The ID ground campaign is moving forward slowly. Probably out of a desire to avoid casualties to several relevant groups: IDF soldiers, Hamas held hostages, and Gazan civilians. With regard to the latter, the IDF is even using mobile loudspeakers to call upon civilians to get out of the fighting zone.
Such efforts aren’t enough to satisfy some people. A functionary of the International Criminal Court (who just happens to be a Pakistani Muslim) is being shown on France 24 TV calling Israeli actions “war crimes”. One cannot help but wonder what he calls the actions of the Hamas terrorists, but France 24 won’t show that, if it exists. For the record: shooting at populated civilian areas where there are no military targets (and Hamas unguided rockets couldn’t tell the difference even if there were some) IS a War Crime. So is intentionally killing non-combatants, taking civilians captive, holding them hostage, and using the presence of civilians as shields to protect belligerent activity. Why hasn’t any of those international NGOs or “neutral” countries tried to accuse Hamas of war crimes? (And the same question could be asked about Russia in Ukraine).
I want to return to one of my favorite subjects; media bias. There is a lot of coverage of demonstrations supporting Palestine and calling for a humanitarian cease-fire. There are nearly 400,000 starving refugees from South Sudan in Chad. Who’s sending them help? Even if there is an official cease-fire there, the killing in Sudan has not stopped.
Regarding humanitarian aid; Israeli inspectors check the trucks going into Gaza via Rafiah. That inspection does not delay them. The reason that humanitarian aid for Gazans in insufficient is because there are Hamas imposed delays. Any media reporter who would dare to mention that would be escorted out of Gaza and never allowed to return. The company or agency that sent him would also be sanctioned. This situation has existed for years, and the media organizations that are on the ground know it. They keep their mouths shut in order to be able to report from Gaza. (And that means reporting what Hamas wants to have seen).
Finally, let’s talk about pogroms. Putin hosted a Hamas representative in Moscow, and “coincidentally’ the next day a mob stormed the airport in Dagestan (A Russian Republic on the shore of the Caspian Sea). The mob was looking for Jews or Israelis to lynch. An airliner belonging to Red Wings Airlines had just landed on a flight from Israel. Red Wings has an operating agreement with El Al that allowed it to do so. There were no Israelis or Jews on board, just 6 children that were returning home after treatment in Israeli hospitals for cancer. France 24 even carried an interview with a Dagestani religious leader who refused to “cooperate” with Russian authorities in guaranteeing the safety of Jews in Dagestan. I was reminded of the way the Cossacks cooperated with the Czarist police a little over a century ago.
Wetherhorn 