For today, links to eight reports: from Middle East Eye, the Associated Press, Reuters, Anadolu Agency, Middle East Monitor, and National Public Radio, and to commentary from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initals below. (UKRAINE entry for this date and MAPS entry from last week are HERE and HERE.) — MCM
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Half of Jabalia ethnically cleansed by Israeli army as schools burned and men kidnapped, by Lubna Masarwa and Maha Hussaini | Middle East Eye JERUSALEM / OCCUPIED PALESTINE — Israeli troops are going school to school in Jabalia and nearby areas to forcibly remove unarmed, starved and besieged Palestinian civilians from their homes as the military campaign to ethnically cleanse north Gaza nears its third week, eyewitnesses say. READ MORE . . .
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Blinken announces another $135 million in U.S. aid to Gaza but says it has to get into the territory, by Wafaa Shurafa and Fatma Khaled | AP DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Qatar, today announced another $135 million in aid to the Palestinians, saying it is critical that aid enters Gaza. Also today, medical officials said an Israeli strike on a school where displaced people were sheltering . . . READ MORE . . .
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Israeli strikes kill 42 in Gaza as tanks tighten siege of north, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters CAIRO — Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 42 people on Wednesday 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. Health officials said . . . READ MORE . . .
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France and other nations pledge massive aid package to support Lebanon at international conference, by Sylvie Corbet | AP PARIS — France pledged to provide a 100-million euro ($108 million) package to support Lebanon at an international conference today, as President Emmanuel Macron said “massive aid” is needed to support the country where . . . READ MORE . . .
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EU’s Borrell calls for reinforcement of UNIFIL, Lebanese army amid escalating tensions, by Beyza Binnur Donmez | Anadolu Agency GENEVA — EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell today called for an immediate reinforcement of Lebanon’s army and the UN peacekeeping mission in the country (UNIFIL) amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah. READ MORE . . .
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Hezbollah claims heavy Israeli losses: 70 soldiers, 28 tanks, drones downed. From Middle East Monitor. The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, Hezbollah’s operations room, issued a report on Wednesday highlighting significant losses inflicted on Israeli occupation forces by Hezbollah’s missile and air defence units in the south of the country. READ MORE . . .
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Putin warns of Middle East conflagration and debates Ukraine at BRICS, by Vladimir Soldatkin and Guy Faulconbridge | Reuters KAZAN, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin told BRICS leaders today that the Middle East was on the brink of a full-scale war after a sharp rise in tension between Israel and Iran, though the Kremlin chief also faced calls to end the war in Ukraine. READ MORE . . .
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FROM OCT. 23 Calls grow inside Israel’s right wing government for permanent occupation of Gaza. Reported by Daniel Estrin | NPR Israel’s prime minister says forming Jewish settlements in Gaza is not a realistic goal, but his allies are making the case for it. His opponents say the military’s latest moves may make it possible. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Gaza extermination: Netanyahu is ‘finishing the job’ while the world watches, by David Hearst | Middle East Eye There are up to 400,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza, dozens of whom are dying every night in artillery fire, drone strikes, or close up in summary executions. This has been going on for three weeks and there is no . . . READ MORE . . .