For today, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and National Public Radio, and to commentary from Indian Punchline and, via Popular Resistance, The Real News Network; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Today’s UKRAINE entry is HERE.) — MCM
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Israel ramps up strikes on Gaza as U.S. advises delaying ground offensive to allow talks on captives, by Najib Jobain, Samy Magdy and Joseph Krauss | AP RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israel ramped up its airstrikes today in Gaza, where the death toll was rising rapidly, and the United States advised Israel to delay an expected ground invasion to allow more time to negotiate the release of hostages taken by Hamas militants. Heavy airstrikes demolished buildings across Gaza, including in areas where Palestinians have been told to seek refuge, killing hundreds and . . . READ MORE . . .
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Israeli soldiers skirmish with Hamas fighters on the ground, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Dan Williams | Reuters GAZA / JERUSALEM — Israel bombarded Gaza with more air strikes today as its soldiers fought Hamas militants on the ground in raids within the besieged Palestinian enclave. Gaza’s health ministry said 436 people had been killed by Israeli aerial attacks in the past 24 hours, most of them in the south of the narrow, densely populated Gaza Strip. In signs that . . . READ MORE . . .
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Israel strikes across Gaza after allowing another small aid convoy into the besieged enclave, by Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy and Joseph Krauss | AP DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza today, including in areas where Palestinian civilians have been told to seek refuge, after another small aid shipment was allowed into the besieged Hamas-ruled territory. Israel has still not allowed any fuel to . . . READ MORE . . .
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Aid starts to trickle into Gaza; Qatar negotiates the release of American hostages. Reported by Scott Simon and Peter Kenyon | NPR The Egypt Gaza border opens briefly to allow a trickle ofmuch needed aid in, but it is a drop in the ocean for the thousands of Palestinians stuck there. Click HERE to listen and read.
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What’s next for the U.S. in the Middle East, according to a veteran diplomat. Ayesha Rascoe of NPR discusses the Israel-Gaza conflict with David Hale. The veteran diplomat served as U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace as well as ambassador to Lebanon and Jordan. Click HERE to listen and read.
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The UN says 20 trucks of aid are not enough, asks for fuel to be let in for hospitals. Scott Simon of NPR discusses aid to Gaza with Assistant Secretary-General Lynn Hastings. She is the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Who governs the West Bank? Understanding Palestinian political leadership. Ayesha Rascoe of NPR asks former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad about the leadership of and divisions within Palestinian political factions. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Arab leaders, U.N. secretary-general met at a summit in Cairo to discuss the war. Reported by Ayesha Rascoe and Jane Arraf | NPR Arab leaders at a Cairo summit failed to agree on a way to contain the violence between Israel and Hamas or resolve the Palestinian quest for statehood. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Putin sees Israel-Hamas war as opportunity for geopolitical power shift. Reported by Philip Reeves | NPR Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the U.S. for this latest outbreak of Israel-Gaza violence as he tries to consolidate a growing anti-Western alliance of nations. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Peace activists in Israel speak about their hopes for the end of war. Scott Simon of NPR speaks with Israeli peace activists Sally Abed, who is also Palestinian, and Alon-Lee Green, of the group Standing Together, about their hopes for the conflict in Gaza. Click HERE to listen and read.
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There are fears of militant groups in Hezbollah entering the war. Scott Simon of NPR speaks with Mohanad Hage Ali, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, about the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah’s role in the current conflict. Click HERE to listen and read.
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No takers for a West Asian war but war seems inevitable, by M. K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline The remarks by Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian following a regional tour that took him to Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Qatar and closed-door meetings with the leaders of the resistance groups, stand out as an audacious display of smart power aiming at nudging the ground situation towards the diplomatic track at a crucial juncture when . . . READ MORE . . .
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‘No sanctuary’: Israel’s long war on Gaza. Chris Hedges of the Chris Hedges Report on The Real News Network speaks with author Norman Finkelstein about Israel’s 17-year blockade of Gaza and its crucial significance to understanding the events since Oct. 7. Click HERE to read and view and listen to interview.