The New Israel/Palestine Conflict Thread: Read the OP Before Posting

[N35t0r]

All living hostages have been released. Huge accomplishment for Trump that will lead to zero self reflection from the people who thought it would fail. And, presumably, the protest will continue as if there was no ceasefire.

That you posted this right after a bit of news reporting daily bombings of Lebanon by the IDF after a US-brokered ceasefire that is still killing people and destroying infrastructure is puzzling.

Also, I would expect the protests to continue at the very least until it becomes clear that aid is flowing into Gaza and the IDF has stopped killing civilians.

 

[Soriak]

Lebanon isn’t included in the ceasefire, is it? Hezbollah and the Houthis can be next.

 

[AverageDutchGuy]

All living hostages have been released. Huge accomplishment for Trump that will lead to zero self reflection from the people who thought it would fail. And, presumably, the protest will continue as if there was no ceasefire.

I will reflect IF it turns out either side actually sticks to this ceasefire. But Hamas is already killing dissidents and opposition in Gaza to re-establish it's dominance over the population and Israel is still Israel with people like Ben-Gvir in their politics and with massive support.

My hopes are, sadly, extremely low. In reality it's likely just another temporary pauze in the atrocities.

 

[Pointy Kitty]

After the ceasefire agreement went into effect the IDF burned and destroyed a great deal of civilian infrastructure including a sanitation plant as they were pulling out. Huge accomplishment for Trump and Netanyahu.

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/isra...wage-treatment-plan-after-ceasefire-announced

 

[herko]

All living hostages have been released. Huge accomplishment for Trump that will lead to zero self reflection from the people who thought it would fail. And, presumably, the protest will continue as if there was no ceasefire.

I disagree with you pretty regularly, but I 100% agree here. The ceasefire IS an accomplishment for Trump. Who knows if it will hold. I sincerely hope it does, and I think it's going to be a thing for the history books in that case.

I dislike pretty much everything about our current President, and think he's a disaster for the country and for the world. But there are things he IMHO deserves credit for: Operation Warp Speed and criminal justice reform in his first term, and now this.

 

[Wheels Of Confusion]

After the ceasefire agreement went into effect the IDF burned and destroyed a great deal of civilian infrastructure including a sanitation plant as they were pulling out. Huge accomplishment for Trump and Netanyahu.

https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/isra...wage-treatment-plan-after-ceasefire-announced

In the immediate aftermath of Donald Trump’s announcement on Thursday that both Hamas and Israel had signed off on an agreement to stop the fighting, the Israeli military launched an arson spree, setting fire to civilian infrastructure, including the destruction of an essential sanitation plant in Gaza City.

The destruction of Palestinian structures following the departure of soldiers who had used them as temporary bases has been a hallmark of Israel’s approach to Gaza for two years. In July, Israeli reporter Yuval Abraham collected testimonies from soldiers describing a myriad of arson methods. “Every Arab house we entered had olive oil [...] We poured the oil on the sofas, on anything flammable in the apartment, and then we ignited [it] or threw in a smoke grenade. This was a common practice,” one of them described.

Scorched Earth is apparently the standard operating procedure for leaving occupied "Arab" residences.

The scope of the arson perpetrated in Gaza City on the night of October 9th and early morning of October 10—Thursday night into Friday, just after the ceasefire was agreed to but before Israel’s cabinet approved it—was broader than at any other time Drop Site has tracked during the assault on the strip. Its perpetrators were not confined to a single unit, nor was the burning confined to a specific neighborhood. Drop Site News identified members of the Israeli army originating from several different brigades, including the Golani, Givati, Nahal Brigades, and the newly formed ultra-orthodox Hashmonaim Brigade who posted dozens of photos and videos of buildings engulfed in flames during their withdrawal from Gaza City to the “yellow line” defined in the Trump agreement, still deep within Gaza’s territory.

On Sunday, an Israeli soldier from the Kfir Brigade posted a photo showing himself standing in front of a set of burning wooden pallets. “On Friday, just before departure. Burning food so that it won’t reach the Gazans, may their names be erased,” the caption reads. The post also includes a song called, “L’Chaim!” (Cheers!), whose music video uses footage from Gaza.

You don't do and say things like this unless you're a vicious waste of skin. Fucking Illinois Kfir Brigade Nazis.
There's a clear, indisputable policy of leaving Gazans homeless, starving, and without the basic necessities of life. It's obviously motivated by hatred and a consensus of collective punishment.

Among the structures Drop Site discovered had been set on fire by the departing soldiers was the Sheikh Ajlin Sewage Treatment Station, a central component of Gaza City’s sanitation network. Monther Shoblaq, Director General of the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU) in Gaza, said the attack is a blow that could push Gaza City’s wastewater system “to point zero.” He added the plant is “one of Gaza’s oldest” and warned that its destruction will set back planned reconstruction efforts by years. “I mean, they signed a ceasefire,” Shoblaq said. “Why set it on fire?”

The Torching of Gaza City’s Sewage Treatment Plant: “[One] last memory”​

In social media posts, one soldier can be seen posing in front of the burning treatment plant smiling; another captioned a photo of the flames “[one] last memory.” The plant is operated by the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU), a Palestinian NGO which is managing much of the water and sanitation infrastructure in Gaza. Drop Site News spoke with CMWU’s director, Monther Shoblaq, who said the arson fits a clear pattern of Israel’s attacks on Gaza’s water system. (Drop Site News has previously reported on the destruction of Rafah’s main water reservoir in July 2024 and the Israel military’s conversion of Gaza City’s only desalination plant into a military base in autumn 2024.)

CMWU convened in May, Shoblaq noted, for an internal damage assessment of Gaza’s water system. During the meeting, the authority reviewed satellite imagery showing that the plant appeared to be partially intact and drew up a plan stipulating that, once the assault stopped, CMWU teams would visit Sheikh Ajlin and attempt to relaunch operations from the site to provide services for people in Gaza City.

Sheikh Ajlin was the sole facility remaining that was capable of providing sewage services to Gaza City after earlier Israeli attacks destroyed the Central Gaza Wastewater Treatment Plant east of Bureij in the process of establishing the “buffer zone” around Gaza’s perimeter. UN bodies have assessed the buffer zone to be “part of a widespread and systematic attack directed against the civilian population in Gaza” and “a crime against humanity”.

This is not just a military acting autonomously. This is supported by the Israeli civilian government.

For over a year, senior Israeli officials have advocated for wastewater treatment plants in Gaza to be rendered inoperable. In March 2024, current Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar criticized the government for permitting repair works on the Central Gaza Wastewater Treatment Plant by Gazan authorities. Earlier this year cabinet member Itamar Ben-Gvir, in the course of congratulating the government for imposing an electricity blackout on Gaza, noted, “The only thing left in Gaza for The Electricity Company to disconnect now is the wastewater treatment plant.” (The Electricity Company is Israel’s electric utility company, which sells electricity to Gaza, complementing the strip’s domestic electricity production, which has been severely curtailed by Israeli bombardment and restrictions on fuel entry.)

There's no military justification needed. The intention is to make people suffer and die. And it's working:

Since October 7, raw sewage has been dumped in the sea, leading to the spread of waterborne disease. A recent assessment by OCHA, the office coordinating the UN’s humanitarian operations in Gaza, found that over half of the population in Gaza is “exposed to sewage or fecal matter within 10 metres of their homes, posing severe health risks”, with 57% of households reporting at least one member suffering from skin conditions.

According to Shoblaq, Sheikh Ajlin plant’s design capacity of about 75,000 cubic meters would have barely been enough to meet Gaza City’s needs, in the absence of support from the Central Gaza Wastewater Treatment Plant. Its destruction potentially leaves the city without any functioning centralized sewage treatment at all.

 

[Ionitor]

I disagree with you pretty regularly, but I 100% agree here. The ceasefire IS an accomplishment for Trump. Who knows if it will hold. I sincerely hope it does, and I think it's going to be a thing for the history books in that case.

I dislike pretty much everything about our current President, and think he's a disaster for the country and for the world. But there are things he IMHO deserves credit for: Operation Warp Speed and criminal justice reform in his first term, and now this.

Given everything else, I'm particularly surprised that Trump apparently gave up on the "Gaza Riviera" concept. The pessimist in me guesses that there's still a private plan to accomplish that, but barring evidence for that theory, I will give Trump credit for actually using the US/Israel relationship to negotiate an end to the current conflict.

 

[papadage]

He wants a cosmetic peace that can be used as an excuse for him to be seriously considered for the Nobel, while Israel continues to hem in the Gazans and strip control they have from more of their territory. Gaza will become an internment camp of tent cities.

 

[Uragan]

Lebanon isn’t included in the ceasefire, is it? Hezbollah and the Houthis can be next.

So we should excuse Israel's continued aggression towards other sovereign states then?

 

[wireframed]

He wants a cosmetic peace that can be used as an excuse for him to be seriously considered for the Nobel, while Israel continues to hem in the Gazans and strip control they have from more of their territory. Gaza will become an internment camp of tent cities.

Yep. I have no idea why anyone would give Trump any credit, based on his track record. He gives zero shits what happens to Palestinians and only a little more what happens to Israel.

He just wants to check off a win, and it just has to be good enough to let him brag about it. He’s given Netanyahu everything he wanted up till now, and I don’t see him stopping.

I’ll give him credit if there’s actually any kind of peace in 6 months. My guess is, there’s only peace if Palestinians die quietly.

 

[herko]

Yep. I have no idea why anyone would give Trump any credit, based on his track record. He gives zero shits what happens to Palestinians and only a little more what happens to Israel.

He just wants to check off a win, and it just has to be good enough to let him brag about it. He’s given Netanyahu everything he wanted up till now, and I don’t see him stopping.

I’ll give him credit if there’s actually any kind of peace in 6 months. My guess is, there’s only peace if Palestinians die quietly.

Yes, his motivations are gonna be selfish. It's who he is through and through. But even a malignant narcissist can do good out of self-interest. Getting to an agreement is an accomplishment. If it holds, a major one.

I can credit him for this while opposing pretty much everything he's doing domestically, why not? Even a broken clock, etc.

 

[GohanIYIan]

All living hostages have been released. Huge accomplishment for Trump that will lead to zero self reflection from the people who thought it would fail. And, presumably, the protest will continue as if there was no ceasefire.

I agree it looks like a potentially good outcome, but I'm not sure how much there is to reflect on.

It seems to me Trump was able to pull this off because a) he's a guy who really would betray an ally without a second thought, and b) he wields near total control over his party members in Congress. This combination made any threats he made much more credible than anything Biden might have said.

Even if it would be good to create a similar situation on the Democratic side - and I don't think that's a given - it's not obvious how to make that happen. There's a fair amount of luck and happenstance to how Trump ended up in this position.

 

[Pino90]

Sorry for the delay.

What makes you think that? They invaded Lebanon and Syria within the last year, and I think Hezbollah was more an excuse than a reason.

Hezbollah was actively throwing rockets at Israel, which apart from Gaza has been occupied into dismantling Iran's proxies in the region.

Hezbollah's capabilities have been degraded and Israel has gotten its buffer zone in the South of Lebanon.

We can discuss on the morality of the buffer zone, which I don't think is ok. I guess we are in agreement there.

HOWEVER, I need to retract the claims in my previous post because they are factually incorrect, and I apologize for the mistake.

I had wrong information and based my judgement on them. I was convinced that Israel had retreated from Lebanon after their plead last February, but that's not the case. I completely missed the part in which they keep on occupying Southern Lebanon.

I was in the wrong, even more if we consider that actually Israel has built a number of military bases in the same area and expanded its military presence (I didn't know about it). This fact and the rhetoric used suggest that they are pulling another occupation like the previous one, that lasted more or less 20 years, from ~1982 to approx. 2000.

So yeah, apologies, I need to completely retract my previous opinion which was as wrong as something can be. I'm sorry, I think I've missed all of this while focused on Gaza. So I wrote a stupid opinion based on a reality that doesn't exist.

Same story for Syria. They have built a number of military installations and apparently have no intention of leaving the area.

Within this context, it's clear that they are going to chip away land from neighboring states.

Sorry for the noise.

 

[Lt_Storm]

Lebanon isn’t included in the ceasefire, is it? Hezbollah and the Houthis can be next.

Ahh peace, that thing that famously involves some new group being bombed "next"...

 

[Soriak]

But Hamas is already killing dissidents and opposition in Gaza to re-establish it's dominance over the population

Would be quite something for Western protesters to say something about that. Maybe start handing out signs with "Don't execute dissidents!" They could earn some credibility for being pro-Palestine instead of pro-Hamas. But it won't get much attention, and if anything, people will blame Israel... Hamas never seems to have agency and is purely a victim of circumstances.

 

[Pointy Kitty]

Would be quite something for Western protesters to say something about that. Maybe start handing out signs with "Don't execute dissidents!" They could earn some credibility for being pro-Palestine instead of pro-Hamas. But it won't get much attention, and if anything, people will blame Israel... Hamas never seems to have agency and is purely a victim of circumstances.

Sure. You can find straw people everywhere if you look for them.

There are people who claim that there is no distinction between Palestinians and Hamas, they are one and the same, and all Palestinians are to blame for Hamas attacks. People who never seem to assign any current or historical agency to Israel, who claim that Israel is merely defending itself despite the extreme overkill and the commission of an abundance of war crimes, that Israel is the real and only victim. Some of those people work for the Israeli government.

 

[Uragan]

Would be quite something for Western protesters to say something about that.

Maybe they already do that.

Maybe start handing out signs with "Don't execute dissidents!"

Maybe they do this too.

They could earn some credibility for being pro-Palestine instead of pro-Hamas.

Are you really declaring that Western protesters are monolithically “pro-Hamas” and not “pro-Palestine”?

But it won't get much attention, and if anything, people will blame Israel...

Israel deserves to be blamed for what is going on as well as Hamas. Multiple parties can be criticized at one time.

Hamas never seems to have agency and is purely a victim of circumstances.

Woah there… there’s only so much straw in the world for you to build your straw man out of. Farmers are going need some to feed their animals during winter.

 

[squiggit]

Man I really don't get the need to try to reframe everything as some kind of 'own the libs' moment. Hostages going home should be a good thing, right? IDK

 

[Bardon]

Sorry for the delay.


Hezbollah was actively throwing rockets at Israel, which apart from Gaza has been occupied into dismantling Iran's proxies in the region.

Hezbollah's capabilities have been degraded and Israel has gotten its buffer zone in the South of Lebanon.

We can discuss on the morality of the buffer zone, which I don't think is ok. I guess we are in agreement there.

HOWEVER, I need to retract the claims in my previous post because they are factually incorrect, and I apologize for the mistake.

I had wrong information and based my judgement on them. I was convinced that Israel had retreated from Lebanon after their plead last February, but that's not the case. I completely missed the part in which they keep on occupying Southern Lebanon.

I was in the wrong, even more if we consider that actually Israel has built a number of military bases in the same area and expanded its military presence (I didn't know about it). This fact and the rhetoric used suggest that they are pulling another occupation like the previous one, that lasted more or less 20 years, from ~1982 to approx. 2000.

So yeah, apologies, I need to completely retract my previous opinion which was as wrong as something can be. I'm sorry, I think I've missed all of this while focused on Gaza. So I wrote a stupid opinion based on a reality that doesn't exist.

Same story for Syria. They have built a number of military installations and apparently have no intention of leaving the area.

Within this context, it's clear that they are going to chip away land from neighboring states.

Sorry for the noise.

Mate, I often find myself disagreeing with your stances here but I give you props: You fact-checked yourself and didn't blindly double down like we see so often out on the Internet but openly admitted you had it wrong. That's one of the things I love about Ars and congrats on the self-awareness & growth.

 

[VividVerism]

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr034p5prlo

US President Donald Trump has threatened to disarm Hamas "violently" amid moves by the group to reassert control over the Gaza Strip, targeting what it called "collaborators".

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump said if Hamas failed to disarm within "a reasonable period of time" then "we will disarm them".

Truly, Nobel Peace Prize material right there.

I already had a feeling the peace wasn't going to last. I didn't think it was possibly going to be the Americans who break it. I'm not sure what he thinks US troops can do that the IDF hasn't already done.

It has struck me every time Trump talks about his "peace" deal the way he focuses entirely on the benefits to Israel. Palestinians always seem to be a begrudging footnote at best, if he mentions them at all and refrains from lashing out at them.

That said, Hamas's violent crackdown on internal Gazan opposition groups is disturbing, but unsurprising. It really ought to give pause to everyone who keeps conflating "Hamas" with "Palestinians" or "Gazans".

 

[TheColinous]

That said, Hamas's violent crackdown on internal Gazan opposition groups is disturbing, but unsurprising. It really ought to give pause to everyone who keeps conflating "Hamas" with "Palestinians" or "Gazans".

But it is very useful to claim that the six-year-olds in the hospital bombed by the IDF is collectively responsible for Hamas, in order for the killing of muslims to continue.

 

[Nvoid82]

A Swedish newspaper interview with Greta Thunberg. (Quotes below are machine translated)

I'm sure most people here are aware already for a variety of reasons, but it really characterizes how much the Israeli military believes they are in the right with the torture prisons and genocide project.

Ben-Gvir had the following to say about Thunberg's experiences:

Ben-Gvir himself later told the media about his visit to the prison – and bragged about how harshly they were treated. He described it as a policy he himself had ordered.

"I am proud that we are treating flotilla activists as supporters of terrorism," he told the daily Yedioth Ahronoth . "They should experience the conditions in Ketziot Prison and think twice before returning to Israel. That's how it works."

Keep in mind, he is referring to experiences like the following:

– It was so hot, like 40 degrees. We kept asking: Can we get water? Can we get water? In the end, people were screaming. The guards kept walking in front of the bars, laughing and holding up their water bottles. They threw the bottles of water in, in the garbage cans in front of us.

At one point, about 60 people were put in a small cage outside, in the sun, according to several witnesses to Aftonbladet. Most of them were not given a place to sit.

– When people fainted, we knocked on the cages and asked for a doctor. Then guards came and said, “We are going to gas you.” It was standard for them to say that. They held up a gas cylinder and threatened to press it against us.

When threatening to gas prisoners is something the Minister of National Security encourages, I don't think there's much hope for a lasting peace. I hope that the ceasefire holds and things can work towards a peaceful solution but I won't hold my breath. All of this violence and suffering is avoidable.

 

[wireframed]

Once again you can’t help thinking some Israelis would have been quite at home on the other side of the fence at Auschwitz… “We’re going to gas you!” - really?

 

[slowtech]

Well, the ceasefire seems to be holding, mostly, although Israel continues to kill a few people here and there for not clear reason.

Israel and Hamas trade blame over truce violations as tensions rise over return of hostage bodies​

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ered-amid-israel-gaza-fighting-ceasefire-deal

There is the typical "trade blame" and

Israel and Hamas have traded accusations of violating the ceasefire in Gaza amid tensions over the flow of aid into the devastated territory, the return of the remains of deceased hostages by the militant group and new casualties from Israeli firing on Palestinians close to new military positions.

What it seem to boil down to is that Hamas says they can't get all the bodies of the dead Israeli hostages without specialist equipment because they are buried under, essentially, buildings. Israel says "nuh uh"

Israeli officials reject the claim, accusing Hamas of breaching the ceasefire agreement, though US advisers working on the implementation of President Donald Trump’s ceasefire deal and the Red Cross have said practical difficulties of recovering remains of hostages amid the devastation caused by Israel’s offensive during the 24-month war were very significant.

in the other direction:

A senior Hamas official accused Israel of breaking the ceasefire by having killed at least 24 people in shootings since Friday, and said a list of such violations was handed over to mediators. “The occupying state is working day and night to undermine the agreement through its violations on the ground,” he said.

The threat, apparently, being Palestinian civilians visiting their homes.

More importantly, and more genocide-y:

Israeli officials also said the Rafah crossing from Gaza into Egypt, which aid agencies consider critical for bringing sufficient humanitarian assistance into the territory, would open at “a later stage” and not on Thursday as planned.

A spokesperson for Cogat, the Israeli defence ministry body that oversees civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, suggested too that Rafah would remain closed to aid in the future, although individual passage would be allowed.

“It should be emphasised that humanitarian aid will not pass through the Rafah crossing. This was never agreed upon at any stage,” it said, adding that aid continues to enter the Gaza Strip through other crossings.

Trump’s 20-point plan includes “full aid” reaching Gaza, where a famine was declared in some areas in August, as well as the return of all the hostages, dead and alive.

Aid workers in Gaza said Israel’s restrictions on aid, apparently to pressure Hamas, amounted to “collective punishment”.

With regards to the exchange of bodies

A senior US adviser told reporters late on Wednesday that retrieving the bodies from Gaza was difficult because the territory had been “pulverised”. Turkey, one of the key mediators in the deal, was in talks to provide experts on body retrieval to send to Gaza, they added.

The ceasefire deal also requires Israel to return the bodies of 360 Palestinians. Gaza Health ministry says it has received 30 more bodies of Palestinians from on Thursday, bring the total to 120 since last Friday. Doctors at Nasser hospital said the bodies showed signs of torture and execution, including blindfolds, cuffed hands and bullet wounds in the head, according to doctors’ accounts.

“Almost all of them had been blindfolded, and had been bound up, and they had gunshots between the eyes. Almost all of them had been executed,” said Dr Ahmed al-Farra, the head of Nasser hospital’s paediatric department in Khan Younis.

It will be interesting to hear what independent forensic specialists (if any can get into Gaza) have to say about this. Maybe they can send out video or photos of the bodies. After reading about how Greta et al were treated in Israeli prisons, and knowing that rape and other forms of torture are common in Israeli prisons, this does not seem like a particularly outlandish claim.

I have not heard any claims of signs of torture on the returned bodies of Israelis (and not specific reports of torture, other than some of them not getting much to eat), but I don't read anything, would be interested in any credible reports.

Also, Trump is being a dick, but it isn't worth even quoting that section.

Hamas, meanwhile, seems to be settling scores in Gaza, mentioned briefly, and appears to be conflict with "local clans", such as the ones that Israel armed and were reported to be stealing aid.

 

[Shavano]

I don't automatically believe what Hamas says, but not being able to get to some of the hostages' bodies is pretty credible given the two years of bombing Gaza has undergone, along with the fact that Hamas can't access half of Gaza at all because it's blocked by Israeli soldiers.

And the doctors at Nassar hospital? Those guys are pretty credible. I'll take their word for the condition of the bodies returned there by the Israeli terror state.

 

[wireframed]

Wait, I thought Israel didn't control the Egypt-Gaza crossing, and that it definitely wasn't Israel's fault that aid couldn't cross that border? Or at least, that's the talking points I keep gettting when discussing the embargoes...

 

[slowtech]

Now that the initial Horsemen of the Gaza Genocide (Conquest, War, and Famine) have done their work, killing tens of thousands indiscriminately, and absolutely devastating the infrastructure needed to sustain human life, the obvious follow-on, Pestilence (not actually one of the official ones, apparently, but it should be an honorary member) arrives to really juice the body count.

Infectious diseases in Gaza 'spiralling out of control', says WHO​

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that infectious diseases are “spiralling out of control”, with only 13 of the territory’s 36 hospitals even partially functioning.

“Whether meningitis … diarrhoea, respiratory illnesses, we’re talking about a mammoth amount of work,” Hanan Balkhy, regional director for the UN health body, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in Cairo.

In a seperate update, the WHO in occupied Palestinian territory (WHOoPt), said on Thursday, via social media, that it had been scaling up deliveries of medical supplies to health facilities since the Gaza ceasefire came into effect.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/l...u-middle-east-latest-news-updates#top-of-blog

 

[Shavano]

Well that didn't last long:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...a-ceasefire-attack-hamas-latest-b2848013.html

Complete nonsense headline, by the way:

Israel reaffirms commitment to ceasefire after launching wave of strikes on Gaza​

Hamas allegedly carried out attacks with an RPG and sniper fire against Israeli troops​

 

[Yagisama]

So I guess we're going to see a lot more of this "Bomb Gaza. Oh OK now the ceasefire is back, really this time. Give Trump the Nobel peace prize." on repeat.

 

[Shavano]

Israel is still blocking aid to Gaza. The UN is trying.

https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w172zssbc6l6vnt

The International Court of Justrice, the UN’s top court, has found that Israel has a responsibility to ensure aid reaches the people of Gaza and cooperate with UN agencies, including UNRWA.

More kinetic methods are needed. Like thousands of trucks packed with food and medicine and driven by US soldiers crossing the border from Egypt and US soldiers administering distribution of aid.

Because US soldiers are perhaps the only thing the IDF might not try to murder with impunity.

 

[ahmerali]

At least Spain is trying to do what they can.

Props for that. I had been thinking for a while that there must be some way to make it more difficult for armaments to get to Israel.

That might raise the stakes somewhat - it's still ridiculously easy for the Zionist side (which includes the US government) to just say "hey we want peace" and continue with business as usual.

 

[redtomato]

Stunningly odd Guardian article on Israeli government demanding that Google and Amazon use a 'winking' mechanism to clue them into legal orders being enacted against them. Apparently via embedding secret codes into payment amounts.

This seems to be related to Israeli paranoia concerns over legal actions against Israeli behaviour in Gaza and the West Bank.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/29/google-amazon-israel-contract-secret-code

If anybody here has contacts with the Ars editors, please do encourage them to make this an Ars article. @Nate Anderson seems to write quite regularly on legal issues and Amazon / Google.

 

[CuriouslySane]

Stunningly odd Guardian article on Israeli government demanding that Google and Amazon use a 'winking' mechanism to clue them into legal orders being enacted against them. Apparently via embedding secret codes into payment amounts.

This seems to be related to Israeli paranoia concerns over legal actions against Israeli behaviour in Gaza and the West Bank.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/29/google-amazon-israel-contract-secret-code

If anybody here has contacts with the Ars editors, please do encourage them to make this an Ars article. @Nate Anderson seems to write quite regularly on legal issues and Amazon / Google.

So, a warrant canary, but for evil.

 

[Shavano]

Stunningly odd Guardian article on Israeli government demanding that Google and Amazon use a 'winking' mechanism to clue them into legal orders being enacted against them. Apparently via embedding secret codes into payment amounts.

This seems to be related to Israeli paranoia concerns over legal actions against Israeli behaviour in Gaza and the West Bank.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/29/google-amazon-israel-contract-secret-code

If anybody here has contacts with the Ars editors, please do encourage them to make this an Ars article. @Nate Anderson seems to write quite regularly on legal issues and Amazon / Google.

note that all happened before Oct 7, 2023. from that article --

Israeli officials inserted the controls to counter a series of anticipated threats. They feared Google or Amazon might bow to employee or shareholder pressure and withdraw Israel’s access to its products and services if linked to human rights abuses in the occupied Palestinian territories.

It's not unfair to infer that Israel must have already anticipated human rights abuses that would trigger employees and shareholders of US companies to create such pressure.

Which makes you wonder if the Oct 7 attacks hadn't happened, would Israel have just found another pretext for genocide?

 

[Pino90]

According to Israel and Arab States intelligence, Hezbollah is beginning to rearm with rockets, artillery and anti-tank weapons, in spite of the cease fire agreement.

I guess that I was wrong again and that also this peace deal won't last much longer.

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hezbollah-is-rearming-putting-cease-fire-at-risk-c6d20e3c

 

[Lt_Storm]

According to Israel and Arab States intelligence, Hezbollah is beginning to rearm with rockets, artillery and anti-tank weapons, in spite of the cease fire agreement.

I guess that I was wrong again and that also this peace deal won't last much longer.

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hezbollah-is-rearming-putting-cease-fire-at-risk-c6d20e3c

Of course they are, Israel has already bombed them in violation of the peace agreement. You don't get to make a peace agreement and violate it while expecting that the group on the other side won't respond to you violation. As I recall, if didn't even take a week.

 

[VividVerism]

According to Israel and Arab States intelligence, Hezbollah is beginning to rearm with rockets, artillery and anti-tank weapons, in spite of the cease fire agreement.

I guess that I was wrong again and that also this peace deal won't last much longer.

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hezbollah-is-rearming-putting-cease-fire-at-risk-c6d20e3c

Sure. The peace deal is at risk because Hezbollah is gathering weapons. It's certainly not at risk because of Israel performing daily bombings, killing dozens of people, ever since the "peace deal" was signed: https://www.npr.org/2025/10/11/g-s1-93117/israel-strikes-south-lebanon

That particular strike was necessary because of the grave threat that Hezbollah might obtain...(checks notes)...construction equipment! (Cue thunder, scary organ music, etc.)

It's really a mystery why Hezbollah might be rearming, it just defies all logic!

 

[Shavano]

According to Israel and Arab States intelligence, Hezbollah is beginning to rearm with rockets, artillery and anti-tank weapons, in spite of the cease fire agreement.

I guess that I was wrong again and that also this peace deal won't last much longer.

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hezbollah-is-rearming-putting-cease-fire-at-risk-c6d20e3c

Did Israeli attacks on Lebanon ever stop? Why wouldn't you try to rearm if you're still being attacked?

 

[wireframed]

Sure. The peace deal is at risk because Hezbollah is gathering weapons. It's certainly not at risk because of Israel performing daily bombings, killing dozens of people, ever since the "peace deal" was signed: https://www.npr.org/2025/10/11/g-s1-93117/israel-strikes-south-lebanon

That particular strike was necessary because of the grave threat that Hezbollah might obtain...(checks notes)...construction equipment! (Cue thunder, scary organ music, etc.)

It's really a mystery why Hezbollah might be rearming, it just defies all logic!

Right, what would you even need construction equipment for in Gaza? It has everything you would need, like… rubble, and… dust!

 

[Bardon]

According to Israel and Arab States intelligence, Hezbollah is beginning to rearm with rockets, artillery and anti-tank weapons, in spite of the cease fire agreement.

I guess that I was wrong again and that also this peace deal won't last much longer.

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hezbollah-is-rearming-putting-cease-fire-at-risk-c6d20e3c

Well, if you thought that the peace deal wouldn't last that's not right, but the one who's already broken it many times already isn't Hezbollah, just as a hint...