First, links to reports from Reuters and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date, so far, is HERE.) — MCM

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Zelenskiy says Ukraine ‘victory plan’ depends on quick decisions by allies. From Reuters. KYIV — Ukraine’s “victory plan” in the war against Russia depends on quick decisions being taken by allies this year, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said today during a visit by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He said Ukraine planned to use a proposed multi-billion dollar European Union loan for . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from AP.

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to three reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, and  Substack, and to commentary from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM  

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15 killed overnight in Gaza; Hezbollah hits northern Israel with rockets. From AP. Palestinian authorities said 15 people were killed overnight in multiple Israeli attacks, including an airstrike early this morning in Gaza City that hit a family home killing six people, among them an unknown number of children, Gaza’s Civil Defense said. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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Gaza seen from the ground, by Seymour M. Hersh | Substack  This week I spoke to a Canadian citizen who has been working as a researcher in Gaza. She speaks Arabic and knows the people and the territory, once a Mediterranean oasis of grand gardens and exotic fruits from ancient times that, since the Hamas attack last October 7 and the Israeli response, has . . . READ MORE . . .

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Why France supported UN vote to end Israeli occupation, by Elodie Farge | Middle East Eye  France was among a handful of Israeli allies that voted on Wednesday in favour of a UN resolution demanding an end to Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the occupied West Bank within a year. READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED   

For now, links to eleven reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Middle East Eye, Haaretz, and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date, so far, and a MEDIA entry are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Israeli planes bomb southern Lebanon after radio blasts, by Walid Saleh and James Mackenzie | Reuters  BEIRUT / JERUSALEM — Israel bombed southern Lebanon today and said it had thwarted an Iranian-led assassination plot, a day after explosions of Hezbollah radios that came on the heels of blasts in booby trapped pagers, setting the foes hurtling towards war. The sophisticated attacks killed 37 people and wounded around 3,000 over two days, sowed disarray in . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israel turns its focus north toward Lebanon and Hezbollah. From AP. Israel’s defense minister has declared the start of a “new phase” of the war as Israel turns its focus toward the northern front against Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Two waves of explosive attacks hit Syria and Lebanon on Tuesday on exploding pagers and Wednesday on exploding walkie-talkies . . . READ MORE . . .

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Beirut is on edge after 2 waves of explosions that used pagers and walkie-talkies. Reported by Jane Arraf and Leila Fadel | NPR  In Lebanon, victims were buried after a cyberattack Tuesday that detonated thousands of hand-held pagers used by the militant group Hezbollah. The next day there was a second wave of attacks. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM SEPT. 18  UN General Assembly widely supports a Palestinian resolution demanding Israel end its occupation, by Edith M. Lederer | AP  UNITED NATIONS — The UN General Assembly strongly supported a nonbinding Palestinian resolution Wednesday demanding that Israel end its “unlawful presence” in Gaza and the occupied West Bank within a year. The vote in the 193-member world body was 124-14, with 43 abstentions. Among those in opposition . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Middle East Eye.

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The significance of the lethal cyberattacks Israel is accused of carrying out. Reported by Greg Myre and Steve Inskeep | NPR  The explosions in Lebanon are the latest in a series of lethal attacks attributed to Israel, and carried out against its leading enemies in their heavily guarded capitals. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM SEPT. 18  How the Israeli attacks in Lebanon are affecting Gaza ceasefire talks. Reported by Michele Kelemen | NPR  The deadly pager and electronic device blasts in Lebanon are complicating U.S. efforts to reach a Gaza ceasefire. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM SEPT. 18  Hezbollah devices explode again in Lebanon, raising fears of wider Israel conflict, by Laila Bassam and Maya Gebeily | Reuters  BEIRUT — Hand-held radios used by armed group Hezbollah detonated on Wednesday across Lebanon’s south in the country’s deadliest day since cross-border fighting erupted between the militants and Israel nearly a year ago, stoking tensions the day after similar READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from AP.

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Hamas targets Israel military vehicles in Rafah. From Middle East Monitor. The Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, released footage on Wednesday showing its fighters targeting Israeli military vehicles in combat zones east of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. It showed an Israeli Namer armoured personnel carrier and a . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 18  Germany has stopped approving war weapons exports to Israel, source says, by Riham Alkousaa | Reuters  BERLIN — Germany has put a hold on new exports of weapons of war to Israel while it deals with legal challenges, according to a Reuters analysis of data and a source close to the Economy Ministry. A source close to . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Haaretz.

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A link to an interview from Substack via ScheerPost and Consortium News; other news and commentary are accessible by the names highlighted here and below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date, so far, are HERE and HERE.)  — MCM

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FROM SEPT. 11  The liberal class’s ultimate betrayal. Journalist Chris Hedges of the Chris Hedges Report talks with comedian Jimmy Dore of the Jimmy Dore Show about a range of topics and events of these times including the 2024 Democratic National Convention, united by how they are presented by the establishment news and entertainment media. Click HERE to listen and read transcript.

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MAY BE CONTINUED

For now, links to reports from Reuters, the Anadolu Agency, Middle East Eye, National Public Radio, the Associated Press, and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date, so far, is HERE.) — MCM

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UN to demand Israel end ‘unlawful’ presence in Palestinian territories within 12 months, by Michelle Nichols | Reuters  UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations General Assembly will adopt a Palestinian-drafted resolution today that demands Israel end “its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” within 12 months. READ MORE . . .

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Death toll from Lebanon pager blasts rises to 12, by Wassim Saifeddine | Anadolu Agency  BEIRUT — The death toll from Tuesday’s pager explosions across Lebanon climbed to 12 people, including two children, Health Minister Firas Alabiad said today. “The number of injured people ranges between 2,750 and 2,800, with . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for report from Middle East Eye and NPR.

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FROM SEPT. 17  EU’s top diplomat warns ‘tomorrow is already too late’ for Israel-Hamas cease-fire, by Jon Gambrell | AP  DUBAI — The European Union’s top diplomat warned Tuesday that every day that passes without a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war risks the lives of the hostages held by the militants and of those in the Gaza Strip as well as a regional war breaking out. READ MORE . . .

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Blinken holds talks in Egypt as Lebanon blasts renew escalation fears, by Simon Lewis | Reuters  CAIRO — An escalation in tensions in the Middle East over the detonation of Hezbollah pagers threatened to overshadow U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s latest regional diplomacy push, as he met senior Egyptian officials today hoping to advance efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and improve ties with Cairo. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Middle East Eye.

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Hamas will play a decisive role in Gaza’s future, says Meshal. From Middle East Monitor. Khaled Meshal, a senior Hamas official, has told the New York Times that Hamas will play a decisive role in the future of Gaza. The group’s survival is in itself a victory, he explained, even if it is significantly weakened. He said Hamas has won the war against Israel and “now has . . . READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

For now, links to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, the Kyiv Post, the Kyiv Independent, the Moscow Times, Tass, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM

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For today, links to five reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, and Middle East Eye, and to an interview from Truthout via ScheerPost; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Israel says halting Hezbollah attacks is now a war goal as officials warn of a wider operation, by Josef Federman and Julia Frankel | AP  JERUSALEM — Israel said today that halting Hezbollah’s attacks in the country’s north to allow residents to return to their homes is now an official war goal, as it considers a wider military operation in Lebanon that could ignite an all-out conflict. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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FROM SEPT. 16  Blinken is heading back to the Middle East, this time without fanfare or a visit to Israel, by Ellen Knickmeyer | AP  WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Antony Blinken heads to Egypt on Tuesday for his 10th trip to the Middle East since the war in Gaza began nearly a year ago, this one aimed partly at refining a proposal to present to Israel and Hamas for a cease-fire deal and release of hostages. READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 16  UN experts censure Western support for Israel since Gaza war, by  Emma Farge | Reuters  GENEVA — U.N. human rights experts criticised mostly Western states on Monday for continuing to support Israel despite what they described as a genocide in Gaza which might turn Israel into a “pariah” nation. READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 16  Names of 710 Palestinian newborns killed by Israeli forces in Gaza published, by Huthifa Fayyad | Middle East Eye  The names of 710 Palestinian newborn babies killed by Israeli forces during the ongoing war on Gaza were released by the Palestinian health ministry on Monday. According to the Gaza-based government media office . . . READ MORE . . .

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How does Israel justify genocide? It starts in the schools. From Truthout / ScheerPost. Goerge Yancy of Emory University and Dartmouth College interviews Nurit Peled-Elhanan, a retired lecturer at Hebrew University and at the David Yellin Academic College in Jerusalem. “Schoolbooks always, not only in Israel,” Peled-Elhanan says, “are meant to . .  Click HERE to read interview.

For today, links to nine reports: from the Kyiv Independent, Agence France-Presse, Tass, the Kyiv Post, Reuters and the Moscow Times, and to commentary from Indian Punchline; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Around 1 million killed, wounded on both sides of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, WSJ reports, by Martin Fornusek | The Kyiv Independent  Roughly 1 million Ukrainians and Russians have been killed or wounded in Moscow’s all-out war against Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported today, citing undisclosed sources and Western intelligence estimates. READ MORE . . .

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Russian controversial war film to be screened in Toronto despite ‘threats’ focusing on Moscow.’ From AFP. The controversial documentary “Russians at War” will be shown in Toronto today, after the city’s film festival organizers had halted screenings due to “significant threats” over their decision to feature the film. Focusing on Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine from the perspective. . . READ MORE . . .

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NATO not to become conflict side if West authorizes Kiev to strike at Russia — Stoltenberg. From Tass. BRUSSELS — NATO will not become a party to the Ukrainian conflict if its member states authorize Kiev to strike at Russian territory with Western-made weapons, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview with Foreign Policy, livestreamed on its website. READ MORE . . .

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Meta bans RT days after U.S. accused Russian outlet of disinformation, by Kevin Collier and Phil Helsel | NBC  Social media giant Meta announced Monday that it is banning Russian media outlet RT, days after the Biden administration accused RT of acting as an arm of Moscow’s spy agencies. “After careful consideration . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Tass.

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Russia reportedly executes POW with sword, Kyiv appeals to UN, Red Cross, by Kateryna Hodunova | The Kyiv Independent  Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said today that he had appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations in response to a photo that allegedly shows the execution of a Ukrainian prisoner of war by Russia. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Kyiv Post.

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Russia attacks energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Sumy region, local authorities say. From Reuters.  KYIV — Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, cutting power in some districts and forcing authorities to resort to back-up power systems, local authorities said today. READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 16  Russia orders more evacuations in Kursk Region amid ongoing Ukrainian incursion. From the Moscow Times. Authorities in southwestern Russia’s Kursk region on Monday ordered the mandatory evacuation of two more districts along the border with Ukraine, as Kyiv’s forces remain in control of a large swath of Russian territory despite Moscow’s counteroffensive efforts. READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 16  Ukraine war turns into Russian roulette, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  The UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with the US President Joe Biden in the White House on Friday with the question of the use of long-range missiles by Ukraine to hit deep inside Russia on their agenda of conversation. Starmer later said the talks were “productive” but concentrated on “strategy” rather than . . . READ MORE . . .