GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War Day 616

Their True Colors

Not So Humanitarian

So many are critical of the humanitarian conditions in Gaza and even more critical of Israel’s use of it to bring Hamas to its knees, but we learn in a report from World Israel News that Hamas attacked workers helping give out aid:

At least five people were killed and a number taken hostage in the Gaza Strip Wednesday night after Hamas terrorists attacked a bus carrying relief workers affiliated with an American-based humanitarian aid group.

The fatal assault happened as the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) were going to another distribution center:

The attack occurred at approximately 10 p.m. when terrorists attacked a convoy operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-based, Israeli-backed group which was launched earlier this year to provide an alternative mechanism for distributing aid in the Gaza Strip, circumventing Hamas. A bus carrying some two dozen Gazan employees of the GHF was hit in the attack as the convoy was enroute to a GHF aid distribution center west of Khan Yunis, leaving five dead and more wounded, the GHF announced Thursday morning.

Unfortunately there are reports that even some were taken captive:

The GHF also said that it appeared that some of its employees had been abducted.

“We are still gathering facts, but what we know is devastating: there are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries, and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage,” the GHF said.

As you would expect, the GHF it outraged:

“We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms,” the GHF continued.

The Israel Defense Force (IDF) confirmed that there were hostages taken:

The Israeli Defense Minister confirmed Thursday that a number of GHF aid workers had been kidnapped by Gazan terrorists, though it declined to provide details regarding the number of hostages taken.

Another Israeli government agency made a statement condemning the massacre:

“Hamas murdered five humanitarian workers from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation with others being kidnapped,” the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) tweeted.

“No UN statement. No calls for investigation. No outrage. The international community cannot ignore Hamas’s crimes against humanitarian workers.”

“Do humanitarian lives only matter when they wear a UN badge?”

The GHF also pointed out their workers were in Hamas’ crosshairs for some time:

The GHF said that Hamas had recently threatened the aid group, as well as Gazans who receive its aid.

“This attack did not happen in a vacuum. For days, Hamas has openly threatened our team, our aid workers, and the civilians who receive aid from us. These threats were met with silence.”

And About Iran

As we keep hearing, an Israeli attack on Iran could happen according to US President Trump as we see in a report from i24new.tv:

US news outlets reported that Israel is ready to launch an attack on Iran, targeting nuclear facilities. Out of fears that the strike will lead to an Iranian counterattack against US interests in the Middle East, the Trump administration has authorized the immediate evacuation of all non-essential people in embassies within striking distance of Iran.

Could these precautions point to an imminent Israeli attack on Iran? Trump weighed in when asked:

US President Donald Trump was asked by reporters what he was doing to lower the escalating tensions, and answered that Iran "can't have a nuclear weapon. Very simple. They can't have a nuclear weapon. We're not going to allow that."

Trump also responded when questioned about the evacuation of personnel from the region: "You'll have to see."

The Trump administration continues to work on a nuclear deal as the signs of an attack on Iran:

This comes after talks between the US and Iran to strike a nuclear deal have faltered over Tehran's refusal to stop enriching uranium, despite creative American solutions to the disagreement. These include an international consortium to enrich the uranium for Tehran, although the Islamic Republic has stated that enrichment would take place in the country, whether with or without a deal.

One US source doesn’t want anyone to make a big deal about precautions:

"We are constantly assessing the appropriate personnel posture at all our embassies," said a State Department official told The Washington Post. "Based on our latest analysis, we decided to reduce the footprint of our mission in Iraq."

Others see it differently:

"We are watching and worried," a diplomat told the paper. "We think it’s more serious than any other time in the past."

The main US negotiator knows the stakes are high:

"A nuclear Iran poses an existential threat to Israel," US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said at an event for United Hatzalah, "and it is also an existential threat to the United States. We must stand together resolutely so that Iran does not go nuclear, no matter what the cost to prevent it."

Iran itself is signaling a strike is in the offing:

An Iranian official speaking to The New York Times confirmed that the military and political leadership in Tehran has met to discuss the possible retaliation to an Israeli strike, which would come in the form of hundreds of ballistic missiles launched at Israel.

Personally I think Israel will never let Iran go nuclear. And the US shouldn’t let them either. If Iran is only stalling and I think they are, I suggest the Barney Fife approach to Iran’s nuclear ambitions: nip it in the bud.