Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 19-20/2023
Border tensions and political vacuum: Al-Rahi emphasizes the need for army leadership stability
Al-Rahi says army chief shouldn't be changed until election of president
Report: Cabinet won't discuss army chief file next week
Reports: Qatar intends to activate its presidential mediation
Heavy Israeli shelling and phosphorous bombs target Kfarkela in the South
Miraculous escape of mother and child in Kfarkela
Naim Qassem: Hezbollah remains on high alert and in constant readiness
New day, new round of skirmishes on Lebanon-Israel border
Safieddine says Hezbollah to 'continue to put pressure' on Israel
Lebanon's Palestinian refugees fear for their families in Gaza
Hizbullah Responds To Criticism Of Nasrallah's November 11 Speech By Releasing A Song Praising Him, Authored By His Son
Will an open strike take place on Monday at the RTA?
Israel attacking Lebanon would be illogical, but don’t rule it out/Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/November 19, 2023

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 19-20/2023
Israel says 55-metre fortified tunnel found under Gaza's Shifa hospital
Gaza's death toll from the Israeli bombing hits 13,000
Houthi spokesman: We will continue to operate against Israel until end of 'aggression'
Yemen's Houthi rebels hijack an Israeli-linked ship in the Red Sea and take 25 crew members hostage
Israel's target to dismantle Hamas leadership: Who are Hamas' key figures?
Israel ‘hopeful’ significant number of hostages could be freed, ambassador says
Qatar Prime Minister says ‘minor’ challenges remain to Israel-Hamas hostage deal
Israel says soldier executed, foreign hostages held at Gaza’s Shifa hospital
U.N.: More than 200 Palestinians killed in West Bank
Macron tells Netanyahu ‘too many civilian losses’ in Gaza
The mystery of October 7: New details surface in the wake of Gaza ground assault
31 premature babies are evacuated from Gaza’s largest hospital, but scores of trauma patients remain
32 babies among scores of critically ill patients stranded in Gaza's main hospital
Iran claims a new ballistic missile can travel at hypersonic speeds
Egypt’s FM, Arab ministers embark on foreign tour to end war in Gaza
Three more journalists killed in Gaza in Israeli offensive, relatives say
Montrealers demand ceasefire in Gaza outside Israeli Consulate
Blumenthal calls on Israel, US to release more intelligence on Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital
US says still pushing for Israel-Hamas deal after reported breakthrough
Thousands march in Jerusalem to press Israel's government to do more to free hostages
Biden says ‘revitalized Palestinian Authority’ should eventually govern Gaza and the West Bank
France sending warship to provide medical aid to Gaza
Canada criminalized 'condoning, denying or downplaying' the Holocaust: is it working?
Zelensky calls for rapid operations changes for soldiers, sacks commander

Titles For The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 19-20/2023
When Neutrality is Immoral: Israel, Hamas, and the Problem of Moral Equivalence/André Villeneuve/ Gatestone Institute/November 19, 2023
Israeli hawks set the stage for Gaza ethnic cleansing/Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/November 20, 2023
Saudi Arabia has become a key hub for green energy/Dr. Majid RafizadehArab News/November 19, 2023
Israel must embrace reality, not ignore it/Ali Shihabi/Arab News/November 19, 2023

Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on November 19-20/2023
Border tensions and political vacuum: Al-Rahi emphasizes the need for army leadership stability
LBCI/November 19, 2023
Maronite Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi sees that the parliament deliberately neglects its primary and fundamental duty, which is to elect a president, and the highest authority in the country has been absent for a year. "This council stumbles and loses its responsibility in legislation, accountability, and oversight," he added. He considers that the caretaker government is divided due to the constant "boycotters," thus faltering in its powers, pointing out that the people are becoming poorer due to these practices. He said: "You, disruptors, do not have the right to continue not electing a president. You do not have the right to create crises and side complications instead of immediately electing the president to solve your crisis.""Go to the parliament and elect a president and stop gambling with the state, its stability, its people, and its dignity. This way, all your intended complications will be resolved for cheap purposes."
He added: "With the war raging on our southern borders, it is necessary not to interfere with the highest leadership of the army until a president is elected for the republic [...] The issue here is related to the need to protect our people and to preserve security on the entire Lebanese territory and borders, especially in the south, according to Security Council Resolution 1701."During Sunday Mass, he said that a delegation from the border towns explained their suffering: 70 percent have moved to Beirut, Mount Lebanon, Keserwan, and Jbeil. "The delegation came requesting educational, health, and food assistance. Moreover, they demand security in the region, avoiding tensions and skirmishes and securing the movement of residents to their workplaces. The matter requires a lot of self-control and wisdom, avoiding war and its calamities for everyone," he added.

Al-Rahi says army chief shouldn't be changed until election of president
Naharnet/November 19, 2023
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday threw his support behind Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, saying that the army chief should not be changed until the election of a new president. Aoun's term expires on January 10 and the patriarch is effectively calling for extending it, seeing as no president will likely be elected before that. "Parliament is not performing its essential duty of electing a president and the caretaker Cabinet is divided because of the permanent boycotters," al-Rahi lamented in his Sunday Mass sermon. "The army chief should not be changed until the election of a president and it is not appropriate to take what happened in other institutions to avoid vacuum as an example, seeing as the issue here is related to preserving security across Lebanon and on the borders, especially in the South under Security Council Resolution 1701," the patriarch added. "Any change in the army requires wisdom and it should not be exploited for personal ends," al-Rahi went on to say, calling on officials to "elect a president and stop gambling with the state."

Report: Cabinet won't discuss army chief file next week
Naharnet/November 19, 2023
The issue of the looming vacuum in the army chief post is still the subject of intensive contacts and efforts but no progress has been made in this regard, which has forced the postponement of a Cabinet session that was supposed to be held Monday, a media report said on Sunday. “The concentrated attempts to find a solution or exit for this crisis have not succeeded until the moment,” a ministerial source told ad-Diyar newspaper, stressing that Cabinet will not convene on Monday as had been previously reported. The source also ruled out a Cabinet session next week, because “the army command deal has not ripened yet.” “There are proposals that are being discussed, whether in terms of naming a new army chief and members for the military council, including the chief of staff, or in terms of extending General Joseph Aoun’s term by six months. But all these proposals are facing difficulties and obstacles,” the source added.
According to ad-Diyar, the idea of naming a new army commander made progress over the past three days after it turned out that the proposal of extending Aoun’s term is facing major hurdles in both Cabinet and parliament.

Reports: Qatar intends to activate its presidential mediation
Naharnet/November 19, 2023
Qatar intends to activate the contacts over Lebanon’s presidential election file, media reports have said. An informed political source told Lebanon’s ad-Diyar newspaper, in remarks published Sunday, that the activation of the contacts will come after Doha succeeds in its mediation between Hamas and Israel, which will see the release of a batch of Israeli hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners and the supply of Gaza with fuel and aid. The efforts on the Lebanese presidential file will be backed by the five-nation group on Lebanon and Doha is pushing for the election as president of General Security acting chief Maj. Gen. Elias Bayssari, the source added. “Political parties in the government and the opposition have recently started to deal with Maj. Gen. Bayssari as being a serious candidate who has chances in the race to Baabda,” ad-Diyar reported. “There are behind-the-scenes attempts to test the waters regarding the choices of the presidential juncture during the wait for the expected Qatari effort,” the daily added. An informed parliamentary source meanwhile told the same newspaper that the issue of the presidential vote is still frozen, downplaying the reports about the looming resumption of the Qatari endeavor. “There are shy calls and contacts over the presidential juncture, but they are not at the level of activating this file in an effective way,” the source said, noting that Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi intends to call for reviving this file instead of linking it to the Gaza war. A parliamentary source from the Shiite Duo meanwhile told ad-Diyar that “the stance of Amal and Hezbollah is known, which is supporting (Marada Movement chief Suleiman) Franjieh, while stressing at the same time the importance of dialogue among the various forces and parties” in order to “elect a president as soon as possible.”

Heavy Israeli shelling and phosphorous bombs target Kfarkela in the South
LBCI/November 19, 2023
On Sunday, the Israeli army unleashed a barrage of heavy shelling, including the deployment of phosphorous bombs, targeting the town of Kfarkela in southern Lebanon.

Miraculous escape of mother and child in Kfarkela
LBCI/November 19, 2023
Israeli airstrike targets civilian car in Kfarkela as mother and child miraculously survive. In a harrowing incident in Kfarkela, a civilian car came under Israeli bombardment on the well-known Kfarkela highway, also known as the Wall Road. The area was subjected to shelling around 2:30 PM, dangerously close to the vehicle of Mrs. Sanaa Reslan and her son Hussein Al-Asmar, residents of Odeisseh. As the shells fell perilously near their car, Mrs. Sanaa made a swift decision to stop her vehicle and, with remarkable speed, disembarked along with her son. The artillery struck the car moments after their exit, resulting in its complete incineration. Miraculously, the mother and son escaped unharmed. Following the incident, they were promptly transported to the Marjaayoun Governmental Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Naim Qassem: Hezbollah remains on high alert and in constant readiness
LBCI/November 19, 2023
Hezbollah's Deputy Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, blamed the United States and Israel for the ongoing situation in Palestine. He asserted that the decision to carry out the genocide in Gaza was an American decision executed by Israeli hands. Qassem pointed out that the political and media coverage and the strategic planning are orchestrated directly by President Biden, with Israelis executing the plans. He emphasized that the current aggression is an American-Israeli joint endeavor, and the Israeli role is that of an executive tool. He stated that the situation poses a danger to humanity and must be confronted, stressing that the international community should not accept the unfolding events. During the speech, Qassem reassured that Hezbollah remains on high alert and in constant readiness. He affirmed their commitment to occupying and disturbing the enemy, causing losses, and preventing them from redirecting their full strength elsewhere. He reiterated that Hezbollah is prepared for any scenario and dismissed the threats made by the enemy, stating that their strength remains unwavering. Qassem questioned the international community's stance and denounced the lack of a neutral Security Council capable of managing the situation objectively. He criticized significant powers for their complicity in the humanitarian crisis and emphasized the need for resistance as the only viable solution. He stressed that Hezbollah is not up for negotiation and serves to protect Lebanon, its choices, and the region. In conclusion, Qassem stated that Hezbollah believes in the strength of resistance and will continue to arm itself and train for the sake of preserving Lebanon, its choices, and future generations. He also noted the right to protect their country and values through strength, affirming that they will face the enemy's power with their own and emerge victorious.

New day, new round of skirmishes on Lebanon-Israel border
Naharnet/November 19, 2023
Six missiles were fired Sunday from south Lebanon at Israel's northern Galilee region as an airstrike targeted Lebanon’s Aita al-Shaab and artillery shells hit at least 12 Lebanese southern border towns. Israel’s Channel 12 said the missiles fell in an open area in the Shlomi settlement and that no casualties were reported. Hezbollah meanwhile issued statements claiming responsibility for attacks on at least four Israeli border posts.Media reports later said that several drones had crossed from Lebanon into Israel. “A drone has been intercepted, a second returned to Lebanon while a third is being chased by the Israeli air force,” Al-Arabiya’s Al-Hadath channel said. The frontier between Lebanon and Israel has seen daily exchanges of fire since October 7 when unprecedented attacks on Israel by the Gaza-based Hamas sparked a devastating war. At least 90 people have been killed on the Lebanese side in cross-border skirmishes since last month, according to an AFP tally, most of them Hezbollah combatants but including at least 10 civilians. Six soldiers and three civilians have been killed on the Israeli side, according to authorities there.

Safieddine says Hezbollah to 'continue to put pressure' on Israel
Agence France Presse/November 19, 2023
While war continues in Gaza, "all resistance forces (including Hezbollah)... will continue to put pressure on Israel," senior Hezbollah official Sayyed Hashem Safieddine has said during a speech. "There is no question today of talking about a ceasefire on one front and not the other," he added. The frontier between Lebanon and Israel has seen daily exchanges of fire since October 7 when unprecedented attacks on Israel by the Gaza-based Hamas sparked a devastating war. At least 90 people have been killed on the Lebanese side in cross-border skirmishes since last month, according to an AFP tally, most of them Hezbollah combatants but including at least 10 civilians. Six soldiers and three civilians have been killed on the Israeli side, according to authorities there.

Lebanon's Palestinian refugees fear for their families in Gaza
Agence France Presse/November 19, 2023
In a ramshackle Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, Hayat Shehadeh wrings her hands as she watches the Israel-Hamas war. Her daughter is in Gaza, and she has not spoken to her for a week."I can't sleep. I get up at 3:00 am... I go to watch the television," said the 69-year-old from her dark flat in south Beirut's Burj al-Barajneh Palestinian camp. "Sometimes she writes to me, 'I'm fine'. She doesn't write more than that" because she has no way to recharge her phone battery, said the elderly woman, a baby grandchild playing with a Palestinian flag on the floor nearby.
Gaza-based Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing hundreds and taking about 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials. Israel has since carried out a relentless air and ground offensive in Gaza that has killed some 12,000 people, including thousands of women and children. With pain in her voice but trying to maintain her composure, Shehadeh said her daughter had separated her three children, sending them away with different relatives. "She was crying, she said 'I split up the kids'," her mother said, so that "if someone dies, they don't all die."The Burj al-Barajneh camp is a labyrinth of alleyways, some bearing pictures of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, or stencils and posters in support of Hamas and other Palestinian groups, some glorifying the October 7 attacks. Lebanon hosts an estimated 250,000 Palestinian refugees, many living in the country's 12 official camps, according to the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
'Dear to me' -
Shehadeh said her daughter, aged in her thirties, had been living in Lebanon in recent years but a few months ago "her husband came and took her" back to Gaza.
"She's moving around... I don't know what area she's in now," Shehadeh said, requesting the young woman not be identified by name. More than 1.5 million people have been internally displaced in Gaza, and U.N. agencies have warned of rapidly deteriorating conditions. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini has described children sheltering at a U.N. school "pleading for a sip of water or for a loaf of bread."On Friday, network provider Paltel group said communications with Gaza were severed due to a lack of fuel. Shehadeh's family came to Lebanon from the Acre area, now in northern Israel, survivors of what Palestinians call the Nakba, or the "catastrophe", when more than 760,000 Palestinians fled or were forced from their homes during Israel's creation. She said the family had feared for their lives, including after Jewish paramilitary groups massacred more than 100 Palestinian villagers at Deir Yassin, near Jerusalem, in April that year. The elderly woman said if she could talk to her daughter, she would tell her not to cry. "I want to tell her that her tears are dear to me," she said.
'Nothing left'
Beirut's dilapidated Burj al-Barajneh camp was partially destroyed in Israel's 1982 invasion of Beirut and during Lebanon's 15-year-long civil war, according to UNRWA.
In her small flat in the camp, Palestinian Fatima al-Ashwah, 61, is also glued to the television, praying her family members in Gaza are not among those being pulled dead from the rubble, or hoping to get a glimpse of them in footage of displaced people at shelters. Originally from Al-Kabri, now in northern Israel, Ashwah has some 70 extended family members in Gaza, including her cousins and their families, the eldest in their seventies, the youngest just one year old. They used to live in northern Gaza's Beit Hanoun, near the Erez crossing with Israel, Ashwah said, but now "their houses are all gone... because they're on the front lines. There's nothing left."Israel has for more than a month been calling on the population in northern Gaza to evacuate south as it pushes ahead with its war against Hamas. Ashwah's relatives have fled from place to place, with some now sheltering in schools near Gaza's southern Rafah crossing with Egypt.
She said sometimes she had been able to hear bombing during short telephone calls.
Her relatives have told her: "'We're hungry, we're afraid, the children are afraid, they're terrified'," she said. "The situation breaks your heart," she said. "I can't stand the sound of crying and screaming anymore." Fighting back tears, she recounted how she had visited Gaza in July, and how the family greeted her and another relative with drums and dancing in celebration at the Rafah crossing. "God willing it will be over and Gaza will go back to how it was before," she said.

Hizbullah Responds To Criticism Of Nasrallah's November 11 Speech By Releasing A Song Praising Him, Authored By His Son
MEMRI/November 19/ 2023
The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On November 12, Al-Khandiq, a news website linked to the Lebanese Hizbullah, posted a video on its Telegram[1] channel that featured a song glorifying Hizbullah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. The video follows his speech on the group's "Martyr's Day" in which he reiterated his support for Hamas and highlighted Hizbullah's participation in the war.[2]
Nasrallah faced harsh criticism by anti-Hizbullah Arab social media users who shared posts ridiculing his speech and Hizbullah's claimed attacks against Israel.
For example, one user posted on X (formerly Twitter) a cartoon suggesting that Hizbullah was using children as human shields.
Glorifying Nasrallah As "The Kindest"
The video featured a song, titled "The Kindest Among All People," which lasted four-minutes. Text stated that the lyrics were composed by Nasrallah's son, Jawad. The video features exclusive images of Nasrallah preparing for a speech, including combing his beard, drinking a glass of water, kissing the Quran, and smiling at the cameras.
Gathering Support For Nasrallah's Leadership
The video shows different segments of Hizbullah supporters, from elderly men and women gathering around radio and TV sets to listen to Nasrallah's speech, to children holding posters depicting his image, expressing their support of his leadership.
English Subtitles Accompany The Arabic-Language Song
In an attempt to familiarize Nasrallah to foreign audiences, the video featured English subtitles to translate the lyrics, which were in modern standard Arabic.
The song attempts to portray Nasrallah as a leader who enjoys the full support of Lebanese people.
Addressing Nasrallah, the lyrics read:
"If my fate were up to me, I'd give you my life willingly. All my though and all my poems, could never be enough to put into words the way I feel, to express my loyalty, O kindest one of people. O the melody of my soul, o my heart [please] convey to my father my secret. And to him proclaim that my heart does cherish, my soul adores his pure-white heart."
A bridge over a streetDescription automatically generated
A person drinking from a glassDescription automatically generated
A person with a beard and a black hat holding a combDescription automatically generated
A person with a beard and a black hatDescription automatically generated
[1] Telegram, November 12, 2023.
[2] See MEMRI JTTM report, Hizbullah Leader Hassan Nasrallah Praises Hamas Attack As Parallel To 1982 Tyre Suicide Operation In South Lebanon; Claims To Have Sent Drones Into North Israel, November 11, 2023.

Will an open strike take place on Monday at the RTA?
LBCI/November 19, 2023
Amidst reports of an announced open strike, according to LBCI's sources, it has been clarified that the strike at the Road and Transport Authority (RTA) will specifically involve permanent employees who have declared an open strike to demand improvements in their pensions. nThese employees receive their pensions from the budget of the Traffic Management Authority, which operates independently. Currently, permanent employees constitute 50% of the workforce at the RTA, totaling 56 across all departments (Dekwaneh, Sidon, Nabatieh, Tripoli), in addition to the "affiliated" employees from the Interior Ministry and the "reinforcement" personnel in the Internal Security Forces. As a result, the RTA's operations will not completely halt, and services to citizens will continue. However, the process is expected to experience delays due to the staff shortage.

Israel attacking Lebanon would be illogical, but don’t rule it out
Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib/Arab News/November 19, 2023
While people were scared that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah would announce a war when he spoke on Nov. 3, they were ultimately relieved by his statement, in which he indirectly said that he would not escalate. A week later, his position became even milder. However, the real threat of escalation comes from Israel, not Hezbollah. Lebanon represents a dilemma for Israel. On the one hand, it does not make sense to voluntarily open another front and dilute your firepower. On the other hand, Israel has a deep trust crisis with its own citizens, with 200,000 Israelis having left 105 communities in the north close to the Lebanese border and in the Gaza Envelope. This situation builds pressure on the Israeli government, as these people are residing in government-sponsored guest houses waiting for the military to give them assurances so that they can go back.
There are an estimated 100,000 Israelis who have left settlements in the north. They will not go back unless they are sure that what happened on Oct. 7 in the Gaza Envelope will not happen to them. But how can they be convinced to go back as long as Hezbollah is alive and kicking? Yoav Gallant, the defense minister, spoke of a preemptive strike and was shunned by the US. The Biden administration advised against adding to the front with Hamas by opening a new one with the much stronger Hezbollah. The US, which has a strong naval presence in both the Mediterranean and the Gulf, does not want to be dragged into a direct confrontation with Iran.
Israel is stuck between two hard choices. It needs to focus on Gaza. So far, the only “success” it can claim is in the record number of women and children killed. After two weeks of its ground campaign, it has been incapable of incapacitating Hamas. The hype about the “intelligence” that Al-Shifa Hospital was the headquarters of Hamas and the center of its web of tunnels has proven to be propaganda. The Israeli army could not find rockets or tunnels. They found fewer rifles than one can find hanging on the wall of any arms collector in Texas.
There is no way that Hamas has been operating from Al-Shifa. The myth has been debunked despite the media that is embedded with the Israel Defense Forces, which it uses to try and support its claim. The IDF has been posting and then removing videos, trying to find a credible argument to justify raiding a civilian hospital, which is a flagrant war crime. So far, the IDF has found no evidence to validate its claims. What an embarrassment for Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, whose popularity is dwindling and who faces criminal charges.
Gaza is still not a win Netanyahu can offer to his base, but he needs a win or at least the optics of a win.
Meanwhile, Hamas is still functional and rockets are still falling on Israel. Netanyahu has nothing to claim as a victory. None of the main Hamas leaders have been captured. In fact, Hamas seems to have the upper hand. Hamas’ leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar had the guts to cut ties with the Qatari mediators after the Israeli forces raided Al-Shifa. This will create further pressure on Netanyahu, as it will impede Israel’s ability to salvage anything on the hostages front.
Families of the captives last week started a march from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to demand the government put in more effort to secure their release. This is an additional pressure on Netanyahu. How can he secure their release without caving in to Hamas’ demands? So far, Israel has not been able to inflict any significant damage on the group’s capabilities. Gaza is still not a win Netanyahu can offer to his base, but he needs a win or at least the optics of a win.
He is desperate and desperate people take desperate measures. Though opening a second front is illogical, it might be the only thing Netanyahu can do at this time. At least he will appease the displaced Israelis from the north. If he succeeds in landing a blow on Hezbollah, this could be a win to promote to his people. There is UN Security Council Resolution 1701 that ended the 2006 aggression on Lebanon. The resolution called for “security arrangements to prevent the resumption of hostilities, including the establishment between the Blue Line and the Litani river of an area free of any armed personnel, assets and weapons other than those of the government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL (the UN Interim Force in Lebanon).” It also calls for the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon in accordance with the Taif Agreement. In the current circumstances, there is no way to apply the resolution or for Hezbollah to voluntarily abide by it. It will be like an admission of defeat facing Israel.
Gallant threatened to turn Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, into another Gaza. He is raising the stakes. Gallant is reiterating Hezbollah’s threat. Instead of the areas bordering Israel, he threatened to turn Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, into another Gaza. He is raising the stakes. The Americans are also passing on messages to the group, warning it not to escalate. Everyone is tense, Israel is cornered and it has the capabilities to strike.
Despite the pressure that the US is trying to impose on Israel to keep its response measured, Netanyahu has his neck on the line. He knows very well that President Joe Biden is not going to save him from prison. But he has confidence that pro-Israel groups in the US can pressure the administration and Israel can get away with whatever it wants. This has been tried and tested before. Netanyahu humiliated Barack Obama in front of the US Congress and received a standing ovation, so why should he not get away with a military campaign against Lebanon? It is a risk. Israel can destroy Beirut and destroy the group’s stronghold in Dahieh, in the suburbs of the capital, but it also knows that Hezbollah has precision-guided missiles. However, when one is desperate, one is more likely to take risks. Netanyahu is cornered and he knows he is on his way out. Two weeks ago, a poll showed that only 27 percent of Israelis believe that Netanyahu is the right person to run the government. Today, with the intelligence failure of Al-Shifa and no tangible results coming from the ground campaign, that figure is likely to be even lower. He needs an escape and has nothing to lose. In these circumstances, striking Lebanon could be a likely option.
• Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.

Titles For The Latest English LCCC Miscellaneous Reports And News published on November 19-20/2023
Israel says 55-metre fortified tunnel found under Gaza's Shifa hospital
JERUSALEM (Reuters)/November 19, 2023
Israel published video on Sunday of what it described as a tunnel dug by Palestinian militants under the Gaza Strip's biggest hospital, a focus of its search-and-destroy missions against Hamas in a war now in its seventh week. While acknowledging that it has a network of hundreds of kilometres of secret tunnels, bunkers and access shafts throughout the Palestinian enclave, Hamas has denied that these are located in civilian infrastructure like hospitals. In an update on operations in Gaza City's Al Shifa Hospital, the Israeli military said its engineers had uncovered a tunnel 10 metres deep and running 55 metres to a blast-proof door. "This type of door is used by the Hamas terrorist organisation to block Israeli forces from entering the command centres and the underground assets belonging to Hamas," said a military statement accompanied by video showing a narrow passage with arched concrete roofing, ending at a grey door.
The statement did not say what was beyond the door. The tunnel had been accessed through a shaft discovered in a shed within the Shifa compound that contained munitions, it said.

Gaza's death toll from the Israeli bombing hits 13,000
AFP/November 19, 2023
The Hamas government announced on Sunday that the continuous Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of the war on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 13,000 people. Among the casualties documented so far are over 5,500 children and 3,500 women, according to the same source. Additionally, 30,000 people have been reported injured, with this figure remaining unchanged since Saturday.

Houthi spokesman: We will continue to operate against Israel until end of 'aggression'
LBCI/November 19, 2023
Yemen's Ansar Allah (Houthi) military spokesman confirmed on Sunday that its forces seized what it said was an Israeli ship in the Red Sea and took it to shore along with its crew. "We are treating the crew in accordance with Islamic norms and principles," he said. The spokesman warned that "any ship belonging to Israel or supports it" will be a legitimate target for Houthi forces. "We confirm our continuation of military operations against Israel until the aggression against Gaza stops," the spokesman said.

Yemen's Houthi rebels hijack an Israeli-linked ship in the Red Sea and take 25 crew members hostage
JERUSALEM (AP)/November 19, 2023
Yemen's Houthi rebels seizef an Israeli-linked cargo ship in a crucial Red Sea shipping route on Sunday, officials said, taking over two dozen crew members hostage and raising fears that regional tensions heightened over the Israel-Hamas war were playing out on a new maritime front. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they hijacked the ship over its connection to Israel and took the crew as hostages. The group warned that it would continue to target ships in international waters that were linked to or owned by Israelis until the end of Israel's campaign against Gaza's Hamas rulers.“All ships belonging to the Israeli enemy or that deal with it will become legitimate targets,” the Houthis said.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office had blamed the Houthis for the attack on the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier affiliated with an Israeli billionaire. It said the 25 crew members had a range of nationalities, including Bulgarian, Filipino, Mexican and Ukrainian, but that no Israelis had been on board. The Houthis said they were treating the crew members “in accordance with their Islamic values,” but did not elaborate on what that meant.
Netanyahu's office condemned the seizure as an “Iranian act of terror." The Israeli military called the hijacking a “very grave incident of global consequence." Israeli officials insisted the ship was British-owned and Japanese-operated. However, ownership details in public shipping databases associated the ship’s owners with Ray Car Carriers, which was founded by Abraham “Rami” Ungar, who is known as one of the richest men in Israel. Ungar told The Associated Press he was aware of the incident but couldn’t comment as he awaited details. A ship linked to him experienced an explosion in 2021 in the Gulf of Oman. Israeli media blamed it on Iran at the time. The complex world of international shipping often involves a series of management companies, flags and owners stretching across the globe in a single vessel. Two U.S. defense officials confirmed that Houthi rebels seized the Galaxy Leader in the Red Sea on Sunday afternoon local time. The rebels descended on the cargo ship by repelling down from a helicopter, the officials said, confirming details first reported by NBC News. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.Twice in the last month, U.S. warships have intercepted missiles or drones from Yemen that were believed to be headed toward Israel or posing a threat to the American vessels. The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer, intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces toward the northern Red Sea last month.On Nov. 15 the USS Thomas Hudner, another destroyer, was sailing toward the Bab-el-Mandeb strait when the crew saw a drone, reported to have originated in Yemen. The ship shot down the drone over the water. The officials said the crew took action to ensure the safety of U.S. personnel, and there were no casualties or damage to the ship.
Satellite tracking data from MarineTraffic.com analyzed by the AP showed the Galaxy Leader traveling in the Red Sea southwest of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, more than a day ago. The vessel had been in Korfez, Turkey, and was on its way to Pipavav, India, at the time of the seizure reported by Israel.
It had its Automatic Identification System tracker, or AIS, switched off, the data showed. Ships are supposed to keep their AIS active for safety reasons, but crews will turn them off if it appears they might be targeted or to smuggle contraband, which there was no immediate evidence to suggest was the case with the Galaxy Leader.The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which provides warnings to sailors in the Persian Gulf and the wider region, put the hijacking as having occurred some 150 kilometers (90 miles) off the coast of Yemen’s port city of Hodeida, near the coast of Eritrea.
The Red Sea, stretching from Egypt’s Suez Canal to the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait separating the Arabian Peninsula from Africa, remains a key trade route for global shipping and energy supplies. That’s why the U.S. Navy has stationed multiple ships in the sea since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7.Since 2019, a series of ships have come under attack at sea as Iran began breaking all the limits of its tattered nuclear deal with world powers. As Israel expands its devastating campaign against Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip following the militant group's unprecedented attack on southern Israel, fears have grown that the military operations could escalate into a wider regional conflict. The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to target Israeli ships in the waters off Yemen.

Israel's target to dismantle Hamas leadership: Who are Hamas' key figures?
LBCI/November 19, 2023
After the "Al-Aqsa Flood Operation," Israel has outlined its primary objective: to eliminate Hamas and dismantle its military infrastructure.
As the military wing of the movement that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, prominent leaders are under Israel's scrutiny, and the focus is on the second generation after Israel assassinated most leaders of the first generation.
Mohammed Deif:
Mohammed Deif, Hamas's shadow strategist
Known by his real name, Mohammed al-Masri, he was the first to announce the start of the "Al-Aqsa Flood Operation" as the overall commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. Deif is an expert in tunnel construction and has survived multiple Israeli assassination attempts, earning him the nickname "The Cat with Nine Lives." After assuming leadership in 2002, he suffered a paralysis-inducing assassination attempt.
Marwan Issa:
From a standout basketball player to the second-in-command in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Marwan Issa earned the nickname "Palestinian Commando."
He played a crucial role in developing military systems and planning assaults, from the 2012 "Operation Pillar of Defense" to the recent "Al-Aqsa Flood Operation" in 2023. Described as a man of action, he is brilliant and able to "turn plastic into metal."
Yahya Sinwar:
Who is Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' leader in Gaza being hunted by Israel?
Not just the political head of Hamas in Gaza but also the mastermind behind the October 7 attack, according to Israel. Sinwar was imprisoned in Israel in the late '80s and was released as part of a prisoner exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Sinwar continues to play with the nerves of Israelis, recently stalling the prisoner exchange file, demanding a halt to the incursion into the Al-Shifa Hospital.
On both military and political fronts, Israel sees no distinction within Hamas, according to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who stated, "There is no difference between a terrorist carrying a Kalashnikov and a terrorist in an official suit."So, who are the prominent political leaders of Hamas?
Ismail Haniyeh:
Ismail Haniya re-elected as leader of Palestinian group Hamas | Gaza News | Al Jazeera
The head of the political bureau of the Hamas movement has been residing in exile between Qatar and Turkey since 2019.
Khaled Mashal:
Former Hamas leader discusses missile attacks,... | Rudaw.net
One of the founders of Hamas in 1986 and has been the head of the movement's political bureau abroad since 2017.After 44 days of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, the question arises: Will Israel succeed in eliminating Hamas with its leaders and members?
If it does, without a political solution to restore Palestinian rights, does it ensure the prevention of the emergence of more Hamas in the future and the avoidance of a third generation?

Israel ‘hopeful’ significant number of hostages could be freed, ambassador says
Reuters/November 19, 2023
WASHINGTON: Israel is hopeful that a significant number of hostages could be released by Hamas “in coming days,” Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog said in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “I’m hopeful we can have a deal in the coming days,” Herzog said.
Hamas took about 240 hostages during its cross-border rampage into Israeli communities on Oct. 7, which prompted Israel to lay siege to Gaza and invade the Palestinian territory. A deal to secure the release of some of the hostages held in Gaza is closer than ever, a White House official said on Sunday.
White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer said an agreement to free “considerably more than 12” hostages would also likely include an extended pause in the fighting and allow for the distribution of humanitarian assistance in Gaza. Fighting raged on Sunday, with Hamas battling Israeli forces trying to push into Gaza’s largest refugee camp, the day after Israeli and US officials denied a Washington Post report that a deal had been reached. “What I can say at this point is that some of the outstanding areas of disagreement, in a very complicated, very sensitive negotiation, have been narrowed,” Finer told NBC’s “Meet the Press” program. “I believe we are closer than we have been in quite some time, maybe closer than we have been since the beginning of this process, to getting this deal done,” he added. But Finer cautioned: “Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. Sensitive negotiations like this can fall apart at the last minute.”“We’re talking about considerably more than 12 (hostages),” Finer told NBC. “This could and would likely include an extended period of a pause in the fighting, a multiple-day period,” he added. “It would enable us, we believe, to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza. That’s a priority under any circumstances.” Finer also said Israel should not conduct combat operations against Hamas in the south of Gaza until military planners have taken into account the safety of fleeing Palestinian civilians. “In the event that Israel is likely to embark on combat operations, including in the south, we believe ... that they have the right to do that,” Finer told CBS’ Face the Nation program in a separate interview. until those additional civilians, have been accounted for in their military planning,” he said. Israel’s blitz has reduced swaths of the north to rubble, while some two-thirds of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been displaced to the south. Finer urged Israel to draw lessons from its military operations in the north of Gaza and provide enhanced protections for civilians by narrowing the area of active combat and by specifying where civilians can seek refuge.
On Saturday, Israel warned civilians in parts of southern Gaza to relocate as it girds for an offensive from the north.

Qatar Prime Minister says ‘minor’ challenges remain to Israel-Hamas hostage deal
Reuters/November 19, 2023
DOHA: Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Sunday he had growing confidence that a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas would be reached, adding challenges that remained were “very minor.”
“The challenges facing the agreement are just practical and logistical,” Sheikh Mohammed said at a joint press conference with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Doha. His comments followed a Washington Post report, citing people familiar with the deal, claiming that Israel, the United States and Hamas militants had reached a tentative agreement to free dozens of women and children held hostage in Gaza in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US officials said no deal had been reached yet. “The efforts are still ongoing ... and we communicate with both parties, whether it’s with the Israelis or with Hamas, and we see there is a good progress especially happened in the last few days,” said Sheikh Mohammed. “The deal is going through ups and downs from time to time throughout the last few weeks. But I think that you know I’m now more confident that we are close enough to reach a deal that can bring the people safely back to their home.” The hostage release could begin within the next several days, barring last-minute hitches, according to people familiar with the detailed, six-page agreement, the paper said on Saturday. The report comes as Israel appears to be preparing to expand its offensive against Hamas militants to southern Gaza after air strikes killed dozens of Palestinians, including civilians reported to be sheltering at two schools.
Under the agreement, all parties would freeze combat operations for at least five days while 50 or more hostages are released in groups every 24 hours, the Post reported. Hamas took about 240 hostages during its Oct. 7 rampage inside Israel that killed 1,200 people. The pause also is intended to allow a significant amount of humanitarian aid in, the newspaper said, adding the outline for the deal was put together during weeks of talks in Qatar.

Israel says soldier executed, foreign hostages held at Gaza’s Shifa hospital
Reuters/November 20, 2023
JERUSALEM: Israel stepped up accusations of Hamas abuses at the Gaza Strip’s biggest hospital on Sunday, saying a captive soldier had been executed and two foreign hostages held at a site that has been a focus of its devastating six-week-old offensive. At one point a shelter for tens of thousands of Palestinian war refugees, Al Shifa Hospital has been evacuating patients and staff since Israeli troops swept in last week on what they called a mission to root out hidden Hamas facilities. Israel is also searching for some 240 people Hamas kidnapped to Gaza after an Oct. 7 cross-border assault that sparked the war.
One of these was a 19-year-old Israeli army conscript, Noa Marciano, whose body was recovered near Shifa last week. Hamas said she died in an Israeli air strike and issued a video that appeared to show her corpse, unmarked except for a head wound. The Israeli military said a forensic examination found she had sustained non-life-threatening injuries from such a strike. “According to intelligence information — solid intelligence information — Noa was taken by Hamas terrorists inside the walls of Shifa hospital. There, she was murdered by a Hamas terrorist,” chief spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said.
He did not elaborate. In his televised briefing, Hagari said Hamas gunmen had also brought a Nepalese and a Thai, among foreign workers seized in the Oct. 7 raid, to Shifa. He did not name the two hostages. CCTV video aired by Hagari appeared to show a group of men frog-marching an individual into a hospital, to the surprise of medical staff. A second clip showed an injured man on a gurney. Another man nearby, in civilian clothes, had an assault rifle. Hamas did not immediately comment on Hagari’s statements. The Palestinian Islamist group, which runs Gaza, has previously said it took some hostages to hospitals for treatment. Separately on Sunday, the Israeli military published video of what it described as a tunnel, running 55 meters in length and dug by Palestinians 10 meters under the Shifa compound. While acknowledging that it has a network of hundreds of kilometers of secret tunnels, bunkers and access shafts throughout the Palestinian enclave, Hamas has denied that these are located in civilian infrastructure like hospitals. The video showed a narrow passage with arched concrete roofing, ending at what the military, in a statement, described as a blast-proof door. The statement did not say what might be beyond the door. The tunnel had been accessed through a shaft discovered in a shed within the Shifa compound that contained munitions, it said. A second video showed an outdoor shaft-opening in the compound. Mounir El Barsh, the Gaza health ministry director, dismissed the Israeli statement on the tunnel as a “pure lie.”“They have been at the hospital for eight days ... and yet they haven’t found anything,” he told Al Jazeera television.

U.N.: More than 200 Palestinians killed in West Bank
Adam Schrader/United Press International/November 19, 2023
More than 200 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 7, a United Nations agency said Saturday, raising alarms about Israel's military campaign. The Israel Defense Forces has framed its operations since the attack by Hamas as a campaign against the Palestinian militia, which it considers to be a terrorist organization. However, Hamas primarily operates out of Gaza and not the West Bank, drawing attention online to the scope of Israel's response. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a statement that 198 Palestinians, including 52 children, have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank while another eight, including one child, were killed by illegal Israeli settlers. The agency said about 66% of those were killed in Israeli search-and-arrest operations, primarily in the Jenin and Tulkarm governorates. Another 24% were killed in protests supporting Gaza, while 7% were killed allegedly attacking Israeli forces and the illegal settlers. The IDF and the Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet have claimed that at least some of those killed were "terrorists" who were planning "imminent" attacks. Israeli civilians and the IDF have killed a total of 439 Palestinians in the West Bank this year, the agency said. Meanwhile, more than 11,000 people have been killed by the IDF in Gaza. President Joe Biden is considering a visa ban against Israelis who have illegally settled in the West Bank, calling them "extremists attacking civilians.""I have been emphatic with Israel's leaders that extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank must stop and that those committing the violence must be held accountable," Biden wrote in the Washington Post. "The United States is prepared to take our own steps, including issuing visa bans against extremists attacking civilians in the West Bank."

Macron tells Netanyahu ‘too many civilian losses’ in Gaza
AFP/November 20, 2023
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu there were “too many civilian losses” in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, his office said Sunday. Israel has vowed to destroy the Palestinian militant group after it carried out the deadliest attack in the country’s history on October 7.About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel during the attack and around 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. The retaliatory Israeli air and ground campaign has killed 13,000 people in Gaza, mainly civilians and including thousands of children, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. Macron, whose country is a firm ally of Israel, reminded Netanyahu of the “absolute necessity to distinguish terrorists from the population” and “the importance of achieving an immediate humanitarian truce leading to a cease-fire.”Macron also condemned violence against Palestinian civilians in the West Bank in a conversation with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, the French presidency said. The French leader told Netanyahu about his “great concern over the escalation in violence against Palestinian civilians” in the West Bank and called for calm.
Macron also told Abbas of “the need for the Palestinian Authority and all countries in the region to unequivocally and with the greatest firmness condemn the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas in Israel on October 7.”Israeli troops and settlers have killed more than 200 Palestinians in the West Bank since the war began, according to the health ministry in Ramallah. Earlier on Sunday, Macron’s office announced that France was preparing to send a helicopter carrier to the eastern Mediterranean to offer medical assistance in Gaza.

The mystery of October 7: New details surface in the wake of Gaza ground assault
LBCI/November 20, 2023
What exactly happened on the first day of the "Al-Aqsa Flood Operation" on October 7? Questions linger about the events that unfolded on the day of the Universo Paralelo – Tribe of Nova music festival near Kibbutz Re'im. A shocking revelation published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, based on preliminary police investigations, sheds new light on the incident. On October 7, fighters from the Qassam Brigades aimed to enter Kibbutz Re'im, neighboring kibbutzim, and military installations in the Gaza Envelope. Unaware of the music festival attended by 4,400 people of Israeli and foreign nationalities, the Qassam fighters seized control of a facility known as the Gaza Division, operating under the Southern Military Zone and based in the Re'im base. Its mission is to guard the borders adjacent to the Gaza Strip. After gaining control, Israeli soldiers and officers in the Gaza Envelope lost communication. Simultaneously, Qassam fighters infiltrated kibbutzim and Israeli towns. Discovering the music festival through drones and paratroopers, Hamas directed fighters to the site using their communication systems. Some fighters entered from the direction of Route 232 within the Gaza Envelope, not from the separation barrier between the Strip and the Gaza Envelope. Sirens blared, and the Israeli side gradually realized the situation in settlements, military bases, and the festival venue. An Israeli army helicopter departed from the "Ramat David" base in northern Israel, firing at the festival location to target Qassam fighters but inadvertently hitting several attendees. According to Israeli police, approximately 364 people were killed at the festival, while others managed to escape. The festival, initially scheduled for Thursday and Friday, was approved by the Israeli army to be held on Saturday at the organizers' request, strengthening the assumption that Hamas was unaware of it. This new Israeli narrative is the result of investigations with several Al-Qassam fighters, who were arrested during the operation, and Israeli security officials. This new Israeli narrative stems from interrogations with captured Qassam fighters and Israeli security officials, challenging the initial Israeli account of the "Al-Aqsa Flood Operation" that claimed hundreds of participants in the festival were killed by Hamas.

31 premature babies are evacuated from Gaza’s largest hospital, but scores of trauma patients remain
AP/November 19, 2023
25 of Gaza’s hospitals aren’t functioning due to lack of fuel, damage and other problems
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip: Health officials said 31 premature babies in “extremely critical condition” were transferred safely Sunday from Gaza’s main hospital and will go to Egypt, while over 250 patients with severely infected wounds and other urgent conditions remained stranded days after Israeli forces entered the compound to look for Hamas operations there.The newborns from Shifa Hospital, where power was cut and supplies ran out while Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants outside, were receiving urgent care in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. They had dehydration, hypothermia and sepsis in some cases, said Mohamed Zaqout, director of Gaza hospitals. Four other babies died in the two days before the evacuation, he said. A World Health Organization team that visited Shifa for an hour Saturday said hospital corridors were filled with medical and solid waste, increasing the risk of infection for patients who were “terrified for their safety and health, and pleaded for evacuation.” Twenty-five staff stayed behind. The UN agency said the vast majority of patients had amputations or burns, and many wounds were severely infected, with antibiotics unavailable. Missions were being planned to evacuate the remaining people to southern Gaza in the next 24-72 hours, “pending guarantees of safe passage,” the WHO said. Later Sunday, Israel’s army said it had strong evidence supporting its claims that Hamas maintains a sprawling command post inside and under Shifa. Israel has portrayed the hospital as a key target in its war to end Hamas’ rule in Gaza following the militant group’s wide-ranging attack into southern Israel six weeks ago. The army said it found a 55-meter (60-yard) tunnel about 10 meters under the hospital’s 20-acre complex, which includes several buildings, garages and a plaza. It said the tunnel included a staircase, blast-proof door and a firing hole that could be used by snipers. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify Israel’s findings, which also included a pair of security camera videos showing what the military said were two foreign hostages, one Thai and one Nepalese, taken to the hospital following the Oct. 7 attack. The army also said an independent medical report had determined that a female Israeli soldier, Cpl. Noa Marciano, whose body was recovered in Gaza last week, had been killed by Hamas inside the hospital.Hamas and hospital staff earlier denied the allegations of a command post under Shifa. Critics describe the hospital as a symbol of what they call Israel’s reckless endangerment of civilians. Thousands in Gaza have been killed in Israeli strikes, and there are severe shortages of food, water, medicine and fuel in the besieged territory.Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan dismissed the Israeli military’s announcement and didn’t deny that Gaza has hundreds of kilometers of tunnels. However, he said, “the Israelis said there was a command and control center, which means that the matter is greater than just a tunnel.”
SHIP SEIZED
Israel’s military said Yemen-based Houthi rebels had seized a cargo ship in the southern Red Sea sailing from Turkiye to India but said no Israelis were aboard and that it wasn’t an Israeli ship.The Houthis said they had seized an Israeli ship and crew and took the vessel to the Yemeni coast but gave no details, other than to say it was treating the captives “in accordance with the teaching and values of our Islamic religion.” The Iranian-backed group had threatened to target Israel-linked vessels in the Red Sea.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office blamed the Houthis for the attack on the Bahamas-flagged Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier affiliated with an Israeli billionaire.
HEAVY FIGHTING IN THE NORTH
Heavy clashes were reported in the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza. “There was the constant sound of gunfire and tank shelling,” Yassin Sharif, who is sheltering in a UN-run hospital there, said by phone. The commissioner-general of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said 24 people were killed the day before in what witnesses described as an Israeli airstrike on a school in a crowded UN shelter in Jabaliya. The Israeli military, which has repeatedly called on Palestinians to leave northern Gaza, said only that its troops were active in the area “with the aim of hitting terrorists.”“This war is having a staggering and unacceptable number of civilian casualties, including women and children, every day. This must stop,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement on that strike and another on a UN-run school within 24 hours. More than 11,500 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities. A further 2,700 have been reported missing, believed buried in rubble. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants; Israel says it has killed thousands of militants.
HOSTAGE NEGOTIATIONS
About 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during the Oct. 7 attack, in which Hamas dragged some 240 captives back into Gaza and shattered Israel’s sense of security. The military says 63 Israeli soldiers have been killed, including 12 over the past 24 hours. Hamas has released four hostages, Israel has rescued one, and the bodies of two were found near Shifa where there had been heavy fighting. Israel, the United States and the Arabian Gulf nation of Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, have been negotiating a hostage release for weeks. “We are hopeful that we can get a significant number of hostages freed in the coming days,” Israel’s ambassador to the US, Michael Herzog, told ABC’s “This Week.” He added, “We’re talking about a pause in the fighting for a few days, so we can get the hostages out.”
Qatar’s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said Sunday the “the sticking points, honestly, at this stage are more practical, logistical.”
WINTER ARRIVING
More than two-thirds of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have fled their homes. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, is struggling to provide basic services to hundreds of thousands of displaced people. Seventeen of its facilities have been directly hit, the agency said. Their misery has worsened in recent days with the arrival of winter, with cold winds and driving rain. Over the weekend, Israel allowed UNRWA to import enough fuel to continue humanitarian operations for another couple of days, and to keep Internet and telephone systems running. Israel cut off all fuel imports at the start of the war, causing Gaza’s sole power plant and most water treatment systems to shut down.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Saturday gave the clearest indication yet that the military plans to expand its offensive to the south, where Israel has told Palestinian civilians to seek refuge. Israel has repeatedly struck what it says are militant targets across the south, often killing civilians. The evacuation zone is already crammed with displaced civilians, and it was not clear where they would go if the offensive moved closer. Egypt has refused to accept any influx of Palestinian refugees, in part because of fears that Israel would not allow them to return. Palestinian-Canadian Khalil Manaa, 71, left Gaza for Egypt on Sunday. After fleeing to southern Gaza, he said he and relatives shared a crammed home of 40 people. “And there, we also were subjected to intense strikes. … A rocket hit our house,” he said.

32 babies among scores of critically ill patients stranded in Gaza's main hospital
Associated Press/November 19, 2023
A United Nations team said Sunday that 291 patients were left at Gaza's largest hospital after Israeli troops had others evacuate. Those left included 32 babies in extremely critical condition, trauma patients with severely infected wounds, and others with spinal injuries who are unable to move. The team was able to tour Shifa Hospital for an hour after about 2,500 displaced people, mobile patients and medical staff left the sprawling compound Saturday morning, said the World Health Organization, which led the mission. It said 25 medical staff remained, along with the patients.
"Patients and health staff with whom they spoke were terrified for their safety and health, and pleaded for evacuation," the agency said, describing Shifa as a death zone. It said more teams will attempt to reach Shifa in coming days to try to the evacuate patients to southern Gaza, where hospitals are also overwhelmed. Israel has long alleged that Hamas maintains a sprawling command post inside and under Shifa. It has portrayed the hospital as a key target in its war to end the militants' rule in Gaza following their wide-ranging attack into southern Israel six weeks ago, which triggered the war.
Hamas and hospital staff deny the allegations. Israeli troops who have been based at the hospital and searching its grounds for days say they have found guns and other weapons, and showed reporters the entrance to a tunnel shaft. The AP couldn't independently verify Israel's findings. Saturday's mass departure was portrayed by Israel as voluntary, but the WHO said the military had issued evacuation orders, and some of those who left described it as a forced exodus. "We left at gunpoint," Mahmoud Abu Auf told The Associated Press by phone after he and his family left the crowded hospital. He said he saw Israeli troops detain three men. Elsewhere in northern Gaza, dozens of people were killed in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp when what witnesses described as an Israeli airstrike hit a crowded U.N. shelter Saturday.
"The scenes were horrifying. Corpses of women and children were on the ground. Others were screaming for help," Radwan said by phone. AP photos from a local hospital showed more than 20 bodies wrapped in bloodstained sheets.
The Israeli military, which has repeatedly called on Palestinians to leave northern Gaza, said only that its troops were active in the area "with the aim of hitting terrorists." It rarely comments on individual strikes, saying only that it targets Hamas while trying to minimize civilian harm. Heavy clashes were reported in the Jabaliya camp overnight into Sunday. "There was the constant sound of fire, gunfire and tank shelling," Yassin Sharif, who is sheltering in a U.N.-run hospital in the camp, said by phone. "It was another night of horror." In southern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit a residential building near the town of Khan Younis on Saturday, killing at least 26 Palestinians, according to a doctor at the hospital where the bodies were taken. Doctors Without Borders, an international aid group, said a convoy of staff members and their families tried to evacuate northern Gaza in a clearly marked convoy on Saturday but turned back after shots rang out at a crowded Israeli checkpoint. On their way back to Gaza City, the convoy was attacked and a staffer's family member was killed, it said. It was not immediately clear who attacked the convoy. More than 11,500 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities. Another 2,700 have been reported missing, believed buried under rubble. The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants; Israel says it has killed thousands of militants.
Around 1,200 people have been allegedly killed on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, in which the group also dragged some 240 captives back into Gaza. The military says 52 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Hamas has released four hostages, Israel has rescued one, and the bodies of two hostages were found near Shifa in an area where there had been heavy fighting. Israel, the United States and the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar, which mediates with Hamas, have been negotiating over a hostage release for weeks. On Saturday, a senior White House official suggested it would need to be completed before the entry of large amounts of desperately needed aid. "A release of large number of hostages would result in a significant pause in fighting … and a massive surge of humanitarian relief," Brett McGurk, the White House's National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East, said at a conference in Bahrain. More than two-thirds of Gaza's population of 2.3 million have fled their homes. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, is providing basic services to hundreds of thousands of people sheltering in schools and other facilities.
Over the weekend, Israel allowed UNRWA to import enough fuel to continue humanitarian operations for another couple of days, and to keep internet and telephone systems running. UNRWA had been forced to put aid operations on hold Friday during a communications blackout.
Israel cut off all fuel imports at the start of the war, causing Gaza's sole power plant and most water treatment systems to shut down, leaving most residents without electricity or running water. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Saturday that Israel's forces were expanding operations in Gaza City. "With every passing day, there are fewer places where Hamas terrorists can operate," he said, adding that the militants would learn that in southern Gaza "in the coming days." His comments were the clearest indication yet that the military plans to expand its offensive to southern Gaza, where Israel had told Palestinian civilians to seek refuge. The evacuation zone is already crammed with displaced civilians, and it was not clear where they would go if the offensive moved closer. Even as it warns of a broadening offensive, Israel remains at odds with its main ally, the United States, over what to do with Gaza should it succeed in removing Hamas from power. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that the Israeli military would have "full freedom" to operate within Gaza after the war, indicating it would at least temporarily reoccupy the territory from which it withdrew soldiers and settlers in 2005. In an op-ed published Saturday in The Washington Post, U.S. President Joe Biden said Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited and governed under a "revitalized Palestinian Authority" while world leaders work toward a solution that would create a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Netanyahu's government is strongly opposed to Palestinian statehood.

Iran claims a new ballistic missile can travel at hypersonic speeds
euronews /November 19, 2023
Iran has unveiled the Fattah-2, a new Iranian-produced ballistic missile which it claims can travel at hypersonic speeds.

Egypt’s FM, Arab ministers embark on foreign tour to end war in Gaza
Arab News/November 19, 2023
CAIRO: Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is embarking on a tour of the capitals of several permanent members of the UN Security Council. The foreign ministers of a committee set up during the recent Arab Islamic Extraordinary Summit will join him on the trip. Ahmed Abu Zeid, spokesperson for Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Shoukry’s tour sought to advance the process of stopping the war in the Gaza Strip and to deal with the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in besieged Palestinian territory. He said the foreign ministers would meet political leaders and key ministers. The ministry said the tour would promote the need for an immediate ceasefire and ensure the supply of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. It highlighted the need to address the root causes of the crisis and establish an independent Palestinian state through a political process.
Meanwhile, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit this week met several Arab and foreign officials in Bahrain on the sidelines of the annual IISS Manama Dialogue security conference. He discussed several matters with Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al-Zayani, most notably the moves being made to stop the aggression against Gaza in light of the decisions of the Arab-Islamic summit held on Nov. 11, and the preparations for the next Arab summit, which Bahrain will host. Aboul Gheit also met Lord Tariq Ahmad, the UK’s minister of state for the Middle East, to discuss the situation in Gaza. He said the continuing war “was the result of the policies of some countries that were quick to give Israel a blank check to exercise revenge and that Israel exploited this license in a brutal way that became rejected by the entire world.”Aboul Gheit also spoke to Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy. The secretary-general warned of the highly negative consequences of the spread of anger and hatred in the Middle East, especially in light of the biased positions of many Western countries and governments in supporting Israel in its “brutal, immoral and lawless aggression, which reflects a blatant pattern of double standards.” He also briefed Borrell on the Arab approach to ending the conflict and working to find a permanent solution to the Palestinian issue in accordance with the vision of the two states. Aboul Gheit highlighted the dangers of all forms of displacement, exile and deportation, which is a red line for Arab nations. He also spoke to Armenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan about the latest developments in Gaza and the dangers of continuing the war.

Three more journalists killed in Gaza in Israeli offensive, relatives say
Reuters/November 20, 2023
GAZA: The head of a prominent media institution in Gaza and two other journalists were killed during the weekend in Israel’s offensive in the territory, their relatives said on Sunday, adding to the dozens of reporters who have died in the six-week conflict. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said the weekend deaths raised to 48 the number of journalists and media workers it had confirmed killed in the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli offensive. The CPJ, whose list covers journalists killed on both sides of the conflict although most have been in Gaza, said it seeks at least two sources to verify each death. It said its list of those killed comprised 43 Palestinians, four Israelis and one Lebanese. “Journalists across the region are making great sacrifices to cover this heart-breaking conflict. Those in Gaza, in particular, have paid, and continue to pay, an unprecedented toll and face exponential threats,” Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, said in an email to Reuters. On Sunday, Belal Jadallah, a journalist and head of the board of the Press House-Palestine, a non-governmental organization, was killed and his pharmacist brother-in-law was seriously wounded, his sister and other relatives told Reuters. Jadallah told his sister earlier on Sunday he was heading out of Gaza City toward the south. He was killed in the Zeitoun area of Gaza City, said his sister, who added that people who found him and took him to a medical center where he was declared dead said he had been killed by an Israeli tank shell. Reuters could not independently verify this report or the report of the other two journalists killed this weekend. Four of Jadallah’s relatives work for Reuters in Gaza or abroad. One of the journalists on CPJ’s list of those killed is Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah who was killed in Lebanon near the border with Israel on Oct. 13. In addition to Jadallah, two freelance journalists — Hassouna Sleem and Sary Mansour — were killed on Saturday in an Israeli assault on Bureij refugee camp, in the center of the Gaza Strip, their relatives and Palestinian health officials said. The health officials said 17 people died in the incident. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the deaths of Jadallah or the others. In the past, the Israeli military has said it was pursuing its offensive to dismantle Hamas after the Oct. 7 attack and it would look into individual cases at a later date. It has also said it makes every feasible effort to mitigate civilian harm. The Press House-Palestine says on its website that its overall objective is to contribute to developing an “independent Palestinian media, that reflects the values of democracy and freedom of expression and its principles.”

Montrealers demand ceasefire in Gaza outside Israeli Consulate
CBC/November 19, 2023
As the death toll in Gaza continues to rise, Montrealers marched from Dorchester Square to the Israeli Consulate downtown to once again call for a ceasefire Saturday. The protesters say the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is getting worse each day, pointing to hospitals running out of supplies and communications being cut off.  Nasser Najjar's family is still in Gaza, and he says he sees his friends' obituaries on social media daily. "My home has been destroyed … It's beyond imagination, you wake up every morning to check if you received a text from loved ones and family," he said.
"This is the place where I was born, raised and made memories. It's the place where I studied, where I fell in love, where I enjoyed making friends and growing."Najjar says his uncle in Gaza has taken in 25 people, mostly seniors and children, while his cousin scavenges for any food they can find. His parents and sisters have had to move several times over the last month, he said. "Almost every house they've been to has been demolished and destroyed," said Najjar. "Sometimes they're lucky to have onions and carrots to feed on, sometimes they might find cans of tuna and they divide it once per day and that's the nutrition that they're having. They've been drinking sewage water for the last three weeks." Amid six weeks of Israeli airstrikes, an estimated 1.6 million Gazans have been displaced from their homes, according to United Nations data. According the the Health Ministry in Gaza, over 12,300 people have died.
The fighting erupted when Hamas launched a series of attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7. The Israeli government says some 1,200 people died in the violence and 240 people were taken hostage. Suzanne Obeid, who says her Palestinian parents were pushed out of their homes in 1948, says the destruction she's seeing in Gaza "is a nightmare." She says Canada must call for a ceasefire now, adding Palestinians need humanitarian aid immediately. "These massacres have to stop," she said.
"I don't sleep, I cry every morning and during the day. I don't understand how the world is unable to stop this."A large protest is scheduled to take place on Ottawa's Parliament Hill next weekend, including a Montreal contingent, said Sarah Shamy of the Palestinian Youth Movement. She says the protests will continue until a ceasefire is called, the siege on Gaza is lifted and Canada places an arms embargo on Israel. "The more that our political leaders ignore us, the more we make it impossible for them to ignore us," said Shamy.

Blumenthal calls on Israel, US to release more intelligence on Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital
The Hill/Lauren Sforza/November 19, 2023
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Sunday called on Israel and the United States to release more intelligence on the al-Shifa Hospital, which Israeli forces claimed was being used as a base for militant group Hamas, a notion that the U.S. said it backs.
“But here is the key point that I think is so important. There needs to be more transparency. Both Israel and the United States need to release more of this intelligence,” Blumenthal told NBC’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press.”
“And there is reliable intelligence that can and should be released without compromising sources and methods that would bolster Israel’s case in the court of world opinion, and would also support the United States aiding Israel as it must do,” he continued.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said last week that its forces were carrying out an operation inside of al-Shifa hospital, the largest medical facility in Gaza. Israel released video of what appears to be weapons and military capabilities inside the hospital, claiming that it was evidence that Hamas was operating inside the hospital. Those reports have not been independently verified by news outlets, including the Associated Press who have reporters on the ground. He said that after he attends classified briefings, he says that the only people who do not know this intelligence “are the American people,” noting that the U.S.’s adversaries already know the information and they know the U.S. knows the information. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations sent a joint team to the hospital on Saturday, which the team described as a “death zone.” President Biden also defended Israel’s move to operate inside the hospital, saying Hamas had committed the “first war crime” by making the health facility a command center of its military operations.

 US says still pushing for Israel-Hamas deal after reported breakthrough
Agence France Presse/November 19, 2023
The United States said it is still working to secure a deal between Israel and Hamas after a reported tentative agreement to free women and children held hostage in Gaza in exchange for a pause in fighting. "We have not reached a deal yet, but we continue to work hard to get to a deal," White House National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said on X, formerly Twitter, in response to the Washington Post reporting a deal had been agreed. The Post said a detailed, six-page agreement could mean hostage releases begin within days and could also lead to the first sustained pause in the conflict in Gaza. Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper said all parties would halt combat operations for at least five days while some hostages were released in batches, with overhead surveillance monitoring movement to police the pause.
But the White House quickly responded on Saturday evening with its message on X to deny any major breakthrough. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas in response to the October 7 attacks, which Israeli officials say killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and saw about 240 people taken hostage.
The army's relentless air and ground campaign has since killed 12,300 people, more than 5,000 of them children. U.S. President Joe Biden's main adviser on the Middle East said earlier Saturday there would be a "significant pause" in the war if hostages held by militants in Gaza were freed. "The surge in humanitarian relief, the surge in fuel, the pause... will come when hostages are released," Brett McGurk told a security conference in Bahrain. The release of a large number of hostages would result in "a significant pause... and a massive surge of humanitarian relief," he said.
McGurk said Biden had discussed the issue on Friday evening with the ruler of the Gulf nation of Qatar, which is leading mediation efforts toward a ceasefire and release of the captives. This week Biden said he was "mildly hopeful" of reaching a deal to free the hostages, believed to include about 10 U.S. citizens.
Israel has refused to heed calls for a ceasefire before all the hostages are released.

Thousands march in Jerusalem to press Israel's government to do more to free hostages
Associated Press/November 19, 2023
Thousands of family members and supporters of some 240 hostages held in Gaza streamed into Jerusalem on Saturday, castigating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government over his management of the war with Hamas and pleading with the government to do whatever it takes to bring their loved ones home. As public pressure mounted, Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel's War Cabinet would meet with representatives of the families this week. "I am marching with you. The Israeli people are marching with you," he said. "I promise, when we have something to say, we will inform you."
The march capped a five-day trek from Tel Aviv and represented the largest protest on behalf of the hostages since they were dragged into Gaza by Hamas on Oct. 7 as part of the militants' deadly attack in southern Israel. About 1,200 people were allegedly killed in Israel on the day of the surprise Hamas assault. Israel declared war in response, and more than 11,500 Palestinians have been killed in the past six weeks as the Israeli military conducts a punishing air and ground offensive in Gaza, where Hamas militants have ruled for the past 16 years.
Israeli leaders have set dual objectives — to crush Hamas and to bring the hostages home. But they have not made clear to families how they plan to balance the two. Some of the hostage families have said they fear that the military offensive endangers their loved ones. Israeli leaders, in turn, have argued that only military pressure on Hamas will lead to some hostage releases in a possible deal involving a temporary cease-fire. The families have not rallied around a single proposal for getting their loved ones back, but pleaded for more empathy and responsiveness from the government. Some criticized Israel's War Cabinet for what they described as a lack of transparency about any rescue plans. On Saturday, the marchers carried Israeli flags and photos of the hostages as they finished the 70-kilometer (45-mile) walk to Jerusalem and slowly converged on Netanyahu's office. Once there, they were joined by crowds carrying yellow balloons printed with the words "Bring them home." "I want you to look in my eyes and try to understand just a bit of the trauma I'm feeling," Daria Gonen, referring to Israeli leaders, said at the rally. Her 23-year-old sister, Romi Gonen, was kidnapped by Hamas from a music festival-turned-massacre near Gaza.
Ruby Chen, another protester, said that the families want to "keep the awareness of the hostage issue as a top priority for the government of Israel." Chen's 19-year old son is a hostage. For the families, the procession marked the culmination of six weeks of worrying and wondering about the safety and whereabouts of their relatives, who include children and older adults. At a plaza in front of the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, protesters released hundreds of pink balloons into the air and set out trays of cake and cookies, celebrating the birthdays of two hostages held by Hamas, 9-year old Emily Hand and 57-year old Raz Ben Ami. The march came as Israeli media reported that the War Cabinet was considering a Qatari-brokered deal to win the release of the women and children among the hostages. In exchange, Israel would agree to a cease-fire of several days and release several dozen of the thousands of Palestinian prisoners it is holding. Netanyahu denied Saturday that a deal had been struck. "On the issue of hostages, there are a lot of unsubstantiated rumors, a lot of incorrect reports. I want to clarify, until his moment, there has not been a deal," he said. Of the more than 240 hostages kidnapped to Gaza, five have been released — four of them through international diplomacy involving Qatar, and one who was rescued by Israeli troops. Their freedom raised the hopes of other families. But Israel this week confirmed the deaths of two hostages, and Hamas and Islamic Jihad have published several videos of hostages who looked unwell, provoking fear and concern among many.

Biden says ‘revitalized Palestinian Authority’ should eventually govern Gaza and the West Bank
AP/November 19, 2023
WILMINGTON, Delaware: President Joe Biden says that achieving a cease-fire amid Israel’s war with Hamas “is not peace” and that an important key to lasting stability is a reunited Gaza Strip and West Bank that can be governed under “a revitalized Palestinian Authority.”
In an op-ed published Saturday in the Washington Post, Biden reiterated his position of recent weeks that a temporary halt to the fighting wasn’t a real possibility and wouldn’t ultimately advance greater US objectives. The president and top US officials have instead revived talk of working toward a two-state solution for the governance of Gaza. Biden used the op-ed to offer more details on what the process of working toward that larger goal might look like. “As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution,” Biden wrote. “I have been emphatic with Israel’s leaders that extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank must stop, and that those committing the violence must be held accountable.”
He added, “The United States is prepared to take our own steps, including issuing visa bans against extremists attacking civilians in the West Bank.”The US is providing weapons and intelligence support to Israel as it mounts an offensive into Gaza with the goal of rooting out Hamas following its Oct. 7 attack, which killed more than 1,200 people. Biden has spoken repeatedly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and says he’s working for the release of Hamas-held hostages, including some Americans. At least 11,400 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant deaths. Demonstrators calling for a cease-fire in Gaza have staged protests around the country, including clashing this week with police outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee. Former campaign staffers who helped elect Biden in 2020, as well as current members of his administration, have signed letters urging a cease-fire. In the op-ed, Biden explained why he opposes the idea. “As long as Hamas clings to its ideology of destruction, a cease-fire is not peace,” he wrote. “To Hamas’ members, every cease-fire is time they exploit to rebuild their stockpile of rockets, reposition fighters and restart the killing by attacking innocents again.”Biden also noted that “an outcome that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza would once more perpetuate its hate and deny Palestinian civilians the chance to build something better for themselves.”
The president further argued that working to achieve longer-range goals that can rise above the current unrest would ultimately make the United States more secure. “We must never forget the lesson learned time and again throughout our history: Out of great tragedy and upheaval, enormous progress can come,” he wrote. “More hope. More freedom. Less rage. Less grievance. Less war. We must not lose our resolve to pursue those goals, because now is when clear vision, big ideas and political courage are needed most.”

France sending warship to provide medical aid to Gaza
AFP/November 19, 2023
PARIS: France is preparing to send its Dixmude helicopter carrier to the eastern Mediterranean to offer medical assistance in Gaza, the office of the French president said on Sunday. The Dixmude will set sail “at the start of the week and arrive in Egypt in the coming days,” President Emmanuel Macron’s office said. A charter flight carrying more than 10 tons of medical supplies is also planned for the start of the week. “France will also contribute to the European effort with medical equipment on board European flights on November 23 and 30,” the presidential office said. It added that “France is mobilizing all its available means to contribute to the evacuation of wounded and sick children requiring emergency care from the Gaza Strip to its hospitals.”Macron on Saturday spoke with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi about ongoing negotiations to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu was also in Qatar on Saturday, leading the mediation efforts. The French president and his Egyptian counterpart agreed on the “need to increase the number of trucks entering Gaza and to reinforce coordination to deliver humanitarian aid and treat the wounded,” Macron’s office said. Also on Sunday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said Israel had suffered a “defeat” in its war against Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas, and that it was “a fact.”In a speech at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace force center in the capital Tehran, Khamenei said, “The defeat of the regime (Israel) in Gaza is a fact.”“Advancing and entering hospitals or people’s homes is not a victory because victory means defeating the other side,” he said. Khamenei charged that Israel “has so far failed” in achieving its declared goal of destroying Hamas “despite the massive bombings” of Gaza. “This incapacity reflects the inability of the US and Western countries,” which back Israel, he added. Iran, which supports Hamas financially and militarily, has hailed the Oct. 7 attacks a “success” but denied any direct involvement. Tehran has made support for the Palestinian cause a centerpiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 revolution. Khamenei said Israel has “killed thousands of children without any remorse.” During his visit, the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace force unveiled new defense systems and drones, state media said, and Khamenei inspected a drone that carried the name “Gaza.” The force also unveiled Fattah 2, an upgraded version of a hypersonic missile unveiled in June.

Canada criminalized 'condoning, denying or downplaying' the Holocaust: is it working?
The Canadian Press/November 19, 2023
OTTAWA — Canadian Jewish organizations are calling on the Liberal government to remove what they see as barriers to enforcing a relatively new Criminal Code provision against Holocaust denialism amid a rise in antisemitism. Shimon Koffler Fogel, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said his organization had been asking the Liberals to criminalize Holocaust denialism, noting there are similar laws in France and Germany. He said it was an important symbolic step for the government to take as a way to show that Canada says: "This is the red line."The Liberal government included an amendment to the Criminal Code in the 2022 budget implementation bill to prohibit communicating a statement that "wilfully promotes antisemitism by condoning, denying or downplaying the Holocaust," except in private conversation.
More than six million Jews in Europe were systematically killed by Nazi Germany, as well its allies and collaborators, during the Holocaust from 1933 to 1945, with the Nazi regime also targeting other minority groups. Canada's legal system had previously responded to Holocaust denialism through other means, such as in the high-profile case of Ernst Zundel. He was charged with the wilful dissemination of false news after publishing a pamphlet questioning the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust.
The Supreme Court overturned his conviction in a 1992 ruling that quashed the section of the Criminal Code regarding false news, on the grounds that it violated the Charter-protected right to freedom of expression. More than a year after the new criminal offence against Holocaust denialism was created, The Canadian Press sought data from the federal government and several provinces to find out how often it has been used.
The federal Justice Department "is not aware of any charges or prosecutions" under the offence created for Holocaust denialism, a spokesperson said in a Nov. 9 statement.
British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba and Alberta also all say they do not have records of any such charges, prosecutions or referrals from police regarding that offence. Ontario said it could not compile the data in time. "It's disappointing," said Dan Panneton, a director at the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, a human rights organization focused on Holocaust education and programs to combat antisemitism.
He sees it as part of a larger problem the Jewish community has with Canada's hate speech laws, which require the consent of a province's attorney general to lay of charge of either Holocaust denialism, or the broader promotion of hatred, which he says can be a lengthy process. Chantalle Aubertin, a spokeswoman for federal Justice Minister Arif Virani, said in an emailed statement on Saturday that there are several provisions regarding hate in the Criminal Code, and that being motivated by hate can be considered an aggravating factor for any offence.
"Decisions regarding criminal investigations and prosecutions rest with independent law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities," she wrote. Police, political leaders and members of the Jewish community have been decrying an alarming rise in antisemitism in Canada since the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas militants, who killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, including hundreds of civilians, and took about 240 people hostage.
More than 11,500 Palestinians have since been killed in the resulting war, according to health authorities in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, which has been under regular bombardment by Israeli airstrikes and had access to water, electricity and other supplies cut off by Israel. Panneton says it is easy to find Holocaust denialism "in more extreme communities online," adding that "this underscores what he considers "largely a blind spot towards online hateful spaces with law enforcement."One message that has been circulating online accuses Israel of fabricating some of the violence used by Hamas militants during the Oct. 7 attacks and then asks whether "they may have lied about certain details of a previous big genocide."The message was posted last month on the Instagram account for "Toronto4Palestine," which describes itself online as a "dedicated community-based movement amplifying oppressed voices." The account, which has about 41,000 followers and has been promoting pro-Palestinian rallies, acknowledged receiving a direct message asking about the post but as of Sunday morning had not yet provided a response. Fogel acknowledges there are challenges when it comes to applying the new law, which he believes could be solved by better training for police and prosecutors about what forms Holocaust denialism takes.
Fogel says Holocaust denialism can take the form of conspiracies about Jewish people controlling the world, to dismissing the crimes that happened and minimizing the historical record. "It may not be motivated by the same, or even … extreme right-wing Holocaust denial," he said.
"But in the end, it still doesn't just minimize it, it sort of discards it to the margins as not something that merits considering or from which we can draw the moral lessons about how to conduct society."Kenneth Grad is a lawyer and doctoral student at York University's Osgoode Hall Law School. His research focuses on hate speech laws, including the Zundel case. He said it is not surprising there appears to have been no charges laid under the new offence of criminalizing Holocaust denialism. One possibility, he says, is that offence overlaps with the existing provision around the promotion of hatred, which could have been used instead. But when it comes to evaluating how effective criminalizing Holocaust denialism has been, Grad says it depends on how it is measured. Broadly speaking, he and other experts say securing convictions using hate speech laws is difficult because the Criminal Code allows for many defences, such as someone trying to establish an opinion based a belief from a religious text, or making statements regarding a topic in the public interest where someone says something they believe to be true. The laws themselves were designed to be compliant with the Canadian Charter or Rights and Freedoms, which protects "freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression."
Grad says it is hard to argue criminal hate speech laws are effective when looking at the relatively few prosecutions and convictions compared to other offences. But he said the prohibition against Holocaust denialism could be seen as effective when it comes to the symbolism it carries. "Not just Jewish groups, but all minority groups may take solace, some comfort in the fact the government is signalling that this is unacceptable behaviour."
Kimberly Murray, the special interlocutor tasked with advising the federal government on unmarked burial sites of Indigenous children who died in residential schools, hopes the Liberals will also criminalize denialism of what happened at the church-run, government-funded institutions. She called for such a measure in her interim report released in June
The report said that after Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc Nation announced in May 2021 that ground-penetrating radar had located what are believed to be the unmarked graves more than 200 children on the site of the former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., some people showed up with shovels, saying they wanted to "see for themselves" if children were buried there. Murray says if Canada were to criminalize residential school denialism as it did for the Holocaust, any legislation should go hand in hand with a public education campaign. "We can't just pass a law and then go away."
Grad suggests it is likely such a provision would run into the same challenges existing criminal laws have when it comes to seeing them as tools for "eradicating this type of speech." Rather, he says, federal and provincial lawmakers could look to the Canadian Human Rights Act and reintroduce a section that targeted speech likely to expose people to hatred — including online — on the basis of their race, gender, religion or other prohibited ground of discrimination.
He said there is a lower burden of proof than criminal law and the proceedings focus more on the group that has been affected by such speech, not what the accused was thinking, Grad says.
Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act was repealed in 2014 after years of widespread criticism that it violated rights to free speech. The Liberals reintroduced a narrower version in June 2021 in their bill meant to protect Canadians from online harms, but it died on the order paper when Parliament was dissolved for the federal election later that summer.
Virani is working on a new version of the promised online-harms legislation, Aubertin said in her statement, which will include strengthening both the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code. "There is a significant difference between respectful public debate, which is vital to democracy, and the hateful rhetoric that has amplified online, that can too easily turn into real world harms," she said.
Aubertin also said Virani and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc spoke with their provincial and territorial counterparts on Saturday about how they can work together to protect communities across the country from the "alarming rise in antisemitic and Islamophobic hate in recent weeks." Grad suggested that provinces could allow civil lawsuits for group defamation as another potential remedy. He said Manitoba has allowed such lawsuits since the 1930s, but it is rarely used.
B'nai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn said he wants to see police use the existing hate speech provisions before any new ones are introduced. "What the Jewish community and every vulnerable community is looking for is for consequences when their rights are violated."

Zelensky calls for rapid operations changes for soldiers, sacks commander
Reuters/November 20, 2023
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday demanded rapid changes in the operations of Ukraine’s military and announced the dismissal of the commander of the military’s medical forces.Zelensky’s move was announced as he met Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and coincided with debate over the conduct of the 20-month-old war against Russia, with questions over how quickly a counteroffensive in the east and south is proceeding.“In today’s meeting with Defense Minister Umerov, priorities were set,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address. “There is little time left to wait for results. Quick action is needed for forthcoming changes.”Zelensky said he had replaced Maj. Gen. Tetiana Ostashchenko as commander of the Armed Forces Medical Forces. “The task is clear, as has been repeatedly stressed in society, particularly among combat medics, we need a fundamentally new level of medical support for our soldiers,” he said. This, he said, included a range of issues — better tourniquets, digitalization and better communication. Umerov acknowledged the change on the Telegram messaging app and set as top priorities digitalization, “tactical medicine” and rotation of servicemen. Ukraine’s military reports on what it describes as advances in recapturing occupied areas in the east and south and last week acknowledged that troops had taken control of areas on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in southern Kherson region. Ukrainian commander in chief General Valery Zaluzhniy, in an essay published this month, said the war was entering a new stage of attrition and Ukraine needed more sophisticated technology to counter the Russian military. While repeatedly saying advances will take time, Zelensky has denied the war is headed into a stalemate and has called on Kyiv’s Western partners, mainly the United States, to maintain levels of military support. Ostashchenko was replaced by Maj. Gen. Anatoliy Kazmirchuk, head of a military clinic in Kyiv. Her dismissal came a week after a Ukrainian news outlet suggested her removal, as well as that of others, was imminent following consultations with paramedics and other officials responsible for providing support to the military.

The Latest English LCCC  analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on November 19-20/2023
When Neutrality is Immoral: Israel, Hamas, and the Problem of Moral Equivalence
André Villeneuve/ Gatestone Institute/November 19, 2023
While many the world over had the integrity to condemn "the hideous crime, naming its perpetrators and acknowledging Israel's basic right to defend itself against the atrocity," the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches were unable to muster up such moral clarity.
While the IDF goes out of its way to minimize civilian casualties, Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups do their utmost to maximize them — not only by indiscriminately murdering Israelis, but also by hiding among their own civilian population and using them as human shields, resulting in disproportionately high numbers of Palestinian casualties, caused -- deliberately -- by Hamas.
If there is an "occupation" problem in Gaza, the occupier is Hamas, not Israel.
In this war, Christians — and all of us — have a moral responsibility to support a civilized nation's fight against barbarism. Israel must eradicate a terrorist group, Hamas, just as we confronted ISIS. Then all of us need to contain the real mastermind behind such groups, the genocidal regime of Iran. Unfortunately, there is no other viable solution if we wish to preserve the West.
It is well known that the IDF warns Palestinian civilians by means of leaflets, text messages and even phone calls to evacuate areas close to military targets before they are attacked. While the IDF goes out of its way to minimize civilian casualties, Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups do their utmost to maximize them — not only by indiscriminately murdering Israelis, but also by hiding among their own civilian population and using them as human shields. Pictured: A Palestinian man shows a leaflet dropped by the Israeli military over Gaza City on November 5, 2023. (Photo by Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty Images)
October 7, 2023: Another day that will live in infamy: Israel's Pearl Harbor. Israel's 9/11. The quiet Shabbat morning of Simchat Torah, concluding the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, suddenly turned into a bloodbath. Under the cover of heavy rocket fire, thousands of Hamas terrorists attacked Israel's southern communities and left behind them a path of carnage and devastation, ambushing army bases and motorists, murdering some 364 people at a music festival, slaughtering families in their beds, raping women, executing children and Holocaust survivors, burning civilians alive, and kidnapping 244 people in Israel to Gaza. With at least 1,200 people murdered, it was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. The barbarity of the Hamas attack was so unprecedented that even the world was brutally — if briefly — jolted out of its usual apathy and left reeling in horror.
The outrage, however, was short-lived. As soon as Israel began its military response to Hamas's act of war, pro-Palestinian demonstrations erupted across the world, many of them quickly turning into anti-Israel and anti-Jewish hate fests. Some even denied that the October 7 slaughter had taken place, despite the many eyewitness stories of survivors.
Catholic reactions to the massacre and ensuing war have been mixed, ranging from courageous moral clarity to questionable moral ambiguity and bewildering silence. While some have supported Israel's right to defend itself, others have opted for neutrality, judging it to be a more charitable, "Christian" stance not to take sides and equally condemn the loss of life on all sides. This posture of moral equivalence suggests that both parties in the conflict share equal blame and equivalent moral responsibility for the consequences of their actions. Intellectually, this is an easy path to take. But is it morally right?
One group that consistently resorts to moral equivalence is the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem. A brief look at their reactions to the crisis, along with responses from the Israeli Embassy to the Holy See, illustrates the problems with this position.
On the morning of October 7, as the Hamas massacre was still unfolding, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem immediately released a statement laden with moral equivalence. Instead of unequivocally condemning the massacre, the Patriarchate asserted that the "cycle of violence that has killed numerous Palestinians and Israelis in the past months has exploded this morning." The statement continued with the vague language of "sudden explosion of violence," equivocating "the operation launched from Gaza and the reaction of the Israeli Army" — as if both sides were equally at fault. The "many casualties and tragedies" afflicting "both Palestinians and Israeli families," the statement continued, would "create more hatred and division" and "destroy more and more any perspective of stability."
That same afternoon, the Israeli Embassy to the Holy See released an initial statement which, though not directly addressed to the Patriarchate, sounded like a response to it. The Embassy warned that given the scope of the ongoing Hamas slaughter, "using linguistic ambiguity and terms that hint towards false symmetry should be deplored." Israel's response to Hamas's "hideous war crime" was legitimate self-defense, and "drawing parallels where they don't exist is not diplomatic pragmatism, it's simply wrong."
The Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem were undeterred. They released the next day a "Statement on Peace and Justice Amidst Unfolding Violence" that was just as morally ambiguous. This second statement said nothing about the Hamas murders. It lamented in the most generic terms that the Holy Land was "currently mired in violence and suffering due to the prolonged political conflict and the lamentable absence of justice and respect for human rights."
Although the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches said that they "unequivocally condemn any acts that target civilians" they essentially suggested that Israel should not fret too much over its thousands of dead, wounded, raped and kidnapped, asking instead for "the cessation of all violent and military activities that bring harm to both Palestinian and Israeli civilians." In other words, Israel should bear the brunt of the barbaric attacks and literally let Hamas get away with murder by immediately halting its military response. Never mind the fact that Hamas had unilaterally and brutally started the war by invading Israel and committing unprecedented crimes against an unsuspecting civilian population.
On October 9, the Israeli Embassy to the Holy See responded. It lamented again the "immorality of using linguistic ambiguity" given the scope of the massacre, as it became clear that entire families had been "executed in cold blood" by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. While many the world over had the integrity to condemn "the hideous crime, naming its perpetrators and acknowledging Israel's basic right to defend itself against the atrocity," the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches were unable to muster up such moral clarity. The Israeli Embassy found their statement "extremely disappointing and frustrating" because it demonstrated precisely the "immoral linguistic ambiguity" that blurred the lines about "what happened, who were the aggressors and who the victims." The Embassy added that it was "especially unbelievable that such a sterile document was signed by people of faith."
On October 11, Pope Francis said somewhat more forthrightly that it is "the right of those who are attacked to defend themselves," while adding that he was "very worried by the total siege in which Palestinians live in Gaza, where there have also been many innocent victims."
But the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches doubled down on their moral equivalence, releasing on October 12 a "Statement on the Escalating Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza." In this new statement, they lamented that their "beloved Holy Land" had "changed dramatically" due to a "new cycle of violence with an unjustifiable attack against all civilians." The leaders nonetheless mostly deplored the "death and destruction in Gaza" and "disastrous humanitarian catastrophe," which they attributed to the Gazan population being "deprived of electricity, water, fuel supplies, food, and medicine." Again, the Church leaders called for a de-escalation of the war.
The Israeli Ambassador to the Holy See, Raphael Schutz, called the statement "disturbing" and replied at length with a review of the events. He reminded the Church leaders that:
"What actually happened was that the "circle of violence" (typical false symmetry expression) started with an unprovoked criminal attack by Hamas + Islamic Jihad (the Patriarchs refrain from mentioning their names) murdering more then 1300 Israelis and from other 35 nationalities mostly civilians. They also raped women, burned babies, beheaded people and took hostages. Simultaneously they launched a wide range missiles and rockets attacks against centres of civil population in Israel - cities, towns, villages, kibbutzim."
The Ambassador added that "Israel's action in self-defense is aimed at Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Israel does not target civilians intentionally."
It is well known that the IDF warns Palestinian civilians by means of leaflets, text messages and even phone calls to evacuate areas close to military targets before they are attacked. While the IDF goes out of its way to minimize civilian casualties, Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups do their utmost to maximize them — not only by indiscriminately murdering Israelis, but also by hiding among their own civilian population and using them as human shields, resulting in disproportionately high numbers of Palestinian casualties, caused -- deliberately -- by Hamas. In this light, continued the Israeli Ambassador, the declaration of the Patriarchs could only be seen as "unfair, biased, and one-sided."
As for the "death and destruction in Gaza," the Patriarchs seemed to forget that "Gaza is the basis from which the genocidal attack against Israel was conceived, planed and executed." Who, then, is responsible for the "death and destruction"? The Ambassador questioned why the Patriarchs are so concerned about the "well-being of this nest of evil and terror," but not about the devastated Israeli communities.
Indeed, according to the latest polls, a majority of the Palestinian public support Hamas's "armed struggle" (terrorism) against Israel and the formation of armed groups to murder Israelis, a sad reality that casts doubt on the innocence of "ordinary Palestinians" in Gaza.
Regarding the humanitarian situation, the Ambassador replied:
"Levels of food and water are monitored daily and are above the threshold defining 'humanitarian crisis'. There is also sufficient amount of fuel and electricity in the hands of Hamas but they prefer to use it to continue their terrorist criminal activities against Israel over helping the needs of the population they dominate."
As it turns out, there is still plenty of water, food, fuel and medicine in Gaza.
Finally, the Israeli Ambassador noted that the Patriarchs singled out only one side by name — Israel, making unreasonable demands of "the party that was viciously attacked." Hamas is never mentioned, and one gets the impression that the Palestinians have done nothing wrong. He concluded: "What a shame, especially when this comes from people of God."
Schutz's efforts, unfortunately, again fell on deaf ears. On October 24, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Cardinal Pizzaballa, released a "Letter to the entire diocese". To his credit, he briefly stated (although still without naming the perpetrators) that "what happened on October 7th in southern Israel is in no way permissible, and we cannot but condemn it. There is no reason for such an atrocity."
Yet Pizzaballa went at far greater lengths to condemn the loss of life and hardships that "this new cycle of violence has brought to Gaza," adding that the "continuous heavy bombardment" on Gaza "will only cause more death and destruction and will only increase hatred and resentment." For the Patriarch, it is "only by ending decades of occupation and its tragic consequences, as well as giving a clear and secure national perspective to the Palestinian people that a serious peace process can begin."
So, there you have it: For the Patriarch, the root of the conflict is not Hamas' indiscriminate slaughter of hundreds of families, including women, children and the elderly, but the "occupation."
Leaving aside the blatant unfairness of these statements, one cannot but wonder: What solution exactly do the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches have in mind? Their statements raise several questions.
First, if the "occupation" is the problem, who has been occupying Gaza for the past 18 years?
Israel unilaterally evacuated all Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip in 2005, turning it over — entirely and unconditionally — to the Palestinians in the hope that by ruling themselves they might finally seek to live peacefully with their neighbors. Several American millionaires even bought 3,000 greenhouses for $14 million and handed them over to the Gazans to give them a running start in building a "Singapore on the Mediterranean." Within days, the greenhouses had been looted and destroyed.
The Palestinians, unfortunately for them and everyone else, proceeded to elect Hamas to power in their 2006 legislative elections. Following a bloody civil war with its rival Palestinian party Fatah, Hamas, by June 2007 Hamas fully controlled the Gaza Strip. Since then, Israeli civilians in southern Israel, as well as Palestinians in Gaza, have been living in terror. A recent video shows a Gazan woman saying, "Those bastards at Hamas," before a man quickly clamps his hand over her mouth. Meanwhile, Israel, roughly the size of New Jersey (22,000 sq.km), has been targeted year after year by tens of thousands of deadly rocket attacks launched from the Gaza Strip. If there is an "occupation" problem in Gaza, the occupier is Hamas, not Israel.
Second, what should Israel do? Should it forget about its more than 1,200 dead and more than 4,800 wounded, and its over 240 kidnapped, accept an immediate ceasefire and return to business as usual — that is, brace themselves for the next Hamas attacks? Should it sit down at the negotiating table and talk with a jihadist enemy sworn to its annihilation? Or should it open up the Gaza border, give the Palestinians freedom to enter Israel and let them come and go as they please so they can carry out their declared plans to repeat the October 7 attacks?
Third, why do the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches fixate on the "occupation" while consistently ignoring the terrifying incitement to violence that permeates Palestinian society, where children are taught from the youngest age to hate and kill Jews, and terrorists who do so are glorified and praised as "martyrs"?
The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches might reply that they cannot openly condemn Hamas and other Palestinian jihadist groups because such a condemnation would endanger the Palestinian Christians living among them. Fair enough. But this cannot be an excuse for falsifying the narrative of the conflict by means of questionable moral equivalence, or worse, by blaming Israel as the chief culprit. The statements of these leaders have weight. They influence others.
The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches have failed to exercise moral leadership and provide moral clarity in their response to Hamas terror — not only now, but year after year as rockets have relentlessly targeted Israeli civilians. While it may seem more expedient to embrace neutrality today, these leaders propagate false narratives and mislead others into believing them.
While Church leaders in Israel and others must carefully weigh their statements because of the precarious situation of the Palestinian Christians, those in other countries have no such excuse. Ultimately, adopting a posture of moral equivalence towards the Israeli-Hamas conflict is not only intellectually lazy; it is immoral. While Palestinian losses are tragic, they are the inevitable consequence of their choice to elect and maintain in power a genocidal terror group sworn to waging perpetual war with Israel.
All of us would be well advised to remember the words of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel:
"We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented."
In this war, Christians — and all of us — have a moral responsibility to support a civilized nation's fight against barbarism. Israel must eradicate a terrorist group, Hamas, just as we confronted ISIS. Then all of us need to contain the real mastermind behind such groups, the genocidal regime of Iran. Unfortunately, there is no other viable solution if we wish to preserve the West.
*André Villeneuve is Associate Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan. He is the author of "Divine Marriage from Eden to the End of Days" (2021), and the founder and director of Catholics for Israel.
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Israeli hawks set the stage for Gaza ethnic cleansing
Baria Alamuddin/Arab News/November 20, 2023
Israeli pop singer Eyal Golan told a right-wing TV channel: “Erase Gaza. Don’t leave a single person there.” A host on the same channel declared: “It’s time for Nakba Two.”
Such repulsive genocidal rhetoric could be dismissed as heat-of-the-moment hyperbole. But it chimes with exterminatory language emerging from the highest levels of Israel’s political echelons, demanding the eradication of Palestinians from Gaza.
Extreme-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir proposed that anyone who sympathized with Hamas should be “eliminated.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared that Israel “would no longer be able to accept” a Palestinian entity in Gaza, calling for the “emigration” of Gaza’s entire population. Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter championed the military campaign as “Gaza Nakba 2023,” while Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu was suspended for saying that dropping a nuclear bomb on Gaza was “a possibility” — an embarrassing own goal given that Israel doesn’t even admit it possesses nuclear weapons.
While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Eliyahu’s nuclear bomb comments as “disconnected from reality,” he hasn’t refrained from genocidal advocacy himself. Referring to Hamas, Netanyahu said that Israel was “committed to completely eliminating this evil from the world,” before cryptically adding: “You must remember what Amalek has done to you.” This is a chilling biblical quote from the Prophet Samuel instructing King Saul to “attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.”
Among official proposals for how such an ethnic cleansing project could be implemented, a leaked Intelligence Ministry document advocated forced transfer of Palestinians to Sinai. A bill has been submitted to the Knesset mandating the return of Israelis to Gaza after the war. Even if Israel ultimately backed off from such a brazen move, it may refuse to allow a million Palestinians to return to northern Gaza — although the army has said it will expand its operations into southern Gaza too.
Israeli Holocaust historian Omer Bartov denounced this genocidal rhetoric as having “clear intention of ethnic cleansing,” while a UN human rights panel warned that Israel’s actions raised “the risk of genocide in Gaza.”
Arab states that made peace with Israel are also warning that the Gaza campaign has gone too far. Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, speaking at the Manama Dialogue last weekend, emphasized the necessity of a “just and lasting peace” entailing both the establishment of a Palestinian state and security for Israel. “There must be no forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, now or ever. There must be no reoccupation of Gaza. There must be no reduction in Gaza’s territory. And on the other side, there must be no terrorism directed from Gaza against the Israeli public. Those are the red lines,” he said.
Truth is inevitably the first casualty of war, but clumsy Israeli efforts to perpetuate untruths about the conflict serve only to trap Israel in permanent conflict.
Hamas and Hezbollah have also been guilty of exterminatory rhetoric, amid calls for a new era of “armed resistance.” Senior Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad vowed that the group would wipe out Israel and threatened to repeat the Oct. 7 atrocities. Such far-fetched macho bombast, at a time when Gaza citizens are being slaughtered, is routinely exploited to peddle the lie that “Palestinians are not interested in peace.”
Perpetrating genocide requires dehumanization of the victims. Hence comments by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that “we are fighting human animals,” echoed by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s “we’re fighting Nazis.”
The military war has run parallel with a comparably ferocious information war. Fake online content production has gone into overdrive on all sides, including nefarious parties such as Russia, China and Iran. Amid this sea of disinformation, it’s shocking how amateurish Israel-produced footage had been. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a video purportedly showing a Palestinian nurse condemning Hamas for taking over Al-Shifa hospital. However, observers quickly noted her strange Arabic accent, inauthentic visuals and sound effects, and the fact that the woman in question had never worked at the hospital. The ministry quickly removed the video in the face of mounting ridicule. Another video, supposedly depicting an Israeli girl tortured then burnt to death by Hamas militants, originated in Guatemala.
Israel already appears to be manufacturing clumsy fake videos to cover its failure to discover Hamas “command centers” among the labyrinthine corridors of Al-Shifa hospital. A BBC analysis found that the footage of a military spokesman discovering a bag containing a gun behind an MRI scanning machine had been recorded hours before the arrival of the journalists to whom he was supposedly showing it in real time. When the video was shown later, the number of guns in the bag had magically doubled.
Israel knows that failure to unearth Hamas infrastructure at Al-Shifa will fuel calls for war crimes charges for illegal invasion of hospitals containing thousands of patients who had been grievously injured by Israel’s own airstrikes on densely populated civilian areas. If Israel is calculatedly trying to make itself look as bad as possible, then this war has been an immense success.
Israeli disinformation has spawned an entirely new genre: Pallywood — horror movies generally feature blood-drenched screaming Palestinians being rushed to hospital in ambulances, alongside maimed babies with missing limbs. Each video inevitably ends with a camera cutaway revealing that the “victims” are actors and the babies are made-up dolls.
Who knows what such desperate nonsense seeks to achieve, when reliable statistics put the death toll at more than 13,000, at least 5,000 of whom are children – with thousands more buried under the rubble? The UN high commissioner for human rights estimated last week that 1 in every 57 Gaza residents had been killed or injured.
We traditionally expect Israeli propaganda and fake news to be slick, eloquent and convincing. Instead, Israel’s botched phony videos reek of panic and desperation, because they know they are calamitously losing the information battle as horrified global audiences witness the Gaza massacre playing out in real time.
Instead of a gratuitous land grab of the minuscule, impoverished, rubble-strewn Gaza Strip — which can only create lasting global enmity — Israel should seek peace and security within its actual borders, alongside a sovereign Palestinian state.
Truth is inevitably the first casualty of war, but clumsy Israeli efforts to perpetuate untruths about the conflict serve only to trap Israel in permanent conflict — ultimately jeopardizing the tenets of its own nation statehood.
• Baria Alamuddin is an award-winning journalist and broadcaster in the Middle East and the UK. She is editor of the Media Services Syndicate and has interviewed numerous heads of state.

Saudi Arabia has become a key hub for green energy
Dr. Majid RafizadehArab News/November 19, 2023
Saudi Arabia has been playing a key role when it comes to the growth of renewable and clean energy, not only in the Kingdom but beyond its borders too. Some of the advantages for the Kingdom come from its advanced infrastructure, increasing investments in renewable infrastructure, robust demand in this field and its strategic significance. Saudi Arabia is strengthening its decarbonization and clean energy collaborations, as well as investments, particularly in Asian countries’ renewable energy. In the last year, the Kingdom has sealed significant deals with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in order to expand energy corridors across the region. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia and South Korea are working together on infrastructure and energy technology exports. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman last month attended a bilateral investment forum in the Kingdom. And it was announced in June that Korean contractor Hyundai Engineering and Construction had signed a $5 billion deal to work with Saudi Arabia’s Aramco on a petrochemical plant in the Kingdom. Aramco has also signed an agreement with Korea National Oil for a joint oil storage business and will collaborate with Korea Electric Power and steelmaker POSCO Holdings when it comes to an ammonia production project.
Saudi Arabia has also invested billions of dollars in developing high-tech innovation hubs that could prove attractive to global companies that are interested in developing advanced clean technology. The Kingdom currently has 13 renewable energy projects under development, with the largest being the 2.6 gigawatt Al-Shuaibah solar plant. The total capacity of the 13 projects under development is estimated to be 11.3 GW. The Kingdom is also setting up the world’s largest green hydrogen production facility in a joint venture with ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM.
Saudi Arabia is facilitating environmentally friendly corridors that aim to connect Europe and Asia.
In order to diversify its economy — and with a clear signal of its intent to adjust course in a more environmentally friendly direction — Saudi Arabia has announced hugely ambitious plans to build NEOM, the world’s first city without roads. This project is progressing with the help of a $10 billion joint venture with Denmark’s DSV, the world’s third-largest freight forwarder, which is providing logistical services. NEOM Green Hydrogen Company also received its first delivery of wind turbines at the Port of NEOM in northwest Saudi Arabia last month.
Of course, one cannot expect that Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states will immediately ditch hydrocarbons altogether. The shift will come gradually and, as the cornerstone of their economies and a critical global resource, oil production will continue to be important and will provide significant and essential revenues to Gulf state governments.
The second informed policy of Saudi Arabia that is linked to its increasing investment in renewable energy is fighting climate change. Although some critics might think that a region that is the oil hub of the world is not an obvious place to look for innovation in green technologies, it is critical to point out that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have experienced a quiet shift in their understanding and recognition of the fact that avoiding action on climate change is no longer possible.
For example, Saudi Arabia is facilitating environmentally friendly corridors that aim to connect the continents of Europe and Asia by railway. Saudi Arabia and the US in September signed a memorandum of understanding that will see them cooperate on the creation of intercontinental green transit corridors that run through the Kingdom’s territory, according to a press release issued by the US State Department.  The Kingdom’s efforts to combat climate change and advance green energy are anchored in its Vision 2030.
This will also help in sharing renewable electricity and clean hydrogen between countries and advances economic diversification. While the US is the world’s second-largest producer of solar energy, Saudi Arabia is a gateway to the Middle East and an obvious candidate for the mass deployment of solar power as a source of renewable energy.
Finally, Saudi Arabia’s efforts to combat climate change and advance green energy are anchored in its Vision 2030, since sustainability, clean energy and striving to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2060 are key pillars of this project. Vision 2030 also calls for expanding the country’s infrastructure and developing domestic manufacturing. This vision is one of the most ambitious and comprehensive plans introduced in the modern Middle East because it encompasses not only economic but also environmental, social and religious landscapes, along with political reforms.
Vice Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources for Mining Affairs Khalid bin Saleh Al-Mudaifer clearly outlined Saudi Arabia’s strategy for becoming a powerhouse in the sector in his speech at last month’s Middle East and North Africa Climate Week 2023. He said: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is committed to the transition to green energy, as demonstrated by the development of a mining and mineral industries strategy designed to address critical challenges … The challenges include stimulating financing for early-stage exploration, ensuring the availability and reliability of geological data, promoting innovation and technology to enhance sustainability and productivity, and ensuring timely production of metals.”Thanks to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, the Kingdom has significantly expanded its renewable energy program, putting it on top globally when it comes to clean energy.
• Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist.
X: @Dr_Rafizadeh

Israel must embrace reality, not ignore it
Ali Shihabi/Arab News/November 19, 2023
Once the dust settles post-Hamas, it will be crucial for Israelis to confront the harsh reality of the attack on Oct. 7. The escapist impulse to reduce the motive for the assault to “pure evil” inhibits a deeper examination of the conditions and context that led to these horrors. Even the most extreme and shocking forms of evil can have their roots in underlying causes, with drivers that give rise to it and fuel it. While this fact is uncomfortable, ignoring it condemns the victims to a recurrence.
The evil of Oct. 7 was not a random occurrence; it emerged from decades of oppression and the intense hatred that this cultivated in the oppressed. Such evil thrives on human desperation. Consistent neglect of the ongoing Palestinian tragedy ensured that Israeli policies continued to breed and feed this malevolence, perpetuating the cycle of violence.
Israelis now face the stark reality that, despite 75 years of military prowess, nuclear capability and significant influence in the West, their state could not protect citizens in their homes — a fundamental function of the state and the essence of Israel’s existence. Despite Israel’s numerous achievements, including advanced military technology, the recent tragedy demonstrated the inadequacy of these measures to protect the families who were affected.
Constructing higher walls and wider moats and simultaneously escalating brutality is an ineffective response. In an era of great advances in technology, such measures will not protect Israelis from evolving forms of violence. After all, nonstate actors equipped with lethal capabilities already pose a threat beyond that posed by traditional state enemies.
Constructing higher walls and wider moats and simultaneously escalating brutality is an ineffective response.
Wholesale ethnic cleansing — a disturbing prospect entertained by some on the Israeli right — is not a viable solution. Much of the global reaction to the horrors of Gaza, coupled with Palestinian resistance and heightened awareness of the risk by Egypt and Jordan, make such actions now virtually impossible. Israel must face the reality that it will have to coexist with Palestine and must work toward developing a sustainable peace informed by the Arab Peace Initiative.
The only viable path to ensure the safety and security that Israelis have long desired is a final peace settlement with the Palestinians. Without this, the enduring peace that is hoped for will remain elusive. If Israel’s generals’ next move is merely to prepare for the last war, then they are bound to face new rounds of unanticipated terror. The time has come for Israel’s leaders to abandon their arrogance and acknowledge that force alone cannot protect their nation against 7 million subjugated people.
A Palestinian people with a meaningful peace to protect would fight tooth and nail to prevent actors such as Hamas from sabotaging their well-being and their children’s future.
Israel must face the reality that it will have to coexist with Palestine and must work toward developing a sustainable peace.
Lasting peace requires granting Palestinians freedom and dignity. This involves affording Palestinians total freedom of movement and international protection from Israeli abuse. A fully contiguous Palestinian territory in the West Bank with unimpeded access to Jordan, and a seaport and airport in Gaza, would facilitate this.
Israel has won every conventional war it entered with Arab states, but it has never experienced the domestic dividends of peace with the Palestinians. Radicals from both Israel and Palestine must be sidelined to make way for the peaceful majorities of both Jews and Palestinians to coexist.
Only by creating an environment in which Palestinians have full freedom of movement and are safe from Israeli abuse can the underlying hatred be extinguished. This approach has the potential to open the doors to regional normalization with Israel and its full integration into the Middle East.
*Ali Shihabi is an author and commentator on the politics and economics of Saudi Arabia. X: @aliShihabi