For today, a link to reports from the Associated Press, National Public Radio, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. Finally, a link to a previously overlooked letter to the editor of the Berkshire Eagle published on Oct. 24, 2023. (Today’s UKRAINE entry is HERE.) — MCM
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Blinken presses for pause in Gaza fighting on visit to Israel amid fears war could widen, by Najib Jobain, Bassem Mroue and David Rising | AP KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Israel’s prime minister today to press American calls for a humanitarian pause in the fighting in Gaza, even as fears grew that the conflict could widen, with Israel warning that it was on high alert for attacks on its border with Lebanon. Israeli troops tightened . . . READ MORE . . .
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UN agency for Palestine refugees is running out of supplies in Gaza. Reported by Linah Mohammed, Tinbete Ermyas and Juana Summers | NPR UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, says it is running out of supplies in Gaza, where it is sheltering over 600,000 displaced Palestinians. Click HERE to listen and read.
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Palestinian children exposed to violence are suffering from PTSD and depression. Reported by Rhitu Chatterjee | NPR Years of research on kids in Palestine have found high rates of post traumatic stress and depression as a result of being exposed to chronic ethnic-political violence. Click HERE to listen and read.
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NEWER In Israel, the tension of the war with Hamas is felt far from Gaza. Reported by Steve Inskeep | NPR Israel’s northern port city of Acre, or Akko, has long been home to Jews, Christians and Muslims who believe in living together — not just coexisting. Click HERE to listen and read.
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NEWER A lucky few are leaving Gaza. Others are forced to return. Reported by Steve Inskeep and Daniel Estrin | NPR INSKEEP: Israel has blocked the land exits from Gaza. They are the dominant power on three sides. That leaves a crossing on a little bit of border with Egypt. What’s happening there? ESTRIN: That is Gaza’s only portal right now to the outside world, and Egypt has opened that portal, its border crossing, today for a third day in a row. The vast majority of Gazans will not . . . Click HERE to listen and read.
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Ceasefire in Palestinian-Israeli conflict needs to happen as soon as possible – Lavrov. From Tass MOSCOW — Moscow sees it as a top priority to get the parties in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict zone to cease fire, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. “We consider it necessary to take urgent measures to reach an immediate ceasefire, open humanitarian corridors to avoid new casualties and provide necessary assistance to the affected civilians,” he said at a press conference following talks with his Kuwaiti counterpart Salem Abdullah al-Jaber al-Sabah. Lavrov said . . . READ MORE . . .
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Relevant history too often ignored in coverage of Israel-Palestine conflict, by John Breasted | The Berkshire Eagle The history of Israel (known as Palestine before 1948) in the past century has been riddled with tragic mistakes. One was the British Empire’s 1917 Balfour Declaration and subsequent assignment in 1920 of political power in Palestine to the then 10 percent of the population that was Jewish over the remaining non-Jewish 90 percent, in violation . . . READ MORE . . .