For today, links to six reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, and the Anadolu Agency, and to commentary from Indian Punchline, Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date, so far, is HERE.) — MCM
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Israeli army issues new evacuation orders in north Gaza after fresh rocket fire, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters CAIRO — Israeli forces today issued new evacuation orders to Palestinians in areas of north Gaza that were among the first to be hit at the start of the war with Hamas in October, after militants fired a fresh volley of rockets into Israel. READ MORE . . .
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Hamas names Yahya Sinwar, mastermind of the Oct. 7 attacks, as its new leader in show of defiance, by Bassein Mroue | AP BEIRUT — Hamas on Tuesday named Yahya Sinwar, its top official in Gaza who masterminded the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, as its new leader in a dramatic sign of the power of the Palestinian militant group’s hardline wing after . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Reuters.
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Jewish settlers expand in the West Bank while attention is on Gaza. Reported by Greg Myre | NPR The war in Gaza has been the main focus in the Middle East. Yet in the West Bank, Israel’s government is seizing land and Jewish settlers are establishing outposts at the highest rate in decades. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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New Hamas leader can ensure a cease-fire deal is reached, Blinken says. From AP. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the newly chosen Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar has the power to ensure that a cease-fire deal is reached for the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. READ MORE . . .
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Haniyeh’s assassination carried out by 2 Mossad-recruited Iranian revolutionary guards: report, by Muhammed Enes Çallı | Anadolu Agency ISTANBUL — An explosive device was placed under the bed of assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh by two Iranians recruited by Israeli spy agency Mossad, according to a report in the Jewish Chronicle. READ MORE . . .
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FROM AUG. 3 Iran to hit Israel hard with smart power, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline Amidst the cascading tensions in the Middle East following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh by Israel and vows of ‘revenge’ in Tehran . . . READ MORE . . .
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Israel’s admission that it targeted a journalist exposes crude attempt to control war narrative, by Tim Dawson | Middle East Monitor In international law, journalists are considered civilians; combatants are obliged to ensure their safety. READ MORE . . .
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Israel is in a death spiral. Who will it take down with it? by Jonathan Cook | Jonathan-Cok.net / Middle East Eye There should be nothing surprising about the revelation that troops at Sde Teiman, a detention camp set up by Israel in the wake of Hamas’s 7 October attack on southern Israel, are routinely using rape as a weapon of torture against Palestinian inmates. READ MORE . . .