Al Jazeera –July 4, 2014
‘Breakthrough’ reported on in Hamas-Israel deal
- US and Israeli officials both say a “breakthrough” has been achieved following Hamas’s latest response to a ceasefire proposal, with a senior US official saying a framework has been established to reach a final agreement.
- Nasser Hospital, the last functioning in Khan Younis, and the Kuwaiti Field Hospital near Rafah will shut services in hours as generators run out of fuel, medical sources say.
- Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it has launched more than 200 rockets and drones targeting Israeli military positions, a day after its senior commander Muhammad Nimah Nasser was killed in an Israeli attack.
- At least 38,011 people have been killed and 87,445 wounded in Israelﾒs war on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from the Hamas-led attacks is estimated at 1,139 with dozens of people still held captive in Gaza.
Israel pounds Gaza amid signs of revival in cease-fire efforts
Palestinian resistance group Hamas reportedly showed flexibility over some clauses of a deal that would allow a framework agreement to be reached should Israel approve
Israel continued to pound Gaza on Thursday amid efforts for a cease-fire in its genocidal war showed signs of revival.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to discuss a new Hamas proposal with his security Cabinet and hold consultations with his negotiations team on Thursday.
Israel received Hamas' response Wednesday to a proposal made public at the end of May by U.S. President Joe Biden that would include the release of about 120 hostages held in Gaza and a cease-fire in the Palestinian enclave.
A Palestinian official close to the mediation effort told Reuters that Hamas, the resistance group that controls Gaza, has showed flexibility over some clauses, that would allow a framework agreement to be reached should Israel approve.
Two Hamas officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Hamas has said any deal must end the war and bring a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Israel maintains it will accept only temporary pauses in the fighting until Hamas is eradicated.
The plan entails the gradual release of Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza and the pullback of Israeli forces over the first two phases and the freeing of Palestinian prisoners. The third phase involves the reconstruction of the war-shattered territory and the return of the remains of deceased hostages.
In Gaza, Palestinians reacted cautiously ahead of Israel's response.
"We hope that this is the end of the war, we are exhausted and we can't stand more setbacks and disappointments," said Youssef, a father of two, now displaced in Khan Younis, in the south of the enclave.
"Every more hour into this war, more people die, and more houses get destroyed, so enough is enough. I say this to my leaders, to Israel and the world," he told Reuters via a chat app.
Relentless
On Thursday, an Israeli strike hit a school in Gaza City and the Civil Emergency Service said five Palestinians were killed and others wounded while other Israeli strikes Gaza City's old town Thursday killed a woman and wounded several others, medics said.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Tanks also shelled several areas on the eastern side of Khan Younis after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders Tuesday but there has been no movement by the tanks into those areas, residents said.
On Thursday, many Palestinians were still seeking shelter following the evacuation order, which also included the border city of Rafah and which the United Nations said was the largest such edict since 1.1 million people were told to leave the north of the enclave in October.
Khan Younis residents said many families slept on the road because they could not find tents.
Israeli planes and tanks bombed several areas in the northern Gaza areas of Shejaia, Sabra, Daraj and Tuffah, killing several Palestinians, including children, and wounding others, health officials said.
The Israeli military said that its troops and aircraft killed dozens of resistance members in those areas and in Rafah, in southern Gaza, which Israel has described as Hamas' last stronghold.
The war has created a humanitarian crisis and destroyed the majority of the enclave's medical facilities.
On Thursday, the Gaza Health Ministry said that generators at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, the only main hospital still functioning, would run out of fuel within hours and appealed to international humanitarian organizations for help to secure fresh supplies.
200+ rockets, swarm of drones: Hezbollah avenges cmdr. assassination
Israeli media say Hezbollah's extensive strikes led to the closure of several roads, the outbreak of fires in open areas, and power outages in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah confirmed Thursday that its fighters targeted several Israeli military sites with over 200 rockets and a swarm of drones.
Hezbollah announced a series of operations that its Resistance fighters carried out in support of Gaza and the Israeli attacks on Lebanese towns and villages.
It is noteworthy that the Islamic Resistance's operations today targeted new Israeli military sites in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, Upper al-Jalil area, deep inside al-Jalil, Safad, and Nahariya.
The Lebanese group said its fighters bombarded a newly established Israeli position in the settlement of Kfar Blum with Katyusha rockets in response to the Israeli aggression on the town of Shebaa, which resulted in the injury of a civilian woman.
Later, Hezbollah confirmed that it bombarded, with over 200 rockets of various types, the newly-established headquarters of the 91st Division in the Ayelet Barracks, as well as each of the headquarters of the 7th Armored Brigade in Katsavia Barracks, the Armored Battalion of the 7th Brigade in the Gamla Barracks, the 210th Division (Golan Division) in Nafah Base, and the Artillery Regiment of Yarden Barracks' 210th Division.
The Resistance pointed out that this operation comes as part of the response to the attack and assassination carried out by the Israeli occupation force in the al-Haouch area, southwest of the Lebanese city of Tyre.
Hezbollah mourned Wednesday one of its leaders, martyr Mohammad Nehme Nasser, "Hajj Abu Nehme", on the path to al-Quds. Nasser was killed alongside his assistant in an Israeli airstrike that targeted al-Haouch.
Also in response to Hajj Abu Nehme's assassination, Hezbollah announced on Thursday that its fighters launched an aerial attack with a swarm of one-way drones on the newly-established headquarters of the 91st Division in the Ayelet Barracks, as well as each of the headquarters of the 7th Armored Brigade in Katsavia Barracks, the Northern Area Command in Dadu base, the 810th Hermon Brigade in Maale Golani Barracks, and the Golani Brigade and the Egoz Unit in the Shraga Barracks.
Additionally, the aerial attack targeted the Northern Area Mishar intelligence base and the permanent main base of the 146th Ilania Division.
Hezbollah's fighters already launched Wednesday four operations against Israeli military sites and soldiers along the border with occupied Palestine in response to the assassination of Hajj Abu Nehme.
In the same context, the Lebanese Resistance group said its fighters bombarded the Roueissat al-Alam site in the occupied Lebanese Kfar Chouba Hills with a heavy Burkan rocket, which hit the Israeli site directly and caused fires, confirming the destruction of parts of the site and inflicting confirmed casualties.
The Resistance fighters of Hezbollah also bombarded the Israeli al-Marj and al-Baghdadi sites with heavy Burkan rockets, hitting them directlyþ.
https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/200--rockets--swarm-of-drones--hezbollah-avenges-cmdr--assas
Hezbollah's rocket strike kills Israeli officer, injures 11 others
Hezbollah launched more than 200 rockets and 20 suicide drones toward Israeli bases and headquarters in response to the assassination of martyr Hajj Abu Nehme.
Hezbollah's strikes on northern Israeli-occupied territories killed an officer in the Yiftah Reserve Armored Brigade's 8679th unit on Wednesday, the Israeli occupation's military admitted.
The major who is also a deputy company commander in the aforementioned unit was killed after a rocket-artillery shell landed in an Israeli base in the occupied Golan, while several others were injured in the incident.
Hezbollah had launched more than 200 rocket-artillery shells, of different types, at Israeli military bases in the Golan and al-Jalil, as part of its response to the assassination of one of its prominent leaders, martyr Mohammad Nehme Nasser, "Hajj Abu Nehme."
Hajj Abu Nehme was martyred after an Israeli drone struck a vehicle in al-Haouch area in the coastal city of Tyre. The leader was the commander of Hezbollah's Aaziz Territorial Unit and had a long history of resisting occupation forces and terror organizations in the region.
As has been the case in every assassination of a Hezbollah commander, the Islamic Resistance responded and continues to respond in a more intense manner to the assassination of its leaders.
Although the Resistance launched four attacks on Wednesday, as in initial response to the assassinations carried out by the Israeli occupation, it continued to pummel Israeli sites into Thursday afternoon.
Day 272 of Israeli aggression in Gaza:
38,011 killed, 87,445 injured
The Israeli onslaught on Gaza continues, killing 58 Palestinians and injuring 179 others in 24 hours only.
On day 272 of the unabated Israeli genocide in Gaza, the number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupation reached 38,011, in addition to 87,445 injuries, according to the daily report published by the Health Ministry in Gaza.
"Israel" committed four massacres in 24 hours, killing 58 Palestinians and injuring 179 others.
While some were transported to partially functioning hospitals, many victims remain trapped beneath the rubble with rescue crews unable to reach them.
Others remain either injured or lie there as lifeless bodies dispersed on the streets as rescue crews are also prohibited from attending to them or transporting them.
The Gaza Media Office warned in a press release that the Ministry of Health issued a serious warning about the potential shutdown of electricity generators at the Nasser Medical Complex, the main remaining hospital providing services after the European Gaza Hospital ceased operations in Khan Younis and Rafah governorates.
This could lead to the cessation of health and medical services, posing a humanitarian crisis, as per the Office.
"We hold the occupation, the US administration, and all relevant authorities fully responsible for any disaster or crisis that may occur at any moment, potentially leading to fatalities among patients, especially those in intensive care units," it further stressed.
The office also called upon the international community, UN agencies, and international institutions to urgently supply fuel to Nasser Medical Complex before it's too late.
"We urge immediate intervention to supply all hospitals with fuel, rehabilitate them, and restore their operations to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe that could claim the lives of many patients," it added.
The Israeli genocide is ongoing
Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that IOF warplanes targeted the vicinity of al-Rashid Street near the Wadi Gaza Bridge, west of the Nuseirat camp.
Our correspondent also added that there have been intensive Israeli airstrikes and artillery bombardments in al-Shujaiya neighborhood, where hundreds of people are besieged.
Israeli airstrikes in western Nuseirat killed three Palestinians and resulted in numerous injuries, as per our correspondent.
Reports indicate that IOF targeted civilians with a missile launched from a drone near the al-Sharq School in the al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City.
Our reporter also reported that IOF targeted two schools in Gaza City—located in the al-Daraj neighborhood and the al-Shati camp—that are sheltering forcibly displaced persons.
An Israeli airstrike has struck a residential house in the neighborhood of Gaza City, as per our reporter.
Our correspondent confirmed injuries following shelling that targeted a school for forcibly displaced persons in the al-Rimal neighborhood, located in central Gaza City.
Al Jazeera – July 4, 2024
Israel’s Sde Teiman is so similar to Guantanamo for a reason
Both military detention centres, notorious for human rights abuses, were established with the same sense of impunity and disdain for international law.
Writer, artist, activist, and former Guantánamo prisoner
Published On 4 Jul 20244 Jul 2024
In May, a shocking CNN report based on whistleblower testimony placed Israel’s Sde Teiman military base in the Negev desert under the global spotlight and led to it being compared to the notorious US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where I was imprisoned for more than a decade.
Three Israelis who worked at the desert camp doubling as a detention centre since the beginning of the Gaza war told CNN that they witnessed systemic physical and psychological abuse of Palestinian detainees at the facility.
They said the Palestinians imprisoned there, who are held without charge or legal representation, are blindfolded, forced into stress positions, beaten, insulted, and prevented from speaking for extended periods. Prisoners at Sde Teiman, the whistleblowers claimed, routinely have their limbs amputated due to injuries sustained from constant handcuffing.
CNN also published two photographs from the facility, showing rows of men in grey tracksuits sitting blindfolded in an outdoor area ring-fenced by barbwire and lit by floodlights.
The report, collaborated by independent reporting from other outlets, as well as testimonies of the released Palestinian prisoners, made my heart sink. It immediately transported me back to that dark day in February 2002, when I was first sent blindfolded and shackled to Guantanamo, where I would spend more than 14 years in arbitrary imprisonment, without knowing when or if I would be released, or even why I was being held.
In Guantanamo, my experience as a prisoner was indeed very similar to the one described by the Israeli whistleblowers in the CNN report – an experience defined by a sense of perpetual uncertainty and fear.
Just as it appears to be the case with Sde Taiman, psychological abuse was rampant in Guantanamo. We were routinely put in isolation, exposed to extreme temperatures and threatened with physical abuse. Humiliation through forced nudity and sexual assaults were also common. Sensory overload and deprivation, through extended exposure to bright lights and loud noises, or being forced to sit in solitary in complete darkness for hours, further chipped away our sense of reality.
The similarities between Guantanamo and Sde Teiman are not limited to the treatment of prisoners either. The two facilities also justify their existence, and provide legal cover for their excesses, using similar arguments and narratives.
Since October 7, just like US did in the aftermath of 9/11, Israel has also been relying on its Unlawful Combatants Law to indefinitely detain Palestinians without legal scrutiny and a chance of putting forward a defence. The law allows Israel to detain individuals in facilities like Sde Teiman without an arrest warrant for up to 45 days. This period often extends indefinitely, as detainees are moved to Israel’s formal prison system without due process.
Another similarity between Guantanamo Bay and Sde Teiman is the lack of transparency. At Guantanamo, the US military has consistently, and somewhat successfully, rebuffed attempts by journalists to gain access to the camps, imposing stringent restrictions and censorship under the guise of national security concerns. This lack of transparency has only intensified in recent years, with journalists encountering even greater barriers in their efforts to shed light on the realities of life inside Guantanamo. Israel, too, is working hard to keep the media, and independent legal professionals, out of its prisons and military detention facilities like Sde Teiman. The plight of Palestinian prisoners in Gaza managed to garner global attention only due to the bravery of Israeli whistleblowers who took it upon themselves to expose the abuses under way there.
After the publication of the damning CNN report, Israel vowed to shut down Sde Teiman. Israel’s Supreme Court also sought answers about the condition of prisoners held there in response to a petition filed on May 23 by several Israeli human rights organisations. The petition called for the closure of the facility due to inhumane conditions and severe mistreatment that violated both Israeli and international law.
\While these are promising developments, we must remain vigilant in demanding further coverage and true accountability to ensure the prisoners and practices at Sde Teiman are not simply transferred to another, more secret facility. After all, the abuses and illegality under way at Guantanamo Bay have been exposed many times over in the past two decades, but the infamous facility in Cuba is still functioning, and no one has faced accountability for breaking international law there.
I speak about the parallels between Guantanamo and Sde Teiman to draw attention to the universal nature of suffering caused by detention practices steeped in secrecy, illegality and dehumanising cruelty.
In those Palestinian men imprisoned by the Israeli military in Sde Teiman, I saw myself and hundreds of other men and boys imprisoned by the US in Guantanamo. Our ordeals are so similar, because both Israel and the US believe they can function outside the limitations of international law and do whatever they please to human beings they perceive as a threat in the name of “national security”.
That the same abuses in Guantanamo have been duplicated in Sde Teiman underlines the urgent need for accountability and reform. It is crucial for the international community to recognise and address human rights violations in detention facilities – whether they are committed in a military camp in the Negev Desert or a US Naval Base on a Caribbean island.
There should be independent investigations and accountability for perpetrators. Policies should be implemented to prevent such abuses from being repeated in the future. If we fail to take action and seek accountability for the blatant abuses of human rights law in Israeli detention centres, we will soon come face to face with another heartbreaking report about an inhumane prison camp in another corner of the world sometime soon.
Mansoor Adayfi is a writer, artist, activist, and former Guantánamo prisoner held for over 14 years without charges. Adayfi was released to Serbia in 2016, where he struggles to make a new life for himself and to shed the designation of suspected terrorist. In 2019, Adayfi won the Richard J. Margolis Award for nonfiction writers of social justice journalism. His memoir, Don’t Forget Us Here, Lost and Found at Guantánamo was released in August 2021. He Works as Cage's Guatanamo Project Coordinator.
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