Al Mayadeen – July 22, 2024
Day 290 of Israeli aggression on Gaza: 39,006 killed, 89,818 injured
The death toll so far from the massacre committed earlier this morning in Khan Younis has reached 37 martyrs and more than 120 injuries.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced in its daily report on Monday that the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza due to the Israeli genocidal war ongoing since October 7 has now reached 39,006, in addition to 89,818 injuries.
Additionally, it confirmed that Israeli occupation forces committed three massacres in 24 hours, killing 23 and injuring 91 others.
The Ministry stressed that thousands of victims are still under the rubble on the streets as the occupation forces continue to prohibit ambulances and civil defense crews from reaching them.
Earlier this morning, the Israeli occupation forces committed a massacre in the eastern areas of Khan Younis, and vehicles carrying dozens of wounded and martyred Palestinians have been pouring into the Nasser Hospital amid continuous Israeli bombing of populated areas.
The number of Palestinians killed in the massacre has risen to 37 martyrs, in addition to at least 120 injuries.
Israeli occupation forces launched a series of airstrikes on various areas of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, just minutes after issuing evacuation orders for these areas, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported on Monday.
Our correspondent pointed out that the homes subjected to continuous and heavy Israeli bombardment are inhabited, adding that rescue teams have not yet managed to recover all the bodies of the martyrs.
According to our correspondent, a two-year-old child was killed in the recent Israeli bombardment of Khan Younis.
The Civil Defense in Gaza said the Israeli occupation forces have ordered over 400,000 people to leave the eastern areas of Khan Younis.
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) emphasized that the areas to which the Israeli occupation forces are ordering the displaced to move are not safe, and the Gaza Strip's hospitals are incapacitated due to supply shortages.
The PRCS stressed that the occupation forces are deliberately exacerbating the suffering of the people in Gaza by repeatedly shifting their displacement.
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/day-290-of-israeli-aggression-on-gaza--39-006-killed--89-818
Israeli airstrikes on Yemen, Lebanon leave entire Mideast reeling
Israel struck multiple neighboring countries over the weekend, leaving the entire Middle East reeling from deadly violence Sunday.
Tel Aviv bombed Gaza, Lebanon and Yemen in quick succession in what it claimed was a response to attacks from Iran-backed armed groups across the region.
Despite Washington's top diplomat asserting a deal is near the "goal line" to end more than nine months of genocidal war on Gaza, the Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, as it pressed on with its offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Dozens have been killed since Saturday across the Gaza Strip, the civil defense agency said, including in strikes on homes in the central Nuseirat and Bureij areas and displaced people near southern Khan Younis.
Residents said a major operation was underway in the Saudi district of Rafah in the south, reporting heavy artillery and clashes.
The deadly strikes in Gaza came hours after Hezbollah and its ally Hamas said they fired at Israeli positions from south Lebanon while Yemen's Houthi rebels vowed to respond to Israeli warplanes hitting a key port.
The fire left raging by the strikes on rebel-held Hodeida port "is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear," Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said.
Detailing the first strikes claimed by Israel in Yemen, Gallant warned of further operations if the Houthis "dare to attack us" after a rebel drone strike killed one in Tel Aviv on Friday.
In Hodeida, three people were killed and 87 wounded, health officials said in a statement carried by Houthi media.
Netanyahu set for US visit
The trio of armed groups has vowed to keep up attacks on Israel until a truce ends the violence in Gaza, which lies in ruins, with most residents forced to flee their homes.
The Gaza war was triggered by the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
The resistance members also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom are still in Gaza, including 42 the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel's military's genocidal war in comparison has killed at least 38,919 people, mostly women and children, according to data from the Gazan Health Ministry.
The war has also unleashed hunger and health crises in Gaza, with Israel and the United Nations trading blame for vital aid supplies failing to reach those in need.
After the detection of poliovirus in Gaza sewage, though no individual cases, the World Health Organization said there were "monumental" constraints to mounting a timely response.
WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said Friday the agency believes many more diseases are "spreading out of control" inside Gaza.
The months-long war has also brought Israelis to the streets, sometimes in their tens of thousands, focused on securing the release of the remaining hostages.
"Bring them home," demonstrator OfiraAzrieli said Saturday in Tel Aviv, appealing to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The premier is due to address U.S. lawmakers Wednesday in Washington, where he will be under pressure to reach a cease-fire with Hamas.
"He doesn't have to go there. First, you have to sign the deal and after, go to Washington," Azrieli, 64, told AFP.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday a truce was within reach.
"I believe we're ... driving toward the goal line in getting an agreement that would produce a cease-fire, get the hostages home, and put us on a better track to trying to build lasting peace and stability," he said.
Israel says it struck Yemen’s Hodeidah in response to Houthi attacks
Six people were killed in the air raids against the port city which come a day after a drone attack by the Yemeni group killed one person in Tel Aviv.
20 Jul 2024
|The Israeli military has said it has conducted strikes against Yemen’s Red Sea port city of Hodeidah in response to attacks by the Houthi group.
The Ministry of Health, which operates in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, said three people were killed and 87 wounded, many with severe burns as a result of the Israeli strikes. The toll has risen to six.
The Israeli air raids on Saturday were carried out a day after the Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack that killed one person in Tel Aviv and injured 10 others.
On Sunday morning, Houthi military spokesman General YahyaSaree said during a televised address that the group attacked the Israeli port city of Eilat with a number of ballistic missiles in an operation that “achieved its goals successfully”.
After sirens sounded in Eilat, the Israeli military confirmed one surface-to-surface ballistic missile was launched from Yemen, but said its long-range Arrow-3 missile defence system shot it down.
The Houthi military spokesman also claimed an attack on the Pumba, a container ship that he described as “American”. Saree said the group used ballistic missiles and drones in the attack, achieving a “direct hit on the ship” in the Red Sea. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) confirmed on Saturday that the Liberia-flagged MV Pumba sustained damage.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a spokesman for the Houthis, told Al Jazeera on Sunday afternoon that Israel’s attack on “civil establishments” must be met with “a painful reply”.
“When we took part in this war, we understood there might be sacrifices and losses, but our stand is just and ethical and will never stop until the Zionist entity stops its crimes in Gaza”, he said.
According to Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV, the Israeli attack on Hodeidah targeted oil storage facilities and a power plant, igniting a fire. The news outlet cited health officials as saying the air raids resulted in casualties, including fatalities, without specifying a number.
But the Israeli military said it hit “military targets” in Yemen.
The Israeli air strikes are the first known direct attack by Israel against the Houthis since the start of the war on Gaza. The assault comes amid growing fears of escalating violence across the Middle East.
The Houthi Supreme Political Council promised to respond to Saturday’s attack. “This aggression will not pass without an effective response against the enemy,” it said in a statement.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdelsalam said the “brutal Israeli aggression against Yemen” aims to “pressure Yemen to stop supporting Gaza, which is a dream that will not come true”.
Saree, the Houthi military spokesman, added later on Saturday that the group would not hesitate in attacking “vital targets” in Israel, maintaining a promies that Tel Aviv remains “an unsafe area”.
Hamas was quick to condemn the Israeli assault. “The occupation state will undoubtedly be burned by the fire ignited in Hodeidah today, and the mounting Zionist crimes will change the entire equation,” Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Palestinian group’s political bureau, said in a statement.
Hezbollah voiced support for the Houthis and the Yemeni people after the attack, as well.
“We think that this stupid step by the Zionist enemy is a sign of a new, dangerous phase in the confrontation at the level of the entire region,” the Lebanese group said in a statement.
But Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant lauded the attack as a warning to Israel’s adversaries.
“The fire that is currently burning in Hodeidah is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear,” Gallant said. “The Houthis attacked us over 200 times. The first time that they harmed an Israeli citizen, we struck them. And we will do this in any place where it may be required.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the port struck by fighter jets was used as an entry point for the Houthis to receive Iranian weapons.
Netanyahu added that the strike, some 1,800 km (1,120 miles) from Israel’s borders, was a reminder to enemies that there is no place that Israel could not reach.
YousefMawry, a Yemeni journalist and political analyst, told Al Jazeera that he witnessed people in Sanaa rushing to get fuel after the attack amid fears of shortages, stressing that the Israeli strikes targeted “public facilities”.
He said the attack would place the burden on civilians, leaving them without “access to basic necessities”, including propane gas and fuel.
The Iran-allied Houthis, who present themselves as Yemen’s official armed forces, have been targeting shipping lanes in the Red Sea in a campaign that they say aims to pressure Israel to end its war on Gaza, which has killed more than 38,900 Palestinians.
The Yemeni group has also launched ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, most of which have been intercepted.
But early on Friday, an explosive-laden Houthi drone eluded Israeli air defences and struck a building in Tel Aviv in what was seen as a major security breach in Israel.
Israeli officials had promised to respond. Gallant promised in a message to the Houthis on Friday that Israel “will settle the score” with anyone who harms its security.
The United States and United Kingdom have been conducting air strikes in Yemen for months in response to the Houthis’ Red Sea assaults. But the military campaign has failed to stop the Yemeni group’s attacks. The US said it was not involved in the Israeli strike.
Al Jazeera’s HamdahSalhut said the latest developments will likely strain the Israeli military, which “is already stretched thin”, amid fears of an all-out regional war.
Salhut noted that Israeli reservists are operating in both the northern and southern parts of the country as Israel fights Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“If the air force is going to have to be additionally deployed to more parts of the Middle East like Yemen, it’s tough to say how exactly they’re going to manage that when they’re looking still to recruit more people for the army,” she said. “It’s a lot of pressure on the Israelis as yet another front has opened this morning.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/20/air-raids-hit-yemens
Saudi Arabia denies involvement in the Israeli attack on Hodeidah
The Saudi Ministry of Defense announced in a statement that it did not participate in the Israeli aggression targeting Yemen.
Saudi Defense Ministry spokesperson Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki announced on Sunday that Saudi Arabia did not participate in the Israeli raids targeting the Yemeni city of Hodeidah on Saturday.
He emphasized that Saudi airspace would remain secure and unbreached.
In a statement released on the ministry’s official X platform account, al-Maliki clarified that the Kingdom was not involved in targeting Hodeidah and reiterated that “it will not allow any party to violate its airspace.”
The statements from the Saudi Ministry of Defense come in response to the recent Israeli aggression carried out by fighter jets on Saturday. The Israeli airstrikes targeted fuel depots in the port city of Hodeidah and struck fuel tanks at the "RasKatheeb" power plant, situated on Yemen's Red Sea coast. Yemeni field sources reported this information to Al Mayadeen.
YAF carry out 2 operations, vow response to ‘Israel’ will be massive
Yemeni Armed Forces operations will continue unabated until the aggression on Gaza halts and the siege is lifted.
The Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) carried out two operations, one targeting an Israeli-occupied city and the other targeting a US vessel on the Red Sea.
In detail, the YAF carried out a top-tier military operation against significant targets in Umm al-Rashrash [Eilat] with a number of ballistic missiles, achieving its declared goals successfully, the Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Brigadier General YahyaSaree announced on Sunday.
His televised statement came in light of an Israeli air aggression that targeted the civilian Hodeidah port and a power station in the city, resulting in dozens of Yemeni casualties and massive fires.
Saree detailed that the YAF also targeted the US ship "Pumba" in the Red Sea with a number of ballistic missiles and drones, impacting it directly.
The YAF Spokesperson affirmed YAF's full right to defend the country against American-British aggression, as well as against Israeli aggression.
Furthermore, Saree vowed that a response to the Israeli aggression against Yemen, which has resulted in 90 casualties, is inevitable and will be massive.
In detail, as per the Ministry of Health, three were killed and 87 others were wounded, many with severe burns, in the attack.
The Brigadier General concluded by expressing confidence that "the operations of the Yemeni Armed Forces in the previously designated naval operational area against Israeli, American, and British ships, or those heading to ports in occupied Palestine, or dealing with the Israeli entity, will not cease until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted."
Yemen confirms advanced coordination with Axis of Resistance: Exclusive
Earlier today, a Yemeni source informed Al Mayadeen that the Israeli occupation is expected to "lie and obscure" information regarding the Yemeni Armed Forces' operations.
The source advised the public to "await their statements," which will detail each operation, whether targeting deep within Israeli territory or involving other naval actions.
They also emphasized that the Yemenis are very patient, confirming that the military operations will "continue over the coming days and months" if the Israeli aggression on Gaza does not cease.
The same source stressed that coordination between Yemen, the Resistance in Gaza, and the broader Axis of Resistance is ongoing and has reached advanced levels.
Saree to 'Israel': Yemen is with Gaza no matter the cost, wait for us
Saree said, on Saturday, that the Yemeni Armed Forces reiterate that occupied Yafa (Tel Aviv) is an unsafe zone and that a response to the Israeli aggression on civilian facilities in the Yemeni coastal province of Hodeidah is undoubtedly coming.
Saree emphasized that the armed forces "will not hesitate" to strike vital Israeli targets in the Israeli entity and that operations in support of the Palestinian people in Gaza will not stop regardless of the consequences.
The Yemeni people "are preparing for a long war with this enemy [Israel] until the aggression on Gaza stops and the siege is lifted and the crimes committed by the Israeli enemy against the Palestinian people in Gaza are over."
Saree's remarks came shortly after Israeli war jets launched a series of airstrikes targeting Yemen's province of Hodeidah on the Red Sea coast.
The aggression targeted an oil refinery, leading to a massive fire that can be seen kilometers away.
At the time, the Yemeni Ministry of Health reported martyrs and wounded as a result of the aggression, confirming that civilians suffered severe burns due to the fires.
Civil defense teams were battling to extinguish the fires and flames engulfing the targeted zone, our correspondent added, noting that the size of the blaze is making the task extremely difficult.
Middle East Monitor – July 21, 2024
Israel’s Eilat Port has been Bankrupted by the Houthis supporting Palestinians of Gaza
By Mustafa Abdulsalam
The Israeli port of Eilat officially declared its bankruptcy, after eight months of complete paralysis of commercial activity and its cessation of receiving ships and containers, especially coming from the Asian countries’ markets, carrying with them the needs of the economy and its industrial sector. This includes raw materials, intermediate goods, production inputs, machinery and equipment, crude oil and fuel, wheat, food, cars and other market needs.
The reason for this was the successive attacks launched by the Yemeni Houthi group on Israeli ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, as well as the targeting of ships from countries supporting the the genocidal war it is waging against the people of Gaza, most notably American and British ships.
According to the World Cargo website that reports global shipping news, the port of Eilat has officially declared bankruptcy due to the lack of commercial activity. According to data provided by the port’s CEO, Gideon Gilbert, the port has not witnessed any activity or revenues during the past eight months, and attacks by Yemeni forces in the Red Sea caused a decline in shipping traffic by 85 per cent. This sharp decline led to heavy losses for the port, which forced it to request financial aid from the Israeli government to cover its expenses and avoid permanent closure.
Major ports and economic and financial facilities are expected to declare bankruptcy in Israel during the coming period, given the almost complete paralysis that has affected economic activities, including vital sectors such as technology, information technology, direct investment, building and construction, real estate, industries, agriculture, domestic tourism and aviation. The bankruptcy may even extend to the financial and banking sector in light of the wave of flight of money and huge deposits from Israel’s markets and banks, the flight of foreign investors, the increase in the rates of bad loans and those that are unlikely to be repaid, and the decline of the shekel, foreign reserves, and the state’s public revenues, especially from taxes.
The danger of the bankruptcy of the Port of Eilat lies in the fact that the port is considered one of the most important Israeli ports. It is actually the only Israeli port overlooking the Red Sea. It represents a main gateway and a vital lung for Israel’s foreign trade with Asia, Africa and some Gulf countries. Its paralysis has disrupted supply chains and burdened the Israeli economy, causing it huge trading losses.
The announcement of the bankruptcy of the port of Eilat is only a drop in the ocean of the huge economic and financial losses that Israel has suffered since the start of the war on Gaza. It also reveals the severe damage that the Houthi attacks have inflicted on the Israeli economy, especially its trade with China, India, South Korea, Singapore, and other Asian and Gulf countries. Were it not for the logistical and commercial support that Israel receives from some countries in the region that supply Israel’s markets with its needs through Gulf ports in Dubai and Bahrain, the impact would have been greater and more painful, and Israel’s economy and markets would have witnessed collapses in vital activities, and unprecedented jumps in the markets, especially in the prices of food commodities and living.
Of course, continuing the Gaza war does not serve the interest of the Israeli economy, the activities of which have been disrupted and which has suffered heavy losses and massive damage. Some of its sectors have even been completely paralysed. According to figures from the Bank of Israel and the Israeli Ministry of Finance, the cost of the war from 7 October until the end of March 2024 reached over 70 billion shekels ($73 billion).
This is just the cost of the war. What about the cost of evacuating about 250,000 Israelis from their homes in the “Gaza Envelope” settlements, the Western Negev and the Lebanese border, and the cost of paying the salaries of the approximately 360,000 reservists who were called up from their civilian jobs? They disrupted the work of schools, universities and economic facilities, including tourism, restaurants, cafes and entertainment venues. What about the other repercussions of the war on the Israeli economy, such as the rise in inflation rates, the intensification of the general budget deficit and the increase in government debts? What about the cost of losses to economic facilities, commercial interests, and small and medium businesses in Israel, which witnessed a severe recession due to all government resources and budgets being allocated and utilised for the war?
https://www.juancole.com/2024/07/bankrupted-supporting-palestinians.html
Pakistan declares Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu a terrorist
The Pakistani government has officially decided to recognize Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as a "terrorist" and has called on the international community to do the same.
According to the Dawn newspaper, Pakistan's Prime Minister's Advisor on Political Affairs RanaSanaullah, Information Minister AttaullahTarar and representatives from the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan Party (TLP) held a joint press conference in the country's capital, Islamabad on Saturday.
Following a week of pro-Gaza demonstrations by TLP, the Pakistani government entered into negotiations with the party. The meeting concluded with both sides reaching an agreement.
Under the agreement, the Pakistani government will officially recognize the Israeli Prime Minister as a "terrorist" and will invite the international community to do the same.
Talks between the federal government and TLP representatives Ghulam Abbas Faizi and ShafiqAmini began on July 18. As a result, the government announced it would accelerate its support for the "Palestinian victims of Israeli oppression."
The agreement was signed by Sanaullah and Tarar. Sanaullah praised TLP's efforts for the Palestinian people and announced that the government would send more humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Sanaullah stated that over 1,000 tons of food and medicine would be sent to Palestine by July 31. The government also agreed to provide medical aid to the Palestinian people and send health care personnel to the region.
"If the Palestinian government makes the necessary arrangements, injured Palestinians will be brought to Pakistan for treatment," Sanaullah said, adding that schools and hospitals in Pakistan are open to provide education and medical facilities to Palestinians.
'Terrorist and war criminal'
Sanaullah defined Israel as a "terrorist state" and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as a war criminal under international law. He emphasized that Pakistan will use every possible means to assist Palestinians and condemn Israel.
Demanding Netanyahu's prosecution, Sanaullah stated, "Netanyahu is a terrorist and a perpetrator of war crimes. He is responsible for the atrocities committed by Israel in Palestine. We call him a terrorist and urge the international community to recognize Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as a terrorist."
"We will not only boycott Israel but also all products associated with Israel and any companies directly or indirectly involved in or aiding this oppression," Sanaullah said.
He revealed that a committee had been established to identify companies financially supporting Israel's attacks on Gaza and to ban their products.
Sanaullah said that the Pakistani government will not use products or services from companies that directly or indirectly assist Israeli forces in committing war crimes against Palestinians.
He called on the international community to hold Netanyahu accountable for his actions and deliver him to justice.
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