cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/20338100

By Katherine Hearst

Published date: 9 September 2024 15:41 BST

After denials for months, the Israeli military says there is a “high probability” its air strike was responsible for the deaths of three Israeli captives in Gaza in November.

Israel is recruiting African refugees for "life-threatening" operations in Gaza in exchange for settled status in the country, sources have revealed. There are approximately 30,000 African asylum seekers in Israel. They have faced growing pressure from anti-immigrant politicians, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who regularly refers to them as "infiltrators".

One man interviewed by Haaretz, who ultimately chose not to enlist, recounted being approached by a security official to join the war effort. The official explained that after a two-week training period, he would be deployed alongside other asylum seekers.

Haaretz noted that the "manner in which the Israeli army deploys the asylum seekers is barred from publication" due to restrictions imposed by the Israeli military censor.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/20334952

By Ahmed Alsammak

Published date: 15 September 2024 11:17 BST

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/20325317

Prem Thakker

Sep 13, 2024

A long-range ballistic missile fired from Yemen has hit central Israel, sparking fire, according to the Israeli military.

The missile triggered air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and across central Israel, including the Ben Gurion international airport, sending residents running for shelter. There were no reports of casualties or damage, and the airport authority said normal operations resumed shortly after.

Houthis’ Saba news agency said the Israeli defence system could not shoot down the Yemeni missile, which caused a fire. “A Yemeni missile reached Israel after ’20 missiles failed to intercept’ it,” Nasruddin Amer, a Houthi media official, posted on X.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/20324880

As Israeli demolitions and settler attacks escalate, Palestinians in the village of Umm al-Khair stare down the possibility of expulsion.

Maya Rosen

July 11, 2024

The claimed acquisition by Yemen’s Houthi rebels of hypersonic missiles capable of penetrating Israeli air defences threatens to further heighten Middle East tensions, as Saudi Arabia calls for more than “pinprick bombings” to constrain the supply of weapons to the group.

Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemen government opposing the Houthis, believes Iran has been arming the group, including with the weapons used in the attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Those attacks have led to a halving of the traffic on the Red Sea route, pushing up the costs of maritime transport and damaging the Egyptian economy through disruption to the Suez canal.

https://archive.is/B3lvw

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/20310478

By Dania Akkad

Published date: 13 September 2024 19:12 BST

The world’s oldest Jewish newspaper, the Jewish Chronicle, has removed a series of sensational articles relating to the Gaza war after claims that the material was fabricated by a “freelance journalist” who had also misrepresented his résumé.

In recent months, there have been suggestions in the Israeli media that stories have been placed in European newspapers, including one in the German tabloid Bild, that are based on fake or misrepresented intelligence, planted as part of an effort to support prime minister Benjamin’s Netanyahu’s negotiating position over Gaza.

At a 4 September press conference for foreign media, Netanyahu suggested that if the Gaza border area with Egypt known as the Philadelphi Corridor – a sticking point in negotiations between Hamas and Israel for a ceasefire-for-hostages-deal – was not under Israeli military control, then Sinwar could use it to escape, perhaps taking hostages with him.

The following day, an article by Perry in the JC had turned that into reality. The piece claimed that intelligence existed showing that Sinwar planned to escape to Iran with the hostages, derived from the interrogation of a senior Hamas figure and a document found late in August.

One of the articles claimed the discovery of a document from Gaza, allegedly detailing Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar’s plans to escape with Israeli hostages taken during the 7 October attack, using the Philadelphi Corridor as a route to Iran.

However, the Israeli army stated that it had no knowledge of such a document and several Israeli outlets began to question Perry's identity and professional background.

The left-leaning +972 Magazine questioned his claims of having served as a commando during Operation Entebbe and being a professor at Tel Aviv University for 15 years, as there appear to be no records confirming these assertions.

Given the similarity between Perry's claims and statements made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, some have speculated that this could be part of a broader disinformation campaign.

Kan’ani said any claim regarding sales of Iranian missiles to Russia is unfounded.

“I am again clearly reminding the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Any claim that Iran sells ballistic missiles to Russia is false,” he said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/20296443

Melissa Hellmann, Gloria Oladipo and Adria R Walker

Fri 13 Sep 2024 07.00 EDT

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/20297056

Patrick Wintour

Diplomatic editor

Fri 13 Sep 2024 11.38 EDT