Last Sunday night, as I was getting ready for bed, my friend Ali from the South Hebron Hills of Palestine sent me a text which read, “Israel is burning sleeping people alive in the refugee camps.”
I clicked on the accompanying video and I could not believe what I saw: an inferno blazing, people running around screaming, and there, amidst the flame, a body writhing, crackling; a raised arm, reaching out for help, still attached to an IV.
I waited for the following morning to share the video, until the event had been reported by reputable news outlets, because the images appeared too gruesome to be real – like they were something out of a movie – but they were real: an Israeli airstrike hit near the grounds of al-Aqsa Martyrs’ hospital in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah and killed at least four people.
The man that we saw burning alive? His name was Sha’ban al-Dalou, a 19-year-old software engineering student.
In the 24 hours since this attack, my social media feed was filled with videos of and reactions to this attack. The reel posted on Instagram by the Palestinian journalist Saleh Aljafarawi has been shared more than 455,000 times. The CNN Instagram post has been viewed more than 1.2m times.
Randa, a Palestinian friend of mine whose grandparents were born in Gaza, shared that this event was clear proof that Israel was waging a war of “annihilation”.
Survivors of the attack said the fires were caused by gas cooking canisters. Israel blamed “secondary explosions” in a statement.
Israel has apparently shelved its planned attack on Iran. A combination of circumstances can be attributed to this retreat, which rubbishes Israel’s own high-pitched rhetoric that it was raring to go.
Russia aligns with Iran, War Clouds Scatter
Despite Israel’s brilliant media management ( read -Lie Machine-), reports have surfaced that the Iranian missile attack on October 1 was a spectacular success.
One single person was admitted killed, yet it was a display of Iran’s deterrence capability to crush Israel, if need arises. The failure of the US to intercept Iranian hypersonic missiles carried its own message.
Damage by Iranian missile
Iran claims that 90 percent of its missiles penetrated Israel’s air defence system, exclusively aimed at military bases, yet also creating general terror as sirens screamed and the population took cover.
Will Schryver, a technical engineer and security commentator, wrote on X: “I don’t understand how anyone who has seen the many video clips of the Iranian missile strikes on Israel cannot recognise and acknowledge that it was a stunning demonstration of Iranian capabilities.
(Iran then threatened that if Israel responds it will destroy its few Electricity Generating Stations, ports and main industries.)
Iran’s ballistic missiles smashed through US/Israeli air defences and delivered several large-warhead strikes to Israeli military targets.”
Evidently, in the ensuing panic situation in Israel, as the US president Joe Biden put it, as of October 4, there had been no decision yet on what type of response Israel should mount against Iran.
“If I were in their [Israeli] shoes, I’d be thinking about other alternatives than striking oil fields,” Biden said, fearing his party would lose the elections if oil prices exploded, in a rare appearance in the White House briefing room a day after Israeli officials were still saying that a “significant retaliation” was imminent.
Biden added that Israelis “have not concluded how they’re — what they’re going to do” in retaliation. Biden also told reporters that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should remember US support for Israel when deciding on next steps.
In this pantomime, it is safer to believe Biden, as the honest truth is that without US inputs and practical help, and money — and direct intervention — Israel simply lacks the stamina to take on Iran.
But here too, it is debatable how self-sufficient Israel is vis-a-vis Iran. Reports have appeared that it was the US’ new technological intel that pinpointed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Nasrallah and other leaders whereabouts, which was passed on to Israel, leading to their assassination.
Israel’s regional dominance narrows down to executing assassination plots, massacring unarmed civilians.
(Indeed the very creation of Israel was hastened by a series of terriorist bombings against the British administration of Palestine after World War 2. Ever since the Zionist fanatics behind the Israeli Regime have relied on an ‘Anything Goes’ policy to achieve its colonial goals.
All with sugar coated false morality and victimhood. )
People take part in a pro-Palestinian rally in Paris on October 5, 2024 [Stephane De Sakutin/AFP]
In a powerful display of solidarity, tens of thousands of protesters filled the streets of Washington D.C., US and Toronto, Canada to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza and Lebanon, two days before the one-year mark of “Israel’s” genocidal war on Gaza.
Chanting phrases like “End the occupation now…We want justice, you say how,” one protester expressed her grief “over the loss of over 100,000 martyrs.” Demonstrators also demanded that an arms embargo be placed on “Israel” for its genocide in Gaza.
Protesters also condemned the intensifying Israeli aggression on Lebanon, which has displaced tens of thousands of Lebanese from South Lebanon as Israeli occupation forces attempt to execute a ground invasion of southern Lebanon; all of which have been foiled by the Lebanese Resistance.
🚨🇺🇸 Jackson Hinkle’s new show, Legitimate Targets, launches on October 7th with a special interview.*** Warmongers & Zionists beware.***see/ join our telegram to follow along. @legitimatetargetshttps://t.me/legitimatetargets
Pro-Palestine rallies held globally to mark a year of Israel’s war on Gaza
Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in major cities around the world to condemn the Israeli military operations in Gaza as the war in the Palestinian territory nears the one-year mark.
Pro-Palestinian protesters defied a ban on their demonstration and clashed (in Italian style) with riot police today in Rome's Piazzale Ostiens. Local media is reporting that up to 30 cops were injured. pic.twitter.com/WPxlJpqDWz
In the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, more than 1,000 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the embassy of the United States, demanding that Washington, Israel’s top military supplier and ally, stop sending weapons to Israel.
“We are appealing to the hearts of all the leaders of the world to rise up and move and liberate them [Palestinians] from the oppression carried out by Israel,” a demonstrator told Al Jazeera.
“This is no longer a religious issue but truly a humanitarian issue – not just for Muslims but all who claim to be Muslim,” said another protester, holding his child on his shoulders and carrying a Palestinian flag.
A woman looks on while people raise Palestinian flags during a protest against Israel and in support of Palestinians outside the US embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia [Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/Reuters]
In the Philippines, dozens of left-wing activists protested near the US embassy in Manila, where police prevented them from getting closer to the seaside compound.
🟡 BREAKING: Berlin police are attacking the ongoing pro-Palestine protest as thousands took to the streets one year deep into Israel‘s extermination war. Police fired pepper spray into the crowd and violently arrested protesters. pic.twitter.com/URm5xlF2rO
In Cape Town in South Africa, hundreds walked to parliament, chanting: “Israel is a racist state!” and “We are all Palestinian!” Pro-Gaza marches were also planned Saturday in Johannesburg and Durban.
In Caracas, hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested outside the United Nations’s headquarters for Venezuela, carrying a giant Palestinian flag. They delivered a petition to the UN calling for an end to the “genocide” of the Palestinians.
The YAF publishes footage of the Naval Forces’ operation against the British Cordelia Moon oil tanker in the Red Sea using a USV
Al Mayadeen English, [10/3/2024 7:59 PM] In its 30th statement for the day, the Islamic Resistance Operations Room confirmed that 17 Israeli officers and soldiers were killed in confrontations with Resistance fighters in South Lebanon.
Between yesterday and today, the Israeli military admitted to 9 officers and soldiers killed in battles on Wednesday.
Al Mayadeen English, [10/3/2024 8:50 PM] The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon publishes footage of the operation targeting the Israeli Glilot base and the Mossad HQ in northern Tel Aviv, as part of the Khaybar series of operations against the Israeli occupation
Al Mayadeen English, [10/3/2024 9:19 PM] Outrage has spread across social media, with many highlighting that US weapons are once again being used by “Israel” to kill American citizens, amplifying criticism of US support for Israeli crimes.
Kamel Ahmad Jawad, a resident of Dearborn, Michigan, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Lebanon, according to Reuters. The US State Department expressed that it was “deeply saddened” by his death.
Jawad had been in Lebanon while caring for his elderly mother, as reported by Detroit News. When asked about the incident, a State Department spokesperson stated, “It’s our understanding that it was a legal permanent resident, not an American citizen, [who was killed in Lebanon] but we obviously offer our sincerest condolences to the family.”
In a statement, Jawad’s family expressed their grief, emphasizing, “The fact that he was an American citizen should make his story more important than others,” adding that he was killed “while trying to save innocent lives in his hometown of Nabatieh, Lebanon.”
The IRGC for the 1st time used cutting-edge Fattah-2 rockets to bypass air defenses. and hit Israeli war bases. Only one civilian death was admitted, by falling debris.
File photo: A model of the Iranian Fattah hypersonic missile on display in Tehran, April 15, 2024. Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto
Iran used hypersonic missiles for the first time during its strikes on Israel on Tuesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced. Missiles reported to arrive in just 15 minutes
Iran launched several salvos of missiles in what the IRGC called a response to the recent Israeli killings of the heads of Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as an Iranian general who was in Lebanon.
Fattah-2 hypersonic missiles were used in the attack to bypass Israeli radars, Iranian media reported on Tuesday evening, citing the IRGC.
The Guard claimed that 80-90% of the missiles used in ‘Operation Honest Promise 2’ struck their targets, among which were the Tel Nof air base near Tel Aviv and the Netsarim area near Gaza, where they said “a large number of Israeli tanks” were destroyed.
Iran also claimed to have destroyed a number of Israeli F-35 fighters at the Nevatim air base, located halfway between Beersheba and the Dead Sea
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi:
"Earlier this evening, we exercised self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter, targeting solely military & security sites in charge of genocide in Gaza and Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) estimated the number of incoming missiles at 180 and acknowledged that “a few hits” were recorded. According to the IDF, the majority of the missiles were successfully intercepted.
The only reported casualty on the ground is a Palestinian man, who was killed by a falling missile fragment near Jericho in the West Bank.
Iranian State media reported that Fattah hypersonic missiles were used in the massive attacks against the Israeli occupation.
Iran launched hundreds of missiles at Israeli targets, sending hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers into bunkers while missiles pounded occupation military bases.
The missiles took less than 15 minutes to reach areas in Occupied Palestine.
The I-R-G-C released a second statement after the attack, saying that it targeted three Israeli military bases near Tel Aviv in its response.
In a second statement after the operation, dubbed True Promise 2 by the I-R-G-C, it was announced that three military bases near Tel Aviv were targeted in the missile attack on “Israel”, including the Hatzerim airbase used in the assassination of Sayyed Hassan Nas-ral-lah
Videos confirmed countless impacts across Occupied Palestine. It’s worth noting the majority of videos were taken by Palestinians in the West Bank, cheering for the Iranian missiles as they battered Israeli targets.
The statement further added that 90% of missiles achieved a direct hit on their targets.
🔽❌🇮🇱❌🇮🇷 🔽❌🇮🇱❌🇮🇷 An Iranian attack destroyed several F-35 fighter jets at the Nevatim airbase (video). The missiles also destroyed F-15 fighter jets at other bases such as Hatzerim.
✈️ These planes, which were used to bomb the Gaza Strip and Lebanon with more than 85,000 tons of explosives last year, have been decommissioned by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. … ANTIIMPERIALISTAS
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Israel war on Gaza, Lebanon live: Iran fires dozens of missiles at Israel
This video may contain light patterns or images that could trigger seizures or cause discomfort for people with visual sensitivities.
The IRGC in Iran launched a massive operation against the Israeli occupation, striking targets with hundreds of missiles, prompting sirens to sound across Occupied Palestine.
The IRGC announced the operation is in response to the assassination of martyrs Haniyeh, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and Nilforooshian.
The statement warned the Israeli occupation against any response to the operation, or it would face violent consequences.
Chaos in Israel as sirens sound and traffic stops
Live updatesLive updates,
Israel war on Gaza, Lebanon live: Iran fires dozens of missiles at Israel
This video may contain light patterns or images that could trigger seizures or cause discomfort for people with visual sensitivities.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has fired dozens of missiles at Israel in response to the killing of people of Gaza, as well as Hamas and Hezbollah leaders.
The IRGC says Israel will face “crushing” attacks if it responds.
Earlier, Israel said its troops entered southern Lebanon for what it called “limited” raid but Hezbollah denied they crossed into the territory.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati says Lebanon faces “one of the most dangerous phases of its history”.
Meanwhile, Israeli attacks continue across the Gaza Strip, killing at least 29 Palestinians.
More than 400 missiles were launched from Iran against the Palestinian territories occupied by “Israel” during the last half hour. ..Al Mayadeen
Iranian Revolutionary Guard:
Iranian missile attacks against the Zionist entity used cluster warheads, causing the Iron Dome system to fail to confront them.
Since approximately 7:30 Al-Quds time, sirens across Occupied Palestine have been sounding non-stop, signaling the beginning of a major Iranian operation against the Israeli occupation.
The operation followed a shooting operation leaving several victims in Tel Aviv.
videos.. see original.. Telegram
❗️🇮🇱/🇮🇷 Iranian missiles impacting at Lod airport in Israel
@Middle_East_Spectator
— ❗️🇮🇱/🇮🇷 WATCH: Iranian missiles struck IDF troop concentrations in the Netzarim Corridor, Gaza Strip!
@Middle_East_Spectator
— ❗️🇮🇱/🇮🇷 Impacts in the Negev
@Middle_East_Spectator
— ❗️🇮🇱/🇮🇷 Impacts all over Tel Aviv
@Middle_East_Spectator
— ❗️🇮🇱/🇮🇷 Explosions EVERYWHERE, the impacts don’t stop!
@Middle_East_Spectator
— ❗️🇮🇱/🇮🇷 WATCH: Palestinians film and celebrate direct Iranian missile impacts
@Middle_East_Spectator
— ❗️🇮🇱/🇮🇷 WATCH: More direct impacts in Israel, Israeli air defenses have completely failed
@Middle_East_Spectator
Israeli Media
The Iranian attack on “Israel” is a declaration of war and no other description.
A major Iranian operation launched where hundreds of missiles and rockets were launched at Israeli targets in Occupied Palestine.
Sirens sounded across “Israel” prompting settlers to flee to their bunkers.
According to New York Times reports, the Iranian missiles took less than 15 minutes to reach “Israel”, suggesting that the operation was carried out using ballistic missiles.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that multiple waves of sirens and multiple explosions, including a huge boom, could be heard from Tel Aviv.
The daily added that the sounds were different from the more familiar sounds of Israeli missiles intercepting Palestinian rockets, more like a heavy warhead.
Israeli media reported that the missiles mainly targeted military targets.
Iranian state television has reported that some of the ballistic missiles fired by the IRGC targeted Israeli tanks located at the so-called Netzarim Corridor.
The Netzarim Corridor was set up to split northern Gaza from the south in the early days of the Israeli offensive on the enclave.
Israel reopens airspace
Israel has now reopened its airspace after a temporary suspension due to the missile attack.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s transport minister says that the country’s airspace will be temporarily closed to air traffic for two hours.
The last time Iran attacked Israel was April 13, about 12 days after Israel killed five members of Iran’s revolutionary guards in Damascus.
How Iran responded then was very different to what we’re seeing tonight. Iran, through backchannels, warned the US and Western powers ahead of time in April.
Tonight, Israel only started to put out signals from the US an hour or so before it was launched. A very different scenario.
What Iran’s end-game here, other than to show their strength and to draw some red lines, is not clear at the moment. But Israeli officials have already said they are going to respond with force.
What we’ve seen over the past few days, including with Israel’s assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, is Netanyahu pushing Iran to launch this attack, which then gives him an excuse to do what he has always wanted: launch strikes on Iran’s six nuclear facilities.
For Israel and Netanyahu, the real goal in going after Hamas and Hezbollah has been to get to Iran.
The Dome of the Rock on the Al-Aqsa compound, is seen as projectiles fly through the sky, after Iran fired a salvo of ballistic missiles at Israel, as seen from Jerusalem on Tuesday [Jamal Awad/Reuters]
29m ago
(17:50 GMT)
Pentagon chief warns ‘severe consequences for Iran’
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has told his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant that Washington had “increased force readiness” in the region in anticipation of the Iranian attack.
The call appeared to have taken place before Iran launched hundreds of missiles towards Israel.
“The Secretary and Minister Gallant discussed the severe consequences for Iran in the event Iran chooses to launch a direct military attack against Israel,” the Pentagon statement said.
29m ago
(17:50 GMT
Israeli military says residents can leave shelters
The directive comes about an hour after Israeli residents in certain areas were told to seek safety.
The Israeli military instructed residents to continue to monitor the situation and obey future instructions.
Susan Abulhawais a Palestinian writer and the author of the international bestselling novel, Mornings in Jenin (Bloomsbury 2010). She is also the founder of Playgrounds for Palestine, an NGO for children.
by Susan Abulhawa from Al Jazeera with thanks When I was a little girl, like many women of my generation who grew up watching American television shows (even if they were dubbed in Arabic), I used to twirl and twirl, trying to attain super powers like Wonder Woman. I would twitch my nose to magically transform my surroundings, like Samantha from Bewitched.
These female characters were exceptions among the docile housewives, the efficient secretaries, and damsels in distress that pervaded the popular media of my time. Wonder Woman and Samantha had the power to change their lives, even if that power had to remain hidden, forever a secret.Continue reading “How Wonder Woman turned from a Hero to a War Crimes Supporter.”
These female characters were exceptions among the docile housewives, the efficient secretaries, and damsels in distress that pervaded the popular media of my time. Wonder Woman and Samantha had the power to change their lives, even if that power had to remain hidden, forever a secret. 
The Free 