‘Israel targets journalists intentionally’: Gaza reporters share their stories with RT

Local journalists say Israel's war is 'unprecedented' but it won't stop them from doing their work

Reporters in Gaza are struggling to do their jobs with severely limited internet access, and a fuel shortage which prevents them from moving around. They are working in constant danger from airstrikes, which have claimed more than 10,000 lives so far.

It's been more than a month since Hamas militants infiltrated Israel in the deadliest attack on the Jewish state since its inception in 1948.

More than 1,400 Israelis were brutally murdered on October 7, and over 7,000 were wounded. In retaliation, Israel waged war on Hamas, vowing to kill all those responsible for the massacre. It also promised to uproot the Islamic movement, which has been ruling Gaza since 2007.

For the past five weeks, Israel has been pounding Gaza, home to 2.3 million of people, with thousands of bombs. The death toll in the Palestinian coastal enclave has exceeded 10,000. Thousands are still under the rubble and unaccounted for. Among those killed are Palestinian journalists. According to the latest data, at least 40 have lost their lives in the current wave of violence. RT spoke with two men reporting from Gaza to gauge their opinions on the conflict and what it's like to work under fire. One of them, Rami Almughari, is a veteran in the field. The other, Mansour Shouman, is a newcomer to the profession, but both described the fear and constant smell of death that accompany their work.

RT: First of all, tell us about your backgrounds.

Rami: I have been in this business for more than two decades, and during my career I have done print, radio and TV. I have reported for Al Monitor and the New Arab, for Channel News Asia, and for RT. I have also taught at Gaza universities. Throughout those years I made sure not to affiliate myself with any political faction. I am an independent journalist and will remain such.

Mansour: I am not coming from this field. I have a degree in engineering and a masters in business from Canadian universities. For the past 17 years I have been working in the field of manufacturing and management of supply chains, oil and gas, as well as consulting. I was introduced to journalism only four weeks ago, when the war erupted and when there was a need for English speakers, who could help get the voices of 2.3 million Gazans out to the world.

RT: Tell us what it's like to report in wartime. How difficult and how dangerous is it? Do you feel that being a reporter turns you into an immediate target?

Rami: I can tell you that working as a journalist definitely puts you at risk. You keep moving from one item to another, you talk to people, you visit destruction sites so you are more exposed. I don't think journalists are being singled out or intentionally targeted. Everyone is in danger, everyone needs to take precautions but journalists are more vulnerable, because by the nature of their work, they are more exposed.

In the past I can tell you journalists linked to Hamas have been targeted and killed. In 2021, Israel raided an apartment of one journalist who was linked to the group and who was working for the local radio. I can't say that this is what's happening now. But the intensive strikes make everyone vulnerable, and it seems that Israel is trying to send a message that we should refrain from going out, so as not to be targeted.

Also, this war is more challenging than anything else we have experienced so far. There is no fuel, so people need to either move on foot or use donkeys and horses. Very often there is no electricity or connection to the internet or mobile services, so getting information out has been a challenge. But we keep on doing our duty, there is no other way.

https://www.rt.com/news/586914-interview-with-gaza-reporters/

Israel Agrees To 4-hour Daily Humanitarian Pauses In Gaza: White House

Israel has finally and belatedly caved to White House and external international pressure, it appears, as Biden officials have announced Thursday Israel has agreed to implement daily humanitarian pauses.

"The White House says Israel has agreed to put in place four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in its assault on Hamas in norther Gaza," the Associated Press reports in a breaking story.

"U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that the first humanitarian pause would be announced Thursday and that the Israelis had committed to announcing each four-hour window at least three hours in advance," according to further details.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israel-agrees-4-hour-daily-humanitarian-pauses-gaza-white-house

White House Aides "Simply Cannot Stomach" Biden's Israel Policy, Dissent Memos Leak, Revolt At State Dept

A revolt is brewing within the Biden administration over how the White House is handling the Israel-Gaza war, as the civilian death toll and mass Palestinian displacement soars, and as Biden's top officials continue to say "no conditions" have been placed on how Israel uses US-supplied weapons. Pressure from the press pool is also piling on, with near daily spats and antagonistic back-and-forth exchanges on display in the State Department and White House briefing rooms.

This week there have emerged reports of scathing 'dissent memos' criticizing White House Israel policy being circulated, collecting many hundreds of signatures chiefly from among State Department and USAID staff. A primary theme of the pushback and pressure is that President Biden must change course on the Gaza crisis.

First, on Monday Politico obtained and published portions of a memo issued by State Department personnel giving a blistering critique which according to the publication argued that "among other things, the U.S. should be willing to publicly criticize the Israelis."

It was issued after the Biden's Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, repeatedly made clear that the US does not back a ceasefire, but is only sheepishly calling for brief humanitarian 'pauses'. Politico points out the memo represents a "growing loss of confidence" among Biden's corps of diplomats:

The message suggests a growing loss of confidence among U.S. diplomats in President Joe Biden’s approach to the Middle East crisis. It reflects the sentiments of many U.S. diplomats, especially at mid-level and lower ranks, according to conversations with several department staffers as well as other reports. If such internal disagreements intensify, it could make it harder for the Biden administration to craft policy toward the region.

The memo has two key requests: that the U.S. support a ceasefire, and that it balance its private and public messaging toward Israel, including airing criticisms of Israeli military tactics and treatment of Palestinians that the U.S. generally prefers to keep private.

The memo, marked "sensitive but unclassified' was sure to leak, and that was likely the point. It bluntly underscores that Biden's policy is hurting America's standing in the world as much of global opinion has been appalled at the Gaza death toll which this week surpassed 10,500.

The memo sates that the gap between Biden officials' private and public messaging "contributes to regional public perceptions that the United States is a biased and dishonest actor, which at best does not advance, and at worst harms, U.S. interests worldwide."

"We must publicly criticize Israel’s violations of international norms such as failure to limit offensive operations to legitimate military targets," the dissent memo continues. "When Israel supports settler violence and illegal land seizures or employs excessive use of force against Palestinians, we must communicate publicly that this goes against our American values so that Israel does not act with impunity."

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/white-house-aides-simply-cannot-stomach-bidens-israel-policy-dissent-memos-leak-revolt

Politician survives ‘execution-style shooting’ in EU state

Spanish party official Alejo Vidal-Quadras survived the incident and has been transported to hospital, reports say

Alejo Vidal-Quadras, the former leader of Spain’s center-right People’s Party in the region of Catalonia, was shot in the face in the wealthy Salamanca area of Madrid on Thursday afternoon, police have stated. The 78-year-old survived the incident, reports say, and has been transported to a hospital in the Spanish capital.

The incident, described in media reports as an “execution-style shooting,” is thought to have been carried out by a single gunman at a point-blank range, who escaped from the scene on a motorcycle, according to The Mirror. The shooting occurred at about 1.30pm local time (2.30pm GMT), Reuters said.

https://www.rt.com/news/586926-spain-politician-shot-madrid/

Catholic Church Allows Trannies To Be Baptized.

The Vatican announced that transgender people can be baptized in the Catholic Church, witnesses at religious weddings, and become godparents on Wednesday, representing the continued liberalization of the Christian denomination under Pope Francis‘s premiership. The decision, approved by the Pontiff on October 31, was announced in response to six questions sent to the Vatican by Brazilian Bishop Jose Negri of Santo Amaro, who sought clarification regarding LGBT involvement in the church.

https://thenationalpulse.com/2023/11/09/catholic-church-allows-trannies-to-be-baptized/

Netanyahu slams Hamas-linked journos used by CNN, NYT, Reuters and AP who were at Oct. 7 massacre

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday ripped mainstream Western media for working with photojournalists embedded with Hamas — calling them “accomplices in crimes against humanity” — as CNN formally severed ties with a freelancer who was photographed getting a kiss from the terror group’s leader.

Netanhayu’s office tweeted Thursday that it “views with utmost gravity that photojournalists working with international media joined in covering the brutal acts of murder perpetrated by Hamas terrorists on October 7th.

“These journalists were accomplices in crimes against humanity; their actions were contrary to professional ethics,” the leader said — demanding “immediate action be taken” by the outlets employing them.

The anger followed a bombshell investigation by media watchdog Honest Reporting into journalists who were there to document the surprise Oct. 7 attack that killed more than 1,400 people, with more than 240 others taken hostage.

Overnight, Israeli Minister of Communications Dr. Shlomo Karhi issued a scathing letter to the outlets named in the investigation — Reuters, the Associated Press, CNN and the New York Times.

“The gravity of the situation demands a swift and thorough response. It is now a time for individuals, journalists, institutions, unions, and organizations around the world to make a clear choice,” he wrote in the missive, which he shared on X.

“We must decide whether we stand on the side of life and good [or] on the side of depraved terrorism, inhumanity, and evil.”

https://nypost.com/2023/11/09/news/netanyahu-slams-journos-tied-to-hamas-as-cnn-cuts-ties/

Gov Watchdog Discovers Massive Spending Reporting Discrepancies In Biden Admin

A report published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Tuesday found government agencies incorrectly reported spending and, at times, did not report their expenditures to USAspending.gov, the official source of federal spending information.

The Departments of Treasury, Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security (DHS) and Transportation (DOT) were flagged by GAO for having multi-billion dollar discrepancies across different public COVID-19 spending disclosures during the 2022 fiscal year. Twenty-five executive agencies, which are responsible for internally determining if they meet the conditions that would require reporting their expenditures to USAspending, were included among the 49 agencies GAO identified as having not reported their COVID-19 obligations to USAspending.

GAO recommended that Congress delegate power to Treasury and the Office of Management and Budget to independently determine which agencies are required to report and to “oversee the completeness of reporting by all required agencies.”

“If Congress or the Office of Management and Budget, in coordination with the Department of the Treasury, do not take recommended steps to improve the quality and reporting of data, USAspending.gov will not provide policymakers and the public with transparency over all funds federal agencies spend, as required,” GAO told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Treasury had the greatest discrepancy in COVID-19 spending across its different public reports. The department denoted $231.5 billion in COVID-19 spending in its annual financial report and only reported $36 billion on USAspending.

HHS had the second worst discrepancy. The agency’s annual financial report listed $85.7 billion in COVID-19 obligations while reporting $91.7 billion on USAspending.

Other discrepancies were comparably mild.

DHS reported about $400 million more in its annual budget report compared to its entries on USAspending, and DOT had a discrepancy of about $10 million.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/11/09/gao-report-covid-spending/

“100% Electric” Google bus LOSES POWER while climbing San Francisco hill, plows into nearly a dozen cars

A "100 percent electric" commuter bus owned and operated by Google has lost power while in transit, smashing into multiple cars on a San Francisco street.

The incident occurred on Monday, Nov. 6. on Castro and 20th in the Eureka Valley neighborhood, at around 8:45 a.m. The Google bus reportedly lost power while navigating the steep incline of Castro Street's hill. This caused the bus to roll backward, colliding with several cars.

Resident Xian Ke initially reported the incident and posted about it on the social media platform X. "Some local journalists need to be on this," he wrote. "A Google bus lost its power while going up the hill and roll back and hit nine cars this morning outside of my place [in the Castro District]."

San Francisco residents also took to social media to report on the incident, with several complaining about how the police shut down Castro Street because of the crash and other eyewitnesses confirming that "a tech bus plowed down the hill backward through a bunch of traffic."

Reports received from eyewitnesses by the San Francisco Municipal Transport Agency (SFMTA) also suggest that the Google electric bus's brakes failed, leading to the crashes.

http://www.stationgossip.com/2023/11/100-electric-google-bus-loses-power.html

>>19887988

Jewish suspects arrested over swastika graffiti on synagogues

Police believe two teenagers were behind paint attacks in Petah Tikva

Police said Sunday that they had arrested two teenagers on suspicion of daubing swastikas on two synagogues in the central town of Petah Tikva.

A police source confirmed to The Times of Israel that the suspects, 17, from Petah Tikva and Haifa, are both Jewish.

On June 3, police received a report that a swastika had been sprayed on the walls of a synagogue on Sokolov Street in Petah Tikva, and another synagogue on Usishkin Street in the city, police said in a statement.

An investigation was opened that led to the arrests of the two minors. The investigation is continuing, police said.

In April police launched an investigation after Nazi images appeared as screensavers on computers in a school in Petah Tikva.

Several students were detained by police after a complaint was filed about two memes of Hitler and concentration camps which appeared on the computer network of the high school.

A police spokesperson said at the time that “it appears that a minor, a student of the educational institution, did some work on a computer in one of the classes, in which he created a presentation with Nazi content.”

Police have investigated several incidents of swastikas spray-painted in various locations in the city in the past few months.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-suspects-arrested-over-swastika-graffiti-on-synagogues/

COUNTERTERROR DIRECTOR USED HAMAS ATTACK TO JUSTIFY MASS SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM RENEWAL

The U.S. intelligence community is facing calls to reform the spying tool known as 702, which is set to expire at the end of the year.

DURING A SENATE briefing last week, a federal counterterrorism official cited the October 7 Hamas attack while urging Congress to reauthorize a sprawling and controversial surveillance program repeatedly used to spy on U.S. citizens on U.S. soil.

“As evidenced by the events of the past month, the terrorist threat landscape is highly dynamic and our country must preserve [counterterrorism] fundamentals to ensure constant vigilance,” said Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Christine Abizaid to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security, after making repeat references to Hamas’s attack on Israel.

She pointed to Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which enables the U.S. government to gather vast amounts of intelligence — including about U.S. citizens — under the broad category of foreign intelligence information, without first seeking a warrant.

Section 702 “provides key indications and warning on terrorist plans and intentions, supports international terrorist disruptions, enables critical intelligence support to, for instance, border security, and gives us strategic insight into foreign terrorists and their networks overseas,” Abizaid said. “I respectfully urge Congress to reauthorize this vital authority.”

The controversial program is set to expire at the end of the year, and lawmakers sympathetic to the intelligence community are scrambling to protect it, as some members of Congress like Sen. Ron Wyden push for reforms that restrain the government’s surveillance abilities. According to Rep. Jim Himes, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, plans are underway to prepare a stopgap measure to preserve Section 702 of FISA as a long-term reauthorization containing reforms is hammered out.

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Sean Vitka, senior policy counsel at the civil liberties group Demand Progress, told The Intercept that now is the time to enact lasting and dramatic oversight of the 702 authority. “The government has completely failed to demonstrate that any of the privacy protections reformers have called for would impair national security, all while surveillance hawks in Congress have suffered a series of setbacks, so now we’re seeing people grasping at straws trying to turn everything into an excuse for reauthorization,” Vitka said.

https://theintercept.com/2023/11/06/hamas-counterterrorism-mass-surveillance-section-702/?utm_medium=email

"Enough Is Enough": Widower Sues Hospital for Withholding Ivermectin, Claims Wrongful Death

Scott Mantel, whose wife Deborah Bucko died at Mount Sinai Hospital on May 16, 2021 from complications related to Covid-19, filed the lawsuit in September. He contends that the hospital refused to administer ivermectin, which was prescribed by her doctor. Mantell claims that the refusal contributed to her death.

According to the lawsuit, Mantel "researched possible alternative treatments, and he read several news stories about patients with severe COVID-19 illness who had been treated successfully with ivermectin."

Despite her condition initially improving after she received the drug under a court order, the hospital's subsequent decision to stop the treatment led to a rapid decline in her health, according to the complaint.

"While she was being treated with the ivermectin and immediately afterwards, Ms. Bucko’s respiratory and cardiovascular functions showed significant improvement and she required significantly less oxygen, vasopressors, and ventilator support, which was clearly demonstrated in her medical records," reads the suit. "As a result of the ivermectin, Ms. Bucko was on her way to recovery."

Mantel’s lawsuit seeks not only compensation for himself and his two children but also punitive damages against the hospital. The claim is that Mount Sinai's withholding of ivermectin after it had been prescribed constituted a breach of standard medical care, the Epoch Times reports.

Mantel's lawyer, Steven Warshawsky, says that the hospital's refusal to comply with the court-ordered treatment, particularly given the patient’s initial improvement, was against the patient's best interests and the integrity of the doctor-patient relationship.

"Early on during the pandemic there were a lot of early legal actions seeking court orders requiring hospitals and doctors to treat patients with ivermectin, but here you have a situation where orders were issued and the hospital did not fully comply with them despite [the] patient showing progress of ivermectin," he said.

The controversy around the use of ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19 has been a contentious issue within the medical community. Despite this, a lawyer for the FDA confirmed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in August 2023 that doctors are legally permitted to prescribe ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19.

"FDA explicitly recognizes that doctors do have the authority to prescribe ivermectin to treat COVID," said Ashley Cheung Honold, a Department of Justice lawyer representing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in a statement to the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.

Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, who supports the use of ivermectin, has criticized pharmacists who refuse to fill such prescriptions, arguing that this oversteps their authority and impacts patient care.

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/enough-enough-widower-sues-hospital-withholding-ivermectin-claims-wrongful-death

Phil Giraldi (fmr CIA): Unpardonable and Unpunishable war crimes

https://youtu.be/0toY5PATLeU

ISIS CELLS KILL 34 TROOPS IN CENTRAL SYRIA, GET HAMMERED BY RUSSIAN AIRSTRIKES

Warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out two waves of airstrikes against ISIS hideouts between al-Sukhnah and Resafa in response to the attack and to support of the operation. The SOHR reported that at least seven terrorists were killed in the airstrikes.

The al-Sukhnah-Resafa attack was one of the largest and deadliest offensive operations by ISIS cells in central Syria this year.

The attack came amid an unprecedented Israeli attack on the Palestinian Gaza Strip and a regional confrontation between Iranian-backed forces and the United States. This raises some serious questions about the affiliation of ISIS, especially its cells in central Syria. Officials from Syria and Russia warned on several occasions earlier this year and before that the terrorists were being trained and armed by the U.S.

https://southfront.press/isis-cells-kill-34-troops-in-central-syria-get-hammered-by-russian-airstrikes/

ISRAELI STRIKES HIT SYRIAN MILITARY POSITIONS IN DAMASCUS, AL-SUWAYDA

Late on November 8, a series of Israeli strikes hit military positions in Syria’s southern region, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.

“at approximately 10:50 p.m. [local time, 7:50 p.m. GMT], the Israeli adversary carried out an aerial assault from Lebanon’s Baalbek, delivering strikes on several military facilities in southern regions [of Syria],” a Syrian military official said in a statement to the state-run news agency.

https://southfront.press/israeli-strikes-hit-syrian-military-positions-in-damascus-al-suwayda/

U.S. ANNOUNCES STRIKES ON SYRIA AFTER SERIES OF ATTACKS

“This precision self-defense strike is a response to a series of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by IRGC-Quds Force affiliates,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. “The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.”

“This precision self-defense strike is a response to a series of attacks against U.S. personnel in Iraq and Syria by IRGC-Quds Force affiliates,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. “The President has no higher priority than the safety of U.S. personnel, and he directed today’s action to make clear that the United States will defend itself, its personnel, and its interests.”

https://southfront.press/u-s-announces-strikes-on-syria-after-series-of-attacks/

ISIS Israel and USDS all fighting on the same side???

Two Israelis Arrested for 'Looting Music Festivalgoers Killed in Oct 7 Attack'

Two Israeli men were indicted on Wednesday for allegedly looting music festivalgoers killed in Hamas's October 7th attack.

The story is only being reported in the Israeli media.

From Mako.co.il (as translated by Google):

The South District Attorney's Office filed an indictment today (Wednesday) against two residents of Beer Sheva for theft under aggravated circumstances of property belonging to those murdered at the "Nova" outdoor party near Ra'im, where hundreds of young people were massacred by terrorists.

The two, 49-year-old Meir Armo Hajjaj and his cousin, 33-year-old Golani George, are accused of traveling the day after the massacre to the area near the Ra'im parking lot where the party took place, which was defined as a closed military area.

The two traveled together with a third accomplice (the two refused to reveal in the investigation who it was and he has not yet been arrested by the investigators of the Yoav unit) and arrived at one of the police checkpoints near the Gilat intersection in the Negev. The policeman explained to them that there is no entry into the Gaza Strip from the direction of Ofakim since it is a closed military area, but the two gave him a false representation: "We came to help the victims and their families." The policeman believed their version and explained to them that they would be able to get to the party complex from the direction of Nivatov.

The three collected a lot of property from the area belonging to those murdered at the party. Among other things, valuable equipment, work tools that were on the bar in the party complex and speakers were stolen from vehicles and stalls. In addition, they stole jewelry handmade by one of the murdered, the late Dor Malka, who planned to sell it at the party.

After that they left the place with a lot of loot. Ten days later, intelligence information reached the Yoav unit police officers that the two together with another person had looted the property of those murdered at the party. The police arrested the two. They found in the house of one of them a box full of jewelry bearing the name of the late Malka, which was stolen from his car, as well as other tools. The police also seized from Hajag 86 grams of a dangerous drug that he stole from the car of one of the murdered.

The two, through their attorney, attorney Amit Weizman, denied stealing the property from the murdered. They claimed that they bought the jewelry from a Beer Sheva resident without him knowing that it was taken from the party area. The police did not believe their version because they did not give the name of the person from whom the jewelry was purchased.

The Israeli site News1 reported the duo is accused of stealing 60,000 shekels worth of property ($15,600).

https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64115