#among them are Jordan and Qatar

[lem0nademouth]

eden golan has to have 24 hour security detail in malmo because mobs of people have gathered outside her hotel room to protest her participation in a song contest. the finnish eurovision contestant said a video of him interacting with golan was “posted without his consent” and that the video “is not an endorsement” of Israel. her song, “Hurricane”, was originally titled “October Rain”, but was deemed too political for the contest by the EBU because of its references to the Simchat Torah pogrom.

she’s 20 years old. it’s a song contest. Israel has competed in Eurovision forty five times since 1973. Israel has won Eurovision four times and hosted three times. and this is the first time a contestant’s life has been at risk because of conflict in their home country.

who the fuck is being liberated here? who are we helping? more importantly, who is going to be the collateral damage?

[matan4il]

Daily update post:

A 70 years old Israeli farmer has been killed by Hezbollah rockets fired from Lebaon at Israel. May his memory be a blessing.

The death toll of the IDF ground operation in Gaza is now at 87.

Following the US congress discussion on antisemitism, where the presidents of prestigious universities couldn't clearly define calls to genocide the Jews as bullying and harassment, an Israeli professor at Standford, Jonathan Levav, who has lived there for years, and who said he's raising his two kids as typical American teenagers, was interviewed by his journalist friend in Israel. He talked about the fact that since Oct 7, he has felt antisemitism in the US and on his college campus in a way he never has before. "I would rather be in Israel right now," said the professor. "Really!?" asked his journalist friend, his voice making it clear that he's completely astonished. After all, our lives are currently under threat from several fronts. The professor reaffirmed the sentiment. "It's better to be hit by rockets in the face, than by knives in the back."

Here's another reminder that "Free Gaza from Hamas" isn't just a slogan, we're actually listening to people in Gaza who are pleading for a better life, and to even have a future:

And while some Gazans suffer immeasurably under Hamas, this terrorist organization's leaders and those affiliated with them live like kings. Better than most Israelis, in fact. The IDF revealed receipts for purchases made by Hamas people of luxury items, including jewelry. A single receipt was sometimes for a sum of money equivalent to two years worth of work on Gaza's average salary. Among the receipts found, were ones for purchases made by the son of Hamas's leader, Ismail Hanyieh. While Gazans suffer the consequences of Hamas' massacre of innocent civilians in Israel, Hanyieh is living in a luxury hotel in Qatar. Hanyieh's personal wealth is estimated to be 4 billion dollars, roughly 4 times greater than Taylor Swift's (Google says she has a net worth of 1.1 billion dollars).

Dozens of men in Gaza turned themselves over to the IDF today, they were arrested, not killed, a reminder that all Hamas needs to do for everyone to live is surrender.

The following infographic is a bit outdated (from roughly 3 weeks ago, I think), but it shows how much more attention the dead in Gaza get, than the dead anywhere else in the world, in conflicts far bloodier. Even more than in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. So what stands out about this, what makes everyone pay more attention to dead Gazan civilians than to dead Ukrainian civilians? My personal guess is that it's not the Gazans themselves. When Palestinians are killed by other Arabs in Lebanon, Syria or Jordan, no one pays attention to them. When Palestinians are killed by their own leadership, whether Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, no one talks about it. What changes suddenly, when Israel is a part of the picture? My guess is that it's the fact that then, it can be used to attack the Jewish state, excuse the massacre of Jews, and inspire attacks against Jewish people all over the world. Even on the campuses of the most prestigious US universities.

Why do I bring this up now?

The UN secretary general had been silent on the rape of Israeli women for almost two months following the Hamas massacre, had barely talked about Hamas' war crimes, had failed to talk about Hamas' use of Palestinians as human shields, and his workers had collaborated with Hamas for years, in turning a blind eye to Hamas' use of UN schools and hospitals to attack Israelis from, as well as since the Oct 7 massacre, in holding an Israeli kid hostage without providing him with enough food.

This man is now invoking article 99 of the UN charter.

This article allows him to call a special session of the UN security council, based on his concern for world peace.

He did not use this article during any other conflict, no matter how bloody. Not during his years in office while the civil war in Syria continues to rage for over a decade, with hundreds of thousands killed, and millions displaced. He did not invoke it during the war between Russia and Ukraine, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people on both sides in less than two years.

Or let's put aside at the number of victims, and look at the possible risk to world peace.

The global power that is Russia is in the middle of a war, with all the allies it has, and the places where it exerts its influence, such as Syria, and all the countries that are looking at Russia, waiting to see what they can learn from the war's results, and that doesn't make the UN secretary general concerned enough for world peace to call a special session! I'm not even going to talk about the geopolitical results of the war in Syria, which was a training ground for Islamists from other countries as well (for example, we know Hezbollah's terrorists returned from the war in Syria with more military experience than anything they got before). But that wasn't concerning enough!

There's so much that was said over the years about the UN's anti-Israel bias, but it feels like this one really takes the cake.

Once again, the only conflict involving the one Jewish state is also the only one getting disproportionate attention, which essentially (please excuse my language, but I am angry) fucks over every other victim of every other conflict. Never forget that antisemitism doesn't just hurt Jews, there are non-Jews who pay the price for it as well.

On the first night of Hanukkah, there will be 138 hanukkiot (Hanukkah menorahs) lit at the Western Wall, the same number of the hostages who are still being held in Gaza. (this is a small reminder that Hanukkah is a Zionist holiday)

This is 25 years old Gal Meir Eizenkott.

It was published just minutes ago that he was killed in the fighting in Gaza. Gal is the son of Gadi Eizenkott, who is currently an Israeli minister, and the former IDF Chief of Staff. NOBODY in Israel is sending the soldiers off to fight without a care in the world. Pictured below is Gal with his dad. May his memory be a blessing.

These are 3 years old Emma and Yuli Kunyo, twins.

They were held hostage by Hamas. We know now that at a certain point, Yuli was separated from the rest of her captured family, and kept alone. The two girls were released in the hostage deal, together with their 34 years old mom. Today, these girls were discharged from the hospital. They still don't have a home to return to.

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Olga Khazan

Published: Feb 18, 2018

Though their numbers are growing, only 27 percent of all students taking the AP Computer Science exam in the United States are female. The gender gap grows worse from there: Just 18 percent of American computer-science college degrees go to women. This is in the U.S., where many college men proudly describe themselves as “male feminists” and girls are taught they can be anything they want to be.

Meanwhile, in Algeria, 41 percent of college graduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math—or STEM, as it’s known—are female. There, employment discrimination against women is rife, and women are often pressured to make amends with their abusive husbands.

According to a report that I covered a few years ago, Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates were the only three countries in which boys were significantly less likely to feel comfortable working on math problems than girls were. In all of the other nations surveyed, girls were more likely to say they feel “helpless while performing a math problem.”

So what explains the tendency for nations that have traditionally less gender equality to have more women in science and technology than their gender-progressive counterparts do?

[ A scatter plot of countries based on their number of female STEM graduates and their Global Gender Gap Index (y-axis), a measure of opportunities for women (Psychological Science) ]

According to a new paper published in Psychological Science by the psychologists Gijsbert Stoet, of Leeds Beckett University, and David Geary, of the University of Missouri, it could have to do with the fact that women in countries with higher gender inequality are simply seeking the clearest possible path to financial freedom. And typically, that path leads through STEM professions.

The issue doesn’t appear to be girls’ aptitude for STEM professions. In looking at test scores across 67 countries and regions, Stoet and Geary found that girls performed about as well or better than boys did on science in most countries, and in almost all countries, girls would have been capable of college-level science and math classes if they had enrolled in them.

But when it comes to their relative strengths, in almost all the countries—all except Romania and Lebanon—boys’ best subject was science, and girls’ was reading. (That is, even if an average girl was as good as an average boy at science, she was still likely to be even better at reading.) Across all countries, 24 percent of girls had science as their best subject, 25 percent of girls’ strength was math, and 51 percent excelled in reading. For boys, the percentages were 38 for science, 42 for math, and 20 for reading. And the more gender-equal the country, as measured by the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, the larger this disparity between boys and girls in showing science to be their best subject. (The most gender-equal countries are the typical snowy utopias you hear about, such as Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. Turkey and the United Arab Emirates rank among the least equal, according to the Global Gender Gap Index.)

The gap in reading “is related at least in part to girls’ advantages in basic language abilities and a generally greater interest in reading; they read more and thus practice more,” Geary told me.

What’s more, the countries that minted the most female college graduates in fields such as science, engineering, or math were also some of the least gender-equal countries. Stoet and Geary posit that this is because the countries that empower women also empower them, indirectly, to pick whatever career they’d enjoy most and be best at.

“Countries with the highest gender equality tend to be welfare states,” they write, “with a high level of social security.” Meanwhile, less gender-equal countries tend to also have less social support for people who, for example, find themselves unemployed. Thus, the authors suggest, girls in those countries might be more inclined to choose STEM professions because they offer a more certain financial future than, say, painting or writing.

When the study authors looked at the “overall life satisfaction” rating of each country—a measure of economic opportunity and hardship—they found that gender-equal countries had more life satisfaction. The life-satisfaction ranking explained 35 percent of the variation between gender equality and women’s participation in STEM. That correlation echoes past research showing that the genders are actually more segregated by field of study in more economically developed places.

The upshot of this research is neither especially feminist nor especially sad: It’s not that gender equality discourages girls from pursuing science. It’s that it allows them not to if they’re not interested.

The findings will likely seem controversial, because the idea that men and women have different inherent abilities is used by some to argue that we should forget trying to recruit more women to the STEM fields. But, as Janet Shibley Hyde, a gender-studies professor at the University of Wisconsin who wasn’t involved with the study, put it to me, that’s not quite what’s happening here.

“Some would say that the gender STEM gap occurs not because girls can’t do science, but because they have other alternatives, based on their strengths in verbal skills,” she said. “In wealthy nations, they believe that they have the freedom to pursue those alternatives and not worry so much that they pay less.”

Instead, this line of research, if it’s replicated, might hold useful takeaways for people who do want to see more Western women entering STEM fields. In this study, the percentage of girls who excelled in science or math was still larger than the number of women who were graduating with STEM degrees. That means there’s something in even the most liberal societies that’s nudging women away from math and science, even when those are their best subjects. The women-in-STEM advocates could, for starters, focus their efforts on those would-be STEM stars.

Then again, it could just be that, feeling financially secure and on equal footing with men, some women will always choose to follow their passions, rather than whatever labor economists recommend. And those passions don’t always lie within science.

--

Abstract

The underrepresentation of girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields is a continual concern for social scientists and policymakers. Using an international database on adolescent achievement in science, mathematics, and reading ( N = 472,242), we showed that girls performed similarly to or better than boys in science in two of every three countries, and in nearly all countries, more girls appeared capable of college-level STEM study than had enrolled. Paradoxically, the sex differences in the magnitude of relative academic strengths and pursuit of STEM degrees rose with increases in national gender equality. The gap between boys' science achievement and girls' reading achievement relative to their mean academic performance was near universal. These sex differences in academic strengths and attitudes toward science correlated with the STEM graduation gap. A mediation analysis suggested that life-quality pressures in less gender-equal countries promote girls' and women's engagement with STEM subjects.

==

The definition of "STEM" is deceptive. It selects for primarily male-dominated "things" areas, while excluding female-dominated "life" domains, such as medicine, psychology, nursing, biology and environmental sciences.

Despite what people assume, "STEM" does not include all the sciences.

When you factor in all of the sciences, women outnumber men. Meaning, all the handwringing over "women in STEM" is complete nonsense.

Especially when it turns out that gender - that is, average sex-differences - aren't a "social construct." The average differences between men and women are real, demonstrable, measurable, and they're larger in more equal societies, because individuals have greater opportunity to do what they really want, without external pressures like financial demands. This has been studied repeatedly; see below.

Abstract

We investigated sex differences in 473,260 adolescents’ aspirations to work in things-oriented (e.g., mechanic), people-oriented (e.g., nurse), and STEM (e.g., mathematician) careers across 80 countries and economic regions using the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). We analyzed student career aspirations in combination with student achievement in mathematics, reading, and science, as well as parental occupations and family wealth. In each country and region, more boys than girls aspired to a things-oriented or STEM occupation and more girls than boys to a people-oriented occupation. These sex differences were larger in countries with a higher level of women’s empowerment. We explain this counter-intuitive finding through the indirect effect of wealth. Women’s empowerment is associated with relatively high levels of national wealth and this wealth allows more students to aspire to occupations they are intrinsically interested in. Implications for better understanding the sources of sex differences in career aspirations and associated policy are discussed.

Abstract

Preferences concerning time, risk, and social interactions systematically shape human behavior and contribute to differential economic and social outcomes between women and men. We present a global investigation of gender differences in six fundamental preferences. Our data consist of measures of willingness to take risks, patience, altruism, positive and negative reciprocity, and trust for 80,000 individuals in 76 representative country samples. Gender differences in preferences were positively related to economic development and gender equality. This finding suggests that greater availability of and gender-equal access to material and social resources favor the manifestation of gender-differentiated preferences across countries.

Abstract

Sex differences in personality have been shown to be larger in more gender equal countries. We advance this research by using an extensive personality measure, the IPIP-NEO-120, with large country samples (N > 1000), from 22 countries. Furthermore, to capture the multidimensionality of personality we measure sex differences with a multivariate effect size (Mahalanobis distance D). Results indicate that past research, using univariate measures of effect size, have underestimated the size of between-country sex differences in personality. Confirming past research, there was a strong correlation (r = .69) between a country's sex differences in personality and their Gender Equality Index. Additional analyses showed that women typically score higher than men on all five trait factors (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness), and that these relative differences are larger in more gender equal countries. We speculate that as gender equality increases both men and women gravitate towards their traditional gender roles.

Abstract

Previous research suggested that sex differences in personality traits are larger in prosperous, healthy, and egalitarian cultures in which women have more opportunities equal with those of men. In this article, the authors report cross-cultural findings in which this unintuitive result was replicated across samples from 55 nations (N = 17,637). On responses to the Big Five Inventory, women reported higher levels of neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness than did men across most nations. These findings converge with previous studies in which different Big Five measures and more limited samples of nations were used. Overall, higher levels of human development--including long and healthy life, equal access to knowledge and education, and economic wealth--were the main nation-level predictors of larger sex differences in personality. Changes in men's personality traits appeared to be the primary cause of sex difference variation across cultures. It is proposed that heightened levels of sexual dimorphism result from personality traits of men and women being less constrained and more able to naturally diverge in developed nations. In less fortunate social and economic conditions, innate personality differences between men and women may be attenuated.

Abstract

Using data from over 200,000 participants from 53 nations, I examined the cross-cultural consistency of sex differences for four traits: extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, and male-versus-female-typical occupational preferences. Across nations, men and women differed significantly on all four traits (mean ds = -.15, -.56, -.41, and 1.40, respectively, with negative values indicating women scoring higher). The strongest evidence for sex differences in SDs was for extraversion (women more variable) and for agreeableness (men more variable). United Nations indices of gender equality and economic development were associated with larger sex differences in agreeableness, but not with sex differences in other traits. Gender equality and economic development were negatively associated with mean national levels of neuroticism, suggesting that economic stress was associated with higher neuroticism. Regression analyses explored the power of sex, gender equality, and their interaction to predict men's and women's 106 national trait means for each of the four traits. Only sex predicted means for all four traits, and sex predicted trait means much more strongly than did gender equality or the interaction between sex and gender equality. These results suggest that biological factors may contribute to sex differences in personality and that culture plays a negligible to small role in moderating sex differences in personality.

Abstract

Men's and women's personalities appear to differ in several respects. Social role theories of development assume gender differences result primarily from perceived gender roles, gender socialization and sociostructural power differentials. As a consequence, social role theorists expect gender differences in personality to be smaller in cultures with more gender egalitarianism. Several large cross-cultural studies have generated sufficient data for evaluating these global personality predictions. Empirically, evidence suggests gender differences in most aspects of personality-Big Five traits, Dark Triad traits, self-esteem, subjective well-being, depression and values-are conspicuously larger in cultures with more egalitarian gender roles, gender socialization and sociopolitical gender equity. Similar patterns are evident when examining objectively measured attributes such as tested cognitive abilities and physical traits such as height and blood pressure. Social role theory appears inadequate for explaining some of the observed cultural variations in men's and women's personalities. Evolutionary theories regarding ecologically-evoked gender differences are described that may prove more useful in explaining global variation in human personality.

The only way to force arbitrarily equal outcomes - for no better reason than to say you achieved it - is to remove or limit people's choices. Because the places where men's and women's outcomes are the most equal is where they're both toiling in the rice-fields for 12 hours a day.

[girlactionfigure]

🇮🇱 THURSDAY morning - ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

🔹UK ISSUES LEBANON AIR WARNING.. Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), from Aug. 7 (yesterday), risk of military activity.

🔹FRENCH PRESIDENT SCHEDULED TO COME TO LEBANON.. suddenly cancelled.  

🔹CLARIFICATION.. Canada evacuates diplomatic families from Israel, not their diplomats.  And UNIFIL evacuated families of deployed personnel, not the UNFIL operators.

🔹OFFSHORE INTELLIGENCE PLANES.. US, UK, and now French have been cruising along Israel - Lebanon - Syria.

🔹A diplomatic source to the Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awast: "International contacts have not yet succeeded in reducing the escalation between Israel and Iran and Hezbollah. Difficult and fateful days are expected

▪️SIREN TESTS.. today in Tiberius at 14:05.  Steady sound - it’s a test.  Rising falling sound, it’s real.  If sirens go off or a red alert app goes off and no siren, call Home Front Command 104 to let them know there is a siren issue.

▪️US CONGRESSWOMAN RASHIDA TLAIB.. shared a screenshot of this survey from News 12 and claimed that it was Israeli support for committing acts of rape against Palestinians. What she lied about - is was from two-years ago, from the previous government, and a completely different issue.

▪️US PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OPEN TO ARMS EMBARGO ON ISRAEL?  New York Times: Kamala Harris expressed willingness to discuss imposing an arms embargo on Israel. 

♦️IDF ELIMINATES.. another freed terrorist from the Gilad Shalit deal who became a Hamas terror commander.  Terrorist Nail Sachel, who served as a senior member of Hamas was involved in directing terrorist activity, financing and supplying IMD to terrorist squads.

♦️GAZA FORCED EVAC.. “Urgent: we call for the evacuation of the Beit Hanun area, Manashia and Sheikh Zayed neighborhoods and shelters” as the IDF has moved to attacking any area from which rockets are fired.

♦️AMBUSH DISCOVERED - BEKAOT, JORDAN VALLEY.. Monday terrorists fired at Bekaot. It emerged that the terrorists tried to draw our forces to a side axis from which they fled. Enemy shooters were found positioned, and a later scan found 4 targeted bombs.  IDF forces eliminated the terrorists, discovered the bomb, cleared the area.

♦️Reports of a particularly powerful attack by the Air Force in the city of Nabatia, South Lebanon.

♦️US in the RED SEA.. destroyed 3 anti-ship missiles, 2 suicide drones, and a ground control stations of the Houthis.

🔸DEAL NEWS.. The Qatari newspaper "Al-Arabi Al-Jadid" reported that officials in the West are trying to convince officials in the Middle East to accept a new proposal for a comprehensive settlement in the war.

In the last four days the proposal was distributed among Western and Arab parties and it includes "an integrated agreement for a ceasefire, Israeli withdrawal from the Strip, achieving stable peace, ending the hostage deal, expanding humanitarian aid to Gaza and developing an overall picture of the restoration of the Strip."

.. An opposing report:  The Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper: senior officials in Egypt, the US, Qatar and Israel discussed the possibility of reaching a six-week truce, which would NOT include the release of hostages.  (( WHAT? ))

( DOTS: 🔹blue - Iran war news.  ♦️⭕red - Gaza & Hezbollah active war news.  ▪️black - general Israel news. 🔸yellow - hostage deal news )

[mariacallous]

Hamas’s Political Leaders Aren’t in Charge

From the comfort of Doha, Hamas’s political leaders have been negotiating the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Others who live in Beirut under the patronage of Hezbollah sporadically brief the press. And yet according to at least four Israeli and Arab officials the key players are Hamas’s military leaders inside the Gaza Strip itself.

Every time there is a communication blackout in Gaza, negotiations for hostage release are set back, a Qatari official aware of the negotiations told Foreign Policy. While the political leadership in exile has a say in the ongoing hostage negotiations, two of the group’s more extremist leaders based in Gaza seem to have an upper hand.

Mohammed Deif, the chief commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, or the military wing of Hamas, and Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader of the Gaza Strip and the man who helped form the brigade in 1991 to oppose the Oslo Accords with Israel, are the architects of Oct. 7 attack, and the top authorities laying down conditions for hostage release. For instance, the demand during negotiations that Israel stop flying its intelligence gathering drones was insisted upon by Hamas so the position of the men holding the hostages wasn’t exposed.

“They show us a united front,’’ an Arab source briefed on the matter said “but like in any war, anywhere, the military wing has more sway.’’ Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), said that, while Hamas still works through consensus, the military leadership is the dominant voice. “The al-Qassam brigade physically holds hostages so they are the ultimate power brokers,’’ he told FP, “but not the only ones.’’

Sinwar, 61, and Deif, 58, were both born in Khan Younis refugee camp in southern Gaza, the current headquarters of Hamas according to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. “They are probably hiding in Khan Younis and that’s likely where the bulk of hostages are held,’’ Eran Lerman, Israel’s deputy national security advisor between 2006 and 2015, told FP over the phone.

“With all due respect to the fat cats in Qatar, these are the guys who are calling the shots,’’ on hostage release. “These are very dangerous men,’’ he added pointing to suicide bombings and abductions carried out in Israel on the orders of Sinwar and Deif, both of whom have been designated as global terrorists by the United States.

There are many questions around the men who patiently schemed and planned the attack for at least two years. A look into their past, and of the organization they represent, offers an insight into their motivation and aims, and perhaps even explains the specific brutality displayed on Oct. 7.

An offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas was formed after the outbreak of the first intifada, or uprising, in 1987 and never recognized the existence of Israel. It was opposed to peace talks and violently pushed out Fatah from Gaza in 2007, albeit after winning an election. Over the years some of Hamas’s senior leaders were chased out of Gaza or chose to live elsewhere but soon enough they became unacceptable to their Arab hosts.

In 1999, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan suspected Hamas of fomenting trouble and kicked them out. They moved to Syria next. But that didn’t last. In 2012, the group sided with Syrian rebels in the civil war and fell out of favor with the autocratic Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Since then, Doha has been the hub of the political leadership and hosts Ismail Haniyeh, the chairman of Hamas’s political bureau, and senior leader Khaled Mashal, among others. Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy of the political bureau, and the group’s spokesperson Osama Hamdan, reside in Beirut. All these years while the leadership in exile spent its days comfortably, or luxuriously, depending on where they are, Sinwar and Deif roughed it out on the ground, often under the ground, to escape Israeli missiles.

Deif is the nom de guerre of Mohammed al-Masri, who has escaped seven assassination attempts by the Israel Defense Forces, which has earned him the reputation of local hero. “Put the sword before the sword, we are the men of Mohammed Deif,’’ is a popular protest slogan in occupied territories, while the man himself is often described as “the cat with nine lives.’’

When asked why Israeli spies and forces have repeatedly failed in finding Deif, IDF spokesman Jonathan Conricus told FP, “because he is very careful, very disciplined, willing to sacrifice comfort, family and pleasantries of life.’’ Lerman, however, attributed his survival to “sheer luck.’’ Lerman said that once Deif “crawled out of a bombed building,’’ and another time the IDF had to abandon the operation to assassinate him out of the fear of causing too much collateral damage, “another very lucky escape.’’

His 7-month-old son, 3-year-old daughter, and wife, however, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2014. Some experts believe that to some extent Deif is formed by his personal experiences, that led him to plan an attack that involved killing anyone who came in the way, including children.

“He was the brain behind the (Oct. 7) attack, in cooperation and dialogue with Sinwar,’’ Lovatt of the ECFR said. “Very little is known about him so there is a risk of overanalyzing but what we do know is that he is a hardliner and has personally suffered tremendously in the past.’’ Deif lost his family and some of his limbs were reportedly amputated in Israeli strikes. “That personal history has affected how he views the course of Palestinian liberation and clearly fed into the way how he approached October 7.’’

Deif is the most secretive leader of the organization with just three known photos: In one he is masked, another is from ages ago when he was in his 20s, and the third is a silhouette that was last seen on a Hamas channel shortly after the attack when his audio message was aired. “If you have a gun, get it out,’’ he said in the audio recording. “This is the time to use it. Get out with trucks, cars, axes. Today the best and most honorable history starts.”

Thus far, Deif has failed in provoking an all-out Palestinian uprising and the response from Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen has been ceremonial, smashing any plans to turn this into a regional war. But he has succeeded in redefining Hamas, not a governing body responsible for the welfare of Gazans but an armed revolutionary force dedicated to fighting Israel.

According to a survey conducted in Gaza by Arab Barometer, a research network, days before the attack as many as 75 percent respondents said they ran out of food over the last 30 days and didn’t have enough money to purchase more. Two years ago, 51 percent made the same claim. But as Gaza’s people were going hungry, Deif and Sinwar only pretended to be concerned. They quietly trained their men and planned the attack while fooling the Israeli authorities that they had no appetite for war and were, instead, concerned about Gaza’s economic issues.

“Sinwar sat in Israeli jails for years. He knew us from the inside,’’ Lerman said. “He misled us and hinted he was willing to work out a relationship, a quid pro quo, goods for Gaza and working permits’’ for the people of Gaza to work inside Israel.

Sinwar was among the 1,027 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for one Israeli soldier in 2011. That experience perhaps convinced him that taking Israeli hostages was the surest way of seeking a prisoner swap. Israel has agreed to release three Palestinian prisoners for every hostage abducted in the October attack, and experts believe the return of Palestinians to their homes all over the occupied territories will earn Deif, Sinwar and the al-Qassam Brigades more fans. Arab officials believe large-scale killings in Gaza are likely to have the same effect.

“In the next 10 years, the children orphaned in this conflict are not going to be pacifists,’’ an Arab official told FP on the condition of anonymity. “With every generation we see Hamas’s leaders are getting more extremist. Khaled Mashal was a moderate, Haniyeh is more extreme, Sinwar and Deif are even more extreme. As long as we are in a bad cycle on the ground this can be expected. The only way to combat this is to provide real solutions, right now there is none.’’

The survey by Arab Barometer found that a majority of the people in Gaza were frustrated with Hamas’s ineffective governance and preferred a two-state solution. Forty-four percent said they had no trust in Hamas at all, however, the group added that according to its research, every time Israel cracks down on Gaza there is an upswing in Hamas’s appeal.

The long-term impact of the attack on the Palestinian cause remains unclear, but some Palestinians feel it has brought Palestine back into news and made the world pay attention. Ali Jarbawi, a former minister of the Palestinian Authority, said the world can no longer ignore the Palestinian struggle. “I ask you, who was talking about the Palestinian freedom before the attack?’’ No one. Are we talking about it now? Why are the Americans talking about the two-state solution now?’’

But for many others, particularly in the West, the brutality of Hamas’s attack has made it hard for them to see the group as a resistance force or even a militant group. When it barged in people’s bedrooms and shot them dead it resembled more as a terrorist organization. That too is the legacy of Sinwar and Deif, the duo that the IDF has vowed to find and kill, but not just them.

“All Hamas leaders, inside and outside Gaza, are dead men walking,’’ Conricus, the IDF spokesman, added with an air of confidence. “Either we will get our hands on them or our missiles will find them, wherever they are,’’ he said, alluding to assassinations on foreign soil that has historically earned Mossad its reputation. “It is just a matter of time.’’

[jordanianprincesses]

The likes they receive when they post on any photos or posts are most from foreigners than Jordanians. Foreigners royal watchers follow their accounts mostly and they know it they play on that and act as if everything is fine while people in Jordan are forced to shut up,forced to praise them when they meet some, to fake being happy for a wedding they don't care about AT ALL. The country is bankrupt .I only wish Allah will stop them, people suffer while they enjoy and show too much. They're not humble and the prophet Muhammad's sws descendants should act like that??.You can tell me other arabs royals are as wealthy and don't care about their people but do we see them play the westernized and show as much as them? Also their countries aren't like Jordan. It's funny because they pay literally pay arabs medias to talk about them.Invite tons of celebs to way too expensive parties and make them talk about Jordan supposedly to show the people look our friends loved Jordan and post to improve tourism.I don't know if you know but in middle east among arabs leaders Abdullah is the least appreciated,they make fun of him and no comment on his wife. Honestly I don't see their reign surviving after Abdullah dies.

Heyyy, I 1000000 % agree with you. As I said before I am a Republican. Am all with the fact that people should have the absolute right to choose their leaders. Or at least , kings must have ceremonial roles ( Lile in all of Europe's kingdoms) . I hate the fact that King Abdullah has absolute authority. Moreover that his people are suffering and most of them are dirt poor whereas he's enjoying a lavish life all while pretending to be humble and bla bla... He is so corrupt!

United Emirates, Saudi Arabia , Qatar and all are naturally rich countries and their people are enjoying their lives euh well not so sure about Saudi Arabia though.

King Abdullah is playing the "safety card" he's maintaining the country safe from Extremism and terrorism.

[haidoba]

Just look at the comment section and the reblogs.

Look at the amount of the leftists and the bullshit they are spreading.

They are absolutely uneducated, antisemitic, full of hatred and pro terrorists.

They are using excuses for the massacre and the mass slaughtering which happened on 7th October, excuses for terrorists in face of Hamas which were filming EVERYTHING what they have done, excuses for raping Israeli women, excuses for taking more than 200 innocent Israeli civilians as hostages (among them are holocaust survivors, sick and disabled, children and a 9 months old baby), excuses for burning whole Israeli families ALIVE, excuses for the mass murder on the Nova festival, excuses for ANYTHING that's Hamas have done until now. That's all just nauseating.

All the progressives, LGBTQ, queer, trans etc - you would've been first on the list for Hamas to murder. Being Gay means death penalty in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen - while in Israel you're free to live how you like. You're just too stupid for supporting those who would kill you.

And what are their arguments?

- Israel is doing a genocide of the poor Palestinian people

Israel is surprisingly bad at genocide, Palestinians went from 900k to over 4millions in 70 years.

- it's not their territory and etc by always using this old bullshit DEBUNKED map which is used by propagandists (where on place of Israel there was Palestine before 1948)

"Palestine" never existed as a country, it never had such borders, it was always under someone's else (Ottomans, Romans, British and etc) control. It was a part of the Jordanian territory. Jews always were on this land, and they was always expelled from their land, but never murdered as much as under the Arabs or in the Arabic countries. Jews were BUYING the territories for huge amounts of money from the arabs which were living there, because "Palestine" was full of mud and unsuitable earth, so the Arabs didn't cared about it and was increasing the prices for nothing. Then Holocaust have happened, and it was decided to break Israel into 2 territories - for the Arabs and the Jews who were already living there. The Arabs didn't liked it, even if they got more actual territory, it was one side decided because Arabs didn't wanted to negotiate, so they started a war in which Israel won their independence - by their own blood. «Israel is NOT on Muslim land. Muslims are squatters on Israel’s land. Those “Palestinians” are South Jordan and Egyptian squatters and they have no right to own any land in Israel.»

- Israel sent out all the Arabs and holding them in Gaza in air prison with controlling water, electricity, fuel etc.

In Israel there are 20% Arab citizens, they have Israeli citizenship, they have the same rights as any other Jew in Israel, they participating in the Israeli government, they have their own political party (is there any Arab country which have Israelis/Jews in their government? No.) All those who didn't wanted to remain after the war, moved by themselves to the West bank or to Gaza, which were given under control to Jordan and Egypt until they gave up on those territories and made them independent. Israel giving Gazans jobs inside Israel. Israel controlling the water, electricity etc to Gaza, because Gaza have COSMIC debt to the Israeli government for the water and electricity. Gaza DOESN'T have ANY infrastructure, and they fully relying on Israel (it was their decision), even if Europe and other countries sending BILLIONS to them, all is going on propaganda, buying weapons, to the leaders of Hamas which are living in Qatar and Turkey, paying to the terrorists and "Shahid" families. All those building materials which getting in Gaza being rebuilt to tunnels, all those water pipes which coming in Gaza being rebuilt to rockets - all those being used AGAINST Israeli and even Gaza civilians, because 40% of Hamas rocket launches are falling INSIDE Gaza, Hamas locating them inside hospitals, schools and other civilian places - it's all proven facts! Have you ever asked yourself why all the buildings in Gaza are so adjacent to each other? More civilians killed - generate more international pressure. On Israel, of course. Because Israel are the one who needs to feed, to give water, to give fuel, to turn on the electricity on their own money to those who is killing them. No other Arab country (from 18!!) Have offered any help to their Palestinian brothers.

- Hamas does not representing "Palestine" or the "Palestinian people"

Of course they do, Gazans elected Hamas themselves. Gazans was cheering when Hamas did all those atrocities on 7th October. The "Palestinians", not 100, 1,000, or 10,000 of them, give out candies when innocent Jews are murdered. You won't find any opposition against Hamas in Gaza. Gazans supporting them. Gazans are completely brainwashed by them. Same as the leftists, who think that's killing, burning, raping, beheading more than 1300 Israelis and taking more than 200 hostages is justified "because their land was taken away", cuz land is more important for them than humans.

- the demonstrations around the world are not pro Hamas, they are for the poor Palestinian civilians, who is absolutely not connected to the terrorism of Hamas and suffering because of the bad Zionists!

Bullshit. I saw the videos from the demonstrations, have you? From what I've heard, they are calling for killing all the Jews, from what I saw it's far away from being peaceful demonstrations. It's always involving police, bad language, arrests and aggression from the demonstrates. Their "protests" are ending on removing pictures of the hostages (because a 9 month old baby or a 2 year old kid are their biggest enemies). Why there are no demonstrations which is asking releasing all those hostages and asking other Arab countries to open their borders to Gazans? Rhetoric questions.

Additional:

If the Arab countries would worry so much about the "Palestinians", they would open their borders (Egypt, Jordan), but they are not doing so because they know exactly who they really are and how dangerous those people are. Egypt gave up on Gaza strip. Jordan gave up on the West bank. Why would they do it?

«You’re worried about a disproportionate response by Israel? Kindly tell me what a proportionate response would look like. Because if we did what they did to us, that would require the murder, abduction, burn and rape of over a thousand people. Is that what you’re recommending Israel does? Because that’s pretty sick of you.»

“They can’t speak out. Hamas will kill them.” Where have we heard that before? “I was just fulfilling orders. I had no choice.” Oh yes, that was what the Nazis said. It was not a legit argument then and it’s not a legit argument now.

If you are still delusional enough to think they want a state, go Google The Partition Plan. They had one. They rejected it. Then google how many times Israel offered them a state.

*Israel will go until the end, Israel won't let holocaust 2.0 to happen, Israel don't care about anyone's opinion anymore, Israel will win, as we always did. And if EU & USA will remain their borders open to everyone, 1 day those terrorists will come to your door, your family, your children. Don't look away.

(To Neil Gaiman if you ever read this: it's nothing personal to you. I was shocked by the amounts of propaganda, brainwashing and not willing to listen people in the comments. Thanks for Good Omens)

Hello, Mr. Gaiman.

Recently, an old tweet of yours from 2015 resurfaced, in which you show support for Israel in the ongoing conflict. Is that still where you stand, or have you changed your mind in the past 6 years since that tweet was written?

The one where I say that Israel has the right to exist and that Palestine should be recognized as a state? I haven't changed my mind about either of those statements, or about any of the ones about people not killing other people and standing with the refugees and the children.

[weirdcreaturefeed]

Weird Creature of the Day: Arabian oryx/white oryx

Talk about a comeback! It's Oryx leucoryx!

O. leucoryx has historically been found all over the Middle East, with populations in the 1800s documented in most of the Arabian Peninsula, the Sinai Peninsula, eastern Jordan, modern day Iraq, and Palestine.

They're able to track rainfall and will follow favorable weather for 1000s of kilometers.

In the drought-ridden summer, they forage at night and remain totally inactive in shade during the day, and lower their minimum fasting metabolism to prevent heat injury. Their circulatory system is uniquely suited to temperature regulation, with a widely spread network of small arteries exchanging warmer blood with cooler blood deeper in their sinuses. Thanks to all these adaptations to hot weather conditions, they can decrease their metabolic rate and water loss by FIFTY! PERCENT!!!

They rely on their speed and agility on difficult terrain to protect them from wolves, their only natural predators.

However, in the 1930s, hunting oryxes with cars and firearms starting becoming popular among the rich upper class. This, along with habitat loss, caused their populations to decline, until they went extinct in the wild in 1972.

But! Thanks to the efforts of the Phoenix Zoo, the Al Ain Zoo, the World Wildlife Fund, Fauna and Flora International, the Arabian Wildlife Park in Sir Bani Yas, and many other contributors to repopulation projects, the Arabian oryx was the first animal to make its way back to vulnerable status after being officially listed as extinct outside of captivity! After decades of reintroduction efforts, 2011 the IUCN moved their status from extinct to vulnerable.

Males and females of this specie are nearly indistinguishable from each other, with males showing only slightly thicker necks and horns.

They're the national animal of Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.

According to some sources, it is believed that the word re'em, translated as 'unicorn' in the King James Bible, is referring to oryxes. It matches up with the Modern Hebrew name for white oryxes, re'em lavan, and the Arabic name, ri'ïm.

Image source: Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images via

[industryinsightsandanalysis]

MENA Syringes & Cannula Market: Current Analysis and Forecast (2024-2032)

According to the UnivDatos Market Insights analysis, increasing healthcare expenditure, rising prevalence of chronic diseases, growing geriatric population, government initiatives, expansion of healthcare facilities, advancements in medical procedures, and emerging as a medical tourism destination for advanced healthcare services will drive the scenario of the Syringes & Cannula market. As per their “MENA Syringes & Cannula Market” report, the market was valued at USD 1,505.79 million in 2023, growing at a CAGR of 7.29% during the forecast period from 2024 – 2032.

The healthcare industry in the MENA region is evolving rapidly due to occurrences within the region and the active actions of governments. Critical to this process is the utilization and need for Medical Devices like syringes and cannulas, which are essential in most procedures, from simple injections to complicated surgeries.

Enhanced Healthcare Expenditure and Government Initiatives

Even though most MENA countries are classified as developing, the governments are passionately trying to increase health spending. This increase in the financial share is intended to increase the number of healthcare clinics and ensure that these facilities are well-equipped with relevant products like syringes and cannulas. For instance, Vision 2030 of Saudi Arabia aims to modify the kingdom’s healthcare system, which entails upgrading the technical health infrastructure and providing adequate healthcare facilities.

Similarly, the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention has stepped up efforts to improve the quality of healthcare services. Lastly, the Ministry has set regulations to license high-end products, directly affecting the syringes and cannula market. These initiatives are important as some of them act as guidelines that aim at bringing some level of uniformity in the quality of health services delivered by health practitioners and also in commercialized health services, an aspect that increases the probability of health hazards being minimized due to the safety and efficiency of the medical procedures offered.

Current Trends and Developments in the Market

Recent news includes the following events in the MENA region that are influencing the syringe and cannula market. For instance, a new regulation recently imposed in Egypt requires all syringes to be produced with safety precautions, not allowing reuse, to reduce the rate of infection. This regulation alters the existing situation regarding syringes in Egypt and becomes guidance for other countries as well.

Another new development is that Jordan has recently secured a joint venture with a multinational pharmaceutical company to set up a new industrial equipment factory for medical utensils such as syringes and cannula. Medical and health local economy in Jordan but also an attempt to gradually provide medical products in the Middle East relying on local production.

Access sample report (including graphs, charts, and figures): https://univdatos.com/get-a-free-sample-form-php/?product_id=61467

Regional Collaboration and Innovation:

The countries of the MENA region are slowly realizing the need to engage in regional cooperation in this particular sphere. Among them, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has led other countries as members to undertake healthcare projects in cooperation. These include common electronic health records and records exchange networks as well as common purchasing contracts for supplies, where aspects such as costs and quality of products like syringes and cannulas are improved.

Technological advancement is also a major factor in the regional market. For instance, researchers in Qatar are in the process of designing biodegradable cannula in a bid to deal with the issue of medical waste and safely dispose of hazardous products for the benefit of patients. This innovation not only serves as a threat to the existing products in the market but also avails the MENA region as a global significant of sustainable healthcare practices.

Difficulties and Future Prospectives:

However, some issues can act as a barrier to the delivery of health care in this region, including political instabilities in some parts and economic imbalances that might affect the uniform distribution of health care supplies. Furthermore, with the ongoing pandemic worldwide, the use of syringes and cannulas in healthcare facilities and other applications has increased, thus exerting more pressure on supply chains.

To deal with these challenges, healthcare infrastructure, strong government policies, regional cooperation, etc., need to be further enhanced. Policymakers should, therefore, shift to influencing the context to produce more positive effects on the innovation systems necessary for developing new health technologies and for training healthcare providers in the use of new medical technologies.

Conclusion:

The demand for syringes and cannulas in the MENA region is poised for significant expansion as the region remains committed to healthcare development and the application of technology. By focusing strategic investment and revising regulations and standards on regional cooperation, the region is not only responding to the emergent healthcare demand of populations today but also building a stronger and better healthcare system for the future. This willingness reflects positivism to increase health as well as illustrates that medical devices such as syringes and cannulas play an imperative part in enhancing such gains.

Contact Us:

UnivDatos Market Insights

Email - contact@univdatos.com

Contact Number - +1 9782263411

Website -www.univdatos.com

[supriya--askdigital9]

What role do planetary gearboxes play in enhancing the smooth operation and reducing vibration and noise in mechanical systems?

Enhanced Efficiency Planetary gearboxes top in competence, ensuring minimal energy damage during control transmission. The configuration of manifold gears allocates the load across several gear teeth, reducing friction and ornamental general efficiency. This results in less energy waste and better recital. Planetary gearboxes play a vital part in ornamental the flat operation and reducing vibration and noise in mechanical systems through several mechanisms:

1. Multiple Points of Contact: typically have multiple gears engaged simultaneously, distributing the load across several contact points. This helps to minimize localized wear and tear, reducing the likelihood of vibration caused by uneven wear.

2. Uniform Load Distribution: The arrangement of gears in a planetary gearbox ensures that the load is distributed evenly among the gears. As a result, there are fewer pressure fluctuations within the gearbox, leading to smoother operation and reduced vibration.

3. Balanced Gear Design: Planetary gearboxes are designed with balanced gear configurations, which help to counteract any imbalances that may arise during operation. This balanced design minimizes the transmission of vibration throughout the system.

4. High Precision Machining: Modern manufacturing techniques allow for the precise machining of gear teeth, ensuring smooth engagement and minimal backlash. This precision helps to reduce vibration and noise by minimizing sudden impacts or discontinuities in motion.

5. Damping Properties: Some planetary gearboxes incorporate damping mechanisms, such as elastomeric couplings or vibration-absorbing materials, to further reduce vibration and noise transmission. These damping elements absorb and dissipate energy, smoothing out the motion of the gearbox components.

6. Isolation of External Vibrations: In certain applications, planetary gearboxes are mounted on resilient mounts or isolation pads to isolate them from external vibrations. This prevents vibrations from external sources, such as machinery or vehicle engines, from being transmitted through the gearbox and into the rest of the system.

Overall, the combination of load distribution, optimized gear geometry, effective lubrication, and damping mechanisms in planetary gearboxes helps to enhance smooth operation and minimize vibration and noise levels in mechanical systems, making them ideal for applications where quiet and reliable operation is essential.

The modular planning of the planetary gearboxes produced by the Kavitsu Gear Manufacturing is one of their main features. Because of their simple customization and flexibility to specific requests, they are suitable for a diversity of subdivisions. The safe proposals a variety of planetary gears with dissimilar relations and torque capacities, counting inline, right-angle, and multiple-stage versions. As an outcome, buyers may be sure to discovery a gearbox that meets their demands and conditions.

Kavitsu transmission is top planetary gearboxes, manufacturer, supplier, dealer, exporter in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Kenya, Kuwait, Mauritius, Nepal, Netherland, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, Uganda, USA, Vietnam, Zimbabwe , Nigeria, Poland, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Brazil, UK, Hong Kong, Russia, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Afghanistan, Burma, India, Japan, Maldives, Korea, Egypt, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Zambia, Bahrain, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Belgium, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Romani, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican City, Mexico, Canada, Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico, US, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Bahamas, Belize, Barbados, Saint Lucia, United States Virgin Islands, Grenada, Dominica, Bermud, Cayman Islands, Greenland, Denmark, Saint Martin, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Saint Barthelemy, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Guatemala, Ecuador, Cuba, Bolivia, Haiti, Peru.

"Experience the essence of precision and dependability with Kavitsu Transmission's cutting-edge planetary gearboxes. Elevate your machinery's performance to unprecedented levels. Contact us today and let's gear up for success together!"

contact usHave questions about planetary gearboxes or need assistance with your transmission needs? Reach out to us:Kavitsu Transmissions Pvt. Ltd.

Get in touch: - Address: [W-85, additional MIDC Satara 415004 Maharashtra, India] - Phone: [+91 9096469696] - Email: [marketing@kavitsu.com]Our team is ready to provide the support and information you require.

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[lifedemandsanswer]

New polling of Palestinian public opinion showing massive support for Hamas and other Iran-backed terrorists.

- 72% of respondents support the October 7th massacre.

- In the West Bank, support for Hamas has seen a threefold increase, with 82% endorsing the October 7th massacre.

- The preference for "armed struggle" has escalated by ten points, now at over 60%.

- Only 10% believe Hamas committed war crimes, with 85% not having viewed any footage from October 7th.

- When considering governance in the Gaza Strip post-conflict, 60% favor Hamas, including 75% in the West Bank but only 38% in the Gaza Strip.

- Among Arab and regional actors, Yemen receives the highest satisfaction rating (80% overall, 89% in the West Bank, and 68% in the Gaza Strip). Qatar follows with 56%, then Hezbollah at 49%, Iran at 35%, Turkey at 34%, Jordan at 24%, Egypt at 23%, UAE at 8%, and Saudi Arabia at 5%.

- If a presidential election were held today with Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh as candidates, the turnout is projected at 53%. Of those participating, Haniyeh would likely receive 78% of the votes, a significant increase from 58% three months prior, while Abbas would get 16%, down from 37%.

Results and methodology can be found below (using an archive link as Twitter seems to be blocking the original link)

archive.is/YoyKM

Unkind Is Palestinian, instead of working well with others they came to steal American culture, destroy American culture and kill you. Nah, what a joke that people still believe there is kind people like them, just a bunch of sly 🦊

[globalhint]

Death toll rises in Gaza, Blinken calls Israel to take measures to prevent Civilian losses.

Death toll rises in Gaza, Blinken calls Israel to take measures to prevent humanitarian losses. Secretary of State of the United States Antony Blinken urged Israel on Friday to take action to safeguard people in Gaza as its troops continued to attack the Palestinian territory and the number of citizens dying increased. After surrounding Gaza City in an effort to eradicate the Islamist organization that rules the tiny, heavily populated region, the Israeli military announced that its soldiers were engaging in close-quarters combat with Hamas terrorists in the destroyed streets. During the night, Israeli forces also bombarded Gaza from the air, sea, and ground as concern over shortages, failing healthcare systems, and the now over 9,000 civilian deaths worldwide increased. For the second occasion in less than a month, Blinken was in the area to help close ally Israel in retaliation for the Hamas militant attack on southern Israeli villages on October 7, which claimed almost 1,400 lives and started the conflict. Blinken reaffirmed that Israel has the right to "do everything possible" to make sure that an attack of this nature never occurs before meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. However, he stated: "It is vital when it comes to the protection of civilians who are caught in the crossfire of Hamas's making, that everything is done to protect them and to bring assistance to those who so desperately need it, who are not in any way responsible for what happened on Oct. 7." Washington has rejected requests for a complete ceasefire in the war, which is currently in on the 28th day, but wants more brief, localized breaks in the fighting to let supplies reach Gaza and free the captives whom Hamas has abducted. In Gaza, thousands of people have fled their homes to avoid the constant bombing, buildings have been destroyed, and food, gasoline, water, and medication are running low. Aid organizations have issued warnings that the longest-running Israeli-Palestinian conflict is entering its bloodiest episode in decades and that a humanitarian disaster is developing. Before meeting with members of Israel's emergency cabinet, which was established in the wake of the Hamas attack, Blinken also had a nearly hour-long conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to Gaza health authorities, since Israel began its onslaught on the region, at least 9,227 people have died, many of them women and children. These protests have been rejected by Israel, which claims that it targets Hamas fighters who it believes are hiding among Gaza's civilians and in buildings. On Saturday in Amman, Blinken is scheduled to meet with Ayman Safadi, the foreign minister of Jordan. In a statement, Safadi demanded that Israel halt its attack on Gaza, claiming that by bombing civilians and enforcing a siege, Israel was committing war crimes. Under an agreement mediated by Qatar, the Rafah gate between Gaza and Egypt was scheduled to reopen for limited evacuations on Friday. The purpose of the accord was to allow certain foreign passport holders, their families, and a few injured Gazans to leave the enclave. Over 700 foreign nationals departed for Egypt via Rafah over the course of the two preceding days, according to border officials. Hundreds of It stated that 124 Israeli soldiers and 8 Israeli settlers had destroyed the bank. There were also two Israeli soldiers slain. The Palestinians confined to Gaza City hoped for a speedy peace. "Does the world wait for hundreds of thousands who refuse to leave their homes, who have no guilt but that they don't want to leave their country, to be massacred by Israel?" replied one. Israel is still pressing to reclaim her hostages from the Hamas millitants. Read the full article

[charityapin]

A Fractured Nation: The ISRAELI-PALESTINE War

Tension starts to lit up again between Israel and Palestine after the continuous attacks of captives in Gaza. Numerous airstrikes and attacks are still happening between the two. 1400 Israeli and at least 2750 Palestinians with 9000 reportedly injured were suffering from the Palestine militants–known as hamas. Israel says “It’s at war” after a major attack was launched by the Hamas on Supernova Israeli Music Festival last October 7 at Negev Desert where 260 innocent people were killed including tourists and at least 199 people were abducted and held countless attacks. Hamas continued to kill hundreds of Israeli and as a revenge, the Israeli held a total blockade including a ban on admitting food and fuel on the Gaza strip.

The root of the conflict

The conflict between Israel and Palestine has raged on for three-quarters of the century. It all started when Britain took control of the area known as Palestine or a strip of land located between Egypt and Jordan after world war 1. Back then, the land was originally dominated by Arabs and less Jewish. In 1947, the United Nations adopted resolution 181 known as the Partition plan.They voted for Palestine to be split into 2 nations which are the Arab state and the Jewish State. But both the Arabs and the Jews that historical Palestine was their Land. On May 14, 1948, Israel officially became a state, sparking the first Israeli-Arab war.

A war broke out with neighboring Arab countries joining the war, particularly Jordan and Egypt. Israel won and the war ended during 1949 and it was what they call “Al Nakba” or the catastrophic event for Palestine for which 750,000 were displaced and lost their identity. Israel controlled most of the land while Palestine occupied the West Bank and Gaza strip.June 6, 1957 , the 6-day-war started where the map was once again renewed, Israel defeated the Arab armies and became the preeminent military power in the region.

Israel

Israel-the only Jewish State on Earth, is the home to one of the most holiest land for Jews, Christians and Muslims. Jerusalem-their capital, is the holiest city in Judaism and also known as the “Promised land” of the jews according to the bible. It is located beside the west bank but under full control by Israel. The country has a strong economy and natural resources especially in the agricultural field. Israel has one of the world's most powerful militaries, bolstered by more than $3.8 Billion of military aid a year from the US.

Israel also ranked 4th as the most successful economy among developed countries last 2022. The country has a technologically advanced market economy and their military has been supported by the U.S government with 3.3 billion dollars in congressionally mandated annual funding, plus another $500 million toward missile defense technology. They also have Patriot’s missiles, advanced American F-35 fighter jets for their air force, 170,000 troops, and the Iron Dome missile defense system that is made and developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries.

Who are Hamas

Hamas is a terrorist organization. It has an Arabic Acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya which translates to “Islamic Resistance Movement”. Is one of the largest  political parties in Palestine. Palestine is divided into two parts- the West bank and the Gaza strip. The West bank has been controlled by the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) while the Gaza Strip is controlled by Hamas since 2007. Hamas was led by Ismail Haniyeh, the designated chairman of Hamas who operates with Qatar.

On the other hand, only 22% of the palestinian supports the Hamas, 73% don't support them because they believe that Gaza widespread corruption by the institution who lives Hamas. Turkey has also repeatedly send funds to Hamas IAccording to report by the US Government department, Iran was their number 1 supporter and  also Hamas’ primary backup and main donor of weapons. They provide military training, funds and weapons making them an Ali to Palestine.  

Despite Israel's extensive missile defense network, Hamas has built up a large stock of locally manufactured missiles with the intention of firing multiple salvos to break through. According to the Israeli military, over 5,000 missiles have been fired at the country since the war began. They also have assault rifles, heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank weapons, as well as longer-range sniper rifles and 20,000 soldiers.

Many believed that Palestine had the right to own Bigger part of Israel because During the Iron Age, two related Israelite kingdoms, Israel and Judah, controlled much of Palestine, while the Philistines occupied its southern coast.

The attacked that triggered the war

October 7, 2023 Hamas attacked the Israeli Supernova Festival where atleast 260 Israelis and tourists died. The attacks came from both land and air, fighters arrived in trucks and on motorcycles wearing body armour and brandishing AK-47 assault rifles. Gunmens arrived descending in paragliders at the gathering, firing people on the ground who just wanted to dance for peace and unity. The survivors hid from bushes and ran for their lives in order to save themselves. Israel stated that because Hamas started it “They are determined to finish it”. Hundreds of Captives are also taken and being hid in Gaza, one of the reasons why Israel is not stopping to attack the Gaza strip.

Who is the most Affected?

As the war continues, only the innocent citizens of both Israel and Palestine are affected. Thousands of people lost their homes and lives. Many infrastructures including hospitals and schools are destroyed. More than 1000 children were also killed during the bombing and attacks. 

Three Filipino died so far identified as Loreta Alacre, a caregiver from Negros Oriental, Angeline Aguirre, a nurse, and Paul Vincent Castelvi, a 42-year-old caregiver.

Citations:

-Palki,Sharma. “Gaza Plunges into Darkness as Israeli Strikes Continue”. Vantage, First Post, October 12,2023

-Palki,Sharma. “How Hamas Was Formed and Which Nations Support the Terror Group?”.. Vantage, First Post, October 8,2023

-Cupin, Bea. “2 Filipinos dead in Israel-Hamas war”.Rappler.com, October 11,2023

-Hams, Mahmud.”Israeli-Palestine Conflict”. Center for Preventive Action, Global Conflict Tracker, October 16, 2023

-Staff, Al Jazeera. “What’s the Israel-Palestine conflict about? A simple guide”.Aljazeera.com, OOctober 9,2023

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/9/whats-the-israel-palestine-conflict-about-a-simple-guide?_gl=1%2Aa5nxn1%2A_ga%2ARi1QaEdDVlBtTG8yRDlfcDlzODlYTEVXbmZuanZSblF1NVFUQkM4VERhSHZsQ2ZaV1dGRW1lSWVueFFuLWlJUg&fbclid=IwAR0KiH-H9St7BmunF75HKPn7C8IoHX4s_oRZhr6OTjB036MJkiMOlaIG82A

-Bain,Kate.”Israeli Festival Organizers Release First Statement After Event Massacre: ‘Unspeakable Tragedy’”. Music news, Billboard.com, October 14,2023

-Miller, Daniel. “The history of ‘Israel’ and ‘Palestine’: Alternative names, competing claims”. The conversation.com, July 6,2021

-Gambrell,John.”As Israel ground war looms in Gaza, what weapons may be wielded?”. The Associated Press, CY4ISRNET.com, October 14,2023

[newstfionline]

Monday, October 9, 2023

Biden administration grapples with broad repercussions of Hamas invasion (Washington Post) The Biden administration moved quickly into crisis mode Saturday in response to Hamas’s surprise attack against Israel, condemning the “terrorist” assault from Gaza and reiterating “rock solid” U.S. support for Israeli security in public statements and calls to officials in Jerusalem. “The United States stands with Israel,” President Biden said in brief remarks after he phoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Among a flurry of administration calls, Biden spoke with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Blinken with his Saudi and Egyptian counterparts and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin with Israel’s defense minister. Beyond the outrage and reassurance, administration officials and regional experts struggled to understand how Hamas’s preparations for such a massive attack. Perhaps more important for the administration was what the shocking invasion could mean for U.S. efforts to forge a normalization accord between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a goal that has become one of Biden’s major foreign policy priorities. U.S. lawmakers and governments in much of the world condemned Hamas and expressed condolences to Israel. But several in the Middle East said Israel was to blame. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry “holds Israel solely responsible for the ongoing escalation due to its ongoing violations of the rights of the Palestinian people,” a statement said. Saudi Arabia called on both sides to show restraint, but referred to its “repeated warnings of the dangers of the explosion of the situation as a result of the continuation of the occupation, the deprivation of the Palestinian people of their legitimate rights and the repetition of systematic provocations.” The Saudi government statement called for the international community to “activate a credible peace process that leads to the two-state solution” for Israel and the Palestinians.

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta brings colorful displays to the New Mexico sky (AP) The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has brought colorful displays to the New Mexico sky in an international event that attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators every year. The event started Saturday with a drone light show before sunrise followed by a mass ascension of hot air balloons. Over nine days, local residents and visitors will be treated to a cavalcade of colorful and special-shaped balloons. The annual gathering has become a major economic driver for the state’s biggest city. The Rio Grande and nearby mountains provide spectacular backdrops to the fiesta that began with a few pilots launching 13 balloons from an open lot near a shopping center on what was the edge of Albuquerque in 1972. The fiesta has morphed into one of the most photographed events in the world, now based at Balloon Fiesta Park.

Six Accused of Murdering Ecuadorean Presidential Candidate Are Found Dead (NYT) The six Colombian men accused of murdering an Ecuadorean presidential candidate were found dead in a prison in the port city of Guayaquil on Friday, Ecuador’s prison authority said in a statement. The assassination of the candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, as he exited a campaign event in August was a traumatic jolt for a nation that has been shaken by an increasingly powerful narco-trafficking industry in recent years. As foreign drug mafias have joined forces with local prison and street gangs they have transformed entire swaths of the country, extorting businesses, recruiting young people, infiltrating the government and killing those who investigate them. Mr. Villavicencio, who had worked as a journalist, activist and legislator, was polling near the middle of a group of eight candidates when he was killed 11 days before the first round of the presidential election on Aug. 20. He was among the most outspoken about the links between organized crime and the government. For some time, widespread speculation had suggested that the Colombians were guns for hire, and that powerful figures had ordered the assassination.

The Buenos Aires barber’s books: a history of 19,900% inflation (Reuters) The hand-written entries in the two dozen notebooks—date, haircut, price—chronicle decades of a Buenos Aires barber’s working life. But they tell another story too, Argentina’s most important: a tale of 19,900% inflation and its crippling impact. In his small barbershop with sandy wooden floorboards and a fishbowl glass window to the street outside, Ruben Galante has for some four decades watched presidents come and go, myriad economic crises, and fast-rising prices. The 67-year-old has jotted down every haircut for over 20 years, a rare personal history of the ebbs and flows of inflation during a period of patchy—and at times unreliable—official data. Galante’s colorful lined notebooks, tucked away on a small shelf in the corner of his store, show that between 1991 and 2023, haircut prices rose from 15 pesos to 3,000 pesos. And the current term of center-left President Alberto Fernandez has seen the fastest price rises of any administration during those three decades��some 757% since he took office in December 2019, according to Galante’s notebooks. “This is a long, long crisis and it’s constantly getting worse,” Galante told Reuters in his store. “It’s leaving us impoverished.”

Earthquakes kill over 2,000 in Afghanistan (AP) Powerful earthquakes killed at least 2,000 people in western Afghanistan, a Taliban government spokesman said Sunday. It’s one of the deadliest earthquakes to strike the country in two decades. The magnitude-6.3 earthquake was followed by strong aftershocks on Saturday. On Sunday, people attempted to dig out the dead and injured with their hands in Herat, clambering over rocks and debris. Survivors and victims were trapped under buildings that had crumbled to the ground, their faces grey with dust. “Besides the 2,060 dead, 1,240 people are injured and 1,320 houses are completely destroyed,” said an Afghan spokesman.

Israel intensifies Gaza strikes and battles to repel Hamas (AP) Israel’s military battled to drive Hamas fighters out of southern towns and seal its borders Monday, as it pounded the Gaza Strip from the air and mustered for a campaign its prime minister said would destroy “the military and governing capabilities” of the militant group. Civilians paid a high price on both sides. At least 700 people have reportedly been killed in Israel — a staggering toll on a scale the country has not experienced in decades — and more than 400 have been killed in Gaza. Palestinian militant groups claimed to be holding over 130 captives from the Israeli side. More than two days after Hamas launched its unprecedented incursion out of Gaza, Israeli forces were still battling militants holed up in several locations. Meanwhile, Israel hit more than 1,000 targets in Gaza, its military said, including airstrikes that leveled much of the town of Beit Hanoun in the enclave’s northeast corner. Israel’s declaration of war portended greater fighting ahead, and a major question was whether Israel would launch a ground assault into Gaza, a move that in the past has brought intensified casualties. An Israeli military spokesperson said that the army had called up around 100,000 reservists, and said in a statement that Israel would aim to end Hamas’ rule of Gaza.

‘The Children Were Terrified.’ Fear Grips Israel and Gaza (NYT) Israeli citizens, barricaded in their homes in towns near the Gaza Strip, called into television stations as Palestinian gunmen crossed the border into Israel and invaded their communities on Saturday morning. The Israelis spoke in whispers as they pleaded desperately for help. One woman named Doreen told Israel’s Channel 12 that militants were in her house in Nahal Oz, a small rural community, and that she was hiding in a safe room. “My husband is holding the door of the bomb shelter,” she said. “Now they’re shooting sprays of bullets at the bomb shelter’s window. Sprays. And my three children are here with me.” On the other side of the border in Gaza, Jamila Al-Zanin, 39, tried to distract her own three children as they fled their home and drove south. “The children were terrified. As we drove down they were looking left and right, everywhere there were explosions and booms,” she said. “They were hysterical.” Panic, disbelief and fear rippled throughout Israel and Gaza, as Palestinian militants on Saturday morning caught Israel off guard with a broad and coordinated assault—reaching 22 Israeli towns and army bases, and abducting civilians and soldiers. They fired thousands of rockets that reached as far as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Airlines cancel flights to Israel amid attacks (CNN) Airlines scrambled to cancel flights into Israel after Palestinian militants launched a surprise attack, firing thousands of rockets from Gaza into nearby Israeli towns during a Jewish holiday. As of Saturday afternoon, about 16% of flights were canceled and 23% were delayed to Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel’s international hub, located just outside of Tel Aviv. Some Israel-bound flights were diverted to other airports around the globe. United Airlines flight 954 left San Francisco International Airport on Friday night and diverted over Greenland about seven hours into the more than 13-hour-long journey, according to flight tracking site FlightAware. The flight would later return to San Francisco.

[girlactionfigure]

🔅Tuesday evening - ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Real Time

🔻ROCKETS - from Lebanon, Hezbollah - Burkan heavy rockets - at Ita a Sha’ev.

🔻ROCKETS - from Lebanon, Hezbollah - Kaytushas (LOTS) - at Rosh HaNikra, Betzek, Hanita, Metzuba, Shlomi, Zarit, Shomera, Arab al Aramshe, Ga’aton, Kill, Shtula, Netua, Alkosh, Matat, Fassuta, Hurfeish

🔻ANTI-TANK MISSILES - from Lebanon, Hezbollah - at IDF post by Malkia, at Arab al Aramsha, 

▪️ANALYST WARNING.. due to the Israel attacks at depth in Lebanon, there is a likelihood of a Hezbollah attack at depth in Israel (in the tit-for-tat process).  Tevera, Afula, Haifa and surrounds should be on higher alert - know your shelter options wherever you are.

▪️SAUDI SAYS.. Israel’s attack on Baalbek, Lebanon took out Hezbollah’s advanced drone warehouses.

▪️PORTABLE SHELTERS.. seen being deployed in Haifa. Older Haifa does not have in-building shelters.

▪️HOSTAGE DEAL LEAKS.. Qatar: We are far from an agreement.

▪️HOSTAGE MURDERED.. Itai Che, 19, from Netanya, has been determined to have been murdered having been captured by Hamas on Oct. 7.  May his family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem, and may G-d avenge his blood!  His body remains held by Hamas.

Officially 34 hostages have been murdered, unofficially 59 are known murdered.

▪️GAZA.. massive battle in Deir al Balach, including airstrikes.

▪️COUNTER-TERROR.. battle in Orif, near Shechem.  Forces entered Jenin, firefight and explosions, electricity cut to an area, shoulder fired rockets by our forces.

▪️AID VIA SHIP.. Pentagon press briefing: Q: Does the DoD anticipate that Hamas will try to fire on them, on the (JLOTS instant port and pier and aid by ship) operation?

US General Ryder: “Look, I mean, that's certainly a risk, again, but if Hamas truly does care about the Palestinian people, one would hope that this international mission to deliver aid to people who need it would be able to happen unhindered.”

▪️AID VIA AIR.. Another air drop into the ocean by Jordan for Gaza.

▪️YEMEN SAYS.. “military operations will escalate during the month of Ramadan”.

[alzaeemadel]

. O Allah, cleanse them of their sins and mistakes just as a white cloth is washed of dirt, and wash them with water and snow and hail. O Allah, send down upon their graves light, spaciousness and happiness, until they become in the depths of their graves tranquil and content, and on the Day of Judgement among those who are safe from Your punishment. O Allah, move them from the narrowness of the grave and dwelling of worms to the eternal gardens; around thornless lote-trees, clustered plantains, and long extended shades. O Allah, grant us mercy when we reach where they have reached, under casket and soil, alone. O Allah have mercy and relieve our feelings of estrangement in this life, and our loneliness in our graves, and our fear on the Day of Judgment. O Allah have mercy upon us when we stand in abject humility before You. O Allah, at the time of accountability make them amongst those quickest to entering the highest level of Paradise. O Allah, send down onto their graves illumination and light and vastness and happiness. O Allah, have mercy upon us when we reach what they have already reached, buried under dirt and stones alone. O Allah, allow our graves to be the best of homes for us after we leave this world,.

O Allah, indeed you have said and your speech is all truth and clear “call upon me and I shall answer and grant you” so my Allah this is my prayer so bring forth quickly your answer and victory from you alone oh answerer. I have stood at your door, so I beg you to not forsake me, I crave your protection and help so I ask you not reject to me, grant me what I asked and also grant me what I have missed, O Allah please grant the collator of this Dua the best of what you have in your treasure, for this world and thereafter. O Allah, for every person that wishes good for Islam and the Muslims, guide him or her to all that is good, and for every person that wishes Islam and the Muslims harm then take them away the manner in which the most honourable and one capable of all things does so.

O Allah, be with the weak, save humanity from being its own enemy. Protect Your creation from oppression and oppressed from amongst the Muslims and Save the people of Syria, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Egypt, Yemen, Morocco, Bangladesh, Burma, China, Africa, Qatar, Lebanon, Nigeria, Jordan, Gaza, Palestine and India, protect them from internal and external oppressors and give them justice. O Allah, protect us all from violence, fear and danger, you are our Protector. O Allah, preserve and protect the holy places of the Muslims. O Allah, preserve and protect the masjid al Aqsa from the forceful occupiers.. O Allah protect our Yemen from all forms of evil and all those who wish to harm it and its beautiful people. May Allah save the innocent and grant us leader that will do right by our and guide us to what is good for us in this world and the hereafter. ameen.. O Allah, forgive our parents and the parents of our parents and for our religious leaders, teachers and all those who have a right over us, have mercy upon them all, protect them from all haram and pardon them. O Allah, open a way for our eligible brothers and sisters to marry as soon as possible, Let them marry a person who is sincere and devoted to You and who is compatible with him.

O Allah, please grant the married people healthy children, who are in need of it badly, make them great Muslim parents, please grant them children who will grow up to be a source of Mercy for them. O Allah, increase the love between the husband and wife in our communities, grant them sabr and guide them to identify each other’s status and responsibilities and help them to fulfil. O Allah, help orphans and poor wherever they are, give me the means and ability to do whatever we can for them. O Allah, open a way for us to go to Hajj as soon as possible, so that we can fulfil our obligation towards You. O Allah, help all of my brothers and sisters who are suffering for your sake through torture, violence, in jails, and imprisonments around the world, please forgive their sins and help them to be free from the evil torture. (twice). O Allah grant victory to Islam and the Muslims, and raise with your virtue the word of truth and faith. O Allah Guide our sisters to be in parda and not to be victim of false fashion. O Allah Guide our young brothers and sisters to get away from haram relationships and Allah avoid us from being the victims of the show-world which has come to us in form of social media. O Allah Make us among the best users of internet – all for halal use, help us not to become victim of the evil things, help our ummah to get away from pornography, drugs, alcohol, zina and even thoughts of all theser

O Allah Help us to be among the pious people of the world, help us by granting the inner strength to control our desires. O Allah, help us to offer five times prayer’s in masjid’s with the open heart. O Allah, be with our oppressed and weak Muslim brothers and sisters especially in Syria, Yemen, (mostly the middle east) and everywhere in the world O Allah, be for them and not against them. Be with them and not upon them. O Allah, make them steadfast in their standing, oh Allah grant them victory against those who transgresses them, and grant them unity in their efforts and their ranks and unite them on their message and preserve all that is of value and sanctity to them. O Allah, feed their hungry, O Allah, heal their injured,. O Allah, fix their broken, O Allah, grant safety and assurance to their families, and grant them security in their own lands. O Allah, be the guardian of their orphans, O Allah, conceal their imperfections, clothe them and accept the martyrs from amongst them. O Allah, give sanctity and preservation to their lives and blood and protect their lands. O Allah, be upon those who have transgressed against them. O Allah, be upon the oppressors those who killed, who exiled and kicked out, those who destroyed and attacked, what people value and care for most and spread evil, corruption and chaos on earth. O Allah, please accept our supplication and respond to it; O You whose mercy is vast and expansive, please grant us our request. O Allah amin yarab alealamin*