Palestine Chronicle – June 20, 2024
‘Operation al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 258: Massacres in Rafah, Nuseirat
At least two women were killed and 12 Palestinians were wounded in an Israeli shelling that targeted a house in the Al-Hasayneh area, west of Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will visit the United States next week.
The US pier in Gaza was reconnected on Wednesday after being temporarily separated last Friday due to poor conditions at sea.
It was reported on Wednesday that Israeli military vehicles are reportedly moving north of Nuseirat, in central Gaza, coinciding with violent artillery shelling and smoke shells.
The United Nations said that the Israeli attacks on residential areas in the Gaza Strip since October 7 left 39 million tons of rubble.
The Israeli army said it monitored the launch of a ‘suspicious object’ from Gaza, which landed in southern Israel, as Hezbollah announced an attack on Metulla.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 37,396 Palestinians have been killed, and 85,523 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Hamas is an idea, and you cannot destroy it: Israeli military spokesperson
"To say that we are going to make Hamas disappear is to throw sand in people's eyes," says Daniel Hagari, highlighting growing divisions between hawkish Israeli politicians and top military commanders over Gaza war.
Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari has criticised the country's political leadership when he described the rhetoric about destroying Hamas resistance group as "misleading" in an interview with Channel 13.
"The talk of destroying Hamas is like throwing dust in the public's eyes," Hagari told the station on Wednesday.
"Hamas is an idea. You cannot destroy an idea. The political leadership must find an alternative; otherwise, it (Hamas) will remain," he added.
Since October last year when Israel began its genocial war on besieged Gaza, hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has listed the destruction of Hamas resistance group as a key objective, despite skepticism from military analysts and Israeli observers about the feasibility of the goal.
Hagari discussed the army's announcement on June 8 about the release of four captives in a military operation in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. "It is not possible to release all hostages through military operations," he acknowledged.
In response, Netanyahu's office stated that the security Cabinet, chaired by the prime minister, "has defined the destruction of Hamas' military and governing capabilities as one of the goals of the war. The Israeli military, of course, is committed to this."
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal onslaught on Gaza since an October 7 raid by Hamas on Israeli military sites and settlements that were once Arab farms and hamlets.
The hours-long attack and Israeli military's haphazard response including controversial Hannibal Directive resulted in the killing of more than 1,130 people.
Palestinian fighters took more than 250 hostages and presently 116 remain in Gaza, including 41 who the Israeli army says are dead, many of them killed in indiscriminate Israeli strikes.
Israel has since then killed nearly 37,400 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, and wounded more than 85,400 others. Some 10,000 Palestinians are feared dead under the debris of bombed homes while Israel has abducted more than 9,500 Palestinians.
More than eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.
In occupied West Bank, Israeli forces and illegal Zionist settlers have killed more than 530 Palestinians and burned down multiple properties.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/hamas-is-an-idea-and-you-cannot-destroy-it-israeli-military-spokesperson-18175051
Palestinian refugees' right to return 'sacred, non-negotiable': Hamas
Hamas says the epics written by the Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and al-Quds' camps are evidence of the deep-rootedness of Palestinian refugees in their land.
Operation Al-Aqsa Flood has brought global attention back to the Palestinian refugee issue, highlighted its justice, and thwarted attempts to obscure it, Hamas said Thursday on World Refugee Day, calling for enabling the Palestinian people's rights to freedom, independence, and the end of the occupation.
In a statement, the movement hailed the active role of Palestinian refugees in their rallying behind the Resistance during Al-Aqsa Flood, emphasizing that the epics written by the Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and occupied al-Quds' camps are evidence of the deep-rootedness of Palestinian refugees in their land, their commitment to their rights, and their embrace of the Resistance until the occupation is defeated.
Hamas pointed out that refugee camps, both inside and outside occupied Palestine, are among the most prominent witnesses embodying the Nakba (catastrophe) since 1948 – when Zionist gangs displaced more than 57% of Palestinians from their land – and the ongoing suffering of the Palestinian people.
At the same time, according to the movement, these camps have been a source of insistence on adhering to principles, a symbol of resisting all attempts to eliminate the right of return, and a landmark of the struggle and resistance against the occupation.
Hamas underlined that the right of all Palestinian refugees to return to their homes is a sacred, non-negotiable right that is passed down through generations, reiterating its absolute rejection of any solutions that attempt to nullify this right.
The movement called on Palestinian refugees, both inside and among the diaspora, to strengthen their unity in the face of the Israeli occupation's schemes and aggressive projects, and to preserve their camps as symbols of resistance and unity.
It also expressed its rejection of all Israeli attempts, supported by the United States, to eliminate the role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
It reiterated the direct responsibility of this UN agency to continuously provide its services to all Palestinian refugees, especially in Gaza, amid the genocide being committed by the Israeli occupation against defenseless civilians, refugees, and displaced persons.
The Palestinian group emphasized that the commemoration of World Refugee Day by the United Nations and countries worldwide, amid the ongoing war on Gaza which has exacerbated the conditions of refugees and displaced persons since October 7, places everyone before a humanitarian, legal, and moral responsibility to put an end to the continuous Israeli aggression against Palestinian refugees in the camps of Gaza, the West Bank, and occupied al-Quds.
Moreover, Hamas called on the United Nations, the international community, all countries hosting Palestinian refugees, and all human rights and humanitarian organizations to fulfill their responsibilities in protecting the rights of Palestinian refugees, ensuring a free and dignified life for them, and supporting their steadfastness and struggle.
According to UNRWA figures, some 5.9 million Palestine refugees are eligible for its services, with more than 1.5 million individuals living in 58 recognized Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, including the eastern part of al-Quds.
Palestine Chronicle – June 19, 2024
What Hezbollah Could Do to Israel in Three Days of All-Out War – Report
By Palestine Chronicle Staff
“You’re talking about knocking out all of our essential infrastructure, oil refineries, air bases, Dimona.” – Michael Oren
As clashes between Israel and the Lebanese movement Hezbollah are intensifying, Foreign Policy reported, citing an Israeli diplomat, that Israel would face a “strategic threat” in the case of an all-out war.
Hezbollah launched its most significant rocket assault at Israel last week, in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike that killed a senior Hezbollah commander, raising concerns that the conflict could rapidly escalate.
Starting on October 8, Hezbollah has launched thousands of rockets, anti-tank missiles, and drones into Israel, while the Israeli Air Force has responded with hundreds of airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
According to FP, “some 140,000 people have been displaced from their homes on both sides of the border.”
Despite calls from the United States and other Western allies to de-escalate, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that his country was considering the option of going to war with Lebanon and that, “in a total war, Hezbollah will be destroyed and Lebanon will be hit hard.”
However, Israel would also suffer significant losses, according to the report.
FP mentions a report issued by the Center for International and Strategic Studies, which estimates that “Hezbollah is a far more formidable foe than Hamas, since the former is thought to be the most heavily armed nonstate actor in the world”
Just Three Days
Speaking with FP, Michael Oren, who served as Israel’s ambassador to the United States during the Obama administration, said: “Hamas represents a tactical threat to the state of Israel. Hezbollah is a strategic threat to the state of Israel”.
The group, according to the report, is estimated to possess about 130,000 rockets and missiles “that could quickly overwhelm the country’s sophisticated air defense systems and hit its biggest cities.”
“I’ve read estimates of what Hezbollah could do to us in three days that are just horrendous,” Oren told FP. “You’re talking about knocking out all of our essential infrastructure, oil refineries, air bases, Dimona,” he added, referring to the site of Israel’s nuclear research facility.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah released drone footage of Israel’s Haifa Port, which is located 17 miles from the Lebanese border, in an attempt “to penetrate Israel’s air defenses and reach deep into the country,” the report noted.
Hezbollah is also thought to have developed a tunnel network that runs under Lebanon, which some Israeli analysts argue is even more extensive than the one used by Hamas.
Undetected, Hezbollah Hoopoe mission exposes sensitive Israeli sites
Hezbollah publishes a nine-minute video showing its drones flying in occupied Palestinian airspace over sensitive Israeli infrastructure.
The Military Media of the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah released Tuesday footage showing its reconnaissance drones flying over swathes of occupied Palestinian land, including Kiryat Shmona, Nahariya, Safad, Karmiel, Afula, all the way to Haifa and its port.
Titled "This is what the Hoopoe came back with," the nine-minute-and-a-half video captured footage and exposed sensitive Israeli sites. Hezbollah indicated that the video was only the first episode of more yet to come, highlighting that the drones bypassed Israeli air defenses and returned to Lebanese airspace undetected.
The published footage included intelligence about Israeli sites inside occupied Palestine and clearly showed that the drone arrived at the port of Haifa intact. Hezbollah's drones brought back footage and information about sensitive sites they captured over Haifa starting with the port itself to oil refineries and military factories, not to mention the locations of military battleships and important economic hubs in the port.
Rafael military-industrial complex
In detail, the video first shows Hezbollah's drones flying over a military-industrial complex belonging to Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, which includes numerous factories, warehouses, and testing fields in which components of air defense systems are manufactured and assembled, especially the Iron Dome and David's Sling.
Iron Dome and David's Sling platforms, rocket engine test tunnel and storage, air defense missile storage, missile component manufacturing facilities, control and guidance systems factories, company administrative buildings, and missile testing radars all appeared in the video.
According to Hezbollah, the area is highly vital and sensitive, occupies an area of around 6.5 km2, and is 24 km away from the Lebanese-Palestinian border.
Krayot
The video also included an overview of Krayot, an Israeli suburb north of occupied Haifa, which includes six occupied cities with a population of 260,000 Israeli settlers. Hezbollah published a complete high-definition view of the urban conglomeration there, with a real-time tour detailing Krayot districts and neighborhoods, including Israeli official residences and commercial complexes.
The scenes also filmed the Yitzhak Ben-Tzvi Street, Karti Square, Savyonei Yam complex, and Abraham Gardens towers.
Haifa Port area
In addition, the Islamic Resistance's drones reached occupied Haifa's port – the largest in the occupied territories – and captured footage of the Haifa port bay area, a highly valuable economic and trade area that hosts massive military installations, industrial infrastructure, and commercial areas.
The area includes the Haifa military base, which is the main naval base for the Israeli occupation forces, which is responsible for the northern naval front, as well as Iron Dome storage and platforms, petrochemical facilities, oil silos, the Haifa power station, and Haifa airport.
The Haifa Port area includes ship maintenance hangars, the building of Unit 3800 at Haifa Naval Base, the main warehouse and supply section at the Haifa Base dockyard, the Yaltam Unit building, submarine unit buildings, submarine dock and mooring, and the Sheyetet 7 submarine unit command building.
In addition, Hezbollah's video filmed the Karmiel and Mizrahi piers, as well as container ships and port operations.
Warships filmed comprised military vessels, including the Bat Yam logistical support ship, Sa'ar 4.5, 5, and 6 boats, and the Dvora-class fast patrol boat.
Hezbollah's video unveiled dozens of 'super vital' targets
Major General Wasif Arikat described what Hezbollah revealed in the latest video as the "most valuable bank of targets."
He told Al Mayadeen that the message behind the video has been received, adding that what is happening now is not a field war but a war of awareness that proved that the Israeli occupation army, once described as the "invincible army", has been defeated and retreated.
On his part, Brigadier General Mohammad Abbass said that Hezbollah's drones surpassed all air defense systems and returned without being detected by Israeli systems.
He highlighted to Al Mayadeen that the video unveiled dozens of "super vital" targets, demonstrating that the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon possesses highly advanced capabilities.
Brigadier General Abbass further explained that the name "Hoopoe", which is a type of bird, reflects the long distance that Hezbollah's drones traveled in occupied Palestinian lands before returning with such valuable scenes.
Israeli media described what Hezbollah's drones documented as "disturbing" and "very dangerous".
June 20, 2024
Pakistan Cricket Team In Dithers
By Syed Rifaquat Ali
The Pakistan cricket team, led by indomitable Babar Azam made exit from the ongoing ICC T-20 World Cup in the Group stage unceremoniously, drawing
scathing criticism from fans and cricket buffs.
Foreign coach Gary Kirsten, recently attached to the team, called for complete overhauling of the team which looks jaded in the eyes of cricket pundits.
Before the team left for USA/Caribbean, joint hosts of the mega event, Ramiz Raja, member of the Pakistan 1992 World Cup winning team, had warned about the fragile team when he said: this team will return home without winning a match.
And lo and behold, Pakistan lost to underdogs USA in the Group stage, and later to India, and exited from the World Cup.
If you go to the root of Pakistan's debacle in the World Cup, corrupt selection criteria has been the major cause.
Pakistan's King Kong Azam Khan earned a place in the team simply because he is the son of legendary Pakistan keeper Moon Khan.
Likewise, Shadab Khan was picked in the team as he is closely related to Pakistan ace off-spinner Saqlain Music as.
Baby elephant Azam Khan scored zero against USA, though he played as a middle order batsman and made a mockery of the team.
He does not deserve a place even in an ordinary club team. How he impressed the selectors, beats my wit.
Similarly, Shadab Khan was selected as an all rounder which is just bizarre since his batting is not as good as even a school cricketer.
He plays in the middle order at a crucial juncture of the game, but is hardly in the thick of runs.
One fails to understand why Pakistan needs a foreign coach at a hefty fee when it already has legendary cricketers who can perform national duty as a good nationalist and patriotic.
Foreign coach can only be a liability. It has now become a cumbersome fashion to hire a foreign coach. International stars, who are no tyros, hardly needs a foreign coach to guide them.
Without doubt, a foreign coach has a jolly good time in the country and leaves with a thick pay packet. And to be sure, a country like Pakistan cannot afford such a luxury.
The most glaring thing in the Pakistan team is the presence of players like Often has who is close to forty and can hardly withstand the demand of international outings.
Pakistan has abundant talent, but the corrupt selection criteria keeps the younger players at bay however talented they may be.
One thing I cannot understand how politicians are made Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Mohsin Naqvi, the present PCB chief, is not a good choice to guide PCB and take Pakistan Cricket forward.
Drastic measures are required to set things right, otherwise Pakistan Cricket will continue to limp. The Prime Minister of Pakistan must step in immediately to stem the rot.
Syed Rifaquat Ali is JoA correspondent in Sydney
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