For today, links to nine reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and National Public Radio, and to an article from the Kucinich Report; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM
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Israel steps up military offensive in Gaza amid renewed truce efforts, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters CAIRO — Israel announced a new military campaign against Hamas in central Gaza today where Palestinian medics said dozens of people had been killed in airstrikes, complicating expected talks between mediators to try to finalise a ceasefire deal. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from AP.
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Netanyahu says Israel prepared for ‘very intense operation’ on Lebanon border. From AFP. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said today that Israel was “prepared for a very intense operation” along the border with Lebanon, where Israeli troops have exchanged near-daily fire with Hezbollah fighters. Almost eight months of exchanges . . . READ MORE . . .
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In a West Bank refugee camp, Israel’s raids fuel the militancy it tries to stamp out, by Jeffrey and Jalal Bwaitel | AP NUR SHAMS REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank — An Israeli army raid in April set off a near three-day gun battle with Palestinian militants. By the time it was over, homes had been blasted to rubble and many residents had fled. The raid was more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) away from Gaza in the . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 4 Gaza’s doctors were building a health system. Then came war. Reported by Maggie Fick, Ahmed Aboulenein and Saleh Salem | Reuters Specialist doctors were part of a strategic effort by Hamas to build a self-sufficient health system for Gaza, from burn care to cancer diagnosis and kidney treatment, Gaza’s first health minister told Reuters. In the current war, 55 of them . . . READ MORE . . .
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Hamas signals post-war ambition in talks with Palestinian rival Fatah, by Ali Sawafta and Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters RAMALLAH, West Bank — Deep divisions will limit progress at reconciliation talks between Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah this month, conversations with five sources in the groups indicate. The talks between Hamas and the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will be held in China in mid-June, according to . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 4 Families from north Gaza return home to scenes of devastation. Reported by Hadeel Al-Shalchi | NPR Israeli troops have withdrawn from the Jabalia refugee camp in north Gaza. The three-week offensive forced tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee. Now families are returning . . . Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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FROM JUNE 4 Slovenia becomes latest European country to recognize a Palestinian state after a parliamentary vote, by Ali Zerdin | AP LJUBLJANA — Slovenia recognized a Palestinian state on Tuesday after its parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the move, following in the recent steps of three other European countries. The nation’s government . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 4 After publishing an article critical of Israel, Columbia Law Review’s website is shut down by board, by Jake Offenhartz | AP NEW YORK — Student editors at the Columbia Law Review say they were pressured by the journal’s board of directors to halt publication of an academic article written by a Palestinian human rights lawyer that accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and upholding an apartheid regime. When . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM JUNE 4 U.S. targets journalists who criticize administration’s foreign policy, by Dennis Kucinich | The Kucinich Report Scott Ritter was pulled off a N.Y.-to-Istanbul flight yesterday by U.S. officials and his passport confiscated in a startling new development in the government’s open drive to censor and silence . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for related article from Kucinich.