OT subject but worth a main-stream read- OT News Feeds...

lousubcap

Late Wednesday Israel-Hamas update:

"Israel has attacked Gaza’s largest refugee camp in a strike that reportedly killed Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari and at least 50 Palestinian civilians. Dozens of Hamas combatants who were in the same underground tunnel in Jabalia as Biari were also killed in the attack, an Israeli Defence Forces spokesperson said. The Israeli military also announced that 11 of its soldiers, who were mostly infantrymen, were killed yesterday in Gaza by an anti-armor missile. It is expected this is the biggest one-day loss for the Israeli army since war broke out on Oct.7. Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Emily Rose report for Reuters. 

Injured Palestinians crossed from Gaza to Egypt via the Rafah crossing for the first time since the war started, with foreign and dual nationals expected to follow.  The crossing opened after weeks of negotiations between the U.S., Israeli and Egyptian governments and Hamas, with Qatar mediating the deal, according to a person briefed on the agreement. Egypt reportedly agreed to take in 81 injured people. Ellen Francis reports for the Washington Post. 

Gaza sees another widespread outage of internet and phone service today, as humanitarian aid agencies warn the blackouts are severely detrimental to their work in providing basic supplies. The Palestinian telecoms company Paltel reported a “complete disruption” of all telecoms services for several hours in Gaza, marking this the second blackout since the war broke out. Disconnection first occurred over the weekend although communications had since been restored. “Even the potentially life-saving act of calling an ambulance becomes impossible,” said Jessica Moussan, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross. Najib Jobain and Samy Magdy report for ABC News. 

Satellite analysis estimates that at least one quarter of buildings in Northern Gaza are damaged or destroyed. The spatial estimate indicates the enormity of Israel’s destruction and bombing campaign, as Gazan health officials estimate more than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed. The analysis, released prior to the attack at a densely populated refugee camp and residential area yesterday, also shows that Israel has continued striking southern Gaza despite its repeated warnings for civilians to flee there from the north. Scott Reinhard, Bora Erden, Lauren Leatherby and Elena Shao report for the New York Times. 

Israeli forces seized control of a road linking the northern Gaza Strip with the south, in a move which marks the biggest advance into Palestinian territory since Israeli troops entered the Gaza Strip last week. Military analysts have expressed uncertainty as to Israel’s next move, which could either be surrounding Gaza City, or advancing its operations in the underground tunnels. Margherita Stancati, David S.Cloud and Dov Lieber report for the Wall Street Journal. 

Qatar mediated the agreement between Israel, Hamas, Egypt, and the United States, permitting limited evacuations from Gaza through the Rafah border for foreign passport holders and some critically injured people. It is unclear how long the deal will remain open but it is not linked to any other deals including hostage-releases or humanitarian aid. Andrew Mills reports for Reuters. "

lousubcap

And the Wednesday Russia-Ukraine update:

Russian forces hit an oil refinery in Poltava, central Ukraine, in a drone strike overnight, according to a Ukrainian official. The attack resulted in a fire at the refinery which has been extinguished, although the extent of the damage is still being investigated. The attack preceded comments made by Britain’s Ministry of Defense today via X, formerly Twitter, which claimed that Russian “Lancet” drones have likely “been one of the most effective new capabilities that Russia has fielded with Ukraine.” Holly Ellyatt reports for CNBC. 

Without additional aid from the United States, Russia could succeed in its war on Ukraine—and then unleash its military upon NATO members, the defense secretary warned Tuesday. 

“If Putin is successful, he will not stop at Ukraine. And if you're a Baltic state, you're thinking, ‘I'm next.’ And, you know, there's no question in my mind that sooner or later…he will challenge NATO and we'll find ourselves in a shooting match,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told senators during a hearing on the White House’s request to give the Pentagon an extra $106 billion for military aid, arms replenishment, humanitarian assistance, and more. 

Ukraine “desperately needs a constant supply of warfighting capability in order to be successful. We would like to see them continue their operations through the winter. I think that's an imperative,” Austin said. “They can't do that if we've caused them to pause because there's a pause on the security assistance that we provide.”

State Secretary Antony Blinken echoed those concerns in his testimony, noting that the progressing war in Gaza could “divert” focus and resources away from Ukraine. 

“Putin is very much trying to take advantage of the Hamas attack on Israel in the hopes that it will distract us, that it will divert our focus away from Ukraine and away from his aggression in Ukraine, and that it will result in the United States pulling back—pulling back its resources pulling back at support,” Blinken said. “And at the same time, he's allied with the exact elements that are trying to wreak havoc in Israel. So we see these things as being very much joined, which is one of the reasons our request is a joint request.”

Blinken also said pulling support from Ukraine would signal that other countries should do the same. 

“Going back to February of 2022, the United States has provided about $75 billion, our allies and partners $90 billion” to Ukraine, he said. “Our alliance itself is founded on the proposition that we're all in this together. I think they would see this as a retreat from our own responsibilities.” "

lousubcap

Thursday Israel-Hamas update:

"A second Israeli airstrike on Jabalia refugee camp yesterday killed at least 80 people, according to a local hospital official. The Civil Defense described the attack as a “second massacre.” The majority of casualties are said to be women and children. Video footage from the site shows a deep crater surrounded by catastrophic damage. Kareem Khadder, Abeer Salman and Tara John report for CNN. 

The Hamas-run health ministry says the Gaza death toll now exceeds 9,000, including  3,760 children. The ministry has said that 32,000 people have been injured in the fighting thus far. BBC News reports. 

Israeli airstrikes struck near the Al Quds hospital in Gaza City, a facility where thousands of people are sheltering according to the hospital’s director Dr. Bashar Mourad. The hospital is the second-largest in the urban center of Gaza City. Abeer Salman and Zeena Saifi report for CNN. 

The main generator for the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza ran out of service last night, according to Dr. Atef Al Kahlout, the head of the hospital, confirmed today. A secondary generator was running in some parts of the hospital, but the entire hospital’s electromechanical systems had stopped working – including ventilation systems in operating rooms, morgue refrigerators, and the facility’s only oxygen station. The hospital is the nearest medical facility to the Jabalia refugee camp, which was targeted again yesterday by tThe Israeli military. Mohammed Tawfeeq reports for CNN.

Hamas is stockpiling more than 200,000 gallons of fuel for rockets and generators which provide clear air and electricity to its network of underground tunnels, according to U.S. officials, current and former Israeli officials, and academics. Hamas has demanded fuel deliveries to Gaza during negotiations to allow foreign nationals to leave Gaza and in talks concerning the release of hostages. Anna Schecter reports for NBC News. "

lousubcap

Thursday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Russia attacked 118 Ukrainian towns and villages in the past 24 hours, the highest number this year, said Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. Most of the communities hit were near the front lines in the south and east, with 10 of UKraine’s 27 regions being bombarded. The town of Avdiivka saw more than 40 shelling attacks in one day, and a disused oil refinery in Kremenchuk was set alight by a Russian drone. There were also attacks in the southern city of Nikopol, on the Dnipro river bank. Ukraine’s counter-offensive remains slow to progress, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges allies to stay united and provide weapons. Paul Kirby reports for BBC News. 

Ukraine’s top military officer shared a particularly grim outlook for the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Just like in the first world war we have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate,” said Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, in an interview this week with the Economist. General Zaluzhny’s assessment is sobering: “[T]echnology has its limits,” the Economist writes. “Even in the first world war, the arrival of tanks, in 1917, was not sufficient to break the deadlock on the battlefield: it took a suite of technologies, and more than a decade of tactical innovation, to produce the German blitzkrieg in May 1940. The implication is that Ukraine is stuck in a long war—one in which [Zaluzhny] acknowledges Russia has the advantage. Nevertheless, he insists that Ukraine has no choice but to keep the initiative by remaining on the offensive, even if it only moves by a few metres a day.”  Meanwhile, Russian invasion forces attacked 118 Ukrainian towns and villages in a 24-hour window this week, the BBC reported Wednesday. That total was “more than on any other day this year, says Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.”   Russian drones also struck the Kremenchuk oil refinery in central Ukraine on Tuesday, despite Ukraine claiming to have shot down 18 of 20 drones and missiles launched overnight. "

lousubcap

Friday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Two people were killed and the power supply was disrupted in Russian shelling of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region. “Hell’s night in Stanislav. There were more than 40 hits in the village,” regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on the Telegram messaging app.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces repelled a new Russian assault near the town of Vuhledar between the eastern and southern front lines in eastern Donetsk. Zelenskyy said the Russians had suffered “heavy losses” with many soldiers killed and wounded.

Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military command, said Russian forces were trying to regroup and recover their losses near the eastern city of Avdiivka before trying to press ahead with its attempt to encircle the ruined town.

Russia accused Ukraine of risking nuclear disaster after it shot down nine Ukrainian drones near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, which has been occupied by Russia since early March 2022. The drones were shot down near the Russian-held city of Enerhodar, where many of the plant’s workers live. Russia and Ukraine have each accused the other of attacks near the plant.

Russia said its air defences also brought down five Ukrainian drones over Crimea and one over the Black Sea.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected comments by Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander Valery Zaluzhnyi that the war had become a conflict of attrition and said it was absurd for Kyiv to think it could ever defeat Russia."

lousubcap

Friday Israel-Hamas update:

"Israeli airstrikes killed 20 people who were sheltering in UN-run elementary schools, according to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA), as the Israeli military confirmed they have completely encircled Gaza City. Philppe Lazzarini, the UNRWA Chief, said he received reports that three schools sheltering around 20,000 people were hit by the airstrikes, with another fatality at the beach camp. A later statement by UNWRA said a fourth school-turned-shelter had been struck. Helen Regan, Abeer Salman, Zeena Saifi, Amir Tal and Mohammed Tawfeeq report for CNN. 

Israel announced it will sever all contact with Gaza and return Gazan workers in Israel back to the enclave, in a government press office statement yesterday. The statement did not detail how or when workers will return to Gaza, or when contact would be cut off, although it said that funding that was designated for Gaza, including funding from the Palestinian Authority, would be deducted. Abeer Salman, Mariya Knight, Tamar Michaelis and Helen Regan report for CNN.

Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah claims it launched multiple strikes, including explosive drones, on Israeli army positions yesterday, marking an increase in the violent tensions. The Israeli military said it responded to the launches with air strikes and artillery fire on Hezbollah targets. Lebanon’s National News Agency said four people were killed during the Israeli shelling yesterday. Laila Bassam, Riham Alkousaa and Maya Gebeily and Maayan Lubell report for Reuters. "

lousubcap

An interesting read regarding the continued advancement of drones in the Russia-Ukraine war:

https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2023/11/ukraine-braces-winter-drone-attacks-allies-rush-provide-defenses/391740/ 

lousubcap

The Switfties are a force to be reckoned with-see the below linked article:
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/meet-the-argentine-taylor-swift-fans-who-have-been-camping-out-for-the-eras-tour-since-june/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Botch

lousubcap said:

The Switfties are a force to be reckoned with-see the below linked article:
https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/meet-the-argentine-taylor-swift-fans-who-have-been-camping-out-for-the-eras-tour-since-june/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Well, that blows my 3-daze-for-TheWho-tickets story out of the water...   
She also brought about a new football statistic, introduced just a couple games ago:
Yards Gained by Travis Kelcy when TS was in the stadium vs. Yards Gained when she wasn't.  
Uff-dah.  

Stormbringer

lousubcap said:

From Bloomberg today as well: for our ever-faithful GWN participants (and @Stormbringer who is giving the GWN more than a passing thought):

"New research suggests more newcomers to Canada have chosen to leave in recent years, a threat to a country that relies on immigration to drive population and economic growth. The rate of immigrants leaving the country has been steadily increasing, suggesting newcomers “may not be seeing the benefits of moving to Canada,” according to a study on immigrant retention by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and the Conference Board of Canada. Why? Worsening housing affordability, a strained health-care system and underemployment, among other things."

Frictionless conduit here. 

Interesting, thanks.

lousubcap

Some interesting comments from Fareed Zakaria on Israel and Hamas:
"Fareed points to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which spurred the founding and growth of Hezbollah. Fareed also notes the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. That was followed by a violent insurgency that was only halted by a US troop “surge” helmed by then-US commander Gen. David Petraeus (ret.), who focused on political factors and on driving a wedge between Iraqi civilians and armed militants.

“I realize it’s easy to critique from afar,” Fareed says. “And Israel is feeling deeply vulnerable, a vulnerability made worse by the appalling rise of antisemitism in so many parts of the world, including the United States. But it is worth reflecting on whether policies forged in anger and retribution yield lasting gains. Israel invaded Lebanon and got Hezbollah. It wore down the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, which strengthened Hamas. I do not know what this current campaign will, in the long run, produce. But I fear it will not be good for Israel or the Palestinians.”

HeavyG

https://twitter.com/SevaUT/status/1721339063922299301?s=20

lousubcap

Monday Israel-Hamas update:  (Tuesday's updates will be late in the day-Election poll worker here.)

"Israeli fighter jets struck 450 Hamas targets in Gaza in the past 24 hours, as troops also seized a militant compound, according to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). The IDF said it struck “tunnels, terrorists, military compounds, observation posts, and anti-tank missile launch posts.”  A senior Hamas Commander, Jamal Mussa, who led Hamas’ special security operations, was among those killed, according to the IDF. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters. 

The Israeli military has divided the northern and southern parts of Gaza as the region suffers a third outage of communications since the war broke out. Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari called it a “significant stage’ in the war as Israeli troops are expected to enter Gaza City either today or tomorrow after having completely encircled the region. Meanwhile a U.N. Palestinian refugee agency spokesperson said they have “lost communication with the vast majority of the UNRWA team members” due to the telecoms blackout. Najib Jobain, Wafaa Shurafa And Kareem Cheyeb report for AP News. 

The Rafah border crossing has been closed since Saturday following an Israeli strike on Friday on an ambulance in Gaza being used to transport wounded people, Egyptian official sources say. The Israeli military alleged the vehicle was carrying Hamas militants, although no evidence has been provided. The Rafah crossing,the only exit point not controlled by Israel,was opened under an internationally brokered deal last Wednesday. Yusri Mohamed, Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Simon Lewis,Aidan Lewis, Andrew Mills and Nafisa Eltahir report for Reuters. 

Dozens were killed and many more were injured following an Israeli airstrike at the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip late Saturday, according to eyewitnesses. The Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health in Gaza said 47 people were killed, although the director of the local Al-Aqsa hospital Dr Eyad Abu Zaher said 52 people had been killed. Kareem Khadder, Mohammed Tawfeeq and Kathleen Magramo report for CNN. 

Israeli airstrikes in the Bureij refugee camp on Thursday killed at least 15 people with many others buried in the rubble, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense. Bureij, which is located in central Gaza – an area home to around 46,000 people – where Israel had urged people to go to stay safe from heavy fighting further north.The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that airstrikes across Gaza targeted Hamas military command centers hidden amongst civilian areas, although their statement did not reference Bureji specifically. Julia Frankel reports for ABC News. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday that he “refuses a temporary cease-fire that does not include the freeing of our hostages” and that “Israel does not allow the entry of fuel into the Gaza strip.” Vivian Salama and Margherita Stancati report for the Wall Street Journal. "

lousubcap

Monday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Ukraine has begun a criminal investigation after 19 soldiers attending an “awards ceremony” near the Zaporizhzia region were killed in a Russian missile attack on Friday. “Our best fighters have been killed,” the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade said in a statement, as Ukrainian President Voloydmyr Zelenskyy claims the incident “could have been avoided.” There is widespread disbelief that the ceremony was allowed to go ahead so close to the front line, as military experts claim Ukrainian soldiers should have known that Russian drones constantly monitor frontline activity. Jaroslav Lukiv reports for BBC News. 

Russia attacked the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa last night, wounding at least eight people according to officials, damaging a 124 year old art museum and setting ablaze trucks carrying grain. Odessa Governor Oleh Kiper said 15 drones targeted the port infrastructure, and that the drones were launched from the Crimean peninsula. The head of the president’s office, Andriy Yermak, suggested the attack was a response to Ukrainian strikes on Crimea, adding that “this is their despicable answer to the reality – the Ukrainian Crimea will be demilitarized, without the Black Sea fleet and military bases of the Russians.” The damaged museum was home to 10,000 pieces of art before the war. Olena Harmash and Lidia Kelly report for Reuters.

Ukraine’s armed forces said they hit a shipyard in Kerch on the eastern coast of Russian-occupied Crimea with cruise missiles. Russian news agencies citing the country’s Ministry of Defence said Ukraine had attacked the shipyard with 15 cruise missiles and air defence systems destroyed 13 of them. A ship was damaged, but there were no casualties."

lousubcap

Some solid reading about a potential course for the USA in the short term-CHEETO rides again!
Tom Nichols of The Atlantic-worth a read if you look to understand the political challenges and important choices the collective we face:

Dangerous Plans Donald Trump has been promising for two years to return to office and seize the machinery of government in order to exact revenge on his enemies. He’s not kidding: The Washington Post reported yesterday that Trump’s allies are planning to execute multiple assaults on democracy from the moment he takes office, including the possibility of deploying the United States armed forces on Inauguration Day to put down any demonstrations against Trump’s return to the White House. “Critics,” the Post meekly added, “have called the ideas under consideration dangerous and unconstitutional,” as if these are ordinary policies that have “critics” rather than plans for a dictatorship that should appall every American. At the least, this is a much more important story right now than Trump’s general monkeyshines in court today in New York. (To her credit, the Post associate editor Ruth Marcus discussed the story in an op-ed today and said, “It is time to be very, very afraid.”) In addition to gutting the right of Americans to engage in protests—a privilege Trump will apparently reserve only for his admirers—Trump and his aides are reportedly assembling a list of people to be investigated, prosecuted, and possibly jailed. His enemies list is large; according to the Post, it includes: Onetime officials and allies who have become critical of his time in office, including his former chief of staff, John F. Kelly, and former attorney general William P. Barr, as well as his ex-attorney Ty Cobb and former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark A. Milley, according to people who have talked to him, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. Trump has also talked of prosecuting officials at the FBI and Justice Department, a person familiar with the matter said. Trump also wants to go after President Joe Biden for “corruption,” which (like so many of Trump’s accusations) is pure projection. If Trump follows through on all of this lunacy, half the government will spend its days investigating the other half, while the military is put on alert in case too many Americans object to Trump’s destruction of their constitutional rights. If you’re wondering how Trump plans to accomplish all of this, he likely has no idea. But his cronies at the Heritage Foundation (including former administration officials) do, and they are busily making plans. They’ve even written them down in something called Project 2025, a detailed blueprint for a right-wing takeover of the United States government. Trump, who seems to be losing his grip on reality more each day, might be devolving into a flaming piñata of offensive nonsense, but his enablers and the authors of Project 2025 know exactly what they’re doing. I wrote about Project 2025 a few months ago, and I summarized it as “a lot of putative big-think from wannabe conservative intellectuals such as Ken Cuccinelli, Ben Carson, Stephen Moore, and Peter Navarro.” Most of it is silly, but it is also dangerous, especially in its clear intention to assist Trump in capturing both the federal justice system and the U.S. armed forces. (The chapter on the Defense Department was written by former Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, who wants to root out “Marxist indoctrination” in the U.S. military and purge the senior officer corps.) Trump is, to put it mildly, an emotionally disordered man. But such men are usually only a hazard to their families and themselves, especially if they lack money or power. Trump has both, but even more important, he has people around him willing to use that money and power against American democracy. As the Post report reveals, these henchmen are now trying to turn Trump’s ravings into an autocratic program; without their aid, Trump would be just another motormouthed New York executive living on inherited money and holding court over a charred steak while the restaurant staff roll their eyes. With their support, however, he is an ongoing menace to the entire democratic order of the United States. Trump has told his voters that he is their vengeance; in reality, he is mostly a vessel for people around him to satisfy their thirst for power and status. But Trump also relies on millions of voters who love his tough talk, and who likely would have no problem with the idea of jailing prominent Americans for their political views, especially after years of being schooled by the right-wing media to identify Trump’s enemies as their own. But other American voters—even those who despise Trump—can’t seem to unite long enough to face the authoritarian danger taking shape right in front of them. The coalition of prodemocracy voters—I am one of them—is shocked at the relative lack of outrage when Trump says hideous things. (The media’s complacency is a big part of this problem, but that’s a subject for another day.) For many of us, it feels as if Trump put up a billboard in Times Square that says “I will end democracy and I will in fact shoot you in the middle of Fifth Avenue if that’s what it takes to stay in power” and no one noticed. Trump hasn’t taken out billboards, but at his rallies and press events he’s shouting it all as loud as he can, and the people around him are making plans to carry out his wishes. Meanwhile, millions of voters are folding their arms like shirty children and threatening to sit out the election because they don’t like their choices. Some are threatening to withhold support, in particular, for Joe Biden if they don’t get their way about student loans, climate change, or policy toward Israel. They are living in a booming economy that is outperforming any other developed nation since the start of the pandemic on many measures—and they are miserable and angry about it. Many voters resent hearing all of this. They think they are being bullied into a binary choice between two candidates they do not like, and so they engage in wishcasting: If only someone could beat Trump for the GOP nomination (no one will); if only Biden would step down (he won’t); if only America didn’t rely on the Electoral College (it does); and so on. Trump and Biden are headed for a showdown unless illness or death intervenes. Even if Trump goes to prison, the Republican Party has become so fully corrupted that he could likely still run and get the nomination anyway. And the Electoral College isn’t going anywhere, either. If American democracy falls in 2024, the chief culpability will rest with Trump, his aides, and the elected Republicans who enabled him (either out of fear or venality or both). But if Trump manages, one last time, to squeeze 271 electoral votes out of a distracted and sullen American electorate, much of the blame will also rest with voters who couldn’t be bothered to put aside their petty beefs and particularistic interests long enough to link arms at the ballot box and defend the American system of government.  I loathe CHEETO.  CHEETO makes Nixon look like a saint.   Be wary-very wary!

lousubcap

Tuesday Israel-Hamas update:

"The Israeli military severed northern Gaza from the rest of the region and launched airstrikes yesterday, as ground battles with Hamas militants are expected to advance.A strike early yesterday hit the roof of Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital, killing a number of people who were sheltering on its top floor. The strike also destroyed solar panels used to help generate power for the facility, which is currently running on one generator due to a lack of fuel. Najib Jobain, Jack Jeffrey and Lee Keath report for AP News.

More than 10,000 people, including 4,000 children, have been killed in Gaza since the war broke out, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The figure surpasses the United Nations’ estimate of approximately 5,400 deaths resulting from all Israel-Hamas conflicts following the group’s control of the territory in 2007. The Israel Defence Forces cautioned that “any information provided by a terrorist organization should be viewed with caution,” although the World Health Organization regional emergency director said he was “confident that the information management systems that the ministry of health has put in place over the years stand[s] up to analysis.” George Wright reports for BBC News. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday rejected calls for a ceasefire and said that Israel would have indefinite “overall security responsibility” in Gaza after its war with Hamas. Until all hostages are released, Netanyahu refused to entertain cease-fire talks, but said he was open to “little pauses” in the fighting to allow the delivery of aid and the hostage releases. Najib Jobain and Samy Magdy report for AP News. 

Senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk denied that his group killed Israeli civilians, saying “women, children and civilians were exempt” from Hamas’ attacks, while Israel says more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the attacks of Oct. 7. Marzouk said that only “conscripts […] or soldiers” were killed, which contradicts video footage showing Hamas men shooting children and unarmed adults. Feras Kilani reports for BBC News. "

lousubcap

Tuesday Russia-Ukraine update:

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited former U.S. President Donald Trump to visit Ukraine, following Trump’s claims that he could end the war if reelected in 2024. Zelenskyy said “if he can come here, I will need…not more than 24 minutes to explain [to] President Trump that he can’t manage this war” in that time frame. Zelenskyy added he was doubtful Trump would support Ukraine if he were to be reelected, adding that he has not had any contact with Trump since the former president left office in 2021. Kristen Welker reports for NBC News. 

Ukraine urges world leaders to continue their support following Italy’s Prime Minister Georgia Meloni saying there is “a lot of fatigue…from all sides” during a call with Russian pranksters last week. Meloni thought she was speaking to the president of the African Union. In response, Andrii Yermak, the head of the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said that “even if there are people who feel this fatigue, I’m sure they don’t want to wake up in a world tomorrow where there will be less freedom and less security, and the consequences of this last for decades.” Yermak claimed the narrative of war fatigue was being propelled by Russia to weaken western allies’ resolve in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. Anne Mcelvoy reports for POLITICO.

Senate Republicans have released a set of proposals as a condition of sending aid to Ukraine, including plans to resume construction of the US-Mexico border wall and making it more difficult for migrants to qualify for asylum. The announcement comes after the ongoing House dispute over the Ukraine and Israel aid  packages. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said that increasing border enforcement “is the best way to get nine Republican senators on board,” referencing the number of GOP senators needed to pass legislation, on the assumption that all Democrats are supportive. Mary Clare Jalonick, Lisa Mascaro and Stephen Groves report for AP News.

Andriy Kovalyov, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, told state television that over the past week, Ukrainian forces had repelled Russian attacks near the village of Robotyne in the southern Zaporizhia region. Kovalyov said “offensive operations” were also under way south of Bakhmut, which Russia captured in May, and that Moscow was continuing its efforts to take Avdiivka.

Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had destroyed the Askold, a Russian cruise missile carrier, at the Kerch shipyard in annexed Crimea. Kyiv said over the weekend that it had “successfully” carried out attacks in that area. Russia said on Sunday that one ship had been damaged. It did not name the vessel."

lousubcap

Wednesday Israel-Hamas update:
"Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip killed a top Hamas weapons maker and several other fighters, the Israeli military said Wednesday. The airstrikes were part of the Israel Defense Forces’ air and ground offensive on Hamas’ tunnel network beneath the Palestinian enclave.The entire Gaza City, which is the main territory used by Hamas, is now encircled by Israeli forces, with the war entering its second month. Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Maytaal Angel report for Reuters. 

A senior adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel will have a “security presence” but not “any sort of ongoing occupation of the Gaza strip” after the war ends. He added that post-war, “it is crucial there won’t be a resurgent terrorist element, a resurgent Hamas…there will have to be an Israeli security presence, but that doesn’t mean Israel is occupying Gaza…We are interested in establishing new frameworks, where the Gazans can rule themselves, where there can be international support for the reconstruction of a…demilitarized, post-Hamas Gaza.” CNN reports.

More Palestinians are fleeing northern Gaza on foot following intensifying violence, with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimating that 15,000 people fled yesterday compared to 5,000 on Monday. The northern area of Gaza and specifically Gaza City have been the recent focus of Israel’s campaign, with reports that civilians flee during a four-hour daily window prescribed by the Israeli military. Most of those fleeing were children, people with disabilities and the elderly, the U.N. agency said. AP News reports. "

lousubcap

Wednesday Russia-Ukraine update:
"Ukraine’s military said yesterday its forces beat several Russian assaults, including 15 attacks near Kupyansk in the northeast and 18 attacks further south. In its evening report, Ukraine’s General Staff said nine attacks were defeated in and around Avdiivka — the frontline eastern town viewed as the hallmark of Ukraine’s resistance. Ron Popeski and Nick Starkov report for Reuters. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had deployed more Western air defence systems in preparation for an expected Russian onslaught on key energy infrastructure during winter when temperatures fall below freezing. “Additional NASAMS systems from partners have been put on combat duty,” Zelenskyy said. “Timely reinforcement of our air defence before winter.”

Russia’s defence ministry said its air defence systems destroyed and intercepted a total of 17 Ukraine-launched drones over the Black Sea and Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. It did not mention any casualties.

Vitaly Barabash, the head of the Avdiivka military administration, said Ukraine was bracing for a renewed Russian assault on the eastern city of Avdiivka, which lies just 10km (6 miles) from Donetsk. “The third wave will definitely happen. The enemy is regrouping after a second wave of unsuccessful attacks,” Barabash said."

lousubcap

Israel-Hamas and the US desires: (From Politico.)

"It’s not just Israel that wants Hamas defeated. The U.S. does, too — and it’ll support its ally’s military campaign until Israel says the job is done.

Since the militant group’s brutal Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,400 people in Israel, your host has talked to President JOE BIDEN’s team about what success looks like in this fight. A senior administration official answered that question succinctly: “Everyone agrees the goal is to defeat Hamas, but it’s up to Israel to define what ‘defeat’ is.”

Here’s what the official, granted anonymity to detail sensitive internal thinking, said in less pithy terms: Both the U.S. and Israel no longer want Hamas to threaten Israel from Gaza, the enclave it has ruled for more than 15 years. That would require the military defeat of the group so it can no longer operate.

The Biden administration has been pretty explicit about this point. “We are definitely having conversations about what the post-conflict environment ought to look like and what governance in Gaza ought to look like. One thing there’s absolutely no daylight on is: Hamas can’t be part of that equation. We can’t go back to October 6th,” National Security Council spokesperson JOHN KIRBY told reporters yesterday.

But the U.S. isn’t waging the war — Israel is. The administration doesn’t want to define a win for Israel and a loss for Hamas. That’s for Israel to dictate.

“We're not going to say Israel has to accomplish these things on the ground, hitting individual metrics, which might be killing as many terrorists as possible or destroying these many rocket launchers,” the official said.

In effect, the U.S. will support Israel in whatever it wants to do to defend itself. Right now, that’s seeking the complete destruction of Hamas.

“There will be no more Hamas in Gaza. There will be no more security threat from Gaza on Israel,” Israeli Defense Minister YOAV GALLANTsaid Saturday.

That doesn’t mean the U.S. and Israel agree on all tactics. Biden is pushing Israeli Prime Minister BENJAMIN NETANYAHU to accept longer humanitarian pauses — reportedly up to three days long — to more safely rescue hostages and flow aid into Gaza. Netanyahu has so far rejected those pleas, suggesting any prolonged break benefits Hamas. He is open to “tactical little pauses,” however, of roughly an hour’s length to alleviate localized suffering. As of this writing, about 10,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed, according to the Hamas-led health ministry, since Israel launched its ferocious retaliation, about a third of them children.

But the U.S. has shown no signs of wanting the war to end any time soon, as Alex and our colleagues have reported. They want it to continue as long as Israel deems it necessary to uproot Hamas from Gaza. “We will leave it up to Israel to determine when they reach that point and to declare victory,” said the official."

Botch

Israel-Hamas and the US desires: (From Politico.)

"It’s not just Israel that wants Hamas defeated. The U.S. does, too — and it’ll support its ally’s military campaign until Israel says the job is done.

Since the militant group’s brutal Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,400 people in Israel, your host has talked to President JOE BIDEN’s team about what success looks like in this fight. A senior administration official answered that question succinctly: “Everyone agrees the goal is to defeat Hamas, but it’s up to Israel to define what ‘defeat’ is.”

This kind of statement just frustrates the hell out of me.  
Hamas IS an evil organization and should be eliminated, but by destroying a 7-story building full of Palestinian civilians because there may be tunnels below the basement, well, you've just driven ALL of those orphans, widows, widowers, folks who've lost parents and siblings, straight into the arms of hamas or whatever replaces it.  And the Cycle continues.  And no one seems interested in forcing israeli settlers in the West Bank to quit bulldozing Palestinian homes that have been in the family for hundreds of years, to build their own settlements.  
So what's the difficult, but only, answer?  I don't know.  
But that won't keep me from being so damn frustrated.  Dammit.  

lousubcap

Thursday Israel-Hamas update:

"The Israeli military fought Hamas militants in the north of the Gaza Strip today, as both sides claim to have inflicted heavy losses from the attacks. Gaza City residents say Israeli tanks are stationed around the City and that forces are moving closer to two local hospitals. Israeli soldiers claim they discovered a Hamas site, storing and manufacturing weapons, in a residential building in the Sheikh Rawan region of northern Gaza. Nidal Al-Mughrabia and Maytaal Angel report for Reuters. 

Israel launched intense airstrikes in Gaza City overnight and into this morning, as ground forces continue to fight Hamas in urban areas which saw tens of thousands of people fleeing this week. The director of Al-Shifa hospital in downtown Gaza said Israeli troops were around 3 miles from the hospital. Israel says Hamas’ main command center is located in a tunnel complex under the hospital, something Hamas and medical staff firmly deny and say the military is using as a pretext to a future attack. Najib Jobain, Samy Magdy and Kareem Chehayeb report for AP News.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have taken control of a Hamas outpost in Jabalia, northern Gaza, according to their post on X, formerly Twitter. The post said it took “10 hours of fighting, during which they eliminated terrorists, captured many weapons, uncovered terrorist tunnel shafts, including a shaft located near a kindergarten and leading to an extensive underground route.” BBC News reports. 

Yesterday saw 50,000 Palestinians flee northern Gaza to the south, the IDF said, as it opened a brief corridor along Salah al-Din Road, running down the center of the Gaza strip. The figure was provided yesterday in a briefing by Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesperson. Chantal Da Silva and Mithil Aggarwal report for NBC News."

lousubcap

Thursday Russia-Ukraine update:  (Nothing available on the status of fighting between the two sides.)

"Leaders of the G7 group insisted yesterday that their support for Ukraine “will never waiver” despite the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The foreign ministers said they agreed on the need to impose sanctions on Russia and that they would continue to provide economic and military support for Kyiv “even in today’s international situation,” a statement from the Japanese foreign ministry confirmed. Ido Vock reports for BBC News. 

Ukraine is ready to begin the process of joining the European Union, according to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Speaking yesterday, she said, “the Commission recommends that the Council opens accession negotiations with Ukraine and with Moldova.” The comment came on the same day that the Commission published a report recommending that accession talks should commence, nearly 18 months since they accepted Ukraine as a candidate. Responding to the announcement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “Ukrainians have always been and remain part of our common European family. Our country must be in the European Union. Ukrainians deserve it both for their defense of European values and for the fact that even in times of full-scale war, we keep our word and develop state institutions.” Luke McGee reports for CNN."

lousubcap

Friday Israel-Hamas update:

"Israel has agreed to daily four-hour “tactical, localized pauses” of military operations in parts of northern Gaza to allow the distribution of humanitarian assistance and civilian evacuations, the White House confirmed yesterday. Three hours’ notice will be given before each pause, which will be in a different area each day, according to a senior Israeli official. President Joe Biden confirmed he asked for the pauses but said he asked for “an even longer pause.” A senior Biden administration official said “a pause is something more, in our view, than a couple of hours…a pause has a duration of a day, a couple of days, long enough to move significant quantities of humanitarian things in that would not otherwise be doable, and to get more foreign nationals…out.” Karen DeYoung reports for the Washington Post.

Yesterday saw 80,000 people flee Northern Gaza through the evacuation corridor, the largest movement of people since the corridor opened five days ago, Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories said. Saeed Shah, Stacy Meichtry, and Benoit Faucon report for the Wall Street Journal. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that his country does not “seek to conquer,” “occupy,” or “govern Gaza” after its war with Hamas. He said a “credible force” would be needed “if necessary…[to] kill the killers” to “prevent the re-emergence of a Hamas-like entity.” The comments came as the United States made clear its opposition to Israeli post-war occupation of Gaza earlier this week. Netanyahu added that after the war, “what we have to see is Gaza demilitarized, deradicalized and rebuilt.” Rami Ayyub reports for Reuters.

Israeli airstrikes hit Al-Shifa — Gaza’s largest hospital — this morning, killing one person and injuring others sheltering there, according to Palestinian officials. Officials said the Israeli military damaged the Indonesian hospital and struck vehicles outside the Rantissi cancer hospital in northern Gaza, a location Israel says is being used by Hamas. The director of Al-Shifa hospital said “Israel is now launching a war on Gaza City hospitals.” The Israeli military said Hamas has hidden command centers and tunnels beneath the hospitals, adding that, “while the world sees neighbourhoods with schools, hospitals, scout groups, children’s playgrounds and mosques, Hamas sees an opportunity to exploit [sic].” Palestinian officials said 10,812 Gaza residents have been killed as of yesterday, with children accounting for around 40% of the fatalities. Nidal Al-Mughrabi reports for Reuters.

Three top Hamas commanders who were part of the Oct.7 attacks were killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) this morning, the IDF stated. The IDF also said it struck a shipping container that held “approximately 20 rocket launchers.” Mithil Aggarwal reports for NBC News."

lousubcap

Friday Russia-Ukraine update: (Hopefully more later today.)

"Russian troops are intensifying attacks on the eastern town of Avdiivka using infantry as well as “artillery, drones, aviation, the same air bombing and more,” according to a senior Ukraine officer. Oleksandr Borodin, the press officer for Ukraine’s third separate assault brigade, said “all this started after the events in Israel.” The head of Avdiivka’s military administration said Russia was shelling “round the clock” but recent heavy rain meant troops were held back. The evening report of Ukraine’s General Staff said it repelled 11 attacks near Avdiivka, as well as 15 in Maryinka and 22 in Bakhmut. In an account provided by Russia’s Investigative Committee, Ukraine is said to have shelled the town of Skadovsk in the southern Kherson region, causing fatalities and wounding others. Ron Popeski and Oleksandr Kozhukhar report for Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his military top brass today to discuss the war in Ukraine and see “new models of military equipment.” The Kremlin released pictures of Putin meeting at the southern military grouping headquarters in Rostov, with attendees including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov. Reuters reports. "

lousubcap

Quite a read regarding the damage to a tanker caused by a lithium battery runaway in a two-way radio:

https://gcaptain.com/thermal-runaway-of-lithium-ion-battery-destroys-tankers-bridge/?subscriber=true&goal=0_f50174ef03-6bdd51c476-170052525&mc_cid=6bdd51c476&mc_eid=10465e83ed 

HeavyG

This NYTimes article (gift link so all can read) provides a bit of what is known about the Hamas tunnels. Surprisingly, there is no mention of flooding them. The tunnels appear to have vertical shafts of about 65 feet. There was no mention of any sort of watertight bulkheads along the tunnel segments. If there are such bulkheads, given the water column (65 feet of head) they would need to be able to withstand about 44 psi. If they could hold off that amount of pressure it seems to me that dropping explosives to and setting off same at the bottom of a shaft would create a shockwave that would likely destroy a bulkhead. Seems worth a go rather than sending IDF troops down into the tunnels.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/10/world/europe/hamas-gaza-tunnels.html?unlocked_article_code=1.90w.U_WK.7249O60Cgzxv&smid=url-share

Gulfcoastguy

The tunnels are where over 200 hostages are held. But they can isolate sections with their sponge bombs then send in a robot. No hostages and Hamas doesn’t want to negotiate? Pump in some propane and toss in a road flare. They have to collapse the tunnels anyway.

lousubcap

@HeavyG - thanks for the read.  An extremely difficult environment to liberate.  No matter Israel's approach, the outcome will not be pretty. 

lousubcap

Monday Israel-Hamas update:

"Israel says Hamas refused an offer of fuel yesterday for Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital. “Hamas, (which) is hiding in the hospitals and placing itself there, doesn’t want the fuel for the hospital…they want to get fuel that they’ll take from the hospitals to their tunnels, to their war machine,” Benjamin Netanyahu said. Hamas firmly denies Israeli allegations that it is housing command posts or tunnel networks under Gaza hospitals. Rami Ayyub reports for Reuters. 

Netanyahu refused to answer whether he takes responsibility for failing to prevent the Oct.7 attacks, saying that while it is “a question that needs to be asked,” his focus is on “unit[ing] the country for one purpose; to achieve victory.” Netanyahu said Israel is doing all it can “around the clock” to release the hostages. He said the temporary evacuation corridors are “not a pause,” and that the only halt in the fighting Israel would accept is “one in which we have our hostages released.” “If you’re talking about stopping the fighting, that’s exactly what Hamas wants…an endless series of pauses that basically dissipate the battle against them.” Nadeen Ebrahim, Sophie Tanno and Amarachi Orie report for CNN.

Calls for Gaza to be “demilitarized” and “deradicalized” were echoed by Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday. He said the only force able to take military responsibility for Gaza was the Israeli force because “so far, we haven’t seen any Palestinian force, including the Palestinian Authority, that is able to do it.” When questioned about who could govern Gaza, Netanyahu said it was “too early to say” and that defeating Hamas is the “first task we have to achieve.” His comments appear at odds with the Biden administration, who last week said that there should not be any “re-occupation” of Gaza post-war. Isabel Kershner reports for the New York Times.

The head of Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah said they will continue pressuring Israel in a “battle of steadfastness and patience” and claimed it was striking deeper into Israeli territory. “There has been a quantitative improvement in terms of the number of operations and the type of weapon used,” referencing that Hezbollah used drones and new missiles against Israeli forces in recent days for the first time, some of which contained 1,100 pounds of explosives. Last week, Hezbollah fired at the northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona following an Israeli drone killing a woman and three girls in southern Lebanon, and on Friday, Israeli airstrikes targeted Hezbollah weapon depots after a series of Hezbollah attacks seriously injured four Israeli soldiers. Hwaida Saad and Yara Bayoumy report for the New York Times."