How Joe Biden won a write-in campaign after skipping New Hampshire’s primary
The patchwork of ideas for the campaign emerged from a frenzied Zoom call; they included bonfires, house parties, and sign-waving events.
It started with a few people, an idea and some signs.
A volunteer coalition, called Granite State Write-In, spent about $70,000 on stickers, signs and two staff members. A super PAC spent another $1.4 million on mailers targeting likely Democratic voters and digital and newspaper ads.
The goal: to deliver President Joe Biden a win in the New Hampshire primary even though his name wasn't on the ballot.
Biden had declined to appear on the ballot in New Hampshire because of a dispute with the state over the date of its contest. Democrats in the national party ordered New Hampshire, which is required by state law to hold the first-in-the-nation primary, to move its contest. At the president’s urging, the Democratic National Committee gave South Carolina – a state with a more diverse population − the honor of going first in this year’s presidential selection process.
The national party has pledged to sanction any state that holds its primary outside of the official calendar and deny delegates to candidates who campaign there. The prohibition includes appearing on the ballot, prompting Biden backers to launch an unofficial effort to get Democrats to write his name on the ballot.
Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide
Their efforts were not in vain. Moments after the polls closed in New Hampshire at 8 p.m., news organizations called the race for Biden, delivering the president his first victory of the 2024 presidential competition.
A Biden victory in New Hampshire was not inevitable
Biden’s victory in New Hampshire was far from inevitable. Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips broke the DNC’s rules and filed to appear on the New Hampshire ballot. So did self-help author Marianne Williamson. Independents who may have otherwise voted for Biden threw their support behind Republican candidate and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley.
The president has not set foot in New Hampshire since 2022, leaving some of his supporters angry and confused. As New Hampshire voters went to the polls Tuesday, Biden campaigned in Virginia.
In the days leading up to the primary, even some of the most enthusiastic supporters of the president were worried about the outcome.
They questioned whether a no-frills campaign that started only a few months ago — hashed out during a series of meandering Zoom meetings — would be enough to push a sitting president with low favorability ratings to victory in a state where his name wasn’t on the ballot.
It was
21 Israeli soldiers are killed in the deadliest single attack on the army since the war began
JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli army said Tuesday that 21 soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip in the deadliest attack on its forces of the 3-month-old war against the militant Hamas group.
The reservists were preparing explosives to demolish two buildings in central Gaza on Monday when a militant fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a tank nearby, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesperson, said. The blast triggered the explosives, causing both two-story buildings to collapse on the soldiers inside.
The heavy death toll could add new momentum to calls for Israel to pause the offensive or even halt it altogether. Large numbers of Israeli casualties have put pressure on Israel’s government to halt past military operations.
China Unveils Extensive ‘Silver Economy’ Plan to Adapt to Aging Population
hina’s is rapidly getting grayer, and amid unsuccessful attempts to boost languishing birth rates, the country has now unveiled plans to reorient a significant part of its massive economy around its aging population.
China’s State Council on Monday unveiled a series of measures to promote the “silver economy,” calling on both state-owned and private enterprises to better cater to the elderly and announcing plans to develop 10 industrial parks and increase public and private investments and innovation in elderly products and services.
The current silver economy stands at around 7 trillion yuan (US$982 billion), about 6% of China’s total GDP, but it’s projected to grow to 30 trillion yuan (US$4.2 trillion) by 2035, or about 10% of total GDP by then, according to China National Radio.
Latest government statistics released this week show that China’s population aged 60 and above was at about 297 million in 2023, or 21.1% of the overall population, making the country a “super-aged society” by World Bank standards. That demographic is expected to grow to more than half a billion in number by 2050.
In its latest policy document, the State Council issued 26 guidelines across four key areas to ensure that all emergent needs of the aging population will be addressed, ranging from smart healthcare to financial planning to “anti-aging,” or the promotion of medical and cosmetic development to combat “geriatric diseases.”
It’s the first policy document introduced to specifically address the future needs of a growing aging demographic at the national level, according to state news outlet Global Times. Such plans to boost the silver economy were first mentioned in 2022, when the State Council outlined goals and benchmarks “to mobilize society as a whole to actively respond to population aging.”
Absent, however, is any mention of increasing the elderly population’s role in the workforce—which is a recourse other countries with shrinking overall populations are increasingly taking to maintain their national productivity levels. G7 countries are predicted to have 150 million jobs shift to workers aged 55 and up by 2031, according to a Bain & Company analysis.
China’s government has previously suggested raising the retirement age gradually, as it currently stands among the lowest in the world at 60 for men, 55 for white-collar women, and 50 for women working in factories.
Experts say China’s swiftly exacerbating demographic imbalance, if inadequately addressed, spells disaster for the world’s second largest economy, which is already facing unprecedented youth unemployment and a seemingly intractable real-estate crisis.
Aliens" found in Peru are actually dolls made of bones, forensic experts declare
Aliens have not been discovered in South America after all. The doll-like figures, photos of which went viral online last year, are just that – dolls, according to scientists.
The controversial artifacts were seized by Peruvian customs agents in October and intended for "a Mexican citizen," the Associated Press reported.
Mexican journalist and self-described "UFOlogist" Jaime Maussan brought similar unidentified fraudulent objects in front of the Mexican congress last September, claiming that they had been recovered near Peru's ancient Nazca Lines and dated over 700 years old.
Maussan went in front of the Mexican congress again in November, with a team of doctors confirming the bodies were of once-living organisms.
"None of the scientists say [the study results] prove that they are extraterrestrials, but I go further," Maussan said, per Reuters.
Experts with Peru's prosecutor's office analyzed the seized dolls, and forensic archaeologist Flavio Estrada presented the results of their findings at a press conference for the Peruvian Ministry of Culture on Friday.
"They are not extraterrestrials, they are not intraterrestrials, they are not a new species, they are not hybrids, they are none of those things that this group of pseudo-scientists who for six years have been presenting with these elements," Estrada said.
The humanoid three-fingered dolls consisted of earth-bound animal and human bones assembled with modern synthetic glue, Estrada elaborated. It isn't the first time Maussan has had an otherworldly corpse debunked — he made similar claims in 2017.
"Our cultures of the past made Machu Picchu, our cultures of the past made the Nazca Lines, they didn't need any alien help to do it. Those who have promoted that have an economic interest, some other kind of interest," Estrada said. "What we have presented here is science, not pseudo-science."
Ohio Grand Jury Decides to Not Charge Woman for Home Miscarriage
On Thursday, a grand jury concluded that Brittany Watts, an Ohio woman accused of self-managing an abortion after experiencing a home miscarriage,. If Watts had been indicted, she would have faced a year in prison and a $2,5000 fine.
“I am relieved that the grand jury has finally ended the wrongful and dehumanizing case against Brittany Watts. But this decision does not erase the harm that Brittany has experienced as the result of this case,” Yveka Pierre, senior litigation counsel at If/When/How, said in a statement. “Brittany should have been able to focus on taking care of herself after her pregnancy loss. She should have been able to process, and grieve with her family and community. Instead, she was arrested and charged with a felony.”
At a visit to a Catholic hospital after Watts miscarried in September, a nurse to authorities, launching a police investigation and leading Watts to be prosecuted under Ohio’s vague abuse-of-corpse statute.
“From the start of this case, I have argued that the charge was not supported by Ohio law and that Brittany was being demonized for something that takes place in the privacy of women’s homes regularly,” Brittany Watts’s attorney, Traci Timko, said in a statement. “No matter how shocking or disturbing it may sound when presented in a public forum, it is simply the devastating reality of miscarriage. While the last three months have been agonizing, we are incredibly grateful and relieved that justice was handed down by the grand jury today.”
Le Doc Mailloux s’éteint à 74 ans
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Le psychiatre controversé Pierre Mailloux, bien connu à travers la province à titre de Doc Mailloux, est décédé vendredi matin à l’hôpital de Trois-Rivières, a confirmé son ami Réjean Tremblay sur le site BPM Sports.
Le natif de Normandin au Lac-Saint-Jean qui s’apprêtait à célébrer son 75e anniversaire a reçu l’aide médicale à mourir après trois semaines d’hospitalisation.
«À 11 heures ce matin, avec discrétion, le doc a reçu l’aide médicale à mourir», a écrit son grand ami et chroniqueur Réjean Tremblay.
Is this justice?': Erdoğan calls for UN overhaul after US vetoes Gaza ceasefire resolution – video
The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, denounced the UN security council after the US vetoed a resolution on an urgent ceasefire in Gaza. The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the UK abstaining. 'Is this justice?' Erdoğan asked, speaking at a human rights conference in Istanbul. He said the UN needed to be overhauled, adding that the security council had protected Israel since the war began on 7 October
U.S. military launches strikes on Houthis in Yemen, a major escalation in Middle East conflict
WASHINGTON — U.S. warplanes, ships and submarines along with British fighters attacked sites in Yemen Thursday associated with Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who have been firing dozens of drones and missiles into Red Sea shipping lanes.
The strikes represent a significant escalation of the U.S. involvement in Middle East fighting amid Israel’s war in Gaza. They followed the 27th Houthi attack since late November earlier Thursday. In recent weeks, the Pentagon has also attacked Iranian-backed militants in Iraq and Syria who have targeted U.S. troops there with rocket attacks.
"Today, at my direction, U.S. military forces — together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands — successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways," President Joe Biden said late Thursday.
The president said the response of the international community to the Houthi attacks has been "united and resolute." The governments of Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom issued a statement shortly after the U.S.-led air strikes, pledging solidarity alongside the U.S.
The Biden administration has sought to contain fighting in the Middle East to Gaza, but Iranian-backed groups throughout the region have increased their attacks.
"These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea — including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history," Biden said.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who has been hospitalized since Jan. 1, approved the strikes from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, one official said. Austin, whose delay in disclosing his cancer diagnosis and hospitalization has drawn heavy, bi-partisan criticism, was deeply involved in planning Thursday's attack, according to a senior Defense official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Austin spoke twice with Biden in recent days about planning for the attack along with consulting senior military officers, the official said. Austin gave the order Thursday to U.S. Central Command to launch the strikes and monitored them in real time.
"Today’s strikes targeted sites associated with the Houthis’ unmanned aerial vehicle, ballistic and cruise missile, and coastal radar and air surveillance capabilities," Austin said. "The United States maintains its right to self-defense and, if necessary, we will take follow-on actions to protect U.S. forces."
The U.S. and coalition attacks targeted Houthi missile, radar and drone capabilities considered essential to the Houthis’ campaign against commercial shipping in international waters, according to a senior Biden administration official who discussed the operation on the condition of anonymity.
The official described the scale of the attacks as “significant” but said precautions were taken to provide minimal risk for collateral damage including to civilians in Yemen.
“There is no intent to escalate the situation,” the official said. “The aim is to degrade the ability of the Houthis to continue carrying out these reckless attacks.”
The U.S. has not seen a response from the Houthis since the attacks were carried out, a senior U.S. military official said.
Prompting Biden’s decision to take military action was a major Houthi attack in the Red Sea on Tuesday that involved 20 drones and multiple missiles against U.S. navy ships. If the attack hadn’t been defeated by U.S. and British naval forces, U.S. ships would have been hit and perhaps even sunk, the U.S. official said, including a commercial ship full of jet fuel.
Biden convened his national security team following the Tuesday attack and ordered Austin to carry out the response.
United Kingdom Royal Air Force jets took part in the attack, according to a statement from British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
"The United Kingdom will always stand up for freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade," Sunak said. "We have therefore taken limited, necessary and proportionate action in self-defense, alongside the United States with non-operational support from the Netherlands, Canada and Bahrain against targets tied to these attacks, to degrade Houthi military capabilities and protect global shipping."
U.S. ships and warplanes have knocked down more than 60 missiles and one-way attack drones since Nov. 19, according to Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, who commands naval forces in the region. Others have landed harmlessly in the water.
The Houthis have said their attacks are in response to Israel's war in Yemen. Their attacks have raised insurance costs for commercial ships, which transit the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal. Some major shipping lines have chosen the longer, more expensive route around the southern tip of Africa, raising the cost of goods.
The Houthis say their assaults are arimed at stopping Israel's war on Hamas. But their targets increasingly have little or no connection to Israel and lie in the thick of major commercial trade routes linking Asia and the Middle East with Europe.
Some condemned the attack. Launching strikes on Yemen without congressional approval instead of ending the fighting in Gaza is escalating the conflict in the Middle East and "unnecessarily, illegally and dangerously" risks a broader war, according to a statement from the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization.
American rabbis disrupt UN meeting, demand Biden stops blocking peace in Gaza
NEW YORK: Dozens of American rabbis disrupted a meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday to demand that Washington stops preventing the UN Security Council from taking urgent action in support of an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
During their protest — led by the organization Rabbis 4 Ceasefire and co-organized by Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Jewish Voice for Peace, and IfNotNow — the 36 rabbis, who came from several states, sang, prayed, recited excerpts from the UN Declaration of Human Rights and staged a memorial service. They carried banners that read “Biden: The World Says Ceasefire” and called on the US president to “stop vetoing peace.”
After they were escorted from the premises by security staff, they held a press conference outside the UN. Rabbi Alissa Wise, the founder of Rabbis 4 Ceasefire, said they have been watching in horror as the US government has “single-handedly blocked efforts to stop Israel’s bombing and starvation of Gaza.”
She added: “We know there is no military solution to this violence. We’re praying here because the UN is where meaningful, diplomatic action to stop the violence can take place, and because prayer is how we, as rabbis, know how to express our fears, dreams, hopes and despair.”
Rabbi Abby Stein, a member of Jews For Racial and Economic Justice, said the UN was created in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Nazi Holocaust that targeted Jewish people, with the intention of ensuring that such an atrocity would never happen again.
“I am here as a Jew, as an ordained rabbi, as the granddaughter of three Holocaust survivors, to urge the UN to follow through on this noble mission,” she said. “‘Never again’ means never again for anyone.”
Rabbi Elliot Kukla said: “The US is defending the indefensible at a General Assembly, using its veto power to single-handedly block the UN from taking meaningful action for a ceasefire.
“I am here as a rabbi because Jewish tradition demands that we do everything in our power to save lives, which means getting humanitarian assistance to Palestinians who are being displaced, are starving and have nowhere safe to shelter as bombs rain down.
“Our government refuses to represent this overwhelmingly popular demand; we came here directly to represent ourselves and our Jewish values.”
Tuesday’s meeting came after the US vetoed a proposal by Russia to amend a Security Council resolution to include a call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
On Dec. 22, the council adopted a resolution, drafted by the UAE, calling for increased aid to the Gaza Strip, including urgent steps including safe, unhindered and expanded humanitarian access to the territory. The US abstained from the vote among the 15-member council but did not use its power of veto and so the resolution was adopted.
Russia had proposed an amendment to the resolution calling for “an urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities.” The US vetoed this proposed change.
A General Assembly resolution dictates that whenever a member of the Security Council uses its power of veto, it triggers a meeting and debate in the assembly to scrutinize and discuss the move.
Robert Wood, the US deputy permanent representative to the UN, said that although the US had abstained from voting, it had nonetheless worked “in good faith” to help forge a strong resolution.
“This work supports the direct diplomacy the US is engaged in to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza and to help get hostages out of Gaza,” he added.
Alluding to the Russian amendment, Wood accused Moscow of putting forward ideas that were “disconnected from the situation on the ground.”
He said it was “deeply troubling that so many member states seem to have stopped talking about the plight of the more than 100 hostages being held by Hamas and other groups. The United States remains committed to bringing all of the hostages home. Every single one.”
He added: “It is also striking that even as we hear many countries urging the end to this conflict, which we would all like to see, we hear very few demands of the initiator of this conflict — Hamas — to stop hiding behind civilians, lay down its arms and surrender.
“This would have been over if Hamas’s leaders had done that. It would be good if there was a strong international voice pressing Hamas’s leaders to do what is necessary to end the conflict that they set in motion on Oct. 7.”
Riyad Mansour, the permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the UN, said he stood before the General Assembly “representing a people being slaughtered, with families killed in their entirety, men and women shot in the streets, thousands abducted, tortured and humiliated, children killed, amputated, orphaned — scarred for life.”
It is incomprehensible, he added, that the Security Council is still being prevented from calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire even though 153 member states in the General Assembly, and the UN’s secretary-general, had called for exactly that.
Israel’s “war of atrocities” is without precedent in modern history, Mansour said. “This is not about Israeli security, this is about Palestine’s destruction,” he continued. “The interests and objectives of this extremist Israeli government are clear, and incompatible with the interests and objectives of any country that supports international law and peace”
He asked: “How can you reconcile opposing the atrocities and vetoing a call to end the war that is leading to their commission?”
Called for “this schizophrenia” to stop, he added: “Don’t call for peace and spread fire. If you want peace, start with a ceasefire. Now.”
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, denounced the calls for a ceasefire while Israeli hostages are still held captive.
“How morally bankrupt has this body become?” ha asked. He said that “despite the UN’s moral rot,” the citizens of Israel are resilient, with the faith, hope and unbreakable resolve to defend themselves.
He accused the UN of ignoring the Israeli victims of the conflict, caring only about Gazans, and becoming “an accomplice to terrorists,” and said the organization had lost the justification for its existence.
The UN “has been obsessed only with the well-being of people in Gaza,” those who put Hamas in power and supported the group’s atrocities, Erdan said, adding: “You ignore all Israeli victims.”
Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Anna Evstigneeva, said that when Washington it used its veto in the Security Council on Dec. 22, it was guilty of playing an “unscrupulous game” in its attempts to protect Israel over its actions in Gaza.
She said that through the use of blackmail and arm-twisting, the US had given Israel a license to carry on killing Palestinians and its blessing to “the ongoing extermination of the Gazans,” which was why Moscow had proposed its amendment.
Calls for Gaza ceasefire interrupt speech by US President Biden
Protesters interrupted US President Joe Biden’s campaign speech in South Carolina on Monday, demanding a ceasefire and accusing him of complicity in the killing of Palestinians in Gaza. ‘20,000 Palestinians. Their blood is on your hands,’ the protesters said as they called for a ceasefire, disrupting Biden’s speech. After the protesters were escorted out, Biden addressed the crowd, saying he understands ‘their passion’. ‘I’ve been quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza,’ he said. Israel has killed over 23,210 people in Gaza, including more than 9,000 children, and injured over 59,000 people since the start of its war on the besieged strip.
A speech by President Joe Biden at a church on Monday was interrupted by calls for a ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reports
“If you really care about the lives lost here, then you should honour the lives lost and call for a ceasefire in Palestine,” one protestor shouted while Biden was giving remarks at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in the US South.
Several shouted “ceasefire now” before being escorted from the church hall. After they exited, shouts of “four more years” came from the remaining audience, in apparent solidarity with Biden.
“I understand their passion, and I’ve been quietly working with the Israeli government to get them to reduce and significantly get out of Gaza,” said Biden.
White House insiders have said Biden, while largely supporting Israel’s government in public, has urged it behind the scenes to curb its devastating attacks, but with little result so far.
Israel has launched air and ground attacks on the enclave since 7 October, killing at least 23,084 Palestinians and injuring 58,926 others, according to Gaza’s health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
However, since then, it has been revealed by Haaretz that helicopters and tanks of the Israeli army had, in fact, killed many of the 1,139 soldiers and civilians claimed by Israel to have been killed by the Palestinian Resistance.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed, and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine
100 lawyers in Chile call on ICC to probe Netanyahu for war crimes in Gaza
January 9, 2024 at 10:27 am
Hadad said: “All countries must denounce war criminals, ensuring they are held accountable, assume their responsibilities, face punishment according to the penalties of the Rome Statute, and provide reparations for victims.”
The objective of the submission is to prove that genocide, forced displacement, war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law are taking place in Gaza.
Israel-Hamas war live updates: Up to 9,000 Hamas fighters killed or captured, IDF says
Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Turkey at the beginning of a trip on which he will grapple with growing pressure for Israel to ease the assault in the Gaza Strip
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has shown up in Istanbul, Turkey — the main stop of an outing on which he will wrestle with developing strain for Israel to facilitate the attack in the Gaza Strip.
UN boss names another agent to really take a look at the possibilities resuscitating Cyprus harmony talks
NICOSIA, Cyprus: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday named a previous Colombian unfamiliar priest as his own emissary to really take a look at the possibilities restoring converses with resolve Cyprus' ethnic gap, an issue that has challenged worldwide discretion for almost fifty years.María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar will chip away at Guterres' sake to "look for shared view on the way forward" and to act as the UN boss' guide on Cyprus, UN representative Stephane Dujarric said.Cuéllar represented Colombia at the United Nations from 2004 to 2006 and was the country's top diplomat from 2010 to 2018.She is supposed to head out to Cyprus soon to sound out Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and the head of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots, Ersin Tatar.Cyprus was separated into ethnic Greek and Turkish sides in 1974, when Turkiye attacked only days after an overthrow mounted by allies of association with Greece. Just Turkiye perceives a Turkish Cypriot statement of freedom and keeps exactly 40,000 soldiers in the Mediterranean island country's breakaway north.A Cyprus harmony arrangement would lessen a wellspring of expected struggle nearby to a temperamental Center East and consider the simpler saddling of hydrocarbon holds in the eastern Mediterranean Ocean's gaseous petrol rich waters.However, Guterres' arrangement of an agent to illuminate him whether it would merit attempting to kick off the long-slowed down harmony talks mirrors the various bombed endeavors to create an understanding. Regardless, the different sides have become further separated since the last significant push for progress in the mid year of 2017.Turkiye and the Turkish Cypriots say they have dumped a settled upon structure that called for reunifying Cyprus as a combined state with Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot zones. They are instead advocating for what effectively amounts to a deal between two states.Turkish Cypriots contend that the larger part Greek Cypriots need to reign over the whole island by declining to share power similarly. They also back Turkiye's insistence that any deal include a permanent troop presence on the island and rights to military intervention.Greek Cypriots emphatically go against an arrangement that would formalize the island's ethnic separate and reject a Turkish Cypriot interest for blackball powers on all administration choices at a government level. They likewise reject Turkiye's expectations, contending an extremely durable Turkish troop presence and a right to military mediation would undermine the nation's sway.Before Cuellar's arrangement, the two Cypriot sides seemed to have backed off on opposing manner of speaking, yet pressures between them wait. As of late, there were Greek Cypriot allegations of moved forward, unapproved Turkish Cypriot attacks into the UN-controlled support zone in a suburb of Nicosia, the nation's separated capital.In his New Year's message, Christodoulides considered the emissary's arrangement a "first significant stage" to restoring harmony talks. He said he was "totally prepared" to push things ahead however recognized that the "street will be long and the hardships guaranteed."Tatar told a Turkish Cypriot paper last week that he had "no assumptions" of any harmony talks in the new year. He said that if Turkish Cypriot "sovereignty and equality" aren't accepted, Cuellar's task to find areas of agreement won't help.
Strategic push to stop Gaza war overflow
The political whirlwind comes very nearly three months after Hamas assailants from Gaza went after Israel, setting off a retaliatory hostile that has killed 22,600 Palestinians and crushed the territoryJEDDAH: The US and EU's top representatives showed up in the Center East on Friday in a recharged political push to keep Israel's conflict on Gaza from gushing out over to the involved West Bank and Lebanon.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit the West Bank during seven days in length visit that will take in Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Israel, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Egypt and Greece."It is to nobody's advantage, not Israel's, not the area's, not the world's, for this contention to spread past Gaza," State Office representative Matthew Mill operator said. " We don't anticipate that each discussion on this outing should be simple."EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visited Lebanon on Friday to talk about the situation at the Israeli border. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, told him as he arrived that the Iran-backed militia had destroyed many Israeli military vehicles and carried out approximately 670 military operations on the border with Israel since October 8.
The conciliatory whirlwind comes very nearly three months after Hamas assailants from Gaza went after Israel, setting off a retaliatory hostile that has killed 22,600 Palestinians and crushed the territory.Israeli planes and tanks escalated assaults on Friday on the thickly populated areas of Al-Maghazi, Al-Bureij and Al-Nusseirat in the focal point of Gaza. In just 24 hours, more than 160 people were killed. Four others were killed in an airstrike on a road in Al-Nusseirat, and further south, to where a huge number of Palestinians have been uprooted, six were killed in a strike on Khan Younis."The Israeli government claims a majority rules system and mankind, yet is harsh," Abdel Razek Abu Sinjar said as he cried over the covered groups of his significant other and kids, killed in an airstrike on his home in Rafah on the boundary with Egypt.There was restored shelling close to Al-Amal emergency clinic in Khan Younis, and help organization Medecins Sans Frontieres said its laborers were cornered in southern Gaza and kept from giving frantically required help.In Jabalia in northern Gaza, which has been vigorously besieged, individuals sifted through demolished roads loaded up with sewage and trash. Hunger and dangerous infections are spreading.The World Wellbeing Association said clinics and other clinical framework in Gaza had been gone after almost multiple times since the contention emitted. Around 613 individuals had kicked the bucket in wellbeing offices, it said.
The conflict has additionally stirred up viciousness in the involved West Bank. A 17-year-old kid was killed and four different Palestinians injured by Israeli armed force gunfire in the town of Beit Rima. Around 300 Palestinians have kicked the bucket in the West Bank since the conflict started.
Blinken to manage Gaza, NATO development with Turkey's
Erdogan
Blinken's fourth emergency visit since the Israel-Hamas war broke out 90 days prior has raised fears that the contention will immerse the Center East.
Turkey requested that Hamas chiefs leave Istanbul after the Oct. 7 assault on Israel, however has since censured Israel's retaliatory strikes on Gaza.
ISTANBUL: Washington's top negotiator will examine the Gaza battle with Turkey's inconsistent chief on Saturday prior to traveling to Crete to address Greek worries over the offer of US contender planes to Ankara.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken showed up in Istanbul late on Friday on the main leg of an excursion that incorporates visits to Israel and the West Bank, alongside five Middle Easterner states.
Blinken's fourth emergency visit since the Israel-Hamas war broke out 90 days prior brought fears that the contention would inundate the Center East.
Istanbul filled in as a base for Hamas political pioneers until Hamas warriors struck Israel, killing around 1,140 individuals and sending off a backlash assault that Gaza's wellbeing service said killed 22,600 — for the most part ladies and kids.
Turkey requests that Hamas bosses leave after some are discovered on video praising the deadliest assault in Israel's set of experiences.
Yet, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has since become one of the Muslim world's cruelest pundits of the degree of death and annihilation in Gaza and Washington's help for Israel.
Erdogan contrasted Israeli Head of the state Benjamin Netanyahu with Adolf Hitler and blamed the US for supporting the "destruction" of Palestinians.
He likewise dismissed US strain to stop the problematic progression of assets to Hamas through Turkey and shielded the gathering as truly chose "saviors" battling for their property.
The US State Division on Friday reported a $10 million prize for data on five claimed Hamas unfamiliar agents — three of them accepted to be situated in Turkey — accepted to assist with supporting the Iran-upheld bunch.
Turkey fought back this week by confining 34 individuals blamed for plotting assaults against Palestinians and spying for Israel's Mossad knowledge organization.
Erdogan started to restrain his most extreme remarks last month after US President Joe Biden called the Turkish chief interestingly since the conflict started.
The consider helped push NATO part Turkey's chilly advancement toward tolerating Sweden into a US-drove safeguard body directly following Russia's conflict on Ukraine.
A parliamentary panel endorsed Sweden's application in late December.
Blinken will expect to win confirmations in converses with Turkish Unfamiliar Clergyman Hakan Fidan and Erdogan that a vote by the full chamber will occur soon.
All NATO states need endorsement for new individuals to join the protection coalition.
NATO has proactively multiplied the length of its line with Russia while Turkey upheld and acknowledged Sweden's neighbor Finland into the collusion last year.
Erdogan has had the option to utilize Turkey's rejection ability to drive Sweden to refuse to compromise with Kurdish gatherings in Stockholm that Ankara sees as "psychological oppressors".
He is attempting to condition Sweden's endorsement on the conveyance of 40 US F-16 warrior jets and around 80 modernization packs for Turkey's maturing aviation based armed forces.
Biden's organization formally upholds the deal, yet has not beaten obstruction from administrators in Congress who express worries about Sweden's situation and its common liberties record, as well as past military stalemates with memorable opponent Greece.
"We've clarified that we don't really accept that this deal ought to be connected to Sweden joining NATO, however there are individuals from Congress who take an alternate view and they interface the two," State Office representative Matthew Mill operator said for this present week. Mill operator said for the current week. .
Blinken will make a trip to the Greek island of Crete on Saturday night for converses with Head of the state Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Greece has savagely opposed US stream deals as a result of a long-running regional debate with Turkey in the energy-rich eastern Mediterranean locale.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has shown up in Istanbul, Turkey — the main stop of an outing on which he will wrestle with developing strain for Israel to facilitate the attack in the Gaza Strip.
Blinken to manage Gaza, NATO development with Turkey's Erdogan
Blinken's fourth emergency visit since the Israel-Hamas war broke out 90 days prior has raised fears that the contention will immerse the Center East.
Turkey requested that Hamas chiefs leave Istanbul after the Oct. 7 assault on Israel, however has since censured Israel's retaliatory strikes on Gaza.
ISTANBUL: Washington's top negotiator will examine the Gaza battle with Turkey's inconsistent chief on Saturday prior to traveling to Crete to address Greek worries over the offer of US contender planes to Ankara.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken showed up in Istanbul late on Friday on the main leg of an excursion that incorporates visits to Israel and the West Bank, alongside five Middle Easterner states.
Blinken's fourth emergency visit since the Israel-Hamas war broke out 90 days prior brought fears that the contention would inundate the Center East.
Istanbul filled in as a base for Hamas political pioneers until Hamas warriors struck Israel, killing around 1,140 individuals and sending off a backlash assault that Gaza's wellbeing service said killed 22,600 — for the most part ladies and kids.
Turkey requests that Hamas bosses leave after some are discovered on video praising the deadliest assault in Israel's set of experiences.
Yet, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has since become one of the Muslim world's cruelest pundits of the degree of death and annihilation in Gaza and Washington's help for Israel.
Erdogan contrasted Israeli Head of the state Benjamin Netanyahu with Adolf Hitler and blamed the US for supporting the "destruction" of Palestinians.
He likewise dismissed US strain to stop the problematic progression of assets to Hamas through Turkey and shielded the gathering as truly chose "saviors" battling for their property.
The US State Division on Friday reported a $10 million prize for data on five claimed Hamas unfamiliar agents — three of them accepted to be situated in Turkey — accepted to assist with supporting the Iran-upheld bunch.
Turkey fought back this week by confining 34 individuals blamed for plotting assaults against Palestinians and spying for Israel's Mossad knowledge organization.
Erdogan started to restrain his most extreme remarks last month after US President Joe Biden called the Turkish chief interestingly since the conflict started.
The consider helped push NATO part Turkey's chilly advancement toward tolerating Sweden into a US-drove safeguard body directly following Russia's conflict on Ukraine.
A parliamentary panel endorsed Sweden's application in late December.
Blinken will expect to win confirmations in converses with Turkish Unfamiliar Clergyman Hakan Fidan and Erdogan that a vote by the full chamber will occur soon.
All NATO states need endorsement for new individuals to join the protection coalition.
NATO has proactively multiplied the length of its line with Russia while Turkey upheld and acknowledged Sweden's neighbor Finland into the collusion last year.
Erdogan has had the option to utilize Turkey's rejection ability to drive Sweden to refuse to compromise with Kurdish gatherings in Stockholm that Ankara sees as "psychological oppressors".
He is attempting to condition Sweden's endorsement on the conveyance of 40 US F-16 warrior jets and around 80 modernization packs for Turkey's maturing aviation based armed forces.
Biden's organization formally upholds the deal, yet has not beaten obstruction from administrators in Congress who express worries about Sweden's situation and its common liberties record, as well as past military stalemates with memorable opponent Greece.
"We've clarified that we don't really accept that this deal ought to be connected to Sweden joining NATO, however there are individuals from Congress who take an alternate view and they interface the two," State Office representative Matthew Mill operator said for this present week. Mill operator said for the current week. .
Blinken will make a trip to the Greek island of Crete on Saturday night for converses with Head of the state Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Greece has savagely opposed US stream deals as a result of a long-running regional debate with Turkey in the energy-rich eastern Mediterranean locale.
Israeli officer” killed in north Gaza battles
Published: 2024-01-03 09:22
Last Updated: 2024-01-03 09:22
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) announced Wednesday morning the death of an officer within its ranks during the ongoing battles in the northern Gaza Strip.
The IOF stated that Major Meiron Mosheh Gersh (21 years old), a fighter in the Yahalom unit of the Combat Engineering Corps, was killed in north Gaza battles.
Thus, the number of IOF casualties has risen to 509 since the launch of the”Operation Aqsa Typhoon” on October 7.
Assassination of Arouri exposes occupation's brutality, says Hamas leader
Updated: 2024-01-03 09:34
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of the Hamas political bureau, responded to the assassination of his deputy, Saleh Al-Arouri, in Beirut on Tuesday evening.
Haniyeh stated that the cowardly assassination of Al-Arouri, along with Qassam Commanders Samir, Azzam Al-Aqra’, Mahmoud Zaki Shaheen, Muhammad Al-Rayes, Muhammad Bashasha, and Ahmed Hammoud, was carried out by the Israeli Occupation in Beirut.
Haniyeh added that the killing of Al-Arouri and his comrades is an outright act of terrorism for which the Zionist occupation is accountable.
Key points from Haniyeh’s statement:
- The killing of Arouri exposes the brutality of the occupation inflicted on our people globally.
- The bloodshed of Arouri and his comrades merges with the blood of our people in the struggle for Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa.
- The consequences of this terrorist act lie at the door of the Nazi-Zionist occupation.
- Israeli Occupation will not triumph in undermining the determination for resilience and resistance within our people.
Israeli army” declares state of high alert along Lebanese border
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) declared Wednesday morning a “state of high alert” along the border with Lebanon, following the assassination of the Deputy Head of the Political Bureau of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Saleh Al-Arouri, by a drone strike in the southern suburb (Dahieh) of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
In a statement, the IOF announced the reinforcement of the Iron Dome air defense system along the border with Lebanon, north of the occupied Palestinian territories.
The decision regarding the situation on the border with Lebanon came after a meeting that included the Prime Minister of the Israeli occupation, Benjamin Netanyahu; the Minister of Defense, Yoav Galant; and War Cabinet member and Minister, Benny Gantz.
Hezbollah had pledged to retaliate for the assassination of Al-Arouri, while officials in Tel Aviv are reportedly anticipating a significant retaliatory response to the assassination
Protests held in Palestine, Lebanon after killing of Hamas deputy chief
Hamas deputy leader Saleh Arouri assassinated in Israeli drone attack in Lebanese capital Beirut Diyar Guldogan | 03.01.2024 - Update : 03.01.2024
Protests were held in Palestine and Lebanon following the assassination of Hamas deputy leader Saleh Arouri on Tuesday in an Israeli drone strike in the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Palestinians took the streets in the West Bank.
Carrying Hamas flags, protesters in the city of Ramallah, near Arouri’s hometown of Aroura, chanted slogans such as "We will follow your footsteps" and "Revenge, revenge, Qassam!"
Arouri was killed in an Israeli drone attack in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Hamas confirmed that Arouri and two commanders of its military wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, were killed in the attack, which left at least six people dead.
Separately, protests were held at refugee camps, including the Beddawi camp in northern Lebanon, according to the National News Agency.
Carrying Palestinian flags and banners, groups chanted slogans condemning the crimes of the Israeli army and calling for support for the resistance in the fight against the "enemy."
The National and Islamic Forces, a coalition of major Palestinian factions, also condemned the killing of Arouri and called on Arab countries to take a "determined stance."
Arouri was the most senior Hamas leader to have been killed by Israel since the outbreak of the Gaza conflict on Oct. 7.
Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.
At least 22,185 Palestinians have since been killed and 57,035 others injured, according to Gaza’s health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.
The Israeli onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicines.
Footage of wounded Israeli soldiers
Footage shows 16 soldiers trapped inside house in Beit Hanoun, with some saying they don't want to die after being exposed to heavy fire from Hamas
The Israeli public broadcaster KAN has published a video showing Israeli soldiers wounded in clashes with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas in the northern Gaza Strip.
The footage shows 16 soldiers trapped inside a house in Beit Hanoun, with some of them saying they don't want to die after being exposed to heavy fire from Hamas fighters.
One wounded soldier is heard screaming: "I am going to die brother! I don't want to die! I can't! My leg is cut off!"
Another soldier says: "My hand is cut off! I have no hand!"
The solider says he realizes there is no one to help him and that while coming under rocket fire, he felt that he and everyone else would die.
While the soldiers are evacuating the apartment, one of them asks: "Are there any more injured?" while another soldier says: "There is one wounded."
According to KAN, the video footage was taken from bodycams worn by the soldiers.
Bangladesh cricket star Shakib Al Hasan’s election run divides hometown
The country’s biggest sporting icon is fighting for the ruling party in the January 7 vote, boycotted by the opposition.
Bangladesh – In Magura, a sleepy town in southwest Bangladesh, about 168km (104 miles) from capital Dhaka, more than a thousand people are gathered outside a circular-shaped auditorium.
The crisp winter air barely cut short their enthusiasm as they waited for Shakib Al Hasan – their “boy from the hometown” and arguably the biggest sporting icon in the South Asian nation of some 170 million people.
Hasan arrived in a swanky SUV, waved his hand like a seasoned politician, and quickly went inside the auditorium where again a couple of hundred people were waiting for him as he appeared for an interview with a popular YouTuber and talk show host, Rafsan Sabab.
The event was part of a PR campaign ahead of the national election in Bangladesh, to be held on January 7, in which Hasan, still an active player in the national cricket team, is contesting from his hometown constituency for the incumbent Awami League (AL) party.
As the interview began, Sabab asked, with a smile: “Every district of Bangladesh has its own speciality, be it food, garment or a monument. Here in Magura, when I ask anyone about its speciality, they unanimously say: Shakib Al Hasan.”
“Yes, I would have said the same,” Hasan wryly replied. Sabab laughed, so did the audience.
But that cheeky reply perhaps best portrays the 36-year-old cricketer, known for his aggressive style both on and off the ground. That he is often called the best ever athlete Bangladesh has produced also helps.
Israel promises to fight South Africa genocide accusation at ICJ
South Africa launched case against Israel, saying the magnitude of death and destruction in Gaza meets the threshold of the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Israel will appear at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague to contest allegations by South Africa that it is committing genocide against Palestinians in its war with Hamas, an Israeli government spokesman said.South Africa launched a lawsuit against Israel on Friday, saying the level of death, destruction andhumanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip meets the threshold of the 1948 Genocide Convention under international law.
South Africa also asked the court to order Israel to stop its attacks in Gaza.
A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday accused South Africa of “giving political and legal cover” to the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, which triggered the three-month-long war.
“The state of Israel will appear before the International Court of Justice at The Hague to dispel South Africa’s absurd blood libel,” Eylon Levy said.
“We assure South Africa’s leaders, history will judge you, and it will judge you without mercy,” Levy added.
California woman brings gun and 'down payment' to meet 'hitman', kills husband in bitter divorce
Tatyana Remley of San Diego will serve less than 4 years for conspiracy to kill husband Mark
A California cowboy whose bitter divorce threatened to end her lavish West Coast lifestyle has pleaded guilty to a botched murder-for-hire plot targeting her wealthy, estranged husband, according to local media.
San Diego police arrested Tatiana Remley, 42, in August after she brought three guns and a wad of cash to meet a man as a "down payment" she thought she could hire to kill her husband, Mark, 58. , prosecutors filed criminal charges in the summer. He pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of solicitation to commit murder and carrying an unregistered gun in exchange for a sentence of less than four years in prison, a spokesman for the San Diego County District Attorney's Office told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
Another gun-related charge was dismissed as part of the deal, and the judge immediately sentenced Remley to three years and eight months in state prison.
Tatiana Remley has been held without bail at the Las Colinas Detention Facility since August 2.
The couple maintained a glamorous online presence - Remley's Facebook profile featured pictures of her posing on horseback, wearing designer shoes and swimwear by a pool, and beaming next to high-end sports cars. Some photos show a tattoo of her estranged husband's name and a heart on her hip
But the couple filed for divorce on July 11.
Her husband previously claimed to local media that Cavaliere offered his own friend $2 million to kill her - and separately set fire to their home.
And local paper The Coast News, citing court documents in the divorce case, said he wanted to reduce his spousal alimony from $50,000 to $15,000 a month to cover $12,000 in expenses. The divorce filing also alleges that Mark Remley once held a gun to his wife's head and on another occasion chased her around their $5 million California home with a knife. Before the couple's marriage soured, they were involved in a pair of expensive business ventures that failed.
The first was "Valiner," a $10 million series of horse shows at the Del Mar Fairgrounds that flopped after its first four performances in 2013, according to FOX 5 . The second was a luxury Solana Beach cycling studio that closed suddenly in 2016, surprising its members.
The man was a secret agent.
Harvard president Claudine Gay resigns amid antisemitism, plagiarism controversies
Claudine Gay steps down as Harvard's president, returns to faculty despite plagiarism allegations
In a letter to members of the Harvard community, Gay said she was stepping down as president but will return to the Harvard faculty despite widespread plagiarism allegations against her.
"This is not a decision I came to easily. Indeed, it has been difficult beyond words because I have looked forward to working with so many of you to advance the commitment to academic excellence that has propelled this great university across centuries. But, after consultation with members of the Corporation, it has become clear that it is in the best interests of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual," Gay wrote.
The letter continued: "It is a singular honor to be a member of this university, which has been my home and my inspiration for most of my professional career. My deep sense of connection to Harvard and its people has made it all the more painful to witness the tensions and divisions that have riven our community in recent months, weakening the bonds of trust and reciprocity that should be our sources of strength and support in times of crisis. Amidst all of this, it has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor—two bedrock values that are fundamental to who I am—and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus."
"I believe in the people of Harvard because I see in you the possibility and the promise of a better future. These last weeks have helped make clear the work we need to do to build that future—to combat bias and hate in all its forms, to create a learning environment in which we respect each other’s dignity and treat one another with compassion, and to affirm our enduring commitment to open inquiry and free expression in the pursuit of truth," Gay wrote. "I believe we have within us all that we need to heal from this period of tension and division and to emerge stronger. I had hoped with all my heart to lead us on that journey, in partnership with all of you. As I now return to the faculty, and to the scholarship and teaching that are the lifeblood of what we do, I pledge to continue working alongside you to build the community we all deserve."
In a statement first obtained by Fox News Digital, House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., reacted to Gay's resignation.
Stefanik had challenged Gay, as well as the presidents of MIT and UPenn, during a line of questioning at a House Education and the Workforce hearing last month about whether calls for intifada or the genocide of Jews on campus violated their institutions' codes of conduct or policies against bullying and harassment. All three faced harsh backlash for failing to clarify and insisted more context was needed.
"I will always deliver results. The resignation of Harvard’s antisemitic plagiarist president is long overdue," Stefanik said. "Claudine Gay’s morally bankrupt answers to my questions made history as the most viewed Congressional testimony in the history of the U.S. Congress. Her answers were absolutely pathetic and devoid of the moral leadership and academic integrity required of the President of Harvard. This is just the beginning of what will be the greatest scandal of any college or university in history. Our robust Congressional investigation will continue to move forward to expose the rot in our most ‘prestigious’ higher education institutions and deliver accountability to the American people."
According to the Ivy League school's newspaper, the Harvard Crimson, Gay's resignation will bring an end to the shortest Harvard presidency in the university's history.
The Boston Globe reported that, according to their sources, Harvard’s provost, Dr. Alan Garber, will become interim president.
Israel prepares for a long war in Gaza
As 2023 draws to a close, Israel’s forces in the Gaza Strip are deployed across the territory to their farthest extent. An armoured division of the Israel Defence Forces (idf) is operating in the quarter of Gaza city where Israeli intelligence believes the last intact battalion of Hamas’s armed force is holding out. Farther south, seven brigade combat teams have converged on Khan Younis, Gaza’s second city, where Hamas’s leadership and most of nearly 130 Israeli hostages are assumed to be. Other brigades are attacking Hamas strongholds in towns across central and southern Gaza. Israeli commanders acknowledge behind the scenes that these may be the last wide-scale offensives of the war.
In recent weeks the idf has been taking journalists (including your correspondent) into tunnels dug by Hamas beneath Gaza. The main purpose of these organised trips is to reinforce the message that the Islamist movement that has ruled Gaza for over 16 years has built its military infrastructure under Gaza’s civilian population, including hospitals and schools. The idf has sought to show that Hamas has wasted precious resources on a subterranean kingdom while the civilian population languishes in poverty. Israel is fighting a war for global public opinion alongside its military campaign. Its central claim is that the main reason for the high death toll of Palestinians is the way Hamas shields its fighters by placing them among civilians. The Hamas-run health authorities reckon that over 21,500 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed by Israeli bombardments since the war began on October 7th. Israel estimates that between 8,000 and 9,000 of those killed are Hamas fighters.
The idf is also trying to convey a more straightforward military message. It must destroy the entire tunnel network reckoned to stretch hundreds of kilometres under the territory. That will take many more months of a military occupation and a gruelling series of bloody skirmishes with the remaining Hamas fighters hiding there. So the idf is preparing the Israeli people and their allies abroad for a long haul.
This will be difficult. For one thing, the war is already hurting Israel’s economy and causing deep disruption. Within hours of Hamas’s attack on October 7th, the idf began a massive call-up of reservists. They were needed not only to launch a counter-offensive in Gaza but also to reinforce Israel’s northern border in case of an attack by Lebanon’s Iranian-supported Hizbullah militia. Around 360,000 were mobilised. Along with Israel’s standing army, this meant that over half a million in a population of just under 10m were in uniform. As 2023 draws to a close, Israel’s forces in the Gaza Strip are deployed across the territory to their farthest extent. An armoured division of the Israel Defence Forces (idf) is operating in the quarter of Gaza city where Israeli intelligence believes the last intact battalion of Hamas’s armed force is holding out. Farther south, seven brigade combat teams have converged on Khan Younis, Gaza’s second city, where Hamas’s leadership and most of nearly 130 Israeli hostages are assumed to be. Other brigades are attacking Hamas strongholds in towns across central and southern Gaza. Israeli commanders acknowledge behind the scenes that these may be the last wide-scale offensives of the war.
In recent weeks the idf has been taking journalists (including your correspondent) into tunnels dug by Hamas beneath Gaza. The main purpose of these organised trips is to reinforce the message that the Islamist movement that has ruled Gaza for over 16 years has built its military infrastructure under Gaza’s civilian population, including hospitals and schools. The idf has sought to show that Hamas has wasted precious resources on a subterranean kingdom while the civilian population languishes in poverty.
Read all our coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas
Israel is fighting a war for global public opinion alongside its military campaign. Its central claim is that the main reason for the high death toll of Palestinians is the way Hamas shields its fighters by placing them among civilians. The Hamas-run health authorities reckon that over 21,500 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed by Israeli bombardments since the war began on October 7th. Israel estimates that between 8,000 and 9,000 of those killed are Hamas fighters.
The idf is also trying to convey a more straightforward military message. It must destroy the entire tunnel network reckoned to stretch hundreds of kilometres under the territory. That will take many more months of a military occupation and a gruelling series of bloody skirmishes with the remaining Hamas fighters hiding there. So the idf is preparing the Israeli people and their allies abroad for a long haul.
This will be difficult. For one thing, the war is already hurting Israel’s economy and causing deep disruption. Within hours of Hamas’s attack on October 7th, the idf began a massive call-up of reservists. They were needed not only to launch a counter-offensive in Gaza but also to reinforce Israel’s northern border in case of an attack by Lebanon’s Iranian-supported Hizbullah militia. Around 360,000 were mobilised. Along with Israel’s standing army, this meant that over half a million in a population of just under 10m were in uniform.
In recent weeks tens of thousands of reservists, mainly in combat-support units, have been discharged. Many more have been given tentative dates for demobilisation in late January. They have also been warned that they will be recalled at some point in 2024. The idf general staff has defined 2024 as “a year of warfare” while special forces conduct raids on remaining Hamas forces and engineering units destroy the tunnels and caches of weapons.
The other main source of pressure on Israel is the American administration. It wants the government of Binyamin Netanyahu to scale down offensive operations, begin focusing on Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and start creating a new local government in Gaza that would be based on the Palestinian Authority now administering parts of the West Bank under Israel’s eye. At least 1.6m Palestinian civilians in Gaza have been displaced from their homes and are now concentrated in the south.
Mission incomplete
Two months after Israel’s ground offensive began on October 27th the idf has achieved mixed results. Of Hamas’s 24 battalions, 12 were based in and around Gaza city. The idf reckons most of these have in effect been “dismantled”—meaning that most of Hamas’s commanders and fighters have been killed, badly wounded or captured. The idf is battling against another nine of Hamas’s battalions (a further three have not yet been involved in the fighting).
“By now Hamas is no longer operating as a military organisation,” says an Israeli intelligence officer. “Most of its command structure is gone. But it still has a large number of fighters who have reverted to guerrilla mode. They emerge from the tunnels in small numbers, trying to ambush our forces.” The idf has succeeded in ending most of Hamas’s rocket-launches at Israeli cities.
Hamas’s political leadership, which is based outside Gaza, is in neighbouring Egypt negotiating a second agreement to free the Israeli hostages. This may require a truce lasting several weeks and provide some vital respite for Gaza’s civilians. The movement’s overall leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, who ordered the October 7th massacre, is said to be vetoing some proposals his colleagues in Cairo have been prepared to discuss. He is insisting on stiffer terms for freeing the remaining Israeli hostages, who include women, elderly men and a small number of soldiers, than under the previous truce at the end of November. This time it would include freeing more Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, most of whom hail from the West Bank. But Hamas’s embattled leadership in Gaza may not be in sync with its counterpart there. Meanwhile Hamas’s iron grip over Gaza’s people may be weakening, as hungry civilians have begun to mob the supply convoys entering the strip.
However, the idf has yet to achieve its two key aims: to kill or capture Hamas’s top leaders and to rescue the remaining Israeli hostages. And while a large majority of Israelis still support the war, signs of frustration are starting to creep in. “It was clear from the start that it would take a campaign of many months to achieve the war aims,” says Tamir Hayman, an influential former idf general and military-intelligence commander who now heads Tel Aviv University’s Institute of National Security Studies. “But unrealistic expectations mean there’s now a feeling of disappointment.”
Mr Netanyahu, who has plummeted in the opinion polls since the war started, has been making bombastic statements intended to shore up his rattled nationalist base. On December 26th on a visit to a military-intelligence base he declared: “We are continuing the war and are intensifying the fighting in the southern Gaza Strip and other places. We will fight to the end.”
Yet his generals are quietly planning to scale down the campaign, while Mr Netanyahu’s emissaries have been in Washington and Cairo to discuss details of a possible truce and how to hand Gaza over to a new authority. Last week his national security adviser, writing in a Saudi-owned website based in London, called for “a moderate Palestinian governing body that enjoys broad support and legitimacy” to take control of Gaza.
America is worried that the war in Gaza is unsettling the wider Middle East. Hizbullah’s rocket-attacks on Israel’s northern border have increased. American forces in Iraq have been under fire from Iranian-backed militias. On December 24th an Iranian general was killed in Syria, probably in an Israeli air raid. The Houthi militia is still threatening international shipping from its bases in Yemen. President Joe Biden is said to be losing patience with Mr Netanyahu’s contradictory statements.
Israeli officer” injured in clashes with Palestinian fighters in Azzun
The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) army stated that one of its officers was moderately injured during clashes with Palestinian resistance fighters in the village of Azzun, east of Qalqilya in the northern West Bank, following an overnight raid on the village by the 8211th Reserves Battalion of the IOF.
The IOF also kidnapped a number of Palestinian youth whose fate remains
unknown following the siege of a residential building in Azzun.
Pictures revealed traces of heavy bloodshed after the withdrawal of the IOF from
the area, according to Palestinian media sources.
Palestinian media reported that five Palestinians were martyred on Tuesday
Morning, by the IOF’s gunfire in Saffa west of Azzun, after which the IOF withdrew from the are after several hours.
4,910 Palestinians were approximately arrested in the West Bank since
the beginning of “Operation Aqsa Typhoon” on October 7 of last year, according to data
from the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS).
At least 4,119 Palestinian school students have been killed and 7,536 others injured in the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza, the Palestinian Education Ministry said on Tuesday.
In addition to the students' casualties in Gaza, the Israeli army also killed 37 school students and injured 282 others in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war on Oct. 7, the ministry said in a statement cited by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
The statement noted that 221 teachers and educational staff were also killed, and 703 others injured in Gaza by the Israeli army.
It also said that 343 schools across Gaza were damaged in the Israeli bombing in addition to 38 schools damaged in the West Bank.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 21,978 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring 57,697 others, according to local health authorities.
Overnight Israeli airstrikes across Gaza kill at least 31 Palestinians
Devastating onslaught on besieged enclave enters 88th day | 02.01.2024 - Update : 02.01.202
What’s really at stake in the US moves to target TikTok?
Who owns the narrative? If United States lawmakers are to be believed, it is currently at risk of being hijacked by China, disseminated on de facto spyware by impressionable youth swiping short-form videos in their bedrooms.
Official tutting at TikTok, owned by China’s ByteDance, is nothing new. The prospect of a ban has been looming for a while. In March, US senators introduced the Restrict Act, a bipartisan bid to give the president powers to boot it out of US cyberspace on national security grounds.
ISRAEL Israeli forces reveal footage of K9unitclearing houses in Gaza,uncovering
HamasweaponsI
sraeli Defense Forces released footage of K9 units clearing houses in Gaza and uncovering Hamas weapons stashes on Monday.
The IDF detailed two instances in which it says IDF K9s "neutralized" a Hamas terrorist lying in ambush for Israeli troops. Israel says it regularly uses dogs with the Oketz Unit to scope out buildings before a larger raid by Israeli forces.
"During a joint operation with 460th Brigade in the Jabalia area, a dog named Patrick scanned the location before the forces entered the building. During the scan, Patrick detected a terrorist prepared to ambush the forces at the entrance and neutralized him, thus preventing an escalation," the IDF wrote.
"In another operation in the Rimal area, during a scan by a dog named Toy, a corridor was found connecting the building where the soldiers were located to another building where a terrorist was lying in ambush. Toy neutralized the terrorist, thus saving the force from operating in a dangerous building," the IDF added
The recent modifications imply that WhatsApp data saved on Google Drive will soon be included in the 15GB storage limit, giving users the choice to either manage within the limit or opt for a Google One subscription.
Telegram rolls out new update: Here are all the features coming to the app WhatsApp rival,
Telegram has rolled out a new update for its users. The new feature-rich updateaddsimprovedcalls with a colorful new design that uses less of your phone's battery,a new vaporizeeffect when you delete messages, the largest bot update. Here are all
Upgraded calls
The latest update brings a redesigned interface to calls. The cloud-based messaging app has added new animations and backgrounds that change dynamically based on the call's status: ringing, active or ended. The new interface requires fewer resources than before, which means it saves battery life and works better on older devices.
Your Telegram account is in sync with your telephone number and verified via SMS. You can also add multiple devices to your Telegram account and receive messages on all of them. Moreover, you can remove your connected devices or all at once.
The entire chat history on the Telegram app does not acquire space on your device and is securely stored in the Telegram cloud. Moreover, users can create group chats with up to 2,00,000 members, and share large videos and documents of up to 2GB.
Telegram offers its users the ‘Secret Chats’ feature for maximum privacy. These messages are client-to-client encrypted and can be seen by the sender and receiver only. Also, users cannot forward the messages that are sent through the ‘Secret Chat’ feature and screenshots are disabled for the same. Also, the ‘Secret Chat’ feature cannot be used for group conversations.
2024 Will Be the Year Myanmar’s Junta Collapses: Ethnic Resistance Leaders
By The Irrawaddy January 2, 2024 in Burma Reading Time: 2 mins read
Ethnic resistance leaders declared in their New Year speeches that the end of the junta is imminent, and the fight against military rule will continue throughout 2024.
Leaders of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), Chinland Council, and Karen National Union (KNU), as well as National Unity Government acting president Duwa Lashi La, ushered in the new year by reporting on the revolution’s progress and path ahead.
KIO chairman General N’Ban La said junta forces were collapsing in the face of coordinated attacks nationwide by revolutionary forces and the public.
He praised as extraordinary the achievements of revolutionary forces in 2023 and said the year ahead would bring change. He urged the people to stand together in solidarity to overcome hardships and challenges in 2024.
Pu Zing Cung, chairman of the Chinland Council, said 2024 was an important year for the Chin people as they faced four challenges – including eradication of the military dictatorship.
He said the Chin National Front (CNF) is currently engaged in joint attacks against regime troops with the KIO, KNU and Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP).
The attacks are supporting the Brotherhood Alliance’s Operation 1027 offensive launched in October by the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), the Arakan Army (AA) and Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA).
“This period is our best time to end the dictatorship and our biggest opportunity to achieve the self-determination we have been seeking for so many years. All the revolutionary forces must seize this opportunity and fight together,” Pu Zing Cung said.
The Brotherhood Alliance has captured at least 12 towns and 400 junta bases and outposts in Rakhine, Chin and northern Shan states since launching Operation 1027 on Oct. 27.
The resistance offensive has spread to upper Sagaing Region, where the KIA, AA and People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) have seized four towns. Elsewhere, Karenni resistance forces joined the offensive by launching Operation 1111 in November, attacking junta bases in Karenni (Kayah) State. Meanwhile, ethnic Chin resistance forces have seized three towns in Chin State.
The Brotherhood Alliance announced they will continue to attack military camps in a bid to fulfill the will of the people this year.
“Battles will go on as we move into the new year. Casualties among civilians are also continuing as junta forces target them with heavy weapons and airstrikes,” the Brotherhood Alliance said.
NUG president Duwa Lashi La said that efforts are being made to accelerate the offensive and force the junta’s collapse. From the mountains to the plains, integrated resistance attacks are making territorial gains.
“It is clear that the end of the junta is gradually approaching,” he said.
KNU spokesman Padoh Saw Taw Nee urged the people to stand together with ethnic armed forces in the struggle to oust the military regime this year.
Fighting between Hamas and Israel rages on, Palestinian death toll passes 22,000
JERUSALEM/CAIRO/GAZA, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Israel said on Tuesday its troops had killed dozens of militants in the north of the Gaza Strip in the past day, while its aircraft and tanks stepped up strikes in the south of the Palestinian enclave.
Residents said heavy fighting was also raging in central areas, citing shelling by Israeli tanks of parts of the Al-Bureij refugee camp. Some 207 Palestinians were killed and 338 were wounded in the past 24 hours, the Gaza health ministry said, bringing the total recorded Palestinian death toll to more than 22,000 in nearly three months of warfare in the Hamas-ruled enclave.
The latest fighting took place after Israel announced plans to pull back some troops, signalling a new phase in the war against Hamas amid global concern over the plight of Gaza residents.
Israeli bombardments have reduced much of the territory to rubble and engulfed its 2.3 million residents in a humanitarian disaster in which many have been left destitute and threatened by famine due to a lack of food supplies. Israeli officials say the offensive has many months to run.
In its daily briefing, the Israeli military said that in the past day its forces had targeted militants in Gaza City in the north of the enclave and in unspecified locations along the Mediterranean coast.
"In Jabaliya area, troops killed dozens of terrorists, among them those who attempted to plant explosive devices, others who operated drones and those who were armed identified driving toward the forces," the military said.
Troops also seized weapons and dismantled rocket launchers in Khan Younis in the south and in a United Nations school in Al-Bureij, Israel's military said.
BOMBARDMENTS
Gaza residents said Israeli war planes and tanks stepped up bombardments of the eastern and northern areas of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge after being forced from their homes elsewhere in the densely-populated territory.
In another sign of the war spreading beyond Gaza's borders, Israeli soldiers mounting a raid in the occupied West Bank killed four armed militants who had fired at them from a house in the Palestinian village of Azzun, the military said.
An Israeli official said the situation on the border with Lebanon, where Israeli forces and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters have exchanged artillery fire almost daily, would not be allowed to continue.
"This coming six-month period is a critical moment," the official said.
At a house in the centre of Khan Younis, medical teams retrieved the bodies of two women killed in an Israeli air strike on Tuesday morning, health officials said.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad said in separate statements they had fired mortar bombs and anti-tank rockets against Israeli forces in Khan Younis and were stopping them advancing to the western area. Tanks have been stationed east, north and at the centre.
Hamas' armed wing on Monday claimed to have killed 15 Israeli soldiers after triggering an explosive minefield east of the Tuffah neighbourhood in Gaza City.
Hamas also showed its continued ability to target Israel after more than 12 weeks of the war, firing rockets at Tel Aviv.
The Gaza war was triggered by a surprise Hamas attack on Israeli towns on Oct. 7 that Israel says killed 1,200 people.
Palestinian health authorities in Gaza say Israel's retaliatory offensive has so far killed at least 22,185 people, making it the bloodiest episode in the wider, decades-long Israel-Palestinian conflict.
NEW PHASE
Israel has promised to wipe out Hamas but it is unclear what it plans to do with the enclave should it succeed in subduing it, and where that leaves the prospect of an independent Palestinian state.
It has signalled a new phase in its offensive, with the Israeli official saying on Monday the military would reduce its forces inside Gaza this month and shift to a months-long phase of more localised "mopping up" operations.
The troop reduction would allow some reservists to return to civilian life, shore up Israel's war-battered economy, and free up units in case of a wider conflict with the Iran-backed Hezbollah, the official said.
A U.S. official said the decision appeared to indicate the start of a shift to lower-intensity operations in the north of Gaza. Washington has been urging Israel to reduce the intensity of its military operation.
But Avi Dichter, a member of Israel's security cabinet, said on Kan Radio: "Without Hamas' terrorist infrastructure being destroyed and its governance capabilities toppled, the war will not end."
Another prime concern for Israel is the return or rescue of hostages held by Hamas. The militants seized 240 hostages on Oct. 7 and Israel believes 129 are still held after some were released during a brief truce and others killed during air strikes and rescue or escape attempts.
Qatar and Egypt are seeking to negotiate a new truce and hostages deal.
Residents of Sheikh Radwan district in Gaza City, which the Israeli offensive first focused on, said tanks had withdrawn after what they described as the most intense 10 days of warfare since the conflict began.
"The tanks were very near. We could see them outside the houses. We couldn't get out to fill water," said Nasser, a father of seven living in Sheikh Radwan.
Tanks also pulled out of Gaza City's al-Mina district and parts of Tel al-Hawa district, while retaining some positions in the suburb controlling the enclave's main coastal road, residents sai
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