Envoy: UN has failed
The Palestinian Envoy to the UN Security Council says the international body has failed to take action to halt violence in Gaza, as the council expresses concern after the death toll from the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian territory reaches 476. Ryad Mansour:
The Council failed again and again to shoulder its responsibility
UN ambassador Ron Prosor says Israel agreed to earlier ceasefire offers from Egypt, and is acting in self defence.
Soldier ‘kidnapped’
The armed wing of Hamas says it has kidnapped an Israeli soldier, a tactic which the group has used in the past to secure the release of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. Celebrations are reported in Gaza City and West Bank cities. A spokeswoman says the Israeli military is investigating the claim. An official identified as Abu Obeida:
The Israeli soldier Shaul Aaron is in the hands of the Qassam Brigades
Israel’s UN ambassador Ron Prosor says the rumors are untrue.
Calls for Gaza ceasefire
Obama calls for an immediate halt to hostilities as 120 people are killed in one day of fighting, the bloodiest single day in Gaza in five years. A Gaza emergency services spokesman says more than a third of the victims are women and children. The death toll now totals 476 Palestinians. The Israeli army says 13 soldiers have been killed in Gaza, raising the total of soldiers dead in the first three days of the ground offensive of Operation Protective Edge to 18. A White House statement says Obama called for an ‘immediate truce,’ but that he also reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself
Israel: three soldiers dead in ground assault
0 CommentsIsrael says three soldiers have died in the first two days of the ground campaign of Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. Israel Defence Forces Sgt. Eitan Barak from Herzliya is killed in Gaza under unclear circumstances, and the IDF is investigating the incident to determine whether the Nahal Brigade fighter was hit by friendly fire or enemy fire. Sgt. Adar Barsano, 20, of Nahariya, and Maj. Amotz Greenberg, 45, of Hod Hasharon are killed and two IDF officers are wounded, and one Gazan is wounded in a clash in the Eshkol region with a Hamas squad that enters Israel via a tunnel from central Gaza. The Hamas operatives are dressed in IDF uniforms and armed with automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades, syringes, sedatives and handcuffs, the Israeli army says. Israeli paratroopers and the Nahal and Givati infantry brigades are operating with the Armored Corps, the Engineering Corps, the Maglan infiltration special unit and other elite units.
London Rally
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Tens of thousands of people rally in central London to protest Israeli military action in Gaza, and David Cameron’s support of the operations against Hamas rocket fire. During the demonstration, a female protester on the podium initiates a chant that Israelis consider to be a call for the destruction of their state:
From the river to the sea…
The crowd responds:
Palestine will be free
The protest’s organizer, Palestine Solidarity Campaign:
London has already shown its outrage at Israel’s attacks on the mostly refugee population of Gaza, with people turning out in their thousands last week. Today’s national demonstration will give people from across the country the chance to say enough is enough, Israel’s siege of Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian land has to end now.
Tens of thousands on London #GazaJ19 protest for peace, justice & a Free Palestine. Stretching length of Whitehall pic.twitter.com/z7ZaprMOtT
— PSC (@PSCupdates) July 19, 2014
French protest ban ‘first in Europe’
A ban placed by the government of France on protests against Israeli action in Gaza is unprecedented in Europe and draws criticism for creating a threat to public order. The Socialist administration bars demonstrations against the conflict in the capital Paris, the Mediterranean city of Nice and the suburb of Sarcelles. A statement issued by the Greens Party:
This ban on demonstrations, which was decided at the last minute, actually increases the risk of public disorder. It’s a first in Europe.
A spokesman for the Party of the Indigenous of the Republic (PIR):
France is criminalising any show of solidarity with the Palestinian people. This is an absolute outrage, it is a continuation of attempts to muzzle the Palestinian people and to get them and their supporters in France to surrender absolutely to Israel’s oppression
Returns to Gaza
Mohyeldin tweets confirmation that the network is sending him back into Gaza:
Thanks for all the support. Im returning to #Gaza to report. Proud of NBC's continued commitment to cover the #Palestinian side of the story
— Ayman (@AymanM) July 18, 2014
Network statement:
Ayman Mohyeldin has done extraordinary reporting throughout the escalation of the conflict in Gaza, filing 25+ reports over the past 17 days, including his invaluable and well-documented contribution to the story on the deaths of the four Palestinian children on Wednesday. As with any news team in conflict zones, deployments are constantly reassessed. We’ve carefully considered our deployment decisions and we will be sending Ayman back to Gaza over the weekend. We look forward to his contributions in the coming days.
Reassigned
CNN reassigns Magnay to Moscow following her ‘scum’ tweet, and reiterates its stance that the term was used specifically to describe an Israeli crowd that she says threatened her car during a live broadcast from a hilltop nearby Sderot. The Network says:
She deeply regrets the language used, which was aimed directly at those who had been targeting our crew. She certainly meant no offense to anyone beyond that group, and she and CNN apologize for any offense that may have been taken
Apology
CNN apologizes for Magnay’s “scum” tweet saying it was specifically referring to the crowd targeting the television crew not at Israelis in general.
Network spokesman in an email to Buzzfeed:
After being threatened and harassed before and during a liveshot, Diana reacted angrily on Twitter. She deeply regrets the language used, which was aimed directly at those who had been targeting our crew.
Viral tweet
Magnay’s “scum” tweet —and its deletion—go viral with the original entry retweeted more than 240 times and strong reactions by Twitter users after CNN correspondent scrubs the tweet from her account.
Twitter is gonna make @dimagnayCNN real famous.
— ¡El MexCORP! ن c137 🦬 (@SooperMexican) July 17, 2014
Donkey ‘animal shield’
0 CommentsIsraeli troops open fire on a donkey carrying explosives in the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border, exploding the apparent improvised bomb after the IDF warns of unorthodox tactics such as using animals to carry out bomb attacks. Army spokesman:
They used this donkey as a human shield, or an animal shield, if you like. Anything, an animal or an international building, that can help make use of innocent people or international [citizens], they will use it. We see it time and again
The IDF says in blog posting that it first encountered animal-borne attacks in 1995 when a Palestinian rode an explosives-laden donkey cart towards an IDF position west of Khan Younis and detonated the explosives, and says Hamas has increased the use of animals in later clashes, including donkeys, horses and dogs.
Paris protests
Thousands march in French cities to condemn violence in Gaza, defying a ban on imposed by the French government on demonstrations in Paris, the Sarcelles suburb and the Mediterranean city of Nice. Demonstrators in northern Paris throw projectiles at police, who respond with tear gas and stun grenades, and demonstrators climb atop a building and set a car alight. A police spokesman says 38 demonstrators have been arrested by early evening. President Francois Hollande to journalists during a visit to Chad:
That’s why I asked the interior minister, after an investigation, to ensure that such protests would not take place.
Calls Israelis ‘scum’
https://newslines.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/magnay_tweet.png 384 544 reuben reuben2014-07-24 00:59:202014-07-24 00:59:20Calls Israelis ‘scum’#LetAymanReport trends
The hashtag #LetAymanReport trends on Twitter as users express support and ask questions of NBC.
Ayaman speaks Arabic,aware of tragedy underlying causes/context, honest,& brave?y did you pull him out #gaza @NBCNightlyNews #LetAymanReport
— Samar Saeed/سمر سعيد (@Samarsaeed) July 17, 2014
Four children ‘killed on beach’
0 CommentsMedics say that four children have been killed in Israeli shelling on a Gaza beach where they have gone to play to avoid the hostilities of the 2014 Gaza conflict. Cousins Ismail, Zakaria, Ahed and Mohamed are members of the Bakr clan which is one of Gaza’s largest extended family groupings, and had wandered toward the port where many of their parents worked as fishermen to avoid airstrikes in their neighborhood, before withdrawing to a nearby beach to play a game called ‘Arabs and Jews.’ The Daily Telegraph is among foreign media who witness the strike, and reports that journalists hear two loud explosions outside the Gaza City hotel nearby the beach, before children are pulled into the restaurant area for treatment. It says a journalist who saw the incident said some of the children who survived were running away when another shell seemed to be aimed at them. The mother of Mohamed Bakr:
Why did he go to the beach and play — for them to take him away from me?
A #Palestinian mother reacts to the news that her son was one of 4 boys killed in Israeli shelling of #gaza seaport pic.twitter.com/2LdGY5p9GU
— Ayman (@AymanM) July 16, 2014
Pulled from Gaza
NBC tells Mohyeldin to leave his reporting assignment in Gaza immediately, citing ‘security concerns’ as Israel prepares a ground invasion. He is replaced on Nightly News by NBC Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engels, a fellow Arabic speaker who reports from Tel Aviv over footage obtained by Mohyeldin’s crew of Israeli shelling that killed four children on a Gaza beach earlier the same day. No official statement is issued by the network.
Crowds cheer Israeli strikes
CNN correspondent Diana Magnay reports that a crowd on an Israeli hillside cheers shells falling into Gaza, as she goes live to report on the situation:
I think you can probably see there are lots of Israelis gathered around who are cheering when they see these kinds of Israeli strikes.
State Department posts
Mohyeldin uploads and quickly deletes nearly identical posts each on Facebook and Twitter regarding a statement by the U.S. that Hamas’ rejection of a ceasefire offer has led to the deaths of Palestinian boys on a Gaza beach. The Facebook post:
The #US State Department Spokesperson just said that #Hamas is ultimately responsible for #Israel shelling and killing 4 boys who were cousins aged 9-11 because Hamas didn’t accept the #ceasefire. Discuss among yourselves.
Rejects ceasefire
The armed wing of Hamas rejects the Egypt-brokered ceasefire offer with Israel and says that it learned of the deal through the media and has not been approached ‘officially or unofficially’ by either of the other two parties. Qassam Brigades:
Our battle with the enemy will continue and will increase in ferocity and intensity
The political wing of the party follows, saying the deal fails to fulfill conditions set by Hamas including a conclusive end of the Israeli and Egyptian blockade and the release of certain prisoners from Israeli jails. Officials are also angered that they only found out about the deal via media. Opinion is divided with at least one Hamas official saying that the group is considering its reaction while others in the political and military wings reject the truce outright.
The outcome of discussions within the internal institutions of the movement was to reject the proposal and therefore, Hamas informed Egypt last night it apologises for not accepting it
Kidnapping ringleader arrested
The alleged ringleader of the 2014 Israel kidnappings has been arrested in connection with the abduction of 19-year-old Eyal Yifrach and Naftali Fraenkel and Gil-ad Shaar, both 16, from a West Bank hitching post and their subsequent murder. Hussam Kawasme, a 40-year-old resident of the West Bank city of Hebron, is detained while trying to cross the border with Jordan with false documents/ His arrest and investigation will remain secret for close to a month before being revealed to the public in court proceedings over whether punitive demolition of homes belonging to him and other suspects in the case can be carried out.