Two Weeks Out: How the Jewish Vote will Make the Difference [Video], Jewish Democratic Council of America
JDCA CEO Halie Soifer spoke with J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami, Democratic political strategist Simon Rosenberg and Jewish polling expert Jim Gerstein to discuss the latest polling and how the Jewish vote can and will make a difference in the final weeks of the campaign.
Blinken Urges Israel to Seek Enduring Deal, as Officials Say a Limited Cease-Fire Has Been Discussed, AP
“Israel has achieved most of the strategic objectives when it comes to Gaza,” Blinken told reporters before boarding his plane. “Now is the time to turn those successes into an enduring strategic success.” “There really are two things left to do: Get the hostages home and bring the war to an end with an understanding of what will follow,” he said.
Israeli Strikes Kill 42 in Gaza as Tanks Tighten Siege of North, Reuters
Israeli strikes across Gaza killed 42 people on Wednesday as Israeli forces intensified a siege of northern parts of the Palestinian enclave, surrounding hospitals and refugee shelters, and ordering residents to head south, medics and residents said.
Gaza: Israeli Strikes Delay Polio Vaccine Campaign in the North, UN News
Due to the escalating violence, intense bombardment, mass displacement orders, and lack of assured humanitarian pauses across most of northern Gaza, the Polio Technical Committee for Gaza was forced to postpone the third and final phase of its campaign, which was set to begin yesterday.
Strike On Iran Will Make World Understand Israel’s Might, Says Defence Minister, The Guardian
Planned airstrikes on Iran will make the world understand Israel’s military might, the Israeli defence minister, Yoav Gallant, has said. The Middle East has been braced for more than three weeks for a threatened Israeli response to Iran’s 1 October missile attack, which was in turn a reprisal for Israel’s killing of the Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel Said To Have Delayed Iran Attack After Pentagon Leak, The Times of Israel
According to the report, citing an intelligence source with knowledge of Israeli deliberations, Israel is worried that even though no potential targets were named in the leak, the details provided could help Iran predict certain patterns of attack. The Times says Israel has developed an alternative plan but needs to war-game them before proceeding.
Hezbollah Confirms Death of Nasrallah’s Heir Apparent, BBC
Hezbollah has confirmed the cleric tipped to become the group’s next leader was killed in an Israeli air strike nearly three weeks ago. The Israeli military said on Tuesday night that it killed Hashem Safieddine in a strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Israeli Strikes Pound Lebanese Coastal City After Residents Evacuate, AP
The state-run National News Agency reported that an Israeli strike on the nearby town of Maarakeh killed three people. There were no reports of casualties in Tyre, where the Israeli military had issued evacuation warnings prior to the strikes.
Trump’s Former Chief of Staff: He Meets Definition of Fascist, Prefers Dictator Approach, The Times of Israel
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump meets the definition of a fascist and “prefers the dictator approach to government,” his former White House chief of staff said in a series of interviews with The New York Times.
Footage Shows Strike Hitting Group of Gazans Trying to Help Stranded, Wounded Boy, The Times of Israel
Footage taken last Friday by a Gaza journalist shows a wounded boy lying in the street waving his hands in distress after an apparent strike caused a small scorched crater nearby on the edge of the Jabaliya Refugee Camp. “He’s a child,” journalist Wafaa Thaher can heard saying. “In pieces. Why did they strike him?”
US Warns Failure to Safeguard Gaza Civilians Could Haunt Israel, Reuters
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday that failure by Israel to safeguard civilians in Gaza could create a generational backlash and create more anti-Israel insurgents in the future.
IDF Claims Uncovered Documents Prove 6 Al Jazeera Journalists Are Hamas, PIJ Operatives, The Times of Israel
The IDF says it has uncovered documents in the Gaza Strip it claims reveal that six Al Jazeera journalists are operatives in the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups. Al Jazeera has fiercely denied Israel’s allegations and accused it of systematically targeting Al Jazeera employees in the Gaza Strip.
It Could Take 350 Years for Gaza to Rebuild If It Remains Under a Blockade, UN Report Says, AP
The U.N. Conference on Trade and Development said in a report released Monday that if the war ends tomorrow and Gaza returns to the status quo before Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, it could take 350 years for its battered economy to return to its precarious prewar level.
‘Copy-paste the West Bank to Gaza’: Hundreds Join Gaza Resettlement Event, +972
Oren Ziv writes, “While the Israeli government has repeatedly denied to U.S. officials that the army is implementing the so-called ‘Generals’ Plan’ to besiege, starve, and expel the residents of northern Gaza before annexing the territory to Israel, it was evident that participants in Monday’s event were counting on such a plan to cleanse the area for Jewish settlement. According to the UN, there are hundreds of thousands of Palestinians still in northern Gaza — but several participants spoke as if the area were nearly empty.”
IDF Soldiers Should Refuse Orders That May Be War Crimes, Israeli Ex-security Adviser Tells BBC, BBC
Fergal Keane speaks with Eran Etzion, “As someone who served four Israeli prime ministers and was deputy head of the country’s National Security Council, Eran Etzion’s judgement was trusted at the highest levels of the state. A longstanding critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he is also someone whose years of public service earned him widespread respect. But now Mr Etzion, a former soldier himself, is warning that Israel’s military – the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) – might be committing war crimes in northern Gaza. And he is suggesting that officers and troops should reject illegal orders. ‘They should refuse. If a soldier or an officer is expected to commit something that might be suspected as a war crime, they must refuse. That’s what I would do if I were a soldier. That’s what I think any Israeli soldier should do,’ he tells me.”
A Wake-Up Call for Kamala Harris From Muslim and Arab Americans, The Washington Post
It is true that Harris has expressed sympathy for Palestinians in a way that Biden has not. Yet with few exceptions, she has avoided addressing Arab Americans directly. She finally did so last week in Michigan but indicated no change in approach. She acknowledged the suffering of Palestinians but made no mention of who had caused it.
Conversing as Unequals: Jewish-Palestinian Partnership at a Crossroads, +972
Meron Rapoport and Awni Al-Mashni discuss the future of Israeli-Palestinian movements post October 7, “I think the war can be transformed into opportunity: it can lead to different thinking. The Palestinian people were not eliminated and the Israelis were not eliminated, so we have to look for another choice. Palestinians are experiencing an existential crisis of food, water, prisons, and detention centers. Israelis are experiencing the crisis of tomorrow, fearing for their future.”