For today, links to four reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, and Middle East Eye, and to commentary from Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM
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Israel pounds central Gaza camps, deepens invasion of Rafah, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters CAIRO — Israeli forces pounded areas in the central Gaza Strip overnight, killing three people and wounding dozens of others, according to medics, while tanks deepened their invasion into Rafah in the south, residents said today. Israeli planes struck . . . READ MORE . . .
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The fate of the latest cease-fire proposal hinges on Netanyahu and Hamas’ leader in Gaza, by Tia Goldenberg | AP TEL AVIV — The fate of the proposed cease-fire deal for Gaza hinges in many ways on two men: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. Each leader faces . . . READ MORE . . .
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Israel and Lebanese militia Hezbollah are ratcheting up the firepower on the border. Reported by Jane Arraf and Michel Martin | NPR The Israeli military says it has approved an offensive in Lebanon if diplomatic efforts fail to stop the conflict that’s contained, for the most part, in Israel’s north and Lebanon’s south for now. Click HERE to listen and read.
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U.S. signals to Hezbollah it will back Israeli offensive, as frustration with Gaza ceasefire grows, by Sean Mathews | Middle East Eye The U.S. has indicated it is open to backing an Israeli offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon, amid mounting frustration that the group continues to link a truce with Israel to an elusive broader ceasefire in Gaza. In meetings in Beirut on Tuesday, U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein . . . READ MORE . . .
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Zionist lobby group labelled ‘propaganda’ and ‘misinformation’ source, by Nasim Ahmed | Middle East Monitor The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a leading Zionist lobby group in the United States, has been labelled as a source of “propaganda” and “misinformation” by Wikipedia. Editors of the online encyclopaedia also said . . . READ MORE . . .