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Israeli Troops Capture Around 100 Hamas Terrorists in North Gaza Hospital, Military Says
Israeli soldiers operate in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terror group Hamas, in this handout picture released on Jan. 2, 2024. Photo: Israel Defense Forces/Handout via REUTERS
Israeli soldiers captured around 100 suspected Hamas terrorists during a raid in Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza, the military said on Monday.
Gaza health officials and Hamas have denied any militant presence at the hospital, which Israeli forces stormed on Friday and left on Saturday.
“The soldiers apprehended approximately 100 terrorists from the compound, including terrorists who attempted to escape during the evacuation of civilians. Inside the hospital, they found weapons, terror funds, and intelligence documents,” the military said.
Gaza‘s health ministry, which is controlled by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, said the troops had detained dozens of male medical staffers and damaged the hospital.
“A few of the fully identified terrorists disguised themselves as medical staff so we didn’t have any alternative but to check the medical staff as well,” a military official told journalists in an online briefing.
Footage circulated by Gaza‘s health ministry on Saturday — which Reuters could not immediately verify — showed damage to several buildings after the Israeli forces withdrew.
The military official said that troops had caused limited damage to the hospital when entering it and that soldiers also had to destroy what he described as “dual use” equipment, like oxygen tanks, which if detonated could have harmed anyone at the complex.
Medical staffers refused to evacuate the hospital or leave their patients unattended. Hundreds of displaced Palestinians had also been sheltering there.
The military official said that suspected Hamas men arrested were stripped to check them for weapons. “After checking them we supplied them with clothes,” he said.
Gaza medics said at least two children had died inside the intensive care unit after Israeli fire hit the generators and oxygen station in the facility on Friday.
The military said civilians at the hospital were kept safe, despite heavy fighting near the complex. Fuel, medical equipment, and blood units had been provided to the hospital and electricity and oxygen supply had been ensured, it said.
Captured Palestinian militants have confessed that terrorists had taken over all of the hospitals in Gaza, using the medical facilities to hide military activities and launch attacks.
The post Israeli Troops Capture Around 100 Hamas Terrorists in North Gaza Hospital, Military Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Wants More Peace Deals With Arab Countries After War, Netanyahu Says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a memorial ceremony for those murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and those who fell in the “Iron Sword” war, at the Knesset, the Parliament, in Jerusalem, Oct. 28, 2024. Photo: DEBBIE HILL/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he hopes to reach peace deals with more Arab countries once the war against Iranian terrorist proxies Hamas and Hezbollah is complete.
“The day after Hamas no longer controls Gaza and Hezbollah no longer sits on our northern border [in Lebanon], we are working these days on plans to stabilize those two fronts. But the day after includes something else of utmost importance,” Netanyahu said in a speech to parliament.
“I aspire to continue the process I led a few years ago of the signing of the historic Abraham Accords, and achieve peace with more Arab countries,” he said.
Israel, under the US-brokered 2020 accords, normalized relations with four Arab countries: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
Since then, Israel, with US support, has sought to also include other nations, particularly Saudi Arabia. Riyadh says it will not recognize Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state.
“These countries, and other countries, see clearly the blows we are landing on those who attack us, the Iranian axis of evil,” he said. “They aspire, like us, for a stable, secure, and prosperous Middle East.”
The post Israel Wants More Peace Deals With Arab Countries After War, Netanyahu Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Over 100 US Lawmakers Threaten UN Funding if Global Body ‘Downgrades’ Israel’s Status
US Congressman Mike Lawler (R-NY) speaking at a housing roundtable event, March 8, 2023. Photo: Lawler for Congress
A bipartisan group of 105 members of the US Congress threatened to reduce American funding to the United Nations if the organization successfully downgrades Israel’s status in retaliation for the Jewish state’s defensive military operations against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
“We write to express our deep concern about prospective efforts of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to downgrade Israel’s status at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and strip the State of Israel of its key privileges in the body,” read a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres that was co-signed by the lawmakers.
“Any downgrade in Israel’s status or standing at the UNGA will result in a corresponding downgrade of US financial, material, and political support to the UN,” the message continued.
The letter, spearheaded by US Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), was drafted as a response to what the lawmakers described as the Palestinian Authority’s attempt to to strip Israel of “key privileges” within the UNGA.
The lawmakers also said they were “outraged” by the UNGA’s recent adoption of a “one-sided” resolution to implement an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, demanding Israel withdraw completely from the West Bank and East Jerusalem “with no recognition or consideration of Israel’s legitimate security concerns.”
The letter, which was signed by dozens of Republicans and 12 Democrats, added that Congress has been alarmed by the “numerous UN actions to delegitimize Israel’s right to self defense,” arguing that the global organization’s posture toward the Jewish state calls into question its fairness and impartiality.
“We remind you that the US is the largest donor to the UN. Our contributions account for one-third of the body’s collective budget. We will not accept the UN’s ongoing hostility to our ally Israel,” the letter stated.
The members of Congress then reminded the UN of a recently introduced piece of American legislation which would “prohibit US funding to the UN” if the organization downgrades Israel’s status or impacts its ability to “participate fully and equivalently with other member states.”
According to Lawler’s office, a slew of pro-Israel organizations endorsed the letter, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Jewish Federations of North America, and the Combat Antisemitism Movement.
The letter came after the PA reportedly kick-started an initiative to get Israel expelled from the UN General Assembly.
US Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) warned that Congress would consider revoking funding to the UN if the PA were successful in its attempt to remove Israel from the UN General Assembly.
“If the Palestinians succeed in suspending Israel from the United Nations General Assembly, they may well end up disintegrating the US-Palestinian Authority relationship and triggering a full reevaluation of US participation in and funding of all parts of the United Nations,” Cruz said earlier this month.
The post Over 100 US Lawmakers Threaten UN Funding if Global Body ‘Downgrades’ Israel’s Status first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Montrealers say limits are needed for boisterous Friday evening demonstrations against Israel
There’s a way for everyone within earshot to know when Shabbat has arrived in the west side of downtown Montreal. Chants begin almost every Friday evening as the crowd—varying from […]
The post Montrealers say limits are needed for boisterous Friday evening demonstrations against Israel appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.