First, links to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Then, commentary from ScheerPost and the Real News Network. (Today’s UKRAINE entry is HERE.) — MCM
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Israel says strikes will dismantle Hamas as Palestinian death toll rises, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Ari Rabinovitch | Reuters GAZA / JERUSALEM — Israel said today it had killed dozens of Hamas fighters overnight in strikes on Gaza and indicated that it had no intention of easing its bombardment of the besieged Palestinian enclave. The United States urged Israel to allow more aid into Gaza, trapped in a humanitarian crisis after two weeks of intense Israeli attacks. But there appeared to be little prospect of a ceasefire any time soon in the bloodiest episode in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in decades . . . READ MORE . . .
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Hamas frees two Israeli women as U.S. advises delaying ground war to allow talks on captives, by Najib Jobain, Samy Magdy and Joseph Krauss | AP RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Hamas on Monday released two elderly Israeli women held hostage in Gaza as the United States expressed increasing concern that the escalating Israel-Hamas war will spark a wider conflict in the region, including attacks on American troops. The death toll in Gaza rose rapidly as Israel ramped up airstrikes . . . READ MORE . . .
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Wye River agreement: Peace seemed within reach between Israel, Palestinians. Reported by Steve Inskeep and A Martínez | NPR Twenty-five years ago Monday, the U.S. facilitated an agreement between Israel and Palestinians on a pathway toward peace. The deal fell apart not long after the Wye River Memorandum was signed. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Palestinian deaths in the occupied West Bank are escalating. Reported by Jackie Northam | NPR Violence is increasing in the occupied West Bank, where dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and the Israeli military since Hamas attacked Israel. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Israel intensifies airstrikes as momentum builds for a ground offensive. A Martinez of NPR asks Brian Katulis of the Middle East Institute, a nonpartisan think tank dedicated to studying that region, to assess Israel’s planning for a ground offensive into Gaza. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Israel-Hamas war takes toll on Israeli and Palestinian civilians’ mental health. Reported by A Martínez and Rhitu Chatterjee | NPR As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, researchers warn about the surge of mental health problems that will plague the region for years to come as a result of the war trauma. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Graphic videos and images of the Israel-Hamas war are flooding social media. Reported by Dara Kerr | NPR To monitor misinformation and violent images, social networks put content moderation rules in place a decade ago. Now some of that is unraveling. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Israeli military veterans describe actions that pummeled Gaza ahead of 2014 invasion. Reported by Ruth Sherlock | NPR The last time Israel had boots on the ground in Gaza was nine years ago. As the country prepares for another possible ground invasion of Gaza, veterans share reflections from the previous war. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Diplomats trying to free hostages from Hamas aim to delay Israel’s ground offensive. Reported by Michele Kelemen | NPR Hamas released two hostages, but a flurry of international diplomatic activity to free more and allow aid into Gaza is moving slowly. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Diplomatic efforts are underway to facilitate the release of more hostages in Gaza. Reported by A Martínez and Jackie Northam | NPR The International Committee of the Red Cross said it facilitated Monday’s release of two hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. The aim is to free more hostages before Israel’s expected ground invasion. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Jordan’s precarious situation amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. Reported by Jane Arraf | NPR The conflict between Israel and Hamas is putting neighboring Jordan in a precarious position — in a country already suffering an economic downturn and widespread discontent. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Let them eat cement, by Chris Hedges | ScheerPost / Popular Resistance Israel, with the backing of its U.S. and European allies, is preparing to launch not only a scorched earth campaign in Gaza but the worst ethnic cleansing since the wars in the former Yugoslavia. The goal is to drive tens, most probably hundreds of thousands of Palestinians over the southern border at Rafah into refugee camps in Egypt. The reverberations will be catastrophic, not only . . . READ MORE . . .
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The Atlantic Magazine, covering Palestine without Palestinians, by Adam Johnson | The Real News Network / ScheerPost Since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Southern Israel that killed 1,300 Israelis, The Atlantic has published 38 articles, podcasts, and Q&As on the assault and Israel’s subsequent retaliatory bombing campaign, which has killed over 4,000 Palestinians and counting. Only one of these pieces was written by a Palestinian, whom the story is, at least in theory, 50% about. The writers . . . READ MORE . . .
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MAY BE CONTINUED