News Today

[celeste]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/

photo

It wasn't many days ago that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was under enormous pressure.

After seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen were killed by the Israeli army in Gaza on 1 April, US President Joe Biden seemed finally to lose patience with his troublesome ally.

On the same day, Israel attacked the Iranian diplomatic compound in Damascus, killing a senior general, at least six other officers, and violating legal conventions that prohibit attacks on embassies.

Israel claimed, unconvincingly, that Iran had forfeited that protection by turning the consular building it destroyed into a military outpost. Iran promised it would retaliate, but previous attacks on senior commanders had generated more words than actions.

Outside Iran, the attack on Damascus was overshadowed by the fury caused by the killing of the team from World Central Kitchen, a US-based charity.

The White House issued a furious statement from President Biden. He was "outraged and heartbroken". It was not a standalone incident. Israel was not doing enough to protect aid workers or Palestinian civilians.

In an angry call with the prime minister, he demanded major concessions. Gaza should be flooded with humanitarian aid. Israel must open more border crossings, as well as the container port in Ashdod, less than an hour's drive away from children starving to death in northern Gaza.

[celeste]

It's a humanitarian abomination which will go down in history as exactly that -  what is the 'lifeline' that Biden has offered and why - two killing wars
since Trump 'lost' the election,  if that election was in default then who is to blame for the state of Gaza today?

[celeste]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newUK


Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron has arrived in Israel for talks with its leaders about their response to Iran's unprecedented drone and missile attack.

He is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to retaliate after the assault.

The visit comes as the UK and others seek to prevent further escalation in the Middle East.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called for "calm" in talks with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

The Israeli government has vowed to retaliate after Iran sent more than 300 drones and missile towards Israel[/size] overnight on Saturday.

Almost all the projectiles were intercepted by Israel's air defence systems, with the help of the US, UK, France, and Jordan.

Iran's direct attack on Israel was carried out in response to a strike in Syria on 1 April which killed senior Iranian military figures. Israel has not publicly confirmed it was behind the attack.

On Tuesday evening, Mr Sunak spoke to his Israeli counterpart and warned that "significant escalation will only deepen instability in the region", adding: "This is a moment for calm heads to prevail."

[celeste]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news

Qatar reassessing role as mediator in Gaza ceasefire talks
[size=0.8125rem]

Published
7 hours ago

Related Topics
Israel-Gaza war

[size=0.75rem]IMAGE SOURCE,A woman reacts as she watches a search for bodies near Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Wednesday[/size][/size]




By Wyre Davies & David Gritten
BBC News, in Jerusalem and London

Qatar is reassessing its role as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, the country's prime minister has said.[/size]

Qatar has had a key role - along with Egypt and the US - in trying to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of Israeli hostages.

But Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said Doha had been exploited and abused and was being undermined by those trying to score political points.

He also said the current peace talks were in a "delicate phase".

Attempts to secure a ceasefire have been delicate and largely unsuccessful, but the links Qatar has with all sides - including close ties to Hamas - are regarded as crucial to achieving any breakthrough.

Mediators have proposed a six-week truce during which Hamas would free 40 women, children and elderly or sick hostages - an offer Hamas publicly rejected over the weekend.

Qatar is now openly questioning chances of those talks succeeding and says it is re-evaluating its role as a mediator.

Sheikh Mohammed - who also serves as Qatar's foreign minister - said its efforts were being undermined by politicians seeking to score points.

"Unfortunately, I mean, we have seen that there has been an abuse of this mediation and an abuse of this mediation in favour of narrow political interests," he said at a news conference in Doha on Wednesday.

"This means that the state of Qatar has called for a comprehensive evaluation of this role. We are now at this stage to evaluate mediation and also evaluate how the parties engage in this mediation."

He did not identify any individuals, but some critical voices from within the US Congress have accused Qatar of not putting enough pressure on Hamas to make concessions.

The US accused the Palestinian armed group of being "the obstacle to a ceasefire" after it rejected the latest ceasefire offer.

With new fears that the damaging war in Gaza could escalate into a wider regional conflict, as tensions rise between Israel and Iran, the Qatari premier warned against the expansion of the conflict and called on the wider international community to assume its responsibilities and stop the war.

'I’m in pieces' - Israeli hostage's agony over husband held by Hamas

Bowen: Israel denies famine looms in Gaza, but evidence is overwhelming

[St Chads Lad]

A Met Police officer has sparked fury after a video appeared to show him accusing a man of being “quite openly Jewish”.


The clip, shared by the Campaign Against Antisemitism, was filmed at Aldwych during a recent pro-Palestine demo.


The group’s spokesman explains that they were suddenly pulled aside by a police officer, who “said that our very presence could antagonise crowds and even lead to us being attacked”.


The officer was filmed directing the man, who was wearing a Jewish kippah, to stand in a certain spot, who then retaliated that he didn’t want to stand in that spot but wanted to leave.


The officer then appeared to accuse the man of wanting to “antagonise” the protestors, before making the incendiary remark about the man’s visible Jewishness.


The hi-vis-clad officer said: “I don’t want anybody antagonising anybody. At the moment, Sir, you are quite openly Jewish.


“This is a pro-Palestinian march. I am not accusing you of anything but I am worried about the reaction to your presence.”


  "Dhimmi Britain" 

[celeste]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/


photo


An Israeli missile has struck Iran, two US officials have told the BBC's US partner CBS News

Iranian state media cite unconfirmed reports of explosions in the central province of Isfahan, but have downplayed reports of an attack. Israel has not officially commented

Video from Isfahan posted by BBC Persian shows orange flashes in the night sky and the sound of what appears to be bursts of anti-aircraft fire

Isfahan is home to a large airbase, a major missile production complex and several nuclear facilities. The global nuclear watchdog says no nuclear sites were damaged

Iran has been on high alert in the wake of Israel pledging to respond to Iran's unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel on Saturday night

Tehran has maintained it was retaliation for a presumed Israeli air strike on its consulate in Syria on 1 April, in which 13 people were killed.

[celeste]

Countries around the globe have been calling on both Iran and Israel to show restraint after this latest strike, amid fears the conflict could escalate across the region.


UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak avoids commenting on reports of an Israeli attack on Iran, saying it "wouldn't be right for me to speculate until the facts become clearer”. He repeats calls for de-escalation: "Significant escalation is not in anyone's interest. What we want to see is calm heads prevail across the region."

China also calls for de-escalation. Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said "China opposes any actions that further escalate tensions and will continue to play a constructive role to de-escalate the situation."

Egypt, a key player in the mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel, says that they are deeply concerned about an escalation of hostilities between Israel and Iran. A foreign ministry statement warned of the consequences of expanding the conflict and instability in the region.

Turkey also calls on all parties to refrain from steps that could lead to a wider conflict. A foreign ministry statement said it was becoming "increasingly obvious" that the tensions between Iran and Israel following the attack on 1 April risked "turning into a permanent conflict”.

Germany pleads for restraint, with the government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit saying "De-escalation must be the advice of the hour, we must prevent a conflagration at all costs," adding that it goes to "all sides".

[celeste]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news

photo


Israel still has not officially acknowledged that the attack in Iran in the early hours of Friday morning was its doing.

Meanwhile, Iran's military and political leaders have downplayed, dismissed and even mocked that anything of consequence happened at all.

The accounts over what kind of weaponry was deployed on Friday and how much damage was caused are still conflicting and incomplete.

American officials speak of a missile strike, but Iranian officials say the attacks, in the central province of Isfahan and in northwest Tabriz, were caused by small exploding drones.

"The downed micro air vehicles caused no damage and no casualties," Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian insisted to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

But these simple quadcopters are Israel's calling card – it has deployed them time and again in its years of covert operations inside Iran.

This time their main target was the storied central province of Isfahan, which is celebrated for its stunning Islamic heritage.

[celeste]

Nothing settled only destruction.

[celeste]

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS3XGZxi7cBXnYfJpUas1ud6XATvWATHb


Gaza latest.

[ExileSteve]

Has anybody noticed that the Mullahs in Tehran have been rather less mouthy and more reluctant to start gobbing off these past few days?


Why, oh why, could this be......?🤔

[celeste]

The coin's in the air! 

[celeste]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news




[size=0.75rem]IMAGE SOURCE,[/size]AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES[size=0.875rem]Image caption,
Formed in 1999, the Netzah Yehuda battalion is a special men-only unit where ultra-Orthodox Jews serve[/size][/size]




By Tom Bateman
BBC News, Washington


Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to reject any sanctions on the country's military, after reports that the US plans to cut aid to one unit.

"I will fight it with all my strength," the prime minister said on Sunday.

Earlier, the Axios news site said the US would target Israel's Netzah Yehuda battalion over alleged human rights violations in the occupied West Bank.

The BBC understands any move would come under a US ban on aid to foreign units credibly implicated in violations.

When asked last week about reports that US military aid to the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) units could be cut over allegations of human rights abuses in the occupied West Bank, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: "I've made determinations; you can expect to see them in the days ahead".

Washington - Israel's main ally - has never suspended aid to an IDF unit before.

The Israeli military said Netzah Yehuda was operating in accordance with international law.

"Following publications about sanctions against the battalion, the IDF is not aware of the issue," the military is quoted as saying by Reuters news agency. "The IDF works and will continue to work to investigate any unusual event in a practical manner and according to law."

Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant called on the US to withdraw its intention to sanction Netzah Yehuda, saying the world was watching the ties between the US and Israel more closely than ever.

"Any attempt to criticise an entire unit casts a heavy shadow on the actions of the IDF," a statement from Mr Gallant read, adding "this is not the right path for partners and friends".

[ExileSteve]

“Washington has never suspended aid to an IDF unit before”.


That’s true. But then again Washington has never been ruled by unelected Communists before…..

[celeste]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-

photo


Protests against the war in Gaza have spread from Columbia and Yale to other US universities as officials scramble to defuse demonstrations.

On Monday night, police moved to break up a protest at New York University and made a number of arrests.

Dozens of students were arrested at Yale earlier in the day, while Columbia cancelled in-person classes.

Similar "encampments" have sprung up at Berkeley, MIT and other top colleges across the country.

Demonstrations and heated debates about the Israel-Gaza war and free speech have rocked US campuses since the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October, which prompted Israel's campaign in Gaza.

In the US, students on both sides say there has been a rise in both antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents since then.

When asked about the campus protests on Monday, President Joe Biden said he condemned both "the antisemitic protests" as well as "those who don't understand what's going on with the Palestinians".