[Tee tiong huat]

The Netanyahu govt has vowed to eliminate Hamas after it led an attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping another 250. On Wednesday. "Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya told Associated Press in Istanbul, the group would accept “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in West Bank & Gaza Strip & the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with the international resolutions.”

Israel captured West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 war. 

Those territories are considered Palestinians who want to establish a state. But for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long opposed such prospect, arguing that it would endanger his country’s security, he asking Hamas stop terrifying if not, he doesn't want to stop the war.

Hayyah told AP. Hamas wanted to or would join Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to form a unified govt for Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas refrained from joining the PLO, an umbrella grouping of Palestinian factions that signed peace agreements with it in the 1990s.

Barghouti said Hamas indicated as far back as 2007, when it led a Palestinian national unity govt, it's willing to accept a Palestinian state along 1967 borders. Hamas, added, has been in favor of joining PLO, but such a move wouldn’t automatically amount to recognition of Israel or Oslo Accords that PLO signed with it in the 1990s.

Hamas has not issued an official statement outlining concessions, officials have touted and it's unclear if statements made by its officials abroad reflect the thinking of its military wing on the ground in Gaza.

[Tee tiong huat]

Continue....from above...

Asked if Hayyah’s statement to AP amounts to a shift in Hamas’ position, he told CNN his remarks are reflective of the group’s messaging since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Israel has so far failed to achieve its stated goal of eliminating Hamas from Gaza Strip, with no top leaders from the group captured or killed, but it has significantly diminished its military capabilities and its ability to rule there as its bombing campaign leaves, as many cannot leave the enclave in ruin.

Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a news conference in the Qatari capital Doha that Hamas is willing to function solely as a political party once a Palestinian state is created, citing meetings between the group and Turkish officials.

He called on Hamas “to express their stances clearly.”

Inbar, from the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, said that after October 7, Israelis treat Hamas as a hostile entity and want to see it defeated. “We understand that they will try to rebuild the military infrastructure” after Israel destroys it, he said, adding that Israel will continue to “mow the grass,” a reference to occasional military operations to diminish Hamas’ military capability.

[Tee tiong huat]

Hezbollah deputy chief: War will push Israelis from north ‘once and for all’
Police clear Northwestern anti-Israel encampment, university says some protesters called to 'Kill the Jews' * Abbas and Blinken to hold multilateral talks in Riyadh on Gaza.

Biden met the freed captive at the White House on Wednesday, and later described Idan as “remarkable and recovering from unspeakable trauma. Avigail, who turned four during her time in captivity, was released weeks later as part of a hostages-for-truce deal brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the US, which also included the release of Palestinian prisoners.

I will not rest until every hostage, like Abigail, ripped from their families and held by Hamas is back in the arms of their loved ones.T hey have my word.

Their families have my word.

[Tee tiong huat]

Hamas proposes 3-stage ceasefire over 135 days, leading to end of war

Hamas has proposed a ceasefire plan that would quiet the guns in Gaza for four-and-a-half months leading to an end to the war, in response to a proposal sent last week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators and backed by the US and Israel.

READ: https://bit.ly/3OyZfx2

Follow @AsiaOnecom for all the latest updates

Development aid, and about half of Iron Dome’s components are made in America.
Led by firms, Israel has gone from being a net weapons importer to world’s 10th-largest arms exporter. Its success in the weapons industry is a result of entrepreneurship & innovation within overall economy, as well as civilian-military linkages. Since most Israelis are required to serve in military, they develop decision-making leadership skills at young age, also tend given tasks with high levels of responsibility. All contributes to country’s startup & entrepreneurial culture.

Israel also imports weapons from other countries. Like Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s arms transfers database, 68% of Israel’s weapons imports fm 2013-2022 came from U.S. Another 28% came fm Germany. All are funded in part by $3.3 billion of military aid provided annually by the U.S., along with $500 million for missile defense cooperation.

Since start of Israel-Hamas war, U.S. has provided more than 5k, MK-84 munitions, a type of 2,000-pound bomb of late December 2023, U.S. had sent artillery shells, armored vehicles, basic combat tools delivered in 230 cargo planes and 20 ships. U.S. aid to Israel also includes stockpiled weapons. For years, Pentagon has stored weapons in Israel for use by U.S., but U.S. allowed Israel to draw down some of these supplies during Gaza conflict. In fact, U.S. directed some of these stored armaments is sent to Ukraine

[Tee tiong huat]

For the Hamas’ weapons supply.

In response to Israeli blockades, Hamas has constructed an elaborate extensive tunnel complex under Gaza & across, its especial from the Egyptian border the weapon came. 

Hamas gets most of its weapons from Iran. Weapons are transported though Egypt and smuggled into Gaza through the tunnels.

Most Hamas’ weapons include AK-47 assault rifles from China & Russia, rocket-propelled grenades manufactured in North Korea and Bulgaria.

In this murky arms trade, its difficult to determine who selling weapons to whom. A weapon manufactured in one country could end up in hands of Hamas by way of one or more intermediary countries. 

Like non-military goods, copycat armaments also are part of the weapons business Hamas fighters are using a variety of Soviet-era weapon designs have been copied & manufactured by China & Iran.

Hamas even manufactures some arms in Gaza. Local factories, which are within the underground tunnels, producing mortars, rockets, rifles and bullets.

Some countries, like Russia, give Hamas permission to imitate their products. Iran trains Gaza-based engineers on design & production techniques. When the Israeli military destroys buildings & equipment in Gaza, material from the ruins is recycled by Hamas factories into weapons.

As the war progresses, Israel will likely be in a position to restock its depleted weapons, so long as Washington continues to provide political and military support. But with Israel now occupying much of Gaza, it will be far more difficult for Hamas to reload.
https://theconversation.com/where-do-isr...ons-220762

[Tee tiong huat]

The Netanyahu govt has vowed to eliminate Hamas after it led an attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping another 250. On Wednesday. "Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya told Associated Press in Istanbul, the group would accept “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in West Bank & Gaza Strip & the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with the international resolutions.”

Israel captured West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 war. 

Those territories are considered Palestinians who want to establish a state. But for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long opposed such prospect, arguing that it would endanger his country’s security, he asking Hamas stop terrifying if not, he doesn't want to stop the war.

Hayyah told AP. Hamas wanted to or would join Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to form a unified govt for Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas refrained from joining the PLO, an umbrella grouping of Palestinian factions that signed peace agreements with it in the 1990s.

Barghouti said Hamas indicated as far back as 2007, when it led a Palestinian national unity govt, it's willing to accept a Palestinian state along 1967 borders. Hamas, added, has been in favor of joining PLO, but such a move wouldn’t automatically amount to recognition of Israel or Oslo Accords that PLO signed with it in the 1990s.

Hamas has not issued an official statement outlining concessions, officials have touted and it's unclear if statements made by its officials abroad reflect the thinking of its military wing on the ground in Gaza.

A min ago video news on Peace Talk between Israel and with Hamas. 

https://www.youtube.com/live/pnkszL435PY...O4aS9iwNqC

[Tee tiong huat]

Jerusalem Latest News:
Israel PM warns of Rafah offensive 'with or without' Gaza truce deal

The Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday (1st May) to launch a ground offensive on Gaza Strip's far-southern city of Rafah "with or without" a truce deal being agreed with Hamas.

Hawkish premier issued this warning despite strong concerns raised by top ally Washington hours b4 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was set to arrive in Israel on his latest Middle East crisis tour.

[Tee tiong huat]

Jerusalem Latest News:
Israel PM warns of Rafah offensive 'with or without' Gaza truce deal.

A Hamas delegation has arrived in Egypt for what appear to be do-or-die negotiations on ceasefire, with movement’s spokesman, Osama Hamdan saying there have been “some forward steps”.

Israel reportedly gives Hamas one week to agree to a ceasefire and prisoner-captive exchange deal, threatening it will launch its ground invasion of Rafah otherwise. The United Nations chief has called on Israel and Hamas to reach a truce deal.

[Tee tiong huat]

IDF is flyers, text messages, phone to Gazans on evacuation neighborhoods, now beginning to drop flyers in eastern Rafah, send text messages, & make phone calls to Palestinians with instructions on zones that need to be evacuated which routes to take to a designated humanitarian zone.

Evacuation order applies oni some eastern neighborhoods of Rafah for now, and not the entire city in southern Gaza. IDF publishes a map showing the zones

LIVE MAY 6, 2024. An IDF map of the civilian evacuation of Rafah ahead of the planned offensive, released May 6, 2024, (Israel Defense Forces) beginning to drop flyers in eastern Rafah, send text messages, and make phone calls to Palestinians with instructions on the zones that need to be evacuated and which routes to take to a designated humanitarian zone.

The evacuation order only applies to some of the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah for now, and not the entire city in southern Gaza.
The IDF publishes a map showing the zones.
Jerusalem’s marathon ‘sleep-in’ protest
Keep Watching

The military in a statement says that “in accordance with the approval of the political echelon, the IDF calls on the population, which is under the control of Hamas, to temporarily evacuate from the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah to the expanded humanitarian zone.”

“This matter will progress gradually, according to an ongoing assessment of the situation,” it says.

The expanded humanitarian zone in the al-Mawasi and Khan Younis areas includes field hospitals and tent camps for displaced Palestinians, with the IDF saying “there has been a surge of humanitarian aid going into Gaza” recently.

The Kerem Shalom Crossing with southern Gaza still remains closed following yesterday’s deadly Hamas rocket attack on troops in the area, but it may open following a new assessment of the situation.

The military says it will still try to maintain the supply of humanitarian aid at the same level despite the closure of the crossing. Other crossings will remain open, as work continues on the construction of the Americans’ floating pier in central Gaza.

“The IDF will continue pursuing Hamas everywhere in Gaza until all the hostages that they’re holding in captivity are back home,” it adds.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_e...hborhoods/

[Tee tiong huat]

‘Unacceptable’: EU’s Borrell condemns Israel’s call for civilians to evacuate from Rafah The EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell condemns Israel’s call for Palestinians living in parts of eastern Rafah to flee the Gazan city ahead of an expected ground assault.

“Israel’s evacuation orders to civilians in Rafah portend the worst: more war and famine. It is unacceptable. Israel must renounce to a ground offensive,” Borrell says in a social media post.

“The EU, with the international community, can and must act to prevent such scenario,” he says.

[Tee tiong huat]

Hamas says it agreed to a cease-fire proposal?. Israel strikes Rafah and says deal ‘far from’ meeting its demands

Earlier on Monday, the Israeli military told 100,000 people to evacuate as parts of Rafah in southern Gaza as those Israeli still to put into action.

Hamas in a statement have it has agreed to a cease-fire proposal, but Israel said deal was "far from" its requirements it would push ahead with a Rafah operation and send a delegation to talks.

The White House said it was reviewing the Hamas statement, which follows days of talks brokered by U.S., Qatar and Egypt for a deal that would secure release of Israeli hostages / Palestinian prisoners.

The Israeli military said it was striking Hamas targets in Rafah, hours after it urged 100,000 people to leave city & move to what it said is an expanded humanitarian area in the Palestinian enclave.

The evacuation of eastern Rafah, Israel says is "limited", "temporary," comes ahead of an expected ground assault on southern Gaza where 1.4 million civilians are sheltering. 

1h ago / 12:28 AM.
Biden meets Jordan’s King Abdullah II, (note discusses need for ‘sustainable’ cease-fire).
President Joe Biden met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II today as the two leaders “discussed latest developments in Gaza and affirmed their commitment to work together towards an enduring end to the crisis,” the White House said.

The king was in Washington, D.C., and met with Biden at the White House. The pair stressed the need for an immediate release of hostages held by Hamas, as well as "a sustainable ceasefire that allows for a surge of the urgently needed humanitarian assistance to be delivered safely through Gaza,” the White House said in a statement.

“Both remain committed to achieving a durable, lasting peace to include a pathway to a Palestinian state, with security guarantees for Israel,” it said.

2h ago / 11:37 PM EDT
U.N. human rights chief calls evacuation order in Rafah 'inhumane'

The United Nations human rights chief today called Israel’s call for around 100,000 people to evacuate from Rafah inhumane and destined to cause even more suffering.

“This is inhumane. It runs contrary to the basic principles of international humanitarian and human rights laws, which have the effective protection of civilians as their overriding concern,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement.

“Forcibly relocating hundreds of thousands from Rafah to areas which have already been flattened and where there is little shelter and virtually no access to humanitarian assistance necessary for their survival is inconceivable. It will only expose them to more danger and misery,” he said.

Israel warned 100,000 people in Rafah in southern Gaza to leave as it continues military operations in its war against Hamas, which has displaced Gaza’s population and, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, resulted in more than 30,000 deaths.

A main military offensive has not begun, but Israel's military said Monday local time that it was "conducting targeted strikes against Hamas terror targets in eastern Rafah in southern Gaza."

Israel's military told people in Rafah to move to what it said is an expanded humanitarian area.

[Tee tiong huat]

Israeli military captures Palestinian side of Rafah crossing

Israel's military has seized the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, a vital entry point for aid to Gaza on the Egyptian border. A Palestinian official said all movement had stopped at the facility after it was captured by Israeli tanks.

27 people were killed, in Israeli strikes on Rafah overnight, medical officials in the city said. US President Joe Biden on Tuesday delivered a speech slamming the rise of antisemitism in wake of Oct7 attack, saying the US "must give hate no safe harbor."

Israel has not accepted deal proposed by Egypt and Qatar, which Hamas has agreed to, saying it's 'far from' meeting its demands, but will engage in more talks.

[Tee tiong huat]

Rockets were fired from the Rafah area in Gaza Strip Tuesday toward Kerem Shalom and the Re’im area of southern Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Six projectiles were fired toward Kerem Shalom, IDF said.“The projectiles that were fired toward the area of the Kerem Shalom Crossing are preventing the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. 

The IDF will continue to operate to enable necessary security conditions to re-open the Kerem Shalom Crossing,” the IDF said.

The Kerem Shalom crossing, one of the main conduits for humanitarian aid into Gaza, was closed Sunday after a rocket attack nearby killed four Israeli soldiers. It is due to reopen Wednesday, according to the US State Department.

IDF said about 12 projectiles were also identified crossing from area of Rafah in southern Gaza into area of Re'im earlier. IDF Aerial Defense successfully intercepted 5 of projectiles & the rest fell in an open area. No injuries were reported. “Within less than an hour, IAF aircraft struck the launcher that fired toward Israel.”

When Hamas declared on Monday that it has “agreed” to a ceasefire deal, it caught many off guard. Israel evidently not ready to expect it, it was not even immediately clear what Hamas had agreed to.

Hamas’ announcement was initially met with jubilation in Gaza and cautious optimism by regional leaders after it was presented as an acceptance of an Israeli proposal. But Israel issued what looked like a holding position, saying that Hamas’ position was “far from” meeting its demands.

And it pressed on with a controversial military operation in Rafah, southern Gaza, conducting air strikes on Monday and seizing control of the Palestinian side of a border crossing with Egypt on Tuesday morning amid intense pressure from his hardline coalition to go all-in.

And at the same time, Israel said that it would send a delegation to Cairo to assess Hamas’ position

https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news...index.html

[Tee tiong huat]

A full-scale invasion of Rafah by Israeli forces would be “a strategic mistake, a political calamity, and a humanitarian nightmare”, UN secretary-general warns.
Israel’s seizure and closure of the Rafah crossing in Gaza raises concerns that already-scarce food and medical supplies will be further depleted and lead to a “catastrophic” humanitarian disaster.

“With each day that Israeli authorities block life-saving aid, more Palestinians are at risk of dying,” Human Rights Watch says.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a ceasefire proposal agreed to by Hamas “falls far short” of Israel’s demands, but an Israeli delegation has arrived in Cairo for further talks.

At least 34,789 people have been killed and 78,204 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s October 7 attacks stands at 1,139 with dozens of people still held captive.
Eight-year-old girl wounded in Israeli attack denied treatment after Rafah crossing seizure. As we’ve been reporting, Israeli tanks have blocked the Rafah border crossing.

The closure of the crossing has put a chokehold on any essential aid coming into Gaza and also prevented the departure of wounded people and patients who were waiting to travel to receive treatment.

“Today, my name was at the border, and I should travel to get my legs treated,”
“They hurt. I am supposed to have an operation. Because the border crossing is shut today, I could not travel. I am sad because I did not leave today.”

‘This will be the fifth displacement’
Displaced Palestinian families in Rafah are on the move again following orders from the Israeli military to evacuate or risk being killed. Many here were forced from central and northern Gaza to escape Israeli bombardment. 

They had been told Rafah would provide safety. But with the Israeli military striking, many are grabbing what little they have and leaving. “We have no idea where we will go. The situation is bad. We didn’t sleep throughout the night with shells over our heads,” he said.

Earlier, an Israeli air raid also hit the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, attacks come as thousands of Palestinians move towards areas of central Gaza and Khan Younis governorate from Rafah, where the Israeli military has launched a limited incursion.

Students occupy the street in front of the Sciences Po university building in Paris.
Demonstrators hold signs as they protest next to a pro-Palestinian encampment at California State University in Los Angeles
All eyes on Rafah. Members of the group People in Solidarity with Palestinians hold signs during a rally outside the Israeli embassy in Seoul, South Korea 

Israeli forces arrest seven people in Hebron
Israeli forces have arrested seven people in the town of Hebron, adding to a string of overnight arrests across the occupied West Bank.

The Hebron arrests took place as Israeli forces searched homes, set up new military checkpoints, and closed roads throughout the governorate.

Earlier, we reported that Israeli forces arrested six people in Bethlehem, two people near Nablus, and one person near the Nur Shams refugee camp, where clashes broke out with Palestinian resistance fighters.

Israeli soldiers operate during a raid, at Nour Shams camp, in Tulkarm, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, April 20, 2024.
Israelis raid the Nur Shams refugee camp, in Tulkarem, in the occupied West Bank, on April 20, 2024

Israeli protesters block busy highway in Tel 
Aviv. Family members of captives along with protesters calling for a ceasefire deal with Hamas that will secure the release of all the remaining people held in Gaza have blocked an interchange on Ayalon highway in Tel Aviv, according to Israeli media reports.

WATCH: UN, aid urgencies urge Israel to halt Rafah assault after crossing seized
Senior UN officials have warned that critical fuel supplies needed to power drinking water pumps, maintain communications and deliver humanitarian aid within Gaza are set to run out today.

The situation is especially perilous in northern Gaza, where drinking water facilities will imminently shut down due to fuel shortages. While Israel has seized the Rafah crossing in the south, interrupting vital aid flows, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that there needs to be a “massive surge in life-saving aid” to the besieged and bombarded territory.

UN, aid urgencies urge Israel to halt Rafah assault after crossing seized. US plays down Rafah assault, says it will push for Gaza ceasefire deal. The US has played down Israel’s assault on Rafah, claiming that the operation – which saw tanks take over the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and effectively seal the Palestinian territory off from the outside world – appears to be “limited”.

Dozens of people were killed on the first day of Israel’s Rafah operation, while some 100,000 residents in eastern parts of the city have been ordered to evacuate. The UN, the EU and humanitarian aid groups have warned of a “catastrophe” if the military operation escalates.

[Tee tiong huat]

What to expect when loser is  proposing and not surrendering?

Hamas trying, it member Khalil al-Hayya told Qatar-based news channel that proposal agreed by Hamas involved a three-phase truce again.  He said it includes 1) a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, 2) a return of Palestinians displaced by war and 3) a hostage-prisoner exchange, with the goal of a "permanent ceasefire".

Qatar said was, sending a delegation to Cairo on Tuesday morning to resume negotiations "hope talks will reach an agreement for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Hamas group in Gaza strip".

A senior Hamas official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said Israel must now decide whether it accepts or "obstructs" a truce....

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/israel-b...al-4316621

[Tee tiong huat]

Biden accused of helping Hamas as Israel fumes at threatened weapons freeze
Trump: ‘Crooked Joe’ siding with the terrorists; FM Katz: Fight against Hamas won’t halt; envoy to UN: Biden could suffer in Nov.; US Jewish groups, GOP, some Dems denounce move

A threat by US President Joe Biden that some arms shipments will be frozen if the Israel launches a planned offensive in Rafah was met with swift denunciation from government figures in Jerusalem on Thursday, who indicated that the military would push ahead regardless.

The comments from Biden also sparked harsh criticism against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by chief opposition rival Yair Lapid for what he said was the government’s “failed management” of ties with Washington.

In the US, some American Jewish groups and US lawmakers spoke out against the move and others indicated it was unlikely to go beyond words. Former president Donald Trump accused Biden of siding with terrorists.

In an apparent initial reaction from the Israeli government, Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on social media platform X that “Israel will continue to fight Hamas until its destruction.”

“There is no war more just than this,” he added, without directly referencing Biden’s remarks.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/

[Tee tiong huat]

IDF troops fight gunmen in eastern Rafah as Iron Dome blocks 2 rockets on Kerem Shalom

Egypt: Hamas, Israel both need to show ‘flexibility’ to close Gaza truce * CNN reports Hamas demand for 12-week ceasefire was a major sticking point in latest round of talks

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-may-10-2024/

[Tee tiong huat]

Israel’s war on Gaza live: Israel orders further Rafah evacuation. More Devastation in Gaza as Israel wages war on Hamas.

Israel's military on Saturday ordered the immediate evacuation of several more neighborhoods in Rafah, where it has been stepping up operations ahead of an anticipated ground offensive. 

About 300,000 people have already fled.

The Israel Defense Forces has also ordered residents and displaced people in areas of northern Gaza to leave immediately, and the military says it has "intensified" activity in Zeitoun in central Gaza.

The Biden administration said Friday it is "reasonable to assess" that US weapons have been used by Israeli forces in Gaza in ways that are inconsistent with international humanitarian law — but the anticipated report stopped short of officially saying Israel violated the law.

UN General Assembly passed a resolution Friday calling on Security Council to reconsider Palestinian membership in the UN, a significant but ultimately symbolic move that US is expected to veto.

May 11, 2024 news from Israeli military intensifies action in central Gaza as people flee from Rafah. Here's what to know.
From CNN staff

The Israel Defense Forces have intensified action in central Gaza, killing dozens of Palestinians in strikes on Friday night and into the overnight hours. It comes as about 300,000 people have fled Rafah in southern part of the enclave as the military steps up operations ahead of an anticipated ground operation.

Rafah evacuations: The Israeli military has ordered the immediate evacuation of several more neighborhoods in eastern Rafah as the Israeli military steps up its operations in the southern Gazan city. The new evacuation order follows Thursday's approval by Israel's security cabinet of an “expansion of the area of operation” in Rafah.

Other evacuations: The military has also ordered residents and displaced people in several neighborhoods in northern Gaza to leave the area immediately and head toward “shelters” west of Gaza City.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com...index.html

[Tee tiong huat]

It is unfortunate that President Biden chose to announce his pause of some weapons sales to Israel.

 While on a political campaign swing through Wisconsin. I use that word — “unfortunate” — not because I don’t understand why Biden did so, but because the move has enabled Benjamin Netanyahu to deflect attention from fact that the most dangerous leader threatening Israel today is not Biden but Bibi.

Netanyahu’s policies have not and will not produce a sustainable victory in Gaza, cannot secure Israel against its greatest existential threat — Iran - are endangering world Jewry and undermining America’s interent broader Middle East strategic needs and goals.

That is real source of tension between Washington and Jerusalem today. It is not Biden’s temporary hold on sending Israel a fresh supply of 2,000-pound bombs and some other offensive weapons — which Biden has been warning Israel for months that he would do if Israel attempted to pulverize Rafah, the way that it did Gaza City and Khan Younis, without an evacuation of civilians.

Jerusalem Today News: Biden has been warning Israel for months, he would do if Israel attempted to pulverize Rafah, the way that it did Gaza City and Khan Younis, without an evacuation of civilians.

It is a measure of the level of contempt with which Netanyahu’s govt views Biden administration that Bibi’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, immediately posted on X about Biden’s move: 

“Hamas ❤️ Biden.” That is how Bibi’s team treats the most pro-Israel president in U.S. history, the man who rushed to save Israel from Hamas on Oct. 7 and from Iran on April 13. It is just shameful or no shameful?.

A note: Just do a simple experiment: Let’s assume Biden gave Israel all the 2,000-pound bombs it wanted but not to Ukraine. 

Why if Israel leveled Rafah?, where's Hamas’s leadership and their four intact battalions and many Israeli hostages are believed to be holed up?. 

None of that would change the fact that Israel has no Palestinian or Arab partner to govern Gaza the next day in a way would ensure a new Hamas would not rise from the ashes.

Netanyahu has managed to persuade and cajole Israel’s army leadership and people to fight this war in Gaza for more than seven months with no plan for how to get out and consolidate whatever military victory has been achieved. This is a direct result of the fact that in December 2022. 

Netanyahu formed the most extreme, far-right cabinet in Israel’s history — to get back into power and stave off his trial on corruption charges. The Jewish supremacists in his cabinet will not let Netanyahu form any partnership with the non-Hamas Palestinian Authority hoping to governs the West Bank for fear it could lead to a Palestinian state there and in Gaza.

This means after any triumph over Hamas, Israel will either leave Gaza & have on its border some kind of gang-governed Gaza where Hamas would most likely re-emerge under some who newer leadership — as it has after Israel assassinated its previous generation of leaders — will Israel will find itself permanently occupying both Gaza & West Bank, where it is already in charge. 

Together, about seven million Israeli Jews would be permanently controlling about five million Palestinian Arabs in two occupied territories, which would be a moral, economic and military overstretch that would delight Iran — because it would hasten Israel’s descent into being a global pariah.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/10/opini...srael.html

[Tee tiong huat]

The Israel is moving deeper into Rafah and those. Hamas militants regrouping in northern Gaza. 

Deir al-Balah in the Gaza Strip has offered refuge for Palestinians escaping the war between Israel and Hamas in the besieged territory. Thousands of displaced from nearby Gaza City and the northern part of the Strip have set up sprawling tented settlements in the town, including along the Mediterranean Sea shore. (AP)

RAFAH, Gaza Strip. The exodus of Palestinians from Gaza’s last refuge continue to accelerated Sunday as Israeli forces pushed deeper into southern city of Rafah. Israel also pounded the territory’s devastated north, where some Hamas militants have regrouped in areas the military said it had cleared months ago.

Rafah is considered Hamas’ last stronghold. Some 300,000 of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there have fled the city following evacuation orders from Israel, which says it must invade to dismantle Hamas and return scores of hostages taken from Israel in the Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war.

Neighboring Egypt issued its strongest objection yet to the Rafah offensive, saying it intends to formally join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice alleging Israel is committing genocide in Gaza — an accusation Israel rejects. The foreign ministry statement cited “the worsening severity and scope of the Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians.”

https://apnews.com/article/israel-palest...a542e8776e

[Tee tiong huat]

Israel orders new evacuations in Gaza’s last refuge of Rafah as it expands military offensive

Dialysis patients evacuated from one of Rafah’s main hospitals have been moved to the Nasser Hospital in nearby Khan Younis in southern Gaza Strip.


Updated May 12, 2024

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel ordered new evacuations in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah on Saturday, forcing tens of thousands more people to leave as it prepared to expand its military operation deeper into what is considered Gaza’s last refuge, in defiance of growing pressure from close ally the US and others.

As pro-Palestinian protests continued against war, Israel’s military said it moving into area of devastated northern Gaza where it asserted Hamas militant group has regrouped after seven months of fighting.

Israel has now evacuated eastern third of Rafah, military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said dozens of militants had been killed there “targeted ops continued.” UN has warned that the planned full-scale Rafah invasion would further cripple humanitarian ops & cause surge in civilian deaths.

Rafah borders Egypt near main aid entry points, is already are affected. Israeli troops have captured Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, forcing crossing to shut down. Egypt has refused to coordinate with Israel on delivery of aid though the crossing b'cos of “unacceptable Israeli escalation,” state-owned Al Qahera News tv channel reported, citing an unnamed official.

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-...696f492b25

[Tee tiong huat]

The Netanyahu govt has vowed to eliminate Hamas after it led an attack on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping another 250. On Wednesday. "Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya told Associated Press in Istanbul, the group would accept “a fully sovereign Palestinian state in West Bank & Gaza Strip & the return of Palestinian refugees in accordance with the international resolutions.”

Israel captured West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 war. 

Those territories are considered Palestinians who want to establish a state. But for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long opposed such prospect, arguing that it would endanger his country’s security, he asking Hamas stop terrifying if not, he doesn't want to stop the war.

Hayyah told AP. Hamas wanted to or would join Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to form a unified govt for Gaza and the West Bank. Hamas refrained from joining the PLO, an umbrella grouping of Palestinian factions that signed peace agreements with it in the 1990s.

Barghouti said Hamas indicated as far back as 2007, when it led a Palestinian national unity govt, it's willing to accept a Palestinian state along 1967 borders. Hamas, added, has been in favor of joining PLO, but such a move wouldn’t automatically amount to recognition of Israel or Oslo Accords that PLO signed with it in the 1990s.

Hamas has not issued an official statement outlining concessions, officials have touted and it's unclear if statements made by its officials abroad reflect the thinking of its military wing on the ground in Gaza.

Israelis IDF Brig.-Gen is wounded in combat in Gaza Strip - report By JERUSALEM POST STAFF  Published: MAY 12, 2024. Updated

 A army IDF, Brig.-Gen. Yogev Bar Sheshet, Defense Ministry Deputy Comptroller, was wounded in combat in the Gaza Strip on Friday, Sunday Israeli media reports.

According to the reports, Bar Sheshet was moderately wounded and was subsequently rushed to Ichilov Hospital for further medical treatment. 

https://m.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-800871

[Tee tiong huat]

Israelis IDF Brig.-Gen is wounded in combat in Gaza Strip - report By JERUSALEM POST STAFF  Published: MAY 12, 2024. Updated

 A army IDF, Brig.-Gen. Yogev Bar Sheshet, Defense Ministry Deputy Comptroller, was wounded in combat in the Gaza Strip on Friday, Sunday Israeli media reports.

According to the reports, Bar Sheshet was moderately wounded and was subsequently rushed to Ichilov Hospital for further medical treatment. 

https://m.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-800871

Halevi and Israel President Isaac Herzog attend a ceremony marking Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The IDF chief vows, “In this war, we are determined to complete the mission, even though we understand the cost.”“As long as our enemies rise up against us, we will be on guard, we will be ready and alert, we will respond strongly to any attempt to harm us, and we will strike back at those who seek to kill us,” he adds from the army boss.

[Tee tiong huat]

Biden plans to send $1bn arms shipment to Israel(3 hours ago)

Images An Israeli tank near the Gaza. The White House has told Congress it wants to send more than $1bn (£800m) in new weapons to Israel.

This comes despite the US being opposed to a full-scale invasion by the Israeli military on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. It said last week it had paused a shipment of bombs to Israel over concerns civilians would be killed if used in densely populated areas.

This new package, confirmed by US media, must still be approved by lawmakers. It would include $700m in tank ammunition, $500m in tactical vehicles and $60m in mortar rounds, according to the Associated Press news agency.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-69013279

[Tee tiong huat]

The Times of Israel -- IDF confirms Hezbollah drone hit a sensitive military site; damage being assessed.Terror group claims to target missile-detecting balloon. The base is located near Golani Junction, some 35 k/m (21 miles) from Lebanon border.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-confir...-assessed/

[Tee tiong huat]

He's laughing lord OMG..LOL 

[Tee tiong huat]

Continue Story on Israel / Hamas War.

Asked if Hayyah’s statement to AP amounts to a shift in Hamas’ position, he told CNN his remarks are reflective of group’s messaging since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The Israel has so far failed to achieve its stated goal of eliminating Hamas from Gaza Strip, with no top leaders from the group captured or killed, but has significantly diminished its military capabilities & ability to rule there as bombing campaign leaves, as many cannot leave the enclave in ruin.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at news conference in Qatari (Doha) Hamas try, is willing to function solely as a political party once a Palestinian state is created, citing meetings between Turkish officials.

(Hamas hope to brand it's one more step to be the sole order under them.)

He called on Hamas “to express their stances clearly.”

Inbar, from the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy & Security, said that after October 7, Israelis treat Hamas as a hostile entity and want to see it defeated. “We understand that they will try to rebuild the military infrastructure” after Israel destroys it, he said, adding that Israel will continue to “mow the grass,” a reference to occasional military operations to diminish Hamas’ military capability.

[Tee tiong huat]

All is in good hand. .  expect Oni on one shop.

[Tee tiong huat]

All is in good hand. .  expecting both to cross x at each other in June and  September.

Joe Biden & Donald Trump have agreed to hold two presidential TV debates in June & September, setting stage for primetime political duels that could shake up the White House race.. CNN will host 1st forum on 27 June in key swing state of Georgia. ABC will host 2nd 10 September

[Tee tiong huat]

In northern Gaza, troops battle Hamas in some of war’s ‘most violent’ fighting. Earlier today, the IDF says it struck a Hezbollah rocket launcher in southern Lebanon’s Yaroun that was primed for an attack on Israel.

Troops demolished a Hamas tunnel in central Gaza this week, says IDF

Troops of the 99th Division operate in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood, in a handout image published May 17, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
Troops of the 99th Division operate in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood, in a handout image published May 17, 2024. (Israel Defense Forces)
The military says it demolished a tunnel in the central Gaza Strip this week, amid an operation in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood.

The week-long operation, carried out by the Nahal and Carmeli brigades, was wrapped up yesterday.

The IDF says troops demolished Hamas sites, including attack tunnels, weapon manufacturing sites, rocket launchers and command rooms amid the pinpoint raid.

IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Tuesday that some 150 terror operatives were killed in Zeitoun.