Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 10-11/2023
Rising Violations by Hezbollah Against Journalists and Free Media in Lebanon/Elias Bejjani/November 10, 2023
Appeal to the Arab Summit in Riyadh from Sovereign Lebanese Deputies Rejecting the Terrorist, Persian, and Jihadist Occupation of Hezbollah
Israel Fears War on the Horizon Against Hezbollah in the North/Ethan Bronner and Galit Altstein/Bloomberg/November 10, 2023
7 Hezbollah fighters killed by Israeli strike in Syria
Hezbollah mourns seven 'martyrs on the path to Jerusalem'
Israeli airstrikes after 5 troops injured in Hezbollah drone and missile attacks
Report: Khamenei defends Nasrallah, urges against all-out war
UN official says Israel-Hamas war has caused significant damage in Lebanon
Report: Cabinet to carry out 'technical extension' of Aoun's term
Ibrahim mediated dual nationals, wounded Palestinians evacuation from Gaza
Hezbollah official calls for electing new Lebanese president
Report: US not concerned over south Lebanon clashes
US magazine says Mikati's peace plan may be Gaza’s best chance
Franjieh says his presidential chances are 50/50
Israeli missile strike hits hospital in southern Lebanon
Meiss El Jabal Hospital's emergency department damaged in Israeli shelling: Director confirms to LBCI
Haitham Zaiter: A two-state solution is essential, and this is a priority at the upcoming Arab summit in Riyadh
For Hezbollah, Timing Is the Essence/Mohanad Hage Ali/Carnegie/November 10/2023

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 10-11/2023
Israel revises down death toll from Oct. 7 attack to about 1,200
Iran warns expansion of Gaza war 'inevitable'; officials say air strikes hit hospitals
Jewish refugees from Israel find comfort and companionship in a countryside camp in Hungary
Qatar's emir visits Egypt for talks on ending Gaza violence
Israeli army says will kill Hamas militants if seen firing from Gaza hospitals
Israel reduces the death toll from the Hamas attack to 1,200 people
Israeli 'pause' of Gaza attacks woefully inadequate. Why are we still waiting for cease-fire?
Blinken brings a notable shift in US language toward Israel as pressure mounts at home and abroad
Deaths and injuries as Israel bombs al-Shifa Hospital's outpatient building in Gaza
Israel bombs Syria site over drone that targeted Eilat
UN rapporteur says Israel's 4-hour Gaza war pauses 'cynical and cruel'
Israeli labor minister says Netanyahu will have to call early elections
Israel uses Arrow-3 system for 1st time to intercept Yemen missile
Report: Palestinian women and child prisoners to be swapped for 100 captive Israeli women
Iran envoy says Tehran had no direct role in Hamas’ Israel rampage, or proxy attacks on US forces
Gaza hospital ‘surrounded by tanks’ as other healthcare facilities say they’ve been damaged by Israeli strikes
Netanyahu accuses US college protesters of ‘lining up with baby burners, rapists and head-choppers’
Biden speaks with sultan of Oman amid Israel-Hamas war
News outlets deny Israeli claim that freelance journalists knew of Hamas attack
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupy New York Times lobby
Elon Musk says Israel should try to thwart Hamas with 'conspicuous acts of kindness' in Gaza
Biden, Xi to meet Wednesday for talks on trade, Taiwan, managing fraught relations

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 10-11/2023
Question: “What does the Bible say about demon possession?”/GotQuestions.or/November 10/2023
U.S. largely coming up empty in full-court diplomatic press with Israel and Arab world/Tracy Wilkinson/ Los Angeles Times./November 10, 2023
Ceasefires Will Only Hinder Getting the Hostages Released/Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute./November 10, 2023
The Iranian Regime's Doubletalk About The October 7 Hamas Invasion Of Israel: To The Muslims – '"Death To America" Is Not Only A Motto But A Policy'; To The West – Iran Has No Part In The Israel-Hamas War/A. Savyon/MEMRI/November 10/2023
Israel’s war on Gaza puts journalists in peril/Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/November 11, 2023
Turkic states cut their ties with mother Russia/Luke Coffey/Arab News/November 11, 2023
Anatomy of a Paris Demo/Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 10/2023

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 10-11/2023
Rising Violations by Hezbollah Against Journalists and Free Media in Lebanon
Elias Bejjani/November 10, 2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/124119/124119/
From Diaspora, free and loving peace Lebanese expatriates closely follow with bitterness and deep pain the continued practices of repression, threats, fabrication of legal cases, defamation, incitement, and intimidation that targets journalists and free media in Lebanon, at the hands of the terrorist Hezbollah, its propagandists, Trumpets, cymbals, mouthpieces and Trojans. Lebanese free expatiates vehemently condemn and denounce such despicable acts that aim to restrain press freedom and human rights in occupied Lebanon.
Hezbollah, the Jihadist, terrorist, and Iranian proxy, occupies Lebanon, holds sway over its decision-making process, and enslaves the majority of its officials and politicians. In this subjugation realm it uses most media outlets as tools for disseminating misinformation and promoting hatred, a culture of violence, and the demonization of those who oppose and reject its Iranian nasty occupation.
Hezbollah's mouthpieces and Trojans work tirelessly to impose by force their fundamentalism, Jihadism concepts, violent culture and the Iranian Mullahs agenda on the majority of Lebanese media outlets. They spare no effort to distort and fabricate facts, assassinate, utter bold death threats, make false accusations, vilify and defame every free and sovereign Lebanese voice, terrifying journalists, activists, intellectuals, and even ordinary sovereign and free citizens, in an evil bid to subjugate, terrorize and tame them.
Recent examples of such intimidating practices includes prominent journalists and media figures like Layal Al-Ikhtiyar, Nadim Qteish, Dima Sadek, Rami Naaim, Charles Jabbour, and many others. These journalists have been threatened, insulted, subjected to arbitrary actions, vilified, intimidated, and morally assassinated because of their honest and professional coverage of events.
From the Diaspora countries, and on behalf of every expatriate Lebanese who shares our concepts of sovereignty, freedom, and Lebanese identity, we strongly condemn and denounce, all Hezbollah's and its mercenaries atrocities against media, journalists, activists, and citizens in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, what is actually worrisome, alarming, and fearful is that, most the Lebanese state institutions, especially the judiciary and security apparatus, have become tools of oppression and terrorism serving Hezbollah's agenda. They now represent a real threat to journalists, media professionals, sovereign activists, and free individuals. This misuse of the state manipulation, abuse and enslaving must stop immediately, allowing journalists and sovereign media to perform their professional duties freely and safely.
We call on the international communities, free Western nations, human rights organizations, the United Nations, and the Vatican, to act swiftly and effectively to protect press freedom and human rights in Lebanon, and to ensure accountability for those responsible for these serious violations.
A free and democratic society cannot tolerate such grave violations of basic human rights.

Appeal to the Arab Summit in Riyadh from Sovereign Lebanese Deputies Rejecting the Terrorist, Persian, and Jihadist Occupation of Hezbollah
November 10, 2023
https://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/124187/124187/
Sovereign Lebanese opposition deputies have issued an appeal to the Arab Summit, stating:
"Your Majesties, Your Excellencies, Your Highnesses, and Your Sovereign Brothers, the Arab Leaders:
We address you from Lebanon, a founding member of the Arab League, with greetings and hopes that your convened summit today marks the beginning of a new phase that closes the chapters of violence, chaos, and wars, and establishes the foundations of peace and prosperity. As representatives of the Lebanese people from various factions, we are keen that, as leaders representing the sisterly Arab countries, you are well-informed about the opinions of the Lebanese regarding the events in the region and Lebanon, and their aspirations during this challenging period.
The Lebanese Republic, always a supporter of the Palestinian cause for self-determination and the establishment of an independent state to live with dignity, has paid a heavy price over the past seven decades. This cost includes the loss of sovereignty over its national decisions in favor of a regional axis boasting control over four Arab capitals.
Given the looming threat of a destructive war on Lebanon, we, as deputies representing the Lebanese people, affirm the following:
First: We unequivocally reject the continuation of the Israeli war on Gaza, where the Palestinian people face the worst war crimes and humanitarian atrocities that any people in the world could face. From Beirut, we extend our condolences to the thousands of innocent Palestinians and condemn the world's double standards in dealing with the people of Gaza.
The situation in Gaza requires your immediate intervention, Your Majesties, Excellencies, Highnesses, and Sovereigns, not just for arranging a humanitarian ceasefire or cessation of hostilities but to initiate a political solution based on the Arab Peace Initiative declared at the Beirut Summit in 2002. This initiative advocates a two-state solution, necessitating the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as a gateway to peace, stability in the Middle East, the triumph of moderation over extremism, the implementation of relevant United Nations resolutions, and the affirmation of the right of return for refugees.
Second: Lebanon is at the heart of the crisis facing the region, and its people fear the expansion of the war that has begun to affect their country without their benefit or consent. The Lebanese state and its decisions remain sources of strength for an armed force outside legitimacy, serving a regional axis at the expense of its strategic interests, security, and stability. This is amid a series of political crises that have reached the point of complete paralysis and the breakdown of the constitutional state and its institutions, coupled with a comprehensive economic, social, and financial collapse.
With the election of a president for the republic hindered, and a regrettable acknowledgment from the Prime Minister of Lebanon that the state lacks control over peace and war decisions, the Lebanese reject forcefully dragging their country into a comprehensive war, having been already involuntarily engaged in a limited conflict, resulting in casualties, including children, civilians, journalists, and the displacement of tens of thousands of our people.
They also reject speaking in Lebanon's name by a foreign minister of another state and allowing an armed internal party to usurp its sovereign decisions. Therefore, we request your assistance for Lebanon in facing attempts to drag it into war under its kidnapped sovereignty and deprived decision-making. We believe that your summit, with its influence, can lift Lebanon, restore it, and relieve it from foreign guardianship. We look forward to the summit issuing clear resolutions that affirm its refusal to follow any regional influence project, aligning with the struggle of the Lebanese people for liberation and the restoration of their kidnapped state.
We also request your help in all international forums, especially at the United Nations and the Security Council, for the full implementation of Resolution 1701. This resolution constitutes the constitutional and international umbrella to protect Lebanon and militarily neutralize it, avoiding the expansion of the war in the region. This can be achieved by halting military actions and establishing a zone south of the Litani River free from any Lebanese or non-Lebanese armed presence outside the Lebanese army and international emergency forces. Additionally, there should be pressure on the international community to deter Israel from its attacks along the borders and Lebanese territory. This should be followed by the full implementation of Resolutions 1559 and 1680, leading to border control and the assertion of the state's sovereignty over its entire territory.
Third: Protecting Lebanon requires a return to the regularity of the institutions established by the Taif Agreement, through the election of a president for the republic as a gateway to reconstituting fully empowered legitimate authority. This will allow the Lebanese state to reclaim its sovereign decisions, including decisions related to war and peace, protecting Lebanon from the repercussions of the ongoing events on all fronts. This leads to the establishment of an effective state, the activation of constitutional institutions, and the initiation of a process of reform and rescue.
Esteemed individuals gathered at the Arab Summit, Lebanon is a precious trust. We recognize how the Arab world looks at it with appreciation and fraternity, both for its people and nation. Lebanon aspires to regain its vital position in the Arab and international communities. We believe that the struggle of its people for sovereignty, freedom, and peace will garner the support of its friends, with you at the forefront. Best wishes for the success of your conference, aiming for an Arab world dominated by peace and prosperity, solidifying a model of cordial and fraternal relations among our Arab nations."

Israel Fears War on the Horizon Against Hezbollah in the North
Ethan Bronner and Galit Altstein/Bloomberg/November 10, 2023
In Kibbutz Eilon, an Israeli cooperative a mile south of Lebanon, the avocado and banana farming families have been replaced by an infantry company specialized in mortars and anti-tank support. The boom of howitzers punctuates the soft air. There is a sense of impending conflict.
Ever since Hamas militants broke through the border fence in southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing and kidnapping their way into the neighboring communities, life on Israel’s northern border has taken a radical turn. Tens of thousands have been evacuated and the army has moved in with tanks, artillery and troops.
The fear is that Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based Islamist group, may be preparing to join the war — or breach the boundary with Israel in a fresh attack. “We have to stay on this border to send a message of deterrence,” said Major Ariel, 30, the commander of the company in Eilon, who is on reserve duty. A physician and father of three young daughters, he adds, “My life is on hold. I don’t know how long I will be here but we can’t leave. October 7th was a wake-up call.” Over the past five weeks, the world’s attention has been on Israel’s aerial and ground invasion of Gaza designed to uproot Hamas’s infrastructure and destroy the group’s military capability, with thousands of civilian casualties. But an equal — perhaps bigger — concern for Israel’s military and the country is Hezbollah, which has nearly 10 times the number of missiles as Hamas and a bigger, more professional fighting force. US carrier battle fleets are in the Mediterranean to warn Hezbollah and its sponsor, Iran, against joining in. Both Hamas and Hezbollah are considered terrorist groups by the US. Whether Hezbollah actually plans war with Israel is far from clear. Most analysts say Nasrallah doesn’t seem inclined. Cross-border fire between the two sides is a daily occurrence, yet has so far been relatively contained.
Plans Unknown
As Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech early this month, “What we have done since October 8 is unprecedented in terms of our fighting strategy. We have been engaged in a true battle.”Israelis have been inhabiting a new reality, one in which they say if a militant group on its border preaches the country’s destruction, they can’t just wave it off as poisonous rhetoric. That’s what they did with Hamas. “The most dramatic change since Oct. 7 is the fear of terrorist infiltration,” said Simona Menashe, the administrator of Kibbutz Kabri, a co-operative south of Eilon where other soldiers and equipment have been installed. “Hezbollah is more sophisticated than Hamas. They could take over the whole area. This is now in our heads.”The parallels with the Gaza border are eerie. Kibbutzes — collective Israeli communities mainly focused on agriculture and minor manufacturing — are prevalent in both areas. They were established partly to serve as guard posts for the budding state and have been largely populated by secular Israelis who lean left and seek co-existence with Arabs. That didn’t stop them becoming targets for the Hamas massacre, which left an estimated 1,400 people dead.
Security Outposts
Now these symbols of liberal Zionism have become again de facto security outposts, filled with military equipment and troops who see it as their mission to defend the country. The experience of Major Ariel — his last name is withheld by the army for security reasons — in these weeks is telling. “We have had to revise how we defend the line while keeping eye contact on the border and on the enemy and at the same time staying protected,” he said. He described how Hezbollah operatives have been targeting his platoon with anti tank missiles that are shot from tripods and with mortars, ranging from 60 to 155 millimeters. “And for the first time, they’re using a big-headed rocket known as a Burkan, shot from pickup trucks. Hezbollah is always studying us. They use drones to track our movements.”Ariel, who’s married to a fellow doctor he met in medical school, is supposed to start the next stage of his residency at a hospital outside Tel Aviv, but doesn’t know when that will happen. “We all want to get back to our lives but this is our obligation to defend our country,” he said. “We are here indefinitely, and that is a huge burden on our economy.” A nearby produce packing plant, Milopri, where avocados fly into different bins based on weight and quality, is now lacking skilled workers and can’t get to some fruit, which rots, said Uri Coves, as he carried his reserve-duty rifle on a tour of the facility. This points to something many in the north are mulling quietly: After the war in Gaza has ended, will that trigger one in southern Lebanon? Israel previously fought Hezbollah in 2006, a conflict that ended with many Lebanese casualties. Since then, Hezbollah — backed by Iran — has greatly improved its military muscle. “We have to take care of this,” said Dana Schlesinger, the head of a bank that handles finances for 15 local industries in the area. “The army can’t stay here forever to protect us this way.”''

7 Hezbollah fighters killed by Israeli strike in Syria
Associated Press/November 11, 2023
Hezbollah said Friday that seven of its fighters have been killed, but didn't specify where they died other than to say that they were “martyred on the road to Jerusalem.”
A Hezbollah official and a Lebanese security official said the seven fighters were killed in neighboring Syria Friday morning. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Pro-government Syrian media outlets reported an Israeli airstrike on the central province of Homs early Friday. Hezbollah has been fighting in Syria along with Syrian government forces where they have helped tip the balance of power in his favor during Syria’s 12-year conflict. The Israeli military said earlier Friday that it struck targets in Syria following a drone strike on the Red Sea city of Eilat saying that it was fired from Syria. Since Oct. 8, they have been exchanging fire with Israeli troops along the Lebanon-Israel border. The latest deaths raises to 68 the number of Hezbollah fighters who have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began last month.

Hezbollah mourns seven 'martyrs on the path to Jerusalem'
LBCI/November 11, 2023
On Friday, Hezbollah mourned the death of seven of its members, describing them as "martyrs on the path to Jerusalem."
The members are:
- Ali Khalil Al-Ali, "Khoder," from the town of Mlikh in southern Lebanon.
- Mohammad Ali Abbas Assaf, "Jawad," from the town of Bodai in the Bekaa.
- Abdel Latif Hassan Swaydan, "Safi," from the town of Yater in southern Lebanon.
- Mohammad Qassim Tlais, "Abou Ali," from the town of Brital in the Bekaa.
- Jawad Mahdi Hashem, "Abou Saleh," from the town of Khiam in southern Lebanon.
- Jaafar Ali Serhan, "Mehran," from the town of Machgharah in the Bekaa.
- Qassim Mohammad Awada, "Malak Ghanem," from the town of Jouaiyya in southern Lebanon.

Israeli airstrikes after 5 troops injured in Hezbollah drone and missile attacks
Naharnet/November 11, 2023
The Israeli army said it was carrying out airstrikes on “a series of Hezbollah targets” on Friday evening in response to Hezbollah attacks earlier in the day. “Three Israeli army soldiers were seriously wounded when an anti-tank missile was fired at a military post in the town of Manara,” Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in a post on the X platform. “Another soldier was critically wounded and another was moderately injured when a hostile drone violated Israeli territory from Lebanon,” the spokesman added. Lebanese media reports said the Israeli airstrikes targeted the southern town of Majdal Zoun, which lies around 10 kilometers away from Israel’s border. The strikes also targeted al-Khraibeh and the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab, Kfar Hamam and Yater, amid artillery shelling on the outskirts of Aita al-Shaab and Yaroun. Hezbollah had earlier announced targeting two Israeli military posts with three attack drones. A Hezbollah statement said the attacks were “in support of our resilient Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and their valiant and honorable resistance.”A Hezbollah official and a Lebanese security source had earlier said that seven Hezbollah members were killed in an Israeli airstrike Friday morning in Syria’s Homs. Israel said that airstrike was carried out in retaliation to a drone strike on Israel’s Eilat. The Israeli army said the drone attack was carried out by an “organization” without mentioning its name. Hezbollah also attacked several Israeli military posts with anti-tank missiles on Friday.

Report: Khamenei defends Nasrallah, urges against all-out war
Naharnet/November 11, 2023
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hosted Wednesday evening a secret meeting of the leaders of the pro-Tehran factions in Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Yemen, during which he stressed the need to close ranks and defended the strategy avoiding engagement in an all-out war, which has been “clearly endorsed” by Tehran and Hezbollah in dealing with the Gaza war, a source in Khamenei’s office said. The source told Kuwait’s al-Jarida newspaper that Hezbollah was represented in the meeting by the head of its executive council, Sayyed Hashem Saffieddine.
“Khamenei stressed in the meeting with the leaders of the factions that the strategy is based on focusing on Gaza -- where Israel was dealt a major blow on October 7 -- and avoiding being dragged into any side battles that would deviate attention from what’s happening in the Palestinian strip,” the source said. “Despite the cost and losses that are being incurred by the Palestinian people, the current international circumstances are in their favor and in favor of the Palestinian cause, after Israel lost its credibility and the international community is no longer fully on its side,” the source quoted Khamenei as saying. “Khamenei also defended the speech of Hezbollah’s secretary-general, which did not contain any declaration that the southern front against Israel will be escalated,” the source added. The supreme leader told those who criticized Nasrallah’s remarks that the speech “was coordinated with Quds Brigade chief Esmail Qaani and the relevant officials in the resistance front” and that “the main message was highlighting support for the front in Gaza without opening any other fronts that would deviate attention and waste the Palestinian achievements.”

UN official says Israel-Hamas war has caused significant damage in Lebanon
Associated Press/November 11, 2023
The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Lebanon has said that the spillover of the Hamas-Israel war has already caused “significant damage” in Lebanon where Hezbollah and allied groups have been clashing with Israeli forces on the border for more than a month. Imran Riza said in a statement Friday that there have been “concerning signs of escalating tensions” along the border. Riza said there have been “alarming attacks killing and injuring civilians in South Lebanon, including women, children, and media personnel" and much damage to private property, public infrastructure and farmland which as forces more than 25,000 to be displaced. On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike hit a car driving between the towns of Ainata and Aitaroun and killed four civilians, including three children and their grandmother, and wounded the children’s mother. An Israeli military statement later said the car had been “identified as transporting terrorists” and that it was reviewing “allegations that there were civilians in the vehicle.”

Report: Cabinet to carry out 'technical extension' of Aoun's term
Naharnet/November 11, 2023
There is an inclination to prevent the looming vacuum in the army chief post through a technical extension in Cabinet of General Joseph Aoun’s tenure, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Friday. Aoun’s term expires on December 10 and the session will be held prior to that, the daily added.

Ibrahim mediated dual nationals, wounded Palestinians evacuation from Gaza
Naharnet/November 11, 2023
Former General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim said he played a role in a deal that allowed hundreds of foreign nationals and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians to leave Gaza after more than three weeks under siege. Ibrahim told ad-Diyar newspaper, in remarks published Friday, that the lawyers of dual passport holders in Gaza had contacted him to help these dual nationals leave Gaza as Hamas asked in return for allowing wounded civilians to get hospitalized in Egypt. Ibrahim claimed he held talks with American officials who accepted the deal that later allowed hundreds of Palestinian Americans and Palestinians with other foreign passports to leave Gaza and dozens of wounded Palestinian civilians to cross Rafah for treatment in Egypt. The former General Security chief also said that U.S. mediator Amos Hochstein who has recently visited Beirut, had contacted him on the second day of war on Gaza and asked him to make efforts to try to keep Lebanon out of the Israel-Hamas war. Ibrahim had recently said that he is playing a role in the hostage situation and that he is in contact with Hamas and U.S. officials. He met with Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar but told ad-Diyar that the meeting had nothing to do with the prisoner swap. Ibrahim had negotiated hostage cases in the past.

Hezbollah official calls for electing new Lebanese president
Naharnet/November 11, 2023
The head of Hezbollah’s religious committee, Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek, has called for the election of a new Lebanese president. “It’s about time the Lebanese met around a dialogue table to exit the lethal vacuum through electing a president and restoring regularity in state institutions,” Yazbek said. He also called for “closing ranks to protect the country and provide security, stability, sovereignty and prosperity for our people.”Hezbollah’s Loyalty to Resistance parliamentary bloc had also called Thursday for speeding up the election of a new president and finding an appropriate solution to avoid vacuum in the army chief post.

Report: US not concerned over south Lebanon clashes
Naharnet/November 11, 2023
The United States is not concerned over “the ongoing confrontations on the border in south Lebanon,” diplomatic sources said. In remarks to the Nidaa al-Watan newspaper published Friday, the sources attributed the U.S. stance to “the presence of a ceiling governing these confrontations, which has resulted from the ongoing contacts between Washington and Tehran.” In Tehran, the reformist Ham-Mihan newspaper quoted former Iranian diplomat Sayed Jalal Sadatian as saying that “there is a sort of secret diplomacy between Iran and the United States in order to contain the practices of the pro-Iran armed groups in Syria and Iraq.”“Nasrallah’s conservative speech highlighted the presence of an Iranian desire for not expanding the conflict,” Sadatian said.

US magazine says Mikati's peace plan may be Gaza’s best chance
Naharnet/November 11, 2023
A half-formed peace plan proposed by caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati may be Gaza’s best chance, according to the American Foreign Policy Magazine. Mikati proposed a three-step peace plan, but his plan needs Western backers, Foreign Policy said. The first step would be a five-day pause in hostilities, during which Hamas would release some of its Israeli hostages and Israel would open its border crossings to more humanitarian aid. In the second step, negotiations would begin for a prisoner swap between Israel and Palestinians. The final step would be an international summit for a permanent two-state solution. Mikati had told a British newspaper, the Economist, that Hezbollah and Hamas would lay down their weapons, if there was an agreement on international and comprehensive peace. Western countries have failed to agree on a cease-fire. While some countries are demanding a humanitarian cease-fire, the U.S., Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy are only calling for "humanitarian pauses" as they support Israel's right to "self-defense." It's unlikely that those countries would support Mikati's plan. But Foreign Policy said that the world’s middle powers need to help Mikati build a plan for peace, although it is "far from perfect." "There are limitations to Lebanon’s proposal. It offers little clarity about what would happen to Hamas and its fighters as the cease-fire is implemented," the magazine said.

Franjieh says his presidential chances are 50/50
Naharnet /November 11, 2023
Marada Movement chief Suleiman Franjieh has noted that he has met with most Arab ambassadors in Lebanon and that none of them has informed him of any negative stance regarding his presidential nomination. “To those who consider that my presidential chances have ended I tell them no, and to those saying that my presidential chances are 100% I also tell them no. My chances are rather 50/50 and Saudi Arabia has not placed any veto on my nomination,” Franjieh said in an interview on LBCI television. “I will not withdraw from the presidential race unless those who nominated me withdraw my nomination,” Franjieh added. Moreover, he stressed that dialogue and consensus are necessary to reach a settlement involving everyone. “There can be no president without a settlement,” he added. “If I become president, I will a president for the whole of Lebanon, but I have my position and a clear history,” Franjieh went on to say. “I have allies, but no one can impose a stance on me, and my allies do not deal in this way in the first place,” he said. As for the controversy over the term of the army chief, Franjieh said he supports any step that protects the military institution from harm. “My problem with the army commander is not presidential … and I’m not against extending the army chief’s term, but extension is one of many proposed choices and we must facilitate the affairs of the military institution,” he added. He also pointed out that “Hezbollah does not have a problem with Army Commander Joseph Aoun.”

Israeli missile strike hits hospital in southern Lebanon
Arab News/November 11, 2023
BEIRUT: Hostilities on the southern Lebanese front escalated on Friday, as Israeli shelling for the first time reached the Mays Al-Jabal Governmental Hospital, damaging it and injuring a doctor.
Imran Riza, the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, called on “all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law throughout their military operations strictly, and to protect civilians, including humanitarian and medical workers, wherever they are.”
Pleading for all civilian sites, including homes, farms and hospitals, to be protected, he urged all sides to “exercise restraint and avoid further escalation” and said further suffering among the civilian population must be avoided.
The missile that hit the hospital did not explode but it caused damage to the emergency department and injured a doctor there, the hospital’s director, Dr. Hussein Yassin, said.
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health condemned the attack, describing it as “flagrant defiance of all the international laws and treaties.” It said it holds “Israeli authorities fully responsible for this unjustifiable act, which would have led to catastrophic results had the artillery shell targeting the hospital exploded,” and called for “a thorough and fair investigation to hold those behind these crimes accountable.”
Elsewhere, Israeli warplanes were seen flying over Beirut. Meanwhile, a military source denied reports that the Lebanese army had cleared its position in the Bir Shuaib area close to the village of Blida near the southeastern border. The source said the army does not have an outpost in that region, only a mobile security point “where soldiers remain.”
Clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army on the southern Lebanese front have significantly escalated but remain limited to the area south of the Litani River.
Riza warned that there have been signs of rising tensions, marked by increased hostilities along the Blue Line, the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel that was set by the UN in 2000 to help determine whether Israeli forces had fully withdrawn from the country.
“We have recently witnessed alarming attacks killing and injuring civilians in south Lebanon, including women, children and media personnel,” he said.
“Significant damage has also been inflicted upon private property, public infrastructure and agricultural land, forcing over 25,000 people to be displaced. Local farmers risk their lives to harvest olives and tobacco, crucial for sustaining their livelihoods and income.”
Hezbollah on Friday mourned seven of its members, who were killed in clashed with the Israeli army. It brings the total number of the party’s fighters killed since the current fighting began to 69.
The Israeli army said its aircraft had bombed Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon in response to the firing of guided missiles from Lebanese territory. The attacks “targeted Hezbollah compounds, observation points and technological equipment,” it added.
Hezbollah said it had targeted “a gathering of enemy soldiers near Al-Asi site, opposite the Lebanese border town of Mays Al-Jabal, with guided missiles, causing direct hits.”
There have been reports that the Israeli army continues to use phosphorus shells, the firing of which in civilian areas is banned under international humanitarian law, in its operations.
On Thursday night, towns in Marjayoun District were subjected to intense attacks, in which phosphorus bombs and heavy shells were reportedly used, resulting in damage to homes in Bwayda that were evacuated when the conflict began.
The municipal stadium in the city of Sidon, which is hosting many displaced people from border areas, was the scene of a massive gathering for Friday prayers, during which worshippers prayed for the souls of those buried under the rubble in the Gaza Strip, and donations were collected.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday renewed his threats to Hezbollah, warning the party’s secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, that if he “makes a mistake, Hezbollah and Lebanon will bear the consequences.”
Nasrallah is due on Saturday to deliver a second speech about the conflict, following his first public address a week ago. One political observer said it was expected it to be “an escalatory speech but not to the extent of widening the conflict.”
Nasrallah’s address will coincide with an emergency Arab summit in Riyadh to discuss the latest developments in the Gaza Strip.

Meiss El Jabal Hospital's emergency department damaged in Israeli shelling: Director confirms to LBCI
LBCI/November 11, 2023
The director of Meiss El Jabal Hospital, Hussein Yassin, revealed to LBCI that the emergency department at the hospital was damaged by Israeli shelling. He affirmed that the emergency doctor had sustained minor injuries.

Haitham Zaiter: A two-state solution is essential, and this is a priority at the upcoming Arab summit in Riyadh
LBCI/November 11, 2023
Haitham Zaiter, a member of both the National and Central Palestinian Councils, emphasized "the critical need for an end to the genocidal and displacement war targeting the people of Gaza."On LBCI's "Nharkom Said" TV show, Zaiter noted that the Palestinian leadership had shouldered its responsibilities from the beginning, pressing for international intervention to halt the Israeli aggression and the ethnic cleansing affecting Gaza residents. He reiterated the foundational importance of the two-state solution and stressed its ongoing commitment, identifying the challenge in the lack of implementation. Zaaiter underlined that decisions regarding Palestinian policy are made by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Expressing hope that the Palestinian cause would be a priority at the upcoming Arab summit in Riyadh scheduled for Saturday, Zaaiter called for decisive actions and international pressure, including efforts directed at the US administration. He envisioned that, when reaching a resolution, a referendum could be presented to the Palestinian public to choose the optimal solution from the proposed alternatives.

For Hezbollah, Timing Is the Essence
Mohanad Hage Ali/Carnegie/November 10/2023
The party may escalate on the southern border with Israel, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will reach the level of bombing cities.
The speech last week of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah left many in Lebanon and beyond relieved, as he defended his organization’s limited engagement in the Gaza war and called the Lebanese front against Israel a “solidarity and support” front. Nasrallah did so mostly to underline the party’s secondary role in the conflict, in which Palestinian fighters are taking the lead.
However, beyond the clearer points he made, there were two implicit messages in Nasrallah’s emphasis on Hamas’s independence of decisionmaking, its central role in the fight against Israel, and the certainty of its victory in the battle.
The first was that, since Hezbollah wasn’t aware of the operation of October 7, it also was not prepared militarily for a wider escalation with Israel. Perhaps that explains the slow build-up of violence on the Lebanese-Israeli border, and the reported movement of the party’s combatants from parts of Syria back into southern Lebanon. Engaging in a wider escalation, therefore, required better preparing the southern Lebanese front. And here, Hezbollah is not only engaged in military preparations, but also political and logistical preparations, namely for a wider displacement of Lebanese civilians out of the border region and to secure political backing from significant political actors. That effort is ongoing.
The second was that Nasrallah’s emphasis on a Hamas victory created a tacit redline around its defeat. Despite his relatively restrained tone, Nasrallah and other Hezbollah officials have stressed that Hamas will win the Gaza war just as Israel failed in its declared intention of destroying Hezbollah in the Lebanon war of 2006. The 2006 analogy means that if Hamas cannot slow down Israel’s advances in Gaza and sees its firepower diminished, northern Gaza reoccupied, over 1 million Palestinians displaced, unprecedented destruction, and tens of thousands of people killed or injured, it would be difficult for the organization to claim a victory.
Such an outcome would ultimately be costly for Hezbollah and its allies, first and foremost because Israel would most likely seek to reestablish a new deterrence equation on its northern border once Gaza has been neutralized. Hezbollah understands the profound impact of October 7 on Israel’s military doctrine, in that the Israelis have engaged in a disproportionate response so as to deter their enemies in the future. This also means they are less likely to abide by tacit rules of engagement. In light of this, a wider escalation now by Hezbollah could be better than allowing Israel to choose the timing of a confrontation to its advantage.
However, such an escalation could still remain within the current boundaries. Rather than escalating to the bombing of strategic sites and major urban areas, it could involve attacking a larger number of Israeli positions, and even perhaps conducting ground attacks along the lines of Hezbollah’s tactics in the 1990s, when fighters would take over Israeli military bases inside occupied areas of Lebanon, then withdraw before any retaliation. This escalation will probably avoid the use of medium-range missiles. Hezbollah would likely only bomb Israeli cities within the established rules of engagement, namely in retaliation for Israel’s targeting of Lebanese cities. That said, ground attacks and wider clashes along the border would definitely increase the risks of a major uptick in the level of violence.
Second, Israel has a now declared that it seeks to assassinate Hamas leaders, some of whom are based in Lebanon. Given Israel’s previous assassination attempts in the country, including an attempt to kill Hamas operative Mohammed Hamdan in 2018, there is a high possibility of such an operation taking place inside Lebanese territory. While Hezbollah deterred Israel previously, this is more doubtful after the October 7 attacks and as the Gaza conflict subsides.
Third, even if Hezbollah manages to avert a wider conflict with Israel and unilaterally deescalates in southern Lebanon, a change in Israel’s leadership is likely. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may well be forced out of office in favor of Benny Gantz, which may bring with it a renewed Israeli determination to deter and weaken the party. Such a change in leadership could also be coupled with support from Western countries, especially if takes place in parallel with revived negotiations with the Palestinians, to which the Arab states would agree. This could further embolden Israel to adopt an aggressive policy against Hezbollah in order to prevent the party from derailing such a process.
Finally, Nasrallah and Hezbollah need to build a Lebanese alibi for the war, aside from solidarity with the Palestinians. This is needed both for the party’s constituency and for internal political reasons. Nasrallah’s first speech after the October 7 attack and Israel’s campaign in Gaza began the build-up for the case, threatening Israel if it decided to attack Lebanon. Now that Israel has killed Lebanese civilians, including three young girls and their grandmother, the case is growing, and will probably be the focus of Nasrallah’s next speech tomorrow.
With the current trajectory of Israel’s Gaza operation, it would be highly unlikely if a wider escalation by Hezbollah did not occur in Lebanon. The timeframe is narrowing for such an intervention to have an impact on the outcome in Gaza. If Hamas’s pushback against Israeli advances wanes in the coming weeks, Hezbollah could emerge as a target of Israel’s military.
Hezbollah and Palestinian factions are already engaging Israel’s military across the southern border. A further Hezbollah military escalation could raise the pressure on the Israelis, boost the morale of Palestinian fighters in Gaza, and perhaps pave the way for a negotiated ceasefire. Such a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon is Hezbollah’s preferred outcome, as the party does not want to unilaterally deescalate while Israeli retains the option of continuing to strike across its northern border. While Hezbollah is conscious that an expanded war would be catastrophic for Lebanon, it appears to believe such a war as inevitable. Therefore, it is conceivable that it may prefer to decide on the timing itself and not hand that advantage to Israel.
*Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 10-11/2023
Israel revises down death toll from Oct. 7 attack to about 1,200
Filip Timotija/The Hill/November 10, 2023
The Israeli government has dropped the death toll from Hamas’s surprise attack that sparked the war in the region to 1,200 — down 200 from the 1,400 originally estimated. The spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry, Lior Haiat, told Reuters and Agence France-Presse in a written statement that “around 1,200 is the official number of victims of the October 7 massacre.”According to Haiat, the figure was updated Thursday, but he did not provide a justification for the death toll change. The death count, which includes foreigners, “is not a final number. It [is] an updated estimate,” he told Reuters. “It might change when [they] identify all the bodies.” In response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas — a Palestinian militant group that controls the Gaza Strip and has been designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. — Israel has been carrying out airstrikes and shelling Gaza, an operation that has killed thousands of Palestinians living in the area and displaced more than a million people. The strikes, which have created what’s been called a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, have also prompted calls from activists and progressive lawmakers for an immediate cease-fire. President Biden and his administration have shot down those calls, arguing it would help out Hamas. Instead of a cease-fire, the administration has argued for temporary humanitarian pauses to allow aid into Gaza for civilians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also said a cease-fire would not happen until the more than 200 hostages were released. Israel has, however, complied and allowed limited pauses for aid in some parts of Gaza.

Iran warns expansion of Gaza war 'inevitable'; officials say air strikes hit hospitals
Nidal al-Mughrabi/GAZA/DUBAI (Reuters)/November 10, 2023
Iran warned the scale of civilian suffering caused by Israel's war on Hamas would inevitably lead to an expansion of the conflict, as officials in Gaza reported Israeli air strikes on or near several hospitals in the Palestinian enclave. The comments from Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian could ramp up concerns over whether Washington's diplomatic efforts and deployment of U.S. naval forces to the eastern Mediterranean will be able to keep the conflict from further destabilising the Middle East. "Due to the expansion of the intensity of the war against Gaza's civilian residents, expansion of the scope of the war has become inevitable," Amir-Abdollahian told his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Thursday night. Iran's state-run Press TV reported the comments, made during a telephone conversation, on Friday. Israel's bombardment and siege of Gaza over the past month has created a humanitarian catastrophe with thousands seeking medical treatment and shelter in the few hospitals still open, with those in the combat zone operating in grave danger. "The Israeli occupation launched simultaneous strikes on a number of hospitals during the past hours," Gaza Ministry of Health spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra told Al Jazeera television. Qidra said an Israeli strike hit a courtyard in the Al Shifa hospital, the biggest in Gaza City, causing casualties, but he did not provide details. Israel said Hamas has hidden command centres and tunnels beneath Al Shifa, and other hospitals such as the Indonesian Hospital, allegations Hamas denies. Israel's military did not directly comment on Qidra's statement, which Reuters could not independently verify, but it has said it does not target civilians. "While the world sees neighbourhoods with schools, hospitals, scout groups, children’s playgrounds and mosques, Hamas sees an opportunity to exploit," Israel's military said in a statement. Iran supports Hamas but says it did not play any role in the militants' bloody attack on Israel last month that triggered the crisis. Iran also backs the Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group that has deep ties with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, another Palestinian faction in Gaza that is also backed by Iran.
EXPLOSION DAMAGES HOSPITAL
The month-old Israeli military campaign to wipe out Hamas, following the militants' Oct. 7 raid on southern Israel, has left Gaza's hospitals struggling to cope, as medical supplies, clean water and fuel to power generators have been running out. Gaza's health ministry has said 18 of Gaza's 35 hospitals and 40 other health centres were out of service either due to damage from shelling or lack of fuel. Palestinian media published video footage on Friday of Al Shifa, which Reuters was unable to authenticate immediately, that it said showed the aftermath of an Israeli attack on a parking lot where displaced Palestinians were sheltered and journalists were observing. A pool of blood could be seen next to the body of a man being placed on a stretcher. "With ongoing strikes and fighting nearby (Al Shifa), we are gravely concerned about the well-being of thousands of civilians there, many children among them, seeking medical care and shelter," Human Rights Watch said on social media site X. Qidra said Al-Rantisi Pediatric Hospital and Al-Nasr Children's Hospital "have been witnessing a series of direct attacks and bombardments" on Friday. He said strikes on the hospital grounds at Al-Rantisi set vehicles on fire but they had been partly extinguished. Indonesia's foreign ministry said on Friday there were explosions near the Indonesian Hospital overnight, which damaged parts of the hospital, located at the northern end of the narrow coastal enclave. It did not say who was responsible for the explosion and it did not report any deaths or injuries. "Indonesia once again condemns the savage attacks on civilians and civilian objects, especially humanitarian facilities in Gaza," the ministry said in a statement.
U.S. SAYS ISRAEL AGREES TO PAUSES
Israel says 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed and about 240 taken hostage by Hamas in the Oct.7 raid that triggered the Israeli assault. Israel says it has lost 35 soldiers in Gaza. Palestinian officials said 10,812 Gaza residents had been killed as of Thursday, about 40% of them children, in air and artillery strikes. Israel's military advance on central Gaza City, which brought tanks within about 1.2 kilometre (3/4 mile) of Al Shifa, according to residents, has raised questions about how Israel will interpret international laws on protecting medical centres and displaced people sheltering there. Deadly air strikes on refugee camps, a medical convoy and near hospitals have already prompted fierce arguments among some of Israel's Western allies over its military's adherence to international law. The Israeli military has allowed some wounded Palestinian civilians to cross into Egypt for treatment.
U.S. President Joe Biden said in a post on X on Thursday that Israel has "an obligation to distinguish between terrorists and civilians and fully comply with international law." The White House said on Thursday that Israel agreed to pause military operations in parts of north Gaza for four hours a day, but there was no sign of a let-up in the fighting. The pauses, which would allow people to flee along two humanitarian corridors and could be used for the release of hostages, were significant first steps, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested any pauses would be scattered, and there was no official confirmation of a plan for recurring breaks. Asked if there would be a "stoppage" in fighting, Netanyahu said on the Fox News Channel: "No. The fighting continues against the Hamas enemy, the Hamas terrorists, but in specific locations for a given period of a few hours here or a few hours there, we want to facilitate the safe passage of civilians away from the zone of fight and we're doing that."

Jewish refugees from Israel find comfort and companionship in a countryside camp in Hungary
BALATONOSZOD, Hungary (AP)/November 10, 2023
Zusha Pletnyov left his home in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk in 2014, when Russian-backed rebels seized large swaths of eastern Ukraine. After living some years in the capital, Kyiv, he fled again to Israel when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February of last year.
An observant Jew, Pletnyov moved with his wife and five children to Ashkelon, just miles from the Gaza Strip, in the hopes of building a new life. But when Hamas militants from Gaza launched their attacks last month, a new war forced him to take flight for a third time, now to a camp for Jewish refugees in rural Hungary. “Coming here for me and for my wife is such unimaginable relief,” said Pletnyov, whose apartment building in Ashkelon was hit by a Hamas rocket as the attacks began. “It’s a comforting place to be.” The 34-year-old and his family are now living in a state-owned resort, disused for nearly two decades, on the shores of the sprawling Lake Balaton in western Hungary. First opened for Jewish Ukrainian refugees following Russia's invasion last year, it is now housing around 250 people including some 100 children, most of whom have arrived from Israel in the weeks since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack.
The camp is equipped with detached housing units and a central building where three kosher meals are served per day. The residents are provided with shelter and camaraderie, and can also engage in activities like sports and dancing, and may attend yeshiva for religious studies.
“We make sure people are eating well, make sure they’re healthy, psychologically healthy, mentally healthy,” said Mendel Moscowitz, the rabbi of the camp, adding that the facility is open to all Jews, whether they be Orthodox, secular or non-observing. “They find their place here because we all share that we’re Jewish and we all share the refugee status that also brings everybody together,” he said. Eva Kopolovich, 50, a psychotherapist from Shlomi on Israel's Lebanese border, was one of around 160,000 people evacuated from their homes in the north and south by Israeli Defense Forces after the Hamas attacks began. Born in Hungary where she spent the first four years of her life, she fled with her parents and 11-year-old son to Budapest before making their way to the camp. Two weeks after arriving at the lakeside refuge, Kopolovich said she has taken comfort in being among other Jews who have shared her experiences in being uprooted from their lives. “We are in the same boat so we understand each other (regarding) stuff that people who are not in our position can never understand,” she said. “All of us went through a lot of stuff. I’m not even talking about the Ukrainians, who went from one war to another to another.”Indeed, many current residents of the camp arrived there after having earlier fled to Israel from Ukraine in the wake of Russia's war. Moscowitz, the rabbi, left his hometown of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine when Russia launched its full-scale invasion. He said his prior experiences of being displaced have helped him to better serve those who have sought refuge in the camp. “I know their needs, I feel their needs. I know what it’s like to run away from war,” he said. “Unfortunately, we’re having to experience a second war for our families. And thank God, thank God that there is a place where we could go to.”Slomo Koves, the chief rabbi for the Association of Hungarian Jewish Communities, said that more than 3,000 people have resided in the camp since the war in Ukraine began nearly 21 months ago. While he said he is “proud” of Hungary for providing a place of refuge for Jews who have been forced from their homes, the very need to do so has been hard to digest. “It’s a very sad situation that it has become a famous Jewish refugee camp," he said. “I would never have thought that such a thing would be needed in 21st-century Europe.” While some families that have stayed at the camp have already returned to Israel, many plan to stay for the next few months while waiting for the war to come to an end, Moscowitz said. “We’re hopeful that there will be peace in Ukraine and Israel and the world,” he said. “People want to live. People want to live in peace. Nobody’s interested in war.”

Qatar's emir visits Egypt for talks on ending Gaza violence
CAIRO (Reuters)/November 10, 2023
The leaders of Qatar and Egypt, both hoping to mediate a de-escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip, the provision of humanitarian aid and the release of Israeli hostages, met in Cairo on Friday. The meeting between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will cover ways to calm the situation in Gaza and provide humanitarian relief for the enclave's 2.3 million besieged residents, a statement from Sisi's office said. The Qatari emir's visit comes a day after Qatar's prime minister met the chiefs of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Israeli spy agency Mossad in Doha to discuss the parameters of a deal for a hostage release and a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas. Qatar, where several Hamas political leaders are based, has been leading mediation between the Palestinian militant group and Israeli officials for the release of more than 240 hostages taken by Hamas militants on Oct. 7, in an attack in which Israel says 1,400 people were killed. Since then Israel has launched an unrelenting bombardment and an armoured invasion of Hamas-ruled Gaza, where over 10,000 people have been killed, according to Palestinian officials. Egypt also has contacts with Hamas and Israel and has been involved in negotiations, including for the provision of aid through its Rafah border crossing with Gaza and the evacuation from the territory of foreign passport holders and some Palestinians requiring urgent medical treatment. Evacuations through Rafah restarted on Thursday following a pause after the Red Cross said one of its convoy escorting evacuees was targeted inside Gaza. The United Nations said 65 aid trucks entered Gaza from Egypt on Thursday, well below the number needed to address a deepening humanitarian crisis. The United States said on Thursday that Israel had agreed to daily four-hour pauses in the north of Gaza and the operation of corridors for civilians to move south, though there was no sign of a let-up in the fighting.

Israeli army says will kill Hamas militants if seen firing from Gaza hospitals
AFP/November 10, 2023
Israeli forces will kill Hamas militants if they are seen firing from hospitals in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military said Friday as deadly fire hit hospitals in the Palestinian territory. "If we see Hamas terrorists firing from hospitals, we'll do what we need to do... If we see Hamas terrorists we'll kill them," military spokesman Richard Hecht told reporters. "Hamas are operating from within the hospital," Hecht claimed, after Palestinian medics said Israeli strikes and sniper fire on Friday killed multiple people at Gaza City hospitals.

Israel reduces the death toll from the Hamas attack to 1,200 people
AFP/November 10, 2023
Israel announced a reduction in the death toll from the Hamas attack on October 7th from 1400 to 1200, attributing it to the inclusion of the bodies of Hamas fighters in the initial count of casualties on its territory. The spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lior Haiat, told Agence France-Presse that the authorities had “updated” the toll because “many bodies that were not previously identified” belonged to individuals “participated in the terrorist attack by Hamas and were not Israeli victims.”

Israeli 'pause' of Gaza attacks woefully inadequate. Why are we still waiting for cease-fire?
Rami Nashashibi/USA TODAY /November 10, 2023
Thursday’s White House announcement of daily four-hour "pauses” of Israeli attacks in light of the carnage and destruction Gazans have endured over the past month is woefully inadequate given the magnitude of the devastation. The bombing campaign has led United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to declare that the Gaza Strip, one of the most impoverished and densely concentrated open-air prisons in the world, is now becoming “a graveyard for children.” Unlike other horrific spaces of suffering right now such as Sudan, Congo and Ethiopia, it is U.S. weapons and U.S. dollars bankrolling Israel's war machine with billions of dollars annually. Yet when President Joe Biden was asked Thursday what the chances of a cease-fire were, he answered, “None.” When asked whether Israel’s "retaliatory strikes" have been working since Hamas attacked Oct. 7, he responded, "They’re working in the sense that we’re hitting the targets they’re seeking" – as if to confirm that this is a joint U.S.-Israeli-led operation. Two weeks ago, I was the only Palestinian among five other American Muslims to meet with President Biden. The meeting had been planned months earlier to discuss a White House effort around Islamophobia, similar to the one it introduced months earlier around antisemitism. Yet, with the brutal realities in Gaza worsening by the hour, the meeting agenda shifted to challenging the president and this administration on its policies and language around what many were seeing as its indifference and contribution to Palestinian suffering. We survived Hamas attack: But now back in America, Israel blockade of Gaza haunts our interfaith group. I was never comfortable with being the only Palestinian in this meeting, and after consulting others and hearing a horrendous statement made by the president on Oct. 25 questioning the number of Palestinians killed, I made up my mind to withdraw. Other participants had misgivings about being in this meeting without significant representation of directly affected Palestinian community members, and I knew my decision to pull out would only add to that anxiety. A Palestinian American woman from Gaza who was originally slated to be among the folks to meet with the president told me: “I lost 100 relatives in Gaza this week, and I don’t have the luxury of getting caught up in who is in that room. Right now, you are the only Palestinian today who can look directly at that man and speak to our pain and call for an immediate cease-fire.”With that, I consented to being in the room.
President Biden, call for a cease-fire in Gaza
In that Oct. 26 meeting, I asked him to call for a cease-fire. We reminded him that it is a call that 66% of the American electorate and countless voices across the globe are making louder every day. I added that we'd like to see the White House support a summit that brings many more Palestinian American leaders and others from all walks of life that have been standing with this community into the conversation, to address things like the penalization and even criminalization of calling for a Palestine free of military occupation, settler-supported violence, housing demolition and ethnic cleansing. I said we needed him and others to stand with those – including thousands of Jewish Americans and Israelis – to reject the idea that the support for Palestinian self-determination or critique of Israel is synonymous with the dark and evil history of antisemitism or with Hamas' attacks. I left Gaza for work and can't return. Watching it bleed from afar is a nightmare. The president took responsibility for his wording on the death toll the day before and apologized for generating any perception that he devalued Palestinian suffering. He also said he'd support a summit, and agreed that calling for a “free Palestine” and challenging Israeli policy shouldn’t be conflated with antisemitism – or the basis for the backlash that students, academics and other professionals who are making those calls are receiving. Two weeks later though, the situation in both Gaza and America has worsened. Tuesday, the only Palestinian American in Congress was censured for something she said at a rally, while dehumanizing language used by U.S. and Israeli officials conflating all Palestinians with Nazis and “human animals” goes unchecked.
The need to abandon neutrality
I’ve been a community organizer on Chicago’s South Side for the past three decades and see much of the world through those experiences. Shortly after the bombings of Gaza in 2014, we held an event in a local synagogue called "Beyond Gaza," inspired by the Rev. Martin Luther King’s “Beyond Vietnam” speech in 1967, often cited as the speech that connected the evils of militarism and war in Vietnam to exploitation and racism here in the United States. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. We used the forum as a moment to try to further challenge our diverse communities to think about what alliances beyond transactional solidarity could look like here, and what it could provide as a model for our communities across the globe. We cited the letter that Rabbi Robert Marx, founder of the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs, wrote explaining why he decided to march with King in 1966. Having witnessed violent responses to civil rights marchers, the rabbi wrote about the need to abandon neutrality in this moment: "I was afraid and I am afraid now. I saw how the concentration camp could have occurred, and how men’s hatred could lead them to kill. ... I was on the wrong side of the street. I should have been with the marchers. ... This time, I will be on the right side of the street."
Perhaps beyond the excruciating pain of this moment, we can pray for a healing that borrows from the spirit of King’s "Beyond Vietnam" and Marx’s critical letter. A spirit that opens up space for the courage, conviction and love to challenge all our communities to live up to a vision for justice, mercy, equity and peace here and across the globe.

Blinken brings a notable shift in US language toward Israel as pressure mounts at home and abroad
Paul LeBlanc, CNN/November 10, 2023
When US Secretary of State Antony Blinken lamented the civilian death toll in Gaza on Friday, it marked a subtle but notable shift in US language toward the Israeli government. For weeks, the Biden administration has strongly backed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military offensive following Hamas’ brutal attack, but a rising death count in the besieged enclave, enormous pro-Palestinian protests across the globe and increasing discomfort inside the White House has put considerable strain on the US’ posture. “Far too many Palestinians have been killed. Far too many have suffered these past weeks,” the top US diplomat said in New Delhi. “We want to do everything possible to prevent harm to them and to maximize the assistance that gets to them.”“To that end, we’ll be continuing to discuss with Israel the concrete steps to be taken to advance these objectives,” Blinken added. Administration officials argue they have had success in some areas as they work to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The White House said Thursday that Israel had agreed to move forward with daily four-hour pauses of military operations in areas of Northern Gaza. But steady pressure by the Biden administration on Israel to refine its war plans and define its objectives in Gaza has not yielded the level of clarity many US officials want. To this point, more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, drawing from sources in the Hamas-controlled territory. The ferocity of the military operation shows no sign of letting up. On Friday, Israeli tanks surrounded a Gaza hospital, its director told CNN, as the territory’s largest healthcare facility came under a reported “bombardment.” Mustafa al-Kahlout, who heads the Al Nasr hospital and Al Rantisi Pediatric hospital in northern Gaza, told CNN that they were surrounded and asked for the Red Cross to assist with an evacuation. “We are completely surrounded, there are tanks outside the hospital, and we cannot leave,” al-Kahlout said.
The IDF has said Hamas is embedding itself in civilian infrastructure and that it will strike Hamas “wherever necessary.” CNN cannot verify those claims.
Netanyahu insisted Thursday that there would be “no ceasefire” without the release of hostages held by Hamas. An increasing number of Israelis share that view, saying their country should immediately begin negotiations with Hamas for the release of hostages held in Gaza – but should continue fighting while negotiating, a survey published Friday suggests. Nearly four out of 10 Israelis (38%) expressed the opinion in a survey by the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research at the Israel Democracy Institute. That’s a rise from 32% saying Israel should negotiate while fighting when the survey was last conducted about two weeks earlier.
“The fighting continues and there will be no ceasefire without the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
But a wider deal to free the hostages has proved elusive, and frustration with the government’s response is growing. Last weekend, hundreds of family members of the hostages gathered in Tel Aviv to demand that officials do more to secure their freedom. And a strongly worded statement issued by the Hostage and Missing Families Forum last week spoke of the “enormous anger” that the government was not speaking to them about the operation in Gaza. Meanwhile, major world cities, including London, Istanbul, New York, Baghdad and Rome, have seen their centers filled with pro-Palestinian demonstrators calling for a ceasefire, with more protests planned this weekend. Video from a demonstration in Washington, DC, last weekend showed an enormous crowd, many of them wearing the kaffiyeh – a patterned scarf that has become a symbol of Palestinian identity – and carrying Palestinian flags. “Stop the massacre” and “Let Gaza live” read signs in the audience. Many protestors directly addressed Biden, leading chants of “Biden, Biden, you can’t hide, we charge you with genocide” and “no ceasefire, no votes.”After Biden was confronted by a protestor calling for a ceasefire at a private fundraiser last week, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that “the president understands that there’s strong emotions and feelings here, all around, all across the board – and here inside the administration and the federal government, that’s certainly the case as well.”“We have been engaging with – with partners and organizations and experts and analysts and people with different perspectives, to listen to their concerns, make sure that we understand them as we develop policy,” Kirby said.
Concerns about the conflict widening and the potential for further diplomatic fallout overseas remain top of mind in the US as well. The Biden administration has received stark warnings from American diplomats in the Arab world that its strong support for Israel’s military campaign “is losing us Arab publics for a generation,” according to a diplomatic cable obtained by CNN. US support for Israel’s actions is being seen, the cable warns, “as material and moral culpability in what they consider to be possible war crimes.” And in the Middle East, Iranian proxy groups have stepped up their attacks on US forces and assets in the the area in recent weeks following Hamas’ attack on Israel. US and coalition bases in Iraq and Syria have been attacked at least 40 times since October 17, leaving multiple US servicemembers with traumatic brain injuries and other injuries, all of which have been minor, officials said.
Two US airstrikes aiming to deter the attacks have not stopped the militias. On Thursday, a US official told CNN that US and coalition forces have come under attack at least four more times following the most recent US strike in eastern Syria on Wednesday. Blinken reiterated Friday that the US “will continue to focus relentlessly on getting our hostages home” and stopping the conflict from expanding. Speaking in India Friday, Blinken insisted “some progress has been made” in the week since he met in Tel Aviv with Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, but “this is a process and it’s not always flipping the light switch.”Still, the public messaging – from Blinken and other US officials – has continued to emphasize Israel’s right to defend itself and rebuff any calls for a ceasefire. There are public and private acknowledgements from the administration that there cannot be a stop to the fighting right now as the next phase of the offensive plays out. At a news conference Wednesday, Blinken sought to make that posture clear, even as pressure continues to mount at home and abroad.“Those calling for an immediate ceasefire have an obligation to explain how to address the unacceptable result that would likely bring.”
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Kevin Liptak, MJ Lee and Alex Marquardt contributed to this report.

Deaths and injuries as Israel bombs al-Shifa Hospital's outpatient building in Gaza
Agence France Presse/November 10, 2023
The Israeli army on Friday bombed the outpatient and maternity building of Gaza's al-Shifa Hospital, causing deaths and injuries. Israel has agreed pauses in its offensive in northern Gaza that will allow some civilians to flee heavy fighting, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out any broader ceasefire as a "surrender" to Hamas. U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the pauses, which formalize an arrangement that has already seen tens of thousands of Palestinians flee devastation in northern Gaza, but also said there was "no possibility" of a ceasefire. Netanyahu said Israeli troops were performing "exceptionally well" in the offensive launched after Hamas fighters poured across the border on October 7, killing 1,400 people mostly civilians, according to Israel, and taking around 240 hostage. Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel retaliated with an aerial bombing and ground offensive that the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip says has killed more than 10,800 people, mostly civilians and many of them children.
Netanyahu said Israel does not "seek to govern Gaza."
"We don't seek to occupy it, but we seek to give it and us a better future," he told Fox News. Tens of thousands of civilians have streamed out of devastated northern Gaza in recent days, with men, women and children clutching meagre possessions as they emerge from the devastated warzone. They have fled close-quarter fighting, with Hamas militants using rocket-propelled grenades against Israeli troops backed by armoured vehicles and heavy airstrikes. The Israeli army said it struck a shipping container on the Gaza coast that contained rocket launchers, while Hamas's military wing said it had fired rockets at Re'im military base in southern Israel. The UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said 70,000 people had travelled south on the route since November 4, most of them walking. Almost 1.6 million people have been internally displaced since October 7, it added, more than half the area's population.
But the UN estimates hundreds of thousands of civilians remain in the fiercest battle zones in the north. And while Biden welcomed the pauses as a "step in the right direction", there was little hope for the broader halt to fighting that aid groups and the UN say is desperately needed. "A ceasefire with Hamas means surrender to Hamas, surrender to terror," Netanyahu told Fox. "There won't be a ceasefire without the release of Israeli hostages, that's not going to happen."
'Most tragic situation' -
Aid groups have pleaded for a ceasefire, warning of a humanitarian "catastrophe" in Gaza, where food, water and medicine are in short supply. "It's the first thing I think about when I wake up: how am I going to feed the children today," Amal al-Robayaa told AFP in Rafah, where she was sheltering with her husband, six children, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren at a UN school. Oxfam France director Cecile Duflot said staff were reporting "the worst, the most tragic situation that they have ever seen" in the territory. Overnight, fierce clashes continued, and Hamas-run local authorities accused Israel of shelling the areas of several hospitals in northern Gaza. The Al-Shifa hospital, where an estimated 60,000 people have taken refuge, along with the Rantisi children's hospital and the Indonesian hospital all came under fire overnight, Hamas authorities said.
The bombardments caused injuries but no deaths, they added. Israel has accused Hamas of using hospitals including Al-Shifa to hide its military operations. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the alleged bombardments.
Complicating Israel's military push is the fate of around 240 hostages abducted on October 7. CIA director Bill Burns and David Barnea, head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, were in Doha for talks on pauses that would include hostage releases and more aid for Gaza, an official told AFP.
'Everything stopped'
Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad released a video Thursday claiming to show two hostages -- a woman in her 70s and a 13-year-old boy -- which, if verified, would suggest not all captives are held by Hamas. Israel's military slammed the video as "psychological terrorism". Four hostages have been freed so far, and the desperate relatives of those still held have piled pressure on Israeli and US authorities to secure the release of their loved ones. "We don't sleep well. We don't eat well," Ronen Neutra, whose son Omer is being held hostage, told AFP in an interview.
"Everything stopped." Inside Gaza, the intense combat and effective blockade of the densely populated territory have led to increasingly dire conditions. Donors at an aid conference in Paris have pledged around $1.1 billion, but access to Gaza remains very limited, with around 100 trucks a day able to enter, far below the pre-war average. "In our most conservative scenario, this conflict is likely to set back development (in the Palestinian territories) by well over a decade," UNDP administrator Achim Steiner told AFP. Israeli officials however insist there is "no humanitarian crisis" in Gaza. Violence has surged in the occupied West Bank since the conflict erupted, with at least 14 Palestinians killed on Thursday alone, according to the Ramallah-based health ministry.The conflict has also stoked regional tensions, with cross-border exchanges between the Israeli army and Lebanon's Hezbollah, and Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels saying they launched "ballistic missiles" at southern Israel. A drone hit a school in southern Israel's Eilat on Thursday and Israeli air defences later intercepted a missile over the Red Sea, the military said. On Friday, the military said it struck the source of the drone, in Syrian territory.
It did not identify the organisation behind the drone, but said it "holds the Syrian regime fully responsible for every terror activity emanating from its territory."

Israel bombs Syria site over drone that targeted Eilat
Agence France Presse/November 10/2023
Israel's military said Friday it struck an organization in Syria that was behind a drone crash into a school in southern Israel a day earlier. "In response to a UAV (drone) from Syria that hit a school in Eilat, the IDF (Israeli army) struck the organization that carried out the attack," the Israeli army said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. It did not identify the organization behind the drone, but said it "holds the Syrian regime fully responsible for every terror activity emanating from its territory." The drone hit an elementary school, without causing injuries, though several people were treated for shock. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said Thursday they had launched a "barrage of ballistic missiles" at southern Israel, making no mention of drones. And Israel said its air defenses had intercepted a missile over the Red Sea. Israel is waging an offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the militant group poured across the border on October 7 in an attack that Israel says killed 1,400 people mostly civilians and saw around 240 abducted, according to Israel. The subsequent aerial bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza has killed more than 10,800 people, mostly civilians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The conflict has stoked regional tensions, including cross-border exchanges between Israel's military and Lebanon's Hezbollah. Israel's military said earlier it hit "Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon," with artillery and guided mortar munitions.

UN rapporteur says Israel's 4-hour Gaza war pauses 'cynical and cruel'
Associated Press/November 10/2023
Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories, described Israel’s decision to allow a four-hour humanitarian pause each day in combat operations in northern Gaza to allow civilians to flee to the south as “very cynical and cruel.”
“There has been continuous bombings, 6,000 bombs every week on the Gaza Strip, on this tiny piece of land where people are trapped and the destruction is massive. There won’t be any way back after what Israel is doing to the Gaza Strip,” Albanese told reporters in Adelaide, Australia, on Friday.“So four hours cease-fire, yes, to let people breathe and to remember what is the sound of life without bombing before starting bombing them again. It’s very cynical and cruel.”

Israeli labor minister says Netanyahu will have to call early elections
Associated Press/November 10/2023
Israel’s labor minister says Benjamin Netanyahu will have to call early elections right after the war. Labor Minister Yoav Bentzur made the unusually public suggestion in remarks quoted Thursday by the Maariv daily. Bentzur from the ultraorthodox Shas party said Netanyahu " will be forced to go to elections within 90 days, even before a commission of inquiry of some sort (into the war) is established.”He added: "We can’t go on like this. The public will have its say, and then we will see if Netanyahu is given the mandate.”Bentzur later tried to walk back the comments, saying they were taken out of context and don’t reflect the position of Shas, a close ally of Netanyahu. Polls show Netanyahu's support has dropped over Hamas’ shock attack, which killed more than 1,400 and left over 240 hostage, touching off a devastating Israeli war in the militants’ Gaza Strip stronghold.

Israel uses Arrow-3 system for 1st time to intercept Yemen missile
Associated Press/November 10/2023
Israel said it used one of its most advanced air and missile defense systems for the first time Thursday to intercept a missile launched toward Israel in the Red Sea region.The system, known as the Arrow 3, is designed to intercept long-range missiles outside the atmosphere, according to a joint statement from Israel's military and Ministry of Defense. Thursday marks the Arrow 3 system’s first missile interception since it was deployed in 2017. Last week, the Arrow 2 system was used to intercept a missile for the first time, the statement said. The Arrow 3 system was co-developed and co-produced by the Israel Missile Defense Organization in the Israel Ministry of Defense and the United States Missile Defense Agency, led by Israel Aerospace Industries. It is one of the most advanced air and missile defense systems of its kind in the world for intercepting long-range ballistic missiles.

Report: Palestinian women and child prisoners to be swapped for 100 captive Israeli women
Naharnet/November 10/2023
“Consensus” has been reached on the release of a number of Palestinian women and child prisoners in return for 100 women and a child held captive by Hamas, the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya television reported on Friday. Complicating Israel's military push inside the Gaza Strip is the fate of around 240 hostages abducted on October 7. CIA director Bill Burns and David Barnea, head of Israel's Mossad spy agency, were in Doha for talks on pauses that would include hostage releases and more aid for Gaza, an official told AFP. Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad released a video Thursday showing two hostages -- a woman in her 70s and a 13-year-old boy -- which confirms that not all captives are held by Hamas. Israel's military slammed the video as "psychological terrorism."Four hostages have been freed so far, and the desperate relatives of those still held have piled pressure on Israeli and U.S. authorities to secure the release of their loved ones.

Iran envoy says Tehran had no direct role in Hamas’ Israel rampage, or proxy attacks on US forces
CNN/Jennifer Deaton and Kathleen Magramo/November 10/2023
Iran has reiterated that despite its financial backing and support for Hamas and other proxy groups in the region, it does not direct any of their actions, the Islamic Republic’s United Nations ambassador told CNN in an interview. Amir Saeid Iravani, Iran’s envoy to the UN, was asked if Iranian support was the “connective thread” in attacks by Hezbollah in Lebanon on Israel, by Houthis in Yemen — including the shooting down of a US Reaper drone on Wednesday — and by Shiite militias in Syria against Israel and US forces. Iravani said there was cooperation and collaboration, but that Iran was not directing any of those operations. He likened Iran’s role to that of the US in providing assistance to Israel. “We have said very clearly that Iran is not involving in any attack against the United States forces in the region,” he said, adding that any attacks on US forces in Syria and Iraq were undertaken by others at “their own decision and by their own direction.” Iravani’s comments came a day after the Pentagon announced two US fighter jets conducted an airstrike on a weapons storage facility in eastern Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated groups. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin added that the “precision self-defense strike” was a response to a “series of attacks against US personnel in Iraq and Syria by IRGC-Quds Force affiliates.”US and coalition forces have been targeted at least 46 times in Syria and Iraq since October 17 by one-way attack drones or rocket attacks. In light of mounting fears of a wider regional war, Iravani said he has not had any “direct conversation” about containing the conflict in Israel with his US counterpart in the UN. Tehran has long been accused of arming Hamas and other Iran-aligned groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, as regional attacks by its proxies have escalated and become increasingly frequent. Iravani said Iran has “insisted that we are not going to expand this war front,” and has worked to calm allies in the region, but said others needed to do their part. He indicated the conflict could still expand if the fighting in Gaza continued. The October 7 attack by Hamas saw militants rampage through parts of southern Israel on a murder and kidnapping spree that killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and saw about 240 people taken hostage, including women, elderly, and children.
CNN pressed Iravani as to whether Iran supported Hamas’ murder of women and children and its hostage-taking on October 7. The ambassador responded that the question should go to Hamas, reiterating that Iran was not directly involved in the attack, and was neither consulted nor did they have any prior details about the operation. Iravani said, “It is a war. It is a war which has been started 75 years ago.”
However, he then added, “If it were us, no. We will not do it.”Days after the attack the US collected intelligence that suggested senior Iranian government officials were caught by surprise by Hamas’ actions, according to multiple sources familiar with the intelligence. The sources stressed that the US intelligence community is not ready to reach a conclusion about whether Tehran was directly involved in the run-up to the attack, while they continue to look for evidence. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Shi’a movement based in Lebanon with one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East, has also said that Hamas’ attack was kept secret from them. Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah addressed speculation about whether Iran-backed factions were part of the attacks, saying that the planning and execution of the attacks were “100 percent Palestinian,” in his much-anticipated speech last Friday. Nasrallah said he understood Hamas’ need for the element of surprise and said the October 7 attack caused a “political earthquake” in Israel and that it will have “lasting effects” on the conflict. He also viewed the attacks as a revelation of Israel’s military weaknesses. CNN previously reported that Iran-backed groups were planning to increase attacks on US forces in the Middle East as Iran seeks to take advantage of a backlash in the region over US support for Israel in the wake of Hamas’ brutal attack on October 7. Since October 7, and the increasingly frequent attacks on US troops in the region, the US has sent significant firepower to the Middle East as a deterrence to widening the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and in support of forces in the region.

Gaza hospital ‘surrounded by tanks’ as other healthcare facilities say they’ve been damaged by Israeli strikes
Rob Picheta, Kareem Khadder, Teele Rebane and Zohair Zabadne, CNN/Fri, November 10, 2023
Israeli tanks have surrounded a Gaza hospital, its director told CNN, as the territory’s largest healthcare facility came under a reported “bombardment,” heightening fears Friday that Israel’s military campaign is further endangering Gazan patients and medical staff. Mustafa al-Kahlout, who heads the Al Nasr hospital and Al Rantisi Pediatric hospital in northern Gaza, told CNN that they were surrounded and asked for the Red Cross to assist with an evacuation. “We are completely surrounded, there are tanks outside the hospital, and we cannot leave,” al-Kahlout said.
The hospital complex is close to Sheikh Radwan neighborhood and Al Shati camp, where ground fighting was reported by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas separately. “We do not have electricity, no oxygen for the patients, we do not have medicine and water,” al-Kahlout said. “We do not know our fate.”His call comes after strikes were reported near several other hospitals in northern Gaza, including al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City, the territory’s largest medical facility. A World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson said Friday that al-Shifa was “coming under bombardment,” adding that 20 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were “out of action.”Asked about a potential Israeli airstrike on al-Shifa hospital on Friday, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said in a briefing: “I haven’t got the detail on al-Shifa but we do know they are coming under bombardment.”
The Israeli military claimed late Friday that a misfired projectile launched from inside Gaza was responsible for the strike on the al-Shifa hospital.
“Earlier today, the IDF received reports of a hit on the Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The Hamas-run media office in the Gaza Strip immediately claimed that this was a strike carried out by the IDF,” IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Richard Hecht said in a statement sent to CNN. The IDF said that an examination of its operational systems had indicated that “a misfired projectile launched by terrorist organizations inside the Gaza Strip hit the Shifa Hospital.” Hecht went on to claim that the projectile had been aimed at “IDF troops operating in the vicinity.”
Several social media videos showed people injured in what was described as al-Shifa’s outpatient clinic. It is unclear what struck the hospital, but the videos show injured people lying on the ground of the outdoor clinic. Witnesses in the videos are saying it was strikes on the area. CNN could not verify it was strikes. In a Facebook statement, Al Awda hospital in northern Gaza said that due to the “targeting (of) the vicinity of Al Awda Hospital… and the vicinity of the Indonesian Hospital” by Israeli forces, 10 of its employees were injured, infrastructure was hit and nine vehicles were impacted. This included “two ambulances that were completely damaged,” the hospital statement said. Later on Friday, a CNN team in Sderot, in Israel, witnessed heavy bombardment and flares fired by Israel forces in the northern part of Gaza. The team also saw intense flares over the area near the Jabalya refugee camp. Human rights groups say Israel’s mass bombardment of civilian areas, evacuation orders and blockade of the territory amount to war crimes.
In a separate statement, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said one of their volunteers had been injured and two ambulances rendered unusable by a strike near Al Awda hospital. The group also shared images and a video of two ambulances with their windscreens shattered in what appears to be the hospital parking lot. It was not immediately clear if PRCS was referring to the same ambulances mentioned in the hospital’s statement. The IDF has not commented on the incidents but has repeatedly called on civilians to move south of Wadi Gaza, a waterway bisecting the center of the Strip, as it intensifies its assault on Gaza City and the north of the territory. The IDF has said Hamas is embedding itself in civilian infrastructure and that it will strike Hamas “wherever necessary.” Earlier this month, the IDF released aerial images that it claimed showed rocket launchers and an opening to a tunnel near a pair of Gaza hospitals. CNN cannot verify those claims. The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority Ministry of Health and Hamas-controlled government media have rejected claims that hospitals are being used as shields for attacks.
Majority of Gaza hospitals have stopped functioning
Israel began its offensive inside Gaza, following the October 7 Hamas attacks that killed 1,400 people in Israel. The Israeli military has since stepped up its campaign on northern Gaza in recent days, effectively cutting the territory in two, with its ground operations and fiercest aerial bombardment apparently concentrated in the north. The offensive has so far killed more than 11,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, drawing from sources in the Hamas-controlled territory. Israeli strikes have killed at least 4,506 children and 3,027 women, according to the ministry, which said that over 27,000 other people have been injured. CNN cannot independently verify these numbers. But the impact on healthcare facilities has raised concerns about the dire humanitarian situation for those remaining in northern Gaza. The majority of hospitals in Gaza – 18 out of 35 – have stopped functioning, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, which draws its figures from the Hamas-controlled territory, said on Thursday. In addition, 71% of all primary-care facilities have shut down due to damage or lack of fuel, the ministry said. Its statement said that the hospitals that remain open are limited in what they can provide and are shutting gradually down wards. Volker Türk, the top United Nations human rights official, on Friday meanwhile raised doubts over Israel’s unilateral establishment of “safe zones” in Gaza, saying that nowhere within the territory was safe for civilians. Streams of Palestinians – including women, children and the elderly – are making their way south in a growing exodus along daily evacuation corridors announced by the Israeli military. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said that “far too many Palestinians have been killed, far too many have suffered these past weeks” – one of his most direct condemnations of the civilian toll that the Israeli offensive has taken in Gaza.
*CNN’s Zeena Saifi, Abeer Salman, Lucas Lilieholm, Eyad Kourdi and Nic Robertson contributed reporting

Netanyahu accuses US college protesters of ‘lining up with baby burners, rapists and head-choppers’
David Millward/The Telegraph/November 10, 2023
Benjamin Netanyahu has accused US college protesters of “lining up with baby burners and rapists”.Speaking on Fox News, the Israeli prime minister launched a withering attack on those who have joined the wave of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at American campuses. “They’re lining up with Isis, with al-Qaeda, with these baby murderers, these rapists, these head-choppers,” Mr Netanyahu said. “We have to protect our future and can our world survive if people go with such moral confusion and moral depravity?
‘We have to defeat evil’
“It’s an indictment of higher education in the West when highly educated people cannot distinguish between right and wrong, and between good and evil. “Hamas is evil and we have to defeat evil, not protest and demonstrate on behalf of evil.”In the same interview, Mr Netanyahu rejected calls for a ceasefire in Gaza. “A ceasefire with Hamas means surrender to Hamas and surrender to terror,” he added. Senior politicians in Israel have been alarmed by the rising tide of anti-Semitism on US campuses. Earlier this week, Isaac Herzog, the Israeli president, wrote to 700 US colleges and universities calling for action. In the latest incident, slogans that have been linked to anti-Semitism were beamed on to buildings at the University of Pennsylvania.
“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” read one message lit up against the John M Huntsman hall. University president Liz Magill said there had been anti-Semitic graffiti, including swastikas, daubed on campus buildings. At another campus, a woman was filmed on social media calling somebody a “f----- k--e” at another pro-Palestinian demonstration. And at Cornell University, an Ivy League institution in upstate New York, a student has been charged with threatening to shoot and stab Jews online. Elsewhere, a Jewish prayer meeting at Towson University in Maryland was disrupted when students wrote “f--- the Jews” on a blackboard. At Cooper Union, a private college in New York City, Jewish students took shelter in a library as pro-Palestinian demonstrators banged on doors and windows. In California, the all-Democrat Legislative Jewish Caucus said students had been harassed and assaulted at campuses across the state. Jewish students in San Diego needed a police escort to leave a meeting in safety and a faculty member at UC Davis called for violence against Zionists in their homes and their children in school. The caucus said Jewish students “do not feel seen or heard, nor do they feel safe and protected”.The wave of sympathy for Hamas on US campuses has attracted the attention of Israeli satirists, with a scathing sketch on the programme Eretz Nehederet, which translates to “A Wonderful Country”. It shows two “right-on” students chanting: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” before ripping down posters of hostages held by Hamas, which they call Zionist propaganda. One of the hosts denies he is anti-Semitic, insisting instead that he is “racist fluid”. The sketch, which also featured a gun-toting “bestie freedom fighter” has gone viral with almost 700,000 views.
Jewish students jostled on campus
At Harvard, within four days of the Hamas attacks which killed 1,400 people, a coalition of 34 student organisations issued a statement holding Israel “entirely responsible” for the violence. Jewish students have also been jostled on campus and complained of feeling intimidated by pro-Palestinian protesters. Harvard Hillel, a Jewish society, has called for the university to act. “We know first-hand that our campus community is safest, and our students are best supported when leaders in university administration and student organisations speak out unequivocally against violent hate,” it said in a statement.
“In our continued conversations with Harvard leadership, we will emphasise the need to forcefully condemn anti-Semitism and this heinous terrorist attack. As we do so, the needs of our students are top of mind.”

Biden speaks with sultan of Oman amid Israel-Hamas war
Nick Robertson/The Hill./November 10, 2023
President Biden spoke over the phone with the sultan of Oman on Friday to discuss regional cooperation amid the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the White House said. Biden and Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said discussed the “importance of sustained humanitarian access and the importance of protecting civilians” in Gaza, according to the White House. “They emphasized the importance of deterring threats from any state or non-state actor seeking to expand the conflict and of working towards a durable and sustained peace in the Middle East, to include the establishment of a Palestinian state,” the White House said. Humanitarian needs in Gaza have been key to U.S. policy discussion for the conflict. Israel agreed to short “humanitarian pauses” in fighting this week after relentless urging from the Biden administration. The U.S. has remained the largest backer of Israel and has supported its war effort in Gaza. Oman is considered an important U.S. partner in the Middle East as a bulwark against Iran. China has also increased its investment in the country in recent years, raising concerns over the country’s allegiances. China has advanced attempts to build a military base in Oman, Bloomberg reported this week.
The White House said the leaders “committed to strengthening the longstanding U.S.-Oman bilateral relationship and seeking new opportunities in trade and investment, security coordination, and cooperation towards a more prosperous Middle East region.”

News outlets deny Israeli claim that freelance journalists knew of Hamas attack
BBC/November 10, 2023
A number of news outlets have strongly rejected Israeli accusations that four freelance photographers they worked with in Gaza had prior knowledge of the Hamas attacks on 7 October. Israeli minister Shlomo Karhi said "certain individuals" who had worked for Reuters, AP, CNN and the New York Times "had prior knowledge". The NYT said the "outrageous" accusations endangered freelancers. Hamas launched devastating and unprecedented attacks on southern Israel on 7 October, killing more than 1,400 Israeli civilians and soldiers, and kidnapping more than 240. Mr Karhi's comments followed a report on the pro-Israel website Honest Reporting, which suggested - without supporting evidence - that the photographers' presence may have been "part of the plan". It said that the presence of the photographers on October 7 in the early hours of the attacks "raised ethical questions". However, Gil Hoffman, Honest Reporting's executive director, has since confirmed the lack of evidence. AP quoted him on Friday as saying he was satisfied by explanations given by some of the journalists that they had no prior knowledge. But he maintained that the site's questions were "legitimate", adding that "we don't claim to be a news organisation". Images filed by the photographers included a burning Israeli tank, Palestinians breaching a fence at the Kfar Aza kibbutz and scenes from the attack itself. In a statement made on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Israeli government's press office said the website's "disturbing findings" showed the photographers had crossed "every professional and moral red line".Reuters, AP, CNN and the New York Times all issued statements saying there had been no arrangements in advance with any of the journalists to provide photos. The New York Times described the accusations as "reckless". "The Times has extensively covered the Oct. 7 attacks and the war with fairness, impartiality, and an abiding understanding of the complexities of the conflict," it said. It also defended the work of freelance photojournalists in conflict areas, adding their jobs "often require them to rush into danger to provide first-hand witness accounts and to document important news. "This is the essential role of a free press in wartime."It said one of the photographers, Yousef Massoud, had not been working with the paper on that day but had "since done important work for us".
Associated Press said: "No AP staff were at the border at the time of the attacks, nor did any AP staffer cross the border at any time.""When we accept freelance photos, we take great steps to verify the authenticity of the images and that they show what is purported," it added. The agency said it was no longer working with one of the journalists, Hassan Eslaiah, who was found to have been pictured with Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar. CNN said it had no prior knowledge of the attacks, but said it also would suspend its ties with Eslaiah. Reuters also denied that it had prior knowledge of the attack or had "embedded journalists with Hamas" on 7 October. On Thursday, Honest Reporting said they "did not accuse Reuters of collusion" but was rather raising "serious ethical issues regarding news outlets' association with these freelancers". After the website's initial report, Benny Gantz, a member of Israel's war cabinet, said the photojournalists should be treated as terrorists if it was proven they knew in advance of the 7 October attacks. An MP for the ruling Likud party, Danny Danon, also said the journalists would be added to a list of people marked for assassination because of their participation in the attacks. Journalists are protected under international law which says they must be treated as civilians and protected as such during conflicts. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says at least 39 journalists and media workers have been killed since the current war began, including 34 Palestinians, four Israelis and one Lebanese. "Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict in the face of an Israeli ground assault on Gaza City, devastating Israeli airstrikes, disrupted communications, and extensive power outages," it said.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupy New York Times lobby
Associated Press/November 10, 2023
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupied the lobby of The New York Times on Thursday, accusing the media of betraying a bias toward Israel in its coverage of the war and demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza. Hundreds of protesters led by a group of media workers calling themselves “Writers Bloc” gathered outside the publication’s Manhattan headquarters, with many of them entering the building’s atrium for a sit-in and vigil that lasted more than an hour. It wasn’t immediately clear if anyone was arrested during the sit-in. An email sent to New York Times staffers obtained by The Associated Press described the protest as “peaceful.”The sit-in followed a series of actions at high-profile locations in New York, including the Statue of Liberty and Grand Central Terminal, intended to bring attention to the growing death toll in Gaza.

Elon Musk says Israel should try to thwart Hamas with 'conspicuous acts of kindness' in Gaza
Haley Tenore/Business Insider/November 10, 2023
Elon Musk was interviewed by podcaster Lex Fridman and shared his views on the Israel-Hamas war. Musk said that Israel should display "conspicuous acts of kindness" toward Gaza. He also said that continued violence by Israel toward Gaza would play into what Hamas wanted. Israel's war in Gaza has been sparking debate and conversation since Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel just over a month ago. Now, Elon Musk is weighing in, sharing his thoughts on the conflict on an episode of Lex Fridman's podcast, which was posted Thursday. Musk told Fridman that there's "no easy answer" to solve the conflict, but he did have some suggestions for Israel. He said that he believed Hamas had tried to provoke an "overreaction" from Israel in its October attacks so that people would later protest Israel's response. Musk told Fridman that Hamas "obviously didn't expect to have a military victory," but wanted to "commit the worst atrocities that they could so they provoke the most aggressive response possible from Israel and then leverage that aggressive response to rally Muslims worldwide for the cause of Gaza and Palestine, which they have succeeded in doing." Hamas leaders themselves have said that the goal of the invasion was to cause chaos in the area, The New York Times reported. Musk suggested that Israel should do something "counterintuitive" and try to "thwart" Hamas with "conspicuous acts of kindness." "It is appropriate for Israel to find the Hamas members and, you know, either kill them or incarcerate them," Musk added. "Something has to be done or they will keep coming otherwise."But Musk told Fridman that Israel should also focus on "unequivocal" acts of kindness during the conflict. For example, it should make sure that Gaza has food, water, and medical supplies. He also said it's vital that these acts are unequivocal so that Hamas can't claim that it's a "trick."As Musk put it, Israel should respond with undeniable kindness because "an eye for an eye makes everyone blind."Musk said that continued violence in Gaza will leave behind even more people who hate Israel. "For every Hamas member that you kill, how many did you create?" Musk told Fridman. "If you kill somebody's child in Gaza, you've made at least a few Hamas members."If the goal of the conflict is to create peace, Musk said that Israel should be asking itself: "Are more or fewer terrorists being created?" As of Thursday, Gaza authorities estimate that 10,818 Palestinians have died and 26,905 have been wounded. Israeli authorities estimate 1,200 Israelis have died and 5,400 were wounded. Musk did not respond to Insider's request for additional comment ahead of publication. This isn't the first time Elon Musk has weighed in on the conflict. In October, Musk offered to bring Starlink internet to Gaza, in order to help aid groups and civilians. The move angered Israel, who had cut internet and telephone networks in Gaza days prior. Musk has also been accused of spreading misinformation about the conflict on X. In October, Musk shared and deleted a post encouraging people to check out accounts that were sharing misinformation, The Washington Post reported.

Biden, Xi to meet Wednesday for talks on trade, Taiwan, managing fraught relations
Associated Press/November 10/2023
President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet Wednesday in California for talks on trade, Taiwan and managing fraught U.S.-Chinese relations in the first engagement between the leaders of the world's two biggest economies in nearly a year, Biden administration officials said. The White House has said for weeks that it anticipated Biden and Xi would meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, but negotiations went down to the eve of the gathering, which kicks off Saturday. The officials, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said Friday that the leaders would meet in the San Francisco Bay area but declined to offer further details because of security concerns. Thousands of protesters are expected to descend on San Francisco during the summit. The meeting is not expected to lead to many, if any, major announcements, and differences between the two powers certainly won't be resolved. Instead, one official said, Biden is looking toward "managing the competition, preventing the downside risk of conflict and ensuring channels of communication are open."
The agenda includes no shortage of difficult issues. Differences in the already complicated U.S.-Chinese relationship have only sharpened in the last year, with Beijing bristling over new U.S. export controls on advanced technology; Biden ordering the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon after it traversed the continental United States; and Chinese anger over a stopover in the U.S. by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen earlier this year, among other issues. China claims the island as its territory. Biden will also likely press Xi on using China's influence on North Korea, during heightened anxiety over an increased pace of ballistic missile tests by North Korea as well as Pyongyang providing munitions to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
The Democratic president is also expected to let Xi know that he would like China to use its burgeoning sway over Iran to make clear that Tehran or its proxies should not take action that could lead to expansion of the Israel-Hamas war. His administration believes the Chinese, a big buyer of Iranian oil, have considerable leverage with Iran, which is a major backer of Hamas. Biden and Xi last met nearly a year ago on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. In the nearly three-hour meeting, Biden objected directly to China's "coercive and increasingly aggressive actions" toward Taiwan and discussed Russia's invasion of Ukraine and other issues. Xi stressed that "the Taiwan question is at the very core of China's core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and the first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations." Next week's meeting comes as the United States braces for a potentially bumpy year for U.S.-Chinese relations, with Taiwan set to hold a presidential election in January and the U.S. holding its own presidential election next November. Beijing sees official American contact with Taiwan as encouragement to make the island's decades-old de facto independence permanent, a step U.S. leaders say they don't support. Under the "One China" policy, the U.S. recognizes Beijing as the government of China and doesn't have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but it has maintained that Taipei is an important partner in the Indo-Pacific. Biden intends to reaffirm the U.S. wants no change in the status quo, one official said.
Disinformation experts testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee have warned that Beijing could aim to target the U.S., sowing discord that might influence election results at the local level, especially in districts with large numbers of Chinese-American voters.The Biden administration has sought to make clear to the Chinese that any actions or interference in the 2024 election "would raise extremely strong concerns from our side," according to one official. The officials also noted that Biden is determined to restore military-to-military communications that Beijing largely withdrew from after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August 2022. All the while, the number of unsafe or provocative encounters involving the two nations' ships and aircraft have spiked. Last month, the U.S. military released a video of a Chinese fighter jet flying within 10 feet (3 meters) of an American B-52 bomber over the South China Sea, nearly causing an accident. Earlier that month, the Pentagon released footage of some of the more than 180 intercepts of U.S. warplanes by Chinese aircraft that occurred in the last two years, part of a trend U.S. military officials call concerning. The Pentagon has warned that the lack of military-to-military contacts "raises the risk of an operational incident or miscalculation spiraling into crisis or conflict."
The officials also said Biden would underscore U.S. commitment to the Philippines, following a recent episode in which Chinese ships blocked and collided with two Filipino vessels off a contested shoal in the South China Sea. The Philippines and other neighbors of China are resisting Beijing's sweeping territorial claims over virtually the entire sea. I want to be very clear," Biden said in October. "The United States' defense commitment to the Philippines is iron clad."Both sides appeared to be carefully considering security for the meeting, declining to publicize the venue of the much-anticipated talks. Thousands of people protesting climate destruction, corporate practices, the Israel-Hamas war and other issues are expected to descend on San Francisco during the summit. San Francisco Police Department Chief Bill Scott said his department expects several protests a day but doesn't know which ones will materialize where and when. He said the city respects people's right to mobilize peacefully but will not tolerate property destruction, violence or any other crime.

Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 10-11/2023
Question: “What does the Bible say about demon possession?”
GotQuestions.or/November 10/2023
Answer: The Bible gives some examples of people possessed or influenced by demons. From these examples we can find some symptoms of demonic influence and gain insight as to how a demon possesses someone. Here are some of the biblical passages: Matthew 9:32-33; 12:22; 17:18; Mark 5:1-20; 7:26-30; Luke 4:33-36; Luke 22:3; Acts 16:16-18. In some of these passages, the demon possession causes physical ailments such as inability to speak, epileptic symptoms, blindness, etc. In other cases, it causes the individual to do evil, Judas being the main example. In Acts 16:16-18, the spirit apparently gives a slave girl some ability to know things beyond her own learning. The demon-possessed man of the Gadarenes, who was possessed by a multitude of demons (Legion), had superhuman strength and lived naked among the tombstones. King Saul, after rebelling against the LORD, was troubled by an evil spirit (1 Samuel 16:14-15; 18:10-11; 19:9-10) with the apparent effect of a depressed mood and an increased desire to kill David.
Thus, there is a wide variety of possible symptoms of demon possession, such as a physical impairment that cannot be attributed to an actual physiological problem, a personality change such as depression or aggression, supernatural strength, immodesty, antisocial behavior, and perhaps the ability to share information that one has no natural way of knowing. It is important to note that nearly all, if not all, of these characteristics may have other explanations, so it is important not to label every depressed person or epileptic individual as demon-possessed. On the other hand, Western cultures probably do not take satanic involvement in people’s lives seriously enough.
In addition to these physical or emotional distinctions, one can also look at spiritual attributes showing demonic influence. These may include a refusal to forgive (2 Corinthians 2:10-11) and the belief in and spread of false doctrine, especially concerning Jesus Christ and His atoning work (2 Corinthians 11:3-4, 13-15; 1 Timothy 4:1-5; 1 John 4:1-3).
Concerning the involvement of demons in the lives of Christians, the apostle Peter is an illustration of the fact that a believer can be influenced by the devil (Matthew 16:23). Some refer to Christians who are under a strong demonic influence as being “demonized,” but never is there an example in Scripture of a believer in Christ being possessed by a demon. Most theologians believe that a Christian cannot be possessed because he has the Holy Spirit abiding within (2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; 1 Corinthians 6:19), and the Spirit of God would not share residence with a demon.
We are not told exactly how one opens himself up for possession. If Judas’ case is representative, he opened his heart to evil—in his case by his greed (John 12:6). So it may be possible that if one allows his heart to be ruled by some habitual sin, it becomes an invitation for a demon to enter. From missionaries’ experiences, demon possession also seems to be related to the worship of heathen idols and the possession of occult materials. Scripture repeatedly relates idol worship to the actual worship of demons (Leviticus 17:7; Deuteronomy 32:17; Psalm 106:37; 1 Corinthians 10:20), so it should not be surprising that involvement with idolatry could lead to demon possession.
Based on the above scriptural passages and some of the experiences of missionaries, we can conclude that many people open their lives up to demon involvement through the embracing of some sin or through occultic involvement (either knowingly or unknowingly). Examples may include immorality, drug/alcohol abuse that alters one’s state of consciousness, rebellion, bitterness, and transcendental meditation.
There is an additional consideration. Satan and his evil host can do nothing the Lord does not allow them to do (Job 1-2). This being the case, Satan, thinking he is accomplishing his own purposes, is actually accomplishing God’s good purposes, as in the case of Judas’ betrayal. Some people develop an unhealthy fascination with the occult and demonic activity. This is unwise and unbiblical. If we pursue God, if we are clothing ourselves with His armor and relying upon His strength (Ephesians 6:10-18), we have nothing to fear from the evil ones, for God rules over all!

U.S. largely coming up empty in full-court diplomatic press with Israel and Arab world
Tracy Wilkinson/ Los Angeles Times./November 10, 2023
Israel’s war with Hamas, which has killed thousands of people in a single month, is reverberating across the globe, roiling U.S. politics while sowing division in universities and workplaces — and inside the Biden administration. Yet the administration’s efforts to contain a widening and disastrous conflict appear to be falling short, despite intervention by President Biden and the most muscular diplomatic push to date by his top diplomat, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. Israel has repeatedly rebuffed advice from the U.S., its staunchest ally. And friendly Arab nations that initially joined U.S. condemnation of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks against Israel that triggered the war have gradually distanced themselves from Washington. The chaotic dynamics have fueled uncertainty over how the conflict will play out, how it will end and what the resulting landscape will look like. Biden said Thursday that he asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a telephone call Monday to suspend military operations for several days to save Palestinian lives, ease the humanitarian crisis and press negotiations to release hostages. But Netanyahu refused, Biden said. The president was asked whether he was frustrated with Netanyahu, with whom he has had a decades-long friendship. "It's taken a little longer than I hoped," Biden told reporters as he left the White House.
Instead, the White House said, Israel on Thursday agreed to a daily four-hour pause in bombings and other military operations to allow Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to move south to safety and the international community to transport shipments of food, medicine and other aid into the besieged coastal enclave.
A second north-south corridor along the coast will be opened for Gazans to flee, Israel said. Tens of thousands of people, many on foot, have been moving down the strip's main north-south highway in recent days in hopes of escaping Israeli airstrikes that have laid waste to entire neighborhoods as well as the Israeli incursion that opened a new phase of ground combat in tight urban spaces. Many Palestinians resisted leaving their homes, afraid they will never be allowed to return. The forced displacement of civilian populations is considered a violation of international law.
U.S. officials said the pauses, if they come to pass, would be a good first step, albeit a limited one — any deal to free hostages would not be directly connected. Separately, hostage negotiations were taking place in Qatar, where Hamas has offices and where the government has relations with the militant group. CIA Director William Burns was reportedly present Thursday.
Israeli officials estimate that Hamas militants and an allied group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, hold 239 hostages, including children and elderly people, after the release of four women. The hostages were seized by militants in the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel in which more than 1,400 people were killed. Fewer than 10 U.S. citizens are among those held captive, Biden administration. officials say. Backed by the U.S., Israel has steadfastly refused to consider a cease-fire, even as demands for one have grown worldwide, from the United Nations and numerous Arab and other countries. Israel argues that any cessation of hostilities would allow Hamas to regroup and rearm in preparation to attack Israelis again. The pauses announced Thursday are not a cease-fire, Israel said; fighting would only be suspended in specific areas. U.S. officials say Israel appears extremely confident in its prosecution of the war, which may explain its resistance to the Biden administration's requests. Nonetheless, pressure has mounted for Israel to shift its tactics as the death toll in Gaza from massive Israeli airstrikes has soared past 10,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, including at least 4,000 children. UNICEF called Gaza a "graveyard for thousands of children."White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said "many, many thousands" have died.
"I think we would agree that too many civilians have been killed," he said.
Netanyahu also vexed U.S. officials when he told ABC News this week that Israel would have to assume "overall security responsibility" over Gaza "for an indefinite period," suggesting plans to occupy the strip of land that, at least before the war, was home to more than 2 million Palestinians.
The Biden administration has been adamant that postwar Gaza should be free of Hamas but not occupied by Israel, and that it remain Palestinian — ideally part of a future Palestinian state. “The United States believes key elements should include no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza — not now, not after the war,” Blinken said, pointedly responding to Netanyahu after urgently crisscrossing the Middle East holding talks in six countries in a matter of days. “No reoccupation of Gaza after the conflict ends. No attempt to blockade or besiege Gaza. No reduction in the territory of Gaza.”Israel has also ignored U.S. entreaties to rein in hard-line Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank, where they have attacked Palestinian villagers. Israeli officials tell their U.S. counterparts that they will comply, but don't, according to people familiar with the talks. Instead, members of Netanyahu's Cabinet have been handing out more guns to the settlers, whose presence in the territory is considered illegal by the U.N. and most nations. Administration officials have repeatedly defended Israel’s right to retaliate against Hamas, but said they have consistently cautioned Israeli officials to obey international law, which requires the military to make every effort to distinguish between combatants and civilians and to attack with proportionality. But U.S. officials have publicly declined to judge whether Israel is indeed following the guidelines laid out in the Geneva Convention and elsewhere.
Blinken, whose family includes Holocaust survivors and whose early reactions to the Oct. 7 attacks were heartfelt and visceral, has since then come the closest among administration officials to indicating that Israel is not completely observing the rules of war.
“There are steps, additional steps, that we believe Israel can and should take to minimize civilian casualties and to minimize the suffering of people,” Blinken said Wednesday in Tokyo, while acknowledging it can be difficult because of Hamas’ well-documented tactic of embedding fighters, weapons and equipment within the civilian population.
But, Blinken said, “Israel still has an obligation to distinguish between terrorists and civilians.”
Still, discord over the way the Biden administration has handled the most explosive Middle East crisis in generations has spread, including within U.S. foreign policy agencies. Several petitions or letters of complaint have circulated within the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. One State Department employee quit in protest, another accused Biden of complicity in genocide. A memo criticizing unbridled support for Israel and urging a cease-fire was submitted to the department's Dissent Channel, an internal mechanism through which foreign service officers can freely express disagreement with policy. "This conflict is incredibly fraught," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said. "This is an incredibly trying and taxing time. ... We expect people in our workforce to have different personal beliefs, different beliefs about what U.S. foreign policy should be. And we encourage individuals to continue to make those opinions known." Many of the critics are among a younger generation in government, people in their 30s who are too young to have lived through earlier crises in the region such as the two intifadas — Palestinian uprisings demanding an end to Israeli occupation that devolved into deadly clashes with Israel's military. Washington's closest allies in the Arab world, none of them particularly fond of Hamas, publicly issued mild criticisms of the Oct. 7 attacks in the initial aftermath. Privately they were more forceful, telling administration officials they supported routing Hamas.
But once Israel's bombardment of Gaza began, with images of multi-story residential buildings collapsing in smoke and bodies being pulled from rubble, several Arab states became the most vocal proponents of an immediate cease-fire. The leaders and their populations could not tolerate the massive casualties.
While Egypt, Jordan and a handful of others continue to work with U.S. officials to ease the humanitarian crisis and other issues, it is a process that remains behind the scenes, left to quiet diplomacy.
Get the best of the Los Angeles Times’ politics coverage with the Essential Politics newsletter.

Ceasefires Will Only Hinder Getting the Hostages Released
Con Coughlin/Gatestone Institute./November 10, 2023
[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] argued that the more that 240 Israelis held hostage by Hamas should be released first. Letting up the military pressure on Hamas, rather than forcing Hamas to concede, will only delay the hostages' release by enabling the terrorists to keep moving them around and re-hiding them. The other important consideration the Biden administration has failed to grasp is that, by ensuring Israel achieves its goal of destroying Hamas, Washington would be sending a strong signal to hostile states such as Iran, Russia and China that any attack against the US and its allies would receive a similarly robust response. At the very least the Biden administration should be urgently reviewing its Iran policy and, instead of obsessing about the prospects of reviving the "nuclear deal" with Tehran... concentrating its efforts on targeting top IRGC commanders, as well as imposing tough banking sanctions against Tehran to limit its ability to fund terrorist groups such as Hamas.
Letting up the military pressure on Hamas, rather than forcing them to concede, will only delay the release of the 240 Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. Pictured: Family and friends of Israeli civilians being held hostage by Hamas terrorists, demonstrate on November 2, 2023 in Tel Aviv, Israel.
As Israel maintains its military offensive to destroy Hamas's terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, the biggest threat to the operation achieving its stated objective of wiping Hamas from the face of the earth comes not the Islamist fanatics desperately defending their network of underground tunnels but from the Biden administration's obsession, possibly after seeing so many staged demonstrations, with having "ceasefires."
After Hamas terrorists launched their barbaric attack against Israeli civilians on October 7, murdering more than 1,400 and taking more than 240 hostage, US President Joe Biden was quick to demonstrate his support for Israel, dispatching two aircraft carrier battle groups and a nuclear submarine to the eastern Mediterranean, as well employing US naval assets in the Red Sea to shoot down drones and missiles launched at Israel from Yemen by Iran-backed Houthis -- as a welcome gesture of solidarity. While these moves, taken primarily to deter Iran and its Lebanon-based proxy Hezbollah from being tempted to escalate the crisis, provided reassurance to Israelis after their country had suffered an unprecedented attack, it also helped to conceal the Biden administration's real attitude towards the conflict, which was deep concern about how Israel might respond to the worst terrorist attack in the country's history. Now, nearly a month after the unprovoked attack, the Biden administration's equivocation about giving Israel its full backing is alarmingly evident. Rather than giving its full support to Israel's military campaign to destroy Hamas's terrorist infrastructure, the White House appears more concerned with organising a cessation of hostilities, a move that would undoubtedly be to the advantage of the Hamas terrorists.
The Biden administration's reluctance to give Israel's military offensive its unambiguous support was clearly evident during US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's visit to the region, where the main focus of his shuttle diplomacy mission was not to reassure Israel of Washington's support but to arrange "humanitarian pauses" in the fighting -- and shorthand for a ceasefire.
During talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as with leaders of several Arab states, Blinken focused almost exclusively on lobbying for a halt to the fighting to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Until November 9, Blinken had been forced to concede that his calls for a pause in the fighting were little more than "a work in progress". In Israel, Blinken's attempts to persuade Netanyahu to support a break in the fighting were rebuffed. The Israeli PM bluntly refused to even consider a temporary pause in the conflict. He argued that the more that 240 Israelis held hostage by Hamas should be released first. Letting up the military pressure on Hamas, rather than forcing Hamas to concede, will only delay the hostages' release by enabling the terrorists to keep moving them around and re-hiding them.
Blinken's visit to Turkey also proved to be unproductive. Rather than responding to calls to play a constructive role in resolving the crisis, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear that he had no intention of dealing with Netanyahu in the future, as had been predicted. "We have erased him," Erdogan was reported as telling Blinken.
If Blinken's failure to win support for his agenda has highlighted the dramatic decline that has taken place in Washington's influence in the Middle East since Biden took office, it has also demonstrated the White House's inability to grasp the enormity of the challenge facing Israel in the wake of the Hamas attacks.
From Israel's perspective, arranging any pause in the fighting would only benefit Hamas. The pauses -- even four-hour ones -- will provide a comfortable period of respite for Hamas, as well as opportunities to rearm and regroup, just at a time when the terrorist movement was suffering heavy casualties while Israeli forces intensified their assault on Gaza City, the terrorist organisation's main stronghold.
Hamas also has a well-documented history of using schools, hospitals and even children's playgrounds for their terrorist activities. For years Hamas has used aid sent to Gaza for humanitarian purposes to support the construction of its terrorist infrastructure, raising fears that any deliveries of humanitarian aid to Gaza could be siphoned off to support Hamas fighters in their war against Israel. Hamas has reportedly stolen 95% of the cement donated to "rebuild Gaza," to build instead a 300-mile "spiderweb" of underground terror tunnels to smuggle goods and from which to attack Israel.
There have already been reported instances of Hamas attempting to smuggle wounded terrorists out of Gaza to Egypt in ambulances that were supposed to be used to evacuate wounded Palestinian civilians.
The other important consideration the Biden administration has failed to grasp is that, by ensuring Israel achieves its goal of destroying Hamas, Washington would be sending a strong signal to hostile states such as Iran, Russia and China that any attack against the US and its allies would receive a similarly robust response. Iran's support for Hamas, which helped it to develop the terrorist infrastructure deployed to such deadly effect in the October 7 attacks, makes it just as culpable as Hamas itself for the atrocities committed against innocent Israeli civilians.
Israel has already intimated that it intends to deal with Iran once the operation to destroy Hamas has been completed. At the very least the Biden administration should be urgently reviewing its Iran policy and, instead of obsessing about the prospects of reviving the "nuclear deal" with Tehran, looking at options to limit the terrorist activities of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The US military has already launched a series of attacks against bases in Syria and Iraq used by Iranian-backed militias after they were used to attack US forces in the region. The Biden administration should be concentrating its efforts on targeting top IRGC commanders, as well as imposing tough banking sanctions against Tehran to limit its ability to fund terrorist groups such as Hamas. If the Biden administration has any serious interest in deterring rogue states and Islamist terror groups then, rather than worrying about arranging a ceasefire, the Biden administration should demonstrate that it fully supports Israel's right to defend itself, whether it is against the Islamist fanatics of Hamas or the malign ayatollahs in Tehran.
*Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Gatestone Institute.
© 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.

The Iranian Regime's Doubletalk About The October 7 Hamas Invasion Of Israel: To The Muslims – '"Death To America" Is Not Only A Motto But A Policy'; To The West – Iran Has No Part In The Israel-Hamas War
A. Savyon/MEMRI/November 10/2023
Iran, Palestine | Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1726
Introduction
When it comes to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, Iran is talking out of both sides of its mouth. To the Iranian people and Muslims around the world, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Iranian political and military leadership explain that Iran, at the head of the resistance axis, is leading the struggle against Israel and the West, headed by the United States. To Middle East media, Iran says that the Muslim ummah and the resistance axis, including Hizbullah in Lebanon, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Houthi militias in Yemen, and the Shi'ite militias in Iraq, Syria, and the Syrian Golan Heights, are the true front fighting a religious and cultural war against the front of lies and unbelief of the Jews and Christians in the West.
However, to the West, Iranian regime spokesmen insist that Iran had nothing to do with the Hamas massacre of civilians in Israel on October 7, and that Hamas acted on its own. Supreme Leader Khamenei and Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah – his main proxy in the resistance axis – both worked hard to distance themselves from any responsibility for the October 7 atrocities carried out by the Palestinian branch of the Iranian axis.
Nevertheless, in his statements Khamenei has linked Iran, Iran's Islamic Revolution, and the Iran-led resistance axis to the events in Israel and Gaza. Iranian officials, including Khamenei himself, have said to the Iranian public that the war is between cultures and religions: revolutionary Iran's Islam (which aims to rule the Middle East and the world) versus Christianity, the Jews, and Western values and culture.[1]
One example of the doublespeak inside and outside Iran on this matter was the main statement at the November 4 Iranian national day marking the start of war against the "global arrogance" (i.e. the U.S.), which is the anniversary of the takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. The statement, which was read out during the national parade for the occasion in Tehran, which this year was also dedicated to supporting the Palestinian people, warned the U.S., Britain, and France that the resistance could spread to them as well: "We hereby inform America, England, and France that the resistance axis is not limited to Gaza and Palestine and that if they do not stop the bombing and brutal killing of the oppressed residents of Gaza, you must consider every scenario and know that our identity is tied to instilling among the occupiers fear for their lives. Our weapons are impatient, and your skulls are in the crosshairs, and the price for the blood of the innocent will be your interests and lives."[2]
This report will review speeches by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and IRGC commander Hossein Salami about the October 7 massacre in southern Israel carried out by Hamas, which is the Palestinian proxy in Iran's resistance axis.
Khamenei: "The Battle Is Not Between Gaza And Israel – It Is Between Truth And Falsehood, And Between [America's] Arrogance And [Iran's] Faith… With Their Actions And Bravery, The Palestinians Humiliated The Plundering [Israeli] Regime And Its Supporters"
In a November 1, 2023 speech aired on Iran's Channel 1, Supreme Leader Khamenei described how the current fighting is not just by Israel versus Hamas or the Palestinians, but is rather a reflection of the Iranian leadership's worldview. He said that the war is between the world of falsehood and evil, as embodied by the U.S., Britain, Israel, and the rest of the Western world, and the front of truth, which comprises Iran and its resistance axis proxies Hamas, Hizbullah, the Houthis, and the other Shi'ite militias operating on its behalf. Khamenei said that Israel cannot fight the Palestinians without American support, and that without this support it would have been defeated in the first week of the war. He also mocked Western governments for accusing Iran of being behind pro-Hamas protests in the West.
The Muslim young people and elsewhere, he said, need this global battle explained to them so that they can be mobilized to adhere to the values of the Islamic revolution. He added that that the "Death to America!" motto chanted by Iranians at Friday prayers and at political, military, and religious gatherings is not just a slogan, but rather an Iranian policy that is being implemented on the ground – such as in the form of today's attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria by Shi'ite militias at Iran's orders.
Mentioning the suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza following Israel's response to the Hamas-led civilian massacres, he consoled the Palestinians by praising Hamas for "defending their country [and] their homes" and for "humiliating" the West by exposing the lies of Western countries that, although they claim to carry the banner of human rights, have failed to condemn Israel. He also criticized Western politicians who have referred to the Palestinian "warriors" as terrorists, and called the Hamas attack a "wonderful lesson" for Israel, the U.S., and the other Western countries.
In addition, Khamenei called on the Arab and Muslim countries to join him by severing their political and economic ties with Israel, and went on to accuse the U.S. and its allies of committing war crimes in Gaza.
To view this clip of Khamenei's statements on MEMRI TV, click here or below:
The following are the main points of Khamenei's speech:
"The situation between America and Iran is this: When you chant 'Death to America!' it is not just a motto – it is policy. I have stated the reasons for this previously. For many years, from the 1940s to the 1970s – that is, 30 years – the Americans did everything they could do against the Iranian nation. They struck at Iran any way they could – financially, economically, politically, scientifically, and morally. The revolution won in this situation. It dealt with such a corrupt and destructive regime, and it won, by the grace of God and the efforts of the Iranian nation, under the leadership of [my predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini]…
"The Zionists who occupy and oppress Palestine rely on America's support. Without America's support, without the support of U.S. weapons, the corrupt and artificial Zionist regime would have been destroyed in the first week. It would have collapsed. The Americans are behind this [i.e. Israel's survival].
"Today, what is taking place in Gaza are the same things that [the Israelis] would do in Iran if they could. The catastrophe that is taking place in Gaza at the hands of the Zionists and with the help of the Americans – and actually by the Americans – is a unique catastrophe. In three weeks, they killed almost 4,000 children! Where in history have you seen such a thing? The Islamic nation must know what the issue is, and it must be familiar with the battle. The battle is not between Gaza and Israel – it is between truth and falsehood, and between [America's] arrogance and [revolutionary Iran's] faith. On one side stands the power of faith, against the power of arrogance [i.e. America]. Of course, the power of arrogance advances by means of military pressure, bombings, catastrophes, and crimes – [but] power of faith will overcome all of these, by God's grace.
"Our heart bleeds for the suffering of the Palestinian people, and particularly for the residents of Gaza. We are sad. But when we look closely, we see that the people who are winning on the ground are the people of Gaza and of Palestine. They have done great things. First of all, the Gazans removed the false mask of human rights from the faces of America, France, England, and others. They humiliated them with their patience, their steadfastness, and their unwillingness to surrender. The Gazans have mobilized the human conscience with their patience. Look at what is happening now in the world.
"In Western countries – in England, France, Italy, and various U.S. states – people took to the streets in large numbers, chanting anti-Israel and often anti-U.S. slogans. The leaders of these countries were humiliated. They truly have no remedy for this. They cannot make excuses for this. That is why we saw some idiot saying that Iran was behind the rallies in England. Perhaps the Basij in London is behind this... Or maybe the Basij of Paris!"
**Khamenei: "One Of The Most Important Things The 'Al-Aqsa Flood' Did Was To Show How A Small Group [Hamas] – Who Are Fewer In Number Compared To [Israel]... Can, With Faith And Determination, Neutralize, Within Hours, The Product Of Years Of The Enemy's Criminal Efforts... This Is A Wonderful Lesson"

Israel’s war on Gaza puts journalists in peril
Sinem Cengiz/Arab News/November 11, 2023
Prominent war journalist Kareem Shaheen noted in a post on X last month: “I thought I was desensitized to violent images after covering Syria. I guess I was not.” It has been more than a month since Israel’s war on Gaza began. The violent images and videos circulating online are more widespread and intense than anything we have witnessed in any previous conflict, even those in Syria and Ukraine.
While the Gaza Strip has been under intense Israeli bombardment, the journalists covering these events are also bearing the brunt of the war. Israel’s assault on Gaza has taken a heavy toll on journalists. At the time of writing, the Committee to Protect Journalists indicated that at least 39 journalists and media workers were among the estimated 11,000 people killed since the war began on Oct. 7. According to this organization, the first few weeks of the war were the deadliest period for journalists covering the conflict since 1992, when it began tracking such data.
In the Syrian war, the Middle East saw the highest number of journalists killed, averaging about 63 per year, while the Iraq war averaged about six annually and the Yemen conflict five. The number of journalists killed in Gaza has already surpassed that of the Ukraine-Russia war, which began in February 2022.
Journalists covering the conflict from Gaza City are working under especially perilous conditions amid the Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion, while also facing the possibility of their family members being killed. In one instance, Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh was broadcasting live images of the besieged territory when he received news that his wife, son, daughter, grandson and at least eight other relatives had been killed in an Israeli airstrike. Moments later, live footage showed Dahdouh entering Al-Aqsa Hospital to find his son’s body in the hospital’s morgue. Among the latest to be killed was Palestinian journalist Mohammed Abu Hasira, along with 42 family members, near Gaza City. These tragedies are just some of the many examples of the unprecedented toll that Israel’s raids on Gaza have taken on journalists.
Journalists covering the conflict from Gaza City are working under especially perilous conditions
Despite all the harrowing circumstances, it is worth noting that the UN Security Council passed a historic resolution in 2006 that called for an end to impunity in the killing of journalists. In 2012, all of the major UN agencies agreed on a comprehensive Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists. The Geneva Conventions also offer special protections to journalists and media staff. However, such resolutions and conventions mean little, if anything, to countries engaged in inhumane warfare against civilians. While Israel conducts its deadly attacks on Gaza, it has warned international media outlets like Reuters and Agence France-Presse that it cannot guarantee the safety of their journalists operating there. By doing so, Israel is effectively preventing journalists from covering the war from inside the Gaza Strip.
It is also important to acknowledge that disinformation and propaganda are also weapons of war and they have been effectively employed by the Israeli side during the ongoing conflict. Since the Gulf War, there has been a rapid shift in the center of gravity from the power of weapons to the power of information. As George Orwell wrote in 1946, “the great enemy of clear language is insincerity.” Unfortunately, this war has shown that many Western journalists — either by personal choice or institutional pressure — opt for insincerity in their coverage of Israel’s war on Gaza.
Some in the Western media are repeating the disastrous mistakes they made in various other conflicts in this region. For example, CNN reporter Sara Sidner had to issue an apology last month after defending Israel’s claims that Hamas beheaded babies, acknowledging that the reports were not confirmed. In the social media era, everybody shares whatever they wish. There are even websites specializing in publishing and spreading fabricated news. One may not be able to prevent individuals from distorting the facts, but it is worrisome to see journalists, whose duty it is to inform the public with accurate information, spreading such news without even bothering to check its veracity.
Another significant issue with Western coverage of the ongoing war is the narrative it presents. In much of the Western media’s reporting on this war, there is little mention of the decades-long Israeli oppression and military occupation directed at the Palestinians or the Israeli settlements that have devastated the lives of Palestinians. It is as if the Oct. 7 attack happened out of the blue.
The words used by journalists are deliberate, with many using them to shape a specific narrative. So, while bombs continue to rain down on besieged Palestinians in Gaza, it is essential to highlight two points: the need to protect journalists who are risking their lives to report on the war and the problematic journalistic conduct of the Western media.
The words used by journalists are deliberate, with many using them to shape a specific narrative. However, journalists bear a great responsibility when covering the ongoing war. They need to have reliable knowledge of the historical and ideological contexts. Journalists may not be historians, but they are required to inform the public about what is happening. Their terminologies, narratives, images and videos are making history and shaping perceptions, which is why it is very important to be truthful and tell the whole story.
• Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in Turkey’s relations with the Middle East.

Turkic states cut their ties with mother Russia
Luke Coffey/Arab News/November 11, 2023
Last week, the leaders of the Organization of Turkic States met in Astana, Kazakhstan, for their 10th anniversary summit. The theme of the forum was “Turktime” — an interesting use of English to create an acronym for “Traditions, Unification, Reforms, Knowledge, Trust, Investments, Mediation, Energy.”
Although this acronym might seem clumsy, Turktime does a good job summing up both the origins and future ambition of the OTS. The organization began as the Turkic Council in 2009 at a meeting between the four founding members, Turkiye, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan, in the latter’s Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan. The original idea behind the initiative was deepening the shared cultural, historic, and linguistic roots, and enhancing economic and trade relations, between the ethnically Turkic countries of Eurasia.
In addition to the four founding members, Uzbekistan joined as a full member in 2019. Meanwhile, Turkmenistan, Hungary, and the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have joined as observers. Other countries have expressed interest in joining the OTS as observers, including some with sizable Turkic minorities, such as Moldova (home to the Gagauz people) and Ukraine (because of the Crimean Tatars).
Hungary’s observer status in the OTS is both interesting and telling. Some, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, believe that Hungarians are descended from Turkic people originating in Central Asia. During certain points in history, Hungary shared a border with the Ottoman Empire. Although Hungarian is a part of the Uralic language family, it contains many loanwords from Turkish. However, Orban’s motivation to build ties with Turkic states is more about economics and trade than about culture and history.
In recent years, Turkic geopolitical and economic influence has been on the ascendancy across Eurasia
For example, in the last decade, trade between Hungary and the countries of the OTS has more than doubled. At a time of energy uncertainty across Europe, Hungary recently signed an agreement with OTS member Azerbaijan for more natural gas. The case of Hungary is worth highlighting because it demonstrates the appeal of the OTS to countries that have even the most tenuous link to Turkic culture and history.
In recent years, Turkic geopolitical and economic influence has been on the ascendancy across Eurasia. The drivers behind this rise of influence are threefold.
First, there is a growing economic and cultural appeal to the region. In total, the members and observers of the OTS account for roughly 158 million people. There are millions of other people of Turkic ethnicity living in countries not part of the OTS, but who are influenced by Turkish soft power through cinema, music, and television. It is even possible for someone to communicate using some variation of a Turkic language from the Balkans in southeastern Europe to eastern China — and in most places in between.
The countries of the OTS represent a relatively small, but increasingly important, portion of the world’s economy, and encompass a region rich in natural resources, with plenty of oil, gas and rare earth minerals. Some of the world’s most important transit routes and trade chokepoints, such as the Turkish Straits, Middle Corridor, and Ganja Gap, are located in member states of the OTS.
Second, other than Turkiye, all the other members of the OTS were once part of imperial Russia and the former Soviet Union. Since regaining independence in the early 1990s, the countries of Central Asia, along with Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus, have tried shedding their centuries-old, enforced cultural links to Slavic Russia, while boosting their own Turkic roots, culture, and shared history. At the most recent summit in Astana, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed adopting a common alphabet for Turkic peoples. In 2017, an announcement by Kazakhstan that it would change from a Cyrillic alphabet to a Latin alphabet by 2025 caused a lot of angst in Moscow.
Russia’s quagmire in Ukraine has weakened its influence across the former Soviet Union
Finally, Russia’s quagmire in Ukraine has weakened its influence across the former Soviet Union, a region where it once enjoyed a lot of clout. Many members of the OTS recognize that Moscow’s attention is almost solely focused on its war in Ukraine. After witnessing the devastating military blow Ukraine has delivered to the Russian armed forces, the states of the former Soviet Union are feeling more confident to act in ways that are less geopolitically aligned with Moscow. Before February 2022, this would have been unthinkable.
The most recent example of this was Azerbaijan’s military operation in September to liberate the remaining sections of its country that were under the control of Armenians and Armenian separatists with the protection of Russian troops. When Azerbaijani security forces started operations, Russian soldiers sat idly by and did nothing to stop them. Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, such an audacious move by Azerbaijan would have been highly unlikely.
Another example showing that Turkic cohesion is challenging Russian influence was the fact that two OTS members, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, publicly supported fellow OTS member Azerbaijan against Armenia, despite being members of the same Moscow-backed security grouping — the Collective Security Treaty Organization — with Armenia.
It is important that global policymakers recognize the ascendancy of the OTS across the Eurasian landmass. In recent months, the Gulf Cooperation Council has done a considerable amount of work to increase trade and boost economic relations with the countries of Central Asia. With four out of five Central Asian states in the OTS, perhaps it is time for a GCC-OTS summit to discuss ways to improve regional interconnectivity and trade. Meanwhile, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has a unique opportunity to cooperate with the OTS due to Turkiye’s membership in both organizations.
As Russia’s influence wanes across Eurasia, regional groupings, such as the OTS, will become more active and popular. This is a fact that cannot be ignored, and decision-makers should develop policies accordingly.
• Luke Coffey is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. X: @LukeDCoffey.

Anatomy of a Paris Demo
Amir Taheri/Asharq Al-Awsat/November 10/2023
“Paris could become a battlefield!” This was how commentators speculated about a “solidarity with Palestine” demonstration that the police had authorized for last Saturday. The concern was not groundless.
A few days before, a Harris opinion poll had shown that 82 percent of the French feared a wave of terrorism in France and 72 percent believed that something like the 7 October attack by Hamas would happen in Paris.
“People are right to have concerns,” says Brice Hortefeux, a former Interior Minister.
In the past decade, France has been hit by over 400 terrorist attacks or attempts, almost all related to the Middle East or what is shorthanded as “Islamic World.” The same concern was expressed in numerous editorials, reminding people that as home to the largest Jewish community, some 700,000, and highest number of Muslims, around 7 million, in Europe, France was already “part of the Middle East.”
A number of small but violent demos in Paris and other cities in the aftermath of 7 October, all banned by the police, raised the level of concern.
On the eve of the Saturday demo, the police announced it would field 2000 armed personnel, backed by drones and helicopters and plainclothes agents, to deal with “any eventuality.” At the same time, the political parties and trade unions that sponsored the demo said their “security units”, some 1000 tough guys and gals, would also be present.
As an added precaution, police refused to let the march pass by Marais, a quartier with a substantial number of Jewish homes and businesses.
The demo was planned against a background of rising anti-Jewish acts, over 900 instances since 7 October, according to the Interior Ministry.So, you can imagine that it was with some trepidation that we decided to come out of retirement as a reporter and cover the dicey demo. And then, what a surprise!
Although it looked like scores of demos we had seen in Paris since our student days in the 1960s this was a fairly small affair. According to police some 19,000, a quarter of them security agents and/or reporters, participated. (As usual, organizers, including the Socialist Party, multiplied the figure by three.)
The three-kilometer distance between Place de la Republique and Place de la Nation did not turn into a battlefield.
At some points, the demo even looked like a city walk past shops that had downed their shutters out of fear.The Boulevard Voltaire reminded us of a short story by the Swiss philosopher in which a bug, annoyed by the tick-tock of a wall clock, jumps into it in the hope of stopping it, but is killed.As far as we could make out a majority of marchers were young.
A few looked grim and angry but many had a bon enfant demeanor, exchanging jokes and laughing with one another. Apart from a French-Algerian lady who seemed angry enough to break a shop window, there was no sign of anyone wishing to get dramatic.
Paris demos have a template provided by activists who attend each other’s events.
These include anarchists, anti-Turkish Kurdish groups, LGBQ+, the People’s Mujahedin, ”Stop-Oil” and other “green” militants, nostalgics of the Soviet Union, dyed-in-wool anti-Americans, do-gooders ready to march for any cause, and looters from the suburbs.
In Saturday’s demo, however, such veteran protesters had a low profile. A few people carried banners of “Queers for Palestine”, “Black Lives Matter” and “Biden Accomplice in Crime.”
A band of neo-Nazis were among the 1,300 individuals that police said were prevented from joining the demo from the start.
Throughout the demo, there was little mention of Hamas. A trio of Khomeinists, who said they had come from Belgium with a portrait of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and a Hezbollah flag, tried the slogan “Hamas shall vanquish” but were quickly silenced by hostile glances.
The fusion of Hamas and “The Palestinian cause” had caused confusion as the whole show was built around “Palestine” as leitmotiv.
The one-minute silence was for “Palestinian victims” with the main slogan: “Free Palestine!». The slogan “Free Gaza” had an ironic ambiguity as the enclave had been ruled by Hamas for a decade. The slogan “From the River to the Sea- Palestine shall be free” was chanted by a few marchers echoing “Juden Raus!” in 1930s Germany, but didn’t quite catch on. None of the marchers we talked to expressed support for Hamas.
“We are here in solidarity with the Palestinian people,” claimed Herve, a university student from Nanterre. Dominique, a shop worker claimed she came because she couldn’t see “children of Palestine dying.”
Another marcher, Leila Ghuraibi, said “Genocide must stop” but wasn’t prepared to justify the massacre of Jews by Hamas.
A poll for the daily Figaro shows that 37 percent still have sympathy for Israel while Palestine gets 20 percent and Hamas 5 percent.
“Hamas doesn’t represent Palestinians,” said Laurent, a restaurant worker, echoing a comment by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro” Palestinians don’t behave like that.” “Hamas has betrayed the Palestinian people,” says philosopher Michel Onfray. However, the march was also bad news for Israel. This crowd included ordinary French citizens who could not be written off as anti-Semite weirdos.
No doubt anti-Semitic sentiments have deep roots in France, as in most Western countries. However, Israeli leaders need to ask how Israel, a victim on 7 October, was cast as an oppressor two days later.
Those we talked to in the demo seemed as if they had forgotten 7 October, reminding us of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s phrase “What a miser is a human memory!” For decades, except Holland, France was the most pro-Israel nation in Europe and its chief source of weapons. It helped Israel build its nuclear capabilities. Whenever Israel was attacked French intellectuals and celebrities mobilized to show support through public meetings and full-page ads in newspapers.
This time, however, the only expression of solidarity came from a few, all of Jewish background. There was a time when Israel was the darling of the left. Now, however, only Fabien Roussel, leader of the Communist Party, condemns the 7 October massacre. In the Saturday demo, there was no mention of the 250 hostages held by Hamas. The so-called elites have adopted a one-way indignation posture against Israel.
Yet, casual talk at the bronze counter shows that Hamas has done much damage to the “Palestinian cause” while Benjamin Netanyahu’s belligerent rhetoric has diverted attention from the price Israel paid on 7 October. However, in France at least, as far as we could make out, the battle for public opinion is far from settled.