#home+pool in Israel

[vieformidable]

Mountain home. Is this real or AI?

[sayruq]

For weeks in southern Gaza during a recent visit, I collected stories of women admitted to hospital, each of them there to recover from what they call “war wounds”. But it’s not a war, because only one side has an actual army. Only one side is a state with full military wares. These victims were mothers, wives and babies, whose slight bodies were pierced, torn, broken and burned. Their deeper injuries aren’t visible, until they open up about their lives over the past five months. Initially, they relay the broadbrush strokes: A bomb struck their homes, they were pulled from the rubble, they had severe injuries, family members were martyred, and the situation was terrible. That is the extent of what they have ever said about unimaginable horrors they endured and continue to endure. But I probe for details. What were you doing moments before? What was the first thing you saw, the first thing you heard? What did it smell like? Was it dark or light outside?I nudge them to zoom into the molecular structure of every fact – the gravel in the mouth, dust in the lungs; the weight of something; the warm liquid running down the back; the twisted finger seen but not felt; the moment of realisation; the waiting to be rescued and the fear that no one will come; the ringing in the ears; the strange thoughts; the things that moved and the things that could not; the expectation of death and the wish that it be quick; the longing for life. In the months or weeks since one of the world’s most powerful militaries targeted their lives, they had yet to visit, much less verbalise the minutiae of this genocide. As they venture beyond the outlines of their stories, their eyes darken and sometimes they begin to shiver. The slightest unexpected sound startles them. Tears pool and tears might fall, but only a few allow themselves to cry. Few let the horrors in their minds through the gates. It is not for some superhuman strength. Quite the opposite. They are numbed in a way, as if they’ve yet to comprehend the enormity of what they have endured and continue to endure.

The writer spoke to several women in Southern Gaza about the horrors they're still enduring

[vamp0rivm]

Can u do a drabble or hcs on cuddling Ellie?

Ur writing is so good I love everything U write :>

WREATHE

warnings: not much, mostly fluff, basically the rq, mdni with my account tho😏

a/n: IM SO SORRY THIS HAS BEEN IN MY INBOX FOR I KID YOU NOT LIKE HALF A YEAR IM GENUINELY SO SORRY PLEASE FORGIVE ME 😰 thank you so much for sending the rq even though i took the piss responding, also this is a drabble bc i don’t think i’d be good at doing hcs 😭 i have some shit coming up at uni so i prolly won’t put anything out for a while but i have an idea for a new fic in the drafts !!! very excited…

ramadan has started which means israel’s violence against the Palestinian people will worsen as it does every year, purely for the sake of inflicting even more psychological torture on them. please, now more than ever, pray for them if you’re religious, talk about palestine, boycott, protest, strike, donate if you can, contact the people in charge. don’t let people forget. here’s a link to some details on the situation. everybody stay safe 💗.

10:47 - you return from a strenuous day of patrol and odd jobs around Jackson. You’re slightly tipsy, a drink or two from the Tipsy Bison churning a pool of warmth within your stomach.

The place is stagnant when you push the door open, as if coming home to nobody.

Ellie must’ve gone to bed early today.

You drift to the bathroom despite the fact that the house feels apocalyptic, and sit in the gentle rush of water, scrubbing your skin weakly with aching arms.

When you enter your room, everything is still, except for the rhythmic rise and fall of Ellie’s figure beneath the covers on the bed backed against the wall.

You throw the dampened towel that is slung over your shoulder carelessly and walk over to the bed, gently settling beside her.

For a while, you feel content. Sleep is lulling you in, the room is shadowy, the bed is warm, and the sound of Ellie’s deep-sleep-breaths (totally not snores at all, she swears) are soft like TV static in the back of your mind.

Your eyes are on the verge of fluttering closed for the last time tonight so you turn onto your side and nestle into yourself.

Then, there’s a harsh jolt and the bed shifts. You can feel Ellie’s puzzled gaze raking over you, the realisation that you’re home setting in, and your lips twist into a smile subconsciously. The night rarely ends without the inebriating buzz of affection.

A quiet sigh escapes the enclosure of her blush-pink lips before she reclines into the pillows once more, eyes never leaving the still curvature of your figure. Not a moment passes and her arms encircle your waist, warmth embracing your torso and pressing against your hair like a wreathe of absolute comfort.

A barely audible mumble tickles the helix of your ear,

“Hey, babe,” accompanied by the phantom touch of her lips against your cheeks in her half-asleep state. You scrunch your nose before turning into the love she offers you.

“Hey, Els.”

You begin to mumble butterfly details about the happenings of the day as you feel the surface of her skin raise with goosebumps under the delicate tracing of your fingertips - down her bare thighs, along the round of her hip, along her stomach and under her boobs - easing airy chuckles out of her.

“Whatcha doin’?”

“Hm? Nothin’…”

You can already picture the smirk on her dazed face,

“Ya sure there? You want somethin’, babe?”

A playful scoff and she’s looking at you with feigned shock against the weight of tired eyelids,

“Can’t I feel you? I just wanna be close to you,”

“I’d say we’re pretty close, ya know?”

“Never close enough,” you clarify and the rasp of her laugh fades into silence and she presses a kiss onto your head, and then another, straining her neck till she’s face to flushed and grinning face, stringing a blizzard of soft, dewy kisses across it.

“Alright, alright!”

“One more- mwah,” she smacks her lips against your scrunched up mouth aggressively, leaving a gross patch of saliva, and smiles dumbly to herself, tightening the hold of her arms around you to which you groan.

Tight against her gentle sway, she mutters a quiet confirmation,

“Never close enough,” and then runs the rough pads of her fingertips along the expanse of your skin, lingering a moment on your thighs.

It’s like the rustle of a spring breeze and it draws your eyes to a close.

As you drift further from the surface, you feel the soft tingle of Ellie’s foot nudging your ankle and the distant haze of her voice whispering,

“You sure you don’t want anything, baby?” and you’re asleep.

also, absolutely no one asked for this but here are some pictures of my fat ass cat (cutest patootie evah 😆😆):

[nicklloydnow]

“May I be permitted to say a few words? I am an Edinburgh graduate (MA 1975) who studied Persian, Arabic & Islamic History under William Montgomery Watt & Laurence Elwell Sutton, 2 of Britain ‘s great Middle East experts. I later went on to do a PhD at Cambridge & to teach Arabic & Islamic Studies at Newcastle University . Naturally, I am the author of several books & 100s of articles in this field.

I say all that to show that I am well informed in Middle Eastern affairs & that, for that reason, I am shocked & disheartened for a simple reason: there is not & has never been a system of apartheid in Israel. That is not my opinion, that is fact that can be tested against reality should anyone choose to visit Israel.

Let me spell this out, since I have the impression that many students are absolutely clueless in matters concerning Israel, & that they are, in all likelihood, the victims of extremely biased propaganda coming from the anti-Israel lobby.

Hating Israel

Being anti-Israel is not in itself objectionable. But I’m not talking about ordinary criticism of Israel . I’m speaking of a hatred that permits itself no boundaries in the lies & myths it pours out. Thus, Israel is repeatedly referred to as a “Nazi” state. In what sense is this true, even as a metaphor? Where are the Israeli concentration camps? The einzatsgruppen? The SS? The Nuremberg Laws?

None of these things nor anything remotely resembling them exists in Israel, precisely because the Jews, more than anyone on earth, understand what Nazism stood for. It is claimed that there has been an Israeli Holocaust in Gaza (or elsewhere). Where? When?

No honest historian would treat that claim with anything but the contempt. But calling Jews Nazis and saying they have committed a Holocaust is a way to subvert historical fact. Likewise apartheid.

No Apartheid

For apartheid to exist, there would have to be a situation that closely resembled how things were in South Africa under the apartheid regime. Unfortunately for those who believe this, a day in any part of Israel would be enough to show how ridiculous this is.

The most obvious focus for apartheid would be the country’s 20% Arab population. Under Israeli law, Arab Israelis have exactly the same rights as Jews or anyone else; Muslims have the same rights as Jews or Christians; Baha’is, severely persecuted in Iran, flourish in Israel, where they have their world center; Ahmadi Muslims, severely persecuted in Pakistan & elsewhere, are kept safe by Israel; or anyone else; the holy places of all religions are protected by Israeli law.

Free Arab Israelis

Arabs form 20% of the university population (an exact echo of their percentage in the general population). In Iran , the Bahai’s (the largest religious minority) are forbidden to study in any university or to run their own universities: why aren’t your members boycotting Iran ?

Arabs in Israel can go anywhere they want, unlike blacks in apartheid South Africa. They use public transport, they eat in restaurants, they go to swimming pools, they use libraries, they go to cinemas alongside Jews — something no blacks were able to do in South Africa.

Israeli hospitals not only treat Jews & Arabs, they also treat Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank. On the same wards, in the same operating theatres.

Women’s Rights

In Israel, women have the same rights as men: there is no gender apartheid. Gay men & women face no restrictions, and Palestinian gays oftn escape into Israel, knowing they may be killed at home.

It seems bizarre to me that LGBT groups call for a boycott of Israel & say nothing about countries like Iran, where gay men are hanged or stoned to death. That illustrates a mindset that beggars belief.

Intelligent students thinking it’s better to be silent about regimes that kill gay people, but good to condemn the only country in the Middle East that rescues and protects gay people. Is that supposed to be a sick joke?

(…)

I do not object to well-documented criticism of Israel. I do object when supposedly intelligent people single the Jewish state out above states that are horrific in their treatment of their populations.

(…)

Israeli citizens, Jews & Arabs alike, do not rebel (though they are free to protest). Yet Edinburgh students mount no demonstrations & call for no boycotts against Libya , Bahrain , Saudi Arabia , Yemen , & Iran. They prefer to make false accusations against one of the world’s freest countries, the only country in the Middle East that has taken in Darfur refugees, the only country in the ME that gives refuge to gay men & women, the only country in the ME that protects the Bahai’s…. Need I go on?

(…)

Your generation has a duty to ensure that the perennial racism of anti-Semitism never sets down roots among you. Today, however, there are clear signs that it has done so and is putting down more.”

[secular-jew]

Arab blogger Hoda Jannat exposed the lies in a series of posts on the X social media platform, together with video footage to substantiate his claims.

1. We suddenly discovered that there are 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip, where 2 million people live. There are Arab countries with a population of 30 million people, where there are not many hospitals.

2. Surprisingly, but we discovered that Gaza gets free water, electricity, gas, and fuel from Israel. Of course, there is not a single Arab citizen anywhere in the world who doesn't pay for water, electricity and gas.

3. We suddenly found out that Gaza gets 30 million dollars a month from Qatar alone. And 120 million dollars a month from UNROP. And 50 million dollars a month from the European Union. And 30 million dollars a month from America. There are Arab countries that are drowning in debt and cannot find anyone to give them at least a million dollars.

4. Suddenly we discovered that there is no “siege” on Gaza and all goods are flowing there and the borders are open. The people of Gaza went to Egypt, and from there around the world.

5. Suddenly, we discovered that Arabs live better in Gaza than in many Arab countries.

6. Suddenly, we discovered that our minds have been programmed by the lies of the Muslim Brothers media.

7. Suddenly, we discover that the children in Gaza are not the children we usually imagine, but the children of terrorists with rifles and death belts trained by Hamas.

8. Suddenly, we discovered that there are terrorist headquarters and ammunition warehouses with Hamas underground tunnels organized in Gaza schools, hospitals and mosques.

9. We have suddenly discovered that there is an underground Hamas subway of over 500 km long in Gaza, which Israel can only envy.

10. Suddenly, we discovered that so-called doctors and teachers in the Gaza Strip turned out to be active Hamas terrorists.

11. We suddenly discovered that rockets and mortars are stored in the children's rooms of Gaza homes.

12. We suddenly discovered that Hitler and his book "Mine campf" were very popular in Gaza and its Arabic translation was in almost every home in Gaza or portrait of the author.

13. Suddenly, we discovered that the leaders of Gaza live a luxurious life with high-rise mansions with swimming pools and premium German cars.

14. We suddenly discovered that there is no Israeli blockade in the Gaza Strip, as it still borders its Muslim sister, Egypt.

15. We have suddenly discovered that most "citizens" in the Gaza Strip support Hamas and other terrorist groups, elected Hamas in democratic elections and celebrated the October 7th massacre.

16. We have suddenly discovered that the so-called reporters and journalists in the Gaza Strip working for western media CNN, AP, Reuters and others turned out to be the Hamas terrorists involved in the October 7 massacre.

17. We have suddenly discovered that the so-called "peace fighters" and "international human rights organizations workers" of the UN, Red Cross, and WHO turned out to be terrorists and corrupt Hamas.

18. We have suddenly discovered that each of the Hamas leaders is a billionaire and richer than President Trump, with equity of $4-5 billion each.

[socialistexan]

Absolutely wild to see Khazar theory have a rebirth, except on the left this time.

Some of y'all are so desperate to find a counter for every Zionist talking point you've dove head first into the concrete pool that is antisemetic conspiracy theories normally too kooky for even Alex Jones.

Even if every single Israeli was 100% from the Levant, what the government of Israel is doing to the Palestinian people would still be monsterous, regardless. Regardless of whether Palestine was the ancestral home of Jews, Israel does not have the right to colonize, displace, and murder the current occupants.

You are accepting to argument of the colonizer of "if" when what we should be saying is "regardless"

Don't even argue the points for or against, you call it for what it is, a distraction from the actual issue of the genocide of the Palestinian people.

We should be doing this for every Zionist talking point, too. "Palestinians are antisemetic and homophobic" okay, regardless of whether that is true, they still shouldn't be slaughtered en masse. "Hamas has hostages" regardless of that, this level of civilian death is unacceptable.

When you get bogged down in trying to refute Zionists, you accept their framing, period, and you will be backed into a corner if you're provided with evidence and leave yourself in a position where you are susceptible to conspiracy grifters and bigots.

[1americanconservative]

A storm in the Arab world:

* The Muslim blogger, Hoda Jannat, is shocked by what she has learned about Gaza since the war began. *

In a bold post, she describes what she has learned from the war process and reveals the good and comfortable life Gaza residents and Hamas leaders practiced thanks to the consideration of israel

The post exposes the hypocrisy of the Hamas organization, the so-called condition of the Gazans was so bad before the war,

And this is how she advertises:

1. Suddenly we discovered that in the Gaza strip, where 2 million people live, there are 36 hospitals. There are Arab countries with a population of 30 million that don't have so many hospitals.

2. Surprisingly, we found out that Gaza receives free water, electricity, gas and fuel from Israel. Of course, there is not one Arab citizen anywhere else in the world who does not pay for water, electricity and fuel.

3. Suddenly we discovered that Gaza receives 30 million dollars a month only from Qatar. And $120 million a month from the UNRA. And 50 million dollars a month from the European Union. And 30 million dollars a month from America. There are Arab countries drowning in debt and can't find anyone who can give them even a million dollars.

4. Suddenly we discovered that there is no "siege" on Gaza and all the goods are flowing there and the borders are open. The Gazans traveled to Egypt and from there around the world.

5. Unexpectedly, we discovered that Arabs live better in Gaza than in many Arab countries.

6. Suddenly we discovered that our brains have been programmed by the lies of the media of the Muslim brothers.

7. Suddenly we discovered that the children in Gaza are not children as we usually imagine as children, but children of terrorists with artillery and suicidal belts who have been specially trained by Hamas.

8. Suddenly we discovered that the schools, hospitals and mosques in Gaza are organized terror headquarters and ammunition warehouses with Hamas underground tunnels.

9. Suddenly we discovered that in Gaza there is an underground Hamas "metro" that stretches over 500 km, that Israel can only envy.

10. Suddenly we discovered that the so-called doctors and teachers in Gaza turned out to be active Hamas terrorists.

11. Suddenly we discovered that rockets and mortars are held in children's rooms in Gaza.

12. Suddenly we discovered that Hitler and his book "Main Campf" were very popular in Gaza, and the translation into Arabic was in almost every home in Gaza, or a portrait of the author.

13. Suddenly we discovered that the Gazans live a luxury life, with multi-storey mansions with swimming pools and premium German cars.

14. Suddenly we discovered that there is no Israeli siege in Gaza because it still bordered by its Muslim sister Egypt.

15. Suddenly we discovered that most of the "citizens" in Gaza support Hamas and other terrorist groups, voted for Hamas in democratic elections and celebrated the massacre on October 7th.

16. We suddenly discovered that so-called reporters and journalists in Gaza working for western media CNN, AP, Reuters and others turned out to be Hamas terrorists who participated in the massacre on October 7.

17. Suddenly we have discovered that the so called 'peace activists' and 'ICO workers' of the UN, Red Cross and WHO, have turned out to be Hamas terrorists and corrupt.

18. Suddenly, we have discovered that each of the Hamas leaders is a billionaire and richer than President Trump, with a net worth of $4-5 billion each.

In conclusion, the Muslim blogger revealed the mask of hypocrisy of Hamas in Gaza in a series of tweets that shook the Arab world.

https://twitter.com/oliaklein/status/1739171908636029154...

[acti-veg]

if the occupation was ended, would Hamas take over? what would the consequences of that be?

If Israel just left, leaving Palestine in chaos with no support or way to manage a peaceful transition towards democratic rule then it is likely that Hamas or some other militant group would seize power, yes. That is often used in defence of maintaining the (illegal) occupation, but Hamas only exists because of Israel, and it continues to gain recruits because of the occupation.

The Israeli government and the IOF have destroyed Palestine, if they just get up and leave there will be no jobs, no critical infrastructure, scarce food, resources or opportunities. They have all but guaranteed another century of violence in Gaza and the rule of organisations like Hamas if they don’t do anything to help repair the damage that has been caused, which they clearly have no intention of doing.

What you have in Palestine is a whole generation of disenfranchised young people who have watched their parents and friends being butchered, who have no say in the political process, no hope for their future, no way to leave, and no way to better their situation at home. This is the pool from which Hamas recruit. Israel just leaving won’t fix any of the damage they have caused, or erase the anger they have earned.

For the violence in Gaza to end and for Palestine to become a peaceful, democratic state, Israel must be bought to heel by the international community. They must be made to lift their occupation, return and the land they stole, pay significant, ongoing reparations and recognise Palestine as a sovereign state. Until then, Israel must be the subject of stringent trade embargo, they must have their funding withdrawn and their supply of weapons stopped. Israel would crumble eventually, and then the process of rebuilding could begin, with the support of the international community to ensure a democratic transition.

Palestine needs new critical infrastructure like roads, schools, and hospitals, it needs investment and foreign aid on a vast scale. Israel, and to a lesser extent the nations who failed to stop this genocide, need to foot the bill for it. Only significant pressure from the likes of the EU, the US and the UK will end the violence at this point, and even then, it will take many years of rebuilding, diplomacy and healing.

[mariacallous]

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad faces the most substantial threat to his regime in years, after rebels captured Aleppo—one of the country’s largest cities—last week, along with dozens of other towns and villages, in a surprise assault.

The move on Aleppo followed a Nov. 27 offensive by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), an opposition militant group and former al Qaeda affiliate that controls much of Syria’s Idlib province, which borders Aleppo province. Aided by locally manufactured kamikaze drones, HTS appears to have caught Assad’s forces off guard, prompting them to retreat from vast areas that are now under the group’s control. Both sides have already suffered significant losses, with at least 446 combatants and civilians killed since Nov. 27, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

More than 14,000 people have been displaced due to the recent violence, according to local aid group Violet. But, for the first time in eight years, many regime dissidents are returning to towns and villages that are now under HTS control.

The Syrian civil war began in 2011 after Assad’s regime violently repressed pro-democracy protesters, triggering a conflict that has so far claimed more than half a million lives and displaced over 7 million people. Aleppo was a major opposition stronghold until 2016, when a Russian air bombing campaign retook the city for the Assad regime.

HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani has instructed his fighters to protect all civilians, including Christians, as well as Syrian regime soldiers who surrender, according to Idlib-based journalist Fared al-Mahlool. Following its split with al Qaeda around 8 years ago, HTS has sought to rebrand itself as a more moderate force than its erstwhile benefactor. Now, many residents of newly captured areas are uncertain what life under HTS control might entail.

Recent escalations in northwest Syria come as Assad’s main international supporters are preoccupied with their own conflicts. Russia is prioritizing its war in Ukraine, and both Iran and its proxy Hezbollah, in Lebanon, have been significantly weakened in fighting with Israel. Still, Russian and Syrian airstrikes targeted Idlib and Aleppo provinces over the weekend, while Iranian-backed militias from Iraq—including Kataib Hezbollah and Fatemiyoun—recently crossed into Syria, according to Al Arabiya, a Saudi Arabian news channel.

“Since Sunday, the bombings are constant,” Mahlool said. “Several schools and clinics in Idlib province have already been targeted.”

On Dec. 1, an airstrike hit Aleppo University Hospital, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more. The strike also damaged one of Violet’s ambulances, said Yemn Sayed Issa, the media and communication coordinator with the aid group. That same day, airstrikes targeted Idlib University Hospital, Ibn Sina Hospital, Idlib’s National Hospital, and the Idlib Health Directorate. And, according to Issa, a Soviet-era warplane struck a camp for displaced people near Ma’arrat Misrin, a town just north of central Idlib, killing at least seven civilians, including five children and two women. Violet’s medical team is responding to the attacks.

“It’s extremely dangerous for everyone. Our medics and ambulances head out daily, but constantly fear being targeted,” Issa said, adding that Aleppo—home to around 2 million people—is now critically short on essentials like bread, water, fuel, and medical supplies, which had previously been shipped from other regime-held areas.

“Everything is coming from Idlib now, but it’s difficult. The humanitarian situation is tragic. People are having to find shelter wherever they can,” Issa said. “In the town of [Darkush], for example, a public swimming pool has been turned into a temporary shelter for people who have fled their villages. Most displaced families have been forced to seek shelter in open fields and farmland, without any proper shelter or basic facilities.”

HTS’s advance means Aleppo is under opposition control for the first time in eight years. The front line had remained frozen since Russia and Turkey brokered a cease-fire deal in 2020. The two countries back opposing sides in Syria.

Russia, along with Iran and Hezbollah, are Assad’s key allies, while Turkey supports the Syrian National Army (SNA), a coalition of opposition groups—excluding HTS—that fights the Assad regime and Kurdish forces such as the People’s Defense Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Turkey considers the latter two groups to be terrorist organizations.

Since the recent rebel offensive, Assad’s regime has effectively abandoned areas within Aleppo province and left them under Kurdish control. The SNA continues to push the Kurdish groups further east. On Dec. 1, the SNA captured the strategic town of Tel Rifaat, which is located between Aleppo and the Turkish border. For the past eight years, the area had been under YPG and PKK control—a significant national security concern for Turkey.

The relationship between HTS and the SNA has long been tense; HTS has sought control over SNA-held areas and the SNA distrusts HTS for numerous reasons, including ideological differences. But both groups share a common goal.

“The priority is to fight the regime,” said Orwa Ajjoub, a doctoral candidate at Malmo University in Sweden who researches Islamist groups in Syria. “I’ve spoken with people who are sworn enemies of HTS to this day, but now they’re putting their differences aside to fight the regime. HTS is leading these efforts. When the dust settles, we’ll see how these diverse groups manage to resolve their disagreements.”

Turkey has its own troops in Syria, primarily in Idlib, Afrin, and other areas east of the Euphrates River, mainly as part of its operations against the PKK and YPG. Around 900 U.S. troops are also in the country; mostly concentrated in northeastern Syria, they support counter-terrorism operations against the Islamic State.

Analysts have speculated over whether Turkey—which is keen to reduce the power of the PKK and YPG—gave HTS the green light for the operation. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, however, said that it would be “wrong” to try to chalk the current situation in Syria up to external intervention.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tried to mend relations with Assad in July, following a deterioration of ties throughout the war. Yet Assad insisted that Turkish forces must fully withdraw from Syria for him to negotiate with Erdogan—a request Turkey is unwilling to meet due to its own national security concerns.

Speaking with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Dec. 1, Fidan stressed that Turkey opposes instability in the region and reiterated the importance of reducing tensions in Syria. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Turkey on Dec. 2 to discuss the situation in Syria. “Recent developments show once again that Damascus must reconcile with its own people and the legitimate opposition,” Fidan said at a joint news conference with Araghchi. “Turkey is ready to make all the necessary contribution toward this.”

Whether Turkey knew about it or not, “this operation is definitely a win for Turkey,” Ajjoub said. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has spoken about potentially withdrawing the remaining U.S. troops in Syria, which could create a power vacuum in the region. “Having more leverage in Syria before Donald Trump takes office could be significant for Turkey,” Ajjoub said.

[girlactionfigure]

⚠️ IRAN PREPARES, HOME FRONT CHANGES, SPECIAL FORCES VIDEOS - Tuesday afternoon - events from Israel  

...‼️The United States detects preparations in Iran for a missile attack on Israel. (Amit Segal - Ch. 12)

⚠️HOME FRONT COMMAND.. as of today (Tuesday), at 14:00: added restrictions in new and wide areas throughout the country until Sat. Oct 5, 20:00.  The reason for this change is the item above.

.. Restriction on activities and gatherings: Carmel (Haifa and wide area), Wadi Ara, Menashe, Samaria (West Bank), Sharon (Central cities), Dan (Tel Aviv), Yarkon, Shefala (Beit Shemesh and wide area), Jerusalem (and wide area), and Shfela.

.. Educational activities can ONLY be held in a place where you can reach a protected space in time with capacity in case of an alert.

.. Gatherings and services can be held with a limit of up to 30 people in an open area and up to 300 people in closed spaces.

.. Workplaces can operate in a building or place where you can reach a protected space in time with capacity in case of an alert.

.. Infographic: https://IDFANC.activetrail.biz/ANC0110202493864

.. Police: The Israel Police is prepared to implement the directives of the Home Front Command to the general public, following the change in the defense policy in the last hour.  Civil discipline saves lives.

❗️PUBLIC ROSH HASHANA PRAYER EVENTS CANCELLED.. The impression is that this is a warning about a more specific and immediate event, not about a general escalation from Lebanon.

.. Mass hataras nedarim at the Hotel cancelled.

.. Event at the Sultan’s Pool cancelled.

.. The Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Places Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitz calls on the public to take cautionand observe the mitzvah "and be very careful for your souls" - to obey the instructions of the Home Front Command and not to come to the Western Wall plaza tonight.

.. Message passed on to the Hasidim in Gur: Do not come today for prayers to the city. and prepare for the possibility that they will not be able to come to Jerusalem for the holiday.

▪️SPECIAL OPS.. Since the beginning of the war, the IDF has conducted dozens of targeted operations in areas near the border in southern Lebanon in order to dismantle Hezbollah’s terrorist capabilities and infrastructure.  The soldiers identified and breached underground access points near the border area, exposed extensive weapon caches, assembly areas for terrorist operative operations, and more. During these operations, the troops also collected valuable intelligence and methodically dismantled the weapons and compounds, including underground infrastructure and advanced weaponry of Iranian origin.

The troops also uncovered and destroyed underground infrastructure, struck thousands of targets and hundreds of weapons storage facilities, tons of explosives, and hundreds of living areas for operatives, command centers and more. 

Footage of IDF raids on terror targets in Lebanese territory: https://bit.ly/3ZLNw4x

Footage of the destruction of terrorist infrastructure in the area of the border: https://bit.ly/4gM9wCs

There are many more videos linked here -> https://t.me/idfofficial/10605

❗️TZAV 8.. IDF: In accordance with the situational assessment, the IDF is calling up four additional reserve (combat) brigades for operational missions in the northern arena. 

▪️AIR TRAVEL.. The airport is working as usual at the moment and there is no change in the airspace.

.. Israir is expected to operate flights using six leased planes over the holidays, to help maintain aviation continuity. 

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❗️IRAN MISSILE THREAT - Tuesday afternoon - events from Israel  

ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

( VIDEO - Home Front advice for holiday synagogue service - make sure to know the path to a protected space, have enough time and capacity. And what about the children? )

⭕HEZBOLLAH JUST FIRED 4 LONG RANGE MISSILES AT TEL AVIV.. a few minutes ago - they missed, hitting the sea.  No alarms due to the wide miss.

‼️The United States detects preparations in Iran for a missile attack on Israel.  On this basis, Israel has raised Home Front restrictions in the center and Jerusalem areas.  

.. The Pentagon: Satellite images show that Iran has prepared a large number of ballistic missiles to attack Israel.

.. IDF reminds:  defenses are NOT perfect, you MUST follow Home Front commands and take shelter when instructed.

.. The US Embassy in Israel asked its employees to stay at home and be prepared to go to shelters.

.. British Foreign Secretary Lammy announced that Britain is negotiating with its Iranian counterparts and calls on that country to exercise restraint in the midst of growing tensions in the region.

.. Reuters: Oil prices jumped 3% amid reports that Iran is planning to attack Israel.

📌HOME FRONT COMMAND..  center, Tel Aviv and wide surrounding areas, Jerusalem and wide surrounding areas, Samaria

.. Educational activities can ONLY be held in a place where you can reach a protected space in time with capacity in case of an alert.

.. Gatherings and services can be held with a limit of up to 30 people in an open area and up to 300 people in closed spaces.

.. Workplaces can operate in a building or place where you can reach a protected space in time with capacity in case of an alert.

📌PUBLIC ROSH HASHANA PRAYER EVENTS CANCELLED..

.. Mass hataras nedarim at the Western Wall cancelled.

.. Event at the Sultan’s Pool cancelled.

.. The Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Places Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitz: do not to come to the Western Wall plaza tonight.

.. Message to Hasidim in Gur: Do not come for prayers to the city. 

❗️SPORT EVENT CANCELLED - Soccer / Football between Beitar Yerushalayim and Maccabi Haifa.

🔹IDF spokesman: "Iranian firing on the State of Israel will have consequences - I will not say more than that."

🔹IDF spokesman Brigadier General Hagari: "IDF fighters found a "plan for the occupation of the Galilee" by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanese territory.”

🔹US Central Command: 3 additional US aircraft squadrons are on their way to the area, and one of them has already arrived.

🔹The US continues to transfer military equipment non-stop to the region.  Huge military transport planes land in Jordan and Syria almost non-stop.

🔹Haifa Municipality: In light of the unusual security situation, the city council meeting scheduled for tonight is postponed.

🔹Russia to Israel: withdraw the troops from southern Lebanon immediately.

♦️ONGOING TARGETED ATTACKS in Lebanon cities.

♦️TARGETED ATTACK in Khan Yunis, Gaza on a vehicle.

♦️SYRIAN RADAR.. A radar position of Syria that attacked and destroyed a short time ago by the Air Force in southern Syria.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this National Geographic story:

A 14-year-old boy who went swimming in a pond in India’s sweltering heat. A 13-year-old girl who bathed in a pool during a school excursion, and a five-year-old girl who took a dip in a river near her home. The three children lived in different parts of the southern Indian state of Kerala. Yet they have something in common ⸺all of them succumbed to a brain infection, Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM), caused by a tiny organism found in warm freshwaters and poorly maintained swimming pools. About a dozen others have been undergoing treatment in India, one of whom, a 27-year-old man, has also succumbed.

Although rare, PAM is a deadly infection with a worldwide occurrence. It is caused by Naegleria fowleri, also known as the "brain-eating amoeba”, as it infects the brain and destroys brain tissue. At least 39 countries have reported such infections so far, and the rate of infections is increasing by 4.5 percent every year. In Pakistan alone, 20 deaths are reported every year due to the disease, and in 2024, infections have been reported in India, Pakistan, and Israel. N. fowleri was also detected at a popular freshwater swimming spot in Western Australia and hot springs in the U.S’s Grand Teton National Park. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the majority of global case exposures⸺85 percent⸺have been reported during warm, hot, or summer seasons. Several studies have also observed that changes in temperature and climate may further drive a global increase in PAM incidence. A study published in May last year found that PAM infections are on the rise in the northern U.S. "N. fowleri is expanding northward due to climate change, posing a greater threat to human health in new regions where PAM has not yet been documented," the study noted.

Yun Shen, an assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering at the University of California, Riverside, says that she considers PAM as “a potential emerging medical threat worldwide”. She explains that while warmer temperatures are likely to facilitate the survival and growth of N. fowleri, the risk of exposure may also increase as people indulge in more water-based recreational activities in hotter weather.

N. fowleri is found in warm, untreated freshwater, soil, and dust, says Karen Towne, a clinical associate professor of nursing at the University of Mount Union in Ohio, who co-authored a 2023 study on how the amoeba poses “a new concern for northern climates”. She adds that so far, PAM infections have typically occurred in cases involving swimming, splashing, and submerging one’s head in freshwater lakes, ponds, hot springs, and reservoirs. Meanwhile, less common routes of transmission have included warm hose water, a lawn water slide, splash pad use, and exposure of the nasal membrane to tap water from private well systems.

“Epidemiologically, most cases have occurred in healthy children and young adults⸺more males than females⸺who have had recent contact with untreated fresh water,” Towne told National Geographic in an email interview.

According to Barbara Polivka, an associate dean of research at the University of Kansas School of Nursing, who co-authored the study with Towne, N. fowleri enters the nose via contaminated water, crosses the nasal membrane, and follows the olfactory nerve into the brain, where it incubates for an average of five days. “PAM begins with rapid onset of severe frontal headache, fever, nausea and vomiting, which worsen into stiff neck, altered mental status, hallucinations, coma, and death,” says Polivka.

[msternberg]

Arab blogger Hoda Jannat (Hoda_jannat) felt that something is not right in the news she is being fed by the media. So she set herself for a real fact-checking mission. And here are the results, translated from Arabic:

1.Suddenly we discovered that Gaza, which is inhabited by 2 million people… has 36 hospitals,” Jannat wrote.

“There are Arab countries with 30 million citizens and do not have this number of hospitals.

2.Suddenly we discovered that Gaza was getting water, electricity, gas, and fuel for free from Israel.

Of course, there is no Arab citizen who does not pay water, electricity and fuel bills.

3.Suddenly we discovered that Gaza was receiving $30 million a month from Qatar alone, and $120 million a month from UNRWA, and $50 million a month from the European Union, and 30 million dollars a month from America. There are Arab countries drowning in debt and cannot find anyone to help them, even with one million dollars.

4.Suddenly we discovered that Gaza was not besieged, and all goods were entering it, as were foreigners and people of foreign nationalities. Its residents were traveling to Egypt and from there to the rest of the world, and Fafo is the biggest example.

5.Suddenly we discovered that Gaza was living better than many Arab countries…and its people were living better than many Arab peoples.

6.Suddenly…we discovered that our minds were besieged by a programmed lie…by the (Muslim) Brotherhood media.”

7. Suddenly we discovered that the children in Gaza are not children as we usually think, but children of terrorists with machine guns and suicide belts who underwent special training by Hamas.

8. Suddenly we discovered that the schools, hospitals, and mosques in Gaza are organized terror headquarters and ammunition warehouses with Hamas’ underground tunnels.

9. Suddenly we discovered that in Gaza there is an underground “metro” of Hamas that stretches for 500 km, which Israel can only envy.

10. Suddenly we discovered that the supposedly doctors and teachers in Gaza turned out to be active Hamas terrorists.

11. Suddenly we discovered that rockets and mortars are kept in children’s rooms in Gaza homes.

12. Suddenly we discovered that Hitler and his book “Mein Kampf” were very popular in Gaza, and its translation into Arabic was in almost every home in Gaza, or a portrait of the author.

13. Suddenly we discovered that Gazans live a life of luxury, with multi-story mansions with swimming pools and premium German cars.

14. Suddenly we discovered that there is no Israeli siege on Gaza because it still borders its Muslim sister Egypt.

15. Suddenly we discovered that most of the “citizens” in Gaza support Hamas and other terrorist groups, elected Hamas in democratic elections, and celebrated the massacre on October 7th.

16. Suddenly we discovered that what is called journalists in Gaza who work for Western media like CNN, AP, Reuters, and others turned out to be Hamas terrorists who participated in the massacre on October 7th.

17. Suddenly we discovered that what is called ‘peace activists’ and ‘workers of international human rights organizations’ of the UN, the Red Cross, and WHO, turned out to be terrorists and corrupt people of Hamas.

18. Suddenly we discovered that each of the leaders of Hamas is a billionaire and richer than President Trump, with a net worth of 4-5 billion dollars each.

[eretzyisrael]

By EMANUEL FABIAN

Israeli ground forces operating in the northern Gaza Strip have located Hamas rocket launchers in close proximity to a swimming pool and a playground, the Israel Defense Forces reveals.

The IDF shares footage of troops locating the rocket-launching positions, amid efforts to uncover and destroy Hamas infrastructure.

Troops of the 551st Brigade find four underground launchers some five meters (16 feet) from a children’s swimming pool, and around 30 meters from residential homes in the northern Gaza Strip, footage shows.

Another clip shows troops of the 401st Brigade locating a number of rocket launchers within a children’s playground and amusement park compound.

“This is further proof of the Hamas terror organization’s constant use of the civilian population as a human shield for terror purposes,” the IDF says in a statement.

[angelborn-altruist]

an old project i wanted to share. maybe I'll finish it one day when I'm less of a coward.

I'm calling this little story The Well, and the Thing Inside it. I started it way back when the Israel-Palestine situation broke out, and may have channeled a lot of my thoughts and reflections regarding it into the early drafts. I figured it would be a good time to post this little story now as opposed to later.

Please, enjoy. Thank you for reading!

Chapter One: The Boy

In the midst of the Forest there walked a boy.

Now, this in itself was not unusual; many a young boy has taken a walk through many a forest. Sometimes for the adventure, sometimes to escape the troubles of civilized life, and sometimes simply for the peace and quiet of the natural world.

However, such a boy as this, in such a Forest like this one, was utterly out of the ordinary.

He was a small, scrawny thing, dressed in worn, mismatched clothes and a frayed red winter cap sitting atop his dark, messy hair. He carried a walking stick in his hand and a full knapsack on his back, and at his side was a dog, small and scrawny as well, little more than a puppy. They both had the worn, exhausted look of something that has been walking aimlessly for a long, long time. Every now and then, the boy would glance behind him, expecting to hear the distant sounds of gunfire and bombs echoing into the sky, past the trees, and into his heart.

The war had officially been going on for a few months, but it was the product of decades of enmity and conflict that the nations of the world had stubbornly refused to put an end to. The boy didn't know much about it, he wasn't even twelve years old yet and was still focused on frivolous, innocent matters that occupy one's mind at that age. Yet even he, at eleven and a half, could tell when a conflict was his fault or not, and he knew with absolute certainty that he had nothing to do with what had happened.

For months he and his mother had gone about their lives with a steady unease, wincing each time another shootout occurred in a distant city or a government leader gave an impassioned speech to the ends of chaos and anarchy, but otherwise they did their best to just live, as they always had. So when the planes came one hot summer's day, dropping death and fire like birds with their droppings, they were distraught. Forced to evacuate their home, the boy and his mother had managed to survive the majority of the bombing for over three weeks. Most of their friends and family had been killed, much of the city had been reduced to rubble and ruin, and when the soldiers came, slaughtering civilians and resistance fighters without discrimination, it appeared there would be no escaping then.

The boy still remembered the scents of blood and metal, the dust clouding his eyes and the constant ringing in his ears, brought about by screams and explosions alike.

The boy would never forget the mind-numbing, heart-crushing sense of fear that seemed to fill the entirety of his small form.

He would never be able to bury the memories of bodies, strewn across the streets like a rowdy child's dolls, mangled and misshapen.

And, for the last three days, he hadn't stopped thinking of his mother's last words to him as she fastened a small pack of stolen provisions to his back, placed a walking stick in his hand, and adjusted the cap on his forehead, bruised from a fall he'd taken hours before:

“....you go to the woods, and you run! You don't look back, you don't stop, you run, and you run, and you run! Until the darkness can't find you anymore.... do you understand?”

The boy, shaking from nerves and fear, hadn't been able to do anything to respond. His mother, once so beautiful with her silky dark hair and big brown eyes softly glowing with warmth, looked thin, tired, and dusty. Her hair was disheveled, her breath was stale, and her eyes were pooling with tears as she gripped his shoulders tightly.

“Do you understand!?” his mother hissed, giving him a little shake to wake him from his terrified daze. Finally, he'd been able to croak out a response.

“Y-Yes, mama.”

His mother had then pulled him into a tight hug, squeezing him as though it were the last time in her life. Then, she'd kissed him on his forehead and both cheeks, and pushed him away.

He'd ran then, hating himself with every step, knowing the soldiers were getting closer to him with every moment, praying to all the angels and saints that he'd escape.

He'd met the dog along the way, a bedraggled, wretched creature, whimpering at him pathetically while he took refuge in the toppled remains of a museum. There, surrounded by desecrated reminders of the history of the greatness of mankind, the boy found himself moved by a sudden burst of pity, and he'd tossed a half-eaten hunk of rodent to the dog. It had accepted it gratefully, and had followed him ever since.

By some miracle, they'd made it to the Forest. A few other refugees had tried to make their way there, but they hadn't been seen since. It wasn't particularly large, but it was dense enough that one could potentially hide out for weeks without being found.

So hide they had, though no soldiers had been seen, no planes had flown overhead, and the explosions seemed to have stopped. Uncertainty, that special flavor of fear, had kept the boy from returning back, though he would have called it “prudence” or “caution”. He wasn't sure how long they'd been there, even though he was sure it had been at least a full three days.

Thus, the boy and his dog walked through the Forest. Two refugees, cast aside by a world that cared nothing about them, wandering through a Forest that seemed to never end. Trees in every direction, species and varieties the boy realized he'd never seen before, even if he'd spent hours running around these very woods as a child.

Those days seemed so far away now to the boy, he realized.

So long it had been, since he had felt safe, since he had felt happy, since he had felt loved. He wondered if this was the end of all of it, thousands of years of bloodshed and war to culminate in his useless birth and pathetic death.

He froze, feeling a sudden weight on his heart, and he fell to his knees. Emotion filled his chest, hot and powerful, like a foul claw, and his small body quivered as he attempted to hold in the tears that were sure to begin falling any moment.

But they never came. The heat in his chest remained, a burning flame of anger, despair, and a dozen other emotions singing his bones and searing his soul.

The dog came up to his face, nuzzling him with its wet nose and washing his face in its hot breath. The boy tried to push the dog away at first, but it only repeated its advances. The boy reluctantly let the dog approach again, gently petting its head and neck. The fire faded slightly.

He sighed, and got to his feet once again, scratching the dog behind its ears before starting again through the Forest. He couldn't lose focus. He had lived this far. There had to be some reason for that. He shouldered his back, and began anew, walking through the great Forest.

Yet a small voice seemed to whisper in the back of his mind, that there was no point. That his efforts would all come to nothing. That he was dead from the beginning and this was just him delaying the inevitable. That he ought to just lay down and die.

He pushed the thought aside, and kept walking.

[readingsquotes]

"All our choices were made to reflect and confront us in the present – not to say, ‘Look what they did then’; rather, ‘Look what we do now,’” Glazer said, quickly dispatching with the notion that comparing present-day horrors to Nazi crimes is inherently minimizing or relativizing, and leaving no doubt that his explicit intention was to draw out continuities between the monstrous past and our monstrous present.

And he went further: “We stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people, whether the victims of 7 October in Israel or the ongoing attack on Gaza.” For Glazer, Israel does not get a pass, nor is it ethical to use intergenerational Jewish trauma from the Holocaust as justification or cover for atrocities committed by the Israeli state today.

....

“Genocide becomes ambient to their lives”: that is how Glazer has described the atmosphere he attempted to capture in his film, in which his characters attend to their daily dramas – sleepless kids, a hard-to-please mother, casual infidelities – in the shadow of smokestacks belching out human remains. It’s not that these people don’t know that an industrial-scale killing machine whirs just beyond their garden wall. They have simply learned to lead contented lives with ambient genocide.

It is this that feels most contemporary, most of this terrible moment, about Glazer’s staggering film. More than five months into the daily slaughter in Gaza, and with Israel brazenly ignoring the orders of the international court of justice, and western governments gently scolding Israel while shipping it more arms, genocide is becoming ambient once more – at least for those of us fortunate enough to live on the safe sides of the many walls that carve up our world. We face the risk of it grinding on, becoming the soundtrack of modern life. Not even the main event.

Glazer has repeatedly stressed that his film’s subject is not the Holocaust, with its well-known horrors and historical particularities, but something more enduring and pervasive: the human capacity to live with holocausts and other atrocities, to make peace with them, draw benefit from them.

....

One of the film’s most memorable scenes comes when a package filled with clothing and lingerie stolen from the camp’s prisoners arrives at the Höss home. The commandant’s wife, Hedwig (played almost too convincingly by Sandra Hüller), decrees that everyone, including the servants, can choose one item. She keeps a fur coat for herself, even trying on the lipstick she finds in a pocket.

It is the intimacy of the entanglements with the dead that are so chilling. And I have no idea how anyone can watch that scene and not think of the Israeli soldiers who have filmed themselves rifling through the lingerie of Palestinians whose homes they are occupying in Gaza, or boasting of stealing shoes and jewelry for their fiances and girlfriends, or taking group selfies with Gaza’s rubble as the backdrop. (One such photo went viral after the writer Benjamin Kunkel added the caption “The Zone of Pinterest”.)

There are so many such echoes that, today, Glazer’s masterpiece feels more like a documentary than a metaphor.

...

Zone offers an extreme portrait of a family whose placid and pretty life flows directly from the machinery devouring human life next door. This is most emphatically not a portrait of people in denial: they know what is happening on the other side of the wall, and even the kids play with scavenged human teeth. The concentration camp and the family home are not separate entities; they are conjoined. The wall of the family’s garden – creating an enclosed space for the children to play, and shade for the pool – is the same wall that, on the other side, encloses the camp.

Everyone I know who has seen the film can think of little but Gaza.

[darkmaga-returns]

That is Gaza behind me.

The fence line is 600m away. The northern part of Gaza, where Israel is carrying out a genocide within a genocide, systematically starving 300,000 Palestinians to death, is about 2km further.

The absurdity and the obscenity of being able to be this close to 20,000 murdered children, their bodies “prophetic voices from under the rubble” as a colleague called them, is difficult to accept.

The grotesque horror of a school field trip arriving at this location from two hours away to watch the mass slaughter from an observation deck was a shock I am overwhelmed by. The first wave of boys pumped celebratory firsts and thrust middle fingers upon their sight of Gaza.

There were no warplanes or drones visible. The school kids and other audience members of a genocide who gawked and put money into a telescope left disappointed as they saw no bombs or missiles, no artillery or tank fire. There were no blast waves from controlled demolitions to wash over them, and the numbers of smoke pillars from smoldering and cratered homes and schools were in the single digits, their fires not vigorous enough to be smelled. It must have been underwhelming and a let down; not much to boast about or revel in on the school bus ride home.

It was quiet. The sounds of those buried under rubble don’t reach the observation deck. No torn and wrecked bodies could be seen, no sunlight reflected in pools of blood, and no strips of clothes snagged on exposed bones fluttered in the strong wind. We were as close as we could be but so separate and so safe from it. It was sanitary and septic, picturesque.