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Israel-Gaza conflict: Death toll hits 1,000 amid 12-hour ceasefire
The number of people killed in the conflict between Israel and Gaza has reached 1,000 as a 12-hour humanitarian ceasefire to allow civilians to seek aid and evacuate to safer areas of the region continues today.
26
July, 2014
An
Israeli government official has since been quotes as saying Israel is
"leaning toward" extending the 12-hour humanitarian truce
by at least four hours.
At
least 85 bodies have been pulled from the rubble during the lull in
fighting, bringing the Palestinian death toll to an estimated 985
since the conflict began 18 days ago.
Over
5,700 have been wounded and tens of thousands have been left
displaced by shelling, according to officials. Forty Israelis have
also been killed in cross-border fighting.
In
the southern town of Khan Younis, 20 members of the same extended
family, including at least 10 children, were killed by tank fire that
hit a building on the edge of town, according to Palestinian health
official Ashraf al-Kidra.
Hundreds
of men marched in a funeral procession in Khan Younis Saturday
afternoon, chanting "there is only God" while carrying the
bodies.
The
Israel Defence Forces (IDF) says the 12-hour pause began at 8am local
time (5am GMT). During this time, it said it will continue to
"locate and neutralise" tunnels used by Hamas and warned
the military "shall respond if terrorists choose to exploit"
the lull to attack Israeli troops or civilians.
Hamas
said that the group had agreed to the 12-hour lull to allow civilians
to receive aid and find safer areas. Hundreds of Palestinians poured
into the streets in the minutes after the truce took force, with many
heading to banks which have briefly re-opened. Others inspected
damage and stocked up on supplies.
Turkey
lifted a ban on flights to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport three hours
after the truce was announced, according to an announcement on
Twitter.
The
ceasefire was agreed upon by both sides after US Secretary of State
John Kerry, currently visiting the region, failed to broker a
seven-day truce as a first step toward a broader deal.
It
comes as 19 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes overnight and two
Israeli soldiers were also killed in Gaza.
Israel
on Friday rejected international proposals for an extended ceasefire,
a government source said, but Mr Kerry, speaking in Cairo, said no
formal proposals had yet been put forward.
Britain's
United Nations ambassador had earlier said there may be "an
extremely short" humanitarian pause in the conflict in Gaza
between Israel and Hamas today lasting several hours
Mark
Lyall Grant told reporters that Britain is very disappointed at the
failure to reach agreement on a sustainable ceasefire but suggested a
humanitarian pause could "open up a little bit of space to work
on a more sustainable ceasefire".
He
said foreign ministers from the US, UK Turkey and other countries are
meeting in Paris today "to decide precisely on the next steps".
But
there were fears that after the temporary ceasefire, there could be
an escalation in the fighting.
Israel's
defence minister warned on Friday Israel might soon expand its Gaza
ground operation "significantly".
The
temporary lull was unlikely to change the trajectory of the current
hostilities amid ominous signs that the Gaza war is spilling over
into the West Bank.
In
a "Day
of Rage,"
Palestinians across the territory, which had been relatively calm for
years, staged protests against Israel's Gaza operation and the rising
casualty toll there.
On
Thursday night, 10,000 demonstrators marched in solidarity with Gaza
near the Palestinian administrative capital Ramallah - a scale
recalling mass revolts of the past.
In
the West Bank, at least five Palestinians were killed by Israeli
fire, hospital officials said.
Israel
wants more time to destroy Hamas military tunnels and rocket
launching sites in Gaza, while the territory's Hamas rulers want
international guarantees that a Gaza border blockade will be lifted
before they cease fire.
Overnight,
militants fired a barrage of rockets out of Gaza, triggering sirens
across much of southern and central Israel. No injuries were
reported, with the Iron Dome interceptor system shooting down some of
the projectiles.
Meanwhile,
heavy Israeli shelling was reported in the town of Beit Hanoun in the
northern Gaza Strip, an area where ground troops are operating.
One
shell hit near the emergency department of Beit Hanoun hospital,
wounding six people, including a foreign national who was not
identified further, the Red Crescent said. Two of the wounded were in
critical condition.
Residents
returning during the ceasefire encountered widespread destruction
across the area.
Shells
also hit an ambulance in Beit Hanoun, killing a paramedic and
wounding two people, the Red Crescent said.
US Evacuates Libya Embassy Following Biggest Local Violence Since Gadhafi Ouster
26
July, 2014
The Middle East is burning again: first it was the fascinating ascent of
the brutal Al-Qaeda spinoff ISIS, creating its own Caliphate in
northern Iraq and in the process taking
over a third of Syrian territory as
well as all of its oil infrastructure. Then, the latest iteration of
the Israel vs Gaza conflict has now claimed over 1000
lives and
is dragging virtually all neighboring countries into it as well. And
the cherry on top is that the Libyan "liberation" by the US
has just gone full circle, as the country is is now witnessing one of
its worst spasms of violence since Gadhafi’s ouster. End
result: nearly
two years after the deadly attack on the US embassy in Benghazi,
moments ago the US once again shuttered its embassy in Libya, this
time in Tripoli, evacuating more than 150 Americans to Tunisia.
This is happening just 24 hours after the US Secretary of State was
literally next door in Egypt, assuring the region that peace and
stability are just around the corner.
More than 150 Americans have been evacuated from the U.S. embassy in Tripoli, Libya, amid spiraling militant violence aimed at the Libyan government. "The U.S. together with other countries have decided that because of the freewheeling militia violence that is taking place particularly around the embassy ... it presents a real risk to our personnel," Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters during a trip to France.
American officials told NBC News that the 158 Americans, including 80 heavily armed U.S. Marines, left the embassy compound early Saturday in a caravan of SUV's and buses and drove west toward neighboring Tunisia. Besides the Marines who were the embassy’s security force, the caravan was also protected overhead by two American F-16 fighter jets and unmanned drones that shadowed the group on their drive.
At least two American warships, a guided-missile destroyer, the USS Ross and a guided-missile cruiser, the USS Vella Gulf, were nearby in the Mediterranean in case additional military protection was needed, officials told NBC News.
While there appeared to be no direct threat of an attack against the embassy, the rising violence in Libya recently prevented delivery of food and other vital supplies to the embassy over roads now largely controlled or threatened by rebel militant forces, the officials added.
While it needs no reminding, CBS does so nonetheless, that "the move marks the second time in a little more than three years that Washington has closed its embassy in Libya. In Feb. 2011, the embassy suspended operations amid the uprising that eventually toppled longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi. After the formation of a transitional government in July, 2011, the embassy reopened in September. Gadhafi was killed in October of 2011."
The Obama administration has been particularly sensitive about security of U.S. government employees in Libya since the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. mission in the country’s second largest city of Benghazi that killed ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. The administration is still fending off criticism from Republicans and others that it did not either enhance security in Benghazi or evacuate the mission due to rising violence in that city in the months prior to the attack.
The Benghazi mission was abandoned after that attack and never reopened. The embassy In Tripoli has been operating with reduced staff since but has remained open even as the violence intensified.
But
wait, didn't Brent drop recently because the political situation in
Libya was getting better? Recall from Goldman:
On July 2, federalist rebels handed the central oil terminals of Ras Lanuf and Es Sider back to the Libyan government, with a combined capacity of 560 thousand barrels per day. The government lifted the force majeure on July 6, allowing the NOC to start marketing crude from the ports. This development points to a potential sharp ramp-up in Libyan oil production from its current 320 thousand barrels per day level as well as a ramp-up in exports that have been erratic so far this year. This has led to a decline in crude oil prices, with Brent prices down nearly $2.00/bbl since Reuters first reported this deal and currently trading near $110/bbl, although the lack of further deterioration in Iraq, where exports remain undisrupted, has also contributed to the broader decline in prices over the past two weeks.
Apparently not.
In Tripoli, the militias are fighting mostly for control of the airport. They are on the government’s payroll since authorities have depended on them to restore order.
The U.S. is just latest in a number of countries to have closed down their diplomatic operations in Libya. Turkey on Friday announced that it had closed down its embassy and militia clashes in Benghazi have prompted the United Nations, aid groups and foreign envoys to leave.
In Tripoli, clashes near the international airport have forced residents to evacuate their homes nearby after they were hit by shells. On Friday, the official Libyan news agency LANA reported that explosions were heard early in the day near the airport area and continued into the afternoon.
The battle in Tripoli began earlier this month when Islamist-led militias — mostly from the western city of Misrata — launched a surprise assault on the airport, under control of rival militias from the western mountain town of Zintan. On Monday, a $113 million Airbus A330 passenger jet for Libya’s state-owned Afriqiyah Airways was destroyed in the fighting.
The rival militias, made up largely of former anti-Gadhafi rebels, have forced a weeklong closure of gas stations and government offices. In recent days, armed men have attacked vehicles carrying money from the Central Bank to local banks, forcing their closure.
Libyan government officials and activists have increasingly been targeted in the violence. Gunmen kidnapped two lawmakers in the western suburbs of Tripoli a week ago and on Friday armed men abducted Abdel-Moaz Banoun, a well-known Libyan political activist in Tripoli, according to his father.
Finally,
there is of course the obligatory spin:
12:32 AM - 27 Jul 2014 Washington, DC, United States
Due to the ongoing violence resulting from clashes between Libyan militias in the immediate vicinity of the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, we have temporarily relocated all of our personnel out of Libya.
We are committed to supporting the Libyan people during this challenging time, and are currently exploring options for a permanent return to Tripoli as soon as the security situation on the ground improves. In the interim, staff will operate from Washington and other posts in the region.
Securing our facilities and ensuring the safety of our personnel are top Department priorities, and we did not make this decision lightly. Security has to come first. Regrettably, we had to take this step because the location of our embassy is in very close proximity to intense fighting and ongoing violence between armed Libyan factions.
This relocation was done over land, with our personnel arriving in Tunisia this morning, and traveling onward from there. We are grateful to the Government of Tunisia for its cooperation and support.
We will continue to engage all Libyans and the international community to seek a peaceful resolution to the current conflict and to advance Libya’s democratic transition. We reiterate that Libyans must immediately cease hostilities and begin negotiations to resolve their grievances. We join the international community in calling on all Libyans to respect the will of the people, including the authority of the recently-elected Council of Representatives, and to reject the use of violence to affect political processes. Many brave Libyans sacrificed to advance their country toward a more secure and prosperous future. We continue to stand solidly by the Libyan people as they endeavor to do so.
Turns
out "it does make a difference after all."
The story that is being ignored
ISIS ‘beheads scores of Syrian soldiers’ after daring assault on army base
Jihadist group ISIS published photos of the beheadings of soldiers and officers at a Syrian government base near the eastern city of Raqqa after rebel forces reportedly breached a stronghold that had not been captured since the start of the conflict.
RT,
26
July, 2014
Conflicting
reports have emerged regarding the outcome of the attack, which began
when two Saudi suicide bombers simultaneously detonated their payload
at different points of the Division 17 base perimeter on Thursday.
Hours
of intense firefights followed. The jihadists – who already control
much of the northeastern province – attacked from the ground, while
government forces used helicopters to strike back while holding
fortified positions.
“Our
brothers stormed the building where dozens of soldiers were inside.
We lost 13 martyrs in these battles,”
a self-proclaimed ISIS fighter told The New York Times anonymously
through Skype.
By
Friday evening, the Sunni jihadists began to post video and photo
evidence from inside the Division 17 living quarters, in which its
fighters burned the portrait of Syrian President Bashar Assad while
displaying alcohol and other forbidden items that they purportedly
found in soldiers' lockers. They also claimed that government troops
had scattered to nearby villages. Those who were caught were
summarily executed. ISIS posted a picture of beheaded officers on
Twitter, their heads placed in the central town square.“I
could see only bodies; there were, like, 70 scattered everywhere. Now
our brothers with their trucks will bury them in a mass grave,”
said the anonymous ISIS fighter.
Photo from www.liveleak.com
The government claimed that the base had not been taken over, but that its troops withdrew tactically, awaiting reinforcements ahead of a counter-attack.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 85 government soldiers died (50 through executions), along with nearly 30 ISIS fighters. It added, however, that the government's losses may be heavier than initially believed."Hundreds of troops surviving withdrew on Friday to safe places – either to nearby villages whose residents oppose IS or to nearby Brigade 93 – but the fate of some 200 remains unknown," said the group's director, Rami Abdel Rahman.
The Observatory also said that 90 people died in a concurrent attack on a government oil field in Homs.
Photo from www.liveleak.com
The group, which has positioned itself in antagonism to more moderate opposition factions, was long thought to be tactically cooperating with the Syrian government. But events of the past week, in which more than 1,000 combatants have died in clashes between ISIS and Syrian loyalists, have proved otherwise.
On Saturday, the UN commission on Syrian war crimes said it was planning to put ISIS on the list of war criminals in the three-year conflict, which has resulted in at least 170,000 deaths.
Photo from www.liveleak.com
Iraq
crisis: End 'very near' for Christianity after Isis takeover, says
Bishop of Baghdad
The
vicar of the only Anglican church in Iraq has warned the end for
Christians in the country appears “very near” as he appealed for
help after a deadline set by Islamic militants to convert or be
killed expired.
26
July, 2014
Canon
Andrew White, dubbed "the bishop of Baghdad" for his work
at St George's church in the capital, spoke after the ultimatum
handed to Christians in the northern city of Mosul by the Islamic
State of Iraq Levant (Isis) to convert, pay a tax or be put to death
passed last week.
For
those Christians who did not comply with the decree by 19 July, Isis
warned that "there is nothing to give them but the sword.”
Many have since fled their homes and Rev. Andrew-White told BBC Radio
4 Today desperate Christians were trapped in the desert or on the
streets with nowhere to go.
"Things
are so desperate, our people are disappearing," he said. "We
have had people massacred, their heads chopped off.
"Are
we seeing the end of Christianity? We are committed come what may, we
will keep going to the end, but it looks as though the end could be
very near."
A
report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) found that from 14 July homes in
Mosul were painted with the letter “N” for Nasrani (the Arabic
word for Christian). Others were painted with the letter “R” for
Rafidah, a word commonly used by Sunni to describe Shia.
The
vicar is in London to speak about the crisis and raise awareness of
the urgent need to provide more help to the persecuted minority.
"The
Christians are in grave danger. There are literally Christians living
in the desert and on the street. They have nowhere to go," he
told the programme.
"We
do not want Britain to forget us. We - and I'm saying 'we' talking
like an Iraqi Christian - have always been with the British because
they have already been with us.
"Individual
churches, individual Christians in Britain, have been a bigger help
than anybody around the world."
Up
to a million Christians lived in Iraq prior to the US-led invasion in
2003, with many residing in areas such as Mosul where the communities
date back to the first centuries of Christianity.
There
are now thought to be fewer than half that number.
