As I noted earlier, Israel has re-opened up Gaza to allow food aid back in. However the quantity of aid so far is very small because Israel is trying to ensure it does not land up in the hands of Hamas and is used to raise money for terrorism. To be effective the food aid quantity needs to rapidly increase. One note of interest from this article is that "U.S. senators pressed the country into resuming aid because they couldn’t tolerate images of extreme hunger coming out of Gaza. They suggested that if such hunger were to continue, it would affect their support." I had contacted the offices of our U.S. Senators for North Carolina (Thom Tillis & Ted Budd) a couple weeks ago strongly urging that the U.S. apply pressure to Israel to allow food aid back into Gaza. Tillis, in particular, has spoken out against Trump's proposal to relocate Palestinians from Gaza and urged Israel to allow more food aid into Gaza. Netanyahu resumes letting aid into Gaza after international pressure https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/world/3415468/netanyahu-gaza-aid-international-pressure/
Canada, England and France vow ‘concrete actions’ over Israel’s Gaza war expansion and blockade “This escalation is wholly disproportionate,” said Canada’s Mark Carney, Britain’s Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron. France's President Emmanuel Macron and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer speak in Tirana, Albania, May 16, 2025. (Leon Neal/Getty Images) By Philissa Cramer May 20, 2025 8:25 am The leaders of Canada, the United Kingdom and France have condemned Israel’s expanded war in Gaza and vowed to penalize Israel if the war — and its months-long blockade on humanitarian aid — continues. “We have always supported Israel’s right to defend Israelis against terrorism. But this escalation is wholly disproportionate,” the leaders — Canada’s Mark Carney, Britain’s Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron — said in a joint statement. “We will not stand by while the Netanyahu Government pursues these egregious actions,” they added. “If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.”
Bullshit! I don't believe what they threaten to do will happen. Just rhetoric for sheeple to feel warm and fuzzy about. Then call in some distractions and onto the next rabbit hole.
Hamas faces backlash in Gaza after top official dismisses war dead as ‘price that must be paid’ https://nypost.com/2025/05/20/world...-dismisses-war-dead-as-material-calculations/ A fat cat senior Hamas official is facing backlash within Gaza after he claimed the growing Palestinian death toll is nothing more than “material calculations” for the terror group. In an interview that has now gone viral inside the enclave, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri, 58, said the latest estimates of more than 53,000 dead in Gaza are not a concern for his group, the Times of Israel reported. “The martyrs [killed in the war] — the wombs of Gaza’s women will give birth to twice as many,” he proclaimed. “This is the price that must be paid." “If we thought in material terms, we would not be able to hold onto our land,” Zuhri added. Abu Zuhri made the comments about the conditions in Gaza while living 1,100 miles away in Qatar. The spokesman’s comments echo those of slain Hamas chief and Oct. 7 mastermind Yahya Sinwar, whose leaked messages revealed that he thought of the civilian casualties in Gaza as “necessary sacrifices.” Hamas’ casualty estimates, made by the health ministry, do not differentiate between terrorists and civilians. While Zuhri’s remarks were first recorded on March 30 for Libyan TV, the clip has recently gained traction in Gaza as Palestinians continue publicly protesting Hamas’ rule of Gaza and refusal to disarm and end the war with Israel. The video even triggered dozens of residents to march around the southern city of Khan Younis on Monday as they slammed Zuhri as a “disgrace.” “A man outside the Strip says that everyone who was killed can simply be replaced. This is someone deluded beyond reason — he’s not one of us,” one Palestinian man posted himself saying on social media. “Hamas leadership says — so what if 60,000 people died?” another Gaza resident said, referring to the official number that includes those who are presumed dead and buried in the rubble of the ruined enclave. “Abu Zuhri, you’re speaking from outside the Strip. Your children are outside the Strip. You ignite this war, and we are the fuel?!” the outraged resident added. The outrage comes as Israel stepped up its ground operation in Gaza on Sunday, with a goal of taking complete control of the entire Palestinian enclave to eliminate Hamas. The intense military incursion included heavy bombardments across the Strip, with the latest strikes killing more than 55 people, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, which does not differentiate between civilians and terrorists.
Netanyahu accuses Starmer of being on 'wrong side of humanity' and siding with Hamas 2 hours ago Jamie McConkey & Yang Tian BBC News https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c7804k13x52o Reuters Israel's PM has accused the leaders of the UK, France and Canada of being on "the wrong side of history" Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the leaders of France and Canada - saying that they had "effectively said they want Hamas to remain in power". He also accused Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney of siding with "mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers". Netanyahu was speaking after Thursday's attack on Israeli embassy staff in Washington. Days earlier, the UK, France and Canada hadcondemned Israel's expanded offensive in Gaza as "disproportionate" and described the humanitarian situation as "intolerable"..........
As Israel faces diplomatic 'tsunami', Trump is staying quiet 53 minutes ago Paul Adams BBC diplomatic correspondent https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czxypdqnly4o Reuters A headline in Israel's liberal daily Ha'aretz this week put it starkly: "Diplomatic tsunami nears," it warned, "as Europe begins to act against Israel's 'complete madness' in Gaza." This week's diplomatic assault has taken many forms, not all of them foreseen. From concerted international condemnation of Israel's actions in Gaza, to the shocking murder of two young Israeli embassy staff members in Washington, this has been, to put it mildly, a tumultuous week for the Jewish state. The waves started crashing on Israel's shores on Monday evening, when Britain, France and Canada issued a joint statement condemning its "egregious" actions in Gaza. All three warned of the possibility of "further concrete actions" if Israel continued its renewed military offensive and failed to lift restrictions on humanitarian aid. They also threatened "targeted sanctions" in response to Israel's settlement activity in the occupied West Bank. A statement from 24 donor nations followed, condemning a new, Israeli-backed aid delivery model for Gaza. But that was just the start. On Tuesday, Britain suspended trade talks with Israel and said a 2023 road map for future cooperation was being reviewed. A fresh round of sanctions was imposed on Jewish settlers, including Daniela Weiss, a prominent figure who featured in Louis Theroux's recent documentary, The Settlers. Israel's ambassador in London, Tzipi Hotovely, was summoned to the Foreign Office, a move generally reserved for the representatives of countries like Russia and Iran. To make matters worse for Israel, the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said a "strong majority" of the bloc's members favoured reviewing the 25-year-old Association Agreement with Israel. 'Enough is enough' The reasons for this flurry of diplomatic condemnation seemed clear enough. Evidence that Gaza was closer to mass starvation than at any time since the war began, following Hamas's attack in October 2023, was sending ripples of horror across the world. Israel's military offensive, and the rhetoric surrounding it, suggested that conditions in the stricken territory were about to deteriorate once more. Addressing MPs on Tuesday, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy singled out the words of Israel's hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who had spoken of "cleansing" Gaza, "destroying what's left" and relocating the civilian population to third countries. "We must call this what it is," Lammy said. "It's extremism. It is dangerous. It is repellent. It is monstrous. And I condemn it in the strongest possible terms." Smotrich is not a decision-maker when it comes to conduct of the war in Gaza. Before now, his incendiary remarks might have been set to one side. But those days appear to be over. Rightly or wrongly, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen as in thrall to his far-right colleagues. Critics accuse him of relentlessly pursuing a war, without regard for the lives of Palestinian civilians or the remaining Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza. Countries that have long supported Israel's right to defend itself are beginning to say "enough is enough." This week was clearly a significant moment for Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, a staunch defender of Israel (he once said "I support Zionism without qualification") who faced strong criticism from within the Labour Party for his reluctance last year to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. On Tuesday, Sir Keir said the suffering of innocent children in Gaza was "utterly intolerable". In the face of this unusually concerted action from some of his country's strongest allies, Netanyahu reacted furiously, suggesting Britain, France and Canada were guilty of supporting Hamas. "When mass murderers, rapists, baby killers and kidnappers thank you, you're on the wrong side of justice," he posted on X. "You're on the wrong side of humanity and you're on the wrong side of history." Keir Starmer said that children's suffering in Gaza was "utterly intolerable" Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar went further, suggesting there was a "direct line" between Israel's critics, including Starmer, and Wednesday night's killing of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, the two Israeli embassy employees gunned down outside the Jewish Museum in Washington. But despite the outpourings of sympathy following the shooting, the Israeli government seems increasingly isolated, with western allies and prominent members of the Jewish diaspora all voicing anger – and anguish – over the war in Gaza. Lord Levy, former Middle East envoy and advisor to Tony Blair, said he endorsed the current government's criticisms, even suggesting they might have come "a little late". "There has to be a stand, not just from us in this country but internationally, against what is going on in Gaza," he told BBC Radio 4's The World at One, describing himself as "a very proud Jew…who passionately cares for Israel". But silent, throughout all this, is the one man who could, if he wanted, stop the war. At the end of his recent tour of the Gulf, Donald Trump said "a lot of people are starving". White House officials indicated the US president was frustrated with the war and wanted the Israeli government to "wrap it up". But while other western leaders release expressions of outrage, Trump is saying almost nothing.
Because I imagine with collusion with Bibi, they want to turn Gaza into a rich man's resort tourist town with Trump holding a large parcel of real estate. Bibi gets financial kickbacks as well as a get out of jail free card. All part of 'God's' plan for Israel. Hey sheeple, 'God' works in mysterious ways.
Israeli soldiers and former detainees tell AP Israel’s use of human shields in Gaza is widespread By SAM MEDNICK and SAMY MAGDY May 24, 2025 https://apnews.com/article/israel-p...uman-shields-80f358dd2c87a1123f26ffada159701c TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The only times the Palestinian man wasn’t bound or blindfolded, he said, was when he was used by Israeli soldiers as their human shield. Dressed in army fatigues with a camera fixed to his forehead, Ayman Abu Hamadan was forced into houses in the Gaza Strip to make sure they were clear of bombs and gunmen, he said. When one unit finished with him, he was passed to the next. “They beat me and told me: ‘You have no other option; do this or we’ll kill you,’” the 36-year-old told The Associated Press, describing the 2 1/2 weeks he was held last summer by the Israeli military in northern Gaza. Orders often came from the top, and at times nearly every platoon used a Palestinian to clear locations, said an Israeli officer, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. Several Palestinians and soldiers told the AP that Israeli troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for explosives or militants. The dangerous practice has become ubiquitous during 19 months of war, they said. In response to these allegations, Israel’s military says it strictly prohibits using civilians as shields — a practice it has long accused Hamas of using in Gaza. Israeli officials blame the militants for the civilian death toll in its offensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. In a statement to the AP, the military said it also bans otherwise coercing civilians to participate in operations, and “all such orders are routinely emphasized to the forces.” The military said it’s investigating several cases alleging that Palestinians were involved in missions, but wouldn’t provide details. It didn’t answer questions about the reach of the practice or any orders from commanding officers. The AP spoke with seven Palestinians who described being used as shields in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and with two members of Israel’s military who said they engaged in the practice, which is prohibited by international law. Rights groups are ringing the alarm, saying it’s become standard procedure increasingly used in the war. “These are not isolated accounts; they point to a systemic failure and a horrifying moral collapse,” said Nadav Weiman, executive director of Breaking the Silence — a whistleblower group of former Israeli soldiers that has collected testimonies about the practice from within the military. “Israel rightly condemns Hamas for using civilians as human shields, but our own soldiers describe doing the very same.” Abu Hamadan said he was detained in August after being separated from his family, and soldiers told him he’d help with a “special mission.” He was forced, for 17 days, to search houses and inspect every hole in the ground for tunnels, he said. Soldiers stood behind him and, once it was clear, entered the buildings to damage or destroy them, he said. He spent each night bound in a dark room, only to wake up and do it again. The use of human shields ‘caught on like fire’ Rights groups say Israel has used Palestinians as shields in Gaza and the West Bank for decades. The Supreme Court outlawed the practice in 2005. But the groups continued to document violations. Still, experts say this war is the first time in decades the practice — and the debate around it — has been so widespread. The two Israeli soldiers who spoke to the AP — and a third who provided testimony to Breaking the Silence — said commanders were aware of the use of human shields and tolerated it, with some giving orders to do so. Some said it was referred to as the “mosquito protocol” and that Palestinians were also referred to as “wasps” and other dehumanizing terms. The soldiers — who said they’re no longer serving in Gaza — said the practice sped up operations, saved ammunition, and spared combat dogs from injury or death. The soldiers said they first became aware human shields were being used shortly after the war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, and that it became widespread by the middle of 2024. Orders to “bring a mosquito” often came via radio, they said — shorthand everyone understood. Soldiers acted on commanding officers’ orders, according to the officer who spoke to the AP. He said that by the end of his nine months in Gaza, every infantry unit used a Palestinian to clear houses before entering. “Once this idea was initiated, it caught on like fire in a field,” the 26-year-old said. “People saw how effective and easy it was.” He described a 2024 planning meeting where a brigade commander presented to the division commander a slide reading “get a mosquito” and a suggestion they might “just catch one off the streets.” The officer wrote two incident reports to the brigade commander detailing the use of human shields, reports that would have been escalated to the division chief, he said. The military said it had no comment when asked whether it received them. One report documented the accidental killing of a Palestinian, he said — troops didn’t realize another unit was using him as a shield and shot him as he ran into a house. The officer recommended the Palestinians be dressed in army clothes to avoid misidentification. He said he knew of at least one other Palestinian who died while used as a shield — he passed out in a tunnel. Troops unsuccessfully pushed back, a sergeant says Convincing soldiers to operate lawfully when they see their enemy using questionable practices is difficult, said Michael Schmitt, a distinguished professor of international law at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Israeli officials and other observers say Hamas uses civilians as shields as it embeds itself in communities, hiding fighters in hospitals and schools. “It’s really a heavy lift to look at your own soldiers and say you have to comply,” Schmitt said. One soldier told the AP his unit tried to refuse to use human shields in mid-2024 but were told they had no choice, with a high-ranking officer saying they shouldn’t worry about international humanitarian law. The sergeant — speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal — said the troops used a 16-year-old and a 30-year-old for a few days. The boy shook constantly, he said, and both repeated “Rafah, Rafah” — Gaza’s southernmost city, where more than 1 million Palestinians had fled from fighting elsewhere at that point in the war. It seemed they were begging to be freed, the sergeant said. ‘I have children,’ one man says he pleaded Masoud Abu Saeed said he was used as a shield for two weeks in March 2024 in the southern city of Khan Younis. “This is extremely dangerous,” he recounted telling a soldier. “I have children and want to reunite with them.” The 36-year-old said he was forced into houses, buildings and a hospital to dig up suspected tunnels and clear areas. He said he wore a first-responder vest for easy identification, carrying a phone, hammer and chain cutters. During one operation, he bumped into his brother, used as a shield by another unit, he said. They hugged. “I thought Israel’s army had executed him,” he said. Palestinians also report being used as shields in the West Bank. Hazar Estity said soldiers took her Jenin refugee camp home in November, forcing her to film inside several apartments and clear them before troops entered. She said she pleaded to return to her 21-month-old son, but soldiers didn’t listen. “I was most afraid that they would kill me,” she said. “And that I wouldn’t see my son again.”
What a shame. The Hamas fighters have not been paid for 3 months -- because they depend on stealing and reselling the food aid to provide the salaries. Of course, this continuous theft of food aid only serves to starve the population of Gaza who should be getting this food for free. Hamas fighters ‘not paid for three months’ because of Israeli aid block Al-Qassam brigades have not been paid since about February, ‘sparking resentment among employees’ https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-n...s-not-paid-three-months-israeli-aid-blockade/ Hamas has not paid its fighters for three months due to Israeli restrictions on humanitarian aid preventing the group seizing and selling supplies, according to reports. Members of the al-Qassam brigades, Hamas’ military wing, have not received any pay since around February, a source from within the terror group told the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. Families of terrorists killed or captured during fighting with Israel are also reported to have not received their usual remuneration. Hamas’s civil workers were said to have received a reduced salary equivalent of $250 four months ago, which “sparked resentment among employees”. It is not clear if they have been paid since. Budgets allocated towards ministries and government agencies were also reported to have been put on hold around the same time. Israel cut off supplies of humanitarian aid to Gaza in March, some of which Hamas had reportedly been seizing and selling to raise money. Around 100 aid lorries were allowed to reenter the strip on Friday, but this was much reduced from the around 600 a day that were crossing the border before March. Moumen Al-Natour, a Palestinian lawyer from the Al-Shati camp in central Gaza, told the Wall Street Journal last week that the cash-strapped terror group had “a big crisis” on its hands. “They were mainly dependent on humanitarian aid sold in black markets for cash,” he explained. The renewed Israeli offensive in Gaza has also reportedly targeted Hamas officials involved in distributing cash. Hamas has “never experienced such conditions before, whether during the current war or in previous periods” and there is a “clear administrative vacuum”, Asharq Al-Awsat wrote. On Monday Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Mark Carney called on Israel to lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid and stop its military operations in Gaza, a statement that was strongly condemned by the Israeli government. Hundreds of Palestinians were seen in footage posted to social media this week calling for an end to the war and the removal of the group, which has been in power in Gaza for nearly two decades. The protests appear to have been caused by claims from a senior Hamas official that the war with Israel was “eternal”, and that Palestinians would “produce dozens more babies for each martyr”. “Out! Out! Out! All of Hamas, out!” the protesters chanted, despite the danger of speaking out against the terror group in the war-torn enclave. In March, a 22-year-old man was tortured to death by armed gunmen after taking part in anti-Hamas demonstrations. Videos from Khan Younis show young men criticising Hamas for selling their “blood for a dollar… To those with Hamas, be aware the people of Gaza will dig your grave”. Gaza-based journalists reportedly received threats after the protests, warning them not to publish any “negative news that could affect the morale of the people”. One man, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the BBC: “The people do not care any more about Hamas’s attempts to suppress their voice because they are literally dying from hunger, evacuation, and the bombings.” Hamas is also reported to have lost much of its influence in the Occupied West Bank, with underfunded terror cells not carrying out attacks on Israeli settlers or troops due to fear of military raids. Israel continued its new Gaza offensive on Saturday, with the strip’s Hamas-run civil defence agency saying at least 15 people were killed by Israeli strikes.