Netanyahu tells Israel ‘We are at war’ after Hamas launches an unprecedented attack, killing at leas

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/idf-announces-hamas-cannot-be-destroyed/

On Wednesday, Daniel Hagari, spokesman for the Israeli Defense Forces, publicly stated that “the idea that we can destroy Hamas or make Hamas disappear is misleading to the public.” This announcement stands in direct contradiction to the stated war aims of Netanyahu; notably his vocal support for the destruction of Hamas.

Hagari added that it “is throwing sand in the eyes of the public” to insist that Hamas can be destroyed, and that if Israel does not put forward a coherent postwar vision for Gaza, then Hamas will reappear.

In response to the military’s statement, Netanyahu’s office reiterated its war aims including the destruction of Hamas’s “military and governmental capacities.”

The now-open feud between the Netanyahu government and the IDF has been simmering for months. The Israeli army relies on the mobilization of reservists, and months of engagement in Gaza have left many of them exhausted, and the Israeli military feels that a respite from fighting is necessary in case the situation with Hezbollah escalates.

 

I’ve been saying for months that their strategy here was flawed and Netanyahu was screwing them for personal reasons. I guess now that the Israeli military is saying it out loud I can just sit here and enjoy being right.

 

I just think it’s crazy they don’t know definitively when his term will end.

 

Well color me shocked.

Maybe they should kill more civilians while they fail to achieve their misleading goal.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/20/middleeast/hagari-netanyahu-destroy-hamas-israel-intl/index.html

I go back to bibi's announcement after the massacre. He said he was going to eliminating HAMAS, (completely).
He also had some descriptive adjectives to use about the hell and destruction about to befall Hamas/Gaza.

I took him at his word, and posted as much. He has been true, will there be one building standing when the iDF is done?
Look at the pictures, it's unbelievable. What GAZA needs are 1,000 of the biggest bulldozers in the world to start clearing the rubble heap.
The place looks like Berlin, March 1945.

I also did not believe what Bibi claimed for one second. Short of killing every male over 10 years old, exactly HOW does he do this?

Bibi and the conservative faction want blood and I suppose an unconditional surrender. Does ANYONE really think that is possible?
Hamas are religous fanatics. Apparantly they approve of tens of thousands of their women and children dying at their feet.
Their leader said that was good, it only helps the cause. Nothing like religous martys running the show.

Now Hezbolla looks like they are entering the conflict, not to mention the Houtis.

What is the solution? Should Israel just force a Palestinian exodus to other Arab States, and resettle GAZA? Thats what the hard right is demanding.
What about the West bank? Should Israel do the same there?

The less extreme factions are calling for a revived Palestinian Authority, but if I understand that correclty, anyone in that role is essentially an Israeli approved
puppet.

Well, like I said when Bibi made his speech, the blood will flow and the consequenses will be terrible. That is proving out.

And for me, as a non Jewish American Citizen, the last issue is, how far down this Crocodile Pit does the US go? This is a difficult situation no matter
ones political party. Most Americans stand with Israel, I do, but there are limits. Bibi is pushing those limits to the extreme.

 

Chilling stuff …

Hizbullah, with its number of forces exceeding 100,000 men, is well prepared for a fight.

South Lebanon is criss-crossed with well prepared fighting positions and tunnels.

More than 150,000 missiles, many of them long range, are ready to be launched against military and economic targets in Israel.

The 2006 invasion of south Lebanon ended in an utter defeat for the Israeli army. There is no reason to believe that a renewed conflict would have a different outcome.

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/06/hizbullah-ready-to-defeat-israel.html#more

 

Just in case the AIPAC minders aren’t enough

 

Seems a reasonable way to exfil if no more space inside. Not sure the problem here. Apparently it worked as everyone got out safely.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/23/midd...tary-palestinian-man-jeep-intl-hnk/index.html

 

Lol.

 

Russians who may have wanted to influence the 2016 election ask, “How the hell do they do it ?”

 

Is this what you’d call sunk costs ?

 

Israel turbocharges West Bank settlement expansion with largest land grab in decades

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has approved the largest seizure of land in the occupied West Bank in over three decades, a settlement tracking group said Wednesday, a move that is likely to worsen already soaring tensions linked to the war in Gaza.

Israel’s aggressive expansion in the West Bank reflects the settler community’s strong influence in the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the most religious and nationalist in the country’s history. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a settler himself, has turbocharged the policy of expansion, seizing new authorities over settlement development and saying he aims to solidify Israel’s hold on the territory and prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.

Authorities recently approved the appropriation of 12.7 square kilometers (nearly 5 square miles) of land in the Jordan Valley, according to a copy of the order obtained by The Associated Press. Data from Peace Now, the tracking group, indicate it was the largest single appropriation approved since the 1993 Oslo accords at the start of the peace process.

...

“We came to settle the land, to build it, and to prevent its division and the establishment of a Palestinian state, God forbid,” he [Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich] said during the conference. He vowed to “change the map dramatically” by claiming more West Bank land than ever before as state land.

 

It looks to me like Netanyahu and his far right coalition are stepping up settlement activity on the West Bank based on the high probability that they will be out following the next Israeli election and that this may be their last chance to create "facts on the ground".

 

Houthi attack tanker carrying Russian oil to China..karma

Tanker Carrying Russian Oil to China Attacked by Houthi Sea Drone (msn.com)

Yemen's Houthi rebels continued their attacks in the Red Sea by targeting two tankers in 24 hours, including a vessel carrying Russian oil likely heading to Asia, where China is the region's largest buyer.

The Monday attacks come as the West's sanctions target Russia's economy due to its invasion of Ukraine. Exporting crude oil to friendly countries has become crucial for the Kremlin to maintain its war economy. China has been the top importer since December 2022, purchasing 53 percent of exported Russian crude oil.

 

Houthi attacks on Russian tankers may not be as bizarre as they seem considering that Iran the Houthis major sponsor is also a major oil exporter to China. If Russian tankers have to go around Africa it would raise the price of Russian oil making Iranian oil more competitive.