Israel-Hamas war

Queen Rania accuses Western leaders of double standards  

Queen Rania of Jordan accuses Western leaders of double standards in the war between Israel and Hamas. 

 

In an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, she says that people in the Middle East are shocked and disappointed by "the world's response to the disaster." 

 

- When October 7 happened, the world immediately stood behind Israel and its right to defend itself, and condemned the attack (performed by Hamas, ed. note). But in recent weeks, the world has gone quiet.

   

According to her, the world is sending a message that it is wrong to shoot a family dead, but acceptable to bomb entire families to death. 

 

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Palestinian women and children in Gaza.

  

Save the Children: At least 2,000 children have been killed in Gaza 

 

At least 2,000 children have been killed in Gaza in the last 17 days, Save the Children writes in a press release where they refer to information from Gaza's Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health.  

At the same time, over a million children are in the active conflict zone without escape routes or the opportunity to take shelter, the aid organization states. 

  

- An active conflict with relentless airstrikes in such a densely populated city leads to a shockingly high civilian death toll, says Save the Children's head in the area, Jason Lee, and demands an immediate ceasefire. 

 

He adds that children are more vulnerable to explosive weapons and that most of those injured are unlikely to receive specialist care due to the near-collapse of the medical system. 

 

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They identify hundreds after the massacre in Israel: "Calling it the gate of hell" 

 

Forensic experts at the Israeli Shura military base have identified nearly 800 dead bodies following Hamas massacres of civilians in border communities and at the Nova music festival on October 7. That's what Expressen writes in a report from the base, which has been transformed into an improvised forensic center and morgue. 

 

Nevertheless, over 200 bodies still remain that have yet to be identified. 

  

- We are all shaken by opening the body bags that arrive here. We call this place the gate of hell, says Commissioner Gilad Bahat, head of the Israeli police's investigation department. 

 

Staff are still working around the clock in three shifts to identify the bodies while it is still possible and for relatives to get answers about what happened to their family members.  

 

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Israel's military: Fuel will not be allowed into Gaza - used by Hamas 

 

Israeli defense spokesman Daniel Hagari says fuel will not be allowed into the Gaza Strip, Haaretz reports. 

 

- Fuel will not be allowed in as Hamas uses it for its operational needs. Hamas can return the fuel they stole from UNRWA's hospital, he says at a press conference. 

 

UNRWA, which is the UN aid organization for Palestine refugees, has previously written posts on X about Hamas stealing emergency supplies from the organization. The posts were subsequently removed and were followed by a post in which UNRWA wrote that Hamas had not stolen anything, writes the Times of Israel.

 

At the same time, Gaza's Ministry of Health, which is controlled by the terror-labeled Hamas, sounds the alarm that the fuel for the hospitals' electricity generators may run out within 48 hours.  

 

UNRWA has also sounded the alarm that their operations in Gaza will be shut down on Wednesday evening if the fuel shortage does not end.  

 

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Israel has shelled military targets in Syria during the night  

 

During the night, Israeli warplanes attacked military targets in Syria as a response to shelling against Israel during yesterday, the Israeli military (IDF) writes on Telegram. The IDF writes that it shelled military infrastructure and grenade launchers belonging to the Syrian army.  

 

Fears that the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza will spread to other parts of the Middle East have grown following attacks on Israel from Syria, Lebanon and the West Bank and subsequent Israeli counterattacks. In addition, the increasingly heightened tone between Iran and Israel is worrying.  

 

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Erdogan calls Hamas "liberators" in parliamentary speech - calls for pressure on Israel  

 

Hamas is not a terrorist group but freedom fighters who want to protect their land - that's what Turkish President Erdogan said in a speech to his party colleagues in the Turkish parliament today.  

 

Erdogan announced that he is canceling his plans to visit Israel and called on the country to immediately end its attacks on Gaza. He also said that attacks on Israeli territories must stop.  

 

In a separate post on X, Erdogan calls on "all other countries [...] that have a conscience to put pressure on Netanyahu's government for the State of Israel to use common sense", according to TT.  

 

Turkey is one of the few countries that has contact with both Hamas and Israel and there has been speculation that the country could play a mediating role.  

 

Among the Turkish public, there is broad support for Palestine and Erdogan is expected to appear at a large demonstration for Palestinian rights in Istanbul on Saturday.

 

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Hizbollahs ledare har mött Hamas och Islamiska jihad

Hezbollah's leaders have met with Hamas and Islamic Jihad Terror-classified Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has met high-ranking representatives from the Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad. 

Hezbollah states that the parties have discussed how to achieve "real victory for the resistance" for Gaza and the Palestinians. This is according to a statement from Hezbollah, which is a Shia Muslim militia group in Lebanon that is supported by Israel's arch-enemy Iran.  

Reuters writes that the statement from Hezbollah is the first since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, but it is not clear when the meeting should have taken place.  

Heavily armed Hezbollah is based near Israel and has been involved in cross-border shelling on a daily basis.

 

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Sources: Five points behind Joe Biden's Gaza strategy  

Despite his clear support for Israel and their right to strike Hamas, US President Joe Biden has deliberately acted to slow down a ground invasion of Gaza, US government sources told Axios.  

 

The president does so for five reasons, according to the sources. He wants more humanitarian aid to reach the Gazans, to avoid a deeper crisis and global condemnation, and to get the 500 or so American citizens in Gaza out before the fighting escalates.  

 

In addition, Biden wants to have time to strengthen the US military presence in the region, for fear of Iran or Iran-backed militias attacking Israel. He also fears that a quick and impulsive ground invasion could lead to a long, bloody battle that kills tens of thousands without eradicating Hamas.  

 

Finally, the sources say Biden wants to buy time for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is not a risk taker and is skeptical of the impatient military leadership's plans.