What we see in Gaza is jihad rekindled. Netanyahu must be stopped
All this corroborates what senior Israeli sources told me in February: that terrorist networks are replacing dead Hamas fighters at a rate of five to one. At the time, it sounded a realistic appraisal. Now, after five more months of destruction, I suspect it will prove to be a dire underestimate. A British security source told Reuters that the Gaza war is 'likely to become the biggest recruiter for Islamist militants since 2003'. The International Centre for Counter-Terrorism warned that such conditions are 'active incubators for the next generation of extremist operatives'.
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The Independent
27 minutes ago
- The Independent
David Lammy's condemnation of the atrocities in Gaza is an important breakthrough
The images coming out of Gaza of emaciated, dying children are, as the foreign secretary David Lammy says, appalling and sickening. They cannot be dismissed as propaganda, and even the Israeli authorities have not sought to do so. They are, in human terms and by any standard, atrocities – just as surely as those inflicted on innocent people by Hamas terrorists on 7 October 2023 were also atrocities. This latest wave of human suffering should evoke yet more anguish among all civilised peoples. It is time, as Mr Lammy and his colleagues from 27 other nations plead in an open letter, for the war in Gaza to end. Realistically, it will not – at least not immediately. The Israeli government, with unconscious irony, dismisses the calls for an end to the fighting as 'disconnected from reality' and 'sending the wrong message to Hamas'. As opposed, critics might wonder, to the 'message' the Netanyahu government is currently sending to Hamas, which is that peace will never come, the IDF is set on the literal destruction of Gaza as a place of human habitation, and that they, Hamas, as terrorists, therefore have nothing to lose, whether they release the remaining hostages or not (and which they should do, in any case, without delay). So there is no change yet in Israeli policy. It has even opened up a new front by intervening in Syria, unleashing more agonies, as The Independent 's Bel Trew reports. The Israeli Defence Force is engaged in another major military offensive, this time in central Gaza, and the shelling goes on. Tens of thousands of people have been told, yet again, to move to safety, when there is no sanctuary anywhere, not least because of the terrible shortages of the means of life – clean water, food, shelter. There are credible reports that Israeli forces are systematically destroying what few structures remain standing across Gaza. In planned demolitions, to already damaged buildings and ones that appear largely intact, former homes, schools and other civilian infrastructure are being blown up. The plan to crush millions of people into a cynically labelled 'humanitarian city', which will be anything but safe, is still in place. The equally misnomered Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by Israel and the United States, is failing to deliver aid; instead, people are dying in the ensuing chaos. One witness, the British doctor Nick Maynard, says people at aid sites are being used as target practice (a claim rejected by the IDF). Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general with the UN Palestine aid agency, calls the sites a 'sadistic death trap'. There was a time when combatants in any war would not target United Nations agency posts and personnel. Not in the case of the Israeli occupying forces in Gaza, where the World Health Organisation's staff residence, main warehouse and health hub were attacked. The WHO reports that 'Israeli military forces entered the premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot toward al-Mawasi amid active conflict. Male staff and family members were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated on the spot, and screened at gunpoint.' The suffering of the people of Gaza is on an apocalyptic scale, bombarded and besieged virtually without respite, and visited by conquest, war, famine and death. It seems hopeless – but the last thing the Palestinian people need from the West is a counsel of despair. Mr Lammy has called out what Israel has been doing, taken some, as yet inadequate action, and come as close as he can to condemning Israel for war crimes: 'Permanent forced displacement is a violation of international humanitarian law.' Many would urge him to go further. Lord Sumption, a universally respected lawyer, has argued that 'the conduct of Israel in Gaza is grossly disproportionate and there's at least an arguable case that it's genocidal '. Mr Lammy and the other 27 foreign ministers have the option to echo that kind of language. He is urged to do so – but he is right to hold back, and, for the time being, await the International Court to come to a judgment. Why? Because the only consideration about what to do next should be whether it will have any appreciable impact on what's happening on the ground. Recognising a Palestinian state and setting up a British embassy in Ramallah wouldn't save the life of single Palestinian baby. Nor would an outright charge of genocide. Not yet, at any rate. What would matter is if the Americans can be persuaded to put pressure on Israel to end the war and the famine: after all, this is Donald Trump 's declared policy. Loyal as he is to Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli leader has been testing President Trump's patience in recent months. When Karoline Leavitt, the forthright White House spokesperson, reveals that the president has been 'caught off guard' by recent Israeli bombings in Syria and of a church in Gaza, and called his friend Bibi to 'rectify' the situation, it does at least show that action is possible. In May, Mr Trump expressed concern about people starving, and perhaps, as with Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine, the president may slowly be coming to realise that Mr Netanyahu has also been playing him along; he might take decisive action that would stop the killings in a day. But if Washington remains impassive, then once again a ' coalition of the willing ' must be formed to do whatever it takes to pressure Israel – diplomatic recognition of Palestine, a full arms embargo, trade sanctions and economic pressure. Especially if this is done in concert with Israel's influential regional neighbours, such as Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. ends the war in Gaza – now.
Reuters
28 minutes ago
- Reuters
Pakistan jails eight from former PM Imran Khan's party 2023 riots
LAHORE, July 23 (Reuters) - A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced eight senior members of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's party to 10 years in prison late on Tuesday over riots that targeted military sites following Khan's 2023 arrest, their lawyer said. Khan is on trial on similar charges, being tried separately. The government accuses him and other leaders of inciting the May 9, 2023, protests, during which demonstrators attacked military and government buildings, including the army headquarters in Rawalpindi and the residence of a senior commander in Lahore. The prosecution is still presenting witnesses in Khan's proceedings, and Tuesday's verdict does not directly affect his case. The sentences, issued in a jail trial in Lahore, are among a series of prosecutions involving Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Defence lawyer Burhan Moazzam said they would appeal. 'It is surprising that six people were acquitted while eight were convicted, even though they were all charged under the same allegations,' he said. The case relates to one of several incidents stemming from the May 9 unrest, involving alleged incitement during attacks near a major intersection in Lahore. Moazzam said separate trials were ongoing in connection with other incidents that day. Those sentenced include senior PTI figures who held positions in Khan's Punjab government: Yasmin Rashid, a former provincial health minister; Ejaz Chaudhry, a senator; Mehmoodur Rashid, a former housing minister; and Umar Sarfraz Cheema, a former provincial governor and aide to Khan. The court also acquitted PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi who is in custody in connection with other cases, and it was not immediately clear whether the acquittal would lead to his release. Commenting on the verdict, junior law minister Aqeel Malik told local media the decision was 'in line with the law and the constitution.' Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in 2022, remains in prison facing multiple cases, including charges of corruption, contempt, and disclosure of official secrets. He denies wrongdoing and says the cases are politically motivated. The military denies targeting PTI. Authorities say the May 9 violence caused billions in damage and led to over 3,000 arrests in Punjab.
Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
How Gaza's aid crisis broke Hamas and starved the Strip
When Israel launched its controversial US-backed aid plan for Gaza, it aimed to stop Hamas's alleged profiteering from the seizure and sale of humanitarian supplies. The aid delivery plan overseen by the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has proved a blood-soaked catastrophe. The Gazan health authorities report that hundreds of people have been killed by gunfire as they queue for food at the GHF aid points controlled by Israeli troops and American contractors. It has also caused Hamas's worst financial crisis in decades, Israeli officials report. The terror group has been unable to pay its fighters or repair its network of tunnels and hideouts beneath the Strip. Cash shortages have also left Hamas reportedly unable to pay salaries for police or ministry employees. Money reserves amassed before, or during the early stages of, the war have run short, while Israeli strikes have devastated the leadership and fractured its grip on the besieged territory. Hamas for years received large sums from Iran, Qatar and others, and was also able to tax cross-border commerce. Israel has long alleged that Hamas also made money by seizing and selling international aid entering Gaza, though this has been denied by the United Nations and aid agencies. That income ended, officials say, when Israel imposed a blockade in March, and then began using the GHF, set up jointly by the US and Israel, to run aid hubs and bypass UN-run distributions. The UN, the European Commission and major international aid organisations have said they have no evidence that Hamas has systematically stolen their aid. The Israeli government has not provided proof. Twenty-eight countries including Britain, this week condemned the new aid arrangements, amid widespread reports of starvation, and hundreds of people being shot as they tried to get food. The countries' joint statement described as 'horrifying' the recent deaths of over 800 Palestinians who were seeking aid, according to the figures released by Gaza's Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, and the UN human rights office. 'The Israeli government's aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,' the countries said. 'The Israeli government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable.' Palestinian health officials have said at least 101 people have died of hunger during the conflict, most of them in recent weeks. Food that does arrive in the coastal Strip is often sold and resold at extortionate prices, said Rabiha Abdel Aziz, a 75-year-old mother of nine living in a displacement camp in western Gaza. 'I don't know how people can eat,' she told The Telegraph, explaining that the family can no longer even afford a kilo of flour, which currently costs £26. She said: 'My grandchildren wake up in the morning and ask me for a piece of bread that we don't will we get the money to buy food at this price? We are dying of hunger and bombing.' 'People collapse in the streets' Salem Jehad, a father of four who is living in a camp west of Gaza city, said he was unable to find milk for his newborn son. He said: 'All my children have lost half their weight, and I am the same. Most people don't have money. 'Two years without work during the war, with the crossings closed and aid entering scarcely, people are collapsing in the streets from weakness and hunger. We drink water with salt to satisfy our hunger.' Mr Jehad said access to food had dramatically worsened since GHF took over the distribution and he wanted a return to the previous UN-run model. The UN said on Tuesday that Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food aid in Gaza since the GHF began operations in May. Aid distributions have been marred by chaotic scenes and frequent reports of Israeli forces firing on people waiting to collect rations. Israel's military has disputed previous death tolls, but has said its troops have at times fired warning shots, and it is investigating accusations of civilian deaths. Mr Jehad said: 'Now we are running into death traps. Gazans are dying to bring a kilo of flour and rice. Hamas's mistake over 'strategy of suffering' Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, who leads the Realign for Palestine lobby group, said that Hamas had counted on the humanitarian crisis to bring the war to an end. He told the Post: 'Hamas's strategy relied on the suffering of Gazans. 'But when this strategy failed, it foolishly doubled down on this approach, in large part because it had nothing else in its toolbox to deal with Israel's ferocious reaction to Oct 7 and the world's inability to stop it.' Lior Akerman, the head of national resilience at the Institute for Policy and Strategy (IPS) at Reichman University, and a former chief of staff in Shin Bet, Israel's MI5, said Hamas had 'almost completely disintegrated in the Gaza Strip'. He said: 'All the senior commanders were killed and all the frameworks of the fighting disintegrated. 'Today, in the absence of commanders, Hamas members in the Gaza Strip are operating like independent, armed militias. 'In every area, the terrorists continue to do the best they can with the weapons they possess, and they are effectively waging a guerrilla war against the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). 'This type of fighting could last for years and wear down the IDF in a never-ending war.' Truce negotiations held up Israel and Hamas are holding indirect talks in Doha aimed at reaching a 60-day truce and a hostage release deal. But there has been no sign of a deal yet, and discussions have reportedly been held up by Hamas's negotiators in Doha being unable to reach representatives in Gaza since late last week. Ronen Solomon, an Israeli intelligence analyst, said as Hamas had been degraded in Gaza, the group's centre of gravity had shifted to abroad. He said that with only Izz ad-Din al-Haddad, commander of the Gaza City Brigade, remaining as a senior figure in Gaza, 'a dramatic change has occurred'. 'The centre of gravity shifted from the Strip to Hamas abroad,' he said. 'And in particular to Khalil al-Khayya, who was very much involved in the planning of Oct 7 and continues to lead an extremist line from the Hamas base in Qatar.'
