geneva_convenience

Israel’s warfare in the Gaza Strip is consistent with the characteristics of genocide, a United Nations committee has said, accusing the country of “using starvation as a method of war”.

In a report published on Thursday, the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices accused the country of “using starvation as a method of war”, resulting in “mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions” for Palestinians.

“Since the beginning of the war, Israeli officials have publicly supported policies that strip Palestinians of the very necessities required to sustain life – food, water, and fuel,” it said.

“These statements along with the systematic and unlawful interference of humanitarian aid make clear Israel’s intent to instrumentalise life-saving supplies for political and military gains.”

Nov 14 (Reuters) - As Tesla’s electric-vehicle sales have flattened this year, CEO Elon Musk has increasingly staked the company’s future on his vision for self-driving robotaxis, despite the massive technological and regulatory obstacles in delivering them.

Now Musk - as one of President-elect Donald Trump's biggest backers - may have the influence to help break through those regulatory roadblocks.

“If there’s a department of government efficiency,” Musk said, “I’ll try to help make that happen.”

On Tuesday, Trump tapped Musk and another ally to lead such an entity, which is not a government agency. It remains unclear how the organization will function.

Musk's sway is likely to extend beyond efficiency. The billionaire, who gave at least $119 million to a pro-Trump group during the campaign, is expected to influence the president-elect’s pick for the next Transportation Department secretary, according to a person close to Musk and Trump’s transition planning. That department, which includes the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), regulates automakers and could push through significant changes to the self-driving rules at a national level.

Since Israel has been committing the crime of starvation and using it as a means to carry out its genocide against the Palestinian people with the goal of eradicating them, the world is accountable for the famine crisis that Israel has caused in the Gaza Strip. Given the likelihood of dozens of deaths among the hungry every day, the international community is cautioned that this crisis is nearing its peak.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification System’s Famine Review Committee, a specialised body that evaluates and authorises famine classifications in nations experiencing severe food crises, issued an alert on Friday that warned of the gravity of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and its rapid deterioration. It also raised concerns about the imminent and high risk of famine in the northern part of the Strip specifically and the urgent need for the international community to act within days—not weeks—to lessen the severity of this humanitarian disaster in the northern Gaza Strip.

Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor counters that it is time to formally declare famine in the Gaza Strip, particularly in the north, which is experiencing an unprecedented siege, bombardment, and deprivation of all basic necessities for survival. This declaration would require the international community to fulfill its moral obligations and take all of the necessary legal actions against Israel, such as punishing it with sanctions, preventing it from receiving weapons, and acting quickly to establish a humanitarian corridor and bring in aid and supplies to prevent thousands of Palestinians from starving to death.

An Israeli minister has said her office is working at "full speed" to ensure the maximum amount of land is included in the future annexation of the occupied West Bank.

The Minister of Settlements and National Missions Orit Strock, a far-right politician, told Ynet one Wednesday that she dreams of annexation, or declaring "sovereignty" over the Palestinian territory, particularly now under the incoming Trump administration in the US.

The Palestinians living there would be given some rights, but not the right to vote, she said.

Regarding Gaza, she said the government should not bother with an exit strategy from the besieged Palestinian enclave, adding that she is pressing to seize territory there.

In a first, the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah announced that its fighters launched Wednesday an aerial attack using a swarm of high-end one-way drones targeting the Israeli occupation's Security Ministry in the city of Tel Aviv.

In a statement, Hezbollah pointed out that it targeted the Kirya base, which houses the headquarters of "Israel's" Ministry of Security, General Staff, War Management Room, and the Air Force’s war monitoring and control authority.

According to the statement, the drones accurately hit their intended targets. This marks the first time that Hezbollah employed these types of drones in striking Israeli military targets.

Turkey has severed all ties with Israel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday.

Erdogan made the comments to journalists aboard his plane following visits to Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.

“The government of the Republic of Turkey, under the leadership of Tayyip Erdogan, will not continue or develop relations with Israel,” Erdogan said.

“[Our ruling coalition] is resolute in its decision to cut ties with Israel, and we will maintain this stance in the future as well.”

Despite imposing a trade embargo on Israel in May, Ankara continues to maintain diplomatic relations with the country.

Although the Turkish government formally recalled its ambassador last year for consultations, Turkish diplomatic missions in Tel Aviv remain open and operational.

Similarly, Israel evacuated its embassy in Ankara last year, citing regional security threats.

The United States will not withhold military aid from Israel, the State Department said Tuesday, after top Biden administration officials warned a month ago that they would consider doing so if the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza did not improve.

State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said there would be no change to U.S. policy at the end of the 30-day deadline the U.S. set for Israel to improve conditions in Gaza. Aid groups and U.N. officials say Israel has largely failed to comply with U.S. demands, a Washington Post analysis found.

A United States defence contractor must pay $42m to three Iraqi men who were tortured at Abu Ghraib prison, a US federal jury has ruled. The ruling on Tuesday ends a 15-year legal battle over the role of Virginia-based contractor CACI, whose civilian employees worked at the facility, in acts of torture that took place there.

Al Shimari, a middle school principal, Al-Ejaili, a journalist, and Al-Zuba’e, a fruit vendor, testified that they were subjected to beatings, sexual abuse, forced nudity and other cruel treatment at Abu Ghraib.

“Today is a big day for me and for justice,” said Al-Ejaili, who travelled to the US to testify in person. “I’ve waited a long time for this day. This victory isn’t only for the three plaintiffs in this case against a corporation. This victory is a shining light for everyone who has been oppressed and a strong warning to any company or contractor practising different forms of torture and abuse.”

Leading Social Democrats and opposition conservatives reach agreement but date must be approved by president Kate Connolly in Berlin Tue 12 Nov 2024 11.45 CET

Germany is expected to hold a snap election on 23 February after an agreement reached on Tuesday morning by parliamentary factions from the leading Social Democrats and the main conservative opposition CDU/CSU.

The date must be officially confirmed by the president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, but this is considered to be a formality.

The date, once confirmed, would bring clarity after days of infighting and speculation prompted by the collapse of Germany’s three-way coalition government last week.

The government fell after the chancellor, Olaf Scholz, of the Social Democrats, fired his finance minister, Christian Lindner, of the pro-business FDP, in a months-long row over how to fill a multibillion euro hole in the national budget. The FDP in turn withdrew from the coalition, depriving it of a parliamentary majority.

ISLAMABAD: A group of Iranian hackers, identified as Hanzala has claimed responsibility for breaching the personal phones of former Israeli officials, including former Defence Minister Benny Gantaz and retired IDF Lt. Col. Adi Sabag.

The hackers allege to have obtained and released compromising videos and images, including personal footage of Sabag dancing at social event and Gantz involved in an affair with secretary linked to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The group further claims the affair involved the leaking of sensitive information related to Netanyahu. Israeli officials have not confirmed the authenticity of the leaked material. This cyber-attack marks an intensification of ongoing cyber tensions between Iran and Israel.

OP edit:

Leak can be read here https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1855949399462912274.html

Some images:

slightly nsfw image: https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/690480f2-164b-4c62-b1cf-0681ff336fb1.png

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called for immediate ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon at a joint Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit on Monday.

Mohammed bin Salman said the international community must "immediately halt the Israeli actions against our brothers in Palestine and Lebanon", condemning Israel's war on Gaza as "genocide".

Efforts to hold Israel accountable for its crimes against Palestinians at the International Court of Justice in The Hague are ‘anti-Semitic’, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a cabinet meeting yesterday.

Commenting on the ICJ case against Tel Aviv brought forward by South Africa and Israeli football fans rampaging through the streets of Amsterdam

chanting racist slurs and attacking locals and their properties being met with resistance from locals, Netanyahu said: “In both cases, we are dealing with serious anti-Semitism aimed at rendering the Jewish people and their state powerless, stripping our nation of the right to self-defence, and depriving our citizens of the very right to life.”