Israel's War Against Hamas - Updates

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IDF surprised by the quantity of Russian arms in Southern Lebanon - JNS.org

The number of Russian weapons found by Israeli forces has sparked concern that Moscow's relationship with Hezbollah may be closer than previously assumed.

www.jns.org

 

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[Islam in a nutshell ]

Part 1

There was a kerfuffle in Gaza in response to a statement by a major religious figure criticizing Hamas for its attack on October 7 2023:

Professor Dr. Salman al-Dayah, a former dean of the Faculty of Sharia and Law at the Islamic University of Gaza, issued a fatwa against Hamas for their October 7 attacks, the BBC reported on Friday.

Fatwa is an Islamic religious decree made by a recognized Islamic jurist, Faqih, as a response to a question asked by a judge or government.

The document accused Hamas of “violating Islamic principles governing jihad.”

Dayah added, “If the pillars, causes, or conditions of jihad are not met, it must be avoided in order to avoid destroying peoples' lives. This is something that is easy to guess for our country’s politicians, so the attack must have been avoided.”

In response, a group of international Islamic scholars issued a letter to counter al-Dayah's fatwa and support Hamas' decision to murder 1,200 Jews.

It is quite lengthy, and respectful of Dayah's position and reputation. Here are some highlights of their arguments for murdering Jewish civilians and putting Gaza civilians at risk.

First of all, it is divisive to oppose Hamas terrorism:

The most dangerous thing about the matter is that the article may be understood as an absolute rejection of jihad in the Gazan reality, and a mistake in its path originally, and an underestimation of its great achievements throughout its long blessed journey, despite the sacrifices that are necessary on this path, and the matter is not related to the last flood war only, and from here it is necessary to respond and warn against this grave mistake that represents a great danger to the blessed journey of jihad, and comes at its origins and foundations, and weakens the resolve of the mujahideen, and divides their ranks...

Second, it argues that jihad is a holy obligation but most Muslims never get a chance to do it personally.

The great freedom of Islamic work in calling to Islam, preparing for jihad, and other things, which was never available, and is rarely available anywhere in the world.

Moreover, the jihad is necessary to destroy Israel and build a new Caliphate.

This is more important, that this jihad removed the state of weakness, feebleness and submission before the enemy, and kept the flame of this great duty in the heart of the nation, especially in Jerusalem and its environs, alive and burning; as a prelude to its renaissance, its people and its promised second caliphate - God willing - and this is the basic mission of the people of Palestine until they rescue with their nation the captive Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is the responsibility of the entire nation,...These great achievements and others are more evident than the sun at noon.

International Muslim clerics issue a letter saying that murdering Jews on October 7 was worth tens of thousands of Gaza deaths

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

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Part 2

The war may be necessary to perform the ultimate genocide of Jews, as Allah promised.

He did not notice the intermingling of the Sunnahs in it, and that perhaps what is happening is the ultimate corruption and great arrogance that will lead the Children of Israel to their faces being ruined, and the rescue of Al-Aqsa from them, and their disappearance as Allah the Most High promised, so it will be a link in the chain of jihad and ribat on the path to victory.

Tens of thousands of dead Muslims is a small price to pay for the chance to eradicate Jews:

What is required in the affliction of calamity is patience, regardless of the form of the affliction or its cause; In any case, if people are patient, this trial will be good and a mercy for them, regardless of its cause.

The attack on October 7 is a legitimate act and a fulfillment of the duty of jihad, and there is no doubt about that, and its people will be rewarded with the reward of the great jihad, God willing

The letter does admit that, perhaps, the timing of the attack was wrong, and that perhaps Hamas could be criticized for locating its military targets among the people. But those are individual errors and do not detract from the greater issue of the importance of Jihad.

Then comes more antisemitism, not sullied by the pretense of being merely "anti-Zionist."

Whoever knows the truth of the Jews, their beliefs, their arrogance, their crimes and their great corruption on earth, and their religious war with us under the shadow of their extreme right-wing government, knows the truth of what we have mentioned, and the truth of the Almighty’s saying: "And never will the Jews or the Christians be pleased with you until you follow them... And they will not cease fighting you until they turn you back from your religion if they are able" [Al-Baqarah: 217].

The attacks on October 7 were defensive, not offensive, and therefore obligatory:

The October attack in itself is a defensive jihad, not a jihad of demand, because the reality is that the Jews are besieging Gaza, and occupying its air, sea, and envelope before it, so it is occupied in reality, so expelling them from it is obligatory and is a defensive jihad. And even though we allow disagreement in the ruling on the timing of the attack in terms of right and wrong, because it is a matter of consideration, due to the many evils that result from it and the many interests that are also brought about, then disagreement in the legitimacy of the original act is not permissible, because it is a defensive jihad that is obligatory in principle.

And of course there is honor to consider:

The true believer sees the humiliation of surrendering to the infidels, and the breaking of the banner of faith as a breaking that is difficult to recover from, and it is a painful and long affliction that he cannot truly bear, and everything less than that is easier for him as long as he has breath...

They deny Hamas uses human shields, saying that the fatwa is based on Israeli propaganda:

- There is also something unjust in his words when he provides evidence for the Mujahideen in exaggerating the mistakes, not making excuses in light of the difficult reality in which they work, and not seeing the great good deeds and huge sacrifices. Rather, it repeats and reinforces the words of the enemies without examining them, unfortunately; such as his saying: “The Mujahideen take the people of the sector as a shield to protect themselves from the attacks of their enemy without caring about the size of the disaster resulting from that.”

This is a great injustice to the Mujahideen who are doing everything they can to spare civilians any loss. They are their brothers, fathers, sons and clan, and they feel pain for their pain, so how can this be thought of them?

The signatories:

Sadiq Al-Ghariani - Grand Mufti of Libya
Muhammad al-Hasan bin al-Dido al-Shinqiti - Head of the Center for the Training of Scholars (Mauritania)
Dr. Hammam Saeed - President of the Global Coalition to Support Jerusalem and Palestine (Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood)
Hamed Al-Ali (Kuwait)
Dr. Abdul-Hay Youssef - President of the Academy of the Supporters of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace (Sudan)
Dr. Muhammad Yusri Ibrahim - Vice President of the Muslim Scholars Association (Egypt)
Dr. Nawaf Takrouri - Chairman of the Palestinian Scholars Association (Jordan)
Dr. Wasfi Ashour Abu Zaid - Professor of Maqasid and Usul al-Fiqh (Turkey, I think)
Dr. Al Hassan Al Kattani - President of the League of Scholars of the Maghreb (Morocco)
Dr. Ahmed Hawwa - Secretary General of the Syrian Scholars Association
Dr. Sheikh Attia Al-Adlan - Professor of Islamic Jurisprudence and Politics (Egypt)
Dr. Ahmed Al-Jawhari - Director of the Institute at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif
Dr. Muhammad Hammam Melhem - Head of the Miraj Center for Research and Studies (Turkey)

International Muslim clerics issue a letter saying that murdering Jews on October 7 was worth tens of thousands of Gaza deaths

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

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[ Iran started it, Iran should stop it ]

Iran’s President Calls on Pope Francis to Use Influence to Stop War in Middle East - Algemeiner.com

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian called on Pope Francis to use his influence with Christian governments to stop war in the Middle East, semi-official Fars news agency reported on Wednesday. "Encourage world leaders, especially Christian governments, to prevent the continuation of aggressions...

www.algemeiner.com

 

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IDF kills Hezbollah anti-tank missile commanders, says group's firepower 'dramatically reduced

The IAF also struck over 100 terror targets in Lebanon, including launchers, weapons storage facilities, command centers, and military structures over the past day.

www.jpost.com

 

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On one body alongside grenades, they found an open packet of condoms. “I read about this in the newspaper. It was part of a journal kept by a guy from Shura,” says leading Israeli lawyer, Prof. Yifat Bitton. “Our investigator contacted him and asked, ‘Tell me, did you report this to anyone?’ He said, ‘No. We had to deal with neutralizing the grenades. Why should I be dealing with condoms?’”

(full article online)

Hamas' sexual crimes: Uncollected evidence come to light

Previously undocumented indicators of sexual violence by Hamas during October 7 attacks now emerging through new report compiling evidence and survivor testimonies; findings aim to shed light on scope of atrocities

www.ynetnews.com

 

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Today, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.

But the specific charges are secret.

The arrest warrants are classified as ‘secret’, in order to protect witnesses and to safeguard the conduct of the investigations. However, the Chamber decided to release the information below since conduct similar to that addressed in the warrant of arrest appears to be ongoing. Moreover, the Chamber considers it to be in the interest of victims and their families that they are made aware of the warrants’ existence.

Even that justification is antisemitic. The court is stating that Israel would assassinate anyone who testified to its alleged crimes.
The details they do give are filled with easily provable lies and the outrageous implication that if they only had a little more evidence, they could also charge Netanyahu with "extermination."

Showing that they are liars requires only one proof. Here's what they say about medicines into Gaza:

The Chamber considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that both individuals intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity, from at least 8 October 2023 to 20 May 2024.

UNRWA's database of incoming items into Gaza show that 1,409 trucks entered Gaza under the category of medicines, medical supplies and similar between October 8 and May 20. The total amount classified under those categories add up to 31,474 pallets of items. (Some of them were mixed with other supplies like food or beds but most of them were exclusively medical supplies.)

Here is a small sample from the last week of December.

(full article online)

The lies of the ICC in its warrants to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

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‘Animals at a zoo’: Released hostage describes terrorists bringing civilians to observe him

After murdering the Sharabi's family dog, terrorists abducted the family and Ofir Engel to Gaza and subjected them to psychological torment.

www.jpost.com

 

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Several hurt in Hezbollah rocket fire as some 180 projectiles fired from Lebanon

IDF apologizes for deadly strike on Lebanese Army post * Israel raises travel warning for Thailand * Netanyahu’s legal team requests 15-day delay to start of his court testimony

www.timesofisrael.com

 

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WATCH: Hamas Founder’s Son Slams ‘Corruption’ and ‘Absurdity’ of ICC Decision | United with Israel

Mosab Hassan Yousef says the ICC has failed in its 'responsibility number one' of condemning Hamas, while exerting pressure on Israel to surrender. 'This is their goal.'

unitedwithisrael.org

 

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Hamas steals 28% of Gazans' salaries. Will the ICC blame Israel? | PMW Analysis

Hamas also controls the aid to Gaza exclusively

palwatch.org

 

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I recently received this heartwarming story:

The Shlesinger family from Alon Shvut was vacationing in Northern Israel. Their 28-year old son, Elisha, was driving up to be with them for Shabbat. He needed to refuel, but kept missing the turn offs as he sped toward his destination. After passing five gas stations, he finally decided to pull into the next one. He looked at his watch. It was 3 hours before Shabbat, and he was an hour from his destination. All in all, the timing was good.
As he filled his car, he noticed a woman with children standing next to their car, noticeably upset. He approached her and asked if he could help.
“I accidentally filled my car with diesel fuel instead of regular, and now it won’t start!”
Elisha listened to her predicament, and furrowed his brow. There was no way to remove the fuel. It needed professional attention and there were no mechanics on duty at the station.
“Where were you headed?” he asked the woman.
“To Alei Zahav in the Shomron,” she said, anxiety filling her voice.
Elisha knew exactly where that was … almost 3 hours away, and there were only 3 hours till Shabbat! She clearly needed to get there, but how? No wonder she was frantic. It seemed impossible.
But not to Elisha. He didn’t think twice, he held out his car keys to the astounded woman.
“Here, take my keys and start driving to Alei Zahav! I filled up so you have plenty of gas. You’ll just make it in time! Here’s my cell phone number. Let’s be in touch after Shabbat and we can figure out how to get the car back to me.”
The woman was flabbergasted. A young man, a total stranger, giving her his car?!
She thanked him profusely and took off for Alei Zahav. Meanwhile, Elisha called his father and explained the situation. His father promptly came to pick him up, and everyone made it to their respective destinations in time for Shabbat.
On Sunday, the woman returned with the car. She met Elisha’s mother and told her how amazed she was by Elisha’s kindness and generosity. Elisha’s mother beamed with pride in her son’s gracious nature.
“How can I thank him? What present can I give him?” asked the woman.
“He doesn’t need presents; he needs a wife!” Elisha’s mother exclaimed.
When the woman got home she wrote up the encounter and posted it on Facebook, adding that Elisha was seeking a wife. Ideas came pouring in. One of the first suggestions was a woman named Naomi. I am happy to tell you that with God’s help, Naomi and Elisha recently married!

Let's think about the first half of the story. A man without hesitation offers his car to a complete stranger.

Where else would that happen? Can you imagine even the most wonderful person, a cleric for example, doing something like this in upstate New York, Oregon or Italy? It would be regarded as foolhardy at best, dangerous at worst.

Now, imagine the scenario outside Israel a little differently. The young man asks the woman her name, and then realizes that she is a distant relative. Suddenly, the story makes sense - even if they had never met before, they are relatives and therefore the bond is that much stronger. Of course you help out your family!

That's what people don't understand about Israel. For Jews, it is not merely a nation - it is a family. It is a tribe. And it is on our historic homeland.

Paradoxically, this is why Israelis come off as so impolite. You don't have to have your guard up around family - you can relax and say what you want to say, because they aren't going to pull out a gun and shoot you if they don't like your opinion. There is a non-zero chance of that happening in American cities.

This dynamic was captured in the 1960s Israeli musical Kazablan, which is about discrimination against Mizrahi Jews by the Ashkenazim. The song "Kulanu Yehudim" - here translated as "We are all Jews, everyone" in the English version of the movie - shows the friction as well as the unity between subgroups.


If you don't understand this, you don't understand Israel.

This underlying feeling of literal brotherhood is necessary to understand Israel's conduct in Gaza and Lebanon.

10/7 wasn't merely an attack on Israel. It was an attack on everyone's family. Defending your family is much more imperative than defending your nation. It is as impossible to imagine telling Jews in the South and North to just accept occasional deadly attacks as it would be to tell your cousins not to overreact about the murderers next door who already killed one of them.

When you belong to a tiny minority that has been persecuted for no logical reason for millennia, normal members look out for each other. And that means risking your lives to ensure everyone is safe.

Living without security is intolerable. And just as a family would not accept an authority telling them not to care so much about their members, Israel isn't going to listen to a world that tells them not to care so much about Jews.

What the world cannot grasp about Israel: Jews are family, not just citizens

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com