U.S. Backing Has Given Israel License to Kill & Maim

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Headlines
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
September 26, 2024

Israel Rejects Ceasefire Calls, Prepares for Possible Ground Invasion as Lebanon Death Toll Tops 620
Sep 26, 2024

Israel has rejected a possible ceasefire as it continues its assault on Lebanon. The U.S., France, Canada, Australia, Japan, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia had called for a 21-day ceasefire as the death toll in Lebanon topped 620 people, at least 72 of those killed on Wednesday. Despite resounding international warnings against escalating attacks, Israel is doubling down, with its military chief Herzi Halevi telling troops Wednesday, “You hear the jets overhead; we have been striking all day. This is both to prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah.”

Half a million people in Lebanon are now believed to be displaced. Hospitals are overrun with victims of Israeli attacks. This is Dr. Adel Raee, director of the Raee Hospital in Sidon.

Dr. Adel Raee: “Since Monday until today, we have received 136 wounded, including 36 martyrs. Among those 36 martyrs, 18 were torn to pieces. There are still bodies in the morgue that require DNA testing for identification.”

We’ll go to Lebanon for the latest later in the broadcast.

“Israel Is Violating Our Sovereignty”: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Pleads with UNSC to Do Its Job
Sep 26, 2024

Here in New York, Lebanon’s interim Prime Minister Najib Mikati pleaded with the U.N. Security Council Wednesday to intervene to stop Israel’s bombardment during an emergency session. Mikati said, “Israel is violating our sovereignty by sending their warplanes and drones to our skies.” Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke from the sidelines of the Security Council meeting Wednesday.

Abbas Araghchi: “The Security Council must act now to halt Israel’s war and enforce an immediate ceasefire, and by that, to save innocent lives. If not, the region risks full-scale conflict, and history will hold Israel’s enablers, especially the United States, responsible. … Iran will not remain indifferent in case of a full-scale war in Lebanon. We stand with the people of Lebanon with all means.”

This comes as a new Oxfam report is calling for urgent reform of the “colonial and archaic” Security Council. Oxfam says the UNSC’s five permanent members — the U.S., Russia, China, the U.K. and France — are “failing people living in conflict” as they consistently abuse their veto power in their own interests, blocking opportunities for peace around the world.

One Year into Genocide, Palestinians in Gaza Warn Israel Is Poised to Subject Lebanon to Same Fate
Sep 26, 2024

In Gaza, displaced Palestinians are expressing solidarity with Lebanese people under Israeli attack.

Umm Muhammad Abu Shaqfa: “What is happening to us in Gaza is happening to Lebanon now. I have been displaced from the north for the last five months. And the world is quiet and is still standing by Israel. How is it the world is standing by it? In what viewpoint are they standing by them? How did they see the oppressor, and how did they see the oppressed? I don’t understand how. I don’t know how to comprehend this in my head, this mass genocide, the massacre of children, women, elderly, and making us live in tents and crisis that have no end. And now they are doing the same to Lebanon. But the war will not end unless it ends in Lebanon. If it ends in Lebanon, it will end in Gaza.”

Israel Dumps Truck with 88 Unidentified Palestinian Bodies in Gaza
Sep 26, 2024

In Gaza, the Palestinian Health Ministry refused to receive an Israeli truck filled with the unidentified remains of 88 Palestinians killed by Israel. A distraught mother searching for her missing son went to meet the truck.

Umm Tamer Yassin: “I got a call telling me there are dead bodies coming from Israel. I came running to see if my son is fine or dead. I want to know if he is among the dead bodies. … Look! These are dead bodies being thrown. They throw it to the people, left them to the streets, and their families cannot identify their bodies. Here is the truck. The bodies are inside. We cannot see them.”

Journalist Mujahed al-Saadi Arrested Amid Unprecedented Israeli Assault on West Bank Reporters
Sep 26, 2024

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports an unprecedented number of journalists and media workers have been arrested by Israeli forces across the occupied West Bank over the past year. CPJ has documented a total of 54 such arrests since October 7; 36 remain jailed, including 14 held without charges under Israel’s “administrative detention” policy. Among them is Palestinian journalist Mujahed al-Saadi, who was beaten along with his wife by Israeli soldiers during a violent raid on their home in the early hours of September 19. He has since had no contact with his lawyer or family.

“It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Alive” Wins Emmy for Outstanding Hard News Feature
Sep 26, 2024

Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda has won a News and Documentary Emmy for her AJ+ report “It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Alive.” A group of Hollywood celebrities and pro-Israel groups unsuccessfully attempted to disqualify Owda’s widely acclaimed report, which chronicles her family’s forced evacuation of their home in Beit Hanoun after Israel launched its assault on Gaza.

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“Hell Is Breaking Loose in Lebanon”: Israel Rejects Ceasefire Proposal as U.N. Chief Calls for Peace
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
September 26, 2024

Israel is continuing its bombardment of Lebanon and preparing for a possible ground invasion of the country, with the Netanyahu government rejecting a proposed 21-day ceasefire put forward by the United States, France, Canada, Australia, Japan, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. About 500,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced, and the Health Ministry reports at least 72 people were killed and nearly 400 wounded in Israeli attacks on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to over 620 in recent days. “There is a lot of suffering. There is a lot of hardship right now,” says Beirut-based journalist Lara Bitar, who details how Israel has repeatedly attacked and invaded Lebanese territory going back decades. “The source of this pain can be pinpointed to the presence of the Israeli settler state in our region that continues to wreak havoc in Palestine, in Lebanon and across most of the world.”

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: We turn now to Lebanon, where some 500,000 people have been displaced by Israel’s bombardment. The Lebanese Health Ministry reports at least 72 people were killed and nearly 400 wounded in Israeli attacks on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to over 620 in recent days. Earlier today, Israel rejected a proposed 21-day ceasefire that had been called for by the United States, France, Canada, Australia, Japan, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Israel has called up two brigades to the Lebanese border in a sign that a ground invasion could be imminent. U.N. Secretary-General António Gutteres called for peace on Wednesday.

SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTÓNIO GUTERRES: Hell is breaking loose in Lebanon. … An all-out war must be avoided at all costs. It would surely be an all-out catastrophe. The people of Lebanon, as well as the people of Israel and the people of the world, cannot afford Lebanon to become another Gaza.

AMY GOODMAN: We go now to Beirut, where we’re joined by Lara Bitar, editor-in-chief of The Public Source, a Beirut-based independent media organization.

Lara, if you can talk about what’s happening on the ground in Beirut? And here we are in New York right next to the United Nations. You have this international call for a ceasefire, but apparently the Netanyahu government of Israel is saying no, the Israeli general in charge of the IDF forces rallying troops, saying he’s preparing them for a ground invasion of Lebanon.

LARA BITAR: Good morning.

Here in Beirut, nobody really has any hope in these processes in the United Nations, in the words of the Biden administration or in the words also of the Netanyahu government.

I wanted to share with you some things that were relayed to me by one of our journalists who is now working in the south. He is going around to different schools that are hosting people who have been displaced from their homes but remain in southern Lebanon. So, first, he relayed to me that people are very, very tired. They’re unable to sleep for longer than a few minutes at a time because of the relentless bombardment by Israel. And he said that the shelters are full with elderly people, who have lived through so many massacres and witnessed so much horror inflicted by the Israeli settler colony. And he shared the story of one woman in particular. He said that she was in her eighties. She was wearing her house key as a pendant. And she told him that this is nothing in comparison to what they have lived through over the past few decades. And she mentioned the 1982 Israeli invasion of Beirut, the first Qana massacre in 1996, the second Qana massacre in 2006, and so on and so forth.

And the one thing that I want to relay here is that for a lot of these people who have been displaced from their homes, whose homes have been destroyed, their attachment to their land only grows stronger. And this is a prevailing sentiment among those who have been displaced. And this is not uncommon for Lebanon.

So, if you will just allow me 30 seconds or so, I would like to read a brief passage that I came across yesterday, written by Mahdi Amel, who was a Marxist intellectual. And he wrote this a few months after the 1982 invasion of Beirut. And he writes, “They said that the war in Lebanon would be swift and that in a few days those who have not knelt and who understand only the language of force would kneel. They declared that there would be no salaam, but shalom, and that Israel is the Rome of our modern times. To the kings of Israel, to the scum of our nation and our foul Arab regimes, to the petty fascists and to their imperialist masters, we say: It pleases us to spit in your faces. We will fight you even with our nails. Our fists are the compass of history. And the bullet of our freedom will pierce your hearts. To them, we say, brick by brick, we build a world on your graves. You are the dustbin of history, and Beirut is the city of the free. We have vowed that we will resist you.”

And this is not to say that everyone in Lebanon shares this sentiment, and definitely not the over 200,000, up to half a million people who have been displaced from their homes over the past few weeks, because there is a lot of suffering. There is a lot of hardship right now. People are struggling to find housing, shelter, food, diapers, milk. Hospitals are at capacity. People are really exhausted and suffering across the board. But for the most part, this pain can be pinpointed — the source of this pain can be pinpointed to the presence of the Israeli settler state in our region that continues to wreak havoc in Palestine, in Lebanon and across most of the world.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, Lara Bitar, you talked about this quotation that you read from 1982, when Israel invaded in 1982, and you’ve said that you don’t have much faith in a ceasefire. So, if you could provide some context to a possible imminent invasion, Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Talk about what happened in not just 1982, but also in 1978 and 2006.

LARA BITAR: I think we have to take very, very seriously every genocidal intent that is now being uttered by different government and military officials in Israel. Lebanon has a long history of invasions and occupation and terror by the Israeli state. And we can go even further back, to ’47, ’48. Lebanon [sic] seized over a dozen Lebanese towns and villages in ’78. There was also an invasion in ’82. The ’82 invasion lasted until the liberation in May 2000. There was also an attempted ground operation in 2006. And in terms of the 2006 attempted ground invasion into Lebanon, soldiers who returned home recounted how traumatizing it was for them, how they felt that they were fighting with ghosts. They could not see the fighters on the other side.

So, I think it’s important to note that coming into Lebanon is deeply traumatizing and frightening experience for the Israeli soldiers, who are accustomed to throwing bombs from the safety of the airspace. But on-the-ground battle, on-the-ground confrontation with real fighters who are fighting for their land, for their country, for their people, they don’t stand much of a chance.

And to the point of pushing for a ceasefire or for a truce or for the Biden administration having any kind of redline, we saw exactly what happened in Gaza over the past 11 months. The Biden administration was repeatedly saying that Rafah was a redline, that a ground invasion into Gaza was a redline. But the Israeli state, there were absolutely no repercussions, no ramifications for any of the actions that the Israeli state was doing. And this is what compelled it to continue to escalate, to continue to escalate its massacres, its terror of the Palestinian people in Gaza, who to this day continue to endure daily massacres that are not being reported on as much as they were at the beginning of the war.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Lara Bitar, so, if you could tell us a little bit more about how you think Hezbollah might respond to a possible invasion? And also explain Resolution — U.N. Resolution 1701, because the U.N. secretary-general, speaking Wednesday, he warned that Lebanon is at the brink, calling for an urgent ceasefire, but he also called for the implementation of U.N. Resolutions 1559 and 1701.

LARA BITAR: I can’t really predict how Hezbollah will respond, but what we know is that, so far, Hezbollah has continuously tried to deescalate. Hezbollah is not targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure. They have consistently aimed their weapons at military infrastructure and sites and soldiers, even after the pager attack, the walkie-talkie attack, repeated campaigns on Dahieh. Just a few minutes ago, before I joined you, Dahieh was yet again bombarded by the Israelis. I think this is the eighth attack on the Lebanese capital. Despite all of this escalation from the Israeli side, Hezbollah remains restraint, continues to try to deescalate. And the only ask here, which is not a really unreasonable ask, is for Israel to immediately end its war on the Palestinian people of Gaza after 11 months.

As far as U.N. resolutions, for the most part, they’re not legally binding. For the most part, they’re not respected. The 1701 Resolution, that was adopted after the 2006 war, is habitually, if not daily, violated by the Israelis in a variety of different ways. That’s why the majority of the Lebanese population is not holding its breath waiting for a U.N. resolution or for the Security Council or even for the international community. I think not just the people in Lebanon, but people around the world have completely lost faith in the so-called international order, the rule of law.

So, right now we can only expect things to get significantly worse. So long as the international community does not take any action to halt the insanity and the barbarism of the Israeli state, so long as the Western world continues to supply the Israelis with weapons, with support, with diplomatic cover, we have very little chance of seeing an end to this campaign anytime soon.

But on the other hand, what people can do, people anywhere can boycott Israel, can put pressure on their institutions, on their universities, on the corporations in which they work, and to divest from Israel. The only chance that we have is for the world and for comrades around the world to put this kind of pressure on their governments and on their institutions to isolate Israel, because Israel will only stop this campaign and this war around the region if it becomes too costly for it. And right now it’s not paying any kind of price for its actions.

AMY GOODMAN: As we wrap up, Lara Bitar, there is a protest that is approaching the United Nations now, especially people protesting what’s happening in Gaza. You have Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who delayed his trip by a day. He was supposed to address the U.N. General Assembly today; he’s going to do it tomorrow. What do you expect him to say? And in the U.S. media, on television, they’re saying that Blinken has been desperately, you know, rallying countries on the sidelines to get this 21-day ceasefire that the U.S., France, Canada, Australia, Japan, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are now calling for. But you have The Guardian reporting that, in fact, an effort by France and Britain to secure a joint statement by the U.N. Security Council calling for a ceasefire has stalled in the face of U.S. objections. Your final thoughts, Lara?

LARA BITAR: At the risk of repeating myself, I don’t see —or, we, for the most part, don’t really believe anything that’s coming out of the Biden administration, neither its White House spokespeople or Blinken and others who are representing the U.S. And again, we have seen these maneuvers and this manipulation of public opinion, manipulation of the press for 11 months. They are not serious about a ceasefire, neither in Gaza nor in Lebanon, regardless of what they’re saying, regardless of what narrative they’re trying to sell us. We’re simply not buying it.

AMY GOODMAN: Lara Bitar, I want to thank you for being with us, editor-in-chief of The Public Source, a Beirut-based independent media organization, speaking to us from Lebanon.

Next up, Israel deliberately blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza, two government bodies concluded. Antony Blinken rejected them. We’ll speak to the reporter who exposed this story in ProPublica. Stay with us.

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U.S. Gov’t Agencies Found Israel Was Blocking Gaza Aid. Blinken Ignored Them to Keep Weapons Flowing
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
September 26, 2024

We speak with Brett Murphy, the ProPublica reporterbehind a blockbuster exposé that revealed the Biden administration ignored warnings from its own experts about Israel blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza in order to keep supplying the country with weapons. USAID, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the State Department’s refugees bureau both concluded earlier this year that Israeli authorities routinely impeded delivery of food and medicine into the devastated Palestinian territory, where hunger, disease and displacement have wreaked havoc on the civilian population. Although U.S. law requires the government to stop arms shipments to countries that prevent the delivery of U.S.-backed aid, Secretary of State Antony Blinken ignored the findings and told Congress Israel was not restricting humanitarian assistance — helping to keep weapons flowing to the Israeli military to continue its assault on Gaza.

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: ProPublica has revealed USAID and the State Department’s refugees bureau both concluded this spring that Israel had deliberately blocked deliveries of food and medicine into Gaza, but U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top Biden officials rejected the findings of the agencies even though they’re considered the two foremost U.S. authorities on humanitarian assistance. Blinken’s decision allowed the U.S. to keep sending arms to Israel. Under U.S. law, the government is required to cut off weapons shipments to countries preventing the delivery of U.S.-backed aid. Days after receiving the reports, Blinken told Congress, quote, “We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance.”

On Tuesday, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, called for Blinken’s resignation, accusing him of lying to Congress. [Blinken] was asked about the ProPublica report Wednesday on CBS. This was his response.

SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN: So, this is actually pretty, pretty typical. We had a report to put out on the humanitarian situation in Gaza and what Israel was doing to try to make sure that people got the assistance they needed. And I had different assessments from different parts of the State Department, from other agencies that were involved, like USAID. My job is to sort through them, which I did, draw some conclusions from that. And we put our report, and we found that Israel needed to do a better job on the humanitarian assistance. We’ve seen improvements since then. It’s still not sufficient.

AMY GOODMAN: Of course, that was U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

We’re joined now by the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Brett Murphy, a reporter at ProPublica, where his new piece is headlined “Israel Deliberately Blocked Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, Two Government Bodies Concluded. Antony Blinken Rejected Them.”

Can you respond to Blinken’s response to your report, Brett?

BRETT MURPHY: Yeah. So, he said, basically, it was his decision to make. He was getting a lot of information, and he ultimately decided that it was not the assessment of the State Department that the Israelis were deliberately blocking aid.

What he didn’t mention and what’s really important to note here is that the two agencies that had told him that they were in fact deliberately blocking aid, one being USAID, are the foremost experts in this, as you said. They are the ones responsible for delivering humanitarian assistance into Gaza, into war zones all over the world. In addition to that, his own refugees bureau had made a similar conclusion called that a law called the Foreign Assistance Act should have been triggered because the Israelis were restricting aid.

The other assessments he was receiving were nowhere near as detailed as what he received from USAID. They sent a 17-page memo with detailed evidence describing exactly what they knew to be the truth on the ground, and he ultimately rejected those findings in what he told Congress.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, if you could elaborate, Brett, also on what U.S. obligations are under the Foreign Assistance Act?

BRETT MURPHY: Sure, yeah. So, it’s this law that has not been used very much systematically, but it basically says a foreign partner or ally that is receiving military assistance from the U.S. cannot at the same time be blocking U.S.-backed humanitarian assistance into a war zone. If it is the conclusion of the U.S. government that that is happening, the U.S. government is then required to cut off the military assistance. That’s what the law says.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Is there any other context in which this has occurred, that the U.S. has denied that a country is preventing U.S. aid from getting in in a conflict zone?

BRETT MURPHY: The last time it came up was in Turkey and Armenia. That was kind of the original context of the law itself. But, like I was saying, we have never truly been applying this in a systematic way. So, this has really been an obscure provision in the Foreign Assistance Act, but this year lawmakers, activist groups have been calling for the Biden administration to be using this exact provision.

AMY GOODMAN: We interviewed two people: Stacy Gilbert, the former senior adviser in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration — she resigned over this after 20 years in service — and Alex Smith, a former contractor for USAID, who was forced to resign over the Biden administration’s support for the war on Gaza. Talk about the significance of what they did, and Antony Blinken understanding full well what they understood and why they left.

BRETT MURPHY: Stacy Gilbert worked on the report that Secretary Blinken ultimately delivered to Congress. She was working on the drafts of that report. She was in the refugees bureau. She had a very clear understanding of what was going on. And what she ultimately said, when she resigned, when she saw the final version of what he had told Congress, she said, “We know this not to be true. We, the experts inside of the government, know that the truth on the ground is that the Israelis have been blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza.” This is what she said, and this is what she resigned over. And she said in her resignation letter that this report, what he told Congress, “is going to haunt us.”

NERMEEN SHAIKH: And can you explain: How detailed was that USAID memo that Blinken saw?

BRETT MURPHY: It was extremely detailed. It’s 17 pages of evidence that they were bringing to bear. The example that stuck out to me the most was on food, food shipments that were being held up just 30 miles outside of Gaza. There was enough flour, USAID said, to feed 1.5 million Palestinians for at least five months. But at the time — this was in the February to March timeframe — Israelis were not allowing flour into Gaza, because they said it was going to the U.N.’s branch there that had been accused of having ties to Hamas, so they were not allowing the flour in.

And this is what — this is the kind of thing that was really bothering USAID and frustrating their efforts. They couldn’t get food in. They couldn’t get medicine in, other supplies. A lot of their trucks, from, like, the Red Crescent, other humanitarian groups, were being turned around because of items in there the Israelis were not allowing in. Aid workers had been killed. Their convoys had been targeted. These were all the types of examples that USAID was telling Secretary Blinken.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: And basically, there’s no recourse now, right, because it’s done? Or is there anything that the U.S., the Biden administration could now do differently?

BRETT MURPHY: Yeah, the law is not — it was not just a one-time shot. And this is what the U.S. government said, too, in response. They said, “We’re currently — we’re always assessing the situation.” They said that they believed that the situation was improving since after they applied leverage with this. The folks I talked to, both inside the government and in the humanitarian world, said that’s not true at all. The situation is as bad as it’s ever been, including since the Rafah incursion. But this law does not only have — you know, whenever Blinken addresses Congress to it; it can be applied at any point.

AMY GOODMAN: That they could cut off, that the U.S. government could cut off aid to — military arms to Israel.

BRETT MURPHY: Absolutely. If it assesses that the Israelis are deliberately blocking humanitarian assistance at any point, they can apply this law. That’s right.

AMY GOODMAN: Brett Murphy, we want to thank you for being with us, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for ProPublica. We’ll link to your new article, “Israel Deliberately Blocked Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, Two Government Bodies Concluded. Antony Blinken Rejected Them.”

And this update from the streets of New York: Twenty-five protesters have been arrested outside the United Nations ahead of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s arrival to address the U.N. on Friday. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.

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Israel Deliberately Blocked Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, Two Government Bodies Concluded. Antony Blinken Rejected Them. Blinken told Congress, “We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting” aid, even though the U.S. Agency for International Development and others had determined that Israel had broken the law.
by Brett Murphy
Propublica
Sept. 24, 5 a.m. EDT
https://www.propublica.org/article/gaza ... id-blinken

The U.S. government’s two foremost authorities on humanitarian assistance concluded this spring that Israel had deliberately blocked deliveries of food and medicine into Gaza.

The U.S. Agency for International Development delivered its assessment to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the State Department’s refugees bureau made its stance known to top diplomats in late April. Their conclusion was explosive because U.S. law requires the government to cut off weapons shipments to countries that prevent the delivery of U.S.-backed humanitarian aid. Israel has been largely dependent on American bombs and other weapons in Gaza since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks.

But Blinken and the administration of President Joe Biden did not accept either finding. Days later, on May 10, Blinken delivered a carefully worded statement to Congress that said, “We do not currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance.”

Prior to his report, USAID had sent Blinken a detailed 17-page memo on Israel’s conduct. The memo described instances of Israeli interference with aid efforts, including killing aid workers, razing agricultural structures, bombing ambulances and hospitals, sitting on supply depots and routinely turning away trucks full of food and medicine.

Lifesaving food was stockpiled less than 30 miles across the border in an Israeli port, including enough flour to feed about 1.5 million Palestinians for five months, according to the memo. But in February the Israeli government had prohibited the transfer of flour, saying its recipient was the United Nations’ Palestinian branch that had been accused of having ties with Hamas.

... [T]he UN Office of Oversight Services (OIOS)... was not able to independently authenticate information used by Israel to support the allegations....

“In one case, no evidence was obtained by OIOS to support the allegations of the staff member’s involvement, while in nine other cases, the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient to support the staff members’ involvement,” he said.

-- UN completes investigation on UNRWA staff, 8/5/2024

Separately, the head of the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration had also determined that Israel was blocking humanitarian aid and that the Foreign Assistance Act should be triggered to freeze almost $830 million in taxpayer dollars earmarked for weapons and bombs to Israel, according to emails obtained by ProPublica.

The U.N. has declared a famine in parts of Gaza. The world’s leading independent panel of aid experts found that nearly half of the Palestinians in the enclave are struggling with hunger. Many go days without eating. Local authorities say dozens of children have starved to death — likely a significant undercount. Health care workers are battling a lack of immunizations compounded by a sanitation crisis. Last month, a little boy became Gaza’s first confirmed case of polio in 25 years.

The USAID officials wrote that because of Israel’s behavior, the U.S. should pause additional arms sales to the country. ProPublica obtained a copy of the agency’s April memo along with the list of evidence that the officials cited to back up their findings.

USAID, which is led by longtime diplomat Samantha Power, said the looming famine in Gaza was the result of Israel’s “arbitrary denial, restriction, and impediments of U.S. humanitarian assistance,” according to the memo. It also acknowledged Hamas had played a role in the humanitarian crisis. USAID, which receives overall policy guidance from the secretary of state, is an independent agency responsible for international development and disaster relief. The agency had for months tried and failed to deliver enough food and medicine to a starving and desperate Palestinian population.

It is, USAID concluded, “one of the worst humanitarian catastrophes in the world.”

In response to detailed questions for this story, the State Department said that it had pressured the Israelis to increase the flow of aid. “As we made clear in May when [our] report was released, the US had deep concerns during the period since October 7 about action and inaction by Israel that contributed to a lack of sustained delivery of needed humanitarian assistance,” a spokesperson wrote. “Israel subsequently took steps to facilitate increased humanitarian access and aid flow into Gaza.”

Government experts and human rights advocates said while the State Department may have secured a number of important commitments from the Israelis, the level of aid going to Palestinians is as inadequate as when the two determinations were reached. “The implication that the humanitarian situation has markedly improved in Gaza is a farce,” said Scott Paul, an associate director at Oxfam. “The emergence of polio in the last couple months tells you all that you need to know.”

The USAID memo was an indication of a deep rift within the Biden administration on the issue of military aid to Israel. In March, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, sent Blinken a cable arguing that Israel’s war cabinet, which includes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, should be trusted to facilitate aid shipments to the Palestinians.

Lew acknowledged that “other parts of the Israeli government have tried to impede the movement of [humanitarian assistance,]” according to a copy of his cable obtained by ProPublica. But he recommended continuing to provide military assistance because he had “assessed that Israel will not arbitrarily deny, restrict, or otherwise impede U.S. provided or supported” shipments of food and medicine.

Lew said Israeli officials regularly cite “overwhelming negative Israeli public opinion against” allowing aid to the Palestinians, “especially when Hamas seizes portions of it and when hostages remain in Gaza.” The Israeli government did not respond to a request for comment but has said in the past that it follows the laws of war, unlike Hamas.

In the months leading up to that cable, Lew had been told repeatedly about instances of the Israelis blocking humanitarian assistance, according to four U.S. officials familiar with the embassy operations but, like others quoted in this story, not authorized to speak about them. “No other nation has ever provided so much humanitarian assistance to their enemies,” Lew responded to subordinates at the time, according to two of the officials, who said the comments drew widespread consternation.

“That put people over the edge,” one of the officials told ProPublica. “He’d be a great spokesperson for the Israeli government.”

A second official said Lew had access to the same information as USAID leaders in Washington, in addition to evidence collected by the local State Department diplomats working in Jerusalem. “But his instincts are to defend Israel,” said a third official.

“Ambassador Lew has been at the forefront of the United States’ work to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, as well as diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement that would secure the release of hostages, alleviate the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, and bring an end to the conflict,” the State Department spokesperson wrote.

The question of whether Israel was impeding humanitarian aid has garnered widespread attention. Before Blinken’s statement to Congress, Reuters reported concerns from USAID about the death toll in Gaza, which now stands at about 42,000, and that some officials inside the State Department, including the refugees bureau, had warned him that the Israelis’ assurances were not credible. The existence of USAID’s memo, Lew’s cable and their broad conclusions were also previously reported.

But the full accounting of USAID’s evidence, the determination of the refugees bureau in April and the statements from experts at the embassy — along with Lew’s decision to undermine them — reveal new aspects of the striking split within the Biden administration and how the highest-ranking American diplomats have justified his policy of continuing to flood Israel with arms over the objections of their own experts.

Stacy Gilbert, a former senior civil military adviser in the refugees bureau who had been working on drafts of Blinken’s report to Congress, resigned over the language in the final version. “There is abundant evidence showing Israel is responsible for blocking aid,” she wrote in a statement shortly after leaving, which The Washington Post and other outlets reported on. “To deny this is absurd and shameful.

“That report and its flagrant untruths will haunt us.”

The State Department’s headquarters in Washington did not always welcome that kind of information from U.S. experts on the ground, according to a person familiar with the embassy operations. That was especially true when experts reported the small number of aid trucks being allowed in.

“A lot of times they would not accept it because it was lower than what the Israelis said,” the person told ProPublica. “The sentiment from Washington was, ‘We want to see the aid increasing because Israel told us it would.’”

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Aid trucks wait in Egypt at the border with Gaza on Sept. 9. Credit AFP/Getty Images

While Israel has its own arms industry, the country relies heavily on American jets, bombs and other weapons in Gaza. Since October, the U.S. has shipped more than 50,000 tons of weaponry, which the Israeli military says has been “crucial for sustaining” the Israel Defense Forces’ “operational capabilities during the ongoing war.”

The U.S. gives the Israeli government about $3.8 billion every year as a baseline and significantly more during wartime — money the Israelis use to buy American-made bombs and equipment. Congress and the executive branch have imposed legal guardrails on how Israel and other partners can use that money.

One of them is the Foreign Assistance Act. The humanitarian aid portion of the law is known as 6201, which dates back to Turkey’s embargo of Armenia during the 1990s. That part of the law has never been widely implemented. But this year, advocacy groups and some Democrats in Congress brought it out of obscurity and called for Biden to use 6201 to pressure the Israelis to allow aid freely into Gaza.

In response, the Biden administration announced a policy called the National Security Memorandum, or NSM-20, to require the State Department to vet Israel’s assurances about whether it was blocking aid and then report its findings to lawmakers. If Blinken determined the Israelis were not facilitating aid and were instead arbitrarily restricting it, then the government would be required by the law to halt military assistance.

Blinken submitted the agency’s official position on May 10, siding with Lew, which meant that the military support would continue.

In a statement that same day, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., criticized the administration for choosing “to disregard the requirements of NSM-20.”

“Whether or not Israel is at this moment complying with international standards with respect to facilitating humanitarian assistance to desperate, starving citizens may be debatable,” Van Hollen said. “What is undeniable — for those who don’t look the other way — is that it has repeatedly violated those standards over the last 7 months.”

As of early March, at least 930 trucks full of food, medicine and other supplies were stuck in Egypt awaiting approval from the Israelis, according to USAID’s memo.

The officials wrote that the Israeli government frequently blocks aid by imposing bureaucratic delays. The Israelis took weeks or months to respond to humanitarian groups that had submitted specific items to be approved for passage past government checkpoints. Israel would then often deny those submissions outright or accept them some days but not others. The Israeli government “doesn’t provide justification, issues blanket rejections, or cites arbitrary factors for the denial of certain items,” the memo said.

Israeli officials told State Department attorneys that the Israeli government has “scaled up its security check capacity and asserted that it imposes no limits on the number of trucks that can be inspected and enter Gaza,” according to a separate memo sent to Blinken and obtained by ProPublica. Those officials blamed most of the holdups on the humanitarian groups for not having enough capacity to get food and medicine in. USAID and State Department experts who work directly with those groups say that is not true.

In separate emails obtained by ProPublica, aid officials identified items in trucks that were banned by the Israelis, including emergency shelter gear, solar lamps, cooking stoves and desalination kits, because they were deemed “dual use,” which means Hamas could co-opt the materials. Some of the trucks that were turned away had also been carrying American-funded items like hygiene kits, the emails show.

In its memo to Blinken, USAID also cited numerous publicly reported incidents in which aid facilities and workers were hit by Israeli airstrikes even sometimes after they had shared their locations with the IDF and received approval, a process known as “deconfliction.” The Israeli government has maintained that most of those incidents were mistakes.

USAID found the Israelis often promised to take adequate measures to prevent such incidents but frequently failed to follow through. On Nov. 18, for instance, a convoy of aid workers was trying to evacuate along a route assigned to them by the IDF. The convoy was denied permission to cross a military checkpoint — despite previous IDF authorization.

Then, while en route back to their facility, the IDF opened fire on the aid workers, killing two of them.

Inside the State Department and ahead of Blinken’s report to Congress, some of the agency’s highest-ranking officials had a separate exchange about whether Israel was blocking humanitarian aid. ProPublica obtained an email thread documenting the episode.

On April 17, a Department of Defense official reached out to Mira Resnick, a deputy assistant secretary at the State Department who has been described as the agency’s driving force behind arms sales to Israel and other partners this year. The official alerted Resnick to the fact that there was about $827 million in U.S. taxpayer dollars sitting in limbo.

Resnick turned to the Counselor of the State Department and said, “We need to be able to move the rest of the” financing so that Israel could pay off bills for past weapons purchases. The financing she referenced came from American tax dollars.

The counselor, one of the highest posts at the agency, agreed with Resnick. “I think we need to move these funds,” he wrote.

But there was a hurdle, according to the agency’s top attorney: All the relevant bureaus inside the State Department would need to sign off on and agree that Israel was not preventing humanitarian aid shipments. “The principal thing we would need to see is that no bureau currently assesses that the restriction in 6201 is triggered,” Richard Visek, the agency’s acting legal adviser, wrote.

The bureaus started to fall in line. The Middle East and human rights divisions agreed and determined the law hadn’t been triggered, “in light of Netanyahu’s commitments and the steps Israel has announced so far,” while noting that they still have “significant concerns about Israeli actions.”

By April 25, all had signed off but one. The Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration was the holdout. That was notable because the bureau had among the most firsthand knowledge of the situation after months of working closely with USAID and humanitarian groups to try to get food and medicine to the Palestinians.

“While we agree there have been positive steps on some commitments related to humanitarian assistance, we continue to assess that the facts on the ground indicate U.S. humanitarian assistance is being restricted,” an official in the bureau wrote to the group.

It was a potentially explosive stance to take. One of Resnick’s subordinates in the arms transfer bureau replied and asked for clarification: “Is PRM saying 6201 has been triggered for Israel?”

Yes, replied Julieta Valls Noyes, its assistant secretary, that was indeed the bureau’s view. In her email, she cited a meeting from the previous day between Blinken’s deputy secretary and other top aides in the administration. All the bureaus on the email thread had provided talking points to the deputy secretary, including one that said Israel had “failed to meet most of its commitments to the president.” (None of these officials responded to a request for comment.)

But, after a series of in-person conversations, Valls Noyes backed down, according to a person familiar with the episode. When asked during a staff meeting later why she had punted on the issue, Valls Noyes replied, “There will be other opportunities,” the person said.

The financing appears to have ultimately gone through.

Less than two weeks later, Blinken delivered his report to Congress.

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Stein leads Harris among Muslim voters in several swing states, new analysis finds
Adam Reilly
September 09, 2024

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Jill Stein speaks into a microphone at a stage in a public park.

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein speaks at a pro-Palestinian protest in front of the White House on June 8, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Mattie Neretin Getty Images

A new report from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) shows that Jill Stein, the Lexington, Massachusetts, resident and Green Party candidate for president, is leading Democratic nominee Kamala Harris among Muslim voters in several key swing states.

The analysis expands on a survey conducted late last month that showed Muslim voters nationally split between Harris and Stein, even thought 69% of the respondents said they usually vote for the Democratic Party. The new analysis dug deeper into the data, specifically looking at voters in swing states.

In Michigan, 40% of Muslim voters said they plan to vote for Stein, compared to just 12% who said they plan to vote for Harris. Stein also received significant support from Muslim voters in Wisconsin, where 44% said they plan to vote for her compared to 39% who said they’ll back Harris. And in Arizona, Stein draws support from 35% of Muslim voters, compared to 29% for Harris.

According to the website World Population Review, Michigan has a Muslim population of more than 241,000, meaning that Stein’s substantial lead there — if it holds — could have a decisive impact on who ultimately wins that state. The website FiveThirtyEight currently shows Harris leading Republican nominee Donald Trump in Michigan by 1.9%.

A similar dynamic applies in Arizona and Wisconsin, where World Population Review puts the Muslim population at about 110,000 and 68,000, respectively. FiveThirtyEight currently gives Trump a 0.5% lead in Arizona and Harris a 2.8% lead in Wisconsin.

“When you have a candidate like Stein being a third-party candidate in these states, she has the potential to disrupt all these elections,” said Robert McCaw, CAIR’s national government affairs director and one of the authors of the report. “And how all candidates appeal to Muslim voters will really determine who might be the next president of the United States.

”From a Muslim civil rights organization’s perspective, we’re really challenging Muslims to turn out to vote regardless of which candidate they [choose], knowing that they can have an impact on the election,“ McCaw added.

Stein previously ran for president in both 2012 and 2016, when she received about 1% of the vote nationally. While Stein’s total tally in 2016 was modest, an argument can be made that the votes she received in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin that year ultimately helped Trump become president. Stein was also a candidate for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and 2010, and for secretary of the commonwealth in 2006.

Stein’s 2024 platform calls, among other things, for an “immediate ceasefire in Israel and Palestine” and an immediate end to all U.S. military aid to Israel. She has also called for an independent investigation into “the legality of the billions for direct military aid” and suggested that prosecution by the International Criminal Court may be warranted.

In a statement provided to GBH News, Stein said: “We’re grateful for the strong support of Muslim voters who share with us the determination to end genocide in Gaza, and the injustice faced by our Muslim friends. We urge all people of conscience to resist the propaganda telling you to hold your nose and vote for genocide.

”If you vote for genocide, you are actively consenting to it and enabling it,“ Stein added. ”Don’t let them talk you out of your humanity. Stopping genocide is the moral imperative of our time.“

After President Joe Biden dropped his re-election bid, Harris made remarks that were interpreted by some as indicating that she is more pro-Palestinian than Biden. But others argue that on a substantive level, Harris has maintained Biden’s approach to the Israel-Hamas war. At the recent Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Harris asserted Israel’s fundamental right to defend itself during her acceptance speech, and pro-Palestinian activists who had hoped to secure a speaking slot have said they were rebuffed.

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to CAIR’s analysis, Harris leads Stein among Muslim voters in other swing states, including Georgia (43% to 17%), Pennsylvania (37% to 25%), and Nevada (26% to 13%, with Trump at 27%). According to World Population Review, the Muslim population of those states is approximately 124,000, 150,000 and 7,000, respectively.

FiveThirtyEight currently shows Harris leading Georgia by 0.3%, Pennsylvania by 0.6% and Nevada by 0.5%.

During the Democratic presidential primaries, when Biden was the party’s presumptive nominee, activists opposed to the administration’s policy on the Israel-Hamas war urged voters to remain uncommitted in several states. In Michigan, more than 100,000 uncommitted votes were ultimately cast, and in Hawaii, “uncommitted” received 29% of the vote.

The new report also highlights some notable differences inside the national Muslim electorate. For example, while Harris enjoys a sizable lead over Stein among Black Muslim voters (55% to 11%), Stein fares better with white, Arab and Turkic Muslims (33% to 26%). The discrepancy is smaller among Asian Muslims, with 28% backing Harris and 26% backing Stein.

Support for the two candidates also varies by gender. Harris leads among Muslim men with 29% support, while Stein leads among Muslim women with 34% support.

Adam Reilly: Adam Reilly is a politics reporter and the host of GBH’s Talking Politics. Questions? Feedback? Story ideas? Email Adam at [email protected].

[admin]

Netanyahu's Lebanon Gambit: The second front has restored the prime minister’s political standing
by Seymour Hersh
Sep 26, 2024

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Smoke billows from a site targeted by Israeli shelling in Zaita, in the southern Lebanon, on September 23. / Photo by Mahmoud Zayyat / AFP via Getty Images.

One way to understand the dramatic events of the past week, and the restitution of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political standing in Israel, is to recall a famous statement of Admiral Ernest King, the US chief of naval operations throughout the Second World War. As the war neared its end, so the story goes, King was told by an aide that a group of reporters wanted an interview with him. “When it’s over,” he replied, “tell them who won.”

It could be Netanyahu’s motto today. I was surprised to be told recently by a well-informed official in Washington that things had changed dramatically in the war in Gaza—in Israel’s favor. There is no longer a possibility or a need for a ceasefire in Gaza, the official said. I further learned that ceasefire talk had been muted because, obviously, there is now a renewed Israeli war against the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Amid the continuing carnage, Bibi’s standing inside Israel has soared as the death toll in Lebanon has risen.

The Israeli high command now believes, as has been reported in the Israeli media, that Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who orchestrated the murderous attack on Israel on October 7, may be dead and the Israeli Defense Force “is now in a ‘mopping-up phase’ of the tunnel war with Hamas.” The American official told me that “there’s been no communication from Sinwar in the past two or three weeks.” The implication was clear: somehow Israeli or American intelligence had been tracking or monitoring Sinwar’s communications, if not his precise underground location. There is little hope that any of the remaining Israeli hostages will be left alive. This is a conclusion that has yet to be shared with the increasingly anxious Israeli public.

(I must note here that the six hostages who were executed in a tunnel late last August were not killed, as I inaccurately recently reported, because their Hamas captors heard the noises of an Israeli sapper team whose mission was to destroy tunnels. The mission took place because the tunnel location of the hostages had become known and an Israeli special forces team was assigned to attack the site and seize the hostages. The six were found dead because there was no other exit for the guards. I do not know whether the guards were killed in a shootout or took their own lives. The full, tragic story was not made known at the time by the Israeli military, a decision that is hard to question.)

There are other facts, I was told, that indicate the Gaza war is in a mopping-up phrase. There have been no Israeli bombing missions over Gaza since last Friday (although Al-Jazeera reported that fifty people were killed in Gaza on Tuesday in various attacks), and many of the Israeli reservists who have been heavily involved in the war since last fall are in the process of being replaced by regular Israeli army soldiers.

There have been no ceasefire meetings or significant discussions with Hamas since the Israeli assassination last July 31 of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas who was in Tehran to celebrate the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian, a four-time member of the Iranian parliament. Pezeshkian, a moderate, repeatedly says that he wishes to play a constructive role in world affairs, beginning with renewed talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

Just a few weeks ago, Netanyahu was in trouble at home and abroad as the war in Gaza seemed to be an endless pit of horror. Hamas still seemed to be capable of putting up a fight, and the world was recoiling from the constant Israeli bombings of Gaza, the growing casualties, and the desperation of the surviving residents there. Netanyahu was continuing to disregard the anxieties of President Joe Biden and his foreign policy aides, led by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who were in seemingly endless meetings in Egypt and Qatar and failing to achieve a ceasefire that would result in a bombing pause and the return of the surviving Israeli hostages.

The IDF, composed largely of reservists who had been called up for what was turning out to be an endless commitment, was fraying as the war dragged on, and the Israeli reservists inevitably turned on the civilian population in Gaza. Just last week a group of IDF soldiers were caught on video throwing four bodies—it was assumed all were dead—from the roof of a battered building in the West Bank to the street.

The American official, who has long dealt with Israeli issues, ruefully explained his view of the long-standing Middle East impasse: “The Israelis want the Palestinians to be peaceful and accept their fate. The Palestinians objected and fought back. A new day in the Middle East will never come.”

Last week, as the current Israeli impasse with Hezbollah was turning murderous, I had a long talk with an Israeli hero of earlier war—he served in an elite commando unit—whose grandchildren are nearing a one-year deployment in Gaza. He was full of contempt for Netanyahu and his refusal to agree to a ceasefire. There are families in Tel Aviv, he told me, who are leaving the country every day “to get their children out of the kill.”

He remains convinced that the war with Hamas was lost well before the October 7 attack when those in charge of Israel’s most important intelligence unit, dealing with signals intelligence, ignored the reports of a senior female officer who repeatedly warned of the coming Hamas attack. The Israeli veteran, who spent his career in special units, said he understood what happened. The men running the unit told the woman, a colonel, in essence, that “you ladies are here to bring me coffee.”

It’s increasingly evident that a full inquiry into the military and intelligence failures of October 7, once promised by Netanyahu, will not take place as long as Netanyahu is still in office.

The retired officer, whose negative views of Netanyahu I have heard about for years, also told me he is totally supportive of Bibi’s current war against Sheik Hassan Nasrallah and the Hezbollah militia. “We will nail Hezbollah,” he said, because its defeat would be a blow against Iran, “and Iran controls Hezbollah.”

Netanyahu, seemingly on the political ropes inside Israel and around the world, is suddenly in full bloom as the leader of the expanding war against Hezbollah. Most Israelis fear Hassan Nasrallah, its Shiite leader, for his close ties to Shiite Iran, long viewed by Israel as a potential nuclear power and its most dangerous enemy. The Biden administration and Congress are joined to the hip with Israel when it comes to Iran, though its closeness to nuclear weapons capability has long been exaggerated.

Hezbollah demonstrated its support for Sunni Hamas after the devastating Israeli bombing of Gaza began by initiating a series of missile and rocket attacks on Israeli cities and villages as far as 35 kilometers south of the border with Lebanon. The Hezbollah attacks eventually led to the evacuation of some 67,000 Israeli citizens, who were moved into temporary housing. Israel responded by bombing Hezbollah and other targets in southern Lebanon. That war has exploded with renewed ferocity in the past two weeks. Nasrallah added to the tension by authorizing his missiles to strike targets up to 50 kilometers south of the Israeli border, putting the historic Israeli city of Haifa in peril as well as Tel Aviv.

The missile and bomb exchanges remained at a low intensity until last week, when Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, triggered explosives that had earlier been implanted in a shipment of 6,000 foreign-made pagers that were purchased by Hezbollah and distributed to its senior leadership and soldiers. Many of the pagers inevitably ended up with the family members of Hezbollah officials and fighters, and the ensuing chaos when all were triggered by an Israeli signal became front-page news around the world.

Israel’s electronic reach was demoralizing and terrifying, both for the technology involved and the obvious conclusion that Netanyahu had escalated his confrontation with Hezbollah while ignoring pressure from the Biden administration to agree to a ceasefire. I had a talk with another well-informed Israeli veteran, who was seriously wounded in an earlier war, who explained that the Israeli decision to trigger the explosives was not the planned act of war that it seemed to be. He said the embedded materials were triggered only because Mossad learned that its action had been inadvertently discovered by a few Hamas officials who had brought their pagers in for routine repairs. It was that discovery that led Netanyahu or one of his aides to authorize the attack.

I got no answer when I asked how anyone in Mossad or any Israeli intelligence service could uncover such a random fact. Instead, I was told Israel’s secret triggering of the pagers was “a brilliant special op but not a plan to start a war.”

The pager blasts are estimated to have killed dozens of people, including children, and injured thousands across Lebanon. The Israeli veteran also said more than three thousand Hezbollah soldiers were injured, many of them seriously.

If there was concern at the top of the Israeli military or civilian authority about a rebuke for such tactics from Washington, it was misplaced. There was no reaction from the Biden administration and the American media has consistently viewed Hezbollah primarily as a terrorist organization, despite its presence in the last decade as a significant member of the Lebanese parliament and government. If anything, the reaction was awe and respect for the attack. David Ignatius, the Washington Post columnist, noted that Israel had not taken immediate credit for the attack: “it didn’t need to. An attack of this sophistication and daring in Lebanon could not have been staged by any other nation. The video scenes of Hezbollah fighters being blown to the floor by their own communication devices sent an unmistakable message to the Iranian-backed militia. We own you. We can penetrate every space in which you operate.”

The next day, Israel doubled down and triggered explosions in walkie-talkies throughout Lebanon. Newspapers reported the death of at least twenty civilians and the wounding of 450 more amid widespread panic and terror throughout the county.

Michael Walzer, a renowned political theorist, writing in the New York Times, described Israel’s actions in blunt language as “terrorist attacks by a state that has consistently condemned terrorist attacks on its own citizens.” Walzer has written on just and unjust wars and supported Israel’s ferocious response to the Hamas attack on October 7 as justified. But the wrongdoing in this case, Walzer wrote, “was Israel’s, and the plotters had to know that at least some of the people hurt would be innocent men, women, and children.”

The main plotter was Israel’s prime minister, who authorized the use of the militarily useless terror attacks that could only bring Hezbollah and Lebanon closer to war. Netanyahu has understood that a war with Hezbollah is a way to bolster his declining popularity in Israel and perhaps some of the world.

The Biden administration has supplied Israel with an estimated 68 percent of its arms, and Netanyahu has treated the president and his secretary of state and other diplomatic officials as pawns to be led on. In his farewell speech this week to the UN General Assembly, Joe Biden talked about his ceasefire proposal, seemingly unaware that the fate of hostages had been overtaken by events, beginning with the assassination of Haniyeh. But Biden did say, referring to the current crisis between Hezbollah and Israel: “Full scale war is not in anyone’s interest.”

Vice President Kamala Harris has been silent on the issue in the closing weeks of her presidential campaign, as has Donald Trump. The political axiom that foreign policy has little to do with presidential campaigns remains safe for now. The one political figure left standing and talking is Netanyahu, still the man of the hour in Israel.

It was déjà vu for a retired Lebanese government official and longtime resident of Beirut who lived through the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel that ended with the saturation bombing of South Beirut, a Shiite area where Hezbollah was dominant. “There is no Washington now,” he told me. “It is a vacuum. As for Bibi, it is a historical opportunity. And the war he is seeking will be awful. He is awful. And it will take a long time, and he will be exhausted in Lebanon.”

I have written about the 2006 war between Israel and a seemingly outgunned Lebanon in which the powers that be in Israel were confident of success. In the end it was, by all accounts, as I wrote then, a wash.

An all-out war this time will be torrential.

[admin]

Headlines
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
September 27, 2024

Lebanon Calls for Int’l Community to Intervene as Israel’s Attacks Kill 700+ in a Matter of Days
Sep 27, 2024

Israel continues to bombard Lebanon, killing at least 25 people so far today, including a family of nine in the border town of Shebaa. Israel has killed over 700 people in Lebanon since Monday.

In an apparent flip-flop, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday evening he does support a U.S.-led temporary ceasefire effort, though he’s done nothing to slow down Israel’s assault and Israeli officials have threatened to launch a ground invasion. Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib addressed the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday.

Abdallah Bou Habib: “Lebanon is living through a crisis that threatens its very existence. The future of our people and our prosperity are in peril, and this is a situation that requires international intervention on an urgent basis before the situation spirals out of control with a domino effect, making the crisis impossible to contain.”

The U.N. says some 30,000 people have fled Lebanon for Syria in recent days. Meanwhile, Syrian media says an Israeli airstrike from the occupied Golan Heights earlier today killed five Syrian soldiers on its border with Lebanon.

Israel Kills at Least 14 Palestinians in Another Attack on Gaza School Shelter
Sep 27, 2024

Israel’s assault on Gaza continues with another airstrike on a school sheltering displaced families in Jabaliya, which killed at least 14 people Thursday.

Rami Abdul-Nabi: “Where are these people supposed to go? They are not here for leisure or fun. These are people whose homes were destroyed in the north, in Beit Lahia, Jabaliya base, Beit Hanoun. This is a question for the international community, which has double standards. We demand the international organizations, the international community, the United Nations to provide us with safe places.”

Israel’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it secured another $8.7 billion in funding from the United States. Israel has killed over 41,500 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7 and wounded 96,000 others, according to official numbers.

100+ U.S. Lawmakers Demand Biden Admin Investigate Israel’s Killing of U.S. Activist Ayşenur Eygi
Sep 27, 2024

More than 100 U.S. lawmakers have signed on to a letter by Washington Congressmember Adam Smith demanding an independent investigation into Israel’s killing of Turkish American activist Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi earlier this month in the occupied West Bank. Eygi’s family has also demanded the U.S. investigate, after the Biden administration said it would instead rely on Israel’s internal probe.

Cornell University Student Facing Deportation for Participating in Gaza Solidarity Protest
Sep 27, 2024

A Cornell University student is facing deportation to the United Kingdom after administrators suspended him for taking part in a campus protest calling on Cornell to divest from companies that support Israel’s assault on Gaza. Momodou Taal, a Ph.D. student in Africana studies, says he was advised to leave the U.S. “promptly” after his academic suspension led Cornell’s immigration office to cancel his F-1 student visa. Democracy Now! spoke with Momodou Taal on Thursday.

Momodou Taal: “Yes, it’s about freedom of speech, but that cannot be divorced from Palestine. The issue why we’re facing such repression and such repressive tactics is because it’s about Palestine. It’s because you’re speaking anti-Israel and anti-Israel’s genocide in Gaza. These issues are not, like, separate. So, absolutely, I think I’m a visible person. I’m quite outspoken on this issue. And I think this is the reason why I’m being targeted.”

Acclaimed Author Jhumpa Lahiri Declines Noguchi Award over Museum’s Keffiyeh Ban
Sep 27, 2024

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri has declined the prestigious Noguchi Museum award, after the museum recently fired three employees for wearing a keffiyeh. Lahiri, who teaches at Barnard, was one of many academics who signed on to a letter in May expressing support for Gaza solidarity protesters on campus.

“No War Criminals in NYC”: Activists Take Aim at Netanyahu Ahead of Contested UNGA Speech
Sep 27, 2024

Protests targeting Benjamin Netanyahu took place across New York City Thursday as he arrived in town ahead of his address to the U.N. General Assembly this morning. Yesterday morning, activists blocked traffic near the U.N. headquarters, unfurling a banner that read “NO WAR CRIMINALS IN NYC–STOP THE GENOCIDE!” before police began arresting people. More protests and arrests took place throughout the day and into the night. This is Jodie Evans, co-founder of CodePink.

Jodie Evans: “He’s executing state-sponsored terrorism. The fact that he was allowed to land in this city and he is staying in a hotel and he is not arrested is a shame on everyone in power in the United States and in the city.”

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Report from Beirut: Israel Is “Targeting Everyone” in Bombing Campaign, Killing 700+ in Just Days
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
September 27, 2024

We get an update from Lebanon, where the death toll from Israeli airstrikes has risen to over 700 since Monday, following a series of explosions involving pagers and walkie-talkies in Beirut and southern Lebanon last week. The Israeli military reiterated its troops were preparing for a ground invasion of Lebanon if tensions continue to escalate. Multiple Israeli tanks and armored vehicles have appeared across Israel’s northern border with Lebanon. As the Biden administration claims it’s working toward a ceasefire in Lebanon, Israel is set to receive a new military aid package from the United States totaling some $8.7 billion. “People are really scared,” says Mona Fawaz, professor of urban planning at the American University of Beirut. “Israel does these so-called targeted assassinations, which, sadly, much of the Western press has been celebrating, and they talk about Israelis’ ingenuity. In fact, it’s targeting everyone.” Fawaz discusses the context for Lebanon’s crisis, organizing to shelter and survive the bombing, and the Israeli messaging about evacuation orders and Hezbollah.

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.

We go now to Lebanon, where Israeli strikes have already killed at least 25 people today, including a family of nine in the border town of Shebaa, bringing the death toll to over 700 since Israel began its indiscriminate bombing on Monday. Israel’s strikes follow a series of explosions involving booby-trapped pagers and walkie-talkies in Beirut and southern Lebanon last week that killed at least 37 people and injured more than 3,500.

In an apparent flip-flop, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel shares the aims of the U.S.-led initiative for a temporary ceasefire, which has also been backed by France, by Canada, by Saudi Arabia, by UAE, by the European Union and others. This comes after Netanyahu had publicly rejected the ceasefire proposal and vowed Israel will carry on, with “full force,” attacks on Lebanon. Netanyahu spoke Thursday as he landed here in New York, where he’s scheduled to address leaders of the U.N. General Assembly.

PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: [translated] My policy, our policy, is clear: We are continuing to hit Hezbollah with full force, and we will not stop until we achieve our goals — first and foremost, returning the residents of the north safely to their homes.

AMY GOODMAN: Netanyahu’s remarks came as the Israeli military reiterated its troops are preparing for a possible ground invasion of Lebanon if tensions continue to escalate. Earlier today, Israeli tanks and armored vehicles were seen crossing Israel’s northern border into Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Lebanese officials say the number of displaced people fleeing Israel’s attacks has likely surpassed a quarter of a million, with tens of thousands sheltering in evacuation centers, in schools that have been closed in Beirut and across Lebanon.

Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly Thursday, the Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib urged all parties to agree to a ceasefire, as he said the worsening violence threatens Lebanon’s very existence. He said a U.S.-, France-led proposal for that temporary truce was an opportunity to generate momentum to take steps toward ending the crisis.

ABDALLAH BOU HABIB: [translated] Lebanon is living through a crisis that threatens its very existence. The future of our people and our prosperity are in peril, and this is a situation that requires international intervention on an urgent basis before the situation spirals out of control with a domino effect, making the crisis impossible to contain. It will be impossible to extinguish the flame of this crisis, which will transform into a black hole that will engulf regional, international peace and security. The crisis in Lebanon threatens the entire Middle East if the situation remains as it currently is and if the world remains immobile.

AMY GOODMAN: As the Biden administration claims it backs a ceasefire in Lebanon, Israel says it’s set to receive a new military aid package from the United States totaling some $8.7 billion.

For more, we go to Beirut, where we’re joined by Mona Fawaz, professor of urban planning at American University of Beirut. She’s also an activist.

Welcome to Democracy Now! Can you talk about what’s happening on the ground, with tens of thousands of people taking shelter in schools and other places, a quarter of a million people displaced? You yourself are involved with helping to house people. What’s happening?

MONA FAWAZ: Hi, Amy. And thanks for covering all of this.

So, really, everyone here in Beirut is under — actually, in Lebanon, is under extreme duress. Since Monday, we’ve had more than, the Ministry of Health just announced, 747 deaths. That is in three days, actually — more than half the people killed back in 2006 during the entire war. That means that people fled the south really very, very quickly, and the Beqaa. And so, the normal trickle down is instead huge flows of people who are traveling across stranded roads, spending hours and hours on trips that normally would just take 45 minutes.

And, of course, people are fleeing because they’ve just been watching for a whole year a genocide unfold in Gaza, and they’ve been hearing members of the Israeli political class and the generals repeating over and over again that they’re turning Beirut into another Gaza. So that means that people are really scared. And Israel is pounding the south and the Beqaa with one raid after another. And they’re also deploying all sorts of tactics to scare people, throwing leaflets, taking over the public phone station to robot call people and issue calls telling everyone to evacuate our classrooms, our homes. Everyone was getting these calls on Monday and Tuesday.

So, it’s really a lot of stress that you have to deal with, in the background of a country that for the last 11 years have suffered one shock after the other. So, that population, one in five of whom is actually still a Syrian refugee, has also lost 80% — 80% of its population is below the poverty line since we went bankrupt in 2019. We haven’t had a president since 20— for two years now, actually. So, there is a — we have had to basically try and help each other in a context which is really very severe.

And as you pointed out, the schools are closed. Our kids are home, because the schools are being used in shelter. One in two schools in Beirut is actually a shelter right now, and more than 40% of all the public schools in Lebanon have been turned into shelter.

And it’s getting closer and closer to us. I mean, Israel does these so-called targeted assassinations, which, sadly, much of the Western press has been celebrating, and they talk about Israelis’ ingenuity. In fact, I mean, it’s targeting everyone. It’s touching everyone. Just yesterday, there was an attack in Beirut, and it wounded one of my architecture students, a fourth-year architecture student at the American University of Beirut. So, I mean, these are not fighters; these are civilians. She just lived on the wrong street, because Israel decided to do that. Last Monday’s attack killed about 50 people.

I mean, I guess I’m just trying to show the extent to which people are trying to get involved, make a difference, help each other, but really in a very, very difficult context. And, yes, of course, most of the people I know are actually involved in trying to help people. So, most of us are sheltering family members or friends or people we know in our own homes. We also are fundraising for the Civil Defense, because Israel has been actually targeting ambulances, claiming that the wounded are fighters, but that means that the Civil Defense, which is basically the first responders, are losing their lives and their ambulances. And so we’re trying to fundraise for them. We’re trying to fundraise for medications. And because I work in a lab that normally would do a lot of urban visualization on housing and rent, we’re actually really mapping the violence, and then also all the schools, and trying to coordinate the action of solidarity by showing where the schools are, who can take aid where, so as, basically, the university can play that role of coordination and support for solidarity movements.

AMY GOODMAN: Israel says it’s warned tens of thousands of people — I think even the information minister of Lebanon — to move, they say, anyone who’s living near a Hezbollah facility or where weapons are stored. How do people know this, Professor Fawaz?

MONA FAWAZ: Of course, people cannot know where Hezbollah has weapons. And, of course, Israel can claim anything it wants. In fact, they’ve been sending bombs in all sorts of neighborhoods and areas of the country where it’s very unlikely that Hezbollah has any weapons. And the point is to basically set people against the party and to basically make it seem as if the war is just the result of Hezbollah’s belligerence.

In practice, there has been ridiculous videos showing people hiding weapons under their mattresses. It’s actually really condescending picture — cartoons oriented towards the Lebanese people, telling them, “Hey, you know the person who hid the bomb under your sofa? Can you — do you remember that guy? He was a Hezbollah.” This is ridiculous. I mean, people don’t know, and that is actually increasing the fear.

And it’s basically meant to be divisive, because the Lebanese society, at the base, is already quite divided on many issues, and also to put people into — under more duress, to just say, “OK, we surrender. You can do whatever you want.” No one can ever say no to mighty Israel and its sponsors.

AMY GOODMAN: Finally, you’re a professor of urban planning. Can you explain the scale of the destruction in Lebanon due to Israel’s attacks right now? You’re documenting the frequency of the attacks, the demolition of infrastructure. We just have a minute.

MONA FAWAZ: Well, since last October, we have been documenting the strikes on daily basis and showing where they go and how. And our evidence is very clear. It shows that Israel has hit Lebanon, until last week, four times more often and way more, way deeper. In the last week, of course, the numbers have gone up the roof, and it is impossible to count how much of the demolition has actually happened. So we are working to geo-sat that, because, as in previous wars, we will have to support the effort of reconstruction. But some of the villages on the edges of Lebanon are basically fully flattened.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you for being with us, Mona Fawaz. Please stay safe, professor of urban planning at the American University of Beirut.

Next up, we look at the “Anatomy of a Smear Campaign Against Rashida Tlaib.” We’ll speak with Prem Thakker of Zeteo and Steve Neavling, an investigative reporter at Detroit Metro Times. It all started with an interview the Detroit congressmember did with the Detroit Metro Times. Then CNN got a hold of it. Stay with us.

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Headlines
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
September 30, 2024
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/9/30/ ... transcript

Israel Kills Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah; Netanyahu Addresses U.N. Despite Growing Pariah Status
Sep 30, 2024

Lebanon is marking three days of mourning after Israel assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah Friday in a massive attack that leveled multiple high-rise apartment buildings in a suburb south of Beirut. Nasrallah had led Hezbollah since 1992 and was widely considered one of the most powerful figures in the Middle East. Multiple news outlets report Israel likely used U.S.-made 2,000-pound BLU-109 bombs in the attack. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both described Nasrallah’s death as a “measure of justice.” But on the streets of Beirut, Lebanese residents vowed to keep resisting the Israeli attacks.

Françoise Azori: “You won’t be able to destroy us, whatever you do, however much you bomb, however much you displace people. We will stay here. We won’t leave. This is our country, and we’re staying. Do whatever you want to do. We don’t care.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the order to kill Nasrallah shortly after giving a speech at the United Nations General Assembly here in New York. As he was being introduced at the U.N., dozens of diplomats walked out of the General Assembly hall in protest.

Iran responded to the assassination of Nasrallah by seeking an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council, warning Israel is “pushing the entire region into an all-out catastrophe.” A prominent general in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was also killed in Friday’s attack on Nasrallah.

Over the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed at least 105 people, bringing the death toll over the past two weeks to more than 1,000, with 6,000 people injured. The Israeli attacks have also displaced about 1 million people in Lebanon. More than 100,000 people have fled from Lebanon to Syria. Earlier today, Israel killed the head of Hamas in Lebanon along with his wife, son and daughter in a strike on their home in a Palestinian refugee camp. In a separate strike inside Beirut, Israel killed three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Fears are now growing Israel may soon launch a ground invasion of Lebanon. Earlier today, Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, vowed the group is ready to confront an Israeli invasion.

Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza Kill More Displaced Palestinians, Journalist Wafa al-Udaini
Sep 30, 2024

In Gaza, Israel is continuing to attack schools where displaced Palestinians have sought shelter. Earlier today, an Israeli warplane bombed a school in Beit Lahia, killing at least two people. In Deir al-Balah, another Israeli strike killed Palestinian journalist Wafa al-Udaini and three of her family members, including two children. On Sunday, at least four people were killed in northern Gaza in another Israeli strike on a school turned shelter.

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Israeli Assassination of Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah “Shocked All of Lebanon.” What Happens Next?
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
September 30, 2024

Israel is expanding its attacks across the Middle East, bombing more sites in Yemen and Lebanon over the weekend after carrying out a massive attack in the suburbs of Beirut on Friday that killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other top commanders of the militant group. Nasrallah led Hezbollah for more than three decades and was considered one of the most powerful figures in the region. Israel likely used U.S.-made 2,000-pound bombs in Friday’s attack that leveled several high-rise apartment buildings, with a death toll estimated in the hundreds. U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both called Nasrallah’s killing “a measure of justice” while saying they were against further escalation of the war. “The news really shocked all of Lebanon, both supporters and people who oppose him,” says Associated Press reporter Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, who notes about 1 million people inside Lebanon are now displaced by the fighting. “The airstrikes aren’t stopping; they’re continuing. And now people are anticipating a ground invasion.”

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: News reports from northern Israel show Israeli military tanks massing along the Israel-Lebanon border after Israel launched its first attack in central Beirut. Earlier today, Israel struck a building near the busy Cola Bridge intersection of the Lebanese capital after carrying out a massive attack Friday on a Beirut suburb that assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. He led Hezbollah for more than three decades and was considered one of the most powerful figures in the Middle East.

Israel likely used U.S.-made bombs in Friday’s attack that leveled several high-rise apartment buildings. President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris both called the killing of Nasrallah a, quote, “measure of justice.”

Meanwhile, Monday’s attack targeted senior figures in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a Palestinian militant group. The strike leveled another apartment building.

MOAMEN AL-KHATIB: [translated] We are Palestinian firefighters and rescuers from the camps in Lebanon who came to help our brothers after the raid that happened here in Ain Ed Delb. We have been here since yesterday, since the incident. We have not left the site, and we will remain here until we complete the entire mission, God willing. There’s still people under the rubble, people we have not been able to rescue yet. We are doing everything we can to save them as quickly as possible.

AMY GOODMAN: Also today, Israel killed the head of Hamas in Lebanon along with his wife, son and daughter in a strike on their home in a Palestinian refugee camp.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the order to kill Nasrallah shortly after giving a speech before the U.N. General Assembly. Before his remarks, dozens of diplomats walked out of the U.N. General Assembly hall in protest.

Today, Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Sheikh Naim Qassem, vowed to fight on, saying the group is prepared for a long war, in his first speech since Nasrallah was killed.

SHEIKH NAIM QASSEM: [translated] Israel is committing massacres in all areas of Lebanon and choosing villages one by one until there is no village or house that does not have traces of Israeli aggression in it. It is attacking civilians, health organizations, al-Risala Scouts, all those who are in the streets and all those who are staying in their homes, including children, women and the elderly. These people are not fighting the fighters but rather are killing and committing massacres against civilians and innocents. … The Islamic resistance will continue to confront the Israeli enemy in support of Gaza in Palestine, in defense of Lebanon.

AMY GOODMAN: Over the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes in Lebanon have killed at least 105 people, bringing the death toll over the past two weeks to over 1,000, with 6,000 people injured. The Israeli attacks have displaced about a million people in Lebanon. More than 100,000 have fled from Lebanon to Syria, according to the United Nations.

Meanwhile, Israel forces launched a wave of airstrikes on Yemen Sunday, targeting the city of Hodeidah for the second time in recent months, in response to missile fires by Houthi militants.

This comes as more than a thousand Israelis protested in Tel Aviv on Saturday to call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to refocus his efforts on securing the release of hostages in Gaza, where the death toll from nearly a year of Israeli attacks is nearing at least 42,000.

For more, we begin in Beirut to speak with Kareem Chehayeb, the Beirut-based journalist reporting on Lebanon, Syria and Iraq for the Associated Press. His recent piece is headlined “What to know after Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.”

Kareem, welcome to Democracy Now! Well, why don’t you tell us about the significance of this assassination and who exactly the Hezbollah leader was?

KAREEM CHEHAYEB: So, this assassination really rattled all of Lebanon. Hassan Nasrallah for decades led Hezbollah and oversaw significant developments within the militant group, oversaw, you know, ending Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, Hezbollah’s sort of transformation into having a more heavy involvement in Lebanese politics with MPs, parliamentarians, ministers and so on, and also led Hezbollah when it began to expand more regionally, notably in Syria, where they played a pivotal role in keeping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power.

The news really shocked all of Lebanon, both supporters and people who oppose him. I recall I was on the streets here in Beirut when the news happened. And, you know, some of the supporters were screaming. They were [inaudible] shocked by the news. And, you know, they thought that this was a leader — some told me that they felt like he was immortal almost. And, of course, his assassination, on top of a handful of Hezbollah leaders, seven senior leaders, over the past eight days, really rattled the organization. Even the deputy leader Naim Qassem said so today. But he said that they’re going to regroup and appoint a new leader soon. It’s unclear when. And it’s definitely something that rattled the region, for sure.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to go to Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking this weekend.

PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: [translated] Nasrallah was not just another terrorist. He was the terrorist. He was the axis of the axis, the main engine of Iran’s “axis of evil.” He and his people were the architects of the plan to destroy Israel. … As long as Nasrallah was alive, he would have quickly rebuilt the capabilities we took from Hezbollah. Therefore, I gave the directive, and Nasrallah is longer with us.

AMY GOODMAN: If you can respond, Kareem, to what the Israeli prime minister said after the assassination, and also what has happened since, both the killing of a top-level Iranian commander along with Nasrallah and now the head of Hamas in Lebanon with his family?

KAREEM CHEHAYEB: So, you know, a lot of people, after the assassination of Nasrallah, sort of wondered, you know, “What happens next now?” The Israeli government maintains that their goal is to secure their north for their residents to return. And, you know, since the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, other senior officials have been assassinated, as well. And the airstrikes, you know, aren’t stopping; they’re continuing. And now people are anticipating a ground invasion.

And, of course, experts say that Iran is sort of in a policy dilemma. You know, Iran has dealt with several attacks that are widely blamed on Israel, including a strike on a consulate building in Syria and the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in late July. Iran hasn’t necessarily responded in such a decisive way. And the question is, you know: What are Tehran’s red lines? We don’t know how they’re going to respond to that and what this means for the region. What we do know is that, you know, they’ve sort of maintained that they’re going to keep piling diplomatic pressure. This is according to statements from different Iranian government officials. But the big question is: Given the severity of this attack, you know, will this eventually not just widen the war in Lebanon, but also have a regional component? Iran has, you know, proxies in Yemen and Iraq, and there’s a lot of speculation as to whether they will be involved or not. So, there is a really big sort of gap as to what happens next in this very intense phase of the war.

AMY GOODMAN: Kareem, we’re speaking to you in Beirut. So, you’re not only a journalist covering all of this, you’re a resident there. Can you describe what the blast was like in the suburb on Friday, and then this Beirut-based blast that just took place?

KAREEM CHEHAYEB: Yeah. The airstrike in the Beirut southern suburbs that killed Hassan Nasrallah was probably one of the most, if not the most, intense strike thus far in this conflict. You know, eyewitnesses and others, even as actually close to this office, heard eight to 10 explosions. There were multiple airstrikes. And it leveled several buildings, several buildings to the ground. It was a very shocking experience for many here. A lot of people were panicking. And it definitely sparked a wave of displacement. A lot of people in the Beirut southern suburbs immediately fled their homes and went in large groups to other neighborhoods in Beirut to find safety.

And then, the strike yesterday near the Cola Bridge, you know, this is a — it’s a very central part of the city. It’s very busy during the day. You know, it’s a critical point for public transportation, as well. And this is the most central part of Beirut where Israel has struck so far in this conflict. And, you know, a lot of the questions now among people here is, you know: Where else will be hit, given that it appears that central parts of the city could be possible targets and this is not limited to just the south or the east of Lebanon anymore? So, there’s a lot of fear and anxiety and confusion among residents all over Beirut, where over the past previous months where the fighting was mostly limited to southern Lebanon, you didn’t really feel that so much.

AMY GOODMAN: And we just have reports — I mean, and this has been going on for days — of Israeli tanks amassing along the border. What is the response of the Lebanese to what is taking place? I mean, Lebanon has one of the most, if not the highest percentage refugee population in the world. Now a million people are displaced. Many are trying to go into Syria right now.

KAREEM CHEHAYEB: Yes. So, you know, the Lebanese government has sounded the alarm on a massive displacement. Prior to this recent intense escalation, I guess, you know, there was over 100,000 displaced people. Now that number is almost a million, in such short period of time. The Lebanese government is struggling to keep up. Remember, this is a country that’s going through an economic crisis. The government is essentially broke. And the United Nations is trying to get as much funds as it can to support. And a lot of what’s helping these displaced people here is just the goodwill of a lot of people, community initiatives and so on. A lot of people I speak to in Beirut and elsewhere are doing their best, but they are questioning how sustainable it is, you know, within just a couple of weeks. And yes, it does seem like a larger number are going to Syria, as well. So, it’s indicative of the desperation taking place. And, of course, you know, a possible ground invasion is certainly the talk of the town right now, and people are wondering what the consequences will be, whether it means this war will last for a much longer time and it will widen, further widen the displacement.

So, you know, it is definitely a critical time. The Lebanese government is trying to sort of push a recent U.S.-led initiative for a temporary ceasefire for 21 days. The French foreign minister is in town, met with the prime minister and the speaker of Parliament. And, you know, it appears that the message that they’re sending is that they are willing to, you know, go about this ceasefire and try to put an end to this war as quickly as possible. The question is whether Hezbollah at the same time — you know, whether they will change their approach to this. You know, Hezbollah have maintained, even after Nasrallah’s assassination, that they will stop once there’s a ceasefire in Gaza. And they accuse the Israelis and the American government of basically wanting them to set up a deal independent of Gaza. So the question really is: How can this diplomatic gridlock be broken? And I think we could be at a major turning point right now, given the heightened developments.

AMY GOODMAN: Do you see Lebanese troops joining or replacing Hezbollah militants on the border?

KAREEM CHEHAYEB: There is certainly a lot of speculation that has come about the fate of Lebanon politically and with the war after Nasrallah’s assassination. There are allied groups to Hezbollah that have been involved in the south since the beginning — you know, for example, the Fajr Brigades of the Islamic Group, which is the branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas early on, as well, here in Lebanon were involved, as well. And, you know, the question, of course, is: If there’s a ground invasion, will more groups allied that have some sort of weapons be involved? It appears that most experts say that it might actually be more about the allies of Hezbollah outside of Lebanon, whether the Houthis in Yemen or the Iran-backed militias in Iraq will be much more involved. So, that is sort of the big question right now, given a possible ground invasion.

AMY GOODMAN: Kareem Chehayeb, we want to thank you for being with us, speaking to us from Beirut, journalist covering Lebanon, Syria and Iraq for the Associated Press. We’ll link to your piece, “What to know after Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.”

When we come back, we’ll be joined by Gideon Levy in Tel Aviv, the award-winning Israeli journalist and author, columnist for the newspaper Haaretz, a member of its editorial board. One of his latest pieces in the Haaretz newspaper, “Israel’s Barbaric Glee Over Nasrallah’s Assassination Is a New Low for Israeli Society.” Back in 20 seconds.

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Gideon Levy: “Israel’s Barbaric Glee over Nasrallah’s Assassination Is a New Low for Israeli Society”
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
September 30, 2024

We speak with Haaretz journalist Gideon Levy in Tel Aviv, who says the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday was met with “barbaric glee” by much of Israeli society. “We are getting down and down, lower and lower, believing more and more in only one thing, namely in killing and destructing,” says Levy, who warns that Israel is very likely to launch a ground invasion of Lebanon next and continue expanding the war as long as it enjoys unlimited U.S. support. The ongoing escalation in the region comes after a year of “only bombing and refusing any kind of diplomacy,” Levy says.

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report.

As Israel strikes central Beirut, Yemen and Gaza after the massive attack Friday in the Beirut suburb that killed the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, one of the most powerful figures in the region, we’re joined by Gideon Levy. He is Israeli journalist, author, columnist for Haaretz, as well as a member of its editorial board. His latest piece, “Israel’s Barbaric Glee Over Nasrallah’s Assassination Is a New Low for Israeli Society.”

Gideon, thanks so much for joining us again. If you can start off by talking about what happened on Friday? You have Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, ascending the podium at the U.N. General Assembly. Apparently right after, he gave the go-ahead for the assassination of Nasrallah. Right before he came up on the podium, dozens of world leaders walked out. If you can talk about the significance of this decision and then the bombing of Yemen and, of course, the continuation of the assault on Gaza?

GIDEON LEVY: You know, Amy, listening to your program is enough. Israel is shooting here, and Israel is assassinating there, and Israel is bombing here, and Israel is bombing there. Where are we aiming to? I mean, all those operations might be [inaudible], to them, are justified. But what comes next?

This thought that Israel can solve everything by force and that war is always the first answer for everything must change, because, otherwise, we will really find ourselves one day totally lonely in the world. Even the United States, which supports Israel still blindly and automatically — and I must emphasize on your show that the United States is a full partner for everything that Israel is doing in the last year, including the massacre in Gaza — even the United States will wake up one day. And then what?

AMY GOODMAN: So, talk about the assassination of Nasrallah. You’re talking to us from Tel Aviv. And the response in Israel?

GIDEON LEVY: I’ll give you a few examples. In one of the main channels of Israeli TV, a reporter, live, was distributing chocolates. That’s the spirit in Israel. That’s the spirit. Another important columnist wrote, “We smashed him like a lizard.” And if this is the atmosphere, this is the mindset, this is the zeitgeist even, so it will be very hard to change things, because we are getting down and down, lower and lower, believing more and more only in one thing, namely in killing and destructing.

AMY GOODMAN: So, if you can talk about what Netanyahu’s strategy is and if he has one other than a military strategy? You have the tanks, Israeli tanks, amassing on the border. Do you see a ground invasion of Lebanon happening at this point? What does this mean? Does he just want to deplete Hezbollah or completely wipe it out?

GIDEON LEVY: I can’t see a scenario in which Israel is not going for a ground operation. First, it will be, as usual, presented as a very, very limited one, limited in time, limited in territory. We’ve been in those shows many times. And then it will get complicated, and then we’ll have to widen it and expand the time that we stay there. As usual, we are getting into those things without having any clue, any idea how we will get out of it. Look at Israel in Gaza. Nobody has a clue how we are getting out of Gaza. [inaudible] Gaza. Israel is going to repeat the same mistake with Lebanon, using the excuse or the passiveness of the world, which allows Israel to do now whatever it wants.

Netanyahu, I think, is also now in euphoria after what is perceived in Israel as wonderful successes, James Bond successes, first with the pagers and with the walkie-talkies and then with all the assassinations. This is perceived in Israel as an enormous success. So, being riding on this success, I guess nothing will stop Israel to get into a ground operation.

And then, you know there will be a moment that a regional war might become a factor, might become a reality. And then what, when Iran might come in? And with all those risks seem what? Unimportant? Unreal? And if Iran comes into the picture, what’s next? We will bomb Iran?

This whole mindset of bombing and bombing for one year now, and only bombing, and refusing any kind of diplomacy — remember, there were deals to release the hostages. Israel said no. Ceasefire, Israel said no. Lebanon ceasefire, Israel says no. This will not guarantee the security of Israel, not to speak about the price the other side is paying. But even the security of Israel will not get better. We are now in a less good situation than one year ago. I can tell you that in Tel Aviv, we are more scared than we were one year ago.

AMY GOODMAN: The U.S. military said Sunday it’s increasing its air support capabilities in the Middle East, putting troops on heightened alert. ABC News’s Martha Raddatz interviewed White House national security communications adviser John Kirby on This Week Sunday and asked about the reports.

JOHN KIRBY: There’s a contingency of additional forces in the region right now to help us with any possible contingencies that might come up.

MARTHA RADDATZ: Dozens more?

JOHN KIRBY: Certainly —

MARTHA RADDATZ: I mean, I know we have 40,000 troops in the region already.

JOHN KIRBY: Yeah, I don’t want to get into the exact numbers or who these guys are, but we did — we did deploy some additional forces into the region. I would tell you that there’s other options available, as well, in terms of adding and enhancing that force posture.

AMY GOODMAN: So, you talk, Gideon Levy, about a regional war. Right before Netanyahu spoke at the U.N., as you said, there was this discussion that the U.S. and France was leading with Saudi Arabia and others to have a ceasefire, and then Hassan Nasrallah is assassinated. Is this more than Israel engaging in a regional war, but trying to bring the U.S. into it, as well? Netanyahu is known as a close Trump ally and friend. How that would affect the U.S. elections, as well? And right before Netanyahu spoke at the United Nations, you have Israel saying Thursday it had secured another $8.7 billion in aid from the United States to support its ongoing military efforts. We’re going to end with this question of whether Israel could continue what it does if the U.S. stopped the weapons flow.

GIDEON LEVY: But the U.N. — but the U.S. does not stop —

AMY GOODMAN: If the U.S. stopped.

GIDEON LEVY: — the weapons. That’s the point. The U.S. is saying one thing and acting exactly to the opposite direction. Can you believe that a major superpower is telling Israel to stop the war and in the same time it is supplying it with weapons and bombs and ammunition? What is Israel supposed to do? Why not to shoot and to bomb, to continue to do this, if the Americans are supplying it in an unconditioned way? No conditions.

So, this hypocrisy must come to its end. The United States is supporting the war, is supporting Israel. The bombs that were falling on the bunker of Nasrallah were American bombs. The bombs that fall on Gaza are American bombs. The children who were killed, 17,000 of them, in Gaza were killed by American ammunition. And America, the United States, cannot say that it is against killing children, because it is a partner.

AMY GOODMAN: Gideon Levy, we want to thank you so much for being with us, award-winning Israeli journalist, author, columnist for the newspaper Haaretz, also on their editorial board. We’ll link to your latest pieces, including “Israel’s Barbaric Glee Over Nasrallah’s Assassination Is a New Low for Israeli Society.”

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Trita Parsi on Israel’s Nasrallah Assassination and Why Netanyahu Still Wants War with Iran
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
September 30, 2024

As the Middle East gets ever closer to an all-out war, we speak with Iranian American analyst and author Trita Parsi about Iran’s response in the aftermath of Israel’s assassination of longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The powerful Lebanese militia is closely aligned with Iran and is part of the “Axis of Resistance” of forces in the Middle East opposed to Israel that also includes Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen. “Israel has quite successfully cornered Iran,” says Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. “At this point, if Iran does almost anything, it will risk triggering the larger regional war that Netanyahu wants and that the Iranians have tried to avoid.”

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now! We’re going to turn to Washington, D.C., right now for more on all of this, to look at how Iran could respond to the Israeli strike Friday in Lebanon that killed the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. We go to Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. He’s just written a piece for Zeteo headlined “Nasrallah Assassinated: What Happens Next?”

Trita, thanks for joining us again. What happens next? And can you respond to the assassination of the longtime Hezbollah leader — since what? 1992 — Hassan Nasrallah?

TRITA PARSI: So, a lot of eyes are, of course, on Iran and trying to figure out what Iran is going to do next. But we have to recognize that Israel has quite successfully cornered Iran. Iran played the long game, tried to avoid a direct confrontation with Israel, absorbed a lot of hits, but in the process of playing the long game, its options have become fewer, weaker and more dangerous. At this point, if Iran does almost anything, it will risk triggering the larger regional war that Netanyahu wants and that the Iranians have tried to avoid.

As a result, I think our eyes should actually be on what Israel does next, whether it will go through with an invasion — we’re already seeing reports now that some commando raids have been conducted inside of Lebanon by the Israelis, probably in preparation for a land invasion — as well as what Israel plans to do with the Houthis. If it reaches a point in which the Iranians conclude that Israel’s strategy is to take out some of these entities before going to Iran itself, that may trigger the Iranians to act now in the hope of actually having better options now rather than waiting.

But other than that, the Iranians seem to be of the mindset that they do not want to get in a direct engagement because of their own internal problems. Iran is faced with a significant anger from the population over the abuse and repression of the Iranian regime, particularly in the protests of two years ago. It does not believe that it actually can afford a war of this kind. Instead, its priorities are to try to see if it can get a deal with United States on the nuclear issue, reduce tensions, lift some of the sanctions, improve the economy, in order to reduce the distance between the society and the government. The last thing they want in that context is a war with Israel that will most likely increase that distance and the anger of the population.

AMY GOODMAN: In addition to the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, Israel killed the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan, who was killed in that Nasrallah strike, a seminal or a key figure in the Iran-Iraq War. Can you talk about his significance and then the role of the new Iranian president, seen as a reformist?

TRITA PARSI: So, Iran has taken quite a lot of hits. Nilforoushan is just the latest commander that has been killed by the Israelis, not just since October 7th, but over the course of several years, in Syria and in Lebanon itself. And this is part of their long game in terms of not necessarily reacting to each and every one of these, because they know that Israel is in a stronger position and Israel has an interest of having a confrontation sooner rather than later.

But again, that strategy, that long-term strategy, only works if there’s also a short game. And Iran’s short game seems to be losing right now, given how Israel has managed to crack the communications system of Hezbollah, take out the top echelon of its commanders and put Hezbollah in a very, very weak position.

AMY GOODMAN: So, the U.S. struck Hodeidah in Yemen. And the Houthis, now the question is how they will respond. Can you talk about Iran’s relationship with the Houthis, with Hamas and with Hezbollah?

TRITA PARSI: I think one of the things that has not been acknowledged, at least not in the Western narrative, about October 7th is that it clearly came at a very bad time for the Iranians and for Hezbollah itself. I think, actually, there’s been privately quite a lot of irritation in Tehran with Hamas, because it obviously did not coordinate any of that with the Iranians. The Iranians, Hezbollah were not even aware of the plans that Hamas had for that attack. And the reason, again, is because it forced a confrontation with Israel at a much earlier stage than what the Iranians and Hezbollah were ready for. Lebanon’s economy was in complete disaster. Iran had its own problems. They were not looking for a fight. Hamas’s calculation was completely different.

And it also shows you the distance that does exist between these different entities. Iran and Hezbollah are much, much closer to each other, whereas Hamas is a more recent addition to Iran’s axis and a very problematic one in terms of their relationship. They have had several fallouts. Hamas originally was quite a strong enemy of Iran. Then you have the Houthis, who is a very different entity, does its own thing, is part of the axis, essentially, but has made it very clear it is not taking any orders from Iran. It’s been quite critical publicly of Iran, arguing that Iran has been far too risk-averse and that Iran should have entered into this fight much, much sooner, rather than watching from afar and not aiding Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis to an extent that they believe that Iran should have.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to finally ask about — the same question I put to Gideon Levy in Tel Aviv, Trita. You’re Iranian American. You’ve been writing extensively books on U.S., Iranian, Israel policy. Among your books, Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy, your first book Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Iran, Israel, and the United States. Do you feel that the Israeli prime minister is attempting to pull Iran into a war with the United States, as the number one sponsor, the United States, of the military in Israel?

TRITA PARSI: I don’t think there is any doubt that that is Netanyahu’s game plan. And the reason why he has been successful in the last couple of weeks is not because of any particular action by the Israelis — although, of course, they’ve scored some major successes. It’s because of the posture of the Biden administration. Biden has chosen to be so deferential, more deferential than any other American president has been to Netanyahu. And as a result, despite all of the talk of wanting to avoid a larger regional war, which clearly is in the U.S. interest to avoid, Biden has adopted a posture in which he essentially says that that’s what he wants to avoid, but then he provides the Israelis with the weapons, the political protection, the diplomatic support and the arms and money to be able to pursue exactly the escalation that Biden says that he does not want.

That’s the big difference that has happened here now, that the United States has now, under Biden, chosen to completely be in support of whatever Netanyahu wants to do. And Netanyahu’s plan for quite some time has been to reverse the balance in the Middle East, to make sure that Israel is once again enjoying a much stronger and favorable position in the region by cutting down many of the different challengers to Israel that exist in the region. Reversing that balance is not something that Israel can do on its own. It can only do so by bringing in the United States into the war, whether it is directly or in the manner that Biden has been supporting everything that Israel is doing.

AMY GOODMAN: I mean, you have U.S. troops. You have the warships in the eastern Mediterranean, in the Gulf. You have U.S. soldiers in Jordan, around 50,000 overall U.S. soldiers in the area. If this is intensified, how do you see this playing out in the U.S. election? Do you actually think — I mean, after Netanyahu addressed the U.S. Congress and got more applause than any president in U.S. history — what, more than 50 standing ovations — he went down to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump — this will serve Trump in this election?

TRITA PARSI: Whether one thinks that Trump is going to be different or not from what Biden has done or what Harris may do, reality is, I think, that if you have this explosion taking place in the region with the U.S. itself getting dragged into the war before the elections, it will serve Trump. The Biden administration have gone out and said that they’ve been working 24 hours without any rest to try to secure a ceasefire for more than 10 months now, and they have absolutely nothing to show for it except for constantly giving Israel more weapons and arms.

And if that may not push away some of the more loyal supporters of the centrist elements of the Democratic Party, I think it does significantly risk losing a lot of the people who have been on the fence, who have given Biden the benefit of the doubt, certainly were willing to give Kamala Harris the benefit of the doubt. But if this disaster happens, I think those voters, that voting bloc — which I’m not talking about the Arab Americans or the Gen Z or the Muslim Americans, but that other voting bloc that is more on the fence on this — they may also be lost as a result of this.

AMY GOODMAN: Trita Parsi, I want to thank you for being with us, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. We’ll link to your piece in Zeteo, “Nasrallah Assassinated: What Happens Next?” Author of a number of books, including Losing an Enemy: Obama, Iran, and the Triumph of Diplomacy.

Next up, Hurricane Helene tears through the southeastern United States as scientists say climate change rapidly intensifies hurricanes. We’ll speak with climate activist and scientist Peter Kalmus in North Carolina, one of the states hit hardest by the storm. Stay with us.

[break]

AMY GOODMAN: “Third World War” by Kris Kristofferson. The politically conscious singer and actor died Saturday at the age of 88. He once said, quote, “I was in Nicaragua with the Sandinistas. I’ve argued for Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, the United Farm Workers. I’ve been a radical for a long time. I guess it’s too bad. I’d be more marketable as a right-wing redneck. But I got into this to tell the truth,” Kris Kristofferson said.

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Headlines
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
October 01, 2024

Hezbollah Denies Reports Israeli Troops Have Invaded Southern Lebanon
Oct 01, 2024

The Lebanese Health Ministry says Israeli airstrikes killed at least 95 people and wounded 172 others on Monday, as Israel’s army said it was carrying out what it called “limited and targeted raids” into southern Lebanon. Hezbollah, however, denied that Israeli forces had begun an invasion. The conflicting accounts came as Hezbollah fighters fired salvos of rockets into Israel, including an attack on the headquarters of Israel’s intelligence service outside Tel Aviv. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati says his nation is now facing “one of the most dangerous phases of its history,” and called on the United Nations to step up aid to 1 million Lebanese people displaced by Israel’s assault. In Washington, President Biden said Monday he wanted a ceasefire in Lebanon; however, the Pentagon contradicted Biden’s remark just hours later. A readout of a call between U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant shows the two war leaders “agreed on the necessity of dismantling attack infrastructure along the border.” After headlines, we’ll go to Beirut for the latest.

Syria Says Israeli Strikes on Damascus Kill 3 Civilians Including TV News Anchor
Oct 01, 2024

Syrian media is reporting an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital Damascus killed three civilians and wounded nine others. It was reportedly the third such attack in recent days. The Syrian Arab News Agency said its presenter Safaa Ahmad was among those killed in Israel’s latest air raid.

Overnight Israeli Airstrike Kills More Displaced Palestinians, Including Children
Oct 01, 2024

In the Gaza Strip, an Israeli airstrike on a home in the Nuseirat refugee camp late Monday killed more than a dozen people. Witnesses say at least seven of the dead were children.

Umm Hassan al-Durra: “They targeted 14 sleeping people, young, adults and children. What can I tell you? They were not doing anything. They were sleeping.”

Israel Releases Palestinian Dr. Khaled Alser, Half a Year After Abducting Him from Gaza Hospital
Oct 01, 2024

On Monday, Israeli authorities released Palestinian surgeon Dr. Khaled Alser from prison, months after he was abducted by Israeli forces during a raid on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital in March. Dr. Alser is among dozens of doctors, nurses and paramedics held by Israel who, according to Human Rights Watch, have faced widespread torture and abuse in Israeli custody.

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Fears Grow over Israeli Ground Invasion as Israel Orders Residents in 25 Lebanese Villages to Flee Homes
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
October 01, 2024

Lebanese Prime Minsiter Najib Mikati says Lebanon is now facing “one of the most dangerous phases of its history,” as the Israeli military claims to have begun launching “limited and targeted raids” in southern Lebanon. However, Hezbollah has denied that Israeli soldiers have actually entered Lebanon. The possible Israeli ground operation comes after two weeks of Israeli attacks on Lebanon that have killed over 1,000 people and forced over a million Lebanese to evacuate. While Biden called for a ceasefire, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday and affirmed U.S. support for Israeli actions along Lebanon’s border. “Israel is ultimately undermining U.S. interests in the Middle East,” says Beirut-based political and security analyst Ali Rizk. “Benjamin Netanyahu … wants to go down in history as the person who was able to successfully defeat the major enemy of Israel.”

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: Israel is claiming it’s sent ground troops into southern Lebanon, but Hezbollah and U.N. peacekeepers say the Israeli invasion has not yet begun. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati says Lebanon is now facing, quote, “one of the most dangerous phases of its history,” unquote. The Israeli military has described its actions as, quote, “limited and targeted raids” in southern Lebanon.

This all comes after two weeks of Israeli attacks on Lebanon that have killed over a thousand people, including longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated in a massive Israeli bombing on Friday. According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, Israeli attacks killed at least 95 people on Monday alone. Earlier today, Israel ordered residents in 25 southern Lebanese villages to leave their homes and head north.

The United States has given mixed messages on Israel’s escalating attack. This is President Biden being questioned Monday at the White House.

REPORTER: Israel may be now launching a limited operation into Lebanon. Are you aware of that? Are you comfortable with their plan?

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I’m more aware than you might know, and I’m comfortable with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now.

AMY GOODMAN: While Biden called for a ceasefire, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. Austin later said, quote, “I made it clear that the United States supports Israel’s right to defend itself. We agreed on the necessity of dismantling attack infrastructure along the border,” unquote.

We go now to Beirut, where we’re joined by Ali Rizk. He’s a political and security analyst based in Beirut, contributor to Responsible Statecraft and other outlets.

Thanks so much for being with us, Ali. Can you start off by talking about what you understand is happening on the border? What’s clear is Israel continues to bomb Lebanon. What isn’t clear is if it’s begun a ground invasion. What do you understand?

ALI RIZK: Well, as you mentioned, Hezbollah, the media spokesman for Hezbollah has denied those Israeli claims about Israel entering south Lebanon, entering Lebanese territory. I spoke to a Hezbollah source a few hours ago, and he also underscored that the Israelis had attempted last night but were forced to retreat in face of some immense firepower from Hezbollah. So, it does appear — you know, both sides appear to be claiming that, you know, there are different claims. Israel is saying that it has entered or it had entered Lebanese territory. That’s being denied by Hezbollah, which said it forced Israel into retreat.

But we do appear to be headed towards more and more escalation. I think that the Israelis are going to go ahead with the ground incursion or try to attempt that ground incursion. And I think that that’s why they’re using some of that increased firepower. You just mentioned in your report about how some villages were identified that they will be bombarded. I think all of this indicates where we are headed. And I believe that, you know, we do have some weeks and possible months ahead of some real dangerous escalation.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Yes, you’ve mentioned the word “escalation,” but the reality is that the Netanyahu government appears hell-bent on continuing to expand the conflict, with all of its targeted assassinations, the bombings and now the potential for invasion in Lebanon. It’s almost as if they’ve put aside Gaza and the hostages that are in Gaza and have decided to provoke a widespread war. What’s your assessment?

ALI RIZK: Indeed. I think what you said is very accurate. You have to remember that before October 7, the Israeli government had set its sights and was focused mostly on Lebanon. In fact, many people say that because it was so focused on Lebanon, it didn’t pay enough attention to the Gaza front, and that’s what facilitated the Hamas operation on October 7.

I think that a lot of this is also related to Benjamin Netanyahu’s legacy. Benjamin Netanyahu, I think, wants to go down in history as the person who was able to successfully defeat the major enemy of Israel, the mortal enemy. You have to remember that it was Hezbollah which, many people believe, defeated Israel back in 2006. In the best-case scenario for Israel, that conflict ended in a draw. And Netanyahu’s image was also shattered by October 7. He used to be described as “Mr. Security.” That reputation was left in tatters. So I think what Netanyahu is trying to do right now is to rebuild his legacy, number one, by saying, “Look, I defeated Hezbollah. I took out the number one leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who was like Israel’s nemesis.” And number two, I think that he’s trying to repair that damage which was done to his own reputation as being “Mr. Security.”

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you about Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, who spoke to reporters at the United Nations.

AYMAN SAFADI: The prime minister came here today and said that Israel is surrounded by those who want to destroy it, an enemy. We’re here, members of a Muslim Arab committee mandated by 57 Arab and Muslim countries, and I can tell you here, very unequivocally, all of us are willing to right now guarantee the security of Israel in the context of Israel ending the occupation and allowing for the emergence of a Palestinian state, independent state, along the term and preference that you all agree.

He is creating that danger because he simply does not want the two-state solution. And if he does not want the two-state solution, can you ask the Israeli officials what is their endgame, other than just wars and wars and wars? I’m telling you, all of us in the Arab world here, we want a peace in which Israel lives in peace and security, accepted, normalized with all Arab countries, in the context of ending the occupation, withdrawing from our territory, allowing for the emergence of an independent sovereign Palestinian state on June 4, 1967, lines with occupied Jerusalem as capital. That is our narrative. That is. And we will guarantee Israel’s security in that context. Can you ask Israelis what’s their narrative, other than “I’m going to continue go to war. I’m going to kill this and kill that and destroy this and that”?

The amount of damage that the Israeli government has done, 30 years of efforts to convince people that peace is possible, this Israeli government killed it. The amount of dehumanization, hatred, bitterness will take generations to navigate through.

So, ultimately, the question is — we want peace, and we’ve laid out a plan for peace. Ask any Israeli official what is their plan for peace, you’ll get nothing, because they are only thinking of the first step — “We’re going to go destroy Gaza, enflame the West Bank, destroy Lebanon” — and after that, they have no plan. We have a plan. We have no partner for peace in Israel. There is a partner for peace in the Arab world.

AMY GOODMAN: So, that’s Jordan’s foreign minister speaking Friday at the United Nations. Ali Rizk, if you can talk about his comments and also where Arab countries now stand on Israel’s bombing of Lebanon, of Syria, and continued, of course, the attacks on Gaza?

ALI RIZK: I think what we just heard is a clear example of how Israel is ultimately undermining U.S. interests in the Middle East. Here we have the foreign minister, a senior official in one of Washington’s Middle East allies, and look at these statements saying that Netanyahu is not a partner for peace, that we are ready for peace, Netanyahu is doing this, Netanyahu wants more conflict. But as long as the United States continues to provide this support, this unconditional support for Israel, that is going to further disrupt, I think, the ties the U.S. enjoys with its Middle East allies, be it Jordan, Egypt or other countries. So, I think this just goes to show how costly that situation is. And I recall David Petraeus, the famous American general, he mentioned in 2010 that our outright support for Israel is doing damage in terms of our ties with the Arab moderate allies.

Now, regarding your question about where these Arab countries stand when it comes to the Israeli escalation on the Gaza front and on the Lebanese front, look at the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Look at what he said recently. He said that normalization now is off the table. Again, that brings me back to the issue of U.S. interests. I think one of the major, major areas of focus for the Biden administration is to reach a normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel. But due to Benjamin Netanyahu’s stubbornness and due to his extreme policies, he has made that virtually impossible, and hence he’s disrupting the U.S. plans for the region.

But, and what astonishes me is that the United States is continuing with this full-fledged support for the Israeli side. As you mentioned earlier on, the Biden administration said — Biden said he wanted a ceasefire, the time is for a ceasefire in Lebanon. And then we had that about-face and the Pentagon saying that we share or we support the Israeli goals when it comes to the southern Lebanese front. So, we see the United States being dragged more and more, being manipulated by Netanyahu more and more. Unfortunately, I don’t see a clear end in sight for this from now until the American elections.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And do you see the potential for Netanyahu to keep the provocations up to force, somehow or other, Iran to respond and widen this war even further?

ALI RIZK: I believe so. And I think that’s why you’re not seeing a very rash or very escalated reaction, be it from Iran or be it from Hezbollah itself. When I say “escalatory action,” I’m referring here to possible attacks on civilian areas, residential areas. I think that Netanyahu is waiting for an excuse in order to plunge the whole region into an all-out war. And I think that he believes — and I think that he’s correct in this particular estimation — that the United States is going to support him should that scenario unfold. That’s why he’s pushing for that. He knows he can count on the Biden administration to come to its aid if we have a wider conventional war in which Iran becomes involved, in which Hezbollah unleashes all of its firepower. And I believe that Iran, Hezbollah and other players are aware of this. That’s why they are being somewhat restrained and measured in the actions they’re taking.

AMY GOODMAN: Ali, if you can talk about your own family in Lebanon? How are you dealing with all of this? Can you talk about what’s happening in Beirut right now?

ALI RIZK: First of all, in the operation which took out Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, I was about 15 minutes’ walking distance away from the site of that explosion. I was here in 2006 for most of that war. But what I heard the other day is something completely different, the explosions, the sound of the explosion. I was there, by the way, with my two young daughters, who were obviously, as you can imagine, very much in a state of shock, given what took place, given that we were rather close to that location. And many people are in a state of fear in my own home. I live, fortunately, in a rather safe area, relatively, in Beirut, on the outskirts of Beirut. And I have about maybe seven or eight guests in my home who have fled the areas which were subject to bombardment.

There are many different, many other similar cases to mine, you know, people being forced to flee their homes, be it in southern Beirut or in southern Lebanon. And we’re seeing the same, the same approach, the same Israeli approach, the bombardment which led to the displacement and immense suffering of civilians. We’re seeing it repeated here at a certain scale in Lebanon, as well.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And also, this is not the first time that Israel has attacked Lebanon. Could you talk about the previous occupations and invasions and the impact that that has had on the Lebanese people?

ALI RIZK: Obviously, the Lebanese people have suffered a lot as a result of Israeli occupation and Israeli operations. We had the Israeli invasion of Beirut in 1982. They reached Beirut back then. They withdrew, stood in that area in the south, which was occupied until 2007, until they were forced to leave due to the operations of Hezbollah. And 2006, as I said, I remember that particularly well, immense bombardment. Back then, the Israelis destroyed the infrastructure. They started by destroying Beirut’s international airport. They destroyed bridges. They disconnected Lebanese areas from one another, deliberately, I think — not “I think” — deliberately, indeed, targeting civilians. And I think that is a strategy which we are accustomed to in Israeli conduct or in Israeli warfare, whereby they try to focus on civilians in an attempt to make the civilians lash out against the parties, like Hezbollah in the case of Lebanon or like Hamas in the case of Gaza.

But I think that, more importantly, when it comes to Lebanon, the Israelis do have some rather bitter memories. As I was telling you, in 2000, they were forced to leave. And in 2006, as I was stating in a previous answer, Hezbollah fought Israel to a standstill, and you can even say that Hezbollah actually defeated Israel. There was a commission which was established by the Israelis in the aftermath of 2006, which was called the Winograd Commission, and this commission was in order to look into the faults and the mistakes which were committed by the Israelis. And I think that is an admission that the Israelis indeed committed big mistakes and did not succeed in that particular war.

Bearing that in — or, with that in mind, we have to wait and see how Israel will fare this time around. I think that the Israelis believe that given the immense blows they have delivered to Hezbollah — and I am going to admit Hezbollah was dealt some very severe, unprecedented blows with the detonation of the pagers and the assassination of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah — I think they believe that this time it may be a bit easier to go ahead with that ground operation. But from what I’ve heard, in the late hours of last night, they did encounter some fierce resistance from Hezbollah, which prevented them from entering into Lebanese territory.

AMY GOODMAN: Ali Rizk, we want to thank you for being with us, political, security analyst based in Beirut, Lebanon, contributor with Responsible Statecraft, the online magazine of the Quincy Institute.

Next up, shipping ports from Maine to Texas shut down at midnight as 45,000 dockworkers launch their first strike in almost half a century. We’ll also hear more from Julian Assange making his first public comments after being released from the Belmarsh Prison. Stay with us.

[break]

AMY GOODMAN: “Men Jibalina,” “From Our Mountains,” by Sima Kanaan. The song originates from the Algerian War of Independence.

[admin]

Headlines
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
October 02, 2024

Netanyahu Vows to Retaliate After Iran Fires Hundreds of Missiles at Israel
Oct 02, 2024

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to retaliate after Iran fired at least 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in response to repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the assassination of several Hezbollah leaders. Video posted online shows some of the missiles striking at or near the Nevatim Airbase, which houses Israel’s U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets. Israel says the only death from the attacks was a Palestinian man who was killed by falling debris in the occupied West Bank.

At the White House, President Biden responded by saying the United States will help Israel “exact severe consequences.” On Tuesday, a Pentagon spokesperson said U.S. forces had aided Israel in thwarting Iran’s attack.

Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder: “During the attack, the U.S. military coordinated closely with the Israeli Defense Forces to help defend Israel. U.S. Navy destroyers deployed to the Middle East region supported the defense of Israel by firing approximately a dozen interceptors against the incoming Iranian missiles.”

7 Killed, 16 Wounded in Shooting and Stabbing Attack in Tel Aviv
Oct 02, 2024

In Tel Aviv, Israeli police said at least seven people died in a shooting and stabbing attack on Tuesday. Israeli authorities claimed the attack was carried out by two people from the occupied West Bank — one was shot dead, the other was seriously wounded.

Hezbollah Says Its Fighters Repelled Israeli Troops Invading Southern Lebanon
Oct 02, 2024

In Lebanon, Hezbollah says its fighters have repelled incursions by Israeli forces attempting to invade southern Lebanon. Israeli media reports at least two Israeli soldiers were killed and 18 others wounded near the Lebanese border town of Odaisseh. Meanwhile, Israel’s military ordered more residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs to evacuate their homes. The U.N. says more than 1 million people across Lebanon have been uprooted by Israel’s assault.

Israel Bombs Gaza School and Orphanage, Killing Displaced Palestinians
Oct 02, 2024

In the Gaza Strip, Palestinian health officials say Israeli attacks have killed 79 Palestinians and wounded more than 80 others over the past 24 hours. In one strike, Israeli fighter jets bombed a school turned shelter in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighborhood, killing at least 13 people, including children. Israeli forces also bombed the al-Amal orphanage west of Gaza City, killing six Palestinians and wounding many others.

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Regional War Feared as Biden Backs Israel’s Threat to Retaliate After Iranian Missile Attack
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
October 02, 2024

Israel has announced it is sending more troops into southern Lebanon as the Middle East moves closer to a full-scale regional war. On Tuesday, Iran fired at least 180 ballistic missiles at Israel that Iran says targeted Israeli military and security sites, a response that comes after a series of escalating Israeli attacks in recent months against Hezbollah, Hamas and Iranian leaders. The United States aided Israel in intercepting many of the Iranian missiles on Tuesday, and President Joe Biden has vowed to support Israel in further retaliation. “From what I can gather, the Iranian assertion about targeting military and security facilities is correct,” says Israeli analyst Ori Goldberg in Tel Aviv. “While things were supposedly in control while Israel was going from glory to glory killing its enemies and getting the bad guys, there was also a deep sense of insecurity and a lack of control right at home.” We also speak with Akbar Shahid Ahmed, senior diplomatic correspondent for HuffPost, who says there is an ongoing debate inside the Biden White House between those who want to pull back from a regional war and the hawks who see this as an opportunity to reshape the Middle East. “The U.S. doesn’t know where it’s going,” says Ahmed.

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: Israel has announced it’s sending more troops into southern Lebanon as the Middle East moves closer to a full-scale regional war. On Tuesday, Iran fired at least 180 ballistic missiles at Israel in an attack that Iran said targeted Israeli military and security sites. Video online shows some of the missiles striking at or near the Nevatim Airbase, which houses Israel’s U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets. Israel is vowing to retaliate. Israel says the only death from the attacks was a Palestinian man who was killed by falling debris in the occupied West Bank, in Jericho.

President Biden responded to the Iran attack by saying the United States will help Israel, quote, “exact severe consequences,” unquote. On Tuesday, the United States aided Israel in intercepting many of the Iranian missiles.

Iran’s attack came in response to Israel’s escalating attacks on Lebanon and Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday. There have been a number of other developments in the region.

In southern Lebanon, Hezbollah fighters are claiming they attacked Israeli troops near the town of Odaisseh. Two Israeli soldiers were killed, 18 others wounded. Earlier today, Hezbollah denounced Israel for bombing the offices of Al-Sirat, a television network based outside of Beirut.

In Gaza, Al Jazeera reports Israeli forces have killed at least 79 Palestinians over the past day alone. In Tel Aviv, Israeli police said seven people died in a shooting and stabbing attack on Tuesday. Police said the attack was carried out by two men from the occupied West Bank — one was shot dead, the other seriously wounded.

And at the United Nations here in New York, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres issued a terse statement, saying, quote, “I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict, with escalation after escalation. This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire,” he said. Earlier today, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced he’s banning the U.N. secretary-general from entering Israel, saying he’s, quote, “persona non grata due to his unwillingness to condemn Iran,” unquote.

We’re joined now by two guests. Akbar Shahid Ahmed is the senior diplomatic correspondent for HuffPost. He’s based in Washington, D.C. And in Tel Aviv, we’re joined by the Israeli political analyst Ori Goldberg, who’s written extensively on Iran and Israel. His recent piece for New Lines Magazine is titled “Why Israelis Do and Don’t Want War with Hezbollah.”

Ori, let’s begin with you in Tel Aviv. Can you talk about what yesterday was like in Tel Aviv with the 180 missiles, what happened to them, how many you understand were intercepted, and then what Israel is promising to do next?

ORI GOLDBERG: Yesterday was scary. I spent 40 or 45 minutes with my three children and our dog in a shelter. There were many explosions that we could hear. We had no idea what was happening. But reports began to come out almost immediately that there were no casualties, except for one unfortunate Palestinian.

From what I can gather, the Iranian assertion about targeting military and security facilities is correct. All over the country, including in the center near Tel Aviv and in the Tel Aviv suburbs, such facilities were the targets. There were some civilian homes that were hit by bomb blasts.

Once again, it was scary, but it was also compounded by the horrible attack in Jaffa and by a general sense that while things were supposedly in control while Israel was going from glory to glory killing its enemies and getting the bad guys, there was also a deep sense of insecurity and a lack of control right at home. The Jaffa attack was quite traumatic. It still hasn’t really been covered extensively in the Israeli press, except for providing the names of some of the casualties. But generally, the sense was that Israel was not in control. I think that was one of the reasons for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s various statements about Iran having committed a grave mistake and about how Israel will punish it and retaliate.

Generally, there’s this sense of a surreal reality, if you will, where, on the one hand, Israel, again, seems to be doing great things and going great guns and finally getting some closure and fighting terrorism, but, on the other hand, there is a sense of impending doom and an inevitability of this impending doom when it comes to Israel’s potential actions in the future.

AMY GOODMAN: An AJ+, Al Jazeera Plus, reporter, Mohammad Alsaafin, wrote in social media, quote, “Israeli journalists and most Western journalists in Israel are abiding by the Israeli military censor, so this is a very useful thread. It seems like Nevatim got hit very hard. It’s the base where US munitions are sent.” Ori Goldberg, your response?

ORI GOLDBERG: I would assume that’s true. Of course, as Israeli citizens, we’re not entitled to know the results and implications of the Iranian strike. These bits of information are heavily censored, as are, by the way, reports about what is happening to Israeli forces in Lebanon.

Again, the Iranians have shown, and they already showed in April, that they are quite aware of where Israel’s main security facilities are. And their use of ballistic missiles this time apparently made it easier for them to create further impact. Many of the missiles were intercepted, but certainly not all of them.

It also seems like the Iranians knew exactly what they were doing. This wasn’t an inaccurate attack or not an indication of Iranian weakness, as some official Israeli spokespersons have tried to suggest. This was actually quite an accurate attack. And in that sense, I don’t think it was a retaliation to the assassination of Nasrallah. I actually think of it more as a shot across the bow. I think the Iranians were concerned, profoundly. And I think one of the reasons that the IRGC and the generals in Tehran won the day and persuaded the supreme leader to retaliate, after having lost to the republicans, pragmatists, moderates — call them what you will — who had, since Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination, convinced the leader not to retaliate, the reason there was a retaliation this time is because I think they were genuinely concerned that Israel might strike in Iran after it was done with Lebanon. I think, again, this was meant as a shot across the bow, as a message to Israel, saying, “Calm yourselves.” Right? “Take a breather.”

Will Israel retaliate? Likely. I think this is being decided right now in strenuous dialogue between D.C. and Jerusalem. But in the Iranian case, I really think this was not meant as a declaration of war. I think the nature of the attack demonstrates that quite effectively. I think it was meant as a message to Israel. I don’t know if that message was received.

AMY GOODMAN: On Tuesday, President Biden said, quote, “Based on what we know now, the attack appears to have been defeated and ineffective.” He added, “The U.S. military actively supported Israel’s defense.” Biden added, “Make no mistake, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel.” Can you talk about, Ori, the U.S. role in the region, from arming Israel’s assault on Gaza — last night, and there was almost no news of this in the mainstream U.S. corporate media, 79 people killed in the last, what, 24 hours in Gaza, so that assault continues — from what’s going on in Gaza to calling Israel’s assassination of the Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah “a measure of justice”? If you could comment?

ORI GOLDBERG: The U.S. role in enabling Israel’s campaign in Gaza and Israel’s rampage in Lebanon at the moment is undoubtedly crucial. The U.S. has allowed Israel to do this, just as it could have stopped Israel from doing it, and it decided not to do that. I think there are various reasons for America’s or the Biden administration’s support for Israel. I think a lot of them, again, have to do with historical baggage and with patterns seemingly set in stone after 76 years of Israel’s existence. I think it’s very, very hard to shake off old habits. I will assume that a Harris administration will not adopt the approach that the Biden administration adopted.

Having said that, I think there’s a real debate right now among the punditry about whether Gaza itself was a platform for initiating and generating a regional war with Iran at the behest of the United States in cooperation with Israel or whether this is the result of ongoing escalation, where there is less strategy and less forethought. I tend towards the second school. Looking at Israel’s behavior, I fail to discern any kind of plan, and perhaps even any rhyme or reason in the way Israel has been acting.

Israel has always adopted a very tactical mindset. We have never excelled at strategy. This time around, it seems like Israel approached what was happening in Lebanon as an attempt at redemption — that’s certainly true for the IDF — after the year of spectacular failures in Gaza. But also, I think Israel found itself in tactical heaven. Having managed to assassinate Nasrallah, suddenly a lot of other targets were surfacing. And it’s very important to understand that this is the way Israel approaches developing situations on the ground in the Middle East. Israel looks for targets. If these people surface, Israel hits them. Consequences, implications, midterm, definitely long-term considerations, these are usually almost completely irrelevant. Israel focuses on closure. I know that’s a little hard to accept. One thinks of Israel as a strategic powerhouse. But it really isn’t. And precedent, again, on the ground seems to suggest that that is true.

As for the United States, I think the United States has a very bad history with Hezbollah specifically, and the United States has a long memory, that goes back to the embassy suicide bombing attack in 1983. And that, I think, explains why the Biden administration spoke of Nasrallah’s assassination as a “measure of justice.” However, this strategy or this reasoning seems to be imploding, because for the first time Lebanon finds itself without a militia powerful enough to hold the country together. I think neither the United States nor Israel consider the implications of Israel’s rampage. I think they’re standing before a situation that could very rapidly devolve into war.

However, one last point, this war will likely not be a ground war. It won’t be that sort of offensive. It will be a projectile war based on missiles for some time yet. I don’t think the U.S. desires that kind of war. I think that’s true for both a Harris administration and a Trump administration. And again, I expect that in the conversations being held right now between Washington and Jerusalem, there is an attempt to find some sort of retaliatory measure for Israel that will not escalate this further.

AMY GOODMAN: During last night’s CBS News vice-presidential debate here in New York, Republican Senator JD Vance, Minnesota’s Democratic Governor Tim Walz both voiced support for Israel, but Walz criticized Donald Trump for pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal. This is what he said.

GOV. TIM WALZ: When Donald Trump was in office, it was Donald Trump who — we had a coalition of nations that had boxed Iran’s nuclear program in, the inability to advance it. Donald Trump pulled that program and put nothing else in its place. So Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than they were before, because of Donald Trump’s fickle leadership. And when Iran shot down an American aircraft in international airspace, Donald Trump tweeted, because that’s the standard diplomacy of Donald Trump. And when Iranian missiles did fall near U.S. troops and they received traumatic brain injuries, Donald Trump wrote it off as headaches.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Vance, the U.S. did have a diplomatic deal with Iran to temporarily pause parts of its nuclear program, and President Trump did exit that deal. He recently said, just five days ago, the U.S. must now make a diplomatic deal with Iran, because the consequences are impossible. Did he make a mistake? You have one minute.

SEN. JD VANCE: Well, first of all, Margaret, “diplomacy” is not a dirty word. But I think that something that Governor Walz just said is quite extraordinary. You yourself just said Iran is as close to a nuclear weapon today as they have ever been. And, Governor Walz, you blame Donald Trump. Who has been the vice president for the last three-and-a-half years? And the answer is your running mate, not mine. Donald Trump consistently made the world more secure.

AMY GOODMAN: That’s Senator Vance and, before him, Tim Walz. Akbar Shahid Ahmed also joins us, senior diplomatic correspondent for HuffPost. He’s in Washington, D.C. His recent piece headlined “Israel Is Preparing a Risky Incursion into Lebanon — as Biden Stands By.” And he’s working on a book on the Biden administration’s Gaza policy called Crossing the Red Line. Akbar, if you can respond to the U.S., President Biden, the Biden-Harris administration’s response to what’s happening in Israel, Gaza, Lebanon and with Iran right now?

AKBAR SHAHID AHMED: Thanks, Amy.

The Biden administration is in a place they definitely did not want to be a year ago at the start of this war, right? They thought they were going to prevent a regional war, demonstrate support for Israel and not pay a huge political cost. On all those fronts, they’ve largely failed, other than, arguably, the demonstrating support for Israel. Where they are now is they feel, “Look, we are five weeks from a presidential election. We don’t want to be seen as abandoning a U.S. partner.” So they’re really emphasizing this sense of we’re defending Israel.

But I think it gets to something Ori was talking about, which is: Is there a strategy here, or is this just tactics? Right? The administration can say, “Look, we’ve stopped Israelis from being killed. We’ve sent Israel defensive and huge offensive equipment.” But where are they actually going, and how are they deescalating tensions? That was something we didn’t see from Governor Walz. It’s not something we’ve heard from the Biden administration as Israel has begun its ground invasion of Lebanon. And I think when we’re at a point where there’s 40,000 and a growing number of U.S. troops in the region, and there is a sense that Israel’s actions are inextricably linked to a green light from the U.S., there’s a real responsibility for Washington here.

From their point of view, for Biden administration officials, there is an internal debate. Many are extremely cautious and are saying, “Look, this is the moment to try to use our leverage over Israel, which is overwhelming and unique, to rein them in.” But there is a small and very influential segment, Amy, of hawkish Biden administration advisers who say, “Look, Israel has decimated Hezbollah’s leadership to a large degree. We dislike Iran. We don’t want them to have so much influence in the region. Why not sort of keep escalating further?” The question is: Where does that lead us? And I think the administration hasn’t given us an answer yet.

AMY GOODMAN: What’s going on in the White House? Who are the parties around Biden? And what role does Kamala Harris play, the vice president?

AKBAR SHAHID AHMED: Yeah. I think the closest person to President Biden on these matters is someone called Brett McGurk. This is the White House Middle East coordinator. He’s not a well-known figure in the way that, say, Secretary of State Tony Blinken is, but he is someone who in many ways is emblematic of U.S. foreign policy thinking in the Middle East over the last 20 years — right? — which many folks would say is a pretty dubious record. This is someone who came up in the Bush administration administering Iraq. He’s very much pushing the “Let’s kneecap Iran right now. And this is our moment.” I think there’s folks at the Pentagon — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Blinken are, to a degree, more cautious, but this internal debate is so being fought in the room with the president personally. And what we know and what we’ve seen from the president publicly is he wants to yet again demonstrate support for Israel publicly, and it’s not clear, even privately, if he’s considering any route of using the influence he has — right? — of saying, “OK, we will not give you U.S. military equipment. We will pull back some of our troops from the region.”

Inside the White House, there’s also a lot of anxiety about Vice President Harris’s electoral prospects, as you can imagine. There’s a real sense that they’ve made a decision on the Gaza ceasefire question and the broader question in the Middle East, which is they’re not going to make a huge diplomatic push before the election. This idea they had that they were going to achieve a deal, bring home hostages, send aid to Palestinians, stop the bombing and the starvation, that’s all out the window at this point, right? The shiny new thing is a Lebanon incursion, opportunity and sort of hoping Gaza doesn’t reach the top headlines.

And I think that’s why you get to a point of risk where Senator Vance was able at the vice-presidential debate to say, “The world looks pretty chaotic right now, and it’s not former President Trump who’s in charge. It is President Biden.” And that’s an argument that the Trump campaign is very deliberately using to reach out to Americans in the middle and specific groups who feel alienated, whether it’s Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, younger voters. And polls do show us recently, Amy, that an increasing majority of Americans are worried about a growing war and want to see greater U.S. diplomacy. We’re not seeing a greater public demand for more weapons or more troops being sent to the region.

AMY GOODMAN: And what about the possibility, do you see, of Israel striking Iran, specifically perhaps nuclear sites?

AKBAR SHAHID AHMED: You know, I’ll think back to a pretty scary phrase I heard from a well-placed U.S. official, Korea, Korea bureaucrat working on Middle East policy. This person said to me at the beginning of this week — you know, he described how people inside government who track these issues are, quote, “stunned and shocked.” And then he said, “We feel we’re enabling a,” quote, “nihilistic regional murder spree.” Now, that’s very strong language, right? A murder spree. But what it tells you is that there’s a real sense within government that the U.S. is not going to provide a veto on Israeli actions. I think there is concern about: Does it strike nuclear sites, and does Iran lash back in a way that’s impossible to control? That the sense of a “no” from the U.S., I think, is — it’s very questionable. It’s not a guarantee.

What you could see the U.S. doing is urge Israel to strike something that looks strategic but is not necessarily a red line for the Iranians where they feel they have to respond to a huge degree. But that carries its own risks. We’ve seen the Iranians come out and say, “Not only would we, in response, target Israel; we would target U.S. partners across the region and potentially cripple the global economy.” Right? They’ve talked about targeting Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, other partners who are critical, to end global energy supplies. So, I think the U.S. doesn’t know where it’s going, but its commitment is very clear in that it wants to send a message to Iran that’s overwhelming and military.

AMY GOODMAN: Akbar Shahid Ahmed, I want to ask you to stay with us as we talk more about the debate, particularly the last response of JD Vance around the issue of January 6th and the insurrection and President Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election. We’ll also be talking about abortion and climate change and more. Akbar is the senior diplomatic correspondent for HuffPost, joining us from D.C. We’ll link to your pieces on Lebanon and Gaza.

And we want to thank Ori Goldberg for joining us. Ori Goldberg, Israeli political analyst and scholar who’s written extensively on Iran, Israel and the relationship between religion and politics in the Middle East. We’ll link to your piece in New Lines Magazine, “Why Israelis Do and Don’t Want War with Hezbollah.” Your recent piece for The Nation, “For Israeli Protesters, Palestine Might as Well Not Exist.”

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Headlines
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
October 03, 2024

Israeli Airstrike Kills 9 Near Lebanon’s Parliament as Hezbollah Battles Israeli Invasion
Oct 03, 2024

At least nine people, including health and rescue workers, have died in central Beirut after Israel bombed an apartment building housing a medical center affiliated with Hezbollah. At least 14 people were wounded in the airstrike on the Bashoura district of Beirut near Lebanon’s Parliament. There are reports Israel fired white phosphorus munitions during the attack. Israel also carried out numerous strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Lebanese authorities say 1.2 million people have been displaced since Israel began its massive aerial assault last week. Eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah claims it has destroyed three Israeli tanks.

Lebanese FM Claims Israel Killed Nasrallah Shortly After He Agreed to Ceasefire
Oct 03, 2024

Israel launched the ground invasion days after assassinating Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday. Lebanon’s top diplomat has revealed that Israel targeted Nasrallah after he had agreed to a 21-day ceasefire. Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib made the comment during an interview with Christiane Amanpour on PBS.

Christiane Amanpour: “Are you saying Hassan Nasrallah had agreed to a ceasefire just moments before he was assassinated?”

Abdallah Bou Habib: “He agreed. He agreed, yes, yes. We agreed completely. Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire, but consulting with the Hezbollah. The speaker, Mr. Berri, consulted with Hezbollah. And we informed the Americans and the French that that’s what happened.”

Christiane Amanpour: “So” —

Abdallah Bou Habib: “And they told us that Mr. Netanyahu also agreed on the statement that was issued by both presidents.”

Hezbollah has not confirmed a ceasefire deal was reached, but Lebanon’s Ambassador to the U.K. Rami Mortada told the BBC, “We were on track trying to discuss a diplomatic alternative to the current abyss, but the hotheads in Israel chose a different path.”

Meanwhile, the emir of Qatar has accused Israel of committing a “collective genocide” as he condemned Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza and Lebanon.

U.S. Remains “Fully, Fully, Fully Supportive of Israel” as Netanyahu Mulls Attacks on Iran
Oct 03, 2024

Israel continues to threaten to launch a major attack on Iran after Tehran fired some 180 ballistic missiles at Israeli military bases and other security sites. On Wednesday, President Biden said he supports Israel’s right to retaliate but that he opposes strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. At the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield stressed U.S. support for Israel.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield: “As President Biden emphasized following yesterday’s attack, the United States is fully, fully, fully supportive of Israel.”

On Wednesday, Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian, visited Qatar, where he said Iran wants peace, not war.

President Masoud Pezeshkian: “The security of the region is the security of all Muslims, and we do not want any war or bloodshed. Since I assumed the presidency, every speech I’ve made has emphasized our quest for peace and security. No nation or region can prosper in the midst of war. … We were left with no choice but to respond. If Israel decides to retaliate, then it will face harsher reactions.”

Israel’s Attacks on Gaza Have Wiped Out 902 Entire Palestinian Families
Oct 03, 2024

In Gaza, Israeli ground and air attacks have killed nearly 100 people over the past day, including at least 51 in Khan Younis. The dead in Khan Younis included seven women and 12 children. Residents described the Israeli attack.

Mohamed: “We were at home when we heard explosions and planes. We could not leave our homes. We wanted to go out to a safe place like the city by the sea or Mawasi, but we could not get there because of the planes. Whoever left their home was killed because of the quadcopters. There was heavy fire all night. It started from 7 p.m. until 3:30 a.m. nonstop.”

Gaza authorities say Israel’s yearlong war has wiped 902 entire families off the civil registry. There are another 1,364 families where only one family member has survived. The official death toll in Gaza has reached nearly 41,800, but that is believed to be a vast undercount.

*******************

“Don’t Do It”: Lebanese Lawyer Warns Israel Against Using War to Create a “New Middle East”
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
October 03, 2024

Israeli strikes continue to rain down on Lebanon, including a strike that killed rescue and health workers in Beirut. Lebanese authorities say 1.2 million people have been displaced by the Israeli attacks. Israel announced eight of its soldiers were killed while invading southern Lebanon this week. Israel launched the ground invasion after assassinating Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, despite Nasrallah reportedly agreeing to a 21-day ceasefire. “This overwhelming use of force cannot change people’s agency,” says Nadim Houry, Lebanese researcher and executive director of the Arab Reform Initiative. “The region does not want to be a satellite of Israel or a satellite of the U.S. And by the way, the region does not want to be a satellite of Iran either. The problem is the region is not really being given much of a choice.”

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: At least nine people, including health and rescue workers, have died in central Beirut after Israel bombed an apartment building housing a medical center affiliated with Hezbollah. At least 14 people were wounded. The attack occurred without warning in the Bashoura district of Beirut near Lebanon’s Parliament and the United Nations headquarters in the city. There are reports Israel fired white phosphorus munitions during the attack. Israel also carried out numerous strikes in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Lebanese authorities say 1.2 million people have been displaced by the Israeli attacks.

Meanwhile, Israel has announced eight of its soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon, which Israel invaded earlier this week.

AMY GOODMAN: This comes as Israel continues to threaten to launch a major attack on Iran after Tehran fired some 180 ballistic missiles at Israeli military bases and other security sites. Israel has also killed nearly 100 people in Gaza over the past day.

Meanwhile, the emir of Qatar has accused Israel of committing a, quote, “collective genocide,” unquote, as he condemned Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza and Lebanon. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani made the comment during the Asia Cooperation Dialogue Summit in Doha.

SHEIKH TAMIM BIN HAMAD AL-THANI: [translated] It has become clear that what is happening is collective genocide, in addition to turning the Gaza Strip into an area unfit for human habitation in preparation for displacement. … We call for serious efforts for a ceasefire and stop of the attacks carried out by the Israeli occupation on Lebanese territory. Security will not be achieved without achieving a just peace. And this will not be achieved in our region except by establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the borders of June 4th, 1967.

AMY GOODMAN: For more on all of this, we’re joined by Nadim Houry, Lebanese researcher, international lawyer, executive director of the Arab Reform Initiative. He worked at Human Rights Watch for over a decade, where he established the group’s Lebanon office and covered the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. He’s joining us now from Paris.

Nadim, welcome to Democracy Now! Though you are in France right now, you have close connections to people on the ground in Lebanon. Israeli airstrikes hit an apartment building in central Beirut overnight in an area considered a safe zone, given its Christian majority population. Can you talk about what you’re hearing from people on the ground, what the situation is right now with, what, 1.2 [million] Lebanese displaced, as well?

NADIM HOURY: Sure. Thank you for having me.

The offices of the research center I run is actually less than a hundred meters away from where the strike happened last night, so I’m very familiar with the area.

The overwhelming feeling today in Lebanon is fear, anxiety and anger, for a number of reasons. Fear because the Lebanese have seen what Israel can do to the country since 1978, repeated invasions, repeated attacks, the destruction of the 2006 war, and they’ve also seen recently what happened to Gaza. There’s also high level of anger because they feel this is a war that they don’t understand. This is a war that many of them feel was imposed on them. They feel that there could have been a ceasefire in Gaza, which would have prevented all of this. But also anger at a totally absent Lebanese state. Many people are actually still sleeping on the streets, many of the displaced, because the Lebanese government was unable to really put together a proper evacuation plan. And people who are being hosted are being hosted either through family or friends or through really a wonderful solidarity movement across the country.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, Nadim, could you explain where exactly these displaced people are going? They’re sleeping in cars, as you had said earlier, as well as being taken in by, you know, friends or family in houses. But where in Beirut? Are there places in Beirut that are still considered safe? Or are they all leaving the city?

NADIM HOURY: Sure. So, people started moving initially from the border villages in the south months ago. But really the movement accelerated in the last 10 days, notably on September 23rd, where Israel in one day killed more than 500 Lebanese, which was the highest death toll in Lebanon since the civil war which ended in 1990. Since then, more — you know, we talked about more than a million people have moved. They’ve moved — they’re being housed by friends, but also the Lebanese government has opened now all public schools. All public schools are being turned into temporary shelter in Beirut, but also all across the country, in Mount Lebanon, in southern cities like Sidon and Tyre. The only problem right now is Israel is increasingly threatening villages and towns further north from its border. Some of the warnings of the last two, three days go way north of the Litani River, which Israel often talks about, and includes some of the major towns around Tyre, the biggest city in the south.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Nadim, you mentioned earlier that the Lebanese government has not been able to come up with a proper evacuation plan, that the state is really not functional. If you could describe what the situation was in Lebanon prior to the Israeli attacks and its invasion, both in terms of the economy but also the government?

NADIM HOURY: Sure. I mean, Lebanon has been in a state of protracted political crisis for years — some would say for decades. But it really accelerated since 2018. And in 2019, we had, basically, a major breakdown of the banking system. It turns out that our corrupt elites were basically running a Ponzi scheme. And since 2019, Lebanese don’t have access to their savings in the bank accounts. They are allowed $200, $300 a month, depending on how much money they have in these bank accounts. We haven’t had a president now for, I think, over a year and a half, so it’s only a caretaker government. It’s really a state that has, in a way, not only become failed, but has almost given up. They almost act as a postal box for messages between different regional, international parties.

And the Lebanese really feel that. They felt it particularly, we have to remember, after the Beirut port explosion on August 4th, 2020, where, there, again, the Lebanese woke up to see large parts of their capital destroyed and learning that many of their politicians knew that nitrate was actually being — ammonium nitrate was being stored in the port right by the city center and no one did anything.

I think there’s a strong effort of local organizing right now. And I would add maybe, perhaps, one of the challenges facing the displaced is, in 2006, Hezbollah’s logistics operation was, you know, a very well-oiled machine. They were very present. Since the beeper attacks that Israel had done against Hezbollah members — and many of those members, by the way, were not combatants, but were actually civilians somehow affiliated with Hezbollah — Hezbollah has not been able, through its various associations and services, to really fully support as well those displaced from the south.

AMY GOODMAN: Nadim, during Israel’s last invasion of Lebanon in 2006, you were at Human Rights Watch in Lebanon, looked into the reasons for civilian deaths there. You tweeted earlier this week you’re, quote, “very worried” they’re the “same patterns” developing now. I’m wondering if you can comment on this. And you also posted a series of comments on X Wednesday in response to what you call, quote, “murmurs amongst Israelis & their supporters (in the West & our region) about creating 'a new Middle East.'” You write, “Don’t do it. You have tried before & each time it has ended in disaster.” Elaborate on all of these points.

NADIM HOURY: Sure, yes. Thank you very much for the opportunity. So, I spent 33 days in 2006, the entire war, documenting why Lebanese civilians were being killed. And there were really two main reasons, which we’re actually finding again today in Lebanon. The first one is that Israel deliberately treats anyone and anything remotely affiliated with Hezbollah, even if they’re clearly civilian, as a legitimate target, which is clearly something that international law rejects. And that’s why, for example, we saw the attack last night on a medical center. There is no allegation by Israel so far that they’ve hit any military object, other than to say, “Well, it was a medical center affiliated with Hezbollah.” That’s clearly illegal. We saw a lot of these attacks in 2006, and then we’re seeing many of these attacks today in 2024. That’s why we actually have now more than 20 medics in Lebanon who have been killed. A number of them have been affiliated with Hezbollah. I should note, there are some accounts that indicate that Hezbollah is — obviously, we know it’s not just an armed group. They have various civilian offices, services. It’s probably the second-biggest employer in Lebanon after the state, you know, probably with more than 100,000 employees. So, if you consider all of them legitimate, like Israel has been tempted to do, you can just imagine the carnage and the crimes that will be committed.

And the second main reason of such a high death toll is really what, actually, the Israeli leadership called in 2006 the Dahiyeh doctrine, Dahiyeh being the southern suburb of Beirut, where basically Israel decides to use massive and disproportionate force on civilian areas and civilian objects where Hezbollah could be supported as a way of kind of getting collective punishment and of deterring and, frankly, trying to push the population to say, “OK, we give up.” Now, we’re seeing these same patterns. We’re seeing these same patterns in the last 10 days with the intensification of attacks on Dahiyeh. And that explains why we’re seeing such high civilian death tolls — which brings me to my second point.

You know, with these attacks, we started hearing, particularly after the assassination of the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, but also after Iran’s strikes, we saw a number of Israeli politicians, including Naftali Bennett, who’s the former Israeli prime minister, saying, “This is our chance to remake the Middle East.” You know, but we’ve heard this before, for those of us who are from the region. We heard this in 1982, when Israel invaded Beirut to push out the PLO, and they tried to install a president and a regime in Lebanon that will be friendly to them. You know how this ended, other than the massacres and the crimes? It ended with the creation of Hezbollah. We heard that it in 2006 again, when they said, you know, “We’re going to go in, and we’re going to destroy Hezbollah, and this will be the end of it.” Hezbollah came out stronger than before. And in 2008, Hezbollah used that strength to actually control Lebanon even more by using some of its weapons against other Lebanese.

The U.S. made the same mistake in 2003. They invaded Iraq, and they said, you know, “We’re going to refashion the Middle East into our own — you know, into what we would like to see, into these pro-Western governments.” And that has been an utter failure, and the U.S. is about to leave Iraq.

You know, the problem is, with all these strategies, all these campaigns, is we know that this overwhelming use of force cannot change people’s agency. The region does not want to be a satellite of Israel or a satellite of the U.S. And by the way, the region does not want to be a satellite of Iran either. The problem is, the region is not really being given much of a choice. And that’s what’s happening in Lebanon, in Palestine, in so many other places.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Well, let’s go, Nadim, to comments made by Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who said on Wednesday that Israel should take out Iran’s nuclear program. He was speaking on CNN.

NAFTALI BENNETT: Sometimes history knocks on your door, and you’ve got to seize the moment. If we don’t do it now, I don’t see it ever happening. And now is the moment. I also want to explain why, because Iran’s strategy, it had two arms that were sort of defending it, or they were its insurance policy against an Israeli strike, and that’s Hezbollah and Hamas. But those two arms are temporarily paralyzed. So it’s like a boxer out in the ring without arms for the next few minutes. Now is the time that we can attack, because Iran is fully vulnerable. The Islamic Republic of Iran, it’s time to hit, destroy the nuclear program.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, that was former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaking to CNN. And now let’s go to another former Israeli prime minister, Ehud Barak, speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, who asked him, asked Barak, whether he agreed with the comments Bennett had made earlier.

EHUD BARAK: In order to, one, a full-scale attempt to change the Middle East, we need all this alliance of blessing, led by the United States. … Israel is very strong. Israel cannot rearrange the Middle East on its own.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, that was former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. So, your response, Nadim, to what they were saying?

NADIM HOURY: Don’t do it. Don’t do it. You will fail. You’ve failed in the past. I mean, we know that there is another pathway. Look, there are two central questions that as long as they’re not resolved, the Middle East is not going to know peace. The first one is the Palestine question. And the second one is a question that has been central to the region since 1979, which is: What is the legitimate place of Iran?

And by trying, since the 1980s with the Iran-Iraq War and since so many other conflicts since then of trying to box in Iran and trying to sort of attack it, reduce its size, the only outcome has been Iran sort of pops back out from another door and uses nonstate actors to establish its influence. It’s done this in Lebanon with Hezbollah. It’s done this in Iraq with the Shia militias. It’s helped with the Houthis in Yemen. It’s done this, the same, now in Syria.

So, I think we need to — in my view, if the region is to know proper peace, we need to answer these two questions. You know, either the Palestinians get a full independent state, a sovereign state, à la two-state solutions, which is what the Arab countries are pushing for, or they get full citizenship in one state, Jews and Arabs treated exactly the same. And you also — you know, that equation has to be resolved; otherwise — and this is what October 7th reminded us — there can be no peace. There will be forms of armed resistance. Some you may like, some you may call terrorism, but there will be armed resistance as long as the Palestine question is not resolved in this region.

And the second one, as well, which is Iran has shown us that it can actually be very good at using patience. This is what it did after the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003. And guess what: At the time, I remember a younger Netanyahu telling the Americans in Congress, “It’s all going to be fine. You know, Iran is going to lose. We’re going to have democracy. Everyone is going to welcome us.” Well, guess what: It didn’t turn out exactly the same way. Yes, the U.S. had overwhelming power. Yes, the U.S. invaded and occupied Iraq. And the occupation was a disaster. And today, Iran is stronger than it ever was.

So I’m not sure what Naftali Bennett hopes to achieve. And even Ehud Barak, which is trying to play more of a role of an elder statesman: “I’ve seen it. We have to be more cautious.” But what he’s saying is, “We have to be more cautious, so we need to make sure that the U.S. underwrites this whole enterprise.” I think that would be foolish.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: So, let me ask you about that, just before we end, Nadim. What are the prospects of the U.S. underwriting that plan, the potential for Israel to attack Iran?

NADIM HOURY: Well, look, to be honest, so far what we have seen is basically Team Biden equal Team Israel. You know, rhetorically, they say, “Oh, we’ve asked Israel not to do this. We’ve told Israel this will be bad to do.” And, you know, a few minutes later, we hear about new sales of weapons, billions of dollars being transferred, intel being provided. Right now the U.S. is acting as a full enabler of Israel’s, what I would consider not only aggressive, but actually extremely dangerous policies, which actually lead to Israel acting as a spoiled child of the U.S. and of the West, which leads it to take positions like indicating and treating the secretary-general of the U.N. as persona non grata. Which, you know, rule-of-law country would do that?

AMY GOODMAN: And just to underscore what you’re saying, Israel has said that the U.N. Secretary-General Guterres cannot come to Israel, that he is persona non grata. Nadim Houry, we want to thank you for joining us, Lebanese researcher, international lawyer, executive director of the Arab Reform Initiative, speaking to us from Paris, France.

Coming up, we look at a new Fault Lines Al Jazeera documentary, Starving Gaza, in 20 seconds.

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“Starving Gaza”: Al Jazeera Film Shows U.S. Keeps Arming Israel as It Uses Hunger as a Weapon of War
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
October 03, 2024

A deliberate, man-made famine is underway in Gaza, according to many human rights experts. Starving Gaza is a new documentary by Al Jazeera English’s Fault Lines investigating how Israel has killed civilians seeking aid and attacked humanitarian networks. The harrowing film is based on the work of Palestinian reporters in Gaza who are suffering the same conditions as their subjects. “They’ve been displaced, they’ve been injured, they’ve watched their own children die in front of them, and yet they somehow conjure the professionalism to pick up a camera and record and tell other people’s trauma,” says journalist Hind Hassan. “They really will be remembered in history as the titans of journalists.”

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Nermeen Shaikh.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: We turn now to Gaza, where human rights experts say a deliberate, man-made famine is underway. Last month, the U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food accused Israel of carrying out a starvation campaign in Gaza.

A new documentary by Al Jazeera English’s Fault Lines worked with Palestinian reporters to investigate how Israel has killed civilians seeking aid and attacked humanitarian networks in Gaza, and that the U.S. knows this is happening and has done nothing to stop it. In a minute, we’ll be joined by the filmmaker. We begin with a clip from Starving Gaza and a warning: This contains graphic images and descriptions. In this clip, we hear from a Palestinian doctor, Ahmed Nasser, who’s trying to save severely malnourished children in Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza.

DR. AHMED NASSER: [translated] I don’t think anyone in north Gaza has enough food to eat. We have a new malnutrition case. The number of cases is beyond the malnutrition clinic’s capacity.

HIND HASSAN: Every day, the cries of hungry children fill the halls of Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza. Some children here at the malnutrition clinic have never known a full meal in their life. After the Hamas attacks on October 7th, Israel cut off fuel, food and water from Gaza. Within weeks, starvation had spread in the north. Israel doesn’t allow foreign journalists into Gaza, so we worked with Palestinian reporters who filmed for us at Kamal Adwan Hospital in June.

DR. AHMED NASSER: [translated] How often does he have fever?

ABDULAZIZ’S MOTHER: [translated] He had a high fever and diarrhea all night.

HIND HASSAN: Abdulaziz is 5 months old and starving. Dr. Ahmed Nasser has been taking care of him with what little resources the hospital has on hand.

ABDULAZIZ’S MOTHER: [translated] Should I be concerned? He had a fever for 20 days before I brought him to the hospital.

DR. AHMED NASSER: [translated] The situation is very serious. The child cannot absorb anything in his body. Anything that enters his body is excreted without benefit to him. His mother brought him to the hospital because the child was suffering from chronic diarrhea, vomiting and a high body temperature. Many times we were shocked to see 30 to 40 cases in one day for the same reason.

AMY GOODMAN: That’s part of the opening to the new Fault Lines documentary, Starving Gaza. And this is another clip. We hear from the parents of 2-year-old Khaled, who died of malnutrition in February, an otherwise healthy toddler before Israel began its Gaza assault.

HANAN ASSAF: [translated] It’s very difficult to lose your child because he was hungry. It’s hard.

HIND HASSAN: When famine starts, it takes the youngest first. It’s been five months since Hanan Assaf and her husband Muhammad buried their 2-year-old son Khaled. This is Khaled in happier times, before the war on Gaza and the starvation that followed.

HANAN ASSAF: [translated] This war destroyed everything — houses, people, trees, stones. Everything was destroyed. This was my youngest son’s room. The occupation forces burned it. They didn’t leave us a single memory. Nothing. The boy was fine. All of a sudden he started to cry all the time. He began eating less because there was no food. He was used to drinking milk and eating rice and fruits. But since the beginning of the war, it decreased until it completely ran out. There was nothing available at all except for wild greens. And the prices are unbelievable for whatever is there. The boy looked like a skeleton. He was gone. He was completely gone. I would hold him like a newborn. He stopped being able to sit up, move or walk. His body became very weak. I took him to Kamal Adwan Hospital. There was no medicine or treatment. On the last two days, he was on a ventilator.

HIND HASSAN: Khaled died of severe dehydration and malnutrition at Kamal Adwan Hospital on February 2nd, 2024.

AMY GOODMAN: Starving Gaza. For more, we’re joined in London by Hind Hassan, journalist, filmmaker, long covered Palestine and directed Starving Gaza for Fault Lines on Al Jazeera English.

Welcome, Hind, to Democracy Now! This is a horrifying documentary. If you can start off by talking about these devastating effects of this last year on Gaza? And then we’ll talk about the exposé of the U.S. suppressing its own reports on preventing humanitarian aid from getting in, Israel doing that.

HIND HASSAN: Thank you. And before I start through that, first of all, thank you for having the on the show, but I just want to say that I am a documentary filmmaker, I’m a journalist, but this documentary was made by many people — the director, you know, who’s Mark, who works at Fault Lines Al Jazeera, and all the other filmmakers that we had in Gaza, and their role is so central. And I think that’s what makes this documentary so unique, is that collaboration that we had with the filmmakers who were inside Gaza, so that they can showcase to the world the realities of what is happening in Gaza at the moment and also show just how skilled they are and the conditions that they are working in, and yet they are still producing these incredibly powerful documentaries and films.

And to your question, since October the 7th, we have seen the siege that already existed on Gaza increase, and as part of that, there has been a significant decrease in the amount of aid that has been able to get into Gaza. And as a result of that, we have seen a lot of children and women who were pregnant and newborns, toddlers and people suffering from malnutrition because they haven’t been able to get access to the necessary food or the aid that is needed for them to be able to live a healthy life. And as a result of that, we have seen numerous cases of children who have died as a result of malnutrition. But the number of deaths just touches the reality on the ground and the number of people who are being impacted by what’s happening.

And this documentary, what it does is it speaks to the victims on the ground. It talks to those individuals who have lost their children, who have had to struggle with not being able to provide milk or formula or food or have not been able — pregnant women who have not been able to provide the sustenance that babies need, doctors who are in the wards and who are trying to deal with the high number of victims that are coming in, with the patients that are coming in, showing you that day-to-day of what happens, and then also the search for accountability that you mentioned outside of Gaza, in the United States and in the United Kingdom, because, of course, we, as international journalists, have not been able to get into Gaza since October the 7th.

We have had to rely completely on our colleagues who are inside Gaza, who are not only working every single day, who don’t have a break, who can’t take a moment to try and gather themselves, but who are also — who have also been displaced, have lost family members, who have been through incredible trauma of their own, but yet they are still documenting other people’s trauma in order for us to understand the realities of what’s happening on the ground. Because we haven’t been able to go in and support our colleagues, we did what we could outside in order to support and showcase their work inside of Gaza.

NERMEEN SHAIKH: And, Hind, could you explain — I mean, you’ve said a little bit about this — how is it that you contacted people in Gaza, since, as you mentioned, Al Jazeera has not been there? Who were the filmmakers that you worked with?

HIND HASSAN: So, actually, I want to tell you a story about one of the filmmakers. We had many people who worked on the ground with us. We coordinated with people who were outside Gaza. It’s a full Palestinian team. So, there were people who were outside who helped us coordinate inside, and then we also worked alongside cameramen and cinematographers and directors of photography who were inside Gaza. It’s incredibly difficult. It’s not easy to do, because they are constantly dealing with a lack of data, lack of ability to be able to send footage over. And the internet is very patchy and is very difficult, so communication is tough for us to be able to get in — to communicate with them, let alone send that high-quality footage over to us. And on top of that, they’re dealing with daily bombardments, and they’re dealing with their own issues.

But there is our director of photography who is inside Gaza. His name is Hussien Jaber. When I learned about his story, I was completely shocked. And there’s not much that shocks us journalists that work on these stories, because we see so many horrors and we hear the stories of people and what they’ve been through. But when I heard about our own colleague and what had happened to him, I was really blown away. It’s a heartbreaking story.

So, on the 5th of December, Hussien Jaber had gone to Gaza City, where his family were. They had been ordered to evacuate by Israel, and so they were trying to head west, which is what they had been ordered to do. And he had been working. He had gone to Gaza City in order to help his children evacuate. They had been staying in a building for a number of days. And then he sees his daughter running towards him, his youngest daughter, who’s just 4 years old. Her name is Salma. And she’s running to him, he describes the Israeli military firing bullets. It sprayed everywhere. And he sees — as his daughter runs towards him, he sees his daughter shot in the neck. She’s then still running somehow, slowly. She’s writhing in pain. He runs towards her, and he embraces her, and she dies.

And this was our director of photography. This was not someone we featured in the documentary. This was the man who was filming that trauma. He watched his 4-year-old die and be killed in the neck just — shot in the neck and killed just in December. Somehow his 9-year-old daughter Sarah survived. She had a bullet that went through her jacket, but she managed to survive. And then, his son, Omar, his 3-year-old son, he says, is still asking, “Where is Salma? Where is my sister?”

And also, during that, as his daughter was shot, he was also hit. He doesn’t remember how it happened, when it happened, because it was all a blur, and he was focused on his daughter. But he was also shot. And Al Jazeera did an interview with him, and there’s a photograph of him on the Al Jazeera website where his arm is in a sling and he has external screws on his arm.

This is the story of the Palestinian journalists in Gaza. So many of them have gone through this. They’ve been displaced, they’ve been injured, they’ve watched their own children die in front of them, and yet they somehow conjure the professionalism to pick up a camera and record and tell other people’s trauma. And I think that’s what is so powerful about this documentary, what’s so unique about it, is the way that we try to collaborate. This is a platform for them to tell their story. This is a platform for them to show the world what is happening to the children of Gaza, the impact of the lack of aid and the lack of food being able to get in. And it really is them center stage. And our role is to support them, is to be able to do that chasing and to do the accountability chasing.

There is a moment in the film where I actually speak to Dr. Ahmed Nasser. And even during that, you don’t see it on the documentary, you just see the moments that we managed to speak to him. But just during that communication, the line cut off maybe five or six times, and we had to keep calling back, and we had to keep waiting. And the journalists who were filming on the other side — so, Hussien Jaber and his colleagues — they were so patient. They were so professional.

And I think as we look back, as we look back on these moments and these times and remember the journalists in Gaza, they really will be remembered in history as the titans of journalists. And it’s a complete honor for every single one of us that worked on this documentary to be able to say that we worked alongside them.

AMY GOODMAN: And let’s remember that so many have died, have been killed in the Israeli assault over — the estimates are 170 journalists. Now, I want to go to its — the film is sort of in two parts, and then it’s responsibility for what’s happening in Gaza. This is a clip from Starving Gaza that features Stacy Gilbert. She’s former senior adviser in the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, resigned after over 20 years, after disagreements with how the State Department put out the report that she worked on that concluded that Israel was not obstructing U.S. humanitarian assistance to Gaza — not her conclusion.

STACY GILBERT: It is widely known and documented in the humanitarian community and the U.S. government that Israel has been blocking humanitarian assistance since the start of the Gaza conflict.

HIND HASSAN: Stacy Gilbert was a senior officer in the U.S. State Department and specialized in humanitarian assistance. She resigned in May after the Biden administration concluded Israel isn’t blocking aid.

STACY GILBERT: They have made a policy decision to support Israel unconditionally.

HIND HASSAN: What are those specific ways of aid being blocked?

STACY GILBERT: It’s everything. There are administrative obstacles, not enough customs officials checking these items, the food that goes bad because it’s waiting on the trucks. So it’s like a spigot. They turn on, they turn off. They decide that some things can’t go in, other things can. Aid workers’ visas are denied or delayed. And when the pressure builds, they will allow more assistance in, but then the spigot gets turned off again. So, Israel and the United States government will say, “Look, some assistance is going in.” It’s never been enough. And they know that.

HIND HASSAN: The U.S. gives Israel billions of dollars in security funding each year. There’s a U.S. law that prohibits arms transfers to countries that are blocking humanitarian assistance.

STACY GILBERT: The administration deliberately denies the facts on the ground, because it would trigger consequences to cut off security funding. It allows the weapons sales to continue. The weapons are the engine that fuel this war. And we are not taking responsibility for our role in it.

AMY GOODMAN: So, that was Stacy Gilbert, former senior adviser in the State Department, who resigned. Hind Hassan, this is another clip from your report, Starving Gaza, when you come to Washington and question State Department spokesperson Matt Miller.

HIND HASSAN: We went to a press briefing at the U.S. State Department to ask about Washington’s support for Israel as famine has spread throughout Gaza.

We’ve had aid organizations and relief groups who have said over and over again that Israel is using starvation as a tactic of war. How do you respond to the allegations of complicity of the U.S. government? And what more will it take for the U.S. to stop Israeli military funding?

MATTHEW MILLER: So, it is the United States that has secured all of the major agreements to get more humanitarian assistance into Gaza, going back to the very early days, the first week after October 7th, when the secretary traveled to the region and the president traveled to Israel and together convinced Israel to open Rafah crossing to allow humanitarian assistance in. It has not been enough There are obstacles. Sometimes those are logistical obstacles coming from Israel. Sometimes those are the nature of moving humanitarian assistance around in an armed conflict.

HIND HASSAN: Under U.S. law, it is required that any country receiving military support must not obstruct the flow of humanitarian aid during war. And every major rights group, from the United Nations to Human Rights Watch, has said that Israel is using starvation as a tactic of war. Do you disagree with them? And are you — just, sorry, one final question: Are you not afraid of completely losing legitimacy, of being seen as being hypocritical when it comes to supporting human rights in one country, but not when it comes to Palestinians?

MATTHEW MILLER: Let me just answer the first question. So, I would encourage you to read the report that we issued on this very question two months ago that looked into Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law and their work and whether they had done a good enough job to let humanitarian assistance in, where we said that there were some roadblocks that needed to be overcome. And we had worked to overcome those, and we had seen Israel take steps to allow humanitarian assistance in.

AMY GOODMAN: So, that’s State Department spokesperson Matt Miller, Hind Hassan questioning him in Washington, D.C., coming out of the Stacy Gilbert clip from the film, who quit the State Department over the report that was issued. And ProPublica recently revealed that USAID and the State Department’s refugees bureau, where she worked, both concluded this spring that Israel had deliberately blocked deliveries of food and medicine into Gaza, but U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top Biden officials rejected the findings of the agencies. Blinken’s decision allowed the U.S. to keep sending arms to Israel. Your final thoughts, Hind?

HIND HASSAN: So, as you saw there, two very contrasting statements. You have the former State Department official saying that Israel is deliberately blocking aid, and then you have Matthew Miller, Matt Miller, saying, “Oh, please check out our report. Israel could do more, but they’re not deliberately blocking aid.”

And to understand this, you really have to understand Stacy Gilbert and her role and who she is. She has worked for the State Department for many, many years. She’s been doing this job for decades. And this decision may have been an easy decision for her, but it’s not one that she took lightly. She has worked in so many other countries. So, for her, at this point to decide, “I cannot continue in my job, I must step down because of this,” shows you how huge that is, that opinion is to her, or what’s happened is to her. And so, I really don’t think that you can take lightly what she’s done or any of the other officials who have resigned. I was born in Iraq, and I remember watching all the resignations of the officials in the United States who did not support the War in Iraq or the invasion for legality reasons. And so, it’s full circle now to have been sat in front of Stacy Gilbert and to hear her say that she is haunted by that report and that the reason why she resigned was because she wants to be an asterisk in the history books, that she didn’t stay quiet and that she spoke up.

And so, I think viewers can watch this documentary, and they can make up their own minds, but there is a huge body of evidence which suggests that Israel has been purposefully blocking the flow of aid into Gaza and that the United States government knows about it.

AMY GOODMAN: Hind Hassan, we thank you so much for being with us, journalist, documentary filmmaker, has long covered Palestine, is the correspondent and narrator on the new Al Jazeera documentary film Starving Gaza, worked with many Palestinian filmmakers in Gaza.

Coming up, the death toll from Hurricane Helene nears 200 as we look at six plastic factory workers feared dead after floodwaters swelled around their Tennessee workplace. Their boss repeatedly threatened to fire anyone who left during the storm. Back in 20 seconds.

[admin]

Headlines
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
October 04, 2024

Israeli Strikes on Lebanon Kill Dozens of Medical Workers, Shuttering Hospitals
Oct 04, 2024

Israel’s military has carried out its heaviest airstrikes so far on Lebanon with a reported 10 massive bombings overnight in Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs. Lebanon’s health minister reports at least 2,000 people have been killed since the start of the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, including at least 127 children, most of them in the past two weeks. On Thursday, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Israeli attacks had made it impossible for the WHO to deliver a large shipment of trauma and medical supplies to Beirut. He said Israeli strikes have killed 28 health workers in just one 24-hour span, while shuttering dozens of hospitals and clinics.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “In southern Lebanon 37 health facilities have been closed, while in Beirut three hospitals have been forced to fully evacuate staff and patients, and another two were partially evacuated. … Many health workers are not reporting to duty, as they fled the areas where they work due to bombardments.”

Biden Says He Discussed Possible Attack on Iranian Oil Sites with Israeli Leaders
Oct 04, 2024

A Pentagon spokesperson said Thursday U.S. military leaders were consulting with their Israeli counterparts on a response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this week on Israeli military bases and other security sites.

Sabrina Singh: “We continue to engage the Israelis, you know, very frequently. We are certainly talking to them about their response. But what their response might be, I’m just not going to speculate further on.”

At the White House, President Biden acknowledged he had spoken with Israeli leaders to discuss possible attacks on Iran’s oil infrastructure.

Reporter: “Mr. President, would you support Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities, sir?”

President Joe Biden: “We’re discussing that. I think — I think that would be a little — anyway.”

Biden had said that he did not support Israel striking Iran’s nuclear facilities. Biden’s comment rattled energy markets, causing an immediate spike in crude oil prices.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Calls on Muslim Leaders to Unite Against Israeli Aggression
Oct 04, 2024

Iran has threatened an “unconventional response” to any Israeli retaliation, including attacks targeting Israeli infrastructure. Earlier today, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led prayers in Tehran for the first time in nearly five years as he commemorated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated by Israel last week in Lebanon. Khamanei called on Muslim leaders to band together to confront Israel.

“We Wish You Could See the Nightmares”: U.S. Health Workers Back from Gaza Write to Biden and Harris
Oct 04, 2024

Israel continues its relentless attacks on Gaza, with Israeli forces blowing up residential buildings near the Nuseirat camp and civilian homes in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. The Palestinian Health Ministry reports at least 14 people were killed and 50 wounded over the last 24 hours.

Here in the United States, a group of nearly 100 physicians, nurses, surgeons and midwives have sent a letter to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris detailing “crimes beyond comprehension” they witnessed in Gaza. They’re calling on the U.S. to support a ceasefire, to end support for Israel’s military and to back an international arms embargo on Israel. Part of the letter reads, “We wish you could see the nightmares that plague so many of us since we have returned: dreams of children maimed and mutilated by our weapons, and their inconsolable mothers begging us to save them.”

Israel’s Deadliest Airstrike on West Bank in Decades Kills 18 Palestinians
Oct 04, 2024

An Israeli airstrike on the occupied West Bank has killed at least 18 Palestinians. On Thursday, Israeli fighter jets targeted a crowded cafe in the Tulkarm refugee camp, leaving behind twisted piles of wreckage and flaming debris. This is Nimer Fayyad, the brother of the cafe’s owner who was killed in the attack.

Nimer Fayyad: “The missiles targeted a civilian building. A family was wiped from the civil registry. What was their fault? The family was asleep in their house. There’s no safe place for the Palestinian people. The Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves.”

Israel’s military claimed the bombing targeted the head of Hamas’s infrastructure in Tulkarm. It was the largest and deadliest airstrike in the occupied West Bank in more than two decades.

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What Is Israel’s Endgame in Lebanon? Airstrikes Intensify, Hospitals Overwhelmed, 1.2 Million Displaced
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
October 04, 2024

Israel is further escalating its war on Lebanon, carrying out its heaviest airstrikes so far on Beirut overnight in the densely populated southern suburbs. Lebanon’s health minister said Thursday at least 2,000 people have been killed since the start of the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, including at least 127 children, most of them in the past two weeks. More than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced. Meanwhile, Beirut hospitals are overwhelmed by a surge in casualties as attacks intensify, and the World Health Organization says Israel’s attacks killed 28 health workers in just one 24-hour span and made it impossible for the WHO to deliver a large shipment of trauma and medical supplies to Beirut. This comes as the Israeli army appears to be preparing for a deeper ground incursion into southern Lebanon. As tensions continue to escalate in the region, we speak with Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut, reporting for the Associated Press, who says Lebanon is getting used to “the new normal” of daily Israeli airstrikes on the capital, mass displacement and ongoing fighting between Israel and Hezbollah forces in the south. “Things are moving at a very, very fast pace … and it is really unclear what the endgame for Israel is.”

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: We begin today’s show in Lebanon, where Israel carried out its heaviest airstrikes so far in Beirut with a reported series of 10 massive strikes overnight in the densely populated southern suburbs. Lebanon’s health minister said Thursday at least 2,000 people have been killed since the start of the Israeli attacks on Lebanon, including at least 127 children, most of them in the past two weeks.

Lebanon’s state-run national news agency is also reporting Israeli airstrikes damaged the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, closing the main road used by tens of thousands to flee Israel’s attacks on Lebanon. More than 1.2 million Lebanese have now been displaced.

Meanwhile, Beirut hospitals are overwhelmed. This is Dr. Jihad Saadeh, general director of Rafik al-Hariri Hospital, largest Lebanese public hospital.

DR. JIHAD SAADEH: [translated] The hardest thing I’ve seen was when a father was searching for his son. In the end, we found out that his son was with us, but only in pieces.

AMY GOODMAN: On Thursday, the World Health Organization director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Israeli attacks had made it impossible to deliver a large shipment of trauma and medical supplies to Beirut. He said Israeli strikes killed 28 health workers in just one 24-hour period, while shuttering dozens of hospitals and clinics. At least 50 paramedics have been killed in Lebanon over the past two weeks.

This comes as the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon told Al Jazeera the Israeli army has asked its troops to leave their positions close to the border amidst a potential escalation of the Israeli ground incursion.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Beirut today and met with Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, just hours after Israeli airstrikes hit an area near the airport where he landed.

A Pentagon spokesperson said Thursday U.S. military leaders are consulting with their Israeli counterparts on a response to Iran’s ballistic missile attack earlier this week on Israeli military bases and other security sites.

SABRINA SINGH: We continue to engage the Israelis, you know, very frequently. We are certainly talking to them about their response. But what their response might be, I’m just not going to speculate further on.

AMY GOODMAN: At the White House, President Biden acknowledged he had spoken with Israeli leaders. He has said he does not support Israel attacking Iran’s nuclear sites, but discussed possible attacks on Iran’s oil infrastructure.

REPORTER: Mr. President, would you support Israel striking Iran’s oil facilities, sir?

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: We’re discussing that. I think — I think that would be a little — anyway.

AMY GOODMAN: Biden’s comment rattled energy markets, causing an immediate spike in crude oil prices.

Meanwhile, Iran has threatened an “unconventional response” to any Israeli retaliation, including attacks targeting Israeli infrastructure. Earlier today, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led prayers in Tehran for the first time in nearly five years as he commemorated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was assassinated by Israel last week in Lebanon. Khamanei called on Muslim leaders to band together to confront Israel.

As tensions continue to escalate in the region, we go to Beirut, Lebanon. We’re joined by Kareem Chehayeb. He is reporting on Lebanon, Syria and Iraq for the Associated Press.

Thank you so much for being with us, Kareem. Can you explain the situation on the ground after this night of massive air attacks by Israel?

KAREEM CHEHAYEB: So, it’s become next to normal that Israel is conducting a series of airstrikes, roughly about a dozen, mostly in the southern Beirut suburbs, which has a lot of people in it still. A large number of people are evacuating, but there are still people who live there. The strikes are getting far more intense, particularly last night. We heard a strike that, you know, had some sort of — numerous explosions that happened after that, as well.

Meanwhile, every day the Israeli military is calling on the immediate evacuation of about another dozen or so towns from the south. So, it’s been several days where they’ve been doing that. There’s been a few dozen towns, and medical workers have been having a very hard time operating there. The Lebanese Red Cross, while relocating wounded people from the south, you know, were caught in an Israeli airstrike where four of their volunteers were wounded, and a Lebanese soldier was killed in that evacuation operation. And, you know, there are reports now that one of the most important hospitals in the southeast is closing its doors because of a strike that hit very close to the hospital.

So, this appears to becoming the new normal in this current situation. You know, there’s the ground incursion in the south, where Hezbollah and the Israeli military are clashing in border towns and along the border. Israel is calling for more and more immediate evacuations from southern Lebanon, very far north into the country. And it appears that, you know, strikes overnight in the southern suburbs are going to continue. And now with the airstrike that struck the main road towards the main crossing between Lebanon and Syria, generally speaking, people are concerned that the airport could be next, given that this had also happened in 2006, which was the last time Hezbollah and the Israeli military had a war.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the number of paramedics, doctors, medical staff who have been killed just in the last few days, Kareem, and what kind of effect this bombing has had on the hospitals, and what the World Health Organization head, Ghebreyesus, has said about trying to get aid into Beirut right now?

KAREEM CHEHAYEB: Indeed, there have been several cases of paramedics being killed in Israeli strikes, but the number has certainly surged. In this particular escalation, there have been dozens who were killed, whether they were in the middle of an operation or whether they were in their offices. There was a strike in central Beirut, just a few hundred meters from where I am right now, into an office for the Islamic Health Committee, which is Hezbollah’s medical arm, and at least seven paramedics and first responders were killed in that strike. And at a time where evacuations orders have increased, at a time where strikes have intensified, the hospitals are really struggling to keep up with the number of patients. And, of course, you know, medical staff, paramedics, first responders are also struggling a lot to get people out. And this could be — this appears to be a trend going forward in this conflict.

AMY GOODMAN: And what have you been able to find out about Israel using white phosphorus? Explain what it is and where you believe it may have been used.

KAREEM CHEHAYEB: Sure. So, early on in the conflict, you know, Israel was initially accused by residents and human rights groups of using white phosphorus in southern Lebanon, especially in villages along the border, which are very rural. They’re agrarian. There’s lots of greenery and fields.

Now, white phosphorus is — basically, white phosphorus is a very dangerous weapon, where it sort of — it burns all the way to the bone if in contact with human skin. You know, it can cause severe respiratory illnesses, as well, if you inhale too much of it. Now, the concern is that if it’s used in heavily populated areas, it is considered a violation of international law. Now, Israel always says that it uses it as a smokescreen or to — you know, primarily as a smokescreen, not to target civilians or as a weapon of war. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty and other organizations have corroborated information where they have seen that this is not entirely the case. That’s what they concluded.

Now, the conversation months later, just the other day, has sort of come back. In that strike I had told you about just a moment ago where — in central Beirut, that hit that office, and another strike nearby in the southern suburbs, you know, people were talking a lot about unpleasant smells, and state media had reported that there was use of white phosphorus. Now, there is no confirmation of that yet. We had spoken to the health minister, Firass Abiad, who said that they’re in the process of verifying it. There have been no updates on that, but, you know, it would not have been the first time Israel used white phosphorus in Lebanon. But the previous incidents have been in southern Lebanon. But there has been no sort of official confirmation yet, but that’s sort of what’s been reported.

AMY GOODMAN: Kareem, if you could also talk about who Israel is claiming they’re trying to kill right now, the target, Hashem Safieddine, a cousin and presumed successor to the assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah?

KAREEM CHEHAYEB: Absolutely. So, you know, after Hassan Nasrallah was assassinated, every expert from every think tank and every corner that I spoke to believed that Hashem Safieddine would be his successor. He’s a senior figure in Hezbollah for many years, plays a very important role within the institution. He is a relative. He’s a cousin of Hassan Nasrallah. And his son is married to the daughter of the late senior Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Iraq in 2020. So he’s very connected to Tehran. He’s very connected to Hezbollah.

It is unclear whether, you know, he survived the strike, whether he was in the building where the strike took place. Hezbollah have not yet commented on it. But if he was targeted and killed or wounded, this follows a certain pattern over the past couple of weeks where the Israeli military, through its strikes, have been targeting senior Hezbollah leaders. And they have targeted senior Hezbollah military leaders and also members within its institution. And this could be a continuation of that pattern, but there’s no information on that.

But it is true that Hashem Safieddine is widely seen as Hassan Nasrallah’s successor. And it is very unclear whether they’re going to pick him or somebody else or when they will make that decision. When the Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem spoke a few days ago, he said that they will make a decision at the soonest possibility. And it’s unclear how they’re going to navigate with the situation, but it is widely seen that if Safieddine was targeted, it’s really unknown who to expect would replace Hassan Nasrallah.

AMY GOODMAN: And now the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says he is visiting Lebanon to make clear Iran will always stand with people of Lebanon. Can you talk about the significance of the Iranian foreign minister being in Lebanon right now and of the supreme leader, Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, holding the prayers in Tehran, presiding over them publicly for the first time in five years, as he commemorated the Hezbollah leader who was killed by Israel last week?

KAREEM CHEHAYEB: Yeah. So, the Iranian foreign minister has been holding meetings with senior officials, including Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who’s right behind me in this building. And, you know, it appears that, in the words that they’re saying, that Iran is trying to garner international support for Lebanon, trying to pile the pressure diplomatically on Israel. That’s how they’ve been spinning it. And they’ve talked a lot in that sense. And, you know, for them to come at a time like this is certainly interesting. Iranian senior military officials have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon and Syria over the past year. And there were a lot of questions whether the Israeli military would allow his plane to land at Beirut airport.

Now the question really is: What happens behind the scenes? Right? So, the Lebanese government, including allies of Hezbollah, you know, they have been trying to push for a ceasefire and handle this diplomatically. And it’s unclear what that conversation looks like with Iran, as well as their conversations with, you know, namely, the United States and Paris. You know, this also comes not long after Iran met with Saudi officials in Qatar. And it’s unclear whether this indicates that they are trying to work something out or not. You know, Iran has not given a lot of statements. The foreign minister did not give any statements after meeting the prime minister, issued a statement after meeting the speaker of Parliament. And he sort of talked about maintaining support for Lebanon. And there’s a lot of talk about humanitarian aid. It wasn’t anything that indicated it’s going to be a significant shift in this conflict. And so, it appears that whatever changes will happen will be seen on the battlefields in the south or in Beirut.

AMY GOODMAN: And the significance of the death of a Lebanese soldier carrying out a rescue operation in southern Lebanon, another one injured, Kareem, what this means, and the Israeli government saying the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon should move? How quickly do you see this escalating even further, as we wrap up?

KAREEM CHEHAYEB: Certainly. You know, the Lebanese army announcing that two of its soldiers were killed in Israeli airstrikes in a single day in different instances, and on top of the intensified airstrikes, on top of the calls for dozens of villages and towns to evacuate, including a provincial capital in the south, there’s a lot of concerns in Lebanon about, you know, where this ground incursion could lead to and how long this will last. You know, the public works minister, after talking about the road to the border being bombed, is saying that he is concerned even about now a siege from air, as well, almost hinting that the airport could be a target.

So, you know, things are moving at a very, very fast pace, the displacement, the airstrikes. And it is really unclear what the endgame for Israel is. They say that they want to weaken Hezbollah, they want to create an environment that’s safe for their displaced residents to go back north. But it’s not really clear what that benchmark is, what those objectives look like in practice.

AMY GOODMAN: Kareem Chehayeb, first of all, stay safe. I want to thank you so much for being with us, AP journalist reporting on Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, a journalist for the Associated Press, speaking to us from Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.

As Israel continues its relentless attacks on Gaza, we will go directly to Gaza. Stay with us.

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War in Lebanon “Giving More Space” for Israel to Continue Slaughter in Gaza: Journalist Akram al-Satarri
by Amy Goodman
DemocracyNow!
October 04, 2024

As Israel’s military escalates its attacks on Lebanon, it has continued its relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip, where almost a year of war has now wiped 902 entire Palestinian families off the civil registry. There are another 1,300 families where only one family member has survived. The official death toll in Gaza has reached nearly 41,800, but that is believed to be a vast undercount. Gaza-based journalist Akram al-Satarri says one year into Israel’s war, the medical and humanitarian crisis remains unchanged. He describes some of the horrific injuries suffered by Palestinians, including many children, that have resulted in mass amputation of limbs, and says people are in a constant struggle for shelter and safety. “The suffering is continuous, and now the war in Lebanon is adding further burdens on the Palestinians and is giving more space for the Israeli forces to continue the bombardment in different areas,” says al-Satarri.

Transcript

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman.

We turn now to Gaza, where authorities say Israel’s yearlong war has now wiped out a shocking 902 entire families off the civil registry, another 1,300 families where only one family member has survived. The official death toll in Gaza has topped 41,800, but that’s believed to be a vast undercount. On one day in Gaza this week, Israel killed over a hundred people, with 51 in Khan Younis alone, including 12 children. Over the last 24 hours, the Palestinian Health Ministry reports at least 14 people were killed, 50 wounded in Gaza as Israel bombed residential buildings near the Nuseirat camp and struck civilian homes in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.

This comes as Israeli forces have killed at least 50 Palestinians across the West Bank since launching raids on August 28th. An Israeli airstrike Thursday on the Tulkarm refugee camp killed at least 18 Palestinians when Israeli fighter jets targeted a crowded cafe, the largest and deadliest airstrike in the occupied West Bank in more than two decades. Israel’s military claimed the bombing targeted the head of Hamas’s infrastructure in Tulkarm. There is a West Bank-wide strike today protesting that attack.

But we’re staying in Gaza right now, where most corporate media in the United States rarely get a report from, as Israel has banned international journalists from being there. For more, we are joined by Akram al-Satarri. He is a journalist based in Gaza, standing outside the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah and in central Gaza.

Very little attention, Akram, is being paid right now to what is happening in Gaza as the attacks intensify there, because of the attention on Lebanon and Iran. Can you describe what’s happening on the ground?

AKRAM AL-SATARRI: Well, the situation in Gaza is still the same for the last one year. The corporate media is not paying enough attention for the situation in Gaza, not because of the war in Lebanon, but because of the embarrassment that is caused by the fact that the Palestinians have been suffering for such a very long time, and the suffering has reached all different components and aspects of their life.

Families were lost, like you have just said. The children are living now with their parents, as you have just rightly said. Some people ended up living alone without their families, elderly people, as you have just said. Some children are left in the hospitals for strangers to care for them as foster family, because they lost their families, and no other family members remaining to look after them.

The international community, including the Arab region powers and the international powers, have been talking for the past year about the importance of upholding the principles of the international humanitarian law; however, they failed to observe those international rules. They failed to maintain the dignity of the Palestinians. They failed to maintain the right of Palestinians to a decent life. They failed to maintain the right of the Palestinians to shelter. They failed to uphold the right of the Palestinians to access medical care.

And because of that, we have a very large number of Palestinians, around 95,000 Palestinians, who need urgent medical care outside of Gaza. However, they are staying in Gaza. Some of them are already dying because the very lacking situation when it comes to the medical supplies, and also for the medical and surgical expertise that his needed to conduct such precise surgical interventions to save their lives or to improve their health conditions or to prevent any kind of disability.

Two-point-three million people in Gaza have been subjected to continuous evacuation orders, where they are asked by Israeli forces to move from one area to another. One hundred fifty thousand people were moving in 24 hours in Khan Younis area. Around 250,000, a quarter-million, were asked also to move all together in three hours in Gaza central area. And now I think Israel is contemplating some more options, including the forceful transfer of the people in the Gaza north to the Gaza south and declaring the Gaza north as a military zone.

So, the problem of the Palestinians is that the international community could not dictate any kind of solution, could not even make Israel reconsider its positions when it comes to the way it has been dealing with the larger Palestinian population, 2.34 million people, including women, around 1 million child, because around half of the Palestinian population is under 18.

So, the suffering is still continuous. And without the war in Lebanon, Palestinians were not helped a lot, and all they could access is below the minimum of any average human being outside of the Gaza Strip. So, the suffering is continuous. And now the war in Lebanon is adding further burdens on the Palestinians and is giving more space for the Israeli forces to continue the bombardment in different areas. In Khan Younis area, like you said, in one night, 54 people were killed. Twenty-two of them were same-family members, and 12 of them were children. Today, just now, few minutes ago, four women were killed in an area in Gaza, central area, four women — two old women and two of their daughters. Some other grandsons and granddaughters were injured.

And the sound of sirens in this place is also reminding us of the continuation of the crisis of the people of Palestine and of the political and moral failure by the international community to help the Palestinians and to realize their very very basic rights. People are just passing by. Right behind me, you can see now people are mourning the death of their dears, nonstop flow of the people, nonstop flow of the mothers, the daughters, the sisters, the sons, the grandparents, who are coming there just to see off their dears. Some of them are lucky enough to make it to the hospital because the body of their dears is in the morgue. But many more, up to 10,000 Palestinians, are still missing.

Missing means they have already been decomposed under the rubble of their houses. Missing means there have been some people who are living and eating and sleeping in the hope that they would find the decomposed body of their dears that has already become something that melted under soil. Missing means some families that were scattered, and they will never be reunited, that they’re still suffering and they’re still hoping justice would be served.

This is a glimpse in the life of the Palestinians. And this is part of the suffering that the people have been living and are still living. And this is only one aspect of the suffering that I have been seeing in Gaza. Food is still very scarce. Cooking gas is still very scarce. Water is extremely polluted. Living conditions are extremely below the standard. Some of the diseases are befalling the people in the Gaza Strip. Children have been suffering from digestive problems. Elderly people have been suffering from digestive problems. They have not been living in decent shelters. They are using only sheets of clothes to make sure that they stay. So, everything that has to do with the humanity is compromised in the Gaza Strip and is missing.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk, Akram, about the children who are wounded? More than a thousand children in Gaza have lost at least one limb. We have a conflict in Gaza that has created the term ”WCNSF,” “wounded child, no surviving family.” Can you talk more about this as you cover what’s happening there?

AKRAM AL-SATARRI: Well, I had the chance to meet some of the people, not only children, but elderly people, who are affected by the ongoing bombardment. And also, the weapons that are being used against the people in Gaza have been causing some kind of strange cuts. I spoke to one woman around 35, 37 years old. She was telling me that there was a missile that hit her home, and all of a sudden something — the missile penetrated the soil, and something went out of the soil, cutting her two legs. And now she has to live with two amputations, and she needs to be trained as to how she can respond to her basic needs. There were some attempts by international organizations to build some limbs, artificial limbs center. They are facing a considerable challenge bringing in the needed stuff, bringing in the needed materials.

The children are bearing the brunt of those things. In Nasser Hospital, in Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital, Kamal Adwan Hospital, the intervention hospital, I have seen children with different degrees of the injuries and also with different amputations. Some of them lost their two limbs. Some of them lost one limb. Some of them lost three limbs. Some of them lost sight. And they are all in need, number one, to training to make sure that they can be reintegrated in life and that, and more importantly, they can deal with the reality that has unfolded after they have been injured. Number two, they are facing a great challenge: the very lacking situation that Gaza is living. Again, people are struggling to secure the food, let alone the medical consumables, the medication, the bandages that are needed for the dressing. So, their life is extremely complicated.

And I have seen different people who were just talking to me about their condition and who were asked to take their children out of the hospital. And they were telling me, because somehow I was communicating with them to know the exact situation of their children. They were telling me, “How can we probably take our children back home when we have no home? How can I take a child with two amputations in two limbs, in two legs, and they cannot walk, and they need to find some appropriate and conducive, adapted environment for them to be able to survive and to live with, adapt with the new disability? And how can we take them home when they have no home and when we are living in tents?” Tents that are erected — in al-Mawasi area, they are erected on the sand, close to the beach. Now by the tidal movement increasing — and there is one more bombardment, if you could hear it just now. With the tidal movement, they are now soaking in seawater. So, a person who is not amputated is suffering with this. Now you can imagine the suffering of a child who’s living in a tent that is not equipped to deal with his disability.

So, the situation is very lacking. And the most important thing is that the number of children who are like that is increasing because, again, of the ongoing bombardment. One hundred thirteen people were killed in the last 72 hours, and around 400 were injured. Around half of them are children. And you will definitely find some children who lost their limbs among the people who are affected, and that brings more suffering to the lives of the people, and that increases the number of the children who are suffering, with no clear answers as to how can they be safe.

Now there are some attempts to bring children outside of Gaza. Like, in the last few days, around 70 children were leaving outside Gaza. But when you have around 1,000 children in need to limbs, and they are not allowed to leave Gaza, and they have also some medical course to be followed, and they need advanced medical care because of some of the infections in their fresh amputations and the wounds, the situation is very critical. And again, the international community fail to bring comfort to the life of those children after all they have seen.

AMY GOODMAN: Akram al-Satarri, I want to thank you so much for being with us, a journalist based in Gaza, joining us from outside the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, in central Gaza. Please, stay safe.

When we come back, we will continue to talk about children, but children here in the United States, separated. Oscar-winner Errol Morris has made a new documentary about family separation, based on the book by NBC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff. We’ll speak with both of them in a moment.