For today, links to 13 reports: from Reuters, Middle East Eye, the Associated Press, the Jerusalem Post, the Times of Israel, Middle East Monitor, National Public Radio, and the Telegraph, and to commentary from the Ron Paul Institute via Antiwar.com; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM
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Twenty reported killed in Gaza as Israel intensifies siege of north, by Nidal al-Mughrabi | Reuters CAIRO — Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 20 people today as Israeli forces intensified a siege of northern parts of the Palestinian enclave, surrounding hospitals and refugee shelters, and ordering residents to head south, medics and residents said. READ MORE . . .
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Thirty people dead inside besieged Kamal Adwan Hospital. From Middle East Eye. A Medecins Sans Frontieres orthopaedic surgeon currently sheltering in the besieged Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza says the situation in the medical facility is “disastrous”. “There is death in all types and forms in Kamal Adwan hospital and north Gaza. READ MORE . . .
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Israel is ethnically cleansing north Gaza, says B’Tselem. From Middle East Eye. Israeli human rights group B’Tselem has accused Israel of taking advantage of the world’s diverted attention to commit ethnic cleansing in northern Gaza. READ MORE . . .
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No Hezbollah assets found in Lebanon hospital facing Israeli bombing, by Hanna Davis | Middle East Eye BEIRUT — A swarm of journalists and cameramen opened drawers filled with scrubs and bed linens, rummaged through boxes of surgical tools, and meandered through the basement of Sahel Hospital, in southern Beirut, entering even . . . READ MORE . . .
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Int’l journalists dispel Israeli claims of Hezbollah funds in Lebanese hospitals. From Middle East Monitor. BBC and Sky News reporters were among international news crews that debunked Israel’s claims that Hezbollah is hiding funds in a Lebanese hospital in Beirut. Click HERE for brief introduction and video.
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Blinken urges halt to Middle East conflict as Israel bombs historic Lebanese port city, by Amina Ismail and Humeyra Pamuk | Reuters TYRE / RIYADH — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken pushed today for a halt to fighting between Israel and militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, but heavy Israeli air strikes on a large historic Lebanese port city demonstrated that there was no respite. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for AP report by Farnoush Amiri and Samy Magdy.
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Hostages’ families call on Blinken to leverage Sinwar elimination for a deal, by Uri Sela | The Jerusalem Post Families of American citizens held hostage in Gaza met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday and asked him to apply pressure on mediators in Qatar, aiming to leverage the opportunity created by Sinwar’s elimination to restart negotiations for returning all hostages. The families, including . . . READ MORE . . .
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IDF claims uncovered documents prove 6 Al Jazeera journalists are Hamas, PIJ operatives, by Emanuel Fabian | The Times of Israel The IDF says it has uncovered documents in the Gaza Strip it claims reveal that six Al Jazeera journalists are operatives in the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups. READ MORE . . .
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FROM OCT. 22 As Gaza burns, Israeli settlers make ‘real estate’ plans, by Peter Oborne and Lubna Masarwa | Middle East Eye A ceasefire in Gaza was the last thing on the mind of the Knesset members, government ministers and hundreds of Israeli settlers who convened Monday to plan the future of the enclave as Israel’s settlement. READ MORE . . .
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As the Israel-Hamas war escalates, Israel refuses to acknowledge its nuclear program. Michel Martin of NPR speaks with Victor Gilinsky, a former commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, about Israel’s nuclear capabilities. It’s believed Israel has around 90 warheads. Click HERE to listen and read.
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FROM OCT. 22 A nightclub in Lebanon is now a shelter for people fleeing Israeli strikes. Reported by Arezou Rezvani | NPR Skybar, one of Beirut’s most popular nightclubs, has turned into a shelter for hundreds of displaced people who’ve fled Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon in recent weeks. Click HERE to listen and read, and HERE for report in the Telegraph.
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FROM OCT. 21 Why should we fight wars for Ukraine and Israel? by Ron Paul | Ron Paul Institute / Antiwar.com When you take on the role of the world’s policeman, don’t be surprised when countries who cannot fight their own wars call “911.” That is happening to the United States on two fronts and it is bankrupting our country, depleting the military that should serve our own national interest, and . . . READ MORE . . .