and injuries. More than 1,400 Israelis have died following Hamas' attacks. Gaza officials say over 9,700 Palestinians have died, with thousands more injured. Representatives for the Israel Defense Forces did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Blinken wraps up Mideast tour, tries to soothe Turkey's anger in Ankara
Associated Press/November 6, 2023
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was wrapping up a grueling Middle East diplomatic tour on Monday in Turkey after only limited success in his furious efforts to forge a regional consensus on how best to ease civilian suffering in Gaza as Israel intensifies its war against Hamas. Blinken met in the Turkish capital of Ankara with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan after a frantic weekend of travel that took him from Israel to Jordan, the occupied West Bank, Cyprus and Iraq to build support for the Biden administration's proposal for "humanitarian pauses" to Israel's relentless military campaign in Gaza. Blinken's shuttle diplomacy came as Israeli troops surrounded Gaza City and cut off the northern part of the besieged Hamas-ruled territory. Troops are expected to enter the city Monday or Tuesday, and are likely to face militants fighting street by street using a vast network of tunnels. Casualties will likely rise on both sides in the month-old war, which has already killed more than 9,700 Palestinians. The top U.S. diplomat hopes that pauses in the war would allow for a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the release of hostages captured by Hamas during the militants' deadly Oct. 7 incursion into southern Israel — while also preventing the conflict from spreading regionally. Neither Blinken nor Fidan spoke as they posed for photographers ahead of their formal talks in Ankara and the top U.S. diplomat was not going to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyep Erdogan who has been highly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and an outlier among NATO allies in not expressing full support for Israel's right to defend itself. Outside the Foreign Ministry, dozens of protesters from an Islamist group carried Turkish and Palestinian flags and held up anti-U.S. and anti-Israel placards as the Blinken-Fidan meeting got underway. Earlier Monday, police dispersed a group of students marching toward the ministry chanting "murderer Blinken, get out of Turkey!" It was the second day of protests denouncing Blinken's visit in Turkey. On Sunday, pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with Turkish riot police outside the U.S.-Turkish Incirlik military air base in Adana, in southern Turkey. Police fired tear gas and water cannon as the demonstrators tried to cross fields to enter the base. Several hundreds also marched to the U.S. Embassy in Ankara on Sunday, chanting "God is great."Blinken's mission, his second to the region since the war began, has found only tepid, if any, support. Israel has rejected the idea of pauses while Arab and Muslim nations are instead demanding an immediate cease-fire as the casualty toll soars among Palestinian civilians under Israeli bombardments of Gaza.
U.S. officials are seeking to convince Israel of the strategic importance of respecting the laws of war by protecting non-combatants and significantly boosting deliveries of humanitarian aid to Gaza's beleaguered civilian population. It remained unclear, however, if Netanyahu would agree to temporary, rolling pauses in the massive operation to eradicate Hamas — or whether outrage among Palestinians and their supporters could be assuaged if he did. Already Jordan and Turkey have recalled their ambassadors to Israel to protest its tactics and the tide of international opinion appears to be turning from sympathy toward Israel in the aftermath of Oct. 7 to revulsion as images of death and destruction in Gaza spread around the world. On Saturday in the Jordanian capital of Amman, both the Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers appeared at a joint news conference with Blinken. The two said Israel's war had gone beyond self-defense and could no longer be justified as it now amounted to collective punishment of the Palestinian people. That sentiment was echoed by tens of thousands of demonstrators who marched in the streets of world capitals over the weekend to protest Israel and condemn U.S. support for Israel. After finishing his talks in Turkey, Blinken will head to Asia where the Gaza conflict will likely share top billing with other international crises at a series of events in Japan, South Korea and India, including Russia's war on Ukraine and North Korea's nuclear weapons program. On Sunday, Blinken flew from the occupied West Bank, where he held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, to Baghdad for talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. American forces in the region face a surge of attacks by Iranian-allied militias in Iraq and elsewhere. U.S. forces shot down another one-way attack drone Sunday that was targeting American and coalition troops near their base in neighboring Syria, a U.S. official said. From Baghdad Blinken traveled to Turkey. The Biden administration, while remaining the strongest backer of Israel's military response to Hamas' attacks on Oct. 7, is increasingly seeking to use its influence with Israel to try to temper the effect of Israel's weeks of complete siege and near round-the-clock air, ground and sea assaults in Gaza, home to 2.3 million civilians. Arab states are resisting American suggestions that they play a larger role in resolving the crisis, expressing outrage at the civilian toll of the Israeli military operations and believing Gaza to be a problem largely of Israel's own making.

Israel intensifies Gaza strikes despite ceasefire calls
Agence France Presse/November 6, 2023
Israel pounded Gaza with "significant" strikes Monday as soldiers battled Hamas forces in the besieged territory, ignoring ceasefire calls by U.N. aid agencies who condemned surging civilian deaths in the month-long conflict. Israeli troops and Hamas fighters engaged in house-to-house combat in densely populated Gaza, where the war has sent 1.5 million people fleeing to other parts of the territory in a desperate search for cover. "We will take the fight to Hamas wherever they are, underground, above ground", Israeli army spokesman Jonathan Conricus said at a briefing Monday, repeating calls for civilians to leave the urban war zone in the north of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. "We will be able to dismantle Hamas, stronghold after stronghold, battalion after battalion, until we achieve the ultimate goal, which is to rid the Gaza Strip -- the entire Gaza Strip -- of Hamas." Conricus again accused Hamas of building tunnels underneath hospitals, schools and places of worship in Gaza to hide fighters, plan attacks and store ammunition -- a charge the militant group has repeatedly denied. "This strike is like an earthquake," Gaza City resident Alaa Abu Hasera said, in a devastated area where entire blocks were reduced to rubble. Israel launched a massive bombing campaign after the Palestinian militants staged the worst attack in the country's history. In their October 7 attack, Hamas gunmen reportedly killed more than 1,400 people and took more than 240 others hostage. The health ministry in Gaza says more than 9,770 people, many of them women and children, have been killed in Israeli strikes and the intensifying ground campaign since the war began. Israel has resisted calls for a halt in the fighting, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken touring the region calling for "pauses" while rejecting Arab countries' demands for a ceasefire.
Israeli troops now encircle Gaza City, effectively splitting the territory in two, with "significant" strikes carried out, army spokesman Daniel Hagari said late Sunday. Shortly before the strikes, internet and telephone lines were cut, Hagari said, adding that the strikes would continue in the days to come.
'Enough is enough' -
Israel has distributed leaflets and sent text messages ordering Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza to head south, but a U.S. official said Saturday at least 350,000 civilians remain in the worst-hit areas. On Sunday, the health ministry said 45 people were killed in Israeli strikes on a refugee camp in central Gaza, leaving people searching through the rubble. "Are there any survivors?" shouted Said al-Najma, as he tried to shift the blocks of concrete strewn across the road in the camp. "They brought down an entire street on the heads of women and children without any notice," he said.
Deepening the desperation in the crowded territory, the sole border crossing into Egypt was closed Sunday for a second day in a row, with Hamas suspending the evacuation of foreign passport holders after Israel refused to allow some wounded Palestinians to be evacuated. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed the closure, saying more than 1,100 people had been allowed out in the two days previous. Since Israel sent ground forces into the north of Gaza late last month, "over 2,500 terror targets have been struck" by "ground, air and naval forces", the army said Sunday. As international concern grows at mounting casualties, the heads of all major United Nations agencies issued a joint statement expressing outrage at the civilian death toll in Gaza and calling for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire". "For almost a month, the world has been watching the unfolding situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory in shock and horror at the spiralling numbers of lives lost and torn apart," the U.N. chiefs said, including the heads of UNICEF, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization. "We need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. It's been 30 days. Enough is enough. This must stop now."
The statement came as Blinken pressed a whirlwind Middle East tour focused on aid for the Palestinians, backing "humanitarian pauses" in the fighting -- in a trip that has taken him to Israel and the occupied West Bank, as well as to Jordan, Iraq and Cyprus. Blinken on Sunday went to the West Bank, where Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas denounced "the genocide and destruction suffered by our Palestinian people in Gaza at the hands of Israel's war machine", the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said. On Monday, Blinken holds tough talks in Turkey in a bid to soothe the anger of one of Washington's most strategic but difficult allies about the bloodshed in Gaza. NATO member Turkey, which is allied to the Palestinians but also has ties with Israel, has said it is recalling its ambassador to Israel and breaking off contacts with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
'Continue until we win'
Netanyahu has remained firm on his position, vowing that "there won't be a ceasefire until the hostages are returned". "Let them remove this from their lexicon. We are saying this to our enemies and to our friends," the right-wing premier said after meeting troops. "We will simply continue until we win. We have no alternative."Jordan's air force has air-dropped vital medical supplies to a field hospital in Gaza, King Abdullah II said Monday, adding that it was his country's "duty to aid our brothers and sisters injured in the war on Gaza". Israel's army said it had "coordinated" with treaty ally Amman on the aid drop. The war has exacerbated tensions in the West Bank, where more than 150 Palestinians have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces and settlers since the start of the war, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The Israeli military said Monday it had arrested Palestinian activist Ahed Tamimi, 22, in a raid in her West Bank town of Nabi Salih on suspicion of "inciting violence and terrorist activities". Tamimi became prominent at age 14 when she was filmed biting an Israeli soldier to prevent him from arresting her younger brother, who was pinned to the ground while he had his arm in a cast. She later became an icon of the Palestinian cause, and a large portrait of her was painted on the Israeli separation wall with the West Bank.

Israeli minister calls for security zones around West Bank settlements to keep Palestinians away
JERUSALEM (Reuters)/November 6, 2023
Israel's hardline nationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called on Monday for security zones to be set up around Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, keeping Palestinian farmers away during the olive harvest season. The harvest season, when Palestinian olive growers spend more time in the open bringing in the crop, has often led to clashes between settlers and Palestinian inhabitants in the West Bank. Smotrich, head of one of the religious-nationalist parties in the ruling right-wing coalition, wrote to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to demand special zones around the settlements to stop Palestinians coming near "including for the olive harvest."While Hamas tightly controls besieged Gaza, the West Bank is a complex patchwork of hillside cities, Israeli settlements and army checkpoints that split Palestinian communities. Smotrich said the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip offered lessons for Israeli settlements in the West Bank. "I demand that a written directive be issued immediately by the political echelon to the Israel Defence Forces to create those wide security zones around the settlements and roads and to prevent Arabs from approaching them," he wrote, adding he proposed compensating those who were denied access to their crops. Netanyahu's office declined comment while Gallant's office had no immediate comment. Smotrich, whose party draws much of its support from the settler movement, and Gallant, a former army general, have clashed repeatedly since the coalition government took power last year. He said he had repeatedly demanded an overhaul of security policy in the area, which until now has focused on protecting the olive harvest. "With all due respect, this is madness that I won't put up with anymore," he wrote. His letter comes amid escalating violence in the volatile West Bank in the wake of the Hamas attack and Israel's air strikes on Gaza and ground campaign aimed at eradicating the militant group. According to the United Nation's relief agency OCHA, West Bank settlers' attacks on Palestinians have more than doubled since Oct. 7. Smotrich has also refused to disburse part of the tax revenue collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority under a longstanding arrangement, despite a call by Gallant to pay out the money to help maintain stability.

Four Palestinian militants killed by Israeli forces in West Bank
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters)/November 6, 2023 
Israeli security forces killed four Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank on Monday in the latest in a series of deadly incidents that have spiralled in the wake of the war in Gaza. Israel's military and police said in a joint statement the four killed were part of a West Bank cell that was directed by the Islamist movement Hamas and which was behind numerous shooting attacks. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the four were killed in the western West Bank city of Tulkarm, close to the boundary with Israel, after Israeli forces opened fire on their car. Prior to the latest incident, at least 155 Palestinians had been killed in the West Bank since the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, according to Palestinian Health Ministry figures. The worsening violence comes after more than 18 months of bloodshed that has fuelled fears the West Bank could explode and become a new front in the Israel-Hamas war.

Live updates | Israeli troops divide north and south Gaza, as reported death toll exceeds 10,000
The Associated Press/November 6, 2023
Israeli troops divided the northern and southern parts of Gaza, as communications across the besieged territory were temporarily cut Monday for a third time since the war started. The troops are expected to enter Gaza City on Monday or Tuesday, Israeli media reported. The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war surpassed 10,000, including more than 4,100 children and 2,640 women, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. The developments came after Israeli airstrikes hit two refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip on Sunday, killing scores of people, health officials said. Israel has so far rejected U.S. suggestions that it take a humanitarian pause from its relentless bombardment of Gaza and the rising civilian deaths. In the occupied West Bank, more than 140 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the fighting, and 242 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the militant group. Roughly 1,100 people have left the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing since Wednesday under an apparent agreement among the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas.
Currently:
— Communications are being restored in Gaza, while Israel’s military announces it has surrounded Gaza City.
— Families of Israel hostages fear the world will forget their loved ones.
— These numbers show the staggering toll of the Israel-Hamas war.
— A U.N. official says the average Palestinian in Gaza is living on two pieces of bread a day.
— Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war.
Here’s what is happening in the latest Israel-Hamas war:
MIAMI BEACH FIREFIGHTERS VOLUNTEER FOR ISRAEL
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Eight firefighters are leaving the United States for Israel to help fill in for Israeli firefighters who have been called up to serve in the country's defense forces after the war against Hamas erupted. The firefighters from Miami Beach, Florida, say it's the first city-sanctioned such mission in the U.S. Capt. Adonis Garcia, the union president who came up with the idea for this mission, said most of the volunteers heading to Israel on Monday aren't Jewish. Garcia said about a quarter of Israel's firefighters have been called up since the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by the Hamas militants who rule Gaza. Garcia and others have served before in natural disasters, including Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake. But city officials said it’s the first time they’ve been authorized to go to a war zone.
ICRC SAYS IT ACCOMPANIED CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS TO RAFAH CROSSING POINT
The International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday accompanied a convoy of four ambulances transporting seven critically wounded patients from al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City to the Rafah crossing point into Egypt, Jessica Moussan, a spokesperson for the ICRC told the AP. The patients were evacuated to Egypt for treatment as part of a deal among Egypt, Israel and Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza. The deal also calls for foreign passport holders to exit the besieged territory to Egypt.
Monday’s evacuation was the first since the crossing was closed over the weekend because of a dispute among Israel, Egypt and Hamas.
HAMAS SAYS IT HAS FIRED 16 ROCKETS ON NORTHERN ISRAELI TOWN
BEIRUT, Lebanon — The military wing of Hamas says they have fired 16 rockets on the northern Israeli town of Nahariya and the southern outskirts of the city of Haifa in retaliation for Israeli attacks on Gaza. The Qassam Brigades did not give further details in its statement released Monday but firing rockets toward Haifa is the furthest from Lebanon since clashes began along the border about a month ago. Hamas fired rockets in the past on northern Israel including Nahariya from Lebanon.
FLEEING PALESTINIANS REPORT ISRAELI BOMBARDMENT OF REFUGEE CAMP
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Palestinians who fled southward on Monday reported a heavy Israeli bombardment overnight of the Shati refugee camp. They said the Israeli military pounded the camp and the area around al-Shifa hospital during a communications blackout. Houses across the sprawling camp were reduced to the ground, leaving many dead or wounded under the ruble, they said. First responders and medics worked overnight to retrieve the dead and wounded, they said.
Ghassan Abu Sitta, a surgeon at al-Shifa hospital, said the bombardment of the camp shook the hospital's buildings. “They pounded the camp all night. The buildings of the al-Shifa hospital were shaking all night, and we started getting the bodies and the wounded. It was horrendous,” he told The Associated Press.
ISRAELI STRIKE DAMAGES A ROOF AT GAZA'S LARGEST HOSPITAL; HAMAS DENIES USING HOSPITALS FOR MILITARY ACTIVITIES
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Mohamed Zaqout, general manager of all hospitals in Gaza, said the roof of a building at al-Shifa hospital, Gaza’s largest, was damaged by an Israeli strike, resulting in deaths and injuries. Speaking on Al-Jazeera, Zaqout said the strike killed displaced people who were sheltering on the top floor. Solar panels that were installed on the roof were destroyed in the attack, he said. Al-Jazeera showed a video of bloodstained wreckage inside the top floor, where the beds of displaced families were still laid out. Other videos showed smoke rising from the building. Meanwhile, a senior Hamas official on Monday denied Israeli charges that the militant group has located missiles and rocket launchers near a hospital in the Gaza Strip. Osama Hamdan told reporters in Beirut that Israel is trying to destroy the medical sector in Gaza to force Palestinians out of their land. Hamdan also denied Israeli military statements that the group has a tunnel near a hospital in Gaza, saying a hole shown in a photo presented by the Israeli military spokesperson is used for storing fuel. Hamdan urged the U.N. to send an international committee to visit hospitals to confirm they are not being used by Hamas for military activities.
AT LEAST 2 KILLED AS AIRSTRIKE FLATTENS HOUSE IN SOUTHERN GAZA
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza — Dozens of civilians and emergency workers helped dig for survivors after an airstrike flattened at least one building in the densely populated al-Amal district of Khan Younis city in southern Gaza. “There were no grown-ups, the house was full of children,” said local resident Soliman al-Faqawi, pausing momentarily from the communal dig. Suddenly a teenage boy was pulled from the rubble alive, wincing in pain, his body completely covered in soot and dust. He was quickly placed on a stretcher and carried away for treatment, At least two people were killed in the strike, according to Associated Press journalists at the scene.
SOUTH AFRICA RECALLS ITS DIPLOMATS FROM ISRAEL OVER GAZA BOMBARDMENT
JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s government recalled its ambassador and diplomatic mission to Israel on Monday in condemnation of the bombardment of the Gaza Strip, calling it “a genocide.”The government also threatened action against the Israeli ambassador to South Africa over his recent remarks about the African country’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war. No further details were given about the remarks. The war broke out after the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 left over 1,400 people dead. Over 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. “The South African government has decided to withdraw all its diplomats in Tel Aviv for consultation,” said minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni. She said the Cabinet noted the “disparaging remarks of the Israeli ambassador to South Africa about those who are opposing the atrocities and genocide of the Israeli government.”The South African government has called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and for aid to be allowed into the bombarded enclave. South Africa is among other countries that have recalled their ambassadors to Israel to protest the military operations in Gaza, including Chile, Colombia and Honduras. Bolivia severed diplomatic ties with the country.
GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS PALESTINIAN DEATH TOLL HAS SURPASSED 10,000
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza says the Palestinian death toll from the ongoing war with Israel has jumped over 10,000. The figures, released Monday, mark a grim milestone in what has quickly become the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence since 1948. The war erupted on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants stormed into Israel from Gaza and killed over 1,400 people and took some 240 others hostage in a rampage that Israel described as the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. Israel responded with a campaign of blistering airstrikes, followed by a ground invasion. The Health Ministry said 292 people were killed in Gaza on Sunday, raising the death toll to 10,022, without distinguishing between fighters and civilians. The vast majority of the dead are believed to have been killed in Israeli airstrikes, though Israel says over 500 errant rockets launched by Palestinian militants have landed inside Gaza.
BLINKEN RECEIVES TEPID RESPONSE TO PROPOSAL FOR ‘HUMANITARIAN PAUSES’
ANKARA, Turkey -- U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a grueling Middle East diplomatic tour in Turkey after only limited success in forging a regional consensus on how to ease civilian suffering in Gaza as Israel intensifies its war against Hamas. Blinken met Monday in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan after a weekend of travel that took him from Israel to Jordan, the West Bank, Cyprus and Iraq to build support for the Biden administration’s proposal for “humanitarian pauses” in Israel’s relentless military campaign in Gaza. “All of this is a work in progress,” Blinken said before leaving Turkey. “We don’t obviously agree on everything, but there are common views on some of the imperatives of the moment that we’re working on together.”The Biden administration hopes that pauses in the war would allow for a surge of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the release of hostages captured by Hamas during its Oct. 7 incursion into southern Israel that killed more than 1,400 people, while also preventing the conflict from spreading regionally. Israel has rejected the pauses proposal outright while Arab and Muslim nations are instead demanding an immediate cease-fire as the Palestinian casualty toll soars from Israeli bombardments of Gaza in response to Hamas’ attack.
PHOTOS OF THAI HOSTAGES SHOW THEY ARE ALIVE, PRIME MINISTER SAYS
BANGKOK — Thailand’s government has photographs of Thai workers who are being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas following its Oct. 7 attack on Israel, showing they are alive, the prime minister said Monday. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin did not say how many hostages the photos showed. The Thai government’s official number of “abductions” is 24. Thirty-four Thais are known to have been killed and 19 injured. “There is an update that there are photos of the hostages. So, we understand that at least they are still alive. The negotiation efforts are still ongoing,” Srettha told reporters.
Thailand is pursuing several channels to obtain the release of the hostages, including a trip last week by Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara to Egypt and Qatar. Almost 8,000 Thai workers have returned home from Israel out of a pre-attack total of around 30,000. Most are employed as semi-skilled farm laborers who come from poorer regions of Thailand and are able to earn a much better income by working abroad.
POPE DECRIES ANTISEMITISM, WAR AND TERRORISM
ROME — Pope Francis met with European rabbis on Monday and decried antisemitism, war and terrorism in a written speech he declined to read, saying he wasn’t feeling well. Francis said in his prepared speech that his first thought and prayers goes “above all else, to everything that has happened in the last few weeks,” a clear reference to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel, including the taking away of hostages to the Gaza Strip, and the ensuring Israeli-Hamas war. “Yet again violence and war have erupted in that Land blessed by the Most High, which seems continually assailed by the vileness of hatred and the deadly clash of weapons,” Francis wrote in the speech. With France, Austria and Italy among the countries in Europe recently seeing a spate of antisemitic vandalism and slogans, Francis added, “The spread of antisemitic demonstrations, which I strongly condemn, is also of great concern.” The pontiff said believers in God are called to build “fraternity and open paths of reconciliation for all.”

Israel’s War Against Hamas Has Killed More U.N. Workers Than Any Other Conflict
Dan Ladden-Hall/The Daily Beast/November 6, 2023
The war between Israel and Hamas has left more United Nations workers dead than in any other single conflict, the organization’s Inter-Agency Standing Committee said in a statement. The committee, which describes itself as the “highest-level humanitarian coordination forum” of the U.N., said 88 staffers in the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) had already been killed since the conflict in Gaza dramatically escalated less than a month ago. The statement said the world has watched “in shock and horror” at the spiraling “numbers of lives lost and torn apart,” and called for more aid to enter the besieged enclave, greater protections for civilians, and for the “immediate and unconditional release of all civilians held hostage.” “We need an immediate ceasefire,” the statement added. “It’s been 30 days. Enough is enough. This must stop now.”

Indonesia group denies hospital used by Hamas network
JAKARTA (Reuters)/November 6, 2023
The operator of the Indonesia hospital in Gaza on Monday denied an accusation by the Israeli military that its facility has been used by Hamas to launch an attack. The comments were in response to the Israeli military's accusation that Hamas uses hospitals, including Gaza's main hospital al-Shifa, the Qatari-funded Sheikh Hamad Hospital and a hospital built by groups from Indonesia, as cover to shield its underground operations. "We built this hospital to help others, according to the needs of the Gazans," said Sarbini Abdul Murad, the chairman of MER-C, a voluntary group operating the Indonesia hospital. "Israel's accusation is a precondition so that they can attack the Indonesian hospital in Gaza," he told a press conference in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta. Israel's military spokesperson said on Sunday one satellite image had shown rocket launchers located across the street from the Indonesian hospital.
Another official at MER-C said there was no tunnel under the hospital and that its fuel tank and power generators are kept in separate nearby buildings for security reasons. Indonesia, the world's biggest Muslim-majority country, has called for an immediate ceasefire and has sent humanitarian aid to Gaza. Health officials in Hamas-controlled Gaza said more than 9,770 Palestinians have been killed in the war since Hamas launched a cross-border assault on Oct.7, killing 1,400 people and seizing more than 240 hostages.

Norway says exploring how to revive Israel-Palestinian diplomatic channel
Reuters, in Abu Dhabi/November 6, 2023
OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said on Monday Oslo was exploring ways to revive a diplomatic channel between Israel and the Palestinians to find a political solution to the decades-long conflict. Norway served as a facilitator in the 1992-1993 talks between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) that led to the Oslo Accords in 1993. Those talks were conducted in complete secrecy. Since then, it has remained involved as chair of the donor group coordinating international assistance to the Palestinian territories, the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee (AHLC). There is now interest in trying to revive the AHLC as a possible channel for diplomacy, Barth Eide said, as Israel stepped up strikes on Gaza in its war against the militant Islamist group Hamas that broke out last month. "We hear now from very many sides - the American, the European and the Arab (sides), and from many among the parties (in the conflict), who want to see whether it can be relevant as a channel again," Espen Barth Eide told public broadcaster NRK. "This war has reminded everyone that there is no other lasting solution to this than having a two-state solution, which one had hoped to see after the Oslo Accords 30 years ago." Barth Eide said it was possible that out of this "terrible dramatic situation" happening in Gaza today, "we could see a political process back on track", on the condition that the war in Gaza does not spread to other countries in the Middle East.
"That is what we hope for, and if those involved want it, Norway will naturally be ready to support this with what we can," he said. Highlighting Norway's efforts, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere talked on Saturday with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi about Gaza, the PM's office said in a statement on Sunday, including "how a two-state solution must be discussed again and indicating Norway's engagement on this over many years"."We must already think now about what comes after. Diplomatic initiatives and solutions are necessary," Stoere said in the statement. The Nordic country, which is not part of the European Union and is a close U.S. ally, is involved in several peace processes, including in Colombia and Venezuela.

South Africa recalls ambassador and diplomatic mission to Israel and accuses it of genocide in Gaza
JOHANNESBURG (AP)/November 6, 2023
South Africa's government has recalled Monday its ambassador and diplomatic mission to Israel in condemnation of the bombardment of the Gaza Strip, calling it “a genocide”. The government also threatened action against the Israeli ambassador to South Africa over his recent remarks about the African country's stance on the Israel-Hamas war. No further details were given about the remarks. The war broke out after the Palestinian militant group's attacks on Israel on Oct.7 left over 1,400 people dead. Over 10,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military offensive in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. “The South African government has decided to withdraw all its diplomats in Tel Aviv for consultation," said minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni. She added the cabinet noted the “disparaging remarks of the Israeli ambassador to South Africa about those who are opposing the atrocities and genocide of the Israeli government” and that the department of international relations has been instructed to “take the necessary measures within the diplomatic channels and protocols to deal with (his) conduct."Ntshavheni also said the position of the Israeli ambassador in the country was “untenable.”Pro-Palestinian protesters — who have been staging demonstrations by the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg and Israeli embassies in Pretoria and Cape Town — have called on the South African government to expel the Israeli ambassador. International relations minister Naledi Pandor, who on Monday hosted her Ukraine counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, said the South African officials would be recalled from Tel Aviv to give the government a detailed briefing about the situation in the region. “We need to have this engagement with our officials because we are extremely concerned at the continued killing of children and innocent civilians in the Palestinian territory and we believe the nature of response by Israel has become one of collective punishment,” said Pandor. Pandor said she had discussed the strengthening of bilateral ties with her Ukraine counterpart, including meetings held by at least seven African leaders who visited Moscow and Kyiv earlier this year to propose a peace plan. “We are one of the few countries around the regions of the world that are able to speak to both Ukraine, as well as Russia."The South African government, led by the ruling African National Congress party which has close ties to Palestine, has called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and for aid to be allowed into the bombarded enclave. South Africa is among other countries to recall their ambassadors to Israel to protest the military operations in Gaza, including Chile, Colombia and Honduras. Bolivia severed diplomatic ties with the country. Israel criticized the Latin American countries last week and called on Colombia and Chile to “explicitly condemn the Hamas terrorist organization.

In rare announcement, US says guided missile sub has arrived in Middle East, a message of deterrence to adversaries
Oren Liebermann and Brad Lendon, CNN/November 6, 2023
In a rare announcement, the US military said a guided missile submarine has arrived in the Middle East, a message of deterrence clearly directed at regional adversaries as the Biden administration tries to avoid a broader conflict amid the Israel-Hamas war.
US Central Command said on social media Sunday that an Ohio-class submarine was entering its area of responsibility. A picture posted with the announcement appeared to show the sub in the Suez Canal northeast of Cairo. The social media post did not name the sub, but the US Navy has four Ohio-class guided missile submarines, or SSGNs, which are former ballistic missile subs converted to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles rather than nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles. Each SSGN can carry 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, 50% more than US guided-missile destroyers pack and almost four times what the US Navy’s newest attack subs are armed with. Each Tomahawk can carry up to a 1,000-pound high-explosive warhead.
“SSGNs can deliver a lot of firepower very rapidly,” said Carl Schuster, a former director of operations at the US Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Center told CNN in 2021. “One-hundred and fifty-four Tomahawks accurately deliver a lot of punch. No opponent of the US can ignore the threat.”The magnitude of that firepower was shown in March 2011, when the guided missile sub USS Florida fired almost 100 Tomahawks against targets in Libya during Operation Odyssey Dawn. The attack marked the first time the SSGNs were used in combat. The military rarely announces the movements or operations of its fleet of ballistic and guided missile subs. Instead, the nuclear-powered vessels operate in near-complete secrecy. The announcement is a clear message of deterrence directed at Iran and its proxies in the region. The sub joins a number of other US Navy assets already in area, including two carrier strike groups and an amphibious ready group. In April, the Navy announced that the USS Florida, one of the two East Coast-based SSGNs, was operating in the Middle East. In June, the Navy publicized the visit of one of its two West Coast-based SSGN’s, USS Michigan, to South Korea as a show of US commitment to its Indo-Pacific allies. The announcement of a guided missile sub in the region comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been holding a series of meetings with US partners in the Middle East. In a whirlwind trip, Blinken has visited Turkey, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Cyprus.
On Sunday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. In addition to emphasizing the need to protect civilians and provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza, Austin said the US was committed to deterring “any state or non-state actor seeking to escalate this conflict,” a clear reference to Iran and Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group. There have been frequent low-level attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria by Iranian-backed groups, but the US has been aiming to make it clear that wider attacks would provoke a major response. Austin said this month that the additional forces in the area were meant to “bolster regional deterrence efforts, increase force protection for US forces in the region, and assist in the defense of Israel.”“We will do everything and take all necessary measures to protect US forces and our interests overseas,” Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said October 23. “Again, no one wants to see a widening conflict, and that is our primary goal, but we will also never hesitate to protect our forces.”

Female Israeli soldier stabbed by ‘terrorist’ in east Jerusalem
Our Foreign Staff/The Telegraph/November 6, 2023
A female Israeli soldier was stabbed and seriously wounded by a Palestinian “terrorist” in east Jerusalem on Monday, police said. The knife-wielding attacker was shot dead. Separately, the Palestinian health ministry said that Israeli forces had killed a young Palestinian man and seriously injured three others in the town of Halhul, in the south of the West Bank. “A terrorist armed with a knife arrived at Shalem police station and stabbed a female soldier ... border police forces neutralised the terrorist by shooting,” police said in a statement. Police said that a female soldier was seriously wounded and another suffered light injuries. The Israeli emergency services said that they had provided medical treatment to the two wounded officers, both aged 20. The assailant was identified by police as a young Palestinian from the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya. It added that “another suspect” had been arrested near the scene of the attack, which has been cordoned off. It is the latest violence to flare up in the area as Israel deepens its military offensive in Gaza. On Oct 30, a Palestinian stabbed and seriously wounded an Israeli police officer before being shot dead in east Jerusalem, police said. Israeli forces have stepped up their ground offensive in Gaza as part of the military response to the Hamas attacks on Oct 7 that officials say killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians, with more than 240 people taken hostage. In the West Bank, more than 150 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers or settlers since the start of hostilities on Oct 7, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Israel has relentlessly bombarded Gaza and sent in ground troops, with the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory saying that 9,770 people have been killed and about two-thirds of that number were women and children.

Israel’s cyber defense chief tells CNN he’s concerned Iran could increase severity of its cyberattacks
Sean Lyngaas, CNN/November 6, 2023
After suspected Iranian hackers claimed a string of recent attacks on Israeli security cameras, Israel’s cyber defense chief told CNN he is “very concerned” that Iran could escalate its long-running covert battle with Israel in cyberspace with more serious attacks on infrastructure as the war between Israel and Hamas shows no sign of ending. “They [Iran] know that they can act there more freely [in cyberspace] than in the physical space,” said Gaby Portnoy, the head of the Israel National Cyber Directorate. “We are prepared for that as much as we can.”
Portnoy said there would be a “cost” to any Iranian escalation in cyberspace, implying that Israeli hackers could retaliate against Iran with their own operations. But Portnoy, who is in charge of cyber defense and not offense, said his goal is to keep cyberspace from becoming “another front” in the war between Israel and Hamas. Iranian hacking groups have proven adept at crippling computer systems at companies in Israel, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East. Israel has its own elite cyber operatives that are, alongside the US, widely suspected to have conducted a cyberattack on an Iranian nuclear facility in 2009. And Israeli covert cyber operations against Iran have continued in recent years. In the four weeks since the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, suspected Iranian hackers have claimed hacks of a slew of security cameras in Israel and posted an instructional video on how to make Molotov cocktails to “attack the Israeli and American embassies,” according to interviews with private cybersecurity experts who track the hackers and CNN’s review of the social media posts. Analysts say the digital saber-rattling is another way for Iran to project power during the war, aside from rocket and drone attacks on Israeli forces conducted by Lebanese militia Hezbollah, and similar strikes by other Iranian proxies against US troops in Syria and Iraq. Portnoy also alleged that hackers affiliated with Hezbollah have hacked private security cameras in Israel to try to track the movement of Israeli soldiers in recent weeks. So far, suspected Iranian hackers appear to have had minimal impact on their publicly claimed targets in Israel in the last month. Their goal seems to be to spread narratives in the media of Israeli and US vulnerabilities to cyberattacks.
But the string of recent Iranian cyber activity has raised concerns among US and Israeli officials that Tehran could use its substantial hacking capabilities to hit Israeli and US interests while avoiding a direct kinetic confrontation with the Israelis. The US intelligence community believes – for now – that Iran and its proxies are calibrating their response to the Israel-Hamas war to avoid direct conflict with Israel or the US while still exacting costs on its adversaries, CNN has reported.
Data-wiping attacks blocked
A fresh reminder of the potential for escalation in cyberspace came Monday last week when US cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks said it had blocked more attempts by Iranian hackers to launch data-wiping attacks on more than a dozen Israeli academic organizations and technology providers. Hamas has its own cyber capabilities that in years past have been used to spy on Israel and Arab governments, according to security experts. But Portnoy said those hackers have been relatively quiet in the latest Israel-Hamas war (Israeli airstrikes have decimated internet infrastructure in Gaza.)
US officials say they have tightened an already close relationship with Israel in cyberspace since the Hamas assault by sharing intelligence on any cyber threats as soon as they emerge. FBI Director Christopher Wray is concerned about potential escalation in cyberspace. “The cyber targeting of American interests and critical infrastructure that we already see conducted by Iran and non-state actors alike we can expect to get worse if the conflict expands, as will the threat of kinetic attacks,” Wray told a Senate panel Tuesday. US officials “have not identified a change in the threat environment facing American organizations,” Eric Goldstein, a senior official at the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said in a statement to CNN, but “we remain on heightened alert.”US officials’ concern is in part due to what they see as the reckless and unpredictable nature of Iranian cyber operations compared with other digital adversaries. The FBI has accused Iranian government-backed hackers of an attempted hack of Boston Children’s Hospital in 2021, which did not endanger patients but nonetheless alarmed US officials. Tehran denied the allegation. In recent weeks, US officials have been preparing for a similar scenario in which Iranian hackers conduct a disruptive attack on US critical infrastructure, a senior US official told CNN, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press. “There is a gap between their [cyber] capabilities and their rhetoric,” the official told CNN, referring to Iran-backed hackers. “But we know they are rather reckless and not savvy to do things in a tailored way.”CNN made multiple attempts to reach the Iranian Permanent Mission to the United Nations for this article but did not receive a response.
The maturation of Iran’s cyber program
Many of the recent hacking attempts against Israeli and US organizations in support of Hamas were claimed by self-described “hacktivist” groups that in reality appear to be Iranian fronts, experts at US cybersecurity firms Mandiant and CrowdStrike told CNN. “Even the successful, real cyberattacks are probably not going to be about the actual attack,” John Hultquist, Mandiant’s chief analyst, told CNN. “It’s not about the practical effects. It’s about the psychological effects.”Someone claiming affiliation with one such group, dubbed Soldiers of Solomon, emailed this CNN reporter on October 20 to promote their alleged hack of security cameras in a city in southern Israel. The alleged hacker also asked for the contact information of other reporters because “it’s an emergency to let them know we are becoming viral.” Portnoy told CNN that Israel believes that Soldiers of Solomon is backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an assertion that multiple cybersecurity researchers said they agreed with but would not comment publicly on out of fear of retribution. In the information war accompanying Israel’s invasion of Gaza, the online personas allow Iran to blend in with a slew of other pro-Palestine hackers, said Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike’s senior vice president of intelligence. The Iranians can “just spin up a new persona, with new” tactics, techniques and procedures and “that way they don’t burn any of the [other cyber operations] that they were already doing,” Meyers told CNN. While China and Russia often get more attention in US cyber policy circles, Iran has over the last decade steadily built a stable of hackers who often work as contractors for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s intelligence ministry, according to US officials and outside experts. Israeli cybersecurity firm Check Point last week exposed an alleged long-running Iranian cyber-espionage campaign that compromised governments, IT and financial firms across the Middle East, including in Israel. While the hacking effort predated the latest war in Gaza, it could potentially provide Tehran with intelligence on how regional governments are responding to the war. This campaign is “maybe the most sophisticated we have seen from Iran on a technological level,” Sergey Shykevich, threat intelligence group manager at Check Point, told CNN.

Did you kill a Palestinian?': Anti-West boycott sweeps Mideast
Associated Press/November 6, 2023
In a convenience store in Bahrain, 14-year-old Jana Abdullah carries a tablet as she shops, checking a list of Western brands to avoid as Israel pounds Gaza in its campaign to destroy Hamas. Jana and her 10-year-old brother, Ali, used to eat at McDonald's nearly daily but they are among many across the Middle East now boycotting products they believe support Israel. With the campaign spreading on social media including TikTok, children as well as their parents are shunning major Western brands. "We have started to boycott all products that support Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians," Jana tells AFP. "We do not want our money to contribute to more fighting," she added, searching for local replacements. The movement has gradually swelled since the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a massive October 7 attack on Israel, killing more than 1,400 people and kidnapping more than 240, according to Israeli officials. Since then, Israel has relentlessly bombarded Gaza and sent in ground troops in an assault the health ministry in the territory says has killed more than 9,700 people, mostly women and children. Across the region, Arabs angered by the Israeli attacks have turned against brands associated with Israel's allies, notably the United States. The boycott has been accompanied by calls for Arab states to cut ties with Israel, while pro-Palestinian rallies have taken place weekly in major capitals. Turkey and Jordan have recalled ambassadors to Israel, Saudi Arabia announced a pause in normalization talks and Bahrain's parliament said trade ties had been halted, although there was no government confirmation.
Grim billboards
Led by tech-savvy youth, the boycott campaign includes browser extensions, dedicated websites and smartphone apps that identify proscribed products. One Google Chrome extension, PalestinePact, blurs items advertised online if they are included in the list. More traditional methods are also in use. Beside a four-lane highway in Kuwait City, giant billboards show images of blood-stained children in bandages. "Did you kill a Palestinian today?" the grim slogan asks, jabbing at consumers who are still using the targeted goods. According to Mishari al-Ibrahim, a Kuwaiti activist, Western support for Israel's Gaza offensive "strengthened the spread of the boycott in Kuwait". "It created a mental image among Kuwaitis that the West's slogans and what it says about human rights do not apply to us." McDonald's has found itself a prime target. Last month, the U.S. fast food chain's Israel franchise announced it had given thousands of free meals to the Israeli army, sparking uproar in the region. McDonald's Kuwait, a separate entity, responded by pledging more than $160,000 to relief efforts in Gaza, and said it "stands with Palestine" in a statement on social media.
McDonald's Qatar also pledged $275,000 to relief efforts in Gaza, and stressed in a statement last month that it was separate to the Israeli branches. In a statement this month, McDonald's Corporation said it "is not funding or supporting any government involved in this conflict".
Pay for bullets
In Qatar, some Western outlets have been forced to close after their owners shared pro-Israel content online. The Doha branches of Pura Vida Miami, a U.S. cafe, and French pastry company Maitre Choux both shut in October. In Egypt, a home-grown soda brand long ignored by much of the population has come into vogue because of the boycott. Spiro Spathis, founded in 1920, said it recently received more than 15,000 applications in a hiring round prompted by the growing demand. However, the boycott could have a deep impact on Egypt's economy, the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce has warned. "The impact on the Egyptian investors and tens of thousands of workers will be profound," a statement said, stressing that local branches are owned by Egyptian franchisees. Meanwhile in Jordan, where social media posts have warned consumers not to "pay for bullets", Abu Abdullah is closely inspecting a bottle of flavoured milk at a grocery store in the capital, Amman. "Ah, this is made in Tunisia," he said, his four-year-old son Abdullah standing beside him. "This is the least we can do for our brothers in Gaza," he said. "We must boycott."

Yemeni Armed Forces launch drone strikes on Israeli targets
LBCI/November 6, 2023
In the past few hours, Yemeni Armed Forces have initiated a series of drone strikes on various sensitive targets within the occupied territories aimed at the Israeli enemy. The operation resulted in the temporary suspension of activity at the targeted military bases and airports for several hours, as confirmed by a statement from the Yemeni Armed Forces. The statement further emphasized their commitment to continuing "the execution of more strategic military operations in support of the oppressed Palestinian people and in response to the calls of our great Yemeni people and all nations of the Muslim world, until the brutal Israeli aggression against our brothers in Gaza comes to a halt."

Palestinian icon: Ahed Tamimi re-arrested by Israeli authorities
LBCI/November 6, 2023
Once again, the Palestinian icon, the symbol of Palestinian resistance, Ahed Tamimi, is in Israeli captivity. The 22-year-old Palestinian activist and freedom fighter, who gained international recognition for her defiance of Israeli military authorities since the age of 11, was apprehended on Monday morning by an Israeli patrol during a raid on the village of Nabi Saleh in the occupied West Bank. Tamimi's arrest is believed to be linked to a recent social media post attributed to her, an accusation that her mother denied later on. Her mother clarified that all of her daughter's social media accounts were restricted and that Ahed did not author the alleged incendiary post. The Israeli military spokesperson announced that Tamimi was detained on charges of incitement to violence and engaging in terrorist activities in the town of Nabi Saleh. Her arrest was part of an operation aimed at apprehending individuals suspected of involvement in terrorist activities and promoting hate. She has been referred to Israeli security forces for further interrogation. Israel's Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, commented on Tamimi's arrest on X, stating, "Salute to the army forces that arrested Ahed Tamimi, who was previously convicted of attacking soldiers and has shown sympathy for killers... We should not have patience for troublemakers and those who support them." It is worth noting that Tamimi had previously been detained on December 19, 2017, and imprisoned for eight months on charges of obstructing the work of Israeli forces and assaulting Israeli soldiers.

France says it's in talks with Egypt on setting up field hospital for Gaza wounded
Reuters/November 06/2023
France is in talks with Egypt to establish a military medical facility on the ground, which would include surgical capacities for people seriously wounded in the neighbouring Gaza Strip, France's defence minister said in remarks published on Monday. Paris will host an international humanitarian conference for the civilian population in Gaza later this week as it looks to coordinate international efforts for the Israeli-occupied Palestinian enclave. Israeli fighter jets struck 450 Hamas targets in Gaza and troops seized a militant compound in the past 24 hours, the Israel Defence Forces said on Monday, while the Palestinian enclave's health ministry said the air strikes killed dozens of people. "There are also still discussions with Egypt in order to preposition a French military health offering on the ground, particularly providing surgery for war injuries," Sebastien Lecornu said in an interview with Lebanon's L'Orient le Jour newspaper.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi goes on a hunger strike while imprisoned in Iran
AP/November 06, 2023
DUBAI: A campaign urging Iran to free Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi said Monday that the activist has begun a hunger strike over the conditions of her imprisonment and the country's requirement that women wear headscarves. The Free Narges Mohammadi campaign said she “through a message from Evin Prison has informed her family that she started a hunger strike several hours ago.” It said Mohammadi and her lawyer for weeks have sought her transfer to a specialist hospital for heart and lung care. It did not elaborate on what conditions Mohammadi suffered from, though it described her as receiving an echocardiogram of her heart. Iranian state media did not immediately acknowledge that Mohammadi had gone on a hunger strike. Mohammadi, 51, has kept up her activism despite numerous arrests by Iranian authorities and spending years behind bars. She has remained a leading light for nationwide, women-led protests sparked by the death last year of a 22-year-old woman in police custody that have grown into one of the most intense challenges to Iran’s theocratic government. That woman, Mahsa Amini, had been detained for allegedly not wearing her headscarf, or hijab, to the liking of authorities.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 06-07/2023
Deemed ‘Accidental’: The Burning Alive of Christians in the Middle East
Raymond Ibrahim/Coptic Solidarity/November 6, 2023
Over 100 Christians were burned alive after a fire broke out during a Christian wedding ceremony in Iraq on Oct. 3, 2023; another 150 attendees were seriously injured. Nearly 60 of those killed in the inferno were directly related to the bride and groom.
To quote from one report, Tragedy struck the Assyrian Christian town of Hamdaniya in Nineveh province … during a joyous wedding when scenes of celebration and laughter soon derailed into a hellish nightmare when the banquet hall caught on fire. At least a hundred died and over 150 were also injured.
The town of Hamdaniya, it is worth recalling, is one of Iraq’s only Christian-majority districts, located in the Nineveh Plains near Mosul, a historic Assyrian region. Like many Christian towns in the Nineveh Plains, it was taken over by Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists during their brazen sweep of northern Iraq, where they declared a so-called “caliphate” and inflicted grave atrocities on minority groups, including Christians. In a press conference held on the same day of the tragedy, the Iraqi government announced that its investigation had “conclusively concluded” that the fire was “accidental,” and “not intentional at all.”
Minutes later, the Syriac Church slammed the announcement: “We reject it [the results], we don’t accept it,” said the Archbishop of Mosul Benedictus Younan Hanno, adding that “political conspiracies” might be afoot.
The archbishop especially rejected the idea that the fire was caused by fireworks: “there are tens of videos,” he said, “showing that they were not the reason.”
The archbishop is voicing the opinion of most Iraqi Christians present. After also categorically rejecting the fireworks claim, the groom of the wedding, Rivan, 27, strongly implied arson:
We demand the rights of those whose blood was spilt. Why did their blood have to be spilled? We demand their rights and we demand the perpetrator of this action, him and all who are behind him. We demand an international investigation, not a local or federal investigation.
It is worth noting that this scenario—a fire claims Christian lives only for Muslim authorities to say it was “accidental”—has played out many times in the Middle East. Take Egypt, for example, where the region’s largest Christian minority resides.
Most recently, on Mar. 29, 2023, a massive fire broke out and completely consumed an ancient church in Assyut. Even before a proper inspection could be carried out, the fire was immediately blamed on a “leaky gas bottle.”
The most tragic of all examples, however, occurred on Sunday, Aug. 14, 2022, when the Church of Abu Seifein in Cairo caught fire during morning mass. At least 41 Christians—18 of whom were children—were killed in the flames. As usual, minutes after it broke out, officials immediately attributed the fire to faulty wires, etc. Arson was, without any real investigation, ruled out.
Indeed, in just that same month of August, 2022 alone, a total of 10 other Coptic churches “caught fire” in Egypt.
There appears to be no shortage of examples. On Sunday, Feb. 19, 2023, a fire broke out in and “devoured” a church in the Giza Governorate. It was blamed on a small candle left on a votary stand. However, images from surveillance cameras clearly show that “the candle ignited suddenly and in an unusual way.”It should also be noted that sometimes, after officials conclude that a church fire was due to some accident, it comes out that arson was indeed the true cause—not that the authorities will admit it. On Aug. 16, 2022, the Church of Saint Mary the Egyptian in Alexandria caught fire. Although it too was instantly attributed to “natural causes,” at least one eyewitness saw someone on the balcony of a residential building adjacent to the church hurl some combustible substance onto the church, starting the fire.
Considering the severe persecution of Christians in nations such as Egypt and Iraq, and the willful targeting of their churches—hundreds of Coptic and Assyrian churches have been torched in recent years—it is, of course, difficult to automatically rule out terrorism or arson in all of these “accidental” fires.
In reality, however, even if all of these fires are truly accidental, products of fireworks and faulty wires, the Muslim governments of Egypt and Iraq are still largely to blame. Since the Arab-Islamic conquest of the formerly Christian majority Middle East, severe restrictions, based on sharia stipulations, have made it next to impossible for Christians not only to build but to repair churches.
As a result, and as even the New York Times once reported:
The Copts have long complained about being the victims of discrimination on the basis of their religion. One aspect of that discrimination are government restrictions on the construction, renovation and repair of churches in the largely Muslim country. These restrictions have left many of the buildings in disrepair and made them fire hazards. In short, there seems to be little that is “accidental” in the burning of Christian churches and people—most recently over 100—in the Middle East.

A 'Humanitarian Pause' - To Save the Terrorist Group Hamas?!
Bassam Tawil/Gatestone Institute/November 6, 2023
A pause or a ceasefire would allow Hamas to regroup and prepare new attacks against Israelis.On November 4, Hamas took advantage of a humanitarian window of opportunity... and carried out attacks with mortar fire and anti-tank missiles against Israelis.On November 4, however, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to his credit and that of the Biden administration, rebuffed calls for a ceasefire, as "such a halt right now would only allow Palestinian militant group Hamas to regroup and attack Israel again." The next day, however, Blinken continued his calls for "humanitarian pauses" -- which Hamas would also use to prepare new attacks.
The Biden administration should be denouncing Hamas for forcing Palestinians -- about whom it cares so deeply that it shoots at them to prevent them from fleeing to safety -- to die as human shields in its genocidal war to slaughter Israelis and destroy Israel.
The Israeli victims of Hamas's October 7 massacre were not given a chance to flee through a safe corridor. No one called on Hamas to accept a "humanitarian pause" as its terrorists were committing atrocities against Israelis that day in cities and towns near the Gaza Strip. The terrorists invaded Israel for one purpose: to murder, rape and behead as many Jews as possible.
Hamas and its patrons in Iran would be delighted to see a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip so that they can say that international pressure forced Israel to halt its war. Any "humanitarian pause" should start only after all the hostages have been released...
A pause or a ceasefire would allow Hamas to regroup and prepare new attacks against Israelis. On November 4, Hamas took advantage of a humanitarian window of opportunity by attacking Israelis with mortar fire and anti-tank missiles. Pictured: Hamas terrorists on their way into Israel from Gaza Strip, on their mission to murder Jews, on the morning of October 7, 2023.
The Biden Administration has been pressuring Israel to agree to "humanitarian pauses" in the war against the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist group, whose members carried out the October 7 massacre in which 1,400 Israelis were murdered and thousands more wounded. Hamas has also kidnapped more than 240 Israelis into the Gaza Strip, including toddlers, women and the elderly.
By calling for "humanitarian pauses" in the war, the Biden Administration is throwing a lifeline to Hamas. A pause or a ceasefire would allow Hamas to regroup and prepare new attacks against Israelis.
On November 4, however, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to his credit and that of the Biden administration, rebuffed calls for a ceasefire, as "such a halt right now would only allow Palestinian militant group Hamas to regroup and attack Israel again." The next day, however, Blinken continued his calls for "humanitarian pauses" -- which Hamas would also use to prepare new attacks. As far as Hamas is concerned, any pause or ceasefire is a lifeline to help it attack.
"There was a ceasefire. It was before October 7," the new speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson stated, "and Hamas broke it."
David Friedman , former US Ambassador to Israel, noted recently on Fox News that the shooting is not continuous, and that Israel is enabling the supply of humanitarian aid to southern Gaza all the time. He reported that in northern Gaza, Hamas had set up a large screen to present a film of Hamas's "greatest hits" last week to approximately 1,000 Gazans who turned out -- so evidently there is sufficient electricity.
On November 4, Hamas took advantage of a humanitarian window of opportunity that Israel gave to the residents of the Gaza Strip and carried out attacks with mortar fire and anti-tank missiles against Israelis. "While the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] were opening a humanitarian axis for the movement of Gaza residents to the south [of the Gaza Strip], terrorists from the terrorist organization Hamas attacked the forces involved in opening it," the IDF said.
The leaders of Hamas, who are hiding inside a network of tunnels, evidently care nothing for the well-being or safety of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has placed its military bases, rocket launchers, munitions storage and command posts inside, under or near civilian infrastructure, such as schools, hospitals, children's playgrounds, homes and mosques.
Hamas has also prevented civilians from fleeing to safe zones in the southern Gaza Strip. Hamas snipers have reportedly killed dozens of children and women attempting to travel there. This is all after Israel's repeated warnings to Gazans to go to the south of the Gaza Strip through safe corridors.
In the past week, Hamas used a "humanitarian pause" that Israel implemented under US pressure to attempt to smuggle wounded terrorists into Egypt under the guise of an evacuation of injured civilians. Hamas's lies and deceit are consistent. A senior US official revealed that Hamas tried to sneak some of its members out of the Gaza Strip in ambulances through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.
A "humanitarian pause" would also mean supplying hundreds of thousands of gallons of fuel to Hamas's generators, which are used to provide clean air and electricity to its network of underground tunnels built, according to Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk, for the use of Hamas terrorists, not for civilians. According to US officials, Hamas already maintains a stockpile of more than 200,000 gallons of fuel for its tunnels. Last week, the IDF released an audio recording of a call between a Hamas commander and the director of the Indonesian Hospital in the Gaza Strip, during which the commander said that Hamas is taking fuel from the hospital's stock.
The Biden administration should be denouncing Hamas for forcing Palestinians -- about whom it cares so deeply that it shoots at them to prevent them from fleeing to safety -- to die as human shields in its genocidal war to slaughter Israelis and destroy Israel.
The Biden administration should also continue to call, as it has been doing, for the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages held by Hamas. Moreover, the Biden administration might also call on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to rise up against the terrorist group Hamas that is effectively holding two million Palestinians as hostages.
The Israeli victims of Hamas's October 7 massacre were not given a chance to flee through a safe corridor. No one called on Hamas to accept a "humanitarian pause" as its terrorists were committing atrocities against Israelis that day in cities and towns near the Gaza Strip. The terrorists invaded Israel for one purpose: to murder, rape and behead as many Jews as possible.
Did Hamas take a "humanitarian pause" before they slaughtered hundreds of Israelis at a music festival? Did Hamas "pause" before they raped women? Did Hamas "pause" before they beheaded, dismembered and baked infants in ovens?
International human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky asked:
"Just out of curiosity, did Hamas have a 'humanitarian pause' when they came into our homes and murdered our children, decapitated babies, raped women, burnt entire families alive and took over 240 people, including infants and elderly, hostage?"
How come the US did not consider a "humanitarian pause" during its war on Al-Qaeda and Islamic State (ISIS)? Why was the US permitted to wage a relentless war on Al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorists, while Israel is being asked to provide humanitarian aid and fuel to the same group responsible for the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust? What are the chances that the humanitarian aid and fuel will actually go to Gaza's civilians -- about whom Hamas's leaders care so much that they are forcing them to die as human shields -- rather than to the leaders of Hamas for their cohorts?
Any cessation of the war on Hamas, even if temporary, would be considered a victory for the terrorist group and its supporters. Hamas and its patrons in Iran would be delighted to see a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip so that they can say that international pressure forced Israel to halt its war. Any "humanitarian pause" should start only after all the hostages have been released and all Hamas terrorists have either surrendered or been killed.
*Bassam Tawil is a Muslim Arab based in the Middle East.
© 2023 Gatestone Institute. All rights reserved. The articles printed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editors or of Gatestone Institute. No part of the Gatestone website or any of its contents may be reproduced, copied or modified, without the prior written consent of Gatestone Institute.

Between fear, horror and solidarity, Canadian Jews in the background of the war
Yaron Deckel/Ynetnews/November 06/2023
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjuxdwrma
Opinion: Near my house, pictures of hostages were removed, as pro-Palestinian protests intensified, and TV anchors refrained from calling Hamas terrorists as they are - 'terrorists'; Jews conceal their Jewish identity, and patrol cars park near the schools.This week, a Toronto resident was seen resolutely ripping down posters of Israelis who've been abducted into Gaza that were hung on poles in one of the city's neighborhoods where many Jews live. One of the neighbors who was shocked by the act recorded the woman with her mobile phone, but the former was not at all concerned about it. Are you going to post this and embarrass me?" she asked defiantly. The video is shocking due to the woman's determination to get rid of the pictures of the hostages and such insensitivity. It happened one block away from my house, in the heart of a quiet neighborhood with many synagogues and Jewish institutions. And of course, it happens in other places. Also in Downtown Toronto, where the University of Toronto is located, the same posters were defaced, and pictures of Palestinians from Gaza were pasted on them.
The feelings of security and serenity that characterize Toronto's Jews in everyday life have been undermined since the outbreak of the Gaza war. Although the Kosher bakery sells cookies with the Israeli flag on top as an act of solidarity, and in all Jewish institutions across Canada flags have been lowered to half-staff, the Jewish community follows with much concern about what is happening in Israel and Gaza, horrified by the growing Canadian attitude against Israel, immersed in rising anti-Semitism.
The pro-Israel sentiment in Canada that was apparent in the first days after the massacre in the south of Israel is changing these days. The pro-Palestinian protests are sweeping Canada in many cities, and hateful looks are emanating from the marchers holding Palestinian flags. Rallies in support of Gaza are also held from time to time on university campuses. Jewish students refrain from expressing their support for Israel, are afraid to show their Jewish identity, and conceal their Star of David necklaces. Police cars are parked near the Jewish schools and shopping centers in the neighborhoods. This presence of security people could increase safety on the one hand, but could also intensify the sense of threat, on the other hand. This is the fourth largest Jewish community in the world, which comprises about 400,000 people, and it is far from sitting back and doing nothing. Large rallies of solidarity with the hostages were held in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and other communities. The rally in Montreal, which has a significant Muslim population, comprised more than 7,000 participants. Pro-Arab presence is shown also in small cities. In Windsor, located on the border with Detroit and where a quarter of the population is of Arab origin, lives a small and elderly Jewish community. There, too, the Jews watched quite a few pro-Palestinian protests and rallies.
When I asked young Jews in Toronto why we see more of a pro-Palestinian presence on the streets, they honestly answered: "We are afraid. They know that no Jew will harm or hurt a protester. But we do not feel that this is the case in our demonstrations. Although Canada restricts the carrying of guns, you can hit, with your hands or with sticks." A delegation comprising the hostages' families caused great excitement at a conference attended by 3,000 members of the Jewish community in Toronto and was also embraced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. However, at the same time, the CBC, the Canadian broadcasting corporation, that is funded by taxpayers' money, refrained from calling Hamas a terrorist organization and from calling those who engaged in the brutal massacre - "terrorists." All protests directed at Canadian TV and radio have been so far to no avail. "We don't want to take part and make a public statement," explained the news director, as if there were two sides to the news coverage equation - for and against terror.
The war in Gaza has drawn Canadian Jews into a complex and challenging reality as they are filled with concern for families and friends in Israel, wishing to express support for the country. Despite the geographical distance, the tensions in the Middle East affect them greatly. In the first weeks of the war, Canadian Jewry raised more than 72 million dollars in support of Israel. A significant portion of the amount is intended to help restore the Israeli settlements around the Gaza border, and part of it is intended for the Jewish Agency’s Fund for Victims of Terror (the signatory of this article is the Jewish Agency Regional Director to Canada), which assists the community which was affected by a major event but their ability to control it is negligible or non-existent.
It's unbelievable how much the war affects life from a distance of a 12-hour flight. The many Israelis living in Canada are, as expected, 'glued' to the television screens and the news coming from Israel. The Jews follow what is happening with bated breath, fear, and hope. The war in Gaza raises a variety of challenges and confrontations. During these difficult weeks, Canadian Jews try to combine the continuation of their daily lives with the social and human effort to help and participate in Israel's struggles. Uncompromising solidarity is not just donations, it is much more than that. And this is happening in a country that is beginning to be skeptical given the reports coming from the Gaza Strip.
*Yaron Deckel is The Jewish Agency Regional Director of Canada

The moral failure of Western institutions on Gaza is unparalleled
Ramzy Baroud/Arab News/November 06, 2023
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month stood on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and besieged Gaza. Guterres was not the only international figure to travel to the Gaza border in the hope of mobilizing the international community in the face of the ongoing genocide in an already impoverished and besieged Strip. “Behind these walls, we have 2 million people that are suffering enormously,” Guterres said. These efforts, however, paid little dividends.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qudra said in a statement on Oct. 24 that the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza was “too slow (for it to) change the reality” on the ground. This means that the seemingly endless UN Security Council debates and General Assembly resolutions and calls for action have done little to alter the tragic situation in Gaza in any meaningful way.
So, what is the use of the elaborate international political, humanitarian and legal systems if they are unable to stop or even slow down a genocide that is being aired live on TV screens all across the world?
During previous genocides, such as those accompanying the world wars or that of Rwanda in 1994, various justifications were offered to explain the lack of immediate action. In some cases, no Geneva Conventions existed or, as in Rwanda, many pleaded ignorance.
But in Gaza, no excuse is acceptable. Every international news company has correspondents or some other presence in the Strip. Hundreds of journalists, reporters, bloggers, photographers and cameramen are documenting every event, every massacre and every bomb dropped on civilian homes. It is important to note here that scores of journalists have already been killed in Israeli attacks.
Scientific approximations tell us, for example, that nearly 25,000 tons of explosives were dropped on Gaza by Israel in the first 27 days of war. That is equivalent to two atomic bombs like those dropped by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
When US President Joe Biden callously tried to question the numbers of Palestinian dead, the Gaza Health Ministry took the time to prove him wrong. It produced a list containing the names of 6,747 Palestinians who were killed in the first 19 days of war. Thousands have been killed and wounded since then, yet Washington and its Western allies still insist that “Israel has the right to defend itself,” even if this comes at the expense of a whole nation.
The seemingly endless debates and resolutions have done little to alter the tragic situation in Gaza in any meaningful way.
The Israelis are not masking their language in any way. The New York Times reported on Oct. 30 that, “in private conversations with American counterparts, Israeli officials referred to how the United States and other allied powers resorted to devastating bombings in Germany and Japan during World War II … to try to defeat those countries.” On Sunday, Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu openly declared that nuking Gaza was an option in his country’s genocidal war on the Palestinian people.
On the day The New York Times report was published, Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, arrived at the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing. He used guarded language, as if hoping not to offend the sensibilities of Israel and its Western allies. “Crimes allegedly committed in both places have to be looked into,” he said, referring to both Israel and Gaza.
One could excuse Khan by arguing that legal jargon must be restrained until a thorough investigation is conducted. But thorough investigations are rarely conducted when it comes to Israeli crimes in Gaza or anywhere else in the Occupied Territories.
When an investigation is carried out, international judges frequently find themselves accused by the US and Israel of bias or, worse, antisemitism. In the case of the investigation spearheaded by respected South African judge Richard Goldstone in 2009, he was ultimately forced to retract part of his report.
Khan knows this well because he is currently sitting on a large and growing file of Israeli war crimes. Obviously, the US does not favorably view ICC judges who advance war crime cases against Israel. The anti-ICC sanctions imposed by the Trump administration in 2020 are an example.
Many officials in Western institutions are becoming aware of this hypocrisy. For example, Craig Mokhiber last month resigned from his position as director of the New York office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in protest at the UN’s failure to stop “a genocide unfolding before our eyes in Gaza.” And about 850 members of EU staff signed a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that criticized her “unconditional support” for Israel.
The letter was polite and diplomatic, considering the horrendous moral failure of Von der Leyen, especially when her gung-ho approach to the Russian war in Ukraine is compared to her blind support of Israeli crimes in Gaza. “Only if we acknowledge Israel’s pain, and its right to defend itself, will we have the credibility to say that Israel should react ... in line with international humanitarian law,” she said.
Even the International Olympic Committee, which insists on separating politics and sports, has no problem meddling in politics when the enemy is a Palestinian. The IOC last week issued a statement warning any participant in the Paris Olympics, scheduled for 2024, from engaging in any “discriminatory behavior” against Israeli athletes, because “athletes cannot be held responsible for the actions of their governments.”
The word “hypocrisy” here does not even begin to describe what is taking place and the repercussions of this moral failure will be felt around the world for years to come. Never again should the West be allowed to play the role of the mediator, the impartial politician, the judge or even the humanitarian.
This is not a difficult conclusion to reach. Gaza has been turned into a Hiroshima as a result of Western bombs and the blank political check handed to Israel by Western governments and leaders ever since the onset of the war and, in fact, 75 years prior.
Nothing will ever alter this fact and no “strongly worded” future statements will help the West redeem its collective moral failure.
• Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for more than 20 years. He is an internationally syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author of several books, and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com.
X: @RamzyBaroud

Hamas and the American crossing
Ghassan Charbel/Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper./November 06, 2023
Horrors are not new to the sick Middle East. Its blood has been shed in many wars and across many maps. The wars often end in a settlement that goes against the ambitions of those who fired the first bullet.
There remains one endless war: the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It often lies in embers under the ashes before rising again in fierce flames. The current horrors in Gaza are unprecedented. The losses are unimaginable and the images pouring in from the enclave are horrific. Schools, hospitals and ambulances have not been spared the wrath of airstrikes. The war is playing out on screens and mobile phones. It is as if the casualties are dying in our own homes and offices. It is as if we are living among the corpses and rubble. This is why ending the war is the most pressing demand. But who can end this vicious conflict, which is operating at its full terrifying might?
What can Vladimir Putin offer the people of Gaza? What can Xi Jinping offer? What role can Europe play when the conflict has dashed its objective stances and constant preaching about human rights? Who can stop this horrifying killing machine that has exploited the West’s talk about the “right to self-defense” to launch a war to kill scores of innocent people? What more can Iran offer the people of Gaza other than “terrible consequences” for the continuation of the war? The attacks on US bases in Iraq and Syria may lead Washington to take up an even more biased position toward Israel. The plan to expel America from this corner of the Middle East may lead it to become more committed to its guaranteed ally.
Netanyahu realizes that declaring a ceasefire now would mark the end of his long and dangerous career.
The Hamas leadership finds itself in a position reminiscent of the one the Palestine Liberation Organization was in when the Israeli army besieged Beirut in 1982. The occupation bloodied the Lebanese capital, killing people and destroying everything in sight. Ariel Sharon cut off the water and electricity. Beirut found itself confronted with only one crossing toward restoring the water and power, and also toward a ceasefire.
Who could possibly arrange a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza? Who could pressure Israel to agree to aid and to allow the evacuation of the wounded? Who is capable of arranging a ceasefire later? More than four decades since the invasion of Beirut, the answer seems obvious: the US, regardless of its biased policies. During his tour of the region, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken heard blunt Arab statements demanding that he pressure Israel to agree to a ceasefire.
Hamas’ Al-Aqsa Flood operation on Oct. 7 dealt a powerful blow to Israel’s image and its deterrence power. Benjamin Netanyahu retaliated by waging a bloody war that has been a calamity for the people, setting Hamas’ annihilation as his goal.
The fact that this is likely his final war only compounds concerns. He realizes that declaring a ceasefire now would mark the end of his long and dangerous career. The opposition against Netanyahu views this as an existential battle. The Israeli generals are aware that destroying Gaza is easier than destroying Hamas and its tunnels. They have turned the war into the collective punishment of civilians, blaming Hamas for the hefty price being paid.
The current Nakba in Gaza demands a ceasefire, which is only possible through the US. Another obstacle, however, is that Washington itself wants Hamas out of the Gaza equation. It believes that a ceasefire now would pave the way for the situation in Gaza to return to the way it was before. It is a very difficult crisis.
There appears to be no option on the horizon except for the Blinken crossing. But taking this route has a price. Hamas did not wage its largest ever operation only to be taken out of the equation, even if an agreement were reached to pave the way to a two-state solution. Moreover, managing Gaza over the remains of Hamas will not be an easy task. President Mahmoud Abbas was blunt about that. The role of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is tied to a comprehensive political solution. How could Hamas possibly accept a solution that would eliminate it after it incurred massive losses in its ranks and among the people? There appears to be no option on the horizon except for the Blinken crossing. But taking this route has a price. Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ political leader, cannot be a partner in a peace process that would stipulate the need to recognize Israel. He cannot, but what other option is there? Is it the continuation of the war to demonstrate that Hamas cannot be taken out of the equation? Is Hamas banking on the conflict spilling over to the region to allow members of its regional axis to join a major, fateful battle? Are its calculations aligned with those of its allies?
We are obviously unlikely to witness a ceasefire any time soon. The war machine needs more strikes and corpses to impose or withdraw some of its conditions. However, the continuation of the war will be fraught with dangers and the possibility that it will gradually spill over into the region.
Did Hamas, when it launched its operation last month, predict that it would lead to the current scenario? Is it prepared to offer the hostages as the price of stopping the fighting? What about its role after the fighting ends? The PLO paid a price for opting for the American crossing. Will Hamas pay a certain price even though it is not the same as the PLO? And does a ceasefire mean ending the Sunni and Palestinian role in the “resistance axis?” Will the Arabs succeed in easing the conditions for a ceasefire needed to access the American crossing?
• Ghassan Charbel is editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

Russia’s Relationship with Hamas and Putin’s Global Calculations
Anna Borshchevskaya/Washington Institute Also published in Al Majalla/November 06, 2023
There is no evidence Moscow knew about the October 7 attack, but it has provided support to Hamas and is taking advantage of the resultant blows to U.S. interests.
At least 16 Russian citizens died as a result of Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October, but Moscow did not condemn Hamas directly. And while the Kremlin labels some of its own—peaceful—political opponents as terrorists, it did not give this designation to Hamas.
Instead, President Vladimir Putin blamed US policies for the current Middle East crisis. He compared Israel’s blockade of Gaza to Nazi Germany’s siege of Leningrad—one of the most traumatic events in Russia’s history.
In this context, Putin offered to serve as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, while Hamas, according to Russian press reports, praised Putin’s position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Russia has had a longstanding and well-documented relationship with Hamas. Still, Moscow’s response to the Hamas attack shows that it is aligning more explicitly with the global south as it seeks to erode the US-led liberal world order, what Putin claimed in June to be an “ugly neo-colonial system” coming to an end in favour of a multipolar world.
Longstanding Relationship with Hamas
Throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union approached the Middle East through a rigid ideological lens. The KGB—the Soviet security agency— funded, trained, advised, and equipped anti-Western terrorist and militant groups in the region, including groups that saw the destruction of Israel as their primary goal.
The Soviet Union had no diplomatic relations with Israel from 1967, after the Six-Day War, until October 1991, approximately two months before the USSR ceased to exist. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the Russian government took a more flexible approach. It pursued good ties with Israel, styled itself as a mediator, joined the Quartet, and condemned acts of terrorism by Hamas.
Still, it did not label Hamas a terrorist organisation. In February 2006, Putin invited then-Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal to come to Moscow after its legislative election victory over Fatah. Subsequently, Hamas praised Moscow for its support. Recognition of legitimacy was important to him. During his visit in March that year, Meshaal told Russian state Rossiyskaya Gazeta, “We always knew the day would come when we could visit world capitals.”
Speaking in August 2006 in Kazan, Russia’s then-foreign minister Evgeniy Primakov reportedly said that he considers Hamas a humanitarian organisation but acknowledges it has a militant wing that commits terrorist acts. Since then, other Hamas visits to Russia followed and in 2010, Meshaal met with then-president Dmitry Medvedev.
Russian officials gave two reasons why they needed good relations with Hamas. First, a small number of Russian citizens, perhaps several hundred, lived in Gaza and worked at the Russian cultural centre Kalinka, under the auspices of the Russian foreign affairs ministry.
In practice, though, Russian cultural centres are known to serve as intelligence fronts. Palestinian politicians, on their part, saw Moscow as a counterweight to the US.
Although Hamas opposed Bashar al-Assad during Syria’s long civil war that erupted in 2011, Russia’s position towards Hamas did not change even though it supported the Syrian regime. In November 2015, for example, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Mikhail Bogdanov reiterated that Russia does not consider Hamas (nor Hezbollah, for that matter) as a terrorist organisation. Hamas leaders travelled to Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, in September 2022 and to Moscow in March and September this year.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the March meeting “touched on Russia’s unchanged position in support of a just solution to the Palestinian problem.” Hamas (and Iranian) officials were most recently in Moscow on 26 October after the Hamas attack on Israel.
Material Support
Russian-made weapons had found their way to Hamas for years. In May 2021, senior Hamas leader Osama Hamdan gave an interview to Russia’s investigative Novaya Gazeta.
In response to a question, “Where did Hamas get such a large number of Russian-made rockets used to attack Israel?” he said, “I think the Russian people should be proud they gave the oppressed peoples of the world weapons with which they can defend themselves. These weapons were sent to our region in the 60s and 70s.”
Putin’s Russia, for its part, at the very least, provided material support to Hamas. According to a 13 October Wall Street Journal report, Hamas-linked terrorist groups found ways to circumvent Western sanctions by utilising Russia’s cryptocurrency exchanges.
Ukrainian Center of National Resistance said that members of the paramilitary group Wagner allegedly participated in the training of Hamas militants on “assault tactics and the use of small unmanned aerial vehicles to drop explosive devices onto vehicles and other targets.” Ukraine’s Head of Defence Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, said that Russia has recently supplied Hamas with weapons but did not provide evidence for these claims. Senior Hamas official Ali Baraka said in an interview that aired on Russia’s main propaganda outlet, RT, that Hamas has a license from Russia to locally produce bullets for Kalashnikovs and that Russia “sympathises” with Hamas. He also claimed that Hamas’s attack would be taught in Russia’s military academies.
Moscow’s Global Calculus
There is no direct evidence that Moscow was involved in the 7 October attack or knew about it and looked the other way. But Putin benefits from the resultant chaos, including Western distraction from his war on Ukraine.
He is likely to use the opportunity to exacerbate this situation, including through cyber operations against US forces, disinformation campaigns, and the use of Wagner to support other anti-American actors in the Middle East. Most recently, Hamas reportedly gave access to an RT journalist to the tunnel network nicknamed the Gaza Metro. This shows the Kremlin will have added opportunities to shape the narrative with Arab audiences to fit Russia’s state objectives.
Earlier, Putin himself suggested that Western weaponry intended for Ukraine ended up in the Middle East through the black market. He said this was likely an effort to shape Arab audiences’ perceptions—to side with Russia over Ukraine and against the West over its support for Israel—to suggest that Israel is using Western weapons against Palestinians.
It may surprise some that Putin chose now to side so explicitly with Hamas after he personally cultivated Russia’s relationship with Israel for so long and jeopardised his image as a Middle East mediator who can talk to all sides. But the fact of the matter is, the Kremlin views world affairs through a narrow zero-sum prism: for Russia to win, the US and the West have to lose. This is a global vision, a challenge to the US-led liberal world order, which Putin threw most overtly by invading Ukraine, a war which Putin has cast as an existential battle with the West.
No matter the effort to cast himself as a mediator, he always leaned closer to anti-American forces in the Middle East. This trend simply accelerated after he invaded Ukraine and became more apparent.
Sure, there are risks and challenges for Putin now if the conflict between Israel and Hamas escalates and spills into other countries, but Putin has operated in less-than-ideal circumstances before. More to the point, he has not paid a price high enough to change his calculus.
Over a year and a half after the invasion, Russia has avoided global isolation. Moscow’s narrative on the war resonates outside the West, and it has been able to find avenues outside it to mitigate the effects of sanctions.
As Russia aligns closer with the global south to push for its alternative vision of a world order, it is going to seek to benefit, at a low cost to itself, from distraction from Ukraine in the West, the rise of anti-American sentiment in the Middle East, and empowering anti-American forces. In other words, it will seek to escalate with the West, either directly or through proxies. The US must do more to convince non-Western partners that Russia’s vision of the world order is a losing one and think creatively about how to impose costs on Moscow in a way that shifts Putin’s strategic calculus—that the cost of escalating with the West outweighs the benefits.
**Anna Borshchevskaya is a senior fellow in The Washington Institute’s Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Program on Great Power Competition and the Middle East. This article was originally published on the Majalla website.
https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/russias-relationship-hamas-and-putins-global-calculations

Iran and The Search For a Seat
Tariq Al-Homayed/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 07/2023
It is clear that Iran's current objective is to get a seat at the next negotiation table, irrespective of where negotiations will be held or what is discussed, be it the release of Israeli hostages or ending the war in Gaza. At the same time, it wants to ensure that the infrastructure of Hamas’s power is not severely undermined and that Hezbollah is not dragged into the conflict.
Thus, Tehran insists that it had not known about the October 7 operation. Hassan Nasrallah began his speech on Friday by denying that either Iran or his party had been told about the attack, claiming that the "resistance movements" in the region and the "leaders of the resistance" make their own decisions.
In my opinion, believing that Iran had been unaware that Hamas and Al-Qassam would launch the operation on October 7 - even privy to the minute details - or that Tehran is oblivious to the actions of its militias in the region, is akin to believing that anyone could increase their credit card balance without the bank noticing.
The international community, after Israel, could perhaps come to accept the idea that Iran was not involved, in order to avoid an escalation in the region. This sentiment resonates internationally, and especially in Israel, as no one wishes to broaden the scale of military confrontations.
Indeed, Iran does not wish to sacrifice Hezbollah. Its primary objective is safeguarding Tehran and its interests, not resolving the Palestinian question or any other matter. Tehran cannot tolerate the idea of Hezbollah fighting a war at present, especially given the naval fleets that the US and others have sent to the Mediterranean.
Iran is also well aware that any genuine military action from the Syrian front would change the dynamics there, potentially severing supply lines from Iraq to Syria. Above all, Iran's gravest concern is that any military escalation could end with the collapse of the Syrian regime.
Therefore, Iran's objective is to avoid clashing with Israel and the broader international community, especially given the unprecedented global support for Israel, which appears to be in a frenzy and be consumed by an overwhelming drive to annihilate everything as it vies to reinstate deterrence.
Moreover, Iran wants to avoid a change to the status quo that removes Hamas from power in Gaza, especially through the establishment of interim international authorities that eventually hand over the Strip to the Palestinian Authority. Iran wants to be represented in any future negotiations on this matter.
Iran clearly understands that the current war in Gaza is fundamentally different from those that preceded it. The most certain and perilous fact is that none of the regional players, including Israel, are certain about how the war will develop. No one knows its ultimate scope, duration, or objectives.
The last thing Iran wants is a tactical defeat. It does not want to lose one of its key assets of disruption in the region or its seat at the negotiating table that could reshape the status quo and, consequently, the fundamental strategic balance.
Tehran does not want everything to end with the reinvigoration of the peace process that could lead to a two-state solution. Ismail Haniyeh endorsed this outcome last Wednesday, to the astonishment of all the parties concerned.
As a result, we have seen this campaign of trying to deny that Iran had known about the operation amid empty Iranian statements about the mendacious “Axis of Resistance.”

‘Flood of Peace’
Sam Menassa/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 07/2023
One month after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, we can say that its objectives go beyond undercutting Israel’s security, standing up to its arrogance, and dealing a blow to the prestige of its so-called invincible army.
It would be misguided to underestimate the political gains made by those who implemented, planned, and oversaw this operation, whether Hamas acted alone, or the Resistance Axis worked on the operation collectively. Seen from the perspective of the doctrine, convictions, and goals of this Axis, the operation was a distinct political achievement, despite all the atrocities against civilians, whether committed by Hamas or Israel’s indescribable wanton assault.
Israel and its current government, despite pillars of the opposition joining the small wartime cabinet, will find itself faced with a predicament. Preempting those who claim that what is unfolding in Gaza could eliminate the Hamas movement or contain its activities, we reply: what happens after the elimination of Hamas, assuming that this is possible?
The killing machine cannot achieve its desired objectives without a clear political project other than targeting Hamas. Indeed, this approach poses risks that undermine Israel's goal of maintaining its security and ensuring its people's safety. The reactions to the civilian casualties falling in Gaza from countries that back Israel demonstrate that discontent is brewing, and this discontent could potentially force these countries to reconsider their unwavering support for Tel Aviv.
The waning of support is also evident from the global consensus on the need to open the Rafah crossing to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, as well as the diplomatic calls for a humanitarian ceasefire. It comes as no surprise to see calls for peace after any military operation that results in civilian casualties, even less so when thousands have been killed within just a few weeks.
This growing discontent was also highlighted by the fact that 120 countries, including eight European nations, voted in favor of the United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire on humanitarian grounds, as well as the governments of Ireland and Spain openly calling for Israel’s actions in Gaza to be recognized as war crimes.
Moreover, Israel's ongoing wanton assault could give rise to a public outcry in several Arab countries. Jordan was the first to take a first step in response to public fury, suspending its diplomatic ties with Israel, and Bahrain followed.
If the situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, both militarily and from a humanitarian perspective, new fronts could be opened in Lebanon and Syria, with the support of Yemeni and Iraqi militias in Iran’s orbit. Despite the mixed signals of Hassan Nasrallah’s latest address, which demonstrated that Iran is keen on stressing the Palestinian nature of the conflict and labeled the front in Lebanon a supportive front, this remains a real risk.
The October 7 operation underscores the fact that the conflict between the peace and resistance camps in the region goes beyond Palestine and its people. The resistance camp is fueling a clash of civilizations between the West and the Islamic world, leveraging the suffering we are all witnessing to bolster anti-Western forces. Another objective is undermining the efforts of the moderate Arab states to pursue peace, resolve the conflict, develop economically, and take a more open and comfortable approach to international relations, by dragging the peace camp to a place it wants to avoid.
At its core, the conflict is about the Resistance Axis' desire to control and dominate the region, as well as to spread its principles, beliefs, and ideas, by changing social norms and theologizing politics and every facet of life. The Muslim world was held responsible for the terrorist attack of Al-Qaeda on 9/11, and in October, Israel held the Palestinians responsible for the Hamas operation.
Four weeks into this war of revenge, old calls and mantras advocating resistance are reverberating across the Arab world. The drive for war and martyrdom has been growing among the public, and only in a few Arab capitals was this feverish atmosphere not palpable. Alarmingly, the ideals and perspectives of this Axis are aligned with those of the extreme Israeli right, making any solution beyond limited and temporary agreements impossible. These stop-gap accords cyclically breed new conflicts and tragedies, with civilians invariably being the first to pay the price.
Most of the solutions being proposed are reiterations of previous proposals, half-hearted measures put forward because of diplomatic inertia. While the discourse predominantly centers on the two-state solution, the key stakeholders are the primary obstacles: Hamas wants to obliterate Israel, and the Israeli right wants nothing more than to expel Palestinians and annex their territory.
Nothing can put an end to the tragedies, massacres, and political and security risks of the shift precipitated by the Al-Aqsa Flood, but a more significant step that creates an unprecedented breakthrough - a "Flood of Peace" that breaks the barriers and overcomes obstacles hindering moderate forces in Israel from taking serious and firm steps to recognize that there can be no peace without the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state on the lands of Palestine.
This pivotal breakthrough has well-known pillars: sensible figures in Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the US administration, and the European Union. As for the driving force behind this shift, it is the Arab states with major stakes in ensuring this historic settlement.
The countries that can make this push are Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, and Jordan. They have a responsibility to craft an initiative that transcends the current narratives – a plan that goes beyond the Arab Peace Initiative, the Oslo Accords, and the Deal of the Century. The leaders of these nations must collectively present their initiative to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, and then, with the backing of the US, perhaps to Jerusalem itself.
These countries need this kind of strategic move, as it puts the Israelis before a new different state of affairs, giving them a way out of this seemingly perpetual cycle of violence and offering a clear framework for negotiations that ultimately give rise to the two-state solution.
While some argue that emotions are too raw and the timing isn't ideal, others contend that the moment is ripe for change precisely because of this extreme sense of urgency. This initiative could rescue countless innocent civilians from the turmoil we are seeing. Now is the time to capitalize on the global push for a political resolution, and crucially, to take the Palestinian cause, which affords Tehran a strategic Trojan horse, from Iran's grasp.
The question of timing remains. Indeed, for this initiative to move forward, a new Israeli government that excludes Benjamin Netanyahu and the hardline right-wing leaders must first be formed. They have obstructed the path to peace, and all the opinion polls in Israel suggest the public holds the current administration responsible for what happened and wants to see its resignation. The nations supportive of Israel are eagerly awaiting this change.
Alongside the crucial matter of timing, courage is needed. Without it, the chronic stagnation and resurfacing of failed frameworks will not end. It is pivotal that we leverage current diplomatic efforts to fuel the "Flood of Peace" that we seek.
The Resistance Axis certainly won’t vanish overnight. Nonetheless, a balanced, realistic, and fair resolution to the Palestinian question would mark a groundbreaking shift and reshape regional dynamics, inevitably weakening Iran's influence and that of its regional and global allies.