The History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict

https://www.timesofisrael.com/uk-think-tank-gaza-death-toll-inflated-to-defame-israel-for-targeting-civilians

This information is probably inaccurate but it’s interesting that this is being reported. The opinion of the author is that death tolls are including Palestinians dying of natural causes. The article argues that the civilian death numbers are inflated to portray the IDF in a negative light. An interesting opinion to see overall.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/15/israeli-forces-storm-gaza-school-sheltering-displaced-killing-at-least-15
Israeli forces stormed a school acting as a shelter, killing 15 Palestinians and injuring many others. Reportedly, the displaced people now have nowhere to go due to the strong Israeli presence in the area. A family of four, including two children was among those killed I the attack because the classroom they were in was hit directly. Those (women and children) who remained in the school are now being pushed towards a military checkpoint. Most of the men were detained.

Israel launched airstrikes and a ground incursion into Syria, targeting military sites and naval vessels, following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad. Israel claimed the actions were to prevent extremist groups from accessing chemical weapons and rockets even though the group that led the assault to topple Assa, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has pledged to not use chemical weapons or allow them to fall into irresponsible hands. The moves have drawn international condemnation, with Arab states and the U.N. accusing Israel of violating international law. Analysts warn of heightened regional instability and the jeopardization of future diplomacy. Critics link the escalation to broader Israeli actions in Gaza and Lebanon, while Syria navigates its post-Assad transition.

Israel strikes and advances into Syrian territory after Assad’s overthrow, fueling alarm

The collapse of the Assad regime has prompted a punishing military response from Israel, which has launched airstrikes at military targets across Syria and deployed ground troops both into and beyond a demilitarized buffer zone for the first time in 50 years.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/10/middleeast/israel-syria-assad-strikes-intl/index.html

https://abcnews.go.com/International/live-updates/israel-gaza-lebanon-live-updates-idf-confirms-lebanon/?id=116364007

The IDF had conducted 5 strikes in the Gaza strip in the last 24 hours that killed 48 Palestinians and injured 200 more,

post by Jorge Vargas

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/12/1157741
Reut Shapir Ben Naftaly, Political Coordinator at the Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN, said that in the upcoming week the Assembly will convene three meetings to discuss the Middle East and debate resolutions based on a “reckless disregard for the truth”. “Is it not time to hold Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations accountable for the blood they have spilled, for the lives they have destroyed?”, she asked.

the General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution reiterating its call for achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.

The resolution (A/79/L.23) passed with 157 votes in favour and 8 against (Argentina, Hungary, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, and the United States), with 7 abstentions (Cameroon, Czechia, Ecuador, Georgia, Paraguay, Ukraine, and Uruguay).

In addition, the Assembly adopted a second resolution concerning the UN Division for Palestinian Rights, which serves as the secretariat of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP).

The resolution also called for an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967, including East Jerusalem, and reaffirmed its unwavering support for the two-State solution with two states living side by side in peace and security within recognized borders, based on pre-1967 lines. the result was 97-8 with Australia,Canada, Israel, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea , US, & UK voted no with 64 abstentions

Dave

Article by The Guardian

Israel’s defense minister Katz: if ceasefire collapses we will no longer differentiate ‘between Lebanon and Hezbollah’

Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz has threatened that if the ceasefire in Lebanon collapses, Israel’s forces “will no longer” differentiate “between Lebanon and Hezbollah.”

Lebanon’s ministry of health has put the death toll from Israeli attacks inside Lebanon since 7 October 2023 at over 3,000, with more than 13,000 injured. Israel has said it carried out the pager and walkie-talkie explosions in September, and in recent weeks had carried out an extensive series of airstrikes which it claimed were targeting Hezbollah infrastructure.

Reuters quotes Katz, who was visiting the north of Israel, saying the Lebanese government must “authorise the Lebanese army to enforce their part, to keep Hezbollah away from the Litani and to dismantle all the infrastructure.”

He added “If the ceasefire collapses, there will be no more exemption for the state of Lebanon. We will enforce the agreement with maximum impact and zero tolerance. If until now we have differentiated between Lebanon and Hezbollah, that will no longer be the case.”

Israel’s military has issued orders prohibiting civilians in neighbouring Lebanon to return to dozens of villages in the south, where tens of thousands of people have been forcibly displaced from their homes.

Many Israelis in the north of Israel have also had to flee, due to near constant exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and the IDF since 7 October 2023.

Katz threatened “if we return to war we will act strongly, we will go deeper, and the most important thing they need to know, that there will be no longer be an exemption for the state of Lebanon.”

Post by Christian Adams

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/live-blog/live-updates-middle-east-conflict-syria-israel-gaza-lebanon-hezbollah-rcna182582

Syrian and Russian warplanes have launched “concentrated air and missile strikes” on the central Idlib province, “killing and wounding dozens of terrorists and destroying their vehicles and weapons,” the Syrian Defense Ministry said today.

Syrian forces are advancing in the countryside near Aleppo, Hama and Idlib as it seeks to secure territory claimed by rebel forces.

Israel said it struck targets in Lebanon after promising to retaliate for a Hezbollah attack on its positions in the disputed Shebaa farms area.

At least 10 people were killed by Israeli strikes on two southern villages, the Lebanese Health Ministry said on X this morning. Another person was killed in a separate strike.

Israel said there were no injuries in Hezbollah’s strikes, which came as both sides accused each other of violating last week’s ceasefire agreement.

Shebaa Farms is an enclave where the borders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria meet. Israel says it is part of the Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in 1967 and has controlled since.

Dave

https://apnews.com/article/un-gaza-resolution-veto-hamas-israel-hostages-b5281432fc2acdc1860adb3015392c0b


The council voted overwhelmingly in favor of the resolution — 14 of its 15 members voted “yes” including U.S. allies Britain and France — but it was doomed by the veto.

Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, countered that the resolution “was not a path to peace, it was a road map to more terror, more suffering and more bloodshed.”

In a statement, Hamas strongly condemned the veto, claiming the United States again demonstrated “its direct involvement in the aggression against our people, acting as an accomplice in the killing of children and women and the complete destruction of civilian life in Gaza.”


The emotional response to the veto by the Palestinian deputy U.N. ambassador, Majed Bamya, reflected the widespread anger and disappointment at the failure of the U.N.’s most powerful body to demand an end to the more than 13-month war, which has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, and left most of the territory in ruins.

Dave

Article by Laila Bassam

BEIRUT, Nov 18 (Reuters) – Lebanon and Hezbollah have agreed to a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire with Israel with some comments on the content, a top Lebanese official told Reuters on Monday, describing the effort as the most serious yet to end the fighting.

Ali Hassan Khalil, an aide to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, said Lebanon had delivered its written response to the U.S. ambassador in Lebanon on Monday, and White House envoy Amos Hochstein was travelling to Beirut to continue talks.

Hezbollah, a heavily armed movement backed by Iran, endorsed its long-time ally Berri to negotiate over a ceasefire.

“Lebanon presented its comments on the paper in a positive atmosphere,” Khalil said, declining to give further details. “All the comments that we presented affirm the precise adherence to (U.N.) Resolution 1701 with all its provisions,” he said.

He was referring to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a previous war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.

Its terms require Hezbollah to have no armed presence in the area between the Lebanese-Israeli border and the Litani River, which runs some 30 km (20 miles) north of the frontier.
Khalil said the success of the initiative now depended on Israel, saying if Israel did not want a solution, “it could make 100 problems”.

Israel has long claimed that Resolution 1701 was never properly implemented, pointing to the presence of Hezbollah fighters and weapons along the border. Lebanon has accused Israel of violations including flying warplanes in its airspace.

Khalil said Israel was trying to negotiate “under fire”, a reference to an escalation of its bombardment of Beirut and the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs. “This won’t affect our position,” he said.