For today, links to eight reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, Middle East Eye, and National Public Radio, the Anadolu Agency, and Middle East Monitor, and to commentary from Mondoweiss and Substack; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM
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Israel and Hezbollah trade heavy fire before pulling back, jolting a region braced for war, by Josef Federman and Abbey Sewell | AP JERUSALEM — Israel launched a wave of airstrikes across southern Lebanon early today in what it said was a preemptive strike on Hezbollah. The militant group responded that it had launched hundreds of rockets and drones to avenge the killing of one of its top commanders last month. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from Reuters and Middle East Eye.
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Israel attacks southern Lebanon, Hezbollah returns fire as ceasefire talks go on. Reported by Carrie Kahn, Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Ayesha Rascoe | NPR Israel struck targets in southern Lebanon in what they say was a pre-emptive strike. Hezbollah returned fire. The increase in cross-border exchanges happens just as ceasefire talks resume. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport reopens after brief suspension amid escalating tension with Hezbollah. From Anadolu Agency JERUSALEM — Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport reopened this morning after a brief suspension following the Israeli military’s massive air raid on southern Lebanon, which it called a “preemptive strike” against Hezbollah. READ MORE . . .
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FROM AUG. 24 Netanyahu in dispute with Israeli negotiators over ceasefire conditions, source says. From Reuters. JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has locked horns with Israeli ceasefire negotiators over his insistence that Israel will not pull out of the so-called Philadelphi Corridor in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to a person with knowledge of the talks. READ MORE . . .
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FROM AUG. 24 Israeli bombing leaves 100,000 displaced Palestinians in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah city with nowhere to go. From Middle East Monitor. Approximately 100,000 displaced Palestinians in the eastern part of Deir al-Balah city in Gaza have no place to seek refuge from Israeli forces’ extensive bombardment, as Israel destroyed 20 shelter centres over the last two days after issuing evacuation orders, the city municipality said on Saturday. READ MORE . . .
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As Israel blocks most medical evacuations in Gaza, a family tries to save their baby.Reported by Jane Arraf | NPR One family in Gaza struggles to save their severely ill baby daughter amidst evacuation orders by Israel’s military. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.
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FROM AUG. 23 Understanding Netanyahu’s endgame in the war on Gaza, by Qassam Muaddi and Faris Giacaman | Mondoweiss Much has been made of the “narrow” political interests that push Benjamin Netanyahu to insist on achieving “total victory” in Gaza, which in practice means . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM AUG. 24 Western media can be held legally accountable for its role In the Gaza genocide, by Craig Mokhiber | Mondoweiss / ScheerPost The ruthlessness of the Israeli genocide machine in Palestine, and the direct complicity of the U.S., UK, and other Western governments are two key pillars in the horrors being perpetrated against the Palestinian people (and in the attacks on human rights defenders around the globe). But there is . . . READ MORE . . .
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FROM AUG. 24 ‘The end of days,’ by Patrick Lawrence | Substack / ScheerPost Orit Malka Strook serves in the Netanyahu government as minister of settlements and national missions. She has a seat in the Knesset representing the National Religious Party–Religious Zionism, a political amalgam formed last year when the Religious Zionism party merged with the Jewish Home party, which was . . . READ MORE . . .