Israel/Palestine, 1 November 2023
Hello everybody!
A short update on the situation in the Gaza Strip, where the business is meanwhile clearly that of a mass-murder, and going very well…
Somewhere, it’s nothing but funny to monitor Netanyahu’s winding through his TV-appearances. They go like this: in the evening (when most are watching), he appears to say all of Israel is united. During the night (when next to nobody is watching) he appears to blame chiefs of intelligence agencies have screwed up (i.e. there’s no unity, and he’s right, while the IDF and intel are all wrong). In the morning (when few are watching) he appears to apologise… and in between he’s quoting biblical genocidaire Joshua bin Nun, about ‘Amalek’ and how these should be ‘utterly destroyed’, ‘both man and woman, infant and suckling’ slayed etc…
The Western media is ignoring latter segments, and instead publishing only short sequences about ground offensive, long war, second phase and similar… Indeed, a ‘classic’ in this regards is the latest ZDF (state-owned German TV) report from Ukraine. Anchor’s first question to the reporter trying to talk about Avdiivka was, ‘and what do Ukrainians say about the developments in Israel’? To which the reporter was very happy to say, ‘Ukrainians understand that Israel has priority’…
Ah yes, and another ‘major development’ is that, yesterday, the Ansar Allah Movement (Houthis in control over northern Yemen) has declared war to Israel – and promptly launched another volley of Shahed-like UAVs and ballistic missiles. Most of these were shot down over the Gulf of Aqaba. One of missiles fell inside southern Jordan. Some of UAVs and/or missiles were shot down by Israeli warships underway in the Gulf of Aqaba, like this Sa’ar-class corvette:
Of course, Netanyahu can’t care less about all the requests to resign (primarily from the ranks of hostage-relatives, but from within the IDF, too): ‘after the war’…. whenever that might be. Right now, I’m not sure where have I heard that before. I’m only sure it was quite recently…
On 29 October, Hezbollah/IRGC and PIJ launched a number of rockets at Rosh Pina and few other settlements in northern Israel: IDF claimed all of these as intercepted. The IASF and IDF reacted with a series of air strikes.
During the same day, also the appearance of US-operated MQ-9A Reaper attack and surveillance UAVs could be monitored over the southern Gaza Strip, prompting many to guess if the USA is involved in air strikes, too?
When challenged by the Cypriot flight control to declare its identity, pilot/co-pilot of another (though manned) US aircraft underway over the Eastern Mediterranean Sea in direction of the Gaza Strip, babbled back something like, ‘can’t explain’…
On 30 October, the IASF has hit the Bayt Lahya with a huge air strike, completely demolishing about 20 homes. Number of victims remains unknown because rescue teams cannot approach the area.
Israelis are estimating that about 300,000 civilians remain in the ‘northern Gaza Strip’ (north of the Wadi Gaza). Also, the IDF increased the number of identified hostages held by Hamas, PIJ, and ‘other’ Palestinian group to 240. So far, 5 were released or freed (4 by Hamas, 1 by Shin Bet), while Palestinians repeated their reports that over 50 have been killed by Israeli air strikes…
Yesterday afternoon, the flying supermen of the best air force of the World – IASF, of course - flew a big air strike on the Jabaliya Refugee Camp in the northern Gaza Strip (the largest of eight refugee camps in the Strip, with a pre-October-2023-population of around 50,000). While purportedly ‘targeting a Hamas commander’ (for whom they can’t even clearly say was there), they massacred over 300 Palestinian civilians (over 400 were wounded)…. ‘rescue’ operations are still going on, mostly with bare hands…
Immediately after, Israelis began weaselling themselves in the usual series of scams and fake news, like every time they massacre hundreds of civilians… and then they cut off all the telecommunication links to the Gaza Strip: if Palestinians can’t report about this Israeli atrocity, it didn’t happen..
Overall, the IASF bombardment remains so ‘highly effective’, and the Iron Dome SAM-system so ‘successful’, that the Hamas and PIJ managed to shower Tel Aviv (and north of it) with two volley of rockets yesterday around the noon, and then a third during the last night…
On the ground:
- Most of around 4,000 Palestinians from Gaza that used to work in Israel, have been kidnapped: ‘arrested’ by Israeli authorities, and subjected to detention and torture.
- IDF launched yet another (5th or 6th) raid into Jenin, in the West Bank, the last night, killing at least five and hijacking additional Palestinians. The Israeli social media is full of videos showing Palestinian hostages being beaten and humiliated, and this is widely cheered (usually along the tunes of ‘Manny Mamtara’)…
- IDF continued advancing along the beach into the Atatra area.
- IDF launched a new, big push into the area around the Indonesian Hospital, west of Bayt Hanoun and east of Bayt Lahiya – in direction of the Jabalia area.
- IDF has reached the al-Karama suburb of the Gaza City, and is reporting ‘intense clashes’ there. This is within 1,000m of the ash-Shati camp, which the IDF claims is ‘one of the most fortified Qassam neighbourhoods’.
- IDF continues advancing from southern central Gaza and the Salah ad-Din Road towards the Sea.
- Turns out the Hamas claim about causing ‘heavy casualties’ to the IDF was truth: this morning, the ID confirmed 2, then 9, and meanwhile 11 KIA (all conscripts).
UPDATE: as of the noon, local time today, the IDF casualties were listed as follows:
2 KIA from Givati Brigade (yesterday, in Jabalia area)
7 KIA from Givati Brigade (ATGM-hit on an APC)
2 KIA from 7th Brigade (Merkava Mk.IV hit an IED).
…sic transit gloria mundi…