#Barak ravid

[theinconvenientlifestyle]

[vyorei]

[arthropooda]

[plitnick]

What the latest Libya debacle tells us about U.S. and Israeli indifference to Libyan lives

After Israel broke confidence by reporting secret talks with the Libyan foreign minister, the repercussions are still being felt in that troubled and divided country. While Israel acted shamefully, the lion’s share of the blame, as usual, belongs to the Biden administration. This piece at Mondoweiss looks at the context and just how despicable U.S. actions, as well as Israel’s and the Libyan…

[papasmoke]

The framing of the calls to boycott the dinner as if they were being led by American protestors as opposed to, say, Palestinian journalists in Gaza telling their American counterparts not to go, strikes me as disingenuous & intentionally misleading. A couple paragraphs of the article is also just stenography for the White House's reasoning for giving an award to IDF veteran & Biden admin toady Barak Ravid with no analysis on how that ties into the broader complicity of the Biden admin in the targeted killings of over 130 journalists in Gaza.

[eretzyisrael]

by Barak Ravid

One of the main questions raised during a meeting President Biden and Vice President Harris had with their national security team on Monday was whether there is a hostage-release and ceasefire in Gaza deal Hamas would ever agree to, U.S. officials said.

Why it matters: Biden and his top advisers were shocked after Hamas killed six hostages, among them U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, and have started to rethink the way forward in the negotiations over the deal.

At the same time, Hamas' new demand to increase the number of Palestinian prisoners released as part of the deal raised even more concerns and questions among U.S. negotiators about whether an agreement is possible, U.S. officials said.

"We still think the deal is the only way to save the lives of the hostages and stop the war. But the executions not only increased our sense of urgency but also called into question Hamas' willingness to do a deal of any kind," a U.S. official said.

Behind the scenes: U.S. officials said one of the main arguments made in the meeting was that after Hamas murdered the hostages, including an American, the U.S. shouldn't push for a proposal that gives Hamas additional concessions and instead focus on applying more pressure and accountability measures against Hamas.

A concern raised in the situation room meeting was that the U.S. could press Israel to reduce Israel Defense Forces deployed along the Egypt-Gaza border or on other issues, only to discover that Hamas doesn't agree to other parts of the deal. That could mean the new offer would only become the foundation for future negotiations that would be more favorable to Hamas, a U.S. official said.

During the situation room meeting, Biden was briefed about the Department of Justice plan to publish indictments against Hamas leaders, which have been sealed since February, one U.S. official said.

On Wednesday, Hamas officials continued to stress that the U.S., Qatar and Egypt need to pressure Israel to agree to its demands.

Driving the news: White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told the families of the U.S. hostages on Sunday that Biden is considering presenting an updated and final proposal for the hostage-release and ceasefire deal this week and asking Israel and Hamas to respond.

But in recent days, the White House appears to be less enthusiastic about that option. Biden's advisers are still holding talks with Qatar and Egypt on the updated proposal but U.S. officials say they don't want to predict the timeline for presenting it.

"The text is basically done except for two paragraphs and the annexes of the prisoner exchange and two maps of IDF deployment in Gaza during the first phase of the deal," a U.S. official said.

"We all feel the urgency but what happened last weekend changed the character of the discussion. But we do want to try and get something together," the U.S. official said.

[girlactionfigure]

🔘 HOSTAGE BODIES RECOVERED - MORNING NEWS

ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

🇮🇱SIX HOSTAGE BODIES RECOVERED.. The bodies of the hostages Alex Danzig, Avraham Monder, Yoram Metzger, Nadav Poplewell, Haim Peri and Yogev Buchstab were recovered from the Strip overnight.  They were murdered in captivity by Hamas.

.. Recovered by Tzanchanim, Yaalom together with Shin Bet.

.. May their families finally be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem, and may G-d avenge the blood of these holy martyrs.

.. Defense Minister: 6 bodies of the hostages were recovered in a daring and dangerous operation in the Hamas tunnels in Khan Yunis.

▪️109 remained in captivity, of which 35 have been declared dead.

⚠️ NORTHERN TOWN WARNING.. KDMC, Ein Zivan, Ortal, Marom Golan Sha'al, Ramat President Trump, Kele as well as in the Katzrin area: minimize movement, avoid gatherings, no public activities, stay near protected space, firefighters prepare for fires. (7:30 AM)   As well, the Upper Galilee council: all kibbutzim are asked to avoid congregating and stay near protected spaces. (9:30). As well as Kabari, Yechiam and Gaaton.  Katzrin city as well.

🔹HEZBOLLAH “WAITING OVER”.. Sources told the Lebanese channel "Al-Jadid" that Hezbollah's response to the assassination of a senior member of the terrorist organization Fuad Shukar was linked to negotiations between Israel and Hamas. According to the sources, "as soon as Hamas announced that it opposes the new proposal, Hezbollah was freed from the restriction they had placed on it - to wait so that it would not be accused of disrupting the negotiations."

.. The same sources claim that “a target was carefully chosen" and is one that will not drag the entire region into war.

⭕ ROCKET BARRAGE from HEZBOLLAH this morning, 55+ rockets.  

⭕ 13 rounds of ROCKET FIRE and DRONE FIRE by Hezbollah over the last day.

♦️LEBANON - AIRSTRIKE - TAYBE, SOUTHERN LEBANON.

♦️GAZA - An exchange of fire took place between our forces and the terrorists in the Hamed neighborhood of Khan Yunis.  Enemy killed and wounded in an attack on a building in the Nizirat camp.  Enemy eliminated in a vehicle attack from the air in the Alkhashashin, west of Rafah. Enemy killed and wounded in an airstrike against a building in Albridge.

♦️COUNTER-TERROR - JABBA.. south of Jenin overnight. Terrorists fired at IDF forces - the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Battalions took responsibility for the shooting.  A bomb was also thrown at a military jeep.

▪️PRESIDENT BIDEN.. at the DNC convention: "We need to stop the war in Gaza, many innocent people have been killed on both sides. We are working around the clock... to prevent a wider war, to return the kidnapped to their families, to increase the flow of humanitarian aid and food to Gaza. To end the civilian suffering of the Palestinians, to finally reach a ceasefire and end this war.”

▪️Reservist soldiers serving in the north and living in conflict line settlements were required this week to return their weapons - after contacting news Kaan 11, the instruction was canceled.

▪️CHAREDI RECRUITMENT.. the Orthodox Program for Regularization where the IDF failed: 150 ultra-Orthodox are on their way to Givati and Tzanhanim as combat soldiers.

🔸DEAL NEWS.. Barak Ravid: In the first phase of the deal, we are talking about the release of 150 life prisoners in exchange for the release of the 5 female observers. The list will be according to seniority in prison and Israel will have a veto on 65.  

[mirkobloom77]

‼️🇵🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸 Compilation of Al Jazeera posts on the current pause from the US in weapon shipments to Israel

[Plain text: Compilation of Al Jazeera posts on the current pause from the US in weapon shipments to Israel]

🔹 Note: Take everything here with a pinch of salt. We all know of the US’s “ironclad support” for Israel.

🔸 Sources: Al Jazeera, unless specified. Non-Al Jazeera photos will have their sources below them.

‼️🇵🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸 US pause of Israel weapons shipment due to Rafah plans

[Plain text: US pause of Israel weapons shipment due to Rafah plans]

‼️🇵🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸 US says it didn’t approve Israel’s offensive in Rafah

[Plain text: US says it didn’t approve Israel’s offensive in Rafah]

🔹 Added since this is, as far as we know, the reason for the weapons delivery pause.

‼️🇵🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸 ‘We are reviewing other potential weapons systems’ to Israel: US

[Plain text: ‘We are reviewing other potential weapons systems’ to Israel: US]

‼️🇵🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸 Israel says US halting weapons shipment could jeopardise captives talks: Report

[Plain text: Israel says US halting weapons shipment could jeopardise captives talks: Report]

🔹 The rest of the photos in this post are opinions and commentary from AIPAC, Bernie Sanders and Israel’s UN ambassador. There is a post by Barak Ravid included, containing more information, but other than that, these are just miscellaneous comments.

‼️🇵🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸 AIPAC hits out at Biden’s decisión to delay arms shipment to Israel

[Plain text: AIPAC hits out at Biden’s decisión to delay arms shipment to Israel]

=

🔸 Additional sources: American Israel Public Affairs Committee and Barak Ravid

‼️🇵🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸 ‘Absolutely right’: Bernie Sanders backs US pausing arms shipment to Israel

[Plain text: ‘Absolutely right’: Bernie Sanders backs US pausing arms shipment to Israel]

‼️🇵🇸🇮🇱🇺🇸🇺🇳 Israel’s UN ambassador says US pausing arms shipments ‘very disappointing’

[Plain text: Israel’s UN ambassador says US pausing arms shipments ‘very disappointing’]

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

A video shared widely on 8 June shows that the Israeli army made use of the U.S.-built pier installed in central Gaza as part of a bloody rescue operation that saw the killing of at least 210 Palestinians in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Furthermore, according to Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, a special U.S. military unit specialized in rescuing captives “supported the effort” that decimated the Nuseirat camp.

[porterdavis]

This is a disturbing and chilling look at how war is conducted with AI.

At one point in October, Abraham reports, the Israel Defense Forces targeted junior combatants identified by Lavender only if the likely collateral damage could be limited to 15 or 20 civilian deaths — a shockingly large number, given that no collateral damage had been considered acceptable for low-level combatants. More senior commanders, Abraham reports, would be targeted even if it meant killing more than 100 civilians. A second program, called Where’s Daddy?, was used to track the combatants to their homes before targeting them there, Abraham writes, because doing so at those locations, along with their families, was “easier” than tracking them to military outposts. And increasingly, to avoid wasting smart bombs to target the homes of suspected junior operatives, the Israel Defense Forces chose to use much less precise dumb bombs instead.

And then when it comes to decisions made by humans:

On CNN, the analyst Barak Ravid told Anderson Cooper of a conversation he had with an Israeli reserve officer who told him that “the orders are basically - 'shoot every man in fighting age'.

Welcome to war in 2024.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Barak Ravid at Axios:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded Thursday to President Biden's threat to suspend military aid if Israel invades Rafah, declaring in a video: "If Israel needs to stand alone, it will stand alone."

Why it matters: Netanyahu's defiance in the face of Biden's "red line" will further exacerbate tensions between the Israeli government and the White House over the war in Gaza.

Driving the news: Biden warned in an interview with CNN Wednesday that if Israel proceeds with an invasion of Rafah, the U.S. will stop supplying it with artillery shells, bombs for fighter jets and other offensive weapons.

Biden's ultimatum was the first time that the president or any other official in his administration has said publicly that an Israeli ground operation in Rafah will result in a halt to the supply of offensive weapons.

Biden's comments came a few days after Axios first reported that the White House had put a weapons shipment to Israel on hold as a signal of its concern about Israel's plans for Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians are sheltering.

What they are saying: In another video in Hebrew released on Thursday, Netanyahu compared the war in Gaza to Israel's war of independence in 1948.

"Back then, there was also an arms embargo on Israel — but we won. Today, we are much stronger… If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails," he said.

In an interview with Dr. Phil released Thursday, Netanyahu said he hopes that he and Biden can overcome the current disagreement — but stressed that Israel will do what it must to defeat Hamas, including in Rafah.

Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet and one of Netanyahu's chief rivals, said in a statement that he is sure that the "important U.S. weapons shipments" will be transferred.

The intrigue: Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel's ultranationalist security minister, posted a tweet — which was widely condemned — suggesting that Hamas "loves" Biden.

"The U.S. stood by Israel in its most difficult hour and the attacks against it by irresponsible ministers are ungrateful and motivated by domestic politics," Gantz said.

Cry more, genocidal war criminal Israel Apartheid State "Prime Minister" Benjamin Netanyahu! We the American people are tired of propping up your repressive apartheid regime!

[darkmaga-retard]

WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a guided missile submarine to the Middle East and is telling the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area, the Defense Department said Sunday.

Austin issued the order after speaking with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who told him Iran's military preparations suggest Iran is getting ready for a large-scale attack on Israel, Axios reporter Barak Ravid said on X, citing a source with knowledge of the call.

The moves come as the US and other allies push for Israel and Hamas to achieve a cease-fire agreement that could help calm soaring tensions in the region following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

While the USS Georgia, a nuclear-powered submarine, was already in the Mediterranean Sea in July, according to a US military post on social media, it was a rare move to publicly announce the deployment of a submarine.

In a statement after Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, the Pentagon said the defense chief had ordered the Abraham Lincoln strike group to accelerate its deployment to the region.

[arthropooda]

[plitnick]

As the US-Israel relationship is questioned, its ‘shared fictions’ remain strong

Tom Friedman is back, at least for a minute. He stirred up a bit of a fuss last week when he wrote that the US was beginning a “reassessment” of its relationship with Israel due to the current government’s excesses. Well, it wasn’t necessarily so, but the fact that Friedman wrote it, and that both the US and Israel reacted to it is worth looking into. This piece at Mondoweiss does just that.

[mariacallous]

I mean, if even Netanyahu is backing down a bit and pushing for an investigation (as per Barak Ravid)...

[eretzyisrael]

by Vijeta Uniyal

Report: Biden Admin halted arms shipment to Israel as a pressure tactic against Rafah invasion

The Biden administration last week halted an ammunition shipment to Israel in a bid to pressure the IDF into abandoning the planned operation in Rafah, Israeli journalist Barak Ravid reported in the new website Axios Sunday.

The revelation comes as Israel’s military offensive against Hamas enters its seventh month. Israel, a key U.S. ally, relies of American-made weapons, ammunition and spare parts for its armed forces.

In recent months, the Biden White House has been threatening to cut shipment of arms and ammunition if Jerusalem did not comply with its demands, including plans to eliminate Hamas leadership cornered in Rafah. According to the The New York Sun on March 18, Washington was “considering leaving Israel short of the armaments it needs to fight Hamas.”

The Axios reported:

The Biden administration last week put a hold on a shipment of U.S.-made ammunition to Israel, two Israeli officials told Axios.(…) The incident raised serious concerns inside the Israeli government and sent officials scrambling to understand why the shipment was held, Israeli officials said. President Biden is facing sharp criticism among Americans who oppose his support of Israel. The administration in February asked Israel to provide assurances that U.S.-made weapons were being used by Israel Defense Forces in Gaza in accordance with international law. Israel provided a signed letter of assurances in March. The Israeli officials said the ammunition shipment to Israel was stopped last week. (…) The White House declined to comment. (…) The Pentagon, the State Department and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office didn’t immediately respond to questions.