Haifa Diary
Haifa is on the "front line" in any action in the north but this blog looks at life in the shadow of danger to all of Israel
Monday, March 25, 2024
The challenge of Avoiding Civilian Casualties
Friday, March 22, 2024
Blinken's Fantasized Diplomacy
Thanks to Ruthie Blum full article at https://tinyurl.com/5n8bndke
In a press conference on Thursday
in Cairo, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated his opposition to
an Israeli ground operation in Rafah, saying that such a move would be a
“mistake.”
An
invasion into the southern Gaza city, he stated, was “unnecessary” to achieving
the goal of defeating Hamas. This attitude, which the Biden administration has
been expressing with increasing fervor, runs counter to Israeli assessments.
It
has become the key bone of contention between Washington and Jerusalem since
the start of the Oct. 7 war, spurred by a massacre of Jews that hadn’t been
seen since the Holocaust.
Other
disagreements—surrounding the use of Israeli force, civilian Palestinian
casualties and plans for “the day after”—have been mild in comparison. Or at
least they’ve been treated by Israel as arguments that can be addressed through
a presentation of the facts.
This
hasn’t been simply a tactical ploy to avert discord. On the contrary, the
justice of destroying the genocidal terrorist organization that controls
territory along Israel’s southern border and vows to repeat the atrocities of
Oct. 7 “again and again and again” is irrefutable.
Anyone
disputing Israel’s duty to eradicate Hamas—for the survival of the Jewish
state, as well as for the benefit of the region and the world—is on the wrong
side of history. Period.
Furthermore,
Israel has the data to support the extreme measures it employs to avoid
non-combatant deaths in Gaza. It has proof of the huge quantities of
humanitarian aid entering the Strip. It also has evidence of its efforts to
prevent Hamas from stealing the goods.
Blinken
is fully aware of the above. He is equally cognizant that the war would end in
an instant if Hamas surrendered unconditionally and released the remaining 134
hostages, among them U.S. citizens, held in its sadistic, sexually abusive
captivity.
But
since the only pressure Hamas understands is that exerted by Israel Defense
Forces bombs and troops, America’s top diplomat has no recourse but to powwow
with Qatar and Egypt. The former has close ties with Iran and provides refuge
for “exiled” Hamas bigwigs.
The
latter shares a border with Gaza. Though porous enough to have enabled the flow
of materials for the construction of hundreds of miles of Hamas terror tunnels,
it has been totally impenetrable for Gaza residents who wish to leave.
Has
Blinken raised these issues during his shuttle diplomacy excursions to the
Middle East to “mediate” a deal for the release of the hostages that involves a
halt in the fighting? Of course not.
No,
“as a Jew,” he’s been too busy warning Israel about the “humanitarian crisis”
in Gaza and pushing for a “sustained” ceasefire. Apparently the White House believes
think that it’s possible to win this war without killing any more terrorists or
the human shields behind whom they hide. Talk about music to Hamas chief Yahya
Sinwar’s ears. No wonder his ultimate demand is for a full IDF withdrawal from
Gaza and continued Hamas reign in the enclave. He doesn’t want to agree to a
temporary ceasefire in exchange for hostages.
His
having done so in November was due to two factors. One was IDF might. The other
was the assumption that Israel wouldn’t have the wherewithal or legitimacy to
resume fighting. He was right about the first and wrong about the second.
Today, however, thanks to U.S. admonitions about Rafah, Sinwar has cause to up
any ante on offer.
It’s
not clear, then, what Blinken meant by announcing in Saudi Arabia on
Wednesday and in Egypt the following day that the “gaps are narrowing” in the
negotiations. Perhaps he can explain how he reached that baseless conclusion
when he meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday in Israel.
Wednesday, March 20, 2024
EU Claim That ‘Starvation Is Being Used as Weapon of War’
Israeli officials reacted with outrage on Monday in the
face of a claim by the EU’s foreign policy chief that Jerusalem is imposing a
famine on Palestinian civilians in Gaza as the war in the beleaguered territory
continues to rage.
The accusation comes from Josep Borrell — a Spanish
official who serves as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy “In Gaza we are in a state of famine, affecting thousands of
people,” — said at the opening of a conference in Brussels on humanitarian aid
for Gaza. “This is unacceptable. Starvation is used as a weapon of war. Israel
is provoking famine,” Borrell continued.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded
: “Despite Hamas violently disrupting aid convoys and UNRWA’s
collaboration with them, we persist.” “Israel allows extensive humanitarian aid
into Gaza by land, air, and sea for anyone willing to
help,” In a blunt posting on the same platform,
Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy noted that on Sunday, “8 million
lbs. of food entered Gaza by land. That’s ~4LBS.
OF FOOD PER CAPITA. That’s not famine,
starvation, or catastrophic food insecurity.”
Levy added tartly: “I’m sorry if the facts are
awkward for your efforts to help Hamas rapists survive 10/7 and live to
fight another day.”
Separately, in a statement on Friday, COGAT — the
Israeli agency that assists with humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the West
Bank and Gaza — noted that since the beginning of March, “an average of 126
food trucks entered Gaza daily. This is 80 percent more food trucks entering
compared to before Oct. 7. 500 trucks entered Gaza daily before Oct. 7,
carrying building, agriculture, and industrial supplies; only an average of 70
carried food.”
Monday, March 18, 2024
Gaza Market with Abundance of Food
Bedouin Family Member Who Rejects Hamas, Urges Palestinian Peace with Israel
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Tunnels and The Philadelphi Corridor
(With thanks to IDSF, Habitchonistim )
A smuggling industry with a turnover in the billions:
In recent years, smuggling from Egypt into Gaza has become central to the
Gazan economy and key to the strengthening of Hamas. Even today the city of
Rafah is full of smugglers, who bribe the Egyptian police and run a business
sector with a turnover in the billions.
The smuggling still continues during wartime, as war materiel and other goods flow from Sinai into Gaza every day. And there is fear that such smuggling is, or will be, accompanied by smuggling in the other direction. Senior Hamas figures are likely to try to escape into Egyptian territory, with hostages, and from there to Iran.
Control of food
distribution is to control Gaza.
Besides the problem of smuggling, absence of Israeli control at the
Philadelphi Corridor also causes a severe problem of supervision over the
humanitarian aid to Gaza. Since the start of the war, thousands of trucks have
entered Gaza with humanitarian supplies and food. The distribution of aid is
managed officially by UNRWA and by “charitable organizations,” but in practice,
behind all that management, Hamas is pulling the strings. It is important to
understand that as long as Hamas wields control over the supplies, they are
channeled first and foremost to its own purposes, and in that way Hamas
succeeds in operating more forcefully while also gaining the population’s
acknowledgement of its authority.
Israel Must Defeat Hamas in Rafah
Both the history of Rafah and its current situation show
that if Hamas is to be defeated as a governing body, the IDF must control the
Philadelphi Corridor, Israel must have full authority over the entry of all
goods into Gazan territory, and there must be a ground operation in Rafah.
Such a ground operation is indispensable, because Rafah is the last
stronghold of the Hamas leadership and the only place where its battalions
still are active as organized military units. Currently the Israeli public is
concerned that the IDF, despite attaining many, many successes, has not laid
its hands on the senior Hamas figures and has not located the hostages. The
entry into Rafah will be the decisive battle, leading us to the top Hamas
commanders and to their last military stronghold, and to the hostages.
Therefore we must enter the city, and as promptly as possible. Contrary to the
widespread conception, Rafah is not a difficult military objective. Tougher
places have already been taken, so this task is certainly doable.
Sunday, March 10, 2024
10 IDF Couples Wed Simultaneously
In a unique ceremony, ten IDF soldiers married their partners at a mass wedding in the Tel Aviv Port. It was part of Chabad of Savyon’s “Marrying the Warriors” initiative and included 10 wedding canopies. Each couple invited 100 guests. 10 glasses were simultaneously smashed.
A delegation of visitors from Canada raised over $1 million in support .
See also https://tinyurl.com/3vsy7sru