For today, links to reports from National Public Radio, the Associated Press, and Reuters, and to commentary via ScheerPost from MintPress News; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM   

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Netanyahu approves plan to invade Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians are sheltering. Reported by Scott Simon and Fatma Tanis | NPR  Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approves a plan to invade the heavily populated city of Rafah in southern Gaza. Plus, the first food aid to arrive by sea. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Cease-fire talks with Israel and Hamas are expected to resume Sunday in Qatar, by Samy Magdy | AP  CAIRO — Stalled talks aimed at securing a cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in earnest in Qatar as soon as Sunday, according to Egyptian officials. In recent days, both sides . . . READ MORE . . .

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UN agency says one in three children under 2 in northern Gaza is acutely malnourished. From Reuters. One in three children under age 2 in northern Gaza is now acutely malnourished and famine is looming, the UN Relief and Works Agency operating in the Palestinian enclave said today. “Children’s malnutrition . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 15  Proposed U.S. resolution would back global efforts for an immediate and sustained cease-fire in Gaza, by Edith M. Lederer | AP  UNITED NATIONS — The United States circulated the final draft of a United Nations Security Council resolution late Thursday that would support international efforts to establish “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israel-Hamas war as part of a deal to release hostages taken captive during Hamas’ surprise attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7. The U.S. . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 15  A very different Ramadan in Gaza. Reported by Aya Batrawy | NPR  The religious traditions and cultural hallmarks of Ramadan are impossible to observe in Gaza this year, where people are starving, displaced from their homes, mourning their dead and under threat of continued airstrikes. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM MARCH 15  How the UN is recruiting locals in Gaza to secure food aid to a starving population. Reported by Daniel Estrin | NPR  The UN is recruiting the heads of major clans in Gaza to secure food aid to a starving population. The role these families could play now could also lay the ground for who runs Gaza after the war. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM SEPT. 29, 2022  WikiLeaks docs show top Hollywood producers working with Israel to defend its war crimes, by Alan MacLeod | MintPress News / ScheerPost  As Israel was launching a deadly [2014] assault on Gaza, killing thousands of civilians and displacing more than 100,000 people, many of America’s top TV, music and film producers were organizing to protect the apartheid state’s reputation from widespread international condemnation. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to reports from Agence France-Prese, Reuters and National Public Radio, and to commentary via Consortium News and Popular Resistance; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Russian strikes kill 20, including rescuers, in ‘vile’ Odesa attack, by Oleksandr Gimanov | AFP  Russian missiles pounded Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa on Friday, killing more than a dozen people including rescue workers in an attack President Volodymyr Zelensky described as “vile.” Bodies covered by blankets were strewn . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine hits Russian city and oil refinery on day two of presidential vote. From Reuters. MOSCOW — A Ukrainian missile attack killed two people in western Russia and a separate drone strike set an oil refinery ablaze today, the second day of an election that President Vladimir Putin has accused Kyiv of trying to disrupt. In the Belgorod region where . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian border city closes malls, schools after Ukrainian attacks. From AFP. Authorities in the Russian border city of Belgorod announced today they were closing schools and shopping centres due to an uptick in Ukrainian strikes coinciding with Russia’s presidential election. “Based . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia says repulsed more Ukrainian border attacks. From AFP. Russia’s defence ministry said it had thwarted today more Ukrainian attacks on the Belgorod border region which the Kremlin says are aimed at disrupting an ongoing three-day presidential election. “Attacks were . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 15  Ukrainian authorities launch mass evacuation in northern region. From Reuters. — Ukrainian authorities have begun mass evacuations of communities in the country’s northern Sumy region close to the Russian border after extended periods of intense shelling of the area, local officials said on Friday. The military administration . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 15  Major European leaders meet to show solidarity with Ukraine. Reported by Eleanor Beardsley | NPR  The leaders of France, Germany and Poland met Friday in Berlin in a show of unity over Ukraine. French President Macron sparked concern by suggesting NATO troops might have to fight there. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM MARCH 13  After Nuland, the chances for peace in Ukraine, by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies | Consortium News  / Popular Resistance  The assumption of the U.S. political elite that President Biden has had a viable plan to defeat Russia and restore Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders has proven to be one more triumphalist American dream that has turned into a nightmare. Ukraine has . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to reports from Reuters and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM   

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Hamas presents ceasefire proposal detailing exchange of hostages, by Samia Nakhoul | Reuters  DUBAI — Hamas has presented a Gaza ceasefire proposal to mediators and the U.S. that includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for freedom for Palestinian prisoners, 100 of whom are serving life sentences, according to a proposal seen by Reuters. Hamas said the initial release of Israelis would . . . READ MORE . . .

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The first ship to use a new sea route approaches Gaza with 200 tons of aid, by Wafaa Shurafa | AP  WADI GAZA, Gaza Strip — A ship carrying 200 tons of aid approached the coast of Gaza today in a mission to inaugurate a sea route from Cyprus to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the enclave five months into the war between Israel and Hamas. Operated by the Spanish aid group Open Arms, the ship left Cyprus . . . READ MORE . . .

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

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NEWER  Toll from Russian ‘double-tap’ strike on Odesa rises to 14.  From Kyiv Post. At least 14 people were killed and dozens more injured today in a Russian strike on the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa, which has come under repeated aerial attacks. As a result . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian missile attack kills two in Ukraine’s Odesa, governor says. From Reuters. — A Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s southern city of Odesa today killed at least two people and wounded others, the regional governor said. “There are . . . READ MORE . . .

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Shelling of Russia’s Belgorod kills 1, injures 2. From the Moscow Times. At least one person was killed and two others were injured in an attack on the Russian city of Belgorod this afternoon, local authorities said, just shortly after pro-Kyiv militias warned of an imminent strike. Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said air defense systems shot . . . READ MORE . . .

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UN-backed human rights experts decry new evidence of torture of Ukrainian POWs by Russia, by Jamey Keaten | AP  GENEVA — U.N.-backed human rights experts said today they have gathered new evidence of “horrific” torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war by their Russian jailers, saying such practices could amount to war crimes. The Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia uses effective strategies on battlefield, Ukrainian expert admits. From Tass. NEW YORK — The strategy Russia is using to hit key targets in the Ukraine conflict zone has proved effective, Newsweek quoted Ivan Stupak, advisor to the Verkhovna Rada’s national security, defense and intelligence committee, as saying. “Russia has rolled out . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine wants to reopen airports during war. Will its ambitions take off? by Dominic Culverwell | The Kyiv Independent  More than two years since Ukraine shut down its airports after the start of the full-scale invasion, Kyiv wants to resume air travel, even as Russia continues to launch drones and missiles across the country. This week, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister . . . READ MORE . . .

 For today, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and National Public Radio, and to commentary via Consortium News; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM   

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FROM MARCH 13  Israel says it plans to direct Palestinians out of Rafah ahead of anticipated offensive, by Tia Goldenberg | AP  TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military said Wednesday it plans to direct a significant portion of the 1.4 million displaced Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip’s southernmost town of Rafah toward “humanitarian islands” in the center of the territory ahead of its planned offensive in the area. The fate of . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 13  Israeli tank strike killed ‘clearly identifiable’ Reuters reporter — UN report, by David Gauthier-Villars, Laila Bassam and Tom Perry | Reuters  ISTANBUL — An Israeli tank killed Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah in Lebanon last year by firing two 120 mm rounds at a group of “clearly identifiable journalists” in violation of international law, a U.N. investigation into the Oct. 13 incident has found. The . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 13  An Israeli responder’s work on Oct. 7 shows the challenges of investigating atrocities. Reported by Becky Sullivan | NPR  PETAH TIKVA, Israel — By the time first responders reached the site of the Nova rave, it was 10 p.m. on Oct. 7, 2023, and the rockets and gunfire were still ringing out. The bodies were everywhere. Among the responders was Chaim Otmazgin, an officer in the Israeli . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM MARCH 13  In Jordan, American companies see boycotts sparked by the U.S.’s support for Israel. Reported by Jane Arraf | NPR  Consumers are boycotting U.S. products and companies to protest Washington’s support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM MARCH 13  A medieval object with Arabic and Hebrew writings shows the collaboration of its time. Reported by Ari Daniel | NPR  Scientists identified an 11th-century astrolabe with Arabic inscriptions and Hebrew writings, highlighting a period when Muslims ruled in present-day Spain and scholarship and idea-sharing flourished. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM MARCH 12  The debate over Israel as ‘U.S. aircraft carrier,’ by Diana Johnstone | Special to Consortium News  Our recent article on “The Myth of Israel as ‘U.S. Aircraft Carrier’ in Middle East,” far from settling this controversial issue, aroused numerous objections. We see these disagreements as an invitation to respond, in the hope that a friendly debate can contribute to clarifying the issues. READ MORE . . .

For todau, links to reports from Tass, Reuters, the Kyiv Post, the Kyiv Independent,  the Associated Press, and the Moscow Times, and to commentary via Consortium News; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Ukraine strikes Belgorod Region with drones, makes another attempt to infiltrate Russia. From Tass. MOSCOW — Two people were killed and at least 10 others wounded as Ukrainian forces attacked Belgorod and the Belgorod Region today, local officials said. The Russian Defense Ministry, too, said . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian drone strikes disrupt TV signal in northeast Ukraine. From Reuters. KYIV — The northeastern Ukrainian border region of Sumy said parts of its territory had lost television and radio signal today after Russia launched a mass overnight drone attack that damaged communications infrastructure. The attack with 36 drones . . . READ MORE . . .

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Day 3 of Russian rebel insurgency in Belgorod and Kursk, by Leo Chiu | Kyiv  Post  Fighting between pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters and   Russian forces has resumed in Russia’s Belgorod region. The fighting started on Tuesday in what the Russian Volunteer Corps, Freedom of . . . READ MORE . . .

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Medvedev slams ‘brain-dead’ Zelensky formula, proposes abolishing Ukraine. From Tass. MOSCOW — Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev sees Kiev’s much-hyped “peace formula” as unviable, proposing a drastically different way out. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s “peace formula” . . . READ MORE . . .

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Syrskyi: Ukraine begins rotation of troops who have been fighting ‘for a long time,’ by Chris York | The Independent  Ukraine has begun rotating troops who have been serving at the front “for a long time” despite the increasingly difficult situation faced by the country’s Armed Forces, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said today. He said Ukrainian troops continued to hold . . . READ MORE . . . .

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Kremlin says Putin didn’t threaten to use nuclear weapons, U.S. took him out of context. From Reuters. MOSCOW — The Kremlin said today that comments on nuclear weapons that Russian President Vladimir Putin made in an interview with state media did not constitute a threat to use them, and accused the U.S. of deliberately taking the remarks out of context. Putin said in the interview published on Wednesday . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 13  Russia warns Ukraine war could spin out of control due to action of one or two NATO countries. From Reuters.  MOSCOW — Russia warned on Wednesday that the war in Ukraine could spin out of control and expand geographically due to the ill-considered actions of one or two member states from the NATO military alliance. The conflict has triggered the deepest crisis in . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 13  Putin warns again that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty is threatened. From AP. President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty or independence is threatened, issuing another blunt warning to the West just days before an election. The Russian leader has repeatedly talked about his readiness . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia says 6K foreign fighters killed in Ukraine. From the Moscow Times. Russia said today its forces have killed nearly 6,000 foreign volunteers fighting on the side of Ukraine since Moscow’s full-scale invasion over two years ago. According to the Defense Ministry, 13,387 “foreign mercenaries” from dozens of countries have fought in Ukraine . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia bans entry to 227 U.S. citizens involved in Washington’s Russophobic agenda – MFA. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russia has banned entry to another 227 Americans involved in fostering and implementing the Russophobic policy of the current U.S. administration, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced. “In the context . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 12  The debate over Israel as ‘U.S. aircraft carrier,’ by Diana Johnstone | Special to Consortium News  Inside one administration after another, former Dick Cheney aide Victoria Nuland has advanced the neocon agenda, notably by managing the Ukrainian disaster. The Project for a New American Century . . . READ MORE . . .

NOTE: LINKS WERE ADDED LATER THAN USUAL TODAY.

For today, links to reports from Agence France-Presse, National Public Radio and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM  

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UN aid agency says at least one staffer killed in Israeli strike on Gaza aid centre. From AFP.  GAZA  —  The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees said one of its staff members was killed today in an Israeli strike on a food distribution centre in war-hit Gaza. “At least one UNRWA staff member was killed and another 22 were injured when  . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 12  Signs of growing friction between U.S. President Biden and Israel’s Netanyahu. Reported by Greg Myre  | NPR  President Biden is warning Israel against an invasion of the Gaza town where displaced Palestinians are living in tents. Israel’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, says the operation is still in the works. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM MARCH 12  U.S., allies eye commercial maritime option for Gaza aid, by Phil Stewart, Humeyra Pamuk and Jonathan Landay | Reuters  WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. may urge partners and allies to fund a privately run operation to send aid by sea to Gaza that could begin before a much larger U.S. military effort, said three people familiar with the planning and a U.S. official. If funding . . . READ MORE . . .

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A radical Mideast proposal: What if the U.S. recognized a Palestinian state now? Reported by Greg Myre | NPR There were lots of unanswered questions at the time U.S. President Harry Truman gave his immediate endorsement to Israel’s 1948 declaration of its statehood. The new nation didn’t have fixed borders. It was facing war with . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM MARCH 12  Jim Sciutto on if the next world war is preventable. Reported by Elena Burnett, William Troop and Mary Louise Kelly | NPR  CNN chief national security analyst Jim Sciutto talks about his new book, The Return of Great Powers, and how close we are to the precipice of a new global order. Click HERE to listen and read.

NOTE: LINKS WERE ADDED LATER THAN USUAL TODAY.

For today, links to reports from Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Tass, and the Kyiv Independent; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.)  — MCM

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EU agrees to 5-bn-euro package to fund arms for Ukraine. From AFP. EU member states agreed today to add five billion euros ($5.5 billion) to a central fund to pay for weapons sent to Ukraine The move . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukrainian drones damage Russian oil refineries in second day of attacks, by Guy Faulconbridge and Lidia Ke | Reuters MOSCOW — Ukraine struck Russian oil refineries in a second day of heavy drone attacks today, causing a fire at Rosneft’s biggest refinery in what President Vladimir Putin said was an attempt to disrupt his country’s presidential election this week. Russia and . . . READ MORE . . .

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Kiev loses 245 troops in Donetsk area over past day — Russia’s top brass. From Tass. MOSCOW — The Ukrainian military lost roughly 245 troops, a tank, and an air defense system in battles with Russian forces in the Donetsk area over the past day, according to the Russian Defense Ministry’s latest data on the special military operation in Ukraine. READ MORE . . .

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Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih kills 5, injures dozens, by Martin Fornusek and Olena Goncharova | The Kyiv Independent  A Russian attack against the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on March 12 started a fire in a residential building and five people, said Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city’s military administration, and other officials. At least three missile hits . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine’s army chief says battle situation ‘difficult.’ From AFP. Ukraine’s army chief said today the situation on the battlefield was “difficult” and that Russian forces could be poised to strike deep into Ukrainian lines in the eastern Donetsk region. Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said he had visited two . . . READ MORE . . .

A link to a message from the International Center for 9/11 Justice; others are accessible by clicking on its name below.  (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) – MCM

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Campbell family to take on British AG in fight to reopen son’s inquest and prove Twin Towers were destroyed by controlled demolition. From the International Center for 9/11 Justice. Letter from Matt Campbell reads in part: “Dear Friends, We have reached the goal! On behalf of my family, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thanks to all of you, our barrister will begin work this week. We will . . . Click HERE to read.

For today, links to reports from Reuters and the Associated Press and to commentary via Consortium News; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date and a 9/11 TRUTH entry are HERE and HERE.) — MCM   

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Israeli jets hit Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley for a second day: Lebanese sources. From Reuters. BEIRUT — Israeli warplanes struck Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley for a second consecutive day today, hitting a facility belonging to Hezbollah and killing at least one member of the Iran-backed group, sources in Lebanon said. Hezbollah announced earlier today it had . . . READ MORE . . .

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Aid ship sets sail to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands face starvation 5 months into war, by Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy and Menelaos Hadjicostis  | AP  RAFAH, Gaza Strip — An aid ship loaded with some 200 tons of food set sail for Gaza today in a pilot program for the opening of a sea corridor to the territory, where the five-month-old Israel-Hamas war has driven hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the brink of starvation. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JAN. 30 and MARCH 7  Hamas’ official account, Parts 1 & 2, by As`ad AbuKhalil | Special to Consortium News  In January, the information office of Hamas issued a special document titled “This is our account: Why the Aqsa Deluge.” In it, the movement explains in detail its motives and goals for the operation. The document is not likely . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for Part 2.