Author: Steven Sahiounie

The IOF offensive appears to be smaller and more narrowly focused than initially pitched to Washington, the report says The Israeli military has limited the scope of its “expanded” ground operation against the Palestinian armed group Hamas in Gaza following consultations with senior White House officials, the New York Times reported on Saturday, citing sources. According to the paper, the initial plans “alarmed” officials in Washington, who voiced concern that they “lacked achievable military objectives,” with fears that the IOF was not yet prepared for a full-scale ground assault. However, an unnamed US government source told NYT that after discussions with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and…

The spokesperson of the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza has urged the international community to put pressure on the Israeli army to stop targeting health infrastructures while calling on Egypt to open the Rafah border crossing. “We asked the international community to stop the Israeli aggression and attacks against displaced people on medical aid,” Ashraf al-Qudra said, adding the hospital’s operations were severely hampered by the presence of thousands of displaced people sheltering there. “We ask our brothers in Egypt to reopen the Rafah crossing and to let it work in order to have regular medical assistance. Since the start…

The Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) says it received “serious threats” from the Israeli forces to “immediately evacuate the al-Quds Hospital as it is going to be bombed”. Since this morning, there have been bombs dropping 50 metres from the hospital, a statement on X said. The hospital is located in the Tel al-Hawa area of Gaza City. Source: AlJazeera

Netanyahu has apologised for a tweet in which he blamed Israel’s security agencies for the failures that led to the October 7 attack. Netanyahu had tweeted that he was not presented with any intelligence ahead of Hamas’s attack. He pinned the blame on the army’s chief and the head of the Shin Bet for having judged that the armed group was “deterred”. “I was wrong. The things I said should not have been said and I apologize for that. I give full backing to all the heads of the security arms,” Netanyahu said on X. His apology came following a…

UN chief Antonio Guterres has warned the situation in Gaza is declining rapidly as he repeated desperate appeals for a ceasefire to end the “nightmare” of bloodshed. “The situation in Gaza is growing more desperate by the hour. I regret that instead of a critically needed humanitarian pause, supported by the international community, Israel has intensified its military operations,” Guterres said on a visit to Nepal’s capital Kathmandu. “The number of civilians who have been killed and injured is totally unacceptable. The world is witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe taking place before our eyes.” Source: AlJazeera

Communication lines are not fully back on in Gaza. The phone signal is extremely weak… it comes and goes. Mobile data has not been restored. Only landlines are working at the moment. During the communication blackout that Israel imposed, people were unable to reach emergency services. Rescue efforts were affected badly. If you or a family member were injured in the Israeli strikes, there was no way you could call for help. The blackout also had an emotional toll on people in Gaza. There was no way they could know what was happening to their loved ones in other parts…

Hamas’ leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya al-Sinwar says the movement is prepared to initiate a prompt prisoner exchange arrangement that encompasses the liberation of all Palestinian prisoners in return for the release of all captives. Hamas’ leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya al-Sinwar stated, on Saturday, that the Resistance movement is prepared for an “immediate” exchange of prisoners with “Israel”, however, he stressed that it should be under the formula of all for all. “We are ready to conduct an immediate prisoner exchange deal that includes the release of all Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails in exchange for all…

‘We will only be able to speak of humanity, conscience, and mercy on the day when Israeli oppression stops, and we see children playing in safety in Gaza,’ Erdogan writes on X Türkiye’s first lady Emine Erdogan expressed support Saturday for Palestinians amid the recent Hamas-Israeli conflict. “We shouted out to the world as one voice from Istanbul to be the voice of Gaza’s mothers, children, and all the innocent people’s silent scream,” Erdogan said as she shared a post of the Great Palestine Meeting, a pro-Palestine rally in Istanbul. “We will only be able to speak of humanity, conscience,…

Israeli warplanes have carried out air raids near Gaza’s largest hospital that is filled with patients and tens of thousands of people seeking shelter, the Associated Press reported citing witnesses. Israel says the raid was carried out because Hamas has a command post under the hospital, without providing evidence. Residents said the latest strikes destroyed most of the roads leading to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, in the northern part of the besieged territory. “Reaching the hospital has become increasingly difficult,” Mahmoud al-Sawah, who is sheltering in the hospital, said. “It seems they want to cut off the area.” Source: AlJazeera

Israel’s warning for Gaza residents to move south as it intensifies its bombardment of the besieged enclave is unrealistic, says Abdullah Al-Arian, associate professor of Middle East history at Georgetown University in Qatar. “This is part of what we have seen in terms of the genocidal language and approach that has been taken by the Israeli military, in part by attempting to dehumanise the entire population and target the entire population,” he said. “This is an onslaught that has a specific military objective. Everything we have seen suggests it is a war on the civilian population. The demands that are…