Things craw…..
The Israel Defense Forces said it struck a Hamas arms depot in Gaza City on Friday in response to an attack on troops a day earlier, after issuing an evacuation warning for a residential building for the first time since the start of the ceasefire.
Gunmen attacked troops in the Strip’s north on Thursday, in an incident described by the IDF as a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. No soldiers were wounded.
The IDF said Friday that an overnight strike on a Hamas weapon production site in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis was also in response to the attack on troops.
There were no reports of injuries in either of the strikes.
“As part of the strikes, the IDF targeted a site used by the Hamas terror organization for weapons production and a weapons storage facility belonging to the organization,” the military said….
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- Gaza’s Health Ministry said that at least two Palestinians have been killed and 25 injured in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
- Israel’s military destroyed a residential building outside the areas of its control in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood.
- Hamas said the “ceasefire” in Gaza is “meaningless” as long as Israel continues attacking and killing Palestinians.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has addressed the 17th Al Jazeera Forum in Qatar’s capital, Doha, today, calling the issue of Palestine the region’s “moral compass”.
- The Israeli prime minister’s office says Netanyahu is expected to meet Trump next Wednesday in Washington, DC, where the pair will discuss Iran.
- Israeli settler attacks continued across the occupied West Bank, with settlers beating and injuring two Palestinians near Ramallah in today’s most violent attack…..
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The Rafh Israel/Egypt Border opening has NOT gone too well….
When the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt finally reopened this week, Palestinian officials heralded it as a “window of hope” after two years of war as a fragile ceasefire deal moves forward.
But that hope has been sidetracked by disagreements over who should be allowed through, hourslong delays and Palestinian travelers’ reports of being handcuffed and interrogated by Israeli soldiers.
Far fewer people than expected have crossed in both directions. Restrictions negotiated by Israeli, Egyptian, Palestinian and international officials meant that only 50 people would be allowed to return to Gaza each day and 50 medical patients — along with two companions for each — would be allowed to leave.
But over the first four days of operations, just 36 Palestinians requiring medical care were allowed to leave for Egypt, plus 62 companions, according to United Nations data. Palestinian officials say nearly 20,000 people in Gaza are seeking to leave for medical care that they say is not available in the war-shattered territory.
Amid confusion around the reopening, the Rafah crossing was closed Friday and Saturday….
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Several women who managed to return to Gaza after its reopening recounted to The Associated Press harsh treatment by Israeli authorities and an Israeli-backed Palestinian armed group, Abu Shabab. A European Union mission and Palestinian officials run the border crossing, and Israel has its screening facility some distance away.
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Crossings picked up on the second day, when 40 people were allowed to leave Gaza and 40 to enter. But delays mounted as many returning travelers had more luggage than set out in the agreement reached by negotiators and items that were forbidden, including cigarettes and water and other liquids like perfume. Each traveler is allowed to carry one mobile phone and a small amount of money if they submit a declaration 24 hours ahead of travel.
Each time a Palestinian was admitted to Egypt, Israeli authorities allowed one more into Gaza, drawing out the process.
The problems continued Wednesday and Thursday, with the numbers allowed to cross declining
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Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ will have a Feb.19th Wash DC get together….
President Trump’s new “Board of Peace,” which he says intends to resolve global conflicts, is scheduled to meet in Washington in the coming weeks, according to a U.S. official and a Board of Peace official.
The meeting is planned for Feb. 19, according to an invitation letter that was shared with The New York Times, the details of which were confirmed by the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy.
The Board of Peace, as envisioned in a charter signed last month, has divided several U.S. allies, including France and a number of other European nations that declined to join at this time. Critics have called it the latest example of Mr. Trump’s efforts to dismantle the post-World War II international system, and analysts say he is trying to create a rival to the United Nations that puts him in charge. As chairman, he would have veto power over some of the body’s decisions.
The original idea for the board was to focus on war-torn Gaza’s reconstruction, but its remit has broadened since then….
Axios goes in detail about the complexity of Trump’s effort to pull of some sort of magic in the Midddle east…
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