Hamas strike on Israel - mod warning in OP updated 19/10/23

"Hamas denies operating there and the BBC cannot independently verify claims by either side."

It was an appalling letter signed by appalling people.

Israel's War on Hospitals includes cutting off comms. No hospitals in Northern Gaza are functioning now.

RTE

The Deputy Medical Co-ordinator for Médecins Sans Frontieres said the organisation is "very concerned" about staff that were in Al Shifa hospital during the Israeli army's raid.

Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Dr Natalie Thurtle said that MSF staff have "heroically decided to stay to protect their patients, and they shouldn't be exposed to this violence during the raid."

Dr Thurtle, who is based in Jerusalem, said MSF "haven't been able to get in touch with our staff members who remain in Shifa Hospital today. We did have brief contact with them yesterday prior to the raid."

She described the situation in the hospital earlier this week where, she said, due to a lack of fuel staff were reporting that six neo-natal babies who were in incubators had died and nine adults had died related to the lack of fuel for critical machines.

In relation to other hospitals in Gaza, she said in the north, there are no hospitals that are functioning and they have not been functioning now for some days.

Exactly and I agree with you

Plenty of people are engaging in some reprehensible whataboutery to justify the Hamas terrorist attack. Those people start counting in 1948 and are, at best, unaware of the history of the region.

RTE

UN rights chief urges international probe into Israel-Hamas war violations

The UN human rights chief decried serious allegations of violations of international law in the Israel-Hamas war, suggesting an international investigation was needed.

"Extremely serious allegations of multiple and profound breaches of international humanitarian law, whoever commits them, demand rigorous investigation and full accountability," Volker Turk said in a briefing on the situation to UN member states, adding "international investigation is called for".

So to be clear… from what you’re saying, Israel never flouted international law up to oct 7th. It was Hamas that first broke it? Yes or no?

Whatever you say, don't mention the hospital. Propaganda has quickly shifted to IDF having hit *home of Hamas leader".

Leave aside the fact that he wasn't even there.

Why do posters just make up things? I never said that, never implied it, never touched on it.

What I said, and I was clear on that, is that for the purposes of the rules of the war and the surrounding international law, Hamas is deemed as the aggressor on October 7th and Israel is acting in self-defence. Simple as that, no judgement on anything else, no moral judgement, just the international law aspects.

So why do you try to obfuscate, confuse and dilute the point?

So would Russia have the right to self defense in the occupied territories in Ukraine? Seems a similar situation to Israel occupying Gaza.

Wrong again.

How about this UN expert from just a few hours ago.

Israel Hamas: Israel has no right to self-defence against Hamas: UN official (afr.com)

UN special rapporteur to the occupied Palestinian territories Francesca Albanese says Israel’s right to self-defence ‘non existent’ and is committing ‘war crimes’

A UN official has taken aim at the international community who have rallied behind Israel’s “non-existent” right to self-defence.

“Israel cannot claim the right of self-defence against a threat that emanates from a territory it occupies, from a territory that is under belligerent occupation,” she said.

Lebanon: Israeli Strike an Apparent War Crime | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)

Lebanon: Israeli Strike an Apparent War Crime

Three Children, Grandmother Killed in Their Car.

(Beirut) – An unlawful Israeli strike on a family in a car on November 5, 2023, should be investigated as an apparent war crime, Human Rights Watch said today. The attack killed three girls and their grandmother and wounded their mother.

The family had been traveling from south Lebanon to Beirut in the late afternoon, following heavy shelling by Israeli forces in the area earlier that day, Samir Ayoub, the girls’ uncle, said in a televised interview the night of the attack. Ayoub, a journalist, was traveling in a separate car in front of the car that was hit.

Hardly unbiased is she?

Her in response to the initial atrocity by Hamas:

'A United Nations expert on Palestine has said she doesn't blame Hamas for the conflict in Gaza, comparing it to her children misbehaving - and said the terror attacks were a 'natural' response to Israeli rule.'

Since Israel don't actually "rule" Gaza I think it says it all about her 🙈🙉

Wow, with people like that holding positions of influence within the UN it's easy to understand why Israel regards the UN as a hostile player.

Considering her pronouncements on the topic to date it's hard to see how she could be described as an expert.