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 . . .

For today, links to seven reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press, the Kyiv Post, Tass, and the Moscow Times, and to commentary from the Kyiv Independent; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says he would support India hosting second summit on peace. From Reuters. KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says negotiations are ongoing with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and Switzerland regarding the second summit on peace and that he has told India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi that he would support India hosting that summit. READ MORE . . .

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5 people die in shelling of a Russian border region while Russian fire hits a hotel with reporters. From AP. KYIV Five people died in Ukrainian shelling in Russia’s border region of Belgorod, officials said today, while Russian forces struck a hotel in eastern Ukraine, leaving one journalist missing and two others injured. Twelve other people were wounded in the Russian village of Rakitone, 38 kilometers . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE and HERE for reports from Reuters and Kyiv Post.

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Russian air defenses down eight HIMARS rockets, 41 Ukrainian drones in past day. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian air defenses downed 41 unmanned aerial vehicles and eight HIMARS rockets in the past day, the Defense Ministry said in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 24  Zelenskiy touts new ‘drone missile’, calls Putin ‘sick old man’, by Tom Balmforth and Olena Harmash | Reuters  KYIV— President Volodymyr Zelenskiy touted a newly developed Ukrainian “drone missile” on Saturday that he said would take the war back to Russia and scornfully derided Russia’s Vladimir Putin as a “sick old man from Red Square”. As Ukraine marked 33 years . . . READ MORE . . .

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In battlefield Kursk Region, civilians feel forgotten By their own country. From the Moscow Times. As Kyiv’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region continues for a third week, civilians on the ground are voicing growing anger toward Ukraine, fellow Russians and their own government, which they feel has abandoned . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine’s strategic play to shift the balance while undermining Russian morale, by Dinara Khalilova | The Kyiv Independent  Ukraine’s ongoing operation in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, a bold incursion launched nearly three weeks ago that surprised Moscow and the world alike, has already . . . READ MORE . . .

Some thoughts. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Thoroughly mainstream Politico.  Hours after RFK Jr.’s announcement suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing former President Trump’s re-election bid, Politico came out today with THIS commentary cataloguing some of the “weirdest” moments of Kennedy’s last few months — and also THIS analysis. The weirdness column exemplifies what might be PORE-AAA, or the power to re-emphasize again and again, a corollary to POLO, or the power to leave out, which Patrick Lawrence has cited in one of his ScheerPost columns. There was more POLO in the Politico analysis.

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One-second story?  AP and Reuters, at any rate, demonstrated POLO in their reports on Kennedy’s announcement, regurgitating elements of their coverage of his campaign to date and not failing to include other Kennedys’ continued disappointment in their relative.

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What constitutes ‘weird’?  One reason for dismissing as weird RFK Jr.’s candidacy is that so much of what he has had to say through Children’s Health Defense, in The Real Anthony Fauci, and on the campaign trail, has been breezily ignored in the media. So it’s weird.

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Weird, the word.  An English teacher of yore forbid students to use “nice” in papers — also prohibiting “very ” — as overused and misused and hence usually meaningless. How about weird?

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What did he say?  The 50-minute address was filled with the kind of stuff that a candidate who is bowing out usually doesn’t bother to include. Because none of it was included in any of the “kiss it off” news stories, some people may want to check out the speech on C-SPAN.

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Politics and IQ.  Can general awareness — call it IQ — go up while reading a good novel? Say one by Stanley Elkin or Herman Wouk. Hundreds would apply. RFK Jr.’s speech hit me the same way. But it won’t hit anybody that way who didn’t see it, because of POLO.

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Vacation.  Insufficient notice that the renegade was suspending his campaign may have caught media managers off guard. So much of what he packed into his talk may have seemed alien to people who rely on the news media for information. So many reporters may be on summer vacation that the event was under-covered. In any case, vacation may applies to establishment reporting in any season.

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A horse of a different color.  Is RFK Jr. a maverick? A certain bleach-blond politician comes to mind. Is he a renegade? Some cousins or siblings say so. Or is he just too weird? Was JFK a maverick — at all? Was RFK?

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Zionists all?  The current president, the former president, the vice president, and the renegade candidate all appear to be true-blue Israel loyalists. Israel didn’t specifically come up in the speech on Friday, but RFK Jr. did refer to “neo-cons.”

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Betrayal, or a cabinet post?  If RFK Jr.’s latest move is allowed as suitable for Sunday morning network TV bantering, or elsewhere, will commentators talk about the risks in his gambit, or whether he would make a suitable cabinet secretary, and if so in which post — and if not why not?

For today, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and Middle East Eye, and to commentary from Z-Network and Al-Shabaka, both via Consortium News, and to a discussion from ScheerPost; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (UKRAINE and MEDIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE). — MCM

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Dozens killed in strikes in southern Gaza as preparations for cease-fire talks move forward, by Samy Magdy and David Rising | AP  CAIRO — At least three dozen Palestinians were killed in multiple Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip, officials said today, even as preparations moved ahead for high-level cease-fire talks in the Egyptian capital. Among the dead . . . READ MORE . . .

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Hamas delegation headed to Cairo today to discuss Gaza ceasefire talks. From Reuters. CAIRO — A Hamas delegation headed by its senior official Khalil al-Hayya was to arrive in Cairo today to hear from mediators on the latest round of Gaza ceasefire talks that took place in the Egyptian capital, the Palestinian group said in a statement. READ MORE . . .

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Israeli shelling in Gaza kills 12 Palestinians, Wafa says. From Reuters. CAIRO — At least 12 Palestinians, including two children and a woman, were killed early this morning by Israeli attacks east of Gaza’s Khan Younis and in the Al-Nuseirat camp area, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa said. READ MORE . . .

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U.S. rebukes sceptics of ceasefire talks as diplomats meet in Egypt, by Sean Mathews | Middle East Eye  The Biden administration rebuked sceptics of its efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday, saying a flurry of media leaks suggesting that negotiations had all but collapsed were “inaccurate”. “The process . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 23  The cant about Israel’s ‘right to self-defense,’ by M. Reza Behnam | Z-Network / Consortium News  Despite the countless atrocities, assassinations and violations of humanitarian and international law, American politicians and the corporate media recite ad infinitum the accepted talking point that Israel has a “right to defend itself.” From their distorted perspective, only the aggressor deserves that prerogative. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 23  The U.S. push for Saudi recognition of Israel, by Tariq Dana | Al-Shabaka / Consortium News  Washington has long aspired for Saudi Arabia to embrace Israel officially. The bipartisan Israel Relations Normalization Act, passed by Congress in March 2022, underscored this objective, mandating the State Department to . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 23  A ‘meaningful’ election where neither candidate condemns U.S.-sponsored genocide? Robert Scheer of ScheerPost “spars” with Jeff Cohen, retired professor of Journalism at Ithaca College and founder of Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting, about, among other things, “whether this year will bring actual change from the Democrats in their support for Israel’s suppression of the Palestinians.” Click HERE to watch and listen and read transcript.

 

For today, links to 13 reports: from the Agence France-Presse, Reuters, the Associated Press, and C-SPAN; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and MEDIA entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Ukraine says five dead in Russian strike on eastern town of Kostyantynivka. From AFP. Five people were killed and five others wounded today in a Russian bombardment of the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostyantynivka, Ukraine’s prosecutor general said. READ MORE . . .

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Kyiv says struck ammunition depot in Russia’s Voronezh region. From AFP. Ukraine said it had carried out an attack today on a Russian ammunition depot in the southern Russian region of Voronezh. READ MORE . . .

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EU review does not recommend sending military trainers to Ukraine for now, media report says. From Reuters. BERLIN — The German weekly Welt am Sonntag reported today that EU’s diplomatic service has called on member states to better adapt a military training mission for Ukraine to Kyiv’s needs but stopped short of recommending the bloc send . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia, Ukraine set to swap 115 prisoners each, UAE official says, by Alexander Cornwell | Reuters  DUBAI — Russia and Ukraine were set to exchange 115 prisoners each today after negotiations mediated by the United Arab Emirates, an Emirati official said, the first such prisoner swap since Ukraine launched its offensive inside Russia this month. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from AFP.

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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy signs anti-Russia laws to mark Independence Day. From Reuters  KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed several laws targeting Russia today as his country marked independence day, including ratifying a statute that paves the way for Ukraine to join the International Criminal Court. READ MORE . . . Click HERE, HERE, HERE  and HERE for reports from AP, AFP, Kyiv Post and the Kyiv Indpendent.

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FROM AUG. 23  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he’s suspending his presidential bid and backing Donald Trump, by Jonathan J. Cooper, Ali Swenson and Gabriel Sandoval | AP  PHOENIX — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his independent campaign for president Friday and endorsed Donald Trump. He cited free speech, the war in Ukraine and “a war on our children” as among the reasons he would try to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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FROM AUG. 23  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes presidential campaign announcement. From C-SPAN. In publicly suspending his candidacy for president and endorsing former President Trump’s candidacy, Kennedy said one of his primary reasons was ending the war between Russia and Ukraine. That six- or seven-minute portion of his roughly 50-minute address begins about 19 minutes in. Click HERE to watch and listen.

For today, links to six reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press, Le Monde, the Anadolu Agency, and Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Baby paralysed in Gaza’s first case of type 2 polio for 25 years, WHO says, by Tala Ramadan | Reuters  DUBAI — A 10-month-old baby in war-shattered Gaza has been paralysed by the type 2 polio virus, the first such case in the territory in 25 years, the World Health Organization said on Friday, with U.N. agencies appealing for urgent vaccinations of every baby. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for earlier reports from AP and Le Monde.

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Displacement by Israel in Gaza hampers aid operations, warns senior UN official, by Ahmet Gencturk | Andolu Agency  ATHENS — The displacement of Palestinians by Israel in Gaza hampers aid operations, a senior UN official warned on Thursday. “Successive mass evacuation orders issued by Israeli forces amid hostilities have displaced . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israel could ‘collapse within a year’ if war of attrition continues, warns retired general. From Anadolu Agency. Retired Israeli Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Brik warned Thursday that Israel could face “collapse within a year” if its current war against Palestinian group Hamas and Lebanese movement Hezbollah continues. In an opinion piece published by the Israeli daily Haaretz . . . READ MORE . . .

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What are the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors and why do they matter? by Rayhan Uddin | Middle East Eye  Negotiations for an end to the ten-month-long war in Gaza have recently centred around two buffer zones controlled by Israel’s military. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared . . . READ MORE . . .

 

For today, links to six reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, the Moscow Times, Tass, the Associated Press, and the Kyiv Independent; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Indian Prime Minister Modi offers to bring peace to Ukraine ‘as a friend.’ From AP. KYIV — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi today offered his role “as a friend” to bring peace to Ukraine in a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a brief visit that many in Ukraine hope will pave the way for an Indian role in peace mediation. READ MORE . . .

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Russia suspends ferry service to Crimea after Ukrainian port attack. From Reuters. MOSCOW — Russia has suspended a ferry service between southern Russia and Crimea after a Ukrainian attack the previous day hit a vessel loaded with rail cars carrying fuel, Russia’s Transport Ministry said today. Ukraine’s Navy said today it had . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from the Moscow Times and Tass.

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Ukraine says it has recaptured land in the Kharkiv region, reversing some Russian gains there. From AP. KYIV — Ukrainian forces say they have recaptured territory in the eastern region of Kharkiv, where Russia launched a large offensive in the spring that brought initial gains but the operation soon stalled. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from the Kyiv Independent.

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Russian ambassador to U.S. says Putin has plan of action for Kursk incursion. From Reuters. Russian President Vladimir Putin has formulated a response to the ongoing Ukrainian incursion in the Kursk region and those responsible for attacking Russia will be punished, Russian ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov said late Thursday. READ MORE . . .

 

For today, links to five reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, and the Anadolu Agency, and to commentary from Indian Punchline and Peoples Dispatch; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Israeli tanks push deeper into Gaza, as Biden urges peace, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters  CAIRO — Israeli forces pressed deeper into areas of the central and southern Gaza Strip as they battled Hamas fighters, while Palestinian health officials said on Thursday that Israeli strikes had killed at least 22 people across the enclave. The new escalation . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for Aug. 21 report from AP.

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Israeli strikes kill at least 16 in Gaza, Palestinian officials say. From AP. Palestinian health officials say Israeli strikes have killed at least 16 people in the Gaza Strip. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital received the bodies, including the remains of a woman and three children, after strikes overnight and into today. An Associated Press reporter at the hospital counted the bodies. READ MORE . . .

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Netanyahu insists on full control of Philadelphi Corridor ahead of Gaza cease-fire talks in Egypt, by Abdelraouf Arnaout | Anadolu Agency  JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still insists on maintaining control over the Philadelphi Corridor in the southern Gaza Strip on the border with Egypt, the public broadcaster KAN said today. READ MORE . . .

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Blinken ‘sentenced ceasefire talks to death’ with Hamas, Netanyahu remarks. From Middle East Eye.  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sentenced the Gaza ceasefire negotiations to death by implying Hamas was the obstacle to a deal and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted it, Israeli officials told local media. Blinken’s comments . . . READ MORE . . .

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Iran will hit Israel, ball is in U.S.-Israeli court, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  Tehran’s grit to push back western bullying is at an all-time high level. Iran will not submit to western diktat. In today’s circumstances . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 20  Why Palestinians question the recent U.S. proposal, by Aseel Saleh | Peoples Dispatch  For many, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s current tour in the region, his ninth with the stated purpose of ending the Israeli aggression in Gaza, has proved to be propaganda to serve Israel’s strategic goals and interests, and to place the blame on . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to 10 reports: from Reuters, the Associated Press, the Kyiv Independent, Agence France-Presse, the Anadolu Agency, Tass, and National Public Radio, and to commentary from ScheerPost; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Ukraine conducts drone attack on Russian airbase in Volgograd region, source says. From Reuters. KYIV — Ukraine conducted a drone attack on Russia’s Marinovka military airfield in the southern Russian region of Volgograd, striking a storage site for fuel and glide bombs, a security source in Kyiv said today. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from AP and the Moscow Times.

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Ukraine captures new settlement in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, Zelensky says while visiting border, by Martin Fornusek | The Kyiv Independent  Ukraine captured another Russian settlement in Kursk Oblast, as well as Russian prisoners of war, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 22 while visiting the border areas in Sumy Oblast. READ MORE . . . Click HERE and HERE for reports from AFP and the Anadolu Agency.

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Russian forces destroy U.S.-made Abrams tank in borderline Kursk area — commander. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian forces destroyed a U.S.-made Abrams tank of the Ukrainian army in the borderline Kursk Region, Deputy Head of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department, Akhmat Special Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Apty Alaudinov said today. READ MORE . . .

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Zelenskyy says Ukraine needs frozen Russian assets for ‘real defense assistance,’ Burç Eruygur | Anadolu Agency  ISTANBUL — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday his country needs the Russian assets confiscated in the West for “real defense assistance.” In June, leaders of the Group of Seven agreed . . . READ MORE . . .

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Poorly trained recruits contribute to loss of Ukrainian territory on eastern front, commanders say, by Samya Kullab | AP  KYIV — While Ukraine presses on with its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, its troops are still losing precious ground along the country’s eastern front — a grim erosion that military commanders blame in part . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 21  On a river between Ukraine and the EU, border guards search for draft evaders. Reported by Joanna Kakissis and Hanna Palamarenko | NPR  The Ukrainian military is managing troop shortages through the mass conscription of men ages 25-60. Though draft-age men are banned from leaving the country . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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Zelensky’s misadventures in Kursk, by Patrick Lawrence | Original to ScheerPost  It has been three weeks since ground units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine crossed into the Kursk province in southwestern Russia, surprising — or maybe not surprising — the U.S. and its clients in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Two days later . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to four reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, and Middle East Monitor, and to commentary from Common Dreams via Consortium News; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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NEWER  Key mediator Egypt expresses skepticism of Gaza cease-fire proposal as more details emerge, by Samy Magdy | AP  CAIRO — Key mediator Egypt expressed skepticism today as more details emerged of the proposal meant to bridge gaps in cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas, a day before negotiations were expected to resume in Cairo. The challenges . . . READ MORE . . .

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Israeli strikes kill dozens in Gaza after Blinken ends visit with truce deal still elusive, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and James Mackenzie | Reuters  CAIRO / JERUSALEM — Israeli airstrikes across Gaza killed at least 50 Palestinians in the past 24 hours, Palestinian health authorities said today, as the military said troops continued to target militants and seize weapons and ammunition. As last-ditch diplomatic . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from AP.

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Hamas slams U.S. statements as ‘coup’ against 2 July agreement. From Middle East Monitor. The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, on Tuesday condemned claims by U.S. President Joe Biden that it is backing away from a Gaza truce deal, hours after his Secretary of State, Antony Blinken called on the movement to accept the new proposal. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 20  Biden’s cruel & Orwellian remarks on Gaza at the DNC, by Norman Solomon | Common Dreams / Consortium News  President Joe Biden’s speech about Gaza at the Democratic convention Monday night was a journey into an alternative universe of political guile. Six days earlier he had approved sending $20 billion worth of more weapons to Israel. READ MORE . . .