The top U.S. #intelligence ofcl on Mon warned that the #war in #Gaza could embolden #terrorist groups, which are aligned in their opposition to the #UnitedStates for its support of #Israel.
“The crisis has galvanized #violence by a range of actors around the world. And while it is too early to tell, it is likely that the Gaza conflict will have a generational impact on #terrorism,” #ODNI#AvrilHaines, told an annual hearing on #GlobalSecurity#threats.
…#Republican Sen #TomCotton, a stalwart backer of #Israel, prodded #CIA Dir Burns & #ODNI Haines to refute allegations that Israel is “exterminating the #Palestinian people” w/its military campaign.
The officials declined to do so. Burns said that while the #Biden admin understands “Israel’s need” to respond to the brutal attack it suffered on Oct7, “I think we all also have to be mindful of the enormous toll that this has taken on innocent #civilians in #Gaza.”
"Les condamnations internationales et les appels à un cessez-le-feu se sont multipliés jeudi après la mort de plus de 110 Palestiniens à Gaza, quand des soldats israéliens ont ouvert le feu pendant une distribution d’aide qui a tourné au chaos."
Today in Labor History February 25, 1843: Lord George Paulet, naval captain, occupied the Kingdom of Hawaii in the name of Great Britain. Paulet and his men controlled the islands for five months, until the U.S. sent warships to expel them. Great Britain supposedly never authorized the invasion. The Hawaiian Kingdom was a sovereign state from 1795-1883. King Kamehameha, from the island of Hawaii, created the state by conquering four other Hawaiian islands and unifying them in 1795. The U.S. acted as its “protector” during these years, preventing the UK and Japan from asserting hegemony. However, in 1898, the U.S. annexed the islands, after U.S. businessmen participated in the overthrow of the monarchy in 1893.
The Hawaiian flag depicted is based on Kānāwai Māmalahoe, or Law of the Splintered Paddle, a precept in Hawaiian law, originating with King Kamehameha I in 1797. The law states "Let every elderly person, woman and child lie by the roadside in safety," (i.e., safely protected whenever there is a battle). The law is enshrined in the Hawaiian state constitution, Article 9, Section 10, and has become a model for modern human rights law regarding the treatment of civilians and other non-combatants during times of war. The law was came as a result of an incident when Kamehameha was on a military expedition in Puna and chased after a fisherman. However, Kamehameha's leg got caught in the reef. The fisherman hit him on the head with a paddle in defense, which broke into pieces, but the fisherman stopped after this and spared him his life. Kamehameha later brought the fisherman before him in judgement. Instead of ordering a death sentence on the fisherman, he ruled that the fisherman had only been protecting his land and family, and so the Law of the Splintered Paddle was declared.
As policymakers reckon w/Russia’s advances in #Ukraine & Trump’s comments about not defending #NATO, the tools of 20th-century #warfare are coming back
Nowhere have the choices been starker than in the discussion about #LandMines, as militaries weigh their low-cost ability to slow tanks & buy time for #NATO rescuers against the risk to generations of their own citizens. Mines come in many forms, but… once laid, can pose a hazard decades after a conflict ends. #Mines & other explosive remnants of #war killed or injured at least 12 #civilians A DAY globally in 2022, many of them #children, acc/to the Landmine & #ClusterMunitions Monitor. #Ukraine
On the systematic #destruction of the #health system in #Gaza. On what it means to try and save #civilians there. On learning more and more #medical professionals are being killed. On little #children starting to wish they were dead.
The volume of #HumanitarianAid delivered to #Gaza has collapsed in recent weeks as Israeli airstrikes have targeted police officers who guard the convoys, #UN ofcls say, exposing them to looting by #criminal gangs & desperate #civilians.
The slowdown in #HumanitarianAid comes amid increasingly dire warnings from #humanitarian experts that #Gaza’s 2.2M inhabitants are on the brink of #famine. The situation is most precarious north of the Strip, where aid groups withdrew months ago, & ~300k #civilians remain.
1 in 6 children in the north is suffering from acute #malnutrition, acc/to a WHO nutritional analysis, w/ 3% of them exhibiting “severe wasting” — putting them at risk of death unless they receive urgent #medical treatment.
The draft text also "determines that under current circumstances a major ground offensive into #Rafah would result in further harm to #civilians & their further #displacement including potentially into neighboring countries."
"With Egypt reportedly preparing for an influx of refugees and UNRWA on the brink of collapse, Israel’s second Nakba fantasies could soon become reality."
"With Egypt reportedly preparing for an influx of refugees and UNRWA on the brink of collapse, Israel’s second Nakba fantasies could soon become reality."