Israel/Palestine...Middle East, 28 October 2023
Good morning everybody!
Nowadays, one can’t even go out to buy cigarettes without hearing our glorious mainstream media cheering the Israeli invasion on the radio…
….while the Israelis actually say they ‘did not launch invasion’, but are ‘something like raiding the Gaza Strip’. But, seems, our glorious ‘journalists’ have a growing problem even with copy-pasting the official press releases…
Essentially, and for the second time in three days, the IDF drove about a battalion of tanks, combat engineers, and mechanised infantry each into the Bayt Hanoun area (northern Gaza), and into the Bureij area (centre), and now heavy fighting is reported from both: between others, Hamas’ Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigade claimed to have ‘hit multiple Israeli armoured fighting vehicles’….
Additionally, the IASF – which has already dropped more bombs on the Gaza Strip over the last three weeks than the 1,300 Allied bombers dropped on Dresden in all of February 1945 – continued air strikes. On 26 October, it claimed the elimination of Ibrahim Jadba, Rifaat Abbas, and Tarke Maarouf, ‘three senior Hamas operatives of the Daraj Tuffah Battalion’. Then it claimed the elimination of Shadi Barud, ‘Deputy Head of Hamas’ Intelligence Directorate’. This morning, it’s claiming to have struck ‘150 underground Hamas targets’ during the last night alone. Plus killed Issam Abu Rukbeh, ‘commander of Hamas aerial forces’ (UAVs, paragliders, air defences etc.), and Madhat Mubashar, ‘commander of West Khan Yunis Battalion’.
The 400+ Palestinian civilians massacred by Israeli bombs in the course of this giant achievement do not matter, because IDF is ‘distinguishing between civilians and terrorists’, and the UN managed to bring in another 15-20 trucks with humanitarian aid…
Atop of that, during the night from 26 to 27 October, the Shayetet 13 special forces unit launched a commando raid into southern Gaza, targeting…. guess what? ….’Hamas terror command centres’. I do remain fascinated by the sheer number of such facilities: apparently, when it comes to command centres, Hamas is - by far and large - the best equipped armed force, world-wide. Has more command centres than the US and Russian armed forces, combined…
But, that’s all unimportant. The only thing that matters is that I’m a piss-poor analyst because it’s over a week since I’ve concluded that – regardless of all the high explosives unleashed upon the Gaza Strip – this Israeli operation is far less effective than anybody could think. A confirmation for my incompetence is that ‘despite’ all the super precise Israeli air strikes - resulting in the massacre of over 7,000 civilians (including more than 2,900 children) in Gaza over the last three weeks - Hamas and PIJ continued firing rockets at Israel.
Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod, Tel Aviv, and few other places were hit yesterday. And that in sufficient numbers for the super-turbo Iron Dome air defence system to fail to intercept a number of these. At least four were wounded in Tel Aviv alone…
Therefore, Israel repeated its threats to bomb the Shifa Hospital, because this ‘acts as the main headquarters for Hamas’ terrorist activity’. Here I’m only confused about the use of expression ‘main headquarters’: shouldn’t that have read ‘command centre’….?
If there’s anything that remains ‘surprising’ in this fecces-show, then the fact that the Pentagon – read: US armed forces – are involved, if they are involved; and not involved if not involved. Apparently, that depends on office hours.
What am I talking about?
After the Pentagon was so proud for USS Carney ‘defending Israel’ by shooting down whatever came its way, a week ago, now it’s dead-silent about what the Israelis claim was another raid by Houthi UAVs - on Israel. And so, the Israelis claim that early yesterday a stream of Houthi UAVs has hit the Egyptian tourist resorts in Taba and Nuweeba, on Sinai, wounding six. Don’t worry: one of Houthi UAVs was shot down by the IASF…
…one is left to wonder where was USS Carney this time: indeed, how comes both the Saudis and the US Navy have left Houthi UAVs travel the full length of the Red Sea to reach the area at all…
…or how comes there are tall mountains visible on the IASF-released HUD-video of the intercept in question. Do not think - not even for a second - that there might be Israeli interceptors underway inside the Egyptian airspace over the Sinai peninsula…
….or why are the Egyptians so upset? They are blaming the Israelis for striking Taba by a drone and, guess what: not few are calling for striking back on Israel. Their explanation is that the Israelis are aiming to drive the population of the Gaza Strip into Sinai, and then continue with an invasion and occupation of the Egyptian soil. How illogical, these Egyptians: after all, this war began only on 7 October 2023 (and then with an unprovoked Hamas attack on Israel), nothing of that kind has ever happened ever before, and no members of the Knesset have demanded anything even roughly similar…
Last but not least….though entirely unimportant, at least according to the Israeli government: the IDF has increased the number of hostages identified as held by Hamas, PIJ, and ‘other organisations’ in the Gaza Strip to 229. Another 100-190 are still missing, i.e. their fate is unknown. At least 30 are children.
In turn, Hamas reported that up to 50 have been killed by Israeli bombardment, and has offered to release everybody in exchange for an end of the Israeli onslaught. Don’t know what to think about official Israeli ‘response’ to this: not like there was really one.
One is left to wonder if it could be that the Israelis are still uncertain about the number of hostages that are still alive because they have no clue – or do not dare openly saying - how many have they killed on their own. Namely, there is ever more evidence that on 7 October the IDF reacted to ‘Hamas attack’ by ‘shooting around like mad’: October 7 Testimonies reveal Israel’s Military ‘shelling’ Israeli Citizens with Tanks, Missiles.
But hey: I’ve got no memory of the fish, and my unpleasant questions are a pile of horse excrement, so who am I to ask…