Ceasefire

IDF: Hamas Broke Ceasefire by Firing Rockets ‘Directly Towards Civilians’

December 1, 2023 by Ian Hanchett Leave a Comment

During an interview with CNN in the wake of the resumption of the fighting between Israel and Hamas, IDF Spokesperson Doron Spielman stated that Israel has started fighting Hamas because Hamas broke the truce between the parties by firing rockets at Israeli civilians.

Spielman said, “Well, around half an hour ago, sleeping Israelis, once again, woke up to the sound of the red siren of Hamas rockets falling at us once again from Gaza. Just like on October 7, it’s the same Hamas that attacked on October 7 with rockets, this morning, once again, they’re firing rockets at the Israeli population.”

He added, “So, there have been multiple rockets, they’ve been intercepted, which shows that Hamas has moved back into an attacking position. Amongst the Israeli people, we intercepted those rockets, thankfully. Otherwise, they could have fallen on communities, on cities, on kindergartens, again, we’re just now getting back to life after the tragedies of the last 55 days, children are going back to school here. It’s on Friday morning, and once again, we intercepted those and we’ve resumed our combat missions against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.”

Spielman further stated, “These were target[ed] directly towards civilians.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

Did Biden just endorse a ceasefire? Senior official is forced to clean up messy statement that went viral

November 30, 2023 by Chris Enloe Leave a Comment

The White House was forced to clean up this week an unhelpful and confusing message posted to one of President Joe Biden’s social media accounts suggesting that he had endorsed a formal ceasefire in Gaza.

On Tuesday, the president’s official X account posted this three-sentence statement:

Hamas unleashed a terrorist attack because they fear nothing more than Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace.
To continue down the path of terror, violence, killing, and war is to give Hamas what they seek.
We can’t do that.

The statement suggested a “major shift in tone” and left open the possibility that he was accusing Israel of committing “terror” acts.

More importantly, the statement was widely viewed as an outright endorsement of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which the White House has been careful not to support while at the same time urging Israel to commit to short-term “humanitarian pauses” to allow the safe release of hostages.

But a senior Biden administration official told Jewish Insider the president has not changed his policy regarding a ceasefire.

“The president continues to strongly believe that Israel has every right to defend itself from an active terrorist threat. We have seen Hamas officials say publicly that they want to try to commit the atrocities of October 7 again and again,” the official said. “As the president has said many times, Israel has every right and even the responsibility to protect its citizens from an active terrorist threat, so the president continues to strongly stand with Israel as it defends itself from Hamas.”

In fact, the statement was pulled verbatim from a speech Biden gave last week, the context of which centered on ending the “cycle of violence” in the Middle East.

The official said Biden “meant that we can’t lose hope for peace” and that his remarks reposted on social media were a “reference to how Hamas does not want peace.”

“We want this to be the last war, and we recognize that for that to happen, Hamas can’t be the governing authority,” the official told Jewish Insider. “They have to be out of power, because if you have Hamas in power, you’re likely to have another conflict.”

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Palestinian terrorists open fire on civilians at Israeli bus stop, killing 3 and injuring 16 after extension of ‘ceasefire’

November 30, 2023 by Joseph MacKinnon Leave a Comment

A pair of Palestinian terrorists from East Jerusalem pulled up to a bus stop during rush hour Thursday morning and opened fire on a crowd of civilians. The two murdered three and injured 16 before being put down by a pair of off-duty soldiers and a nearby armed civilian.

The shooting came within hours of confirmation from the IDF and Qatari officials that the ceasefire urged by Western leftists between Hamas and Israel had been extended.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
stated on X, “The quick reaction of two fighters and a civilian who eliminated the terrorists prevented an even more serious attack. I salute them.”

Netanyahu indicated the Israeli government would “continued expanding the distribution of weapons to citizens,” a measure he suggested “proves itself time and time again in the war against murderous terrorism.”

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who stressed after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks that Israel would work to ease gun laws in hopes of arming “as many citizens as possible,” said, “This event proves again how we must not show weakness, that we must speak to Hamas only through the (rifle) scopes, only through the war.”

According to police, the terrorists, brothers in their 30s from the Zur Baher neighborhood in East Jerusalem, pulled up to the bus stop Thursday “armed with an M-16 rifle and a handgun,”
reported Reuters.

Three among the injured are reportedly in serious condition, and the other victims suffered “various degrees of injuries,” said police.

Surveillance footage of the attack shows the terrorists pull up to the bus stop in an off-white car and rush out of the vehicle with guns raised. They immediately begin firing into a dense crowd. The Israeli civilians begin running for their lives as the terrorists give chase.

After apparently exhausting their munitions, the terrorists attempt to return to their vehicle — but it’s clear from their efforts to duck and weave that the cavalry has arrived.

An individual bolts across the street with his gun drawn, ostensibly riddling the would-be getaway driver with bullets. Meanwhile, off-duty soldiers emerge from the bus stop, dispatching the second terrorist.

It appears the hero who crossed the street to intervene was nearly mistaken for one of the gunmen, but he manages to quickly identify himself.

Benny Gantz, a member of the Israeli war Cabinet,
wrote on X, “This attack is further proof of our commitment to continue the fight with strength and determination against the murderous terrorism that threatens our citizens. In Jerusalem, Gaza, Yosh and everywhere.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was visiting Israel Thursday, said the shooting was a reminder “of the threat from terrorism that Israel and Israelis face every single day.”

The Israeli military indicated that one of its checkpoints in the Jordan Valley area was attacked Thursday morning. The terrorist reportedly rammed IDF soldiers with a vehicle but was “shot and neutralized” before being able to inflict lethal damage,
reported the BBC.

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Oakland City Council demands ceasefire in Gaza but rejects opportunity to condemn Hamas: ‘An embarrassing message’

November 28, 2023 by Chris Enloe Leave a Comment

The Oakland City Council approved a resolution on Monday demanding a ceasefire in Gaza but rejected amendments condemning Hamas for its barbaric attack on Israel.

By unanimous vote, the eight city councilmembers — all of them Democrats — approved a resolution supporting U.S. House Resolution 786, which demands “an immediate deescalation and cease-fire in Israel and occupied Palestine.” Far-left members of Congress, including the Squad, are responsible for that resolution.

The Oakland City Council resolution says:

RESOLVED that the City of Oakland supports U.S. Congress Resolution H.R.786 and joins other cities in calling on our Congress Members to demand: an immediate ceasefire; release of all hostages, the unrestricted entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza; the restoration of food, water, electricity, and medical supplies to Gaza; and the respect for international law; and calls for a resolution that protects the security of all innocent civilians…

City councilmembers thought they were sending a message of moral clarity with their resolution.

But according to KQED, the council rejected any amendments to the resolution. One of those amendments, offered by councilman Dan Kalb, sought to include language condemning Hamas for its attack on Israel.

“Not even clearly mentioning the Hamas mass murder on Oct. 7 is sending the wrong message and an embarrassing message,” he told his fellow councilmembers.

Even though his amendments were not adopted, Kalb voted for the resolution anyway.

During the public comment period held before the vote, Tye Gregory, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council Bay Area, explained why any resolution demanding Israel stop defending itself without addressing the problem of Hamas is shortsighted.

“There will be no Palestinian-Israeli peace with [Hamas] in power, and that’s why this resolution must be amended to acknowledge the atrocities of Hamas and include its removal from power,” Gregory said, KQED reported, referring to Hamas’ desire to exterminate Israel.

According to KTVU-TV, the vast majority of public comments — more than 80% — supported the resolution.

Oakland City Council unanimously passes resolution demanding ceasefire in Gazawww.youtube.com

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17 hostages released by Hamas as video of 9-year-old Israeli boy reuniting with his father goes viral

November 25, 2023 by Paul Sacca Leave a Comment

A group of 17 hostages were released from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Hamas released 17 hostages – 13 Israelis and four Thai nationals. No Americans were released.

The release of the hostages came after an hours-long delay, where Hamas accused Israel of violating the terms of the four-day truce deal. However, both sides were able to “overcome” the standoff thanks to mediation, according to Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesperson.

The hostages were transferred to Israel, and then taken to hospitals for observation.

Included in the Israeli hostages were six women and seven children – the youngest was 3 years old. However, Hamas detained the mother of a 12-year-old girl who was released.

Of the children released was 9-year-old Emily Hand. It was an unbelievable reunion for Hand’s family, who initially believed the young girl was murdered during the Oct. 7 onslaught by Hamas terrorists that killed roughly 1,200 Israelis and ignited the Israel-Hamas war.

Emily’s father, Thomas Hand, was originally informed that his daughter was one of the fatalities from the initial attack. However, authorities never recovered her body and didn’t find any blood in the home where she was staying.

Emily turned 9 years old while being a Hamas hostage for 50 days.

The Associated Press reported, “Most of the released hostages were from Kibbutz Be’eri, a community Hamas militants ravaged during their Oct. 7 cross-border attack, a spokesperson for the kibbutz said.”

There are approximately 195 Israelis being held captive by captive, according to the Times of Israel.

As part of the deal, Israel was to release 39 Palestinian hostages on the second day of the truce, according to Al Jazeera.

Saturday’s hostage swap was the second round of detainee releases in as many days during the cease-fire.

On Friday, Israel released 39 Palestinians and Hamas released 24 hostages.

Included in the Israeli hostages released on Friday was 9-year-old Ohad Munder.

On Saturday, the Schneider Children’s Medical Center shared a video of the heartwarming reunion of the young boy and his family.

The touching footage shows Munder sprinting down a hospital hallway to a warm embrace by his father, who picks him up in sheer joy.

The boy turned 9 years old while in the captivity of Hamas.

Munder’s mother, 54, and grandmother, 78, were also released in the first round of prisoner swaps, according to Reuters.

The feel-good video went viral with more than 350,000 views in less than 24 hours.

The Qatari government said it hopes the temporary truce can be extended past four days.

Qatari Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari told CNN on Saturday, “What we are hoping for is that the momentum that has carried from the releases of these two days and from this agreement of four days will allow us to extend the truce beyond these four days and therefore get into more serious discussions about the rest of the hostages.”

Al-Ansari was not sure if American hostages detained by Hamas would be let go in future detainee releases.

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