Author: Steven Sahiounie

Speaking on Dahdouh and his resilient reaction to the news of the killing of his wife, son, and daughter, Al Jazeera’s senior analyst Marwan Bishara said he has become “immune” to the suffering. “He’s become immune … He [Dahdouh] lives in the midst of death and mayhem and destruction, probably all his life,” Bishara said. Over the last 18 years, Gaza has witnessed “hundreds of waves of bombings,” he said. “These people live in fear and death and destruction and poverty. They become immune and now listening to him, would expect the man so angry to be cursing, but he’s…

Jordan’s King has warned that there would be a serious escalation in violence in the West Asia region if Israel does not end its brutal military campaign against the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip. Abdullah II bin al-Hussein issued the warning on Wednesday as he met French President Emmanuel Macron in the Jordanian capital Amman, according to a royal court statement. “The continuation of the (Gaza) war will lead to an explosion of the situation in the region,” Abdullah was quoted as telling Macron, the statement said. It said King Abdullah had also called for increased global pressure on…

Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey says a UN Security Council meeting is about to begin following closed consultations, which came at France’s request. The meeting was called by the US to pass a resolution on the situation in Gaza. Russia has a counter-resolution. “We know through our sources that neither of these resolutions have enough votes to pass,” Saloomey said. While Russia’s version calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the US version uses “softer language, calling for pauses to allow aid into the Gaza Strip”, she said. Elected members of the council are hoping for both drafts to be withdrawn,…

The US resolution had called for “humanitarian pauses” in Gaza. The US, Albania, France, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Switzerland, and the UK voted in favour. Brazil and Mozambique abstained. Only the five permanent members of the Security Council – China, the US, France, the UK, and Russia – have veto power. Source: AlJazeera

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator The Egyptian parliament met on October 19 and gave President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi the power to declare war against Israel, if necessary. Egypt and Israel have a peace treaty dating from 1979, which has been a success, proving that a neighboring Arab and Muslim country can share long-lasting peaceful relations with the Jewish State of Israel. Egyptians have watched in horror at the scenes of death and destruction in Gaza as the Israeli government exacts its revenge on Hamas after the October 7 attack on Israel. With the promised Israeli ground invasion of Gaza…

Israel is preparing a ground invasion of Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says in a televised statement, but he declines to provide any details on the timing or other information about the operation. He says the decision on when forces would go into the blockaded Palestinian enclave would be taken by the government’s special war cabinet. Source: AlJazeera

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has condemned “in the strongest terms” the vicious verbal assaults by Israel against the secretary general of the United Nations, describing them as “unjustified, premeditated” and representative of the Israeli regime’s lack of respect and commitment to the world body, its Charter and resolutions regarding Palestine. The ministry said in a statement released on Wednesday that Israel is seeking to nullify the role of the United Nations in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, particularly as the UN chief, his team and representatives are making efforts to put an end to the destructive war against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip,…

Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles and artillery units have launched a series of strikes against several areas in southern Lebanon, after Hezbollah fighters targeted an Israeli tank with a guided missile on the border between the Arab country and the 1948 Israeli-occupied territories. According to Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network, Israeli drones launched missiles at the outskirts of Kfarchouba village, the heights of Halta village as well as the Bistara Farm near the occupied Shebaa Farm on Wednesday. This came after Hezbollah targeted the Branit barracks and another Israeli post facing Naqoura town in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese resistance fighters also successfully targeted an Israeli battle tank in the area…

The United Nations Children’s Agency (UNICEF) has decried the “staggering” number of children casualties in the Gaza Strip due to incessant Israeli bombardment of the besieged Palestinian enclave. Adele Khodr, the UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa that the killing and maiming of children, attacks on hospitals and schools, and the denial of humanitarian access “constitute grave violations of children’s rights.” “The situation in the Gaza Strip is a growing stain on our collective conscience. The rate of death and injuries of children is simply staggering,” Khodr said. “Even more frightening is the fact that unless…

White House national security spokesman John Kirby says this is not the time for a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, as the US has voiced its unequivocal support for the ongoing Israel aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip. Kirby told CNN in a recent interview that Israel still had “work to do to go after Hamas leadership.” “We don’t believe that this is the time for a ceasefire,” he said. “Israel has a right to defend themselves. They still have work to do to go after Hamas leadership.” The remarks come as US President Joe Biden has…