US legislator critical of Israel’s war on Gaza loses primary Progressive Congresswoman Cori Bush has lost the Democratic Party’s primary contest in the state of Missouri, AP reported, after a pro-Israel lobby spent $8.5m to remove her over her criticism of Israel’s war on Gaza. With nearly all ballots counted from Tuesday’s vote, Bush won 45.8 percent while her rival, St Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, won 51 percent, according to AP. Bell’s campaign had received a big financial boost from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) through its super political action committee, United Democracy Project (UDP). In June, the Super PAC also spent $15m in June to defeat another progressive congressman, Jamaal Bowman. Bowman lost to George Latimer, a pro-Israel centrist. The UDP said the wins by Bell and Latimer, along with John McGuire’s defeat of US Representative Bob Good in a Republican primary last week in Virginia, are “further proof that being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics on both sides of the aisle”. It added that it will continue its “efforts to support leaders working to strengthen the US-Israel alliance while countering detractors in either political party”. Cori Bush speaks during a news conference alongside lawmakers and university union members on protecting the right of free speech, following a crackdown on pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses, on Capitol Hill in Washington, US, on May 23, 2024 [Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Reuters] https://www.aljazeera.com/
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken Urges Iran and Israel to Avoid Escalation 07.08.2024 "Over the past few days, we’ve been in constant contact with partners in the region and well beyond. In those conversations, we’ve heard a clear consensus: no one should escalate this conflict." ............... "..........because it will be an embarrasment for America when the world finally fully realizes all our pathetically biased efforts toward Israel have turned into custard and backfired on us."
"......trust us, our message has been consistent, we want everyone to de-escalate now - except us, we demand immunity to continue supplying bombs to Israel and our support of Netanyahu to continue killing Palestinians".
Now that UN admits employee involvement in Oct. 7, it’s time to end UNRWA https://nypost.com/2024/08/07/opini...e-involvement-in-oct-7-its-time-to-end-unrwa/
Yeah... I very much doubt it. It's always "close". U.S. says Israel-Hamas cease-fire "close," amid fears of widening Middle East war https://www.cbsnews.com/news/israel-hamas-cease-fire-close-us-says-fears-widening-middle-east-war/
Pezeshkian tells Macron, region will not be stable as long as Israel has West’s support August 8, 2024 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/2...e-stable-as-long-as-israel-has-wests-support/ Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran, Iran on July 29, 2024 [Iranian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu Agency] Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday that the region will not be stable as long as Israel has Western support, the IRNA has reported. Pezeshkian also pointed out that Iran reserves the right to respond to the assassination in Tehran of the former head of the Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh. According to the Iranian news agency, the comments came during a phone call received by Pezeshkian from Macron coinciding with the escalation of security tensions in the region, and the alert level rising in Israel in anticipation of a possible full-scale war. “The Israeli occupation state’s killing of Haniyeh, Iran’s official guest, was geared to start a fire in the region, and, regrettably, the United States and Western countries supported the [Israeli] regime in its crimes, genocide and massacre, instead of condemning it,” the Iranian president is reported as saying. “Iran reserves the right to respond appropriately to these measures, and America and Western countries, in light of their contradictory and dual approach, support an entity that does not abide by any international laws and conventions, and has not hesitated to carry out any criminal act in the region. Unfortunately, they call on the countries that have become its target to exercise self-restraint.” Pezeshkian insisted that as long as the Zionist entity continues its genocide, crimes and assassinations with political, financial, military and media support from the US and Western countries, the region and the world will not experience stability, security and peace. “If the United States and Western countries really want to put an end to the war and instability in the region, they must immediately stop selling weapons and supporting the Zionist regime and press it to stop genocide and attacks in the Gaza Strip and agree a ceasefire,” he said frankly.
Meanwhile Zionist Blinken and geriatric Biden try and fool themselves they are fooling the world with their bs peace fairytale stories.
Interesting move to further undermine Hamas. Smoking is bad, but Hamas is worse: IDF airdrops cigarettes over Khan Yunis, Gaza With cigarette prices at an all-time high in the Gaza Strip, the IDF has used the opportunity to incentivize disdain and distrust in Hamas among the residents of Gaza. https://www.jpost.com/israel-hamas-war/article-814041 The IDF dropped cigarettes from the sky over the coastal area of Khan Yunis of the Gaza Strip on Thursday along with messages warning locals against the dangers Hamas, N12 reported on Friday. While the IDF has been known to drop leaflets consistently before striking, requesting that the public evacuate the area immediately for their own safety, some have been used to offer rewards for Hamas leaders. Unlike the previous leaflets, the ones dropped on Thursday by the IDF did not request that the Gazans evacuate or give up information, N12 noted. Instead, the residents were gifted with cigarettes. Attached to the cigarette, various leaflets read, "Smoking is dangerous, but Hamas is more dangerous," and "Hamas is burning Gaza." Adjacent to the inscription, the IDF added a contact number to the 'Influence Department' for more information. An additional leaflet offered an unspecified gift for every Gazan who collected five leaflets. Since the beginning of the war, Hamas has taken full control over the supply and demand in Gaza, raising prices of produce, humanitarian aid, and cigarettes, sometimes by alarming numbers. Hamas has stolen aid, produce, and cigarettes only to resell it all at exorbitant prices. The current price of a single cigarette in the Gaza Strip is 27 USD, while packets are sold at 430 USD, N12 noted. This 'tax' has helped Hamas continue to fund its own survival throughout the war at the great expense of the Gazan residents. A security official who spoke with N12 stated that the distribution of cigarettes with the announced messages was intended to convey a message against Hamas, which is unable to control governance in the strip. According to the official, the intention was to promote defiance and condemnation of the terrorist organization and its lack of ability to create public order. "It is important to emphasize that cigarettes do not enter the strip and that this is a one-time occurrence," he expressed. The alarming prices of cigarettes, inflated by Hamas, have caused a major crisis in the Gaza Strip, causing the residents to resort to solutions such as smuggling and alternative options in order to obtain the product.
Israeli strike on Gaza school kills dozens, as regional tensions spiral By Reuters August 10, 2024 Palestinian health authorities say an Israeli airstrike hit a school-turned-shelter on Saturday in Gaza City, killing more than 60 people. The Health Ministry’s Ambulance and Emergency service said the strike on the Tabeen school in central Gaza City also wounded 47 people. Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip in 2023.Credit: AP The Israeli military acknowledged the strike, claiming it hit a Hamas command centre within the school. It didn’t provide evidence. It is the latest Israeli strike on a school housing displaced people in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas war started some 10 months ago. The facility, like almost all of Gaza Strip’s schools, has been used as a shelter for people who have been forced to flee their homes by the war. According to the United Nations, 466 out of 564 schools in Gaza have been directly hit or damaged in the war. In June, an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza killed at least 33 people, including 12 women and children, according to local health officials. In its statement, the Israeli army said its air force “struck [a] command and control centre served as a hideout for Hamas terrorists and commanders”. “The IAF [Israel Air Force] precisely struck Hamas terrorists operating within a Hamas command and control centre embedded in the [Tabaeen] school and located adjacent to a mosque in Daraj Tuffah, which serves as a shelter for the residents of Gaza City. “Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and intelligence information.” The latest bloodshed come amid an increased risk of escalation of a broader Middle East war, following the killings of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran and of Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant in a phone call on Friday that the escalation of tensions in the Middle East was “in no party’s interest”, while also stressing the need for a Gaza ceasefire, the US State Department said. Wider war fears US troops in north-eastern Syria were attacked by a drone, a US official told Reuters on Friday, in another sign of increasing tensions in the region. There were no injuries, according to initial reports. This is the second attack in recent days against US forces in the Middle East as the region braces for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies. Iran’s intentions Haniyeh, the political leader of Iran-backed Hamas, was assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran on July 31, an attack that drew threats of revenge by Iran against Israel, which is fighting the Palestinian Islamist group in Gaza. Iran blamed Israel for the killing. The assassination and the killing of Shukr, the senior military commander of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah, by Israel in a strike on Beirut, have fuelled concern the conflict in Gaza was turning into a wider war in the Middle East. Iran has said the US bears responsibility in the assassination of Haniyeh because of its support for Israel. “Initial reports do not indicate any injuries, however, medical evaluations are ongoing. We are currently conducting a damage assessment,” the US official said on the condition of anonymity about the attack in Syria. The attack took place at Rumalyn Landing Zone, which hosts US troops along with those from the US-led coalition. Five US personnel were injured when two Katyusha rockets were fired at Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq on Monday, an attack the Pentagon blamed on Iran-backed proxies. The US has 900 troops in Syria and 2500 in neighbouring Iraq, and says the troops are on a mission to advise and assist local forces trying to prevent a resurgence of Islamic State, which in 2014 seized large swaths of both countries but was later pushed back. Iran and Hamas accuse Israel of carrying out Haniyeh’s assassination on July 31. Israel has not claimed or denied responsibility for the killing. Separately, Iran is accelerating online activity that appears intended to influence the US election, in one case targeting a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack, Microsoft said on Friday. Iranian players also have spent recent months creating fake news sites and impersonating activists, laying the groundwork to stoke division and potentially sway American voters this fall, especially in swing states, the technology giant found. The findings in Microsoft’s newest threat intelligence report show how Iran, which has been active in recent American elections, is evolving its tactics for another election that’s likely to have global implications. Reuters, AP
Israel accepts proposal to attend ‘urgent’ new ceasefire talks 17 hours ago Tom Bennett BBC News Reporting from London Getty Images Israel has agreed to send negotiators to a new round of talks over a ceasefire and hostage release deal, after a diplomatic push from the United States, Egypt and Qatar. The three nations released a joint statement on Thursday pushing for the talks to take place between Israel and Hamas on 15 August in Doha or Cairo. Hamas is yet to respond. The statement said a "framework agreement" was ready and that it had "only the details of implementation left to conclude”. .......................... LMAO, more utter bullshit from Western bullshit artists. Either 100% bullshit artists or 100% delusional.