For today, links to four reports from Middle East Monitor, Reuters and the Associated Press, and to commentary from Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their initials or names below. (UKRAINE and ASSANGE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM
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10 children lose one or two legs in Gaza every day, says UNRWA. From Middle East Monitor. An average of 10 Palestinian children a day are losing one or both legs, the Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has revealed. “This gives you an idea,” said Philippe Lazzarini, “of the scope of the type of childhood, a child can . . . READ MORE . . .
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Israeli forces pound north and south Gaza, battle Hamas in Rafah, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters CAIRO — Israeli forces pounded several areas across Gaza today, and residents reported fierce fighting overnight in Rafah in the south of the Palestinian enclave. Residents said fighting intensified in the Tel Al-Sultan neighbourhood in western Rafah, where . . . READ MORE . . .
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Gunfire, lawlessness and gang-like looters are preventing aid distribution in Gaza, an official says, by Menelaos Hadjicostis | AP LARNACA, Cyprus — Thousands of tons of food, medicines and other aid piled up on a beach in war-torn Gaza is not reaching those in need because of a dire security situation and lawlessness on the ground, a U.S. aid official said today. Doug Strope, with the U.S. Agency for International Development, said . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 25 Israel’s high court orders the army to draft ultra-Orthodox men, rattling Netanyahu’s government, by Tia Goldenberg | AP JERUSALEM — Israel’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled unanimously that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox men for compulsory service, a landmark decision that could lead to . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 25 The occupation army is being affected seriously by suicide, low morale and mental illness, by Aziz Mustafa | Middle East Monitor More than 250 days since the outbreak of the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians in Gaza, the Israeli occupation army is slowly revealing the issues that are killing its troops, along with other factors which limit its ability to achieve its . . . READ MORE . . .