Octopus Overlords

Kurth wrote: ↑Mon Jan 29, 2024 1:14 pm
But I question whether it makes sense to cut off UNRWA funding at this moment and as the Gazan population is so desperately in need of assistance. Cutting off aid due to the actions of a dozen out of 13K employees seems like this is being used more as an excuse than as a response to the actual wrong. Also, as the NYT article points out, this isn’t necessarily in Israel’s interests: Much of the humanitarian assistance mission that UNRWA currently takes up will fall to Israel if UNRWA funding runs out, and that’s not something Israel wants to take on.

JENIN, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces disguised as civilian women and medical workers stormed a hospital Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing three Palestinian militants in a dramatic raid that underscored how deadly violence has spilled into the territory from the war in Gaza.

LordMortis wrote: ↑Tue Jan 30, 2024 10:55 am Is Hamas and Palestinian militants the same thing? Real question, not rhetorical.

The military said in Tuesday’s hospital raid, forces killed Mohammed Jalamneh, 27, who it said was planning an imminent attack. The two other men killed, brothers Basel and Mohammed Ghazawi, were hiding inside the hospital and were involved in attacks, the military claimed.

The military did not provide details on how the three were killed. Its statement said Jalamneh was armed with a pistol, but made no mention of an exchange of fire.

Hamas claimed the three men as members, calling the operation “a cowardly assassination.”

LordMortis wrote: ↑Tue Jan 30, 2024 10:55 am Is Hamas and Palestinian militants the same thing? Real question, not rhetorical.

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Tue Jan 30, 2024 10:55 am If you're asking me, yeah, assuming the targets were legit it's a relatively clean operation. Psychologically it probably sucks for the hospital staff and patients but it beats having the whole building bombed.

Don't know if this signals a wholesale change in strategy or if it's just because this is in the West Bank and not Gaza.

Kurth wrote: ↑Tue Jan 30, 2024 12:26 pm

LordMortis wrote: ↑Tue Jan 30, 2024 10:55 am Is Hamas and Palestinian militants the same thing? Real question, not rhetorical.

Definitely not. There are many different flavors of Palestinian militants. Not all of them are Hamas. Why do you ask?

JENIN, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces disguised as civilian women and medical workers stormed a hospital Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing three Palestinian militants in a dramatic raid that underscored how deadly violence has spilled into the territory from the war in Gaza.

LordMortis wrote: ↑Tue Jan 30, 2024 12:32 pm

Kurth wrote: ↑Tue Jan 30, 2024 12:26 pm

LordMortis wrote: ↑Tue Jan 30, 2024 10:55 am Is Hamas and Palestinian militants the same thing? Real question, not rhetorical.

Definitely not. There are many different flavors of Palestinian militants. Not all of them are Hamas. Why do you ask?

JENIN, West Bank (AP) — Israeli forces disguised as civilian women and medical workers stormed a hospital Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, killing three Palestinian militants in a dramatic raid that underscored how deadly violence has spilled into the territory from the war in Gaza.

Palestinian groups that have been involved in politically motivated violence include the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Abu Nidal Organization, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas.[20] Several of these groups are considered terrorist organizations by the governments of the United States,[1] Canada,[2] the United Kingdom,[3] Japan,[21] New Zealand[4] and the European Union.[22][5]

Palestinian political violence has targeted Israelis, Palestinians, Lebanese, Jordanians,[23] Egyptians,[24] Americans[25] and citizens of other countries.[26] Attacks have taken place both within Israel and the Palestinian territories as well as internationally and have been directed at both military and civilian targets. Tactics have included hostage taking, plane hijacking, boat hijacking, stone and improvised weapon throwing, improvised explosive device (IED), knife attack, shooting spree, vehicle-ramming attack, car bomb, suicide attack, assassination and various bombings.

Victoria Raverna wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 8:10 am About the telegram channel. you would think that since the target audience is Israeli, they would post video of brutality of Hamas to gain support on the war from Israeli.

Instead of that, it was a channel that post Israeli soldiers torturing and killing Palestinians. So I guess it'll only work to gain support from Israeli if there are a lot of Israeli that hate Palestinians and think that videos that show Palestinians being killed or tortured are funny.

Kurth wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 1:00 pmIf it was a video channel set up by the IDF to target Israelis with videos showing bad actions committed by the IDF directed toward Palestinians, that’s incredibly strange, and I need someone to explain what’s going on. I don’t get it.

Kurth wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 1:00 pm

Victoria Raverna wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 8:10 am About the telegram channel. you would think that since the target audience is Israeli, they would post video of brutality of Hamas to gain support on the war from Israeli.

Instead of that, it was a channel that post Israeli soldiers torturing and killing Palestinians. So I guess it'll only work to gain support from Israeli if there are a lot of Israeli that hate Palestinians and think that videos that show Palestinians being killed or tortured are funny.

Is that what the videos on Telegram were about? I wasn’t able to access the article and didn’t really understand the original post. If it was a video channel set up by the IDF to target Israelis with videos showing bad actions committed by the IDF directed toward Palestinians, that’s incredibly strange, and I need someone to explain what’s going on. I don’t get it.

"Burning their mother ... You won't believe the video we got! You can hear the crunch of their bones. We'll upload it right away, get ready." Images of Palestinian captives and the bodies of terrorists were captioned "Exterminating the roaches ... exterminating the Hamas rats. ... Share this beauty." The following text accompanies a video of an Israeli soldier allegedly dipping machine gun bullets in pork fat: "What a man!!!!! Lubricates bullets with lard. You won't get your virgins." And: "Garbage juice!!!! Another dead terrorist!! You have to watch it with the sound, you'll die laughing."

Each night, the channel posts a daily summary that includes several IDF updates on the activity in Gaza, with promises of exclusive images and videos. "As always, we're the first to bring you the information from the field," it says. "We have crazy recordings of terrorists, how can we put it, swimming with the fishes. We have documentation no one else has. We promise much more!!!"

On October 14, alongside the caption, "Exclusive video of a good night, don't forget to share and repost," was a video of an Israeli vehicle repeatedly driving over the body of a terrorist. "Very good, Gershon!!! Run him over run him over!!!! Screw the bastards! Flatten them," the accompanying post said.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 7:21 pm

Kurth wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 1:00 pmIf it was a video channel set up by the IDF to target Israelis with videos showing bad actions committed by the IDF directed toward Palestinians, that’s incredibly strange, and I need someone to explain what’s going on. I don’t get it.

Revenge porn.

The IDF Operations Directorate's Influencing Department, which is responsible for psychological warfare operations against the enemy and foreign audiences, operates a Telegram channel called 72 Virgins – Uncensored, which targets Israeli audiences and shows the bodies of Hamas terrorists

Kurth wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 11:46 pm

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 7:21 pm

Kurth wrote: ↑Tue Feb 06, 2024 1:00 pmIf it was a video channel set up by the IDF to target Israelis with videos showing bad actions committed by the IDF directed toward Palestinians, that’s incredibly strange, and I need someone to explain what’s going on. I don’t get it.

Revenge porn.

Not trying to be dense, but I still don’t get it (even after a helpful PM from Dogstar). This channel appears to have been run by the IDF’s psychological warfare operations group:

The IDF Operations Directorate's Influencing Department, which is responsible for psychological warfare operations against the enemy and foreign audiences, operates a Telegram channel called 72 Virgins – Uncensored, which targets Israeli audiences and shows the bodies of Hamas terrorists

Why would they be aiming this stuff internally to an Israeli audience? Is it akin to WWII newsreels trying to inform but also push propaganda supporting the U.S. war effort? If that’s it, I’m really at a loss to understand how this is the kind of propaganda that would help generate support for the war in Gaza. I can’t get past the fact that it seems more likely to do exactly the opposite.

Victoria Raverna wrote: ↑Thu Feb 01, 2024 9:38 pm Hopefully she is still alive and safe:

A six-year-old girl who went missing in Gaza City last month has been found dead, along with several of her relatives and two paramedics who tried to save her, after they appear to have come under fire from Israeli tanks.

Hind Rajab was fleeing the city in a car with her aunt, uncle and three cousins at the time.

Audio recordings of calls between Hind and emergency call operators suggest that the six-year-old was the only one left alive in the car, hiding from Israeli forces among the bodies of her relatives.

Her pleas for someone to rescue her ended when the phone line was cut amid the sound of more gunfire.

Paramedics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) managed on Saturday to reach the area, which had previously been closed off as an active combat zone.

They found the black Kia car Hind had been travelling in - its windscreen and dashboard smashed to pieces, bullet holes scattered across the side.

One paramedic told journalists that Hind was among the six bodies found inside the car, all of which showed signs of gunfire and shelling.

A few metres away were the remains of another vehicle - completely burnt out, its engine spilling onto the ground. This, the Red Crescent says, is the ambulance sent to fetch Hind.

Its crew - Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun - were killed when the ambulance was bombed by Israeli forces, the organisation says.

In a statement, the PRCS accused Israel of deliberately targeting the ambulance, as soon as it arrived at the scene on 29 January.

"The [Israeli] occupation deliberately targeted the Red Crescent crew despite obtaining prior coordination to allow the ambulance to arrive at the scene to rescue the child Hind," it said.

The PRCS told the BBC that it had taken several hours to coordinate access with the Israeli army, in order to send paramedics to Hind.

"We got the coordination, we got the green light," PRCS spokeswoman, Nibal Farsakh, told me earlier this week. "On arrival, [the crew] confirmed that they could see the car where Hind was trapped, and they could see her. The last thing we heard is continuous gunfire."

Max Peck wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 5:10 pm If the IDF's goal is making people like me think they're just as bad as Hamas, then they're doing a bang-up job. Targeting first responders is a classic terrorist tactic, although coordinating with the paramedics before they murder them is a luxury your more conventional non-state terrorist doesn't enjoy.

Alefroth wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 6:07 pm

Max Peck wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 5:10 pm If the IDF's goal is making people like me think they're just as bad as Hamas, then they're doing a bang-up job. Targeting first responders is a classic terrorist tactic, although coordinating with the paramedics before they murder them is a luxury your more conventional non-state terrorist doesn't enjoy.

It's Hamas' goal and they are crushing it.

gbasden wrote: ↑Sun Feb 11, 2024 3:32 pm I was a big supporter of Israel growing up, but this has been a huge wake up call.

Alefroth wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 6:07 pm

Max Peck wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 5:10 pm If the IDF's goal is making people like me think they're just as bad as Hamas, then they're doing a bang-up job. Targeting first responders is a classic terrorist tactic, although coordinating with the paramedics before they murder them is a luxury your more conventional non-state terrorist doesn't enjoy.

It's Hamas' goal and they are crushing it.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Sat Feb 10, 2024 5:10 pm

Victoria Raverna wrote: ↑Thu Feb 01, 2024 9:38 pm Hopefully she is still alive and safe:

Hind Rajab, 6, found dead in Gaza days after phone calls for help

A six-year-old girl who went missing in Gaza City last month has been found dead, along with several of her relatives and two paramedics who tried to save her, after they appear to have come under fire from Israeli tanks.

Hind Rajab was fleeing the city in a car with her aunt, uncle and three cousins at the time.

Audio recordings of calls between Hind and emergency call operators suggest that the six-year-old was the only one left alive in the car, hiding from Israeli forces among the bodies of her relatives.

Her pleas for someone to rescue her ended when the phone line was cut amid the sound of more gunfire.

Paramedics from the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) managed on Saturday to reach the area, which had previously been closed off as an active combat zone.

They found the black Kia car Hind had been travelling in - its windscreen and dashboard smashed to pieces, bullet holes scattered across the side.

One paramedic told journalists that Hind was among the six bodies found inside the car, all of which showed signs of gunfire and shelling.

A few metres away were the remains of another vehicle - completely burnt out, its engine spilling onto the ground. This, the Red Crescent says, is the ambulance sent to fetch Hind.

Its crew - Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun - were killed when the ambulance was bombed by Israeli forces, the organisation says.

In a statement, the PRCS accused Israel of deliberately targeting the ambulance, as soon as it arrived at the scene on 29 January.

"The [Israeli] occupation deliberately targeted the Red Crescent crew despite obtaining prior coordination to allow the ambulance to arrive at the scene to rescue the child Hind," it said.

The PRCS told the BBC that it had taken several hours to coordinate access with the Israeli army, in order to send paramedics to Hind.

"We got the coordination, we got the green light," PRCS spokeswoman, Nibal Farsakh, told me earlier this week. "On arrival, [the crew] confirmed that they could see the car where Hind was trapped, and they could see her. The last thing we heard is continuous gunfire."

If the IDF's goal is making people like me think they're just as bad as Hamas, then they're doing a bang-up job. Targeting first responders is a classic terrorist tactic, although coordinating with the paramedics before they murder them is a luxury your more conventional non-state terrorist doesn't enjoy.