#50 Rafah tunnels

[secular-jew]

This is one of the reasons they didn't want us to go into Rafah.

[workersolidarity]

[ 📹 Scenes of carnage and horror following another Israeli occupation airstrike on the tents of displaced Palestinian families in the so-called "safe area" of Al-Mawasi, where civilians are being directed by the occupation. The bombing occurred shortly before publishing, where a number of civilians were killed, including women, and others wounded in the strike. ]

🇮🇱⚔️🇵🇸 🚀🏘️💥🚑 🚨

235 DAYS OF GENOCIDE IN GAZA: ISRAELI OCCUPATION FORCES HAMMER RAFAH OVERNIGHT, DISPLACE THOUSANDS MORE CIVILIANS, UNRWA: OVER A MILLION DISPLACED FROM RAFAH, NEW TENT MASSACRE KILLS 16, ALL HOSPITALS IN THE RAFAH AREA CLOSED, SECURITY COUNCIL TO MEET OVER ISRAELI ATTACKS ON RAFAH

On 235th day of the Israeli occupation's ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) committed a total of 5 new massacres of Palestinian families, resulting in the deaths of no less than 46 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, while another 110 others were wounded over the previous 24-hours.

It should be noted that as a result of the constant Israeli bombardment of Gaza's healthcare system, infrastructure, residential and commercial buildings, local paramedic and civil defense crews are unable to recover countless hundreds, even thousands, of victims who remain trapped under the rubble, or who's bodies remain strewn across the streets of Gaza.

This leaves the official death toll vastly undercounted, as Gaza's healthcare officials are unable to accurately tally those killed and maimed in this genocide, which must be kept in mind when considering the scale of the mass murder.

Member-state Algeria called a meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) after the occurrence of the "Khiam massacre", when, over the weekend, Israeli warplanes fired several missiles which exploded into a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) camp for displaced families in Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah, resulting in a conflagration among resident's tents that took the lives of around 50 Palestinian civilians, mostly women and children, and wounded 250 others.

The UNSC will meet in a closed-door session at the request of Algeria to discuss the situation in Rafah, and the latest Israeli massacre in the Governate.

The massacre comes just days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague ordered an "immediate halt" to any and all Israeli operations in the Rafah Governate, and ordered the Israeli occupation to cease actions which could inflict on Palestinians "conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part."

The Israeli occupation, for its part, continues to ignore the ICJ orders, deploying yet another brigade to Rafah today, the Bislamach Brigade, belonging to the School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders during War Time, which joins the other Brigades of the 162nd Division operating in the Rafah area since earlier this month.

The additional brigade was deployed along the "Philadelphi Corridor" overnight, which will attack so-called "terrorist infrastructure" in the Rafah Governate.

According to the Israeli occupation army, troops belonging to the Bislamach Brigade located "tunnels, weapons and killed numerous [Resistance] operatives in the Rafah area."

In other news, Ireland has joined Norway and Spain in officially recognizing a Palestinian state today, implementing the decision by the three states issued last week.

The three countries hope their recognition of Palestinian statehood may excellerate a peaceful resolution to the war, and the eventual implementation of a two-state solution.

In a statement, the Irish government said "The Government recognises Palestine as a sovereign and independent state and agreed to establish full diplomatic relations between Dublin and Ramallah."

“An Ambassador of Ireland to the State of Palestine will be appointed along with a full Embassy of Ireland in Ramallah," the statement said.

"This decision of Ireland is about keeping hope alive. It is about believing that a two-state solution is the only way for Israel and Palestine to live side by side in peace and security,” the statement added, concluding with "I again call on Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel to listen to the world and stop the humanitarian catastrophe we are seeing in Gaza.”

In more news, the UNRWA said on Tuesday that approximately one million Palestinians have now been displaced from the Rafah over the past couple weeks as the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) intensified airstrikes and shelling on Gaza's southernmost Governate.

"This happened with no safe place to go amid the bombing, food and water shortages, and piles of waste," the UNRWA said in a statement.

The organization for Palestinian refugees emphasized that providing assistance or protections has become almost impossible in the Gaza Strip as Israeli attacks continue.

Meanwhile, the Israeli occupation committed a new tent massacre over Monday night, bombing civilian tents in the vicinity of the UNRWA barracks in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, northwest of Rafah, resulting in the deaths of another 16 civilians and wounding a number of others.

Initial reporting put the number of deaths at 7 in the strike, however, updates have since revised that number upwards, to 16 killed, and dozens of others wounded.

Bombing and shelling hammered the Rafah Governate overnight, hitting various homes and sites, resulting in several casualties, while thousands of civilians were forced to leave their homes and shelters to escape the occupation's American-made shells.

As a result of the intensifying bombing and shelling campaign in the Rafah Governate, all hospitals in Rafah are now out of service, with the sole exception being the Tal al-Sultan Maternity Hospital, which struggles to stay open under the continued blockade and bombing of the city.

Since the start of the Israeli assault on Rafah, 6 hospitals in the area have been forced to close under intense bombardment, including Abu Youssef Al-Najjar Hospital, the Abu Al-Walid Central Clinic, the Rafah Field Hospital, the Kuwait Specialized Hospital, the Indonesian Field Hospital, and the Tal al-Sultan Clinic.

At the same time, occupation bombing and shelling effected areas across the Gaza Strip, pummeling areas of Gaza City, the Bureij Camp, and the Jabalia Camp, along with several other neighborhoods.

Local medical sources said that a number of civilians were killed, including several children, while others were wounded, after the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) bombed a house belonging to the Aqel family in the Bureij Refugee Camp, in the central Gaza Strip.

At least two more citizens were killed, and a number of others wounded, following an Israeli air raid on another house in the Bureij Camp, while IOF fighter jets bombed a residential home belonging to the Al-Ghussein family, in the Al-Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City, killing two more Palestinians.

In another criminal attack, occupation forces bombed a tent for the displaced belonging to the Abu Jarad family at the UNRWA barracks gate in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, west of the city of Rafah, killing at least three civilians and wounding several others.

Another bombing in Rafah City killed a young man last night, while occupation artillery shelling and gunfire targeted various areas of the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood.

Yet another war crime occurred with the occupation's bombing of the upper floors of the Indonesian Hospital in the same neighborhood of Rafah.

Dozens of civilians were also displaced by the bombing of the Zionist army in the vicinity of local shelters, camps, schools and the Tal al-Sultan Clinic, all of which were struck by occupation shells.

IOF warplanes further bombed a residential apartment west of Rafah, killing a civilian and injuring another, while several other homes and apartments were also targeted in occupation shelling.

Violent bombing also targeted in the vicinity of the Zoroub roundabout, in the city of Rafah, coinciding with sounds of gunfire and tank shelling, while occupation aircraft buzzed overhead in between the sounds of exploding munitions.

Families were seen fleeing the city at sunrise, fearing the bombs and missiles flying overhead, migrating towards coastal areas of Khan Yunis, and moving other areas in southern and central Gaza, and towards the west of Deir al-Balah.

Zionist army tanks and armored vehicles were also seen advancing towards the Zoroub roundabout area, while occupation forces were also seen excavating inside the Zoroub cemetery in Rafah, while continuing to fire machine guns, along with tank and artillery shells into the city.

Occupation artillery shelling also targeted Haret Tabasi, Barika, Zaarub, Al-Zar Street, the Indonesian Hospital, and the Tal al-Sultan Clinic, west of the city of Rafah.

Meanwhile in the north, Israeli fighter jets bombed a gathering of civilians attempting to return to the Al-Faluga area in Jabalia, resulting in several injuries, some serious.

Zionist armored vehicles and tanks stationed along the "Netzarim Corridor" fired dozens of shells towards various neighborhoods of Gaza City, including the Tal al-Hawa, Sheikh Ajlin, Al-Zaytoun, Al-Sabra and Juhr al-Dik neighborhoods.

In another incident, IOF soldiers opened fire near Kamal Adwan Hospital, in the town of Beit Hanoun, in the northern Gaza Strip, killing at least 6 Palestinians and wounding a number of others, including a doctor with the hospital.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) also reported that three people were murdered and others wounded, following their targeting by the Israeli occupation army in the Al-Iskan Al-Abyad area, west of Rafah.

As a result of the Israeli occupation's ongoing special genocide operation in the Gaza Strip, the death toll in Gaza has risen to exceed 36'096 Palestinians killed, including over 15'000 children and more than 10'000 women, while another 81'136 others have been wounded since the start of the current round of Zionist aggression, beginning with the events of October 7th, 2023.

May 28th, 2024.

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@WorkerSolidarityNews

[the-garbanzo-annex-jr]

By  Ryan Saavedra

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have discovered hundreds of tunnel shafts inside the Hamas stronghold of Rafah in southern Gaza, including dozens of tunnels that cross into Egypt.

Israeli Deputy Attorney General Gilad Noam made the revelation while speaking at the International Court of Justice.

“Rafah, in particular, is a focal point for ongoing terrorist activity. It is a stronghold for Hamas’ operators with several battalions belonging to the Rafah brigades entrenched in the area,” he said. “Also present in Rafah is an intricate underground tunnel infrastructure that runs underneath the city and provides ample space for operators, command and control rooms, and military equipment.”

“Nearly 700 tunnel shafts have been identified in Rafah from which approximately 50 tunnels cross into Egypt,” he continued. “These tunnels are used by Hamas to supply itself with weapons and ammunition. It could potentially be used to smuggle out of Gaza hostages or Hamas senior operators.”

Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal, noted that Israel has been very patient with Egypt while Egypt has been playing “spoiler during this crisis.”

“After Cairo refused to let in Palestinian refugees — a temporary measure that would have shortened the Gaza war — Jerusalem assented to the positioning of heavy Egyptian reinforcements in the supposedly demilitarized Sinai to seal off the Rafah border,” Truzman said. “And all the Israelis have got in return has been vitriol and, most recently, Egyptian support for the foul allegations being leveled against them at The Hague. President Sisi is supposed to be a pragmatist rather than a populist. This cannot continue.”

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/rafah-evacuation-israel-biden-administration-antony-blinken-jake-sullivan-hamas-3e3c85f7

By: The Editorial Board

Published: May 22, 2024

Remember Rafah? For months, the Biden Administration bitterly opposed an Israeli invasion of Hamas’s last stronghold in Gaza. The mantra was that Israel had “no credible plan” to evacuate the city’s 1.3 million civilians. Yet the Israelis went ahead anyway, and two weeks later they have safely evacuated an estimated 950,000 people.

This was supposed to be impossible. Rafah became a red line for Mr. Biden on the logic that there was no way to conduct a major operation with all those civilians present. That was the justification for the President’s arms embargo. “We’re walking away from Israel’s ability to wage war in those areas,” he said.

Even as the evacuation got under way, Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeated that Israel had “no credible plan.” National security adviser Jake Sullivan added, “We still believe it would be a mistake to launch a major military operation into the heart of Rafah.” When the evacuation began to work, the Biden team moved on to criticizing Israeli readiness for the “day after” the main fighting, as if success in Rafah were a foregone conclusion.

Finally on Tuesday, the Administration claimed credit. “It’s fair to say that the Israelis have updated their plans. They’ve incorporated many of the concerns that we have expressed,” a senior U.S. official told reporters. He also said the Rafah operation might create “opportunities for getting the hostage deal back on track.”

The maneuvering has costs. “This Administration never supports anything we do until we do it,” a senior Israeli official told us early this month. To win Mr. Biden’s consent, the Israelis first had to advance and succeed. But the delay his opposition caused has dragged out the war to all but Hamas’s detriment.

Rafah remains critical to any day-after plan, since nothing can work if Hamas governs territory with military battalions and controls the Egyptian border. Israel has already discovered 50 tunnels crossing from Rafah into Egypt for smuggling. Once troops finish clearing a buffer zone along the border, Israel can cut off Hamas from Egypt, a key to strangling whatever insurgency may follow.

It’s reasonable to ask what force will control Gaza in the future. But no one else will fight and die to defeat Hamas for Israel, or even to resist it as a civilian power. Certainly not the feeble Palestinian Authority, which wants a power-sharing deal with Hamas in Gaza because otherwise it knows it would be slaughtered.

Though Israeli liberals won’t like to hear it, Israel probably will need to fill the vacuum in Gaza for a time. Though Israeli right-wingers won’t like to hear it, the purpose would be to make way for local governance. The politics, there and here, explain why it has been easier to pretend there’s no plan at all.

==

Apparently, evacuating 950,000 people before conducting a military operation is somehow a "genocide."

It's worth pointing out that the Exodus in the bible involved upwards of two million people. Obviously, this was fiction, but here's a mass migration on a comparable scale, and while the fictional one gets written into a holy book, the real world one goes largely unacknowledged.

[1americanconservative]

Egypt opposed the Israeli operation in Rafah to hide the presence of these tunnels. Egypt military officers and high-ranking officials make millions facilitating the smuggling of weapons into Gaza through these tunnels.

[dzthenerd490]

News Post

Palestine

The West Bank: Israel’s other genocidal war in Palestine | Israel-Palestine conflict | Al Jazeera

Israel says Hamas leader killed as West Bank operation continues (bbc.com)

Palestine Protests Aren’t Going Away (jacobin.com)

The West Bank reaches a boiling point as the world focuses on Gaza. Here’s what to know | CNN

Ukraine

Burkina Faso: Russia's Bear Brigade troops to leave for Ukraine war (bbc.com)

Why Putin hasn’t driven Ukraine's invaders out of Russia's Kursk region (nbcnews.com)

F-16: Top Ukrainian pilot ‘Moonfish’ killed when US-made fighter jet crashed | CNN

Russia lashes out against ‘terrorist’ incursion in Kursk, pulls back planes | Russia-Ukraine war News | Al Jazeera

Sudan

Pressure the UAE to End Sudan’s War (foreignpolicy.com)

Sudan dam collapse kills at least 30 | CNN

Aid struggles to reach survivors as Sudan dam collapse, floods wreak havoc | Reuters

Other

IDF sources: Israel has destroyed 80% of Hamas's Rafah tunnels - The Jerusalem Post (jpost.com)

Ethiopia alarmed as Egypt sends special forces and arms to Somalia | The National (thenationalnews.com)

Egypt sends arms to Somalia following security deal, sources say | Reuters

Mpox in DR Congo: The children who are suffering the most (bbc.com)

DR Congo: Prosecutors seek death penalty for 50 people implicated in alleged coup attempt | CNN

Rohingya survivors of Myanmar massacre say history is repeating – with new perpetrators | CNN

A proposed UN resolution on Myanmar condemns military attacks on civilians and urges peace efforts | AP News

[kivikunnas]

Israel-Hamas war: 700 terror tunnel shafts in Rafah, 50 to Egypt, Israel...

[infosisraelnews]

Israël a l'Afrique du sud : 700 tunnels ont été identifiés rien qu'à Rafah, dont 50 vers l'Égypte

La Cour internationale de Justice de La Haye (CMI) s’est réunie ce vendredi pour une deuxième audience sur la demande de l’Afrique du Sud de délivrer des ordres supplémentaires contre Israël, y compris un ordre d’arrêter les combats à Gaza dans le contexte de l’opération de Tsahal à Rafah. Après que le procureur ait présenté hier ses arguments, la délégation israélienne conduite par le conseiller…

[ultrajaphunter]

Israelis have found 70 tunnels in Rafah. Yes, you heard it right, 70 long huge terror tunnels, built from your tax money.

50 of these huge terror tunnels cross the border into Egypt.

What do you think it means?

Egypt built huge wall not to let Gaza civilians in, but allowed Hamas terrorists in. Egypt, instead of helping Gaza civilians, plotted together with Hamas against Israel.

But we still don't know where the hostages are.

Nearly 700 tunnel shafts have been identified in Rafah, with ~50 tunnels crossing into Egypt, revealed

@DrGiladNoam at today's sham

@CIJ_ICJ hearing. Those tunnels are used to smuggle weapons to Hamas and can be used to smuggle senior terrorists and/or hostages out of Gaza.

you are Egypt and insisted for years the HAMAS Tunnels were destroyed on your end

Egypt’s Dirty Little Secret!

So far, the Tunnels Revealed how Egyptian Border Security were Penetrated, Consensually

[e-o-t-w]

Eyes on the world #170

Manca davvero un mese a NATALE?

È tempo di tirare fuori gli addobbi, ma senza perdere di vista ciò che ci circonda. Vediamo le ultime novità dalla Striscia di Gaza, alcune elezioni degne di nota, ma anche un brevissimo focus sull��Italia e su due aziende tech un po’ in subbuglio.

Cinture allacciate? Cominciamo 👇

🇮🇱 ISRAELE-HAMAS: NUOVE PROVE DALL’OSPEDALE DI AL SHIFA, TREGUA RAGGIUNTA, RILASCIATI 24 OSTAGGI

(1) Ritorniamo subito a parlare della situazione tra #Israele e #Hamas, dal momento che grosse novità hanno caratterizzato questa settimana. Tra queste non c’è sicuramente il fatto che si sia continuato a lottare intorno e dentro l’ospedale di #alShifa, il più grande della città di #Gaza, dove l’esercito israeliano è da sempre convinto che Hamas abbia uno dei suoi quartieri generali. All’interno della struttura però, tra le altre cose, ci sono anche diversi pazienti – specialmente neonati – che necessitano di cure continue. Per questo motivo, lo scorso sabato, oltre 30 bambini nati prematuramente sono stati evacuati dall’ospedale e portati a sud in un ospedale di Rafah, al confine con l’Egitto. Insieme a loro hanno lasciato la struttura gran parte dei pazienti e dei civili presenti, non senza difficoltà. Un altro ospedale attaccato lo scorso weekend è stato quello indonesiano di Beit Lahia, nel nord della Striscia di Gaza, dal cui interno l’esercito israeliano ha dichiarato di essere stato colpito. Qui si trovavano almeno 200 dipendenti, ma anche 600 feriti e circa 4.000 persone rifugiate. Tornando all’ospedale di al Shifa, i soldati hanno trovato nuove prove della presenza di seguaci di Hamas girando altri video al suo interno che mostrerebbero uno dei tunnel utilizzati per fini militari e alcuni ostaggi portati dentro la struttura. Nel frattempo sempre l’esercito israeliano ha arrestato Muhammad Abu Salmiya, direttore dell’ospedale al Shifa, con l’accusa di aver – indirettamente – collaborato con Hamas affinché usasse quel luogo come base operativa. Nella giornata di giovedì però una prima svolta. Da giorni si parlava di una possibile tregua tra i due schieramenti, senza alcuna prova concreta, arrivata poi in settimana grazie alla mediazione del #Qatar. Le discussioni sono avvenute nella massima segretezza, in collaborazione con funzionari qatarioti, statunitensi, egiziani e israeliani. Questa “cellula” ha contattato direttamente gli omologhi di Hamas per avviare i negoziati e far partire la tregua proprio ieri. Questa consisterà nella liberazione di 50 ostaggi rapiti in Israele da Hamas e di 150 prigionieri palestinesi detenuti in Israele, insieme all’ingresso di aiuti umanitari nella Striscia di Gaza. Il gruppo che ha gestito i negoziati è lo stesso che ha portato alla liberazione delle due donne statunitensi del 20 ottobre scorso, fatto che sarebbe servito come test per la solidità della trattativa. Questa sarebbe stata interrotta a più riprese per via degli scontri, ma mai abbandonata del tutto. La tregua stipulata avrò una durata di 4 giorni e per ogni ostaggio israeliano dovrebbero essere liberati 3 prigionieri palestinesi. Hamas ha inoltre ottenuto da Israele una limitazione della sorveglianza aerea su Gaza con i droni, mentre faranno il loro ingresso a Gaza aiuti umanitari molto più nutriti di quelli giunti finora, oltre al tanto desiderato carburante (necessario, su tutto, per tenere in vita gli ospedali). Ieri è stato anche raggiunto un primo risultato dalla tregua, con Hamas (in collaborazione con la Croce Rossa Internazionale) che ha liberato ben 24 ostaggi, ricevendo in cambio 39 detenuti palestinesi. Nuovi problemi questo pomeriggio invece, con Hamas che ha accusato Israele di aver violato i termini dell’accordo e ha così rinviato un nuovo rilascio.

🇮🇹 PNRR: APPROVATE DALLA COMMISSIONE EUROPEA LE MODIFICHE RICHIESTE DAL GOVERNO ITALIANO

(2) Salto rapidissimo in #Italia, avvisata ieri dalla #CommissioneEuropea riguardo l’approvazione delle modifiche fatte dal governo al Piano di ripresa e resilienza. Per i più distratti, si tratta del piano approvato nel 2021 per rilanciare l’economia dopo la pandemia di COVID-19, nell’ambito del più grande fondo noto come Next Generation EU per la ripresa dell’Europa intera. 145 dei 349 obiettivi del piano sono stati giudicati impossibili da raggiungere a causa delle “circostanze oggettive” che li hanno rallentati (guerra in Ucraina in primis). Diversi traguardi intermedi di altrettanti progetti in bilico, la cui mancata realizzazione avrebbe impedito all’Italia di ottenere i fondi, sono stati spostati dal #PNRR verso altri fondi, affinché l’intero piano non affondasse. Ne è stato approvato quindi uno nuovo, noto come REPowerEU del valore di 19,2 miliardi di euro, che consentirà di accelerare la transizione e l’autonomia energetica dell’Italia attraverso la costruzione di gasdotti e reti per distribuire l’energia elettrica. Tornando al PNRR, entro il 31 dicembre verranno definiti gli ultimi aspetti per sbloccare il pagamento della quarta rata.

🇳🇱🇦🇷 PAESI BASSI E ARGENTINA, L’ESTREMA DESTRA AL POTERE DOPO LE RISPETTIVE ELEZIONI. COSA ASPETTARSI?

(3) Settimana di elezioni in Europa e nel mondo con due paesi da tenere assolutamente sotto controllo per gli equilibri di Europa e Sud America. Partiamo - per questioni di vicinanza - dai #PaesiBassi, dove il Partito per la Libertà (PVV, di estrema destra) è stato il più votato nelle elezioni parlamentari avvenute lo scorso mercoledì (con più del 23% delle preferenze, superando di 10 punti percentuali le previsioni). A guidarlo è il nuovo possibile primo ministro Geert #Wilders, che potrebbe sostituire dopo 11 anni il centrista Mark Rutte. Il Partito della Libertà otterrà 37 dei 150 seggi presenti alla camera bassa del parlamento olandese, mentre 25 andranno all’unione tra Partito Laburista e Sinistra verde, che ha ricevuto il 15,6% dei voti. Lo stesso Rutte ha preso solo il 15%, quasi 7 punti in meno rispetto all’ultima elezione; saranno suoi 24 seggi. Wilders è – secondo diversi analisti – il politico europeo che ha il programma più radicale nei confronti di Islam e immigrazione, dal momento che da tempo chiede la chiusura di tutte le moschee e il divieto di ingresso nel paese per i musulmani. Non solo: Wilders vorrebbe un referendum per valutare la possibile uscita dei Paesi Bassi dall’Unione Europea ed è fermamente contrario alle politiche dettate dalla lotta al cambiamento climatico. Il leader del PVV non è però sicuro di ottenere l’incarico di primo ministro, poiché per formare un governo stabile saranno necessari accordi tra più formazioni politiche. Tuttavia, quelle che hanno ottenuto più voti non hanno alcuna intenzione di allearsi, rendendo il tutto ancora più complesso. Allo stato attuale, potrebbero volerci mesi per formare un nuovo governo stabile. Passiamo adesso al Sud America. La scorsa domenica in #Argentina si è tenuto il ballottaggio per le elezioni presidenziali, vinto con oltre il 55% dei voti da Javier #Milei, politico di estrema destra e ultraliberista, su Sergio Massa, attuale ministro dell’Economia e membro della coalizione di centrosinistra. Milei è noto al grande pubblico per il suo modo di fare sopra le righe, evidenziato soprattutto da una campagna elettorale anticonvenzionale. Decisivo per la sua elezione anche l’appoggio di Mauricio Macri, ex presidente argentino di centrodestra, e della terza classificata alla precedente tornata elettorale Patricia Bullrich, sempre della coalizione di centrodx ed esclusa dal ballottaggio. La forza e la presa sul grande pubblico di Milei si sono manifestate soprattutto negli slogan e negli atteggiamenti apertamente populisti. È un fervente sostenitore dell’abbandono dell’attuale moneta nazionale – il #peso – in favore del dollaro, manifestando più volte l’intenzione di “bruciare” la Banca Centrale argentina (rea di aver causato lo stato di enorme povertà in cui versa il paese). Non solo: le sue posizioni sono estremamente conservatrici anche in temi come aborto e cambiamento climatico, verso il quale è profondamente scettico. Alla sua vittoria ha contribuito anche – indirettamente – la caratura del suo avversario, ritenuto tra i responsabili della crisi economica e finanziaria e autore di una campagna elettorale poco efficace. Milei si insedierà giorno 10 dicembre e sin da subito dovrà mettersi all’opera per trovare un appoggio politico (in termini di partiti alleati) per portare avanti le sue proposte più radicali. Non va a suo favore nemmeno l’esperienza politica pressoché nulla, motivo per cui molti lo paragonano a ciò che fu Donald Trump per gli Stati Uniti nel 2016.

💻 LE CRISI DI BINANCE E OPENAI: CHANGPENG ZHAO COLPEVOLE DI RICICLAGGIO, SAM ALTMAN VA E VIENE

(4) Chiudiamo con le paturnie di due tra le aziende più in crescita e in vista degli ultimi anni: #Binance e #OpenAI. Partendo dalla prima, si tratta di una delle più grandi piattaforme di scambio di criptovalute al mondo e martedì scorso il suo amministratore delegato, Changpeng #Zhao, si è dichiarato colpevole di riciclaggio di denaro negli Stati Uniti, dopo che il Dipartimento di Giustizia aveva avviato un processo nei suoi confronti. Zhao ha patteggiato il pagamento di 50 milioni di dollari e si è dimesso dalla sua carica, pur mantenendo la maggioranza delle azioni. È da un anno che l’azienda è sotto la lente d’ingrandimento, dopo aver permesso – in base a quanto emerso dalle indagini – transazioni di denaro illecite dagli USA verso l’Iran o la Russia (paesi soggetti a sanzioni proprio da parte degli USA). Questa accusa si unisce a quella che riguardava anche un’altra piattaforma, #Coinbase, accusata insieme a Binance di promuovere attività di trading finanziario senza i giusti permessi. Un’altra big tech che non sta attraversando un periodo particolarmente tranquillo è appunto OpenAI, la madre di tutte le aziende che si occupano di #intelligenzaartificiale. Sam #Altman, co-fondatore e amministratore delegato, è stato – in pochi giorni – licenziato dal cda dell’azienda senza troppi complimenti, causando enormi polemiche all’interno di OpenAI (compreso un ammutinamento di quasi tutti i dipendenti), per poi essere rimesso al suo posto (portando al licenziamento di quasi tutto il cda che lo aveva mandato via). Altman ha sempre avuto una visione dell’intelligenza artificiale maggiormente votata alla commercializzazione dei prodotti di OpenAI (alla pari di un’azienda classica), mentre il cda una più cauta e più attenta ai pericoli derivati dalle tecnologie di questo tipo (un ente no profit, in sostanza). Un esempio? #ChatGPT, la cui introduzione sul mercato una causato una spaccatura all’interno dell’azienda. Il licenziamento di Altman ha causato un terremoto non di poco conto all’interno di OpenAI, con alcuni dirigenti dell’azienda che si sono dimessi per protesta, #Microsoft (che ha investito miliardi di dollari in questa) che ha criticato pesantemente la scelta e la quasi totalità dei dipendenti che ha minacciato di andarsene (con la stessa Microsoft pronta ad accoglierli, Altman compreso). Adesso che Altman è tornato al timone dell’azienda, è probabile che alcune delle sue idee vengano seguite con maggiore vigore, sempre con il supporto esterno (ma non troppo) di Microsoft.

Alla prossima 👋

[eretzyisrael]

The Israeli army said it has destroyed more than 100 kilometers, or over 60 miles, of an underground tunnel system in the Gaza Strip during the past ten days of fighting with the Hamas militant group. The complex tunnel system is used by the terrorist group to move rockets and operatives from one area to another and to launch attacks.

“Since Operation Protection Edge in 2014, Hamas’ main effort was to build a network of tunnels, which are located in close proximity to hospitals and civilian buildings,” said a senior IDF officer. “Most of the cement which was provided by Israel to Gaza for housing is found below the ground.”

According to the senior military officer, the IDF’s partial tunnel destruction has dealt a large blow to Hamas’ military infrastructure, helping to slow down the intensity of the rocket fire launched at longer-range areas, including Tel Aviv, in recent days. Sirens in Tel Aviv have not been sounded since Saturday night. At the same time, Hamas rocket fire has continued targeting Israel’s south and areas closer to the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, the IDF senior officer also pointed out that Hamas’ tunnel network was still estimated to stretch along as far as several hundred miles, as the terrorist organization operates across five brigades.

The cost of building the tunnel is estimated at around $50 million, according to the senior IDF officer. Initially, the so-called Metro tunnel project began with individual shafts dug deep underground and used as hiding places for Hamas terror operatives after launching rockets. With time, the network of tunnels grew and branched off to become an internal tunnel system throughout the Gaza Strip for military training and is used for mobility, storage of weaponry and to manage military operations. The terror infrastructure is embedded in civilian areas, and uses civilian buildings as entry points, as well as cover for the tunnels themselves.

Last night, IDF fighter jets and aircraft struck the tunnel system, located in Khan Yunis and Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, during a fifth stage of strikes. During the strikes, which lasted 25 minutes, approximately 40 Hamas underground military targets were struck. The strikes were carried out by 52 IDF fighter jets, with the use of approximately 120 guided armaments.

[1americanconservative]

50 Rafah Tunnels to Egypt Unearthed. Everyone in Israel suspected and knew that all along. This proof is for the rest of the world to see.

Which explains why Egypt joins the ICJ against Israel and opposed Rafah operation.

Between this and finding the bodies of hostages, it's becoming obvious why pro-Hamas folks were so opposed to a Rafah operation.

All questions, how Hamas keeps on getting weapons, where are the hostages, where are the terrorists hiding, it's all buried in Rafah and Hamas was counting on using refugees as human shields. We all knew it. Let's finish it, no more waiting.

The real question is whether Egypt is collaborating, whether they have traitors, or if they've lost so much control over their country that even their best intentions can't prevent it. All possibilities are horrifying for different reasons.

Most probably they're collaborating. The peace treaty is a farce for Egypt to obtain American military aid. Egypt are never Israel's friends and regardless if they hate the Palestinians, they hate Jews more.

Hostages who are still alive numbering 33 and Hamas military leaders like Yahya Sinwar are in all probability in Egypt now or may have even been transferred to Turkey by now.

Sinwar's son is involved in cross-border permits.

[friend-clarity]

Hamas is brutally putting Israel in an impossible situation

A senior member of Gaza's rulers Hamas said Wednesday that 50 of the 62 Gazans killed by Israeli fire during border protests and clashes this week were members of the Islamist group. Canada considers Hamas a terrorist organization. 

Below: An Israeli soldier attempts to extinguish a fire in a wheat field near the Kibbutz of Nahal Oz, along the border with the Gaza strip, on May 14, 2018 after it was caused by incendiaries tied to kites flown by Palestinian protesters from across the border

Hamas is brutally putting Israel in an impossible situation, and Israel will have to adapt

If Hamas persists in luring Palestinians to martyrdom at the Gaza fence, the IDF’s rules of engagement — first shoot to warn, then shoot to wound, then shoot to kill — become morally untenable

Terry Glavin, May 16, 2018, National Post At least 60 Palestinians were killed. Another 2,700 were reportedly injured. Among the dead: a double amputee throwing stones from a wheelchair, a 14-year-old girl — her mother said she had longed for martyrdom — and an eight-month-old infant, reportedly dead from inhaling tear gas (this has been disputed by Israel). Among the wounded was a Canadian doctor, Tarek Loubani, shot in the legs.

What happened on Monday is as appalling and and as horrible as Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office says it was: “Civilians, members of the media, first responders and children have been among the victims.” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau settled on the same, perfectly reasonable tone: “My concern today and the thoughts of the world are on the victims of the terrible violence. Children, journalists, innocents.”

It was the bloodiest day in Gaza since 2014. Many of those at Monday’s protests, involving perhaps 40,000 people at 13 locations along the Gaza border, were certainly unarmed Palestinian civilians. Hamas, the bloodthirsty terrorist group that seized Gaza from the Palestinian Authority in a 2007 coup, identified 10 of the dead as members of its feared internal security unit. Another Hamas official said in a media interview that perhaps as many as 50 of the dead were among its members. Saraya al-Quds, the armed wing of the Khomeinist proxy, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, identified another three as its own militants.

What happened on Monday is as appalling and and as horrible as Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office says it was

Still, it appears to be true that only a small minority of the Gazans who flocked to the protests on Monday participated directly in any violent activity. Among those who did were hundreds of rioters, some of whom climbed the Gaza security fence at various points along its 60-kilometre course. Some threw rocks or crude explosive devices at Israeli positions. Some burned tires to create billows of black smoke in an effort to obscure efforts to breach the fence, and others flew kites containing burning fuel in order to set fire to farm fields on the Israeli side. More than 400 hectares of agricultural land have been burned in this way in recent weeks.

An Israeli drone fires teargas canisters on Palestinian protesters, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Adel Hana / AP Around noon on Monday, an Israeli Special Forces unit caught eight men who had managed to breach the security fence. The group opened fire on two approaching Israeli Defence Forces vehicles and threw grenades in their direction. The eight were shot dead. Three more of Monday’s dead were shot and killed while they were trying to cut through the security fence. They were armed with knives and grenades. It is quite true, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put it, that “every nation has the right to defend its borders.” It is also rather beside the point now.

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed since the first major “March of Return” protest on March 30. The protests began with Ahmad Abu Artema, a 33-year-old Gazan poet and social media personality. Artema appears to have genuinely imagined some sort of wholly non-violent uprising that might lead the poor of Gaza out of their misery, and eventually, into the welcoming arms of Israelis. That, too, is beside the point now.

Hamas exists for the sole purpose of doing violence to Israel and to Israelis

With its Iron Dome technology, Israel has largely succeeded in defending itself against what had been a constant terror of Hamas rockets. With Israel’s $1.1 billion investment in a sophisticated and nearly completed “underground wall” of concrete and sensors, the enormous effort Hamas has expended in building tunnels under the Gaza fence, paid for with funds pilfered from international aid allotments, has been squandered.

What Israel is now facing is a different and far more sinister security challenge. Hamas exists for the sole purpose of doing violence to Israel and to Israelis. By its various bloodcurdling pronouncements and exhortations, Hamas had made it clear that what it failed to accomplish with its rockets and tunnels, it is now prepared to attempt with the corpses of young, desperate and deluded young Gazans, piled in heaps along the Gaza security fence.

Palestinian men carry an injured protester during clashes with Israeli forces near the border between Israel and the Gaza strip, east of Jabalia on May 14, 2018. MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images Until now, the IDF’s rules of engagement in coping with intrusions along the Gaza security fence have been coldly rational, justifiable and quite straightforward. First, shoot to warn. Then shoot to wound. As a last resort, shoot to kill.

Suicidal provocations along the Gaza fence did not begin on March 30, when Abu Artema’s starry-eyed notions of a non-violent uprising went sideways. They have been a frequent occurrence, ever since Hamas threw out its Fatah rivals more than a decade ago. Back then, Israel established a deadly security zone along the fence. Since 2005 — until the recent encounters — more than 80 Palestinians had been killed in that zone. Last December, the IDF shot and killed eight Palestinians at a single raucous demonstration at the security fence, and over a two-week period nearly 300 Gazans were injured in encounters with the IDF along the fence. It is a messy, bloody business. Sometimes, innocents get killed.

Fatah, meanwhile, has played a callous game of brinksmanship, using the suffering of Gazans as its trump cards

Several weeks before the deaths of 15 Palestinians during the March 30 demonstration, Brig.-Gen. Yehuda Fox, commander of the IDF’s Gaza division, warned that if there was a breakdown in the “reconciliation” talks between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, controlled by the decrepit Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah organization in the West Bank, “they’ll say Israel is the problem. ‘Let’s go to jihad and start a war.’”

In those talks, Hamas made it clear and plain that it had no interest in governing. It was willing to surrender almost all of its authority in Gaza to the Palestinian Authority, but it refused to relinquish its military wing or swear off terror attacks on Israel. Fatah, meanwhile, has played a callous game of brinksmanship, using the suffering of Gazans as its trump cards. By February, roughly 40,000 Hamas employees had already gone months without paycheques. In Ramallah, Abbas stopped paying Israel for the electricity it sends into Gaza by transmission line and also stopped payment for the fuel that runs Gaza’s electrical power station.

Yehiyeh Sinwar, the Hamas militant group’s leader in the Gaza Strip, speaks to foreign correspondents, in his office in Gaza City, Thursday, May 10, 2018. Khalil Hamra / AP Following the attempted assassination of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and the PA’s spy chief, Majid Faraj, during their April visit to Gaza, the talks have gone nowhere. With all the Arab states except Qatar closing its doors on Hamas, Egypt’s closure of the Rafah border crossing and Hamas losing $20 million a month in revenues from the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Israel, Gaza’s coffers are empty, and Palestinians are at their wits’ end. Already struggling from Israel’s decade-long blockade, by March 30, the desperation of Gaza’s 1.8 million people had become unbearable, and as Brig.-Gen. Fox warned, Hamas had found a new way to “go to jihad” and start a war.

That is the predicament Israel is facing. If Hamas persists in luring Palestinians to martyrdom at the Gaza fence, the IDF’s rules of engagement — first shoot to warn, then shoot to wound, then shoot to kill — become morally untenable. An abomination.

It is not right, or fair, but this is the dilemma, and it is Israel’s dilemma to resolve.

[newstfionline]

Behind bloody Gaza clashes, economic misery and piles of debt

By Loveday Morris, Washington Post, April 23, 2018

Every Friday for the past month, thousands of Palestinians have surged to Gaza’s border fence with Israel in a show of anger and defiance, some throwing stones and molotov cocktails, others simply to be there.

“Young people have nothing to lose,” said 31-year-old Mohammed Sukkar, a few hundred yards from the boundary fence on the first day of protests last month as the crowd retreated after pops of gunfire. Sukkar is unemployed and says he is hard pressed to feed his six children.

Across the 140-square-mile territory, Gazans are struggling to finance their daily lives. Young people--unable to pay for weddings or homes of their own--are delaying marriage, figures show, while health officials say suicide, once virtually unheard of in Gaza, is on the rise.

Universities say students are dropping out because they cannot afford the fees. At the Islamic University in Gaza City, a third of the students did not re-enroll this semester. Graduates have little hope of finding work in their specialized fields.

Unemployment in Gaza is nearly 50 percent, and 68 percent of those between the ages of 20 and 24 are jobless, according to figures from the Palestine Trade Center.

The Gaza Strip’s economy has been crippled by a more than decade-long blockade by Israel, which maintains tight controls on trade and movement in and out of the territory, citing security considerations. But Gazans are also frustrated with the territory’s rulers, the Hamas organization, for its failure to provide basic services, and at the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority for cutting the salaries of its Gaza employees.

The United Nations is warning that something has got to give. Even Israeli security officials have sounded an alarm in recent months, warning that a humanitarian crisis could set off an explosion of violence, putting Israel itself at risk.

“We are on the edge of economic collapse,” said Judge Mohammed Nofal, sorting through a pile of case files in his courtroom in central Gaza, where plaintiffs and accused debtors shuffle in and out to have their financial cases heard.

Nofal’s courtroom, nothing more than a small office stacked with files, provides a glimpse into Gaza’s economic hardships. From behind his desk, he hears about 20 cases a day and rules on another 80 just from the paperwork.

Nofal, one of two financial judges in the Gaza court, says he heard 12,000 cases last year, up 50 percent from a year earlier. The value of checks bounced in the territory surged to $112 million last year, according to the Palestine Monetary Authority. In 2016, the figure was $62 million.

Desperate for small loans, Gazans seek credit wherever they can, Nofal said. Often, for instance, people turn to electronics stores that offer products on credit, signing up to buy televisions or washing machines on installment plans, then immediately selling those appliances to get cash.

When they fail to pay their creditors, a domino effect of defaults is triggered, Nofal said.

Nabil Abu Afash, 58, used to sell furniture on installment. But customers stopped paying him and he had no way to recoup the losses, he said. He sold his house to cover $90,000 of his own debt and now owes rent to a landlord.

On a recent day, he was queuing outside the courthouse, waiting to request that his overdue rent be deferred, when his landlord happened to pass by.

“I owe him $3,000,” Abu Afash said.

“Four thousand,” countered the landlord, Hatem Qalaga, who said he came to court to petition that his debtors be imprisoned.

“What am I supposed to do?” Qalaga continued. “I’m owed $100,000, and now I’m $30,000 in debt myself.”

“It’s collapsing, collapsing,” he said of Gaza’s economy.

As they spoke, a man nearby was bundled off to prison in a police car.

Nofal said prison is a last resort. But he signed 20 arrest warrants on his desk that day.

Everyone is feeling the pinch, he said, acknowledging that his own salary was cut by the local government by 60 percent to $800 a month.

The only solution is for Israel to ease border restrictions, he said.

“People need to work,” Nofal says.

Beleaguered Gazans do not blame only Israel; pressure is building against Palestinian leaders, too.

“It’s because of Hamas,” Ahmed Hamouda, a 25-year-old worker on Gaza’s seafront, said without missing a beat. “This is the reality. We are fed up.”

Gaza is suffering because of Hamas’s isolation from the rest of the world, he said. The group is considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, and it has been increasingly ostracized within the Middle East.

While Hamas’s relationship with Egypt has warmed somewhat in recent months, the group’s fortunes took a dive when the Muslim Brotherhood was ousted from power in Egypt in 2013. Since then, Egypt has shut down smuggling tunnels connecting Egypt and Gaza that had generated taxes for Hamas and breathed some life into Gaza’s economy.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has cut wages for its employees in Gaza to squeeze Hamas, a rival political force.

As economic pressure mounts, Hamas has tried to hand over the burden of administering the strip to the Palestinian Authority, headed by Mahmoud Abbas. But talks to mend a long-standing rift have failed, with Hamas ultimately unwilling to give up its control over security in Gaza. It has, however, handed over the main border crossing with Israel, ceding with that control the taxes collected there.

With Hamas cornered and unable to provide basic services, analysts speculated that another war with Israel could be imminent as the militant group sought a way to divert attention from the internal crisis.

But Hamas has found another release valve--for now at least.

The idea for the weekly protests, dubbed the “March of Return,” has been widely attributed to Palestinian activist Ahmad Abu Artema, who disavowed any political affiliation and said he believes in a one-state solution to the conflict, an arrangement in which Palestinians are given rights alongside Israelis in a democratic state.

He says the “hardship of Gaza” spurred the “revolutionary step” of peacefully protesting against Israel’s occupation and the loss of Palestinian land when Israel was created in 1948.

Artema said it was important for the protests to have the backing of the political parties that rule Gaza. “We cannot deny them,” he said. “They are part of society.”

But for Hamas, the march--however it came about--came at the right moment.

“They decided, I wouldn’t say to hijack the march, I’d say to lead the march,” said Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political science at Gaza’s Al-Azhar University. The aim was to deflect attention to Israel “instead of anger and frustration building up against Hamas in Gaza.”

Hamas is testing a new strategy, Abusada said.

“Hamas has realized very late that in military confrontation we lose,” Abusada said. “They are not quitting the military resistance. They are trying to use nonviolent resistance alongside.”

Ahmed Yousef, a former senior adviser to the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, said the demonstrations have provided needed relief.

“We are a little bit happier than before,” Yousef said. “We can see something with this demonstration that the issue of Palestine is seen by the whole world.”

Protest organizers say they hope to sustain the demonstrations until at least mid-May, when Palestinians commemorate what they call the Nakba, or catastrophe, marking the flight and expulsion of an estimated 700,000 Palestinians seven decades ago upon Israel’s creation.

The numbers of protesters, though, are declining with the passing weeks, and the toll of the demonstrations continues to rise. More than 1,500 Palestinians have been shot.

And none of this is kick-starting the economy.

Wissam Sabah, 34, runs a mechanic shop and imports building materials in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza.

He pulls out a wad of bounced checks from people who owe him money.

“See all this, all paper, no cash,” he says. He is taking the checks to the police to file a report.

Construction is virtually at a standstill, he said. International aid to the territory is declining, and only just over half of the $5.4 billion dollars pledged for Gaza’s reconstruction in 2014 has been delivered, according to the World Bank.

Tragically, Sabah and others here say, another economic solution exists.

“When there’s a war, they pay attention,” he says. “When there is destruction, there will be reconstruction.”

[e-o-t-w]

Eyes on the world #168

Dopo una settimana di pausa, ripartiamo dove avevamo lasciato. Con 15° in meno.

Ovviamente si ricomincia dalla guerra in corso tra Israele e Hamas, giunta – probabilmente – a una svolta. Seguono corposi aggiornamenti dall’Italia e dagli USA.

Visto che intro breve? Cominciamo 👇

🇮🇱 ISRAELE-HAMAS: OSPEDALI PRESI DI MIRA, ATTACCO AL CAMPO DI JABALIA, LE PAROLE DI HEZBOLLAH

(1) Due intere settimane di guerra in #Israele da recuperare. Proviamo ad andare spediti. Eravamo rimasti all’inizio delle ostilità via terra iniziate dall’esercito israeliano alla fine di ottobre, con le comunicazioni via internet e telefoniche ridotte al minimo che hanno reso molto complicato capire da subito cosa stesse succedendo. Gli scontri più cruenti si sono concentrati principalmente nel nord di #Gaza, mentre civili e soccorritori erano impegnati a cercare feriti e corpi sotto le macerie. Nel frattempo sono continuati a transitare all’interno della #Striscia aiuti umanitari con acqua, cibo e medicine (ma niente carburante). Uno degli episodi più eclatanti ha riguardato l’assalto ai danni di un aereo proveniente da Tel Aviv nell’aeroporto internazionale di #Machačkala, la capitale dello stato russo del Daghestan: secondo le ricostruzioni, una folla di persone di religione musulmana ha fatto irruzione nell’aeroporto e ha circondato il suddetto velivolo (anche se i passeggeri erano stati fatti sbarcare in precedenza) con l’intenzione di chiedere ai passeggeri di condannare la guerra in corso. 150 rivoltosi sono stati poi identificati e 60 di questi arrestati, rei di aver portato avanti una campagna d’odio da settimane e “premeditato” l’attacco. Tornando a Gaza, una delle situazioni più delicate l’ha vissuta l’ospedale #alQuds, al quale Israele ha chiesto l’evacuazione – con scarsi risultati, per ovvi motivi – per via della sua trasformazione in “zona militare” (pur essendo rifugiati al suo interno un elevato numero di civili). L’esercito israeliano, all’inizio della scorsa settimana, ha proseguito l’avanzata all’interno di Gaza, bombardando più volte anche il campo profughi di #Jabalia (il più grande presente a Gaza, situato a nord e abitato da oltre 116 mila persone); secondo Al Jazeera ne sarebbero state uccise almeno 50. Israele ha giustificato l’attacco – tramite il portavoce dell’esercito Daniel Hagari – affermando di aver ucciso un importante comandante di #Hamas, diversi membri del gruppo e danneggiato tunnel sotterranei, depositi di armi e postazioni per lanciare razzi. Lo scorso mercoledì inoltre una nave missilistica ha fatto la sua comparsa nel Mar Rosso, mentre le comunicazioni telefoniche e internet sono state nuovamente interrotte. Tuttavia, per la prima volta dall’inizio del conflitto, oltre 1.000 persone sono state evacuate attraverso il varco di Rafah per raggiungere l’#Egitto (poco meno di 100 erano state autorizzate per via delle ferite riportate). Nella giornata di giovedì 2, l’esercito israeliano ha comunicato ufficialmente di aver circondato la città di Gaza, alla quale si stava avvicinando da giorni. Intanto ha detto per la prima volta la sua sul tema anche il leader del gruppo radicale libanese #Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, alleato di Hamas e dell’Iran contro Israele. In un discorso molto concitato, ha accusato gli #StatiUniti di essere i principali artefici di ciò che sta accadendo e di dover essere puniti per questo, intanto che al confine tra i due stati (Libano e Israele appunto) gli scontri non si sono mai placati. Venerdì a essere nuovamente bombardate sono state le zone limitrofe agli ospedali al Shifa e al Quds, mentre il premier israeliano #Netanyahu ha ribadito come l’unico cessate il fuoco potenzialmente accolto sarebbe da barattare solo con la liberazione degli oltre 200 ostaggi di Hamas. A far discutere sono state invece le parole del ministro israeliano per il Patrimonio culturale, Amichay Eliyahu, che in un’intervista radiofonica ha definito “una possibilità” sganciare una bomba atomica sulla Striscia di Gaza, trovando l’immediata smentita del premier.

🇮🇱  ISRAELE-HAMAS: CHIUSO IL VARCO DI RAFAH, CONFLITTO IN PAUSA 4 ORE AL GIORNO PER FACILITARE GLI AIUTI

(2) In tutto ciò, domenica l’#OMS ha reso noto che Israele ha compiuto oltre 100 attacchi diretti a strutture sanitarie nella Striscia di Gaza, in totale violazione dell’articolo 18 della Convenzione di Ginevra per la protezione delle persone civili in tempo di guerra. Nella stessa giornata, Hamas ha accusato Israele di aver bombardato il campo profughi di Maghazi, nella zona centrale della Striscia (ci sarebbero almeno 51 morti). Lo scorso weekend ha fatto ritorno in Medioriente anche il Segretario di Stato americano Antony #Blinken, passando da Israele, Giordania, Cisgiordania e Iraq per chiedere delle “pause umanitarie” (mai un cessate il fuoco totale) ed evitare che il conflitto si allarghi a nuove nazioni. Delle “pause” sono effettivamente state concesse da Israele, che ha aperto per poche ore un passaggio per evacuare la popolazione dal nord della Striscia verso sud, prima di entrare ufficialmente – secondo quanto dichiarato dal ministro della Difesa israeliano Yoav Gallant – nella città di Gaza. Hamas ha accusato l’esercito di aver bombardato abitazioni civili, mentre dall’altra parte non sono arrivati commenti di nessun tipo su alcuna operazione (presumibilmente per non dare alcun indizio ad Hamas sulle prossime mosse). Mercoledì i ministri degli Esteri del #G7 si sono riuniti a Tokyo e hanno diffuso un comunicato chiedendo a gran voce “pause” del conflitto e l’apertura di corridoi umanitari per aiutare i civili intrappolati a Gaza. In serata invece è stato chiuso il varco di #Rafah per non meglio precisati “motivi di sicurezza”. Qui è giunto anche l'alto commissario delle Nazioni Unite per i diritti umani, Volker Türk, che ha accusato sia Israele che Hamas di aver compiuto crimini di guerra. Giovedì l’esercito israeliano – via social – ha fatto sapere di essere disposto a garantire pause tattiche localizzate al fine di far arrivare aiuti umanitari ai civili di Gaza, mentre la situazione nei pressi degli ospedali è sempre più complicata, oltre che pericolosa (diverse esplosioni sono state segnalate nella zona dell’ospedale al Shifa di Gaza, mentre l’al Rantisi è presidiato dall’esercito israeliano). Il portavoce del consiglio di Sicurezza nazionale statunitense John Kirby ha poi fatto sapere che Israele avrebbe accordato a istituire una pausa quotidiana di 4 ore dagli attacchi nel nord della Striscia di Gaza (in zone sempre diverse) per consentire l’evacuazione dei civili presenti nell’area.

🇮🇹 MALTEMPO, “PREMIERATO” E IMMIGRAZIONE I TEMI CENTRALI DELLA SETTIMANA ITALIANA. I DETTAGLI

(3) Passiamo all’#Italia, dove questa settimana si è parlato di diversi provvedimenti prossimi all’approvazione (o quasi) e di importanti accordi sul tema #immigrazione. Ma non possiamo non cominciare dall’ondata di #maltempo che ha investito il nostro paese da nord a sud nell’ultima decina di giorni. I disagi più grandi hanno riguardato prevalentemente il centro-nord, Toscana in primis, al punto da costringere il governo a dichiarare lo stato d’emergenza per numerose province. C’è stato un primo stanziamento da 5 milioni di euro per intervenire in modo urgente sulle necessità maggiori, a partire dal ripristino della funzionalità dei servizi pubblici. Almeno 8 persone hanno perso la vita a causa dei nubifragi e del forte vento. Il Consiglio dei ministri, a cavallo tra questa e la scorsa settimana, ha approvato anche un disegno di legge di riforma costituzionale, che avrebbe come obiettivo principale quello di introdurre il cosiddetto “#premierato”. Il provvedimento in questione, che – come dice il nome stesso – consisterebbe in una modifica della #Costituzione, è costituito da 5 articoli, ognuno dei quali con un argomento ben specifico. Si parla dell’eliminazione della nomina dei senatori a vita (eccetto per gli ex presidenti della Repubblica) e della facoltà del presidente della Repubblica di sciogliere una sola delle due camere (azione che nessun capo di stato ha mai messo in atto), fino appunto alla possibilità di eleggere il presidente del Consiglio attraverso le classiche #elezioni politiche, che di norma servono esclusivamente a rinnovare il #Parlamento (mentre è il presidente della Repubblica che indica poi la figura del premier, in base alla maggioranza che può ottenere). Una delle modifiche più importanti della riforma entrerebbe in atto in caso di caduta del governo o dimissioni del premier: in questo caso infatti, il capo di stato dovrebbe conferire l’incarico di formare un nuovo governo al premier dimissionario o a un suo collega di partito o coalizione, ma tale procedimento potrà avvenire solo una volta per legislatura. La norma comunque dovrà seguire un iter molto lungo per essere approvata ed è probabile che subisca parecchie modifiche.

La notizia più importante della settimana ha però riguardato il nuovo accordo siglato con l’#Albania a tema immigrazione. Lunedì la premier Giorgia #Meloni e l’omologo albanese Edi Rama hanno firmato un protocollo d’intesa per gestire parte dell’immigrazione in modo sinergico. In sostanza, in Albania verranno realizzate due strutture che accoglieranno #migranti in arrivo in Italia, che l’Italia stessa gestirà a proprie spese e sotto la sua giurisdizione. Saranno 3.000 al massimo le persone che i due centri potranno accogliere tutte insieme e, in base a quanto dichiarato dalla premier Meloni, tra queste non potranno esserci minori, donne incinte e persone definite vulnerabili (non vi è tuttavia traccia di quest’ultimo punto nella versione finale del documento ufficiale, né appare chiara la modalità con cui questa distinzione possa avvenire nella pratica). Una delle due strutture funzionerà come un classico Centro di permanenza per i rimpatri (CPR), anche se – in base alle leggi italiane ed europee – i migranti possono essere trattenuti in strutture governative solo in casi eccezionali, mentre sembra che in questo caso trattenerli possa essere la prassi per le persone non idonee al diritto di asilo. La premier ha anche parlato di procedure accelerate per esaminare le richieste di asilo (28 giorni al massimo), pur essendo i tempi medi attuali ben più lunghi. L’Albania – che tra le altre cose non è nemmeno uno stato dell’Unione Europea – dal canto suo collaborerà con le forze di polizia e la sorveglianza esclusivamente all’esterno delle strutture (dalle quali i migranti non potranno uscire), oltre a fornire gratuitamente gli spazi dove verranno costruiti i centri. Tra i tanti problemi evidenziati da esperti e analisti, risalta quello che obbliga – secondo il diritto internazionale sul tema – la conclusione nel più breve tempo possibile del soccorso in mare, diretto verso il porto sicuro più vicino (sicuramente non in Albania, partendo dal #Mediterraneo centrale). Il protocollo ha una durata di 5 anni e sarà rinnovato automaticamente a meno che – 6 mesi prima della scadenza – una delle parti non comunichi il dissenso. I centri, in base a quanto dichiarato, dovrebbero entrare in funzione entro la primavera del 2024, ma i dubbi sul loro funzionamento sono molteplici.

🇺🇸 USA, ELECTION DAY: DEM TRIONFANTI IN DIVERSI STATI. OK IL DIRITTO ALL’ABORTO IN OHIO. INTANTO TRUMP…

(4) Andiamo infine negli #USA, dove nell’ultima settimana c’è stata qualche novità degna di nota. Partiamo innanzitutto dicendo che manca meno di un anno alle elezioni per eleggere il nuovo presidente americano (si vota il 5 novembre 2024) e, a questo proposito, il New York Times ha pubblicato un sondaggio che ha fatto suonare ben più di un allarme all’attuale capo di stato Joe #Biden. Il Partito Democratico da lui rappresentato (e che, al 99,9%, lo vedrà come candidato principale nel 2024) sta raccogliendo meno consensi del previsto, soprattutto nei cosiddetti “stati in bilico”, ovvero quelli interessati dal sondaggio e che – di norma – decidono le elezioni. In 5 di questi 6 Biden è indietro di diversi punti rispetto al primo indiziato a rappresentare il Partito Repubblicano, l’ex presidente Donald #Trump. Il vantaggio accumulato va dai 4 ai 10 punti percentuali in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada e Pennsylvania, mentre solo in Wisconsin Biden è in leggero vantaggio. Allo scorso giro, nel 2020, l’attuale presidente trionfò in tutti e 6 gli stati. A preoccupare gli elettori è – molto probabilmente – l’età avanzata di Biden e l’attuale gestione dell’economia americana. Il calo dei consensi per i Democratici è stato rintracciato soprattutto nello zoccolo duro degli elettori DEM, ovvero i giovani e le persone non bianche. Trump al momento ha invece ben altre gatte da pelare, come i processi a suo carico. Lunedì ha testimoniato a New York nell’ambito di una causa civile per truffa per la quale è imputato insieme ai 3 figli e ad alcuni dirigenti della sua Trump Organization, mettendo in piedi un vero e proprio spettacolo. L’ex presidente ha parlato a più riprese di persecuzione politica e accanimento giudiziario, ha accusato il giudice di essere prevenuto e ha risposto in modo evasivo alle domande a lui poste. Nel frattempo sono andate in scena delle importanti votazioni su temi particolarmente caldi per l’opinione pubblica. In Ohio, con l’ausilio di un referendum, è stato inserito nella costituzione dello stato un emendamento che sottolinea l’impossibilità dello stato a interferire sulle “decisioni riproduttive” delle persone, garantendo quindi il diritto all’#aborto (una decisione simile è stata già presa in altri 6 stati, tra cui il Kansas, tradizionalmente Repubblicano) e non solo. Contemporaneamente, con un altro referendum, è stata legalizzata la marijuana a scopo ricreativo. Non è tutto. A capo del Kentucky è stato confermato il governatore Democratico Andy Beshear, mentre in Mississippi resterà nelle mani del Repubblicano Tate Reeves. Il partito Democratico ha infine ottenuto un’altra importante vittoria in Virginia, dove si è votato per rinnovare il Congresso dello stato e il partito ha ottenuto la maggioranza in entrambe le camere, nonostante a governare lo stato sia il Repubblicano Glenn Youngkin. Il partito ha ottenuto lo stesso risultato anche nelle elezioni legislative in New Jersey.

Alla prossima 👋